Page 1 : EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , 8 EDITORIAL, , DELHI, , THE HINDU, , FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Shaking up Europe’s security architecture, An order that does not accommodate Russia’s concerns through genuine negotiation cannot be stable in the long term, , R, , ussia’s unjustifiable incursion into Ukraine fol, lowing weeks of military troop buildup on their, shared border has drastically raised tensions in, the region with broader ripple effects across the world,, particularly for NATO countries and others with strateg, ic connections to the two nations. Reports said that sev, eral Ukrainian cities, including capital Kyiv came under, attack on Thursday morning, even as the UN Security, Council held an emergency meeting to stop the inva, sion. U.S. President Joe Biden and the NATO and Euro, pean Commission leadership vowed to impose “severe, sanctions” on Russia. This round of sanctions will over, lay prior economic penalties imposed on Russian enti, ties and individuals close to the political leadership,, and they are expected to include cutting off top Russian, banks from the financial system, halting technology ex, ports, and directly targeting the Russian President., Moscow can hardly be surprised at this backlash, for it, has shown little sympathy toward the idea of engaging, diplomatically on the Ukraine question to address Rus, sian security concerns. Ever since Russia began amass, ing troops on the Ukrainian border, the U.S., NATO, and, Europe have sought to press for diplomatic solutions., This includes direct U.S.Russia negotiations, and, French President Macron’s meeting with Mr. Putin., While the sense of frustration in western capitals ov, er Mr. Putin’s intractability and aggression are palpa, ble, and the use of severe sanctions stemming from that, is a strategic inevitability, it is unlikely that the prospect, of escalating violence and a devastating toll on human, life and property in Ukraine can be ruled out until Mr., Putin’s broader questions on NATO are answered. At, the heart of his fears is the prospect of Ukraine joining, NATO and NATO troops potentially stationed at the bor, der with Russia. NATO’s historical record, of its pen, chant for expansionism, has likely fuelled such insecur, ities. After the dissolution of the former Soviet Union,, the Eastern European military alliance, NATO, and Rus, sia in 1997 signed the “Founding Act” on mutual rela, tions, cooperation, and security. Disregarding the spirit, of this agreement, NATO quietly underwent five rounds, of enlargement during the 1990s, pulling former Soviet, Union countries into its orbit. Cooperative exchanges,, communications hotlines, and Cold War failsafes such, as arms control verification have fallen by the wayside,, even more since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014., It may be the case that owing to Mr. Putin’s failure to de, velop Russia into an economic powerhouse that natu, rally attracted neighbouring countries and internation, al capital to itself partly explains Moscow’s deflection of, attention to strategic questions relating to NATO and, Russia’s territorial integrity. But unless western nations, give assurances to Mr. Putin that NATO will not seek to, relentlessly expand its footprint eastwards, Moscow, will have little incentive to return to the negotiating ta, ble. But Russia and Mr. Putin must realise that war is, not the means to peace and security., , Active agent, The use of PMLA against Nawab Malik, requires strict judicial scrutiny, , M, , aharashtra’s Minister of Minority Affairs and, Skill Development and Nationalist Congress, Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik is the second, Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance to be, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case, against Mr. Malik pertains to a transaction in 1999 in, which a property was sold to one of the companies be, longing to him for a price ostensibly much lower than, its actual worth. The Additional Solicitor General al, leged that there was enough evidence to make a case, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED, has also alleged that the property sale was done by an, individual, Salim Patel, an associate for Dawood Ibra, him’s sister Haseena Parkar, since deceased. Mr. Malik’s, advocate has argued that the power of attorney for the, property sale was made in 1999, much before the PMLA, came into force and that there is no retrospective action, in criminal law. It should be noted that Mr. Malik has, been vocal in his criticism of agencies such as the Nar, cotics Control Bureau and the way they have conducted, investigations against individuals in Mumbai. Unlike the, case with former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who, resigned after his arrest last year, the NCP and its chief, Sharad Pawar have ruled out Mr. Malik’s resignation al, leging that this is an attempt by the BJP to destabilise, the MVA government. It is for the courts to find if there, is merit in the ED’s case against Mr. Malik. It has to do so, quickly, as this has become yet another political slug, fest between the ruling coalition and the BJP., But there have been several instances where the, PMLA has been used by the government at the Centre, as a weapon to target politicians from the opposition,, their relatives, and activists recently. The PMLA was, enacted in 2002 in line with India’s global commitment, to combat money laundering, particularly related to, crimes involving drugs and narcotics. But as petitions, filed in the Supreme Court against the draconian use of, the Act have pointed out, the ED conducted 1,700 raids, and investigations in 1,569 cases in the last decade, (201120) but could obtain convictions in only nine cas, es. This suggests that the agency is using the offences, scheduled in the PMLA in an overbroad sense without, limiting itself to the chief purpose of the Act. Mean, while, as the petitioners in the case against the PMLA’s, use have argued in the Supreme Court, taking recourse, to the Act should not be “arbitrary, vague and fanciful”, and the Court must weigh in whether the near blanket, powers given to the ED for search, seizure and attach, ment of assets in several cases are justifiable., CM, YK, , P.S. Raghavan, , T, , he commencement of Rus, sian military action in Uk, raine brings down the cur, tain on the first act of a bizarre, drama that has been playing out, over the past eight months. At the, heart of it is the instability in the, postCold War security order., The first act began with a meet, ing between U.S. President Biden, and Russia’s President Vladmir Pu, tin in June last year, promising to, reverse seven years of relentless, U.S.Russia acrimony. Mr. Biden’s, decision to reach out to Mr. Putin, signalled a U.S. geopolitical reba, lancing, seeking a modus vivendi, with Russia and disengagement, from conflicts in Europe and West, Asia, to enable a sharper U.S. focus, on domestic challenges and the ex, ternal challenge from its principal, strategic adversary, China., These were Putin’s terms, Mr. Putin saw this reengagement, as an opportunity to revive Rus, sia’s flagging economy and expand, its freedom of political action glo, bally., However, he wanted this en, gagement on equal terms. Russia, would cooperate in this geopoliti, cal rebalancing if its concerns are, met, so that it does not constantly, have to counter moves to probe its, territorial integrity and constrain, its external influence — which is, how Russia sees the strategic pos, , exposed the limitations of the, U.S.’s ability to bridge them. The, irony is that the divisions are of the, U.S.’s making. Its pressure on NA, TO in 2008 to recognise Ukraine’s, membership aspirations and its, encouragement for a change of go, vernment in Kyiv in 2014, pro, voked the Russian annexation of, Crimea. The subsequent armed, separatist movement in eastern, Ukraine (Donbas) led to the Minsk, accords of 201415, which provid, ed for a special status for this re, gion within Ukraine., Ukraine considers this an unfair, outcome, and the U.S. has sup, ported its efforts to reinterpret the, accords to its advantage. While, some European countries sup, ported this line, France and Ger, many — which brokered these, agreements — have periodically, tried to progress implementation,, in the effort to break the impasse, and resume normal engagement, with Russia, which serves their, economic interests., In recent months, the U.S. sig, nalled that it would support the, full implementation of the Minsk, accords, but apparently found it, difficult to shake the entrenched, interests sufficiently to make it, happen. This may have finally con, vinced Mr. Putin that his concerns, , NATO’s weakened glue, NATO countries today span a geog, raphy of uneven economic deve, lopment and a diversity of political, traditions and historical con, sciousness. Moreover, the original, glue that held NATO together —, ideological solidarity (free world, against communist expansion), and an existential military threat —, dissolved with the collapse of com, munism and the Warsaw Pact., There is no ideology to oppose, and threat perceptions vary, de, pending on geographical location, and historical experience. This he, terogeneity means a diversity of, interests. American leadership has, normally succeeded in papering, over differences, but the growing, ambitions of countries is making, this increasingly difficult., The current crisis in Ukraine, has illustrated the divisions, and, , met, , through, , Energy security, U.S. interests have also divided NA, TO on energy security. For Germa, ny, the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) Rus, siaGermany gas pipeline is the, cheapest source of gas for its in, dustry. Others deem it a geopoliti, cal project, increasing European, dependence on Russian energy., This argument masks selfserving, interests. Ukraine fears the dimi, nution of gas transit revenues, and, also that if its importance for gas, transit declines, so will Europe’s, support in its disputes with Russia., The U.S.’s “geopolitical” argument, against NS2 dovetails neatly with, its commercial interest in export, ing LNG to Europe, reinforced by, U.S. legislation for sanctions, against companies building gas pi, pelines from Russia. Increasing, LNG exports to Europe is explicitly, stated as a motivation for the sanc, tions. European countries that op, pose NS2 are ramping up their, LNG import infrastructure to in, crease imports from the U.S., The manner in which NATO, countries implement the pro, mised harsh sanctions against Rus, sia will demonstrate whether, how, much and for how long, this crisis, will keep them united., It is too early to say what Mr. Pu, tin’s endgame is, and how costly, this adventure will be, in terms of, lives and destruction, as well as in, its political and economic impact., Without justifying the manner in, which Russia has chosen to “right”, the perceived “wrongs”, it has to, be said that this crisis results from, a broken security architecture in, Europe. A sustainable security or, , der has to reflect current realities:, it cannot be simply an outgrowth, of the Cold War order, and it has to, be driven from within. Also, a Eu, ropean order that does not accom, modate Russia’s concerns through, genuine negotiation cannot be sta, ble in the long term. France’s Pre, sident Emmanuel Macron has, been making this point forcefully,, arguing for Europe to regain its, strategic autonomy. He has called, NATO “braindead” and said that, Europe, as a “geopolitical power”, should control its own destiny, re, gaining “military sovereignty” and, reopening a dialogue with Russia,, managing the misgivings of post, Soviet countries., Outlook for India, India has to brace itself for some, immediate challenges flowing, from the Russian actions. It will, have to balance the pressure from, one strategic partner to condemn, the violation of international law,, with that from another to under, stand its legitimate concerns. We, were there in 2014, and managed, the pressures. As RussiaWest con, frontation sharpens further, the, U.S. Administration’s intensified, engagement in Europe will inevita, bly dilute its focus on the Indo, Pacific, causing India to make, some tactical calibration of actions, in its neighbourhood. Geopolitics,, however, is a long game, and the, larger context of the U.S.China, rivalry could, at some point in the, not too distant future, reopen the, question of how Russia fits into the, European security order., P.S. Raghavan is a former Ambassador to, Russia and former Chairman of the, National Security Advisory Board, , Ploughing a new channel for India’s food systems, The siloed approach of ‘agriculture’ serving ‘food security’ needs to give way to a science-society-policy interface, , Manish Anand &, S. Vijay Kumar, , I, , n an effort to spur national and, regional action to deliver the, United Nation’s 17 Sustainable, Development, Goals, (SDGs), through transforming food sys, tems, the UN Food Systems Sum, mit called for action by govern, ments in five areas: nourish all, people; boost naturebased solu, tions; advance equitable liveli, hoods, decent work and empo, wered, communities;, build, resilience, to, vulnerabilities,, shocks and stresses; and acceler, ate the means of implementation., Such a transformation in the In, dian context would involve en, hancing interfaces between the, spheres of science, society and, policy, focusing on sustainability,, resource efficiency and circularity., Mix of science and policy, An active sciencesocietypolicy, interface negated the prevailing, negative atmosphere of the 1960s, when the inability to feed a grow, ing population was propounded in, two notable books:The Population, Bomb by Paul Ehrlich, and Famine, 1975! by brothers William and Paul, Paddock. India’s Green Revolution, in the 1960s, enabling food securi, ty and addressing widespread, hunger and poverty, was achieved, not only through science and tech, nology and the development of, improved highyielding varieties, of rice and wheat but also through, policy measures and development, of institutional structure. It includ, ed a vast agricultural research and, technology transfer system at the, national, regional, State and local, , levels. The Training & Visit (T&V), system introduced in the 1970s, with World Bank assistance was, key to the sciencesociety inter, face as it established a cadre of, agriculture extension specialists at, the local level., Although India is now selfsuffi, cient in food grains production in, the macro sense, it has about a, quarter of the world’s food inse, cure people, a pointer to the, amount of food necessary to allow, all income groups to reach the ca, loric target (2,400 kcal in rural and, 2,100 kcal in the urban setup). Nu, trition indicators have marginally, improved over the years. Howev, er, macro and micronutrient mal, nutrition is widespread, with, 18.7% of women and 16.2% of men, unable to access enough food to, meet basic nutritional needs, and, over 32% of children below five, years still underweight as per the, recently released fifth National Fa, mily Health Survey (20192021), phase 2 compendium., India is ranked 101 out of 116, countries in the Global Hunger In, dex, 2021. Not surprisingly, wides, pread concerns about poverty,, malnutrition and the need for a se, cond Green Revolution are being, made in tandem. The country fac, es the dual challenge of achieving, nutrition security, as well as ad, dressing declining land productiv, ity, land degradation and loss of, ecological services with change in, land use., Need for ‘transition’, The siloed approach of ‘agricul, ture’ serving ‘food security’ needs, must give way to ‘food systems’ for, ‘sustainability’ and ‘better nutri, tion’ and embrace the range of ac, tivities and actors involved in food, production, aggregation, process, ing, distribution and consumption, embedded in their socioeconom, ic and physical context., , LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, , SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA, , Putin seems unwilling to engage, to address Russian security concerns, , would not be, negotiations., , AFP, , Russia’s NATO problem, , ture of the North Atlantic Treaty, Organization (NATO) and U.S., policies., Russia has repeatedly articulat, ed its grievances: that NATO’s ex, pansion violated promises made, prior to the breakup of the Soviet, Union; that Ukraine’s accession to, NATO would cross Russia’s red, lines; and that NATO’s strategic, posture poses a continuing securi, ty threat to Russia., NATO’s expansion as a politico, military alliance, even after the, dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the Warsaw Pact, was at the, U.S.’s initiative. It was intended to, temper European ambitions for, strategic autonomy from the sole, superpower and to counter Rus, sia’s resurgence. Recent expe, rience shows it may not be suc, ceeding in either goal., , An important takeaway from, the Green Revolutionera is that, for science to be relevant to socie, tal outcomes, it has to be planned, and executed within the theory of, change. The necessary behaviou, ral changes in adopting the im, proved seeds and practices, brought about by the T&V system, in the 1960s enabled science to, steer the process of change. In the, context of the intensifying eco, nomic, environmental and climate, challenges and crisis, the need of, the hour is a good theory of transi, tion encompassing the spatial, so, cial and scientific dimensions,, supported by policy incentives, and mechanisms for achieving a, sustainable, resilient and food se, cure agriculture. Else Ehrlich’s, nuanced prediction, following the, success of the Green Revolution,, that humanity has postponed its, tryst with disaster might come, true. A theory of change ought to, bring the focus back on sustaina, bility, resource efficiency and cir, cularity as the central pillars to, wards transforming food systems., Enhancing sustainability, An agroclimatic approach to agri, cultural development is important, for sustainability and better nutri, tion. Harnessing the spatial diver, sity of agricultural production sys, tems adopting the principles of, sustainability, resource efficiency, and circularity could correct the, limitations and unintended conse, , quences of the Green Revolution., These are the loss of indigenous, landraces, soil nutrients deple, tion, groundwater stress, exces, sive use of agrochemicals and its, residual presence in foods and en, vironment, income gap between, large, marginal and small farmers,, and the gap between irrigated and, rainfed areas., Data compiled in the agrocli, matic zones reports of the Indian, Council of Agricultural Research, and the erstwhile Planning Com, mission of India reveal enormous, potential for crop diversification, and precision for enhanced crop, productivity based on soil type,, climate (temperature and rainfall),, and captive water resources. The, livelihood of more than half of In, dia’s working population is linked, to agriculture and allied activities;, the sector has a direct influence on, the health and nutrition status of, dependent communities. Thus,, the focus should be on improving, farmers’ competitiveness, sup, porting business growth in the ru, ral economy, and incentivising, farmers to improve the environ, ment. It is assumed that a meticu, lous review of agroclimatic zones, could make smallholders farming, a profitable business, enhancing, agricultural efficiency and socio, economic development, as well as, sustainability., Keeping policy in mind, Strengthening and shortening, food supply chains, reinforcing re, gional food systems, food process, ing, agricultural resilience and, sustainability in a climatechang, ing world will require prioritising, research and investments along, these lines. A stress status of the, natural resource base — soil and, water in different agroclimatic, zones — will help understand the, micro as well as mesolevel inter, ventions needed with regard to, , technologies, extension activities, and policies. Lastly, infrastructure, and institutions supporting pro, ducers, agripreneurs and agri mi, cro, small and medium enterpris, es (MSMEs) in their production, value chain are central to the, transition., This should be aligned to the, national and State policy priorities, such as the National Policy guide, lines 2012 of the Ministry of Agri, culture for the promotion of farm, er producer organisations, and the, National Resource Efficiency Poli, cy of 2019 of the Ministry of Envi, ronment, Forest and Climate, Change. It would encourage a re, source efficient and circular eco, nomy for production, processing, and storage techniques of food, products through renewable ener, gy solutions, reduction of supply, chains and inputs (materials, wa, ter, and energy). It would also en, sure the efficient use of bypro, ducts, thereby creating value, while using fewer inputs and gen, erating less waste for long term, and largescale impact., Evidence has to be generated, not only on the effects of food sys, tems on economic, environmental, and social outcomes and their co, benefits and tradeoffs but also on, understanding the levers of, change and how to operate them., Clearly, science, society and poli, cy have a lot to gain from an effec, tive interface encompassing the, range of actors and institutions in, the food valuechain and a multi, disciplinary and holistic ap, proach, along with a greater em, phasis, on, policy, design,, management and behavioural, change., Manish Anand is Senior Fellow, and, S. Vijay Kumar is Distinguished Fellow, and Lead, Food and Land Use Coalition, (India) at The Energy and Resources, Institute, New Delhi, , Letters emailed to
[email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials., , Russia must stop, War has reared its head in, Ukraine. It is a dreaded, moment for the rest of the, world. Counter threats by, the United States and the, West about economic, sanctions may have little, impact. The rest of the, world needs to unite to, arrest any further, escalation of the events and, prevent the horror of, another world war that may, cause incalculable disaster, in the nuclear era. Saner, counsel should prevail., , made to deescalate the, crisis; in this the efforts, made by France and, Germany must be noted. If, NATO comes to the aid of, Ukraine, there is every, chance that the situation, could transform itself into a, bigger war. It must be added, that the world has not seen a, major event of this scale for, some time. Time is of the, essence and UN intervention, with an immediate ceasefire, is a must. India should make, every effort to get all sides to, the diplomatic table., , B. Gurumurthy,, , A.V. Narayanan,, , Madurai, , Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu, , ■ The world’s worst fears, have come true at a time, when every effort was being, , ■, , It is very unfortunate that, the Russians have begun a, war against Ukraine despite, , calls for a peaceful, settlement through, diplomatic efforts. Russia, seems to have ignored the, situation where the world, has still to reach a, nearnormal state following, the havoc caused by the, pandemic., In a globalised environment,, happenings in one corner, affect stability — as far as, peace and the economy are, concerned — in other remote, parts as well. A rise in oil, prices will destabilise the, global economy as Russia is a, major oil player. Any, sanctions against Russia, could boomerang. However,, if Russia continues to, maintain its strident stand, for long, it may face a threat, , of isolation as even its new, ally, China, is very cautious, in its reaction on the Ukraine, issue. Finally, with, superpowers calling the, shots time and again on how, the affairs of the world are to, be conducted, the role of the, United Nations as a body of, standing can be questioned., V. Subramanian,, Chennai, , Russian President Vladimir, Putin must be held, accountable by the world’s, statesmen for the unilateral, attack on Ukraine in the, interest of saving the region, from devastation in what is, unwarranted warfare., Unfortunately, there is no, sanctity of saner voices from, ■, , the United Nations. There is, no reason why the issues, cannot be resolved amicably., Brij B. Goyal,, Ludhiana, Punjab, , India’s new chess hope, Master Praggnanandhaa, deserves a pat for his, stunning win over world No., 1 Magnus Carlsen. The, prodigy’s win underscores, the fact that beyond cricket,, , To read more letters, online, scan the QR code, , India can consistently, produce world champions in, other sports also. The game, of chess demands a lot of, mental stamina and there is, no doubt that the 16yearold, possesses this in abundance., He is another Viswanathan, Anand in the making., R. Sivakumar,, Chennai, , corrections & clarifications:, A ‘Sports’ page story titled “SuryakumarVenkatesh show sets, up India’s clean sweep” (February 21, 2022) erroneously said, Suryakumar Yadav was 65 n.o., 31b, 1x4, 7x6. Actually Suryaku, mar’s wicket was claimed by Shepherd., It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify, the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s office can be, contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to, Friday); Fax: +91-44-28552963; Email:
[email protected]; Mail: Readers’, Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India., All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone number. No personal, visits. The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com, A ND-NDE
Page 2 : EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , THE HINDU, , OPED 9, , DELHI, , FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022, , EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, , Is the new economy creating new jobs?, PARLEY, , Startups can create highquality jobs, which have a, flywheel effect, but their mandate is not job creation, , India has added 10 unicorns in, just over 50 days this year,, which is the highest rate so far, for the country. What do you, think are the fundamental, reasons for this high rate now,, and is it sustainable over time?, , Thillai Rajan, is Professor,, Department of, Management, Studies, IITM, and, cofounder, YNOS, Venture Engine, , P.K. Jayadevan, is author and, former startup, founder, , Scan the QR code to, listen to the full, interview online, , Thillai Rajan: I was looking at the, unicorns that have emerged from, India so far, and the number seems, to be 91. The first unicorn emerged, in 2011. From 2014, the number, started to grow. In 2020, we had 10;, and in 2021, there were 44. I’ll give, another example here: In 1953, two, people climbed Mount Everest. To, day, we have 500 to 600 every year., Becoming a unicorn is, in some cas, es, like scaling a summit., The first unicorn in India was In, Mobi. It took the company about, five years to achieve unicorn status, in 2011. The second unicorn was, Flipkart. That company also took, about four to five years to achieve, unicorn status. Hasura, which is the, latest unicorn, also took about five, years. Hence, the process of becom, ing a unicorn has not eased. But it, [unicorn status] has become a big, motivator for entrepreneurs, and, it’s a summit that they would all like, to scale. More and more entrepre, neurs are aiming for unicorn status, and this is one of the fundamental, reasons, from the demand side, for, the higher numbers., Now, look at it from the supply, side. Unicorns are essentially ven, ture capitalistfunded companies,, which have reached a $1billion val, uation. If you look at the growth in, , venture capitalist funding, between, 2011 and 2020, the compounded an, nual growth rate was 76%. Over, 10,000 companies were funded in, those 10 years, and people expect, this number to grow because of the, potential in the economy. The, growth might taper off over a period, of time, but it is going to be there. A, proportion of these companies are, going to become unicorns. Hence,, when the base is increasing, the, number of unicorns is also going to, be increasing., Now, let’s look at the environ, ment. January 16 has been named as, National Startup Day. If there is na, tional priority in terms of identify, ing, sustaining, supporting and re, cognising startups, that is going to, lead to an increase in numbers;, more unicorns are going to come., However, the growth rate in the, number of unicorns between 2020, and 2021 was in excess of 300% and, that is unlikely to be sustained. In, the financial markets, everything is, in terms of cycles. We had the lar, gest number of IPOs in 2007, that is, 108. In 2010, there were 66 and in, 2021, 63. In between these years,, there were some very deep valleys., The same is going to be the case, with unicorns as well., If you look at the number of in, dustry classes that we have in India,, there are about 302 as per company, registration. These industry classes, represent very strong areas of eco, nomic activity. If on an average we, take that there is a potential for, three unicorns to emerge in each of, these industry classes, we are talk, ing about 1,000 unicorns. That is a, strong potential for the growth to, continue. It may not be the strong, growth that we see today, but there, will be growth as long as the coun, try’s economy is growing and ven, ture capitalist funding is growing., P.K. Jayadevan: When Professor, Rajan was talking about Mount Ever, est, it reminded me of an example, that we used to talk about at Fresh, works, the Chennaibased company, that went for IPO last year. We kept, talking about how Roger Bannister, ran the four first fourminute mile, many years ago and then we saw, many more people do it. Now, you, have more experienced coaches,, , NOTEBOOK, , Reporters are driven by professional rivalry, but it, is collaboration that makes us better at our job, In the cutthroat field of journalism,, ‘breaking news’ is the slogan most, follow. It is not enough to tell the sto, ry well; it is equally essential to be, the first to do so. The pursuit of being, fast and accurate can get solitary. But, occasionally, there come by journal, ists who make it less lonely with their, generosity. Ravish Tiwari, Chief of, the National Bureau and Political Ed, itor of The Indian Express, was one, such journalist. Ravish, who had, been suffering from cancer, recently, passed away at the age of 40, leaving, a permanent void in our lives., In Ravish’s death, many journalists, have lost a sounding board. His cu, riosity transcended the concrete, boundaries between rival news, rooms. I vividly remember the days, of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly, elections. I had returned to Delhi af, ter a brief trip to western U.P. and, was sitting at the BJP’s headquarters., It was a slow news day. Other than, lingering around in party offices,, there was not much to do. “What are, you doing in Delhi? The mother of all, elections is going on in U.P. Go where, the news is,” Ravish thundered. I, mumbled some excuse in response., But he wasn’t willing to take no for an, answer. “Remember, elections come, only once in five years. This is your, opportunity to get to know India’s, granular details,” he said. He made, me write an email to my boss. Within, 12 hours, I was in Varanasi. A week la, ter, he called. He wanted a detailed, report of my trip; he was keen to, know about the nuances which may, not have made it to my news report., As we stood around during his cre, mation, bidding him farewell, many, reporters from different publications, had similar experiences to share., Even in the days leading to his death,, Ravish was busy cheering on those, on the field. He would urge reporters, to visit specific constituencies. He, would then call them to see if his as, sessment tallied with what they had, heard on the ground. He remained, engaged till the very end., For many of us, he was often the, first port of call before travelling to, an electionbound State. He would be, CM, YK, , and the ecosystem is more suppor, tive. That is pretty much what is, happening now in the startup, space. Companies that are solving, real problems with real customers, should be the real winners. As for, the unicorn valuations, they are out, comes of bets that venture capital, ists submit, and they understand, the risks involved. The valuations, can go up and down since they have, a lot to do with macroeconomic fac, tors, cost of capital, demand, and, supply. But fundamentally, good, companies are being built out of In, dia, and that’s why you will see val, uations going up, and when it is, north of a billion, we have a, unicorn., I just want to add a few things to, what Professor Rajan said. First, In, dia is an open market with a fairly, stable democracy, and having star, tups as a national priority is a big, headwind. There are some kinks, that need to be ironed out, but the, fact remains that it is one of the lar, gest markets in the world. Second,, we have great data penetration. The, cost of accessing the Internet is very, low these days, and the consumer, base has become very big. The hope, is that someday, all of these con, sumers will add up to a domestic, market, which is big enough for, these startups to make windfall re, turns. It means the startups will es, sentially tap into that consumer, base using digital technologies., Third, we saw some really good, IPOs in the last few years. Zomato, and Freshworks are great examples., Underlying all these companies is, , are highquality jobs, <, > These, which have a flywheel, effect, which means, employees will start their, own companies or invest in, newer startups and riskier, ideas, and make bolder, bets on innovation., P.K. Jayadevan, , great talent building highquality, technology products that are being, adopted by enterprises and con, sumers. So, a huge amount of ven, ture capital will come into India. In, 2006, there were maybe three or, four funds, which would hesitantly, back some companies after due dili, gence of six months or eight, months. Nowadays, you see, cheques being cut over WhatsApp, messages., I’m not an economist, but the, view is that there was a little bit of, quantitative easing in the U.S. and, interest rates have been kept low. Li, quidity in the market led to asset, price inflation and stocks went up., Even cryptocurrency, a risky asset,, went up. As the cost of capital be, came cheaper, more venture capital, happened. ‘What do we do with, these funds? Hey, here is the great, Indian open market with support, for startups, and great talent. Let’s, deploy it here.’ In India, I suspect, there is a little bit of a race [among, venture capitalists] to provide fund, ing for good companies, and that’s, probably why the valuations are, sort of being pushed up., , PKJ: Directionally, it is true that, startups have created jobs. Fresh, works started with a few dozen em, ployees and by the time it went pu, blic, there were 3,000. With that, IPO, about 500 people became ‘cro, repatis’. I personally know of do, zens of people who have gone out, and started their own companies, with team sizes of five to 10. Many of, them have enough capital and they, understand the market. So, the, hope is that they will create high, quality jobs and it will become a vir, tuous cycle. These are niche, high, paying jobs and in the larger, scheme of things, the numbers may, not be high. But these are highqual, ity jobs which have a flywheel ef, fect, which means employees will, start their own companies or invest, in newer startups and riskier ideas,, and make bolder bets on, innovation., The question of midlevel, white, collar jobs has been around for a, long time. Automation will shift, some of these jobs elsewhere, but I, wouldn’t say it’s killing those jobs., In a country like India, which has, access to the Internet and the global, market, it is a net positive as we can, participate in this labour market as, it becomes more and more remote., TR: What is the mandate for star, tups? It is essentially innovation and, growth. Through innovation and, growth, they are able to create an, impact. To achieve this growth and, ability to innovate, startups take the, help of technology or people. There, are some startups which will really, take the help of a lot of people, like, food delivery aggregators. There are, certain startups where growth will, result in substantial job creation., There will also be certain startups, which are largely technologydri, ven, where the employment oppor, tunity might not be very high, but if, the startups are going to result in, growth, this can, as Jayadevan put, it, have a flywheel effect, which can, create a lot of employment either di, rectly or indirectly., But the mandate for startups is, not really in terms of creating jobs, unlike what the government does or, , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , A lesson from Ravish Tiwari, Sobhana K. Nair, , SOMASHEKARA GRN, , India has added over 10 unicorns, (privately held startup companies, valued at over a billion dollars) so, far this year, which is a rate of near, ly one every five days. This comes af, ter a record year of new unicorns, (44 in 2021), which pushed India up, to the third place globally, after the, U.S. and China, in the Hurun Glo, bal Unicorn Index 2021. But what, exactly does a unicorn valuation, mean for the larger economy, and, how do these technologydriven, startups influence the employment, scenario in the country? Thillai Ra, jan and P.K. Jayadevan discuss this, question in a conversation moderat, ed by P.J. George. Edited excerpts:, , What do you think will be the, impact of the startups on the, country’s employment scene?, How do you think startups will, change the nature of, employment?, , magnanimous with insights. He, would help us navigate the complex, caste matrix that he knew well. And, whenever he didn’t have the answ, ers, he would share the phone num, bers of those who could tell us more., This was rare, for reporters are fa, mously stingy with sharing phone, numbers. He never saw any reporter, as a rival. For him, we were all collab, orators. Professional rivalry drives, us, but it is collaborative journalism, that makes us better reporters., Ravish adored Parliament ses, sions. In the last few months, he, acutely felt his inability to saunter in, to Parliament, perhaps even more, than the pain ringing through his bo, dy after several rounds of chemothe, rapy. He could spend hours listening, to the discourse both inside and out, side the House. Ravish was nearly a, permanent fixture at the tea shop on, the first floor of Parliament House., Reporters and politicians alike, flocked to him. He would listen, his, eyes wide with wonder, giving politi, cians the false confidence that they, had successfully sold their tales to an, unsuspecting audience. But he, wouldn’t let anyone run away with, the narrative. Often, and quite unex, pectedly, Ravish would stab them, with a question, twisting it all the way, into their gut and smiling all along., And in a world neatly divided into, ideological silos, his biggest fear was, that he would get trapped in an echo, chamber. This is why he spoke to eve, ryone, irrespective of ideology, re, gion, language and culture. This per, haps explains his pinned tweet,, “How difficult it is to listen to the flow, of a world of opinions much deeper, than the merit of one's own mental, frameworks ... Objectivity!” During, the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections,, just a few months after he was diag, nosed with cancer, I remember text, ing him, anxious about whether I was, interpreting voices from the ground, correctly. His advice: “Make sure you, talk to every community. Talk to as, many people as you can.”, It was a a privilege to listen to him, and learn from him. Ravish, you will, stay with us forever.,
