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8 EDITORIAL NOIDA/DELHI

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017


THE HINDU
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In need of a psycho-economic boost


All drivers of economic growth are sputtering — a scal and monetary stimulus would boost ‘animal spirits’
The short point is that investor Keynesian tools. Corporate in-
enthusiasm is lacking, especially come tax can be reduced to 25% as
from the private sector. Added to promised two years ago. Excise
Carnage in Vegas their lack of demand is the reluct-
ance of supply of investible funds.
taxes on petrol and diesel need to
be reduced. These are indirect
The ‘mass shooting’ must awaken the U.S. to taxes, hurt the poor more, are re-
the dangers of lax gun ownership regulation Cautious banks gressive and feed into general ina-
ajit ranade Banks, despite being ush with de- tion through logistics and energy

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he famous Las Vegas Strip became the scene of a posits (partly thanks to demonet- costs.
bloody gun rampage when a shooter red high- hen a person decides to isation), are in no mood to extend

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
powered automatic rounds into dense crowds at a buy a at, it reects his or new credit. This is because of the Four steps
music concert, killing at least 59 people and injuring her optimism about the fu- increasing burden of bad loans On the spending side, the govern-
ture. There is condence that one (called non-performing assets, or ment can focus on the following
more than 500. This is the worst mass shooting in mod-
will have enough income owing NPAs). The ratio of NPAs has been four areas. First, provide fresh cap-
ern American history, although the June 2016 shooting in, to pay for the monthly instal- continuously going up for ve ital either to existing banks or the
at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, came close with 49 ments. This optimism is not be- years. Either you have to write-o new “bad bank”. Second, provide
people dead. Perched high on the 32nd oor of a nearby cause of job security, but because the loans and book losses, or ask some version of a wage subsidy as
hotel, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock sat in a virtual of the belief that one will get a new shareholders to bring more equity an incentive to labour intensive
sniper’s nest, armed with a collection of 23 ries, some job, even if one becomes unem- chological atmosphere that is con- that we are in danger of the self-ful- capital. The new bankruptcy code sectors. A version of this was
of them automatic ones. And some of the semi-auto- ployed. The same is true for an en- ducive to risk taking about the fu- lling prophecy nature of invest- and procedure is promising, but is oered to the textile and garment
trepreneur setting up a new fact- ture, and inspire condence in the ment and consumer behaviour. as yet untested for timeliness and sectors last year, but can be impro-
matic ries were boosted to automatic-speed ring us-
ory or new business. It’s called risk people. The data need to be restated to un- eectiveness. There is also a sug- vised and extended. The successful
ing “bump stocks”. He was subsequently found dead in taking, but that is not to imply reck- derstand the seriousness of the gestion to collect all the bad loans model of Odisha in the garment
the room from a self-inicted injury. Initially, confusion less gambling. It reects the in- The Keynesian solution situation. GDP growth declining (that is, toxic waste) from the vari- sector can be replicated. Third,
prevailed over whether this attack was linked to the Is- vestor’s condence about the fu- John Maynard Keynes called these continuously for six quarters in a ous banks and move them to a give a big boost to aordable hous-
lamic State. Speculation mounted further after its ture returns on the investment. If the “animal spirits” which guide row, down from 9.2% to 5.7%. In- freshly capitalised bank, the so- ing, by funding land acquisition for
Amaq news agency reportedly claimed credit for the at- that condence starts to wane, buyer and investor behaviour. vestment share of GDP, which cre- called “bad bank”. The bad bank the builder, and interest rate sub-
tack. However, with the authorities saying there was no then potential home buyers refrain When those spirits are in a down- ates new factories and businesses would focus solely on liquidating vention for the home owner. The
or postpone their decisions. In- ward spiral, the end result could be for tomorrow, falling for almost the collateral, bringing in fresh States of Kerala and Maharashtra
evidence of a connection between Paddock and such
vestors adopt a wait-and-watch at- recession, if not outright depres- ve years. The latest data from the owners and managers to run dis- have interesting and replicable
terror groups, the authenticity of Amaq’s claim has titude. If everyone in the economy sion. His remedy was to suggest Centre for Monitoring Indian Eco- tressed companies. Once freed models. Fourth, keep a big focus
been questioned by several experts. Whether Paddock starts becoming extra-cautious, countercyclical policy, which has nomy show that even the project from NPAs, the existing banks can on exporters, especially in labour
had links to the IS or not, the Las Vegas shooting once the decline in condence and eco- become the hallmark of Keynesian- pipeline is drying up. Newly an- resume lending to the healthy sec- intensive sectors, including agri-
again puts the spotlight on a painful and oft-debated nomic activity becomes self-ful- ism. This includes an injection of nounced projects at ₹84,500 crore tors. This is a promising idea as culture. This includes a weaker ex-
policy issue in the United States — that of gun control lling. As the economy slows both scal and monetary stimulus. are at a four-year low. Even the well and worth pursuing. The gov- change rate, quicker refund of GST
reform. down, people say, “See I told you This involves increasing govern- stalled projects which have been ernment cannot shy away from credit and expanding the scope of
so! It was wise to not invest and ment spending or cutting taxes, or revived are only 6% during this funding the rescue of India’s bank- the Merchandise Export from In-
Despite authoring 15 attempts to bring common-
take unnecessary risk now.” both, and decreasing interest scal year, as against 25% last year. ing. It has to provide capital to the dia Scheme and Service Exports
sense gun control regulations to the oor of the U.S. This decline can happen even if rates. Despite many attempts at The value of stalled projects is at a new “bad bank” or to recapitalise from India Scheme.
Congress, former President Barack Obama had in the the economy is fundamentally discrediting the ecacy of Keyne- record high of ₹13.2 lakh crore. the beleaguered public sector All of these are short-term eco-
last days of his administration launched one nal at- sound. What causes investor or sian remedies, to this day policy- During the last years of the previ- banks, where most of the NPAs nomic stimuli, but can also provide
tempt to close loopholes in gun laws through executive home buyer condence to wane? It makers continue to repose faith in ous government, projects were reside. a psychological boost to the animal
action. These aimed at expanding background checks could be anecdotes, actual eco- them. Sure, the eects could last stalled due to delays in approvals This is where the Keynesian wis- spirits. Of course, consumer and
for gun ownership, boosting funding for federal agen- nomic evidence, broken trust in only for a short term, but if that and clearances, legal disputes and dom of stimulus is worth recalling. investor condence can return and
government or socio-political de- helps the economy into a higher charges of corruption. But these is- All four drivers of economic sustain only when the Keynesian
cies enforcing the laws, and improving treatment of
velopments. Not to overstate this, gear, or break out of the “pessim- sues were tackled, and yet new growth are sputtering. While reviv- boost is buttressed by credibility of
mental health conditions nationwide. Earlier, his most but there is an element of psycho- ism spiral”, it would have served its projects are not picking up. In fact, ing exports may need boosts like a implementing longer-term
ambitious push to tighten the lax regulation of gun pro- logy that keeps the economy chug- purpose. in terms of the number of new weaker rupee or more export- reforms.
liferation, oated in 2013 in the aftermath of the Sandy ging. The government’s role is as We are not quite in a recession, private sector projects announced linked incentives, consumption
Hook Elementary School shooting, was speedily shut much to provide the right policy nor are we anywhere remotely in the latest quarter, it is at a 13-year and investment sentiment can cer-
environment, as to provide a psy- near a depression. But the fact is low. tainly be boosted by conventional Ajit Ranade is an economist
down by hostile conservative lawmakers. At the heart of
the U.S. Congress’s reluctance to take steps to address
the regular occurrence of gun rampages in public
spaces is the insidious lobbying on Capitol Hill by the
deep-pocketed National Rie Association and a myriad
of gun manufacturers. After several mass shootings,
A legacy of liberalisation
NRA spokespersons have claimed that the only answer Before Sri Lanka ushers in new economic reforms, it must take a hard look at the story so far
to gun deaths is more guns. In President Donald Trump,
tion of wealth. Inequality has women, have slumped to third transport and distribution has
they may have found their strongest ally yet. Although
deepened: the Gini coecient, place in export income. However, abandoned producers to predat-
he described the Las Vegas shooting as an “act of pure which was 0.35 in 1973, worsened migrant remittances of mainly wo- ory middlemen, aggravating
evil”, during the 2016 campaign he had pandered to the to 0.48 by 2012-13. The richest 20% men in domestic work in West Asia agrarian distress.
gun lobby’s interest on occasion, particularly through of households command 52.9% of amounted to nearly $7 billion last
fear-mongering that if the Democratic agenda suc- income, or more than the rest com- year, or almost equal to earnings Mounting debt
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

ceeded, “Pretty soon, you won’t be able to get guns.” bined; the poorest 20% muster from textiles, tourism and tea All regimes have bridged the
b. skanthakumar only 4.5%. The bottom 40% of the combined. chasm between income and ex-
The gun lobby’s multi-generational success in this re-
population survive on under $2.50 Women’s work is the basis of the penditure with loans. External
gard is built upon a cultural proclivity for gun owner-

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he Sri Lankan government re- per day. monetised and care economy, but debt has ballooned to $46.6 billion
ship rooted in the Second Amendment of the constitu- cently released its ‘Vision Ination is often runaway into their labour force participation (from under $942 million in 1976),
tion. Until Americans apply reasonable, if not stringent, 2025’ manifesto, heralding a double digits, whereas before 1970 rate has plateaued at under 36%, or diverting resources from public
restrictions to gun ownership, they are unlikely to es- new wave of economic reforms. Its it was under 3%. Cost of living has less than half that of men. spending to debt-servicing.
cape the regular visitation of such mass tragedies. timing coincided with the 40th an- spiralled and household debt Sri Lanka’s main food imports of Foreign direct investment last
niversary of the island’s embrace escalated. cessing zones. Employment in this wheat our, rice, sugar, milk and year was only $898 million,
of deregulation, trade liberalisa- Manufactured goods have sector has only reached over milk products, and sh and sh whereas foreign loans totalled
The cold facts tion, and privatisation ahead of the
rest of South Asia. While the cur-
soared in share of exports from
13.4% in 1977 to 77% in 2016, but are
470,000, or under 6% of the labour
force. That’s the same number as
products are unchanged. Demand
has risen along with population in-
$1.287 billion. This has been the
pattern despite generous incent-
It’s vital that India scales up surveillance rent government seeks to revive dominated by ready-made appar- those who leave every two years crease and household income but ives to private capital and wage re-
neoliberal momentum, there is no els which have negligible local for foreign employment. Liberal- not purchasing power. The rupee pression in the export sector.
to track various inuenza viruses assessment of the legacy of liberal- value addition. isation has failed to create decent is currently trading at 153 Sri The war between 1983 and 2009

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ver since the inuenza virus known as H1N1 isation even on narrow economic Industries that proted from and secure jobs. Lankan rupees to the U.S. dollar was disastrous but its economic
landed on Indian shores during the 2009 pan- benchmarks. textile and clothing quotas, duty- whereas it was 8.60 SL rupees in impact was diuse as export pro-
demic, outbreaks have been an annual occur- free imports, tax holidays, free in- Agriculture in decline 1977, but with no corresponding duction of goods and crops was
rence. The worst was in 2015, when 2,990 people suc- Modest growth frastructure, subsidised services Agriculture has drastically de- gain in export earnings. In 2015, in- outside the conict zone.
Growth in gross domestic product and lax environmental and labour clined in economic share to 7.1% in come from exports only equalled The promise of “inclusive and
cumbed to it. This year the virus has been particularly
has been modest. It averaged 4.8% regulations still depend on imports 2016 from 35.1% in 1970-71, and in 55% of the cost of imports, widen- equitable growth and develop-
active; mortality, at 1,873 by the last week of September, between 1978 and 2009 compared of raw and semi-nished materials. export composition to 22.6% in ing further the balance of pay- ment” in Vision 2025 is deceitful,
is quickly catching up with the 2015 toll. In comparison, to 3.5% between 1971 and 1976. This is a barrier to linkages in the 2016 from 94.6% in 1970-71. It is still ments decit. recycling as it does the market fun-
ocial gures show 2016 to be a relatively benign year, Some of the initial expansion was local economy and gobbles up net important to livelihood as over Chronic under-investment in damentalism that brought
with an H1N1 death toll of 265. The problem with these from massive inows of grants and foreign exchange earnings. 70% of the population is rural, and food production has intensied de- prosperity only to the few in Sri
ocial gures, however, is that they only capture H1N1 soft loans, as Western donors and Export-oriented industrialisa- marginally more are employed in pendence on imports and also in- Lanka.
numbers, a practice that has been adopted in response multilateral agencies rushed to re- tion is promoted as the cure-all for agriculture (27.1%) than in industry security as consumers are more ex-
ward a regime hailing the virtues of all ills. Its labour force is mostly of (26.4%). posed to world market price B. Skanthakumar is with the Social
to the severity of the 2009 pandemic. But inuenza was
high growth, foreign investment, women in low-wage and highly ex- There has been limited diversi- uctuations. The withdrawal of Scientists’ Association in Colombo and
present in India even before 2009 in the form of H3N2 and free market capitalism. ploitative conditions, and where cation as tea, rubber and coconut state support in access to credit, in- author of ‘Growth with Inequality: The
and Inuenza B virus types. Out of these, H3N2 is cap- Average household income has unions are not allowed to organise predominate, as before 1977. Rev- puts and extension services as well Political Economy of Neo-Liberalism in
able of causing outbreaks as big as H1N1, and yet India risen rapidly, but so has concentra- inside and outside export-pro- enues from tea, plucked mostly by as in direct purchase, storage, Sri Lanka’
does not track H3N2 cases as extensively as it does H1N1.
This means that seemingly benign years such as 2016
may probably not be benign at all. Data from outside LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
government surveillance systems are making this fact
apparent. For example, a surveillance project for acute Bloodshed in Vegas incident is the necessity of called the massacre an “act religious lines in the ‘Left that occurred centuries ago. The ve-day game
The United States is one of adopting stricter measures of pure evil”, but it is not bastion’. The depiction of No development can take Test cricket, the ultimate in
febrile illnesses, anchored at the Manipal Centre for
the few countries in the to curb gun violence. The enough unless he calls for a Kerala as a ‘god-forsaken place in a fragmented the game of cricket, should
Virus Research in Karnataka, has found that inuenza world where people have proliferation of rearms has total ban on gun use. country’ and as a ‘hub of society. continue to be played over
accounts for nearly 20% of fevers across rural areas in unhindered access to made it too easy for Nasir Soomro, jihadists’ does not go down The Prime Minister’s ve days (’Sport’ page,
10 Indian States — fevers that are often undiagnosed and rearms and unleash individuals to obtain Karachi, Pakistan nicely with the people of the message of taking pride in ‘Between wickets’ – “Test
classied as “mystery fevers”. During the years when violence and bloodshed to weapons. While it is State. The right wing may be religious diversity should cricket is irrational, let’s
the H1N1 burden is low in these regions, H3N2 and Inu- the detriment of peace and impossible to stop all Saron vs red inclined to think that it can percolate to the cadres. The leave it that way”,
enza B circulation tends to spike. tranquillity on the ground. violent impulses, the The right-wing’s accusation tap religious identity for Taj Mahal is the pride of September 27). Test cricket
That a lone wolf inicted government can and should that the CPI(M) has been political gain in the State India irrespective of can be made more
All this indicates that India’s surveillance systems are
heavy human casualties is make it much more dicult siding with “jihadi with high human whoever built it and absorbing and interesting if
still poor and underestimate the inuenza burden sub- not only shocking but also for people to act on them. elements” is not worth development indices, but whatever it stands for. the International Cricket
stantially. If numbers are unsatisfactorily tracked, so bears testament to the Finally, the glorication of being taken seriously. that might just be wishful V. Subramanian, Council can consider the
are changes in the viral genome. As a 2015 commentary failure of successive state violence needs to stop. Most Before accusing the Left of thinking. Chennai following: the game should
by a pair of researchers from the Massachusetts Insti- and federal administrations mass murderers gain infamy “murder politics”, the right G. David Milton, be restricted to a maximum
tute of Technology pointed out, India submits a woe- in the U.S. to enforce curbs through round-the-clock wing should introspect over Maruthancode, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu Losing out of 400 overs. Each side
fully small number of H1N1 genetic sequences to global when it comes to the access media portrayals. This leads how its cadres behave. The statistics (‘Datapoint’ – should play a maximum of
and use of rearms by its to a culture in which stories During his yatra in Kerala, Omitted “Nobels for noble work”, 100 overs per innings. Thus
open-access databases for a country of its size and pop-
citizens. The Second of mass shootings circulate BJP president Amit Shah That one of the wonders of October 3) highlight the every Test match will
ulation. Sequencing is important because it can detect Amendment of the U.S. and gain momentum, should “raise the world, the Taj Mahal, plight of Indian institutions become result-oriented.
mutations in genetic material that help the virus evade constitution, which protects making further shootings a consciousness” on political did not feature in the in the eld of research. Spectators will also have the
human immune systems, making it more deadly. Be- the right of its citizens to greater possibility. violence against CPI(M) tourism booklet issued by Research in India has to be benet of watching players
cause India does not sequence a large enough sample of bear arms, warrants an Arun Anand, workers as much as against the Uttar Pradesh given the utmost priority at adopt playing styles of T20
immediate review. A Thiruvananthapuram his party cadres for his government is one more this point in time. It would and one-day internationals.
viral genomes, it would be missing mutations that could
explain changes in the lethality of the virus. Put to- country which takes pride ‘mission’ to be of some instance of the intent of the be great if world-class Teams struggle to bowl 90
in its vibrant and liberal ■ John Lennon, one of the success (“Amit Shah to lead government to take its research institutions are overs in a day. Therefore,
gether, the numbers data and sequence data will enable
democratic framework world’s leading musician BJP march in Kerala”, ideology to the next level established in India. The play should be restricted to
sensible vaccination decisions. Vaccination is the best cannot aord to remain a activists, sang: “Imagine no October 3). (“Taj Mahal missing in U.P. zeal and the talent of 80 overs per day.
weapon that India has against this menace, because Os- mute spectator to the possessions/I wonder if you When it comes to the cult of govt brochure”, October 3). ambitious Indians ought to As far as poor attendance at
eltamivir, the antiviral commonly deployed against u, scenario where the lives of can.... ” Unfortunately, he political violence, leaders There are some who be made use of. The Test matches is concerned, I
is of doubtful ecacy unless administered early its own citizens continue to too was a victim of gun must rise above continue to harp on the modernisation of Indian suggest that entry to
enough. Yet, India has thus far stayed away from vaccin- remain stake owing to its violence. The world is numb partisanship. excesses committed by the institutes can be achieved stadiums be made free of
ating even high-risk groups such as pregnant women liberal legal framework on after the brutal attack in Las Kerala, a State famed for its Mughals, but one cannot by collaborating with cost, except for some
the access and use of Vegas. But this is not an communal harmony, has to ignore their rich foreign institutions. This enclosures. Players will
and diabetics, because inuenza is thought to be a more
rearms. isolated incident as history now guard itself against contributions in the elds of would ensure that much have the benet of playing
manageable public health challenge compared to mam- M. Jeyaram, will show. It is strange why attempts by the right wing art, literature, music, sought-after technological before large crowds.
moths such as tuberculosis. Better surveillance of inu- Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu America has such a soft to drive a wedge between poetry and architecture. No benets ow into and out of Mohan Thomas,
enza will possibly change this perception by revealing policy on the buying and communities. It is not easy purpose would be served in India. Chennai

the true scale of this public health issue. ■ The most important selling guns. President to spread religious hatred carrying forward Anji Naik Mudavath, more letters online:
takeaway from this horric Donald Trump may have and polarise people on ‘grievances’ over incidents Kharagpur, West Bengal www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

