Month: January 2023

Economic Survey 2022-23 Flaunts ‘Battles’ Won in Health but Silent on Lost Ones

The document highlights India’s successes like the COVID-19 vaccination drive and the decline in child mortality. But it fails to put the spotlight on challenges that marred policy and implementation.

New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2022-23 highlights several achievements of India during 2022-23. The Covid-19 vaccination drive which led to the inoculation of more than 90% of the country’s population was laudatory. The consistent decline in maternal and child mortality indicators also deserves to be celebrated. However, certain claims made in the Survey did not reveal the full story. 

In five points, we explain what those are: 

1. Rural healthcare: Buildings and human resource 

The survey lauds the rise in the number of health sub-centres (SCs), primary health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs), along with “the rise in doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel over time”. While the total number of these health facilities has gone up over time, the recently released Rural Health Statistics (RHS) 2021-22 clearly showed that lack of human resources was ailing them – and thus affecting access to healthcare for the majority of citizens residing in rural areas. Every CHC, according to the government’s own norms, ought to have at least one surgeon, obstetrician/gynaecologist, anaesthetist, and paediatrician.  

One of the most telling features of the RHS was the fact that in many states, hundreds of CHS didn’t have even one specialist. The very purpose of CHCs – to position specialists in rural areas – is defeated. The shortfall of nurses in some states’ CHCs along with PHCs, which occupy the mid-tier in rural healthcare, continued to rise. And, on the other hand, auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), which are key to managing SCs – the lowest facility in the system – are also short in number in various states. The RHS highlighted various other gaps not just in human resources but also infrastructure – all of which find no mention in the Economic Survey. 

The Survey also says that the doctor-population ratio is now 1:834 – which is below the WHO norm of 1:1000. But while calculating this, the Survey makes an important assumption that out of 13,08,009 registered ‘allopathic doctors’ and 5.7 lakh ‘Ayush doctors’, at least 80% would remain available for patients, or remain present. While no rationale has been shared for making this assumption, the Economic Survey of 2018-19 had raised a concern. Talking about PHCs which exist with ‘one doctor or without a doctor’, it had said thus: 

“Moreover, what this data does not reveal is that even if the personnel are present, their level of participation in providing health services, may not be at desirable levels due to lack of supplies, inadequate infrastructure facilities, poor monitoring of the staff, and so on. Public health services delivery in rural areas warrants better governance mechanisms through adoption of technologies, community and Local Self Government (LSG) participation and social audit.”

No Economic Survey or any government document after this followed up on this observation, made four years ago. This year’s survey is also silent on this while talking about ‘improved recruitment of doctors and supporting staff’.

Also Read: Eight Charts to Explain the State of Rural Healthcare in India

2. NFHS-5: Survey says and survey hides

The Economic Survey 2022-23 drew upon various findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, like the decline in total fertility rate, increase in institutional delivery rates, maternal and child mortality indicators and increase in the number of households covered under any insurance or financial scheme. While NFHS-5 indeed points to these hits, it indicated a few important misses as well. One of them was questioning the status, if not in letter, in spirit, of the status of declaring the country ‘Open Defecation Free’ (ODF). The NFHS-5 said: “Nineteen percent of households do not use any toilet facility, meaning that they practise open defecation.” In rural areas, the proportion of inaccessible toilets was much higher than the country’s average. 

Despite this revelation, the Economic Survey 2022-23 goes on to reiterate that India has become ODF. “Having achieved the ODF status in all villages in the country as of 2 October 2019, Phase-II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) is now being implemented during FY21 to FY25, with the focus to sustain the ODF status of villages and covering all the villages with Solid and Liquid Waste Management…”

The NFHS also pointed out that stunting and wasting in children – two important indicators of malnutrition – had declined, though the decline was unlikely to meet the deadline for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Economic Survey also alludes to NFHS-5 to show this decline. But an alarming revelation of NFHS-5, that anaemia increased by eight percentage points, is not discussed in the Survey.

3. Health expenditure: Out-of-pocked spend declined?

The Economic Survey 2022-23 claimed that out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) – money spent by people for healthcare services – has declined. India is known for an extremely high rate of OOPE – it accounts for more than 60% of the total health expenditure. The government’s claim of a reduced OOPE was a reiteration of what it had said in the National Health Accounts (NHA) 2018-19. That claim was contested even when NHA 2018-19 was released.

The consumer survey 2017-18, conducted by the National Statistical Office, formed the basis of NHA 2018-19 and also, 2017-18. Experts had argued that during the time of the survey, the very consumption of healthcare and other social services declined – i.e. people availed fewer services as compared to previous years. They said that it was unlikely that if there were no financial hardships, the utilisation of health services by people would go down. 

But the government denied any allegations against the robustness of NHA methodology and dismissed the concerns as ‘selective picking of data’. One would have to wait for next year, when another round of consumer survey is conducted to see if the OOPE decline is indeed a trend – as the government indicates – or a mirage. The fact, however, remains that India is still far from spending even 2% of the GDP on health. In 2020-21, India spent only 1.6% while the target is to increase it to 2.5% by 2025, according to the National Health Policy. 

4. COVID-19: Battle won?

The Economic Survey 2022-23 elaborates upon various efforts made by the government to create a three-tier infrastructure to treat COVID-19 patients. It claimed that the government has created critical care hospital units in all districts of the country and there is a public health lab network at the bloc level ‘to manage pandemics’.  

“The timely intervention at all levels helped India navigate the Covid pandemic successfully despite successive shocks…India may have won a major battle. India is one of the countries which has learned the most from the pandemic to create a mechanism for protecting its citizens and economy,” the Survey said. 

While declaring an apparent victory over the pandemic, the Survey did not refer to the sobering reality that India has the third-highest number of registered deaths worldwide due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But if one were to account for excess deaths – ones that official counts have missed, at least half a dozen of studies, including that of the World Health Organisation and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (published in The Lancet), said India has the highest number of such undercounting. The government did not accept these studies. 

