In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the GROW (Grassroots Resilience, Ownership, Wellness) Fund will invest up to INR 100 crores in two years to build capacity and support future readiness of 100 NGOs. The NGOs selected from pan India, work in the areas of advocacy, governance and research, climate, ecology and animal welfare, community development, art and culture and sports, differently abled, education, gender rights and equality, health and sanitation, livelihood and poverty. An Utthan-Edelgive note: *** In a first-of-its-kind opportunity, 100 NGOs doing critical and credible social impact work across the nation have been selected to receive grants from the GROW Fund, which is anchored by EdelGive Foundation along with several reputed funding partners. Every NGO, chosen to be a part of the initiative’s cohort of 100, will receive INR 80 lakhs over two years to direct resources to building its capabilities, resilience and future readiness. With registrations from over 2300 organisatio...

By Rajiv Shah  A new book by two veteran academics, “Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism”, perhaps for the first time traces the roots of inter-religious strife leading to Hindutva’s political hold today, pointing towards the role played by so-called upper castes in a State known during the Independence movement for its composite culture -- though not without strong undercurrent of majoritarianism.

Sardar Patel with all-India service officers Counterview Desk  More than 100 former officers of the All India and Central Services, who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of their careers, and are currently members of the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), have said that the proposed amendment to the cadre rules of the all-India services (AIS) “fundamentally alters”, and makes a mockery of, the delicate federal balance that the AIS are designed to maintain. Stating the Government of India this way is undermining Sardar Patel, to whom the federal structure of AIS as also the officers’ ability to independently speak their mind were critical, the ex-officials say in a statement, “The whole idea of the Centre not having a ‘cadre’ of its own but having to ‘borrow’ the services of an officer for specific periods at key senior management levels is destroyed if the State as a ‘lender’ has no authority on what it lends and on what terms and conditions, but the...

Counterview Desk  Demanding "adequate budget" for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2022-23, the advocacy group NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) has pointed towards how funds for the rural jobs scheme are allowed to be dried up, leading to NREGA workers failing to get wage payments on time or even the stipulated compensation in case of delay. In a statement ahead of the Union budget, the NGO states, at a time when the pandemic has further pushed the rural poor into distress, the BJP government is "intentionally ignoring the programme", which is helpful to the economy, adding, NREGA wages would "increase disposable income in rural areas", which in turn help "boost demand and increase consumption." Text : The stress on the economy became evident, especially in the aftermath of the raging pandemic from the 7.3% contraction in GDP in 2020-21. The distress faced by poorer households has continued over a period of time with the pandem...

By Puneet Kumar Shrivastav, Ishwar Chandra Awasthi*  Budget is for all, every aam aadmi (common man) expects something from the Union Budget. The upcoming Budget 2022, of the Modi 2.0 government to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 would come against the backdrop of gradual recovery taking place after the economy was severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the impact of the third wave is yet to be assessed in terms of its impact, as the number of active Covid cases were about 2.2 million as on January 25. The Covid-19 pandemic has had profound impact on the economy as millions of people lost their livelihoods and slipped into poverty trap. This has created a formidable crisis and challenge on how to provide livelihood to those who have lost jobs. The efforts made by the government provided a palliative rather than making employment focused development approach. The country has witnessed a reasonably good growth rate. It recorded growth of 4 p...

Nagendra Kumar Muarya, Puneet Kumar Shrivastav*  Every year in the second half of January month, policy makers, media and researchers are found to be busy in deciphering what a common man’s expectations are from the Union budget. This question takes an important place especially now, as the policy response through general budget will not only the affect common man’s Covid-affected fragile livelihood but also pave way for faster recovery for the economy. The Onset of Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way of business significantly. Digitisation has entered in almost every aspect of our lives. Work from home, online class (not only school/college regular classes but tuition/coaching as well), UPI based payments (Paytm, GPay, Amazon pay, etc.), online shopping, booking of tickets (air, road and rail), online banking and recruitment as well became the new mode of economic activity. Mobile phones and internet connectivity have become essential commodities and services. Also, the governme...

By Rupa Chinai, Brijesh China, Jay Sheth, Dr. Nishith Shah* This is with reference to the Budget of over Rs.173 crores (Rs.17331.96 lakhs as stated) for the financial year 2022-23 for Sarabhai General and Chinai Maternity Hospitals, Ahmedabad. We are constrained to point out, as we have done regularly in recent years, that this budget does not correctly portray the appropriate usage of Ahmedabad’s tax paying public. Neither does it support the health needs of poor citizens for whose benefit this institution was created. In fact this Budget is intended to ensure the death of the Sarabhai General and Chinai Maternity Hospitals (VSH). This Rs.173 crore budget is designed to cater to a 500 beds hospital whereas with lesser amounts, our Board was running an 1155 bed hospital that was brimming with patients and was lauded for the 90 years of “glorious service” it provided to poor citizens. Hence we are compelled to ask where the funds are being funnelled back. Even a cursory study of this...

