From a calendar point of view, 2015 has seen two significant developments – Italian tyre maker Pirelli deciding to shed nude photos in its 2016 calendar, a paradigm shift since it launched its first calendar in 1964 with nude images, and back home, the Modi government embarking on yet another publicity blitzkrieg, this time using the calendar for the forthcoming year.

Calendars launched by the Central government are known for being modest, often verging on boredom. But the calendar for the next year launched by the Modi government – calendar 2016 – signals a small shift, though here too Prime Minister Narendra Modi is conspicuous by his presence in his trademark half-sleeve kurtas of different hues on all 12 sheets.

The calendar with the theme "'Vikas ki Nayi Udaan" highlights one development each month, an attempt to reach out to the people at a time when the government's achievements on the economic front are mixed while concerns are being raised whether it has strayed from the professed development agenda to Hindutva issues.

The calendar was launched by finance minister Arun Jaitley, who also holds the information and broadcasting portfolio, on 23 December, on a day when BJP member and former cricketer Kirti Azad was expelled from the party for speaking out on the DDCA scam, that allegedly implicates Arun Jaitley.

Read: What if Arun Jaitley quits over the alleged DDCA scam? What if he doesn't? 

The DAVP calendar will be distributed by the department of posts across India.

The various facets of the development theme include smart cities (January), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (February), importance given to small entrepreneurs (March), skills development (April), healthcare (May), financial empowerment (June), Digital India (July), rural electrification (August), job opportunities (September), farmers' issues (October), port infrastructure (November) and importance given to Northeast India (December).

Coming to the Pirelli calendar, it marks a modest shift, yet big, according to American photographer Annie Leibovitz."It [the 2016 calendar] shouldn't be such a big step, but it is a big step," she said at the calendar launch.