Innholdsfortegnelse for May 6, 2024 i India Today

As his primary calling card, people usually talk of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in personality terms. Aspects like charisma take precedence over all else. But governance produces its own kind of personality, forming the true measure of a leader. While elections may be won or lost on emotions and perceptions, there is a decisive underlying factor. Which is, as Bill Clinton once bluntly put it, “It’s the economy, stupid.” In February, the INDIA TODAY biannual Mood of the Nation (MOTN) poll found unemployment and inflation to be the two issues that concerned India’s public the most, besides economic growth. As voting gets under way for the seven-phase general election, much of the political discourse centres around both these livelihood issues. This is reflected not just in the speeches of leaders…

Beginning in the 1950s, and especially over the past four decades, the Owaisis and their All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have run an unchallenged political monopoly in Hyderabad. While not losing the Lok Sabha constituency even once since 1984, the party has also done well in the assembly. Even in the November-December 2023 state polls, it won seven seats, largely in the Muslim quarters of the Old City. One of these, Nampally, in fact, falls outside the LS constituency. But this thumbnail sketch, implying total area domination, also conceals a few truths. The key nuance is that since 2014, the AIMIM vote share in its traditional stronghold has come down in the Telangana assembly election. In fact, in the latest iteration, the party came close to losing two of its…

As very much the native girl who grew up in her family haveli in Bhambla town, Kangana Ranaut doesn’t have to try hard to switch on the Mandiyali dialect. Donning native attire, traipsing it up to Himachal’s temples, doing the nati dance with local women…all that comes naturally to the dimpled star with a rapier-like tongue. Getting a bit of star power into politics is an old game. But then, the BJP may have got too much of a good thing happening with its celeb candidate from Mandi—with Kangana, stardom and power get along like a house on fire. It was to be expected that the B’wood A-lister would grab eyeballs among the public and in the media. But it’s making life difficult for her poll managers. Partymen want the…

With a rich historical legacy of renowned institutions, South India has long been synonymous with academic excellence. Its vibrant metropolises boast a plethora of esteemed universities and research centres, premier medical institutions dot the region, nurturing talent across diverse fields. Moreover, the emergence of technology parks and start-up incubators has catalysed innovation and entrepreneurship, transforming the academic landscape. South India is also witnessing a surge in educational opportunities in emerging fields such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and renewable energy. The higher education institutions of South India are not only contributing to the intellectual capital of the region but the entire country. South India pre-eminence as a hub of higher education is a testament to its commitment to academic excellence, research prowess, and fostering an environment conducive to innovation and learning.…

THE POLICY PARALYSIS IN THE FINAL TWO YEARS of the UPA-II government led to the flight of both capital and investments. Perhaps why the NDA’s narrative of higher growth, more investment and more jobs—achhe din, in short—resonated with the electorate and propelled Narendra Modi to power in 2014. But despite the reforms push to get private investment going and lowering corporate taxes, growth remained moderate in the initial years of the Modi regime. The Covid-19 pandemic was a further setback in its second term, with the GDP plunging to negative territory—right down to −23.9 per cent in the first quarter of FY21, and −5.83 per cent for the year. The clawback from that economic abyss was slow, with consumer-contact service industries like travel, retail, hospitality and tourism the last to revive.…

In a world often driven by self-interest, Pramod Raghav stands out as a beacon of integrity and compassion. His noble efforts are inspired by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi. With a keen business acumen and a deep sense of empathy, he embodies the vision for a progressive and inclusive India. As the founder of Niswarth Kadam, Pramod spearheads a mission closely aligned with the cultural values and unity represented by the Ram Temple, under the guidance of our Prime Minister. Driven by a strong sense of empathy and a desire to help others, he started Niswarth Kadam to uplift those in need. Having witnessed the challenges faced by marginalized communities, Pramod committed himself to enhancing the welfare of every citizen. Over time, his ambition expanded to include…

