A more prosperous India in 2020 be characterised by a

better educated electorate and more transparent, accountable,

efficient and decentralised government. Do we have one?

Challenges for India:1947 to 2020

Development affected by COVID-19
Floods trouble several States.
Jammu & Kashmir, Ladhak changes
So long as the constitution is not amended beyond recognition,
so long as elections are held regularly and fairly and the ethos
of secularism broadly prevails, so long as citizens can speak
and write in the language of their choosing, so long as there is
an integrated market and a moderately efficient civil service
and army, and – lest I forget – so long as Hindi films are
watched and their songs sung, India will survive.

Development earlier & to 1960s

Leadership in Industry, Development called ’swadeshi’
 India - 20th Century: Tata, a leader who showed an example

1960s: As India’s role in the world political economy

increased, J R D Tata formed Tata International AG and Tata
Exports to cultivate international markets for Tata products
and services. Tata’s Engineering and Development Research
Unit evolved into Tata Motors five years after its establishment
in 1966.Recognizing the power of computers and information
technology, he opened Tata Consultancy Services, or TCS, In
1968. Goods (mainly cotton) would be brought from the hinterland
to the city and sent from there by train to Bombay for export to
England and other countries.
BIRLAS AS INDUSTRIALSTS: In 1884 A.D. Baldeo Das Birla went to
Bombay in search of new avenues of trade. He established his firm Shiv
Narian Baldeo Das in Bombay in 1884 and Baldeo Das Jugal Kishore in
1897 in Calcutta. The firms started business in silver, cotton, grain and
other commodities.
Ghanshyam Das Birla was born on 10 April 1894 at Pilani village in
Jhunjhunu district, in the Indian state of Rajputana, He was a member of
the Maheshwari Marwari community. His father was Raja Baldevdas Birla.
Several cotton ginning units were also set up in Ahmedabad, to clean the cotton
before shipment to England. In 1919, he became among the Indian entrepreneurs
to own a Jute mill named Birla Jute. Later he acquired several cotton mills,
also started several sugar mills. The publication Hindustan Times was co-
founded by G D Birla in 1924.
Hindustan Motors was started in 1942. After India's independence in 1947
he started Grasim (Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing, 1948) and Hindalco
(Hindustan Alum Company 1958) among others.
Baldeo Das, as well his sons were among the key supporters of the swaraj
movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, in addition to being dedicated Hindu activists.
They were active supporters of the Banaras Hindu University founded by Pt.
Madan Mohan Malaviya and were also financial supporters of activities initiated
by Mahatma Gandhi. GD Birla instructed his son Basant Kumar to 'never utilize
wealth only for fun and frolic,' to 'spend the bare minimum on yourself,' and to
deride 'worldly pleasures. This advice symbolized the ethic of the rising Marwari
community, with restraint and austerity its defining attributes.
The emergence of a new class of entrepreneurs— Reliance
(Ambanies), Infosys (N-Murthy) and Wipro (A -Premji), that took
advantage of the liberalization of the Indian economy to
challenge established Indian companies from within— like Tata
& Birlas, at the same time that these established companies
were facing competitive threat from multinational companies
entering from abroad, created a dynamic competitive ecology
that was enormously healthy for the Indian economy.
Both Indian National Congress under PV Narasimha Rao &
Manmohan Singh and Bharathiya Janatha Party under Modi
supported this dynamic competitive ecology.
It was the three most important figures of twentieth century India:
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Bhimrao Ambedkar who
gave an enduring impact on the country's character and direction. Each
of them wrestled with India's religious traditions. Two ultimately rejected them,
whereas the third, Gandhi, harnessed the religious sensibilities of the masses to
pursue the goal of Indian independence. Generations have passed since India
gained freedom from British rule. Gandhi, whose success in maintaining a
mostly non-violent struggle against the British was an extraordinary feat of
personal magnetism, continues both to divide Indians and to haunt their dreams.
It was Gandhi's ability that converted the freedom struggle to a mass-based
movement of all Indians. However, India in the early twenty-first century is an
increasingly self-confident, materialistic and globalised place.
 Nehru era: Indian economy consolidated,
but did not take off, why?

1. Import substituting inward looking ‘swaraj’ no global outlook

2. Massive, monopolistic, inefficient public sector investment with
no autonomy of working. (Trained and employed youth?)
3. Diminished competition in the market by over-regulation.
4. Less FDI, no benefit of world class competition.
5. Pampered organized labour, lower productivity.
6. Insufficient investment in education, specially, girl children.

20
 Nehru’s ‘Tryst with destiny’
 Preserve, consolidate and strengthen India's unity, to build
up and protect the national state as an instrument of
development and social transformation.
 Indian unity was strengthened by recognizing and
accepting
India's immense regional, linguistic, ethnic and religious
diversity.
 Indianness was to be further developed by acknowledging
and accommodating the Indians' multiple identities and by
giving different parts of the country and various sections of
the people an adequate space. 21
 Goa liberated from being a Portuguese colony

 In the third week of December 1961 a detachment of

the Indian army moved up to the borders of the
Portuguese colony of Goa.

 For a decade now New Delhi had sought, by persuasion

and non-violence, to convince Portugal to give up that
territory.

 With those measures failing, Nehru’s government

decided to ‘liberate’ Goa by force.
22
 Colonial Legacy: Educational System,
Based on English

• The British evolved a general educational system, based on

English as the common language of higher education.
• This system in time produced an India-wide intelligentsia
which tended to have a similar approach to society.
• It gave common ways of looking at it and which was,
capable of developing a critique of colonialism— during the
second half of the nineteenth century and after.

23
• But English-based education had two negative
consequences.

• One, it created a wide gulf between the educated and

the masses. Though this gulf was bridged to some
extent by the national movement which drew its leaders
as well its cadres from the intelligentsia, it still persisted
to haunt independent India.

• Second, the emphasis on English prevented the fuller

development of Indian languages as also the spread of
education to the masses.
24
 Linguistic states reorganisation-1

 After an agitation, with death of P.Sriramulu in December, 1952,

Andhra would come into being with Telugu language.

 Once Nehru conceded Andhra, he had to set up the States

Reorganization Commission-1956.

 Unexpectedly, Linguistic reorganization did not disturb, but

consolidated the unity of India. Hindi is now official language along
with English (which is an interstate and international one).

 Eventually, on 1 May 1960, the states of Gujarat (Gujarati) and

Maharashtra (Marati) came into being, with Bombay allotted to
the
latter. 25
 Linguistic states reorganisation-2

Other examples of states with language:

 Assam (Assamese), Bengal(Bengali),

 Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (Hindi),

Telangana (Telugu),Tamil Nadu (Tamil), Odisa (Oriya), Karnataka
(Kannada), Kerala (Malayalam) Punjab (Punjabi) Goa (Konkani),
etc. Sanskrit is an originating language and Urdu is a recognised
language.

 Officially (statutorily) recognised languages are 22.

