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Organic Farming for Sustainability, Food Safety, & Biological Diversity

Organic farming is gaining prominence in India due to the fact that the more organic and natural the produce – the safer and healthier it is, for us and for the environment. Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Radha Mohan Singh visited on Sunday July 29, 2018 Lawsohtun organic farm at Shillong in Meghalaya, which is spread over 4 hectare belongs to Lawsohtun Farmers’ Association and is maintained by 20 households. The minister appreciated the work of farmers for practicing organic farming and encouraged them to expand their practice of organic farming to more lands. He assured full support from the Central government towards promoting organic farming in the state and asked the State government officials to invest more resources towards practicing and promoting organic farming in the state and to extend all possible assistance to farmers in this effort. Farming community as well as the city dwellers are now increasingly adopting organic farming practices and reaping more benefits as can be observed from the increasing number of individuals venturing into this field. Sustainability, openness, self-sufficiency, autonomy, health, food security and food safety are some of the advantages of organic farming.

Organic farming is an alternative agricultural system which to the maximum extent feasible relies upon crop rotations, crop residues, green manure, animal manures, compost manure, off-farm organic waste, mineral grade rock additives and biological system of nutrient mobilisation and plant protection; and avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic inputs, such as fertilisers, pesticides, hormones, feed, etc., and genetically modified organisms, and growth hormones. Biological pest control; mixed cropping and companion planting; and fostering of insect predators are encouraged. It’s an integrated farming system that strives for sustainability, enhancement of soil fertility and biological diversity.

Organic farming as a concept is not new as it originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices, and we are now seeing a rise in organic farming, as consumers are becoming highly conscious about their health and foods they consume, more and more people are opting for organic food to avoid the consumption of foods that are grown using chemical preservatives.

According to a study jointly by Assocham and Ernst & Young:

  • Organic products market in India has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% and it is expected to touch ₹10000-₹12000 crore by 2020 from the current market size of ₹4000 crore
  • India has although the highest number of farmers currently engaged in organic farming at 835000, yet the country accounts for less than 1% of the global organic market pie valued at $90 billion in 2016.
  • India ranks at 9th position with 1.49 million hectares in terms of total area under organic cultivation. Australia, which tops the list, has more than 27 million hectares under organic farming.
  • India’s organic packaged food and beverages is an emerging niche market and its primary consumers are high-income urbanites.
  • India’s organic packaged food market size growing at a rate of 17 per cent is expected to cross ₹1 crore by 2021 from ₹53.3 crore in 2016.
  • “The substantial growth of this sector is attributed to an expanding urban population base, rising health concerns, growing consumer spending on food products and deterioration of food quality”.
  • Apart from organic food and beverages markets, health and wellness, beauty and personal care market opportunities have grown immensely.
  • India is the second largest exporter of organic products in Asia after China.
  • Indian organic cultivation is highly successful due to the increasing export market coupled with the Government’s support.
  • “One of the major challenges faced by consumers who buy organic products by paying so much premium is that whether they can trust the product to be authentic or not”.

Meghalaya should become “100% organic farming state” as per expectations of the Central Government, as the state is rooted in a rich organic farming tradition. Government of Meghalaya had launched a new initiative called ‘Mission Organic’ in January 2015 to promote organic farming methods. Meghalaya has already developed organic farming in 40,000 hectares of land, covering all the districts of Meghalaya and this practice will complete three years on March 2019, according to Government officials of Meghalaya. This will enable the state to get the necessary certification for the products of these lands as organic products.

Among the states, Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under organic certification (4.62 lakh ha) followed by, Maharashtra (1.98 lakh ha) Rajasthan (1.55 lakh ha), Telangana (1.04 lakh ha), Odisha (0.96 lakh ha), Karnataka (0.94 lakh ha), Gujarat (0.77 lakh ha) and Sikkim (0.76 lakh ha). These states had a combined share of 90% of the area under organic certification in 2015-16.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi to get 24th Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award

Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award, instituted to commemorate the lasting contribution made by late Rajiv Gandhi former Indian Prime Minister to promote peace, communal harmony and fight against violence and carries a citation and cash award of ₹10 lakh, will be awarded in its 24th edition this year in 2018 to Gopalkrishna Gandhi, for his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill, as decided by its advisory committee in its meeting held on 28th July, 2018, and will be presented on August 20, 2018 the 74th birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi or Gopalkrishna Devdas Gandhi, now Distinguished Professor in History and Politics, Ashoka University, is a retired IAS officer and diplomat, had been the High Commissioner of South Africa and Sri Lanka. He was also the 22nd Governor of West Bengal during the period 2004 to 2009.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi was nominee of United Progressive Alliance for elections for the post of Vice President of India in 2017 and lost with 244 votes against National Democratic Alliance candidate Venkaiah Naidu, who got 516 votes.

He is grandson of Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) on paternal side and Rajajji (Chakravarti Rajagopalachari or C. R.) on maternal side. He was born on April 22, 1945 to Lakshmi Gandhi and Devadas Gandhi. Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the younger brother Rajmohan Gandhi, Ramchandra Gandhi and Smt. Tara Bhattacharjee (Gandhi). He graduated with a master’s degree in English literature from St. Stephens College of Delhi University.

Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award was instituted by by All India Congress Committee in 1992 and is given on 20 August, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, which is celebrated as Sadbhavna Diwas ((Communal Harmony). Rajiv Gandhi was born in Bombay on August 20, 1944 to Indira and Feroze Gandhi.

Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Mohammed Yunus, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar, Jagan Nath Kaul, Dr (Smt) Kapila Vatsyayan, K.R. Narayanan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Muzaffar Ali, Shubha Mudgal, SN Subbarao,. Nirmala Deshpande, Hem Dutta, Dr N Radhakrishnan, Gautam Bhai, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, SPIC MACAY, and DR Mehta _ individually; and Hiteswar Saikia and Subhadra Joshi (jointly),  Teesta Setalvad and Harsh Mander (jointly), Swami Agnivesh and Shri Madari Moideen (jointly) – are former recipients of the award.

Hydropower Generation in India: Effects of Climate Change

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar research team, led by Vimal Mishra, which included Syed Azhar Ali, Saran Aadhar and Harsh Shah from Department of Civil Engineering, has thrown important insights on the impacts of observed Climate Variability and Projected Future Climate Change on Stream-flow and Hydropower Production in India. As per their observations, for future planning, careful consideration of uncertainties in precipitation projections, along with robust and comprehensive adaptation strategies, is required, according to a new study published in journal Scientific Reports on Monday August 20, 2018 by the researchers. As Hydropower Generation in India is seeing the effects of climate change, the government must consider changes occurring due to climate change while planning new hydropower projects.

India’s top seven large hydropower projects: Nathpa Jhakri, Bhakra Nangal, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar, Hirakud, Sardar Sarovar, and Indira Sagar were the subject of the study that is based on observed climate variability over the years between 1951 and 2007, and model simulations for projected climate change under different scenarios, using past observations from India Meteorological Department (IMD) and model simulations for future climate change.

Indus, Krishna, Mahanadi, and Narmada are the four major Indian sub-continental basins in which these large reservoirs are located.

  • The study has found that seven large hydropower projects have experienced “significant warming” and a decline in rainfall and stream-flow during the period 1951–2007.
  • Generation of hydropower from the top seven hydropower projects in India has suffered due to climate variability in the past six decades.
  • Future projected climate change may also hit reservoir operations for power generation from these projects.
  • All hydropower projects are projected to experience a warmer and wetter climate in the future.
  • There might be a seasonal variability in reservoirs that get stream-flow from snow and glacier melt.
  • Due to higher increase in air temperature, flow due to snow and glacier melt is projected to decline in the pre-monsoon season as shown for Bhakhara Nangal and Nathpa Jhakhari projects.
  • Nathpa Jhakri and Bhakra Nangal where the annual mean temperature is projected to increase by more than 6.25 degrees by period 2070–2099 under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario are likely to observe the highest warming.
  • Other hydropower projects might see increase in annual hydropower production under the projected future climate, mainly due to increase in the monsoon season rainfall under the warming climate.
  • It is also likely that the projected increase in rainfall can be due to rising extreme precipitation events in future.
  • Most of the catchments of the large reservoirs are projected to experience substantial warming under projected future climate.
  • There will be increase in stream-flow for the reservoirs located in central and south India primarily due to increase in the monsoon season precipitation under future climate.
  • Projected increase in precipitation and stream-flow may also result in an increased sediment load to the reservoirs, which can affect the storage capacity of reservoirs and hydro power potential in future.
  • Future irrigation demands can also influence the hydropower potential of the reservoirs.
  • Other factors like land use and land cover changes will also be critical in future in response to urbanisation and expansion of agriculture that will affect stream-flow and so as hydropower production.

