We make hue and cry on climate change, pollution and like but are we concerned about our soil? Do you know that 95% of our food comes from the top soil? Our activities have already degraded 52% of our agricultural soils and by 2045 we will have 40% less food for 9.2 billion people. Can you imagine the repercussion?

First let us know what soil is and why it is so important.

Basically, soil is sand combined with organic matter. It is the loose surface material that covers the land and is called the “skin of the earth”. The soil consists of organic material, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that sustain life. Soil contains numerous organisms like bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, algae, protozoa and nematodes, earthworms, archaeans and so on. These organisms help the plants to grow and survive. It is the abundance of organic content in soil that sustains all other dependent species, including humans.

• Soil bacteria are a critical component of biogeochemical cycle. It helps in crop production.
• These bacteria have several functions: (1) providing nutrients to crops; (2) stimulating plant growth, for instance by producing plant hormones; (3) inhibiting the activity of plant pathogens; (4) improving soil structure; and (5) microbially accumulating or leaching inorganic nutrients.
• Several kinds of bacteria are used in soil for bioremediation of polluted soil, and for mineralization of organic pollutants.
• Soil microbes help the plants to intake water and nutrients from soil.
• Healthy soil prevents the dangerous cycles of floods and droughts that plague many regions of the world.

How soil degradation affects us?

• Soil degradation means the loss of physical, chemical and biological properties of soil.
• Organic matter loss, soil fertility decline, erosion, adverse changes in salinity, acidity, or alkalinity, or efflorescence is some causes.
• Impacts of soil degradation are devastating – depletion of fertile soil, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, extinction of species, high level of nutrient runoff into lakes, desertification of land, large scale migration, malnutrition and war.

Factors causing soil degradation:

• Physical factors: include change in the natural composition of soil due to factors like rainfall, wind erosion, floods and mass movement. The fertile top portion of the soil gets eroded, thereby degrading the soil quality.
• Biological factors: Human and plant activities also reduce the quality of soil. Human activities like poor farming practices degrade the quality of soil. Plant activities include an overgrowth of bacteria and fungi in an area that can negatively affect the soil microbial activity through biochemical reactions, resulting in reduced crop yields and reduced soil productivity capacity.
• Chemical factors: Changes in the quality of alkalinity or acidicity of soil also affects its fertility. Chemical factors also include waterlogging. Chemical factors bring irreversible loss to soil nutrients such as deposition of iron or aluminum rich soils.
• Man-made factors: Human activities such as deforestation, excessive use of fertilizers, industrial wastes, overgrazing, mining activities, urbanization and poor agricultural practices also leads to land degradation.

What can we do to save our soil?

• Reduce deforestation: At the individual level, it is not an easy task. But we can plant trees and make people aware of the importance of planting trees. Individuals all over the world need to respect forest cover and reduce certain human-induced actions that encourage logging. Involvement of government and international organizations is required to reduce, if not stop deforestation.
• Land reclamation: it refers to the restoration of lost organic content and minerals of the soil. Although the soil quality degraded is irreversible, still we can replenish the lost organic matter and minerals to some extent. This is called land reclamation. Degraded soil may be restored by adding plant residues or by improving range management. One of the simplest methods is planting trees, crops, vegetation and flowers over the affected soil. Plant roots make the soil stronger.
• Prevention of salinization: Activities like reducing irrigation, planting salt tolerant crops like rice, wheat, mustard etc result in high returns because reclamation projects require zero inputs and labor. Preventing salinization of crops beforehand is the beast and an economical step.
• Conserving soil by tillage: This includes cultivating in such a manner that the soil quality remains almost to its natural condition. Example – Leave crop residue from previous year on the surface to guard the soil from erosion and avoid poor tillage practices such as deep plowing.

This year, Sadhguru, an Indian yogi and visionary has launched a movement called “Save Soil”. To make people aware of this burning issue, Sadhguru is travelling from India to UK in a 100-day motorcycle journey. He will cover 26 countries spanning 30,000 km.

