Innholdsfortegnelse for 6 June 2022 i India Today

On May 18, in one of his last orders before retiring, Supreme Court Justice L. Nageswara Rao invoked a rarely used power vested in the apex court under Article 142 of the Constitution to set free A.G. Perarivalan, one of the seven people convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The presiding judge, part of a bench that included Justice B.R. Gavai, said the order had taken into consideration the fact that Perarivalan had spent 29 of his 32 jail years in solitary confinement —among them 16 as a death row convict until the court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment in 2014 (citing interminable delays on his mercy petition plea). The verdict has pointed to the failure of the governor of Tamil Nadu to do what is binding under…

Acurious dichotomy has developed in Madhya Pradesh after the Supreme Court’s May 18 judgment allowing seat reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the upcoming elections to panchayats and urban bodies. Cornering OBC votes is a prime concern for both the ruling BJP and the Congress—both sides, keen to portray themselves as the real champions of the backwards, have let loose a barrage of allegations and counterallegations, painting the other party as “anti-OBC”. The BJP is celebrating the verdict as a victory gained through its efforts, the Congress is calling it an abysmal defeat. On May 21, one OBC organisation felicitated Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, another called it a black day. The irony is that the verdict enables both to justify their charges. To make matters more confusing,…

FOR HOME AFFAIRS AND COOPERATION MINISTER Amit Shah, the three years of the BJP government’s second term have been a time for consolidation—of his position as the undisputed ‘number two’ in the government, of his reputation for getting things done. Even BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda doesn’t take significant decisions without having the master poll strategist’s perspective on it. Shah is also entrusted with the smooth shepherding of decisions born of ideologically important issues, like the abrogation of Article 370 and its political fallout, the passage in Parliament and the debate around the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, 2019. He was also instrumental in signing peace accords with insurgents in the Northeast. In May, he was made chairman of the standing committee of the restructured inter-state council, which has as…

ECONOMISTS TALK OF THE NEED for the four engines of the economy—private investment, public expenditure, consumption and exports—to be firing at full throttle to trigger rapid economic growth. The Covid pandemic saw a major slowdown in three of India’s four growth engines—consumption, private investment and exports. Only one engine—the massive doses of public expenditure injected by the Modi government—pulled the Indian economy back from the brink. In FY22, something phenomenal happened in Indian exports, which contribute 15-20 per cent of the demand in the Indian economy. The country’s merchandise exports, which were stuck at an average of $300 billion for over a decade and had declined during the peak of the Covid wave to $291 billion, started surging rapidly. By March 2022, exports had registered a 43 per cent growth,…

INDIA’S CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR is among the fastest growing in the world, with domestic traffic accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the total airline traffic in South Asia. But during the two years of the pandemic, airline operators reported losses of over Rs 19,500 crore and airports Rs 5,120 crore. With domestic traffic now returning to pre-Covid levels regular international flights resuming, the aviation sector is expected to bounce back. A stimulus package is in the works for the industry. Jyotiraditya Scindia, the minister for civil aviation, has convinced 22 states and UTs to drop VAT on ATF to 1-4 per cent. Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India will spend Rs 30,000 crore in the next 3-4 years to expand capacity of 42 brownfield airports and build three new…

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IN JULY 2021, when Ashwini Vaishnaw took over as the minister of electronics and information technology (MeitY), along with communications (his other portfolio is Railways, discussed elsewhere in this package), the brief from PM Narendra Modi was clear—streamline these sectors to create more jobs and build an ecosystem to make the most of domestic technologies and push local manufacturing. The first thing Vaishnaw did was to anchor big-ticket structural and procedural reforms in telecom in September 2021. He allowed mobile telephony companies to defer their AGR (adjusted gross revenue) and other statutory dues by another four years, giving them more breathing space and a fresh lease of life to the debt-ridden Vodafone-Idea. The ministry has also eased the process to share scarce airwaves, changed the definition of revenue on which…

