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Transformation of Aspirational Districts is a Giant Leap towards Transforming India for New India 2022 Vision

Bijapur the tribal district in Chhattisgarh is one of the most backward regions in the country but has started doing well on various development parameters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi the first Prime Minister to visit Bijapur, while inaugurating the first health centre under Ayushman Bharat Scheme to end social imbalance in the country at Bijapur on the 127th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar on April 14, 2018 Modi said, “We are working with a new approach for 115 districts of the country under Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), including Bijapur. If Bijapur can see development in 100 days then why can’t the other districts witness the same? I came here to assure you that with all the development projects now Bijapur district will no longer be known as a backward district.” Prime Minister’s visit to Bijapur gives wings to the aspirations of people in the remotest parts of India to become a rightful partner in India’s growth story. Jangala Development Hub, situated in a panchayat that has emerged as a model panchayat, and its people, ‘Champions of Change’, who despite all odds and being at the epicenter of Left Wing Extremism have performed very well, especially post the launch of Aspirational District programme on January 5, 2018.

Bijapur represents a microcosm of aspirations of a youthful nation as in short span of time; it has made spectacular progress in health, nutrition, education and creation of livelihood opportunities. This District, which has ranked among the top 5 performing districts on the basis of percent change in key indicators, has taken series of innovative measures.  This has been achieved on the back of best practices such as the creation of a well- functioning hospital with doctors recruited on competitive salaries from different parts of the country by utilizing the flexibility provided under the National Health Mission, running of schools for naxal-affected children in portable cabins and various measures to improve livelihood opportunities. These measures amply demonstrate the spirit of cooperative federalism wherein if the Centre, State and District administration work as a team, rapid transformation for creation of a New India by 2022 is an achievable.

 Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) is an innovation in governance that covers about 15% of India’s population and is reflective of the priority of the Government to provide for the poorest of the poor. It is a well-known fact that India is on a high growth trajectory. What was urgently needed however was the enhancement of the Human Development Index and the reduction in the significant inter-state and inter-district variations in development. For this to happen, the Prime Minister felt that the aspirational districts have to be transformed, and launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme in January 2018.

  • ADP hinges on expeditiously transforming 115 districts that were identified from 28 states, in a transparent manner.
  • The intent is to leverage the resources of the several government programmes that already exist but are not always used efficiently.
  • Three core aspects frame the structure of ADP:
    • Convergence (of Central & State Schemes),
    • Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors),
    • Competition among districts.
  • Driven primarily by the States and instituted for the States, this initiative focuses on the strength of each district, and identifies the attainable outcomes for immediate improvement, while measuring progress, and ranking the selected districts.
  • An Empowered Committee under the convenorship of the CEO of NITI Aayog has been instituted to help in the convergence of various government schemes and streamlining of efforts.
  • To optimally utilize potential and ensure that the New India 2022 is a part of every individual’s vision especially in the rural areas, this initiative focuses closely on improving people’s ability to participate fully in the rapidly growing economy.
  • Baseline ranking for the 115 aspirational districts is based on 49 indicators across five sectors that include health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, and basic infrastructure.
  • There will be a dynamic ranking of performance of districts. Since the progress will be captured on a real time basis, a dashboard has been formulated that features a real-time monitoring mechanism. The key tangible outcomes will be as follows:
    • What is measured, is expected to improve rapidly across states
    • A co-operative competition among districts as a vital strategy
    • Eventually, this is expected to help fine-tune Government programmes.
  • As of April 1, 2018 districts have started entering data. To help evaluate progress and the success of initiatives introduced by the Central Government in collaboration with the States, a delta ranking of these districts will be displayed every month from May 2018 on the dashboard based on the “incremental progress” to be monitored on a real-time basis.

With ADP, India would emerge as a hub for experiment as globally, governments have been increasingly incorporating data to inform policies on a large scale. No other developing country has undertaken a program that focuses on holistic development of a large share of its population. ADP is an all-India initiative meant to trigger uniform growth and development in every corner of the country.