26
 Integration of Princely States into India

 By 15 August most of the states had signed the Instrument of

Accession. Congress Party cleverly used the threat of popular
protest to make the princes fall in line. They had acceded; now
they
were being asked to integrate, that is to dissolve their states as
independent entities and merge with the Union of India.
 They would be allowed to retain their titles and offered an annual
allowance. There was the threat of uncontrolled agitation by
subjects whose emotions had been released by the advent of
Independence.

27
In this context, it may be reiterated that during the 1980s, India
was also helped by the discovery of oil and the spread of the
Green Revolution, which helped reduce the need for oil and
food imports and thus freed up foreign exchange for non-oil,
non-food imports. That these developments helped cannot be
denied.
At the same time, had India not responded by opening up
trade and investment rules, the opportunity offered by these
developments would have been lost. The impact of reforms can
also be seen in terms of higher industrial growth.
In 1991 India sharply altered its economic course when it dismantled
the tight system of controls and permits known as the 'License Raj' that it
had adopted after independence. Since then, India has clearly been on
the economic ascent, capturing an ever greater share of software
markets in the United States and Europe and starting to develop a
manufacturing sector that can compete in world markets. The country
has also acquired the military trappings of an aspiring superpower: its
elites openly debate when — not whether — India will develop
intercontinental nuclear missiles. Gandhi's belief was that the village should
remain the main building block of Indian society. India is slowly urbanising and
it is hard to imagine what could stop the continuing expansion of its cities. But
Gandhians continue to believe the village should occupy a holy place at the
centre of Indian nationhood.
The strongest impression of all writers that reforms originated with the July 1991
package announced by Manmohan Singh:
“…in July 1991… with the announcement of sweeping liberalization by the
minority government of P.V. Narasimha Rao… opened the economy…
dismantled import controls, lowered customs duties, and devalued the
currency… virtually abolished licensing controls on private investment,
dropped tax rates, and broke public sector monopolies…. We felt as
though our second independence had arrived: we were going to be free
from a rapacious and domineering state…" The 1990s reforms were
qualitatively different from those in the 1980s in that they represented a broad
acceptance of the idea that entrepreneurs and markets were to be given priority
over government in the conduct of economic activity and that government
interventions required proper justification rather accepted by default.
Time line of Republic: 1950 India becomes a federal republic.
1954-1966: Nehru defines India's foreign policy as non-alignment with the
superpowers and peaceful coexistence with its neighbours.
1966 Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter, becomes Prime Minister.
1971 A war between Pakistan and India over the latter's support for
autonomists in Pakistan's eastern province ends in Indian victory. East
Pakistan becomes independent Bangladesh.
1975—1977 After economic strains and political tensions, Mrs. Gandhi suspends
democracy for 19 months. (After a brief loss, again wins in 1980.)
1984 After repressing Sikh terrorism in Punjab, Indira Gandhi is assassinated by
Sikh members of her bodyguard. She is succeeded as Prime Minister by her son
Rajiv who prevailed up to 1989.[From 1989 to 1991, short terms Govts.] P. V.
Narasimha Rao, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh were the successive
PMs from 1996 to 2004.
Post-Indira Prime Ministers from 1984 to 2019
Prime Minister - Dates – Party or Coalition
Rajiv Gandhi –Oct 31, 1984 to Dec 2, 1989- I N C (I)
V P Singh -Dec 2, 1989 to Nov 10, 1990- Janata Dal National Front
Chandra Shekhar -Nov 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991-Samajwadi Janata-
Party
P. V. Narasimha Rao- June 21, 1991 to May 16, 1996-I N C (I)
Atal Behari Vajpayee - May 16, 1996 to June 1, 1996- B J P
H. D. Deve Gowda- June 1, 1996 to April 21, 1997- Janata Dal
Inder Kumar Gujral- April 21, 1997 to March 19, 1998- Janata Dal
Atal Bihari Vajpayee- March 19, 1998 to May 22, 2004- B J P- N D A
Dr. Manmohan Singh- May 22, 2004 to 2014 -I N C [ U P A] .
N Modi [2014 and 2019], present PM
When Shri Narendra Modi invited leaders of all nations of
the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) grouping for his oath-taking-ceremony, in 2014,
the foreign media and international leaders hailed it as a
move that could pave way for reforms as for as India’s
relationship with its neighbours was concerned.
While some called it a move that was meant to improve
‘trade ties’ as Shri Narendra Modi has been focusing on
pro-development and business agenda others called it a
strategic move to bring in peace talks.
 Sab ka Saath, sab ka Vikaas
[Inclusive Development]
May 27, 2014
First Budget by Arun Jaitley, Modi’s FM:

 Trim expenditure,
 Raise resources through encouraging private investment to revive
growth,
A program of disinvestment of public assets to mobilise funds from
the sale of the government’s stake in non-government companies.
 Raise FDI in defense production units
 In Sept. : Cleared the sale of partial stakes of Govt. in ONGC, CIL
and NHPC _etc.
 Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: “global village”

• The Gandhian philosophy of non-violence finds its inspiration from this

concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
• To quote Dr. N Radhakrishnan, former director of the Gandhi Smriti and
Darshan Samiti, “The Gandhian vision of holistic development and
respect for all forms of life; nonviolent conflict resolution embedded in
the acceptance of nonviolence both as a creed and strategy; were an
extension of the ancient Indian concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”
• May be ‘Sab ka saath, Sab ka Vikas’. Also, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’
means: All [thieves like Nirav] are our brothers, let them be NR(J)I! Non
resident jailable Indians!
This gigantic idea (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) is an exclusively
Indian contribution to world peace. The underlying philosophy
of this ancient nation evolved a world-view based on the motto
"Loka samasta sukhina bhavantu" (Let the entire world be
happy) thousands of years ago. Surprisingly, the same
philosophy has now been thought of by the United Nations in
order to avoid global strife and fostering world peace.
It is not limited to the residents of India or the adherents of any
particular faith or creed. That is the reason why India receives,
accepts and respects people of all faiths and races.
Bhimrao Ambedkar gave India's most marginalised human beings their
first real hope of transcending their hereditary social condition. He saw the
caste system as India's greatest social evil, since it treated millions of
people as sub-humans by the simple fact of their birth. Ambedkar, who was
India's first untouchable to be educated abroad, was the principal author of India's
1950 constitution, which enshrines equality of individuals before the law and
gives all adult Indians the right to vote, regardless of caste or any other identity.
Caste has not, as many had expected, given way to class in terms of political
loyalties. As the joke goes, 'In India you do not cast your vote, you vote your
caste’. It is true that the partition of the country along religious grounds and the
subsequent aftershocks led to great bloodshed. India's strengths are also to be
found in its deep well of intellectual capital and technological prowess.
India is finally emerging as an important economic and political force on
the world stage while remaining an intensely religious, spiritual and, in
some ways, superstitious society is unusual by the standards of many
countries. Likewise, the fact that India, alone among large nations,
embraced full democracy before it had a sizeable middle class or
anything close to majority literacy among its voters was unique at the
time and remains so on this scale. The vast bulk of India's workforce
remains in the villages. India's economic engine is powered not principally by
its factories or by the manufacture of physical products but by its competitive
service industries. This might gradually be correcting itself. But for the time
being India's service sector has an economic weighting that gives it more in
common with mature, developed economies, such as the United States or
Britain.
 Our vision of India in 2020 is of a nation bustling with energy,
entrepreneurship and innovation.

