Harnessing Digital Strength for Credit Delivery

Launch of recent digital platforms by the government like DigiLocker, eNAM (e-trading platform for the National Agriculture Market), AI-driven research portal SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency), CoWIN platform, National Single Window Platform, etc. which have worked wonders as far as information delivery, public use, notice circulations, availing services, bookings and record-keeping, etc, is concerned. These have also become a means of transparency and accessibility and even grievance addressal in some cases. The National Data & Analytics Platform (NDAP) that was launched by NITI Aayog for free public use recently, ensures the same. It makes data accessible, interoperable, interactive, and available on a user-friendly platform, which intends to democratise access to public government data. ‘Jan Samarth’ portal is yet another skyrocketing idea of the Government to cut the clutter and establish a direct connect with public.

Launching of the national portal for credit linked government schemes – ‘Jan Samarth’, may prove to be a game changer for the economy, as it gives a big boost to the inclusive growth and development of various sectors by guiding and providing the beneficiaries with the right type of government benefits through simple and easy digital processes. It promises to improve the ease of living for those who presently have to face much hassle in the lending process. In absence of human interventions in the approval – red tap, human eccentricities and corruption would cease to exist in the process, paving way for a transparent setup, greater growth of the economy and judicious and rational utilization of the human resources.

Being first of its kind platform, ‘Jan Samarth’ is a one stop digital portal linking government credit schemes, which directly connects beneficiaries to lenders. The portal ensures end to end coverage of all the linked schemes by bringing all kinds of government schemes on a single platform, making them easily accessible for the people and without much puzzle. The portal is a universal platform for delivery of various schemes being run by the various ministries and departments of the government. Working on the ideals of minimum government maximum governance, this nationwide portal plans to initially onboard 13 credit linked government schemes and the offerings will gradually be expanded, which will depend on compatibility, since a few Centre sponsored welfare and credit linked schemes involve multiple government departments/agencies/ministries.

The portal uses smart analytics and technologies that provide guidance to beneficiaries for checking subsidy, eligibility and the auto recommendation system that recommends the suitable schemes as per the requirements and credentials of the beneficiaries. The entire lending process is automated and based on digital verifications to make it simple, speedy, and hassle-free. Being integrated with the governments’ Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), the new portal helps in receiving in-principal approval of loans for MSMEs and after receiving in-approval, the loan is expected to be disbursed in a few days as the loan application process doesn’t have any human interventions, rather it depends on advanced algorithms to analyse data points from sources like income tax return, GST data, banks accounts among others.

Jan Samarth Portal has multiple integrations with UIDAI, CBDT, NSDL, LGD and other such organisations to make the processes smooth for both beneficiaries and lenders. It does enable beneficiaries to choose from multiple options being offered by various lending financial institutions on the portal. Presently, the platform has more than 10 nodal agencies and over 125 lenders with four broad loan categories – education, business, livelihood and agriculture related infrastructure loan. To avail the loan, beneficiaries first need to check their eligibility by providing answers to few simple questions under the selected loan category. When found eligible, they can proceed to provide the required details and documents. Upon submitting the details, people are recommended to select the schemes based on their needs and then they need to proceed to apply online for the selected scheme to receive digital approval.

India’s 5 prong action to save soil

‘Save Soil’ is turning into a global movement. Projected data due to loss of biodiversity, poor top soil linked food shortage and malnutrition is very scary. It is an urgent requirement for leaders of the world to rejuvenate 15-20inches of top soil of the planet. In this context, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of the World Environment Day, he also stressed on the efforts that have been taken in last few years in order to rejuvenate the soil of India. PM Modi conveyed that to save the soil, the government has focused on five main things. First- How to make the soil chemical free. Second- How to save the organisms that live in the soil, which are called Soil Organic Matter in technical language. Third- How to maintain soil moisture, how to increase the availability of water till it. Fourth- How to remove the damage that is happening to the soil due to less groundwater. And fifth, how to stop the continuous erosion of soil due to the reduction of forests.

