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Home , Devendra Fadnavis, Korlai Fort, Setu Bharatam

PM VISIT n DIALOGUE: CHIEF MINISTER n NITI AAYOG MEETING n ASIATIC SOCIETY

Vol.6 Issue 05 n M AY 2017 n `50 n pAges 52

YEARS OF REBUILdInG I ndI A PRIORITY A trusted destinAtion Prime Minister has made all efforts to focus on the development of Maharashtra. The State has not just got support from him, but has also been a platform to launch and celebrate his initiatives

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4 5 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing jalpoojan of Chhatrapati Maharaj memorial; 2. The Prime Minister with Pune girl Vaishali Yadav; 3. The Prime Minister at the Make in Week; 4. The Prime Minister with Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries at the Smart Cities function in Pune; 5. The Prime Minister inaugurates GE facility at Chakan; 6. The Prime Minister at the signing of MIDC and TwinStar Display Technologies MoU; 7. The Prime Minister performing bhoomipujan of Dr 6 Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mill 7 CONTENTS What’s Inside

05 Column DEVENDRA FADNAVIS The Chief Minister of Maharashtra writes on the three years of the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In these three years, the country has steadily transformed into a nation that is competent, enabled and fully geared to face challenges confidently and emerge as a global power. The time was also good for States like Maharashtra that recieved immense support, guidance, global opportunities and welfare programmes dedicated to various sections to build an inclusive society

09 Column 12 Column 14 Column 28 aChieVements SURESH PRABHU PRAKASH JAVADEKAR GROWTH FOR ALL The Union Government has plans The Railway Ministry is inclined New initiatives have been launched With Sabka Saath, Sabka to develop a network of National to accelerate projects stalled in for improving the standards of Vikas as its vision, the Union highways in Maharashtra by 2019, Maharashtra for years and make higher education, says Union Government has been devising and says Union Minister for Road the daily commute of people easy, Minister for human Resource implementing welfare schemes that Transport, highways and Shipping says Union Minister for Railways Development serve each and every citizen

32 maharashtra 36 Dialogue 46 lanDmark 48 nagpur Visit SOARING TO NEW DEVENDRA ASIATIC SOCIETY, ERA OF DIGITAL HEIGHTS FADNAVIS ECONOMY With a competent leadership of In the debut show titled, Mi The famous location, Town hall is Prime Minister Narendra Modi Chief Minister and consistent Mukhyamantri Boltoye on perennial known for India’s famous library ushers in a new era of economic follow-ups on State-related issues agriculture, the Chief Minister and museum housed in a heritage reforms through launch of BhIM- in New , Maharashtra has established a direct dialogue with building of colonial architecture Pay App during his recent overcome various challenges the farmers of the State built in the 1800s visit to Nagpur

disclaimer: views and opinions expressed in the mag azine are those of writers

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 03 Vol. 6 ISSUE 5 n MAY 2017 n `50 n PAGES 52 From the Editor’s Desk

EDIToR-IN-ChIEF Brijesh singh ASSIGNMENT EDIToR ajay ambekar Transforming India EDIToR meenal Joglekar ExECUTIVE EDIToR he Union Government under the strong leadership of Prime Minister kriti lalla Narendra Modi will complete three years of its term on May 26, 2017. In TEAM Co-oRDINATIoN EDITING these three years, India has achieved milestones of growth and progress. suresh Wandile Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dreamt of making India a global super (Deputy Director) T power by 2020. India is marching to transform this dream into reality. SAlES AND CIRCUlATIoN ashwini pujari Despite global economic slowdown, India’s economy has shown great stability (Sub-Editor) with growth in GDP. It has been acknowledged globally that India has become the CoVER DESIGN gotresh Joshi fastest growing major economy in the world. In these three years, many incidents have taken place globally that have given a boost to Indians’ self-respect and self- meDia transasia confidence. The country’s strong position has made mandatory for the world to ASSoCIATE EDIToR Jyoti Verma consider its role and view on important global issues. ASSISTANT EDIToR pallavi singh The decision of demonetisation has ART DIRECToR helped in curbing black money and rehana Farhan shaikh corruption, resulting in developing an ChAIRMAN attitude of digital transaction. It has also J.s. uberoi helped India move steadily on the path PRESIDENT of digital revolution. The May issue has Xavier Collaco included detailed information about Maharashtra Ahead is printed the decisions taken by the Centre. The on behalf of the Directorate General specialty of the issue is columns by Union of Information and Public Relations, Government of Maharashtra, Cabinet Ministers from Maharashtra. at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. ltd. The articles present an overview of what Plot No.W-17 & W-18, MIDC, Maharashtra has received from the Centre Taloja Industrial Area, Taloja-410 208, Navi Mumbai in the last three years.

letters should be addressed to The Directorate General of Information and Public Relations has started an Directorate general of information innovative programme Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoye. In the programme, the Chief and public relations, Minister directly interacts with citizens of the State and answers their questions New Administrative Building, 17th Floor, opposite Mantralaya, through e-mail and WhatsApp. Presently, the programme is broadcast on Sahyadri Mumbai-400032. channel of Doordarshan and aired on Akashwani. In the first programme, Email: [email protected] Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis answered agriculture and irrigation-related questions. We have included a special article on Chief Minister’s dialogue with the Follow us on www.twitter.com/mahaDgipr people. The Chief Minister answered questions related to farm produce pricing, like us on www.facebook.com/dgipr crop pattern, irrigation management, agriculture loan, Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan subscribe us on Youtube/maharashtraDgipr and other related topics in detail. The next topic of the programme is on good Visit us on www.mahanews.gov.in governance. The people of Maharashtra should definitely send their questions in Blog/maharashtradgipr time for the Chief Minister. Please visit the website http://dgipr.maharashtra.gov.in The informative edition of May also includes articles on the Prime Minister’s recent Directorate General of Information and Public Relations visit to Nagpur on the occasion of the 126th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb A Government of Maharashtra Production Ambedkar, the third meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, and the glory of Asiatic library of Mumbai. We look forward to your suggestions and feedback. Enjoy the issue.

Brijesh singh Editor-in Chief

Directorate general of information and public relations, government of maharashtra COLUMN Chief Minister

IncREdIBLE And InvIncIBLE

On May 26, 2017, the Union dignitary participat- characteristic of Hon. Narendra ing in the recent In- Modi that India has soared as an Government led by Prime dia Today Conclave important country globally. Under Minister Narendra Modi will in Mumbai shared an the proicient leadership of Hon. anecdote about Prime Narendra Modi, India has not only complete three years of MinisterA Narendra Modi’s meeting become an important partner in its governance, achieving with US President Barack Obama various global activities, but also at the White House in Washington. transformed as a leader in many ar- milestones of growth and During his discussions with the US eas. On May 26, 2017 the Govern- prosperity. During the period, President, the Prime Minister laid ment at the Centre will be complet- maximum emphasis on the neces- ing its three years tenure. A country India has steadily transformed sity of implementing digital initia- that was devoid of direction, lead- into a nation that is fully tives to bring accelerated global ership and self-conidence steadily growth. Later, Barack Obama com- transformed into a country that is geared to face challenges mented that he had not come across smart, promising, competent, en- and is emerging as a global any other Head of the State with abled and fully geared to face any superpower, says Chief such detailed and deep knowledge challenges conidently. he entire about digital initiatives. credit for this goes to the Prime Minister DevenDra FaDnavis It is only due to this unique Minister Narendra Modi.

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 05 COLUMN Chief Minister

Ater taking over the reins of the Union Government, Narendra Modi called himself the chief servant of the country devoted to serve the people 24 hours a day and he proved his words in letter and spirit. With consistent eiciency, he has launched several initiatives and welfare schemes to reinforce inclusive development in the country. In 2014, the people of India elected Naren- dra Modi with a thumping majority. People of India expressed their conidence that he alone can bring about a comprehensive and all-inclu- sive development in the country. In the last three years, this conidence has grown further and is quite visible by the various election victories reg- istered by his political party across the country. his whole journey I would like to explain from aspiration to self-conidence. prime minister narendra modi addressing the gathering after dedicating the paradip refinery in to the nation in February 2016 ENERGETIC PERSONALITY With the energy of working round the clock, THE CHANGEMAKER Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not just cov- “The ImplemenT- Prim Minister Narendra Modi has implemented ered the country, but also made friends globally. aTIon of The many innovative schemes in letter and spirit He has made successful eforts to pass on this GST wIll brInG transforming the face of the country. To bring re- energy to the people of India. With his working huGe relIef. wITh forms in the Indian economy, he was successful style, political acumen, modern and innovative The decISIon in getting the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act thoughts, he has let an indelible mark globally. To preSenT The passed. he implementation of the GST Act will By creating Brand India image, it has become unIon budGeT for bring huge relief to the common people. With 2017-18 on aprIl mandatory for the world to consider India’s role the decision to present the Union Budget for 1 and ImplemenT and view on important global issues. 2017-18 on February 1 and implement the same, The Same, IT haS We are fortunate that we are working under been poSSIble To it has been possible to use the funds for various the impressive and incredible and charismatic uSe The fundS developmental works immediately. leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In for varIouS his year provision of `10 lakh crore has last three years Hon. Narendra Modi has trans- developmenTal been made for loans to farmers. he decision will formed the mentality of Indians into enthusiasm workS” prove beneicial for farmers and farming sector and positivity. and will help in doubling the income of farmers. Important steps have been taken for self-reliance in the defence sector. India’s indigenous super- sonic interceptor missile was successfully tested on March 1, 2017. A world record of launching 104 satellites simultaneously was also registered during this period. Our country is becoming self suicient in Space Science. Government has taken important steps in telecommunication sector also. To encourage more and more people to do digital transactions, the BHIM app has been launched by the Government of India. Ofering a wide spectrum of services, the app has been downloaded by more than 1.5 crore citizens. National Health Policy has been announced for a healthy India. his is going to be extremely beneicial to common people at the lowest rungs of society. With Jan Dhan Yojana, 27.97 lakh poor

06 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG In d IA ambedkar memorIal aT Indu mIll With their leader active 24 hours a day, the hile the three years of Summit. The issue of a likely Union Government too had to follow suit and be WNarendra Modi as India’s international monument of Prime Minister left an indelible Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb alert and active round the clock. his change in mark of his work globally, Ambedkar at Indu Mill was work style at the highest level had to be imbibed it has also brought many delayed for a year. However, as by all of us, and its positive results are already advantages to Maharashtra. The soon as the Union Government been seen. An environment of vigour has been State was a major contributor came to power, Prime Minister created across the country, relecting on India’s in realising the Narendra Modi removed all the development index that has shown upward trend dream, as it was honoured hurdles in its path. He himself in past three years. his has built conidence in with the responsibility of came for the ground-breaking global experts that the Indian economy is be- hosting the first Make in India ceremony of the monument. coming stable and powerful. Week in Mumbai in February Today, the Indu Mill land is 2016. The State also hosted in possession of the State DEMONETISATION the International Maritime Government. With the announcement of demonetisation on November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented an ideal before the world. he initiative against black money in the country and corruption proved to be his master stroke. Leaving aside a few opposing all correct moves, most of the citizens agreed with the decision and considered it appropriate. he common people stood by the move, seeing it as an act in the high- est interest of the country. For some time, com- mon people had to face troubles, but being aware of the transparency and utility of the move, they endured the pain and showed solidarity with the Government. he immensely stupendous conidence of the people earned by Narendra Modi was relected in the decisions taken by people ater demon- etisation. One of these was his party’s success in various elections.

SABKA SAATH, SABKA VIKAS Narendra Modi gave us the slogan Sabka Saath, prime minister narendra modi speaking at a joint meeting of us Congress on Capitol hill in Washington in June 2016 Sabka Vikas (collective eforts, inclusive growth). he message made people across sections of In- people could open a bank account. An amount dia connect with him and lay faith in him. of `63,885 crore has been credited to these ac- he Prime Minister aims to establish India counts. his is the irst time in the history of In- as a global superpower by the year 2020. he dia that such an economic revolution has taken With Narendra aim has led Union Government to launch pro- place. In the seven decades of independence, this Modi active for 24 grammes for every section of society. he people is the irst time we have been successful in bring- hours a day, the of India have recognised these eforts, rendering ing poor people into the mainstream economy. entire Government their complete support to Narendra Modi. his With a view to accelerate employment and support will help in accomplishing his mission has become alert self-employment, loans of more than `6 crore of making India a global power. have been disbursed through Mudra Yojana. and active. Its Under the Ujjwala scheme, 2 crore gas connec- results are already ASSISTANCE TO MAHARASHTRA tions have been distributed to women. Even af- showing. An envi- Certain obstacles in the path of building the ter seven decades of independence, 18,000 vil- ronment of vigour Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in the lages of India are deprived of power supply. he has been created Arabian Sea were promptly resolved by Prime Prime Minister reached power to 12,586 villages. across India.” Minister Narendra Modi. Appropriate funds Power to the rest of the villages will be accom- —DevenDra FaDnavis have been provided for and plished by 2018. Chief Minister Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for the State. Mumbai

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 07 COLUMN Chief Minister

Three yeArs of coNsIsTeNT supporT ANd GuIdANce l Centre’s quick decisions and delivery mechanism have paved the way for en- forcing big-ticket, multi-sector projects in Maharashtra. l The Centre has given a huge impetus to Magnetic Maharashtra with multi-sector mega projects gaining momentum and promising better socio-economic develop- ment. l Whether it was the objective of transform- ing Mumbai into an international inancial centre, an international arbitration centre at Bandra–Kurla Complex, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial at Indu Mills or Chha- trapati Shivaji memorial in the Arabian Sea, all got support. coastal project has been approved and a inal no- has been given to an oil reinery in Konkan. It tiication has been released. “The SuperSonIc will be implemented through various public sec- All assistance is being provided to Nagpur InTercepTor mISSIle tor companies, and is likely to generate employ- Metro that will now be running in stipulated manufacTured ment for about 1 lakh persons. Maharashtra has time. he accelerated work on the project has In IndIa waS also been beneitted by the skill development ini- ushered in an environment of dynamism and vi- SucceSSfully tiative launched by the Centre. In the past three TeSTed on vacity in Nagpur city. has also been march 1, 2017. a years, people from across sections—farmers, accelerated. world record youth, students, women, businessmen and entre- Last year, the Government of India provided of launchInG preneurs—have beneitted by these schemes and drought relief assistance of `3,050 crore to Maha- 104 SaTellITeS decisions. rashtra. his is the highest such assistance from SImulTaneouSly In 2016, the Union Government chose Mum- the Centre so far. A decision has been taken to waS alSo bai for hosting the irst Make in India event in reGISTered durInG create an independent company for speedy com- ThIS perIod” February. he event saw Maharashtra tapping pletion of railway projects in the State. Approval big companies and large amount of foreign in- vestment coming into the State. he State also hosted the irst BRICS Friendship City Enclave in Mumbai. We are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping us contribute to In- dia’s success story.

