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The Hindu Editorial Summary

November 2019

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November 2019


1) On Substance across the Arabian Sea

Even by its volatile standards, our Southwest Asian sub-region has lately

been unusually turbulent, as reflected in issues ranging from India-

Pakistan tensions to the approaching denouements of crises in Yemen,

Syria and Afghanistan.

The oil market, too, has been inclement. Against this disorderly

context, it is no small wonder that India-Saudi Arabia relations have not

only remained steady, but kept their positive trajectory.

Acknowledging core interests: Politically, New Delhi and Riyadh

acknowledged each other’s core interests and accommodated them.

Thus, Saudi Arabia showed an “understanding” of recent Indian

actions in Jammu and Kashmir and India “strongly condemned” the

various attacks on Saudi civilian facilities.

Their bilateral defence, security and anti-terror cooperation has

intensified and the first naval exercise is to be held soon.



November 2019


The Riyadh Summit acquired added importance as it coincidentally

preceded two domestic developments in India with considerable traction

in the Islamic world: the conversion of Jammu and Kashmir into two

Union Territories that happened on Thursday and the Supreme Court

verdict on the Ayodhya dispute.

Despite vigorous efforts, the bilateral commercial and economic ties

have still remained range-bound. Trade has drifted downwards largely

due to lower crude prices.

According to the latest Indian data, the bilateral trade in the first nine

months of 2019 stood at $22,416 million, having fallen by 9.2% over the

corresponding figure in 2018.

It was 5:1 in kingdom’s favour and was dominated by the traditional

commodities, revealing the need for greater Indian export promotion

efforts.

The Saudi investment in India, too, remains far below potential. The

kingdom’s cumulative investments in India are only $229 million, or

0.05% of the total inbound FDI.

Though the kingdom’s Indian community has come down marginally to

2.6 million, they, nevertheless, are still the largest foreign community

and their annual homeward remittances remain steady at $11 billion.

There is growing room for optimism, however. The kingdom’s Vision

2030, a strategic document, lists eight major partner countries including

India, the world’s third largest oil importer.

Saudi Aramco is to be one of the two strategic partners in the proposed

$44 billion, 1.2 mbpd PSU refineries at Raigarh on India’s west coast. It

is also to acquire a fifth of the Reliance refinery at Jamnagar and to

participate in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves.

If realised, these investments could total nearly $30 billion, catapulting

the kingdom to fourth position among countries investing in India.

Earlier, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had committed

to investing $100 billion in India.



November 2019


As the 12 bilateral documents signed in Riyadh Summit show, India and

Saudi Arabia have already commenced leveraging opportunities across a

vast eco-space, from energy to agriculture and from fintech to skilling.

New bilateral council: Setting up of a bilateral Strategic Partnership

Council (SPC) to be co-chaired by the Indian Prime Minister and the

Saudi Crown Prince is a defining development.

Given the centralised nature of executive at both ends, it would, hopefully,

expedite the decision-making process. The SPC would be a permanent

bilateral platform with two verticals jointly serviced by the two

Foreign and Trade & Industry Ministries.

Among the potential areas for next stage of bilateral cooperation could be

greater bilateral synergy in Indian infrastructure, agriculture, start-ups,

skilling and IT.

Shifting some labour-intensive establishments from Saudi Arabia to

India would serve the respective national priorities by reducing the

kingdom’s expatriate population and boosting ‘Make in India’.



November 2019


2) On deciphering Greta’s climate message

She is being looked at as an emotionally charged icon of environmental

struggles, but there is more to Greta Thunberg’s point of view than

mere emotion and passionate commitment.

If we decipher all the issues raised in her brief presentation at the UN

General Assembly, we can notice how it expands the familiar contours of

the discussion over climate change.

Some of the issues she raised were a regular feature in many debates

over natural resources, but there were other, new issues as well.

One well-recognised issue is the direct connection between economic

growth and the state of the environment. Devotees of speedy and high

economic growth have been indifferent to the limits that nature imposes on

the theoretical scope of growth.

Nearly half a century has passed since the idea of ‘limits to growth’

was recognised and proposed as a ground for change in development



November 2019


policies. Apparently, political leaders and the civil servants who serve them

do not feel constrained by that idea.

The younger ones may not be acquainted with the 1972 report wherein the

paradox of economic development was examined.

Victims of indifference (speech): “All you can talk about is money and

fairy tales of economic growth,” Ms. Thunberg told her audience at the

UN headquarters in New York.

She accused world leaders of ignoring or deliberately looking away

from the responsibility they have towards the young today and in the

future.

Her argument would have pleased Mahatma Gandhi. He too thought

that economics concerned solely with wealth undermines ethical

responsibilities. It ignores justice as a primary human yearning and, in

today’s terminology, a right.

This was also the underlying theme of Ms. Thunberg’s presentation to the

leaders and representatives of different countries. She presented herself as

a victim of their indifference to climate change. “You have stolen my

childhood with your empty words,” she said.

As an activist-teenager, she had reasons to feel that way. Her campaign on

climate change had cost her more than just school attendance.

Being young implies being part of a future. Ms. Thunberg was referring to

the collective future of those who are young today and also to future

generations.

These futures are bleak - not in the context in which economic slowdown

affect prospects of prosperity and comfort. Ms. Thunberg’s focus was on

climate change, a composite idea that imparts bleakness to everybody’s

future.



November 2019


She suggested that higher income or status would not help to avoid the

consequences of climate change. That is an important point, and not

everyone today is convinced about its correctness.

Not only the richer nations, but also the richer people in every nation

continue to believe that they can buy relief and escape from the

consequences of climate change for their progeny.

Childhoods stymied: Parents invest huge amounts of money in their

children’s education to make sure that they lead better lives. So do

nations. Their leaders talk eloquently about the younger generation taking

the nation forward.

It is easy to miss her message or misconstrue it because her

presentation was strident. While she was so visibly emotional during her

brief speech, her message was that we must stop being emotional about our

children.

Although she was addressing an audience of political leaders, she wanted

all of us to recognise and accept the bitter truth that we - and those who

represent us -have compromised the future of our children.

It is not the distant generations that will face the consequences of

climate change. No, the crisis is already upon us. It will unfold in the

lives of those who are growing up today.

The steps currently under consideration for containing the

consequences of climate change are far too inadequate to cope with the

crisis. And even these modest steps are being taken with great

reluctance, which proves Ms. Thunberg’s point was that we are not

mentally ready to accept the challenge.

It is the adults and older people today who might feel rattled by Ms.

Thunberg’s speech. When she spoke in the UN General Assembly, many



November 2019


in the audience could be heard laughing. They saw her more as a

spectacle than as a real person. They were accustomed to routine

expressions of concern about climate change.

Many such leaders are quite pleased with the efforts by the UN and its

various bodies to pursue the policies related to sustainable

development. They find long, comfortable targets for reduction of carbon

emissions quite sufficient and satisfactory.

We can hardly imagine that Ms. Thunberg woke them up. If that were

possible, we wouldn’t be where we are in our encounter with nature’s fury

for which we have coined the euphemism of ‘climate change’.

3) On core sector output: From bad to worse

Hopes of a quick turnaround in the economy have turned out to be

quite premature in light of the latest set of economic data released on

Friday.



November 2019


The Commerce and Industry Ministry reported that core sector

output, which is measured by tracking the performance of eight major

industries including cement, steel, and crude oil, contracted by a sharp

5.2% in September.

This is its worst fall in 14 years. Seven out of the eight core industries

witnessed a contraction, with the coal sector being the worst hit,

shrinking by over 20%.

The latest figures are in stark contrast to core sector growth of 4.3%

reported during the same month last year. Given that core

sector contraction was only 0.5% in August, the recent trend points

towards a worsening of the economic situation.

At the moment, it seems quite likely that gloomy core sector performance

will affect GDP growth in the second quarter as well as the full financial

year.



November 2019


It is worth noting that while a few high-frequency data points had shown

some signs of a nascent revival in the economy in September, most still

remain mired in a slump.

Plus, the present contraction in the core sector, which represents the

capital base of the economy, suggests that the negative effects of the fall

in consumption are spreading across the entire production chain.

In further bad news, data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian

Economy showed that unemployment in October rose to a three-year

high of 8.5% in October.

This (unemployment) marks a sharp jump from 7.2% in September. If

growth fails to pick up, the unemployment scene could get ugly and

further contribute to the demand slowdown.

What is even more worrying is the fact that the current slowdown

comes in the midst of a spree of aggressive rate cuts amounting to 135

basis points by the Reserve Bank of India since February this year.

Lending in the festival season has picked up with banks extending over

₹1 lakh crore in the period between mid-September and mid-

October. Yet, growth in credit this financial year till now is a flat 0.2%

only.

Festival season sales have shown an uptick with increase in sales of

automobiles and also consumer durables. But it remains to be seen if this

trend sustains.

The government at the Centre is clearly in an unenviable position with

very little fiscal leeway to boost growth by increasing its

spending. Some of the reforms announced in the last few months may

show some positive results with time.

But without more meaningful structural reforms to address long-term

problems such as the private sector’s reluctance to invest,



November 2019


It is unlikely that India will move towards the heady days of 8%-plus

growth any time soon.

4) On need for decongestion: Cramped prisons

With an average occupancy rate of 115% of their capacity, Indian jails

continue to remain congested and overcrowded, numbers in the National

Crime Records Bureau’s “Prison Statistics India – 2017” report have

revealed.

In 16 of the 28 States covered in the report, occupancy rate was higher

than 100% with States and Union Territories such as Uttar Pradesh

(165%), Chhattisgarh (157.2%), Delhi (151.2%) and Sikkim (140.7%)

faring the worst.

Despite the Supreme Court and other institutions regularly raising the

issue of prison reforms and decongestion in jails, it is evident that

the measures taken have been piecemeal in most States.



November 2019


While overall occupancy rates have come down from 140% in 2007 to

115% in 2017, only a few States have, in this period, gone about

building more jails or increasing capacity in prisons in line with the

changes in inmate population.

Some States such as Tamil Nadu have reduced their prison occupancy

rate (to 61.3%) by increasing the number of jails and their capacity

besides reducing arrests for actions unless there is a cognisable

offence made out.

Rajasthan and Maharashtra have not managed to augment jail

capacity to fit in the increased inmate population in the past decade, while

States such as U.P. continue to have high occupancy rates because of

increased inmate population despite a relative increase in prison

capacity.

More than 68% of those incarcerated were under trials, indicating that

a majority were poor and were unable to execute bail bonds or provide

sureties.

There were a series of recommendations made by the Law Commission

of India in its 268th report in May 2017 that highlighted the

inconsistencies in the bail system as one of the key reasons for

overcrowding in prisons.

Clearly, expediting the trial process for such prisoners is the most

important endeavour, but short of this there are ways to decongest

prisons by granting relief to under trials.

The Commission recommended that those detained for offences that

come with a punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment should

be released on completing one-third of that period and for

those charged with offences that attract a longer jail term, after they

complete half of that period.



November 2019


For those who have spent the whole period as under trials, the period

undergone should be considered for remission. It also recommended

that the police should avoid needless arrests, while magistrates should

refrain from mechanical remand orders.