THE SUDDEN, GATHERING storm of a pandemic, the gradual outbreak, its spikes and troughs, and the immediate health needs of millions in acute distress—the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has been constantly under the spotlight for the past two years. Most of the health resources of the ministry, too, were deployed to manage the pandemic. Nonetheless, amidst the turmoil, the ministry has successfully initiated a variety of other schemes in the past three years. Leading the ministry from 2021 is Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, a believer in ‘quick’ communication who has separate WhatsApp groups with state health ministers and senior ministry officials. Mandaviya was honoured by Unicef for contributing to women’s menstrual hygiene by using the chain of Jan Aushadhi Kendras to sell 100 million biodegradable sanitary…

THE MINISTRY of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (Ayush) was formed on November 9, 2014, with the vision to revive ancient Indian knowledge systems in medicine and healthcare and promote them among masses. During the pandemic, the ministry took several initiatives to popularise ancient Indian learnings as preventive healthcare methods for a healthy lifestyle. The government’s focus on the ministry is evident—budgetary allocation for it nearly tripled from Rs 685.21 crore in 2014 to Rs 1,939.76 crore in 2019. This year, allocation was increased to Rs 3,050 crore. The major success of the ministry has been integration of AYUSH Health & Wellness Centre (AHWC) with the government’s flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat. This will those following alternative medicinal treatment to get insurance benefits. Between 2017-18 and…

GRAM PANCHAYATS are the focal points for development activities. On this count, a concerted campaign—Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas—has laid the foundation for robust community participation involving panchayats and Self Help Groups (SHGs). Poverty has reduced significantly because of the focus on delivering the benefits of government schemes such as the Ujjwala Yojana, the PM Awas Yojana and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). Groups that were often left out of such programmes have been included and gram sabha validations have been conducted to ensure services reach disadvantaged groups. The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI)-SHG partnership has increased the pace of poverty reduction and the use of Aadhaar to validate the delivery of benefits has significantly reduced corruption. Further, Finance Commission transfers made directly to gram panchayats have led to…

THE YOUTH, OR THOSE AGED between 18 and 29, number 261 million, or 22 per cent of India’s population—larger than the population of Pakistan. The ministry of youth affairs and sports has a crucial role in guiding this demographic dividend to the country’s advantage. The ministry has prepared a new draft National Youth Policy (NYP), an upgrade of the 2014 edition. The draft envisages a 10-year vision for youth development. Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, it seeks to “unlock the potential of the youth to advance India” by catalysing action across five priority areas—education, employment & entrepreneurship, youth leadership & development, health, fitness & sports, and social justice. Sports is an integral part of any policy aimed at supporting the youth. Curren tly,…

Vinod Rai starts on the front foot. In his introduction, he writes, “I hope people will realise that cricket, which is known to be a gentleman’s game, needs to be administered by gentlemen, who do their bit with sincerity, objectivity and transparency. After having done their bit, they should move on with grace and dignity, giving space to a new breed of administrators who think like the new breed of cricketers.” This suggests unfettered aggression a la Virender Sehwag over the 200-odd pages of the book, but his ‘insider’s view’ of how the BCCI functions doesn’t quite live up to the early promise. Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, with a penchant for penning down his experiences in high office for posterity (his earlier book, Not Just an…

Reminiscing about travel memories has almost become a post-Covid imperative, especially for those of us accusotmed to living out of suitcases. But what was power for the course is no longer par for the course, at least where travel is concerned. One particular nostalgic moment takes me back to my experience of tea rooms in London, enjoying a second flush Assam, and thinking how I should actually be appreciating this 8,000 km away where it’s far fresher. LOVE AT FIRST FLUSH This is the magic of the North East that India has not explored. Imagine picking tea leaves alongside the local tea pluckers, experiencing first-hand how tea is processed at a tea factory and then proceeding to a tasting room with the tea master to appreciate, and understand what makes…