All these five focal points have helped in health retention of soil through innovative schemes and initiatives which are based on collaboration, education and mordernisation. In 2015, the government launched the Soil Health Card, which is a printed report that is extended to the farmers for all their land or holdings. The card provides every farmer with soil nutrient status of his land and teaches him accordingly about the dosage of fertilizers and essential soil amendments that should be maintained for good soil health. Government also employs experts to help the farmers in carrying out the corrective measures. Thanks to this scheme, many Indian farmers now get a proper soil health record which assists them to undertake planned cultivation and largely prevents risks of crop failure that used to be very common before. So far, a total of 22,71,21,456 Soil Health Cards were issued to farmers between 2015-2019 across the country, whereas 11,531 new soil testing labs (491 static, 107 mobile, 8811 minilabs and 2122 village level labs) and strengthening of 829 labs have been sanctioned to the states. The massive success is indicated in the fact that since 2015, around 6.04 lakh demonstrations, 36,928 farmers’ trainings and 7,425 farmers’ melas have been organized/conducted under the programme. Village level rural development workers like Krishi Sakhis, Pasu Sakhis are even involved in educating farmers on right use of fertilizers.

The government has also been endorsing organic farming and use of Nano fertilizers that play a vital role in enhancing the efficiency of nutrients and in reducing soil contamination. The concept of ‘Low cost organic farming’ under the Schemes Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) & Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), is also being promoted for quite some time. Apart from financial support, capacity-building for organic farming through trainings and seminars / awareness camps has been integral part of these schemes. For maintaining soil moisture, mega promotion of intiatives like PM Krishi Sinchayi Yojana, ‘Per drop more Crop’ campaign, etc. have worked wonders. Mass awareness through these has resulted in increasing water use efficiency at the farm level through Micro Irrigation technologies, i.e., drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. Use of drones for irrigation and controlled fertilizer spray is a recent addition in the newfound efforts to preserve soil nutrients and maintaining balance.

Lastly, for controlling continuous erosion of soil due to the reduction of forests, the government has rolled out strict initiatives to educate people and motivate them to go green. Some heartfelt initiatives also include the ‘Har Med Par Ped’ scheme to encourage tree plantation on farm land along with crops/ cropping system to help the farmers get additional income and make their farming systems more climate resilient and adaptive. Further, while National Afforestation Programme (NAP) is being implemented for afforestation of degraded forest lands, Green India Mission (GIM) aims at improving the quality of forest and increase in forest cover besides cross sectoral activities on landscape basis. In order to reclaim and develop barren lands, several location specific bio-engineering measures have also been developed to check soil erosion due to run-off of rain water. Concerned Indian Institutes have also developed reclamation technology, sub-surface drainage, bio-drainage, agroforestry interventions and salt tolerant crop varieties, etc. to improve the productivity of saline, sodic and waterlogged soils in the country.

India is all for mutual respect

India is a torch bearer for modern times, and given its rich heritage, ancient and modern history, it’s story is crucial for sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future of the planet. For context, France became part of EU more or less from an Empire status, and USA, though an old state, became true democracy only around 60 years back. As Indian democracy is celebrating ‘azaadi ka amrit mahotsav’, EAM makes it very clear that it will not tolerate unnecessary grandstanding.

Addressing the Globsec 2022 Bratislavia Forum, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar lambasted the West’s over its glaring hypocrisy on Russian oil imports by India. Referring to the new sanctions, designed to cause minimal or no harm to its population, EAM said, “Europe is buying gas. New packages of sanctions are designed where consideration has been given… timeline is there…not like everything will be cut off instantly…people need to understand if they can be considerate to themselves, surely you can be considerate to others. So if Europe says we have to manage it in a way that the impact on our economy is not traumatic, that freedom or choice should exist for other people as well.” He added, “Tell me buying Russian gas is not funding the war? Why, it’s only Indian money, oil coming to India which funds and not gas coming to Europe which funds.”

