Front Page
India’s agrarian crisis makes it to front pages, and one message now seems loud and clear: loan waivers are not the way to go.
“NDA eyes farm, rural fix ahead of 2019 elections” says Hindustan Times’ leading story. Within, it says that the Modi government wants to “to pin down reasons behind crops selling below their minimum support prices (MSP) and to find ways to raise rural wages to offset a challenging spell of farm distress” — which is what poll pundits see as the biggest reason for the BJP’s defeat in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In its edit, HT believes welfarism could take the BJP far. “If ‘vikas’ (development) was the party’s trump card in 2014, it will be ‘welfare’ in 2019. It has to be seen if this is enough for an impatient and aspirational India,” it writes.
Speaking of Rajasthan, it is the newest Congress-led state to waive farmers’ loans. In “Politics over economics of farm loans: my waiver vs your waiver”, the Indian Express compares various loan waiving schemes only to arrive at NITI Aayog’s latest conclusion: “waiver is not a long-term solution to mitigate the stress in the agriculture sector.”
TOI does a detailed analysis of the effects on loan waivers on the economy in a piece that puns on Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements, “A loan waiver that will give the economy ‘sleepless nights,’” and finds that waivers could actually work as disincentives for farmers who pay on time, and also that waivers are only paid partially.
“Farmers deserve subsidy, but not in the distorted form it takes today,” writes the Economic Times in its editorial. “The point is to purposefully increase value addition in the farm sector with agro-processing industries, and which, in turn, requires a functioning market for power and quality supply in rural areas based on competitive tariff and upfront budgeted subventions.”
Also making it to front pages is Lok Sabha’s decision to pass the bill banning commercial surrogacy. “It states an Indian infertile couple, married for five years or more, can go in for ‘altruistic surrogacy’ where the surrogate mother will not be paid any compensation except medical expenses and insurance,” reports The Hindu.
Other news
In its Nation page, TOI leads with a story on AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel. “For all his professions of innocence, British middleman Christian Michel claims to have spearheaded a big attempt to “virtually engage the entire UPA cabinet” to swing the VVIP chopper deal for Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, now known as Leonardo,” it writes.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its newest satellite, the GSAT-7A, also known as “Angry Bird”. HT’s front page flap informs us that the satellite “will provide for a secure mode of communication and will be for the exclusive use of the IAF. After reaching its orbit in a few days, it will facilitate exclusive frequency flight communications for IAF”.
83 bureaucrats have written a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath must resign over the Bulandshahr violence, but the news remains absent on most front pages, save for The Hindu, which reports, “They pointed out that in any civilised society across the globe, “the killing of a policeman is a more serious offence than any other crime because it represents an assault on the very basis of that civilization.”
Prime Time
India Today
India Today anchor Rajdeep Sardesai interviewed Hamid Ansari, the techie who came back to India from Pakistan after a period of 6 years. Ansari was arrested by Pakistani authorities and had to spend more than three years in jail.
Ansari told Sardesai, “The moment I was arrested I thought I am not going back to India ever. For three years in a cell alone, I never knew when it was day, I never knew when it was night. Some time they would ask me, have you come here to eat our food.”
When asked what gave him the hope to keep going on, Ansari said, “I have to go back and serve my parents. This was the tiny flame in my heart.”
Times Now
Times Now anchor Navika Kumar discussed whether former prime minister Manmohan Singh has a case to taunt Modi over lack of interaction.
While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Singh of ridiculing the post of prime minister, Janata Dal (Secular) spokesperson Syed Aslam Pasha commented that Modi is tight lipped about GST and demonetisation.
Patra said, “Dr. Manmohan Singh has ridiculed the post of Prime Minister. He should press his conscience and tell us the truth.”
Pasha said, “Prime Minister Modi is tight lipped about GST and demonetisation. As of now we have only seen the character assassination of Congress.”
Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak anchor Sayeed Ansari discussed whether the Mahagatbandhan would survive if Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) decide to throw away Congress. He also debated whether BJP would be able to hold on to its coalition partners before 2019 general elections.
Congress spokesperson Rajeev Tyagi said that their party is not going to have any problem with coalition government while BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said his party knows how to work with coalition.
Tyagi said, “It is BJP whose coalition partners are leaving the party at the moment. We have won three states without pre poll gatbandhan.”
Trivedi said, “In the National Democratic Alliance we have long term relationship with JD(U) and Shiromani Akali Dal. BJP knows how to work with coalitions. Congress does not.”
Tweet of the Day
गठबंधन की सीटों को लेकर कई बार भारतीय जनता पार्टी के नेताओ से मुलाक़ात हुई परंतु अभी तक कुछ ठोस बात आगे नहीं बढ़ पायी है।इस विषय पर समय रहते बात नहीं बनी तो इससे नुक़सान भी हो सकता है।
— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) December 18, 2018