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INDIA’S
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AN EXCLUSIVE ANNUAL
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AND MOST IMPROVED
PERFORMERS, RANKED
ON 12 KEY PARAMETERS
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www.indiatoday.in EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie

I
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa ndia is a tale of one country but a
GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh story of many states. The dominant
MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha
CONSULTING EDITOR: Ajit Kumar Jha (Research) narrative of cooperative federalism
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit, where the Centre and states work to-
Sandeep Unnithan, MUMBAI: M.G. Arun
DEPUTY EDITORS: Prachi Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop gether is now slowly moving towards one May 19, 2003
HYDERABAD: Amarnath K. Menon CHANDIGARH: Asit Jolly
of competitive, cooperative federalism.
SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, Alokparna Das
States are now competing with each other

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JAIPUR: Rohit Parihar www indiatoday in NOVEMBER 27 2017 `60

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee

MUMBAI: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; PATNA: Amitabh Srivastava
for investments that will set up indus-
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha tries, lead to job creation and pull more
KOLKATA: Romita Sengupta; BHOPAL: Rahul Noronha;
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jeemon Jacob people out of poverty. The new mantra is
ASSISTANT EDITOR: PUNE: Aditi S. Pai development. If there’s any doubt, take a STATE OF THE STATES

PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor),

Rajwant Singh Rawat, Yasir Iqbal (Principal Photographers), look at the ongoing election campaign for THE POWER
STATES
Chandra Deep Kumar (Senior Photographer); MUMBAI: Mandar Suresh
Deodhar (Chief Photographer), Danesh Adil Jassawala (Photographer);
the three heartland states of Rajasthan, THE LEADERS IN GOVERNANCE,
INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMY,
AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION,
TOURISM AND MORE

KOLKATA: Subir Halder (Principal Photographer); Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Can-
CHENNAI: N.G. Jaison (Senior Photographer)

RN NO 28587/75
PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher),
didates in these politically crucial states
Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher), are promising roads, development and
Shubhrojit Brahma (Senior Photo Researcher) November 27, 2017
CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty jobs and not talking not about religion,
ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director);
Angshuman De (Art Director); Devajit Bora (Deputy Art Director);
caste or community.
Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director); We recognised this shifting trend way Gujarat and Maharashtra reflect an alm-
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer)
back in 2003 when we launched the first ost uniform progress across categories.
Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator)
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), State of the States survey, assessing which In sharp contrast, two large states in the
Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator),
Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator) Indian state had made the most of the op- east—Odisha and West Bengal—do not
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma portunities of liberalisation in India. Now top any of the 12 categories we have iden-
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact)
in its 17th edition, the INDIA TODAY-MDRA tified, whether it be economy, tourism,
IMPACT TEAM
State of the States Survey has emerged as a infrastructure, inclusive development,
Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West)
General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), comprehensive barometer of the perfor- governance, law & order, entrepreneur-
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GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra
tweaked the methodology by expanding education or agriculture.
Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing)
SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager attributes across categories and rejigging While north Indian states have been
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales)
weightages to level the playing field. gaining on the economic powerhouses
Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations)
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (North)
Competition in the State of the States of west and south India, the real divide
survey, we are happy to report, has been remains between urban and rural India.
intense. As many as 27 of the 31 states Cities account for just 31 per cent of In-
we examined have bagged awards across dia’s population but constitute nearly 65
multiple categories. Our rankings reveal per cent of India’s GDP.
some good news and some bad news. The These are disparities that call for tre-
Volume XLIII Number 49; For the week good news first—traditional laggards in mendous political vision and a relentless
Nov 27-December 3, 2018, published on every Friday
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DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 1

 INSIDE
UPFRONT LEISURE
CAN CBI SURVIVE THE NO PLACE TO
‘CIVIL’ WAR? PG 3 ESCAPE PG 76

THE POLITICS OF NAME Q&A: HARENDRA

CHANGES PG 8 SINGH PG 84

C OV E R S T O RY

PU NJA B

10
RETURN OF
TERROR?
Pro-Khalistan
groups are trying to
lure impressionable
WHICH STATE HAS THE BEST HEALTHCARE FACILITIES AND
Sikh youth for their

14
WHICH ONE BOASTS OF THE BEST INFRASTRUCTURE? THE cause, aided by
17TH INDIA TODAY STATE OF THE STATES-MDRA SURVEY Pakistan’s ISI
EVALUATES THE PERFORMANCE OF 29 STATES & 7 UNION
TERRITORIES ACROSS 12 KEY PARAMETERS, INCLUDING
ECONOMY, AGRICULTURE, HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Cover by NILANJAN DAS

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2 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

 UPFRONT
GOVT VS RBI:
UNEASY TRUCE
PG 5
HEALTH CHECK
ON MODICARE
PG 7
CAN CBI SURVIVE THE ‘CIVIL’ WAR?
N
o war fought without weapons
could be messier. The CBI’s ap-
parently internecine feud—with
CBI chief Alok Verma and his deputy
Rakesh Asthana, both on gardening
leave, accusing each other of corrup-
tion—has spilled out into the corridors
of the prime minister’s office and now
the halls of justice, like some out of
control bar brawl. The press, mean-
while, looking on with unabashed
glee, are shouting “fight, fight!” All
the unruliness has prompted a school-
marmish scolding from the Chief
Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, who
spent a few minutes fuming about
C O N T ROV E R S Y
By Uday Mahurkar
leaks before adjourning proceedings
to the end of the following week.
The object of CJI Gogoi’s ire was
not entirely clear. It was either about
the leak to a website of Verma’s sealed
response to a report by the Central
Vigilance Commission on the accu-
sations against him—which the site
denies was the basis of its story—or it
was about the leak to national media of
astonishing claims by another top CBI
officer, M.K. Sinha, that the National
Security Advisor Ajit Doval, a Union
minister and Central Vigilance Com-
missioner K.V. Chowdhury interfered
in the investigation of Asthana.
FACEBOOK’S
TRANSPARENCY
PROBLEM PG 4
THE POLITICS OF
NAME CHANGES
PG 8
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
Sinha, who was on the team
probing allegations against Asthana,
approached the Supreme Court on
Monday, November 19, with what his
lawyer described as “shocking revela-
tions”. The bench, consisting of Gogoi,
and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Jo-
seph, was unmoved and denied Sinha
an urgent hearing, following which
the content of those revelations was
published in the media.
“This court,” thundered the af-
fronted bench, “is not a platform for
people to come and express what they
want... Our effort to maintain the
respect of this institution is not being
UPFRONT INDEX

shared by everyone.” The court also expressed con-
cern for the “dignity” of the CBI. But that particular
horse had long bolted the stable. Last week, West
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee joined her
Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu
in withdrawing the CBI’s authority to conduct raids
and investigations in their states as it saw fit, without
having to seek permission.
The chief ministers’ joint action continued to
give the CBI’s ‘internal’ conflict a decidedly political
hue. Asthana has been characterised as the prime
minister’s “blue-eyed boy”. And the government’s
midnight ousting of Verma, followed by the transfers
of several CBI officers, some of whom were inves-
tigating the charges against Asthana (also put on
leave), did nothing to stop tongues wagging. Sinha,
who was one of the officers transferred, is now being
seen as a combatant on Verma’s side. His allegations
against Doval and others have been described by
government sources as wild and far-fetched.
Sinha—who was investigating allegations that
Asthana had been paid off by Hyderabad business-
Facebook’s
Transparency Problem
It’s been a difficult year or so for Facebook. It failed to protect the
data of millions of users, and became the preferred receptacle
for fake news, video nasties and all manner of manipulation—from
aggressively targeted advertising to political propaganda. Last
week, the NYT reported that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
and COO Sheryl Sandberg neglected security concerns and turned
a blind eye to the company’s covert effort to discredit critics and
peddle conspiracy theories, all the while publicly feigning contrition.
On November 16, Facebook released its latest ‘transparency’
report. Since May, the report has included a statistic on the
hundreds of millions of pieces of content Facebook filters out
before it gets to us. It’s an attempt to show that it does care about
misinformation. The report also tells us about government requests
for user data and Facebook’s rate of compliance. But it’ll take more
for Facebook to recover its credibility.
294 MILLION
Indian Facebook users
2.9 MILLION
Pieces of hate
as of October 2018, speech removed
compared with 204 in Q3 2018
million Americans. In
Q3 2018, Facebook’s

Sinha, now
man Satish Babu
Sana to keep his name
clear of an investiga-
average revenue per
user in Asia-Pacific was
$2.67, in the US and
Canada it was $27.61
754 MILLION
Fake accounts
tion into prominent disabled by Facebook
batting for in Q3 2018, 800 million
Verma, was meat exporter Moin

16,580
in Q2 and 583 million
Qureshi—claims top
suspected government func-
in Q1; that is 2.14 billion
fake accounts, which
of being tionaries, including Indian government is almost as many
among those a minister, also took requests for user data as Facebook’s 2.3
billion active users
who helped bribes from Sana. of 23,047 accounts, Jan-
Jun 2018, says Facebook worldwide
Aircel’s C. He says the likes of Transparency Report—
Sivasankaran
64%
NSA Doval tried to second highest behind
the US, and up from
escape protect Asthana.
12,171, Jul-Dec 2017
Sinha, involved in
Facebook users
a number of major

53%
between 18 and 29
investigations, including the multi-billion-dollar years old in the US
scam perpetrated by jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul changed privacy
Choksi, had himself apparently aroused suspicions by Of these requests settings since
resulted in Facebook Cambridge Analytica
being among those who enabled former Aircel owner scandal, says Pew
sharing ‘some data’,
C. Sivasankaran, accused of bank fraud, to escape. compared with 86% of Center; 44% have
Sivasankaran is now a citizen of the Seychelles; the US government’s deleted the app from
their phones
former finance minister P. Chidambaram and his son 42,466 requests in the
Karti are also implicated in the Aircel-Maxis case. same period
The allegations continue to fly. Will any stick?

9.4
And how will the CBI put out the inferno without
itself being reduced to ashes? The CBI’s origins are
in the Special Police Establishment set up in 1941 by
the Government of India to investigate corruption in
MILLION
Items of ‘terrorist
$17.4 BILLION
Loss in Mark
propaganda’ removed Zuckerberg’s net
the procurement of wartime supplies. It is an irony in Q2 2018; 75% due to worth this year, says
that the CBI’s potential demise, at least in this form, ‘old photos’ uploaded Bloomberg. At $55.3
before new detection
could be the consequence of the institutional cor- billion, Zuckerberg
technology; 3 million is now ‘only’ the 6th
ruption and political chicanery that has rotted from items removed in Q3; richest man in the
within a once respected institution. ■ 99.5% content removed world, down from third
before users reported it

4 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

G OV T V S R B I
AN UNEASY TRUCE
W
hen the board meeting of the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
ended on November 19, there
was a sense of relief in various quarters.
The meeting was expected to be stormy,
given that several points of conten-
tion between the central bank and the
government were to be raised. However,
as a terse note from the RBI after the
marathon nine-hour meeting seemed to
suggest, the central bank yielded ground
and seemed to have relented on the
government’s key demands.
One of the issues discussed before
the 18-member board was the govern-
ment’s demand for the transfer of RBI’s
reserves, estimated at Rs 3.6 lakh crore.
This has been a contentious issue, and
was central to a much-debated speech
by RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya
last month, where he drew the example
of a conflict between Argentina’s gov-
ernment and its central bank to caution
that government interference would
invite “the wrath of the markets”. But
for a government keen to maintain its
fiscal discipline close to the general
election amid uncertain oil prices and
a rising rupee, it was critical to be able
to dip into the RBI’s resources to bridge
the fiscal deficit. The RBI will consti-
tute an expert committee to examine
its economic capital framework, the
membership and terms of reference of
which will be jointly determined by the
government and the central bank.
“The debate on the economic capi-
tal framework cannot be a subjective
one, and both sides need to start talk-
ing on how much a central bank should
hold,” says Ashvin Parekh, a banking
consultant. They need to arrive at a
level of surplus that offers comfort to
both the regulator and the economy, he
adds. At the same time, he was critical
of setting up new committees on the
matter. “The tendency to form commit-
tees is a nice arrangement to pass the
buck,” he says.
With regard to the government’s
demand to ease the RBI’s prompt
corrective action (PCA) norms, where
lending restrictions have been placed
on 11 public sector banks that had a
high level of bad loans, the bank has
agreed to have the matter examined
by its Board for Financial Supervi-
sion. The RBI had wanted to focus on
recovering loans first, as the finan-
cials of these banks were very weak.
The government, keen
to maintain fiscal
discipline close to the
polls, wants to dip into
the RBI’s resources to
bridge the fiscal deficit
BURYING DIFFERENCES?
Arun Jaitley and Urjit Patel
“There is substance in both sides of
the argument,” says Parekh. “You can
have a middle path, and say, ‘we are
not insisting that all the recovery is
made, but there needs to be a certain
order in recovery and a certain order
in governance’. This may happen now
since both the sides have agreed to
listen to each other,” he adds. Karthik
Srinivasan, the group head of financial
sector ratings at ICRA, says there is a
possibility of banks exiting faster from
the PCA framework.
The RBI board has recommended
a scheme to restructure the stressed
assets of MSMEs (micro, small and
medium enterprises) with aggregate
credit facilities of up to Rs 25 crore. But
experts say this is a bad idea, since the
extent of recovery is largely dependent
on the liquidity in the system. Much of
the non-performing assets in the bank-
ing system are from such small firms,
and can balloon further. This was why
the RBI has been reluctant to consider
any loan recast scheme for small units.
While the board has not come up with
a special window for non-banking
financial companies where liquidity has
dried up following the IL&FS debacle,
it has liberalised the implementation of
the capital adequacy norms under the
Basel regulatory framework. While the
capital to risky assets ratio (CRAR) has
been retained at 9 per cent, the board
has extended the transition period for
implementing the last tranche of 0.625
per cent under the Capital Conservation
Buffer (CCB) by one year to March 31,
2020. CRAR is a measure of the capital
requirements of a bank, expressed
in relation to its risky assets (mainly
loans) profile. The CCB is the additional
capital banks have to own beyond the
mandatory minimum capital require-
ments, and the easing of the transition
norms will come as a relief to banks.
The RBI board did not discuss the
governance structure of the central
bank. This and the issue regarding
NBFCs are likely to be taken up at the
board meeting on December 14. ■
—M.G. Arun
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 5
UPFRONT
BOOKS
GREAT DIVIDE
IN THE MIND
By Mani Shankar Aiyar
T
he worst part of this book is
Gurcharan Das’s blurb: “If only
Patel had lived longer, India
would have been spared the
excesses of the Licence Raj
and the Kashmir problem.” This is to
trivialise the massive scholarship Hindol
Sengupta has brought to bear on his
monumental biography of Sardar Patel
and reduce the theme of this book to the
wholly false binary of ‘Patel vs Nehru’.
Notwithstanding the fact that,
quite unlike Nehru, the Sardar wrote
no books, Sengupta has mined Patel’s
numerous letters and speeches to give
us a virtually self-written portrait of this
great stalwart of the freedom movement,
supplemented by a detailed study of
different sources, to present a Patelian
perspective on the “complex relation-
ship” between the distinguished mem-
bers of the vanguard who frequently had
ideological and policy differences among
themselves, as well documented by Sen-
gupta: Sardar Patel himself; Nehru, of
course; Rajaji; Azad; Rajendra Prasad;
Subhas Chandra Bose and numerous
others. This menagerie of leaders of
genius was controlled with astounding
deftness by the one who stood head and
shoulders above them, individually and
collectively, and to whom each of them
deferred much of the time, however
much they disagreed with him on specif-
ics—Mahatma Gandhi.
I doubt that the annals of history
anywhere in the world or at any time
have thrown up such a democratic Team
of Rivals who were permitted, even
encouraged, to not only disagree with
each other but also frequently with the
Mahatma himself, and yet were yoked
together by their quest for freedom.
16 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
However, as Sengupta notes, it was
Gandhi, none other, who announced as
early as 1942, in the midst of a blazing
row between Gandhi and Nehru on how
far to accommodate the Cripps Mission,
that his successor would be Nehru. Why
would Gandhi do this?
After all, Patel, in years, was like
a brother to Gandhi; Nehru, in years,
more like a son. But, as Sengupta ex-
plains, Patel was a very ill man; Nehru,
in contrast, was extremely fit. Did Gan-
dhi think the burden of leading indepen-
dent India in its formative stages should
devolve on the shoulders of one who had
two decades of nation-building ahead
of him rather than a colleague, however
valued, who would outlast the Mahatma
by less than a thousand days? Or were
THE MAN WHO SAVED
INDIA: Sardar Patel and
His Idea of India
by Hindol Sengupta
Penguin/Viking
430 pages; `599
there other more profound reasons?
Given the assiduity with which
Sengupta has researched his subject,
his conclusion is bizarre. He assigns
the basic reason to Gandhi’s belief that
Nehru should be elevated over Patel
because Nehru spoke better English
and his upbringing would fit him better
to negotiate with the British! This is
ridiculous because it portrays the Father
of Our Nation as an idiot.
The fact is that Patel became Gan-
dhi’s companion-in-arms long before
Nehru emerged as a distant speck on the
political horizon. They linked together in
1917 to run the Kheda satyagraha in the
immediate wake of Gandhi’s outstand-
ing success at Champaran (while a virtu-
ally briefless Nehru was still indolently
smoking cigarettes at the Allahabad bar
association). Gandhi’s intimacy with
Patel thus long preceded his association
with Nehru. He did not need to be told of
Patel’s merits and claim to the Congress
presidency and, later, the premiership
of free India. Surely then, the Mahatma
would have carefully weighed his choice
before making it. Yet, Sengupta floun-
ders in explaining why Gandhi should
have so often overlooked Patel.
Gandhi was entirely cognizant of
Patel’s organisational talents: he knew
the Congress was held together and
funded by the iron hand of the Sardar.
He knew too that nine of the 11 Congress
provincial units sought to see Patel suc-
ceed Maulana Azad in 1946, thus paving
the way for his eventual assuming of the
leadership of the government. What one
would have hoped for in such a compre-
hensive study is an examination of the
grounds on which Gandhi overruled the
overwhelming preference of the party.
Sengupta suggests (apparently not
tongue-in-cheek) that Gandhi feared
Nehru revolting against being made No.
2 whereas he was assured of Patel re-
maining faithful whatever his decision.
Given the numerous occasions on which
Nehru acquiesced to Gandhi’s diktat
against his own best judgement, this is
not history, it’s petty bias.
Gandhi chose Nehru because, while
the party desired Patel, the country
 INDEX

preferred Nehru. This perception

was, of course, never tested empiri- Health Check on Modicare
cally but Patel and Nehru would
Just about two months into the government’s far-reaching Ayushman Bharat
have testified that Gandhi had an
scheme, dubbed the world’s largest public health programme, statistics for
uncanny sense of what the people
secondary and tertiary care show that a majority of patients have been treated
wanted, which is what made him
in private facilities. The private sector seemed unhappy with the pricing of
the final arbiter in the many quar-
insurance packages, which had implications for the number of hospitals that
rels he had with Patel and Nehru might get ‘empanelled’ to offer treatment under the scheme. India’s expenditure on
(and they with each other). At the healthcare, as a proportion of GDP, is minuscule, compared with not just developed
same time, Gandhi understood economies but also some of the world’s poorest. Questions remain on whether out-
that it was not a question of choos- of-pocket expenses will be significantly impacted and whether enough room has
ing one over the other, but harness- been made in the tight budget to cope with an explosion of demand.
ing their separate talents to take
the nation forward. Patel would
be best for domestic issues, such 232,592 603,050 55,482
as integrating the princely states Beneficiaries Scheme e-cards Hospitals have
into the Union (which he did with hospitalised in first generated since its roll- applied to be empan-
unmatched ability) while Nehru 54 days of Ayushman out; some 107 million elled, of which 15,000
was better fitted with the vision to Bharat since its families (500 million (8,000 private) are
guide and inspire the new nation. launch on Sep 25, for individuals) are expected already empanelled
For Gandhi, nothing was more treatments of to be covered by the or approved
important to nation-building than Rs 344.8 crore scheme
maintaining Hindu-Muslim unity
in the face of Partition. Indeed, he 52 million
68%
wanted Partition to be ideologica- Beneficiaries were Indians pushed into
lly nullified by building an India treated in private poverty in 2017 by
in which the minorities would be hospitals; Gujarat out-of-pocket (OOP)
reassured they had made the right topped the list medical expenses,
choice in rejecting the two-nation of beneficiaries estimates the WHO
theory by not moving to Pakistan. admitted
Neither Patel nor Nehru was
70%
wanting in such staunch secular-
42% Estimated OOP
ism. But it was obvious by the time
Of beneficiaries were 3 medical expenses in
of Independence that India’s Mus-
women, obstetrics States and Union India are on medicine
lims trusted Nehru the most. That
and gynaecology territories, including for out-patient care,
determined Gandhi’s decision.
were among the top Delhi, have yet to opt not covered by
There was no Great Divide.
5 treatments into the scheme Ayushman Bharat
Nehru and Patel had the highest
respect for each other as Nehru
found out when the Congress Par-
liamentary Party was overwhelm- PULLQUOTE
ingly at odds with him over the
Andhra Pradesh chief minister
Nehru-Liaquat Pact in April 1950.
He strode to his office to write
“THOSE CHANDRABABU NAIDU has gone
out his letter of resignation. His WHO on record about his “democratic
compulsion” to ally with the Congress
obvious and only possible succes-
sor would have been Patel. But, in
WANT TO to attempt to defeat the BJP in the
2019 general election. The Telangana
the Sardar’s finest moment, as re- SAVE THE assembly election is due on December
counted by Rajmohan Gandhi, he
snatched the resignation letter and
NATION 7, and Naidu has been eager to stress his
opposition to the BJP. As part of a whistle-stop tour to
ordered Nehru to continue as PM. WILL rally together a coalition, Naidu travelled to West Bengal
Why do Sengupta, Das and the to meet the state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The
Hindu right-wing wish to thwart
WORK BJP, on its part, has sought to diss such “opportunism”
Patel himself? ■ TOGETHER” as mere animus against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Illustrations by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 7

UPFRONT

GUEST COLUMN

SUHAS
The Politics of Name Changes
PALSHIKAR

T
he Modi government is often accused of tying new ‘external’ aggression that wounded ‘our’ selfhood, and the
name-ribbons around existing welfare schemes attempt to expunge this swathe of memory from the public
and presenting them as new. While this goes on at imagination is an attempt to heal the perceived scars of
the Centre, some BJP state governments and many in the defeat retrospectively. It is as if history got suspended circa
larger Sangh parivar have gone on a seemingly unending 12th century and resumed only in the 20th or is it the 21st,
name-changing spree. Uttar Pradesh has taken the lead, when the Modi era began?
but there are also murmurs about Ahmedabad (Gujarat) The other level at which this politics plays out is the
and local demands to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad assertion that India is a ‘Hindu’ nation (Hindu, used in the
(Maharashtra), and the tempo is sure to pick up. religious sense) and, therefore, the basis of not only history
The past is always in the and memory, but also of identity,
repertoire of identity politics, and morality and, hence, politics must be
legends and leaders consigned to Hindu religious ideas. This is not just
the past tend to find place in the about history; it is part of the project
contested terrain of statues and to redefine our collective selfhood. The
symbols. Rulers and ruling classes urge to change names—of cities, roads
are keen to turn their legacies into and so on—is indicative of a deeper
monuments and memory. This is unease and uncertainty about the
true not only of pre-democratic more inclusive identity India adopted
rulers; in democracies too, the bid post-Independence.
to create enduring legacies and The third level at which this politics
leave imprints on public memory is bound to diversify and expand is
form an essential part of the in the retelling of the more recent
politics of culture. So, rulers and history of our national struggle and
political figures are memorialised, the building of a democratic society.
often posthumously, in currency This enterprise is already under way
notes, in statues at busy public beyond the current phase of renaming,
squares, on signboards and road and in the larger battle of ideas,
names. If anything, in the time of The current rush there will be efforts to diminish the
selfie-love, the narcissistic impulse stature of, or even remove from public
to make themselves a part of
to change names is attention, those leaders whose ideas
history is greater for our current part of the politics of the current regime abhors. Of course,
democratic rulers. Just as rulers of memory, as a way of the argument begins with the sense
pre-Independence India—British holding sway in the of injury that ‘our’ leaders were not
or Mughals or homegrown, and adequately memorialised whereas
of various religious persuasions— politics of culture ‘their’ leaders were everywhere. But the
ensured they live for posterity real issue is not the space or memory
through memory, so do the estate Nehru or Deendayal Upadhyaya
rulers today want to create occupy, it is which ideas should form
new memories. What is happening in our midst may the ideological basis for defining India’s collective identity.
be understood as the politics of memory, the politics of That project won’t stop at undoing the memory of Mughal
symbols, at multiple levels, as an easy way to hold sway in or Muslim rulers, it will extend to erasing the sense of a
the politics of culture. more inclusive Indianness, by presenting a false claim that
One level of this politics is to attempt to erase parts only Hindutva is true Indianness. ■
of our history: by changing Muslim-sounding names
or names given by Muslim rulers, the current attempt Suhas Palshikar edits the journal Studies in Indian Politics
is to obliterate the history of more than six centuries. and is co-director of the Lokniti Programme of the
That period is seen by the current regime as a period of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)

18 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

 URBAN LEGEND

P une police took a cue from

Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE

Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s recent ‘urban Naxal’
jibe at the Congress in Chhat-
tisgarh. A city police oicial
recently called the chargesheet
filed against five accused in the
Elgar Parishad case (which led
to violence in Bhima Kore-
gaon) an ‘urban Naxal’ case.
GL ASSHOUSE The Pune police used the same
terminology in their press

YADAV WARS release when talking to the

Supreme Court. Curiously, the
term was absent in the original

I
s there a hidden BJP hand behind the ongoing discord in the Mulayam Singh Yadav
family? Samajwadi Party workers say the evidence is overwhelming. The Yogi Adityanath chargesheet. Doesn’t matter
government had earlier announced a CBI probe into a riverfront project in Lucknow now, does it?
conceived when Mulayam’s younger brother Shivpal Singh was irrigation minister. There
has been no sign of the probe for over a year now. The state government recently allotted
Shivpal a bungalow earlier given to Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. BJP leaders,
meanwhile, continue to taunt SP president Akhilesh Yadav for his poor treatment of Shivpal Yedd of State
and Mulayam. Shivpal’s newly launched Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) plans to he untimely demise
contest the Lok Sabha election. Shivpal’s son Aditya is to contest the Kannauj seat held by
Akhilesh’s wife Dimple. Shivpal is to contest elections from the Firozabad seat currently
T of Union minister
Ananth Kumar has left
held by Akshay Yadav, son of his cousin Ramgopal Yadav and an Akhilesh acolyte. Expect B.S. Yeddyurappa the BJP’s
many more instalments of this family saga in the run-up to 2019. unchallenged leader within
Karnataka. But the state unit
president is finding the task
of strengthening the party
THACKERAYS TAMED for the 2019 general election
tough. The party’s poor
The cousins’ scramble for the limelight, one via
performance in the recent
Ayodhya, the other through television
bypolls has prompted calls
A one lakh crowd had At the peak of his career, Maharash- for his replacement with a
been projected for tra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thac- younger leader. Yeddyurappa,
Sena chief Uddhav keray had boycotted national Hindi 75, maintains he is the
Thackeray’s and English channels. With the MNS “undisputed leader”. Of the
November 25 rally in rendered politically irrelevant, his Margdarshak Mandal, his
Ayodhya. It was to be absence is not even noticed these detractors hope.
Uddhav’s first major programme days. So, his appearance
outside Maharashtra. But with Sainiks on a Marathi channel
unwilling to venture outside home on Raksha Bandhan
turf, the mega rally is now set to be a and Children’s Day
series of small meetings, a puja at the piqued curiosity. A
ghat and a media interaction. comeback?
YASBANT NEGI