G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting to Bridge Digital Divide

“Digitalization changes all parts of our economy, politics and society and brings the world closer together”, said Christian Hirte, German Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, in support of G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting in Salta, in the north-west of Argentina, held on August 23 & 24, 2018 with an agenda focused on digital transformations and attended by 33 heads of delegation: Ministers, senior officials and representatives from invited countries and international organizations, like EU, UNCTAD, ITU etc. India was represented by Ravi Shankar Prasad Union Minister for Electronics and IT & Law and Justice.

Joint Declaration issued after the Meeting reflects the G20’s commitment towards promoting “policies and actions that catalyse digital transformations”, and includes proposals to reduce the digital gender divide, transform the government, measure the digital economy and accelerate digital infrastructure. The G20 confirms importance of the digital economy for global development:

“We note that, in order to advance human-centric policies, a fair, predictable, transparent and competitive business environment, and inclusive growth in the digital era, it is essential to continue our dialogue and work towards improving digital market access for consumers and businesses, particularly in developing countries, as well as our understanding of the market impact of emerging technologies and new business models, like online platforms.”

Joint Declaration, built upon the consensus achieved under the Chinese and German presidencies, acknowledges that digitalization is a powerful enabler of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.  It encourages G20 countries to better understand new business models to accelerate the digital economy in an inclusive, transparent and competitive manner.

Joint Declaration:

  • Lists requirements for a thriving digital economy, which include:
    • An effective and high-quality infrastructure system,
    • An environment that supports innovation and enabling legal frameworks, &
    • Promoting the free flow of information, knowledge and ideas.
  • Seeks to help reduce the digital gender divide, accelerate digital infrastructure, transform the government and measure the new economy.
  • As regards digital inclusion, the declaration reads that, “in many countries the digital gender divide remains large.” “G20 countries have an extraordinary opportunity to implement policies and actions that accelerate the full integration of women into the digital economy.”
  • It included setting specific goals, eliminating stereotypes and promoting female digital entrepreneurship.
  • In terms of infrastructure, the declaration alludes to “the G20 common goal of promoting universal and affordable access to the internet by all people by 2025”.
  • It considers digital government as well, calling for “an agile, innovative, integrated and data-driven public sector,” one that makes a crucial contribution towards developing the digital economy.
  • Declaration addresses emerging digital technologies and the challenge of capturing the benefits of digitalization to improve productivity.
  • It highlights “the importance of supporting entrepreneurs and MSMEs.”

India’s Union Minister for Electronics and IT & Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, while addressing plenary session of the G-20 Digital Economy Ministerial meeting, said that India’s digital story is a story of hope and growth; of opportunities and profits. But above all it is a story of digital inclusion and empowerment. Digital India is a mass movement today touching the lives of a billion people.

Highlighting the enormous scale of India’s digital infrastructure that included 1.21 billion mobile phones, of which 450 million are smartphones, nearly 500 million internet subscriber and an ever increasing broadband availability being supported by optical fibre connectivity in 250000 village clusters; he added that the success of Digital India programme lay in the conscious efforts to bridge the digital divide and promote digital inclusion, based upon technology which is low cost, affordable, developmental and which fosters empowerment and inclusion.

The Minister highlighted the important role played by India’s home grown technologies for promoting digital payment, in addition to the stellar role played by India’s IT companies, which have left their mark in 200 cities of 80 countries, enabling India to emerge as a profound digital power, with India’s digital economy likely to become 1 trillion $ economy in the next 3-5 years.

He said that India believed in internet access for all, adding that the Internet is one of the finest creations of the human mind. He stated that while Cyber-space is truly global, it must be linked with local ideas, local culture and local views.