It is imperative that these recommendations are incorporated into law

soonest. A system of holding under trials for too long without a just trial

process in overcrowded prisons that suffer problems of hygiene,

management and discipline, is one that is ripe for recidivism.

There is a greater chance of prisoners hardening as criminals rather

than of them reforming and getting rehabilitated in such jail

conditions.



November 2019


5) On WhatsApp snooping scandal: Pegasus misadventure

The Government’s reaction to messaging platform WhatsApp’s revelation

that Indian journalists and human rights activists were among some

1,400 people globally spied upon using a surveillance technology

developed by Israel-based NSO Group is inadequate and, more

unfortunately, far from reassuring.

Thursday’s disclosure by Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which is suing the

Israeli company in a California federal court for the hack, is a chilling

reminder that nothing is private in the digital world, given the right tools.

In this case, a malicious code, named Pegasus, exploited a bug in the

call function of WhatsApp to make its way into the phones of those

select users, where it would potentially have had access to every bit of

information.

But the disclosure raises a more worrying question: on whose directions

were the Indian journalists and human rights activists spied upon?

There are a few reasons why this question is important.

this was not done with money in mind. as the NSO says on its website,

“NSO products are used exclusively by government intelligence and



November 2019


law enforcement agencies to fight crime and terror.” The NSO, by its

own admission, sells its service only to government agencies.

Those targeted include civil rights activists, lawyers, and

journalists. Notably, some of them have legally represented activists

arrested in the case related to the violence in Bhima Koregaon in 2018.

Lawyer Nihalsing Rathod, academic Anand Teltumbde, Dalit activist Vivek

Sundara, and human rights lawyer Jagdish Meshram are some of those who

have been targeted by Pegasus. Who would have wanted to snoop on them?

It is, therefore, extremely important for the Government to clear the

air on this issue in no uncertain terms especially when WhatsApp had

given information to CERT-IN, a government agency, in May, even if

without any mention of Pegasus or the extent of breach.

It is all right to ask WhatsApp, as the Government has done, as to why

the breach happened and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of

its users in India, estimated to be around 400 million.

In separate statements, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar

Prasad and the Ministry of Home Affairs have expressed concern about

privacy breaches while at the same time hinting that this issue is being

politicised and an attempt is being made to malign the Government.

This is hardly a trivial issue, as it concerns the digital well-being of

citizens, the very thing this Government says it wants to promote.

In a country where data protection and privacy laws are still in a

nascent stage, incidents such as this highlight the big dangers to

privacy and freedom in an increasingly digital society.

It is thus imperative that the Government sends a strong message on

privacy, something that the Supreme Court in 2017 declared to be



November 2019


intrinsic to life and liberty and therefore an inherent part of the

fundamental rights.

The first thing it could do is to answer categorically if any of the

governmental agencies used NSO’s services. The government must

clarify whether it deployed spyware to snoop on its critics.

6) On perilous use of Manja: String of deaths



November 2019


The perilous use of manja, a synthetic kite string coated with powdered

glass, remains pervasive, endangering human lives and making a

mockery of the multiple bans on its manufacture and sale.

Three-year-old Abhinayu of Chennai, who died on Sunday after a

dangling manja slit his neck while he was seated on a motorcycle his

father rode, is the latest victim.

Only in August, a man in Delhi bled to death after being entangled by a

manja. Actually, the earliest recorded instance of a death caused by a kite

string in Chennai was in October 1975 in the wake of which 197 people

were arrested.

Kite flying is not just a pastime but also an organised festival in States such

as Gujarat and Rajasthan. During this year’s Makar Sankranti, three

persons were killed in Gujarat and over a 100 injured in different

States.

Birds, including the White Rumped Vulture, get frequently entangled in

manja strings as well. An estimate cited by the Animal Welfare Board of

India said that at least 2,000 birds are injured at the annual kite flying

event in Ahmedabad of which 500 eventually die.

What has turned the once-harmless activity of kite flying into a bloody

societal menace is the substitution of the traditional cotton thread with

the nylon or single plastic fiber string made of monofilament fishing

line coated with powdered glass.

Dubbed Chinese manja (though locally manufactured), the transparent

and light-coloured string is not easily visible. While the cotton thread too

is coated with finely powdered glass, its sharpness is blunted when

mixed with boiled rice, flour, egg white and tree gum.



November 2019


The factory-scale manufacture of Chinese manja and its pricing at just

one-third of the rate of a cotton spool, coupled with the thrill of cutting

off another kite, has led to its widespread use.

The nylon string is also non-biodegradable, making it an environmental

hazard. When dangling from high-tension overhead electricity cables,

it has also led to electrical accidents.

Taking these into account, in July 2017, the National Green Tribunal

banned synthetic manja across India. It directed the authorities to

book violators not only under the provisions of the IPC - Indian Penal

Code but also invoke the EPA - Environment (Protection) Act, PCA -

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and WPA - Wildlife (Protection)

Act as the case would warrant.

The cases of people being convicted for manufacturing, selling or using

manja are rare. Unless the authorities get their act together, the list of

casualties could only get bigger with another Makar Sankranti around in

two months’ time.

Multiple State governments have banned the manja. But what is

lacking is enforcement. The police seize spools of manja and arrest a

few persons each time a human life is lost. There is no sustained

endeavour to end the menace.

7) On Delhi's air pollution: Clearing the air

Delhi is once again in the grip of its annual, winter pollution crisis. The

city’s tryst with air pollution crises isn’t new. The rising prominence of

particulate matter (PM) from various sources has long been a public

health scourge.

What differentiates the prevalent PM crisis from earlier ones is the

public’s ability to monitor pollution levels for themselves. The



November 2019


measurement of pollution, which used to be the domain of weather agencies

or pollution control boards, can now be done with consumer appliances.

However, increased public awareness and social media angst haven’t

translated into meaningful public action.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi, which provides for

a ratcheting slew of measures - from stopping construction work to

halting private vehicles - isn’t effective when air quality reaches its nadir.

It recommends action only after pollutants soar.

A Task Force - which comprises top officials of Delhi and the Centre -

advises the EPCA - Environmental Pollution Control Authority, which is

in charge of enforcing the GRAP. Rarely does it recommend tough pre-

emptive action and when it does, there’s no real pressure on municipal

bodies and police to ensure that polluters are punished.

There is a sense of resignation among both the Centre and the Delhi

government about tackling the pollution crisis. Meteorology and

Delhi’s geography render the city vulnerable to a certain amount of



November 2019


winter pollution, particularly when wind speeds drop to less than 10

kmph.

However, preventing local sources of pollution from worsening air

quality will require both the State and the Centre to implement

unpopular decisions.

This would include an outright ban on two wheelers, three wheelers and

cars when air quality starts to deteriorate, a halt on construction,

shutting down power plants in the vicinity of Delhi and a substantial

spike in parking rates. And, of course, getting the farmers of Punjab

and Haryana to not burn stubble at all.

Even if this confluence of miracles were to occur, it wouldn’t guarantee

blue skies on a windless day and, therefore, political brownie points. This

makes it convenient for governments to engage in theatre such as having

Ministers bicycle to work and blaming farmers for burning rice chaff.



November 2019


The Delhi government and the Centre routinely cite pollution figures

averaged for the entire year to claim success of some piecemeal

measure or the other but hide the lows of October and November.

Tackling Delhi’s winter air requires tough steps that need to be in

place at least a couple of months before the plummet.

At the very least it requires a truly empowered, independent agency

that can implement measures while negotiating the tricky relationship

between the Centre and Delhi. Else, beyond the momentary outrage, the

fight against pollution will remain on a prayer, and the wind.

8) On India opting out of RCEP: Safe, for now

India eventually decided to play it safe by pulling out at the last minute

from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

(RCEP) which was finalised by 15 countries in Bangkok on Monday.

The pressure mounted on the government and the Prime Minister by

interest groups, ranging from farmers, small industries and traders, to

political parties across the board, surely played a major role in the

decision to stay out of the grouping.



November 2019


The country had little choice but to exit after its safeguard requests

were not conceded. On the one side was the looming figure of China in the

group and that country’s desperate need to find newer markets for its

products in the backdrop of its trade dispute with the U.S.

India runs a massive bilateral trade deficit of $53 billion with

China and the fact that China has not taken satisfactory efforts to

whittle down the deficit certainly were major inputs in India’s decision.



November 2019


Second, India’s experience with countries with which it has signed free

trade agreements till now is not exactly a happy one. Though trade has

increased post-FTA with South Korea, ASEAN and Japan, imports have

risen faster than exports from India.

According to a paper published by NITI Aayog, India has a bilateral

trade deficit with most of the member countries of RCEP.

More importantly, while exports to RCEP countries account for just

15% of India’s total exports, imports from RCEP countries make up

35% of the country’s total imports.

Given this, it is obvious that in the immediate context the country had

more to lose than gain from joining RCEP.

India’s request for country-specific tariff schedules was rejected early

in the negotiations. So was its suggestion of an auto-trigger mechanism to

check a sudden surge in imports from particular partner countries.

India also argued for stricter rules of origin, and rightly so too, but this

too failed to pass muster. Movement of professionals was another area

that saw an impasse. Given these, there was little chance of the political

leadership agreeing to join the bloc.

Policymakers must have reasoned that India has active FTAs with

most members of the RCEP except China, Australia and New Zealand

and there will be no economic impact.

However, the fallout of India’s decision is that it has burnished its

image as a protectionist nation with high tariff walls. With a market of

1.3 billion people, there is bound to be more pressure on India to open

its gates.



November 2019


The smart way to handle this is to initiate reforms on the export front,

bring down costs in the economy and, simultaneously, increase

efficiencies.

India cannot miss out on being a part of global supply chains and this

can happen only if tariff barriers are reduced. And the best way to

balance the effect of rising imports is by promoting exports. Tariff walls

cannot be permanent.



November 2019


9) On NEET crisis: Back to the blackboard

Acting out of sheer pique cannot be the ideal response to any crisis. Recent

data from Tamil Nadu that became available through the Madras High

Court showed a clear link between coaching classes and securing a

medical seat.

Some have already given in to the temptation of a knee-jerk response

and called for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to be

cancelled; shunning the need for a calibrated response to what

is undoubtedly a worrisome situation.



November 2019


As per data submitted to the Madras High Court by the government of

Tamil Nadu, the bulk of the students who secured MBBS seats in the

State in 2019 had taken coaching classes to prepare for the exam.

Only 1.6 % of all students who joined the government medical colleges

had managed to get a seat without undergoing any preparatory

coaching Programme.

Significantly, even in private medical colleges, only a marginally higher

percentage (3.2) had got through without coaching classes.

Data also showed that a significant percentage of students in

both government (66.2) and private colleges (64.4) had to take multiple

attempts at NEET to score a seat.

Given that the costs of coaching classes are huge, running into lakhs of

rupees, it clearly puts medical education out of the reach of the poorer

sections.

The prohibitive cost factor has been in Tamil Nadu’s list of arguments

against NEET right from the beginning of its spirited opposition to the

common entrance test.

That it would keep a segment of students out of the race was the point

posited by the State, citing the example set by the IIT-Joint Entrance

Examination. The State argued that coaching classes would determine entry

to courses, and ergo, put out of the race students who were poor, or hailed

from rural areas.