The country’s people will be better fed, dressed and housed, taller
and healthier, more educated and longer living than any generation
in the country’s long history.
India will be much more integrated with the global economy and will
be a major player in terms of trade, technology and investment.
Rising levels of education, employment and incomes will help
stabilise India’s internal security and social environment. A united
and prosperous India will be far less vulnerable to external security
threats. A more prosperous India in 2020 will be characterised by a
better educated electorate and more transparent, accountable,
efficient and decentralised government.

61
 An overview of India today

You cannot visit India today without sensing a nation

on the move. A feeling of abundance and optimism
combined with a belief in India's destiny pervades all
walks of life.
India has all the resources—

People, Land, water, oil and gas, coal, minerals—and is

driving forward to take its place among the leading nations
of the world. Alas! It is leading in Covid-19 too.
63
Two times as Prime Minister: 2014 & 2019:
New Delhi, India. Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) was sworn in as India’s
fifteenth Prime Minister in 2014. Modi ran on a pro-
growth and anti-corruption platform, and his party
won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections.
By electing the BJP by outright majority—282 of 543
seats—voters voiced their discontent at chronic
corruption scandals, high inflation and poor economic
growth.
Narendra Dāmodardās Modī was born on September 17,
1950, in Vadnagar, in Mehsana district of Gujarat.
After his schooling in Vadnagar he did his masters degree in
Political Science from Gujarat University.
Modi started as a Tea-Seller on Ahmedabad Bus Station.
He goes for made-to-order Modi kurta with hand-tailored
button holes.
He is at home in Western attire too.
Narendra Modi transformed Gujarat into a developmental success
story appreciated the world over. Now PM of Bharath.
 Endorsed by TIME

Narendra Modi transformed Gujarat into a story

developmental success
appreciated the world over. TIME endorses his ten year long

journey of progress becoming “India’s most industrialized and

business friendly territory” it further identifies the drivers of his
success as “good planning-exactly what so much of India lacks,”
and a leader with the ability to get things done.
In March 2013, Shri Narendra Modi was appointed to the BJP
Parliamentary Board, the Party's highest decision making
body, and was chosen to be chairman of the Party's Central
Election Campaign Committee. On 10 June 2013, Shri
Narendra Modi was selected to head the poll campaign for
the elections at the national level executive meeting of BJP in
Goa.
A fortnight after he was anointed as BJP's Prime Ministerial
candidate, Shri Narendra Modi on Sunday relinquished the
post of election campaign committee chief to which Party
President Shri Rajnath Singh was appointed.
The 15th Lok Sabha was due to complete its constitutional
term on 31 May 2014. Hence the Parliamentary Election was
declared by the Election Commission for the constitution of
16th Lok Sabha in India. The election were held in nine
phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014. Following its consecutive
defeat in the 2004 and 2009 general elections, BJP had been
the Principal Opposition Party in parliament and claimed to
secure largest number of parliamentary seats under the
leadership of its Prime Ministerial candidate Shri Narendra
Modi who had been gaining ground for a national role after his
continued term of 14 years as Gujarat Chief Minister.
“Goods and Service Tax (GST) is a comprehensive tax levy on

manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and service at a

national level. GST is a tax on goods and services with value
addition at each stage having comprehensive and continuous
chain of set-of benefits from the producer’s/ service provider’s
point up to the retailer’s level where only the final consumer
should bear the tax.” Introduction of a GST to replace the existing
multiple tax structures of Centre and State taxes is imperative in the
emerging economic environment. GST, being a destination-based
consumption tax based on VAT principle, would also greatly help in
removing economic distortions and will help in development of a
common national market.
Again, Modi leads India from 2019. In 2002, Narendra Modi
was negligent during an anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, in
which more than 2,000 Muslims perished. Yet, he won twice,
because he adopted inclusive development as his manifesto.

• However, Congress party leaders were implicated in an anti-

Sikh pogrom following Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984
when more than 3,000 people were killed.

• Congress and BJP had to take such issues in their strides

and debate on inclusive development and capable and
competent Union / State leaders to run local governance and
coordinate with Union government had to be achieved.
 Narendra Modi said:

Saying that the demographic dividend of India was its

biggest strength and that 65 per cent of the population is
less than 35 years old, Mr. Modi spoke of the importance
of youth, asking them to step up to play a role in the
nation’s future.
“Give our youth the strength and they will do in 60 months
what we could not in 60 years”, the Gujarat Chief Minister
had remarked.
o Demographic dividend is the result of demographic transition
and the consequent age-structural changes leading to the
rising ratio of the working population (15-59) and the
declining ratio of the child population (0-14). On the other
hand, during this phase the ratio of old age population (60 +)
grows very moderately.
o According to 2011 Census, India’s population was
enumerated 1.21 billion and the ratio of working age
population grew from 55 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in
2011 while child population declined from 37 to 30 percent,
and the old age population grew moderately from 6.8 percent
to 8.6 percent during the same period
 Young, skilled and educated Bharath
• India’s asset is a young population. The dependency
burden in India is expected to keep falling for at least 20
years. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an
Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48
for Japan But, a young population is an asset only if it is
educated, skilled and finds productive employment. If this
were to happen, our objective of realizing India`s potential
to grow at 10% or more per annum for a substantial period
of time can indeed become a reality.
 Knowledge economy
• The future of the global economy in the 21st century lies
in the knowledge economy. We work to strengthen our
competitive advantage in this area. We have increased
the expenditure on Science & Technology as a proportion
of our GDP. We are investing heavily in both basic and
higher education. For the last fifty years, India had seven
Indian Institutes of Technology and one Indian Institute of
Science. In the last five years we have established eight
new IITs and five more Indian Institutes of Science
Education and Research.
• Rights to information, education and food security are
legal now.
• To bring a new State of Telangana, the process for
bifurcation of the Andhra State was done.
• Non-control of allocation of resources (such as ICT, coal)
efficiently brought critical reprimand by Comptroller.
• Action taken after the events brought a scam infested
image to the Congress party itself even though individuals
involved were punished.
• Congress lost twice, the Lok Sabha election.
Political agenda may have the following:
• Nonviolence toward humans (particularly religious
tolerance and overcoming Maoist terrorism)
• toward animals (particularly vegetarianism and objections
to animal sacrifice)
• the tensions between the householder life and
renunciation (small family norm)
• between addiction and the control of sensuality (do not
imbibe, put alcohol in engine)
• Hinduism, always context sensitive, responds to what is
happening (or published), at roughly the same moment,
not only on the political and economic scene but within
Buddhism or Islam in India or among people from other
cultures entering India writing alternate history.
 Generate job and food security
• India needs the generation of sufficient employment
opportunities so that all households have the purchasing
power needed for assured economic access to food.
• Employment or livelihood security is an essential and
inseparable element of a comprehensive strategy for
national food security. Conversely, food security is an
essential requirement for raising the productivity of
India’s workforce to international levels.
o Commercial agriculture, agro-industry and agri-

