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After a modest recovery, domestic air passenger traffic drops significantly in April & May 2021
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 22, 2021
The domestic air passenger traffic has been in a recovery mode since June 2020 though the growth has been modest. From around 20 lakh passengers in June 2020, the traffic increased to 78.2 lakh in March 2021. However, with the second wave of COVID-19, April & May 2021 witnessed a significant drop in the traffic with May 2021 reporting only 21.2 lakh passengers.
One of the important measures taken by the Government of India after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, was the restrictions placed on international and domestic Air travel.
Domestic Commercial Airlines were grounded from 25 March 2020, for a period of two months. The services resumed from 20 May 2020, with certain restrictions.  These restrictions were gradually lifted in the ensuing months. Because of the severe restrictions on the mobility of people within & across nations, the Aviation sector is among the worst hit during the pandemic.
In an earlier story, we had highlighted that despite the resumption of Domestic flight services from May 2020, the Domestic passenger traffic during June & July 2020 was lower when compared to the same months in 2019. The overall Domestic Passenger Traffic fell by around 58% during the period – January to July’2020, compared to the same period in 2019.  In further analysis, it was observed that the domestic air traffic improved in the second half of 2020, and in November 2020, the domestic air traffic reached 50% of the November 2019 levels.
Starting March 2021, India experienced a devastating second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. While there was no nationwide lockdown like during the first wave, individual states have responded with their own measures. Lockdowns, travel restrictions within and across the states, etc. were imposed, which have also impacted the Air-travel. In this story, we look at the recent trends in Domestic Air-travel in the country, especially considering the second wave of COVID-19 infection.
Domestic Air Passenger traffic during May 2021 fell to less than 1/3rd of the traffic before the second wave
In an earlier story, we had observed that the domestic air passenger traffic improved post the lockdown measures imposed in 2020. In November 2020, 63.4 lakh passengers traveled through Domestic airlines, which was about 50% of the domestic air-passenger traffic of November 2019.
The number of passengers continued to increase in December 2020 and during the first quarter of 2021. In March 2021, the passenger traffic was 78.22 lakhs. Although this was less than the February 2021 figure of 78.27 lakhs, it was still higher than the passenger traffic during March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
However, March 2021 marked the reversal of growth witnessed after the relaxation of lockdown measures imposed in 2020.  The domestic air passenger traffic dipped continuously in April & May 2021, owing to the severity of the second wave.
The lockdown measures imposed in various states since April 2021 had its bearing on domestic air travel and is reflected in the lower numbers reported for that month. During May 2021, with stricter lockdown measures, the Domestic Air passenger traffic fell to 21.15 lakhs compared to 57. 25 lakhs during April 2021. Compared to February’21 i.e., before the onset of the second wave, the passenger traffic in May 2021 was only about 27%, less than 1/3.  The May 2021 number is approximately 17.5%, i.e., less than 1/5 of the passenger traffic witnessed in May 2019.
Domestic Air Passenger Traffic during Jan-May 2021 less than same period in 2020
The total domestic air traffic during the current year (i.e., by the end of May 2021) is 312.33 lakhs. As highlighted earlier, the growing trend reported during the first quarter of 2021, was impacted by the measures taken because of the COVID-19 second wave.
The combined domestic air traffic for the two months of April & May 2021 is only slightly better than the reported numbers for March 2021. The total domestic passenger traffic for 2021 up until the end of May 2021 is less than the traffic reported during the same period in 2020. The traffic during this five-month period in 2020 was 330.9 lakhs. It must be noted that this period in 2020 also includes April & May 2020 during which domestic air travel was suspended almost completely.
While the drop in domestic air travel during April & May 2021 could be because of the lockdown measures in many states, the slower growth in the first quarter also contributed towards lower overall numbers.
With the fall in COVID-19 cases and many of the states lifting the restrictions, domestic air passenger traffic is expected to increase. The extent of recovery remains to be seen.
Sharper decline in the Passenger traffic of Private Air-carriers during May 2021
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of the ‘Private Air carriers’ ranged between 87-88% of the total domestic air passenger traffic. Except for May 2020, when Air travel was just re-instated, the share of private carriers remained intact. In fact, their share improved to around 90 % by December 2020.
We have highlighted that there has been slow growth in the total passenger traffic since the beginning of 2021 and dropped drastically in April & May 2021. This is largely due to the reduction in passenger traffic of private carriers. The share of private carriers in domestic air traffic dropped to around 79.8% in May 2021. The number of passengers who traveled in private airlines fell from 50.4 lakhs in April 2021 to 16.87 lakhs in May 2021.
Though Air India also witnessed a drop in domestic passenger traffic, it is not as drastic as in the case of private carriers.
Among the private carriers, IndiGo airlines with more than half the domestic air traffic share was majorly impacted by the lockdown. Though they were able to retain the share of more than 50% market share, the volume of passengers dropped significantly in April & May 2021. The increase in the market share of Air India is at the cost of private air carriers other than IndiGo.
Fall in Air-passenger traffic observed across many countries
Apart from India, many countries have reported reduced domestic Air-traffic numbers after the COVID-19 pandemic. With only 2019 data being available on the World Bank’s website, we relied on the data available in the public domain for other countries for analyzing the 2020 & 2021 numbers.
The information is the cumulative figure for both international & Domestic air travel. As per the information updated on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Domestic enplanements (those who have boarded the flight) in January 2021 fell by nearly 60.5% compared to January 2020.
A long road of recovery lies ahead for Domestic aviation in the country
As the data indicates, there has been a slow recovery in Domestic Air-travel after the services were resumed in late May 2020.  However, the second wave of COVID-19 has hampered this growth resulting in lower passenger numbers. With most of the states relaxing lockdown norms, the domestic air traffic is expected to recover in the coming months though this recovery is expected to be slow.
It might be quite a while before the air traffic reaches the pre-COVID-19 levels. Even the slow recovery expected over the next few months is possible only if there are no further disruptions in the form of a third wave. Since air travel is considered to be risky for the spread of COVID-19, the sector will remain highly sensitive to the way the pandemic is evolving.
Change in preferences & behaviours in a post-COVID-19 world i.e., preference for working online, online meetings & conferences, reduced preference for holiday travel are the other challenges that plague the sector. In view of these, the road to recovery for the aviation industry is expected to be long & arduous.


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Data: After Continuous Decline, Employment Exchanges Register An Increase in Registrations in 2021. Even This Number is 50% of The 2010 Figure
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 5, 2023
Data from the ‘Employment Exchange Statistics’ reveals that the number of registrations in employment exchanges across the countries has continuously declined over the years. From 61.86 lakh in 2010 to a high of 97.22 lakh in 2012, the number reached 20.73 lakh in 2020, the year of COVID-19. Though this number increased to 32.24 lakh in 2021, this is still barely 50% of the 2010 figure.
Every elected government in the world confronts one common challenge – Job Creation. Employment is no longer just an economic issue since the positive effects of employment on other social and economic goals is well documented. Hence, economic growth coupled with job creation and sustainable livelihoods is development goals that are well recognized. And nations, depending on their footing, design and develop their employment policies.
In India, one of the oldest frameworks surrounding the aspect of employment is the Employment Exchange (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959. This provides for a network of employment exchanges across the country that provide services such as registration, placements, career counselling and vocational guidance, and data on the employment market information among other things. Since “Employment” is a concurrent subject, the establishment of policies, processes, standards, and guidelines falls under the purview of the Union government, and administration of employment exchanges is the responsibility of the corresponding state governments and UTs.
In this context, we look at some of the data points relating to employment exchanges and their relevance in the present-day labour market.
Employment Exchanges
Employment Exchanges gather information on various areas of employment and unemployment as part of their administrative duties and provide it to the relevant State Directorate of Employment and the Directorate General of Employment (DGE). The Directorate General of Employment (DGE) compiles and disseminates this data for all of India. The reliability of the data is debatable, and there are some limitations to this data, as listed below.
Marginal increase in the number of employment exchanges in the country
Employment exchanges form the backbone of the national employment service in India. One of their primary goals is to encourage and guide unemployed youth to take up employment. With each successive five-year plan, there has been an increase in the number of employment exchanges in India. It was 18 in 1951, rising to 947 in 2005. It then grew to 978 in 2014, to 997 in 2016, and to 1005 in 2021. These are spread across the country, with Uttar Pradesh having the highest number of employment exchanges, followed by Kerala, West Bengal, and Haryana. These four states account for one-third of the total employment exchanges in India.
Among the 1005 employment exchanges, forty-two are special employment exchanges for differently abled persons, fourteen employment exchanges for Professionals and Executives (P&Es), and five employment exchanges exclusively for women.
Registration picks up in 2021, but lower than pre-pandemic levels
Administratively, registration is defined as the process of recording the particulars of an employment seeker according to a prescribed procedure with a view to render him employment assistance, and placement is defined as ‘An employer’s acceptance of a person into a remunerative job’ through the Employment Exchange. This includes acceptance by employers of applicants submitted by Exchanges for training/apprenticeship with the object of their becoming paid employees on completion of their training/apprenticeship.
The number of persons registered under the employment exchanges in India was 61.86 lakhs in 2010, which rose to 97.22 lakhs in 2012. However, it declined to 69.39 lakhs in 2015, thereafter which the fall is consistent till 2020 when only 20.73 lakh people registered. During 2016 and 2017, the decline in registrations was 33%, whereas, during the COVID-19 period (2019-2020), the decline is around 40%. Positively, the registrations grew by 55% in 2021 compared to 2020 levels.
The placements provided through these employment exchanges do not follow a uniform trend over the past decade. Nevertheless, there has been a decline in the number of placements provided from 2017 to 2020. However, in 2021, the placements recorded over 60% growth as compared to 2020. Similar is the case with the vacancies notified, registering a 97% growth in vacancies in 2021 as compared to 2020.
No significant impact of transitioning to NCS
Over the years, the NES underwent several changes, the most recent of which was its makeover into the National Career Service (NCS) in 2015, which aimed to use technology to improve the quantum as well as the quality of employment services.
The existing Employment Exchanges have been linked with the NCS Portal and as part of this initiative, the Union government is funding the states in organising job fairs, IT upgrades, and employment exchange infrastructure renovations. The NCS Project also included the creation of Model Career Centres (MCCs), which will feature innovative infrastructure, to serve as a centre for career counselling and offer services linked to careers through outreach initiatives in cooperation with States and other entities to jobseekers and employers. So far, 207 MCCs have been approved for establishment as of 31 December 2021.
While the transition to NCS was touted to be a significant breakthrough, data from 2015 suggests that there has been negligible impact on employment services.
Are Employment Exchanges becoming redundant?
If we look at the percentage of placements out of the registrations, the average percentage of employment to registration from 2010 to 2016 stood at 6.2%, while from 2017 to 2021 stood at 12.4%. This low percentage of placements points out the disappointing performance of employment exchanges. There could be multiple reasons for this as mentioned below.
Other barriers include geographic restrictions on registration, and poor usage of technology, creating islands of information that are not inter-connected, thereby creating an information asymmetry for both companies and applicants.
Revamp or Abandon- What is in the store for Employment Exchanges?
Employment Exchanges have so far been unsuccessful in fulfilling the aspirations of job seekers. They must either be scrapped or revamped to be relevant in these changing market conditions. Scrapping employment exchanges at a time when the unemployment rates touch new highs is not a workable idea. The best way out of this is to revamp the existing employment exchanges by suitably adapting to the changing job markets. Such measures include reorienting the emphasis away from employment in the government and the public sector and more toward opportunities in the private sector, particularly in manufacturing and services. This could also include shedding away the urban-centric nature of employment exchanges to provide employment in rural areas and adopting appropriate technology to revamp the training, counselling, guidance, and employment services of these exchanges.
Featured Image: Exchange Statistics 2022

