What is Jobless Growth?

1. A jobless recovery or jobless growth is an economic phenomenon in which a macroeconomy experiences growth while maintaining or decreasing its level of employment. The first documented use of the term was in the New York Times in 1935.
2. The term “jobless growth” refers to the phenomenon in which economies’ existing recession demonstrates economic growth while merely maintaining or, in some cases, decreasing their level of employment.
3. In a jobless growth economy, unemployment remains stubbornly high even as the economy grows. This tends to happen when a relatively large number of people have lost their jobs and the ensuing recovery is insufficient to absorb the unemployed, under-employed and new members entering the work force.

Why Jobless Growth?

1. India’s unemployment experiences are different from the structural transformations and job displacements associated with faster technological progress happening in the developed countries.
2. Except during the Great Depression of 1930s countries like the USA never experienced mass unemployment. By 2020, India could be faced with up to 16.7 million ‘missing jobs’.
3. India’s remarkable economic growth rate of 8.7 per cent per annum between 2004-05 and 2009-10 has had little impact on job generation. The share of agriculture in total employment shrank from 57 per cent to 53 per cent over this period, with 15 million workers migrating to towns and cities for work. The manufacturing and services sectors failed to absorb them fully.
4. Most of these migrants joined the informal sector. India’s high rate of informality is a drag on its economic development and a source of considerable inequity and a strong correlation existed between informality (of jobs) and poverty in India.
5. In organised industries, the jobs have shifted from regular to contract work resulting in casualisation of labour. Manufacturing shed five million jobs, while services employed only 3.5 million workers during this period.
6. Forty percent of the graduating students from engineering colleges in the country run the risk of being unemployed. Others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications in a market where there are few jobs for India’s overflowing technical talent pool.
7. Between 2005 and 2010, only one million jobs were created for almost 60 million new entrants to the labour market. In fact, it was the pull of construction growth that led to workers moving out of agriculture. And the boom in construction activity was volatile.  
8. India is creating jobs mainly in low-productivity construction and not in high productivity formal jobs in manufacturing. Agricultural sector itself is characterised by disguised unemployment.
9. With the adoption of neo-liberal policies labour-intensive sectors were relegated to the background and capital-intensive labour displacing sectors were encouraged.
10. “there has been acceleration in capital intensification at the expense of creating employment. A good part of the resultant increase in labour productivity was retained by the employers as the product wage did not increase in proportion to output growth. The workers as a class thus lost in terms of both additional employment and real wages in organised manufacturing sector.”  
11. Neo-liberal policies resulted in a drop in the rate of labour absorption and rapid growth of the FIRE (Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate sector) economy. FIRE economies generated job opportunities only for skilled labour to make deals and securing agreements.The much-hyped IT and ITES sectors employed very small percentage of the force.

Implications of Jobless Growth

1. The economic and social strains of jobless growth are quite serious.
2. With an estimated 12-15 million new entrants into the workforce every year, there is every possibility of India's touted demographic advantage turning into a social nightmare if these employment trends continue. The fiscal misadventures of the Indian state during the heady days have meant it cannot sustain guaranteed employment schemes in case of a protracted slowdown.
3. The basic economic cost of unemployment is foregone output. In the absence of jobs and income, domestic consumption expenditure will fall and it will have an investment depressing impact.
4. Each day without work is a day without income, a drain on savings, and an increased chance of default on debts. Severe unemployment is a social catastrophe.
5. Idleness means loss of skills, loss of self-respect, plummeting of morale, family disintegration and socio- political unrest.
6. At the individual level, research links increases in suicide, homicide, cardiovascular mortality and mental illness to high unemployment.

What to do?

1. The answer to jobless growth lies in policy initiatives that will promote manufacturing and services sector. Manufacturing and services must become the engine of employment growth.
2. Reforms in labour laws, provision of infrastructure, encouragement of small scale industries and promotion of export-oriented light industries that are manpower intensive are some of the policy initiatives that are required.
3. The experiences of developed countries have demonstrated that the growth of smaller businesses can drive employment generation.
4. Reforms in the education sector too are required to launch schemes to improve workforce skills.
5. Addressing skill shortages by revisiting policies on apprenticeships and creating more retraining opportunities can reduce skill deficits. Education system should provide individuals with skills in demand. More women should be brought to the workforce. It is also important to increase access to quality education, training and skills development.
6. An acceleration in investment that will create new capacity and new jobs. There are few signs of this happening; investments as a share in gross domestic product in the April-June quarter of 2015-16 were below 30 per cent, a rather anaemic number. Nor are the portents for a sharp revival in the investment cycle very good. Domestically, notwithstanding the very welcome upturn in highway construction, infrastructure remains a bottleneck. Globally, a slowing Chinese economy means excess capacities there and elsewhere in virtually all tradeable goods. This makes domestic structural reforms all the more critical.

What is Bio-medical waste?

1. Biomedical waste is waste that is either putrescible or potentially infectious.
2. Biomedical waste may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory origin (e.g., packaging, unused bandages, infusion kits, etc.), as well research laboratory waste containing biomolecules or organisms that are restricted from environmental release.
3. Biomedical waste is a type of biowaste. Expansion of health care facilities as well as the recent trend of using disposables has led to an unprecedented burden of health care related waste.
4. Since the last three decades, unregulated handling of biomedical waste is emerging as a serious threat to human health and safety, and many researchers have documented this as a priority area
5. The concern over HIV/AIDS and other blood borne infections has led to an increased professional and environmental activism towards this issue.
6. At the global level, 18 to 64 per cent of healthcare institutions are reported to have unsatisfactory BioMedical Waste Management (BMWM) facilities; predictors include lack of awareness, insufficient resources and poor disposal mechanisms
7. Many countries lack documented government rules related to BMWM. India was one of the first countries to implement BMWM rules.

Persons at risk

All individuals exposed to hazardous health-care waste are potentially at risk, including those within health-care establishments that generate hazardous waste, and those outside these sources who either handle such waste or are exposed to it as a consequence of careless management. The main groups at risk are the following:

1. medical doctors, nurses, health-care auxiliaries, and hospital maintenance personnel;
2. patients in health-care establishments or receiving home care;
3. visitors to health-care establishments;
4. workers in support services allied to health-care establishments, such as laundries, waste handling, and transportation;
5. workers in waste disposal facilities (such as landfills or incinerators), including scavengers.

The hazards associated with scattered, small sources of health-care waste should not be overlooked; waste from these sources includes that generated by home-based health care, such as dialysis, and that generated by illicit drug use (usually intravenous).

