LyrArc Article Gist
The cost is $117 million the number of students estimated at 20,000 who can be educated in this way who cannot afford the high tution fees at the universities in Minnesota including the University of Minnesota system. In opposing access to higher education the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board also reflects the views of billionaire owners out of touch with the people of America and the Nation. The WSJ Editorial Board says nothing about the egregious situation today shown on its pages of capital allocation that has gone upside down and scary. For example it showed in one week : $110 million capital allocated to invent a better golf ball $700 million lost in capital allocated by investment funds in a facial lotion brand that uses natural ingredients. This is just to cite 2 of thousands of such capital allocations many of them shown on Lyrarc.com as examples of poor and egregious scary capital allocation for a nation built on fairness and building opportunities for workers and families through the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. The very investment that differentiated America and Europe from the feudal societies of China and India that self destructed in the 20th century after enormous suffering for hundreds of millions of the Chinese and Indian people. Isn't this like turning ones back on the Advantages that accrued to Europe and America from its wise investments and turning one's back on the Enlightenment in Europe and America itself? This is the statement to be found on the Minnesota Office of Higher Education- "Beginning in fall 2024, the North Star Promise (NSP) Scholarship program will create a tuition and fee-free pathway to higher education for eligible at eligible Minnesota residents at eligible institutions as a "last-dollar" program by covering the balance of tuition and fees remaining after other scholarships, grants, stipends and tuition waivers have been applied. By making college accessible and affordable, NSP is intended to have a positive impact on multiple fronts: Help stabilize enrollment at Minnesota public institutions of higher education; Serve as an economic driver for Minnesota by educating qualified workers who are much needed to fill vacancies in the state's labor force; Create a viable higher education path for Minnesota residents who may have previously thought education was not a possibility for them. We estimate this program will impact 15,000-20,000 students in the first academic year." The cost estimate at $117 million a year . ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Share of US Counties where 95% of Kindergarteners are vaccinated against Measles drops to 28% from 50% in Washington Post Investigation of 44 states December 2025. 95% vaccination rate is what experts say is needed for "herd immunity" or overall protection in a class. Washington Post examination of data shows marked deterioration from 2018-2019 school year to 2024-2025 school year data and public records. That is 5.3 million children are exposed from lack of herd immunity from measles now compared to 3.5 million children earlier increase of 1.8 million children. This Wash. Post investigation shows 19,000 schools are exposed and one can go to this article to find on a map how your school district and country are doing in the 44 states. A big problem is emerging from public skepticism and politics in vaccination. For generations schools required vaccination proof- by 1980 all 50 states had laws covering students first entering school. And caught in vaccine politics legislatures are creating religious and other exemptions that have weakened laws. Wash. Post says it's examination shows not a single County in Idaho, Louisiana, Oregon Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin meet the 50% vaccinated requirement for measles required for herd immunity. This could mean more of these diseases will be brought back home including whooping cough to affect elderly and infants. Democratic districts such as in St Louis and Chicago also see drop in measles vaccination rates. In the sense that newly decolonized countries since 1950 such as China and India have emerged with good health systems and mandated vaccination , other public health action, there is a great need for the US to focus on bringing back the public awareness that existed after the 1940's in the US that resulted in significant advances in public health in the US in the FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ and Reagan administrations. It shows there is no victory in public health. A lot of work needs to be done, as much of the gains can get undone by events and public awareness is necessary. As pharmaceuticals, chemicals and plastics and bad nutritional habits took over American lives there is an effort under Kennedy at HHS to tackle that health crisis, but it brings with it challenges that date from the pandemic and different responses in different parts of the US to mandatory vaccination which also have to be met through education not social media. