City Matters
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4/2016 Demonetisation – The Jury is Still Out et me begin by wishing you a Healthy and Productive New Year. L How 2017 will evolve is anybody’s guess, so everyone needs all the luck. The year 2016 was quite turbulent to say the least, both within our country and outside. Many tectonic changes happened, which will have a huge impact on the future. UK voted to leave the European Union, while the US unexpectedly elected Donald Trump as its new President. Trump has no political experience and did not cover himself with glory during the campaigning. Even today, both the issues continue to be debated heatedly. Both happenings were manifestations of public sentiments of anti-elitism; anti- establishment and anti-globalisation. At home, the government demonetised bulk of our currency – M500 and M1000 notes – overnight in a secret move. Surprisingly, the common person welcomed the move as s/he felt that it is the rich who are being rightly hauled up. They did not mind standing in queues, again and again, to draw their own money. There were few immediate downsides of decreasing consumption and bad impact on the poor, farmers, daily wagers and so on. The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) handled it badly. Nearly 90 notices were issued in 50 days and we were unable to replace the currency in the right speed or quantity. The problem continues today. The idea of curbing corruption is impossible where it has never been treated as an undesirable attribute of people in our age-old culture of dasturi and bakshish. However, the silver lining was that the digital payment space got a big boost. Efforts are on to make our markets cashlite. Our bigger problem is its payment infrastructure and culture, which will take time to settle. My own experience with a Paytm transaction of M380 to buy a packet of tea was quite shocking. I got two SMSes, one indicating that there is an additional charge or addition of M33 to my account, nearly 8.6 percent. Later, it was reversed. But even an educated person like www.google.com me was flummoxed. Just imagine the plight of millions of our illiterate brethren. One does not know whether the tectonic move was right or wrong. It has been defined as very good by some and very bad by some. This included eminent economists like Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati. Politicians have gone hammer and tongs against and in favour, both. Clearly ideological and collateral factors have I N S I D E played a big role in all cases. But, the jury is still out in terms of its actual impact. However, the venerable institution of the RBI has taken a big hit of credibility as W Largest Presence in US it followed the government’s diktat on demonetisation blindly. It did not even do a Congress cost-benefit analysis of the move so as to take the call judiciously. The RBI and Racing to Glory Finance Ministry are currently being hauled up by the Parliament’s Public Accounts W Committee to explain. We will be wiser once this process is over by January end W Tree Saviour Youngsters or when the reports are made public, which should be very soon. W CUTS Gets ‘Swachh Rajasthan Award 2016’ W ‘Life Savers’ Awarded W Metro Updates Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General Miscellany Clean India Campaign technology, in deciding court cases. He matrimonial investigations’ including For success of the Swachh Bharat added that the cyber space with its checks on lifestyle, health issues and Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign), social media was a “space for drug addiction of their clients’ would- awareness among public has to be discourse” but “too many people” were be bride or groom. created, so that it becomes a Jan Andolan “jostling for control of speech”. Prerak Paliwal, who runs a Jaipur- (public protest), Union Urban (IE, 19.11.16) based investigation agency, said that Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu clients hand said. Excesssive Whatsapp-ing Threats over the task of Doctors are seeing increasing verifying the number of threats due to excessive background of Whatspping. These days, young people their potential are excessively addicted to social media spouse to him. platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. “Most They are constantly using smart arranged marriages are through phones and tablets for texting, which matrimonial websites or through any has led to an increase over the past family member. This increases the risk Stressing on adopting a three- few years in the number of people of cheating”, he added. (ToI, 24.10.16) pronged approach to maintain complaining of aches and pains in their cleanliness in the country, he said, “First fingers, thumbs and hands. Pirated Books Like Medals awareness should be created among Those who indulge in long duration Celebrated author