source: news-factly

created: January 5, 2023

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Aggregate Deposits of Scheduled Commercial Banks increase in April
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 12, 2021
As per the statistics released by RBI, the household savings rate increased in most major economies in the (April – June) quarter of 2020. In India, the aggregate deposits of Scheduled Commercial Banks increased significantly in the first and third fortnights of 2020-21 and 2021-22, unlike previous years.
Preliminary indications suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has induced a spike in the financial savings of households around the world. For the Indian context, we look at household financial savings rate, and deposit and borrowings from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) to understand the changes brought about by the pandemic as compared to previous years. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) publishes ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ that provides data on a variety of indicators including deposits & credit. We look at data from these publications for the purpose of this story.
Household savings witnessed a significant rise in Q2 & Q3 of 2020 globally
Globally, the quantum and composition of spending witnessed visible changes as the pandemic induced mobility restrictions and resulted in forced and precautionary savings. As many advanced economies faced hiccups in their journey to recovery, inflicted by the second wave of the virus and fear of more virulent strains, their household/ personal savings in (April-June) and (July-September) quarters of 2020 remained far higher than the pre-pandemic levels, as per a recent bulletin of the RBI.
The household/personal savings rates in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, moved up to more than 20 percent mark in April-June 2020. The rate of savings corrected significantly in the next quarter i.e., July-September quarter but sustained at a much higher rate than the pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, financial savings of Indian households reverted closer to the pre-pandemic levels in the next quarter i.e., July-September quarter.
In India, the COVID-19-induced spike in the household financial savings rate in Q1:2020-21 waned substantially in Q2 in a counter-seasonal manner. According to a recent RBI bulletin, India appeared to be faster in raising spending probably on account of the approaching festive season demand along with the release of pent-up demand, thereby reaching closer to the pre-pandemic levels of household financial savings in the third quarter (July-Sept) of 2020.
Aggregate deposits of SCBs in India increased during 2020 & 2021
The trends in aggregate deposits and borrowings from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) showed an increase on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison to previous years, the deposits in SCBs increased by a staggering Rs. 2.8 lakh crore in 2020-21 & in 2021-22, it has already increased by Rs 1 lakh crore till 07 May 2021.
The households’ deposits and borrowings picked up significantly in 2020-21 and show signs of an increase in the first few fortnights of 2021-22. Typically, bank deposits and credit offtake decline in April and May, according to SBI Research Report (May 2021). Therefore, this is an unusual increase for the months of April and May in both 2020-21 and 2021-22. With lockdowns in force, experts believe it could be a sign of precautionary savings, compounded by the need to hold disposable cash to counter health and economic uncertainties.
Another interesting point to note is that deposits have shown alternate periods of expansion and contraction in 2021-22 in the first 3 fortnights. The report explains that it is possible that such expansion followed by contraction could indicate household stress as people getting salary credits in the first fortnight are withdrawing it in the second fortnight for health expenses/stocking up currency for precautionary motive and an uncertain scenario and the trend continues. However, this pattern would be understood better once the data for subsequent fortnights is published.
Although the aggregate deposits increased during the pandemic, it, however, might conceal the unequal impact in terms of household savings and consumption expenditures of non-essential items as several households in the unorganized sector suffered from loss of employment, income, and borrowing opportunities.
Going forward, with the optimism on progress in mass vaccination, household financial savings are expected to recede further to the pre-pandemic levels in India as well as in other countries. With the gradual reopening/unlocking of the economy, households have switched from an ‘essentials only’ approach to discretionary spending, as per the RBI.
Featured Image: Scheduled Commercial Banks


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Data: Airline Companies posted their worst losses in five years in 2018-19. COVID-19 might worsen this further
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 20, 2020
The Airline companies in India posted their worst losses in five years in 2018-19. The combined losses in the sector stood at Rs. 6739 crores in 2018-19.  COVID-19 might worsen this further and threaten the survival of some of these airlines.
One of the worst hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic is the aviation sector. Public transport including flights were grounded in India for over two months to restrict the movement of people to control the spread of the coronavirus. Domestic flights have since resumed services in India from 25 May 2020 with heightened safety measures and restrictions such as social distancing, respiratory hygiene, and regular disinfection of aircrafts and airports. The lockdown followed by restricted opening of the sector has put to test the sustainability of many airline companies since the additional expenses can worsen the balance sheets of these companies who are already in the negative.
Only 3 out of 18 Airline companies made profits in 2018-19
According to a response in Lok Sabha during the last session  (in March 2020), almost all the airlines, except for AI Express, Go Air, and Blue Dart  (a cargo carrier) reported operating loss in financial year 2018-19. Even the market leaders (in terms of market share)  such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and the state-owned Air India have all reported loss in 2018-19. Air India suffered the maximum loss of Rs. 4,685 crores, which is close to twice the combined loss reported by all the private airline companies in the same year. Vistara is next in line with a loss of over Rs. 900 crores, while Air Asia has recorded an operating loss Rs. 703 crores. Indigo and SpiceJet have recorded a loss of Rs. 490 crores and Rs. 266 crores respectively. Surprisingly, AI Express which is state-owned, recorded the highest profit of Rs. 433 crores in 2018-19.
Loss incurred in 2018-19 is the highest in five years
2018-19 has been a bad year for the airline companies. In general, it can be observed that those companies that reported a loss this year, have recorded their highest loss in the last five years, in 2018-19. Only three companies have managed to make profits between 2014-15 and 2018-19. Blue Dart airlines, a private cargo airline, has reported profits in each of the last five years. During the same period, AI Express, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, and Go Air have also reported profits in each of the five years. However, the profit reported in 2018-19 is less than the previous years.
Meanwhile, Indigo reported a loss in 2018-19, for the first time in the last five years, and Spice Jet has reported a loss for the second time. Air Asia, Alliance Air and Vistara have been reporting losses consecutively for the fifth year. Jet Airways and Jet Lite have ceased operations in India since 2019 because of high debts. A few other companies that ceased operation during these five years are Air Costa, Air Pegasus, and Quick Jet Cargo.
Net operating Loss of all Airlines in 2018-19 was Rs. 6,739 crores
The overall performance of both private and state-owned companies is mixed in the last five years. A total loss of around Rs. 3,568 crores were reported in 2014-15. However, there was a net profit for three years between 2015-16 and 2017-18,  despite the profits dipping. From Rs. 4,333 crores in 2015-16, the net profit of all the airline companies reduced to Rs. 913 crores in 2017-18. In fact, the profits dropped significantly in these three years by an average rate of 39% each year. The year 2018-19 has been the worst year in the last five years with the net operating loss of all the airlines touching Rs. 6,739 crores, the highest in the five years and almost twice the loss recorded in 2014-15.
State owned Airlines have recorded twice the amount of losses compared to private Airlines
A comparison of the performance based on ownership shows that the state-owned companies recorded profits in only two years, 2015-16 and 2016-17. Private Airline companies recorded profits almost five times that of state owned, in 2015-16 and twice the amount 2016-17. In 2017-18, private companies recorded profits while their state-owned counterparts recorded a loss of around Rs. 1,245 crores. The loss in 2018-19 stood at around Rs. 4, 424 crores for state owned while private companies recorded a loss of Rs. 2,315 crores.
Operating cost has increased  by 23% in the last five years
The operating cost/expense for airlines has increased by around 23% between 2014-15 and 2018-19 while the operating revenue has increased by only around 20%. Operating expenses include salary of pilots and staff, fuel prices, maintenance, etc. The operating expense for private companies has almost doubled since 2016-17.
COVID-19 might exacerbate the situation for Airlines
Data indicates that most airline companies were already running in losses prior to the coronavirus outbreak. In the current financial year 2020-21, not only were the flights halted for two months during peak vacation period when demand is the highest, but the operating cost is also set to increase because of the additional safety measures for COVID-19. These additional safety measures include protective gears for staff, regular disinfection of flights, safety measures for passengers etc.
On top of this, with physical meetings, conferences & social gatherings ruled out for the next few months, the demand might not be back to normal anytime soon. People also might prefer to travel only if it’s absolutely necessary, because of fear of contracting the virus. Tourism industry is also significantly hit which will also have an impact on aviation. International travel demand will be far worse since countries have not fully opened their borders yet. India is yet to officially open international air travel barring a few special flights.
Thus, the impending losses in the current financial year might  threaten the survival of many airline companies. No specific relief measures have been announced by the union government to help the aviation sector.
Airspace regulations to be relaxed in India under Atmanirbhar scheme
To provide relief for the sector, under the fourth tranche of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Finance Minister announced that restrictions on Indian Air Space would be eased. Through this move, it is expected to bring about a benefit of Rs. 1000 crores for the aviation sector through reduced fuel usage, travel time, and more optimal use of air space. Further, she also announced that the taxations on maintenance, repair and operations will be rationalized, in order to make India the hub for aircraft maintenance.
Featured Image: COVID-19 impact on Airline Companies