IMPRESSIVE COMPANIONSHIP We are bent on creating a new, smart and power- ful Maharashtra. Our eforts are receiving con- sistent support from Government of India un- der the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is only through this cooperation that the dream of a prosperous, opulent and enabled Ma- harashtra will come to life. he entire population of Maharashtra joins me in extending best wish- es and congratulations to the Union Government on its successful three years under the proicient prime minister narendra modi greeting public in Bhubaneswar on February 7, 2016 leadership of Narendra Modi. n

08 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister

prime minister narendra modi speaking at the dedication ceremony of the environment-friendly electric bus for members of parliament under the go green initiative in new Delhi on December 21, 2015. lok sabha speaker smt. sumitra mahajan and union ministers nitin gadkari, m. , anant geete, prakash Javadekar and Jitendra singh are also seen TOwARdS AccELERATEd dEvELOpmEnT

Before 2014, the length of National lthough I am a Union Minister, I am proud to belong to Maharash- Highways in Maharashtra was 5,700 tra. I worked in the State as Min- km. Within three years of the current ister for Public Works Department during 1995-99. herefore, the en- Union Government, the length of present Atire State is spread out before me. I believe that and proposed National Highways in the works in Maharashtra should be carried out through Union Ministries. his is the reason why Maharashtra reached 22,387 km. As Union the quantum of work done in the State through Minister for Road Transport, Highways and my Ministry overtakes the work done in all pre- ceding years. Works in all the areas of Maharash- Shipping, he has an ambitious target of tra—Vidarbha, Khandesh, Marathwada, Mumbai, establishing this network by 2019, Western Maharashtra and Konkan—are going on through the Union Ministry of Road Transport, itin aDkari says n G Highways and Shipping. he said works are to the tune of `1 lakh crore.

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 09 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister

Projects worth `24,000 crore are going on in Nagpur city and district, and more to the tune of `58,355 crore have been proposed. Contracts worth `8,725 crore have been awarded. A detailed plan for seaplane under tourism development of Nagpur has been submitted to Maharashtra Mari- time Board; it is expected to be approved soon.

IMPORTANT DECISIONS he Union Government has taken an initiative to make Maharashtra free of railway crossings. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to the MoU, the State Gov- ernment will be spending on land acquisition on State roads and other facilities. he construction on Savitri river in Mahad. I took responsibility for work of overbridges will be undertaken through “a SancTIon haS the mishap and announced that the bridge will be equal sharing of expenses between Central Road been provIded rebuilt in six months. he bridge is going to be Fund and Ministry of Railways. For railway over- for 12 JeTTIeS In inaugurated on June 4 and I am satisied that I was bridges on National Highways, total expense will maharaShTra able to keep my word. be borne by National Highways Authority of under SaGarmala India (NHAI). In the irst stage, 236 railway over- Scheme wITh a FOCUS ON RELIGIOUS TOURISM bridges are being constructed. A fund of `100 fundInG of `248 An important part of our vision is that the roads crore has been made through Central Road Fund crore. The work leading to religious places should be excellent. for the work. of deTaIled I am especially happy to undertake the work of Under Ministry of Shipping, the development proJecT reporT both the palanquin routes for Vitthal Wari at work at JNPT and Mumbai ports is in progress. (dpr) for The Pandharpur, as this has been a concern for entire rIverS In The he rivers considered are Amba, Dabhol Creek, Maharashtra. he DPR for the 270 km Dnyanesh- STaTe under The Ravindra Creek, Rewanda Creek, Savitri Creek, war Palakhi Marg Alandi–Pune–Phaltan–Pand- new naTIonal ` Shastri, Jaigad, Rajpuri Creek, Vasai Creek, waTerwayS harpur with an expenditure of 3,900 crore and –hane–Mumbai, Arunavati, Godavari, Scheme wIll be 104 km Sant Tukaram Palakhi Marg Patas–Va- Manjra, Nag, Painganga–Wardha and Vainganga– compleTed In sunde–Baramati–Indapur–Akluj–Bhondale with Pranhita. Three monThS” an expenditure of `2,025 crore are in inal stages, I was very sad about the collapse of the bridge and the tenders for the projects will be loated in next two months. Excellent technology should be used while providing facilities and security to Warkaris walk- ing along the palanquin. Pictures of saints, Ab- hangwani at various locations on LED screens, and four-laning of Palakhi Marg with beautii- cation are expected to be completed within two years. As the entire route is concretised, a special bitumen technique will be used so that Warkaris do not face the pangs of hot roads. We are trying to schedule the ground-breaking ceremony of the work on the auspicious Ashadhi Ekadashi. Nanded–Bidar, Nanded–Deglur and Nanded– Udgir roads leading to Nanded Gurudwara have been declared as National Highways. Most of the roads leading to Nanded have now been declared as National Highways.

(From top) union minister for road transport and highways and shipping nitin PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA gadkari at the inauguration of mumbai port trust’s second chemical berth at pir pau, mahul, and with Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the new ferry wharf (Bhaucha Sanctions have been obtained for drating a DPR Dhakka) in mumbai for Mumbai– ocean highway and 540 km Re-

10 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG In d IA The proJecTS on prIorITy

or Maharashtra, Palakhi The Union Ministry of Road FMarg at Pandharpur, a new Transport, Highways and bridge on Savitri river in Mahad, Shipping has achieved the Mumbai–Goa Highway, Butibori– State’s targets for 2016-17, and Tuljapur Highway and Nashik– work orders for 3,698 km have Pune Highway hold importance. been issued. During 2017-18, Besides giving attention to it has been proposed to declare these, five work orders in the 3,325 km of new highways `7,263 crore Butibori–Tuljapur in Maharashtra. The 2017-18 project and eight work orders Annual plan of the State for road in the `11,747 crore Mumbai– construction costing `54,000 Goa Project have been issued. crore has been approved by the Mumbai–Goa Highway will be Ministry in principle, and the developed as a Green Highway. first stage of `25,000 crore The tenders for Aurangabad– has been given administrative Telwadi road have been floated, sanction. and the work will start soon. Under the Central Road The 11-km-long tunnel from Fund, an amount of `5,668 Maharashtra at Autram Ghat crore has been sanctioned would be the main attraction of for road construction work in this road. Maharashtra. was Port–Jaigad to Arunda–Kiranapani–Vengur- MAhA has a dilapidated , some small temples and la Coastal Road with an expenditure of `10,341 TArGeTs many points from where one can have a magnii- crore. Parallel to the Goa highway and running cent view of the Arabian Sea. Construction of a l The Union Govern- by the side of the ocean, the Dahanu–Vasai–Al- passenger jetty at this location was essential. In- ment has taken the ibag–Shriwardhan–Dabhol–Ganapatipule–Rat- initiative to make stead of depending on the tide to reach the island, nagiri–Devgad–Malwan–Vengurla ocean high- Maharashtra free of a 150 m long and 4 m wide concrete jetty is being way will be a milestone for tourism development railway crossings; built here at a cost of `15 crore. in Konkan. an MoU has been his is an excellent location for a camping he tenders for the same will be loated soon. signed for this. site and Swiss cottages, though landscaping he work on Nashik–Pune road has been com- l Through Ministry of will have to be carried out, and facilities pleted except the work on the ive bye-passes. Shipping, develop- organised for guided tours, heritage walk, light With this, the Nashik–Pune distance will be cov- ment work at JNPT and sound show, cafeteria, amphitheatre, water ered in four hours instead of the current eight and ports in Mumbai sports, ferry services from Gateway of India and hours. A decision has been made to transfer the is in progress. ferry wharf. A travel operator will develop all Kolhapur–Sangli–Solapur road to the NHAI. he l Under Central these facilities. DPR work for the same is in progress. Road Fund, `5,668 Nine lighthouses from Maharashtra and DPRs with an expected expenditure of crore has been Goa—at Sunk Rock, Kanhoji Island, Uttan Point, `11,765 crore for completion of work on the roads sanctioned for road Korlai Fort, Jaigad, Ratnagiri, Devgad, Vengurla going through cities where bye-pass has been cre- construction work in Rocks, Tolkeshwar Point, and Sao ated are being prepared. heir work orders will be Maharashtra. George—are part of the project. out within three months. l An objective is To ensure that the works from Maharash- Famous for ishing, hal village is located in to better the roads tra do not get stuck at other Ministries in in of Maharashtra. Chha- leading to religious Delhi, I coordinate as a State representative. I places such as the trapati Shivaji Maharaj built a fort here for the palanquin routes for was successful in bringing online projects like Maratha army to check the British and Portu- Pandharpur Wari. Nagpur and Pune Metro, Pune Airport, Pune guese. In 1852, the British developed a lighthouse Ring Road, AIIMS and IIIT at Nagpur. All l The Kolhapur–San- here. his lighthouse on the South shores of gli–Solapur road will of us, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Mumbai works as a landmark for ships arriving be transferred to the Devendra Fadnavis, are working for Mumbai, and departing from Mumbai. he island can be NHAI. The DPR work Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and other cit- reached by speed boats either from hal, Mandwa for the same is in ies and the overall development of Maharashtra or Gateway of India. progress. with zeal and power. n he stone island with an expanse of 18 acres –As told to Sunil Chawake

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 11 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister FUndS, SpEEd And BOOST TO mAhARAShTRA The Ministry of Railways is inclined to accelerate the Railway projects stalled in Maharashtra for years. The Ministry has made a provision of `1,37,000 crore for the State, says Union Minister for Railways suresh Prabhu

ailways happen to be one of the major PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETED departments of Government of India he work on ten railway routes, namely Nagar– making provision of funds for the State Beed–Parli, Gadchiroli–Wadsa, Baramati–Lonand, of Maharashtra to the extent that has Wardha–Gadchiroli, Wardha–Nanded, Gondia– not been visible since independence. Jabalpur, Wardha–Balharshah, Wardha–Nagpur, DuringR the period 2014 to 2016, the Indian Rail- Karad–Chiplun and Dighi Bunder–Chiplun have ways provided funds to the extent of `3,586.7 crore started. Track doubling work on 21 routes such to Maharashtra. For the current inancial year, the as Bhusawal–Jalgaon, Kalyan–Kasara, Mudkhed– The Ministry of Ministry of Railways has made a provision of a Parbhani, Daund–Gulbarga, Pen–, Wardha– railways has whopping `6,000 crore for the State. he Railways Nagpur and Rajnanadgaon–Nagpur (third line), installed 4,403 bio- are spending `52,614 crore on the ongoing works. Pune–Lonavala and Pune–Miraj–Londha have also toilets, 54 new toi- Considering the provisions for Railways in the cur- begun. he projects sanctioned during the current lets and 54 toilets rent budget, the amount comes to a huge `1,37,651 railway budget amounting to `31,881.96 crore in- on ‘pay and use’ crore. his provision of such an amount is like a clude 16 projects of Vaibhavwadi–Kolhapur, Itarsi– basis in Maharash- dream for Maharashtra. Nagpur, Pune–Nashik, Rahuri–Shani Shinganapur tra. under swachh For the irst time ater independence, the Min- and Karad–Chiplun. rail swachh istry has made a provision of `1,37,000 crore for Electriication is being carried out at nine Bharat and hamara Mumbai and Maharashtra. We closely understand railway routes of Pune–Kolhapur, Daund–Bara- station hamari the issues of Mumbai suburban local trains. It is with mati, Miraj–Kurduwadi–Latur, Dhule–Chalis- shaan, 36 stations ` this that projects worth 556 crore have been start- gaon, Jhansi–Uran and others at an expenditure from Mumbai have ed for Mumbai alone. During the last three years, of `2149.65 crore. he work on three rail routes been kept clean.” works such as doubling of 17 routes in the State, 10 connecting ports of Dighi–Jaigad, Roha–Dighi and new railway routes of 932 km with funds to the tune Harapur–Rewas has been taken up on public-pri- —suresh Prabhu of `24,304 crore, and broad gauging of 1014 km of vate partnership basis. Union Railways Minister tracks with funds of `5,311 crore have begun. Without making any fuss, the State has received If prolonged projects are accelerated and my a record 28 new trains during 2014-17. hese in- eforts to ensure the daily commute for millions of clude weekly and bi-weekly trains such as Bandra– Mumbaikars is made easy, I shall consider myself Amritsar, Howrah–Pune, Mumbai–Gorakhpur, lucky. I insist that all projects announced by the Pune–Gorakhpur, Pune–Lucknow, Solapur–Vi- Railways be completed in a stipulated time. japur, Mumbai Jammu Tawi Swaraj Express and

12 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG In d IA

“durInG The laST Three yearS, workS Such aS doublInG of 17 raIlway rouTeS, 10 new raIlway rouTeS of 932 km wITh fundS To The Tune of `24,304 crore, and broad GauGInG of 1014 km of TrackS wITh fundS of `5,311 crore have beGun”

oN The rIGhT TrAck l For the current iscal, the Ministry Pune–Indore Express. suburban line, installation of 65 new escalators of Railways has Considering the demands of passengers, 82 in addition to the 37 escalators activated during made a provision new halts have been provided in Maharashtra. his the last two and a half years at various stations, of `6,000 crore for apart, the work on Wi-Fi at three stations, 38 esca- 42 new foot-over bridges and 54 lits are other Maharashtra. lators and 14 lits at railway stations is underway. works undertaken in the State. Emergency Medi- l The State has Since unmanned crossings oten become death cal Room at 15 stations and 108 ambulances that received a record 28 traps for people, lyover and underpass work has would be available to all stations have also been new trains during been completed at 182 crossings in the State in the started. New booking oices at 13 stations, Ticket 2014-17—the irst three years of the last three years. Reservation attendants at 19 stations and Passen- Union Government. ger Ticket Service Centres have been started at l Considering the PRIORITY TO CLEANLINESS 37 stations. Ater increasing the height of all 590 demands of the Cleanliness in trains and at stations is always an platforms on the Harbour line, local trains with 12 passengers, 82 new issue for discussion. he Ministry of Railways has instead of nine compartments have started plying halts have been installed 4,403 bio-toilets, 54 new toilets and 54 toi- on the route. provided in Maha- lets on ‘pay and use’ basis in Maharashtra. Under rashtra. projects Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat and Hamara EXTENDING HARBOUR LINE l The Railways have Station Hamari Shaan, 36 stations from Mumbai Projects such as extension of Harbour line up to initiated projects have been kept clean with the help of NGOs. Goregaon, starting AC local trains, new buildings worth `51,000 crore he Ministry has initiated projects worth for Andheri, Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations, for Mumbai Subur- ban stations. `51,000 crore for Mumbai Suburban stations. Vi- new station at Oshiwara, additional two platforms l rar–Dahanu, Panvel–Karjat, Borivli –Kalwa routes, at Diva station on the hane–Kalyan route, and Electriication is being carried a new Suburban Railway corridor between Ban- RoRo goods transport service at Vasai station to re- out at nine railway dra–Virar and Virar–Vasai–Panvel, Accelerated El- duce traic congestion at hane due to additional routes in the State evated Railway Corridor from Chhatrapati Shivaji traic are some other projects undertaken by the at an expenditure of Terminus to Panvel are included in the same. Ministry of Railways. n `2149.65 crore. Increasing the height of 160 platforms on –As told to Mangesh Vaishampayan

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 13 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister ImpROvEd STAndARdS, BETTER qUALITY New initiatives have been launched for improving the quality of higher education. For excellent educational infrastructure, the Government has started Higher Education Financing Agency, says Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash JavaDekar

rue power can be acquired through content will be changed entirely. Every student education and, hence, the Union of D.Ed. and B.Ed. will now go to a Government Government has given top priority to school for lesson practice. he teachers from Gov- improving the standard of education ernment schools will be the observers. We are also imparted in Government schools. Our going to receive a feedback from the students. TDepartment of Education has a slogan, Sabko shik- he third major change we have efected is sha, Achhi shiksha (education to all and good edu- related to a request from many States. he States cation). Even the poor should receive good educa- demanded that if examinations are conducted for tion. A total of 13 crore students receive education classes V and VIII and the failed students are not through Government schools. it to be promoted, they will be stopped. We carried Improving the quality of education in these out these reforms in the RTE Act. he 25 States that schools is our biggest challenge. Education is a na- had made the demand have been allowed to stop a tional agenda for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. he student on the condition that if the student fails in Government will leave no stone unturned to ensure March examination and again in the June examina- better education to everybody. For this, we began tion, one can be held back in the same class. with preparing learning outcomes. With the imple- mentation of the Right to Education Act, the exam- inations from class I to VIII were by far removed. It led to a situation where students never fail and proceed to the next class. In many States, schools became a place where students come, have food and go! With a view to improve this situation, we pre- pared benchmarks for each class on what a student must know in all subjects.

