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THE HINDU

8 Thursday, March 7, 2024

Editorial Delhi

Speaking Pahari, seeking Anantnag


P
rime Minister Narendra Modi will visit August, but put off enacting it during the winter Anantnag parliamentary constituency, and made
Kashmir on March 7 — for the first time 2023 session due to large-scale protests by it a non-contiguous part of the Srinagar
Free of guilt since his government revoked Article
370 in 2019 — two weeks after his visit
Gujjars. This time, the matter was not listed until
the morning of the day it was taken up. The
parliamentary constituency.
At the time, the new Anantnag-Rajouri
Saibaba’s acquittal underscores that to Jammu, where he announced a slew of government was prepared for any outbreak of constituency made little sense — by bringing
development projects, distributed letters of Gujjar protests, and prevented mobilisation, together the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, it
there can be no guilt by association appointment to 1,500 new government recruits, Nirupama including by swiftly suspending Internet services even mirrored the long-rejected Chenab formula.
Subramanian

T
he exoneration of former Delhi Universi- opened an IIT campus and inaugurated the in Rajouri-Poonch, the two Jammu districts where Given the newly minted tribal identity of the two
ty professor G.N. Saibaba and five others erstwhile State’s first electric train. In Srinagar, he is an independent both communities are most numerous. districts, it is no longer that puzzling.
of the charge of having Maoist links ex- is to address a public meeting, and considering journalist In a few weeks time, when elections in J&K’s
poses the practice of invoking stringent laws that elections are to be held soon, he is certain to Reserved seats and a redrawn constituency five parliamentary constituencies are likely to be
based on nothing more than a person’s likely as- make more announcements. But as far as the The other step came via the J&K Delimitation held along with the rest of the country, the
sociation with or sympathy for extremist groups. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is concerned, two Commission, whose recommendations the redrawn constituency and the amended J&K ST
Their acquittal by the Bombay High Court is not- moves by the government in Jammu & Kashmir government accepted in May 2022, months list together represent the BJP’s long-cherished
able for giving full meaning to the procedural sa- ( J&K) — one last month, and another in 2022 — before the G.D. Sharma panel made its wish for a toehold in Kashmir.
feguards that countervail the stringency of the have already paved the way for what it hopes will recommendations.
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It also be its first ever Lok Sabha seat in the Kashmir The Commission redrew the Union Territory’s The BJP’s math
shines a light on the bail-denying features of the Valley. That seat is Anantnag constituency in electoral map, carving out seven new Assembly In 2019, the old Anantnag seat was won by the
law that allows the state to imprison suspects for south Kashmir. constituencies — six in Jammu and one in National Conference’s (NC) Hasnain Masoodi,
long years even though the evidence backing On February 6, the Lok Sabha passed the Kashmir — taking the total to 90. (The pre-2019 who defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
their arrest is doubtful or flimsy. In this particular Constitution ( Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled J&K had 87 seats for the Indian side of the LoC, leader Mehbooba Mufti. Since 1999, the
case, five of the accused were arrested in 2013 Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024. It was out of which four were in Ladakh). Nine seats constituency has been alternately held by Ms.
and continued to be incarcerated since then, and passed in the Rajya Sabha three days later. were reserved for STs, the first time political Mufti and a different NC candidate each election.
one of them died during the pendency of the ap- reservation was extended to this category in J&K. The new Anantnag-Rajouri constituency has
peal. Mr. Saibaba was arrested in 2014. The trial An amendment and a community’s protests As per Census 2011, the tribal population is 15 about 19 lakh voters. About 10 lakh are Kashmiri
court had convicted the six of them and sen- The amendment expands the list of the State’s lakh (this included Ladakh). Muslim in the Anantnag part. Voter turnout is
tenced five of them to life and awarded a 10-year Scheduled Tribes (ST) to add four groups to the Of the nine reserved ST seats, five are in usually low due to the fear of militant attacks or
term to the other. The case will also be remem- existing 12: Pahari, Gadda Brahmin, Koli and Rajouri-Poonch, where, until February this year, other backlash. In 2019, the Pulwama attack had
bered for a dubious reason: the Supreme Court’s Paddari. Of the other groups in the category, first the Gujjars were the predominant ST. The cast an additional shadow, and the turnout was
hasty intervention to stay their discharge by the drawn up in J&K in 1991, the Muslim community reserved seats were welcomed by the community 8.76%, a sharp drop from the 28.54% in 2014, the
High Court in 2022. They were discharged on the of Gujjar-Bakerwal were the most dominant. as a long-awaited reward for its “loyalty” to India. best turnout since 1999. The BJP will hope it stays
ground that the sanction given to prosecute them Their protests that Paharis cannot be But the joy was short-lived. As Paharis celebrated low and divided between the regional parties.
under UAPA was not valid, but an apex court considered a tribe, but are a linguistic category Mr. Shah’s assurance five months later by lighting Anantnag also has 40,000 Kashmir Pandit
Bench sat the very next morning, a Saturday, to encompassing several Hindu and Muslim castes, lamps and beating drums, the Gujjars read the migrant voters. For the same security reasons,
stay the order, and later directed the High Court and include forward/upper castes, Other writing on the wall. their participation is not assured.
to pass a fresh judgment on merits. Many had Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes (SC), Those identifying as Pahari-speakers constitute Pahari voters number some 4.7 lakh, including
questioned the haste with which the benefit of were to no avail. 7% of the total J&K population, that is about 9.7 some 40,000 on the Anantnag side. The BJP
discharge was reversed. The Gujjars argued that Paharis were socially, lakh, according to the language/mother tongue would hope that this community will set aside its
The latest judgment is a complete repudiation economically and educationally advanced, and data published in 2018 by the Census based on internal religious divides and turn out in large
of the prosecution case, holding that the seizure well represented politically. They were also the 2011 enumeration. Gujjars, who speak Gujjari numbers, especially in the comparatively safer
effected from the accused was not proved, the beneficiaries under three separate existing quotas or Gojri, are 11.35 lakh. Rajouri side. Strengthening these hopes, a host of
material relied upon by the state was inadequate in government employment and education — for In Rajouri, the 2011 Census identified a ST Pahari leaders have recently quit the NC and
and that there was nothing to link the accused people living near the Line of Control (LoC), for population of 22,9692. As Gujjars were the only joined the BJP.
with any terrorist act, conspiracy or membership people living in backward and remote areas, and ST in the district at the time, this can be taken as The Gujjar-Bakerwal voters number over 4
of any Maoist organisation. It also found that the a 4% quota in government jobs, carved out the number of Gujjars in Rajouri, just over 36% of lakh, including more than a lakh in the Anantnag
sanction given under UAPA to five of the accused specifically for Paharis in 2020. its total population of 6,42,415. In Poonch, the areas. They were expected to be well disposed to
was invalid because the report of the authority The Paharis had since 1989 sought to be corresponding number is 17,1011, or 36.93% of the the BJP for giving the community political
meant to review material against them indepen- categorised as ST but the demand was rejected district’s population of 47,6835. reservation, and for extending, after the
dently was just a green signal for their prosecu- several times, including in 2014, when the Omar Everyone else is counted as Pahari. Without revocation of Article 370, the Scheduled Tribes
tion, containing no discussion on the nature of Abdullah government recommended it. But the official recognition until now, Paharis were and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
the evidence. Further, the trial court had taken BJP warmed up to its potential, and immediately fragmented by their other identities — Hindus, (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 to J&K.
cognisance of the charge sheet against Mr. Saiba- after the revocation of Article 370 in 2019, began Muslims, Sikh, SCs, and other dialect groups But the saffron party cannot take this
ba even before the sanction, which came later, the prep work for it. The jobs quota for Paharis (Pahari comprises many dialects). community’s support for granted any more. It is
had been received. In its discussion on the use of was announced within six months. In 2020, it Sliced by religion, Rajouri was 62% Muslim, not just their embitterment at sharing the 10% ST
UAPA against the accused, the Court has again also set up the Jammu & Kashmir Socially and The Bharatiya while Poonch was 90% Muslim. quota with Paharis. The Gujjar-Bakerwal’s
emphasised that the more stringent a law is, the Educationally Backward Classes Commission, Today, the two districts are tribal, and the traditionally good relationship with the Indian
Janata Party’s
greater will be the need to adhere to procedural which was headed by a retired judge, Justice G.D. Paharis are the dominant ST in seven of the eight Army has frayed with the spike in terrorist
safeguards — the independent review was an ad- Sharma. long-cherished Assembly segments in them. incidents in the Poonch-Rajouri area. The
ditional safeguard introduced in UAPA in 2008. It The panel’s recommendation for inclusion of wish for a The Delimitation Commission also did one community is still reeling from the ghastly
reiterates the principle that mere possession of Paharis as ST was reportedly made just before toehold in other thing. Apparently to even out the number incident of torture-cum-three custodial deaths
literature or publicity material, without any di- Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s public rally in Kashmir is of Assembly segments in each parliamentary last December. Still, the BJP has not lost all hope,
rect evidence linking suspects with a terrorist act, October 2022, at Rajouri and Poonch, on his first taking shape constituency, it broke through the natural as evident from its recent addition of the
cannot be a ground to convict them under UAPA. visit to J&K after the changes in August 2019. As in the form division created by the Pir Panjal mountain range prominent Gujjar leader Haji Mohammed
word spread, thousands of Paharis attended the between Jammu and Kashmir, removed Poonch Hussain from the NC.
of an amended
meeting, where Mr. Shah assured the community and Rajouri from the Jammu Lok Sabha The search is now on for the right candidate.
Scheduled
Slow and unsteady that it would be included as an ST soon. A month
later, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe list and
constituency, and added it to Anantnag in South
Kashmir. Further, it took out the Shopian
The coming days will bring more clarity on how
the BJP will work on its Mission Anantnag, but it
The legislature should complement Tribes signed off on the recommendation. a redrawn Assembly constituency (Shopian is also a South is reasonable to expect the usual combination of
The government introduced the Bill last constituency Kashmir district), from the middle of the saam, daam, dand, bhed.
the judiciary in fighting corruption

T
he Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Se-

The tale of ‘have money, buy miracle drug’


cretariat has, at last, declared the Tiruk-
koyilur Assembly constituency as vacant
following the conviction and disqualification of
former Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy in
a disproportionate assets case in December last.

F
The delay is in stark contrast to the way Vilavan- or almost every week in the last few can get a license from the drug regulator based issue. The drug regulator only issued an alert
code was declared vacant in February — here, the months, newspapers have been publishing on a doctor’s prescription to import these drugs regarding spurious drugs after the World Health
legislator concerned quit after changing her par- articles about the use of ‘magic injections for personal use. Similarly, hospitals too can Organization did so in September 2023. This alert
ty affiliation. But, it is inexplicable why there was that guarantee weight loss’. This ‘magic injection’ apply for import licences. But these are narrow too was delayed by two years as the arrests made
so much of a time lag for Tirukkoyilur even contains a drug called Semaglutide. Originally exceptions to the rule that the drug needs to be by the Mumbai police in October 2021 had
though the Madras High Court’s order of convic- used for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes tested in clinical trials in India and is available for brought this issue to light earlier. Therefore, this
Murali
tion was not stayed by the Supreme Court, which mellitus, this drug also results in weight loss. sale only after approval by the drug regulator. raises the question of how sure doctors are that
Neelakantan
had only exempted Mr. Ponmudy and his wife However, many of the articles promoting these With these unapproved “miracle drugs”, there the unapproved imported drugs they are
from surrendering despite the High Court’s sen- drugs fail to mention that this weight loss drug is the Principal have been no clinical trials in India. That means administering are not dangerous fakes. Should
tence of three-year simple imprisonment. The has not been approved for sale in India but is Lawyer at Amicus we do not know if Indians will react differently to not doctors be sure of the provenance of these
AIADMK General Secretary, Edappadi K. Palanis- being administered by doctors to patients who the drug. Doctors in India will be unable to know drugs before administering them? In the case of
wami, had written to the Assembly Speaker, M. are mostly affluent. how patients who may be taking other drugs for Semaglutide, is it a wonder that doctors look like
Appavu, urging him to act without bias in declar- The press releases by global pharma ailments such as diabetes and hypertension in they are complicit in this scam when the pharma
ing the seat vacant. Mr. Ponmudy’s disqualifica- companies advising patients not to use this India (that are not prescribed in most developed companies manufacturing these drugs have
tion fell under Section 8(1) of the Representation product in India do not get any publicity in the countries), will react to these injections. This is a issued alerts?
of the People Act, 1951 and not Section 8(3) under media. The media is also guilty of not reporting significant risk that cannot be wished away easily.
which Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi was the significant side-effects that these drugs can Dr. Parth Sharma It is a risk that cannot be accurately estimated ... and the regulators
disqualified after his conviction (now stayed by cause. For some of us who lived to tell the tale, and mitigated. There are questions for government and drug
is a public health
the Supreme Court) and two-year sentence in a this is eerily similar to Rimonabant and regulators too. What is being done to control the
physician, researcher,
criminal defamation case. Section 8(1) lists out of- Fen–Phen. and founder of Questions for doctors... import of these drugs? All it will take is for a few
fences covered under laws such as the Narcotic Many decades ago, in the United States, Nivarana, a public In this background, there are so many questions doctors to be arrested and sent to jail, which will
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and Pre- another type of weight loss drug was marketed as health advocacy and for doctors. Should doctors prescribe a new drug be a deterrent.
vention of Corruption Act and states that a con- a miracle weight loss cure. Soon, the miracle was information platform when it is not approved for sale in India? Are And, finally, do we really care? After all, this
viction and mere imposition of a fine under those demystified and pharma companies paid out doctors recommending these drugs? Or are their seems like this is a rich man’s problem as these
laws would be sufficient for a legislator’s disqual- approximately $4 billion in damages in mass tort clients demanding them based on new reports of are expensive drugs. What does it matter if a few
ification. The delay in the declaration of the va- litigation. Weight loss drugs, however, form only a That these miracles? What is the duty of the doctors in these rich people suffer as a result of this misadventure
cancy becomes curiouser as jurists highlight that small fraction of such unauthorised drugs. ‘magic drugs’, situations? What are the incentives for the and their doctors make a tidy sum from it? These
Section 8(1) uses the phrase “shall be disquali- which are being doctors? How many doctors administering these are like designer watches or scotch whisky. Who
fied”. This means that the disqualification notifi- Trials, sale approval in India, exceptions promoted in the injections have studied the full-effects of these cares if they are being illegally imported? Who
cation must necessarily take effect from the day Drugs are normally approved for sale in India media, have not drugs? How many of these doctors have been cares if they are fakes?
when a legislator is convicted. In this case, it only after the Indian subsidiary or licensee of the undergone trained to identify and treat adverse events? Do The government perhaps has more pressing
should have happened on December 19, 2023, global brand owner conducts clinical trials. Once doctors not know that it is very likely that clients priorities than to be bothered about this. We did
clinical trials in
when the High Court held Mr. Ponmudy guilty. approved, the regulator mandates monitoring will be using illegally imported drugs as the drugs not care when the poor died consuming spurious
When the judiciary displays renewed interest and reporting all adverse events for two years. India highlights are not yet approved for sale in India? cough syrup either. So, who does the government
in pursuing anti-corruption cases, especially Global pharma companies sometimes choose to the role of the The recent scandal about spurious imported care about?
those concerning lawmakers, it would do well for stay out of the Indian market and not launch regulator drugs such as Adcetris, a drug used to treat a type One can only think of the song by Bob Dylan,
the legislature to act in tandem. Otherwise, there drugs in India. In such circumstances, patients and doctor of blood cancer, brings further attention to this “Blowin’ in the Wind”.
would be no purpose in having a system of spe-
cial courts for cases involving MP/MLAs or an ar-
rangement in the High Court to look after such LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
cases, particularly after conviction is awarded. At
a time when liberal democracy is facing serious Bank and bonds trying to buy time only to functioning in the third bank, then this is a clear bank not to share key data. either in the government or
challenges in India, the legislature supporting the It is a shame that State save the face of the ruling century? We are unable to sign of a serious violation. R. Sivakumar, the corporate sector
judiciary in stamping out corruption in public life Bank of India (SBI), which party that has benefited the understand that when the Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Chennai (“Calcutta HC judge
would instil confidence. At the same time, the boasts of being a pioneer in most from this scheme. Supreme Court has stated Faridabad, Haryana Gangopadhyay resigns, says
judiciary and legislature should not be seen as digitalising its operations, The Court should not only that it is the right of the Politics and the judge he will join BJP”, March 6).
failing to protect critics of the establishment. Af- has sought five months’ refuse to accede to the people to know the truth The bank’s claim that Upon resigning or retiring, Second, all decisions made
ter all, democracy is about tolerating dissent and time from the Supreme bank’s request but also about electoral bonds, then “decoding data and judges, especially those by these judges before their
respecting it too. It is incumbent upon all to play Court, to collate and furnish reprimand it. why does the SBI not want matching donors to the from the higher judiciary, resignation must be
by the rules of the game in a fair manner to avoid the names and details of Tharcius S. Fernando, this information to be made donations is a complex ought to be asked to cool subjected to a thorough
any impression that authoritarianism of the exec- the donors of electoral Chennai public before the elections? process” is strange. This is a their heels for five years review by the collegium.
utive or “tyranny of the majority” in the legisla- bonds. Even a novice can If the top court’s order is digital India. It is clear that before joining politics or M. Jameel Ahmed,
ture or judicial overreach is becoming the norm. fathom that the bank is Is the State Bank of India not respected by the largest there is pressure on the taking up any office of profit Mysuru
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
Thursday, March 7, 2024 9
Delhi
Opinion

Safeguarding local democracy A judge’s entry into politics


Former Calcutta HC Judge joins BJP, triggering questions about his judgments

O
n February 20, a a nominated councillor, was Hence, moral and ethical
three-judge Bench of nominated as the presiding officer questions aside, the BJP’s win in
the Supreme Court led for the meeting to elect the Mayor. the deputy mayoral polls is not in July 2020, had on a number
by Chief Justice of India The problem here is that the strictly illegal. While States such as STATE OF PLAY of occasions ruffled feathers
D.Y. Chandrachud used its plenary municipal law allows the Karnataka and Kerala have passed with the bar.
powers to declare Kuldeep Kumar, bureaucracy to appoint any specific laws prohibiting Shiv Sahay Singh On January 27, 2024, the
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Mathew Idiculla councillor to preside over the defections in local governments, shivsahay.s@thehindu.co.in Supreme Court of India had to
candidate, as the validly elected is a legal consultant election of the Mayor. In fact, in in most States there are no clear intervene after Mr. Gangopad-

E
Mayor of the Chandigarh based in Bengaluru the 2022 Chandigarh mayoral statutory restrictions against lection season in West hyay made allegations against
Municipal Corporation. With and a visiting faculty elections, an elected BJP defections. While political parties Bengal usually triggers a senior judge at Calcutta High
CCTV visuals indicating that the at Azim Premji councillor was nominated as the were initially envisioned to play a a series of defections Court in his order accusing
presiding officer had defaced University presiding officer and the BJP non-dominant role in local and politicians adept at gauz- him of ‘misconduct’ and har-
some ballot papers in the mayoral Views expressed are mayoral candidate won by one elections, the party-political ing the political weather make bouring political bias in favour
polls, the Supreme Court personal vote after the vote of an AAP nature of local governments is little hesitation in switching of the State’s ruling dispensa-
conducted a physical examination councillor was invalidated. It is in now a reality that cannot be sides. However, something un- tion. Earlier on April 28, 2023,
of the ballots to determine the this context that the AAP ignored. Hence, there is a need to usual occurred this election the court stayed his order to
winner. The Court observed that candidate sought a adopt clear statutory measures season in the State on March place before him, by mid-
in such cases it is duty-bound to court-monitored election this time that can curb defections at the 5, when hours after resigning Multiple FIRs were filed by night, documents based on
intervene under Article 142 of the and the Chandigarh local level. as a judge of Calcutta High agencies based on these or- which the Supreme Court had
Constitution to ensure that administration agreed for the The Chandigarh case also raises Court, Abhijit Gangopadhyay ders and the investigation earlier in the day reassigned a
“democracy is not allowed to be election process to be the larger challenge of ensuring announced his plans to join came as a major setback to the case to itself.
thwarted by such subterfuges”. video-recorded. With depleting local democracy in UTs, which the Bharatiya Janata Party Trinamool Congress in its By severing ties with the
However, just before the Court’s trust in internal election have become flashpoints as the (BJP). third term. Ministers, MLAs, judiciary five months before
verdict, three AAP councillors processes, it is important for Centre expands its authority. In The 61-year-old former and leaders of ruling parties his superannuation, Mr. Gan-
from Chandigarh joined the BJP. municipal laws to institute UTs with legislative assemblies, judge also made little qualms were arrested, hordes of cash gopadhyay has now opened
With the help of these defections, stronger systems that ensure a fair like Delhi and Puducherry, it about eagerly awaiting a ticket were seized and the commis- himself to the attacks of his
BJP candidates won the elections process for indirect elections. sought to empower the Lieutenant from the BJP in the upcoming sion in charge of requirements political opponents who will
to the posts of deputy and senior The other key issue the Governor over the elected Lok Sabha polls. “I was in made to publish details of how not stop at criticising him but
deputy Mayor held on March 4. Chandigarh fiasco raises is the government. In UTs without touch with the BJP and the BJP examinations were manipulat- will raise questions on his
With the BJP now having a challenge of defections in local legislative Assemblies, like was in touch with me,” the ed and OMR (optical mark judgments. This development
majority in the council and the councils. After three AAP Lakshadweep, the former judge said. reader) sheets were forged to will set a wrong precedent
Mayor possessing limited councillors defected to the BJP, the Centre-appointed administrator This remark provided deprive deserving candidates. since judges have been consi-
independent powers, the INDIA counsel representing the BJP introduced sweeping legislative enough reasons for the Trina- What has surprised people dered immune to public criti-
alliance has essentially lost control Mayor as well as the Solicitor measures that locals have objected mool Congress leadership to of the State more than this cism. The critics of Mr. Gango-
over the municipal corporation. General of India submitted before to. question whether the orders sudden decision is the scath- padhyay are referring to a
The shenanigans in Chandigarh the Supreme Court that fresh The Centre’s insatiable appetite that Mr. Gangopadhyay deli- ing political remarks made by remark by former Union Mi-
raise questions regarding local mayoral polls could be held. for power does not preclude any vered as a judge were free someone who stood in judg- nister, (the late) Arun Jaitley
democracy: the fair administration However, the Court held that political forum, whether it’s a from political bias. The State’s ment of the corruption in the where the BJP leader had said
of local elections; the problem of setting aside the entire election State, UT, or municipality. So, after ruling party which has suf- recruitment system of West “Pre-retirement judgments
local-level defections; and the due to the presiding officer’s attempts to enfeeble the elected fered several setbacks in a se- Bengal for the past several are influenced by post-retire-
challenge of ensuring democratic unlawful action would result in the government of Delhi failed, it ries of orders delivered by the years. Mr. Gangopadhyay said ment jobs”.
governance in Union Territories “destruction of fundamental sought to control the Municipal former judge, has sought re- that he could not join the par- Questions are also being
(UTs). democratic principles” and used Corporation of Delhi by allowing view of all the orders. ty because he was a “proud raised as to the timing of his
its inherent powers to declare the nominated councillors to vote, The orders delivered by Mr. Hindu” and chose to stay away resignation particularly when
Administering local elections The winner. Such a timely intervention which was thwarted by the Gangopadhyay not only had from the Congress party as it the BJP is busy selecting candi-
While elections to local party-political prevented “horse-trading” in the Supreme Court last year. The far-reaching implications as was a party of a “single fami- dates for the upcoming Lok
governments are conducted by nature of local mayoral elections, but could not ongoing political skullduggery in far as the fate of thousands of ly”. “Trinamool is not a politi- Sabha polls in West Bengal.
respective State Election avert a defection-enabled result in Chandigarh is the latest instance job aspirants and teachers and cal party. It is a jatra (rural Mr. Gangopadhyay said that
Commissions, indirect mayoral
governments is the subsequent deputy Mayors’ of an attempted power-grab. With non-teaching staff of the State theatre) party. The act they he wanted to contribute to the
elections follow an internal now a reality elections. This reveals the the creeping centralisation of the was concerned, but they also are performing in Maa, Maati people of the State using a
process. As per Section 60 of the that cannot be fundamental limitations of judicial Indian state, it is important to dominated the political dis- Manus,” he said making scath- ‘larger platform’ than the judi-
Punjab Municipal Corporation Act ignored. Hence, interventions that seek to fix deep apply the principles underlying course in West Bengal since ing references to Trinamool ciary which had its limitations.
1976, which has been extended to there is a need political conundrums. federalism and democracy to the 2021. general secretary Abhishek The people of West Bengal are
Chandigarh, the meeting for the to adopt clear In case of defections in local elected forums of UTs and local The former judge had di- Banerjee. curious to see whether he
election of the Mayor shall be statutory governments, the scope for the governments as well. In UTs rected investigation by the During his eventful and would continue his fight
convened by the Divisional court’s intervention is limited without legislative Assemblies, it is Central Bureau of Investiga- controversial career, the form- against corruption in his se-
Commissioner, who nominates a
measures that since the anti-defection law under important to safeguard local tion (CBI) on at least 14 occa- er judge who was appointed cond innings as a politician or
councillor, who is not a candidate can curb the 10th Schedule of the governments as they are the only sions in cases relating to the as Additional Judge in May whether he is only trying to
for the election, to preside the defections at the Constitution does not apply to democratically accountable school and municipal recruit- 2018 and elevated as a perma- use the political winds before
meeting. Accordingly, Anil Masih, local level panchayats and municipalities. institutions in their jurisdiction. ment scam in West Bengal. nent Judge of the High Court the elections to his advantage.

