Chronicle Year Book 2020-2021

The outbreak of Corona virus (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, which began in December 2019, evolved to become a global pandemic, as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. It has caused havoc globally, hitting 169 countries, and affecting every continent except Antarctica. COVID-19 pandemic is notified as a ‘’biological’’ disaster by the government of India. In order to limit its spread and destruction, India adopted a strict lockdown in March 2020, which lasted till the start of June 2020 and at present a gradual unlocking process is going on. The pandemic, along with the obvious environmental, political, economic and health-related impact, also poses a serious threat to the psychological well-being of individuals and has resulted in significant behavioural changes. Moreover, it was also observed that in this precarious situation heralded by the pandemic COVID-19, the disadvantaged sections of society like women, rural people and poor migrants have taken a disproportionately heavier toll as compared to their well to do counterparts. Therefore, to counter it, governments, all over the world, are mulling over different ideas, programmes and policies- which range from technologies such as artificial intelligence to interventions like Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in India.

In the wake of pending long term policy reforms and contemporary economic shocks generated by COVID-19, the Indian economy is going through a subdued phase which is very rare for a developing economy like India. In this light, the government has taken numerous strategic policy decisions to bring the Indian economy back on track and set it on a path of sound economic growth which should be sustainable as well as inclusive.

“Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.” -- Stephen Hawking

From SIRI to self-driving cars, from banking to farming, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly. While science fiction often portrays AI as robots with human-like characteristics, AI can encompass anything from Google’s search algorithms, email spam filtering, weather forecasts, autonomous weapons to IBM’s Watson. However, there is skepticism also looming large across the scientific community regarding the unintended effects of AI. Because AI has the potential to become more intelligent than any human, we have no surefire way of predicting how it will behave. We can’t use past technological developments as much of a basis because we’ve never created anything that has the ability to, wittingly or unwittingly, outsmart us. The best example of what we could face may be our own evolution. People now control the planet, not because we’re the strongest, fastest or biggest, but because we’re the smartest. If we’re no longer the smartest, are we assured to remain in control? This brings us to a point where it is prudent to understand what is AI from the scratch.

• Artificial Intelligence was mentioned for the first time in 1956 by John McCarthy and ever since it has been a term which intrigues people all over the world.
• Such is the prowess and depth of the AI technology that it evokes fear and hope at the same time and it is aptly evident in the aforementioned quote of famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
• Although AI is a hot topic in scientific fraternity but there is a significant degree of fuzziness that surrounds the topic. Everybody has his own version of definition, technical possibilities and repercussions of the technology.
• By analysing all of the versions, it can be concluded that AI is – a form of intelligence; a type of technology, and a field of study.

In this light, in this section, we have discussed the basics of AI, its historical evolution, its disruptive effects on different sectors of the world economy and Indian approach to AI i.e. AI for All.

Environmental activism refers to the collaborative working together of individuals and organizations, concerned for environmental degradation and conservation. Problems of depletion of groundwater resources, pollution of water bodies, non availability of drinking water, rising air pollution and wastage of resources led Indian government to pursue environment friendly policies with respect to water, air and resource utilization. This has led to environment conservation and pollution mitigation on high agenda with respect to framing of policies and in order to ameliorate the present situation.

Some prominent measures adopted so far are: Formation of Ministry of Jal Shakti, Jal Jeevan mission, Composite Water Management Index (CWMI), Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), Water Conservation Fee (WCF), National Clean Air Programme, JIVAN yojana, Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy, setting up of e-waste clinic, Steel Scrap Policy and Recycling of Ship act 2019.

In Indian policy framework, environmental activism can be traced from United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference) 1972. India participated in the conference and accordingly enacted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, Environment Protection Act, 1986. Environmental Protection was incorporated into the Constitution by the Constitution (Forty Second Amendment) Act of 1976.

Constitutional Provisions: Article 48A was added to the Directive Principles of State Policy. It says that ‘State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. Similarly, Article 51A (g) was added as a Fundamental Duty which says that ‘It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures’.

Indian society is a cultural mosaic of different cultures and religions, which is also known for it’s unity in diversity- a cornerstone of Indian culture and civilization. At the other hand, being a heterogeneous multicultural society, it does confront with the problem of balancing autonomy and safeguards of minority rights and ensuring national integration. Social, cultural, and historical faultlines does resurface from time to time, as different state and non state actors try to harness it according to their vested interest. It is in this light the issue of striking balance between social and national integration become important for upholding the ethos and composite culture of India while maintaining unity and integrity of the nation.

Apart from safeguards enshrined in the Constitution such as Fundamental Rights, DPSPs and Fundamental Duties, the Government has taken numerous initiatives in the past to promote communal harmony and social integration in Indian society. Some of them include the constitution of the National Integration Council (1960s), National Foundation for Communal Harmony (1992), laying down of the guidelines for the promotion of communal harmony, scheme for assistance to victims of terrorist and communal violence in which onetime payment of Rs.3 lakh is given to afflicted families, The Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 and The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991.

Recent initiatives for social integration by government of India includes abrogation of Article 370, Article 35, Triple Talaq Act, maintaining harmony post Ayodhya verdict, reservation for Economically Weaker Section and Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.

Development thinkers always seek to redefine development as being about more than economic growth; talking about human rights is one way to construct a more holistic definition. In this light a considerable shift to “rights-based approach” to development has intensified in recent years. International and national development agencies have increasingly begun to frame their work in terms of rights. For example: Right to life, right to work, right to food, right to freedom of speech etc. Similarly, human rights organizations have been exploring concepts and strategies of participation and how to apply them to their work. Human rights standards become valuable guides in a dynamic process like development, because the normative content of human rights includes guidance for “immediate” and “progressive” realization. For example right to work with dignity, female right to have maternity benefits, rights of disabled persons etc. The normative clarity provided by human rights removes arbitrariness from development programmes: we know what is important, what has a value in itself, and what is merely instrumental for the realization of human dignity and freedom.

India is one of the fastest growing major economies and is currently ranked as the world’s seventh largest economy. Projections of growth, over the medium term, remain encouraging and optimistic for India. The underlying strong macroeconomic framework such as benign inflationary trend, favourable Current Account Deficit (CAD) and manageable fiscal deficit are indicative of the potential of India to achieve a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.

In light of this, the government has brought a number of reforms to lay a strong foundation to make India a five trillion dollar economy. The Corporate Tax at this time in the country is the lowest ever and this would propel a boost in the economic growth. The sweeping reforms were introduced in the Banking Sector to make it more transparent and profitable. New mineral policy, electronics policy and draft logistics policy also aim to boost core sectors, services sector and transportation infrastructure in country respectively.

It is quite evident that in recent time under the new leadership, the foreign policy of India has taken a new trajectory. Instead of being the “balance of power”, it has turned towards “being a leading global power”.

In a significant shift, Indian foreign secretary asserted during the Raisina Dialogue 2019 that “India has moved on from its non-aligned past. India is today an aligned state—but based on issues”. Underscoring that it’s time India becomes part of the rule-making process, he argued: “In the rules-based order, India would have a stronger position in multilateral institutions.” The foreign secretary was categorical that India’s future would be largely shaped by the kind of role New Delhi manages to play in the G-20 and the Indo-Pacific, signalling clearly the changing priorities of the Indian foreign policy establishment.

India has shifted from Non-Alignment to Multi-Alignment, which is largely portrayed as an issue based engagement and strategic autonomy in international affairs. This leads to India having greater flexibility in pursuing its de-hyphenation policy with many nations.