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Steps the Modi government in India is taking in the 2020 Budget to tackle slowing growth include relaxing the fiscal deficit target from 3% to 3.5% of GDO, selling public sector companies to generate more funds, so that additional investment can be done in infrastructure, rural development, education and health care. Growth of the economy is expected to drop to 5% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.  A weak banking sector with sharp decline in credit, and decline in the auto sales by 20%, have worsened the decline in growth.  Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, said that this budget is designed to "boost Indian incomes, and enhance their purchasing power." The Indian slowdown comes in the middle of a global slowdown, with China's growth expected to be 4.9% in the first quarter of 2020. Growth was further weakened after the effects of the coronavirus lockdown on parts of China, disruption of supply chains, partial closure of businesses. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
It is one of the great twists of history that a dedicated Indian Civil Service Joint Secretary, follower of Mohandas Gandhi,  at a time of transformation through education of India's Madras State in 1954-63 under visionary chief minister K Kamaraj, has shaped the life and thinking of his grand daughter Kamala Harris in profound ways. Gopalan had seen and been part of the huge transformation in India wrought by Gandhi in the 1930's and 1940's. Pictures of Shyamala Gopalan with her parents P. V. and  Rajam Gopalan, and her two daughters Kamala and Maya, shown in the NYT. Kamala Harris was the first child of Shyamala who came to the US from Madras state as a young graduate student in 1954, in one of the first batches of students coming from independent India to the US.  Madras, now Tamilnadu, was being led by one of its most far sighted leaders K. Kamaraj who was chief minister from 1954 to 1963. It was Kamaraj who set up the free school lunch program in Madras state and helped bring literacy to the state and a strong educational system that would support economic development. This is important because Kamala draws her strength from her mother and her mother draws strength from her father P.V. Gopalan, a Indian civil servant in the visionary Kamaraj government in Madras state. Kamala spent time with her grandfather on visits to India which have shaped the way she thinks and her view of life. P.V Gopalan was Joint Secretary Government of India Ministry of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation, and was sent to Zambia as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees to handle an exodus of refugees from Southern Rhodesia to Zambia. The two experiences as Joint Secretary, and as Director in Zambia, during the period when Kamaraj led Madras State were profound life changing experiences for this young civil servant who shared his understanding of Asia and Africa with his granddaughter in profound ways shaping her views on life, and what it means to be a good Civil Servant in public service to the people. Passing on to a new generation the ideas of public service of Mohandas Gandhi that P.V. Gopalan had witnessed at close range in his lifetime. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Three women who ranked in the top three of the IAS exams in India. The IAS provides the people who run the Civil Service in India and fill most senior government positions throughout India. Shruti Sharma, 26 years, is from Delhi, and studied History at St Stephens College and JNU. Her family is from Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh. Ankita Agrawal, 25 years, is from a business family in Kolkata. She has a Bachelors in Economics from St Stephens, and studied political science, international relations. Gamini Singla, 23 years, is from Punjab's Sangrur, and has AB Tech from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh. She chose Sociology as optional subject. 

All three want to contribute to education, women's empowerment and to society. All three did not pass on the first attempt. They did mostly self-study and used newspapers to follow current affairs. 

