Medicines in India, for India

Tropical diseases have often been neglected by pharmaceuticals because the size of the drug market is smaller, people have lower incomes and companies are uncertain about IPR

January marked an important breakthrough in the fight against tropical diseases. Researchers at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Delhi found a drug candidate that prevented TB and malaria pathogens from infecting human blood cells.

It is not just that this cutting edge research took place in India, but it also addresses Indian challenges whose solutions have global implications. Further, Anand Ranganathan and his colleagues did not just find this drug candidate, but also helped develop processes to develop these drug leads. It also happened thanks to a combination of a United Nations facility set up decades ago, attracting top global research talent to come back to India and work here. And the research was funded not just through international sources, but also a ‘Grand Challenge Programme’ on vaccines set up by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Much of this success is the delayed fruit of a biotechnology push in India that started in the mid-1980s, and that has gained in strength over time.

However, the discovery of the drug candidate M5 synthetic peptide is the beginning of a long road and not the end. The process of drug discovery here is not yet complete, and has to be succeeded by more research and a host of clinical trials. Here is a plausible set of intermediate steps from the work of Dr. Ranganathan and others, before a new TB or malaria drug enters the market.

First steps forward

ICGEB researchers have attempted ‘rational drug design,’ where they have not only found a drug candidate, but have done so while identifying what protein target it interacts with in the body, and the mechanism it uses to prevent disease. The first steps forward for all interested researchers in the field will likely be to study further how the peptide drug candidate works, what its structure is, what the key biochemical interactions are, and how its target proteins behave.

“Policymakers in India will need to strike the right balance between public funding and the role and return on private investment on drug development”

While the drug candidate might work well in a test tube or an agar plate, its efficacy in the human body is an entirely different story. At this stage, whether the peptide can be easily absorbed by the body or be happy in blood, whether it finds the right targets, has no side effects or toxicity, are all unknown. Researchers, including those in private pharmaceuticals, can start developing variants of the M5 peptide that might have more desirable properties and have higher efficacy, and a good number of promising drug candidates might be patented by public sector researchers or pharma companies, depending on who discovers their utility.

It is after this that pre-clinical trials start on promising compounds, from tests in mammals to finally humans. Phase I clinical trials are typically about testing safety among healthy people. Phase II consists of small trials of efficacy among patients. The last and the most expensive Phase III involves large, double-blind tests to determine both safety and efficacy among large groups of people.

The entire process of drug development is one of attrition, where a hundred lead compounds might trickle down to one or two medicines. It can take a decade or more, and cost in the order of a billion dollars, or more than Rs.6,000 crore.

Science is often described in popular retelling in a triumphalist manner, when in reality research involves many misses by researchers, incremental progress, and the eventual success of someone who stands on the shoulders of many giants.

Robust research ecosystem

For this process to happen, you need to have a robust research ecosystem, adequate funding, and good pipelines that ensure minimum friction in the development of drug candidates and lead compounds into medicine that you can buy at the corner shop.

The challenge in India is that tropical diseases have often been neglected by pharmaceuticals because the size of the drug market is smaller, with people having lower incomes in tropical countries. Further, companies are uncertain about Intellectual Property Rights on essential drugs, unsure about whether they can recover high sunk costs in this inherently risky proposition. It is no surprise that big Indian corporations have stayed away from pharmaceutical R&D, finding more secure avenues for a return on their investment.

Policymakers in India will need to strike the right balance between public funding and the role and return on private investment on drug development. Greater clarity on India’s eminent domain and compulsory licensing positions could make foreign-patented drugs more costly for India, but might spur R&D on tropical and endemic diseases in the long run.

Further, the unwritten compact in developed countries on drug development is that a thick layer of public funds pay for the basic research up to and including drug candidate discovery. It is over and above this that private pharmaceuticals come in, patent drugs and develop them.

Indian funding on basic research and drug discovery remains minuscule in comparison, with the entire Department of Biotechnology budget being less than Rs.1,500 crore in 2014-15, or about $250 million. The Government of India’s spending on drug development is broadly of the same order of magnitude of what is spent by the Gates Foundation and others on drugs for tropical diseases, and both the quality and quantity of public spending has to dramatically improve if we want more drug candidates against TB, malaria, dengue, cholera and other diseases.

One way to increase funding is to redirect extensive funds that go towards large health-care subsidies, so that future drugs can be better and cheaper.