Instances where Indian diplomacy showed this clear shift are following:

Knowledge has replaced capital and labour in the 21^st century as the production resource. It’s utilization through application of technology creates wealth and improves life in the form of better health, education, and infrastructure. The ability to create the knowledge infrastructure, knowledge workers and enhancement of their productivity through creation of new knowledge will be the determinant of prosperity of a Knowledge Society. But as a society progress it also maintains continuity with it’s past and builds upon the knowledge created.

In this light India has continued on the path of knowledge creation which is evident by development in space technology (RISAT 2B, CARTOSAT 3, CHANDRAYAAN 2, GAGANYAAN), space cooperation with Indonesia, health innovation by ICMR, especially in cancer, international alliance like MERA India, adoption of new technologies like use of blockchain in coffee marketplace, launch of channels like DD Science and legislative measures like The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.

The late political scientist and historian Benedict Anderson called the nation an imagined community, which brings together people who find common cause to forge a new identity. That entity functions because of its institutions. Civilisation progresses with the evolution of institutions designed by humans to govern their affairs. Institutions of electoral democracy have evolved over the centuries, with notable innovations in the U.K., France and the U.S. that provided models for electoral democracies everywhere. These institutions are not made only of bricks and mortar, though these are necessary; they become meaningful if they represent the collective will of the people, drawn from values that underpin the idea of that nation. Physical structures, like parliaments and courts, matter; how they function matters even more.

The legislature, the army, the judiciary and the media are important structures of the nation. The first sets the rules, the second defends the state, the third determines what is right and what’s wrong, and the fourth blows the whistle when things go wrong. They have their roles and boundaries. Institutions are strengthened or weakened depending on how the individuals temporarily in charge of the institutions act. By these yardsticks, democracy is shining in India. With a strong government at the Centre, Parliament has passed a slew of big laws recently in the field of medical education, transport, Defense, human rights and Consumer Protection.

According to Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, India houses 2.68 crore Person with Disabilities (PwDs), 10.4 crore person above 60 years of age, 27.1 crore using any form of drug etc. These numbers are worrying, as special policy directives are required to ensure social justice for these communities. Social Justice is a revolutionary concept which provides meaning and significance to life and makes the rule of law dynamic. It aims at empowering the weaker sections and providing justice to them of the historical wrongdoings. The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment in India is entrusted with the empowerment of the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society. The target groups of the Ministry are: Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Senior Citizens, Victims of Substance Abuse, Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Beggars, Transgender etc.

The Ministry has been implementing various programmes/schemes for social, educational and economic development of the target groups. As a result there has been considerable improvement in the welfare of these groups. It has come out with various schemes like Inclusive India Initiative, Accessible India campaign, Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana etc. to address the special needs of these communities.

The treatment meted out to minorities in India plays an important role in projecting vibrant democratic picture of our country. India considers Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhist and Christians as minorities. Rejecting the dubious ‘Two Nation Theory’, India was born secular. Abiding by secularism, various initiatives have been running to ensure equal treatment and protection of rights of the minorities. Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram, Jiyo Parsi, Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) scheme not only ensures empowerment of minorities but also ensures conservation of their culture & heritage. Issues like relative educational backwardness of Muslims, decreasing population of Parsis, instances of communal violence continues to haunt Indian thread of secularism.

From time immemorial human civilization are governed by a set of principles/rules/regulations. Be it Kautiliya’s ‘Arthshastra’ or Machiavelli’s ‘Prince’, the importance of these principles governing society has been indisputable. The society to govern in a systemized manner requires proper functioning of law machinery, this proper functioning means ensuring timely justice to all.

Indian law and justice system have been marred by complexity of laws, expensive and delayed justice, high pendency of cases in judiciary, continuation of outdated laws, etc. The response from Indian administration (policies like e-courts, Nyaya Mitra, etc.) has been partially successful.

72 years since independence India continues to be a country in world headlines for poor women safety, high infant mortality rate, and gruesome patriarchal practices. Even though Indian government is focused in ensuring healthy child and empowered women (with schemes like ICDS, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, promoting women cooperatives, etc.), what’s that not falling in place? It could be poor administrative practices or deep patriarchal mindset unwilling to heed to modern norms, or may be both. Proper targeted policies in a mission mode, social audit of welfare schemes, ensuring gender sensitivity in policy formulation, women participation in decision making, etc. are few but important measures that the state can adopt to ensure proper women and child development.

8.63% (SECC, 2011) of Indian population consists of Schedule Tribes (STs). The tribal communities in India have come to be conceptualized primarily in relation to their geographical and social isolation from the larger Indian society. Owing to their historical isolation, they enjoyed autonomy in management of land, forest and its resources. But with the advent of Britishers and passage of various regressive policies like Land Acquisition Act (1894) and Indian Forest Act (1927), these tribes were deprived of their traditional rights over land, forest and other natural resources. Post-independence the primary responsibility of the government was not just to ensure restoration of these Rights but also to conserve the forest and use it efficiently for the development of the country. Various policies were formulated to address tribal issues of illiteracy, social alienation, mainstreaming tribal culture, ensuring healthy lifestyle and at the same time conserving the tribal ethos & practice along with using forest resources for national development. The struggle to balance the above aspect continues.

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” - Nelson Mandela.

The above famous quote sums up the cardinal importance of education and it is all the more true as far as India is concerned. India is passing through a stage where its productive population (15 to 64 years age group) is highest (65%). To reap the benefits of demographic dividend, education and skills are two most important factors India needs to focus on.

The sector is expected to reach US$ 1.96 billion by 2021 with around 9.5 million users. Number of colleges and universities in India reached 41,901 and 993, respectively in 2017-18. India had 36.64 million students enrolled in higher education in 2017-18. Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education reached 25.8 per cent in 2017-18. The country now has become the second largest market for e-learning after the US.

With 74.04% literacy rate, India is progressing in the right direction as far as its education policy is concerned. Initiatives like Right to Education Act, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid Day Meal Scheme have ensured universalization of elementary education whereas initiatives like IMPRESS, GIAN, and IMPRINT are making higher education accessible and lucrative.

The agenda of the National Policy on Education 1986, modified in 1992 (NPE 1986/92), is still incomplete in its implementation. Also, the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 that inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India envisages free and compulsory education for all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right. Later, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) came into force in April 2010.

Globalization and the demands of a knowledge economy and a knowledge society call for emphasis on acquisition of new skills by learners on a regular basis, for them to ‘learn how to learn’ and become lifelong learners. Young learners today belong to a generation that is born and raised in technology-rich environments. They will use technologies that haven’t been invented so far and enter jobs that don’t exist at present.

Lacunas in elementary education with respect to quality educational outcomes and in higher education with respect to lack of job oriented skills still persist. Until and unless these deformities are addressed, India’s dream of reaping in the demographic dividend would remain in limbo.

The electoral system is a political device through which the modern states create amongst their citizens a sense of involvement and participation in public affairs and associate themselves in the formation of a genuine representative government. The credibility of any democracy depends upon its ability to conduct free and fair election.

After India attained Independence in August 1947, the first General Elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas were held between October, 1951 and March, 1952 with universal adult suffrage.

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution provides for the setting up of Election Commission as an independent constitutional authority. Election Commission of India (ECI) in this pursuit have come up with measures like scrutinizing electoral bonds, advocating cleansing of political parties to ensure decriminalization of politics, etc. These measures would ensure a just and healthy electoral system in the country.

Parliament of India regulates and streamlines the election procedure through the laws like the Representation of People Act of 1950 and 1951 and the Delimitation Act of 2002 along with the Rules and Orders made there under.

