THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE

The battle of Chancellorsville of the Civil War took place in Virginia in 1863 on
the opposite banks of a Narrow River. General Robert E Lee was the head of
the Confederate Army whereas the Union Army was headed by “Fighting” Joe
Hooker.

Both leaders of the opposing armies were of contrasting personalities. On one

hand Robert E Lee was the older man with a calm attitude while on the other
hand Joe Hooker was a young man full of life and energy with a massive ego.

Joe Hooker’s overconfidence was on full display when he proclaimed to win

the future battle despite the confederacy winning the last four battles. The
source of Hooker’s confidence was unknown.

Joe Hooker had extensively analysed the position and resourced of Robert E
Lee. He knew that the Confederate army consists of 61000 troops whereas
Union army has 134000 troops in numbers. Hooker was so convinced by the
superior strength of his army that he ordered 70000 troops to cross the river
and take position behind Robert’s army. And he also ordered the remaining
troops to take the front position. With this tactic Hooker was convinced that
Robert E Lee’s army was trapped and has no choice but to surrender.

Even though Robert E Lee was essentially surrounded by the invading forces,
but that did not deter him and he chose to be on the offensive. All the
warnings by Union soldiers to Joe Hooker were in vain as he was convinced of
his strategy and didn’t listen to anybody. The unprepared Union army was
attacked in the evening while eating supper. They fled the battlefield utterly
surprised by the sudden attack leaving their firearms. In the end Robert E Lee
won the Battle of Chancellorsville despite all the odds stacked against him.
What steps can the government take to reduce Fiscal and
Revenue Deficit while ensuring investment for development
and growth?
The Fiscal deficit refers to the total borrowings of the government, taken to
build the gap between its earnings and expenses. Revenue deficit is the gap
between recurring revenue and recurring/short term expenses. A high revenue
deficit can make a country bankrupt. A high revenue deficit can affect the
administrative and day to day activities of the government while a high Fiscal
deficit can make a country bankrupt. India’s Fiscal deficit stands above 5% at
12 lakh crore of absolute deficits and revenue deficit is above 3% with 6 lakh
crore. The government can reduce FD and RD while maintaining enough
money for development by taking the following steps:

India’s non crude imports stand at an average of 20 billion dollars per month. It
can reduce a majority of these imports by increasing self-reliance and domestic
investment areas like solar energy. This will reduce deficit while increasing
investment and growth in the economy.

Due to COVID-19, there is global anti-china sentiment. If India wants to start

the cycle of investment and growth, it needs to replace China as the next
manufacturing powerhouse by reforming its ease of doing business policies.
Presently China stands first in global exports at UDS 2600 billon.

The banking and financial system needs an overhaul to improve financial

inclusion and penetration so that idle money can enter the financial system
and contribute towards productive asset creation. This will reduce requirement
of government funds and increase dependency on the market for funds.

India’s tax base presently stands at 1.5 crore taxpayers out of 130 crore
citizens i.e. 1 per cent of the population. 3 per cent of working adults (25-65
years) pay income taxes. In China, 25 per cent of working adults pay taxes. We
can increase tax revenues and reduce deficit by bringing in more tax evading
citizens into the tax net. The tax base can be increased by simplifying the tax
laws and encouraging people to file taxes.
Unproductive and irrational subsidies by the government increase deficits but
do not contribute to the future development. The government can replace all
irrational subsidies with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and more productive
subsidies.

MGNREGA is unemployment cum development scheme which contributes

towards creation of capital assets. More such schemes can help in
transforming the subsidy structure of the country.

A more market based economy, where people are able and willing to consume
and invest free of intervention by the state, can achieve the twin objectives of
reducing fiscal deficit and increasing investment for development and growth.
What are the reasons behind high unemployment rate in
India coupled with reducing Labour Force Participation
Rate?
Despite high GDP growth for the last few years, the unemployment rate in
India stands 45-year high at 6.1% in 2017-18, as per National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO)’s Periodic Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) – the
proportion of population working or seeking job or available for work –
declined to 37.5% in 2018-19 from 39.5% in 2011-12.

Global slowdown marked by protectionist trade policies combined with

impacts of COVID-19 has resulted in fewer exports which mean less
employment opportunities for the presidents. India’s exports stand at USD 530
billion in 2019, ranked at 12th globally. On the other hand, China’s exports
stand at USD 2600 billion in 2019, ranked at 1st. That is 5 times of India’s global
exports.

