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P V Narasimha Rao

P V Narasimha Rao – 9th Prime Minister

Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao took oath as India’s 9th Prime Minister on 21 June 1991. Rao was the first Prime Minister from the non-Hindi belt and the first person from a southern state to adorn the post. His tenure saw impactful economic reforms like the shift from Nehruvian socialism to liberalisation.

Important Facts about P V Narasimha Rao

1. On 28th June 2020, the 99th year of P V Narasimha Rao’s birth was celebrated. P V Narasimha Rao’s centenary celebration was in the news.
2. His term as the Prime Minister of India was 1991-1996.
3. He was born to a farmer’s family in Lanepalli (Telangana’s Warangal District.)
4. His parents were Sitarama Rao and Rukminamma.
5. He was a pioneer of all rural economies and rural welfare.
6. The sectors where he made initiatives to bring development are (but not limited to):
   • Clean Water
   • Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas
   • Primary health care
   • Primary Education sector
   • Empowerment of Artisans
   • Animal Husbandry and Poultry
   • Small Industries
   • Khadi and Village Industries
   • Textiles, etc.
7. In his tenure, the fund to implement schemes for rural development was increased to Rs.30000 crores in the 8th Five Year Plan, from Rs. 7000 crore in Seventh Five Year Plan.
8. During his tenure, the foreign exchange had increased 15 fold in 1996. It was Rs. 3000 crores in 1991.
9. With his economic reforms, the GDP hovered around 7-7.5 percent.
10. He is also called as the pioneer of inclusive growth.

Journey of P V Narasimha Rao

• He finished part of his schooling at Karimnagar and then completed his BA in Arts from Osmania University. After that, he secured a Master’s in Law degree from Hislop College in Nagpur.
• Rao took part in the freedom struggle and was part of the Vande Mataram movement in Hyderabad State.
• In the 1940s, he co-edited and contributed articles to a Telugu weekly journal called Kakatiya Patrika.
• He joined the Indian National Congress (Formed on 28th Dec 1885) and entered politics full-time after independence.
• He became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1971 and remained in office till 1973. His CM tenure was marked by a stringent implementation of the land ceilings act in the Telangana region.
• Rao was well-versed in several languages and could speak 17 languages. He was fluent in many Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Kannada and Urdu, apart from his native tongue Telugu. He could also speak many foreign languages like German, French, Arabic, Persian and Spanish.
• He rose to national prominence when he became the External Affairs Minister in 1980 under the prime ministership of Indira Gandhi. He was the external affairs minister for four years and then again from 1988 to 1989 under Rajiv Gandhi. He was also the Defence Minister under Rajiv Gandhi.
• After a near-retirement from politics in 1991, Rao made a comeback after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. In the elections that followed, the Congress Party could lead a minority government and Rao was selected as the PM. He got elected in a by-election from Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. This win entered the Guinness Book for the victory margin (of 5 lakh votes).
• He was the first person from the non-Hindi belt to become India’s PM. When he completed his five-year term, he became the first person outside of the Nehru-Gandhi family to do so as the PM.
• Rao’s tenure as PM is most remembered for the major economic reforms that were undertaken. The country decided to open up the economy and move towards a market economy as opposed to the socialism of the previous decades.
• The dreaded License Raj was dismantled by Rao and his team. The finance minister was Manmohan Singh, whose non-political lineage caused a flutter when he was appointed by Rao. He opened up to foreign investment, deregulated domestic business, and reformed the capital markets and the trade regime.
• In 1992, his government abolished the Controller of Capital Issues (that decided how many shares firms could issue at what prices).
• He introduced the SEBI Act and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs – which allowed Indian firms to raise capital on foreign markets).
• His government also started the National Stock Exchange (NSE), reduced tariffs and increased FDI limit to 51%. Certain sectors also permitted 100% foreign equity.
• From $132 million in 1991-92, the total foreign investment in the country rose to $5.3 billion in 1995-96.
• Industrial licensing was drastically reduced and rationalised.
• Rao supported and nurtured the nuclear security and missiles program of the country. The 1998 Pokhran tests of 1998 (carried out by the Vajpayee government) were actually planned under Rao’s term itself, it is speculated.  (Learn about Pokhran-II in the linked article.)
• The occupation of the Hazratbal Shrine in Jammu & Kashmir was brought to an end without damaging the shrine.
• Rao started India’s Look East Policy as part of foreign relations with South East Asia.
• The Babri Masjid demolition, the 1993 Bombay blasts, the Latur earthquake and the Purulia arms drop case took place during his tenure.
• Rao pushed for the ‘cultivate Iran’ policy which reaped rich benefits when Pakistan tried to push through a resolution in the UN on the human rights situation in Kashmir and it failed because of opposition by China and Iran.
• India’s first anti-terrorism legislation, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) was passed by Rao’s government.
• Rao was above party politics. This became evident when he appointed two opposition party members, A B Vajpayee and Subramanian Swamy to important positions. Vajpayee represented India in a UN meeting at Geneva and Swamy was given a Cabinet rank post as Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade.
• Rao was accused of corruption in three cases but was acquitted of all charges later.
• After the 1996 elections, his party lost and he was replaced as the party president by Sitaram Kesri.
• Rao had a heart attack in December 2004 and was admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi. However, he died a few days later on 23rd December 2004.
• There have been demands for the Bharat Ratna to be bestowed on Rao for his contribution to India.
• Former President APJ Abdul Kalam described Rao as a “patriotic statesman who believed that the nation is bigger than the political system.”

