Sports saplings meeting The Champions

Imagine the joy a child will have, when he or she meets Neeraj Chopra, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Sharad Kumar, Devendra Jhajharia, Yogesh Kathuniya and several others, who have brought laurels to the nation! This far-flung dream of millions of school-going children is turning into reality through the ‘Meet The Champion’ Programme. PM Modi’s unique school visit campaign ahead, ‘Meet the champion Programme’ aims to prepare and connect the young school students with the champions.

“Early catch and proper nurture, makes a medals winning culture” could be the adage adopted by India as it has started to make its mark felt in international competitions across various games and sports. During the meeting with Tokyo Olympic heroes at his residence on 16 August, PM Modi asked the athletes to visit 75 schools to meet and inspire students. The Ministry of education and Sports Authority of India are working together to run this mega plan as a ‘Meet the Champions’ programme over the next two years. The aim is to acknowledge and ready the young ones with champion qualities to face the world in any sphere of life.

The athletes are talking about the importance of santulit aahar (balanced diet), fitness and sports at a young age. These visits by Olympians will give school students an insight into their lives and what drives them to excel in their fields and explore. Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra started off with students from over 75 schools at Sanskardham, Ahmedabad, where he also shared interesting anecdotes about his career with the students. Similarly, Tokyo Olympics Bronze Medallist Bajrang Punia visited Haryana’s Aarohi Model School in Panipat, Paralympic Gold and Silver medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu visited Salem’s Holy Angles Girls’ Matric. Hr. Sec. School, Paralympics bronze medallist Sharad Kumar met students at Cotton Hill Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Trivandrum, Kerala, and so on.

These visits bolster the effort towards nurturing young athletes at school level itself. To support sports saplings – 90 Extension Centres of STC (Sports Authority of India Training Centre), including 60 Khelo India Centres, and 10 Regular Schools which are part of the National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC), are operational under Sports Authority of India. Most of the Extension Centres are operational in schools across the country. Further, under the “State Level Khelo India Centre” vertical of the Khelo India scheme, 04 Kendriya Vidyalayas with residential facilities are operational as Sports Schools since October 2019. Under this vertical ₹1,50,000 per athlete per annum are provided towards expenses of onboarding, lodging, education, training, competition exposure, medical by the Government of India.

In the past few decades, the country has seen exponential growth in sports. As it has pulled its socks by way of providing sports infrastructure at the grassroots level to helping athletes to become professional, results have started to show by providing the world with a glimpse of the multisports nation. ‘Meet The Champion’ Programme is surely adding fuel to this fire in the belly of young ones and setting up a virtuous cycle.

Financial Literacy for Increased Standard of Living

There’s a common notion regarding the developing countries like India that, ‘the Rich get richer, the Poor get poorer’. One can recall the famous Bible verse, “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” This when translated into economical aspects, the only way out is breaking free of the vicious financial cycle that can be achieved by educating majority population and increasing the financial literacy of the country. The recent measures taken by the Government and the four financial sector regulators (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI & PFRDA) to strengthen financial inclusion in the country have started yielding results. PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Beema scheme, Atal pension Yojana, launch e-RUPI digital payments, recent launch of RBI’s digital currency, etc. are some such initiatives.

The ‘National Strategy for Financial Education 2020-2025’ (NSFE), released by the RBI, had emphasised on a multi-stakeholder-led approach for creating a financially aware and empowered India. Under this, some of the strategic objectives that have been stressed upon include encouraging participation in financial markets, developing credit discipline, developing a savings and insurance-oriented mindset, improving usage of digital financial services in a safe and secure manner, understanding of basic financial flows and investment, and a lot more. The document even stresses on creating financial literacy content for school children, teachers, youth, women, new entrants at workplace/entrepreneurs, senior citizens, divyanjans, and even illiterate folks.

The launch of National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) promoted by RBI, IRDAI, SEBI & PFRDA, is also playing a big role in promoting Financial Education across India through various programs, courses, Credit Counselling, and thorugh means of its Financial Literacy Centres being set up by leading banks. As at the end of December 2020, there were 1,478 Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) in the country. While 1,48,444 financial literacy activities were undertaken during 2019-20 (April-March), a total of 45,588 financial literacy activities were conducted by the FLCs during the period April-December 2020.

