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Officers’ body opposes central bank CFO plan National The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to appoint a chief financial officer (CFO) is facing stiff opposition as its officers’ association has questioned the move on the Presidential assent for Kambala Bill grounds that such a requirement is neither a statutory nor All the hurdles for resuming Kambala — the traditional a legal mandate. slush-track buffalo race of the coastal districts — are In May, the Reserve Bank of India invited applications cleared with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Kar- for the post of CFO with the rank of an executive director nataka Amendment) Bill, 2017, finally getting Presidential from outside the organisation. The RBI had said the CFO assent. would be responsible for accurate and timely presenta- The Legislative Assembly passed the Bill in February tion and reporting of financial information of the central 2017 to put the traditional sport out of the ambit of PCA bank, and establishing accounting policies and proce- Act. Governor Vajubhai R. Vala then referred the Bill to dures and ensuring compliance with regulations. the President for his assent. In a letter to Governor Urjit Patel, Reserve Bank of India In April, the Union Home Ministry suggested modifica- Officers’ Association said the move to induct a CFO came tions to the Bill and returned it to the State. It wanted the as an “unpleasant shock” as they were not clear about government to modify or omit the phrase “subject to such the intended purpose for the move. other conditions as may be prescribed”, which would ‘Not clear’ open the window for inclusion of more such sports. “The rationale behind recruiting a CFO in the rank of an ED is not at all clear. RBI has been set up through an act of the Parliament and there is no statutory requirement Centre may partially lift AFSPA of having a CFO,” according to the letter, a copy of which The Centre is considering partial removal of the Armed was reviewed by The Hindu. Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from Assam and “Further, we are not governed by the companies act and Arunachal Pradesh, a senior Home Ministry official said. therefore, there is no legal requirement of having a CFO.” The Ministry has asked the two BJP-ruled States for their The officers’ association argued that since no account- views on AFSPA withdrawal and said that it was open to ing standards strictly applied to a central bank, it was not reviewing the stringent law in other States like Manipur. clear why the central bank should have a CFO. There was no proposal to withdraw it in Jammu and By having a CFO, RBI is gradually opening doors for the Kashmir, the official said. “We are waiting for the State Government to have a say in its internal matters since, governments’ comments and will take the final decision “from control perspective, if anyone has a right to appoint once they reply. In Arunachal Pradesh, we are looking an independent CFO in RBI, it is the Government of In- at complete withdrawal, except two districts in the east dia,” according to the letter. bordering Myanmar and Nagaland,” Kiren Rijiju, Minister This is not the first time that the central bank’s move to of State for Home told The Hindu. have an outsider is facing resistance. Mr. Patel’s prede- The AFSPA gives powers to the Army and Central forces cessor, Raghuram Rajan’s proposal to induct a chief op- deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in con- erating officer with the rank of a deputy governor, also travention of law, arrest and search any premises without faced opposition and the plan was finally shelved. a warrant and provide cover to forces from prosecution The officers’ body has also questioned the need toin- and legal suits without the Centre’s sanction. It is effec- duct the CFO from outside as there is enough staff within tive in the whole of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (exclud- the organisation with the required skill set. “We strongly ing the seven Assembly constituencies of Imphal). In feel that the skill sets required for a CFO are adequately Arunachal Pradesh, it is in force in 16 police stations and available in the bank (e.g. there are several chartered ac- in Tirap, Longding and Changlangaspirantforum.com districts bordering As- countants in the bank) in its existing experienced senior sam. Tripura withdrew AFSPA in 2015. It is not in force in level staff,” the letter said, adding that recent experiments Meghalaya (except 20 kilometre area along Assam bor- on lateral hires have not met the objectives of the central der) and Mizoram. bank.
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. On-off recruitment
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The officers have also reminded the governor that three Mr. Divan, along with advocate Vipin Nair, retorted, but years ago when they were opposing lateral recruitment of later told the court that he would make mention before an officer in the ‘F’ grade in one of the research depart- the Chief Justice next week for an Aadhaar Bench. ments of the bank, the then governor assured the United The hearing started with Justice Chelameswar enquir- Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees that the ing why the court had not heard the main plea on the recruitment was one-off. constitutionality of Aadhaar despite a Bench led by him, “Today, our association and the members feel betrayed way back in 2015, having referred this for hearing by a as the commitment has not been honoured,” according Constitution Bench. to the letter. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Chelameswar had Requesting the proposal to induct the CFO to be kept in on October 7, 2015 referred to a Constitution Bench the abeyance, the officers’ association sought a meeting with question whether a person can voluntarily shed his right Mr. Patel to discuss the issue. An e-mail sent to the RBI to privacy by enrolling for Aadhaar to easily access gov- spokesperson went unanswered. ernment welfare services. However, the court also took note of the Aadhaar Act giv- NGT questions pollution control board ing the scheme statutory status. appointments The National Green Tribunal has directed all States and President’s nod for Bill against social boycott Union Territories (UTs) to explain within a week whether Maharashtra has become the first State in the country to appointments of chairmen and member secretaries in enact a law against social boycott from caste panchay- State pollution control boards have been made as per ats. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to im- the guidelines stipulated by it. plement the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill in the State. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter The bill had been cleared in last year’s Budget Session Kumar warned that if the reply is not filed by them within with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claiming that it the requisite time, it would impose a cost of Rs. 25,000 would deal with the scourge of social boycott with an ‘iron on each defaulting State or UT. hand’. As per the procedure, the bill was forwarded by the Specific reply Central government to the President for his assent. “All the State governments and the UTs shall file a spe- A senior officer from the State Home Department said cific reply within one week on whether they have com- Maharashtra has received approval from the Centre to plied with the directions contained in the judgment of the implement the Act all over the State. Despite repeated tribunal of August 24, 2016.” reminders from the State to the Centre, the clearance of The matter was listed for next hearing on July 12. the Bill was inordinately delayed. An officer said, “The bill involved four ministries including the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. We answered all queries satisfactorily and have Aadhaar is not totalitarian: Centre now we have received the go-ahead.” “The tragedy of it is all that money intended for public The State answered questions raised by the Scheduled welfare schemes was swallowed up en route. After Aad- Tribes development department regarding overlapping haar, people are getting their money and benefits,” Mr. of certain conditions in the bill with existing laws. With Venugopal submitted. growing instances of boycotts of individuals or families He called Mr. Divan’s remark on the country becoming a by caste panchayats, the need to enact a special law was concentration camp as hyperbolic and “rather unparlia- echoed in the State in 2010. The bill makes provision for mentary.” punishment of up to three years in jail and/or a fine up Mr. Venugopal, who had earlier agreed to team up with to Rs. 1 lakh. The case has to be fast tracked within six Mr. Divan to approach the Chief Justice of India for set- months from the date of filing the charge sheet. The fine ting up an appropriate Benchaspirantforum.com to decide the constitutional- charged from accused will be partially or fully handed ity of Aadhaar, threatened to withdraw, saying “if he [Di- over to the victim. van] continues to call India a concentration camp, I will The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti not join hands with him.” (MANS), which led the movement demanding the law, “I reiterate my statement. It is not hyperbolic. In fact it Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. expressed satisfaction over the enactment of the bill. was an understatement. Shall I use the word totalitarian,”
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Krushna Chandgude, an activist with MANS, said, “Years time, China has come in and destroyed our bunkers”. of struggle have finally been paid off. We campaigned for “What is the trigger for all this,” he asked. the Act and were successful in convincing the political class that the issue of social boycott by caste panchay- ats was not only a matter of law and order but also social justice.” Mr. Chandgude slain rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar has also campaigned against social boycott by caste panchayats in Maharashtra and the bill turn- ing in to an Act was a tribute to the fighting spirit of Dr. Dabholkar. Avinash Patil, executive president, MANS, said, “Now that the Act has been cleared by the President, MANS will run a special campaign for the implementation of it at On Amarnath attack the district level.” Mr. Sharma also said that Opposition leaders were yet to receive a satisfactory explanation on why the Amarnath China, J&K to be focus of monsoon session yatris killed in a terror attack recently were allowed to The Opposition will demand discussions on both the bor- travel after 7 p.m., when security cover is withdrawn. der stand-off with China and the deteriorating situation in The Congress, he said, sees the Kashmir killings as Kashmir in the monsoon session of Parliament, though linked to the growing atmosphere of intolerance across its floor leaders were called for an official briefing . the country, in which mob lynchings are becoming com- Opposition leaders said their attendance at the meeting monplace. should not be interpreted as acquiescence in what the The Congress core group will meet . This will be followed government has done so far on these two critical issues by a meeting of the 18 Opposition parties that are sup- concerning national security: more questions need to be porting Gopalkrishna Gandhi for the post of Vice-Pres- answered, and it must be done in Parliament, the coun- ident. These parties will also gather evening to meet try’s “highest forum for discussion”. Mr. Gandhi and the Opposition’s presidential candidate Multiple issues Meira Kumar. While the Opposition intends to flag several other sub- D. Raja of the CPI said, “We will also seek discussion jects for discussion — including farmers’ distress, the on farmers’ distress and the countrywide agitation by economic fallout of demonetisation, and the implemen- them, mob lynching and why it is continuing even after tation of GST — China and Kashmir will continue to be PM Modi’s appeal, the economic fallout of demonetisa- on the table. tion and GST, disinvestment leading to job losses and Congress Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand the threats to freedom of expression.” Sharma, who attended Friday’s meeting, told The Hindu Flagging the subjects of farmers’ distress and of the mis- that while the Opposition would stand with the govern- use of governors by the Modi government, he said his ment on both these issues as they concern national se- party also wants a discussion on mob lynching, and the curity, there was concern over how the situation on the maintenance of what he called a “register of gaubhakts” border with China had escalated. who were on the rampage across the country, demand- ‘Intensify efforts’ ing bribes from or attacking cow traders. “The government must intensify diplomatic efforts to de- escalate the situation on the border, and avoid conflict. Centre wants debate on J&K’s special status The government is saying that the National Security Ad- The Centre asked the Supreme Court for a detailed hear- viser will be going to Beijing on July 27 and that will act ing on the special status granted to the State of Jammu as a line of communication,aspirantforum.com but it is not enough. and Kashmir, saying it is both a sensitive and a constitu- Mr. Sharma expressed surprise that despite India-China tional matter. agreements in 2003 and 2005, followed by the trilater- “It is a very sensitive matter. It is a constitutional issue. al China-India-Bhutan agreement in 2012 that nothing A debate is required,” Attorney General K.K. Venugopal would be done unilaterally on the border, “for the first submitted before a bench led by Chief Justice J.S. Khe- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol.
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har. “The Bill criminalises mob violence as well as acts of The top law officer was responding to a PIL filed bya omission by public servants. As we have seen in the Delhi-based NGO, We the Citizens, contending that the Pehlu Khan case, two of the accused have not been ar- J&K government, given the State’s special autonomous rested yet. There is similar slowing of investigations when status under Articles 35A and 370, was discriminatory the media spotlight is taken away from such incidents,” against non-residents as far as government jobs and real Mr. Owaisi told The Hindu . “Unless there are measures estate purchases are concerned. that call public servants to account, the sincerity of in- The Bench agreed to schedule the case before a three- vestigation will be contingent on public uproar, popular judge Bench after six weeks. demand and political expediency.” Responding to this, the State government argued that its The Bill proposes special courts for trying cases of mob special status was sourced from the 1954 presidential or- violence, with judges appointed by a collegium of five der, which gave special rights to the State’s permanent senior-most High Court judges. These courts will receive residents. complaints of mob violence, set up special investigation The hearing comes in the backdrop of an earlier order of teams and appoint public prosecutors. The SIT and pub- the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which has already lic prosecutor will also be under Supreme Court supervi- ruled that Article 370 assumes a place of permanence in sion. the Constitution and the feature is beyond amendment, Punishment up to life imprisonment, special compensa- repeal or abrogation. tion and witness protection are built into the Bill. The Court also said that Article 35A gives “protection” to The most significant clause, however, is the award of existing laws in force in the State. penalties to public servants when such cases are not ‘Temporary Provision’ properly investigated, either due to malafide intentions or “Article 370 though titled as ‘Temporary Provision’ and wilful neglect. Mob violence include any act in which two included in Para XXI titled ‘Temporary, Transitional and or more persons injure, harm, oppress or threaten a per- Special Provisions’ has assumed place of permanence in son on the basis of his identity or prevent his enjoyment the Constitution,” the High Court had observed. of a Constitutional right. “It is beyond amendment, repeal or abrogation, in as much as Constituent Assembly of the State before its dis- A ‘mentally-retarded’ adult is not a child: SC solution did not recommend its Amendment or repeal,” A “mentally-retarded” adult cannot be considered a child the High Court had added. and given refuge under the Protection of Children from The court also observed that the President under Article Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012, the Supreme 370 (1) is conferred with power to extend any provision Court held . of the Constitution to the State with such “exceptions and The case before the court was that of a rape victim, modifications” as may be deemed fit subject to consulta- whose biological age is 38 though medical reports con- tion or concurrence with the State government. clude that her “mental age” is that of six-year-old. The The High Court had said Jammu and Kashmir, while ac- woman’s mother had moved the Supreme Court to ex- ceding to dominion of India, retained limited sovereign- pand the definition of the term ‘child’ in Section 2 (d) of ty and did not merge with Dominion of India, like other the POCSO Act to embrace adults who are “mentally- princely States. retarded or extremely intellectu- ally-challenged”. “The State continues to enjoy special status to the extent The mother’s petition said the biological age of a person of limited sovereignty retained by it,” the High Court had should not be the governing yardstick for POCSO, which said. seeks to protect children from sexual abuse, treat them with fragility and provide them gentle care throughout the Owaisi brings Bill on mob violence criminal trial and swiftly punish the guilty. Asaduddin Owaisi, MPaspirantforum.com and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Vulnerable adults Muslimeen chief, has sent notice for a private members The victim’s mother, based in Delhi, said any person, Bill in the Lok Sabha to combat mob violence, with sec- even an adult, who is incapable of understanding what is tions to award a minimum 10 years’ imprisonment to pub- happening to her, is equal to a child. A holistic interpreta-
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. lic servants for “acts of omission”. tion of the term ‘child’ to include intellectually-vulnerable
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adults serves the basic purpose of the 2012 Act. A Bench And he mentioned Gandhi and (RSS ideologue) Upad- of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton Fali Nariman, in hyaya in the same breath.” their separate judgments, agreed that a judge cannot take on the role of the legislator. Judges only declare the Privacy built into Aadhaar Act, says UIDAI law, while legislators make the law. It is not for the judge “Privacy is non-negotiable, confidentiality is non-nego- to become an adventurer and don the role of the law- tiable under the Aadhaar Act,” the Unique Identification maker. It is not for the judge to decide “what the law ought Authority of India (UIDAI), the nodal agency implement- to be instead of what the law is”. ing the Aadhaar scheme, has said in the Supreme Court. Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for It’s going to be a different presidency the UIDAI, made this emphatic claim when apprehen- President Ram Nath Kovind is possibly the first oc- sions were raised by a nine-judge Bench that personal cupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan whose officers were data collected during Aadhaar enrolment might make its announced before he assumed office. Those who have way into the hands of private players, for whom such de- been named are all choices of the Prime Minister’s Office tails would transform into “vital commercial information”. (PMO), rather than that of the First Citizen, signalling that The court was, in turn, responding to a submission by this will be a very different kind of presidency, opposition Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the MPs across the spectrum say. Centre, that citizens could not claim informational priva- During his tenure, former President Pranab Mukherjee, cy when the state asks for data for a legitimate purpose like many of his predecessors, more so those who came such as Aadhaar. “There is no denying that it [Aadhaar] is straight from politics to Rashtrapati Bhavan, had acted a social welfare scheme, but you [the government] must as a sounding board for politicians, not just from the Con- first concede that the state is obliged to put a robust per- gress, the party to which he had belonged for most of his sonal data protection mechanism in place,” Justice D.Y. political career, but to MPs from all parties, as well as to Chandrachud said. two Prime Ministers, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the cur- “There may be a billion Aadhaar card holders. I don’t rent incumbent, Narendra Modi. want the state to pass on my personal information to Mr. Modi, indeed, has gone on record to say that during some 2,000 service providers who will send me What- his three years, Mr. Mukherjee was like a father to him, sApp messages offering cosmetics and air conditioners helping him find his feet in political Delhi. But the equa- ... That is our area of concern. Personal details turn into tion between Mr. Kovind and Mr. Modi, Opposition MPs vital commercial information for service providers. Have say, is likely to be very different, with more than appoint- you got a robust protection mechanism,” Justice Chan- ments of officials being decided by the PMO. drachud asked. Many Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs know Mr. Kovind Fundamental right personally, as their time overlapped with his when he Justice S.A. Bobde wondered whether the Aadhaar Act was a member of the Upper House, and say that he is a of 2016 itself had any provisions to protect privacy. Mr. mild-mannered and pleasant person. Some of them have Venugopal then pointed to Section 28 of the statute deal- even paid him courtesy calls over the last few days be- ing with “security and confidentiality of information”. It fore he moved into Rashtrapati Bhavan. was in the State’s legitimate interest to keep personal Difficult route data secure as this would make Aadhaar acceptable to One former MP told The Hindu that after fixing an - ap one and all, he submitted. pointment, he was told his time “had been cancelled by “So does this mean you do recognise privacy as a funda- the PMO” and he had to use other connections to meet mental right?” Justice Bobde persisted. Mr. Kovind. Another MP who met him recently said that, Here, Justice Rohinton F. Nariman observed that the as an Ambedkarite, Mr. Kovind’s challenge would be how government had dedicated an entire chapter in the 2016 he deals with the issue aspirantforum.comof reservation, one that the RSS Act to the protection of privacy and security. “So is this has always been ambivalent about. not a statutory recognition of privacy as a fundamental The Congress’s Jairam Ramesh told The Hindu that “Mr. right,” he asked Mr. Venugopal. Kovind’s speech pointed towards the re-writing of history “A law [Aadhaar Act] may specifically provide for the that this government is so keen on. He mentioned Gan- protection of privacy because privacy is not recognised Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. dhi, Patel and Ambedkar but deliberately left out Nehru. as a fundamental right,” said Mr. Venugopal, turning the
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judge’s question on its head. Ph.D degrees from the IIMs. Justice Chandrachud said informational privacy was the Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Ja- most “vexed” portion of the ongoing debate as parts of vadekar said, “It is because the fellowships of IIMs were personal data were already in the public domain. To this, not regarded by many as Ph.Ds that there were less stu- Mr. Venugopal said informational privacy can never be a dents for Ph.Ds to become Fellows. They used to go after part of fundamental rights. There was no informational doing Diploma here. They used to go to foreign countries privacy against compelling state interests and public util- and do research. Now research will be (done) here.” ity, for which the state can ask for fingerprints. But again, The Bill confers on the 20 IIMs the status of institutions of individuals can refuse if the information sought was to- national importance and also grants them greater func- tally irrelevant,” he said. tional autonomy by restricting the role of the government in them. CAG spots weaknesses in missile defence At present, the Centre has a role in the functioning of the IIMs, including the appointment of the chairpersons to the system Boards of the IIMs, their directors and fixing the pay of The strategic missile system, a medium range superson- the directors. As per the IIM Bill, 2017, a Board of Gover- ic surface to air missile system to counter aerial threats nors will appoint the director of each IIM. A search-cum- were “deficient in quality”, according to a report tabled by selection-committee will recommend the names. And the the Comptroller and Auditor General in Parliament . director will be eligible for variable pay determined by the Over 70% of the under vehicle scanners (UVS) installed Board. at Indian Air Force (IAF) bases were non-functional, the Mr. Javadekar came in for praise from Opposition mem- report said. It also said that the IL series of aircraft, which bers like Shashi Tharoor for having given the IIMs greater provides vital transport support to the IAF during contin- autonomy and “surrendering his powers”. gencies, “has not been upgraded, and continue to fly with 1985 vintage avionics”. The report comes amid increased threat perception to The lowdown on the right to privacy defence installations in the wake of terrorist attack at the A definite legal definition of ‘privacy’ is not available. Pathankot airbase in January 2016. Some legal experts tend to define privacy as a human The IAF in February said that out of the 57 UVS sys- right enjoyed by every human being by virtue of his or tems, 52 had been installed and only five were yet to be her existence. It depends on no instrument or charter. installed. Privacy can also extend to other aspects, including bod- However, 35 systems still remained in “unserviceable ily integrity, personal autonomy, informational self-de- condition”. termination, protection from state surveillance, dignity, Not enhanced confidentiality, compelled speech and freedom to dissent “Even as on February 2017, over 70% of the procured or move or think. In short, the right to privacy has to be UVS systems were not functioning or were uninstalled. determined on a case-by-case basis. Privacy enjoys a Thus the security systems procured at a cost of Rs. 17.09 robust legal framework internationally. Article 12 of the crore could not be utilised fully for the security of the air Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 and Arti- bases even after about five years. Besides, the security cle 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political of the air bases could not be enhanced as envisaged,” Rights (ICCPR), 1966, legally protect persons against the report said. “arbitrary interference” with one’s privacy, family, home, “Strategic missile system is vital for the country’s air de- correspondence, honour and reputation. India signed fence and deterrence capability. Audit found that the sys- and ratified the ICCPR on April 10, 1979, without reserva- tem delivered by Bharat Electricals Limited was deficient tion. Article 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in quality,” the report added. of the European Union, 2012, recognises the respect for aspirantforum.comprivate and family life, home and communications. Article 8 mandates protection of personal data and its collection LS passes Bill for more autonomy to IIMs for a specified legitimate purpose. The Lok Sabha passed a Bill to grant Indian Institutes The trigger is the government’s Aadhaar scheme, which of Management the power to grant degrees instead of collects personal details and biometrics to identify benefi- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. postgraduate diplomas. It also allows students to acquire
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ciaries for government welfare schemes. A bunch of petitions was filed in the Supreme Court in 2015 terming Aadhaar a breach of privacy. The petitioners argued that Aadhaar enrolment was the means to a “totalitarian state” and an open invitation for personal data leakage. The government countered that the right to privacy of an “elite few” is submissive to the right of the masses to lead a dignified life in a developing country. It said informational privacy does not exist before compelling state interests and is not an absolute right. It reasoned that collection and use of personal data of citizens for Aadhaar — now a law un- der the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act of 2016 — benefits millions of poor. The government claims Aadhaar is a panacea for corruption in public distribution, money-laundering and terror funding. Plagued by contradictions in the past judicial pronouncements on whether or not privacy is a fun- damental right, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decided to refer the question to a nine-judge Bench. This nine-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, for the first time, is engaged in an intense debate with legal scholars and prominent lawyers on whether or not privacy is a fundamental right in the Constitution. At the same time, the judges and the legal community are vexed by the amorphous nature of privacy. The government argues that right to privacy is not expressly included in the Constitution as the founding fathers re- jected or jettisoned the idea of inclusion of privacy as a fundamental right. But petitioners insist that the recognition of privacy as a fundamental freedom is an essential deterrent against intrusion into personal space and data by state and private players in a technologically dynamic society. The apprehension expressed by the Supreme Court about the collection and use of data is the risk of personal in- formation falling into the hands of private players and service providers. The apprehension is best expressed in the words of Justice Chandrachud on the nine-judge Bench: “I don’t want the state to pass on my personal information to some 2,000 service providers who will send me WhatsApp messages offering cosmetics and air conditioners... That is our area of concern. Personal details turn into vital commercial information for private service providers.” Both the government and service providers collect personal data. This adds to the danger of data leakage. The Supreme Court repeatedly asked the government whether it plans to set up a “robust data protection mecha- nism.” The court pointed to the fact that a large chunk of personal information is already in the public domain and gave an example of how a person accesses his Apple iPad by using his fingerprints. The court pointed out that the “state is obliged to put a robust personal data protection mechanism in place in this digital age.”