[email protected], , a public sector enterprise does,, where job creation is an important, metric. For a startup, it is a metric, that is useful but it’s probably not a, target., Having said that, we also need to, see where the requirement is. Job, creation is an important require, ment for economic growth. Jobs are, like a pyramid, which is always, broader at the bottom. We need to, be creating more jobs at the bottom, so that the pyramid is stable. If star, tups are creating more jobs at the, base of the pyramid, they are then, catering to the requirement of the, hour., Do you think that the Indian, startup sector is overvalued?, TR: In financial markets, asset pric, es are very dynamic and sentiments, can play a very important role in, valuation. When sentiments are, good, the valuation seems to be on, the higher side. There is a dominant, view that asset prices today are in, flated, not just for startups but in, the overall stock market. I think I, would subscribe to this dominant, view that the asset prices today do, not reflect true values, but then, that’s the nature of the financial, markets., I think angel investors and high, net worth investors looking to in, vest in startups are very aware of, the risks and cycles of the stock, markets and these valuations and, will be able to bear it. They will un, derstand the risks of these valua, tions because many of them are, knowledgeable investors., PKJ: I think there is froth in the mar, ket. But venture capital is risk capi, tal, and people who allocate a por, tion of their wealth into venture, capital understand the risks well. I, think we also underestimate the ge, nius of the markets. They know ex, actly which companies are just fic, tion and which companies are, actually churning out profits and, having good cash flows. Companies, that don’t have great fundamentals, will be weeded out. There are no, two ways about it. If there is no path, to profitability, if there is no cash, flow being generated, then you are, looking at companies that have not, fundamentally discovered a busi, ness model or a problem that they, really want to solve, even after be, ing in existence for many years., , CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC, , DATA POINT, , FROM THE ARCHIVES, FIFTY YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 25, 1972, , Exchange of POWs to-day, New Delhi, Feb. 24: The exchange of serious, lywounded and sick prisoners of war will be, held tomorrow. According to a Defence Mi, nistry spokesman the two International Red, Cross aircraft carrying stretcherladen POWs, will leave Rawalpindi and Delhi simultane, ously at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The exchange was, scheduled for 1230 p.m. today but fell, through as one of the International Red, Cross aircraft deployed for the purpose de, veloped engine trouble on its way here from, Calcutta. Consequently, it could not proceed, to Rawalpindi. However, the defect in the, aircraft has been rectified and plans have, once again been worked out during the day, for the exchange of POWs with the mutual, agreement of the Government of India and, Pakistan. The two DC6 Red Cross aircraft, are based in Calcutta and used for carrying, relief supplies to Bangla Desh. Informed Red, Cross sources said the first batch includes 19, Indian and 27 Pakistani POWs. The names of, the returning Indian POWs were not re, leased by the authorities till this evening., A HUNDRED YEARS AGO FEB 25, 1922, , The militarist bogeys, The Times in a review of Mr. Wells articles, which have recently appeared in bookform, writes:— In this book we have Mr. Wells as a, journalist, using the megaphone of the syn, dicated Press to address above all that great, and unknown American public on whom, as, he would tell us, the fate of the world de, pends. His subject, the Washington Confe, rence, provides him with an admirable op, portunity; for in truth the war and the, sequels of the war have given to his earlier, stories something of the quality of prophe, cy. As we read them over once more in the, light of later events, we find that he had gone, nearer than anyone else to predict what, would have happen, and the catastrophes of, his imagination had turned out to be not ve, ry remote from what has actually taken, place. He had pictured to us years ago a, world in which a great war would result in, the loosening of the bonds of society and, disease would complete the destruction, which fighting had begun. And now he has, gone to Petrograd and wandered through, the desolate and forlorn streets of what had, once been a gay and prosperous capital; he, found there the actual realization of his own, dreams. But is this the end? No. “It is plain to, me that the shadow which lies so dark over, Petrograd stretches as far as London.”, A ND-NDE
Page 3 : MUMBAI, , 4, , THINK, , BusinessLine, FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 25 • 2022, , xyz, , 0, friday, february 25, 2022, , Changing metrics, , Gold imports and the sleight of hand, Duty-free gold imports meant for exports after value-addition are routed to domestic market. Such diversion must be checked, purpose of exports as jewellery, art, icles, medallions and coins, upon, old demand, as the say value addition. These imports are, ing goes, will create its through nominated banks/agen, own supply, whatever be cies under exportlinked schemes., the wall of restriction. In The gold is bought from a bank, dia and many other countries have dutyfree for export, the manufac, experienced this during the various turer makes plain jewellery, which, typically takes eight days, and sells, versions of the Gold Control Act., This is no more a Third World it in the domestic market against, problem. In the last decade, smug exchange of a bar., The bar would go back to the, gling was just as much prevalent in, Japan as in Vietnam, not to mention manufacturer, thereby showing, the gold that was being smuggled workinprogress for exports. And, out of China, being a proxy to the before the end of the 90th day, gold, coated jewellery with underlying, dollar., In India, the smuggling appar copper is exported and that batch is, ently is a level above many other sold in the domestic market as, countries, an inference one can plain jewellery., In principle, one can turn the, draw from officially published data., From the data on gold imports, stock at least eight times before ex, medallions and jewellery exported porting and also, at the end, earn, and the Customs duty collected, the the duty differential., The entire machinery is wellor, gold imported after paying Cus, toms duty is derived (see Table). chestrated with sample packets for, also, predecided,, This then helps arrive at the total verification, gold that was imported for export thereby earning the approval of the, of fabricated products but not ex Customs, and making the export, legally proper., ported (Row F)., It is intriguing that in spite of the, minimum valueaddition norm in, Taxes foregone, Going by the data, which we believe place, the value of the export ship, is not a case of overinvoicing im ment is kept lower and invariably, ports, then, we are talking about an remains undetected in an online, average of 170 tonnes of dutyfree system monitored by risk proto, gold imported every year that has cols., found its way into domestic mar, In the recent past, many nomin, ket. This translates to approxim ated banks/agencies have been, ately $7 billion of imports, with Cus slapped with penalties as they were, toms duty of $700 million and GST the importers on record and, con, of $300 million foregone, sequently, supplied gold, every year., to the exporters. The, Scan & Share, The haul seized from, source of the problem, exporters in Hyderabad,, rests with the buyer of, Gandhinagar, Mumbai, dutyfree gold and not, and Kolkata helps set the, the nominated banks/, context to a phe, agencies that supply, nomenon that goes, them., largely undetected. The, Strangely, the investig, number of cases caught in these in ations conducted by the Director, stances is surprisingly lower than ate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the conventional smuggling chan across the country pins the differ, nels such as handcarry and cross ential duty liability on the nomin, border/ sea routes., ated banks/agencies, which are the, The modus operandi is simple. importers on record and not the ex, Gold is imported dutyfree for the porters, who allegedly indulge in, , sion or suppression of facts on the, part of the importer., Unfortunately, with the demand, being slapped on the nominated, bank/agency, the cases do not stand, legal scrutiny in the absence of any, evidence whatsoever on their role, pertaining to collusion with the ex, porters in the frauds. The exporter,, on the other hand, having got away, with a small penalty and no duty de, mand, stands incentivised in the, process and is perpetually tempted, to repeat it., As far as the nominated agencies/, banks are concerned, the process is, the punishment, particularly when, they have not indulged in any omis, sion or commission. In this zero, sum game, gold smuggling contin, ues unabated under the watch of, the regulators, making this a chal, lenge that is not being legally, resolved., , ARVIND SAHAY/SUDHEESH NAMBIATH, , SEBI’s attempt to regulate pricing of new age, company IPOs is welcome even if a little too late, , I, , t is welcome that the stock market regulator, is trying to improve the disclosures made by, new age technology companies approach, ing the primary market for listing. It was a, frenzy in the IPO market last year as these com, panies capitalised on investor appetite with of, fers at skyhigh valuations. The issue is that digital, companies tend to give precedence to growth, over profitability and, therefore, are mostly loss, making when they approach primary markets., Traditional accounting ratios mandated to be dis, closed by the Securities and Exchange Board of In, dia’s ICDR Regulations under “basis for issue, price” in the prospectus such as earnings per, share, price to earning ratio and return on net, worth of the company are not applicable to these, lossmaking companies and do not help investors, in any manner in their decisionmaking process., SEBI’s move to mandate disclosure of alternative, metrics for the digital technology companies, may have come a little too late as investors have, already lost a lot of money subscribing to offers of, companies such as One97, Communications (Paytm) and, Scan & Share, CarTrade, but they are wel, come nevertheless., The new age digital com, panies use different metrics, such as app downloads, web, site registrations and traffic,, subscribers, and so on, to project growth while, valuing their shares. It would be difficult for SEBI, to list all these metrics for disclosure. An easier, option would be to ask these companies to share, in the offer document the key performance indic, ators shared with investors in the preIPO fund, ing rounds. Mandating that these metrics be cer, tified by an independent chartered accountant, will lend more credibility to the numbers. A, three year lookback period for these disclosures, appears enough since many of the companies are, likely to be startups with limited history. Also,, with the digital technology space undergoing, fastpaced evolution, going back beyond three, years may not present an accurate picture. It is, imperative that the key performance indicators, of the issuer are compared with global peers lis, ted overseas since domestic listed companies in, the digital technologies segment are few. While, conditions in India may be different when com, pared to advanced economies, being aware of the, risk premium being attributed to such compan, ies in other markets will greatly help domestic, investors., The other suggestion in the discussion paper —, that the weighted average cost of acquisition of, shares issued or allotted in the preIPO period be, disclosed in the prospectus — will be useful since, it will alert investors regarding allotment to re, lated parties or group companies prior to the is, sue. Going back to a period of 18 months prior to, the issue period appears enough for this purpose, since it is just ahead of the IPO that most compan, ies distribute largesse to founding shareholders., Explanations regarding difference in the valu, ation of preIPO issuances and primary offer will, be of particular interest to investors as it will help, them understand if the issuer is attempting an, IPO at unfair valuations., , POCKET, , RAVIKANTH, , G, , the fraud. In almost all the cases, the, fraud is unearthed 34 years after, the original commission, when the, bond and bank guarantee submit, ted by the nominated bank/agency, on behalf of the exporter with the, , Customs is cancelled upon the com, pletion of the exports., The Customs law, however, man, dates that for making a tax demand, beyond the period of two years of, import, there needs to be a collu, , Sahay is Chairperson of the India Gold, Policy Centre at IIM Ahmedabad and, Nambiath is the Head of the Centre, , Vladimir Putin is playing with fire in Ukraine, Russian President has started a war his people do not want but for which they will pay a price, CLARA FERREIRA MARQUES, , T, , he worst, it seems, has, now, happened, in, Ukraine. In a predawn, televised address, Rus, sian President Vladimir Putin an, nounced he had ordered an opera, tion aimed at demilitarising, Ukraine. He blamed the US for, crossing “red lines.” Kyiv, he said,, would be responsible for any, bloodshed. Reports of explosions, and gunfire in cities across the, country began immediately., It’s a dark moment for Russia,, for Ukraine, for Europe — the, darkest in Putin’s two decades at, the helm. It is also a point of no re, turn for Russia’s leader, and one, with lasting consequences for the, world., Putin has fallen into the auto, crats’ trap. Isolated, he is no longer, able to weigh up reality as it is, but, sees his fears instead. He is ob, sessed with what he perceives as, the threat from Ukraine’s west, ward drift, and with turning back, the clock to reset the postCold, World order. His speech on, , Thursday — ranging from Russia’s, weakness at the time of the col, lapse of the Soviet Union, to Iraq,, Yugoslavia and a chilling warning, against Western intervention —, was hardly the product of a cool,, rational mind., It could not have contrasted, more sharply with Ukrainian Pres, ident, Volodymyr, Zelenskiy’s, earlier moving appeals for peace,, made directly to ordinary Russi, ans. US President Joe Biden called, Russia’s actions a “premeditated, war.”, , A point of no return for Russia’s leader, , A heady combintion, Hubris, paranoia, military adven, turism — a heady combination,, and one that has been fatal for dic, tator and their regimes. And Putin, is starting a war Russians do not, want, for which they will pay the, cost., Political scientist Daniel Treis, man, in his study of autocrats’ last, acts, found that most regimes, come to an end through mistakes,, whether because they ignored, change or, like Argentina’s General, Leopoldo Galtieri, embarked on an, , illadvised war. He invaded the, Falklands in 1982, assuming Bri, tain would not fight and that his, population would unite behind, him. He was misguided, and the, blunder was terminal., Russia is not Argentina, and, there will be no such immediate, repercussion for Putin, whatever, happens. Increased repression at, home is in fact the most likely con, sequence from this show of force, abroad — either because the Krem, lin can, or because it must., But consequences can play out, , LET TERS TO THE EDITOR, Russian aggression, , Apropos ‘Putin announces milit, ary operation in Ukraine’ (Febru, ary 24), it’s shocking to see Russian, President Vladimir Putin publicly, claiming that the military action, comes in response to threats com, ing from Ukraine and it was inten, ded to protect the civilians. Also,, Putin has reportedly warned other, countries that any attempt to in, terfere with the Russian action, would lead to “consequences they, have never seen”. Doesn’t such, openended threat prove that, ‘might is right’?, Though the Ukrainian FM is, learnt to have sought the UN’s im, mediate ‘intervention’ to stop the, Russian invasion, this toothless, world body is unlikely to be of any, worthy assistance to this trouble, torn nation. Emboldened by the, Russian military assault on, Ukraine, China may soon launch, an attack on Vietnam and simil, arly justify the action. China has al, , over time, and the Russian Presid, ent appears to be unravelling. Even, by the standards of an repressive, authoritarian regime with a his, tory of falseflag operations and, fabricated pretexts for war — and, for an autocrat with a penchant for, macho, reckless military pursuits, and for rewriting the past — the, last few days have been hard to, comprehend., A rambling, hourlong speech, on Monday laced with wild accusa, tions, portraying Ukraine as Vladi, mir Lenin’s invention. Then a, staged Security Council meeting, with senior officials being made to, publicly support Putin and the re, cognition of the separatist repub, lics. Now, a war that, stretching, credulity to the limit, Putin says, will “denazify” Ukraine — a country, that suffered brutally in the, Second World War., He made his move, moreover,, while the United Nations Security, Council was meeting, in a last, ditch attempt to avoid conflict., What is remarkable here is not, just the ambition of what Putin is, apparently undertaking, a full, , scale military operation with little, regard for repercussions, an effort, to destroy a neighbour and, destabilise the region. It’s also the, scale of the delusion, when it, comes to the threat posed by NATO, and — crucially — his country’s, longterm ability to bear the hu, man and financial cost of, isolation., Stagnating economy, Yes, Moscow has built up central, bank reserves and a war chest, but, this is a country whose economy is, stagnating, and one that’s already, struggling to deal with a health, crisis as Covid19 races through an, undervaccinated population., To drive home the point, the, West must now dramatically ramp, up sanctions, reaching far beyond, individuals into Russia’s state, banks and more — even if few op, tions now come without a cost for, Europe and the rest of the world., Vladimir Putin has already be, gun the war no one but Kremlin, hawks wanted. Now only the, toughest measures can hold him, back. BLOOMBERG, , Send your letters by email to
[email protected] or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002., , ways claimed Vietnam to be a part, of it., SK Gupta, New Delhi, , Dealing with unclaimed money, , This has reference to ‘Dealing with, unclaimed bank deposits’ (Febru, ary 24). It is not merely bank de, posits, but insurance and mutual, funds that also account for the, huge amount of public money re, maining unclaimed. This is due to, lack of awareness, nonupdating, of address and investor not main, taining proper records for the, family. A special drive needs to be, launched by all institutions to, settle the dues and as all invest, ments are linked to Aadhaar it will, not be very difficult to locate the, investors/their heirs., At the time of investment, an au, thority may be obtained regarding, relatives who can be notified in, case amount remains unclaimed., The amount lying in the Deposit, , ors Education and Awareness, Fund (DEAF) is huge and as the RBI, is holding it in trust for the in, vestors, the amount may be prop, erly invested and the details dis, closed annually., , city on the simplified process of, claiming unclaimed amounts by, the nominees or legal heirs of the, deceased., RV Baskaran, Chennai, , M Raghuraman, Mumbai, , Reclaiming the dues, , The steady increase in the, quantum of unclaimed deposits is, a cause of worry, which reveals, that the kin of deceased account, holders are either not aware of the, nomination made in their favour, or of the steps to be taken in get, ting the funds lying in such, accounts., Banks can bring down the, mounting unclaimed deposits by, taking the following steps: mak, ing nomination registration man, datory; dedicating a specific, month to review or update exist, ing nomination details wherever, required; and giving wide publi, , US is in the grip of Covid pan, demic, its capacity to bounce bank, and again become economically, strong through the support exten, ded by the Fed proves its resili, ence., Srinivasan Velamur, , Dollar unchallenged, , This refers to ‘Dollar’s reign as re, serve currency will stay’ (February, 24). The European Union is a con, glomeration of 28 membercoun, tries with wide disparities in, terms of their economic status. In, variably, stronger countries have, to play a bigger role in ensuring, the stability of the euro. On the, other hand, the dollar being a cur, rency backed by a single economy, — the US — always had an upper, hand to reign as a dominating cur, rency in spite of the 2008 financial, crisis and other temporary set, backs it had to encounter., The US has a robust financial sys, tem accounting for about 20 per, cent of the global output. Though, , Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by N. Vaidyanathan at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No. 22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701 on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Raghuvir Srinivasan (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act)., , CM, YK, , The way out, The only possible solution to this is, to remove the tax arbitrage and, mandate that only GST registered, jewellers (or those that have unique, ID for being a manufacturer for ex, ports) can take up manufacturing, of jewellery for export purposes., There has to be a mechanism in, place whereby the nominated, agencies/banks are able to track the, remittances received by the ex, porter. Data analytics can play a sig, nificant role here for spotting, trends., The India International Bullion, Exchange can provide a solution to, this problem by shifting the liabil, ity completely over to the exporter., This is possible by mandating ex, porters to buy gold through the ex, change platform against duty bond, and linking it with the remittance., Till such a process is fully opera, tional, there needs to be a frame, work to control this unabated, smuggling., , Chennai, , Trade deal with UAE, , By signing a Comprehensive Eco, nomic Partnership Agreement, (CEPA) in record time with the, UAE, India has clearly signalled its, priority of forging Free Trade, Agreements (FTAs) with individual, trade partners rather than com, mitting itself to regional trade, blocs. FTAs with countries such as, the UK and Canada are in the, pipeline. The CEPA with UAE has, heightened the possibility of re, viving the longshelved FTA with, Gulf Cooperation Council. in, Africa., M Jeyaram, , Sholavandan, TN, , ISSN 0971 - 7528, , . ..... .... ...BM-BME
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MUMBAI, , THINK, , BusinessLine, FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 25 • 2022, , Budget boost for river linking projects, , How to get gas flowing, India must look at transnational pipelines seriously, RICHA MISHRA, , W, , hat does the Russian in, vasion of Ukraine mean, for India’s energy secur, ity? Is India in a comfort, able position? Can India turn this situ, ation to its advantage or has India, yet, again, missed the bus on ensuring fuel, secure supply, particularly gas., Gas demand in India till the third, quarter end of 202122 was approxim, ately 180 mmscmd (million standard cu, bic metre a day) wherein 89 mmscmd, was RLNG (regasified liquefied natural, gas or imported gas) and 91 mmscmd is, domestic supplies. In the case of gas, de, mand is directly linked to supply., According to the Ministry for Petro, leum and Natural Gas data, natural gas, production during January 2022 was, 2,861.09 mmscm, which is 16.47 per cent, lower than the monthly, target. Cumulative nat, ural gas production, during AprilJanuary, 202122 was 28,535, mmscm, which is 9.59, per cent lower than the, target for the period., Now look at the price:, Spot price of LNG is, around $25 per mmBtu, (gas is measured in mil, lion British thermal, unit), longterm contract price ranges, between $12 and $14 per mmBtu, and, currently domestic gas is available at $3, mmBtu plus. India imports most of its, gas requirement through longterm, contracts., How could have India shielded itself, from the spike in prices and supply dis, ruptions, if sanctions are imposed, as it, happened with Iran, once a key supplier, to India?, Pipeline pain, Just like India has been a late mover in, setting of strategic storage for crude oil, it has dragged its feet on transnational, gas pipeline networks. The Ministry re, cently informed the Lok Sabha that the, government had set a target to raise the, share of natural gas in the energy mix to, 15 per cent by 2030. The share of natural, gas in primary energy mix has increased, from 6.3 per cent to 6.7 per cent from, 2020 to 2021., Critics say India by now should have, , had transnational pipeline network, flowing gas into its territory. India did, make an attempt, but those plans have, not yet fructified. While the ambitious, IranPakistanIndia gas pipeline appears, lost in transit, another major project,, which supposedly had the blessings of, the US — the TurkmenistanAfghanistan, PakistanIndia (TAPI) natural gas project, — for import of gas to India from Turk, menistan, also seems to be hanging fire., GAIL is the Government of India's, nominee to the TAPI natural project for, import of gas. TAPI Pipeline Company, Limited (TPCL) has been incorporated in, Isle of Man to build, own, and operate, the pipeline. The pipeline, when con, structed, is expected to carry 90, mmscmd of natural gas, of which India, will receive 38 mmscmd. The project is, currently under the preFID (feasibility, study) stage, wherein various activities, are being undertaken by, TPCL., Considering, the, changes in the global en, ergy market, GAIL is dis, cussing the terms and, conditions with Turk, mengas for enhancing, the marketability of the, pipeline gas to be re, ceived, from, Turkmenistan., Ukraine is the transit, point for Russian Gas to Europe and is, not connected with India’s supply, chain. But there are more than 12, pipeline networks that transport Rus, sian gas to the European market starting, from Estonia, Lativia, Lithuania, Belarus,, Poland then to Bulgaria, Romania and, Ukraine to name a few., Russia supplies gas through pipeline, network in European market including, a subsea line in the Baltic Sea up to Ger, many, which caters to France and Italy, too and it is supplied through Nord, Stream 1 pipeline. The Nord Stream 2, pipeline, which was about to start, has, now ben put on hold after the Russian, action., Russia is not the only supplier, but fer, rying gas through pipeline is a more se, cure and costeffective option. Shipping, is more expensive with added costs in, cluding for insurance, which is huge., Therefore, it is time India changed its, game plan and looked at transnational, networks more seriously., , This is an idea whose time has come. But the costs and benefits have to be weighed carefully, , BrahmaputraMeghna basin affecting, the States of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. On the other ex, treme, a number of Western (Gujarat,, Maharashtra, Rajasthan) and Peninsular, States (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and, Tamil Nadu) face recurring droughts., Particularly, the water situation is severe, in Tamil Nadu., The National River Linking Project, (NRLP) proposes to transfer the excess, flood water to the water scarce regions., It claims to provide additional irriga, tion to about 35 million hectares in the, waterscarce western and peninsular re, gions. This will further augment em, ployment, crop output and farm in, come., With competing demand from agri, culture, industry and energy, availabil, ity of drinking water is already severely, stressed. According to the report on, ‘Composite Water Management Index’, published by the NITI Aayog (2018), “600, million Indians face high to extreme wa, ter stress and about two lakh people die, every year due to inadequate access to, safe water”. Besides alleviating the water, crisis, the NRLP is expected to generate, about 34 Giga Watt additional, hydropower., , solution to prevent floods and, droughts, reduce water scarcity, in, crease irrigation coverage and food, grain production, some argue that it is, just another extravagant scheme in, volving huge costs., A few environmentalists and hydrolo, gists have said that RLP can do irrevers, ible damage; the large network of dams, and canals will alter the natural drain, age leading to flooding; vast tracts of, lands will submerge leading to displace, ment of innumerable people., Some argue that surplus water should, not be diverted from a river on a large, scale as the excess water is necessary to, keep river basins healthy as water per, colates down to the soil, recharges, groundwater, etc., Though the environment versus de, velopment debate continues, environ, mentalists must understand that no de, velopmental programme can bring 100, per cent Pareto optimality., RLP appears to be an effective solution, for addressing the problems of water, scarcity, poverty and flood., However, before implementing the, proposal on a large scale, a sound sci, entific and technical assessment of the, proposal needs to be undertaken in or, der to make it technoeconomically feas, ible., There may be a concern over the shar, ing of a scarce resourc; this could also be, one of the main reasons for States not, willing to share their surplus water with, other States., This should be addressed compre, hensively., If the watersurplus region supplies, the deficit region, then the former needs, to be adequately compensated by mon, etary incentives and other means so that, the States would be willing to share the, surplus ., Be that as it may, since the severe wa, ter scarcity is already looming in most, parts of the country, swift action is, needed to link the rivers wherever pos, sible jointly by the Centre and States to, strengthen the water and food security,, without creating an ecological disaster., , The concerns, The notion of interlinking of rivers has, generated intense debate. Though it is, believed that the RLP is the onestop, , The writer is Senior Professor and Head, Department of Economics and Rural, Development, Alagappa University,, Karaikudi, , A. NARAYANAMOORTHY, , O, , ne of the biggest announce, ments made in Budget 2022, 23 is the implementation of, the KenBetwa Link Project at, an estimated cost of ₹44,605 crore. This, river link is expected to create 9.08 lakh, hectares of irrigated area, provide drink, ing water for 62 lakh people, and gener, ate 103 MW hydro and 27 MW of, solarpower., Further, the Finance Minister also an, nounced that “Draft DPRs of five river, links, namely DamangangaPinjal, Par, TapiNarmada,, GodavariKrishna,, KrishnaPennar and PennarCauvery,, have been finalised. Once a consensus is, reached among the beneficiary States,, the Centre will provide support for im, plementation”. With this announce, ment, the river linking projects have, now got a fillip after many years., The KenBetwa Link project proposes, to transfer water from the Ken river to, the Betwa — both tributaries of Yamuna., With a 2km tunnel, this link project will, have a canal network of 221 km. The wa, terstarved Bundelkhand region in Uttar, Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh covering a, total of 13 districts will primarily benefit, from this project. Why do these rivers, need to be linked? What will be the be, nefits of RLP?, The benefits, The RLP involves the process of diverting, surplus river water through a network, of canals to waterstarved areas either, within or outside a State. The proposal, for interlinking of rivers in India has its, conceptual root in similar proposals, made by Sir Arthur Cotton and K.L. Rao, in the 19th century. The proposal to in, terlink rivers gathered momentum, when the Ministry of Water Resources, formulated a national perspective plan, (NPP) for optimum utilisation of the, country’s water resources during the, 1980s., This ambitious plan of linking of the, rivers received a huge boost when Atal, Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister., Under the NPP, the National Water De, velopment Agency (NWDA) identified 14, river links in the northern Himalayan, river development component and 16 in, the southern peninsular river develop, , ment component for interbasin trans, fer of water., What will be benefits of RLP? Water, forms an integral part of human liveli, hood and survival. Water is also vital to, increasing cropping intensity and the, yield of crops twothree times more, than that of rainfed areas., India heavily relies on the monsoon, for its water needs, so much so that one, bad monsoon can ruin the entire year’s, agricultural output and the economy., The country receives most of its annual, rainfall during the four months from, June to September, but the quantum of, rain varies widely across States. The RLP, will balance the uneven water flow in, different river basins, which otherwise, flows wastefully into sea., The diversion from surplus to water, starved area will ensure food security,, resulting in poverty reduction. Accord, ing to the projection of the National, Commission for Integrated Water Re, sources Development (1999), the coun, try will require about 450 million, tonnes of foodgrains a year to feed 1.50, billion population by 2050. To meet this,, the country needs to expand its irrig, ated area to 160 million hectares by, 2050, but the growth of canal irrigated, area has not been significant in recent, years due to various reasons (see Figure, 1)., Besides, floods are a recurring feature, particularly in large parts of the Ganga, , BusinessLine, TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY, , Why India must seriously consider regulating the crypto market, SHEHNAZ AHMED, , T, , he muchawaited Crypto, currency and Regulation, of Official Digital Cur, rency Bill did not find a, mention in the Budget. The Fin, ance Bill only clarifies the tax treat, ment of “virtual digital assets”. For, now, the government seems to, have sidestepped the issue of the, regulatory status of crypto assets., For a sector that is witnessing an, exponential rise in market capital, isation, high volatility, speculative, trading coupled with concerns re, lating to security and financial, crime risks, a 'wait and watch' ap, proach is no longer an option for, India. Bringing crypto assets, within the regulatory perimeter is, necessary to leverage the potential, of its underlying technology and, to mitigate risks to investors., India has refrained from bring, ing crypto assets under any regu, latory framework, perhaps for the, fear of legitimising them —, without understanding the mar, ket well. However, with this regu, latory forbearance, India runs the, risk of allowing the reckless, growth of the crypto market., The wide adoption and prolifera, , SHORT TAKE, , US weekly jobless, claims fall, , T, , he number of Americans fil, ing new claims for unem, ployment benefits fell slightly, more than expected last week, in, dicating that the labour market, recovery was gaining traction., Initial claims for state unem, ployment benefits decreased, 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted, 2,32,000 for the week ended Feb, ruary19, the Labour Department, said on Thursday. Economists, polled by Reuters had forecast, 2,35,000 applications for the, latest week., Claims had risen in the week, ending February 12, which eco, nomists blamed on weekto, week volatility., A separate report from the, Commerce Department on, Thursday confirmed that eco, nomic growth accelerated in the, fourth quarter as the drag from a, resurgence in Covid19 infections, over the summer eased. REUTERS, CM, YK, , tion of an unregulated market also, raise concerns about the creation, of a parallel financial system. By, not regulating, India is also not in, compliance with the guidance is, sued by the Financial Action Task, Force (of which India is a member), on the need to regulate “virtual as, set service providers” against, money laundering and terrorist, financing risks. The taxation of, crypto assets, as introduced by the, Budget, leaves the biggest ques, tion on the regulatory status of, crypto assets unanswered. It is crit, ical that India pursues a more com, prehensive regulatory response as, a matter of urgency. When it comes, to crypto asset regulation, policy, makers either attempt to regulate, the same using existing laws, (primarily securities, antimoney, laundering laws) or create a be, spoke regulatory framework., In its recent working paper on, ‘Blueprint of a Law for Regulating, Crypto assets’, the Vidhi Centre for, Legal Policy analyses both these ap, proaches and concludes that exist, ing laws are not wellequipped to, cover all types of crypto assets,, thereby leading to regulatory ar, bitrage. Therefore, the paper ar, gues that India must enact a stan, , 5, , dalone law to regulate crypto, assets as a separate asset class., Classification critical, The classification of financial in, struments determines the applic, able law and supervisory powers, necessary to regulate them. One of, the first hurdles that policymakers, face in regulating crypto is its clas, sification., Rapidly, evolving, designs, use cases, and, business models often, pose a challenge to, the classification of, crypto assets., Any regulatory re, sponse to crypto asset, must examine key fea, tures of crypto assets, relevant for designing, regulations. This in, cludes issues relating to the identi, fication of the issuer, right con, ferred by the crypto asset,, underlying asset (if any) and the, functional use case of the crypto as, set., To begin with, crypto asset regu, lation should distinguish between, crypto assets that are backed by as, sets or fiat currencies (that is,, stablecoins) from other types of, crypto assets (such as payment, , easy, , tokens and security tokens). Fur, ther, stablecoin arrangements, raise distinct issues relating to its, issuer, stabilisation mechanism,, underlying assets, redemption, rights, etc., The next issue for crypto asset, regulation is to identify the subject, of regulation. Multiple players par, ticipate in the entire lifecycle of a, crypto asset. While it may not be, possible (or even ne, cessary) to subject all, entities to regulation,, policymakers must, consider regulating, entities that act as, gatekeepers to the, crypto economy to, monitor transactions, and fix accountabil, ity., Therefore, most countries seek, to regulate service providers (such, as exchanges, custodian wallet pro, viders), with some also focussing, on the regulation of issuers. This is, particularly relevant for countries, focussing, on, stablecoin, regulation., Another important considera, tion for crypto assets is the determ, ination of the regulator. For India,, it may not be feasible to create a, , new regulator for crypto assets. In, stead, India needs to draw on the, expertise of existing regulators like, the Reserve Bank of India and the, Securities and Exchange Board of, India to regulate the crypto asset, market and its participants. While, SEBI may take a lead in regulating, the market conduct aspects (by, regulating service providers), the, RBI may be involved in prudential, regulation (especially for stable, coin arrangements and other, crypto assets that may pose sys, temic risks)., Any law to regulate crypto assets, must focus on other issues relating, to investor protection, prevention, of market abuse, prudential regu, lation of regulated entities, safe, keeping of consumer funds, cus, tomer due diligence, antimoney, laundering and risk management., Also India must invest in equip, ping enforcement authorities with, the necessary skillset and tools for, enforcing the provisions of the law., Any meaningful innovation in, the crypto asset sector cannot, strive by remaining outside public, policy frameworks., , February 25, 2002, CBDT spells out norms for new debt products, , Trading on new debt market instruments including, Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal, Securities (STRIPS) is set to kick off, with the Finance, Ministry finally spelling out the tax treatment on this and, other products including zero coupon bonds. The tax, treatment on these products will be at par with the, treatment accorded to deep discount bonds, according to, the CBDT, which has implemented a commitment made in, the 200102 Budget., Due diligence for HPCL, BPCL at same time, , The Government plans to simultaneously initiate the due, diligence process hi Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) in a, bid to reduce the time involved in privatising the two, companies, according to senior officials. This means that, the expression of interest for both the companies will be, simultaneously issued. Following the due diligence by the, interested private bidders, the Government will freeze, bidding documents and seek financial bids for one of the, companies., Tata Power picks up advisors for Dabhol stake, , Tata Power Company (TPC) has appointed J.M. Morgan, Stanley, Ernst & Young and Chambers of Zia Modi along, with Freehills as financial and legal consultants, respectively for conducting due diligence to buy foreign, equity stake in Enron's Dabhol Power Company (DPC). "We, expect to commence due diligence by next week and the, appointments are a clear initiative to develop a team of, consultants with an exposure to Indian business practices, and international laws," company sources told PTI here., , The writer is the Fintech Lead at the, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, , bl two-way crossword 2072, , not so easy, , ACROSS, , DOWN, , ACROSS, , DOWN, , 01. Interchanged (12), 08. Item of topwear (8), 09. Veracious (4), 11. Land between furrows (5), 12. Swallowlike birds (7), 13. Tauntingly mischievous, children (4), 15. Not fat (4), 19. Orangecoloured fruit (7), 20. Fitted with ceramic, squares (5), 22. Metal club (4), 23. Backdraught of wave (8), 24. Distressfully straining, nerves (57), , 02. 