India also has the opportunity to re-examine how clinical trials are governed. While we want ethical and safe practices in clinical testing, American or European regulations have accumulated some extra bureaucracy and regulations along the way. India can also set new standards on transparency so that new research is easy to discover, verify and build on.

Getting 21st century medical solutions to India’s health concerns is a long slog. The new potential cure for TB and malaria gives us a chance to think through how to develop medicines in India, and for India.

Asia is and will be the centre of gravity for a long time to come

Shared democratic values

First, shared democratic values: When you look at the sheer magnitude of India's diversity, traditions and people, you cannot help but appreciate the energy, sacrifice and persistence that were behind India creating the largest democracy in the world.

When the two largest democracies come together, we can have a powerful impact on people's lives, not only in our two countries, but we can provide a powerful example to other nations as well.

Shared prosperity

Second, shared prosperity will be a central focus of our commercial and trade relationships. All companies want the opportunity to compete on an open and level playing field, whether it is trade in food and agricultural products or solar panels. In that spirit, Prime Minister Modi and President Obama, in their joint statement, affirmed their shared commitment to facilitating increased bilateral investment and fostering an open and predictable climate for investment. As our trade, technology, manufacturing and investment linkages between us become stronger, we will not forget our commitment to maintain labour standards in accordance with domestic law and international norms.

And what is our ultimate goal? It is recognising that more important than the fivefold growth to $100 billion per year in bilateral trade and investment; or the breakthrough WTO deals; or adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the global economy; is what all of this means for the living standards and economic well-being of average citizens and their children. We move forward with our eye on the prize; to creating opportunities for all of our people - from the street cleaner who dreams of owning a business to the student on a scholarship in Bengaluru who dreams of becoming the next big software developer, to the kids in front of the White House who dream of making the world a better place.

To this end, together we are committed to explore areas of collaboration in skill development ranging from partnerships between American skills building institutions - community colleges - and their Indian counterparts, establishing skills certification standards, nurturing and promoting social entrepreneurship and strengthening the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Shared inclusion

Third, shared inclusion: Our nations are also strongest when we reinforce the central role of robust civil society and government engagement to advance shared goals of peace, prosperity and the well-being of all people. To put it simply, a strong civil society reminds us of why it is we are doing what we are doing, and for whom we are doing it.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job will be to meet India's dynamic civil society leaders who are working with government to create inspirational change all over India, like women's empowerment pioneer Meenu Vadera, who is working with the government to break down barriers for women in traditionally male-dominated professions - specifically in the transportation sector - and as a result, helping women become financially independent decision-makers in their families and in society. Through her women-operated "Cabs for Women", she is also addressing one of society's most pressing challenges -women's and girls' safety - a theme the prime minister also prominently addressed in his Independence Day remarks.

Shared regional vision 

Fourth, our shared regional vision: Expanding on that regional theme, the work we do and successes we achieve in India on all of these issues will also create an opportunity for leadership in the region. We recognise that with more than two-thirds of the world's humanity, Asia is and will be the centre of gravity for a long time to come. It's important, therefore, to simultaneously focus on a strategic regional convergence of our shared democratic values.

This was the idea behind the president's and prime minister's Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. It is a vision borne out of the recognition that India's Act East policy and our rebalance to Asia are complementary and have the potential to create meaningful impact in the region. But this should not be seen as a strategy that is confrontational to our relationship with China. On the contrary, as our new National Security Strategy outlines, we welcome a stable, peaceful and prosperous China and a constructive relationship that also promotes security and prosperity in Asia and around the world.

We look forward to cooperation on a wide range of issues; from implementing a global health security agenda, to enhancing connectivity and enabling the freer flow of commerce and energy in the region.

At the same time, we will continue to work with both India and Pakistan to promote dialogue, combat terrorism and advance regional economic integration in south and central Asia. This includes Afghanistan, where both India and Pakistan are key partners in that country's future.

Finally, I would like to think my story - that of an American of Indian descent - can also serve as a bridge between our two countries. My parents arrived in the United States in the 1960s with only a few belongings and even fewer dollars. Thanks to their perseverance and resilience, and with a lot of help from friends and neighbours, they raised five children. My personal story is an American story. And just like many of you, the story of President Obama and Prime Minister Modi standing outside the White House so long ago is one to which I can easily relate. Like them, I never imagined I would be in this position today.