“Start local, involve your neighbourhood, start a vegetable garden, get your hands in the soil – not in the dirt as is commonly said, as soil is not dirty – it is rich, it is our foundation of a healthy life and a safe environment.”

Sadhguru

This is just the beginning. Such initiatives from the government and other institutions will support the ‘’Save Soil” cause and help restore our land its lost fertility.

Dalit – Bahujan politics, which is perceived as having no road map, could learn from Ambedkar’s political experiments

The rapid decline of the Bahujan Samaj party over the years has led some to believe that Dalit politics lacks a suitable road map . Rebuilding the Bahujan movement will be difficult if the political agenda and electoral strategies are not improvised. In such a crisis, the Dalit-Bahujan leadership could learn from B.R. Ambedkar’s political experiments.

Ambedkar’s social movement and political thoughts are heralded for making Indian society sensitive towards the ideas of social justice and democracy. Ambedkar was keen to find a dignified place for the ‘Untouchables ‘ in modern institutions, including legislative bodies . He appealed to the ruling classes to recognise the ‘Untouchables ‘ as a new social and political minority, and demanded special safeguards for them from the state . He thought community based political representation would liberate the ‘Untouchables ‘ from the hegemony of the social elites and help them bring their issues to the mainstream. But Ambedkar was not interested in Framing the Dalits as a political force for the Dalits alone ; he expected them to unify vulnerable caste groups, religious minorities and the deprived working classes and bring about revolutionary political change .

Forming political parties

Ambedkar’s first political party, the independent labour party (ILP) , was committed to the welfare of the working classes . The socially marginalised castes , especially the ‘Untouchables ‘ , formed a significant part of modern industry, especially in Bombay . Ambedkar noticed that parties claiming to represent the interests of the working class did not pay attention to the concerns of ‘ untouchable’ labour . He reprimanded the socialist -communist leadership for betraying the trust of lower caste workers . The ILP , he proposed , would highlight the class -caste relationship and contest coercive “Brahmanism & Capitalism” together.

In 1942, Ambedkar established his second political party , the Scheduled Federation (SCF) , in Bombay . This was when hectic deliberations were taking place between the Congress, the Muslim League and the representatives of religious minorities over India’s constitution. In new constitutions in the world then, different religious communities and groups were granted political safeguards and cultural rights according to their numerical strength and historical location. Ambedkar wanted to establish the Depressed Castes as one of the prime actors in the nation building process . The SCF demanded that the ruling classes cherish the values of socially diverse groups and integrate the different aspirations of marginalised people in their plans for a new India . Further , the SCF meant to promote the interest of the diverse ‘Untouchable ‘ castes on a single national platform. Ambedkar introduced the SCF as a rival of the Congress and a harsh critic of M.K. Gandhi’s leadership. The Congress was depicted as an association of powerful caste groups and rich capitalists .

There have been several efforts to project M.K. Stalin as a prime ministerial candidate

Twenty five years ago, in Tiruvarur, the then Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi was asked by a journalist why he was not aspiring for the post of Prime Minister. He replied :” I know my limitations”. The question was raised against the backdrop of a serious bid made by the founder of the Tamil Maanila congress (Moopanar) , G.K. Moopanar, to become prime minister following the resignation of H.D. Deve Gowda as the head of the United Front Regime . Today, concerted efforts are on to project Karunanidhi’ s son and Chief Minister M.k. Stalin as a prime ministerial candidate.

In the last couple of months , many events can be cited as attempts at promoting Mr. Stalin to the National scene. In early February, the chief Minister wrote to leaders of almost three dozen parties across the country, asking them to nominate their representatives to the All India federation of social justice. Later that months, kerala chief minster Pinarayi Vijayan , former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Rashtriya Janta Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav , and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah came to Chennai to participate in the launch of the first volume of Mr. Stalin’ s autobiography, Ungalil oruvan ( one among you) . A month later , in New Delhi, leaders of various non BJP opposition parties came together during the inauguration of the DMK’s office . Mr. Stalin’s condemnation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s observations on the hindi language and his participation at a seminar held last week during the CPI(M)’s party congress in Kannur were also viewed as part of his March towards national politics.