Burmese grapes ‘Leteku’

APEDA facilitated exports of Burmese grapes ‘Leteku’ to Dubai.

• About Leteku:
  Burmese Grapes are also known as ‘Leteku’ in the Assamese language.
• They are grown in the Darrang district of Assam.
• They are found in abundance in the north eastern region of India.
• Burmese grapes grows in evergreen forests on a wide range of soils.
• The fruit is harvested and used locally, eaten as a fruit, stewed or made into wine.
• It is also used medicinally to treat skin diseases. The bark, roots and wood are harvested for medicinal uses.
• The fruit is oval, coloured yellowish, pinkish to bright red or purple, 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter, glabrous, with 2–4 large purple-red seed, with white aril.

New Generation Agni P Ballistic Missile

Context:
DRDO successfully test-flighted New Generation Agni P Ballistic Missile.

About the Agni P Missile:

• Agni P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles.
• It is a canisterised nuclear capable missile with range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms.
• It is deemed that the Agni-P has been developed specifically to strike targets in Pakistan.
  • Its range of 1,000-2,000 kilometres is too short to reach targets in the Chinese mainland, but can comfortably cover all of Pakistan’s territory.
• Being a canisterised missile, the Agni-P can be transported easily by road or railway and fired at very short notice.
• The Agni-P will replace the Prithvi, Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles in India’s arsenal — missiles that were built two decades ago with technologies that are now considered outdated.
• While the Agni-P will be the workhorse of the nuclear deterrent against Pakistan, the Agni-5 will be the mainstay of the anti-China nuclear arsenal.
• The Agni-P will enter service as a two-stage, solid propellant missile. Both stages will have composite rocket motors and guidance systems with electro-mechanical actuators. The missiles will be guided to their targets by inertial navigation systems (INS) that are based on advanced ring-laser gyroscopes.
• The Agni-P and Agni-5 ballistic missiles trace their origins back to the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) that the then DRDO chief, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, launched in the early 1980s.

Statistics Day

29 June is observed as ‘Statistics Day’.

About ‘Statistics Day’:

• The Government has been celebrating the Statistics Day, to popularise the use of Statistics in everyday life and sensitise the public as to how Statistics helps in shaping and framing policies.
• The day is marked to honour the contributions of Late Prof. P C Mahalanobis, on 29th June (his birth anniversary), in recognition of his invaluable contribution in establishing the National Statistical System.
• The theme of Statistics Day, 2021 is Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- 2 (End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture).
• On this occasion, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation also recognizes the outstanding contribution for high quality research work in the field of applied and theoretical statistics benefiting the official statistical system.
  • The Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics and the Prof C. R. Rao National Award for Young Statistician are announced on this day.

Protection Officers

Context:
Training Programme of Protection Officers in addressing Domestic Violence’ launched by the National Commission for Women.

Details:

• The series has been launched by NCW in collaboration with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) to address the specific needs of Protection Officers in responding to survivors of domestic violence.
• The training aims to focus on the role of different stakeholders/service providers including police, legal aid services, health system, service providers, shelter services, one stop centres, etc.

About Protection Officers:

• Protection Officers act as facilitators between the aggrieved woman and the court in cases of domestic violence.
• They help the aggrieved woman in filing complaints and application before the Magistrate to obtain the necessary relief and also assist to obtain medical aid, legal aid, counselling, safe shelter and other required assistance.
• Under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the duties of the Protection Officers are:
  • to assist the Magistrate in the discharge of his functions under this Act;
  • to make a domestic incident report to the Magistrate, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, upon receipt of a complaint of domestic violence and forward copies thereof to the police officer in charge of the police station within the local limits of whose jurisdiction domestic violence is alleged to have been committed and to the service providers in that area;
  • to make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed to the Magistrate, if the aggrieved person so desires, claiming relief for issuance of a protection order;
  • to ensure that the aggrieved person is provided legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and make available free of cost the prescribed form in which a complaint is to be made;
  • to maintain a list of all service providers providing legal aid or counselling, shelter homes and medical facilities in a local area within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate;
  • to make available a safe shelter home, if the aggrieved person so requires and forward a copy of his report of having lodged the aggrieved person in a shelter home to the police station and the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the area where the shelter home is situated;
  • to get the aggrieved person medically examined, if she has sustained bodily injuries and forward a copy of the medical report to the police station and the Magistrate having jurisdiction in the area where the domestic violence is alleged to have been taken place;
  • to ensure that the order for monetary relief under section 20 is complied with and executed, in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
• The Protection Officers are appointed by the state government in each district and they shall be women as far as possible.