LyrArc Article Gist
The contrast between modernizing, developing East and South Asia ( from Mumbai to Shanghai) with war torn desolate West Asia (from Tehran and Baghdad to Kabul and Islamabad) is so striking today that it is something to reflect upon for wisdom and understanding. UAE support for Sudan's RSF Rapid Strike Force and Saudi support for the military - fracturing of Sudan, errors piled on errors led to the civil war in Sudan. A civil war in a country neighboring Saudi Arabia just across the Red Sea. Saudis and UAE were on opposite sides briefly after UAE pulled out of Sudan, UAE acting in this way to object against Saudis requesting US sanctions on UAE.  Once close partners have moved apart as they spread their influence in different conflicts in the Middle East.  This has not created a region that can grow economically without the disruptions of conflict in the way other parts of Asia have emerged to modernize the countries as in Taiwan, Korea, China and India. In neighboring Pakistan another conflict has emerged as partners split, with looming conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yemeni Houthis are in conflict with the US and affect the Persian Gulf shipping lanes.  Iran with it's pursuit of weapons programs and nuclear weapons is using capital that is badly needed to improve the economic situation on arms buildup for the regime and for allies in Lebanon and Yemen, leading to protests and crisis. In this way the Middle East has failed to use oil wealth to modernize the entire region. Much of it was wasted in Iraq and now in Iran by policies that led to war and regional conflicts not modernization and technological transformation that has happened in Asia. The US has inadvertently becoming a partner to this as when the Obama administration helped fund Iran's economic rebuilding which was instead used to fund the military, and before that the Reagan administration support for Iraqi socialist ideology regime. The challenge for China was how to modernize after the Japanese invasion and civil war. In Korea it was how to modernize after the civil war. In India it is how to modernize with a smaller neighboring country Pakistan promoting terrorism and wars now with China's support. In Asia all these challenges were and are being met to steadily and persistently modernize to European standards with a singleminded focus and determination to meet the aspirations of the people with the US business working alongside Taiwanese, Korean, Chinese, and Indian governments and private industry. In West Asia various ideological (Iraq), military (Pakistan), religious Shiite (Iran), religious + modernizing (Saudi +UAE) with erratic leaders and little representation of the people, has destroyed the tranquillity of the region and destroyed democratic forms of government, destroyed bottom up education and health of the population except for priviliged groups in countries in the region of West Asia. Involvement of US and Europe or Russia in West Asia has led to distintegration of Soviet Union (Boris Yeltsin) and deindustrialization of US and Europe (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama administrations) with business shipping out manufacturing to China while wars engaged the attention of American and European elites in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan. The entire west Asian scene for 1950-2030 has been a disaster, one massive disaster for all involved. The contrast with East Asia and South Asia reminds one of the words from Robert Frost of New England in Mowing- that reflects on the enduring value of honest labour. "My long scythe whispered to the ground. What was it it whispered? It was no dream of the gift of idle hours, or easy gold at the hand of fay or elf: anything less would have seemed too weak to the earnest love that laid the swale in rows. The fact is the sweetest dream that labour knows. My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make." ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Cecilia Wang of Taiwanese parents with student visas in the 1970's calls it an 128 year American tradition, but is it really the case that it was one individual case for Chinese immigrant Wang Kim in 1998 case before the US Supreme Court where it made sense for the Court to let Wang Kim stay, just as it makes sense for someone in the country for over 10 years to stay in Britain. Birthright citizenship is something else entirely and history shows that forget birthright citizenship for Asians- for most of the 19th century and over half of the twentieth century till the 1960's American public and Congress opposed any form of immigration from Asia. It was only under John F. Kennedy who was Irish, had served in the Pacific in Asia, that the idea of giving Asians citizenship was given credibility and acceptance with the American public and in the US Congress.  Without JFK and LBJ this opening for Asian immigrants coming legally in large numbers for education would never have happened, not under Nixon-Ford-Reagan-Bush. And the modernization of Asia, of Japan, China, now India could not have happened without knowledge of new technologies in American universities gathered by these visitors who were also allowed to work and stay legally. For this reason common sense is a more valuable way to approach this. Misuse and misrepresentation would only create the feeling that Asian Americans- who have integrated into the fabric of America and whose sons and daughters have benefitted the most from the gracious invitation of JFK and LBJ- who are mostly highly educated and can draw on the best economic opportunities the Nation has to offer, want to see their own interests only, and not the Nation as a whole as it struggles to bring a improvement in the lives of the have-nots in today's society, the less educated, the low income workers often immigrants from Latin American countries, those struggling to make ends meet in this economy. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Indian Express looks at the impact on children for learning and education of the coronavirus pandemic. More children in areas that have lagged behind economically are unable to read in second grade. In some states the number of children who are not able to read second grade text has more than doubled. This can be seen across other grades.