Demonetisation, urbanisation, reign of smartphones, Digital India campaign, followed by Pandemic-induced dire circumstances have strengthened digital banking infrastructure in the country. People, through their digital engagements, got acquainted with first the platforms, then their features, then to the practice of making digital payments to continue to (or even expand) avail the utilities. The Digital payments in the country have also been on a surge. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) logged 4.52 billion transactions, amounting to Rs 8.26 trillion in February 2022, according to data released by NPCI. The number of Debit and credit card issued also went up from 88.29 crore in January 2018 to 101.1 crore in January 2022.The number of ATMs across the country has risen to 2.13 lakh in September 2021, over 47% of which were in rural and semi-urban areas. The number of branches of Regional rural banks have also grown exponentially. A total of 22,042 rural bank branches were operating across the country in 2021 (from 17901 in 2014). Other recent glam factors that have contributed in the growth are fintech entrepreneurship, popularity of new terms and technologies like Unicorns, Cryptocurrency, digital kiosks, digital wallets, popularity of social media shops, e-commerce social and networking sites, informal investment platforms, NEFT, IMPS, Net Banking and QR codes etc.

Financial literacy supports the pursuit of financial inclusion by empowering the customers to make informed choices leading to their financial well-being. Financial abilities can pave way for unprecedented economic growth and increase the standard of living. India’s work force combined with strong financial literacy can make it a financially savvy country resonating strong global influence. The dream of making India financially educated is an uphill task for a country whose one-fourth population is not even literate. However, these recent interventions and strategies have resulted in positive changes and these should intensify.

Water Conservation: Only path left for Future

“Socho Toh Kyun Hai Aaj, Sehma Sehma Paani…” this kids water anthem has brought water conservation issue at the forefront of children imagination. Not just now, even India’s ancient scriptures, texts and stories are filled with tales and proofs of how rivers were considered sacred, the most revered. So much so, that even Lord Krishna, in his impartations to Arjuna during the war of Mahabharatha, said, ‘I am the Ganges among rivers’ (Chapter 10 Verse 31 – पवन: पवतामस्मि राम: शस्त्रभृतामहम् | झषाणां मकरश्चास्मि स्रोतसामस्मि जाह्नवी).

Saving every drop of water becomes even more imperative for a country like India, which houses more than 18% of the world’s population, but has got only 4% of world’s renewable water resources. The current water requirement is estimated to be around 1,100 billion cubic meters per year. To meet this high requirement, the government, through various means and measures, has been trying to improve condition of water bodies and better treatment systems. In June 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to all Sarpanchs across the country stressing on importance of water conservation and harvesting and urged them to adopt all appropriate measures to make water conservation a mass movement.

For transferring water from surplus basins to deficit basins/areas, the Government of India formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) of interlinking of rivers. National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links for preparation of Feasibility Reports/ Detailed Project Reports under Inter-linking of Rivers Project. Atal Bhujal Yojana, a central sector scheme, is also being implemented in 8,774 gram panchayats of 81 districts of seven States namely Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The focus of the scheme is on community participation for sustainable ground water management. Provisions have been made for source recharging too like dedicated bore well recharge structures, rain water recharge, rejuvenation of existing water bodies, etc., in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Integrated Watershed Management Programme, 15th Finance Commission tied grants to RLBs/ PRIs, State schemes, CSR funds, and others. The government also launched the AMRUT 2.0 initiative in 2021 which focuses on making specified cities water secure through recycle/ reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) is another impactful initiative which aims to enhance physical access of water on farm and for expanding cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, and introducing sustainable water conservation practices, etc. The Command Area Development & Water Management (CADWM) Programme and ‘Per Drop More Crop’ component under the PMKSY scheme and the National Water Mission’s ‘Sahi Fasal’ campaign have also brought in positive farm results and better agricultural growth. The Jal Jeevan mission is up and running to make provision of potable tap water supply to every rural household of the country at the service level of 55 litre per capita per day by 2024. This was followed by the recent launch of the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign to endorse the practice of rainwater harvesting. The Centre has also requested all States/UTs to set up Jal Shakti Kendra in every district which shall provide all rain related information at one place.

Walking the Tight Rope

Political opposition in India is likely to eat their words ‘Need to stand up, not stand aside’, which they had used to slam the government, not long ago, for abstaining from UNSC vote on Russia-Ukraine.

Australia has backed India’s stand on the Ukraine-Russia conflict saying, “The Quad member countries have accepted India’s position on the Russian attack on Ukraine and that no country would be unhappy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been using his contacts to call for an end to the conflict.” Such an understanding was shown despite Australia’s own strong disquiet on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Parallely, Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan offered rare praise for India’s foreign policy, that too in a public rally. He said that, “Main aaj Hindustan ko daad deta hun (I praise our neighbouring country Hindustan) as they always had independent foreign policy. Today, India is in their (America) alliance and they are part of QUAD… They are importing oil from Russia despite sanctions because their policy is for the betterment of people”.

