An investigation of dairies across 10 States has revealed the `ugly truth’ behind the “White Revolution” of India, where dairy cattle, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, get little access to soft ground, spend their lives in cramped, poorly ventilated and dark enclosures.
 Moreover, many dairies were found to have ill, injured and distressed cattle. Poor veterinary care and illegal use of drugs and hormones like oxytocin to increase the milk let-down are prevalent, the investigation report `Cattle-logue—Unveiling the Truth of the Indian Dairy Industry’ by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO) has found.
 Multiple wounds were also observed making it evident the inhumane treatment meted out to the cattle as a result of the rising demand for milk and milk products. This situation persists mainly because all these methods are considered “normal” and best practice in terms of economic gain and cost cutting for profits, by the dairy industry. The report calls for urgent and strict implementation of the existing laws of animal welfare as well as urban governance. It also highlights the need for additional regulation in select areas where there are significant violations of acceptable conditions for dairy animals.
The report is part of `End Intensive Dairies’ one of FIAPO’s chief campaigns to improve the conditions of animals used for milking in India. With the country becoming the leading milk and beef producer and holding the largest dairy herd in the world, the campaign is focused on regulating animal food industries that practice institutionalised cruelty.
This report is based on an investigation in 10 states and is aimed at bringing to light the condition of cattle used for the production of milk in India. The investigation recorded evidence of particularly cruel conditions prevalent in urban dairies where cattle are kept for milking purposes and violation of various animal protection and municipal laws occur routinely. Apart from this, data on the registration of dairy premises, number of animals, welfare provisions, and management regime was also collected with an aim of bringing legislative reform for the welfare of dairy cattle.
The ‘White Revolution’ in India was brought by the launch of “Operation Flood” in 1975, under which the milk production in the country increased from 22 million tonnes in 1970 to 104 million tonnes in 2008. Currently, India is the largest producer of milk in the world, accounting for 18.5 % of world production, achieving an annual output of 146.3 million tonnes during 2014-15 as compared to 137.7 million tonnes during 2013-14 recording a growth of 6.3 %.
This massive increase in production capacity of the country has been made possible by introduction of Jersey, Cross breeds and Holstein Friesian variety of cattle that have been genetically selected to produce unnatural average output of 20 liters per milking per day per animal! In order to meet the high milk production targets, these animals are over-exploited thereby, resulting in cruel dairy practices. Such practices also reduce the average lifespan of dairy cattle and increases the risk of reproductive diseases and udder infections. 
The life of a dairy cow lasts for an average of 10 years in a dairy establishment as compared to 25 naturally!
The total milk production of India in the financial year of 2014- 15 was at an approximate value of 140 million tonnes. Of this, the states we conducted our investigation in, Uttar Pradesh is the highest producer contributing 17.6% (23.33 million tonnes annually), followed by Rajasthan (10.5%), Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana)(9.6%), Gujarat (7.7%), Punjab (7.3%), Madhya Pradesh (6.6%), 2 3 Maharashtra (6.5%), Haryana (5.03%), Tamil Nadu (5%) and NCT of Delhi (2%).
Poor Infrastructure was one of the most glaring thing revealed during investigation with 25.1% dairies having no arrangements for shelter and had housing in the form of thatch roof sheds, and road-side areas.
 Hard floors cause injuries and bruises to cattle as they slip on such surfaces in their own excreta with 78.8%dairies not having access to soft ground, the report said.
As many as 32.9% dairies did not have proper lighting during the night as a result of which most of the dairies conduct the evening milking in dark enclosures.
Continuous tethering of cattle at all times was a common practice in 78.8% of the dairies; the tethers are extremely short to accommodate maximum number of cattle in a small area. This causes extreme physical distress to cattle, preventing them from being in a natural, comfortable posture, said the report.
The quality and quantity of fodder depends on the economic status of the dairy owner as 57.8% farms feed less than half of the desired minimum quantity (20 kg) their cattle per day.
The report further pointed out that in 24% dairies the calves were separated from their mothers immediately after birth. These calves are never able to have contact with their mothers.
In 25.1%dairies, male calves die within the first month. They are mainly either sold or sent for slaughter if they survive. Old, unproductive cattle also face the same fate with 62.9% dairies selling cattle to smaller farmers or slaughter houses. One of the most convenient options for the dairy farmers is also to abandon these “unwanted animals” on the streets.
As many as 57.85% dairies were found to have animals under stress or suffering from injuries or illness and 55.9%dairy owners allow use of sick animals for milking. Sale of milk directly to customers is the preferred choice of dairy owners with 69.3% over selling to dairy cooperatives and companies (23.1%). The main reason for this practice is the low cost of milk procurement by dairy cooperatives, the report said.
Injuries ranging from small bruises to tumours and fractures were noticed in 64.1%of dairies. Illegal use of Oxytocin to increase the milk let down is a common occurrence in 46.9% dairies. Dairy owners use it in excessive quantities (3 to 4 ml.). They claimed that animals have had side effects such as lowered fertility, calf deaths before parturition, calf deaths shortly after birth due to low quality and quantity of milk, dependency on the hormone to release milk and reduction in lifespan to name a few. It has not been possible to independently verify the link between oxytocin and the impacts outlined by dairy owners, the report said.
 Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, Oxytocin is a Schedule-H drug and is required to be supplied on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner only. The formulation of Oxytocin injection is required to be packed in single unit blister packed only to avoid its misuse.
Improper and irregular veterinary care Veterinary care was provided only when the animal was sick (84.3% dairy owners depend on vet- oncall services), mostly when it wasn’t able to provide milk. Vaccination schedules are not followed, which leads to outbreak of lethal diseases such a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) and Black Quarter disease. Vaccinations are mainly avoided to prevent the fall in quantity of milk due to fever induced by the injected vaccine, according to the report.
Mutilations De- horning is mainly practiced on non- native cow species with hot iron rods and chemicals and without any form of anaesthetic or pain relief. Though docked tails were noticed, owners deny conducting tail docking on their farms and claim the cattle were bought as such from the cattle market, it said.
The Registration of Cattle Premises Rules, 1978 requires registration of dairies in cities or towns which have a population exceeding one lakh. This rule is followed almost nowhere. Only 14.3% dairies were registered under the respective Municipal Corporations or the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot afford to lose the assembly election in his home state of Gujarat amounting to a huge loss of face. The outcome in this state cannot be undermined as it could have a bearing on other assembly elections slated for next year followed by the general elections in 2019. 
At the same time the Congress is gearing up its loins to give the Lotus party a tough fight in Gujarat where it has been out of power for more than two decades. The party organisation is in a shambles lacking a mass leader capable of turning their electoral fortunes.
The BJP has a definite edge in the two phase elections in Gujarat on December 9 and 14 announced by the Chief Election Commissioner two days back on Wednesday. Modi is not campaigning as the incumbent chief minister but as the Head of Government at the Centre.  
Spearheading the BJP’s election campaign, Modi has already visited Gujarat at least three times this month making some big ticket announcements about developing the state’s coastal belt and providing the country a transport system of the 21st century. 
There have been protests by the rich Patidar community seeking quotas in jobs with counter portests by other backward classes. The Dalit movement has also strengthened in the wake of flogging and ill treatment meted out to their youth last year.
There is palpable anger in Gujarat with the influential Patels and the farmers not being favourably disposed towards the BJP this time around. The much touted GST has been playing havoc with the small and medium industries. Last November’s demonetisation led to a  cash crunch resulting in unemployment. 
As the ideologue of the BJP, the RSS expressed concern and urged the Modi government to take expeditious steps in addressing the widespread disenchantment among the people. 
An avoidable controversy had been whipped up by not announcing the election schedule simultaneously for HP and Gujarat. At least two former Chief Election Commissioners expressed consternation in the delay in announcing the Gujarat poll dates. 
The term of the Gujarat assembly ends on January 22 next year. Campaigning is already at a high pitch in the state between the BJP and the Congress. The Lotus party has been at the helm of affairs in Gandhinagar for 22 years on the trot since 1995. 
During the ongoing campaign in Gujarat, Modi emphasised that the fight is between “dynasty” and “growth”. BJP president Amit Shah has set a stiff target of 150 odd seats. This is viewed as being highly overambitious as the party has failed to cross the 127 mark so far in the 182-member assembly. 
The Congress appears to have made a positive impression on the Patels by starting the ‘Navsarjan yatra’ in Saurashtra. Heir apparent Rahul Gandhi’s foray in this region created ripples which impartial observers believe has the portends of creating problems in Modi’s backyard.  
The allegations against the business dealings of Jay Shah, son of the BJP chief Amit Shah has provided the necessary grist to the opposition. What stands out starkly is the social media campaign in Gujarati underlining that ‘development has gone awry’. 
Traders forming the core support group of the BJP are up in arms. The Patidars with a vote share of 10 per cent along with enjoying economic clout are contemplating voting against the BJP. Having come on the scene two years back demanding reservation for Patidars, Hardik Patel is keeping his cards close to his chest. 
While he is yet to turn 25 to contest elections, he is for a wider opposition grouping against the BJP.  The strategy of the Modi-Shah combine in wooing the OBCs and in  particular the more backward among them will be at play once again as it has paid rich dividends. This is so because the OBCs constitute the largest chunk of 40 per cent of Gujarat’s population.  The role of Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani and OBC’s Alpesh Thakor cannot be brushed aside. Mewani gained prominence having launched the self respect agitation in the wake of the flogging of Dalits last year. 
OBC leader Thakor joined the Congress on Monday. He is the founder of the OSS (OBC, SC and ST) Ekta Manch. Gujarat has a 14 per cent tribal population.  
The Congress is trying to forge a combine posing a challenge to the saffron brigade. It has pledged to give Rs 5000 (five thousand) to the jobless, homes to the poor and write off farm loans if voted to power. 
The question is can Modi having completed three-and-a-half years in office at the Centre apply the soothing balm even though none of the multitude of pledges made by him have materialised so far. 