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Data: AISHE Report Reveals That Female Faculty More Clustered in Lower Ranks, While Men Dominate Top-Posts of Higher Education - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 6, 2024
The Ministry of Education has been conducting the annual ‘All India Survey on Higher Education’ (AISHE) since 2010-11, gathering data on higher education institutions across India, including information on teachers, students, infrastructure, and examinations. The latest 2021-22 report reveals that the enrolment in higher education has been increasing across all social groups.
The Ministry of Education has been conducting the annual ‘All India Survey on Higher Education’ (AISHE) since 2010-11, gathering data on higher education institutions across India, including information on teachers, students, infrastructure, and examinations. AISHE provides a comprehensive view of higher education in India. The 2021-22 edition, the 12th survey, utilized Web Data Capture Format (DCF) for the second time.
In today’s story, we explore trends in Higher education using data from the latest AISHE report.
Total Enrolment in Higher Education stands at 4.3 Crore in 2021-22, gap between male and female enrolment yet again on rise.
Over the span of ten years, from 2012-13 to 2021-22, total enrolment across all levels and social categories surged from 30.2 million to 43.3 million, marking a robust 43% increase. During 2021-22, Scheduled Castes comprised 15.3% of total enrolment, Scheduled Tribes 6.3%, and Other Backward Castes 37.8%. The percentage share of Muslims rose to 4.9% in 2021-22 survey as compared to 4.6% during the last survey.
The share of Male enrolment dropped from 55.1% to 52.2%, while female enrolment rose from 44.9% to 47.8%, between 2012-13 and 2021-22. However, data for the three surveys indicate that the share of female enrolment declined from 49% to 47.8%, while the share of male enrolment grew from 51% to 52.2% between 2019-20 and 2021-22 surpassing 2 crores for the first time in 2020-21. The gap between male and female enrolment declined from 30.8 Lakhs to a least 7.5 lakhs between 2012-13 and 2019-20. Since then, there has been a widening of the gap in enrolment, increasing from 7.5 lakhs in 2019-20 to 18.8 lakhs in 2021-22.
Enrolments rising across all social groups.
The data on enrolments as per various social groups point to an increase across all major social groups. The share of Scheduled Tribes in the overall enrolments grew from 4.4% to 6.3% between 2012-13 and 2021-22, whereas the share of Scheduled Castes rose from 12.8% to 15.3% during the same period. The share of OBCs grew from 31.2% to 37.8% in the same period. Enrolments among the Muslim community also improved slightly, increasing from 4.6% in 2020-21 to 4.9% in 2021-22, equalling the levels of 2016-17.
Majority of the states and UT’s register decline in average enrolment per college in last decade
Higher educational institutions are broadly classified into three categories- Universities and their constituents, Colleges, and Stand-alone institutions. Out of these three, more than 70% of the enrolment is concentrated in colleges, followed by universities at around 23% and the rest in stand-alone institutions. Enrolment in colleges hence becomes an important aspect in measuring the accessibility of higher education in India.
The data on the average enrolment in colleges over the last decade, from 2012-13 to 2021-22, show that the majority of the states registered a decline. Large states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, and Rajasthan saw a decline in the average enrolment per college, while States like Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and Telangana saw an increase. At an all-India level, the average enrolment per college declined marginally from 715 in 2012-13 to 709 in 2021-22.
Regional disparities continue to loom the Higher Education landscape.
In recent years, regional disparities in higher education access and enrolment have grown more pronounced. In 2021-22, the number of colleges per lakh population ranged from 7 in Bihar and 8 in Jharkhand to 66 in states like Karnataka and 52 in Telangana. The proliferation of private entities in higher education is also a probable factor contributing to the widening regional disparities in the distribution of institutions and enrolment across India.
Further, this concentration of institutions has exacerbated regional enrolment gaps, with states having higher college concentrations also experiencing higher Gross Enrolment Ratios (GERs), with states like Bihar having GER of 17.1, while Tamil Nadu has 47, followed by Kerala at 41.3, and Telangana at 40.
Female faculty more clustered in lower ranks, while men dominate the top-posts.
In higher education institutions globally, there is a clear emphasis on promoting inclusion and diversity. Women encounter substantial challenges in higher education workplaces, experiencing disadvantages and underrepresentation, especially in high-demand fields like STEM. In India, female student enrolment in higher education rose from 44.9% to 47.8% between 2012-13 and 2021-22. Similarly, the total number of teachers in higher education has also grown with the share of female teachers increasing from 39% in 2012-13 to 43.4% in 2021-22 of the total teacher strength in higher education in India.
However, the finer details reveal the sociological phenomenon of the glass ceiling. It can be seen that female faculty tend to be clustered in lower ranks, while male faculty continue to dominate the top-level posts. Further, the growth rate of female faculty in lower ranks is also greater as compared to the growth rate in the top-level posts.

created: February 6, 2024


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Data: Among CAPFs, Most Suicides in CRPF in the Last Five Years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 10, 2023
Data from various parliament responses indicates that the number of suicides in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) has increased in the last many years with CRPF topping the list. Reliability of the data is also an issue since data shared in the NCRB reports is found to be different from the data shared in parliament.
Recently, a constable of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) shot dead three passengers and a senior colleague. It is alleged that the constable was suffering from psychiatric issues, and he is being put to watch to rule out any attempt of suicide. This puts a spotlight on the working conditions and the overall functioning of the armed forces.
In this context, we look at the data on suicides committed by the armed forces over the years and the associated trends.
Suicides in Indian Army outnumber the suicides in Navy and Airforce
There have been 901 cases of suicides in Indian Army from 2010 to 2019, averaging around 90 per year. At the same time, the number of suicides in the Indian Air Force stood at 182, followed by Indian Navy at 40. The average number of suicides per year in the Air Force and Navy stood at 18 and 4 respectively.
These statistics indicate the Army is worst affected by the malady of suicides due to its large workforce compared to the Air Force & the Navy. The scope and depth of physical and psychological stress are peculiarly larger and different in the army, primarily due to the special nature of the service conditions. Most of the suicides are attributable to the increased stress environments. And it is observed that the lower the designation, the more the number of suicides. Despite several positive measures, the suicides of personnel haunt the army even today.
An increasing trend in the suicides in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)
The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) consists of seven units namely Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). There are more than 10 lakh personnel working across all the CAPF units, and in different working conditions.
The total number of suicides in these CAPFs has increased in the early 2020s as compared to the years in the previous decade.  From 119 suicides in 2011, it reached a decadal highest of 157 in 2021, thereafter a marginal decline to 136 is seen. As per the latest data, 2023 already has seen 71 suicides.
CRPF tops in suicides among CAPFs, followed by BSF.
Understanding which unit of CAPF is registering the highest suicide is crucial in understanding the causative factors behind the suicide, as each unit has a different kind of work environment and job duties.
The data from the Parliament questions reveal that between 2013 and 2016 (July), CRPF recorded the highest with 137 personnel dying by suicide, followed by CISF with 50 suicides and Assam Rifles with 32 suicides. BSF recorded the lowest, with 12 suicides, followed by SSB with 26 suicides. Strangely, BSF had the highest number of deaths (121) due to Fratricide/Killing/Firing at Colleagues during the same period, followed by CISF (9).
Interestingly, the data from 2017 to 2022 presents a contrasting picture. While CRPF retained its top position with 269 suicides, BSF emerged second highest with 212 suicides, followed by CISF with 109 suicides. NSG recorded the lowest number of suicides, with 8 personnel dying by suicide, followed by ITBP with 56 suicides and Assam Rifles with 59 suicides. On average, one personnel from the CAPFs dies by suicide every three days.
The data of attrition due to other reasons from 2018 to 2022 as per the 242nd report of the Demand for Grants 2023-24 show that over fifty thousand personnel left CAPFs during the past five years. The attrition is highest in BSF, followed by CRPF, while SSB recorded the lowest attrition.
The suicidal rate in CAPF is higher than the all-India suicidal rate.
Every occupation comes with its own type of stress. But the scope and the nature of the stress varies. A draft report by the task force on suicides and fratricides in the CAPFs points out the three main causative factors of suicides in CAPFs – Service Conditions, Working Conditions, and Personal/individual issues. Leaves, bullying, and fear of disciplinary action are among the most cited triggers for suicides of CAPFs.
If we look at the suicide rate in CAPFs and the all-India suicide rate, it is observed that CAPFs have a higher suicide rate as compared to the same for India. On average, between 2011 and 2021, 14 persons committed suicide for every lakh population in CAPFs as compared to 11 at an all-India level. This emphasizes the need for intervention in improving the service and working conditions of the forces. The existing measures taken in this direction do not seem to have yielded the desired results.
Need a reliable data source to study suicides of armed personnel.
It is colloquially said that what gets measured, gets managed. Unfortunately, the data for the suicides of armed personnel is not easily available. Apart from the Parliament questions, there is no reliable source that puts out the figures for the suicides happening within the policing network across India. This is even though these occupations are more prone to suicides. A Research Project conducted by a senior commandant, CISF titled, “ATTRITION IN CAPFs”,   sponsored by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy,  points out to the non-availability of timely and accurate information regarding the suicides and general sense of lack of interest and apprehension to share information among the forces.
The NCRB’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report stopped publishing data on suicides in CAPFs in 2020. Even when it was published earlier, the suicidal figures varied very much compared with the Parliament questions. For instance, the 2019 ADSI report puts the number of suicides in CAPFs at 36, whereas the latest Parliament question & Demand for Grants (2023-24) of the Ministry of Home Affairs puts the number of suicides at 129.
It is high time to establish an accurate and timely data source to point out the suicides happening in the policing network and armed forces across India.


