www.facebook.com/thenewsyoulike
`30
www.thenews.co.in
PAGES: 68 VOL.7 | ISSUE: 7, AUGUST, 2019
T
VOL:7 I SSUE:7 I AUGUST, 2019 `30 Editor A Rammohan Rao
Special Correspondent D. Bal Reddy Correspondents Mallesh Babu Mandha Ravi Kumar G.P. Nagaraju
Reporters M.Praveen Kumar, P Vishnuvardhan Reddy Photographers M Vijay S Sridhar, Shair Ali Baig Cover & Layout T. Srinivasa Rao
General Manager Mohd Nizamuddin
Chief Executive (Marketing) Venkata K Ganjam (GK) Chief - Business & LifeStyle K. Bharath Reddy Marketing Associate M. Akhil Raj Shaker
The News You Like Phone: 9701141377, 9848133363 E-mail: thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Website: thenews.co.in
Address for correspondance: #3-5-890, Flat No. 203, Paras Chambers, Beside Telangana Tourism Bldg, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500029. Phone: 98481 33363, 97011 41377. email: 24thenews@gmail.com thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Printed, Published And Owned By Ramya Sree , Printed At S.M.S. Press, H.No.11-38, Pragathi Nagar, P&T Colony, Saroor Nagar, Dist Ranga Reddy – 60, Published At The News Publications, H.No.334, B, Prajay Sai Gardens, Keesara Mandal, Dist - Ranga Reddy, Telangana Editor : A Rammohan Rao
Note: Focus/Infocus features are marketing initiatives, any legal disputes comes under the jurisdiction of courts in Hyderabad
EDITORIAL
3
he Independence Day is an occasion for celebrating, rejoicing for the entire nation. Every year we are celebrating it. Just celebrating. We won freedom. But are we keeping it alive? What is our responsibility as a citizen in contributing to the nation’s development? When we won freedom, our country is left with internal conflicts, food and financial crisis, and superstitious beliefs that hampered its overall development. From the state of almost nothing, we entered into a list of top most countries leading in IT, space, agriculture, defence, medicine, telecommunications, sports and many more sectors. Our country lacked the infrastructure to produce even a rifle at the time of independence. Now it is equipped with world-class supersonic missiles. Prior to independence bulk of the drugs were imported and very negligible quantity was manufactured. Now it is leading in the production of vaccines, and drugs. From hand – mouth existence it has become self – sufficient. India is able to harvest the benefits and achieve what it has now from the seeds sown by the eminent scientists, visionaries, and industrialists. ISRO, ICAR, IISc, DRDO, BARC, ICMR, BHEL, ONGC are to name a few that stand as a testimonial to the science and technological prowess of the nation. India is becoming a major global knowledge production hub with over foreign companies setting up their R&D centres in India. Science and technology drive economic and social development. With that view in, they are widely made available citizens in the country. The future of our nation and individuals depends on the right utilization of science and technology. We need to use it more to improve the quality of lives of all citizens. Offering safe drinking, better – affordable medical facilities, quality education with employable skills, promote entrepreneurship. As a nation with a majority young population, we need to realize that youngsters are major decision-makers in the future of our country and they should be more healthy and practical-minded decisionmakers. At the same time, we should curtail, crush use of technology for But they are used to fan to promote divisive, illegal and criminal purposes without discrimination. People who use technology with middle ages mentality are not only destroy the very fabric of democracy at large and dangerous to an individual’s security but limit progress country and citizens alike. The staff and the management of The News wishes it’s readers A Happy 72nd Independence Day. Jai Hind!
(A Rammohan Rao) THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
4
CONTENT
May lose national party status
CPI, NCP, TMC at risk 6
Lawyers Collective facing FCRA violation case
Amaravati development World Bank pulls out 10
16
Total seasonal rainfall will be normal No effect of late monsoon
24
Speedy justice to Child victims
‘Supreme’ order
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
28
CONTENT
38
High and low earners The gap remains
Where to plant a trillion trees to save the planet?
5
44
Restoration of forests has long been seen as a potential measure to combat climate change. The latest special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that an increase of 1 billion hectares of forest will be necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050.
42
ICMR finds acteria as an ally
Smile to stay happy It DOES give results
Rayudu Dejected
Chndrayan -2 Launch successful
46
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
41 52
6
POLITICS
May lose national party status
CPI, NCP, TMC at risk R
THE NEWS BUREAU
egistering its worst poll performance in over six decades, the main left parties virtually wiped off their bastions in recent Lok Sabha elections. They have great difficulty could manage just five seats across the country. On its erstwhile turf in West Bengal, where it failed to win even one seat, its vote share reduced to a paltry 7 per cent from 23 per cent in 2014. And in Kerala, where it managed only one seat, its vote share was around 32 per cent. In West Bengal, it was a debacle wherein all but one Leftwing party candidates lost their security deposits. With its worst-ever electoral performance in any Lok Sabha election since independence in 1947. CPM and CPI which won
just three and two seats, respectively Lost support among workers, peasants, farm labourers? Can they retain their national party status?: The CPI, BSP and NCP were facing the prospects of losing their national party status after their dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well. The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) which won 10 Lok Sabha and some assembly seats does not face the possibility of losing its national party status now. The NCP(Nationalist Congress Party), TMC (All India Trinamool Congress) and CPI(Communist Party of India) face the prospect of losing their national party status following their performance in the just-held Lok Sabha elections. According to reports in the national
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
media the Election Commission is likely to issue them show-cause notice in the coming days, asking them as to why their national party status should not be revoked. The CPI, BSP and NCP were facing the prospects of losing their national party status after their dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well. However, they had got a reprieve when in 2016 the EC amended its rules, whereby national and state party status of political parties will be reviewed every 10 years instead of five. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which won 10 Lok Sabha and some assembly seats do not face the possibility of losing its national party status now. According to the Election Symbols (Reserva-
POLITICS
tion and Allotment) Order, 1968, a political party can be recognised as a national party if its candidates secure at least six per cent of votes polled in four or more states in Lok Sabha or assembly elections, and, in addition, it has at least four members in the Lok Sabha. It also should have at least two per cent of the total Lok Sabha seats and its candidates come from not less than three states. As of now, the TMC, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), BSP, CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress (INC), NCP and National People’s Party of Meghalaya have national party status This was the first time since 1952 that the left parties together did not end up with double digits in the general election. Till now, while it had put up its most dismal show in 2014, winning only 12 seats - 12 less than what it had won in 2009 its highest ever tally of 59 seats had come in 2004. Once a Left stronghold, the CPI(M) has one seat in Kerala - Alappuzha. Another Left party, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), has won the Kollam seat in Kerala, but it is a part of the
ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the southern state. In West Bengal, a state ruled by the Left for 34 uninterrupted years, it has drawn a blank, while it had won two seats in the state in 2014. Meanwhile, the CPM (Communist Party of India –Marxist) has admitted that its rout in the Lok Sabha elections follows "an erosion of support among the basic classes". An editorial in the CPM journal "People's Democracy," said: "In many industrial centres around the country, the working class has voted for the BJP. In areas where the Left wielded influence amongst workers, there has been a reduction of that influence with some exceptions like Tamil Nadu and Kerala." While the CPM won one seat in Kerala, both CPM and CPI(Communist Party of India) won two seats each as part of the DMK(The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam)-led alliance in Tamil Nadu. A disturbing feature of the CPM's performance is the continuing fall in the overall voting percentage of the party. "This is mainly due to the THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
7
sharp drop in the vote share of the party in West Bengal and Tripura and to a lesser extent in Kerala," the editorial said. While saying that violence and terror directed at the CPM in West Bengal and Tripura was a reason for its poor show, the party admitted that there was a political trend of sections of its voters moving away from the party in both these states. This conclusion followed a preliminary review conducted at the Central Committee meeting held in the month of June. "It is therefore essential that the party goes to the people in a big way.” The Central Committee, amongst the tasks set out, called for the Party leaders and cadres to meet the people who have moved away from us in the election and listen to their views. "This must be the start of the process of winning back their confidence. Special attention must be paid to meet workers, poor peasants and agricultural labourers and their families," suggested the editorial. It added: "The party leadership and cadres must approach this task with all seriousness and humility."
8
POLITICS
RSS activism played a major role
Powering the BJP to power I
THE NEWS BUREAU
nspite of unpopular decisions like demonetization, GST, job losses how Narendra Modi could win the popular vote to come back to power? For the last three months, many explanations ranging from pessimistic EVM tampering and provocation Hindu passion to practical Modi’s popularity and positive nation-building have come up. Now a well known political scientist Tariq Thachil has come up with another. According to him the Sewa wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has been active for years at the grassroots in the Hindi heartland, has also played a major role in the elections. This is a major reason why 33 per cent Dalit voters voted for the BJP. Thachil gave this
explanation while giving a talk titled ‘Why poor vote for elite parties’ hosted by the School of Development Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Tariq Thachil, an associate professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, has also authored a book titled Elite Parties, Poor Voters, examining the rise of the BJP among poor voters in India. He says Sewa outfits of the RSS such as Sewa Bharati And Vanwasi Kalyan Ashram have played a major role in the 1990s and early 2000s in increasing the BJP’s presence among Dalits and Adivasis. “It is hard to isolate the BJP’s win from the important structural advantages that the party enjoys. The most obvious is money. The Association for Democratic
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Reforms, an independent election think tank, tracked the incomes of India’s seven largest political parties in 2017-2018. They found that the BJP’s income from a donation was more than twice the combined income of the other six parties,” said Thachil. Thachil added that while the role of the RSS may be changing, it did not seem that it was losing its clout. “Modi has repeatedly stated that he is committed to the RSS and his history are personally rooted in the RSS. This is in some way a consolidation of the RSS in the BJP. It would be a mistake to assume that the BJP doesn’t benefit from the RSS. Before, the RSS had a lot of leverage which is now equally commanded by the BJP,” he said.
POLITICS
9
Electoral trusts major contributors O
Flow of donations
THE NEWS BUREAU
f the donations that national political parties received from the corporate sector in the last two years, just under half came from electoral trusts, an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows. The ADR analysis is based on the income declarations of six national parties for 2016-17 and 2017-18. While parties are required to submit details of donors have made contributions above Rs 20,000, the BSP declared that it received no voluntary contributions above Rs 20,000 from any donor during this period, the ADR said in a statement. The six parties covered in the analysis — BJP, Congress, NCP, CPI, CPI(M) and TMC (Trinamool Congress) declared donations of Rs 985.18 crore from the corporate sector. Out of this Rs. 488.42 crore (49.58 per cent) came from electoral trusts. The BJP received Rs 458.02 crore of this. The Congress another Rs 29.40 crore. The NCP and Trinamool Congress Rs 50 lakh each. Another twelve per cent came from the manufacturing sector. Nine per cent of the real estate sector. During two financial years, 2016-17 and 2017-18 a total of Rs. 1059.25 crore was received by the six national political parties as a declared donation. Of this amount 93 per cent, Rs.985.18 was from the
corporate sector. BJP, Congress and NCP were in the first three positions in receiving corporate donations. Rs 5,850 crore worth Electoral bonds sold: State Bank of India(SBI), the nodal bank for the sale of electoral bonds, told The Indian Express in a Right to Information reply that the scheme was opened in nine phases in different months.Out of 11,681 electoral bonds worth a total Rs 5,850.85 crore that donors have bought since the scheme was launched, bonds worth Rs 4045.81, or nearly 70 per cent of the total purchase, were bought in the three big cities — Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. SBI, the nodal bank for the sale of electoral bonds, reported having
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
told in a Right to Information reply that the scheme was opened in nine phases in different months. Bonds worth Rs 1,782.36 crore, Rs 1,388.95 crore and Rs 874.50 crore respectively were sold by Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi branches of SBI. Bonds are available in denominations of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore. They are donated to political parties and once they receive these, they encash them in the bank. The RTI applicant sought to know which parties encashed the electoral bonds over different months, but the SBI declined to reply, saying that the “information sought by the applicant cannot be disclosed as it is in fiduciary capacity disclosure of which is exempted.
10 CONTROVERSY
Lawyers Collective facing T
FCRA violation case
THE NEWS BUREAU
he Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)is tightening its grip on Lawyers Collective in bringing out alleged misuse of donations received. CBI had registered a case against this NGO run by senior lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, for alleged violations of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) on a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs. It has conducted raids at the residence and offices of senior lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover. The case, which also mentions Grover as an accused, pertains to discrepancies in foreign contributions cited by the association in its returns filed with the MHA. In 2016, the MHA had cancelled the FCRA license of the NGO for allegedly using foreign contributions for “political purposes”. The ministry had suspended Lawyers Collective’s (LC) FCRA account for six months in June again and issued a notice asking why the NGO’s account should not be cancelled. The NGO was in May this year issued Notice by the Supreme Court on alleged violations of FCRA based on a petition filed by another organisation called Lawyers Voice. The MHA order states that Jaising, who was the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India under the previous UPA government, had violated FCRA
The ministry had suspended Lawyers Collective’s (LC) FCRA account for six months in June again and issued a notice asking why the NGO’s account should not be cancelled. The NGO was in May this year issued Notice by the Supreme Court on alleged violations of FCRA based on a petition filed by another organisation called Lawyers Voice.
norms by receiving foreign funds when she was a government servant. “Large amounts of foreign contributions were found to have been spent on air travel, boarding and lodging and local travel of trusts Anand Grover and various contractual employees from different parts of the country for draft legislation meetings, dharnas and advocacy with MPs,” the MHA probe reveals. These meetings, according to MHA, were conducted in connection with draft legislation of the HIV/AIDS Bill. Lawyers Collective, according
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
to MHA, used Rs 13 lakh out of foreign contribution in advocacy with MPs or the media to organise rallies/dharnas, draft legislation meetings in 2009, 2011 and 2014. The MHA probe also held the use of foreign contribution for travels of Grover after he was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur for Health in 2008 as a violation of FCRA. It also mentioned a charity dinner organised by Lawyers Collecting in New York in 2013, which was attended by Grover. MHA said all these were a violation of FCRA.