CM A ND-NDE
YK
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THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017
NOIDA/DELHI

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OPED 9

THE WEDNESDAY INTERVIEW | BADER EDDIN MOHAMMAD ADIB HASSOUN

‘The West puts conditions, the East helps’


Syria’s Grand Mufti on India’s support for the country, the threat to Islam today, and the Kashmir issue
Peerzada Ashiq found this example in India — ence inflicted in places like vice to all women in India is
in universities, mosques and London, Spain, etc. We have to protect their country.
Grand Mufti Ahmad Bader Eddin Mohammad Adib Hassoun is temples. been warning not to let this
the highest Islamic authority in Syria. The Islamic scholar, who fire spread to Syria and the You choose to visit
openly supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, wields con- What poses a greater region because this will Kashmir, which too is
siderable influence over the entire Levant. In a rare visit to In- threat to Islam today: reach the sponsors too. We going through a rough
dia, Mr. Hassoun held a series of meetings with different sections extremism or sectarian are cooperating with India to phase of conflict.
of society besides visiting temples and Islamic centres in Delhi divide? reach the sources of
and Lucknow. In an interview in Srinagar, Mr. Hassoun spoke terrorism. ■ The sons of Kashmir
about the Syrian war, the difference between the West and East ■ The most dangerous thing should unify and say a big no
in their attitude towards Syria, and issues before the Islamic we face is that some Muslims In your meeting with to those who wish to divide
world at the moment. Excerpts: don’t understand real Islam Jammu and Kashmir Chief it. Kashmir is also a part of
and start issuing certificates Minister Mehbooba Mufti, ummah. Kashmir’s power
Syria is going through tions date back to the days of to non-Muslims. They do not you described her as a stems from India’s strength.
difficult times. Is peace on the ancient Silk Route. I pray represent the majority of role model and raised There are powers who want
the horizon now? this continues. Syria is re- Muslims. Today, terrorism many an eyebrow in to divide Kashmir, weaken
building itself. We will not and Islam are seen together, Kashmir and outside. Kashmir, and weaken India. I
We are at the gates of victory. rely on Western countries, which is wrong. If Islam What was the context of pray to Allah to guide leaders
We are highly thankful to, which destroyed it. Two preached terrorism, over 1.5 your reference? in the continent. BRICS was
and appreciate the role of, weeks ago, Syrian President billion Muslims would not be created to join the economy
India, Russia, China, and Bashar al-Assad told all Syr- practising it and living to- ■ When I saw Chief Minister and the people. It could be
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Iran. All these countries ian ambassadors in a rare gether with Hindus, Mehbooba Mufti, I wished replicated in the entire In-
stood by Syria against the meeting that we should not Buddhists and Christians that all Indian women, irre- dian subcontinent. It’s not
scourge of terrorism. Those rely on Western countries across the world. The real spective of their religion, difficult if honest people are
who claim that there is a sec- but should look towards the Muslim is one who facilitates should also learn to have a there and intend to have
tarian war going on in Syria East. The West puts condi- a life, not one who termin- bigger role in life and work peace for their future genera-
should also probe what tions if they extend any help. ates it. All those who show towards safeguarding their tions. If Bangladesh, India
stokes fighting in places like On the other hand, the East the way towards happiness nation. Ms. Mufti is an ex- and Pakistan join hands,
Libya, Somalia, Yemen, not only helps, but also sees You have held an stay within the country and are our brothers, irrespective ample by virtue of her ethics they will emerge as the
Palestine. Would they also
term these struggles as sec-
Syria as a partner. This is the
difference between the East
extensive tour of India
this time. What was the
should not wield weapons
against the government.
<
> Europeans are
trying to describe
of their religion. and work. I have never met
Ms. Mufti before. I was happy
biggest economical power.
India’s culture is a treasure
tarian ones? I am inviting all and the West. prime purpose of your Gandhiji could achieve his the war in Syria as How can Muslims fight the that an Indian woman has a for the whole world. Indian
of you to visit Syria and see On behalf of the govern- visit? objectives without holding or a sectarian or extremism prevalent in role in politics. This Indian culture has taught us about
the reality with your own ment of Syria, I request In- giving any weapon. If they religious war. In many parts? subcontinent has produced diversity and unification. It
eyes. People need to read dian companies and busi- ■ It was to deliver the mes- were the real opposition, reality, it’s a war people like Benazir Bhutto, has preserved Muslim,
again about Syria. nessmen to visit Syria. A lot sage of Syria. Europeans are they should not have des- ■ Only a culture of dialogue Indira Gandhi. I wish Ms. Buddhist and pre-historic
of Chinese, Russian, and Ira- trying to describe it (the war troyed their own country
against will help to end extremism. Mufti becomes more than an heritage sites, which is diffi-
What role could India nian companies are already in Syria) as a sectarian or reli- and brought outsiders and colonialism. Besides, the Western media example for Indian Muslims. cult to recreate otherwise.
play in restoring order there. India has advanced gious war. In reality, it’s a external forces under the needs to stop misrepresent- Prophet Muhammad has We need to learn from India
there? technology in many fields war against colonialism. It pretext of changing the re- all are one ummah or one na- ing the truth about Islam. We made it clear that education how to hand down to next
and bilateral visits are the started with the war in Iraq. gime, especially when the tion and not sons of different should also seek those who is a requisite for both men generations real treasure and
■ Syrians would like to thank need of the hour and should Then they tried to divide the government was an elected sects or madhab (religions). I sponsor the extremist ideo- and women. If we educate not hatred.
India for keeping its embassy be considered actively by Levant and Lebanon along one. This is what they have asked them to keep this na- logy. There are ideological women, it will spread to the I wish Kashmir develops
open in our country even both sides. Besides, we re- religious lines, which is what tried to do with Indian lead- tion strong and said, ‘Don’t sponsors and financial spon- entire family and society. An soon. The Almighty has
when there was pressure quire an engagement we have prevented. Amer- ers in the past, including fall prey to extremism.’ The sors. There are countries ex- educated woman serves not made it beautiful with awe-
from Britain and the United between Muslim scholars ican and European air forces (former Indian Prime Minis- diversity that India enjoys re- porting this ideology to the only her family but the some weather. The sons of
States to close it. These coun- here and there to see for came from the Mediter- ter) Indira Gandhi. flects its rich culture. I visited outside world. Who has whole of humanity and the the soil should spread love
tries exerted pressure on themselves that there is no ranean seas to target Iraq, an Islamic institute in Luc- given weapons to these ex- nation. The mother of all and peace all over the world.
other countries too to close sectarian divide. People are but Syria faced them and During the tour, you met know and similar institutes tremists? This question Muslims, Hazrat Khadijah, The powers that want to di-
their embassies. India stuck one there and belong to one prevented them from going Muslim and Hindu of Buddhists and Christians needs to be posed to the U.S., was the biggest merchant in vide and weaken India and
to its position on Syria all nation. over its territory. Later, they scholars and visited — this is the real wealth that France, especially Germany Mecca. Hazrat Fatima Zahra Kashmir won’t achieve it. I
along. It’s because our rela- gathered 3.5 lakh terrorists temples and Islamic India possesses. The more and Britain. All of Britain’s was an orator and produced could see India emerging as a
and mercenaries to enter centres. How fruitful were India increases it, the more it mosques are occupied by the poetry. Ayesha, the mother great power in the Indian
Syria to destroy it and co- the meetings? will make Indian culture extremists. If a scholar or of all Muslims, would deliver subcontinent. But don’t let
<
> Today, terrorism and Islam are seen together,
which is wrong. If Islam preached terrorism, over operated with some Syrian richer. Almighty Allah imam is tolerant, he is kicked the best speeches. All Muslim the Europeans divide you
people who don’t represent ■ I tried to spread one mes- wanted to see the universe out of Britain. We need to women should be like them. again. Some of them are with
1.5 billion Muslims would not be practising it and
any opposition. Such people sage to all the people I met in like this. We should make it a seek them in Tora Bora I asked Ms. Mufti too to fol- Pakistan and others are with
living together with Hindus, Buddhists and are settled in Riyadh, Istan- (different) parts of India, in- happy universe and allow (Afghanistan), in Riyadh low these great women and India. They love neither In-
Christians across the world. The real Muslim is one bul, Cairo and Europe. The cluding Islamic, Hindu and people to enjoy their lives. (Saudi Arabia), in Manhattan learn from Benazir Bhutto dia nor Pakistan. They are
who facilitates a life, not one who terminates it. healthy opposition should Buddhist scholars — that we And see all as one family. I (U.S.). We condemn the viol- and Indira Gandhi. My ad- afraid of any unification.

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SINGLE FILE FROM ARCHIVES

Awaiting police reforms FIFTY YEARS AGO OCTOBER 4, 1967

Naval exercises in Arabian Sea


Only strong public opinion can move
The Indian Fleet sailed out of Cochin to-day [October 3] to
the political class to implement the take part in extensive exercises in the Arabian Sea. The three-
2006 Supreme Court directives day exercises, under the command of Vice-Admiral A.K. Chat-
terji, are being conducted with the primary aim of enabling
N.K. SINGH the Chief of Naval Staff to assess the operational efficiency of
the Fleet. Early to-day, one by one, the small ships slipped
The Indian Police Foundation was in- from their moorings in the Cochin channel and sped out to
augurated in 2015 to mount pressure predetermined search areas in the sea, to clear the harbour
on State governments to implement approaches of lurking “enemy submarines.” Later, the main
the directions of the Supreme Court on body of the Fleet, the carrier Vikrant and cruises Mysore and
police reforms (Prakash Singh v. Union Delhi steamed out of harbour to rendezvous with the re-
K.V.S. GIRI

of India). The court in 2006 had issued mainder of the Fleet.


seven binding directions to implement
those reforms. It took the court a little
over 10 years to give its verdict on the writ petition led by A HUNDRED YEARS AGO OCTOBER 4, 1917
Prakash Singh and me in 1996. We were happy when the or-
ders came because almost all the submissions made by us and Appeal to Anglo-Indians
several others such as the Commonwealth Human Rights Initi-
ative, the Human Rights Commission, and the Ribeiro Com- In view of the recent actions of the Government of India, the
mittee were accepted. Eleven years have passed, but States Honorary Secretary of the Federal Council of the Anglo-Indian
have taken only some grudging steps to implement the re-
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Association of India appeals to Anglo-Indians to join the Asso-
forms. September 22 is is observed every year by the Police ciation immediately so that when action is taken it may really
CONCEPTUAL NOTEBOOK be with the authority and support of the people [according to
Foundation as Police Reform Day to create awareness for the
much-needed reforms. Weekend effect a report from Bangalore]. He writes: Without exception, the
Finance From Delhi to Mumbai members of both Anglo-Indian Associations and the Empire
League are united in deploring the recent policy of the Gov-
Stronghold over the police
The fact is that political authorities still have a stronghold over This refers to a phe- The experience of reviewing lms changes from city to city ernment of India which they feel to be weak and unworthy of
the police. When a new government is elected, the rst thing it nomenon observed in fin- the dignity of British statesmanship. They view with alarm the
does (as it happened recently in Uttar Pradesh) is to replace ancial markets wherein Namrata Joshi critics WhatsApp group is Sunny Super Sound, results of the policy already apparent to a man the members
the Director General of Police (DGP) of the State. In some the returns that investors enterprising and organ- Lightbox, and The View seem prepared to support the action of the European Associ-
cases, this is also happening with the Chief Secretaries. There earn on stocks on There’s a WhatsApp group ised. Before a Friday ends, (its recliners are perfect to ation, but there are many hundreds of Anglo-Indians who
are a few exceptions, no doubt — the Chief Minister of Bihar Mondays is lower than that I am a part of called the next week’s films are practise shavasana when have not yet associated themselves with either Association or
changed neither the DGP nor the Chief Secretary, both of what they earned on them ‘Dilliwalas’ whose mem- listed; by the beginning of the film threatens to bore League and to such this appeal is made. No Anglo-Indian can
whom he inherited from his predecessor under rather acrimo- on the preceding Fridays. bers are film critics and the following week, show you to death). The chut- afford to remain outside or indifferent when such important
nious circumstances. There are many theories journalists in Delhi with timings are fixed and pos- ney sandwiches are nice crisis in his community’s history is at stake.
The result is that the police even today is not trusted by the that have been proposed whom I have spent most sible clashes of film pre- as is the cutting chai, but
people. They perceive the force as being partisan, politicised, by market experts to ex- of my career watching views averted after negoti- the samosas in Mumbai
and generally not very competent. Nothing conrms this more plain the prevalence of the movies. It is also a forum ations with PRs. Mumbai theatres just don’t match CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
than the frequent demand for probes by the CBI into crimes weekend effect. Some at- for venting — why does the is deeply involved with up to Delhi.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

which can be handled by Criminal Investigation Departments. tribute lower returns on Mumbai press get to watch films; Delhi courts them On the flip side, late- DATA POINT
Even in the recent murder case of journalist-activist Gauri Mondays to the fact that all the films, that too in ad- from a distance. night screenings in Delhi
Lankesh, there was a demand for a CBI probe. companies usually release vance, while Delhi has to In Delhi, things are sim- would mean waiting for
And what about the CBI? Only a few years back, the Su- bad news on Fridays after remain largely clueless? pler. There is just one the office cab to safely
preme Court had called it a “caged parrot”. If at all, the lock of the market closes, so the Often I am told how the venue — the delightful, ferry you home. In peren-
that cage has become tighter. And very often now, the demand news has its negative im- right-hand corner aisle old-worldly Delite Dia- nially awake Mumbai,
for a CBI probe is accompanied by a Supreme Court-mon- pact on the stock price on seat at Delite Diamond in mond on Asaf Ali Road there’s always an auto to
itored probe. Monday rather than on Delhi, fourth row from the whose interiors look like jump into, without a care,
Friday. Others have dis- back, has been missing Mughal-e-Azam sets. In my even at 2 a.m.
Implementing Lokpal puted the validity of the me. I yearn for my favour- younger days there was Many of the screenings
Much of the problem would not have been if the 2013 Lokpal weekend effect arguing ite spot from where I have also the Films Division in Delhi were preceded or
legislation was put in place. The Lokpal would have the either that it never existed carried out my film review Auditorium on Mahadev followed by our own chai
powers to oversee the CBI’s work and would ease the burden or that its impact has ten- duties for the longest Road, where films were and sabudana vada ses-
of the court. However, even the Opposition is not enthusiastic ded to fade over the years. time, while eating a maha served to the press along sions at the Indian Wo-
about the Lokpal as parties across the political spectrum have samosa (four times the with a modest cardboard men’s Press Corps or tea,
a vested interest in continuing with the present police system. normal size) and drinking snack pack. pakoda and egg-on-toast
Ultimately, it is only strong public opinion that can move the ‘expresso’ from disposable In Mumbai there is no at the Press Club of India.
political class to implement the 2006 directives. But the police CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC styrofoam cups. dearth of venues — from In Mumbai, the possibility
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
has to set examples to win public trust. Reform must start at Reviewing a film comes Famous Studios in Ma- of nei idlis, rasam rice, ven
MORE ON
3
home. Since the political class has a vested interest in the with its own rituals which halaxmi for Marathi films, pongal and filter coffee at
present system, no amount of pressure will work. We will have change from city to city. to the NFDC preview Dakshinayan between
to fall back on the judiciary, which wants an impartial and pro-
THE WEB
The only constant for me theatre in Nehru Planet- noon and matinee screen-
fessional police force because it knows that the criminal justice from Delhi to Mumbai is arium for English releases, ings in Juhu brightens up a
America’s gun problem in
system cannot function without a healthy police and investig- my obsession with the to Cinepolis in Andheri critics’ day. The spoilers to
five charts
ative agency. aisle seat. I can’t do with and PVRs in Juhu and filmi dates in Mumbai are
http://bit.ly/ any other. Andheri for Hindi films. the city’s infamous traffic
N.K. Singh is a former Joint Director of the CBI and member, National AmericaGunProblem WhatsApp groups too But my favourites are the snarls, especially if it’s a
Executive of the JD(U) are different. The Mumbai small preview theatres — week of 10 Hindi releases.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone https://t.me/pdf4exams

>
OPINION 11
STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM.

Volume XXII Number 37


ILLUSTRATION BY BINAY SINHA
MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2017

Indefensible move of thrift and productivity. From the productivity side,


two important factors are the availability of labour rel-
There is no merit in Sebi’s about-turn on loan default directive ative to capital and stock market returns. Both tend to
increase the demand for investment and hence the real

I
n a rather curious move, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) rate. From the thrift side, declining savings rate, includ-
has decided to hold back its directive which would have made it necessary ing that of the government, contribute to high real
for listed companies to disclose loan defaults within a day. The circular was rates. As productivity and thrift change over time, so
withdrawn on September 30, which was just a day before it was supposed does the real rate of interest. For example, in G-7 coun-
tries, its broad trend since the early 1960s has been of
to come into effect. Sebi’s decision to suspend the order “until further notice” is
a decline extending until the mid-1970s, then an
an unexpected one as, unlike in the case of a default on a bond where informa- increase until the late 1980s, before a decline again
tion is readily available, a default on a bank loan does not typically become pub- since the late 1980s.
lic information straightaway, even though it is merited. Banks have a grace peri- With capital flows across countries, the real rate is
od of 90 days over which they can categorise a delay as a default. The logic of no longer dependent only on domestic factors. A
mandating listed companies to swiftly declare their defaults was a sound one as country with a higher real rate will attract capital flows
and experience a decline in the rate itself. Yet, in the
it would have raised the level of transparency in the system while helping an short run, the real rate can differ across countries.
investor in a company to correctly and promptly assess the risk and rewards So, what should the real rate of interest in India be
involved. Currently, Sebi norms mandate disclosures on delay or default in pay- in the current circumstances? At the end of the 19th
ment of interest or principal on debt securities. Similar disclosures are not stip- century, the famous Swedish economist Knut Wicksell
ulated with regard to bank loans.
The regulator’s about-turn on this issue is indefensible, and seems to have
been made under pressure from banks, which fear more damage to their balance
sheets. Banks, especially the public sector ones, have argued that ever since the
The interest rate had pointed out that an economy has a “natural rate of
interest” that allows the economy to operate at its full
potential output with price stability. If the natural rate
is higher than the real rate of interest, prices fall and

