India's economic development and reforms explored through historical lens

Development affected by COVID-19
Floods trouble several States.
Is Bharath sinking economically?
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?

Leadership in Industry, Development called ’swadeshi’
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.

India - 20th Century: Tata, a leader who showed an example
In the 1960s, with India’s role in international politics and the
world economy increasing, J R D Tata looked abroad for
opportunities and formed Tata International AG and Tata
Exports to cultivate international markets for Tata products
and services. J R D also recognized the power of computers
and information technology and opened Tata Consultancy
Services, or TCS, In 1968. Tata’s TELCO opened an
Engineering and Development Research Unit that, five
years after its establishment in 1966, evolved into Tata
Motors.

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.
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. Several cotton ginning units were also set up in Ahmedabad, to
clean the cotton before shipment to England. In 1919, he became among
the first group of Indian entrepreneurs to become owner of a Jute mill
named Birla Jute.

In the next few years 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— like
Reliance, Infosys and Wipro, 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 the 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.
2.
Import substituting inward looking ‘swaraj’ no global outlook
Massive, monopolistic, inefficient public sector investment
no autonomy of working. (Trained and employed youth?)
Diminished competition in the market by over-regulation.
Less FDI, no benefit of world class competition.
Pampered organized labour, lower productivity.
with
3.
4.
5.
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
territory.
that
 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
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,
on
•
•
capable of developing a critique of colonialism— during
second half of the nineteenth century and after.
the
23

But English-based education had two
consequences.
negative
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
with English (which is an interstate and international one).

along
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.

Prime Ministers of India from 1984 to 2014
Prime Minister - Dates – Party -Coalition
Rajiv Gandhi -October 31, 1984 to December 2, 1989- Indian National
Congress (I)
Vishwanath Pratap Singh -December 2, 1989 to November 10, 1990-
Janata Dal National Front (minority)
Chandra Shekhar -November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991-Samajwadi
Janata-Party (minority)
P. V. Narasimha Rao- June 21, 1991 to May 16, 1996-Indian National-
Congress (I) (minority)
Atal Behari Vajpayee - May 16, 1996 to June 1, 1996- Bharatiya Janata
Party (minority)
H. D. Deve Gowda- June 1, 1996 to April 21, 1997- Janata Dal United
Front (minority)
Inder Kumar Gujral- April 21, 1997 to March 19, 1998- Janata Dal United
Front (minority)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee- March 19, 1998 to May 22, 2004- Bharatiya Janata
Party- National Democratic Alliance
Dr. Manmohan Singh- May 22, 2004 to 2014 -Indian National Congress
United Progressive Alliance (minority) . Now, N Modi [2014 & 2019]

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.

• 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

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
developmental success
story
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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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 intra-
state 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.

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.

• 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

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
and ends after his immersion. Every year this
festival brings colour, happiness joy, hope and
prosperity. People celebrate this festival by
dancing on the roads but this year the
celebration is restricted to the public places in
the wake of coronavirus.
Ganesh Chaturthi is
celebrated across the
country, but Maharashtra
cannot be beaten for its
ultimate preparations of
Ganesh Chaturthi.

"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.

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.

India's unemployment rate spiked to a nine-week high of
9.1% for the week ended August 16.
Compared with a week earlier, the employment rate and
labour participating rate (LPR) also increased to 38.4% and
42.2% from 37.09% and 40.62%, respectively, the Centre for
Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said.
"There is a big increase in rural India in both employment
and unemployment rates. This reflects increased agricultural
activities," CMIE's managing director and CEO Mahesh Vyas
said.

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.

“Black Money is the aggregate of incomes which are
taxable but not reported to authorities.”
2015: ‘The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income
and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015’ has been
announced and criticized as harsh. It is commented that
officers would harass them.
Black money is a serious problem, which needs strict
handling.
It needs to be brought into the economic mainstream.
Stringent penalties are applicable under money
laundering legislations globally.

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.

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

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.

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
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’.

India's economic development and reforms explored through historical lens

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