Growth is indeed a major outcome of the planning process. We
have to plan for a growth of 8 per cent to 9 per cent on a long-term and
sustained basis to become a middle income country by 2025, or in the next
decade. This is not a very ambitious goal for a country with per capita income
levels of about $1,500. The average
growth of the GDP in the period 1990-2010 averaged 7.5 per cent. These were the
initial years of reforms. Unfortunately, in the last three years growth has
decelerated and averaged about 5 per cent. In the first two quarters of the
current year it has continued to be sluggish and averaged 5.5 per cent. While
part of the reason for this decline is slow growth in international demand,
domestic policies have also led to depressed growth sentiments.
September 27, 2015
A 1965-batch UP cadre
in the early 1960s, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
had a halo around it, thanks to the legacy of the British Raj that had put it
in the elite category. And, for students of St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, a
top educational institution, the civil services examination was considered a
natural choice. Therefore, the decision of Ravindra Shankar Mathur, a Chemistry
(Honours) graduate from the college, to attempt the civil services exam was not
surprising.
Uninspiring account
at the time when I was finishing my reading of the book under
review, for the second time in a fortnight, a top civil servant of yesteryears
passed away in Bhopal. He was MN Buch and the illustrious record that he has
left behind as a career bureaucrat I was fortunate to hear about twice in the
memorial meetings in Delhi’s IIC and in Bhopal. Frankly, you get disappointed
after reading Gods of Corruption and wish you had perhaps not bought a
copy for your bookshelf. There have been many books, of late, written by former
bureaucrats on the bureaucracy.
Khajuraho – paean to life
The temples of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh are India’s
unique gift to the world, representing, as they do, a paean to life, to love,
to joy, perfect in execution and sublime in expression. Life, in every form and
mood, has been captured in stone, testifying not only to the craftsman’s
artistry but also to the extraordinary breadth of vision of the Chandela
Rajputs under whose rule the temples were constructed. The Khajuraho temples
were built in the short span of a hundred years, from 950-1050 AD in a truly
inspired burst of creativity. Of the 85 original temples, 22 have survived till
today to constitute one of the world’s great artistic wonders.
Flowering is a spiritual process
One
day, when I proposed planting flowering trees at the yoga centre, a very
practical ashram resident asked me, “What’s the use? Why not plant okra or
bitter gourd instead?” He was right, of course. Flowers have no real
utilitarian value for us. If you look at it biologically, flowers are just
tools for the plant to reproduce. But I would like to live among flowers and be
a little hungry, rather than live among bitter gourd with a full stomach! A flower can be many things for people. For a
lover, it may be the face of the beloved. For a scientist, it may be just
an attempt at reproduction. But for a mystic, a flower is the Divine blossoming
in the highest possible way.
Amar knocking SP’s door
Amar Singh, the maverick businessman, never realised how
difficult it would be to re-enter the personal fiefdom of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s
Samajwadi Party. He landed in Lucknow one evening to attend an iftar party
organised by Mulayam. The self-proclaimed Muslim leader, Azam Khan, came to
know of this and so avoided attending the party. Not only did he distance
himself from Mulayam’s party, Azam organised another iftar party at his
residence to which Mulayam wasn’t invited. Mulayam wants the return of funds
organiser Amar but the paradox is that his party and family have many wheels
within wheels. Ram Gopal Yadav is the mentor of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Azam looks after the interests of Ram Gopal in Lucknow while he manages Delhi
for Mulayam. Mulayam’s other brother, Shivpal, has his own coterie which wants
Amar’s re-entry. The buck stops only at two questions: what will be Amar’s
contribution to the Samajwadi Party? Or is he just entering the party to grab a
Rajya Sabha seat? g
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