Crimes against foreigners in India rarely result in convictions F R O M T HE A RC HI V ES

Approximately, one in twenty rape cases in which victims are foreigners results in convictions
FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 7, 1974
abated or ended in a plea bargain.
DATA POINT
So disposals are some action taken Huge accumulation of
by the court in a case.
Rebecca Rose Varghese Of those 16 cases, only seven re- ingots at steel plants
Vignesh Radhakrishnan sulted in convictions. So, approxi-
mately one in about 20 rape cases New Delhi, March 6: Production of steel ingots at
Durgapur and other steel plants under

O
n March 1, a woman tou- in which victims are foreigners re-
rist from Spain camping sult in convictions. This is only an Hindustan Steel Limited is now being ‘regulated’
with her husband was al- approximation as even these seven to reduce the huge accumulation of ingots at the
legedly gang raped in Dumka dis- convictions could have come in plants caused by the inadequacy of rail wagons.
trict, Jharkhand, while travelling cases filed much before 2016. Ho- This was stated by the Steel and Mines
to Nepal from West Bengal. The in- wever, when cases reported and Minister K.D. Malaviya, during discussion on a
cident occurred as the couple rest- convictions achieved are com- calling attention motion on the accumulation of
ed in a makeshift tent in a deserted pared over a period (in this case, steel ingots at the Durgapur steel plant.
area at Kurmahat village. Accord- seven years), it gives a sense of the Mr. Malaviya said these accumulated stocks of
ing to a police source, eight people volume of cases reported to the ingots were being sent to other steel plants like
passing through the area stopped police and how many ultimately Bhilal and TISCO for rolling them into steel.
and assaulted the husband and result in convictions. In order to prevent further accumulation of
raped the woman. The culprits al- Chart 1 shows a comparison of ingots at this plant, it has been decided by
so looted ₹10,000. The police have the incidents of crimes against fo- authorities to maximise the production of
arrested eight persons in the case, reigners reported to the police and salable pig iron, matching the production of
so far. the number of cases disposed of ingots for rolling with the available rolling
The horrible incident bore chill- by the courts and those which re- capacity and moving ingots to other plants as
ing similarity to an incident in sulted in convictions in the 2016 to before.
Madhya Pradesh, a decade ago, 2022 period. Only a few types of He said Rourkela and Bhilal steel plants also
when a Swiss tourist was gang crimes in which case volumes had accumulated steel ingots in the past two
raped in Datia district, while on a were high have been considered months because of constraints on movement
cycling trip with her partner. She for analysis. For instance, 65 cases and lower utilisation of rolling capacity.
was camping near National High- were reported under the Immoral Mr. Malaviya hoped the situation would
way 75, close to a local police sta- Trafficking Prevention Act and no improve shortly as he was in touch with the
tion. Six convicts were awarded convictions were recorded. In the Railway Minister on removing quickly these
life sentences in the case. In 2018, seven years, 35 forgery cases were constraints.
a Latvian woman disappeared reported and no convictions were Mr. H.D. Malaviya (Cong.), who sponsored the
near Pothencode, Thiruvanan- recorded. Approximately, one in motion, wanted the government to put an end
thapuram. Her body was disco- 88 thefts resulted in convictions. to the alleged widespread corruption in the
vered 40 days later. The prosecu- In the period considered, 79 fo- allotment of wagons.
tion argued that she was drugged, reigners were murdered, and in The Minister admitted that there was some
raped and murdered. In 2022, two the same period, only three con- non-cooperation from the INTUC, but he could
persons were convicted in the case victions were achieved. not condemn any one without ascertaining facts
by a district court. The information in Chart 1 per- — UNI and PTI.
The above cases are examples tains to those cases which resulted
of the few crimes against foreign- in some action by the courts, eith-
ers which resulted in arrests by the er conviction or otherwise. But,
police and convictions by the many cases continue to be stuck in A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MARCH 7, 1924
courts in India. Data shows that different stages of the trial for
most crimes committed against fo-
reigners in India rarely reach the
years, leading to an increasing
backlog of court cases in which
British army Budget.
courts and convictions are even victims are foreigners. Chart 2
rarer. In the seven years between shows the number of court cases London, March 6: The army estimates for
2016 and 2022, 148 rape cases in pending at the end of each year, in 1924-25 are for forty-five millions sterling,
which victims are foreigners have which victims are foreigners. The compared with 52 millions for last year. The
been recorded in India. In the number of rape cases pending in- establishment excluding India is 152,000 men
same period, only 16 rape cases creased from 33 in 2016 to 131 in compared with 154,000 last year.
were disposed of by the courts. 2022. Cases of assault on women Mr. Walsh, in a memorandum, states that the
Disposal of cases includes convic- with intent to outrage her modesty last Indian units having been withdrawn from
tions, discharges, acquittals, or increased from 70 to 137 in the pe- Palestine. It has been arranged with the Colonial
even disposals without trial if the riod. Number of murder cases office that a British cavalry regiment no longer
case gets quashed, withdrawn, pending increased from 21 to 69. necessary in India, should be stationed there.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
Delhi www.thehindu.com Thursday, March 7, 2024
● ●

10

Text&Context 0
NEWS IN NUMBERS
The slight drop in Amount approved by The number of cattle The number of Migrants who died via
p-note investments in ESIC for hospital dead due to starvation Palestinians killed in land and sea routes
the month of January construction in Bhandara Israeli attacks worldwide in 2023

1.43 1,128 40 30,171 8,565


in ₹ lakh crore. in ₹ crore. The The cattle died due to lack of Gaza’s Health International
Investments through Employees’ State food and water near a village Ministry says Organization for
participatory notes Insurance in Maharashtra’s Bhandara the death toll Migration said
(p-notes) in Indian markets declined in Corporation (ESIC) has approved funds for district, the police said. A resident of Paoni of Palestinians from the war has climbed that this was a record high since it began
January due to cautious foreign investor the construction of seven ESI hospitals in brought these cattle and left them in a over 30,700, with 86 bodies being brought tallying deaths a decade ago. AP
behaviour amid high valuations. PTI Karnataka, U.P., M.P and Odisha. PTI open field, where they starved to death. PTI to hospitals in the last 24 hours. AP COMPILED BY THE HINDU DATA TEAM

Follow us facebook.com/thehindu twitter.com/the_hindu instagram.com/the_hindu

Are legislators immune to bribery charges?


What are the constitutional provisions under which MPs and MLAs enjoy immunity from prosecution when it comes to voting or making a speech in Parliament
or the Legislative Assemblies? Is such a legislative privilege unqualified? Why did the court overrule its P. V. Narasimha Rao judgment?

The same principle applies to bribery in THE GIST


EXPLAINER
connection with a speech in the House or
a Committee,” the court elucidated.
Aaratrika Bhaumik Importantly, it underscored that the 쑽
offence of bribery is complete at the point Article 105(2) of the Indian
The story so far: in time when the legislator accepts the Constitution confers on MPs

A
seven-judge Bench of the bribe, whether or not it is followed up by immunity from prosecution in
Supreme Court on Monday voting or making a speech in the manner respect of anything said or any
ruled that Members of wanted by the giver of the bribe. Equally, vote given in Parliament or on
Parliament (MPs) and Members the place where the bribe was offered or any parliamentary committee.
of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) cannot received did not matter. Section 7 of the Similarly, Article 194(2) grants
claim immunity from prosecution for Prevention of Corruption Act strengthens protection to MLAs.
accepting bribes to cast a vote or make a such an interpretation since it expressly
speech in the House in a particular states that the “obtaining, accepting, or

fashion. Article 105(2) of the Indian attempting” to obtain an undue The P.V. Narasimha Rao ruling
Constitution confers on MPs immunity advantage shall itself constitute an offence involves the 1993 JMM bribery
from prosecution in respect of anything even if the performance of a public duty case against former Union
said or any vote given in Parliament or on by a public servant has not been Minister Shibu Soren, the
any parliamentary committee. Similarly, improper. father-in-law of Sita Soren, the
Article 194(2) grants protection to MLAs. Additionally, the petitioners argued petitioner in the present case.
that the exercise of the Court’s 쑽
What was the case? jurisdiction is unwarranted since the
Sita Soren, a member of the Jharkhand Parliament also has the power to punish While elaborating upon the
purpose of Articles 105 and
Mukti Morcha ( JMM), was accused of its members for contempt either by
194, the Chief Justice pointed
accepting a bribe to cast her vote in suspending them or sentencing them to a
out that such privileges are
favour of a certain candidate in the Rajya jail term. Dismissing this, the Court said guaranteed to sustain an
Sabha elections of 2012. Soon a that parallel jurisdictions can be exercised environment in which debate
chargesheet was filed against her. In 2014, since its jurisdiction to prosecute a and deliberation can take
the Jharkhand High Court dismissed Ms. criminal offence and the authority of the place within the legislature.
Soren’s plea wherein she claimed she House to take action for a breach of However, such a purpose is
enjoyed legal immunity under Article discipline operate in distinct spheres. destroyed when a member is
194(2). The dismissal in the High Court led ISTOCKPHOTO “The potential of misuse against induced to vote or speak in a
to an appeal being filed in the Supreme individual members of the legislature is certain manner following an
Court. On September 20, 2023, a no-confidence motion against the then place within the legislature. However, neither enhanced nor diminished by act of bribery.
five-judge Bench headed by CJI P.V. Narasimha Rao government. While such a purpose is destroyed when a recognising the jurisdiction of the Court
Chandrachud while hearing the appeal two judges on the Constitution Bench member is induced to vote or speak in a to prosecute a member of the legislature
doubted the correctness of the majority opined that legislative immunity granted certain manner following an act of who is alleged to have indulged in an act
view in P.V. Narasimha versus State (1998) under the Constitution could not be bribery. He also highlighted that the of bribery,” it reasoned.
and accordingly referred the matter to a extended to such cases, the majority of assertion of any such privilege will be The Court also clarified that the
seven-judge Bench while underscoring them, while acknowledging the governed by a two-fold test — first, the principles enunciated by the verdict
that it is an “important issue that seriousness of the offence, ruled that "a privilege claimed has to be tethered to the regarding legislative privileges will apply
concerns our polity”. narrow construction of the constitutional collective functioning of the House and equally to Rajya Sabha elections and
provisions" may result in the impairment second, its necessity must bear a appointments of the President and
What was the 1998 ruling that was of the guarantee of “parliamentary functional relationship to the discharge of Vice-President of the country.
overruled? participation and debate”. the essential duties of a legislator. Accordingly, it overruled the observations
The P.V. Narasimha Rao ruling involves “Bribery is not rendered immune in Kuldip Nayar versus Union of India
the 1993 JMM bribery case against former What did the top court rule now? under Article 105(2) and the (2006), which held that elections to the
Union Minister Shibu Soren, the While elaborating upon the purpose of corresponding provision of Article 194 Rajya Sabha are not proceedings of the
father-in-law of Sita Soren, the petitioner Articles 105 and 194, the Chief Justice because a member engaging in bribery legislature but a mere exercise of
in the present case. Mr. Soren, along with pointed out that such privileges are commits a crime which is not essential to franchise and therefore fall outside the
some of his party members, were accused guaranteed to sustain an environment in the casting of the vote or the ability to ambit of parliamentary privileges under
of taking bribes to vote against the which debate and deliberation can take decide on how the vote should be cast. Article 194.

The Italian top court’s ruling


especially in detention centres, where THE GIST
commanders “could be running their own
militias and profiteering from picking up
migrants at sea, sending them to be 쑽

on sea migrants from Libya


detained, and then demanding more On July 30, 2018, the ship Asso
money from the detained migrants,” as 28, picked up 101 migrants
per a report. The same Libyan authorities from a dinghy and returned
have received funding, vessels, aerial them to the Libyan coastguard
surveillance and training from Italy and at the Tripoli port. A lower
What was the case about? Why is Libya’s port not considered safe for refoulement of migrants? the European Union. Italy and Libya Italian court prosecuted the
signed a memorandum in 2017 — renewed ship’s captain in 2021, finding
for a second time in 2023 — under which him guilty of violating
Saumya Kalia court said that once picked up, the danger of being lost.” International the Italian Government gifted commercial international humanitarian and
migrants were under the captain’s charge, maritime law also requires coastal states vessels to Libya, trained crew in refugee laws.
The story so far: and in ‘abandoning’ them, the captain to conduct search and rescue services, conducting these operations and invested

L
ibya is not a safe harbour, and it violated directives of the International and if needed, coordinate with other $10.8 million in Libya’s maritime
is “unlawful” to force migrants Maritime Organization and the nations during these operations. Still, infrastructure.There was a “direct causal The expanse of the
rescued from the sea to return International Convention for the Safety of countries like Italy and Malta have link between Italy’s cooperation activities Mediterranean Sea between
to a territory where their Life at Sea. The migrants faced a “high delayed ships’ arrivals or ignored requests with the Libyan coastguard and the Libya and Italy is among the
fundamental rights are at risk, Italy’s risk” of being subjected to “inhuman and for disembarking altogether. More than exposure of people intercepted at sea to most dangerous albeit oft-used
highest court held in a ruling in February. degrading treatment in the detention 24,000 people were intercepted and serious human rights violations,” said passage for migrants from
sub-Saharan Africa fleeing
centres... in Libyan territory, with the forced to go back to Libya in 2022, Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe’s
ethnic conflict, war and famine.
What was the case? impossibility of seeing their fundamental according to HRW. Commissioner for Human Rights.
On July 30, 2018, the ship Asso 28, picked rights protected.” 쑽
up 101 migrants, including five pregnant What’s happening in Libya? Why is the ruling important?
A UN Human Rights Council
women and five minors, from a dinghy What are legalites of sea rescues? A UN Human Rights Council fact-finding UN agencies had acknowledged that Libya fact-finding mission last year
and returned them to the Libyan The expanse of the Mediterranean Sea mission last year said there were cannot be considered a “place of safety” said there were “reasonable
coastguard at the Tripoli port. A lower between Libya and Italy is among the “reasonable grounds to believe that for disembarking people rescued at sea grounds to believe that crimes
Italian court prosecuted the ship’s captain most dangerous albeit oft-used passage crimes against humanity have been due to proven human rights abuses at against humanity have been
in 2021, finding him guilty of violating for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa committed against Libyans and migrants detention centres. Italy’s Court of committed against Libyans and
international humanitarian and refugee fleeing ethnic conflict, war and famine. throughout Libya,” with crimes, including Cassation added weight to this warning migrants throughout Libya”.
laws. The principle of non-refoulement Human Rights Watch estimates at least torture and sexual slavery, committed in with its ruling. However, rights groups
forbids the forced return of people to 25,313 people have died in the detention centres under the control of note that Italy’s far-right government led
countries where their lives or rights are at Mediterranean Sea since 2014. authorities including Libyan coastguards. by Giorgia Meloni may double down on
risk. Per international law, Libya is Under Article 98 of the United Nations War-torn Libya has been under militia anti-immigration policies and obstruct the
currently not a port of safety. The Convention on the Law of the Sea, every rule since 2011. Humans rights groups work of search and rescue NGOs. This
Supreme Court of Cassation in the shipmaster is required “to render notes that this has allowed the would escalate the likelihood of death and
present verdict reiterated this stance. The assistance to any person found at sea in proliferation of human trafficking detention for migrants.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
Thursday, March 7, 2024 11
Delhi
Text&Context
BIBLIOGRAPHY

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Know your
English
K. Subrahmanian

“Mr. A. Sreerangan, S.S. College, Salem,


wants to know the difference between
‘somebody’ and ‘someone.’”
“There is no difference.
Somebody came to see you.
GETTY IMAGES Someone came to see you.
‘Somebody’ is also used to mean ‘a

Remembering the forgotten women


person of importance.’ ‘Someone’ is not
used in this sense.
Everybody who is somebody was
present at the function.”

of science in India
“Mr. N. Nagender Rao, SBJ, Nalagonda,
wants to know the meaning of ‘blanket’ in
‘blanket permission.’”
“ ‘Blanket’ here means ‘covering all
cases or classes,’ ‘general,’
On the eve of Women’s Day, we look at books about women scientists across centuries who broke glass ceilings and left behind a meaningful legacy, ‘comprehensive.’
calling for open, diverse and an egalitarian approach in science It was a blanket ban on all meetings.”
“Mr. M. C. Haridas, Cooke Town,
Bangalore, wants to know which is
Soma Basu unrecognised during their careers. women scientists, and more needs to be STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, correct (a) curd (b) curds.”
Rajinder Jeet Hans-Gill wore a turban and done on this front. Mathematics). “Generally, it is used in the plural.

T
he Indian Academy of Sciences a boy’s uniform in the mid-1950s to be Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous body I like curds.
founded by physicist and Nobel allowed to study mathematics in a school under the Department of Science & The life of Janaki Ammal When it is used attributively, the
Laureate C.V. Raman in in Punjab; biochemist Kamala Sohonie sat Technology, has compiled a resource A 2020 Malayalam book took Nirmala singular is used. Curd rice. If you ask for
Bangalore in 1934 has never on a satyagraha so that IISc, Bangalore, book profiling Indian women scientists James to various places associated with ‘curds’ in the United States or Britain, you
had a woman scientist at the helm. The would open its doors for women. with a timeline of their accomplishments the firebrand E.K. Janaki Ammal, the first will be given ‘yogurt.’ This is the word
academy’s statistics suggest women make Patriarchal oppression triggers a mindset from pre-Independence to present times. Indian woman to be awarded a PhD in that is used for ‘curds’. You have different
up around 14% of India’s working that works against women but can a The unconventional paths these intrepid botanical science in 1931. In Janaki kinds of yogurt. Some are sour, some are
scientists; only 15% of faculty members in history of science be written based on a women pioneers tread is an eye-opener. Ammal: Life and Scientific Contributions, sweet, some are mixed with fruit. It is also
various research institutes across the history of exclusion of women in science? Another anthology of 100 women James brings to light interesting insights spelt ‘yoghurt,’ ‘yoghourt.’ ‘Yoghurt’ is a
country are women. To examine the state of women scientists, Lilavati’s Daughters: The Women about Janaki’s extraordinary life, gleaned Turkish word.”
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for scientists in India, Aashima Dogra and Scientists of India, edited by Ram from her father’s diary. “Mr. C. P. Ramaswamy, Sainikpuri,
Science & Technology given annually by Nandita Jayaraj journeyed across science Ramaswamy and Rohini Godbole, Savithri Preetha Nair got interested Hyderabad, wants to know the meaning
the Council of Scientific and Industrial laboratories from Bhopal to Bhubaneswar highlights the struggles and triumphs of when she came across Janaki Ammal’s of the expression ‘hung parliament.’”
Research for notable research in biology, and Bengaluru to Jammu in 2016. They women scientists and their name in the 1932 list of members of the “A hung parliament is one where no
chemistry, physics, engineering, engaged in thought-provoking interviews under-representation — only a fraction of Eugenics Society, London. Her’s was the party has a clear majority.”
mathematics, medicine and with young researchers and renowned women pursue a PhD degree and even only Indian name till anthropologist L.K. “Mr. R. Subramanian, Veereswaram,
environmental science, has been awarded scientists including Gagandeep Kang, fewer become scientists. A renowned Ananthakrishna Iyer made it to the list 35 Srirangam, Tiruchi, writes: “ ‘Write the
to 571 scientists between 1958 and 2023. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Rohini Godbole, mathematician of the 12th century, years later. In Chromosome Woman, synonym of ‘angelish.” This is one of the
In the last 65 years, only 20 women Prajval Shastri Majumdar to explore why Bhaskaracharya, made his brilliant Nomad Scientist, a Life – 1897 to 1984, Nair questions in the Higher Secondary
scientists have received India’s most gender inequality haunts Indian science. daughter Lilavati solve problems in offers an archive-based expansive and Examination (English I Paper) held in
prestigious science award — for the first The outcome is a riveting book, Lab algebra, geometry and mathematics. analytical biography of the scientist and March 1991. Being unfamiliar with the
time in 1961 and the last in 2020. Hopping: Women Scientists in India, which Every woman scientist featured in the her research of sugarcane and hybrids, word, I consulted many dictionaries but
provides a fresh perspective on breaking book is considered the inheritor of while facing sexism, casteism and racism. found no such word in any of them. At the
Prevalent biases stereotypes, apathy and sexism. The Lilavati’s intellectual legacy and is a role Nair says Janaki Ammal chose a nomadic valuation centres, the P.G. teachers were
There are explicit and implicit biases authors make no bones about the model, say the authors. Anjana path to shake off patriarchal shackles. instructed through ‘Key for English I
against women in science. People think mediocrity in Indian science due to the Chattopadhyay’s Women Scientists in Whenever she felt she could not operate Paper’ that the synonym for ‘angelish’ are
men are more suited to the subject and shameful lack of diversity. They say India: Lives, Struggles and Achievements within the regimented system dictated by godly, saintly and holy! A cursory glance
women are innately not interested. The societal expectations of family and exposes the neglect of women’s rigid objectives set by males, she went off at the XII Std. English textbook reveals
Matilda effect shows the exodus of childcare from a woman makes science a contribution to science and how it on excursions, visited sanctuaries and that the actual word used by the question
women from science as they remain matter of gender, compelling every impeded their careers even as they fought forests to do her research in solitude. paper setter is ‘anguish’ taken from ‘The
under-appreciated for their achievements woman scientist to constantly perform opposition in their homes, study and In A Braided River: The Universe of Man with the Scar’ by Somerset Maugham
while suffering discrimination in perks, her gender at the cost of due recognition. workplaces. Indian Women in Science by Christopher (page 5). Negligence on the part of
promotions and opportunities. Gutsy Girls of Science by Ilina Singh Coley, Christie Gressel and Abhijit someone has resulted in this “bloomer.””
Science cannot be a monolith of men Giving due credit celebrates the lives of cytogeneticist Dhillon, the writers explore how lack of “This makes sad reading. It was
and their research alone. Yet women have The road map for the way out of this is to Archana Sharma, botanist E.K. Janaki diversity and the gender gap weaken ‘devilish’ to ask for the synonym of
to fight psychological pressures and celebrate women scientists. The fact that Ammal, mathematician Raman Parimala, science and its contribution to national ‘angelish.’ ‘Angelish’ is yet to enter the
systemic challenges in their scientific the ISRO team of ‘rocket women’ who physicist Bibha Chowdhuri, chemist development. Over the years, India has dictionary! When it does, credit for the
journey. British chemist Rosalind Franklin played a pivotal role in Chandrayan-II and Asima Chatterjee and six other implemented initiatives to encourage girls earliest entry will be given to the
who contributed to the discovery of the III Moon missions were applauded would trailblazing women who fulfilled their and women in science, but the complex Education Department of Tamil Nadu.
structure of DNA in 1951 and have inspired many budding scientists. scientific ambitions against all odds. The issue of assisting Indian women in their But there is ‘angelic,’ meaning ‘kind,
astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell who discovered There are publications that have anecdotal narrative should encourage scientific careers persists with numerous considerate or gentle.’”
the first radio pulsars in 1967 went documented the path breaking work of girls to carve out a successful career in visible and invisible barriers. “I am grateful to the readers for
sending me their favourite palindromes.
They are: Never odd or even; Step on no
pets; Sit on a potato pan, Otis; Able was I
ere I saw Elba; Rats live on no evil star;
Please send in your answers to
THE DAILY QUIZ dailyquiz@thehindu.co.in
Was it a car or a cat I saw?; civic, deed,
level, madam, Malayalam, noon, radar,
refer, toot, Rajarajar, liril, redivider,
rotator, bob, dad, eve, mum, nun, pop.”
A quiz on R. Ashwin and his many milestones as he gears up for his 100th Test match Published in The Hindu on May 7, 1991.