India’s abstention to vote on the global crisis is like recalling from the past when it raised eyebrows across the globe with its endorsement of the non-alignment move, which meant non-participation in the military affairs of a bipolar world and optimum involvement towards peace and security through multi-polar participation.

The foundation of such an elevated stature lies in the numerous efforts India has put over the last 6-7 years to change both its outlook and conduct on International level. Some of the steps include giving due importance to potential regions through change in International policies like shifting from ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’ policy, fresh stand on signing of FTAs with various countries, formation of global initiatives like the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), rolling out of excellent measures leading to exponential growth of exports, FDI’s etc like the PLI scheme, Ease of Doing Business, relaxation of complex trade, licensing and business norms and laws, voicing India’s concerns and stand on all global platforms and forums regarding environment protection, world peace and security, economic growth and development, importance of rapid technological advancement, and numerous other subjects of growth, democratic evaluation and futuristic readiness.

Unlike the past, India’s foreign policy stances and tendencies are now much more mature, precise and prudent, standing tall on the foundations of genuine concerns and greater intents to sought peace and stability. India’s intents are being considered honest globally on such a scale that even its tough choices are receiving respect from all quarters.

Bolstering Indo-Japanese Strategic Relationship

Fumio Kishida has chosen India for his first-ever bilateral visit since his appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. A well-charted out partnership with India can help both the countries achieve a natural balance which is strategically, commercially and politically stable.

While India becomes both an inspiring growth story and one of the fastest growing economies, Japan holds a sturdy position in the Indo-Pacific region when it comes to maturity, sophistication and experience in international economic engagements. India’s recent undertakings of global importance, now proven track record of large scale implementation, enhanced economic calibre and positive political outlook have certainly caught the world’s attention. Japanese technological marvels, business strategies and management & design skills are second to none.

The absence of any historical baggage or major strategic disagreement further solidifies the chances of strong strategic Indo-Japan ties. The trust factor also lies in the fact that India has extended to Japan the distinction of being the only foreign power that has been allowed to undertake infrastructure and other projects in its strategically sensitive Northeast region (which shares borders with Tibet, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan). Not only this, Japan is also helping in developing the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which are important in terms of the trade routes and maritime security.

A strong partnership between both the nations becomes important for the entire region which has been witnessing growing Chinese incursions and its bad trade and political practices. China’s aggressive foreign policy initiatives in East China Sea and South China Sea, in addition to its attempts of establishing new Chinese naval facilities across the sea routes carrying Japanese trade items have irked many states across the globe, including Japan. Despite the world’s attempts to stop China’s illegitimate pracrices, the latter has continued with militarization of the seas. This mandates Japan (which shares sea routes with China) and India (which already has plenty of experience in keeping a vigil over the Indian Ocean) to devise workable policies to protect the concerned trade routes and play a bigger role in protecting the South Asian interests.

India and Japan are also working to build even stronger commercial and developmental relationship. In April 2020, Japanese government had proposed building an economy that is less dependent on one country – China, so that the nation can avoid supply chain disruptions. It strongly urged its companies to relocate production bases to Japan and diversify the locations of production facilities to other countries. It soon announced a USD 221 million China-exit subsidy for Japanese companies to shift their base to India and other South Asian regions. Later in August 2020, reports surfaced regarding the beginning of discussions between India, Japan and Australia on launching a trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), a move proposed by Japan itself to reduce dependency on China, necessitated by Beijing’s aggressive political and military behaviour.

Over 1455 Japanese companies are currently operating across India. Some of the prominent Japanese investments in India include Maruti Suzuki, Uniqlo, Mitsubishi Group, Mitsui, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., Hitachi, Panasonic, Honda, Toshiba, Canon, and Yamaha. Talking about stable investment, Japan ranks fifth among major investors in India. Japan, which invested USD 36 billion in India between 2000-2021, is now looking to invest a historic USD 42 billion in the country. Besides, Japan has already been providing technical and financial assistance to India for Mumbai-Ahemedabad high speed rail project, the western dedicated freight corridor and 6 metro rails (Ahmedabad Bangalore Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata & Mumbai). India’s imports from Japan also showed a growth of approx. 73% in a span of 13 years reaching USD 10.9 billion in 2020-21 from USD 6.3 billion in 2007-08.