He articulated India’s concerns about data protection and individual privacy and informed the meeting that India had already put in place stringent measures backed by laws passed by the parliament. He said that privacy cannot prohibit innovation nor can privacy become the shield for the corrupt or terrorists. We need data to improve business but the data must be anonymous, objective, and taken with consent.

The G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting in Salta saw great interest in India’s JAM trinity of more than 300 million bank accounts of the poor along with Aadhar and mobiles which is empowering the poor by direct benefit transfer of their welfare entitlement into their bank account.

US Indo-Pacific Command Reflects Growing US India Relationship

US Pacific Command was renamed as US Indo-Pacific Command, underscoring the growing importance of India to the Pentagon, in a move widely seen as a public expression of America’s keenness to count India as key partner in its strategic planning. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced on Wednesday May 30, 2018, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, during a change of command ceremony when Admiral Philip Davidson assumed leadership of the command from Admiral Harry Harris, to better reflect what he described as linkages and values in the region, “in recognition of the increasing connectivity, the Indian and Pacific Oceans, today we rename the US Pacific Command to US Indo-Pacific Command.” Mattis added, “Relationships with our Pacific and Indian Ocean allies and partners have proven critical to maintaining regional stability. We stand by our partners and support their sovereign decisions, because all nations large and small are essential to the region if we’re to sustain stability in ocean areas critical to global peace.”

United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is one of six geographic Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Armed Forces. Its headquarters is located in the Nimitz-MacArthur Building on Camp H.M. Smith just outside of Honolulu, Hawaii. Its Commander reports to the President of the United States through the Secretary of Defense and is supported by four component commands headquartered in Hawaii and have following forces stationed and deployed throughout the region:

  • US Pacific Fleet
  • US Pacific Air Forces
  • US Army Pacific and
  • US Marine Forces, Pacific.

USINDOPACOM’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) encompasses about half the earth’s surface, stretching from the waters off the west coast of the US to the western border of India, and from Antarctica to the North Pole. There are few regions as culturally, socially, economically, and geo-politically diverse as the Asia-Pacific. The 36 nations comprising the Asia-Pacific region are home to more than 50% of the world’s population, 3000 different languages, several of the world’s largest militaries, and five nations allied with the US through mutual defense treaties. Two of the three largest economies are located in the Asia-Pacific along with 10 of the 14th smallest. The AOR includes the most populous nation in the world, the largest democracy, and the largest Muslim-majority nation. More than one third of Asia-Pacific nations are smaller, island nations that include the smallest republic in the world and the smallest nation in Asia.

USINDOPACOM protects and defends, in concert with other US Government agencies, the territory of the United States, its people, and its interests. USINDOPACOM, with allies and partners,  is committed to enhancing stability in the Asia-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression, and, when necessary, fighting to win.  This approach is based on partnership, presence, and military readiness.

USINDOPACOM recognizes the global significance of the Asia-Pacific region and understands that challenges are best met together. Consequently, USPACOM will remain an engaged and trusted partner committed to preserving the security, stability, and freedom upon which enduring prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region depends.

Commanding the newly-named Indo-Pacific Command is now Admiral Philip Davidson, in charge of all US forces in an operational area that covers close to half the planet said, “I think India and the relationship with the United States is the potentially most historic opportunity we have in the 21st century and I intend to pursue that quite rigorously”.

Admiral Harry Harris the previous commander is set to be Trump’s pick to be US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea said, “North Korea remains our most imminent threat and a nuclear-capable North Korea, with missiles that can reach the United States, is unacceptable.” “China remains the biggest long-term challenge, while Russia still represents an existential threat to the US.” Harris added, “A lot in the world has changed since the end of the Soviet Union, and much of the change has been good, but the threat remains.” “Make no mistake, our 27-year holiday from history is over. Great power competition is back,” Harris said. “Freedom and justice hang in the balance and the scale won’t tip of its own accord simply because we wish it would.”