ADP is essentially a competitive federalism and synergy-enhancing module that will eventually give every corner of India – rural or urban, a chance to exceed its own aspirations, and a platform to be heard and where required, helped.

ADP initiative is supported by prestigious partners in programme implementation which provide ground level support, like the Tata Trust, Piramal Foundation, ITC, and L&T, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and IDInsight to conduct surveys.  The partners will ably support the programme through leadership development, change management, technology integration and implementing various innovative practices.

ADP is an immersive initiative that will change the landscape of how India progresses through the vision of the Government of India. NITI’s focus is to improve India in the Human Development Index ranking, raising the living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth for all.

‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative envisioned by the Prime Minister is a giant leap towards transforming India for the New India 2022 vision.

World Class Missile Technology under Make in India Initiative

World Class Guided Weapon Systems Technology for Indian Armed Forces under Make in India initiative has been offered by L&T MBDA Missile Systems Limited (L&T MBDA) with a clear objective of indigenously developing, manufacturing and supplying highly advanced missiles and missile systems. L&T MBDA, exhibiting at the Defexpo 2018 at Chennai, has responded to a request for information from the Government of India to make fifth generation anti-tank guided missiles, short range surface-to-air missiles and medium range anti-ship missile systems for India’s Armed Forces.

L&T MBDA, a joint venture between engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Europe’s MBDA which designs and produces missiles and missile systems, were amongst a gathering of defence industry representatives from private and public sector representing some 500 Indian companies and 150 international firms at the Defexpo 2018 from April 11 to 14, 2018 in Chennai at Tiruvidanthal, in Kancheepuram district; with tagline “India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub.”

L&T MBDA, the joint venture incorporated on April 05, 2017 as an Indian Company fully complying with India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy norms for a Defence Manufacturing Company in which L&T holds 51% and MBDA holds 49% equity, within one year of its incorporation is preparing to participate in various Make in India category projects and is offering the following missile systems to address Indian Armed Forces’ operational requirements:

  • 5th Generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM 5) with substantially advanced features vis-à-vis other 3rd and 4thgeneration ATGM missiles. The missile is offered under the Buy: Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) procurement category for the Indian Armed Forces. ATGM 5 made its public debut at Defexpo 2018, where a model of the missile was displayed and its operational advantages demonstrated using a fully functional simulator.
  • Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) the latest in surface to air missile technologies under the Buy and Make (Indian) Category for the Naval Surface Platforms’ requirements of the Indian Navy
  • Medium Range Anti-Ship Missile System the latest generation anti-ship missile system under the Buy and Make (Indian) Category for the Naval Surface Platforms requirements of the Indian Navy.

MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). MBDA, with its Headquarters in Paris, France and parent organisations Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, was formed by a merger of French Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles, Italian Alenia Marconi Systems and British Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. With a significant presence in five European countries and within the USA, in 2017 MBDA achieved revenue of 3.1 billion euros with an order book of 16.8 billion euros. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems.

Loïc Piedevache, India Country Head, MBDA, said, “For over 50 successful years our strategy has been one of true partnership with the Indian Armed Forces and Indian industry. The JV offers the Indian Armed Forces the flexibility of choice regarding the timely acquisition of key operational capabilities, coupled with the optimized means of acquiring and mastering the very latest and most advanced guided weapon systems technology currently available anywhere in the world.”

Right to Privacy & Enforceable Data Protection Law

Aadhaar, India’s compulsory national biometric ID issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) – through which it gathers vast amounts of personal data, has been made all-encompassing with the Government having issued about 139 notifications calling for the linking of Aadhaar to various aspects of life. As such its wide pervasive use goes well beyond public entitlements or regulated services to sundry services. Aadhaar Act enacted in March 2016 and right to privacy being upheld unanimously by a nine-judge bench of Supreme Court in August 2017, are the two major legislative and legal turning points in the Aadhaar saga. Privacy is the major considerations with regards to the Aadhaar project, besides denial of rights due to Aadhaar. Privacy of Personal data that is any information related to a natural person that can be used to directly or indirectly identify the person and includes – a name, a photo, an email address, bank details, posts on social networking websites, medical information, or a computer IP address or the biometrics of the person.