Sigmund Freud smoked twenty cigars a day. Mystery being the artifice of psychoanalysis, he would sit behind the patient, wreathed in fragrant clouds like a pagan god listening to mortal ramblings. Freud’s friend, the Austrian psychoanalyst Raymond De Saussure was so enchanted by the scent of the great mindbender’s cigars that he insisted “contact was established only by means of his voice and the odour of the cigars he ceaselessly smoked.” A popular game played by shrinks at sessions today is analysing shapes on cards. What would Freud have thought about the various forms and variations of cigars? For example, a perfecto, tapering on both sides with a bulge in the middle, somewhat like a squashed sopapilla? Or the weird but rare culebra—an eccentric extravagance made by braiding three 5-6…

Wall art need not be bound by a frame or placed on a pedestal, Asian Paints’ newly launched INK, a series of handcrafted wall coverings that’s all about Indian craftsmanship, proves it in more ways than one. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The story began four years ago, when Mumbai and Paris-based craft and fashion entrepreneur Maximiliano Modesti met Amit Syngle, MD and CEO, Asian Paints, where he asked the corporate giant to lend patronage to Indian craft. “Wallpapers in India should be block-printed, screen-printed or handpainted, but that is not the case. You can find such wallpapers in France, UK, and even in the US, but not here,” explains Modesti, adding, “I urged Amit to set up a manufacturing unit that will embrace all these crafts, educate artisans,…

Trend forecasting is a complex concept. A scene in the movie The Devil Wears Prada comes to mind. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) tells her assistant (Anne Hathaway) why the sweater she is wearing has a particular shade of blue known as cerulean. Cerulean, she explains, was first seen in a collection by Oscar de la Renta then adopted by a number of other influential designers before it “filtered down” to mass produce stores. Like fashion, home too sees trend predictions, where companies pay almost anything to get it right. The good news is that Asian Paints has turned it into an art. This year is no different. From the colour of the year, Transcendent Pink to the decor trends under Colour Next 2022—Hope You’re Well, Artify, Solo Commerce and We/Us—once…

In his early years of growing up in Washington, where his father was posted as a foreign correspondent, architecture was never in the plan of things for Gautam Bhatia. He went through a range of interests—medicine, anthropology, physics and sculpture—before the pull of buildings drew him in. A degree in fine arts and masters in architecture, combined together allowed him as much time in studios and galleries as in architects’ offices. It also ensured that he would seek the comfort of drawings, and models, bits of clay and wood to reassure himself that a creative process is on. Though he has done some large-scale projects such as the Devigarh Palace hotel in Udaipur, a campus for the Indian Council for Child Welfare in Delhi, a school for the blind, and…

Even as the world is getting used to the idea of learning to live with Covid, another virus seems to be doing the rounds outside of the continent it was first identified in—Africa. As on May 24, the World Health Organization had confirmed 92 cases of monkeypox in 12 countries where the virus has not been endemic (regularly found). A cousin of smallpox (both belong to the orthopoxvirus genus), the disease was first seen in research monkeys in 1958, hence the name monkeypox. It was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a nine-year-old boy in a region where smallpox had been eradicated in 1968. A viral zoonosis (transmitted to humans from animals), it has symptoms similar to smallpox, but is clinically less…

Just days ago, life was normal in the narrow lanes of Maisuma in Srinagar, around the home of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik. Shops were open, traffic normal. Nothing to suggest that, on May 19, Kashmir’s top separatist leader had been convicted by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Delhi on charges that could even bring a death sentence. On May 25, sentencing day, the NIA indeed argued for death, citing charges ranging from terrorism to fuelling secessionist activities. Charges that Yasin, as before, chose not to contest. “I will not beg for anything,” he said in court, leaving it to judicial wisdom. “I have worked with seven prime ministers.” If Indian intelligence could prove he had been associated with any violence for 28 years,…