Due to demonetization, haphazard GST rollout and destruction caused by

COVID-19, the MSME sector is facing a serious cash crunch. This has resulted in
a sizeable portion of workers losing their jobs. According to ILO, MSME sector
employs 11 crore workers in non-agriculture sector alone out of total
workforce of 50 crore. Out of a total 6 crore MSMEs in non-agriculture sector,
more than 35% have started shutting shop due to COVID.

According to NITI Aayog, the weight of unorganized employment in total

employment stands between 85-92%. It is unsustainable to have such a large
portion of working population to be unemployed without any Social Security
benefits. During global lockdown, a major chunk of unorganized sector has lost
their jobs in India.

The MSME sector is not able to scale up due to restrictive and unfriendly
business policies of the government. A restricted MSME sector is not able to
generate enough employment opportunities to the masses. Most of the big
businesses in India follow capital intensive manufacturing, not generating
enough employment.
Employment policies of the government are not friendly towards
manufacturing and services. Thus majority population of India is still employed
in agriculture due to unavailability of organized jobs in manufacturing and
service sector. In 2020, 41.5% of labour force in India is employed in
agriculture, 32.5% in services and 26% in industry.

A major portion of the Indian youth is enrolled in primary and higher

educational institutions. India’s eligibility enrolment ratio stand at 65%, at par
with developed countries.

One reason for the youth not getting jobs is the difference between skills that
the industry requires and skills that the youth have. This is evident from the
recent survey of NSSO which reveals the joblessness among trained youth
stands at 12.4% in 2017-18, as compared to 5.9% in 2011-12.

Despite having majority of our population in working age group, the LFPR is
falling consistently due to the following reasons –

The youth, instead of looking for jobs in the private sector, is either enrolled in
higher education or working towards jobs in the Government Sector. Thus,
they drop out of LFPR. The LFPR – the proportion of population working or
seeking job or available for work – declined to 37.5% in 2018-19 from 39.5% in
2011-12.

The reason behind declining LFPR, especially among women, is increased

enrolment for higher education, which allows them to pursue leisure and other
non-work activities, reducing female labour force participation. As per AISHE,
Women’s enrolment in higher education, which was less than 10% of the total
enrolment on the eve of independence, has risen to 48.6% in 2018-19.

As household income increases in married households, women are forced to

leave their jobs to look after the family. Work is not considered a part of
lifestyle for women, rather something to be done only in desperate times.

A cultural bend towards white collar jobs forces many in the working age
population to drop out of the workforce, if they are unable to find a suitable
job.
India is on the verge of converting its demographic dividend into a
demographic disaster. If the youth and its needs are ignored any longer, a
vicious cycle of unemployment, degrowth and under-development will set in. A
suitable policy, timely implementation and a long term vision to create
productive employment inside the country can only take us back on track.
Rural Tourism in India – Steps required and expected
benefits.
Travelling has immediately transformed from a luxury in the 20th century to a
necessity in 21st century. It is a new and incessant part of lifestyle of Gen Y or
Millennial. Tourism is also seeing new shoots like medical tourism. According
to WTTC, India ranked 10th among 185 countries in terms of travel and
tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2019. During 2019, contribution of travel
and tourism to GDP was 6.8% of the total economy. India was globally the third
largest in terms of investment in travel and tourism with an inflow of USD 45.7
billion in 2018, accounting for 5.9 % of the total investment in the country.

Although urban tourism in India is expanding at lightning speed, tourism in

rural India is growing in a disorganized manner, bringing forward issues of
safety, ease, professionalism, infrastructure etc. the following are steps
required and benefits from rural tourism in India –

Rural tourism can push GDP in rural areas by creating demand, both by tourists
and local population. The ripple effect of this can be felt more in terms of
higher employment, higher exposure for the local populace, more integration
with global economy and self-dependence of local economy.

Banking and Financial systems can expand faster into rural areas with higher
rural tourism. This will give way to financial inclusion in rural India.

Tourism is not limited to the older methods of travel. Organic farming tourism,
Health tourism, Agri tourism, MSME tourism, Tele tourism etc. are new and
promising ways in which tourism can be experienced. Rural India can benefit
from all of these and thus contribute towards organic infrastructure
development in rural areas.

Once rural tourism expands, foreign investment can flow into India to take
advantage of this new industry. This will bring capital for asset creation in rural
areas.