—Sandeep Unnithan with Ashish Misra, Kiran D. Tare, Sahil Joshi, Aravind Gowda
 PUNJAB

The
Return of
TERROR?
Khalistani activists are trying to
lure impressionable Sikh youth for
their cause, aided by Pakistan's ISI
BY ASIT JOLLY

T
HE NIRANKARI CONGREGATION at Adliwal village CALL FOR
outside Amritsar was at its peak given that it was a par- PLEBISCITE

ticularly pleasant Sunday morning on November 18. Then, An SFJ-organised

rally at Trafalgar
just before noon, two young men, cotton scarves masking
Square in London on
their faces, rode up on a motorcycle. One pointed a pistol
August 12
at the two women volunteers on security duty at the gate
of the satsang bhavan (prayer hall), while the second, who
had been riding pillion, rushed inside and lobbed a grenade.
The deafening explosion indoors killed three worshippers.
Some 21 others sustained shrapnel injuries.
Police said Nirankari congregations, which have been off
most terrorist hit lists since the late 1980s, was a deliberately selected ‘soft target’.
While the Punjab police moved swiftly and have already arrested one attacker, Bikramjit
Singh, and identified the second as Avtar Singh, the bombing in Amritsar comes in the wake
of a rather chilling warning by India’s army chief, Bipin Rawat. At a gathering of army officers
and senior civil servants in New Delhi on November 3, he said that attempts were being made
to revive the insurgency in Punjab. “We can’t close our eyes to what is happening in Punjab.
If we do not take early action now, it will be too late,” he said. Clearly on to something, Rawat In the past
reiterated his warning two days later while addressing the annual founders’ day function at
the Punjab Public School in Nabha. Acknowledging the possibility of a terror strike anywhere
few days,
in the country, he said that “Punjab is more vulnerable in view of its past history and the army chief
continuing exposure of terror modules in the recent past”. And although he scaled down the Bipin Rawat
urgency for action at a subsequent interaction at Jammu’s Mamun Cantonment, the chief
emphasised the need to stay alert to emerging threats from overseas Khalistani separatists.
has been
He specifically cited the New York-based separatist outfit, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and its call consistently
for a worldwide referendum in 2020, on an independent Sikh state or Khalistan. sounding
Back in Punjab, the state police and intelligence establishment has long been aware of the alert on
the SFJ’s dubious designs. Currently headed by US-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannu,
who describes himself as the group’s ‘legal advisor’, the SFJ launched its campaign for the events in
referendum from New York in June 2014. The outfit aims to conduct what its functionaries Punjab

10 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

call a “non-binding referendum” on-
line in November 2020. After gaining
enough “positive votes” for Khalistan,
they plan to approach the United Na-
tions for a “binding referendum”.
Although an apparently pointless
endeavour, the SFJ and its cohorts are
deviously employing the 2020 cam-
paign to radicalise young Sikhs in Pun-
jab as well as within the diaspora.
An SFJ website offers 2020 ban-
ners, decals, tellingly alongside T-
shirts bearing images of Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale and Khalistan flags. A
virulent social media campaign invites
Sikhs in 20 countries to support the
demand for separate nationhood, while
claiming that “if the number of posi-
tive votes crosses three million, then
Punjab would become a separate nation
like Pakistan”. Both state and central
security officials have also taken note
of Pannu’s attempts to validate the SFJ
plebiscite call by publicising online his
visits to meet separatists in Catalonia
(Spain), Venezuela and Iraq.
SFJ’s associates are also running a
parallel, underground campaign across
Punjab. There have been a number of
surreptitious conclaves, including one
in January 2016 at the privately-run
Lovely Professional University in Jal-
andhar. Referendum 2020 hoardings
or slogans simply spray-painted on
walls have come up in Mohali, San-
grur, Fatehgarh, Barnala, Gurdaspur,
Patiala, Moga, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur
and Tarn Taran. Attempts to organise
a statewide cycle rally to promote the
‘referendum’ and distribute militant
memorabilia were thwarted after police
got wind of the plans in October 2017.
SFJ has also been hosting public
gatherings to promote the plebiscite
in New York, London and Toronto. For
one such event at London’s Trafalgar
Square on August 12, the outfit even
offered to pay airfares for Sikh youth
willing to fly down from Punjab.
Pannu and his friends maintain
their demand for plebiscite “has no
room for violence”. But consider the
evidence: this May, police arrested
former Territorial Army (TA) soldiers
Dharminder Singh and Kirpal Singh
for attacking two liquor vends in Batala
district with Molotov cocktails. Dur-
ing interrogation, the two confessed to
Pannu and his associates in the US, UK
and Malaysia instructing and funding
PUNJAB
them. They said they were “instructed
to torch licensed liquor shops and other
government properties in Punjab”.
Pannu himself has not shied away
from venting his ire. This April, when po-
lice arrested four Sikh youth who were al-
legedly planning to unfurl 2020 banners
at Indian Premier League matches in Mo-
hali, he is said to have openly threatened
Punjab police officers, including DGP
Suresh Arora and state intelligence chief
Dinkar Gupta. He reportedly threatened
retribution against children of police of-
ficers studying in the US, Canada, UK,
EU, Australia and New Zealand.
n September 6, he appeared
O in a YouTube video describing
Union home minister Rajnath
Singh as a “dehshatgard (ter-
rorist)”. This was after Face-
book, WhatsApp and Twitter handles
associated with Pannu and Referendum
2020 were blocked. Pannu claimed this
was done at New Delhi’s behest. Twenty
days later, when Punjab chief minister
Amarinder Singh criticised 2020 and
the SFJ, Pannu publicly dared him “to
remove his security detail for two days
and see what happens”. According to
state intelligence dossiers, the SFJ chief
went on to ask police personnel on the
ministerial security detail to back the
2020 referendum.
Security officials say SFJ’s activi-
ties caught the attention of Pakistan’s
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in early
2015. According to them, the ISI initi-
ated ‘Operation Express’ to help finance
and expand SFJ's efforts to force a ref-
erendum on Punjab. This included the
promotion of Referendum 2020 through
an ISI front organisation, the Dyal Singh
Research & Cultural Forum (DSRCF),
which has been installing massive hoard-
ings and posters at gurudwaras in Paki-
stan during visits by Sikh jathas (pilgrim
groups) from India. DSRCF agents are
also known to be working closely with
the SFJ in countries with a sizeable Sikh
population. Says a senior Punjab Police
officer, “By connecting with the SFJ, the
ISI has gained access to a ready resource
base of radicalised Sikh youth will-
12 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
ENEMY AT
THE GATES
MAR 2017– NOV 2018
Terrorists arrested/
neutralised 81
Weapons
recovered/seized* 77
*Note: Arms consignments included 5 AK47
rifles, one MP-9 subcompact machine gun,
10 pistols, 12 hand grenades and a sizeable
quantity of RDX and other plastic explosives
ing to do its bidding.” This is something
ISI handlers had sorely lacked ever since
Khalistani terrorism was emphatically
beaten back in the mid-90s. Since then,
Punjab’s 80,000-strong, battle-hardened
police force had kept things well below a
simmer. Officers say that a robust human
intelligence network with moles in just
about every Khalistani outfit relegated
to havens in Pakistan or the West, worked
well to scuttle most terrorist plans.
Things began changing in the sum-
mer of 2015, when the Punjab countryside
erupted with rage over the desecration
of the Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot’s
Bargari village and the subsequent police
firing which killed two Sikh protesters
at Behbal Kalan in October 2015. This
added to the raging indignation over the
Akal Takht decision to pardon Dera Sa-
cha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim
Singh for his 2007 ‘transgression’ of try-
ing to imitate Guru Gobind Singh.
Police officers say the continuing
incidents of desecration of the Granth
Sahib have been fuelling radicalisation.
The SFJ
allows ISI
access to
a ready
resource
base of
radicalised
Sikh youth to
do its bidding
AVTAR SINGH BIKRAMJIT
Grenades
seized* 12
The Pakistan ordnance-issued HG-84
grenade used in the Nirankari Bhavan
attack near Amritsar is known to have
been routinely used by militants in the
Kashmir Valley
“The recent report of the Justice Ranjit
Singh Commission which has held [for-
mer chief minister] Parkash Singh Badal
responsible for the police firing in Behbal
Kalan has only added to the mix,” says a
police officer who has been tracking at-
tempts to revive the Khalistan campaign.
Consider the following: since March
2017, as many as 17 Khalistani terror
modules have been exposed and neutral-
ised in Punjab, resulting in the arrest of 81
terrorists. Among those arrested, several
are rank newcomers with no record of any
sympathy for the Khalistan cause. Most
were self-radicalised in the wake of the
desecrations and then cultivated by the
ISI and SFJ via social media.
This is not to say the Khalistani ‘old
guard’ has been idle. This February, CM
Amarinder handed Canadian premier
Justin Trudeau a dossier with the names
and details of nine Canada-based Sikhs
involved in abetting terrorist activity
in Punjab. Among those listed, Hard-
eep Singh Nijjar, Malkiat Singh Fauji,
Gurjeet Singh Cheema, Gurpreet Singh
Lande and Gurjinder Singh Pannu are
charged with being involved in recruiting
terrorists, terror-funding, procuring and
supplying weapons and explosives and
arranging weapons training for recruits.
Unsurprisingly, Pannu and the SFJ
have direct links with the nine Cana-
dian Sikhs as well as Khalistani opera-
tives in the UK, Germany and Australia.
Intelligence officials say Nijjar and the
UK-based Khalistani Paramjit Singh
Pamma have been seen onstage at SFJ
events to promote Referendum 2020 in
Toronto, New York and London. Nijjar
2016
Terrorists Arrested
/ Neutralized 18
Weapons
recovered/seized 12
Grenades seized - Grenades seized
also flew down to Toronto to provide
legal assistance to Jagtar Singh Tara
(convicted this year for the assassi-
nation of ex-Punjab CM Beant Singh
in 1995), who was detained in Thai-
land in January 2015. And when the
authorities in Portugal later detained
Pamma, Pannu stepped in to contest
the case on his behalf.
The SFJ has also been cultivating
armed gangsters in Punjab. In a You-
Tube video, Pannu promised wanted
gangsters “justice” if they support Ref-
erendum 2020. An intelligence dos-
sier also describes a trip Pannu made
to Hong Kong this March to offer legal
support to dreaded gangster Ramanjit
Singh Romy, detained in response to
an Interpol Red Corner Notice at the
behest of the Punjab police.
With the ISI now in overall com-
mand in Pakistan, the Indian security
establishment may have to contend
with ‘Operation Express’ re-operation-
alising Pakistan’s erstwhile K2 (Kash-
mir-Khalistan) Plan.
Earlier this month, Shahid Qay-
oom, Fazil Bashir, Mir Rouf Ahmad
and Mir Umar Ramzan—four Kash-
miri students enrolled at Jalandhar’s
Saint Soldier College of Engineering
and Technology—were charged with
lobbing grenades at the Maksudan po-
2015
Terrorists Arrested
/ Neutralized 12
Weapons
recovered/seized 4
6
INVENTORY OF TERROR
Weapons recovered from Khalistan
militants in Amritsar in April 2017
lice station in Jalandhar on September
14. All four were recently recruited by
the Zakir Musa-led Al Qaeda-affiliated
Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind (AGH).
Police officers say Musa, who was
marginalised within Kashmir’s terror
hierarchy after he questioned Paki-
stan’s role and threatened to behead
the Hurriyat separatists in 2017, has
since mended fences with the ISI. He
is now believed to be heading a new
Jaish-e-Mohammed-backed offen-
sive aimed at spreading terror outside
the Valley—to Punjab and even Delhi.
The Punjab police has arrested nearly a
dozen Kashmiri students in possession
of weapons that include Kalashnikov
rifles and grenades. One such student
was detained this August in Jammu
with a bag containing seven hand gre-
nades meant for random attacks on
crowds in Delhi.
Police officers probing the Adliwal
incident now know that both Bikramjit
and Avtar Singh are local rural youth
recruited by the Pakistan-based Kha-
listan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist
Harmeet Singh aka ‘Happy’ or ‘PhD’.
As suspected, both were initially re-
cruited via social media and later in-
structed on VoIP calls.
Now, they are investigating another
troubling aspect—whether the Paki-
stan ordnance factory-issued HG-84
grenade used in the attack was sourced
from Kashmiri AGH and JeM elements
now known to be present in Punjab.
The Nirankari Bhavan attack came
within days of an intelligence alert of
Musa being spotted in Amritsar. ■

STATES IN
MOTION
India’s states are now determining their own destiny
and forging individual paths to progress
O
n November 19, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, addressing a
select gathering of
Cabinet ministers,
foreign diplomats,
industry leaders and senior bureaucrats
in Delhi, said the Union government
was working towards doubling the size
of the Indian economy to $5 trillion
as soon as possible and placing India
among the top 50 countries in the
World Bank’s Ease of Doing Busi-
ness ranking. To achieve this goal, the
prime minister said, his government
was strengthening the “cooperative
competitive federalism” framework for
which it was continuously in discussion
with states to streamline regulatory
approvals and expedite clearances.
Driven by this push from the top,
Indian states are fast emerging as
growth-driven units intent on outper-
forming each other in the race to reach
the top in terms of economic develop-
ment and social welfare. Chief min-
isters, cutting across party lines, are
14 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
STATES
STATE OF
THE STATES
E S S AY
By Kaushik Deka
positioning themselves as CEOs of their
states. They have the micro details of
their state on their fingertips, they lead
from the front and are ready to adopt
innovative, even unconventional means
to find solutions to problems.
From ease of indulging in corrup-
tion once, the emphasis today has
shifted towards ease of doing business.
According to the Confederation of Ind-
ian Industry (CII), the performance of
states in the World Bank and Depart-
ment of Industrial Policy and Promo-
tion (DIPP) ease of doing business
rankings reflects the remarkable prog-
ress made in improving the investment
climate in the past four years. “The
innovative partnership between the
central and state governments and the
spirit of cooperative and competitive
federalism in facilitating investments
across the country is yielding notable
results,” CII president Rakesh Bharti
Mittal said recently.
In this context, the INDIA TODAY
State of the States study has become
more relevant than ever. In its 17th year,
it has emerged as a comprehensive and
robust barometer of the performance of
Indian states. This year, we expanded
the attributes across categories (see
methodology) and, after consulting
experts, assigned diferent weightage
to each category. The states were evalu-
ated for a total score of 2,000 across
categories. Even for attributes, we
assigned diferent weightage. The logic
was simple—geographical and social
factors often give unfair advantage to
certain states if the same weightage is
attributed to all the categories. For in-
stance, Delhi or an industrial state such
as Maharashtra may score low against
Himachal Pradesh, Kerala or Assam
on environment. So, to neutralise any
advantage, categories that reflected
a state’s own efort more were given
higher weightage.
This is not to say environment is
less important than other categories. In
fact, states’ performance on environ-
ment has become even more critical as
India, according to The Yale Univer-
sity’s Environment Performance Index
 WINNERS in Large States
ATE TH
TE ESSAY
STATE OF
THE STATES

BEST MOST
CATEGORY PERFORMING IMPROVED
STATE STATE
2018, stands at the bottom of the Global
Environment Performance Index (EPI)
rankings today. In 2016, the country Overall Tamil Nadu Assam
was ranked 141 out of 180 countries.
In 2018, it has slipped to the 177th
Economy Maharashtra Assam
position. With national capital Delhi Infrastructure Gujarat Jharkhand
gasping for fresh air, Kolkata emerging
as one of the most polluted states and
Agriculture Punjab Madhya Pradesh
Assam named as home to the country’s Education Himachal Pradesh Bihar
second most polluted rivers, environ-
mental degradation is not restricted to Health Jammu & Kashmir Assam
specific cities, zones or regions any- Law & Order Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu
more. If the political leadership and
social awareness don’t work in tandem, Governance Rajasthan Telangana
development will be meaningless. Inclusive
Sixteen years ago, when INDIA
Development Chhattisgarh Uttar Pradesh
TODAY recognised the increasing role
of states in India’s transformation and Entrepreneurship Haryana Karnataka
started the ambitious task of measuring
the pace of their growth, the Planning
Environment Kerala Madhya Pradesh
Commission determined the road map Cleanliness Kerala Chhattisgarh
of the country’s growth. The states
followed the plan New Delhi chalked
Tourism Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh
out. Today, the states are masters
of their own destiny or, at the least,
moving in that direction. The Centre-
state relationship has moved from that of taxes to states) has to include some The disparity in the growth of
of donor and receiver. Now it’s more performance-based criteria so that states is one of the biggest challenges
performance-based reward. In fact, those states which have done better on before the country. The uneven growth
NITI Aayog has pitched for a formula certain parameters are not punished,” has spawned several narratives—north
for the central government to share its NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Ku- versus south, coastal versus mainland,
divisible pool of taxes with states in a mar recently said. He, however, warns stable government versus frequent re-
way that does not go against the inter- that it cannot be done overnight and gime changes. However, development
est of states that have performed well in has to be implemented gradually, con- doesn’t always follow these binaries
terms of social development. “I think it sidering the political sensitivity around as the INDIA TODAY State of the States
is clear that the formula (for devolution resource allocation in a federal set-up. study has reflected on multiple occa-

Jammu & Kashmir and

THE GOOD
Haryana has the high-
est per capita income
among big states
At 1.3 per cent, Uttara-
khand’s unemployment
rate is the lowest among
big states
Punjab has the highest
number of banks per
100,000 people among big
states—around 23
At 41, Himachal Pradesh
has maximum number
of post oices per
100,000 people
At 110, Haryana has
maximum number of e-
services for citizens
Rajasthan have the least
proportion of lawmakers
(MLAs) with criminal
records
All schools in Delhi,
Goa and Telangana have
separate toilet facility
for girls
Mizoram has the high-
est expenditure per
person on health
At 12 per 100,000 per-
sons, Bihar has the highest
number of government
hospitals per 100,000
people among big states
Meghalaya has high-
est ratio of number of
schools to population
(10-14 yrs) in the country

16 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

 WINNERS in Small States
BEST MOST
CATEGORY PERFORMING IMPROVED
STATE STATE
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and
Bihar—are at the bottom of the best
Overall Puducherry Tripura performing states. Of course, critics
say that given that they start from a
Economy Goa Mizoram
low base, their growth rates look good.
Infrastructure Delhi Tripura But this does not detract from the fact
that these laggard states are making a
Agriculture Puducherry Meghalaya
valiant efort to change their position.
Education Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh That’s the reason BIMARU states such
as Bihar and MP are clocking a nearly
Health Puducherry Delhi 10 per cent growth rate, often higher
Law & Order Nagaland Arunachal Pradesh than economic behemoths such as
Maharashtra and Punjab. A tiny state
Governance Goa Sikkim like Puducherry has been consistently
Inclusive growing at over 10 per cent.
For the traditional table toppers, it
Development Mizoram Tripura
becomes diicult to match the growth
Entrepreneurship Delhi Mizoram rate of the new risers. It’s therefore
encouraging to see as many as 27 of 31
Environment Mizoram Goa
states and UTs examined for the INDIA
Cleanliness Sikkim Puducherry TODAY State of the States study being
awarded across multiple categories.
Tourism Goa Goa
Yet, it’s just the beginning. Apart
from the regional disparity—south and
west India have been the main growth
drivers, with the north catching up but
sions. For instance, states which have Odisha—do not top the table in any of the east still performing abysmally—
featured the maximum number of the 12 categories. the real big divide is between urban and
times among the top 10 across catego- What’s encouraging, however, rural India. Indian cities account for
ries—Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Hary- is the ranking of the most improved nearly 65 per cent of India’s GDP.
ana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, states. States that have traditionally Even among states performing
Gujarat and Maharashtra—reflect been laggards in the “best performing” well, it is only a few cities that are
an almost uniform progress across category have shown the fastest growth driving growth. This rural underde-
all regions. Certainly, there is serious in the past five years. The top seven velopment is resulting in a migration
cause for concern: two of the major most improved states—Assam, Jammu crisis, the most recent example being
states of the East—West Bengal and and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar in Gujarat. According to the Economic

THE BAD Jharkhand tops the list of most

At 42 per cent, West Bengal had
the highest number of women
married before the age of 18
Nagaland has the highest
percentage of children
engaged in labour in the
country—around 6%
number of murders per 100,000
people—5
Sikkim reported maximum number
of rapes per 100,000 people in
the country—15
J&K had the maximum incidences
of riots per 100,000 people—27
THE UGLY
Delhi saw the highest number of kid-
nappings per 100,000 people–39
Delhi had the maximum incidents of
molestations per 100,000 people—25
Delhi witnessed maximum number of
crimes against tourists—154