Public health impact of health-care waste

A. Impacts of infectious waste and sharps

1. For serious virus infections such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, health-care workers—particularly nurses—are at greatest risk of infection through injuries from contaminated sharps (largely hypodermic needles).
2. Other hospital workers and waste-management operators outside health-care establishments are also at significant risk, as are individuals who scavenge on waste disposal sites (although these risks are not well documented).
3. Many injuries are caused by recapping of hypodermic needles before disposal into containers, by unnecessary opening of these containers, and by the use of materials that are not puncture-proof for construction of containers.
4. The risk of viral hepatitis B and C infection from contact with health-care waste may be more significant, as this virus is viable for longer than HIV.

B. Impacts of chemical and pharmaceutical waste

1. While there is no scientifically documented incidence of widespread illnesses among the general public due to chemical or pharmaceuticalwaste from hospitals, many examples may be found of extensive intoxication caused by industrial chemical waste.
2. Pharmacists, anaesthetists, and nursing, auxiliary, and maintenance personnel may be at risk of respiratory or dermal diseases caused by exposure to such substances as vapours, aerosols, and liquids.
3. To minimize this type of occupational risk, less hazardous chemicals should be substituted whenever possible and protective equipment should be provided to all personnel likely to be exposed. Premises where hazardous chemicals are used should be properly ventilated, and personnel at risk should be trained in preventive measures and in emergency care in case of accident.

C. Impacts of genotoxic waste

1. To date there are few data on the long-term health impacts of genotoxic health-care waste. This is partly because of the difficulty of assessing human exposure to this type of compound.
2. Numerous published studies have investigated the potential health hazard associated with the handling of antineoplastic drugs, manifested by increased urinary levels of mutagenic compounds in exposed workers and an increased risk of abortion.
3. A recent study has demonstrated that exposure of personnel cleaning hospital urinals exceeded that of nurses and pharmacists; these individuals were less aware of the danger and took fewer precautions.

D. Impacts of radioactive waste

1. Several accidents resulting from improper disposal of nuclear therapeutic materials have been reported, with a large number of persons suffering from the results of exposure.
2. The only recorded accidents involving exposure to ionizing radiations in health-care settings have resulted from unsafe operation of X-ray apparatus, improper handling of radiotherapy solutions, or inadequate control of radiotherapy

Management

Steps in the management of biomedical waste include generation, accumulation, handling, storage, treatment, transport and disposal.

A. On-site versus off-site

1. Disposal occurs off-site, at a location that is different from the site of generation.
2. Treatment may occur on-site or off-site. On-site treatment of large quantities of biomedical waste usually requires the use of relatively expensive equipment, and is generally only cost effective for very large hospitals and major universities who have the space, labor and budget to operate such equipment.
3. Off-site treatment and disposal involves hiring of a biomedical waste disposal service (also called a truck service) whose employees are trained to collect and haul away biomedical waste in special containers (usually cardboard boxes, or reusable plastic bins) for treatment at a facility designed to handle biomedical waste.

B. Generation and accumulation

1. Biomedical waste should be collected in containers that are leak-proof and sufficiently strong to prevent breakage during handling.
2. Containers of biomedical waste are marked with a biohazard symbol (pictured). The container, marking and/or labels are often red.
3. Discarded sharps are usually collected in specialized boxes, often called needle boxes.
4. Specialized equipment is required to meet standards of safety. Minimal recommended equipment include a fume hood and primary and secondary waste containers to capture potential overflow.

C. Handling

1. Handling refers to the act of manually moving biomedical waste between the point of generation, accumulation areas, storage locations and on-site treatment facilities.
2. Workers who handle biomedical waste should observe standard precautions.

D. Treatment

1. The goals of biomedical waste treatment are to reduce or eliminate the waste's hazards, and usually to make the waste unrecognizable.
2. Treatment should render the waste safe for subsequent handling and disposal. There are several treatment,methods that can accomplish these goals.
3. Biomedical waste is often incinerated. An efficient incinerator will destroy pathogens and sharps. Source materials are not recognizable in the resulting ash.
4. An autoclave may also be used to treat biomedical waste. An autoclave uses steam and pressure to sterilize the waste or reduce its microbiological load to a level at which it may be safely disposed of. Many healthcare facilities routinely use an autoclave to sterilize medical supplies. If the same autoclave is used to sterilize supplies and treat biomedical waste, administrative controls must be used to prevent the waste operations from contaminating the supplies. Effective administrative controls include operator training, strict procedures, and separate times and space for processing biomedical waste.
5. For liquids and small quantities, a 1-10% solution of bleach can be used to disinfect biomedical waste. Solutions of sodium hydroxide and other chemical disinfectants may also be used, depending on the waste's characteristics.
6. Other treatment methods include heat, alkaline digesters and the use of microwaves.
7. For autoclaves and microwave systems, a shredder may be used as a final treatment step to render the waste unrecognizable.

Biomedical waste disposal in India

1. The Ministry of Environment and Forests notified the “Bio-medical Waste Management and Handling Rules”, in July 1998 (later amended in 2003 and 2011) under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Each state's Pollution Control Board or Pollution control Committee will be responsible for implementing the new legislation.
2. Even after a decade of its implementation, most Indian hospitals are yet to achieve the desired standards for BMWM practices.
3. In India, there are a number of different disposal methods, yet most are harmful rather than helpful. If body fluids are present, the material needs to be incinerated or put into an autoclave. Although this is the proper method, most medical facilities fail to follow the regulations. It is often found that biomedical waste is put into the ocean, where it eventually washes up on shore, or in landfills due to improper sorting when in the medical facility. Improper disposal can lead to many diseases in animals as well as humans.
4. The rules and regulations in India work with The Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules from 1998, yet a large number of health care facilities were found to be sorting the waste incorrectly. Worldwide, there are specific colored bags, bins and labels that are recommended for each type of waste. For example, syringes, needles and blood-soiled bandages should be all disposed of in a red colored bag or bin, where it will later be incinerated.

1. One ‘reform’ in India’s social welfare architecture to which the current government is deeply committed is to substitute subsidised wheat and rice supplied through the public distribution system (PDS) with direct cash transfers into bank accounts of targeted households. Without due publicity and transparency, the central government gazetted the Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules on 21 August 2015.
2. This move has been passionately opposed by most food rights campaigners. What they oppose is not the principle of transferring cash to people, but the substitution of food transfers with cash. After all, many important social protection schemes involve cash transfers, including maternity benefits and old-age pensions, and they support these.