India’s tax base presently stands at 1.5 crore taxpayers out of 130 crore
citizens i.e. 1 per cent of population. 3 per cent of working adults (25-65 years)
pay income taxes. Rural tourism can bring more people in the tax net and thus
can increase tax base of India.

Rural tourism can create more employment opportunities in rural areas, thus
limit migration from rural to urban areas, reducing pressure on urban
administration and more balanced development of the entire country.

Creation of better infrastructure in rural areas, in order to satisfy the needs of

tourists (better toilets, better public transport, more cleanliness, more tourism
friendly locals) will also result in better infra for local populace (school and
hospitals) .

However, rural tourism cannot grow on its own. The government, NGOs and
risk taking entrepreneurs need to take the initial steps to ensure its growth.

Basic infrastructure development in rural areas along with connectivity with

major metropolitans is a pre requisite to attract tourists into rural areas.

The rural youth needs to be trained and educated in hospitality for better
treatment and more safety of foreign tourists. Specific training programmes
like SAATHI can help in implementing this effectively.

Tourist circuits cutting across rural areas can expand the economy of those
areas and give a push to rural tourism too. Swadesh Darshan scheme is
focused on development of theme based tourist circuits in India. PRASAD
scheme is also launched by Ministry of Tourism for identifying and developing
the pilgrim sites across the country for religious tourism experience.

According to Dr. Raghuram Rajan, India accidently surpassed manufacturing to

expand its services sector. The 21st century post COVID-19 going to be service
led through digital economies. India can take advantage of this shift to become
a leader in providing world class services to the global consumer. Rural
Tourism can be a part of this revolution towards services, digital and physical.
What steps are required to make electric vehicles a reality?
India has a lot to gain from the widespread adoption of e-mobility. Under the
Make in India programme, the manufacturing of e-vehicles and their
associated components is expected to increase the share of manufacturing in
India’s GDP to 25 per cent by 2022. On the economic front, large-scale
adoption of electric vehicles is projected to help save USD 60 billion on oil
imports by 2030 – currently 82% of India’s oil demand fulfilled by imports.
Price of electricity as fuel could fall as low as Rs. 1.1/km, helping an electric
vehicle owner save up to Rs. 20,000 for every 5,000 km traversed. Finally,
electrified will help reduce vehicular emission, a key contributor to air
pollution which causes an average 3 per cent GDP loss every year. All these
points are enough to convince us about the importance of electric vehicles in
India and the following steps can make it a reality.

The first step towards making electric vehicles practical is to make them
affordable. China has become the largest deployer of electric vehicles in the
world, buying more than 50% of the entire global production of the e-vehicles.
It has done so by providing heavy subsidies to users – retail and commercial. If
India wants e-vehicles to be a mass product, it needs to provide attractive
subsidies for their adoption by the people.

In order to make electric vehicle growth sustainable, India needs to replace

imports with cheaper and efficient spare parts for EVs so that the EV
movement is a permanent one in the country. China does mining and refining
of majority of the raw material used in battery manufacturing so that it can
control the EV market. India needs to create its own supply chain and
manufacture electric vehicle batteries at home efficiently so that a sustainable
growth model can be created.

Foreign investment in EV market is still negligible in India. FDI in EV can expand

the market exponentially in a very short time due to massive domestic
consumer power. More supply of EV companies will eventually create its own
demand.
RBI can make EV financing a part of Priority Sector Lending. Environment
disaster is a reality for India. EV can resolve the issue by controlling vehicular
pollution in urban areas.

Electric vehicles are a revolution. India has no choice but to adopt it as fast as
possible. The earlier we accept, the faster we can grow sustainably.
The world is moving fast towards a Global Climate Crisis.
How can India insure its population and economy from
Climate Change triggered crisis?
An ecological crisis occurs when changes to the environment of a species or
population destabilises its continued survival. Increase in overall weather due
to factors like increase in temperature, less significant rainfalls, increased
pressures from predation and rise in the population are some of the reasons
behind global ecological crisis.

India, being a developing nation with 2nd largest population in the world is
highly vulnerable to the crisis.