India did not actually have a fundamental right to privacy and does not have a comprehensive, enforceable data protection law despite digital technology remaining finely threaded with the fabric of our lives. Information Technology Act, 2000 did provide limited protections but its subordinate regulations remain substantially deficient and practically unenforceable.

Amid an outcry over Facebook’s privacy issues, a new legal framework is required to better identify what information is worthy of robust protection. There are challenges of protecting data in a hyper-digitised environment as the Cambridge Analytica episode has alerted people to the challenges of alleged data breach. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg admitted that company knew that Cambridge Analytica (CA) was mishandling user data two-and-a-half years ago, but when the company discovered the problem, execs relied on CA’s assurances that they had deleted the data. Sheryl Sandberg also revealed that Facebook would introduce in America similar privacy standards to those that will be enforced in Europe later this year under the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ePrivacy laws. The two laws require companies get affirmative opt-in permission from every user for every piece of data any company keeps or processes. The permission process will come as a shock to Facebook users because it will force Facebook to tell them exactly what data it holds on them and who it shares that data with; and it will force users to examine whether they want that level of information sharing to continue.

India has the second highest number of Internet users in the world, and is an important market for many global companies that have staked dominance within distinct silos of digital services. The issues of legitimate uses of data by the governments, political parties or businesses can be settled by formulating a national data protection law for India.

India can craft its own legislation on Data Protection on the basis European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)  which comes into effect on May 25, 2018 is the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years that has been designed to protect the personal data of European Union (EU) residents. This had become necessary as rapid advances in technology and growth in digital economy meant individuals were sharing personal data, and companies and governments used this data on an unprecedented scale. GDPR has global implications and is expected to have a significant impact on Indian IT firms and other service providers with a European Union clientele:

  • GDPR is a stronger harmonious instrument of data protection laws across 28 EU member states
  • GDPR reflects a paradigm shift in the understanding of the relationship individuals have with their personal data, granting the citizen substantial rights in his/her interaction with data controllers and data processors.
  • Data controllers are those who determine why and how data is collected such as a government or private news website;
  • Data processors are those who process the data on behalf of controllers, such as an Indian IT firm to which an E.U. firm has outsourced its data analytics.
  • GDPR mandates that a data controller will have to provide consent terms that are clearly distinguishable, i.e., consent cannot be buried in the fine print that is incomprehensible to the layperson.
  • GDPR requires those collecting data to provide information on the ‘who’ and ‘how.’
  • Individuals will also have the right to have personal data deleted under certain conditions.
  • GDPR makes reporting obligations and enforcement stronger: data breaches will normally have to be reported within 72 hours and failure to comply with the new laws could result in a fine up to 4% of global turnover or €20 million — the maximum amount of the fine.

India-Sweden for Joint Innovation for a Sustainable Future

“Sweden has many sustainable modern solutions to offer India,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said in Stockholm in a joint press conference with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during first visit by Indian Prime Minister to Sweden on 16-17 April 2018 after three decades. The two Prime Ministers spoke of strengthened cooperation between the two countries on defence and presented a new innovation partnership agreement, for which the Swedish government will assign 50 million kronor to research agency Vinnova to develop Smart Cities in India. The discussions between them were focused on strengthening bilateral ties with special emphasis on building closer economic relations as well as important global and regional issues. Modi also had an audience on April 17, 2018 with His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden who had visited India in 1993 and 2005.  Lofven had visited India in February 2016 and participated in the ‘Make in India’ Week in Mumbai with a strong business delegation. And in October 2017, Lofven had also participated in ‘Make in India: Sweden 2017’ event organized in Stockholm. Löfven commented, “They have huge planning and building work in front of them which they want to do in a climate smart way, and in that we have a very clear area of cooperation.”

