The path-breaking recruitment scheme for the country’s armed forces is the obvious Cover Story of the week and we offer a rich package on the subject. Agnipath, as the new scheme has been appropriately titled, is a life-changing gift to the youth of India as it provides them with an opportunity to fight for the country for four years and then work for nation-building efforts thereafter. Besides harnessing the young energy to productive proposes, the scheme allows the Government to curb the bloating salary and pension bill of the defence budget, says our Cover Story. The massive amount thus saved could be utilised to upgrade arms and equipment and to carry out the muchneeded modernisation of the forces.
A game-changer, indeed! We have another story that dwells on the ‘Tour of Duty’ concept which has been in the pipeline for about two years and stresses that Agnipath is an idea whose time has come. A third story focuses on the shift in India’s defence diplomacy imprint from the West to South Asia. The ‘Reality Check’ column takes up the same subject, digs deeper into it and explains how Agnipath is a revolutionary step by the Government. The Aspirational District Programme (ADP) that has made a significant impact at the grassroots level, in a short period of time, is the focus of our Centrespread.
Designed by the Niti Aayog and implemented by the Centre, the states and the civil society, the programme has earned profuse praise from the UNDP and other international and national agencies that focus on sustainable development. An outcome-focused governance programme across 117 most backward districts, the ADP has expeditiously improved the socio-economic status of these areas and brought them to the forefront. Besides describing at length the various facets of this unique programme, our story highlights the areas where there have been major innovations. A supporting story deals with the development of highway infrastructure in these aspirational districts.
As part of our Globetrotting series, we make a trip to Bangladesh, the country that was a part of the British India till the Partition of the sub-continent in 1947. India’s links with Bangladesh are civilisational, cultural, social and economic, says our report and then goes on to list the factors that unite the two countries. India and Bangladesh together have now established more than 50 institutional mechanisms in a wide range of areas including security, defence, trade, economy, science and technology.
These mechanisms regularly monitor developments and work on resolving issues. ‘Shared history, shared interests’, as the report is headlined, best encapsulates the relations between the two neighbours. A related box story talks about the strategic importance of the Chittagong Port and explains how Bangladesh PM’s offer to India to use this port is a win-win situation for our country. Over to you!
