New Delhi: At two recent international showcases, India presented two very contrasting performaces. While the Indian pavilion at the Osaka World Expo last year was \u201cchaotic\u201d, the country\u2019s exhibition at the ongoing Venice Biennale has been described as \u201cdazzling\u201d.<\/p>\n
How does the same ministry, working under the same political masters, produce such divergent results just one year apart, asks<\/a> The Economist in an editorial titled \u201cWhy India triumphed at Venice and flopped in Osaka\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe easy answer is that the official in charge changed in the interim. The Indian state produces lumpy outcomes because so much of it depends on individual capabilities rather than institutional processes. But a more substantive answer lies in what Vivek Aggarwal, the newish secretary of culture, actually did. Namely, less,\u201d the publication says in its editorial.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tShow Full Article<\/p>\n The Indian state too often tries to do too much with too little, it says. \u201cOn the rare occasion that it trusts Indians to deploy their ample talents, the results are dazzling.\u201d<\/p>\n The article <\/a>says that in Osaka, the pavilion was \u201cchaotic\u201d and it \u201copened more than two weeks late\u201d. But by contrast, this year the Pavillion which was held at Venice Biennale is seen as \u201ca triumph\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This year\u2019s pavilion in Venice is a result of multiple institutions and people, who have different strengths, coming together. The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre brought its \u201cinfluence and expertise\u201d, while Serendipity Arts \u201chandled programming\u201d. The government meanwhile focused on \u201cpaperwork, logistics and the inevitable extra costs\u201d meanwhile, Amin Jaffer, the curator was given \u201ccomplete artistic freedom\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The article adds that Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal\u2019s background in finance and infrastructure \u201cmay have helped\u201d as the article writes \u201cHe knew what he did not know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Also Read: How India\u2019s tapping its diaspora to boost \u2018sagging rupee\u2019 & IT sector is \u2018surviving AI\u2019\u2014global media<\/a><\/p>\n Maharashtra drops millions from Ladki Bahin scheme<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the BBC tracks the latest pruning of the beneficiary list under Maharashtra\u2019s Ladki Bahin scheme, and wonders how thousands of men and government employees were getting cash support from a programme meant for poor women.<\/p>\n \u201cAn Indian cash scheme for women drops nine million \u2013 29,000 were men,\u201d it says<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maharashtra\u2019s Ladki Bahin scheme was brought in to \u201cboost women\u2019s financial independence\u201d by giving eligible women Rs 1,500 every month.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThough it is a small amount, it really helped us, especially with medical expenses,\u201d the report quotes Nirmala Bawaskar, a beneficiary. For her, this monthly payment became a source of independence. She told the BBC how she got motivated by this and \u201ceven learned how to write\u201d.<\/p>\n The report notes that the national auditor said that the state had \u201coverspent its authorised budget by 35.41bn rupees, spending a total of 332.37bn rupees on Ladki Bahin in its first financial year.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, this scheme has brought in a change in the ground level as the article quotes Welfare economist Neeraj Hatekar who says that Rs 1,500 is \u201ca big amount\u201d for women with low and irregular incomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n But economist Ajit Ranade warns, \u201cYou might divert funds to these schemes and win an election\u2026 But what about the long-term damage (to the state\u2019s finances)? That is never audited.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Recognition, finally, for Punjabi soldiers who died in WWI<\/p>\n Nearly 10,000 Punjabi soldiers who died fighting for Britain during World War I have finally been added to the country\u2019s official casualty records.<\/p>\n In an article\u2014titled \u201cThey Died, Unrecognized, for Britain. A Century Later, They\u2019re Being Honored,\u201d\u2014The New York Times reports<\/a> that while the records have been carefully maintained for the \u201ccasualty lists of British troops who were killed in the two world wars\u201d the same was not done for soldiers who had died \u201cfor the crown but hailed from colonies, primarily in Asia and Africa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the reasons why the name of the deceased punjabi soldiers were not added in the official records was because of \u201cdiscriminatory attitudes\u201d as well as \u201cinconsistent rules for which deaths counted as war casualties\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Indian servicemen who died outside of the conflict zone, even if they had died from injuries or disease sustained in combat, were not considered \u201cworthy of commemoration\u201d, according to George Hay of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, says the report.<\/p>\n The commission eventually added 9,909 soldiers to its register in the \u201clargest single update to its casualty record in 80 years\u201d.<\/p>\n For many, this revelation of what happened to their ancestors brings in some peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Inder Singh\u2019s great grandfather was one such person whose name is now being honored. He told The New York Times he now feels \u201ca bit more complete\u201d as he had spent many years researching what had happened to his great grandfather but without any luck.<\/p>\n India\u2019s green growth gamble<\/p>\n In an editorial titled, The Guardian takes a look at NITI Aayog\u2019s roadmap to achieve the country\u2019s \u2018net zero\u2019 emission goal by 2070.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIndia is attempting to do something the world has never seen before. So claimed Niti Aayog, the government of India\u2019s policy thinktank, earlier this year. It said that no major economy has tried to expand GDP nearly eightfold within a generation while simultaneously redirecting its energy and industrial systems to reach net zero within two generations,\u201d notes The Guardian view <\/a>on India\u2019s green growth gamble: it will need more than private finance.\u00a0<\/p>\n China industrialised at a vast scale, but not on a sustainable net-zero path, the report says. \u201cKorea, Japan and Europe became wealthy by industrialising before decarbonising. Today, rich nations have already satisfied the basic demands of their people and created the infrastructure and high per-capita energy use that India is still trying to build. The world\u2019s most populous country has to do this while also reducing emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndia is industrialising in a world of fragile supply chains, climate trade barriers and Chinese export overcapacity,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)<\/p>\n