RBI, MOSPI, DISE, NITI AAYOG, AISHE, CMIE DIPP, NFHS, TRAI, multiple Union ministries, PSUs, Census reports
 STATES
STATE OF
THE STATES
ESSAY
FAST MOVERS
States at the lowest rungs of the best performing
category are showing speedier improvement
STATE
ASSAM
JAMMU & KASHMIR
MADHYA PRADESH
UTTAR PRADESH
CHHATTISGARH
JHARKHAND
BIHAR
Survey 2016-17, which studied
internal migration patterns, less
affluent states see more ‘out-
migration’ while the most affluent
states are the largest recipients. So
south Indian states such as Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala have
attracted the highest number of
migrants while out-migration rates
have increased in MP, Bihar and
UP. The last two account for more
than half of inter-state migrants.
In the five years ended 2016, an
average of nine million people
migrated between states every year
for education or work, according
to the Economic Survey 2016-17.
That’s almost double the inter-state
migration recorded in 2001-2011
and captured by Census 2011.
Interestingly, out-migration
dipped in Assam, perhaps a reflec-
tion of the growing opportunities
in the state. No wonder then that
it has become the most improved
large state, based on its perform-
ance across 12 categories in the
past five years. In an interview
18 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
Most Best
Improved Performing
Rank Rank
1 19
2 16
3 12
4 14
5 17
6 21
7 20
with INDIA TODAY last week, As-
sam Chief Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal claimed that private com-
panies ofered jobs to around one
lakh youth in the past two years
while his government absorbed
55,000 people.
Unfortunately, politically
motivated rhetoric and unsub-
stantiated information spreading
across social media have often led
to xenophobic skirmishes against
migrants in several Indian states.
But what gets drowned in the
noise of prime time and headlines
in big type is the story of socio-
economic integrity propelled by
migration. For instance, in Surat,
migrants make up 70 per cent of
the city’s workforce. Municipal
authorities in Surat are catering
to the city’s migrants by running
over 120 special schools for them.
India’s progress is fuelled by
such stories and the INDIA TODAY
State of the States study is an ac-
knowledgment and celebration of
such inspirational nuggets. „
METHODOLOGY
he 2018 India Today State of the
T States study was conducted
by leading research agency
Marketing and Development
Research Associates (MDRA). The states
were ranked under two broad segments—
Best Performing and Most Improved.
In the best performing category, the
latest performance of a state specific
to a category based on recent data was
examined. In the most improved category,
improvement of a state over the past five
years based on outcome-based posi-
tive changes were examined. In order to
have a fair comparison, states were
divided into big and small. States with a
geographical area of over 35,000 square
kilometres and population of more than 5
million were categorised as big while the
rest were clubbed as small. The perfor-
mances of the states were examined
under 13 categories—overall, economy,
infrastructure, agriculture, education,
health, law and order, governance, inclu-
sive development, entrepreneurship, en-
vironment, cleanliness and tourism. Each
category was given diferent weightage.
Data was sourced from diferent reliable
databases under various attributes—105
for best performing ranks, 80 for most
improved ranks—for each category. More
than 20 experts—academia, represen-
tatives from NITI Aayog, think-tanks,
research organisations, sociologists and
economists were consulted to determine
the attributes and weightage for catego-
ries and attributes. The data collected for
each attribute was cleaned, normalised
and standardised. Most recent data for
each state—2016-17 and 2015-16—were
analysed for evaluation of best perform-
ing states while compounded annual
growth rates (CAGR) on each attribute
for the past five years were used to rank
most improved states. Based on the
weightage determined for each attribute,
rankings in each category were arrived
at. Categorywise scores were used to
arrive at overall best performing and most
improved states. The MDRA research
team included Abhishek Agrawal (Ex-
ecutive Director), Abnish Jha (Associate
Project Director), Shamik Bandyopadhyay
(Assistant Research Manager) and Rajan
Chauhan (Research Executive).
For detailed categories, attributes and
weightages, please visit
www.indiatoday.in
 T TH
ATES TAMIL NADU Best performing large state Overall, in Law & Order and Tourism
STATE OF
THE STATES
CHENNAI
SUPER
EXPRESS
Tamil Nadu featured among the top 10
large states in 11 out of 12 categories; the
state’s welfare schemes were key
By Amarnath K. Menon
A
new controversial block-
buster, Sarkar, starring
popular hero Vijay,
seems to suggest that
populism has no place
in Tamil Nadu. In
reality, this is a state that thrives on
nurturing its constituents with
subsidies and nuanced welfare
schemes. While the mid-day meal
programme for school children and
social security (pension) for the
elderly—introduced in the 1980s by the
late M.G. Ramachandran, founder of
the ruling AIADMK—were pioneering
initiatives in the country, the state is
now implementing many more, some
even borrowed from other states,
through 31 government departments.
Ofering freebies packaged as
welfare goods hit new highs between
2006 and 2016. Both the AIADMK
and DMK governments pursued this
line keenly to reel in voters. While the
DMK (2006-11) distributed 11.6 mil-
lion free colour television sets (spend-
ing Rs 3,687 crore), the AIADMK
regime that followed (2011-16) handed
out 11.7 million fans, mixies and
grinders at a cost of Rs 7,686 crore.
2 0 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
“Political parties, in the guise
of helping the poor, have fostered a
dependence syndrome in the state.
Meanwhile, they source sub-standard
material as consumer goods through
their cronies to help line their pockets
and drain public funds. It all reeks of
scandal and corruption,” says Prof.
Ramu Manivannan of the Department
of Political Science and Public Admin-
istration, University of Madras. Econo-
mists and state planners, though,
perceive the subsidy culture diferently.
“The state’s record in implementing
welfare schemes has contributed to the
extremely low rate of multi-dimension-
al poverty, particularly in areas such as
health, education and living standards.
It makes a meaningful diference to
the quality of life of the poor,” Paul Ap-
pasamy, a former director of the Ma-
dras School of Economics, points out,
though he admits that sub-standard
consumer durables as a poverty allevia-
tion measure is questionable.
“The state’s most vital function is
maintaining public order. Unless there
is peace, we cannot have social and
economic growth. Which is why Tamil
Nadu’s growth model seeks to achieve
Most improved large state in
SAFETY DRIVE
Mounted police
patrolling the Marina
Beach in Chennai
development through inclusive growth.
The aim is to rid society of inner ten-
sions that may surface in the form of
communalism or extremism,” explains
a senior government oicial on condi-
tion of anonymity. “The switching of
parties in power,” he goes on to empha-
sise, “has always been without losing
sight of the fundamentals to ensure
Tamil Nadu’s growth.”
Tamil Nadu is already the second
largest contributor to India’s GDP, and
is among only eight states to record
poverty reduction at a rate higher than
the all-India average. The state’s per
capita income, at current prices, is
Rs 1,53,263 (2016 -17), the third high-
est among large states. Tamil Nadu’s
Human Development Index is second
among large states and its socioeco-
Law & Order
nomic development status is again
much higher than the national average.
With a population of 72 million,
of which 80 per cent is literate and
48.5 per cent urbanised, Tamil Nadu
is an innovation-based economy with
a strong performance in manufac-
turing and services. It has a GSDP
(manufacturing and services) of Rs
8,68,058.8 crore (2016-17) at current
prices with a CAGR of nine per cent
over the past decade. The services and
industry sectors account for 93.8 per
cent of the GSDP. The state contributes
more than 26 per cent of the national
output in paper, machinery, electron-
ics, textiles, auto and auto components
and leather products. There are more
than 40,000 large industries and over
900,000 SMEs. The state has the
JAISON G
largest number of factories (17 per cent)
and industrial work force (16 per cent)
in the country.
Tamil Nadu’s strong performance
is largely due to its robust infrastruc-
ture and transparent regulatory
framework. This has contributed
to making Chennai the joint third-
highest foreign investment destina-
tion following Mumbai and Delhi for
a cumulative 15-year period (April
2000-September 2015) at $18 billion.
Much of this springs from the
vision of the late chief minister J. Jaya-
lalithaa and her ‘Vision Tamil Nadu
2023’ document from 2012. Under it,
the state adopted multiple strategies to
enhance competitiveness and eiciency
in various sectors. Of the 217 projects
identified across 13 sectors, work has
THE PEACE
PROCESS
INITIATIVES THAT HELPED
MAINTAIN LAW AND ORDER
CCTV cameras installed
in 747 police stations and
154,733 public places
A comprehensive wellness
programme for 120,000
police personnel and
360,000 family members
to help the state police combat
increased levels of stress due to
work pressure
At 0.4 per 100,000 persons,
the state recorded the lowest
number of rapes per 100,000
people across the country
Tamil Nadu received
343.8 million domestic
and 4.7 million foreign
tourists in 2016-17, the
highest in the country
been initiated in over 100 on which a
decadal investment of a staggering Rs
15 lakh crore is being made since 2012.
Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami
puts it all down to “the state governm-
ent efectively articulating the just sen-
timents of the people on critical issues,
a big reason for Tamil Nadu main-
taining public order”. The state has
largely been free of organised violence.
Enhanced financial allocations and
welfare measures have improved the
morale of the police force, essential for
better service delivery. Women’s safety
has been a high point. Tamil Nadu was
the first state to pioneer all-women
police stations and also has the highest
proportion of women in the force.
The state is a popular healthcare
destination and ranks ‘second lowest’
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 2 1
 T TH
ATES TAMIL NADU Best performing large state Overall, in Law & Order and Tourism
STATE OF
THE STATES
‘People’s
welfare is key’
Chief Minister EDAPPADI K. PALANISWAMI
spoke to AMARNATH K. MENON on how the state
stole the show in this year’s survey. Excerpts:
Q. Tamil Nadu has emerged as the best
performing large state. What has the
state done differently?
Tamil Nadu was set on a high growth
trajectory by Puratchi Thalaivi Amma
(the late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa).
This government has followed the path
shown by her. We have a focused eco-
nomic strategy of promoting industries
and other sectors that are oriented
towards generation of jobs. The high
quality of human resources is our
biggest asset. The State’s Skill Develop-
ment Mission has had a big role in this,
helping us attract a range of busi-
nesses and investors. Proactive and
investor-friendly policies have meant
that today Tamil Nadu’s industrial and
services sector base is not just large,
but diversified too. The state also has
a much more even spread of develop-
ment geographically; the disparities in
development among the districts is not
as wide as in some other states.
Q. You have a large range of populist
welfare programmes. Aren’t some of
these a drain on the exchequer?
People’s welfare is uppermost in our
minds. All of these schemes serve a
specific need. Like the laptop distribu-
tion scheme, which has substantially
reduced the digital divide in society and
ensured that even poor students from
rural areas have access to the most up-
2 2 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
dated knowledge products. Many of our
schemes which were dubbed populist
when they were first implemented have
now been accepted as models even by
international agencies. All these social
schemes create a social dividend which
is enjoyed by investors in the state. More
jobs are created and more income is
generated which in turn nourishes the
state exchequer. They are a long-term
investment in social capital.
Q. Less than half the 217 projects en-
shrined in the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023
document have been taken up so far.
Work is on in 100 projects and some
are even complete. Many more projects
are at various stages of implementa-
tion. We intend to adhere to the dead-
line set in the vision document.
Q. What is your most significant con-
tribution as chief minister?
Providing stability and continuity after
the demise of our great leader has been
the most significant contribution. I
have also ensured that government
Most improved large state in
JAISON G
business gets disposed without delays.
Quick decision-making has speeded
up the implementation of a number of
welfare schemes and projects.
Q. What are the policing measures
introduced to improve law and order?
Tamil Nadu is well known for its pro-
fessional police force. We ensure ad-
equate manpower and equip them with
skill and equipment, besides keeping
their morale at the highest level. It also
has state-of-the-art technology to back
it up. Every problem or agitation is
resolved through talks, and solutions
found. This has resulted in drastic
reduction in social tensions and labour
unrest. The ‘Kavalan SOS’ mobile app
has drastically improved safety and
security, especially for women and
children, by providing round-the-clock
police assistance in emergency and dis-
tress situations. Because of our eforts,
Chennai has been declared as safest
metro city and Coimbatore safest big
city for women in India by the National
Crime Records Bureau.
Law & Order

RANKINGS OF THE BIG STATES—OVERALL

SCORE
STATE (2000)

6 (Highest jump) 1 7 Tamil Nadu 903.0

3 2 5 Haryana 820.8
3 3 6 Kerala 816.3
4 4 Gujarat 814.6
3 5 8 Punjab 811.6
-3 6 3 Karnataka 805.3
-6 7 1 Himachal Pradesh 800.1
2 8 10 Maharashtra 787.3
-7 (Biggest drop) 9 2 Telangana 760.2
2 10 12 Andhra Pradesh 757.8
-2 11 9 Uttarakhand 755.7
5 12 17 Madhya Pradesh 717.4
2 13 15 West Bengal 717.2
5 14 19 Uttar Pradesh 706.1
-1 15 14 Rajasthan 684.9
-5 16 11 Jammu & Kashmir 664.1
-1 17 16 Chhattisgarh 663.7
-5 18 13 Odisha 617.5
-1 19 18 Assam 594.1
1 20 21 Bihar 588.4
-1 21 20 Jharkhand 583.6

in terms of the infant mortality and Index on elementary education. Here

birth rate, and ‘third highest’ in
terms of life expectancy. The many
health welfare programmes have
again played a major role in this.
Vision 2023 envisages the state
providing ‘high quality afordable ed-
ucation’ and becoming the country’s
‘knowledge capital’. There is a major
focus on improving the quality of ed-
ucation and ensuring that opportuni-
ties are available to all segments of
society. Tamil Nadu was No. 1 in the
Composite Education Development
again, welfare programmes lead the
way. Free laptops, special cash incen-
tives to reduce dropouts at secondary
level, free school kits, better infra-
structure and recruitment of quality
teachers are among the major ones.
In the past five years, 74,316 teachers
have been appointed to government
schools, bringing the teacher-pupil
ratio to 1:15, significantly better than
the national norm.
From education, development is
but the next logical step. ■
 T TH
ATES ASSAM Most improved large state Overall, in Economy and Health
STATE OF
THE STATES
MAKING OF A
RICH BREW
Employment opportunities, industrial expansion and a
medical scheme targeted at 92 per cent of its
population have put Assam on a fast growth trajectory
By Kaushik Deka
O
ne of the languages
that saw a significant
surge in south
India—according to
the Language Census
2011 data released in
June—was Assamese. This finding
was not surprising because, every
year, Assam sees a massive outbound
migration of job-seeking youth from
the state. That’s the pattern of
inter-state migration in India—people
move from less affluent states to the
most affluent states in search of
livelihood, and Assam is one of the
lowest-ranked states in the INDIA
TODAY State of the States study in
absolute performance.
However, the Economic Sur-
vey 2016-17, which studied internal
migration patterns, had an interesting
revelation—Assam is one of the states
which saw a dip in outbound migration
in recent years. Chief Minister Sar-
bananda Sonowal ofers his explana-
tion behind this positive development.
“Employment opportunities in the
state are growing because of a trans-
parent government recruitment system
and increased private investment. It’s
2 4 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
natural that youngsters are staying
back home,” he says. The CM quickly
belts out numbers to substantiate his
claims—the Advantage Assam summit
held in February this year resulted in
an investment promise of Rs 79,000
crore of which Rs 8,000 was invested
within five months. For instance, phar-
maceutical company Sun Pharma has
invested Rs 750 crore in the state to set
up a production line that will boost the
company’s capacity to manufacture
liquid vials, injectables, eye drops and
tablets. Another investment of Rs 200
crore is in the pipeline. “It has generat-
ed direct employment for 1,000 people
and indirect employment for 3,000,”
says Sonowal.
FMCG giant Patanjali Ayurveda
has promised an investment of
Rs 1,300 crore and direct employment
to 5,000 people in Assam. The CM
claims more than one lakh youth have
been absorbed in the private sector in
the past two-and-a-half years, while
his government has appointed 55,000
youth through a merit-based recruit-
ment system. In the rural areas, the
government has set up 126,000 self-
help groups, each of whom has been
given an assistance of Rs 25,000 to
explore livelihood opportunities.
The increasingly peaceful envi-
ronment and a rising entrepreneurial
streak, supported by government
initiatives, have led to small but signifi-
cant changes in the rural economy. The
state is one of the top three performers
in organic farming in the Northeast.
This month, vegetables sourced from
various districts were directly exported
to Dubai’s markets. In October, Assam
sent vegetables to London and Doha.
The recognition for the state’s
upward journey came from N.K. Singh,
chairman of the 15th Finance Commis-
sion, “In the last two-three years, As-
sam has achieved significant progress

with a recent spurt in growth. It has
maintained overall macro-economic
stability along with improvement in the
indicators of human resource develop-
ment,” Singh said at an event in April.
Though between 2011-12 and 2016-
17, its Gross State Domestic Product
(GSDP) grew at a Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.8 per cent,
the state’s industrial development has
remained slow due to poor infrastruc-
ture. To build infrastructure support,
the industries and commerce Depart-
ment has sponsored three projects as
industrial growth centres at Chariduar,
Matia and Chaygaon-Patgaon. The
state government has approved 11
ALL THAT
GLITTERS
A night view of
Guwahati
BIJU BORO
integrated infrastructure development
centres across the state. The state has
adopted the North East Industrial
Investment Promotion Policy and the
Industrial Policy of Assam to facilitate
business through fiscal incentives and
multi-year concessions to investors.
The Assam Industrial Development
Corporation (AIDC) has implemented
an Export Promotion Industrial
Park (EPIP) at Amingaon. Border
trade centres have been established at
Mankachar, Sutarkandi and Darranga.
Due to the high potential for wild-
life tourism in the state, the Centre has
increased the funds under the Integrat-
ed Development of Wildlife Habitats
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 2 5
GROWTH
SURGE
12% compound annual growth
rate of Assam’s GSDP between
2011-12 and 2016-17
Growth in services up from
(2013-14) to 10.7% (2015-16)
33% more revenue gener-
ated than the budget estimate of
`74,119 crore in 2017-18; 28%
increase in non-tax revenue
Assam accounts for 15% of
India’s crude output
It also produces one-seventh
of the global tea output and 50%
of India’s total tea production
It has 20 industrial
estates, 3 industrial growth
centres, 11 Integrated Infrastruc-
ture Development Depots
WEALTH FOR HEALTH
Assam has launched the Atal
Amrit Abhiyan, a cashless health-
care scheme, which ofers free
medical care of up to Rs 2 lakh for
every individual from families with
annual income below Rs 5 lakh. It
will cover 92 per cent of the state’s
population
` 1,600 spent on the health of
every individual—the third highest
among big states
` 1,080 crore allocated across
two years for upgrading seven
government medical colleges
 T TH
ATES ASSAM Most improved large state Overall, in Economy and Health
STATE OF
THE STATES

scheme to the state. In 2017, more than

6 million tourists visited Assam.
The state has also made a massive
RANKINGS OF MOST IMPROVED BIG STATES—OVERALL
leap in moving towards a digital econ-
omy. A Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar RANK 2018 STATE SCORE (2,000)
Mela scheme was launched in January
to transfer Rs 2,500 to each tea garden 1 Assam 1,232.1
worker who had a bank account. As
per the 2018-19 budget, this amount 2 Jammu & Kashmir 1,230
has been transferred to 721,485 bank 3 Madhya Pradesh 1,219.5
accounts of workers across 752 tea
gardens in Assam’s 26 districts. 4 Uttar Pradesh 1,177.4
5 Chhattisgarh 1,162.2

A
Lancet study titled, ‘The
Global Burden of Disease 6 Jharkhand 1,152.8
Study’, released in May 7 Bihar 1,149.4
says that India ranks
8 Andhra Pradesh 1,114
145th among 195 countries in terms
of healthcare quality and accessibility, 9 Karnataka 1,093.8
and Uttar Pradesh and Assam clock
10 Odisha 1,053.3
the worst performance in India. As
per the study, India performed poorly 11 Rajasthan 1,042.5
in tackling cases of tuberculosis, heart 12 Himachal Pradesh 1,026.8
diseases and cancer, among others.
Assam also faces an acute short- 13 West Bengal 1,020.3
age of doctors. The state has only three 14 Telangana 994.8
doctors for 10,000 patients, which is
woefully short of the World Health 15 Haryana 967.5
Organization prescribed minimum 16 Tamil Nadu 966.3
ratio of 1:1,000. Health minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds 17 Gujarat 918.8
the finance portfolio, while tabling 18 Maharashtra 899.9
the state’s budget for 2017-18, asserted
19 Uttarakhand 888.9
that the state was targeting to produce
1,200 doctors annually by setting up 20 Punjab 885.2
new medical colleges. Assam has been
21 Kerala 846.3
running a scheme wherein the govern-
ment bears the expenses of surgery at
the Narayana Hrudayalaya in Ben-
galuru, Kolkata and Guwahati for
children who have been recommended 15 districts in Assam. To be set up at The cashless scheme will cover 92 per
surgery for congenital heart disease. an investment of Rs 1,910 crore, these cent of Assam’s population. It will
The scheme covers families with an an- centres will start functioning from be one of the largest such universal
nual income of less than Rs 6 lakh, and mid-2020. health assurance schemes in the world
includes the airfare and accommoda- However, the real game-changer catering to both Below Poverty Line
tion of the child and one guardian. could be the Atal Amrit Abhiyan (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL)
The Assam government has also launched in April by Vice President people. The state government has ear-
joined hands with the Tata Trust M. Venkaiah Naidu. It’s a healthcare marked Rs 400 crore for the scheme
to roll out an elaborate cancer care scheme of the Assam government that in FY 2018-19. “This scheme will cre-
programme in the state. The joint ofers free medical care of up to Rs 2 ate a universal healthcare system that
venture will result in the setting up lakh for every individual from families could be a model for other states,” says
of 17 cancer treatment centres across with annual income below Rs 5 lakh. Sonowal. ■

26 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

 AT TH
TE MAHARASHTRA Best performing large state in Economy
STATE OF
THE STATES
DANESH JASSAWALA
AUSTERITY BREEDS
PROSPERITY
Planning, Quality and Speed—the state has adopted these
three core values to reach the top of the ladder
By Kiran D. Tare
I
n 2016-17, Maharashtra reg-
istered 10 per cent economic
growth, as per its economy sur-
vey report. Having received 94
per cent of the annual average
rainfall, the state recorded an agricul-
tural growth of 12.5 per cent during
the same period while the industry and
services sectors registered growth of
6.5 and 9.7 per cent, respectively.
The state’s decision to reduce the
number of permissions from 75 to 23
to start new businesses has also paid
of. During the past four years, it has
received foreign investment worth
Rs 3,94,886 crore, which, according
to the RBI, is 31 per cent of the total
foreign investment in the country.
Industry minister Subhash Desai says
the state is at the number one position
not only in getting foreign investment,
but also in converting ‘investment
28 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
HIGH STREET
Phoenix Mall, Mumbai,
is one of the biggest
hypermarkets in the state
intention’ into real investments.
State finance minister Sudhir
Mungantiwar attributes the state’s
success in improving its economy to
three characteristics: PQS, or Plan-
ning, Quality and Speed. For the next
year, growth is expected to be at 7.3
per cent in spite of the huge amount
spent on the farmers’ loan waiver as
well as rain deficiency. The state’s
revenue has increased by 39.5 per cent
in the first quarter of this year as com-
pared with the first quarter of last year
because of the Goods and Service Tax
(GST). The state also earned revenue
worth Rs 25,742 crore between April
and June 2017. This year, it earned
Rs 35,915 crore during the same
period. The state faced its biggest
financial challenge in 2017 when it
announced a loan waiver of Rs 32,000
crore for farmers. However, it man-
THE BIG MOVES
The state did not allow coop-
erative institutions to take loan
from the government and keep
the amount in their savings
account as it led to a situation
where the money rolled in the
market instead of benefitting a
particular organisation
The finance department
asked all departments to
periodically submit reports on
their expenditure. It helped the
government judge who needs
how much money and curb
unnecessary expenditure
ECONOMIC GIANT
Maharashtra’s 2017-18 GSDP
at constant price is Rs 19,59,920
crore or around 10 per cent of
India’s GDP
Maharashtra’s per capita
income has witnessed a growth
of 9.1 per cent in 2017-18
The state has registered the
maximum number of compa-
nies—3,20,957—in 2016 in the
country
Before GST, Maharashtra’s
share in India’s services sector
was 19.5 per cent. It has reached
close to 50 per cent now
aged to save around Rs 11,000 crore
by identifying ghost farmers’ accounts
and by linking the loan waiver scheme
to mandatory disclosure of identity
of the beneficiaries. Further, as more
than 50 per cent of the beneficiary
farmers did not opt for the one-time
settlement scheme, the state did not
pay them the loan waiver amount.
“There is no dearth of money, but
we have focused on austerity,” says
Mungantiwar. ■

SEEDS OF WEALTH
With just 3 per cent of the country’s net sown area, the
state has delivered bountiful harvests year after year
By Asit Jolly
P
unjab has an inherent
advantage when it comes to
agriculture. Besides its
fertile soils rejuvenated by
rivers flowing down from
the Himalayan and Shivalik ranges,
the state has also benefited from an
extensive canal network as well as a
climate that favours multiple crops.
But perhaps the single-biggest
contributor is its peasantry that’s been
quick to adapt to new concepts.
Working with a mere 3 per cent of
the country’s net sown area, Punjab’s
farmers have successively delivered
bountiful harvests that account for 19
per cent of India’s wheat and 12 per
cent of its paddy production. For every
hectare, the Punjabi hinterland pro-
duces more than 17 quintals of wheat
and 14 quintals of paddy, which is high-
er than the national average. Also, the
agricultural GVA (Gross Value Added)
in Punjab accounts for 4 per cent of the
BUMPER CROP
Wheat harvesting
near Amritsar
PUNJAB Best performing large state in Agriculture
total GVA of the country. This, when
the state’s rural population is a mere 2
per cent of India’s population.
A 2014 study by agricultural
economists H.S. Shergill and Varinder
Sharma estimates that between 1972
and 2012, Punjab tripled its wheat
production and increased its paddy
harvest by 12 times. Milk production
also quadrupled. During this period,
Punjab’s contribution to the national
foodgrains pool rose 21-fold, from 0.9
million tonnes to 19 million tonnes.
The past 19 months under the Cap-
tain Amarinder Singh-led Congress
government have witnessed record
wheat and paddy harvests. Foodgrains
production in 2017-18 peaked to 31.7
million tonnes. This paddy season,
too, central and state agencies had
procured 15.03 million metric tonnes
of paddy till November 11.
But despite successive bumper har-
vests, Punjab’s farmers have remained
PRABHJOT GILL
FARMER
FRIENDLY
Among all states,
Punjab ofered the
highest loans to
agriculture per
households’ cultivating
land
Rs 2 lakh loan
waiver given to each
small and marginal
farmer
Campaign launched
to educate farmers
about the judicious
use of pesticides
in order to protect the
state’s basmati exports
in severe indebtedness. Much of this
is consequent to crop (cotton) failures
because of spurious pesticides, suspect
seeds and procurement prices failing to
keep pace with the cost of farm inputs.
Assuming oice in March 2017,
Amarinder announced a farm loan
waiver, pledging to bear liabilities (up
to Rs 2 lakh) that small and marginal
farmers owed to cooperative banks.
To date, 382,000 farmers have been
provided relief totalling Rs 1,736 crore.
The government has assured marginal
farmers waivers worth Rs 1,185 crore
owed to commercial banks. State laws
have been amended whereby banks can
no longer dispossess farmers of their
land or have them arrested for failing
to repay loans.
Admitting loan waivers are not a
final solution, Amarinder says “strug-
gling farmers nonetheless need to be
supported”. “There’s a lasting solution
in the recommendations of the M.S.
Swaminathan Commission. All we re-
ally need is the large-hearted magna-
nimity to implement them.” ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 29
 MADHYA PRADESH Most improved big state in Agriculture and Environment
STATE OF
THE STATES

HARVEST
GOLD Not just augmenting farm productivity
and income, the state has also made big
strides in cleaning up the environment

By Rahul Noronha

SPOILS FROM
THE SOIL Potato
crop in Shajapur

E
ven as poor agricultural Raisen, Hoshangabad, Harda, Bhopal, to irrigation-intensive high yielding
growth compels the Sehore, Vidisha and Narsinghpur. varieties of wheat, which in turn has
Union and state govern- However, the state government has enhanced production and incomes.
ments to plan revival failed to resolve legal issues, with bas- A key intervention has been the
strategies for the mati from MP in danger of not being availability of farm credit at zero per
politically sensitive recognised as basmati paddy at all. cent interest since 2012-13, making it
sector, at least one state has bucked On other fronts, though, such as in- easier for farmers to invest in seeds,
the trend for years. In fact, Madhya creasing the area under irrigation, the fertilisers and mechanised tilling
Pradesh’s agricultural growth story government appears to have done well. and sowing. Earlier, farm loans from
has ofered other states a template to The area under irrigation has increased state cooperative banks were avail-
get their act together. from 7.5 lakh hectare to 40 lakh able at 5 per cent interest. “About 5.4
Though sceptics have often ques- hectare. Completion million Kisan Credit
tioned the claims made by the MP gov- of pending irrigation Cards have been issued
ernment, a string of Krishi Karmanya
Awards by the Centre has come as an
projects and successful
implementation of a
Madhya Pradesh to farmers in the state.
In 2016-17, nearly Rs
endorsement of the state’s achieve-
ments. Large tracts of land along the
World Bank-aided water
restructuring project
produces 29% 12,000 crore was dis-
bursed,” says minister
Narmada have been brought under
basmati rice cultivation in the past
have paid dividends.
Farmers have been able
of India’s pulses, for cooperation Vishwas
Sarang. The state-run
decade or so. The crop shift will throw
up critical challenges in the future,
to shift to two crops
and, in many instances,
53% of soy- cooperative banks ac-
count for about 70 per
such as depletion of the water table to three crop cycles, in bean and 28% cent of the Kisan Credit
but, for now, it has ushered in prosper- a calendar year. It has Cards distributed.
ity among farmers in the districts of also enabled a shift of oilseeds With about 95,000

3 0 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018


PANKAJ TIWARI
square kilometres or 30 per cent of its
total geographical area under forests,
environment has a critical bearing on
both the state’s politics and economy.
MP has about 12 per cent of the coun-
try’s forest area. Among the states, it
has the maximum area under forest
cover. With a population of about 72.6
million in the 2011 census, the per
capita availability of forests is 2,400
square metres, against the national
average of 700 square metres.
For the past year-and-a-half, the
Shivraj Singh Chouhan government
has been working to control pollution
in the major rivers, particularly the
Narmada. Even though Chouhan’s
Narmada Yatra has been touted as
a political programme, it appears to
have helped raise awareness about
protecting the river’s ecology.
Under the ‘zero liquid discharge’
concept, industries have been in-
structed to ensure maximum use of
FARM FEST
treated water in their processes.
Seventy-six major rivers in the state
are being monitored for water quality.
MADHYA
PRADESH Discharge from the Security Paper Mill
at Hoshangabad and Orient Paper Mill
at Amla into the Narmada and Sone
No. 1 rivers respectively is now down to a
fourth. This has improved the water
quality in these rivers to ‘fit for drink-
IN CHANA AND SOYBEAN ing’. Water in the Kshipra, Betwa and
PRODUCTION
Tapti has improved to ‘fit for bathing’.
“The Narmada, which is not a
glacial river, is the state’s lifeline as
No. 2 it has cultural and economic impor-
tance. The focus on cleaning up the
IN MASOOR, rivers, especially the Narmada, is
WHEAT, MUSTARD paying dividends. There will be more
PRODUCTION improvement in the months to come,”
says principal secretary (environment)
Anupam Rajan. The state pollution
control board had identified 20 pol-
No. 3 luted stretches in prominent rivers.
These have reduced to six because of
IN ARHAR the control on effluents and the shut-
PRODUCTION
ting down of polluting industries.
Since May 2017, the state has
imposed a ban on manufacturing,
storage and sale of polythene. It all
began in 2016 with the ban on the use
FOR A CLEAN of polythene at religious places and
during the Simhastha fair in Ujjain.
ENVIRONMENT Through the ban is far from complete
on the ground, there has been a defi-
19 new water nite curtailment in polythene use.
quality monitoring In 2008, MP became the first state
stations have been to start co-processing of plastic waste
installed on the Narma- in cement kilns. Ten plants have so far
da, taking the total
processed plastic waste to the tune of
of such stations to 50
52,000 metric tonnes. Of late, disposal
Ambient air of solid waste has become a major issue
quality stations in urban centres. An 11 MW waste-to-
have been set up in energy plant has been established in
the industrial hubs of Jabalpur and another one is proposed
Singrauli, Dewas, Ujjain at Bhopal. Commercial capital Indore
and Mandideep and state capital Bhopal have been
adjudged the top two cleanest cities in
An environmen- the country in 2017 and 2018 consecu-
tal surveillance
tively. The installation of bag filters and
centre has come up at
secondary fume extraction system in
Bhopal, functioning as
an emergency response industries has helped improve air qual-
and warning system ity in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Rewa,
Sagar and Ujjain. One aspect where
the state is breathing easy. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 3 1
 T TH
ATES GUJARAT Best performing large state in Infrastructure
STATE OF
THE STATES

EVERY DROP COUNTS

M
any thought that after
Narendra Modi moved
to the Centre as prime
The state has taken impressive strides in trying to ensure minister, Gujarat would
drinking water for all, irrigation and rural roads construction slow down. But the state
has continued to grow, particularly in
By Uday Mahurkar infrastructure, including drinking wa-
ter, irrigation, roads and industrial and
agricultural development. Examples
include the Narmada dam-based Sauni
Yojana to tackle the water issues in Sau-
rashtra, now in its second phase. Total
investment is now Rs 13,000 crore in a
span of five years. The area it will finally
irrigate: 560,000 acres.
Similarly, in drinking water
infrastructure, Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani has made very specific interven-
tions. Based on micro surveys, he has
launched schemes to cover areas left out
earlier. A Rs 2,624 crore scheme will
cover the tribal belt of Dohad, Chhota
Udepur and Mahisagar districts in
north Gujarat and Valsad and Tapi
districts in north Gujarat. As Rupani
says, “Our objective is to make Gujarat
both power and drinking water surplus.
It is already a power surplus state.” The
Narmada dam and related projects now
cover 10,000 of the 18,000 villages and
150 of the total 170 towns in the state.
In terms of road infrastructure too,
Gujarat has done well, even winning an
award for implementation of the Prad-
NANDAN DAVE

POWER PLUS han Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana.