Prevention of crisis, preparation –

1) Carbon credit, an instrument that allows companies to buy and sell

carbon emission is still in its primitive stages in India. Providing economic
face to sustainable development through carbon credit will result in
better carbon management by companies in the country.
2) Environmental friendly products like E-vehicles are going to be the new
drivers of global economy. India needs to be a leader in its production so
that we can develop sustainably faster.
3) There are various small and mid-cap environment friendly companies in
the market today. The stock market can push them up by promoting
these shares in the market today. The stock market can push them up by
promoting these shares in the stock exchange, thus increasing their
popularity in the market.
4) Preparation against the crisis includes increasing insurance penetration
in the country to directly insure against disasters.
5) Priority sector lending towards environment friendly investment and
loans can give a financial push to environment friendly companies by
giving them the liquidity they need.
Advantages of merging multiple labor laws into a single
code?
In 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Employment introduced four bills on
labour codes to consolidate 29 central laws. These codes regulate: (1) Wages,
(2) Industrial Relations, (3) Social Security, and (4) Occupational Safety, Health
and Working Conditions. There are various advantages of merging multiple
labour laws into a single code with 4 major laws.

The present laws were made before independence by the British Government.
They are exploitative in nature. They are confusing and obsolete. They treat
Indian citizens as subjects, and not equal residents of the country. The new
codes are meant to change it by giving due respect and value to all kinds of
workers.

Compliance with too many laws creates scope for corruption and exploitation
of both parties – workers and industries. A set of consolidated laws will make it
easier for companies to comply and workers to understand their rights and
obligations. It will also attract foreign investments faster by improving the ease
of doing business ranking of India. India presently stands at 63rd rank while
China stands at 31st rank due to better business policies.

Easier and consolidated laws mean less time spent on them by the owners.
This provides entrepreneurs with more time to focus on the running of
business rather than fulfilling unnecessary compliance burdens. Multiple
labour laws are a major reason behind restriction on MSMEs from turning into
larger enterprises. The labour code is expected to plug this hole. Start-up India
scheme could be utilized more efficiently by simplifying the labour laws.

Presently, 60% of workers are not covered under the Minimum Wages Act. The
new law will give the right to minimum wages to the entire 50 crore workforce.
Thus it will not only be helpful for enterprises, but also to workers by bringing
social security to the vast informal workforce of India.

Migrant workers face the challenges of lack of portability of social benefits.

PRAN provides portability to the organized workforce but the same is not
available to unorganized sector employees. The new Labour code will work
towards providing social security to every worker in the country.
The ratio of gig workers is increasing at a fast pace in a service industry-
oriented environment in Urban India. Due to COVID-19, the speed has
increased further. New labour codes can give them the required right to work
in an exploitation free environment.

Labour reforms in India have been pending for decades. A consolidated set of
simplified laws will make both doing business and getting employed easier as
well as more pleasurable experience with minimal exploitation. It will also
contribute towards creating India into a USD 5 trillion economy by2024.
Advantages and challenges with Direact Tax Code
India’s tax base presently stands at 1.5 crore taxpayers out of 130 crore
citizens i.e. 1% of population. 3% working adults (25-65 years) pay income
taxes. In China 25% of working adults pay taxes. We can increase revenues and
reduce deficit by bringing more tax evading citizens into the tax net. The tax
base can be increased by simplifying tax laws and encouraging people to file
taxes. DTC is a new tax law in the same direction.

Advantages –

1) The Income tax act is obsolete for the new age tax planning strategies
followed by companies. DTC will be beneficial for all parties.
2) DTC is focused on less taxation rather than exemption. This is also
expected to reduce tax evasion.
3) A smaller tax code that can be understood by the common man. Brief
and easy law means better compliance.
4) Many MNCs shy away from investing in India due to obsolete and
exploitative tax laws. DTC will change the tax environment by creating a
code comparative to global practices; it will attract MNCs to setup
themselves in India.
5) An effective tax rate for large companies – that includes the dividend
distribution tax – at about 48% way too high. It’s 25% in China, 21% in
the US and 17% in Singapore. DTC is expected to simplify the taxation
system and reduce tax rates.

Challenges –

1) India is at a different stage of development with high tax evasion. To

ensure that the new DTC is in line with international tax practices and
follows global rules and regulations for taxation is going to be a
challenge.
2) Reduces tax collection in the short term can spike India’s deficits and
create problem for the government’s revenue stream.
How the newly launched PM-KISAN Scheme will help the
farmers in India and what are the associated challenges?
There are two ways to support ant industry (including agriculture) – direct
support by putting tariff and non-tariff barriers to crush competition, buying
the goods to create an artificial market or indirect support by providing funds
to the producer so that he/she can survive in a competitive market. PM-KISAN
scheme is helping Indian agriculture move towards globally accepted and a
more efficient way of supporting the farmers – Indirect support. There are
many ways in which it can help the farming community of India.