“After the successful rollout of two doses of indigenous vaccines, the third dose was introduced,” the Survey goes on to add. India indeed had one of the largest adult vaccination drives conducted, ever – even if the response to booster doses has been underwhelming. More importantly, there was no evidence that any of the scientific institutions of India were taken into confidence before announcing the formal rollout of booster doses. 

While the worst phase of the pandemic may be behind India, and the rest of the world, any honest analysis of the country’s performance would go beyond what the Economic Survey 2022-23 describes – by also taking into account the devastation of life and livelihoods, and indeed the lessons learnt from mistakes. 

A man walks past a hoarding encouraging people to take a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines at Tilak Nagar, New Delhi, April 10, 2022. Photo: PTI

5. Catch up exercise

The Economic Survey said in FY23, intensified childhood and maternal immunisation drives were launched to cover those children and pregnant women who missed their routine jabs due to obstructions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Until December 2022, a total of 11 phases of Mission Indradhanush have been completed covering 701 districts across the country under which a total of 4.5 crore children and 1.1 crore pregnant women have been vaccinated,” it said. This was an important step undertaken by the government. However, there is no data in the public domain as to what the baseline is – how many children and expectant mothers missed their routine jabs. There are a number of international studies to say a variety of health services were impacted due to the pandemic but any long-term assessment from India is missing on this point. Services that were impacted include nutrition, cancer care, geriatric services, tuberculosis care, mental health, malaria elimination.

Armed Forces Can Take Action Against Officers for Adultery, Supreme Court Clarifies

The top court said its 2018 judgment striking down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code was not concerned with the provisions of the armed forces Acts.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 31, clarified that its 2018 judgment which decriminalised adultery does not prevent court martial proceedings initiated against members of the armed forces for adulterous conduct.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph said its 2018 judgment striking down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code was not concerned with the provisions of the armed forces Acts. The bench, also consisting of Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C.T. Ravikumar passed the order in an application filed by the Union government. In 2019, a three-judge bench referred the application to a constitution bench because the 2018 Joseph Shine verdict was delivered by a five-judge bench.

According to the news agency PTI, the Ministry of Defence had moved the apex court for an exemption to armed forces from the September 27, 2018 judgment striking down adultery as a crime, saying it may hinder action against officers who indulge in such actions and can cause ‘instability’ within the services.

“In view of the aforesaid (2018) judgment, there will always be a concern in the minds of the army personnel who are operating far away from their families under challenging conditions about the family indulging in untoward activities,” the application said.

The court’s Tuesday order says, according to LiveLaw, that Article 33 of the constitution allows exemptions from the applicability of fundamental rights as determined by parliament. The order added:

“The judgment of this court [in 2018] was concerned only with validity of S. 497 IPC and S. 198(2) CrPC… In this case, this court had no occasion to consider the effect of the provisions of the Armed Forces Acts. As we notice, it is not as if this court approved of adultery. This court had found adultery may be a modern problem. This court also held that will continue to be a ground for dissolution of marriage… In view of the fact that the scheme of the Acts in the context of Article 33 did not fall for consideration before this court, we must observe and clarify that the judgment of this court was not at all concerned with the effect and provisions of the Armed Forced Acts. This court was neither called upon nor has it ventured to pronounce on effect of S. 45 and S. 63 of the Army Act as also the corresponding provisions of the other Acts (Navy Act, Air Force Act).”

During the hearing, additional solicitor general Madhavi Divan, appearing for the Union government, informed the bench that the application was filed after the Armed Forces Tribunal quashed some disciplinary proceedings initiated against personnel for inappropriate sexual conduct by citing the Joseph Shine judgment. She contended that the 2018 judgment was premised on the “patriarchal connotations” of Section 497 IPC and the disciplinary action taken by the armed forces are “gender neutral and female officers are also liable to disciplinary action”, according to LiveLaw.

Meanwhile, advocate Kaleeswaram Raj, appearing for Joseph Shine, submitted that the government’s clarification application is not maintainable because there is no observation in the 2018 verdict about army officers. Instead of a general clarificatory, individual cases may be examined on a case-to-case basis, the lawyer argued.

At the Delhi Colony Where Gandhi Once Lived, Perceptions of His Legacy Are Mixed

While his room in Valmiki Sadan has been kept as it was 75 years ago, the surroundings have changed drastically.

This year on January 30 will be exactly 75 years to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination at the hands of those against his message of non-violence and fierce defence of a syncretic India. In a series of articles and videos, The Wire takes stock of Gandhi’s murder, and delves deeper into the forces and ideas behind independent India’s first act of terror. Recent years have seen another attempt to kill Gandhi, his ideas, spirit and message. We hope to help unpack where India stands today and its future, through the lens of how the Father of the Nation’s legacy is being treated.

New Delhi: For 214 days between April 1, 1946 and June 10, 1947, Mahatma Gandhi stayed at the Maharishi Valmiki Mandir at Mandir Marg, which was then known as Reading Road, in New Delhi. He wanted to teach the children of the adjoining Valmiki Colony which was largely inhabited by Dalits, most of whom were working as sweepers in nearby colonies.

When Gandhi lived here, the number of students grew from around 30 to 75 as people residing in nearby areas like Gole Market, Irwin Road and even Paharganj began sending their children to him. Ironically, Gandhi had to move out of the complex for security reasons. He was shifted to Birla House, where he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse less than eight months later.

Today, a visit to the temple and the complex, now known as Valmiki Sadan, reveals how some things have moved the way Gandhi would have liked while others have changed for the worse. Likewise, while his room has been kept as it was 75 years ago, the surroundings have changed drastically. Also, just the way Gandhi received both bouquets and brickbats for all his actions, so is it now – he is both revered and detested at the complex.

For one, the slum which stood in the complex is long gone. Now as one turns into the complex towards the temple, one is immediately greeted by two grounds on both sides of the driveway. They are full of children from the colony as well as nearby areas playing cricket or other sports. Then there are residents – men and women both – of the Vikas Sadan flats, which is a colony of New Delhi Municipal Council employees, who can be seen in the area.

These government flats were constructed in 1964 and were allotted to mostly residents of the slum which existed earlier. A large number of cars now stand parked outside this colony, indicating a certain level of economic prosperity. As people bask in the winter sun, the setting appears ideal. There is a sense of goodwill and good cheer all around. One is left wondering how Bapu would have felt seeing all this.