Gujarat International
Finance Tec-City in
Close to 2,172 km of state highways
Ahmedabad have been done up during 2017-18. In
industrial infrastructure, too, clear-
ances for turning agricultural land into

THE INFRA STRUCTURE non-agriculture for industrial infra-

structure, a major source of corruption
502 Gujarat Gujarat Ninety- Gujarat earlier, have been moved online. The
infra- has the has 5,259 six per cent is among chief minister himself reviews all proj-
structure second kms of households the top 3 ects over Rs 500 crore every fortnight
projects highest railway in Gujarat states in in a meeting.
worth Rs ratio of lines, the have elec- per capita This has produced results. Maruti
2,90,226 vehicles to 4th largest tricity availabil- Suzuki has announced its third expan-
crore are on road length network in ity of sion plan at Becharaji in north Gujarat,
in Gujarat, the country power once a backward region. Says industries
as of April
commissioner Mamta Verma: “For
2017* *Source: NITI Aayog industry, the easing of processes in sec-
uring permissions is really appealing.” ■

3 2 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018


ON A HIGH
Patratu valley
near Ranchi
SOMNATH SEN
Road to Recovery
Jharkhand has achieved in four years what it
couldn’t in the first 14 years of its existence
By Amitabh Srivastava
F
or a state that was created
with much expectation
in 2000, Jharkhand did
not live up to its prom-
ise for 14 years after it
came into being. The state saw five
chief ministers in that time, none of
whom completed a term in oice,
and three stints of President’s rule.
The Raghubar Das-led government
is the first stable one Jharkhand has
seen, helping it attend to the task of
development.
From just 7,939 km of new
roads the road construction depart-
ment built in the 14 years since
Jharkhand’s creation, the state made
rapid strides in the pace of road
development, adding 4,610 km new
roads in the past four years. This
means 3.3 km of road length is being
built every day on an average in the
past four years compared to the 1.6
km daily average of the first 14 years.
According to Chief Minister Ra-
ghubar Das, rural connectivity was
JHARKHAND Most improved large state in Infrastructure
key to the socio-economic develop-
ment of the state. “Better connectiv-
ity is a must for eicient delivery of
public services and implementation
of development programmes,” he
says. According to the Jharkhand
Economic Survey 2017-18, 25,200 of
the state’s 36,827 villages have been
“Jharkhand has miles to
go. While we are happy to
have successfully improved
infrastructure in the state,
our goal is to scale it up and
transform the state into
one of the best in India”
Raghubar Das
Chief Minister, Jharkhand
FEELING
CONNECTED
Six-lane Ring Road in
Ranchi
Govindpur–Sahibganj
Road project in northeast
Jharkhand. Is being dubbed
Lifeline of Santhal Parganas
Bridge over Koel river
in Sundipur
Medical college build-
ings at Daltonganj, Dumka
and Hazaribagh
30 district court, 20
sub-divisional court buildings
New building for
Deogarh airport
connected with all-weather roads.
Aware that land was a sensitive
issue in the state but at the same time
crucial for infrastructure, necessary
reforms were introduced to facilitate
acquisition and transfer to industrial
and government projects. The land
reforms department now hands over
acquired land to the Jharkhand In-
dustrial Area Development Author-
ity (JIADA), the nodal agency for
providing infrastructural facilities
in industrial areas. A total of 2,817
hectares of land has been transferred
to JIADA, which in turn has already
allotted 825 ha to various projects.
Over 980 ha has been handed over to
the National Highways Authority of
India, helping it lay 909 km of roads
in the past four years.
Jharkhand has also centralised
all construction activity, entrusting
the Jharkhand State Building Con-
struction Corporation with the task.
Work is currently on for projects
worth Rs 4,000 crore. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 33
 T TH
ATES HIMACHAL PRADESH Best performing large state in Education
STATE OF
THE STATES

BIG MOVES
A CLASS APART, Akhand Shik-
sha Jyoti—Mere

LITERALLY School se Nikle

Moti, a unique alumni
programme where old
With high enrolment, best student-teacher ratio and real-time students are invited
assessment, the state’s education model is a lesson for others to contribute to their
alma mater
By Asit Jolly
SANDEEP SAHDEV Medha Protsah-
an Yojana wherein
meritorious students
are eligible for Rs 1 lakh
scholarships on admis-
sion to professional
institutions

Himachal Pradesh
has 2,846
schools per 100,000
people in the 10-14
VIRTUAL LEAP
Mandi district collector R.M. Thakur
age group, the high-
interacts with school students
est in large states

D
espite the alternating
succession of BJP and
Congress governments,
the one thing regimes in
Himachal Pradesh have
been consistent about is the progres-
sively improving status of education.
And things are no diferent under the
Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government.
From being an almost illiterate
state at Independence, Himachal
Pradesh is now over 90 per cent liter-
ate. This, education secretary Arun
Kumar says, comes from consistent
100 per cent enrolment at the primary
level and 80 per cent in secondary
school. Himachal, he adds, is the first
state to achieve a gross enrolment
ratio (GER) of 54 per cent.
The state has been decidedly
generous with its education budget.
For instance, it spends Rs 64.79 crore
annually for every 10,000 children
in the 6-14 age group—the highest in
the country. By ensuring proactive
hiring of teachers and their career
advancement, the state has achieved
a student-teacher ratio of 11:1—the
best in the country. Even better: 45
per cent of the children enrolled in
educational institutions are girls.
Kumar says a brief dip in primary
enrolment was quickly addressed
through measures like starting pre-
school classes in 3,300 state-run
schools. To standardise curricula, the
Thakur government has decided to
introduce NCERT textbooks from
standard one. Training to reorient pri-
mary teachers for the purpose is over.
Under the Atal Awasiya Vidya Ken-
dra scheme, fully equipped residential
schools will be opened in all 68 assem-
bly constituencies, half of which will be
reserved for girls. “We intend to make
these [boarding schools] capable of
standing up to the best,” says Kumar.
Another successful exercise,
emulated by other states is the periodic
state-level assessment surveys (SLAS)
for real-time mapping of learning levels
in schools. Kumar says the education
department is focused on enhancing
the ‘happiness quotient’ of students
through their involvement in commu-
nity programmes, yoga and introduc-
ing ‘school bag-free’ days. ■

3 4 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018


SONU KISHAN
Scripting a New Future
Rising enrolment, falling dropout rates and cheap
loans for higher education turned the tide in Bihar
By Amitabh Srivastava
W
ith a young popula-
tion (15-24 years) of
around 17.5 million,
or almost 17 per cent,
Bihar, under Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar, set education
as a priority sector early on. Statistics
show that the eforts have paid of. For
instance, the state’s literacy rate shot
up from 47 per cent in 2001 to 61.8 per
cent in 2011. Bihar’s decadal (2001-
2011) growth rate in literacy has been
the highest among all states. Also, the
17.9 per cent jump in female literacy
during the period is much higher than
the 10.9 per cent registered for the
entire country.
This is not all. Dropout rates in
Bihar have fallen steadily in recent
years. At the primary level, the
dropout rate fell from 39.3 per cent
in 2010-11 to 25 per cent in 2015-16—
down by over 14 percentage points. In
BIHAR Most improved large state in Education
upper primary, the dropout rate fell
by 12.9 percentage points in the same
period, from 55.1 per cent to 42.2
per cent. The dropout rates of girls
are lower than of boys at all levels of
education (elementary, secondary and
higher secondary).
Expenditure on education in-
“We have accorded top
priority to education.
Our goal is to create a
system that will help
Bihar’s students
realise their potential”
Nitish Kumar
Chief Minister, Bihar
SELFIE TIME
Students pose for a photo
with Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar
creased from Rs 14,946 crore in 2013-
14 to Rs 19,713 crore in 2016-17, with
70.4 per cent allocated to primary
education alone. The number of pri-
mary and upper primary level schools
together increased from 68,323 in
2011-12 to 72,530 in 2015-16.
The Bihar government has
launched the Bihar Student Credit
Card Yojana to help students fund
their higher education. Those who
passed Class 12 and are below 25 years
of age can avail of loans for academic,
business, professional or techni-
cal courses. In case of default, the
government will provide a maximum
guarantee of Rs 4 lakh.
In April, the Nitish government
set up the Bihar State Education
Finance Corporation to facilitate
loans for students. “Girls, transgen-
ders and diferently abled students
willing to pursue higher education
will have to pay just 1 per cent interest
on their education loans; for others,
it would be 4 per cent,” says Kumar.
According to the chief minister, after
significantly raising enrolment at the
primary and upper primary levels, the
government’s next aim is to increase
the gross enrolment ratio (GER) for
higher education—currently 14.3 per
cent against the national average of 24
per cent—to 30 per cent.
When it comes to higher educa-
tion, Bihar has 23 universities, includ-
ing an open university. There are 15
research institutes as well. In 2016,
the state had 276 government colleges
and 478 local colleges. The number
of engineering colleges rose from 10
in 2013 to 28 in 2016. As many as 87
colleges and seven universities enjoy
accreditation from the National As-
sessment and Accreditation Council
(NAAC). There are 60 training insti-
tutes to train school teachers. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 3 5
 ATE TH
TE JAMMU & KASHMIR Best performing large state in Health
STATE OF
THE STATES

THE
HEALING
TOUCH
The state spends Rs 23.3
crore on healthcare per
100,000 persons—the second
highest among large states

ABID BHAT
By Moazum Mohammad

CARE & CURE

24 33.98 506

S
rinagar’s 254-bed GB Pant
Hospital, the Valley’s only
children’s hospital, used to be
a virtual death trap for
infants until 2012. That year
alone saw 787 infant deaths, sparking
public outrage. The deaths were widely
seen to be a consequence of a lack of
hygiene coupled with abysmal medical
infrastructure and shortage of doctors
and paramedical staf.
The change since that fateful year
has been nothing short of revolution-
ary. The paediatric hospital that serves
the region’s seven million residents has
been given a complete makeover. The
old neonatal intensive care unit with
five, often non-functional, life support
units has been replaced with 21 state-
of-the-art ventilators. The hospital now
has new diagnostic labs, an oxygen
plant and a complete contingent of
medical professionals specialising in
child healthcare. All this and the newly
spruced-up premises, haves signifi-
cantly reduced the infant mortality
rate (IMR) by over 50 per cent.
According to the medical super-
intendent at the hospital, Kawarjeet
Singh says, most of the turnaround can
be attributed to the funding received
under the Centre’s flagship National
INFANT MORTALITY RATE DOCTORS PER PATIENTS SERVED PER
PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS 100,000 PERSONS GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL
93 19.50 88.27 73
MATERNAL HOSPITALS BEDS YEARS,
MORTALITY RATE PER PER 100,000 PER LIFE
100,000 LIVE BIRTHS PERSONS HOSPITAL EXPECTANCY
Health Mission (NHM). He says the mental change” by extending health-
hospital has been able to spend Rs 21 care to populations in remote areas.
crore on equipment, manpower and “They did not have access to healthcare
monetary benefits to patients. This facility, especially in winters. The
includes the Rs 30,000 annual spend NHM has provided remote areas with
on free medicines and transportation doctors,” he says. Bolstered by the posi-
on every neonate. tive outcomes, the health authorities
The IMR has registered a sharp de- have set fresh targets—to bring down
cline across the state from 34 per 1,000 the IMR from 24 to under 10 by 2022.
live births in 2016 to just 24. That, For this, even district and sub-district
rather impressively, is lower than the hospitals are being equipped with
national average of 37 infant deaths per neonatal stabilisation units. Five new
1,000 live births. In fact, J&K is among medical colleges in the districts will
the three top-ranking states for annual soon be operational, says state health
incremental performance as per the secretary Atal Dulloo, adding that two
NITI Aayog’s ‘Healthy States, Progres- fully equipped cancer institutes are
sive India’ health index report. also planned in the Valley and Jammu
Masood Rashid, a consultant doc- at a total cost of Rs 120 crore. The state
tor at the state health department, too, government will also shortly announce
lauds the NHM for ushering in “monu- a new health policy. ■

36 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

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 T TH
ATES RAJASTHAN Best performing large state in Governance
STATE OF
THE STATES
CHARITY BEGINS
AT HOME
A digital benefits transfer scheme becomes a harbinger of
change. Now e-governance has transformed rural Rajasthan
By Rohit Parihar
W
hen Chief Minister Va-
sundhara Raje named
a scheme in 2007
after Bhamashah,
a man synonymous
with charity (he gave his wealth to
Maharana Pratap to aid the fight
against Akbar), even she wouldn’t have
thought how much it would transform
governance a decade later. Initially,
a direct benefit scheme for women
where the state would deposit Rs
1,500 as seed money in each recipient’s
bank account, today it’s a significant
digital empowerment and governance
programme. As Raje says, “It’s a game-
changer for the betterment of people.”
The numbers speak for them-
selves. Bhamashah’s beneficiaries
include 61.5 million people out of a
total population of 77 million in 2018
covering 16.7 million families. Oi-
cials cannot fudge the figures because
the system has recorded the identity of
every recipient and family with pho-
TECH-SAVVY
Vasundhara Raje at the launch of
the Bhamashah data centre
DIRECT BENEFIT
TRANSFER
Online direct transfer
to beneficiaries extended to
majority of government welfare
schemes, including pension,
PDS, MNREGA and power
subsidy to farmers
Rs 5,468 crore depos-
ited in beneficiary accounts in
welfare schemes for women
and children
Online digital register
maintained for all teachers, in-
cluding their attendance record
Benefits of half-a-dozen
scholarship schemes for
school/ college students are
electronically transferred
PURUSHOTTAM DIWAKAR
tographs and other markers. In all,
Rs 2,300 crore has been credited into
individual accounts of the beneficia-
ries of 54 schemes.
The government has meticulously
integrated this enormous exercise to
a larger governance model, largely
reducing government oicials’ inter-
actions with the beneficiaries. The
e-governance model covers 10,000
panchayats where the state has spent
Rs 4 crore on an average, a figure
which does not include the roads with
drains constructed in the majority
of villages in the past three years.
Some sarpanches and even MLAs
and ministers resisted the plan, but
Raje pushed it through two years
ago. It succeeded because the BJP
government had made a certain level
of school education compulsory along
with one-third reservation for women
in panchayat elections. The new
panches are educated, many are young
and the women constitute 58.293 per
cent of them, making Rajasthan the
second highest in the country in terms
of rural representation of women.
The digitisation of rural Rajasthan
has been an extension of the gradual
build-up of 55,000 eMitra kiosks—
mostly run by formerly unemployed
youths—for 550 services. Today,
eMitra handles a million transactions
every day, from filling online forms
and fees for driving licences to getting
a reserved category certificate. This
has meant considerable saving of time
and money for the people and also hit
grassroots corruption.
This success encouraged the
implementation of the state’s health
insurance scheme in December 2015.
In three years, it has provided free
hospitalisation to 2.7 million patients,
paying bills worth Rs 1,952 crore.
The state has also shed its image
of stereotyped bureaucratic hurdles
in implementing Ease of Business and
now stands third in India in the Re-
forms Evidence scorecard with 99.5
per cent compliance with an overall
ninth position in India. ■
 T TH
ATES TELANGANA Most improved large state in Governance
STATE OF
THE STATES
@ YOUR SERVICE
Telangana has emerged as a model
state for e-governance
By Amarnath K. Menon
F
or a state just 53 months
old, Telangana has had the
opportunity to learn from
others and build on it. It
had a head start in provid-
ing internet-based services to citizens,
having been part of erstwhile Andhra
Pradesh which pioneered e-governance
since the Chandrababu Naidu days.
It has also capitalised on the growth
impulse of Hyderabad, the largest
metropolitan area in the country and
capital of united Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana also has a very deter-
mined chief minister in K. Chan-
drashekar Rao. To streamline gover-
nance, the CM reorganised the state’s
10 districts into 31 in 2016, a promise
he had made in his separate statehood
campaign. Post-reorganisation, the
number of mandals went up to 584,
but their number per district dropped
from 46 to 19. The state is now in the
process of building integrated ad-
ministrative buildings in all districts,
E-INTERACTION
A MeeSeva centre in
Hyderabad
housing oices of all departments,
and ofering all services, including
e-services, under one roof.
On August 29, 2014, the state con-
ducted a Samagra Kutumba Survey in
which 400,000 government employees
were mobilised to get information on
84 parameters from every household.
This gave the state a reliable database,
unprecedented in its reach and depth
for policy formulation and implement-
ing target-specific programmes.
Telangana has also set up citizen
services centres called MeeSeva. A sin-
gle entry and exit portal, it provides the
At 89,883
e-transactions per 1,000
persons, Telangana leads
among all states
UNIT BY UNIT
In 2016, 10 districts
were reorganised into
31 to streamline the task of
administration
A comprehensive
land survey was done
to cleanse and update land
registry with names of
current lawful owners
entire range of government to citizen
and government to business services.
Some 600 services of 38 departments
are ofered through 5,073 centres.
“Telangana has led the country in
number of e-transactions per 1,000
people in the past four years according
to a survey by the eTAAL portal,” says
the state’s electronic service delivery
and e-governance special commis-
sioner G.T. Venkateshwar Rao. The
state tops with 89,883 transactions
for 1,000 persons; followed by Andhra
Pradesh (82,868) and Kerala (59,582).
The backbone of this success is the
Digital Telangana programme. To en-
sure digital facilities for all, the Telan-
gana Fiber Grid (T- Fiber) is building
a scalable, high-quality, resilient and
secure state-of-the-art digital network
infrastructure connecting 8.4 million
households. T-Fiber will lay fibreoptic
cables along the water pipe routes of
Mission Bhagiratha, a project for safe
drinking water to every household.
To service the needs of rural and
non-smartphone users but also cater-
ing to the general urban population,
Telangana has introduced T-Wallet, the
first digital wallet owned and operated
by a state government. It is also the
first digital wallet to use UID biometric
authentication even if a citizen does not
have a mobile number. „
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 39
 T
STATES CHHATTISGARH Best performing large state in Inclusive development
STATE OF
THE STATES
GIVING THEM
THEIR DUE
For a young state, Chhattisgarh has made impresssive strides
in rural development and in moving up the swachh index
C
hhattisgarh is a
relatively new state
but it has been at the
forefront of launching
initiatives that have
received praise from
across the country. Inclusive develop-
ment has been a trait associated with
Chhattisgarh right from its inception.
The revenue accrued from mineral
wealth mining, used judiciously, has
had a big hand in this.
The District Mineral Foundation
(DMF) was created specifically to give
back to areas where mineral wealth
is exploited, helping the state achieve
numerous social sector targets. Simply
put, the DMF is a not-for-profit body
with contribution from the district’s
miners. In Dantewada, home to the
famous Bailadila iron ore mines, the
DMF has created assets not seen in
even so-called prosperous districts.
The fully stafed district hospital is
one such initiative, so is the education
city developed at Jawanga, which has
earned the district administration na-
tional awards. The district is using the
DMF to even create livelihoods, from
rearing of livestock to call centres.
Promoting cleanliness has also
been a state priority and has achieved
interesting results, especially in the
construction of toilets in urban areas,
waste management and toilets for
girls in schools. The turnaround
is most visible in its smaller urban
4 0 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
By Rahul Noronha
centres. None of the million-plus cities
in the state figure in the top ranks in
the Centre’s Swachh Survey 2018 but a
whopping seven towns with a popula-
tion of less than 100,000—including
Jashpur, Saraipali and Birgaon—fig-
ured in the top ten. The number goes
up to 25 in the top 100 list.
How was this achieved? Chhattis-
garh, with its hilly and forested
terrain, never saw open defecation
as an issue till the time it became a
national programme. But once it did
Waste management
initiatives give work
to over 9,000 women
and cover 4.5 million
households
in 2016, the results starting pouring
in. “We ensured that systems were
process and not personality driven,
that programmes were not dependent
on one person taking care of things.
This ensured results uniformly across
urban bodies,” says Niranjan Das,
secretary, urban administration.
By 2017, the results began show-
ing. Ambikapur, a town with a popu-
lation of about 150,000, was adjudged
Most improved large state in
the cleanest city in the sub-200,000
population category. The Ambikapur
model was then adopted as a template
across the state. Ambikapur also won
the award for the best city in innova-
tion and best practices by the Union
urban development ministry in 2018.
The model entails collection and
segregation of waste at source by
trained women from self-help groups
(SHGs). The women collect about 45
MT of waste every day. Earlier, the
municipal body was spending Rs 1.25
crore in managing waste. Now it earns
about Rs 7 lakh as user charges and
sells the segregated waste for about
Rs 1-3 lakh per month. The waste
management initiatives provide em-
ployment to more than 9,000 women
and cover 4.5 million households
collecting 1,400 tonnes of waste every
day. “About 87 per cent of the waste
generated in the state is being used,”
adds Das. For the bigger municipal
bodies, Chhattisgarh plans to use
waste to generate electricity. A refuse
derived fuel (RDF) plant has been
proposed at Raipur while the one at
Bilaspur is already up.
There are challenges that remain.
Chhattisgarh, with an urban popula-
tion of 23 per cent, needs to plan its
future since migration to urban areas
is a continuous process. “We have
a vision document that takes into
account these challenges,” says Das.
“All infrastructure, including housing
Cleanliness

SPREADING WARMTH
CM Raman Singh
poses with tribals after
distributing blankets

THE WELFARE NET projects, created is being done with an

eye on the future.”
52% 67% 69% 92% The rural development department
OF POPULATION OF POPULATION OF POPULATION IS POPULATION
has ensured that drinking water supply
COVERED BY HAS ACCESS TO COVERED UNDER A COVERED
JAN DHAN DOMESTIC LPG HEALTH INSURANCE BY THE
and sanitation in rural areas are devel-
SCHEME CONNECTIONS SCHEME PDS oped. The Ujjwala scheme, promoting
the shift of households to clean LPG,
has reached out to even remote villages
49% 91% 100% 99% in the north and central parts.
OF THE POPULA- HOUSEHOLDS HOUSEHOLDS GOVT
TION IS AVAILING HAVE IMPROVED WITH SCHOOLS
The revamping of the public
OF BANKING DRINKING LATRINES HAVE distribution system (PDS) is another
SERVICES WATER SUPPLY TOILETS FOR step that has helped the state attain
GIRLS inclusive development. While Chhat-
tisgarh has pushed an aggressive
FOR A CLEAN RECORD agenda for industrialisation and added
immense generation capacity on the
Door-to-door waste One can pay Rs 2,000 energy front, the leakages in the PDS
collection and segregation in to the municipal body and get were cut down by 82 per cent by 2011-
all 168 urban bodies a toilet built 12 to ensure that subsidised foodgrains
reached the targeted beneficiaries. The
results are there for all to see. ■

DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 41

 T
STATES UTTAR PRADESH Most improved big state in Inclusive development
STATE OF
THE STATES

WELFARE
IS THE WAY
FORWARD
The state touches the lives of

MANISH KUMAR
thousands with its mass marriage
and scholarship programmes
By Ashish Misra
A FRESH START A mass marriage
ceremony in Muzaffarnagar

O
n November 1, the riot- oice in March 2017 bodies, such as the nagar
afected Muzafarnagar was order oicials to Uttar Pradesh panchayat, nagar palika
district witnessed a grand
mass marriage pro-
draft a new marriage
scheme for poor girls.
had opened the and zila panchayat, as
well as by NGOs autho-
gramme organised by the
Uttar Pradesh government, with some
Six months on, the
cabinet cleared a bylaw
maximum number rised by district magis-
trates. “A mass marriage
1,150 women from poor families tying
the knot. Archana, 23, who married
for the ‘Mukhyamantri
Samuhik Vivah Yojana’.
of accounts under ceremony should have
at least 10 couples,” says
Anil Kumar, a rickshaw driver from “Child marriage still Pradhan Mantri Jagdish Prasad, director,
the district, received a cheque of prevails in many rural social welfare depart-
Rs 20,000 and an additional Rs areas. Often, poor fami- Jan Dhan Yojana till ment. “So far, 21,000
10,000 worth of household items from
the government. “My father is an agri-
lies marry of girls be-
fore they have attained August 2018 couples have benefitted.
The state government’s
cultural worker. Our financial condi- the age of 18,” says aim is to have 70,000
tion would not have allowed us to hold social welfare minister beneficiaries under this
a wedding function,” says Archana. Ramapati Shastri. “The financial as- scheme by the end of the financial year.”
“But under this scheme, all my three sistance ofered will encourage people Sixteen-year-old Ankush Kumar’s
sisters can be married of comfortably.” to refrain from illegal weddings.” wish to pursue higher education got a
One of the first things Chief Minis- Mass marriage programmes are shot in the arm on October 2 when he
ter Yogi Adityanath did after assuming organised through urban and rural received Rs 50,000 under the scholar-
ship and fee reimbursement scheme.
The Class 11 student’s father is a clerk
in a pharma company with an annual
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE income of less than Rs 2 lakh. More
than 2.2 million students like Ankush
Old age pension Scholarship and CM’s mass benefitted from the scholarship in
scheme fee reimbursement marriage scheme 2017-18. The scheme has an annual
People in the 60-69 age scheme The government spends budget of Rs 2,600 crore.
group and living below Students in classes 11 Rs 35,000 each on the P.K. Tripathi, deputy director in
the poverty line get Rs and 12 whose family marriage of poor girls in the social welfare department, says:
300 a month; those 80 income is less than mass marriage events “The scholarship and fee reimburse-
years and above get Rs 2 lakh a year get organised by the social
ment is sent directly to the students’
Rs 500 every month Rs 50,000 per year welfare department
bank accounts, removing all hurdles
in availing of the scheme.” ■