FOR A GOVERNMENT THAT HAD no luck with its disinvestment plans, two events changed the unhappy course towards more positive tidings. In October 2021, the Tata Group made a winning bid to acquire Air India, offering Rs 18,000 crore as the enterprise value for the airline. In May 2022, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) came forward with its Rs 21,000 crore initial public offering (IPO), the largest to date on the Indian bourses. The Tatas acquired Rs 15,300 crore of Air India’s debt and will pay the remaining Rs 2,700 crore in cash to the government. The deal fructified at a time most economies had opened up after a debilitating pandemic. Air India had accumulated losses of Rs 70,820 crore as of March 31, 2020. Its debt stood…

DURING THE UPA YEARS, the share of manufacturing as a percentage of GDP was around 16 per cent on average despite efforts such as the New Manufacturing Policy. From 2014-22, this figure has hovered around the 14 per cent mark, as per World Bank estimates. In 2023, the contribution from manufacturing, which employs 27.3 million workers, was 17 per cent, according to Union minister for petroleum, housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, which the government plans to increase to 25 per cent by 2025, through measures such as the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme. First announced in 2020 targeting 14 key sectors, the PLI scheme, with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore, aimed to create manufacturing champions, six million new jobs and added production worth Rs 30 lakh…

IN 2014, WHEN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI took over, one of his first big-ticket announcements was increasing the country’s solar energy capacity to 100 GW and overall renewable-based energy to 175 GW in a decade. It’s 2024 now, and a Central Electricity Authority (CEA) report says installed solar capacity is now about 74 GW (up from 2.6 GW in 2014), while for renewable energy as a whole, it’s 191 GW (76 GW in 2014). “India is now the fastest growing nation in adding renewable energy,” says Union power minister R.K. Singh, adding that the country has fulfilled its global commitments of getting 40 per cent of its installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels. Needless to say, efforts to push green energy have also had an impact on reducing the country’s dependence…

WHEN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI ANNOUNCED IN A LATE evening telecast on November 8, 2016, that all currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would be scrapped from that midnight onwards, it caught the entire country unawares. The action put 86 per cent of the total currency in circulation out of use. The three broad objectives, claimed the government, were to fight black money, corruption and terror, and added the digitisation of economy as a goal later on. The World Bank had estimated the size of India’s shadow economy at 23 per cent in 2007, lending credence to the need to hunt black money. Apart from the inconvenience it caused to the common man, the move led to widespread economic disruption. To be fair, digitisation of the economy did…

THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008 SAW SEVERAL COUNTRIES resort to fiscal stimulus to bolster their economies. India was no exception. However, the massive capital infusion led to profligacy and a subsequent bad loan pile-up, triggering the ‘twin balance sheet problem’—where corporates overleveraged themselves to the point of being unable to repay loans, and banks came under severe stress due to mounting non-performing assets (NPAs). From around Rs 60,000 crore in March 2010, NPAs saw an over threefold surge to Rs 2 lakh crore by March 2014, just before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power at the Centre. By March 2018, they had further escalated to a staggering Rs 10.2 lakh crore, with public sector banks (PSBs) accounting for a whopping 80 per cent. This enfeebled the banks, hampering their…

PRESENTING THE INTERIM BUDGET FOR 2024-25 ON FEBRUARY 1, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reeled out some big numbers to highlight the impact of the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) launched in 2015—14 million youths skilled, another 5.4 million upskilled and reskilled, and the establishment of 3,000 new Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), the backbone of vocational training in the country. In a rapidly ageing world, India’s demographic dividend is considered to be a boon for its ambitious growth targets. But without the right skills and jobs, India’s advantage of having 65 per cent of its population under the age of 35 years could easily slip away. So, under the NSDM, skill training is being provided to the youth through various schemes. Among them is the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)—a…