business;
o forestation for pulp, fuel and power;
o retail and wholesale trade; tourism,
o housing and construction;
o IT and IT-enabled services;
o transport and communications;
o education, health and financial services.
A wide range of strategies and policies are to
stimulate more rapid development.
 Literacy & Education
• Successful education policy forms the bedrock of all
fields of national development— political, economic,
technical, scientific, social and environmental. Education
is the foundation for

a vibrant democracy, growth of productivity and

income and employment opportunities.
• Literacy is considered the minimum right and requirement
of every Indian citizen.
Literacy is an indispensable minimum condition
for development, but it is far from sufficient.
A qualitative shift is needed from routine
memorisation to development of children’s
capacity for critical thinking and from methods
that emphasise teaching and passive learning
to those that foster active interest and the ability
of children to learn on their own.
General education forms the base of the knowledge
pyramid which is essential for a sustained development of
the society in the 21st Century. The advancement of
science and the application of improved technology
constitute the middle rung. Social ideals and values form
the apex.
Technical education, both vocational and professional,
provide the foundation for development of science and
technology. A large number of the country’s engineering
colleges need to be upgraded to quality standards nearer to
those of India’s world-class IITs.
 Energy Utilization
• Greater reliance on renewable energy sources offers enormous
economic, social and environmental benefits. India is the world’s
fifth largest producer of wind power, with more than 95 per cent of
the investment coming from the private sector. Other renewable
energy technologies, including solar photovoltaic, solar thermal,
small hydro, biomass power and biofuels are spreading.
• A concerted effort to implement a visionary approach to
alternative energy generation could reduce India’s dependence
on imported fuels while reducing the strain on the environment.
Biomass power production, ethanol motor fuel and jatropa
fuel oil can generate millions of rural employment
opportunities and contribute to higher rural incomes, at the
same time reducing the outflow of foreign exchange for
import of oil and coal. Tapping this potential will require
conducive national policies and programmes designed to
attract strong participation from the private sector.
Given the vision and political will, India can convert the
present water problem into a huge opportunity by linking
some of the major rivers together.
The idea of inclusive growth must include the latter, for it is
a very important part of why economic growth is a good
thing... India has been generating a lot of public revenue -
for sure. Has it been used to expand education and health
care?
Certainly, to some extent the present government has done
something. (But) they could have done a lot more, and
should do much more now. It is silly to debate on whether
growth is a good thing. Of course it is, and potentially it can
be very important. But we have to do much more to get the
fruits of growth inclusively shared.
Produce, Process, Store, Distribute and Consume
Agro-products
On the occasion of the country’s 74th Independence Day on
Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country
needed to replicate the “self-reliance” of the country in
agriculture in other sectors of the economy, underscoring
the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” campaign.
The prime minister said his government had freed the
country’s agriculture sector by abolishing archaic
regulations, which will help to increase famers’ income.
“The last few years have seen pioneering changes and
futuristic reforms in agriculture. Farmers now have access
to more markets, better financial support,” the PM said.
Modi’s reference to the freeing up of the agriculture sector included
reading down of provisions of The Essential Commodities Act 1955 to
allow for freer trade in farm commodities. “I admit there are lakhs of
challenges for India to become atmanirbhar (self-reliant), and yes, there
is fierce competition from the rest of the world. But I always say that if
India faces lakhs of challenges, it also has 130 crore solutions,” Modi
said.
The agriculture sector, which supports half of all Indians, hasn’t been
generating enough revenues to keep farmers profitable for nearly two decades
due to trade restrictions and an obsession with keeping food prices low to
avoid inflation, according to the OECD-ICRIER study mentioned above.
Grains Production & Storage:
India’s rice and corn production figures are set to hit record
highs in the current year, while wheat production is likely to
slide. 2017-18 rice production is about 110 million tonnes.
Corn production is likely to reach new high of 27 million
tonnes. Wheat production is estimated to fall to 95 million
tonnes in 2018-19.
Storage is an important marketing function, which involves
holding and preserving goods from the time they are
produced until they are needed for consumption.
India’s grain production has steadily increased due to
advances in technology, but post-harvest loss is constant at
10%. Losses during storage, accounts for around 6% of the
total losses as proper storage facilities are not available. In
India, food grains are stored using traditional structures by
small farmers. The surplus grains are stored with government
agencies like: Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central and
State warehousing Corporations. The commonly used
storage method is Cover and Plinth (CAP) storage, which is
economical but loss of grains is inevitable.
Food Grain Stocking Policy for India
Pending legislation, which will guarantee access by the poor to a
specified quantity of food grains, the National Food Security Bill stands
to have a major impact on the food grain stocking policy in India. The
Bill mentions cash transfers and issuing food coupons to eligible
families. The successful implementation of the Act will clearly require
that much larger stocks be held. Whether these stocks are held by the
government or the private sector depends on new instruments being
created, e.g., negotiable warehouse receipts-, on new institutions such
as public-private partnerships in warehousing and on changes to the
legal structure, especially the Essential Commodities Act and the
Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act.
 Silos

In these structures, the grains in

bulk are unloaded on the
conveyor belts and, through
mechanical operations, are
carried to the storage structure.
The storage capacity of each of
these silos is around 25,000
tonnes.
Very few scientific storage structures like silos are
available with these agencies. The government is taking
initiatives now in building silos for long-term safe storage
of grains since we do not have enough storage capacity
as of now. Drying of harvested grains to safe moisture
levels will reduce losses to a greater extend. However,
very less literature is available on behavior of grains after
harvest for Indian climatic conditions. Therefore, there is a
need for research to develop management guidelines for
safe storage and drying to ensure quality management of
stored grains.
FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA: Since its inception in
1965, having handled various situations of plenty and
scarcity, FCI has successfully met the challenge of
managing the complex task of providing food security for the
nation. A strong food security system which has helped to
sustain the high growth rate and maintain regular supply of
wheat and rice right through the year. The efficiency with
which FCI tackled one of the worst droughts of the century
not only cemented its role as the premier organization in
charge of food security in India, but also brought it
accolades from international organizations.
PM Modi launches Rs. 1-lakh-crore agriculture infrastructure fund; over Rs.
1,000 crore credit disbursed on day 1

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday formally launched

the Rs 1-lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
under which agro-entrepreneurs, start-ups, agro-tech
players and farmer groups will have access to credit at
subsidised interest for building warehouses, cold storages
and other facilities to reduce post-harvest losses. Modi also
announced release of Rs 17,100 crore to about 8.5 crore
farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
(PM- Kisan) scheme.
 Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