42 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018


INNOVATION IS THE KEY
The state is fast turning into a start-up hub with
its focus on local enterprises
By Asit Jolly
I
n the past four years under
the Manohar Lal Khattar-led
BJP government, Haryana
has created an ecosystem to
nurture entrepreneurship and
business development. The period has
witnessed the state’s rise from relative
insignificance to the top ranking in
‘Ease of Doing Business’, alongside
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
In July, the Department of Indus-
trial Policy and Promotion assess-
ment under its business reform action
plan accorded Haryana a 98.1 per
cent score for putting in place policies
and processes that make it among
the best states to launch and sustain
a business. Consider this: with 1,923
new start-ups registered in the state
in 2016, Haryana has kept the pace
high and presently has 2.3 startups
per 100,000 people. Under the Hary-
ana Entrepreneur & Startup Policy
2017, several stakeholders have been
invited on board to facilitate start-
ups with an emphasis on women
entrepreneurs, through local and
international linkages.
Taking an early advantage of its
proximity to the national capital,
Haryana has established the Haryana
State Electronics Corporation Limited
(Hartron) Electronic City in Guru-
gram as a ‘flatted factory complex’.
Here, entrepreneurs have been ofered
plug-and-play facilities to establish
new ventures. The 30,000 square
feet Hartron Multiskill Development
Centre (HMDC) built on 3.4 acres of
land houses an innovation and start-
up hub. Inaugurated in April this
year, it was set up in association with
HARYANA Best performing large state in Entrepreneurship
INCUBATION CENTRE Hartron offers plug-and-play facilities to new ventures
START-UP
SUCCESS STORIES
Wonk App An Artificial
Intelligence-powered, on-
demand tutor booking and
management application
QkFeedback An online,
AI-driven government-public
interface
Drona Maps Drone-
based 3D mapping of agri-
cultural fields providing crop
prescription maps
Notify Visitors Selected
by Oracle to enable cloud
innovation in India, the AI
and machine learning (ML)-
powered platform automates
notifications on the web and
mobile applications based on
visitor behaviour
HRBOT An AI-based
screening platform for entry-
level job seekers. Awarded by
Facebook in its 2018 Global
Developer Challenge
RAJWANT RAWAT
NASSCOM (National Association of
Software and Service Companies) and
IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Associa-
tion of India). The facility has some 37
start-ups under incubation.
The HMDC also has India’s sec-
ond Centre of Excellence in the Inter-
net of Things (CoE-IoT); an academy
for training and research on techno-
logical solutions at the grassroots.
Ankur Gupta, who heads the state’s
electronics and information technol-
ogy department, says that Haryana’s
model of linking entrepreneurs with
academia and facilitating locally
relevant start-ups has been presented
to a number of other states. Hary-
ana’s eforts to handhold start-ups
have been hailed by the UN Oice of
Information and Communications
Technology. The state government is
in the process of setting up a United
Nations Technology Innovation Lab
at the HMDC campus. The project is
aimed at raising a $5 million fund for
start-ups by women. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 43
 T TH
ATES KARNATAKA Most improved big state in Entrepreneurship
STATE OF
THE STATES
READY, GET
SET, START-UP
A slew of new schemes aims to make the
state’s entrepreneurial culture more inclusive
By Aravind Gowda
T “We want to encourage
he change of guard does
not seem to have dimmed
Karnataka’s entrepreneu-
rial spirit, especially in
Bengaluru. There are ever
more start-ups registering for busi-
ness, a reflection of the new Janata Dal
(Secular)-Congress government con-
tinuing the pro-entrepreneur policies
of the previous regime. In the past 2-3
years, special emphasis has been given
to women leaders, technology and
innovation and e-commerce to drive
entrepreneurial growth. The focus is
now on encouraging start-ups to go
beyond Bengaluru.
A few ministries like social welfare
are actively trying to make entrepre-
neurship inclusive through incentive
programmes. The recently launched
Unnati scheme is aimed at creat-
ing end-to-end infrastructure for
start-ups and entrepreneurs from the
marginalised sections of society. Like-
wise, under the Airavata scheme, the
government has partnered with cab
aggregators to provide employment to
BIZ BUZZ
Top 100 tech-based start-ups
were chosen under the
ELEVATE-100 programme
and given a total of Rs 35 crore
to pursue their ideas
4 4 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
YOUNG ACHIEVERS AT ELEVATE-100
Winners of the 100 most innovative start-ups
entrepreneurship in small
towns. We have to look
beyond IT if employment
generation has to come
in big numbers”
H.D. Kumaraswamy
Chief Minister, Karnataka
Business Reform Action Plan
(BRAP) score for ease of
doing business—96.4%;
total number of registered
start-ups: 7,498
Karnataka start-up policy
2015-2020 intends to stimulate
the growth of 20,000 tech-based
start-ups by 2020 and create 1.8
million job opportunities
the Dalit community. “The long-term
plan is to see success stories among
the SC/ ST communities. We want
economic opportunities and income
levels to improve in other towns,” says
Karnataka social welfare minister
Priyank Kharge.
Two weeks ago, the Samruddhi
scheme was launched where private
enterprises will train youths from
backward communities in skill devel-
opment and entrepreneurship. Some
30 companies have already signed up
for the training programme, which is
targeting 25,000 youths.
In manufacturing, the big push is
in the areas of LED lights, integrated
circuit boards, textiles, mobile phone
components manufacturing, sports
and fitness goods, and others with a
budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore
in 2018-19 for skill development of hu-
man resources.
Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Ballari,
Ramanagara, Mysuru, Yadgiri, Uttara
Kannada and Haveri districts are the
focus areas to promote entrepreneur-
ship. In 2017-18, the Centre for Entre-
preneurship Development of Karna-
taka (CEDOK) in association with
UNDP implemented the Disha scheme
to impart training to entrepreneurs in
16 districts. So far, 32,000 people have
benefitted. The government intends
to extend this scheme to all districts
of Karnataka in 2018-19, targeting a
100,000 people. ■
 KERALA Best performing large state in Environment and Cleanliness

NOTHING TO WASTE
Public participation and
innovative schemes have been
key in Kerala’s success on the
waste management front
By Jeemon Jacob

T
he ‘Kerala model’ of
development has been a
subject of discussion even
globally, but the state has
struggled in one area—ef-
fective waste management systems.
Being a high density population state
(860 people per sq. km), managing bio
and non-biodegradable waste is a huge
challenge for local self-government
(LSG) bodies. The state floated the
Clean Kerala Company Ltd to facilitate
scientific waste management practices
in collaboration with Kudumbashree,
the poverty eradication mission.
Central Kerala’s Alappuzha Mun-
icipal Council set the template with
the Nirmala Bhavanam Nirmala
Nagaram (Clean Homes Clean City)
mission in 2012, adopting decentral-
ised waste management with people’s
participation in its 52 wards. It was
so successful that the UN Environ-
ment Programme recognised it as the
‘best global model’ for sustainable
solid waste management. Now 80 per
cent households have set up subsi-
dised biogas plants and segregate the
waste at source. Apart from this, pipe
compost units, aerobic composting
units in public places and monitor-
ing against public littering through
CCTVs have helped. State finance
minister Dr Thomas Isaac, who rep-
resents Alappuzha constituency, leads
the project from the front. “Designing
locally sustainable models, people’s
participation, manage the waste at the
source level, these were crucial for the
mission’s success,” says Dr Isaac.
KERALA’S ROAD
TO BEING
CLEAN AND GREEN
The Haritha Keralam
Mission was linked to Clean
Kerala as a priority area to
protect water resources
State set up Clean Kerala
Company Ltd to handle
plastic waste
Fines and jail term for
littering in public places
Haritha Karma Sena of
volunteers and workers set
up for waste collection and
segregation
Awareness campaigns
initiated for decentralised,
efective waste management
REMODELLED
A ‘Clean Kerala’ plastic
shredding unit in
Thiruvananthapuram
The Alappuzha model’s success led
to other LSG bodies using its methods
to manage their waste. Kerala also
set up a Haritha Karma Sena, part
of the Haritha Kerala (Green Kerala)
Mission for waste segregation and col-
lection in all local bodies.
After the 2018 floods, rebuilding
Kerala has its own huge challenges.
Innovation has been key here. “Our at-
tempt now is to create a global model
from Kerala through innovation,
public participation and responsible
government action to make the state
more clean and green,” says Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Managing plastic waste will be
crucial for the plan to succeed. The
Left Front government has banned
sale of plastic below 50 microns, and
a state order to use shredded plastics
for road construction has been a big
bonus. Now 56 plastic shredding units
are operating in the state and 125
units are to start production soon. ■

DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 45

 ATE TH
TE ANDHRA PRADESH Most improved big state in Tourism
STATE OF
THE STATES
GOING PLACES
A focused tourism policy since 2015 has helped the state
cash in on its scenic landscapes and pull in visitors
By Amarnath K. Menon
T
he return of the Formula
1 H20 powerboat world
championship to India
after 14 years, and to
the greenfield capital
Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, from
November 16 to 18, is a watershed in
tourism development and in estab-
lishing the state on the global sporting
map through an event beamed live to
over 50 countries. “We are evolving
as ‘Sunrise Andhra Pradesh’, and it
is a long journey in which tourism is
helping us meet some of the challenges
in building our economy,” says Chief
Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Indeed, Andhra Pradesh is mak-
ing tourism one of its major growth
drivers. To its advantage, the state is
endowed with enchanting landscapes,
a long coastline, a Buddhism circuit
and vantage locations for adventure
sports. The village tourism concept
46 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
THE BIG BOOST
The new tourism
policy (2015-2020),
with an initial investment of
Rs 10,000 crore, hopes to
make Andhra Pradesh the
most preferred state for
domestic tourists
Domestic tourists
increased from 93.3 million in
2014 to 165.7 million in 2017-
18—an average annual growth
of 19 percentage points
TOP TOURIST SPOTS
Tirumala, Horsley Hills,
Pulicat Lake, Rushikonda
Beach and Araku Valley
HOTSPOT
The Borra caves in Araku valley in
Visakhapatnam
provides a fascinating glimpse into the
life and culture of Telugu society.
“The tourism sector can contribute
the maximum to the economy and
provide jobs with comparatively lesser
investments than other sectors,” says
tourism minister B. Akhila Priya.
A skewed tourism policy, until June
2014, had deprived areas outside Hy-
derabad of major investments. A major
impediment was the lack of tourism
infrastructure, with room inventory
limited to 6,742. The new tourism
policy of 2015 seeks to position the
state as a globally recognised tourism
destination, the most preferred state in
India for domestic tourists and among
the top 12 for international tourists.
For this, the state is facilitating
investments to the tune of Rs 10,000
crore. Help is coming from the AP
Tourism, Culture and Heritage Board,
chaired by the chief minister, to plan
and implement initiatives, and the AP
Tourism, Culture and Creativity Com-
mission, set up to ensure focused de-
velopment. Room inventory has also
increased to over 10,000 this year.
Consequently, domestic tourist
footfall increased from 93.3 million
in 2014 to 165.7 million in 2017-18,
with an average annual growth of 19
percentage points. The state’s ranking
improved from fifth in 2014 to third
in 2017-18, with the percentage point
share rising from 7.2 to 9.5. The rank-
ing in foreign tourist footfall improved
from 22 to 18 in the same period.
“Efective promotional campaigns
and marquee projects, such as the 240
acre tourist zone and the Naval Heri-
tage Museum, both in Visakhapatnam,
the Adventure Sports Academy at Gan-
dikota, the recreational facilities on
Bhavani island, a formula racing circuit
at Tanakallu in Anantapur, besides 12
village tourism projects are providing
the impetus,” says state tourism secre-
tary Mukesh Kumar Meena. ■
 PUDUCHERRY Best performing small state Overall, in Agriculture and Health Most improved small
STATE OF
THE STATES

I
n the current political environment,
where vitriol has become an integral
part of discourse between rival
politicians, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s congratulatory message last
month to Puducherry’s Congress chief
minister V. Narayanasamy was a welcome

PACKING aberration. “Narayanasamyji, kudos to you for

leading from the front and inspiring others to
strengthen the movement to clean India,” Modi
tweeted after Narayanasamy’s video, in which he

A PUNCH
Puducherry outshines the bigger,
richer states with its successes on the
health, swachhta and farming fronts
By Kaushik Deka
is seen entering a clogged drain barefoot with a
shovel in hand to clear the blockage, went viral.
The video was part of Modi’s ‘Swachhata
hi seva’ movement launched ahead of Gandhi
Jayanti. Narayanasamy’s hands-on approach on
swachhata has left a stamp across Puducherry.
“The central government chose 52 schools across
the country with the best cleanliness record. Sev-
en of them are from Puducherry,” Narayanasamy
told INDIA TODAY. “One school from Puducherry
topped the list, scoring 100 per cent.”

GREEN WAVE
A paddy field in Ambagarathur
village in Karaikal district

JAISON G
state in Cleanliness
IN GOOD HEALTH
Puduch- per cent of
erry’s infant children im-
mortal- munised. The
ity rate is national figure
16 per 1,000 for institutional
live births birth is 78 per
while India’s cent and 62
average is 41 per cent for
immunisation
Almost 100
per cent of Puducher-
births are in ry’s per cap-
health insti- ita health
tutions; 91.3 spending
Though their bitter feuds have
often made headlines, the chief
minister and Puducherry Lt Gover-
nor Kiran Bedi seem to be working
in tandem on this mission. Spotting
garbage dumped in the premises of
the power department’s main oice
recently, Bedi ordered an immedi-
ate clean-up with the help of the of-
fice staf and even directed them to
ensure that the premises remained
neat and tidy.
Puducherry has already been
declared open defecation-free
(ODF). Till date, 27,965 household
toilets have been built in the rural
parts; in the urban areas, 935
household toilets and 57 commu-
nity toilets have been constructed.
The focus is now on maintaining
the ODF status. With door-to-door
waste collection and a scientific
processing and disposal of waste,
Puducherry aims to successfully
achieve ‘ODF+’ and ‘ODF++’ status
under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
In the healthcare segment,
Puducherry has surpassed India’s
performance on most indicators. Its
infant mortality rate is 16 per 1,000
live births, while India’s average is
41. Almost 100 per cent of births
(Rs 2,778 per government-
person) is 98 run education
per cent and research
more than institute. These
major states institutes ofer
1,000 seats
Puduch- in undergradu-
erry has one ate medicine
government courses and
medical col- 720 seats in
lege, seven undergradu-
private medical ate nursing
colleges and courses
one central
take place in health institutions
and 91.3 per cent of children are
immunised. The national figure for
institutional births is 78 per cent
and 62 per cent for immunisation.
C
ritics attribute Puduch-
erry’s successes on the
health front to its tiny
population—1.24 million
people with a population density of
2,598 persons per sq. km. In
contrast, Delhi accommodates 16.8
million people with 11,297 persons
living in every sq. km. While
population size has been to
Puducherry’s advantage, its success
is also the result of government
policies and eicient management
of resources. The state has been
spending higher per capita on
health than several richer and
bigger states, regularly filling up
vacancies and setting up adequate
number of medical colleges.
Puducherry spends 1.85 per
cent of its Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) on health, compared with
0.86 per cent by Delhi and the
average 0.74 per cent by other major
states, according to the National
Health Profile of India, 2017. At Rs
 T TH
ATES PUDUCHERRY Best performing small state Overall, in Agriculture and Health Most improved small
STATE OF
THE STATES

2,778 per person, its per capita health

spending is 28 per cent more than
Delhi’s and 98 per cent more than the
major states. The Ayushman Bharat
Yojana covers 130,000 people under
central grant. The administration has
extended the scheme to the remaining
population at its own expense. There
is statistical evidence that higher
spending results in better health
outcomes. For instance, the Union
territories and the northeastern states
spend more on healthcare and report
better health indicators than other
Indian states.

T
he spending is also
supported by a robust
health infrastructure in
Puducherry. It has one
government medical college, seven
private medical colleges and the
central government-run Jawaharlal
Institute of Postgraduate Medical
Education and Research (JIPMER).
These institutes ofer 1,000 seats in
undergraduate medicine courses and
720 seats in undergraduate nursing
courses. In fact, there is surplus
manpower in healthcare. Instead of
24 medical oicers required as per the
Indian Public Health Standards
issued under the National Rural
Health Mission, the state has 48
doctors. There are 109 female health
workers, more than double the LEADING THE CHARGE
required 54. CM V. Narayanasamy cleans
What also makes a diference a clogged drain in Nellithope
is that the Puducherry government on October 2, 2018
recruits more permanent staf than
contractual workers. For instance,
over 70 per cent of the auxiliary nurse
midwives (ANMs) were given regular on. “Oicials of the department should bare-bodied, working with farmers
appointments while over 96 per cent not sit and look at files alone. They in his constituency Thirunallar, his
of staf nurses and pharmacists are have to go into the fields and encour- ministry has been extending support
regular employees, says the state age farmers. There is a wide gap and to private organic farming initiatives.
health department. it has to be filled. The Puducherry gov- Last year, six young men, mostly engi-
In the agricultural sector, the gov- ernment is ready to extend all support neering graduates, persuaded farmers
ernment has been focusing on making to the initiative,” the chief minister in Seliamedu village to shift to organic
the state a hub of organic farming. recently told them in public. farming with the assurance to procure
Narayanasamy expects oicials of the While agriculture minister R. the paddy produced.
agriculture department to be hands- Kamalakannan was recently seen Nineteen farmers came together to

5 0 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

state in Cleanliness

A CLEAN STATE ORGANIC’S THE WAY

Puducherry has Over 100 farm- department has
been declared open ers from Puduch- singed an MoU with
defecation-free erry and Karaikal the Hyderabad-
regions were given based International
935 individual house- an orientation in Crops Research
hold toilets and 57 com- organic farming Institute for the
munity toilets have been at the Sharanam Semi-Arid Tropics
constructed in the urban campus of Sri Au- to significantly
parts, 27,965 house- robindo Society enhance agri-
hold toilets have been cultural pro-
built in the rural areas The agriculture ductivity

BEST PERFORMING SMALL STATES OVERALL

CHANGE RANK 2018 RANK 2017 STATE SCORE
(2,000)

+1 1 2 Puducherry 994.2
+3 (highest jump) 2 5 Goa 973.1
+1 3 4 Delhi 944.2
-3 (biggest drop) 4 1 Sikkim 834.9
-2 5 3 Mizoram 770.9
Same 6 6 Arunachal Pradesh 735.7
+1 7 8 Nagaland 732.3
Same 8 8 Tripura 717.3
-2 9 7 Manipur 662.7
Same 10 10 Meghalaya 642

raise paddy on 32 acres using organic 1,000 acres,” says Narayanasamy.

manure. The agriculture department
extended support. The first harvest
was completed last month in the
presence of Narayanasamy and social
welfare minister M. Kandasamy.
The rice was sold in Puducherry and
Tamil Nadu, in gunny bags tagged
‘Seliamedu Rice’. “From 32 acres,
these youngsters, with our support,
now plan to extend the project to
Despite the string of successes,
the chief minister is far from com-
placent. During the Farm Fest 2018
held earlier this year in Puducherry,
Narayanasamy said: “At least 75 per
cent of the flowers, vegetables and
fruits for the show should be from
Puducherry. I can only give 50 per
cent marks to the agriculture depart-
ment this year.” ■
 STATE OF TRIPURA Most improved small state Overall, in Infrastructure and Inclusive development
THE STATES

ON THE O
n March 21, just two weeks after
taking oath, Tripura chief
minister Biplab Kumar Deb was
in New Delhi where he had
meetings with over a dozen

HIGHWAY Union ministers. On his return

to state capital Agartala, he announced: “The
Centre has promised to invest Rs 2,587 crore in
various schemes and projects in Tripura.”

TO HOPE
Tripura has done wonderfully on
social indices. The challenge now is
infrastructure and the jobs crisis
By Kaushik Deka
The sense of urgency and purpose was evident
as Tripura’s development has remained a para-
dox—the state has shown decent performances in
social development indicators but has lagged in
infrastructure development.
On multiple social and health indicators, the
northeastern state competes with Goa, Kerala,
Karnataka and Gujarat—states with high per
capita income. It has a literacy rate of 87.8 percent
and its sex ratio, at 960 females per 1,000 males,
is above the national average of 942. But, at 19.7
per cent, Tripura also has the highest percent-
age of unemployment in India—four times the
national average of 4.9 per cent.

5 2 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

 GOOD START
An aerial view of
Agartala city THE BIG
INFRA PUSH
The Union road and
highways ministry has
assured an investment of
Rs 12,000 crore to
develop the state’s road
network. It’s likely to
generate more than
15,000 jobs

In 2016, the state

finally got broad-gauge
railway services. A 15-km
rail track from Agartala
to Akhaura in Bangladesh
will be completed by 2020

With an installed
power capacity of 727.24
MW, Tripura is a power
surplus state and exports
power to Myanmar and
Bangladesh

So the top priority of the

newly elected BJP government was
STATE OF clear—it had to develop infra-
structure and generate employ-
WELLNESS ment. Tripura is connected with
the rest of the country by a single
At 92.7 per cent, highway—National Highway 44.
electricity access for
The Union road and highways
households in Tripura
ministry has given assurances
is better than the 88.2
per cent national aver- that it will develop and extend the
age and comparable national highways in the state with
with wealthier states an investment of Rs 12,000 crore.
like Kerala, Goa, Guja- “This will ensure direct or indirect
rat and Karnataka employment for 15,000 to 20,000
youth,” says Deb, adding that other
Over 87 per cent of central schemes and projects will
households in Tripura create employment opportunities
have access to piped for an additional 12,000 people.
or protected sources Innovative technology is also
of water, marginally
being used for road development.
below the national ave-
The chief minister recently asked
rage of 89.8 per cent
the Agartala Municipal Corpora-
tion (AMC) to construct “at least
 TRIPURA Most improved small state Overall, in Infrastructure and Inclusive development
STATE OF
THE STATES
half a kilometre road” with recycled
plastic waste after initiating a door-
to-door drive to collect it.
State transport minister Pranajit
Singha Roy says the state has a
broader vision vis-a-vis developing
international connectivity through
roads, railways and waterways. In
2016, the central government fulfilled
a long-standing demand of the state
by providing broad-gauge railway
services to the state. A 15-km railway
track from Agartala to Akhaura in
Bangladesh will be completed by
2020. “This track will connect the
northeastern states with the south
Asian countries through Bangladesh,”
says the chief minister.
While dedicating to the people
the revamped national highway con-
necting the Tripura Sundari temple
in Gomati district and Sabroom in
South Tripura—the 74 km single-lane
highway was widened for two-way
traic—President Ram Nath Kovind
said it would improve border trade
by connecting south Tripura with
Bangladesh. “The road leads to an
under-construction bridge on the Feni
river in Sabroom. Once the bridge is
functional, Tripura will be connected
to Chittagong,” Kovind said.
The state government has also
taken initiatives to introduce inland
water transport by connecting the
Gomati and Haora rivers with the
Meghna river in Bangladesh to facili-
tate movement of goods and passen-
gers between the two countries.
The state has also shown massive
improvement in power generation. At
92.7 per cent, access to electricity for
households in Tripura is better than
the 88.2 per cent national average and
comparable with wealthier states like
Kerala, Goa, Gujarat and Karnataka.
With an installed power capac-
ity of 727.24 MW, Tripura is a power
surplus state, even exporting power to
Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Tri-
pura government has also embarked
on a plan to provide power connection
54 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
RANKINGS OF SMALL STATES—MOST IMPROVED
RANK 2018 STATE SCORE (2,000)
1 Tripura 1,208.7
2 Nagaland 1,066.2
3 Arunachal Pradesh 1,070.8
4 Mizoram 1,051.4
5 Puducherry 1,004.9
6 Goa 1,026.7
7 Manipur 975.4
8 Megahalaya 1,037.8
9 Sikkim 981.7
10 Delhi 694.3
to more than 50,000 tribal families plant in Agartala by 2020.
living in the remote hills by tapping For seven consecutive years till
solar energy under the Pradhan Man- 2015, Tripura had been the best
tri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saub- performing state in the country in
hagya). “We have identified 52,000 the implementation of the Mahatma
beneficiaries spread over 531 villages Gandhi National Rural Employment
across the state. Each location has Guarantee Act (MNREGA), a central
hardly three to seven families residing scheme that guarantees the “right to
in the hills. So supplying power from work”. However, in the past two years,
conventional sources via grid would the state’s performance has dropped
be most inconvenient. Solar energy because of “curtailed” funds from the
is the best alternative,” deputy chief Centre. “Funds had to be curtailed
minister Jishnu Devvarma, who also because of the discrepancies by the
holds charge of the power ministry, previous Left government. They geo-
said recently. tagged a lot of areas where no work
Another welfare scheme which was done at all,” says Devvarma. The
has got a big push from the central state now claims to have received an
government is the LPG distribution assurance of Rs 214 crore in MNRE-
to poor families. In Tripura, 922,000 GA funds from the Centre.
households currently have LPG con- Another area where the state
nections and eforts are on for 100 per government is keen to improve the
cent coverage. The Union ministry for state’s performance is in the supply
petroleum and natural gas has taken of drinking water. Over 87 per cent of
up a pipeline project with Bangla- households in Tripura have access to
desh for carrying natural gas from piped or protected sources of water,
Chittagong to Tripura. The Indian marginally below the national average
Oil Corporation will set up a bottling of 89.8 per cent. ■

K ASIF/MAIL TODAY
THE POWER
CAPITAL
Delhi has seen major infrastructure and health services upgrade
in recent years, leading to its all-round economic growth
By Shweta Punj
A
as a city-state, Delhi is
transforming itself from
being a traders’ hub to
an entrepreneurial
powerhouse. India created eight
unicorns between 2012 and June
2018, and Delhi led with five—Snap-
deal, OYO, One 97 communications,
Zomato and Shopclues. What has
added to the growing entrepreneurial
energy of Delhi is the easy mobility
aided by an expanding metro and
road network.
Delhi is recognised as the best
performing state among small states
in infrastructure and entrepreneur-
ship and the most improved state in
health. Nearly 100 per cent of Delhi
households have electricity and a
significantly higher number of people
use mobile phones. It also has a rela-
DELHI Best performing small state in
Infrastructure and Entrepreneurship
A MATTER
OF POLICY
The Delhi government
launched an incubation
policy and distributed
seed money of Rs 1.5
crore each to six
higher education
institutions in 2016
It tied up with 41 private
hospitals in Delhi to facili-
tate 30 surgeries free
of cost for patients
referred by govern-
ment hospitals in the
capital, as part of its ‘qual-
ity health for all’ initiative
Most improved small
state in Health
BUILDING BRIDGES
The newly constructed
Signature Bridge
tively high life expectancy at 74.
The Delhi government has tied up
with 41 private hospitals to facilitate
30 surgeries free of cost for patients
referred to by government hospitals
in the capital as part of its ‘quality
health for all’ scheme. The govern-
ment is also working on expanding
its mohalla clinic network by setting
these up at metro stations.
Relatively lower rental costs in
Delhi-NCR ofer lucrative opportuni-
ties for services businesses. Delhi has
nearly 30 per cent of its workforce
qualified for occupations such as en-
gineering, medicine, law and consul-
tancy. According to the Department
of Industrial Policy and Promotion,
the FDI inflows in Delhi, including
parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana,
stood at $79.76 billion between April
2000 and June 2018.
Nearly 23 per cent of the start-
ups in the country are concentrated
in Delhi-NCR. In 2016, the Delhi
government launched an incubation
policy and distributed seed money of
Rs 1.5 crore each to six higher educa-
tion institutions. “The Delhi govern-
ment will pitch in every time there is
a good idea and a good plan,” Deputy
Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said at
the launch of the scheme. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 55
 GOA Best performing small state in Economy, Tourism and Governance Most improved small state in
STATE OF
THE STATES