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Data: Amount in ‘Unclaimed Deposits’ reaches Rs. 24,356 crores, with three-fold increase in six years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 7, 2021
The latest data from the RBI indicates that the amount in ‘Unclaimed Deposits’ by the end of 2020 increased to Rs. 24,356 crores. This is three times the amount by the end of 2014 and more than five times the amount by the end of 2011.
As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, a bank account is considered inoperative/dormant if there are no transactions for over two years. Further, the accounts that are not operative for more than 10 years are classified as unclaimed deposits.
There are multiple reasons for accounts becoming inoperative, with the major ones being – the death of the account holder, shifting to a new place, etc.  The RBI has issued guidelines, on how the banks need to deal with inoperative accounts.
As per an update provided in Lok Sabha in August 2021, there are more than 8.13 crore accounts with unclaimed deposits as of 31 December 2020, with the total amount in these accounts at Rs. 24,356 crores. In this story, we analyse the trends in unclaimed deposits based on the information released by the RBI regularly & data provided in the parliament.
Amount in ‘Unclaimed Deposits’ increased by more than five times during 2011 & 2020
In 2011, the amount in unclaimed deposits in all the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) in India was Rs. 4.38 thousand crores, which increased by more than five-time to Rs. 24.35 thousand crores by the end of 2020.
This growth in amount is more prominent over the last three years. In 2017, the amount in unclaimed deposits was Rs. 11.32 thousand crores, which increased by nearly 26.6% in 2018 to Rs.14.3 thousand crores. In the next year i.e., in 2019, the growth in the amount was 28.4% and in 2020, it increased by 32.5% to Rs. 24.35 thousand crores.
The number of accounts with unclaimed deposits has increased four-fold during 2011-2020. In 2011, the number of such accounts was 1.97 crores. By 31 December 2020, the number of accounts with unclaimed deposits was 8.13 crores across all the SCBs in the country. The growth of such accounts was more prominent over the recent three-year period of 2018 & 2020.
Most of the increase in ‘Unclaimed deposits’ is in Public Sector Banks
Among the different categories of Banks, the data for which is provided in the RBI’s DBIE database, the three major categories of banks with a substantial amount in unclaimed deposits are – Public Sector Banks, Private sector Banks & Foreign banks.
Public Sector Banks (PSBs): A major portion of the unclaimed deposits belong to Public Sector banks.  In 2019, the total amount in unclaimed deposits with Public Sector banks amounted to Rs. 14.97 thousand crores. In 2005, it was around Rs. 835 Crores. While there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of unclaimed deposits, major growth was seen in recent years.
In 2015, the amount in unclaimed deposits of PSBs was Rs. 5.78 thousand crores, which increased sharply to Rs. 9.19 thousand crores in 2016. Another sharp increase was witnessed in 2019 when the amount in unclaimed deposits increased from Rs. 11.9 crores by the end of 2018 to Rs.1 4.97 crores by end of 2019. The number of accounts with unclaimed deposits in PSBs by the end of 2019 was 5.35 crores.
Private Sector Banks: The amount in unclaimed deposits in Private Sector banks increased from Rs. 52.73 crores in 2005 to Rs. 2.47 thousand crores at end of 2019. As seen in the case of public sector banks, the growth of amount in unclaimed deposits was more prominent in recent years.
By the end of 2017, the amount in unclaimed deposits increased to Rs.1.5 thousand crores from Rs. 1.17 thousand crores by the end of 2016. This further increased to Rs. 1.97 thousand and Rs. 2.47 thousand crores by the end of 2018 & 2019 respectively.
There has been a consistent year-on-year increase in the amount in unclaimed deposits with private banks except for 2014 when the amount in unclaimed deposits fell from Rs. 624 crores to Rs. 531 crores, which was contributed by the fall of unclaimed deposits in IDBI bank. The number of accounts with unclaimed deposits in private sector banks was 70.9 lakhs by the end of 2019.
Foreign Banks: A total amount of Rs. 455 crores in unclaimed accounts were in the accounts with foreign banks by the end of 2019. There is a steady growth in the number of unclaimed deposits with foreign banks. In 2013, there has been a major increase from Rs. 73 crores to Rs. 491 crores, which fell back to Rs. 148 crores by the end of 2014. This is mainly due to the increase and subsequent fall in the number of unclaimed deposits with Citi Bank during these years.
Nationalized banks account for around 67% of the total unclaimed deposits as of 2020.
As per the data available with RBI and the updates provided in Lok Sabha, a major portion of the accounts that have unclaimed deposits belong to the nationalized banks.  Post the mergers in the past couple of years, 11 banks that are considered as Nationalized banks in 2020, excluding the SBI group banks.
A total of 5.47 crore accounts have unclaimed deposits with these 11 Nationalized Banks with a total amount of Rs. 16.59 thousand crores as of 31 December 2020. Further, nearly 15% of the amount in unclaimed deposits i.e., Rs. 3.57 thousand crores are with the SBI group banks. These unclaimed deposits belong to 1.31 crore accounts.
A total amount of Rs. 2.9 thousand crores from 88.67 lakh accounts in unclaimed deposits are with the Private Banks as of 31 December 2020. While ‘Regional Rural Banks (RRB)’ have only Rs. 601 crores in unclaimed deposits, they belong to 37.65 lakh accounts. This could be due to the lower value of deposits with the RRB accounts. On the other hand, Rs. 612 crores is unclaimed from 6.61 lakh foreign bank Accounts as of 31 December 2020.
Bank of Baroda has the most amount in unclaimed deposits after SBI group banks
By the end of 2020, the total amount in unclaimed deposits with all the SBI group Banks were Rs. 3.57 thousand crores. These belong to 1.31 crore accounts.
Among the Nationalized Banks as mentioned earlier, Bank of Baroda has the highest amount in unclaimed deposits amounting to Rs. 2.87 thousand crores, second only to SBI group banks. This amount is more than the two other large public sector banks – Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank. However, the number of accounts with unclaimed deposits is lower than that of the other banks like Canara Bank, PNB, Union Bank of India, Indian bank each of which have more accounts with unclaimed deposits.
ICICI Bank is the only private bank in the list of top-10 banks with an unclaimed deposit of Rs. 809 crores in 22.74 lakh accounts.
Unclaimed Amount to be deposited in DEAF
As per the guidelines of RBI, any amount remaining unclaimed for more than 10 years has to be credited to the ‘Depositor Education and Awareness Fund’ (DEAF). This fund was established as per Section 26A of the Banking Regulation Act.  The fund is to be utilized for the promotion of the Depositor’s interest.
The depositor is entitled to claim any of the unclaimed amount even after the amount has been transferred to the fund. The respective bank is liable to fulfill the claim along with the interest payable on the unclaimed amount.
As per the data available by the end of 2019, the total value of the interest credited on the unclaimed deposits is around Rs. 133 crores. A major portion of the unclaimed deposits are with savings accounts with around Rs. 12 thousand crores compared to 1.6 thousand crores in fixed deposits by the end of 2019.
Featured Image: Amount in ‘Unclaimed Deposits’