REVOLUTIONARY WORK From this year, every parent will know what his ward should know in the standard he studies. Sec- ondly, untrained teachers will have to obtain teach- ers training within two years. Every teacher will have to undergo a two to three weeks’ training ev- ery three years. he basic D.Ed. and B.Ed. course

14 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG In d IA We have started class X board examination from this year. With this, just like all State Boards, we will have CBSE Board examination. We have started 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas. Just within three years, the number of these schools have increased by 10 per cent; 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas were started; 25 lakh students appeared for class V examination and 40,000 out of these got admission further. With the new 62 schools, many more students will get admission. hese are the four reforms in school education.

NEW INSTITUTES AND SUPPORT he irst initiative is expansion of higher education. Seven new Indian Institutes of Management at Sir- mour, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Amritsar, Jammu, Bodh- gaya and Visakhapatnam have been started. Six new Indian Institutes of Technology, one new Indian Insti- tute of Information Technology and two new science research institutes have been started. We have started a Central University at Motihari, where Gandhiji car- ried out the Champaran Satyagraha. We have provided 3.7 lakh school students with merit scholarship of `500 per month; 3.3 lakh col- the University Grants Commission Fellowship; lege students are awarded a scholarship of `10,000 “we have decIded 41,000 students receive Gates Scholarship. Un- per year for three years; 2.1 lakh students receive To Go dIGITal der the National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for To avoId ScamS Secondary Education, a scholarship of `3,000 is In deGree and awarded to 9.65 lakh girl students. To motivate the markSheeTS. we participation of girl students in secondary educa- have STarTed a tion, we award scholarships to around 10 lakh girls. naTIonal dIGITal In order that 5,000 students from Jammu and lIbrary, where Kashmir receive good technical education and 65 lakh bookS courses, we have increased the admission capacity. are avaIlable Our teams are working with industries. he dIGITally. we products that industries request are to be given to have permITTed University for further work. With this, the paradox more Than of highly-trained people without employment and 600 STudenTS non-availability of needed manpower for the indus- To InITIaTe tries will be solved. NATIoNAl dIGITAl lIBrAry STarT-upS from TheIr hoSTelS. PRIORITY TO START-UPS l A project titled, “Development of National Digi- Swayam for open To encourage students set up industries or im- tal Library of India towards building a National educaTIon IS a plement original ideas through start-ups, we Asset” has been sanctioned to IIT, . new eXperImenT. conducted a huge competition. About 42,000 l Its objective is to provide access to the knowl- wITh ThIS you edge repository in terms of books, e-learning can receIve engineering students from 2,100 colleges par- material, encyclopedia, journals, monographs, educaTIon ticipated in the competition. he students reviews, research work, articles, Acts and others. anywhere JuST toiled hard for three months. hey were given 600 issues. he 7,000 teams of seven members l Till November 2016, there were 19.75 lakh aS we GeT money e-contents in the library, covering all domains of from an aTm” each studied their selected topic. he inal teams education and levels of learners. with 10 students each stayed till April 1 and 2, worked for 36 hours at a stretch, and derived l 106 institutions have contributed e-contents many solutions. n to the library that has registered users from 465 –As told to Ganesh Ramdasi institutions. The alpha version is now available Deputy Director (Information) and for registered students, researchers and others. Special Executive Officer, HRD Ministry, New Delhi

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 15 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister

mAkE In IndIA, A GAmE-chAnGER FOR IndIA The Union Government plans to set up a unit in Bhandara for generating solar power. There is another project in Ratnagiri for setting up a paper mill, says Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises anant Geete

he heavy industries sector is roaring put forth by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. since the introduction of the famous lion logo of Make in India campaign. IMPORTANT DECISIONS With the overwhelming response of For the irst time in Asia, a research on ultra tur- investors to “India calling”, we now bines with the support of Bharat Heavy Electricals Thave all luxury cars such as Mercedes, Volkswagen Limited (BHEL) has been started. With an esti- and BMW being manufactured in India. hese pol- mated cost of `1,555 crore, these turbines are ex- lution-free additions to the transportation sector pected to generate power of about 660 MW. If these have opened a new chapter in addressing the big machines achieve the target, many small and big problem of pollution. For the irst time, a research turbines can be set up in the future, helping India is taking place in Asia on turbine manufacturing become self-suicient in power generation. through Ultra Research Turbine. Similarly, yet an- other important step taken has been the National POLICY DECISIONS Capital Goods Policy. With all of these, the heavy For the irst time, a comprehensive National Capital industries sector has got a new lease of life to ac- Goods Policy was formulated—a irst for the sec- complish the objective of Sabka Saath, SabkaVikas tor. Earlier, capital goods, machine tools and textile

16 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG In d IA down and solve the serious problem of pollution, encouragement should be given to hybrid and elec- tric cars. So far, 81,000 cars have been given sub- sidies. he Government is working towards taking this igure to 5 to 7 million. Even though it is a pilot project, going forward the department of heavy in- “There are Some dustries has a goal of making public sector taxies, ImporTanT buses, auto rickshaws and Government vehicles maharaTna, run on electricity. A fund of `795 crore has been mInIraTna sanctioned via mobility mission and a pilot project and navraTna is underway. publIc-SecTor enTerprISeS TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION FUND whoSe conTrIbuTIon he work in the capital goods sector is in full swing To IndIa’S Gdp IS too. Modern technology has been embraced by QuITe SIGnIfIcanT. the world, but since small businesses do not have The mInISTry large capitals, a technology adoption fund has been IS workInG industries did not have a dedicated policy. With the allotted to these businesses. his is supplementary on polIcy policy in place, about `3,000 crore are estimated to the support provided through Make in India formulaTIon, to be spent on these sectors with the sole aim of programme. reGulaTIon and boosting growth and creating a favourable business GuIdance To 282 environment. A bhoomipujan was performed in PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA publIc venTureS” Chakan and Surat for the machine tools industries. he Union Government is planning to set up a unit A bhoomipujan was also performed for the com- in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district for generating mon facility centre. solar energy via BHEL. here is another project in NATIoNAl he Union Ministry of Heavy Industries also Lohate, Ratnagiri for setting up a paper mill. cApITAl aims to start the work as per policy decisions in im- For past three years, we have been extending Goods polIcy portant cities like Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru various projects and development of heavy indus- l The irst-ever policy to promote local industries. We are conident that tries and public enterprises sector. We are working for Capital Goods this policy would be particularly good for a city like diligently towards its growth. sector, its objective is Bengaluru that is an important and thriving IT hub. Our eforts have got a tremendous boost from to increase produc- Some revolutionary decisions have been taken Make in India. he sector is sure to witness “acche tion of capital goods for the auto sector. India imports about 70 per cent din” in years to come. n from `2,30,000 fuel, incurring our biggest expenditure. To cut it –As told to Nilesh Kumar Kulkarni crore in 2014-15 to `7,50,000 crore in 2025. l It aims to raise direct and indirect employment from the current 8.4 million to 30 million. l The policy envis- ages increasing ex- ports to 40 per cent of production. l It will increase the share of domestic production in India’s demand from 60 per cent to 80 per cent, thus, making India a net exporter of capital goods. prime minister narendra modi with his cabinet colleagues at the launch of make in india logo in new Delhi in september 2014

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 17 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister

EnERGY EFFIcIEncY FOR mORE pOwER In the past two years, power generation from coal-based plants has gone up sharply in Maharashtra. The highlight is that power shortage has reduced to zero since the past one year as against 2 per cent and more three years ago, says Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines

espite being an industrial State, Ma- areas. To meet the inancial requirements of Deen harashtra was facing severe power Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) shortage, especially during peak and other related projects, the State Government hours, before the current Govern- decided to join Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana ment took over in the State. he (UDAY). Currently, 29 per cent of Maharashtra’s Dpower shortage led several industrial projects move rural pockets, about 29 lakh households out of to- to the neighbouring States of and Madhya tal 142 lakh households, are without electricity. he Pradesh. While the power situation in Maharashtra work of electriication in these areas is being taken has improved in the past two years, it still has to do up on mission mode. With UDAY, Maharashtra a lot when it comes to providing electricity to rural will beneit with approximately `9,700 crore ater

18 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n dI A

turnaround and by way of cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C losses, interventions in energy eiciency, INNovATIve “beTTer TranSmISSIon InfraSTrucTure coal reforms and others. Overall, the State will save scheMes haS reduced conGeSTIon In about `16,500 crore every year ater the period of l Energy Eficiency maharaShTra and made cheap ShorT- turnaround. Services Limited Term power acceSSIble. In leSS Than hirty seven projects worth `2,175 crore have (EESL) has developed Three yearS, 8,000 mva and 3,998 been sanctioned under DDUGJY, while projects an innovative scheme ckm TranSmISSIon lIneS have been worth `2,417 crore have been sanctioned under UJALA for replace- compleTed In The STaTe” Integrated Power Development Scheme for urban ment of ineficient lighting with energy- areas. Under erstwhile R-APDRP, projects worth grew by over 33 per cent: 96,855 MU produced eficient LED lighting. ` 3,488 crore, covering IT enablement of 128 towns About 2.1 crore LED in 2015-16 against 72,507 MU in 2013-14. and distribution strengthening work in 123 towns, bulbs distributed so g Removed coal shortage with no power plant hav- are under implementation. All 128 towns have been far, saving `1,093 ing critical coal stock (less than seven days’ stock) declared “go live”. crore every year in as opposed to 50 per cent capacity facing critical In next three years, a lot of new transmis- the electricity bills of coal stock in May 2014. sion elements are going to be commissioned. consumers. g Receipt of coal in power stations grew by over 35 hese include about 4,990 ckm of transmission l UDAY is a path- per cent: 62.3 million tonnes coal receipt in 2015- lines and transformation capacity augmenta- breaking reform 16 against 45.9 million tonnes in 2013-14. tion of 11,130 MVA. To address high-voltage for realising Prime g hree solar parks of 1,500 MW capacity sanc- variation in EHV system, a (+/-) 300 MVAR Minister’s vision of tioned in Maharashtra; 152 MW solar power and (+/-) 300 MVAR STATCOM at Aurangabad affordable and ac- capacity installed in last three years; over 80 per and Solapur is being installed at a cost of about cessible 24x7 Power cent of the solar pumps were installed in 2016-17. for All. `800 crore. g 51 MWp Grid interactive solar rootops installed he achievements of Ministries of Power, Coal l UDAY provides for out of sanctioned 100 MWp. - and New & Renewable Energy include: the inancial turn g 973 ckm of green energy corridor worth `361 around and revival g Energy shortage reduced to nil during April-Feb- crore to transmit renewable power underway. of power distribution ruary 2017 from 2 per cent during April-Febru- g NTPC has begun 660 MW Solapur super thermal - ary 2014. companies (DIS power project. COMs), and ensures g Peak shortage reduced to 0.4 per cent during a sustainable perma- g LED lighting and water-pumping pilot projects April-February 2017 from 8.6 per cent during nent solution to the carried out in the State, leading to 660 MWh April-February 2014. problem. saved annually. n g Power generation from coal-based power plants –As told to Ameya Sathaye

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 19 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister IndIGEnOUS pROdUcTIOn, IndIA’S SELF-RELIAncE In defence sector, foreign investment beyond 49 per cent and up to 100 per cent is permitted through Government approval wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology, says Union Minister of State for Defence Dr subhash bhamre

ndia is known to be the biggest importer of mated from the fact that between 2001 and March modern ammunition for over six-and-a-half 2014 only 214 industrial licences were given for “armS and decades. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra fIGhTer planeS producing arms. On the other hand, 119 indus- Modi announced his Government’s ambi- ThaT we ImporT trial licences were issued between April 2014 and tious manufacturing initiative, Make in In- are coSTly, So March 2016. Idia. Under the manufacturing initiative, the Gov- If we manaGe To ernment of India pitched the idea of making the manufacTure FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT country a global maker and exporter of arms and Them locally he Government of India has planned new defence ammunitions. he companies in India and abroad wITh The help acquisition policies and processes. his new policy have responded favourably to this proposal, en- of fdI, IT wIll procedure is going to turn around the country’s de- couraging the Centre to pursue its mission. commercIally fence policy. For this to happen smoothly, it is re- Today, India is the number one buyer of arms benefIT IndIa quired that the country has a favourable investment in the world that depends on other countries for and creaTe environment. modern ammunitions and ighter jets. his is main- employmenT” As part of this, India has made a Rafale deal ly due to the limit on investment the country can with France. Half of the investment on the deal will make in its defence sector, keeping in mind its vast population and diverse needs. With indigenous knowhow, the Indian Army can become stronger with home-grown small ight- er jets, helicopters and submarines. With this in mind, the Government of India has taken concrete steps under the ‘Make in India’ programme. he country has already begun its journey of producing ighter jets, helicopters and missiles. he Depart- ment of Defence Production (DDP) is exploring the possibilities of manufacturing ighter jets and sophisticated ammunition. he DDP manufactures a range of arms and ammunition and vehicles. he keenness, focus and sincerity of the cur- rent Government in making the country indepen- dent in the area of arms production can be esti-