The Right to Privacy judgment has opened the contours of Fundamental Rights, thereby widening the scope and understanding regarding the concept. The Fundamental Rights (like - Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights, and Right to Constitutional Remedies) have intrinsic value and hence in true sense reflects the picture that individuals possess basic Human Rights independently of any Constitution by reason of the basic fact that they are the members of the human race. Their purpose is to withdraw certain subjects from the area of political controversy and to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as Legal principles to be applied by the courts. They are also considered as a limitation on the power of the state. In India, Fundamental Rights have evolved over time.

Co-operative federalism is defined in terms of federal-regional co-operation and interdependence, especially with reference to the schemes of development, predominantly financed by the federal government and administered primarily by provincial governments. It has become a fact of life in all federations around the world, for India though the concept is still in its infant stage. Events like replacing Planning Commission with NITI Aayog, passage of GST, programmes like Aspirational Districts inducing sense of healthy competition amongst states are few but important steps promoting the notion of cooperative federalism in India.

Citizenship Amendment Bill and the nationwide protests have brought the notion of citizenship back into news. Citizenship denotes the link between a person and a state or an association of states. Possession of citizenship is normally associated with the right to work and live in a country. A person with citizenship in a state is called a citizen of it. In India, Article 5 to Article 11 of the Constitution talks about various aspects of citizenship. Apart from it, Citizenship Act, 1955 and its various amendments list down the manner in which citizenship could be acquired and revoked in the country.

The Supreme Court of India is final interpreter and custodian of the Constitution. Through ages, the Indian Constitution has evolved mainly due to judicial pronouncements. Be it the Keshavananda Bharti case or the Minerva Mill case, each of these pronouncements had profound impact in the manner laws were interpreted and authority exercised by executive. These judicial pronouncements are not immune to criticism and are often being criticized on the grounds of judicial overreach.

In India about 68.9% population lives in villages, thereby making the administration of villages and semi-urban areas imperative. Village and semi-urban administration is not new, as from time immemorial villages have been self-sustaining units.

On the notion of Village Swaraj (Village Self-Governance), Mahatma Gandhi once famously remarked, “My idea of Village Swaraj is that it is a complete republic, independent of its neighbours for its vital wants, and yet interdependent for many others in which dependence is a necessity”. A step towards realizing Gandhian notion of village empowerment was taken in 1992-93 with the passage of 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendment Acts.

It’s been more than 25 years since awarding Constitutional status to the local bodies, there have been plenty of highs like - As of 2018, 267428 panchayats and 4657 urban local bodies are functional of which 1.35 million women, 54000 Schedule Caste and 34000 Schedule Tribes representatives are heading these local bodies. The genesis to any form of empowerment of weaker section starts with their ‘Political Empowerment’; PRIs have ensured that.

Empowerment of weaker sections is mooted for varied reasons like they are better rehearsed with the condition of particular section, averse to certain vices (it is generally seen that women representatives avoid approving alcohol & allied services establishment) etc.

Chhavi Rajawat (Rajasthan), India’s youngest sarpanch, Sushma Bhadu (Haryana), have been raising voice against patriarchy and hundreds like them are leading with their innovative and exemplary leadership style bringing about transformational changes. Similarly ‘Mawlynnong’ (Meghalaya) being Asia’s cleanest village, ‘Dharnai’ (Bihar) being fully solar powered village etc. are few but important examples of India’s growing local bodies influence.

Rural development is imperative in India as majority of population lives in villages (almost 69%) and also it lags far behind in development mainly due to historical reasons. Hence, post-independence, the priorities of the government have been to revive ancient rural model of self-sustained economy.

An average of 7-8% of budgetary allocation is guaranteed for rural development as seen from past governments. This shows the importance and priorities of rural development amongst governments.

8% of Union Budget 2019 expenditure has been allotted to Rural Development. It covers aspect from ensuring Right to Work under MGNREGS to ensuring infrastructural development under PMGSY and Rurban Mission.

To ensure proper development, various programmes like Community Development Programme (CDP) and National Extension Service (NES) were launched but they failed miserably. The reason for failure was poor mobilization of people by district administration. The failure of district administration in ensuring development administration led to the urge of reviving the ancient notion of the third tier of administration in villages i.e. Panchayats.

First step was with the establishment of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) to study community development programme. It recommended panchayati raj institutions at the local level and since then various committees and their recommendations finally led to the passing of 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendment Acts resulting into the formation of Panchayati Raj Institutions.

25 year post the Constitutional status, issues like poverty & hunger, rural distress etc. are still widely prevalent in the society. It is mainly due to inefficiency of, the PRI systems and the inability of district administration.

Various reforms like making social audit mandatory, performance audit of welfare schemes etc. have been mooted to overcome the deformities of prevailing PRIs and ensuring rural development.

Our ears have been reverberating with buzzwords like ‘Swachh Bharat’, ‘Metro Rail Extension’, ’Green Mobility’, ‘Smart Cities’ etc. for the past 5 years. All these buzzword are related to urban affairs. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) was allocated around Rs 50,000 crore for the fiscal year 2020-21, a hike of nearly 18 per cent from the current financial year 2019-20. Urban affairs and its administration stands as one of the areas of highest priority.

31.1% (As per Socio Economic Caste Census, 2011) of the Indian population is concentrated in urban areas. India ranks third in the world with regard to urban growth (first China and second U.S.A.) even though it stood second in the size of population.

Lust for urban life and quest for better living has accelerated the pace of urbanization and the municipal institutions have been finding it difficult to meet the challenges posed by the urbanization.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, thus has been entrusted with the responsibility of countering the ills plaguing urban areas like overcrowding, waste disposal, pollution, traffic congestion, growth of slums, housing needs etc.

The policy measures and schemes thus are built on the theme of ensuring ‘sustainability and prosperity for all’.

National Security Environment of a country is determined by its geographical attributes, historical legacy, socio-economic circumstances as well as regional and global developments. All the nations of the world are concerned with their security in the modern phase of International relations as it directly threatens its legitimacy in the wake of increased social unrest and turmoil in the world, be it due to armed conflict or increased wealth inequality in the world.

• National security is linked to what is perceived to be the protection of national interest of a country.
• On the internal front, the spread of ideology of naxalism and the increase of red corridor districts especially in backward areas points to a stark reality of unequal development which has had a different growth trajectory than mainstream India. The government of India is hard pressed to address these issues on a national level to ensure an economically stable growth to maintain the tag of ‘fastest growing nation in the world’.

India today is in the fortunate position of facing no existential threat to its security. In that respect India is better placed today than it was in the past. But this cannot obscure the fact that the international environment in which India makes its foreign policy and national security decisions has worsened recently. An overarching framework of India’s national security has to take cognisance of military and non-military dimensions in term of both external threats and internal challenges to its territorial integrity and national unity. Some of the challenges include - Twin threats of Fundamentalism and Terrorism in South Asia; Intelligence in War against Terrorism; Threats and Vulnerabilities to India’s Information Infrastructure; Leadership in the War on Terrorism; and Cross-border threats.

India is often considered as the fastest growing economy in the world and is getting stronger through its influence in international affairs. India is the world’s 2^nd largest military force after People’s Republic of China. India has the world’s largest volunteer military of over 5.1 million personnel and the total budget sanctioned for the Indian military for the financial year 2019 is above 60 billion US dollar.

Compared to around 17% in 2014-15, this year’s (2020-21) defence budget comprises 15.5% of government expenditure and only 2.1% of gross domestic product (GDP), as compared to 2.28% of GDP in 2014-15.