LyrArc Article Gist
Walmart has 438 stores in China with over $10 billion in sales. Oracle has smaller operations in China. Walmart is negotiating to take a 12.5% stake in TikTok and Oracle 7.5%. Bytedance owns TikTok. 40% of investors are from the U.S. with investments by Softbank,KKR, Sequoia, General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital and other funds seeking high returns in internet companies making these investments. The educational value of the content on TikTok is considered to be minimal with mostly entertainment and customers in some countries such as India were reported to be mostly in rural areas. India has since banned TikTok. The huge investments in the internet companies in tens of billions by funds comes as infrastructure needs are not met in Europe, U.S. and India, including education and health, roads and bridges. The entire allocation of capital mechanisms have become out of focus to the needs of the present particularly after the pandemic. Funds sudden interest in using artificial intelligence to promote education would raise much skepticism and the use of TikTok for that purpose even more so. Apart from the concerns for national security that were expressed by the Trump administration, there is the broader issue of the value of children and young adults spending large amounts of time on such media at a time of deteriorating educational levels in all countries of Europe, North America, and in India and China. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Larger investments are needed in science and technology development, and in research and development, secondary and higher education, says Naushad Forbes, for India to reach its potential. He says industry has been too timid when it comes to setting goals for design, innovation, and research and development. He calls for a listening society and culture that is open to to outside ideas, continuously makes connections with the outside world, and is keen to apply new ideas learned in the interactions.

LyrArc Article Gist
The bill to bring girls marriageable age to 21, in parity with the boys marriageable age of 21 that exists today, was introduced in the Indian parliament by Smriti Irani. This is seen as a crucial bill to amend the Prohibition of Child Marraige Act 2006. Child marraige was a sign of the weakness in Indian society and practices that were being reformed in the nineteenth century/ twentieth century beginning with Ram Mohan Roy's efforts in 1800. Roy was the first Indian to put forward ideas for modernization that were later put forward effectively by Swami Vivekananda, putting Indian religious thought back on its original foundations of the Upanishads including the Bhagavad Gita, free of the deterioration over the centuries since the Middle ages. And in doing so extend even the ideas of the French and Indian Revolutions to the idea of women's rights. The efforts of Gandhi and the framers of the Indian constitution, begun under Roy and then Vivekananda during the British period, have inspired renewed efforts under Mr. Modi to build a strong nation under a framework of these values- values of the French and American Revolutions and the values that support gender equality. In real life this means, as Mr. Modi has reminded the public, that young girls can now use these crucial years to continue their education and pursue their dreams for a better life in the same way as young boys can. It is as if Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers in America in 1776, would have said- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It is this pursuit of happiness, pursuit of one's own dreams to be a scientist, educator, civil servant, to be active in law or medicine, or science, the humanities, the same for boys or girls, that is now being put forward in the New India of the 21st century. In India this has happened not with the stroke of a pen through the tumult of a revolution but with deep roots through the efforts of Roy, Vivekananda, Gandhi and the framers of the Indian Constitution, and now with the tireless efforts of today's leaders. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Jawaharlal Nehru was leader of the party under Gandhiji which fought for independence in the 1930's. Under the India Act of 1935 India was given the opportunity to setup state assemblies and free elections  for local self-rule that prepared for eventual Dominion status similar to Canada and Australia. Rab Butler as India Secretary fought hard to get it passed through the British parliament. See Rab Butler in the adjoining articles gist. This is very important as none of what happened in 1947 the task of writing a new Constitution and a Constituent Assembly to do this for India would  have been possible without India Act of 1935- the initial training for elections and assemblies. Some good work was done for example in Tamilnadu Chief Minister