But this is how things appear at the surface. On scratching the surface a bit, the real story emerges.

Room where Gandhi stayed, taught Valmiki children is now a museum

The head of the Rashtriya Valmiki Mandir Evam Ashram, Krishan Vidhyarti, who is also the temple priest, said Gandhi was once asked why he chose to stay in this temple: “Gandhiji said I respect all religions. Here I have come to the place of Maharishi Valmiki who introduced the world to Lord Ram. Also the way Ram went to the seer to seek guidance, so do I want to take his guidance to realise the dream of the country’s freedom and to understand and eradicate the caste based shortcomings that exist. I also want to stay with the Valmikis to partake in their lives and sorrows.”

On whether India has been able to address caste-based discrimination after Gandhi, Vidhyarti, who himself belongs to the Valmiki sub-caste and has resided in the complex all his life, said: “Gandhiji was quite disturbed by caste-based system of that time. He believed that all people were equal and so why the discrimination. People of one particular community were ousted from Hinduism like untouchables, their lifestyle was changed and so was their economic, social and educational status – making them writhe in pain as they sat at the bottom of the social ladder. So Gandhiji said I will live with them and share their grief and difficulties.”

“This temple has existed for long before Gandhiji came. The room in which he stayed was earlier used for the accommodation of Valmiki saints and seers. Also, a school used to be run in the same room for educating Valmiki children. When Gandhiji asked if he could stay here, the elders and leaders of the organisation gave their assent. He made no changes to the room and because he wanted to experience the place as it existed,” he said.

Krishan Vidhyarti. Photo: Zeeshan Kaskar

The room is now maintained as a museum. On the one side is Gandhi’s bed, while in the front is his spinning wheel on which he used to weave yarn for 30-40 minutes a day. The walls are lined with Gandhi’s pictures with several prominent leaders of the time – Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajgopalachari, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan ‘Frontier Gandhi’, and Lady and Lord Mountbatten.

There is also a picture of Gandhi teaching children in the room. “Gandhi taught the children about behavioural practices too – about the need to keep the nails clean, wash the hands after ablution. He also taught English to the older children,” recalled Vidhyarti, who spent his childhood in the complex and whose father and uncle studied from Gandhi.

`Violence against Dalits shows Gandhi is forgotten’

On how far the country has moved in eradicating caste-based shortcomings in the 75 years after Gandhi and how he views regular reports of caste-based violence against Dalits, Vidhyarti said, “Gandhiji wanted the social disparities to go. But it seems that now Gandhi is no longer someone who is remembered – he has become a mere object to be only recalled on January 30 and October 2.”

Vidhyarti also explained why the Dalit community hails Dr B.R. Ambedkar as a greater leader than Gandhi. “Gandhiji was a complete life into himself. He was a barrister who gave up wearing too many clothes because he wanted others to have them and he wanted to experience the life of those who led a life of poverty and hardship. But while he could change his own thought process, he could not make others change. Also, people of the Dalit community got education and jobs due to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who worked through his life to get this community the respect it deserved. So, he is the ‘yug purush’ who changed this community.”

Anger against Gandhi

In the playing grounds nearby, a group of retired government employees too believe that it was Ambedkar, and not Gandhi, who really worked for the community. “What did Gandhi do but coin the word ‘Harijan’ for us? Everyone from Gandhi to all the governments that came have only used us,” said an agitated bespectacled former NDMC employee, who did not wish to be identified.

His friends joined in saying that little has been done for them all these years. “Look at us. Where are we now? But for the fact that Babasaheb Ambedkar got reservation for us in jobs we would have been even more miserable.”

They said that discrimination against Dalits still very much exists. “It exists in the manner we are treated. Our parents all owned houses here and our families have all been residing her for the last 80-100 years. But this land was taken by the government and though we were allotted accommodation, it is now being gradually taken away and people from outside are being settled here in these apartments which came up about 60 years ago.”

Also, these former government employees said the pension scheme was changed in 2004 and people joining after that are not entitled to a pension. “What will our children do? They will not get any pension.”

Moreover, these former employees said now vacancies are deliberately not filled in government jobs and private contractors are being engaged. “There is no reservation in private jobs and so by not filling vacancies they are gradually ensuring that no one gets appointed through the quota.”

As for social discrimination, these ex-employees lamented that they were not even allowed to catch a glimpse of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he had come to the Valmiki Temple for the inauguration of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. “They had put up screens outside our houses and we were not even allowed to step out. Barring a couple of children and a handful of residents, no one was allowed to participate. Most children were brought from outside and some of our residents were handed brooms to sweep. This is what they think of us,” said one of the residents of Valmiki Sadan.

`Gandhi was misunderstood, his path is the one we are moving on’

Well known scholar and former MP Udit Raj, who is now with the Congress, believes that Gandhi’s contribution to the welfare of the Dalits has largely gone unnoticed and not been propagated adequately. “Gandhiji played a major role in upliftment of Dalits. If he had not been there, Dr. Ambedkar would not have been there in the Constituent Assembly and he would also not have become a minister,” he argued.

On the criticism of Gandhi over some issues, he said, “take the word `Harijan’ – he meant Hari’s people, people of God. It was not meant to refer to them in the way ‘dasis’ (women who commit themselves to the deity) live in temples. Nevertheless the word was objected to and was taken off usage.”

“Secondly, Gandhi said there should be no untouchability and discrimination. He did not speak of abolition of the caste system. He is also criticised for this. But those who criticise him need to look within and ask if they have annihilated caste among themselves. Mainly the discourse is about differences between Gandhi and Ambedkar. So was Ambedkar followed? There is severe sub-casteism within Dalits. They are all mired in their cause. They are all fighting against each other. So theoretically while this criticism may be right, practically it does not stand.”

“Okay, if Gandhi was wrong and Ambedkar was right, then people should have followed the path of Ambedkar. But among the Dalits, they only marry within their sub-castes, they like to stay in such groups and in elections, they vote on the basis of such sub-castes. While I agree with Ambedkar that the caste-system should have been abolished, practically we are all moving on the path of Gandhi.”