Soorya Prakash. N two opponents. Who are Questions and Answers to the previous
they? day’s daily quiz: The year in which
X X Márquez won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
QUESTION 1 QUESTION 5 Ans: 1982
Name the ground in which Ashwin has played against 2. The then president of Colombia, called
R. Ashwin played the most all but one top-10 Test said this of Marquez. Ans: "The greatest
number of Test matches? playing nation. Which one? Colombian who ever lived"
X X 3. This is the fictional town from One
QUESTION 2 QUESTION 6 Hundred Years of Solitude. Ans: Macondo
Name the ground in which Ashwin has scored at least 4. The name of the Colombian newscast
Ashwin picked up the most one fifty against all but two that Márquez co-founded. Ans: QAP
wickets? opponents against whom he 5. This 1975 novel by Márquez is termed a
X has played. Who are they? 'dictator novel'. Ans: The Autumn of the
QUESTION 3 X Patriarch
Ashwin has picked up 10 or QUESTION 7 6. The title of the speech given by Márquez
more wickets in a Test Ashwin has picked up at upon being awarded the Nobel Prize. Ans:
match eight times and only least one five-wicket haul in The Solitude of Latin America
twice outside India. Who an inning against all but one Visual: Name these two authors and their
was the opposition, in which opponent against whom he connection to Márquez. Ans: Ernest
ground and when? has played. Which one? Hemingway and William Faulkner. The
X X two authors are often credited as For feedback and suggestions for
QUESTION 4 QUESTION 8 having the greatest impact on Márquez Text & Context, please write to
Ashwin has scored five Ashwin has dismissed two X Early Birds: Prashant Nain| Rajmohan. V| letters@thehindu.co.in
centuries. These centuries batsmen more than 10 Visual question: Animesh Mohan| Kamaldeep Kaur| Raju with the subject ‘Text & Context’
have been scored against times. Who are they? Name these two players and their connection to Ashwin’s records. AFP, PTI A.Gopal
CM A ND-NDE
YK
6 . bl . think
DELHI

businessline.
THURSDAY - MARCH 7 - 2024

THURSDAY - MARCH 7, 2024


Meet Bertie,
Small cap bubble Warren Buffett’s
SEBI should be specific on addressing small-cap risks
EBI’s (Securities Exchange Board of India’s) sister and model
S missive to the mutual fund industry warning
of froth building up in small-cap stocks has
come not a day too soon. Euphoria in this segment
has been all too evident with small-cap indices
investor
delivering returns of 60-70 per cent in the past year
compared to a 26 per cent gain in the Nifty 50. The Buffett made a pitch for long-term investing in this year’s letter to
breathless rally has bid up the price-earnings shareholders, using his sister as an example
multiple of the Nifty Smallcap 250 Index to 29 times, BLOOMBERG
a stiff premium to the Nifty 50’s 23 times.
Berkshire’s annual underperformance they did when I was young. The casino the neighbours showing its location.”
Enthusiastic retail buying of penny POINT or muted returns in recent years. now resides in many homes and daily Three, be watchful about mis-selling
stocks is a sign of a bubble in the making. BLANK. If the per share market value of tempts the occupants.” of investment products. Humans have a
Small-cap funds have garnered a lion’s Berkshire is compared with the total But the trick is to be like Bertie, who weakness for incentives and like Bertie,
returns of S&P 500 (including dividend Buffett calls “one of the country’s great investors should learn to recognise who
share of recent inflows into mutual funds, LOKESHWARRI SK pay-outs), the annual returns of investors.” Bertie too believed that is “selling” and who can be trusted.
with their managed assets shooting up by Berkshire has not always outperformed active management of stocks and

W
90 per cent in one year. Such large flows arren Buffett’s annual the S&P 500. In 2023, the return from investments was the way to generate STOCK SELECTION
create significant challenges for small-cap letter to shareholders Berkshire was 15.8 per cent while the wealth initially. She was an active Buffett was, as ever, candid about the
is eagerly awaited, not index delivered 26.3 per cent. Similar investor for 20 years, holding bonds, difficulty in stock selection process and
funds. With a flood of money chasing a just for gauging the underperformance has been noticed in putting one-third of her funds in a how it can often go wrong. “Some
limited investible universe of 500 to 600 performance of the other years too with the Berkshire stock mutual fund and trading stocks with businesses will flourish for a very long
stocks, valuations of good quality stupendously successful Berkshire outperforming the index by a tiny sliver some frequency. Then, in 1980, at the time while others will prove to be
small-caps have shot through the roof. Hathway portfolio, but also to read and in many years. age of 46, Bertie changed her sinkholes. It’s harder than you would
Popular small-cap funds have also become imbibe the nuggets of investment But if the overall gain in Berkshire investment style. She retained only the think to predict which will be the
advice which Buffet generously shares. from 1964 to 2023 is considered, it is a mutual fund and Berkshire; she made winners and losers. And those who tell
unwieldy to manage. Given the lack of In the recent annual letter, two whopping 4,384,748 per cent, compared no new trades in the next 43 years. And you they know the answer are usually
depth in this segment, any purchase or sale characters find repeated mentions. to 31,223 per cent gain in the S&P 500 in that period, she became very rich, either self-delusional or snake-oil
of shares by larger funds now carries One, of course, is Charlie Munger, index. Buffett, thus, has more than even after donating millions towards salesmen.”
significant impact costs, moving stock Buffet’s friend, and partner, who died adequately made his point about the philanthropy. But he also adds that the goal should
last year. The letter begins with a virtues of value investing and Bertie’s experience is mirrored by be to continue to look for companies
prices by 20 per cent or more. With inflows tribute to Munger, where Buffett calls remaining invested for the long-term. most other investors in Berkshire. which use capital to consistently
forcing funds to remain in buy mode, net him the real architect of Berkshire And his advice to investors remains Traders in India will also agree that if generate high returns in the future. He
asset values (NAVs) have spiralled higher. Hathway, and the entire letter is unaltered; to sit tight and trust they had purchased a blue-chip and held says that if you can identify and manage
Should a market correction unfold, there is interspersed with references to Berkshire with their savings without it for a decade, it may have given far to own even one of such companies and
Munger. any expectation of resale. Much like superior returns than that generated by simply sitting tight, it can deliver
a risk that this chain of events will play out Buffett also talks about his sister, Bertie, and her three daughters who trading in the stock. wealth almost beyond measure. “Even
in reverse with buying interest in small-cap Bertie, in this year’s letter. He has used have a large portion of their savings in heirs to such a holding can — ugh! —
funds evaporating, liquidity vanishing and Bertie to form the picture of the ideal Berkshire shares, with their ownership INVESTING LESSONS sometimes live a lifetime of leisure.”
stock prices tanking, taking down NAVs. investor in Berkshire Hathway. In his spanning decades. Besides the pervasive advice to think Buffett used the example of
Some asset management companies words, “Bertie is smart, wise and likes long-term, Buffett also hands out some American Express and Coca-Cola to
to challenge my thinking. We have WHAT BERTIE DID important investing lessons, through show companies which delivered
(AMCs), having burnt their fingers in past never, however, had a shouting match It is increasingly seen in India that retail Bertie. sustained gains to investors. AMEX
market cycles, seem to be aware of these or anything close to a ruptured investors are turning to speculation and One, investors should always do their began operations in 1850, and
risks and have implemented measures such relationship. We never will.” data analysed by SEBI showed that 90 own due diligence and research before Coca-Cola was launched in 1886. Their
as barring lumpsum investments, allowing Roberta “Bertie” Buffett Elliott, per cent of investors lost money trading investing. Bertie understands many core business has been stable over the
Buffett’s younger sister, is well known derivatives. Buffett has also pointed accounting terms related to investing. years and has grown. Both own brands
only systematic investments and fully using for her philanthropic work and has been towards this increasing tendency She tracks business news by reading which are recognised internationally.
the 35 per cent leeway to hold large-cap effectively used by him to show how towards trading and speculation, “For four newspapers daily, but doesn’t “The lesson from Coke and AMEX?
stocks. Given this scenario, when asking long-term investing creates immense whatever reasons, markets now exhibit consider herself an economic expert. When you find a truly wonderful
trustees, AMCs and fund managers to take wealth and how the reverse is true when far more casino-like behaviour than She trusts her fund managers to business, stick with it. Patience pays,
a short-term view is taken. generate returns for her. and one wonderful business can offset
“appropriate and proactive measures” to Two, beware of self-styled gurus and the many mediocre decisions that are
protect investors, SEBI could have been WHY LONG-TERM INVESTING Buffett says the goal influencers peddling stocks. In Buffett’s inevitable.”
more specific in what it thinks they should Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are should be to continue to words Bertie knows that “pundits The growing number of Indian
do. Some of the options that AMCs could all about long-term value investing and should always be ignored. After all, if traders and short-term investors will do
they have not been measly about look for companies which she could reliably predict tomorrow’s well to heed the sage of Omaha. While
look at, though it will work against their
commercial interests, will be to completely
sharing their wisdom with the masses use capital to consistently winners, would she freely share her feverish trading activity can get juices
in the past. But Buffett’s letter this year valuable insights and thereby increase to flow, investing in the right place and
gate inflows, delay deployment, hold higher seems to be addressing the analysts and generate high returns in competitive buying? That would be like sitting tight is the way to build wealth,
cash and create promotional campaigns media who have been critical of the future. finding gold and then handing a map to as Bertie did.
that warn investors of the risks in small-cap
funds.

Obesity: A silent risk to women’s hearts


While this appears feasible at least,
SEBI’s diktat that funds should also take
steps to ensure that “investors are
protected from the first mover advantage of
redeeming investors”, seems to be a tough Heart disease in women often strikes with easily overlooked symptoms. This causes delays in diagnosis and treatment
ask. In the open-end structure, AMCs are strain on the heart. For women, these check-ups are essential to keep tabs on
bound to honour redemption requests at Balram Bhargava risks are compounded by unique vital numbers such as blood pressure,
the prevailing NAV. Should markets correct challenges. First, heart diseases often cholesterol, sugar, waist circumference,

D
and NAVs of small-cap funds decline, o you recall TV commercials manifest differently in women, with and BMI, to catch any potential issues
depicting women thoughtfully subtle and easily overlooked symptoms early on. Women should also inform
investors who exit first will enjoy an selecting cooking oils to protect like discomfort in the jaw or the back. their doctors about any pregnancy
undoubted advantage over those who exit their husband’s heart health? However, This causes delays in diagnosis and complications or conditions like
later. AMCs can at the most levy heavier the Global Burden of Disease Study treatment. Even when diagnosed, endometriosis or polycystic ovary
exit loads on redemptions to discourage estimates heart disease to be the leading women may not respond similarly to the syndrome (PCOS), as these can increase
exits. But they must not deny investors exit cause of death amongst women in India, treatments as men due to biological, the chances of heart disease.
higher than all cancers combined. An medical, and social differences. Additionally, being physically active
during market distress, as was done during often overlooked contributor to this Additionally, data from our hospital has for at least 150 minutes every week is
the Franklin Templeton crisis. This will massive burden is obesity, but the shown that women are much less likely HEART HEALTH. Physical activity vital crucial. Alongside this, avoiding tobacco,
irredeemably harm investor confidence in conversation on the topic remains to access medical care as compared to moderating alcohol consumption and
the mutual fund industry. largely limited. So, this International men and this worsens at extremes of age adopting a balanced diet are essential
Women’s Day, let’s shed light on the and for heart diseases. their physical activity compared to their steps in mitigating heart disease risk.
profound impact of obesity on women’s rural counterparts. Furthermore, rapid In certain cases, medical interventions
heart health. HORMONAL CHANGES urbanisation has also resulted in an may be needed to reduce the risk of
Among women, obesity is typically Furthermore, pregnancy complications expansion of ready-to-eat and processed major cardiovascular events. Emerging
POCKET RAVIKANTH
defined as having a waist circumference
greater than 80 cm and a Body Mass
like gestational diabetes and high BP are
known to increase the risk of heart
foods. The high quantities of
sodium/sugar and preservatives in these
treatments like semaglutide offer
promising options for those struggling to
Index (BMI) over 30. NFHS-5 data disease for women. Hormonal changes items have exacerbated vulnerability to manage their weight through traditional
(2019- 2021) indicates that nearly 2 out after menopause also contribute to the heart diseases. methods.
of every 5 women suffer from abdominal heightened risk. The way forward lies in making As a society, we need to shine a
obesity, putting them at serious risk of While it is easy to attribute obesity to concerted efforts to raise awareness of brighter spotlight on women’s heart
cardiovascular ailments. The strong link individual choices or lifestyle factors, the women’s heart health. health. This also requires strengthening
between obesity and heart disease has reality is more complex. Cultural norms, First, it is imperative that women get access to nutritious food, creating safe
long been common knowledge. Obesity socio-economic disparities, and educated about the subtle symptoms of and supportive environments for
elevates cholesterol levels, increases environmental factors all shape our heart disease. Unexplained fatigue, physical activity, and ensuring
blood pressure, and causes diabetes — all relationship with food and physical discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulder, responsible use of anti-obesity
conditions that lead to heart disease. activity. For instance, women living in upper back, or upper belly regions, along medications.
However, new research shows that urban areas are affected by sedentary with nausea, are some signals that it’s
excess weight on its own can also put a professions and lifestyles, which limit time to visit a physician. Next, regular The writer is Chief, Cardiothoracic Sciences Centre, AIIMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

Payments bank model mechanisms and permit payment develop a parallel online digital store. viable start-ups as these would be so Countries such as Taiwan, South
At a time when UPI is playing a crucial banks to do lending activities too, Besides facilitating our start-ups and mesmerised by the meteoric success Korea, China and the US are far
role in the payments and settlement subject to caps. The RBI must look apps, it will help generate huge of their seed idea to discard basic ahead and are already manufacturing
ecosystem, payment banks are for corrective actions to ensure the revenue and employment. The digital financial prudence. most advanced semiconductors.
becoming ineffective and non-viable viability of these banks. ecosystem has some inherent Caught up in the hubris of However, India has made rapid
and are posing a threat to the entire VSK Pillai challenges which will have to be uncommon acceleration, Paytm was strides towards fast tracking the
financial system. Given the higher Changanacherry, Kerala competitively handled. tempted to enter quasi-banking setting up of semiconductors units.
risks associated with those banks, Vinod Johri without a stable architecture to But the ecosystem required for
particularly concerning profitability Indigenous app store Delhi sustain regulatory essentials. It had becoming a semiconductor
and matching of assets and liabilities, The editorial ‘Big Tech blues’ (March let enthusiasm prevail over business manufacturing hub is yet to develop.
the returns to the stakeholders, 6) on monopolistic muscle-flexing by Paytm’s folly basics, in a bid to stand too tall on Educational institutions and private
especially in the case of depositors, Google Playstore emphasises on Paytm burst into prominence with narrow foundations. sector have to contribute their best,
are under threat. To expand the long-term solution by developing an the synchronised flowering of digital R Narayanan in addition to the government’s
business volume and returns they indigenous app store so that our revolution and exponential rise of Navi Mumbai policy efforts — just as with the Y2K
are being urged to carry out start-ups and apps may reach the the telecom sector, especially initiative and subsequent IT
divergent banking activities that are people seamlessly. Legal recourse smartphones. Its current Semiconductor push revolution — for scripting success in
violative of the regulations of the may be either counter-productive or misfortunes, amidst an economy in With reference to ‘Scripting semicon semiconductors too.
banking regulator. a short-term measure. India has good clip, is a wake-up call for the success’ (March 6), India’s journey Kosaraju Chandramouli
The RBI must review its oversight abundant talent and facilities to entire sunrise sector. Surprising that on this front has just begun. Hyderabad

Published by Nirmala Lakshman and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Raghuvir Srinivasan (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act). ISSN 0971 - 7528

CM
YK . . . . . . . . ND-NDE
think . bl . 7
DELHI

businessline.
THURSDAY - MARCH 7 - 2024

Resurrecting Edtech
Focus on building learning systems, not mere apps
MISHA SHARMA
Rajendra Singh Pawar

W
hy don’t Indian
women use formal

P
owered by digitisation and finance? Or, stated
energetic entrepreneurs, differently, why is the
EdTech has had a adoption of formal
disruptive effect on education, finance among Indian women so low?
especially during the pandemic. Ever since the World Bank started
As the pandemic receded, the collecting and disseminating
EdTech industry also met with gender-wise data on financial inclusion,
headwinds resulting in eroded EDTECH. Investing in learning this question has captured the attention
valuations, layoffs, and shuttered /ISTOCKPHOTO of policymakers, and development
businesses. This led to questions practitioners.
on whether EdTech businesses However, despite targeted efforts by
were being implemented in a must all encourage the creation the government, less than 15 per cent
sustainable manner or not. of diverse content types, Indian women save and borrow formally,
In the wake of challenges including videos, simulations, only 28 per cent have ever made or
facing high profile EdTech firms and interactive modules. received a digital payment, and 32 per