“I think some of the best things in life happen by accident,” says celebrated couturier Tarun Tahiliani. Over the past three decades of his illustrious run, he has scripted several milestones—each of which can be credited for reinforcing the ‘India Modern’ aesthetic much before it became a buzzword. Tahiliani’s design language has always been rooted in Indian craft. So it’s hardly surprising that one of his works—a Pichwai called ‘The Shikargah’—that was earlier showcased at the India Art Fair 2024 will now be part of the Homo Faber exhibition in Venice in September during the biennale season. Tahiliani admits to having drifted to embroideries over time but he continues to be excited about the || possibilities of everyday wear ‘The Shikargah’ is akin to the mythical Garden of Eden, as…

Q. What inspired you to write this book? I felt there is a big need for the youth to get guidance on how to live their life. We live in a world filled with distractions and entertainment, and it is very easy to lose focus. I felt another romance novel will be entertaining for sure but may not give what is truly needed for the younger generation of India. At the same time, I wanted to write a self-help book that is also fun and entertaining. Q. Why do we need these rules? We often live suboptimal lives. Neither are we able to reach our potential in fitness, nor in our career. This happens because we don’t have a directed way of living our life. These 11 rules, if followed, can…

Scarlet Fever With a ruby red bottle, this luxurious perfume already grabs eyeballs; one spritz and the heady concentration of fragrance oils reveals the decadent scent. Part and parcel of Bath & Body Works newest fragrance collection “Luminous”, it is a radiant sensory awakening that is even dermatologist-tested. Indulge! Price ₹6,499 (100 ml); Availability Brand Stores We Found Love Rihanna’s beloved beauty brand—Fenty Beauty—finally finds its way to Nykaa, and Indian shores. Carefully curated, it offers a line-up of Fenty Beauty’s best, including the iconic Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation. It doesn’t get much better than this. Price ₹4, 000; Nykaa.com Skin First As clean beauty goes, SKIN1004 is the coolest Korean skincare brand to launch in India. The Madagascar Centella Ampoule is a soothing ampoule that calms and…

Wade Warren works as a product manager for a financial technology company. He is 28 years old, bearded, bespectacled and lives in a small apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Every evening he puts on a special pair of goggles designed to block the short-wavelength, high-energy blue light that is emitted by his smartphone and laptop screens and, in so doing, he enhances his ability to fall asleep later. He sleeps on a £2,300 temperature-controlled mattress, which helps keep his core cool, which in turn stimulates melatonin and thus ensures a better night’s rest. When he wakes, he will flick on the large 800W floodlight he keeps in a corner. By doing this, Warren suppresses his melatonin production and signals to his body that it is time to be awake. It…

In a city overrun with new restaurant openings, Zarf differentiates itself by paying homage to undivided India but with playful twists. First come the papads with many chutneys, including one made from hemp. New ingredients like asparagus and edamame make their way into the kebabs but are used with restraint so that even corporate diners who want no-fuss Indian food will be satisfied. Chef de Cuisine Hardeep Singh exudes quiet confidence as he describes how he makes his fresh garam masala that elevates many dishes. The female wait staff too strike the perfect balance between Indian-style hospitality and Western-style knowledge about ingredients and soft recommendations. The dishes have familiar tastes allowing you to either appreciate or forget the new ingredients used. For example, Zarf’s murgh malai tikka is marinated in…

With a ceramic bezel, a blue lacquer dial bearing the name ‘Deepsea’ in powdered yellow and a luminescent display, this legendary diver’s watch is a standout in both form and function. The Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea comes in 18 carat yellow gold and pretty much defines the gold standard with this watch. The 60-minute graduated, unidirectional rotatable bezel of the Rolex Deepsea enables divers to precisely and safely monitor their dive and decompression time. What’s more, the triangular ‘zero’ marker of the graduation is visible in the dark thanks to an embedded capsule containing a luminescent material emitting a long-lasting blue glow. The graduation on the bezel is coated via PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) with a thin layer of yellow gold. The blues found in the compression ring, dial and…