20 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n dI A be made in India. he foreign direct investment grow and bolster India’s capabilities. his is an im- (FDI) has been hiked to 49 per cent. It has made portant step for maintaining India’s domination in licensing procedures easier and brought in signii- the region. A testimony of Prime Minister’s vision, cant changes. he Centre has even hinted at hiking the deal will not only lead to security, but also create the FDI to 100 per cent. he Government of India job opportunities. believes that the private sector plays an important role in strengthening national security. he move SURGICAL STRIKE, A MORALE BOOSTER will also enable private Indian companies connect he year 2016 began with a terrorist attack on to their international counterparts. Pathankot’s army camp. In September, the terror- he Government believes it is important to make ists attacked the army base in Jammu and Kashmir’s radical changes in the sector to make it self-reliant. Uri. In retaliation, India carried out surgical attacks It believes that it is important to open up the FDI on September 29. With the Government’s decision for the exchange of technological expertise. Arms of tit-for-tat approach, the morale of the Indian The union Govern- and ighter planes that we presently import are very army has boosted considerably. ment believes it is costly, so if we manage to manufacture them locally important to make with the help of FDI, it will commercially beneit the ONE RANK–ONE PENSION country and create employment opportunities. Ater a long wait of 40 years, the Union Govern- radical changes in ment announced the long-standing pension the defence sector INDIA–FRANCE RAFALE DEAL scheme, One Rank–One Pension (OROP) in 2015. to make it self- he much talked-about India–France Rafale deal On February 3, 2016, detailed information on the reliant. It believes was inked in 2016. his deal was very important scheme was released. OROP will be beneicial to re- that it is important and necessary for the modernisation of Indian Air tired defence personnel and the widows of martyr to open up the fdI Force (IAF). India needs to augment the capabili- soldiers. In its irst phase, `4,706.95 crore pending for the exchange ties of the force considering the rising threat from dues were cleared of 19,93,815 ex-servicemen and of technological China and Pakistan. their families till February 27, 2017. In the second expertise.” IAF’s strength can help in maintaining India’s phase, `2,298 crore will be paid in dues to 15,57,950 —Dr subhash bhamre position and stability in South Asia. Under the Ra- ex-servicemen. n Union Minister of State fale deal, India will get 36 Rafale planes that will –As told to Ajit Patil for Defence

depArTMeNT of defeNce producTIoN l DDP was set up in November 1962 with the objective of developing a comprehensive production infrastructure to produce the weapons, systems, platforms, equipment required for defence. l Over the years, the department has established wide-ranging production facilities for various defence equipment through the Ordnance Factories and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). l The products manufactured include arms and ammunition, tanks, armoured and heavy vehicles, ighter aircraft and helicopters, submarines, etc.

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 21 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has followed Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy in the truest sense. He has successfully implemented Nai Talim principle of Gandhiji, whether it was the Swachhta Abhiyan or Jan Dhan Yojana. With these principles alone, India has earned a name and repute in the world, says Union Minister of State for Home Affairs hansraJ ahir FARmERS’ wELFARE, nATIOn’S dEvELOpmEnT

have been observing Prime Minster Naren- ServInG each and everyone dra Modi from day one very closely. He has hether it is a matter of providing never diferentiated between opponents and Wgas cylinders and gas stoves a party person. he Prime Minister has a “former prIme through Centre’s Ujjwala scheme or deining stamina to work for 18 hours a day mInISTer aTal the initiative to open 24 crore bank Iand a skill to encourage his colleagues to work. If bIharI vaJpayee accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan this leadership is available to the nation for a long JoIned 7 lakh Dhan Yojana, it is a fact that people time, the environment will help India become a vIllaGeS of are now confident that the Government of India is dedicated to them. After global super power. IndIa To ITS cITIeS ThrouGh demonetisation, the Union Government has received complete support from pradhan manTrI PRIORITY TO SECURITY the poor, labour and farmers, giving it Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave me the charge Gram Sadak more strength. In the times to come, the of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers in the be- yoJana. Today, Government is committed to accelerate ginning. Today, I am responsible for the Ministry an eQually the developmental work further. of Home Afairs as a Minister of State. I consider ImporTanT work IS beInG carrIed that the conidence he has bestowed on me is an ac- ouT ThrouGh knowledgement of my work. In addition to internal pradhan manTrI security, our eforts are focused on improving rela- krIShI SInchayee tions with our neighbouring countries. yoJana. The I was constantly following up on the implemen- counTry IS alSo tation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana forGInG ahead (PMKSY) for farmers. Ater taking over as Prime In GarnerInG Minister, Narendra Modi took note of the status of foreIGn farmers across India and prioritised the agricultural InveSTmenTS” irrigation scheme. Former Prime Minister Atal Bi-

22 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n d I A

hari Vajpayee had joined 7 lakh villages of India to NAxAlIsM vs questions of afordability of costly medicines have its cities through Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yo- proGress been resolved. In comparison to the medicines sold jana (PMGSY). Today, an equally important work l Naxalism and terror- by companies, generic but branded medicines have is being carried out through PMKSY. India is also ism are hurdles that now been made available to people at a concession- forging ahead in garnering foreign investments. obstruct develop- al rate of 80 to 90 per cent. here have been attempts to overcome the signii- ment of the country. Amlodipine strip of 10 tablets costing `20 is cant gap between industries and employment op- Going beyond caste now available in generic form at just `2.50. Prices and religion, the ` ` portunities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has Government has of painkillers have come down from 30 to 5, bestowed on me important responsibilities such as to resolve peoples’ blood pressure tablets from `94 to `10, medicines Union Territories, Jammu & Kashmir, Centre–State problems like these. for fever from `42 to `3.50, diabetes tablets from relations, internal security and Naxal afairs. All the l It is Prime Minister `66 to just `3, and antibiotics are now available at neighbouring countries were invited to the oath Narendra Modi’s `41 from `150. he corruption in urea has stopped taking ceremony with the intent of making our mu- vision to see how thanks to the neem-coated urea. With this, we have tual relationships stronger. Our friendly relations equality and unity saved `5,000 crore payable as subsidy on urea. with countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ne- can be maintained in pal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and others have become the affected areas. OTHER IMPORTANT DECISIONS stronger than ever before. l A plan is being While managing the Home Department, we are drafted to curb the ill Given that I belong to a Naxal-afected district, I effects of Naxalism. resolving many issues with coordination between am fully aware of the adverse efects of Naxalism on the States and the Centre. Internal security is one l While managing the a region and its people, and a plan is being drated to Home Department, such important issue. With an eicient Union Gov- curb its ill-efects. Naxalism and terrorism are hur- the Government is re- ernment, people are conident about their security. dles that obstruct development. We have to resolve solving many issues Atrocities on women have reduced. Women have peoples’ problems going beyond caste and religion. I with coordination started iling complaints at police stations about in- have worked according to Prime Minister’s vision to between the States justice against them. Although this has resulted in see how equality and unity can be maintained. and the Centre. a larger number of complaints registered, we see it as a result of increasing awareness in women about CHEAP MEDICINES their rights. hat women today are going out freely A single look at the Union Government’s policy for at night and are overcoming their fear is a testimony generic drugs will make us proud of this Govern- of the present Government’s success. n ment and the excellent work done in this area. he –As told to Vikas Zade

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 23 COLUMN Union Cabinet Minister

he Social Justice Ministry is dedicated to the social and economic empow- erment of the underprivileged. he nEw dImEnSIOnS various schemes run by the Ministry include pre-matric scholarships for TSC children and post-matric scholarships for ninth OF SOcIAL and tenth grades, post-matric scholarships and spe- cial central aid for OBCs, national fellowship for SC students, National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), loan facilities dEvELOpmEnT for National Safai Karamcharis Finance and De- velopment Corporation, Pradhan Mantri Adarsh The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Gram Yojana, pre-matric scholarships for OBC stu- Empowerment has launched innovative dents and fellowships by University Grants Com- mission. here are schemes to help families bear initiatives such as Start Up India and Stand the wedding costs of inter-caste marriages, subsi- Up India to empower the SC, ST, OBC, dies and aid for senior citizens, diferently-abled and victims of alcoholism. he Ministry has laws differently-abled and other weaker sections for prevention of atrocities on these sections, and of society. The Ministry is committed to works on such sensitive issues. empower these sections through various SUPPORT TO ALL schemes, says Union Minister of State for We are working on raising the scholarship amount for SCs students. Currently, 68 lakh students beneit Social Justice & Empowerment annually from them. In 2016-2017, over 6 lakh stu- dents of Maharashtra beneitted from these schol-

24 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n d I A

(From facing page) prime minister narendra modi, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union minister ramdas athawale at Dr B. r. ambedkar memorial in london, and ramdas athawale with specially-abled women at om Creations trust Disabled, a mumbai- based ngo arships totalling `8,000 crore. Scholarships are also important decision taken was of the amendment of given to 100 students for higher education abroad. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Pre- Emphasis is on sending as many students from Ma- vention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015. Un- harashtra for further studies abroad. der the new Act, the victims will be given 10 per Our country has about 20 crore acre of barren cent more aid. Depending on the nature of crimes, land lying idle. Not all farmers and farm labourers the amount can be between `85,000 and `8.25 lakh. can work outside the farming sector, so if they are It has been made mandatory to release the irst in- given even 2-3 acre land, they can earn their liv- stalment of the aid to the victim or victim’s family ing with ease. he Ministry is working on giving within a week. Also, ater proper investigation, a them loans and soon we will sign MoUs with some case has to be iled in the court within 60 days of the banks. his scheme will be run on the lines of crime. A total of 194 special courts have been set up Karmaveer Dadasaheb Gaikwad Sabalikaran and in 14 States to expedite the legal process so that vic- “The SocIal Swabhiman Yojana. tims get speedy justice. Maharashtra has three such JuSTIce mInISTry courts besides special police stations. dISTrIbuTeS IMPORTANT DECISIONS Centre’s Start Up India project will help SC aSSISTIve lIvInG Some of the decisions taken by the Ministry are entrepreneurs to set up businesses. From the 125th devIceS Such aS related to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, pub- arTIfIcIal lImbS (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Credit lic sector banks have begun allotting loans to female and hearInG aIdS. Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled and SC candidate each to start business. his is al- on SepTember Castes. An MoU was signed between the Ministry ready helping 1.25 lakh upcoming entrepreneurs. 17, 2016, IT and NSFDC for the welfare of people living below he Ministry has started Dr Ambedkar Scheme dISTrIbuTed free poverty line. he Ministry also took important for Social Integration through Inter-Caste Mar- hearInG aIdS To decisions to increase the quota of physically-chal- riages, wherein a newly married couple will get the 10,330 hearInG ImpaIred people lenged and started training programmes for com- incentive of `2.5 lakh to help them begin their new In navSarI, mercial motor driving and self-defence for women. life. Under Dr Ambedkar Medical Aid Scheme, an GuJaraT. The ` he reservation quota for physically-disabled aid of up to 3.5 lakh is being given to SC patients larGe-Scale has been raised from 3 per cent to 4 per cent. For sufering from life-threatening diseases. dISTrIbuTIon physically challenged, an independent Secretary- Committed to development for all, the Ministry creaTed a world level oicer has been appointed in the department. will leave no stone unturned to provide justice to record!” he Ministry is working on an initiative called every deprived section and ight for greater social Sugamya Bharat for easier access and mobility of integration in the country. n persons with disabilities in public places. Another –As told to Sunil Nimsarkar

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 25 CENTRE Mobile Apps

REAchInG OUT TO ThE pEOpLE

The Government aims at making everyday lives of people better with the help of new, smart mobile applications. Here we list major apps of the Government of India that bring public services closer to people

rime Minister Narendra Modi has Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU), is embarked on an ambitious pro- a Government of India endeavour to promote a gramme to bridge India’s digital di- culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Its vide, connect thousands of villages objective is to serve as a platform for promotion to the Internet and create millions of world-class innovation hubs, grand challeng- Pof jobs. he programme is a campaign cutting es, start-up businesses and other self-employ- across ministries and realms and in continuum ment opportunities, particularly in technology- with several other initiatives such as . driven areas. “We have to move from e-governance to m- governance. M-governance does not mean Modi NARENDRA MODI APP governance. It means mobile governance,” the he oicial app of the , Prime Minister said at the launch of the initiative it provides a unique opportunity to receive mes- on July 1, 2015. sages and emails directly from Narendra Modi. With citizens demanding transparency more It has latest news and updates, exclusive oppor- than ever, it has become inevitable for Govern- tunity to receive e-mails and messages from the ment departments to adopt technology to ofer Prime Minister, with the Prime efective citizen services. With this objective in Minister, contribute and earn badges through to- mind, the departments are coming up with their do tasks, a chance to interact with the Prime Min- own mobile apps providing relevant information ister, share ideas and suggestions, his thoughts, to citizens. hese apps also make it possible to blogs, governance initiatives and achievements. inancially deal with the Government. SKILLTRAIN APP ATAL INNOVATION MISSION he SkillTrain app connects skill learners with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), including Self- practitioners, certiiers and employers through

26 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n dI A myGov app

MyGov is Government of India’s innovative citizen engagement platform for direct citizen participation in governance by providing an avenue for channelising their ideas, comments and creative suggestions to Union Ministries and associated organisations. Citizens can participate in policy formulation and programme implementation to usher in an era of direct participatory democracy. an easy-to-use mobile interface. SkillTrain uses a blended model of video content and practical training to enable rural and urban youth to be- come employable or self-employed.