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*  Outside the St Michael’s Church in Mahim Mumbai is a powerful slogan, “God will always abide with me, even if I retreat!” In many ways this creative caption sums up the raging controversy on ‘Abide With Me’ that has been on prime-time news and on social media for a week now! A recent Government (Defence Ministry) communique finds no mention of ‘Abide With Me’ in this year’s ‘Beating Retreat’ programme which will be held on January 29 as the culmination of the events on and around Republic Day. ‘Abide in Me’ has been one of the staple tunes at the ceremony since 1950 and was Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite! The spokesperson of the Defence Ministry did not offer any comment as to why this immortal composition was dropped. Plenty of unofficial reasons are being flaunted for doing so. Earlier, the Government had planned to drop ‘Abide With Me’ in 2020 from the Beating Retreat ceremony but had later retained it after a huge nationwide uproar. This time there is als...

Counterview Desk  Demanding immediate and complete withdrawal of proposed Biodiversity Act Amendment Bill, 2021, a statement issued by the Coalition for Environmental Justice in India, consisting of tens of civil society organisations, activists and experts, has said that it is a “well calibrated and clear attempt to progressively undermine and destroy the sovereign rights and control that the people of India have over their biodiversity, bioresources and associated traditional knowledge.” Floated by the Bangaluru-based Environment Support Group, it adds, the proposed Act would undermine “a right that is particularly crucial for adivasis, Dalits, farmers, fishers, vaids, hakims, nomadic and de-notified tribes, and such other natural resource dependent peoples whose lives, livelihoods and socio-economic wellbeing are intricately linked to nature.” Text : The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has proposed comprehensive amendments to the Biologic...

By Ajay Ghosh* “A woman is defined by her courage and self-confidence,” Dr. Tejaswini Manogna, Miss India-Earth 2019 and the titleholder of Divine Miss Earth India 2019, in her eloquent and inspiring keynote address at the Women’s Forum told the hundreds of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) delegates during the Global Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad earlier this month. “Be brave to voice your choices and do not give up your goals. Speak up. Do not suffer in silence. Be bold and brave to voice your opinion. If a woman can lead at home, she can lead the world. Dream to do something for others. If I can do it, you all can do it,” Dr. Tejaswini Manogna said. The Women’s Forum organized by Dr. Seema Arora, Dr. Udaya Shivangi, Dr. Meher Medavaram, Dr. Malati Mehta and Dr. Uma Jonnalagadda, had a galaxy of successful women, who shared with the AAPI delegates their own stories of growing up and facing challenges with conviction and courage, and have today become role mo...

Counterview Desk  Fight Inequality Alliance (FIA) India, of which Oxford India is a member, has said that while every 8 out of 10 Indians want a tax on the rich and companies profited during a pandemic, more than 90% of people demand social security, right to health, and prevention of gender-based violence from the Union budget. Based on a survey   it carried out, the FIA report says, “The Union Budget 2022-23 can potentially provide several measures to fight inequality. The stark inequalities exacerbated by Covid-19 have started a global wave of protests to make the rich pay their fair share. The Government of India can listen to the people and make provisions for social security, health, and well-being through the budget." A note: More than 80% of Indians support a tax on the rich and corporations who earned record profits during the pandemic, a nationwide survey by Fight Inequality Alliance India (FIA India) has revealed. The survey took inputs of total of 3231 Indians fro...

By Thomas Franco*  In spite of strong opposition from all sections of the society, the Finance Minister (FM) recently asked her Ministries to speed up Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Initial Public Offer (IPO). Does she realise that this can lead to collapse of the economy over a period of time because LIC is a golden goose which is giving golden eggs regularly to the economy, development projects and providing social security to the majority of the marginalised people of this country.

By Prem Singh*  Most spheres of Indian politics have been tainted by communalism. Looking at the current political scene of the country, it seems that just as there is a consensus on neoliberalism among the political and intellectual elite of India, similarly a consensus has been made on communal politics or political communalism.

By Dr Hari Desai* One surely feels happy that the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is being installed near the India Gate in New Delhi. Every Indian and even Netaji’s 79-year-old daughter Prof Anita Bose Pfaff feels happy about the statue at the most important area of the capital. In an interview with an Indian TV, Anita, who is a German citizen, mentions that she thinks if not Netaji’s only Mahatma Gandhi’s statue should have been there. She may be aware that there existed a plan to install life-sized statue of the Father of the Nation at that place.  Even after differences with Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel which led Netaji to leave the Indian National Congress, Bose was the first person to call Mahtma Gandhi Father of the Nation on July 6,1944 in his Ragoon Radio broadcast, and sought Bapu’s blessings as the Supreme Commander of the Indian National Army (INA). Till 1968 there was statue of King George V at India Gate. It was removed and placed in the Coronation Park, New...