In favour of Cash Transfer

1. Proponents of substituting PDS grain transfers with cash argue that PDS is an inefficient mode of transfer of subsidies, prone to enormous leakages into the black market, and high waste in costs of transferring subsidies in the form of food transfers. They argue that replacing food with direct cash transfers would greatly reduce corruption and leakages. It would enable the poor to access goods currently denied them by a PDS beset by corruption. Further, it would enable people to buy better quality food of their choice from the open market and not be restricted to items sold in the PDS, which are often inferior in quality and limited in range.
2. Providing subsidies directly to the poor, it is further argued, would both bypass brokers as well as reduce the waste and holding costs of storing grains in government silos.
3. The amount of grain actually required for India’s buffer stock needs could be held in better-quality warehouses, eliminating waste and rotting.
4. Cash transfers would help reduce fiscal deficit by curbing expenditures earmarked for the PDS that are siphoned off through corruption, as well as avoiding substantially higher costs of transferring food rather than cash.

Against Cash transfer

1. However, it is problematic to assume that cash transfers would in themselves bring about drastic reductions in corruption and leakages in welfare programmes, as there is nothing intrinsic to cash transfers which renders them less vulnerable to leakages.
2. Irregularities are empirically found to be high in existing cash transfer programmes. Cash transfers of old-age pensions are at least as notorious for corruption and leakages as the PDS.
3. Studies confirm that many states have been able to reform PDS and significantly reduce leakages, as much as some states have reformed pension transfers.
4. Clearly, the difference between the corruption or probity of delivery of welfare programmes is not dependent on whether cash or food is delivered, but on political and administrative will and capacities, and public vigilance and organization.
5. It is also possible for people to spend cash transfers not on more nutritious food, as proponents suggest, but instead on non-food items, which would decrease the amount of household money left for buying food.
6. There are significant gendered differences of choice here. Research confirms that culturally decisions relating to cash in households tend to be made by men, who may or may not spend the money on food. Decisions relating to food are made by women in almost all cultures, and therefore food rather than cash in a household is more likely to end up as food in a child’s stomach.
7. There are also worries about how genuinely inclusive of people in remote rural regions is India’s banking system. Fair price shops exist in three of every four villages, and are therefore generally accessible. According to one survey, average distance to the nearest bank branch is between 6.5km to 10km. Distances would be much longer in remote regions, entailing high additional costs of transport and time.
8. Another advantage of PDS over cash transfers from the perspective of the poor is that PDS supplies rations at a constant price, irrespective of the fluctuations in market prices. This therefore provides a shield against inflation, a benefit that cash transfers cannot match.
9. Finally, it is a mistake to view PDS only as a means to transfer subsidies to poor households. PDS costs need to be measured against its other goals as well. PDS requires the government to procure food from farmers. The government builds up stocks of grains which are also useful for price stabilization. Indeed, the guarantee of minimum support price purchase by the government for wheat and rice is the most important instrument for the protection of farmers’ income in India, and this would become unfeasible if the government could not offload a lot of this grain back through the PDS.

What is CRISPRs?

1.  Some bacteria—mainly E. coli, which proliferate in human and animal intestines— keep bits of dangerous viruses in their genome, their genetic blueprint. They do this so that when these viruses attack them, their immune systems can recognize them easily and launch counterattacks.
   
2. These curious genetic stretches—a bit of DNA repeated over and over with distinctive sequences in between—in E.coli were first discovered in 1987 and officially termed Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR.
   
3. CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) are segments of prokaryotic DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences.
   
4. Each repetition is followed by short segments of "spacer DNA" from previous exposures to a bacterial virus or plasmid It is pronounced “crisper”
   
5. If CRISPR is the brains, the enforcer is a collection of enzymes called CAS (CRISPR-associated proteins).
   
6. The best-known enzyme bunch is called CAS9, found in bacteria that cause sore throats. Using CRISPR’s knowledge of invading viruses, CAS9—on CRISPR’s orders—acts as a scissor, chopping viral DNA and blocking its ability to reproduce.
   
7. The CRISPR/Cas system is a prokaryotic immune system that confers resistance to foreign genetic elements such as plasmids and phages, and provides a form of acquired immunity.
   
8. CRISPR spacers recognize and cut these exogenous genetic elements in a manner analogous to RNAi in eukaryotic organisms. CRISPRs are found in approximately 40% of sequenced bacteria genomes and 90% of sequenced archaea.
   
9. Two decades later, science realized their purpose: these helical curiosities were protective of genetic memories.
   

Applications

The technology has been used to functionally inactivate genes in human cell lines and cells, to study Candida albicans, to modify yeasts used to make biofuels and to genetically modify crop strains.

A. Editing

1. CRISPRs can add and delete base pairs at specifically targeted DNA loci and have been used to cut as many as five genes at once. CRISPR's low cost compared to alternatives is widely seen as revolutionary.
   
2. CRISPR-CAS9 has revealed as possible what was once the domain of science fiction—genes made-to-precise-order.
   
3. The word precise is important. Genes have been edited, re-engineered and spliced with other techniques for many years, but the mutations tended to be unpredictable and hard to control. If an older method was a blunt knife attempting to cut paper, think of CRISPR-CAS9 as sharp scissors.
   
4. Selective engineered redirection of the CRISPR/Cas system was first demonstrated in 2012 in the following applications:
   
5. Immunization of industrially important bacteria, including some used in food production and large-scale fermentation
   
6. Cellular or organism RNA-guided genome engineering. Proof of concept studies demonstrated examples both in vitro and in vivo
   
7. Bacterial strain discrimination by comparison of spacer sequences
   
8.  In May this year, scientists in China said that, using CRISPR-CAS9, they had achieved the ability to repair genetically damaged human embryos. This means that it is now within the realm of possibility that babies can be “designed”, a fraught term that brings visions of humans playing god (if, of course, you believe in the divine).
   

B. Reversible knockdown

1. "CRISPRi" like RNAi, turns off genes in a reversible fashion by targeting but not cutting a site.
   
2. RNA-guided CRISPR associated nuclease Cas9 is an effective way of targeting and silencing specific genes at the DNA level
   
3.  In bacteria, the presence of Cas9 alone is enough to block transcription, but for mammalian applications, a section of protein is added. Its guide RNA targets regulatory DNA, called promoters that immediately precede the gene target.
   