It is rather uncommon for a leader of Tamil Nadu to get national prominence. Other than Moopanar , Congress leader K. Kamaraj and AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa were talked about as prime ministerial material. While kamaraj was content playing the role of ‘kingmaker ‘ in 1964 and 1966 , Jayalalithaa, despite her turning the 2014 Lok sabha elections into a lady versus Modi fight , and her party bagging 37 seats out of 39 in Tamil Nadu, did not make it .

In the last three years , Mr Stalin has tasted success twice as a leader of coalition. In the 2019 Lok sabha elections, when he proposed the name of Mr . Gandhi for the post of Prime Minister, the DMK -led front captured 39 constituencies, including one in Puducherry. Two years later , it got a two thirds majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. After capturing power in the State, Mr. Stalin has continued to criticize the BJP on a host of issues . In the last 11 months , he has been particularly highlighting the importance of social justice, greater autonomy for the states and the Dravidian model of governance. Perhaps conscious of the criticism that Dravidian majors do not seek industrial investment in the way parties in other states do, Mr. Stalin has shown keenness in attracting investments in a big way . His visit to the UAE is the most recent indication of this. After he became Chief Minister in May 2021 , the state government signed 131 MoUs involving an investment of Rs 69,375 crore . Mr Stalin also announced that the State would hold the next Global Investors ‘ Meet by 2023 end , the previous two editions of which were held during the AIADMK regime . There are signs of his government willing to bite the bullet in economy -related matters , even as Mr. Stalin has been keeping all his political allies together. Though it is too early to talk about the compositions of political form

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre or Massacre of Amritsar happened on 13^th April 1919. The Government of India erected a memorial at Jallianwala Bagh in 1951 to commemorate the spirit of Indian revolutionaries and the people who lost their lives in the bloody massacre. It was on this day that the British troops fired ruthlessly on a mass of unarmed Indians who gathered in Jallianwala Bagh for a peaceful agitation. The firing killed hundreds of people and injured much more. This event changed the course of India’s struggle for independence.

History:

On this day, exactly 103 years ago, a large group of people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh. Some were gathered to protest the arrest of two prominent nationalist leaders of Punjab – Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, and others were assembled to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi. The British government had banned on all kind of public gatherings but did not make the public aware about it. When the news of public gathering reached Colonel Reginald Dyer, he reached the place with his troops and ordered mass firing on the crowd of at least 10000 people including men, women and children. The firing continued for 10-15 minutes and ended only on exhaustion of ammunition. About 500 people were killed, including elderly people and children. More hundreds were fatally wounded. However, General Dyer estimated the figure to be 291.

This massacre was not a secluded incident. It was an incident with multiple backgrounds.

Background:

On 10^th March 1919, the British government passed the Rowlatt Act to increase their power over the Indian public. This act allowed the government to arrest any person without trial.  Mahatma Gandhi and the other leaders called for Rowlatt Satyagraha in opposition to this act.

Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, two eminent nationalists, were arrested without any trial on 10^th April 1919. Both of them were invited to The Deputy Commissioner Mr. Irving’s residence. From there they were arrested and deported under police escort. This led to wide range protests among the masses. The protestors gathered before the residence of Mr. Irving where they were fired without any provocation.

The Punjab government used all their efforts to crush the opposition against the Rowlatt Act.

On the day of massacre:

General Dyer’s government had imposed a martial law in Punjab under which all types of gathering were prohibited. Unaware of this fact, people gathered peacefully at the Jallianwala Bagh on 13^th April 1919 to celebrate Baisakhi festival and to oppose the arrest of their leaders – Dr. Pal and Dr. Kitchlew. After getting this information, General Dyer reached the place with his battalion.

Dyer ordered his troops to open fire at everyone – including children. The garden was surrounded by houses and walls on three sides. There was no chance of escape as the only route was blocked by the troops so that no one could leave once the firing starts.

The firing continued mercilessly for 10-15 minutes and 1650 rounds were fired.

This event led to death of hundreds of people and left many more wounded.