question
vice versa. So, what is the elusive Indian ‘natural rate
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under former governor Raghuram Rajan, started an of interest’?
asset quality review, they have been forced to aggressively recognise non-per- In 2014, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had
forming assets on their books and, accordingly, make provisions. This has, in turn, described a real long-term risk-free rate between 1.5 per
cent and 2 per cent to be “reasonable”. Later, some
led to a massive slippage in profits. They also believe that the Sebi ruling will aggra-
Even if the RBI cuts rates, it is important to manage expectations about its effects ambiguity arose whether this 1.5-2 per cent applied to
vate the NPA situation. That is because as soon as a company declares that it has the long-term (10-year) government bond rate, the
defaulted on a loan, the rating agencies downgrade that loan to default grade. This ith inflation at fairly low levels, businesses of India bonds rose from less than 1 per cent in August one-year Treasury bill rate or the repo rate. In
then increases the minimum capital required. But as NPAs have swollen over the
past three years, and profitability fallen, banks have a massive and growing need
for fresh capital. Making things worse is the central government’s inability to ade-
W find interest rates too high. So do a third of
the home loan borrowers in surveys. Given
the increasingly vociferous demands for the Reserve
2016 to a peak of over 6 per cent in June 2017 before
declining to less than 5 per cent in the subsequent two
months. According to OECD data, since October 2016,
September 2017, these three rates were in the range of
6 per cent to 6.7 per cent. Assuming that CPI inflation
in September 2017 remained unchanged at previous
Bank of India (RBI) to reduce rates of interest, the sus- the Indian real rate has been considerably higher than month’s 3.36 per cent, the real rate in September was
quately recapitalise banks. In essence, banks have a great incentive to slow down
pense surrounding the outcome of the fourth bi- in G-7 countries — that is, Canada, France, Germany, between 2.6 per cent and 3.3 per cent. Thus, unless the
the process that leads to more NPAs being found out. There is an associated issue monthly meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee Italy, Japan, the UK and USA. MPC believes that inflation expectations are consid-
of timing as well. Sometimes a company fails to meet the initial deadline but pays (MPC) ending on Wednesday is palpable. Is a real rate of interest of 5 per cent too high for erably higher than 3.36 per cent, there is scope for a
before the completion of 90 days — the time frame after which a bank has to des- The real rate of interest is the India? India is a developing country reduction of 100 basis points for better alignment of the
ignate the loan concerned as an NPA. Under the Sebi directive, this leeway would nominal rate of interest adjusted for with scarcity of capital, and this policy rate with the natural rate of interest.
have been lost. inflation. It indicates the real return scarcity should be reflected in a high- Indeed, a reduction in the repo rate will encourage
to a lender after accounting for the er real rate of interest than in devel- banks to buy more government bonds and thus reduce
But these are issues that the RBI should figure out. As the capital market reg-
change in the value of money. Given oped countries. But, “how high”? the interest cost of new public debt that the govern-
ulator, Sebi should consider whether an investor in a company is entitled to be the diversity of rates of interest with From October 2016 to July 2017, ment contracts. Banks will also benefit from the appre-
told if the company has defaulted. After all, a loan default is material information variations in loan maturity and bor- on average, the real interest rate in ciation of the marked-to-market value of existing pub-
that affects stock prices. If the consequential effect on bank balance sheets is exces- rowers’ risk profile, often the proxy India was 4.48 per cent relative to - lic debt with higher coupon rates in their books. But it
sive in that the entire loan has to be provided for at the rate of 50 per cent imme- for “the interest rate” is taken as the 0.16 per cent in the G-7 countries. is doubtful that, without supporting measures, the
diately, that is an issue of provisioning that the RBI has to consider; it is not Sebi’s rate on long-term sovereign bonds However, the G-7 average conceals flow of bank credit to the private sector will improve.
carrying negligible risks. considerable variation across coun- The market for bank credit to the private sector has
lookout. The capital markets regulator should do its dharma, and not wear the hat
Like the rates of interest, there tries reflecting their different eco- been affected not so much by mis-pricing of credit as
of the banking regulator. are many measures of inflation, such nomic situations. It is interesting to by more fundamental factors such as stalled big-tick-
ASHOK K LAHIRI
as in terms of wholesale prices and note that, across the Euro Zone et infrastructure projects and over-leveraged borrow-
gross domestic product deflator. In countries using the same euro as ers’ balance sheets.
the ultimate analysis, all economic activity is for sus- their currency, with arbitrage threatening to wipe any It is also important to remember that, from the ear-
Decaying Mumbai taining consumption. Thus, for measuring the real
rate of interest, inflation may be taken as that measured
differences away, the nominal interest rates for gov-
ernment bonds or blue chip corporate loans are usually
ly 1960s, for three decades, the real rate of interest was
often negative under the administered interest rate
by the consumer price index (CPI). Although expected similar. Yet, the real rates of interest vary significantly. regime. It did more harm than good to the economy.
India’s financial capital fails its citizens inflation may be more relevant, with difficulties in For example, during October 2016 to July 2017, the Furthermore, a decline in the real rate of interest will

T
he tragic stampede at the Elphinstone Road station on the Mumbai measuring expectations, the nominal rate of interest average rate in Germany was 2.4 percentage points also affect the savers, including the small savers. Thus,
may be adjusted by CPI inflation prevailing on the rel- lower than Italy’s, which itself was 3.4 percentage even if a reduction in policy rate comes, it will be
commuter rail network is another reminder, although none was need-
evant date to calculate the real rate of interest. points lower than India’s. important to manage expectations about its effects.
ed, that India’s financial capital is failing its citizens. Cities such as So, how high is the “real” rate of interest in India? When things settle down in equilibrium, econo-
Mumbai should be engines of growth, but they will not live up to their The annual real rate of interest on 10-year Government mists agree, the real rate of interest reflects the balance The writer is an economist
potential if people who live there are subject to conditions that gave rise to the
stampede in which 23 people died on a crowded footbridge. What is worse is that
the responsibility for this disaster is easy to evade, given the confused chains of

A hard rain’s gonna fall


the growth rate in the most recent quarters. This is
authority that govern India’s cities and their infrastructure. There has been a seri-
not sustainable. The pro-rata fiscal deficit for the first
ous debate as to whose jurisdiction within Indian Railways this particular inci- five months has been exceeded by a wide margin.
dent falls. Governance failures are an inevitable consequence of the lack of a clear Future prospects for revenues (tax and non-tax) are
structure of responsibility and accountability. cloudy. Of itself, this can cause a breach of the annual
ad economic news has been pouring since The main components of aggregate demand (AD) fiscal deficit. A stimulus package, therefore, looks

B
Mumbai’s infrastructure was once the envy of India, but it has now fallen
behind on several counts. Its suburban rail, in particular, has not kept up with the last year. The finance minister (FM) bravely are consumption, private investment, government dicey at this juncture. If it is, nevertheless, put through
averred that such news should be discounted. expenditure and net exports. These are the “drivers” of further straining the fisc, be ready for expenditure cuts
times, and cannot be compared to the modern metros in cities such as Delhi. Poor
The spin’s not working. A sudden volte-face, and now economic growth. Well, what is driving the drivers? in the last quarter. In sum, the prospects for the last two
connectivity means that the financial and business districts of Mumbai are far the government is talking stimulus package. Clearly, all Consumption expenditure is the largest compo- quarters are not great.
more isolated from residential areas than in other global cities. Compared to the is not well. nent of AD. Its growth is vital to overall growth. The The expenditure on net exports also does not
almost two dozen bridges, tunnels and railway lines that link Manhattan to the How did we come to this pass? uncertainty of income and its augur well. While exports have been growing, imports
surrounding boroughs, South Mumbai can be accessed by only two highways and First, there was the demonetisation growth have had an adverse impact. are growing way faster. The real exchange rate has
two railway lines. Five of the six bridges to the island city are in its far north; in (DeMo) disaster. It did not achieve There is increased risk (or percep- appreciated, killing competitiveness. The GST has
any of the objectives announced by tion thereof) of job losses. And, locked up exporters’ capital. They have stopped tak-
Manhattan, many of the tunnels and bridges access the business district in the
the prime minister and it wreaked prospects of new employment are ing orders: capital servicing costs erode profit mar-
centre and middle of the island directly. economic havoc (Articles in this bleak. Income pessimism is a reali- gins. Expect export growth rate to slow down in the
Nor has the crumbling infrastructure been updated, which is not surprising paper on December 7 and 26, 2016, ty. Naturally, individuals are cau- coming quarters.
given the paltry amounts spent on capital investment. The budget of the Mumbai and June 27, 2017). DeMo led to the tious on consumption. High real interest rates have led to many problems.
Metropolitan Region Development Authority, or MMRDA, is barely 15 per cent of foreseeable collapse of economic Discretionary consumption has Interest rate differentials have lead to large portfolio
the total budget of the greater Mumbai corporation, the richest civic body in the activity. Worst hit were construction, been badly hit. Also, factor in the inflows: Hot money chasing returns on debt. Knowing
the entire informal sector, and, of increasing inequality in the distri- that rates will rise slowly, these investments have
country. Meanwhile, the MMRDA has spent a great deal of its time feuding with
course, agriculture. The lagged effects bution of income (Piketty); one become one-way bets. The resultant exchange rate
its counterpart in the Maharashtra state government set-up. Unsurprisingly, a have resulted in the continuing bad more reason for slow growth in con- appreciation has hurt exports. It also partly also
PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of emerging-market cities placed Mumbai at economic news.
RAHUL KHULLAR sumption. The collapse in con- explains asset inflation in the stock market (leave aside
near the bottom in terms of liveability — where such cities as Shanghai and Then came the goods and servic- struction has affected jobs, and irrational exuberance). Manufacturing has taken a hit.
Johannesburg scored around 80 on the PwC index, Mumbai scored 25. The cor- es tax (GST). The real issue was timing. In an article (The hence, consumption demand. Ditto for the informal The SME sector has suffered the worst: High cost of
poration is primarily responsible for the failure to update infrastructure; it has man- Indian Express, July 6), I argued that there was a case sector. The rural demand has been hit by both the credit if it is available at all. High interest rates have
to stagger implementation to October 1. This would shocks and the deterioration in the terms of trade for raised costs for borrowers suffering the pains of a down-
aged to implement only about 20 per cent of its own development plans in the past.
give businesses time to ramp up their accounting sys- agriculture. Also, savings are again taking the form of turn. Result: More stressed assets and new NPAs.
Innovation and investment are drawn to cities that are liveable, in which cit- tems and we could test the GST Network (GSTN). The gold, judging from the import figures; standard pre- We should brace ourselves for more bad news in the
izens have the basic expectation that they will have access to decent public macroeconomic issues were: How bad would the eco- cautionary behaviour. Consumption expenditure as a coming quarters — on economic output and growth,
transport that connects them to their workplaces and where simply going to work nomic disruption be, how long would it last, and what share of gross domestic product (GDP) declined in the strains on the fiscal deficit, export slowdown, small and
is not a risky endeavour. In this respect, Mumbai fails every global standard by a would happen to revenue collections. Well, the news is last quarter off 2016-17 and growth has been tepid in the micro enterprises in distress, and further accumulation
mile. Nor can tricky politics be held responsible — after all, the central govern- not good. First, the GSTN is under strain; some busi- first two quarters of 2017-18. The festival season of NPAs in the banking sector. We are in a bad place; but
nesses say that they were better prepared than the notwithstanding, don’t place your bets on high growth it looks like it is going to get worse. I desperately hope
ment, state government, and local government are all held by the same political government. Second, the informal sector has taken a in consumption. that I am wrong, but that’s what it looks like.
alliance now. What is necessary is an institutional reform that increases account- second solid knock. Third, small businesses are hurt- Investment demand remains muted. Excess capac- There has been extensive criticism of the govern-
ability to residents. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had prom- ing. Fourth, revenue targets may not be met; the states ity and commercial uncertainty deter the bravest from ment’s handling of the economy by the press, profes-
ised that Mumbai would get a “CEO”. He should follow through on this assurance. are already howling about shortfalls. adding capital. Low inflation results in low nominal sional economists, and now, BJP supporters have
At the least, a directly elected and accountable mayor should be granted the pow- The economy has been steadily slowing down since profits and that impacts investment decisions. Slow joined these ranks (Subramanian Swamy and
er to raise revenue that can be spent on infrastructure that ensures tragedies like 2014. This was well known to all except those in gov- growth in consumption dampens expectations. Yashwant Sinha). Surely, this is a wake up call for the
ernment who preferred to remain in denial. Two suc- Animal spirits are all but dead. Interest rates keep cap- government to look beyond a mere stimulus package.
Elphinstone Road are not repeated. cessive shocks have knocked the stuffing out of any ital servicing costs high, laying the basis of new non-
hope of an early recovery. And, the lagged effects of performing assets (NPAs). The writer is former chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority
these shocks will reverberate into the next few quarters. Government expenditure has been propping up of India

Partition, blow by blow hostility between the Congress and the


Muslim League intensified with the short
experiment of interim government of
1946, during which Jawaharlal Nehru
Mountbatten concluded that the process
needed to be accelerated. Power “should
be transferred as soon as possible there-
after, so not in June 1948 as everyone has
On these events, the author’s conclu-
sion is “it was not the rush that caused the
slaughter; rather it was an inability of all
the key players to foresee it. Nehru,
Kashmir began with the Maharaja’s reluc-
tance to sign the Instrument of Accession
because he had dreams of independence
for himself. It was only when so-called
about India, shows that Viceroy was convinced that it was impossible to thought, nor in January 1948, not even in Jinnah, Mountbatten… all failed India freelance raiders from Pakistan, known as
Archibald Wavell was at odds with both work with the Muslim League. The prob- the autumn of 1947 but in two and a half and those who were on a ‘civilising’ mis- Lashkar, attacked Kashmir that the
the prime ministers he served, Winston lem was becoming “intractable,” Mr months’ time, on 15 August”. sion in India were part of the problem.” Maharaja reluctantly signed the
Churchill and Clement Attlee, on the White-Spunner writes. In the chapter on The die was cast but all the intricate Nehru and Jinnah had to deal with Instrument of Accession to India on
process by which India could be granted April, he says “it was Congress that insist- details for the establishment of the two the huge problem of migration of October 26, after which India sent its
BOOK REVIEW Independence. The discussions took
place just as “…the machinery of the Raj
ed on Partition” whereas Muhammad Ali
Jinnah’s line was “increasingly to push
Dominions of India and Pakistan as
members of the British Commonwealth
“refugees” — Hindus from Pakistan and
Muslims from India. Against the back-
army to deal with Lashkar invaders.
While the war was being fought in the
C P BHAMBHRI was falling apart,” according to Wavell. for a separate Partition… in the hope that was done in a tearing hurry. A Boundary ground of mass killings of migrating pop- Kashmir, Mountbatten suggested that a
And “it had only ever been at best skin the reality of this might bring Congress to Commission for Punjab and Bengal was ulations, Liaquat Ali met Nehru to nego- “plebiscite should be organised under the
Barney White-Spunner’s study on deep, … to maintain law and order when compromise”. created under Sir Cyril Radcliffe, and the tiate for the safe transit of refugees. The aegis of the United Nations”. Jinnah
Partition may not satisfy professional his- not challenged,” he added. Mountbatten, who had to deal with the Partition Council had to deal with issues tragic fact, however, was that neither insisted that both sides had to withdraw,
torians or other scholars of modern The author agrees with Wavell, a for- situation as it was developing in 1947, came of paramountcy and princely states. On dominion had the capability to arrange without which the scope for any political
Indian history because he presents this mer army commander, that the time had to two conclusions: “First… that India was August 16, Radcliffe presented the find- for an orderly transfer of populations. solution was not in sight.
seminal tragedy from the viewpoint of his come for the British to withdraw because nearer to a complete breakdown of law and ings of the Boundary Commission in Widespread bloodshed was the The soldier-author’s conclusion about
army background. He has chosen a their capability to hold on to India and order than his masters in London appreci- three separate reports with maps; he left inevitable result. Britain’s chaotic exit from in India cap-
month-by-month narrative of the events rule had disappeared. Instead of Wavell ated. And second, …there was tension India on August 18. The accession of the princely states tured the tragedy best: “We had stayed
of 1947 (from January to December) set overseeing the process, Attlee appointed everywhere. There was no knowing when Predictions that the creation of two was another element of Britain’s contro- too long — just as we were doing in
against the backdrop of 90 years of Indian as Viceroy of India Louis Mountbatten, a new outbreak might start.” separate dominions on August 15, 1947, versial exit from India, and, as with Basrah” [in Iraq].
history beginning with 1857 Revolt, the who took the oath on March 24, 1947 with Mountbatten’s decisions, thus, were condi- would settle the problem of India proved Partition, the consequences of that histo-
turmoil that haunted the sense of securi- the agenda of organising British with- tioned in the context of the escalating dead wrong. August 31, the author ry remain with us today in the shape of
ty among British rulers ever after. The drawal from its colony. Hindu-Muslim tensions and the inability emphasises, was the “blackest day” in Kashmir. Chapter 11 (covering November)
PARTITION
The Story of Indian Independence and
author’s contention is that the events that The breakdown of law and order was of the British security apparatus to control the history of the two countries. “From provides an informative account of the
led to Partition and its bloody aftermath also the product of the emergence of a them. In the three chapters dealing with all North, South, East and West came way the rulers of Junagadh, Hyderabad the Creation of Partition in 1947
sprang from this innate insecurity. more energetic nationalism after the the major events and negotiations between reports of attacks arson and abduction,” and Kashmir created difficulties for the Barney White-Spunner
The story of January 1947, the first Jallianwalla Bagh tragedy of 1919, even as the three major participants – the British, he writes in Chapter 9 aptly titled “A new dominions. As is now well-estab- Simon & Schuster
month of a crucial year for decisions communal tensions escalated. Growing the Congress and the Muslim League – Heap of Ashes”. lished, the real source of trouble for 432 pages; ~699
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0
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tuesday, october 3, 2017


The road ahead for Angela Merkel
The federal poll results in which far-right AfD has bettered numbers present the German Chancellor with complex challenges
Fixing infrastructure gaps
where they gained the second of the Bundestag is seen as enabling
Forward planning and timely execution of largest share of the vote (they held a partnership with the FDP (which
fourth position in the West and could take the coveted finance posi-
projects are key to preventing Elphinstone Road- were the third largest party in the tion), and a potential step in the
like tragedies country more widely). For the first formation of the Jamaica coalition.
time in recent decades, a far-right Tensions remain though: the FDP,

T
he stampede at Mumbai’s Elphinstone party will gain seats in Germany's which is particularly cautious
VIDYA RAM
federal parliament, the Bundestag, about elements of the European
Road suburban station foot over-bridge
as the party’s 13 per cent share of the project, and fears it could become a
that claimed 23 lives would never have EUROSCOPE vote well exceeded the 5 per cent “transfer union” with Germany car-
happened if the interest of passengers threshold needed to get it there. rying the lion share of the financial