Prime Ministers met the vibrant Indian community in Sweden that is home to more than 20000 members of Indian diaspora, including around 2000 Indian students studying in various institutions.

  • A Joint Declaration on India-Sweden Innovation Partnership for a Sustainable Future was signed and a Joint Action Plan adopted.
  • Both Prime Ministers expressed their commitment to support and strengthen global export control, non-proliferation and disarmament objectives and looked forward to close cooperation in these areas.
  • Both Prime Ministers called for greater unity and stronger international partnership to counter terrorism, disrupt terrorist networks and financing, and to prevent violent extremism.
  • Both sides agreed to continue security policy dialogue at the level of National Security Advisors.
  • Innovation, Investment, Start-ups, Manufacturing etc. were main dimensions of partnership.
  • Renewable energy, urban transport, waste management, which are topics related to the quality of life of the people of India had special focus.
  • Sweden has been India’s partner for a long time in the defence sector and many new opportunities will be created for our cooperation in defence production.
  • Decided to strengthen our security cooperation, especially cyber security cooperation.
  • Both Prime Ministers participated in a Round-table meeting with about 30 CEOs of leading Swedish enterprises and addressed the CEOs.
  • Encourage Trade and facilitate Investment in both directions, such as Sweden’s investment in India through ‘Invest India’ and Indian investment in Sweden through ‘Business Sweden’.
  • Encourage the work of the India-Sweden Business Leaders Round Table (ISBLRT) to further strengthen India-Sweden business cooperation within inter alia smart cities, digitization, skills development and defence, and to move its relations, ideas, partnerships and recommendations forward.
  • Encourage the space agencies and other space entities to enhance space cooperation
  • Over 170 Swedish companies have invested USD 1.4 billion since 2000.
  • Some of the Swedish companies have been present in India for over a century.
  • Around 70 Indian companies have established their presence in Sweden.
  • India-Sweden annual bilateral trade stands at around USD 1.8 billion.
  • Swedish business leaders also held a meeting with Modi, including representatives of Saab who are competing for a fighter jet contract from India worth an estimated 100 billion kronor.

Commonwealth one of the World’s Great Convening Powers

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 (CHOGM 2018) its 25th meeting- first full Heads of Government meeting in almost forty years was held in the United Kingdom from 19 to 20 April 2018 and discussed how the Commonwealth can contribute to a future which is fairer, more sustainable, more secure and more prosperous. A gathering of Heads of Government of its 53 member states that comprise 2.4 billion people of which 60%  are under the age of 30 affirmed that youth empowerment, as well as gender equality, are critical in realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the aspirations of the Commonwealth Charter. They recognised that the Commonwealth has always been a strong advocate for the causes of small states that constitute over 60% of its membership, and has consistently raised international awareness of their inherent vulnerabilities. Heads recognised that the strength of the Commonwealth lay in the collaboration among its member countries, people-to-people organisations and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

CHOGM 2015 its 24th meeting was held in Malta from 27 to 29 November 2015 with Commonwealth Chair-in-Office held by the government leader of the CHOGM host country Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat, was transferred at the summit from to the Prime Minister of United Kingdom Theresa May, who will hold the post until the 26th CHOGM expected in 2020.

Heads of Government welcomed and accepted the offer of the President of Rwanda to host their next meeting in 2020. They also welcomed the offer of Samoa to host the 2022 CHOGM.

On CHOGM 2018’s formal opening at Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II – the Queen of the United Kingdom, who in 1952 became Head of the Commonwealth said, “Here at Buckingham Palace in 1949, my father (George VI) met the Heads of Government when they ratified the London Declaration, which created the Commonwealth as we know it today – then comprising just eight nations.” “Put simply, we are one of the world’s great convening powers”. “The Commonwealth Canopy has emphasised our interdependence, while the Commonwealth Blue Charter promises to do the same in protecting our shared ocean resources”. 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth expressed her sincere wish that the Commonwealth would choose Charles, Prince of Wales as her successor to lead the 53-nation community.

