India Last Week #30
A round-up of research & reportage on India across climate, energy, foreign policy, politics & more over the last week
Climate, Energy & Environment -
“The approach from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on Sept. 15, 2021 came out of the blue. The federal agency, tasked with developing the solar sector, wanted to know if the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh would like to sign India's largest renewables contract. Two years earlier, Andhra Pradesh's energy regulator had said in a 10-year forecast the state had no short-term need for solar power, and should focus on other renewables that could provide 24-hour energy. But just a day after SECI approached the state government, the 26-member state cabinet led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the deal its preliminary approval, according to cabinet records seen by Reuters… By Nov. 11, the state government had secured the nod from the energy regulator. On Dec. 1, state authorities signed a procurement agreement with SECI for the deal, which could eventually be worth over $490 million annually. As much as 97% of that will go to Adani Green, the renewables unit of the billionaire's Adani Group conglomerate, according to documents related to the agreement, reviewed by Reuters.” Read more: Sarita Chaganti Singh and Sudarshan Varadhan, Reuters
“Tata Steel Ltd. said it has operationalised an all-women shift at its Noamundi Iron Mine starting Monday reinforcing its commitment to women’s empowerment. “This initiative, India’s first, underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to creating an equitable workplace and empowering women in traditionally male-dominated industries,” the company said in a statement. This shift will comprise women employees for all the mining activities of the shift including Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM), shovel, loader, drill, dozer operators, and shift supervision. The all-women shift was flagged off by Shyam Sundar Prasad, Dy. Director General, Mines Safety, SE Region, Ranchi, Jharkhand.” Read more: Lalatendu Mishra, The Hindu
“Two days later, YSR Congress Party, which was in power in Andhra Pradesh between 2019 and 2024 under Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, responded by arguing that its government had not entered into any agreement with Adani Group. Instead, it said, its power purchase contract was with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), an enterprise owned by the government of India. But this defence did not hold. SECI is an intermediary between solar developers and state-owned electricity distribution companies, known as discoms… Denying any loss to state customers due to this PPA, for instance, it has been reported that YSRCP wanted to give all 7 gigawatts (GW) as ‘free power’ to rural areas… TNM’s reporting, however, shows that the PPAs did result in Andhra being saddled with higher electricity costs. So bribery, as alleged by the SEC, is not the only possible malfeasance here. Questions also surround the decisions taken by SECI, the Ministry of Power, and the YSRCP government. TNM sent questions to YSRCP, SECI, and the Ministry of Power. Of the three, YSRCP replied – and its answers have been incorporated into this report.” Read more: M. Rajshekhar, The News Minute
“The Jharkhand government initiated the process for legal action to realise "Rs 1.36 lakh crore coal dues” from the Centre. The government issued a notification on Tuesday authorising Secretary, Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms to commence the legal procedure to realise the dues. The development came shortly after the state government announced in its first cabinet meeting last month that it would take legal action to get its dues… “In case of obstacles in payments by subsidiaries of Coal India in lieu of washed coal royalty dues, common cause dues etc, steps should be taken to resolve this in consultation with the Advocate General,” the notification said. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, too, had said after being sworn in last month that legal action would be initiatied to realise the dues. Earlier, he had requested the Centre “with folded hands” to clear the multi-crore coal dues to the state.” Read more: Energy World
Economy -
“Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are a vital contributor to India’s growth, but their share in the economic pie has stagnated over the years despite initiatives for credit access, formalization and employment. The MSME Ministry has a target of increasing the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 50 percent by 2025. It is likely to miss the deadline, as the economic impact of Covid-19 weighs on industries. MSMEs’ share in the GDP was 32.3 percent in FY15 and declined to 30.5 percent in FY20 (per-pandemic level). It fell further to 27.3 percent in FY21 during the pandemic and in FY23 reached 30.1 percent, a shade below the pre-pandemic level… The government launched the Udyam portal in July 2020 to register MSMEs and make them a part of the formal economy. Since FY21, the number of new MSMEs registered on the portal has increased significantly.” Read more: Yash Kumar Singhal, Business Standard