D
had been a key priority for the Railways. The risk of isentangling the German The party is expected to be hold burden.
such a tragedy occurring, particularly on the 45- federal election of around 19 seats, though thanks to Ho, however, believes that the
September 24 is a com- the SPD’s decision to stay out of gov- shape of the next government is
year-old foot over-bridge, was well known to both plex task, aimed at a mov- ernment, it won’t be the ocial op- likely to emerge by end October, or
the Railways as well as commuters. To be fair, the ing target. Not only did the poll — position party. early November, following local
Railways had recognised, albeit belatedly, that it which saw levels of voter engage- The threat posed by the right in elections in Lower Saxony. “There is
needed to address the inadequacy of the infra- ment not seen since the 2005 elec- Germany has been clear for a while a will on all sides to make this pos-
tion that first brought Chancellor now, as the AfD fed o domestic sible and that the ideological barri-
structure. Construction of a new bridge had been Angela Merkel to power — involve concerns about Merkel’s refugee ers that would have stood in the
cleared by former railway minister Suresh Prabhu sizeable and larger than expected policy, which enabled hundreds of No longer the poster girl? Merkel’s struggles with popularity REUTERS way a decade ago have disappeared
about two years ago, but ironically tenders for its gains for the right, the shape of the thousands to enter the country, in a with the alignment towards the
construction were floated only on the day of the next government is yet to emerge. move that won her plaudits from The election marked a revival of the tion in particularly will come from centre,” he says.
The centre-left SPD, headed by across the world but divided the na- FDP’s fortunes after losing all its the Bavaria based CSU, which has Concerns about the impact that
tragedy. The blame for the tragedy must squarely
Martin Schulz, whose ascent in the tion. An increasingly emboldened seats in 2013. “Centrist parties lost faced particular pressure from the the AfD could have has been
lie with the Railways bureaucracy. The tragedy has early part of this year was swiftly AfD paid little heed to history that because they refused to oer a clear AfD and faces regional elections tempered by a number of recent de-
served as a wake-up call for the Railways and the eroded, saw its share of the vote fall had once made far-right rhetoric a alternative to Merkel’s open doors next year. Yet, the government has velopments, including the dra-
new railway minister Piyush Goyal has acted with to a historic low of 20.5 per cent, no-go area, adopting a strongly Is- policy. The two winners, the pro- already toughened its approach to matic resignation of its leader
urgency to announce a host of new infrastructure and it has declined to be part of the lamophobic and anti-immigrant business FDP and far right AfD, in immigration over the past year, Frauke Petry, which highlighted the
Grand Coalition it had been part of stance, with one even criticising a contrast, had visibly distanced while FT data has suggested that divisions within the party. By enter-
projects that will make passenger movement at for the past eight years, leaving the memorial to the Holocaust and in- themselves from the centrist migra- high levels of support for the AfD ing parliament those tensions are
Mumbai’s suburban stations easier. The an- so-called Jamaica Coalition — in- sisting the country needed to stop tion consensus,” wrote Teneo Intel- aren’t necessarily linked to actual likely to become more apparent as
nouncements including 92 escalators and several volving Merkel’s CDU, the sister CSU feeling the need to atone for the ligence’s Carsten Nickel in a brief- levels of immigration but more by they are forced to draw a clear line
foot over-bridges are welcome and the minister and the liberal democrat FDP and past. ing following the election. the narrative the AfD has managed on their willingness to comply with
Greens as the most likely answer to Yet, the extent to which the anti- to create, feeding into existing an- constitutional principles, says Ho.
should ensure that these projects are not delayed government. Heated negotiations immigration message drove voters Merkel’s concerns ger particularly in the East of being “The win of the AfD is so big it may
or the quality of work compromised. But a city continue, with dier- to the AfD remains un- The AfD’s success presents a major left behind. work to their disadvantage. There
like Mumbai where over 7.5 million passengers ences remaining on is- clear, says Henning Ho, challenge to the government, tap- The same figures showed that will be around 19 people (in the
use the suburban services everyday, needs much sues such as immigra- editor of the Berlin Policy ping into a feeling more widely of some of the gains made by the AfD Bundestag) to keep together which
tion, the European Journal. “The surge of the being left behind, that caught on, came from those who had previ- may be dicult as they range from
more than these escalators and overbridges. It
project and environ- right was in part a particularly, in the East. It is notable ously voted for Die Linke, the social- disgruntled Conservatives to out-
needs a modern mass rapid transit system. mental policy. Fears that protest vote — and the that of all the parties, the AfD was ist party that traces its origins to the right neo-Nazis,” he says.
It also needs a modern approach to trac man- one of Europe’s more protest voters did so in the one that received the largest former ruling party of East Ger- Schauble, as speaker, is also being
agement. Adequate entry and exit points to facilit- stable nations could no the absolute certainty share of previous non-voters, fol- many. It is 28 years since the fall of seen as key to keeping the AfD in
ate crowd movement as well as crowd manage- longer be relied upon to that Merkel did win any- lowed by the FDP, according to the Berlin wall and reunification check. There’s little doubt that the
be that force that led to a way,” he said, adding graphics put together by the Finan- but it is clear that much remains to results present Merkel with a com-
ment need to be a priority. The Delhi Metro does a weakening of the euro. that the FDP, which gained more cial Times. be done. plex challenge as she begins her
reasonably good job with marshals and Central voters from the CDU/CSU than the Part of the challenge for Merkel fourth and final term as chancellor.
Industrial Security Force guards on the platforms The threat of the right AfD did, was also part of this shift, going forward will be addressing Shape of things Whether she continues her focus
and concourse and by restricting access to the sta- It would be wrong to underestim- which had taken place. Protest vot- the issues raised by this, while at Where things go from now? The de- beyond the borders of Germany,
ate the significance of the gains by ing in Germany while well estab- the same time working with the cision by finance minister and on solidifying the European
tion if required. The Delhi Metro has the advant- the right wing AfD, which were par- lished had to date been largely con- Greens and the FDP. The pressure Wolfgang Schauble to exit the gov- project, will become clear in the
age of being a modern infrastructure unlike the ticularly strong in East Germany, fined to regional elections, he said. for tougher policies on immigra- ernment and become the speaker weeks and months ahead.
Mumbai suburban service which dates back to the
colonial era. The long-term solution to crowding
is to augment facilities at regular intervals and
build in redundancy into all new projects to
handle growth. For urban and suburban mass
transit projects, it is also necessary to have in-
creased and ongoing coordination between dif-
Tough balancing act for the MPC
ferent agencies to plan and augment infrastruc- Weakening fundamentals may warrant a rate cut, but the monetary policy panel might take a pause to maintain credibility
ture. For instance, the Mumbai suburban service
cannot be just a Railway project —the municipal UPASNA BHARDWAJ a gradual pace. Additionally, there ing. Teething issues with GST imple-
are early signs of a comeback of the mentation (like delays in tax credits

E
corporations and town planners need to be
ven as the Monetary Policy reflation trades, with inflation and tax filing along with technolo-
closely associated with it to develop the areas Committee (MPC) of the prints across major economies sur- gical issues) is clouding tax collec-
around the stations and prevent choking by RBI is completing a year prising on the upside lately, along tions. Lower surplus transfer by the
people and road transport. Above all, there has to since its inception, collect- with DM growth firming up further RBI to the tune of around ₹300 bil-
be a razor-sharp focus on execution. ive decision making is expected to providing a fillip to the emerging lion has further increased the risks
turn more challenging given the markets export-led growth. Rupee of revenue slippages. With tax rev-
It will not be out of place to suggest that cit-
precarious macroeconomic envir- has consequently depreciated by enues likely to be lower than
izens’ participation is also required to keep transit onment. Until the previous meet- 2.5 per cent since the last policy. budgeted, unless non-tax receipts
systems tragedy-free. And that should not be lim- ing, we had Michael Patra, Execut- surprise, expenditure will need to
ited to just demanding improved amenities such ive Director, RBI, on the one Growth, inflation be pruned to maintain the fiscal de-
as escalators and lifts to enable faster movement extreme, who was stressing on the Meanwhile domestically, India is ficit target.
need to focus on the upward traject- stuck in the low-growth and near- Red alert The central bank must send the right signals REUTERS In sum, the MPC has a tough task
from one platform to another in train stations ory of inflation going forward, and target inflation phase. Clearly, the of maintaining credibility even as it
and make stations and trains more accessible for IIM-A’s Ravindra Dholakia, on the lagged impact of demonetisation vestment, higher imports, not-so- wards 4.7 per cent by March 2018. sees significant risks to growth.
the dierently-abled. Citizens should also be other, restating the need to boost on few sectors along with the un- encouraging monsoon outcome Core inflation is getting weighed by MPC may take a pause in the up-
aware that their behaviour can avert or trigger a growth through sharp rate cuts certainties associated with GST im- and the twin balance sheet prob- the impact of higher GST rates on coming policy meeting even as
when inflation remains fairly un- plementation has had a longer im- lems are likely to continue to be a few service segments even as the there may seem a compelling case
tragedy. der control. pact on growth than earlier drag on growth. underlying demand-side pressures for a rate cut. With most firms oper-
Over the last two months, both anticipated. Until the previous Even as growth remains anaemic, remain muted. Further, higher ating below capacity, lower rates
the global and local environment policy, the RBI expected the grwoth the RBI’s mandate remains infla- commodity prices are expected to alone may not move the needle
have shifted gears significantly and in GVA (gross value added, or the tion targeting. The Consumer Price begin to pass through the Whole- much unless the magnitude is
hence it will be interesting to watch value of all goods and services pro- Index (CPI) inflation is on an expec- sale Price Index (WPI) to CPI route large. Given the expected uptrend
OTHER VOICES the reaction of MPC members.
Globally, oil prices are up ~10 per
duced) to be 7.3 per cent in FY18.
While we were already quite cau-
ted upward path as adverse base ef-
fect, mean reversion of food prices
with a lag. in inflation a large cut is unlikely.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting
cent and domestic fuel prices have tious on growth (expecting FY18 and impacts of the the seventh Fiscal woes to see how the MPC members (espe-
also increased by ~8-10 per cent. The GVA at 6.8 per cent), the Q1FY18 GVA Central Pay Commission seep in. Against this perilous environment, cially the two extreme members)
Fed fund futures are indicating >70 at 5.6 per cent came in lower than The RBI expects inflation in the a likely fiscal slippage can further respond given the tug-o-war
Actually, a health care deal is possible per cent chance of another rate expectations. Hence, the RBI is ex- second half of FY18 to range complicate matters. Notably, the between the macro variables.
The Republican leadership seems to have thrown in the towel hike by the US central bank as pected to revise down the GVA es- between 3.5-4.5 per cent, as against fiscal deficit until August has
on repealing the Aordable Care Act, at least for now. That’s against <30 per cent in early Au- timates considerably. While some the range of 1.5-3.5 per cent seen in already hit 96.1 per cent of the The writer is a senior economist with
one piece of good news. Here’s another: Two senators of gust. Also, balance sheet contrac- data indicate stability over the last most part of 1H-FY18. budgeted numbers as the Govern- Kotak Mahindra Bank. The views are
dierent parties have resumed negotiations that oer a more tion by the Fed is underway albeit at month, the absence of private in- Retail inflation will be inching to- ment has frontloaded the spend- personal
productive path, one that could preserve the best of
Obamacare while oering adjustments that both parties can
accept. The talks between Lamar Alexander, a Republican from
Tennessee, and Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington,
might not succeed, of course. NEW YORK OCTOBER 2, 2017
LET TERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

Ring in opportunities can be nurtured only by providing Hindi. Software companies have ated for taxpayers and the general ing it in good shape. The RBI chief
This refers to the editorial ‘Making incentives in the form of tax holi- gained substantially out of the public. too is no exception. In this context,
Monetary policy in Pakistan the right calls’ (October 2). India’s days to local manufactures as was compulsion to upgrade the soft- NJ Ravi Chander it has to be taken into account that
telecom sector witnessed phe- given to the software industry. ware and statutory requirements Bengaluru the rate syndrome is a deciding
The latest monetary policy statement from the State Bank nomenal growth in the past two Philip Sabu like Basel norms. It will be prudent factor and the festivals, one just
underlines the areas of dynamism in the economy, while decades. The industry has shown a Mannuthy, Kerala not to burden the banks with addi- Improve infra passed and a very important one
simultaneously pointing to the growing weakness on the compound annual grow rate of tional burden when they are strug- Suggestions to improve suburban coming by the month-end, have
external sector as a source of concern. It describes the 19.6 per cent during 2007-17 and is Language blues gling to hold their bottom line. services in Mumbai are welcome their powerful impact on the com-
macroeconomic environment as “conducive to growth”... But
projected to reach a revenue of The statement of the ocial lan- S Veeraraghavan (‘Stampede in Mumbai’, October mercial market.
alongside this expansion in the real sector, the challenges to Madurai
₹6.6 trillion by 2020. Rural tele- guage department that core bank- 2). Also, for better control, ac- A few days from now, purchases
its sustainability are also rising. It is a matter of time before we
phone demand increased 30 per ing software of banks should be in countability and ease of adminis- of all sorts of goods will keep the
discover which of these two will define the future trajectory of
cent over the past five years. Hindi and local languages is a big Give relief tration, the Mumbai suburban sys- markets busy with money flowing
Pakistan’s economy. KARACHI, OCTOBER 1, 2017
That said, we are reportedly im- challenge to banks, which are Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hint- tem should be handed over to a into it and away from the pockets
porting as much as 90 per cent of already struggling to update soft- ing that there was scope for lesser separate corporation so the needs of citizens. Though in a way it cre-
the telecom equipment from ware solutions. Starting from com- slabs under GST once there is an of millions of commuters could be ates good economic activity, it
China, Finland, Sweden and the US puterising standalone computers upturn in the economy is reassur- met at the earliest. Or the sub- does cause problems to people es-
piggy backing low or no import under ALPM (advanced ledger ing. Though the indirect tax bur- urban system could be handed pecially to those with little or no
Sun’s disciplinary case sounds alarm bell for Party tari. We have miserably failed to posting machines), banks mi- den is borne by all sections of the over to private hands, which means to enter markets. The RBI
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China develop a local manufacturing grated to TBA (total branch auto- society, high tax rates have created would hopefully help improve the has to keep in mind these facts
made a decision on Friday to expel Sun Zhengcai, former hub for telecom equipment on ac- mation) and then to CBS (core a gaping hole in people’s pockets, service to commuters. when considering the shape of the
Chongqing Party chief, from the Party, dismiss him from count of policy paralysis and inac- banking solution). particularly impacting those be- V Subramanian monetary policy to be unveiled in
tion. The common software language longing to the financially weaker Chennai a few days. It is also an occasion
public oce and transfer the case involving his suspected
crimes to the judiciary. The timely discovery of and thorough The recent consultation paper used was English, aiming to make section. quite suitable for taking stock of
investigation into Sun’s “serious discipline violations” before of TRAI is an attempt to reverse the Indian banks attain global stand- The Government would also do Money matters various sides of the economy and
the 19th National Congress of the CPC, scheduled to open on situation and make India a global ards. With banks in India spread well to bring down not just the The conundrum of the slowdown responses caused by them.
Oct 18, fully demonstrates the resolute will and unambiguous hub for the manufacture telecom across linguistic areas, it will be number of slabs but also the tax of the economy is causing intense TR Anandan
attitude of the CPC Central Committee. BEIJING, OCTOBER 2, 2017 equipment. Local manufacturing dicult to transact business in rates and make life less complic- worry to all concerned with keep- Coimbatore

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TUESDAY • OCTOBER 3 • 2017 THINK 9

Out of fire power?


Make in India has been a dud in defence sector
A four-point agenda for farm revival
AK SACHDEV final policy was announced on To make agriculture a viable business, the Government must focus on enablers rather than handouts. Here’s a roadmap
May 31 this year, but some loose

P
M Modi’s pet project ends still remain to be tied up. Cla- RAKESH BHARTI MITTAL Aayog in the Model Land Leasing
‘Make In India’ tottered rifications are expected soon espe- Act — no change in ownership and

P
into its third birthday a cially on the clause which says rivate sector is yet to har- no tenancy rights, land reverts
few days ago but there that “only one SP would generally ness the business poten- back upon expiry of lease.
wasn’t much to celebrate. be selected” in each of the four tial of agriculture and al- Long-term leasing can facilitate
Launched with much ado just four segments declared so far. lied sectors in India. The the entry of the private sector into
months after Modi took over as dilemma arises in the absence of agriculture to infuse much
the PM, it was projected as both a Tech transfer, a must enough policy enablers to ensure needed energy in the form of crop
nationalistic slogan and an eco- Private companies are raring to private participation despite the diversification, introduction of
nomic vision for the nation. How- have a go at juicy contracts in col- promising potential. Land frag- high-value crops, increased mech-
ever, three years down the lane, laboration with foreign Original mentation has resulted in poor anisation and introduction of
results are lacklustre and most Equipment Manufacturers yields and productivity, making new farming techniques and
predictions about economic re- (OEMs); the benefits for Indian en- the sector unviable for small farm- technologies.
vival, burgeoning employment tities of learning from their for- ers. Solving this crisis and reform- These partnerships may not
opportunities and increased eign partners will include work ing the sector will involve re-or- just impact productivity but have
share of manufacturing in GDP re- cultures, management tech- ganisation of key factors of farm a substantial influence on farmer
main unconsummated. niques and profit orientation but production — land, labour, capital income as well. Industry also
In February 2015, Modi took it most of all the tangible benefit and technology. stands to gain by getting access to
upon himself to drum up support would be transfer of technology. What makes such a compre- assured supply of commodities
for ‘Make In India’ in the defence As far as defence aerospace in- hensive relook at agriculture im- for their processing and market-
production domain (one of the 25 dustry is concerned, Hindustan perative is the fact that 49 per cent ing operations.
components of the programme) Aeronautics (HAL) has largely of the national workforce and 64 Also, private sector involve-
by inaugurating the Aero Show in been content with license produc- per cent of the rural work force ment can also result in sustained
Bangalore (this was tion of foreign air- still depend on the sector for a liv- investment in post-harvest man- Fertile opportunities Let’s put them to good use RITU RAJ KONWAR
only the second time craft and transfer of ing, even though the share of the agement and processing, which
that a PM had graced technology has not sector in the overall GDP has can create incremental employ- ing techniques, which will result tion of e-NAM across States and works in favour of farmers.
the show, a meeting been high on its pri- shrunk massively from around 45 ment opportunities in the coun- in higher incomes. bringing perishables under e- Ace 4: Agri startups: There is a
point for defence ority list. Even the per cent in the 1950s to about 16 tryside to take care of the ‘hidden Ace 2: Linking farmers to trading will help better price dis- need to introduce modern entre-
and aerospace indus- Rafale deal involves per cent today. unemployment’ in rural areas. markets: The other big reform covery for farmers. There is a need preneurship to Indian agricul-
tries). no transfer of tech- Another case in point for land that can potentially impact to mechanise and create ‘Agro ture. Promoting agricultural ser-
His speech was an nology while all the What needs to be done aggregation is a study under- farmer income substantially is Clusters’ in key production zones vices under the Start-up India
enticement to Indian oers (F-16/ F-18, Grip- The way forward can be carved on taken by CII on forming a pool of linking farmers to marketplace. to ensure aggregation of produce. Scheme will help bring modern
and international en- pen) of setting up what I call the ‘Four Aces of Agri- farmers to aggregate land. Such The long chain of intermediaries Ace 3: Improving supply technology and inputs to farmers.
tities to ‘Make In India’ and held aircraft manufacturing lines in In- cultural Reform’. Let’s take a look land (say 100-250 acres) can be between the farm gate and the fi- chain and processing capacit- To conclude, the Government’s
out much promise of ease of busi- dia are also very unambiguous at them. leased to the private sector, which nal consumer have for long been ies: Massive post-harvest losses intent is progressive when it talks
ness, dwindling red-tapism and about not sharing leading edge Ace: 1-Long-term leasing laws: will give the lease rental to farmer impacting farmer income negat- due to lack of adequate cold chain about programmes such as ‘More
manufacturer-friendly regula- technology; hard negotiation lies The primary challenge is low pro- at current rates, which is ₹40,000 ively. There is a need to de-list and storage infrastructure and Crop per Drop’, ‘Pradhan Mantra
tions. The sense of urgency that In- ahead for Indian entities. ductivity due tofragmented land per acre (assuming two acres per fruits, vegetables and other per- processing capacity impact Fasal Bima Yojna’, ‘Direct benefit
dia’s state of defence prepared- It is impossible for India to be- holdings. Today, about 85 per cent farmer, total lease rental is ishables like fisheries from the farmer income adversely. transfer to farmers. Yet, to double
ness vis a vis its two antagonistic come a major power unless it is a of all land holdings belong to ₹80,000 a year per farmer). ambit of APMC. Giving farmers The private sector must be al- farmers’ income, we will have to
neighbours mandates appears to major industrial power first; lead- small and marginal farm categor- The same farmers will be em- the freedom to sell directly to re- lowed to procure, store and dis- make agriculture a viable busi-
be missing. ing edge capabilities in aerospace ies of less than 2 hectares. This has ployed on their land at minimum tailers, food processing compan- tribute grains, can start with the ness opportunity and govern-
In February 2016, the much- and defence production are essen- hindered infusion of technology wages ₹8,500 per month per per- ies and aggregators is critical. Public Distribution System. This ments should focus more on ena-
awaited Defence Procurement tial and that is the thrust that (use of hybrid varieties and farm- son (assuming two members be- Small farmers often find it di- will bring down the cost for the blers rather than hand-outs and
Procedure 2016 (DPP 2016) was un- ‘Make In India’ needs to provide to ing techniques) and discouraged ing employed per family, the total cult to access markets on their Government by 25 per cent and retrospective incentives.
veiled at the Defexpo 2016 in Goa, India’s defence production capab- capital investment (in irrigation income will be over ₹2 lakh a year own. Aggregating farmers into result in storage capacities being These four Aces will help to
but it was evident that the Govern- ilities. Technology transfer is thus and mechanisation). per farmer.) Farmer Producer Organizations set up in consuming States. serve as policy enablers for the
ment had been under pressure to the key to success for ‘Make In In- The only way to overcome this Currently, farmers earn (FPOs) will not just help overcome In the case of perishables, in- government to augment its
meet that deadline because the dia’ for defence and partnerships challenge is by facilitating a legal ₹1,80,000 to ₹2,00,000 from two the small holder issue but enable creased processing capacity can dream into a reality so that the In-
all-important chapter on Strategic would have to be located so as to framework to consolidate these acres of farmland. The proposed improved market access and bet- ensure price stability and protect dian agriculture sector contrib-
Partnership (with private entities) maximise technology transfer — a holdings in to larger operational income will be ₹2,84,000 per ter bargaining capacity for them. farmer interests. Introduction of ute optimally to the economic
was conspicuous by its absence. motivation that would militate units through “long term leasing farmer. That’s an increase of over To protect the farmers from the new technologies can help in ex- growth of the country and even-
After inordinately long procras- with the Indian private industry’s of farmland without alienating 40 per cent in income, which is vagaries of distress sale in times of tending the shelf life of fruits and tually the well-being and prosper-
tination (which involved discus- profit orientation. the land ownership — as has been without any interest burden or bumper harvests, commodity op- vegetables. 100-per cent FDI in ity of the farming community.
sions with private entities who introduced by Rajasthan, Hary- risk of a failed crop. Additionally, tions in agricultural products food retailing including e-com-
had some serious disagreements The writer is a former IDSA senior ana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. thousands of farmers in one area could be introduced. This will merce, introduced last year, will The writer is Vice-Chairman, Bharti
with the Government vision of the research fellow and a retired IAF This policy reform can be a game can become partners, grow high- make visible post-harvest prices at help strengthen investment in Enterprises and president-designate,
Strategic Partnership model), the officer changer as also suggested by Niti value crops, use innovative farm- the time of planting. Implementa- front-end retail, which ultimately CII