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vide greater flexibility to lower the output when renewable energy generation is high, said the report, titled “Green- Economy ing the Grid.” “Scheduling and dispatch that is optimised at the region- al, rather than state level, can support more efficient op- erations of thermal plants and reduce annual operating India gets a ‘good and simple tax’ costs by 2.8%, or Rs. 6,300 crore,” the report said. “In ad- Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda shared the dais dition to improving access to least-cost generation, coor- with the President and the PM, while the only Congress dination between states helps reduce the number of coal MP present was P.J. Kurien, who was there in his capac- plants at part load, providing greater operational range to ity as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson. the remaining committed coal plants to lower generation Hours prior to the official launch, the GST Council chaired output when RE generation is high,” the report added. by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley slashed the tax rate on “National coordination provides even further cost savings fertilizers from 12% to 5% and tractor parts from 28% to [3.5% savings].” 18%, in a bid to make the new tax regime more farmer- The government’s target of 175 GW of renewable energy friendly. by 2022 envisages 100 GW solar and 60 GW wind en- “A lot of States had some concern that the tax rate on ergy. Flipping this to give precedence to wind could in- fertilizers that was fixed at 12% should not lead to an in- crease the penetration of renewable energy and further crease in prices. We had received a lot of representations reduce carbon dioxide emission, the report said. against this. The current tax incidence was considered, but some States had kept a tax rate lower than that, so keeping all that in mind, it was decided that the GST on Orient Green to sell biomass operations to fertilizers would be 5%,” Mr. Jaitley said. promoter firm The Council also approved additional rules for GST im- Orient Green Power Company Ltd. (OGPL), an inde- plementation, the Finance Minister said, while the Fi- pendent renewable energy-based power generation firm, nance Ministry said on its Twitter handle that the GST has decided to sell the bulk of its biomass operations to rate on ‘exclusive parts of tractors’ has been reduced its promoter company, SVL Ltd., or its subsidiaries. from 28% to 18%. This will see the Chennai-based OGPL holding mostly Meanwhile, a last-ditch attempt by Jammu and Kashmir wind assets. It has wind assets to the tune of 425 MW, to pass the necessary legislation to enable a simultane- and biomass assets worth 96 MW. The move to sell bio- ous rollout of GST with the rest of the country failed, as mass operations comes even as OGPL and IL&FS Wind no consensus could be reached. A special session of the Energy are in parleys to merge their wind assets to cre- J&K Assembly will be held from July 4 to discuss the is- ate a company with 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of operating as- sue. sets. IL&FS Wind has an operating capacity of 775 MW. Mr. Jaitley had earlier warned the State about the ad- The biomass asset sale move also signals a change in verse impact on its consumers as well as businesses if strategy by OGPL. The firm had earlier toyed with the they fail to roll out GST in sync with the other States. idea of demerging the biomass business into a separate The government’s think tank Niti Aayog sought to play listed entity and even approached the Madras High Court down expectations of the economy growing faster due to for its nod. the GST regime, with its member Bibek Debroy stressing “In view of the accumulated losses and the reduced size that the new dispensation with multiple tax rates is ‘far of the operations, it was felt that demerger of biomass from ideal’ and hopes of GDP growing by 1%-1.5% were operations into a listed entity with limited growth potential pinned on an ‘ideal GST’, not an ‘imperfect one.’ would not create optimum value for shareholders. In or- ‘Optimising thermal power at regional level can cut costs’ der to optimise and accelerate the unlocking [of value] for Optimising thermal poweraspirantforum.com supply and demand at the re- shareholders, the board of the company has approved gional level could reduce the annual operating costs of the sale of the biomass operations, at an independent thermal power plants by 2.8% or Rs. 6,300 crore, accord- valuation, to the promoter company,” according to an ing to a report. OGPL statement. Greater coordination between states could help reduce Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. Kolhapur plant the number of coal plants at part load, which would pro- The sale transaction will not include the 20 MW co-gen- Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
eration plant at Kolhapur and the 10 MW biomass unit in bank here really was aggressive in quantitative easing Rajasthan, since OGPL has already agreed to sell them first,” said Mr. Ablin. post the de-merger application to the High Court. For the second quarter, revenue for companies in Eu- The biomass operations registered a revenue of Rs. 78 ropean markets are expected to grow 5.8% compared crore, falling 24% year-on-year due to a shut-down of with 4.6% for S&P 500 index companies and 11.5% for some of the plants. The unit registered a loss before tax emerging markets in the Asia Pacific Region, according of Rs. 81 crore in 2016-17 and the unit has about Rs. 193 to Reuters data. crore of outstanding debt. Earnings estimates for European companies for the pe- A combination of factors, including lack of support from riod stand out with a 13.5% jump seen compared with 8% the government, had enmeshed the biomass operations growth expected for the S&P 500 and 6.4% for emerging in cash-flow issues, said T. Shivaraman, vice-chairman. markets. “The biomass operations have been a drag on the overall Mr. Schutte’s firm is betting that outperformance in performance, and have diluted the substantial improve- emerging market and European stocks should continue ments achieved by the wind business,” according to the and he cited a 1-2 year timeframe for investment in euro statement. It has contributed to more than 50% of the zone stocks. His firm started moving money into non- losses and the sale will cut outstanding debt by about Rs. U.S. stocks around February 2016. 250 crore. Software patent rules reissued Overseas equities to outperform The Indian Patent Office has again issued guidelines on Even though a steady stream of money has flowed out examination of computer-related inventions (CRIs) such of U.S. stocks into overseas markets, investors expect as software programmes. European and emerging market equities to rise further, The aim of this document is to provide guidelines for the supported by expectations for economic growth and ac- examination of patent applications in the field of CRIs by commodative central bank policies. the Indian Patent Office so as to further foster uniformity U.S. fund investors put the most money into overseas and consistency in the examination of such applications. equities since the second quarter in 2015, with more than “The objective of this document is to bring out clarity in half of the $90 billion outflows for the first half coming in terms of exclusions expected under section 3(k) so that the second quarter, according to preliminary Lipper data. eligible applications of patents relating to CRIs can be The MSCI Emerging market index has risen 17% year-to- examined speedily,” the guidelines said. date compared with a 4.9% rise for Europe’s Stoxx 600 According to the Section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act, index and the S&P 500 index’s 8% gain. a mathematical or business method or a computer pro- Currency boost gramme per se or algorithms are not inventions. Various Since emerging market central banks have been lower- representations have been received regarding these ing interest rates and their currencies have been falling guidelines which were first published in August 2015. in recent years this is now helping to boost economic Associations strongly opposed them, saying the norms growth, according to Northwestern Mutual’s Chief Invest- were detrimental to the domestic IT sector. ment Strategist, Brent Schutte. The guidelines were then put in abeyance and re-issued But still the emerging market index is roughly 25% off its in February last year. But associations again raised is- all-time high reached in 2007 while the Stoxx 600 is 8% sues, after which an expert committee was set up to look off its record high. In comparison the S&P 500 is just 1% into them. below its latest record, reached in June. “After taking all the views into consideration, the guide- The overseas indexes could reach new record highs lines for examination of CRI have been streamlined,” the over the next two years, according to Jack Ablin, chief committee said. investment officer at BMOaspirantforum.com Private Bank citing improving growth. India in 88th place in money hoarded in “Finally the recovery has really picked up in the rest of the world. It’s moving along faster than the U.S. because Swiss banks it’s trailed. The U.S. is further along because the central India has slipped to the 88th place in terms of money Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, while the U.K.
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remains on the top. will continue to facilitate investments and simplify the Also, the money officially held by Indians with banks in business environment.” Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04 per cent “CII and Indian industry [are] committed to ensuring the of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss success of GST for boosting India’s growth and develop- banking system, as per an analysis of the latest figures ment,” Ms. Kamineni added. compiled by the Swiss National Bank as on 2016-end. India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and at 61st in The rising clout of mutual funds the year before that, though it used to be among top-50 Last week, the mood was celebratory as the mutual fund countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. industry congregated at the annual AMFI Mutual Fund The country was ranked highest at 37th place in 2004. Summit, in Mumbai. The latest data from the Zurich-based SNB comes ahead And why not? The total assets managed by Indian MFs, of a new framework for automatic exchange of informa- at Rs. 19.5 lakh crore is at a record and has more than tion between Switzerland and India to help check the trebled in the last five years. Interestingly, this expansion black money menace. has been driven as much by retail investors, as the con- The funds are the official figures and do not indicate the ventional corporate treasuries. quantum of black money. As of end-March 2017, retail investors had parked a whopping Rs. 8.7 lakh crore with domestic mutual funds. GST positive for India’s credit profile: Moody’s This is up from Rs. 3.2 lakh crore just five years ago, The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will be positive a study by the industry body AMFI jointly with CRISIL for India’s credit profile as it will contribute to productivity shows. Indian mutual funds now feature more than 5.2 gains and higher GDP growth as well as support higher crore retail investor accounts. government revenue generation through improved tax Clearly, MFs are breaking free from the crisis of confi- compliance, according to global ratings agency Moody’s. dence five years ago, to emerge as a popular investing William Foster, vice president, sovereign risk group, vehicle for retail investors. This has structural implica- Moody’s Investors Service, said: “Over the medium term, tions for the market itself. we expect that the GST will contribute to productivity More market clout gains and higher GDP growth by improving the ease of A few years ago, FPIs had the Indian stock market by the doing business, unifying the national market and enhanc- scruff of its neck. If FPIs brought in more money, the indi- ing India’s attractiveness as a foreign investment destina- ces would promptly spiral upwards. If they left the party, tion.” they would swoon. But the rising clout of domestic institu- It will also support higher government revenue generation tions such as mutual funds has changed this. through improved tax compliance and administration, he MF equity assets have expanded from Rs. 2.2 lakh crore said in a statement issued , adding that both would be to Rs. 6.4 lakh crore between March 2012 and March positive for India’s credit profile, which is constrained by 2017. More money under management has meant great- a relatively low revenue base. er clout for domestic funds in the stock market. Data from “We expect improved tax compliance to be driven by: in- the AMFI-CRISIL study shows that, from owning 2.9% of centivisation of tax credits in a GST system; greater ease the outstanding shares in the market by value (full mar- of compliance through usage of a common, shared IT ket capitalisation) just three years ago, mutual funds now infrastructure between the central government and the own 5.5%. states; and a reduction in the overall cost of compliance This number is more significant than it may seem. As from simplified tax rates, uniform across the country. We promoters control 47% of the outstanding shares in the expect the net impact of GST on government revenues Indian market, only 53% are freely tradeable. to be positive.” Therefore, mutual funds now own more than 10% of the ‘Industry prepared’ freely tradeable shares by value. Premier industry body Confederation of Indian Industry With insurers sitting on another 8-9%, domestic institu- said the Indian industryaspirantforum.com was prepared for the rollout of tions now carry at least half the market clout of the all- the GST, adding that the regime will contribute to ease of powerful FPIs (who own about 40% of the free float). doing business and accelerate new business ventures. This has rendered the Indian stock market more resilient Shobana Kamineni, President, CII, said: “… it (GST) to FPI pull-outs.
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. gives us tremendous confidence that the Government To cite an instance, between October 2016 and January
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2017, foreign investors withdrew a net Rs. 39,979 crore Contrarian view (roughly $5.8 billion) from Indian equities. A few years But, with SIPs smoothing out the flows, fund managers ago, this would have set off a market rout. can now take a contrarian position to FPIs if they wish. If But on this occasion, the BSE Sensex saw a barely-felt domestic fund managers use this new-found clout wisely, 1% dip over the four-month period. This is because as it may mean a higher floor to the stock market when for- FPIs sold, domestic institutions stepped in with almost eign investors are in a jumpy mood. matching net purchases of Rs. 39,823 crore. Despite the recent surge in retail interest though, MFs In fact, MFs gaining muscle is a trend that isn’t restricted are nowhere close to displacing bank deposits or the to the stock markets alone. With better tax treatment of provident fund/insurance policies as the favourite invest- returns, debt funds have been gaining ground as an alter- ment channel for Indian households. MFs accounted for native to bank deposits with retail investors. Mutual funds just a 2% share of gross financial savings in FY16, while today corner 10.4% of the outstanding debt issuances in bank deposits hogged 44% and provident funds/insur- India too. ance took up 36%. Bull markets always trigger a retail rush into equity MFs. Optimists may like to look at this as a glass half full. After But the enthusiasm usually wanes the moment the music all, a 2% share for MFs in the savings pie means that stops. 98% of that pie is still waiting to be devoured. But that If stock prices pause in their rally or decline, fund flows expansion is contingent on two factors. are usually quick to dry up. This time too, retail interest in One, it is dependent on income growth and a rapid ex- equity MFs did pick up well after the stock markets took pansion of the urban elite in India. The saver’s allocation off, in 2014. to market-linked investment vehicles depends on his abil- But the interest hasn’t waned during choppy or downbeat ity to take risks in the market. markets. Net inflows into equity-oriented MFs have held Deposits still mainstay up at more than Rs. 90,000 crore for each of the last It would be unreasonable to expect savers at a subsist- three fiscal years. ence level of income to allocate any part of their savings This is despite the BSE Sensex charting a very different to MFs, whether debt or equity. For them, bank deposits path in these three years. It delivered a bumper return of would still constitute the mainstay. 25% in FY15, slumped by 6% in FY16 and notched up Therefore, further asset growth for the MF industry is modest gains of 16% in FY17. closely intertwined with income growth in India and the It is the runaway popularity of SIPs, or systematic invest- ability of more savers to climb up from the lower- and ment plans, that should take credit for the stability of MF middle- income groups to the mass-affluent category. flows. Two, some of the new-found investor fancy for this vehi- Five years ago, about a fourth of total inflows into equity cle is also due to the impressive recent records of both funds came in by way of SIPs. In FY17, SIPs brought in equity and debt funds. Retail investors, the world over, Rs. 43,921 crore, or nearly half of all inflows. chase past returns. The popularity of the SIP route has wrought a sea change In the last three years, diversified equity funds, as a cat- in retail investor behaviour, because it takes away the egory, piggybacking on a favourable market delivered an temptation to closely watch the markets and alter one’s 18% CAGR (data sourced from CRISIL AMFI) while liq- investments based on its ups and downs. SIPs, by allow- uid funds notched up 8.1%. These returns are well above ing investors to set up standing instructions with the bank long-term averages. to invest a fixed instalment each month, essentially put When both equity and debt markets are coming off a par- one’s investments on autopilot. ticularly good spell, it is all the more challenging for fund Today, with equity MFs raking in close to Rs. 4,600 crore managers to sustain those returns on a high base. every month via SIPs, domestic MF managers always Whether fund houses manage that feat and serve up a have some powder dry to deploy in the stock market. good return experience for retail savers who are recent That’s a break from theaspirantforum.com past. When lump sum invest- converts to MFs, will also decide if this party will go on. ments were in vogue, domestic fund managers would be flush with cash at market highs and staring at empty cof- Deregistered firms to face money laundering fers after a free fall. They would therefore end up buying
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. at highs and selling at lows, like novice investors. probe The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will be roped in to
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probe if companies de-registered recently have been in- in India as on May 31, 2017, were 1,659,965, of which volved in money laundering, official sources said in the 1,322,175 were active. wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that There were 305,386 closed companies, of which about over one lakh companies had been struck off at one go. 10,336 were liquidated/dissolved, while 265,096 were “The fate of one lakh companies has been locked with defunct (and hence struck off). In addition, 25,562 com- one stroke of a pen in one minute. The Registrar of Com- panies were in the process of being struck off and 123 in panies (ROC) has removed these one lakh companies. the process of being re-activated. More will be found and even tougher action can be ex- The trend of registration of companies (month-wise) pected against shell companies,” Mr. Modi had said, ad- showed that after a high of 10,000 in May 2016, it had dressing chartered accountants in the national capital. gradually fallen to about 6,000 in November 2016 — the Scrutiny stepped up month when demonetisation was announced — and then Meanwhile, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is started shooting up to touch around 11,500 in March preparing to send show-cause notices to over three lakh 2017 (barring a fall in January, the new registrations had more firms for striking off their names from the ‘register of surged). companies’, government sources told The Hindu . The new registrations fell in April to around 9,000, but Tax consultants and government sources pointed out then rose to 9,673 in May. that while action against companies are initiated under the Companies Act, the scrutiny was stepped up in the Honeywell’s ‘connected’ flight visits India wake of demonetisation and as part of the action against American multinational Honeywell International Inc. has black money. flown its ‘The Connected Aircraft” into India to showcase Sources said the ED, which deals with Prevention of technologies that can help airlines reduce fuel consump- Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions, will soon be tion and maintenance costs, while providing high-speed called in to look at the companies recently struck off the Wi-Fi on board. register. The ED is empowered “to take actions of attach- The company has initiated talks with Indian carriers and ment and confiscation of property if the same is deter- government authorities to deploy its technologies, an of- mined to be proceeds of crime derived from a Scheduled ficial said. “We are getting good response from our avia- Offence under PMLA.” The ED can also launch prosecu- tion customers and we are in talks with Indian carriers tion against those involved in money laundering. for deployment of connected technologies,” said Neelu These measures followed an operation that was launched Khatri, president, aerospace, Honeywell India. post-demonetisation to expedite action against compa- A ‘connected’ aircraft can reduce fuel cost and emission nies that failed to start business within one year of in- by 5%, can receive, transmit, analyse and share data en- corporation or were not carrying on any business for two abling more informed decision-making, help reduce op- immediately preceding financial years or not applied for erational costs and offer an improved flying experience, a dormant status. statement from Honeywell said. It gained momentum in April, when the Registrar of Com- The aircraft can provide 10 to 100 times faster Wi-Fi panies (RoC) in several States/Union Territories issued speeds and offers insights through use of analytics, while show cause notices to over two lakh companies for strik- ensuring a secure communication link to and from the ing off their names. The firms are given 30 days to sub- aircraft. mit their response. If the reply is found unsatisfactory, the An aircraft thus equipped helps the pilot visualise the corporate entity’s name can be removed. landing at a difficult airport, ensuring smooth experience However, referring to Section 252 of the Companies Act, for passengers, the company said. Aircraft technicians officials pointed out that persons aggrieved by the RoC can get to know what parts of the aircraft need repair be- order — notifying a company as dissolved under Sec- fore the flight arrives, helping in faster turnaround times. tion 248 of the Act — may file an appeal to the National ‘Cost of delays’ Company Law Tribunalaspirantforum.com (NCLT) within three years from Honeywell estimates that flight delays worldwide cost air- the RoC’s order. If the NCLT finds that the removal of the lines about $25 billion and a grounded commercial jet, company’s name was unjustified, it may order its restora- while being worked on, can cost up to $10,000 an hour. tion in the register. A connected aircraft can help avoid all that, the company Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. According to the MCA, the total companies registered
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said. The Indian School of Business announced a Digital Iden- Honeywell has estimated that the market for connected tity Research Initiative under which it will partner with aircraft is $7 billion globally and that there would be rapid researchers and academic institutions to study Aadhaar adoption of such technologies. By 2015, an estimated and its implications. 25,000 planes will be equipped with Wi-Fi as consumer The initiative has received support from Omidyar Network demand would make airlines invest in such technologies. through a grant of $2 million for a period of two years. In the initial phase, the research will cover the impact of Aadhaar in various areas. EPFO adds banks to network Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO at UIDAI, said, “An The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) evidence informed debate on the salient issues around signed an agreement with four private banks and Bank of digital identity, specifically Aadhaar, will go a long way in Baroda for collection of provident fund dues from employ- strengthening the efforts of the government.” ers and payments to its subscribers. ‘Zero transaction charge’ This is the first time that the EPFO has tied up with pri- New transplanting system for tur cultivation vate banks – namely, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank The Agriculture Ministry has decided to extensively pro- and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Earlier, only State Bank of In- mote the new transplanting system for cultivating tur in dia was authorised to collect contributions from employ- the State. The new method is believed to have better re- ers and make payment to employees. The move will help sult and help save time and money. the EPFO save about Rs. 300 crore annually as the five Speaking to media persons at a farm in Atharga village of banks have agreed to zero transaction charges. Indi taluk , Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said “With today’s agreement, we have tied up with 10 banks that after successful trials, the department has decided now to collect provident fund contribution and pay dues to introduce the system in around 500 hectares of land in to the workers. EPFO settles around 1.16 crore claims the State, mainly in North Karnataka region where tur is every year and collects Rs. 75,000 crore annually from extensively cultivated. establishments under the EPF Act,” Labour and Employ- About the differences between the traditional method ment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said here . and the transplanting system, he said that in the former, In December, the EPFO had tied up with five other banks, seeds are sown directly in the land for cultivation. But in Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank and the transplanting system, saplings of tur are developed in Union Bank of India, for online collection of dues. “The the nursery. When they reach a height of up to 10 inches, transaction charges for making payments to members they are planted in the earth. in their accounts in different banks used to cost us Rs. “The advantage of this system is that the output is about 350 crore a year. After we tied up with more banks in 15 quintals per acre, while in the traditional system, the December, this reduced to Rs. 175 crore,” Central Provi- yield is around five quintals per acre. The new system, dent Fund Commissioner (CPFC) V.P. Joy said. These however, needs drip irrigation method for better results. charges are expected to be reduced to Rs. 50 crore a Drip irrigation supplies water uniformly to each plant year, he added. which helps fetch a higher yield,” Mr. Byre Gowda said. The EPFO is in talks with seven more banks to sign a He said that in the transplanting system, sowing could be similar agreement. These include IDBI Bank, Bank of delayed even by a fortnight, which cannot be done in the India, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Canara traditional method. The Minister said that the government Bank, Central Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra. is offering Rs. 4,500 incentive for each hectare of tur cul- “We have made an offer to them,” said Udita Choudhary, tivated under this new method. Additional CPFC. Peerappa Gulagi, a farmer from Atharga village who The Minister said the Centre may consider cutting admin- has adopted this new method to cultivate tur, said that istrative charges paid byaspirantforum.com firms in lieu of reduced banking he decided to adopt it after officials from the Agriculture transaction charges. Administrative charges were recent- Department gave him guidance. “I am sure that the new ly reduced to 0.65% from the earlier 0.85%. method would give me higher yield,” he said. Cloud seeding
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. In Bagalkot, Mr. Byre Gowda said that the government ISB to study Aadhaar, its implications has decided to carry out cloud seeding in the first week of Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
August by using three radars and two aircraft. CBDT clarity on cash receipts positive: SFL He said told presspersons that the aircraft would operate The Central Board of Direct Taxes’ clarification about re- from Hubballi and Bengaluru during the exercise. strictions on cash receipts of Rs. 2 lakh and above is a positive for small borrowers, said T.T. Srinivasaraghavan, EPFO’s buys via ETFs to cross Rs. 45,000 cr. Managing Director of Sundaram Finance Ltd. (SFL). The retirement fund body EPFO’s investment in stocks “It made us a little unfriendly to our customers,” Mr. Srini- through exchange traded funds (ETFs) would cross the vasaraghavan said. “Those who had been used to pay- Rs. 45,000-crore mark by the end of this fiscal, Labour ing in cash all these years were suddenly being asked to Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said . take the banking channel,’’ he said. “In the exchange traded funds, we have increased (in- The clarification would provide relief to small borrowers, vestment) from 10% to 15%. With this, this year alone, it who did not always transact through the banking system may go in totality to Rs. 45,000 crore, and I feel (that) the and whose business transactions — both receipts and rate of return last year was 13.3% (from ETFs),” Mr. Dat- payments — were in cash, he said. SFL’s cash transac- tatreya said on the sidelines of an Assocham event here. tions had dropped from about 18% of collections to as ‘Situation encouraging’ low as 5% following demonetisation, and had rebounded “The markets are good and let’s see the situation, but it to about 12% once the cash crunch had eased, he said. is an encouraging one. That’s why we have increased “I do not believe that cash is a ‘backward step’. Unfortu- (investment),” he said. nately, the discourse, in the last few months, has devel- As of April 21 this year, the stock investment stood at oped to a point that people think that cash is dirty, which I Rs. 21,559 crore. The EPFO invested Rs. 6,577 crore in think is an erroneous impression because cash is a legal 2015-16 and Rs. 14,982 crore in 2016-17. tender. All cash is not dirty or dubious,” Mr. Srinivasara- Mr. Dattatreya also said the ministry was working on con- ghavan said. solidating 44 labour codes into four in order to simplify them. GST finally comes into force in J&K The four codes pertain to labour, industrial relations, so- Jammu and Kashmir, the only State to miss the Goods cial security and welfare and safety and working condi- and Services Tax (GST) rollout bus on July 1, will join tions. the new tax regime from tonight as the State Assembly Besides, he said the government plans to create 65 mil- passed a Bill in this regard amid Opposition boycott. lion jobs by 2026 in the auto sector alone. The Assembly passed the Bill to adopt the presidential order that “offers safeguards to its special status”. CM Mehbooba Mufti said “J&K cannot get bigger azadi [free- dom] than this order, restoring the lost sanctity of our As- sembly.” Responding to J&K’s demands to safeguard its taxing rights under Article 370, the presidential order reads: “… the powers of the State of J&K as per Section 5 of the Constitution of J&K, shall remain intact.” The order called for incorporation of fresh clauses under Article 246 of the Constitution. “Under 246A (1), the Legislature of the OEM investment State of Jammu and Kashmir shall have powers to make Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Heavy Industries laws with respect to goods and services tax levied by the and Public Enterprises, Girish Shankar said there is a State.” However, the order said, Parliament shall have huge gap the auto industry must address to ensure Make power to make laws with respect to goods and services in India delivers. aspirantforum.comtax levied by the Union. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) need to make Opposition walks out substantial investment in engineering R&D for designing Thanking President Pranab Mukherjee, PM Narendra and developing in India so that India graduates to a truly Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Ms. Mufti auto engineering hub. said, “This act of the Centre will be written in golden words Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. in Kashmir’s history.” The National Conference boycotted
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the Assembly proceedings describing it as “sham.” The of six companies, including Adani Enterprises, Edelweiss Congress also staged a walkout in protest when the Bill Financial Services, Praj Industries and Jubilant Food- was tabled. Both the parties were demanding a separate works. Rajendra Shah, who is a senior partner with noted legislation on GST in J&K. Meanwhile, internet services law firm Crawford Bayley & Co. is also part of the boards were stopped in the Valley as part of unprecedented se- of nine companies including Bombay Dyeing, Pfizer, Lu- curity measures to foil any attempt by supporters of the pin, Colgate Palmolive (India) and Deepak Fertilisers. slain Hizb commander, Burhan Wani, to pose a law and Disclosure issue order problem. Among other things, the SEBI committee will look into the matter of “ensuring independence in spirit of independ- SEBI examining CAs’, lawyers’ board roles ent directors and their active participation in functioning At a time when boardroom tussles are increasingly turn- of the company” along with “disclosure and transparency ing into legal battles, a panel appointed by the Securi- related issues” as per information provided on SEBI’s ties and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is looking into website. Meanwhile, Shuva Mandal, who was formerly the matter of lawyers and chartered accountants being with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, is a director on the on corporate boards as independent directors and the board of AGC Networks, as per Prime Database. Inter- framework to follow if such directors’ law or audit firms estingly, he recently joined Tata Sons as Group General were engaged in advising the respective companies. Counsel after providing legal advice to the conglomerate There are many instances of leading lawyers and char- on various matters, including the recent tussle with for- tered accountants (CAs) being appointed as independent mer chairman Cyrus Mistry. He had earlier worked with directors on the boards of companies and the regulator the Tata group as a legal adviser to Tata Motors and Tata is evaluating whether there is a need to put in place a Chemicals on international projects, Tata Sons said in a proper mechanism or protocol to deal with such instanc- statement at the time of his appointment. es and appointments to avoid any conflict of interest, said Similarly, Haigreve Khaitan, managing partner, Khaitan a person familiar with the matter. & Co. LLP is a director on six companies. Senior law- Report in 4 months yers of the firm like Padam Khaitan, Pradip Khaitan, The corporate governance committee formed under the Nandini Khaitan and Rajiv Khaitan also serve as inde- chairmanship of Uday Kotak is, among other things, look- pendent directors on the boards of a few firms. Rajendra ing into this aspect and will be submitting its report within Chitale, managing partner of the well-known chartered four months, the person, who did not wish to be identi- accountancy firm M P Chitale & Co. is also a director on fied, said. the boards of five companies including Ambuja Cements, “The regulator is looking at instances wherein a CA or a Reliance Capital and Hinduja Ventures. lawyer is on the board of a company as an independent director and persons from their firm are advising the com- Oracle picks Bengaluru for its first digital hub pany in any manner whatsoever and whether this creates any kind of conflict,” the person said. in Asia-Pacific Interestingly, the committee has among its members, American tech giant Oracle has said it is opening its first leading corporate lawyers like Zia Mody and Cyril Shroff, digital hub in Asia Pacific, which will be based in Bengal- along with Nilesh Vikamsey, who is the president of The uru. The company, with an annual revenue of more than Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the $37 billion, said the hub would provide cloud computing governing body of audit firms in India. technology and resources to small and medium busi- Ever since the committee was formed on June 2, the nesses to empower them in their digital transformation. members have met on two occasions and the third meet- The Redwood Shores, California-based firm would be ing is scheduled soon. An email query sent to SEBI re- eyeing more than 51 million small and medium business- mained unanswered till the time of going to press. es in India. aspirantforum.comIt said many of them had either not worked with Oracle According to data from Prime Database, Shardul Shroff of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. is a director in or used cloud (technologies) before. “There are [com- three companies while his wife Pallavi Shroff sits on the panies] like Amazon and Microsoft. But we have very boards of four companies. Berjis Desai, formerly of J Sa- big differentiation, we have a complete suite that is not Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. gar Associates, is a non-executive director on the boards provided by anybody else and that is the reason we are
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the fastest growing (cloud company) in the market,” said in crude oil, steel and aluminium, and moderate growth Shailender Kumar, regional MD, Oracle India. in demand. Oracle reported that its total cloud revenues increased IT, pharma slow 58% year-over-year to $1.4 billion in the fiscal fourth However, export-linked sectors such as IT and pharma- quarter of 2017. ceuticals, which had consistently outperformed the do- Medical emergencies mestic industry by recording double-digit growth, is ex- The new facility, which is one of the five digital hubs set pected to have slowed down to only 3%. to open in Asia Pacific, will help small and medium busi- This follows strengthening of the rupee, a surge in pro- nesses leverage Oracle cloud solutions to streamline op- tectionism across the globe and pricing pressure in the erations, boost innovation and gain a platform for growth. U.S. One such client is Amego, a firm that provides logistical “The growth for the quarter would have been higher but assistance for medical emergencies on the go. for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), since manufac- The Bengaluru-based firm has also created a mobile app turers are expected to have limited production to clear that enables people to call for help during medical emer- existing inventory — especially in automobiles, FMCG gencies. and cement — before it took effect,” the rating agency’s research arm said. Key sectors may post 7% growth in Q1: It added that there could be demand and supply disrup- tions in the short term due to GST, though from a long- CRISIL term perspective, the new regime will lead to efficiency The aggregate topline of companies in key sectors, gains and greater tax compliance. excluding banking, financial services and oil, is likely Rahul Prithiani, director, Crisil Research said: “A rise in prices of key commodities such as crude oil, steel, alu- minium and cement is expected to have pared the profit- ability of end-user sectors such as automobiles, petro- chemicals, housing and tyres by ~130, ~230, ~330 and ~470 basis points (bps), respectively. The margin con- traction could be much higher for pharma, at ~550 bps, given pricing pressure and lack of exclusivity period for generic drugs.”