The change of name to US Indo-Pacific Command is meant to reflect the US’s growing relationship with India. But the rhetorical shift is also likely part of a gambit to undercut China’s growing clout in the region as China has also used its One Belt, One Road initiative to grow its sway in Asia and across the Pacific, offering loans and financing for an array of infrastructure and other development programs. Beijing has been criticized for using those economic relationships to gain leverage over smaller countries.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis alluding to China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy for the region, and echoing Indian concerns about it said that US Indo-Pacific Command is critical for “a region open to investment and free, fair and reciprocal trade, not bound by any nation’s predatory economics or threat of coercion, for the Indo-Pacific has many belts and many roads”. India is currently caught in the crossfire of anti-Russian sanctions mandated by the US Congress and Mattis has called for waiver for India though it has significant defence cooperation with Russia. The first ‘two-plus-two’ ministerial dialogue between India and the US is scheduled for the first week of July.

US Defence Secretary further said “America continues to invest vigorously in Indo-Pacific stability, bolstering the free and open rules-based international order that has enabled this region to grow and to thrive for over 70 years. While we are prepared to face any who would seek to challenge America’s resolve, our National Defense Strategy is not a strategy of confrontation”. “Americans’ vision is shared by most nations in the region, where every state’s sovereignty is respected, no matter its size, and it’s a region open to investment in free, fair, and reciprocal trade not bound by any nation’s predatory economics or threat of coercion”.

Who will dominate the 21st Century?

21st Century belongs to Asian Countries as its proponents claim that the two most populous countries, China and India, which are expected to grow rapidly economically, are in Asia, and then it’s only natural that they will play a bigger role in the World’s affairs. Assuming certain demographic and persisting economic trends lead to forecasts that predict the rising economic and political strength of Asia and dominance of Asian politics and culture. The growing importance and actions of unity in Asia and maturing relationship within countries in the region further solidify this claim of creation of the 21st Asian Century. This concept of Asian Century parallels the characterization of the 20th century as the American Century, as the balance of power was with the US and the soviet Union from 1945 to 1991; whereas, the 19th century as British Imperial Century, as British Empire was a superpower during the nineteenth century, controlling nearly a quarter of the World’s area and population. However, there is a school of thought that believes that the 21st century will be Multipolar, and no one country or continent will have such a concentration of influence.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a 2011 study found that an additional 3 billion Asians could enjoy living standards similar to those in Europe today, and the region could account for over half of global output by the middle of this century. ADB expected Asia’s GDP to increase nine-fold from $16 trillion in 2010 to $148 trillion in 2050, accounting for half of global GDP by the middle of this so-called Asian century. It warned, however, that the Asian Century is not preordained due to the possibility that the continuing high rate of growth could lead to revolution, economic slumps, and environmental problems, especially in mainland China.

Asian countries have a growing feeling that the West is on the retreat, especially since the 2008 financial crisis, there is news of declining populations, big layoffs and economic meltdowns in several countries of the European Union. But there is also the other side of the story that there is no denying the fact that the United States of America, being the most populous of the Western countries continues to be the most productive and innovative in the world, as well as militarily the most powerful. There are reasons to believe that the West may continue to dominate the 21st century:

  • West’s combined GDP is several times than that of the rest of the world.
  • West has accumulated massive financial resources.
  • West has robust legal and administrative systems.
  • Western people enjoy very high level of social security as well as democracy.
  • Their life is much more secure and predictable.
  • West attracts the most brilliant and creative minds from the rest of the world as it continues to have most of the finest educational and research facilities.

Asia to dominate the 21st century needs a revolution in governance and public accountability to overcome seemingly insurmountable environmental, social and economic challenges. There appears to be some hope in growing public activism in India, sporadic protests in China, and certain positive signals in some other countries that suggest that such a revolution may unexpectedly come about.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often been reiterating that the 21st century belongs to India and the world has begun to acknowledge the fact, as he addressed an 18,000 strong cheering crowd of Indian community members at the SAP Centre in California on September 28, 2015. And again on November 13, 2017 while addressing the Indian community in Manila, Philippines, Modi exhorted Indians to work hard to ensure that the 21st century belongs to India and said his government was making every effort to transform the country and take it to new heights.