BusinessLine
All you wanted to know about... TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY
october 3, 1997
economy through a package of good, demand and growth. growth promptly slumped.
B Prime Minister Modi will measures. A monetary stimulus Today, as the Centre debates Insat-2D runs into snag, switched off
lay the foundation for an will see the central bank expand- Why is it important? whether or not to launch a stimu- Insat-2D, India’s most advanced communications satellite,
AIIMS hospital at Bilaspur in ing money supply or reducing Stimulus was a bad word in policy lus, the trade-o is very similar. has been switched o indefinitely after the satellite lost its
Himachal Pradesh. Modi is the cost of money (interest rates), circles a decade ago. But it ac- Yes, a spending spree on aord- earth lock following a major on-board . power failure, the
also likely to formally to spur consumer spending. A quired respectability after the US able housing or tax cuts on petrol, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said here today.
inaugurate the IIM at Dhaula fiscal stimulus entails the Govern- credit crisis of 2008 saw govern- if generous enough, may rev up The satellite, launched on June 4 by a French Ariane-4
Kuan in Sirmaur and lay the ment spending more from its ments across the US, Europe, Ja- investments and spending. But it rocket, lost its earth lock leading to the halting of normal
foundation for permanent AARATI KRISHNAN own coers or slashing tax rates pan and China rolling out large may cost the Centre its hard-won functioning of the on-board transponders, an ISRO release
campuses of the Central to put more money in the hands fiscal stimulus packages. There’s control over the fiscal deficit, said. A power bus anomaly was noticed at 10 p.m. on
University of Himachal SLATE of consumers. debate on whether those stimu- pegged at 3.2 per cent this year. Wednesday, forcing scientists at the Master Control Facility
Pradesh in Dharamshala and Proponents of fiscal stimulus lus packages actually worked. But This may attract the ire of rat- (MCF) in Hassan, from where the satellite is being

W
Dehra via video. The State ith the Central Statistics Of- usually cite the legendary John the Indian one certainly did. ing agencies and put o foreign controlled, to send switch-o commands to the satellite.
goes to polls later this year. fice’s recent release show- Maynard Keynes to support India’s fiscal stimulus pack- investors. There’s also the ques- NSE suspends trading today
ing India’s GDP growth in the their arguments. Keynes ar- age in 2008-09 included a tion of whether the economy will The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has suspended trading
B BJP president Amit Shah April-July quarter slumping to 5.7 gued that even small direct blanket 4 percentage point take o on its own once the stim- in the equity segment on Friday due to complications in
will launch a per cent, a wave of despondency interventions by the Govern- cut in the excise duty rates, ulus wears o. the functioning of the Insat-2D. However, the trading in the
15-day has swept ex-finance ministers, ment to prop up demand, can ₹20,000 crore in plan debt segment would continue as usual as it is not yet
statewide op-ed writers and social media have a disproportionately spending by the Govern- Why should I care? shifted to the Insat-2D, a press release said. According to an
“padayatra” commentators. Some of them high impact on economic ment, ₹10,000 crore fund- Tax cuts on fuel or wider income NSE release, the Insat-2D had lost the communication link
from have demanded that the Centre growth due to the multiplier ef- ing for infrastructure finance, tax slabs will put more money in to the command centre at Hassan due to which the NSE
Payyannur immediately unleash a fiscal fect. When demand in an eco- export subsidies and a large gov- your pocket. But then, to make its VSATs would not be in a position to establish connection
in Kannur stimulus to boost the economy. nomy stays weak for long, busi- ernment order for new buses to budget numbers add up, the Gov- with the trading system. Meanwhile, the NSE has started
district of Kerala to expose the Many speculate that the Centre nesses stop investing in new replace State public transport ernment may recoup tax reven- working on connecting the VSATs to Insat 2A on Monday to
is considering a ₹40,000-crore projects, unemployment rises, in- fleets. All this, on top of pay revi- ues through other means; ulti- ensure smooth trading if the services on Insat-2D are not
ruling CPI(M)’s “red
stimulus and an argument is on come shrinks and consumer con- sions for government employees, mately pinching your pocket. restored.
terrorism” and “political
fascism” in the State. about how it should splurge this fidence wanes. This prompts con- did prove hugely successful at Hobson’s choice for Paswan
mythical sum. Should it take duty sumers to retreat further into revving up the economy. The bottomline The Railway Minister, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, is understood
cuts on petrol or build aordable their shells. But if the Govern- GDP growth revived from 6.7 For taxpayers, it’s a ‘heads I win, to have been given virtually no option but to raise the fare
B RJD leader Lalu Prasad is set
homes? Recapitalise banks or ment can step in with a fiscal per cent in FY09 to 8.6 per cent in tails you lose’ situation. Unless of and freight rates to meet the extra Rs. 2,800-crore wage
to appear for questioning burden. At the end of a crucial meeting between the Prime
lend cheap to MSMEs? stimulus, to deliver a small ster- FY10 and to 8.9 per cent in FY11. course, the stimulus really boosts
before the CBI in connection Minister, Mr. I.K. Gujral, Mr. Paswan, and the Finance
oid shot to consumer spending, it But the fiscal deficit for FY09 rose the economy.
with a corruption case. The Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, the Railway Ministry was
What is it? revives business confidence, re- to nearly 8 per cent of GDP, from
case pertains to allegations asked to undertake its own additional resource
A ‘stimulus’ is an attempt by poli- starts projects, creates jobs and the projected 2.5 per cent. When A weekly column that puts the fun
that Prasad, as railway mobilisation exercise to finance the extra burden.
cymakers to kickstart a sluggish sets o a virtuous cycle of feel- the stimulus was rolled back into learning
minister, handed over the
maintenance of two hotels
run by IRCTC in Ranchi and
Puri to Sujata Hotel in return
for a prime plot of three acres
in Patna through a benami easy bl two-way crossword 950 not so easy
company.
ACROSS DOWN ACROSS DOWN
01. Arrogant (5) 01. Abnormal, supernatural (13) 01. Has too much self-esteem to be 01. It’s not normal to return ale,
B Motorola is likely to launch
04. Fork out the cash (5,2) 02. To arrange, establish (6) standing out from the surface part being mixed (13)
its much
08. Signing the back (9) 03. Lost light (8) (5) 02. Arrange to turn radio on,
anticipated
09. Right of holding a local court 04. The capuchin monkey (3) 04. Fork out to get remainder of nothing less (6)
X series
(3) 05. An impulse (4) tree out: of the ground (5,2) 03. The end Drake turned to as it
handset the
Moto X4 10. Exalted, distinguished (7) 06. One mailing a letter (6) 08. Giving one’s sanction to grew less light (8)
today. The 12. A fop, dandy (4) 07. Grand name for a cinema singer, nod to it (9) 04. A capuchin monkey is a
phone was 14. As if possessed by a demon (7) (7,6) 09. It was a legal right to make variety of it (3)
first showcased at an event in 17. Look out for business 11. Leather string (5) society short (3) 05. Counsel one out of your
IFA, Berlin, earlier this year. obtrusively (4) 13. Peak, topmost point (8) 10. Met nine moving around who generosity (4)
The water-resistant, dual 18. Venetian canal boat (7) 15. Head-cloth (6) were distinguished (7) 06. Advertising bill, four to a bed
camera Android phone comes 20. Apply friction (3) 16. Masonry at top of wall (6) 12. He made a dandy lover (4) (6)
pre-loaded with Amazon’s 21. Fine china-ware (4,5) 19. Flows back, declines (4) 14. Do mince about when 07. See in pier a place cut out for
voice assistant Alexa. 23. Gets into file (5,2) 22. To pinch (3) possessed by an evil spirit (7) old cinema (7,6)
24. Bird of prey (5) 17. He’ll try to sell one tickets for 11. Attachment of sandal found in
B Pro-independence groups everything in France (4) a monolith on Golgotha (5)
and trade unions in Spain’s 18. Canal craft will do, along with 13. In a small boat fifty get to the
Catalonia have called for a the change (7) highest point (8)
SOLUTION: BL Two-way Crossword 949
general strike. Catalonia’s 20. Friction will almost burn 15. Has burnt a form of the pagri
economic output is worth Across 2. Medic 5. Yoke 7. Smew 8. Amnesiac 9. Wreckage when it: returns (3) (6)
around a fifth of Spain’s total 11. Shed 12. Dermatologist 15. Blot 17. Numerate 19. Overhang 21. Like porcelain on bin each can 16. Is successfully dealing with the
GDP and the region has an 21. Head 22. Drag 23. Entry turn around (4,5) top masonry on the wall (6)
economy around the size of Clues Down 1. Remorse 2. Mow 3. Drama 4. Conceal 5. Yes 23. Makes a stand as one forms a 19. Gives her baby’s alternates as
that of Chile. Spanish PM 6. Knave 10. Comet 11. Sugar 13. Tonnage 14. Situate 16. Lover queue (5,2) the tide goes out (4)
18. Might 20. Rag 21. Hay

https://t.me/yk_info
Mariano Rajoy faces the 24. A military standard was once 22. A pinch of cold may make one
country’s biggest worth ten dollars (5) move fast (3)
constitutional crisis in
decades.
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12 hindustantimes HINDUSTAN T IMES, NEW DELH I
WE DNESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2 017

e sta b l i s h e d i n 1 9 24
comment
§
Why gun control For the moment, remain optimistic
in US is doomed The Centre’s economic choices have helped
India become a haven in the emerging markets
languishingforlongfollowingtherecommen-
dations of the Financial Sector Legislative
ReformsCommission.Thislawshouldenable
resolutionofstressedassetsand boostprivate
investment.TheGST,entailingfar-reaching

The white working class sees mentedbyformallyadoptinganinflationtar-


constitutional amendments, finally unifies
India into a common market.These reforms
NK get, and setting up a Monetary Policy frame- along with Aadhar, Jan Dhan and Mobile
it as a symbol of identity SINGH work – to deliver a 21st century monetary
framework.Householdinflationaryexpecta-
JAMwillsignificantlyboostfactorproductiv-
ity. On the GST,the financeministerhas rec-

W
tions have begun to come down, consumer ognisedtheneedtoenlargeitsambitaswellas
hile the possibility the Las Vegas massacre purchasing power has increased, and reduce the rates and simplify procedures.
had a terrorist link cannot be ruled out, the exchange rate expectations have become However its enactment itself was a path-
anchored.Whentheeconomyhadanaverage breaking achievement. Jaitley cannot now
evidence points to the killer responsible for growthrateof8.3%betweentheyears2003-04 become the victim of his own success. Every

I
the worst mass shooting in United States his- n the long run we are all dead. This can- and 2011-12, the average corporate savings success no doubt alters the goalpost.
not justify short-term myopia to impair rate stood at a meagre 7.4% which signifi- Wenow seek notonlya GST butaninstant
tory as being a person who acted on his own long-run vision. Four years ago, India’s cantly increased to 11.8 % of GDP. flawless GST!
for no political motive. Fifty-nine peo- macroeconomicvulnerabilitiescameto Gross capital formation as a proportion of The Fiscal Council is the first example of

ple were shot dead by Stephen Paddock ourtake the fore, and the country had the igno-
minyofbeing reservedforthe most-vulnera-
ble emerging markets at the time.
GDP seems to be within the range that is
required to achieve a growth rate of 7.5-8%.
Currentlyat31.9%inboth2014-15and2015-16, n BJP activists take part in a rally to support
genuinefederalpartnership.Thisaugurswell
for the future. The remaining structural
reformsonfactorsofproductionlikelandand
and over 500 injured. But he does not fit
But four short years later, India is widely it is indeed below the 34.6% figure during the Goods and Services Tax, Mumbai AFP labourneedtheactiveconcertwiththestates.
into the profile of most mass shooters or even the “lone wolves” considered the safe haven in the emerging 2003-04 and 2011-12. This might be worrying. The innovative path of the fiscal council on
marketuniverse.Butwhat hasunderpinned Howeveroneshouldremembertoothatinthe hasnarroweddramaticallyfrom4.8%ofGDP other such federal-related issues could be a
recruited by Islamic State (ISIS). He was a millionaire, an that transformation has been conscious pol- year 2003-04, the economy had achieved a in2012-13to0.7%ofGDPin2016-17.Theimpact new path ahead.
accountant who had lived a life so within the bounds of the law. icy choices made by this government. growth rate of 8.1% with a GCF at just 26.1%. ofrecentrupeedepreciationandinwardport- Game changing structural reforms dis-
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation There is no mechanical relationship — tech- folio flows will benefit exports and mitigate rupts status quo, upsets vested interests but
The ISIS has claimed him, but the reliability of statements by the averaged 9.5% between 2007 and 2013. But in nology and productivity have a significant any significant deterioration in the current enablesafreshstartafterovercomingtransi-
self-proclaimed caliphate has fallen as rapidly as its fortunes on the tenure of this government, CPI inflation role. Arvind Panagariya , former NITI head, account.Unsurprisingly, net foreign direct tional problems. The reforms of the early
hasaveragedlessthanhalfofthat.Foodinfla- highlighted this in a recent article. Natural investment (FDI) which used to average $20 1990sshowedupin highergrowthin the mid-
the battlefields of Iraq and Syria. tionistheunsungheroaveraging4.5%inthis resources and licences on the other hand are bn a year before this government took office 90s.Thereformsofthelate1990sshowedupin
The mystery of the gunman may never be fully resolved. government’s tenure despite successive beingallocatedthroughtransparentauctions has almost doubled to $35 billion a year. The highergrowthinthemid2000s.Letusthinkof
droughtsin2014and2015.Thisisnodoubtthe specially for coal and spectrum. Despite two openingofcorporate bondsto foreignersand thebiggerpicture,andnotlosesightofsecular
However, the Las Vegas massacre has re-ignited a long-standing outcome of dramatically improved food sup- largeobligations–the14thFinanceCommis- the introduction of Masala Bonds has also trends.Theunfinishedagendaandimplemen-
plymanagement,fromde-bottleneckingsup- sion that raised devolution to states and the broadened with global capital markets. tationconcernsremainchallengingandprob-
debate in the US about gun control laws and regulations – or lack
plychains,improvingstorageandwarehous- 7thPayCommission–theCentrehasconsist- Successful legislative enactment given lematic.Pessimismleadstodespondencybut
of the same. It is unlikely there will be any major change at the ing,chippingawayattheAgricultureProduce ently brought its fiscal deficit down. unquestioned parliamentarymajority in the optimism can augur a better future.
Marketing Committees, being proactive Orthodox monetary and fiscal manage- LowerHouseandfloormanagementskillshas NK Singh is a member of the BJP and
national level. The Republican Party, the party that treats unre- aboutimports,andnotoverreactingonmini- ment—inconjunctionwithloweroilprices— enabled the enactment of some far-reaching a former Rajya Sabha MP
stricted gun ownership as a constitutional right, controls the mum support prices.This has been comple- hasmeantthatIndia’scurrentaccountdeficit legislation.Theseincludethebankruptcylaw The views expressed are personal
Congress and the president, Donald Trump, campaigned against
gun control. Americans, roughly 5% of the world’s population,
own an estimated 35-40% of the planet’s entire civilian weapons.
One consequence is an astonishing number of shooter incidents
M I S S E D TA R G E T
Rahul Gandhi looks
– Las Vegas was the 273rd so far this year. The US’ problem goes
much deeper and is related to the socio-economic group that pro-
ready for a bigger battle
pelled Mr Trump to power. The white working class has come to If he capitalises on some of the mistakes made by the
see gun ownership, along with the defeated Confederacy, bans on
abortion and prayer in schools, as symbols of their identity.
ruling NDA, it could be the beginning of a new phase
it. Of course one might be reading too
The logic of gun control is irrelevant. This class opposes the SHIV much into a small event, but there is a
idea because it is seen as an attempt to further disempower them VISVANATHAN sense of a difference, a nuance that one
feels is critical.
in a country where they feel increasingly marginalised. Unless One senses a footnote of success and the
this is addressed, and reviving their economic fortunes is at the best certification of Rahul Gandhi’s suc-
cess is the hysteria that accompanies it in
heart of this, the right to bear arms and presidents like Mr the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s
English and Hindi publications — Panch-
Trump will remain fixtures of the US’ political landscape. Guns

S
ometimes a small positive picture is janya and The Organiser. Both dismissed
are part of a cultural narrative in which Las Vegas is the latest worth a thousand critical words. I University of California, Berkeley, as the
was looking at photographs of Con- American version of Jawaharlal Nehru
but not the last chapter. gress vice-president Rahul Gandhi University in Delhi.
n Many of the dumping sites are the only open spaces available in a neighbourhood. They end speaking at the University of California, A magazine that was dismissive of
up being used for open defecation ARUN SHARMA/HT Berkeley in September. He looks quiet, Rahul Gandhi, condemning him as a
composed, easy and autonomous. He looks dynast, now suddenly senses that this
§

Swachh Bharat cannot be sensible, and spoke sense. The photo-


graphs are in stark contrast to the many
dynast could be politically formidable for
the BJP. Sometimes hysteria is the best

Religious rites must not only about building toilets


shot in India where Rahul Gandhi looks
distracted. The latter photographs lack
presence but the ones at Berkeley conveys
a presence.
compliment an opponent can pay to a
rival. There is another set of points one
needs to make. One is not asking for per-
formative miracles but every instance in

clash with river ecology A proper solid waste management system is crucial since
The contrast is stark and sets one won-
dering.
Maybe Rahul Gandhi needed a change
which Rahul Gandhi sounds coherent,
competent and convincing is a sign of
hope. I am not saying that such performa-

ImmersionofDurgaidolsintheYamuna urban India generates 151,831 tonnes of garbage per day


in context, a chance to be himself. The
audience in Berkeley felt more open and
tive acts are enough. The Congress as a
party needs more than one miracle but
he was more candid developing a different small beginnings could make sense.
violatesthegreentribunal’sguidelines per day.If not collected, treatedanddisposed narrative of the non-resident Indian, dis- Rahul Gandhi is conveying an admis-
SAMA safely, this can cause environmental and tinct from the Silicon Valley pomposity. sion of past mistakes. Maybe he is rethink-