New Delhi : The phenomenon of urban heat islands, in which concrete and built areas in cities experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas, may get accentuated with rapid urbanisation. This is the conclusion of a new study of urban areas selected for development of smart cities.

The study, which covered 89 of 100 areas selected for development of smart cities, has found that agriculture and irrigation are two dominant drivers of urban heat islands or UHI in India. In addition, significant presence of atmospheric aerosols – mainly pollutants – over urban areas can influence UHI. 

Moisture from irrigation canals and agriculture fields plays a key role in keeping rural areas surrounding cities much cooler that urban areas, resulting cities becoming heat islands. In a heat island, temperature could be 1 to 6 degrees higher than surrounding areas. Remote sensing data and climate modelling were used to evaluate UHI all over the country.

When the surrounding non-urban areas have no agriculture during summer, cities are actually relatively cooler during daytime. However, if the non-urban areas are under irrigated agriculture, cities are warmer than surroundings. This means UHI effect during day time is mainly driven by agriculture and irrigation. However, in the night-time, cities are significantly warmer than surroundings in both winter and summer seasons. Night-time urban heat is mainly driven by the amount of heat stored in buildings and other impervious surfaces.

Urban areas located in highly irrigated regions – Indo-Gangetic Plain and north-west India (Haryana and Punjab) – show UHI intensity of 3 to 5 degrees. During summer season (April and May), when air temperature is at the peak, land surface temperature becomes is higher than that of the post-monsoon season in absence of agricultural operations. Moreover, amount of moisture and vegetation in non-urban areas are also limited as crops are largely harvested by the end of March and soil moisture is depleted due to high atmospheric water demands, the study said.

“While urban areas have experienced increased number of heat waves and temperature extremes in recent past, urban heat island effect driven by rapid urbanization can further worsen extreme hot conditions in cities,” pointed out Dr Vimal Mishra, a scientist at the Water and Climate Lab of Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, which did the study. The results of the study appeared in journal Scientific Reports on Wednesday.   

The development of smart cities will result in rapid growth in urban infrastructure and population, leading to increases in UHI intensity. “Our results can provide policy insights for development of smart cities,” Mishra said. “Considering night-time heating which could be significant during heat waves, measures such as passive cooling should be used. Building materials that absorb less heat and are sustainable can reduce the amount of heating caused by stored heat.” The presence of water bodies and vegetation in cities can also help reduce additional night-time heating in urban heat islands. 

The study team included Rahul Kumar and Vimal Mishra (IIT Gandhinagar); Jonathan Buzan and Matthew Huber (Purdue University, USA); Rohini Kumar (UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany ); and Drew Shindel (Duke University, USA). (India Science Wire)

New Delhi : The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to develop around 1,900 km of roads as green-field expressways out of which 800 km will be taken up in the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I.

According to officials, certain sections of national and economic corridors have traffic exceeding 50,000 PCUs and have also developed several choke points and some stretches have been identified to be developed as green-field expressways.

The green-field expressways will enable high speed and seamless freight and passenger movement.

On Tuesday the Cabinet gave approval to the programme in which a total of around 24,800 km is being considered with an estimated outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crores spread over five years.

The objective is optimal resource allocation for a holistic highway development initiative. 

The components of the Phase-I are Economic corridor development, Inter-corridor and feeder roads, National corridor efficiency, Border and international connectivity roads, Coastal and port connectivity roads and Expressways.