Paulo Coelho, a masses, basic amenities, and toilets in texting on social media and gaming on known advocate of pirated books, feels public places should be provided. Then smartphones can suffer from wrist and piracy is like a medal to any writer emphasis should be laid on imposing finger joint pain and sometimes whose biggest reward is being read. fines on those violating the rules”. crippling arthritis of fingers. The Brazilian author of bestselling novels Naidu also said the government (DNA, 14.10.16) like The Alchemist, Eleven Minutes, would showcase short films on Swachh Adultery, Like the Flowing River etc. Bharat in cinema theatres for more Racing to Glory said that some call this ‘piracy’. awareness and making India cleaner by They spent most of their lives in He also posted a picture of boy 2019. (HT, 10.10.16) relative obscurity. Now, at the far end selling books on a road along with of their journey, they have covered his tweet. Piracy is a huge problem Largest Presence in US Congress faced by India’s publishing industry. Indian Americans have the largest “Piracy is widespread, with virtually ever presence in the US Congress every street in the country home to presently and the community has got stalls selling pirated texts”, Coelho its first Senator in Kamala Harris, who added. (BL, 08.11.16) won from California (US). While the Democratic Party faced crushing defeat Living beyond 125 Years at the hands of Republican insurgent Humans are unlikely to live longer Donald Trump for Presidency, Indian than 125 years old and even advances American leaders in the party have in medical sciences will not break made a mark in recent elections. themselves in sporting glory. Fauja through the barrier, a huge study has Besides Senator-elect Harris, Ami Singh and Mann Kaur – both concluded. Since the 19th century Bera, the lone member of the outgoing centenarian runners – hold the world average life expectancy has risen almost House has won his California seat record in their respective events. continuously, with a baby born today narrowly. However Raja Krishnamurthi Fauja Singh holds the world record expected to live until 81, compared to from Chicago, Pramila Jayapal from for the fastest marathon by a just 50 years in 1900. Washington and Ro Khanna from centenarian and even at 105, he runs California will be fresh Indian Americans 5 miles daily. While 100-year-old Mann faces in the US legislature. (TH, 10.11.16) Kaur from Chandigarh, Punjab recently hit the headlines by becoming the Low Tolerance Threshold world’s fastest centenarian at the India has “lost the right to humour, American Masters Games in Vancouver, the right to parody” due to “low British Columbia. (HT, 09.10.16) threshold” of tolerance of speech, Delhi High Court Justice S Muralidhar said. Enjoying Booming Trade The march of improvement in He stated that it is time to push for a As more and more people flock to longevity led many scientists, such as higher threshold for what is hate speech. city’s private detective agencies to dig Harvard’s Prof David Sinclair, to The judge also discussed the out details about their prospective speculate that there is no upper limit complications caused due to increasing spouses, the agencies are making big on how long humans can live for. use of internet-based communications bucks by offering range of ‘pre- (HT, 09.10.16) 2 Miscellany Observing ‘Plastic Hartal’ Dispose of Your ‘Stash’ Giving the word hartal (protest) a As India scrambled to figure out positive twist, the district administration what to do with M500 and M1,000 of north Indian town Kanpur and the currency notes after the Indian Panchayat (village council) called for a government announced that these bank plastic hartal on December 08, 2016. notes would be withdrawn from The day will mark the district-level circulation starting November 08, 2016 inauguration of the Haritha Keralam midnight, marketers fell over themselves mission. to announce offers, so that consumers lives. HeyHI has so far covered over The hartal is a continuation of the could quickly dispose of their ‘stash’. 2,800 trees and removed nearly 100 kg campaign against plastic carry bags. The “Our stores are open till midnight of nails. (HT, 24.12.16) drive to collect cleaned plastic carry today for shopping”, messaged Indian bags and other plastic waste from leading super market, ‘Big Bazaar’ after Resetting Ageing Clock households has been underway since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s At the Salk Institute in La Jolla, December 01, 2016. Under the initiative, announcement. “Could not withdraw California (US), scientists are trying to plastic waste from households is cash earlier? Walk into any ‘Dunkin get biological time to run backward. In brought to collection points in schools Donuts’, get 25 percent off on payment the first attempt to reverse ageing by to be sent for recycling.