Innholdsfortegnelse for December 27, 2021 i India Today

After two debilitating Covid-19 waves that killed 476,135 people (as of December 15) and destroyed millions of livelihoods, the big question on everyone’s mind has been—how soon will the Indian economy recover? India’s GDP had begun slipping since the third quarter of the financial year 2016-17, well before the pandemic struck. GDP growth went from 8.6 per cent to 4 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY20. The pandemic and the nationwide lockdown imposed in March 2020 saw the economy slip into a recession for the first time in 40 years. The economy contracted 23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2020-21 and 7.4 per cent in the subsequent quarter. GDP growth for the entire fiscal 2020-21 was a negative 7.3 per cent. Once fears of the pandemic…

INDIA’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED second quarter (Q2) GDP numbers for fiscal year (FY) 2021-22, announced on November 30, brought plenty of cheer. For the first time since the Covid virus devastated the economy, the Q2 growth figure was back to pre-pandemic levels. Real GDP in Q2 grew 8.4 per cent, matching the output in the corresponding quarter in FY2019-20, before the pandemic struck. This indicated that the Indian economy was on the road to recovery. The Union finance ministry’s monthly review of the economy for November optimistically stated, ‘India is among the few countries that have recorded four consecutive quarters of growth amid Covid-19 (Q3, Q4 of FY2020-21 and Q1, Q2 of FY2021-22), reflecting the resilience of the Indian economy. The recovery was driven by a revival in services, full recovery in…

↘ The government should take a nuanced and calibrated approach to assisting sectors that are the most vulnerable, including tourism, hospitality and retail ↘ It should offer targeted support to MSMEs that are finding it difficult to meet production commitments due to a lack of access to credit ↘ The urban poor need support—this could also kickstart demand and lead to more investments by the private sector ↘ The Centre should push its disinvestment agenda, which will supply much-needed capital ↘ It should also focus on its National Infrastructure Pipeline, in which it plans to spend Rs 111 lakh crore by 2024-25, and its Production Linked Incentive schemes, which offer support to 13 sectors with a corpus of Rs 2 lakh crore ↘ Some economists say the government shouldn’t shy…

↘ Financial empowerment of women since only women’s SHGs are engaged in dung procurement and sale ↘ Economic benefits for OBCs, SCs and STs as most cattle owners belong to these communities ↘ Gauthans to boost rural industry as they are being developed to support other economic activities, such as vegetable cultivation and rearing fish and poultry. Cow dung product diversification is also in the pipeline—paint, phenyl, dung log for funerals, bricks, etc. ↘ With hundreds of thousands of cattle confined to gauthans, fewer stray animals raiding farms or squatting on roads ↘ Improved cattle breed as fertile cows at gauthans are inseminated with Gir and Sahiwal stock…

A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, music composer Achint Thakkar became one of the most searched names on the internet in India. His gritty, edgy score for Scam 1992 (2020), a SonyLiv series based on Harshad Mehta, the Indian stockbroker behind the 1992 securities scam, amassed serious pop-culture currency. The crowning glory was the title theme, a microcosm of the show itself. Made up of bass, drums and the string line, the instrumental tune, which currently has over 25 million views on YouTube, mixes swag and creepiness with a searing intensity. Now, it’s impossible to think of the show without simultaneously remembering its title theme. And Thakkar has joined the list of widely sought-after composers, a feat for someone who has never been subjected to the twisted machinations of mainstream…

Acclaimed designer Pavitra Rajaram is the creative director at Mumbai-based, Pavitra Rajaram Design and is known for her maximal aesthetics. @teaonthebluesofa (Instagram) AFTER THE PARTY In the wake of the pandemic, I wanted bursts of colours and a maximalist’s vision of an intimate gathering at home. I redid the whole space, now the overall look is inspired by nature, bringing in a calmer feel and warmth as well. The idea was the breakaway from traditional Christmas colours and themes; as well as create nooks to enjoy well after the party ends and moves till the new year. SENSORY DESIGN I have a fondness for found objects. We found twigs lying outside and have used them to create our own version of a Christmas tree, styling it with garlands of jasmine.…

Rising Production Manufacturing PMI in November was the highest in six months Manufacturing PMI* *Purchasing Managers’ Index Trucking Along Bill numbers rose from June to October (but the drop in November suggests economic fragility) E-way bills (crores) Sources: RBI, CMIE, Crisil, MOSPI, EY India GST Holding Steady Gross GST collections have remained over Rs 1 lakh crore per month since July Bills Paid The increased compliance indicated by returns filed is good news for govt. revenue…