The funds will be provided for setting up of cold stores and

chains, warehouses, silos, assaying, grading and packaging
units, e-marketing points linked to e-trading platforms and
ripening chambers, besides PPP projects for crop
aggregation sponsored by central/ state/ local bodies.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 15 had
announced creation of the AIF as part of the R 20 lakh crore
relief package amid outbreak of Covid 19.
 Amendment in the Essential Commodities Act
Noting that India is second largest producer of food grains in the world,
the prime minister said that Indian agriculture has no problem with
regard to production. However, there is a major problem on post-
harvest wastages, he said, and added that farmers as well as the nation
also suffer losses. "While the fund will help create build modern cold
storages and cold chain as well as warehouses in villages, it will also
provide employment opportunities in rural areas," Modi said. Under the
PM-Kisan, the Centre provides direct income support of Rs 6,000 each
in three equal installments per year to 14 crore eligible farmers. The
amount is directly transferred into the bank accounts of the
beneficiaries after Aadhaar authentication.
The NDA govt. also brought, on June 4, ‘The Farming Produce Trade and
Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020’. The ordinance
will bring down the decades-old agricultural produce market committees
regulations (APMC) system that regulates buying and selling of farm
produce. These reforms in “agricultural marketing” have been made now.
Government panels and economists have often argued for changing
existing structures of agricultural trade. The ordinance will pave make
barrier-free inter-state and intrastate trade of farm goods outside the
physical premises of markets notified under APMCs. The govt. also
approved ‘The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on
Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020’, which effectively
ushered new rules for contract farming and futures.
The Farmers' and Produce Trade and
Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation)
Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment
and Protection) Agreement on Price
Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill
were passed in the Rajya Sabha . The
government has stressed that the bills will act These Acts empower farmers to
as a protection shield for farmers. A barrier- enter into farming agreements
free trade for farmers' produce outside the with private players prior to
notified farm mandis (wholesale markets) is production for the sale of their
facilitated. produce.
FLOOD &
DROUGHT
Water woes
 Save us! Govardhana Giri-dhari!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the

current flood situation and preparedness of Assam, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala to deal
with the monsoon. He held a meeting through video
conference with chief ministers of these six states
The PM emphasized on better coordination between all
central and state agencies to have a permanent system
for forecasting of floods and extensive use of innovative
technologies for improving forecast and warning system.
 National Disaster from Floods
• The chief ministers of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Kerala and Home Minister of Karnataka
gave an update on the flood situation, rescue efforts made
in their respective states.
• They complimented the efforts of central agencies
including NDRF teams in timely deployment and rescuing
people.
• They also gave some suggestions for short-term and long-
term measures for mitigating the effects of floods
Heavy rains across India have battered several regions
across the country. 11 states have been flooded with
Gujarat, Odisha, and MP being the worst hit. Millions have
been displaced even as the army and air force engage in
rescue ops. Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers have airlifted
several people stranded in flood-hit areas of central India's
Madhya Pradesh state. A group of people, including women and
children, were rescued from Somalwada village in Sehore in an
IAF chopper on August 30 as rains continue to batter the state. At
least three IAF helicopters have been pressed into rescue works.
A chopper carrying around 20 to 25 people safely landed at Shahganj
Mandi courtyard while another went back to Somalwada to evacuate
others. Following incessant rainfall over several parts of the state in the
last couple of days, nearly 8,000 people have been rescued so far and
170 relief camps set up in the affected districts, reports suggest. The
superintendent of police and the district magistrate were present during
the rescue operation. The video shows several people descending from
the chopper after being safely airlifted by the IAF officers. Sehore and
Chhindwara districts have been receiving continuously heavy rainfall,
resulting in the water bodies overflowing. The Indian Meteorological
Department has issued a red alert of extremely heavy rainfall with
thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places of Chhindwara, Vidisha,
Sehore, Rajgarh and Shajapur district
VIRUS, VIRUS, GO AWAY
COVID-19
Because of Covid-19 now, Indians need to wear masks,
maintain physical distancing, observe hand hygiene: Experts
advise on coronavirus precautions.
As India has now recorded close to 3 million COVID-19
cases, the third highest after US and Brazil, the health
experts have advised that Indians need to stick to basic
precautionary measures like wearing masks, physical
distancing, hand hygiene and surface disinfection till a safe
and effective vaccine is found. While India currently has a
low fatality rate and high recovery rate compared to the US
and Brazil, the country needs to adhere to basic precautions.
In August 20th, 2020, while in order to reduce the number of
coronavirus cases in India, which is now close to 3 million (29,02,178).,
the Centre has to enforce people wear masks strictly and properly.
"The healthcare delivery space is extremely capital and people
intensive. We at FICCI have been urging the government to provide
financial stimulus up to minimum three per cent of the GDP (Gross
Domestic Product)," said Roy.
He argued that specific funds like Healthcare Infrastructure Fund and
Healthcare Innovation Fund should be developed to boost
entrepreneurship, start-ups and newer business models, which are
needed to improve access, availability and quality, especially in
smaller cities and rural areas.
On the positive side, more patients are recovering, and being
discharged from hospital and home isolation (in case of mild and
moderate cases), with India’s total Covid-19 recoveries having reached
nearly 2.1million (2,154,879) as on Thursday [20th August] , of which
new recoveries are 61,221.
According to the Union health ministry, improved recoveries have been
made possible because of effective implementation of the policy of
testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently.
“Focus on standard of care protocol including use of non-invasive
oxygen, better skilled doctors in the Intensive Care Units and hospitals,
and improved ambulance services has culminated in yielding the
desired results," health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
"The serological surveys being conducted are effective as they help