created: December 7, 2021


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Amount involved in reported cases of ‘Bank Fraud’ increase over three-fold in four years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 10, 2021
The RBI’s annual report has a separate section on bank frauds. Data from the recently released annual report for 2020-21 indicates that the total amount in reported cases of bank fraud increased by over three times in the four years between 2017-18 and 2020-21. Here is analysis of the trends.
Bank fraud is considered a federal crime in many countries as it involves fraudulent activities to wrongfully gain property or money from a federally insured financial institution. There have been umpteen cases of money misappropriated in bank frauds in the country even to the tune of 100s of crores.
Though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does not have a standardized definition for fraud, Section 17 of the Indian Contract Act, in contractual terms, suggests that fraud means and includes any of the acts by a party to a contract or with his connivance or by his agents with the intention to deceive another party or his agent or to induce him to enter into a contract. In simpler terms, it is a dishonest act or behaviour by which a person gains an advantage over another. This can be the concealment of facts, false claims, promises without the intention to carry it out, or any deceptive act.
RBI has classified fraud into mainly six categories
Every year, a significant number of bank fraud cases are reported in India. According to RBI’s Master Circular on ‘Frauds – Classification and Reporting‘, frauds have been classified as misappropriation and criminal breach of trust, encashment through forged instruments, manipulation of books of account, an extension of unauthorized credit facilities for reward or for illegal gratification, cash shortage, cheating and forgery, and fraudulent transactions involving foreign exchange. Bank fraud can be an act of insiders or others.
The RBI has a dedicated section on fraud analysis in its annual report, which is a statutory report of its Central Board of Directors. In the latest 2020-21 annual report, the working and functions of the RBI for the transition period of nine months (July 2020 – March 2021) have been covered, following the decision in 2020 to change its accounting year from July-June to April-March cycle to align its financial year with that of the government. In its annual report, the RBI data on frauds corresponds to frauds of Rs 1 lakh and above only.
More than 28,000 cases of bank fraud have been reported in the last four years
Data from 2017-18 to 2020-21 reveals that the total number of bank frauds involving a minimum of Rs. 1 Lakh went up from 5,916 in 2017-18 to 8,703 in 2019-20, and then dropped to 7,363 in 2020-21. In other words, the number of reported cases of fraud went up by 47% in three years between 2017-18 and 2019-20 and then dropped by 15% in the pandemic year, 2020-21. A total of 28,780 cases of bank fraud involving at least Rs. 1 lakh have been reported in the last four years. It should be remembered that the data for 2020-21 is only for a period of 9 months, unlike the other years. Furthermore, the statistics pertaining to the number of cases reported in a particular year though the fraudulent activity could have taken place earlier.
Private sector banks account for 50% of fraud cases in 2020-21, overtaking the share of PSBs
Until 2019-20, the majority of the frauds, about one-half, were reported in public sector banks and the private sector banks accounted for around one-third of all the frauds reported across all bank groups. However, the share of frauds in public sector banks of the total frauds in the system decreased in 2020-21 while that of private sector banks increased. In 2020-21, public sector banks accounted for 39% of the fraud cases reported while private sector banks accounted for more than 50%.
Meanwhile, the share of foreign banks, which accounted for the third-highest number of bank frauds, has reduced from 16.5% in 2017-18 to 7.1% in 2020-21. There has been an increase in the number of frauds reported in payments banks from just 3 in 2017-18 around the time when payments banks were introduced in India, to 88 in 2020-21. There has not been a significant change in the numbers reported by other bank groups such as financial institutions, small finance banks, and local area banks.
According to a report in The Hindu in December 2020, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered about 190 cases of bank fraud in 2020 alone, involving alleged misappropriation of close to ₹ 60,000 crores. In about a dozen cases, the companies and their top functionaries were accused of cheating the banks of more than ₹ 1,000 crores each, stated the report.
Rs. 4.37 lakh crores involved in bank frauds in four years
In terms of the amount involved in frauds, the total amount witnessed a more than a four-fold increase from Rs. 41,167 crores in 2017-18 to Rs. 1.85 lakh crores in 2019-20. However, it reduced by 25% to Rs.1.38 lakh crores in 2020-21. In the four years under consideration, a total of Rs. 4.37 lakh crores were involved in bank frauds. The total amount involved in fraud could be much higher since the RBI report only considers cases of fraud involving Rs. 1 lakh and above.
In 2017-18, nearly 93% of the amount involved (Rs 38.3 thousand crores) was in public sector banks. Since then, though there has been an increase in the amount involved in public sector bank frauds, its share among all bank groups has gradually declined. That is, the amount involved in public sector bank fraud increased by nearly three times between 2017-18 and 2019-20. But the amount as a share of the total amount of fraud in the system decreased from 93% to 80% during the same period. In 2020-21, public sector banks accounted for 59% of the total amount reported in fraud.
During this period, the share of the amount involved in private sector bank fraud has been increasing from a mere 6% in 2017-18 to 33.5% (one-third) in 2020-21 while the amount involved increased from Rs. 2,478 crores to Rs. 46,335 crores during the same period. Concomitantly, there has also been an increase in the amount involved in foreign bank fraud cases and other financial institutions. Foreign banks have witnessed a 13-fold increase in the fraud amount while financial institutions witnessed an increase of 40 times.
Advances account for highest share of bank frauds both in terms of number and amount
Advances or lending operations constituted the highest share of bank frauds each year between 2017-18 and 2020-21. The number of frauds pertaining to advances was the highest in 2019-20 with over 4,608 cases accounting for 53% of all bank frauds above Rs. 1 lakh reported that year. In 2020-21, advances accounted for 3,501 fraud cases- a decrease of 24%. Meanwhile, the share of fraud cases pertaining to cards and internet banking increased to almost 35% in 2020-21 as compared to 27.5% in 2018-19, while the actual number of frauds increased by 36%. The number of cases of fraud related to deposits, cheques, and clear accounts which together constitute less than 1% of the cases, has come down over the years, while cash-related fraud cases have increased.
99% of amount involved in frauds were related to advances in 2020-21
In terms of the amount involved, 99% of the total amount involved in 2020-21 was in the area of advances. In fact, the amount involved in frauds of advances was about Rs.1.37 lakh crores in 2020-21, which is much higher than the total amount involved in frauds in 2017-18 and 2018-19, put together. In 2019-20, nearly Rs.1.82 lakh crores were involved in advances related to fraud. In the four years, the amount involved in advances-related fraud was more than Rs. 4 lakh crores or 93% of the total amount involved in frauds. On the other hand, the amount involved in frauds surrounding foreign exchange, off-balance sheets, cards and internet banking, clear accounts, and others have decreased over the years.
Enhancement of fraud risk management system is part of RBI’s agenda for 2021-22
Among the key areas of focus in the agenda for 2021-22, RBI aims to work towards enhancement of fraud risk management system including improving the efficacy of the early warning signal (EWS) framework. RBI also aims to strengthen fraud governance and response system through augmenting data analysis for monitoring of transactions, introduction of dedicated market intelligence (MI) unit for frauds and implementation of automated unique system generated number for each fraud.
According to previous reports, the date of occurrence of these frauds are, however, spread over several previous years. The average lag between the date of occurrence and its detection by banks was 22 months in 2018-19, 24 months in 2019-20, and 23 months in 2020-21. The same for large frauds involving Rs. 100 crores and above was 55 months in 2018-19, 63 months in 2019-20, and 57 months in 2020-21.
Featured Image: Cases of ‘Bank Fraud’


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Amount of fake ITC under GST increased to 1.5% of total GST collection in 2020-21
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 5, 2021
Input Tax Credit (ITC) is an important feature of the Goods & Services Tax regime in India. However, there have also been several cases of ITC fraud detected in the last few years. Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, a total of Rs. 37.48 thousand crores of fake ITC claims were detected by the government amounting to 1.06% of the total GST collection in these three years. In 2020-21, this percentage went up to 1.51%.
The Goods & Services Tax (GST) came into effect from 01 July 2017, with the aim of implementing a simplified, self-regulating, and non-intrusive Indirect tax compliance regime. GST in principle allowed a unified tax system in lieu of the multiple Central & State taxes. It is a comprehensive multi-stage tax system applied to the sale of goods & services. One of the main aims of this taxation system is to curb the cascading effect of indirect taxes on the sale of goods & services. This facilitates a seamless flow of input credit across the supply chain i.e., Manufacture to Consumption. Thus, Input Tax Credit (ITC) is an important feature of GST.
What is Input Tax Credit?
Input tax credit (ITC) refers to the tax that a businessperson pays on the purchase of inputs, which can be used to reduce the Tax liability at the point of sale i.e., Businesses can claim credit to the extent of GST paid on the purchases made to further the business interests. Since GST is an integrated Tax system, where every purchase by a business matches with a sale by another business, the flow of credit would be a seamless option.
For Example:Mr. A purchases goods worth Rs. 20,000 and pays Rs. 3,600 as GST (18%). He sells the goods at Rs. 24,000, with GST payable being Rs. 4,320 (18%).
He can claim the Rs. 3,600, he paid as GST on purchases as Input Tax credit (ITC) and will be liable to pay a net tax of only Rs. 720.
Below are the mandatory requirements for claiming ITC under GST:
The list of documents required for claiming ITC are given in the following image.
The amount involved in ITC Fraud increased in 2020-21
The provision of ITC in the GST system provides the option for businesses to apply for claims to the extent of input taxes that they have paid.  However, there are several instances of fake claims for ITC. The Directorate-General for GST Intelligence (DGGI) is an intelligence agency under the Ministry of Finance, which investigates tax evasion under GST. DGGI investigates ITC claims, identifies any frauds, and books cases against such frauds.
Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha in August 2021, the Ministry of Finance furnished the details of cases of ITC fraud booked by the DGGI. In 2020-21, a total of 1976 cases of ITC fraud were booked by DGGI, with amounts involved to the tune of Rs.17,731 crores. The GST collection during 2020-21 was Rs. 11.72 lakh crores. In other words, the volume of ITC fraud amounts to around 1.51% of the total GST collection in 2020-21.
In comparison, the volume of ITC fraud in 2019-20 was Rs. 7.9 thousand crores and a total of 1027 cases booked by DGGI. This was around 0.65% of the total GST collection of Rs. 12.11 lakh crores in 2019-20.
In 2018-19, a total of 1620 cases were booked with the total value of the fake claims being Rs. 11.81 thousand crores. This was 1.01% of the total GST collection of Rs. 11.67 lakh crores in 2018-19.
In the current financial year 2021-22, 227 cases amounting to Rs. 2.21 thousand crores were identified as fraud by the end of the first quarter, June 2021.
West Bengal, Chhattisgarh & Haryana are among the states with a higher incidence of ITC Fraud
Overall, Maharashtra accounted for the highest volume of ITC fraud with over Rs. 10.78 thousand crores in 597 cases over the three years i.e., 2018-19 to 2020-21. However, this represents about 2.06 % of the total GST collection from the State during this period. The highest incidence of ITC fraud in Maharashtra was in the year 2020-21.
Only about 11% of the value identified as Fraud in 2019-20 & 2020-21 recovered to date
In the same Rajya Sabha answer, the Ministry of Finance also provided the value of the amount recovered out of the amount identified as ITC fraud.
During 2019-20 & 2020-21, a total of Rs. 2.82 thousand crores were recovered. In 2019-20, the amount recovered was Rs. 1.3 thousand crores accounting for around 17% of the total fraud for that year. In 2020-21, although the volume of the amount recovered increased to Rs. 1.48 thousand crores, it makes up only 8.4% of the fraud in the year.
Overall, 321 arrests were made during 2019-20 and 2020-21, with 95 in the earlier year and 226 in the latter year.
Government lists initiatives to reduce ITC fraud
In the same response in Rajya Sabha, the government listed various steps initiated to counter the frauds under ITC.  With the recovery rate being very low, it is imperative that initiatives are taken to mitigate the incidence of fraud itself.
One of the efforts in this direction as stated by the government is the creation of the Directorate of Analytics & Risk management (DGRAM) which utilizes technology to identify potential cases of fraud and assist the investigative authorities. Aadhar based authentication is made mandatory for new applications to eliminate the fakes. Further, the government stated that mandatory regulations are in place for the submission of authentic proofs.
Featured Image: Input Tax Credit