C. Activation

1. Cas9 was used to carry synthetic transcription factors (protein fragments that turn on genes) that activated specific human genes. The technique achieved a strong effect by targeting multiple CRISPR constructs to slightly different spots on the gene's promoter.
   
2. Some of the affected genes tied to human diseases, including those involved in muscle differentiation, cancer, inflammation and producing fetal hemoglobin.
   

D. Disease models

1. CRISPR simplifies creation of animals for research that mimic disease or show what happens when a gene is knocked down or mutated.
2. CRISPR may be used at the germline level to create animals where the gene is changed everywhere, or it may be locally targeted.

E. Populations

1. It may be possible to use CRISPR to build RNA-guided gene drives capable of altering the genomes of entire populations.
   

Major Threats

1. The Eastern Himalayas faces a number of serious issues that threaten the environment, biodiversity and human livelihoods of the region.
   
2. The most significant of which are climate change, habitat loss, species loss, and infrastructure (development). As a consequence less than 25% of the Eastern Himalayas' natural habitat remains intact, with some 163 native species considered globally threatened.
   
3. In its report, WWF warned of a series of threats to the species including population growth, deforestation, overgrazing, poaching, mining and hydropower development.
   

Climate Change

1. It is widely accepted that climate change is the main factor behind the accelerated glacier retreat observed in the Himalayas. The Eastern Himalayas have the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar region, and hold vast stores of fresh water. Continued climate change is predicted to lead to major changes in freshwater flows, with dramatic impacts on biodiversity, people and their livelihoods.
   

Habitat Loss

1. Conversion of forest to agriculture land and for development purposes, and the exploitation of forests for timber, fodder and fuel wood are some of the main threats to biodiversity in this region.
   
2. Other threats include wood-charcoal production and intensive grazing.
   

Species Loss

1. Poaching is a major threat to wildlife in the region, especially endangered species like tigers, elephants and rhinos, which have a high commercial value on the black market.
   
2. Killing wildlife also takes place as a result of human-wildlife conflict.
   

Infrastructure and Development

1. With development comes a greater demand for energy. The Eastern Himalayas relies on hydroelectric power, and the countires of the region are looking to take further advantage of this resource in the coming years.
   
2. The creation of numerous dams without due environmental impact assessment could lead to the submergence of arable lands and biodiversity hotspots. Not only would valley habitats be inundated by the creation of reservoirs, but villagers would be displaced. The effect of dams on fisheries and fish ecology is also a matter of concern
   

Why is it important to conserve?

1. The 211 new species discovered between 2009 and 2014 include 133 plants including orchids, 26 kinds of fish, 10 amphibians, 39 invertebrates, one reptile, one bird and a mammal.
   
2. Just 25 per cent of the region’s original habitats remain intact, and hundreds of species are considered to be globally threatened, the report released this week said.
   
3. “The challenge is to preserve our threatened ecosystems before these species, and others yet unknown, are lost,” said Sami Tornikoski, who heads the WWF Living Himalayas Initiative.
   

Measures needed to be taken

1. The report calls for more sustainable development in the region, singling out a need for greener hydropower plants and government assistance for communities to adapt to climate change.
   
2. About 113,000 km² (15 percent of the land area of the hotspot), is under some form of protection in the Himalaya region, although only 78,000 km² (roughly 10 percent) are in protected areas in IUCN categories I to IV.
   
3. While the earliest protected areas, in Assam, were established as wildlife sanctuaries in 1928 and 1934, most other protected areas in the region are relatively new, having been established only in the last three or four decades.
   
4. Many hill-tribe communities have traditionally recognized and protected sacred groves, which have served as effective refuges for biodiversity for centuries.
   
5. Today, several protected areas (Corbett National Park, Manas National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Chitwan National Park, and Sagarmatha National Park) have been distinguished as World Heritage Sites for their contribution to global biodiversity.
   
6. The biological corridors provide connectivity between parks and reserves for wildlife species such as tigers and snow leopard to follow seasonal movement of their prey species.
   
7. Transboundary conservation areas offer an important opportunity for conservation in the Himalaya region. The adjoining Manas National Park in Bhutan and Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam, India, is one such complex. Another important initiative is the plan to create a tri-national peace park with the Kanchanjunga Conservation Area in Nepal, the Kanchendzoga National Park in Sikkim, India, and an extension of the Qomolungma Nature Reserve in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
   
8. Nevertheless, many of the protected areas in the Himalayas, particularly in the lowlands along south-facing slopes, are too small to maintain viable populations of threatened species, and efforts should be made to expand conservation benefits to adjacent areas.
   
9. Furthermore, about 17 percent of the protected area system across the Himalayan Mountains consists of permanent rock and ice, majestic, but biologically impoverished habitats.
   
10. The protected area network in the Himalaya Hotspot needs to be expanded in a way that best protects biodiversity over the long term. In addition to biological corridors and conservation landscapes, biodiversity is best conserved through the conservation of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), sites holding populations of globally threatened or geographically restricted species.
    
11. KBAs are discrete biological units that contain species of global conservation concern and that can be potentially managed for conservation as a single unit.
    
12. The national governments, backed by international agencies such as the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, the European Union (EU), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), WWF, and the MacArthur Foundation, are supporting projects to improve protected area management, sustainable natural resources, and livelihoods.
    
13. Many of the largest projects target communities living in and around forested areas, with the idea that decreasing poverty and increasing awareness and ownership over resources will result in greater biodiversity conservation.
    

1. The World Bank has released new estimates that show that fewer than one in 10 people are now living in extreme poverty. In other words, more than 1.2 billion people have risen above the global poverty line over the past 25 years. The world seems to be on course to ending extreme poverty by 2030.
   
2. The past 25 years have seen impressive victories against the scourge of extreme poverty. The main credit should go to the rapid growth in incomes thanks to the opportunities provided by economic liberalization, especially in populous countries such as China and India. No amount of redistribution could have achieved the same result.
   
3. But the world also needs to focus on the next round of challenges, so that the poorest are able to use their latent capabilities to the best effect.
   

What now?

1. There are three big issues that need to be addressed as the world dreams of stamping out mass poverty by 2030.
   
2. what the global trend of slower economic growth, not just cyclically but perhaps in terms of lower levels of potential output, will mean for global poverty reduction.
   
3. the rise in inequality in most countries effectively means that a smaller part of every dollar of incremental output is flowing down to the poorest. That will hurt further progress in poverty reduction.
   