The question at the root of it all, however, is the quality of education

being imparted to students, in urban and rural areas. It is the

shortcoming in this sector that makes expensive coaching classes the

norm.



November 2019


Independent of students’ performance in the medical entrance test,

qualitative surveys, including the Annual Status of Education Report,

have revealed sad neglect of a key nation-building function - school

education.

Ensuring that quality education is imparted at schools by well-trained

teachers would obviate the need for coaching outside of classes.

NEET, as the equivalent of a quality control test, hopes to choose the best

students in a given pool for a career in medicine, remaining value neutral in

every other way.

While ensuring such benefits of NEET continue to accrue, States should

put in place a series of steps that would make learning meaningful, and

fun for children, and in the interim, provide free NEET coaching

classes to help disadvantaged students make that leap.

Indeed, emptying out dirty bathwater periodically is essential, but to throw

the baby out too would be disastrous.



November 2019


10) On clash with police: Judges for lawyers

The siege of the Delhi police headquarters by its personnel on

Tuesday and the disruption of courts on Wednesday constituted a

spectacular breakdown of governance in the national capital.

The police headquarters were being guarded by the CRPF on

Wednesday, apparently from the ranks. The personnel were outraged

over attacks on them by lawyers at two city courts on Saturday and

Monday, and the intervention by the Delhi High Court that appeared to

be shielding the lawyers while being harsh on the police.

Overworked and often used as tools by political masters, police forces

are far from professional in any part of India. The outburst of the

constables in Delhi is also the result of their accumulated resentment

against senior officers.

Last year, a Delhi IPS officer slapped a constable for stopping his private

vehicle that was on the wrong carriageway. Under the direct supervision of



November 2019


the Home Ministry, the Delhi police is often caught in the crossfire of many

political battles, and junior personnel are often made the scapegoats.

Commanding respect from the lower ranks by creating an

environment for them to act lawfully and without fear or favour is the

paramount job of the leadership in any force. On that count, the senior

police officers are wanting.

At a broader and deeper level, the ugly scuffle between the police and

lawyers in the capital is an alarming sign of an increasingly

debilitating governance deficit and collapse of the rule of law.

This takes many forms, such as police support for mobs and legal

processes that victimises victims of crimes further. In 2016, JNU

students and journalists were attacked in a Delhi court by a group of

lawyers who got off scot-free - a severe transgression by the lawyers and a

failure of the police.



November 2019


Lawyers and the police are critical to law enforcement and their

unfailing fealty to the law and the legal process is an essential attribute that

a society counts on. Judges should not reflexively take the side of lawyers

who clash with police.

Far from adhering to the principles of their respective professions,

when they take the law into their own hands, it is a case of the fence

eating the crop; it is the sign of a dysfunctional society turning on itself.

The higher judiciary has often been a beacon of hope for the rule of law,

but that confidence is not as strong as before. The judicial intervention in

the clash between lawyers and the police must not only be impartial

and fair but also be seen as such.

To restore public confidence in policing and judicial process, strict

action must be taken against those who indulged in violence - an

example must be made of them. That is essential also to restore the

majesty of the law and its enforcement.



November 2019


11) On norms against food rich in fat, sugar and salt: Junking

fast food

In a welcome step, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India -

FSSAI has notified a draft regulation aimed at prohibiting the sale and

advertisement of food rich in fat, sugar and salt to schoolchildren

inside the school premises and within 50 m around it.

It comes in response to the 2015 order from the Delhi High

Court directing the central agency to frame norms to promote healthy diets

in schools.

Besides prohibiting the sale of junk food, the FSSAI requires schools to

simultaneously encourage and promote a safe and balanced diet.

In a bid to shield the children from consuming unhealthy food items

and snacks, the FSSAI prohibits food companies that manufacture

such items from advertising or offering for free such foods in school

premises and within 50 m of the campus.



November 2019


To thwart food companies from luring children to consume foods rich

in fat, sugar and salt, the companies are prohibited from using their

logos, brand names and product names on books and other educational

materials, as well as on school property such as buildings, buses, and

athletic fields.

As a general guidance to provide wholesome food, the agency recommends

the use of a combination of whole grains, milk, eggs, and millets; it also

listed a set of general guidelines for selection of food products that can

be offered in schools.

Even as malnutrition accounted for over seven lakh (68%) deaths in

children under the age of five years in 2017 in India, there is rising

obesity in schoolchildren in many States.

According to a July 2017 study, India, with 14.4 million, had the second

most number of obese children among 195 countries. A recent study

found 23 States to have child overweight prevalence more than the national

average, with six States having a prevalence of over 20%.



November 2019


Several studies have shown how a western diet affects the composition

and diversity of gut bacteria and sets the stage for many metabolic

diseases.

Hence, any attempt to reduce and discourage the intake of unhealthy foods,

which is a major cause of unhealthy weight gain in children, should be

welcomed.

The challenge will be in enforcement, particularly in preventing the sale

and promotion of unhealthy food near schools. For instance, despite the

sale and advertisement of tobacco products within 100 yards of a school

being prohibited, violation is more the norm than the exception.

Shops that sell tobacco products very often also sell many of the

packaged unhealthy foods that the FSSAI now wants to ban. The onus

of inculcating healthy eating habits also starts at home.



November 2019


Besides taking steps to reduce the intake of unhealthy food, both

schools and parents should ensure children get adequate physical

activity, which is increasingly being neglected for various reasons.

It is a combination of healthy food and regular physical activity that

will go a long way in bringing up healthier children.

12) On Alternative Investment Fund: Real estate shelter

From first looks, the long-awaited package to support the real estate sector,

cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday, appears well-designed. The ₹25,000

crore Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) announced by Finance

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expanded in both size and scope from the

earlier one announced in September. And the variables are clear such as the

unit sizes that will be supported.



November 2019


The AIF will provide funds to bail out stalled real estate projects with

unit size of less than ₹2 crore a unit in metros and ₹1 crore in other

places.

The Centre will contribute ₹10,000 crore, with the State Bank of India

and Life Insurance Corporation of India providing the balance.

The fund, to be managed by SBICAP Ventures, will offer support to viable

projects with a positive net worth and registered with the Real Estate

Regulatory Authority.

What makes the scheme good is that it will also apply to projects that

have been declared as non-performing assets by banks and to those

lined up before the insolvency court.

Apart from real estate promoters, this will also aid lenders, mainly

finance companies and banks, whose funds are locked up in these

projects.

According to Ms. Sitharaman, over 1,600 projects involving some 4.58

lakh housing units are stalled for want of funds. There are also unsold

units across the country with one market estimate putting their value

at over ₹4 lakh crore.

Most of the stalled projects are solvent but stuck for liquidity and with

support from the AIF, can be completed, unlocking value not just for

buyers but also precious cash for the project promoters and their

lenders.

The real estate sector is not only one of the biggest providers of jobs

but also has a huge multiplier effect in the economy. Industries ranging

from cement and steel to paints and sanitary ware stand to reap the benefits

of a healthy real estate sector.



November 2019


This is apart from banks and financial institutions. While the AIF is a good

idea, it is important that it is implemented without glitches. Too many

good ideas have suffered due to bad implementation.

The critical part will be identifying the genuine projects in need of

support and ensuring that biases do not creep in. Also important will be

attracting more investors into the AIF.

The Finance Minister said that sovereign funds and other private

investors have shown interest. These need to be followed upon quickly

and money should be released from the AIF right away so that the trickle-

down effect is felt before the end of this financial year.

Along with private money in the AIF will also come return expectations

that need to be managed. The government, through its latest move, and

the Reserve Bank of India with successive rate cuts and liquidity

infusion, have set the stage.

The Alternative Investment Fund could help revive the stressed

sector. The real estate industry now has to do its part.



November 2019


14) On Moody’s negative rating: Thumbs down

Ratings agency Moody’s has reacted predictably to the turbulence in the

economy by revising the outlook on its sovereign rating for India from

stable to negative.

Moody’s India rating is a notch higher than that of Standard & Poor’s and

the outlook revision now may well be to compensate for its past optimism

on India.

Yet, the outlook revision has to be seen for what it is: a warning that if the

economy fails to bounce back soon enough, the sovereign rating could

be up for an unfavourable review.

With due respect to Moody’s, none of the issues that it has highlighted is

unknown. The growth slowdown and its effects on the fiscal deficit and

borrowings are the main worries.

On the one hand, tax revenue growth is nowhere near budgeted levels

and with the slowdown extending into the third quarter, it is clear that

tax revenues will undershoot by a wide margin.



November 2019


On the other, the government has been forced to spend more to give a

leg up to the economy. Apart from pushing expenditure on capital

projects, the government last month gave away corporate tax

concessions amounting to a whopping ₹1.45 lakh crore.

Even with the boost from the ₹1.76 lakh crore dividend payout from

the Reserve Bank of India, the budget arithmetic is optimistic and it now

appears certain that the government will miss the fiscal deficit target of

3.3% of GDP.

The only question is: by how much? Moody’s has projected that the

deficit will slip to 3.7% of GDP this fiscal.

Ratings agencies are ultra-sensitive to fiscal deficit overruns but the

positive factor here is that India’s borrowings are almost wholly

domestic. External debt to GDP is just 20% but the ratings do have an

impact on investor sentiment.



November 2019


But the Moody’s outlook revision comes when there are faint signs of a

revival in the economy. To be sure, it may be another quarter or two

before growth picks up - the second quarter numbers due later this month

may show GDP growing at less than 5%.

But the festive season uptick in sales of automobiles and white goods

does point to the return of the consumer to the market. Of course, the

possibility that it was an artificial boost driven by the big discounts that

were on offer cannot be ruled out.

But there are other positive signals such as the increase in bank credit

offtake reported by the RBI for the second successive fortnight.

The government needs to press the pedal harder on reforms and in

debugging GST. It may also have little option than to go big on

disinvestment in the remaining four months of this fiscal.

The target of ₹1.05 lakh crore that it set for itself in the budget has to be

bested by a wide margin if the fiscal deficit slippage is to be

contained. The supportive measures announced in the last two months

should be closely monitored for implementation.



November 2019


15) On Ayodhya verdict: Peace and justice

There comes a time when the need for peace and closure is greater than

the need for undoing an injustice. In allowing a temple to come up

through a government-appointed trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya,

the Supreme Court has apparently chosen a path most conducive to

social harmony.

To compensate the Muslim litigants, who were deprived of the centuries-

old Babri Masjid through an illegal act of demolition, the court has asked

for the allotment of a five-acre plot of land elsewhere in Ayodhya that

may be used for building a new mosque.

That this is more of moral consolation by way of a political

compromise and less of adjudication in recognition of their religious

rights is obvious.

The final award will always be a source of discomfiture for those to whom

closure goes beyond ensuring peace in a communally polarised

environment.



November 2019


But what is most welcome about the 1,045-page verdict of a Bench of five

judges is its unanimity. For, it sends out a message that the judiciary

has, with a single mind, ventured to give legal burial to a prolonged

dispute that began as a minor litigation, expanded into a divisive political

cause, and became a festering wound on the body-politic for years.