Kamaraj under Nehru changed that southern state with progress in education, health, and industry over 15 years 1950 to 1964. By the seventies to the 2010 period the progress ran into serious problems first with one party followed by weak coalitions that led to poor governance, corruption and economic progress stalled. After the experience of China's modernization India is attempting a similar effort with Vision 2047 for modernization of infrasructure and development in speed and scale with one difference- the legacy of Rab Butler who no one knows about in India and forgotten in Britain, the simple document Hind Swaraj written on a British steamship from South Africa to England in 1912 by Gandhiji that asked Indians to self-reflect on their part in letting the British in "who made the Company Sardar?", the post 1950's leadership of Sardar Patel who like Rab Butler was also forgotten till 2014, Jawaharlal Nehru who won a third term in 1962 but was followed by a series of weak governments unable to steer economic progress of scale similar to China or Japan, Lal Bahadur Shastri cut short like JFK, and Narendra Modi who is bringing to the task the hard work and discipline that made it possible for first Japan and then China to modernize infrastructure and emerge as dominant manufacturing nations. Like Japan and China India with its own stumbling periods is making its way in the world today. Both Shastri and Modi are in the direct tradition of their Master, Gandhiji, in the words of Shastri "hard work is equal to prayer." ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Depleting ground water reserves are leading to water shortages in India's cities. About 40% of India's people lack drinking water by 2030, according to government think tank NITI Aayog 2018 report. Water shortages are hitting cities such as Chennai. This report looks at the water shortage in remote Himalayan region Ladakh. WOrld Resources Institute points out that India is the 13th most water stressed country in the world, with a population three times the combined population of 16 countries that are water stressed. By 2030 water demand will double in India. The government is giving drinking water top priority in its plan for the next 5 years as key to development.  One of the problems is that farmers in the northern plains pay little for gorundwater use resulting in the planting of water intensive crops. The government plans to promote conservation of water as a national priority with education on this subject of water critical to achieving its objective of providing 100%  access to drinking water for Indians. Drip irrigation with minimal water use is also being encouraged to conserve water. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
About Brazil's Bolsa Familia program to help the very poor by having requirements that they send their children to school and get them vaccinated. President Lula who comes from a poor background himself introduced this program to reduce poverty. This is done in a way that requires families to send their children to school and improve the chances of reducing both hunger and malnutrition as well as help bring improvements through education and health care, so that poverty is not passed on from generation to generation. It is unique in the developing world and making a real difference in Brazil. Brazilian advisors are helping India with its program, which merely provides food subsidies but does not have the requirements of Bolsa Familia, which help the next generation build better lives.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Indian prime minister reviewed progress of the vaccination drive. On July 26, in the last 6 days about 38 million doses of vaccine have been adminstered in India. In a separate affidavit to the Supreme Court the government laid out its plan for making enough vaccine supplies to vaccinate the entire population over 18 by December 31, 2021, over 940 million people requiring over 1880 million doses.  "Out of this requirement for 1880 million doses 516 million doses will be made available by July 31, 2021, in about 34 days. The remaining 1350 million doses for complete vaccination to the eligible population" says the government information provided to the Supreme Court. The breakdown of vaccine supplies manufacturing is also given to SC. Of the total of 1350 million vaccine doses the following is how it will be manufactured in India in the next 6 months. Covishield  vaccine     500 million Covaxin vaccine          400 million Bio E Subunit vaccine  300 million Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine  50 million Sputnik V  vaccine          100 million The government told the Supreme Court that the procurement of Bio E Subunit vaccine and Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine will be subject to approval that is expected in the near future. From this new vaccine supplies picture it is clear that Covaxin and Bio E Unit will play a major part in the second half of 2021 in vaccinating India's entire population with 2 doses. This would be a historic achievement for the federal government after the lessons learned and the action taken with a new vaccine supplies policy for India in June 2021. There is also the challenge to be overcome of maintaining the vaccination drive at 6-8 million doses a day which would be another historic achievement for the federal and state, and local governments in India working with community education and logistical setup, medical staff.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