4. it is perhaps the right time for countries that have succeeded in rolling back extreme poverty to begin thinking beyond mere income poverty, so that more attention is paid to poverty in all its dimensions, from education to health to social mobility.
   

Additional information

1. The first global poverty line—people living on $1 or less per day, based on purchasing power parity (PPP)—was created by a team of economists led by Martin Ravallion in 1991. That was revised to $1.25 a day in 2005. The latest international poverty line by the World Bank is $1.90 a day.
   

How has global poverty fallen despite a sharp increase in the poverty benchmark?

1. The answer: new price surveys were conducted by the World Bank in 2011 in different countries. These surveys showed that price levels in poor countries were considerably lower, relative to those in the US, than earlier assumed. That made a massive difference in the way PPP incomes were calculated.
   

Poverty in India

New Method of poverty estimation

1. Only 12.4 per cent of India's population lived below the poverty line in 2011-12, the World Bank has said. It arrived at the figure using its new expenditure cut-off of $1.9 a person a day and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)'s new methodology of poverty estimation.
   
2. The World Bank, which scaled up its expenditure cut-off from $1.25 a day, said India's poverty rate was one of the lowest among developing countries, even if one used the previous NSSO methodology. The new cut-off is based on purchasing power parity (PPP) during 2011; the previous one was based on PPP for 2005.
   
3. This estimate fell to 12.4 per cent if the NSSO's new methodology of measuring monthly per capita household consumption expenditure (MPCE) was used, said a World Bank report, 'Ending Extreme Poverty and Sharing Prosperity’.
   
4. The new methodology is based on a modified mixed reference period, or the measure of MPCE when household consumer expenditure on most food items is recorded for a reference period of the past seven days. For household consumer expenditure on items of clothing and bedding, footwear, education, institutional medical care, and durable goods, a reference period of the past 365 days is used, while expenditure on all other items is recorded for a reference period of the past 30 days.
   
5. In the previous methodology, based on a uniform reference period, the MPCE was based on household consumer expenditure on each item for a reference period of the past 30 days.
   

World Bank Report- Facts

1. In India, reduction in income-based poverty rates was greater in states with higher initial poverty values.
   
2. In terms of multi-dimensional poverty, the trend appears to be divergent, with states with less poverty showing greater progress.
   
3. Infrastructure has played a crucial role in boosting the earnings of the poor in India.
   
4. Rural electrification has increased labour supply and promoted girl schooling by redistributing their time to tasks that encourage attendance, according to the report.
   
5. Investment in rail transportation has helped reduce the impact of adverse weather on agricultural prices and, consequently, real income.
   

Global Poverty

1. The report said at the global level, the number of people living in extreme poverty had likely fallen to 9.6 per cent of the entire population this year from 12.8 per cent in 2012, based on an income cut-off of $1.9 a day.
   
2. In absolute terms, the number of poor across the world fell from 902 million people in 2012 to 702 million, according to the report.
   
3. The global poverty target of three per cent by 2030 seems optimistic.
   
4. Poverty is likely to remain at 20.1 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for half the global poor.
   

Challenges to eradicating global poverty

1. "The economic growth outlook is less impressive for emerging economies in the near future, which will create new challenges in the fight to end poverty and attend to the needs of the vulnerable, especially those living at the bottom 40 per cent of their societies,”.
   
2. Poor structural characteristics of impoverished nations, the need to incorporate natural resources in economic decision-making, and adverse climate change were significant challenges to eradicating poverty, the World Bank report said.
   
3. It added poverty also extended to aspects such as lack of access to basic infrastructure, health, education and employment.
   
4. Even if income-based poverty was eradicated, it was likely that multi-dimensional poverty would persist in the short run, it said
   

Trans-Pacific Partnership

1. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement between dozen Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of economic policy.
   
2. Among other things, the TPP will seek to lower trade barriers such as tariffs, establish a common framework for intellectual property, enforce standards for labour law and environmental law, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.
   
3. The stated goal of the agreement is to "enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries, to promote innovation, economic growth and development, and to support the creation and retention of jobs.”
   
4. TPP is considered by the United States government as the companion agreement to TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a broadly similar agreement between the United States and the European Union.
   
5. Historically, the TPP is an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP or P4) which was signed by Brunei, Chile, Singapore, and New Zealand in 2006. Beginning in 2008, additional countries joined for a broader agreement: Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Vietnam, bringing the total number of participating countries to twelve.
   
6. Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact designed to boost commerce among nations that produce 40 per cent of global economic output.
   
7. The TPP eliminates or reduces tariff and non-tariff barriers across substantially all trade in goods and services and covers the full spectrum of trade so as to create new opportunities and benefits businesses, workers, and consumers. The agreement will provide duty-free trade on most goods, and reduced tariffs on others.
   
8. It facilitates production and supply chains, and seamless trade, enhancing efficiency and supporting the goal of creating and supporting jobs, raising living standards and enhancing conservation efforts.
   
9. TPP also includes specific commitments on development and trade capacity building, to ensure that all Parties are able to meet the commitments in the Agreement and take full advantage of its benefits.
   
10. It will also provide mutual recognition of many regulations, including an exclusivity period for biologic drugs, which are derived from living organisms, and patent protection for pharmaceuticals. That was one of the final topics that was settled in marathon talks, as developing nations sought to have quicker access to generic medications.
    
11. Negotiators also haggled over issues including Canada's supply management system for dairy and other agricultural products, Australia's demand for additional access to the US sugar market and regional value rules for automobiles and auto parts.
    

Member countries

• The 12 TPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US
  

Analysis

1. The interesting thing to note regarding the TPP is that the proposed trade deal will be a comprehensive deal for all TPP member countries that would range from providing market access for goods and services to ensuring strong and enforceable labour standards and strict adherence to standardized environmental commitments. Through the TPP, the Obama administration wants to ensure the vitality of American economic commitment to its allies and partner countries in the Asia-Pacific.
   
2. The conspicuous absence of China from the TPP grouping highlights the US need to write the rules of global trade and position itself at the epicenter of geo-economics. However, the US-led TPP would face increasing competition as China recently concluded a free trade agreement with Australia (ChAFTA) and South Korea and is pushing for a broader Asia-trade pact - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
   
3. If implemented, it would be the largest trade deal the US has negotiated since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994. The three signatories to that agreement, the US, Canada and Mexico, are included in this one, as is Japan.
   
4. Supporters of the pact argue that the TPP will make it easier to sell made-in-America goods and services overseas and support US jobs and economic growth.
   