COVER STORY 11
Aaya Amruth Rao... Gaya Gunvant Rao
Horse trading uninterrupted In June ten of fifteen Congress MLAs in Goa joined the ruling BJP and 12 of 16 Congress MLAs in Telangana had ‘merged’ with TRS. Rebel MLAs moving away from congress has toppled JDS-Congress government in Karnataka. Though Karnataka episode not yet concluded and the path those fifteen rebel MLAs of the state likely to choose is not clear observers of the opinion that may not be much different from their colleagues in Goa and Telangana Why these defections have become ‘normal’ in our country? How does antidefection law deal with such cases? How they these politicians and parties manage to go ahead without any hindrance? THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
12 COVER STORY
Rebel MLAs of Karnataka
"T
-D.BAL REDDY & A.RAMMOHAN RAO
he evil of political defections has been a matter of national concern. If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and the principles which sustain it… This Bill is meant for outlawing defection and fulfilling the above assurance." — Introduction to the 10th schedule of the Indian Constitution Back in 1967, Gaya Lal, a legislator in the Haryana state assembly, changed his political party twice in a day, and then a third a time within the fortnight—all because he wanted to be part of the governing party, and things were in a bit of flux after elections. He succeeded in his short-term mission, but at the rather hefty cost of seeing his name associated forevermore
with the practice of “defections" in Indian politics. Aya ram, gaya ram (come and go men) became the derisive Hindi phrase used to describe politicians who switch parties for money and government office, including the sought-after job of a minister. Gaya Lal was not alone in his political exploits. The seeds of legislators being allured to switch loyalties were sown in Indian politics
in 1967. In half a century, the phenomenon has come to suffocate politics. Till the 1960s and before its split, Congress was the rotund pillar of multi-party politics, inheriting the people’s goodwill for its contribution to the freedom struggle. In 1967, as many as 16 states went to polls. Congress could not cross the majority mark in eight and began a culture of throwing
Kumaraswamy submitting memorandum to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
baits for migratory legislators to defect. During 1967-71, there were 142 defections in Parliament and 1,969 cases of shifting of loyalty by MLAs in assemblies. As many as 32 governments collapsed because of defections and 212 defectors were rewarded with ministerial positions (source: PRS Legislative Research). Defections felled the first government in Haryana headed by Bhagwat Dayal Sharma. Congress defector Rao Birender Singh became chief minister in a coalition government formed by rebel Congress MLAs with the help of opposition parties. MLA Gaya Lal took ‘swinging loyalty’ to new heights by defecting thrice in a fortnight and political analyst coined the phrase ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’. Half a century later, the nomenclature has changed to ‘horse-trading’. Defections have always given a handle to governors to poorly camouflage their whimsical decisions as constitutional duties to topple governments. Such actions of governors have been the basis of many memorable Supreme Court judgments — Kihoto Hollohan (1992), S R Bommai (1994) and Rameshwar Prasad (2006) Though the SC always faulted governors’ actions in lending unconstitutional help in the toppling of governments, it steadfastly refused to enter the ‘political thicket’ to determine what constituted ‘horse-trading’ or defections due to allurement. And, this probably emboldened ‘political pendulum’ MLAs to continue with impunity what their predecessors had done in the past. It does not necessarily lead to an assumption of allurement and horse-trading.” As the SC did not, and could not, lay down what constitutes horse-trading, some leaders
COVER STORY 13
Goa Congress MLAs join in BJP at the presence of BJP National President JP Nadda
MLA Gaya Lal took ‘swinging loyalty’ to new heights by defecting thrice in a fortnight and political analyst coined the phrase ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’. Half a century later, the nomenclature has changed to ‘horse-trading’.
of political parties continued to do what they were best at — identify MLAs in rival political parties and lure them with money or ministerial berths. MLAs who accept bribes to switch loyalty know that they, as public servants, are committing a crime under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Leaders who offer bribes to MLAs are also aware of their crime under the PC Act. And yet, leaders do not flinch in offering ministerial posts to defectors. The fourth president of the US whose known as Father of the Bill of Rights, James Madison, had once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” India’s first president Rajendra Prasad had agreed with B R Ambedkar to say this on November 26, 1949, “Whatever the Constitution may or may not provide, the welfare of the country will depend upon the way in which the country THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
is administered. That will depend upon the men who administer it.” The Karnataka political entanglement, caused by ever-familiar defections, offers an opportunity to the SC to think of auxiliary remedial measures, in addition to the anti-defection law in the Tenth Schedule of Constitution, to maintain polity’s purity. Witness such incidents, thinking about protecting democracy a question rises in the mind. Does India need the right to recall? If the electorate voted for the candidate of a party, should she not reserve the right to recall if that candidate switches to another party or fail to fulfil his duty? To be clear, India does have an anti-defection law that seeks to bar party hopping by legislators, but defections such as those in Goa and Telangana — more than 2/3rd of Congress MLAs 'merged' with BJP and TRS, respectively — show the shortcomings of the law. The exception for 2/3rd MLAs translates as "a political party with access to large
14 COVER STORY
amounts of money could topple" a government or effect a successful merger. For a long time, the Indian political scene was besmirched by political defections by members of the legislature. This situation brought about greater instability in the political system. The infamous “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram” slogan was coined against the background of continuous defections by the legislators. Legislators used to change parties frequently, bringing about chaos in the legislatures as governments fell. In sum, they often brought about political instability. This caused serious concerns to the right thinking people and political leaders of the country. Some Indian states have provisions to recall corporators, but no such law exists in the case of MLAs and MPs. Several efforts were made to make some law to curb defections. Starting from private members’ efforts, Bills were brought in by the government at different times. No Bill could be passed because of one reason or the other. However, the most important reason was that there was no consensus on the basic provisions of an anti-defection law. Members of Parliament were concerned about the freedom of speech in Parliament and other legislatures as they
Goa and Telangana — more than 2/3rd of Congress MLAs 'merged' with BJP and TRS, respectively — show the shortcomings of the law. The exception for 2/3rd MLAs translates as "a political party with access to large amounts of money could topple" a government or effect a successful merger. had a fear that too stringent a law on defection would likely curb the freedom of speech (which is a constitutional right) of the legislators. A lot of time was taken before a consensus could be reached on this issue. In 2016, BJP MP Varun Gandhi introduced an amendment bill that called for the right to recall MLAs and MPs. It said, "any elector of a particular constituency, may, if not satisfied with the performance of elected member of that constituency, file a recall petition, signed by not less than one-fourth of the total number of electors of that constituency." Before him, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had also called for a right to recall. Underlining his plans, Varun Gandhi wrote in a news papaer artcle: "Logic and justice necessitate that if the people have the power to elect their representatives, they should also have the power to remove these representatives when they engage in
CLP members of Telangana with Speaker P Srinivasa Reddy
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
misdeeds or fail to fulfil their duties." The bill, however, was not passed. But the Law Commission in 2015 said "it can lead to an excess of democracy" and argued against it. Critics also say, right to recall would pile additional burden on the Election Commission, and without a stringent fail-proof, could be misused to harass legislators. There are also fears that divisive forces that influence voting can also be flamed to recall a well-performing MLA. Political instability caused by the frequent and unholy change of allegiance on the part of the legislators of the country has been prevented to a considerable extent with anti-defection law. But not contained completely because some leaders and parties could find loopholes to circumvent. Unless a consensus has arrived and those loopholes are closed foundations of our democracy can be safe & secure.
STATES 15
TDP Govt. power procurement
Public money has gone with the wind
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government led by N.Chnadrababu Naidu purchased renewable energy at very high costs and unnecessary payments of back down fixed costs to accommodate the high-cost renewable power. This has caused the loss of hundreds of crores to the state, according to a report submitted to the Cabinet sub-committee probing energy deals made by the previous government in Andhra Pradesh. The committee has prepared a report for the perusal of the Cabinet sub-committee. The committee in its report has stated that under the garb of renewable power purchase obligations (RPPO) of 5 per cent, the TDP government procured about 23 per cent very high-cost renewable power. The state incurred loss due to these high-cost purchases beyond RPPO. “Wind energy in excess of RPPO
was purchased at Rs 4.84 per unit. For this purpose, the thermal energy which is readily available at Rs 4.2 per kWh (fixed cost of Rs 1.1/kWh plus the variable cost of Rs 3.1/kWh) was backed down. The state had to pay this fixed cost of about Rs 1.1/kWh irrespective of whether it consumed power or not. Thus, the effective cost of wind power that is purchased became Rs 5.94/kWh (Rs 4.84/kWh plus Rs 1.1/kWh). “There is no way all this could have happened without the then leadership being aware of these irregularities,’’ the report states. As per the report, power available through thermal power stations at Rs 4.2/kWh was procured at Rs 5.94/kWh to facilitate wind power producers by paying Rs 1.74/kWh extra. Similarly, solar energy was purchased in excess of RPPO at costs up to Rs 6.99/kWh. According to the report, wind energy is available at prices THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
between Rs 2/kWh and Rs 3/kWh, which is evident from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) bid of Rs 2.43/kWh in Gujarat. But “the state made purchases beyond RPPO knowing very well that they are going to cause losses of about Rs 1,500 crore per year for the last three years which will continue for the next 22 years of the PPA period. The backing down of thermal plants for all the purchases beyond RPPO led to the wasteful payment of back down fixed costs of Rs 1,000 per year. It is significant to note that low prices have been prevailing in the country,’’ it notes. “The TDP government’s argument that different states have different plant load factors is not correct, especially in wind energy. The power which was available at a cost of Rs 3.53/kWh is purchased at Rs 5.94/kWh paying an excess of Rs 2.41/kWh. “Of the 221 PPAs in wind energy, more than Rs 40,000 crore worth of PPAs signed after 2014 benefitted only five players. Wrong calculations were filed before APERC leading to the fixing of high costs and wind and solar projects were sanctioned indiscriminately knowing very well that RPPO was surpassed and without assessing financial implications,’’ it further states. Similarly, solar energy has been available at prices between Rs 2/kWh and Rs 3/kWh as per SECI bid of Rs 2.44/kWh in Rajasthan. Today, 750 MW of solar energy is offered by SECI in AP at Rs 2.78/kWh. Solar power which was available at an effective cost of Rs 3.54/kWh is purchased at Rs 8.09/kWh paying an excess of Rs 4.21/kWh. Surprisingly, 70 per cent of this power is coming from 5 producers only,’’ the report says.
16
STATES
Amaravati development A
World Bank pulls out
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndhra Pradesh state’s new capital city, Amaravati lost the backing of World Bank. After losing Central government support this has come as a blow. The World Bank had withdrawn Rs. 1950 crore($300 million) of funding for new capital in Andhra Pradesh after the central government dropped support for the project. The Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), that was due to financing Rs.1300 crore ($200 million) of the project, also said it was reviewing its involvement. The construction of the Amaravati city is the brainchild of the state’s former chief minister, N.
Chandrababu Naidu, who lost power in elections in May. The two banks were due to provide the lion’s share of the Rs.4640 crore ($715 million) cost of critical funding for transport, sanitation and water supply. After the bifurcation of United Andhra into AP and Telangana in 2014, the then chief minister AP Chandrababu Naidu decided to shift out of the joint capital, Hyderabad, and construct the new capital for Andhra Pradesh in Amaravati. Situated between Guntur and Vijayawada, a total of 33,000 acres of farmland was acquired for the project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in 2015, but he and Naidu fell out after Naidu’s party
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
broke from Modi’s ruling coalition last year. It is reported that the government of India has withdrawn its request to the World Bank for financing the proposed Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project. The Centre has reportedly expressed dismay over the World Bank Team inspections even before the loan was finalized, said the official. The World Bank, in a press release, however, said that the government on 15 July withdrew its request to the World Bank to finance the proposed 'Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project', due to which it backed out. "The World Bank's board of executive directors has been informed that
STATES 17 report, he has said: “Our investment committee will be discussing our involvement in the project early next week.” the proposed project is no longer under preparation following the government’s decision. Following the government’s decision. AIIB spokeswoman Laurel Ostfield told in Beijing that it was aware the World Bank has dropped the project from its investment pipeline. According to a news report, he has said: “Our investment committee will be discussing our involvement in the project early next week.” The report said that Dr P Lakshmi Narasimham, the commissioner of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority, the state body overseeing construction of the city, declined to comment on the implications of the funding withdrawal. According to sources in Andhra Pradesh Capital rampant corruption besides flouting of various socio-economic norms under the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government, were the reasons behind the agency’s move. The then TDP government had invited tenders for infrastructure development even before the World Bank loan details were finalized. Other government officials, who also did not want to be quoted, said a World Bank team that toured the proposed region marked for development from 13-17 September 2017, found irregularities in the tender process and also that it favoured contractors. According to sources, the team found numerous irregularities in land pooling, utilisation of verdant agriculture land for other purposes,
serious environmental violations and in the plan of the new proposed capital as it affected the course of the Krishna River, among other issues. The CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) was asked for an explanation after the team finished its tour of the region. After its inspection, the team had submitted its report on 27 September and amended it on 27 November in 2017, following which a final report was filed on 29 March this year. The team had to take up investigations following a spate of complaints from social organisations and voluntary organisations. The Amaravati project, built on greenfield land on the banks of the sacred Krishna River has been beset by accusations from activist groups of corruption and environmental damage. The state government has denied the accusations.“For a change, good sense has prevailed upon the bank to withdraw from the disastrous programme,” Sreedhar R., the director of the Environics Trust, one of the activist groups that has been THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
critical of the project, said in a statement. This also vindicates our stance that (AIIB) which is a co-financier in the project, can no longer hide behind the World Bank which it has been doing.” But TDP rubbished the allegations against its TDP government. Leaders of the party arguing unless and until an urban capital is there in a state, it will not prosper. They are saying that nobody will come to the state if we don’t have a new capital. Though World Bank has withdrawn funding for Amaravati it is indicated, according to sources that it will continue to support the state of Andhra Pradesh with (an) over $1 billion programme that covers the health, agriculture, energy and disaster management sectors. This includes a new $328-million support to the state’s health sector signed with the Government of Andhra Pradesh on June 27, 2019. So World Bank was not averse to extending the same loan to the current Andhra government, should it mention its priorities.
18 THE NATION
Union Budget 2019-20
Safe and smart
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
n her maiden budget union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has chosen to say no to populism and also massive spending. The Union budget 2019-20 is a play of safe and smart statement. Given the recent deceleration in Indian economic growth rate as well as the raised expectations especially on the welfare front, it was a tough task to balance the competing demands. In the end, the Finance Minister chose not to overextend the government’s capacity by refraining from announcing any new major expenditure. Instead, she chose to focus on making it easier for business to invest. Together, this approach allowed her to address the macroeconomic concerns on one hand while attempting to boost investor sentiment on the other. The first biggest concern in this Budget was about the fiscal deficit, which reflects the government’s borrowing for the year. A high fiscal deficit essentially crowds out the private sector from using financial resources. Surprisingly, the FM improved the fiscal deficit target to 3.3 per cent of the GDP from the 3.4 per cent announced in the interim Budget in February this year. Alongside, the Finance Minister also announced a long-debated
The first biggest concern in this Budget was about the fiscal deficit, which reflects the government’s borrowing for the year. A high fiscal deficit essentially crowds out the private sector from using financial resources. idea — that of the government raising a part of its gross borrowing programme in external markets in external currencies. This move has its risks as it raises the exposure of the Indian economy to the distur-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
bances and glitches in the global economy. Yet, for the time being, it is likely to have, as the Finance Minister said, a “beneficial impact on demand situation for the government securities in the domestic
market”.Predictably, the Indian government’s 10-year bond yield fell. Essentially, these decisions imply that the pressure on domestic resources to fund government’s borrowing will fall and possibly provide a boost to private sector investment. India’s economic growth has lost momentum right through the last financial year. Real GDP growth fell from 7.2 per cent in 2017-18 to 6.8 per cent in 2018-19. For the current year, the Budget at a Glance document gives a nominal GDP growth rate of 12 per cent. Assuming 3.5-4 per cent inflation for the current year, this would imply a real GDP growth of 8-8.5 per cent for 2019-20. If this was indeed the case, one would have expected the Finance Minister to lead with it, especially since growing at 8 per cent each year is what India needs to achieve the $5
trillion economy goal by 2025. What further complicates the understanding is the fact that the Macroeconomic Framework Statement also supplied with the Budget documents, clearly state that the nominal GDP for the current year will be 11 per cent, thus bringing down the real GDP rate to 7-7.5 per cent range. The interim Budget had assumed nominal GDP growth of 11.5 per cent. A key understanding from the interim Budget as well as the data from Controller General of Account office has been the stress on tax revenues. For the current year, perhaps as a realisation of the lower nominal GDP growth rate, the tax revenues are budgeted at Rs 16.49 lakh crore. However, this number is significantly lower than the budgeted number for the current year in the interim Budget,
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
THE NATION 19
which was Rs 17.05 lakh crore. Overall, concerns over GST collections sustain as the budgeted figures for the current year are lower than the budgeted figures in the last financial year’s budget. The Finance Minister did well in not giving in to any populist urges by ramping up budget allocations especially to the recently announced flagship schemes such as PM-KISAN, PM-AASHA or Ayushman Bharat. Instead, she has chosen to focus more on reviving investments in infrastructure, both rural and urban. The one big expenditure announced in the FM’s Budget speech was the Rs 70,000 crore to be allocated to public sector bank recapitalisation. One way to look at it is that this money will help these banks to lend further and boost economic activity. However, the critics would point out that in the absence of real governance reforms in these banks, this is akin to throwing away taxpayers money. Another big concern was the level of dividends from the RBI that the government will receive this year. The broader rubric of dividends from RBI and public sector banks sees a doubling of receipts from Rs 54,817 crore (2018-19 BE) to Rs 1.06 lakh crore. Another good news in the budget from the fiscal health perspective is the increased target for disinvestment in the current year — it now stands at Rs 1.05 lakh crore. So all in all, while this Budget may not have enthused the middle-class straightaway — especially given the hike in fuel taxes — the Finance Minister has astutely avoided getting dragged into populist measures. For the time being, no news is good news for the Indian economy.
