It’s a moment of great pride for us as we present to you the 50th edition of Blitz India. Since its launch in February last year, India’s first weekly newspaper devoted to developmental journalism has come a long way and we are committed to marching ahead on our mission with greater vigour.
This special edition coincides with the Modi Government’s historic initiative to take the development process to the grassroots. The Prime Minister’s announcement, says our Cover Story, amounts to further devolution of the process down to village clusters following the unprecedented success of the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP).
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The report goes into the details of the new Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP), which is aimed at improving the performance of village clusters within districts. The ABP coverage is continued inside with two more reports. The first details how PM Modi has strengthened the Panchayat Raj institutions by involving the last man in the line in the development process. It describes the block as an important unit of planning and applauds the Government’s efforts in mobilising local resources and participation of people in implementation of development schemes. The other report focuses on the success of ADP and lists the key lesson learnt from this programme – the importance of tracking outcomes.
The successful conclusion of the 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Indore was a testimony to India’s elevated status in the global community; and we take note of it on the front page. Besides, we give detailed coverage of the PM’s inaugural address at the convention on the Rising India page. This year’s convention was marked by great enthusiasm among the next-generation of diaspora and we also carry a report on the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
Youth also happens to be high priority for India in its year of G20 presidency and our main report on G20 Podium is about Youth 20. At a curtain-raiser event in New Delhi, the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister launched the Y20 logo, website and theme; and we carry a detailed report about it with pictures. The other report on this page is about the first meeting of G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, which took place in Kolkata. Besides, we have a special report about the setting up of Startup 20 engagement group, a major contribution of India during its G20 presidency.
The Centrespread features Shri Mahakal Lok in Ujjain which has become the new wonder of the world after a remarkable makeover. It was in spotlight because of the visits of the VVIPs, who had come to attend the PBD event in nearby Indore. While the main report dwells on the range of features that the redeveloped corridor boasts of, we have two other researched-based reports – one tracing the history of Ujjain, one of the oldest living cities in world, and the other informing how within a few months, Shri Mahakal Lok has catapulted the city’s economy to the next level. Apart from that, this edition is packed with coverage of key developments across the country and insightful write-ups by experts.
Over to you!
