General Elections are round the corner. NDA has the clear edge nationally and in many a state. Opinion Polls project 320+ seats to BJP nationally. AP may go against YSRCP in Assembly and Lok Sabha. Telangana may go Congress way in majority Lok Sabha Seats.
Supreme Court declared Electoral bonds are unconstitutional. This may seek revealing the identities of donors. Interestingly, the parties are saying the electoral bonds constitute most or majority of total donations to them. While election expenditure by parties may be some Rs. 60,000 Crore, only a 30% is from electoral bonds. Per seat expenditure may be more than Rs.100 Crore on an average, against the ceiling of Rs.95 lakh. 100 times. Similar amounts in the Assembly Elections. Amount disclosed by the candidates is about Rs.51 lakh on average. More than half of this is coming from the party sources. The parties have said they spent Rs.5 Crore per seat, all parties together. The conclusion is that the main expenditure, say 90%, is by cash. How do we restrain this?
With visa-free access to 62 nations, India stands in 85th position.
Food systems work is multi-dimensional involving multiple departments, ministries, and domains. These include farming, fertilizers, power, water, finance, consumers, health, education et al. Moving from yield to calories, nutrition per hectare, per drop. Changes in private consumption, and public supplies. Resilience to climate, drought, floods, cyclones, pests, diseases. Shifts in nutrient balancing to co-existential living, life. Shifts in systems. Paradigm shift. Galileo to Copernicus.
Ms. Nigar Arpadarai, Azerbaijan, is the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP 29. She joins hands with the Champion for COP 28. Together, they work with non-state actors contributing to achieving a net zero climate-resilient future. Greener, more prosperous, more resilient lives and livelihoods, for more than 4 billion people by 2030. Concrete action plans. Raising resources, partners.
We are a young nation but greying quickly. Getting sicker at the same time, with processed food getting centre stage. We want to be a developed nation by 2047, in this amrit kaal. By implication, we need a physically fit and mentally healthy population. Growing economy beyond 7%. Employment opportunities are a must in the living, farming, and food systems. Harnessing living and farming in harmony with nature. Climate resilience. Right energy transitions. Harnessing digital-mobile technology. Catching on to the fast-evolving artificial intelligence et al. Work with new algorithms to postpone the crunch, the threat to human survival, as much as possible, say 100-150-200 years.
I received a trigger to remember, and offer Guru Vandanam/Puja, this September-October. We are essentially their blessings in aggregate. Another trigger received – write small snippets, and poems. Third trigger – go for printing these Yogakshemams. Fourth – recount the life thus far, and life ahead with connected lives, relations, and reflections on the times. Fifth – interpretation of Gitanjali, and Gita, as if Krsna is not a God. Sixth – catch hold of Diamond Sutra, probably the oldest book. Guru is offering the triggers!
We Indians spend a lot of time reading, physical or digital. Maybe books, magazines, newspapers, chats. Yet some do not read anything. Can we convert this time reading into reading books? How many – page a day, book a week/month? Can we have every one of us read some 1000 books, and some 10,000 summaries, beyond the text books? Can we have plans? Plan and work to plan method. Can we have inspirers? Can we budget sleeping, walking, reading, planning, doing the plan, drinking water, diet? Daily, Monthly, Annually, Periodically. Can we surrender absolutely to this? With complete trust and devotion. Giving up all other ‘practices’, without any worries, anxieties, and fears.
Yes, we can. With discipline, practice. We can turn our creative energies towards usefulness. If we build our agency. For changing ourselves, eco systems. In the flow of N. For 7L.
Join us in the yoga of absolute devotion to collective intelligence of nature and people – pragyayoga for 7L.