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14, , NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022, , Opinion, { BEYOND THE BITE }, Rajdeep Sardesai, , E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24, , { OUR TAKE }, , By invading, Ukraine, Russia, crosses a line, Putin’s military action violates international law, and norms. There will be consequences for India, , F, , irst, the aim was protecting the Russian, speakers in eastern Ukraine. Then, it was, supporting separatist leaders and enclaves in, eastern Ukraine. On Monday, the goal shifted, to recognising the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, in the Donbas region as independent republics. It, then rapidly expanded to extending the territorial, claims of these new, so-called, republics to areas still, under the control of the Ukrainian government. This, was accompanied with the deployment of troops in, the two provinces. And finally, on Thursday, it became a mission to overwhelm all of Ukraine, including, its capital Kyiv, through a military invasion., With that final act on Thursday, Russia, led by, President Vladimir Putin, left no one in doubt that its, political objective was ensuring a pliable regime in, Kyiv. Its method was “military-technical”, which, in, real terms, meant the use of overwhelming force, against a much smaller neighbour. And, its message, to the rest of Europe and the world was that the, Russia of today was no longer the Russia of 1991, and, it would do all that was needed to restore parts, of the Soviet arc of influence. As this newspaper, pointed out on Monday, Russia has legitimate, grievances. The end of the Cold War transformed a, bipolar order in Europe into an almost unipolar, order, where the United States (US) and its allies, pushed the frontiers of the North Atlantic Treaty, Organization (NATO) towards the east. Russia was, uncomfortable, and consistently objected to the, security alliance coming close to its borders. The, West should have taken Russian grievances into, account. The US also did not anticipate, or, deliberately ignored, the implications of its deep, political and military engagement with Russia’s, immediate neighbours. To the generation that ruled, Russia — which had not overcome what it saw as the, humiliating defeat at the end of the Cold War and, retained the vision of Russia as a great power and a, civilisational State — this was hard to digest., But with an outright invasion of Ukraine, Russia, has crossed a line. It has violated the principle of, respect for the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of a State, recognised member of the, United Nations, and whose sovereignty Russia, too,, has recognised for the past three decades. It has, opened up room for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine., Even though Russian forces are likely to overwhelm, Kyiv rapidly, Ukrainians are unlikely to accept, Russian supremacy without putting up a fight, one, that the West has said it would back. It has, destabilised the world economy, for Russia was, aware that its steps would invite severe sanctions,, which, in turn, will have an impact on energy and, food prices and Russia’s economic engagement with, the world. And, it has transformed Europe, almost, 80 years after World War II ended, into a new, battleground where hard power, rather than, international norms, is the mantra., While Russia will prevail in the short-term, its, invasion will have strategic and economic consequences. For India, in particular, the balancing act, between maintaining close strategic ties with the US, — which it sees as the most important strategic, relationship, especially in the wake of the Chinese, aggression — and maintaining its privileged, partnership with Russia, which is both a major, supplier of defence hardware and a supporter on, international platforms, will get more difficult., The fact that Russia’s closest friend at the moment, is China doesn’t help. So far, Moscow has not let its, proximity to Beijing affect ties with Delhi, but if, Delhi allows its proximity to the West affect its, position on Russia, the situation may change. On the, other hand, seeking a US executive waiver on the, acquisition of S-400 missile systems will become, more challenging for India, given the strong, bipartisan mood in Washington against Moscow., The more immediate impact for India will be, economic, as it grapples with higher energy prices —, which will affect the ongoing economic recovery —, and comes to terms with the new wide-ranging, sanctions that will inevitably affect Russia-India, economic ties. But while doing a careful cost-benefit, assessment, India must let it be known that it is, opposed to the unilateral use of military force, and violation of sovereignty, for these principles, are central to a rules-based order that India, seeks in its region., , In UP polls, the BJP, has a clear edge, The lack of Opposition, options, astute social, engineering, welfare, outreach, tight media, management and the, enduring appeal of, Hindutva are likely to, help the BJP in the, crucial state, , I, , n the narrow lane leading from, the Hanuman Garhi temple to, the Ram Janmabhoomi site in, Uttar Pradesh (UP)’s Ayodhya,, the shopkeepers are upset., Their shops will be demolished, to widen the road as part of a renovation design. Who will you vote for, I, ask them. “Vote toh BJP [Bharatiya, Janata Party] ko padega, without, Modi-ji and Yogi-ji, there would be no, Ram Temple. Aastha [faith] bhi, important hai!” is the telling response., In a village near Kanpur, farmers, from the Kurmi community are complaining about rising diesel prices and, the stray cattle menace, but indicate, that their vote is with BJP. “Yogi-ji’s, government is giving us free ration for, months now,” is their reasoning. Not, surprisingly, the ration packets carry, pictures of chief minister (CM) Yogi, , Adityanath and Prime Minister (PM), Narendra Modi., Switch to urban Lucknow where, the city’s youth is hanging out on a, food street. Many of them are troubled by the lack of jobs. So, who will, they vote for? “I would like to give the, Yogi government one more chance, at, least women’s security is now better,, and I can move around after 7 pm,”, says a software engineer., While crisscrossing the Awadh belt, of central UP, the country’s most populous and politically influential state, remains a puzzling bundle of contradictions., This isn’t the turbulent 1990s, where caste and community identity, “wars” were fought with frenetic zeal., There is disquiet over the tough times, during the pandemic, but anxiety, hasn’t turned into anger. Except for, western UP, the epicentre of the, farmer agitation, which dramatically, changed political equations in the, region, the state seems to have settled, into a more stable order., So, what explains the paradox of a, disenchanted voter, but relatively, clear-cut electoral preferences?, First, the lack of options is stark., Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party,, which only 15 years ago won a majority, appears to have disintegrated., Under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the, Congress has tried to lift itself from, the mire, but decades of organisa-, , tional sloth can’t be overcome by a, few months of effort. That leaves the, energetic Akhilesh Yadav. His, attempts to recast the Samajwadi, Party (SP) by striking strategic alliances with smaller caste-based parties, are a recognition of the limits of the, party’s original Muslim-Yadav base., However, he still has to live down the, perception of leading a force that is, identified with Yadav “bahubali”, (strongmen) dominance., Second, the BJP has invested heavily in astute social engineering over, the past seven years. It has built a new, power structure where non-Yadav, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have, become the party’s engine. This has, led to friction at the leadership level, between the upper-caste elites and the, more recent entrants, but it has also, meant that the party has a much wider, social base than its competitors., Third, the flagship welfarist, schemes of the Modi-Yogi “double, engine” have created a pro-poor image, that may enable the party to tide over, price rise and creeping discontent, against its MLAs. For example, the, PM-Kisan launched in February 2019, assures farmers an income of ₹6,000, per year over three instalments. UP, has the highest number of beneficiaries (25 million): It is this vast pool of, beneficiaries of cash transfers and free, rations that is at the heart of the BJP’s, political outreach., , What India can learn, from the Ukraine crisis, he Ukraine crisis has crossed a critical rule out brinkmanship tactics, offers certain, point with Russia following up its rec- cues for India in relation to the discord with, ognition of the breakaway regions of China., While the Indian Army has considerable, Donetsk and Luhansk with a fullfledged invasion to “demilitarise” Ukraine. experience in confronting the People’s LiberaThis decision by Moscow is a rejection of the tion Army (PLA) along LAC in the military, inviolability of national borders in Europe as domain (from October 1962 through the, agreed to in the Helsinki agreement of 1975 1980’s that include Sumdorong-Chu and now, Galwan), China’s current hybrid model — that, and a major challenge to the global order., Contestation about post-Cold War central combines rapid building up of infrastructure,, European territoriality and resurrecting a selective demographic leverage, enabling, burnished Russian past is at the core of the domestic laws and shaping of the popular, Ukraine crisis. The United States (US) and its narrative by occupying the “victim-perch”, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) through an innovative information campaign, allies are in a huddle and sanctions have been — is a new ballgame., India has been reticent in this regard, and, imposed on Moscow. The different strands of, the run up to World War II and the German the post-Galwan information canvas is illusbelligerence of 1939 are being recalled even as trative. By early 2021, after the initial setback, the US and NATO review military options in where Indian soldiers were killed (as also, the face of the dire Vladimir Putin warning PLA personnel) and the kinetic developments around the Pangong Lake, against any “interference” in suparea, India chose to forfeit certain, port of Ukraine., tactical advantages with an expecBut conflict over territorial transtation that this would create the, gressions is not limited to Ukraine., necessary, politico-diplomatic, As much as the tense US-Russia, framework for negotiations. More, relationship dominated the proceedthan a year later, that hope has, ings at the recently concluded, C Uday, floundered on what India perceives, Munich Security Conference (MSC), Bhaskar, as Chinese intransigence. Beijing, 2022, the troubled India-China relaclaims the reason is Delhi’s lack of, tionship over contested territoriality, sincerity., also came into sharp focus. The, Regrettably, the strategic communication, deliberations at the conference mark a definitive punctuation in Delhi’s assessment of Bei- about the Galwan setback and the status of, LAC has been below par as far as India is conjing’s border transgressions., At MSC (February 19), external affairs min- cerned. The Modi government chose to obfusister (EAM) S Jaishankar noted that the bilat- cate the grave challenge to national sovereral was going through a “very difficult phase” eignty by asserting that “no Indian territory, after Beijing violated border agreements — had been lost” (June 19, 2020) and this has, the reference being to the Galwan incident of been the emphasis for the domestic audience,, June 2020. He added, “The problem is that for given the perennial electoral compulsions, 45 years there was peace, there was stable related to the image of a strong government, border management, there were no military zealously defending national sovereignty and, honour., casualties on the border from 1975.”, Thus, at an election rally in Hoshiarpur,, Apropos the Galwan clash, the EAM noted, that there were agreements with China not to defence minister Rajnath Singh claimed (Febbring military forces to the Line of Actual ruary 4) that “not a single inch of land” was, Control [LAC], and the Chinese “violated those allowed to be occupied by China in Galwan,, agreements”. Taking umbrage at this, China’s leaving the average citizen confused about the, Global Times noted (February 20) in a caustic border violations ascribed to the PLA. Senior, manner, “New Delhi may try to exploit the military veterans who served in Ladakh aver, force of the international community to that China is now physically closer to its 1959, embolden itself and further play with fire on claims along LAC., Regarding the current status of LAC and, the border issue. Such a dangerous tendency, India’s post-Galwan tactical position and, is what China needs to be wary of.”, The manner in which the Ukraine crisis patrolling constraints, former foreign secrehas unfolded could be described as an exten- tary Shyam Saran notes, “I would not say that, sion of the hybrid warfare model that Mos- India has forfeited its right to patrol certain, cow, on Putin’s watch, has successfully honed areas in eastern Ladakh, but it is undeniable, — from Syria to Kazakhstan and now central that Indian troops are being prevented by ChiEurope. The leavening of military muscle nese troops from accessing areas that they, with a robust information campaign and the were routinely patrolling on a regular basis, resolute exploitation of suasion that does not before the Galwan clash. This remains the situation in the Depsang Plains, the Hot Springs, and Gogra regions. We may argue that India, CONTESTED TERRITORIAhas not conceded any territory in terms of giving up its claims but the situation on the, LITY IS ONLY ONE SIGN OF, ground is that there are areas over which we, THE TROUBLED INDIAno longer have physical access.”, CHINA TIES. AS INDIA SEEKS, Contested territoriality is only one manifestation of the troubled India-China relationship, TO DEAL WITH THE, as India seeks to equip itself appropriately, UKRAINE ISSUE, THE RIGHT and, to deal with the emerging strategic flux engenLESSONS NEED TO BE, dered by Ukraine, the right lessons need to be, internalised in relation to strategic communiINTERNALISED IN, cation and national security., , T, , RELATION TO STRATEGIC, COMMUNICATION AND, NATIONAL SECURITY, , Commodore (retired) C Uday Bhaskar is director,, Society for Policy Studies, The views expressed are personal, , This isn’t the turbulent 1990s where caste and community identity ‘wars’, were fought with frenetic zeal. There is disquiet over the tough times, during the pandemic, but anxiety hasn’t turned into anger, ANI, Fourth, the media is tightly controlled by the government’s bureaucratic machine so that no negative, news can become a sustained prime, time narrative, be it dead bodies floating in the Ganga during the Covid-19, second wave (2021), alleged ministerial corruption, the Hathras rape and, murder case, or the Lakhimpur mowing down of protesting farmers by a, VIP cavalcade. The occasional journalistic expose has been met with, heavy-handed state action, including, FIRs against journalists, creating an, atmosphere of fear and foreboding., But above all else, there is the lure, of the Hindutva project, wherein UP,, much like Gujarat in the Modi years,, has become the centrepiece of a deepening religious polarisation. Yogi, Adityanath’s controversial “80:20”, remark is designed to shore up his, image as a “protector” of “Hindu, interests”. The CM has been a serial, offender when it comes to brazenly, appealing to one religious grouping, while demonising another. But what, is offensive to those who swear by the, constitutional norms of non-discriminatory politics is cheered on by vast, multitudes of supporters. They contrast Hindu assertiveness in the last, five years with the so-called “appeasement” of Muslims in the previous, , regime. In fact, even the CM’s core, appeal of being tough on law and, order is viewed through the prism of, anti-Muslim sentiment: ‘Muslim’, gangsters are seen as prime targets of, Yogi’s “bulldozer” boast., This doesn’t mean UP’s traditional, caste fault-lines have disappeared or, that local anti-incumbency isn’t a factor, one reason why the BJP faces a, decline in its 2017 numbers. It is just, that a majority in UP seems unwilling, to break with the Modi-Yogi fixation., Women, in particular, remain a crucial demographic whose support may, cut across the caste barrier. Just how, long this cult-like fascination for the, BJP’s “UP-Yogi” poll pitch lasts is, uncertain. But for now, it seems that, the Hindi heartland is still content to, keep rocking in its Hindu cradle., Post-script: In the power corridors of, Lucknow, there is much speculation on, whether a section of the BJP leadership, would prefer a narrow victory to an, overwhelming one. As per this theory, a, downsized Yogi would suit specific, political interests within the BJP’s established power structure. If only electoral, politics were so easy to control., Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior, journalist and author, The views expressed are personal, , { VR CHAUDHARI } IAF CHIEF, , P, China’s latest demonstration, of physically moving one of its, disabled satellites into the, graveyard orbit is bringing in, newer threats in the race to, weaponise the space domain., , A, , On criminal offences,, the data protection, bill is weak. Revise it, he proposed law on personal data Experts on a Data Protection Framework for, protection is principally civil in India mentioned the domestic legislation in, nature. Under the Personal Data Pro- the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and, tection (PDP) Bill, 2019, every data South Africa, which make intentional or, fiduciary (an entity that controls the storage reckless sharing of personal data a criminal, and usage of data like say, Google) and data offence. Surprisingly, the joint committee, processor (which processes the data, such as, (JC) on the PDP bill did not take this aspect, for instance, Cambridge Analytica) is into account. It would be judicious to follow, responsible for implementing security safe- international practices and make intentional, guards to protect the integrity of personal disclosure or sharing of personal data a, data and prevent its misuse. In case of con- criminal offence., travention, there are provisions for penalties, Third, the bill has a provision to hold the, and compensation. For offences punishable head of department vicariously liable and, under the bill, a court cannot take, deemed guilty for an offence comcognisance unless a complaint is, mitted by its (government) data, made by the Data Protection, fiduciary. Both this provision, and, Authority of India., the recommendation of the JC on, The primary objective of the prothis issue, are problematic., posed law is “to provide for protecThe usual rule in cases involving, tion of the privacy of individuals, criminal liability is to avoid vicariRK, relating to their personal data”. But, ous liability. Though this legal ficVij, as far as the ambit of criminal, tion (of criminal vicarious liability), offences is concerned, the bill is, can be created in any statute, the JC, silent on some potentially wilful, appreciated that it may “impede, acts of the data fiduciary and the data proc- decision making process” and create hurdles, essor. It is also overly implicative because it in the everyday functioning of the departincludes the heads of government depart- ment., ments for criminal liability., But its alternative — of an “an in-house, The bill identifies three major offences. inquiry” to fix responsibility before initiatThe first is about re-identification and proc- ing criminal proceedings — may not find, essing of personal data (without the consent favour with the judiciary. It is an estabof the data fiduciary or data processor), lished principle of law that any information, which has been de-identified already. that discloses the commission of a cognisaDe-identification entails the removal of sen- ble offence must be recorded as a First, sitive personal details, but as experts have Information Report (FIR) without delay., argued, such personal information can be Any in-house inquiry to fix responsibility, retrieved when large datasets are compared will amount to an investigation into that, and merged., offence, which is not permissible under the, But what if the data fiduciary or data proc- Code of Criminal Procedure. Further,, essor wilfully re-identifies the data for com- departments other than law enforcement, mercial or other purposes? As the primary agencies may not be well versed with proresponsibility of data protection resides with cedural laws and equipped to undertake a, both these entities, they must be brought criminal investigation. The investigating, within the domain of criminal liability with officer, in any case, will have to undertake, stiff penalties. But the section doesn’t deal the probe de novo., with any such eventuality., Therefore, it will be prudent not only to do, Second, the bill is silent on the intentional away with the provision of criminal vicarisharing or disclosure of personal data to a ous liability, but also not to allow other, third party by the data fiduciary or data departments to enter the domain of the law, processor as an offence. In recent years, the enforcement agencies., world has seen significant data breaches,, RK Vij is a former special DGP, Chhattisgarh, raising serious privacy concerns of individuThe views expressed are personal, als. The White Paper of the Committee of, , T, , R. N. I. No. 503/1957 ● Postal Reg. 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OPINION 9, , >, , Volume XXVIII Number 223, , STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM, , ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA, , NEW DELHI | FRIDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2022, , Facing the job problem, Rajasthan’s urban job programme might be difficult to implement, , T, , he government of Rajasthan has decided to initiate an urban job guarantee scheme in the state along the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The, Congress-ruled state intends to call it the Indira Gandhi Urban, Employment Guarantee Scheme and will, like the MGNREGA, offer 100 days, of demand-based employment. The state has set aside ~800 crore for the programme. Many details of the scheme are still awaited, but this can be seen as, the first large-scale institutional response to the problems of urban unemployment revealed during the national lockdown in 2020 in response to the arrival, of the pandemic. Some other states have introduced urban poverty relief programmes but they have largely been under-resourced and temporary. For that, matter, it is an open question whether ~800 crore will be enough for an openended programme. The state government debt, which may be a third of gross, state domestic product, has already reached levels considered dangerous by, credit-rating agencies like CRISIL, which in September 2021 identified, Rajasthan as one of eight states worryingly indebted. In this context, its shift, to defined pension instead of defined contributions to social security can be, seen as even more problematic. Expanding entitlements without proper fiscal, backing is a recipe for disaster in the presence of a heavy debt burden., There can be no doubt that the problem of unemployment and precariousness in urban areas is one that has to be addressed by governments at, both state and national levels. The fact is that job creation, especially in the, informal sector, has not kept pace with the requirements, according to every, reasonable indicator and survey. The Periodic Labour Force Survey revealed, the agricultural workforce was increasing for the first time in decades, in what, is an unmistakable sign of urban distress. As a response, the Parliamentary, Standing Committee on Labour had called for a national urban employment, guarantee, although this call was ignored by the Central government, presumably because of the fiscal implications of a new programme with such scope., The Rajasthan attempt could thus be considered a pilot, with implications for, whether a nationwide attempt is feasible or not., It must be noted that there are multiple concerns about any urban job, guarantee programme. For one, it will be considerably more complex to, implement than the MGNREGA. There are fewer locations for unskilled, labour in the public sector in urban areas. Work may not be available in the, neighbourhood in which migrants reside. Second, who will be eligible? Will, migrants with an out-of-state domicile be able to benefit from state-based, urban employment guarantee systems? Can employment rights be considered, transferable across geographies? Some of these concerns might be answered, in the design of any proposed national urban employment guarantee scheme,, but they are of special moment if state governments are introducing them., Nor, in the end, will schemes such as this address the underlying problem of, poor job creation. This needs medium- and long-term solutions, which governments at all levels have been slow to introduce. It is to be hoped that the, Rajasthan government, in its attempt to solve a very real problem, has not, bitten off more than it can chew., , Real cost of data, India needs a privacy law before data use policy, , T, , he Draft Data Accessibility & Use Policy, circulated by the Ministry of, Electronics and Information Technology for public feedback, lays, out how the government intends to streamline data accessibility, across its various arms and ministries, and what it intends to share, and monetise. Administratively, this is logical. But the draft raises concern, about personal privacy, because it could enable pervasive surveillance. It could, also lead to battles over intellectual property (IP) rights. The government wishes, to set up a regulatory authority, the Indian Data Council (IDC), and an agency,, the India Data Office, to review and oversee data in government departments., These bodies will set and enforce a framework of data and metadata standards., After excluding certain data for security reasons, government departments, will share the data they possess with other departments and the private sector., They will identify “high-value data sets”, and monetise them. The draft says, attention will be paid to anonymisation (removing elements that could identify, individuals) to ensure privacy. The IDC will set anonymisation standards and, oversee identifying and creating high-value data sets., A common set of standards is useful. This would reduce duplication of, effort, and enable better inter-departmental cooperation. It could, in theory,, help entrepreneurs build businesses on the back of government data. But, serious issues crop up when the details are considered. There is still no data, privacy law in place and the proposed draft legislation gives the government, sweeping powers to collect data for broad purposes. If government departments, readily share data and metadata with each other, surveillance powers increase., The creation of high-value data sets, which are to be monetised, gives an incentive to collect even more data. Also, though the current draft only deals with, government departments, the government has awarded itself the powers to, requisition private data when it chooses, in other draft legislation. This could, lead to complex issues centred on IP. The private sector could buy high-value, data sets and build businesses by adding more value. That would propel growth, in the digital economy, which is one of the stated goals. However, the IP, which, a private firm brings to such a digital business, may be vulnerable because the, government could re-requisition that company’s data and perhaps, resell it., Another issue lies with anonymisation standards. A data set containing, the sensitive private data of individuals can be anonymised by removing fields, of identifiers. But this is difficult in practice and anonymised data can often, be de-anonymised. This is especially likely when there are many data sets and, metadata available and connected to each other, as this draft says will be the, case. For example, one department may know “someone” contacted a health, care clinic, another department may know “someone” took a blood-sugar test,, a third may know the exact location at given times of “someone”, and a fourth, may know “someone’s” health insurance status. Any of these given data sets, may be anonymised. But if the sets are connected to each other, it would be, possible to identify the individual and deduce sensitive personal data. In effect,, it is hard to anonymise connected sets of high-value data sets in a fool-proof, way and there is also a strong commercial incentive to de-anonymise. This, draft policy should wait on the passage of the draft personal data protection, Bill, and it is also necessary to consider the broader implications of this policy, carefully. As it stands, the downsides could outweigh the possible benefits., , Reckoning with a, divided India, No matter who wins the Assembly elections, the idea of India, has already lost, , D, , oes anyone still remember “the idea of, India”? The phrase was popularised by the, scholar, political scientist and historian,, Sunil Khilnani, who wrote an influential book about, it in 1997, but the concepts it embodied had been, around for much longer., The best single-para summary of the idea of India, that I have come across appeared in an article by, Shashi Tharoor. The idea of India, he, said, was “the idea of an ever-everland emerging from an ancient civilization, united by a shared history,, restrained by pluralist democracy., Indian democracy imposes no narrow conformities on its citizens. The, whole point of Indian pluralism is you, can be many things and one thing:, you can be a good Muslim, a good, Keralite and good Indian all at once.”, The notion that modern India is, a nation built around an idea is central to most liberal views of India. The, VIR SANGHVI, whole point of India is that you can, be a Malayali or a Naga and still be as, Indian as one another. Indian-ness is not defined by, ethnicity, by religion, by language or even by a shared, culture. (There are not that many cultural similarities, between Nagas and Malayalis, for instance.) But as, long as you subscribe to the idea of a pluralistic and, diverse but still united nation, you are an Indian., We take the Indian nation for granted nowadays, so it is difficult for us to imagine how novel and, how daring that idea must have seemed when independent India was founded. The other country that, , DOUBLE TAKE, , BOOK REVIEW, KANIKA DATTA, , W, , ar clouds darken Europe after, eight decades of peace in what, historian Timothy Snyder, termed the “bloodlands” — Ukraine and, Eastern Europe that bore the brunt of, Hitler and Stalin’s murderous regimes., The World War II generation is passing, and with it memories of Europe’s devastation. Weakening public memory is, also the result of the remarkable postwar resurrection of Western Europe,, which hindsight views as the start of the, West’s victory in the Cold War., In this crude assessment, post-war, Germany enjoys a fairy-tale narrative as, a nation that picked itself up from the, , The write is a journalist and TV presenter, , The end of budget day carnival?, , E, , ver wondered why, in the first place, the quite boring, and that’s not a bad thing., Indian budget has always been such a media Infrastructure spend is showing a steady increase, event? It is actually quite unique as in no over the past four years, while doles and handouts, Western democracy, least of all in Britain (the are rapidly decreasing in importance. It is the latter, Westminster model), does the budget session raise that always gave the budget the maximum buzz for, more than a few low brows, a few protocol remarks, the money. If swings in concessions and rebates no, and that’s it. Harold Wilson, when he was Britain’s longer occupy the front seats, it is a sure sign that, chancellor of the exchequer, put it perfectly when the budget will meet a flat, straight line reception,, he had this to say about the budget: “Rather like a as this one has. The finance minister will then no, longer be the stand-in flamethrower in Parliament, school speech day: a bit of a bore, but there it is.”, In India, we have been led to react differently. on budget day. But should not that be welcomed?, The chances are that the Indian, For the past several decades now,, budget is probably moving away, this event has always met with a, from mercurial swings as the curcheer or jeer reception. It is hotly, rent hike in infra spending is a conanticipated for a month, with spectinuation of a trend that began, ulations aplenty. Then it’s a full-on, timidly three years ago. This year, blast when the budget is actually, the climb was steep and if this curve, presented, after which a frenzied, holds the course, then the chances, search begins for carrots among the, are that our budget too will become, sticks; who has won and who has, dull and colourless like the British, lost? Did information technology, one has always been. No doles, no, gain over oil and gas? Or, were they, freebies, amounts to no gossip and, both upended by pharma? Where, no chatter. In Britain, from where, is the policy in all of this? If there is DIPANKAR GUPTA, we have emulated the budget traone, is it pro-rich or pro-poor? Are, dition, the budget speech is usually, we feeding pigeons or songbirds?, It is not as if a mature economy does not have to so staid that parliamentarians can’t wait for it to be, face crises. Take the United Kingdom again, as an over so that they can dart out for refreshments., example. Its economic fortunes have seen many, In India, the average length of a budget speech, highs and lows. Yet, most taxes there, including all is about 13,600 words and takes over two and a half, indirect taxes, petroleum revenue tax and taxes on hours to complete. In contrast, from the year 2000, capital are “permanent”. That is why the British budg- on, the UK budget speech has been almost always, et, as in most other democracies, is about as predict- under one hour. For example, Rishi Sunak’s, rather, able as EMIs are for households. In Britain, the state- flamboyant, budget speech in March 2021 was over, ment of budget expenditures is sent, without fanfare, in less than 50 minutes, though this time it uncharto select committees of the House of Commons for a acteristically digressed into the Covid crisis and ecoreview, which never discusses matters of policy., nomic downturn., Even so, there were few jolts. Except for extra aid, On this count, the latest Indian budget is a disappointment for carnival lovers. If the current trend to the hospitality and leisure sectors, such as gyms,, continues, very soon the budget session will become pubs and museums, Chancellor Sunak hardly pro-, , The aftershocks of war, ruins of war and its Nazi past and, after a, forgettable four-decade interregnum as, two nations, emerged as the economic,, technological miracle and sophisticated, society that dominates Europe. The, sub-text is that Germanic discipline and, traditions of technical excellence, reasserted themselves once Adolf Hitler, was dead. Aftermath offers a less heroic, and more nuanced picture of a forgotten, period in post-war history. It is a portrait, of the many facets of German society in, the immediate post-war years showing, how its citizenry responded to defeat,, occupation and the revelations of the, concentration camps after 12 years of, relentless rhetoric about their master, race status., Harald Jahner, a cultural journalist,, begins with a simple question: “How, could a nation that perpetrated the, Holocaust become a dependable, democratic