Country's largest solar park set up

Reliance Power today inked a pact with Rajasthan government to develop a 6,000 MW solar park in the state over the next 10 years.

An MoU in this regard was signed by state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Chairman of Reliance Power Anil Ambani here today.

Raje also dedicated Reliance Power's 100 MW Concentrated Solar Project (CSP) located at Pokhran in Jaisalmer district to the nation.

Rajasthan Sun Technique Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Power, was awarded the CSP project in 2010 based on a international competitive bidding.

"The CSP plant is expected to generate about 250 million kilowatt hours of clean and green energy annually, equivalent to consumption of 2,30,000 households," the company said.

Reliance Power claims to have the largest portfolio of power projects in the private sector based on coal, gas, hydro and renewable energy with an operating portfolio of nearly 6,000 MW.

Earlier this week, Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises also signed a pact with the Rajasthan government to develop the country's largest solar park in the state with 10,000 MW capacity over the next 10 years at an estimated investment of about Rs 40,000 crore.

Indian talent abroad

India matters. That is the one clear take-away when the dust settles on Barack Obama's visit. Despite all the gloss put on the high profile meetings and breakthroughs, the leader of the world's largest and newly resurgent economy travelled half way across the world essentially to grace a ceremonial parade. It is not as if the US president, fighting a recalcitrant Republican Congress with his back to the wall, had time hanging on his hands. So, India matters, and not merely because of strategic and commercial factors, which could have been dealt without the grand spectacle of symbolic significance. India matters because Indians matter.

That was not the case always. India of yore was known for its fabled wealth, silks and spices. Indians were early seafarers and traders. They remained abroad as well, but only sometimes as voluntary migrants. They were the descendants of indentured labourers. England had South Asians running its textile mills in Bradford and crowding Southall. California had Sikh farmers. But Indians were not honoured members of the host society anywhere.

All that changed in the last 50 years - and how! I belong to a generation of engineers heading westward in the early 1960s which brought this about. When I first went to the US in 1965 as a graduate student fresh out of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, it was news that Indians could speak English, leave alone be good engineers. At the end of our first semesters at leading American schools, many of us had straight A records. Our universities entreated us to recommend more Indians to take in. Thus began the legend of the techie Indian.

But things were not exactly easy in those halcyon days. We were on our own, manifestations of what was rather infelicitously called the brain drain. PIO, OCI and NRI were just jumbles of alphabets with one common letter. We were too few and too poor to welcome the new prime minister Indira Gandhi to the US, nor did she consider us worthy of an audience. Jobs were available in those booming years of the American age of technology, albeit not the best ones.

Indian engineers did well at Boeing and GE not because they believed their ancestors flew aircraft millennia earlier but by mastering modern aeronautics. They slogged in steel, petrochemicals, electrical and car factories, steadily rising in the corporate hierarchy, bagging patents along the way, not because of their ancestry but because of their ingenuity.

As did the increasing number of doctors, who diligently honed and performed modern techniques and procedures, not making fanciful claims of Indians of antiquity having invented them. They were the ladder on which later generations climbed to the top of their professions and broke the glass ceilings. This ascendancy of Americans of Indian origin would not have been possible but for the signal role of the pioneers.

Rise of the IT giant

In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi invited Satyanarayan Pitroda, a self-made telecommunications entrepreneur of Chicago to advise him. In no time, district towns were all hooked up. Call booths mushroomed. With falling tariffs, telephony was within everybody's reach. My friend Kirit Bakshi of Detroit brought personal computers to India. He also set up a chain of centres to impart training for programming and computer languages. Because of him and Pitroda, India was poised to take advantage of the Y2K opportunity, using the vast army of underqualified engineers. The rest, as they say, is history of India's blooming as an IT giant.

In the 1990s, scientific entrepreneurs Dr Anji Reddy and Dr Parvinder Singh cloned generic off-patent molecules using similar armies of underqualified chemists. They sold these drugs at a fraction of what they used to cost. Laksmi Niwas Mittal employed engineers stagnating in Indian public sector steel works to turn around a slew of moribund steel mills worldwide and climbed to the top. Anil Agrawal, a scrap dealer who never went to college, displayed remarkable tenacity and judgment to emerge as a global leader in the non-ferrous minerals business, including oil.

