Yogi Shines; Operation Dost; ISRO Rockets
Opinion Watch
Yogi Shines
Not even a tiny fraction of the commitments made in investors’ summit fructifies. Yet, states showcase business readiness and builds on ecosystem to attract investment. Uttar Pradesh has got a commitment of whopping Rs 32.50 lakh crore of investment proposals.
The Pioneer in an Editorial has credited the success of the summit to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s focus on improving law and order situation, including sending dreaded mafia dons to jails. The daily listed achievements on crime cases – 6.08 lakh in 2021 against 6.57 lakh in 2020, 7.5 per cent less. Uttar Pradesh also has one of the best networks of expressways. The Noida-based daily also lauded ‘one-district-one-product’ initiative of the state, which accounted for 72 per cent of the total exports. The daily said Yogi means business.
Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh also hosted investors’ summit recently, logging in massive commitments. While mafia dons are in jails, petty crimes such as chain snatching, road rage, drunken driving, and hooliganism are widely seen in UP, which may not reflect in the statistics. The state has a long way to instill confidence among the industrialists to consider UP as an alternative to Bengaluru or Indore. Still, Noida and Agra have become hub of electronics and footwear manufacturing. The gains need to be scaled up and infrastructure strength needs to be tapped with rigorous persuasion of entrepreneurs to set up bases in UP.
Operation Dost
Over 24,000 people have lost their lives in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. India has so far sent seven flights to Türkiye to carry out relief and rescue efforts, and score of the people stuck in the debris have been saved and treated in field hospitals set up by the NDRF teams.
The Asian Age in an Editorial lauded ‘Operation Dost’. Incidentally, Dost is a Turkish word, which along with hundreds others are widely used in Hindi and Urdu. The daily also heaped praise on the Narendra Modi government for pressing into action the disaster response within hours of the earthquake striking Türkiye. The daily has also quoted Firat Sunel, ambassador of Türkiye in India, who stated that “Operation Dost is a very important operation”. The daily also gave the context that Pakistan had been wooing Türkiye. It added that Türkiye got Pakistani Prrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to cancel his planned trip to Ankara.
In diplomacy there’s no permanent friend or enemy. The UAE and Israel are now bound by strategic partnership. India and Türkiye have historical and cultural ties. Besides, India has positioned well as the global crisis manager, which was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. India’s plank that New Delhi seeks genuine friendship has been again seen with NDRF carrying out stellar rescue and relief works in Türkiye.
ISRO Rockets
Elon Musk’s SpaceX had been sending rockets to space every six days last year. The US and China dominate the small satellite space business. The Indian share is just about two per cent. But there are over 100 startups working in the space sector, and the industry is poised to treble in the next few years.
The Indian Express in an Editorial has hailed the successful launch of the ISRO’s small satellite vehicle (SSLV-D2), noting the significance since last year’s efforts were partly unsuccessful. More significant was the fact that an 8-kg satellite built by 750 school girls constituted the payloads. After the government opened the space sector for the private players, a vibrant startup ecosystem has taken shape in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which augurs well for the country.
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