20 THE NATION
NMC Bill may lead to more complications
T
THE NEWS BURAU
he National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2019 is under severe criticism from several quarters of the medical fraternity. Bill which seeks to replace the 63-yearold Medical Council of India (MCI) for the development and regulation of all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions was introduced in Lok Sabha in July last week. While doctors associated with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said they would sensitise MPs about their concerns.The IMA burnt copies of the bill outside its Delhi office. It is also planning a protest march on same-day health minister Harsh Vardhan tabled NMC Bill 2019 in the Lok Sabha and they demanded amendments to the bill. The NMC Bill, which will repeal the Indian Medical Council
Act, 1956, was first introduced in Lok Sabha in 2017 (it lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha) it had proposed a six-month bridge course to allow practitioners of alternative medicines (AYUSH) to prescribe allopathic medicines and help fill in the gaps in the availability of medical professionals. However, following protests from the medical fraternity, the bill was referred to a Parliamentary standing committee, which in March 2018 scrapped the provision. The MCI was dissolved in 2010 following a series of corruption charges against its then-president Ketan Desai and other members. Since then, the Union government has been appointing a body of governors each year through ordinances to perform the functions of the council. The current bill, if passed, the NMC (a 29-member body) will regulate fees and all
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
other charges for 50% seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities. Four autonomous boards will be set up under the NMC to focus on undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, assessment and rating of medical colleges, and ethical conduct. The bill also proposes a common final year MBBS exam, to be known as National Exit Test (NEXT), for admission to postgraduate medical courses and for obtaining a license to practice medicine. It would also act as a screening test for foreign medical graduates. But will the new bill cover the loopholes which gave way to corrupt practices under the IMC Act? The doctors have their doubts. Under the new Bill, the annual inspections of medical colleges may end. Instead, the regulatory body can appoint a third party for assessing if the medical college has the required resources to run. Under the existing system, the medical schools are annually inspected and they need permission from the MCI to increase the seats. The MCI then sends a team to inspect the colleges. It was this area of inspection where the alleged corruption crept up in MCI. The inspection teams allegedly used to take commissions to give positive reports. But doctors fear that loosening the grip on medical colleges will not automatically lead to self-regulation.
21
Road accidents Killing 400 people per day
R
THE NEWS BUREAU
oad accidents are the leading cause of death among people in the 5-29 age-group worldwide. More than 1.35 million lives lost each year and 50 million sustaining injuries, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. But what makes matters worse for India is the fact that since 2008 we have maintained our dubious distinction of being world number one in road crash deaths. In 2015, India became a signatory to the Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety, where we committed to halving road crash deaths by 2020. Forget about halving, we may not even have acknowledged the full scale of the problem in India. Road accidents in India killed between 1.46 lakh and 1.5 lakh
people every year between 2015 and 2017, data tabled by the government in Parliament show. This works out to a daily average of 400 or more deaths in each of the three years. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways presented the data in reply to a question about the number of accidents on national highways and expressways. The ministry also presented state-wise data. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of deaths in road accidents in each of the three years, followed by Tamil Nadu. Together, these two states accounted for nearly one-fourth of all such deaths in the country in 2016 and 2017. Road accident statistics in India have revealed that the state of Uttar Pradesh has registered the maximum increase on road fataliTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
ties. Road deaths in the state increased by more than 2,000 in 2018 as compared to that noted in 2017 while at the other end of the spectrum, the state of Tamil Nadu has registered the most declines in road fatalities by as much as 25 per cent with 3,941 fewer road deaths occurred in 2018 as compared to 2017. Following the highest number of road deaths recorded in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat came second followed by Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab and Chhattisgarh. However, states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Goa and have put some check on the number of road deaths To see this from another perspective, the International Road Federation, a Geneva-based body working towards safer roads has expressed concern over the rising number of road accidents. Statistics reveal that India accounts for more than 11 per cent of global road accident fatalities. India is also a signatory to the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety that targets a 50 per cent reduction in road fatalities by 2020. While the authorities are taking all steps to reduce accidents in general and road fatalities in particular, the onus lies primarily on the road users. It is by stringently following road safety regulations, in terms of over speeding, drink driving, road rage and speaking on mobile phones, that these figures can be brought down significantly.
22 THE NATION
Compulsory retirement catching up
Sending ‘babus’ home! T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he provisions have existed for decades. But they have been invoked sparingly. Fundamental Rule 56(J) of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 has become an issue of discussion among employees of both central and many state governments. The 'compulsorily retirement' of 27 senior officers of the Income Tax Department last month and similarly in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi government officials being 'compulsorily retires’ has triggered this hot discussion. Some more states are also working on the same lines. Fundamental Rule 56(J) of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 allows authorities to retire a government employee who has completed 30 years in service or reached 50 years of age (whichever is earlier), in public interest, by giving him a notice (plus pay and allowances) of three months. The performance of such officers are reviewed on a quarterly basis and if the allegations are found to be true by the review committee, it recommends compulsory retirement and the order is then signed by the President. The provision, which can lead to a loss of 10 years of service and benefits (the retirement age is 60 years), is supposed to be a penalty for corrupt employees as well as a deterrent for others. Early last month, the finance
ministry 'compulsorily retired' 12 senior officers of the Income Tax Department. Days later it did the same with 15 more tax officials. This was followed by Uttar Pradesh government compulsorily retiring over 200 officials across 72 government departments. Last week, the Delhi chief minister directed his cabinet ministers to prepare a list of corrupt officers so that they can be made to retire compulsorily. That came days after the Tripura CM said that 'insincere and incompetent' state government employees will be forced to retire. Maharashtra, too, has drafted an action plan to retire such officials. The rule that is becoming the preferred mode for governments to weed out the deadwood from the bureaucracy applies only to those over 50 and leaves out the younger employees who can be equally corrupt or inefficient. Plus, some employees who were forced to retire earlier have managed to get their jobs back after appearing in THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
tribunals or courts. Experts say that a better way to institutionalise weeding out of corrupt officers is to strengthen the anti-corruption watchdog Lokpal, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the vigilance departments, which have been created to detect and weed out corruption in the government Though the provisions have existed for decades, they have been invoked sparingly. Even under this government, the orders to implement the rule to punish non-performers were issued in 2014, 2015 and 2017 but it is in this term that the back-to-back actions involving groups of officers have made the news. While earlier Group A and B level officers were covered under the rule, the order issued by the government on June 20 includes employees in Group C. The government has, in its latest order, also asked all central government establishments to send monthly reports on the reviews and recommendations of premature retirement.
THE NATION 23
New Aadhaar how it changed? O
THE NEWS BUREAU
ne of the key legislation passed in the current session of Parliament is The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on June 24 and passed on July 4. Notwithstanding Opposition’s resistance, the Bill received Rajya Sabha’s nod on July 8. The Bill replaces an Ordinance promulgated on March 2, 2019. The existing Act on Aadhaar provides for the use of Aadhaar number as proof of identity of a person, subject to authentication. As an analysis by PRS Legislative Research points out, the Bill replaces this provision to state that an individual may voluntarily use his Aadhaar number to establish his identity, by authentication or offline verification. Enabling offline verification is another key change brought about by the Bill.
Under the exiting Aadhaar Act, verification of identity requires authentication, which, in turn, requires an individual to submit their Aadhaar number and biometric or demographic information to the Central Identities Data Repository. The latest Bill amends the Act to additionally allow offline verification of a person’s identity through modes specified by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Another change pertains to the entities that can use Aadhaar. The existing Act allowed State or a corporate entity under any law to use
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Aadhaar. The Bill replaces this bit and allows the UIDAI to decide whether an entity can use Aadhaar. The UIDAI can do so once it has satisfied itself that the entity is allowed to do so under law or conforms to requisite privacy and security standard, or indeed, is obtaining Aadhaar in the interest of the State. Apart from these main changes, the Bill has strengthened the disclosure norms relating to Aadhaar. It has also provided for a dedicated Unique Identification Authority of India Fund, which will receive all fees and revenue collected by the UIDAI. Under the Act, these go to the Consolidated Fund of India. The Bill also makes it possible for individuals to file complaints under certain circumstances such as impersonation instead of just allowing the UIDAI to file complaints. The Bill also lays down a federated structure for deciding penalties in case an entity fails to play by the rules.
24 THE NATION
Speedy justice to Child victims
‘Supreme’ order
C
THE NEWS BUREAU
ases registered under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) will be tried without and delay now. In a significant development, the Supreme court has taken the initiative to do justice to child victims. For this Specially designated courts will be established in all the districts where more than 100 FIRs under the POCSO) Act are registered. The Supreme Court has directed the union and state government. In
order, in last week of July, the apex court has directed setting up of a centrally-funded designated court in each district having more than 100 FIRs under POCSO Act to deal exclusively with cases of sexual offences against children. The court, which has on its own taken up the issue of an alarming rise in the number of rape cases against children, took note of a report which said that one of the major causes of hindrance in completing a timely trial of POCSO cases were delayed in receiving
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
reports from forensic science laboratory (FSL). In a slew of directions, the apex court also said that a short clip intended to spread awareness about prevention of child abuse and prosecution of crimes against children, be screened in every movie hall and transmitted by various television channels at regular intervals. The top court directed that the special court be funded by the Centre and take care of appointment of presiding officer, support persons, special public prosecutors,
THE NATION 25
court staff and infrastructure, including the creation of childfriendly environment and vulnerable witness courtrooms. “We would expect our abovestated directions to be implemented and exclusively designated courts to try offences under the POCSO Act, in terms of the above directions, to start functioning within 60 days from the date of the present order,” a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said while asking the Centre and states to implement its direction. The bench directed the chief secretaries of all the states and union territories to ensure that its direction is complied with “forthwith”. “In each district of the country, if there are more than 100 cases under the POCSO Act, an exclusive/designated special court will be set up, which will try no other offences except those under the POCSO Act,” the bench said. The top court perused the report prepared by senior advocate V Giri, assisting it as an amicus curiae in the case, and said the suggestion that there should be designated
FSL in every district of the country for the purposes of POCSO Act can be considered at a later stage. “For the present, we direct the directors of the state forensic science laboratories and the concerned authority in the state government to ensure that the existing and available forensic science laboratories in each state will function in an effective manner insofar as analysis etc of the samples collected under the POCSO Act are concerned and reports of such analysis are sent promptly and without any delay,” the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, said. The apex court said that while drawing up the panel of support persons in each district, which should not exceed a reasonable number keeping in mind the total number of cases, care should be taken to appoint people who are dedicated to the cause. It said that apart from academic qualifications, such people should be oriented towards child rights and sensitive to the needs of a child and otherwise, be child-friendly. “The same standards would THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
also apply in the matter of appointment of special public prosecutors,” it said. “Such courts will be set up under a central scheme and will be funded by the central government, which fund will not only take care of the appointment of the presiding officer but also the appointments of support persons, special public prosecutors, court staff and infrastructure, including the creation of child-friendly environment and vulnerable witness courtrooms, etc,” it said. The bench accepted the suggestion of the amicus regarding screening of short clips in movie halls and directed the Ministry of Women and Child Development to implement it through its agencies. The bench noted the submission of the amicus who said, “A short clip intended to spread awareness of the subject in general, namely, prevention of child abuse and prosecution of crimes against children should necessarily be screened in every movie hall and could also be transmitted by various television channels at regular intervals.” “A child helpline number should also be displayed not only in such clip but also at various other prominent places, in schools and other public places,” the amicus said. The bench passed the order after perusing the reports filed by the amicus and apex court registrar Surinder S Rathi, who was entrusted with the work of collating and collecting data regarding a number of POCSO cases. “Both the reports contain several suggestions in respect of the core of the issue, namely, to ensure timely completion of investigations and consequential trials in the offences under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” it noted.
26 THE NATION
Terminating terrorist activities
T
More power to NIA
THE NEWS BUREAU
he purview and power of NIA were extended to many areas of investigation. Now it can not only investigate under many Act all over the country but internationally. The Lok Sabha passed the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 after a heated debate in the House. While the government assured that the Bill seeks to take tougher action against terrorism, the Opposition, including the Congress, called it an attempt to make India a police state. The NIA was set up in 2009 in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack that had claimed 166 lives. Several opposition leaders criticised the bill and accused the government of using investigating agencies for “political vendetta”. Some MPs said the antiterror law is misused at times to target members of a particular community. “Let me make it clear. The Modi government has no such intention. Its only goal is to finish off terrorism but we will also not look at the religion of the accused while taking action,” Home Minster Amit Shah said. But what are the changes? How it’s going to change tackling Terrorist and anti-national activities in
the country? According to PRS Legislative Research, there are three major amendments to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act of 2008. The first change is the type of offences that the NIA can investigate and prosecute. Under the existing Act, the NIA can investigate offences under Acts such as the
NIA’s jurisdiction. Under the Act, for the offences under its purview, NIA officers have the same power as other police officers and these extend across the country. The Bill amends this to give NIA officers the power to investigate offences committed outside India. Of course, NIA’s jurisdiction will be subject to international treaties and
Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.According to PRS, the latest amendments will enable the NIA to additionally investigate offences related to human trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, cyberterrorism, and offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The second change pertains to
domestic laws of other countries. The third change relates to the special trials courts for the offences that come under NIA’s purview or the so-called “scheduled offences”. The existing Act allows the Centre to constitute special courts for NIA’s trials. But the Bill enables the Central government to designate sessions courts as special courts for such trials.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
THE NATION 27
Rajasthan HC rejects the colonial practice
O My Lordship! T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he debate around court etiquette in the country has taken a new turn on as a Full Court of the Rajasthan High Court resolved to censure the salutations “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” from courtroom protocol– a practice that has been inherited from British rule. The Rajasthan High Court order in the notification on 15th July said: “To honour the mandate of equality enshrined in the Constitution of India, the Full Court in its meeting dated 14.07.2019 has unanimously resolved to request the counsels and those who appear before the Court to desist from addressing the Hon’ble Judges as ‘My Lord’ and ‘Your Lordship’.” Advertising The expression “Your Honour”, however, remains unaffected by the order. The Advocates Act of 1961, under section 49(1)(c), empowers the Bar Council of India to make rules on professional and etiquette standards to be observed by advocates. To address this issue, a Resolution by the Bar Council of India in 2006 added Chapter IIIA to Part VI of the BCI Rules. The provision
and its explanation read as: “CHAPTER-IIIA3: To address the Court. Consistent with the obligation of the Bar to show a respectful attitude towards the Court and bearing in mind the dignity of Judicial Office, the form of address to be adopted whether, in the Supreme Court, High Courts or Subordinate Courts should be as follows: “Your Honour” or “Hon’ble Court” in Supreme Court & High Courts and in the Subordinate Courts and Tribunals it is open to the Lawyers to address the Court as “Sir” or the equivalent word in respective regional languages.” As the words “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” are relics of a colonial past, it is proposed to incorporate the above rule showing respectful attitude to the Court. In 2014, a senior advocate filed a PIL with the Supreme Court asking that the archaic expressions be banned. Judges HL Dattu and SA Bobde rejected the petition but said that the terms “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” had never been compulsory, and observed that they were relics of a colonial era. Calling it a “negative prayer”, the bench remarked, “We only say call us respectfully”.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
The official website of the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary in the UK states that judges of the Court of Appeals and the High Court are to be addressed in court as “My Lord” or “My Lady”, Circuit judges as “Your Honour”, Magistrates as “Your Worship”, or “Sir” or “Madam”, and District judges and Tribunal judges as “Sir” or “Madam”. On the US Supreme Court website, a document titled ‘Guide for Counsel in Cases to be argued before the Supreme Court of The United States’ states: “Under the present practice, “Mr.” is only used in addressing the Chief Justice. Others are referred to as “Justice Scalia,” “Justice Ginsburg,” or “Your Honour.” Do not use the title “Judge.” If you are in doubt about the name of a Justice who is addressing you, it is better to use “Your Honor” rather than mistakenly address the Justice by another Justice’s name.” The Singapore Supreme Court website also says that the Judge/Registrar can be addressed as “Your Honour”. In Australia as well, in the High Court and the Federal Court, the judges are to be addressed as “Your Honour”.