NARENDRA MODI CROSSED a personal landmark on October 7, 2021. He completed an uninterrupted 20 years as head of democratically elected governments—12 and a half years as the chief minister of Gujarat and over seven years and running as the prime minister of India. By the time he wound up his tenure in Gujarat to move to New Delhi in 2014, in a spectacular capture of power and the popular imagination, he had already been its longest-serving chief minister. Now, he is the longest-serving non-Congress prime minister, having overtaken Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s record of six years. Other chief ministers, be it the late Jyoti Basu in West Bengal or Pawan Kumar Chamling in Sikkim, have served more than 20 years in their respective states, but none of them has had…

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER S. Jaishankar is quick on the uptake and likes to give as good as he gets. When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Indian diplomats of being arrogant at a conference in London, Jaishankar in a tweet retorted, “Yes, they counter the arguments of others. No, it’s not called Arrogance. It is called Confidence. And it is called defending National Interest.” Then, at a press conference in Washington D.C. where his American counterpart was present, asked why India was importing oil from Russia after it invaded Ukraine, Jaishankar pointed out, “You need to focus on Europe. Probably India’s purchase of oil for the month from Russia would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon.” Defending India’s national interests and advancing them while ensuring the global good…

WO YEARS OF THE pandemic perhaps exacted their heaviest toll on MSMEs (micro, small and medium scale enterprises), with several units reportedly shutting down, throwing millions out of jobs. India’s 63.5 million MSMEs account for 45 per cent of its manufacturing output, 40 per cent of exports and employ about 120 million. A majority of these units are still struggling due to high input costs and low demand. The Centre had as part of its May 2020 relief package announced an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs. It saw disbursals of over Rs 3 lakh crore till December 2021. But ECLGS was meant only for MSMEs that had already taken a loan, leaving others stranded. As many as 68 per cent of the MSMEs are in the services…

THE EDUCATION SECTOR was one of the worst hit by the pandemic. In a demographically young country like India, that meant tens of millions of young lives that revolved around education disrupted, as schools and colleges were shut for most part of the past two years. The effects—academic and psychological—are far-reaching. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2021 published by the NGO Pratham found that children’s foundational reading and arithmetic levels have dropped substantially between 2018 and 2021. While the pandemic accelerated adoption of digital technology for education, socio-economic disparity and poor infrastructure forced dropouts, widening the learning gap among students. This has made implementation of the Nat ional Education Policy, aimed at ushering in a radical overhaul of the education system, more challenging. In fact, the NEP, launched…

THE COUNTRY may have found a seat at the high table of leading economies, but it’s a sobering thought that less than 50 per cent of Indians have access to piped drinking water. To redress the grave situation, the Union ministry of Jal Shakti rolled out the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019. It has one objective: to deliver piped connections to every rural household by 2024. It’s a pet project of PM Narendra Modi. The ministry is led by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is smart, sharp and very accessible. The JJM has pushed tap water supply from 16 per cent to 49 per cent, and 33 per cent new homes receive water. While it exceeded targets for two years, it was not possible to reach the 49 million households…

CONCERN ABOUT PROTECTING THE environment is growing steadily, and major strides have been made in protecting forests and wildlife. But, in other areas, solemn rhetoric is often not mat ched with action. The ban in the use of single-use plastic is a stark case of failure in implementation. To set an example, the ministry, now led by Bhupender Yadav, last December organised an auction of e-waste to dispose of obsolete items like computers, printers, photocopiers. Its detailing of processes in dealing with haza rdous wastes, including that from hospitals, offers some hope. However, findings in the biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021 have been contested. While the report admits that area under ‘moderately dense forest’ has declined by 1,582 sq kms, other additions apparently suggest that the country’s…