PM-KISAN can make sure that a farmer has enough funds while sowing the
crops. It can free them from the clutches of moneylenders. A marginal farmer
often does not have enough funds to wait for the harvest. This results in either
indebtedness or suicide, in case of crop failure. PM-KISAN is a proactive way to
provide more money in the hands of farmers.

PM-KISAN can reduce corruption in our system by adopting Direct Benefit

Transfer to the farmers in their AADHAAR linked bank accounts. There is
enough money in the system to support all industries. The problem lies in high
corruption, which does not allow the right money to reach its right beneficiary.

Majority of marginal farmers in India are unable to raise productivity of their

crops due to lack of enough funds to buy hybrid seeds, irrigate at small scale
and use high quality fertilizers. PM-KISAN can enable such marginal farmers to
raise their productivity by getting access to funds before sowing the new crop.

However, PM-KISAN is not without its own challenges. Some of them are –

Rs. 2000 per quarter is not enough as a support to small and marginal farmers.
The support needs to increase in order to be effective in turning around lives of
marginal farmers.

The Government is often unable to increase quarterly hand-out equivalent

with market inflation. If increase in hand-out is not proportional to increase in
prices of inputs like seeds and fertilizers, the farmer will lose out in the long
run
Many large farmers might take advantages of the scheme by enrolling and
deny support to deserving farmers. It is very difficult to different between
marginal and big farmers because they are not required to file for and submit
any income tax.

Despite all the challenges, PM-KISAN is a revolutionary that can help India
achieve the objective of doubling farmer’s income by 2025. PM-KISAN can help
in uplift the poorest farmers by providing them proactive support that can save
them from indebtedness.
Monetary Policy Committee(MPC)
The MPC of the RBI decided to hold the interest rate at 6 per cent for the third
consecutive policy meeting as it sees retail inflation gaining momentum. Five of
the six members of the MPC voted in favour of keeping the rate unchanged,
while one member, M.D. Patra, wanted a rate hike of 25 bps. While holding
rates, the central bank said the stance of the policy remained neutral.

The decision comes after the consumer price index (CPI) inflation hit a 17-
month high of 5.21 per cent in December. At its review meeting on
Wednesday, the RBI increased its inflation forecast for Q4 to 5.1 per cent,
compared to (4.3-4.7) per cent for the second half.

Domestic pump prices of petrol and diesel rose sharply in January, reflecting
lagged pass-through of the past increased in international crude oil prices.
Considering these factors, inflation is now estimated at 5.1 per cent in Q4,
including the HRA impact,” the RBI said.

Assuming a normal monsoon, the CPI inflation for 2018-19 is estimated in the
range of (5.1-5.6) per cent in H1, including diminishing statistical HRA impact of
the Central Government employees, and (4.5-4.6) per cent in H2, with risks
tilted to the upside, the RBI said.

Gross Value Added (GVA) growth for 2017-18 is projected at 6.6 per cent and
for 2018-19 it is projected at 7.2 per cent.

The RBI said the fiscal slippage as indicated in the Union Budget could impinge
on the inflation outlook. “Apart from the direct impact on inflation, fiscal
slippage has broader macro-financial implications, notably on economy –wide
costs of borrowing, which have already started to rise. This may feed into
inflation.”
Precis
Keeping the stance neutral and rising inflation, the MPC of the RBI kept the
interest rates unchanged at 6%. RBI increased its inflation forecast to 5.1% for
Q4. The RBI forecasted CPI inflation for 2018-19 between 5.1-5.6% during H1
and between 4.5-4.6% during H2 of 2018-19 assuming normal monsoon and
diminishing HRA impact. GVA is projected at 6.6% and 7.2% for the years 2017-
18 and 2018-19 respectively. The inflation could rise keeping in mind the fiscal
slippages as indicated in the Union Budget.
Online Education in India – the good, the bad and the ugly!
With educational institutions closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
government has been encouraging online education to achieve academic
continuity. Most high-end private and public institutions have made the switch
smoothly using online platforms such as Zoom, Google classrooms, Microsoft
teams etc., while many still find it a herculean task. The challenges of online
education are multifaceted. It is time that we Indians, as a society, understand
the realms of online education – in India, for India.

The Good

Online education allows for learning something beyond the norm. A learner
has access to unlimited topics and global experts in niche subjects – something
otherwise not affordable or imaginable for many. Online programs allow
people of a wide age group to learn at their own pace, without inhibitions, and
without compromising on their other responsibilities.