I
n what has become a sad annual feature, the Yamuna is once KHAN healthhazards.Inadequatecollectionanddis- Getting his historical analogues right, the ing away from the bumblings of Digvijay
posalofwasteencourages dumpingit in pub- Congress vice-president said the party Singh. Maybe he has discovered that wan-
again in a terrible state as a result of the immersion after the licspaces,vacantplotsandevendrains.These itself was an achievement of an older gen- dering to new contexts, thinking on your
Durga puja festivities. There more than 200 pujas in Delhi becomebreedinggroundsfordiseases.People eration of non-resident Indians. own, outside the iron cage of the old Con-
livingclosetothesesitesarenotonlyexposed In that sense many of the great figures gress, might refresh his thoughts and
and in spite of the guidelines issued by the National Green Tribu- to an unsafe environment but also often end in the Congress, went out of India, got for- strategies.
nal (NGT), most continue to flout them with impunity. It is the upworkingasragpickers,thrustingthemfur- eign degrees before they returned to join If Rahul Gandhi capitalises on some of

T
he Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) therdownin the sanitation hierarchy. Many the nationalist struggle against the British the mistakes made by the ruling National
same case with other festivals and immersions such as Ganesh was launched in 2014 with the objec- of these dumping sites are the only open spa- government. The roll call includes Democratic Alliance government, his
tive to construct household, commu- ces available in a neighbourhood and as they Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and learning curve changes. That is all one
pujas as well. The NGT guidelines for idol immersion state that
nity and public toilets to eliminate getcharacterised by dirtandstenchtheyend BR Ambedkar. needs for now. A man who is quietly com-
only clay should be used for idol making, and not baked clay or open defecation and implement proper solid up being used for open defecation. It was a small nugget of insight but a petent, conveying a quiet presence, wait-
waste management (SWM). Since behavioural change is essential to substantial one. He added in a self-depre- ing for a chance, letting the Bharatiya Jan-
plaster of paris, etc. It also discourages the painting of idols, and At the beginning of the mission, various ensure toilet usage, it is important to under- catory style that Prime Minister Narendra ata Party tie itself into knots.
goes on to say that the “use of toxic and nonbiodegradable chemi- cleanlinessdriveswereorganisedin govern- standthatinsanitaryspaceswillonlyencour- Modi was a successful communicator, A sense of hope. A message that people
mentofficesandpublicplaces.Theideatopro- age poor sanitation habits. There is far less more successful than he was. are still waiting for an Opposition to rise to
cal dyes for painting idols should b e strictly prohibited.” All mote cleanliness that should startwith one’s shame attached to defecating in a garbage The photograph where he stands with the occasion. A small plateau of possibili-
cloth, flowers, decorations made of paper, plastic and other non own surroundings became the overarching dumpingsitethananywhereelseintheopen. Sam Pitroda and other American politicos ties but politics often begins in these small
goal of the mission. Initially a larger share of The widespread existence of these spaces again conveys a man who has got his mes- nuances. One hopes for a new team, a dif-
biodegradable materials should be removed before immersion. funds were allocated to SWM but by 2017 a adds an element of acceptance and conve- sage across, content with his argument. ferent approach to ideas, a renewed sense
Since there is no testing of materials that are used in the man- larger share was sanctioned for toilet con- niencetowardsopendefecation.Thesespaces The inanity and mediocrity projected on of the vibrancy of Opposition not the knee-
struction. Toilet construction as a physical would cease to exist if there is proper collec- him has disappeared. Rahul Gandhi looks jerk comments of a fatalistic Opposition.
ufacture of idols and puja committees are not under pressure to indicator of the progress of the mission is far tion and disposal of waste. Open defecation ready for a bigger struggle and easy about Let us hope Rahul Gandhi sustains it.
more plausible than SWM. The imagery of a and SWM are as inextricably linked as our Sometimes a footnote is the beginning of
conform to the guidelines, every year the problem recurs, caus-
constructed toilet has thus become synony- behaviour is to the surroundings we live in. a new history. Rahul Gandhi has to under-
ing even more damage to a river that is already in its death mouswiththemissionanddoesnotevenlead Changingpeople’sapproachtosanitationthat ONE IS NOT ASKING FOR stand this, that Indians are patience and
throes. There are easily implementable solutions to the problem
you to question the largesse of the problem. hasbeendeeplyentrenchedbythelackofser- PERFORMATIVE MIRACLES BUT generous. They are still ready, waiting and
As of June 2016, only 53% of wards are cov- vices cannot be dependent on the mere con- willing to be surprised by him. The Con-
of festival debris in the river. Implementation agencies such as eredwithdoor-to-doorcollectionofwasteand structionofatoilet.TheleasttheSwachhBha-
EVERY INSTANCE IN WHICH gress is still a political habit that many
pollution control authorities must take with them as partners
on an average only 22% of waste is processed rat Mission can do is to clean our surround- RAHUL GANDHI SOUNDS Indians do not want to abandon.
in urban centres, which means 78% of solid
waste remains untreated and contaminates
ings before expecting cleaner sanitation
choices from people.
COHERENT, COMPETENT Shiv Visvanathan is professor, Jindal Global Law
Durga puja organising committees and idol manufacturers.
land or makes its way into rivers and lakes. Sama Khan is research associate, AND CONVINCING IS A School and director, Centre for Study of Knowledge
Ensuring that harmful chemical dyes and non-biodegradable What gets overshadowed is that urban
Indiagenerates151,831metrictonnesofwaste
Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi
The views expressed are personal
SIGN OF HOPE Systems, OP Jindal Global University
The views expressed are personal
materials are not used in the manufacture of idols will be an
excellent step in ensuring that they don’t end up in the river.
It is also important for citizens to remember that they have a
Ashutosh Varshney of the mightiest and most intelligent people weight by various means like dieting or
stake in ensuring that these guidelines are followed. The river is end up in complete failure and utter chaos. exercise, but you can practically do nothing
Free will plays a crucial role in our lives to To shape our destiny, free will becomes a about increasing or decreasing your height.
a lifeline of the city, and their contribution to preserving it will
only help them in the long run. It is the responsibility of citizens
innervoice mould our destiny. Everyone has the option
to take decisions using his or her own free-
prerequisite. Destiny is derived from our
past, free from the present. What you are
Whenever the intensity of the free will is
more than destiny, free will castes its influ-
will. Our success, failure and actions are now is the result of what you did in the past. ence upon destiny, and at times destiny
to ensure that the pandals they endorse take into account these
guidelines. It is our duty to ensure that our religious rites do not
SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN governed by the decisions we take. If we
take correct decisions and act accordingly,
What you shall be in the future will be the
result of what you think and are doing now.
becomes more powerful than free will.
There are many ways to reach a destination;

clash with our ecological responsibilities. If our religious rites LIFE DEPENDS ON THE nothing can prevent us from achieving
what we want to achieve.
Once, someone asked Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar about destiny and free will. He
it’s upon our choice and free will to choose
the road so as to achieve success or failure.
are to be sustainable, they must be ecologically responsible. ROAD WE CHOOSE TO TAKE The outcome of any act depends on so
many factors over which we have no con-
said: “Your weight is your free will, while
your height is destiny”. What he meant was
(Inner Voice comprises contributions from our read­
ers. The views expressed are personal)
trol. That is why even the best laid out plans that you can increase or decrease your n innervoice@hindustantimes.com

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THE TRIBUNE
08 OPINION CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 4 OCTOBER 2017

THE TRIBUNE The nowhere people


established in 1881 Rohingya a humanitarian crisis
Hasan Suroor Palestinians are unique in that they

Massacre in Las Vegas had their homeland taken away from

I
N Steven Spielberg’s film, The them to create a Jewish state. Some 70
Terminal, a man from a politically years later, Palestinians are still fight-
Dysfunctional politics unable to control guns unstable East European country ing for justice. Today, they are the best-
steps off the plane in New York known ethnic group without a proper-

A
LONG with the benumbed Americans, the rest of the world only to be taken aside and given the bad ly defined state. Israel’s own
received in shock and disbelief ghastly news of yet another news that he would not be allowed to behaviour illustrates how even the
mass shooting, this time in Las Vegas. A lone gunman — a 64- enter or leave America because while once-oppressed people can them-
year-old white man — mowed down a mostly white crowd at a musi- he was in the air his country had fallen selves turn into oppressors when their
cal event in a recreational resort. The gunman, identified as Stephen off the map. A civil war had broken out circumstances change.
Paddock, who killed himself rather than surrender to the police, was and the US no longer recognised it as a Meanwhile, there’s a notion that all
reported to have as many as 23 weapons in his possession in the hotel sovereign country, thus rendering him stateless people are innocent victims
room, including rifles and pistols. Las Vegas is the poster town of a stateless person. His situation, a legal engaged in a just and righteous strug-
American free spirit; it is located in Nevada which has one of the most non-entity stuck in a no-man’s land, gle, but the reality is that among them
lenient gun laws in America. makes a fascinating study into the are a lot of dubious claimants wearing
The sheer brutality of shooting down of 59 people is overwhelm- plight of stateless people. In the film, it the halo of stateless martyrs. Often
ing, even more galling is the utter helplessness of the dysfunction- all ends well eventually, but in real life militant separatists on the run declare
of course it’s a different story. themselves stateless, go into “exile”
al American political system in doing something about the free
The Rohingya crisis has revived the abroad to carry on their propaganda.
availability of guns that makes it a child’s play for any deranged
debate on the condition of stateless peo- GO WHERE? The exodus has revived the debate on the condition of ‘stateless’ people. It’s important, therefore, to distin-
individual to kill fellow Americans. The outside world is unable to ple with the UN High Commissioner for guish between stateless people
understand the American gun law laxity. The Second Amendment Refugees promising to end all stateless- try’s presumed moral conscience. the suffering of thousands of inno- defined by the UN as those “not con-
to the American Constitution confers on the citizens a right to bear ness by 2024, but it is not clear how. In Bizarrely, she has responded to the cent people has surprised many, but sidered as a national by any state
arms and it has been one of the most fiercely divisive issues in the absence of any mandatory powers mounting international pressure to those who know her say she has under the operation of its law” and
American domestic politics in recent decades as violence, individ- to force countries to accept them it can intervene to stop the atrocities by dis- always been extremely pragmatic, other categories of refugees and asy-
ual and collective, has overwhelmed institutions of social harmony only appeal to them on moral grounds missing the killings, rape and torture with a strong instinct for self-preser- lum-seekers — all of whom are rou-
and public trust. The National Rifle Association has emerged as the but when even the saintly Aung San of some 1.5 million Muslims as fake vation. She dumped her ailing British tinely lumped together by relief agen-
passionate defender of the Second Amendment; as many as 55 mil- Suu Kyi can cynically turn a deaf ear to news. Her claim that the Rohingya husband Michael Aris, an Oxford his- cies and rights groups. They are a
lion Americans have firearms. such appeals there’s little hope others are leaving of their own accord is con- torian, and her two sons when she had booming cottage industry with thou-
President Trump has been prompt to offer his condolences to the will bother. If anything, her defiant tradicted by independent witnesses, to choose between living in Myanmar sands of jobs at stake and bosses of
families of Las Vegas victims, without any hint of disapproval of the stance will only embolden them. western intelligence agencies, and TV and visiting Aris after he was diag- some international charities earning
It’s estimated that there are more footage of burnt down villages and nosed with cancer in the 1980s. She eye-watering salaries. No wonder, they
gun laws. That is no surprise; he received crucial support from the
than 10 million stateless people global- charred bodies. Myanmar’s refusal to feared that the junta would not allow love a good crisis. The bigger a
powerful gun lobby in his presidential bid. The figures are stagger-
ly. Like the Rohingya in Myanmar, agree to an independent international her to return if she left. He died in humanitarian crisis the more funding
ing: as many as 11,000 lives slain by guns in 2017 so far. A violent man many face persecution, xenophobia and investigation speaks for itself: it does- 1999. Rebecca Frayn, who made a film they hope to get; hence the temptation
is a challenge to guardians of law and order anywhere; but a mad man discrimination in the countries where to exaggerate. This is not to play down
who can have very easy access to guns is a blot on any civilised soci- they’re settled. According to the UN, the seriousness of the problem but
ety. That a sick mind in America can still have access to unlimited they are denied basic rights such as
It would be wrong to treat such people as refugees who only need there is need to understand its unique
numbers of guns suggests a frightening breakdown in a social order. education, healthcare, employment temporary shelter and food. The root of the problem is in the nature if the international community
and freedom of movement. “Without is serious about tackling it. Treating
these things, they can face a lifetime of
concerned nations’ colonial history and must be tackled politically stateless people simply as refugees
.
obstacles and disappointment,” it says. who only need temporary shelter and

Corrosive and regressive But it is only in extreme cases that


they are expelled as a matter of state pol-
icy, as in Myanmar. A comparable exam-
n’t want the world to know the truth.
It has not gone unnoticed that India
is the only liberal democracy which has
on her, has written that “when she
accepted his proposal (to marry him)
she struck a deal: if her country
food is the wrong way to go about it.
The problem has its roots in the con-
cerned nations’ colonial histories, and
Feudalism lives in VIP culture ple was the expulsion of 70,000 blacks so unequivocally endorsed the Myan- should ever need her, she would have must be tackled politically.
from Mauritania — a former French mar government’s stand blaming the to go. And Michael readily agreed.” The UN’s pledge to eradicate state-

A
RETINUE of junior officers lining up to greet a senior func- colony divided between Arab-Berber crisis entirely on Rohingya terrorists. She defended her decision in the lessness by 2024 is the sort of unrealis-
tionary; schoolchildren deployed to greet visiting “VIP” and black African ethnic groups — in During his visit to Myanmar last name of her love for her people. tic target that has made the world body
guests; an argument punctuated with the sentence “Don’t you 1989-1990. Although they have since month, Narendra Modi told Suu Kyi, But, returning to the problem of look such a failure. The Rohingya cri-
know who I am?” — these three examples from recent incidents are been allowed to return, they are still “We share your concern about the stateless people, a distinction must be sis is the latest addition to the long cat-
manifestations of the manner in which feudalism remains deeply struggling to gain nationality. The mass extremist violence in the Rakhine state made between individuals, who may alogue of its failures. Finally, India’s
ingrained in our psyche — vanity ensures that it asserts itself, again exodus of the Rohingya from Myan- and especially the violence against the had their nationality revoked for a spe- stand has dealt a serious blow to its
and again, even as leaders publicly profess to eschew it. mar’s Rakhine state following a wave security forces and how innocent lives cific reason, and stateless ethnic reputation as a moral force in interna-
The officers, who went to receive the chairman of the Railway of attacks by the security forces and mil- have been affected and killed.” groups such as Sri Lankan Tamils, the tional politics. It stands enormously
itant Buddhist nationalists has been His host, facing international isola- Ahmadiyyas, Uighurs, Kurds, Cata- diminished in the eyes of the world.
Board at the Mumbai airport recently, may have expected many
called a “textbook case of ethnic cleans- tion, was naturally ecstatic and profuse- lans, and the Rohingya. They are the
things, but not vocal disapproval by the new incumbent, Ashwini
ing” by a UN official in what’s seen as a ly thanked him for his “strong stance”. most contentious category and at the The author is a London-based
Lohani, who had asked for disbanding of such “protocol”. The Rail- direct indictment of Suu Kyi, her coun- Suu Kyi’s cynical indifference to heart of many serious ethnic conflicts. commentator
ways is among the final holdouts among the Raj bastions where inor-
dinate stress is laid on such matters. Such “protocol” always comes
at the cost of individual dignity of subordinate officers. The new boss
of the Railway Board has promised changes in the work culture and
it is commendable that he is leading by example.
Then there is the other, more visible and distressing side. A singer
recently had an altercation with airline staff members, in a dispute
about his luggage being overweight. Harsh words were flung at the offi-
cials before the celebrity apologised and was allowed to fly. A celebrity
Training to be in New India
baba was “entitled” to use VIP airport lounges for short stays in domes- Kanupriya Arya ly’ train I used to travel by when I was a post of conductor is highly coveted, like she moved away. I wondered if I was
tic airports before he found himself in jail for an extended period. student at PU. ‘It is a Sunday, there will a constable’s or patwari’s post. the only woman on the train. The plat-
Sense of entitlement comes easily to people of privilege, but seldom is
it flaunted as much as it is in India. The red-beacon culture crept in the
1970s and recent attempts to curtail it, by the Supreme Court and even
the Prime Minister, have not proved particularly effective. The argu-
H AVING spent a few years in
New York, I finally landed in
my own land — ‘New India’.
There was a bounce in my steps as I
reached home in Bhiwani, mingling
be no rush. I will take a window seat and
enjoy the view of green fields and the
strides of progress made by our country
all the years I was away,’ I said. So, on
the fixed day, at the unearthly hour of 4
Hardly a seat was to be found in the
train. Somehow I managed to enter a
compartment. Finding me, a dis-
tressed young girl, an elderly man
offered to share his cramped seat, say-
form was echoing with noises bom-
barding from all directions. All hell
seemed to have broken loose.
A daredevil was trying to crash into
the compartment through the emer-
ment was reduced to the colour of the beacon, with amber replacing the happily with parents, siblings and am, my father dropped me a few hun- ing: ‘Adjust karle beta, aage seat mil gency window. The entry point and cor-
red. There is still a wide chasm in the behaviour patterns of the largest childhood friends. dred yards from the station. jaegi.’ Feeling grateful for the gen- ridor was jampacked with conductors-
democracy in the world and developed, democratic nations worldwide. Troubled by erratic traffic, holy I sauntered to the platform to find a erosity and also missing the valet-ush- to-be. Many were hanging precariously,
Vestigial feudalism is corrosive and regressive. It should have no place ‘Nandis’ sojourning in the middle of kilometre-long queue at the ticket-win- ered train journeys in the US, I latching onto the handle bars of the
in a modern, developed India. Unfortunately, it will be a while before it the road, stray dogs pouncing on you dow. I was spared the hassle as I had pur- ‘adjusted’ myself on the half seat. door. Nobody could get in, or go out. I
is eliminated from our public life. from nowhere, I still enjoy the garma- chased the ticket the previous evening. I looked around. What a sight! Hun- tried a silent witticism — ‘we were fevi-
garam samosas and spicy gol-gappas. Indians in queue! A pleasant surprise! dreds of unbathed youths in crumpled coled’, or ‘we were in a packaged deal’.
The heart-warming hugs of parents The platform was teeming with clothes were everywhere. The corridors ‘Now’, I said to myself, ‘you have
and the back-thumping friends add to uncouth, smelly passengers, mostly were crowded, the space between the taken a leap into the future of great
Thought for the Day the charm of being back home. young. I learnt that these young men berths was full, no space even to turn. A India.... it is Bharat Mata... or do we
I planned to visit Chandigarh. Over- were going to Karnal, Ambala or young girl, perhaps a student, peered call it New India?’ A fatiguing 293-km
We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.
ruling the advice of my parents, I decid- Panchkula to appear for a conductors’ through the window. Discouraged, she journey took eight hours. This is how
— Ronald Reagan ed to travel by Ekta Express, the ‘friend- interview. For us, Haryanvi youths, the moved to another window. Distressed, I ‘bulleted’ my train journey!