DIGILOCKER DigiLocker is a key initiative under the programme. Targeted at the idea of paper- less governance, it is a platform for issuance and veriication of documents and certiicates in a digital way, thus eliminating the use of physical documents. of goods, post oice search, postage calculator, The IncredIble insurance premium calculator and interest rates. LOST AND FOUND APP IndIa app lISTS all Lost and Found app makes it possible to report The GovernmenT- VOTER INFORMATION SEARCH things that were lost, stolen or found, show an affIlIaTed Tour With this app, a voter can check whether his/ exact location of lost and found items on a map, operaTorS, her name has been included in the electoral roll create your own list of reports, share indings advenTure Tour of the constituency, and can also ind out the with your friends and other app users, use difer- operaTorS, polling station. It uses SMS service for getting ent pins for reports, preview your reports from reGIonal TourIST information. he app, India Voters list 2017 multiple devices, edit and remove reports and GuIdeS and works like the State-based database for details of also take pictures and give directions. recommendS Indian voters. claSSIfIed hoTelS KISAN MITRA APP nearby SWACHH BHARAT APP KisanMitra app is designed and developed by Launched as part of the Government’s Swachh Navsari Agricultural University to fulil the need Bharat Abhiyan, you need to click a picture of the of people in the areas of agriculture, horticulture garbage dump or overlowing dustbins and post and veterinary science. it on the Swachhata App, a mobile application for addressing complaints related to civic issues. MEA INDIA APP All urban local bodies in the country have been he mobile application acts as a single-window mapped to this app. source of all information related to Ministry’s cit- izen-centric services and outreach activities. he IRCTC CONNECT application is completely user-oriented, intuitive Install the IRCTC Android app and book a rail- and interactive with smart visuals/graphics. way ticket anywhere in India. he app would have the following features: a one-step login to POST INFO APP existing users, options to search and book train his is India Post’s irst Android app, designed tickets and view and cancel tickets, recently add- and developed by the Centre for Excellence in ed passenger details, registration for new users Postal Technology. As of now, there exist ive and upcoming journey alerts. basic functionalities in this application: tracking –Pallavi Singh

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 27 CENTRE Achievements

With Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas as its objective, the Union Government has been devising and implementing welfare schemes that serve each and every citizen, says aJay buwa whEn GROwTh FOR ALL IS ThE mISSIOn

he Union Government is completing decided to enhance the funds to the States by 10 per three years in oice. he time is appro- cent above the funds being made available, as per priate to present the amount of work the recommendations of the 14th Finance Com- done by the Government in this peri- mission. Taking cognisance of fast urbanisation, od on the basis of execution of various The focuS of The Amrut Yojana has been launched so that small welfare schemes. GovernmenT IS on and medium cities can handle the stress of larger T STrenGThenInG aGrIculTural fIeldS crowds and equitable basic facilities can be accord- POWERS TO DECIDE ON SCHEMES To face calamITIeS ed to citizens. In the administrative work done by the Modi lIke drouGhT, he Smart Cities Mission has been launched to Government, the beneits of blending various enhancInG The make large cities modern; Udaan scheme is for con- welfare schemes can be seen. he Government has Income of farmerS, necting small cities by air routes; Shyama Prasad launched several schemes recognising the diverse TraInInG youTh Mukherjee National Urban Mission Scheme is needs of India’s urban and rural areas, while for employmenT for development of semi-urban localities through and provIdInG providing autonomy to States in a federal frame. SocIal SecurITy cluster development; Make in India programme Focus is on strengthening agricultural ields to face To every member is to attract industries from all over the globe; and calamities like drought, enhancing the income of of SocIeTy. beSIdeS schemes such as Start Up India, Stand Up India farmers, training youth for employment and pro- makInG The STaTeS and Mudra are to encourage entrepreneurs. he viding social security to workers, women, senior economIcally skill development mission, Skill India aims to pro- citizens and deprived constituents of the lowest empowered by vide employment opportunities to youth, UDAY to strata of society. GIvInG more fundS, bring out Government electricity companies from There IS STreSS on Besides making the States economically em- TheIr parTIcIpaTIon losses and to propagate environment-friendly solar powered, there is emphasis on their participation In decISIon makInG energy, Jan Dhan Yojana to help the economically in decision making. he Government of India has deprived constituents unaware about banking to

28 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n dI A

and Prime Minister Awas Yojana. hen there are schemes meant to double the income of farmers. hese include Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchayee Yojana (village irrigation scheme), Pradhan Man- tri Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (welfare scheme for poor). Digital India to fully utilise the Internet revolution, Namami Gange Programme to clean holy river Ganga, promotion of inland water- ways through Sagarmala project, development of highways, modernisation of railways, pro-clean- liness scheme such as Clean My Coach, and Setu Bharatam for making National Highways free of railway crossings are other schemes.

DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE join the economy mainstream, Indradhanush for Ater the ambitious announcement made by the the improvement of economic health of our Gov- Prime Minister on doubling farmer’s income, the ernment banks, Pahal scheme to deposit gas sub- Government started to take steps in this direction. sidy directly to the bank accounts of consumers, For improving the quality of soil, a Soil Health Card Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to provide cooking Scheme was launched. So far, 2.5 crore farmers have gas to the people below poverty line, and social se- been disbursed soil health cards. Distribution of curity schemes , Pradhan Man- neem-coated urea was also started. To mitigate wa- tri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri ter shortage for agriculture, Pradhan Mantri Gram Suraksha Bima Yojana are other important schemes Sinchayee Yojana was launched. he implementa- launched by the Centre in past three years. he tion of the scheme is now in mission mode. Under scheme for providing Aadhaar number to citizens the scheme, 99 important irrigation projects have so that they can receive beneits of all development been identiied. he target for completion of these schemes is another important initiative. projects has been set as 2019-2020 at an expendi- More noteworthy schemes of the Government ture of `77,595 crore. of India are Swachh Bharat Yojana and Beti Bachao, he scheme includes 26 projects with a cumula- Beti Padhao (a scheme to curb female foeticide) tive irrigation capacity of 10 lakh hectares. Apart

WAys AdopTed To douBle The INcoMe of fArMers l The Union Government has launched the Soil Health Card for improving the quality of soil. The cards have been given to 2.5 crore farm- ers so far. l Distribution of neem-coated urea has been started. l To mitigate water shortage for agriculture, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana has been launched. l Use of bio-fertilisers is being encouraged to reduce production expenses. l For crop protection, a comprehensive Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been launched to support farmers.

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 29 CENTRE Achievements from this, Maharashtra has demanded `7,000 crore SmarT urbanISaTIon for creation of perennial irrigation in farmer sui- he Centre has laid emphasis cities chosen for Amrut. Cities cide afected areas of Vidarbha and Marathwada. Ton the urban development from Andaman Nicobar Islands, hrough traditional agricultural development of 500 Indian cities under Andhra Pradesh, , Delhi, scheme, use of bio-fertilisers is being encouraged Smart Cities Mission and , , to reduce production expenses. For crop protec- Amrut. The expenditure on and have also been tion, the comprehensive Pradhan Mantri Fasal both the schemes is estimated selected for the projects. As a Bima Yojana has been launched. With the advan- at `48,000 crore and `50,000 special case, the cultural and crore, respectively. Fourteen spiritual cities like Varanasi, tages of minimum premium and insurance cover countries have shown interest Bodhgaya, Ajmer and Amritsar before seeding and ater harvesting, for quick in investing in the Smart Cities would also be transformed compensation, the scheme proposes mandatory Mission through which large- through this project. use of remote sensing, smart phones and drones scale employment generation is For the Smart Cities for quick estimation of crop loss. From Maharash- expected. Ten large cities from Mission, the Government of tra, 27 per cent farmers have taken the insurance. Maharashtra have been selected India has selected 10 cities for the mission, besides 37 from Maharashtra, namely he Ministry for Agriculture has sanctioned the Navi Mumbai, Nashik, , implementation of milk development projects in Brihanmumbai, , 10 districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada that Solapur, Nagpur, Kalyan- are drastically afected by drought and Dombivali, Aurangabad and farmer suicides. Pune. Immediately after the selection, the Centre BOOST TO EMPLOYMENT provided funds to the tune of `2 crore to GENERATION each of the cities for In order to make employment preparing draft plans. opportunities available to In- The project has also dia’s youth, the Government led to the sanction of India has set a target of for Pune metro training 15 crore Indians in rail project and an MoU between various skills through Make the Government in India initiative and estab- of India and KfW lishing India as the produc- Bank, Germany for tion hub of the world. financial assistance of `3,750 crore for SWACHH BHARAT AND project. SWACHH RAILWAY For active participation in Swa- chh Bharat campaign, Indian Rail- ment of India has agreed to provide ways has decided to provide bio-toilet inancial assistance of `305 crore for service in all railway bogies, and is mak- the development of energy areas from ing eforts to achieve the target by Septem- Maharashtra, more than half a dozen energy ber 2019. In 2016, 40,750 bio-toilets were made projects will become reality soon. available. he railways have also started In- dia’s irst defecation-free corridor on the 114 IT IS now poSSIble EFFICACY OF SOLAR ENERGY km Rameswaram–Manamadurai route. All for The deprIved he Government has set a target of producing non- the 10 passenger trains running on this route have SecTIonS To conventional energy such as solar power genera- bio-toilets. benefIT from tion to 175 GW. It is expected that the proportion pradhan manTrI of solar power will go up to 100 GW by 2022. he SurakSha bIma UDAY FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT Government had announced a solar park scheme yoJana and he Government of India has set a target for electri- pradhan manTrI for the same. he target for solar power generation ication of the 18,452 villages by 2018. he UDAY Jeevan JyoTI bIma through roof-top solar panels has been set at 40 (Ujjwal DISCOM Ashwasan Yojana) scheme is yoJana ThrouGh GW. Airports, , Railways and Govern- being implemented by , Uttar Pradesh, TheIr accounTS ment buildings are also actively participating in the , , Punjab, Bihar, , opened under Jan scheme. Recently, the Government of Maharashtra Gujarat, , Karnataka, Goa, Jammu dhan yoJana approved solar of-grid policy for generation of 500 & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh. As the Govern- MW energy in next ive years.

30 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n dI A

THE FLIGHT OF UJJWALA YOJANA Ater an appeal to people from Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking them to voluntarily give up the subsidy on their cooking gas LPG cylinder, the ‘Give it up’ scheme took of. Many people vol- untarily gave up the subsidy, helping in the launch of Ujjwala scheme to provide cooking gas cylinders to 10 crore below-poverty line (BPL) families in the country. he Government has set the target for provid- ing gas cylinders to 5 crore BPL families within three years. he scheme has the contribution of Maharashtra through the ‘Give it up’ scheme. For their excellent performance in implementing the ambitious Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, two districts of Maharashtra, Jalgaon and Osmanabad have been awarded. he State has also excellently performed under Digital India scheme and the tar- get has been set for connecting 28,000 Gram Pan- chayats by ibre optic system by the end of 2018. All services of the State Government are now available online.

DECISIONS FOR MAHARASHTRA he Ministry of Environment has been supportive for projects considered crucial for Mumbai such JAN DHAN YOJANA as a coastal road and reducing the sensitive area of More than 22 crore bank accounts have been for acTIve Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivali from the opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a parTIcIpaTIon In present 10 km to 4 km to facilitate completion of 34 scheme launched to bring economic inclusiveness Swachh bharaT km ocean highway. in the country. More than 60 per cent of these bank campaIGn, IndIan he Union Petroleum Ministry has agreed on accounts are from rural areas. he programme raIlwayS haS projects such as a reinery project in Konkan region has also provided employment to about 1.50 lakh decIded To and a parallel gas pipeline along Mumbai–Nagpur provIde bIo- Bank Mitra. Jan Dhan accounts for more than 75 Samriddhi Expressway. ToIleT ServIce per cent of population have been opened in Ma- he Union Environment Ministry has entered In all raIlway harashtra. By 2015, the number of Jan Dhan ac- boGIeS, and IS into an MoU with Japan International Co-opera- counts had reached 1.25 crore. As most of the Jan makInG efforTS tion Agency (JAICA) for puriication of Mula and Dhan accounts have been linked to the Aadhaar To achIeve Mutha rivers. he proposal from Maharashtra Gov- number, it has become easier to take the ben- The TarGeT by ernment for converting around 3,840 km of State eits of development schemes directly to eligible SepTember 2019 roads into National Highways has been given a nod beneiciaries. by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. n

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 31 ADVANTAGE Maharashtra

SOARInG TO nEw hEIGhTS

With the competent leadership of Chief n its three years in oice, the Government of India has taken important decisions Minister Devendra Fadnavis and consistent related to infrastructure development, follow-ups on various Maharashtra-related especially building roads in Maharashtra. issues in New Delhi, the State has been able Conversion of around 4,000 km of State IHighways to National Highways, construction to overcome various challenges in the past of bridges on important highways under the ambitious Government of India project Setu three years. From infrastructural facilities like Bharatam, approval of four-laning of highways, rail and road network for important cities, sanction for State Government’s proposal of inclusion of irrigation projects in Centre’s `3,954.28 crore for repairs of roads measur- ing 235.394 km and funding of `4,000 crore for irrigation scheme and assistance for road development from the Central Road Fund, drought-affected areas, Maharashtra is inancial provision for Palakhi Marg for Pand- harpur Wari, and other important decisions were maintaining its pace on the path of progress taken by the Union Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways. he Union Ministry of Road Transport has ap-

32 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 YEARS OF REBUILdInG I n dI A SmarT pune

arious decisions have been from water will be created. This AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Vtaken for the development will help in reducing pollution he Union Ministry of Agriculture approved the of Pune city. These include of the rivers; `990.26 crore implementation of milk development projects in 10 Pune Metro, Lohegaon Airport, will be spent on purification drought and farmer suicide afected districts from purification of Mula-Mutha of the rivers. Out of this, the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.he project will rivers and others. Decisions Centre will contribute `841.72 be implemented in Nagpur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Am- have also been taken to start crore and Pune Municipal ravati, Akola and Buldhana districts of Vidarbha Corporation will contribute the work on both stages of and Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad and Jalna districts Pune Metro, extension of Pune `148.54 crore. The purification airport and ring road as early project will be completed by of Marathwada in cooperation with National Dairy as possible. January 2022. Development Board (NDDB), participating agen- For purification of Mula and The Ministry of Defence cies and the State Government. Mutha rivers, the Government has agreed in principle to the he Government of India took an initiative for of India has entered into an extension of Lohegaon airport the payment of dues of sugarcane-producing farm- MoU of `1,000 crore with Japan at Pune by 18 acres. This has ers in Maharashtra. Under Centre’s Pradhan Mantri International Cooperation paved the way for extension Agency (JAICA). The repayment of the airport. This apart, Pune Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, an MoU was signed with of the loan is to be made in 40 metro railway project has been NABARD for completion of 26 irrigation projects years. Under this MoU, 11 new submitted to the Union Cabinet in Maharashtra. he Centre approved soybean pur- machines for segregating waste for approval. chased by the State Government for kharif harvest 2016-17. he Government of India issued instruc- tions to agencies NAFED and SFAC to purchase proved in principle the State Government proposal soybean in Maharashtra. for conversion of 3,839 km of State Highways to The unIon National Highways. he work on the 400 km long GovernmenT would DEVELOPMENT OF MUMBAI CITY expressway between the cities of Mumbai and Va- provIde fundS for he Union Ministry of Environment and Forests apprenTIceShIp dodara will start in 2017. TraInInG In has accorded approval for the Mumbai Coastal he Union Ministry of Road Transport is also maharaShTra. Highway project. working on spreading awareness among people an mou haS been A notiication to reduce the sensitive area of about road accidents through the medium of FM SIGned beTween The Sanjay Gandhi National Park from 10 km to 4 km radio. To boost this initiative, FM radio will be cenTre and The has been issued clearing the way for setting up a STaTe GovernmenT started on Pune-Mumbai and Nagpur-Raipur on SeTTInG up of Railway shed at the Sanjay Gandhi Highways. A decision has been taken to establish an oIl refInery In National Park and works under other projects. an integrated transport system for Nagpur and cre- konkan A programme has been planned to implement ate Goa-Mumbai Ocean Highway. a special cleanliness drive at selected 100 locations