The 20th century had started with civil unrest and resourcelessness and political tensions loomed over states across the globe for more than five decades. The entire century was dominated by massively disturbing events like two world wars, nuclear attacks, crisis like Spanish Flu & great depression, Cold War and then the post-Cold War conflicts. A politically super-charged world order was met with the concept of “non-alignment” in the aftermath of the Korean War, an idea that persisted even till the Cold War time. For India, the concept of non-alignment began as a policy of non-participation in the military affairs of the then highly-bipolar world. It meant a country should be able to preserve a certain amount of freedom of action internationally. The ripple effects of such a stance would not be recorded anywhere, would go unseen and unacknowledged and eventually get lost in the mists of time. But if this notion wasn’t strong enough, the world wouldn’t have come to a stage where for once, it took a stop. It wasn’t until the last two decades of the century that many states took a break from choosing sides externally and shifted their focus on internal matters & development. Progressive trends like globalisation, cultural exchange, trade pacts, privatisation, technological breakthroughs, space exploration, decolonisation began to bring positive change across the globe.

This led to a much evolved and mature global setting and a highly inter-connected world order with trade, technology, peace and security acquired the center stage. The focus beautifully shifted to revival of economies, preservation of culture and establishment of healthy bilateral relations across the globe, slowly laying foundations of ‘multilateralism’ for collective growth and sustainability. And this is exactly what the New India has learned, understood, is applying and endorsing for the whole world to see.

Yesterday, further hitting out on Europe on being silent on many key issues including India and China and the rule-based order in Afghanistan, EAM has said, “Somewhere Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problem but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problem. Come on guys, India and China happened way before anything happened in Ukraine”. He reckoned that the “world cannot be that Eurocentric that it used to be in the past”.

Further, speaking of India’s wheat ban decision, EAM said, “Our goodwill was used for global speculation and we had to do something. What we saw happen with vaccines, we don’t want to see happen with wheat.”

“Low-income countries, many of whom are traditional buyers like our neighbours Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, interestingly the Gulf, buy from us regularly. Yemen buys from us, Sudan buys from us, what we saw was low-income buyers were squeezed out, wheat was actually being stocked for being traded, so our goodwill was being used for speculation. We have to do something to stop that because it was also affecting us as home prices were going up,” EAM added.

Further responding to a question on India was allowing “trans-shipment of oil”, EAM asserted, “There’s an enormous shortage of oil, there’s a physical shortage of oil, getting access to oil is difficult. A country like India would be crazy to get oil from somebody and sell it to somebody else. This is nonsense.”

The 21st century is all about trade, technology and resource management. Few years back, the entire world experienced the tremors of the bad impacts of the US-China trade tussle. This was followed by COVID-19 Pandemic and then the Ukraine-Russia Crisis. These instances are clear indication that any deviation from the Path of ‘Sustainability, growth and Peace’ is going to lead the world towards damage and disruption. And this is exactly the message India has been trying to convey to the world and this is clear in the kind of global initiatives it has been taking up, in the kind of global collaborations and multilateral agreements it has been engaging in and in the kind of support and aid it has been extending to the world since the last 7-8 years. India understands the reality, potential and practicality of the century well and hence strongly stands for mutual respect.

Unprecedented Promises of Uttar Pradesh

Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, announced an investment of Rs 70,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh, promising 30,000 jobs. Attended by who’s who of the business world, the third UP investors’ summit saw Prime Minister laying foundation stone of 1406 projects worth more than Rs 80,000 crores on the occasion and investments accruing from a number of top business houses. The summit reflects the growing confidence in the remarkable growth story of Uttar Pradesh and is promising to create new possibilities in the state. India retaining the fastest growing country of the G20, further bolsters the confidence of the business community, promising huge investments in a state, which has huge potential, bolstered by much improved law and order situations and conducive business policies of the state government. The sectors inviting investments include agriculture and allied services, IT and Electronics, MSME, manufacturing, renewable energy, pharma, tourism, defence & aerospace, handloom and textiles among others.

