india

Updated: Jan 02, 2019 09:27 IST

The Union information and broadcasting ministry’s official calendar for 2019 is compendium marking the anniversaries of the Centre’s flagship schemes, with nuggets about the achievements of the Narendra Modi government that is seeking a re-election in a few months.

January, for instance, marks the anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana that was launched by the PM on January 13, 2016. It is an actuarial premium based scheme under which farmers pay a maximum premium of 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi food and oilseed crops, 5% for annual commercial/horticultural crops and the remaining part of the actuarial/bidded premium is shared equally by the Centre and state government.

The month also marks the commencement of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, launched by the PM Modi, on 22 January, 2015 in Panipat, Haryana, to address the declining child sex ratio; and the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana, a deposit scheme for the girl child, which was launched on the same day.

The calendar compresses in bullet points information about policies and schemes and their perceived impact on people.

In December, the ministry has marked the 25th (Christmas Day) as the anniversary for Mission Indradhanush, an immunisation programme.

Farmer’s distress and crisis in the agricultural sector, which emerged as a major concern for the government and is seen as a reason behind the BJP’s electoral defeats in the three Hindi heartland states during the last round of assembly polls, has been specifically addressed.

Under the theme “Sowing to Selling, Insurance to Irrigation - Towards Doubling Farm Incomes”, the government claims to have provided access to credit boosted through historic farm credit target of R11 Lakh crore for 2018-19, and the “historic decision of making minimum support price 1.5 times the cost of production.”

To be sure, the government’s initiative of amplifying its achievements though the calendar is not unusual. A former bureaucrat who worked with the ministry said, “All governments use platforms such as the calendar as a medium of messaging. Even the Congress-led UPA government used this as a platform to reach 10-12 lakh panchayats to convey their achievements,” he said.

Are calendars an effective means for communicating the accomplishments of the government? Piyush Pandey, the new worldwide chief creative officer of the advertising major, Ogilvy, does not seem to think so.

“Most people don’t put calendars at home anymore, the usage is minimal; so there is a need to think twice before spending money on them,” he said.

Pandey, who worked on the BJP’s last Lok Sabha election campaign and coined the slogan “Ab ki baar Modi sarkar” (this time around, a Modi government) also said, “These calendars are largely for party workers and ardent supporters who value them more.”