Indo-Japan strategic partnership can become a gamechanger in the Asian region, given both the nations continue to add concrete security content to their relationship. While boosting trade and investment need great emphasis, it must be garnished with greater strategic collaboration. Besides deepening defence and maritime security cooperation, both the countries must explore collaboration possibilities on infrastructure and other projects in third countries, including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and in Africa. This may greatly help in enhancing strategic connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.

Commissioning Permanent Empowerment

India continues to invest in health, education, protection, skill-building, including financial literacy, and promoting gender-equitable attitudes and practices among India’s children and youth. This has started showing good results. For the first time since availability of records, India has more females as compared to males. The number of females per 1,000 males has increased from 991 in 2015-16 to 1,020 in 2019-21. The sex ratio at birth has also witnessed an increase from 919 in 2015-16 to 929 in 2019-21. Further, India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has dropped by 10 points, which is a notable achievement. From 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19, this ratio is witnessing an 8.8 % decline. Also, the data shows a decline in the crime against women during the year 2020 (3,71,503) as compared to 2019(4,05,326).

Defence is one domain where women have traditionally not been able to break the glass ceiling. Not anymore. Today women are not only working in every wing of the Indian Army, but now they are also getting permanent commissions. The number of women officers has almost tripled in last 6 years. In 2014-15, the number of women officers in the armed forces was around 3,000 in comparison to the 9,118 women officers, who are presently serving in the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.

Notably, apart from flying aircrafts in the Navy and Air Force, Indian Army has also paved the way for women pilots by starting the ‘Army Aviation course’. Till recently, women were only part of ground duty in the Indian Army. To recruit women officers in Army Aviation, the Indian Army began the course from July 2021. Earlier, In May 2021, the Indian Army inducted its first batch of 83 female soldiers into the Corps of Military Police (CMP). Till November 2021, the Indian Army granted ‘Permanent Commission’ to 577 women officers since the Supreme Court verdict in February 2020. A Permanent Commission gives a full-time career in the Army till an officer retires. It simply means that if an officer gets selected through Permanent Commission entry, he/she can serve the nation up to the age of retirement (60).

For the first time in history, NDA will recruit women officers, a total of 20, including 10 for army, 3 for navy and 6 for airforce. It is noteworthy that the total number of applicants for the exam was 5,75,856, of which 1,77,654 women appeared for the exam. Earlier, In October last year, the Union Cabinet approved the affiliation of 100 Schools in the Government and private sector with Sainik School Society, which will provide an opportunity for girls to join the Armed Forces and contribute to national security.

Since, the Vedic times, women play a crucial role in the upliftment of society, and by paving way for more & more avenues for women, in not just defence but also in other sectors would lead to a ‘New India’ where men & women are making equal contribution in the overall development of the nation.

Role of Holi for GenAlpha

The pandemic has accelerated the rise of robotics, digitalisation and the onset of the Fifth Industrial Revolution, where humans and machines will dance together, metaphorically. GenAlpha is already beginning to lead a life complemented by artificial intelligence and in a world of immersive experiences of augmented and virtual reality. Today, across the country, these kids are asking the question, why should we go out and celebrate this festival of colours, smells and flavours?

Few years back, University of Sydney (Department of Theatre and Performance Studies) had carried out a research which showed that actors experience significantly higher levels of depression,anxiety and stress than general population, and both men and women actors use alcohol at levels well above WHO guidelines for healthy consumption and 80 percent of actors are active users of either legal or illicit drugs. It had found that around 40 percent of actors had difficulties in relaxing or ‘letting go’ after performing an emotionally and physically demanding role.

The adjective ‘virtual’ means ‘being almost or nearly something’ or ‘made to appear to exist by computer’. Similarly, dictionary meaning of ‘artificial’ is ‘not genuine or natural but made by people’ or ‘not what it appears to be’. The immersive experiences of the world of virtual reality is not very different to performing an emotionally and physically demanding role. Therefore, getting out of role of ‘virtual reality’ and immersing into ‘real reality’ is essential for these kids. Holi is perhaps the best occasion for this reality check.

Holi is one of the most joyous and invigorating festivals of the country. Marking the beginning of Spring, it celebrates life and all of its colours in unanimity and reflects the very essence of this season. It is undeniable that the vibrancy of colors brings in joy and a lot of positivity in our life. Holi also has its historic, spiritual, religious, social and psychological sides, which make it much more exciting, giving us the reason to heartily enjoy and cherish the occasion.

This festival of sumptuous food, exotic aroma, and humorous pouring and throwing of colours has a healing effect on all of us. Letting GenAlpha immerse into ‘real reality’ is new positioning of this ancient tradition, Holi.