THE BIG PUSH
What is the mood in the corridors of power? The Conclave resounded with the upbeat speeches of ministers determined to make things happen
STATUS QUO, YOU KNOW, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in’,” said former US president Ronald Reagan. The realisation of the “mess” and the urgency to get out of it could perhaps best define the agenda of the ministers, both from the Centre and the states, who spoke at the India Today Conclave. The focus was unanimous—to deliver results and usher in reforms. They were aware of the changing demography of the country. They carefully avoided the old rhetoric of freebies and doles, caste and religion and regional disparity. The discourse had new vocabulary, with “development” as an indispensable watchword. “Status quo” was a keenly detested phrase. The churn of development impacted everything: from Centre-state relations to urban development, and from pathbreaking tax reforms to drafting the new education policy. Four Union ministers, three chief ministers and the president of India’s ruling party offered a rare look at their vision of the new India.
M. VENKAIAH NAIDU Union Minister for Urban Development, Poverty Alleviation and Information and Broadcasting WHAT’S YOUR FOCUS? My focus is ‘City’—Civic Infrastructure to You. The government is focused on revival and strengthening of urban governance. HOW DO YOU INTEND TO DELIVER? With launch of the smart city mission, Amrut, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Housing for All and poverty alleviation programmes.
Local bodies are comparatively stronger now because the Centre has decided to transfer 42 per cent of Central revenue to the states and 5 per cent to local bodies, as well as 2 per cent for natural calamity management and 0.5 per cent to the judiciary. With this, the states will be in a better position to take care of local bodies. HOW TO MAKE YOUR CITY SMART
The prime minister wants the people’s participation in government schemes. Our government wants to let every city prepare itself. The people should decide what sort of city they want. This experiment is proving very useful because people are taking interest and participating in large numbers.
Transparency is important. Everything should be available on the internet. People should know what is happening in their city: the tax collected, how it is spent, and on what.
Every municipality will prepare a plan in accordance with central guidelines. If citizens want smart cities, they must also contribute. They must be willing to pay taxes—24 x 7 water, electricity and transport facilities have to be paid for.
Cities have been asked to become credit-worthy—we are adopting the public-private partnership model. The Centre is giving Rs 500 crore, and the state will match that; but even this is not sufficient. We are allowing FDI as well.
The major focus is on housing for all. In the recent budget proposals, the prime minister has offered tax concessions for affordable housing. MANTRA FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE Reform, perform, transform and inform. REALITY CHECK The smart city mission will take time. It’s not like Aladdin’s lamp—smart cities will not become a reality overnight.
PRAKASH JAVADEKAR Union Minister for Human Resource Development “Education empowers. Even from a slum, one can become a scientist, a businessman, an IAS officer or can secure a top position in a firm. But that transformation can happen only with education.”
QUALITY TEST
The Right to Education Act was enacted in 2006, but learning outcomes were not defined. In the past two years, we have defined these at various levels. We are going to completely overhaul teachers’ education.
The main theme of reform in higher education is research and innovation. Start-ups have been allowed to operate from IIT hostel rooms.
Under the Global Research Interactive Network (GRIN) programme, students will be provided scholarships and the opportunity to work with reputed foreign laboratories. The HRD ministry has proposed that selected PhD fellows from the IITs should receive Rs 75,000 per month under the PM’s Research Fellowship Programme. .
The open online courses platform ‘Swayam’ will host over 2,000 courses for up to 30 million students.
The ‘Smart India Hackathon 2017’ is a challenge to technology students to offer innovative solutions to some of the daunting problems faced by our nation; 42,000 students are working under this initiative.
We have a faculty exchange programme through which we are getting reputed experts as faculty for our institutes. Last year, 200 such people came. This year, 600 will be coming. RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD Union Minister for Law, Justice and Information Technology
WHAT IS DIGITAL INDIA?
Digital India is all about empowering the poor. Digital India, Make in India, Skill India, Startup India, Standup India are transformational programmes designed to bridge the digital divide and make India a technology-enabled, empowered society. The whole focus is to make India a country of good governance, faster delivery and accountability.
DIGITAL PROFILE OF INDIA
1.08 billion mobile phones 1.12 billion Aadhaar cardholders 500 million with access to internet 350 million with smartphones 1,79, 000 kilometres of optical fiber laid in the past 30 months
10 million people digitally literate currently. In the next three years, that number will rise to 60 million
DID YOU KNOW?
In the past 30 months, India has added a number of mobile phones equal to the population of France and Italy combined.
270 million Jan Dhan accounts have been linked to mobile phone numbers and Aadhaar cards. Subsidies given to the poor reach their bank accounts directly. The government authenticates 30 million transactions every day, at zero cost. Rs 1.27 lakh crore has been invested in electronic manufacturing, up from Rs 11,000 crore in 2014.
To empower farmers, we have launched e-mandis, removing the influence of middlemen. Today, 250 e-mandis are available—that will be increased to 550.
MY PASSION
Commerce service centres run by women that deliver digital services such as issuing Aadhaar and PAN cards and booking railway tickets. There are 200,000 such centres and we will scale it up to 250,000.