PMO, NSA tracking impact of Chinese FDI to have clocked about 7% growth in the first quarter of in South Asia 2017-18, due to a pick-up in consumption, according to In the backdrop of the tense border stand-off in Sikkim CRISIL Research. with China, the Centre has begun its first ever in-depth In its ‘Q1 FY18 Results Outlook,’ CRISIL said the growth assessment of Chinese investments in India’s neighbour- in these sectors, accounting for 61% of the market capi- ing countries. talisation of companies listed on the National Stock Ex- The exercise — being conducted mainly from India’s na- change, was hemmed in by factors such as a rise in input tional security perspective — has been initiated by the costs, an appreciating rupee and output cuts ahead of Prime Minister’s Office and the National Security Adviser, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime rollout from official sources told The Hindu . July 1. Informal discussions have already been held with the “Consumption-driven sectors, including automobiles, air- concerned Ministries, including the Commerce and In- lines, FMCG and retail, but excluding telecom, are esti- dustry Ministry — the nodal body for foreign trade and mated to have grown at a healthy pace of 10-11%. This foreign investment. aspirantforum.comDynamic mandate is heartening, considering growth had slowed following demonetisation to 4-7% in the second half of fiscal 2017,” Given the increasing influence of China in the Indian Prasad Koparkar, senior director, CRISIL Research said. sub-continent and South Asia, the study will be dynamic He added that commodity-linked sectors had been ex- and is, among other things, expected to look into various Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. pected to do well, led by a robust increase in realisations trends, tracking a surge, if any, in Chinese FDI in the re-
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gion. For instance, Pakistan government data shows that Institution of India (USI), “As far as India is concerned, FDI from China jumped from $256.8 million in 2014-15 to CPEC has added a layer of complexity with more pro- $878.8 million in 2016-17 (July-May). Pakistan’s financial jects in PoK being drawn into its ambit without taking Indi- year follows a July to June calendar. an concerns on board. That makes projects in contested The study will also analyse the impact of these Chinese areas politically vulnerable.” investments — including those being made as part of Roll back investments the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One The USI study said if CPEC and OBOR are actually about Belt One Road or OBOR) — on India’s national security, regional economic growth, as the lending nation, China sources said requesting anonymity. India’s reservations should rethink and roll back investments in PoK. Signifi- regarding the BRI/OBOR include strategic concerns on cantly, the USI study further said: “The ability of Pakistan the BRI’s flagship project, the $50 billion China-Pakistan to absorb the (CPEC) investments in given period and Economic Corridor (CPEC), as it is expected to cover re- thereafter pay back is also suspect considering historic gions including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). trends. Hence, these debts could eventually become In addition to assessing the nature and impact of Chinese strategic equities for China, especially the Gwadar Port FDI in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan (the main CPEC investment in the port sector), which can and Sri Lanka, the study will track Chinese investments worsen security in South Asia.” in Afghanistan and Maldives too. However, the major challenge in the study will be the lack ‘No dispossession without development’ of detailed, country-wise data on overall FDI (year-wise) Acquiring land without offering jobs and opportunities for and Chinese FDI, in particular. landowners’ families is simply not possible in the coun- According to Biswajit Dhar, Professor at Jawaharlal try, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha Nehru University, Chinese investments in countries like said, echoing the views of Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, Pakistan could, in turn, set the stage for Pakistan to make who said present-day Indian politics make instantaneous inroads into markets in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal and coercive dispossession of land impossible. and challenge the presence of Indian firms in these mar- “Dispossession without development under the land ac- kets, where India is currently the major player. quisition law of 2013 and today’s political economy is The CPEC/OBOR projects can also better link Pakistan simply not possible. Compensating them [land owners] with the Central Asian Republics (CAR) and help the four times the market value [of land] is well-established, country establish a footprint in those markets, Prof. Dhar but it’s not enough, because in the political economy of said. India today, nobody will give up land without getting a job,” Mr. Sinha said. Study to track impact of Chinese FDI “Jobs and security are vital; otherwise dharnas, hartals According to a January 2017 ‘Special Report’ by the Insti- (protests) begin and it’s not possible to move forward. tute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National Univer- People will prostrate themselves in front of excavation sity of Singapore on an international workshop on ‘China equipment and not allow you to proceed,” he noted, add- and South Asia’, the Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka, ing that resettlement efforts need to inculcate empathy Yi Xianliang had said he considered China in many re- for the landowners for whom the loss of land is a “trau- spects part of South Asia, especially in terms of geogra- matic change”. phy. Current Chinese cooperation with south Asian coun- Politicisation of land acquisition efforts make it doubly tries is undertaken within the framework of OBOR, the hard to arrive at a common ground as land is an “emo- report said, adding, however, that Mr. Yi had explained tive issue” that is easy to polarise people over, Mr. Sinha that OBOR has no strategic, security or political intent. remarked at a discussion during Oxford University’s first The report said India does not believe in the Chinese South Asia Conclave held in the capital. clarifications that OBOR projects only have economic Mr. Ramesh, a Rajya Sabha member, said that most of objectives, and quoted aspirantforum.comISAS Editor (Current Affairs) P.S. the political debate focuses on the Central land acquisi- Suryanarayana as saying that “economic initiatives have tion law while most land for coal, the Railways and power strategic and security dimension”. projects, was acquired under other legislation. According to a study by the New Delhi-based national Contentious law
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. security and defence services think tank, United Service The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had amended the
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country’s contentious 1894 Land Acquisition law in 2013 Though the base of the luxury car market has grown more and introduced four key pillars, which were missing in the than 11 to 12 times in the last 10 years with the entry of original legislation, centring around compensation, con- multiple players, the market is still very small. sent, social impact assessment (SIA), and resettlement Last year luxury carmakers sold about 34,000 units, and rehabilitation (R&R) measures. which is 1.2% of the passenger car market in India. The The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had luxury carmakers are now working hard to grow this base issued an ordinance to amend the law that was seen as to at least 5% which will accrue huge volume for them. difficult for investors, but it did not follow through with leg- In Germany the percentage of the luxury car segment is islative changes. Political debate has focussed on con- 24% and in the U.S. it is about 10-12%, China 8%, Ma- sent and SIA norms, he said. laysia 5.4% and Indonesia 2.5%. The tax reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) G20 leaders strike deal on trade regime on luxury cars is expected to help carmakers The Group of 20 summit came up with compromise lan- achieve their target sooner than expected. Soon after the guage on trade, although officials struggled to find com- announcement of the GST rates in May, all carmakers mon ground on another contentious issue, fighting cli- reduced prices by 2%-9% to bring the prices in line with mate change. the post-GST rates and that has resulted in higher sales. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to Mercedes-Benz India leave the Paris climate agreement, the group agreed in a Market leader Mercedes-Benz India sold 40% more cars draft statement to “take note” of the U.S. withdrawal while in June this year as compared to June 2016. In the March the other 19 reaffirmed support of the Paris deal to limit to June quarter the company sold 3,521 cars, up 18% emissions of greenhouse gases scientist say are behind year-on-year. For the January to June period the com- global warming. pany sold 7,171 units, up 8.7%. Fight for attention Roland Folger, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes- Officials at the summit, who briefed reporters on condi- Benz India said: “We continue our leadership position in tion of anonymity because they were not authorised to the Indian luxury car market. This sales performance fur- discuss the final statement before its release, said the ther strengthens our customer centric strategy, which is language had been generally agreed on except for part bearing fruit.” of the climate section. He said the company wants the base the grow so that The draft could still change before its final release, which many people can experience luxury and be safe while was set for later . driving. However, the prohibitive pricing on account of The talks at the two-day summit in Hamburg competed high tax structure remains the key reason for the seg- for attention, with violent clashes between anti-globalisa- ment not growing to its fullest potential. tion activists and police. “The GST regime however, promises a growth potential Climate and trade were two of the most contentious is- for the luxury car industry. With 1.2%, India has one of the sues, in part due to the assertive stance taken on both lowest penetration rates for the luxury segment world- by Mr. Trump. He has said trade must be fair as well as wide, significantly behind countries like Russia, China, open and must benefit American companies and work- Brazil and even Malaysia. With GST regime, we see an ers. He has focussed on trade relationships where other opportunity for this sector to unleash its potential and countries run large surpluses with the U.S., meaning they contribute to the overall automotive sector and GDP posi- sell more to U.S. consumers than they buy from Ameri- tively,” Mr. Folger said. The segment would become more can companies. competitive through an increase in the customer base, making luxury cars more accessible, Mr. Folger added. In the January-to-June period, BMW Group India report- Luxury carmakers aim to grow size of India ed 11.5 % growth in sales at 4,569 units. market aspirantforum.comBMW Group Despite being engaged in fierce competition, German Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said: “BMW carmakers are striving to grow the base of the luxury car Group India will move forward with the ‘Power to Lead’ market in India by introducing latest range of products, and will continuously remain a value-driven, customer- reducing the cost of ownership and offering finance at focused organization with a clear goal to be the best and Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. comparatively cheaper rates. set a benchmark in the industry in every aspect with pas-
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sion, performance and excellence. stantially. “Today, BMW Group India [has] the fastest growing lux- The acknowledgement of various reform measures by ury car brand in the country but our primary goal is to G20, whose members include 19 countries and the Eu- grow the size of the luxury car market in India. We believe ropean Union, has come as the latest boost to hopes for leading the growth is more important than anything, even better ranking for India in terms of ease of doing busi- more important than being just number one.” ness. Without disclosing the numbers, Audi India head Rahil Global institutions like the World Bank, IMF, WTO, OECD, Ansari said the firm had achieved more than what it ex- ILO, WHO and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) are pected this year. among the partners to the G20. “We expected the luxury car market to showcase a bet- The G20 Hamburg Action Plan, which sets out the group’s ter performance this year and we are already seeing the strategy for achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and signs. We welcome the GST. Hopefully this will be a new inclusive growth, also said the closer partnership and ac- and exciting phase of the luxury car business,” Mr. Ansari tion by G20 members will boost confidence and contrib- said. ute to shared prosperity. “The new realigned prices post the GST offer great op- It said the Action Plan has been developed against a portunity to expand the market and widen our customer backdrop of improving growth and job prospects. base.” “The global economic recovery is progressing and gain- Analysts said the time was now conducive for faster ing momentum. Investment has picked up, and trade and growth in this segment. “It is the best time for the luxury manufacturing are showing signs of recovery. However, car market and the luxury car makers,” said Abdul Ma- the pace of this growth is still weaker than desirable, and jeed, Partner and Leader Automotive, PwC. “Economic downside risks remain. activity in the country is growing and it will lead to de- “Weak productivity growth, income inequality and ageing mand for more luxury cars,” Mr. Majeed said. populations represent challenges to growth in the longer term,” the G20 Action Plan noted. G20 hails India’s labour reforms It included new policy actions to tackle challenges in On steps being taken by G20 countries for promoting economies, focusing on initiatives that foster inclusive inclusive growth this year, the Action Plan said India is growth, enhancing resilience and further the G20 efforts introducing labour market reforms to provide security to to implement structural reforms. workers, increase female participation in the workforce In the action plan, the G20 members resolved that they and make doing business easier in the country. would continue to use all policy tools — monetary, fiscal The acknowledgement from the G20 Summit, which was and structural — individually and collectively to achieve attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi among other the goal of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive world leaders, assumes significance in the wake of India growth, while enhancing economic and financial resil- trying hard to improve its global ranking for ease of doing ience. business. The World Bank ranked the country at a low 130th posi- Process eased for exporters who have not tion last year, an improvement of just one position from paid IGST the previous year. The Centre has, through a notification and a circular, The Modi government has said it wants India to be ranked eased the paperwork required to export goods without in the top-50 nations in terms of ease of doing business. the exporter having paid the Integrated Goods and Ser- The next update to the ranking is expected later this year. vices Tax (IGST). The areas where India ranks poorly as per the World According to the GST Rules, traders who wanted to ex- Bank ranking include starting a business, dealing with port without paying IGST had to provide a bond or letter of construction permits, registering property, paying taxes, undertaking (LUT) promising to pay the tax. This require- trading across borders, aspirantforum.comenforcing contracts and resolving ment did not clarify who exactly needed to provide a bond insolvency. and who was eligible to provide a LUT. It also involved The country has implemented a spate of reforms in the complexity to do with the recipient of these documents. recent months in areas like insolvency, taxation and start- The notification and circular by the Government, both Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. ing a business and expects the rankings to improve sub- dated July 7, said that the IGST needs to be paid only
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for exports after July 1, 2017, and detail the eligibility of from 10% to 100%. Among Latin American countries, exporters to provide the necessary documents. Chile is among the leading trading partners of India. “Various communications have been received from the Earlier, the same delegation also participated in a food field formations and exporters on the issue of difficulties show in the U.S. This, too, is expected to further prise being faced while supplying the goods or services for open the U.S. market. “USA is a big market for teas — export without payment of integrated tax… because of over 80 million kg, and growing,” Mr. Sarangi said. which exports are being held up,” according to the circu- Mr. Patro added that close to 60% of the demand is from lar issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs’ the iced tea segment. GST Wing. Relief for exporters Ministry forms panel for cruise tourism “These clarifications bring much needed relief for the ex- The Shipping Ministry said it has set up a committee to porters with regard to export without payment of IGST,” examine cruise tourism reforms. PwC said in a note. “Exports had come to a halt in the ab- The committee will consider a single window system for sence of clarity on procedure for submission of bond/LUT cruise requirements, dedicated approach road for cruise for exports. While exporters have the option to export on terminals, reducing security layer for passengers and payment of IGST and subsequently claim refund of IGST other measures. paid, this would impact the cash flow.” The Ministry had hired a global consultant to firm up an The Centre allowed the bond or LUT to be submitted action plan aimed at facilitating customer-friendly and manually and not electronically on the GST portal. hassle-free logistics process for the cruise tourism indus- try. The Shipping Ministry shortlisted almost a dozen pro- Indian tea eyes new market in Chile posals given by the consultancy firm and has asked the India is aiming to break new ground in its tea exports with committee to “work out the modalities” for implementing an entry into Chile where it had recently taken a delega- these recommendations in a time-bound manner. tion. “Single window system for all pre-cruise requirements The existing preferential trade agreement with the Latin for cruise operators like entry of vehicles, personnel and American country is being seen as a major catalyst in (tourist) guides, electronically doing away with checking this foray. of registration, licence papers of vehicle at each time,” ‘No Indian presence’ one of the nine recommendations listed by the Ministry The 21 million-kg Chilean tea market is currently domi- said. nated by Argentina and Sri Lanka, with some re-traded teas also being sent from some European countries. In- No GST on gifts to employees up to Rs. 50,000 dian presence is virtually non- existent. “We are pretty optimistic about Chile,” Santosh Sarangi, and on perks in contract deputy chairman and CEO, Tea Board India, told The Gifts from employers to employee’s worth up to Rs. Hindu . 50,000 will not attract GST, nor will perquisites enjoyed He said that despite the distance, the Preferential Trade by employees as part of the employment contract, the Agreement which gives an 80% margin of preference to Finance Ministry said. tea, will help neutralise the freight costs to Latin America, “Gifts of value more than Rs. 50,000/- made without con- which were also on a downswing now. sideration are subject to GST, when made in the course or “The Indian Tea Association has been pressing for a del- furtherance of business,” the ministry explained, stress- egation to Chile since last year,” said Sujit Patro, secre- ing that what constitutes a gift has not been defined in tary, Indian Tea Association, who was also a member of the GST law. the delegation. “This means that GST will have to paid only in excep- It may be mentioned here that the PTA signed in March tional situations where gifts are given on voluntary basis, 2006 and was expandedaspirantforum.com in September. such as Diwali gifts to employees and that too if the value Under the expanded PTA, Chile has offered concessions is more than Rs. 50,000,” said Pratik Jain, partner and to India on 1,798 tariff lines with Margin of Preference leader (indirect taxes) at PwC India, adding that the in- (MoP) ranging from 30% to 100%. India has offered con- dustry was worried about this aspect. Perquisites Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. cessions to Chile on 1,031 tariff lines with MoP ranging
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Since services provided by an employee to a firm do not The Centre is concerned about the minuscule number constitute supply of goods or services, there could be no of start-ups becoming eligible for tax benefits under the GST levied on anything provided by employers as part Startup India programme, with just 39 start-ups qualify- of the contractual agreement with the employee, it said. ing for such concessions even 18 months after the flag- Services that employees enjoy such as club membership ship initiative was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra will also not be subject to GST. Modi.