letters to the editor


Stop arms culture tificate of medical fitness. No one ories of the Manchester attack earlier 10 demons of rising India they can be annoying when they sell the common man, but also has a cas-
Apropos ‘58 shot dead from 32nd should be allowed to carry ammuni- this year. The IS has claimed responsi- Recently, we celebrated Dasehra, in their wares in a sing-song manner cading effect on agriculture, manu-
floor’ (October 3), the killer had no tion at public gatherings. Screening bility but without providing any evi- which we burn Ravana to symbolise without a break! One is forced to facturing sector, transportation, etc.
criminal past and 42 firearms were should be done at entry points of dence. The shooting raises a crucial the victory of good over evil. Each turn a deaf ear, but one does feel bad ( ‘ Time to oil the wheels’ by Sushma
found in his possesion. This shows hotels and other places accommodat- question. Should the gun culture be year, we celebrate this festival with considering they have to sell fruits, Ramachandran, October 3). The gov-
how violence-ridden American socie- ing a large number of people. tightened? The issue of gun control is zeal, but what about the living vegetables or other goods in harsh ernment should hand down the ben-
ty is. The US government should AJAY BAGGA, HOSHIARPUR highly sensitive in the US and though Ravanas in our country? In our dai- summer months as well as winter. efits of reduced international prices
take necessary steps to stop this gun President Trump has extended his ly lives, we face the 10 variants of PRIYA DARSH GROWAR, MOHALI to consumers, which will reduce
culture. The easy availability of condolences to the victims, he must Ravana — poverty, overpopulation, inflation, giving room to the RBI to
weapons should be made difficult No place safe use his office to tighten the law and traffic congestion, pollution, cut benchmark rates and lower the
and licensing of all arms should be America is considered the most pow- ensure ordinary citizens do not get crime/violence, unemployment, Not all corrupt cost of borrowing. The disposable
made mandatory. It will be difficult erful country, but if a country like possession of deadly weapons. water scarcity, garbage disposal, Refer to Harish Khare’s ‘Conceits of income in the hands of consumers
because of the strong arms lobby, but the US cannot prevent such attacks, GREGORY FERNANDES, MUMBAI poor education system and overbur- mofussil minds’ (September 22); the and manufacturers will increase,
this needs to be done in the interest what about the safety scenario in dened medical services. Who will government can’t win the trust of reviving consumer sentiment and
of innocent people, otherwise such other countries? Terrorism, whether mimic the role of Lord Rama in the countrymen by alienating them by investment by industry. The notion
incidents will recur. it be international or national, is Dads know less 21st century — the government or labelling everyone untrustworthy that the government will use the
ANIL KUMAR JASWAL, UNA growing day by day. The UN should The Jayant-Yashwant Sinha clash of the citizens? In this era of Kalyug, it and corrupt. Holding out threats extra revenue generated to build
take strict action toward the control ideas is an addition to the new gener- is not easy to demolish these through seizures, raids and confisca- infrastructure, farmers’ welfare and
of terrorism in all countries. If not ation of politics, like the Akhilesh- demons. Cumulative efforts are tion would eventually tell heavily on other sectors is a farce as already the
Test mental fitness controlled, there would be repetition Mulayam Singh Yadav divide. Even required to drag this Ravana out of the national economic health. The revenue remains unutilised, accord-
Reference to the shootout at Las of these attacks at other places and in businesses, such rigid stands are our society and build a great nation breakneck speed to link Aadhaar ing to a CAG report. Last year, Krishi
Vegas, such incidents are increasing other countries. common, like the recent son-father for future generations. number to every conceivable govern- Kalyan and Swachh Bharat cess
in society. The act of raining bullets on NAMAN SEHGAL, AMRITSAR duo of Gautam Singhania and Vijay- CHETAN SHARMA, LUDHIANA ment service has added to untold were levied. Instead, the same mon-
innocent people is absolute madness. pat Singhania. It proves that in poli- woes of the common man. Such hasty ey in the hands of customers will
Governments should not have a liber- tics and business, one cannot trust action may have a deleterious effect boost consumption and the GDP.
al policy of issuing weapons. In the US Tighten gun laws even one’s own blood. Power destroys Street hawkers on the rights of citizens. The government urgently needs to
and many other countries, people are This refers to ‘58 shot dead from 32nd relations between family members — The middle ‘A merry bunch of free- TEK CHAND, BY MAIL look at alternative avenues to bolster
granted arms licences easily, and floor’ (October 3); in what would have na baap bada na bhaiya, sabse bada loaders’ by Surinderjit Singh Sand- the collection of direct and indirect
then, these weapons are used to mas- been a happy ending to a country rupaiya. Also, the younger genera- hu (October 3) was interesting. It taxes because the windfall from low
sacre people. For licence, the opinion music concert in Las Vegas, the event tion tends to believe that it knows ended on a humorous note, which Fuelling economy international fuel prices won’t be
of a psychiatrist or a clinical psycholo- turned into a nightmare for revellers. more than the parents! made me smile. These vendors have Fuel drives the engine of an econo- there for eternity.
gist should be taken along with a cer- The deadly killings bring back mem- MAHESH KUMAR, BY MAIL a tough life, even though I admit that my and high prices affect not just AZIZ LUNA, CHANDIGARH

Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: Letters@tribuneindia.com
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16 AN ECSTASY OF IDEAS THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

A thought for today


We can do more than lower the
American flag to half-mast
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS
Uniquely Indian Problems
Why India is now detached from the world, sitting out the global recovery in growth and jobs

Grieving Las Vegas Ruchir Sharma

For decades India’s


economic fortunes
more troubling that it is missing out on
jobs growth – a trend that precedes the
GDP slowdown but has also gotten worse
over the past year.
ebbed and flowed with Many commentators are blaming
America is being pushed to redefine other emerging nations, these troubles on global forces. In India,
terrorism and reform its gun culture but in recent months it especially, it is popular to talk about how
seems to have become automation is taking jobs away from

I
n the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, Las unmoored. The global economy is humans. But the global jobs boom
Vegas was turned into a theatre of horror when a lone gunman enjoying its best year of the decade, with suggests that there is little evidence for
indiscriminately fired upon concert-goers from an adjacent a worldwide pick up in GDP and jobs such losses. At any point in time techno-
hotel, killing 59 and injuring more than 500. The accused, identified growth, and very few economies have logy is destroying some traditional jobs,
as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, wasn’t on the radar of American been left behind. India is one of the and creating them in new industries.
outliers, with GDP growth slowing and India’s apologists also point to
security officials and had no known links to extremist groups – unemployment rising. “premature deindustrialisation”, the
notwithstanding a weak claim by the Islamic State. Even as The Organisation of Economic idea that it is increasingly difficult for
America comes to terms with the Vegas carnage, a debate has Cooperation and Development says that countries to export their way to prosperity,
ignited over whether to label it an act of terror. all 45 economies that it tracks will grow because of a more competitive environ-
For a country with a history of mass shootings and a primary target this year, the first time this has happened ment for manufacturing globally and
of international terror groups, the debate is an important one. Many since 2007, the year before the global slumping world trade. Even though trade
financial crisis led to a worldwide volumes have perked up this year, they
contend that Paddock would have been described as a terror suspect recession. Moreover, three quarters of are well below the pace seen before 2008.
had he been Muslim or foreign. But his white male profile affords him all the countries will grow faster this And competing in global manufacturing,
the benefit of doubt with the relatively year than they did last year; India is in the which was always the most important
benign nomenclature of a gunman. slumping minority, with GDP growth path to mass employment, is harder now
In contrast, the 2015 San Bernardino now expected to decelerate this year. following the rise of China.
shooting perpetrated by a Muslim In the global jobs picture, India Still, there are countries at India’s
stands out as even more of a sore thumb. income level that are excelling in manu-
couple saw investigators immediately The worldwide unemployment rate, as facturing and creating jobs. Vietnam,
press the terror line of investigation. calculated by JP Morgan research, is recovery has led to a rebound in global Bangladesh and Cambodia, for example,
Add to this President Donald Trump almost back to its pre-2008 crisis low of trade, which had slumped badly after the have seen a surge in manufactured
refusing to label the Charlottesville 5.5 per cent. Developed economies 2008 crisis, and India is sitting out this There are countries at India’s exports in recent years, partly by taking
attacker – again a white male – as a from the UK to Japan have the lowest recovery. Indian exports have picked up income level that are excelling share from China in low-end goods from
terrorist even as he continues to unemployment rates seen in many deca- this year, but much less than in other toys to textiles. India’s continued lack
des. In emerging economies, the unemp- emerging nations. in manufacturing and creating of success in these industries may be
emphasise the threat from “radical
Islamic terrorism”.
loyment rate has been falling since 2014 The question then is why are Indian jobs. Vietnam, Bangladesh and the single biggest reason why it keeps
and this year even countries such as exports underperforming? One possibility falling short of being the next China and
It can be argued that lone-wolf attacks shouldn’t be labelled as Russia and Brazil, which experienced on offer is the rising value of the rupee,
Cambodia, for example, have why the jobs market is so weak.
terrorism for this gives international terror groups the oxygen of deep recessions, are seeing a marked which makes exports less competitive, seen a surge in manufactured There are many reforms that India
publicity. But double standards of American authorities undermine improvement in the labour market. In but the rupee’s rise against the dollar has exports in recent years could carry out to become more compe-
this logic as well. With consensus on the definition of terrorism elusive, India, meanwhile poor quality data makes been exactly in line with other emerging titive in manufacturing. These would
it difficult to put a number on the job woes, market currencies this year. So currency unique demonetisation experiment. involve changing its cumbersome labour
the focus ought to be on preventing mass shootings. Unfortunately, but the available data is grim and news doesn’t answer the mystery. Also, latest The second was the Goods and Services laws, cutting corporate taxes to levels seen
even on gun control measures consensus is elusive. Despite shootings stories about jobs losses abound. research shows that trade is seven times Tax, which was supposed to bring India in East Asian countries and improving
in America getting progressively deadlier, Republicans in the US So why is the Indian economy, which more sensitive to changes in demand in line with global standards but instead the transportation networks.
Congress are working on bills that would expand access to guns. rose and fell with global trends for so than to exchange rate movements. added typically Indian layers of com- But don’t hold your breath for any of
The Hearing Protection Act seeks to expand the availability and long, bucking them now? One theory The best explanation lies in recent plexity. These policies disrupted local these reforms to happen lest they are
use of silencers on guns, while a companion bill would allow one’s points the finger at India’s high real or domestic policy moves, as until last businesses, including exporters. Imports perceived as too pro-business. Instead,
inflation-adjusted interest rates, but year both India and emerging markets have surged to meet consumer demand, hope there are no more uniquely Indian
state laws governing concealed weapons to apply anywhere else real rates have risen in most countries broadly were slowing down in sync. A widening the trade deficit and cutting policy experiments. That might be enough
in America. Both these bills, if enacted, would further increase this year as inflation has unexpectedly disconnect began late last year when into GDP growth. to push India back into sync with the
the possibility of Vegas-like attacks. The powerful gun lobby in declined everywhere; so this can’t explain growth in emerging markets started It is disappointing that India is world, hopefully while it is still enjoying
the US would have you believe that “guns don’t kill people”. But if why India is different now. A part of the recovering and India kept slowing. missing out on the global revival in this synchronised global recovery.
American authorities are serious about preventing another Vegas, explanation is that the broad economic The first of the policy moves was the economic growth, but perhaps even The writer is an author and a global investor
they would do well to learn from Australia that adopted strict
gun control laws after a tragic shooting in 1996, bringing gun-related
violence down dramatically.
‘Taj Mahal is an integral part of our cultural heritage
A Tamil Farce ... the entire controversy has been cooked up’
Sedition charge against Dhinakaran Over 1.03 crore tourists visited Agra to see
Taj Mahal in 2016 but the 17th century
The booklet talks about tourism
potential in different destinations of
bad during the Ardh Kumbh and the go-
vernment wants to make the most of the
in the light of religion is not right.
Those playing politics here must also
underlines why sedition law needs junking Mughal monument is at the centre of UP. Agra and the Taj in particular is an occasion. know that Mecca and Vatican also
controversy after it found no mention in established destination which has its Those who would come to bathe at thrive on religious tourism.

T
he slapping of sedition charges on TTV Dhinakaran who is 36-page UP tourism booklet, released last own set of requirements in terms of the Sangam may naturally want to Anyway religious tourism is not the
leading dissidence against the AIADMK government in week. Opposition parties have accused development and management. For that, explore adjoining areas. Chitrakoot, one and only focus we have. The same
Tamil Nadu smacks of political vendetta. The complainant, a UP’s BJP government of deliberately various projects to the tune of Rs 175 Varanasi and Mirzapur – which are booklet talks about pro-poor tourism in
functionary in chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami’s faction, took ignoring the Taj, following chief minister crore have been sanctioned. about 100 km from the place – can directly Agra and Braj regions and ecotourism.
offence to pamphlets distributed by Dhinakaran supporters at a Yogi Adityanath’s statement in The list includes revitalisation benefit from this footfall. Over Rs 150 UP tourism, medical education and
function attended by Palaniswami, which were allegedly defamatory, June where he said that “Ramayana of the Kachhpura and Mehtab crore has been pumped into the health departments have come together
and the Gita represent Indian culture, Bagh area, construction of Buddhist circuit. We have an elaborate to shape up and roll out a medical
critical of government policies and sought its ouster. Ironically, not the Taj Mahal.” UP’s tourism sewerage treatment plant, revi- plan to brand Ardh Kumbh so that the tourism policy and a health and wellness
Dhinakaran and some of the other 16 accused were not even present minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi talisation of Shah Jahan park and state and its people benefit. tourism plan for the state.
at the function but all were named in a host of offences including spoke to Shailvee Sharda, arguing that development of a walkway between Taj ■ But there seems to be an over- ■ What are the new projects the
sedition, criminal conspiracy, defamation, the entire controversy has been cooked up, Mahal and Agra Fort, riverfront emphasis on religious department has planned to promote
unlawful assembly, and giving provocation that the booklet focussed on ongoing and development and provision of basic ser- tourism ? tourism?
with intent to cause riots. new governmental tourism projects, and vices from Rambagh to Mehtab Bagh, Being the birth We have come up with an aviation
that the Taj Mahal is an integral part of construction of a visitor centre and place of Ram and policy and efforts are on to roll out
A number of Supreme Court judgments our cultural heritage: parking rehabilitation at Taj Ma- Krishna, UP is helicopter service in various tourist
have narrowed the scope of Section 124A of hal’s western gate. Agra has also be- naturally a suitable spots. The one in Govardhan is already
IPC, so that it should be applied only where ■ Is UP tourism ignoring Taj Mahal? en included in the Smart City place for religious in place while Varanasi Darshan,
an intention or tendency to subvert the I think we have been misunderstood. project which will also be addressing tourism. And this is Prayag Darshan and Ayodhya Darshan
government by violent means can be de- How can anyone in Indian tourism the heritage component in the city. something which has will start soon. Then, an international
monstrated. But police officers on the ground, like Salem city sector ignore Taj Mahal, which is one of ■ UP’s tourism potential plan been pointed out by Diwali festival in Ayodhya is sure to
the biggest attractions in the country? seems to focus on a number of industry experts too. amaze the visitors.
police in the present case, are unmindful of such advances in Indian We are committed to the development less popular Hindu destinations However, seeing Besides, a number of other interes-
jurisprudence. Moreover, clauses concerning hatred, contempt and of tourist facilities in Agra. Taj Mahal like Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, everything ting activities are also lined up. The
disaffection in the law still lend themselves to wide and subjective is an integral part of our cultural Mirzapur. What is the Ramayana Conclave (scheduled for
application, bringing legitimate political protests under the heritage. The entire controversy has reason? January 14-19 next year) will bring the
looming shadow of sedition charges. been cooked up. Missing a picture or That’s because of a living traditions of Ramlila from
On the test of inciting imminent violence, the sedition charge page on it in any brochure doesn’t mean larger plan to promote different parts of the world to UP. A
we have ignored the monument. We are important destina- three-day long Kashi Literary festival
against Dhinakaran appears farcical, just like when it was slapped proud of our heritage. tions of religious will follow in February. This event would
on protesting students in JNU or those celebrating the Pakistani ■ But the 36-page booklet brought tourism in wake of be attended by 250-500 intellectuals on
cricket team’s victory in the Champions Trophy final. In any out by the tourism department on the forthcoming Ardh the banks of Ganga. A one-stop travel
case Tamil Nadu has a questionable record on free speech, with completion of six months of the Kumbh in 2019. Over 14 solution portal is slated for launch in
213 defamation cases filed against politicians and media by the government says nothing about the crore pilgrims are ex- October. Overall a number of tourist
government since 2011, for “defamatory speeches” against then Taj Mahal. pected to visit Allaha- friendly efforts are underway.
chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The law should not be an accessory
to the political battles of netas. The colonial era sedition law in dilbert Sacredspace
particular needs junking.
The Body Clock

By hook or crook
Because of their biological clocks,
women are much more realistic
about measuring out time …
What happens when there are 3 cops whereas men tend to hang onto
things. Women acknowledge
for each VIP and 1 cop for 633 aam janta the biology of their time, and
Jug Suraiya
dance through the beat of that
Two crooks, Chhotu and Motu, planning their next heist. drum ... whereas men just drum.
Chhotu: OK, so this week shall we rob a bank, or should we
loot a crorepati’s home? Danny Boyle
Motu: Choices, choices. It’s such hard work being a crook
these days. There are so many choices to be made, decisions as

Take Charge Of Your Inner & Outer Ecology


to who and what to rob. Talk about work-related stress.
Chhotu: Yeah, and it’s all because of what is called Scorty Bandobast.
Motu: Yup. Thanks to Scorty Bandobast there are three cops deployed to
protect each and every VIP in the country, which leaves only one single cop to
look out for the interests of 633 members of the aam janta. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev water are not commodities, but ready to wipe out in one generation. cycles of flood and drought. In the last 12
Chhotu: To look out for all those people, that one single cop would have to life-making material. The elemental It is estimated that by 2030 we will have years, nearly three lakh farmers have

Y
have not one pair of eyes but 633 pairs of eyes. ou are an inseparable part of composition of the human body is 72% only 50% of the water we need for our committed suicide. Agriculture has
Motu: Which that one single cop obviously doesn’t have, and we crooks can everything around you. Both the water and 12% earth. survival in this country. become a truly heart-breaking process.
have a field day, going about crooking away to glory with no one to observe us, human and cosmic body, are Only when we truly understand Since most of our rivers are forest But there is hope. This is a land of
let alone stop us. made up of five elements. In the yogic our elemental connection with the fed, the best way to resuscitate them is extraordinary responsiveness and
Chhotu: The only dark cloud to an otherwise silver lining is an embarrass- system, with mastery over these five environment can we create a stable with more vegetation. But, the organic aliveness, evinced in its still-incredible
ment of riches for us to loot, which in turn elements within, you take charge of base for ourselves that empowers us to content of soil has fallen drastically biodiversity. When ancient sages
involves tough decision-making. So which is it both your inner and outer ecology; the explore higher possibilities. and the rapid pace of deserti- called this a ‘sacred land’, it was not
secondopinion going to be this week: bank or crorepati? two are inseparable. But, human cons- This is the significance of the fication is alarming. Soil pure hyperbole. With just a little
Motu: Why don’t we just toss a coin to decide? ciousness has grown so fragmented, muladhara chakra in the subtle depletion in this country is so attentiveness and timely action, this
A stolen coin, of course. that most people have forgotten that anatomy: Without a stable acute that nearly 25% of Indian land could rejuvenate faster than any
Chhotu: The problem with tossing a coin to help us decide is that we’re such interdependence is not a theory; it is a foundation, transcendence is agricultural land will not be other on the planet.
crooked crooks that any coin we toss is likely to have heads on both sides, or reality. An experiential state of yoga not possible. But we overlook cultivable in the next three to Let’s rise above narrow, gated
tails on both sides. means that you experience the Earth as this and opt to live in a psycho- five years. In 40 years’ time, it is communities of opinion. If we truly
Motu: There is that problem. Tell you what. Why don’t we just do a bit of you experience your little finger – as an logical space that is utterly estimated that over 60% will be recognise that every subatomic particle
overtime this week and rob both the bank and a crorepati. integral part of yourself. estranged from our physical uncultivable. in our body is in constant dialogue with
Chhotu: What a my dear idea, my dear fellow. Just one thing bothers me. We The Isha Foundation’s initiative, and existential reality. Though the The only way to increase the cosmos, it will be clear that it is time
can be crooks because there’s only one cop watching 633 of us. But each VIP
has three cops watching over him or her. Yet, despite that Scorty Bandobast, so
‘Rally for Rivers’, comes from the
organic view that the individual and
Nature has evolved humans
to an extraordinary level of speaking organic content is through tree
cultivation and animal waste. If
for all of us to wake up. Our rivers are
our lifeline. Their crisis confronts us
many VIPs get away with multi-crore scams every other day. How come? planet cannot be disengaged. Concern self-awareness, we are refusing tree we destroy our capability to with a collective deadline. We can
Motu: Simple. We’re just aam janta crooks. They’re VIP crooks: Very over the serious depletion of water and to accept the promotion! generate food, we will be heading defer responsibility no longer. With
Ingenious Pocketmaars. soil is neither about being ideologically The environmental situation we are towards disaster. Due to lack of responsible action, we can reverse
secondopinion@timesgroup.com chic or politically savvy; the concern is in, currently, is grave. What took Nature vegetation and indiscriminate urban this situation.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/ as ecological as it is existential. Soil and millions of years to produce, we seem expansion, we are witnessing alarming Post your comments at speakingtree.in
20 THE ECONOMIC TIMES The Edit Page THE ECONOMIC TIMES | MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY | 4 OCTOBER 2017