France has always adored Raghu Rai. In 1971, the much-celebrated Henri Cartier-Bresson made it a point to visit Rai’s first solo show before Paris’s Galerie Delpire got crowded. He, obviously, liked what he saw. He invited Rai home for dinner, and all the while he was in Paris, Bresson sent his colleagues over to keep the young photographer fed and entertained. “He gave me a lot of bhav (importance),” laughs Rai. Upon returning to India, he found a telex message waiting for him. Bresson had asked him to join his renowned Magnum Photo agency. The confidence to say yes only came to Rai six years later. Over the years, French magazines have invited Rai to contribute. Galleries have hosted retrospectives. In 2009, he was conferred the Officier des Arts et…

Sanjay Kalyani bows towards the camera, then spins around and gesticulates. The merry band of musicians in front of him takes off. Shots of Daniel Craig in a high-speed car chase are spliced through this two-minute music video, as the 86-year-old Mumbai Police band renders the James Bond theme in all its instrumental glory. Clad in khaki, bandmaster Kalyani, 42, emphatically guides the band to a crescendo. With more than 62,000 YouTube views, Khaki Studio, the Mumbai Police band, has been delivering one viral hit after another; from anti-fascist Italian folk song ‘Bella Ciao’ to Kishore Kumar’s ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani’. “My favourite song?” Kalyani laughs at the question. “Every note of music gives me a good feeling. They are all my favourites.” The same can be said for his…

In the 11 days and 850 kilometres that we’ve spent on the road between Geneva and Ticino, we’ve done it all or so it seems. We’ve wound our way through mountain roads to the Alpine resort town of St. Moritz; clambered down into a subterranean cheese grotto in Gstaad; gaped at Chinese tourists walking out of Interlaken’s high-end watch and fashion boutiques with shopping bags in tow; chugged our way up to the highest train station in the world at Jungfraujoch; relaxed in a hot-water pool which draws water from a natural geyser in a luxury resort in Bad Ragaz; gorged on fondue in Lucerne; shopped in Zurich; befriended a cat on a meadow in St. Gallen; had a veritable feast a stone’s throw from the summit of the highest…

With its heart in India and an eye on the world, Zoya, the exquisite diamond boutique from the House of Tata, opened its doors to luxury connoisseurs in Gurugram’s Ambience Mall. Famed for its traditional karigari, distinguished design and an exemplary addition of modern technology, Zoya is housed in a space with inviting, contemporary façade, soft interiors in delicate shades of skin, white and blush, rich panelled walls with gilded accents and rose-gold rimmed mirrors fit enough for a queen to walk in. The atelier’s attention to detail is an ode to timeless luxury, expressed in its meaningful pieces of wearable art and in its warm and personalised service. At Zoya, the focus has been to redefine jewellery for the Indian market by creating rare pieces of wearable art that…

If beauty is subjective so is the passion and preference with which you tackle your tipple. More so when it comes to whisky since the bridge between the purists and the adventurous is a fairly broad chasm. Popularly referred to as ‘water of life’, whisky has a long and exciting backstory. Malt whisky was first called ‘Pure malt’, then ‘Straight malt’ and eventually, the term ‘Single malt’ was coined. Like its name, over the years, the way we drink and enjoy our dram has evolved too. Perception, personalisation and purchasing Accelerated by the need to spend valuable time with friends and family, purchase decisions are now being influenced by how individu.als perceive themselves and how they want to personalise an experience for their kith and kin. Regardless of pre-existing social…

ABEER HUSAIN, 27 AND SHANVI RASTOGI, 26 Co-Founders Objects in Space, Noida www.oisobjects.com NIFT, New Delhi graduates, Abeer Husain and Shanvi Rastogi are the force behind Objects in Space. The studio founded in 2018 believes that finding that mid ground is essential to enhance consumer experience. Material World They use various materials such as marble, wood, terracotta, concrete and metal. “We let the character of material drive the aesthetic and appeal of the collection,” says Husain. Retail Therapy The studio retails side tables, coffee tables, shelves, planters, mirrors, sculptures, lights and accessories. Latest Range “Our latest collection, Anatomy, is an extension of the human body. Furniture is usually considered a part of the decorative arts but the blurring line between the disciplines of art and design opens furniture to the…