Investigation:

On 14^th October 1919, Hunter Commission was formed to inquire about the incident. General Dyer and Mr. Irving, along with other British officials involved were investigated. According to British government figures, more than 350 people were killed and thousands were injured. But the Congress estimated that more than 1,000 people lost their lives. Dyer confessed his involvement in firing. But he did not feel guilty of his act. He justified his actions. The commission criticized his actions and asked him to resign following which he would not be further employed in India.

Aftermath:

The Amritsar massacre shook the world. Many eminent people of India renounced their titles honored to them by the government. Rabindranath Tagore refused to accept his knighthood. Mahatma Gandhi returned his title Kaiser-I-Hind.

Assassination of Dyer:

On 13^th March 1940, Regianld Dyer was shot by Sardar Udham Singh, a member of the revolutionist Ghadar Party, at Caxton Hall in London. Udham Singh was convicted and on 31^st July 1940, he was hanged at Pentonville Prison.

A spark was lit in Jallianwala Bagh massacre that ignited India’s independence struggle. It ultimately forced them to leave the land they had hoped to govern for centuries.

Without curbing inflation, the RBI will not be able to promote sustainable growth

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee has rather belatedly acknowledged that it’s primary remit is, after all, to ensure price stability. Addressing the media on Friday after announcing the MPC’s first Monetary Policy review of the new fiscal year, RVI governor Shaktikanta Das was emphatic in stating that ” in the sequence of priorities, we have now put inflation before growth”. More than 3 years after it prioritised growth over price stability —in February 2019, and well before the onset of the COVID -19 pandemic -the RBI has pivoted back to putting the horse before the cart , best reflected in the Central bank’s own words on monetary policy goals :” Price stability is a necessary pre condition to sustainable growth”. That it has taken the outbreak of war in Europe, with its accompanying commodity price shocks to remind the RBI of the imperative centrality of price stability is a salutary reminder that monetary policy makers can ill afford to be complacent when it comes to inflation.

Less than two months after it rather sanguinely projected inflation to average 4.5% in the fiscal year to March 2023, the MPC has raised the forecast by a substantial 120 basis points to 5.7% . And this even as it cut it’s earlier projection for real GDP growth in the current fiscal by 60 basis points to 7.2% . The RBI also made it clear that while it has left benchmark interest rates and it’s accomodative policy stance unchanged for now , the time had come to commence the ” withdrawal of accomodation”.

To be sure , Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was still two weeks in the future the last time the RBI’s rate setting panel finalised its policy review. And yet, the price of crude oil, which Mr. Das cited as the key factor that had neccessitated the revision of the inflation projection and the pivot , had already been on the boil since December. In fact, the lone dissenter on the MPC on the issue of the policy stance in February, Jayanth Varma , had stressed the need to look ahead at the likely state of the economy at least three to four quarters later and shift to a neutral stance given that monetary policy acts with a lag. The RBI ‘s deputy governor overseeing Monetary Policy, Michael Patra , had on the other hand at the last MPC meeting starkly warned that, “Central banks have a choice :either accept higher inflation for some time or be prepared to be accountable for destroying demand “. With the RBI’s own quarterly projections for inflation now presaging the possibility of a policy failure by way of three consecutive quarters of inflation above the 6% upper bound, policymakers have clearly realised any further delay in changing tack would risk leaving the economy with neither growth nor price stability.

“When you have to give the lead in action, in ideas – a lead which does not fit in with the very climate of opinion – that is true courage, physical or mental or spiritual, call it what you like, and it is this type of courage and vision that Jamsedji Tata showed. It is right that we should honour his memory and remember him as one of the big founders of modern India.”

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jamsedji Nusserwanji Tata (3^rd March 1839 – 19^th May 1904) was the founder of TATA group, India’s leading conglomerate company. He was a pioneer figure in the world of industry. He was such an influential personality that even Jawaharlal Nehru referred him as a “One – man Planning Commission”.  He has also established the city of Jamshedpur. Tata started his journey as a merchant and went on to become one of the most important builders of the modern Indian economy. Among his many achievements, the most notable one is Tata Iron and Steel Works Company in Jamshedpur.