These recent successes show that Indians in India as well as emigrants overcame the dearth of capital and opportunities through intellect and innovation. The much-misused phrase, thinking out of the box, defined Indians, be they scientists attempting Mars landing on a shoestring budget, computer geeks in Silicon Valley or Bengaluru, technocrats in Fortune 500 corporations or metallurgy colossi straddling the global stage.

The veteran diplomat K Shankar Bajpai recently bemoaned that at Plassey in 1757, "Just 3,000 [British] men dispersed nearly 1,00,000 [Indians]... A handful of islanders needing over six months to reach us, took us over in bits and pieces because we lacked their organisation, discipline, conscientiousness - and, above all, their modernity" ("Nightmare of unreason", The Indian Express, January 19, 2015). His anguish is understandable.

But 190 years later, the same islanders were sent home by a frail man without guns and regiments. He used a subversive, innovative idea: unite a subcontinent to demand freedom through non-violent struggle. A fitting remembrance and tribute to that most famous Pravasi Bhartiya's return a century ago would be to banish obscurantism by espousing innovation and ideas.

Good ideas are like forest fires. They spread on their own and become all-consuming. Better, faster, safer and cheaper are the watchwords of the modern global economic Olympiad. Together they constitute innovation. India can certainly use it to build smart cities, a string of ports or providing affordable medical care to everyone, priority concerns all, of this government and others to come in the future. Without a doubt, a wealth of experience and information exists among Indians everywhere, on these and other related issues. That is our Republic of ideas.

Concern combined with realism

The year 2015 began with clear indications of how the Narendra Modi Government intends to position itself in global affairs. The Prime Minister’s invitation to the Heads of SAARC Governments for his swearing-in was followed by intensive interaction in Yangon and Brisbane with regional and global leaders, during the East Asia and G-20 Summits. The focus was very clearly on sending out the message that India was determined to return to a high-growth path economically. It would play a proactive role not only in regional economic integration with its ASEAN neighbours and major economies like Japan and South Korea, but also in fashioning new security dynamics across the Indo-Pacific region. India’s security perimeter was no lager confined to the Indian Ocean rim, but extended across the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

While the Xi Jinping visit to India was marred by the Chinese military intrusion in Chumar, the message to Beijing was that while India would resist territorial incursions, it was ready for dialogue to end tensions, expand economic cooperation and widen interaction in forums like BRICS and G 20. But the event that received widespread global attention was the visit of President Obama on India's Republic Day. That visit clearly signalled that India was opening its doors to foreign investment, expanding the scope of bilateral cooperation in defence and seeking solutions constructively to issues of environment, energy, intellectual property rights and climate change.  New Delhi recognises the reality that the US is going to remain the pre-eminent global power for at least the next two decades. At the same time, one has to recognise that differences in areas like Intellectual Property Rights, especially in pharmaceuticals and in climate change, posed difficult challenges.  Moreover, the road ahead in nuclear power cooperation with the US is going to be bumpy. Legal challenges on issues of compensation appear inevitable. It also remains to be seen if American reactors can supply power at reasonable and competitive rates.

While India can be satisfied at signs that the US support for the Afghan armed forces will continue together with air support, American ambivalence on the Taliban will remain a matter of concern. India will have to now seek greater cooperation on the Afghanistan issue in interactions with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, including particularly China and Russia. The Americans clearly understand that India will not join the Western efforts to isolate and condemn Russia. The recent trilateral India-Russia-China ministerial meeting in Beijing has made it clear that India has serious concerns about the challenges China poses to its national security along its borders and by its nuclear, missile and military relationships with Pakistan and its assertiveness across the India Ocean littoral. Despite this, every effort will be made to address differences on the border issue seriously, while expanding trade, industrial and investment ties, equitably and realistically.

Unlike Pakistan, which reacted immaturely and churlishly to the Obama visit, the Chinese reacted with a measure of concern combined with realism. The Chinese were unquestionably unsettled by the readiness of the US and India to expand military ties, while enunciating a common vision for the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions, “from Africa to East Asia”.  The references to the need to avoid the threat of use of force and abide by the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea clearly conveyed concerns over Chinese behaviour in its maritime disputes with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. It was also asserted that there would be strengthening of India-Japan-US trilateral cooperation. The Chinese responded by expressions of concern together with rolling out the red carpet for Mrs. SushmaSwaraj and welcoming a proposed visit by Mr Modi in May 2015.  One can reasonably expect that at the very least, such a visit will lead to measures that ensure that border incursions like those which occurred in Depsang and Chumar in 2013-2014 are avoided.