SUMMER 2020. AS THE COUNTRY nervously regarded the steady ingress of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sudden Chinese aggression on the arid and cold high-altitude plateau of Ladakh dealt a twin blow to the Indian military. A different two-front threat confronted them: not Pakistan and China, for which they had been preparing, but Covid and China. At a time when the military had to chip in with logistics to fight the pandemic, the Chinese stealthily struck at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), inching forward on Indian held territory. With a steady build-up of troops, armour and heavy equipment on the Chinese side, the Indian war machinery swung into action—jumbo C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) made quick sorties to Ladakh from its base in Hindon near Delhi,…

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI’S CHOICE of Ashwini Vaishnaw as the railways, telecom and IT minister in July last year surprised many. Always a backroom player in the PM’s team, Vaishnaw was brought to the fore to streamline reforms in these crucial ministries. The soft-spoken Vaishnaw is a former bureaucrat of the Odisha cadre who quit to pursue a management course at Wharton and later worked with GE and Siemens before launching his own venture in 2014. In the railways, Vaishnaw is using his skills to smoothen ties between warring unions and the railways administration, augment capacities to manufacture the locomotives, coaches and other rolling stock; develop indigenous signal networks and infrastructure along with building the infrastructure to take the railways to newer corners of the country. At the railways ministry,…

INDIA HAS A MERCHANT MARINE FLEET of 1,493 vessels, with a combined gross tonnage of approximately 13 million. To put it in context, nearly 95 per cent of India’s overseas trade by volume is carried through the country’s ports. But despite such high volumes, India is still not a big player in maritime shipping. The UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport, 2021, says India accounts for just 11 per cent of the total global dead weight tonnage. The smaller share of Indian shipping is mostly due to the higher tax regime/ duties levied on Indian ships and, with regard to competitiveness, the age profile of the merchant shipping fleet (most vessels are around 20 years vintage). To counter these challenges, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led ministry provides help under the Financial Assistance Policy…

IT HAS BEEN LESS THAN A YEAR since former bureaucrat Hardeep Singh Puri got additional charge of the crucial petroleum ministry, and it has not been an easy time. With the government’s thrust on Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Puri had to keep the ministry’s focus sharply on reducing the country’s dependence on imported crude oil by augmenting domestic production. India imports nearly 84 per cent of its crude oil requirement—212.2 million tonnes in 2021-22—spending Rs 9.28 lakh crore in the process, twice the amount it spent in 2020-21. Attracting private investments in the exploration and production of oil and gas remains a challenge. Round 6 of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid last year attracted only three bids. Eighteen of the 21 blocks went to the public sector ONGC, Oil India…

LONG BEFORE ECONOMIC prosperity, India had invested in space technology and atomic research—steps that have now made it a giant in these fields. Now, realising it as a key element of economic growth, great strides are being made in research in other areas of science too. India is one of the top five nations in space exploration. Gaganyaan, the Indian human spaceflight programme, an ambitious and difficult mission, is on track. The human space programme is a major milestone for India. The challenge here, as with India’s space programme through the decades, is technology, for India has had to develop them largely on its own. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) alone cannot create a larger space ecosystem. So, around 50 entrepreneurial ventures have stepped up to build and launch…

A MAJOR WORRY FOR the Piyush Goyal-led ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution this year is the inability to procure its targeted 43.5 million tonnes of wheat for its buffer stock. As a result of the early summer this year and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—both countries are major exporters of wheat—there has been a huge spike in demand and prices, with India forced to ban exports in an attempt to cool prices. India began this fiscal year with 19 MT of wheat stocks, and purchased another 18.5 MT. Leaving aside the 7.5 MT required for emergency reserves, that leaves the Centre with about 30 MT of wheat to supply to the states to fulfil their beneficiary commitments. India requires about 26 MT of wheat annually to meet its…