At the Valmiki Sadan. Photo: Zeeshan Kaskar

According to the Indian National Congress website, Gandhi and Ambedkar “differed on the issue of untouchability because of their different experiences of the same. Gandhiji was born in a congenial environment. He was looking at untouchability from the religious and spiritual point of view. Ambedkar, on the other hand, had to bear the unbearable pain of caste and humiliation. He was distinctly saying that Hinduism, which believes in untouchability, is unjust.”

It added that Gandhi, a staunch Hindu, was a supporter of the caste system but yet considered untouchability a sin, while Ambedkar “wanted such freedom that was free from the caste system”.

The paper added that after Satyagraha began in 1930 to demand entry of Dalits into the Kalaram Temple in Nashik, there were attacks on the community members. Taking serious note of this, the British government organised a Round Table Conference. Both Ambedkar and Gandhi were invited to it.

Here the British Government declared independent constituencies for Dalits, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Anglo-Indians. It identified 71 constituencies in which only Dalits would have had right to vote. Gandhi did not approve of this as he considered it a ploy of the British to divide Hindus. He then began a fast-unto-death against the move at Yerwada Jail in Pune on September 20, 1932.

Due to the fast, the report said, “The pressure on Ambedkar increased. He became a villain and was threatened.” It added that Babasaheb was compelled to go and meet Gandhi in Yerwada Jail. The two agreed to a proposal for reserved seats instead of independent constituencies. This was called the Poona Pact. It was signed on September 24, 1932, with 148 reserved seats for untouchables. However, this “created bitterness in the minds of Ambedkar’s followers” as many felt Babasaheb was forced into this pact.

As noted author Arundhati Roy wrote in her book, The Doctor And The Saint, later Ambedkar wrote about the episode saying, “There was nothing noble in the fast. It was a foul and filthy act . . . [I]t was the worst form of coercion against a helpless people to give up the constitutional safeguards of which they had become possessed under the Prime Minister’s Award and agree to live on the mercy of the Hindus. It was a vile and wicked act. How can the Untouchables regard such a man as honest and sincere?”

`Gandhi supported Ambedkar all along, his work was not well advertised’

“…when it came to appointment of the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution or of appointment to the Cabinet, Gandhi everywhere supported Ambedkar,” Raj said.

On how most Dalits believe that barring Dr Ambedkar, no one worked for them, not even Gandhi, Raj said: “That is indeed the case. But it is the fault of the Congress that it could not adequately communicate to the people either its own work or these decisions taken by Gandhi for them. The party brought NREGA, and started reservation in education and promotions, and in allotment of filling stations and even kerosene depots, ration shops, fertiliser outlets. It also gave land to the landless under the Constitution. And it is under this Constitution that BJP is taking many of those rights away. This, however, needs to be communicated properly to the people.”

Meanwhile, the young appear to be forgetting Gandhi. At Vikas Sadan, while some of the teenagers were able to recall his name and some could even recall that he stood up for non-violence, most were unable to recall who he was. A group of young children, pleading ignorance, said: “Uncle hame nahin pata Gandhiji kaun hain. Aap 7th Class say bade walon say poochho, unhay pata hoga (We do not know who Gandhi was. You please ask those higher than in Class 7, they might know).”

Legendary Lawyer Shanti Bhushan Passes Away

Bhushan was the law minister during the Janata Party government that came to power after the Emergency.

New Delhi: Legendary lawyer Shanti Bhushan died on Tuesday following a brief illness at the age of 97. Bhushan was the law minister during the Janata Party government that came to power after the Emergency and was a Rajya Sabha member.

As a lawyer, he argued many significant cases and took up several public interest cases. He was a vocal activist against corruption. He represented politician Raj Narain in his case against then prime minister Indira Gandhi, who was found guilty of electoral malpractices and her election to the Lok Sabha voided in June 1975.  This spurred a series of political crises which culminated with the imposition of the Emergency, just weeks after the judgment.

After the Emergency was lifted and the Janata Party government came to power, Bhushan was appointed law minister. He introduced the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, which repealed many of the provisions that were brought by Gandhi during the Emergency.

Bhushan was a member of the Congress (O) and later the Janata Party. He was also a member of the BJP for six years beginning in the early 80s. Bhushan and his son Prashant, also a lawyer, were among the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012, but subsequently ended their association with the party.

Prashant Bhushan told Indian Express: “All I can say is that this is the end of an era. He was a person who saw the evolution of the Constitution and the legal system from close quarters since Independence. He wrote about these experiences in two books – Courting Destiny and My Second Innings. All I can say is that this is an immense loss for all of us.”

Bhushan was one of the founders of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, and was part of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Judicial Reform with his son.

Speaking with The Wire, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi recalls Shanti Bhushan’s “towering presence” in the court and said that he was in the club of some of the best lawyers of the country, certainly the “tallest” lawyer that Allahabad ever produced.

“I appeared with him and also against him in court multiple times. I learnt a lot from him. He was always amiable, and never looked down upon his juniors,” he said.

Known for his punctuality and empathic arguments, Bhushan “could take on the judges”, Dwivedi said. “The judges too respected him very much and paid special attention to his arguments,” the senior advocate said, adding that his relationship with Bhushan went back many years because of his friendship with Dwivedi’s father, Justice S.M. Dwivedi.

“He was a warrior lawyer, never afraid of speaking his mind. His battle against corruption throughout his life stands out. I remember that he gave a list of ‘corrupt judges’ to the Supreme Court which is still lying in a sealed cover,” Dwivedi said.

“He always stood up for the values that he prized,” Dwivedi said.

‘Save Raika’: Joshimath Sinking Prompts Climate Activists in Jammu To Intensify Campaign

Activists warned that rapid concretisation of hills near Jammu city could lead more disasters like Joshimath.

Jammu: The subsidence of land in Joshimath, a Himalayan town in Uttarakhand, has raised concern among the environmental activists in Jammu that the rapid concretisation of hills near the city, especially in the Raika forest, could lead to a similar disaster here.