Prime Minister Theresa May said, “It’s a meeting that takes place at a time of significant global challenges. The rules-based international system, which has consistently delivered both prosperity and peace, faces threats in many forms and on many fronts.” And spoke of incredible opportunity to member countries to take on some of the 21st century’s biggest questions of developing through trade, pushing back against protectionism, for a more prosperous Commonwealth; and of responding to threats to the rules based international order and from cyber-attacks, creating a more secure Commonwealth.

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC said, “CHOGM is our springboard for action. It is the launch pad that propels us onward, upward, forward together.” He added that we now have the Commonwealth Innovation Hub and Commonwealth Office of Civil and Criminal Justice Reform for upholding democracy, the rule of law and human rights; and to hasten the processes to tackle climate change and plastic pollution, to eliminate child, early and forced marriage and modern slavery, to eradicate polio and malaria, and to reduce prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings are distinctive for being both receptive and responsive to the needs of all – especially the young, the marginalised and the vulnerable.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the event was seen as a significant moment for the group as it was after eight-year period that any Indian Prime Minister participated in a CHOGM, and it was hoped that renewed interest from India will give new impetus and relevance to the CHOGM. Modi at Westminster Central Hall on Wednesday on 18 April, 2018 at the ‘Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath’ event said, “I had not been able to visit the last summit and this time, it was an honour that Prince Charles came personally to India last year to invite me for it. The Queen herself wrote a personal letter to me, a matter of great pride for India.” Modi urged the Commonwealth to put sustainable development and climate change, particularly of small island states, at the heart of its agenda, as India announced an increased funding for various Commonwealth initiatives and sought to take a leadership role in a renewed group.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held several bilateral meetings alongside attending the executive sessions of the CHOGM, that include with Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Prime Minister of Mauritius Kumar Jugnauth; Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni; Gambian President Adama Barrow; President of the Seychelles Danny Faure; Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Gaston Brown; President of Kiribati Taneti Maamau; Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama; Prime Minister of St Lucia Allen Chastanet, and Solomon Islands PM Rick Houenipwela. However, no meeting took place with the Pakistani Prime Minister.

Innovate, Patent, Produce & Prosper will Lead India towards Faster Development

Smart India Hackathon-2108, country’s biggest digital programming contest, promoted by Ministry of Human Resource Development and AICTE to tap the talent of engineering students and to provide solutions to problems of various Ministries and Departments of the Central and State Governments, was hosted by CVR College of Engineering in Ibrahimpatnam near Hyderabad in Telangana. Its Grand Finale was addressed on March 30, 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by interacting with participants across various centres via video conferencing and while giving mantra of IPPP: Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper, he said, “These four steps will lead our country towards faster development, for that we will have to innovate and turn our innovations in patents, making our production smoother and taking products speedily to the people will make them prosper.” “Innovation has the power to overcome the challenges our world faces, we should think about how our innovation can transform the lives of our fellow citizens.” Prime Minister underlined the importance of Participative Governance to the participants and added that the biggest assets of any nation are Shram Shakti (labour) and Iccha Shakti (resolve), “Once the people decide to bring about change, everything is possible. But the biggest mistake governments make is to think that they alone can bring about change”. In the Grand Finale 1296 teams were selected out of more than 20000 teams in India.

Prime Minister highlighted various decisions by the Government to facilitate research and innovations which include:

  • Introducing Modern Techniques based on Educational and Learning concepts in Atal Tinkering Labs to benefit Students of class 6thto 12th.
  • Prime Minister Research Fellowship to around 1000 best students of BTech, MTech and MSc courses in institutes like IITs, IISc and NIT every year. These students will be given financial assistance of about 70-80 thousand rupees per month over a period of five years.
  • Focus on providing greater autonomy to Higher Educational Institutions.
  • Setting up of 20 World class Institute of Excellence.