country?” He recognises, that there is no “all-encompassing, formula”. It’s a “sum of experience, that tells a story that can’t be defined, as concept”., , came out of old undivided India was Pakistan,, which was defined by religion. And that soon broke, up, leading to the creation of a third nation based, largely on language and culture. (Bangladesh or, land of the Bengalis.), Salman Rushdie called the idea of India one of, the great ideas of the 20th Century and the centrality, of the Indian idea runs through the work of most, great liberal intellectuals, people like, Amartya Sen, for instance., This idea of India was accepted, in 1947 by most political parties, except for sections of the Hindu, right, which did not count for a great, deal when India became independent. In later years, I think Atal Bihari, Vajpayee accepted the idea but L K, Advani wanted India to be an essentially Hindu country that welcomed, Muslims. The current leadership of, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is, so far to the right of Mr Advani that, there is only the abyss beyond their, position. So, they certainly have no, respect for any pluralistic idea of India., That’s fair enough. If you venerate Guruji, Golwalkar and Veer Savarkar, you probably have no, time for any concept of nationhood that does not, place Hindus at its centre. But what has worried me,, as I have watched the Assembly election campaign, unfold over the last few months, is that there is not, one party of consequence in the whole country that, is fighting the elections by re-affirming the idea of, India. All politics today is about identity and freebies., , This will be obvious to anyone who reads analysis, of the election or watches news TV. Nobody talks, about ideas or policies any longer. All coverage of, UP, for instance, is about religion or caste. Has the, Ram Mandir proved to be an effective vote-getter?, Are Muslims voting tactically to defeat the BJP? Will, the election in Western UP be decided by Jats?, Mayawati is not campaigning hard in this election,, so who will the Dalits choose instead?, In fact, the single most repeated phrase in analysis of the UP election may well be “non-Yadav, OBCs”. Where will they go? Will they back Akhilesh, Yadav? Will they determine the fate of the, Samajwadi Party?, Politicians love this sort of campaign. After Yogi, Adityanath’s famous 80-20 breakdown (80 per cent, of voters are Hindus; 20 per cent are Muslims), the, BJP’s campaign in UP has been openly and nakedly, communal, seeking to unite Hindus against Muslims., When other issues are mentioned, it is usually in the, nature of freebies: Double rations and so on., Punjab is no different though shockingly it is the, Congress, a party that should venerate the idea of, India, that is fighting the election on the basis of, identity and freebies. Seeking to annex the space, once occupied by the Akalis, the party has sidelined, its Hindu leaders (Manish Tewari, Sunil Jakhar,, Ashwini Kumar etc, all of whom have protested) and, acted as though the only reason for choosing, Charanjit Channi as chief minister is that he is a, Dalit. (“Now we have got all the Dalit votes!” say, Congress leaders gleefully.) As for freebies, Rahul, Gandhi went so far as to declare that Amarinder, Singh had been removed as chief minister because, he refused to give free electricity., The campaign reminds us that the old idea of, India is dead. As Salman Rushdie wrote: “India is, no longer the country of Midnight’s Children. India, today, to someone of my mind, has entered an even, darker phase than the Emergency years.... All of, India belonged to all of us, or so I deeply believed., And still believe, even though the rise of a brutal, sectarianism believes otherwise.”, Even Mr Tharoor has acknowledged that he is, worried by the rise of identity politics that works, against a larger sense of Indian-ness., The subtext to many of these observations is that, the rise of this avatar of the BJP has fundamentally, altered the character of the Indian nation. That’s, fair enough. But it’s not as though the BJP is battling, other political parties which are standing up for the, idea this nation was founded on. It is not Narendra, Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath (who never, believed in the idea of a pluralistic India anyway), who have engineered this transformation on their, own. It is all of India’s political parties that have, abandoned ideology, that no longer seek votes on, the basis of performance and that play the castereligion-region game, forsaking the idea of India to, fall back on identity politics., No matter who wins the Assembly elections, the, idea of India has already lost., , Some German readers have, grumbled that Aftermath offers an, incomplete picture. But Mr Jahner has, not conceived of his book as, comprehensive history. He has, attempted to create a cultural and social, picture of Germany at the moment of its, greatest humiliation. He builds this, portrait from private diaries of the time,, the abundance of Trummeliteratur ,, literally “rubble literature”, spare, stripped-down accounts of survival in, ruined cities on the minimum of food, and without light, heating or water, and, the explosion of newspapers,, magazines and radio programmes,, often sponsored by the Allied, occupying forces., Two elements stand out in this, detailed book: The role of women and, the rise and fall of the black market. The, first is a traumatic recounting of the, burden that fell on German women as, the Allied armies closed in. With, German men absent or physically and, emotionally emasculated, it was, women who bore the burden of defeat., , One of the facts researchers discovered, in the nineties was the rape of millions, of German women by Russian soldiers,, a fact vigorously suppressed by Warsaw, Pact governments. Mr Jahner shows, that it was a repressed memory in, Germany, too, imposed mostly by men., The experience was best illustrated, by an unsentimental account titled A, Woman in Berlin. The book was, published, anonymously in, Germany in 1959,, and caused no, ripples. But the, English translation, in 2003 attracted, widespread, attention. The, writer was found to, be a well-travelled, journalist called, Marta Hillers. Repeatedly raped when, the Russians entered Berlin, she, eventually sought the protection of a, senior Russian officer to save herself, from predations of others. Yet, her, soldier fiancé responded to her trauma, with disgust and desertion, a recurring, experience throughout the country as, defeated German men sought to, , nounced concessions or cutbacks that either benefited or set private entrepreneurs or white goods, consumers back. Though there was a strong proposal to raise the duty on spirits, wine, cider and, beer, that did not eventually happen., On the other hand, Covid perhaps had at least, one salutary effect; it inspired Mr Sunak to invest, more in public services such as science, in housing, for the poor and in clearing the National Health, Service backlog. Now, that’s the kind of “handout”, citizens in any country would welcome while gossip-mongers in mass media would despair., Television has, undoubtedly, contributed hugely, towards making the budget into a major media event, in India, but gawking at this spectacle has an older, history. In Mumbai, Nani Palkhivala, the famous, jurist, held thousands spellbound with his annual, fix on the budget in the Brabourne Stadium. So,, there is something else about India which makes, our budget session rather unique among well, regarded countries. What could that be?, Could it be that our budget, unlike elsewhere in, the democratic world, was always viewed as an ersatz, policy document? In which case then, even in, Palkhivala’s times, people looked to the budget for, leads on this matter and not to the vaunted Five-Year, Plans of that era. But if it were a policy document why, then did concessions to different sets of producers, and consumers keep changing from year to year? In, the popular imagination, budgets were always, expected to declare “and the winner is”. Hopefully,, from now on, budget announcements will get increasingly dull and commonplace. Time will tell., If, beginning this year, there is a consistent amping down of the Indian budget, it will free future, economists from making a big bang out of what, should always have been a whimper., The writer taught for nearly three decades in Jawaharlal, Nehru University, , suppress ignominy with machismo., Also fascinating is the trajectory of, black markets that flourished on, shortages. Mr Jahner describes how, otherwise disciplined citizens learnt to, loot and establish well-run informal, markets as the Allies introduced food, ration cards and currency controls, a, predicament with which Indians will be, familiar. It was currency reform in 1948, in the western, Aftermath: Life in the occupied territories, Fallout of the Third, that abruptly ended, Reich, 1945-1955, that underground, economy. During a, Author:Harald, visit to a ration store, Jahner, on the first day of, Publisher: Penguin currency reform,, one writer recalls, Pages: 381, the transition from, Price: ~1,657, “ration card buyers, and supplicants to, being customers.”, From the extraordinary integration, of settlers expelled from Eastern, Europe, to Germans’ encounters with, their occupiers to the rise of the avant, garde art scene as a response to the, depredations of the Third Reich,, Mr Jahner’s clear-eyed but empathetic, portrait offers a view unfiltered through, , the prism of British and American, historians, excellent though some of, them may be., Mr Jahner also raises the more, uncomfortable questions. “Today we, know a great deal about the Holocaust., What we know less about is how life in, Germany continued under the shadow, it cast across the country’s future.” That, latter issue looms today as we watch the, steady rise of the far-right Alternative, for Germany or AfD and its shrill antiimmigrant agenda., Given the deadly accounting of the, Final Solution, how does the space for, racism expand in this vibrant country?, Part of the answer, Mr Jahner shows,, lies in the fact that Germans mostly, skirted the issue in the interests of, survival and forgetting. That’s because, Germans saw themselves as victims too, — of Allied destruction, of Nazi, brainwashing and the terror apparatus, that the Hitler regime turned on its own, citizens when defeat was at hand., In the context of Vladimir Putin’s, anti-Nato adventurism, a nuclearpowered, 21st century version of the, Hitlerian stab-in-the-back myth, this, book offers a grim reminder of the, consequences of 1939.
Page 7 : 12, , VIEWS, , FRIDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2022, NEW DELHI, , LIVEMINT.COM, , MY VIEW | THE INTERSECTION, , OUR VIEW, , Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is, marked by a big Chinese failure, Putin’s aggression counts as Xi Jinping’s biggest foreign policy disaster for where it leaves China, advanced aircraft engines that Ukraine, controls. China’s position was put across, by its ambassador to Kyiv, who had a few, weeks ago declared support for Ukraine’s, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. More broadly China prefers, a world where the US, UK and the EU are, divided and wants to attract developing, countries to itself and its vision of a new, global order. While China is challenging, the US for global supremacy, Beijing, does not see bipolarity and a new cold, war as being in its interest—just yet., Unfortunately for Xi, Putin jumped the, gun. He tore up the Minsk pacts that the, Chinese had placed so much diplomatic, stock in and invaded a country whose, sovereignty Beijing had publicly committed to uphold. He showed that being a, BRI member only gets you Chinese loans, and infrastructure, and you can’t rely on, Beijing for survival. The only thing Putin, did to assuage Chinese sensibilities was, to wait for the Winter Olympics to end, before invading. China’s confounded, diplomats found themselves grasping for, something intelligent to say after Putin, quasi-annexed the two Ukrainian, regions. After mouthing generalities,, all they could manage was to criticize, Western interference in the matter., So, at this point, China has been forced, into a situation where it cannot explicitly, support Russian aggression, but cannot, , NITIN PAI, , Reputations can shrink, even as audiences swell, Investigative business documentaries are gaining eyeballs. As this glare intensifies, businesses, had better watch what they do before they end up on our watch-lists for all the wrong reasons, , I, , t takes 20 years to build a reputation and, five minutes to ruin it, Warren Buffett, famously said. Maybe that should be, revised to two hours or so, the usual length, of a documentary on an online streaming, platform. Some of the sharpest critiques of, companies take the shape of films nowadays,, and thanks to swipe-to-play apps and the covid, pandemic’s extension of our couch time, their, audiences have been swelling. Since these must, compete for viewership with fictional fare on, ‘infinite scroll’ menus, they need to be riveting., And the best-made ones indeed are. The most, recent recipient of rave reviews has been Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, which takes to task, the plane-maker for the 737 Max scandal that, followed a couple of eerily similar crashes in, 2018 and 2019. Software was at fault, not some, pilot error. This Netflix film traces the tragedies, to an obsession with shareholder value after, Boeing’s 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas,, pinning them firmly on safety slippages in its, pursuit of profit. As the story goes, Boeing’s, need to rival Airbus 320Neo’s fuel-efficiency, led it to retrofit new engines on an old design,, but with an automatic nose-dipper secretly, installed to cover the resultant risk of stalling at, certain angles of incline after take-off. Now that, pilots have finally been trained for this, this, aircraft was recently deemed air-worthy again, by regulators, but the film leaves an impression, that Boeing may not find easy to erase., Cinema works best when it moves us and tales, of business intrigue have been achieving this, routinely. Had Theranos’s founder Elizabeth, Holmes not accused her ex-business-partner, Ramesh Balwani of sexual abuse, the fraudulent, blood-test innovation her company came up, with might not have got much attention in, , India. But The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon, Valley (2019) has amassed viewers for the very, gall with which that startup hyped itself as an, innovator in a world all too keen to celebrate, marvels of technology, while leaving space for, us to wonder if Holmes herself was clueless of, the idea’s failure. Perhaps the most appealing, are non-fiction movies that depict the impact, on society of business practices. Among the, most popular in this category has been The, Social Dilemma (2020), which could make even, the most blasé of us feel manipulated by social, media and panicky about our privacy. The, reputational knock delivered by this documentary was chiefly to Facebook, which called it, “distorted”, though its chief Mark Zuckerberg, arguably comes off better than he did in The, Social Network (2010), a movie that was only bit, less talked-about than Inside Job (2010), about, the West’s Great Recession. Even when a business’s role is indirect, an engaging narrative on, a screen can cause it damage. Tinder banned, Simon Leviev from its dating platform after the, release of The Tinder Swindler (2022), about, how he preyed on women, but the film’s title, has saddled its brand-name with his swindles., It’s not as if business in India has been less, scandalous. It just so happens that the genre is, relatively new. The local docu-series Bad Boy, Billionaires: India (2020) traced the rise and fall, of tycoons like Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Ramalinga Raju and Subrata Roy. With avid viewers, online, we can expect many more. Unlike dry, factual reports, these productions appeal partly, to emotions, which often assures them a deep, imprint on people’s minds. The success of this, genre should matter to everyone in business., They must watch themselves, lest they end up, on our watch-lists for all the wrong reasons., , is co-founder and director of, The Takshashila Institution, an independent, centre for research and education in, public policy, , T, , here is little doubt that the Russian, invasion of Ukraine is a result of, the West’s policy failure. The US,, the EU and Nato were unable to deter, Vladimir Putin from launching a longplanned military attack. But that’s not all., The war in Ukraine is also a failure of Xi, Jinping’s foreign policy, and a big setback for China’s geopolitical ambitions., Putin has cleverly dragged Xi Jinping, into a position that the Chinese president, surely did not desire. That photograph of, the two standing side-by-side days before, the war will be interpreted as a sign of, Sino-Russian collusion, or at least a Chinese green signal for Russian aggression., Yet, there is little reason to believe that, Beijing was even fully aware of Putin’s, plans. While grand declarations of partnership and cooperation were made,, there was no reference to Ukraine in, their joint statement. The complaint, against Nato’s expansion was buried, deep inside. In January, Xi wrote, Ukraine’s president that he attached, “great importance” to the China-Ukraine, strategic partnership. Right up to Putin’s, speech recognizing Ukraine’s two separatist regions, Chinese diplomats had, referred to the Minsk agreements. Until, the invasion, they had called for de-escalation through dialogue and negotiation., After all, China is Ukraine’s biggest trade, partner and Kyiv had signed up to Xi’s, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing has, also long been seeking technologies like, , New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune*, , www.livemint.com, , Saturday, February 25, 2012, , Vol.5, , No.47, , `5.00, , QUICK READ, While China is challenging the US, for global supremacy, it doesn’t, see the bipolarity of a new cold, war as being in its interest just yet, and has found itself caught badly, between two opposing sides., Perhaps Putin’s biggest gift to, his adversaries is that his invasion, of Ukraine has rejuvenated a, listless Nato and galvanized, Western solidarity, which could, draw big resources into the fray., , oppose it either. It can criticize Western, sanctions on Russia for being unilateral,, but do nothing to stop their imposition. It, cannot avoid providing Russia economic, assistance. Nor stop Putin from doing, as he pleases., This is not merely an embarrassment, for Xi ahead of China’s Communist Party, session later this year, where he hopes to, secure another term, it is a damning, indictment of his foreign policy., To the extent China takes the pressure, of sanctions off Russia, it will antagonize, the US and EU. Beijing cannot afford to, lose access to European technology ecosystems and markets too. To the extent, that Western sanctions affect Russia’s, global trade, Chinese financial institutions and firms will be affected. To the, extent that China opposes sanctions at, the United Nations, other countries will, see it as abetting an aggressor., Putin’s biggest gift to his adversaries,, however, is in galvanizing their solidarity. In 2020, pessimistic policymakers at, the Munich Security Conference were, contemplating “Westlessness” amid, widening trans-Atlantic divisions. Today, the West is back and Nato has a newfound sense of purpose. China faces a, more consolidated, front-footed West, than it did just last week. If Xi’s actions of, the past decade gave birth to a countervailing coalition in the Indo-Pacific in, the form of the Quad and Aukus, Putin’s, invasion has rejuvenated Nato., It is possible that the some in the, West will hope to engage Beijing and, split the China-Russia partnership. This, will likely prove futile, as Xi has made, countering the US his fundamental, foreign policy goal. It is also possible that, some will believe Russia has diverted the, West’s resources away from the IndoPacific. They too will probably be proven, wrong because a West that is on a warfooting will allocate more resources, overall for defence., Thus Xi is walking a tightrope between, criticizing the West and discouraging, Russia from further escalation. Even as, Putin is shaking that rope vigorously., , PAGES, 12 PAGES + 20 PAGES16LOUNGE, 8 PAGES MEDIA MARKETING, + 20 PAGESINITIATIVE, LOUNGE ++ 4 MARKETS PAGES, , Tata Housing’s chief on, Indian construction sector >4, , Q&A:, , BANKING: Reserve Bank of India to meet, lenders on burgeoning bad loans >3, WSJ: Greek cabinet approves debt, restructuring plan >12, VIEWS: What can stakeholders do, to save Kingfisher Airlines? >11, , EXCLUSIVE PARTNER, , SENSEX 17,923.57 æ 154.93, , NIFTY 5,429.30 æ 54.00, , PUSHING REFORMS, , GoM clears, policy to hike, urea capacity, Revised investment, policy offers various, incentives to fertilizer, companies to expand, and set up new plants, B Y A MAN M ALIK,
[email protected], , ·························, NEW DELHI, , I, , n a move intended to boost, urea production and make, India self-sufficient in meeting demand for the vital farm nutrient, a group of ministers, (GoM) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday, approved a revised investment, policy offering incentives to fertilizer companies to expand and, set up urea plants., The policy will be taken up for, consideration and approval by, the Union cabinet in due course,, said two fertilizer ministry officials on condition of anonymity., The policy seeks to give urea, manufacturers a minimum 12%, post-tax return on capital. The, fertilizer ministry has proposed, that the government compensate companies if the price of gas, exceeds $14 (around `687 today), per million British thermal units, (mmBtu)., It also suggested changes in, the method of calculating the, price of gas delivered to fertilizer, units. Gas is the main feedstock, of urea and accounts for up to, 80% of the cost of producing the, fertilizer., If approved by the cabinet, the, policy could enhance urea production capacity by up to 7-8, million tonnes (mt)— enough to, meet the country’s demand—, and lead to about `40,000 crore, of investment. As urea produced, domestically is cheaper than the, imported variety, it will result in, significant savings in the fertilizer subsidy bill., India produces about 22 mt of, urea a year, while it requires an, annual 27 mt. Urea is the only, fertilizer that has a maximum retail price still controlled by the, government, which deregulated, those of all the others in April, 2010., Some experts say a shortage of, gas, capital constraints and price, , NOTE TO READERS, The 8-page Media Marketing, Initiative distributed with today’s, edition is the equivalent of a, paid-for advertisement, and no, Mint journalists were involved in, creating it. Readers would do well, to treat it as an advertisement., Mint is also available for R9.50 with, Hindustan Times under a combo offer, , DOLLAR `48.93 æ `0.26, , EURO `65.98 Æ `0.75, , Week ending, , 17 Feb, 18,500, , 3.05%, 18,289.35, , NEW DELHI: The empowered, group of ministers on gas did not, arrive at any decision on the issue, of natural gas allocation to various, sectors, including power, fertilizer,, steel and refining., Oil minister S. Jaipal Reddy said, that no date had been fixed for a, further meeting. Friday’s meeting,, headed by finance minister Pranab, Mukherjee, had been called to, consider changes to the policy on, allocating natural gas among, various sectors. AMAN MALIK, , ·························, NEW DELHI, , 18,000, , -2%, 17,500, , 27 Jan, , % change over, the previous, week, , Week ending, , 24 Feb, , 2.15%, , 2.96%, , 17,604.96, , 17,233.98, , Week ending, , 17,923.57, 17,000, , 3 Feb, , 16,500, , 3.62%, , Week ending, , 6 Jan, , 16,739.01, Week ending, , 2.67%, , 20 Jan, , 15,867.73, , 16,000, , 1.81%, 16,154.62, Week ending, , 13 Jan, , 15,500, , control could impede efforts to, attract investments., “The problem is the availability of domestic gas. India has a, perpetual resource problem,”, said Sanjay Jain, director at Taj, Capital Partners Pvt. Ltd, which, has interests in the fertilizer sector. “It would be interesting to, see how many bankers come forward to lend money for such a, capital-intensive business. The, most important thing is, when, will the government decontrol, urea prices.”, The government had announced a urea investment policy in September 2008, but failed, to attract any investment as it, was considered unviable. India’s, last urea plant set up from, scratch came on stream in 1995., On 28 December, Mint had, first reported on the contours of, the proposed policy in which the, government has worked out a, fresh formula for providing incentives for investments under, three categories—greenfield, or, new plants; brownfield, or expansion of existing plants; and, improving plant efficiency to, boost output., The firms will be eligible for, this incentive package if they, commence production within, five years of the release of the, new guidelines. Thereafter, they, can continue to claim the incentives for eight years., In the proposed policy, the, government has linked the floor, and ceiling prices of urea to the, landed price of gas, subject to a, maximum limit of $14 per mmBtu. The government will provide, “additional consideration” to, companies if the landed cost of, gas goes above $14, said one of, the two officials cited above. The, extent of the compensation firms, will get is yet to be decided., An executive of the Fertiliser, Association of India, the main, industry lobby group, said that, the industry had demanded that, the $14 mark should be raised to, , he initial public offering, (IPO) of Multi Commodity, Exchange of India Ltd (MCX),, the first public share sale of the, year, has received an overwhelming response from investors. MCX, India’s dominant, commodity bourse, received, bids for 54 times the 6.42 million shares on offer, based on, data updated by the National, Stock Exchange till 8.30pm., MCX is set to become the first, Indian exchange to get listed., Reasonable valuations, a, near, monopoly, position, among commodity bourses, and a buoyant stock market, led to the over-subscription., The success of the `663 crore, MCX IPO is a positive signal, for India’s primary market that, has been listless over the past, year, analysts and merchant, bankers said., After a stellar run in 2010,, when Indian companies raised, nearly `40,000 crore through, IPOs, 2011 saw an 85% drop in, the amount raised through initial share sales, even as the, stock market slumped. The, Sensex plunged 25% last year, owing to a weakening econo-, , TURN TO PAGE 2®, , TURN TO PAGE 2®, , 15,517.92, , 15,000, , 2 Jan, , 6, , 13, , 20, , 27, , 3 Feb, , 10, , 17, , 24 Feb, Source: BSE, Reuters, , SANDEEP BHATNAGAR/MINT, , MCX gets bids, for 54 times, shares on offer, B Y P RAMIT B HATTACHARYA,
[email protected], , ·························, MUMBAI, , T, , B Y S HAUVIK G HOSH,
[email protected], , Week ending, , No decision taken, on gas allocation, , GOLD `28,530 æ `70, , DoT may seek, clarity from, SC on 2G case, , SENSEX POSTS FIRST, WEEKLY FALL IN 2012, Indian shares posted their first weekly, fall in 2012 on Friday, sliding 2% over, five sessions, as investors booked, profits on renewed worries about, rising global oil prices and, Week ending, the country’s widening, 10 Feb, fiscal deficit. The 30-share, benchmark index fell, 0.82%, 0.86%, or 154.93 points,, 17,748.69, on Friday to close, below 18,000., , T, , he department of telecommunications (DoT) is likely, to file a petition with the Supreme Court (SC) seeking clarification on some issues relating, to the 2 February ruling of the, apex court that cancelled 122, telecom licences and spectrum, allocated to nine companies., “There are a number of issues that need clarification., These were discussed, but the, meeting largely remained inconclusive as some key people, could not make it,” a senior official with knowledge of the, matter said requesting anonymity., The meeting was attended, by communications minister, Kapil Sibal, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek, Singh Ahluwalia, telecom secretary R. Chandrashekhar. Key, officials, including law minister Salman Khurshid and attorney general G.E. Vahanvati,, were unable to attend. The, meeting was called to discuss, the course of action in light of, the Supreme Court verdict., Interestingly, DoT has asked, for an opinion on the verdict, from the attorney general, based, , OIL $123.69 æ $0.43, , QUICK EDIT, , Bad loans, rising, T, , he central bank has, called a meeting of, bankers because of the, spurt in bad loans, a, trend that’s ostensibly, due to the slowdown, in the economy. As, companies start doing, poorly, they’re unable, to meet repayment, obligations and the, money loaned to, them turns into, non-performing assets., Banks then need to, set aside money to cover, these bad loans, making, their earnings statements, look even worse., What does a lender, do when faced with, such a scenario? It, either negotiates a loan, recast or something less, friendly. Of course, while, banks want to do as, much as they can to, mop up all that red ink,, sometimes their hands, are tied., As seems to be the case, with Kingfisher Airlines,, where there’s a, considerable amount of, confusion over whether, to pump more cash into, the debt-ridden carrier, and keep it flying...or, the opposite of that., , TURN TO PAGE 2®, , MERGER GUIDELINES, , CCI eases rules for group recast, B Y R EMYA N AIR &, N IKHIL K ANEKAL, ·························, , REVISED NORMS, , NEW DELHI, , I, , n a move that will assist corporate houses undertaking group, restructuring, the Competition, Commission of India (CCI) has, notified that the merger of wholly owned subsidiaries with the, parent holding company will no, longer require the approval of, the antitrust body., Alongside this, CCI has also, increased the threshold limit on, the acquisition of shares that require prior approval to 25% from, 15%, in sync with the takeover, code of the Securities and Exchange Board of India., The main aim behind these, changes, according to analysts, and CCI officials, is to prioritize, the energies of the regulator, especially since the pace of referrals has picked up to about 10 a, month—of this nearly 50% were, clearances for group restructuring. At the same time, it will also, reduce the compliance burden, on companies., “We wanted to focus more on, issues that impact competition, rather than devote energies to, peripheral issues,” said Ashok, Chawla, chairperson of CCI., Analysts agreed and some said, it will also assist companies looking to streamline their groups., “The entire objective behind, setting up CCI was to check if, , Merger of wholly owned, subsidiary with parent, company out of CCI’s purview., Acquisition of shares or voting, rights of less than 25% do not, require CCI’s approval., Filing fees on form I increased, to R10 lakh from R50,000., Filing fees on form II increased, to R40 lakh from R10 lakh., , mergers and amalgamations between companies do not affect, competition,” said Vipul Jhaveri,, partner at Deloitte Haskins and, Sells. “But if there is a merger between a wholly owned subsidiary, and its parent, there is no way it, will affect competition.”, Arguing similarly, another expert, who, however, did not want, to be identified, said, “The laws, will help companies go in for, corporate restructuring. Some, companies may want to reduce, the number of subsidiaries or, merge a profit-making and a, loss-making subsidiary for getting tax advantages. Also, it, could help large corporate, groups get better synergies. But, these companies have to be, , 100% subsidiaries.”, The antitrust regulator has, also significantly increased the, filing fees for companies that are, obliged to inform it of mergers, and acquisitions (M&A) activity, by law. While the filing fee for, form I has been increased to `10, lakh from `50,000, the fee for, form II has been increased to, `40 lakh from `10 lakh. While, form I is for initial scrutiny, form, II requires greater detail in terms, of reporting the transaction to, CCI and is filed when there’s, likely to be a greater anti-competitive effect in the market., “The, initial, regulations, which had come had some grey, areas. One of the things was, what happens to intra-group, mergers. This was one of the, major concerns of corporates—a particular interpretation was adopted by some lawyers and CCI also seemed to, have exercised its jurisdiction, (on these) in respect of giving, approvals,” said Ravi Kulkarni,, partner at Khaitan and Co., The notification also said, that in the case of buy-back of, shares, where there is no acquisition of control, companies do not need to seek CCI, approval. Currently, only bonus, stock split and subscription of rights issues, where, there is no acquisition of con-, , Rape within marriage, is rape normalized,, and the exception to, IPC Section 375 props, up and perpetuates that, abhorrent normalization., SHU MA R A HA, , TURN TO PAGE 3®, , GUEST VIEW, , Germany can soon be one of India’s top trade partners, PUNEET CHHATWAL & STEFAN HALUSA, , T, are, respectively, president,, Indo German Chamber of, Commerce, managing director, and chief executive officer,, Indian Hotels Company; and, director-general, Indo German, Chamber of Commerce, , here’s a lot that unites India and Germany. Both are leading democracies, and share a passion for liberal thought,, ingenuity and social inclusivity. The land of, Beethoven, Karl Marx, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer stands out for its pursuit of excellence in automotive design, engineering,, electronics, culture and the arts. Just as Indians are wowed by the open-air concerts,, exhibitions, architecture and heritage walks, of Germany, Bollywood is among India’s, biggest cultural exports to the EU country., Traditional healing practices appeal to people in both countries. Germany and India, have pacts to promote ayurveda, yoga and, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (Ayush). According to a study by market, research institute Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung, there are over 3 million yoga, practitioners in Germany., To appreciate Germany’s brand essence,, we need to understand what has gone into, creating its position of leadership. Battered, by two World Wars, it was Germany’s resil-, , ience and a work-focused culture that, placed it in the global spotlight. To bounce, back from covid disruptions, aspirations will, need to be aligned with resilience, and collaborations between the two countries could, open up new revenue streams and boost, economic recoveries., Though India and Germany have a trade, history of over 500 years, this year marks 66, years of AHK Indien, the Indo-German, Chamber of Commerce (IGCC), and we look, forward to new ways to enhance cooperation, between the two. More than 1,800 German, companies have business relations with, India, the majority of which have subsidiaries, or joint ventures. Germany has been the 7th, largest foreign direct investor in India since, January 2000. German FDI in India from, April 2000 to September 2021 stood at $13.4, billion. There are more than 1,600 Indo-German collaborations and over 600 Indo-German joint ventures in operation. German, firms have created hundreds of thousands of, job opportunities in India. Nearly 565 Indian, companies are in Germany and they have, added to its growth story., Despite the pandemic, Indo-German trade, increased by 19% in the first 11 months of 2021, over 2020. Germany is India’s 6th largest, trade partner. Among the significant Indian, , exports to Germany are chemicals, textiles, Siemens and more. Both countries are, apparel and machinery. Important German poised to drive further cutting-edge innovaimports to India include machinery, vehicles tion. The High Technology Partnership, and chemicals. Bilateral ties are on the Group plays a major role in developing, upswing in almost every area., international supply chains and boosting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ger- cyber security, both vital to growth., man Chancellor Olaf Scholz have sought to, At the IGCC, we work closely with the, deepen mutual ties. The two countries have embassy and general consulates as well as, pacts on metros, Namami Gange, green other government entities like the Federal, transmission lines, smart cities, high-speed Corporation for International Cooperation, railways and solar rooftop projects. The two (GIZ) and German Trade and Invest (GTAI), leaders have agreed to diversify bilateral to strengthen bilateral ties. Germany is lookcooperation and to focus on collaborations ing for skilled migration and that’s a big zone, of opportunity for Indifor climate action and, ans. The IGCC helps, green energy. The, firms spot and train talimportance of the relaQUICK READ, ent. Various programmes, tionship is highlighted in, the ‘Indo-Pacific Guide- Ties between India and Germany have been set up to facilihave been strengthening over, tate business opportunilines’ adopted by the, the years but there is still vast, ties in India, such as the, German government in, September 2020, cover- scope in varied spheres including Fast-Track-System for, business for both countries to, German companies or, ing various avenues from, collaborate for mutual gains., the Make-in-India Mitsecurity to open trade, telstand programme., and sustainability., Bilateral trade is currently on, Over the years, bilatTechnology expertise, such a robust upswing that, eral trade has been, has always been the hallthe Indo-German Chamber of, increasing, and new busimark of German compaCommerce expects Germany, ness opportunities are, nies, with top brands like, to become India’s third largest, being discovered. Going, Mercedes-Benz, Volkstrade partner in the near future., by current trends, IGCC, wagen, BMW, Bosch and, , believes that Germany will soon emerge, among India’s top three trade partners. The, exchange of know-how and talent, especially, is expected to deliver transformational change, propelling greater growth., The German government provides funds of, around €1 billion each year for economic, cooperation with India., German universities already attract the, highest number of Indian students among, European countries. Besides world-class, education, Indian students have multiple, work opportunities in an ecosystem that, welcomes diversity and encourages critical, thinking. The cultural salad bowl of Germany deserves special mention. Germany, offers a host of activities for Indian travellers,, more than 25,000 castles, assorted nature, trails, harbour towns, and a wide range of, culinary and hospitality experiences., Covid has exposed the fragility of the, world to force-majeure events. There is an, African proverb that if you want to go fast, go, alone, but if you want to go far, go together., The shared interests of Germany and India, in a multipolar global order, with a panoply, of ties across culture, trade, education, technology, commerce and climate action, could, help usher in even better economic growth, as we all move to build back.