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED, it’s often said. In India, courts, crippled by shortage of manpower and poor infrastructure, often move at a snail’s pace. More than 41 million cases are pending in lower courts, of which 76 per cent have been pending for over a year. Of the nearly six million cases pending in high courts, 85 per cent are older than a year. Not surprising, when judges have to function in abysmal conditions—only 27 per cent court rooms have computers placed on judge’s dais for video conferencing; 26 per cent of court complexes do not have separate toilets for women and only 32 per cent of court rooms have separate record rooms. Led by the energetic and young Kiren Rijiju, the law ministry has taken initiatives to reduce…

SPEAKING AT THE POSHAN 2.0 meet late last year in Gujarat’s Kevadia, Smriti Irani, the minister for women and child development, said, “The responsibility of a well-nurtured India must be shared.” The national conference saw the beginning of an initiative to reduce malnutrition—the first Child and Women Empowerment Forest, a patch of 151 nutrition-rich trees that would be the model for more such plantations across the country. Irani’s push for such initiatives couldn’t have been more well-timed, with the latest World Bank report indicating that India suffered a decline of 4 per cent in GDP due to malnutrition. “Since 2018, even in the midst of the Covid epidemic, a mass movement is going on against malnutrition by carrying out about 16 crore activities with public cooperation,” Irani said. Indeed, her…

TOURISM IN 2020, THE INDIAN TOURISM SECTOR accounted for 39 million jobs, or 8 per cent of the total employment in the country. This was despite the devastating impact of Covid-19. The pandemic curtailed the movement of domestic tourists by nearly 70 per cent and foreign tourist arrivals fell by 91 per cent. In 2019, travel and tourism had contributed nearly 7 per cent to India’s GDP. Foreign exchange earnings from 2016 to 2019 grew at a CAGR of 7 per cent. But Covid-19 brought the tourism and hospitality industry to a standstill. While the stimulus package to revive the Covid-hit economy covered tourism and hospitality, the tourism ministry also took several specific steps—from loan guarantee to formulating operational guidelines—to facilitate the revival of tourism. The ministry has also been…

THERE ARE SIX communities in the care of the ministry of mino rity affairs—Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi. Tasked with their socio-economic uplift, it’s the nodal ministry for the implementation of the PM’s 15-point programme for minority welfare. The programme aims to achieve four broad objectives: enhancing opportunities for education, ensuring an equitable share in economic activities/employment, improving living conditions and preventing communal disharmony and violence. In addition, the ministry implements the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram, which aims to enhance social infrastructure in identified minority concentration areas. The ministry’s budget has seen an increase of 60 per cent, from Rs 3,130 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 5,020 crore in 2022-23. Critics say the allocation—0.15 per cent of the total budget for a ministry taking care of 19…

In the past two decades, a sense of saturation with Mumbai locales has made Bollywood cast its net northwards, first to Delhi and then to the rest of North India. While running the geographical gamut from Rajasthan (Gulaal, Shuddh Desi Romance) as far east as Dhanbad (Gangs of Wasseypur), after Punjab, Bombaybased productions return most frequently to the Hindi-speaking towns of Uttar Pradesh: Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Bareilly, Mathura, Banaras. The films tend to fall into one of two broad categories: the ‘gritty’ politics-and-crime drama and the familial comedy that mines North Indian social and sexual dysfunction for humour. Starting as early as Haasil (2003) or Bunty Aur Babli (2006), they have undoubtedly helped bring a specificity of place and language into mainstream Hindi cinema, whose settings had historically been deliberately…