Prime Minister cited an example to highlight how Make in India has become a brand and is now becoming popular across the world. He told that four years ago there were only two manufacturing units of mobile phones in India whereas today around 120 factories are operating in the country. There has been about threefold increase in Patent registrations as well as Trademarks registrations in comparison of the registration figures in 2013-14.

Smart India Hackathon, a unique initiative to identify new and disruptive digital technology innovations for solving the challenges faced by our country was organised for the first time in 2017 by MHRD, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Inter Institutional Inclusive Innovation Centre (i4C), and Persistent Systems in order to work towards vision of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who envisages a Digital India to bridge the digital divide in our country and further promote digital literacy in order to make development a comprehensive mass movement and put governance within everyone’s reach in India. Prime Minister expressing satisfaction while tweeted, “I am happy that over half the projects selected during last year’s Hackathon have been completed and more are nearing completion”, and further tweeted, “What our young minds are doing today will benefit the nation in the coming years”.

SATH-Education to Create Islands of Excellence

SATH-E, Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education Project that aims to create role model States for education and mainstream ‘islands of excellence’ across the country to facilitate qualitative and quantitative transformation of learning outcomes is being undertaken NITI Aayog in partnership with three participating States of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. Amitabh Kant CEO, NITI Aayog, while releasing its roadmaps on March 17, 2018 said, “SATH-E aspires to be a ‘saathi’, to the educational system with the student and the teacher at its centre”, “The aim is to make the entire governmental school education system responsive, aspirational and transformational for every child.” Principal Secretaries for education, State Project Directors (SPDs), and knowledge partners: the Boston Consulting Group and Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership were present on the occasion.

  • SATH-E or SATH-Education puts the States in the driver’s seat to transform education at scale, by marrying technology with need-based, data-driven assessment and a ‘giving it what it takes’ approach – be it innovation, incubation, external third party funding and Public- Private- Philanthropic Partnership (PPPP) experimentation.
  • SATH-E initiative in based on formal agreements with the States and will be funded through a cost-sharing mechanism between NITI Aayog and the participating states.
  • SATH-E has been envisaged as a programme which aims to transform elementary and secondary school education across these three states.
  • The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership (PFEL) have been chosen as knowledge partners for the project facilitating review, data collection and implementation.
  • SATH-E roadmap refers to a time-bound, goal-driven exercise that will reach its logical culmination by the end of the academic year 2020.
  • Further, the foundations of other long term interventions, as is found necessary by each state, would be laid during this period.
  • Limiting interventions to only those where there is complete state buy-in for sustainability, the whole process would be done in consultation with the states and MHRD.

This will be facilitated by the National Steering Group (NSG), chaired by the CEO of NITI Aayog and including the Chief Secretaries of the States, which will continuously monitor progress, introduce course-corrections and offer a platform for addressing issues in implementation.

RIMES Enhancing Preparedness for Management of Hazards

Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES), presently its Council Chaired by India, is an international and intergovernmental institution, owned and managed by its Member States, for the generation and application of early warning information. ‘RIMES’ is already working with the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority and now Odisha government is set to collaborate with it for strengthening its early warning services and enhancing preparedness for management of hazards in the State, as per the initial discussions held in Bhubaneswar on March 16, 2018 with Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) and ‘RIMES’. As Odisha is particularly concerned about Tsunami originating from the Andamans, OSDMA and ‘RIMES’ would work under the drought monitoring system, on a system to archive, analyse and visualise data, besides evaluating station performance and validating forecast data. Similarly, ‘RIMES’ is expected to provide a one-stop risk management system for all OSDMA needs.