TWO DAYS BEFORE AMIT SHAH FILED HIS NOMINATION PAPERS FROM GANDHINAGAR—a seat the Union home minister first won in 2019, with a margin of 557,000-plus votes—he visited 30 voters for whom he is the designated panna pramukh. A panna is a page in the electoral rolls, each assigned a pramukh, or in-charge, by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to mobilise support. “Twenty-seven confirmed that they will vote for [Prime Minister Narendra] Modiji before 10.30 am on polling day. I’ve requested the remaining three, who plan to travel, to reschedule their vacation,” says Shah, settling down for a Gujarati meal, wife Sonal by his side, at the house of a close associate, amid campaigning the following day. Earlier that day, on April 18, riding a makeshift chariot atop a mini truck,…

Lest someone thinks Tihar is letting Hemant Soren live life hi-fi (complete with WiFi), the former Jharkhand CM’s tagline on X now carries a disclaimer: “Account managed by wife Kalpana Murmu Soren.” But of course, anyone who’s been keeping an eye on the news knows Kalpana’s role now transcends mere social media management; it’s been taking on a shape and scale all its own. The INDIA bloc’s ‘Ulgulan Nyay rally’ that she fronted in Ranchi on April 21 reinstilled the sense that the name ‘Kalpana Soren’ now carves out a small but distinctive niche nationally. She had already attained a degree of visibility at INDIA’s Ramlila Ground rally on March 31, called to protest Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. She formed a natural sorority with the Delhi CM’s wife Sunita—her commiserations to…

IT IS BY NOW CLEAR THAT, AMONG LARGE ECONOMIES, India is the lone bright spot. However, many economists believe the country’s recovery post-Covid is K-shaped—where growth in the demand of premium goods, driven by higher spending by the affluent segment of society, far outstrips the demand for the mass market goods. The government rejects this view, as do some experts. This dichotomy is evident in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures growth rates of various industrial sectors. It has increased from 3.3 per cent in FY14 to 5.9 per cent in FY24 (till Jan.), primarily driven by growth in infrastructure, steel and cement spurred by government spending. However, consumer-led industries such as consumer durables and non-durables (food, apparel, groceries etc.) are seeing low or even negative growth. Premium product…

THE PROMISE OF ONE CRORE JOBS TO THE country’s youth had been a main plank of the Narendra Modiled BJP in the run-up to the 2014 election. On the eve of a third bid at power, the prime minister is claiming that the unemployment rate in the country is at its lowest in the past six years. On the surface, the unemployment rate, which measures the percentage of unemployed individuals over age 15 in the labour force, has declined from 6 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.2 per cent in 2022-2023, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). However, as labour economist K.R. Shyam Sundar, adjunct professor at MDI Gurgaon, points out, “Ground realities suggest an increase in poor quality of jobs—self-employed labour, contract workers, fixed employment workers.” Thus,…

A CATCHY PHRASE THAT HAD RESONATED WITH THE ELECTORATE when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014 was “minimum government and maximum governance”. It was widely expected at the time that the government would cede control of some key public sector assets through outright sale of equity, or bring in more private participation into the operation and management of such assets and enterprises to make them more productive and profitable. But there was precious little the government achieved in its first term, spending much of its energies on welfare schemes for the rural poor to counter the Opposition jibe of being a ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’. In August 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the National Monetisation Pipeline, which would allow the private sector to operate key infrastructure projects for 15-30…

WITH THE POST-COVID RECOVERY IN FULL SWING, MAINTAINING THE country’s fiscal balance is a must. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was justly applauded for not hitting the panic button or taking drastic fiscal management measures during the pandemic, even though it pushed up the fiscal deficit—the difference between government revenue and expense as a percentage of the GDP that also indicates the level of borrowings by the government—to its highest point in a decade. It was 9.3 per cent in FY 2021, 6.71 per cent in FY 2022 and 6.4 per cent in FY 2023—much higher than the previous decade’s range of 4-4.5 per cent. To aid an ailing economy, the temptation was great to resort to higher fiscal imbalance by monetising Illustration by RAJ VERMA the growing fiscal deficit through,…

