Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2, 2019 i India Today

“SHOOTING DOWN MESSENGERS OF BAD NEWS OR SHUTTING OFF ECONOMIC REPORTS AND DATA IS JUVENILE AND DOES NOT BEHOVE A RISING GLOBAL ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE.NO AMOUNT OF SUBTERFUGE CAN HIDE THE PERFORMANCE AND ANALYSIS OF A $3 TRILLION MARKET ECONOMY OF 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE” Former prime minister MANMOHAN SINGH, writing in the pages of a national newspaper and speaking on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, took the Narendra Modi government to task for the faltering economy. Earlier this month, vice-president Venkaiah Naidu appointed Manmohan Singh to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, in place of Congress colleague Digvijaya Singh, prompting a Congress leader in Goa to crow that the prime minister had “given up” on steering the economy back onto the right path. Singh, pointing to the flood of bad…

In Tamil Nadu, policy support has always fast-tracked reforms. The political uncertainties after ex-chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s death are now behind it, and the ruling AIADMK government steered by Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami has kept the state focused on development and growth. The impressive growth over the years has been backed by excellent social indicators. A skilled workforce is an added advantage. Earlier, investments came without the state chasing them, but now with intense competition from states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu has had to go in for a makeover. Palaniswami has set an example for leaders in working to raise the state’s profile globally. This year, he went on a two-week tour of the US, UK and UAE to woo investments and help kickstart new businesses. And it came at…

Gujarat always had strong fundamentals, so it is no surprise that it is India’s leading state in economic terms. It contributes 7.7 per cent to the country’s GDP, even though it comprises only 5 per cent of India’s population. Poverty reduction has been one of the state’s biggest achievements: only 5 per cent of its people are below the poverty line. The state also saw a record Rs 18,325 crore in FDI in the first quarter of FY20. With a 17 per cent share of the country’s industrial output, Gujarat is second only to Maharashtra. Among the state’s pro-business initiatives are the Gujarat MSME (Facilitation) Ordinance of 2019, the Gujarat Single Window Clearance Act, a revamped investor facilitation portal (online applications have doubled this year) and the new Gujarat Shops…

At a recent investor summit in Dharamshala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked prospective investors to tap into the potential of the better-educated and healthier workforce coming out of Himachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur reiterated that sentiment when he told INDIA TODAY, “Apart from providing good infrastructure, our focus is on improving the quality of both education and healthcare. Every child born in the state should not only be healthy but also get access to good quality education. So that by the time he joins the workforce, he is more productive and effective.” Literacy and healthcare parameters in the state have been encouraging in recent years. With a current literacy rate of nearly 88 per cent, Himachal has come a long way from being a state with the lowest literacy…

Whichever government has been in power in Chhattisgarh, a state that came into being on November 1, 2000, it has stuck to the slogan of inclusive development. Besides, most policy initiatives launched in the state in the past few years, be it the CM Health Insurance Scheme or the utilisation of funds from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), have been universal in nature. The health insurance scheme, which covers medical expenses up to Rs 50,000 and is often seen as a precursor to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, does not distinguish between beneficiaries on the basis of caste or economic status. Some 69 per cent of the total population gets health cover. Chhattisgarh has also been a pioneer in utilising its DMF funds. Created through an amendment to the Mines and…

Odisha was a laggard in sanitation till about June 2017, with just 5 million of its approximately 9 million households having toilets. The Rs 12,000 incentive offered by the state and the Centre to construct a toilet, too, did not help. Finally, the Odisha government entrusted the project to the panchayati raj and drinking water department and work began on a war footing. “From June 2017, construction of toilets went into mission mode,” says Subash Das, state coordinator of the Swachh Bharat Mission and joint secretary, panchayati raj. “Then, in 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik started the Swachha Odisha Sustha Odisha initiative, aimed at adopting a holistic approach towards sustainable water and sanitation management.” Odisha constructed 7.7 million toilets and achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by September this year.…

After taking charge of the state last year, Chief Minister Zoramthanga launched the Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP), a flagship programme that, he says, “is meant to accelerate progress in key sectors, achieve self-sufficiency in foodgrains, transform Mizoram into a welfare state, improve its social life and bring happiness and peace among people.” He added that the SEDP will also focus on increasing the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Mizoram. The state economy has already been growing at a healthy rate—its per capita income for 2017-2018 was projected at Rs 1,51,682, as against the previous year’s estimate of Rs 1,33,951. According to the Economic Survey 2018-19, Mizoram registered a growth of 14.8 per cent in its GSDP. The primary sector, comprising agriculture and allied activities, contributed 29.9 per cent to…

