Gfiles’ November issue is a package of diverse issues like unemployment, UP politics, urbanisation, disclosure of black money, the 50th year of Haryana and an interview with former Home Secretary GK Pillai. Unemployment is a major challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Fast moving developments in the technology world are leading to shrinking job prospects. So what should be done? Move to the Gandhian formula and focus on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which have an immense potential to create jobs. In India, youth below 35 years of age, comprise 65 per cent of the population. They are clamouring for jobs. Modi has got the pulse of the problem and has started focusing on MSMEs. gfiles has taken notice of this initiative by Modi and done a cover story on this by talking to MSME Secretary KK Jalan. A seasoned civil servant, Jalan admits there are many challenges but MSME is one sector through which India can fight unemployment. Uttar Pradesh is another worry for India. The biggest State of the nation, population wise, is not moving ahead. Rather, its ruling political dispensation is fighting like UP is its personal fiefdom. I had once interviewed BK Chaturvedi, former Cabinet Secretary of India. He was then serving as Member, Planning Commission. He said, “Can India progress without UP progressing”. But today, who cares. The ruling Yadav clan is fighting for the large pie of alleged illegal mobilisation of funds. Our reporter Mini Banerjee explains how a political party, once founded on the ideals of Samajwadi leader Ram Manohar Lohia, has become Mulayam & Sons Pvt Ltd. Serious steps have to be taken to bring out the land of Ganga-Jamuna from the present socio-eco-political mess. The issue has another thought-provoking story on Madhya Pradesh by Rakesh Dixit. The RSS in MP is reportedly not enthused with the administrative style of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Dixit writes, “While the RSS maintains it must further tighten its grip over the government to prevent it from going astray, bureaucrats and neutral observers feel the Chief Minister is to be blamed squarely for allowing an extra-constitutional entity to emerge as a Frankenstein monster.“
TN Pandey, former Chairman of CBDT, has raised a very pertinent point in his write up about the voluntary disclosure scheme on black money: “The problem of undisclosed income cannot be tackled by soft measures like IDS. The paltry collection shows that Indian people do not wish to avail such schemes despite threat of strong action from the IT Department.” Massive urbanisation is taking toll on the lives of Indians. In this context, MG Devasahayam writes about ‘Natural Cities’: “What we need is inclusive ‘urbanism’, wherein the rural and urban ecosystems would converge and complement each other. Informal sector, that contributes over 80 per cent of urban employment and which is now in the periphery of urban planning, should be mainstreamed.” ‘First Stirring’ features former Home Secretary GK Pillai. Narendra Kaushik writes, “Pillai attributes his idealistic approach to Bukkapuram Nadella Yugandhar, who headed the academy during his training. Yugandhar, father of Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, always told them to focus on the poor.” Haryana begins 50th Golden Jubilee Celebrations from November 1. A tiny State, which has emerged from sand to mega cities, tourist destinations, and heavy industries, has made India proud. Even Chief Minister Manohar Lal has surprised the political and administrative fraternity by managing the State efficiently and turning from a novice to a smart politician. I congratulate the people of Haryana for overcoming a turbulent time and coming out of the ghettos created by self-claimed patriarchs of society.
ANIL TYAGI
editor@gfilesindia.com