Tata was ranked first in “Hurun Philanthropists of the Century” (2021) due to his total donations of about $102.4 billion from the start of his establishments way back in 1892.

Jamsedji Tata was born on 3^rd March 1839 to Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Tata in Navsari, Gujarat. He came from a family of minority group of Parsees. His father was the first businessman in their family. Nusserwanji ran an export trading firm in Mumbai.

Career:  After graduating from Elphinstone college, Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1858, Jamsedji joined his father’s firm. He expanded its branches in Japan, China, Europe and United States.

• He started a trading company in 1868.
• In 1869, he bought a bankrupt oil mill in 1869 at Chinchpokli, Maharashtra and converted it into an oil mill – named as Alexandra Mill. In 1871, he sold the mill at a profit.
• In 1874, Tata started the Central India Spinning, Weaving, and Manufacturing Company in Nagpur, an unusual place to choose from for industrialists. During that era, Bombay being the “Cottonpolis of India” was the most preferred place for textile entrepreneurs. But his far-sightedness paid off. In Nagpur, the abundance of farm produce, the ease of distribution, and the cheap land later led to the converging of railway lines, which further developed the city.
• In 1877, Tata set up a new cotton mill – called Empress Mill.
• He formed another company in 1885 in Pondicherry solely to distribute Indian textiles to nearby French colonies without having to pay duties; however, the venture failed due to an insufficient demand for the fabrics. He then purchased the Dharamsi Mills at Kurla in Bombay, resold it, and acquired the Advance Mills in Ahmedabad. It was named as Advance Mills because it was one of the highest technology mills at that time. This set up provided an economic boost to Ahmedabad.
• Through such contributions, Jamsedji Tata shaped the cotton and textile industry in India.
• Being a supporter of Swadeshism, he renamed his new cotton mill in Bombay as Swadeshi Mill. The objective was to provide finer cloth similar to that of imported from Manchester. During that time, India produced coarse fabric which was no longer preferred by Indians.

He envisioned India to be the sole maker of fine clothes for which the ancient Indian weavers were famous.

Throughout his life, he had 4 goals:

• Setting up an iron and steel company
• Establishing a world-class learning institution
• Setting up a unique hotel
• Setting up a hydroelectric plant

With the inauguration of the Taj Mahal Hotel at Colaba waterfront in Mumbai on 3^rd December 1903, his dream of setting up a unique hotel became reality. His other 3 ideas were achieved by his successors:

• Tata Steel
• Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
• Tata Power Company Limited

10^th April is celebrated as World Homeopathy Day. It is a weeklong event commencing from 10^th April to 16^th April. This day is observed to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Samuel Hanhemann (1755-1843). The primary objective of this day is to create awareness about homeopathy and to make homeopathy accessible. Apart from these, it also focuses on developing homeopathy on a larger scale, adopting strategies to overcome challenges and improve the quality of education to improve the success rate of homeopaths.

The theme of World Homeopathy Day 2022 is “Homeopathy: People’s choice for wellness”.

The Homeopathy awareness week is celebrated all over the world; there are free public events throughout the week, including lectures, volunteer first-aid events, media interviews and free and reduced-price clinics. The use of homeopathy is reported on mainstream media and on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

History:

Homeopathy comes from the Greek words homeo meaning similar and pathos means disease. Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine and works on the doctrine of similia similibus curentur or like cures like. It means when a substance is taken in small amount, it will cure the same symptoms it causes if taken in large amounts.

Homeopathy is based on the belief that every individual is different and everyone’s body reacts and heals differently.

Hippocrates “Father of Medicine” founded homeopathy in 5^th century BC. He advocated the need for understanding each individual’s body and their healing power for diagnosing and treating their illness. It was he who laid the foundation for homeopathy. However its prominence rose in the 19th century, thanks to the pioneering work of the German physician and chemist Samuel Hahnemann.

During the 19^th century, medical practitioners used ineffective and brutal practices. Hanhemann opposed the harsh medical practices and usage of strong medicines that had side effects. Homeopathy medicines had rare side effects. People started opting for homeopathy and were getting better outcomes as compared to medicine practitioners. In the 19th century, homeopathy led to the abandonment of bloodletting and purging treatments, which were ineffective and harmful, and to the advance of more effective and scientifically-based medicine.