The fact that the case is over at last must come as great relief to all peace-

loving people. This sense of relief masks the bitter truth that the fear of a

Hindu backlash if there was an adverse verdict was genuine.

After nearly three decades of unrelenting pursuit of communal polarisation,

the majoritarian, revanchist forces in the country have fatigued their secular

adversaries into passive acquiescence.

The Bench indeed has done well to record its revulsion at two incidents

that represented an onslaught on the psyche of secular India: the

desecration of the masjid in 1949 when Hindu idols were planted

surreptitiously under its central dome, and the planned destruction of the

whole structure by the foot soldiers of Hindutva on December 6, 1992.

But what is most disappointing about it is that the relief spelt out by the

Bench may amount to legitimising the very demolition it unequivocally

condemns. Having declared that the suits are representative of the two

communities, organised violence by one party ought not to have been

ignored.

It is common knowledge that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which

spearheaded the temple movement with the active backing of the Bharatiya

Janata Party and organised the demolition of the mosque, got a foothold in

the litigation through an individual who represented the deity, Ram Lalla,

as “a next friend” in a fresh suit filed in 1989.

A reading of the judgment reveals that the outcome is not wholly in

line with the evidentiary conclusions the court itself reaches.



November 2019


It notes that archaeological evidence - procured only because excavation

was made possible by the demolition and as such not available to the

parties at the time of institution of the suits - only shows the existence of a

12th century Hindu religious structure underneath, but does not prove

any demolition or explain what happened in the intervening centuries.

It acknowledges that namaz was offered at the mosque between 1857

and 1949, and declares that Muslims did not abandon it, but offers no

relief even though their religious rights stand proved.



November 2019


The entire disputed area covering both the inner and outer courtyards

are awarded to one side contrary to its own conclusion that Muslims

had a right, albeit a contested one, in the inner courtyard.

While it holds that Hindus had possessory right over the entire outer

courtyard to the exclusion of Muslims, it does not decide whether they

had exclusive title; on the other hand, it rejects the Muslim claim solely

on the ground that they failed to prove “exclusive title”.

Also, the court says evidence of Hindu worship was available for a

period prior to 1857, while there was proof of namaz only after 1857,

without accounting for the fact that it was in that year that a massive riot

took place that led to the British administration putting up a railing to

divide the mosque from the Hindu shrines in the outer courtyard.

The case has been decided on the balance of probabilities that Hindus

have proved a better title than Muslims. While it is true that

“preponderance of probabilities” is the standard of proof in civil law, it is

doubtful whether this can be invoked to the exclusion of an acknowledged

right belonging to the other side.

It will be disappointing to the country as a whole if the judgment in favour

of Hindu litigants does not end the belligerence of Hindu organisations that

ran the movement to build a temple at the very spot on which the Babri

Masjid stood until that fateful day in 1992.

For none can deny that the politicisation and communalisation of the

Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute left in its wake a trail of

violence and led to terrible loss of lives and property across the

country.

To the toxic effect of the sectarian strife set off by the temple

movement through processions and the infamous ‘rath yatra’ of BJP leader

L.K. Advani, one can attribute many deadly riots and a wave of

retaliatory bombings by Islamists since the late 1980s.



November 2019


In paving the way for a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Supreme Court

prioritised communal harmony over all else. But there would be a real

sense of justice only if those who plotted and executed the demolition

are convicted in the ongoing trial in Lucknow.

The rulers of the day owe this much to the nation. And in the spirit of the

‘new India’ put forward by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it would be in

the fitness of things if the VHP and other organisations which participated

in the demolition are expressly excluded from the proposed trust to build

the temple.



November 2019


In paving the way for the building of a temple for Ram on the spot

believed to be his janmasthan, the Supreme Court held up the faith of

millions of Hindus. But it cannot allow the judgment to be perceived as

an endorsement of any challenge to the rule of law in the name of faith.

17) On Kerala plan for free Internet roll-out: Casting the Net wide



November 2019


If things go as per plan, Kerala could have near-universal Internet access in

a little over a year’s time. Last week’s nod by the State Cabinet for the

Kerala Fibre Optic Network project clears the path for a Kerala-wide

optical fibre network by December 2020.

At ₹1,548 crore, it is, without doubt, an ambitious project. But what

makes it commendable is its recognition that Internet access is a basic

human right.

No other Indian State has recognised Internet access in this manner till

now. This is also in sync with what the UN has been articulating in

recent years, based on the Internet’s role in enabling freedom of speech

and reducing inequality, among other things.

And so, embedded in this plan to touch every household in Kerala is a

provision to deliver free Internet access to over two million BPL

families. The idea is to charge affordable rates for other families.

The network, to be set up by the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd.

and the Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd., will also connect 30,000

government offices and educational institutions.



November 2019


When complete, Kerala, a State that already tops in human

development indicators in the country, will be ready for a steep digital

evolution.

Kerala’s plan for Internet roll-out, therefore, is also worthy of emulation by

other States, given that Internet have-nots still exist in the millions. There is

no doubt that India has made huge leaps in providing Internet access to its

people in recent years.

To be sure, a good part of the growth till now can be attributed to cheap

data plans, triggered in no small measure by the advent of Reliance Jio.

According to a recent study by the Internet and Mobile Association of

India and Nielsen, the country has 451 million active Internet users.

But this number masks huge access gaps. Internet penetration is

significantly higher in urban areas than it is in rural areas; it is also

significantly higher for men than it is for women.



November 2019


The best-performing State, Delhi-NCR, has an Internet penetration of

69%. The second-best is Kerala, with just 54%. Global technology

companies have in recent years eyed the huge population of Internet have-

nots as an opportunity.

Some, like Facebook, even came up with an idea of free access to a list of

chosen sites, a severely skewed version of the Internet which endangered its

basic values. While such ideas were thankfully rejected by the government,

the gaps are there nonetheless.

There is no doubt that governments need to play an interventionist role

in plugging this gap. Kerala could set a healthy example. It’s plan for

providing free Internet access to the poor is worthy of emulation by others.

18) On Kartarpur corridor: The extra mile

For millions of Sikhs worldwide, the inauguration of the Kartarpur

corridor was a dream seven decades in the making.



November 2019


Ever since India and Pakistan were partitioned with an arbitrary

line drawn through Punjab, the placement of Kartarpur, where Guru

Nanak spent his last years, meant that while a majority of his devotees

were left on one side of the border, his last resting place was left just

four kilometres on the other side.

Unlike the other major Sikh shrine at Guru Nanak’s birthplace Nankana

Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib was off Pakistan’s highways and therefore fell

into disuse. Those keen to see it were restricted to peering through

binoculars at a border check post.

Saturday’s inauguration of the renovated shrine in Kartarpur by Prime

Minister Imran Khan, and the access to the corridor from Sultanpur

Lodhi on the Indian side by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saw the

fervent hopes of all those people being granted, timed with the 550th

birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.



November 2019


The corridor, which will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims a day to walk

visa-free into Pakistan, pay obeisance and then return to India, is

unique. If both governments are willing, it could lend itself to other

cross-border connections for Hindus and Sikhs to visit shrines in Pakistan,

and for Muslims and Sufism followers to visit shrines just across the

border in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

That it was completed from start to finish in a year that saw relations

between the two countries plumb new depths, is also nothing short of a

miracle: from the Pulwama terror attack and the Balakot strikes.

The slugfest over the government’s moves on Kashmir; the recall of

High Commissioners; and even Pakistan’s repeated denial of overflight

rights to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aircraft on foreign visits etc. it

was a downward spiral. Each event was accompanied by sharp rhetoric

and recriminations, yet the Kartarpur process was not derailed.

In that sense, the Kartarpur shrine has fulfilled the promise it held out

to the devout, but hasn’t lived up to its potential for diplomacy.

It had been hoped, when Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed

Bajwa first conveyed Islamabad’s acceptance of India’s long-pending

demand for the corridor, that this would lead to a new sense of

understanding between the two governments as well.

Instead, Pakistan’s encouragement of Khalistani separatist groups to

use Kartarpur as a platform has been a constant cause for suspicion

for India. On the other side, India’s misgivings have been seen as a

churlish response to Pakistan’s efforts on building the corridor.

The fact is that neither side has been able to build on the goodwill for

the project in both countries to create an atmosphere for talks on other

issues.



November 2019


This failure was most evident when both Mr. Modi and Mr. Khan

carried out separate inauguration ceremonies, but failed to come

together at the border for the launch of the project, though both leaders

likened it to the “coming down of the Berlin wall”.

Kartarpur corridor has realised the dream of devout Sikhs, but done

little for India-Pak. Ties. For that promise to be realised, leaders will

need to walk the extra mile, both literally and figuratively.

19) On Maharashtra politics: Betrayal of the mandate

The political play in Maharashtra that continued unabated because the

Assembly election results in October 24 was brought to a conclusion, albeit

briefly, from the imposition of President's rule.



November 2019


The Maharashtra verdict was and also in favour of this BJP-Shiv Sena pre-

poll alliance, but the spouses couldn't agree on the conditions of energy

consumption, resulting in prolonged haggling between these.

The Sena is that the BJP's oldest ally and the two are bound with a

competitive adherence to Hindutva. The Sena's claim was not justified from

the verdict - it obtained 56 chairs of this 288, although the BJP won almost

twice that figure.

Even the BJP, ensconced in the Centre and willing to utilize power to

curtail its adversaries, didn't relent.



November 2019


The Sena overplayed its hand by parting with all the BJP and stopping the

Union authorities. It miscalculated the other situation of directing a State

authorities with the aid of this Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party

(NCP).

The notion of a Congress-NCP-Sena coalition authorities is poisonous.

Post-poll coalitions are a valid path to government formation once the

legislature is suspended however, the scenario in Maharashtra is far out of

it.

There were just two pre-poll alliances, one obtained a clear majority and

another clearly dropped. In the event the Congress and NCP wish to keep

the BJP out of power for sectarian reasons, handing over power to a

virulent strain of Hindutva will be disingenuous.

The creation of an NCP-Congress-Sena authorities, whatever might be its

own facade, won't just be a betrayal of their mandate but also be

indefensible in ideological terms apart from being suicidal tactically.

This kind of alliance, even if at all organized, wouldn't be sustainable or

stable. These parties will be blamed to be devoid of political convictions.

The BJP is going to be the sole beneficiary of this type of comprehensive

delegitimisation of the full Opposition spectrum in Maharashtra. From the

inescapable mid-term election which will occur sooner rather than later,

opportunists will pay a cost.

The Congress and the NCP will be better off dropping this chance and

leave the birds of the exact same feather to possibly float together.

Nevertheless it was inexcusable of the Army to never offer the Sena or the

NCP sufficient time to explore the prospect of an alternate government.

The BJP has to be expecting to stress the Sena back to the alliance, but the

best route today appears a brand new election.



November 2019


20) On Anarchy in Bolivia: Evo Morales exit



November 2019


The forced resignation of Bolivian President Evo Morales has thrown into

the weakest country in South America to its biggest political crisis in 13

decades.

Since Bolivia's first indigenous President, that climbed to the very best

office during left-wing unionism, he presided over one of their most stable

governments.