authorities make informed decisions about interventions that are needed

to contain the pandemic. It will give us an outlook whether India can
achieve herd immunity," Roy added.
As the world continues its race for the coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Sanjeev
Singh, Chief Medical Superintendent, Amrita Institute of Medical
Sciences, Faridabad, said vaccination would play an important role in
reducing community transmission.
"Six study groups are in Phase 3 trials and promising results are expected on
short-term and long-term immunity. The most urgent step is to go back to basics
with wearing masks, adhering to physical distancing and maintaining hand
hygiene and adequate surface disinfection," said Dr. Singh.
World's largest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII)
is aiming to raise up to $1 billion from big equity investors
including Blackstone and KKR, keeping in line with the
company's plan to start production of its vaccine candidate
-- being developed by the UK's Jenner Institute, Oxford --
on a mass scale.
The privately-owned firm, which is owned by Cyrus Poonawalla
and his son Adar Poonawalla, could soon float a special purpose
vehicle as the money raised for the COVID-19 vaccine will be
for the SPV only.
Serum Institute has also joined hands with AstraZeneca and
Novavax to develop their coronavirus candidates. Initial
results from the first two phases of trials of the coronavirus
vaccine conducted at five trial sites in the UK showed the
inoculation had an acceptable safety profile.
SII might begin its Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in India this
month. Currently, phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Oxford
vaccine candidate are going on in the United Kingdom,
Phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil.
The timeline for a novel Coronavirus vaccine is all but set. Though there
is still a bit of uncertainty, most experts, and others who should know,
agree that a vaccine would become a reality by early next year, if not
earlier. The next point of interest in the vaccine seems to be the price at
which it would be made available to the public. That question is also
being slowly answered. On Friday, Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest
manufacturer of vaccines by volume, said at least 100 million doses of
potentially billions that it plans to produce, would be made available for as low
as US$ 3 (less than Rs. 240) per dose. This is at par with the lowest price
indications that have been suggested till now for the different vaccine candidates
currently under development.
Vaccine at this low price would be enabled through a new
US$ 150 million funding it is receiving from the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation to 'accelerate' the production of
Coronavirus vaccines. Serum has agreements with at
least two vaccine developers, Oxford University-
AstraZeneca and Novavax, to produce and supply their
vaccines once they are finalised and approved. Moderna,
one of the front-runners to develop a Coronavirus vaccine,
is reported to have said that it could price its vaccine
between US$50 and US$60 (between Rs. 3,700 and Rs
4,500) per dose.
HUNT FOR CORONAVIRUS VACCINE: THE STORY SO FAR
• More than 160 vaccine candidates in pre-clinical or clinical trials
o 23 of them in clinical trials Six in final stages, phase-III of human
trials
o At least eight candidate vaccines being developed in India.
o Two of these have entered phase -II trials after completing phase-
I. AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer have indicated
that they did not intend to profit from the vaccines, and would be
willing to sell it at the cost price. However, Moderna has said it
would not sell it at cost
New Delhi: India's coronavirus recoveries crossed the 15 lakh-mark, the
government said on Monday [18th August]. Notably, recoveries are over
twice the number of active cases (6,28,747) of coronavirus infection at
present.
However, infection still remains concentrated in 10 states that contribute
more than 80% of the new cases, asserted the health ministry.
"The number of recovered cases has touched another high of 2.36 times the
active cases. All patients are all under medical attention either in home
isolation or in hospitals," the ministry said.

As many as 53,879 coronavirus patients were discharged in

24-hours, pushing the recovery rate to 68.78 per cent. The
fatality rate has further dropped to 2.01 per cent, it claimed.
India’s rate of recovery from Covid-19 earlier improved to
70.37% as 1,639,599 people, 56,110 on 19th August, have
been discharged from hospitals so far. There are 643,948
active cases, according to the health ministry. The gap

between the active and recovered cases is now 995,651.

“The TEST, TRACK, TREAT strategy showing

desired result- early identification and prompt
isolation / hospitalisation aiding exponential
growth in recoveries,” the ministry tweeted on
Wednesday.
India’s recovery rate amongst the Covid-19 patients has reached nearly
74% (73.91%) reflecting that the number of patients recovering is on a
steady rise over the past several months.
“This is a good sign that people are getting better and our mortality is low.
Most positive cases do not require hospitalisation, and those needing
intensive care is actually a minuscule number. Most people in hospitals
have moderate disease with good chances of recovery," says Dr. Rommel
Tickoo, senior consultant, department of internal medicine, Max
Healthcare.
The record high recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the
country in terms of the active cases, has reduced and currently comprises
only 24.19% of the total positive cases since the first case was diagnosed
on January 30, 2020.
Here’s a look at the 10 biggest hotspots of the disease in
the country: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar,
Telangana, and Assam. Maharashtra reported the highest
single-day increase in the number of Covid-19 cases as it is the
biggest hotspot of the pathogen, followed by Tamil Nadu. Delhi
and Rajasthan, have managed to control the cases from
spiralling, it has spread alarmingly in states such as Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka. Pune’s recovery rate has improved
despite the city having overtaken Mumbai.
"India`s COVID-19 recoveries have crossed 27 lakh today.
Recovery of 27,13,933 patients has been made possible
because of effective implementation of the Centre conceived
and led a policy of testing aggressively, tracking
comprehensively through timely surveillance of close contacts
and treating effectively through a widening medical care
infrastructure across the country," MoHFW said.

The number of recoveries in India today exceeds the active

cases by 3.55 times. India has posted nearly 19.5 lakh (19,48,631)
recoveries more than the active cases (765302, which are under
active medical care) The active cases continue to decline and
currently comprises only 21.60% of the total positive cases. [News-
Monday-August 31 2020]
As India discovers a record number of new novel coronavirus cases, more
than what any other country has reported on any single day since the
outbreak began, the government is taking heart from the fact that there has
been no unusual rise in the positivity rate, suggesting that the surge in
cases could only be due to the increased testing numbers in recent days.
For the last four days, India has been detecting more than 75,000 new
cases, a figure that no other country has touched. The earlier highest
single-day spike in any country was in the United States, which on July 19
reported 74,354 cases, according to the World Health Organisation
database. India added 78,512 new cases to its COVID-19 tally in the last 24
hours, taking the national caseload past 36-lakh mark, according to the Union
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) on Monday 31 August, 2020.
With 971 new deaths, the cumulative toll reached 64,469.
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with full joy and
enthusiasm in different parts of India, however,
Maharashtra is popularly known for the grand
celebration of Vinayak Chaturthi. This year,
Ganesh Chaturthi will begin on 22 August and it
will end on September 1 at Anant Chaturdashi.
Ganesh Chathurthi begins with the
establishment of Lord Ganesha’s idol at home Ganesh Chaturthi is
and ends after his immersion. Every year this celebrated across the
festival brings colour, happiness joy, hope and country, but Maharashtra
prosperity. People celebrate this festival by cannot be beaten for its
dancing on the roads but this year the ultimate preparations of
celebration is restricted to the public places in Ganesh Chaturthi.
the wake of coronavirus.
HEALTHCARE
NDHM
 "The country will witness another
movement from today. The National
Digital Health Mission will usher in a
revolution in India's healthcare sector,"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the
nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort
on August 15.

This August 7, the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM)