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 33 ADVANTAGE Maharashtra

in the country including important heritage areas hane, Brihanmumbai, Amravati, Solapur, Nagpur, and spiritual/cultural places. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Kalyan-Dombivali, Aurangabad and Pune. Shivaji Terminus has been included in the irst 10 he Union Ministry of Environment and For- places to be taken up. ests has approved reduction of the area of Mal- dhok sanctuary from 1,229 sq. km to 400 sq. km. SMART CITIES MISSION he decision will beneit farmers from Solapur and Ten cities from Maharashtra are part of the Smart Ahmednagar. Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation Cities Mission of the Union Urban Development and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Maharash- Ministry. he cities are Navi Mumbai, Nashik, tra has been granted an encouragement amount of `45.57 crore. SmarT naGpur BOOST TO CHANDRAPUR he Government of India has of `3,750 crore (500 million he Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Ttaken an initiative to make euro) for 20 years. Through available facilities for excellent this loan, works of Nagpur Climate Change has removed the restrictions health to the population metro coaches, metro tracks, placed on Chandrapur MIDC, Ghuggus, Ballarpur of Nagpur and around. electricity supply, traction, and Tadali under Comprehensive Environment Accordingly, the Union Cabinet construction and others will be Pollution Index. With this, the way has been cleared has approved establishment undertaken. The Nagpur Metro for fresh investments in this area. of All India Institute of Medical project will get a loan of In principle approval has been granted for `305 Sciences (AIIMS) at Nagpur. A `975 crore from the AFD. crore from energy process development funds for provision of `1,577 crore has Maharashtra has sent a also been made for the project. proposal to the Centre for energy development in Maharashtra. The city of Nagpur is conversion of Gorewada Zoo included in the list of 10 Smart Forest land as non-forest TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Cities from Maharashtra. land. The State Government is he Indu Mill land in Mumbai has been transferred The Government of India planning to establish a zoo and to the State Government to build a monument of took important steps for the an open safari at this place. Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. development of the city. An To mitigate the he detailed project report on the conserva- memorandum of understanding inconvenience of State youth (MoU) has been signed between for induction in Delhi Police, tion and beautiication of , the capital French Development Agency approval has been granted for of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, has been agreed in (AFD) and the Government a selection process centre in principle. he work on conservation and restora- of Maharashtra. An MoU for Nagpur. The Delhi Police will tion of 18 forts out of the 40 forts present has been `3,750 crore has been signed be recruiting 6,658 personnel, undertaken by the State Government. he Govern- between the German KfW Bank and with the upcoming centre, ment of India is going to help in providing essential and Government of India. the youth from Nagpur will n According to this MoU, the not have to go to Delhi for the facilities at Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta caves. KfW Bank has advanced a loan selection process. – Dayanand Kamble Deputy Director, MIC, New Delhi

34 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 CENTRE’S Welfare Schemes GIvInG wInGS TO dREAmS Here is a list of some programmes launched by the Government of India to achieve inclusive development

THE START UP INDIA eforts to clean and protect river Ganga in a comprehensive n Launch date: January 16, 2016 manner. https://nmcg.nic.in he scheme promotes entrepreneurship among people. It pradhan manTrI Ujjwala yojana provides loan to entrepreneurs for setting up new enterprise. n Launch date: May 1, 2016 http://inmin.nic.in he scheme was launched with a target of providing lpG connections to 50 million below DEENDAYAL UPADHYAYA GRAMEEN KAUSHALYA poverty line families in three years. YOJANA (ddUGKy) http://www.pmujjwalayojana.com n Launch date: September 25, 2014 a Government of India youth employment scheme, the SeTU BharaTam scheme targets rural youth in the age group of 15–35 years. n Launch date: March 4, 2016 http://ddugky.gov.in Setu Bharatam was launched by prime minister narendra modi at a budget of `102 billion with an aim to make all pIlGrImaGe rejUvenaTIon and SpIrITUal national highways free of railway crossings by 2019. aUGmenTaTIon drIve (praSad) http://morth.nic.in n Launch date: March 9, 2015 he scheme aims to improve the infrastructure at pilgrimage places. Under praSad, initially 12 cities were identiied, n Launch date: December 25, 2014 namely ajmer, amritsar, amravati, dwarka, Gaya, Kedarnath, he aim of mission Indradhanush is to immunise children Kamakhaya, Kanchipuram, mathura, puri, varanasi and and pregnant women against seven vaccine preventable velankanni. Both praSad and Swadesh darshan schemes diseases, namely diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, were launched together to promote tourism and develop tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B by 2020. he objective cultural places. http://tourism.gov.in is to achieve full immunisation in 352 districts, which includes 279 mid-priority districts, 33 districts from the Ude deSh Ka aam north east and 40 districts from phase one where huge naGrIK (Udan) number of missed out children were detected. http://www. n Launch date: April 27, 2017 missionindradhanush.in he recently launched cheap airfare scheme of the Union Government makes air travel BeTI BaChao, BeTI padhao yojana afordable to all Indians. he maximum price of a light of one n Launch date: January 22, 2015 hour has been ixed at `2,500, including taxes. he scheme To generate awareness and improve the will feature lights to under-served smaller towns. eiciency of welfare services meant for women, this scheme was launched. Its aim is to have naI Udaan focussed intervention and multi-section action in almost 100 n Launch date: November 14, 2014 districts with low child sex ratio. http://wcd.nic.in It is a scheme to support minority students prepare for the main examination ater they have cleared the prelims SanSad adarSh Gram yojana (SaGy) conducted by Union public Service Commission, Staf n Launch date: October 11, 2014 Selection Commission and State public Service Commissions. Under this scheme, members of parliament have been made http://naiudaan-moma.gov.in/ responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total namamI GanGe yojana of eight villages each by 2024, ushering in social, cultural, n Launch date: July 10, 2014 economic and infrastructure development to create model an ambitious Union Government project, this integrates the villages or adarsh Gram. http://rural.nic.in n

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 35 DIALOGUE Chief Minister

The DGIPR has started an innovative programme, mi mukhyamantri boltoye (ChieF minister sPeakinG). In its debut show under the theme ‘Resolve for perennial agriculture’, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis established a direct dialogue with the farmers of the State. The programme was telecast on Sahyadri Channel with a broadcast on Akashwani

“Chief Minister speaking…”

aharashtra has an inheritance sAlIeNT riculture in maharashtra? he true inhibition is that of opulence and aspiration for poINTs of the lack of productivity. In terms of productivity, progress. here are many chal- maharashtra is among the lowest ive States in ma- l The Government lenges that confront us during the aims to increase the jority of crops. course of time. many platforms capital investment in now, what is the meaning of lack of productiv- Mare available in our democratic system to ask the agriculture sector to ity? It means that the production costs are higher questions we have for the Government. however, make it sustainable. and the yield is less. when the production costs this is the irst time in maharashtra when the com- l Maharashtra has are higher and the production is less, the farmer mon man has an opportunity to directly question taken up climate- is in a condition where he cannot balance what he the Chief of the State. Come, let us ask questions, resilient agriculture has sown and the eforts he has taken. Our entire get our doubts cleared and open up our minds, says in alliance with the capital investment is to the extent of `31,000 crore. maharashtra Chief minister devendra Fadnavis. World Bank. Out of this `31,000 crore, `19,000 crore is the capi- l A loan waiver is tal investment in agriculture sector. herefore, we neither the ultimate n Chief Minister: Until we view the issues faced are making eforts to enhance this investment and nor the sure remedy. by agriculture in maharashtra in the long term and make agriculture sustainable. l Jalyukta Shivar with the perspective of welfare schemes, we will brings water security Maharashtra has taken up climate-resilient ag- limit the sector to aid, assistance and rehabilitation; to farmers and curbs riculture in alliance with the World Bank. Are you the real issues before the farmers will never end. climate change. aware that the World Bank was earlier only assist- what is the problem when we look at perennial ag- ing us for huge works such as roads and buildings?

36 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 his is the irst time we have gone to the world Bank with an innovative project to enhance invest- ment in the agriculture sector. we began right from soil improvement and went on to create an end-to-end programme ad- dressing factors such as better water use eiciency, micro irrigation system, cropping pattern and post- harvest technology further up to market linkage. In the irst stage, we decided to bring this transforma- tion to 5,000 villages for which a project of `7,000 crore has been prepared. he world Bank is helping us on this and we have already started the project. within the ensuing period, we are going to trans- form these 5,000 villages completely. we have suggested a vital project through the budget, where the Government will provide all its schemes if 20 farmers get together with a total land of 100 acres. a marginal farmer does not have the resources to go for mechanisation. a single farmer cannot go for all these. however, if all the money is provided to community agriculture along with Government schemes to enhance productivity, the farmers will be able to reap the beneits.

GREAT LONGING FOR TRANSFORMATION Chief minister devendra Fadnavis has a strong de- sire to transform the farmers. however, one cannot achieve this without appreciation and study. Till now, only a irst aid for agriculture was being car- ried out. a large quantum of investment in the sec- tor is the only way forward.

Q: Whatever is cultivated in the farm comes to the village and then moves onto the customer. Why then is the huge diference in the rates for agricultural produce and the price paid by the customer? How will you bridge this gap? (Purushottam athalekar, Dombivali) n Chief Minister: what we have done for vegetables know that a single pomegranate would not fetch a and fruits is to make available an open market for good price, but the same fruit packaged will fetch “afTer we the produce. Till now, this market was run through double the price. We are starting these markets for provIded an agricultural produce marketing committees. Since such beneits. open markeT we have opened up the market, we instructed place, we all the municipal Corporations to allot space for suPPort PriCe InSTrucTed these markets. nearly 15 markets have been com- hough the Government has started weekly mar- all munIcIpal corporaTIonS missioned in mumbai. mostly women visit these kets, the question of support price remains. To alloT Space places, as they get best-quality produce at aford- for markeTS and able rates. he middlemen have also vanished. he Q: What is the Government’s stand on providing farmer produce markets can be accessed by paying a small user fee. support prices for vegetables and fruits? commITTeeS. We have instructed the Urban Development (Devidas More, solapur) mumbaI haS 15 Department to make available Government spaces n Chief Minister: It is diicult to provide support Such markeTS” for these markets. he farmers can directly reach prices for perishable crops. Support price is gen- the place to sell their fruits. We are creating a erally provided to long-term crops. here are two model to maintain cleanliness at these places. We aspects of this. If the fruits are processed, they can

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 37 DIALOGUE Chief Minister

10 per cent. his will increase the sale of our fruits, and we shall not be dependent on any other coun- try or market. Suppose there is a factory that re- quires a certain quantity of raw material and if the said material is supplied by the farmer, he stands to become king.

LOAN WAIVER Q: Can a help of `1 lakh to the farmer hav- ing marginal land and `1.50 lakh to the one having more than 5 acre land can resolve the problem?(Kanhaiya Pagare) Q: What steps will the Government take so that farmers don’t have to go for loans? (Ganesh Ggavasne, Ahmednagar) n Chief Minister: Basically, loan waiver is one of the many remedial measures for agriculture. many people believe that this is the ultimate or a sure remedy. his is neither the ultimate nor the sure remedy. we considered the loan waiver of 2008 along with the CaG report on the matter and found that the remedy may have beneitted 30-40 per cent of farmers. In fact, the farmer who was actually ridden by obstacles was not beneitted by the loan waiver given. By providing a loan waiver, what we do is to make the farmer eligible for seeking a loan once again. nothing more and nothing less… ater the loan waiver in 2009, the eligible farmers went in for a loan again and became indebted in 2010. We pro- vided them a temporary satisfaction that their loan was waived and there was no burden on them. Next receive support price or good price. Like, we just year, they once again became indebted. What is the took the example of pomegranate. he other exam- moot question here? ple could be orange. Chennai and Bangladesh are First, we need to take up capacity building. One good markets for oranges. If heavy rains lash Chen- Investors are ready should be able to repay the loan. he loan we pro- nai, the market here crashes and oranges need to be to take up fallow vide is a crop loan, not an industrial loan. Crop loan thrown. If there are riots in Bangladesh, the busi- lands on rental is a short-term loan. It is like borrowing. We used nessmen refrain from transporting the goods, but basis. There is to take it from a moneylender or a prestigious per- if the goods are available at half the price or three- only one obstacle, son. his used to lead to atrocities. In order to stop fourth of the price, the businessmen lit the goods. requirement of these atrocities and ensure loans to farmers from an We have observed that in the Coca Cola plant space to place so- institution, arrangement of banks was made. Today 80 per cent orange pulp used to come from Amer- lar panels. hence, in India, we provide crop loans to the tune of `10 ica, and mixing of the pulp and illing up of bottles the state Govern- lakh crore and receive a repayment. his is like bor- were done here. But since 80 per cent of the pulp ment is taking an rowing. We also apply small interest on the loan. would be imported from america, how would local At certain places, the interest rate is as low as zero initiative. At some oranges get good price? we have started a project per cent. with Coca Cola and jain Irrigation, which will be places where farm- Now, if we need to invest in agriculture, where using pulp from local markets only. ers are keen, we will the money come from? For a loan waiver, the our prime minister has told the aerated drinks are providing the money will come from the budget, and so in case of manufacturers to increase the proportion of fruit beneits.” investment; the money will come from the budget. pulp in all their aerated drinks. earlier, it was —DevenDra FaDnavis I am not of the opinion to never allow a loan waiver. around 1 to 2 per cent. he same has been taken to Chief Minister However, it must be at an opportune time.

38 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 chIef mInISTer on JalyukTa ShIvar

Q:The Jalyukta Shivar yojana from a wrist watch to the fourth one. By the not have the issue of holding the water. chief minister devendra fadnavis end of it, no one was getting dressed Holding the soil is our most important has been successful. how different completely. We clubbed all these 14 work. Today, water alone is not carried is the scheme from the earlier ones? schemes. Convergence of resources and away during rains; the soil also is eroded. (ramchandra Gharat, hingoli) then convergence of command was done. To hold the soil, we went in for Deep chief minister: Let me tell you at the All departments were brought under the CCT and CCT along with area treatment. outset that Jalyukta Shivar Yojana was Collector. It was planned that everyone Compartment bunding was undertaken. successful because it was a scheme and every department should report to We went on conserving water from every by the people. The scheme would not the Collector for the scheme. medium that was available and in turn have been successful if it had been The biggest success of the scheme held the soil that would have eroded. implemented by the Government alone. was people’s participation and the The Government of Maharashtra The basic difference between the scientific approach taken by us. At the worked from top to bottom and was earlier scheme and Jalyukta Shivar is that core, we placed the development of water able to enhance the water level. Now, we were running 14 schemes with five shed. Normally, cement dams are easy many districts of Maharashtra that once to seven departments implementing it. to construct. Drainage statement is also required 200-300 tankers during the Earlier, there was no coordination. It was easy. This work was being done on a month of March have not used more than like giving a cap to one and a shirt to large scale. However, till we do not go for five tankers even after March. This has another and a pant to the third one and preparation of CCT and Deep CCT, we do been a huge change.