“The recent absolute increase in agricultural employment, while perhaps an aberration, is a symptom of a worrying predicament of paucity of jobs growth in the non-farm sector. The share of manufacturing employment, despite firm policies, has remained stagnant at around 12 percent. The share of manufacturing in GDP itself has not gone beyond 15% in the last two decades’ despite policies such as “Make in India” and Production Linked Incentives (PLI) being put in place precisely for this reason… There is no doubt that India will be an economic force of reckoning at a future point in time. A young population that will peak in 2050 with a billion strong labour force can however be a double-edged sword. Thus even as India records rapid growth, it must ensure that growth is more inclusive and sustainable. So what can be done? The examples of Korea and China suggest that a more predictable and better regulatory environment – along with effective and impartial enforcement — will be critical… And finally for growth to be equitable and sustained, India desperately needs to upgrade its social infrastructure – education, skilling, healthcare–so that firms do not continue to complain they cannot find adequately skilled, healthy and educated workers for their units.” Read more: Rajat Kathuria, India’s World
“Contrary to the conventional notion of poverty, India’s poverty rate captures poverty experienced temporarily by people who would not usually be considered poor. Similarly, it reflects the fact that some ‘poor’ people are not poor for the full year… In some ways this de facto notion of poverty, by bringing in a temporal dimension, captures the challenges of deprivation more accurately than what is captured by the narrower, conventional notion of poverty. In other ways, the de facto poverty rate can obscure aspects of households’ choices and economic conditions… The conventional poverty rate would indeed be useful to policy makers, but it is not directly measurable with the existing NSS data. For example, current poverty rates make it more difficult to talk about the ‘poor’ as a group, since the de facto measures capture a variety of experiences of poverty, many of which are transient or seasonal.” Read more: Joshua Merfeld and Jonathan Morduch, Ideas for India
“The Indian stock market has been under pressure for three consecutive sessions. On Wednesday, December 18, both the Sensex and Nifty 50 declined by 0.80 per cent during intraday trade. The selling was not confined to bluechips only as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declined by a per cent… The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms has dropped to nearly ₹453 lakh crore from about ₹459 lakh crore on Friday, December 13, making investors poorer by about ₹6 lakh crore in three sessions… India's trade deficit widened to an all-time high in November, primarily due to high gold imports. As Mint reported earlier, the trade deficit, or the amount by which the value of imports exceeds exports, hit a record $37.84 billion, compared with $21.31 billion in November 2023. A Bloomberg economists’ poll had predicted a deficit of $23 billion. After the Q2 GDP prints came to the lowest in nearly two years and showed growth slowing for the third consecutive quarter, the higher trade deficit numbers have come as a fresh blow to sentiment.” Read more: Nishant Kumar, Mint
Foreign Policy & Security -
“An iconic photograph of the Pakistani Army signing the Instrument of Surrender in Dhaka in 1971 has been removed from the office of the Indian Army chief, The Telegraph reported on Saturday. The photograph has been replaced by a painting that incorporates imagery from the Hindu epic Mahabharata and an illustration of ancient philosopher Chanakya alongside tanks, helicopters, submarines and soldiers. Several social media users, including military veterans, questioned the decision to replace the photograph in the Army chief’s office… Lieutenant General (Retd) HS Panag said on X: “The photo/ painting symbolising India’s first major military victory in a 1000 years... has been removed by a hierarchy which believes that mythology, religion and distant fragmented feudal past will inspire future victories.” Former Air Vice-Marshal Manmohan Bahadur questioned the aim behind the decision to remove the photograph from the Army chief’s office.” Read more: Scroll