released the latest strategic document, outlining the
envisioned digital personal health records, digital clinical
decision systems, and digital registries of doctors, hospitals,
pharmacies, and insurance companies, Patients can create a
Health ID
 National Digital Health Mission
Underlining that “the biggest lesson of self-reliance (atmanirbharta ki
sabse badi seekh) has been taught to us by the health sector” following
the Covid-19 outbreak, P M Narendra Modi announced on Saturday
[August-15] the launch of the National Digital Health Mission under which
“every Indian will be given a health ID”.
National Digital Health Mission “will bring a new technology that will be used
prudently to reduce the challenges in treatment”. Every Indian will be given a
health ID. This health ID will work like a health account of every Indian. This
account will contain details of your every test, every disease, the doctors you
visited, the medicines you took and the diagnosis. When and what was the report,
all such information will be incorporated in the health ID.
What is a digital health ID?
Think of it as a digi-locker for all medical and healthcare-
related details of an individual, right from birth. A 14-digit serial
number will be generated for each individual.
The card will store immunisation details, surgeries, laboratory
tests, hospitals visited, pharmacies, medical purchases, etc.
The card will be accessible through an app or a website.
It will be password-protected and would need the permission
of the individual for a "one-time" limited-period access by
doctors.
Dr, Indu Bhushan, Chief Executive Officer, National Health
Authority, said,
“The core building blocks of NDHM such as Health ID, Digi-
Doctor and Health Facility Registry shall be owned,
operated and maintained by the Government of India.
Private stakeholders will have an equal opportunity to
integrate with these building blocks and create their own
products for the market. However, core activities and
verifications, for example, generation of Health ID or
approval of a doctor/facility shall remain with the
Government.”
“Additional components, like Personal Health Record (PHR)
and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solutions can be
developed by private players as well, in line with guidelines
that will be issued. All such products by private participants
shall be as per official guidelines taking care of security,
privacy and standards of the NDHM ecosystem,” he said.
The genesis of the new digital health infrastructure came
about in the 2017 National Health Policy, which proposed a
new National Digital Health Authority. Then, a committee
headed by former UIDAI chairman J Satyanarayana released
the National Digital Health Blueprint in July 2019.
This August 7, the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) released the
latest strategic document, outlining the envisioned digital personal
health records, digital clinical decision systems, and digital registries of
doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and insurance companies,
Patients can create a Health ID, allowing them to virtually share files
between hospitals and doctors. They can choose for how long or what
specific documents they would like to share with whom. If individuals are
looking to benefit from government schemes, then they will be required
to connect their ID to the Aadhaar.
One copy of a patient’s records will be stored in the doctor’s file and
another in one’s individual locker.
Other than the registry of doctors, professionals, and institutions, this
allows for decentralised storing.
Many More Issues
Reorganize J K & Ladakh, Cyber
Security, Disaster relief, Narcotics
control, Rafale.
Reorganization of J & K: Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi and supervision of Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah,
the former state of Jammu & Kashmir has been reorganized as the new
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the new Union Territory of
Ladakh on 31stOctober 2019.
Jammu and Kashmir is now a region administered by India as a union territory,
and constituting the southern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has
been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947, and
between India and China since 1962.
The region of Jammu and Kashmir is separated by the Line of Control from the
Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit - Baltistan in the
west and north respectively.
The government on August 5 announced withdrawal of the J & K state’s
special status under Article 370 and bifurcating the state into union
territories. The State of Jammu and Kashmir will transition into two Union
Territories of J&K and Ladakh on October 31. Under the J&K
Reorganisation Act, 2019 passed by Parliament on August 6, the number
of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of J&K has
been increased from 107 to 114. Ladakh will not have an Assembly and will
be directly governed by the Union Home Ministry through the Lieutenant-
Governor.
After October 31, 106 Central laws will be applicable to J&K, along with 166
State Acts, including the Governor’s Act. The reorganisation Act says 153 State
laws will be repealed. The UTs of J&K and Ladakh will come into existence as
other newly carved out States have come up in the past.
The National Cyber Security Strategy 2020 (NCSS 2020),
overseen by the National Security Council Secretariat,
collected public comments until January this year. These
frameworks will have a bearing on incidents similar to the
hacking WhatsApp of 121 Indians by Israeli cyber firm NSO
Group last year.
While the government calls the optical fibre connectivity
mission as the “world’s largest connectivity project”,
BharatNet, which envisages laying of about 8 lakh km of
incremental optical fibre cable (OFC) to all 2.50 lakh-plus
gram panchayats
BharatNet, which envisages laying of about 8 lakh km of incremental
optical fibre cable (OFC) to all 2.50 lakh-plus gram panchayats has had
significant snags in deployment for years now. First, it was unable to meet
its March 2020 deadline for its second phase of deployment, which was
shifted to August 2021.
Even this month, BSNL did not have any bidders for a maintenance and
upkeep tender for the fibre that is already laid. States are asking for more
funds for this second phase and lamenting a lack of labour due to migrant
exodus.
Besides, not many private players are utilising the already-laid fibre to
provide services from gram panchayats onwards, even as rural internet
penetration is growing independently through private telecom players.
Supreme Court dismisses plea to transfer PM CARES Fund to
NDRF: Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking the
transfer of money in PM CARES Fund to National Disaster Relief
Fund. The SC said that fresh national disaster plan for coronavirus
COVID-19 is not needed and observed that funds collected in PM
CARES Fund are meant for charitable trust.  "There is no statutory
prohibition on contributions made to NDRF and the contributions to
PM Cares fund are voluntary. Funds collected by the PM Cares fund
are different and these funds are funds of charitable trust. Thus, funds
need not be transferred," said the apex court.   
 Defense & Story of Rafale-36

French plane-maker Dassault Aviation clarified on Thursday [Oct. 11,

2018] that an executive’s reported comment about an “imperative and
mandatory” joint venture with Reliance Defense was in reference to the
offset part of the government-to-government deal between France and
India for 36 Rafale aircraft.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi reiterated his demand for a probe into
the deal.
Explaining the logic of the joint venture to workers’ representatives in
2017, Dassault deputy chief executive officer Loik Segalen said this was
done to ensure the French company got the “Rafale India export”
business.
Hindustan Times pointed out in a report on Thursday it
wasn’t clear if Segalen’s reference was to the offsets — the
only way Dassault could benefit from these was if it
partnered with a local company to make parts it could then
source — or the original deal. Dassault clarified that his
reference was to the offsets, or components it would have to
buy from an Indian manufacturer.
Separately, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier told AFP the
joint venture with Reliance Group will meet about 10% of the
firm’s offset obligations required by the contract for 36 Rafale
jets.
The Mumbai Zonal Unit of Narcotics Control Bureau arrested

six persons in connection with Sushant Singh Rajput drugs

controversy. The arrested men will be produced before the

ACMM Court tomorrow via video conferencing. The persons

arrested by the NCB are identified as Karamjeet Singh,

Dwayne Fernandes, Sanket Patel, Ankush Arneja, Sandeep

Gupta and Aftab Fateh Ansari.

The NCB conducted multiple raids across Mumbai and Goa.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has Arrested. (September 14)
o Six alleged drug peddlers arrested in connection with a ongoing probe. 
o The roles of the six accused: 1. Karamjeet Singh Anand_ Role: He is a drug supplier who
is infamous for supplying drugs to Bollywood TV actors through his local distribution
channel. 2. Sanket Patel_ Role: He is a part of Karamjeet's drugs distribution network in
Mumbai. He used to deliver drugs to celebrities as per Karamjeet's instructions.
3. Sandeep Gupta_ Role: An auto driver by profession, Sandeep used to supply weed
(ganja) to retail dealers in bulk. According to NCB, Sandeep supplied weed in bulk quantity
to Dwayne Fernandes. 4. Aftab Fateh Ansari _ Role: He is an accomplice of auto driver
Sandeep. Ansari used to procure weed in bulk quantity with Sandeep and then used to
supply it to retail dealers. 5. Dwayne Fernandes _ Role: He is a retail dealer of drugs and
used to sell marijuana and supply in small quantities. NCB said that Dwayne is a friend of
Showik Chakraborty. Dwayne supplied drugs to Showik for Sushant Singh Rajput. 6.
Ankush Arenja _ Role: He runs a kitchen in Mumbai's Andheri West area. Ankush is a local
dealer of drugs. He used to buy drugs from Sanket and then sell it to high-profile people in
Mumbai. Showik Chakraborty's school friend, Suryadeep Malhotra is a new name in the series
of those arrested and probed in the investigation. They will be produced before a magistrate in
Mumbai. 
o 25% think Modi govt failed to curb Covid-19 pandemic:
Mood of the Nation
o With India becoming the third worst-hit country by the
coronavirus, Indians feel the Modi government's handling of
the pandemic is its single biggest failure.
o 25 per cent of Indians think the Modi government has failed
to curb Covid-19, found the India Today-Karvy Insights Ltd
Mood of the Nation (MOTN) poll.
o India reported its first coronavirus case on January 30 when
a Wuhan-returned student was found positive in Kerala's
Thrissur. Now, India has over 20 lakh cases of the viral
infection.
Other notable failures of the Modi government include the

handling of the lockdown-induced migrant crisis (14%), price

rise (11%) and handling of the economy (7%).