MANDAR DEODHAR
SUN ’N SAND
Candolim beach
in north Goa

HIGH TIDE
14 onshore casinos contributed Rs
150 crore to the state exchequer. That
gambling brought in the tourists as
well as domestic players was evident
at Casino Royale, a liner docked in the
Tourism remains a mainstay, but Goa has also taken Mandovi river in Panaji. Both decks
great strides in governance and basic infrastructure of the casino ship were chock a block
with gambling enthusiasts.
By Kiran D. Tare Foreign investors have invested
$970 million in the state since April
2000. Merchandise exports from the
state reached $2.1 billion in 2017-
18. The state government has made

B
efore he fell ill in Feb-
ruary this year, Goa
chief minister Mano-
har Parrikar had en-
sured the economy and
tourism sectors were
in order. Against tremendous pressure
by activists, he had tried to keep the
iron ore mines operational before the
Supreme Court banned mining. He
steered the state’s entertainment sector
clear by promoting casinos in spite of
staunch opposition over gambling be-
ing a social evil.
Parrikar’s firm stand paid of. The
state registered an annual economic
growth rate of 8.8 per cent last year.
And it grew with the help of strong per-
formances in three sectors—tourism,
mining and pharmaceuticals. With a
growth of 15.6 per cent, Goa’s Gross
State Domestic Product (GSDP) was
Rs 51,692 crore in 2016-17. It increased
to Rs 70,257 crore in 2017-18.
While mining added revenues of
Rs 1,000 crore, the five ofshore and
a provision of Rs 981 crore to turn
capital Panaji into a ‘smart city’ with
focus on entertainment, hospitality
and public transport.
Goa’s basic infrastructure too,
especially the roads, is in good shape.
A 100 per cent electrified state with an
installed power generation capacity of
549.41 mega watt, it has ample power.
Transmission lines, though, are weak
and the cause for power cuts in various
parts. This has afected industrial
production too. Power minister Nilesh

56 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

Environment and Tourism
Cabral says the state is looking at a
public-private-partnership project to
replace the lines. “The scenario will
improve in six months,” he says.
When it set up a plant to generate
electricity from garbage at Saligao in
2016, the Goa government was look-
ing at two-fold benefits—reduce the
amount of trash piling up and becom-
ing self-reliant in power. The plant
became operational in January 2017
and produces 4,000 units of electricity
every day, processing nearly 125 tonnes
of garbage from the northern coastal
towns. Naturally, it’s come as a big
relief to the coastal panchayats strug-
gling with tourist-generated garbage.
The garbage disposal system run
by the Panaji city corporation too has
yielded results. Segregating the dry,
wet, organic and inorganic waste
by colour coding each has helped in
disposal. It has also encouraged hous-
ing societies to instal plants to convert
solid waste to fertiliser.
The government is also focusing
on improving services in rural areas.
The revenue department’s ‘Gramin
Mitra’ scheme is now delivering
doorstep services to residents. These
include issuance of key documents
like property papers, residential,
income and birth certificates. “The
project has been an e-governance
success,” says state revenue minister
Rohan Khaunte.
The new out-patient department
at the well-equipped Goa Medical
College has helped the poor get free
medical treatment on time. Health
minister Vishwajeet Rane says the
state has decided to charge non-Goan
patients as “we can no longer aford
free treatment for outsiders”.
The state passed the Town and
Country Planning Amendment Bill
which will benefit owners of 7,630
hectares of land as it paves the way for
individual change of land use. The bill
will help a large number of land own-
ers seek re-classification of their lands
for construction on them.
The government, though, is still
AREAS OF to unlock the 22 lakh square metre of
land held up in the Special Economic
FOCUS Zone. A decade ago, the state had
acquired 34 lakh square metre of land
Economy
for its SEZ, which never took of. The
Casinos, tourism and
mining (till it was banned) land has been lying vacant since then.
brought in revenue Parrikar had restarted the process
last year to reacquire 22 lakh square
Governance metre of the land and hand it over to
‘Gramin Mitra’ for doorstep
the Industrial Development Corpora-
delivery of services
tion (IDC). But the IDC has to shell
Tourism out Rs 256 crore for the reacquisition.
Better infrastructure and “If the land in Verna, Sancoale and
emphasis on cleanliness Keri is made available, more indus-
Environment trial units could be set up, leading to
Waste segregation, job creation,” says Sandip Bhandare,
waste-to-power unit chairman of the Goa Chamber of
Commerce and Industries.
Goa’s tourism sector witnessed
a new high in 2017 when it recorded
6% a rise of 22.98 per cent in arrivals. A
record 7,785,693 tourists landed in the
state last year. A major reason for the
GOANS STILL IN success story is the improved infra-
BELOW POVERTY LINE structure in the hospitality sector.
(BPL) CATEGORY New-age initiatives like water
sports, dolphin sightings and water
rafting have found many takers. The
100% Goa Tourism Development Corpora-
tion (GTDC) has even tied up with a
top adventure sports video company
SCHOOLS HAVE which does personalised videos for
SEPARATE TOILETS tourists of their rafting experience.
FOR GIRLS “We have grown not only in numbers
but also in terms of infrastructure,
initiatives of all kinds, strengthened
safety measures while also providing
a clean environment,” says tourism
The tourism sector minister Manohar Ajgaonkar.
Apart from adventure sports, Goa
hit a new high in has been ofering tours for bird watch-
ers of late. The state hosts 458 bird
2017 when it species and has seven bird sanctuaries.
Apart from all this, the state’s ‘compli-
recorded a ant app’ is now a hit among tourists.
Tourists can file complaints against er-
22.98 per rant tour or taxi operators, even check
status of complaints through the app.
cent rise in Goa has also signed agreements
tourist arrivals with several European and Latin
American countries to promote its
tourism there. By next year, the pro-
motions should deliver results. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 57
 MIZORAM Best performing
STATE OF small state in Environment
THE STATES
INTO A
GREEN
HEAVEN
Efficient allocation of resources
has inculcated a green and
industrious spirit in the Mizos
By Kaushik Deka
B
eing one of India’s most
scenic and naturally af-
fluent states, it’s hardly a
surprise that this north-
eastern hill state scores
highly on environmental parameters.
To protect, propagate and develop
wildlife and its environment, the state
government has notified 10 protected
areas in the state—covering 8 per cent
of the total geographical area. A key
factor in protecting the environment
was the implementation of the New
Land Use Programme (NLUP) in
2011. It discouraged jhum cultivation,
which adversely afects soil health.
Mizoram also adopted the New
Development Policy (NEDP) in 2016,
which changed the way resources were
allocated for development in the state.
“With the introduction of NLUP and
NEDP,” Mizoram chief minister Lal
Thanhawla said, “Mizoram is one of
the highest growing economies of the
country.” The state clocked growth
rates of over 8 per cent between
2013 and 2016. The recent Magnetic
Mizoram Investors Summit, the chief
minister added, promised investments
of Rs 600 crore in solar energy and Rs
1,500 crore in the hospitality sector.
A key area of focus in the NEDP is
entrepreneurship development. Its En-
trepreneurship Development Scheme
58 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
Most improved small state in
Economy and Entrepreneurship
JOHNY NGURTHANSANGA
(EDS) is being implemented through
the Mizoram Entrepreneurship
Development Monitoring Committee
(MEDMOC) to equip applicants with
requisite skills for starting their own
venture and providing them with insti-
tutional and knowledge-based support
to run their businesses successfully.
According to MEDMOC oicials,
the programme is meant to groom the
budding entrepreneurs of Mizoram
and will be administered by IIM
Calcutta. One of the key components
of the scheme is the Micro Startup
Capital Competition or Mizoram
MEASURES OF
PROGRESS
Mizoram’s per capita
income grew from
Rs 57,654 in 2011 to
Rs 91,985 in 2016, an
increase of 60 per cent
Percentage of schools
with separate toilets for
girls in the state increased
from 62 per cent in 2010
to 90 per cent in 2015
SHADES OF PRISTINENESS Aerial view
of state capital Aizawl
Rabhi (rabhi means stepping stone in
Mizo language), which aims to provide
micro funding to potential and promis-
ing start-up ventures. The initiative
goes beyond funding as a mechanism
for monitoring the progress of the
ventures has been put in place.
Three Micro StartUp Capital
Competitions have been held so far.
In another huge step towards build-
ing an entrepreneurship ecosystem in
the state, Mizoram Kailawn 2018, the
first-ever business plan competition
and entrepreneur summit, was organ-
ised this year. The summit received
330 entries, with the business plans
spanning sectors such as agriculture,
construction, skill building, handi-
crafts, tourism and recycling.
The other initiatives under EDS
include administrative reforms in the
Ease of Doing Business, strengthen-
ing infrastructure for entrepreneurs
and farmers, preparing an entre-
preneurship manual, setting up an
entrepreneurship knowledge centre
for providing handholding support
services and data bank, conducting a
need-based entrepreneurship and skill
development programme, conducting
exposure trips for potential entrepre-
neurs, a tie-up with the Mizoram
University Incubation Centre and the
IIM Calcutta Innovation Park. ■

STRIKING DEEP ROOTS
In a state where farming is the mainstay, a variety of projects
promise to make the hill state an agricultural powerhouse
By Kaushik Deka
I
n an interview just after taking
charge of the state in March,
Chief Minister Conrad K.
Sangma outlined his top
priority—sector-specific
policies, especially for agriculture.
More than 70 per cent of the state’s
population is still dependent on agricul-
ture for livelihood. “Development of ag-
riculture will provide job opportunities,
food security for the state, and enhance
the finances of farmers,” says Sangma.
In April, the government launched
Mission Lakadong to register a five-fold
increase in the production of the local
Lakadong turmeric—said to have the
highest curcuminoid content and major
health benefits—to at least 50,000 met-
ric tonne per year in the next five years.
The government proposes an investment
of Rs 75 crore for its promotion.
Meanwhile, the draft policy for
Mushroom Mission has a goal to produce
5,000 metric tonnes in five years. The
state agriculture department will invest
Rs 50 crore in 136 villages for this.
MEGHALAYA Most improved small state in Agriculture
MISSION
MODE
THE MANY SCHEMES
LAUNCHED TO
REVITALISE THE
AGRI SECTOR
Mission Lakadong to
register a five-fold increase
Likewise, the Jackfruit Mission aims in the production of
to stop the loss of around Rs 400 crore Lakadong turmeric
a year incurred due to wasted fruit. A
Mushroom Mission
Rs 80 crore investment over five years is
to scale up production of
planned, and will involve 82,000 farm-
the bulb from 27 MT now to
ers, create 50 small enterprises and 200 5,000 MT in five years
home-scale nano enterprises.
The Sangma government has also Rs 378 cr for second
made functional the Integrated Technol- phase of flagship aqua-
ogy Enabled Agriculture Management culture mission aimed at
System (iTeams), a phone helpline to cutting fish imports
connect farmers to markets. More than
15,000 farmers have already signed up. iTeams helpline con-
About 46,951 hectares of farmland nects farmers to markets
has been brought under organic farming.
Jackfruit Mission
The target is to spread organic produc-
plans to invest Rs 80 cr
tion to 2 lakh hectares by 2020. More over five years, involve
than 35,000 farmers are now under the 82,000 farmers
purview of this mission.
Union agriculture minister Radha Rs 215 cr project for
Mohan Singh announced a Rs 215 crore Meghalaya Milk Mission
project through the National Coopera-
tive Development Corporation for the Central Agriculture
Meghalaya Milk Mission. It will provide University for Meghalaya
training and funds to dairy farms, chill-
ing centres and purchase of cattle. ■
VISIONS OF BOUNTY
Terrace fields in Meghalaya
 SIKKIM Best performing small state in Education and Cleanliness Most improved small state in Governance
STATE OF
THE STATES

A
state dependent on

SMALL IS tourism as its principal

source of revenue has
to be beautiful,
hygienic and clean,”

BEAUTIFUL
Sikkim is not just a squeaky clean tourist
haven, it also has near 100 per cent
literacy and a high gender parity index
By Romita Datta
says A.B. Karki,
district collector of West Sikkim.
Truly, Sikkim is as beautiful and
pristine as a picture postcard. And it
stays that way because it has made it
mandatory for its elected representa-
tives to set a good example—anyone
contesting polls has to have a toilet in
their home. Despite such warnings,
if people opt for open defecation, the
government makes them ineligible for
social welfare schemes, besides emb-
arrassing them on social media. There’s
also a spot fine of Rs 5,000.
The same seriousness goes into the
campaign to ban plastic. The governm-
ent has involved children and even

SUBIR HALDER

CLEAN ’N CLEAR
Aerial view of Gangtok
grandparents in the ‘waste to wealth’
drive, which converts used plastic
bottles and packets into beautiful
objects of art.
“You won’t find a single plastic
bottle or carrybag littering Sikkim. We
engage children and their grandmoms
to go plastic hunting. The used plastic
is transformed into an artistic creation,
such as a basket, a wall hanging, flower
pots, etc,” Karki says. The district ad-
ministration, of late, has been encour-
aging people to plant basil in such
plastic pots and gift it to friends.
There’s some thought behind this
gift idea too. Basil is considered holy
here, and also has medicinal properties.
The campaign has generated a lot of
interest among people and homes are
now nurseries with plastic pots bursting
with orchids and basil.
In education, Sikkim boasts of be-
ing fully literate. In fact, on August 15
last, it declared itself as having achieved
near 100 per cent literacy. The state has
a high Gross Enrolment Ratio of 37 per
cent as against a national average of
26 per cent. Again, the Gender Parity
Index is high—111 girls per 100 boys.
The government is receptive to the
needs and problems of girl students.
This year, the education department
has announced setting up sanitary
napkin vending machines in all second-
ary and senior secondary schools. All
726 such schools already have separate
toilets for girl students. Amisha Gu-
rung and Jema Rai of Modern Senior
Secondary School say that incinerators
Sikkim has the
country’s highest
expenditure
on education
of students in the
10-14 age group
too have been installed in their school
toilets for hygienic disposal of pads.
“Corporate funding and Sulabh
International have formed a corpus CLEAN
kitty of Rs 80 lakh to instal the vending
machines. The government of India,
CONTEST
as a token of appreciation, has also Candidate with no
sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore,” says additional toilets at home can-
chief secretary of HRD, G.P. Upadhyay. not contest elections
This apart, girls are being given les-
sons in self-defence and martial One becomes
arts. The best part about Sikkim is ineligible for state
benefits if caught
that it has zero tolerance for atroci-
defecating in the open
ties against women. “We haven’t had
a single case of eve-teasing or violence Use of plastic is
against women this year,” says Upad- discouraged; used
hyay. There are no major law and order plastic bottles and
violations and politically, too, peace packets are turned into
reigns in themost part, perhaps why objects of art, which
the hill state is the preferred tourism are marketed and sold
destination in the Northeast. with the help of self-
Strengthening of e-governance in help groups
areas such as land records, electoral
Plastic hunting
rolls, online vehicle registration, driving
has been incentivised
licence and a medical database have
helped in smooth and prompt delivery
of public services. Moreover, a vigor-
ous Right to Information Act (RTI)
programme has made the state far more
accountable. EQUAL
Chief Minister Pawan Chamling
rang in changes in the Drug Addiction LEARNING
Act 2006 last August. He says he wants
Senior andsec-
people to take a humane approach to-
ondary schools have
wards drug addicts instead of treating sanitary napkin
them as criminals. “It should be treated vending machines
like any other illness,” says the CM.
The 2006 Act had strict provisions, 1,000 differently
treating drug addiction as an ofence abled students
and advocating six months in jail and taught along with
heavy penalties for addicts. The Act normal children to help
now focuses on punishing drug ped- their integration into
society. Children with
dlers and not the victims. The earlier
avatar—treating the addicts as crimi-
disability are provided
with aids, appliances
nals—had only aggravated the problem,
as drug users, fearing jail, were loath
and travel allowance
to come out and undergo therapy. The
hope is that decriminalisation will help
Sikkim is the first
state to admit tod-
drug addicts discuss their problems dlers from age 3
in its government
freely and go for rehab. The government
has even promised to reward volunteers primary schools
and care workers who identify addicts
and help in their treatment. ■
DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 6 1
 T TH
ATES NAGALAND Best performing small state in Law and Order
STATE OF
THE STATES

SAFETY
MEASURES
CRIME PATROL The state police, in as-
sociation with the tourism
department, has launched the
Special squads to ensure safety of tourists, all-women tourist police—a special
police stations and 14 police vehicles on the highways—the squad to ensure the safety
of tourists
state has taken credible steps to control the crime rate
Nagaland has set up three
all-women polices sta-
By Kaushik Deka tions at Dimapur, Kohima
and Kiphire in a move to deter
crimes against women
The Nagaland government
has provided 14 highway
patrol vehicles to curb
criminal activities along
the highways in the state

Total number of
recorded crimes in
Nagaland dropped
MAINTAINING
from 1,212 in 2016
VIGIL The police
conducting a routine to 928 in 2017
check in Kohima

KHRIZ SUOHU

hile most states have The state has also recorded the all-women police stations at Dimapur,

W seen a rise in crime

rate over the years,
Nagaland has seen a
decline in recorded
crimes between 2015 and 2016,
reveals the National Crime Records
Bureau (NCRB) 2016 data. In 2014,
the number of crimes (registered
under the Indian Penal Code and
special local laws) in the state stood at
1,669; it rose to 1,928 in 2015, and
came down to 1,908 in 2016. This
figure has placed the state at the
bottom of the list on the number of
crimes across states. Nagaland
recorded the third-lowest number of
crimes, just above Dadra & Nagar
Haveli and Lakshadweep.
lowest number of crimes against
women in the country. The worrisome
part, however, is that though the state
fares better than the others, the num-
ber of crimes against women has been
increasing in recent years. In 2014, 68
crimes against women were reported
(IPC+ SLL) in the state, while the
next year it rose to 91. In 2016, Na-
galand recorded 105 crimes against
women. Of all these recorded cases,
the police disposed of 102 in 2016.
The same year, the courts com-
pleted trials in 55 cases of crimes
against women, with 23 convictions,
bringing the rate of conviction in
Nagaland to 41.8 per cent.
The government has set up three
Kohima and Kiphire in an apparent
move to deter crimes against women.
Due to the presence of a num-
ber of rebel groups, extortion and
kidnapping contribute significantly to
Nagaland’s crime rate.
The state government has po-
sitioned 14 highway patrol vehicles
along the state highways to curb
criminal activities. These vehicles
are particularly meant for patrolling
areas in Kohima and Dimapur, which
top the list of the number of crimes
recorded in the state.
The state has also launched a
tourist police—a special squad that
will ensure the safety of tourists visit-
ing Nagaland. ■

6 2 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

 ARUNACHAL PRADESH Most improved small state in Law and Order

drastic and immediate. This also led

Taking the Safe Route to social friction with many attribut-

ing such crimes to migrant workers.
That said, the overall number of
A spurt in crimes against women and children has crimes recorded in the state did drop
made the otherwise idyllic state take drastic action from 3,149 in 2015 to 2,700 in 2016.
By Kaushik Deka A key area of concern, though, is
the high number of kidnapping and
extortion cases. Though there is no
runachal Pradesh is one The northeastern state has homegrown militancy, Arunachal is

A of only four states in

India to pass a legislation
giving the death penalty
for child rape. The
Criminal Laws (Arunachal Pradesh)
Amendment Bill 2018 came into being
following a series of incidents where
the public resorted to vigilante justice
to punish alleged child rapists.
witnessed a jump in such cases in
the past few years, with the National
Crime Records Bureau reporting 92
cases in 2016. The number of adult
rape cases also jumped from 76 in
2015 to 91 in 2016. A society known
for treating its women with respect,
this development came as a shock
and the government’s response was
also afected by the spillover activities
of insurgents from neighboring states
such as Nagaland and Assam.
The state government understands
the importance of peace in unlock-
ing Arunanchal’s economic potential.
In the past decade, it has gradually
emerged as a tourist destination. But
the state is still not able to generate
enough revenues because of poor in-
frastructure and negative perceptions
about law and order. The state govern-

THE CRIME GRAPH ment has roped in superstar Salman

Khan as honorary brand ambassador
and is now going all out to make the
2017 2018 state enjoyable and safe for tourists.
CATEGORY 2015 2016 (till November) (till June)
One such venture is the ‘tourist
police’, a squad trained specifically for
Murder 57 46 67 33 the purpose. “Tourist police units have
Kidnapping and abduction 180 111 106 70 been launched in the seven district
headquarters—Tawang, Itanagar,
Rape 76 91 5v9 37
Roing, Ziro, Pasighat, Namsai and
Crimes against women 214 189 189 101 Pangsau Pass. The initiative should
Total* 3,149 2,700 2,485 1,581 make Arunachal a tourist-friendly
state,” says Chief Minister Pema
Khandu. A mobile app—Arunachal
*Rest other crimes Suraksha—the brainchild of DGP
S.B.K. Singh, has also been launched.
Once downloaded, the app can help
RED ALERT tourists get information and even
CM Khandu flags off
the tourist police make calls to the nearest police station
in Itanagar in an emergency. “Safety is key for any
tourist. These initiatives should ad-
dress their concerns,” says Singh.
Amid these positive developments,
there are warning signs too. A parlia-
mentary standing committee on the
Union home ministry points out that,
in 2012, Arunachal accounted for just
five per cent of crimes in the entire
Northeast. By 2017, the figure had
jumped to almost 20 per cent. ■

DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018 INDIA TODAY 6 3

 T
STATES
STATE OF
BIG STATES BEST PERFORMING RANKINGS
THE STATES

EC ONOMY INFRASTRUCTURE AGRICULTURE

RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017
1 9 Maharashtra 1 2 Gujarat 1 8 Punjab
2 3 Gujarat 2 4 Tamil Nadu 2 13 Haryana
3 6 Karnataka 3 7 Punjab 3 18 Uttar Pradesh
4 4 Uttarakhand 4 8 Haryana 4 9 Tamil Nadu
5 15 Tamil Nadu 5 9 Kerala 5 2 Madhya Pradesh
6 1 Telangana 6 1 Himachal Pradesh 6 6 Uttarakhand
7 2 Haryana 7 10 Karnataka 7 15 West Bengal
8 5 Himachal Pradesh 8 5 Maharashtra 8 10 Gujarat
9 17 Odisha 9 3 Andhra Pradesh 9 1 Andhra Pradesh
10 14 Andhra Pradesh 10 11 Telangana 10 4 Karnataka
11 11 Kerala 11 14 Uttarakhand 11 21 Bihar
12 8 Chhattisgarh 12 18 West Bengal 12 19 Jammu & Kashmir
13 21 Jharkhand 13 13 Rajasthan 13 14 Maharashtra
14 13 Madhya Pradesh 14 12 Odisha 14 16 Himachal Pradesh
15 7 Punjab 15 6 Jammu & Kashmir 15 7 Telangana
16 18 West Bengal 16 15 Chhattisgarh 16 17 Jharkhand
17 20 Rajasthan 17 17 Uttar Pradesh 17 12 Rajasthan
18 10 Jammu & Kashmir 18 16 Madhya Pradesh 18 11 Assam
19 12 Assam 19 19 Assam 19 5 Odisha
20 19 Uttar Pradesh 20 22 Jharkhand 20 20 Kerala
21 16 Bihar 21 21 Bihar 21 3 Chhattisgarh

EDUCATION HEALTH LAW & ORDER

RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017
1 1 Himachal Pradesh 1 5 Jammu & Kashmir 1 2 Tamil Nadu
2 7 Kerala 2 9 Kerala 2 20 Bihar
3 12 Tamil Nadu 3 1 Himachal Pradesh 3 1 Kerala
4 2 Uttarakhand 4 6 Tamil Nadu 4 3 Jammu & Kashmir
5 18 Karnataka 5 4 Maharashtra 5 6 Punjab
6 20 Punjab 6 12 Telangana 6 9 Andhra Pradesh
7 9 Maharashtra 7 3 Karnataka 7 5 Gujarat
8 3 Haryana 8 15 Andhra Pradesh 7 4 Uttarakhand
9 13 Chhattisgarh 9 2 Gujarat 8 11 West Bengal
10 8 Jammu & Kashmir 10 16 Haryana 9 12 Jharkhand
11 4 Rajasthan 11 13 Rajasthan 10 7 Himachal Pradesh
12 17 Assam 12 14 West Bengal 11 8 Rajasthan
13 11 Odisha 13 8 Uttar Pradesh 12 18 Uttar Pradesh
14 10 Gujarat 14 7 Punjab 13 15 Telangana
15 19 Madhya Pradesh 15 17 Madhya Pradesh 14 10 Chhattisgarh
16 21 Andhra Pradesh 16 21 Bihar 15 16 Maharashtra
17 5 West Bengal 17 20 Chhattisgarh 16 17 Karnataka
18 14 Telangana 18 11 Odisha 17 14 Madhya Pradesh
19 15 Uttar Pradesh 19 10 Uttarakhand 18 19 Odisha
20 16 Jharkhand 20 18 Jharkhand 19 21 Assam
21 6 Bihar 21 19 Assam 20 13 Haryana
 GOVERNANCE INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017
1 6 Rajasthan 1 17 Chhattisgarh 1 8 Haryana
2 14 Gujarat 2 13 West Bengal 2 1 Karnataka
3 17 Maharashtra 3 6 Tamil Nadu 3 7 Tamil Nadu
4 7 Karnataka 4 11 Kerala 4 6 Himachal Pradesh
5 3 Madhya Pradesh 5 4 Andhra Pradesh 5 11 Telangana
6 20 Haryana 6 1 Telangana 6 15 Andhra Pradesh
7 1 Kerala 7 9 Himachal Pradesh 7 5 Uttarakhand
8 10 Telangana 8 16 Madhya Pradesh 8 3 Maharashtra
9 2 Chhattisgarh 9 12 Odisha 9 10 Odisha
10 4 Andhra Pradesh 10 8 Haryana 10 9 Punjab
11 5 Himachal Pradesh 11 3 Punjab 11 13 Rajasthan
12 9 West Bengal 12 15 Gujarat 12 18 West Bengal
13 12 Uttarakhand 13 2 Karnataka 13 14 Chhattisgarh
14 11 Uttar Pradesh 14 18 Uttar Pradesh 14 2 Gujarat
15 16 Jharkhand 15 10 Jammu & Kashmir 15 16 Jharkhand
16 13 Tamil Nadu 16 14 Rajasthan 15 20 Uttar Pradesh
17 19 Bihar 17 19 Bihar 16 4 Madhya Pradesh
18 15 Assam 18 21 Assam 17 19 Bihar
19 18 Odisha 19 7 Maharashtra 18 17 Assam
20 8 Punjab 20 20 Jharkhand 19 12 Kerala
21 21 Jammu & Kashmir 21 5 Uttarakhand 20 21 Jammu & Kashmir