With the emergence and spread of COVID-19 in India, online education has
trickled down to the most basic level – schools and colleges. When asked
about their experience with online teaching, a student from a college in
Bengaluru said, “The online option is a need in this pandemic situation. It has
brought education to us without us going anywhere, and it is more flexible”.
Probably, students are finding it a welcome change from strict schedules and
long-distance commutes to attend classes. For some others, who find learning
in large classes intimidating, this may be a less stressful option. Many teachers
are making the best of this situation by exploring new methods of teaching and
assessment.

This is encouraging. But the moment online education moves from an optional
to the only form of learning, and that too long term, the bad and the ugly
slowly becomes evident. India is beginning to get a taste of this now.

The Bad

Using the internet for entertainment is common, but for online lessons is a big
challenge. Teachers may not be well-versed with creating digital content, and
conveying it effectively online. A sudden expectation from them to upgrade,
and from students to adapt, is unfair.

Body language and eye contact, which are important cues for the teacher, are
difficult to perceive in an online class. A college teacher in Mumbai complained
that they do not receive continual feedback in the form of students’ reactions
during online sessions, which reduces the effectiveness of teaching. Online
teaching doesn’t answer some basic queries of teachers like, how many
students have paid attention in class? Of those, how many understood the
lesson? Is the teaching pace alright? Are some students getting left behind?
These questions arise even in traditional classrooms, but they are harder to
address in online classes. A parent of an 8-year-old attending a private school
in Gurugram said that there shouldn’t be online classes for young kids like
these as their attention span is small and they do not pay attention after a
while. Even the child agreed that he dislike online classes.

Even college students seem to value the in-class physical learning experience
much more than a virtual one. Many acknowledge that phones can be very
distracting. In addition, science and technology program often include hands-
on laboratory sessions, dissertation projects and field trips to complement
theoretical studies. This aspect of learning is severely limited in online
education.

Finally education is not just about subject knowledge but also about
developing social skills and sportsmanship among the students, which is built
over years. Relying solely on online education may hinder the holistic
development of children, and many may underperform later in their
professional and personal lives.

The Ugly

While India enjoys a wide geographic and cultural diversity, it also suffers from
a huge socio-economic divide. Only a small part of the India population has
access to online education right now. Interrupted power supply, weak or non-
existent internet connectivity, and unaffordability to buy necessary devices are
major concerns. A school teacher in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra opined that in a
class of 40 students, after two months of online classes, around 20 students
regularly attend class with whatever device and connection they have. Around
5-8 students are completely absent till date and rest are fluctuating. A teacher
in a government-aided school from the small town of Chamba in Himachal
Pradesh said that it is a frustrating experience to engage students of lower
classes in online mode. There are network issues on both teachers’ and
students’ ends.

To deal with internet connectivity and device availability issues, ‘classes’ in

many places are happening via sharing of videos by teachers over WhatsApp or
Youtube, so that students can watch them at their convenience. This too,
however, comes with difficulties in understanding the lessons and promotes
rote learning. The same is true of pre-recorded sessions aired on the television
(e.g., Swayam Prabha DTH channels) and radio (audio lessons, through All India
Radio), although they do cater to a wider student population that cannot avail
live online classes.

That is not all. With limitations of livelihood in a family, the first ones to receive
a blow are often girls. In a recent survey of 733 students studying in
government schools in Bihar, only 28% of the girls had smartphones in their
homes, in contrast to 36% of the boys. These smartphones almost always
belonged to male adults, often being lesser accessible to girls than boys, and
half of these families could not afford internet data packages. Therefore,
lessons aired on television were the main option for a majority of the students
participating in this survey. However, girls were found to spend a
disproportionately longer time on household chores than boys, which often
overlapped with the time of telecast of these lessons. Such gaps in education
could worsen the already wide gender gap in employment in India.

Students with disabilities are among the most dependent on in-person

education and hence least likely to benefit from distance learning. A survey by
Swabhiman (an NGO working mainly in Odisha) in association with the National
Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, indicated that 73%
of the students with disabilities had concerns regarding the availability of study
material in appropriate formats. Also, 79% of their teachers were apprehensive
about teaching effectively without use of touch to students with learning
disorders, autism and low vision. The lack of effective education may further
aggravate the high dropout rates of these children from schools (nearly 50%
pre-COVID) in developing countries.
Uniform and effective online education in India – what is being done and
what more is possible?