A sign of the growing people to people relationship of the US and India is the number of Indians in US graduate schools which went up from 68,000 to 102,000 in the 2021-2022 academic year, up 48%. There almost as many Indians taking the GRE exam for entry into US graduate schools in 2023 as Americans taking GRE in the US. Another sign of the expanding people to people relationship is the decision of the Biden administration to give 1 million visitor visas to Indians in the coming year. In India physical sciences and humanities for GRE exceed engineering by a wide margin, showing the shift in subjects. Under India's new education policy NEP the shift is to a more multidisciplinary approach and allowing students to mix science subjects, math with humanities. This approach is seen as best for India to produce a new generation that can think for itself better than the purely engineering science or medical track graduates of the past who had limited knowledge of the humanities. This overly engineering focus has prevailed in the educational approaches of Japan and China during their rapid growth period. India under the Modi administration is betting on a wider knowedge of different and contrasting subjects and disciplines for its future. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
William Booth provides a must read insight into why poorly educated young people attempt to cross the border into the U.S. looking for work and opportunity, and why Mexico fails to provide the elementary and high school educational system it needs to increase growth to create opportunity. Mexico's education system is failing when compared with other countries in the Group of 20. Sixth graders get 562 hours of instructional learning compared to 1,195 in S. Korea, according to Mexicans First, a group working to change the way the educational system works. In recent international exams half of Mexican 15 year old students scores ranked them at lower levels in math and only a little better in reading and reasoning. "De Panzazo" is a popular documentary prepared by Mexicanos Primero on the dire situation in the school system. One of the most striking measures of this failure is that only a quarter of the children graduate from high school. This only pushes more poorly educated people to attempt to cross the border into the U.S. looking for work. It means the Mexican economy is deprived of a highly educated workforce to increase productivity and growth. The middle class tries to get their children educated in private academies. And the nation's employers use special training to improve skills for workers to be able to compete in a global economy. Part of the reason rests, say experts, on the ability of the powerful teachers union with 1.4 million members to block change for teacher selection based on merits and competency, and exams for teachers. Instead teacher positions are sold, with an elementary school position tenured for life selling for $20,000 in Cancun, and a rural village position for $2000, according to Mexicanos Primeros. Even president Calderon owed his election to the support of the teachers union. And the current PAN presidential candidate Vazquez Mota, who was Education Secretary for two and half years could only go part of the way. She got the union to agree to have new teachers selected by having them take exams, made public standardized test scores, and pushed state governors to show employment rolls and whether teachers actually taught in classrooms or worked at union offices. Calderon failed to make changes because he agreed with the union that the union would take the lead on changes not the education ministry, and had the union president's son-in-law, Fernando Gonzalez, as deputy secretary of education. Jorge Castenada, a former foreign minister, says Mota was fired because of union demands. In July 250,000 teachers are required to take competency exams, but the union has asked its members to ignore the exams, and the education ministry will not do much beyond using the exam for diagnostic purposes for teachers who take the exam. The problems at the elementary and high school levels are evident also in other countries such as India and Brazil leaving the real potential of the labor force untapped....