28 THE NATION
Total seasonal rainfall will be normal
No effect of late monsoon
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he southwest monsoon brings over 70 per cent of India’s annual rainfall. Though an important marker for the season, the timing of the onset does not have any bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall during the season. It is just an event during the progress of the monsoon. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands generally start getting monsoon rainfall between May 15 and 20, and the Kerala coast generally begins to have monsoon rainfall sometime in the last week of May. The onset of the monsoon is announced when certain criteria are fulfilled after May 10. If at least 60% of the 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep report at least 2.5 mm rain for two consecutive days after
May 10 — and a few other conditions relating to wind and temperature are also fulfilled — the onset of monsoon is said to have taken place; if not, it is not declared. The IMD announced that all the conditions were fulfilled on the morning of June 8. A delayed onset has the potential to delay the arrival of the monsoon in other parts of the country as well, especially in south India, most of which starts getting rainfall within days of it reaching the Kerala coast. However, it does not mean that the monsoon over the entire country would be delayed. The northward progression of the monsoon from the Kerala coast depends on a lot of local factors, including the creation of low-pressure areas. It is possible, therefore, that despite the onset happening THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
late, other parts of the country start getting rains on time. The IMD has maintained that most of the northern and eastern parts of the country, which start receiving rainfall only towards the end of June and early July, would have monsoon rain on time. But southern and central India, which have normal monsoon arrival dates in the first, second and third weeks of June, would obviously get delayed rains. The delay in the onset over the Kerala coast also means that the rainfall is likely to be deficient. But the IMD has predicted that some of this deficiency would be made up for in July and August and that the overall seasonal rainfall would be around the 96% of the normal that it has predicted. India as a whole receives about 89 cm of rainfall in a normal monsoon season.
INTERNATIONAL 29
Greener pastures to be greenest
US removes Green card cap Green Cardholders can qualify for US citizenship generally after three to five years. Over 10 lakh migrants from around the world are known to receive Green Cards yearly.
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
mmigrants seeking permanent residency in UD could expect shorter wait times. This has become possible as the US House of Representatives in the third week of July have struck down the 7 per cent country-cap on Green Card applications that is currently in force in the country. The bill titled ‘Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019’ or ‘HR 1044’ was passed by an overwhelming 365-65 votes in a 435member House. What Does the amendment mean? A change in the existing law can mean that immigrants from countries like India and China seeking permanent residency could expect shorter wait times. Indian IT professionals, who under the existing law would have to wait up to 70 years as some studies suggest, can now hope for a fairer system with lesser processing time. Apart from
removing caps for employmentbased Green Cards, caps for family-based categories have also been increased to 15 A Permanent Resident Card in the US, also known as a ‘Green Card’, allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in the United States of America. Green Cardholders can qualify for US citizenship generally after three to five years. Over 10 lakh migrants from around the world are known to receive Green Cards yearly. In order to get a Green Card, first, an immigrant petition has to be made to The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In most cases, this petition has to be made by a sponsor, such as an employer. Skilled migrants from India typically require their employers to fill the I-140 form at this stage. Once the petition is approved, a Green Card application has to be filed with the USCIS or a visa application has to be made THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
with the US State Department. Finally, a decision regarding the application is made only after an interview. Categories of employmentbased visas under which Indian professionals are known to apply are the ‘EB-1’, or priority workers with extraordinary ability, ‘EB-2’ or those holding advanced degrees, and finally the ‘EB-3’ or skilled workers. The EB-2 the category generally sees the most number of applicants. In April 2018, it was reported that of the 632,219 Indians with their spouses and minor children in the waiting line for the Green Card, 83,578 belonged to EB-1, 4,33,368 to EB-2, and 1,15,273 to EB-3. The Cato Institute in Washington released a study in 2018 saying, that based on current law and backlog, Indian nationals holding advanced educational degrees may have to wait over 150 years in order to get a Green Card.
30 EDUCATION
IIT-Bombay & Delhi,IISc
Among global top 200
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndian Institute of Science(IISc) Bangalore has achieved the world’s second-best score for research impact, adjusted for faculty size. The institute has achieved a perfect score of 100/100 for QS’s Citations per Faculty metric and is the first Indian institution ever to see its research cited more than 100,000 times in a five-year period The ranking has also revealed that on average, an IISc Bangalore faculty member produces research that is cited 261 times in a fiveyear period – this is nearly five times greater than the global average, which is 50 citations per faculty member over a five-year period. Twenty-three Indian institutes feature in the sixteenth edition of the QS World University Ranking in which IIT Bombay (152), IIT Delhi (182) and IISc Bangalore (184) are ranked in the global top
200. Four of the 23 Indian institutes improved their position and seven dropped in rank, compared to last year. OP Jindal Global is the only new entrant from India this year. IIT Bombay’s rise, according to the ranking, is attributed to improvements in its research performance. It now ranks 184 in the world in the Citations per Faculty indicator and its faculty’s research impact ranks above the global average. However, IISc Bangalore which was India’s second-best institute ranked last year has been overtaken by IIT Delhi this year. According to a QS statement, it is “…due to a
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
weakening performance in QS’s Academic Reputation indicator, which incorporates the expert insight of 94,000 academics across the world, IISc Bangalore is now India’s third-best university. It has fallen behind IIT Delhi, which drops in rank, and now places 182.” Produced by global higher education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds, QS ranks the world’s top 1,000 universities, in which the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was named the world’s best for a record eighth consecutive year. Asia’s top universities are National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University (both ranked 11th). In the overall ranking, Indian universities in 2019 have seen an average decline of 12 ranks, attributable to two main criteria: Faculty/Student Ratio and International Student Ratio. In the Faculty/Student Ratio indicator, which measures teaching capacity, only eight out of 23 feature among the top 500. “While this new edition of the QS World University Rankings shows that the Indian Higher Education system is making progress in some key areas, the sector requires more substantial, sustained and strategic investments both in research and education. Experts deem the current budget inadequate for a country with incredible potential and great ambitions,” said Ben Sowter, QS Research Director.
EDU-VOICE 31
PROF. G. NARSIMULU
Govt. responsibility
D
Education for all
uring the present academic year (2019-20) the state government asked the school teachers to conduct Badi Bata programme to enrol students by propagating in villages by involving young Sarpanchs and former students of the school. During this event, more than three lakh students are enrolled in the entire state. But all of a sudden the state government announced closure or merging schools which less than twenty students enrolled in the school in. The state of Telangana has 41000 primaries, upper and high schools out of these 4000 schools are in the process of closing down in present academic year depriving schooling to weaker and deprived sections. This compelled them to study in private schools or help the household traditional occupations. The teachers working in these institutions to be closed are adjusted to schools which have a good enrolment of the students. The government is finding fault with teachers who are working in these schools for poor enrolment rates over the years. Thus government which is meant for the welfare of the people slowly shift-
ing their focus and encouraging the private and corporate sector to start English medium schools and colleges and charge heavy feeses. The entry of these corporate schools are restricted to HAVES only. The principal goal of these corporate schools is profit and create elite students who can not identify with the majority of students in society. Lack of sufficient teachers are major problems and often resulted in mass dropouts.The teachers are often targeted and punished for poor results in public examinations. To escape from these types of punishments the school administrators depend on unhealthy practices to achieve 100% results. Several studies conducted time to time showed that government and even non-governmental schools, the student's performance is not up to the mark. The so-called corporate colleges who run classes with crowded students showing few students as toppers from various branches are attracted poor parents to join their wards. The Commercial characteristics of these institutions curtailed The geniuses students capability and only mugged them, prepare them for THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
getting good marks and topped the sets. These students became mechanical and depression resulted in some of the weak students often committed suicides. The state government earlier constituted professor Neerada Reddy commission to look into the functioning of corporate colleges and mass suicides Similarly the institutions of higher education under the corporate sector are oriented create section of youth just fulfil the manpower needs of the industry. The industry and corporate institutions go hand in hand and working for mutual benefits than the larger interest of society. The corporation institutions like Narayana, Chaitanya which are operating the entire state is exploring the skilled teachers in various subjects engaging them in their institution. Better remuneration paid by these type of institutions naturally attracting best teaching faculties from a large pool of unemployed Post Graduates and other highly qualified talented youngsters. Hughes amounts these corporate institutions collect as feeses are justified with best teachers and relatively high pass percentages. Apart from
32 EDU-VOICE
higher-income groups even lower middle and poorer sections are lured by campaigns and projected results of these institutions. Spending money well beyond their actual capacities to educate their wards with the hope of a good future. The middle and higher classes even poor people are motivated to join Bulk into these corporate schools and colleges. The children of poorest sections are only clients to the so-called government-run schools and the quality of these children are always the mercy of the teachers and facilities provide to them. When we look forty years back students from all walk of life Farmers, teachers employees and politicians used to sent their children to government-managed schools only. Less than ten per cent of them continues their studies up to postgraduates and professional
courses. Majority of them dropped in various stages from primary and high school level. The students those days never blamed teachers but it was their fault. The schools generally run in Telugu medium only. During those days facilities and the environment were not encouraged in these schools. Still nobody compline and bother about shortages. Early days of Independence socially motivated persons used to run educational institutions without a profit motive and such institutions were partially provided grants in aide by the government and it served very well. But such institutions are now slowly in the entire state are vanishing and institutions like Viveka vardani group, Madapati Hanumanarao high school, Nuprathunga even Hyderabad Exhibition society run institutions are few of that socially motivated eduTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
cational institutions. Along with the closure of government schools some these institutions are also scaling down their activities owing to stoppage/ reduction of govt. aid. The government should not shift its social responsibility to provide education to its people and giving permissions to run English medium schools in nook and corner of the state. The teachers who are highly qualified in teaching skills should be provided with minimum facilities. Teaching staff should not be drafted all kinds of services namely election and census work at the cost of classwork. Today children are tomorrow future hence provide them joyful learning and enhancement with Their mental calibre but not as Anti-social elements and inhuman. (Authour is a retired professor Life long education, Osmania University, Hyderabad, TS)
TECHNOLOGY 33
FaceApp
Faceoff with user’s privacy?
T
P VISHNUVARDHAN REDDY
he new mobile app based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is has become a sensation. The app called FaceApp gone viral and create some excitement also has raised some privacy concerns as well. This smartphone app using AI lets users turn themselves into their 'old self' version. FaceApp is available on Android and iOS. By using AI it will add filters to a user’s photo to show what they would look like when they are older, younger, etc. FaceApp can also add smiles to selfies or beards and the app relies on neural networks for this. But what has gone viral is its ‘old age’ filter that gives a glimpse of how people would look if they were old, simply by uploading a selfie. The app has only certain features for free. The app is now number one in 121 countries on iOS App Store, despite being a very expensive app in its full version. FaceApp, originally launched by a Russian start-up in 2017, has
raised some privacy concerns as well with fears that user data was being sent to Russian servers and claims that it was able to access the user’s entire photo gallery on the phone. But some of these concerns were addressed by FaceApp founder Yaroslav Goncharov who clarified the app’s privacy policies and said no data is transferred to Russia. But privacy woes or not, the app certainly has attracted a lot of users including celebrities across the world. One of the major security concerns that FaceApp raises is that FaceApp could use the content uploaded by users, which is mostly pictures in this case, for “commercial purposes” for people who agree to its terms and services. FaceApp’s terms and services ask for ‘perpetual’ ‘irrevocable’ royalty-free and worldwide license to use content, which means any photos uploaded to use any filter can be used by the company for promotional purposes anywhere in the world and the chances are the people may not even know.
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Especially since FaceApp does not require users to log and 99 per cent don’t (as per data by FaceApp), there is no way to relate which photo belongs to whom. In short, there is no way to identify a person. So this can be classified as anonymised data used for training machine learning algorithms, but of very limited use otherwise. What is more worrying is that the app uploads pictures to the cloud rather than storing locally, which according to the company helps with the performance and traffic. FaceApp has said it does not upload all photos from a user’s phone gallery to its servers, which was the top concerns for users. It added that only photo selected for editing is uploaded. FaceApp said in a statement that “most” images are deleted from their servers within 48 hours of upload, though there is no clarity on whether photos are deleted from the AWS and Google Cloud that the company uses as well. However, there are other apps that do the same to overcome the lack of processing power in certain devices. FaceApp says users can request FaceApp to delete all their data, the company has confirmed. It recommends sending deletion requests via ‘Report a bug’ feature in Settings for faster processing. The company also denied sharing user data with any third-parties or with Russia even though its core R &D team is located in Russia.
34 AGRI-TECH
Agricopter!
Now no manual spraying of pesticides
N
THE NEWS BUREAU
ow pesticides can be sprayed safely ten times faster. It can be done eliminating manual labour. Cost and time of spraying can be reduced drastically. This becomes possible with a ‘Smart Agricopter’ developed by students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. They have developed this innovative tool not only to eliminate manual spraying of pesticides in agricultural fields and help identify crop health by using an imaging camera.‘Smart Agricopter’ will allowing spraying pesticides ten times faster and with 100 per cent precision at the same cost as manual spraying. Students at the Centre For Innovation, IIT Madras, identified manual pesticide spraying as an extremely hazardous activity as it endangered farmers' and labourers' health and resulted in a massive overuse of toxic chemicals. The
team of three then set out to design a technological solution that would eliminate the need for farmers to come in contact with pesticides as well as intelligently identify which crops on the farm require pesticides and which did not. The advanced multispectral imaging camera allows the hexacopter drone to make smart maps of farmland based on crop health and its completely autonomous pesticide refilling system ensures entire spraying is completely autonomous. “Agriculture is the backbone of our country and there is a desperate need to upgrade our backbone. We are automating a multi-billion dollar manual pesticide spraying industry using cutting edge drone technology," said Rishabh Verma, an aerospace engineering student. What really sets agricopter apart from existing products is the multispectral imaging camera which provides smart analysis of crop health and ensures that the entire THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
spraying process is completely autonomous and that the farmer is never exposed to the pesticide. "The current version of Project Smart Agricopter is a hexacopter drone with the capacity to carry 15 litres of pesticide. Agricopter aims to spray pesticides 10 times faster and with 100 per cent precision at the same cost as manual spraying," said Kavi Kailash, another aerospace engineering student. The team has also got a ₹10 lakh worth equity-less funding after their product won the Indian Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP 2.0) University Challenge held at IIT Bombay last month. "Our current challenge is to complete the construction of their alpha prototype and work towards testing the efficiency of their product on farms across the nation," said Akash Anand, an engineering design student. The three have also filed a patent for the agricopter whose cost is estimated to be around ₹5.1 lakh.