“Amid its ongoing conflict with Armenia which has been buying several weapons and defence systems from India, Azerbaijan has via a third country indicated it wants to purchase weapons from New Delhi to balance the scales, ThePrint has learnt. However, the request, which came through a very friendly country, was ignored by India. It is learnt that New Delhi has made it clear to the friendly country that India will decide its bilateral relations and priorities, and does not want any other country to be a middleman… Yerevan has in recent years turned to India to beef up its armed forces—amid its conflict with Azerbaijan—and purchased rocket-launchers, artillery guns, ammunition, sniper rifles, anti-tank missiles. Armenia is looking at the possibility of procuring Astra missiles to strengthen its fleet of Sukhoi Su30 fighter aircraft, as reported by ThePrint earlier. For India, Armenia has not only been a consistent defence partner, it is also viewed as a political partner in the region and has close ties with France.” Read more: Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint
“THE December 15-17 visit of Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) to New Delhi is in keeping with a long-established practice of newly elected Sri Lankan presidents visiting India on their first official trip abroad. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the only exception. Delhi made him wait a year. Of late, a significant modification to this ritual points to how much has changed about India’s diplomacy in Sri Lanka. Now, the Indian External Affairs Minister goes to Colombo first to invite the new President. AKD is no stranger to Delhi. India began wooing the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader months ahead of the presidential elections, when opinion polls showed him consistently leading the pack of possible contenders… Dissanayake stated recently that he does not wish Sri Lanka to be ‘sandwiched’ in the geopolitical rivalries of India and China. Both are ‘valued friends’, he said. But he also knows which valued friend was ready to the rescue at the height of the economic crisis. India pulled together $4 billion in short order to help Colombo avert a deterioration in what was already a bad situation, while China stood by with folded hands.” Read more: Nirupama Subramanian, The Tribune
“Morocco is positioning itself as a strategic hub for Indian defense manufacturers looking to expand their footprint in Africa and Europe, as was demonstrated during a recent India-Morocco defense industry seminar in Rabat. “Morocco and India enjoy excellent bilateral relations based on mutual respect, and have every potential to pursue their positive momentum in various fields, including defense,” stated Abdellatif Loudiyi, Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Head of the Government in charge of national defense administration, during the December 9-10 seminar… The seminar, jointly organized by both countries’ defense ministries, the Indian Embassy in Morocco, and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, comes at a significant time as the Tata Group prepares to establish India’s first defense manufacturing facility in Morocco. This development marks a major milestone in bilateral defense cooperation between the two nations… Loudiyi highlighted how this strategic partnership with Tata focuses on the local production of the WhAP 8x8 ground combat vehicle, noting that it “opens up promising prospects for investors interested in the defense and high-tech sectors.” The project, scheduled for completion within 36 months, will begin with a 35% local integration rate, expected to increase to 50%, creating 90 direct and 250 indirect jobs.” Read more: Adil Faouzi, Morocco World News
People & Politics -
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi was talking to a gathering in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr in January. “In the ten years of our government’s rule, 25 crore people — this is a big number — 25 crore people have been lifted out of poverty,” he said. The number had been rigged by his government in a pre-planned manner to spruce up its image. This investigation by The Reporters’ Collective reveals how the dubious statistic was produced as a result of a discreet operation launched on the instructions of the Prime Minister’s office to counter select global rankings, such as the UN’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, in which the Indian government scores poorly… A senior advisor of Niti Aayog, government’s top think tank, is on record admitting that under instructions from the top, the UN’s Multidimensional Poverty Index was one of the 30 indices that the government monitored and reviewed, and eventually countered with a self-serving alternative, because it showed India in “poor light”… The same documents show the government had rigged the results of its poverty index long before even the framework for the new poverty index was finalised. The index on poverty was pre-ordained to show poverty is reducing because of government interventions.” Read more: Shreegireesh Jalihal, The Reporters’ Collective