There is global recognition of the need for inclusive education policies during
the pandemic. To make online education more effective, accessible and safer,
various online resources (links listed below), training programs and schemes
have been developed by the Government of India for students, teachers and
educational institutions. The teaching community has come together to form a
nationwide informal and voluntary network of teachers, called the Discussion
Forum of Online Teaching (DFOT), to discuss different aspects of online
teaching, and create repositories of essential resources.

Cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) could open new

possibilities for innovative and personalized approaches catering to different
learning abilities. IIT Kharagpur has collaborated with Amazon Web Services to
develop the National AI Resource Platform (NAIRP), the future possibilities of
which include monitoring eye movement, motion and other parameters for
better teaching and learning. Google has also indicated future support in AI
based education in India.

Parting Thoughts

Online education opens up a lot of possibilities for students and teachers alike.
Yet, it may also widen the inequalities in the socio-economic fabric of India. All
our policies and interventions with regard to online education should strive to
be inclusive. Good vision, sincere efforts and time will show India the way
ahead.
Next Generation Treasury Application (NGTA)
In a bid to improve its functioning, the RBI has decided to move to the NGTA
for managing the country’s foreign exchange and gold reserves. The NGTA,
according to the RBI, would be a web-based application providing scalability,
maneuverability and flexibility to introduce new products and securities,
besides supporting multi-currency transactions and settlements.

The NGTA for which the RBI has invited bids from eligible vendors, would be
supporting various transactions in asset classes like Fixed Income (FI), Forex
(FX), Money Market (MM) and Gold.

RBI proposes to implement the NGTA which would be used for managing the
foreign exchange reserves in a more efficient way, mitigate risk, achieve
operational efficiencies, dealing in various asset classes and reporting,” the bid
document said.

The RBI said the objectives of the proposed system includes, dealing in various
asset classes (like Fixed Income Securities, Forex, Money Market, Gold);
portfolio management; workflow management; reserve management;
integration with various third party and in-house systems; and dashboards,
reports, widgets.

Besides other things, the proposed NGTA should automatically fetch all the
relevant details of a security/contract from a trading platform. It should
support all internationally accepted conventions pertaining to day count,
interest computation, holiday logic, shut period-dividend, ex-dividend, cash
flows, and odd coupon.

With respect to transactions in gold, the NGTA should support purchase sale,
deposit (including rollover and premature withdrawal). On maturity of a gold
deposit, there can be exact, under or over delivery, the document said.

As per the document, the prime bidder should be a registered Indian entity
under the respective Acts of India. Also, the prime bidder should have a
minimum annual turnover of at least Rs 475 crore 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-
20.
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 3.618 billion to reach a life-time
high of USD 545.638 billion in the week ended October 2, 2020.

The gold reserves were up by USD 486 million in the reporting week to USD
36.486 billion. The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) rose by USD 4 million to USD 1.476 billion and reserve position with the
IMF was also up by USD 23 million to USD 4.631 billion during the reporting
week.
If one were to view economic activity in terms of factors of production – land,
labour, capital and enterprise – it can be said that market forces have been
unleashed in the last 25 years mainly in the last two. The unfinished task of
reforms is really in the land and labour markets.”

The Indian farmer, even seven decades after Independence, had been treated
in exactly the same exploitative way that the colonial British had treated them
– as captive sources of producing cheap food grain while living at subsistence
levels. There was no freedom to choose the point of sale for his produce, he
could not decide the price of his product and has no say in selecting the buyer.
At the other end of the chain, the end consumer was equally short-changed
with frequent cycles of persistent high inflation. The only beneficiaries of this
perverse system were middlemen who thrived under political protection.

In the labour market, there were 44 different labour laws with more than 1200
sections and clauses that demanded compliance if one even thought of
becoming an entrepreneur. Different inspectors and departments
administered these laws and the tyranny of “inspector raj” stunted many
entrepreneurial journeys from taking full flight while many were killed at the
conception stage itself.

The web of 44 central labour laws has been dismantled. The Parliament has
now put in place four labour codes that are much simpler – the Code on
Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Social Security Code and the
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. On the one hand,
they universalise minimum and timely payment of wages among a host of
other labour-friendly measures and on the other; they enable ease of doing
business by bringing in a regime of one-registration, one-licence and one-
return. The tyranny of “inspector raj” is finally over.