BOOST TO AGRICULTURE for farming?(Umakant Joshi, Nanded) Q: he farmer has an issue with water. Our Q: here is no electricity in many agricultural “aT many placeS, schemes for water storage for sustainable ields in the Konkan. Farmers can be beneitted we are makInG agriculture need to be worked on. You should if solar power is made available to them through an efforT To personally look into the plastic cover issue. Panchayat Samiti at subsidised rates. creaTe InleT- n Chief Minister: You will be pleased to know that (Swami Bhise, hane) ouTleT, waTer the tax on these covers has been brought down to n Chief Minister: Investors are ready for generat- conServaTIon zero. he prices will, thus, drop down. a farm pond ing solar power on fallow lands. hey are ready to farm pond aS must be created with every covering. you are cor- take up fallow lands on rental basis. here is only well. ThIS enhanceS The rect in saying that the farm pond is an excellent one obstacle, the solar power unit requires a huge GroundwaTer remedy that will transform agricultural ields. space as solar panels have to be placed. hence, the level, and we alSo State Government is taking an initiative. at some help The Same Q: What is your opinion on setting up solar places where farmers are keen, we are providing SumpTuouSly” plants on barren lands and using that electricity the beneits.

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 39 DIALOGUE Chief Minister

I believe, the second question is more basic. We should make solar pumps available. Last year, we undertook a programme to provide 10,000 solar pumps. In another three to four years, we will have to make eforts to take electricity-based pumps to solar power. When we provided 10,000 pumps, we found that with the speed with which we were working it would not be possible to supply solar energy to the farmers. With the infrastructure that we have developed, we will not be able to provide electricity for seven days a week. We can go for maximum three or four days. We have to provide electricity at night and the huge infrastructure cre- ated by us cannot be changed in one, two or even ive years. We had a challenge before us to provide electricity to the farmers. hen, Maharashtra came up with an innovative solution. We carried out feeder separation for providing solar pumps. As you must be aware, the feeder for the village is separate and that for agriculture is sep- solAr poWer arate. If the entire feeder for agriculture is placed on l The Government of Maharashtra undertook a programme to provide 10,000 solar power, the individual farmer will not have to solar pumps last year. purchase a solar system. Solar electricity generated l For consistent solar energy supply to farmers, the State carried out feeder will be supplied to his pump through that feeder. separation for providing solar pumps. And, the solar power will replace the coal-based l Four to ive pilot projects based on the new model were started. The re- power used earlier. With the model created, we sponse on the model has been good. started four to ive pilot projects based on this. l This was brought to the notice of NITI Aayog, which was keen to help. The he response on the model has been very good. Government of India is giving `3 crore for each project. his was even brought to the notice of NITI Aayog, l With the model, Maharashtra is able to provide electricity and solar energy which too is keen to help. he Government of India 12 hours a day.

40 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 in for heavy losses. Now, the covering is also not easy. It is costly and the farmer does not have the capacity to invest in it. For more than a year, we have been making eforts to address this. If this im- ported cover can be manufactured in India, we can save almost 30-40 per cent on costs. You have a question regarding climate change. he positive outcome of Jalyukta Shivar is there to see. When the rains are ine for three days and then for next 26 days there is not even a drop, we need protected irrigation. Last year, during kharif har- vest when such gap was observed, we could provide protected irrigation to 25,000 acres through Jalyuk- ta Shivar. he rains were not lacking. Precipitation was 95 to 98 per cent. However, the same arrives in four days instead of 10 and then there is a gap of 25 to 30 days. hen, we receive the precipitation of 10 days in three days! If we do not have the capacity to store this water, crops incur losses. Hence, the ma- “our enTIre focuS IS concenTraTed on aGrIculTure jor investment that we are doing now is in climate- and rural developmenT. acTIon wIll be Taken on The resilient agriculture. SuGGeSTIonS receIved ThrouGh ThIS proGram, and The Same wIll defInITely be applIed To brInG In perennIal Q: here are illegal transactions in the purchase aGrIculTure In The STaTe. I look forward To your of implements. If direct grant is provided to the company and feedback.” farmer, he could purchase the implement and send the bill as well as a picture of the imple- is giving us `3 crore for each project. NITI Aayog ment to the Agriculture Department by e-mail. has said that other States must also consider the he Department of Agriculture should recognise model. hrough this model, we shall be able to pro- this system. (Adinath Chavan, Editor, Agrowan) vide perennial electricity and solar energy to farm- n Chief Minister: Complaints were being made on ers 12 hours a day. While India will accept the mod- this for some time. In January 2017, a decision was el later, I am happy to say that it was launched in taken in connection with direct transfer of beneit Maharashtra. Instead of making individual pump and a GR was also issued. From now on, the farm- solar operated, we decided to make the feeder itself ers can purchase the implements and send the bill solar-based. One of the advantages of solar energy and photograph even by WhatsApp. is that once the experiment is successful, we will be I deinitely know that unless we work in the ar- able to bring it to life within six months instead of eas of agriculture and rural development, we will three years for other electricity-generation projects. not be able to remove the disparity in Maharashtra. Even when its cities shine bright, Maharashtra will Q: We have noticed that weather changes afect not be able to change unless 50 per cent of its people the agricultural sector. How will the Govern- living in villages and dependent on agriculture do ment handle these changes? not see development. (sadashiv Pangare, nashik) As Chief Minister, let me assure and promise n Chief Minister: We have prepared Nanaji you that our entire focus is concentrated on agri- Deshmukh Krishi Samruddhi Yojana with the culture and rural development. We will be in con- World Bank. he root of this project is in climate- stant dialogue with you. Action will be taken on the resilient agriculture, meaning agriculture that can suggestions received through this program, and the ight the changes in climate. he question is abso- same will deinitely be applied to bring in perennial lutely appropriate. You are from Nashik. So let us agriculture in the State. I express this conidence take an example of grapes from Nashik. While the and look forward to your company. You should production of grapes is wonderful, suddenly a hail- point out our mistakes. I assure you that we shall storm hits, leaving the farmer devastated. Now, the improve and strive to carry out the work in the best farmers who place a cover on the crop do not ac- possible way. n crue losses. hose who do not use the covers are –Mangesh Koli

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 41 COLUMN State Cabinet Minister RIGhTS, EqUALITY And GUIdAncE The responsibility of the Labour Department is effective implementation of labour welfare acts. Solving industrial disputes, ensuring industrial safety and health, and other necessary actions required for labour welfare are being addressed by the department. There is an attempt to provide services online. Minister for Labour Patil–nilanGekar explains schemes and decisions taken for labour welfare by Maharashtra

he Labour Department of Government of Maharashtra is active in the efec- tive implementation of labour acts in industrial sector. he oices of Labour Commissioner, Development Com- Tmissioner for the Unorganised Labour, Director- ate of Industrial Safety and Health, Directorate of Steam Boilers and Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies come under the Department. Activation of processes such as reforms in la- bour acts for ease of doing business, self-attestation for boiler certiicates and integrated annual report scheme is helping the industries become self-disci- plined and self-reliant.

PROMPTNESS FOR LABOUR RIGHTS he Labour Department is saddled with the imple- Boards and Mathadi Boards are also working under mentation of 19 Central Labour Acts, State Labour the Labour Department. Acts, Factories Act, 1948 and Boiler Regulations. he main objectives of the Labour Department ONLINE FACILITIES are to bring improvement in the working condi- An online system has been developed to provide tions and lifestyle of workers, total eradication of the services of the Labour Department. For ease of child labour and forced labour practice, following doing business and encouraging business, labour various security and health measures in hazardous laws are being reformed. One can receive online industries, implementation of remedial measures certiication, third-party veriication and verify the to improve labour skills and increase employment. validity of a certiicate. Along with shop and estab- Various schemes are being implemented for wel- lishments’ registration, shop and establishments’ fare of staf from the unorganised sector. Apart renewal, registration of main employer for contract from this, Labour Welfare Boards, Security Guards labour, contract labour permission registration and

42 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 eaSe of doInG buSIneSS

nder the Make in the Registration Certificate. UMaharashtra programme, All the businessmen have reforms are being brought to been permitted to compile various labour acts so as to and preserve the registers attract maximum investment to and documents in prescribed the State, and for ease of doing format and in a computerised business and encouragement manner. It has been made of industry. In case the action compulsory to keep business is not taken in the stipulated establishments open on all time, provision has been made seven days of the week and to to consider the challan that provide a duty off for one day has been filled to be held as in a week. contract labour permission renewal, there are many a single integrated annual report under all labour services available to citizens on portals, www.ma- sTATe lABour acts for establishments participating in the scheme. hakamgar.gov.in and www.lms.mahaonline.gov.in. depArTMeNT, Under Maharashtra Right to Public Services AT A GlANce: REFORMS IN LABOUR ACTS Ordinance, 2015, 20 services have been made on- he department has brought reforms to the Facto- l WeBSITe: line through Aaple Sarkar. Of the 5,69,135 online www.mahakamgar. ries Act, 1948. he limit for necessary number of applications received by the Labour Department gov.in and www.lms. workers for registration has been increased to 20 till September 25, 2016, action has been taken on mahaonline.gov.in where electricity is used for production and to 40 5,53,158, i.e. 97 per cent applications. where electricity is not used for production. Ad- l AWARDS: vance permission for overtime has been cancelled. excellent Labour LICENCE WITHIN SEVEN DAYS Welfare Award, Ka- he limit for overtime has been increased from 75 An important decision has been taken to issue mgar Mitra Award (for hours to 115 hours. he limit for working days has licenses to non-hazardous factories, shops and Institutions), Kamgar been reduced for earning paid leave. he limit has establishments within seven days of their applica- Bhushan Award. been brought to 90 days from 240 days earlier. Ac- tion. Action is also being taken to issue registration tion is being taken for ixation of wages for workers l SPeCIAL DAYS: license and renewal of licences within seven days from various notiied industries under the Mini- 4 March: from the date of such application. We have taken an National Safety Day; mum Wages Act. Reforms have been brought in important decision to keep shops open for business 1 May Labour Day; various labour acts from time to time. An action all 365 days of the year. 1 July: Labour plan has been prepared for efective implementa- Welfare Board tion of Mathadi Act and to stop the misuse of the SELF-CERTIFICATION SCHEME Anniversary provisions of this Act. n Self-certiication is being implemented for busi- –Varsha Phadke nessmen. Permission has been granted to submit Departmental Liasioning Oicer

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 43 MEETING NITI Aayog

prime minister narendra modi addressing the third meeting of the governing Council of niti aayog at rashtrapati Bhavan, new Delhi BUILdInG A nEw IndIA In order to prepare India for changing global trends, the third meeting of NITI Aayog was organised to take collective steps towards setting a New India, where States contribute to policy formulation with an emphasis on cooperative federalism, says Pallavi sinGh

ith an aim of transforming In- the NITI Aayog has been taking steps to transform dia in 15 years, Prime Minis- India with fresh vigour. He said the Government, ter Narendra Modi led NITI private sector and civil society, all need to work in Aayog has envisioned an ambi- sync. Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged States tious agenda to be achieved by to speed up capital expenditure and infrastructure 2032.W It aims to transform India into a “prosperous, creation. Speaking of the historic change in budget highly educated, healthy, secure, corruption-free, presentation date, he said this would enable timely energy abundant, environmentally clean and glob- availability of funds at the beginning of the inancial ally inluential nation.” year. He also mentioned the ending of the distinc- Delivering the opening remarks at the third tion between plan and non-plan expenditure, based meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog on the recommendation of the Rangarajan Com- held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Prime mittee in 2011 that had found the distinction to be Minister Narendra Modi said that it is the collective counter-productive. responsibility of the gathering to envision the India he Prime Minister said that the Goods and of 2022—the 75th anniversary of independence— Services Tax (GST) shows the strength and resolve and see how we can switly move forward to achieve of the federal structure. He gave credit to all Chief these goals. Recalling the Father of the Nation, Ministers for coming on one platform for this cause, Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of the centenary keeping aside ideological and political diferences. of Champaran Satyagraha, the Prime Minister said he Prime Minister said, consensus on GST will go

44 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 down in history as a great illustration of cooperative (From left) himachal the GeM platform, i.e. Government e-Marketplace federalism. He said, the GST relects the spirit of pradesh Chief minister to reduce corruption and increase transparency in Virbhadra singh, “One nation, One aspiration, One determination.” Jharkhand Chief minister Government procurement. He said that the use of he Prime Minister reiterated that the legislative ar- , kerala technologies such as BHIM and Aadhaar would re- rangements at the State-level for GST should be put Chief minister p. Vijayan, sult in signiicant savings for the States. Narendra maharashtra Chief in place without delay. he Prime Minister called minister Devendra Modi said that the District Mineral Fund, CAMPA for carrying forward the debate and discussion on Fadnavis and Fund and construction workers welfare fund would simultaneous elections. He said the NITI Aayog is Chief minister lal provide signiicant boost to State’s resources. He working on a 15-year long-term vision, seven-year thanhawla at the asked NITI Aayog to come up with a roadmap for niti aayog meeting medium-term strategy and three-year action agen- in new Delhi better utilisation of such funds by the States. da. He said this efort needs support of States, and he Prime Minister urged States to join the Ek will eventually relect in beneits to the States. Bharat, Shresth Bharat, an initiative launched on he Prime Minister called upon States to use Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary last year. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who attend- TarGeTS nITI aayoG haS SeT for 2032 ed the NITI Aayog meeting shared information on the State’s digital initiatives such as Right to Servic- g hree-fold rise in GDP: At present, India’s GDP is around `137 lakh crore (at es through Aaple Sarkar, public Wi-Fi, digital vil- 2015-16 prices). he think tank has predicted that GDP would witness an aver- lages and others. he Chief Minister also sought as- ` age growth of 8 per cent per annum and rise up to 468 crore by 2031-32. sistance from the Union Government for Maha Net g ` 2 lakh increase in per capita GDP: India’s present per capita GDP at 2015-16 through which it is working to make each Gram prices is `1,06,589. he NITI Aayog has predicted it to rise up to `3,13,66 by Panchayat digitally connected. He sought inancial 2031-32. help for the 14 districts afected by farmer suicides g Urban population to rise by 22 crore: According to 2011 Census, the urban population of India was 37.7 crore. It is expected to reach 60 crore by 2031-32. and to complete pending irrigation projects in the drought-hit districts of the State. g hree-fold increase in Central and State expenditure: At present, the Central and State expenditure in India is `38 lakh crore. With NITI Aayog, it is expected he Government of Maharashtra has prepared to reach `130 lakh crore by 2031-32. a comprehensive plan to curb the rising number of g Facilities for people: Housing with toilets, electricity and digital connectivity farmer suicides in these 14 districts. In addition, for all, access to two wheelers or cars, air conditioning and other white goods the Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister for nearly all, a fully literate population with universal access to healthcare, a to compensate the State against the abolition of much larger and modern network of roads, railways, waterways and air con- local bodies tax (LBT) of the urban local bodies. nectivity and a clean India with clear air and water, clean cities and villages. he State Government had abolished LBT on August 1, 2015. n