BJP Wrests in Himachal Pradesh with Overwhelming Majority

Himachal Pradesh has the record of changing governments every election since 1985, and this time too Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), following aggressive campaign, wrested power with an overwhelming majority winning 44 seats in 68 members Assembly, reducing Congress to just 21 seats with most of the Cabinet Ministers of Congress also losing elections. Results were declared on 18 December 2017 of the elections which took place on 9 November 2017 which had seen a record voter turnout of 75.28%.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed several rallies and an army of the BJP’s senior leaders such as party President Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned where local issues dominated the campaign. Previous Virbhadra Singh government of Congress also came under fire for the deteriorating law and order situation in the State. Coming close to the Assembly elections, a spate of such developments led to State-wide protests and only contributed to growing disenchantment with the incumbent Congress government.

  • BJP increased its vote share by 10.13% from 38.47% in 2012 to 48.6% in 2017 while Congress reduced it by 0.91% from 42.81% in 2012 to 41.9% in 2017.
  • Two independents and one CPI (M) member also registered victories.
  • The results were with upsets for both parties with stalwarts tasting defeat.
  • BJP’s Chief Ministerial face, Prem Kumar Dhumal, faced defeat in the contest for the Sujanpur constituency from its protégé Rajinder Singh Rana of Congress by about 3,500 votes.
  • It was an ironical defeat because it was Dhumal who played a crucial role in ensuring the consolidation of the dominant Thakur community, that comprises 28% of the population of this hilly state, which has reported to have helped propel the BJP to its outstanding victory in the state ensuring their victory in over ten seats
  • BJP’s State president Satpal Satti, facing anti-incumbency in Una as a three-time MLA, also lost

On comparison, in Himachal Pradesh, the difference in vote share was smaller at 7% and BJP won a much higher share of the seats, close to a two-thirds majority; whereas in Gujarat there is a gap of 8% between the BJP and the Congress in vote share but the victory is by an extremely slim majority of 19 seats in 182 Assembly.

BJP president Amit Shah declared his party’s victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh as the triumph of performance and development over a “negative campaign” based on “casteism, nepotism and appeasement politics” run by the rival Congress.

Now, either the BJP or one of its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is in control of 19 of the 29 states and never before has any political party controlled as many states in India. Much of this success is being credited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he came to power in May 2014. In December 1993 Congress controlled 18 states: with 15 states out of 26 by itself and one through an alliance and two others were held by CPI (M), which then provided an outside support to the Congress government at the Centre.

BJP’s Sixth Straight Win in Gujarat is a Big Victory as it beats Five Term Anti-Incumbency

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah has won elections in Gujarat for the sixth time winning 99 seats – 54.4% of the total 182 seats and got 49.1% vote share. It faced a tough battle against a renewed Congress that got 80 seats – 43.96% of total seats and 41.4% vote share, under the leadership of newly elected party president Rahul Gandhi, and others/independents got remaining 3 seats. The BJP, though got a majority mandate, has currently been reduced to double digits from 115 in 2012 Assembly elections and is down by 16 seats, whereas Congress has got 19 seats more than 2012. Campaigning in Gujarat, both by the BJP and the Congress, was high-pitched and bitterly-fought. Prime Minister Modi’s blistering campaign in every district of the State, 34 rallies in 15 days and the reinforcement of his connect with the people of Gujarat was an important factor. Modi’s rhetoric was successful in intervening in the campaign at the most crucial juncture.