Women’s financial
alongside a global funding To achieve this, we must look cent of women-owned bank accounts are
squeeze, is the era of EdTech at a few broad objectives. inactive, according to the World Bank’s
over? Unlikely, as the market 2021 Global Findex Data.
retains growth potential if we OUTCOME ORIENTED Several reasons are cited for this —
consider the entire gamut of For starters, we must have a good ranging from supply side gaps such as
K-12, test prep, higher education,
and skilling opportunities. It may
even be right to say that this is a
period of post-pandemic
correction, and a consolidated
understanding of the science of
learning and define clear and
consistent outcomes for the
learners. The outcome could be
something as simple as making
unsuitable product design and
inadequate distribution to demand side
factors such as low financial and digital
literacy and restrictive social norms. Yet
this understanding has not translated
inclusion is not understood
industry will only emerge segments of learners ‘Day One’ into meaningful interventions for RESEARCH BIAS. Policymakers should go beyond economics to look at
stronger. Job Ready for specific job women that increase the relevance of sociological and anthropological aspects of how women negotiate finance
This is nothing new as every openings in the country. formal finance in their lives.
decade or so, the skilling industry We must also recognise that Could it be that we have not fully
goes over a few bumps. In the Edtech should be more about understood how women manage their their interdependencies, i.e., to build, these points. First, there is an urgent inconsistent effect sizes).
case of the EdTech industry, it education and less about financial lives, why they choose certain maintain, and modify social relations, need for an expanded scope of data and Since policymakers largely pay
really grew wings during the technology. money management strategies over and to be regarded as trustworthy and evidence that can contextualise the state attention to published work, especially
Covid era while emerging as a While technology is others, and the value they attach to reliable. of women’s financial inclusion across by economists, the effect of the bias is to
filler in the gap created by a indispensable for spreading different sources of finance? different segments. produce misguided and ultimately
shortfall in adequate education in a large and diverse Here is an alternative narrative that is JOINT ACTION Such a dataset should help us unsuccessful policy action.
investments in the education country like India, we must avoid often missed by mainstream discourse. For such women, empowerment may understand women’s financial Second, there is a strong demand for
sector. getting into the dangerous trap Often the narrative around women’s take the form of joint action, agency, and behaviour, their specific roles within the financial services among women.
A remedial measure is that of of focusing more on developing financial inclusion is unidimensional and commitment which is in contrast with context of their household and Financial inclusion interventions have
the National Education Policy an app than building learning anchored on women’s lack of control the idea of individual agency that is often community, their preferences and worked when they have been able to
(NEP) 2020 calling for more systems on sound principles of over money and their limited say in articulated as the purpose of women’s requirements with regards to managing situate themselves into existing social
capital allocation for the learning theory, including the matters of household decision making. financial inclusion. money, and their individual personality and institutional structures- microcredit
education sector. This policy role of collaboration within the This narrow view frames the empirical It is worth acknowledging that Indian traits that could potentially have a strong and self-help group programs or women
support is crucial if we are to cohort, an understanding of work of the so-called RCTers women are by no means a homogeneous bearing on the financial choices they Business Correspondents to improve
harness EdTech as a catalyst for memory and how it works, the (economists who run randomized group and how they access and use make. women’s access to formal finance stands
innovation, accessibility, and criticality of integrating ‘doing’ control trials to understand the effects of finance, and the benefits they perceive Impact evaluation studies that create out.
quality improvement in into learning and making it work an intervention). This body of work from using these services will largely evidence on what works to increase Taking inspiration from this thesis,
education. for individuals. confines itself to measuring changes in a depend on their individual and women’s financial inclusion and what Financial Service Providers will have to
That there is no alternative to We must focus on explicitly narrow set of decontextualized household contexts. For example, effects it has should be replicated across find ingenious ways to design products
EdTech is a curious perception articulated learning outcomes quantitative variables. research shows that female labour force contexts and be supported by qualitative and services, especially in the non-credit
that developed over the last few that can be demonstrated as well Not surprisingly, interventions often participation is one of the strongest research in order to arrive at robust segment, that women find relevant such
years. Covid led growth was as measured to ensure clarity, fail and even when they succeed, the predictors of women’s financial theories of change. that it encompasses both the women’s
misconstrued as demand instead specificity, and a practical causal mechanisms responsible for inclusion. needs and the needs of her household.
of seeing it for what it was – an approach. success remain opaque. Relying on What will it take for formal finance to PUBLICATION BIAS However, financial service providers
indicator of the gaps in education Lastly, we must have a sharp qualitative research from domains make their products relevant for women Most importantly, researchers who can’t do this alone, as the unit economics
infrastructure. focus on the intended learners outside the field of economics can offer who are poor, who perform unpaid work collect and disseminate evidence should currently do not lead to business
As Covid receded, it became who may reside in different parts more layered insights about women’s at home, and who live in remote locations be mindful of publication bias (selective profitability.
apparent that EdTech wasn’t the of the country. Delivering preferences, and their money disconnected from the digital world? publication of research studies that find Therefore, an expanded scope of
panacea to all problems in learning outcomes in the metros management practices. Two key implications emerge from positive results) and should make women’s financial inclusion will require
education. The challenges are and Tier 2 cities can be rewarding For example, a key insight that conscious efforts to also publicise studies strategic and collective support from
largely in the form of navigating and can change the destiny of the emerges from research rooted in Relying on qualitative that produce negative or no results. government, regulators, investors, and
the complexity of education and nation.
making adequate investments for In the hinterlands, the story is
sociological and anthropological research from domains Scientific research has demonstrated the civil society until such a point where
methods is that women especially in poor that publication bias is especially strong the business models begin to show signs
a robust education infrastructure different. Anyone planning to and working-class families bear most of outside economics can in economics. High-powered economics of profitability and scale. Piecemeal
in the country.
To break out of our
deliver learning, and that too at
scale, must come with deep
the responsibilities for the household’s offer more layered insights journals publish papers with positive approaches won’t work.
financial management. RCT effects (even if they are only
middle-income status, we must passion, commitment, and Poor women use finance to manage about women’s preferences, “vaguely positive”) more regularly than The writer is Practice Head – Household Finance, Dvara
invest in learning and make the wherewithal. The challenge will liquidity constraints but also to shape and money management those with non-effects (small or Research
most of our demographic be enormous, and the societal
dividend. returns will be disproportionate.
There is a dire need to develop Only then can we truly skill India.
adaptive learning platforms that
can personalise content based on The writer is Chairman & Co-Founder, NIIT
an individual’s learning style. We Group
Business continuity, disaster recovery plan for equity trade
thehindu businessline. P Saravanan
A Paul Williams
resources to mirror the primary
exchange's operations. If a disaster
focus by the stock exchanges, regulators
and government on BCP and DR
renders the main exchange inoperable, highlights their commitment to
TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY.
R
ecent live trading sessions by the trading can be swiftly shifted to the DR safeguarding the Indian capital market.
National Stock Exchange of site, ensuring minimal disruption for As technology evolves and threats
March 7, 2004 India (NSE) and the Bombay investors and brokers. These two become more sophisticated, ongoing
Stock Exchange (BSE) have highlighted strategies are not mutual ly exclusive; refinement of the above plans is crucial.
HSBC in a quandary over UTI Bank deal? the critical role of business continuity they work best when implemented Regular testing, incorporating
When the UK-based HSBC Ltd struck a deal with compatriot CDC Capital to buy its planning (BCP) and disaster recovery together. emerging technologies, international
20 per cent ownership of UTI Bank for a little over Rs 410 crore, it was touted as a (DR) sites in today's financial Effective BCP and DR strategies have collaboration in disaster recovery, etc
winning manoeuvre in a gradually opening Indian banking industry. Three months landscape. adirect impact on trading in multiple will ensure the Indian stock exchanges
later it appears that the move has only landed the British bank in a quandary. FOSTERING. Financial market
Basically, BCP is the roadmap that ways. A functioning stock exchange is security/ISTOCKPHOTO remain resilient and prepared for any
ensures stock exchanges can maintain crucial for the smooth functioning of such eventuality.
BSE-500 stocks Investors & long-term capital gains tax essential operations during the entire financial system. BCP and DR By prioritising BCP and DR, along
Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh’s announcement in Budget 2003 that disruptions. ensure that essential services like commitment to stability and efficiency, with enhancing investor awareness of
investments made in stocks that are part of the BSE 500 and held on for longer Such disruptions could be anything clearing, and settlement continue further solidifying their reputation as such critical plans, the exchanges are
than 12 months would be exempt from capital gains tax was expected to lure retail from cyberattacks to natural disasters. uninterrupted, preventing disruptions reliable trading platforms. not only protecting their operations but
investors into equities. An analysis of the shareholding pattern in those stocks The plan outlines specific steps to that could cascade through the broader To further strengthen the positive they are building trust, safeguarding the
within the BSE 500 that have delivered the maximum returns over the past one year minimise downtime and keep core financial ecosystem. impact of BCP and DR, fostering interests of millions of investors, and
shows quite a contrary picture, though. functions like order routing, trade Knowing that the exchanges have investor awareness is essential. Both contributing to the stability of the
execution, and data dissemination robust plans in place fosters trust the NSE and BSE need to disseminate Indian financial system.
FIIs account for 87 pc bids on Day 1 of ONGC issue running smoothly. On the other hand, among investors.The Indian stock requisite information about their BCP
The huge demand for ONGC shares on the first day came mainly from FIIs who DR sites act as a safety net. exchanges are key players in the global and DR strategies to the investor Saravanan is a professor of finance and accounting at IIM
accounted for bids amounting to over Rs 18,000 crore. Retail investors applied for These are geographically separate financial arena. A robust BCP and DR community. Proactive communication Tiruchirappalli ;Williams is the Head of India at Sernova
just 13,520 shares on the first day, compared with 26.14 crore shares that the FIIs locations equipped with technology and program demonstrates their on the BCP and DR is vital. The recent Financial
bid for.

BL TWO-WAY CROSSWORD 2391


EASY NOT SO EASY
ACROSS DOWN ACROSS DOWN
01. Entanglement (12) 02. Target ring (5) 01. Macon, politic to change – but that's an added snag (12) 02. Ring? True, it changes: ring! (5)
08. Money earned by capital (8) 03. Study (6) 08. What one shows, being keen, is what capital will earn (8) 03. Study both ends of pantomime with a bit of strategy (6)
09. Heavenly body (4) 04. Published (6) 09. Solomon's seal, for example, in the night sky? (4) 04. Having brought it out, is having a write served (6)
11. Cause of infection (5) 05. Concentrated (7) 11. Six, semi-rustic, may make one sick (5) 05. Concentrated on counting decimally at the end of the
12. Middle Eastern address to 06. Places for care of elderly (7,5) 12. What Turk might have called one could end in fife line (7)
educated person (7) 07. Workers in precious arrangement (7) 06. Places where they tend to look after one well? Ill, too! (7,5)
13. Sway from side to side (4) metal (12) 13. Seaside feature, cellophane-wrapped or 07. They take what one's got in change and beat it (12)
15. Mountain; composer (4) 10. Away (3) barnacle-encrusted! (4) 10. Away to one side it's no longer fresh (3)
19. Make damp (7) 14. Fabulous monster; idle 15. Alban the man of note, and the great mass of 13 (4) 14. The beast is fabulous, the idea fanciful, with him in
20. I believe (L) (5) fancy (7) 19. Army doctor is to get net return and won't leave it dry (7) mixed race (7)
22. Pedigree (4) 16. Pig-pen (3) 20. I believe it's Latin! (5) 16. There's no alternative to story of swinish accommodation (3)
23. Revolting (8) 17. Lay upon, as order (6) 22. A pedigree that may be found in the forest (4) 17. With authority direct leaderless men to enlist (6)
24. No longer seeking 18. Got runs (6) 23. Very nasty, and right on the bone when in a hole (8) 18. Made cuts but got goals (6)
election (8,4) 21. Arm joint (5) 24. Status being lowered, is no longer running (8,4) 21. Sort of joint where the Spanish make obeisance (5)

SOLUTION: BL TWO-WAY CROSSWORD 2390


ACROSS 1. Dearth 8. Drake 9. Conform 11. Laburnum 12. Defer 15. Code 16. Arc 17. Hour 19. Grace 21. Freehold 24. Sends up 25. Medal 26. Kindle
DOWN 2. Erode 3. Riflemen 4. Hurl 5. Odour 6. Warn 7. Beam 10. Materials 12. Duck 13. Sheridan 14. True 18. Shell 20. Cruel 21. Fame 22. Eddy 23. Desk

CM
YK ... . . . . . . ND-NDE
>
OPINION 9
STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM

VOLUME XXX NUMBER 278 ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA

NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 7 MARCH 2024

Confidence booster
Index inclusion reflects confidence in India

B
loomberg’s decision to include Indian government bonds issued under But this is not going to be smooth sailing all
the fully accessible route (FAR) in its emerging market local currency through. India’s energy consumption, and within that
fossil fuel consumption, will continue to rise for the
government bond index and related indices gives a significant boost to
foreseeable future. The IEA itself forecasts India’s oil
the Indian debt market. The inclusion will be done over 10 months start- consumption to rise by over a million barrels a day by
ing January 31, 2025. Bloomberg will be the second major global index provider - the end of this decade, an increase of 20 per cent from
— after JP Morgan — to include Indian government bonds in its emerging market
bond index. JP Morgan’s index inclusion will start in June 2024. While Bloomberg’s
index inclusion is expected to result in an inflow of only $2-3 billion, coming soon
after the inclusion by JP Morgan, which is more widely tracked, it is a confidence
India and the IEA: now. Notably, both the US Energy Information
Administration and Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries forecast almost twice as much of
an increase in oil consumption for India during this

Friends with benefits?


period. Squaring this with the IEA scenarios that peak
booster for large international investors looking to diversify their debt holdings. oil and gas consumption globally will require much
This should lead to higher inflows in the debt market over time. faster reductions in demand elsewhere in the world,
It was announced in the Union Budget 2020-21 that certain categories of and in particular within OECD members, presents a
central government securities would be opened for non-resident investors without challenging scenario. How reasonable such expecta-
any restriction, following which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started issuing Expanding the global energy body membership to include tions are, and the economic and political implications
of such a trend even within the OECD countries have
securities under the FAR. This, as expected, has enabled the inclusion of govern- India is crucial for ensuring global energy security led to much debate over the past few weeks.
ment of India bonds in global indices. Index inclusion, theoretically, can have India is likely to build between 40 and 80 Gw of

T
several benefits. It will lead to a higher flow of foreign savings, which will not he International Energy Agency (IEA) agree- sector risks to global economic and political stability. new coal electricity generation capacity, which is at
only help the government to finance the fiscal deficit but also aid in financing the ing to start discussions with India on joining It increasingly recognises the risks that climate odds with IEA’s stated position that no new coal pro-
current account deficit. Funds tracking these indices are passive in nature and the organisation as a full member is a signifi- change poses to the world. duction capacity should be built unless it includes
the flows are considered more stable than those managed actively. Since part of cant and positive step for both parties. India had for- Within this, the role that India will play in the still very expensive carbon removal technologies.
mally sent a request for full membership last October global energy transition is central to the world meet- In general, the IEA’s narrative on shifting invest-
the budget deficit will be financed by foreign savings as more securities are issued and the 31 member countries at the IEA’s 50th ing its climate goals. India has the world’s largest ments in fossil fuel production globally to renew-
under the FAR over time, it will relieve pressure on domestic savings, which can Anniversary events earlier in February announced population, is the fifth-largest economy, is on track ables may not appear friendly to countries such as
help bring down overall borrowing cost in the economy. that negotiations will now begin. This would be the to becoming the third-largest within this decade, India and many others in Africa and Asia that are
At a broader level, the inclusion of government bonds in global indices also first country outside the Organisation for Economic and is the world’s third-largest energy consumer and expected to rely on these hydrocarbons in the fore-
reflects confidence in India’s macroeconomic strength. India is one of the fastest- Co-operation and Development (OECD) club to get greenhouse gas emitter. Over the next two decades, seeable future. Unless the Agency is able to persuade
growing large economies with macroeconomic stability. It also maintains large full membership of the IEA, reflecting the increas- global growth in energy consumption will be domi- its members to drastically reduce their reliance on
ingly larger share of non-OECD countries in global nated by India, as its growing population and rising fossil fuels so that there is space for the rest of the
foreign exchange reserves, which has helped maintain stability on the external energy consumption since 2007. prosperity require more energy. world to grow, and simultaneously trigger at least a
front, as evidenced during the recent policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve. Given that much of the growth in Recognising this trend, the coun- three-fold increase in capital investment in the clean
Foreign portfolio investors pumped nearly $5 billion into the Indian debt market energy consumption and green- try has made significant policy choic- energy transition, how the 31 member countries rec-
thus far in 2024. Although there are several benefits of index inclusion, it is house gas emissions will come from es over the past decade and a half in oncile the needs of their own constituents with the
worth remembering that higher foreign exposure in the debt market can also India in the foreseeable future, it is increasing access to modern energy rest of the developing world will be tested in the
important for the IEA to engage sources, particularly electricity, while negotiations to bring India into the IEA fold.
increase risk. As RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das rightly noted last year, index
more closely with such an emerging pushing forward an ambitious energy Finally, there is the small matter of the IEA’s lega-
inclusion is a double-edged sword. While inflows will increase as the weighting economy. However, despite apparent transition agenda that is shifting its cy role of helping its members achieve oil security.
in indices goes up in the near term and assets under management tracking these synergies in their worldviews on sev- energy system towards renewables, Every importing member country needs to hold a
indices grow, the reverse can also happen if India’s weighting is reduced by the eral issues in India’s energy sector electrification of its transport system, 90-day emergency reserve of its daily net imports.
index providers. policies, there are important differ- and now hydrogen and biofuels. Its India currently has less than a week’s stock in its
In such a situation, foreign funds will move out of Indian securities, which ences in their approach to economic success in ramping up renewable strategic reserves that goes up to 66 days when com-
development and energy transition.
KAUSHIK DEB electricity capacity and reducing the mercial stocks held by the refining sector are includ-
can put pressure on both borrowing cost and the Indian rupee. Higher issuance
Hence, for a successful partnership, emissions intensity of its gross ed. Given almost no progress on this account in
under the FAR, which will be necessary to create a liquid market for foreign both parties need to agree where they can, and per- domestic product (GDP) has been very impressive. It, India over the last three years, as evidenced by the
investors, can also exacerbate volatility in times of stress. Thus, what this means haps disagree where necessary. That will make for however, pales in comparison to the targets the country budgetary allocation for building strategic oil
is higher foreign exposure would demand better and more agile macroeconomic an interesting negotiation process. has set itself for 2030, which include tripling of renew- reserves in the country, the IEA will have to find a
management. In brief, India will need to aim to run a low fiscal and current The IEA was set up half a century ago to support able and other non-fossil electricity capacity, producing way of exempting India from this requirement.
account deficit, along with low and stable inflation. Although it is being brought and promote the energy security of oil importing coun- 5 million tonnes annually of green hydrogen, and It makes perfect sense that the IEA should seek
tries in response to the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. At that establishing a carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of to include India as a full member given the outsized
down progressively, a higher general government budget deficit in this context
time, the largest oil importers were in the OECD, and carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent. role the country will play in the global energy tran-
remains a vulnerability. The RBI will also have to manage foreign exchange flows hence IEA membership was limited to OECD coun- Whether India meets its heroic targets for 2030 will sition over the next decade or so. And the benefits
actively to limit currency volatility. tries. That does not reflect the reality of the world be central to the global emissions trajectory towards a for India in learning from the expertise the IEA
today. The largest energy importers, and not just oil, 1.5 degrees Celsius target. Hence, the synergy between brings, as it seeks to build a modern economy that
are in non-OECD developing countries in Asia. The the expanded interpretation by the IEA of its energy is secure from energy shocks and climate proof, are
Different lanes stability of global energy markets crucially depends
on how these countries attempt to secure their energy
security mandate and the green developmental
paradigm adopted by India, can be the bedrock of
substantial. However, both parties must acknowl-
edge differences while cooperating on agreed-upon
Tata Motors demerger will improve efficiency systems. Hence, expanding the IEA membership to expanded cooperation and support that the IEA can issues to build a successful partnership. India in the
include India is a crucial step in that direction. provide to India’s energy transition. If successful, India IEA fold could also serve as a model for engaging

T
he implementation of the decision to reorganise Tata Motors into two This is also important given how the IEA has would have established a new growth model where the rest of the non-OECD world.
independent listed verticals will take 12-15 months. The initial market expanded its mandate to now include climate action higher prosperity does not necessarily imply a much
reaction to the announcement of the demerger was positive, but not very in its interpretation of energy security. Thus, the higher energy and carbon footprint, and this will have The writer is a senior research scholar at the Center on
enthusiastic. The conventional wisdom is that such demergers allow Agency no longer considers physical disruptions in profound implications for the rest of the world that is Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of
the oil and gas markets as the only types of energy yet to reach such a phase of economic growth. International and Public Affairs
“value unlocking”. Investors can better understand where a single and focused busi-
ness is headed, while managements can also concentrate on the operational dynam-
ics. Hence, markets tend to assign a higher valuation to focused businesses.

Women’s rights as a power play


Paradoxically, this may not have a dramatic effect simply because the company is
well-run. It has successfully weathered the ups and downs of Covid and chip shortages
in the recent past. It is correct that there are differences between passenger vehicles
(PVs) and commercial vehicles (CVs), including understanding and responding to

I
nternational Women’s Day falls tomorrow, that to suspend leaders who have corruption cases Mr Modi’s response to these incidents came
sources of demand, financing models, and managing the respective supply chains.
time of the year when journalists’ inboxes are against them,” the spokesperson said. some months later following outrage that had
Two dedicated boards, each focused on one segment, may be able to fine-tune oper- flooded with entreaties to cover some corporate Perhaps Mamata Banerjee’s decidedly ambigu- reached the foreign press. In two tweets, he referred
ations further. It is also true that each vertical may find it easier to raise funds for a initiative or the other to “empower” women. The ous attitude to crimes against women prevented a to rape being a “challenge to social justice” and
specific project as well. impact of these disparate well-meaning efforts, more equivocal condemnation. Who can forget her “shameful in any civilised society”. On the reprieve
If one wishes to only take exposure in one segment, one may do so. So there some of them quite successful, become moot when accusations against Suzette Jordan, a mother of for Bilkis Bano’s rapists by the Gujarat government
may eventually be some value unlocking. But analysts also point out that Tata you read about recent appalling events at two who was gang-raped by five men in 2012. First, in 2022, since sensibly reversed by the Supreme
Motors has massively outperformed the market with over 140 per cent capital Sandeshkhali, West Bengal and Dumka, Ms Banerjee accused Jordan, who courageously Court, there has been, however, no word.
Jharkhand. Both underline the “distance to hori- chose to reveal her identity, of fabricating a case to With elections approaching, women have
gains in the past 12 months, while the Nifty has risen 25 per cent. This means
zon”, to use the terminology of surveys, towards embarrass the government. Then another woman become the focus of political contestations, with
that any medium-term upside is likely already priced into the valuation. While gender equality and the deeply MP suggested that Jordan was a political parties falling over themselves to offer all
investors will receive an equal number of shares in both the new companies, the problematic nature of Indian society sex worker, implying that rape of manner of welfare schemes. Together with the
successor companies will be lopsided in terms of comparative turnover and mar- in which the political class across someone in this profession could reservation of seats for women on corporate boards
gins. Mainly by virtue of holding the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) portfolio, the PV the ideological spectrum is complic- not be considered a crime. Finally, and in Parliament, both moves with which I pro-
segment generates around 79 per cent of consolidated revenues and it has an it. Halfway through the third decade the woman police officer who foundly disagree, the competitive populism centred
of the 21st century, women’s cracked the case was transferred. on women only serves to underline the cynical
operating margin of 15-16 per cent. Further, Tata Motors has a 70 per cent domestic “empowerment” remains a victim Always on the alert for the political manipulation of a deeply discriminated
market share in the new electric vehicle passenger segment and it is challenging to political power play. slightest political advantage, the section of society.
Hyundai for No 2 position in PVs. The CV division has an operating margin of The ructions in Sandeshkhali Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), eager No amount of handouts can change this reality
around 7 per cent and contributes only about 21 per cent of consolidated revenues. offer a good example. Knowledge of to improve its electoral record in unless political leaders understand the criticality
Volume growth in PVs is also likely to be higher, though Tata Motors is looking the various crimes of Shahjahan Bengal, has cashed in. Prime of a zero-tolerance policy on crimes against women,
at moving into electric buses and other new-age CVs which may boost volumes. Sheikh, the powerful local overlord
of this village in the North 24
SWOT Minister Narendra Modi mocked
the silence of the INDIA alliance
irrespective of the status, caste or religion of the
victim and perpetrator. India prides itself on being
However, while the company would obviously like to gain market share in Parganas, 80 km southeast of KANIKA DATTA over the atrocities committed among the world’s fastest growing economies, but
domestic PVs and CVs, since JLR generates roughly two-thirds of consolidated Kolkata, are not new. The assaults against the “mothers and sisters incidents such as the gang rape of a Spanish tourist
revenues, its focus is inevitably more global than domestic. If global demand for on local women by him and his goons were also of Sandeshkhali”. in Jharkhand are unlikely to encourage the world’s
PVs picks up, JLR should do well and in that case, the PV segment as a whole well known. The rest of India only learnt of them The Prime Minister has a point; such silence is largest foreign corporations, whose dollar invest-
will do well. The pandemic and the subsequent Ukraine war hit the global auto when women, emboldened by the manhunt fol- inexcusable. But it is hard to reconcile his elo- ments the government craves, to send their large
lowing an encounter with the Enforcement quence here against his elliptical statements on complements of women executives to work here.
industry hard since semiconductor supplies dried up. But that also taught auto
Directorate, came forward to complain. sexual crimes. The government has frequently objected to
manufacturers a painful lesson in terms of supply diversification and inventory Note two points here. First, Mr Sheikh was only In the case of Asifa Bano, an eight-year-old girl India’s poor performance on the Global Gender
management. Since the value chain for JLR is also located overseas, Tata Motors expelled from the party for six years after he was from a nomadic community, two BJP ministers in Gap ranking at 127 out of 146 countries. It is hard
is sensitive to fluctuations in global supply-demand for those commodities and arrested, fully 55 days after he went into hiding a the Jammu & Kashmir government attended a rally to understand why the politicos think we should
it does most of the business in foreign exchange. In sum, while this demerger mere 30 km from his home. The Trinamool Congress in support of the rape accused. A year before, a rape enjoy a higher ranking when women’s participation
appears to have little downside, it may also not yield much in the way of imme- spokesman said the party was “setting an example”. victim tried to immolate herself in front of the UP in the economy lags its Southeast Asian peers sig-
Second, there was no mention of Mr Sheikh’s chief minister’s residence seeking justice against nificantly and the country still cannot guarantee
diate upside for investors. However, operationally, it would be expected to
crimes against women. Instead, the statement her attacker, a former party politician, who contin- the safety of its own women, let alone those who
increase efficiency over time. focused on retaliatory rhetoric. “We dare the BJP ued to intimidate her family after the crime. choose to visit.