Students of Rongneck Secondary School in Gangtok carry a small cloth bag along with their satchel every day. If the satchel is for books and pens, the cloth bag is for collecting litter. Once school gets over, the children empty the bags in a garbage van outside the premises. The practice may look a bit odd, but there’s a reason—there’s not a single dustbin in the school compound. The school is trying to impart an important lesson here, make the children realise the importance of not littering—your waste is your responsibility and the onus lies on you to clean up the mess. “Initially, it was as hard to convince the parents as the students,” says headmistress Chhabi Pradhan. “But then I started making cloth bags and distributing them among the…

Though there are claims of millions of houses being constructed across the country under the Union government’s flagship housing scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, only seven states have submitted their data for a social audit as of August. Manipur is one of those states—perhaps having a former journalist as chief minister has provided a fillip to transparency in governance. The state government has targeted approvals for 46,360 beneficiaries for the construction of houses in 27 towns across the state. Currently, 26,348 beneficiaries in 24 towns have been approved by the Union ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs, with an estimated 9,725 houses likely to be constructed by the end of the year. “Because of the terrain, we face a lot of difficulty in terms of speed and reach, but…

IN December 1969, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)’s studio, auditorium and library at their premises on Bombay’s Bhulabhai Desai Road. At a one-week festival that followed, P.L. Deshpande and Ravi Shankar performed. It marked the beginning of the enterprise to build a cultural space to showcase the city’s best dance, music and theatre, as its founders Jamshed Bhabha and J.R.D. Tata had envisioned. In 1973, construction began at Nariman Point and, in May 1975, the complex hosted its first performance, at the Little Theatre. Fifty years later, that complex, spread across eight acres on a patch of reclaimed land abutting the sea, remains one of the country’s most vibrant cultural spaces, as it celebrates its golden jubilee this month. “Its…

In a moving post on the JNU students’ agitation against the proposed fee hike, one of my Ph.D scholars wrote: ‘Do you remember the story [of] a security guard in JNU who cracked the entrance exam? [It] will never be repeated if the fee hike comes true…. Please India, hear our voices.’ For most of us on campus, students and teachers alike, witnessing the undoing of a great public university, the current fee-hike agitation by JNU students is but another inflection point in the disreputable, bit-by-bit dismantling of a storied institution. The process has a mascot, the incumbent vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar, and it began in earnest with his appointment in January 2016. The key difference with the proposed fee hike, only the latest blow the JNU administration has dealt…

The government seems to be in a hurry to reject the findings of a survey on household consumption expenditure for July 2017-June 2018, which showed consumer spending falling for the first time in over four decades. However, all indicators seem to suggest continuing consumption distress. According to media reports, the survey—‘Key Indicators: Household Consumer Expenditure in India’, prepared by the National Statistical Office (NSO)—which was withheld by the government and leaked to the media, found that average monthly expenditure fell 3.7 per cent to Rs 1,446 in 2017-18 from Rs 1,501 in 2011-12. In villages, consumer spending declined by 8.8 per cent in 2017-18, while in cities, it rose by 2 per cent over six years. The last time the NSO reported a fall in consumption in real terms was…

These days, Punjab’s farmers are in a burning hurry. They have to clear their fields of paddy stubble to prepare for the sowing of their rabi crops. A delay at this time is something they can ill afford—winter is setting in, and this is when they must till their farms. Their fields, which make up about 3 per cent of the country’s land, produce about 19 per cent of the nation’s wheat and 12 per cent of its paddy. Though many criticise these farmers for their methods—stubble burning most certainly does cause pollution and fill the region’s air with persistent smog—that does not change their contribution to India’s food supply. Every hectare of Punjab’s fertile farms contributes about 52 quintals of wheat and nearly 45 quintals of rice. Though there…

When Raghubar Das took over as Jharkhand chief minister in December 2014, he learnt that not even 10 per cent of the 34,939 state-run primary and middle schools provided benches to students. “I decided this could not continue,” says Das. His government soon placed an order for over a million benches. Today, all public schools in the state not only have benches, but also toilets, electricity and drinking water supply. That’s not all. About 95 per cent of government schools have libraries. The impact of these efforts is more than apparent. Jharkhand achieved a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of over 100 per cent in primary, upper primary and elementary schools. The GER is over 100 per cent among both boys and girls from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the…

That Kerala breathes freely despite rapid urbanisation is thanks to the green belts and tree cover in the state. The 2018 State Economic Review data for environmental quality indicates that average concentration levels of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen and respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) are within permissible limits except in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kannur districts where RSPM is skirting the limit. In the industrial category, out of the 11 monitoring stations only Alappuzha district exceeded RSPM limits. Also, the water quality in 65 rivers, three fresh water lakes, eight estuarine lakes, six reservoir stations and other water sources was found to be satisfactory, enough reason for the state to win the award for environment. The state’s forest cover extends to about 52 per cent of its geographical area…