Defence is one of the major spending sectors in the Indian economy. The geographical and topographical diversity, especially the 15,000 km long border which India shares with seven neighbouring countries poses unique challenges to the Indian Defence Forces.

The Government has opened up the Defence industry for private sector participation to provide impetus to indigenous manufacturing. The opening up of the industry also paves the way for foreign original equipment manufacturers to enter into strategic partnerships with Indian companies.

A Defence Export Strategy has been formulated with a view of facilitating Defence Public Sector Enterprises (DPSUs) and private defence players in exploring business opportunities abroad. 100 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment) is allowed in Defence industry; wherein 49% is allowed under automatic route and beyond 49% through Government route.

India has changed gear to transform its originally import-led defence industry into one that is self-reliant in nature.

Cyber Security is the practice of protecting our cyber space (critical infrastructure) from attack, damage, misuse and economic espionage. These attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.

The Cyberspace as an independent theatre of war is about attacks that compromise the capability to use these facilities: they cannot be prevented by the security services in isolation. The defence of cyberspace necessarily involves the forging of effective partnerships between the public organisations charged with ensuring the security of cyberspace and those who manage the use of this space by myriad users like government departments, banks, infrastructure, manufacturing and service enterprises and individual citizens.

According to an estimation report, the cyber security market in India is expected to grow from USD 1.97 billion in 2019 to USD 3.05 billion by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6%—almost one and a half times the global rate. While many factors are contributing to this high growth rate, three factors are significantly driving the cyber security demand market in India—digital growth, increase in cyberattacks and stringent regulatory mandates.

The study estimates that the market for cyber security products in India will grow at a higher rate than that for services.

Security operations will continue to be the most dominant category, occupying 38% of the service mix driven by prescriptive regulations and the need to strengthen resilience capabilities.

India, as a country, needs to invest in R&D and developing skills for IoT & OT Security as the repercussions can be hazardous for everything from businesses to government bodies and the ongoing digital adoption within the country.

This becomes critical as Digital India aims at transforming India into a digitally empowered society while the smart city concept aims at developing 100 smart cities in India.

By linking science more closely with society, it aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in science. It also underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable. Humans have always been greatly affected with the developments in new technology. It is a prevailing fact that new information technology not only benefits programmers, database managers, hardware engineers and network analysts but it also benefits the common user. Also, the new developments in science are never stopped and it continuously evolves as per the need and the betterment of the human being. Also, in 2019, World Science Day was devoted to the theme of Open Science – a burning issue in the scientific community which is gaining increasing attention by the non-scientific community as well.

Making rapid strides in multiple space domains, India has created several significant milestones in space technology. Indian institutions engaged in space research have demonstrated their technological prowess, earning global recognition for the country. In recent years, India has concentrated more on complex application satellites and advanced rockets.

The space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960’s, when applications using satellites were in experimental stages even in the United States. With the live transmission of Tokyo Olympic Games across the Pacific by the American Satellite ‘Syncom-3’ demonstrating the power of communication satellites, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of Indian space programme, quickly recognized the benefits of space technologies for India.

The current place of prominence which India enjoys had humble beginning during late 1960s when INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) was initiated under the leadership of Dr. Sarabhai and Dr. Ramanathan.

India has the third largest military in the world and is the sixth biggest defence spender. India is also one of the largest importers of conventional defence equipment and spends around 30% of its total defence budget on capital acquisitions.

Today India’s Armed Forces are well-equipped and are growing stronger with scientific and technical support of Defence Research and Development organisation (DRDO) which aims to make the country self-sufficient in technologies needed for defence. Actively engaged in well planned projects in the field of science and technology, also supports in saving foreign exchange as indigenisation in armament technology is the major motive of DRDO.

The Defence Research and Development Organization or DRDO was set up in 1958 and hence, it is the supreme body of researching, monitoring, regulating, and administering the India Defence Research and Development Program.

At present, DRDO is a network of more than 50 laboratories located in different cities of the country. The DRDO specializes in the following fields − Aeronautical Engineering; Electronics; Armaments; Engineering system; Combat vehicles; Missiles; Advanced computing and simulation; Life science; Special materials; Agriculture; Training, etc.

The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) as stated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is one of the most significant commitments to equitable quality healthcare for all. India moved a step closer towards our commitment to the SDGs, when in 2018 the country launched a national health protection scheme, Ayushman Bharat, to achieve UHC.

There is a strong global momentum on Universal Health Coverage, re-enforced by the Tokyo Declaration of December 2017. The core principles of UHC are a part of National Health Policy 2017. Our country has witnessed many incremental changes and India@70 is an opportune time for transformational approaches to improve the health of citizens. This provides a ‘once in 15 year opportunity’ to transform health of the people with renewed zeal.

Global estimates reveal that only half of all countries have the requisite health workforce required to deliver quality healthcare services. Furthermore, the twin burdens of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are projected to generate additional demand for 40 million health workers globally by 2030.

India, too, requires twice the number of doctors, triple the number of nurses and quadruple the number of paramedic and support staff. Worse still, even if we meet the WHO’s benchmark of one doctor for every 1,000 people in the next six years, there is a large imbalance among individual states.

In the last 20 years in India, there have been no significant changes in patterns of dietary intake. Cereals remain the staple food in India providing most of the energy intake. Since the seventies the consumption of foods like pulses, roots and tubers has fallen, while that of other foods likes sugar, “jaggery” (unrefined brown sugar), fats and oils and green leafy vegetables have slightly increased. The average Indian diet remains largely deficient in green leafy vegetables, meat, fish, milk and milk products.

India’s child malnutrition rates have steadily decreased since 2006. The proportion of underweight children has fallen from 42.5% a decade ago, to just under 30% now. Similar improvements have been found when it comes to stunting, wasting and other parameters of malnutrition.

The nutritional status and developments in India has a challenging dynamic; the differences and cultural compositions of Indian states has definitely made the changing landscape of nutrition in India, very complex. It is interesting to note that overall urban child malnutrition rates are lower than that of rural India.

According to the National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS 4), 38.4 per cent of children in India are stunted and 21 per cent wasted. This grim situation continues to haunt the nation despite strong constitutional support, legislative policies, and plan and programme commitments, like the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

While Malnutrition and Infant Mortality Rates remain high, the budget allocated for minors, constituting 40% of India’s population remains at a meagre 4%.

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are one of the major challenges for public health in the 21^st century, not only in terms of human suffering they cause but also the harm they inflict on the socioeconomic development of a country. NCDs kill approximately 41 million people (71% of global deaths) worldwide each year, including 14 million people who die too young between the ages of 30 and 70. The majority of premature NCD deaths are preventable.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) projections, the total annual number of deaths from NCDs will increase to 55 million by 2030, if timely interventions are not done for prevention and control of NCDs.

In India, nearly 5.8 million people (WHO report, 2015) die from NCDs (heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes) every year or in other words 1 in 4 Indians has a risk of dying from an NCD before they reach the age of 70.

In a report “India: Health of the Nation’s States” by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (GoI), it is found that there is increase in the contribution of NCDs from 30% of the total disease burden - ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (DALYs) in 1990 to 55% in 2016 and also an increase in proportion of deaths due to NCDs (among all deaths) from 37% in 1990 to 61% in 2016. This shows a rapid epidemiological transition with a shift in disease burden to NCDs.

India is one of the most sought-after destinations for biotechnology and has been growing rapidly with generous investments from foreign, supportive government policies, experienced workforce, and increasing demand. India’s biotechnology industry is in an excellent position to transition into Bio-economy. The compounded annual growth rate of biotechnology in India is 20%.