LAND GRABBING 35
AUTHORITIES ISSUE NOTICE TO LANd SHARkS
Activist Praveen Kumar’s efforts compel municipal officials to initiate action
R
THE NEWS BUREAU
elentless fighting by a social activist compelled the Mahbubnagar Municipal authorities to initiate action against some land grabbers who had tried to grab land worth around Rs. 40 crore. It may be recalled that social activist D Praveen Kumar was instrumental in exposing the land sharks who had tried to grab 0.19 guntas of land in survey number 207, situ-
ated at Yenugonda village, on the outskirts of Mahbubnagar by creating documents on the strength of non-existent survey numbers. The municipal authorities have initiated action by issuing showcause notice to the persons constructing a huge building over the grabbed land, vide G1/BA/279/4726/2015, dated July 8, 2019. According to the documents secured by Praveen Kumar, the THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
land in question remained open after the original survey number 207 was subdivided into three parts, i.e. Sy.No. 207/1 admeasuring Ac. 3-00 guntas, Sy.No. 207/2 admeasuring 0-19 guntas and Sy.No. 207/3 admeasuring 0-18 guntas in late 1970s. The land in survey numbers 207/1 and 207/3, i.e. Ac. 3-18 Guntas in all was acquired for the purpose NGOs Cooperative House Building Society for construction
36 LAND GRABBING
of houses for its members. However, certain office bearers of the society made plots of open land in Sy.No.207/2 by showing the same as part of Sy.No.207 and sold them out, notwithstanding the fact that the old survey number 207 do not exist anymore. This was known to the officials of registration department and the municipal authorities. Yet, the officials allowed registration of the plots with non-existent survey number while the municipal authorities issued building permissions allegedly in collusion with the land sharks. It is said the land sharks with the blessings of a TRS leader who was ones NGOs leader, went ahead with the construction of the building. However, Praveen Kumar approached almost every officer and
department concerned with this illegal act by way of submitting representations and complaints. With his relentless efforts, the municipal authorities had to issue show-cause notice to the builders. However, the land sharks managed to get register a case against Praveen Kumar and one reporter working for a vernacular newspaper, who had written series of reports against this particular land grabbing act. Praveen Kumar has submitted representations to the higher-ups of the police department stating that the case was registered with the support for Mahbubnagar rural circle inspector, B Kishan since the latter bore grudge against him. “I have exposed illegal sand mining in Mahbubnagar and fought against the illegal sand mining THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
mafia in 2015. Inspector Kishan was also part of the mafia as he had four lorries that transported sand illegally. Due to my efforts, action was initiated against him as a result of which he has been nursing a grudge against me. Now, he has joined hands with the land mafia and foisted a case against me misusing his official position. I have made representations to higher-ups explaining the factual position and requesting them to replace the enquiry officer and see that the false case against me and some others is closed,� Praveen Kumar told The News. He also said that he will approach the highest court of the state for justice, if necessary and that he will not stop his fight against the wrongdoers.
CRIME 37
karnataka politicians backed
The Ponzi IMA scheme
U
THE NEWS BUREAU
nusual interest backed by religious belief proved too lethal combination to financial health of thousands. The scheme, IMA and its founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan had a dream run over the last four to five years attracting thousands of investors majority being middle-class Muslims. And duped them promptly. Several politicians, policemen and officials are alleged to have been beneficiaries of IMA largesse it has become a national issue of concern, like Sharada chit fund scam of West Bengal. The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) of the finance ministry which has registered a money laundering case in the IMA scam In what has come to be known as the IMA scam, a private firm called I Monetary Advisory Group floated a Ponzi scheme offering investors dream returns to the tune of 36 to 64 per cent on investments. The investment schemes of the firm were pitched as being in line with Sharia principles of Islam. The success of the firm, which invested in gold bullion trading, real estate, healthcare and other businesses, also attracted patronage from local politicians. Around October 2018, the firm came under the scanner of the RBI and other agencies and also ran into trouble in a slowing economy. Investors began complaining of the firm breaking the promise on payments. Thanks to a lot of the pa-
tronage it enjoyed in Karnataka, the firm managed to evade action till June this year despite being accused of siphoning off nearly Rs 4,000 crore of funds for the personal benefit of the owners of the firm. In June, Khan disappeared as a police investigation closed in on him. He left behind an audio message for the police accusing politicians like Senior Congress leader R Roshan Baig, MLA from Shivajinagar, for the fall of the firm. Khan alleged Baig borrowed Rs 400 crore from the firm and failed to return it. He has also accused other politicians and officials of bleeding IMA resources. Baig has been known to be closely linked to Khan and the IMA Group since IMA funded a government school in Baig’s constituency to the tune of Rs 16 crore under a special PPP MoU signed at Baig’s insistence. Baig is also reported to have aided Khan in trying to resolve the problems encountered by the firm at the government THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
level last year. Baig’s son is also reported to have close connections with IMA. Baig claimed that his ties with IMA are restricted to the funding of the school in his constituency. After Khan ran away, the then Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy ordered the creation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the scam. The IMA SIT which is conducting investigations under the Karnataka Protection of Investments of Depositors Act 2004 is trying to find people who have taken funds from the firm in order to return them to investors. As part of its probe, the team has so far arrested a promotee IAS officer B H Vijay Shankar, who was the Bangalore Urban district deputy commissioner, and L C Nagaraj an assistant commissioner, for taking bribes to the tune of Rs five crore from IMA to provide positive reports to the government.ED of the finance ministry has questioned the Congress minister Zameer Ahmed Khan in the matter.
38 WORKING CLASS
High and low earners
The gap remains S
THE NEWS BUREAU
uccessive governments introduce programmes and claim removing income disparities among various sections in population situation in the country has not yet changed. The pay inequality has remained consistent in India. But it has reduced at the global workplace in the last 13 years. The income share of the richest 10 per cent was down to 48.9 per cent in 2017 from 55.5 per cent in 2004. While the report attributed this to the rise of emerging markets such as China and India, the pay inequality in these countries is more pronounced. China’s 10 per cent richest workers earned 42.12 per cent of its labour income against
the bottom decile’s 0.47 per cent in 2017. Worldwide, the income share of the middle 60 per cent workers grew to 30.2 per cent in 2017 from 23.6 per cent in 2004, while the share of the richest 20 per cent of workers came down by 6.8 percentage points This gap has been consistent in India since 2004 when the top decile had earned about 70 per cent of the total income and the poorest 10 per cent had earned 0.30 per cent. The top 10 per cent earners in India made over 69 per cent of the country’s labour income in 2017, in contrast to 0.25 per cent made by the bottom 10 per cent earners, according to a global report by the
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
UN arm International Labour Organisation (ILO). This gap has been consistent in India since 2004 when the top decile had earned about 70 per cent of the total income and the poorest 10 per cent had earned 0.30 per cent. Globally, the top 10 per cent earners made a little under half the total income of 2017, compared to less than 2 per cent earned by the lowest paid 30 per cent workers, said the report, which covered 189 countries. On average, the bottom 10 per cent workers earned $22 a month in 2017 while the top decile earned $7,475. In other words, the poorest 10 per cent would need to work three centuries more if they were to reach the $7,475 level of the top decile.
BUSINESS 39
Surcharge on rich May lead to poor investments S
THE NEWS BUSINESS DESK
urcharge on rich may well end up hurting investment and impact on investments in the country and push out high potential startups and discourage the inflow of high the quality human capital that India was just beginning to attract. While most proposals in the Budget – such as lowering corporate tax rate for companies with turnover up to Rs 400 crore, opening up FDI in various sectors, allowing private participation in railways, borrowing overseas to free up resources for domestic entrepreneurs – are aimed at galvanising investments, the surcharge on income tax has the opposite impact. The Union Budget 2019-20 proposed to hike the surcharge, charged on top of the applicable income tax rate, from 15 per cent to 25 per cent for those with taxable incomes of between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, and to 37 per cent for those earning more than Rs 5 crore. The government has defended this proposal. A section within the Central government and investment experts is of the view that the Budget proposal slapping a higher surcharge on the super-rich will effectively discourage new investors and exacerbate the trend of migration of high net worth individuals from India. The imposition is seen as being in contradiction with the overall theme of the Budget — that of fostering private participation to
catalyse a reversal in the sluggish investment sentiment in the country. Why will tax on the rich hit foreign investment inflows? When we impose high surcharge on people earning over $200,000300,000 (roughly more than Rs 2 crore), they may not want to invest in India and rather choose to migrate abroad. According to some reports some top policymakers in the NDA government, are of the opinion that the surcharge will have the “most deleterious” impact on investments in the country and push out unicorns (new-age companies with valuation above $1billion) and discourage the inflow of high-quality human capital that India was just beginning to attract. A 2018 report by market research group New World Wealth, which maintains a database of over 150,000 HNIs across 125 cities globally, India figured at the second place in a list of top 5 countries ranked in terms of the net THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
exodus of HNI. The Global Wealth Migration Review for 2018, showed that while China was at the top, the number of Indian HNIs migrating to foreign destinations has been steadily going up over the years — from 4000 millionaires moving out in 2015 to 7,000 in 2017. An additional revenue of Rs 12,000 crore is being factored via surcharge imposed on the superrich but experts warn that this is far outweighed by its adverse impact on investments. The new tax will hit investment trusts through which many foreign investors put money into India’s stock markets. They suggest that the government should not look at tax rates in developed countries like Norway and argue that we have lower rates but rather compare with countries like China, Indonesia and South Korea that offer competitive tax rates. Norway has high per capita income, vast social security net and a host of other benefits that investors do not get in India, they say.
40 BANKING
Anshula kant 1ST women CFO of WB S
THE NEWS BUREAU
he joined as a Probationary officer of State Bank of India. Rose to Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer(CFO) of the World Bank. By taking up prestigious new assignment Anshula Kant has created a record by becoming first-ever women CFO of the World Bank In the second week of July, the World Bank has announced the appointment of Anshula Kant as Managing Director(MD) and CFO of the World Bank Group. Currently, she is a Managing Director of the State Bank of India (SBI), where she previously served as Chief Financial Officer.
The announcement was made by World Bank president David Malpass. "Kant excelled at a diverse array of leadership challenges including risk, treasury, funding, regulatory compliance and operations. I look forward to welcoming her to our management team as we work to increase our effectiveness in supporting good development outcomes," he added. With direct responsibility for the SBI's Risk, Compliance, and Stressed Asset Portfolio, Kant led the creation of investment opportunities while empowering risk management throughout the bank. She held several positions across the organization and helped navigate a diverse array of leadership challenges. "I am very pleased to appoint Anshula Kant as World Bank Group Managing Director and CFO. Anshula brings more than 35 years of expertise in finance, banking, and innovative use of technology through her work as CFO of the State Bank of India," Malpass said. As MD and CFO of the World Bank, Anshula Kant will be responsible for financial and risk man
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
agement of the World Bank Group, reporting to President David Malpass in Washington DC. Among other key management duties, her work will include oversight of financial reporting, risk management, and working closely with the World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva on the mobilization of International Development Association (IDA) of WB and other financial resources. Anshula Kant joined SBI in 1983 as a probationary officer. She rose through the ranks to become MD by sheer hard work and commitment, say SBI officials. Kant has also served as Chief General Manager of Mumbai SBI and was Deputy MD of Operations for National Banking Group. She has been a Managing Director and member of the Board since September 2018. The date of her superannuation was September 2020. Anshula Kant is a graduate in Economic Honours from Lady Shri Ram College from Women and a post-graduate in Economics from Delhi School Economics. She joined the SBI as a probationary officer in 1983 and rose to the ranks of leadership in the last 35 years. Before becoming MD of the SBI, Anshula Kant has held several key assignments including Chief General Manager (CGM) of Mumbai Circle (Maharashtra & Mumbai) and CEO at SBI Singapore. She has managed $38 billion of revenues and total assets of $500 billion during her so far tenure in SBI. She is responsible for improving the capital base of the bank. She was an MD and Member of the Board since September 2018.
HEALTH 41
Smile to stay happy It DOES give results
S
THE NEWS BUREAU
tudy finds expressing happiness influences the brain to generate positive feelings. For decades, researchers have studied how acting happy could influence happiness. A team at the University of Tennessee has analyzed 50 years of data on the subject. They found there is a clear connection between acting happy and feeling happy. But they warn the connection is not very strong Smiling really can make people feel happier, according to a new study. American psychologists looked at nearly 50 years of data testing whether facial expressions can lead people to feel the emotions related to those expressions. They found smiling made people feel happier. Scowling made them feel angrier. Frowning made them feel sadder. However, the effects are not very strong, and the re-
searchers warn this should hardly be held up as a way to offset debilitating mental health conditions like depression. Researchers have found a connection between smiling and subsequent feelings of happiness. The lead researcher Nicholas Coles, a University of Tennessee PhD student, said: 'Conventional wisdom tells us that we can feel a little happier if we simply smile. 'Or that we can get ourselves in a more serious mood if we scowl. But psychologists have actually disagreed about this idea for over 100 years. The research team say the disagreements became more pronounced in 2016 when 17 teams of researchers failed to replicate a well-known experiment showing that the physical act of smiling can make people feel happier. Coles, who studies social psychology, said: 'Some studies have not found evidence that facial expressions THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
can influence emotional feelings. 'But we can't focus on the results of anyone study. Psychologists have been testing this idea since the early 1970s, so we wanted to look at all the evidence.' Using a statistical technique called metaanalysis, the team combined data from 138 studies testing more than 11,000 participants from all around the world. The results of the metaanalysis suggest that facial expressions have a small impact on feelings. Coles added: “We don't think that people can smile their way to happiness. But these findings are exciting because they provide a clue about how the mind and the body interact to shape our conscious experience of emotion.� We still have a lot to learn about these facial feedback effects, but this meta-analysis put us a little closer to understanding how emotions work.
42 HEALTH
Battle against chikungunya & dengue
ICMR finds bacteria as an ally T
THE NEWS BUREAU
o control the spread of dengue and chikungunya, scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has turned to Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria. In a project under process over the last year, ICMR researchers have developed a strain of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the main vector that transmits the viruses that cause dengue. Into that Wolbachia bacteria is introduced. With that people will feel the mosquito bite but they will not be infected. The bacteria will not allow the virus to replicate in the mosquito and so, the virus won’t be transmitted through a bite. The mosquito variant used has been named the Puducherry strain since it was developed at the Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry in collaboration with Monash University in Australia.The mosquitoes are being reared in the laboratory and will be released into the open during field trials by the end of October. “The strain in Puducherry is ready and we will begin the field trials in the next few months. This strain will specifically help in reducing the number of dengue cases across the country,” Dr Manju Rahi, ScientistE, ICMR reported having told. In 2017, India inked a partnership with Monash University to conduct laboratory trials on a global vector-control method. The university had come up with this method a few years ago and trials
were conducted in Cairns in Australia, and the results were promising. As a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), an Aedes aegypti strain carrying Wolbachia bacteria was imported to India from Monash University. Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. There are four strains and Type-II and IV are considered more severe and normally require hospitalisation. According to Health Ministry data, in reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the country has reported 6,210 cases and six deaths from dengue until June 9 this year. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
“The eggs of a mosquito carrying Wolbachia bacteria were brought to VCRC in India. They hatched and then mated with Indian mosquitoes. The process is called backcrossing and it has been done 12 times. From the process, we have derived the Puducherry strain and now the mosquitoes are being reared at the laboratory in VCRC. Few approvals are pending and after that, the mosquitoes will be released for field trials,” said Dr Rahi. This is a population replacement strategy. With the introduction of the new strain, there will be a gradual decline in the number of dengue cases. The mosquitoes in India will be replaced with those carrying Wolbachia bacteria.
HEALTH 43
Hospital gowns, stainless steel
S
Contaminated!
