India Today [December 31, 2018] | The New Bharat

214 Pages·2018·99.143 MB·English

by  India Today

A N N I V E R S A R Y I S S U E
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THE NEW BHARAT
Inspirational stories of individuals and groups
sparking a transformation in village India
DIGITAL EDITION
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FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
rdANNIVERSARY
I nrecentweeks,ruraldistresshasdominatedpublic
discourse.Loanwaiversarethenewflavourofthe
seasonforpoliticians,thepanaceathatwillwinthem
elections.Typically,theydon’taddresstherealprob-
lem,justapplybandaidstoaverydeepwound.Thereasons
fortheanguishinruralIndiaaremanyandvaryfrom
regiontoregion:overproduction,lackofmarketaccess,the
unproductivesizeofholdings,poorirrigation,droughtor
badlyimplementedgovernmentschemes.Asover68per
centofIndialivesinitsvillages,thewell-beingofruralIndia
iscrucialtothecountry.AsMahatmaGandhisaidover80
yearsago,“Ifthevillageperishes,Indiawillperishtoo.”
AndthewordsoftheMahatmaarebecomingincreas-
inglyrelevantintoday’sIndia,whosepeoplearewrestling
withmultipleparadoxes.Afive-foldincreaseingrain
productionsinceIndependencehasfortunatelyconsigned
faminestothehistorybooks.Yet,there’saflipsidetograin
surpluses—farmersuicides.Governmentstatisticsestimate
onefarmersuicideeveryhalfhouroverthepasttwodecades.
Agricultureismarkedbyabysmalproductivityrates—over
60percentofthecountryisemployedinagriculture,butit
accountsforonly17percentoftheGDP.Whilethecitiesare
growing,ruralIndiaiswrestlingwithagrariandistressand
stagnantincomes.Thesluggishsingle-digitgrowthofrural
India’smainstayhasfuelledanexodustowardsurbanareas.
Understandably,amajorityofruralIndiansdon’twanttobe includes,amongothers,thepatentlawyerfrom Pune who’s
farmersandthat’sonereasonforurbanovercrowding. GI-taggingfruitsandvegetablesandthesocial worker from
Thesearefundamentalproblemsthatrequireenlight- Jodhpurwhoiswagingawaragainstchildmarriage in
enedleadershipandmuchtimetochange.However, Rajasthan.Oursegmentondesignandfashion spotlights
progresscreepsinsilently.I’venoticedwhenItraveltothe artistsputtingissuesofcastediscriminationand identity
interiorsduringelectiontimehowthecrowdsintherallies oncanvasanddesignerswhoareredefiningrural chic. Our
havechanged.Theyallhavefootwear,theirclothesarenot ruralsportsstarsincludetheheptathletefrom West Bengal
torn,theirchildrenlookhealthierandtherearethousands andthescullerfromNashik.
ofmobilephones.Thiswasnotthecasetwodecadesago.A Ourcomprehensiveruralnumbercrunching throws up
welterofprojectshave,overtheyears,transformedthemore interestingtrends.There’sbeenanexplosivegrowth in mo-
thansixlakhvillagesofIndia,usheringinroads,electricity, bileconnections,asurgeinthedairy,poultryand piscicul-
irrigationandtelecommunication.Thetelecomrevolution turesectors.Primaryschoolenrolmenthasgrown substan-
haspluggedvillagesintotheglobalmainstream.Rural tially,90millionruraltoiletshaveenhancedsanitation, and
roadshaveincreasedaccesstoqualityeducationandhealth- tapsandpipedwaterarereplacinghandpumps and wells.
care.OnemajormilestonethisAprilwasagovernment Thesearejustafewofthechangessweepingrural India.