5. Opponents argue that it will lead to additional outsourcing of US jobs. They are expected to pressure Congress to reject that pact.
   

TPP impact on India

1. The TPP is an economic arm of the US Rebalance to Asia Policy. Since India has been an important part of the Asia policy, and is not a signatory to the TPP, there are widespread speculations as to how the TPP will impact India.
   
2. While several opine that the overall impact is uncertain at this point, there are various channels through which the TPP can affect India.
   
3. For instance, India's exports are going to be impacted when the TPP is in place as there would be significant diversion in trade and foreign investments from the Indian market. A large portion of India's exports are in services. With the anticipated reduction in barriers to trade in services among TPP members, there is the possibility that some of India's services exports to those countries will be replaced by services trade with the TPP member countries.
   
4. The TPP would set a precedent to high global standards and in the event of India's failure to mature and revitalize its manufacturing industry, and induce efficiency in its export sector, it would be increasingly difficult for India to be able to export even if it's a part of RCEP.
   
5. Even though TPP is open for new members, the standards set by TPP are too high for India to join. India may not be able to meet many of the commitments, for instance the supply chain management or regulatory coherence among others.
   
6. By not being a part of TPP, India is going to lose the preferential access to the US market which is a big market for Indian exports, however, the extent of the impact from trade diversion would depend on the concessions finally agreed.
   
7. India is in negotiations with the US on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), but the success of negotiations on the BIT would depend on the relevant standards of the BIT agreement whether they are at par with the TPP level or below the level. In case, the standards set by BIT are at par with TPP level, then the challenges for the Indian exporters would remain the same and eventually there would be an urgent necessity to improve Indian manufacturing efficiency standards, procedures and processes.
   
8. India's bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) with some of the TPP members - Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore - and FTAs, which are underway with Australia, Canada and New Zealand, may dilute the impact of trade diversion caused by TPP to some extent.
   
9. With the TPP in place, Indian industries are likely to face trade diversion effects in some of the key sectors such as textiles and clothing industries.
   
10. The United States accounts for 30-35% of India's ready-made garments exports and the TPP is expected to affect India's textile and clothing sector in two ways:First, TPP member countries will get preferential access in the US market vis-a-vis exporters such as India. This would disadvantage India as US import duties on ready-made garments are high; Secondly, the 'Yarn Forward Rule'-- a key feature of the TPP -- makes it mandatory to source yarn, fabric and other inputs from any or a combination of TPP partner countries to avail duty preference. This would change the dynamics of the existing global supply chain in textile and clothing sector. This is one instance of the adverse impact of TPP on India. Similarly, the loss of market access may also impact other products such as grains and other crops, processed food and heavy manufacturing.
11. Indian exports will be adversely impacted more due to the non-tariff measures rather than tariff measures as the tariff measures are already low in larger markets such as the US and EU.
    
12. In addition to labour and environmental regulations, intellectual property rights (IPR) protection is a significant component to the TPP negotiations. The IPR standards are much more demanding than those of WTO. Most of the standards in the TPP negotiations are to converge to US standards or to the standards of developed markets. There is expectation of significant foreign investment diversion from India and since, a large proportion of India's exports are in services, the impact would be significant.
    
13. BIT negotiation may shelter India for some of the adverse impacts of the TPP, however, the BIT negotiations would be a long-drawn process. There still exists a vast divergence on issues of IPR and market access which is unlikely to be in favour of India as the TPP reduces India's bargaining power with the US. Lastly, RCEP also has members who are part of TPP. Due to overlap of members, it is expected that the standards for RCEP would also to an extent converge to the even higher standards of TPP. This would require significant efforts by India to reform its domestic policies to comply with the same or be left out of the growth in global trade which would be witnessed due to these multilateral trading arrangements.
    
14. A new 'trade order' is expected with much higher standards congruous to TPP standards and hence, efforts are required on the domestic front for India to acquire preparedness across industries to be able to compete globally.
    

The Centre is going to implement a comprehensive plan to develop Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, for an integrated modernisation of the region, under its 'Sagarmala' initiative. The plan is to develop these islands under the 'Swiss challenge system', where third parties make offers (challenges) for a project within a designated period to avoid exaggerated project costs.

Sagarmala initiative

1. Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative of the Government of India to modernize India's Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India's growth.
   
2. It looks towards "transforming the existing Ports into modern world class Ports and integrate the development of the Ports, the Industrial clusters and hinterland and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland and coastal waterways resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity in coastal areas.”
   
3.  On 25 March 2015 Cabinet gave approval for this project to develop 12 ports of India and also 1208 Islands.
   
4. The Union Ministry of Shipping is the nodal ministry for this initiative .
   
5. A National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC), comprising of the Minister incharge of Shipping, with Cabinet Ministers from stakeholder Ministries and Chief Ministers/Ministers incharge of ports of maritime states as members, will provide policy direction and guidance for the initiative’s implementation, shall approve the overall National Perspective Plan (NPP) and review the progress of implementation of these plans.
   

What is the Swiss Challenge method?

1. “Swiss challenge method is a new process of giving contracts...Any person with credentials can submit a development proposal to the government. That proposal will be made online and a second person can give suggestions to improve and beat that proposal.”
   
2. An expert committee will accept the best proposal and the original proposer will get a chance to accept it if it is an improvement on his proposal.
   
3. In case the original proposer is not able to match the more attractive and competing counter proposal, the project will be awarded to the counter-proposal.
   

Is it new in India?

1. The Swiss challenge method is one that has been used in India by various states including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Gujarat for roads and housing projects.
2. In 2009, the Supreme Court approved the method for award of contracts.

How different is it from the public-private partnership (PPP)?

This method can be applied to projects that are taken up on a PPP basis but can also be used to supplement PPP in sectors that are not covered under the PPP framework.

DEVELOPMENT ROAD MAP FOR ISLANDS

1. Island development consultant to be appointed
   
2. Islands with more than two square km of area to be considered for the project
   
3. Phase I: Assessment, shortlisting of islands, creation of island clusters
   
4. Phase II: Identification of development potential and opportunities for shortlisted clusters
   
5. Phase III: Creation of detailed development plans and selection of implementation agency
   
6. Phase IV: Project implementation monitoring
   

CURRENT STATUS OF IMMUNIZATION IN INDIA

1. Universal Immunization Program (UIP) performed quite well in the first decade of its introduction in India. Between 1985 to 1995, the coverage levels for various vaccines reached 70-85% and the incidence of various VPDs rapidly declined in the country .
   