ENVIRONMENT CLEANLINESS TOURISM

RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018 2017
1 Kerala 1 Kerala 1 15 Tamil Nadu
2 Himachal Pradesh 2 Punjab 2 18 Uttar Pradesh
3 Karnataka 3 Haryana 3 7 Kerala
4 Andhra Pradesh 4 Tamil Nadu 4 10 Maharashtra
5 Telangana 4 Uttarakhand 5 8 Telangana
6 Odisha 5 Himachal Pradesh 6 5 Haryana
7 Assam 6 Gujarat 7 16 Madhya Pradesh
8 Tamil Nadu 7 Maharashtra 7 4 Assam
9 Jammu & Kashmir 8 Karnataka 8 19 Andhra Pradesh
10 Chhattisgarh 9 Jammu & Kashmir 9 14 Chhattisgarh
11 Madhya Pradesh 10 Andhra Pradesh 10 12 West Bengal
12 Gujarat 11 Telangana 11 3 Karnataka
13 Uttarakhand 12 West Bengal 12 1 Gujarat
14 Punjab 13 Rajasthan 13 13 Rajasthan
15 Jharkhand 14 Uttar Pradesh 14 11 Jammu & Kashmir
16 Maharashtra 15 Assam 15 6 Uttarakhand
17 West Bengal 16 Chhattisgarh 16 17 Punjab
18 Bihar 17 Madhya Pradesh 17 21 Jharkhand
19 Rajasthan 18 Bihar 18 20 Bihar
20 Haryana 19 Jharkhand 19 9 Odisha
21 Uttar Pradesh 20 Odisha 20 2 Himachal Pradesh
 T
STATES
STATE OF
BIG STATES MOST IMPROVED RANKINGS
THE STATES

EC ONOMY INFRASTRUCTURE AGRICULTURE

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Assam 1 Jharkhand 1 Madhya Pradesh
2 Bihar 2 Assam 2 Assam
3 Chhattisgarh 3 Jammu & Kashmir 3 Jammu & Kashmir
4 Madhya Pradesh 4 Bihar 4 Chhattisgarh
5 Telangana 5 Chhattisgarh 5 Rajasthan
6 Haryana 6 Madhya Pradesh 6 Uttar Pradesh
7 Maharashtra 7 Odisha 7 Jharkhand
8 Tamil Nadu 8 Telangana 8 Karnataka
9 Karnataka 9 Uttar Pradesh 9 Andhra Pradesh
10 Uttar Pradesh 10 Uttarakhand 10 Himachal Pradesh
11 Andhra Pradesh 11 Haryana 11 Odisha
12 Gujarat 12 Tamil Nadu 12 Punjab
13 Himachal Pradesh 13 Rajasthan 13 Haryana
14 Uttarakhand 14 Maharashtra 14 Gujarat
15 West Bengal 15 Kerala 15 Bihar
16 Kerala 16 Karnataka 16 Uttarakhand
17 Rajasthan 17 Himachal Pradesh 17 West Bengal
18 Punjab 18 West Bengal 18 Tamil Nadu
19 Jharkhand 19 Andhra Pradesh 19 Maharashtra
20 Jammu & Kashmir 20 Punjab 20 Kerala
21 Odisha 21 Gujarat 21 Telangana

EDUCATION HEALTH LAW & ORDER

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Bihar 1 Assam 1 Tamil Nadu
2 Rajasthan 2 Andhra Pradesh 2 West Bengal
3 Uttar Pradesh 3 Telangana 3 Jammu & Kashmir
4 Jharkhand 4 Uttarakhand 4 Kerala
5 Karnataka 5 Uttar Pradesh 5 Andhra Pradesh
6 Madhya Pradesh 6 Maharashtra 6 Telangana
7 Chhattisgarh 7 Gujarat 7 Assam
8 Assam 8 Jharkhand 8 Himachal Pradesh
9 West Bengal 9 Haryana 9 Odisha
10 Jammu & Kashmir 10 Jammu & Kashmir 10 Bihar
11 Odisha 11 Himachal Pradesh 11 Punjab
12 Uttarakhand 12 Tamil Nadu 12 Chhattisgarh
13 Haryana 13 Odisha 13 Madhya Pradesh
14 Himachal Pradesh 14 Karnataka 14 Jharkhand
15 Gujarat 15 Madhya Pradesh 15 Karnataka
16 Andhra Pradesh 16 Bihar 16 Gujarat
17 Kerala 17 Punjab 17 Maharashtra
18 Telangana 18 Kerala 18 Rajasthan
18 Punjab 19 Rajasthan 19 Uttar Pradesh
19 Tamil Nadu 20 Chhattisgarh 20 Uttarakhand
20 Maharashtra 21 West Bengal 21 Haryana
 GOVERNANCE INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Telangana 1 Uttar Pradesh 1 Karnataka
2 Jammu & Kashmir 2 Chhattisgarh 2 Bihar
3 West Bengal 3 West Bengal 3 Uttar Pradesh
4 Andhra Pradesh 4 Odisha 4 Andhra Pradesh
5 Assam 5 Gujarat 5 Jharkhand
6 Uttar Pradesh 6 Jammu & Kashmir 6 Haryana
7 Karnataka 7 Madhya Pradesh 7 Himachal Pradesh
8 Bihar 8 Bihar 8 Kerala
9 Odisha 9 Assam 9 Jammu & Kashmir
10 Himachal Pradesh 10 Andhra Pradesh 10 Uttarakhand
11 Punjab 11 Rajasthan 11 Tamil Nadu
12 Kerala 12 Haryana 12 Telangana
13 Rajasthan 12 Maharashtra 13 Maharashtra
14 Chhattisgarh 13 Karnataka 14 Chhattisgarh
15 Jharkhand 14 Himachal Pradesh 15 Assam
16 Tamil Nadu 15 Punjab 16 Gujarat
17 Uttarakhand 16 Jharkhand 17 Odisha
18 Maharashtra 17 Telangana 18 West Bengal
19 Haryana 18 Tamil Nadu 19 Rajasthan
20 Madhya Pradesh 19 Uttarakhand 20 Madhya Pradesh
21 Gujarat 20 Kerala 21 Punjab

ENVIRONMENT CLEANLINESS TOURISM

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Madhya Pradesh 1 Chhattisgarh 1 Andhra Pradesh
2 Punjab 2 Odisha 2 Uttar Pradesh
3 West Bengal 3 Jharkhand 3 Gujarat
4 Karnataka 4 Jammu & Kashmir 4 West Bengal
5 Jammu & Kashmir 5 Bihar 5 Telangana
6 Himachal Pradesh 6 Madhya Pradesh 6 Jharkhand
7 Rajasthan 7 Tamil Nadu 7 Rajasthan
8 Bihar 8 Rajasthan 8 Haryana
9 Maharashtra 9 Uttar Pradesh 9 Maharashtra
10 Uttar Pradesh 10 Telangana 10 Madhya Pradesh
11 Tamil Nadu 11 Andhra Pradesh 11 Odisha
12 Haryana 12 Karnataka 12 Jammu & Kashmir
13 Jharkhand 13 Punjab 13 Chhattisgarh
14 Gujarat 14 Kerala 14 Punjab
15 Kerala 15 West Bengal 15 Karnataka
16 Uttarakhand 16 Himachal Pradesh 16 Bihar
17 Chhattisgarh 17 Assam 17 Kerala
18 Andhra Pradesh 18 Haryana 18 Himachal Pradesh
19 Telangana 19 Uttarakhand 19 Tamil Nadu
20 Odisha 20 Gujarat 20 Assam
21 Assam 21 Maharashtra 21 Uttarakhand
 S T T
STATES
STATE OF
SMALL STATES BEST PERFORMING RANKINGS
THE STATES

EC ONOMY INFRASTRUCTURE AGRICULTURE

RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017
1 3 Goa 1 6 Delhi 1 3 Puducherry
2 1 Delhi 2 5 Goa 2 10 Delhi
3 2 Sikkim 3 3 Puducherry 3 2 Arunachal Pradesh
4 6 Puducherry 4 2 Tripura 4 7 Tripura
5 4 Mizoram 5 1 Sikkim 5 1 Nagaland
6 7 Arunachal Pradesh 6 8 Mizoram 6 5 Goa
7 5 Manipur 7 4 Nagaland 7 9 Sikkim
8 8 Tripura 8 9 Manipur 8 6 Mizoram
9 9 Meghalaya 9 10 Meghalaya 9 4 Meghalaya
10 10 Nagaland 10 7 Arunachal Pradesh 10 8 Manipur

EDUCATION HEALTH LAW & ORDER

RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017
1 1 Sikkim 1 2 Puducherry 1 3 Nagaland
2 10 Puducherry 2 1 Delhi 2 6 Mizoram
3 6 Goa 3 4 Goa 3 2 Sikkim
4 2 Mizoram 4 7 Meghalaya 4 5 Manipur
5 3 Arunachal Pradesh 5 6 Sikkim 5 1 Puducherry
6 8 Meghalaya 6 9 Arunachal Pradesh 6 8 Meghalaya
7 9 Nagaland 7 3 Manipur 7 4 Arunachal Pradesh
8 4 Manipur 8 10 Mizoram 8 7 Tripura
9 7 Tripura 9 5 Nagaland 9 9 Delhi
10 5 Delhi 10 8 Tripura 10 10 Goa

GOVERNANCE INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2017 2018 2017 2018 2017
1 9 Goa 1 2 Mizoram 1 1 Delhi
2 1 Mizoram 2 4 Puducherry 2 3 Puducherry
3 4 Manipur 3 5 Tripura 3 2 Goa
4 8 Delhi 4 7 Manipur 4 5 Tripura
5 3 Sikkim 5 10 Meghalaya 5 4 Sikkim
6 6 Tripura 6 6 Goa 6 9 Mizoram
7 10 Nagaland 7 1 Sikkim 7 7 Nagaland
8 5 Puducherry 8 3 Delhi 8 8 Arunachal Pradesh
9 2 Meghalaya 9 8 Nagaland 9 6 Meghalaya
10 7 Arunachal Pradesh 10 9 Arunachal Pradesh 10 10 Manipur

ENVIRONMENT CLEANLINESS TOURISM

RANK RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018 2017
1 Mizoram 1 Sikkim 1 2 Goa
2 Goa 2 Delhi 2 3 Sikkim
3 Nagaland 3 Mizoram 3 4 Arunachal Pradesh
4 Tripura 4 Puducherry 4 7 Nagaland
5 Manipur 5 Goa 5 9 Delhi
6 Meghalaya 6 Arunachal Pradesh 6 1 Puducherry
7 Arunachal Pradesh 7 Nagaland 7 8 Tripura
8 Puducherry 8 Tripura 8 6 Manipur
9 Sikkim 9 Meghalaya 9 5 Mizoram
10 Delhi 10 Manipur 10 10 Meghalaya
 S T T
STATES
STATE OF
SMALL STATES MOST IMPROVED RANKINGS
THE STATES

EC ONOMY INFRASTRUCTURE AGRICULTURE

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Mizoram 1 Tripura 1 Meghalaya
2 Arunachal Pradesh 2 Arunachal Pradesh 2 Tripura
3 Tripura 3 Sikkim 3 Puducherry
4 Nagaland 4 Meghalaya 4 Nagaland
5 Manipur 5 Nagaland 5 Goa
6 Meghalaya 6 Goa 6 Manipur
7 Goa 7 Puducherry 7 Arunachal Pradesh
8 Sikkim 8 Mizoram 8 Sikkim
9 Puducherry 9 Manipur 9 Mizoram
10 Delhi 10 Delhi 10 Delhi

EDUCATION HEALTH LAW & ORDER

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Arunachal Pradesh 1 Delhi 1 Arunachal Pradesh
2 Tripura 2 Nagaland 2 Manipur
3 Sikkim 3 Puducherry 3 Nagaland
4 Nagaland 4 Mizoram 4 Tripura
5 Manipur 5 Manipur 5 Mizoram
6 Mizoram 6 Meghalaya 6 Goa
7 Meghalaya 7 Sikkim 7 Puducherry
8 Delhi 8 Tripura 8 Meghalaya
9 Goa 9 Goa 9 Sikkim
10 Puducherry 10 Arunachal Pradesh 10 Delhi

GOVERNANCE INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Sikkim 1 Tripura 1 Mizoram
2 Goa 2 Manipur 2 Nagaland
3 Arunachal Pradesh 3 Puducherry 3 Tripura
4 Mizoram 4 Delhi 4 Sikkim
5 Delhi 5 Goa 5 Manipur
6 Puducherry 6 Sikkim 6 Goa
7 Tripura 7 Meghalaya 7 Puducherry
8 Nagaland 8 Arunachal Pradesh 8 Delhi
9 Manipur 9 Mizoram 9 Meghalaya
10 Meghalaya 10 Nagaland 10 Arunachal Pradesh

ENVIRONMENT CLEANLINESS TOURISM

RANK RANK RANK
STATE STATE STATE
2018 2018 2018
1 Goa 1 Puducherry 1 Goa
2 Mizoram 2 Nagaland 2 Mizoram
3 Meghalaya 3 Tripura 3 Arunachal Pradesh
4 Manipur 4 Meghalaya 4 Sikkim
5 Delhi 5 Arunachal Pradesh 5 Tripura
6 Sikkim 6 Sikkim 6 Puducherry
7 Tripura 7 Goa 7 Manipur
8 Arunachal Pradesh 8 Manipur 8 Nagaland
9 Nagaland 9 Mizoram 9 Delhi
10 Puducherry 10 Delhi 10 Meghalaya
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

● MUTUAL FUNDS
● FIXED DEPOSITS
● HEALTH INSURANCE
SMART MONEY DIRECT PLANS
I
t has been about five
years since mutual fund
houses launched direct
funds. Direct plans are
cheaper than regular plans
which have distributor
commissions embedded in
them. Many fintechs have
forayed into the business of
selling mutual funds and are
providing platforms to in-
vest in direct mutual funds.
These platforms typically
get themselves registered as
advisors with SEBI and sell
direct plans. Advisors are
allowed to charge fees from
investors and sell direct
plans. Distributors, on the
other hand, don’t charge any
fees but earn commissions
through the regular plans
they sell. Paytm, one of the
biggest mobile wallet com-
panies, has also launched
a platform, Paytm Money,
to enable investments in
direct mutual funds. Others
include Clearfunds (now
acquired by Mobikwik),
Paisabazaar.com, Zerodha,
ORO wealth, Wishfin.
Many of these platforms are
currently not charging any
fees, or minimal fees, in or-
der to widen their customer
base. But that may not be
the case forever.
Ô DIGITAL PLATFORM
FOR INVESTMENT
If you are looking for ease
of transaction, just log in.
You can invest in multi-
ple funds through a single
platform. However, if you
invest through the website
of a fund house, you have to
register on each separately.
Besides, the cost of in-
vestment is more transpar-
ent for investors as there are
no embedded charges. The
72 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
A FIRM GRIP
ON YOUR MF
INVESTMENTS
Direct plans with their lower expense
ratios are worth a look-see
investors know upfront what
they are paying. “Clearfunds
does not take any kickbacks
or hidden brokerage, no
invisible annual commis-
sion and no distribution
fees,” says Kunal Bajaj,
head, wealth management,
MobiKwik.
Some provide just a
transactional platform.
Direct plans are generally
for D-I-Y investors who have
the time and the knowledge
to do their own research and
choose funds they want to
invest in. Some platforms
also provide data to enable
research. “Accessing our free
tools to research across mu-
tual fund schemes from 30+
AMCs, users get compre-
hensive information about
each scheme, including
past performance, histori-
cal returns, fund manager
profiles, ratings, category
performance, risk assess-
ments and much more,” says
Pravin Jadhav, whole-time
director, Paytm Money.
However, if you are
new to investing and want
to invest in direct plans,
it’s better to seek advice.
Some platforms such as Oro
Wealth and Invezta also pro-
vide advice for fees to help
you plan your investments.
“Orowealth stresses on cre-
ating a plan based on market
conditions and individual
risk profiles, constantly
monitors the plan and sug-
gests adequate rebalancing,”
says Vijay Kuppa, co-found-
er, Orowealth.
But if you are someone
who needs constant hand-
holding, can’t read markets
and panic in times of market
volatility, you should go
with a distributor who can
provide you personalised
services. Direct plans are no
DIRECT, DIGITAL doubt cheap and over the
MUTUAL FUND years result in savings. But
INVESTMENT this is only when you invest
in the right funds as per
Ô Helps you save on
distributor commission your risk appetite and asset
and invest in mutual allocation. It will indeed
funds directly be a pity if to save a one per
cent commission, you end up
Ô Enables investment in
investing in wrong funds.
multiple funds through a
single platform “While these platforms
offer ease of transaction, in-
Ô Can be used as trans- vestors should refrain from
actions-only platform
investing impulsively. They
where you get to make
should not force-fit their
all the decisions
investments, but invest with
Ô You can also get specific goals and objec-
advice for a fee tive. I strongly believe that
Ô Free tools help investors should seek advice
you research differ- before investing in direct op-
ent schemes and help tions from such platforms,”
you reach an informed says Radhika Gupta, CEO,
decision Edelweiss AMC. ■
—Renu Yadav
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
SMART MONEY FIXED DEPOSITS
STAY LIQUID,
STAY ON TOP
‘Laddering’ your fixed deposits
is a tested way of getting
money just when you need it
F
ixed deposits may
be one of the most
popular investment
products for risk-
averse investors. However,
fixed return investments are
not entirely risk-free.
“Even a fixed return as-
set class has risks like inter-
est rate change in the mar-
ket, default by the issuer, etc.
Fixed deposits absorb some
amount of the risk in terms
LADDER YOUR FD FOR FLEXIBILITY
Ô Typically, Ô Bulk FDs
long-term and low in-
FDs such as terest rates
for 5 years on renewal
give higher could result
return in big loss
of default, and hence offer
lower returns than direct
bond investments. But there
are risks such as default risk,
interest rate risk, liquid-
ity risk, credit rating risk,
business risk, currency risk,
call risk, to name the major
ones,” says Vijayananda
Prabhu, investment analyst,
Geojit Financial Services.
Senior citizens and
retirees depend heavily on to pay a penalty or earn
FDs for a low-risk consis- lower interest. If we assume
tent return on their corpus interest falls to 7 per cent on
and to have liquidity. But completion of three years,
interest rate fluctuations you have to reinvest the
can impact return on FD corpus at 2 per cent lower
investments in the long return. An investor may
term. Here is how. also face a liquidity crunch
while investing in a long-
Ô INTEREST RATE RISK term FD. In such a scenario,
ON FD INVESTMENT FD laddering could come in
Suppose you invest a corpus useful to mitigate the inter-
of Rs 10 lakh in an FD for est and liquidity risk.
Ô Divide Ô Invest Ô It ensures
your invest- each part liquidity at
ible surplus at cer- regular in-
in small se- tain fixed tervals and
ries of equal interval of 6 your inter-
amounts months to 1 est loss is
year minimised
three years at 9 per cent in- Ô WHAT IS LADDERING
terest per annum for three “Laddering deposits is a way
years and the prevailing in- of staggering your invest-
terest rate goes up or down ments into multiple FD
in the investment period or accounts of varying terms
on completion of the FD. to have liquidity at regular
Assuming the interest rate intervals,” explains Adhil
goes up by 1 per cent after a Shetty, co-founder and CEO,
year, you lose the extra re- BankBazaar.
turn for the remaining two Assuming an inves-
years. If you break the FD tor wants to invest Rs 10
prematurely, you may have lakh in FDs. He can break
SHUTTERSTOCK
that investment into five
tranches of Rs 2 lakh each
and spread them over five
years. He invests the first
Rs 2 lakh for a year, the next
for two years, and the final
tranche for five years. As-
suming he is getting 7 per
cent interest, he’ll have
Rs 2.14 lakh at the end of
the first year, which can
then be invested in another
five-year deposit to create
the sixth ladder in the
process. This shields the in-
vestor against interest rate
fluctuation. If interest rates
increase in the future, it’s a
win-win situation. If they
drop, the investor can park
his funds in another instru-
ment with higher returns
after his deposit matures.
“Investors using FD lad-
dering have liquidity every
year, and have the option
to create longer income
streams. Additionally, they
can protect themselves
against premature with-
drawals,” says Mihir Mehta,
founder, Fintuned.
The laddering principle
can be applied to all fixed in-
come instruments, whether
bank or company FDs, NSCs
or KVPs. ■
—Amit Sethi
SMART MONEY HEALTH INSURANCE

PREMIUM
CONCERN
How to ensure your claim
is honoured if a medical
emergency occurs closer
to the policy renewal date

M
edical emergencies
tend to catch us un-
awares. If hospitalisa-
tion occurs closer to a
health insurance policy’s renewal
date, and you have neglected to
pay the premium, you risk the dis-
honouring of your claim, resulting
in a heavy financial burden.
Of course, IRDA or the Insur-
ance Regulatory and Development
Authority allows a 30-day grace
period within which insurance
premium paid should be accepted
and the policy benefits reinstated.
However, it is essential to under-
stand three situations that could
arise if a family member is hospi-
talised close to a policy anniversary
to avoid claim rejections.

Ô PRE-RENEWAL CLAIM
When a claim is made within the
policy period before the expiry of
cover, irrespective of whether the
renewal premium has been paid
or not, provided it falls within the
purview of the policy, based on the
clauses specified.

Ô CLAIM BEYOND
RENEWAL DATE
When hospitalisation in one policy
year spills over to the next, the date
of admission is critical, says Yash-
endra Sharma, senior vice-presi-
dent, Alliance Insurance Brokers.
“If a policyholder is hospitalised be-
fore the expiry of a policy year and
the lapse time, the insurer might
still consider the claim in entirety
if the next premium is paid post-
 SPEEDING
UP CLAIMS have been a policyholder for
PROCESS several years together,” says
Ô Set up personal Sharma. This is because a
reminders for pre- policy is a contract, which
mium payment expires on a set date or time,
Ô Or, arrange standing Sharma clarifies.
instructions for banks Illustrating by example,
or ECS payments Ashish Mehrotra, CEO, Max
Bupa Health Insurance,
Ô Inform insurance
says, “If your cover expired
company immediately
about the claim on September 30 and you
pay the premium on October
Ô Check required 14, then the claim arising on
documents, submit
hospitalisation,” he says. Ô HOSPITALISATION October 12 won’t be covered.
them at the earliest
If hospitalisation occurs IN GRACE PERIOD But any clagim arising after
within the policy term, then What if one has not paid Ô Check if documents October 14 will be paid if
the claim is honoured even premium on time for renew- can be accepted over premium’s been paid to
if the hospitalisation ex- ing the policy and the medi- e-mail or fax for faster reinstate the policy benefits
submission
tends to the policy renewal cal emergency occurs within within the grace period.”
period. “All one needs to the grace period? “If the Ô Use an app to regis-
do is to intimate the claim hospitalisation occurs even ter claim instantly and Ô LAPSE IMPLICATION
to the insurance company two hours after the policy track claim status “In India,” says Sharma, “the
immediately,” says Anurag has lapsed due to non-pay- Ô Supporting docu- cover starts only after the
Rastogi, member of execu- ment of renewal premium, ments like doctor’s money is paid. So, even if
tive management, HDFC the insurer will not enter- prescription and con- you pay your premium three
ERGO General Insurance. tain the claim even if you sultation letters about days after the cover ends,
the diagnosis and re- the policy lapses and there’s
quirement of continu-
a gap in the policy. In such
SAVE YOUR CLAIM ous treatment during
post-hospitalisation
a situation, the policyholder
SITUATION CLAIM period, along with the loses the continuity ben-
Hospitalisation Claim accepted, subject to original medicine and efit, and the waiting period
before renewal date hospitalisation period and other pathology bills, must clauses for pre-specified and
clauses be submitted select surgeries apply all over
Hospitalisation Claim considered if date of hos- Ô Insurance reposi- again,” says Sharma.
spreads over two pitalisation is pre-renewal date, tories ofer several Rastogi issues another
policy years renewal premium payment done services—including warning. “If the customer
Hospitalisation during Claim rejected if renewal pre- claims—under one contracts any disease during
grace period mium not paid umbrella for multiple the grace period, it’s treated
insurance companies, as a pre-existing disease
Claim during grace Claim rejected due to non-pay-
so get e-policy and
period, but after ment of premium; waiting period when the policy’s renewed.” ■
save it in insurance
policy break applies afresh —Khyati Dharamsi
repository
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
 LE
THE MAN WHO DANCE
WOULD BE QUEEN AND DREAM
PG 7 8 PG 8 0

ALL THAT RENDRA

PUNK SINGH
PG 82 PG 84

BOOKS

WOMEN HAVE a way of taking over

Fatima Bhutto’s novels. Her debut was
ostensibly about three brothers, but the
narrative’s heart and guts (and best lines)
belonged to women. Similarly, in a phone
interview from London, she said the
relationship between two male characters
is the “core” of The Runaways, her second
novel. But really it is Layla, a fierce whirl-
wind of a character, who gives the novel its
kinetic drive. Bhutto has said before how
Pakistani women have been forced into
becoming exemplars of resilience, that
their spirit is indomitable.
Bhutto is not being patronising or
oblivious to privilege. In The Runaways,
Layla’s mother is a poor woman, with two
children to feed, who gives massages to
fat, rich women in deluxe Clifton houses. It
takes a certain indomitability to perse-
vere, to find a way to feed the children, to
work despite pain, to put up with cease-
less humiliation. Of course, the Karachi
neighbourhood Clifton, specifically the
compound at number 70, was the seat of
the Bhuttos, the house of Fatima’s grand-
father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the
Pakistan People’s Party. It was the house in
which Fatima’s aunt Benazir Bhutto mar-
ried Asif Ali Zardari. When Fatima’s father
Murtaza, the older of Zulfikar’s two sons,
was shot in a police encounter in 1996, it
was Benazir and Zardari whom
M ZHAZO