The Indian farmer finally has his 1947 moment in the true sense. He can now
sell his produce wherever he wants, to whomsoever he wants and at whatever
price he can command. If he gets a higher price in the market, then he is free
to take it else the security of MSP anyhow exists. The stifling nature of the
Essential Commodities Act and the APMC Act has both been neutered.
Contract farming is now nationally enabled, better seeds, know-how for in-
between-season crops, improved yields, better logistics and freer access to
national and international markets. The Indian farm sector will now finally
begin to see the benefits of economies of scale.

In a matter of just a few weeks, the Prime Minister has achieved what the
previous 5 PMs before him could not attempt in over 25 years for multiple
reasons – from lack to conviction to fear of political blowback. What is even
more significant is all these reforms have been pushed in what are still the
early months of a second five-year term for PM. This gives ample time to use
the well-established execution skills and ensure that by 2024, the fruits of
these reforms reach the last mile. While the economy as a whole will get a fillip
from these reforms, the “summer of 2020” definitely belongs to the Indian
farmers who finally know what it is to live and breath free.
In the economic scenario of India land and labour reforms development has
been sluggish compared to other sectors. Unfortunately the farmers in India
have to suffer due to the slow nature of reforms in these sectors. In the history
of Indian agriculture, the farmers were treated more as sources of continuous
food production rather individuals with any agency of their own.
Cashless Economy Boon or Bane
A cashless economy is an economic state whereby financial transactions are
not conducted through money in the form of paper currency which includes
physical banknotes or coins, but rather through electronic channels such as
direct debit, credit cards, debit cards, electronic clearing, and payment systems
such as Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), National Electronic Fund Transfer
(NEFT), and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) in India. The utmost
digitalization has affected every person and as a result India is moving towards
a cashless economy in order to minimise the dependency on paper currency.

Looking at the brighter side there are various advantages of going cashless and
the most significant ones are that people are neither required to carry bulky
wallets in their pockets nor there is any need to be kept waiting in the long
queues of banks for withdrawing money. The smartphones today have e-
wallets processed in them which can be used for making payments
electronically. Importance of using smartphones for adopting cashless
economy in the country can never be ignored as India is the second largest
market for smartphones buyers in the world. The main advantage of a cashless
society is that a record of all economic transactions through electronic means
makes it almost impossible to sustain black economies or underground
markets that often prove damaging to national economies. Credit cards and
debit cards reduces our needs to depend on paper currency by aiding us to
withdraw cash through our nearby ATM machines and also making the
payment system easier either online through digital gateways or offline at any
vendor shopkeeper using POS devices. Digital transactions are convenient and
improve market efficiency. It will eliminate the risks associated with carrying
and transporting huge amounts of cash.

The major drawback of adopting cashless economy is that illiterate people do

not know how to make digital transactions correctly even though they know
how to use smartphones. Since the knowledge of digital transactions is not
common among people and is limited to Urban centres mostly, makes it
difficult to implement cashless modes. The poverty and illiteracy are some of
the factors behind people facing difficulty to use these technologies. Also on
the other end as we all know that every technology has its pros and cons and
no system on the internet is completely secure, hence the risk which is
involved in digital transactions is lofty because the rising cyber frauds and
hacking of bank accounts is common these days. Lack of adequate
infrastructure is major hurdle in setting up a cashless economy. Inefficient
banking systems, poor digital infrastructure, poor internet connectivity, lack of
robust digital payment interface and poor penetration of PoS terminals are
some of the issues that need to be overcome. Spreading financial literacy and
awareness about digital mode of payments among illiterate people is
supremely important in the rural regions of India to make cashless economy a
reality and achieve financial inclusion.
Impact of Digital India
Digital India is a forerunner programme by the Government of India
to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge
economy. In last decade Government came up with various e-
governance initiatives which were citizen centric. However they have
able to make the desired impact and fulfil desired objectives. In
order to transform India into a digitally empowered society and
knowledge economy, current government has come up with and
idea of Digital India Programme.
Artificial Intelligence
Humans have always been fascinated by the ability to invent intelligent
machines since time immemorial.
Agricultural Bill 2020
India is an agricultural country as more than 70 per cent of India’s population is
directly or indirectly involved in agriculture-related work. Due to the diligence
of those farmers, we are ready to sit and dine in peace. These farmers sustain
the entire country but it is unfortunate that they are struggling with starvation.
Recently, the central government has passed new agricultural bills for the
benefit of the farmers