  • Electoral victory of the BJP reinforces that Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the most potent weapon in its armoury.
  • Results in Gujarat has conformed to that view, with the Congress having improved on its 2012 tally, but still resigned to being the Opposition in the State
  • Vote share of BJP has increased by 1.25% from 47.85% in 2012 to 49.1% in 2017
  • Vote share of Congress has increased by 2.47% from 38.93% in 2012 to 41.4% in 2017
  • BJP’s micro management and formidable electoral machinery was in top form in these polls as it had completed its booth committees by June.
  • Statement by senior Congressman Mani Shankar Aiyar using the word neech (low) in the middle of the campaign gave a golden opportunity to the BJP to turn the focus of the narrative on Modi’s humble origins and his self-made political career.
  • These elections have thrown up another winner: NOTA (None Of The Above) as over 5 lakh voters of the state chose to press the NOTA button during the elections and this vote share of NOTA in Gujarat elections, which stands at almost 1.8% of the electorate is higher than that of parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
  • BJP has won all the 16 seats in Surat, the hub of grievances against the GST, shows that it was not a factor in these polls. GST was an issue in its first two months of implementation and steps taken by the government in this regard helped pacify the angry traders.
  • Congress has been able to make inroads in the Kutch-Saurashtra belt.
  • Congress reaped the harvest of the Patidar revolt, gaining as many as 18 new Saurashtra seats and about 30 overall in a straight belt from Rajula at the southern tip of the peninsula to Dasada in the north
  • Congress benefitted with support of caste poll bearers Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani
  • Congress gained 17 seats in rural areas and BJP is down by 14 seats there.
  • BJP has managed to retain an urban support base, winning 55 of 73 urban seats.
  • The only parallel for BJP’s Gujarat ascendancy in the post-Janata phase is with the Left Front’s three-decade long rule in West Bengal, although both models are strikingly different.
  • BJP’s sixth straight win in Gujarat is a big victory for the party as to beat a five term anti-incumbency is not a small thing.

According to Modi:

  • “These results show that the country is ready for reform, and rewards performance and is keen to be transformed. It shows that the people have rejected divisive and casteist politics and chose development and progress instead.
  • Aspirations of India’s middle class are really high today. There was a time when people were content with what they had. Today’s India walks with new dreams in their eyes, has new hope. And they show that if you don’t perform, if you indulge in misdeeds, people won’t accept you in five years.
  • Gujarat elections are an unprecedented election in BJP’s history. Today, if any government returns after 5 years, it is considered a big win in editorials. Any government coming back to power has been a huge event in the last 30 years. Gujarat is unique. It fights 12 elections in a row and it wins all of them. These consecutive victories and that too only based on development and good governance shows a new direction in India’s politics
  • The truth is that in May 2014 after the national elections, there has been an environment of development, there has been a hunger for development. Development has become a priority for my government.
  • Casteism was so prevalent in Gujarat that it took workers like us 30 years to free Gujarat from its clutches. But some people, out of hunger for power, in the last few months tried to sow the seeds of casteism again. But people of Gujarat rejected them, for this they deserve congratulations. However, people of Gujarat will need to be more cautious about divisive politics and caste-based politics from now on. They have to be careful not to fall in that trap.”

Transformational Changes in Education Sector

To strengthen education system 33 new initiatives have been taken and overall funding for education has increased from ₹ 67867 crore in 2013-14 to ₹ 110000 crore in 2018-19 by the Government, as stated by Union Human Resources Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar, while addressing a Press Conference at New Delhi on June 18, 2018. He added that revolutionary changes have been made to provide affordable and quality education for all. Transformational changes have taken place in the education sector bringing in accessibility, quality, accountability, equity & affordability and have also given a tremendous push to research and innovation.