In India, the software boom started in the late 1990s. The sector has increased its contribution to India’s GDP from 1.2% in 1998 to 7.7% in 2017. The IT-BPM (Information Technology – Business Process Management) sector in India stood at US$177 billion in 2019 witnessing a growth of 6.1 per cent year-on-year and is estimated that the size of the industry will grow to US$ 350 billion by 2025.

India’s IT & ITeS (IT related electronic services) industry grew to US$ 181 billion in 2018-19. Exports from the industry increased to US$ 137 billion in FY19 while domestic revenues (including hardware) advanced to US$ 44 billion. IT industry employees 4.1 million people as of FY19.

The United States accounts for two-thirds of India’s IT services exports. IT-BPM sector accounts for largest share in total Indian services export (45%). Also, this sector accounts for 55% of the total global outsourcing market. There are 1000 offshore development centres in more than 80 countries. Indian IT & BPM industry is expected to grow to USD 300 billion by 2020. IT - BPM sector constitutes 9.3% of India’s GDP. The IT industry has more than 16000 firms; of which 1000+ are large firms with over 50 delivery locations in India. The IT-BPM industry is the largest private sector employer – delivering above 4.1 million jobs.

With the addition of more than 1,300 startups in financial year 2019-20 so far, India continues to reinforce its position as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, according to IT industry body Nasscom.

Sustainable Development as a concept was first mooted in 1987 – Brundtland Commission Report, and is defined as ‘the ability of meeting the requirement of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs’. The term gained significance post the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India has played an important role in shaping the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, it is no surprise that the SDGs are mirrored in the country’s national development goals. As such, India has been effectively committed to achieving the SDGs even before they were fully crystallized. For implementing the SDG agenda, the Government of India has launched several ambitious programmes like Green Skill Development programme, Sustainable Development Framework, SDG Index, etc.

India is one of 18 mega bio-diverse countries in the world. With only 2.4 per cent of the earth’s land area, it accounts for 7-8 per cent of the world’s recorded species. Home to 96,000 species of animals, 47,000 species of plants and nearly half the world’s aquatic plants, India’s management of its natural resources is crucial to protecting global biodiversity. Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have been an integral part of Indian ethos. The varied eco-climatic conditions coupled with unique geological and cultural features have contributed to an astounding diversity of habitats, which harbor and sustain immense biological diversity at all levels. Threats to bio-diversity include invasion of exotic species, pollution, over-exploitation of resources, etc., though measures like establishment of protected areas, limiting exploitation, international collaboration to preserve bio-diversity have been able to arrest the speeding degradation.

As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2019, forest cover in India is around 24.56%, which is short of 33% (decided in National Forest Policy). Forest cover plays a crucial role in the maintenance of natural ecology and economy with particular reference to soil, water and environmental conservation. Majority of the population dwell in rural area where they rely on forest for fulfilling the socio-economic, cultural, religious and medical needs. Thus, it becomes an imperative of the State to look after the forest cover situation in India. Measures like National Afforestation Programme, Environment Impact Assessment of developmental projects, etc. are steps in the right direction.

Eleven out of the top 12 cities with the highest levels of particulate pollution are located in India (WHO Report), Eighty-six per cent of Indian bodies of water are deemed “critically polluted” (Study by Centre for Science and Environment), 12.5% of annual deaths are credited to air pollution – these facts highlight the state of pollution in India. Realizing this, the Indian government has come up with various measures like – National Clean Air Programme, National Air Quality Index, promoting electric transportation, scientific treatment of water, etc. These measures though are in the right direction, need to be accelerated and along with it awareness regarding ills of pollution be created to counter this menace effectively.

India’s rapidly growing population, along with increased economic development, has placed a strain on the infrastructure, and ultimately on the country’s environment. Environmental conditions, in terms of degradation of the natural resource base and increasing industrial pollution, continue to worsen. While deforestation, soil erosion, and land degradation are hindering economic development in rural India, rapid industrialization and urbanization in India is causing serious concerns. Measures like National Action Plan on Climate Change, adhering to Paris Climate Agreement norms via NDC, Indian Cooling Action Plan, etc. are steps in the right direction.

River is considered as the lifeline of India. The Indian sub-continent is endowed with several large rivers which have distinctive hydrology and sediment transportation due to climatic settings. Many of these rivers have attracted international attention for the last several decades and continue to do so for their unique features. Some river basins are also responsible for tapping of oil and natural gas which also contribute to the list of usefulness of these rivers. But despite these explicit significance, rivers continue being polluted. Measures by Indian government like Namami Gange, National River Conservation Plan, establishment of sewage treatment plants (STPs), etc. are steps in the right direction to maintain the immaculateness of Indian rivers.

Over 377 million urban people live in 7,935 towns and cities and generate 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum. Only 43 million tonnes (MT) of the waste is collected, 11.9 MT is treated and 31 MT is dumped in landfill sites. The ill-impacts of poor waste handling are plenty. Thus, Sanitation & Waste Management becomes one amongst the basic essential services required to keep urban centres clean. Keeping this in mind, Indian government has come up with measures like specific waste disposal acts, abiding to international conventions, banning single-use plastics, etc. thereby helping to keep our environment clean.

More than 58.6 per cent of the Indian landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity; over 40 million hectares (12%) of its land is prone to floods and river erosion; close to 5,700 kms, out of the 7,516 kms long coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68% of its cultivable area is vulnerable to droughts; and, its hilly areas are at risk from landslides and avalanches. Moreover, India is also vulnerable to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies and other man-made disasters. These facts call for establishment of an effective disaster management apparatus in the country. Disaster Management Act, National Disaster Management Plan and National Disaster Management Policy indicate positive state intervention.

In November 2014, Look East policy was renamed as “Act East” policy by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 9^th East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. India’s Look East (now Act East) policy in reality is an effort to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia in order to bolster its standing as a regional power and a counterweight to the strategic influence of the China. Initiated in 1991, it is marked as a strategic shift in India’s perspective of the world. It was developed and enacted during P.V. Narsimha Rao’s government.

• India’s Act East Policy focusses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region. The policy which was originally conceived as an economic initiative, has gained political, strategic and cultural dimensions including establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation.
• India has upgraded its relations to strategic partnership with Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK), Australia, Singapore and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and forged close ties with all countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Further, apart from ASEAN, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and East Asia Summit (EAS), India has also been actively engaged in regional fora such as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
• Act East Policy has placed emphasis on India-ASEAN cooperation in our domestic agenda on infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, skills, urban renewal, smart cities, Make in India and other initiatives. Connectivity projects, cooperation in space, S&T and people-to-people exchanges could become a springboard for regional integration and prosperity.

On the lines of Look East Policy, India adopted Look West Policy in 2005. However, the policy did not get much attention until frequent visits of Prime Minister of India to a number of West Asian countries which enhanced our engagement with West Asia. The present Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar coined the word as ‘Think West’ Diplomacy (When he was working at Secretary Level).

For decades, India was non-active player in West Asian region-a beneficiary of good relationships with multiple actors. Historically, India’s West Asia policy has been multi-directional. But in the recent times India has escalated the engagement with Israel, Palestine, Oman, UAE, Iran etc., which finally may be culminated on the energy security and other dimensions.

Basis of the Policy

• India aims to play a balancing role in West Asian Countries as it provides unique opportunities with several internal contradictions. The Look West policy is based on 3 countries- Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel.
• India is trying to have balance between Israel and Palestine. Together with embracing Israel for deeper cooperation in the fields of science and technology, defence, agriculture, India is upholding its historic commitment to the cause of Palestine.
• India’s deepening engagement with Iran through Chabahar port is testifying a niche of India in West Asia. The present Indian government getting involved heavily in West Asian region.
• The presence of India in West Asia is also a method to countering increased presence of China in Indian Ocean region by enhancing cooperation with the littoral states of Indian Ocean Region.