LyrArc Article Gist
At this rate China and India will through the time young people are being encouraged to pursue reading and education- and through strictly regulated social media and videogames in China and TikTok banned in India- move in the direction of developed nations and the US with 150 million users of TikTok be moving in the other direction where Brazil 126 million users and Indonesia 99 million users are. This report in MIT Technology Review says in 2022 the children and teenagers in America spent 103 minutes on TikTok. Tiktok and Facebook split the social media market with about 5 billion minutes each. If users are on both this could give an average of 206 minutes or over 3 hours a day. Consider that there is a Chinese version Douyin. In China its version of TikToK is strictly regulated for a long time now and nowhere poses the kind of threat to education, reading and building a better educated population in China than in the US. Is that a conspiracy. No, says MIT Technology Review, it is because how quickly and forcefully the Chinese governments regulates digital platforms.  It a clear failure of the US Congress and the federal government that has led to this situation where this may be the first generation of young people that are less prepared for civic responsibilities and are from the amount of time dedicated to social media spending less time on reading to to be knowledgeable, and reading in general for education.  In China action is swift. Take for example video games and addiction. In 2021 the rule was put in that children under 18 could only play video games between 8.00 pm and 9.00 pm on weekends and holidays. They are blocked from using outside of these hours. China is looking for new measures that require creators to obtain a license, and for ways for the government to regulate the social media algorithms themselves.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Looking back Mohandas Gandhi's effort to prevent separate electorates was an important contribution to today's rapid industrial development and modernization of India. Delivery of infrastructure, education, healthcare and other improvements could not have been delivered as they are today with weak governments. Gandhi understood clearly the effects of divide and rule and how this had led to over one hundred years of disinvestment in India by 1900. Even after 1950 it took another 70 years for governments to follow the experience of Japan and China and rapidly modernize. Separate electorates as suggested by Ambedkar for lower castes would only further weaken India, as would communal representation of that type. Not integrating the one third of India that was under princely states would have had the same effect. Sardar Patel grasped clearly the effects of not integrating these princely states would continue the effects of divide and rule. In this way the foresight and wisdom of Gandhi and Patel have given a new generation of leaders the sound fundamentals on which to build a modernized nation, the largest democracy, and a nation with a young population that is fulfilling the aspirations of its young people. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Abrams and De Acosta, Bellman of the WSJ look at growth and modernization in India in comparison with China and other countries. GDP per capita would take 10 years to reach the stage at which spending power of the people equals that in China today. At one point in 1980 China and South Korea were closer in GDP per capita than India. It is only now that India is accelerating towards the scale and depth of modernization done in China.  India's growth rate of over 7% is likely to surge after some of the problems in bad loans in the banking sector are cleared up. A wave of technological advances would help accelerate growth. Ease of doing business and foreign investment are on upward trend, for absorbing new technology from advanced countries. A shift to very low prices for data use with rapid development of 4G services is one of the recent achievements. Manufacturing growth remains a challenge to be tackled to create the jobs needed.  Revamping tax structures such as GST and shifting the economy towards use of electronic cash has increased revenues needed to invest in infrastructure, health and education.  As much of the potential for future growth comes from people at the lower income levels, improving social indicators such as sanitation, cleanliness, farmer incomes, universal bank accounts, universal access to health care, are steps that lay the foundation for the future. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This article is a must read for everyone to know where our plastic and other paper waste is ending up. With China's ban on importing plastic waste the stuff is being shipped to India, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam. Now these countries are turning it back. Who needs sometimes contaminated waste. In the U.S. it ends up mostly on landfills. It is a health hazard as one recent story of waste shipped out to a part of Chile shows- with health problems for people in the vicinity. The WSJ has done an excellent story with diagrams and pictures in this exceptionally good story we recommend for our readers to know what is happening worldwide with plastic waste.  There is increasing education of the harmful effects of plastic and there is a government campaign in India supported by the prime minister Modi to reduce use of plastic bags and find ways to dispose off local plastic waste. In the light of this why would India or Malaysia or any other Asian or Latin American or African country want any other country's plastic waste, particularly when it is a health hazard. In fact China for so long allowing importing of plastic waste till recently so it could be processed with low cost labour and reused for plastics production is incomprehensible, considering the health risks involved. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This interview with Tamilnadu's Thanthi TV shows PM Modi reflecting on how Tamilnadu and Tamil culture and language should play a leading role in a Vikshit Bharat, (Developed India 2047) on the 100th anniversary of Hind Swaraj. Modi says Tamil culture, literature and language is for the whole nation not just restricted to Tamilnadu. With digital language tools people can communicate across languages within India. Modi speaks in Hindi, the questions are in English, there is also a Tamil version on Thanthi TV. Before independence this region around Madras now Chennai was called the Madras Presidency, just as the region around Bombay and Ahmedabad was called the Bombay Presidency. The caste system prevailed in Madras Presidency and led to the upper castes embracing western education and joining the local civil service and after independence the IAS in large numbers. 