THE NEWS BUREAU
urgical gowns and stainless steel remain contaminated with the pathogen Clostridium difficile even after being treated with the recommended disinfectant, according to a study led by an Indianorigin scientist.“The spores of the bacteria were able to grow after decontamination,” said Tina Joshi, Lecturer in Molecular Microbiology, University of Plymouth, UK. “This shows that spores are becoming resistant and we need to reconsider how we decontaminate and employ hygiene measures in hospitals,” Joshi said. C difficile infects roughly half a million Americans annually, killing 29,000. New strains are responsible for hard-to-treat cases of severe illness, according to the study published in Clinical Microbiology.
“This work can be applied to hospitals anywhere in the world, and should help inform future guidelines on infection control and biocides,” said Joshi Symptoms can range from diarrhoea to fever, rapid heartbeat, inflammation of the intestines, and kidney failure. This pathogen commonly affects older adults in hospitals and in long-term care facilities. The motivation for the research was a case in an American hospital in which gowns were suspected of contributing to the transmission of C difficile, said Joshi. The gowns were found to be contaminated with the deadly 027 strain of C difficile. The researchers examined the ability of C difficile to adhere to, and subsequently transfer from hospital surgical gowns, by applying spores in sterilised water, at a concentration of one million per
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
millilitre (ml), directly to the surgical gowns in liquid for 10 seconds, 30 seconds, one minute, five minutes, and 10 minutes before being removed and discarded. That a methodology was designed to mimic the transfer of infectious bodily fluids in the clinical setting in order to assess the potential for transmission to patients. The numbers of spores recovered from gowns did not increase with the contact time, suggesting that the spore transfer between surfaces occurred within the first 10 seconds of contact, said Joshi. The single-use gowns are ineffective at trapping spores within their fibres and preventing the onward transmission of spores as demonstrated by spore recovery from the gowns, according to the researchers. This highlights the importance of ensuring that single-use surgical isolation gowns are used appropriately in infection prevention and control. The gowns were ultimately treated with a disinfectant containing 1,000 ppm chlorine for 10 minutes. The disinfectant failed to clear the gowns of C difficile. That “showed that the gowns can pick up and retain the spores,” said Joshi. The spores on stainless steel and vinyl flooring also remained viable after treatment with the disinfectant. “Due to this resistance, it may be prudent to reconsider how much biocide we use currently, and to ensure infection control is standardised.
44 ENVIRONMENT
R
Where to plant a trillion trees to save the planet?
THE NEWS BUREAU
estoration of forests has long been seen as a potential measure to combat climate change. The latest special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that an increase of
1 billion hectares of forest will be necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050. What has so far been unclear, however, is how much of this tree cover might be actually possible in the existing conditions on the planet. Now, researchers have quanti-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
fied how much land around the world is available for reforestation, as well as the extent of carbon emissions these would prevent from being released into the atmosphere. Trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, are a natural sink for the gas emitted into the atmosphere.
ENVIRONMENT 45
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, trees absorb about 25 per cent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels, while the oceans absorb another 25 per cent. The half that remains in the atmosphere contributes to global warming. The study, by researchers with the Crowther Lab of ETH Zurich university, has been published in the journal Science. On the basis of nearly 80,000 images from around the world, they calculated that around 0.9 billion hectares of land would be suitable for reforestation.
“We are trying to restore a trillion trees,” Thomas Crowther, coauthor of the paper and founder of the Crowther Lab reported having told. If an area of 0.9 billion hectares is indeed reforested, the researchers calculated, it could ultimately capture two-thirds of human-made carbon emissions. “One aspect was of particular importance to us as we did the calculations: we excluded cities or agricultural areas from the total restoration potential as these areas are needed for human life,” lead author Jean-François Bastin said in a statement. Earth’s continuous tree cover is currently 2.8 billion hectares and the researchers calculated that the land available could support 4.4 billion hectares, or an additional 1.6 billion hectares. Out of this, 0.9 billion hectares — an area the size of the US — fulfil the criterion of not being used by humans, according to the paper. These new forests, once mature, could store 205 billion tonnes of carbon, the researchers calculated. That is about two-thirds of the 300 billion tonnes of carbon that has been released into the atmosphere as a result of human activity since the industrial age.“But we must act quickly, as new forests will take
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
decades to mature and achieve their full potential as a source of natural carbon storage,” Crowther said. In India, there is room for an estimated 9.93 million extra hectares of forest, Crowther told. India’s existing forest cover makes up 7,08,273 sq km (about 70.83 million hectares) and tree cover another 93,815 sq km (9.38 million hectares), according to the Environment and Forest ministry's ‘State of Forest Report 2017’.The study found that the six countries with the greatest reforestation potential are Russia (151 million hectares); the US (103 million hectares); Canada (78.4 million hectares); Australia (58 million hectares); Brazil (49.7 million hectares); and China (40.2 million hectares). In a post on the website of Legal Planet, a joint initiative of University of California’s Berkeley and Los Angeles law faculties, Jesse Reynolds of UCLA described the new research as “misleading, if not false, as well as potentially dangerous”. He said the research will likely be used to “argue that we can rely upon more on reforestation to reduce climate change, potentially displacing efforts toward other responses emission cuts.
46
SPACE SCIENCE
Chndrayan -2 Launch successful
A complex journey to the moon I
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndia’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2 has begun with a bang. On July 22nd it was successfully launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle successfully placed the 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2 into the earth orbit about 16 minutes later. From the earth orbit, it will undergo a series of manoeuvers over the next few weeks to move to a lunar orbit and finally touch down on the Lunar South Pole on September 7 (around 2.58 am).Chandrayaan-2 was launched with a plan to land the rover on the unexplored lunar south pole. As impressive as Monday’s feat is, especially after the technical glitch that halted the first launch attempt, what lies ahead are complex manoeuvers that will be new to ISRO. These moves will be monitored by the satellite team of the ISRO, informed chairman K
Sivan. Note, the “satellite” here is a system comprising the lander, rover and orbiter. The satellite in place in the geostationary transfer orbit will now have six separate burns using the onboard propulsion system. The five earth-bound manoeuvres will be held on different dates until the satellite orbit will have an apogee of around 1 lakh 44 thousand km. Then on August 14, the first translunar burn will be conducted, and after a lunar burn five days later, the system will be in a lunar orbit on August 20. This will not be the final lunar orbit. In fact, in four more lunar burns, the satellite will be placed in its final lunar orbit on September 1. Post September 1 is when the "satellite" really transforms, as the lander — named Vikram — separates from the orbiter and begins moving to a lower lunar polar orbit of 100 km by 30 km in preparation for the soft-landing. At this stage, the Orbiter High-Resolution THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Camera (OHRC) of the lander will be switched on and will scout for a suitable landing spot sans any moon crater. Note: These images and signals will be transmitted to the control station on earth through the orbiter that is in place. Once the spot is identified the
SPACE SCIENCE 47
lander will use its throttleable engines to gradually descend on to the moon surface. This is a complex manoeuver that seeks to avoid the lander from falling free under the moon's gravity and instead descends in a controlled manner at a velocity of 2
metres/sec. ISRO chief K Sivan calls it "15 minutes of terror". This is no exaggeration as only the US, Russia and China have soft-landed on the moon and none on the Lunar South Pole. Once the soft-landing is successful on September 7, the rover, THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
named Pragyan, will emerge out and roll down to the moon surface through a ramp. At this point, the sensors of the lander and the rover will be switched on to study the Lunar South Pole on its topography, atmosphere, water composition on so on. In total there are 14
48
SPACE SCIENCE
instruments onboard the lander and rover. Chandrayan -2 is carrying a "billion dreams" in a giant leap for the country's ambitious low-cost space programme, the most complex and prestigious mission ever undertaken by the ISRO. If successful, will also make India the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to pull off a soft landing on the moon. "We bounced back in flying colours after the earlier technical snag. Success is coming after a call-off," said a beaming and visibly relieved ISRO Chairman K Sivan at the mission control room of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh, as scientists broke into cheers, shook hands and exchanged greetings. Parliament congratulated ISRO scientists for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2, saying the achievement represents a golden chapter in the country's history. Informing members about the launch, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the country has shown its space prowess with the mission. The Rajya Sabha lauded the achievement of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and other scientists for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-II. Lauding the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2, the HRD Ministry encouraged students to take up careers in aerospace engineering and said its 'Swayam' portal will offer online courses on the subject from July 29.NASA on Monday congratulated its Indian counterpart ISRO on the successful launch of its second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 and said it was looking forward to knowing what the Indian space agency learns about the lunar south pole.
How long does it takes to get to the moon? Moon is about 4 lakh kilometres from earth. Distance, in fact, plays little role in the time taken to reach the moon. Travelling to it has taken anywhere between a couple of hours to days to weeks depending on the mission and whether it was manned, unmanned or moon was the destination or just a stopover. Fast or slow? The time taken by a mission to reach the moon depends on the kind of rockets as well as the type and amount of fuel used to power them. That, in turn, determines the route. The lower the number of days to reach the moon, the bigger the amount of fuel burnt and the higher the cost. For instance, the GSLV rockets powering India's moon mission are way less powerful than the ones that carried man to the moon for the first time (Saturn V) but also cost much less. Smaller probes use the gravitational pull of the moon and earth to travel and so spend a significant amount of time orbiting the two — in a sort of 'slingshot effect' or gravity assist that allows the probe to increase its speed using the earth's gravitational pull and its orbital movement, thereby requiring lesser fuel burn. Chandrayaan-2's round-about route to the moon was also the reason a week's delay in launch won't affect the landing time. "To go to the moon, it will take only five days. During the rest of the
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
period the satellite would be orbiting either earth or the moon," says the ISRO chief. The SMART-1 lunar probe that took over a year to reach the moon was the most fuel-efficient (it also used solar power). * 48 days is the estimated time Chandrayaan-2 will take to land on the moon * 34 hours is what Luna 2, the first spacecraft to make it to the moon, took in 1959 * 51 hours, 49 minutes was
the time taken by Apollo 11, the first successful manned trip to the moon in 1969 * 8 and a half hours is all it took NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission to reach the moon in 2006 before moving on to Pluto * 1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks the time taken by the European Space Agency's SMART-1 lunar probe in 2004 Incidentally, if you could cover the 4 lakh km distance to the moon in your car driving at 100 km an hour, you would take over five and a half months to reach.
YOGIC KRIYA 49
YOGI ASHWINI
Y
YOGI ASHWINI
Acne Free Naturally!
ou are what you eat. And your skin is the reflection of the state your body is in. The glow or radiance on your skin defines your mental and physical well-being. A tired, dull, wrinkled skin reflects how age is setting in the body. In this article, I detail certain techniques for a specific skin condition called 'acne'. Primarily the dhatus which affect the skin are rasa dhatu and rakta dhatu, the lymphatic system and blood. Apart from them, medas or the fat/oil content in the body in a state of imbalance blocks the pores and causes the skin to show signs of severe congestion. In this matter, the digestive system is also responsible for not being able to expel the waste and toxins from the body properly. To enable your digestive system to function with efficiency and throw the toxins away, switch to organic. Most of the time our body is struggling to fight the effects of toxins present in the foods that we eat and what we put on our skin and is hardly able to function in a state of normalcy because of these reasons, with environmental pollution adding to the misery. Drinking warm water with a year-old honey and lemon juice regularly in the morning flushes the system of pollutants and are effective in remov-
ing excess fat/medas internally and from the skin as well. A very effective way of cleansing the blood/rakta dhatu is consumption of fresh organic juices, besides good amounts of pure clean water. Orange, beetroot, carrot and amla juice is extremely nourishing to the skin and improves the quality of blood which also reflects on your skin. A concoction made with Amaltas pulp and tamarind pulp
also purifies the blood and improves the skin’s zhealth. Methi (fenugreek) is very effective in cleansing the lymphatic system, or the rasa dhatu, which is the drainage system of your body. Soak a tsp of fenugreek seeds overnight in a glass of mineral water. Next morning drink the water and chew the seeds. You will notice glossy hair and glowing skin with receding fat or excess sebum in a few weeks of this treatment. THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Topically, the best quality organic raw honey is an excellent treatment for acne, pimples and blemishes. Add a pinch of organic turmeric and lemon juice and apply this paste everyday and you will notice a healthy, glowing skin free of signs of ageing in just a couple of days. Since time immemorial volcanic clays with their naturally occurring mineral content were used as excellent remedies for all skin ailments. Combination of aromatic essential oils are highly effective in ridding the skin of acne and other problems. Use of floral and herbal extracts and sprays has helped millions who have resorted to natural alternatives to help them get off their medications and bulking up the body Foods to include - Strawberries, grapes, oats, whole grains, lemons, honey, green tea and Rooibos tea, yoghurt. Everything organic. Foods to avoid - Milk and milk products - they contain traces of antibiotics and steroids fed to cows to yield more milk. Anything fried, Refined sugar, peanuts and peanut butter, red meat. In addition to these remedies, it is extremely important to harmonise the body and its various layers through yogic kriyas.
(The author is a well Guru proficient in the ancient sciences of Yoga, Vedic Martial Arts, Founder Dhyan Foundation.)
50
CINEMA
Ready for action!
Prabhas’s multilingual
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he high-intensity actionpacked film, Saaho, is ready to serve, both the north and south Indian audiences. An action thriller film was written and directed by Sujeeth, produced by UV Creations and T-Series is gearing up to hit the screens on August 30. The film stars Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor and has been shot simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The film marks Prabhas' debut in Hindi and Shraddha Kapoor’s debut in South Indian cinema. The movie teaser reached a total of more than 80 million views on YouTube from all languages, which has been the second-highest for any Indian film teaser behind 2.0, which had reached over 105 million views. The film is scheduled for release on 30 August 2019. Interacting with the media, Prabhas said that 'Saaho' is a screenplay- based action film. He revealed that the film's director Sujeeth and his team had worked on the script for nearly 3 years. The actor further said that after 'Baahubali,' his fans were eagerly waiting to see him in an action movie. The film has been made on a THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
budget of Rs.300 crores. Apart from Hyderabad, the film was shot in Austria, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Romania, Dubai and other parts of Europe.]Principal photography began on August 2017. Arun Vijay, Jackie Shroff, Lal, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Mandira Bedi were roped in along with the leads, Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor. A large part of the budget was spent to shoot the action scenes in the film. International stunt choreographer, Kenny Bates, had been roped in to choreograph the action scenes. The final leg of film and romantic songs were shot in Innsbruck and in the Tyrol region of Austria. Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant shot two romantic songs. An action sequence, which features in an exceptionally long period of the screenplay, was shot extensively near the Burj Khalifa. The team and director, Sujeeth have left no stone unturned in order to entertain the fans. To say that high octane stunts would be in order, would be an understatement. Prabhas has worked and trained extensively to perform the scenes. The strain doesn't end on physical exertions but has also shown on the budget of the film. For this eight-minute action sequence Rs. 25 crores from the budget had been spent. Prabhas had gone under rigorous training, which involved cardiovascular and weight training, and plyometric obstacle races. Prabhas praised his costar Shraddha Kapoor, stating that she was the best choice for her character. She holds a strong character in the film while Prabhas' character is a grey-shaded fictitious role. He plays the character of a cop which will keep the audience guessing until the end. The film features some underwater sequences with Prabhas, who
CINEMA 51
had learnt scuba diving in preparation. Prabhas will be dubbing his own lines in the Hindi version while a professional dubbing artist will dub for Shraddha Kapoor in the Telugu version. The film features Neil Nitin Mukesh as the antagonist. Mandira Bedi, who is known for her grey roles on the small screen, will play an out and out a negative role in the film also. The music of the film was supposed to be composed by Tanishk Bagchi, who opted out of the film after the director decided to feature additional songs by other composers in the soundtrack. The songs are composed by Tanishk Bagchi and Ghibran is composing the score. The lyrics are written by Tanishk Bagchi in Hindi, Vinayak Sasikumar in Malayalam, Madhan Karky in Tamil, and Sreejo in Telugu. The teaser of the film was released on 27 April 2017 along with the release of Prabhas' last film Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. The first look poster of Prabhas from the film was revealed on his birthTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
day on 22 October 2017. There was some controversy about the poster looking similar to the poster of Blade Runner 2049, with many fans and followers criticizing the poster for the perceived plagiarism. The following year, a making of the film featurette was released on 22 October 2018, on Prabhas' birthday. A second making of the film featurette was released on 2 March 2019, on Shraddha Kapoor's birthday. A poster was unveiled on 21 May 2019 of Prabhas from the film. A week later, another poster of Prabhas was revealed. On 10 June 2019, the first look poster of Shradha Kapoor from the film was released. Another poster of Prabhas was released on 12 June 2019. The following day, a teaser of the film was released in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil. On 23 July, UV Creations released new posters picturing Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor and giving new release date as 30 August, in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil. Sure it’s a visual treat for Prabhas fans and action film lovers.