In Joshimath, hundreds of people were evacuated as cracks developed in many homes and the town is slowly sinking. The incident prompted climate activists in Jammu to intensify the campaign of “Save Raika Forest”.

Amid heavy downpours and cold winter weather, dozens of activists of the Climate Front Jammu on Monday held a strong protest at the Press Club in the city to protect the forest area located at Sidhra. The activists also spoke up for Ladakh, where locals have raised environmental issues and are demanging safeguards for land and jobs. The climate activists warned against the environmental exploitation of the wider Himalayan region and its sensitive ecosystem.

This solidarity was represented by a young girl who carried a postcard with the slogan, “Save Himalaya, Joshimath, Raika” and another young activist who warned, “Ladakh, Raika can’t be next Joshimath”. The protest ended peacefully.

Anmol Ohri, the founder of Climate Front Jammu and the organiser of the protest, told The Wire that the activists stand not just for Raika but also Ladakh and Joshimath. “We are raising an alarm about climate change,” he said.

He said that rapid urbanisation and rapid concretisation, without proper geological and ecological planning, will lead to situations like Joshimath in the Jammu region too. “We don’t know what the future holds for us, since the hills of Jammu city are disappearing under a concrete blanket. About 25 years ago, the high court in Janipur was constructed on forest land, which lead to the area being completely concretised. Now, another forest is being cut down for the same reasons,” Ohri said.

The activist said that there are not hints to suggest that the authorities have undertaken ecological planning, adding that they do not trust that the topography of the Raika forest has been taken into account. “This could lead to disasters that we cannot foresee now, but Joshimath is the prime example of a future without ecological planning,” he said.

Raika is a rich forest area with dense species diversity, he added. “We are resisting this government’s move [to construct buildings] for a long period and have been raising our voices and concerns for Raika, ” Ohri told The Wire.

Climate Front Jammu has opposed the administration’s move to shift the Jammu and Kashmir high court to Raika. Ohri says this move will result in the cutting down of 38,000 trees in Raika forest.

Climate Front Jammu said that with Joshimath sinking, experts have called for the declaration of the Himalayas as an eco-sensitive zone and for the regulation of big projects. Therefore, similar steps need to be taken in Jammu and other Himalayan regions.

The Bahu Conservative Reserve’s Raika forest is home to several native species that are in danger of extinction, including the Green Peafowl, which is listed in Schedule 1 of the 1972 Wildlife Act and in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna. Leopards, another animal listed in Schedule 1, are also found in this reserve. A number of other species such as porcupines, wild boars, rabbits, snakes, bears, and chakor also live in the forest area.

Activists demand protection for Raika forest in Jammu, January 30, 2023. Photo: By arrangement

Solidarity with Ladakh

In a press statement, Climate Front Jammu said that Ladakh is facing “huge climate risks” due to the mistreatment of its resources. “After the extensive exploitation of habitat, minerals, and biomes residing there, it is now important to consider sustainable steps for development and use. It is a popular tourist place and holds many aspects of tribal culture as well as natural resources,” it says.

The organisation noted that the people of Ladakh have been seeking constitutional safeguards provided to other tribal regions in India under the Sixth Schedule to protect their demography, jobs, and land – all of which were guaranteed by Article 370 of the constitution, which was read down by the current BJP-led Union government.

“Today we stand in solidarity with Ladakh for demanding protection under the Sixth Schedule because we need to understand that if Joshimath repeats in Ladakh or Jammu or anywhere else in the country, it will be a shame for all of us who watched and understood but didn’t do anything about it. It is a symbol of unity and resistance that we are expressing publicly, so people remember in the future that some youngsters in Jammu city and elsewhere in the country were speaking out against this self-inflicted tragedy,” Ohri told The Wire.

“We don’t want to see incidents like Joshimath in Ladakh and Raika and we will resist until everyone understands the urgency of this ongoing global crisis,” he added.

Sonum Wangchuk’s initiative inspires other activists

Ladakh-based environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk held a five-day climate fast for peaceful calls on resolving environmental issues in Ladakh. The 57-year-old’s actions have brought much attention to environmental issues in the region and other activists are taking up these issues. Wangchuk was asked to sign a bond “promising that he will not make any statements or participate in any public gatherings over recent happenings in Leh for one month.”

Also Read: Ladakh Admin Asks Sonam Wangchuk to Sign Bond Promising Silence, Restricts His Movements

While talking with The Wire, Climate Front Jammu vice president Ritambra Khajuria said that young citizens of India are worried about their future.

“We don’t understand why the government is ignoring warnings about climate change. We are well aware of Joshimath and what is happening, how it is sinking and more than 20,000 people became homeless due to unsustainable development practices. Similar practices are being followed across the Himalayas. We have Raika as an example,” Khajuria told the Wire.

He said that along with Ladkah, land in Jammu and Kashmir should also be protected as the whole region is eco-sensitive.

Mubashir Naik is a freelance journalist, he tweets at @Sule_khaak.

Quaide Milleth Educational and Social Trust Recognises ‘The Wire’ for ‘Fearless Journalism’

The Wire was handed the Quaide Milleth Award for Probity in Political/Public Life 2022 for “valiant efforts towards preservation of democratic values and institutions and rule of law in the country”.

New Delhi: The Quaide Milleth Educational and Social Trust on Tuesday, January 31, presented its annual Award for Probity in Political/Public Life to The Wire and Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani. The Chennai-based trust handed the Quaide Milleth Award for 2022 to The Wire for “recognition of the outstanding contributions to value based and fearless Journalism and unstinted struggle for the freedom of speech”. The full citation says:

“In recognition of the outstanding contributions to value based and fearless Journalism and unstinted struggle for the freedom of speech.

The Trust proudly records the contribution of the entire team of The Wire Media for their valiant efforts towards preservation of Democratic values and Institutions and Rule of Law in the country.”

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh. The award is named after Quaide Milleth Mohamed Ismail, a freedom fighter and leader of the pre-partition Muslim League who rejected Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s ‘two nation theory’ and went on the play a leading role in the formulation of the Indian constitution as a member of the Constituent Assembly.