5 States, a UT sign pact with Centre on e-Marketplace In a spirit of cooperative federalism, 5 States and a Un- ion Territory (UT) formally adopted the Centre’s initiative called the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) that aims to ensure that public procurement of goods and services in India worth more than Rs. 5 lakh crore annually is carried out through the online platform for transparency and to eliminate corruption. The States and the UT that signed an MoU with the Cen- “Till March (2017), only around 10 start-ups were found tre include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, eligible for tax benefits,” a senior government official told Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh. The Hindu . “In the last three months, though, this num- Four more, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil ber has gone up to 39, we feel this is too low given the Nadu and Haryana, will ink such an MoU soon. They programme’s high ambitions.” would have done so but for some technical issues, and With the norms specifying that in order to obtain tax ben- more states/UTs are likely to adopt the GeM later, Com- efits, a start-up should be a private limited company or a merce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. limited liability partnership incorporated on or after April This follows a call made by Prime Minister Narendra 1, 2016, few companies qualified for tax benefits in the Modi to all the Chief Ministers in April to ensure that pri- initial period as there were not many corporate entities ority is accorded to transparency in public procurement incorporated on or after that cut-off date. of goods and services. Addressing the chief secretaries Norms relaxed of states/UTs , Mr. Modi had talked about how the GeM The passage of time is mitigating this problem with sev- can enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public eral firms becoming eligible, said the official, who did not procurement. wish to be named. The recent relaxation in norms that ‘Cooperative federalism’ include doing away with the requirement of ‘letter of rec- Speaking at the ‘National Consultative Workshop on ommendation’ from an incubator/industry association for GeM’, Ms. Sitharaman said, “These states in the spirit recognising a company as a start-up or for tax benefits of cooperative federalism have adopted GeM, similar to will also help increase the number of start-ups that will what all the states, as ‘Team India,’ did in the case of the qualify for tax benefits. Goods and Services Tax regime. By joining the GeM ini- With the changes in norms, which include broadening tiative, the states have supported transparency in public the scope of definition of start-ups to include ‘scalability procurement.” of business model with potential of employment genera- Pointing out that procurement of common use goods tion or wealth creation,’ the Centre has decided to reap- and services required by various Government (Central praise all rejected applications to give all applicants a and state government) departments/organizations/public “fair chance,” the official said. The aim is to cross 100 by sector units is estimated to be over Rs. 5 lakh crore an- end September. nually, she said all effortsaspirantforum.com were being made to strengthen the GeM initiative to ensure that the tax payers’ money is spent in a transparent manner. Bitcoin — to ban or not to? The government is considering the introduction of a reg- ulatory regime for virtual or crypto-currencies, such as
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. Startup India’s slow pace worries Govt. Bitcoin, that would enable the levy of the Goods and Ser-
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vices Tax on their sale. IT as well as SEBI, the Reserve Bank of India, the State The new regime may possibly bring their trading under Bank of India and NITI Aayog. the oversight of the stock market regulator, Securities Bitcoins were in the news recently when during the two and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The idea is to treat global cyber ransomware attacks — WannaCry and such currency in a manner similar to gold sold digitally, so Petya — attackers sought about $300 in bitcoin as ran- that it can be traded on registered exchanges in a bid to som. Crypto-currency can also be used for a lot of legal “promote” a formal tax base, while keeping a tab on their activities depending of which retailers accept such cur- use for illegal activities such as money laundering, terror rency. funding and drug trafficking. Crypto-currency is a digital currency that allows transact- SEBI probing MSEI on ‘irregularities’ plaint ing parties to remain anonymous while confirming the The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is transaction is valid. It is not owned or controlled by any investigating alleged financial irregularities at the Metro- institution – governments or private. There are multiple politan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) on a complaint such currencies — Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are received from a whistle-blower. some of the popular ones. Currently, they are neither il- The whistle-blower alleged that the exchange did not fol- legal nor legal in India. “One bitcoin today is worth as low proper procedures in making certain payments, said much as 60 grams of gold. The market cap for all cryp- three people familiar with the development. to-currencies has just crossed $100 billion, with most of The whistle-blower wrote to the exchange in August 2016 the increase coming in the past few months. On April 1, before writing to the regulator recently, after the exchange 2017, the total market cap was just over $25 billion, rep- concluded that there was no merit in the complaint, they resenting a 300% rise in just over 60 days,” said a senior added. government official. The regulator had called the exchange officials to pre- sent their arguments. According to one of the sources, the whistle-blower alleged that the exchange made cash payments to brokers to trade on its currency derivatives segment and that some MSEI officials had colluded with the brokers to corner a part of the money. ICICI Bank loan “The letter alleges that a loan of Rs. 10 crore taken from ICICI Bank was used to give cash incentives to brokers to push trading volumes of currency derivatives, which is effectively the only functional segment of the exchange,” said a person on condition of anonymity. “The books of MSEI have a lot of fishy entries to facilitate these payments,” he added. Market making or giving monetary incentives to brokers is not permissible in the currency derivatives segment, even as SEBI has allowed such incentives in equity de- rivatives. In the month of June, the average daily trading value in the currency segment was Rs. 676 crore, which trans- lates to a 2% market share. In contrast, the BSE and the “The discussion on whether crypto-currencies should be National Stock Exchange reported daily average turno- banned or regulated has been on for some time. The pros vers of Rs. 17,236 crore and Rs. 15,464 crore, respec- and cons for both aspectsaspirantforum.com were put forth in the meeting tively. chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last month,” the This is a steep decline for MSEI, which in 2013 had official told The Hindu . clocked almost Rs. 12,000 crore daily and commanded A proposal to ban such currency altogether was also con- a market share of more than 40%. sidered at the meeting, but found few takers among top
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. A MSEI source said the exchange had conducted its own officials from the Ministries of Finance, Home Affairs and investigation and concluded that the transactions were Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
genuine. “The audit committee deliberated on the matter However, imports in June jumped 19% to $36.5 billion. on more than a couple of occasions before finally closing Commodity imports the matter in May,” he said, wishing not to be identified. Major commodity group of imports showing high growth in An e-mail query sent to MSEI remained unanswered till June were petroleum, crude & products (12.04%), elec- the time of going to press. tronic goods (24.22%), pearls, precious & semi-precious stones (86.31%), machinery, electrical & non-electrical PM’s task force recommends scrapping (7.02%) and gold(102.99%). “After showing a robust trend, India’s export basket is 5-yearly job survey showing signs of muted growth, though the engineer- The Prime Minister-appointed task force has recom- ing sector has maintained its vibrancy in June,” said T.S. mended that traditional Employment-Unemployment Bhasin, chairman, EEPC India, the exporters’ body. The Surveys carried out by the National Sample Survey Of- currency impact in terms of stronger rupee hurting the fice (NSSO) every five years be scrapped. exports is clearly visible in the form of shipments show- The panel has instead suggested a new periodic labour ing a negative growth, measured in Indian rupees, he force survey to provide estimates of labour force, em- said. Unabated global liquidity flows into Indian financial ployment, unemployment, nature of employment and in- markets are casting a shadow on the competitiveness of dustry. To get more frequent employment trends data, an Indian exports, he added. urban module of this survey will be updated every quar- Oil imports in June rose 12.04% to $8.12 billion. ter. The recommendation comes amidst criticism about the lack of adequate jobs as well as a debate over jobs cuts in the economy. Plea in SC seeks curbs on cryptocurrencies However, refuting criticism, the task force, headed by “The use of the parallel currency is having a negative NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, in the re- impact on Indian currency” port has mentioned that “much of the recent debate on The Supreme Court has asked the Reserve Bank of India jobs in the media has relied on the estimates from the to consider the issues raised by a PIL petitioner seeking Quarterly Enterprise Surveys,” which has “severe limita- urgent steps to restrain the sale and purchase of illegal tions”. cryptocurrencies or “Virtual Currency” (VCs) like bitcoins. QES conducted by Labour Bureau measure employment A Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar heard in eight broad sectors of industry and services. counsel Vijay Pal Dalmia that virtual currency was being Seeking comments traded anonymously over the Internet and used for a host The Centre has sought comments on the recommenda- of anti-national and illegal activities, from terror funding to tions made public by July 23. A time use survey should illicit trade of arms and drugs, corruption, money launder- also be conducted at three year intervals to provide data ing, tax evasion and so on. on time spent in various occupations and non-market ac- Mr. Dalmia argued before the court that the use of this tivities, the panel said. “parallel currency” is having a “negative impact on Indian “This survey will collect information on how individuals currency, inflation, loss of control of government on finan- allocate their time over a specified time period, usually cial discipline and illegal diversion of money.” a day or a week.” The survey will help track how time ‘Danger to sovereignty’ spent by households has been changing and measure To make it worse, he said the online use of this curren- women’s participation in unpaid work. Centre can tap the cy, was without any border restrictions or geographical GST Network database as a sample frame for a new an- constraints, resulting in danger to the integrity and sover- nual survey of enterprises. eignty of the nation. The court asked the central banker to go through the peti- Trade deficit widens to $13 bn tion and address Mr. Dalmia on the issues raised by him. With goods imports outpacing exports in June, trade defi- cit for the month widenedaspirantforum.com to $12.95 billion, according to GST: uncertainty persists for traders, data released by the commerce ministry. In June 2016, the goods trade deficit was only $8.1 billion. exporters Continuing with growth indicated since September 2016, Two weeks have gone by since the Goods and Services
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. goods exports in June 2017 rose 4.39% year-on-year to Tax (GST) came into force. Yet, confusion and doubts still $23.56 billion. persist. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), export- Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
ers and traders alike are still struck by a sense of uncer- have to import raw material, so another 18% gets locked tainty, and are hesitant to make their first purchases or up,... indefinitely. For a small enterprise, it will be a huge raise the first sales invoice. blow.” The Indian arm of Danish major Danfoss, which used to “Till recently, we imported seamless steel pipe on ad- receive 25% of its monthly orders in the first week of eve- vance authorization basis without payment of basic cus- ry month, had secured orders only for 5% of the monthly toms duty, safeguard duty, countervailing duty and spe- average in the first week of July. Lynk Logistics, a Ramco cial additional duty. After the implementation of GST from Cements group company, which saw a huge surge in its June 1, these same advance authorization licences are bookings in the last week of June, is witnessing a dip in valid for only basic customs duty and safeguard duties, its order book. with said import now attracting GST at the prevailing rate Members of the Madras Electrical Trades Association for that tariff code,” Mr. Venkatesan said. have forewarned about a 10% increase in the sale pric- Till before the roll-out, the company’s sales to the mer- es, though there has been a marginal decrease in tax chant-exporter was cleared without payment of duty. As rate. An upset Sivakasi Firework Association went on the product was meant to be sold outside India, no excise strike to protest against exorbitant GST tax rates. It was, duty or sales tax was collected. “But things have changed however, a different matter that they withdrew the strike now, and this will affect our liquidity”, he added. subsequently. Chennai-based Sivanandha Pipe Fittings, The Federation of Indian Export Organisations, AIMO and which does exports and deemed exports, has been fac- other export promotion councils have made representa- ing short-term liquidity crisis as close to 20% of its work- tions to the Union Commerce and Finance Ministries to ing capital is locked in inventory. support small and medium enterprises by directing banks All these may appear as stray cases. These, neverthe- to lend the tax component as interest-free loans, along less, give a clue to the after-effects of the GST roll-out. with working capital loans. ‘Not prepared’ “The need of the hour is to support exporters and grant The National President of All-India Manufacturers’ Or- increased access to working capital from banks to tide ganisation (AIMO), K. E. Raghunathan said that the SME over this short-term liquidity crunch,” Mr. Raghunathan sector was not fully prepared for the ‘untimely roll-out of said. the new tax regime’. The new order has put the SMEs Even though timely refunds have been promised, practi- in a spot, he said. They have to contend with a host of cally, the cycle will take two-to-three months and this will avoidable problems such as stagnation in existing or- effect the working capital requirement and cost of final ders, strapping of fund flow and non-payment of salary to products by 2.5% to 3%, said A. Sakthivel, chairman, workmen, according to him. FIEO Southern Region. The body has urged the Centre “No one disputes the long-term benefits of GST. But the to address the issue of deemed exports at the earliest, concern is on timing and methodology,” he said. “Lack ‘failing which SMEs will be the worst sufferers,’ he said. of awareness, knowledge of users and software updates Mr. Sakthivel said that the composite drawback rates by service providers have only helped to confound the would add to the transaction costs and time. Pre-GST, confusion.” Why did the Ministry take almost a week to exporters were allowed self-declaration of composite release the app on tax rates and not before it, he asked? drawback rates. That should be continued with the same In the wake of declining sales, the Madras Electric Trades facility in the current GST regime instead of requirement Association has called for the simplification of rules as it of certificates from the department, he said. finds it hard to move goods from godowns to the shops without invoice. Govt. clears three export infra plans For Karthik Venkatesan, managing director, Sivanandha With deficient infrastructure severely hurting the com- Pipe Fittings Ltd., the introduction of GST is a double petitiveness of India’s exports, the Centre – for the first whammy. time under a new scheme launched in March to address ‘Locked up capital’aspirantforum.com the problem — has given its approval for three proposals “We have to pay first and then claim input tax credit later,” including one to establish an Integrated Cargo Terminal he said. “So, my raw material cost will go up by 18% and (ICT) at the Imphal International Airport. that amount will be locked up as IGST input tax credit. The other applications that received the green signal Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. The time-frame for a refund is 120-140 days. Again, I from an (Inter-Ministerial) Empowered Committee (EC)
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chaired by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia were: mod- to deficient infrastructure.” ernisation of infrastructure facility in Karnataka for marine According to an ASSOCHAM-Resurgent India joint study, exports – where the total cost is Rs. 13.34 crore; and “India can save up to $50 billion if logistics costs are construction of a new ‘Standard Design Factory’ building brought down from 14% to 9% of country’s GDP thereby at Cochin Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for which a total making domestic goods more competitive in global mar- of Rs. 61.63 crore will have to be spent, official sources kets.” As per the Commerce Ministry, the objective of the told The Hindu. TIES is to “enhance export competitiveness by bridging The EC on ‘Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme gaps in export infrastructure, creating focused export in- (TIES)’ — in its first ever meeting that was held on June frastructure and first-mile and last-mile connectivity.” 9 — deferred on technical grounds an application to set up “the first dedicated facility” in India to test medical de- vices. E-commerce: RCEP nations talk details This is proposed to be established at the Andhra Pradesh Sixteen Asia Pacific nations, including India, are under- Med Tech Zone in Visakhapatnam – with four separate stood to be discussing in detail norms on e-commerce facilities at a total cost of about Rs. 169 crore. as part of negotiations on the proposed mega Free Trade The Indian medical device market was worth about $4 Agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Eco- billion in 2015 and exports of these items from India were nomic Partnership (RCEP). close to $1 billion (in 2016). Incidentally, technical level talks of the RCEP are being The EC has, however, granted an in-principle nod for a held from July 18 to 28 in Hyderabad. proposal to establish a ‘Coastal Cashew Research and India has been opposing binding norms on opening up Development Foundation’ in Karnataka, for which the to- the e-commerce sector at the level of RCEP as well as tal cost estimated is Rs. 10 crore. the global level (WTO) talks on grounds including that it The cost of building the ICT at Imphal is Rs. 16.2 crore, (India) is yet to have a comprehensive national policy on of which the share of TIES is Rs. 12.96 crore and that of the topic. the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is Rs. 3.24 crore. The However, it is understood that many RCEP nations in- AAI is learnt to have informed the EC that there was no cluding Australia, Japan and China, are pushing for in- cargo facility at the Imphal airport, and that the proposed clusion of a host of elements for ‘Terms Of Reference’ ICT “would act as a hub for air cargo movement and air for RCEP negotiations concerning e-commerce. This is connectivity to South-East Asian countries.” with a view to have some binding commitments from the ‘Rs. 600 crore allocation’ RCEP members on liberalising e-commerce and ensures The TIES, which is being implemented from FY18 till that the final pact has a separate chapter on e-commerce. FY20, has a budgetary allocation of Rs. 600 crore. The According to Jane Kelsey, professor of law, The Univer- scheme’s annual outlay is Rs. 200 crore. sity of Auckland, developing countries, including India, According to a March 2016 report on ‘Export Infrastruc- should be wary of demands for absolute prohibition on ture in India’ by the Department Related Parliamentary disclosure of ‘source code’ (code behind the software) Standing Committee on Commerce, “deficient infrastruc- because lack of access to ‘source code’ will make it tough ture and the manner in which infrastructure is being oper- to prevent anti-competitive practices, hacking and rights ated (in India) are the major obstacles to ensure competi- violation.Ms. Kelsey also cautioned against demands for tiveness in manufacturing of goods and exports thereof.” prohibition of ‘data localisation’ saying accepting such The report said Indian exports lose competitiveness on demands will lead to difficulties in ensuring regulatory account of huge logistics costs. It noted that “the logistic control over e-commerce firms. cost in India is about 14% of the GDP whereas in ad- vanced economies like the U.S. and the European Union, ‘Banks may need to forgo Rs. 2.4 lakh crore’ it is 8% and 10% of the GDP respectively.” Ratings agency Crisil said that banks may have to take a The Standing Committeeaspirantforum.com further said, “Owing to sub- haircut of 60%, worth Rs. 2.4 lakh crore, to settle 50 large optimal logistic capability, certain sectors dependent on stressed assets with debt of Rs. 4 lakh crore. logistics lose as much as 2% on sales return. An ASSO- These 50 companies are from the metals (30% of total CHAM study conducted a few years ago shows that India debt), construction (25%) and power (15%) sectors, and
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. runs against a disadvantage of about 11% of its trade due account for half of the Rs. 8 lakh crore non-performing
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assets (NPAs) in the banking system as on March 31, for extra budgetary resources in 2017-18. 2017. “The proceeds from the bonds will be utilised by IWAI for The agency also estimated banks have provisioned for development and maintenance of National Waterways about 40% of this exposure. “We used the economic val- (NWs) under National Waterways Act, 2016 (effective ue approach to assess the haircuts,” said Pawan Agraw- from 12.4.2016),” an official statement said. “Funds re- al, chief analytical officer, Crisil Ratings in a statement. ceived through issue of bonds will be used exclusively for “This is a combination of market-value multiples and capital expenditure to improve infrastructure funding,” it cash-flow estimation. The final haircut, however, will also said. The IWAI mayget Rs. 857 crore in loans from World be influenced by the expectation of lenders, valuation of Bank for its Jal Marg Vikas Project. subsidiaries, and the price outlook for commodity-linked sectors.” The sources of stress are policy or demand (power plants), lower capacity utilisation (steel plants), DoT, telcos to discuss new policy and overleveraged balance sheets (construction compa- The Telecom Department will meet operators and indus- nies). try associations to brainstorm on the new telecom policy, ‘Tools didn’t help’ according to industry sources. However, Crisil said that the restructuring tools facilitat- The meeting is expected to be chaired by Telecom Sec- ed by the Reserve Bank of India that indebted firms had retary Aruna Sundararajan, and service providers as well availed of earlier did not help because of very high debt as prominent industry bodies have been invited to place levels that underscore the magnitude of stress. their ideas and inputs on the upcoming policy, said sourc- The government recently promulgated an ordinance em- es. powering the RBI to issue directives for faster and opti- Earier this month, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha had mum resolution of stressed assets to make them viable. said that a National Telecom Policy was currently under The focus now is on optimum debt reduction including formulation. through potential transfer of assets to a different man- The policy will focus on areas such as Internet for all, agement that can bring in resources needed to scale up next-generation technologies (like 5G and IoT), skills de- cash flows. velopment, and security, among others. A quarter of the debt analysed needed marginal or mod- erate haircuts, while a third needs aggressive, and nearly WCO lauds India’s trade facilitation plan 40% deep haircuts. “Companies from the power sector India’s National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP), would require moderate haircuts, while those from the which aims to cut cargo release time for exports and im- metals and construction sectors would need aggressive ports as part of measures to boost goods trade, has been ones,” Mr. Agrawal said. described by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) as Majority of the debt requiring deep haircuts belong to a ‘best practice’ other nations can adopt. companies with unsustainable businesses so asset sales The WCO was impressed by the fact that as many as are necessary to recover monies. Firms needing mod- 51 of the 76 activities mentioned in the NTFAP (released erate or aggressive haircuts had gone for debt-funded by the Centre ) “go beyond” the implementation require- capex. As demand slumped, or as projects ran into regu- ments of the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilita- latory issues, significant time and cost overruns made tion Agreement (TFA). them unviable. The NTFAP, which is to be implemented between 2017 Firms needing a marginal haircut are those facing tem- and 2020, is part of India’s efforts to improve its ease porary setbacks, which could be corrected over time. of doing business ranking. While India’s overall rank in “Some of these assets offer M&A opportunities for com- the World Bank’s Doing Business report is 130, it ranks panies with strong credit profiles. Also, potential syner- 144 out of 190 nations in the ‘Trading Across Borders’ gies could allow for a significant reduction in haircut — category. an aspect that has not beenaspirantforum.com considered in our analysis,” The TFA — meant to ease Customs norms for faster flow said Ramesh Karunakaran, director, Crisil Ratings. of goods across borders — had come into effect in Febru- ary 2017. Cabinet nod for IWAI bond issue ‘An inspiration’ “It is a good document. It has several activities that go be- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. The Union Cabinet gave its nod to Inland Waterways Au- thority of India (IWAI) for raising Rs. 660 crore in bonds yond the TFA to help improve India’s competitiveness. It Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
will be an inspiration to many countries,” WCO Secretary or were given out without due diligence having been per- General Kunio Mikuriya said at a function organised by formed. This had led to a 78% increase in non-performing industry body FICCI, World Bank and the Finance Minis- assets (NPAs) over the last three years. try. “We will adopt it as a best practice and recommend it The audit on IFCI was carried out due to the high level of to all the other countries.” NPAs, which amounted to Rs. 3,544.54 crore as of March The WCO — the international body supporting the uni- 31, 2016, or 13.05% of total outstanding loans. form implementation of the TFA across the globe — has “Out of above NPAs, NPAs amounting to Rs. 2,794.58 182 member nations (including India) that manage more crore (78%) originated during the last three years,” the than 98% of world trade. CAG report noted. India had ratified the TFA in April 2016. “Further, principal amounting to Rs. 1,637.87 crore was As per the WTO, “the full implementation of the TFA could written-off from the books of accounts and there was an ... boost global trade by up to $1 trillion per year.” increase of Rs. 40,638.98 crore in unrealised interest on The requirement to implement the TFA is directly linked to account of NPAs during the audit period from 2012-13 to the capacity of the country to do so, the WTO had said. 2015-16.” Justifying the large number of TFA-plus activities, the “Audit selected 128 cases of loans sanctioned during the NTFAP stated: “Since infrastructure and technology aug- audit period and observed that in respect of 69 cases mentation are prime enablers for trade facilitation, more (54%) the loans were sanctioned in deviation from the so for India, the action plan (NTFAP) covers many activi- eligibility conditions prescribed in the relevant General ties in these areas.” Lending Policy (GLP),” the report said. “Due diligence It added, “Since they go beyond the ambit of the TFA per was not exercised during credit appraisal resulting in the se, they have been defined as TFA Plus category.” loans being sanctioned to borrowers with poor debt ser- Global benchmarks vicing capabilities.” The NTFAP further stated that “similarly, enhancement New credits of existing compliance levels to achieve global bench- For example, IFCI sanctioned new credit facilities to oth- marks in crucial segments like Time Release Study, Post er group companies of the borrower for swapping the ex- Clearance Audit and AEO (Authorised Economic Opera- isting exposure in the borrower company when the bor- tor) scheme belong to the TFA Plus category as they are rower defaulted in the repayment of its loans. dynamic objectives.” “There was non-compliance with the guidelines issued by Of the 51 “TFA-plus activities”, most (or 34) have a time- the RBI on asset classification and provisioning, conver- line of six to 18 months. sion of outstanding principal into debt or equity, restruc- These include alignment of India’s foreign trade policy turing norms etc.,” according to the report. with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and the WTO’s TFA, as well as gate automation at ports, estab- lishment of labs at sea/air ports, and complete automa- Services provided by smaller RWAs are tion of ‘transit movement and transhipment procedures’. exempt from GST Six-month deadline To clear some of the ambiguities created by the imple- While 12 of the “TFA-plus activities” have a deadline of mentation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the gov- up to six months (including giving information on average ernment has been regularly coming out with clarifications clearance time at gate, fixing responsibility for delays in and notifications. giving clearances), five such activities have a timeline of Whether the resident welfare associations (RWAs) come 18-36 months (including improving infrastructure). under the ambit of GST, is one such issue. Of the 25 activities that are part of the TFA requirements, To bring in more clarity pertaining to this issue, in a no- 17 will be implemented within 6-18 months, while eight tification dated 13 July, the Ministry of Finance, Govern- have a timeline of up to six months. ment of India, said that services that are provided by aspirantforum.comsmaller housing society RWAs would not become more ‘IFCI violated norms in sanctioning loans’ expensive due to the implementation of GST and in the A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has GST regime no changes have been made to the services found that a majority of loans given by IFCI during 2012- that RWAs provide to their members. Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. 16 were either not in line with the General Lending Policy, Here we provide a snapshot of when GST would apply
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and when it would not apply to the monthly contributions changing the financial year to coincide with the calendar made by members of an RWA. year. GST implication At the moment, the financial year in India is from April to According to the notification, if members contribute less March. than Rs5,000 a month to their RWA, their contribution “The matter of changing the financial year is under con- would be exempt from GST. Besides that, an RWA would sideration of the Government,” Mr. Jaitley said in reply also be exempt from GST if its annual turnover is up to to a question posed by BJP MP Pankaj Chaudhary. “It Rs20 lakh, even if the members’ monthly contribution is has been examined recently by a committee constitut- more than Rs5,000 a month. ed by the Government under the chairmanship of Dr. For instance: in a small housing society that has 40-50 Shankar Acharya. The report of the Committee has been apartments and monthly maintenance charges are under received.” Rs3,000, there will be no need to account for GST, as its annual collection would be about Rs18 lakh. However, GST system is robust: Centre if it had 400-500 apartments, then its annual collection The Goods and Services Tax (GST) system is not ex- would be way above Rs20 lakh and the contributions posed directly to the Internet and has a dedicated round- would be covered under GST. the-clock security operations command centre in its net- On the other hand, even if the monthly contribution in a work against cyberthreats, the government has told the high-end housing society is Rs15,000, but it has only 10 Rajya Sabha. apartments. This will mean that the annual turnover of To a question, the government said that any interaction the RWA would therefore be less than Rs20 lakh a year, with the system was only through APIs (application pro- and as a result, the contributions of its members will not gramming interfaces). It had a multi-layered security ar- attract GST. chitecture and had operational segregation through use In other words, RWAs are required to pay GST on the of a virtual local area network. monthly subscriptions if the subscription is more than Access privileges Rs5,000 per member and the annual turnover of the There was segregation of duties, least privilege access RWA—by way of supplying of services and goods—is principles, Internet Protocol (IP) filtering and blocking of also Rs20 lakh or more. rogue IPs, resiliency at each layer, secure coding prac- Input tax credit tices ensuring security of GST software development However, the RWAs that have to collect GST on the throughout Software Development Lifecycle, and at-rest monthly contributions can benefit by way of input tax and in-transit data encryption, the government said. credit. The data sharing mechanism ensures that any data The government’s notification also states that by coming transfer from the GST system is in encrypted format. The under the ambit of GST, the RWAs could in fact lower system banks on thorough security testing and full-sys- their tax burden as they would be able to avail the ben- tem vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of efits of input tax credit, which they would have paidto IT infrastructure, besides the apps used licensed tools their suppliers in the course of their normal day-to-day and customised scripts, said the government. working. Security incidents Thus, they would be able to avail this credit on account According to the Indian Computer Emergency Response of taxes they may have paid for buying generators, water Team (CERT-In), a total of 44,679, 49,455, 50,362 and pumps, lawn furniture, taps, pipes, or other hardware; as 27,482 cybersecurity incidents were observed during well as for services such as repairs and maintenance. 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (till June), respectively, the Previously, when RWAs paid central excise or value-add- government said in response to another query. ed tax, they could not avail the input tax credit and this The types of cybersecurity incidents include phishing, added to their operatingaspirantforum.com costs. scanning/probing, website intrusions and defacements, virus/malicious code, targeted attacks, ATM malware, ‘Panel report on fiscal year with Centre’ ransomware and denial of service attacks among other Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in an answer to the Lok threats. Sabha, said that his Ministry had received the report from The government had taken a series of measures to Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. the committee tasked with examining the feasibility of strengthen the cybersecurity infrastructure. All financial
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institutions had been advised by CERT-In, through the Among consumer companies, weakness in apparel, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to conduct an audit by em- accessories and luxury goods and other retailers is ex- panelled auditors on a priority basis and take immediate pected to have hurt results, said David Aurelio, Thomson steps accordingly. Reuters senior research analyst. Crisis plan In the small-cap energy sector, services and equipment All organisations providing digital payment services companies continue to be affected by project cutbacks by have been mandated to report cyber security incidents larger companies. to CERT-In expeditiously. The government has also for- The small-cap outlook is in contrast to expectations for mulated a Cyber Crisis Management Plan for counter- another quarter of strong profit growth for the S&P 500 ing cyber attacks for implementation by all ministries and and a sharp year-over-year jump in large-cap energy. departments. “Small-cap earnings growth has been trailing large-caps Till now, CERT-In has conducted 15 drills involving 148 for the last four years, and that continues to be the case organisations from different sectors to identify and plug in the first half,” said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equity strat- the loopholes. egist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
U.S. small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, Russia keen on selling MiG-35 jets to India tax reform hurdles Russia is keen on selling its new fighter jet MiG-35 to [Important for: IP, IR, Economy] India with the MiG corporation’s chief saying the country Optimism is souring around small-cap stocks for some in- has evinced interest in the aircraft and talks were on to vestors, with a host of factors conspiring to up-end gains understand its requirements. that have taken them to record highs. The Director-General of Russian Aircraft Corporation Small-caps, which led the market’s rally just after the MiG, Ilya Tarasenko, said the MiG-35 was “the best” and election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, are facing definitely better than Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation weak earnings forecasts, little progress on tax reform and combat aircraft F-35. recent outflows. He claimed that the MiG-35 would beat the American jet “We have downside risk here. Earnings numbers aren’t in air-to-air combat. great, and valuations are ... pretty rich,” said Steven De- Mr. Tarasenko, while talking to presspersons on the side- Sanctis, equity strategist at Jefferies. lines of the MAKS 2017 air show here, said after having Investors had expected the administration of Republican presented MiG-35 in January, the MiG corporation began Trump, with his promises of aggressive tax cuts and a to promote the aircraft in India and in other parts of the healthier U.S. economy, would be a boon for small-caps, world actively. which tend to be more domestically focused. “We are proposing supply of the aircraft for tenders in Republicans so far have been unable to push through India and we actively work with its Air Force in order to bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. That win the tender,” he said. has raised doubts about the likelihood of any tax reform Multi-purpose jet this year. Small-caps have higher effective tax rates — The MiG-35 is Russia’s most advanced 4++ generation about 32% versus 26% for large-caps, a note from Nu- multipurpose fighter jet developed on the basis of the veen Asset Management showed. serial-produced MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2 combat The performance of both the Russell 2000, a widely used aircraft. gauge for small-caps, and the small-cap S&P 600 has Asked if India had expressed any interest in MiG-35, Mr. lagged that of large-caps so far this year, but the Russell Tarasenko said, “Of course they have.” is up 20.3% since the election compared with a gain of MiG aircraft have been used by India for almost 50 years. 15.3% for the S&P 500. All three indexes hit recordaspirantforum.com highs in recent sessions, just as the earnings reporting period was getting under way. ‘World’s oldest emoji discovered’ on pottery Analysts estimate earnings for S&P 600 companies fell Archaeologists have discovered what may be the world’s 8.3% in the second quarter, dragged down by projected oldest emoji — a smiley face painted on an 3,700-year- old piece of pottery. Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. drops in consumer discretionary, energy and health care results, according to Thomson Reuters data. . During an excavation at an ancient city whose remains Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
are in modern-day Turkey near the Syrian border, ar- What is the minimum capital requirement for chaeologists found the ancient pitcher with three visible a payments bank? paint strokes on it — two dots for eyes and a curve for a RBI has mandated the minimum paid-up equity capital smile. for payments bank at Rs. 100 crore. The pitcher, which dates to about 1,700 BC, was found in Where can a payments bank deploy its depos- a burial site beneath a house in Karkemish, said Nikolo its? Marchetti, associate professor at the University of Bolo- Apart from maintaining Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), these gna in Italy. entities have to invest a minimum 75% of demand de- The pitcher was likely used to drink sherbet, a sweet bev- posit balances in Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)-eligible erage, Mr. Marchetti was quoted as saying by Live Sci- government securities or treasury bills with maturity of ence . up to one year and hold a maximum of 25% in current The archaeologists also found other vases and pots, as and time/fixed deposits with other commercial banks for well as metal goods in the ancient city. operational purposes and liquidity management. The name Karkemish translates to “Quay of (the god) Who all are eligible to set up a payments bank? Kamis,” a deity popular at that time in northern Syria. RBI permits non-bank Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) The city was inhabited from the sixth millennium BC, until issuers, individuals and professionals, non-banking fi- the late Middle Ages when it was abandoned. nance companies (NBFCs), corporate business corre- spondents (BCs), mobile telephone companies, super Payments bank: for the informal sector market chains, companies, real sector cooperatives that How is a payments bank different from a com- are owned and controlled by residents and public sector mercial bank? entities to apply for a payments bank licence. Setting up There are two kinds of banking licences that are granted of a joint venture by a promoter with an existing commer- by the Reserve Bank of India - universal bank licence and cial bank is also allowed. differentiated bank licence. Payments bank comes under a differentiated bank licence since it cannot offer all the Opposition seeks scrutiny of Banking services that a commercial bank offers. In particular, a Regulation Bill payments bank cannot lend. It can take deposits upto Rs. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Bank- 1 lakh per account and it can issue debit cards but not ing Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in the Lok Sabha credit cards. Commercial banks in India like State Bank . The Bill seeks to authorise the RBI to resolve the prob- of India or ICICI Bank, do not have any such restrictions. lem of stressed assets, even as the Opposition demand- What is the objective of a payments bank? ed that it be sent to a standing committee for scrutiny. The main objective is to further financial inclusion by pro- The Bill seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, viding small savings accounts and payments/remittance 1949, and replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) services to migrant labour workforce, low income house- Ordinance promulgated in May. It allows the RBI to open holds, small businesses and other unorganised sector an insolvency resolution process in respect of specific entities. stressed assets. The RBI will also be empowered to is- Besides remittance, can payments bank un- sue directives for resolution and appoint authorities or dertake any other activity? committees to advise the banking companies on stressed A payments bank can work as a business correspond- asset resolution. ent (BC) of another bank. They can also distribute simple Desperate step financial products like mutual fund units and insurance Before that, Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy products. said he opposed the ordinance itself and called it a “des- How many payments banks have commenced perate step by a desperate government”. Non-performing operations? aspirantforum.comassets of banks have risen to over Rs. 9 lakh crore, and Out of the 11 entities that received in-principle licence now the RBI was empowered to refer the cases to the for opening payments bank, 7 entities received the final Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board, he said. licence. Four payments banks have started operations — “It is the same RBI which had not been able to count Airtel Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank, Paytm Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. notes [after demonetisation]. Giving such powers to the Payments Bank and Fino Payments Bank.