But cracks started to show up in his Movement for Socialism celebration

when he sought a fourth successive term earlier this season. However, the

Opposition contested the results and started widespread protests,

demanding a new election.

Following the Organization of American States alleged widespread survey

fraud in an audit file, the army forced Mr. Morales and his allies to resign.

In asylum in Mexico, he's pledged to combat the"coup".

The minds of the Senate and chamber of deputies would be the other

leaders at the hierarchy who might presume acting presidency. But in this

situation, all four officers, all Socialists, have resigned. And it's left a

vacuum, which the army could exploit.

Underneath his fairly good history, Bolivia has witnessed a fall in poverty,

from 33 percent of the populace in 2006 to 15 percent this past year. The

market has also witnessed a steady growth rate.

Mr. Morales created some significant political mistakes too. Mostly, he

neglected to deliver up a second-rung leadership at the Movement for

Socialism to whom he would pass the baton of the"21st century socialist

revolution".

In 2016, his drive to end presidential term limits via a referendum failed.

He said he accepted that the verdict. But after, a constitutional court raised

the word limitations, allowing the President to look for re-election.



November 2019


This had galvanised the Opposition, which asserted the President's electoral

involvement itself was unconstitutional. Facing protests, Mr. Morales had

provided another election.

That ought to have been the way ahead. A fair and free election being held

under the oversight of international electoral monitors could have enabled

the Bolivians to pick their legitimate leader.

Nevertheless, the violent protesters who insisted Mr. Morales's resignation,

the police forces that rebelled against the authorities, and ultimately the

generals who compelled the President to move all ruined the potential for a

peaceful transition.

Both Morales and his opponents failed to ensure a Calm, orderly transition.

They threw Bolivia to anarchy and chaos. And much more violence could

be anticipating the nation.



November 2019


21) On shrinking industrial output: Gloom deepens

Another set of economic data from the National Statistical Office has

reaffirmed both the depth and all-pervasive width of the ongoing

economic slowdown.

The latest index of industrial production (IIP) estimates from the NSO

show that output shrank by 4.3% in September, with all three

component sectors in the index - manufacturing, mining and electricity,

posting contractions.

This was the sharpest contraction in output since at least April 2012,

before which the data was referenced to a different base year. Also, five of

the six categories on the IIP’s use-based classification of goods

registered declines, with only intermediate goods bucking the trend.

Disconcertingly, the prolonged slump in the output of capital goods, a

proxy for investment activity by businesses, extended into a ninth



November 2019


straight month as production contracted by about 21% for the second

month in a row.

Consumer durables also posted a fourth straight contraction, with the

9.9% decline appearing in stark contrast to September 2018’s 5.4%

growth.

Clearly, manufacturers of white goods are struggling to find demand for

their wares and the sliding production points to an absence of the traditional

festival-eve restocking bump.

The second successive shrinkage in infrastructure and construction

goods of 6.4% - reflects the challenges besetting the two eponymous

primary sectors.



November 2019


Here, the Centre’s announcement of a funding initiative to help stalled

housing projects ought to provide some fillip in the coming months. But

a stretched fiscal situation is likely to keep government spending on other

big-ticket infrastructure projects muted for the foreseeable future.

From an industry perspective, 17 of the 23 industry groups that comprise

the manufacturing sector contracted. And leading the slump, predictably,

was the motor vehicles industry, which posted a 25% contraction.

If the wholesale data from the Society of Indian Automobile

Manufacturers (SIAM) is any indicator of trends for this industry, there is

certainly more pain ahead as overall shipments fell almost 13% from a

year earlier in October.

Demand for newly introduced utility vehicles was the saving grace, as

it propelled a marginal uptick in passenger vehicle deliveries.

SIAM’s figures on commercial vehicles, which show a 23% year-on-

year decline, particularly underscore the demand vacuum in the rural

hinterland and the wariness on the part of fleet operators to invest in new

haulage capacity. With manufacturing having a weight of almost 78% in

the IIP, the latest report from IHS Markit gives little room for

optimism.



November 2019


The survey-based Purchasing Managers’ Index revealed continuing

manufacturing sector weakness in October as weakening demand hurt

new orders and business sentiment.

In fact, business confidence had slipped last month to its lowest level in

more than two-and-a-half years, according to the private economic

research group.

All signs now point to the central bank cutting interest rates again at

its next meeting, in order to help spur a revival.

22) On Karnataka rebel MLAs: Disqualified, yet qualified

It is not often that an adverse order brings relief along with it. Even while

upholding the Karnataka Speaker’s orders disqualifying 17 defectors

this year, the Supreme Court has allowed the former legislators to

contest the December 5 by-elections to 15 Assembly seats.

The former Janata Dal (S) and Congress MLAs are now free not only to

contest the polls, but may reap the benefits of their amoral crossover by

getting a ticket from the ruling BJP.



November 2019


Most of them had tried to resign from their respective parties in July,

but the move was seen as a transparent ploy to bring down the JD(S)-

Congress regime of H.D. Kumaraswamy.

The suspicion, not unfounded, was that they would get ministerial

positions as soon as BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa formed a BJP

government.

The then Speaker, K.R. Ramesh Kumar, kept them at bay for days by

refusing to act on their resignations. Ultimately, he disqualified all of

them in orders passed on July 25 and 28 and said the disqualification

would go on till 2023 - the end of the current Assembly’s term.

The Speaker’s stance was quite controversial as it appeared to create a

conflict between resignation and disqualification. He now stands

partially vindicated as his argument that resignation could not be a ruse to

evade an impending disqualification has been accepted.



November 2019


The Speaker was also hoping to keep the defectors out of any alternative

regime as members disqualified for defection are barred from

becoming ministers until they get re-elected.

The court’s exposition of the law relating to the interplay between

resignation and defection is quite welcome. On the one hand, resignation

does not take away the effect of a prior act that amounts to disqualification.

On the other, Speakers are not given a free pass to sit on resignation letters

indefinitely. Under Article 190(3), a provision under which the Speaker

has to ascertain the “voluntary” and “genuine” nature of a resignation

before accepting it, the court is clear that it is a limited inquiry, only to

see if the letter is authentic and if the intent to quit is based on free will.

“Once it is demonstrated that a member is willing to resign out of his

free will, the Speaker has no option but to accept the resignation,” the

court has said.

This effectively ends the argument that the Speaker is empowered to

consider the motives and circumstances whenever a resignation is

submitted.

The verdict bemoans the fact that Speakers sometimes tend not to be

neutral and that change of loyalty for the lure of office continues despite

the anti-defection law. Identifying its weak aspects and strengthening

the law may be the answer.

23) On CJI office and RTI Act: Open, all the same

The adage, “sunlight is the best disinfectant” is often used to delineate the

need for disclosure of matters related to public interest through the Right to

Information mechanism.

The declaration of assets by ministers and legislators, besides electoral

candidates, has gone a long way in shedding light on public



November 2019


authorities and provided the citizenry more relevant information about

their representatives.

Yet, judges of the Supreme Court had so far refused to share

information on their personal assets, citing the express lack of public

interest.

The welcome ruling by a five-member Constitution Bench of the

Supreme Court that the office of the Chief Justice of India is a “public

authority” under the RTI Act, as much as the apex court itself, now

enables the disclosure of information such as the judges’ personal assets.

The judgment’s majority opinion, written by Justice Sanjiv Khanna,

emphasised the need for transparency and accountability and that

“disclosure is a facet of public interest”.



November 2019


In concurring opinions, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asserted that judicial

independence was not secured by secrecy while Justice N.V. Ramana

argued for the need of a proper calibration of transparency in light of the

importance of judicial independence.

The Bench unanimously argued that the right to know under the RTI Act

was not absolute and this had to be balanced with the right of privacy of

judges. But the key take away from the judgment is that disclosure of

details of serving judges’ personal assets was not a violation of their

right to privacy.

The main opinion also argued that information related to issues such as

judicial appointments will also be subject to the test of public interest

and procedures mandated in the RTI Act that specify that views of third

parties (in this case, judges) must be sought.

While laying out the importance of the assessment of public interest in any

RTI query besides bringing the office of the CJI under the purview of

the Act, the decision has gone on to uphold the Delhi High Court

verdict in 2010.

The RTI Act is a strong weapon that enhances accountability, citizen

activism and, consequently, participative democracy, even if its

implementation has come under strain in recent years due mainly to the

Central government’s apathy and disregard for the nuts and bolts of the

Act.

Yet, despite this, the Supreme Court judgment paves the way for

greater transparency and could now impinge upon issues such as

disclosure, under the RTI Act, by other institutions such as registered

political parties.



November 2019


This is vital as political party financing is a murky area today, marked by

opacity and exacerbated by the issue of electoral bonds, precluding

citizens from being fully informed on sources of party incomes.

24) On Sabarimala review pleas: Review and reference

Ordinarily, a reference to a seven-judge Bench for an authoritative

pronouncement on the entire gamut of issues arising from Article 25 and

26 of the Constitution, which protect the religious freedoms of

individuals and denominations, would have been welcome.

However, the order of a Constitution Bench in making such a reference,

while delivering the verdict on petitions seeking review of last year’s

judgment allowing women in the 10-50 age group to offer worship at

the Sabarimala temple, is problematic.



November 2019


The order, passed by a narrow majority of three judges, with two

dissenting, means that the review petition, as well as fresh writ petitions,

on the issue will be kept pending until there is clarity on the nature of

religious rights.

The majority, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, held that the petitions

against the 2018 verdict, which laid down that the practice of keeping

women of ovulating age out of the shrine is discriminatory and

violative of the right to equality, have revived the question whether an

individual’s right to worship can outweigh a religious group’s right to

manage the affairs of its religion.

An issue resolved by a 4:1 majority is sought to be reconsidered by

formulating fresh questions on the interplay between religious freedom and

other fundamental rights, especially the right to equality.

The majority anticipates that similar basic questions on the conflict

between individual freedom and constitutionally-protected religious

beliefs may arise in other situations too.



November 2019


It cites pending petitions concerning the entry of women into a dargah,

the entry of Parsi women married to non-Parsis into an agyari, and the

practice of female genital mutilation among Dawoodi Bohras. It is shocking

that the Bench includes the abhorrent practice of female genital mutilation

in this genre.

It is well-established that freedom of religion, under Article 25, is subject

to public order, morality and health, and it may not be difficult for any

court to test the validity of the practice against the restriction on

grounds of a woman’s health, and this may not require an exalted panel of

seven judges.

In keeping the petitions on Sabarimala pending further, the court has

displayed a disquieting inability to stand by its previous transformative

judgment.

Further, it may lead to a repeat of the unsavoury incidents of last year

when religious groups and political activists blocked and attacked

women devotees.

Justices Fali Nariman and D.Y. Chandrachud, in their dissent, rightly call

out such transgressions against the rule of law and, while rejecting the need

for review, want all authorities to remember their constitutional duty to

work in aid of the Supreme Court and the law laid down by it.

An omnibus reconsideration of all issues related to religious freedom

was not the way out of the serious issues posed by the Sabarimala

judgment.



November 2019




November 2019


25) On telecom industry crisis: Crossed wires

Two leading and important players in the telecom industry -

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone (Idea Merged) - have reported historic losses

in the second quarter of this fiscal.