Dnyanesh Hadkar, chief executive officer at Audi here in Miramar, Panaji, has a satisfied look on his face. The showrooms of Audi and even superbike Harley Davidson have seen good footfalls and a number of enthusiastic buyers in the past couple of months. The tourism season began in October, and already restaurants and star hotels in the city have full occupancy signs put up. Signs that Goa’s sustainable economy—a mix of tourism, good infrastructure and a penchant for cleanliness—is working can be found everywhere in the capital Panaji. Coming in No. 1 in per capita income (Rs 3,75,550 in 2016-17), Goa’s economy seems to have survived the slowdown seen in other parts of the country. The state’s GSDP for 2017-18 is estimated at $9.95 billion (Rs 71,400 crore), the fastest…

Puducherry has regularly stayed ahead of other states, including the large ones, when it comes to most health indicators. Its infant mortality rate is 10 per 1,000 live births as against the national average of 34. Almost 100 per cent of births take place in healthcare facilities and 91.3 per cent of children are immunised. The credit goes to the priority healthcare has got over the years—from higher spends to building quality infrastructure to making government facilities easily accessible. The state spends 1.8 per cent of its gross state domestic product on health, compared with 1.3 per cent across the country. The state spent 7.5 per cent of its budget outlay for 2018-19 on healthcare. While India’s per capita expenditure on health is Rs 1,397 per individual, Puducherry spends more…

In August this year, Nagaland’s director general of police T.J. Longkumer made an appeal to the state’s female population. Asking more women to join the special task force, he said that 33 per cent of positions in the state’s police force had been reserved for them. While such an appeal might be construed as a public relations exercise, the numbers from Nagaland reveal that there is substance behind the appeal. While women make up only seven per cent of India’s 2.4 million-strong police forces, Nagaland is among the six states and Union territories in which women make up more than 15 per cent of the police force—and at 22.8 per cent, Nagaland is the leader among those six. What’s more significant is that Nagaland and Punjab are the only two…

Underside: Nepal’s metal wonders—now globally known after tours in Europe—will bring the heavy to Weekender with their raw, nu-metal-inspired sound that will get the moshpits going Job Kurian: Currently one of Kerala’s most loved crooners, Kurian’s distinctly honeyed vocals will likely transcend any language barriers. The folk-fusion artist delves in electronic-tinged rock, pop and traditional music Sid Sriram: The Indian-origin American singer can play Carnatic concerts in Chennai, while creating evocative lo-fi hip-hop and distinct R&B for A.R. Rahman. His set effortlessly ties together these worlds PENGSHUi: Grime, metal, punk and UK electronica come to the front with London’s latest trio, comprising bassist Fatty, drummer-MC Pravvy Prav and rapper Illaman. This one’s going to set off alarms Sarathy Korwar: On the back of releasing his album More Arriving earlier this…

Srinivasan’s engagements with other artists has helped the piano find its place in Carnatic music In 2013, at a festival organised by UK-based arts oufit, Milapfest, at the Southbank Centre, London, Chennai-based contemporary-classical pianist Anil Srinivasan and Bengalurubased veena artist, Jayanthi Kumaresh, conceived an idea called The Stringmasters. Inspired by their own “bi-musical” personalities, they attempted to create a vocabulary that not only merged the forms (classical and contemporary) and the instruments (piano and veena), but along the course, create something fresh, exciting and, in Srinivasan’s own words, “a third space, if you will”. On November 24, at Delhi’s India International Centre, this musical discourse that has evolved and matured over the years will find expression. For Srinivasan, who started playing the piano at three and trained formally in western…

Among all Indian states, Assam has the highest share of Muslims in its population—about 35 per cent. Monitored by the Supreme Court, the state published a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in August this year to detect illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which caused massive insecurity among a large section of the Muslim population as many of them are popularly perceived to be immigrants from Bangladesh. At the same time, the BJP-ruled governments at the Centre and in the state insisted on bringing a Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that aims at giving citizenship to people from non-Muslim communities who faced religious persecution in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This move antagonised the indigenous population of Assam, who believed that this new bill will ensure citizenship for a large number of Hindu illegal immigrants…

Agriculture, the major economic activity in Madhya Pradesh, recorded an average 10 per cent plus growth rate in the past decade, justifying the most improved state award in the category. A variety of factors contributed to agriculture growing at a higher rate in the state. A large part of the cultivated area that had hitherto not been irrigated has now been covered. The extension of canal networks and completion of dam projects means about 45 per cent of the 25 million hectares of total cultivable area is now being irrigated. Also, with ample power available for the farm sector, ground water is being tapped. So, farmers are now free to choose high-yielding varieties of seed that has led to enhanced production. The extension of credit at zero per cent interest…