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RBI will switch its attention from macro-economic issues duties under the RCEP will impact many sectors includ- to micro-economic issues and render the bank manage- ing steel, aluminium, auto-components, many engineer- ment useless,” Mr. Roy said. He wanted the Bill referred ing items and readymade garments.” to a standing committee. CII Trade Policy Committee chairman Deep Kapuria said Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked Mr. Jaitley if he wanted while many countries were urging greater focus on duty to respond to Mr. Roy’s remarks. The Finance Minister elimination, India ought to highlight the need for removal said the issues would be dealt with when the Bill came of non-tariff barriers including those in China. up for a discussion. Centre plans Rs. 7 lakh crore for highways ‘India’s concerns slowing RCEP talks’ The Centre will invest about Rs. 7 lakh crore in develop- India’s reservations regarding the potential adverse im- ing national highways in the next five years, the Road pact of eliminating duties on its local manufacturing and Transport and Highways Ministry said in a statement. job creation is understood to be slowing down the Re- The Ministry said it had “estimated a fund requirement gional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) of about Rs. 6.92 lakh crore for the development of Na- negotiations. tional Highways in the country during the next five years,” The RCEP is a proposed mega Free Trade Agreement said the statement issued . It added that funds would be (FTA) involving 16 Asia Pacific nations including India sourced through gross budgetary support, central road and China, and aims, among other things, to liberalise fund and toll remittances, among others. investment norms in the region, besides boosting trade by dismantling most tariff and non-tariff barriers. The “slow pace” of negotiations was worrying, Phairush India pressed to open up procurement Burapachaisri, vice chairman, Board of Trade of Thailand Pressure is mounting on India to open up its more than and Thai Chamber of Commerce, told The Hindu here. $300 billion-worth public procurement market under the “We hear that while most RCEP countries have agreed to proposed mega Free Trade Agreement (FTA) called the quickly eliminate barriers affecting goods trade, India is Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). seeking more time to do so, and that is delaying the ne- Public/government procurement broadly refers to the gotiations,” said Mr. Burapachaisri, who attended stake- process by which government (at the Central, State and holder meetings held with the RCEP Trade Negotiating local levels), its agencies/departments and State-owned Committee on the sidelines of the RCEP negotiations. enterprises procure goods and/or services only for their “The talks have already missed many deadlines and it own use and not for sale/resale commercially. looks like the negotiators won’t be able to conclude it this Binding commitments year. Asia Pacific is a fast growing region, but trade be- Official sources told The Hindu that an increasing num- tween countries in the region is affected by several bar- ber of countries including China, Japan, South Korea, riers. If RCEP talks are not concluded quickly and these Australia and New Zealand as well as a few from the barriers are not eliminated, the region will miss out on 10-member ASEAN bloc including Singapore and Ma- many opportunities.” laysia, were pushing for binding commitments to mutu- Meanwhile, Indian companies and industry bodies, in- ally liberalise government procurement markets in the cluding CII, flagged their concerns. The Centre’s ‘Make 16 Asia Pacific nations, including themselves and India In India’ initiative to boost manufacturing and job creation involved in the mega-FTA talks. could be hit by a hurried pact, they opined. Incidentally, during the ongoing 19th round of the RCEP Widening trade gap Trade Negotiating Committee meeting at the technical Siddhartha Roy, economic advisor, Tata Group, said: “In- level being held at the Hyderabad International Conven- dia’s trade deficit [annual] with RCEP nations is about tion Centre, the 16 countries agreed to constitute a Work- $100 billion, and half ofaspirantforum.com this is with China alone even ing Group on government procurement to take forward without an FTA with China.” negotiations on the topic and include it as a separate “Post India’s FTA with ASEAN, Japan and Korea [who chapter in the final agreement, sources said. are all RCEP members], our trade deficit with them have They, however, said India would not give in to the de- increased, and the government needs to take this into mands from these countries for “market access and Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. account during RCEP negotiations,” he said. “Eliminating national treatment (equal treatment of foreign and lo-
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cal firms)” pertaining to government procurement in the creased demand for British-made luxury cars, while the RCEP agreement, and not even undertake any commit- number of India-built cars rose by 48.6%. ment on a “best endeavour basis.” Even in India’s sepa- Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Mo- rate FTAs with Japan, South Korea and Singapore (that tor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said that there are already in force), “market access and national treat- were many opportunities for growth in areas such as in ment” have been kept out of the government procure- the development of autonomous, connected vehicles, as ment chapter. The maximum extent that India could go well as in the Indian after-market segment. “The U.K. cur- to, is to agree to ensure transparency and cooperation rently has a negligible part of that market in India, but we in government procurement matters (including informa- have a lot of expertise and there are a lot of products that tion exchange and sharing of knowledge) as part of the could be developed,” he said in an interview to this paper RCEP agreement, they said. in London. Sources said though RCEP member countries including “We want to develop those relations, but obviously it had Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Singa- to be mutual.” However, he added that the prospect of pore may not have a “PSU [Public Sector Unit] culture” increasing sales of British-made luxury cars, for which as such, they had norms that indirectly made it difficult there was great demand in India, remained limited with for foreign firms, including from India, to take part in their high tariff regimes still in place and expressed reserva- public procurement process. tions about the potential for changing this. “One would ‘Language barrier’ hope so but history would suggest its going to be incred- Countries like China, Japan and South Korea, may out- ibly difficult,” he said. wardly have an open procurement market, but make it His comments came as the SMMT said U.K. car produc- difficult for foreign firms to participate by phrasing re- tion fell 2.9% in the first half of 2017, as demand in Brit- quirements in local language, sources said. ain declined, which it attributed to the current uncertainty This ensures that domestic firms with a grasp over the around the Brexit negotiations. The industry is also low- local language get to submit the documents on time, un- ering its ambition of producing 2 million cars a year by like foreign firms who get hit by the language barrier, the 2020. sources said. “The U.K. automotive industry is in particularly challeng- India is not a signatory to the Government Procurement ing times in terms of production, new cars sales and level Agreement within the WTO framework because it wants of investment,” said Mr. Hawes. to retain its policy space to meet its development needs Interim arrangements through public procurement process. In May, the Indian The SMMT has been pushing for interim arrangements government had brought out a policy providing prefer- that maintain access to the single market and customs ence in government procurement to local goods and ser- union to avoid a cliff-edge situation. ‘We are totally inte- vices suppliers. This was to push the ‘Make In India’ ini- grated with the European automotive industry — the fu- tiative, ensure greater flow of capital and technology into ture relationship we have is fundamental to our continued domestic services and manufacturing, and in turn, boost success. We need to maintain the barrier free trade that job creation locally as well as promote small enterprises. we currently enjoy,” he said, adding that reverting to WTO Then in June, it came up with an order restricting or ex- termswould be disruptive to the supply chain. cluding from public procurement tenders in India, the firms from those nations where Indian suppliers are not Gas discovery: ONGC for pricing freedom allowed to participate and/or compete in government pro- State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has curement process. sought pricing and marketing freedom to help bring to production a one-trillion cubic feet gas discovery that will ‘Good prospects for India-U.K. auto trade’ open up a new sedimentary basin after over three dec- Britain and India have theaspirantforum.com potential to expand post-Brexit ades. trade in the auto sector, the head of the body represent- ONGC, which has opened for commercial production six ing British manufacturers said, as exports of U.K.-made out of India’s seven producing basins, has made a signifi- cars to India rose 8.3% in the first half of the year, while cant natural gas discovery in the Gulf of Kutch of Gujarat
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. those of Indian-made cars to the U.K. almost doubled. coast that can produce about three million standard cubic The 8.3% rise in sales of U.K. cars was driven by in- meters per day, a senior company official said.
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This will open up the country’s eighth sedimentary basin — the first in over three decades — for oil and gas produc- tion in two years. “We can bring to production the find in 2-3 years time,” he said. “The present government-mandated gas price of $2.48 per million British thermal unit does not make the discovery commercially viable. Since the find is in shallow waters, it does not qualify to get the $5.56 per mmBtu cap price set for difficult fields,” the official said. The current rates of gas are uneconomic, he added.
What is NHB Residex? NHB Residex from the National Housing Bank, designed by a technical advisory committee comprising Government representatives, lenders and property market players, is a set of benchmarks that aims to track housing price indica- tors across Indian cities. Originally flagged off in July 2007, the index was discontinued in 2015 and was refurbished and re-introduced earlier this month. It now sports enhanced city coverage (rising from 26 to 50, to be eventually raised to 100), a new base year (2012-13) and new data sources (with data from banks and home finance companies and market surveys). The NHB Residex currently offers two sets of quarterly Housing Price Indices (HPIs) across the cities it tracks.
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simultaneously. There is little visibilty,” said Rostow Ra- vanan, CEO of Mindtree, a mid-sized IT services firm. International Mr. Ravanan categorises projects into ‘run the business’ and ‘change the business’ for clients. “For the former, there is severe price pressure. Automation is key.” In pro- Will H-1B impact mean more IT offshoring? jects that aim to ‘change the business’ for clients, onsite Jury is still out presence is required. “Since it is transformation kind of Would stringent and costly H-1B visa regulations in the work, you need to be close to the client. There is need U.S. steer American clients of technology services to for more people to be onsite, especially in the first 1-2 send more work to India? Logically, if it costs more to years.” keep a job in the U.S., moving more jobs to India to keep With protectionist noises also being made, decision-mak- a lid on costs could be a natural consequence. It is not ing is delayed due to uncertainty among clients. “Volume yet in evidence, however, and could take a while to show [of business] is affected,” said Mr. Ravanan. up if it happens. Protectionist noises could also have a long-term impact. “The hypothesis that offshoring could increase is not “An H-1B onsite resource typically comes back to India wrong; but there are some nuances to it,” said Siddharth and helps grow the offshore team,” said Mr. Mahalingam. Pai, a technology consultant who has advised on more With a local being recruited, “the transfer of knowledge than $20 billion of outsourcing deals, and now works as does not happen. So, the ability of the vendor to offshore advisor to CEOs, investors and boards. Cost-cutting is more declines.” prevalent among clients of technology services, he said. Mr. Pai is not as sceptical about the prospects for offshor- “There is hesitation [among clients] to make decisions. ing. “What Indian IT firms need to do is follow the exam- The offshore-onsite mix is changing for the same amount ple of Japanese car companies,” said Mr. Pai. “Japanese of work.” manufacturers faced flak for exporting cars to the U.S. “Now, there is a move to automate certain pieces of work but not creating jobs there.” This led to setting up of fac- that occur in the U.S. Without offshoring necessarily in- tories by these firms. “This did create local jobs, but how creasing, the mix is changing to 90:10 due to automa- many, is the question.” tion,” Mr. Pai said. This compares with the rule of thumb Indian IT firms, he said, will localise but more to cater of 80:20. to perception issues. He exhorted Indian firms to up the ‘Poaching to begin’ ante on public relations. “Japanese firms spent signifi- Nasscom, the industry’s apex body, has said that Indian cant amounts of time and money in lobbying and in PR, IT services firms are unable to find critical skills (referred to create the impression of doing their best for the local to as STEM – or Science, Technology, Engineering and economy. Indian IT firms should do the same.” Mathematics – skills) in the U.S. “In the absence of new For Mindtree, the digital opportunity is throwing more talent with STEM skills, Indian companies will start poach- business its way. “The digital business, constituting 40% ing green card holders and citizens from each other in the of total revenues, is growing at twice the rate as our over- U.S.,” Mr. Pai said. all business. Deal sizes in digital are twice as much now Even if clients want to send jobs offshore, there are some versus two years ago.” Sales cycles have lengthened that just have to be located in the U.S. “That offshoring in some cases, but that is of little concern, said Mr. Ra- may increase is not a natural consequence of visa curbs vanan. “Unlike the traditional business, decisions on digi- in the U.S.,” said S. Mahalingam, former CFO of TCS and tal are not based purely on cost,” he reasoned. director at Kasturi & Sons, the publishers of The Hindu . Employee impact “Some kinds of jobs such as production support may be The impact of these developments on staff addition is un- outsourced. Others, like programme manager, technical avoidable. IT firms have hotly denied reports of large lay- architect or a specialist aspirantforum.comhave to be onsite.” offs. “We have seen the end of the factory model where Further, with the need for digital technologies (related to an IT firm makes, say, 1,000 offers in a single campus,” mobile, cloud, social or data analytics) increasing among said Mr. Pai. U.S. clients, and the stress on automating mundane He also highlighted that those who did not add value tasks, visa curbs are not the only issue that IT vendors would find their jobs in jeopardy. “If they do some really Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. have to deal with. “Three or four things are happening mundane kind of work or are merely pushing emails from
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the client to the development team, it would be hard to Korea on security issues. retain them.” “Trump has opted for coercion over engagement with al- However, he said doomsday predictions of 5-6 lakh jobs lies and adversaries, even when the adversary is pres- being lost in the IT industry over next two years or so are suring the ally,” said Evan S. Medeiros, who served as far-fetched. senior director on Asia in the National Security Council “There won’t be a sharp drop in recruitment growth but during the Obama administration. there would be a steady decline.” China has punished several South Korean firms in - re taliation for Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile Trump takes aggressive line with friends and system. The U.S. says the system is designed to deter missiles fired by the North, but China says its own secu- foes in Asia rity is also affected. President Donald Trump hardened his treatment of allies Given that South Korea is under intense pressure from and adversaries in Asia this week, pressing South Ko- the Chinese, some analysts said the harshness of Mr. rea’s visiting leader to overhaul a landmark trade agree- Trump’s critique of South Korea on trade had caught ment with the U.S. a day after announcing a series of them by surprise. steps that angered China. During the Oval Office meeting with Mr. Moon, Mr. Trump Meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, invited his Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, to recite a Mr. Trump demanded more access to Korean markets list of grievances. Mr. Ross cited barriers that he said cut for American cars and less of what he called “dumped” down the number of American cars sold in South Korea. Korean steel in the U.S. — all part of an overhaul of the He also complained about Chinese steel, which he said five-year-old free trade agreement with South Korea that was dumped in South Korea and used to manufacture he derided as “not exactly a great deal.” pipes for oil fields, which are then shipped to the U.S. “Very important steps,” Mr. Trump said in the White House Mr. Trump’s aides said he also planned to push ahead Rose Garden, standing next to Mr. Moon. “They have to with his trade campaign against China — freed up by his be made. Not fair to the American worker if they are not. conclusion that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had fallen And they will be.” short in pressuring North Korea to curb its behaviour. Mr. The President reaffirmed the U.S. security alliance with Trump had delayed introducing measures against China South Korea against the threat of a nuclear-armed North to encourage Mr. Xi to use his influence with North Ko- Korea. But he showed little patience for Mr. Moon’s hope rea’s leader, Kim Jong Un. for engagement with the North — something analysts Import tariffs said could be a future source of friction between the lead- In the coming days, the White House plans to publish ers. the results of an investigation of the steel industry, which Mr. Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on Chinese en- could lead to tariffs and other measures against imports. tities that do business with North Korea was interpreted South Korea is the second-largest supplier of steel to the by some as a shot across the bow not only to Beijing, U.S., by dollar value, after Canada. but also to Mr. Moon, since it emphasises pressure over China is much further back, but administration officials diplomacy. And the President’s approval of a $1.4 billion say the country has a pernicious effect on the global steel weapons sale to Taiwan provoked a sulphurous reaction market because of its excess capacity. Surplus steel from from China. China is shipped to other countries and ends up in prod- Taken together, the measures signal that Mr. Trump has ucts that are exported to the U.S.NYT. moved into an aggressive, unpredictable phase of his strategy for dealing with one of the world’s tensest re- gions. On trade, at least, the U.S. will now be at odds with All eyes now on Modi-Xi meet in Germany its two key partners in confronting the rogue government The standoff between the Armies of India and China in North Korea. aspirantforum.comcompleted 18 days even as military sources speculated New approach that a diplomatic solution could be in sight. Mr. Trump’s new approach will be a test of whether he All eyes are now on the meeting between Prime Minister can pursue the protectionist themes of his presidential Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. campaign while still cooperating with China and South sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany later this week.