  • ‘RIMES’ evolved from the efforts of countries in Africa and Asia, in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, from the proposal by the Royal Thai Government to the Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on January 6, 2005 and subsequently to the Phuket Ministerial Meeting on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangement on January 28 -29, 2005.
  • ‘RIMES’ was established on April 30, 2009, as a regional early warning system within a multi-hazard framework for the generation and communication of early warning information, and capacity building for preparedness and response to trans-boundary hazards, for Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
  • ‘RIMES’ was registered with the United Nations on July 1, 2009.
  • ‘RIMES’ operates from its regional early warning centre located at the campus of the Asian Institute of Technology in Pathum Thani, Thailand.
  • ‘RIMES’ caters to differential needs and demands of its Member States by enhancing capacities for end-to-end multi-hazard early warning, in particular:
    • Hazard monitoring, detection, analysis, prediction, and forecasting
    • Risk assessment
    • Potential impact analysis
    • Generation of tailored risk information at different time scales
    • Risk communication
    • Application of tailored risk information in decision-making
  • ‘RIMES’ key services under Earthquake & Tsunami Watch Provision to National Tsunami Warning Centres of Member States include:
    • Seismic, sea level and deep ocean monitoring
    • Data exchange, processing and analysis, and archiving
    • Provision of earthquake alerts and regional tsunami bulletins
  • ‘RIMES’ provides Weather, Climate and Hydrological Research and Development Services to National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.
  • ‘RIMES’ also provides to National and Local Level Institutions within each Member States’ early warning frameworks – Capacity Building in End-to-End Early Warning services.

Globalisation, Demography & Exponential Technologies to Impact Future of jobs in India

‘Future of Jobs in India – A 2022 Perspective’ is a joint exercise by FICCI, NASSSCOM and EY (Ernst & Young) to analyse the profile of jobs under threat, identify new emerging job roles, existing roles that will undergo change, and a study of the potential implications of unprecedented technological advances in the new age of automation. It provides a vision of change for the job market in India over the next few years. It offers corporations, students, policy makers and educationists a consolidated view of the impact that various primary forces such as Globalisation and demographics are expected to have on the key sectors of the economy. The report alarms that the economic opportunities of the technological advancements have to be fully realized by India and the country has to transform itself to create a nimble demand led education system integrated with skill development. It has attempted to present a 2022 picture – a time when no one can afford to “rest on one’s laurels” but needs a continuous learning culture. It stresses that the time for action is ‘NOW’ for a collaborative effort from Government, industry and academia to certainly turn the challenge of fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0 into an opportunity. .

  • Future of Jobs in India – A 2022 Perspective, the first such comprehensive research study on the future of jobs in India, examines five sectors in detail: IT/ITES, Retail, Financial Services, Textile & Apparel and Auto.
  • The combined effect of primary forces on IT/ITES, Retail and Financial Services will be disruptive.
  • Business models will undergo a significant change and hence it will have a significant impact on the skills and capabilities required for success in these sectors.
  • The effect on sectors such as Apparel, Textile and Leather in the short term is expected to be relatively marginal.
  • India’s job landscape is in transition with a slowdown in employment in Core secthors and the concurrent emergence of new engines of job creation.
  • Increased Infrastructure and Construction sector activity driven by Government spending; new self-employment models; and emerging Technology aggregator models etc. are transforming the job landscape in the country.
  • It analyses the impact of three primary forces: Globalisation, Demographic changes and the Adoption of Exponential Technologies by companies in India.
  • Despite the influence of Globalisation and the rapid adoption of exponential technologies, the demographic changes will have the most impact on the future of jobs.
  • It takes an informed view of the future based on hypotheses developed through secondary research and their validation by experts, industry leaders and academicians through primary interactions.
  • The two key factors that challenge the nation today are, the 17 million new entrants into the workforce year on year against the 5.5 million jobs created; and the speed and scale at which the disruptions are occurring and will continue at the same or faster pace, impacting the way we work and live.
  • The impact of technology on jobs in India has been evident for some time in the financial services and IT area and did not disrupt the way we worked or lived.
  • The pace of automation and its scope continues to grow exponentially.
  • As entire families of work activities get increasingly automated, the implications on the global economy are manifold – changing nature of work, job roles being re-defined, a certain class of job roles becoming redundant leading to growth in new occupations and new roles.
  • These changes are ushering in a new age of learning – continuous, agile and on-the-go, both urgent and imperative for the current workforce and the emerging pipeline of talent.
  • The information technology is one of the industries that is most impacted by digital and automation technologies.
  • Another important fact being seen is the fact that non-tech firms are increasingly emerging as the source of information technology roles; for e.g., automotive, aerospace, BFSI, telecom, retail, healthcare, etc.
  • Over the next few years, many other factors such as the levels of FDI flow, impact of exponential technologies on offshoring, increase/decrease in overseas job opportunities for the Indian labour force, speed of adoption of emerging technologies, demands resulting from environmental sustainability, rising middle class and a high proportion of young population, would be some of the other key determinants of future of jobs in 2022.