52
SPORTS
‘Sports politics’ kills talent & sports spirit
Ambati Rayudu hangs his boots
D
A.RAMMOHAN RAO
ream destroyed. Proven talent ignored to feel insulted. National selectors failing to find the 33-year-old World Cup stand-by worthy enough to replace the injured Shikhar Dhawan or even Vijay Shankar has resulted to Ambati Rayudu’s announcement of his retirement. Painfully long struggle to live up to the promise he showed as a 16-year-old first-class debutant in 2001 is finally over. The one-time ‘Next Sachin Ten-
dulkar’, this millennium’s first big batting hope, retired from all forms of cricket, even the IPL. Many in Indian cricket have felt grave injustice has been done to Ambati. Some have come up openly. Gautam Gambhir, Test playerturned-MP, put the blame squarely on the selection committee. “What surprises me most is that the entire @BCCI current selection panel had an unfulfilled career themselves! What a shame! While it’s important to win titles, guess it’s more impor-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
tant to have a heart,” he posted. One of Ambati’s Ranji Trophy coaches Sanath Kumar said, “Of all the talented cricketers we have had in India, he is for sure one of the unluckiest.” V V S Laxman tweeted: “Can understand the pain and anguish Ambati Rayudu may be feeling after the World Cup snub even after performing well. I wish him lots of happiness and peace in his second innings. India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday described Ambati Rayudu as ‘a top man’ after the middle-order batsman, who was ignored for the ongoing World Cup, retired from all forms of cricket. “Wish you the best going forward Ambati. You’re a top man @RayuduAmbati,” Kohli wrote on his official Twitter handle. Heart was something that Rayudu was always known to have. He backed himself in any situation and could be trusted to counter-attack his way out of trouble. But the latest selectorial snub was too harsh a blow for the man who, in close to two decades, went from teen prodigy to wasted talent to comeback man. His final international record: In 55 ODIs, he scored 1,694 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 47.05. His score-sheet also shows 42 runs in six T20 Internationals,
and 6,151 runs with 16 hundred in 97 first-class matches for Hyderabad, Andhra, Baroda and Vidarbha. He led India in the 2004 U-19 World Cup, a team that included Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, R P Singh and Dhawan in its ranks. Pathan says that they all thought Rayudu would be the first to graduate to the senior team. Rayudu’s the first coach in firstclass cricket, former India offspinner Arshad Ayub, says he had the same feeling when he was Hyderabad Ranji coach in 2001-02. “He was a real talent. He had a passion for cricket. He was fearless. But he needed some guidance. And I think we created that platform for him. He did really well under my coaching. After that, when I stepped down, he had to leave Hyderabad, which was very unfortunate,” Ayub said. But then, failure wasn’t an option for the son of a junior official at the state archives department in Hyderabad, who found it tough to raise India’s future star. The modest salary didn’t help. It is said that Rayudu’s mother would keep aside chicken pieces from the biryani for the son. However, Rayudu had a personality issue. Those close to him blame his temper. After a couple of seasons with Hyderabad, Rayudu moved to Andhra. The reason was a rift with the former national selector and India off-spinner Shivlal Yadav who pulled the strings in Hyderabad cricket. Things turned ugly when Rayudu had an on-field clash with Shivlal’s son, Arjun Yadav. In 2007, at the peak of his powers and on the wrong side of the cricket set-up after the spat, Rayudu joined the now-defunct rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL)
before returning to the mainstream after accepting the BCCI’s amnesty offer. He went on the play for Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. “At that particular time (when he joined the ICL), he was still very young. Maybe, somebody persuaded him. Maybe, he was a little disturbed. But he came back, made his way through and did really well. And players who are talented, they always have a short fuse. Once you mature, you handle it better. But I think he should have played for India for a longer time,” Ayub said. Last November, Rayudu retired
Ambati Rayudu with wife Chennupalli Vidya
from first-class cricket to focus on the shorter format. And the plan seemed to be working as he made it to the India ODI team that was searching for a No. 4. Even that wasn’t easy, though — he made the cut after clearing the yo-yo fitness test on the second attempt. Rayudu was on the official standby list for World Cup 2019 but Indian selectors overlooked him on multiple occasions. Last year, his consistency had prompted India captain Virat Kohli to say India had found their No. 4 for the World Cup. However, the team ended up going with Shankar, the Tamil Nadu allrounder who was described by chief selector M S K THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
SPORTS 53
Prasad as a “three-dimensional” cricketer. Soon enough, Rayudu posted a tweet: “Just ordered a new set of 3D glasses to watch the world cup”. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has blamed the selectors for Ambati Rayudu’s decision to retire from international Cricket. “According to me, the selectors have been a complete disappointment this World Cup. Rayudu’s retirement decision is because of them and their decisionmaking skills are to be blamed for this,” Gambhir said on a segment of Cricket Live Star Sports. Gambhir minced no words in targetting the MSK Prasad-led selection panel saying five selectors combined would not have made the runs Rayudu has made in his career. “Five selectors combined would not have made the runs Rayudu has in his career. I feel extremely sad about this retirement. Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal got selected amidst the World Cup injuries and anyone in Rayudu’s place would have felt equally bad,” said Gambhir. Rayudu’s retirement decision comes after Mayank Agarwal was named as a replacement for an injured Vijay Shankar. Even then the outspoken middle-order batsman, known for his quick temper, didn’t really bang the door on the way out, though. In an email to the BCCI, he wrote: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and all the state associations that I have represented... It has been an honour and privilege to have represented our country.” People who practice politics trie all the way through to snatch away his rightful opportunities in sports can never match Ambati’s humbleness and sports spirit.
54 MEDICAL TECHNOLOY
Musk's Robot surgeon
Wiring the human brain T
THE NEWS SCIENCE DESK
ech entrepreneur Elon Musk has unveiled plans for his little-known company Neuralink, and it involves developing brainmachine interfaces. curious? Musk says the company is working on a technology wherein ultrafine threads will be implanted deep into the brain to detect neural activity that will be implanted in human brains. The company has also developed a robot to carry out the procedure. The objective: These threads will read (and also write) brain signals, which can be then transmitted to a device. What's the use, you ask? To help paralysed humans work computers and maybe even robotic limbs. The robot surgeon the company has developed has already implanted threads in 19 animals in trials, with an 87% success rate.
The company will now seek US FDA approval to start trials on humans as early as next year. According to reports international media the objective is to drill four 8 mm holes into paralysed patients' skulls and insert implants that will give them the ability to control computers and smartphones using their thoughts. For this 100-person startup is counting on its advances in materials and robotics to get there. To insert the needed wires into the brain, it built a robot that uses high-end optics to peer into holes drilled in the skull and then place the wires precisely. Each wire is one-quarter the width of a human hair and laced with dozens of electrodes. Their design and composition make them sturdy enough to pass through brain tissue, according to Neuralink. The lenses and computer vision software help the robot avoid hitting blood vessels, reducing damage to the brain and THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
formation of scar tissue. “Because these things are so thin and flexible, the idea is that they move with the tissue instead of tearing the tissue,” says Neuralink researcher Philip Sabes. Philosophers, sci-fi enthusiasts, and daydreamers have long imagined what it might be like to turbocharge their brainpower or read someone else’s thoughts. Lately, a number of startups have tried to find out. Companies such as CTRL-labs and Kernel are working on external devices to detect neurons’ firing patterns from outside a person’s body and transmit them to a computer. The next level up is figuring out how to safely insert a device into the brain, where the neural signals are the strongest and the process can go much faster. This has proved tricky, to say the least. Inserting electrical wires and other devices into the brain re-
MEDICAL TECHNOLOY
quires a great deal of precision. And the brain tends to treat probes as foreign invaders, forming scar tissue around the wires and muddying their ability to carry clear signals. People in dire circumstances have been willing to implant devices that stimulate parts of their brain to, say, regain some vision or tame tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease. But these processes often carry serious longterm risks. Neuralink’s goal is to leave its sort of mind-reading computer sitting safely and indefinitely inside someone’s head. Neuralink isn't the only company working on reading human thoughts. Companies like CTRL-labs and Kernel are also working on detecting the neural activity of patients, albeit through external devices. But an implant deep inside the brain will be able to gather brain signals far more accurately, but doing so is tricky — obviously. But Musk believes his robot surgeon is a capable hand. “This is going to sound pretty weird, but ultimately, we will achieve symbiosis with artificial intelligence,” Musk says at a news conference in San Francisco. “This is not a mandatory thing. It is a thing you can choose
to have if you want. This is something that I think will be really important on a civilization-level scale.” “All of this will occur actually quite slowly,” Musk says. “It’s not going to be like suddenly, Neuralink will have this incredible neural lace and start taking over people’s brains. It will take a long time, and you will see it coming.” Elon Musk has had a lot to show off over the past 25 years, including an early online bank, solar roof tiles, a tunnel-digging machine, an electric car, a reusable rocket, and even the occasional electric car riding a rocket. He may have just topped them all with the help of a tubby brown-andwhite rat. The rodent belongs to Neuralink, a company Musk founded to develop a data transmission system between people and computers. Neuralink has been supersecretive about the nature of its work since its founding in 2017, until now. During its first demonstration in front of a reporter, the startup THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
55
showed it can record a rat’s brain activity via thousands of tiny electrodes surgically implanted alongside the animal’s neurons and synapses. To do this, Neuralink, based in San Francisco, appears to have achieved a number of breakthroughs that let it place high-speed computing systems inside a brain while causing less damage than existing techniques. The company will seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to start clinical trials on humans as early as next year, according to President Max Hodak. The goal is to drill four 8mm holes into paralyzed patients’ skulls and insert implants that will give them the ability to control computers and smartphones using their thoughts. Yes, really. “A lot of people have written this off like it’s impossible,” says Hodak. “There will be great things to come in this field in the next decade, and they should take it seriously.”
56 SPORTS
Hima Das creates a record
‘Dhing Express’ zooms
S
BY D BAL REDDY
printer Hima Das extended her sensational run by winning five gold medals in a span of fewer than three weeks. The ‘Golden girl’ won her fifth gold medal of the season in 400m race at the Nove Mesto nad Metuji Grand Prix in the Czech Republic on July 20. Hima Das finished first with last minute spurt of speed with a season-best time of 52.09 seconds. Her personal best time is 50.79 seconds, which she had clocked during the 2018 Asian Games. It was the first competition in 400m for the 19-year-old from Assam, fondly called the ‘Dhing Express’, in the 400m event since she struggled to finish the Asian Athletics Championship in April this year because of a back issue. Meanwhile, MP Jabir also won a gold in the 400-metre hurdles race, clocking 49.66 seconds but Mohammad Anas settled for a thirdplace finish in the 200m with a timing of 20.95 seconds. Hima Das won her first gold in this season at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland on July 2, followed by a second gold in 200m at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland. Das won her third gold in 200m at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic with a timing of 23.43 seconds. Her fourth gold came in 200m at the Tabor Athletics Meet on July 17. Hima Das is from the state of
Assam. She is fondly nicknamed as the ‘Dhing Express’. She is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships. Hima Das was born at Kandhulimari village, near the town of Dhing in the state of
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Assam to Ronjit and Jonali Das on born 9 January 2000. Her parents are farmers by profession. She is the youngest of five children. She attended the Dhing Public high School and was initially interested in playing football. She played
football with the boys at her school and had always wanted to pursue a career in football. However, she did not see any prospects for herself in women's football in India. Later, upon advice from a school physical education teacher, Shamsul Hoque, she changed to sprint running. Hima Das passed the 12th-grade exam from Assam Higher Secondary Education Council in May 2019. In April 2018, Das competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold coast, Australia, in the 400 metres and the 4×400 metres relay. In the 400 metres, Das reached the
final where she finished sixth in a time of 51.32 seconds, 1.17 seconds behind gold medalist Amantle Montsho from Botswana. In the 4×400 metres relay, she was part of the Indian team that finished seventh in the final, with a time of 3 minutes and 33.61 seconds. On 12 July 2018, Das won the 400 m final at the World U-20 Championships 2018 held at Tampere, Finland, clocking 51.46 seconds and becoming the first Indian sprinter to win a gold medal at an international track event. Having run a slower first half, Das
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
SPORTS 57
accelerated on the last 100 meter stretch, overtaking three competitors. At the 2018 Asian Games, Das qualified for the 400 m final, after clocking 51.00 in heat and set a new Indian national record. On 26 August 2018, she improved the national record to 50.79 s in the 400 m final to win the silver medal. On 30 August 2018, she, along with M. R. Poovamma, Sarita Gayakwad and V. K. Vismaya won the women's 4 × 400 metres relay clocking 3:28.72. Earlier on the same day, Das failed to qualify for the final of the 200 metres race, due to a false start in a semifinal. Hima also won a silver medal in the 4×400 m mixed relay, which was held for the first time at Asian Games. In September 2018, Adidas signed an endorsement deal with Hima Das. She won 200m Gold in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland, on July 2, 2019, with a time of 23.65 seconds. After that, she won 200m gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet, also in Poland, on July 7, 2019, with a time of 23.97 seconds.In the same year, on July 13, she won 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic with a time of 23.43 seconds. She also bagged the gold medal in the 200m race at the Tabor Athletics Meet, on July 17, 2019, \in the Czech Republic with a time of 23.25 seconds. On 20 July 2019, She roared to her fifth gold of the month July'19 in her 400-meter race in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic recording 52.09 seconds on the clock. In July 2019, She bagged a total of 5 gold medals in a month. As Bollywood star Anushka Sharma rightly said Hima Das is “...an exemplary example of solid grit & determination & a huge inspiration to young girls.“
58 SPORTS
Know about Hima Das Five fabulous things Hima Das, the ‘Golden Girl’, at the age of just 19 has become the inspiration of the youth and pride of the nation. Here are 5 facts which you all must read about this wonderful teenage sports star of the country: First-ever Indian woman: Hima Das is the first Indian woman in the history of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) who clinched the gold medal at the IAAF World Under – 20 Athletics Championships. She became the world champion. She achieved this milestone by running 400 meters within 51.46 seconds and to be very surprised it was not her personal best which is 51.30 seconds. Lack of resources was not a hurdle: Hima’s father is a rice
1
2
farmer and her the family was deprived of resources. Before the start of the race, her coach had a notion in her mind, that her cheap spikes may become hurdle during her race but Hima Das proved that when you are completely dedicated to your efforts and abundant with very strong willpower then lack of resources is not a hurdle. She never thought about becoming a sprinter: Just like one of the most successful captain of the Indian Cricket Team (Men) MS Dhoni, Hima was also having a keen interest in football. During her school life, she used to play football with the boys. She always wanted to make her career in Football and represent India. Behind the success of a woman sometimes there is a
3
4
man: Reversing the popular quotation, after the success of Hima, there are three men who played a vital role in her achievements. a. The first one is Hima’s father Ronjit Das. In a recent interview, he shared that both father and daughter were having the routine of waking up at 4 in the morning and joining each other in jogging to the rice fields. So, one can safely say that the father is her first Guru. b. The second man is Shamshul Hoque, the PET of her school, who observed her speediness on the Football ground. He was the person who gave her the right direction and guided her to try in athletics. c. The third man is Nipon Das, the coach as-well-as Directo of Sports and Young Welfare. Hima met him on the occasion of inter-district meet and Nipon agreed to train her. He convinced Hima and her family for shifting to Guwahati. He arranged for the rented accommodation for Hima’s family and her admission in the State Academy. The fearless girl: Hima Das is an athlete with strong determination She never let the pressure of competing with champions to impact her morale. It was pretty much noticed when she overtook the previous champion, Taylor Manson. During her final 400 metres race at the World U20 Championships, her coach bet on her last 80 metres and she proved her calibre by clinching the Gold.