LyrArc Article Gist
PM Modi pays homage to Atal Bihari Vajpayee who set India on the course of modernization and technological advancement, its course for unification as a parliamentary democracy under the Indian Constitution. "Atal Ji understood Indian democracy and also the need to make it stronger. Atal Ji presided over the creation of the NDA, which redefined coalitions in Indian politics. He brought people together and made NDA a force for development, national progress and regional ambitions. His Parliamentary brilliance was seen throughout his political journey. He belonged to a party with a handful of MPs but his words were enough to rattle the might of the all-powerful Congress Party that time.” “When it comes to the social sector, an initiative like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan highlights how Atalji dreamt of building an India where modern education is accessible to people across the nation, particularly for the poor and marginalised sections. At the same time, his government presided over many economic reforms which set the stage for India’s economic surge after several decades of following an economic philosophy which encouraged cronyism and stagnation.” ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is interviewed by Ashok Malik for the Economic Times in this videocast. On what India did right and lessons learned from addressing the pandemic and the supply chain crisis, inflation, Sitharaman says-Getting input and listening to people about what was needed and the pain, was critical in developing the financial plans. On the realization of India's potential in manufacturing, exports, and industrializing its economy, Sitharaman says-India's strength is its rule of law, so that the country is tolerant of criticism including of the prime minister, and there are democratic institutions that protect ordinary citizens, the business and other sectors. Also important is friend shoring as expressed by US Treasury Secretary Yellen alongside Sitharaman, that sees India as a favored destination for the US and the EU. The efforts to develop first rate infrastructure and logistics removes impediments to foreign investment. Training and education of workers is part of this effort to create a supply of trained labor for foreign investment factories in India. The competition between states is also part of this effort to build attractive locations for foreign investments in manufacturing in India. On 20th century financial institutions transforming into 21st century institutions for the IMF, the World Bank and other international financial institutions Sitharaman says- India has full support from all G-20 countries on debt crisis of countries in Asia and Africa, Latin America to change the way in which help is provided. And the skills are put in place to access financial markets on terms that help meet the aspirations of the people in poor countries or middle income countries, including some G20 countries such as Argentina. Sri Lanka she says, is an example where India is the governor and representing the country at the IMF and World Bank for its financial needs. India took up the interests of Sri Lanka with the G20 and the US, so that the loans are not delayed or given in ways that lead to the country exiting the program, unable to meet the aspirations for development of its people. Sitharaman says the G20 found complete agreement on 15 issues facing the world out of 17 issues, these two related to the war in Ukraine and that too from only 2 countries. This suggests that the media focus creating a general perception of lack of unanimity does not reflect what happened at the G20 meetings in India, and is distorted. What really happened is that all countries agreed on the substantial economic issues facing the world- of food insecurity, of development needs, and of climate change impact.  Sitharaman's responses showed optimism based on the hard work put in at the Finance Ministry and connected to all ministries and agencies of the government. And of a resilient attitude, of concentrated effort on the issues facing India and its partners in growth in the US and EU.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This report in The Mint gives information on the extensive preparation for 5G in India including auctioning of 5G spectrum for 51,236 Mhz that was allocated to telecom service providers for 150,000 crore rupees. Jio bid 88,000 crore for half of the spectrum with Airtel Bharti bidding with Vodafone for the rest. The cumulative economic impact on transformation of India is expected to be $450 billion for India by 2035, according to the Ministry of Communications. PM Modi will be shown three different case studies of use in education and other fields. PM's vision is for India to develop 5G parallel to global standards and take the lead in 6G technology. Jio video case will show how a teacher in a school in Mumbai reaches out to students in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha. The Airtel video will show how a girl in Uttar Pradesh learns about the solar system using 5G augmented reality. The Vodafone case will show how safety of workers in an underground construction tunnel of Delhi Metro can be maintained through creating a digital twin of the tunnel on the dias. The digital twin would help give safety alerts to workers from a remote location. Other demos include smart ambulances, health diagnostics, precision drone based farming, smart agri-programme and others. ...