Vodafone has declared a loss of ₹50,922 crore while Bharti Airtel has

reported a loss of ₹22,830 crore. The losses were due to provisions that

the two companies had to make following an adverse verdict in their

Supreme Court battle with the government over the definition of

‘aggregate gross revenue’.



November 2019


The two companies have also warned that if the government does not

offer them relief on the demand to pay arrears of revenue share along

with interest and penalty, adding up to about ₹80,000 crore between

them, their very existence as a going concern will be in doubt - in short,

what the companies are saying is that they would collapse.

Vodafone, in particular, has said that it will have no option but to exit

India. It is true that the industry in general - minus Reliance Jio - and

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in particular, are under severe stress and

do deserve a helping hand from the government.

But the question to ask here is: why did they not provide for the liability in

their balance sheets over the years?

Conservative accounting demands that contingent liabilities be provided

for. The sudden pressure on their financials could have been avoided if they

had made a provision in their balance sheet for the liability stemming from

a possible adverse verdict in the case.

That said, it is clear that it is now time for the government to step in. A

Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauba

is studying ways in which the telecom industry can be bailed out.



November 2019


While one waits for what this committee will come up with, the fact is that

the industry needs another round of reforms right away. The government,

which appropriates about 30% of the revenues of each player through

various levies and taxes, needs to revisit some of the policies framed by

it earlier.

The most important issue is addressing the validity of a licence fee in

the form of revenue share. This was set when spectrum was allotted and

not auctioned.

With the government now collecting revenues upfront in the form of

spectrum auction fees - which some feel are unjustifiably high - there is

little justification for a licence fee as well.

There is also the issue of interconnect usage charges to be settled. The

telecom regulator is adjudicating this dispute right now.

Talking of the regulator, the government also needs to look into the

fairness of regulatory policies and approaches and ensure that they are

unbiased.

The telecom industry is crucial to India’s next wave of growth through

digitalisation and the government should not be blinded by short-term

revenue considerations that imperil long-term prospects.



November 2019




November 2019


26) On the report of Ministry of Consumer Affairs: Quality on tap

The report of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public

Distribution red-flagging tap water quality in major Indian cities comes

as no surprise, given that many official water distribution agencies

routinely advise consumers to consume only boiled water.

Going by the matrix of tests carried out by the Bureau of Indian

Standards for the Ministry, Delhi has abysmal water quality, Chennai

and Kolkata rank very low, and Mumbai is the only city with

acceptable results.

City water systems are normatively required to comply with the

national standard for drinking water, IS 10500:2012, but most

obviously feel no compulsion to do so.



November 2019


Their lack of initiative could be attributed partly to the expanding

footprint of packaged drinking water, especially in populous

cities, coupled with the high dependence on groundwater in fast-

growing urban clusters where State provision of piped water systems

does not exist.

On paper, the Indian standard has a plethora of quality requirements,

including absence o/f viruses, parasites and microscopic organisms, and

control over levels of toxic substances.



November 2019


But in practice, municipal water fails these tests due to the lack of

accountability of the official agencies, and the absence of robust data in

the public domain on quality testing.

The Centre’s approach to the issue relies on naming and shaming

through a system of ranking, but this is unlikely to yield results, going

by similar attempts to benchmark other urban services.

Making it legally binding on agencies to achieve standards and

empowering consumers with rights is essential, because State

governments would then take an integrated view of housing, water supply,

sanitation and waste management.

A scientific approach to water management is vital, considering that 21

cities - including many of those found to have unclean tap water - could

run out of groundwater as early as 2020, as per a NITI Aayog report.

Moreover, the Central Ground Water Board estimates that nearly a

fifth of the urban local bodies are already facing a water crisis due to

excessive extraction, failed monsoons, and unplanned development.



November 2019


On the issue of regular testing, there is a case to entrust a separate agency

with the task in each State, rather than relying on the same agency that

provides water to also perform this function.

If data on water are made public on the same lines as air quality, it

would ratchet up pressure on governments to act.

For too long, the response of water departments to the challenge has

been to chlorinate the supply, as this removes pathogens, ignoring such

aspects as appearance, smell and taste. It is time to move beyond this

and make tap water genuinely desirable.

27) On apex court ruling on Essar Steel: A precedent

The Supreme Court’s judgment on Friday in the matter of Essar Steel’s

bankruptcy is a landmark in the short history of insolvency and

bankruptcy resolution in India.



November 2019


Apart from clearing the way for eventual sale of Essar Steel to Arcelor

Mittal, the verdict has clarified on important aspects of insolvency

resolution that had been interpreted variously by the National Company

Law Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal

(NCLAT).

First off, the apex court has upheld the primacy of financial creditors

over operational creditors in the repayments waterfall, and rightly so

too. It is the financial creditors who provide capital to an enterprise and

their interests are secured in the form of collaterals on the firm’s assets.

Operational creditors, who are largely suppliers of goods and services, are

unsecured creditors and they cannot claim equality or precedence over

financial creditors.

Second, the Supreme Court has shown the NCLAT, which was attempting

to appropriate the role of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) in an

insolvency resolution, its place.

The ruling made it clear that the Committee of Creditors - is supreme

when it comes to deciding on commercial issues, including the repayment

waterfall, in an insolvency resolution.

These two clarifications should alone help in quickening a number of

other cases, big and small, that are stuck in the insolvency courts

across the country.

The apex court has also held that the 330-day limit for resolution is not

sacrosanct. This will ensure that creditors are not pressured to accept a

below-par deal due to paucity of time.

With critical aspects of the law clarified, there may also not be reason to

fear that entrenched promoter-defaulters can misuse the unlimited time now

available to them.



November 2019


With the go-ahead given to the sale of Essar Steel, it is expected that

banks will recover over 90% of the over ₹40,000 crore that the

company owes them. Operational creditors are set to receive close to

₹1,200 crore.

This should clearly help improve the financial position of weak public

sector banks and bolster profitability as the Essar dues were fully written

off by them. Shares of banks such as State Bank of India, and Punjab

National Bank rallied following the verdict.

More importantly, the decision, it is believed, will serve as a useful

precedent when it comes to deciding on future bankruptcy cases.

The insolvency and bankruptcy process is still young in India. There is a

long way to go yet, especially in the matter of recovery percentages.



November 2019


The Essar Steel resolution has raised the bar but the overall recovery

in all cases that have been adjudicated is less than 50%. This has to

improve, along with the time taken for resolution, because significant

capital is locked up in bankrupt companies.

29) On nationwide protests: Iran on the boil

Nationwide protests that broke out over the weekend are the latest

challenge to the Iranian regime that’s already struggling to fix a

battered economy, hostile ties with the U.S. and waning influence in

West Asia.

The trigger was the government’s decision to raise the price of rationed

fuel. Thousands of people took to the streets, reminiscent of recent protests

in Hong Kong, Chile, Lebanon and neighbouring Iraq.

The protesters chanted slogans against the Islamic regime, carried

“Death to Khamenei” posters, in a direct challenge to the country’s

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and burned down banks and stores.



November 2019


Security personnel reportedly unleashed violence on the protesters,

while the government shut down the Internet. According to Iranian

media, at least 12 people were killed, including security personnel, and

some 1,000 protesters were arrested.

Both President Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei, the real ruler of

Iran, have condemned the protests, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard

Corps, the country’s top paramilitary force, has threatened to crack

down on the demonstrations, raising the prospects of more violence.

Iran still has one of the lowest fuel prices in the world. But the rise was

enough for a people reeling under high inflation, joblessness and a

collapsing economy to take to the streets.

President Donald Trump’s decision last year to pull the U.S. out of the

2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions has dealt a blow to Iran’s

economy. Inflation has risen to 40%. A quarter of Iran’s youth are

unemployed.

And according to the IMF, the country’s economy is expected to

contract by 9.5% this year, while the currency, the rial, has plunged to

record lows against the dollar.

It is now evident that the collapse of the nuclear deal has cost the Iranian

economy dearly. And the protests broke out at a time when Iran’s influence

in Lebanon and Iraq is being challenged by protesters.

In Iraq, protesters burned an Iranian consulate and turned their anger

against Iran-trained militias. In Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah is a

key pillar of the government, protesters demand the resignation of the entire

political class.



November 2019


And now in Iran, the protesters challenge the regime itself. In recent years,

Iran has seen many protests and labour agitations. And the regime’s

response has always been typical.

It branded the protesters as counter-revolutionaries and blamed foreign

hands. The economic woes have weakened the delicate balance between

the regime and its angry youth.

The latest round of protests might die down. But Iran needs a lasting

solution to address its revolting underbelly. It can’t violently suppress

the protesters forever and needs to get the nuclear deal back on track.

30) On detention of elected representatives: House not in order

More than 1,300 people who were detained around the Centre’s abrupt

move on August 5 that downgraded and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir

(J&K) continue to be so 15 weeks later.



November 2019


In detention are dozens of elected representatives including a member

of the Lok Sabha, Farooq Abdullah, who also happens to be a former

Chief Minister.

Senior functionaries of the government have repeatedly said the situation is

normal in J&K, but indefinite preventive detention of people is difficult to

justify under any circumstances.

With continuing restrictions on communication, gauging the mood of the

people may be tricky, but some signs of normalcy are visible as more

businesses open and vehicular traffic increases in the Valley.

Now that the first Lieutenant Governor has also taken charge in J&K,

immediate steps must be taken to open up political and civil

society space. Instead of trying to hard sell an improbable portrait to the

outside world

The Centre would do well by engaging with those most affected by its

decisions - the people of J&K. The government cannot possibly see merit in

undermining mainstream political leaders in J&K.

The paradox of continuing detentions and restrictions in J&K was

stark when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the

forthcoming Constitution Day and the role of the Rajya Sabha in

sustaining India’s federal structure on the first day of the winter session

of Parliament.

As the PM rightly indicated, Parliament is for giving meaningful voice to

the people, not to make disruptive noise. But those prevented from

attending the House are denied the right to speak for the people they are

elected to represent.

The PM’s call for frank discussions and dialogues in the current

session would ring hollow when some of them remain in detention.



November 2019


The government has refused to make any commitment on Mr.

Abdullah’s release, while a member of Rajya Sabha, Congress leader

P. Chidambaram remains in judicial custody as government agencies

and law officers show an alacrity that they reserve exclusively for pursuing

Opposition leaders.

The PM’s appreciation of the Rajya Sabha’s role in the hollowing out

of Article 370 through a hurried resolution in the last session was

disingenuous. The non-deliberative manner in which a full-fledged State

was reduced into two UTs in one stroke was an unprecedented assault on

federalism.

Disruption by the Opposition is a marginal challenge to the role of

Parliament at present. The real and graver trial of the legislature is the

executive’s refusal to be scrutinised by it.

By undermining parliamentary committees and brazenly labelling any

Bill as a money Bill in order to bypass the Rajya Sabha, the

government has shown scant regard for parliamentary precedents and

processes. A course correction is in order.

31) On Nationwide NRC: Senseless



November 2019


Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement of a proposal for a

nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) is worrisome on several

counts, not the least of which is the apparent inability to learn from the

experience of carrying out the humongous exercise in Assam.