YEAR-LONG PROTESTS BY SOME FARM UNIONS HAD PUT PAID to big-ticket reforms in the agriculture sector in November 2021, forcing their withdrawal. With that, the plans to open up corporate investments in the farming sector also went out the door. The Centre has now moved on to strengthening the network of cooperatives and FPOs (farmer producer organisations) across the country to build an agri-centric ecosystem. But this will take time to find its feet. Meanwhile, the numbers are worrying: some 42 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture to make ends meet, the sector contributes about 17 per cent to the GDP annually, while annual growth averages out at a measly 4 per cent. The ministry of agriculture was allocated Rs 1.26 lakh crore in 2022-23, almost five…

THE IRELAND-BASED FIRM RESEARCH AND MARKETS recently predicted that India’s warehouse market size would grow at around 15.6 per cent to reach $35 billion by the end of FY27, from around $14.6 billion in FY21. This is on top of the 17 per cent annual growth between FY16 and FY21. It was the time when the Centre started implementing a major indirect tax reform, Goods &Services Tax, in June 2017 that removed tax barriers and encouraged logistics firms to lease or set up larger warehouses. In one of the biggest reforms in the indirect ecosystem, the new tax replaced the 17 taxes levied by the Centre and states, including excise duty, service tax, value-added tax (VAT), and others. It brought uniformity in the tax structure across India, eliminating the cascading effect…

EXPORTS HAVE LONG BEEN INDIA’S ACHILLES’ HEEL. The Modi government’s hope that its policies of the past few years—be it Aatmanirbhar Bharat or the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for chosen sectors—would boost exports has been marred by the continuing unrest in eastern Europe and West Asia, disruptions in the Red Sea and the slow recovery of global markets. If exports of goods and services accounted for 25 per cent of the GDP in 2013, they stood at 22.8 per cent in 2022, per World Bank data. According to commerce ministry numbers, India’s overall exports (merchandise and services) in FY24 are estimated to be $777 billion, a tiny sliver of growth of 0.04 per cent from the year before. India’s share in global exports was 1.8 per cent in 2023, according…

Q. It has been 10 years of Modinomics. What would you say have been the four main pillars of the Modi government’s policies that have seen the economy not just recover after the pandemic but do so with a robust growth of 7.6 per cent? The four things that readily come to my mind are: the effort taken to remove that wrong perception about India that you’re capable of nothing, that you can’t really come up, that you’re corrupt, that your red-tapism will be permanent…. Second, ensuring that policies were in tandem with people and their requirements—not so radical that they get rejected, but taking India up the ladder, stable policies that would attract people towards our country, give our own citizens that confidence that governments can deliver and deliver not…

If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, you’ll remember the passage from ‘The Greek Interpreter’ where Sherlock describes his elder brother Mycroft—supposedly, a greater deductive mind. But the man had “no ambition and no energy” to follow up on the leads his great mind opened up. This Sherlock/Mycroft distinction is also, in a way, the difference between detective and police work. The latter is a considerably larger skill-set that goes beyond the cold precision of ‘pure’ deductive reasoning. Anita Nair’s Inspector Gowda is a great ex-ample of this distinction and also of character growth within a series. Ever since we first met him in Cut Like Wound (2012), he has been a talented investigator—but by the end of the third book, Hot Stage, we realise that he has become much more.…

IMAGINE A SCENARIO WHERE EVERY EVENING, YOU DON A special pair of glasses designed to block high-energy blue light emitted by your smartphone and laptop screens to enhance the quality and quantity of your sleep. Then proceed to sleep on a temperature-controlled mattress to keep your core cool to stimulate melatonin, ensuring a better night’s rest. If you think this reads like the diary entries of a committed insomniac, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Better still, wake up to a 800W floodlight that suppresses melatonin production and signals to the body that it’s time to awake. Ostensibly, this also improves the gut microbiome. This is Wellness 2.0 — “a rationalist alternative” offered by wellbeing professionals who insist that their advice is founded “on research and data”.…