In addition to the above, around 2,100 km of coastal roads and 2000 km of port connectivity roads have been identified under Bharatmala of which 2,000 kms are being taken up under Phase-I at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore. About 1,900 km of stretches have been identified for development of green-field expressways of which around 800 kms will be taken up under Phase-I of the programme at an estimated cost of Rs.40,000 crore. The 10,000 km of balance road work under NHDP will be completed at a cost of Rs 1,50,000 crore.

Grand Challenge’ mechanism is to be adopted to encourage State Government participation in implementation of the program. Projects that are supported by proactive effort by the concerned State Governments shall be taken up on priority basis.

A total of around 600 projects have been identified across the components for Bharatmala. DPR preparation for 19,500 kms is underway currently.

New Delhi : The much-awaited dates of the Gujarat Assembly Elections has been declared by the Election Commission today. The polls will be conducted in two phases on 9th and 14th December, and the results will be declared on 18th December along with the Himachal Pradesh polls results.

Out of 182 seats in Gujarat, first phase will see voting on 89 seats and second phase on 93 seats on 9th December and 14th December respectively. 

Answering the allegations on delaying the dates in the favour of a particular political party, Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti said that there is a certain set of procedures which are followed by the Election Commission. “Many factors are considered in declaring the dates of an assembly election. In Gujarat, we had to consider the factor of rain the state.” In an interview to a TV news channel, also said, “the Gujarat announcement was delayed to allow the state government time to wrap up relief and rehabilitation works to help flood victims. We realised that nearly 26,000 staff would be deployed for elections and flood relief work would get delayed.”

VVPAT To Be Used In Gujarat Elections

Gujarat Polls will be equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT). In the wake all the allegations, comes the concept of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT). VVPAT works like a printer. Inside the polling booth, there is a Balloting Unit. With this unit is attached the VVPAT. When a voter casts his vote in the favour of a candidate ‘X’, the VVPAT will generate a ballot slip with the candidate’s name X, party symbol of X and serial number X in a sequence. It will be displayed on a screened window for seven seconds. The slip will automatically cut and drop in a sealed drop box. The voters would not receive that receipt as it will harm the secrecy of votes which might be a threat. 

VVPAT was first used in ‘Noksen Assembly Constituency’ in Nagaland in 2013. In the Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India in 2013, Swami failed to prove the machines could be tampered with. In the response to his petition, the Apex Court directed the EC to equip these machines to VVPAT systems. 

One important thing which must be discussed is the use of ‘Totalizers’. The ‘Totalizers’ are interface which are connected to multiple VVPAT systems to count results without disclosing the booth-wise counting results. As it dangerous to announce votes booth-wise, why not to use ‘Totalizers’? The former Election Commissioner of India Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi said, “we asked for the opinions of political parties on using ‘Totalizers’ in counting but they denied as they wanted to know booth-wise results for booth management for the next elections. So don’t blame EC.”

New Delhi: The stage is set for The World Congress on Adolescent Health billed as the biggest event on adolescent health which is coming to India for the first time. Held once every 4 years, the International Association for Adolescent Health’s 11^th World Congress on Adolescent Health, ‘Investing in Adolescent Health – the Future is Now’ will be held here from 27-29 October 2017.

Addressing a press conference on the eve of the conference, Prof Susan Sawyer, president of International Association for Adolescent Health (IAAH) said India had been chosen to host the conference as it has thelargest number of adolescents in the world. “ When we started the IAAH in Australia 30 years ago as a resource to help build capacities in the field of adolescent health, we had people only from high income countries but now there is participation from across the world since 90 per cent of the adolescents are in middle and low income countries,’’ she said.

The world is home to 1.2 billion adolescents, and India has the largest population of adolescents in the world – 253 million with every fifth adolescent in the world being an Indian and every second adolescent being an Asian.

Over 1,000 delegates from 65 countries across the world will share their experiences and learnings during the conference.

The World Congress seeks to cover topical themes through discussions in sessions such as ‘Global adolescent health: Opportunities and challenges’, ‘Programming for adolescent health in India: RKSK and beyond’, ‘Toward a gendered approach to adolescent health’, ‘Mental health and adolescents’, ‘Early Adolescent Health and Development in Low and Middle-Income Countries’, ‘Social Media, Sexting, Addiction, Oh My! Adolescent Health in the Digital Age’, and more. There will also be debates on topics including the need for parents’ consent in their child’s clinical care or participation in health research; the role of brain imaging in adolescent care and health promotion; and on whether to promote condoms or contraceptives among adolescents.