It would be too much to expect China to proceed more cautiously in its policies of military, nuclear and missile technology and weapon transfers to Pakistan. China will also proceed ahead with enhancing support for its Maritime Silk Route, designed to surround India, across its entire coastal periphery. But recent developments in Sri Lanka and Myanmar should serve as a caution to the Mandarins in Beijing about getting overzealous on “strategic containment” of India. The recent agreements with the US, Japan and Vietnam should also serve as a signal to Beijing that a determined India can, at the very least, respond diplomatically to its moves in the Indian Ocean by counter-measures, leveraging its partnerships with China's immediate coastal neighbours and the USA.  Following a categorical US commitment to back India for APEC membership, China has indicated that it will not be an obstacle on this score. The time has also perhaps come to informally sound out the US, Australia, Japan and ASEAN States like Vietnam and Singapore for exploring possibilities of India joining the Trans-Pacific partnership in course of time.

There are indications that Mr Modi will visit France, Germany and the UK this year, apart from a visit to Russia. With a number of its members afflicted by serious economic maladies, the European Union appears to be increasingly looking inwards. But its major powers do have the potential to contribute significantly to Mr Modi's “Make-in-India” programme and its defencemodernisation. The proposed visit to Israel has also to be looked at in this context. Missing from this schedule are possible visits to Gulf countries like Oman, Qatar, Iraq and, circumstances permitting, even Iran, especially if we are able to finalise long-term contracts for the import of LNG. There is now every indication that, like the prices of oil, the prices of LNG are also set to fall in the coming years as global shale gas production rises. Success on such an active foreign policy agenda will naturally depend on the government's success in getting its economic reforms agenda and legislation approved by Parliament.

First Renewable Energy Global Investor Meet

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo, Re-invest 2015 on the 15th February (Sunday) at 10.30 am in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal & Renewable Energy, Shri. Piyush Goyal and the Minister of State (I /C) for Commerce & Industry Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman will also grace the occasion. The venue of the three day global meet, organized by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be Hotel Ashok, New Delhi.

Elaborating the details of Reinvest 2015 at a news conference here, the Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal & Renewable Energy, Shri. Piyush Goyal said the aim of the event is to evolve innovative financial models for funding and to ensure the partnership of states and the Centre in harnessing renewable energy. It will also showcase the Government of India's commitment to the development and scaling up of renewable energy to meet the national energy requirement in a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable manner.

Shri Piyush Goyal said the government is looking at embedding rooftop power, off- grid power in new buildings and embedding green energy features in Building Code. He said the renewable energy industry would be able to stand on its feet in next three years and would not need any subsidy.  The Minister said Re- Invest will be a platform to engage various stakeholders and to have a clear understanding of the difficulties faced by them.

Reinvest 2015 will include several sessions headed by senior representatives from the renewable energy industry, equipment manufacturers, global financial institutions, Public Sector Enterprises, regulatory authorities, Central and state governments, research institutions and academia. After the inauguration, there will be a session to deliberate and evolve success strategies for financing Renewable energy, which will be chaired by
Chief Economic Adviser Shri Arvind Subramanian and will include prominent environmentalist and scientist Dr. R K Pachauri, and CMDs & CEOs of major banking and financial institutions from India and abroad. The afternoon sessions of the day will be on the key policy interventions and support mechanisms to incentivize domestic production & also Renewable Energy manufacturing for exports, Renewable Energy Roadmap 2030 and Investment opportunities in Bio-Energy in India. Secretaries from Government of India and Heads of International Agencies like International Energy Agency, International New & Renewable Energy Agency and also of MNCs will be participating in these sessions.

The second day will start with a session on India as a New Investment Destination for Renewable Energy which will be chaired by Union Minister for Renewable Energy Shri. Piyush Goyal, and will have participation of dignitaries from World Bank, United Nations, and many foreign Governments as well as Non-Governmental Agencies. Another session chaired by Shri. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways, will be to showcase the policy incentives by states. The afternoon sessions will be chaired by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and also by Secretaries to Government of India. It will be attended by representatives of international financial institutions, foreign Ministers and CEOs of several Multi National Companies. Sessions on “Different country experiences,” “Equity perspective on financing renewables” and “Sustainable renewable energy storage” are scheduled. The Asian Development Bank, United States Agency for International Development, British High Commission, Bridge to India and several Banks will also be participating.