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VIEWS, , LIVEMINT.COM, , FRIDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2022, NEW DELHI, , 13, , GUEST VIEW, , M I N T C U R AT O R, , India’s green hydrogen policy is a, big step but we need some more, , Living with covid should not, mean ignoring the pandemic, It makes sense to lift curbs but individual responsibility must rise, , Our new policy is expected to reduce costs and aid exports but further measures could put us on an accelerated path to success, ISTOCKPHOTO, , THERESE RAPHAEL, is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion., , SUMANT SINHA, is the chairman and chief executive officer of, ReNew Power and president-designate of, Assocham., , T, , T, , he announcement of the first phase of, India’s Green Hydrogen policy last, week shows the scale of the country’s, renewable vision. It indicates that India, not just wants to be a part of the global, clean energy transition, but aims to lead, it. The fact that the government wants India to, become a green hydrogen export hub illustrates, this. Beyond this dramatic statement of intent, the, policy moves the needle discernibly towards the, creation of an ecosystem for the green hydrogen, (GH) industry, which is critical to achieve India’s, climate goals. This includes reducing the economy’s carbon intensity by 45% by 2030., The challenge is huge. Currently, the industrial, sector, including the manufacturing, refining and, fertilizer industries, contributes over a quarter of, India’s total carbon emissions., But the good news is that on the policy front,, momentum is accelerating, especially after Prime, Minister Narendra Modi’s powerful statement on, India’s climate goals at the CoP-26 summit in, Glasgow and a green budget for 2022-23., The GH policy reflects this. Some key highlights, are discussed below., Remove to improve: The removal of inter-state, transmission charges for 25 years for projects, commissioned before June 2025 will make it far, more economical for key users of hydrogen and, ammonia, such as the fertilizer and refining sectors,, to produce green hydrogen with renewable energy, (RE) sourced from other states. This can cut costs of, producing GH by up to 15%., Banking on utilization: The new policy allows for, the banking of unconsumed renewable power with, distribution companies for 30 days. This essentially, will mean that an RE producer can inject nonutilized power into the grid and be able to utilize, this banked surplus with discoms anytime over, 30 days. This will contribute towards increased, utilization of capital-intensive electrolysers, (unburdened by RE intermittency issues), bringing, down their operating costs., Build local, look global: Finally, allowing GH, producers and manufacturers to set up bunkers, near ports to store green hydrogen will help boost, exports, which is essential for India’s ambitions of, becoming a global green hydrogen hub., More work ahead: The first phase of the policy, by India’s ministry of power has created a platform, for growth and we at ReNew Power aim to move, quickly to build up our green hydrogen capacity,, along with our partner L&T, in alignment with, national goals. But if India’s GH ecosystem, as a, whole, is to be quickly built and rapidly scaled, the, next announcements and clarifications must follow, soon. The challenge is daunting. Currently, 98% of, hydrogen produced in India is ‘grey’, powered by, polluting fossil fuels. Here are a few suggestions for, , in the wake of mandates, it may be a self-goal for, policymakers to consider in the second phase of the, the country should electrolyser availability or procountry’s GH policy., duction prove unable to keep up. We would end up, Mandate mandates: To rapidly scale the sector,, in a chicken-and-egg situation., the near 100% cost differential between grey and, Funds for acceleration: Given that GH’s current, green hydrogen must rapidly narrow. This will, cost is significantly higher than grey hydrogen, govbring more companies, especially in the massive,, ernment support to industries like fertilizers, chemhard-to-abate sectors, firmly under the decarboniicals and steel through viability-gap funding and, zation fold. The new policy, as stated, could cut, grants will help accelerate adopcosts by up to 15%, still leaving a, tion., gap of around 80%. To narrow, Cut GST for scaling: Reducing, this, the government could, QUICK READ, GST and customs duties on, immediately look at introducing, electrolyser equipment, curspecial mandates for different, India’s intent to lead the global, rently at 18% and 7.5% respecindustries, till the ecosystem, clean energy transition visible, tively, till the point that domestic, achieves scale., in last week’s green hydrogen, manufacturing capabilities are, Clarity must rule: To ensure a, policy is welcome but the, built, will act as an enabler., quick build-up by entrants and, package could be broadened, A recent International Energy, attract new players, clarity is, to include other enablers as well., Agency (IEA) report states that, needed on the applicability of, the world’s entire electrolyser, the cross subsidy and additional, The cost gap between green, capacity will reach 17GW only by, cross subsidy. For example, if an, and grey hydrogen needs to be, RE plant used for GH production narrowed on a priority basis while 2026. For India alone to meet its, 5-million-tonne annual target, is owned by a different entity,, incentives and taxation relief, for green hydrogen production, how will the project structure, could give us a head-start on, by 2030, the country will require, work? Further clarity on the type, electrolyser capacity creation., 10GW of electrolyser capacity., and quantum of financial support, While ramping up green hydrogen capacity in, to GH manufacturers is also necessary. We hope, particular and renewable energy generation overall, that states, taking on board the thrust of the Cento meet our climate targets is a difficult proposition,, tre’s new policy, quickly provide clarity here., we as a nation cannot allow ourselves to be deterred,, PLI please: On the lines of the additional ₹19,500, especially with the planet’s future at stake. As the, crore for the PLI scheme for manufacturing solar, famous visually-and-hearing impaired American, modules, a similar announcement for electrolysers, author Helen Keller said: “Life is either a daring, would be hugely beneficial for green hydrogen., adventure or nothing at all.”, This is so because if demand for GH grows sharply, , he UK has followed Denmark in, scrapping most covid curbs. Prime, Minister Boris Johnson’s “living with, covid” plan shifts the emphasis from state, intervention to personal responsibility. He, said the British government would no, longer require people to self-isolate if they, test positive for covid. Its hugely expensive, contact-tracing programme will be, scrapped and the unvaccinated will not, have to self-isolate on coming into contact, with someone who has covid. A swathe of, other restrictions, which were guidance, rather than law, are also being lifted., Schools can dispense with swabbing staff, and students, there’s no pressure on sports, venues or clubs to ask for vaccine status,, and elaborate advice on workplace safety, will be changed., Since most of these restrictions were due, to expire on 24 March, this acceleration is, politically expedient. Johnson is fighting to, change the subject from the Partygate scandal that angered his own party and sent poll, ratings down. Many of his own MPs, who, would vote in a leadership contest, were, opposed to lockdown restrictions., And yet the move was also grounded in, clear logic. Vaccinations and natural immunity levels, antivirals, covid treatments and, the less severe omicron variant have all, changed the risk profile of covid. Where, those exist together, we are no longer, defenceless against infection. Many of the, measures axed had grown unenforceable,, inefficient or unnecessary., But how “living with covid” works in, practice will depend on how responsibly, individuals, employers and the government, hold up their end of the new deal., Johnson knew better than to hang a “mission accomplished” banner. Britain still has, significant numbers of people hospitalized, with covid and areas where infection levels, are high. A new variant could emerge that is, more transmissible, better able to escape, vaccine immunity, more severe or any combination of these. Living with covid, then,, doesn’t mean ignoring it. How individuals, change their behaviour will depend on personal assessments of risk and thresholds for, tolerance. Most of us have banked lessons, about staying safe that’ll guide us for a while., Gone are the days when workers powered through illness at the office. It’s high, cold and flu season, but I can’t remember, the last time I heard a hacking cough around, me apart from an apologetic young house, guest. And although many people have, ditched their masks, I wouldn’t expect them, to disappear as long as the virus is around., Masking remains an effective safeguard., , Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, 95, tested covid, positive recently, AFP, , As the government steps back, employers, can no longer hide behind official rules and, guidance; they will need to decide how, much flexibility they want to give workers, and what mitigation measures are reasonable in offices. Ventilation and measuring air, quality in office spaces have now become, indispensable demands., Meanwhile, Johnson’s government will, focus on detecting changes in the virus and, infection patterns, responding quickly and, protecting the vulnerable using extra vaccine doses and other pharmacological, interventions. Those are the right objectives, but lawmakers cannot drop the ball., Britain’s broader ability to withstand a, more dangerous variant or future pandemic will also depend on adding greater, capacity, particularly in medical staff, to, the National Health Service., One worrying sign is the decision to end, the provision of free lateral flow tests for, most people. Free rapid tests were a major, factor in giving people the ability to control, transmission while enjoying relative freedoms. With a box of seven tests expected to, cost £20, many will no longer bother to, swab-test before going out for activities and, gatherings. Many who are also carers for, vulnerable people will find it harder to test,, increasing the risk of transmission. Similarly, the removal of self-isolation support, payments for those on low incomes will, mean that advice to stay home with covid is, likely to be ignored. Britain’s level of statutory sick pay is one of Europe’s lowest., When Johnson declared the restoration, of liberties as a “moment of pride for our, nation and a source of hope” for the future,, he wasn’t wrong. Despite a disastrous string, of early pandemic decisions, the successes, of Britain’s vaccine roll-out, mass testing,, genomic sequencing and virus surveillance, have been triumphs that make earlier lockdown restrictions unnecessary now., Just a few days before the new plan was, unveiled, Buckingham Palace announced, that 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth tested, positive for covid. There was concern, but, not panic. She was experiencing mild symptoms and planned to continue with “light, duties” over Zoom, the palace said. The, monarch modelled both the remarkable, achievements of the past year and the continued need for vigilance—a picture of how, ©BLOOMBERG, we live with covid., , GUEST VIEW, , A long battle for bodily agency awaits married women, ARCHANA DATTA, , A, is a former director general,, Doordarshan and All India, Radio; and former press, secretary to the President, of India., , s the Delhi high court hears petitions, challenging the constitutional validity of the clause 2 exception under, Section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code,, which grants legal immunity to husbands if, the wife’s age is over 15, the discourse on, ‘marital rape’ has gained traction. The Centre, is yet to take a “final stand” on such “intimate, family relations” in “private spheres of life”., In the 1970s, the so-called divide between, the ‘private’ and ‘public’ spheres of life were, challenged by radical feminists. In her essay, ‘The personal is political’, Carol Hanisch, asserted that such distinctions are “fallacious” and “women’s lives were not the outcome of individual choices, but, part of a systematic patriarchal oppression, and there, were political dimensions in their private, lives, be it in marriage, in the kitchen, bedroom, the nursery or at work.”, Consequently, many problems presumed, to be ‘personal’ especially ‘bodily rights’ like, sexuality, abortion, rape, et al, have since, been raised on public platforms., , Globally, the 19th-century legal discourse, interpreted family conduct in terms of the, ‘natural law’ that “each man has the power of, law over children and wives”, and considered, marital rape an ‘oxymoron’, “a wife being, legally a husband’s sexual property.” Most, post-colonial countries, including India,, defended marital-rape immunity on the, ground of “preservation of the institution of, the family” and “irrevocable consent in a marriage”. Even in 2017, India took the stance that, “marital rape could not be added as an IPC, offence, as it could have a destabilising effect, on the institution of marriage” and “become, an easy tool for harassing husbands”., As feminists of the 1990s turned the spotlight on issues of macro-socio-legal human, rights like sexual autonomy, universal womanhood and gender violence, in 1993 the, United Nations Declaration on Elimination of, Violence Against Women (DEVAW) declared, “any violence against women, including marital rape, as a violation of fundamental human, rights”. The Beijing Declaration of 1995, recognized it “as a form of violence against, women in the family”. The concept of ‘safe, sex’ also emerged as a public-health issue in, the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In many, liberal societies, marriage also metamorphosed into a ‘companionate relationship’,, , and ‘a partnership of equals’. In a changing, A 2013 UN survey found that one in four, global scenario, India, at a UN forum in 2015, men in six countries surveyed, including, proclaimed that “the concept of marital rape, India, said they had raped a partner. Since it is, as understood internationally, cannot be suit- not an offence in India, we have no separate, ably applied in the Indian context due to fac- data. However, the December 2020 round of, tors like level of education, poverty, myriad the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), social customs… and the mindset of society.” reported that more than a quarter of the, By 2019, more than 150 countries had women surveyed in seven states said they had, made it legal to file a criminal complaint been subjected to domestic violence, includagainst partners for non-consensual sex, ing sexual violence, while the NFHS for, while India remained among the 36 where 2015-16 reported that an “average Indian, legal instruments kept marital rape behind woman is 17 times more likely to face sexual, violence from her husband than from others”., the “sacrosanct curtains of marriage”., Further, only a paltry 5%, A 2021 report of the UN, of women have been able, Population, Fund, to choose their husbands, (UNFPA) said that “nearly, QUICK READ, (IHDS, 2011-12), and 2018, half the women and adoWhile the case to make marital, research data reconlescent girls in developing countries are denied rape a legally punishable offence firmed that ‘consent’ is, has gained traction, a change, often missing in Indian, the power and agency to, in law alone will not suffice for, marriages, as 93% of marmake choices about their, Indian women to gain actual, ried Indians had an, body without fear or vioagency over their bodies., arranged marriage. State, lence”, and 20 countries, laws on rape, kidnapping,, still have ‘marry your rapResearch studies suggest that abduction, theft, etc, are, ist’ laws. India, may not, have any such specific we would need a significant shift often let loose on consentin deeply-entrenched gender, ing couples, while the, law, but in many rape, attitudes in society before we, recent ‘love jihad’ laws, cases, a marriage offer has, can assure women justice and, have turned inter-faith, directly or indirectly minthat would entail a long struggle. couples into offenders., imized the punishment., , The Justice Verma Commission in 2013, had recommended removal of the clause 2, exception for determination of culpability, solely on consent. Justice Chandrachud in a, major 2018 plurality judgement endorsed the, “feminist critique of privacy” as an intrinsic, part of Article 21, saying that any “contemporary formulation of privacy must emancipate, individuals, be it within the home, the marriage, family, or society, and criminalising, marital rape, is not about the State invading, the bedroom, but, about ensuring the principles of consent, dignity, and autonomy”. The, Gujarat high court also recently commented, that “it is high time to consider marital rape as, manifestly arbitrary and make sexual autonomy a woman’s fundamental right”., Nevertheless, many attitudinal surveys in, the US show that even though forced sex in, marriage is illegal, many still regard “the rape, of a wife as far less serious than a similar, assault on an acquaintance or a stranger”, and, “even victims themselves, sometimes don’t, view the act as rape”., As the Delhi high court said that the matter, “cannot be deferred endlessly”, it has shown, a sense of urgency. However, even if the legal, battle is finally won, perhaps a longer battle, awaits us against ‘moral guardians’ of society, before we can assure women justice.
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Page 13 : The only certainty in war is, human suffering, uncertain, costs, unintended consequences, , 08, , CHENNAI, , NO JUSTIFICATION, FOR PUTIN’S, UKRAINE ADVENTURE, , PENSION NO WAY TO, REWARD PARTY CADRE, , K, , erala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has, posed a pertinent question for the state’s, political class to answer. “Is it fair to finance, cadre of political parties using public money?” he asked, questioning the practice followed by successive governments to deploy, party cadre in large numbers in the personal, staff of ministers. Unlike the Centre and most, states, in Kerala, such persons are appointed as, permanent employees on a co-terminus basis so, that they would be eligible for statutory pension., While a Union Cabinet minister is entitled to a, 15-member personal staff, the majority of who, are on deputation from government service, in, Kerala a minister can have double the number., The LDF regime has cut the personal staff, strength of a minister to 25 while keeping it at, 30 for the CM. In addition, the speaker, deputy, speaker and chief whip can have 25 members as, personal staff. Currently, there are about 400, such direct recruits in service—almost everyone is an active member of a party part of the, ruling front. All of them draw handsome salaries too, ranging from `23,000 to `1,60,000., The state exchequer shelled out `170 crore in, the last five years for paying salaries of personal, staff. In 1994, the Congress-led government, with, the wholehearted support of the opposition, introduced statutory pension for all such staff who, complete three years of service, that too with, retrospective effect from 1982. Later, the rules, were amended to include the provision for family pension so that the spouse will get the money, if the pensioner dies. The pension payout for, personal staff has grown 100% between 2013–14, and 2019–20. In 2013, a contributory pension, scheme was introduced for government employees. Yet, personal staff of ministers whose only, eligibility to be in service is their loyalty to their, parties are still covered by statutory pension., The Governor’s outburst has helped invite attention to an issue buried under the carpet by, the collective conspiracy of political parties., With its coffers being empty and no schemes for, additional revenue generation in sight, the government needs to be prudent in spending the, money it has. Doing away with pensions for personal staff will be a right step in that direction., , �, , �, , LET’S TALK ABOUT, THE U.P.-FICATION, OF KARNATAKA, , — Ramnath Goenka, , I, , 25 02 2022, , A state that till yesterday prided itself, for being India’s most global corner is poised, on the edge of an eruption of tribalism, , INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN, INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION., , n a completely unjustified demonstration of, regional hegemony, Russia on Thursday, launched a massive invasion of Ukraine. Under, the false flag of protecting civilians in rebelheld territories, it launched a series of missile, and artillery strikes, later claiming it had taken, out Ukrainian defence systems. Thumbing his, nose at the UN Security Council that was in a, last-ditch session to make better sense prevail,, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent battle, tanks rolling into the highways of Ukraine not, only from his land borders but also from that of, his puppet state Belarus. In an ominous warning, to the US and NATO that he was prepared to deploy hypersonic missiles, he said weapons without parallel have been put on combat duty. And, with NATO refusing to put boots on Ukrainian, soil, the nation’s military doesn’t have a ghost of, a chance against the infinitely superior invader., Obviously, the crippling economic sanctions that, the US, the UK and the EU have started imposing, mean little to a despot with an elephantine ego, who has no respect for international law., Actually, Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping are two of a kind. Both have bent, their respective rulebooks to stay perpetually in, power. They are warmongers out to crush neighbours into submission and have played the nationalism card to suit their supreme personal, interests. Weaponising the cyberworld to poke, their noses in the internal affairs of other nations is their favourite pastime. With the US and, NATO showing no appetite for being a credible, counterweight—the chaotic drawdown of troops, from Afghanistan is the latest example—both, are having a free run. It is a different matter that, the diminishing profile of the US as a global cop, is a positive development. But the developments, are ominous for Taiwan, which can expect fresh, turbulence. And the occupying Chinese force on, the Ladakh border could get more aggressive., India predictably has chosen to react cautiously. It is on good terms with both Russia and, the US. That the turmoil will slow down its, economy, which is partially on the mend, is a, given. Besides, hardening Western sanctions, could cripple defence imports from Russia. India needs to weigh options and take a position, that serves its supreme national interest while, not legitimising invasion., , FRIDAY, , Barack, Obama, , SANTWANA, BHATTACHARYA, , Resident Editor, Karnataka,, The New Indian Express, SOUMYADIP SINHA, , L, , ike medieval Tatar hordes overrunning some new part of the, Steppes, war in distant Ukraine, has taken over our mindspace, out of the blue. As if we didn’t, have enough complicated things, to fret about, now we have to, cope with a changing world order and less abstract concerns, like oil prices—not to speak of, our domestic (and domesticated), foreign policy savants tiptoeing, carefully around the elephant in, the room, India’s strategic muddle. At least for a long fortnight,, we will occupy this news interregnum, almost finding solace, in the fact that the mess is elsewhere. Till March 10 brings us, back to the war in our midst., With no prejudice whatsoever, towards Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand or Punjab—all of whom, are marking important milestones in the evolution of their, political histories—we can safely bet that Uttar Pradesh will be, the main course on TV that, night. It is the one state where, election results can change the, very future that India will be, reaching for. But perhaps there, is one fundamental debate that, has already been settled by the, voters of UP, and it happened, even before voting started., To grasp what that could be,, think of a scenario—not a hypo-, , thetical scenario really, but one, that has been realised in flesh, and blood so many times that we, have lost count. Its elements are, familiar to us all. A provocative, speech or two, perhaps being replayed on loop, a real or symbolic act of hatred, an animal carcass thrown strategically near a, place of worship, slogan-shouting mobs, mobile squads of, youth skilled or semi-skilled in, the specialised arts of stone, warfare and arson, a partisan, police, curfew, unnamed bodies, wrapped in the next morning’s, newspaper headlines., Yes, we are talking about that, strange undertaking called the, Indian riot, which occupies an, indeterminate space between, s p o n t a n e o u s a n d ch o re o graphed. Meerut. Badaun. Colonelganj. Ayodhya. Aligarh. Muzaffarnagar. Gonda. Khurja., Saharanpur. The number of, times Uttar Pradesh has hosted, that familiar sequence of events, is something for future chroniclers to tabulate. And the election rhetoric this time, as also, the last few times, has been redolent in that imagery., But notice something conspicuous? Not a leaf has stirred in, the cane fields of the Doab, the, kasbas of Rohilkhand or the alleys of Banaras. Yes, the man-, , date will rest on wafer-thin vote, swings, and it’s a wide open, game. But as we said, Uttar, Pradesh has already voted on at, least one fundamental thing. It, has shown remarkable resilience against all attempts to create a Hindu-Muslim binary., Wherever you look, whichever street that roving TV microphones pick up ambient sounds, from, the vox populi is loud and, clear: UP is interested in, livelihood issues. Education,, jobs, pensions, farm incomes,, stray cattle, what have you., Whoever wins the Assembly, polls, the people of UP seem to, have already won a battle., The mood was set in western, UP—most prone to communal, strife in recent years—where, Jats and Muslims came together, in protest against three farm, laws. As of now, the people, have managed to set the agenda,, , Barring a few girls who walked, hand-in-hand with their hijab-clad, classmates, in a heartening sight that went, viral, the state’s PU students could not unite, like the farmers of Uttar Pradesh did, , not the political parties., Instead, where do you hear of, communal tension, if not in, poll-bound UP? Why, Karnataka,, of all places. First, the sleepy, coastal town of Udupi came, close to exploding, then the, whole state followed suit, as if a, chain of deadly firecrackers had, been placed all along the Ghats, and the Deccan plateau, and finally it fell upon Shivamogga to, hit the headlines with the murder of a young Bajrang Dal activist, and a near-riot. Peace, defined negatively as the absence, of actual street wars, is now enforced by the jackboots of paramilitary forces., It is almost as if Karnataka, has been UP-fied, while UP itself, looks to a different future. No, great ethical turn brought this, about. Uttar Pradesh has perhaps seen enough, and had, enough—it has crossed saturation point. In a way, the north’s, body politic, infected so often by, communalism, has developed, some immunity. And the virus,, in search of more vulnerable, hosts, has migrated south., Thus it comes to be that a, state that till yesterday prided, itself for being India’s most global corner—with ‘Bangalored’, even entering the global lexicon, as a signpost of the new econo-, , my—is poised on the edge of an, eruption of tribalism. Its new, symbols, a slogan-shouting,, burqa-clad Muskan and a dead, Harsha, are both children of, Karnataka. Barring a few girls, who walked hand-in-hand with, their hijab-clad classmates, in a, heartening sight that went viral, the state’s PU students could, not unite like the farmers of Uttar Pradesh did. It’s a Karnataka very different from what its, great minds may have visualised in the last century., March will bring a verdict on, both Udupi’s hijab row, on which, the arguments in the High Court, were concluded, and the contest, in UP. Both will have constitutional and political ramifications beyond their territories., UP, by virtue of its sheer size,, will still decide the course, of party politics in India. But, the deeper political consequences may flow from the decision, on how uniform we are going to, be. Karnataka, the IT pioneer,, is now a political startup. Let’s, just hope that when a western, traveller says in the future that, there was a state in southern, India where he saw very many, unicorns, the world doesn’t, think he was making up a fanciful myth., (
[email protected]), , RETHINKING THE WILDLIFE PROTECTION STRATEGY, MADHAV, GADGIL, , T, , Eminent ecologist who headed the, Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, , serves. Naturally, with total cessation of hunting in India, the, numbers of wildlife species have, skyrocketed over the last 50, years, and the smart animals, have learnt not to fear man. It is, true that their habitat has been, encroached upon, especially by, urbanisation, highways, railways and mining, but even in, cases where it is well-maintained, as with Pench, Tadoba and Mudumalai Reserves, the tigers are, now spilling out and killing people. So, more than a thousand, people are killed by wild animals, like elephants, panthers, tigers, and sloth bears while tens of, thousands are injured each year, in India. Losses of crops and, property run into thousands of, crores. This is a crude estimate, since the details are shrouded in, a cloak of obfuscation., The fudging of data by forest, departments to hide corruption, while blaming the people was, , he government has come up, with an amended Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) and called, for public responses. This is, therefore the time for us to demand a relook at our flawed, wildlife protection regime that, has precipitated a humongous, human-wildlife conflict, throughout India. Under WLPA,, people are not free to defend, themselves against marauding, animals as even driving them, out of their homes and crop, fields needs official permission., Yet the Indian Penal Code, Sections 100 and 103, sanction voluntarily causing death or any, other harm to the wrongdoer if:, 1) An assault by the wrongdoer, may reasonably cause apprehension that death or grievous, hurt will be the consequence; 2), If the offence involves the, wrongdoer committing house, or property trespass or robbery., Wild animals attack people, kill, them and damage their property, and a senior police officer, and a High Court judge have, told me that WLPA is constitutionally invalid., No other country has such a, senseless act and bans hunting, outside national parks, wildlife, sanctuaries or game reserves., Hunting of some endangered, , species like wolves may be, banned everywhere, but even, that is actively encouraged with, a bounty in the state of Alaska., Britain has shooting estates, where as many as 12,300 wild, mammals and birds are killed, every day. Britishers and Americans shoot elephants, lions, and impalas on game ranches in, Africa to take home thousands, of trophies., There is an intrinsic tendency, for animal numbers to increase, unless checked by factors such, as predation, diseases, limitation by resources like food or, nesting holes, and accidental, mortality such as through floods, or landslides. Humans have, played a dominant role in controlling wildlife populations, since their origin three lakh, years ago as group hunters on, savannas of Africa. Indeed,, hunting, whether for trophies or, for the pot that WLPA criminalises, is a part of human heritage. Today, many Africans hunt, bushmeat and Swedes hunt, moose to consume as food., Hunting had continued in India till the promulgation of, WLPA in 1972 with Maharajas, minting money inviting European tourists to hunt as their, guests on their own game re-, , Kyiv should not go Af way, , deadly pandemic. The moment Russia, recognised two provinces of Ukraine, as independent countries, the world, sensed the imminence of war. Despite, this development, the West and its, European allies have toughened, their stance with more sanctions, against Russia, rather than resorting, to persuasion and negotiation. India, has been in a tight spot on the, diplomatic front as it cannot afford, to lose a trusted friend on one side, and a useful ally on the other., , several Ukrainian cities, destroying, many defence establishments and, killing hundreds of people. Putin has, played the wrong card, which will lead, to a colossal economic loss not only, for Russia but also the world over., All peace-loving countries should, condemn this invasion unequivocally, and join hands to work out ways, to preserve peace., , Putin played wrong card, , article vividly points out the group’s, shift in focus regarding the issues that, the Indo-Pacific countries are facing., , With Russia flexing her muscles against, Ukraine, the world community led by, the UN must ensure that Kyiv doesn’t, go the Afghan way. Usually, after an, invasion, the aggressor, the forces that, gatecrash to ward off the invasion and, the armed homegrown insurgents leave, the beleaguered nation beyond repair,, and dangerous to the world., , Dr George Jacob, Kochi, , Adopt conciliatory tactic, It’s an unfortunate moment for the, entire world that the Russia-Ukraine, conflict has escalated into a full-blown, war. It’s the most inopportune time as, the world is still recovering from the, , D V G Sankararao, Vizianagaram, , Russia has chosen war over peace by, launching an early-morning attack on, , If wild animals come out of national parks or, sanctuaries, people of concerned local bodies, should have the right to either demand, payment for tolerating them or cull them and, use the various body products as they wish., For instance, people may wish to protect, monkeys as sacred animals and demand, payment for conservation; alternatively,, they may cull monkeys, hygienically pack, their meat and sell it to China, , S V Venkatakrishnan, Bengaluru, , Engage in dialogue, This is with reference to Quad takes, another step forward (Feb 24). The, , strikingly brought out in the, case of Sariska Tiger Reserve, where these big cats had not been, sighted since 1999. But forest department bosses were claiming, that there were still 17 tigers in, Sariska even in 2004. In response,, the CBI undertook a two-month, investigation and declared that, no tigers were left in the reserve., Poaching was blamed for the disappearance of tigers. But who, were the poachers? The CBI concluded that forest officials were, undoubtedly involved. The, skinned carcasses of the tigers, were left lying around stinking, for days. It is impossible that the, officials would not have noticed, all these carcasses and they were, surely involved in the poaching, racket. On the ground, all that, happened was that the foresters, rounded up and beat up many, people from surrounding villages accusing them of being poachers, and, of course, no bureaucrat was ever held accountable., Indeed, using the weapon of, WLPA, a tyrannical regime controlled by the forest departments, has come to prevail all, over our country. This oppression is counterproductive and, has led to India sinking in the, world rankings to 177 out of 180, in environmental performance, and 139 out of 149 in happiness., We must therefore take a leaf, out of Swedes, who declare that, wildlife is a renewable resource, that should be managed through, regulated hunting involving decentralised decision-making by, empowering local stakeholders., , As the author rightly explains, the, Quad must engage in dialogue with, ASEAN and other countries in order, to stand firm in security., , Anson Alex S J, Thiruvananthapuram, Loss of a versatile actor, Malayalam cinema lost one of its, most admired stars in the passing, away of K P A C Lalitha. A veteran of, over 500 films, Lalitha was an artiste, who could slip into the skin of diverse, roles with consummate ease. The, two-time National Award winner, also dabbled in films in other languages, and was also acclaimed for her roles in, TV serials as well. A past president of, the Kerala Chalachitra Parishad, Lalitha, , India is a pluralistic country, with a diversity of cultures and, ways of making livelihoods, associated with a variety of food, habits and taboos. Today some, groups of Indians eat not only, goat and chicken but also dogs, and monkeys, and no one has a, right to impose their own food, preferences on other citizens of, the country. Our people at the, grassroots are motivated to protect the environment and have, many still living traditions of, conservation. Ensuring that, they can play their rightful role, in our democracy is the challenge before us. If wild animals, come out of national parks,, sanctuaries and reserve forests,, people of concerned local bodies, should have the right to either, demand payment for tolerating, them or cull them and use the, various body products as they, wish. They may want to eat wild, pig meat and establish a cottage, industry to make hairbrushes, from pig bristles. They may, wish to protect monkeys as sacred animals and demand payment for conservation services;, alternatively, they may cull monkeys, hygienically pack their, meat and sell it to the Chinese or, Africans. They may decide to, make good money selling the tiger skin or its head as trophies,, or ivory or elephant head trophies to Americans where they, are in demand. What our country desperately needs is a full, and fair play of reason, good, sense and tolerance., (