“The dust had barely begun to settle over the contestable remarks made by prime minister Narendra Modi during the parliamentary debate on India’s constitution, when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge intervened to fact-check many of his assertions against India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress... As Kharge elaborated on Modi’s alleged “falsehoods”, he also cited the RSS’s mouthpiece Organiser to show how BJP’s previous avatar Jan Sangh and other Hindutva organisations did not approve of the national flag… The two speeches have triggered a sharp debate among observers on how parliament should respond if a prime minister has misled or advanced falsehoods on record. Former secretary-general of the Lok Sabha secretariat P.D.T. Achary told The Wire that the Congress could move a Breach of Privilege motion in the parliament to decide whether the prime minister can be punished or not.” Read more: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, The Wire
“The years 1976 and 1978 sealed Sambhal’s stereotype with two violent clashes in as many years — just before the 1980 Moradabad riots that triggered a wave of violence across Uttar Pradesh… The fear and the fury explain why tensions came to a head this year, on 24 November, when locals clashed with the police after a team arrived to survey the Jama Masjid. It was based on a court case that claimed the mosque was built on the site of Harihar Mandir, which is where Kalki — the final avatar of Vishnu — is meant to be born. The satyug, the golden age according to Hinduism, is supposed to start in Sambhal — with Kalki's birth. Instead, there was a clash that left at least five Muslim men dead, and all of Sambhal terrified. Now, the town is desperately engaged in a memory-making exercise — from the district administration to religious clergy on both sides, to the residents themselves. The residents of Sambhal say that the town has always been peaceful, except for the three years of 1976, 1978 and 1992 — right after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. But the local administration says otherwise… The Muslim residents of Sambhal said they are tired of proving themselves to be peaceful citizens of India. It’s a painful performance that they do whenever tension sparks and reporters descend on the town — questions over “sensitivity” and communalism are met with polite smiles and denial through gritted teeth… “This isn’t communal violence. It’s the administration versus the Muslim community,” said Usmani. “This is the tragedy of our city, state, country — everything is now Hindu vs. Muslim.” Read more: Vandana Menon, ThePrint
“Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the Lok Sabha on Monday that “action can be taken” on the demand that certain letters of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that were taken in 2008 by Sonia Gandhi should be returned to the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML)… The MP raised the issue hours after The Indian Expressreportedthat Ahmedabad-based historian Rizwan Kadri has written to Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi asking for his help in returning the papers taken by a representative of his mother. Patra said the records were important to understand the history of India and appealed to the culture ministry to investigate the matter and bring back the records to the museum.” Read more: Indian Express
“Rarely has a judge offended sensibilities as Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, of the Allahabad High Court, has. In a speech delivered at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad function, he upheld the principle of majoritarianism, spoke in Hindu supremacist tones, and accused the “kathmullahs”, or fanatical Muslim clerics, of being detrimental to the nation. Yadav has been blasé about flaunting his ideological sympathies. In 2021, he wanted the Constitution to incorporate “cow protection as a fundamental right of Hindus.” The same year, he lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi during, of all matters, a bail hearing, for providing free anti-COVID vaccination to the country. Yadav’s presence in the judiciary should make all those who repose faith in its neutrality anxious. They can only hope that Yadav would be coaxed into seeking voluntary retirement or not be assigned judicial work, for the chances of his being impeached are remote. The process of impeachment entails, among other things, a resolution to this effect to be endorsed by both Houses of Parliament, where the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance is in majority.” Read more: Ajaz Ashraf, Midday
Tech -
“India's ambition to own at least a tenth of 6G technology patents globally looks challenging as the country has yet to secure billions of dollars in funding for 6G research and upgrade existing 4G/5G networks to support the sixth-generation wireless broadband technology, analysts and industry experts said. Top industry executives have decried the government's modest ₹1,100 crore FY25 budgetary allocation, amounting to 0.03% of the GDP, for telecom-related R&D, including allocations towards the IndiaAI Mission and design-linked incentive scheme. They termed it an unrealistic and feeble attempt to aspire for leadership on the global 6G stage. More so, since the actual FY25 budgetary allocation to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for R&D is just Rs 400 crore.” Read more: Economic Times