Towards the age of Meta Reason such as artificial intelligence (AI),


augmented reality, 5G and blockchain has
constructed an alter ego of each of the
citizens and “datafied” his persona as well
the age of Meta Reason. Before the advent
of Meta Reason, signalling the end of the
regime of rationality will be seven
“unravelments”. The economic
public interest and meritocracy though
technology and systems they have
designed are loaded in their favour.
The emerging age of Meta Reason
sions” (as the author describes them) may themselves against big businesses saw the as his actions. This has also promoted unravelment will flow from high debt would be anchored in consciousness,
have run their course. These develop- birth of cryptocurrencies, which, elevated levels of surveillance by state- levels, and growing inequality, which will intuition, awareness, human feeling. It
ments will be disentangled, yielding to a according to the author, proved to be a aided Big Tech, which do so to enhance constrain both demand and supply. The will be more accommodative of
new world of Meta Reason. The book, “solution” from the same ethical stable — their own profitability, which, in turn, political unravelling will challenge knowledge not emanating from science
however, lays down only a broad sketch that greed is good. The failure of the US challenges the electoral autocracy, and technology, lay emphasis on
of the successor regime. interventions in geopolitical fundamentals of THE LAST DANCE OF illiberal harmonious coexistence with nature,
BOOK REVIEW Section 1 deals with case studies on confrontations such as Afghanistan and capitalism and RATIONALITY: democracies, and replace success at work with happiness,
each sphere. Banks that have broken rules Ukraine is recaptured well. However, the democracy — the Making Sense of high surveillance. reinvigorate cultures, and promote a
V KUMARASWAMY of responsible lending and consumption author’s longing for the benefits of US dilution of the Unravelling World The shrinking of the variety of communities with common
that have decoupled from income due to hegemony of the past seeps through from privacy and Order consuming middle interests and aspirations.

F
ew books have the knack of timing cheap savings flowing from China. time to time, especially when he writes, “It independence of Author: class (other than The author has managed to explain
their release right and this is one of Although the US has yielded to China in is too early to write off the US. However, choice. The same Rohit Prasad India) and family this complex web of simultaneous forces
them. Although not event-based, many ways, the latter is yet to find success the prognosis is less sanguine for the high-end Publisher: Hachette systems, the in an engaging and absorbing style. The
the timing seems particularly apt for The in dealing with several contradictions continuation of the world system they technologies that exhaustion of book has perhaps missed on analysing the
Pages: 352
Last Dance of Rationality, given the implicit in its ambitious path. Its trade have done so much to create.” have enabled us to natural sources of impact of the World Trade Organisation,
extreme flux in global affairs. tensions with the US, the frictions between Man’s efforts to get ahead of nature stay in touch with Price: ~699 energy (oil and gas) the increasing assertiveness of Islamism
The book is about the rise and ebb of big businessmen and the Communist through gain-of-function research to people across and the fast in Europe, and India’s digitisation, which
the main pillars of the age of rationality, Party, its failed attempts to use Huawei for develop vaccines before the arrival of a continents have also led to the collapse of spreading virus of disputes and the seems successful today but carries its
covering roughly 70 years since World overseas surveillance and failure to pump- virus had led to disasters such as Covid-19, families, culture, and the human touch. As inability to resolve them all signal the own risks, including on democracy.
War II. The book, which is best read back- prime growth through construction, as although the truth behind this crisis has a result, mankind has become a colony of social, ecological and managerial areas for This readable work provides valuable
wards chapter wise, traces the major demonstrated by the fall of Evergrande, been effectively obfuscated. It is an irony loners with compromised emotional well- “unravelments”. Technology solutions, insights for aspiring foreign policy
developments on the technological, prompts the ruling dispensation to search that nations are trying to solve future being and self-esteem. with their own risks and geopolitical flux, analysts, geopolitical watchers, and
geopolitical, environmental, financial, for solutions in the previously much diseases when existing ailments such as Section 2 runs the thread through the are the other loosening knots. social engineers .
individual and international relations maligned Confucianism. malnutrition, childhood diseases, hunger case studies above to highlight the central The author argues that the elites have
and showcases how several of the trends, Central Banks’ hegemony in issuing and poverty kill many times more people. theme: The evaporation of the age of sold us illusions such as greed is good, the The reviewer is the author of Making Growth
processes and assumptions and “illu- fiat currencies and failure to assert The emergence of high-end technology rationality and the possible emergence of pursuit of self-interest is congruent with Happen in India (Sage Publications)
16 NEW DELHI
THURSDAY
MARCH 07, 2024

Opinion
E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24
Game of musical chairs
continues in Kathmandu
{ OUR TAKE }

The tortuous Shift in political alliances


should not bother Delhi,
collapsed just the other day floun- phenomenon and have caused con-
dered for several reasons. siderable anxiety in Nepal. Maoists

path to justice which should focus on


connectivity projects and
First, at a time when the economy fear that reopening one key element
was stagnant and the government of the Constitution would lead to calls
was receiving public flak, Prachanda for reopening others such as federal-
was unable to remove some non-per- ism; this would again plunge the

The GN Saibaba case flags several questions improved delivery of forming ministers due to the intransi- country into turmoil. Interestingly,
gence of the NC leadership. the RPP, which was also in the oppo- When difficulties arose with one coalition partner, Prachanda nimbly
about the criminal justice system and cooperative programmes Second, the NC, even while being in sition, has not been included in the jumped ship and forged a new coalition with the other HT ARCHIVE
the coalition, decided that they would new coalition.
anti-bail character of laws such as UAPA

W
ith shifting allian- fight future elections on their own Fifth, relations between coalition to trade and transit. Left governments ented coalition. It is imperative for
ces, elastic ideolo- and not in alliance with another party. partners deteriorated when Pra- have been enthusiastic supporters of India to reach out to this new political
gies of political For the Maoists, this was deeply wor- chanda refused to support an NC can- China’s Belt and Road Initiative, even force including by providing them

T
he Bombay high court’s acquittal of GN Saibaba,
parties and per- risome, given the fact that grassroots didate for the post of the chair of the though no significant projects have access to our leaders. Though it is
a former Delhi University academician, in a case sonal ambitions of support for them has diminished over Upper House, who is also a member materialised in the absence of agree- foolhardy to make any prediction,
concerning his alleged links to the banned leaders, political the years; the possibility of being of the Constitutional Council that rec- ment on funding modalities. A NC given the fact that the NC is faction-
Communist Party of India (Maoist) underscores instability continues to plague Nepal. wiped out if they fought on their own, ommends nominations to several government had decided that such ridden and in turmoil, the RSP could
In the last two years alone, coalitions stares them in the face. constitutional positions. projects should only be funded on the emerge as an even more significant
key failings of India’s criminal justice system. Saibaba have mutated several times. From a Third, there is the ever- Lastly, and this has been basis of grants or concessional loans. force in the next elections.
was arrested in 2014, and the sanction to prosecute him Maoist-Communist Party of Nepal present fear amongst the publicly stated by the Mao- It remains to be seen whether the new Given the curse of political instabil-
under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or (Unified Marxist–Leninist) coalition Maoists that they would be ists, this new coalition is Left coalition would alter this policy. ity in Nepal, there is no guarantee
to a Maoist-Nepali Congress (NC) coa- completely marginalised if inspired by a desire to once One major partner in the coalition about the longevity of the current coa-
UAPA, was granted only the following year. Yet, a lition and back to a Maoist-CPN the big two parties came again bring all the Left par- is the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). lition. Coalitions come and go. India’s
sessions court in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, took (UML) coalition, the wheel has moved together, something not ties on a common platform. It made a spectacular debut in the last fundamental equities, civilisational
a full circle. impossible as witnessed fol- Ranjit A merger of the Maoists and elections when it emerged as the connect, people-to-people linkages,
cognisance of the case and heard the first witness even Rae
Even though the NC had emerged lowing the 2013 Parliament the CPN (UML) some years fourth largest party. It is largely com- the economic partnership are enor-
before the sanction was granted. Saibaba was handed a as the single largest party in the last elections; a hint of this was ago with the blessings of Bei- prised of urban, well-educated, hill mous; no other country can even
conviction by the same court and sentenced to life elections held in November 2022, the visible when the NC and CPN jing had collapsed due to elite. The strong showing of the RSP remotely match our relationship with
imprisonment in 2017. Upon appeal, the Bombay high Maoists, who were a distant third (a (UML) collaborated to win the chief interpersonal differences between the represents a desire amongst the Nepa- Nepal. We have worked well with
mere 32 seats in a house with 275 ministerial position in the Kosi prov- leaders. The Chinese have been mak- lese electorate for a change from the every regime irrespective of its politi-
court (HC) recognised the procedural lapses and members), held the balance of power. ince against a Maoist candidate. ing assiduous efforts to revive such an business-as-usual approach of the cal colour. Similarly, every political
overturned the conviction in 2022, ordering his release. Neither the NC nor the UML, which Fourth, the Maoists are deeply sus- alliance. This is now bearing fruit. established parties. Though the party party in Nepal realises the importance
But this was overturned promptly by the Supreme was the second largest party, had the picious of efforts underway especially Even if this development is internal to does not have a clear ideological of good relations with India and of
numbers to form a government on by the monarchist, pro-Hindu rashtra Nepal, it is certainly a step in the stance and comprises technocrats honouring India’s security and strate-
Court, which ordered a fresh review, on merits of the their own. The price that Pushpa outfit, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party direction of the Chinese goal of unit- who have excelled in their respective gic interests. As long as we remain
case, by the high court. Now, the HC has held that the Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) claimed for (RPP), with support from some sec- ing all left parties. fields, it is now part of the hurly-burly focussed on our connectivity projects
prosecution failed to prove its case: “The prosecution extending support was the office of tions of the NC, to reopen key features India has traditionally felt more of the political process and has to and improved delivery of our cooper-
the prime minister: The two largest such as secularism and republican- comfortable dealing with a govern- come to terms with the realities of ative programmes, there is only one
has failed to establish any legal seizure or any parties played second fiddle in the ism of the new Constitution. There is ment that includes democratic parties Nepal, both domestic and regional. direction in which our ties will move,
incriminating material against the accused,” the two- respective coalitions. When difficul- also a perception in Nepal that some such as the NC that have a historical The party leaders have made an out- which is forward.
judge bench said on Tuesday. The court also said the ties arose with one coalition partner, of these initiatives have the backing of association with India and our free- reach to India. They realise the signifi-
Prachanda nimbly jumped ship and India or at least some sections of soci- dom movement. A Left-oriented gov- cance of good relations with India for Ranjit Rae is a former ambassador to
trial commencing despite mandatory legal provisions forged a new coalition with the other. ety that are close to the ruling estab- ernment in 2015 headed by prime Nepal to achieve economic prosperity. Nepal and author of Kathmandu
being breached, was “a failure of justice”. This is the game being played out lishment in India. Recent communal minister KP Sharma Oli signed long- They can potentially be a moderating Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties.
While the State has already appealed the HC order, today. The Maoist-NC coalition that disturbances in the Terai are a new term agreements with China relating influence within the new Left-ori- The views expressed are personal

the case raises several questions about investigations in


Maoist/terror cases, the treatment of undertrials, and
provisions of UAPA itself. Saibaba, a paraplegic in his
fifties, has been in jail for a decade, lost his job, and his
bail pleas were denied. A parallel can be drawn with WTO is hanging on { RANIL WICKREMESINGHE } SRI LANKA PRESIDENT

the Elgar Parishad case, where the police claimed there P


was an elaborate conspiracy for the overthrow of the
Indian State by a diverse set of political actors including to life, but just barely Sri Lanka’s economy commenced its
revival in 2023... If government revenue
Dalit groups, Left-wing activists, academicians, and
he 13th Ministerial Conference financial assistance, including through
Maoists. One of the accused, Stan Swami, an
octogenarian Jesuit priest diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease, died after spending three years in jail as an T (MC13) of the World Trade Organiza- WTO’s Aid-for-Trade initiative. However,
tion (WTO) held in Abu Dhabi ended what they do not consider is that a large
with the 166-member organisation number of low-income countries are reeling
can be maintained at a substantial level
then debt servicing will not impose a
burden on the country

A
adopting a declaration which was so thin on under debt, and are in no position to
undertrial. More often than not, trials in such cases substance that it has not even provided it increase their liabilities. Yet, the proponents
extend for years, and, as the Supreme Court recently with a meaningful work programme as showed undue haste for adopting these
suggested, the process itself becomes the punishment. ministerial conferences usually do. agreements.
This leads to the question: Was the Abu In Abu Dhabi, ministers were subjected to
Undertrials account for 76% of the occupants of Dhabi Ministerial Declaration adopted considerable pressure to endorse these
India’s overcrowded jails. The criminal justice system’s merely to ensure that this first ministerial agreements. On the concluding day, India

What we need is an
aversion to bail, especially in UAPA cases where conference on Arab shores in two decades had to intervene yet again to emphasise the
did not add to the list of failed WTO minis- illegality of adopting the plurilateral agree-
stringent provisions and judicial interpretations make terial conferences? Given the WTO’s myriad ment on investment facilitation. The gavel
bail near impossible, exacerbates the problem. Data troubles at this juncture, a failed ministerial coming down for the ministerial without a
from the National Crime Records Bureau points to an
alarming increase in cases registered under the law
whereas conviction rates are abysmal, in the low
conference would surely have caused an single reference to the plurilateral agree-
existential crisis for the organisa-
tion.
The extent of troubles that WTO
ments implies that the spirit of
trade multilateralism has survived,
at least for now.
Anti-Patriarchy Day
single-digits. This suggests a shoddy investigation, the faces can be gauged from the fact That the plurilateral agreements nternational Women’s Day is a day to cele- ing that the daughter needs to be “thin and
hasty invocation of anti-terror law provisions, often
resulting in a miscarriage of justice.
that if MC13 had “delivered” on
some of the contentious issues on
which decisions were expected, the
problems facing the regime would
have become worse. The agenda
Biswajit
Dhar
were not adopted in Abu Dhabi,
shows in good measure the influ-
ence that countries such as India
and South Africa can have on WTO
processes, and this augurs well for
I brate women’s achievements, but we’d like good-looking if she wants to be popular”. This
to start with a provocative statement: client was not obese nor had a health concern.
Should we reframe it as Anti-Patriarchy The intention may be to be kind to someone
Day? While it is a day to see how far women who could be vulnerable, but benign patriarchy
have travelled, we believe it is a day to examine actually takes away the kindness that we have
for the ministerial conference had the future of multilateralism. How- what holds us back, especially in terms of sys- for each other, by being patronising and limit-

Decision that lowers


two proposed plurilateral agree- ever, India would be deeply disap- temic challenges for growth. In our opinion, ing to women.
ments being negotiated on new issues, pointed that no decision was taken on pub- patriarchy represents the biggest systemic This system also hurts men, as it forces them
namely, investment facilitation and e-com- lic stockholding of food grains not being challenge. into a box of being the more powerful one. In

prestige of judiciary
merce. These negotiations do not include considered a violation of the Agreement on Let’s first clarify a definition of patriarchy. It private, men often express their unhappiness at
the entire membership of the organisation, Agriculture (AoA), a key demand for the is not about men vs women, as is often under- not being allowed to show emotions, or their
but subsets of members who act as “clubs of country since this is at the heart of its public stood. It is about men and women, versus a sys- frustration on being judged only by their pro-
the willing”. distribution system (PDS). In fact, the 13th tem of holding power that is deeply unfair to fessional performance. For women, the tactical
he decision of Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Since the Buenos Aires Ministerial Con- Ministerial Conference ended without the women, where both men and women can be solution to tackling benign patriarchy often lies

T Gangopadhyay to resign from the judiciary to


join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and seek
a ticket to contest the general elections is deeply
ference in 2017, several plurilateral agree- Ministerial Declaration taking note of this
ments were initiated, ignoring the conven- critical issue and reiterating that a perma-
tion that WTO decisions can only be on the nent solution would be found in a time-
basis of consensus. In other words, new bound manner to address the problems that
complicit in holding women back. Just like the in recognising that this is a power issue and
term feminism, patriarchy is an emotive word, that benign patriarchs are operating from their
but we look at both through the lens
of fairness and equality, not through
own contexts and what they perceive
to be good intentions. As Robert
problematic. Gangopadhyay has been in the issues are included only if the entire mem- the government could face in implementing the lens of men vs women. Greene, author of The 48 Laws of
bership is on board. Though the rules of its recent decision to provide free food to 810 Within this definition of patriar- Power writes, in situations where the
limelight for his orders in high-profile cases where WTO allow for voting, this option has not million people until 2028. chy, we see two types: Outright patri- opponent is more powerful, use the
the West Bengal government and the Trinamool been used. But despite there being no con- The subsidies discipline under the AoA archy where women are visibly surrender tactic: “Law 22. Transform
Congress (TMC) were at the receiving end. The sensus, negotiations for concluding plurilat- has a fallacious methodology for calculating excluded from power or gain. For Aparna weakness into power. Make surren-
eral agreements were initiated merely based the level of government support to agricul- example, cases of sexual harassment Piramal der a tool of power… Save your hide
judge’s statement — “I approached the BJP and the on joint statements issued by groups of ture, as per which India’s budgetary outlays or daughters being denied their fair for a later date when you can reassert
BJP approached me” — will undoubtedly raise the countries. for procuring food grains and the cost of dis- share of inheritance. These are exam- Raje your power. Inwardly you stay firm,
question if he gave anti-TMC rulings at the behest of These so-called “joint statement initia- tributing the stocked grains through the ples where there is little dispute that but outwardly you bend… only
tives” (JSIs) are also against the rules of the PDS exceed the AoA’s subsidy threshold. In women are being wronged. Today, we appear to surrender.”
the BJP, as the TMC has previously alleged. Marrakesh Agreement establishing WTO: 2013, the Bali Ministerial Conference had would like to spotlight a subtler — yet This is precisely what Aparna did.
Gangopadhyay’s behaviour is in stark contrast to India and South Africa have made repeated taken a decision that India would be given a equally insidious — form of patriar- Although frustrated with her mental
the Bangalore principles of judicial conduct, which submissions in this regard. On the other temporary waiver for food security pur- chy, which we would like to call health professional, she continued
hand, proponents of JSIs, especially the one poses until a permanent solution was found. benign patriarchy. This refers to situa- seeing them, as she was dependent
was adopted by a full house of the Supreme Court in on investment facilitation that was being The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies tions wherein, in the guise of compas- on their medical advice. But she
1997. It mentions six core values that judges should pushed by China, have argued that they was adopted in 2022 to address the critical sion, women’s ambitions are stifled by Megha developed allies in her book club who
follow in office — independence, integrity, would bring tremendous benefits to devel- issue of sustaining fish stocks by restricting those in more powerful positions. Mawandia supported her writing. When she felt
oping countries. However, no objective subsidies granted to the fishing industry. For example, some years ago one of more stronger a few years later, she
impartiality, propriety, equality, and competence assessment of these proposed agreements Negotiations for including additional provi- us (Aparna) wanted to write a book switched to a different practitioner
and diligence. No statute makes these values has been conducted. In fact, the entire set of sions in the Agreement, in which India has about her mental health condition but who supported her writing and went
binding on judges, but it is presumed that codes negotiations for concluding plurilateral remained deeply engaged primarily to pro- was told by her senior mental health profes- on to publish a memoir. She continues to stay
agreements was conducted in a non-trans- tect the livelihoods of traditional fishermen, sional that “she should not write, she should in touch with the original mental health profes-
such as the Bangalore principles serve as the North parent manner. are currently under progress. This space focus on supporting her husband’s career or sional, who now recognises her writing efforts
Star to the judiciary. Gangopadhyay should ask One aspect of these proposed plurilateral will surely be watched with interest in the planning the children’s summer holidays and her new persona as a mental health advo-
himself if he passes this test. agreements is quite clear: They would post-Abu Dhabi talks. which she did so well”. It was said in the spirit cate. The long-term solution is the recognition
impose significant administrative burdens MC13 was unable to lift the air of pessi- of compassion, as Aparna had experienced sev- that benign patriarchy is a power struggle all
Gangopadhyay, unfortunately, is not an on developing countries. For instance, the mism around the future of the multilateral eral mood swings, but it was patronising and around us, often those who we trust the most.
exception. A similar controversy arose in 1967 when proposed agreement on investment facilita- trading system also because no decision was deeply upsetting, as writing was a form of self- We need to call it out and engage with those in
the then Chief Justice of India, K Subba Rao, tion would require the host countries to taken to mend WTO’s broken dispute settle- expression and healing for her. power to influence the way they think.
“improve” their regulatory standards given ment mechanism (DSM). A well-functioning Another common example is qualified and Benign patriarchy is so subtle that often we
resigned to become the candidate of the joint the interests of foreign investors. Most DSM is essential to ensure that WTO mem- educated women who are not allowed to don’t recognise it. Which is exactly why we
Opposition in the presidential election. Rao’s developing countries, and the 35 least devel- bers implement their commitments fully. choose their profession but are told by their need a day to remind us of it: Anti-Patriarchy
decision attracted criticism though he did not join a oped country members of WTO in particu- Unless members can fix the DSM, incentives husband’s family that they can work only in the Day. On March 8 or any day of the year,
lar, would need additional financial resour- to violate WTO rules will remain. family business. Again, it limits their personal because frankly, it happens all year around,
political party. In the 1980s, Baharul Islam, a ces to upgrade their institutional capacities and professional growth. Women can be com- everywhere.
Supreme Court judge, resigned to join the Congress for this. Biswajit Dhar is distinguished professor, Council plicit in imposing benign patriarchy on those
and become a Rajya Sabha MP. Gangopadhay’s call Proponents of the proposed plurilateral for Social Development, and retired professor, around them as well. Megha encountered a Aparna Piramal Raje is a writer and public speaker
agreements have argued that developing Jawaharlal Nehru University. mother of a 15-year-old client who sent her and Megha Mawandia is a Mumbai-based family
casts a shadow over the institution. countries would be provided additional The views expressed are personal daughter to a nutritionist, constantly reiterat- therapist. The views expressed are personal

R. N. I. No. 503/1957 ● Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6058/2018-19-20 ‘Licensed to post without prepayment’ LICENCE No. U(C)-113/2006-08, AIR SURCHARGE: Raipur and beyond by Rail or Road - Re 5/-, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad, Khajuraho, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and beyond by Rail or Road - Rs. 10/-;

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14 ThursDay, 7 March 2024
New DeLhi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | Eco SquArE