Homeopathy preparations include animal, plants, minerals and synthetic substances, which are referred as Latin names such as arsenicum album (arsenic oxide), thyodinium (thyroid hormone). The pills are made from a lactose substance (mostly sugar). Drops of liquid are placed and evaporated.

On World Homeopathy Day, India:

In India, this day is observed in patronage of the ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.

In spite of several criticisms faced by homeopathy, A growing body of evidence corroborating homeopathic medicines ability to manage and prevent a wide range of diseases is emerging.

Putin should take note of the views of the global community and end the war

The suspension of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council has turned the global spotlight on the civilian killings in Ukraine. The U.S. sponsored resolution in the UN General Assembly was approved by 93 votes against 24, with 58 abstentions that included India. Russia has faced immense criticism after bodies were found, from where Russian troops withdrew following the Istanbul talks . Russia claims it to be ” staged events and fakes ” . While the truth should be established in an independent UN-monitored probe, there is no doubt that civilians were targeted . According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 1,611 civilians have been killed and 2,227 injured in Ukraine since the war began. Russia cannot evade it’s responsibility for these losses. When Russia began the invasion, President Vladimir Putin had said the main objectives of what he called the ” special military operation” were the ” demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine. Considering the three front war Rissia launched , it was evident that Moscow wanted to meet its real objectives -whatever they were –quickly.

But Ukraine’s fierce resistance, especially in the north, has changed the course of the conflict, which now looks like a war of attrition, focusing on Ukraine’s east.

Now, both Ukraine and Russia are in difficult situations. The Ukrainians, with military and financial aid from West, have pushed back in the north, but lost territories in the east and the south. Given the power imbalance ,it is unlikely that Ukraine can regain the lost territories. Russia now seems to have been bogged Down in the battlefield, with international criticism mounting on its war conduct. What is in the best interest of all parties is a cessation of hostilities and a diplomatic solution.

The Istanbul talks had opened a path towards peace . According to the Ukrainian proposals , President Zelensky has agreed to accept neutrality in return for multilateral security assurances. He is also ready for a consultation period of 15 years for Crimea, which russia annexed in 2014 , and discuss the status of the self declared Donetsk and Luhansk republics in a summit with Mr. Putin. It was after these proposals that the Russians announced their pull back from the north. But the Bucha killings appear to have clouded the peace process . The investigation into the civilian killings should go in parallel and not derail the diplomatic process . Russia should follow up on its words with more demonstrable actions to end the hostilities.

The war has damaged it’s economy and it’s reputation as a great power , while causing unspeakable losses and destruction in Ukraine. The most important message from the UN body to Moscow is that it should cease the fire and take the path of diplomacy immediately.

13-year-old Jiya Rai becomes the youngest and fastest female swimmer in the world to swim across the Palk Strait. The autistic swimmer began her swim from Palk Strait, Talaimannar in Sri Lanka at 4.22 AM on 20^th March and reached Arichalmunai in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu at 5.32PM on the same day. She covered 28.5 kms in just 13 hours and 10 minutes.  Although Jiya holds a world record in open water swimming, this achievement has added a feather in her cap. She now joins the elite group of swimmers such as Kutraleeswaran (1994), R Jai Jaswanth (2019), Edi Hu of the US (2020) and Shyamala Koli (2021), who swam from Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi.

Jiya has broken the world record of Bula Choudhary who swam this distance in 13 hours and 52 minutes in the year 2004.

At Dhanushkodi, she was welcomed by the Director General of Tamil Nadu Police, C Sylendra Babu and a huge crowd gathered to congratulate her. The DGP said that the stretch is filled with water snakes, jellyfish, and rapidly changing currents, which can make it difficult to swim even a kilometre in 3 to 4 hours.

She was honoured by Ramanathapuram SP E Karthik and Municipal vice-chairman Dhakshinamoorthy.