“The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the semiconductor industry was launched in December 2021 with an outlay of INR 76,000 crore (~ US$ 10 billion), marking the first national programme to target this strategic industry… The PLI scheme for semiconductors aims to build manufacturing capabilities in semiconductor foundries, Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP)/ Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities and display fabrication facilities.The schemeoffers to cover 50 percent of the project cost for setting up the manufacturing facilities, with some states offering additional incentives. However, these subsidies don’t go to every manufacturer in the sector… The PLI scheme has set aside 2.5 percent of its outlay towards R&D. The scheme’s focus on R&D is relatively low, especially considering how crucial it is for fostering innovation and competitiveness within the semiconductor industry. Moreover, the R&D spending under the PLI scheme lacks clear direction, with no specified goals or priority areas outlined.” Read more: Anika Chhillar, ORF
“It looks like the Indian government added about 7 lakh farmer IDs under the Agristack Projectin just 6 days. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare stated on December 17 in the Lok Sabha that 37.17 lakh (37,17,709) farmer IDs have been created under the Agristack project as of December 11. However, a December 10 press release by the ministry stated that the number stood at 30 lakh (29,99,306) as of December 5, 2024. This marks an increase of 7 lakh (7,18,403) IDs created in 6 days… In 2021, 55 farmer organizations, collectives, and groups wrote to the then-Union Agriculture Minister criticising the Agristack Project for lacking transparency and inclusion. The letter noted that the project may give rise to new problems such as unfair lending practices, exploitation of farmers by procurers, reduced agency of farmers, and reduced transparency around algorithmic decision-making, among other things.” Read more: Mimansa, Medianama
Bonus -
“Can temporary war mobilization change the long-run development trajectory of an economy? We study how the economic mobilization of colonial India for World War II – its supply of material for the war effort – influenced independent India’s subsequent long-run economic development… This study is made possible by two innovations on the data front. First, we make use of a unique tabulation of procurement of World War II materiel in India by the British colonial government, which provides the total Indian rupee value of hundreds of distinct procured products… Second, we have made substantial investments in digitizing district economic structure data from Indian Censuses from 1911 to 1981, which previously were not available in electronic form… We find that demand for war materiel during World War II had a positive and statistically significant impact on long-run structural transformation in Indian districts. More than six decades later (through 2011), Indian districts more exposed to World War II procurement see greater transitions of their labor forces from agriculture to the industry and service sectors. The effect shows up very soon after World War II, by 1951, and persists for six decades, through 2011, with roughly the same magnitude.” Read more: Aneesha Parvathaneni and Dean Yang (working paper)
“Against a backdrop with the colours of the Indian flag, two silhouettes appear with tablas. Even before their faces are lit, we know who they are. Everyone who grew up watching Doordarshan on their televisions in the 80s and 90s remembers the famous tabla jugalbandi between father and son in the song “Desh Raag”. Reportedly, when Ustad Zakir Hussain was first placed in Ustad Allah Rakha’s arms, the first words whispered in his ears were rhythms of the tabla instead of a prayer. The maestro was known world over for his magical fingers on the tabla. But the Ustad also harboured other interests—among them stood out his penchant for the silver screen. In the 1990s, he popularised the refrain of “Wah Taj!”, which appeared in the TV advertisement of Brooke Bond Taj Mahal tea and came to be associated with his tabla rhythms, jovial face and buoyant, unruly hair. The advertisement definitely marked his presence in the advertising industry, at a time when television was just entering the market. But beyond that, it also brought Hussain to prominence on the screen. Up until then, he was only known from his performances on the radio. The story behind the advertisement is fascinating. In the 1980s, Hindustan Thompson Associates—the agency that produced the ad campaign—set out to look for a brand ambassador who had assimilated India’s traditional roots in their global cultural presence. When the Ustad was first approached for it, the thought delighted him so much that he flew down to India from the US at a personal expense.” Read more: Apeksha Priyadarshini, Outlook