announcementthatithadelectrifiedallofIndia’svillages. Imustsayourcorrespondentsandphotographers have
Thelatestbuzzwordisrurban—wherethegovernmentaims donemarvellousworkindiscoveringthosenot-so-well-
toprovideurban-likecivicinfrastructuretovillages. knownindividualswhoaremakingadifference in their own
INDIATODAY’s43rdanniversaryissue,‘NayaBharat’,tra- andthelivesofothersaroundthem.Theseare stories which
ckssomeofthemostprofoundeconomicanddevelopment gobeyondtherhetoricofpoliticians,theapathy of bureau-
changessweepingruralIndiaoverthepastfourdecades. cratsandtheincompetenceofthegovernment. Stories you
WehaveacornucopiaofstoriesfromruralIndia.We areunlikelytohaveseenanywhereelse.Stories that give me
trackthesocialwarriorsmakingadifferenceacrossthe hopeforavibrantandprogressiveIndiaoftomorrow.
rurallandscapeand,inthemanneroftheMahatma,
leadingtheircommunitiestoself-sufficiency.Fromthe
mushroomfarmerinSitamarhiempoweringruralwomen
totheengineerfromHyderabadwho’spioneeredlow-cost
(Aroon Purie)
drinkingwatersolutions.Oursectiononruralyouthicons
DECEMBER 31, 2018 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)1
I N S I D E
rd ANNIVERSARY
16 THE NEW BHARAT
24
EAR TO THE
Heart-warming accounts of human GROUND
endeavour to beat the odds and create
Decoding rural India,
legacies that are transforming India
through numbers
Cover photograph by PURUSHOTTAM DIWAKAR
Inside Cover 1: Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV; Inside Cover 2: Photograph by CHANDRADEEP KUMAR
Inside Cover 3: Photograph by SANDEEP SAHDEV; Inside Cover 4: Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH
I N S I D E
rd ANNIVERSARY
54
PHOTO
FEATURE
112
BOOM
TOWNS
Localneeds,localheroes.Meetthe
changeagentsoftheotherIndia
126
YOUNG
LEADERS
They challenge social norms, break
barriers to lead from the front
137
THE
INNOVATORS
80
In21stcenturyIndia,technology
isthenewtroubleshooter
THE SOCIAL
148
WARRIORS THE SPORTS
STARS
Activist entrepreneurs who
see rural welfare as profit
India’s new sporting heroes come
from its villages and small towns
DECEMBER 25, 2017 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)3
INSIDE
UPFRONT LEISURE
RAFALE: DEVIL IN VVS: MR NICE
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Volume XLIII Number 53; For the week
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U P F R O N T
WHY COP24 WAS BOOKS: THE
‘ANTI-SCIENE’? BOMBAY PLAN
PG 6 PG 9
Q&A: HAMID AADHAAR’S
ANSARI ITCHY FINGERS
PG 10 PG 14
Y
A
D
O
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AI
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/ #NO CLEAN
A
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B CHIT TO GOVT
A
H MallikarjunKharge
H
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R
A foraJPC
H
RAFALE
PRINTER’S DEVIL IN
THE DETAILS
By Sandeep Unnithan
T hegovernmentwasbackonthe ShourieandlawyerPrashantBhushan. theUPAandNDA,statingitwasnot
defensiveaweekaftertheSu- Thejudgmentsaidthecourthad thejobofthecourttodoso.Italsosaid
premeCourtdismissedpetitions studiedthematerialplacedbeforeit ‘merelyconjecturingthattheinitial
seekinganinvestigationintothe carefully,includingtheacquisitionpro- RFP(RequestforProposals)[inthe
Rs60,000crorepurchaseofRafale cessandpricing.‘Wearesatisfiedthat 2007tenderundertheUPA]couldhave
fighteraircraft.OnDecember12,a thereisnooccasiontoreallydoubtthe resultedinacontractisofnouse’.How-
three-judgebench,headedbyChief process.’Itdidnotfind‘anysubstantial ever,inpassingitsjudgment,thecourt
JusticeRanjanGogoi,found‘noreason materialonrecordtoshowthisisacase invokedArticle32oftheConstitutionto
foranyinterventionbythiscourtonthe ofcommercialfavouritismtoanyparty emphasiseitslimitedremitinscrutinis-
sensitiveissueofpurchaseof36aircraft bytheIndiangovernmentastheoption ingdecisionstakenbytheExecutivein
bytheIndiangovernment’. tochoosetheIndianOffsetPartnerdoes mattersrelatingtonationalsecurity.