The final day will start with simultaneous sessions on Innovative Financing Models; Grid connected Wind Power, Approaches to tackle high costs of capital in RE Financing chaired by Secretaries to the Govt. of India, and heads of International Organisations. On the same day, a CEOs Roundtable chaired by Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal will be conducted. Union Minister of Urban Development, Shri Venkaiah Naidu will chair a conference on showcase of policy incentives by states.

In the valedictory session there will be a panel discussion chaired by the Union Finance Minister Shri. Arun Jaitley and the panel will include Union Ministers Shri. Piyush Goyal, Shri. Suresh Prabhu, Shri. Prakash Javadekar,   Chief Economic Advisor Shri. Arvind Subramanian and NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Shri Arvind Panagariya.

 RE-INVEST 2015 will be the first major platform for investment promotion in this sector to connect the global investment community with the renewable energy stakeholders in India. Over 2500 delegates including exhibitors from 45 countries will be attending this event.

Government Initiatives in Renewable Energy Sector:-

 The government plans to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy to more than 160 GW by 2022 including 100 GW solar energy and 60 GW wind energy. Increased focus is being given on small hydro, bio energy, new and emerging technologies. The government also aims setting up RE manufacturing bases in the country and establishment of RE University and creating multiple job opportunities.

Giving a fillip to the country’s renewable energy programme, the government has taken a slew of decisions in the last few months to boost “Clean Energy” in the country.  In order to facilitate the speedy growth of Renewable energy Power generation in the country, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is preparing a Renewable Energy Bill. There are several schemes in pipeline which include providing support of Rs 1000 crore to Central Public Sector units to set up over 1,000 MW grid connected solar photovoltaic power projects, setting up of over 300 MW of  Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects by Defence, Ultra Mega Solar Power projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Ladakh, 25 solar energy projects with 20,000 MW capacity to be developed by 2019 and setting up of over 300 MW of solar power projects by Defence and Para military establishments. The  Government  has also approved the Scheme for setting up of 1000 MW of Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects with VGF (Viability Gap Fund) support of Rs.1000 crore, in three years period from 2015-16 to 2017-18.

The Union Government had restored Accelerated Depreciation benefit in the Union Budget 2014 to give the much-needed relief to wind power developers and to ensure ramp-up of production The Government approved continuation of: (i) National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP), (ii) Scheme to Support Promotion of Grid-Interactive Biomass Power and Bagasse Co-generation in Sugar Mills, (iii) Programme for the Development of Small Hydro Power, and (iv)Off-grid and Decentralized Solar Applications under JNNSM, during the 12th Plan period. The Government amicably resolved the anti-dumping duty dispute. A whole host of measures have been undertaken to make India a “Solar manufacturing hub” with priority for domestic players in line with “Make in India” programme.

India improves press freedom rank

India was ranked 136 out of 180 nations worldwide in terms of press freedom in 2015, which marks an improvement from its rank of 140 in 2014, even though its absolute score declined from 40.34 to 40.49.

In the annual World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), India’s “abuse score,” which reflects the intensity of violent harassment faced by journalists was 59.58, which is higher than Sri Lanka’s score of 40.6 but below Pakistan’s score of 64.91 and China’s score of 89.64.

Regarding the country performance the WPFI report said “One journalist and no net citizens were killed.”

The WPFI ranks the performance of countries according to a range of criteria that include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operate, according to its producers.

While the top of the list was this year and in previous years dominated by Scandinavian nations such as Finland, Norway and Denmark, at the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, were the worst performers.

Russia, Iran and China also performed poorly, ranking respectively at 152, 173 and 176 place.

The U.S. was down three places at 49 in 2015, which according to reports was due to the U.S. government’s “persecution of New York Times reporter Jim Risen, as well as the fact that the U.S. ‘continues its war on information in others, such as WikiLeaks.’”

Also cited in the U.S. case were the numerous arrests of journalists covering the police protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Overall RSF said there was a “sharp decline in freedom of information [and] two-thirds of 180 countries performed less well… and press freedom declined in all continents in 2014.”