[email protected]), , worked with almost all top directors in, the industry and matched strides, with three generations of actors, from Sathyan and Prem Nazir down, to Mammootty and Mohanlal to, Dulquer Salmaan and Fahadh Faasil., , C V Aravind, Bengaluru, , Don’t break people’s trust, This is with reference to Lalu gets 5-yr, jail in fifth fodder scam case (Feb 22)., , The RJD boss is of course hopeful of, coming out clean. But at this juncture,, his fate is uncertain and this is a lesson, for all leaders, that people’s trust, should not be breached or undermined, by those whom they elect., , P Victor Selvaraj, Palayamkottai, , THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, Chairman of the Board: Manoj Kumar Sonthalia Editor: G S Vasu, Resident Editor (Tamil Nadu): Anto T Joseph * Printed and Published by R K Jhunjhunwala on behalf of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd., at Express Press, ‘Express Gardens’, 29, Second Main Road, Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai - 600 058. Chennai: Vol. 92, No. 47. RNI Reg. No. TNENG/ 1002/57., Phone: 044-23457601, Fax: 044-23457619. * Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
Page 16 : 06, , OPINION, , THE TRIBUNE, CHANDIGARH | FRIDAY | 25 FEBRUARY 2022, , Forced to the wall, , THE TRIBUNE, , Politicisation has ruined Mumbai Police and all the glory associated with it, , established in 1881, , Stray cattle as poll issue, Raises hopes of rational approach, pragmatic solutions, , W, , HEN the stray cattle menace becomes a potent election issue, in Uttar Pradesh, prompting a swift shift in a campaign otherwise tilted heavily towards religious polarisation, the, scale of the problem and the anger of the voters are palpable. Sensing the tension on the ground, the BJP’s first and foremost responder in such crisis situations, Prime Minister Modi, has promised a, scheme of generating income from the dung of animals which have, stopped giving milk, which, he claims, will result in stray cattle not, being let loose. The Congress says the announcement is a pick-up, from Chhattisgarh where its government pays Rs 2 per kg for cow, dung for utilisation as vermicompost, fertiliser and production of gobar gas. For rural and urban dwellers alike, the acknowledgement of, their woes and attention being paid raise hopes of some respite., The stray cattle population in the state shot up to 12 lakh in 2019,, an increase of 17 per cent compared to 2017. Since protecting cows is, a pet project of the Yogi government, its strict enforcement of the ban, on cow slaughter and the fear of vigilante groups have had a drastic, impact on the cattle trade and economy, forcing abandonment of animals. As farmers lose out on account of crop damage and by erecting, barbed wire fences around fields to prevent the entry of animals, the, opportunity provided by the elections has been deftly used to highlight the need for a rational and pragmatic approach., In towns and cities, not just in UP but across the region, stray cattle on the roads, causing deaths and injuries, is an unresolved civic, issue, often a no-go zone for administrators considering the sensitivities involved. Any solution is confined to promises of raising, more cowsheds, something even the Yogi government has been, unable to manage despite the massive spending on cattle upkeep:, Rs 424 crore in 2021-22. The complexities require better ideas., , Firecracker menace, Need to scale down production, weed out illegal factories, , D, , ESPITE several Supreme Court rulings in recent years on, restricting the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers, flagrant violation of norms continues to plague the Indian fireworks industry, whose worth is estimated to be around Rs 3,000 crore., Earlier this week, six migrant workers were killed and 14 others suffered burn injuries in an explosion at an illegal factory in Himachal, Pradesh’s Una district. The factory had no licence for making firecrackers and was also not registered with the industries department., Last month, seven lives were lost in mishaps in Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi,, the hub of firecracker manufacturing. Safety concerns are not properly addressed even by the authorised industrial units, with employees, handling explosives and other chemicals without requisite training., It was in October 2018 that the apex court had banned the production and sale of all crackers — except the ‘green’ ones (made without, toxic ingredients) and those with reduced emissions. The court had, also ordered that crackers should be sold only by licensed traders and, their decibel levels should be within permissible limits. The bursting, of firecrackers aggravates air pollution during the festival season,, adversely impacting people with respiratory ailments. On Diwali last, year, Delhi and some other states had imposed a blanket ban on all, kinds of crackers, even though its enforcement left a lot to be desired., An outright ban no doubt faces practical constraints, but it is feasible to reduce the availability and supply of firecrackers. Making, the licensing process tougher can go a long way in ensuring that, manufacturing operations are scaled down considerably. At the, same time, strict monitoring is needed to weed out the illegal factories. The government-approved manufacturers who show blatant, disregard for safety rules, endangering the lives of workers, should, be delicensed. The attempts to circumvent the ban — selling products containing harmful chemicals under fake ‘green cracke r ’, labels and QR codes — must be scuttled by the regulatory authorities. The public can do its bit by shunning firecrackers altogether or, limiting their use to the bare minimum., , ❝, , thought for the day, It is better to deserve honours and not have them than, to have them and not deserve them. — Mark Twain, , ❞, , on this day...100 years ago, , lahore, saturday, february 25, 1922, , EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNDER THE NEW REGIME, , IT is for two reasons that we can no longer maintain silence regarding the, controversy which Professor Gulshan Rai has, by his letters in The Tribune,, succeeded in raising. One is the intrinsic importance of the subject with which, the letters deal. The other is the tendency, not unnatural in this class of cases,, for the controversy to assume a racial character and for the real issue to be, overlooked or evaded. So far as the first reason is concerned, we need scarcely, say much. Everyone who is in the least conversant with the actual state of, things is aware that there never was a period in the history of the Educational, Service in the Province when there was such widespread discontent and, dissatisfaction among so large a body of its members as this moment. It is, inconceivable that this discontent can be confined only to those immediately, affected, instead of spreading among that large section of the public which,, whether directly or indirectly, is interested in them. It is also inconceivable that, it can fail to react unfavourably upon the efficiency and character of the work, of the officers concerned and, indeed, of the department generally, a, department of which it can be said that there is no other branch of the, administration in which the difference between efficient and inefficient work, is so great in itself. From both points of view, it is clearly of the very first, importance that steps should be taken to remove the problems. And these, steps can only be taken if public opinion properly asserts itself. The second, reason is equally imperative. It is clear from the replies to Mr. Gulshan Rai’s, letters that in some quarters those letters have been interpreted as an attempt, to prevent justice being done to the Muslim members of the Service and the, Mussalman community generally. Our reading is that justice ought to be done., , TRYSTS AND TURNS, JULIO RIBEIRO, , T, , HE police in Maharashtra,, once respected by the people, is in turmoil. The, imbroglio concerning the, state’s Home Minister and the Police, Commissioner of Mumbai has not, been sorted out yet. Now, Sanjay, Pandey, the acting DGP of Maharashtra, since Subodh Jaiswal opted to, gravitate to the Centre, has been literally ousted because of the Prakash, Singh judgment and replaced by, Rajneesh Seth, an officer two years, his junior. Naturally, Sanjay is upset, and has not made any bones about it., Like Sanjay, Rajneesh is a man of, integrity. I have known him since his, birth, since his father was my ASP, when I led Pune’s city police in 1964., Despite all good intentions of my, dear friend, Prakash Singh, and his, efforts to ensure that the police, reforms mandated by the National, Police Commission of 1977, chaired, by retired ICS officer Dharma Vira,, were implemented, the exact opposite has happened! The commission, was hell-bent on depoliticising the, police. The process of politicisation, has been now completed., Recently, the Mumbai City Police, faced the ignominy of its chief, the, Police Commissioner, being first, shunted out of his post in shame, then, charged with some cases of extortion,, declared an ‘absconder’ by the, courts, and finally being suspended., Never in the history of the Mumbai, Police has this happened earlier., Deepak Rao, who has delved into, the history of the Mumbai Police, through the years, was recently, asked what he thought of the trauma the city police was experiencing, after the appointment and removal, , THE FALL: The Mumbai Police model is no longer considered worthy of emulation. PTI, , It is essential to analyse the reasons for the degeneration, of the police and assign blame where it is due., of Param Bir Singh. He said such, depths of degradation had not been, reached earlier. My quarrel with, Rao’s evaluation is that he has not, attempted to analyse the reasons for, the degeneration and assign blame, where it was due., Why could some of the Police, Commissioners who presided over, the destiny of the force in the past, decades not command the respect, of its men and the public, both of, which are needed to provide security of life and property to people?, The answer is simple. In the early, eighties, when I occupied the high, chair, I was in charge of Mumbai’s, police. If anything went wrong, I, was solely responsible. There was, none but me to be blamed., IPS officers who made up 75% of, the posts of Deputy Commissioner, and all positions above that level, were chosen by the political establishment on the advice of the, state’s IGP (later elevated to DGP)., The advice of the IGP/DGP was, invariably accepted., Alas, no, longer! Wholesale changes are, made by the Home Minister and, , the Chief Minister on the basis of, patronage or even worse (and this, has been the trend of late) of money, changing hands. Such a shameful, arrangement has deprived the head, of the force of any moral or institutional influence that he used to, wield over the rank and file., Even before the last century ended, the political establishment,, assisted by bureaucrats of petty disposition, had amended the Police Act, to define the term ‘Superintendence, of the force’ to include the state’s, Home Secretary (now upgraded to, Additional Chief Secretary, Home)., This enabled the Home Minister to, dictate to the police establishment, boards, which had replaced the sole, authority of the DGP/CP to appoint, his own choices in cutting-edge jobs., Even Inspectors in charge of police, stations were now chosen by the, politicians for extraneous considerations rather than competence,, integrity and merit., It is not rocket science to grasp the, truth that one’s own superiors in, service can best evaluate an officer’s, competence, integrity and overall, , suitability to occupy a cutting-edge, position, especially one like the Commissioner of Police of a metropolitan, city like Mumbai or even second-tier, Commissionerates like Thane, Pune, and Nagpur. When the DGP’s professional expertise is overruled by politicians, the head of the force is reduced, to a figurehead. The rank and file, does not respect him as they used to, earlier. Individual officers, like, Sachin Vaze, the Assistant Inspector, who has achieved notoriety, become, prominent for the wrong reasons., This is the real tragedy that has, befallen the police in Mumbai, once, heralded as a model to be emulated, by other police units of comparable, importance in the country. Chief, Secretary Sitaram Kunte, who as, ACS (Home), had presided over, meetings of the establishment, boards and added his rubber stamp, to his minister’s desires, was embarrassed when questioned by the Justice Chandiwal Judicial Commission, inquiring into allegations of corruption hurled by the disgraced Police, Commissioner against the disgraced, Home Minister., Param Bir decided that if he had to, go, he would drag Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh with him. The Centre, keen on ousting the Shiv Senaled MVA government, has shown, signs of assisting Param Bir to exculpate himself, in return for the scalp of, the minister who belongs to the NCP., Sanjay Pandey and Rajneesh Seth, are secondary players in the games, being played on the political chessboard. Both are men of integrity. The, problem with Sanjay was his inability to get on with anyone senior to, him, especially if he felt that the person was not honest. Consequently,, his ACRs, which decide the fate of, IPS officers, were not the best. He, was excluded from the list of officers, fit to hold the highest position. So, in, a way, Sanjay was responsible for his, own discomfiture. He heeded not, the sage advice of many well-wishers not to bang his head on walls, because the wall would not break, but his poor head would! And it did!, , Praise and punishment, Raj Kadyan, , A, , S a supplement to the NCC,, another organisation known, as the Auxiliary Cadet Corps, (ACC) was raised in the early 1950s., Cadets wore khaki shirts and shorts, and did military drills, but no training with weapons. The ACC was, engaged mainly in social service., I joined the ACC in Class 8. The, first of the two social service camps I, attended was in Sonepat, in 1955., Our school was allotted three vacancies. I was placed fourth, as the first, reserve, and was disappointed. However, one out of the three developed, fever and I replaced him., There were several hundred, cadets from different schools. We, lived eight-to-a-tent, sleeping on, , the floor. Early morning, we had to, make our beds and wrap the canvas, walls around the corner poles., Then we were taken to our work, site, carrying pickaxes, shovels and, straw baskets. Our task was to, make a road. Digging and piling up, the soil was a tough task. I worked, with diligence and even developed, sores on my palms. The supervising Subedar must have been keeping a close watch., At the end of the first week, I was, taken off for three days and deputed to regimental police duties. I had, to keep an eye on the large camp, while the cadets were away. The, duty was physically light, but carried heavy responsibility to guard, against any unauthorised entry in, the spread-out camp., , Two days before the camp was to, end, we were at the field site when, the Subedar called out my name., Leaving the shovel, I moved at the, double, but he shouted, ‘Come, marching.’ The camp commandant,, a Major, nodded approvingly on seeing my marching and saluting., The then defence minister, Kailash Nath Katju was to present a, trophy. Two of us were selected to, receive it. On a given signal, we, were to march towards the centre,, turn left or right, climb the stage,, halt, salute and receive the trophy., We did many rehearsals. All went off, smoothly on the final day., We returned home on a Sunday., When I showed father my still-raw, palms, he complimented me, and as, a reward, allowed me to have an, , unscheduled holiday the next day., This was a rare concession from an, otherwise strict military parent., When I reached school on Tuesday,, to my surprise, many students, enquired about my absence. I was, summoned by the headmaster. It so, happened that the photograph of trophy presentation had appeared in, the newspapers. A special school, assembly was called on Monday to, honour me. My name was repeatedly called, but I was missing., In the presence of other teachers, in his office, the headmaster lauded, me profusely, thumped my back, and offered me sweets. After he had, finished, he turned his usual stern, self and said, ‘For being absent, without leave yesterday, you are, being fined four annas. ’, , letters to the editor, Common man vulnerable, , The strike by employees of the electricity department in Chandigarh, not only put the entire city out of, gear, but also brought to the limelight the vulnerabilities of the common man who tends to suffer whatever the case may be. Not long ago,, the agitation by farmers turned into, a headache for daily commuters, as, highways were blocked at the whims, of the farmers. This was followed by, strikes by contractual teachers and, truck unions. The common man has, been at the forefront of bearing the, brunt of all agitations and strikes., The demands of the protesters may, get fulfilled soon, but who will be, accountable for the loss of crores to, the economy?, NEERAJ SHARMA, MOHALI, , Lights out, , Apropos of ‘Darkness in Chandigarh’,, it’s shocking and disturbing to see, that Chandigarh, known for its efficient administration and disciplined, government working, witnessed the, worst-ever power blackout for almost, three days. Normal life came to a, standstill and industry suffered huge, monetary losses. The Essential Services (Maintenance) Act was rightly, been imposed to prohibit the strike of, power employees. The disruption also, affected hospitals, where patients may, , have been on ventilators and other life, support systems. The Chandigarh, administration must take necessary, disciplinary action against the, employees for causing inconvenience, to the general public and ensure that, such situations do not recur., SANJAY CHOPRA, MOHALI, , Ukraine conflict, , Refer to ‘Ukraine crisis’; Russia, should shed its ego which is a double-edged sword — the outer edge, destroys popularity and the inner, edge, purity. It is shameful that, though the Covid-19 pandemic, brought all countries on the same, platform in 2021, certain nations are, still thinking of superiority., SUNIL CHOPRA, LUDHIANA, , Offline exams, , Reference to ‘SC junks plea...’; the, decision of the court is timely and, praiseworthy. Board exams are a tool, to evaluate a student’s capability to, comprehend and analyse the subject matter taught in school. This, will help students to plan their, future as per their score. Online, mode of classes and exams was, introduced during the pandemic, and even results were declared on, the basis of school assessment,, which helped many undeserving, students get through, causing, , resentment among brilliant students. No board exam should be conducted online., DARSHAN SINGH BHATHAL, NANGAL, , Bad roads, , ‘ Fatal road mishaps’ rightly attributes road accidents mainly to speeding, which accounts for 60% of the, fatalities. Governments throughout, the world rely heavily on traffic law, and enforcement programmes to, check driver behaviour and, enhance road safety. Traffic laws, have been established in India, but, policing of these laws and application of penalties and use of technology to enforce traffic laws is essential. The number of traffic police, personnel should be increased., Stray animals are another reason, for accidents. As a majority of roads, do not fall under state and national, highways, the condition of new, roads becomes pitiable within a, year as road building tenders below, 20% of estimated cost are awarded, to contractors and further substantial amount of bill has to be paid to, the municipal authorities and elected representatives of these bodies., In such a scenario, what quality of, road can one expect? This problem, has become perennial and needs to, be addressed by state governments., OM PARKASH PANESAR, KAITHAL, , Not at cost of peace, , The middle ‘Hijab and Urdu poetry ’, was interesting. Irrespective of ethnic, identity of any commune, the purdah, or veil for women is strongly insisted, upon; more by patriarchal men, who, treat women as their property. The, ghunghat, another form of veil, like, hijab, for covering a woman’s face is, quite common with women in one, form or the other in the subcontinent., Broad-mindedness to dispense with, it, either as hijab or ghunghat, is, dawning among affected societies,, but at a slow pace. Yet, insistence on, banning hijab in Karnataka’s academic institutes for uniformity in, pupils’ clothing — at the cost of societal peace — must be reconsidered., KL NOATAY, KANGRA, , Karnal rail project, , Refer to the Karnal-Yamunanagar, rail project; the rail line has not, been sanctioned by the Railways, technically, as yet. The pink book of, the Northern Railway for the financial year 2022-23 does not mention, the project. Any rail project that has, not been mentioned in the pink, book does not come in the category, of a sanctioned project. So, it is, wrong to say that the Railways has, sanctioned the Karnal-Yamunanagar rail line project., SURESH DHIMAN, YAMUNANAGAR, , Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to:
[email protected]
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07, , OPED, , THE TRIBUNE, CHANDIGARH | FRIDAY | 25 FEBRUARY 2022, , China’s bleak economy a problem for Xi, JAYADEVA RANADE, PRESIDENT, CENTRE FOR CHINA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY, , H, , AVING taken direct charge, of, China’s, economic, reforms and relegated Premier Li Keqiang to the margins, Chinese President Xi Jinping is, worried that the bleak outlook for China’s economy will adversely impact his, bid for another term at the 20th Party, Congress later this year. Efforts to, drawback from dependence on international trade and promote domestic consumption are yet to yield results., The flaring of tension between the, United States and Russia over Ukraine, and the prospect of the US and West, expanding the scope of sanctions to, include commercial and other entities, doing business with Russia and Russian entities is a major concern. If that, happens, China will be hit hard., Notwithstanding the official claims, of the economy having picked up,, Chinese economist David Li Daokui, of the prestigious Tsinghua University warned at a conference on December 2 that the next five years could be, the toughest in China’s 40 years of, reform and opening up. He listed, weakening external demand, industrial chain restructuring, pressures, of carbon reduction, and insufficient, , domestic demand among the contributory factors., China’s official media further elaborated the problems, with reports that, provinces had taken back the annual, bonuses given to their government, employees and that even the more, prosperous provinces and cities like, Jiangsu,, Zhejiang,, Guangdong,, Fujian and Shanghai were slashing, salaries of officials by 5 per cent and, more. Hong Kong’s South China, Morning Post (December 30) cited official Chinese data that nearly 4.37 million of China’s smallest businesses, closed permanently in the first 11, months of 2021. Beijing has consistently described these more than 40, million micro and small firms, which, together provide 80 per cent of the, employment, as the “backbone” of, China’s private sector, underpinning, the national economy., Quoting the China Labour Statistics, Yearbook, the official Economic Daily,, on February 4, claimed that the number of people employed in the manufacturing industry decreased by over, 10 million between 2013 and 2021., Some of this can partially be attributed to machines replacing people,, but the major cause for joblessness is, the closure of enterprises. This has, also affected graduate employment., The Guangming Daily (January 25), said that with the increase in the number of students returning to China, from study abroad, “the employment, situation of returnee talents is, extremely tense, and it needs to be, further resolved in the process of, macroeconomic reform.”, China’s financial sector is also seri-, , Revealing leadership concerns about, potential global food shortages by, 2035, Xi emphasised: “I have repeatedly said Chinese people’s rice bowls, should be firmly held in our own, hands, never let others take us by the, throat on eating, which is a basic survival issue.” China has since early last, year focussed on enhancing grain production, keeping in mind that “great, shortages of primary commodities are, likely to evolve into a grey rhino.”, At the same time, Xi’s declared goal, of ‘common prosperity’ has created, new uncertainties in Chinese business, circles. Though China’s Gini coefficient is 0.47, fears are that it is intended to rein in the multi-billionaire private entrepreneurs who could, potentially challenge the Chinese, Communist Party (CCP). Beijing has, progressively tightened controls on, ‘big business’ and imprisoned a number of billionaire businessmen, regardless of whether they are CCP members., Many others have made substantial, donations to government institutions,, liquidated their shares or stepped, down as chairmen. This will undoubtedly hamper economic recovery., The CCP will find it difficult to keep, its promise to the people that economic conditions will continually improve., Amid the widespread popular dissatisfaction, any palpable economic distress could spark discontent. The, repeated emphasis by Xi and the Central Economic Work Conference on, maintaining stability signals their, serious concern. The Ukraine crisis, has now added to the concerns, especially as it is an important source of, grain, soybean and hi-tech imports., , Official Chinese data says that, nearly 4.37 million smallest, businesses closed permanently, in the first 11 months of 2021., Quoting the China Labour, Statistics Yearbook, the official, Economic Daily claimed that the, number of people employed in, the manufacturing industry, decreased by over 10 million, between 2013 and 2021., TRIPLE PRESSURE: China faces shrinking, demand, supply shocks, and weakening, expectations, as per its work conference. REUTERS, ously affected. The China Banking, and Insurance Regulatory Commission revealed that by end-December, a, total of 2,459 bank outlets of commercial banking institutions had ceased, operations. China’s four major stateowned commercial banks — the, Industrial and Commercial Bank of, China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China and the Construction Bank — reduced 187 branches, retrenching 22,355 personnel., The economic slowdown has impacted governments, with 28 of China’s 31, provincial-level, governments, announcing reduced growth targets, and policy goals for 2022 as compared, to the previous year. Even the more, developed regions, such as Shanghai,, , Guangdong and Beijing, targeted GDP, at between 5 per cent and 5.5 per cent., China’s financial magazine Caixin said this indicates that the, national GDP growth target, to be, announced at the annual session of, the National People’s Congress, (NPC), is likely to be lower than last, year at 5 per cent or 5.5 per cent., China’s annual Central Economic, Work Conference was held in Beijing, from December 8-10, 2021. Important, was Xi Jinping’s speech at the conference and its almost 5,000-word, resolution. Alluding to its deteriorating ties with the US and China’s, adverse international environment,, Xi said: “The external environment, is becoming increasingly complicat-, , ed, grim and uncertain” and exhorted the people to remain “committed, to China’s own cause.”, Without minimising the difficulties,, the conference acknowledged that, China is “faced with the triple pressures of shrinking demand, supply, shocks, and weakening expectations.”, The People’s Daily (December 12), highlighted Xi’s call for self-sufficiency in energy, food and minerals to, meet global challenges and warning, that resource shortages could turn, into a ‘grey rhino’ risk. He stressed, that China must ensure self-sufficiency in key commodities and “[We], should fortify the national strategic, materials reserve system to secure, minimum needs at critical moments.”, , Corporate margins aiding rising inflation curve, , A, , DEVINDER SHARMA, FOOD & AGRICULTURE SPECIALIST, , On the lines of the US,, corporate profits have, soared in India. But while, the working class and the, poor bear the brunt of, increasing inflation, the top, 1 per cent has gained., A whopping increase by, 77 per cent in the sale of, super yachts and an, increase in chartered flights, bear testimony to the trend., While a section of market, economists will not like, to draw any link between, inflation and corporate, greed, it shouldn’t, surprise us anymore., , S retail inflation swings, out of proportion, the, world is witnessing a new, phenomenon. In lot many, ways, it was known to exist earlier,, but not so starkly. As inflation rises, so does the profit of companies,, this time recording a historic, increase. While the company’s, profits soar, the CEOs and other top, executives walk away with hefty, salary increases, stock buy-backs,, and rise in dividend payments., Although the companies say there, is nothing they can do, consumers, are being told that “off the chart”, inflation they are faced with is the, outcome of higher wages, and a, crazy rise in production costs., There is no denying that the pandemic had caused supply chain disruptions, but the high and steady, rise in inflation the world encounters defies the simple logic of supply-demand distortions. It hides, more than what it reveals., In January, retail inflation in the, US has hit the highest in 40 years,, rising to a peak of 7.5 per cent. In, the UK, inflation has already, touched a 30-year-high at 5.4 per, cent, and the Bank of England, warns of inflation further rising to, 7.1 per cent by April. As the retail, inflation in India soars to 6.1 per, cent, fears are already being, expressed that imported inflation, may drive the consumer prices high., “India does need to be wary of, imported inflation, especially from, elevated global energy prices,” Economic Survey 2022 had warned., In the midst of rising inflation, a, headline in international business, , MARKET FACT: Company profits have increased despite rising production costs. REUTERS, newspaper The Financial Times, (February 7) caught my attention:, ‘ Tyson Foods loves Inflation’. And, left me wondering, whether the high, inflation rate the world is witnessing, is because of economic reasons, beyond control or more so by simply, repackaging and marketing corporate greed as inflation., The more I researched, the more it, became clear as to how greed is very, conveniently being packaged as, inflation. To understand, let’s first, begin with Tyson Foods, one of the, four livestock companies controlling, 85 per cent of the US meat market,, and whom US President Joe Biden, had earlier accused of “pandemic, profiteering”. Another explainer in, Forbes pointed to how Tyson Foods, , quick crossword, , su do ku, ACROSS, 1 Unspeakable person (2-3-2), 4 Author of verse drama, Peer Gynt (5), 7 Border on (4), 8 Veteran (3-5), 10 Malicious slanderer (10), 12 Case for a blade (6), 13 Uproar (6), 15 Form of embroidery (5,5), 18 Troops stationed in, fortress (8), 19 Lacking firmness (4), 20 Avoid adroitly (5), 21 Scapegoat (4,3), , YESTERDAY’S sOLUTION, Across: 1 Out of pocket, 9 Oculist, 10 Taper, 11 Able, 12 Gorgeous, 14 Impair, 16 Critic,, 18 Hornpipe, 19 Spur, 22 Night, 23 Overall, 24 On the button., Down: 2 Usual, 3 Omit, 4 Patron, 5 Category, 6 Exploit, 7 Go cap in hand, 8 Dress circle,, 13 Dispatch, 15 Paragon, 17 Aplomb, 20 Plato, 21 Deft., , is spending less to earn more. Even, agreeing that the feed and shipping, costs have risen, but the fact is that, operating profit margins for Tyson, Foods too has almost doubled since, the pre-pandemic days., While the profits of the four livestock companies jumped 300 per, cent, the retail meat prices too, recorded a steep hike, touching, almost 20 per cent for beef. This is, happening at a time when prices, being paid to livestock farmers are, the lowest in the past 50 years., If you are a beer drinker, here is, some bad news. The Guardian, reports the sale of the popular, Heineken beer brand in Europe to, have increased by 4.3 per cent,, recording 80 per cent jump in over-, , all profits. With profits touching a, record $2.26 billion in 2021, the company has announced that its beer, prices will go up significantly in the, months to come. This is despite, already having raised the beer, prices a couple of times during the, two years of the pandemic. Meanwhile, another popular beer brand, Cobra has also announced that consumers should be ready to shell out, extra given the “vicious cycle” of, increase in its production costs., Now, let’s take the case of Starbucks. Surely, it’s more than just, coffee, it’s also about the price you, pay. While its profits increased by 31, per cent in the last quarter of 2021, it, has also announced plans to further, hike coffee prices. This is despite, Starbucks turnover exceeding $8.1, billion in 2021. Interestingly, the, compensation package of its CEO, grew by 39 per cent, reaching a total, of $20.4 million. While coffee bean, growers are among the lowest paid,, the rise in salary packets and bonuses for the top executives remains, limitless. It’s like privatising the, profits, and socialising the costs., Senator Bernie Sanders cites, another example. In a tweet, he, says: “Corporate greed is Chipotle, increasing its profits by 181 per, cent last year to $764 million, giving its CEO a 137 per cent pay raise, to $38 million in 2020 and blaming, the rising cost of a burrito on a, minimum wage worker who got a, 50 cent pay raise. That’s not inflation. That’s price gouging.” Chipotle is a restaurant chain., In another tweet by Dan Price, the, founder of the Seattle-based credit, , DOWN, 1 Sudden convulsive, movement (5), 2 Norwegian polar explorer (8), 3 A rectangular figure (6), 4 Dejected (2,3,5), 5 Identical (4), 6 Jumpy (7), 9 Constantly (3,3,4), 11 Insurrection (8), 12 Pebbles on seashore (7), 14 A swindle (3-3), 16 Slightly drunk (5), 17 Language of Pakistan (4), , 7, , calendar, , 1, , 8, , 6, , 9, 3, 4, , 2, , 7, 3, , 2, , 2, 1, 9, , 8, , MEDIUM, , Vikrami Samvat, 2078, ■ Shaka Samvat, 1943, ■ Phalgun Shaka, 6, ■ Phalgun Parvishte, 14, ■ Hijari, 1443, ■ Krishna Paksha Tithi 9, up to 12.58 pm, ■ Vajra Yoga up to 11.59 pm, ■ Jyeshtha Nakshatra up to 12.07 pm, ■ Moon enters Sagittarius sign 12.07 pm, ■, , 3, , 9, , 5, , 8, , 7, , 6, , 4, , 1, , 2, , 1, , 7, , 8, , 9, , 2, , 4, , 5, , 3, , 6, , 6, , 2, , 4, , 1, , 3, , 5, , 7, , 8, , 9, , 7, , 8, , 6, , 5, , 4, , 2, , 3, , 9, , 1, , 8, , 9, , 4, , 3, , 6, , 8, , 1, , 2, , 7, , 5, , 5, , 1, , 2, , 3, , 9, , 7, , 8, , 6, , 4, , 4, , 8, , 6, , 7, , 2, , 5, , 9, , 1, , 4, , 3, , 2, , 3, , 9, , 4, , 1, , 8, , 6, , 5, , 7, , 4, , 5, , 1, , 7, , 6, , 3, , 9, , 2, , 8, , 6, 9, 5, , SUNSET:, SUNRISE:, , YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION, , 9, 7, , forecast, , FEBRUARY 25, 2022, FRIDAY, , 8, , 4, 3, , 5, , 3, 4, , card processing company Gravity, Payments, quoting a New York, Times report, asks: “Why are groceries so expensive? Kroger (USbased retail company) profits are at, record highs. Its stock is up 36 per, cent in a year. Its CEO got a 45 per, cent raise to $22 million and makes, 909 times the median worker. 75 per, cent of its workers are food insecure. 63 per cent can’t pay their, bills. Many are on food stamps.”, Simply put, corporates never had, it so good. From groceries to pharmaceuticals, from coffee to consumer products to fuel, so much so, that even Netflix and Amazon Prime, have increased subscription despite, logging a huge increase in net profits, and paying the lowest tax. When, it comes to fuel, all major oil companies — Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum, Shell, and Chevron — have, recorded highest profits in past seven years, and still have expressed, helplessness when it comes to high, petrol and diesel prices consumers, are being made to pay., Surprisingly, despite increased production costs, reports say US corporate profits soared to a record $2.8, trillion in the second quarter of 2021., So did the corporate profits in India., But while the working class and the, poor bear the brunt of increasing, inflation, the top 1 per cent has, gained. A whopping increase by, 77 per cent in the sale of super yachts, this year and an increase in chartered, flights bear testimony to the trend., While a section of market economists, will not like to draw any link between, inflation and corporate greed, it, shouldn’t surprise us anymore., , FRIDAY, SATURDAY, , 18:18 HRS, 06:52 HRS, , Sunny Partly Cloudy Cloudy, , Rainy, , CITY, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bhiwani, Hisar, Sirsa, Dharamsala, Manali, Shimla, Srinagar, Jammu, , MAX, 24, 26, 21, 23, 23, 23, 27, 25, 25, 20, 06, 10, 09, 19, , MIN, 13, 13, 08, 08, 09, 09, 11, 10, 11, 06, -02, 04, 01, 11, , Kargil, Leh, , 02, 01, , --12, --10, , Dehradun, Mussoorie, , 23, 12, , 08, 03, , TEMPERATURE IN OC, , Foggy