Report appreciates that the Government is already taking many proactive steps such as Skill India, investing in manpower intensive infrastructure and construction sectors, catalysing micro entrepreneurship models and encouraging start-ups. It expects government to focus more on sectors with higher employment elasticity to catalyse job creation, effect reforms in education and skills to create a large Industry 4.0 compliant workforce, and create enabling policies to drive rapid industry adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. It expects industry to focus on rapidly restructuring their business models in light of these technologies to ensure competitiveness and also to drive large scale reskilling of the existing workforce.

While some may call it crystal gazing on what the future world may look like, but the views in this report are based on opinions of some of the leading industry leaders, industry associations and academicians in India. This report will be useful for policy makers, corporations, as well as education and skilling institutes. This report should also be relevant for parents and students to help them better appreciate opportunities as well as challenges in the near future.   

Xi Jinping China’s President for Life Consolidates Authority

China’s President Xi Jinping can now serve as President indefinitely as China’ s parliament National Peoples Congress (NPC) on March 11, 2018 abolished decades-old practice of two-term limits for the president and endorsed changes in country’s Constitution that would empower President Xi Jinping to weather headwinds – that challenge China’s new stage of transition, which the ruling Communist Party  justified, saying the historic decision is aimed at strengthening coordination among various power centres and dismissed as ungrounded concerns over the return of the Mao Zedong-era dictatorship. China’s parliament also included Xi’s political doctrine: ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,’ as part of the amended Constitution. Prior to Mr. Xi, only the founding father of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, and the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping have their personal ideologies engraved in the Constitution.

  • NPC ratified the Communist Party of Chinas (CPC) proposal to remove the term limit for President and Vice President; reportedly to strengthen coordination between the party, the military and the country.
  • Xi Jinping, aged 64 year born -15 June 1953 married to Peng Liyuan in 1987, already wields real power as:
    • President of the People’s Republic of China
    • CPC’s General Secretary, a post that has no term limit.
    • Chairman Central Military Commission, the apex body that marshals the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
  • Constitution revised 21 items that include provisions for setting up a National Supervisory Commission: an anti-corruption super agency
  • China under Xi on crackdown on rival under Anti-corruption campaign has resulted in exit of more than 100 top General and officials and the campaign is still a work in progress, and needs time to settle. According to political commentator Robert Lawrence Kuhn, “Advancing reform has become more difficult, with entrenched interest groups resisting change. So the message to resistors is now this: get on the programme because you can’t outwit or outwait President Xi”.
  • China has clamped down on many emerging freedoms, increasing its state surveillance and censorship programs and arrest of dissidents
  • China has become more assertive in the South China Sea region.
  • One Belt, One Road project of $5 trillion whose span extends to more than 60 countries is Xi’s brainchild.
  • Xi, with power fully consolidated can now authoritatively achieve the “two centenary” goals: making China a “moderately prosperous society” by 2020 serving as a platform for becoming an advanced socialist nation by 2050.