The sweet leaf, also known as the honey herb, is nowadays being used as an alternative for sugar. It is also used to treat a gamut of problems from diabetes obesity, hypertension, physical fatigue, and heart burn to even dental decay as the leaves are endowed with significant medicinal properties. A native of Paraguay and named after the Spanish botanist P. J. Esteve, the plant has been used as a natural sweetener for centuries in South America, especially by the Guarani Indians in Paraguay. In Japan, Stevia was approved as a sweetening agent in 1970 and constitutes about 40 percent of the sweetening market. Currently, Japan consumes more Stevia than any other country. China is the world’s largest exporter of the Stevia extract, Stevioside.
In India the cultivation of Stevia in various parts of the country is being promoted by the Karnataka Agriculture University during the last few years. Also the Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology is making efforts to create awareness about the usefulness of Stevia among the people in the area.
Stevia belongs to the family Asteraceae (botanical name Stevia rebaudiana), and is a sub-tropical frost sensitive perennial herb that grows up to about 2 feet in height. It grows on most soils, but prefers a sandy loam or loam that is high in organic matter. Stevia responds favourably to fertilizers with lower nitrogen content and most organic fertilizers work well, since they release nitrogen slowly. The plants may be kept indoors in winter with a fluorescent light left on for 14-16 hours per day, in areas that are prone to frost. Cuttings from wintered plants provide fresh plants for spring although seeds may also be used to grow the plant. Since germination rates are poor and seedlings are very slow to establish, it is best grown as an annual or perennial transplanted crop. Stevia prefers partial shade in climates with considerable summer sunshine. Long spring and summer days favour leaf growth while short days trigger blossoming.
Active Constituents and Biosynthesis
One of the major chemical constituent called Stevioside is found in Stevia leaf and attributes to the sweetening of the leaf. The leaf also contains rebaudioside A. In addition to the sweet diterpenoid glycosides, several other diterpenes have been isolated from Stevia. Since these compounds may be part of the waste stream produced during Stevia processing, their availability in large quantities could make them valuable co-products. Recent pharmalogical test on Stevia reveals that Stevioside and rebaudioside A found in the leaf may be successfully used to stabilize carbonated beverages as they are both heat and pH stable. Rebaudioside A is the least astringent, the least bitter, in relation to other high potency sweeteners such as aspartame. In aspartame the bitterness tends to increase with higher concentrations.
Stevia Leaf — a Natural Sweetner
Stevia leaf is about 300 times sweeter than sugar in its natural state and much more when processed. Unlike many chemical sweeteners, Stevia’s flavour is stable when heated. Like any other natural sweeteners as honey and maple syrup, Stevia has its own special flavour and does not taste exactly like sugar. However despite all its sweetness, there is a bitter aftertaste when the leaf, extract or Stevioside powder is placed in the mouth.
Action and Use
The Stevia leaf works as a wonderful sugar substitute and used to sweeten jams, dried sea food, gum and ice cream. It is safe for diabetics and hypoglycemics and has neither calories nor carbohydrates, making it suitable for health conscious people (it has only 1/300th amount of calories contained in sugar). Its medicinal uses include regulating blood sugar, preventing hypertension and may be used to treat of skin disorders.
A study conducted at the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark reports that Stevioside enhances insulin secretion from pancreas in presence of glucose via a direct action on pancreatic beta cells. No wonder it is considered as a great alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners for those who have diabetes.
Moreover it actually inhibits dental decay as opposed to sugar, which contributes to it. Less known, but no less remarkable, is the ability of water-based Stevia concentrate to help heal numerous skin problems, including acne, seborrhea, dermatitis and eczema. The application of Stevia leaf paste to cuts and wounds brings rapid healing without scarring. Pharmacological research also reveals its use to heal psoriasis, burns and lip sores.
With the worldwide demand growing day by day Stevia represents a new opportunity for researchers and farmers alike. Since a ready market exists for Stevia efforts need to be upgraded to promote the cultivation of the plant in different parts of India.
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- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)