MINT

Let’s enrol the private sector in


a new three-way social contract
Private businesses joining hands with the government and society can help us stare down challenges

and safety in the workplace, and there is zens, but it plays a significant role in
growing evidence of it from corporate enabling administrations to deliver on
social responsibility (CSR) initiatives as their part of the deal. Private players
well as their impact. bring in the agility and foresight that
This changing dynamic between gov- help build societal resilience, earning
ernments, businesses and society is them respect for their ability to drive
being internalized in all international the innovations needed for the transfor-
processes—be it in the Paris Agreement mations sought. Recognition of the pri-
on climate change, Sustainable Devel- vate sector as a third pillar of the social
LEENA SRIVASTAVA opment Goals, Global Biodiversity contract, possibly through an assured
is an independent expert on climate Framework or even in the large corpo- say in policymaking and programme
change and clean energy. rate presence at related inter-govern- implementation, would need a clear
mental meetings. The need to harness elucidation of its rights and duties and a
the positive reinforcement provided by framework of checks and balances to be

The small-cap stock rush


the aligned actions of key societal actors developed. This would have to be based
underlies the call for multi-stakeholder on open and transparent relationships,

A
significantly larger proportion partnerships. with in-built accountability mecha-
of a global cross-section of soci- India, too, is witnessing increasing nisms. To earn this privilege, and dispel
ety places higher trust in the participation of the private sector in any notion that a seat for the private sec-

demands extra caution private sector than other societal insti-


tutions, including the government, as
per Edelman’s Trust Barometer Global
Report of 2023. The private sector, seen
taking on societal challenges, albeit
largely in local communities and prima-
rily through CSR compliance. A major
part of CSR investments are targeted at
tor at the high table would address all
societal challenges, the private sector
needs to define for itself a set of red lines
that would demonstrate its arrival as a
to be more ethical and competent, is improving people’s health (30%), fol- socially responsible partner—going
expected to engage more with societal lowed by education (25%), with initia- beyond shareholder and employee
Sebi recently asked India’s mutual fund industry to take precautions. Investment caps for challenges. The 2024 report reinforced tives to address poverty, the environ- interests to caring for the welfare of
this sentiment, showing this trust as ment and skill development following larger stakeholder groups. Such red
high-risk stocks may help but we also need far greater public awareness of asset inflation higher in the developed world than in far behind. The efficacy of such CSR lines could relate to the impact of their
the developing. It went further to reveal investments can be improved by going activities on the environment, adopting
that while innovation is essential to beyond spend-compliance to partner- open-science principles for sharing the
tackle the major global challenges the ship-based identification of investment data and knowledge that businesses

T
he Association of Mutual Funds in ratios, evidence of this is outweighed by that of world faces, businesses are trusted priorities, concomitant reporting on generate, ensuring that justice and
India has requested MF houses to outsized inflows. Even a new wave of startups more than governments to take such outcomes and the adoption of program- equity are integral to their business
innovations to the market in a safe, matic approaches. operations, and so on. As what we ask
take pre-emptive steps to safeguard going public may not suffice to satisfy swelling understandable and accessible manner. That said, the financial contributions of the private sector broadens, it is
investors. It took its cue from con- demand without amplifying risks. Small-cap A prime reason for the pre-eminence made by the private sector in the form imperative for other societal actors to
cerns raised by the Securities and businesses generally have smaller equity bases, of business as a societal actor is its deci- of CSR are a grossly inadequate meas- support companies in achieving their
Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) often with only thin slices of their equity pie sion-making abilities and growing polit- ure of business’s emerging influence in full potential.
over retail investors getting over-exposed to available for open market trading. With less ical and economic influence. According society. Neither does this do justice to To conclude, we urgently need a
to a recent Harvard Business Review societal expectations or industry’s compact between the government,
high-risk small- and mid-cap stocks. The trading activity in these stocks, they are also paper, nearly 75% of a global survey’s potential to steer the world towards sus- private sector and society at large. A
market regulator’s worry is understandable. harder to liquidate. These factors combine to respondents indicated that the primary tainable development pathways. compact that would help end long-
Household investors have been falling head- spell extra price volatility, as relatively small duty of companies is to work for the To tap this potential, we should standing misgivings between these
over-heels in love with shares in these catego- ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ orders can cause sharp move- benefit of all stakeholders and not just embrace the changing dynamic actors. A compact that would also
ries, attracted by sizzling price upshoots, even ments. So, while quick upside gains give these shareholders—and businesses have to between key societal stakeholders. The ensure that the government, through
listen to the people. These expectations social contract between governments non-partisan policies and regulations,
as more and more money coming in fuels a self- assets their allure during bull runs, by the same are making the private sector a reluc- and society possibly needs to be and society, through sustainable lifes-
fulfilling rally in equities that has taken them token, they are prone to sudden drops as well. tant but active participant in several extended to a tri-partite contract with tyle and consumption choices, will
past levels their earnings can justify. Over the And sell-offs in these frothy segments could functions and responsibilities that gov- the private sector as the third party. nudge businesses to make the right
last year or so, the benchmark small-cap index send investors reeling. ernments historically shouldered. Busi- Undoubtedly, the private sector cannot choices. The rapid transformations we
has climbed more than 70%, while the mid-cap At one level, it is the MF industry’s responsi- nesses are embracing issues such as replace the essence of the existing social need cannot be achieved through a
racial discrimination, gender equality contract between governments and citi- more-of-the-same approach.
index has risen by over 60%. In comparison, bility to invest safely. Having done a good job of
large-cap indices show gains of under 30%. As marketing MFs as a well-regulated investment
estimated, flows into focused mid- and small- option for households, it needs to live up to its
cap MFs in 2023-24 as a share of net inflows promise. Since a market turn could result in an
into equity funds have jumped to 42% from 29% upswell of redemption demand that’s not easy
in 2022-23 and 16% the year before. Which way to meet, some funds have reportedly carried out
retail investors are swinging is clear. Given the stress tests by simulating adverse conditions. www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Friday, March 7, 2014 Vol.8 No.57 `4.00 in Delhi­NCR/`5.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24 PAGES

spike observed in mutual-fund folios, however, This is reassuring. Others have stopped lump- ECONOMY: ECB holds fire on
rates on recovery hopes >4
POLITICS: Narendra Modi for greater resource
devolution to state govts >6

many of these investors are probably new to sum investments. In addition, some small-cap CONTENT PARTNER
INTERNATIONAL: Crimea votes to join Russia,
accelerating Ukraine crisis >5
NATION: Pink shocker for Gulabi Gang’s
Sampat Pal >24

equity markets. This means they may have no MFs have capped the money taken from inves- SENSEX 21,513.87 Æ 237.01

IEX BOARD
NIFTY 6,401.15 Æ 72.50 DOLLAR `61.12 æ `0.63

MODI MOVES MARKETS


EURO `84.00 æ `0.78 GOLD `30,280 æ `0.57

Political parties
OIL $107.72 æ $0.04

QUICK EDIT

CERC may The BSE’s benchmark Sensex recorded a new high on Thursday as hook voters,
map dissent
Indian

experience of the turbulence these segments tors. Cautious deployment of investor cash and
investors bet on a stable government, one that they believe may be led by
realities

The stock market is filled


the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Narendra Modi, emerging from the April-May
Lok Sabha election. The Sensex rose as much as 1.17% to 21,525.14 points.
with Big Data
censure Shah’s The gauge ended 1.11% higher at 21,513.87, its record closing high.
Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty gained as much
as 1.23% to 6,406.60 points. The index closed 1.15% higher at 6,401.15
points, a record closing high for the benchmark. It is only 14 points away
B Y L ESLIE D ’M ONTE
M AKARAND G ADGIL
&
T he Indian equities
market closed at a
record high while the ru-
pee rallied against the

appointment
from registering a new intra-day record high. ························· dollar on Thursday. One
MUMBAI
See Page 5

may undergo if and when the tide turns. a moderation of inflows should help lower risks.
big reason is the splendid
21,600
Sensex 21,513.87
W hen the Indian Navy
submarine INS Sindhu-
ratna caught fire off Mumbai
success in reducing the
current account deficit.
India is expected to

with individuals who know


on 26 February, the Bharatiya end the year with a defi-
Anyone found to be not Shah is a non-executive di- 21,400 Janata Party (BJP) found cit that can be easily
‘fit and proper’ by any rector on the 10-member pow-
er exchange’s board. FTIL
21,326.42 heightened activity on social
networks, but analysed that
funded with stable capi-
tal flows such as foreign
regulator may not be holds a 30.14% stake in IEX. this was restricted to the met- direct investment. The
21,200
allowed a position on a

With plenty of money chasing rather few Even so, at another level, it is no less important
The exchange started opera- ros and cities such as Pune, Reserve Bank of India
tions in June 2008. Chandigarh and Dehradun should now add to its for-
power exchange board India has two operating that house a large population eign reserves by buying
power trading exchanges; the of ex-servicemen. excess dollars from the
21,000
B Y U TPAL B HASKAR other is Power Exchange India This information was one of market.
utpal.b@livemint.com Ltd. the inputs the party’s media The improvement in

the price of everything, but


························· The order by FMC came in cell used to decide what its re- the external balance is
NEW DELHI the wake of the `5,574.35 crore 20,800 sponse should be, who should the first step in a longer

I ndia’s apex power sector payment crisis that surfaced at deliver it, and who should ap- battle to turn around the

stocks, prices have skyrocketed, but the pace of to acquaint investors at large with the problem.
regulator plans to put in National Spot Exchange Ltd pear on behalf of the party on economy. Inflation is still
place a new regulation that (NSEL), in which FTIL has a TV debates, claims the BJP in- too high. The savings rate
would result in an effective 99.99% stake. Multiple agen- 20,600 formation technology (IT) is declining. Public fi-
censure of the appointment of cies are investigating the crisis. cell’s national co-convenor nances are in a mess. Bad
Jignesh Shah, founder of Fi- “We took up the issue on a Vinit Goenka. loans are piling up. Com-
nancial Technologies (India) suo motu basis after the NSEL Taking a leaf from US Presi- panies have too much
20,400 dent Barack Obama’s 2012
Ltd (FTIL), on the board of In- fiasco. A draft regulation is in debt. And political risk
dian Energy Exchange (IEX). the works which will state that campaign that took recourse to will be an issue if the na-

the value of nothing.


The regulation proposed by if any person is not found ‘fit analytics to garner votes, Indi- tional election produces

these companies’ earnings growth has not been High capital appreciation over the past year or
the Central Electricity Regula- and proper’ by any regulating 20,200
an political parties are moving a hung Parliament.
tory Commission (CERC) agency or body, she/he will beyond just having a presence The current rally shows
states that if any person is not be entitled to hold any po- on Facebook, Twitter, Google that much has changed
found not “fit and proper” to sition on the board of the pow- Hangouts or YouTube to using since the panic in July
head an exchange by any regu- er exchanges. It would be out 20,000 Big Data (read: analysing large and August. But there is
latory agency, he or she will shortly,” said another senior 9 Dec 2013 6 Mar 2014 amounts of data to cull insight) still a lot of work to be
not be entitled to hold any po- CERC official, also requesting done.
Source: Bloomberg
sition on the board of power anonymity. TURN TO PAGE 4®
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
exchanges. This will result in the

able to keep up. This has led to asset inflation, as so may have given rise to unrealistic expecta-
An IEX spokesperson said in amendment of Central Elec-
an emailed response, “Yes, we tricity Regulatory Commission
are aware that CERC had is- (Power Market) Regulations,
sued a draft regulation on the 2010, which deal with issues
INSIDE
subject. Final regulations are such as shareholding patterns,
yet to be issued.”
The new development
corporate structure, net worth
and risk mitigation in the case
Missing workers
comes in the backdrop of the of defaults. of urban India
Forward Market Commission’s Power exchanges function

visible in enlarged valuations. The Nifty Small- tions. These need to be tempered. What we get A
(FMC) 17 December order that along the lines of commodity n increasing number
declared FTIL, Shah and exchanges and provide a plat- of educated women

P HI L L I P F I SHE R
Joseph Massey, former CEO form for buyers, sellers and are opting to give up their
and managing director of traders of electricity to enter jobs after marriage to
group company MCX Stock Ex- into spot and forward con- manage their homes,
change Ltd, not “fit and prop- tracts besides enabling trading restricting female
er” to hold any management of renewable energy certifi- participation in the
position in any exchange in In- cates. country’s economic life.
dia. They also provide a payment In the years when the

cap 250 index, for instance, is currently trading as returns from stock investments, after all,
“We had taken cognizance security mechanism to buyers economy grew at its
after FMC said that they were and sellers. fastest pace, between
not ‘fit and proper’ to run an These exchanges primarily 2004-05 and 2011-12, the
exchange. We will shortly take serve to discover the price for proportion of working
out an amendment,” said a the day ahead, which is the women declined the most
senior CERC official who electricity sector’s equivalent in a country where gender
didn’t wish to be identified. for a spot price. inequality at the
“The other issue that they workplace has always
are facing is that the promoters been an acute problem.

at a trailing price-earnings (PE) ratio of over 28, is ultimately a function of the profits these
can’t hold more than 25% in Urban India has lower
the exchange.... We want them rates of female
to reduce the stake,” said the participation in the labour
first CERC official cited above. force than even rural
CERC in a 25 February 2013 India. The pullout of
order ruled that FTIL’s share- qualified Indian women
holding in IEX should be re- from the workplace is
duced to 25%. especially worrying at a

much above the 20-odd level that’s considered companies make. This link, however, appears
CERC on 27 February 2014 time when India is facing
directed IEX “to file status to an estimated shortage of
achieve the shareholding pat- five million skilled
tern in compliance with Regu- workers.
lation 19 of the Power Market In the second of a four-
Regulations by 14.3.2014”. The part series on women
next hearing for an IEX peti- missing from farms and
factories, colleges and
TURN TO PAGE 4® offices, Mint examines the

reasonable for this category. While prospects of to have snapped. For the sake of capital-market
withdrawal of women
ALSO SEE from the urban workforce,
its causes and economic
Mint is also available for R8 with >FMC files caveat in SC to ensure no impact. >See Page 10
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only ex­parte order in FTIL case >P8

rapid profit enlargement could sustain such PE stability, it needs to be restored.

GUEST VIEW

The farm sector must play a bigger role in our economy


In its July 2023 bulletin, the Reserve Bank that rising primary-sector income has a far improve the productivity and profitability of of the sector must rise. Food and beverages
BIBEKANANDA PANDA & SARA JOY of India argued for raising the contribution better equalizing effect on the distribution farming and create conducive conditions for account for 45.9% in the Consumer Price
of the industrial sector to 35% of GDP in the of total income than the two other sectors, as larger sums of private investment. Index basket, and stubborn food inflation
next 24 years from its present level of 25.6%. the Gini coefficient in the farm sector is 0.32, As Indian agriculture is prone to the has been a major policy concern, although
Historically, farm-sector growth has been against 0.56 for industry and 0.60 for servi- vagaries of climate change, we need techno- other factors also play a role. Inflation con-
slow, with industry and services relied upon ces. Also, a 1% rise in primary-sector income logical, institutional and policy interven- trol, however, means farmers sometimes

I
ndia’s ambition to become a developed for fast expansion. Like many other econo- is seen to reduce income inequality, while tions to increase investments in developing face policy inconsistencies, such as select-
nation by 2047 depends on the strategic mies, India leapfrogged from the primary to the same in the industrial a better understanding of ive price restrictions and export bans;
implementation of enabling reforms. the services sector, which now accounts for and service sectors add to climate-smart farming. although these measures aim to increase
While innovative ideas have been proposed over 60% of GDP. At which sector’s cost can inequality (more so in the A revival of The goal is to increase pro- the local availability of some commodities
for a Viksit Bharat, the primary sector has industry get another 10% share? With rising latter). Reducing overall duction while adapting to and limit price fluctuations, they also push
largely been left out. Despite being home to aspirations and fast urbanization, demand income inequality requires primary sector climate constraints. Also, up uncertainty in an already-fragile agricul-
18% of the world population with a median for services is only going to rise and its share agriculture to perform subsistence farming must tural sector.
age of 28.2 years, we tend to overlook our is likely to expand. This means the primary well, and to that end, we
growth is vital become sustainable. High priority must be given to schemes

are, respectively, senior


core strength—i.e., domestic private con-
sumption, which constitutes nearly 61% of
sector is expected to have a shrinking slice of
the economic pie.
need suitable reforms to
boost the sector’s output
for an inclusive Widely dispersed benefits
of digital and genetic tech-
aimed at strengthening infrastructure and
logistical capacity in agriculture. There are
economist at State Bank of
India and an economist at India
GDP—while focusing on export-led growth.
While the idea of accelerating to a new
Since our post-liberalization experience
has been one of a worsening skew in income
through capital formation
and inclusive policies.
transition nologies, improved early
warning systems for
plans for a critical role to be played by the
PM Kisan Sampada Yojana in setting up
Exim Bank. growth orbit by raising the industrial sec- distribution, it needs a rebalance, as prom- Capital formation in towards a weather and a redesigned additional food parks, cold-chain projects
tor’s share of national output is widely ised by the government’s commitment to agriculture has crucial agricultural insurance pro- and agro-processing clusters, even as food
accepted, and also expected to make India a the idea of “Sabka saath, Sabka vikaas, implications for its future Viksit Bharat gramme could help the processing, preservation and lab-testing
self-reliant economy, it may not be sufficient Sabka vishwaas, Sabka prayaas” (every- growth and sustainability. sector acquire resilience. capacities are expanded.
to feed our masses, let alone livestock. It may one’s accompaniment, development, trust Gross capital formation Let us not forget that apart The strong link between the primary sec-
also mean inadequate support for our small- and endeavour) in building an Atmanirbhar (GCF) in the agriculture-and-allied sector from feeding the country, agriculture tor’s performance and people’s well-being
scale industries, including sunrise sectors Bharat (self-reliant India) through inclusive hovers at around 14% of the sector’s GVA and remains the main source of inputs for high- necessitates lasting solutions, instead of ad
like food processing, which alone contrib- economic growth. is dominated by private investments (with a potential industries like food processing. hoc interventions. If the farm sector joins
utes 11.6% of gross value added (GVA) in the While devising a national strategy, we share of 84%). This needs a boost with an eye In the absence of sustainable growth in India’s growth story, we would be assured of
agriculture sector and 10.5% of GVA in man- must ascertain the sources of inequality. on long-term asset creation. Increasing pub- the primary sector, it may not be in a posi- a successful launch into a new growth orbit
ufacturing, apart from contributing signifi- Decomposing Gini coefficients calculated lic investment in irrigation and R&D while tion to benefit from production-linked towards an inclusive Viksit Bharat.
cantly to employment and investment. from income data from 1951 to 2023, we see building market infrastructure can help incentives. Hence, output and productivity These are the authors’ personal views.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS ThursDay, 7 MarCh 2024
New Delhi 15

THEIR VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R

A Trump victory could alter the Going ‘California sober’ could


be bad for one’s cardiac health
world’s matrix of economic risk A study shows cannabis users at heightened cardiovascular risk

Trump shares some foreign-policy priorities with Biden but his protectionist policies could spark a trade war and hit markets

AFP

LISA JARvIS
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
biotech, health care and the pharmaceutical
industry.
NOuRIEL ROuBINI
is professor emeritus of economics at New York
University’s Stern School of Business and
author of ‘MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends
That Imperil Our Future, and How to Survive
Them’

E
vidence is mounting that a daily toke
can be bad for your heart. A large new
study in the Journal of the American