2. However, since then, there has been a decline by 15 to 20% in the coverage of different vaccines .
   
3. Surveys carried out during National Family Health Survey (NFHS) I, II and III and by independent agencies such as UNICEF, have revealed that the coverage levels may be lower by as much as 15-40%, compared to reported levels of coverage in the UIP.
   
4. Indeed, there are a few states in India that have efficiently running UIP and several that do not.
   
5. According to most recent Coverage Evaluation Survey (CES) 2009, a nationwide survey covering all States and Union Territories of India conducted during November 2009 to January 2010 by UNICEF, the national fully immunized (FI) coverage against the six vaccines included in UIP in the age-group of 12-23 month old children is 61% whereas it was 54.1% and 47.3% as reported by District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3) (2007-08) and NFHS-III (2005-06), respectively.
   
6. There is gradual albeit a slow progress in the performance of RI in India over last few years. There is marginal improvement in many states recently. Six states with high population contribute to 80% of 8.1 million unimmunized children in the country, 52% of the total unimmunized reside in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alone .
   

Vaccine barriers

The Indian government must seek solutions to barriers that prevent children from receiving vaccinations. These barriers include:

1. Gender disparities, procurement and delivery challenges, too few frontline health workers and lack of information or misinformation on the benefits of immunization.
   
2. Lack of faith in vaccination at the family level, particularly among family elders, lack of vaccine related knowledge, fear of side effects of vaccination, lack of family support, lack of knowledge of the place and day of immunization, uncertainty of service provision, and limited counseling by health workers  
   
3. Apart from the above mentioned barriers, there are some other challenges to achieving high RI rates and they include inadequate delivery of health services (supply shortages, vacant staff positions, lack of training); lack of accountability, inadequate supervision and monitoring; lack of micro-planning at district level; general lack of inter-sectoral coordination resulting in missing opportunities to improve immunization coverage and quality; lack of support for ANMs from other staff at the health centers; parental time constraints and parental nonacceptance of immunization .
   
4. The above barriers are further compounded by a weak VPD surveillance system in the country. There is lack of disease burden data on many important VPDs in India that results in the perception that the disease is not important public health problem.
   
5. Further, there is utter lack of diagnostic tools for certain VPDs. Lack of baseline surveillance data also is a bottleneck in monitoring the impact of vaccination. These challenges need to be addressed to improve the Immunization Program’s performance in India.
   
6. On the other hand, women’s education, knowledge of the next scheduled immunization date, knowledge of the side effects of vaccination, awareness of risk if the child is not fully immunized, credibility of frontline workers as a source of information, and ensuring the availability of health providers and supplies were found to be key facilitating factors for full immunization
   

WHAT IS NEEDED?

1. Address the barriers to achieve high RI rates
   
2. Induct innovative methods to improve RI
   
3. Proper monitoring of the program
   
4. Develop effective surveillance systems
   
5. Integrated delivery of health interventions
   
6. Improving operational efficiency and ‘Reaching every community
   
7. Clear-cut policies on new/ underutilized vaccines
   

India has made remarkable progress in achieving the MDG health-related targets.

1. The country has been able to substantially reduce its under-five mortality rate from 126 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 53 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. Smart initiatives, such as the Call to Action, India’s Newborn Action Plan and the Integrated Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea, have paid tremendous health dividends.
   

But there is still a long way to go.

1. Of the nearly six million children under the age of five who die from preventable causes every year around the world, 21 per cent are from India. Many of these children die because of malnutrition and infectious diseases.
   
2. These deaths could be prevented by adopting a comprehensive and integrated approach to child health, one that focuses on nutrition, safe water, improved sanitation, micronutrient supplements and vaccination against preventable pneumonia and diarrhoea.
   
3. However, to truly reach the children most likely to die before their fifth birthday, India will have to focus on its most vulnerable children — children who are poor, live in rural areas or face discrimination because of ethnicity, caste, gender or disability.
   
4. The recently launched Mission Indradhanush seeks to do just this. This programme aims to increase national immunization coverage rates and expand the reach of the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), which is already the world’s largest immunization initiative.
   

Mission Indradhanush

1. By 2020, Mission Indradhanush aims to immunize at least 90 per cent of the children and women who have so far remained unvaccinated or did not receive the full recommended doses.
   
2. It focuses on 201 high-priority districts and marginalized population groups where immunization coverage is low, exclusion and dropout rates for routine immunization are high, and the risk for disease outbreaks, including polio, is only too real.
   
3. By focusing on those who are traditionally left out of the public health system, such as children from tribal communities, child labourers, street children and children living in informal settlements, the Mission Indradhanush programme offers a model of how investment and interventions can serve the children who most need the help.
   

Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri's contribution to our public life were unique in that they were made in the closest proximity to the life of the common man in India. Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri was looked upon by Indians as one of their own, one who shared their ideals, hopes and aspirations. His achievements were looked upon not as the isolated achievements of an individual but of our society collectively.

Before Independence

1. Shastri joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. Deeply impressed and influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, he became a loyal follower, first of Gandhi, and then of Jawaharlal Nehru. Following independence in 1947, he joined the latter's government and became one of Prime Minister Nehru's principal lieutenants, first as Railways Minister (1951–56), and then in a variety of other functions, including Home Minister.
   
2. Shastri as Prime Minister continued Nehru's policies of non-alignment and socialism. He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. His slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer") became very popular during the war and is remembered even today
   
3. In January 1921, when Shastri was in the 10th standard and three months from sitting the final examinations, he attended a public meeting in Benares hosted by Gandhi and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Inspired by the Mahatma's call for students to withdraw from government schools and join the non-cooperation movement, Shastri withdrew from Harish Chadra the next day and joined the local branch of the Congress Party as a volunteer, actively participating in picketing and anti-government demonstrations. He was soon arrested and jailed, but was then let off as he was still a minor
   
4. Shastri enrolled himself as a life member of the Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal), founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, and began to work for the upliftment of the Harijans under Gandhi's direction at Muzaffarpur. Later he became the President of the Society.
   
5. Shastri participated in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930. He was imprisoned for two and a half years. Later, he worked as the Organizing Secretary of the Parliamentary Board of U.P. in 1937. In 1940, he was sent to prison for one year, for offering individual Satyagraha support to the independence movement.
   