 According to Dr Sunil Mehra, Executive Director, MAMTA Health institute for Mother and Child the country is faced with challenges such as early marriage, early pregnancies, malnutrition and obesity and violence.’’

Globally, adolescence is demographically dense – a period which encapsulates tremendous change in relation to critical life events such as transitions from education to employment, and formation of families and parenting. Adolescence is also the period in which individuals experience the greatest change in health and health-related behaviours across their lifetime. Well recognized as a time of risk for health, increasingly adolescence is now recognized as a period of opportunity for health, in which individuals gain the assets and resources to sustain health across the life-course.

The mortality of adolescents globally stands at a staggering 1.5 million deaths per year

Unintended injuries such as road traffic accidents and drowning are the leading causes of death among adolescents, together with self-harm, interpersonal violence, communicable diseases and teenage pregnancy.Tobacco, alcohol and other substance use contribute to health concerns among adolescents (e.g. injuries) and are associated with unemployment, accidents, depression and suicide during adolescence. Yet, rather than being a passing phase, these behaviours and states risk reverberating across the life-course, contributing to the future burden of disease in adults and to that of the next generation.

 Â“The world is looking up to India’s National Adolescent Health Programme (Rashtriya Kishore SwasthyaKaryakram) after its win over polio, said Dr V. Chandra-Mouli from WHO.

The World Congress is being organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child (MAMTA) along with a consortium of partners.  

New Delhi : Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out major landing operations on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, about 60 km west of Lucknow, today. The series of landings took place close to Bangarmau in Unnao District of Uttar Pradesh, where a 3 km stretch was specially prepared for such operations. A total of sixteen aircraft participated in the operation which comprised IAF’s frontline Air Superiority Fighters including the Sukhoi-30, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft. These aircraft took off from Bareilly, Gwalior and Gorakhpur respectively. In addition, the IAF carried out drills in which Garud Commandos were inserted and extricated for ground operations, by the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft which took off from Hindon airbase.

The exercise commenced with an impressive short landing by the C-130 which on its landing roll itself started off loading the Garud Commandos and their vehicle in manoeuvre called Combat ERO (Engine Running Offload). Immediately on disembarking from the  C-130, the Commandos took up position on either side of the airstrip to cordon it off for the fighter operations. This was followed by two sets of 3-3 Mirages, five SU30s and three Jaguars. All 14 fighter aircraft carried out a roller/touch and go manoeuvre on the expressway. The C-130 then returned for another short landing to extricate the Garud Commandos.

IAF had already carried out landings by fighter aircraft for the first time on the Yamuna expressway on 21 May 2015. The stretch of Agra – Lucknow expressway was earlier activated for the first time for IAF operations in November 2016 in which six fighter aircraft of the IAF landed on the expressway. However, in this exercise, IAF included the Jaguar fighter aircraft for the first time. Also for the first time, IAF’s C-130J transport aircraft participated in highway landing operations for insertion and extrication of Garud Special Forces. While the operations on 24 October 2017 required the closure of the portion of the expressway for road traffic, through the excellent support of the UP State Government and UPEIDA, once the planned works are completed, such road traffic closure will not be required henceforth. 

Several countries like Germany, Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan, Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Singapore, Czechoslovakia, Pakistan, etc. have dedicated stretches on their highways and expressways for aircraft to land and take off in emergencies or war like events.

NEW DELHI: Last week on Tuesday, a nine-year old girl, Roshan, from the outskirts of Lakhisarai in Bihar died in Patna due to high fever. A shocking photograph of her father carrying his dead child on his shoulders appeared in media, sending a wave of outrage across all sections of the people. 

This shocker recalled the heart-wrenching incident of Dana Manjhi from Kalahandi in Odisha, which made national headlines in September last year, as he travelled 10 kms carrying the body of his wife on his shoulders.

The media reports claimed that the adolescent girl in Patna died after the Outpatient Department (OPD) at the government-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna allegedly denied the registration of the patient, compelling the father to run from one counter to another in search of immediate treatment, but his efforts failed. 

ANI news agency reported, the victim’s family was also denied ambulance services by the AIIMS authorities. As Rambalak couldn’t afford a private vehicle to take her child home, he was forced to carry her body on his shoulders. However, AIIMS has refuted the allegations.

Talking exclusively to theindiasaga.com on this issue, Dr. Prabhat Kumar Singh, Director, AIIMS Patna said that no such incident was reported at AIIMS. 