Sleep Tracking sleep patterns to reset through therapies such as yoga Nidra, holistic massages, night-time soporific drinks etc. Natural healing therapies Remove energy blocks, improve body alignment, and achieve emotional release through reflexology, acupuncture, Raag therapy and more. Women’s Wellness Programmes Vana has launched one of the most comprehensive wellness programmes curated especially for women. Menowell, a menopausal wellness programme—a first of its kind in India—is tailored to women above the age of 35 and focusses on hormone balance, fostering physical and emotional wellbeing, and lifestyle education, promoting holistic wellness. Ayurvedic Post Natal Care is created specifically for women 12 months postpartum, addressing stress reduction to improved digestive health and overall well-being. Yogic Detox is devised exclusively for women over 35 to foster self-awareness, inner harmony, and mental clarity through…

The dour-faced Pinarayi Vijayan is often accused of being from the tribe of demagogues of whom it is said that they ‘speak softly but carry a big stick’. So he could use a loudspeaker or two. But the sound systems in Kerala seem to be revolting against the chief minister. Whenever he addresses the public or the media, the mics fail—the gremlins have struck so often that it’s become an internet meme by now. Microphones started protesting against Pinarayi in July 2023 when he was speaking at a function to commemorate the late Congress leader Oommen Chandy—as they started howling like wolves, he had to discontinue his speech! An overzealous police even registered a case of suspected sabotage against the microphone operator—Pinarayi intervened to get him off the hook. The…

Gujarat knows how to do its business in a business-like fashion. On April 22, when we hadn’t even reached the second round of the Big Bout of 2024, the BJP was already 1-0 up in the next Lok Sabha! This happened when party candidate Mukesh Dalal won Surat by technical knockout, getting elected unopposed after the Congress’s Nilesh Kumbhani was disqualified, apparently for ‘forged signatures’ on his nomination papers. A substitute party candidate suffered from the same infirmity. That was not all. The deed was fully accomplished only when, in a synchronised beating the retreat, all the other eight candidates withdrew their nominations on the last day. Meanwhile, even before the Congress could scream “match-fixing” and “traitor”, Kumbhani had gone incommunicado, and is reportedly vacationing in Goa with family even…

“THE ADVANTAGE OF DOING ONE’S PRAISING FOR ONESELF IS THAT ONE CAN LAY IT ON SO THICK AND EXACTLY IN THE RIGHT PLACES,’ wrote Samuel Butler in his novel, The Way of All Flesh. While tabling a White Paper in Parliament this February, which compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic agenda over the past decade with that during Manmohan Singh’s tenure, Union minister for finance Nirmala Sitharaman said, “From the Fragile Five (under Manmohan Singh), we moved to the League of Top Five in just above a decade.” It is true that the Indian economy has moved from being the tenth largest in the world when Narendra Modi took over from Manmohan Singh in 2014 to now being the fifth largest with a GDP of $3.7 trillion (Rs 308 lakh…

HIGH PRICES HAVE BEEN A BUGBEAR FOR THE Narendra Modi government since 2014. The pandemic and the current conflagrations in Ukraine and West Asia made things worse in its second term. Though multiple measures by the RBI and the Centre ensured consumer price index (CPI) inflation held at 5 per cent between 2014-15 and 2022-23 on average, inflation shot up to 7.2 per cent in April 2020 and peaked to 7.6 per cent that October, well above the RBI’s 6 per cent limit. While the central bank was forced to keep interest rates low during the pandemic to boost consumption, the imperative reversed from May 2022 onwards. The RBI hiked the repo rate (at which it lends to commercial banks) by 2.5 percentage points—from 4 per cent in May 2022…

DR. NEELAM MOHAN Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee Senior - Director Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Liver Transplantation Medanta The Medicity, Gurugram www.drneelammohan.com Q: What’s the theme of World Liver Day 2024? This year, 2024, The World Liver Day theme is “Be Vigilant, Get Regular Liver Check-Ups, and Prevent Fatty Liver Diseases”. Liver is essential organ that performs over 500 functions including processing of nutrients, filtering toxins, storage of glucose, vitamins, minerals, fats, synthesizing several important proteins, and improving immunity besides producing bile to digest fats. Q: What is fatty liver disease? What does it lead to? Fat is normally present in liver however if it is more than 5 to 10 percent of liver weight, then it is called fatty liver disease (FLO). Indians have a tendency to…