The country’s youngest state has crossed major development markers since its formation in 2014. “Our average tax revenue growth rate in the first four years was 17.7 per cent, catapulting Telangana to the No. 1 position in the country,” says Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. It has also enabled ‘saturation coverage’ with a slew of welfare/ populist schemes worth about Rs 40,000 crore a year. Forty-five per cent of the population benefits from between three to 15 state programmes. Nearly 15 million of the rural population has been touched in multiple ways. E-governance is the major focus and the state now leads all others in e-transactions. Citizen services centres, called Mee Seva in the state, facilitate a single entry and exit portal for the entire range of government-to-citizen (G2C) and…

The grass certainly looks greener in West Bengal, a state with about 15 per cent (12,995 sq. km) of the geographical area (88,752 sq. km) under forest cover. An afforestation drive launched this year, following the loss of a dozen lives from lightning strikes, includes the planting of 5,000 coconut trees in each district over the next 12 months. Hoping to inculcate the green spirit among children, under the ‘Sabujsree’ scheme, each newborn is gifted a sapling—over 10 million plants have been distributed already. Towards water conservation, 43 rainwater harvesting schemes have been started in Bankura and Purulia to create irrigation potential for about 1,700 hectares. Over 29,000 water bodies were recharged across Bengal under the ‘Jal Dharo Jal Bharo’ scheme. A project is underway to stop river bank erosion…

Tripura, says Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, thanks to its geographical location, is all set to become the trade corridor between India and Bangladesh. His hopes to achieve this are pinned on the completion of the bridge over the river Feni, connecting the two neighbours. “Once we have the bridge, the business and trade it facilitates will convert the state into a special economic zone,” says Deb. The government, though, is not waiting only for the bridge to put the state in the faster lane of economic development. The Union government has given an in-principle approval for setting up of Tripura’s first-ever SEZ at Sabroom at an estimated cost of Rs 1,550 crore. It’s also likely to generate 12,000 jobs, which is quite significant for a state with a high…

Thanks to its strategic location and geo-political significance in the context of India’s relationship with China, as well as the Narendra Modi government’s push for border road development, Arunachal Pradesh has seen a massive development of its road network over the past five years. Recently, Union minister of state for home affairs G. Kishan Reddy said that the government had approved the construction of 18 roads in the state, stretching over 1,600 kilometres, at a cost of Rs 1,175 crore. However, the most significant among all road projects is the trans-Arunachal highway, connecting Tawang, a town of strategic importance on the India-China border in the northwestern part of the state to Kanubari in the southeastern tip of Arunachal Pradesh. The highway ends in Assam’s Dhemaji district beside the Bogibeel bridge,…

In June 2015, presenting its first budget, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi doubled the allocation for education to Rs 9,836 crore, making one of its several governance priorities clear. Four years on, the government’s efforts in this area continue to build up steam. Rs 15,133 crore has been earmarked for education in the 2019-20 budget (Rs 60,000 crore). Since coming to power, the Arvind Kejriwal government has been consistently spending nearly a quarter of its budget on education. This is way more than the average spending of about 16 per cent by all states in the sector. For healthcare, the AAP government allocated about 14 per cent of its 2019-20 budget, as against the 5 per cent average of states. The initiatives in education include new classrooms…

Aranyaka brings together two contemporary interpreters of Hindu mythology, the enormously popular Devdutt Pattanaik and the rather more esoteric Amruta Patil. Together, they explore some of the most complex ideas of Hinduism as articulated in the Vedas and the Upanishads, locating these meditations in and around human beings and their relationship to nature. Their intensely symbiotic process of collaboration is explained at the back of the book but, simply put, the story and pictures came primarily from Patil while Pattanaik functioned as a stimulus and sympathetic interlocutor. The volume, therefore, equally represents the ideologies and concerns of both creators. The book opens with a reference to the Rig Vedic hymn, ‘Nasadiya’ (10.129), which speculates on the origins of the world and the impulse for creation itself. It stands out among…

R. Prasanna The electric guitar finds a new life, voice and meaning when R. Prasanna (Guitar Prasanna, as he is better known as) plays Carnatic music with it. Considered an icon who has created and composed genre-bending music, Prasanna seamlessly renders the Carnatic idiom on the guitar U. Rajesh He was initiated and nurtured into the world of Carnatic music on the mandolin under the watchful eyes of his legendary brother, late U. Shrinivas. With his mandolin and his mastery over Carnatic music, Rajesh travels far and wide, sticking with tradition and constantly innovating within it Mahesh Raghvan A young Carnatic musician, Mahesh Raghvan has, using his iPad, made Carnatic music cool and accessible to a global audience. Based in the US, he is trained in Carnatic music and plays…