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Sources said they were hopeful of a peaceful end to the “In any case, the H-1B programme is undergoing a legis- confrontation before the two leaders meet. As of now, In- lative review and there’s not much the executive branch dia continues to push for a flag meeting between local can do,” the source said. “India may suffer disproportion- commanders. ately from changes to the H-1B visa regime, but that’s “The soldiers are sitting there facing each other. It will because it had also gained disproportionately from the go on till a diplomatic solution is worked out,” a defence 25-year old programme that allows U.S. tech companies source said. to import skilled labour for skill sets that aren’t locally On the offensive available,” the source said. Both sides had deployed additional troops after the initial ‘Reading tea leaves’ face-off at the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction, on which “But the programme was never meant to be an entitle- all three countries have claims. However there is no fur- ment for one particular country. A lot of our IT CEOs in ther troop addition. India, reading the tea leaves on the mood in Washington, “Normally, in a standoff no further reinforcements are have been saying we need to use this as an opportunity sent after the initial push. We have standard procedures to change our business model that has become a little for that,” one officer stated. stale,” the source said. Mr. Modi and Mr. Jinping will be at Hamburg in Germany Another official said the outcomes of the legislative re- for the 12th G20 summit on July 7 and 8 during which view process of the H-1B programme could go either they are expected to meet. The standoff is expected to way, so it was better to wait and watch. figure in their conversation given the intensity it has gen- “Maybe, more Americans can do those jobs that couldn’t erated on both sides. be done locally 25 years ago. But a lot of U.S. companies News broke out early last week on the standoff between still say they need the H-1B programme. the two countries at the trijunction which began on June “In June, a group of technology sector corporate czars, 16 after Chinese troops tried to construct a road in the including Apple’s Tim Cook, met President Trump and Bhutanese territory at Doko La over the Zom Cheri ridge. made the pitch on why they still need it,” according to the Indian Army personnel present there intervened and source. stopped the Chinese team from advancing. China reacted sharply to this and charged that “Indian ‘Asia-Africa corridor to respect sovereignty’ troops trespassed the recognised and delineated bound- The guiding principles of the Asia Africa Growth Corridor ary” between the two countries. (AAGC), initiated by India with the backing of Japan, will Breaking silence on the issue, the Centre said last Friday be to ensure sustainability through respect for sovereign- that it was “deeply concerned” at the recent Chinese ac- ty and territorial integrity as well as boosting regional eco- tions as such construction would represent a significant nomic connectivity through the use of responsible debt change of status quo with “serious security implications” financing practices, a former top government official said. for India. The AAGC is seen as India and Japan’s counter to Chi- India also reiterated its commitment to finding a “peaceful na’s Belt and Road Initiative that plans to link Asia, Eu- resolution through dialogue” with China. rope and later even Africa by spending trillions of dollars in building infrastructure. H-1B didn’t figure in Modi-Trump talks Speaking at a meeting on AAGC organised by the Del- India did not raise any concerns about President Donald hi-based think tank RIS, Amar Sinha, former Secretary Trump’s executive order to stop visa abuses that led to (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, curbs on issuance of H-1B visas for the country’s IT work- said the AAGC guiding principles were similar to the In- ers, according to a top source who said the ‘issue was dia-U.S. Joint Statement (of June 2017). notable for its absence” during Prime Minister Narendra It had stated that “In accordance with the tenets outlined Modi’s U.S. visit. in the U.N. Charter, they (India and the U.S.) commit- The Indian delegation’saspirantforum.com strategic silence is being seen ted to a set of common principles for the (Indo-Pacific) as a signal that the government is not keen to jeopardise region, according to which sovereignty and international the larger Indo-U.S. strategic relationship over a ‘small law are respected and every country can prosper.” piece’ even as Indian IT firms are tweaking their - busi Action plan
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. ness models to cope with the changed circumstances, Ambassador Hardeep Puri, chairperson, RIS, said India the source said. and Japan were likely to soon reach out to the African Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
governments, think tanks, NGOs and companies to en- U.S. warplanes have flown over the disputed South China sure that the action plan of the AAGC was fine-tuned and Sea, the U.S. Air Force said, a move aimed at asserting successfully implemented. freedom of navigation rights in the hotly-contested area. A U.S. B1-B bomber and two F-15 fighters with the Japan UNESCO puts Hebron in danger list Air Self-Defence Force departed Guam’s Andersen Air UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, infuriated Israel as it Force Base and flew over the neighbouring East China voted to list the biblical West Bank city of Hebron, with its Sea late , the U.S. Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs office holy shrine sacred to both Jews and Muslims, as a world said. heritage site in danger. This is “the first time US Pacific Command-directed B-1B Israeli officials complained that the agency described He- Lancers have conducted combined training with JASDF bron’s Old City as a “Palestinian heritage site,” prompting fighters at night”, the statement read. a walkout by Israel’s ambassador to the organisation. When the bilateral operations concluded, “the B-1Bs pro- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a ceeded to the South China Sea before returning to An- “delusional decision” by the UN agency. “It is another dersen Air Force Base”, the statement read. delusional decision by UNESCO,” Mr. Netanyahu said in It was not immediately clear when or if a second U.S. a Hebrew video posted online. “This time they ruled the B1-B bomber joined for the South China Sea leg of the Tomb of the Patriarchs is a Palestinian site, meaning not operation. a Jewish site, and it is in danger.” ‘Important capability’ UNESCO spokeswoman Lucia Iglesias confirmed that on The mission “demonstrates how the US will continue to a Palestine motion, Hebron’s Old Town was put on the exercise the rights of freedom of navigation anywhere in- agency’s World Heritage list and on the list of heritage in ternational law allows”, the U.S. statement read. danger. She would not comment on whether Hebron had “Flying and training at night with our allies in a safe, ef- been recognised as Palestinian, saying the exact word- fective manner is an important capability shared between ing would be decided later. The secret vote of 12-3 with the US and Japan,” said Major Ryan Simpson, Pacific Air six abstentions drew angry reaction from Israel, whose Forces chief of bomber operations. ambassador to UNESCO left the session held in Krakow, The joint military flight demonstrates U.S.-Japanese “sol- Poland. idarity... to defend against provocative and destabilizing Historical development actions in the Pacific theater”, the statement added. Rula Maayah, the Palestinian Minister of Tourism, said Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, parts of in a statement it was a “historical development because which are also claimed by Taiwan and Southeast Asian it stressed that Hebron” and its historic mosque “histori- nations including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and cally belongs to the Palestinian people”. Vietnam. “UNESCO decided to recognise Hebron’s Old City and China has rapidly built reefs in the area into artificial is- a holy site sacred to both Jews and Muslims as endan- lands capable of hosting military planes. gered Palestinian heritage sites,” an Israeli diplomatic of- China also lays claim to tiny islands in the East China ficial, who did not wish to be named, said. It was the latest Sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula, and be- chapter in Israel’s rocky relations with UNESCO, which it tween Japan and Taiwan. accuses of making decisions out of political considera- Both freedom of navigation and freedom of flight over the tions. Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister said in East and South China Seas were “indisputable”, Chinese a statement that “Jewish ties to Hebron are stronger than Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular the disgraceful UNESCO vote.” Mr. Bennett, leader of the press briefing in Beijing . “China always respects- free nationalist Jewish Home party, also heads Israel’s UN- dom of flight,” he said. ESCO Committee. The decision draws attention to the situation in Hebron How online behaviour impacts real life and obliges the World aspirantforum.comHeritage committee to review its Young children know that name-calling is wrong. Tweens situation every year. are taught the perils of online bullying and revenge porn: It’s unacceptable and potentially illegal. U.S. warplanes fly over disputed South China But celebrities who engage in flagrant attacks on social
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. media are rewarded with worldwide attention. U.S. Presi- Sea dent Donald Trump’s most popular tweet to date is a vid- Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
eo that shows him fake-pummelling a personification of ing social norms in person, there’s immediate feedback CNN. Reality TV star Rob Kardashian was trending last from others through body language and tone of voice. No week after attacking his former fiance on Instagram in a such indicators exist online, and retweets can feel like flurry of posts so explicit his account was shut down. He validation. continued the attacks on Twitter, where he has more than Cruel and humiliating posts often become “an instant hit 7.6 million followers. online,” Ms. Steiner-Adair said. “It’s one of the best ways Incivility on the rise to become popular.” While public interest in bad behaviour is nothing new, so- Nastiness goes viral cial media has created a vast new venue for incivility to Viral posts then get mainstream media attention, spread- be expressed, witnessed and shared. And experts say ing digital nastiness into everyday conversation. it’s affecting social interactions in real life. By not expressly rejecting cruel or hateful online behav- “Over time, the attitudes and behaviours that we are con- iour, “we are creating a bystander culture where people cerned with right now in social media will bleed out into think this is funny,” she said. the physical world,” said Karen North, a psychologist and “When we tolerate leaders in the popular media like a director of the University of Southern California’s Digital Kardashian, or a President behaving in this way, we are Social Media Program. “We’re supposed to learn to be creating a very dangerous petri dish for massive cultural polite and civil in society. But what we have right now change,” Ms. Steiner-Adair added. is a situation where a number of role models are acting Young people, who may be the most plugged in, are get- the opposite of that ... And by watching it, we vicariously ting mixed messages as they form their moral concepts. feel it, and our own attitudes and behaviours change as “It behoves us all to question why we are participating in a result.” this mob of reactivity,” Ms. Steiner-Adair said, “and what Catherine Steiner-Adair, a psychologist and author of are the character traits we need to model for our chil- The Big Disconnect –Protecting Childhood and Family dren.” Relationships in the Digital Age , said she’s already see- ing the effects. She said she’s been confronted by students across the Nod for Bangladesh JIN pact country asking why celebrities and political leaders are In a bid to boost bilateral investments between India and allowed to engage in name-calling and other activities for Bangladesh, the Cabinet gave its approval for the Joint which they would be punished. Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the Agreement between On some middle school campuses, “Trumping” means to both the nations for the Promotion and Protection of In- grab a girl’s rear end, she said. And teenagers have killed vestments. themselves over the kind of exposure of private images The JIN would impart clarity to the interpretation of the Mr. Kardashian levelled at Blac Chyna, with whom he has existing agreement between India and Bangladesh for an infant daughter. the Promotion and Protection of Investments. “We are normalising behaviours, and it’s affecting some kids,” Ms. Steiner-Adair said. “And what’s affecting a kid that is profound is their mistrust of grown-ups who are behaving so badly. Why aren’t they stopping this?” Cyber incivility, particularly when practised by cultural leaders, can have a profound impact on human relations, Ms. North said. Studies show that young people who witness aggressive behaviour in adults model and expand on that behaviour. She pointed to Stanford University psychologist Albert Bandura’s famous “Boboaspirantforum.com Doll Experiment”, which found that kids who saw adults hit a doll in frustration not only The JIN includes interpretative notes to be jointly adopt- hit the doll as well, but attacked it with weapons. ed for many clauses, including, the definition of investor, Social media is an atmosphere devoid of the social cues definition of investment, exclusion of taxation measures, Fair and Equitable Treatment, National Treatment and Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. that mitigate behaviour in real life, she said. When violat- Most Favoured Nation treatment, expropriation, essential
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security interests and Settlement of Disputes between an ment, both Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scot- Investor-and a Contracting Party, an official statement land, and Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, said. condemned the bill as a “naked power grab an attack Joint Interpretative Statements, in general, play an im- on the fundamental principles of devolution. “The EU portant supplementary role in strengthening the invest- (Withdrawal) Bill does not return powers from the EU ment treaty regime. to the devolved administrations as promised. It returns With increasing Bilateral Investment Treaty disputes, is- them solely to the U.K. government and Parliament and suance of such statements is likely to have strong per- imposes new restrictions on the Scottish Parliament and suasive value before tribunals, the statement said, add- the National Assembly for Wales.” In a statement accom- ing that such pro-active approach by States can foster a panying the bill, the government said it expected a “sig- more predictable and coherent reading of treaty terms by nificant increase in the decision-making power of each arbitration tribunals. devolved administration.”
Britain facing tough battle in Brexit Bill China’s gateway to Southeast Asia The tough parliamentary battle awaiting the British gov- Set amid lush greenery and occupying a height of nearly ernment over its Brexit strategy was highlighted, as it 7,000 feet, the Changshui international airport in Kun- published the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, better ming has been built for the future. Constructed five years known as the repeal bill, which will replace the legislation ago, the main terminal of this massive structure alone is that initially took Britain into the union, end the suprema- spread over a jaw-dropping 5 million square feet. Many cy of EU law in the country, and convert it into U.K. law. passengers wanting to access the terminal’s more than While the government said the Bill was designed to en- five dozen gates prefer to ride golf carts, instead of walk- sure Britain exited the union with “maximum certainty, ing, as part of the pre-boarding ritual. continuity and control”, Opposition parties have sharply In tune with its ambitions, the airport is gearing up to han- criticised elements of the legislation and warned they dle 43 million passengers by 2020. Kunming, now fast- would block it. emerging as southwest China’s rising metropolis, is the Among the most controversial elements of the bill is the capital of Yunnan, a province that shares borders with decision to abandon the EU’s charter of fundamental Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. Unsurprisingly, Chinese rights, which sets out, in a single document, all the funda- planners have developed the airport as the gateway to mental civil, social, political rights and protections of EU the South and Southeast Asia. That role is similar to the citizens, and give the government sweeping powers to one ascribed to Urumqi in Xinjiang. But the Urumqi Di- make changes without thorough parliamentary scrutiny. wopu airport will have a different geographical footprint. It Keeping Britain in the charter was one of six areas on will serve as China’s spur for an outreach mainly towards which the Labour party has sought “concessions” from Central and West Asia. the government, including on workers protections and The flavour of Southeast Asia is palpable in the terminal limiting the use of ‘Henry VIII’ powers that allow the gov- of the Changshui airport. Passengers seeking arrival or ernment to amend significant legislation with minimal departure information are likely to encounter names of parliamentary scrutiny. “Change the approach or we will cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Hanoi, Bandar Seri vote against the Repeal Bill,” warned the Labour’s Keir Begawan, Phu Quoc or Phuket on the giant electronic Starmer, in an interview with the Guardian. scroll monitors fixed inside the vast terminal halls. There Vital protections are daily flights from Kunming to Kolkata, around 2,300 “These vital protections, enshrined in European law, from km away by road. Besides, Shandong Airlines now flies workers rights to the environment, matter and we will de- regularly to New Delhi from Kunming. fend them to the hilt,” said Liberal Democrat leader Tim Unlike most standard air hubs across the globe, Kunming Farron, who warned Primeaspirantforum.com Minister Theresa May faced airport radiates a unique flavour of Yunnan. Cafés offer “hell” in Parliament as she attempted to get the legislation Pu’er tea, a dark fermented brew, typical of Yunnan’s fa- through. mous Six Great Tea Mountains. These elevations are not The Bill also provoked an angry response from the gov- far from Xishuangbanna — China’s gateway to Laos and ernments of Scotland and Wales, which warned they Myanmar. Apart from tea, Xishuangbanna is known for Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. would vote against it in its current form. In a joint state- its Buddhist temples, including the famous Manfeilong
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Pagodas. There are rainforests here, and also a sporadic be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence of Asian elephants. At the airport, packets of visit to Washington last month. However, while there was flower pastries filled with a sticky, sweetened rose petal no such announcement, the U.S.-India joint statement paste — a typical Yunnan delicacy — are a big draw. issued at the end of the visit said Washington had “of- Interior connectivity fered for India’s consideration the sale of Sea Guardian The airport also links many of Yunnan’s inner cities, which Unmanned Aerial Systems” which would enhance India’s are struggling to integrate in the national mainstream. For capabilities and promote shared security interests. instance, it takes less than 45 minutes to arrive at Wen- “Given the Sea Guardian’s capabilities, such a U.S. re- shan — the main city of the Wenshan prefecture, not far sponse to the Indian Navy’s request demonstrates a ma- from the border with Vietnam. jor change in U.S. policy as this type of aircraft capability A maize research centre in the city highlights Wenshan’s is only exported to a very select few of America’s closest attempt to develop high-yield varieties, which would also defence partners. This represents tangible implementa- be in demand in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries. tion of U.S. Congress’ designation of India as a Major The centre has already set up research units in Malaysia, Defence Partner,” Dr. Vivek Lall, Chief Executive, U.S. Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. Apart from collaborating in and International Strategic Development, General Atom- research and development, the centre has also obtained ics said. a licence to farm in Myanmar and Laos. Boosting capabilities “This research cooperation between regional countries The Navy currently operates Israeli Medium Altitude and China is very important to improve the agricultural Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs and is keen on acquir- technology for the whole region,” says Piriya Khempon, ing High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) to augment its Thailand’s Ambassador to China, who was part of a del- maritime surveillance capabilities. The other option is to egation of diplomats and journalists visiting the area. go for Israeli HALE drones, which India is quite familiar Asked whether allowing foreign companies land owner- with. Last year, the Navy asked General Atomics for the ship could meet local farmer resistance, he said: “We details of the Guardian, following which company officials have a designated zone in Thailand’s eastern economic made presentations on its capabilities. zone where we can give land on a 90-year lease, pro- vided new technology is developed there. Outside this U.K. raises issue of overstaying Indians area, we do not give any land to foreigners.” Britain claims a thousand Indians overstay their visa in Wenshan is also the home of Notoginseng, a herb used Britain every year, and the two countries are working to- for treating cardiovascular disorders. “We are setting gether to improve the process for returning those who re- up an industrial park to grow this herb on an industrial main in Britain illegally, and can be successfully identified scale,” says Xian Ren Dong, a local official at Wenshan’s as Indian, India’s Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said at Notoginseng Science and Technology Park. the end of a weeklong visit to the United Kingdom. Mr. Mehrishi held discussions with Ministers and senior Guardian UAV deal with U.S. still a work in civil servants to attempt to move things forward in some progress of the most sensitive issues relating to British-India rela- An American approval for the sale of 22 Guardian mari- tions, including counter-terrorism, visas and extradition. time surveillance has come India’s way, but defence The discussions happened as India’s attempt to extradite sources say the actual deal is a long way off as New liquor baron Vijay Mallya continues, and an unnamed in- Delhi is evaluating the options available. dividual will be extradited to Britain within the next week “They gave willingness. We have to look at the options as to 10 days. we have specific requirements. There are a few options Dialogue ends available. This specific issue is on the table now. We got Mr. Mehrishi’s visit concluded with the second India-U.K. the offer and we will look into it,” a senior defence official Home Affairs Dialogue, chaired by the British Home Of- aspirantforum.comfice’s Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam, and first held told The Hindu. Another official said government-to-government discus- in May. sions were under way but declined to put any timeline as Home Affairs remains one of the most sensitive areas of to when it could be concluded. There was much specu- bilateral relations, with Britain repeatedly raising the is- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. lation that the deal, likely between $2-2.5 billion, would sue of overstaying Indians, and India pointing to the pro- cess and cost of obtaining visa for its citizens as issues Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
that stood in the way of improving relations in a number It is the faulty policy of continuous U.S. support to Paki- of areas. stan’s military generals that has turned South Asia into On the issue of those overstaying, Mr. Mehrishi said it a nuclear flashpoint, former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler was India’s policy that “any person identified as Indian has said. Mr. Pressler, known for the legislation that who is here illegally, we’ll expedite his or her return and forced President George H.W. Bush to suspend aid to accept him or her back to the country…the only issue Pakistan in 1990, said the U.S. must designate Pakistan is the process or time taken…there is dispute about the as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Pressler amendment U.K. wanting to send them back and India’s willingness to required the President to certify annually that Pakistan take them back provided their nationality is established.” did not possess a nuclear device. Mr. Mehrishi said Britain would look into a number of vi- Mr. Pressler spoke to The Hindu in an interview, coincid- sa-related issues raised by India, including the costs and ing with the launch of his book Neighbours in Arms: An length of time it took to get a visa. American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent, by Penguin Random House. The former Indonesia renames part of South China Sea Senator said the Pressler amendment was diluted and fi- Indonesia has named waters in its exclusive economic nally scrapped, as the arms manufacturing lobby and the zone that overlap with China’s expansive claim to the U.S. Defence Department wanted supplies to continue. South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea, an assertion Holding the Pentagon responsible for the nuclear situa- of sovereignty that has angered Beijing. tion in South Asia, Mr. Pressler said: “I don’t think either The decision announced last Friday by the Ministry of Pakistan or India would have gone ahead with nuclear Maritime Affairs has been in the works since mid-2016 weapons if we were sincere about non-proliferation.” and was vital to law enforcement at sea and securing Mr. Pressler said the U.S. political and administrative Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, said Arif Havas system is in the grip of the ‘military industrial complex’. Oegroseno, the deputy Minister for Maritime Sovereignty. He terms it the ‘octopus’ with its tentacles all over. “Pen- Beijing angry tagon is the most powerful part of the U.S. government. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the “so- It is not only the Pentagon, but it is the arms construction called change of name makes no sense at all”. business, law firms... it permeates all over. Secretary of “We hope the relevant countries can work with China for Defense is not only a person, he is a system. When he the shared goal and jointly uphold the current hard-won goes to the Hill, he gives in to pressure from members sound situation in the South China Sea,” he said. of Congress. For example, Alan Cranston, a liberal from China claims most of the South China Sea, putting it in California, was a great champion of B-1 bombers, which dispute with many Southeast Asian nations, and has car- I don’t think he ever believed in. That was about jobs in ried out extensive land reclamation and construction on Los Angeles.” reefs and atolls to bolster its claims. He added: “This is not all bad. This is almost like a public “The map of Indonesia has clear coordinates, dates and works programme. Some people have said, our economy data, and the government would not negotiate with oth- needs large pubic works programme and building arms er nations that make unconventional claims... including is one such. It is also about national security. Lots of citi- those who insist on a map of nine broken lines,” Mr. Oe- zens support this, because of security concerns. ” groseno said. Continuous warfare Philipppines also has claims to the South China Sea. But Mr. Pressler said American foreign policy has been a Filipino officials behind an arbitration case in which the continuous warfare for several decades now. “The Pen- Philippines won a resounding victory over China last year tagon and their allies are for arming everybody. I can’t are expressing alarm that Beijing continues to defy the say the Pentagon gave Pakistan the nuclear weapons decision. Last week, they urged President Rodrigo Du- directly, but they could have stopped it easily,” he said, terte to explore diplomatic and legal means by which to adding that American generals preferred to deal with dic- aspirantforum.comtatorships rather than a democracy like India. pressure China into complying. The former Republican senator who endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election is of the opinion ‘Pentagon responsible for S. Asian nuclear that President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Naren-
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. situation’ dra Modi could make good partners, but pointed out that
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“India has fallen into the same trap” of endless arms pur- Kuwait also ordered the closure of the Iranian “military, chase from the U.S. “I am very saddened that a great part cultural and trade” missions, the official said. of the so-called great new relationship is military sales Last month Kuwait’s Supreme Court sentenced the mas- relationship. President Trump has spoken about all these termind of the cell to life in jail and condemned 20 oth- American jobs because of these arms going to India...” ers to various prison terms for alleged links with Iran and He said India-U.S. ties have a bright future “but we (the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah, and plotting terror at- U.S.) have to recognise that India is our friend, India is tacks in Kuwait. our soulmate.” The row comes at a time when Kuwait is trying to mediate Super alliance an end to the Gulf’s worst diplomatic crisis in years. “We tear India down when our generals fly down there and encourage the ISI (Pakistan’s intelligence service). Israel limits Muslim access to Jerusalem site We need to stop doing that. We need to create a super India-U.S. alliance, one that is based on trade and devel- amid tensions opment, and not based on arms trade,” he said. Israeli police barred men fewer than 50 from entering Je- Asked about his observation in the book that Mr. Modi rusalem’s Old City for Friday Muslim prayers as tensions has learnt to deal with the American system, Mr. Pressler rose and protests erupted over new security measures at said: “I am very hopeful about Modi. He seems to be a highly sensitive holy site. much more flexible than I had expected. Modi is a phe- The rare ban came after Israeli ministers decided not to nomena to me, in the sense that... he was barred from order the removal of metal detectors erected at entranc- entry to the U.S. — unfairly — when he was chief minis- es to the Haram al-Sharif mosque compound, known to ter. There is a possibility that Trump is not hidebound by Jews as the Temple Mount, following an attack nearby a any previous thoughts. He could be the man who could week ago that killed two policemen. change things. I am hopeful,” he said. According to Mr. “Entry to the Old City and Temple Mount will be limited to Pressler, the appointment of Lisa Curtis as Senior Direc- men aged 50 and over. Women of all ages will be permit- tor for South and Central Asia at the National Security ted,” a police statement said. Council by Mr. Trump is indicative of fresh thinking. “She The police said later in the day that discretion could be has got this thing... terrorism and South Asia figured out.” applied in the use of the metal detectors instead of forc- ing everyone to go through them. Restive crowd ‘Kuwait orders Iran envoy to leave’ But Palestinian and religious leaders were still calling Kuwait ordered the Iranian ambassador to leave the on worshippers not to enter until they were removed. country within 48 days, Iran’s ISNA news agency report- Crowds gathered outside Jerusalem’s Old City found ed, in an escalating row following a court case which im- shops closed and streets around Damascus Gate — the plicated “Iranian parties” in a spy cell. entrance most heavily used by Palestinians — blocked. A “Under the pressure of Saudi interventionist policies, and group of several hundred people, including Muslim lead- the baseless accusation of Iranian interference ... Kuwait ers, marched towards the Lions Gate entrance to the has announced that ... Alireza Enayati, the Iranian am- mosque compound, but police informed them that only bassador to Kuwait, must leave within 48 days,” the Ira- men over 50 would be allowed. Crowds began chanting nian Students News Agency (ISNA) said. “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) in protest. The police ‘Links to terror cell’ later fired stun grenades toward the protesters around Earlier, the Gulf state expelled Iranian diplomats and the Old City. closed some embassy missions after the Emirate’s top At least one Israeli checkpoint could be seen on a major court convicted a “terror” cell of links to the Islamic repub- road into Jerusalem. There were reports of others and lic, the Foreign Ministry said. claims that Muslims being bused in for Friday prayers The action was taken afteraspirantforum.com a Supreme Court ruling last were being stopped. month said “Iranian sides helped and supported the cell Tensions have risen since police installed the metal de- members,” the Ministry said in a statement. tectors in a move Palestinians and other Muslims per- A senior government official, speaking on condition of ceive as a means for Israel to assert further control over anonymity, told AFP around 15 diplomats was ordered the site. Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. to leave. World leaders worried
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The controversy has resonated beyond Israel and the cus immediately turned to building Shia militia groups, Palestinian territories, with the United States and the UN along with the Iraqi government, to fight the IS in Iraq. Middle East envoy expressing concern. These groups, known as Popular Mobilisation Unites, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Is- or Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, have played a major role in the rael to remove the detectors. He spoke by telephone with liberation of Iraqi cities, such as Ramadi, Fallujah and both Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Mosul, from IS rule. President Reuven Rivlin . How did Iran gain entry? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that If there’s one country in West Asia that benefited from the metal detectors were intended to ensure the safety of the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was Iran. For worshippers and visitors and not an attempt to disturb the the Islamic Republic, which fought an eight-year-long fragile status quo under which Jordan is custodian of the war with Iraq in 1980-88, Saddam Hussein’s regime re- site and Jewish prayer is forbidden. mained a security concern. In the pre-Iraq war scenario, Palestinians have been refusing to enter the compound Syria was the only stable ally of Iran, but both countries in protest at the metal detectors, and hundreds have were separated by a hostile Iraq. Iran had started build- been holding prayers outside, with clashes occasionally ing influence inside Iraq through its cross-border cultural breaking out with Israeli police. and religious links, but even that had limitations as the The main weekly prayers s draw the largest number of Saddam regime turned against Iraq’s Shias in the after- worshippers — typically thousands —and speculation math of the first Gulf War. The U.S.-led invasion removed had been mounting that Mr. Netanyahu might order the this hostile regime and practically opened the gates of metal detectors removed. But after consultations with Iraq to an ambitious Iran ruled by Shia clergy. security chiefs and members of his security cabinet, Mr. Iraq is a Shia-majority country, which Saddam Hussein’s Netanyahu decided not to order them removed. secular Ba’ath party ruled for decades with an iron fist. An Israeli official said that the security cabinet “has given When the post-Saddam Iraq held the country’s first free police the authority to make any decision to ensure free elections in 2005, Shia parties, most of which had had access to holy sites while maintaining security and public long-standing relations with Iran, rose to power. Ever order”. since, Iran’s influence in Iraq has only grown — first as “Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo on the a counterforce to the American occupation and then as a Temple Mount and the freedom of access to the holy security provider to the Iraqi government. sites,” the official said. Why is Iraq crucial for Iran? The new security measures were put in place following a Iran doesn’t have many allies in a region which is domi- gun and knife attack near the compound that killed two nated by hostile Sunni powers. Iran counters this asym- Israeli policemen on July 14. metry in geopolitical leverage by building influence with Three Arab-Israeli assailants carried out the attack and non-state actors. Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militia, is were shot dead. one of its greatest strategic assets in West Asia. With a friendly government in Baghdad, Iran not only got a buffer Is Iran growing its presence in Iraq? between itself and the Sunni bloc, but also direct access After the U.S. withdrew its troops from Iraq in 2011, Bagh- to Syria, which has been a conduit for Iranian supplies dad became increasingly dependent on Tehran on vari- for Hezbollah. But in the immediate aftermath of the Iraq ous avenues, from trade to security, which raised Iran’s war, it was not clear whether Tehran would be able to global profile. Iran established a Shia corridor stretching successfully cultivate dominance in Iraq. The presence from Tehran through Baghdad and Damascus to south- of over 1,00,000 U.S. soldiers posed a direct challenge ern Lebanon where Hezbollah operates. But Iran’s stra- to Iran’s ambitions. tegic calculations came under threat when the Islamic The George Bush administration had also lumped Iran State made inroads intoaspirantforum.com north-western Iraq. with Iraq and North Korea as the “axis of evil” and had The IS, which is anti-Shia, captured Mosul, Iraq’s sec- threatened it with military action. Against that context, the ond largest city, in June 2014 and was marching towards Iranian strategy was to make the U.S. occupation cost- Baghdad. Had the IS taken over Baghdad, Iran would ly. It supported Shia militias in Iraq’s south, while Sunni not only have lost a friendly regime, but also felt the heat terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq attacked both Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. of an anti-Shia jihadist group closer to its borders. Its fo- Shias and U.S. soldiers in the north. The Iranian strategy
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was partly successful as the U.S. eventually withdrew most of its troops from Iraq, but only after the invasion and the subsequent sectarian civil war ravaged the country. Will Iran pull back? Now that the Iraqi government has declared the defeat of the IS, will Iran withdraw its militias and let Baghdad run the country on its own? Given Iran’s strategic ambitions and the recent history of its dominance in Iraq, it’s unlikely to happen. On the contrary, at a time when the U.S. and the Sunni monarchies in the Gulf are teaming up against Iran, Tehran would try to deepen its relations with countries such as Iraq and Syria and non-state militias such as Hezbol- lah and Hashd al-Shaabi. Al-Shaabi, comprising some 40 militia groups that are loyal to Tehran, could translate its military influence into political clout, which will be crucial as Iraq goes to the polls next year. This explains why the Iraqi political leadership hardly expresses any views critical of Iran.
aspirantforum.com Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol.