6. On 8 August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi issued the Quit India speech at Gowalia Tank in Mumbai, demanding that the British leave India. Shastri, who had just then come out after a year in prison, travelled to Allahabad. For a week, he sent instructions to the independence activists from Jawaharlal Nehru's home, Anand Bhavan. A few days later, he was arrested and imprisoned until 1946. Shastri spent almost nine years in jail in total.
   

After Independence

1. Following India's independence, Shastri was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in his home state, Uttar Pradesh. He became the Minister of Police and Transport under Govind Ballabh Pant's Chief Ministership. As the Transport Minister, he was the first to appoint women conductors. As the minister in charge of the Police Department, he ordered that police use jets of water instead of lathis to disperse unruly crowds.
   
2.  His tenure as police minister (As Home Minister was called prior to 1950) saw successful curbing of communal riots in 1947, mass migration and resettlement of refugees
   
3. In 1951, Shastri was made the General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister. He was directly responsible for the selection of candidates and the direction of publicity and electioneering activities. He played an important role in the landslide successes of the Congress Party in the Indian General Elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962.
   
4. He served as the Minister of Railways and Transport in the Central Cabinet from 1952 to 1956. As the Railway Minister Shastri installed the 1st Machine at Integral Coach Factory ICF Chennai on 20.02.1955.
   
5. In 1957, Shastri returned to the Cabinet following the General Elections, first as the Minister for Transport and Communications, and then as the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
   
6.  In 1961, he became Home Minister. As Union Home Minister, he was instrumental in appointing the Committee on Prevention of Corruption under the Chairmanship of K. Santhanam.
   
7. During his tenure as Home Minister he created the famous "Shastri Formula" to contain the language agitations in the states of Assam and Punjab acceptable to all section of people.
   
8. Jawaharlal Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964 and left a void. Then Congress Party President K. Kamaraj was instrumental in making Shastri Prime Minister on 9 June. Shastri, though mild-mannered and soft-spoken, was a Nehruvian socialist and thus held appeal to those wishing to prevent the ascent of conservative right-winger Morarji Desai.
   
9. Shastri's tenure witnessed the Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. To calm the situation, Shastri gave assurances that English would continue to be used as the official language as long the non-Hindi speaking states wanted. The riots subsided after Shastri's assurance, as did the student agitation.
   
10. Shastri continued Nehru's socialist economic policies with central planning. He promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and creating the National Dairy Development Board.
    
11. While speaking on the chronic food shortages across the country, Shastri urged people to voluntarily give up one meal so that the food saved could be distributed to the affected populace. However he ensured that he first implemented the system in his own family before appealing to the country. Many parts of the country observed the "Shastri Vrat". He motivated the country to maximize the cultivation of food grains by ploughing the lawn himself, at his official residence in New Delhi.
    
12. During the 22-day war with Pakistan in 1965, On 19 October 1965, Shastri gave the seminal ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kishan’ ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer")slogan at Urwa in Allahabad that became a national slogan.
    
13. Underlining the need to boost India's food production. Shastri also promoted the Green Revolution. Though he was a socialist, Shastri stated that India cannot have a regimented type of economy.
    
14. For using our Defence Forces with such admirable skill, the nation remains beholden to Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. He will be remembered for all times to come for his large heartedness and public service.
    
15. Shastri continued Nehru's policy of non-alignment but also built closer relations with the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the formation of military ties between the Chinese People's Republic and Pakistan, Shastri's government decided to expand the defence budget of India's armed forces.
    

War with Pakistan

1. Shastri's greatest moment came when he led India in the 1965 Indo-Pak War.
   
2. Laying claim to half the Kutch peninsula, the Pakistani army skirmished with Indian forces in August, 1965.
   
3. Under a scheme proposed in June 1965 by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Pakistan obtained 10%, in place of their original claim of 50% of the territory.
   
4. But Pakistan's aggressive intentions were also focused on Kashmir. When armed infiltrators from Pakistan began entering the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Shastri made it clear to Pakistan that force would be met with force.
   
5.  In September 1965, major incursions of militants and Pakistani soldiers began, hoping not only to break down the government but incite a sympathetic revolt. The revolt did not happen, and India sent its forces across the Ceasefire Line (now Line of Control) and threatened Pakistan by crossing the International Border near Lahore as war broke out on a general scale. Massive tank battles occurred in the Punjab, and while the Pakistani forces made some gains, Indian forces captured the key post at Haji Pir, in Kashmir, and brought the Pakistani city of Lahore under artillery and mortar fire.
   
6. The Indo-Pak war ended on 23 September 1965 with a United Nations-mandated ceasefire. By that time, India had inflicted a crushing defeat on Pakistan. In a broadcast to the nation on the day the of ceasefire.
   

Analysis of his handling of 1965 conflict

1. It is interesting then that narratives often understate the tragically short-lived Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s significant contribution to the handling of the 1965 conflict.
   
2. It is ironic that he’s often accused of “losing the war on the diplomatic table at Tashkent” or remembered for the intrigue surrounding his death.
   
3. During the Rann of Kutch incident, a probing exercise by the Pakistani forces in early 1965, Shastri withstood immense pressure from the opposition to resolving the issue through an international tribunal. Having agreed to the ceasefire, his government survived a no-confidence motion to defend the decision of arbitration. Very few knew, reveals Srivastava, that Army Chief J.N. Chaudhuri and Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh were against escalating the conflict, as the terrain was unsuitable for large-scale operations by India.
   
4. Shastri’s ability to lead and carry the nation in the face of surprise attacks was exemplified during the failed attempt by Pakistan to stir an uprising in Kashmir in August 1965. Shastri responded with a clear policy response: India would not approach the UNSC and defend its territorial integrity; no interference from Pakistan would be tolerated; contingency plans — especially vis a vis China — would be prepared; and the nation would be kept abreast of all government decisions.
   
5. Indian forces had to capture the Haji Pir Pass and the Kishen Ganga bulge, the two supply routes for infiltration into the valley to thwart the attacks. This operation required crossing the Cease Fire Line. In another bold first for India, the forces were assured of the firm backing of the Prime Minister and told the government would handle the consequences.
   
6. The boldest decision came in September 1965, when Pakistani Patton tanks rolled into Chambh in J&K, aiming to capture Amritsar and more. When advised that to defend Kashmir, a diversionary attack in West Pakistan was needed to push enemy forces on the defensive, Shastri’s iron will came into play.
   
7. Even his much-criticised decision to “return Haji Pir pass” during the Tashkent Conference, it is argued, was not done under pressure. His biography reveals that Shastri knew international opinion would shift if India refused, as it was a pre-requisite to the UNSC ceasefire resolution.