India defines maritime security as; comprising a collection of all the issues that pertain to the seas, and have a bearing on national security. These include, inter-alia, seaborne trade and infrastructure for its pursuit, management of sea resources, environmental issues and employment of naval forces.

This is a term which connotes different things to different navies. While some perceive maritime security in a narrow sense as measures for force-protection and defense against sabotage, others include actions to combat terrorism and illegal activities like piracy and trafficking; still others expand it to embrace the protection of territorial waters and sea lanes.

In the 21^st century, the world faces new challenges, which threaten the sustainability and stability of the global system. Energy commodities shortage that appeared due to limitations of the economic potential of our planet and the growing demand for energy resources, is one of the most important problems of our time. Under such conditions, the role of energy security increases significantly.

India faces serious economic and social issues as a result of centuries of economic exploitation by colonial powers. However, since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, India has become a newly industrialised country, has a history of collaboration with several countries, is a component of the BRICS and a major part of developing world.

India is one of the founding members of several international organisations—the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, New Development BRICS Bank, and G-20—and the founder of the Non-Aligned Movement.

India has also played an important and influential role in other international organisations like East Asia Summit, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund (IMF), G8+5 and IBSA Dialogue Forum. India is also a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Regionally, India is a part of SAARC and BIMSTEC. India has taken part in several UN peacekeeping missions and in 2007, it was the second-largest troop contributor to the United Nations. India is currently seeking a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, along with the other G4 nations.

Though, India do not have any recognised foreign policy globally, but it acts accordingly with the need of time and situation and especially the region like – Act East Policy, Think West Diplomacy, Cultural diplomacy, etc.

It was in the early 90s when American political scientist Joseph Nye introduced the concept of ‘soft power’ later Harvard professor introduced another concept ‘smart power’ as an extension. Cultural Diplomacy is an important instrument of foreign policy. It helps in promoting international links with countries and people around the globe.

India has recognized the importance of Cultural Diplomacy as a part of its soft power strategy in promoting its national interest and establishing itself as a dominant regional and global power. The basic principal of Cultural Diplomacy is to support foreign policy by the deployment of culture to pursue national interest.

The history of agriculture in India dates back to Indus Valley Civilization era and even before that in some parts of Southern India. Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider in the country with an estimate of over 58% of rural Indians depending on agriculture for their livelihood and this sector contributes around 17-18% to the country’s GDP. As such sustainable agriculture, in terms of food security, rural employment and environmentally sustainable technologies such as soil conservation, sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity protection are essential for holistic rural development.

Post-independence, special programmes were undertaken in India to improve food and cash crops supply. The Grow More Food Campaign (in 1940s) and the Integrated Production Programme (in 1950s) focused on food and cash crops supply respectively. This was followed by the Five-Year plans of India which were oriented mainly towards agricultural development.

Land reclamation, land development, mechanization, electrification, use of chemicals (fertilizers in particular) and development of agriculture oriented ‘packaged approach’ of taking a set of actions instead of promoting single aspect followed under government supervision. The ‘Production Revolution’ initiated in India from 1960s onwards included Green Revolution, Yellow Revolution (oilseed: 1986-1990), Operation Flood (dairy: 1970-1996) and Blue Revolution (fishing: 1973-2002) etc. Following the economic reforms of 1991, significant growth was registered in the agricultural sector due to agricultural reforms and the newer innovations of agro-processing and biotechnology.

India has the 10^th largest arable land resources in the world. With 20 Agro-Climatic Regions (ACR), all 15 major climates of the world exist in India. The country also possesses 46 of the 60 soil types in the world. India is the largest producer of spices, pulses, milk, tea, cashew and jute; and the second largest producer of wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds.

Further, India is second in global production of fruits and vegetables and is the largest producer of mango and banana. India has the largest livestock population of around 305 million with around 31 per cent of world population. India is among the 15 leading exporters of agricultural products in the world. Agricultural exports from India reached US dollar 38.54 billion in Financial Year 2019.

The Electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) was launched in April 2016 to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities by networking existing Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs). Up to June 2019, 16.4 million farmers, 124,000 traders were registered on the e-NAM platform. 585 mandis in India have been linked while 22,000 additional mandis will be linked in 2021-22.

Livestock plays an important role in Indian economy. About 20.5 million people depend upon livestock for their livelihood. Livestock contributed 16% to the income of small farm households as against an average of 14% for all rural households. Livestock provides livelihood to two-third of rural community. It also provides employment to about 8.8 % of the population in India. India has vast livestock resources. Livestock sector contributes 4.11% GDP and 25.6% of total agriculture GDP.

Recently, 20^th livestock census has been conducted in 2019. The census reveals that the country has a total of 535.78 million animals, which represents a 4.6% increase over the last 2012 Census of Livestock. West Bengal recorded the largest increase of 23%, followed by Telangana (22%), a 4.6% increase over the 2012 livestock census.

The total number of cattle in the country is increased by 0.8%. The increase is mainly due to a sharp increase in the number of purebred cattle and a larger population of native cattle. Uttar Pradesh has seen a decrease in the livestock population, although the state has taken several measures to save livestock. A decrease of 6% was observed in the total population of native cattle.

The number of indigenous cattle in India continues to decline, despite government efforts to promote the conservation of desi breeds through the Rashtriya Gokul (RGM) Mission. The total number of dairy animals is increased by 6%. Due to higher yields, foreign breeds make up more than half of the dairy animal population. The backyard poultry has increased by around 46% and the total bovine population has shown an increase of about 1% which consists of Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun and Yak.

Irrigation in India includes a network of major and minor canals from Indian rivers, groundwater well based systems, tanks, and other rainwater harvesting projects for agricultural activities. Of these groundwater system is the largest.

• Irrigation in India helps improve food security, reduce dependence on monsoons, improve agricultural productivity and create rural job opportunities. Dams used for irrigation projects help produce electricity and transport facilities, as well as provide drinking water supplies to a growing population, control floods and prevent droughts.
• According to the Composite Water Management Index 2.0 report, released by NITI Aayog in August 2019, the total irrigated command area in 24 key states has increased from 55.38 million hectares (million ha) in 2015-16 to 63.94 million ha in 2017-18. Only three states - Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar have irrigated command area of over 5 million ha.
• Despite some promising initiatives, current irrigation practices are far from satisfactory. These are characterized by poor water use efficiency, less than optimal utilisation of irrigation potential, low coverage of advanced micro irrigation systems, overexploitation of groundwater sources, widespread use of water-intensive crops and poor freshwater management.
• The government too is making concerted efforts towards improving waste management practices through various flagship initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme, Bharat Nirman Programme, Participatory Irrigation Management, Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) Programme, and Command Area Development and Water Management. The government has also created two dedicated funds - a long-term irrigation fund and a micro irrigation fund - with an initial corpus of about Rs 400 billion and Rs 50 billion, respectively, for financing these projects. India has also an ambitious National River Linking Project to enhance the coverage of canal irrigated area, reduce floods and water shortage.
• Technology in the irrigation sector has evolved significantly over the past 10 years with regard to construction equipment, water transfer techniques and types of irrigation systems. Innovative technology-led irrigation systems such as micro-irrigation are gaining prominence over conventional flooding methods of irrigation.
• Of late, solar pumps have emerged as a viable, non-polluting source of power for agricultural consumers. The central government has been actively encouraging the uptake of solar pumps among farmers through schemes such as Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan.
• Of the total 29.93 million agricultural irrigation pumps, 0.13 million (0.4%) are solar powered, 8.8 million (29.4%) are diesel powered and 21 million (70.1%) operate on grid connected electricity.