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future. This is the only part of the India-China boundary that is considered “settled” between the two countries, and it was for this reason that China had opened out the India and motorable route for Indian pilgrims. While Indian and Chinese troops have faced off at the LAC in Chumar and Depsang earlier, the Doko La epi- The World sode is the most significant such face-off. Border standoff: India issues warning Mr Lu’s statement comes a day after releasing photo- ‘India-Israel ties on a steady upward trend’ graphs that purported to show Indian troops on Chinese Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel has gen- land. erated a lot of interest as the first to the country by an Meanwhile Defence Minister Arun Jaitley spoke out at a Indian Prime Minister. Officials say the Prime Minister conference organised by TV Today as well, saying “The will be accompanied by his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin situation in 1962 was different and the India of today is Netanyahu, through most of his visit that will take him to different,” in response to the Chinese statement telling Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The visit will see the coun- New Delhi to “remember history” and the 1962 war. tries sign a strategic partnership on non-security issues. Revealing the series of events that have unfolded over India’s Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor spoke to The the past fortnight, the government said on June 16, a Hindu about the focus of the trip. PLA team carrying construction equipment crossed into Amid all the interest and expectation from the visit, what Bhutanese territory at Doko La over the Zom Cheri ridge will the focus be? and tried to begin building a road. When Bhutanese sol- I think the focus of the visit, is the visit itself. The fact that diers protested, India claims the Chinese soldiers pushed an Indian Prime Minister is making a visit for the first time them back to their posts. in 25 years since we established full diplomatic ties is “In coordination with the Royal Government of Bhutan, significant in itself. Also since this is the 25th anniversary, Indian personnel, who were present at general area we want to mark that and celebrate that. Doka La, approached the Chinese construction party and At some stages, the relationship has gone faster, some- urged them to desist from changing the status quo,” the times not so fast, but it’s been a steady upward trend. government said, although it denied the Chinese claim Have India and Israel put behind them what PM Modi that Indian troops had transgressed into Chinese territory described with the U.S., “the hesitations of history” now? in the process. Absolutely. This is very much the formal “coming out” of Four days later, a border personnel meeting (BPM) was the relationship at the highest level. When the PM comes held at Nathu La and diplomats in Delhi and Beijing have here, he will be making that very clear as he tells the gov- been holding regular meetings with the respective for- ernment of Israel and PM Netanyahu that India is your eign ministries in an effort to defuse the crisis. Bhutan genuine partner. So there is none of that bashfulness any and China have been similarly engaged. However, it is more, and it is completely out in the open. unlikely that the three countries will hold a trilateral un- Yet, agreements planned during the visit are only expect- less tensions are visibly decreased. ed to refer to Israel as a strategic partner on non-security There are several reasons for New Delhi’s growing con- issues like water and agriculture, according to the Israeli cerns over the situation. The Chinese aggression came Cabinet resolution. Why? days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President I think there has been too much focus on defence and se- Xi Jinping had what officials called a “warm and cordial” curity aspects. The future of the relationship and much of meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, where they had even the present of the relationship lies in development, which discussed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route through includes agriculture, water, innovation, science and tech- Sikkim, which now stands cancelled. nology. This is where we can impact the largest number For Chinese troops to transgressaspirantforum.com over non-finalised bor- of lives of people back in India. ders in Sikkim and into Bhutanese territory is unprec- When it comes to innovation, what is it that India, which edented, and is a violation of agreements with Bhutan has its own IT industry, engineers, innovation culture, can from 1998 and 1999 as well as with India in 2012 to main- learn from Israel? Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. tain the status quo, and causes special worries for the What we really need to learn from the Israelis is the
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seamless manner in which they have cooperation be- As the war of words escalated, Foreign Ministry spokes- tween industry, academia and government. We have to person Geng Shuang responded to remarks by Defence learn from their universities, how they have technology- Minister Arun Jaitley that India of 2017 was different from transfer companies based right on their campuses, which what it was in 1962. “China too is different and will take help convert theory into useful products in a very short all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial sover- period of time. We have a developed system, but the eignty,” Mr. Geng observed. areas where they have start-ups far exceeds what we The Chinese allege that Indian troops have breached have. This is a country that has no automotive industry New Delhi’s well-recorded position of abiding by the 1890 for example, and yet they are the R&D centre for autono- British-era convention defining the boundary between mous cars (self-driving) in the world. We also need to Sikkim and Tibet. have Israeli companies look more at the Indian market. Besides, the boundary between China and Bhutan — a So far, Israeli start-ups have looked at American inves- country with which India has special ties — has not been tors and buyers, but Indian firms could do the same with settled, despite 24 rounds of negotiations, which began larger markets and cheaper production lines. in the 1980s between Beijing and Thimpu. The Prime Minister is also addressing a diaspora event Asked to comment on breaching an understanding with in Tel Aviv this week. How is the Indian-Israeli community Bhutan on maintaining the status quo in areas in dispute, different from other Indian diaspora? Mr. Geng denied that there was a dispute between Bei- Well, most of the diaspora immigrated here in the 1950s jing and Thimpu in the Doklam area, at the tri-junction of and the 1960s, and the large number of them doesn’t China, India and Bhutan. have too many ties back home. Most Jewish Indians, Chinese claim about 80,000, have all moved here, and there are just “The Chinese side has been stressing that Doklam be- 4,000 to 5,000 left in India. So the familial link is not that longs to China. It is under the effective jurisdiction of Chi- strong. Also, the community here is not that well-off com- na and it is without any dispute. The boundary between pared with those in the U.S. and the U.K. the two countries is yet to be defined but the two sides People moved here on the basis of their religion, not [for have a consensus on the alignment of the boundary. Re- economic reasons]. So we try to bring them together garding that Doklam belongs to China, the two sides have once a year, and this year, they will be able to hear di- no dispute over that. Doklam has always been under the rectly from Mr. Modi about how they can play a role in effective jurisdiction of China,” Mr. Geng said. building India-Israel ties. Mr. Geng’s remarks sharply contradicted the assertion by Connectivity between the two countries is still poor, there Vetsop Namgyel, Bhutan’s ambassador to India, who has are no flights from Delhi, and the only direct flight from stated that, “Doklam is a disputed territory and Bhutan Mumbai by El Al runs just three times a week. Why has has a written agreement with China that pending the final Air India not started its service, as promised, in May? resolution of the boundary issue, peace and tranquillity You will have to ask Air India that. They announced that should be maintained in the area.” there would be a flight [in May], but we have heard noth- The current round of border tensions was triggered by ing since. the construction of a road by China in the Doklam area. New Delhi has maintained that a road there will threaten India made Bhutan distort facts, says China its national security. Analysts say that if built, the road will China and India’s wrangling over Bhutan escalated amid provide China further access to the Chumbi Valley, add- accusations by Beijing that the alleged intrusion by Indian ing to the vulnerability of the “Chicken’s Neck”, a narrow troops in the Sikkim sector was a “betrayal” of a former corridor that links the northeast with the rest of India. colonial-era understanding of the boundary alignment in this area. India talks tough with U.K. on terrorism Adopting a shriller tone in demanding the pullback of In- India has been speaking with greater candour in recent dian forces, from the Doklamaspirantforum.com area, where there has been weeks about obstacles in its relationship with Britain, a military standoff, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused highlighting how efforts by the British government to take New Delhi of virtually manipulating Bhutan to “distort forward the relationship, particularly via a post-Brexit facts,” and engineering a “cover-up” for the “illegal entry” trade deal, could struggle.
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. of its forces in its territory. Just a week after Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha
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warned that bilateral relations would struggle to progress that had to allow such activity to take place didn’t work, without recognition from Britain that the centre of terror- as India was a “robust democracy” but didn’t interfere in ism lay to India’s West, the High Commission here has internal affairs of friends and allies. expressed its concerns about plans for a rally to be held Wani, 22, was killed with two other militants in Anantnag in the city of Birmingham to commemorate the first death district on July 8 last year, triggering protests across the anniversary of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen com- Kashmir Valley, following a mission that security agen- mander, on July 8. cies described as the “biggest ever success” in recent ‘Note verbale’ times. The office of the Deputy High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik sent a “note verbale” on the matter to the British India for Israel, says Modi; force against bad: Foreign Office . “We are concerned that in Britain where such terrorist incidents are taking place, their authorities Netanyahu would allow for the celebration of the death of a terrorist,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called said Mr. Patnaik . the India-Israel partnership a force for “good against The move, seen as an unusually candid one by India, bad”, after talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra highlights the country’s increasing willingness to highlight Modi , said they had tasked special committees to imple- issues of tension between the two countries, as debate in ment the seven agreements between them by January 1 Britain focuses almost solely on the untapped potential to next year, and accepted Mr. Modi’s invitation to visit India. enhance the trade deal between the two countries. The agreements cover the fields of water, agriculture, Reflects frustration space, including a $40-million joint fund for research and Gareth Price of Chatham House said that India’s in- development in innovation. creased frankness likely reflected frustration about the The “historic first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister” fact that its message that bilateral relations went well be- has solidified the enduring friendship, the joint statement yond the economic realm to issues such as security and issued by the Ministry of External Affairs later said. terrorism were not being heeded in Britain, despite efforts “We discussed so many fields where we think we can by India over the past decades to make its views plain. make a big difference, in water and agriculture, fields that “It is almost like two different conversations are happen- affect the lives of our people,” Mr. Netanyahu added. ing in parallel.” Water conservation “These are things that India has been saying quite explic- The two agreements in the field of water deal with the “in- itly but no one seems to have listened to it on the British creasing awareness” of the need for water conservation, side. It hasn’t had the recognition India wants. We are as well as an MoU between the Israeli Water Ministry back where we were in the 1980s where the issue of Sikh and the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam Board. Three MoUs on militants was one of the biggest impediments to stronger space cooperation included one for Electric Propulsion relations.” for Small Satellites, and for the development of an optical Speaking at an event on post-Brexit opportunities be- link as well as cooperation on atomic clocks. The fund tween India and Britain last week, Mr. Sinha told dele- for research and development, called the “I4F” or India gates that there was an “undue focus” on the free trade Israel Industrial Innovation Fund, will see both govern- agreement with India, and with the few FTAs India had ments contribute $20 million to help research scholars signed globally, expecting one in the immediate after- manufacture their inventions easily. math of Brexit might be “expecting too much.” At a meeting earlier with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Other issues on terrorism, security and beyond also had Mr. Modi also coined the term “I4I” or “India for Israel”, as to be confronted, he said, highlighting the issue of terror- a response to Mr. Netanyahu’s formula of “Indian talent ism. and Israeli technology equals India-Israel ties for tomor- “We’ve been facing terrorist attacks for decades…you row.” were sceptical in the pastaspirantforum.com about terrorist attacks we faced “From ‘Start-up India’ to ‘Make in India’, Israeli technology … all I can say is we must confront this.” fits into all of India’s processes for growth,” said Foreign He also raised the issue of Vijay Mallya, stating that Brit- Secretary S. Jaishankar speaking about the significance ain had become a “haven for fugitives from justice” as of the statements. The two sides also agreed to increase air linkages between the two countries, with Air India ex-
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. well as Britain’s willingness to tolerate “anti-India activity.” He said the argument that Britain was an open society pected to commence flights to Tel Aviv. Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
Modi, Xi will not hold talks at G-20 summit ‘India-China relations a factor of stability With India and China asserting that no bilateral meeting amid global uncertainty’ between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said while India and Jinping had been scheduled on the sidelines of the G-20 China had several differences, PM Narendra Modi and meeting in Germany, there was no immediate prospect of President Xi Jinping had “reached a consensus” on two an end to the boundary standoff. Also China stepped up points during their meeting on June 8 in Astana, namely, its verbal assault on India, warning it of ‘serious conse- “At a time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are quences’ if it did not withdraw its troops. a factor of stability; and in their relationship, India and “The Prime Minister is visiting Hamburg from July 6-8 for China must not allow differences to become disputes.” the G-20 summit. His pre-planned bilateral meetings on Dr. Jaishankar was responding to questions on the cur- the sidelines of the summit are with Argentina, Canada, rent border standoff in Sikkim after his lecture at the Lee Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, the U.K. and Vi- Kuan Yew School of Public Policy on the subject “India- etnam,” Gopal Baglay, spokesperson of the Ministry of ASEAN and the Changing Geopolitics”. External Affairs (MEA), said in response to a question. However, he did not refer to the next meeting between Mr. Baglay said Mr. Modi would participate in the BRICS the two leaders in Hamburg at the G-20 summit, which leaders’ meeting which will be held a day before the main China said was not a “bilateral”, though the MEA has said summit. the leaders had covered a “wide range of issues” during Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang the meeting. said the necessary information would be shared in a Despite the two leaders meeting each other twice since timely manner, when asked about the possibility of a bi- trouble began when Chinese PLA teams reportedly de- lateral meeting of the leaders at the BRICS event. molished Indian bunkers in the Doklam plateau (called It is unusual for either country to announce that no bilater- Doko La in Bhutan, which claims the whole), and then al meeting had been scheduled as both leaders have met sent in road construction teams, the stand-off has now in several multilateral meetings in the last three years. entered its second month. The MEA’s confirmation about not having a bilateral Since then, Bhutan and India have jointly countered meeting came despite earlier reports that the Indian and China’s claims that it was only operating in its territory, Chinese leaders would meet on the sidelines of the sum- and according to officials, Indian and Chinese soldiers mit in Hamburg. now stand face-to-face on the contested plateau, pitch- Earlier, news reports from Beijing said the meeting would ing tents there in an indication they could be there for the not be possible as the “atmosphere was not right.” “long haul”. Imposes condition Mr. Geng said: “India can immediately withdraw the bor- der troops to the Indian side of the boundary to uphold India-China trade talks deadlocked the peace/tranquillity of the China and India border ar- India’s goods trade deficit with China, which had- bal eas,” as a “pre-condition for essential peace talks.” looned to $52.7 billion in 2015-16 from just $1.1 billion He also warned at a daily news briefing in Beijing that in 2003-04, eased marginally to $51.1 billion in 2016-17. India must pull back its forces to its side of the border in During the discussions with the AQSIQ officials, India’s order “to avoid there being an even more serious situa- animal husbandry department is learnt to have raised the tion, creating even more serious consequences.” issue of lack of market access for Indian bovine meat in The ongoing tension erupted over Chinese construction China. China is yet to lift the import ban on India’s bovine in the Doklam area at the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction. meat that it had first imposed in 1990 in the wake of in- Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi last met in Astana on June 9 during cidence of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in India. The the summit of the SCOaspirantforum.com where Mr. Xi had described the Indian side, in the recent talks, had pointed out that India Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra as a positive aspect of ties. — through a strong FMD control programme — had en- However, following the Doklam row the pilgrimage on the sured FMD-free regions, and that bovine meat was being Sikkim route was stopped as the Chinese refused to al- exported to many countries from those areas. The Chi- low Indian pilgrims to use the Nathu La pass. nese side is, however, learnt to have said that since the Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol.
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visiting AQSIQ officials were those dealing only with plant Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, Department of Industrial quarantine, India ought to raise the bovine meat issues Policy and Promotion (or DIPP — the nodal body for for- with the officials overseeing animal quarantine. eign direct investment policy), said: “The IFM has been Incidentally, in January, China had reportedly agreed to established with the key objectives of paving the way for lift this prohibition after their officials inspected certain identifying and solving problems faced by EU companies abattoirs in India and expressed ‘satisfaction’ with the and investors with regard to their operations in India.” conditions there. The discussions are said to have also He added that the IFM will cover new investors as well as turned awkward when the Chinese side brought up the those already established in India. issue of India’s ban on Chinese milk and milk products. “The IFM is also going to serve as a platform for discuss- ing general suggestions from the point of view of EU companies and investors with regard to ease of doing Diplomacy at work to end China stand-off business in India, which I am sure, would boost and en- However, the MEA spokesperson didn’t confirm or deny courage the EU investors to avail the investment oppor- if National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will travel to Beijing tunities available in India,” said Mr. Abhishek. for a scheduled meeting of NSA’s of all BRICS countries Ease of doing business is a fundamental priority of the on July 27-28 ahead of the BRICS summit in Xiamen in Indian Government’s Make in India Campaign and the September that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend. establishment of IFM for facilitating EU investments in In- Despite the tensions over the Doklam situation where dia is another step to achieve this goal, he said. hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops are believed to Brussels statement have camped out across from each other on territory The IFM builds on the Joint Statement of the 13th EU- claimed by Bhutan, the government has been sending India Summit held in Brussels in March 2016, where the Ministers and officials for all the BRICS meetings on Ag- EU had welcomed India’s readiness to establish such a riculture, Education, Culture and Environment being held mechanism and leaders from both sides had reaffirmed in China in June and July. their shared commitment to oppose protectionism and to Mr. Baglay also refused to respond to the state-owned work in favour of a fair, transparent and rule-based trade China People’s Daily that published a repeat of an edi- and investment environment, according to the statement. torial from 1962 just before the Sino-Indian War, saying As part of the IFM, the EU Delegation to India and the that he wouldn’t “comment on opinions or editorials in the DIPP will hold regular high level meetings to assess and media.” facilitate “ease of doing business” for EU investors in In- However, India dismissed the Chinese spokesperson’s dia.This will include identifying and putting in place solu- reference to the Kashmir issue unequivocally. “We have tions to procedural impediments faced by EU firms and seen the report that they said Kashmir is central to peace investors in establishing or running their operations in and stability in the region. Our stand is absolutely clear, India. at the heart of the matter is cross border terrorism per- Invest India, the Indian government’s official Investment petrated on the people of India including the people of Promotion and Facilitation Agency, will also be part of the Jammu and Kashmir.As far as the Kashmir issue is con- IFM. cerned, we have been ready to have dialogue on all is- sues Pakistan, but in a bilateral framework,” the spokes- person said. U.K. support to India on terror rock solid: envoy Britain’s approach to working with India on the terrorism EU, India set up fund for investments challenges faced by both countries has long been “rock The European Union (EU) and India announced the es- solid” and continued to remain so, Britain’s senior envoy tablishment of an Investment Facilitation Mechanism to the country said . (IFM) for EU investmentsaspirantforum.com in India. “There has been close collaboration all the way through… “The mechanism will allow for a close coordination be- we know India suffers massively and we are as strong tween the European Union and the Government of India collaborating with India on fighting it as we ever were,” with an aim to promote and facilitate EU investment in said British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith at a
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. India,” according to an official statement. meeting in London.
