Railway Budget- populist or reformist?

Mamata Banerjee

The Indian Rail Budget of 2011 has been announced by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and as always there have been lots of ifs and buts about it. While the ally congress (the Prime Minister too) has hailed the budget has a common man’s, opposition CPIM was quick to declare it as populist one in the press conference. As always, this year too there has been lots of expectations about it as the railways form an integral part of the country. Let’s put the budget on an ‘aam aadmi’ weight balance.

Before making any measurements about the budget, let’s bring into the fact that Miss Banerjee is about to face the biggest challenge of her life, ousting the left from West Bengal and bring it that ‘we shall change’ factor. As such it was expected that her state would be a bit more gainer than others in the budget. Well, everyone looks after his or her state and here Mamata too was absolutely right.  At least, this much of gratefulness and faithfulness we should expect from politicians and ministers.

To keep intact the populist factor, there was no fare increase (rather no decrease too). Mamata predecessor Lalu Prasad Yadav had started this process and she too seems to like it well enough. In India, such steps can really earn you kudos. Our passengers don’t mind the under satisfactory rail services, but are too apprehensive to spend a penny more for getting better facilities. Doing honors to this sentiment, the minister said “no price hike”.

More trains, more toilets, more stations and more computers in stations: seems to be a big agenda in this rail budget. To lure those who are working, new Karmabhoomi trains and for our mothers, sisters and wives- more Matribhoomi trains (forget the ill equipped services which may make these trains a harrowing experience for women). And yes more electrification of train tracks- again a reminder that a major part of India still needs to be electrified even in this 21^st century.

A good thing about this rail budget is that impetus has been given to business. A politician who had once vehemently resisted the Singur Plant and had driven the Tatas out is now stressing on more business through rail. The result – a metro coach factory in Singur (the same place where she had once acted anti-business, a diesel locomotive plant in Manipur, a bridge factory in Kashmir, etc etc. No doubt a very noble step, but remains to be seen the execution and implementation factor.

Another impressive thing about the budget is its stress on tourism. Perhaps this is the first time where a rail minister has given so much importance on railway share in tourism and has realised the fact that our railways play a big role in making “Incredible India” really incredible. New tourist trains named ‘Bharatpeeth’ have been introduced; trains with museums have been introduced and plans are there even to set up railway hotels. If these are done properly, Indian tourism will get a big fillip and will also add to the railway’s coffers. Indeed a great and appreciative step.

So in a nutshell, the railway budget 2011 can get an even balance. It’s a 50:50 proposition and remains to be seen how much it will be implemented, once the rail minister gets to the seta of Chief Minister (that’s what she is hoping for at least).

Some ads for a better India

Avishek Ganguly

Advertisements are not only about promotion of products and services; they are also about creating that motivation and inspiring the public about change. In almost all countries, ads have been and are made on different social and national interests to motivate the public and create that sense of awareness and enthusiasm.  In fact, these promos and advertisements can be one of the best forms of communication through which a social message can be delivered to the public in a unique, creative, yet casual and jovial way.

In India too, lots of such national interest promos and ads have been made on various issues. They have been conceived, directed and produced by renowned ad gurus, directors and esteemed media houses. I have always been a keen observer of these ads and later as a student of advertising, when we I used to analyze these, they became more interesting. Out of the many promos, here are some of the ads, which were very successful and helped create that ‘feel good factor’. Apart from the motivational aspect, please look into the fine points of the ads and you will find how well they have been ideated and made. Click on the links to watch them.

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara- One of the iconic promos ever made to portray the unity in diversity of India, this great video was conceived by advertising greats Piyush Pandey and Suresh Mullick. It was produced by Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad and promoted by Doordarshan and the Indian Ministry of Information. It was first aired on Doordarshan on 15^th August 1988, after the Prime Minister’s Independence Day Speech. Since then its popularity has never ceased. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gstRrEmTcBc

Hamara Bajaj Commercial: You may ask what’s so motivational about this ad or what does it have to impart any social message. Agreed, it is about the Bajaj scooter which was then launched, but the sheer fact that the promo portrayed the changing attitude of India made it so nationalistic in nature. Made by renowned agency Lowe, its catch line “buland Bharat ki buland Tasveer” created ripples among the public and yes it did increase the sale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEV8MWd1p3M&feature=related

School chale Hum: This highly enjoyable yet motivational campaign was made for the ‘Sarva Siksha Abhiyan’, by the Indian government. It was mainly aired on Doordarshan, and later in some private channels too. Directed by Kanika and Bharatbala, this promo had a pleasing music, which was sung by Kunal Ganjawala and composed by popular trio Shankar, Eshaan and Loy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpc-jGZkbAk&feature=related

Doodh Campaign: Most of us perhaps still remember the popular ‘piyo glassful doodh’ song. Yes, this was a jovial promotional which was a part of the ‘Operation Flood’ promoted by Mother Dairy. It was mainly done to encourage drinking of milk and its advantages among the Indian public. The lyric too was pretty catchy and became very popular. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjFH6yZ8LIA&feature=related

Lead India Campaign: Made by advertising giant, JWT, this highly inspiring promo was a concept of the ‘Lead India’ campaign of the Times of India. It bagged a number of awards and depicted the determination of the common public against the corrupted and inefficient administration. To some, this ad was a portrayal of the strength of the media and how it can play a pivotal role in making our country a better place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0M0EZ8T5J8&feature=related

Anti smoking Campaign: One of the funniest national interest ads made, this was promoted by the Indian cancer association. Made by agency BBDO, it was a blatant satire against the popular belief that smoking is a sign of smartness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p69Q8lTkZTc&feature=related

Anti Eve teasing promotional: One of the promos among the series of national interest campaigns made by Aaj Tak, this ad is an amusing take about how eve teasers should be tackled. This 30 second spot had a very funny plot construction, which makes you laugh but at the same time instill that courage to stand against the menace of eve teasers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk6Bi23Q7-E&feature=related

Indian Railways promo: This recent ad was made by the Indian Railways for the Commonwealth Games. This illustrates the role our railway system plays in connecting the whole of India and bridging the gap between different communities in the country. Very well made, it plays the famous “railgaadi” number sung by Ashok Kumar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5lcDCZVbnc

Thus, this is how these ads and many others have done their bit in making Indian society a better place to live in.