W
e have entered a period of Heart Association found that the more That pot is a healthy alternative to alcohol
intensifying geopolitical often one partakes in cannabis, the higher may be a marketing myth ISTOCKPHOTO
rivalries and conflicts. one’s risk of heart disease, heart attack or
Russia’s war on Ukraine is stroke. Daily users had a 25% higher Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharma-
now in its third year; the chance of having a heart attack and 42% ceutical Sciences. These results drop the
Israel-Hamas conflict could higher odds of a stroke than non-users. It’s façade. An increased risk of heart disease,
still become a regional war; and the deepening the latest in a string of studies showing a heart attacks and stroke persisted for the
Cold War between the US and China may yet turn link between marijuana and heart health. survey participants who had never smoked
hot over Taiwan later this decade. If Donald Trump These findings rely on surveys that ask tobacco or used e-cigarettes. “That is a big
wins the US presidential election in November, the people to recall habits and health condi- answer,” says Page, some of whose patients
world will be even further destabilized. And yet, tions, rather than following participants in think smoking pot is healthier: “a complete
these risks have had only a limited effect on econo- real time. Memories are fallible and people misconception.” That’s particularly true
mies and markets so far. Might that soon change? can also massage the truth. Self-reported for people who already have underlying
While the Russia-Ukraine war remains as brutal use of cannabis in the new study was below risk factors or heart disease.
as ever, its global effects are likely to be modest. what other surveys found. But even so, the The study left open a number of key
The risks of direct Nato involvement or the use of trend is clear enough to put cardiovascular questions. For example, the main method
tactical nuclear weapons by Russia are lower today risk on the radars of pot users. That’s espe- of cannabis ingestion among survey partic-
than they were at earlier points in the war. Equally, cially important now that recreational can- ipants was smoking. So the research can’t
while the war initially produced a spike in energy, nabis use is on the rise and is being framed tell us whether popular alternatives like
food, fertilizer, and industrial-metal prices, even as a ‘healthy’ alternative to drinking. The gummies or THC-infused drinks pose an
Europe—the most heavily affected region—has ‘California sober’ lifestyle, of eschewing equal risk to heart health. Small studies by
absorbed the shock with only a modest growth alcohol for pot, is catching on. Vandrey’s lab have shown that smoking
slowdown (or a stall in some cases), not the severe Cannabis firms are leaning into the aura and edibles produce similar changes in
recession that many analysts feared. of health. During Dry January, a public heart rate, and other small trials suggest
Russian hydrocarbons have been replaced with health initiative against alcohol, I was that edibles are also risky. Another missing
increased imports from the US and Middle East. has been relatively restrained. Though the Taiwan There is no doubt that US protectionist policies flooded with pitches from cannabis com- piece: Does the potency of pot matter?
The impact on food prices has reduced since issue could come to a boil later this decade, that is would become more severe. Trump has already panies hoping to fill the void. One firm said Most of the studies on cannabis and heart
Ukraine managed to reopen a Black Sea corridor not likely to happen this year or next. China’s eco- said he would impose a 10% tariff on all imports its THC-infused drinks were “healthier and health were done on what Page describes
for its grain exports. nomic weaknesses and fragilities may lead it to be coming to the US (the average tariff rate is cur- more mindful” than alcohol. Healthier? as “first-generation cannabis,” meaning
The Israel-Hamas war has also had only a limited less confrontational with the US and West. rently about 2%), and presumably even higher Maybe — the answer depends on how often strains that were cultivated in the wild. But
regional and global economic impact so far. True, At the same time, the West’s de-risking, re- tariffs on imports from China. This would spark and how much of either substance you use modern dispensaries aren’t selling your
Israel’s GDP contracted sharply in the fourth quar- shoring, friend-shoring and restriction of trade in new trade wars, not only with strategic rivals like and in what format. But healthy? We just grandparents’ weed. THC content today is
ter of 2023 and will likely remain weak as long as goods, services, capital and technologies will not China, but also with America’s allies in Europe and don’t have as much good data on marijuana typically much higher. Does that also mean
the conflict continues. The economic damage to intensify much over the short term. As long as the Asia, such as Japan and South Korea. as we do on alcohol—but absence of evi- it’s riskier?
Gaza, obviously, is even more severe; and Egypt’s strategic competition remains managed, the global A global trade war would reduce growth and dence shouldn’t be confused with proof What would help the most at this point
revenues from the Suez Canal have fallen, owing to economic impact will be modest. increase inflation, making it the largest geopoliti- that pot is harmless. is to run a large study that followed subjects
Yemeni Houthi attacks on freight moving through The biggest geopolitical risk to growth and cal risk that markets should consider in the months Conceptually, the idea that weed could over time to understand the connections
the Red Sea. Nonetheless, if the conflict remains markets right now is the US election. We must ahead. In this scenario, de-globalization, de-cou- increase the risk of cardiovascular events between cannabis consumption and heart
contained along its current lines, the global eco- recognize that Trump and Biden share some for- pling, fragmentation, protectionism, the balkani- for some shouldn’t be a surprise. Delta-9 health. That same study could also winnow
nomic and market impact will remain limited, too. eign-policy priorities. Democrats and Republicans zation of global supply chains and de-dollarization THC “very reliably and dose dependently” out any other health effects—good or bad
It would take a major regional escalation—such alike are hawkish on China, and will remain so. would become even greater risks to economic increases heart rate and cardiovascular —of recreational use.
as an outright war between Israel and Hezbollah in Biden and Trump have both been supporters of growth and financial markets. stress, says Ryan Vandrey of the Cannabis The US, especially, needs that type of
Lebanon, or signs that Israel (and possibly the US) Israel, but they also recognize that the desired Additional Trump-related stagflationary risks Science Laboratory at Johns Hopkins Uni- data. At present, recreational marijuana is
is on the path to war with Iran—to raise expecta- normalization of relations between Israel and include his denialist attitude toward climate versity. Meanwhile, some users can experi- legal in 24 states, decriminalized in
tions of a more severe global fallout. A full-scale Saudi Arabia may require some recognition of an change and the likelihood that he would try to ence a significant drop in blood pressure another seven and could soon be expanded
war between Israel and Iran would drastically eventual two-state solution. replace US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when suddenly sitting up or standing. to other parts of the country. That has bred
reduce energy production and exports from the The biggest difference between Trump and with a more dovish, pliant figure. Finally, Trump’s This latest study analysed data from the an industry offering an ever-evolving array
Gulf, causing an energy-price spike akin to the Biden is on the issues of Nato, Europe and the fiscal policies would increase deficits that are 400,000-plus Americans interviewed of products (with an ever-evolving array of
global stagflationary shocks that followed the 1973 Russia-Ukraine conflict. Some worry that Trump already too high. Tax cuts that are poised to expire each year for the Centers for Disease Con- cannabinoids at varying doses, consumed
Yom Kippur War and 1979 Iranian Revolution. would abandon Ukraine and let Russia win the war. would be extended, as would higher spending trol and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Fac- in various ways) that have very little toxi-
Fortunately, the probability of a sharp regional But since he is likely to remain hawkish on China, on defence and entitlements. The risk of bond tor Surveillance Survey. Given that many cology or pharmacology data behind them.
escalation remains low for the time being. he may worry about the signal it would send (on vigilantes eventually shocking bond markets with marijuana users in earlier studies also “It’s all brand new, and we really do not
While the Cold War—or strategic competition— Taiwan) to let Russia take over Ukraine. Moreover, much higher yields would increase. With private smoked cigarettes, which have long been have a good sense of what the long-term
between America and China is likely to continue what Trump really wants is for European Nato and public debts high and rising, that would intro- associated with heart disease, the data was health effects of what those products will
worsening over time, relations may not deteriorate members to spend more on defence. If they do duce the spectre of a financial crisis. open to interpretation. People wondered, be,” Vandrey says.
much this year. US President Joe Biden and his that, he may recognize the alliance’s value as it As the saying goes, “It’s the economy, stupid.” “Is cannabis an innocent bystander, or does But the data we do have on marijuana
Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a tactical pivots to Asia to deter China. Trump’s proposed economic-policy agenda is now it contribute to coronary heart disease?” suggests that recreational pot users should
thaw late last year and China’s reaction to an unde- The biggest way a second Trump administration the greatest threat to economies and markets says Robert L. Page, a professor at the Uni- not assume their habit is benign—much
sirable outcome in Taiwan’s presidential election would affect markets is through economic policies. around the world. ©2024/PROJECT SYNDICATE versity of Colorado School of Medicine’s less that it’s healthy. ©BLOOMBERG

THEIR VIEW

Economic basics suggest India’s 6.5% policy rate is apt


this is not done, economic growth will get We can look at the impact of monetary will see companies invest even if interest The other variable is GDP growth. Here
MADAN SABNAVIS affected. The counter-argument is that with policy on the economy through two main rates are high. Therefore, to conclude that too, let us assume that repo rate changes see
India’s growth pegged at 7.6% in 2023-24, variables. The first is credit, and second, high rates imperil credit growth is a weak adequate transmission. In phase one, GDP
that linkage is weak. There might even be GDP growth. India’s real repo rate displays argument. The current year is a classic case growth averaged 5.9%. The second phase
the risk of the economy getting over-heated four distinct phases over a 12-year period. In of interest rates peaking while growth in witnessed high average growth of 7.4% over
if interest rates are cut at this stage. It can the first, 2012-13 and 2013-14 had a negative credit has been high, thanks to retail bor- five years. The 2020-23 period witnessed

M
onetarism a la Friedman says that also be inflationary, diluting the effort put in real repo rate. The second covers five years rowers, a phenomenon that has prompted average growth of only 3.6%, while 2023-24
inflation everywhere is always a so far to achieve price stability. from 2014-15 to 2018-19, the bank regulator to rejig is expected to log 7.6%. Once again, it can be
monetary phenomenon. Increasing Rate-cut enthusiasts argue that what’s with a positive real repo capital norms. Here too, it seen that relatively high repo or real repo
money supply by lowering interest rates can important is that the central bank’s repo rate rate average of 2.1%. The A good look at can be seen that people do rates did not get in the way of growth.
bring about only short-term gains in terms at 6.5% is very high and out of sync. Further, third phase spans four not stop buying homes These two relationships show that the
of increased GDP. But as time passes, it will core inflation (minus volatile food and fuel) years, from 2019-20 to the impact of because rates are high, as monetarist view has probably held firmer in
be inflationary, as price expectations and is below 4%, and this is the component that 2022-23, when we had a purchase decisions are our context when it comes to targeting
wages adjust to increased money supply. is influenced by monetary policy. negative real repo rate.
monetary policy based on the price of the growth. It may be recollected that before the

is chief economist at Bank of


On the other side, Keynesian economics
advocates an administrative role in GDP
How, then, is one to look at this debate?
Data on various aspects of the economy
The last phase of a positive
real repo rate is the current
on credit and dwelling and ability to pay
off a home loan. In a typical
monetary policy committee (MPC) concept
came up, our credit policy always spoke of a
Baroda and author of
‘Corporate Quirks: The Darker
expansion when an economy is operating at
less than full capacity, with a fiscal and mon-
could throw some light on this issue. In the
last 13 years starting from 2011-12, the repo
year of 2023-24.
Growth in credit has
GDP growth period of 15-20 years for
repayment, floating rates of
balance between growth and inflation. How-
ever, the MPC was mandated to pin inflation
Side of the Sun’. etary push as the ideal way to support eco- rate has been above 6% in 10 years and at shown varying trends. In would argue interest would move up or down at 4%. Based on the arguments pro-
nomic activity. Therefore, we have two 4-4.4% in three years. The latter was the the first phase, growth was down at different points of vided here, it does appear that we need to
opposite views on intervention, called the covid period, which was exceptional. Sec- 14.1% followed by 10.3%, against easing time, and so the current concentrate more on inflation right now.
‘fresh water’ and ‘salt water’ schools since ond, the average repo rate over this period when real repo rate aver- rate matters little. This is Moreover, growth has been on an upward
the 1970s. Each school would run down the was 6.30%. Third, as for the real repo rate, of aged 2.1%. The covid phase also borne out by the fact trajectory and this expansion is unlikely to
other, arguing that the other was only a spe- the 12 years, it was negative for six years, had growth of just 8.8%, when the real repo that negative real repo rates during 2020-23 be stymied. All said, a repo-rate range of
cial case of its own ‘true economics.’ above 1.5% in five years, and 1% in one year. averaged -1%, while the current year has had weak growth in credit; demand was low around 6-6.5% does not look out of place
The debate is relevant today to India, with These three observations show that today’s shown growth of 16% with a positive real in general and households were unsure of even if the real rate is 1.5-2%.
a decision to be taken on monetary policy repo rate is not extraordinary, but ruling at repo rate of about 1%. the future. Hence, there is reason to believe The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said
soon. With the inflation trajectory coming the trend rate. There is clearly no need to hit Clearly, a lower real repo rate does not that there is no clear relation between the there are no facts, only interpretations. This
down of late, there is a view that the repo rate the ‘haste’ button, unlike in the US, where lead to higher credit growth. Borrowing is a two variables and borrowing decisions are is not the end of this debate.
should be cut. The argument given is that if the policy-rate range of above 5% is unusual. function of demand and a growing economy taken based on other factors. These are the author’s personal views.
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��� �����
When the imagination
sleeps, words are Albert
emptied of their meaning Camus

08 HYDERABAD THURSDAY 07 03 2024


� �

I
NDIA’S decision to scrap the China is fishing in Myanmar’s troubled waters by supporting to underscore here is that the driving log-
Free Movement Regime or FMR ic behind these new policy moves is fired
INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN across the 1,643-km border with anti-junta armies. India’s policy responses, including the planned by larger geopolitical anxieties than local
INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION. Myanmar as well as to fence it border fence, should be seen as a reaction to this anxiety political pressures.
— Ramnath Goenka for stricter vigil have been mak- The concern is also of the fate of India’s

THE UNFOLDING
ing headlines in the northeast— Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport
Nagaland, Manipur and Mizo- Project. This worry is undoubtedly legiti-
ram in particular. Earlier, the central mate, but here too a second consideration
CURB THREATS WITH government also proposed a 100-km wide
belt along the international borders where GREAT GAME ON is called for. Perhaps the Kaladan project’s
importance has been overrated—and In-
CYBERSECURITY, NOT
EASTERN FRONT
no environmental clearance would be nec- dia’s policy makers know this, therefore
essary to take up infrastructural develop- the low priority given to it. As also pointed

POLITICAL POW-WOWS ment projects. Let there be no doubt, all of


these are interrelated and have the same
out in the same article by Pulipaka, the
project was conceived as an alternative

I
goal of securing India’s border. There are, route between mainland India and the
T is a serious issue that some of the top men in the Karna- of course, those who see these policy over- Northeast, which today are connected only
tures as overkills, and that there are better by a narrow land corridor often referred to
taka government—Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy ways of dealing with this concern. as the Chicken’s Neck or Siliguri Corri-
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Home Minister G Para- There is, however, more than meets the PRADIP PHANJOUBAM Editor, Imphal Review of Arts and Politics dor—a wedge between Bangladesh, Bhu-
meshwara, besides some senior police officials—received eye in the matter. These moves, as several tan, Nepal and, importantly, China. India’s
email threats about 24 hours after the March 1 Rameshwar- knowledgeable observers have pointed strategic concern is that if any escalation
am Cafe blast in Bengaluru. Even if it is a hoax, it needs at- out, have little to do with the demands for of hostility with China puts this land route
tention. The threat describes the cafe blast as a “movie trailer” them by any of the concerned states, in- in jeopardy, the Northeastern region would
cluding by a section of the population in become altogether detached from main-
for larger blasts to follow targeting buses, trains, taxis, tem-
Manipur, just as protests against it in land India. The Kaladan project was meant
ples, hotels and public areas throughout Karnataka if the states such as Mizoram and Nagaland will as an answer to this anxiety.
state government does not pay $2.5 million. But the mail— have equally scant effect in making the Otherwise, it is a route hardly likely to
from the account shahidkhan10786@protonmail.com—does central government change its posture. As be preferred by merchants and transport-
not mention to whom the payment is to be made, although it the chairman of the Politeia Research ers. A brief sketch of the route will illus-
specifies a mail ID “for further communication”, shahid- Foundation, Sanjay Pulipaka, has written, trate this clearly. Goods are to be loaded on
khan11786@protonmail.com. The mail was made public only these moves are prompted by India’s un- to ships at Kolkata and then shipped to Sit-
ease at China’s influence penetrating deep- twe in Myanmar’s Rakhine state over a
on March 5, three days after it was sent, indicating the govern- er into Myanmar in the wake of the present distance of 539 km. Here, the goods would
ment’s serious view of the threat. turmoil the country is engulfed in. be offloaded and transferred to smaller
Its timing soon after the previous day’s blast cannot be This nagging apprehension became barges which can sail along the Kaladan
ignored. The Lok Sabha polls are about two months away. alarming for India after an alliance of river for 158 km to Paletwa town on the
And the new Congress government in Karnataka has just three pro-Chinese ethnic armies, together edge of Rakhine and Chin states. Here, the
settled in. There are political elements who would look to known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance, goods would again be offloaded to be re-
took control of several major trading towns loaded onto trucks, drive 110 km through
gain from portraying weak governance over an apparently
along the Myanmar-China border on Octo- Chin state and then enter Mizoram at the
poor law and order situation that presents an “atmosphere ber 27, 2023 in a landmark reversal for the Zorinpui crossing. Here again, the goods
of strife”, reflecting poorly on the ruling party in the state. Myanmar junta—a storming now code- would be transferred to Indian transport
The blast and the threat mail have already taken a political named Operation 1027. This alliance, vehicles, as it is unlikely that vehicles
turn. The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP in the formed in June 2019, comprises the Arakan SOURAV ROY from either country would be allowed to
state are in the midst of a pow-wow over who is to blame. The Army (AA), Myanmar National Democrat- ply on both sides of the border consider-
ic Alliance Army (MNDA), and Ta’ang Na- this problem was solely for the Myanmar into India too, particularly into Manipur. ing also that Myanmar follows the right-
BJP accuses the Congress government of police/intelligence
tional Liberation Army (TNLA). junta to worry about, and this is what is Under the circumstance, there can be no hand-drive norm and while it is left-hand-
failure and “minority appeasement”. The Congress has Except for the AA, which is from Myan- proving wrong. First of all, China’s reason why India would not feel con- drive in India. From Zorinpui to Aizawl it
countered with allegations of failure of the central intelli- mar’s south-western state of Rakhine, the strengthening grip in Myanmar means cerned. Not only does it consider China its is 325 km, Aizawl to Silchar in Assam 172
gence agencies under the BJP-ruled Union government. But latter two are based in Shan state close to that China’s opponents—who, at this junc- regional adversary, but a geopolitical con- km, and from Silchar to Guwahati another
accusations and counter-accusations will not solve mysteries the Chinese border. Of these, the MNDA is ture of history, are primarily the US and flict arena shaping up in its backyard in 302 km via Meghalaya.
behind the blast and the threat mail. of the Kokang community, who are ethnic its allies in Western world—also would be- Myanmar would surely be legitimate Considering the arduous nature of this
The blast was real—it injured 10 people. The same cannot Chinese, and the TNLA is of the Ta’ang (or gin to turn their attention to this conflict cause for worry. The recent move for bor- route, it is anybody’s guess that few would
Palaung) ethnic group, who are also very theatre. There are already indications that der fencing and cancellation of the FMR prefer using it if China and India refrain
be said about the email; yet it cannot be taken lightly. The close to the Chinese. Myanmar expert and this is happening and they have their own must also be seen in this light. from hostilities and the Siliguri corridor
use of the highly-protected Protonmail service lends cre- well-known journalist and author, Bertil proxies in Myanmar to put hurdles before Is India overreacting, considering this remains serviceable. Again, if India im-
dence to the possibility of the threat being real. Incidentally, Lintne, has been emphasising that the Chi- China’s expanding influence. As another would likely have a profound effect on its proves its ties with Bangladesh further, the
in December, 68 schools in and around Bengaluru had re- nese are fishing in the troubled waters of well-known Indian public intellectual and Act East policy, besides disrupting ties be- importance of Kaladan project will deplete
ceived threat mails over beeble.com, which are not yet Myanmar—playing a double game to make former foreign service officer, M K Bhadra- tween trans-border communities? This even more. For then, numerous alternative
traced. The need is for beefed-up ground-level intelligence sure the Myanmar junta sees China’s coop- kumar, has written, the latest and most could very well be the case, and the cur- land routes, including rail lines, linking
eration vital in keeping the inferno in the advanced American small arms are reach- rent debates among the Indian intelligent- mainland India and Northeast can be pos-
and a strong cybersecurity force, whose methods of tracking country under control. ing many anti-junta rebel groups, and sia, though barely audible, is precisely sible. (Views are personal)
and detection are so sound that their capabilities can act as Many observers had earlier thought these may actually have begun seeping about this. Whatever be the case, the point (phanjoubam@gmail.com)
deterrence. The rest, for now, is mere speculation and un-
wanted political finger-pointing.

HAVE VARIETY ON CAMPUS, GROWING FAT AND


NOT BRUTAL DOMINANCE FORGETTING TO FLY Risk zones

R
Ref: Better cover needed for those working in
EVELATIONS from the police investigation into the risk zones abroad (March 6). It was concerning

M
death of a student at the College of Veterinary and Ani- to know that a large number of Indians
Y neighbour is considered a good are being recruited to work in conflict-hit
mal Sciences at Pookode in Wayanad have confirmed the
man. He gifts clothes and food to countries such as Ukraine and Israel. Many
apprehensions of those who have been watching develop- the poor. He prefers white. His work in vulnerable areas without adequate
ments on Kerala campuses. J S Sidharthan, a second-year house is white. Car and scooter protection. Government must reach out to
student, was found hanging in a hostel bathroom on February too. Last week, he brought home C P SURENDRAN Poet, novelist, and screenplay writer. His latest them and make them aware of the dangers.
18. The police report says the death was a fallout of the lawless- a white cockatoo in a white cage. novel is One Love and the Many Lives of Osip B Narayanan Kizhumundayur, Thrissur
ness reigning in many state educational institutes. The col- Someone said the cage was
small. So yesterday he changed the small Alternative take
lege’s unwritten law is understood to be that allegations against
white cage for a long, coffin-shaped cage, costs could go up 25 percent. dramatise a simulation of reality so well Ref: Courting the bride called Tamil Nadu
students are settled at a kangaroo court set up by the students also white. The cockatoo sleeps most of the All good. But what are the chances of done that the dramatics justify themselves (March 6). I don’t agree with the author’s
themselves. Sidharthan, against whom there was an allegation time. When awake, it eats fruit and grain, coming up with, say, a true-blooded political as the objective. Art as an end in itself. contention that Tamil Nadu poses an
of misbehaving with a girl student, was summoned to the hos- and drinks water from a white dish. It does drama like House of Cards, Designated Sur- What, for instance, are the chances of a ideological challenge to the BJP’s Hindutva
tel courtyard, stripped in front of scores of students, and bru- not make any noise. Sometimes the cocka- vivor, or Borgen? In the first, a US president great documentary series that is at least ideology. Sangam literature dwells in detail
tally beaten up. What is more appalling is that not even a single too spreads its wings, as if in memory of a is portrayed as an amoral power-monger. In passingly critical of pro-Hindu politics or into Hinduism and Hindu deities. Even
voice of protest emerged from the onlookers and no one spoke flight. When I go past the cockatoo, I see it the second, the White House is bombed. In history? Patriots would naturally ask: why the English-educated elites of the
is becoming fat. I play with the idea of Borgen, a female head of state is shown as should there be a critical reading of the now-disbanded Justice Party never opposed
about the incident till it hit the headlines.
opening the cage. But if caught in the act, manipulative as her male rivals. The truly right-wing version? Well, because great the Vedic deities being worshiped.
The accused have been arrested and the customary agency I would get into trouble. Freedom is a great entrepreneur that Mukesh Ambani is, works are possible only if contrarian G Nataraja Perumal, Tenkasi
inquiries have been ordered. The Students Federation of India fraught idea on all sides. he is not likely to be happy with content that views are permitted. Of course, we don’t
(SFI) has expelled those involved in the incident, including its India is getting fat, too. Last quarter, the is critical of the present dispensation. It is absolutely need to do so. But a merger of Big question
unit secretary and college union chairman. But the saddest GDP grew at 8.4 percent, one of the fastest this sort seems both exaggerated and iron- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s affinity
part is that the miscreants are still not ready to accept the grav- rates in the world. Financial experts like ic if the radical imagination so integral to towards Tamil Nadu is an open secret.
Ruchir Sharma say India is a bull market content creation is not encouraged. However, despite all his painstaking efforts,
ity of their mistake. They see it as a mere aberration, an iso-
and will stay one for long. A few days ago, Since 2014, in the face of hardening the BJP has not been able to make any
lated incident. The allegation is that the incident is a grim re- Sharma wrote: “For a country that has long state and sectarian sensitivities of both meaningful headway in the state. Modi’s
flection of the kind of politics followed by the SFI—which has disappointed both optimists and pessimists, Left and Right persuasions, Bollywood frequent visits to the state might enable
a clear majority in colleges across the state—on campuses. the bar of expectations is now very high.” and OTT platforms’ dread of truth and him to strike a rapport with the people, but
The same week, in an indication of dare has resulted in a glut of patriotic and whether it will translate into votes remains
NETFLIX/SCREENGRAB

There have been similar accusations in the past about SFI pur-
suing a politics of intolerance and converting campuses into where the country is going, the govern- mythical movie-making whose essence is a big question mark.
its fiefdoms. Terror is unleashed and physical attacks are ment announced the clearance of three boredom. Producers and directors are C V Aravind, Chennai
semiconductor manufacturing projects wary of anything that may have a nega-
mounted on opponents to preserve its dominance. The element worth `1.3 lakh crore. The finance ministry tive reference to India of the present or Fatal inaction
of fear was palpable on the Wayanad college campus, where no says the economic growth is driven by the the past. They end up saying nothing. It Ref: Two more lives lost to human-wildlife
one showed the courage to say no to the mob trial. manufacturing sector, which is a very good Can India dare to have its own doesn’t have to be this way. conflict (March 6). Two more people have
The CPM, being the ruling party, has to act more responsi- sign. Infrastructure development is at a fu- version of the US political I mentioned House of Cards, a political died after being attacked by wild animals in
bly and must rein in its student wing. It must be ensured that rious clip, too. In a recent interview, Rus- drama that bares the seamy side of power two different parts of Kerala. With this, 14
sian President Vladimir Putin said India
drama, House of Cards? Possibly at the very top. If a writer attempted a have died so far since the start of this year.
campuses are an open space where different ideologies and not. Instead, we have a glut of
ranked just behind the US, China and Ja- similar work in the Indian context, it It is concerning that the state government
views are creatively debated. No such deliberations will be pan in terms of economic growth. patriotic and mythical movies would be seen as insulting the prime min- has been unable to prevent the loss of lives,
possible if colleges have torture rooms and arenas of mob And yet, all the good news in wealth and ister. Boycotts and cancellation would despite complaints being raised.
whose essence is boredom.
lynching. It must be remembered that democracy will be the growth seems to come at a price. The price come into play. George Jacob, Kochi
first casualty if only one voice is heard on campuses. of the imagination. As in China, nationalist Great works are possible only if But it is not just a political drama. In
capitalism is set to grow exponentially at contrarian views are permitted general, great art is inseparable from a More transparency
the expense of imagination, or free speech. certain unflinching look at the complex Ref: Extend electoral bond data sharing
Q U I C K TA K E If the popularity of Narendra Modi is any not essential that one must be critical of, nature of reality. Often, it is about going deadline to June 30: SBI to SC (March
indication, India is electing to get rich at the say, the Modi government to generate cut- against the grain of things. It is not about 5). SBI has requested time till June 30
A LESSON IN DIVERSITY expense of free speech, which is substan-
tively a middle-class obsession. The very
ting-edge entertainment.
But the fear that the industry exhibits
passing judgement. It is about the poetics
of insight and understanding. It is making
to disclose details of electoral bonds
encashed by political parties. That this is