SOON AFTER ASSUMING OFFICE IN 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that his government’s vision for infrastructure, especially in roads, railways, ports and shipping, involved breaking the cycle of under-investment that had plagued these critical sectors for years. A decade on, India now has a 2,500-km Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) on which goods move with double the speed of a conventional rail network. Meanwhile, the Vande Bharat trains offer better comfort and faster travel to passengers. The railways saw annual average capital expenditure of Rs 1.3 lakh crore in the last decade, three times what it was in the 2009-14 period. Total capex in the railways has seen some Rs 15 lakh crore in investments, including Rs 2.4 lakh crore this fiscal. Some 26,000 km of new tracks…

PRIVATE INVESTMENT, ALONG WITH CONSUMPTION, government spending and exports, is a key component of growth. After the NDA came to power in 2014, private investment increased initially, but soon began to slow down. Total value of completed investment projects in the private sector rose from Rs 2.2 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs 3.9 lakh crore in 2016-17, shows CMIE data. The government announced two key reforms in its second term to drive private investment. One was the reduction of base corporate tax in September 2019 to 22 per cent from 30 per cent for companies that do not seek exemptions, and 25 per cent from the earlier 35 per cent for those that receive exemptions. For new manufacturing firms, tax was cut to 15 per cent from 25 per cent.…

ON FEBRUARY 2, THE INDIAN EMBASSY IN FRANCE MADE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT on X: “UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception.” Now, Indian tourists visiting this Paris landmark can buy its ticket by just scanning a QR code on their Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app, which marks the Indian payment gateway’s entry into the European market. Launched in 2016, UPI has emerged as a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for cashless economy and digital India—especially after the demonetisation move the same year. Consolidating a person’s multiple bank accounts into a single app, it allows seamless fund routing and hassle-free payments. It also holds strategic significance for India, as several countries look for ways to reduce their overseas payment dependence on the US-controlled…

THE MSME (MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES) SECTOR was among the worst hit in the Covid-19 pandemic. Numerous units shut shop due to a lack of consumer demand and liquidity. To help businesses stay afloat, the government implemented various schemes, including the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme and the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises. Furthermore, the focus on digitisation, evident in initiatives like the Goods & Services Tax and the online registration portal Udyam, accelerated formalisation in the sector. So far, around 25 million MSMEs have registered to avail government benefits. However, the sector’s challenges seem to see no end. As though the slowdown in western markets wasn’t enough, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has subdued demand further. Fluctuations in commodity prices, particularly of crude oil and steel,…

A ROBUST PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE MODI GOVERNMENT’S WELFARE SCHEMES is antyodaya (no one is left behind). The programmes to ensure drinking water from taps, cooking gas connection, housing for all and health coverage have done just that. The proof is in the numbers and geography of coverage. For example, the flagship PM Awas Yojana has already constructed over 30 million houses; the Swachh Bharat scheme has built 117.2 million toilets; the Har Ghar Nal Se Jal Yojana has seen 146.7 million households with tap water, and 96 million gas connections have been provided under the PM Ujjwala Yojana. “One scheme that stands out the most for me in terms of its impact on our welfare is Ayushman Bharat,” says healthcare expert and NITI Aayog member Dr V.K. Paul. Data shows…

BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY ↘ The Modi factor. There appears to be no viable alternative to the PM, making him the single-largest poll plank for BJP ↘ Well-oiled BJP election machinery and organisation, which has recently delivered Chhattisgarh to the party in the 2023 assembly election. Also, more financial muscle ↘ Delivery on major election promises made ahead of last year’s assembly polls CONGRESS ↘The Congress manifesto is said to be finding resonance among women voters and youth ↘ Presence of traditional vote bank of Congress in the state among tribals and Scheduled Castes ↘ Better social engineering on display in ticket distribution…