Regionally, more than one-third of citizens from South have

mentioned handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as the topmost

failure of Modi government, whereas in other zones,

unemployment has been mentioned as the biggest failure.

The Tejas is a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) which is India’s indigenously
manufactured supersonic fighter jet.
Pranab Mukherjee, former President of India is no more.
The veteran politician left for his heavenly abode on 31st August
2020. He was 84 at the time of his demise. Pranab Mukherjee
served as India’s president between the period of 2012 to 2017.
He had a long political career during which he was elected as the
Member of Parliament for seven times.
"I have seen vast, perhaps unbelievable, changes during the journey that has brought me
from the flicker of a lamp in a small Bengal village to the chandeliers of Delhi." 
Endowed with perspicacity and wisdom, Bharat Ratna Shri Mukherjee combined
tradition and modernity. In his 5 decade long illustrious public life, he remained rooted
to the ground irrespective of the exalted offices he held. He endeared himself to people
across political spectrum. The Centre declared a seven-day state mourning period that
is from August 31 to September 6 as a tribute to former President Pranab Mukherjee. 
 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already
described the Covid-19 pandemic as an “Act of
God”, perhaps the Indian economy may truly be
‘ram bharose’.
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Secretariat on Monday issued a notification for the Monsoon
Session of Parliament to commence from September 14.

"The President has summoned the Rajya Sabha to meet on Monday, September 14, 2020, at
New Delhi. Subject to exigencies of business, the Session is scheduled to conclude on
Thursday, October 1, 2020," the Rajya Sabha secretariat said in a release
Monsoon Session of Parliament: Quick facts
The Monsoon Session will be held in 18 sittings till 1 October.
The sittings for the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will be held in
four-hour shifts. While the Rajya Sabha will function from 9
am till 1 pm, Lok Sabha proceedings will be conducted
between 3 pm and 7 pm.
On 14 September, only the Lok Sabha members will convene
for the session in the morning shift and the Rajya Sabha in
the evening shift. Proceedings will be held for both Houses on
Saturday and Sunday too.
 Sept. 14, 2020: Monsoon Session of Parliament:
The India-China border row, plunge in GDP growth, nose-diving economy
and migrant crisis are some of the key issues that are likely to dominate
the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The agenda for the session was decided during a business advisory
committee meeting . AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised the issue of
India-China tussle and the need for the Parliament to know what was
going on the borders. Owaisi told government to brief the MPs alone
since this is a matter of national security, and keep the media away.
However, the government will for now offer a statement by Defense
Minister Rajnath Singh on the developing situation. The government is
said to have told the BAC that the matter can be taken up during Tuesday
meeting.
This is also the first time in two decades when Parliament did not host an
all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session which begins from
September 14, will go on till October 1 and will have 18 sittings, including
weekends. The government has listed 11 ordinances for passage and
another 12 Bills for passage during the session.
Speaking after the meeting on Sunday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said,
"We have had a discussion with leaders from all political parties and they
would like to execute their due responsibility towards those who have
voted them to the Lok Sabha. All parties have agreed to offer full
cooperation to run the House and ensure maximum productivity.“
Over 4,000 people including MPs and staff have been tested for COVID-
19. Most parliamentary operations have been digitalized, entire premises
sanitised and doors made touch-free.
 Drug Trafficking
Ravi Kishan urges Centre to end drug trafficking: BJP's Ravi Kishan
pointed out during the Lok Sabha proceedings that the problem of drug
trafficking and addiction is on a rise and has reached the entertainment
industry. "A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy country's youth, our
neighbouring countries are contributing. Smuggling of drugs from Pakistan
and China is done every year. It is brought via Punjab and Nepal," he said.
Referring to the NCB investigation against Rhea Chakraborty, Kishan said
several people have been apprehended.

"I urge the Centre to take strict action, apprehend the culprits
soon, give them a befitting punishment and bring an end to
conspiracy of neighbouring countries," he said.
Ravi Kishan Takes Drug Probe in
Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case to
Parliament, Suggests Conspiracy by
Pakistan And China.
Actor and BJP MP Ravi Kishan raised the issue of
drug allegations on the film industry that has
recently emerged during the investigation into the
Sushant Singh Rajput death case. Citing 'Pakistan
and China' behind the alleged drugs spread in the
industry, the Bhojpuri actor praised the work of the
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai.
o Kannada actors Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa
Galarani will be produced in court through video
conference today (September 14) afternoon.
o Ragini Dwivedi (L) and Sanjana Galrani :
On Tuesday [15th Sept.], Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the
Lok Sabha on the border tensions between India and China, during
which he said till now, there has been no mutually acceptable solution
between the two countries. “China doesn’t recognise the traditional and
customary alignment of the boundary. We consider that this alignment is
based on well established geographical principals,” he said.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on Tuesday that China

has engaged in massive mobilisation of troops at the LAC, aggressive
behaviour, and sought to unilaterally change the status quo — all in
contravention of existing border agreements and pacts between the
two countries
Lok Sabha, which will start at 3 pm, will see Finance Minister Sitharaman moving The
Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to be taken into consideration. Following
this, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will move two bills -- The Farmers'
Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers
(Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill,
2020.
After Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan opposed BJP MP Ravi Kishan's drug statement
in Rajya Sabha on Sep 15, it came as a surprise for BJP MP as he expected his senior from
film industry to support him. Ravi Kishan said, 'Jaya ji is our senior. I expected Jaya ji to
support what I said. Not everyone in the industry consumes drugs but those who do are
part of a plan to finish the world's largest film industry. When Jaya ji and I joined, situation
was not like this but now we need to protect the industry.'
India on Tuesday said it has revived grass root democracy in
J&K, providing a new momentum to social and economic
development. It said the developments happened despite
persistent attempts by a neighbouring country to derail this
process. India's permanent representative Indra Mani Pandey
was speaking at the 45th Session of the Human Rights
Council. He also expressed regret over the UN human rights
chief Michelle Bachelet 's reference to the region. Pandey
said that India remains committed to upholding all human
rights.
THANK YOU
JAI HIND