The award in his name is given annually to veterans in political and public life with “deep commitment to constitutional values, secularism, pluralism, inclusivism and concern for marginalised people”.

Veeramani, who is 90 years old, was recognised for upholding the principles and taking forward the Dravidar Kazhagam movement.

Retired civil servant and SIET chairman Moosa Raza, former vice-chancellor V. Vasanthi Devi, CSI (retd) Rev Bishop Devasagayam, veteran journalist A.S. Paneerselvan and trust ex-officio general secretary M.G. Dawood Miakhan were part of the selection committee for the award.

 

Why the Proposal to Have Remote Voting Machines Could Be Concealing More Than It Reveals

The proposal for remote voting for migrant resident voters (MRIs) is not new has its origins in an older proposal, to allow Non-Resident Indians to vote. There are serious issues with this.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a new initiative to introduce a ‘remote voting machine (RVM) system’ for migrant voters via its letter on December 28, 2022 and invited all recognised national (8) and regional (57) political parties for a discussion on this issue on January 16, 2023. It asked them to convey their “views on issues highlighted in the letter for legal, administrative and statutory changes to bring in clarity of the subject, by January 31, 2023” in a specified format.

Official reports from the commission termed the meeting as successful but other reports said the scheduled demonstration did not happen as almost all opposition parties disagreed or found fault with the ECI’s proposals.

The evolution

The latest proposal for the RVM system for migrant voters has not come out of nowhere, although the EC’s letter of December 28, 2022 refers only to its concern for the low voter turnout, the inability of migrants to vote as a cause of the low voter turnout, and to a judgment of the Supreme Court (Dr. Shamsheer V.P. vs Union of India) of June 25, 2015 as the prime causes for coming up with this proposal. A peep into some relatively short-term history, however, shows a somewhat different picture.

Actually, the process started in 2014 when the EC decided to work on permitting Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to cast their votes remotely in response to requests from the Ministry of Overseas Affairs and Rajya Sabha MP Naveen Jindal. Postal voting was proposed as a solution and consultations with various groups were held. Some parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party supported the postal ballot option while others such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Communist Party of India did not agree with it.

The Congress had reservations about the postal ballot paper being sent electronically. However, it was the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) who had the strongest reservations saying that “diplomatic missions do not have the logistical wherewithal to handle attestation for a large number of overseas electors”, and that permission required of the host country for this might be tricky in non-democratic countries.

A 12-member committee was set up in 2014 to study mainly three options for voting by NRIs: voting by post, voting at an Indian mission abroad, and online voting. In 2015, this committee finally recommended the options of e-postal ballot and proxy voting to NRIs, rejecting the other two. E-postal ballot is a ballot paper that is sent to the voter electronically and returned to the returning officer by post. The law ministry accepted the recommendation on proxy voting and the Cabinet passed the proposal to amend the law.

A Bill to amend the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Representation of People Act, 1951 to allow for proxy voting for NRIs was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2017, and passed on August 9, 2018. However, the 16th Lok Sabha was dissolved while the Bill was awaiting Rajya Sabha’s approval, and therefore, it lapsed.

It was at this point in time that comments were made on the preference given to NRIs over MRIs (migrant resident Indians).

The matter rested there till November 2020 when the EC told the law ministry that it was “technically and administratively ready” to extend the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) to NRI voters for elections in 2021 in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. It was proposed that any NRI interested in voting through the postal ballot in an election will have to inform the returning officer (RO) at least five days after the notification of the election.

On receiving such information, the RO will dispatch the ballot paper electronically. The NRI voters will mark their preference on the ballot printouts and send it back along with a declaration attested by an officer appointed by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where the NRI is resident. It was not clear if the voter was to return the ballot paper through ordinary post or drop it off at the Indian Embassy, which may then segregate the envelopes. Nothing was heard of the proposal since then.

Also read: Migrant, Mobility and the Missing Vote

Migrant workers wait to board buses in Ghaziabad, March 29, 2020. Photo: PTI/Arun Sharma

The RVM system proposal

Now comes the RVM proposal as if it is a totally fresh initiative of the EC to increase the total voting percentage and being considerate of the migrants’ plight. There are several issues with this proposal.

1. Urgency of the EC’s desire to assist ‘domestic migrants’

EC’s letter of December 28, 2022 says that it had formed a “Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants” which had a meeting with political parties on August 20, 2016. It then consulted other “experts” and “submitted its report in November 2016”. It has taken the EC a little over five years to discover that “empowering the migrant voters to exercise their franchise from their places of work entails a host of legal, statutory, administrative and technological interventions on a spectrum of issues…”

In addition, several issues are identified “requiring consultations for acceptable solutions to the complex problem of increasing voter participation beyond current level”.

2. Level of preparation and homework done by the EC

The issues “requiring consultations” are identified under the following heads:

  • Who is a domestic migrant?
  • What is remote voting?
  • How to implement a model code of conduct in remote locations (other states) where the election process is not going on?
  • How to provide a controlled environment to ensure secrecy of voting and inducement-free voting? How many such remote booths should be set up? Who should be appointed as polling personnel?
  • How to provide a facility of polling agents to candidates for voting at such controlled remote locations and ensure identification of voters to avoid impersonation?
  • A method of remote voting/voting technology:
    • Remote voting methods: Postal ballot (ETPBS), internet voting, or remote voting machine in line of EVMs.
    • How to count votes cast at remote booths and transmit to returning officers located remotely (in other state)?”

Of all of the above issues, the EC has presented suggested solutions for only the last one: an RVM system option. For the remaining five issues the EC does not mention any suggested solution and has requested the invited political parties for suggestions in a given format. This shows how well prepared the EC is to implement this proposed system.

3. Technical features of the RVM system are described in Annexure-I of the EC’s letter of December 28, 2022. The following points need clarification.

The very first item in the “proposed RVM voting method” says a “remote voter has to pre-register for remote voting facility by applying online/offline within a pre-notified time before elections with his home constituency RO.” This appears that the process expects a migrant voter to (a) either be computer- or IT-savvy enough to ‘pre-register’ with her ‘home constituency RO’ online or (b) pre-register ‘offline’, which in common understanding means to go to the ‘home constituency’ and pre-register with the ‘local’ or ‘home’ RO. Both these options are no different from the existing rules where the migrant voter has to either register herself at the place of work or go to the ‘home constituency’ to vote which are not at all practical for migrant voters.