EK THA RAJA Badshah Rapper and pop star Badshah follows up last year’s collab-heavy EP 3:00 AM Sessions with yet another star-studded lineup of guest stars on his new album Ek Tha Raja. He teams up with former Mafia Mundeer crewmate Raftaar and frequent collaborator Aastha Gill on the club-friendly ‘Like a Snake’, trades bars with indie rappers Seedhe Maut (‘Bajenge’) and Raga (‘Alag Hai’), and even drafts Arijit Singh and Nora Fatehi for vocal duties. D.O.N.L.Y.F Shaikhspeare One of the OGs of Mumbai underground rap, Shaikhspeare returns to the lime-light with D.O.N.L.Y.F, a boombap-infused conscious rap album that takes a stark look at India’s contemporary ills. The rabble-rousing ‘Bol’—which features a guest verse by Kolkata rapper EPR Iyer—borrows its hook from a Faiz Ahmed Faiz poem and takes aim…

Cartier is the magical puppeteer that makes time dance on the whimsy of its unique shapes and forms. As moths to a flame, art and craft mate seamlessly to mould silhouettes that transform matter into personal and precious objects of desire. Forever the alchemist, Cartier elevates each watch mechanism to an objet d’art, with its inimitable design that is the brand’s imprimatur. The mystery of its watchmaking repertoire finds elegant reference in the precious, and equally fantastical, collection of jewellery watches. These transform Cartier’s fauna into an enchanted connection between style and spirit. The emblematic animals of Cartier’s menagerie have been the most eloquent expression of its watchmaking savoir faire since 1914, the year in which the panther’s coat first appeared on a watch case. This year, a fascinating chimera,…

The Macallan announces the prestigious The Macallan M 2023 in India—a meticulously crafted age statement whisky that embodies the legacy of craftsmanship and distinctive brand character, reflecting The Macallan’s unique and exceptional spirit. With just 10 handpicked bottles offered in India, The Macallan M 2023 stands as the most valuable spirit ever in India, adding an unparalleled touch of prestige to discerning whisky connoisseurs as a collectibles piece. This launch represents The Macallan’s steadfast dedication to excellence, celebrating each of the brand’s Six Pillars—Natural Colour, Mastery, Curiously Small Spirit Stills, The Estate, Exceptional Oak Casks, and Sherry Seasoning. Crafted from the finest, 100 per cent natural ingredients and nurtured in selectively handpicked casks, The Macallan M boasts an incomparable palate—sweet black cherry and demerara sugar harmonise with smooth crème anglaise,…

Coffee covered hillsides shimmer in the sunlight with white blossoms, framed by a panoramic sweep of the blue green waters of Lake Kivu, the largest lake in the country, helmed by mountains. Rwanda, the tiny land locked country in East Africa, is most famous for its population of mountain gorillas. But Rwanda also stuns you with its beautiful landscapes, rugged beauty and fertile volcanic land studded with lush banana plants, that’s also great for growing coffee and tea. Though most people associate the country with the tragic genocide of 1994, Rwanda is today one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, known for its cleanliness, safety and most famously for its mountain gorillas. Travel through this country with winding roads, endless green hills, limpid lakes, grasslands and rainforests, staying at luxurious safari…

ENGINE 2999cc, inline-six turbo-petrol POWER 320 kW TORQUE 560 Nm TRANSMISSION 9 speed automatic 0-100kmph 5 seconds TOP SPEED 250 kmph PRICE ₹ 1.71 crore (ex-showroom) With more than 20,000 units sold in the country, the GLE constitutes around 15 per cent of the sales for Mercedes-Benz India. After all, we Indians have a special soft spot for SUVs, and the GLE delivers it all: luxury, style, and above all, practicality. Adding the element of performance to it is the AMG tuned GLE 53 Coupe, a powerful and attractive offering that packs some serious driving power. Refreshed for 2024, the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe strikes a remarkable balance between the robustness of an SUV and the sleek elegance of a coupe. The iconic Pan-Americana grille commands attention at the forefront,…