created: October 5, 2021


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Amount of Life Insurance Claims due to death increase by 36% in 2020-21
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 10, 2021
There are a lot of questions around the accuracy of COVID-19 case and death data being reported by the governments on a daily basis. However, other related data could offer insights into the impact of COVID-19. The data on life insurance claims due to death as reported by the insurance companies indicates that the value of claims increased by 36% in the first three quarters of 2020-21 compared to the same period in 2019-20 and this increase is reported by most of the insurance companies.
The COVID-19 pandemic that began last year has brought upon loss of lives and a large-scale impact on health across the world. Although India has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases, the fatality rate has been lower than many other countries badly affected by the pandemic.
While there are apprehensions on the reliability of the information being provided by the government authorities on a daily basis, trends observed in other sectors are analysed to ascertain the impact of COVID-19.  One such sector is the Insurance sector.
Insurance policy offers financial protection and assistance in wake of any death, loss or financial need.  As per the latest information available in IRDAI’s ( Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India)   Handbook of Indian Insurance Statistics 2017-18, the Insurance Penetration for Life Insurance in India in 2017 was 2.76%, compared to the global average of 3.33%. The insurance penetration for non-life insurance is much lower at 0.93%, whereas the global average is 2.8%.
While the penetration of insurance is lower, it does make up for a sizeable number in view of India’s huge population. As the data Indicates, the idea of insurance in India is more synonymous with Life Insurance– as financial security in case of death or during old age. The number of those opting for non-life insurance coverage is comparatively lower with a good proportion of it due to the government rules & regulations (as in the case of Motor vehicle insurance). However, thanks to the corporate & employer initiatives and also an increased awareness, the uptake of health insurance are growing every year with the rising costs of private healthcare. Even in this space, most of the policies are part of employer benefits or government-sponsored health schemes.
IRDAI’s website provides information as part of ‘Public Disclosure’ by the respective Insurance companies in the country. We take a look at the latest information provided until Q3 of 2020-21 i.e., till December 2020 and analyse the trends during this period, compared to the previous years.
The value of Death Claims settled by LIC up to Q3 of 2020-21 up by 32%
As per the information shared by the public sector Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), during Quarter 3 (Q3) of 20-21, a total of Rs. 7.54 thousand crores were paid out against the death claims. Compared to the same quarter last year (2019-20), this is an increase of nearly 81%. This growth rate is way higher compared to the earlier years when it was only 5% and 8% respectively
Apart from the substantial increase in the total value of death claims settled by LIC during 2020-21, a more significant trend is in regard to the number of claims made. Bucking a year-on-year decreasing trend observed in the previous year, a total of 8.16 lakh claims were made by the end of Q3 in 2020-21 compared to 6.97 lakh claims during the same period in 2019-20. This is reversing of the trend observed in the previous three years, where the number of claims due to death was lower than their preceding years. On the other hand, the value of claims settled due to policy maturity did not show a greater increase compared to earlier years.
Other insurers like SBI Life, ICICI-Prudential etc. also report an increase in the claims due to Death
Apart from the public sector LIC, many other Private Insurers also reported an increase in the amount of ‘Insurance Claims’ due to death in the first three quarters of 2020-21.  There are 23 private insurers offering Life Insurance policies. Similar to LIC, even they are required to make public disclosure, the details of which are available on the IRDAI Website. As per the information provided by the private insurers (who have updated details up to Q3 of 2020-21), here are few observations.
In most of the cases, there is a higher increase in the claims during Q3 of 2020-21 compared to the same quarter in 2019-20. As observed in the case of LIC, the proportion of the increase in 2020-21 is more than the increase observed in earlier years in the case of most of these private insurers.  However, the trend is not uniform across the insurers, some of the insurers reporting fewer claims like Pramerica and Shriram Life.
IDBI Federal released its data for the entire year of 2020-21. A total value of Rs. 126 crores were settled as claims due to death during 2020-21 compared to Rs. 77.9 thousand crores i.e., an increase of 62%. If the trend observed until the end of Q3 and the reference of IDBI Federal is any indication, we can expect the total value of claims for the entire year of 2020-21 to be much higher than in 2019-20. We could witness a considerable & substantial increase in the claims settled as well.
While the trends vary, number of Health Insurance claims lower than previous year
As per the information available on the IRDAI website, about 33 insurers provide Non-Life Insurance. Among others, Health Insurance is one of the non-life insurances. Analysis of 10 of the large Non-Life insurers who provide ‘Health Insurance (HI)’ shows that variances exist in the trends of HI claims up to Q3 of 2020-21 compared to that of the same period in 2019-20.
Among the insurers analysed, United India Insurance and HDFC ERGO have reported a higher number of HI claims during 2020-21 (up to the end of Q3) compared to 2019-20.  Most of the other insurers have reported fewer HI claims during the first three quarters of 2020-21 compared to the same period in 2019-20.
Analysis of the trends for each quarter shows that in the case of most of the insurers, the number of HI claims received during Q1 of 2020-21 is lesser, which has impacted the YTD (Year to Date) numbers. It ought to be noted that this period coincided with the nationwide lockdown in 2020. While there was an increase in the ensuing quarters, the overall numbers are still less than the numbers in 2019-20.
The Insurance claim information can offer significant insights of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
The information provided by the insurance companies regarding the claims due to deaths does not specifically highlight if the deaths were due to COVID-19. Hence, the increase in the number of death claims cannot be directly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. However, the data does indicate that the increase in the number of death claims in 2020-21 is at a much higher rate compared to the earlier years and this trend is more or less uniform across most of the Insurance companies. Such a higher rate of increase is only possible due to a specific event which, in this case, could be the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, the Health Insurance claims information reflects the impact of COVID-19 lockdown, but the hospitalization and other aspects associated with COVID-19 do not seem to have a bearing on the same. The initial challenges around most Insurances Companies not recognizing COVID-19 for cash-less insurance coverage and other uncertainties relating to extending health insurance to COVID-19 patents could be a factor in the reduced health insurance claims. At the same time, the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system, especially with respect to the treatment of other ailments and medical procedures is reflected in the health insurance claims data, that many non-emergency procedures may have been postponed leading to fewer claims. The lower numbers mean that the treatment of COVID-19 took primacy at the cost of other ailments.
The recent judgement of the Delhi Court and the norms laid down by IRDAI in respect to Insurance coverage of COVID-19 could pave way for an increased number of health insurance claims to be raised for COVID-19 related cases, especially in view of the devastating second wave in India.
Featured Image: Life Insurance Claims


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Data: Amount of NPAs decrease on account of increased Write-offs
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 11, 2021
The amount of gross & net NPAs has reduced in the last two years from the high recorded by the end of 2017-18. However, this reduction in the amount of NPAs is largely driven by the increased ‘write-offs’ in the last two years. Here is a detailed analysis.
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the annual publication, “Statistical Tables Relating to Banks in India 2019-20”, which provides information on various activities of the scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) and rural co-operative banks in the country.  One of the major data points provided in this report is the details about the non-performing assets (NPAs) of SCBs.
Over the past few years, there has been a discussion over NPAs of the SCBs and the yearly write-offs by banks.  Incidents of defaulters fleeing the country or closure of companies due to loan defaults etc. have raised concerns about the growing NPAs of banks and their impact on the financial health of banks. Furthermore, the number of write-offs, especially by the public sector banks have raised concerns among the general public. Here is a look at the trends in NPAs and loan Write-offs over the years based on the information provided by RBI.
Fall in the amount of NPAs at the end of 2019-20 compared to the earlier years
As per RBI’s data, the total Gross NPAs declared by the Public Sector, Private Sector, Foreign, Small Finance & Payments banks as on 31 March 2020, amounted to Rs. 8.99 lakh crores, less than the Rs. 9.36 lakh crores as of 31 March 2019. Gross NPAs have been on a  declining trend over the last two financial years compared to 2017-18, the year when gross NPAs touched the highest of Rs. 10.39 lakh crores.
Amidst concerns about rising NPAs, the government of India stated that the increase in NPAs is due to the Asset Quality Review (AQR) initiated in 2015, where-in stressed accounts were reclassified as NPAs. This transparent recognition has contributed towards an increase in the NPAs as per the government’s explanation.
Over the last two years, apart from Gross NPA, there is also a fall in the Net NPA. While Gross NPA refers to all the loans that have been defaulted by the borrowers, Net NPA refers to defaulted bad loans after the provision for the un-paid debts is accounted for. Hence Net NPA reflects the actual loss to the banks as there is no provision for them.
Apart from the fall in the total value of Net NPAs, the share of Net NPAs out of the gross NPAs has also shown a declining trend. In 2019-20, net NPAs accounted for 32% of Gross NPA, while it was 38% and 50% in the earlier years. While the decline in Net NPAs is a good sign, it ought to be noted that the increased provision to cover the NPAs could have been used for business activity if it wasn’t for the higher incidence of NPAs.
Increase in the Gross NPAs of Private Sector Banks
NPAs of Public Sector Banks constitute the major portion of the overall NPAs. The fall in the overall NPAs in the last two years compared to 2017-18 can be attributed to the lesser NPAs reported for Public sector banks.  By the end of 2019-20, the Gross NPAs of Public Sector Banks were Rs. 6.78 lakh crores compared to Rs. 7.39 lakh crores by the end of the previous financial year.
On the other hand, the Gross NPAs of Private Sector Banks show a worrying trend. By the end of 2019-20, the Gross NPAs of private sector banks was Rs. 2.09 lakh crores compared to Rs. 1.83 lakh crores by the end of 2018-19.  However, the increase was not as steep as observed in 2018-19, where around Rs. 54 thousand crores worth of Gross NPAs were added. Meanwhile, the NPAs of Foreign Banks have shown a consistent decline since their high by the end of 2015-16.
However, the Net NPAs of Private sector banks have decreased by the end of 2019-20 to Rs. 55.74 thousand crores compared to Rs. 67.3 thousand crores by the end of 2018-19. The proportion of Net NPAs has reduced to around 26% in the case of private banks. It was nearly 50% by the end of 2017-18.
Net NPAs of Public sector banks constitute 34% of the gross NPAs by the end of 2019-20, compared to nearly 51% two years ago, i.e.by the end of 2017-18.  While the Gross NPAs of foreign banks have declined, the net NPAs do not present an optimistic picture with 20% being Net NPAs by the end of 2019-20, higher than the earlier two years – 11% (2017-18) & 16.5% (2018-19).
Increase in new NPAs added during the year
While the overall value of Gross NPAs has come down in the last two years, the same cannot be said about the new NPAs added during 2019-20. A total of Rs. 3.78 lakh crores worth of NPAs were added in 2019-20, compared to Rs. 3.08 lakh crores in 2018-19. As highlighted earlier, the highest addition of NPAs was in 2017-18 with Rs. 6.04 lakh crores.
The additions to NPAs have been higher than the previous financial year across all the bank types. The addition to NPAs during 2019-20 is higher compared to even 2017-18 in the case of private banks.  With the COVID-19 induced lockdowns & economic slowdown during 2020-21, there could be an increase in the NPAs during the current year.
The challenge due to the increase in additions to NPAs during the year is compounded by the fall in reductions. The overall reduction in NPAs during 2019-20 was Rs. 1.55 lakh crores compared to Rs. 1.73 lakh crores in 2018-19.
This fall in the overall reduction of NPAs is due to the fall in the annual reduction of NPAs for Public Sector Banks. The annual reduction was the highest for public sector banks in 2018-19 with Rs. 1.27 lakh crores have reduced to Rs. 99.69 thousand crores in 2019-20.  Meanwhile, the private sector banks and foreign have fared better in the reduction of NPAs during 2019-20 compared to the previous year.
Increase in the value of NPAs being written off
Banks have the provision for writing off NPAs. The RBI has laid down the rules regarding the recognition of the NPAs and the conditions for writing off these loans. The decrease in the overall NPAs at the end of 2019-20 despite an increase in the new NPAs during the year can be attributed to the increase in the loan write-offs.
As per the data provided by RBI, the total NPAs written off during 2019-20 was Rs. 2.37 lakh crores compared to Rs 2.36 lakh crores in 2018-29. The trends over the last 10 years indicate a consistent increase in the Loans being written off.  The increase in the loans written off in 2019-20 is however lesser compared to the corresponding increase in previous years.
In fact, the amount of loans written off by Public Banks during 2019-20 is lesser than the previous year, in contrast to the trend in earlier years. However, both the Private Banks and the Foreign Banks have written off a greater amount in 2019-20 compared to the earlier years.
Conclusive information about recovery of Written-off loans in not available
A popular misconception is equating write-offs to waivers. In case of a waiver, the defaulter is released from the liability of paying the debt, with the loan being permanently canceled. This action is taken up by the Government. For instance,  waiving off the loans taken by the farmers or other groups.
Technically, a ‘Write off’ is different. The default NPAs are ‘written off’ from the bank’s book of accounts to present a better balance sheet. However, the record of this unrecovered debt is maintained, and banks pursue the recovery of even these written-off loans. Apart from cleaning up of the balance sheet, another advantage for the bankers is that the amount which has been reserved as a provision for security against bad loans can be reduced in proportion to the reduction in NPAs. Such amount release can be used for banking purposes of providing loans etc.
The banks also have the option of selling the loans and handing over the recovery to third-party agencies. Although there is a scope of recovery of the loans, banks have not been successful in such recoveries.
As per the information provided in the Economic Survey of India -2020, during the year 2017-18, 14.9% of the NPAs of SCBs ( Scheduled Commercial Banks)  were recovered through various recovery mechanisms. The Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been the most successful compared to the earlier recovery regimes. For the year 2018-19, the recovery rate is provisioned at 15.5%.
However, there is no information on the extent of the recoveries among the loans written off. If the recovery rates of overall NPAs is an indication, the recovery for written off loans could be much lower. With the NPAs being written off the books and provision for bad loans being diverted to other purposes, there is no incentive to recover the written-off loans. There is an urgent need for the RBI to release data on the recovery of these written-off NPAs.
Featured Image: Amount of NPAs