If the very first step in the so-called ‘remote voting’ process is no different from the existing rules, then what is the point of the entire exercise of the RVM system?

The second issue deals with what is called “RVM features”. The description says, “It is a standalone, non-networked system having the same security features as the existing Indian EVMs and provides the same voting experience to the voter as EVM. RVM system is essentially a modified version of the existing EVM system.” (Italics added). On the face of it, it sounds contradictory: If it is a “modified version”, then it is difficult to see how it can have the “same security features” and provide “the same voting experience”! There is obviously something missing here.

Various components of the RVM system described are supposed to have the same controls, functionality, etc. as the existing EVM system but are also said to have additional new features and parts. The entire explanation of the system appears to be convoluted and confusing.

The “proposed commissioning process” says inter alia that “…loading of symbols in [the] presence of representatives of political parties/candidates by RSLU onto RVVPAT, the symbols could be viewed on a screen/monitor by all stakeholders in real time as per the existing practice.” It is not clear whether it will be done at the remote location or the home location. Similar doubts exist in the “proposed voting process” and the “counting process of RVM”.

The entire process described in Annexure-I is very sketchy and does not appear to have been thought through in detail. It gives the impression of being a work-in-process. Given this lack of clarity in the letter of December 28, 2022 and its annexure, it is not possible to figure out what exactly did the EC plan to “demonstrate” in the proposed meeting on January 16, 2023.

Also read: Why Has the EC Brought Back the Dangerous Proposal to Link Voter Ids With Aadhaar?

Two serious concerns

The letter of December 28, 2022 raises two other serious concerns.

1. Conflict of interest

The letter of December 22, 2022 says, “Accordingly, the Commission has been working with two public sector units, who are manufacturing existing EVMs, i.e., Bharat Electronic (sic) Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) to develop a robust, failproof and efficient stand-alone system for remote voting based on existing EVMs, under the guidance of the Technical Expert Committee.”

In a letter of January 7, 2023, addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the two Election Commissioners, a retired secretary to the Government of India, E.A.S. Sarma, inter alia wrote the following:

“A far more serious issue is the conflict of interest in the case of the CPSE, Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), on whose credentials the integrity of the entire electoral system based on the EVM technology so precariously rests. The BEL, as a premier CPSE par excellence, has outstandingly competent technical personnel. Their credentials are unquestionable. However, the ruling political party at the Centre has appointed at least three Directors on BEL’s Board of Directors, Shri Mansukhbhai Shamjibhai Khachariya, Dr P.V. Parthasavrathi, and Dr Shiv Nath Yadav” who have contested elections as nominees of the ruling political party at the Centre.”

Sarma goes on to write that “this information has been gathered from the public domain” and while he has “no intention whatsoever to question their integrity in any manner”, he does “feel seriously concerned about the possible conflict of interest that arises from this, in the management of such an excellent CPSE, directly involved in developing the source code for operating the EVMs, around which the vulnerability or otherwise of the EVMs so critically revolves.”

He further writes that “this has clearly tilted the level-playing ground between the political parties, in favour of the ruling political executive”, and that “it is highly objectionable since appointment of persons with political affiliations violates the CPSE guidelines”.

2. ‘Stakeholders’ in elections?

Paragraph 12 of the EC’s letter of December 28, 2022 says, “In the context as above and desirability of ensuring that domestic migrants are able to exercise their franchise to improve participation and deepen democracy further, the Commission desires to solicit views of the Recognised National and State Political Parties, as the most important stakeholders in the electoral process, in the matter to effectively recommend required legislative changes, changes in administrative procedures and finalise voting method/technology.” (Italics added).

Earlier in the letter, in paragraph 9, the letter refers to its own “Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants”, “studies made by Tata Institute of Social Sciences on the subject of domestic migrants and issues in election participation”, and “deliberations with various relevant Ministries/Organisations and experts.” (Emphasis added).

It is noteworthy that citizens/voters or migrants find no place among the stakeholders in the election process in the reckoning of the EC. Undoubtedly, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences is an extremely reputed institution but it seems unlikely that it is the best repository of knowledge on domestic migrants. There are organisations who have been working exclusively on domestic migrants for many years and who are not so difficult to locate.

As a matter of fact, one of the former chief election commissioners, S.Y. Quraishi, has actually quoted a survey by one such organisation, Aajeevika Bureau, in his piece in the Indian Express published on January 17, 2023 on this issue. It is interesting that the EC was not able to locate what a former CEC could! Of course, the EC does not think it is necessary to share exactly who are the “experts” that it consults.

The last word

It is not that citizens have not spoken on this issue. There has been a Citizens’ Commission on Elections (CCE) consisting of eminent citizens which was set up on March 5, 2020, and its findings were published in early 2022 in a volume titled ‘Electoral Democracy: An inquiry into the Fairness and Integrity of Elections in India’. The CCE also sent a copy of its findings to the EC. This volume also has a 16-page chapter titled ‘Is the Indian EVM and VVPAT System Fit for Democratic Elections?’ written by two well-known professors of Computer Science and Engineering at an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

It is critical to remember that all the unresolved problems of the existing EVM and VVPAT system will get carried over to the so-called RVM system and the confidence of citizens in the electoral system will possibly go down further.

Two speculations

It has been speculated in some quarters that this announcement of the RVM system for domestic migrants is a mere smokescreen for two hidden objectives. One is to extend the voting facility to NRIs which was the original intention, and the other is to deflect attention away from the problems of the EVM-VVPAT system. It is not possible to make any serious comment on these issues since there is no real, dependable information available on them.

Jagdeep S. Chhokar is a concerned citizen.

Gujarat Court Sentences Asaram to Life Imprisonment in 2013 Rape Case

A woman disciple had in October 2013 accused Asaram of rape on several occasions from 2001-2006 when she was living at his ashram at Motera near Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

New Delhi: A court in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, January 31, sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life imprisonment for raping a disciple.