The Indian Navy also congratulated her by sharing a laudatory note on its Facebook page.

The event was conducted by Para-Swimming Federation of India (PSFI). Sri Lanka’s Navy provided search and rescue services in Lankan waters, while the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard provided these services along its maritime borders.

Jiya Rai lives in Mumbai. Her father Madan Rai is an officer in the Indian Navy. She is studying in a Navy children school. She was diagnosed with autism when she was a little over 2 years old. Later, her doctor noticed that her repetitive knocking could be useful as a therapy in water sports. As a result, Jiya seemed comfortable in water and developed a lifelong love for swimming.

The journey was not easy for her as well as her parents. Being an autistic, initially it was difficult for her to grasp the technicalities of swimming. Her understanding of the sea current and simple things like replacing a start line by a whistle required a lot of conditioning. But her never ending attitude and her parents’ determination made her win laurels.

This is not the first time when Jiya has achieved such accolade. She was awarded the “Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP)” – 2022; it is the highest honour given to citizens of India below 18 years of age. In February 2021, she became the youngest and the first autistic girl to swim from Worli Sea Link to Gateway of India. She took 8 hours and 4 minutes to cover this distance of 36 kms. She has also received appreciation from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his show “Mann Ki Baat”.

Her other achievements include:

• As the first autistic girl in the world to swim 14 km in three hours and 27 minutes from Elephanta Island to the Gateway of India, Jiya succeeded in setting a world record in February 2020. She entered Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records.
• She became the first para-swimmer to swim from Arnala Fort to Vasai Fort in January 2021. She covered a distance of 22 km in 7 hours and 4 minutes.
• In March 2021, she won 3 Gold Medals in the Twentieth National Para-Swimming Championship 2020.
• She was also the winner of 24 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal in the National and State Swimming/Open Water Sea Swimming Championship.

The young swimmer dreams to become the first and youngest para-swimmer in the world to swim seven oceans.

Periodic reappraisal of the economic gains from the trade pact with Australia is pragmatic

The India – Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed last week is a key step in enhancing bilateral economic ties between the two major Indian Ocean littoral states and reflects the growing strategic alignment between New Delhi and Canberra . While India’s strongest ties with Australia had hitherto largely centred around their common colonial legacy of cricket,best exemplified in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a more contemporary shared vision has emerged around the mutual need to strengthen their strategic and Trade engagement. This was manifested in the June 2020 virtual summit when Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison decided to elevate the relationship to the level of a comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Defence and strategic ties have gained significant traction and the latest ECTA has been hammered out in just six months since negotiations restarted in end – September. Envisaged as an ‘early -harvest’ agreement, the ECTA covers the gamut of economic and commercial relations including trade in goods and services, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade , dispute settlement and customs procedures . Targeting a goal of doubling bilateral trade to about $50 billion in five years , from the $ 27.5 billion logged in 2021, the partners have set about dismantling or lowering tariff barriers . While Australia has agreed to eliminate tariffs on more than 96% of Indian exports , including several labour – intensive industries, India will allow the duty free entry of 85% of Australian goods exports by value from day one and within the next 10 years cut tariffs to zero on another 5% of Australian merchandise.

That the negotiators adopted a pragmatic tack is evident in the way contentious issues such as the dairy sector, a politically significant export industry in Australia, were set aside for separate resolution at later talks . A key area that has been included is the movement of ‘natural persons ‘, which is inextricably linked to fostering closer people -to-people links and is an imperative in efforts to promote bilateral trade in services . The agreement aims to support access for a range of Australian and Indian skilled service providers , investors , and business visitors and also , crucially seeks to address an area linked to another major Australian export –education .

Canberra has now agreed, on a reciprocal basis , to ease visa restrictions, enabling students at varied levels of higher education to stay on for periods ranging from 18 months to four years to pursue work opportunities on a temporary basis. Arguably the best feature of the ECTA though is the incorporation of a compulsory review mechanism at the end of 15 years . With past FTAs having proved less than beneficial to domestic industry, India’s negotiators have set a meaningful precedent in including the feature to periodically reappraise the economic gains from such trade pacts.