created: January 11, 2021


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An average 500 LMT of Fertilizer per year was used in India in last 10 years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 18, 2020
India’s agriculture is heavily dependent on the usage of fertilizers. Government data indicates that the fertilizer usage has averaged at around 500 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) per year in the last 10 years. A parliamentary standing committee recommended for measures to ensure judicious use of fertilizers.
Land is a limited resource. To ensure food security for a growing population and to meet increasing demand, it is imperative that there is adequate food production in the country. Chemical substances such as fertilizers and pesticides are used by farmers in a bid to increase crop yield. While pesticides help in getting rid of pests which usually attack crops, fertilizers are mixed with the soil so as to increase its fertility. Fertilizers contain essential nutrients which are necessary for plant growth and its health, such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous. This is of utmost use for farmers who plant crops in multiple cycles without letting the soil ‘re-fill’ its stock of nutrients naturally.
Fertilizers’ usage must be based on geographical conditions
Using fertilizers helps farmers to grow crops on their land continuously without the need to worry about production & yield due to nutrient deficiency. Some fertilizers are even helpful for increasing the water retention capacity of soil. Both organic and inorganic fertilizers are available in the market. Since nutritional requirement varies with crop variety, type of soil, irrigation, rainfall and the climatic conditions etc., the quantity and composition of fertilizers needs to be determined separately for each piece of land and crop. The usage is thus not uniform across countries or regions. Its usage varies with time as well.
Global consumption of fertilizers is on the rise
Globally, the consumption of fertilizers has been on the rise. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the consumption of fertilizers such as nitrogenous, potash, and phosphate fertilizers touched an all-time high of more than 140 kilograms per hectare of arable land in 2016. In India, the Green revolution was a major turning point resulting in the increase of chemical fertilizer usage.
Fertilizers are included in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955
As already seen, there is a myriad number of factors which determine the quantity and mix of fertilizer inputs to be used because of which there is no ideal or standard mix which can be adopted globally. The Fertiliser Control Order, 1985 lays down what all substances can be used as fertilizers in the country. The order also enlists the product-wise specifications, sampling methods and methods of analysis of fertilizers. For instance, the Ammonium Sulphate must conform to the following standard. Because of their importance in agriculture, fertilizers are included in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 as an essential commodity.
Fertilizer usage has increased manifold since 1970s
According to a study, ‘Fertilisers use in India’ by FAO, India’s fertilizer consumption has increased from less than 1 million tonnes of total nutrients in the mid-1960s to almost 17 million tonnes in early 2000s. It also stated that introduction of High-Yield varieties of seeds in the 1960s helped elevate fertilizer use. Later, in 1973-73, the prices of fertilizers and grains increased due to the oil crisis, as a result of which countries’ formulated policies to improve their fertilizer supplies and enhance food security.
As per the figures submitted in the Lok Sabha in March 2020, there is no specific trend in fertilizers consumption in the country in the past nine years. The data for 2019-20 is up to January only and till then, India’s fertilizer consumption was close to 500 Lakh Metric Tonnes, in line with the consumption figures the year before.
A substantial portion of the fertilizers consumed were produced in India
As detailed in an earlier story, the state governments prepare a monthly estimate of the amount of fertilizers required and submit it to the Department of Agriculture which in turns coordinates with Department of Fertilizers. The Department of Fertilizers prepares the monthly supply plan after consultations with manufacturers and importers to meet the demands projected by the agriculture department. A substantial portion of urea is manufactured in India.  The domestic production of nitrogen and phosphate increased from 1.8 million tonnes of nutrients in 1975/76 to 14.2 million tonnes in 2003/04. In 2018-19, Urea production was 240 LMT while that of phosphate and nitrogen were 66.02 LMT and 5.46 LMT. Potash fertilizers are imported completely due to absence of natural resources. The import rose from 0.4 million tonnes in mid 1970s to 2.6 million tonnes in 2003-04 and touched 29.81 LMT in 2018-19. The price of urea is fixed unlike P&K fertilizers whose price is fixed by the manufacturing company.
Many states have reported a huge distortion in usage ratio of chemicals compared to the desired ratio
As per the parliamentary standing committee report titled ‘Study Of System Of Fertilizer Subsidy’ submitted in the Lok Sabha in March 2020, the consumption of urea was in a high distorted ratio as compared to the desired NPK ratio of 4:2:1. The national usage ratio stood at (6.7):(2.4):1. It has also been reported that the consumption in states like Punjab and Haryana where agriculture is dominant was as high as (31.4): 8:1 and (27.7):(6.1):1 respectively. Nonetheless, fertilizer usage in potato cultivation, sugarcane, cotton, wheat, and paddy were among the highest levels among crops i.e. 347.2, 192.6, 176.7 and 165.2 Kg/hectare respectively.
Farmers should be educated on need for soil specific fertilizer usage
The standing committee had stressed on the need for educating farmers for using soil specific fertilizers. It was observed by the committee that farmers lacked adequate knowledge of the nutrient contents in the soil. Irrespective of the nutrient content in soil, farmers used a particular group of nutrients more than others which the committee suspected was because of inappropriate marketing of certain fertilizers which fetch them a higher subsidy.
Soil Health Card will be beneficial if extended to all farmers
Currently, farmers are free to buy fertilizers without limitations. They need not provide Soil Health Card details while purchasing fertilizers. Soil Health Card Scheme was introduced by the government in 2014-15 which provides farmers with the information on the nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and fertility. Under the scheme, biennial assessment of soil status is supposed to be carried out. However, the scheme is only optional.
Standing Committee recommends measures to prevent misuse of Fertilizers
The committee has recommended the government take measures to prevent misuse of the fertilizers. As per the committee, Kisan Call Centres may also be employed to educate farmers on the need for judicial use of fertilizers. Furthermore, the committee has also recommended the transfer of subsidy to farmers directly instead of manufacturing companies. The government, according to a Lok Sabha answer, has already rolled out various awareness programs on using organic fertilizers.
Irresponsible use of chemical fertilizers will result in environmental problems
Excessive use of chemical fertilizers will result in soil acidification, heavy metals pollution, soil compaction, and changes in soil microbiome. This means that the pH level of soil and its density would change resulting in drop in fertility. Bacteria needs to be present in soil for fixing nitrogen in the soil. In short, the plants and soil will be degraded if fertilizers are not used judiciously. The chemicals used also affect the nearby waterbodies and ground water. The farmers may even end up contracting respiratory diseases and skin allergies when exposed to chemicals. Not only are fertilizers expensive but create an eternal dependence on them. In the long run, the farmers will have to pump in more money to pump in more inputs/fertilizers in the polluted soil to grow crops.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in global economic downturn because of which the crude oil prices have dropped. This is expected to have an impact on the fertilizer prices as well.
Will there be bumper harvest in Kharif 2020 amidst COVID-19?
Meanwhile, during April to June 2020 amidst the lockdown, sale of fertilizers was 111.61 LMT, almost 83% higher than the last year’s value of 61.05 LMT. Urea sales had increased by 67% to 64.82 LMT while DAP sale had doubled to 22.46 LMT and complex fertilizers’ sale was 120% higher at 24.32 LMT, as compared to last year, for the upcoming Kharif season. Will this result in a bumper harvest in the Kharif season remains to be seen.
Featured Image: Fertilizer usage