The government, he said, would also re-introduce the Citizenship

Amendment Bill (CAB) in Parliament that envisages the grant of

Indian citizenship to all refugees from minority communities in

Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In all three nations Muslims are in a majority, and therefore, the Bill

effectively denies benefit to Muslim minorities from other

neighbouring countries, including Myanmar where Rohingya Muslims

face persecution.

Along with the promised combination of the NRC and CAB, the Home

Minister announced that the NRC process would “naturally” be

conducted in Assam again with the rest of the country.

Interestingly, this comes just days after Ranjan Gogoi, who supervised the

NRC process, demitted office as Chief Justice of India. Clearly, the Assam

proposal will be in defiance of the Supreme Court, which directed the entire

NRC registration specific to Assam through all its tortuous details.

There is still no clarity on what the end results mean for the 19 lakh

plus people who find themselves outside the NRC, potentially stateless

and at risk of “deportation” to Bangladesh, which refuses to acknowledge,

let alone accept, them.

Given that the NRC process in Assam was rooted in the specificities of

the 1985 Assam Accord, and as the government never tires of saying, a

court-mandated process, extending it to the entire country is both

illogical and bizarre.



November 2019


Flawed it might have been, but the NRC exercise, overseen by the

Supreme Court, involved the active participation of the Central and

State governments.

For the government to repeat the exercise merely because the numbers

thrown up are politically inconvenient for the ruling BJP, makes no sense at

all. If there is a lesson from Assam, it is that there is no right way of

going through a process such as the NRC.

Like the CAB, which pointedly discriminates against Muslims, and is

loaded against the right to equality and equal protection before the law

as enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution, there are genuine fears

that a nationwide NRC will target Muslims.

Details of how such an exercise will be carried out are, of course, not yet

known. In the case of Assam, there was a cut-off date - March 25, 1971 -

after which all foreigners as per the Assam Accord were to be “detected,

deleted and expelled in accordance with law”.



November 2019


Presumably, the Centre will come out with a cut-off for the nationwide

NRC, but it will be an arbitrary one. Given the dangers that lurk within

such exercises, the government would do well to abandon the

nationwide NRC-CAB combination. Indians can certainly be spared this

pain.

32) On PSU Disinvestment: Expedient Exit

The Cabinet’s latest decision to approve strategic disinvestment of the

government’s shareholding in five public sector enterprises including

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Shipping Corporation of India and

the Container Corporation of India can at best be described as an expedient

exit.

Faced with a massive shortfall in revenue and capital receipts - as of

September 30, net tax revenue had only reached 36.8% of the budget

estimate of ₹16.5 lakh crore for the full year.



November 2019


While non-debt capital receipts were at 17.2% of the fiscal’s target of

about ₹1.2 lakh crore according to the Controller General of Accounts - the

share sale is aimed at helping the government narrow the yawning

fiscal gap.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made clear in July’s Budget

speech that select and strategic disinvestment would “remain a priority” and

the Cabinet’s decision to sell the Centre’s entire 53.29% ownership in

BPCL, all of its 63.75% holding in SCI and 30.8% of its stake in

CONCOR is an attempt at ensuring the actualisation of this policy

approach.

Still, the underlying rationale behind this government’s disinvestment

programme remains hazy. It would be perfectly understandable if the aim

was to exit unprofitable, non-strategic businesses.



November 2019


BPCL, however, is a profitable refiner and oil marketing company that

has consistently paid a healthy dividend. It has also made investments in

upstream energy resources and holds interests in overseas hydrocarbon

blocks. To that extent, a full sale now deprives the government of all

upside potential.

While the BPCL stake could fetch the exchequer about ₹59,000

crore based on Thursday’s closing price on the BSE, the Cabinet’s

decision to carve out and exclude the company’s 62% holding in

Assam’s 3-million metric tonnes per annum Numaligarh refinery

would surely pare the price it could get from a prospective buyer.

And the lack of an explanation for the logic behind the move also hints

at politics taking precedence over any economic interest, especially

given the ruling party’s keenness to strengthen its newfound sway in the

restive northeastern States.

With just a little over four months left in the financial year, how the

government intends to actually complete the transaction - from

appointment of advisers, to deciding on the pricing mechanism and

initiating a transparent bidding process before finalising a buyer - this

fiscal is another big question.



November 2019


While the transfer of the government’s stakes in THDC India Limited and

North Eastern Electric Power Corporation to the captive buyer, state-owned

NTPC, will obviously go through in time, it is the market sale of the bigger-

ticket stakes that could pose a challenge.

With just ₹17,364 crore of the ₹1.05 lakh crore disinvestment target

realised so far, the Centre has little choice but to expedite these

strategic sale proposals in double-quick time.

33) On Maharashtra government formation: Midnight coup

The surreptitious manner in which Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar

were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister,

respectively, of Maharashtra on Saturday morning was admission by the

troupe itself that this drama was beyond the pale.

If the coming together of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

and the Congress in an attempt to form a majority in the hung State



November 2019


Assembly was disrespectful of the mandate, the skullduggery by the dead

of night was an outright mockery of democratic norms and established

procedure.

Pursuit of power often involves amoral ingredients, but the surreal

birthing of the new government was nothing short of sheer depravity.

The BJP has not set any inspiring ethical bar when it achieved power

without winning a popular mandate in several States, but this new low

leaves the nation’s political ‘conscience’ with a sinking feeling.

In one stroke, the President, the Prime Minister, and the Governor, all

appear to be not as guardians of the constitutional order but

collaborators in a clandestine, nocturnal scheme.

Politically indefensible as the Sena-Congress-NCP alliance might be,

its claim to form a government is technically unimpeachable, and

cannot be denied.

Political realignments in an existing legislature are often triggered by splits

in alliances or parties. In Maharashtra it appears that the NCP legislature

party leader is himself the leading defector - a unique situation.

A more consequential betrayal is that of democracy itself. A series of

unprecedented actions by the Centre and the Governor, and several

unresolved questions that are associated with their actions, throw up

multiple legal and constitutional issues.

The top court might in due course adjudicate them, but the legitimacy

of the Fadnavis government needs to be tested at once.

That has been the precedent set by the court in comparable situations in

which governments with dubious claims of numbers sought to delay the

floor test and horse trading was suspected.



November 2019


The Governor administered the oath of office to the same person who

had declined his invitation to form a government earlier. And this just

as an alliance with sufficient numbers had taken shape.

The Supreme Court has acted with alacrity that this seeming infraction

of constitutionalism calls for. In a rare event, the SC heard a petition by

the Sena and the NCP on a Sunday, which it said was its duty.

It has called for records regarding material facts and circumstances

that led the Centre and the Governor to act as they did on the

intervening night of Friday-Saturday to be submitted to it on Monday

morning.

The BJP sought to stonewall or slow down the case during arguments,

but if it is so confident of the numbers, as it claims, it should submit

itself to a floor test immediately, Fadnavis should be asked to seek a

confidence vote immediately.



November 2019


34) On Helping 10-year-olds to read by 2030

For most children, turning 10 is an exciting moment. They are learning

more about the world and expanding their horizons. But too many children

- more than half of all 10 year olds in low- and middle-income

countries - cannot read and understand a simple story.

We are in the middle of a global learning crisis that stifles opportunities

and aspirations of hundreds of millions of children. That is

unacceptable. In October, we (World Bank) released data to support a new

learning target: by 2030, we want to cut, by at least half, the global level

of learning poverty.

Missing possibilities: Learning to read is an especially critical skill: it

opens a world of possibilities, and it is the foundation on which other

essential learning is built - including numeracy and science.

Wiping out learning poverty (defined as the percentage of children who

cannot read and understand a simple story by age 10) is an urgent matter.



November 2019


It is key to eliminating poverty in general and boosting shared

prosperity. It is key to helping children achieve their potential.

But over the last several years, progress in reducing learning poverty

has been stagnant. Globally between 2000 and 2017, there has only

been a 10% improvement in learning outcomes for primary school-

aged children. If this pace continues, 43% of 10-year-olds will not be

able to read in 2030.

The good news is, the children who will turn 10 in 2030 will be born

next year. If we work urgently, there is an opportunity to reverse this

trend.

The target we have set is ambitious but achievable - and should galvanise

action toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) - ensuring

quality education for all. Several countries are showing that it is

possible.

It will require nearly tripling the rate of progress worldwide, which

can be done if every country can match the performance of the

countries that made the most progress between 2000 and 2015.

The India example: In India, the Right-to-Education Act has been

successful in increasing coverage and access to school education but

now there is an urgent need to shift the focus to quality.

The decision of India to join the Programme for International Student

Assessment and the merger of schemes under Samagra Shiksha are

encouraging signs that India is moving in this direction.

In Kenya, the government’s national reading programme has more

than tripled the percentage of grade two students reading at an

appropriate level. This was accomplished through technology-enabled

teacher coaching, teacher guides, and delivering one book per child.



November 2019


In Vietnam, a lean, effective curriculum ensures that the basics are

covered, there is deep learning of fundamental skills, and all children

have reading materials. Learning outcomes of Vietnamese students in the

bottom 40% of the income ladder are as high, or higher, than the average

student in high-income countries.

The challenges of reducing learning poverty will differ between

countries and regions. In some countries, access to school remains an

enormous problem - 258 million young people were out of school

globally, in 2018. In other countries, children are in classrooms but are

not learning.

By setting a global target, the World Bank can work with countries to

define their own national learning targets. Cutting learning poverty in



November 2019


half by 2030 is only an intermediate goal. Our ambition is to work with

governments and development partners to bring that number to zero.

As the largest financier of education in low-and middle-income

countries, the World Bank will work with countries to promote reading

proficiency in primary schools. Policies include providing detailed

guidance and practical training for teachers, ensuring access to more

and better age-appropriate texts, and teaching children in the language

they use at home.

Creating the right classroom: The World Bank is also working with

governments and development partners to improve entire education

systems, so advancements in literacy can be sustained and scaled up.

That means making sure children come to school prepared and

motivated to learn; teachers are effective and valued and have access to

technology; classrooms provide a well-equipped space for learning; schools

are safe and inclusive; and education systems are well-managed.

An ambitious measurement and research agenda supports these efforts and

includes measurement of both learning outcomes and their drivers,

continued research and innovation, and the smart use of new technologies

on how to build foundation skills.

The learning crisis not only wastes the children’s potential, it hurts

entire economies. It will negatively impact future workforces and

economic competitiveness - as the World Bank’s Human Capital Index

shows that, globally, the productivity of the average child born today is

expected to be only 56% of what it would be if countries invested

enough in health and education.

Eliminating learning poverty must be a priority, just like ending

hunger and extreme poverty. It will not be easy, but we cannot back



November 2019


down from the challenge. We owe it to the children all over the world to set

our sights high, so they can too.

35) On sanitation goals: Not so swachh



November 2019


India’s high-profile Swachh Bharat programme has won it plaudits

globally for its goal of providing sanitation to all, but as new survey data

from the National Statistical Office (NSO) show, it remains a work in

progress.

The quest to equip houses in the countryside with a toilet has led to an

expansion, but there was a deficit of about 28% as of October last year

and not 5% as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin) had claimed.