“The man didn’t report it to the anybody. He was spotted 3 kms away from the AIIMS, as reported by the ETV. For an instance even if I believe that Roshan died in the OPD of AIIMS, how is it possible that no one standing nearby raised voice against it or complained? We have four counters of OPD, where security officials are deputed. Since the OPD is always crowded, I don’t buy this fact that no one saw the victim inside the campus. Rambalak also reportedly agreed in media that he didn’t talk to anybody at AIIMS OPD. In any such critical cases, we always ensure primary treatment without any formalities. I have inquired into the matter personally. We got to know at 7 pm that such an incident is being reported near Fulwarisharif. I refuse to believe that due to AIIMS ignorance a child has died,” he added.

Since its inception, AIIIMS has no emergency services in Patna.  Â“AIIMS Patna doesn’t have the license of blood bank so the emergency services are not full-fledged in operation. But we always provide the first aid to the patients who come to this hospital in critical conditions.” 

Recently, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini  Kumar Choubey made a controversial statement about the natives of Bihar coming for treatment in AIIMS, Delhi and also called them a ‘burden’ on the premier hospital. He had said that the residents of Bihar come to Delhi for the treatment of even ‘small ailments’. 

Ashwini Choubey is elected from Buxar, about 130 kms from Patna. This reporter tried to contact him but he was said to be unavailable. The India Saga contacted the office of the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, for a statement but her Officer on Special Duty (OSD) did not respond. 

The latest incident only underlines the lack of primary healthcare services in Bihar. So far the victim’s family has not received any assurance of compensation from either the State government. 

NEW DELHI: While asserting that macro-economic fundamentals remain strong and the GDP is poised to clock an impressive growth rate, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday announced an “unprecedented” infusion of Rs. 2.11 lakh crore in public sector banks to give a boost to lending. 

Another major announcement made by Mr. Jaitley was that 83,677 km of highways would be built over the next five years to “create more jobs, more growth.”

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Jaitley said the Modi government has decided upon a series of steps to sustain growth momentum in the country as India’s economy was the fastest growing in the world in the past three years. 

Mr Jaitley, backed by a team of top Finance Ministry officials, said that a comprehensive review of the economy was undertaken by the government in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present. It was decided to chart out the road ahead, fill the gaps to boost the economy and keep building up on rapid growth and job creation. 

Top officials said in their presentation that inflation has been under five per cent and current account deficit less than 2 per cent over the past three years. Forex Reserve built up is also topping $400 billion. 

The GDP growth is also poised for take off and has been around 7.5 per cent in the last three years. The IMF forecast is also said to be favourable.   “The real GDP growth average is 7.5% in the last three years,” said Subhash C Garg, Economic Affairs Secretary. He said that that a number of indicators show “the worst is over and we are now back on the path to a high rate of growth in the next many quarters to come.

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked all State governments and Union Territories to strictly enforce the law to ensure that a peaceful environment prevails for journalists and media persons to carry out their professional duties. 

Taking a serious view of the concerns expressed by journalists and their various organisations over growing attacks on journalists in different parts of the country, Union Home Ministry has issued an advisory to all State governments and administrators of Union Territories to ensure a peaceful environment to allow scribes to “exercise freedom of speech and expression in their professional pursuit.”

Referring to the cases of attacks on journalists, the Home Ministry asked the States and UTs to ensure that investigations are conducted in a time bound manner and public trust in criminal justice system is maintained. 

The latest advisory came within a fortnight of a delegation of journalists, led by  the Press Club of India, meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and submitting a memorandum to him, urging the government to speed up probe in cases of attacks on journalists and take necessary action to ensure their safety and security. 

“The Fourth Estate is an important institution of our democracy. It ensures that citizens are able to express their opinions freely without any fear and coercion as provided under the Constitution of India. It is the duty of State to ensure safety and security of journalists who ensure that the fourth estate discharges this key role. 

From time to time incidents of attack on journalists/media persons are reported in the media. All such cases need to be investigated promptly to ensure that criminals get prosecuted in a time bound manner. States should also take all preventive and deterrent action as deemed required. States are already empowered to provide security to individuals based on threat perceptions,” the Home Ministry’s advisory noted. 

While Police and public order are state subjects, in view of its importance, the advisory said that Union Government has been drawing the attention of the State governments from time to tome towards the need for a robust criminal justice system with emphasis on prevention and control of crime. 

While directing strict compliance of the advisory, the Home Ministry asked the States and UTs to widely circulate it among all concerned departments and organisations under their jurisdiction. The advisory was sent to Home Secretaries and Police chiefs of all States and UTs.