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Data: Analysing India’s Performance at the Asian Games - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 22, 2023
India won 70 medals at the 2018 Asian Games, the highest ever. But India’s position of 8th at the 2018 games was not the best. While India has won an increasing number of medals, its position in the medal tally did not improve correspondingly.
A total of 655 athletes are part of the Indian contingent participating in the 19 edition of the Asian games at Hangzhou, China. Indian athletes would be competing across 39 events. Events like Shooting, Wrestling, Weightlifting are few of the events where India has traditionally performed well.
Over the years, Asian Games has provided a platform for Indian athletes to do well on an international stage, with many memorable moments. Indian athletes have shown some strong performances in the run up this edition of the Asian games, increasing hopes for a better medal haul than in previous editions.
In the first part of our series on Asian games, we looked at the history of the Asian games. In this story, we review the performance of India in Asian games over the years. The data is from the datasets available on Dataful, which is based on the information updated by Indian Olympic Association, and the official Asian Games portal.
With 16 Gold medals and overall haul of 70 Medals, India’s best performance was in 2018
India’s performance in the Asian Games has varied across the editions. India did have a particularly good start to its journey. During the first Asian Games in 1951, held in New Delhi, India had the home advantage by winning 15 Gold medals and 16 Silver medals. As per the information available on the official Olympics website, India managed to win another 20 Bronze medals for a total medal haul of 51 medals.
India’s performance was only bettered by Japan. China, which evolved into Asia’s sporting powerhouse was not part of the initial editions of Asian games. Sachin Nag became the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Games when he won the 100-meter freestyle event in swimming. This remains to be the only gold medal that India won in Swimming. India also managed to win the first Gold Medal in Football in Asian games, with this edition coinciding with India’s golden period in football.
However, India did not match up to this performance in the subsequent editions of the Asian games. In 1954, India was able to win 17 medals, which included 5 Gold, 4 silver, and 8 Bronze. The performance slipped further in 1958, with a total medal tally of 13.
In the 1962 games in Jakarta, India’s performance improved significantly and won 33 medals, of which 10 were Gold Medals. India was placed 3 in the medal tally at the end of this Asiad. India’s football team also clinched its second Gold Medal in these games.
India’s next better performance was when it hosted the Asian Games in 1982. India won 57 medals in total, which included 13 gold, 19 silver, and 25 bronze. This was the highest tally of medals for India till then. It was only in 2010, that this medal tally was bettered with 65 medals.
However, the best performance of India in the Asian Games was in the most recently concluded games of 2018. In these games held in Jakarta (Indonesia), India won 70 medals, which included 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze.
India’s position in the first Asian games remains to be its best position
Despite India’s best tally of medals in 2018, with 70, India only achieved the 8th position in that edition of the Asian Games. India secured 16 gold, which places it below Iran, and Chinese Taipei, which won more gold medals but fewer overall medals. It ought to be noted that the position in the Olympics, Asian Games, and such, is determined by the number of Gold Medals won followed by Silver, and so on.
The best position secured by India was in the very first Asiad, where it secured the second position. Over the ensuing editions, while India managed to win more medals on some of the occasions, the comparatively better performance by other countries meant that India was unable to secure a position in the top three. China, Japan, South Korea along with Iran and other Central Asian republics generally tend to perform better than India.  India’s lowest position was in 1990, where it stood at 11 out of the 36 countries that participated in that edition.
Athletics contribute to the highest share of medals followed by Shooting, boxing & wrestling
In the first Asian Games, India won 10 Gold and 12 Silver in athletics, contributing to nearly all the medals won in that inaugural edition of the Asian Games. Over the years, while India was unable to repeat this performance in athletics, overall, it still contributes to a major share of the medals won by India. India’s increasing number of medals in more recent editions also marked an improvement in India’s performance in Athletics. However, it ought to be noted that there are multiple events that are part of Athletics. So, athletics as a category winning the highest number of medals can also be attributed to the multiple events.
From a stand-alone sports event perspective, India has traditionally been stronger in Wrestling and Boxing.  Across different weight classes of these sports, Indian boxers and wrestlers have managed to win medals in various editions of Asian Games.
Overall, as per the information available on the website of the Indian Olympic Association, Wrestlers have won 59 medals for the country. This includes 11 Gold, 14 Silver, and 34 bronze.
Indian boxers have won 57 medals, of which 9 are Gold, 16 silver, and 32 bronze medals.
Shooting is another sport where India does well in the Asian Games. Even in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, India’s better performances have been in Shooting. Indian Shooters have won 58 medals of which 9 are Gold. It has further won 21 Silver and 28 bronze in this category.  Among the team events, Indian men have won gold three times.  With the introduction of cricket in this edition of the Asian games, there are better chances of India winning another medal in a team event.
While the number of medals won by India is on the rise in recent editions, its position has not correspondingly improved. Few of the other countries that rank better than India in medals tally perform very well in specific events helping them win more golds. India can do well by focusing on the sports that it has traditionally done well and improving its performances, especially in terms of securing more gold.

created: September 22, 2023


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Data Analysis: Not many takers for NOTA in Delhi
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 18, 2020
NOTA polled 0.46% vote share in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections. Though this is slightly more than the 0.39% polled in 2015, NOTA doesn’t have many takers in Delhi despite being an Urban state.
Inthe recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won alandslide by winning 62 out of the 70 assembly seats.  The AAP polled 53.6% of the total
votes polled, followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whichpolled 38.5% of the total vote share. The BJP won the remaining 8 seats. Thevote share of AAP has reduced by 0.7% and that of BJP increased by 6.3%compared to the 2015 Assembly elections.
As far as ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) is concerned,  the 2020 Delhi assembly elections are the 45 assembly elections since the inception of NOTA in 2013. The 2014 & 2019 Lok Sabha Elections also included the NOTA option on the EVM.  This is the 3 Assembly elections in Delhi, after NOTA was introduced in 2013. In that sense, Delhi is the only place where NOTA was on the EVM in three different assembly elections. So, what is the NOTA story of the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections? Here is a detailed analysis.
Negligible increase in the vote share of NOTA compared to 2015 Assembly elections
Theshare of NOTA votes has been traditionally less in Delhi Assembly elections.
Asnoted in an earlier
story on Factly, the share of NOTA has been decreasing overthe years.
However,the share of NOTA votes in 2020 Delhi Assembly elections has slightly improvedcompared to previous election. NOTA polled 43,108 votes out of the total 92.85lakh votes polled i.e. 0.46%. While it is not as high as the share in 2013, ithas improved compared to 2015.  Furthermore, 2020 is the first assemblyelections in Delhi post the introduction of a dedicated
symbol for NOTA in 2015.
Meanwhile,the vote share of NOTA has also increased in the Lok Sabha constituencies ofDelhi in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, compared to 2014. During 2014 Lok Sabhaelections, NOTA polled 0.47% across the seven  Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi, while thisincreased to 0.52% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Share
of NOTA for General Seats on par with Reserved seats
DelhiLegislative Assembly has 12 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) out of thetotal 70 seats. Rest of the 58 seats are general seats.
Unlikethe significant difference in NOTA vote share between Reserved and Generalseats in 2013 Delhi assembly elections, the difference is negligible in othertwo assembly elections i.e. 2015 and 2020.
Asfor Lok Sabha constituencies, Delhi has one reserved seat out of the 7 LokSabha constituencies.
Amongthese 6 constituencies, New Delhi Constituency has the highest NOTA share, at parwith the reserved North West Delhi with 0.70%. It was also the higher NOTApolling General seat in 2014 Lok Sabha elections with 0.58%.
In
none of the seats, NOTA polled more than the Victory margin in 2020
Like in the case of  2015 assembly elections, even in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections, NOTA votes did not exceed the victory margin in any of the seats.
Thehighest place for NOTA in an assembly constituency in the 2020 elections was 3.This was in Palam which is a general category seat. The winner from AAP polledaround 92 thousand votes followed by the candidate from BJP who polled around60 thousand votes. There were 848 votes polled for NOTA. Indian NationalCongress, which was in third position in most of the seats has not contestedfrom this seat.
Thehighest vote share of NOTA in an assembly constituency in 2020 was in ModelTown where 0.84% of votes went to NOTA. This constituency was also the highestin 2015 with 0.7% votes for NOTA.
Interms of victory margins, the closest NOTA has polled was for Bijwasan seat in2020, won by AAP candidate with a margin of 753 votes. There were 448 votespolled for NOTA in this constituency. However, NOTA is ranked 7 here and there were other political partieswith higher votes which influenced the final outcome.
Anotherconstituency with a closer margin was Laxmi Nagar, won by BJP with a margin of880 votes. NOTA has polled 550 votes here and stood in 4 position.
However,in 2013 Delhi Assembly elections there were 4 constituencies which has NOTApolling higher seats than that of the victory margin. In 2013, there were 4constituencies which polled more than 1% for NOTA with highest being 1.2% inRajouri Garden & Sultanpur Majra.  InModel Town, NOTA polled 0.8% of the votes in 2013.
Inboth the Lok Sabha elections i.e. 2014 and 2015, the victory margin issignificantly higher than that of the votes polled by NOTA across all the sevenconstituencies.
Despite
being largely Urban, NOTA finds no takers
Buckingthe trend where NOTA polls significantly more votes in urban areas, the NOTAstory in Delhi presents a completely different picture. Despite being an urbanstate, NOTA hasn’t polled a significant share from 2013.
The2015 elections could be seen as a decisive vote in favour of AAP, after thehung assembly that the 2013 assembly elections threw up. The electorate couldhave been decisive in their voting in 2015 and this could have had an impact onthe NOTA vote.
Evenin 2020, the voting was largely bi-polar & decisive with the top twoparties/alliances polling close to 94% of the total vote. This could haveworked against NOTA.
The parity between General and Reserved seats in terms of NOTA votes, both in the 2015 & 2020 assembly elections is different from the trend observed in other parts of the country where NOTA polls significantly more in reserved constituencies. All in all, NOTA doesn’t seem to have many takers in Delhi.
Featured Image: Share of NOTA in Delhi Elections

created: February 18, 2020