The declaration that the country has ended open defecation in its rural

areas, made to international acclaim on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth

anniversary by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, must return to the wish list,

going by this survey.

It is extraordinary that many States that were declared to be free of

open defecation simply did not qualify for the status, according to the

NSO data. The Centre has disputed the survey results, but it should

ideally treat it as a fresh assessment of how much ground is yet to be

covered.



November 2019


The data could help it review performance in States such as

Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, where the lack of toilets is

reported to be higher than the national average.

More fundamentally, the survey provides an opportunity to review

other social determinants such as education, housing and water supply

which have a strong influence on adoption of sanitation.

It would be pointless to pursue sanitation as a separate ideal, if

communities are unable to see its benefits due to overall deprivation.

The Central government has been reiterating its claims on rural India

becoming entirely open defecation-free (ODF) on the basis of declarations

made by States. Just last week, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said the

coverage in 5,99,963 villages had risen from 38.7% in 2014, to 100%

this year.

It is indisputable that the number of toilets has gone up significantly,

and for which taxpayers remitted about ₹20,600 crore as a cess since

2015, until the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax.

Yet, there is evidence to show that this has not translated into use

everywhere. The NSO survey results add a new dimension, since they

controvert data relied upon by the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on ODF.

It will take a marathon programme to bring all-round development to

India’s villages, which have not really benefited from years of fast-paced

economic growth.

Rural housing and water supply are key to bringing toilet access to

all, and it is doubtful whether the 2.95 crore subsidised dwellings targeted

to be built by 2022 under the government’s flagship housing programme

can bridge the shortfall.



November 2019


It is well-recognised that development indices are low in some States,

and local bodies lack the capacity and resources to bring universal

sanitation even where political will is present.

Sustained work to eliminate black spots in coverage and a massive urban

programme are critical to ending open defecation and universalising toilet

access. Sanitation cannot be a separate ideal without reference to other

forms of deprivation.



November 2019


36) On Fadnavis exit: Constitution day

After slinking in by the dead of night as Chief Minister of Maharashtra,

Devendra Fadnavis quit three days later on Tuesday, unable to withstand

the test by the light of day.

He claimed the moral high ground as he resigned ahead of imminent

ouster in a floor test in the State Assembly. The BJP’s brazen usurpation

of power left a trail of vandalised norms and precedents, and will continue

to rankle, but the fact that it was not allowed to stand is a tribute to India’s

constitutional order, despite its inadequacies.

The Supreme Court acted with the deserving urgency, to “protect

democratic values” as it said. It laid down the rules and timelines; ring-

fenced the floor test and pre-empted manipulation.



November 2019


It observed that when “there is a possibility of horse trading, it becomes

incumbent upon the Court to act”. There is no grace in Mr. Fadnavis’s exit;

only relief that the nation has been spared more ugly spectacles.

The Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress alliance will now test

its majority after forming the government. NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s

dramatic return to the fold after a scandalous short-lived dalliance with the

BJP probably will never be satisfactorily explained.

The top court’s order is interim and substantive questions thrown up by the

series of events leading up to the swearing-in of Mr. Fadnavis will be

adjudicated later. The tactics the BJP employed to seize power in the State

were breathtaking in their insolence, though not entirely unprecedented.

The Governor used his discretion in a blatantly partisan manner to foist a

government based on dubious claims of numbers, while denying the

opportunity to the coalition.

The Centre, scripting and acting out the drama, rushed through the

procedure to withdraw President’s rule - all done in a cloak-and-dagger

manner. The Governor is constitutionally authorised to appoint a Chief

Minister.

The assumed limits of this authority are being breached with alarming

frequency and extent by partisan Governors, acting merely as tools in

political schemes. Given this context, there is a need to define in clearer

terms the boundaries of the Governor’s use of discretion in inviting a party

to form a government.

President Ram Nath Kovind’s call for constitutional morality among all

organs of the state and persons holding constitutional posts, during

Constitution Day celebrations in Parliament on Tuesday, was appropriate.



November 2019


It was also ironic, as it followed the court’s order which called into question

the propriety and intention of the Centre and the Governor. Constitutional

morality was violated by those entrusted to guard it.

The BJP’s nocturnal capture of power in Maharashtra was a dispiriting

episode in Indian democracy. The court order and the subsequent

resignation of Mr. Fadnavis offer hope that India’s constitutional order will

force its caretakers to behave.

37) On why ISRO should go commercial: More bang for the buck

The Indian Space Research Organisation - ISRO’s successful launch on

Wednesday of Cartosat-3, along with 13 other small U.S. satellites,

marks a major technological milestone for India.

Cartosat-3 is capable of unprecedented image resolution of nearly 25

cm on the ground as against the best global military-grade satellites

that can provide a 10 cm resolution.



November 2019


The best satellite images commercially available are between 25-30 cm.

Thus, as a commercial satellite, Cartosat-3 creates a wealth of

applications. Military espionage is the lowest hanging fruit.

It is believed that surveillance by the earlier Cartosat-2 satellite series -

with a resolution, though coarser, of about 65 cm - was used to plan and

execute military operations such as ‘surgical strikes’ across the Line of

Control in 2016 and the Manipur-Myanmar border in 2015.

For the government, such resolution can help monitor progress of road

construction, coastal land-erosion, forest conservation, oceanic changes

and infrastructure development.

Image resolution is good to have but secondary to image processing. That

means unless and until there is sophisticated technology available to

analyse the generated images, it is less valued, than coarser

images scanned by better processing-software.



November 2019


While satellite launches make for a good spectacle, they are meaningful

only in so far as they aid commerce and generate revenue and

jobs. Indian regulations restrict access to satellite images sharper than

one metre to the government. Other than for transponders, there is a long

way to go for Indian private companies sending innovative payloads aboard

ISRO launch vehicles.

ISRO recently launched a company called New Space India Limited

(NSIL), a competitor to Antrix, but like it, is another public enterprise

meant to commercialise space products and satellite development deals

with private entities.

The deal for the U.S. satellites launched along with Cartosat-3 was

formally inked by the NSIL. A good beginning, it should not be shackled

by bureaucratic encumbrances, à la Antrix.

The host of interesting electronics aboard Cartosat-3 should ideally

inspire ISRO to explore collaboration with the private sector in

improving high-technology manufacturing.

While ISRO’s key capability still lies in developing and launching

small- and medium-sized satellites, it ought to be able to market the

technology aboard Cartosat-3 globally and induce the farming out of

satellite development projects to ISRO or its subsidiaries.

While ISRO’s credentials as a poster child for India’s technological

abilities have been fortified, it still has a long way to go in terms of its

reputation as an enabler of local business.

38) On Transgender Persons Act: Caught in the Act

It is inconceivable that any effort to ostensibly ameliorate the fortunes of a

particular group should be completely impervious to the entreaties of

intended beneficiaries.



November 2019


The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, passed in the

Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, and seeking to ensure the fundamental rights

of those who do not conform to the binary notions of gender identity,

has disappointed the community.

The Act’s long history traces back to the judgment in NALSA vs Union of

India of April 2014, which directed the Centre and State to grant legal

recognition for the third gender, ensure there is no

discrimination against them, and construct specific social welfare

programmes.

In August 2016, the government introduced the Transgender Bill in the

Lok Sabha and this was referred to the Standing Committee on Social

Justice and Empowerment, which submitted its report in less than a

year.

But that Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok

Sabha. The current Act arose out of a Bill that the government



November 2019


introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2019, and was passed there on

August 5 this year, the same day the Centre revoked the special status

of Jammu and Kashmir.

In its passage through the Upper House, more recently, a motion to refer it

to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha was defeated.

The Act is progressive in that it allows self perception of gender identity,

but regresses by mandating that each person would have to be

recognised as ‘transgender’ on the basis of a certificate of identity

issued by a district magistrate, rejecting the recommendation from the

2016 Standing Committee to have a screening committee.

There are no avenues open either for appeal in the event a magistrate

refuses to hand out such a certificate.

India’s vocal LGBTQI community had problems with the Bill’s basics -

right from the nomenclature. Calling it a ‘Transgender Persons’

Bill would not give adequate play to the diversity the non-binaries included,

it argued, instead calling for a more broad-based definition.



November 2019


Activists have slammed it for its ‘narrow understanding’ of gender

identities and for offering woefully inadequate mainstreaming

opportunities. They remain unhappy with the silence on unnecessary and

non-consensual sex selective or reassignment surgeries, despite the plea

that it be made an offence.

Elaborate detailing of the anti-discriminatory clause in the Bill might have

gone a long way in ensuring implementation and legal recourse, they argue.

With the Bill becoming law, unaltered in any significant form, in the face

of such strident opposition, the community is seething at being ignored.

Its only hope is that the National Council for Transgender Persons,

which is supposed to provide the institutional framework for

implementing the Act, might allow more latitude for incorporating

genuine demands.

Otherwise, this Act might well be a glove that ill fits the hand it was

tailored for. The Transgender Persons Act should have factored in

suggestions from the community.



November 2019


39) On UN's Emissions Gap Report: Widening gap

The UN’s Emissions Gap Report comes as a sharp warning to countries

preparing to meet in Madrid in December, under the aegis of the UN

Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Every year of inaction is jeopardising the main goal of the Paris

Agreement: to keep the rise in global temperature over pre-industrial

times well below 2°C, and ideally at 1.5°C. Emissions gap represents the

difference between current actions to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) and

what is needed to meet the target.

In quantitative terms, the UN report estimates that there would have to

be a 2.7% average annual cut in emissions from 2020 to 2030 for

temperature rise to be contained at 2°C, while the more ambitious 1.5° C

target would require a 7.6% reduction.

But countries with large emissions, such as the U.S., China, the

European Union nations & India, will face more challenging demands

if corrective measures to decarbonise are not implemented now.



November 2019


Climate warnings issued over the years have failed to impress most

politicians, but the EU is considering an emergency declaration, and the

British Parliament adopted a resolution earlier this year.

What the emissions gap findings make clear, however, is that symbolism

can do little to mitigate the effects of dangerous climate change.

Hundreds of millions of people could face the extreme impacts.

In the U.S., the Trump administration has initiated the process of

withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, but there is considerable sub-

national support for climate action.

The EU, where public pressure to act on climate change is high, is

working on legislation to bring about net zero emissions. The U.K.,

responsible for a large share of historical emissions, has turned its net

zero 2050 goal into a legal requirement.



November 2019


For these rich nations, the road to lower emissions is mainly through

innovation and higher efficiencies in energy use.

China and India, on the other hand, have to reconcile growing

emissions with development needs. Their best options are a scaling up of

investments in renewable energy, leapfrogging to clean technologies in

buildings and transport, and greater carbon sequestration.

Here, as the UN report points out, India could do much more. It needs

to provide more consistent support for renewable energy, have a long-

term plan to retire coal power plants, enhance ambition on air quality,

adopt an economy-wide green industrialisation strategy, and expand

mass transport.

In the key area of buildings, the energy conservation code of 2018 needs to

be implemented under close scrutiny. With a clear vision, India could use

green technologies to galvanise its faltering economy, create new jobs

and become a climate leader.



November 2019



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