The allocation of unprecedented capital expenditure of Rs 7.50 lakh crore in this budget of UP, presented just a few days earlier, is something, that gives out strong message to the investors, paving way for strong infrastructural and manufacturing growth among others. The confidence building law and order situation in the state has created a proper atmosphere for industry. The increased capability and potential of the administration and government of the state has helped a lot create a conducive atmosphere for the industries to invest. With 1100 KM of Ganga river covering 25-30 districts, UP creates huge opportunities for chemical-free natural farming corridor on both sides of the river, which may prove to be a golden opportunity to invest in the agriculture sector. Defence corridor in the state does have the potential to act as a harbinger of new opportunities.

The growth story of India continues with it being the third largest energy consumer country in the world, which reflects the growing economic activities in the country. In 2021, despite Covid-19 pandemic, India recorded FDI of $84 billion coming from more than 100 countries of the world along with creating a new record by exporting merchandise worth more than 30 lakh crore rupees, which helps a state with conducive business atmosphere. The mantra of ‘Reform-Perform-Transform’ for last 8 years lays the very foundation of policy stability, emphasis on coordination, effective execution and ease of doing business. Revolutionary initiatives like One Nation-One Tax GST, One Nation-One Grid, One Nation-One Mobility Card, One Nation-One Ration Card reinforce investors confidence, amply supported by the solid and clear policies of the state government. Steps like modern powergrid, gas pipeline, multi model connectivity, record number of expressways, strengthening of connectivity of economic zones, modern railway infrastructure, eastern and western dedicated freight corridor – all are converging in Uttar Pradesh with a promise to give a new push to its development.

It’s time for Indo-Africa

Indo-African relationship has historic importance and is set to define future for majority of world’s population. Dating back several centuries, the relations between India and African countries are driven and shaped by a number of factors, including trade and investments, cultural, historical and political engagements. A youthful demography, fast growing economies and vast amount of natural resources are something that both sides enjoy, causing envy and interest in rest of the world. Ongoing visit by the Vice President is the first-ever high level visit from India to Gabon and Senegal. This visit is set to add momentum to India’s engagement with Africa and emphasize India’s commitment to this continent as Africa is increasingly becoming important to India’s foreign policy calculations also.

Not only India, but rest of the globe is also far more interested in the African continent today than any time in history. India and Africa’s historical links and relations have experienced a revival in recent years and both sides understand the fact that it is a win-win situation as growing relations are mutually beneficial. India-Africa trade has grown to around 66.7 billion US dollar in 2019-20. Around 8% of Indian imports are from Africa and around 9% of Africa’s imports are from India. The investment of India’s public and private sector enterprises are increasing in Africa, making it the 8th largest investor in African. Besides loan and investment, India has also given ample amount of aid to Africa to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, India supplied 24.7 million doses of Made of India Covid vaccines to 42 countries in Africa.

India’s engagement with Africa focuses much on its core competencies like human resource development, training and skill development, IT, ITES, education and healthcare services which are very different to the Chinese approach, which focuses majorly on developing manufacturing capacities and infrastructure in Africa. While, China’s economic model of engagement with Africa looks attractive and has also paid rich dividend in recent years, the fascination for India’s support for democratic practices, processes, institutions and people to people engagement is high in Africa. India also has an advantage of language and cultural affinity. English is far more prevalent among the people in African countries than any other language, making it much easier for Indian to interact with African people. Moreover, over 3 million strong Indian diaspora in Africa also proves to a crucial strategic asset for India to further its relations with African countries.

Over half a dozen countries in Africa are among the fastest developing economies including Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania, making it one of the growth pole of the world. Real GDP in Africa in the past decade has grown almost twice. African continent has a population of over one billion with a combined GDP of 2.5 trillion dollars, which makes it a huge market. Taking these all things into account, India is making consistent efforts towards strengthening relations with Africa. India’s duty-free tariff preferential scheme has been beneficial for Least Developed African Nations. The India–Africa Forum Summit- the official platform for the African-Indian relations, is also contributing immensely to this building up the relationship process.