The Indian food industry is poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution to world food trade every year. In India, the food sector has emerged as a high-growth and high-profit sector due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry. It contributes around 8.80 and 8.39 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA) in Manufacturing and Agriculture respectively, 13 per cent of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment.

• India’s food ecosystem offers huge opportunities for investments with stimulating growth in the food retail sector, favourable economic policies and attractive fiscal incentives. The Food & Grocery market in India is the sixth largest in the world.
• Food & Grocery retail market in India further constitutes almost 65% of the total retail market in India. The Government of India through the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is also taking all necessary steps to boost investments in the food processing industry. The government has sanctioned 40 Mega Food Parks (MFPs) to be set up in the country under the Mega Food Park Scheme. Currently, 17 Mega Food Parks have become functional.
• In India, 100% FDI is permitted under the automatic route in Food processing industries. It is expected that by 2024, the food processing industry will potentially attract 33 billion dollar investments and generate employment for 9 million people and by 2030, Indian annual household consumption will treble, making India 5^th largest consumer.

India is currently the world’s second largest producer of fisheries after China. In fact, Asian countries contribute to 90% of the aquaculture across the world. Fish and fish product exports emerged as the largest group in agricultural exports and in value terms accounted for Rs. 47,620 crore in 2018-19. The USA is the largest market for India’s seafood products. It obtains 26.08% of India’s maritime product exports. India’s maritime exports have a growth rate of 6%-10% in the last five years. This is far better in comparison with the farm sector during the same period with growth by 2.5%.

• India has an average annual growth of 14.8% in the production of fish and fish products in the last decade. This is higher than the global average of 7.5% during the same period. It is expanding at a rate of 6% annually. Thus, it has a huge potential to address issues of employment opportunities of the marginal communities and the growing global demand for fish products.
• There are five main fishing harbors in India at Mangalore (Karnataka), Kochi (Kerala), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Raichak in Kolkata (West Bengal).
• Foreseeing the vast resource potential and possibilities in the fisheries sector, a separate Department of Fisheries was created in February 2019. The Government has merged all the schemes of fisheries Sector into an umbrella scheme of ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries’ focusing on increasing fish production and productivity from aquaculture and fisheries resources, both inland and marine.
• But, despite rapid growth in total fish production, a fish farmers’ average annual production in India is only about 2 tonnes per person, compared to 172 tonnes in Norway, 72 tonnes in Chile, and 6 tonnes per fisherman in China. Higher productivity, knowledge transfer for sustainable fishing, continued growth in fish production with increase in fish exports have the potential for increasing the living standards of Indian fishermen.

Manufacturing sector is a principal indicator of economic development of a nation and acts as the backbone of any diversified economy. The policymakers realized the need for a well-developed manufacturing sector to propel India towards an industrialized nation. This led to the formulation of centralized Five Year Plans by the Planning Commission which increased the contribution of manufacturing sector from 8.98% (1950-51) to 14.23% (1965-66) of India’s GDP.

• The period between 1951 and 1965 witnessed an increase in industrial production by 2.8 times, which was largely due to the complimentary character of the public and private investment. Also the prices of products were generally stable in this period.
• However, post-1980 era there was a key shift in strategy to develop the manufacturing sector. The focus shifted towards developing large and heavy industries through centralized planning. The strategy included import substitution, price controls and restrictions on private sector through severe licensing.
• Rigid state controls on foreign investment led to limited technology transfer creating widespread incompetence in resource utilization (Manufacturing sector contribution remained stagnant at 16% of Indian economy till 1990s).
• In the 1990s, the manufacturing sector in India was plagued with issues like insufficient growth in productivity, lack of technology upgradation, inadequate attention to Research and Development (R&D) and human development as well as a very low return on the capital invested.
• A New Industrial Licensing Policy, 1991 for public sector enterprises and the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act (MRTP) were introduced with the aim to enhance competition in the market. The licensing of industries was abolished, movement of international capital was liberalized and foreign investment and automatic approval of technology agreement in high priority industries was enabled.
• The focus shifted from basic and capital goods industry to export oriented industries like consumer durables, petroleum products etc. This has led to competitive pressure among Indian products which has spurred innovation and product development to address global competition, especially from China.
• Currently, the New Manufacturing Policy and Foreign Direct Investment Policy allow foreign investment in most sectors up to 100% under automatic route. The change in public sector policy has led to private sector participation in sectors of iron and steel, electricity, air transport, ship building, heavy machinery, telecommunication etc.
• The Competition Act, 2002, by bringing all public sector enterprises and departments of the governments at the Centre and State, barring a few which perform sovereign functions, under the Act, has obliterated the distinction between public and private enterprises and contributed to creating a level playing field in the market place.
• Recent reforms like introducing Goods and Service Tax (GST), direct tax codes, Insolvency and Bankruptcy code, single window clearances and legislative reforms in labour codes are steps in the right direction to realize the vision of Make in India of increasing the contribution of manufacturing sector to 25% of India’s GDP.

The services sector is not only the dominant sector in India’s GDP, but has also attracted significant foreign investment flows, contributed significantly to exports as well as provided large-scale employment. India’s services sector covers a wide variety of activities such as trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, finance, insurance, real estate, business services, community, social and personal services, and services associated with construction.

• Various initiatives have been taken by the Government to help the services sector. Some recent measures include the increase in SEIS (Service Export from India Scheme) incentives by 2% for notified services such as business, legal, accounting, architectural, engineering, educational, hospital, hotels and restaurants; increasing the validity period of the Duty Credit Scrips from 18 months to 24 months to enhance their utility in the GST framework; reducing the GST rate for transfer/sale of scrips to zero from the earlier rate of 12%; and creating a new Logistics Division in the Department of Commerce to develop and coordinate implementation of an action plan for the integrated development of the logistics sector.
• Many initiatives have been taken in the five select sectors also. These include the various initiatives under Digital India programme in the IT sector; E-Visas, Swachhta Action Plan, launch of Global Media Campaign, launch of the ‘The Heritage Trail’ and ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ to promote World Heritage Sites in India, and initiatives by the National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board to promote medical tourism; reduction of GST on bunker fuel, easing procedural compliance for ship registration, measures to promote cruise shipping and preparing a vision for coastal shipping to promote shipping; launching Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Smart Cities Mission, REITs and InvITs, and RERA to help real estate sector; extending lines of credit, introducing buyer’s credit under the National Export Insurance Account, concessional financing scheme, Export Development fund, and Project Development fund for Combodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietman - CLMV countries to help exports.
• The growth of the services sector in India is a unique example of leap-frogging traditional models of economic growth. Within a short span of 50 years since independence, the contribution of the service sector in India to the country’s GDP is a lion’s share of over 60%. However, it still employs only 25% of the labour force.
• This presents a unique challenge to future economic growth in India and requires out of the box solutions that will help rapidly harness the potential of the service industry in India.
• The services sector is the key driver of India’s economic growth. The sector has contributed 54.17 per cent of India’s Gross Value Added at current price in 2018-19 (as newest possible).