EXPENSE ₹233 crore spent on building 7,777 gauthans (Rs 3 lakh per facility, as per agriculture dept) ₹600 is the one-time cost incurred on the 3.9 million cows housed in the 7,777 gauthans (approx. 500 cows per facility) ₹7.7 crore being spent every month on operating 7,777 gauthans (Rs 10,000 per facility) ₹114 crore spent on buying 5.7 million quintals of cow dung (Rs 2 a kilo) since launch of the Godhan scheme REVENUE ₹67 crore realised through sale of 0.67 million quintals of vermicompost produced from dung (Rs 10 a kilo). Of this, 0.49 million quintals sold to farmers, the rest to government departments. ₹39 crore earned by state government after paying women’s self-help groups (SHGs) Rs 25 crore for production of compost, and covering packaging costs ₹20 crore additionally…

India has the largest livestock population in the world (over 535.8 million), as per the 20th Livestock Census, 2019. A study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, Haryana, in 2018 put methane emission by livestock in India in 2012 at 15.3 million tonnes. Methane is considered to have 20 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide. Shilpi Kumari, author of the study, was quoted by SciDev.Net as saying that the livestock sector in India has the potential to increase surface temperatures by 0.69 millikelvin over a 20-year period. This would be about 14 per cent of the increase caused by the global livestock sector. Cow management models across the country are difficult to sync with the global position…

BREAKING BOUNDARIES COMES EASILY to R. Madhavan. Having acted in nearly 1,800 episodes of television serials, he was once thought of as “overexposed”. They said he will never do a film. Proving his critics wrong, he made his Tamil feature debut in a Mani Ratnam-directed romance, Alaipayuthey (2000). Those who said he wouldn’t make the cut in Hindi cinema were forced to eat humble pie when he acted in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein the very next year. He would later star in 3 Idiots (2009), the first film to cross the Rs 200 crore mark at the box office. In 2018, Madhavan would become one of the first actors to do a web series—Amazon Prime’s Breathe. Now, three years later, he is the first star to act in Netflix’s…

Established eight decades ago, New Delhi’s Dhoomimal Gallery is one of the oldest names in art dealership. For Ram Babu Jain, the gallery’s founder, Dhoomimal was first a commercial entity that expanded his printing and publishing business. For his grandson, Uday Jain, the gallery is a venture, but also more. “I have been visiting the gallery since I was 40 days old!…[I have] spent more time around artists and surrounded with art than at home,” he says. Growing up, Jain wanted to be many things—film star, sportscar racer—but at heart he knew art was his destiny. He says in an ideal world, he would have gained more experience by visiting global museums and art fairs, but losing his father when he was nine meant he had to take over the…

The opening instrumental theme of Only Murders in the Building is one of the year’s biggest surprise hits. Simultaneously mysterious, kooky and dramatic, it currently boasts 300k Spotify listens. The spare but intricate theme perfectly encapsulates the whimsical quality of the true-crime comedy series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. In the three months since Hulu premiered the series, Siddhartha Khosla, the Indian-American composer behind the earworm, has been flooded with compliments. Khosla didn’t entirely expect the fanfare but believed in both the show and the title theme. “It’s some of the best work I have done,” the Los Angeles-based musician tells us. Khosla has previously earned three Emmy nominations for the majestic soundtrack of This is Us and is also part of Goldspot, an indie-pop band that…

Q. Your autobiography isn’t just a celebration of a musical artist but also an evocative ode to the place that makes him. When you look back at your childhood, how did Goa become synonymous with music? As a kid, at dinners and parties, people entertained themselves—there was often a piano in the house, people brought along guitars, violins and mandolins and played and sang and danced. For most Goans, making music was a ‘natural bodily function’, one didn’t need to consider oneself a musician in order to play and sing. Growing up in such a background influences and stays with you forever. Q. You write that despite giving Bollywood some of its most distinctive tunes, you never wanted to be a Bollywood composer. How different was singing for a movie…

TOP TREE Crafted from makrana marble, this Christmas tree from Home ture Collective by Nitya Cou-Khanna adds a quiet charm to the room. PRICE ₹950 AT @thehomecouture (Instagram) BRIGHT IS RIGHT These set of four scented votive soy wax candles called ‘Oh What Fun!’ from Rad Living are designed to spread Christmas cheer. PRICE ₹1,299 AT www.radliving.in YOU ARE SERVED On the occasion of Christmas, Le Jahaan has launched a festive range in red, golden and green. The collection comprises multipurpose boxes and trays in wood. PRICE ₹2,000 onwards AT @le.jahaan (Instagram) HANG THESE These Christmas ornaments from Yuri by Kadambari can be customised to add your name. The hand embroidered beauties are made from cotton with lace detailing. PRICE ₹700 each AT @YuribyKadambari (Instagram) GIVE ME RED Add a touch of Christmas with…

During our very first discussion with the clients (a textile designer and her entrepreneur husband), they helped us understand with distinct clarity the sense of the home they were looking to create, which was a conscious, warm and simple home with abundant use of natural materials and an earthy palette. They were looking to convert a rather cramped three-bedroom apartment into an open and bright two bedroom with a studio setup. The two-decade-old apartment had an unobstructed view of lush green on one side, yet seemed rather dimly lit. We knew that tearing down some of the walls and opening out the spaces would help get in abundant natural light, which in turn would uplift the quality of the spaces, almost instantly. The primary idea was to create a comfortable,…