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EDIT, , pg 5, , THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 25 FEBRUARY 2022 | NEW DELHI, , Subhani, 25 FEBRUARY 2022, , Russian invasion brazenly, violates international law, , R, , ussian forces entered the two pro-Russian, separatism-infected,, regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on February 24. In, a televised speech shortly before the incursion began, President, Vladimir Putin announced the “special military operations”. This, hardly minimises the breach of international law. News agencies reported that, signs of military activity were evident in and around the capital Kyiv though, it was not clear if these were Russian military personnel in action., Nevertheless, it is only through sophistry that the act of invasion can be, denied. The saving grace is that in his address Mr Putin announced that, Russia’s objective was “not to occupy” Ukraine. This just about leaves the door, open for serious diplomatic work to ensure that the military troubles do not, expand beyond Ukraine., While the UN Security Council has met two days in a row to discuss the, Russian action, it cannot be gainsaid that Moscow and Kyiv must engage in, direct dialogue in order to arrive at a settlement that will last., The Minsk agreements of 2015 and 2016 helped the political and military troubles between the Russian-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine and Kyiv to be, contained but the reprieve did not amount to much. The Ukraine government, reneged on its commitments. Aside from bilateral, While the UN Security ceasefire, decentralisation of power had been, Council has met two envisaged to bring about peace. But both sides, days in a row to accused each other of violating the ceasefire., the monitoring by the Organisation of, discuss the Russian Evidently,, Security and Cooperation in Europe was not sucaction, it cannot be cessful., gainsaid that Moscow Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has, and Kyiv must complained that Mr Putin declined to take a phone, from him prior to the Russian military aggresengage in direct call, sion. The Russian stand needs to change and diadialogue in order to logue must resume. Before the invasion, Mr Putin, arrive at a settlement declared that the Minsk protocols were finished., that will last Pressure needs to be brought on Moscow to return, to the Minsk formula in an updated form and with, more effective monitoring., At the Security Council, mindful of its defence and strategic ties with, Moscow, India fell short of criticising Russian military action. India also said, that a return to international law was needed. This was the barest minimum, that could be said though it may not be enough to deflect scorn, especially from, the Western powers., Adhering to international law is repeatedly stressed by this country, most, notably external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, in discussing China’s behaviour. That is more the reason why the principle should have been front and, centre in the articulation of the Indian response on Ukraine even while asserting — which is necessary — that the security concerns of all sides need to be, respected in Europe., The origin of the troubles is indeed the push of Nato eastward toward countries on the Russian frontier in the post-USSR situation, with the US leading, the charge. Using its equation with Moscow, India has the potential play a part, in Russia’s return to an updated Minsk agreement which can take into account, Moscow’s understanding of its security concerns in the context of Nato expansion. This can be an enabler for a wider political understanding with the West, Europeans and the Americans. The US, on its part, might do well to consider, that it cannot sustain a belligerent political posture in Ukraine in light of its, domestic circumstances and unsettled ties with China., , Nawab arrest: Vendetta whiff, , T, , he arrest of Nawab Malik, a senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, and minister in the state government of Maharashtra over alleged connections with a money laundering case, which if proven true would connect him, with India’s most wanted fugitive, accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and, international terror funder, Dawood Ibrahim, would have been most welcome if, there was absolutely no doubt about any underlying political motive., If the triad of Central agencies — the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (IT) department — had not been, for too long all caged parrots put in service of the political furtherance of the ruling party heading the Central government — Mr Malik’s arrest would be a win for, cleaning politics, uprooting corruption and exposing illegitimate nexus of politicians with criminals. Alas, we can’t celebrate that in this instance., Of course, Mr Malik could well be guilty of all the charges in this instance, but, even then, if a large number of people feel he might still have gotten away if he had, but different politics does not allow us to clap for the ED in this particular case., A clean, professional, incorrupt and efficient crime fighting and investigating, system that would arrest any politician, bureaucrat, billionaire baron or anyone, else without fear or favour of the political establishment is a far call away as an, expectation. But at least the blatancy of the misuse has to be done away with., As a corollary, no politician arrested in India would miss the opportunity to portray it as a case of vendetta, play the victim and claim higher moral ground and the, tag of a crusader., But still, coming a few days after Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar, Rao’s trip to meet Aghadi leaders, including the Shiv Sena and NCP to form an, anti-Narendra Modi front, both the optics and timing are chilling. Maybe the proposed front leaders have to be prepared for a knock on their doors from one of the, Central agencies any time., , THE ASIAN AGE, KAUSHIK MITTER, , K. SUDHAKAR, , Editor, , Printer & Publisher, , THE ASIAN AGE office is located at:, New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone:, (011) 23211124., Published and Printed on behalf of and for, ◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg,, New Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301., ◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ., RNI Registration number: 57290/94, , Anjaneya, Reddy, , Time Muslims in, India disposed of, their non-native, cultural baggage, , S, , Flashpoint Ukraine: Cold, War thinking still prevails, Indranil, Banerjie, , W, , ashington, claims that a, new spectre, is haunting, the world:, Russia’s Vladimir Putin,, who, early, Thursday, ordered, his, military, columns into hapless, Ukraine. Explosions have, been heard in its capital, Kyiv, and, several, Ukrainian cities. The global order, democracy and, world peace are under, threat and the West is, determined to prevent this, from happening. Or so goes, the narrative., What exactly is up in, Ukraine? On the face of it,, it’s about two enclaves, within that country —, Lugansk and Donetsk, “oblasts”, or provinces,, which are collectively, known as the Donbas —, where ethnic Russians are, in a majority and wish to, separate from Ukraine., These areas have seen, fighting in the past eight, years in which thousands, have been killed., Russian, President, Vladimir Putin has put his, foot in it by declaring the, two regions to be independent entities: the Lugansk, People’s Republic and the, Donetsk People’s Republic., He has signed friendship, treaties with them and, pledged to help them., Worse, on Thursday, he, ordered his military into, the Donbas ostensibly in, response to a call for help., “I have decided to conduct a special military, operation”, President Putin said early Thursday, in, response to “increased, Ukrainian aggression” in, the, Donbas., Russian, troops, amassed at Ukraine’s border as a deterrent, against possible Ukrainian, military action in these, enclaves,, have, been, ordered to go in to “protect” these areas., The Ukrainian government reacted by imposing, a state of emergency,, authorising its citizens to, carry arms and appealing, to the United Nations to, stop Russian aggression., , ometime in the early 1960s, Rajanish, Chandra Mohan Jain — who would later, evolve into Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh and, still later into a cult guru as Osho — taught, philosophy in a college in Jabalpur. Even then, he, had launched on his journey to gurudom and, broke convention in some ways. One of them concerned his outfit. He would wear a south Indian, mundu and go to the college. The principal sent for, him and advised him to dress decently and change, over to Western or Indian national dress., The rebel that he was, Rajanish insisted that he, wouldn’t do that and if compelled, he would exercise his fundamental right to ‘freedom of religion’, and would adopt the attire of the “digambar” Jain,, the faith to which he belonged! The principal realised the possibility of the desperado carrying out, the threat and relented. The issue was resolved!, The BJP would have done well if they had the, imagination of the principal and declared that, they would pass a law doing away with hijab and, burqa for Muslim women, if they were returned to, power in UP. That would have done wonders as, most Muslim women would have voted for them, as they had done when triple talaq was made illegal. Instead, the ruling party kicked up an avoidable fracas, played into the hands of misogynist, Muslim clerics and exploitative religion-ridden, political parties that made it appear what was at, , Its President, Volodymyr, Zelensky, had till recently, ruled out military conflict:, “We believe that there will, be no large-scale war, against Ukraine, and there, won’t be a wide escalation, from the side of the, Russian Federation.”, There is more to the, whole fracas than just a, bunch of unhappy ethnic, Russians stuck in a country where they don’t want, to be. The Ukraine crisis, involves three sets of, issues, the first related to, principles: Is it acceptable, to change national boundaries by force as Russia has, for all practical purposes, effected? For status quo-ist, powers like India, forcible, alteration of national, boundaries is abhorrent,, especially as its two key, adversaries China and, Pakistan have for decades, been attempting to do just, that. Sadly, ethical standards rarely deter the powerful or determine the, course of history., Russia, however, is hardly an exception as the, Western powers are trying, to make it appear. The, West has been altering, national boundaries, invading sovereign states and, breaking up nations for, over a century now. Much, of Africa and large parts of, Asia are the result of some, pretty nasty cut and paste, jobs. India too has suffered, the imperialist scalpel., In recent times, the former Yugoslavia was the, target of major national reengineering by the West, whose support ensured the, balkanisation of that country while a helpless and, enraged Russia watched, on. Yugoslavia was systematically cut up and when, the Serbs resisted, Nato, moved in to complete, the, process, of, dismemberment., In other words, while, Moscow’s argument that, large parts of Russia were, wrongly incorporated into, Ukraine may sound much, like China’s claim that it, has been short-changed in, Taiwan,, Arunachal,, , stake was the Muslim identity! The non-Indian, cultural baggage of Islam passes for Muslim, Identity!, Our former ambassador to the US and a distinguished Hyderabadi, Abid Hussain, on an occasion summarised the predicament of our Muslims, and said they would have no problems if they considered themselves Indian Muslims and not, Muslim Indians! He allowed his Hindu wife to, keep her faith and named his daughter Visakha,, after the place where she was born! Statistics suggest almost 90 per cent of Indian Muslims are local, converts, many of them Buddhists-turnedMuslims — Kandahar, Kashmir and East Bengal, are obvious examples — and about ten per cent, came with the invaders and made this country, their home. Islam imposed its non-Indian names, and culture on the new converts. This is a later, day parallel to the pastoral central Asian herders, imposing their so-called Vedic culture on the, native Indian population which led to the pernicious caste system which plagues the Indian society even now. Historically, culturally deluded, Muslim leaders in British India promoted a twonation theory with the covert support of the colonials and sowed the seeds of the two-nation myth, that finally led to the partition of the country!, Indian Muslims have a lesson to learn from the, Syrian Christians of Kerala. This group of proud, , As one writer, noted, Russia did, not grudge the US, for turning both, the Atlantic and, Pacific into, ‘American lakes’..., Nato, on the other, hand, has been, consistently, moving eastwards., , Ladakh and other parts,, it’s not unique or entirely, without historical precedent. The question ultimately is whether a nation, can actually pull it off and, escape the consequences of, its actions — which brings, us to the second question:, why exactly is the West, and Washington in particular so agitated by the plight, of the powers in Kyiv?, After all, they were not, similarly concerned when, Syria’s President Bashar, al-Assad sought help at a, time his country was being, overrun by Islamists hordes committing abominable, excesses against his people., Nor did Washington even, rap its ally Turkey on the, knuckles for repeatedly, attacking Kurdish areas to, kill as many Kurds as possible. The list goes on and, on. So why this immense, outpouring of Western solidarity with Kyiv?, The answer lies in history: the Cold War never, really ended entirely in the, sense that the USSR’s, demise didn’t mean the end, of hostilities with Russia., There are many in, America who point to, Russia’s massive nuclear, arsenal, its powerful military and its pugnacious, President Vladimir Putin, as enduring challenges., Russia in recent times, has thwarted the US in several areas. Regime change, as in Iraq and Libya was, averted in Assad’s Syria, only because the Russians, stepped in with their military to protect the regime., Moscow also successfully, blocked, Washington’s, inroads into the Central, Asian republics and in, recent times sided with, China in its skirmishes, with the Western powers., Washington, is, also, deeply concerned about, Europe’s growing reliance, on Russian energy supplies. The Nord Stream-2, Baltic Sea gas pipeline, that, , would double the flow of, Russian gas to Germany,, has been particularly contentious. This $11 billion, project was completed last, year but has not been put to, use yet due to US objections and European hesitation. Now, Germany has, said Russia’s actions in, Ukraine have forced it to, reject the project. But that, could be temporary., The bigger picture is that, the Cold War mentality, hasn’t fully gone away., President Putin is hardly a, paragon of democracy but, no one would fault him for, putting his country’s interests first. The fact that, Washington has not succeeded in completely grinding Russia into the ground, is in part due to Mr Putin,, who is demonised in the, West as a fascist, Russian, jingoist and a dangerous, geopolitical upstart., What Mr Putin has been, trying to do in his part of, the world is what the, Western powers continue, to do in theirs: define and, dominate their spheres of, influence. As one writer, noted, Russia did not, grudge the US for turning, both the Atlantic and, Pacific into “American, lakes”, or protecting its, interests in the Americas, and Europe. Nato, on the, other hand, has been consistently, moving, eastwards., In Ukraine, Mr Putin has, thrown down the gauntlet, and warned against any, further Western advance, into its area of core influence. Significantly, he also, warned Ukraine against, joining, Nato., Now,, whether he is right or, wrong in doing so is a, philosophical question., Nobel laureate Joseph, Rotblat, one of the brains, behind the atom bomb, had, once said: “The Cold War is, over but Cold War thinking, survives. We were told a, world war was prevented, by the existence of nuclear, weapons. Now we’re told, nuclear weapons prevent, all kinds of wars.”, The, world, hasn’t, changed much since he, made those remarks 27, years ago. The imperatives, of a bygone era still rule, our world., , The writer is an independent commentator on, political and security, issues, , Christians are as old as Christianity itself and its, practitioners, in culture, attire, and the spoken, language, are as Indian as any other. Their unique, Christian identity is sustained by its Indianness., Two hundred million Indian Muslims are no, small number and of them burqa and hijab wearers are a minuscule number. It is almost foolish to, think that giving them up would affect the cultural identity of Muslims! In fact, they had an historic, opportunity in Independent India to build a, uniquely Indian Islamic culture shaking off the, non-native cultural burdens!, As that brave rebel, Taslima Nasrin, often says,, where custom offends human rights, the former, should not be sustained in the name of secularism, or culture. Widow burning and infanticide were, considered religious practices by the Hindu community in British India. Thanks to enlightened, Indian reformers and responsible British administrators, not only these, but many other abominable customs were abolished or abandoned!, These reforms have not weakened Hindu identity!, Educated women among Muslims should question why they should be shrouded in a black burqa, or veil hiding their elegant clothes while their, men go around smartly dressed! A vibrant society, would evaluate its cultural practices and customs, from time to time! Has not Kalidasa said that all, that is old is not necessarily good? Isn’t it time for, , LETTERS, FUN AND GAMES, With the arrest of Nawab, Malik under the PMLA, the, dogfight between the BJP, and the MVA in Maharashtra has escalated to higher, levels. Now some action is, only to be expected against some BJP leaders in, Maharashtra on some, charge or the other. This, should bust the myth and, claims that investigative, agencies do not take, orders from the political, executive. There have been, just nine convictions out of, the 1,700 raids conducted, by the ED in money laundering cases. Which means, that the chances of conviction in the case are very, slim. For the common man, the process is the punishment. Not for the political, class. The fun and games, between the Centre and, Maharashtra will continue., Anthony Henriques, Mumbai, , SHORT OF IDEAS, THE UKRAINE CRISIS comes at a time, when Russia has started the delivery of, S-400 air defence systems to India,, which hopes to get a waiver of US sanctions on this. The larger cause of concern is that the US wants “all our allies,, partners” to forgo transactions with, Russia. The Countering America’s, Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, (CAATSA) is a tough US law which, authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from, Russia. India has been holding its, ground despite relentless pressure, but, is short of ideas., N. Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru, , ADMK FACTIONALISM, , THE CLEAN SWEEP of local bodies in, Tamil Nadu by the DMK is in greater, part due to the internal factionalism of, the AIADMK. Dynastic glue in the, DMK, despite its sibling rivalry, has, proved stronger. The enviable hold of, the party on TN today is akin to the, vast Chola realm under its king, Rajaraja circa AD 983 who was a, devout and wise ruler famed for the, innumerable and majestic temples he, built. The ethos of the DMK stems as, the offshoot of an atheist Dravidian, movement of the 1930s. But its street, savvy sociopolitical tenet seems to, have vibed well with a state that is, industrially pre-eminent., R. Narayanan, Navi Mumbai, , us to revisit our Constitutional provisions governing the freedom of religion? Art 25 guarantees the, “freedom of conscience” and “the freedom to profess, practise and propagate to all citizens”. While, we should value freedom to profess and practise, one’s religion, one fails to see why there should be, the freedom to “propagate” one’s religion in a secular State! It is the propagation that disturbs my, sleep in the early hours in the form of amplified, singing at temples or the muezzin’s raucous call!, Why should one’s religion intrude into another’s, home? Other irritants include gaining converts, for a price. In marriages across religions, the, hideous practice of forcing people to change their, religion and name may bring a spouse but cost the, bride or groom their identity! Very often the victim is the girl in our male-dominated society!, It is time our Muslims give thought to liberalising and Indianising Islam; and it should start with, their names. If Christians could retain both Indian, and Christian names, like Christopher Kishore or, Hemima Rani, why cannot there be cross-cultural, names like Kamala Khan or Vempalle Sharif, or, Akhila Ayesha! This would make the names more, integral to our culture!, , The writer is a former Indian Police, Service officer
Page 19 : EDIT, , 4, , DELHI FRIDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2022, , Didi’s plea to PM on Ganga erosion, C, , hief minister mamata Banerjee has, written to Prime minister Narendra, modi about the “perpetual river erosion”, along the river Ganga/Padma in malda,, murshidabad and Nadia districts, and, urged him to seriously look into the matter, so that “flood management and restoration, schemes can be carried out” to save loss of, lives and livelihood from disaster., e Holy Ganges faces extreme problems, accumulated over the centuries. efforts to, save the river have not always been successful. mamata Banerjee never found time, to think environmentally nor did she ever, bother to save the river from the ills afflicting it. All that she is worried about is that, the natural course of the river is changing., it does happen. When one obstructs river, paths and builds cities on it and directs or, , limits the river to confined places and seeks, a sense of discipline from it, you are wrong., in her three-page letter, Banerjee said, that the problem of erosion is resulting in, “severe loss of public utilities, private properties and agricultural lands. e problem, has been continuing for over the last two, decades. Such erosion along the riverbank, has largely been caused by the siltation in, the riverbed and frequent shiing of river, course consequent upon the construction, of Farakka Barrage.” She further urged, modi for restoration of extended jurisdiction of Farakka Barrage Project Authority, (FBPA), a subordinate office under the Jal, Shakti ministry, to 120 km so that the Centre can take up urgent bank protection, schemes in the entire stretch in consultation, with the state government as promised. She, , accused the FBPA of not addressing the, problem adequately which has “further aggravated the land loss due to river erosion, over 400 square km of 15 blocks of malda,, murshidabad and Nadia districts in West, Bengal.”, Strange isn't it so? mamata wants Centre, jurisdiction to increase in her State! Have, we ever seen her accepting any move by, the Centre to increase its jurisdiction on, anything? it is just a convenient argument., She won't stop construction activity in the, flood plains. She won't stop artificial barriers to the river. She won’t stop its pollution, either. Aer all, she has now taken up the, issue on behalf of the ‘people’ (read vote, bank)., Climate change affects every river in the, country and if the governments don't pre-, , pare themselves and their people for the, future, more tragedy would be inflicted, upon them. Futuristic planning does not, mean constructing riverbank protection, works alone. e side portion of a course, of river called riverbank is always important, to our human civilisation for all kinds of, development. But it is not so secure for various problems. riverbank erosion is one of, the critical problems in the world, at least, in some countries. it has long-term consequences on human life. e problems which, create challenges in river basins are flood,, landslide, land erosion, deforestation etc., e victims are migrated and they become, hopeless. On the other hand, riverbank erosion also affects river ecology in different, ways. e governments should have their, own plans for these problems., , LETTERS, Find ways to end Russian war, , i, , t's an unfortunate moment for the entire world that russiaUkraine conflict has escalated into a full-blown war. it's the most, inopportune time as the world is still not out of the woods from, the pandemic onslaught. it's still licking its wounds, incurring massive economic losses. The moment russia declared two provinces, of east Ukraine as recognised independent countries, the world, sensed the imminence of war. Still the West and its european allies, could only toughen their stance with more sanctions against russia,, rather than resort to persuasion and negotiation. As russia's insecurities over Ukraine's aspirations of joining NATO are not addressed properly, the war has resulted. india has been in tough, spot on the diplomatic front as it cannot afford losing a trusted, friend of one side or a useful ally of other side. As no one can, afford war and its consequences anymore, the world leaders should, leave no stone unturned in finding a way to stop it immediately, with less damage., Dr DVG Sankararao, Vizianagaram, , Cong/Left key to new front success, , SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE, THE RISING THREAT OF EXTRAORDINARY LANDSCAPE FIRES, , C, , limate change and landuse change are projected, to make wildfires more, frequent and intense, with a, global increase of extreme fires, of up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30, per cent by the end of 2050 and, 50 per cent by the end of the, century, according to a new report by the UN environment, Programme (UNeP) and GriDArendal., The paper calls for a radical, change in government spending, on wildfires, shifting their investments from reaction and response to prevention and preparedness., The, report,, Spreading like Wildfire: The, rising Threat of extraordinary, Landscape Fires, finds an elevated risk even for the Arctic, and other regions previously unaffected by wildfires. The report, is released before the resumed, 5th session of the UN environment Assembly (UNeA-5.2), convenes in Nairobi, between, February 28 and march2, 2022., The publication calls on governments to adopt a new ‘Fire, ready Formula,’ with two-thirds, of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness,, and recovery, with one third left, for response. Currently, direct, responses to wildfires typically, receive over half of related expenditures, while planning receives less than one per cent., To prevent fires, authors call, for a combination of data and, science-based monitoring systems with indigenous knowledge and for a stronger regional, and international cooperation., “Current government responses, to wildfires are often putting, money in the wrong place., Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the frontlines who are risking their lives, to fight forest wildfires need to, be supported”, said inger Andersen, UNeP executive Director., “We have to minimise the risk, of extreme wildfires by being, better prepared: invest more in, fire risk reduction, work with, local, communities,, and, , strengthen global commitment, to fight climate change.”, Wildfires disproportionately, affect the world’s poorest nations. With an impact that extends for days, weeks and even, years after the flames subside,, they impede progress towards, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and deepen social, inequalities:, People’s health is directly affected by inhaling wildfire, smoke, causing respiratory and, cardiovascular impacts and increased health effects for the, most vulnerable; The economic, costs of rebuilding after areas, are struck by wildfires can be, beyond the means of low-income countries; Watersheds are, degraded by wildfires’ pollutants; they also can lead to soil, erosion causing more problems, for waterways; Wastes left behind are often highly contaminated and require appropriate, disposal. Wildfires and climate, change are mutually exacerbating. Wildfires are made worse, by climate change through increased drought, high air temperatures, low relative humidity,, lightning, and strong winds resulting in hotter, drier, and, longer fire seasons. At the same, time, climate change is made, worse by wildfires, mostly by, ravaging sensitive and carbonrich ecosystems like peatlands, and rainforests. This turns landscapes into tinderboxes, making, it harder to halt rising temperatures., Wildlife and its natural habitats are rarely spared from wildfires, pushing some animal and, plant species closer to extinction. A recent example is the, Australian 2020 bushfires,, which are estimated to have, wiped out billions of domesticated and wild animals., There is a critical need to better understand the behaviour of, wildfires. Achieving and sustaining adaptive land and fire, management requires a combination of policies, a legal framework and incentives that en-, , The number of wildfires is to rise by 50% by 2100, and governments are not prepared, experts warn., Even the Arctic, previously all but immune, faces, rising wildfire risk. Wildfires and climate change are, mutually exacerbating. Governments are called to, radically shift their investments in wildfires to focus, on prevention and preparedness, courage appropriate land and, fire use., The restoration of ecosystems, is an important avenue to mitigate the risk of wildfires before, they occur and to build back, better in their aftermath. Wetlands restoration and the reintroduction of species such as, beavers, peatlands restoration,, building at a distance from vegetation and preserving open, space buffers are some examples, of the essential investments into, prevention, preparedness and, recovery., The report concludes with a, call for stronger international, standards for the safety and, health of firefighters and for, minimising the risks that they, face before, during and after operations. This includes raising, awareness of the risks of smoke, inhalation, minimising the potential for life-threatening entrapments, and providing firefighters with access to adequate, hydration, nutrition, rest, and, , recovery between shifts., The report was commissioned, in support of UNreDD and the, UN Decade on ecosystem, restoration. UNeP will be exploring how further investments, can be made to reduce fire risks, in critical ecosystems around, the world., each year, between 2002 and, 2016, an average of about 423, million hectares or 4.23 million, square km of the earth’s land, surface – an area about the size, of the entire european Union –, burned, becoming more common in mixed forest and savannah ecosystems. An estimated, 67% of the annual global area, burned by all types of fires, including wildfires, was on the, African continent., Dangerous wildfire weather, conditions are projected to become more frequent and intense, and to last longer, including in, areas previously unaffected by, fires. extremely intense wildfires can trigger thunderstorms, , in smoke flumes that aggravate, fires through erratic wind, speeds and generate lightning, that ignites other fires far beyond the fire front, a hazardous, feedback loop., This is due to climate change,, including hotter temperatures, and drier conditions with more, frequent droughts. Land-use, change is another risk factor, including commercial logging and, deforestation for farms, grazing, land, and expanding cities. A, further cause for the proliferation of wildfires is the aggressive, suppression of natural fire,, which is essential in some natural systems to limit the amounts, of combustible material, and inappropriate fire management, policies that exclude traditional, fire management practices and, indigenous knowledge., Long-term effects on human, health extend beyond those, fighting wildfires, evacuated, or, suffering losses. Smoke and particulate matter from wildfires, deliver significant consequences, for health in downwind settlements, sometimes thousands of, kilometres from the source, with, impacts often exacerbated, among those with pre-existing, illness, women, children, the, elderly and the poor. Changes, in fire regimes are also expected, to lead to massive biodiversity, loss, endangering over 4,400 terrestrial and freshwater species., Wildfires generate black carbon and other pollutants that, can pollute water sources, enhance the melting of glaciers,, cause landslides and large-scale, algal blooms in oceans, and turn, carbon sinks such as rainforests, into carbon sources., The report calls for greater investment in reducing the risks, of wildfires; development of prevention and response management approaches that include, vulnerable, rural, traditional, and indigenous communities;, and further refinements in remote sensing capabilities, such, as satellites, radar and lightning, detection.