T
HIS Super Tuesday turned out to be a super whimper. In the poor and the very rich are the same: they when it comes to individualistically deal- the tragic and horrific look beautiful. being done to favour the party in power is
are always looking for money. ing with politics or history, or caste and The West has somehow persevered in easy to understand for even a layman. The
peculiar two-party system in the US, Super Tuesday is when This is why I find the biggest media merg- gender, is already resulting in less-than- this exercise despite a very materialistic Supreme Court should force SBI to reveal all
presidential candidates can bag almost a third of the votes er ever in India—between Reliance Indus- mediocre fare in Bollywood and on OTT. ideology. A civilisational talent at drawing information in the interest of transparency.
they need to win their parties’ nomination. This year’s make-or- tries and Walt Disney-Viacom18, worth Indeed, which writer here does not suffer a line between reality and art. We, on the T Kailash Ditya, Hyderabad
break moment ensured two things: it halved the chances of an about $8.5 billion—a paradox. It shows In- from a fear that someone somewhere is contrary, are moving toward a blurring of
Indian-origin woman in the White House and ensured that an dia is hitting the stride. But entertainment watching him/her? Who wants to see more the line—between myth and history, reality Disclosure delay
old white man would lead the world’s largest economy for an- and the arts in general are, unlike other sec- patriotic kitsch? A giant merger like Reli- and art, cage and comfort. As I said, the It is a shame that SBI, among the pioneers in
tors, based on free speech—the stuff of a ance-Disney makes true sense only if the cockatoo next door has a fancy cage. In cap- digitalising banking operations, has sought
other four years. This Women’s Day, perhaps the US could take
free imagination. The new joint venture is content creation is licensed by an unfet- tivity, the bird can live up to 70 years. That’s five months from the Supreme Court, to
a lesson in democratic diversity from the subcontinent, where estimated to have a 40 percent share of TV tered imagination. a long time not to fly. collate and furnish details of electoral bonds
Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar have viewership and over half of digital. It would The West sees the arts as a no-holds- (Views are personal) encashed by political parties.
elected women leaders to the top post. have about 75 crore viewers. Advertising barred area. A function of the arts is to (cpsurendran@gmail.com) Tharcius S Fernando, email

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS


Chairman of the Board: Manoj Kumar Sonthalia Editor: Santwana Bhattacharya
Resident Editor (Telangana) : T Kalyan Chakravarthy* Printed and Published by R K Jhunjhunwala on behalf of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd., at H.No.6-3-1113/1, B.S.Makta Lane, Somajiguda, Near Grand Kakatiya Hotel, Punjagutta, Hyderabad – 500 016 and printed by him at Sakshi Press, Plot No.D-75 & E-52, Industrial Estate (APIE),
Balanagar, Medchal-Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Hyderabad: Vol. 48, No. 57. RNI Reg. No. 32179/77. Phone: 040-23413908. * Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd., All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
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1962 have we sought US military ability given its close ties with recent at the Munich Security deployment along LAC which
support. Calling China a bully will the USSR/Russia and strategic !>  Conference where Foreign is tantamount to closing the
incense China. autonomy. At the Munich Minister Wang Yi is speaking stable door after the horse has
US help so far is high-tech mili- Security Conference last  < X and Jaishankar is in the audi- bolted. Unless India substan-
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and another USD in the pipeline. whether the US is happy and es, Jaishankar walks up to a vis China—the military
During the PLA incursions in comfortable with India doing    him for a ‘chance encounter’ modernization budget in real
Ladakh and later in Tawang, the whatever it wanted whenever and conversation. Neither side terms is less than the previous
US provided critical real-time it wanted. His reply: “India is 9 < has reported the contents of year's—Beijing will continue to
intelligence, and high altitude smart enough to exercise mul- 9   (? ( the conversation. Indian aim is bully Delhi.
equipment for India’s counter tiple choices”. to keep dialogue and diploma- (The writer, a retired Major
deployment. Whether combat Jaishankar says that China  (9 9 cy alive even if the Chinese General, was Commander,
contingencies on LAC and US has broken protocols and faith have closed the door to further IPKF South, Sri Lanka, and a
help; and India’s assistance to the which have violated a peace-  demilitarisation in Depsang founder member of the
US in a Taiwan conflict have been ful and tranquil border that is and Demchok, two key Defence Planning Staff, cur-
discussed is not known though essential for normal bilateral launchpads for offensive oper- rently the Integrated Defence
boots on the ground are unlike- relations whereas China’s line ations by India. Jaishankar Staff. Views
ly. In 1962 Jawaharlal Nehru is that border issues and bilat- has not yielded about seeking are personal)

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it is evident that individuals
death, disability, crop insur-
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3) Encouraging women's
empowerment: In rural
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the financial aspect of our marginalised groups. hold, and along with this, erbate political tensions, with high infla-
lives. The sector is poised to Government Schemes name- they actively participate in tion and stalled growth amplifying public led to suspicion among the activists and law Laos, etc. have also done massive defor-
grow at an unprecedented rate to address the risks of under- ly Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya income generation. frustration. enforcement officials. estation. This news was read recently.
in the coming years. With privileged communities, it Yojana (PMJAY), enabling To further drive the empow- The international community is crucial to Afterthought the whole search operation India is no exception to this. Even in
growing income giving the focuses on protecting the free access to health insur- erment of women, govern- supporting Pakistan's stability by promot- truck was detained and the police started India, a large amount of forest resources
desired impetus to the sector, population from plunging ance, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan ment schemes such as Mahila ing economic development initiatives and its investigation process to find out the real have been destroyed for widening roads,
it is expected that the Indian deeper into poverty. Offering Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Kisan Sashaktikaran electoral transparency. Given Pakistan's sta- culprits behind this inhuman act. The dis- making new roads, industrialization, and
insurance industry will reach affordable insurance prod- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Pariyojana (MKSP) can tus as a nuclear-powered nation, stability covery has laid many questions. Though urbanisation.
a US$ 222 billion market by ucts comes with the ability to Bima Yojana (PMSBY) pro- invariably contribute to cre- in the region is paramount, with implica- the government has been overseeing these New trees are not being planted as much
2026, as per the report by help the groups cope and viding life and accident cov- ating agriculture-based liveli- tions extending to neighbouring countries issues it has to work more effectively to stop as trees and forests are being destroyed.
IBEF. recover from difficult finan- erage respectively, further hoods for women belonging like India. Pakistan stands at a pivotal junc-this cruel act. Just like humans animals also Due to this, the balance of nature will be
However, the industry faces cial situations. Consequently, support the cause of boosting to rural areas. Specifically ture, and concerted efforts from domestic have a life how can one kill them just for disturbed, with unseasonable and heavy
the challenge of low insurance by empowering the commu- crisis recovery in the group. devised to cater to the unique leadership, the international community, some amount of money? A human being rains, and increased heat and tempera-
penetration, standing at 4%, nities, microinsurance dri- 2) Fostering financial inclu- needs of women, innovating and the military are essential to steer the cries a lot when a knife slightly cuts his fin- ture. These are the symptoms. Many
owing to the major popula- ves the socio-economic devel- sion: Microinsurance, offer- and introducing more country towards stability and prosperity. ger how he can not feel the pain of such birds have been destroyed or are on the
tion of underserved commu- opment of the group, which ing coverage at low premi- ground-breaking microinsur- Amarjeet Kumar | Hazaribagh innocent animals who also have the feel- verge of extinction due to this deforesta-
nities finding it difficult to invariably contributes to ele- ums, encourages deeper pen- ance programmes for women ings? Not only government need to be strict tion. If the forests are destroyed, there
avail of insurance plans. vating their living standards. etration of insurance among can bolster their financial $ in this case but also the citizens must be will be a big crisis in front of the human
Therefore, to bolster the 1) Boosting crisis recovery marginalised groups. It serves independence. Sir — Referring to news of Beef Smuggling aware of all these cruel acts and must report being and they will also be on the way
prospects of the industry, it is In an attempt to alleviate the the purpose of promoting the Along with this, the aware- in our country it is very sad to observe that this incident immediately. to being destroyed by the earth. This is
essential to diversify and poverty of the country, the financial inclusion of the ness created around microin- despite so many laws, awareness pro- Aarushi Pathania | Kangra such a tragedy that organisations like the
expand the insurance offering government has been contin- community, who otherwise surance can help women grammes and other things that have been United Nations should pay attention to
to the group to ensure the uously working towards were unable to avail of tradi- improve the health outcomes introduced to protect animals from this ille-  this. So it will come to some extent.
maximum number of people improving the risk-handling tional insurance products of their families by availing gal hunting and smuggling, our country in Sir — Humans have started clearing Different nations should also look at this
are insured in the country. capacity of the group. due to high costs. healthcare services and time- which animals are worshipped is killing forests in many places for development, deforestation as a future destruction. Let's
Looking at the insurance gap To achieve this purpose, the Consequently, bringing the ly facilitation of medical treat- innocent animals for just some money. agricultural space etc. This session is hope that in the next few years, humans
in low-income households, policies under microinsur- marginalised section into the ment. It can immensely assist Recently, Bajrang Dal has thwarted an ille- going on globally. According to a report, will wake up to this and reduce deforesta-
microinsurance has been ance are in alignment with formal financial system can them in making informed gal smuggling of beef at Paradip port. Brazil alone cut down 43 per cent of the tion.
introduced to improve the providing insurance cush- play a crucial role in convert- decisions for driving the well- Bajrang Dal activists intercepted a truck world's forest in 2022. As much as 1. 77 Shantaram Wagh | Pune
accessibility and affordability ioning from any unfortunate ing them into valuable assets, being of their families. which originated from Andhra Pradesh. million hectares of huge forests were cut
of insurance among the event. Offering compensa- thereby contributing to the (The writer is a financial The truck was laden with vegetables and down and destroyed. Followed by Congo,   +
group. Specifically tailored tion for a wide array of risks larger cause of augmenting advisor, views are personal) other goods but emitted a foul smell which Bolivia, and Indonesia. Peru, Colombia, !"#$%&'$
      

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he resurgence of protests by


0#8 1,2&
  *   %9    $   
:# 6        %9 $*
            %; !
   * % $     *  
T farmers has brought attention to
their longstanding struggle for
sustainable profitability in the
agricultural sector. Although
their demands are diverse, their primary
request is for a legal guarantee for MSP
(Minimum Support Prices). Farmers believe
% <   %     $        that the government has not shown genuine
interest in effectively implementing MSP,
%.        ! which has led to distrust, frustration, and
   9  *    %       the need for a legal guarantee. These
 #$  *#!-"      $8 issues have forced them to leave their homes
                !=  and farms and take to the highways in
                * protest, resulting in the death of three farm-
%%   *     !       ers a couple of injuries, and a disruption of
  %  %$     #    normalcy that has affected the commuters
and business activities.
%    #  />     +  In September 2020, the government intro-
      %  !      %      duced three controversial farm laws that
9     %  %%   %!.  were met with widespread protests and
 +        !)*$    demands for their repeal. While the laws
  #      '      ! were eventually repealed in November 2021,
"                    there has been no interim report from the
 $* #     * !1  %  Committee on MSP formed to address
farmers' concerns. This delay in decision-
 *     $         making perpetuates uncertainties in the
          #   #  agricultural sector and undermines the
 * %* $          effectiveness of the present MSP as a sta-
 )( !"    *    % *  bilising force.
             MSP was introduced in 1966-67 to ensure
    %! food security amid food scarcity. Despite
broad political support for a legal guaran-
tee for MSP, successive governments have ising MSP does not entail the gov- ernment estimates, the MSP values environment for key staples, con-
failed to formalise this issue, leaving the ernment procuring all agricultural of the total production of the 23 tributing to the overall food secu-
agricultural sector in a state of uncertain- produce. The apprehensions over crops worked out to be around Rs rity of the country.
ty. However, it is high time to address the excessive fiscal requirements are 17 lakh crore, and some studies A legal framework enables the gov-
weakening of the decades-old MSP policy, unfounded and should not prevent worked out to be around Rs 10 lakh ernment to conduct strategic oper-
remove the complexities surrounding its the legalisation of MSP. crore. Furthermore, only 70% of the ations in domestic and internation-
legislation, and recognise the potential ben- To make MSP a legal guarantee, farm produce comes to markets as al markets. By selling procured
efits of legalising MSP to fuel the wholesome necessary amendments are needed a marketable surplus, and farmers' produce at minimal markups dur-
growth of the agriculture sector, which is in the Agricultural Produce & families consume the rest for house- ing times of higher market prices,
the country's lifeline. The Modi government Livestock Market Committee hold purposes. The MSP legal guar- the government can manage infla-
has demonstrated its commendable abili- (APMC) Act by incorporating a antee will cost the government tion surges, ensuring price stabili-
ty to revamp decades-old mechanisms with clause that ‘auction of farm produce about Rs 5 lakh crore if traders or ty for consumers.
various robust reforms such as the amend- in APMC’s markets is legally not big corporations engaged in pro- MSP reduces the vulnerability of
"  *  '      *     ! ments to Indian Penal Codes and the abro- permitted below the declared MSP cessing boycott the APMC's mar- farmers to market fluctuations,
       $ ' %  *  gation of Article 370 in Kashmir, and now prices’. The apprehensions on the kets, which is an unlikely scenario. ensuring a minimum income for
       $* * they must take bold steps to address this operation of MSP legal guarantee It is time to dismiss the misconcep- their produce. Farmers can navigate
     *   # % 
pressing issue.  !   are that most of the sales of farm tions surrounding the legalisation of uncertainties more confidently,
Why farmers asking for legal guarantee: produce are not in APMCs, and MSP and focus on the merits of pro- knowing that the government is
*      % %  !   The MSP is an administered advisory price >? traders may boycott the purchases viding a legal guarantee for MSP. legally bound to intervene when
   #    *           for 23 crops and is determined annually by ?(!(  of farm produce. The government Merits of legalising MSP: Farming market prices fall below the MSP. A
     ! the Commission for Agricultural Costs and does not have physical and econom- is inherently risky, influenced by fac- guaranteed MSP leads to increased
    %%%% $       Prices (CACP) as a key government inter- ! 9  ic resources to purchase, store, and tors such as weather conditions, pest rural income. This, in turn, stimu-
vention to insulate farmers from price market the procured farm produce, attacks, and market dynamics. lates the rural economy by boosting
  *     %       
volatility when the market prices fall below 9! < which is an irrational argument. Establishing a legally binding frame- demand for goods and services, cre-
  !       % +       
     %*# %%  
the MSP as well as of consumers against cor-
rupt manipulative market inflation and
( <  9 > Government intervention is neces-
sary only when market prices fall
work for minimum floor prices
across all crops, will mitigate the
ating a positive ripple effect in var-
ious sectors.
% %      %   ! maintains food security. It has been in exis- ( (9 9 below MSP, and it does not require current challenges and safeguard The way forward: Policymakers can
"   +  %        %  tence in India for more than five decades. the procurement of the entire mar- farmers from unpredictable fluctu- pave the way for a more secure and
      #   $  $   $  Why, then, are farmers asking for a legal ((   ketable surplus. ations in the prices of their produce. prosperous future for farmers by
  $ $ %  $    ?   *    guarantee? Only 6% of farmers benefit from
MSP, and it procures just 11% of total agri-
(<  The potential boycott of farm pro-
duce in places MSP legal regimes by
However, the government has pro-
posed buying cotton, maize, tur,
dispelling misconceptions and
addressing concerns. Replacing the
   # !
          %% '  $
cultural output in the country, according to 9  the traders is an irrational argument urad and Masur for five years decades-old and inefficient MSP
the latest available NITI Aayog data. because the commodity’s supply is directly from the farmers at the MSP policy with a legislatively guaranteed
  $          $*    Over 90 % of crops are sold at prices that  >79 tight against the demand for farm without any quantitative limit. MSP offers a comprehensive solu-
  '  !"    %  * 
    *       
are 20-30% lower than the declared MSP,
leading to average losses of Rs 20,000 per
9!!> 9 < produce. First, this was also evident
from the fact that the government
Notably, these crops are grown
outside Punjab and Haryana, the
tion to the challenges faced by the
agricultural sector. It not only
 %      !=     %* * acre and about Rs 10 lakh crore annually < 9 could manage to procure only 26 home states of the protesting farm- ensures consistent implementation
    *  !    %% for farmers. A study by the Indian Council million tonnes of wheat at MSP ers. From this, can it infer that small but also promotes diversification,
              for Research on International Economic  ?( against the target of 44.4 million pulses growing farmers all over the inclusivity, and economic resilience,
       $     $
Relations and the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development
?(!(  tonnes fixed for the 2023 season.
Second, the government's expendi-
country stand to benefit? Legalising
MSP for a wider variety of crops
contributing to the wholesome
well-being of farmers and the pros-
  *#$ %% # %    !   $ found that Indian farmers have been suf- ture on procurement and imports ensures that the benefits of price sta- perity of the rural economy. This
      *       $ fering losses since 2000 due to ineffective of farm produce like edible oil and bility are not limited to specific seg- will help to fuel the dream of a
* '    '    %  policies. The report revealed that Indian pulses, and on procurement of ments of the farming community. ‘Viksit Bharat’.
   #*      )  @ farmers lost Rs 45 lakh crore during 2000- food grains on MSP in 2022-23, has Small and marginal farmers culti- (The author is Vice-Chairman of
%  %:   0       + ! * 2017 due to low prices. already surpassed Rs 5 lakh crore vating diverse crops can access the Sonalika Group, Vice-Chairman of
 $# * %  %     *    Misconceptions in legalising: The legali- and Rs 2.28 lakh crore, respective- protective shield of MSP, contribut- the Punjab Economic Policy &
sation of MSP has been hindered by exag- ly. ing to inclusive agricultural growth, Planning Board and Chairman of
 $8* . ">! gerated claims about its fiscal costs. These Claims that the MSP legal guaran- and playing a pivotal role in ensur- ASSOCHAM Northern Region
7KHZULWHULVWKH&(2RI&KKDWWLVJDUK(DVW5DLOZD\/WGDQGLVD claims have misled successive govern- tee will create fiscal disasters for ing food security for the nation by Development Council; views
IDFXOW\RIWKH$UWRI/LYLQJ9LHZVDUHSHUVRQDO ments, and it is essential to clarify that legal- India are baseless. According to gov- maintaining a stable production expressed are personal)

%  $ $ %%   & +       $% $


                         
ndia’s philanthropic land- May 2020, RCRC now has common resources and roots organisations across together partners with comple- solutions because of how they of the pandemic to provide

I scape has shifted signifi-


cantly in recent years, par-
ticularly since the onset of the
more than 98 member organ-
isations united by a desire to
help India’s rural population.
agreed-upon governance
mechanisms.
While the pandemic was key
India, by investing up to Rs 100
crores across them over two
years.Additionally, when col-
mentary skills to deliver inte-
grated solutions that aim to lift
entire communities or demo-
approach their work—most
notably how they set goals for
field strengthening, scaling
relief to migrant workers, it
now focuses on building
resilience by fixing broken
COVID-19 pandemic four From facing crisis to building in uniting diverse stakeholders laboratives enable funding for graphics, rather than solve impact, and supporting social protection delivery sys-
years ago. In early 2020, The resilience for humanitarian and relief early-stage, innovative initia- one challenge at a time. promising organisations. Field tems across India for these
Bridgespan Group, a reputed In its 2020 research, it tracked causes, there have been other tives, the risk is divided so it Anamaya, the tribal health strengthening, also known as communities. They hold the
research group published a 13 philanthropic collabora- reasons behind the recent rise does not fall upon a single fun- collaborative, and the Dasra ecosystem building or field potential to address complex
report on philanthropic collab- tives across the country, which in collaborative initiatives. der. The India Climate Adolescents Collaborative, building, is critical in a coun- social challenges across the
oratives in India, delving into 0 %# were defined as entities co-cre- Chief among them is the abil- Collaborative is a case in point, each aspire for population- try like India, where entire Sustainable Development
how and why philanthropists 1' 3, ,*,, ated by three or more indepen- ity to share risk across many having launched in 2019 with level change for specific com- ecosystems with multiple Goals—such as gender
and other stakeholders were dent actors, including at least players, making it easier to more than 10 funders coming munities. stakeholders need to evolve to inequalities, poverty, WASH,
working together to address access to healthcare, nutri- one philanthropist or philan- build solutions at scale. together. The research also pointed to drive sustainable impact. It and climate change—over the
social challenges at scale. It was tion, and education. The need thropist. As we note in our lat- EdelGive Foundation's Philanthropic collaboratives how collaboratives are now involves the often-unseen long term. This offers domes-
an early signal of the change for prompt relief meant that est report, The Growing Grassroots, Resilience, also tend to have greater cred- forming across a wider set of work of coordinating across tic philanthropies—corpora-
that was to come. grassroots NGOs, working Momentum of Philanthropic Ownership, and Wellness ibility with governments: issue areas. While most of diverse actors to pursue shifts tions, family foundations, and
When the pandemic hit, the alone, could have only limited Collaboratives in India, the (GROW) Fund brings togeth- Having several organisations them addressed near-term in policy and institutional wealthy individuals—many
collaborative model gained reach and impact, especially in number of collaboratives in er Indian and international and individuals united in col- pandemic needs in health- practices, strengthening rela- untapped opportunities to
momentum. During the early far-flung rural communities. India has grown at least three- funders—including philan- lective thinking can assuage care and education in 2020, tionships, enhancing funding, have an outsized impact on
months of the lockdown, This is how the Responsible fold since, with capital invest- thropic institutions, individual and influence those in the pub- collaboratives are now work- or changing public narratives India’s development through
diverse NGOs, philanthropists, Coalition for Resilient ed in them having grown philanthropists, eminent busi- lic sector wary of individual, ing on environment, rural around an issue. joining forces with other mis-
CSR organisations, and the pri- Communities (formerly the more than sixfold. These col- nesspersons, and changemak- vested agendas. Another transformation, climate, equi- The Migrants Resilience sion-aligned stakeholders.
vate sector came together to Rapid Community Response), laboratives pursue shared ers. Together, they build the growth driver is the commu- ty, and other issues. The power Collaborative (MRC) a grass- (The author writes on philan-
reach vulnerable communi- or RCRC, was started. visions and strategies for capabilities, resilience, and nity-level lens many collabo- of the collective roots-led multi-stakeholder thropic subjects; views are
ties—particularly to enable Growing from 20 NGOs in achieving social impact, using future-readiness of 100 grass- ratives undertake, bringing Collaboratives offer efficient initiative formed at the height personal)

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