It doesn’t take a genius to figure why the snow-capped mountains and ski slopes of Switzerland manifest as travel fantasies for most, if not all. But the next couple of pages will make you realise why so many geniuses chose to call this painting-come-to-life country home. From philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau to comedy king Charlie Chaplin to Freddie Mercury, Albert Einstein and even Friedrich Nietzsche. Even Mary Shelley wasn’t immune to the charms of this poetic landscape and was inspired enough to write Frankenstein here. Charlie Chaplin Vevey He was perhaps the world’s favourite tramp. Charlie Chaplin. Yes, I was looking for the tramp in Vevey where the iconic actor lived for 25 years (1952-1977) after being ousted from the United States. The bus stop by the 14-hectare white house called…

Famed mathematician Pythagoras said: “A thought is an idea in transit.” With the rehaul and reimagining of transit lounges at major international airports, it almost seems that aviation experts were inspired by the Greek genius. “Today, international airports have evolved tremendously from say a decade ago”, says Sanjeev Mehta, frequent flyer and Mumbai-based aviation commentator, “transit airports are now lifestyle spaces. And airlines are evolving their offering to cater to this trend.” Given the large number of Indian travellers that fly long haul, it’s no surprise that the major global transit hubs are stepping up their game. Traditional transit hubs like London, Zurich, Singapore and Hong Kong are upgrading their existing offering while the more recent transit airports like Dubai and Doha are going all out to woo the luxury…

Paris may be the city of love, but all euphoric sentiment deserves a celebratory toast. Here is where the city of lights scores with some incredible hotspots for fine tippling and indulging. The pandemic changed a lot and while many establishments may have been forced to down shutters permanently, the lights have not dimmed for the hedonistic of habit. New watering holes have livened up the bar scene and imbued a rush of fresh options; even some old classics have undergone a serious makeover to welcome an exciting postpandemic avatar. Here are some of our top hits that you must not miss on your visit to the erstwhile city of Lutetia. Le Tout-Paris at the hotel Cheval Blanc The bar at Le Tout-Paris on the top floor of the prestigious…

TRIED AND TESTED A CLEAN SWEEP If the pandemic taught us anything it was that, we need gadgets to make our lives smarter and easier. And we found just the device—the iRobot® Roomba® i3+ robot vacuum cleaner. The only thing difficult about the device is the time it takes to unpack, rest is fairly simple. You need to charge it for three hours in the beginning and rest of the time the machine will dock automatically to charge. It has a three-stage cleaning system and uses dual multi-surface rubber brushes to ensure proper cleaning. It also has Dirt Detect technology that recognises and removes dirt from high-traffic spots at home. My personal favourite is the automatic dirt disposal function. It can empty up to 60 days worth of contents into…

Even though each artwork on the wall narrates an entirely different story, the most enthralling part of the setup is the conversation woven together by the yellow, red and blue hues. The design story starts with Harmony in Red Console, showcasing spellbinding artwork by Henri Matisse. The look draws inspiration from the painting’s deep hues and bold style. The busy and colourful carpet forms the first layer of the look. This inspiring medley then starts taking shape as the contemporary furniture pieces engender a refined silhouette. A centre table with a diaphanous aesthetic enhances functionality without stealing the spotlight from the hero piece, the cabinet. The vibrant ensemble is complemented by rich brass accessories and black accents à la sophistication. When you’re stuck somewhere, use black. And you will find…

Cobbled streets, a quaint charm and a warehouse meets hipster aesthetic, Delhi’s Dhan Mill Compound has been the creative elite’s favourite haunt for quite a while now. Tucked away in one of the many alleyways is a new home store that complements its location in more ways than one. Called ISQ, spread over 1,600 sq ft, what it lacks in extra square footage it makes up for in the quantum and quality of wares it offers. Rows of attractive ceramic pieces, furniture, accessories, barware, furnishings, lighting and more are on display here. The nomenclature of the store (isq is the Persian word for love), hints at another bestkept secret—the co-founders Anuradha Jain and Ambereen Gupta’s love for bespoke and beautiful interiors. Jain comes with 25 years of experience in interiors,…