(UNeP), , Sino-Pak move to crush Baloch rebels, DR AMJAD AYUB MIRZA, , Currently, Gilgit-Baltistan, and her dry port of Sost, at the Pak-China border, right up to the seaport of, Gwadar in Balochistan, are key to China's, economic expansionist, design. The militant, insurgency in Balochistan, has brought the ChinaPakistan-Economic-Corri, dor (CPEC) to a standstill., A massive military, operation allegedly, supervised by the, Chinese PLA is under way, to crush Baloch rebels, , P, , rime minister of Pakistan imran Khan is said to use, the occasion of Pakistan Day, observed each year on, march 23, to make a public announcement that Pakistan, occupied territory of Gilgit-Baltistan has been incorporated, into its federal system as her fih provisional province., Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly named the Northern Areas, was, only allowed to have its own assembly in 2009. e GilgitBaltistan assembly is controlled by the state of Pakistan from, rawalpindi where the chief of Pakistan army General Qamar, Javed Bajwa has his headquarters., eminent PoJK historian and political commentator Dr, Shabbir Chaudhary who lives in exile in the UK writes in, his book titled 'Legal Status of Jammu and Kashmir': "everything in ...Gilgit- Baltistan is controlled by islamabad. even, the school curriculum is written by them, and our children, are not taught history of Jammu Kashmir." (p. 148), Gilgit-Baltistan was part of the princely state of Jammu, and Kashmir until November 1, 1947 when major Alexander, William Brown, the former political agent of the Gilgit, agency, launched a coup against maharaja Hari Singh and, arrested Governor Brigadier Ghansara Singh. it was major, Brown who actually replaced the state flag with the Pakistani, flag and announced its accession to Pakistan. He had no, power to take that decision, yet as indian troops were pushing the Pakistani invading army out of Kashmir in October, 1947, Brown acted in desperation in order to deny india the, passage to central Asia., Currently, Gilgit-Baltistan and her dry port of Sost at the, Pak-China border right up to the seaport of Gwadar in, Balochistan are key to China's economic expansionist design., e militant insurgency in Balochistan has brought the, China-Pakistan-economic-Corridor (CPeC) to a standstill., A massive military operation allegedly supervised by the, Chinese PLA is under way to crush Baloch rebels., it is in this backdrop that China has been exerting pressure, on the Pakistan government to make sure that CPeC is made, foolproof in Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan's solution is to make, PoGB into its 5th province and take full control of the administrative matters along with intensifying its plunder of, , our natural resources. Under the current circumstances, granting mining licenses to non-residents in PoGB has become a great cause for concern for locals who have been, protesting for months and demand cancellation of any mining licenses issued to aliens., is hampers the loot of natural resources of GilgitBaltistan by Chinese companies, most of which are state, owned. By incorporating PoGB into Pakistan's federal set, up it will become possible to impose direct rule from islamabad and anyone could be granted a mining license., Another aspect of Pakistan's attempt to incorporate PoGB, into Pakistan stem from China's need to gain access to the, clean water from our glaciers. in a book titled 'Kashmir the, Untold Story' co-authored by iqbal Chand malhotra and, maroof raza they reveal that China's major rivers Yangtze, and Yellow river are polluted hence they cannot be used for, the purpose of manufacturing semiconductors., Semiconductors are used extensively in mobile phones,, cars, fighter jets, satellites and even naval ships. Hence whoever will dominate the manufacture of semiconductors in, the world market will rule the digital world. 'Chinese strategists were interested in Shaksgam valley, which is home to, over 242 glaciers'. (malhotra, raza. p 154). it is therefore, , important for China to control the waters flowing into PoGB., By incorporating PoGB, Pakistan will act in clear violation, of the UN resolutions that have designated PoGB as disputed, territory. is would give the indian government the right, to challenge Pakistan in the international Court of Justice., recent decision made by Pakistan to make PoGB her 5th, province has generated a new wave of protests and discontent, in the occupied region. Political leaders who traditionally, side with Pakistan-based political parties such as the Pakistan, People's Party and Pakistan muslim League Nawaz have also, come out in protest warning islamabad and rawalpindi alike, of grave consequences if such a move is made on march 23., e question is, can Pakistan afford such an adventure, that on one hand becomes a genuine reason for revolt by, the locals and on the other hand paint Pakistan as a state, that has committed yet another serious violation of the dictates of the United Nations., e move to take over Gilgit-Baltistan by Pakistan and, China may not be a pleasant one aer all., (Writer is an author and a human rights activist from, Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir. He currently lives in exile in the UK. e views expressed are personal), , T, , Hi's edit, 'Are non-BJP parties targeting Prez election?' is interesting and as KCr, mamata et al march towards forming a front, with the slogan for Swarna Bharat and BJP- mukt Bharat. Naturally,, the first step is to counter BJP's plot to field the sitting Dalit Prez, again and make an emotional blackmail on the pro-dalit camp. in, case it fields a dalit, it's difficult as no dalit fights a fellow dalit and as, Ambedkar's grandson said earlier that he's not interested in 'ornamental' (rather a mute spectator) post as Prez., Also, there is none as universally acclaimed Kalam or Congressfielded woman Pratibha now. if Congress is not joining the front, it, will be a debacle and the Left parties should be included in the front, as they are also secular. in case KCr is not welcome by Congress, and/or left, someone else with integrity and selflessness must intervene., Dr T Ramadas, Visakhapatnam., , We all must shun single-use plastic, , i, , ndia is all set to ban single-use plastic items from 1 July. e Central, Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has asked all states to implement the, ban from 1 July. e world produces about 300 million tonnes of plastic, waste every year. Only a very small percentage of plastic is recycled or incinerated. it is a matter of concern that 8 million tonnes of plastic end up, in oceans every year. in addition to the ban, there must be other initiatives, and regulations., manufacturers need to be directed to specify the kind of plastic used, in a product so that it can be properly recycled. Although plastic cannot, be completely dispensed with, its overuse can be stopped. We cannot, afford to degrade environment and harm ourselves. Let’s live in clean, and green surroundings. As a first step, let’s bid adieu to single-use, plastic., Venu GS, Kollam, , ED a tool to muzzle Opposition, , T, , he arrest of maharashtra minister by the enforcement Directorate, (eD) in connection with a money laundering case linked to the activities of the mumbai underworld, fugitive gangster Dawood ibrahim, and his aides, seems to be a political vendetta. malik is known as honest, person. He was constantly raising his voice against the wrong policies of, the Centre and exposing them., He has exposed ex-NCB chief Sameer Wankhade in drugs case, how, innocent people were fixed in drugs cases by Sameer Wankhade. in, seven years of BJP rule, not a single BJP leader was arrested by eD or, any Central agencies. Are all BJP leaders so honest? it seems in the view, of eD and central government agencies only opposition leaders are corrupt., Zeeshaan, Kazipet, , II, , T, , he arrest of NCP chief spokesman Nawab malik by the eD in connection with a money laundering case linked to gangster Dawood, ibrahim did not come as a surprise as his name kept coming up in several, cases in the aermath of the arrest of maharashtra Home minister Anil, Deshmukh by the eD. e peculiar aspect of Nawab malik was to always, talk ill of the Centre and the central agencies, alleging that they had been, let loose on the political opponents to settle scores., K V Raghuram, Wayanad, ,
[email protected], , THE, , Girl student writes to K’taka CM, for toilet in her school, BeNGALUrU: A ninth standard student from Chamarajanagar district, has written to Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai asking him to construct, a toilet at her school. She said in her letter that “it is embarrassing to, stand in long queues during breaks. ere is only one toilet for 132 students.”, Pavithra G, studying in the government school of Annorukeri village, near Gundlupet town in Chamarajanagar district, has said in her letter, that it takes about 30 minutes to get one’s turn., "is is so embarrassing for me. Please consider me as your daughter, and build one more toilet facility in the school premises. i am ready to, contribute rs 25 that i have saved for myself," she said., She has also mentioned in the letter that she had once le school for, the same reason., , Sikh girl asked to remove turban, in Bengaluru college, BeNGALUrU: Amid crisis related to wearing of hijab in classrooms, an, Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh girl was asked to remove her turban in the, reputed mount Carmel PU College here in accordance with the February, 10 High Court's interim order. Some parents of the college also complained, of being targeted aer their daughters were asked to remove hijab., e authorities are now crossing their fingers over the turn of events, on ursday, as the sensitive issue could spread to other colleges as well, in the State capital., ough colleges across the State witnessed widespread agitations,, protests regarding denial of permission to attend classes with hijab, the, agitations so far had not touched Bengaluru in a major way. e Special, bench of the High Court has made it clear on Wednesday that no religious, symbols are allowed in the classrooms in PU as well as graduation colleges, until the matter is disposed of., , Read more at, https://epaper.thehansindia.com (Bengaluru edition)
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NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2022, , Education must match, needs of the economy, A K GHOSH, , H, , igher education in India,, which began with the establishment of Hindu College at, Kolkata in 1817 by Raja Rammohan Roy and David Hare, is presently at the crossroads. The growing number of institutions and unrestricted, growth of students, teachers and courses do not seem to match with a suitably, qualitative mechanism for improvement and knowledge advancement., After Independence, the department of education created in 1945 was, converted into a ministry of education., The University Education Commission, (1948-49) recommended expansion of, higher education in the country on a, priority basis and the period from 1947, to 1950 saw the setting up of seven new, universities being raised to 27 with 695, colleges affiliated to them. During the, period of 50 years since 1950-51, there, has been a phenomenal growth of higher education. And now the number of, universities is over 1,000 and that of, degree colleges is over 45,000., But sadly, in the garb of quantitative expansion, there is a total qualitative failure. This is evident from the, huge pool of educated persons who, lack employability which, in turn,, reveals a low standard of learning. There, is admittedly a state of near anarchy, even in the administration of existing, facilities leading to social tensions and, mediocrity of output. Much of this condition is traceable to ethical, moral, and, social values being divorced from the, educational process., This has far-reaching consequences on the quality of manpower, which holds the key to our country's, progress. In fact, the expansion of higher education has been the most important post-war trend, regardless of political system, level of economic development or educational ideology. It, expanded dramatically first in the USA,, then in Europe and currently the focus, of expansion is the Third World., The situation in our higher education today compares with the post-war, situation in the UK in which new universities came into existence to meet, , In terms of efficiency, productivity, and utilisation of resources, our mushrooming education system has broken, down. It is so completely absorbed in, trying to preserve its structural form, that it does not have time to consider its, own larger purposes., Further, due to the absence of a, single machinery to look after the planning of higher education and Centrestate relations based on cooperative, federalism in higher education, there is, no viable alternative. A vicious circle of, mediocrity has come to prevail in higher education which puts the whole system beyond redemption., Political expediency in our country is to increase the number of colleges, and universities to make them accessible to all. This expansion would not, have marred educational health, had it, been accompanied by sincere measures, of consolidation and standardization,, and by a prospective plan of linking, universities with production units for, ensuring growth targets., When the Centre came out with, the New Education Policy, beneficiaries, of higher education became very apprehensive at the prospect of privatisation., Many states started encouraging privatisation of higher education, particularly professional education, and, many students became inclined to raising funds by such means as distance, education. Vocational courses charging, higher fees were introduced and, abysmally low fees for general education were also enhanced. But it is, , the genuine demand that Oxford and, Cambridge would not meet. It was, marked by lack of financial resources, and circumscribed by scarcity of meritorious students prepared for university, education. In general, they came into, existence in a haphazard manner in, response to certain societal needs., It does not require much wisdom, to say that the present lopsided mismatch between what our economy, demands and what our education, industry supplies costs the country dear, in various ways. A large body of young, men and women waste several precious, years in studying what may be irrelevant to them. Like Elizabeth Doolittle, in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion who was, transformed from an efficient, self-supporting flower girl into a useless and, helpless society lady, these young people become less self-reliant and less, useful after years of wasteful study. In, addition to the waste of time and atrophy of self- reliance, their positive qualities of enthusiasm flip over and, become negative and destructive. The, unwarranted expansion of unwanted, higher education bestows a false sense, of righteousness on the political,, bureaucratic, and educational leadership, protecting their ego from the, responsibility of discharging their duty., Interestingly, the wise men who, produced that interesting document, called "The Challenge of Education ",, on which the new education policy was, drafted, avoided making any commitment on what should really be done., , observed that all these efforts amount, only to cosmetic attempts at coping, with the dysfunctionality of the system., In fact, college education, often,, only delays the days of fruitful endeavour of the youth, their period of productive service, and does not compensate for this reduction in quantity by, any increase in quality. Thus, few students obtain any real benefit from the, present education system; all that they, obtain for their years of study is a, bruised ego. Also, for the poor, the higher the education, the greater the strain., Unfortunately, there is always an, immense pressure in favour of expansion. It is not yet appreciated, let alone, accepted, that the country just cannot, afford to provide higher education to all, those who demand it; that there is no, alternative but to restrict, to be selective. Considering that there is so little, available for elementary education,, there is no economic or professional, need for it. There cannot be a lasting, solution to the problem confronting, higher education unless purely quantitative expansion of the system is, brought to a manageable rate. This may, necessitate the enforcement of a policy, of selective admission to higher education institutions., Admittedly, a sizeable proportion, of the students go in for higher education only because it is considered as a, means of social mobility. In a democratic polity, it may be neither possible nor, necessarily desirable in all cases to curb, the urges of a vast majority of the population to secure higher education. It, must be appreciated that expansion of, college enrollment without regard to, the economy's capacity to gainfully, absorb the educated manpower and, the perpetuation of attitudes dysfunctional to development needs assume, critical significance not only for economic reasons but for their socioeconomic implications. Swedish economist and sociologist Gunnar Myrdal, had emphasized this point long ago: ", More generally and vaguely, the students must be disturbed by their own, bleak and uncertain future with, mounting unemployment among the, educated. This anxiety is magnified, , 100 YEARS AGO, , OCCASIONAL NOTE, , when so much tertiary education continues to be general rather than joboriented and is without purpose and, motivation. ", Under a system in which there, would be no mismatch between what, the economy demands and what the, education industry supplies, subsidized, higher education would be reserved, only for those who could find gainful, employment; others would have to pay, much higher college fees. But to enable, graduates to secure jobs, new courses, would have to be started in accordance, with the economy. Like many of the, international institutions, the focus, might be on practical learning, allowing creativity in the system. In certain, universities abroad, curricula which are, based on practicality do not only open, doors to creativity, but also ensure that, education is considered as learning for, life, not a mere degree., By and large, the above suggestions, may meet a variety of needs and yet, function as a continuously self-regulating mechanism, constantly matched to, the needs of the economy. It would also, add resources to enable higher education institutions to expand systematically, but the courses which contribute, only to unemployment would shrink., Due to the unplanned growth of, higher education, there is a shortage of, qualified people in the frontier areas of, knowledge and technology. The system,, thus, is unable to fulfill its primary, objective of providing manpower to a, knowledge intensive economy. Even the, Kothari Commission pointed out that, the average standard of higher education has been falling and that rapid, expansion has resulted in lowering of, quality., It may be remembered that the, National Policy on Education, 1986,, stated that higher education is crucial, for survival. Hence the need to revitalize, the system by downsizing it to enhance, its contribution to national development., The writer, a former Associate Professor,, department of English, Gurudas College,, Kolkata, is presently with RabIndra Bharati, University and is the author of the recently, published book English, Quo Vadis., , And just how are they different?, NIZAMUDDIN AHMED, , I, , n case you have felt the shivers, recently, or sweated profusely, know, that climate is not the only earthly, element that has undergone, change. In tandem with erratic rising, temperatures and dipping mercury, the, favourite pastime of millions (in most, languages, it is decried as politics) has, gone through momentous transformation for the worst, and in some very, unlikely places., There was a time not so many, years ago when some (economically), interested developed country would, employ every resource at home and, abroad to first criticise, begin policing,, then mobilise international media support, create a band of local bootlickers,, and finally usurp a head of state of a, developing country - someone who was, not to their (fiscal) taste.To help fulfil, the unpleasant agenda of the leaders of, these developed countries, there were, indeed vile, unpopular rulers scattered, around the world, who hung on to their, "throne" (elected or inherited) by aborting constitutions, living in lies and, as a, last resort, ordering troops to fire on, unarmed citizens to quell any uprising., Even observers on the fence would, tell you that Iraq's Saddam Hussein,, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, and now, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, North Korea's, Kim Jong-un, Belarus's Alexander, Lukashenko and such held on to power, by guile and gun, though a few are, known for their benevolence.In contrast, the self-assuming darogas of the, world were the apparent good guys,, upholding the heraldry of democracy., They made it their business to interfere, , with the internal affairs of another, country - all under the pretext of rescuing a people (not theirs) from their, avowed tyrannical despot. Often, such, tactics in a Western country earned, points on the political front., Unbelievably, actions, trials and, even executions in one country are, believed to affect elections in another, country. If that is what the expression, "global village" means, then we are living as rudimentarily as the cave people., There are examples galore, but a, couple of samplers will bring home the, argument. The New Yorker in 1996, called him "omnipotent, benevolent,, and everlasting President." Captured by, the US in 2003, Saddam Hussein was, found guilty by Iraqi judges for his violent campaign against the Kurds and, the Shias, as well as for crimes against, humanity. Rights groups and the United, Nations at the time were concerned, because Saddam's trial did not meet, international standards of fairness. The, Iraqi supremo was hanged in 2006., After leading a military coup in, 1969 against the Libyan monarchy,, Muammar Gaddafi headed a two-faced, Revolutionary Command Council benevolent towards his people who, gained prosperity, but repressive against, political opponents. He befriended Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat,, and the Provisional Irish Republican, Army. His dream of a common currency, for Africa was making headway. In, October 2011, the National Transitional, Council, backed by the North Atlantic, Treaty Organization (Nato) forces,, unseated Gaddafi, captured him, and, beat him to death. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch termed, , his killing a violation of international, law., If you flip through the pages of, photo albums, there could be cuddly, images of the leader of a rich democracy and that of a moneywise poorer, nation, all smiles, never differentiable, by the quality of their clothing. They, seemingly fell a world apart due to, some not-so-unseen disputes - oil,, water, land or trade. But such, unscrupulous, power-hungry leadership was no longer the prerogative of, only the less developed countries., In a world-changing scenario,, there is little difference today between, the leaders of the economically developed and the less developed countries., No one wants to let go of power, even if, that means death of democracy. In the, poorer countries, such greed has often, led to hunger, economic hardship, and, sectoral violence., In at least two of the world's most, respected and longstanding democracies, desperate measures to hang on to, power by some protagonists have surprised many., Till it happened in early 2021, no, , one could have imagined that US politics would be the cause of political violence. Unlike any of his predecessors,, Donald Trump began his acceptance, speech long before the elections. Reading his psyche and his encrypted garbled pomposity, the media repeatedly, asked him whether he would accept the, results. His response every time was, feigned efforts to confuse the public millions loved that. After the verdict, went decisively in favour of Joe Biden, by a margin of 306 to 232 electoral votes, and 51.3 per cent of the popular votes, cast - a difference of over seven million Trump turned his supporters against, his chosen running mate, then VicePresident Michael Pence. Trump counted on Republican lawmakers to make, one last doomed attempt to reverse the, results when Congress met to confirm, the Electoral College vote. He called up, governors to twist facts and hand him, the state votes. When they did not, he, made their life hell with threats and, mob violence. Then, on the infamous, January 6, a desperate Trump did what, was below the ethics of 44 POTUS, before him. A rowdy mob of Trump, , supporters besieged the seat of the US, Congress in Washington, DC, seeking, to overturn his defeat. No American, president had tried so hard to damage, the value of democracy and undermine, the people's mandate before, and, Trump's cult following did not help., UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is another "change-maker" without, remorse - an inherent leadership quality among many of his predecessors., Police are investigating reports that he, and about 30 others were partying at 10, Downing Street when indoor gatherings, were banned, and only groups of up to, six people were permitted to meet outside under the Covid restrictions in the, UK. Singing was prohibited, but they, sang to wish him a happy birthday. The, leading lawmaker who had made that, law broken it., Boris was brave to say "sorry" in, parliament, but indicated he would not, resign, which many observers thought, was a foregone conclusion, given the, country's history of political integrity., Boris was not taught by my Jhenaidah, Cadet College teacher, who often reprimanded us with, "Sorry is a cheap word, in the dictionary.", Both Trump and Johnson lost high, ground. Yet, neither are willing to drop, the towel. No one else had remained in, contention for a possible second crack, at the presidency after so many, antiques as Trump. No UK premier has, survived lies in the past, but the climate, has changed., They may win back the mandate, of the people by hook or by crook, but, the future doesn't justify their past., The Daily Star/ANN., , CROSSWORD, , NO 29190, , SOLUTION FOR 24 FEBRUARY, , ACROSS, 1, , Not speaking, not at, first, having called, back atmosphere in, Italian region (6), 5 He signals decline lots, of people curtailed (7), 9 Voter, missing, nothing, mostly put, off regarding online, voting? (10), 10 Wizard spread,, Bunter finally, expressed (4), 11 Description of some, molecular bonding, providing energy in, , 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, , 23, , vacant lot, possibly, (10), Have to get satellite in, orbit to make, progress (4,2), Records attempt to, deliver ornamental, textile (8), Cathedral getting a, lot of criticism in the, home (8), Fine of low value for, escape (6), Pay for ultimate in, mulch, put amongst, flourishing roses , equine source? (5,5), Brief note left, , incomplete (4), 24 Gym equipment?, Cargo boat has old, stock on hand (10), 25 True crime about to, involve church (7), 26 Young child, returned cuddling a, cat or dog, say, or, rabbit (6), , DOWN, 2/3 Motivational channel, showing poor run, hosted by club (8), 4 Endless strain, suppressed by a, supporter from, , Tunisia, say (7), 5 SF film? Activate SF, agony with, adaptation (9,6), 6 Army regulation, requires something to, fix bright light (3-4), 7 Male remains with it , its something a club, has? (10), 8 Upturn in light, swamping last of, encircling dark (5), 12 Ladies perhaps, welcoming good, company image (4), 13 Starts to reject each, request to, , 07, , Government , duplicated entries?, (10), 16 Intermittently, rougher part of, Germany (4), 18 Drama and passion in, plane possibly losing, tail (7), 19 France and America, notice a source of, irritation? (7), 20 Feel unwell aboard, boat trips at sea? (5), 21/22 Error with, nautical speed?, Tug will put paid to, it (8), , NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London), , The Special Cable published in our yesterday's issue informs us that the Northcliffe, press has now come into line with Indian, opinion in regard to the unsuitability of, Delhi as the capital of India. In the present, straitened condition of Indian finances the, expense involved by Lord Hardinge's vainglorious conception is both monstrous, and ridiculous. In this connection there is, an irresistible temptation to refer to the, famous despatch of 1911, whose ingenuous authors explained that they had not, thought it necessary to make any exact, enquiry into so trifling a detail as the cost, of the change of capital, since they could, not conceive that "a larger sum than four, million sterling would be necessary, and, within that figure probably could be found, three years' interest on capital which, would have to be paid till the necessary, works and buildings were completed.", And three years were allotted to the task, of erecting the new capital on "the only, possible site." Ten years have elapsed, and, the foundations of New Delhi are still laboriously rising amidst the tombs; the four, millions have admittedly grown to nearly, double that figure, while no one dares, guess at the amount of the unacknowledged liabilities. At least a crore a year is, still being squandered upon this ineffable, scheme, in spite of a bankrupt treasury, and universal discontent., , NEWS ITEMS, , SCHOOL OF, ORIENTAL STUDIES, Reviewing the position of the School of, Oriental Studies, which has entered its, sixth year, Sir John Hewett, chairman of, the Governing Body, said that hitherto over, 1,500 men and women had received, instruction in the institution. In the 191920 session the number of students reached, 539, which was a slight decrease from the, figures of the last two sessions. This was, attributable to the financial state of the, city. The students include officers of the, Army and Navy, Colonial and Indian officers, business men, missionaries, undergraduates and postgraduates. Besides languages, instruction is given in the outlines, of the history, religious customs of Eastern countries. The school also aims at, developing higher branches of study in, connection with the great classical languages of the East, and is thus a centre of, Oriental research., , ARMY CLOTHING, FRAUD CASES, In the second Army Clothing Embezzlement Case the jury today returned a unanimous verdict of guilty on the charge of, abetment of criminal breach of trust, against Robert Wharton. The Chief Justice, agreeing, sentenced Wharton to one year's, rigorous imprisonment and a fine of five, thousand rupees, in default six months', simple imprisonment. The Chief Justice, said he was satisfied from the evidence, that Wharton, in conjunction with Riley,, had committed a fraud on the Government, a fraud of the utmost deliberation,, and that he could not pass a lesser sentence. Convicting Riley in the first case, the, Chief Justice sentenced him also to one, year's rigorous imprisonment and a fine, of two thousand rupees. In the second, case Riley was sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment, the sentences to run, consecutively., , FINANCIAL, POSITION OF, MADRAS, MADRAS, FEB 24, The Governor has decided to invite a deputation of members of the Legislative, Council to proceed to Delhi in order to, present an address to the Viceroy requesting a reconsideration of the amount of, contribution paid by Madras Presidency, towards central revenues under decision, of the joint committee. In a statement, recently made by the Hon. the Finance, Member, it was announced that while, there would be a deficit of at least Rs 66, lakhs when the accounts of the current, year were finally closed, a deficit which, would have to be financed by borrowing, it, was anticipated that the revenues for the, coming year would fall short of the expenditure, calculated on minimum requirements, by 144 lakhs., , TO COMBAT CIVIL, DISOBEDIENCE, The necessity for an intense and aggressive counter-propaganda to combat the, insidious non-cooperation campaign and, to minimise the feeling of bitter racial, hatred preached by the agitators, was, urged by Mr. N.N. Sircar and Mr. John, Langford James, the joint secretaries of, the Citizens' Protection League, at a, meeting in the Empire Theatre, Calcutta, last night. There was a good attendance., Mr. Sircar said he was grateful to the management of the Empire Theatre for the, opportunity and privilege of addressing, them on the necessity for the Citizens', Protection League and its objects. At the, outset he desired to set them at ease by, assuring them that he had no inclination, to tire them with a long history of the, growth of the non-cooperation movement.