  • Learning Outcomes benchmark student’s capabilities are to be achieved in each subject and class every year. This will bring in accountability of schools, teachers and students, as well as parents and will improve the quality of school education.
  • 103 new Kendriya Vidyalayas and 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas have been opened during the last four years.
  • National Assessment Survey, World’s largest National Assessment Survey,  assessed 22 lakh students of class 3, 5 and 8 & 15 lakh students of class 10.
  • No-detention policy: Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 is already tabled in Parliament,
  • To address the issue of adverse effect on the learning levels of children as section 16 of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 does not allow holding back of children in any class till the completion of elementary education.
  • Therefore, in order to improve the learning outcomes in the elementary classes, it is proposed to substitute section 16 so as to empower the appropriate Governments to take decision as to whether to hold back a child in the fifth class or in the eighth class or in both classes, or not to hold back a child in any class, till the completion of elementary education
  • This will ensure a continued study by the students and improve their performance.
  • Swayam is focusing on teachers’ education, as14 lakh unqualified D. El. Ed teachers are doing course on this platform and 1st year exam was successfully conducted.
  • Rationalisation of syllabus has been taken up as 37000 people have given their suggestions to reduce the curriculum
  • More time is needed to focus on value education, experiential learning, life skills education, creative skills and physical education.
  • Samagra Shiksha: Budget will increase by increased by 20% in each year.
  • Midday Meals: Scheme was being further strengthened by granting more funds.
  • Every day 95 million students are served fresh cooked food at 11.4 lakh schools at the cost of ₹ 17000 crore per year.
  • Union government is further strengthening the program by granting more funds for cooking, transport cost and also for fortification of food.
  • Higher Education: 141 Universities, 14 IIITs, 7 IIMs, 7 IITs and 1 NIT have been opened during the last four years.
  • Revitalising Infrastructure & Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022: Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) will provide ₹ 100000 crore in next 4 years.
  • Autonomy of Higher Education Institutions: IIM Bill has been passed, while Graded Autonomy has been granted to more than 60 universities.
  • Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA): Budget for quality education has been increased three fold.
  • GIAN, Global Initiative for Academic Network aimed at internationalization of education:700 professors from 58 countries have so far conducted 1117 This year 800 professors from 60 countries to conduct various courses under GIAN.
  • National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): has completed 3rd successful year in excellence and ranking and has become a benchmark of quality and creates competitive spirit among the institute. More than 4500 institutes have participated.
  • SWAYAM portal under the digital initiative has been launched with 1,032 Courses by the best faculty. 2 million users are benefiting with this Interactive learning program.
  • National Digital Library (NDL): Online Library with 17 million digital books & journals are available and 32 lakhs registered users are accessing NDL free of cost.
  • Electronic storage of certificates and degrees: Facilities have been made available under the National Academic Depository.
  • Wi-Fi facility has been provided to all central universities. Nearly 400 university campuses and 10000 colleges are now Wi-Fi enabled.
  • Research and Innovation initiatives launched with IMPRINT – I & II under Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF) under which 1000 students with academic excellence are given 5 years scholarship of ₹ 70000 – ₹ 80000 and ₹ 2 lakh annual for doing Ph. D and research.  It envisages Public Funding of research projects on issues of social importance under this initiative. 323 Research projects are underway.
  • Smart India Hackathon initiative involves open invitation to college students to provide solutions to the common problems. During the SIH- 2018: 100000 students participated with 400 problem statements.

Grand Final of Smart India Hackathon (Hardware Edition) was inaugurated on June 18, 2018 by Union Human Resources Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar, who said, “These Hackathons are good platform to showcase talent and will certainly provide jobs to your and innovative minds.”

SWAYAM to Bridge Students’ Digital Divide

SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds), an instrument for self-actualisation providing opportunities for a life-long learning, is a programme initiated by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, technically supported by Microsoft, and is designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., Access, Equity and Quality. The objective of this effort, a type of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.

  • SWAYAM presents a unique educational opportunity to expand the horizons of knowledge for, working or non-working and in school or out of school learners.
  • An indigenous developed IT platform facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.
  • All the courses are interactive, prepared by the best teachers in the country and are available, free of cost to the residents in India.
  • Students wanting certifications are to be registered and offered a certificate on successful completion of the course with a little fee.
  • More than 1000 specially chosen faculty and teachers from across the Country have participated in preparing these courses.
  • Learners can choose from hundreds of courses, virtually every course that is taught at the University / College / School level as these are offered by best of the teachers in India and elsewhere.
  • Credits can be transferred on to the academic record of the students for courses done on SWAYAM, as per the UGC (Credit Framework for online learning courses through SWAYAM) Regulation 2016

SWAYAM hosted courses are in 4 quadrants, wherein steps have been taken to enrich the learning experience by using audio-video and multi-media and state of the art pedagogy / technology:

  • Video lecture,
  • Specially prepared reading material that can be downloaded/printed
  • Self-assessment tests through tests and quizzes and
  • An online discussion forum for clearing the doubts.

Nine National Coordinators have been appointed in order to ensure best quality content are produced and delivered:

  • All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE) for self-paced courses,
  • National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)for engineering,
  • University Grants Commission (UGC)for post-graduation education,
  • Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) for under-graduate education,
  • National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)  for school education, and
  • National Institute of Open Schooling(NIOS)  also for school education,
  • Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) for out of the school students,
  • Indian Institute of Management Bangalore(IIMB) for under-graduate management studies, and
  • Indian Institute of Management Bangalore(IIMB) for post-graduate management studies as well.