THE RUNAWAYS
by FATIMA BHUTTO
Viking
432 pages; £14.99
Murtaza’s widow held responsible, at
least morally. It’s a position Fatima,
just 14 when her father died, main-
tained in her 2010 memoir, Songs of
Blood and Sword. She still lives in the
house with Ghinwa, Murtaza’s second
wife, whom Fatima, born in Afghani-
stan to Murtaza’s first, calls “Mummy”.
Wisely, given her family’s turbu-
lent history, Bhutto has chosen to
write. She expresses her politics in her
trenchant, often acerbic columns and
her novels, which seek some ember of
human connection in the ashes, the
ravages of global politics. The genesis
of The Runaways was in a 2014 discus-
sion with European friends about mi-
gration that left Bhutto horrified, even
a little disbelieving that people thought
in this way. She foresaw a novella, but
the characters and their journey to
Mosul took over. How do young people
become radicalised? For Bhutto,
“writing has to interrogate”—it has not
only to ask questions of power but also
about our choices and responses.
The Runaways tells the story of
how three young people come to be
in Mosul, on the front lines of jihad.
One of them, Sunny, grew up in
Portsmouth with a Pakistani father.
A widower, Sunny’s father is eager to
achieve the working class immigrant’s
British dream—a life of security and
prosperity for one’s children that vali-
dates the choice to leave the country of
his birth. “You have a home, you have
a city, a country even—a place in the
world,” Sunny’s father tells him when
he shows him the acceptance letter
78 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018
LEISURE
from the University of Portsmouth.
His father’s “voice”, Bhutto writes,
“broke with emotion”. But, for Sunny,
it’s not enough. For Sunny, his father’s
attempts to integrate, his tentative
attempts at moving on after the death
of his severe wife, and his rejection
of Islam are pathetic—the actions
of a floundering man. Filled with an
inchoate roiling, Sunny cannot find FILM
peace or the answers to the questions
that torment him until his cousin Oz
returns from Syria.
Monty, another of the protago-
The
nists, is the indolent son of a wealthy
property developer. His experience Ma
of the world is entirely diferent from
Sunny’s—the only humiliation Monty
contemplates is what it might look like
Wh
for their maid to be trailing behind
them on Oxford Street. The third main
character, Anita Rose/ Layla, is from
Wo
Karachi, but from the bottom rungs of
the social ladder, the misfortune of her
Be
poverty multiplied by her Christianity.
The business of the novel is to
bring these three together. And what a
Que
convoluted business it is.
In conversation, Bhutto is sym-
pathetic, thoughtful and patient even
when answering rambling questions. ew recent films
She brings that instinctive sympathy have so polarised
to bear on her writing, relaying the
various plights of her young pro-
tagonists with unwavering kindness.
Bhutto is particularly good at describ-
F viewers. Critics
have trashed it;
audiences have
been captivated—
ing loneliness and dislocation. She for perhaps the same reasons. Bo-
understands how social media can hemian Rhapsody is not a nuanced
be used to ‘weaponise’ these feelings, art film, a documentary or a biopic.
providing the illusion of community. It is glitzy Hollywood mythmaking.
Some of her angriest satire is reserved Everything else is sacrificed to the
for the charlatans and opportunists demands of the story. But, luckily,
who find validation on social media. the story is magnificent.
Paced like an airport thriller, The film juggles chronologies,
The Runaways can also read like omitting and inventing. Surviving
one, with its ludicrously engineered band members Roger Taylor and
plot. Too often it seems like Bhutto Brian May were heavily involved
is ticking boxes (a dash of repressed and, unsurprisingly, they are pre-
homosexuality here, class envy there) sented in the most flattering light.
and taking aim at caricatures rather As the film’s Freddie tells Roger,
than writing people. She is a vivid “There is only room for one hysteri-
writer, but her novels collapse under cal queen in this band.” Freddie’s
the weight of their geopolitics. „ band mates are wholesome, nerdy,
—Shougat Dasgupta boy-next-door types, dull foils to his

able. “The in-between moments, I find
mercurial refulgence. them intolerable,” he confesses, amid
Sacha Baron Cohen, originally slat- the wreckage of a wild party, “That’s
ed to play the singer, wanted to empha- when the sadness comes creeping
sise Freddie’s sexual promiscuity and back in.” Is this true to life? It is hard to
debauched parties, with such antics as know: the singer was reticent about
Freddie snorting cocaine of the heads his private life. The image he projected
of Little People. Instead, we get only was one of irrepressible mischievous-
glimpses of the excess. In a Dantean ness, excess and fun, Phaeton relishing
scene, Freddie and the Machiavellian the wild gallop, Icarus with only slightly
Paul Prenter traverse the dimly-lit cor- singed wings. Yet, surely great art can’t
ridor of a gay club. Freddie is dressed be produced by someone completely
in jeans and black leather like the rest, contented. It is fuelled by longing, and
as if his identity had dissolved amid that longing implies lack.
of the throng of interchangeable casual Malek embodies Freddie’s distinc-
lovers. We can guess the rest. We’re all tive physicality with eerie accuracy. As
familiar with the excesses of stardom. Malek struts across the stage, Dorian
Cohen’s portrayal would probably have Gray with a half mic, we want to believe
been prurient, rather than revelatory. in this resurrection, to unwind the
Instead, Rami Malek’s ries and send his ancestors
Freddie indulges in occasiona Malek an epic journey, from Egypt
Rami ies
snark—“I pity your wife if you embod ctive o Persia, to the Gujarat coast,
’s distin
think six minutes is for- Freddie icality Zanzibar and the Panchgani
phys
ever”—but is often vulner- with ee
rie ills and, finally, to London,
cy
accura
Malek’s blue-grey eyes deepening to a
Parsi chocolate en route.
“I like formulas,” declares the record
executive, who turns down ‘Bohemian
Rhapsody’ as too unconventional. Yet,
this film is highly formulaic. Freddie is
the son of hardworking Indian im-
migrants, rejects their conventional
lifestyle to follow his dream, captivates
the world with his extraordinary talent,
almost loses his soul in the process,
returns to the warm embrace of his
band and then, just after receiving his
death sentence, achieves immortality
at a legendary concert. It’s clichéd, but
it works.
What we feel for a rock star like
Freddie is a paradoxical aspirational
empathy. In his chameleonic self-
reinventions, he could be any of us: in
a bolder, freer version. Queen’s music,
too, succeeds because listeners make
it the soundtrack to their own lives.
We make the singer’s passion, sorrow,
triumph and bravado our own. We are
the champions. We might be titillated
by stories of Freddie snorting cocaine
of the heads of midgets. But what we
really want is not to gawk,
but to identify. We hunger for some-
one who can translate our deepest
needs into art. So when Freddie starts
crooning, “Find me somebody to love,”
nothing else matters. „ — Iona Italia
Photo by © TM &2018 T WENTIETH CENTURY
FOX FILM CORPORATION
LEISURE

PER FOR M A NCE

DANCE
AND
DREAM
I
In 2010, Jayalakshmi Eshwar pre-
sented what was billed as India’s first

VAQA AS MANSURI
Bharatanatyam fantasy opera. Called
‘Antariksha Sanchar’, it was inspired
by Hindu mythology of flight and the
Vaimanika Shastra—an early 20th
century Sanskrit text that makes the
claim that the flying palaces and chariots
described in the Mahabharata and Ra-
mayana were advanced flying machines
that have been lost in the mists of time.
This winter, the show returns with
3D animation, electronic music by Sri
Rama Murthy aka Murthovic and new
ideas, including the dream theories of
mathematician S. Ramanujan. For Esh-
war, this is not radical; it’s just following
VAQA AS MANSURI

the diktat of her guru, Rukmini Devi

Arundale, so that the classical form re-
mains vibrant. “It is the duty of the older
generation to keep alive the traditional
way of dancing and make the younger
generation embrace it,” she says. south India to “bridge Indian culture and ancient
Presented by Red Bull Music in ideas with modern tools and audiences”.
Mumbai on November 22 and in New The story has inspired him to make what he
Delhi on December 5, the opera uses calls India’s first cultural adventure video game.
HA
images from a video game created by ANTARIKS In it, Eshwar is one of the characters narrating
,a
Eshwar’s son, Avinash Kumar, to create SANCHAR opera the story. Seven years in the making, it releases
atya m
a multimedia narrative that supple- Bharatan es dance next year. The experience has made him value not
that m erg
, will
ments the classical dance. Co-founder D a nimation only how “deep Indian classical arts are” but also
with 3 i’s
d at Delh
of the audio-visual group BLOT!, Kumar be stage ditorium appreciate his mother’s purist ways. “I hope to
u
Kamani a . 5
used archival images, folk paintings, 3D on ec
D inculcate the same value in my work,” he says. „
models of gods and 3D scans of sights in —Suhani Singh

80 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

OLA O SMIT
Designers Karolina Merska (left) and
Kavya Meddappa will showcase their
works at the festival
EVENT
DEMYSTIFYING
design
design is for everyone,” they
say in unison. “Most design
events are niche and often
cater to the community
only,” adds Moorthy.
With a background at
Priyanka Suprita Sotheby’s Australia and The
Shah Moorthy Victoria and Albert Theatre
Museum, London, Moorthy
has been the Programme
With striking green struc- Director at India Design
tures on St Mark’s Road Forum since 2012. Bhan-
and yards of fabric woven dary worked in branding
around the town hall, Ben- and design, getting together
galuru ByDesign is taking with Moorthy to realise
over the city from Novem- their common vision of an
ber 23 to December 3. international design plat-
The goal? Co-founders form in Bengaluru.
Suprita Moorthy, 36, and “All the programming
Priyanka Shah Bhandary, comes from the basic tenets
33, set out to make design we set out for the event early
more inclusive. “We want on—impacting public, busi-
to demystify the idea that ness and education,” says
Moorthy. Hence, the sched-
ule includes everything
from public installations
and lectures to workshops
and challenges. From the
venues to the sponsors, the
focus on design is clear.
Branding exercises too will
be in the form of instal-
lations and interactive
workshops.
For the near future,
Moorthy and Bhandary
want to put their energies
into creating a platform
that brings in international
participation. “We don’t
want to set ourselves apart
for now. In the future, we
want it to be a festival that
integrates local design tra-
ditions,” says Moorthy. „
—Prachi Sibal
Highlights
● Green is the Colour
by Total Environment
(November 23 to Decem-
ber 2), St Mark’s Circle:
An installation of con-
centric green, ribbon-like
structures will pop out on
a busy junction
● When Buildings Come
Alive (November 23 to
December 2), Town Hall:
Handwoven textiles by
Aadyam will be wrapped
around the pillars of this
historic landmark, woven
in the pattern of the act of
weaving
● Paper Traditions, A Pa-
joke Workshop (November
24, 10.30 am to 4.30 pm),
WeWork Galaxy: Learn the
art of Polish chandeliers
with London-based de-
signer Karolina Merska
● Museum of Everything
(November 23 and 24),
Kafnu, The Residency: A
curated pop-up of sustain-
able fashion, accessories,
home décor and more
 LEISURE

M USIC

All that
Punk
W
hen they last
toured India in
2016, British
‘punk-jazz’ band
WorldService
Project was as impressed
with the audience as the au-
dience was with them. “We
met people who dropped
these references,” says
keyboardist, composer and
frontman Dave Morecroft.
“[They said,] ‘Oh the first
track reminded me of ‘Mr.
JAMES DREW TURNER

Bungle’, the second track

from the third album of
Zappa. Then I heard a bit of
Mingus and I love Weather
Report. [They] just nailed
the references. Even in the
UK, it very rarely happens.”
The visit was so success-
ful that WorldService Proj-
ect, which currently also fea-
tures bassist Arthur O’Hara,
saxophonist Ben Powling,
drummer Luke Reddin-
Williams and trombonist
Owen Dawson, will return
to India for a six-city trek
next month that will include
a spot at the Jazz India Cir-
cuit International Festival
in Goa on December 1. The
group, named after the BBC
World Service where More-
croft’s father once worked, is
the kind that seems ideal for
festivals. Their concerts, for
which they appear dressed
in British military suits—
representing “disillusioned
soldiers who’ve broken away
from a platoon, fighting our
own cause”—combine tech-
nical prowess with striking
showmanship.
Fans can expect to hear a
number of tracks from their
recently released fourth
album Serve at the perfor-
mances, “the core elements”
of which, says Morecroft, are
“a high energy show with a
theatrical edge to it” with
“music that shifts between
anthemic rock melodies
through to more compli-
cated, improvised sections
with some solos”. And
there’s always a story behind
the music, indicated in the
name of a song or explained
by Morecroft to the crowd.
“I talk quite a lot com-
pared to other bands,” he
says. “It changes the way
audiences interact with
what you’re doing. We have a
tune ‘Villain of the Aero-

82 INDIA TODAY DE C E M BE R 3 , 2 018

 plane’, which by itself [has]
an amusing title but as soon
as you [say] I wrote this
because I hate low-budget
European airline Ryanair,
because they always charge
us to bring instruments on
the plane, they don’t look af-
ter the guitar, etc. [it] gives
the piece a narrative rather
than [it] just being sound.”
Another feature of their
act is Mr Giggles, the creepy
clown who represents the
dark side of human nature
and whom Morecroft trans-
forms into with the help of
a mask. The character, he
says, has helped provide
“one of the best moments
we ever had at a gig” when
they played at the Shisha
Jazz Café in Pune two years
ago. “[As Mr Giggles] I
started creating a scene and
crashing about and stood
on this table with my shirt
unbuttoned, the mask on,
stuf I do normally,” he says.
“It wasn’t anything special
but then a woman ran to
me—she was middle-aged,
I think she was English—
reached up and wrote the
word ‘Evil’ on my bare chest,
in lipstick, in giant red let-
ters. Some people asked if
I’d asked her to do it but it
was impromptu;
she just expressed how she
was feeling.”
Getting such a strong
WOR
ORRLDS
LD ERV
LDSERV ERV
ER VICE
I
IC response requires a fair
PROJEC
PRO
RO OJE
JEC
EC CT amount of efort, says More-
will be in India for
a six-city trek that
croft, who frequently travels
will include a spot to India owing to his part-
at the Jazz India time job as an examiner for
Circuit International Trinity College London’s
Festival in Goa on
December 1 rock and pop department.
The antics are “a full work-
out”, he says. “I probably
lose between 600 and 700
calories per gig. It saves me a
gym membership.” „
—Amit Gurbaxani
DARK CIRCLES
by UDAYAN
MUKHERJEE
Bloomsbury
208 pages;
`499
BOOK R EV IEW
THE DARK
UNDERCURRENTS
ollowers of stock he is so credible when he tracks
exchange news are the descent into the protagonist’s
F familiar with the
calm, authoritative
soul-searing loneliness, a spiral
that leads to insomnia, alcohol-
voice of Udayan Mukherjee, re- dependence and an inability to put
spected for his clinical analysis of down roots.
market trends and restrained pre- Mukherjee’s documentation
dictions. They will be pleasantly of the hollowness that dogs the
surprised to make acquaintance protagonist and his near-suicidal
with another side of this well- experiences send a shiver down
known journalist, whose debut the spine of the reader, who
novel explores the dark areas of may have witnessed a dear one
buried emotions and uncomfort- grapple with such a state of de-
able family secrets. pression. All of us are familiar with
A painful journey into the dark circles that line
the lives of two broth- es of our bright
ers and the conse- ng things. Their
U D AYAN S
quences of a terrible RJEE’ restless lives stem
M UKHE is like a
secret bequeathed ove l from an inability to
debut n tale about
by their parents’ lity let go and spend
mora d the
lon eli ness an cess
unhappy past lies e of suc me with family and
at the heart of this dark sid wealth nds. Unable to
and
story. The narrative e human connec-
flits between homes, that will give them
cities and time to present a joy and fulfilment, they float from
nightmare that haunts one place to another haunted by
the protagonist and, like lava, an unnamed dread that they have
singes whatever it touches. no one in this world.
The novel is also a morality tale Therapists and counselling,
about the dark side of success sleeping pills and a loss of interest
and wealth. in work and relationships inevita-
In his avatar as an observer of bly follow and the book ends on as
Dalal Street, Mukherjee is bound dark a note as it begins.
to have witnessed dozens of cas- Not a cheerful or breezy read,
es of burnout and damaged lives. nor even a great existential novel,
It is, after all, the curse of wealth its pace and honesty grips the
and success that they extract reader, making it almost impos-
a horrible price from those who sible to put it down. „
chase them. Perhaps this is why —Ira Pande
 Q A
I N G
I M
A GH
HI c o ac h ,
h o c ke y i mp l e
, ‘s
S I N G H rl d C u p , e s s u r e
E N DR A i ng Wo nder pr
H A R up c o m ok i n g u
e h
on th y’, a nd c
e
hoc k

Q. Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium is hosting the

Hockey World Cup between November 28 and
December 16. What should fans expect?
Hockey India (HI) has become professional and it has rubbed
of on the players and coaches unlike 10-20 years ago when
things were diferent. We are currently world No. 5 out of 153
countries and headed in the right direction.

Q. Belgium, Argentina and Australia

seem to be the hot favourites for the title.
What’s your goal for the Indian team?
All the 16 teams are equally good. This (Indian)
team has a burning desire to create history. I
always set the highest target.

Q. You often talk about playing

‘simple hockey’. What exactly
do you mean by that?
It means pass the ball, run, and
then again receive the ball and ask Q. How will you
yourself, what next. Don’t play to the tackle the Indian
gallery and thereby, make your team team’s knack of
sufer for it. choking at the vital
point of matches?
Somewhere in our
culture, I feel, we tend to
over-react in our daily
Q. How critical is the role of lives, too. When people
science and technology in are caught in traffic,
Indian hockey today? they start driving zig-
I can confidently say that amongst zag instead of sticking
the Olympics disciplines in India, to lane driving. Similarly,
hockey ranks first in imbibing on the field it’s about
technology and modern science. staying calm and taking
For the World Cup, we’ve been good decisions in the
using modern software and coding crucial moments.
system to track players’ training and — with
their preparations. Manish Kumar

FRANK UIJLENBROEK

84 Volume XLIII Number 49; For the week Nov 27-December 3, 2018, published on every Friday Total number of pages 100 (including cover pages)
 DIGITAL EDITION

THANK YOU FOR READING

OC
SPECIAL ISSUE STATE OF THE STATES
www.indiatoday.in DECEMBER 3, 2018 `60
REGISTERED NO. DL(ND)-11/6068/2018-20; U(C)-88/2018-20; FARIDABAD/05/2017-19 LICENSED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT

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ai THE GRAND
RETURN OF
A HERITAGE
HOTEL

HIIGH
HEA NEW FITNESS HOTSPOTS
LIGHT BITES & MORE

Nishka Choraria,
VP marketing and business
development, Club Crest
 NOVEMBER 2018

THE GRAND
RETURN OF
A HERITAGE
A MONTHLY CITY MAGAZINE HOTEL

NEW FITNESS HOTSPOTS

LIGHT BITES & MORE

Nishka Choraria,
VP marketing and business
development, Club Crest
 inside

4
Cover Story

Healthy
Beginnings
Work out with
celebrities at the newest
fitness hotspot, switch
to salad meals or bite
into delicious guilt-free
desserts—here are some
fun ways to stay fit in
the city.

Editor-in-Chief
Aroon Purie
Group Editorial Director
Raj Chengappa
Group Creative Editor
Nilanjan Das
Group Photo Editor
Bandeep Singh Cover photograph by SUMANTH KUMAR

Deputy Editor
Prachi Bhuchar OUR PICK of the month
Consulting Editors
Mohini Mehrotra
Rewati Rau
Photo Department
Vikram Sharma
Photo Researchers
Prabhakar Tiwari,
Shubhrojit Brahma, Saloni Vaid
Design
Angshuman De, Anuranjan Bhatia and
Rajesh Angira
Production
Harish Aggarwal (Chief of
Production), Naveen Gupta,
Vijay Sharma, Prashant Verma
Layout Execution
Ramesh Kumar Gusain
Pradeep Singh Bhandari

Publishing Director
Manoj Sharma
Associate Publisher (Impact)
Anil Fernandes A Grand Return colonial era, art deco elements
The iconic Taj Connemara dating and architect Geofrey Bawa.
Impact Team back to 1854 has reopened its doors to AT Taj Connemara,
Senior General Manager:
Jitendra Lad (West) the city after renovations. The modern Binny Road, Anna Salai
General Managers: redesign features inluences from the Tel 66000000
Upendra Singh (Bangalore);
Kaushiky Gangulie (East)

2 INDIA TODAY CHENNAI ✦ NOVEMBER 2018

COVER STORY

Healthy
Beginnings
Work out with celebrities
at the newest fitness
hotspot, switch to
salad meals, or bite
into delicious guilt-free
desserts—here are some
fun ways to stay fit
in the city.
By Prachi Sibal

(L) Sandeep Pappula

and Nishka Choraria

Photograph by SUMANTH KUMAR

Step Up
CLUB CREST
experiences. Celebrity trainer and
fitness director, Sandeep Pappula,
27, who has worked with Arun Vijay
and Vishwanathan Anand, focuses
on goal-oriented fitness regimes
hennai’s newest social club is also its hottest fitness with members. “We have four

C
destination. Launched in September this year, Club Crest brings programmes—Build, Burn, Balance
in fitness and wellness under one roof. With majestic archways and Transform—based on your
constructed out of recycled elevator crates, the 15,000 sq ft space requirement,” he says. “There’s also
ofers something to every kind of fitness enthusiast. A 25-foot a dedicated nutrition and physio-
climbing wall, running track, pilates machine, a dedicated spa and therapy room for an all-round fitness
juice bar—everything is housed conveniently in a space called experience as well,” adds Choraria.
Cathedral of Fitness. In addition to that, there is the Whatever
Room which hosts group classes like TRX and Kettle Bell. AT PHOENIX MARKET CITY, VELACHERY
TEL 9854330684
Helmed by Nishka Choraria, 23, vice president, marketing
PRICE ON REQUEST
and business development, the centre also curates group fitness

4 INDIA TODAY CHENNAI ✦ NOVEMBER 2018

COVER STORY

A
Buddha bowl to bring
some zen into your life or a
quinoa sushi salad to keep
your cravings at bay—salads
by Ritika Agarwal don’t just
promise you a quick, healthy
meal but look like bowls of
sunshine too. With a back-
ground in catering, Agarwal,
42, would experiment with
exotic ingredients and cui-
sines at home. Her brand,
Rawmazing, began with a
request from a friend. “She
asked me to make her salads
five days a week and got
together a set of ten people
who were willing to order. I
started with simple foil con-
tainers in 2016,” she says.
The salad meals were an
instant hit and her subscrip-
tion service soon had many
more takers. She now delivers
them thrice a week without
once repeating a salad in a
month. “They are all low-
carb with no preservatives
or cream and are balanced
with good fats and protein,”
she says. Ingredients such
as green leafy vegetables are
brought in from Ooty and
microgreens from Mumbai.
Ritika Agarwal She pairs leaves such as
of Rawmazing arugula and Romaine lettuce
with grains like quinoa and
Photograph by SUMANTH KUMAR Israeli couscous. While
oriental cuisine is her forte,
Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese

Meal in a Bowl
RAWMAZING
and Korean lavours make
their way in her salads too.
All vegetarian, the salads are
delivered at lunch time only.

TEL 9790775511
PRICE RS 3,300 ONWARDS FOR
A SUBSCRIPTION OF 12 SALADS
COVER STORY

ite into a pale coloured

B
cupcake and you’ll taste
lavours of fresh jackfruit and
banana. Moist and mildly
sweetened, Senthil Kumar
Balu, 34, will quickly give away
the secret ingredient and
assure you refrigeration won’t
leave it dry and crumbly. If
you thought a diet and dessert
don’t go together, Wholesome
Rhapsody will make you
Senthil
rethink this. Made using millet,
Kumar
ragi, buckwheat and amaranth
Balu of
Wholesome
lour and sweetened with co-
Rhapsody conut or palm sugar, they also
come in unusual lavours like
sapota, carrot and jackfruit.
Balu, a cancer researcher-
turned-baker, didn’t set out to
make a career in food. A cake
baked on a whim while he was
working as a professor in
Australia got him thinking
about ‘food as therapy’ and all
the people who couldn’t have
dessert because of dietary
restrictions. “I used my re-
search methodology to arrive
at recipes. First it was the ma-
jor ingredients being replaced
for healthier alternatives, then
minor things like lavour came
into place,” he says. Fruit puree
is used for lavour and home-
made cream cheese work well
as a topping. At Wholesome
Photograph by JAISON G Rhapsody you can order cakes,
cupcakes, jar desserts, sweet
and savoury cookies with no

Sweet Surprise
WHOLESOME RHAPSODY
preservatives or artificial
colouring and customised
desserts based on your diet.
“I’ve made cakes for cancer
patients using ingredients like
turmeric and citrus pectin that
are anti-cancer actives,” he says.

TEL 9176728176
PRICE RS 1,650 PER KG ONWARDS

16 INDIA TODAY CHENNAI ✦ NOVEMBER 2018

COVER STORY
Photograph by JAISON G

Wellness Stop
ANANTA SPA

ith as many as 24

W centres around the country

and five upcoming spas,
Ananta Spa is the go-to
destination for all your
wellness needs. Besides
(R) Shruti
popular therapies like the
Nair Reddy jet lag massage that focuses
of Ananta on improving blood circula-
Spa tion and inducing peaceful recently. “We have also made a conscious shift towards
sleep after long travels, there all organic products with shower gels, shampoos and
are several other new treat- some of our oils,” says Shruti Nair Reddy, 35, CEO.
ments on ofer. A deep tissue Each of the spas now has a couples’ room and the
sports massage for athletes new outlets have vibrant décor with separate areas for
and post-workout needs, a Thai therapies.
wine massage, a bamboo
massage, and ayurvedic treat- AT ALL ANANTA SPA OUTLETS TEL 42611234
PRICE RS 944 ONWARDS
ments have been introduced

Photographs by SUMANTH KUMAR

Right Bite
A SALAD COMPANY

O
nce an IT professional who used to grab a quick unhealthy
bite at his work desk, Santhosh Thomas Elias, 34, quit his job
to start A Salad Company with an old colleague Yoga Priya,
32, targeting the IT sector to help them fulfil their nutritional
needs on the go. A Salad Company is a no-fuss subscription
service that focuses on providing healthy meals, while also ca-
tering to special diets like Keto, Paleo and more.
Meals are prepared with local ingredients, with no refined
lour, sugar or preservatives. One also gets a juice shot with
each portion ordered. “The juices are cold-pressed and made
using age-old grandmothers’ recipes,” says Elias. The menu
includes several traditional Indian recipes with healthier in-
gredients. All meals come with a calorie count. Alternatively,
one can provide their own per-meal calorie count for them to
curate a salad accordingly.

Santhosh Thomas Elias of A DETAILS ASALADCOMPANY.COM TEL 9840054533

PRICE RS 168 PER MEAL ONWARDS
Salad Company
COVER STORY

Fit for Life

GYMPAC FITNESS
SYSTEMS PRIVATE LIMITED

W
hen hitting the gym isn’t an
option, here’s how you can bring
the gym home instead. With over 12
branches in the country, Gympac

Photograph by JAISON G
Expeditions, which partnered with
premium fitness equipment manu-
(R) Mohan facturer Life Fitness in 2015, caters to
Gupta, all fitness needs big and small. “Your
founder and lifestyle may not encourage you to be
managing healthy but we will. We provide equip- range. “The Life Fitness cardio range, including Life Fitness
director,
ment needed for a transformational Treadmills and Life Fitness Cross Trainers, is one of the top
Gympac
workout experience. High standards sellers for professional trainers and athletes because the equip-
Fitness
Systems
of engineering mean you can get the ment is of high quality,” he adds. While looking up the website
Private results in the comfort of your home," may give you an overview of their equipment, the Life Fitness
Limited says Mohan Gupta, managing director, Concept Store is where you can get hands-on experience.
Gympac Fitness Systems Private Lim-
DETAILS GYMPACFITNESS.COM
ited. Both cardio and strength equip-
PRICE ON REQUEST
ment are available in a dedicated home