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 45 LANDMARK Town Hall A TREASURY OF InFORmATIOn The city of Mumbai is home to India’s most famous library, the Asiatic Society of Mumbai. Also a site for the shooting of many films, TV and print commercials, the heritage building built in the 1800s boasts a colonial architecture, says Prakash bal Joshi

he commercial capital of India, Mum- bai has one of India’s irst libraries with the status of being a repository of cul- ture and knowledge for centuries. Set up in the early 1800s in the heritage Tbuilding of the majestic Town Hall—an imposing structure part of Victorian Mumbai—the Asiatic Society of Mumbai also has a museum. he beauti- ful blend of books, artefacts and architecture makes the building a hotspot for readers, history bufs and tourists. Designed by Colonel homas Cowper, the Asiatic Society was inspired by Greek and Roman architectural styles. Its entrance is adorned with a Grecian portico and impressive Doric-styled pil- lars. here is a light of 30 steps leading to the en- trance of the Town Hall. he entire construction Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the inauguration of was made of stones brought from England and the refurbished Central library of the town hall, mumbai beautifully designed in a neo-classical fashion. Sir James Mackintosh was inluenced by Sir The oriGin oF The marvel William Jones who had established the Asiatic So- he Asiatic Society of Mumbai (formerly Asiatic ciety of Bengal two decades earlier. Chief Minister Society of Bombay) is an institution known for its Devendra Fadnavis recently inaugurated the reno- contribution in the ield of Asian studies. It forms vated 180-year-old Town Hall. part of the network of institutions created by the British to generate, systematise and disseminate WhaT’S There To See? knowledge of India and the Orient, a vast and cu- Even in the age of Internet, where one can get infor- mulative body of information, learning and knowl- mation with a click of a button, the Asiatic Society edge that constituted the ield of Indology. It was library has remained a storehouse of information encyclopaedic in its scope, embracing diverse areas serving generations ater generations. Stalwarts like numismatics, epigraphy, anthropology, history, such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Dr Babasaheb Ambed- archaeology, linguistics, philology, natural history, kar, S. A. Dange and Durga Bhagawat frequently geology, philosophy, literature and theology. visited and read in the library. he origin of the Asiatic Society can be traced he library has over 3,000 ancient manuscripts, to the Literary Society of Bombay that irst met in some on palm leaves, in Persian, Prakrit, Urdu and Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded Sanskrit, lakhs of books—ancient as well as con- by Sir James Mackintosh with the intention of “pro- temporary—and priceless artefacts. A collection of moting useful knowledge about India”. 1,000 ancient coins, including one issued during the

46 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 one of The moST maJeSTIc STrucTureS amonG The oTher herITaGe buIldInGS In The cITy of mumbaI, The Town hall repreSenTS one of The laST archITecTural remnanTS of The vIcTorIan bombay. The obJecTIve behInd ITS conServaTIon IS To InSpIre reSearch and TreaSure The lITeraTure

rule of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is stored along NAvIGATor: ToWN hAll with a gold mohur from Mughal Emperor Akbar. l Location: Horniman Circle, Shahid Bhagat Dante’s irst issue of Inferno, Divine Comedy is Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai. Churchgate Station the most valued treasure in the library. here are is the nearest railway station. manuscripts of Vasupujyacharita (1242), a Sanskrit l Highlights: Over 8 lakh antique volumes. text on the life of the Jain Tirthankara Vasupujya, l Nearby Tourist Attractions: Horniman Circle Shahnama of Firdausi (1853) written in Persian and Gardens, St. Thomas Cathedral church Aranyakaparvan (16th century) with illustrated text l How to Reach: Public Transport (MTDC Buses, from Mahabharat written in Sanskrit, besides ive auto-rickshaws, taxis) Buddhist caskets excavated in the ancient port town of Sopara near the suburb of Nala Sopara. While l Timings: 10:30 A.M to 5:30 P.M. (Sunday closed) you are here, do check out the impressive collection of 1,300 rare maps. n

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 47 PM VISIT Nagpur START OF A dIGITAL REvOLUTIOn In EcOnOmY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ushers in a new era of economic reforms through launch of BHIM-Aadhaar Pay App during his recent visit to Nagpur, says kartik lokhanDe

ight from daily transactions to bank- powerment ramdas athawale, Union minister for ing to one’s identity, a thumb impres- any cITIzen human resource development prakash javadekar, sion is the key to unlock one’s potential wIThouT acceSS maharashtra minister for energy Chandrashekhar in the era of digital economy. Prime To SmarTphoneS, Bawankule, minister for water resources Girish Minister Narendra Modi ushered in InTerneT, debIT mahajan, minister for housing prakash mehta, thisR era from Nagpur, on the occasion of 126th or credIT cardS ramtek member of parliament Krupal Tumane and birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb wIll alSo be able mayor nanda jichkar attended the event. Ambedkar, by launching the Bharat Interface for To TranSacT he prime minister said that digi dhan was Money (BHIM)-Aadhaar Pay App. dIGITally part of the cleanliness drive against corruption and BHIM-Aadhaar is the merchant interface of ThrouGh black money, and appealed to the youth to join him BHIM App that enables every Indian to pay digi- bhIm-aadhaar by propagating BhIm-aadhaar pay app. To fur- tally using his/her biometric data like thumb im- plaTform. IT ther the goal of digital India, he announced refer- print on a biometric data enabled device with the IS parT of The ral Bonus Scheme for spreading digital literacy and merchant. his device could be a smartphone hav- larGer dIGITal increasing the use of BhIm-aadhaar pay app. ing a biometric data reader. already 27 major banks IndIa InITIaTIve From ambedkar jayanti on april 14 to dham- have been on-boarded with three lakh merchants, ma Chakra pravartan din on october 14, youth and they can now start accepting payments through should utilise their holidays and time to make the platform. people aware about the app and ways to use it, the Chief minister devendra Fadnavis, Union min- prime minister said. “It will help us in realising the ister for road Transport, highways and Shipping dream of dr Babasaheb ambedkar of social inclu- nitin Gadkari, Union minister for law and justice sion and social empowerment through economic and Information Technology , reforms,” he added. Union minister for Coal and power piyush Goyal, Under the referral Bonus Scheme, the young- Union minister of State for home hansraj ahir, ster with whose referral a person downloads and Union minister of State for Social justice and em- uses BhIm-aadhaar pay app will get `10 for every

48 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 (Clockwise from transaction performed by the person. If there are 20 left) prime minister transactions a day, the youngster will get `200 in his narendra modi visits Deekshabhoomi to pay bank account. tribute to Dr Babasaheb Under Cashback Scheme, the merchants who ambedkar; at the bhoomi use the mobile phone application will get `25 per poojan of iim nagpur in the presence of union transaction. “Youths will, thus, become soldiers in ministers nitin gadkari, ighting black money and corruption and volun- ravi shankar prasad, teers working to realise the dream of a great vision- prakash Javadekar and piyush goyal and Chief ary dr Babasaheb ambedkar,” the prime minister minister Devendra said. he went on to say, “Soon, time will come Fadnavis; and at the when poor people will say that digi dhan is their launch of Bhim-aadhaar app in nagpur ‘niji dhan,’ as digital platforms will stop pilferage of funds meant for them.” he prime minister called BhIm app a revo- lutionising factor in the economy, and said that BhIm-aadhaar would make thumb impression the ‘centre of power’. he prime minister launched various schemes under the digi dhan initiative. he distributed priz- es to winners under lucky Grahak yojana and digi dhanvyapaar yojana, launched referral Bonus and Cash Back schemes for BhIm app, declared 75 townships going less-cash, and released commem- orative postal stamp on dr Babasaheb ambedkar and deekshabhoomi. he dedicated to the nation the new units with super-critical technology at Ko- radi hermal power Station. Governor of maharashtra Ch.vidyasagar rao, Chief minister devendra Fadnavis, Union min- isters nitin Gadkari, ravi Shankar prasad, piyush Goyal and ramdas athawale, and State leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Girish mahajan, Kru- pal Tumane, nanda jichkar and other dignitaries graced the occasion. with an aim to develop nagpur as a modern ed- ucational hub, prime minister narendra modi laid the foundation stones for the buildings of Indian Institute of management (IIm), all India Institute

MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 49 PM VISIT Nagpur

“maharaShTra To GIve aadhaar-enabled poS machIneS To all Gram panchayaTS” hief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Maharashtra would take steps Ctowards transforming Dr Babasa- heb Ambedkar’s dreams into reality by car- rying forward initiatives like Digital India. “Between April 14 and May 14, Aadhaar- enabled point of sale machines will be given to all Gram Panchayats in the State. Besides, we will plan to achieve the target of efecting 10 crore transactions using the digital plat- form,” he said. By December 2018, an optical ibre net- work will cover all villages in maharashtra, assured the Chief minister. on housing de- velopment for poor, the Chief minister said that the Government would not stop at con- struction of 40,000 houses under pradhan prime minister narendra modi awards Digi Dhan Vyapaar Yojana award to g. r. mantri awas yojana, but would increase the radhakrishnan in the presence of union ministers ravi shankar prasad and prakash number every three months to ensure that no Javadekar and Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis needy is let out. He said that construction of he Union minister said that Goods and lucky Grahak yojana: Shraddha mengshette 2.50 lakh housing units has begun. Services Tax and digital reforms would in- from latur, maharashtra; hardik Kumar crease country’s revenue to `28 lakh crore. from Khambat, Gujarat; and Bharat Singh DiGiTal reFormS To inCreaSe “digital transactions will help India become from Sherpur, Uttarakhand. revenUe an economic superpower,” he added. Shraddha mengshette won the biggest prize Union Minister for Road Transport, High- of `1 crore under lucky Grahak yojana for ways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has said ambaSSaDorS oF DiGiTal making a transaction of `1,590 through her that Nagpur would enter a new phase on May revolUTion rupay card online to pay the monthly emI of 1, when electric taxis would be rolled out on prime minister narendra modi felicitated the her new mobile phone. city roads. “With this, Nagpur will become winners of lucky Grahak yojana and digi digi dhan vyapaar yojana: G. r. the irst city in India to have electric taxis. dhan vyapaar yojana on the occasion. of radhakrishnan of GrT jewellers (Chennai), his will strengthen cleaner transport system these six winners, two come from the State of ragini Uttekar, a beautician from hane in nagpur, which already has got ethanol- maharashtra. he irst three prize winners in (maharashtra) and Shaik rai from ameerpet based public transport buses,” he added. each of the categories are: (). of medical Sciences (aIImS) and Indian Institute leSS-CASH TOWNSHIPS of Information Technology (IIIT). he launched the prime minister narendra modi also declared 81 less- housing For all scheme under pradhan mantri cash townships across 12 States of India facilitated awas yojana for maharashtra. Under the scheme, “youth should by Gujarat narmada valley Fertilisers & Chemicals 40,000 houses will be constructed in the State. become soldiers limited (GnFC) under the auspices of nITI aayog. a short ilm on dr Babasaheb ambedkar was in ighting black nITI aayog has advised all Union Government shown on the occasion. a short ilm on 100 digi money and corrup- ministries and Chairmen and managing directors dhan melas was also shown. tion and volunteers of 300-plus central public sector undertakings for on his arrival in nagpur, the prime minis- working to realise adopting the GnFC model and replicating it. ter visited deekshabhoomi and paid tributes to the dream of a hese 81 townships include those of central dr Babasaheb ambedkar, prayed before the stat- great visionary public sector companies like onGC, Indian oil, ue of Gautam Buddha, meditated for a while, and nTpC, SaIl, Bhel, nmdC, CrpF, BSF and po- Dr Babasaheb wrote his remark in the visitor’s book. meanwhile, lice lines and private sector townships such as reli- Union minister for law and justice and Informa- Ambedkar… ” ance, essar, adani, aditya Birla and welspun spread tion Technology ravi Shankar prasad announced —narenDra moDi across 12 Indian States, including delhi, Gujarat, that nagpur would get an incubation centre for Prime Minister maharashtra, Uttar pradesh, , Bi- start-ups. har and Chhattisgarh. n

50 MAhARAShTRA AhEAD n MAY 2017 MAHARASHTRA India and beyond

1 2 Maha leaps In past three years, the State 3 of Maharashtra registered massive growth on all fronts. The consistent support from the Capital has helped it to become a force to reckon with not just within India, but also on the global front. Be it boosting investments in its manufacturing mission or achieving development goals, 4 the State has been moving fast 5

6 7

8 9 1. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the first NITI Aayog meeting; 2. Devendra Fadnavis in a fighter plane made by SAAB during his visit to Germany; 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis; 4. The Chief Minister with Shinichi Koizumi of Toray during his visit to Davos for the World Economic Forum; 5. The State Government delegation invites Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Simhastha Kumbh Mela; 6. Chief Minister meeting Former Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi for environment clearance of the coastal road project; 7. Devendra Fadnavis presenting a memento to xia hongmin, Vice-Governor, Gansu, China; 8. The Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Maharashtra Minister for Social Justice Rajkumar Badole with a replica of Ashok Stambh at the london memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar; 9. The Prime Minister with Devendra Fadnavis and other State Chief Ministers at a NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi; 10. The Prime Minister, Former Union Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar and Chief Minister on the MoU signing of Indu Mill land for Dr Ambedkar memorial 10 maharashtra Ahead, Always Ahead

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meenal Joglekar senior Assistant Director Directorate general of Information and public Relations Maharashtra government Barrack No. 19, Free press Journal Marg Mumbai 400 021.

printed at Kala Jyothi process pvt. ltd., plot No. W-17 & W-18, MIDC, Taloja Industrial Area, Taloja-410 208, Navi Mumbai. published by Directorate general of Infromation & public Relations Mantralaya Mumbai 400 032 on behalf of government of Maharashtra. Managing editor BriJesh singh, Director general of Information and public Relations.