Thefourpetitionswerefiledsepa- notrestwiththeIndiangovernment’, TheCongress,meanwhile,has
ratelybylawyerManoharLalSharma, dismissingchargesthatindustrialist latchedontoacontentiousexcerpt
privateindividualVineetDhanda,AAP AnilAmbaniwasfavouredinthedeal. (paragraph25)ofthejudgment—pre-
leaderSanjaySinghandformerUnion Theverdictsteeredclearofprice sumablybasedontheaffidavitfiledby
ministersYashwantSinhaandArun comparisonsbetweendealsstruckby thegovernmentinasealedenvelope—
UPFRONT
whichreads:‘Thepricingdetailshave, however,
beensharedwiththeCAG,andthe report of
theCAGhasbeenexaminedbythe PAC. Only a
redactedportionofthereportwas placed before
theParliament.’WhiletheCAGisindeed audit-
ingthe2016purchaseoftheRafale fighter jets, it
hasyettosubmititsreporttothePublic Accounts
Committee(PAC).ThePAC,aparliamentary
P
bodythatauditsthegovernment’srevenues and F
A
expenditure,thentablesthereport in Parliament. KI /
S
Thishasn’thappenedeither.Butthe Congress, N
Y
Z
smellingbloodintherun-uptothe 2019 general R
A
K
election,isnotlettinggoofanopportunity to force S
K
thegovernmentonthedefensive.According to NE
A
CongressspokespersonRandeepSingh Surjewala, J
thejudgmenthadonlyvindicatedthe party’s stand
that“theSupremeCourtisnottheforum to decide COP24
sensitivedefencedeals”.
Climate Circus
ThegovernmenttermedthePara 25 references
inthejudgmentanunfortunate‘misrepresenta-
tion’.OnDecember15,threedaysafter the verdict, and Lack of Will
theAttorneyGeneralfiledanapplication before
thecourtaskingforanamendment in Para 25. The
amendmentsuggeststhatthetwokey words ‘has
been’and‘was’(highlightedabove) needed to be re-
placedwith‘is’,tomakeitastatement of procedure As the year draws to a wice, there was a general sense
ratherthansomethingthathasalready occurred. close, it has been put on that pledges made three years
Questionsstillremainoverthe deal, particular- record by scientists that ago were insufficient.
ly the decision this has been one of the warm- In Paris, there was talk
to downsize the est years of the past decade, of nations going ahead with
The government
numbers from rife with heat waves, rising sea nationally determined con-
termed the Para
126 aircraft levels and that most of these tributions to tilt the balance
25 references in
(7 squadrons) find their roots in climate in favour of keeping the rising
the judgment an
to 36 jets (2 change. Every year, at the Con- global temperature less than
unfortunate ‘mis- squadrons) and ference of Parties (COP), under the 2°C above pre-industrial
representation’ the price of the the United Nations Frame- levels —beyond which the con-
deal, which the work Convention on Climate sequences could be catastroph-
government Change (UNFCCC), nations ic. To limit global warming to
says was 9 per cent lower than a previous deal it discuss how they can work 1.5°C, all nations have to halve
scrapped. Meanwhile, the shortage of fighter air- together to mitigate the impact their emissions by 2030. While
craft persists and the IAF has floated a Request for of climate change. There have China and India have invested
Information (RFI) for 110 fighter jets, to be made been several watershed mo- heavily in renewables, many
locally by a foreign vendor in collaboration with an ments in these negotiations, others remain non-committal.
