Category Social Sciences

For the first time, the annual budget for the Union Government was presented on February 1, 2017, a month earlier than usual, by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha. Also, the 92-years-old tradition of presenting the Railway budget ahead of the general budget was discontinued and the Railway budget was merged into the general budget. The decision was taken as part of the government’s budgetary reforms. According to a NITI Aayog report, as the size of the Railway budget had shrunken compared to the general budget, a separate Railway budget was not required.

 This was the largest allocation in the history of Indian Railways. This was a historic moment for the Indian Railways. In the budget of 2017, Jaitley paid special attention to passenger safety, development works, cleanliness and finance and accounting reforms. At the same time, in an unprecedented initiative, Jaitley also proposed listing of railway subsidiaries like IRCTC, IRCON and IRFC in the market.

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The past decade witnessed several protests by the people for a variety of reasons.

2011: When anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on April 5, 2011, it led to the resignation of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar from the group of ministers charged with reviewing the draft Jan Lokpal Bill.

2017: On January 8, 2017, the people of Tamil Nadu erupted in protest against a Supreme Court ban on Jallikattu following complaints of animal cruelty. Contending that the traditional bull-taming sport is quintessential to their cultural identity, people from all walks of life converged near Chennai’s Marina to express solidarity with the protesters. The protests gained momentum and soon spread all over the state. The Tamil Nadu government legalized Jallikattu on January 23, 2017.

2018: Thousand of farmers across the country began their march to Parliament on Nov. 30, 2018 to highlight the worsening agrarian crisis. They wanted their demands – better crop prices, drought relief and loan waivers- discussed in the winter session that year.

2019: Protests continue to rage in the country following the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019 and the proposed pan-India NRC.

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In September 2016, India inked a deal with France’s Dassault Aviation for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets as an estimated cost of Rs 59,000 crore or 7.8 billion. The original plan of the previous UPA govt was to buy 126 jets of which 18 would be in flyaway condition and the rest would be assembled in India by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). However, the deal fell through. In order to upgrade the ageing fleet of the IAF, the Modi government entered into the new deal for jets with India-specific enhancements. Besides, an offset clause was added under which France would invest 30% of the 7.8 billion in India’s military aerospace research programmes and 20% into local production of Rafale components. Ever since, questions were raised about the cost agreed upon for the aircraft, violation of procurement procedures, and the choice of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Ltd as an offset partner over the experienced HAL. However, in December 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed all petitions alleging irregularities in the deal. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received the first of the 36 jets at a ceremony in Paris on October 8, 2019.

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Demonetisation is withdrawal of a particular form of currency from circulation which means it is no longer legal tender. On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the biggest-ever demonetisation exercise in India. Notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination were scrapped. The move was undertaken to crack down on black money and curb terror funding. Cash shortages ensued, significantly affecting the country’s economy. The RBI’s annual report released months after the exercise said almost 99% (Rs 15.28 lakh crore) of the banned currency notes had been deposited in banks between Nov. 8, 2016 and June 30, 2017. With almost all of the money accounted for, there are doubts whether the exercise was effective.

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In May 2015, a scorching heat wave killed more than 1,500 people as temperatures soared above 47ºC. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were the worst-hit regions with more than 1,100 deaths, mainly caused by extreme dehydration and heat stroke. Extreme weather conditions are set to become more common as greenhouse gases heat up the planet say scientists.

Earlier in the decade too (June 2010), a heat wave struck India and South Asia, when temperatures touched 53ºC, killing hundreds of people. Record temperatures in northern India claimed lives in what was believed to be the hottest summer in the country since record began in the late 1800s. More than 100 people died in Gujarat, 90 in Maharashtra, 35 in Rajasthan and 34 in Bihar.

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The last decade saw two general elections – in 2014 and 2019 – both of which witnessed the victory of the BJP-led NDA.

The 2014 election, held from April 7 to May 12 saw the BJP-led NDA win a sweeping victory gaining 336 of 543 seats of which the BJP won 282 seats (31%), whereas the Congress won 44 seats (8.1%). It was the first time in the history of the country that a non-Congress party had won a simple majority on its own. It was also the Congress’ worst defeat, as it could not qualify to be the official opposition party for which a party should have gained 10% of the seats.

The country went to polls again in April-May 2019. The results saw a landslide victory for the incumbent BJP-led NDA which won 353 seats (of which BJP won 303 seats, a clear majority), while the Opposition UPA –Congress and it allies – secured 9 seats (of which Congress won 52 seats).

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