Banks: Regulation, CURSOR Defining Indianness is the main political challenge and it must be confronted squarely

Not State Ownership


Common good is eroded by state ownership
Markets regulator Sebi has postponed its rule that requi-
The Pursuit of Indianness would stoutly deny the proposition if
it is put to them. They acquired their
res companies to report all payment defaults to stock ex- proficiency in English by being edu-
changes, worried that it could expose the banks’ lack of
health. That is sad. The way to economic health is through
cated in the English medium, mean-
ing that they have broken their orga- Transform
nic link with their own mother tong-
swift and transparent dissemination of information on
corporate delinquency and enhanced capitalisation and
ue and the cultural universe it medi-
ates. One problem with the defend-
& Motivate
ants of liberal democracy in India is
regulation of banks to help them weather missed paymen- T K Arun that many of them do battle in Eng-
J KRISHNAMURTI
ts. The performance of public sector banks (PSBs) rema-

A
lish, inviting association with those How am I to transform? I see the
ins fragile compared to their peers in the private sector. radio jockey contrasts the who peddle supercilious disregard truth — at least, I see somethi-
So, instead of hiding news of blows to financial health, the Indianness of Shankar-Jai- for India’s culture. ng in it — that a change, a trans-
kishan with the modernity India is a complex civilisation, formation, must begin at a level
focus must be on raising their ability to absorb the punch- of R D Burman. The Uttar whose colonial experience has left it that the mind, as the conscious
es. If necessary, by privatising them. Pradesh government omits bruised. The intelligentsia that took or the unconscious, cannot rea-
The government has vowed to recapitalise loss-making the Taj Mahal from a list of the state’s charge of Independent India and ch, because my consciousness
tourist attractions and its chief min- framed a liberal democratic Consti- as a whole is conditioned. So,
state-owned banks and also merge some of the weaker ister says that the Taj Mahal does not tution faced the task of pushing and what am I to do? Can my mind,
banks with sound ones. However, mergers will not fix the represent India. It is not easy to spot prodding a deeply hierarchical, un- the conscious as well as the un-
the common link between that piece equal and divided society to change conscious, be free of society?

FILE PHOTO
systemic problems that plague PSBs. Lowering the gov-
of chatter on FM radio and the Uttar into the constitutional ideal. — society being all the educa-
ernment’s equity stake will enable PSBs to overcome the Pradesh government’s profession of Some resisted change because it tion, culture, the norm, values
restrictions imposed by state ownership, such as low pay, cultural nationalism. took away their privilege. Others re- and standards. Because if it is
short tenures, political and bureau- But a link exists. Both are perver- sisted it because they thought it me- The idea of India not free, whatever change it tri-
se manifestations of loss of cultural ant loss of cultural authenticity and esto bring about within that con-
cratic meddling and the fear of falling confidence and implicit assumpti- subjugation to foreign ideology. cow’s carcass or otherwise, showing plundered and ravaged the land, but ditioned state, is still limited
foul of audit and investigation agenci- ons of what constitutes being Indi- They challenged the constitution- defiance to their superiors, when not others stayed put and governed the and, therefore, no change at all.
es that do not understand banking. an. That question is central to the po- al ideal itself, on the ground that equ- choking to death in sewers. land and its people, adding to the So, can I look without any mo-
litical discourse in the country right ality and democracy meant inability richness of collective human experi- tive? Can my mind exist with-
Their performance remains weak — now. Economic mismanagement is to assert the supremacy of the faith Glorifying Tradition ence and achievement. out any incentive, without any
gross bad loans of PSBs are expected easy to target and forge coalitions and culture of the majority Hindus. Nor can women find much comfort What helped them in this process motive to change or not to chan-
to jump to 14.2% in March 2018 from against, but does not define the core Yogi Adityanath’s allergy to celebra- in a tradition that holds that they, is a combination of polytheism — ge? Because any motive is the
of what democratic India confronts ting the Taj Mahal articulates the vi- along with the lowest castes, animals Hindus worshipped so many gods outcome of the reaction of a
10.1% in September 2017 — compared today and has to defeat. ew that Indian authenticity can only and the drum, are qualified to be be- that addition of a few more hardly particular culture, is born out
to their peers in the private sector. That must change. The be represented by Hindu icons and aten, and whose underlying value of mattered — and the philosophy of of a particular background.
Indian vs Modern? that non-Hindu symbols reek of the subordination is elevated to high ca- non-duality, which posited the ulti- So, can my mind be free from
need is for deeper reforms for the government to dilute its
When Indianness is juxtaposed aga- subordination of Hindus by Muslim non by Manusmriti’s decree that wo- mate unity of the creator and the cre- the given culture in which I
stake and let banks raise capital from the market. Taxpay- inst modernity, the assumption is invaders and European colonialists men, protected at different stages of ated and, thus, deemed all difference have been brought up? Because
ers will then be spared of the bailout bill. There must also that to be Indian is to be pre-modern. for centuries. their life by father, husband and son, between things and individuals, and if the mind is not free from the
The radio jockey clearly believes The task clearly is to delineate do not deserve freedom. therefore of faiths and peoples as the culture in which it has been re-
be intense competition among more new banks of differ-
that to be modern is to be western. what is Indian and to be retained in But does such inequality and in- delusion of the unenlightened. With- ared and nurtured, surely, the
ent sizes — that includes payment and small banks — to The notion that western modernity the democratic reconfiguration of justice in India’s tradition make a ca- out such a framework of local thou- individual can never be at pea-
achieve financial inclusion. is just one form of modernity among traditional Indian society. se for its wholesale rejection? That ght, outsiders could not have made ce, can never have freedom. His
many possible forms of modernity, What does that pre-Sultanate auth- would be as ridiculous as rejecting themselves at home and flourished. gods and his myths, his symbols
Non-state ownership should be accompanied by an ov-
or that it is possible to be simultan- enticity mean for those in the lower the Pythagoras theorem on the gro- Just as caste oppression and wom- and all his endeavours are limi-
erhaul of the incentive structure of senior bankers. Com- eously both modern and Indian, is rungs of the social hierarchy into und that the Greek culture that pro- en’s subordination were part of Indi- ted, for they are still within the
pensation must rise significantly, but a large slice of the- firmly outside his worldview. He is which Hindu society has been organ- duced it was built on slavery of the an culture and must be rejected from field of the conditioned mind.
not alone. ised? Even today, those from lowest majority. what modern India carries into the Whatever efforts he makes, or
ir remuneration must be deferred, linked to long-term future, awareness of India’s cultural
This view of the world is shared by rungs can be beaten to death for wat- Ancient India produced advances does not make, within that limi-
performance and subject to clawback. This incentive to a large segment of those who can ching a garba, growing a moustache, in philosophy and mathematics, ast- achievements over the centuries ted field, are really futile in the
perform must be complemented by autonomy to functi- prattle along in English, even if they skinning a cow, refusing to remove a ronomy and medicine, in poetry, art must inform the project of building a deepest sense of that word. Th-
and architecture. To recognise this democratic India. ere may be a better decoration
on efficiently. Rigorous regulation will serve the public and to take pride in this heritage of The success of project democracy of the prison — more light,
purpose. State ownership does not. human advance is not to acknowled- in India depends on inclusive Indian- more windows, better food —
Democratic India needs a whole new concept of what ge the cruelty and oppression of the ness being placed at its core, reject- but it is still the prison of a par-
it means to be Indian, rejecting past inequality and caste system. But Indian history do- ing atavistic sectarianism. ticular culture.
es not stop with the advent of Mus-
incorporating the good and wholesome in tradition

PM’s Welcome Warning


lim rulers. They invaded, yes, some tk.arun@timesgroup.com

Chat Room

on Swachh Bharat ATM Access


MEME’S THE WORD
Spend, to Raise
Pvt Investment
It is welcome that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declar- In sub-Saharan Africa, there were on average five times fewer bank
ed that only popular ownership can make a success of the branches and ATMs per adult than in the rest of the world, according Apropos ‘How Down & Out
to IMF’s latest annual Financial Access Survey. In contrast, Asia Are We?’ by Omkar Goswami
Swachh Bharat campaign, the rebranded and galvanised av- recorded a substantial growth. Here’s a snapshot… (Oct 3), the slowdown in
atar of the sedate, decade-old Nirmal Gaon Yojana in which growth may be attributed to
Automatic teller machines availability, 2016
the PM invested much-needed political capital. It is a warning “Rather fail Top 10, by number 10 countries with worst access
factors such as sluggish in-
vestment, demonetisation,
to all those chief ministers who want to please the prime mini-
ster by reporting signal advance of the scheme in their states with honour Number (per 100,000 adults)

China 924,176 (81.5)


Per 100,000 adults (Number)

South Sudan 0.8 (54)


slide in manufacturing output
due to GST glitches, spiralling
and use all sorts of coercive measures to register that advance. than succeed US 425,010 (173.9) Afghanistan 1.1 (209) bad debt and stalled infrast-
With .̀ 100 crore of taxpayer money spent on advertising by ructure projects. Floods,
2015, states are in a rush to trumpet their achievements: the he- by fraud.” India 201,913 (21.2) Chad 1.4 (107) droughts and natural calami-
Russia 201,396 (168.7) Niger 1.5 (158) ties in recent past are respon-
avy hand of coercion now tries to enforce Swachh Bharat. Sophocles sible too. Four steps by the
Brazil 175,947 (108.8) Guinea 2.2 (160)
In Jharkhand, municipal authorities have a scheme called Playwright government — increasing
‘Halla Bol, Lungi Khol’, publicly strip- Japan 141,301 (127.8) Madagascar 2.6 (373) infrastructure spending,
ping people defecating in the open. On Oc- Indonesia 103,419 (54.7) Myanmar 2.7 (1,026) extending sops to revive the
MSME sector, cutting interest
tober 1, Maharashtra chief minister De- UK 70,020 (129.5) Burkina Faso 3.7 (376)
rates on retail and housing
vendra Fadnavis announced the ‘ODF Canada 67,992 (222.9) Uganda 4.4 (942) loans, and resolving bad loans
Source: IMF

Watch’ that would ‘force’ people to use toi- Thailand 64,115 (113.1) Mali 4.7 (440)
— will help raise private
investment.
lets, or risk public shame. A scheme call- US data for 2009
ed ‘Dabba Dol’, where the containers of SANJAY TIWARI
people performing their ablutions are Hisar
snatched by vigilantes, operates in Madhya Pradesh, where a
policeman recently attempted suicide after being forced to cle-
NOTIONAL RENT TAX ON SECOND PROPERTY Citings Less GST Slabs,
an toilets. The Madhya Pradesh government has banned non-
More Growth

It’s Never on the House


toilet users from contesting panchayat elections. In Chhattis-
garh, those not building toilets are denied access to subsidised
food. In Uttar Pradesh, vigilantes force villagers to clean their
On Private This refers to the Edit, ‘Go for
a Single Rate of About 14%’
(Oct 3). Though the FM has
own faeces by hand. In Rajasthan, civic officials’ attempt to Equity Deals hinted at convergence of GST
slabs over time, it is increa-
shame people defecating in the open by taking their photogra-
phs led to scuffles and one death. tion for the interest on a housing loan even if the actual rent received is less singly becoming a necessity.
PAMELA FUNG
— taken to buy the second house — is than fair rental value, it is the actual Confusion over categories,
The only way to make Swachh Bharat a success, and not turn allowed as a deduction from the fair rent that is considered for tax purpo- In terms of looking for a good classifications and slabs has
it into an instrument of oppression, is through voluntary com- rental value. And the balance is sub- ses, unless the income-tax authorities private equity fund, you look affected business sentiments
pliance. Once people realise the benefits of Swachh Bharat, ject to tax. prove that the transaction is shady. obviously at the manager’s across the
they will need no coercion to follow its principles. If you dig deeper, you will find that the An individual who has not been able past track record. Are the ret- nation, pul-
concept of levying income tax on the to let out his second house at all, has to urns good? Are they mediocre ling down
Lubna Kably fair rental value dates back to 1922, the go to great lengths to prove that he tried or not performing very well? GDP in H1. A
date of the original Income-Tax Act. to give this house on rent. Only by sh- However, we believe it’s not reduction in
The government in that era perhaps eer luck, and that too if he deals with just about strong performan- the tax slabs
Having adopted the goods and services did not wish to encourage taxpayers to an understanding income-tax officer, ce. When selecting a fund, we will bring
We should team up to ensure four staples tax, a major indirect tax reform, the accumulate wealth by owing multiple will the annual value of the second ho- look to understand the teams more taxpay-
are always affordable and available government is likely to turn its atten- houses. Surely, we have moved on use be accepted as ‘nil’. Or there may managing the fund, and their ers under the
tion to direct tax laws (a.k.a. the Inco- since then. be owners who do not wish to let out th- strategy and performance. GST net. That has been the

Tomato Trouble for


me-Tax Act, 1961, covering both corpo- An individual who owns a second eir second residential property at all We believe these qualitative experience in other countries.
rate and personal tax). house, which has not been let out at all as they are wary of doing so. Their ob- factors are an integral part of Another issue of importance
When it’s time to rewrite the income- during a financial year, has not earned jective could be to simply reap the ben- the decision-making process. is to bring petroleum products
tax laws, legislators should remember any income from the property. More efit of capital appreciation. If you look at a lot of the Asian under GST. The government

Pakistan’s Curries
that what should be taxed is income. important, by not giving his house on There are innumerable cases in tax funds, Asia private equity is has to adopt a bold approach.
Ironically, our income-tax laws conta- rent, he is not seeking to evade any tax- tribunals relating to income-tax levy pretty cyclical. In the pre-2005
in provisions that tax a ‘notional’ sum es. Yet, merely because he is the owner on a second house that has been vaca- era, many funds did very well. BHOLEY BHARDWAJ
that has not been earned at all. This of a second residential property, he is nt all through the year. Unfortunately, Then the industry became Mumbai
Our subcontinent can occasionally do without the four esta- hurts many taxpayers who own a se- assumed to have earned rent and inco- grey areas do exist in the tax land, and crowded and, I think, returns
tes of democracy but not those of curry: onion, garlic, ging-
cond house.
Many factors such as easier availabi-
me tax is levied on the fair rental value.
But if this second house has been let
if the income-tax levy is based on an
income that has not been earned at all,
have reverted to the norm.
Something I should menti- They Just Need
er and tomato. So, the brave move by Pakistan’s social media
activists to boycott the fourth estate — tomatoes — or at least
lity of housing loans (replete with tax
benefits on payment of interest and the
out even for just one month, the con-
cept of paying income tax on notional
it just assumes a darker shade of grey.
Incidentally, questions have been rais-
on… is how Asia differs from
the US and Europe. In particu-
Familial Warmth
those who control it, must be especially commended. It is not principal sum), falling interest rates income does not kick in. In such cases, ed on the constitutional validity of the lar, there are a lot of differen- Apropos ‘At Least 58 Dead, 500
on savings and lack of risk appetite re- income-tax levy. Decades ago, Bhagwan ces in sector specialisation. In Injured in Las Vegas Attack’
easy to do without something that has become a habit, but tak- quired to dabble in the stock markets Dass had petitioned before the Madhya the US, you’ll find a lot of pri- (Oct 3), the root cause of mass
ing on the tomato mafia on the issue of exorbitant prices is make many turn towards real estate. Pradesh High Court that inclusion of vate equity firms specialising shoot-outs in the US commit-
obviously a righteous one. A similar boycott there of unexp- Having a second house is not uncom- notional rent in his taxable income was in one sector only. For examp- ted by juveniles can be traced
ectedly expensive fruit during Ramzan has evidently inspir- mon these days. unconstitutional as there was no acc- le, we’ve invested with a group to a collapse of their families.
When it comes to residential property, rual of income in the true sense of the that only focuses on helping A high rate of divorce means
ed the current tomato abstention move. Unfortunately, Pak- the income-tax levy should kick in only term. His petition was rejected. Later, companies with their brand- no parent at home to look after
istan’s political class has not helped matters by deciding that when there is rental income or when in 1981, the Supreme Court that heard ing in the consumer space. the children, and they are left
India’s tomatoes are not wanted even at the cost of curries there is a sale of a property, which res- the same matter observed that anythi- We view Europe as halfway with no one to guide them in
losing their tang and colour. “Use yoghurt instead” has app- ults in a capital gain. After all, income ng that can be converted into income between the US and Asia, whe- their formative years. As a
tax is a levy on income. can be reasonably regarded as giving re specialisation is still emer- result, it’s easy for them to fall
arently been the stern official rejoinder, but that is not always However, if an individual has two res- rise to income. Thus, the power to levy ging. In Asia, you’ll see funds prey to anti-social elements
a natural or feasible alternative. idential properties, only one can be income tax on notional rent was not focused on healthcare, a lot of and take to crime. It is now for
The schadenfreude inherent in the Pakistani official stance treated as ‘self-occupied’ and exempt unconstitutional. them consumer-focused. But the social scientists to take a
from the clutches of the concept of no- The legislature has in the past over- there aren’t a lot of true speci- serious note of such develop-
is evident: prices have fallen across the Radcliffe Line as Ind-
tional income and an income-tax levy turned many judicial decisions, inc- alists that you get in the US.… ments and plan steps to cor-
ian tomato farmers have been deprived of a lucrative season- thereon. The other residential proper- luding those of the apex court. Given There’s already a lot of private rect the anomaly.
alexport income. But curries across Pakistan continue to suf- ty (second house), if vacant through- the scenario today, where owing a sec- equity money in China, and
out a financial year, is charged to tax ond home is not uncommon, perhaps valuations are high compared ARUN MALANKAR
FILE PHOTO

fer as they await consignments from Balochistan and Sindh.


based on a ‘notional annual value’ it is time to abolish income-tax levy on to the rest of the region. Mumbai
It is time to consider specific subcontinental Curry Trade
(which is the fair rental value set by notional rent.
Agreements (CTAs) to guard against price rise and seasonal the municipal authorities). From “How Private Equity in
Letters to the editor may be addressed to

fluctuations of availability. The only saving grace is that a deduc- Do pay our rent lubna.kably@timesgroup.com Asia is Changing” editet@timesgroup.com

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