Indian ‘strategic partner’. A Request for Proposals the latest being the 2015 Paris While the Paris Rulebook
(RFP) or tender, which is among the first steps, can Agreement, which was signed makes it mandatory for nations
be expected no sooner than mid-2019. by almost 200 countries. The to report on all aspects of cli-
The Congress, meanwhile, has stepped up pres- provisions of this agreement mate finance, getting develop-
sure on the government, demanding a joint parlia- are expected to come into effect ing countries to collate and
mentary committee (JPC) probe of the deal. (A JPC in 2020, so the latest COP in report on this is hard as many
can summon files and study file notings.) With Katowice, Poland—the 24th of them lack the knowhow.
the government refusing to comply, the resultant such meeting—focused on its Chandra Bhushan, deputy
deadlock has ensured the Rafale deal will continue implementation. While more director general of the Centre
to be an issue going into the election next year. The than 200 nations (minus the for Science and Environment,
Supreme Court’s judgment could only have brought US) agreed on implementing says, “Countries are now on
interim relief to the government. ■ the Paris Rulebook at Kato- their own to mitigate, to adapt
36 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY DECEMBER 31, 2018
andgiventeeth,butunfortunately
thereseemstobeloweredaccount-
abilityaftertheCOP.Developed
countriescannowchoosetofulfil
theirfinancialcommitmentsthrough
amixofloans,grants,aids,andthere
isverylittleaccountabilityifthey
decidetorenege.
TheUS,Kuwait,Russia,Saudi
TOOEARLYTO Arabiaandsomeothershaverefused
CELEBRATE?
toacknowledgethegrimfindings
Poland’sMichal
ofthenewIntergovernmentalPanel
Kurtykajumpsat
onClimateChange(IPCC)report,
theendofCop24
commissionedbytheUnitedNations,
whichwasreleasedinOctober.While
thenewreporthighlightedhow1.5°C
ratherthan2°Cwasthenewtipping
and to paythecostofclimateimpacts. point,thesenationswantedtokeep
The UNFCCCisnowaplatformto thereportoutoftheconference.The
collect andsynthesiseinformation, reportsoundsthewarningbellsaying
and provideaforumtodiscussand there’sawindowof12yearswithin
debate. Itdoesn’thavethetoolsto whichcountriesmustacttoprevent
drive globalcollectiveactiontocombat furtherdamage.
climate change.Oneneedstoquestion AsperBhushan,“ThisCOPwill
the raisond’êtreoftheUNFCCC.” berememberedasanti-scienceforits
In 2015,developingcountries failuretotakeintoaccountthefind-
had demandedtransferoftechnol- ingsoftheIPCC’sSpecialReporton
ogy and moneytomitigateandadapt 1.5°C.Itwillberememberedforcom-
to climatechange.Whiledeveloped ingoutwitharulebookthatdilutes
countrieshadagreedtoraiseroughly analreadyweakParisAgreement.”
$100 billionayearintotheclimate Thestageseemssettotakestock
kitty starting 2020,theyarewayoff ofthelongbattleathandinthenext
their targetasofnow.InKatowice, meeting inChileinDecember2019.■
the financeissuewastobefleshedout —PrachiBhuchar
PULLQUOTE
A lot of industries are set up which take people
from other states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. I
don’t want to criticise them, but the young people
of Madhya Pradesh remain deprived
KAMALNATH,newlysworn-inchief
ministerofMadhyaPradesh,puthisfoot
initonhisfirstday,claiming70percentof
localswouldhavetobeemployedbefore
incentivesforindustrycouldkickin.He
didthisbyinvokingthecasualxenophobia
so familiar from the political rhetoric in
states such as Maharashtra. There was
an immediate backlash from the likes of
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav,
a likely Congress Party ally who had
earlier been praising the loan waivers for
farmers promised by the new Congress
governments in Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. As a BJP
critic pointed out, Nath himself was born
in Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, and so is an
interloper stealing a job from a local.