The GDP growth rate for Q2 of FY19-20 has been 4.5% (lowest in 26 quarters), the unemployment rate being 6.1% (highest in 45 years), Consumer Spending being lowest and so do investor’s confidence. 2019 has been rather distressing for the financial sector. Government interventions like bank merger, financial package to banks, reducing corporate tax, liberal monetary policy etc. have been instrumental but only in parts. Reducing NPA (Non Performing Assets), improving core sectors performance do indicate a reviving financial sector.

With the passage of time, the banking systemsaw its nationalization (1969 and 1980) and again opening up for private sector entry (1993–94) to emerge as the most dependable segment of Indian financial system—in a way, its mainstay. Presently, the Indian banking system consists of 12 public sector banks, 26 private sector banks, 46 foreign banks, 56 regional rural banks, 1,574 urban cooperative banks and 93,913 rural cooperative banks, in addition to cooperative credit institutions. Public-sector banks control more than 70 per cent of the banking system assets, thereby leaving a comparatively smaller share for its private peers.

The Monetary Policy of India is formulated and executed by Reserve Bank of India to achieve specific objectives. It refers to that policy by which central bank of the country controls (i) the supply of money, and (ii) cost of money or the rate of interest, with a view to achieve particular objectives. The main objectives of monetary policy are to achieve price stability, financial stability and adequate availability of credit for growth.

India’s financial market is one of the oldest in the world and is considered to be the fastest growing and best among the emerging economies. The history of Indian capital markets dates back to 200 years when India was under the rule of the British Empire. Today, 21 regional securities exchanges in India in addition to the centralized NSE (National Stock Exchange) and OTCEI (Over the Counter Exchange of India).

The new economic policy initiated in July 1991 clearly indicated that PSUs, which were established as pillars of growth, had shown a very negative rate of return on capital employed as per changing economic scenario. New economic reforms provided for disinvestment, the Government to raise funds for meeting general/specific needs from the non-performing PSUs. In this direction, the Government adopted the ‘Disinvestment Policy’.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays an important role in the economic development of a country. It helps in transferring of financial resources, technology and innovative and improved management techniques along with raising productivity. With India liberalizing and globalizing the economy in 1991, there is a massive increase in the flow of foreign direct investment.

1 out of every 6 persons on the planet lives in India. Thus, it is an imperative to collect information on its residents for the purposes of planning, development, and improvement of the residents’ quality of life. India saw its last census eight years ago in 2011 and it will again be conducted in 2021 as it happens at an interval of 10 years and between 2001 and 2011 censuses, in due course, our country grew by 17.7%, adding 181.5 million people.

The primary objective of Public Finance is to maximize the welfare of the society, by ensuring rational allocation of resources in conformity with the economy’s priorities. The development of a nation to a large extent depends upon the mobilization of revenue and its spending. Taxation system of a country plays an important role in resource mobilization.

The oil and gas sector is among the eight core industries in India and plays a major role in influencing decision making for all the other important sections of the economy. India’s economic growth is closely related to energy demand; therefore the need for oil and gas is projected to grow more, thereby making the sector quite conducive for investment.

India is the 3^rd largest global consumer of oil and its energy requirement is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% through 2030, making it the fastest growing energy consumer in the world. Over the past two decades, the Indian oil and gas industry has had a major transformation triggered by liberalization and increasing demand for oil and gas products.

India’s consumption of natural gas has risen faster than any other fuel in the recent years. Natural gas demand has been growing at the rate of about 6.5% during the last 10 years.

The first oil deposits in India were discovered in 1889 near the town of Digboi in the state of Assam. Also, the natural gas industry in India began in the 1960s with the discovery of gas fields in Assam and Gujarat. Natural gas gained further significance after the discovery of large reserves in the South Basin fields by ONGC in the 1970s.

Now, India is expected to be one of the largest contributors to non-OECD petroleum consumption growth globally. Gas pipeline infrastructure in the country stood at 16,226 km at the beginning of February 2019. Foreign investors will have opportunities to invest in projects worth US$ 300 billion in India, as the country looks to cut reliance on oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022.

Also many government initiatives like PAHAL, Direct Benefit Transfer in PDS Kerosene, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, LPG Panchayat Scheme etc. is the step towards the increasing gas infrastructure development in India.

The mining sector provides raw materials to the other fast-growing sectors. India is home to 1,531 operating mines and produces 95 minerals – 4 fuel-related minerals, 10 metallic minerals, 23 non-metallic minerals, 3 atomic minerals and 55 minor minerals. India is second largest crude steel producer in the world and fourth largest iron ore producer in the world. India is the largest producer of sheet mica in the world and has the 7^th largest bauxite reserves in financial year of 2017-18.

The government has allowed 100% FDI through automatic route in the steel and mining sectors. The development of the mining-based industry also gives a boost to the associated industries and leads to the overall development of the region. It is a labour-intensive sector and provides employment for both unskilled labour and skilled labour. Being a part of the primary sector, it largely provides unskilled jobs.

At present, India has 300 MT domestic steel production capacities by 2030 with 20 percent of the total reserves in India that have been mined until now.

Being the most abundant fossil fuel in India till date, it continues to be one of the most important sources for meeting the domestic energy needs and accounts more than 50% of the country’s total energy supplies. Coal has been recognized as the most important source of energy for electricity generation in India. About 75% of the coal in India is consumed in the power sector.

Coal mining in India began in 1774 when East India Company commenced commercial exploitation in the Raniganj Coalfield along the Western bank of Damodar river. India produced 6.12 million metric tons (6.75 million short tons) of coal per year by 1900.

India is the 3^rd largest producer of coal. The mining sector’s contribution to the GDP is 2.3-2.5 % at present. The Coal resources of India are available in older Gondwana Formations of peninsular India and younger tertiary formations of north-eastern region. The current per capita commercial primary energy consumption in India is about 350 kgoe/year which is well below that of developed countries.

Power is one of the most critical components of infrastructure crucial for the economic growth and welfare of nations. India is the world’s third largest producer and third largest consumer of electricity. The first demonstration of electric light in Calcutta (now Kolkata) was conducted on 24 July 1879 by P.W. Fleury & Co. And now, the national electric grid in India has an installed capacity of 367.28 GW as of December 2019. Electricity demand in the country has increased rapidly and is expected to rise further in the years to come.

India’s power sector is one of the most diversified in the world. Sources of power generation range from conventional sources such as coal, lignite, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power to viable non-conventional sources such as wind, solar, and agricultural and domestic waste.

India has a surplus power generation capacity but lacks adequate distribution infrastructure. To address this, the Government of India launched a programme called “Power for All” in 2016. At the same time, the competitive intensity is increasing at both the market and supply sides (fuel, logistics, finances, and manpower).

India is one of the countries with significant production of energy from renewable sources. In 2019, India was ranked as the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. As of 2019, 35% of India’s installed electricity generation capacity is from renewable sources, generating 17% of total electricity in the country. At present India is 5^th largest installed capacity of renewable energy in the world, 4^th largest installed capacity of wind power in the world and 5^th largest installed capacity of solar power in the world

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, has formulated an action plan to achieve a total capacity of 60 GW from hydro power and 175 GW from other RES by March, 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar power, 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from biomass power and 5 GW from small hydro power. This is the world’s largest expansion plan in renewable energy.

India was the first country in the world to set up a ministry of non-conventional energy resources (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)), in the early 1980s, and its public sector undertaking, the Solar Energy Corporation of India is responsible for the development of solar energy industry in India. Hydroelectricity is administered separately by the Ministry of Power and not included in MNRE targets.

As, up to 100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route for renewable energy generation and distribution projects subject to provisions of The Electricity Act, 2003. The renewable energy space in India has become very attractive from investors’ perspective and has received better FDI inflow.