5
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
HERITAGE 59
Jaipur is a World Heritage site now
Panoramic Pink city T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he Walled City of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture was made its entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. On July 6, pink city residents had a reason to feel elated as the Pink City was inscribed as a World Heritage Site, making it the 38th Indian entry to be added to the list of 1121 such spots across the world. “Just inscribed as @UNESCO #WorldHeritage Site: Jaipur City in Rajasthan, #India. Bravo,” UNESCO tweeted that day afternoon. The announcement was made after the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, underway at Baku (Azerbaijan) from June 30 to
July 10, examined the nomination of the Walled City of Jaipur for inclusion in the World Heritage list. So far, only China, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France have more locations on the list than India. ICOMOS (The International Council on Monuments and Sites) had inspected the city in 2018, post its nomination, adding, the WHC in Baku examined the nomination and inscribed it in UNESCO World Heritage Site list. “The city was proposed to be nominated for its value of being an exemplary development in town planning and architecture that demonstrates an amalgamation and important exchange of ideas in the late medieval
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
period. “In town planning, it shows an interchange of ancient Hindu, Mughal and contemporary Western ideas that resulted in the form of the city,” UNESCO Office in New Delhi had said. The historic walled city of Jaipur in Rajasthan was founded in 1727 AD under the patronage of Sawai Jai Singh II. It serves as the capital city of the culturally-rich the state of Rajasthan. In addition, Jaipur City is an exceptional example of a late medieval trade town in South Asia and defined new concepts for a thriving trade and commercial hub. In addition, the city is associated with living traditions in the form of crafts that have national and international recognition, it said.
60 HERITAGE
What is a World Heritage Site? A World Heritage Site is a location having an “Outstanding Universal Value”. According to the World Heritage Convention’s Operational Guidelines, an Outstanding Universal Value signifies “cultural
and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.” The Sites fall into three cate-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
gories: cultural heritage, natural heritage, and mixed heritage (cultural as well as natural). Cultural heritage entails an Outstanding Universal Value from the point of view of history, art or science, and includes monuments, groups of buildings, and sites which are the combined work of nature and human agency. Examples include the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, and the Sydney Opera House. The Sites under natural heritage are those having an Outstanding Universal Value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, such as the Sundarbans Natural Park or the Victoria Falls. Of the 1121 World Heritage Sites in the world, 869 are cultural, 213 are natural, and 39 are mixed. Who selects the Sites? The
HERITAGE 61
UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets at least once every year, generally in June/July, to deliberate the addition, removal, or modification of items on the list of World Heritage Sites. The Committee comprises of 21 members selected from amongst 192 States Parties (signatories) of the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, also called the World Heritage Convention. The current session of the Committee which is in progress at Baku, Azerbaijan. This is the 43rd such meet since the formation of the Committee in 1976. How do countries get their preferred spots included? According to the Guidelines, the State Parties prepare a Tentative List or the “inventory of those properties
situated on its territory which each State Party considers suitable for nomination to the World Heritage List.�. A nomination document is then prepared in this regard based on which the application is considered by the Committee. In India, the Indian National Commission for Co-operation with UNESCO (INCCU), and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are the bodies which play a key role in this regard. After receiving nominations from the State Parties, the Committee then puts them through a rigorous examination before any new location can qualify as a World Heritage Site. What happens after a World
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
Heritage Site is declared? Most importantly, getting featured on the list of World Heritage Sites affords the location a coveted status, driving up demand for travel and tourism from around the world geared towards it. At the same time, a heavy onus is placed on the government of the country in which the Site is located for its conservation and upkeep. The Committee conducts regular audits at declared Sites and can place a spot that is seriously threatened on the List of World Heritage in Danger. If the Outstanding Universal Value of the property is destroyed, the Committee can consider deleting the property from the World Heritage List.
62 AYURVEDA
Effective on Superficial wounds
A
A herbal drug used by tribals
THE NEWS BUREAU
ccording to the World Health Organisation, 65 per cent of India’s rural population uses Ayurvedic remedies, mostly due to poor access to modern health facilities. As the modern(Allopathic) medicine is increasingly becoming expensive poor, rural people are deprived of the treatment. At the same time, many people are hesitating to opt for traditional Indian medical system, Ayurveda for want of latest reach based endorsement. To bridge this gap the AYUSH ministry is funding projects of clinical research on Ayurvedic and medical herbs in major Allopathic hospitals. In the last few years, the Ministry of AYUSH has taken a number of administrative and policy measures to mainstream alternative systems of medicine. On November 9, 2014, the Centre elevated AYUSH to a separate ministry. Recently Rajya Sabha
members batted for higher funding for the ministry in a bid to encourage traditional systems of medicine and stressed that it will benefit millions of people in the country. In this background, The Government of India is pressing for the use of natural medicines. But in the absence of any evidence, people are still having doubts about the effects of herbal medicines. In a first, doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH have completed the first phase of a herbal drug trial to treat superficial wounds. The drug, AYUSH C1 Oil, used by the tribal population to treat wounds, has been tried on 30 patients who visited AIIMS. As per doctors, the results were found to be effective. During the first phase, the doctors opted for regular healing treatment using allopathic medicines on 30 patients, while another
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
batch of 30 patients was treated with the herbal drug. The herbal drug treatment yielded results with zero side-effects, said doctors. “The herbal drug was discovered by the Ministry of AYUSH and trials began in 2015-2016. We have completed the first phase of the project and will submit a report to the Ministry by the end of this year,” Dr Maneesh Singhal, head, department of plastic, reconstructive and burns surgery, AIIMS, told “We have tested the drug on superficial wounds and the results have been good. If we measure the results of normal remedy with this herbal drug treatment, then the result of the latter is a notch better. No patient has complained of any problem,” said Dr Singhal. “This is a good initiative. Effects of traditional medicines, if proved by science, will give a good push to the speciality which has been around for thousands of years,” said Dr Singhal
SHOBHA’S PAT ON MIND 63
DR.SHOBHA RAJU
Let Gunawan sarvatra pujyate! Swagruhe Poojyate Pitarah Swagraame Poojyate Prabhuh Swadeshe Poojyate Rajah Vidwaan Sarvatra Poojyate!
S
ome time back group of people were visiting a scholar. Amidst his talk with the group, the scholar said, “A lady in Bangalore, asked me how was my health. Why? What happened to me? I told her ‘....come to my room, I will show how healthy I am’”. That was very mean! Right? But every person’s body the language was so respectful towards the scholar. “How could she dare to ask you like that when you are singing with so much energy?” kind of supportive words to him and “She should have some sense before asking you such meaningless questions” kind of resentful words towards the lady who questioned (none of us know who it was), poured from the group for some time. Is it what “Vidwaan sarvatra pujyate” means? Just because he is a great scholar in music, can he say anything and anywhere? Particularly when a few among the group were ladies? And a couple of ladies who were among the group respond to his indecent response to the Bengaluru lady with amused
laughter. I am aware of such attitude of him but thought he would be decent enough in company. I felt so bad to have been present there. It was so distasteful that I remember the incident so vividly even now. The least thing they could have done was to listen to him and be serious with no response. Everyone touched his feet and left! Not just the scholarship or expertise, let’s look for good character and conduct also. Ravanasura was a great scholar in many fields of knowledge and a skilled warrior. But of what use? Rama killed him for his wickedness. My father used to say how difficult it was to get an ICS officer as
the chief guest for an event or conference, in their times. They used to make thorough and genuine enquiry of the persons involved in the organization to accept an invitation. If an ICS officer had agreed to be the chief guest means, it used to be a matter of great prestige. Integrity was of such great priority. Now, days are of go-getters, conduct and character are immaterial. When a very senior bureaucrat was questioned why an immoral person was being encouraged, the answer was, “Because he delivers the goods”. There will always be substitutes for everyone and everything if searched properly. Time has been finding a replacement for every ruler, every head of the field from times immemorial. After Lata Mangeshkar, who? True, there can only be one Lata Mangeshkar. But the stream of time brought out many a gem, with whose marvellous singing Bollywood continues to vibrate non stop. Ok. Even if an immoral person’s service becomes inevitable, we have to be confined only to extract the service. Why venerate him?
WHy PROMOTE THE GOOd?
The good in a being creates vibes of peace and calmness. The THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
64
SHOBHA’S PAT ON MIND
life in the universe responds and connects to those vibes. Nature is the reflexion of collective minds. There comes a harmony which ensures native functioning of nature. And thus, there will be timely rains...right functioning of seasons. Every part of nature will be peaceful in its orbit. When there is no drought, no floods, no Tsunamis...life is pleasant....prosperous....joyful. The nurtured good finally cleanses the mind in such a degree that it will be in harmony with the Supreme Self, we may call it the all-pervading energy field if we don’t like to call it God. When the majority are in that status....it’s called Rama Rajyam. In Rama’s time, good was always protected. The wicked were always condemned and punished.
When I was in “Shishu” (K.G. in Nepal), I remember ...there was a serious prediction of “Ashta Graha Kootami”...eight planets falling in one orbit. It will be an unbelievable natural calamity...not just the globe, the entire planetary system will collapse...maybe the sun continues to shine on. People who could afford, built light homes with wooden frames to die comfortably without heavy structures having to fall on them. Their idea of trying to meet death with less torture! We also visited one such house when it was in making. People were all panicked. All of a sudden everyone looked saintly as I recall now. The most beautiful and meaningful step they took, I now remember is to ask everyone to put a rice grain apart in a vessel, chantTHE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
ing “Sree Ram” to each grain. Even all the school children were asked to do so. With that rice, they wanted to perform a Yagnyam for creating a positive field of energy to stop the natural disaster. They knew that collective vibes which are positive have a great impact on nature. Rama is venerated as an embodiment of Dharma...righteousness. When He is thought of, compassion..calmness....harmony... justice are thought of. This is true Ramanama smarana. Mere lip movement making a sound of Rama is of not of much use. Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha. Let’s save Dharma, basically that is mind-stuff not just symbols stuff. Let us worship the righteous. Let us say “Gunawan sarvatra pujyate!”
GUEST COLUMN 65
WG CDR TJ REDDY VSM (RETD)
Victory over deceptive enemy T
kargil to Balakot & beyond
he country commemorated 20th anniversary of Kargil war on the 26th July. Though it is commonly called as ‘Kargil war’ actually it’s an armed conflict that took place between India and Pakistan, a counter-offensive codenamed Operation Vijay. The warfare in mountainous terrain was a new dimension unknown till then. Added to this was the serious constraint of not crossing LOC under any circumstances for the Kargil was the first conflict that was taking place after both the adversarial neighbours India and Pakistan had attained nuclear tag in less than a year before. What perhaps continues unchanged is the modus operandi of Pakistan – fight India through proxy war and terrorists. Barring 1962 fiasco with China, of four wars with Pakistan – 1965 and 1971 were full scale, all-out wars involving Army, Navy and Air Force, the remaining two in 1948 and 1999 being local conflicts. This year is 20th anniversary the nation is witnessing bigger enthusiasm in celebrating victory buoyed by increased focus of the NDA II Government, perhaps to bring the armed forces into bigger
limelight for orienting them to undertake impending plans to bring about a change from the past and restore normalcy in the troubled state of J & K. There was and has been no doubt about the valour, courage and sacrifices of the armed forces when it comes to dealing with a treacherous enemy. The restraint showed by India in not escalating the conflict into a full-blown war, in fact, put tremendous International pressure led by the US on Pakistan to finally withdraw from the Kargil heights ensuring the end to the conflict making the war a resounding political, diplomatic and military success. It, therefore, deserves to be celebrated, more importantly paying solemn tributes to those who laid down their lives. Lessons from Kargil War: The most valuable lesson for India from the Kargil war was that Pakistan despite attempts at peace, would not give up the use of its indirect military action in the garb of home grown freedom fighters or by backing terrorists. India also learned another valuable lesson, that its military needed more funds and equipment to maintain a state THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
of readiness against a deceptive enemy. India also realized that its intelligence system needed to be better organized so that information with credible evidence would reach the concerned authorities for proper assessment of a developing situation. Balakot in the aftermath of Pulwama attack: For the first time with the decisive political leadership, availability of delivery systems with high-quality precision weapons and advanced technological developments over the years including Airborne early warning, Airborne warning and control system capability, mid-air flight refuelling capacity and more importantly access to real-time electronic and imagery intelligence data through our own satellite systems without having to depend on the US or Russia as in the past, Air Force undertook with utmost secrecy the Balakot strike. It is a vindication of how much has changed in the ways of thinking, boldness in decision making, planning and immaculate execution. It certainly adds credit that it was the first time after twenty years that the strike was conducted at night in
66 GUEST COLUMN
Pilots ready to mount Air strike during Kargil war
enemy territory. Having said this, it needs caution that a similar strategy may not be as successful in the times ahead. Another feature of this successful mission was the undeniable diplomatic success in veering around international support to our right to deal with the Pulwama attack in a manner of our choosing in space and time. Way forward to bring Kashmir situation under control: As long as the issue of Kashmir is alive Pulwamas will continue to happen followed with response/ counteroffensive through surgical strikes and Balakot missions, with no assurance of non-escalation into a full-scale conventional war. Though nuclear retaliation can be reasonably discounted, but then with a nation like Pakistan anything and everything is to be factored in. Perhaps, one way forward is to confine all our actions to J&K in a massive sustained operation with measures to restore normalcy. It would require creating a situation
where support to terrorists among the youth and sympathisers start waning due to the fear of the presence of military and central armed police forces, simultaneously take rapid measures for infrastructure development through industries suitable for both Kashmir and Jammu regions, under the presence of support from these forces. This may take time, say four to five years and time is of the essence since this matches with the tenure of the present Government at the Centre. The assembly elections due later this year will also ensure that a civilian government would be in place. Hoping it would be a stable one, it should begin right earnestly with the support of Centre towards this end. The next five years is crucial and unless decisive initiatives start now, the country may have to live with the present situation for many more years. There is a political will and synergy between political and military lead-
THE NEWS YOU LIKE | AUGUST 2019
ership is the need of times. The days hitherto of warnings and mere declaration of intent to take “appropriate� action which was the reactions of a weak and indecisive nation (in the words of ex-CAS ACM AY Typnis) are behind us and so it seems. The comity of nations will closely watch India for decisive moves to deal with cross border terrorism while continuing to urge usual restraint not to escalate the situation into a major conflict. As long as we confine to within LOC (discussion on POK is for later times) there should be no cause to be unduly concerned. There should be no let-up in continuing modernisation of forces across the spectrum which is the only guarantee to avoid any hindrance to planned initiatives. (Auther A Wing Commander was a fighter Controller who actively participated in 1965 and 1971 wars. Three of his four sons serving the IAF during Kargil operations.)
The News You Like August, 2019
RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month; DOP: 8/9-8-2019)