Eshah Panthah. Or roughly, ‘That is his only way forward’, in Sanskrit.
Addressing the nation on May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the obscure words to announce what would be the guiding principle of India’s post-Covid recovery—Atmanirbhar Bharat.
“The state of the world today teaches us that making India self-reliant is the only path,” said Modi, announcing an economic package of ₹20 lakh crore, the biggest in independent India’s history. “In times of crisis, ‘local’ has fulfilled our demand; local has saved us. Local is not just the need, it is our responsibility, too.”
After Modi’s speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a slew of measures, ranging from structural reforms and easing of rules to pumping money into the system. The big moves included business loans at concessional rates, debt relief for micro, small and medium industries, allowing farmers to sell directly to private players, completing ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme by March 2021, additional funds for creating and guaranteeing rural jobs, opening key sectors like commercial mining to private players, and raising FDI limits in defence and space.
Modi’s clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat generated paeans from industrialists and analysts, and a viral hashtag, #VocalForLocal. Detractors, however, soon pointed out that this export-oriented swadeshi drive was just the old ‘Make in India’ wine in a new bottle.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 25, 2020 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 25, 2020 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Angry, Young America
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A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
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Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
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BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.