↘ All major J&K parties except for the BJP have questioned the exercise of redrawing the boundaries of Lok Sabha/assembly constituencies and increasing the number of seats under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. It is also being challenged in the Supreme Court ↘ The BJP wants the commission to consider the geographical area along with population and divide the proposed 90 seats equally between Jammu division and the Valley. This raises age-old fears in Srinagar of the power balance shifting to the Jammu region ↘ The NC has questioned the logic of Jammu and Kashmir being singled out for delimitation now when the whole country has to go through the process in 2026. Will J&K have to do this again then?…

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, comes into force when the Union government or the governor of a state notifies an area as a ‘disturbed area’. These notifications are supposed to be reviewed every six months. AFSPA, which grants sweeping powers to India’s military to act against civilians in ‘disturbed areas’, was enacted in the 1950s to combat militancy in Nagaland. People who speak for citizens’ rights see the Act as repressive—and even official data, which often understates this reality, seems to confirm the abuse of human rights under AFSPA. 186 Complaints of human rights violations, including death and sexual crimes, were registered against the armed forces in AFSPA states between 2012 and 2016 (Source: RTI application in 2017) PROBLEM AREAS The ‘special powers’ spelt out in Section 4…

Q. You will be completing two years as CDS. What will your report to the government be? My main charter was to move forward on the integration [of the three services], which I am on track. I am looking at all four theatre commands coming up near-simultaneously. MTC (Maritime Theatre Command) has moved fast, land-based theatre commands have also moved fast. We have some issues with the air force regarding resources, but an Air Defence Command has to come up. How they will manage the resources, we want only the air force to do, but you need to integrate all airspace management. ADC will manage your airspace commands. When I look at theatre commands, I always give the example of the 1971 war when General [Jasjit Singh] Aurora was the…

If you crossed the round-about at the juncture of Delhi’s Lodhi Road and Mathura Road a few years ago, your eyes may have dimly registered the unremarkable-looking monument standing there; one among countless old structures that dot the city. Take the same route today and your sensory experience will be very different: the newly renovated Sabz Burj, its blue-tiled dome gleaming, will catch your eye from some distance away. The identity of the nobleman for whom this octagonal mausoleum was built—probably in the 1530s, during Humayun’s reign—is unknown, but there is no longer any question that the burj was an important part of the large necropolis that existed around the Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia dargah. For the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) team that began work on the renovation a…

With a market full of dinnerware, setting the table has never been more fun. But if you are looking for something to make your dinner table stand out this season, then Good Earth’s one-of-a-kind design collaboration with renowned British artist Rebecca Campbell is just what you need. The collection is called Pomegranates and Roses and is a part of their 25th-anniversary design collection BOSPORUS. The designs are mesmerising and eye catching to say the least. As the name suggests you will find ruby red pome-granates and deep pink Roses in the pieces, which the brand says are the two ingredients that elevate cuisines across central Asia and the Mediterranean. “There is a delightful Persian cookbook named Pome-granates and Roses and both the book and its name has remained with me…

How to Choose a Carpet “You can start by getting a fix on what kind of design or aesthetic you want, contemporary or traditional, or something in between? Then explore in the chosen category for the kind of colours and patterns that appeal to you, or complement your interiors. A lot will depend on what kind of vibe you want to achieve; whether you want a subdued look that merges with your decor, or a vibrant atmosphere, or if want to make a statement with the carpet,” says Anushka Ahuja, co-founder, GharGhar. As per Ahuja you can play with warm, thick and cosy textures for a luxurious feeling. Deep colours and patterns add a bold look. “When it comes to the ideal material for a carpet, pure wool is the…

Now that there is a nip in the air, it’s time to turn around the decor and make the home as warm as possible. There’s something magical about the wintertime; so when prepping up the interiors, it makes all the more sense to keep comfort as key. Decorating spaces for winter means layering up says interior designer Priyanka Singh, founder and studio head at Chalk Studio. Here are five must-do winter decorating tips. 1. Priyanka Singh is the founder of Gurgaon-based interior design company, Chalk Studio www.chalkstudio.com A cosy bedding with layers of duvets, bedcovers, and throws along with a few cushions in warm tones enhance the warmth of the space like this one from Eris Home. Winter decor essentially comprises elements that add freshness, brightness and space, so start…

For Dikshu Kukreja, the draw towards architecture started early on. He often used to go for picnics to monuments with his parents as a young four year-old child and come back fascinated. That was perhaps when the seed was sown in his impressionable mind. When he eventually decided to pursue architecture and got through the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, his journey into the world of design, drawings, and masterplans took concrete shape. Always keen to have a unique kind of experience for further studies, he fondly remembers his time at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, US, and the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, US, as both gave him a perspective to look at things differently. Today, as managing principal architect of C P Kukreja…