The woman had in October 2013 accused Asaram of rape on several occasions from 2001-2006 when she was living at his ashram at Motera near Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

According to PTI, the court convicted Asaram under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 2 (C) (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful detention), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 357 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation), in the case lodged by his former woman disciple in 2013.

The 81-year-old is currently lodged in a Jodhpur jail, where he is serving life sentence for raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.

The court had acquitted six other accused, including Asaram’s wife Laxmiben, their daughter, and four disciples who were accused of aiding and abetting the crime, for want of evidence, the prosecution said.

Asaram was arrested from Indore in July 2013. In the next four years, nine witnesses in the rape case against him were attacked, three of whom died. Several witnesses were attacked and threatened for speaking against Asaram.

Watch | ‘Response to Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K Means Early Elections Unlikely’: Omar Abdullah

Arfa Khanum Sherwani spoke with the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister about the reception that the yatra got in the union territory.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi came to an end in Srinagar on January 30, 2023. Among the representatives of parties who were present on the occasion was National Conference’s Omar Abdullah. Arfa Khanum Sherwani spoke with the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister about the reception that the yatra got in the union territory, what it means for the BJP and if assembly elections will soon be held. Watch the video to hear Abdullah’s responses.

Three Reasons Why This Year’s Economic Survey Is a Political Document

If ordinary citizens were hoping that this year’s survey has an honest stocktaking of the ground reality of the economy, they are in for disappointment.

New Delhi: As is the norm a day before the Union government presents the annual budget in parliament, the Economic Survey for the year 2022-23 was released by the Union Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, January 31.

The document is a summary that outlines the state of the economy in a fiscal year. With the monthly household expense bill on an upswing, with people you know in your respective fields losing jobs post-pandemic and no help arriving till now, one doesn’t need to be an economist to decipher data and graphs to crystalise the view that the economy has been on a rough patch for some time now. Therefore, a common citizen who otherwise leaves the economy to the economists may take a peek at the government’s 2022-23 Economic Survey. Perhaps with the hope that there is an honest stocktaking of the ground reality, helping you get a grip on the state of affairs that directly affects your personal budget, Maybe there is also an expectation that the government would lace it with some degree of optimism and hope for better days.

The survey does throw up ‘optimism and ‘hope’ in oodles, but what comes across after perusing the document that presents the survey “in a nutshell to enable its easier understanding” through “charts, infographics, tables and minimum use of text” is not a paper on the state of the economy but a stridently political one aimed at creating a smokescreen that all is good in ‘New India’.

The survey seems to reiterate what the Narendra Modi government is increasingly pushing for – keeping the 2024 general elections in mind – the dawning of Amrit Kaal or a ‘Golden era’.

What particularly stands out in the document is the attempt to portray the ‘golden era’ of the Modi regime since 2014 as a continuation of the ‘India Shining’ era of the A.B. Vajpayee government.

To better understand this push, take a look at the infographic below that draws a parallel between two fiscal periods – 1998 to 2002 (Vajpayee era), and 2014 to 2022 (Modi era).

Source: Economic Survey 2022-23

It begins with ‘shocks’ that the economy received during those two periods when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power. For the Vajpayee government, the shocks began with the nuclear tests in 1998, which attracted international sanctions. The document underlines the two droughts (in 2000 and 2002) that the period had also witnessed, before mentioning the ‘technology bust’ (dotcom crash of 2000) triggering a period of recession in the US economy, and 9/11’s effects on India. It is another matter that the Vajpayee government had come under fire from the opposition for its slow response to the 2000 drought, which affected western states like Rajasthan and Gujarat. Vajpayee also made a televised appeal for financial help from citizens to address the crisis.

Under the ‘shocks to the economy’ section for the 2014-2022 period (the Modi era), the infographic puts not just the negative effects of the pandemic “followed by inflation” and “global commodity price shock followed by tightening of financial conditions”, but also a “period of banking, non-banking and non-financial corporate sector balance sheet stress.”

While the survey lists structural reforms such as “asset recovery for the banks”, “privatisation” and “interest rate deregulation” as Vajpayee’s efforts to bring the economy on track, the list of reforms undertaken by the Modi regime is a long one. Apart from Goods and Sales Tax (GST), more privatisation of government assets and tax reforms, the vaccine roll-out is also touted as “reform”. Bizarrely, ‘structural reforms’ to improve the economy apparently also include concepts like ‘AatmaNirbahar’ (self-reliance) and ‘unique identity’. Is the ‘unique identity’ launched to bring a structural change to a grim economy a synonym for ‘New India’ or ‘Amrit Kaal’ or both?

That this year’s economic survey is fundamentally a political document that comes in the wake of the Modi government presenting the last full budget before the 2024 elections is evident from this infographic.

One, it handpicks only two periods in recent Indian economic history – the Vajpayee and Modi eras – in a bid to establish a “right-wing economic trajectory”.

Two, it attempts to frame the narrative that ‘Amrit Kaal’ is but a continuation of the ‘India Shining’ phenomenon. Perhaps this narrative is aimed at adding weight to the impression that the BJP as a party is always for ‘national security’ (read the nuke test), even if it comes at the cost of the economy. Does it then help the Modi government to also juxtapose that its ‘nationalist’ agenda is at the top of every decision, even before the economy? If so, it clearly gives the incumbent government an easy exit from the tight spot it has been in for some time now for not doing enough to rectify the dwindling economy.

The third reason why the survey is a political one is the complete ignorance of the times between 2002 and early 2014, which put money in people’s pockets during the Manmohan Singh era. This decision is clearly a no-brainer – set in motion only to underplay what it can’t contest. An indirect reference to that period is made in the ‘Growth Returns’ section, stating that the structural reforms carried out by the BJP government between 1998 and 2002 “paid growth dividends from 2003 onwards”. The economic trajectory of a country, much like foreign affairs, is a continuity; one government’s policies may help or harm the subsequent period but rarely in India does one notice an attempt by any government to compartmentalise one government’s financial decisions as distinct from that of the other based on their political ideology. The Modi government, in doing so with this Economic Survey, has certainly set a new precedent.