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Asked whether Britain’s approach to India’s terrorism The crucial meeting, which is held in the backdrop of a concerns — as well as those about Britain’s alleged tol- spurt in terrorist activities, would also be attended by rep- erance of anti-India activity in the country — was chang- resentatives of the Philippines, where security forces are ing, signalled by the decision to cancel a rally last week currently engaged in a fierce battle with Islamic State- in Birmingham commemorating the death anniversary of linked militants. slain Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani, Sir Dominic said that Several countries have expressed concerns over the de- decision had been down to the local council of Birming- veloping situation in that country and extended support to ham City. the Philippine government. Freedom of speech The Indian agencies have taken strong measures and However, he said while Britain stressed the importance of registered several terror financing cases in the recent freedom of speech, it also recognised the potential con- past. tradiction on occasion between this and concerns about The issue had been taken up in June at the FATF Ple- the incitement of violence. “Our principles on counter ter- nary in Spain, where a report on Pakistan’s role was dis- rorism are stronger than ever,” he said. cussed. When details of the Wani rally — planned for July 8 — Following allegations of its failure in controlling the fund- emerged on social media, India had expressed its con- ing of terror outfits, the International Cooperation Review cerns to Britain via a “note verbale,” and Birmingham Group of FATF had requested the APG to furnish a fol- Council withdrew permission for the rally, saying they low-up report on Pakistan. had initially taken a booking for a “peaceful rally” but had changed their assessment after assessing the promo- tional material. India has in the past been critical of de- U.S. defence Bill calls for enhanced ties with cisions by U.K. authorities to allow events perceived as India anti-Indian (including by Sikh groups) to take place. The U.S. National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) Sir Dominic’s comments come weeks after India’s high 2018 passed by the House of Representatives has man- commissioner to the U.K. Y.K. Sinha made candid com- dated the Secretaries of Defense and State to come ments about Britain’s past approach to India’s concerns up with a strategy for advancing defence cooperation about the source of terrorism on its borders. “India must between India and the U.S. in six months. The legisla- be recognised as bearing the brunt of this for decades. tion that appropriates funds for defence will have to be ...if this isn’t recognised, bilateral cooperation will not be passed by the Senate before it moves for the President’s a success,” he had said at a book launch last month. signature. Indian-American Representative Ami Bera, Vice-Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, moved APG meet on money laundering in Colombo the amendment on U.S.-India defence cooperation. Last Policy frameworks on checking terror financing will be year’s NDAA had designated India as a “major defence one of the issues to be taken at the Asia Pacific Group partner”, and also had a similar provision for preparing a (APG) on Money Laundering meet, in which representa- strategy, but the findings of the review has not been pub- tives of 41 countries, including India, are expected to par- lished yet. The term, ‘major defence partner’ remains un- ticipate in Colombo the next week. defined, but senior officials have explained that after the The APG meeting is scheduled to be held from July 17 designation, India’s request for arms and technology is to 21. treated with a presumption of approval now, as opposed At the meeting, the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) to a presumption of denial that existed earlier. “The Unit- initiatives on curbing money laundering and terror fund- ed States is the world’s oldest democracy and India is ing in different parts of the world will also be discussed. the world’s largest democracy. It is vitally important to Among the participatingaspirantforum.com member countries are Afghani- develop a strategy that advances defence cooperation stan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, between our two nations. I am grateful this amendment Maldives, United States, Australia, Canada, China and passed and look forward to the Defense Department’s Pakistan. strategy that addresses critical issues like common secu- Concerns expressed Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. rity challenges, the role of partners and allies, and areas
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for collaboration in science and technology. Cooperation States to reopen naval port calls with Taiwan. Predictably, between the U.S. and India enhances our own defense Indonesia’s cartographic dalliance, by renaming a portion and our ability to meet the evolving security challenges of of the South China Sea as North Natuna Sea, has also the 21st century,” Mr. Bera said in a statement. drawn Beijing’s ire. The Bill passed by the House supports the massive Dalai Lama issue hike in defence spending proposed by President Donald Asked to comment on Botswana’s invitation to Dalai Lama Trump, focussing on missile defence, adding more troops next month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned that the and ships, a 2.4% salary increase for soldiers. government in Gaborone must “correct” its decision. “The The Bill, however, has several provisions that the Trump 14th Dalai is a political exile who has long been engaged administration is not keen on. After the Senate passes its in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of re- version of the Bill, both will have to be reconciled. ligion with the attempt to split Tibet from China. China is firmly opposed to Dalai’s trip to any country for activi- Delhi, Kabul discuss ‘common regional ties aimed at splitting China in any capacity or name, and contact with any official in any form in any country,” said threats’ Geng Shuang, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj discussed the “China’s stance is clear. We hope relevant country can “common regional threat” with her Afghan counterpart, see clear the nature of Dalai, faithfully respect China’s Salahuddin Rabbani, . The discussion is significant as it core concern and make correct decision on the relevant comes in the backdrop of an ongoing review of Afghani- issue.” stan policy by the U.S. government which appears to Last year, Mongolia’s decision to welcome the Dalai lean on Pakistan in shaping the future of Afghanistan. Lama in Ulan Bator resulted in Bejing’s decision to im- “During the telephone conversation, Minister Rabbani pose stringent trade restrictions on its unequal neigh- pointed out to the common regional threats, and ex- bour. Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pressed the hope that a constructive and active coop- told Mongolia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Tsend Munkh- eration between Afghanistan and India will be effective Orgil on telephone that the Tibetan leader’s “furtive visit towards fighting terrorism, ensuring security, peace and to Mongolia brought a negative impact to China-Mongolia sustainable development in the region,” said a statement relations.” He added: “We hope that Mongolia has taken issued by the Afghan Foreign Ministry. this lesson to heart.” United States is currently undertaking a strategy review U.S. criticised for Afghanistan. China perceives any encouragement to the Dalai Lama In a recent media interaction, U.S. Secretary of Defence by foreign powers or military or political support to Tai- James Mattis acknowledged that the regional context of wan as a challenge to its “One China” policy — a clear the Afghan crisis makes the policy review difficult as it and unambiguous no-go area. Consequently, Beijing had needs to take Pakistan into consideration. The problem frowned on remarks by Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of of this approach includes bilateral problems that Afghani- Arunachal Pradesh questioning the One-China policy stan and India have with Pakistan. during the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh in April. China shows zero tolerance to ‘sovereignty’ Unsurprisingly, China slammed the United States , fol- lowing the passage of the National Defense Authorisa- threats tion Act for Fiscal Year 2018 by the House of Congress, China’s insistence on the withdrawal of Indian troops which asks the U.S. Defence Secretary to look into the from the Doklam plateau as a precondition for negotia- feasibility of re-establishing port calls between the U.S. tions is consistent with its position on Tibet, Taiwan or the and Taiwanese navies. South China Sea — areas of hyper-sensitivity where Bei- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang went ballistic in jing perceives that its “territorial sovereignty” is at stake. his response to question related to Washington’s move. While India’s alleged incursionaspirantforum.com into Chinese territory has “Relevant contents go against the One China policy of grabbed headlines, the Chinese Foreign Ministry over the U.S. and the principles of the three joint communi- the past week has adopted a similar unbending posi- qués between China and the U.S. and interfere in Chi- tion on Tibet, embodied in the proposed visit of the Dalai na’s domestic affairs.” Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. Lama to Botswana, as well as the moves by the United Indonesia’s move
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China has also raised the red flag on Indonesia’s deci- ous governments were also close to Israel but this gov- sion to issue a new official map renaming a part of the ernment is particularly so. India’s friendly ties with Israel South China Sea (SCS) as the North Natuna Sea. The could interfere with the present situation in Jerusalem,” map apparently intersects a part of the Nine-Dash line, said the envoy. “The Al Aqsa mosque is an Islamic place which defines China’s maritime boundary in the SCS, of worship. Jerusalem is a city of three religions and we thus rejecting Beijing’s “sovereignty” in the entire area. respect all religions.” He, however maintained that Prime On July 14, Mr. Geng said he hoped that the “relevant Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel which ex- country can work with China for the shared goal and cluded a visit to the Palestinian territory did not impact jointly uphold the current hard-won sound situation in the ties between two sides. South China Sea.” The envoy said Israel had been trying to disturb the sanc- tity of the Al Aqsa mosque for a long time but for the first India well-defended in tri-junction: officials time since 1967 has begun the Judaisation process of A day after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the site which is holy to both Muslims and the Jewish. it would “safeguard China’s sovereignty whatever the “The Judaisation campaign of Israel received a serious cost,” official sources said that India was well-defended blow last year when UNESCO declared Al Aqsa mosque in the tri-junction and China’s latest rhetoric was part of compound to be uniquely Muslim. This has infuriated Is- the build-up ahead of the meeting of the National Security rael, which decided to go with the latest provocation,” he Advisers of then BRICS nations in Beijing later this week. said. Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will be in Bei- jing and Friday to attend the meeting. Two C-130J aircraft arrive at Bengal IAF sta- At a disadvantage “China’s build-up is essentially in the backdrop of the tion meeting of the NSAs. They cannot take any action in the While the standoff with China continues in Doklam, the Chumbi Valley as they are at a disadvantage. If they do Air Force Station at Panagarh in Bardhaman district of anything in any other area, it will be seen as expansion- West Bengal has got its first set of the U.S.-made C-130J ist,” a senior official said. , Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Super Hercules multi-skilled transport aircraft. Ministry of National Defence, said: “The Chinese border Two of these aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin troops have taken initial counter measures at the site and have arrived recently, while the station — named after will step up targeted deployment and training.” Warning Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh — is awaiting the arrival India not to have any “impractical illusions,” Col. Wu said of four more within a month. The six medium-lift capability it would be easier to shake a mountain than the PLA. C-130Js will complete the first squadron of such aircraft China has maintained an aggressive diplomatic posture in eastern India. since the stand-off began on June 16. Indian troops pre- Senior Defence Ministry officials did not want to connect vented Chinese troops from building a road through the the arrival of the aircraft with the Doklam standoff, and disputed Dokala plateau. described it as the “fruition of an old plan”. Some officials have said China has upped the ante so The giant aircraft are described as one of the finest trans- much that it is now looking for a way-out. “It is not an area port aircraft which can perform many duties simultane- where the Chinese would want to resort to any military ously. The fuel-efficient aircraft can carry up to 40 tonnes; adventure. Logistically and geographically, we are far can move faster; and provide between crew comfort than better placed,” said a former Brigadier. the Ilyushin-76 (IL-76), a Russian-made aircraft the Air Force had been using for a long time. While the IL-76 ‘India-Israel ties can affect Al Aqsa conflict’ could also carry 40 tonnes, it was a “fuel guzzler”, a sen- India’s friendly ties with Israel could ‘interfere’ with the ior Army official said. ongoing Israel-Palestinians conflict over the Al Aqsa The C-130Js will be used by the Special Forces and a mosque in Jerusalem, saidaspirantforum.com the envoy of Palestine . The division of the Mountain Strike Corps, recently raised by Ambassador, Adnan Abu Al Haija, termed Israel’s latest the Army. The Corps has two divisions, instead of the security measures in Al Aqsa compound a ‘religious war’ usual three, with a strength of 80,000 personnel. One and said Palestine expected a “positive attitude” from the of the divisions will be stationed at the Panagarh station Indian government. Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. once it is fully raised. The first squadron of C-130Js was “India’s present government is friendly to Israel. Previ-
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stationed at the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad and performed its first landing exercise in 2013 at the Daulat Beg Oldi military base in Ladakh, adjacent to the Chinese border. ‘Fruition of old plan’ “When the first batch of six C-130Js came to the country, it was envisaged that a second squadron would also come. This is the fruition of an old plan,” a senior Defence Ministry official said. The C-130Js can land on unpaved surfaces, para-drop special forces, and move faster fast with equipment and goods. It can return quickly to the base to dispatch the next team. Its movement and manoeuvrability is perhaps the reason the U.S. forces used the transport aircraft extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan.
aspirantforum.com Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol.
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about 2,246.839 sq. km., which gradually declined by 2,201.41 sq. km. in 1996, then down to 2168.914 sq km in 2001 and to 2122.421 sq km in 2012. The loss in the Science, mangrove forest in the Indian Sunderbans is about 5.5 %. “The continuation of this process in response to climate change and sea level rise poses a serious threat to the Tech. and carbon sequestration potential and other ecosystem ser- vices of this mangrove forest in future,” authors Sugata Hazra and Kaberi Samata noted. Environment The paper also notes that the mean sea level rise at the Sagar Island Station, measured from 1985 onward till 2010, shows a rise by 2.6-4 mm a year, which can be An innovative firewall to protect considered a driving factor for coastal erosion, coastal smartphones flooding, and an increase in the number of tidal creeks. Scientists have developed an innovative firewall pro- The publication highlights a time series of the erosion gramme that can protect smartphones from malicious of at least 18 mangrove forested islands of the Indian codes and security threats. Sunderbans from 1986 to 2012. For instance, the loss in Earlier this year, researchers from the Ben-Gurion Uni- mangrove cover at Gosaba has been about 20%, down versity (BGU) of the Negev in Israel discovered security from 517.47 sq km in 1986 to 506.691 sq km in 2012. vulnerability in the internal communications between An- Significant losses droid cellphone components and a phone’s central pro- In Dulibhasani West, the loss of mangrove cover has cessing unit. They alerted Android developer Google and been about 9.7% — from 180.03 sq. km. in 1986 to helped the company address the problem. 163.475 sq. km. in 2012. The mangrove forest cover of “Our technology doesn’t require device manufacturers to Dalhousie, another island, has depleted by 16%, from understand or modify any new code,” said Yossi Oren 76.606 sq. km. in 1986 to 64.241 in 2012. Bhangaduni from BGU. has one of the highest erosion levels of mangrove forest “It’s a firewall that can be implemented as a tiny chip, land, from 40.4 sq. km. in 1986 to 24.9 sq km in 2012, or as an independent software module running on the taking the loss to over 37%. CPU,” said Mr. Oren. Jambudwip, one of the smallest uninhabited islands at Security breaches the mouth of the sea, also has reduced forest cover from Some 400 million people change their phone’s compo- 6.095 sq. km. in 1986 to 5.003 sq. km. in 2012, or about nents, such as touchscreens, chargers, and battery or 10%. sensor assemblies, which are all susceptible to signifi- Other islands like Sajnekhali North, Matla and Bulchery cant security breaches and attacks. have also suffered significant mangrove loss. Professor Hazra, who heads the School of Oceano- Climate change impact: Sunderbans steadily graphic Studies, Jadavpur University, explained how cli- mate change and sea level rise has contributed to the losing its famed mangroves phenomenon of losing land, including mangrove forests In a development that will ring alarm bells for both en- in the Sundarbans, in the last part of the 21st century. vironmentalists and policy makers, the mangrove for- “This is because there is less fresh water flow and sedi- est cover in the Indian Sunderbans has been depleting ment supply in the western (Indian) part of the delta, so alarmingly over the past few decades. we have starvation of sediment and the rate of sea level Mangrove Forest Cover Changes in Indian Sundarban rise is higher than sediment supply. Hence we are losing (1986-2012) Using Remoteaspirantforum.com Sensing and GIS, a publica- land, including mangrove forest,” he told The Hindu . tion by the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur According to Professor Hazra, the eastern (Bangladesh) University, reveals that from 1986 to 2012, 124.418 sq. side of the deltap is gaining land because of the huge km. mangrove forest cover has been lost. amount of sediment and water flow from the Brahmapu- The total forest cover of the Indian Sunderbans as as- tra and Meghna rivers. The loss of forest cover occurs Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. sessed by remote sensing studies for the year 1986 was despite significant addition of forest land as plantations.
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Freshwater inflow sible in the first place. Ajanta Dey, joint secretary and project director of the Na- One of laser’s outstanding properties is the excellent co- ture Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS), an NGO herence of the emitted light. Ideally, laser light has only that has been working in the Sunderban ecosystem, said one fixed wavelength or frequency. In practice, the spec- that a critical minimal inflow of freshwater is necessary trum of most types of lasers can, however, reach from a for the luxuriant growth of mangroves. few kHz to a few MHz in width, which is not good enough “When freshwater inflow is missing, there is a change in for numerous experiments requiring high precision. mangrove succession, and freshwater loving species of mangroves are replaced by salt-water loving ones,” she Study probes Greenland sharks’ secret to long pointed out. She said the immediate impact of salinity will be on the life fishing community, where commercially sought after fish Greenland sharks, the longest living vertebrates on Earth, species will be replaced by fish that does not have as which live for up to 400 years, could hold the secret to much market value. long life, geneticists mapping their DNA say. Ms. Dey also referred to a report by the Indian Space The sharks are believed to have unique genes that could Research Organisation, which was presented before the help explain not only their incredibly long lifespan, but Eastern Circuit Bench of the National Green Tribunal in life expectancy in other vertebrates, including humans, 2015. The report said the Sunderbans has lost 3.71% of researchers said. Professor Kim Praebel and his col- its mangrove cover, while losing 9,990 hectares to ero- leagues from the Arctic University of Norway sequenced sion in one decade. the DNA from Greenland sharks, some of which were While earlier studies also expressed concerns over the alive in the Georgian era. fragile ecosystem of the Indian Sunderbans that, other They are now searching for the ‘unique genes’ that could than being home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, also harbours hold the secret to the shark’s longevity. a population of 4.5 million people, this study presents def- The scientists obtained the Greenland shark’s DNA from inite proof of the loss of land and mangrove cover. tiny clippings from the fin of the shark, which were caught on a line live and then tagged and released. They sequenced the full mitochondrial genome (the com- Sharpest laser can help test Einstein’s theory plete mitochondrial DNA information of an organism) of Scientists have developed the world’s sharpest laser almost 100 Greenland sharks, which included those born with record-breaking precision that can help make opti- in the 1750s. cal atomic clocks more precise as well as test Einstein’s The genetic sequences helped the researchers under- theory of relativity. stand whether the Greenland shark has evolved specific Theoretically, laser light has only one colour, frequency or metabolic adaptations towards extreme longevity. wavelength. In reality, however, there is always a certain They are now attempting to find the genes that hold the linewidth. secret as to why the sharks live so long. Researchers, including those from the Physikalisch- Researchers working with the University of Exeter in the Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany, have now U.K. believe that the Greenland shark’s extreme lifespan developed a laser with a linewidth of only 10 miliHertz makes it so unique that there is a case for giving it a spe- (mHz) — closer to the ideal laser than ever before. cial conservation status. This precision is useful for various applications such as Little is known about the biology and genetics of the optical atomic clocks, precision spectroscopy, radioas- Greenland shark, which is found in the deep waters of tronomy and for testing the theory of relativity. More than the Atlantic Ocean from Canada to Norway, including the 50 years have passed since the first technical realisation deep oceans around the north of Britain. of the laser, and we cannot imagine how we could live without them today. aspirantforum.com Numerous applications IISc works to make a common antibiotic Laser light is used in numerous applications in indus- more effective against TB try, medicine and information technologies. Lasers have Bacteria develop resistance against a drug only when brought about a real revolution in fields of research and they are exposed to it or when the drug is misused. But Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. in metrology — or have even made some new fields pos- now, a team of researchers from India has found whether
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and how drug resistance can develop against a candidate amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The ROS acts drug called Augmentin even before the drug is approved as a danger signal for the bacteria to mount a defence for treating patients with drug-resistant TB. Augmentin is mechanism against Augmentin,” Dr. Singh explains. currently undergoing clinical trials in patients with drug- The defence mechanism is through a protein called resistant TB; it is already being used for common bacte- WhiB4, which is normally present in bacteria and is re- rial infections. sponsible for regulating the production of beta-lactamase Besides deciphering the mechanism by which TB bac- enzyme. When the WhiB4 protein senses the ROS sig- teria can develop resistance against Augmentin, the re- nal, it produces large amounts of beta-lactamase en- searchers have found ways of overcoming this potential zyme in the TB bacteria. “This could be one method by resistance mechanism, thereby making Augmentin a po- which the bacteria can become resistant to Augmentin,” tentially powerful drug to treat both multidrug-resistant TB Dr. Singh says. (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). Besides producing beta-lactamase enzyme, the WhiB4 The beta-lactam class of antibiotics such as penicillin, protein also controls the production of an antioxidant mol- ampicillin and amoxicillin is one of the most widely used ecule called mycothiol. The main role of mycothiol is to class of antibacterial drugs. Despite its ability to kill sev- reduce the excessive increase in ROS so that ROS level eral types of bacteria, the beta-lactam antibiotics have is kept in balance; excessive ROS can kill bacteria by never been used against TB bacteria. This is because damaging proteins, DNA, and cell wall lipids. TB bacteria are naturally resistant to this class. TB bac- “The WhiB4 protein can detect the ROS signal produced teria inherently produce an enzyme called beta-lacta- by antibiotics and direct the production of both beta-lacta- mase which breaks down beta-lactam class of antibiot- mase and mycothiol, which work together and contribute ics (through hydrolysis) and makes the drug ineffective to bacterium’s ability to resist augmentin,” says Saurabh against TB disease. Mishra from the Centre for Infectious Disease Research Making of Augmentin at IISc and the first author of the paper. One of the strategies of getting around using the beta- Making Augmentin powerful lactam class of an antibiotic is developing an inhibitor The researchers demonstrated that it is possible to kill against beta-lactamase enzyme. Clavulanic acid is one MDR-TB and XDR-TB by simply changing the levels of such inhibitor, which blocks the beta-lactamase enzyme. the regulator, WhiB4, and/or increasing the ROS levels Augmentin, which is a combination of a beta-lactam an- inside the bacteria. “When we knocked out mycothiol pro- tibiotic (amoxicillin) and beta-lactamase inhibitor (cla- duction, the level of ROS increased inside the bacteria vulanic acid), can thus be an effective drug against TB and ultimately resulted in efficient killing of drug-resistant bacteria. TB bacteria,” he says. “Till now no one knew the exact mechanism of how the There are certain antibiotics (such as clofazimine) that combination of beta-lactam and beta-lactamase inhibitor work by increasing the ROS levels inside bacteria. The was killing TB bacteria and how resistance against the researchers are currently testing if using such antibiot- combination can emerge in future,” says Dr. Amit Singh ics along with Augmentin can efficiently kill drug-resistant from the Centre for Infectious Disease Research at the TB bacteria. Augmentin and clofazimine antibiotics can Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and the cor- together elevate the production of ROS. The excessive responding author of the paper published in the journal ROS inside the bacteria can then kill all forms of drug- eLife. “Our study was able to provide insights into how resistant TB bacteria. resistance against Augmentin can emerge.” The team used integrated experimental technology and Cocoa: A tonic for cognition and memory computer tools to understand the mechanism by which resistance against Augmentin can set in. retention Deciphering the mechanism Coffee and tea came to be popular in India essentially The first thing that theaspirantforum.com researchers asked was how the due to colonial history. They are both imports into our TB bacterium senses the presence of the drug combina- country, and we now grow them in large plantations. To- tion in and around it. “We found the bacterium when ex- day, Darjeeling Tea and Coorg Coffee are world famous posed to this drug combination changes its metabolism and coveted. Yet, an equally popular drink, cocoa, has
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. and respiration, which led to the production of sub-lethal not become that popular. All we do is, pretty much to eat it in the solid, processed form as chocolate bars, but not Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
as a “Cuppa.” ants just as tea does, but they protect human cognition, Colonial history has a role in the popularisation of co- counteract cognitive decline and memory loss as well. In coa too, but elsewhere. Cocoa was first discovered and other words, they act directly on the nervous system of coveted by the Mayan civilisation of Central America. the body and the brain. The Socci paper above quotes The Mayans gave the plant (and its seeds) the name co- several earlier works, both relating to the basic biology of coa (or cacao), meaning ‘The Food of the Gods’. Cocoa the flavonoids in improving health and cognition, but also seeds were used in family and community functions, and about a dozen trials involving human volunteers, many even used as currency. The Aztec Indians there made a of whom show improved working memory, in addition to drink with cocoa powder, chilli, musk and honey, calling improvement in blood pressure and insulin resistance. it Chocolatl or “beaten drink”; hence the name chocolate. Cocoa and cognition When the Spanish colonised much of the Americas, they An Italian group led by Dr. G. Desideri has conducted popularised and monopolised cocoa, making its produc- randomised controlled human trials, and found benefits tion a well guarded secret as they brought it to Europe. in cognitive function, blood pressure and the metabolic Cocoa became the drink of the super rich. A lot of ro- profiles of elderly subjects with mild memory impairment. mance and class was associated with it. Love songs, They call these studies the Cocoa, Cognition and Aging courting the beloved, were written and sung (and are still (CoCoA) study. done) in Europe and America. (For example, you can What are the molecular underpinnings involved in the enjoy watching Doris Day singing “A Chocolate Sundae mechanisms contributing to learning and memory? An on a Saturday Night” on Youtube). But as the Industrial earlier paper by Dr. J.P.E. Spencer, in the journal Proc. Revolution made machines popular, the grinding of co- Nutr. Soc., 2008, on the control of long-term potentia- coa seeds in large amounts and making them available tion and memory lists a series of proteins and enzymes, to “all and sundry” made cocoa or hot chocolate lose their and how these plant flavonoids reach the brain, crossing fancy. the blood-brain barrier, and effect their action. While the Only 3 million tons exact modes of action are yet to be clarified, it appears Today, while 10 million tons of coffee and 5 million tons that they may protect neurons against damage, reduce of tea are produced yearly across the world, cocoa has inflammation, promote and even generate new connec- a production of about 3 million tons. Yet, this third-in-line tions between nerve cells. beverage tops the other two in health benefits. Indeed, An editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in much to the consternation of many in South India, we 2015 agrees with much of the conclusions drawn on the need to point out that coffee is a “drug,” albeit a mild positive effects of cocoa on memory retention and gain, one, because of the caffeine it contains. Because of this, and points out that unsweetened and unprocessed dark many people have taken to drinking “decaf” coffee (which cocoa powder would be the best, while that processed is neither here nor there!). Tea, on the other hand, is now with alkali (which is paler, and more common in candy- recognised to be a health drink, with its content of mol- bars) is less effective. It is estimated that 100 grams of ecules of the so called flavonoid family acting as antioxi- the usual dark chocolate contains about 100 mg of flavo- dants and cell-protecting molecules (True, it too has caf- noids, while 100 mg of unsweetened and unprocessed feine and theobromine, but much less than coffee). But cocoa powder may have as much as 250 mg. it is cocoa that tops the list as the healthiest drink. Yet it Should one then quit coffee in the morning and go for has not become as popular as tea and coffee — a quirk dark cocoa powder? A friend (whose name skips me for of history based on who our colonials were! the moment) has suggested that I drink a cup of cocoa Over the years, it has become increasing clear that co- every day, along with the morning coffee and the after- coa and chocolates not just good to taste, but are good noon tea, and perhaps include a glass of red wine in the for cognition as well. Of particular interest is a paper evenings, so as to maximise benefit — sound advice! published by Valentina Socci and colleagues, titled “ En- hancing human cognitionaspirantforum.com with cocoa flavonoids,” which Tea plantations decrease bat diversity has appeared in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, 16 May A recent study shows that tea plantations in the Western 2017 ( free access). The authors point out that the family Ghats harbour less-diverse bat communities — that per- of flavonoids (catechins, quercetin, anthocyanidins) pre- form fewer ecological functions — than those found in Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. sent in cocoa not only act as antioxidants and cell protect-
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coffee estates and forests. Protecting existing forest frag- The marine ecosystems of eastern Arabian Sea would ments and river stretches in such intensively-cultivated soon become the stage for a series of biogeochemical landscapes could be crucial for bats, which are important and biological studies, which are expected to throw light insect controllers, pollinators and seed-dispersers. into the ocean dynamics and economy. Different bat species can perform these varied eco- The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology logical functions due to the physical features they have (CMLRE), Kochi, and the Integrated Coastal and Marine evolved, which help them specialise in hunting different Area Management – Project Directorate, Chennai, both prey across habitats. Bats with short, broad wings, for functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, have instance, are better suited to plucking off large insects on drawn up a three-year-programme to study the coastal the wing, in densely-vegetated patches like the forests of seas of western India. The researchers have primarily the Ghats. identified health of sea, carbon credit, biological produc- But forests in this mountain range have changed dras- tivity, trawl ban effects and oceanography as the thrust tically. In Tamil Nadu’s Valparai, for instance, tea and areas for the research. coffee plantations have fragmented natural forests. To Under the category health of sea, the researchers would examine how bats respond to such extreme changes in assess ecosystem status of western coastal India for bio- land use, scientists from the Nature Conservation Foun- logical resources which are influenced either by natural dation, National Centre for Biological Sciences and the processes or man-made effects. University of Leeds (UK) quantified bat communities in The green house gas emissions from the ecosystems Valparai, based on their ecological functions. Across dif- would be assessed for redefining marine carbon credit, ferent habitats, they examined bat diet, echolocation, as part of India’s commitment to the 2016 Paris Climate body size and wing morphology (which determines their Change Summit, said M. Sudhakar, Director, CMLRE. mode of hunting and what habitats they are adapted to). The impacts of annual ban on trawl fishery and its impact The scientists found that tea plantations fared badly: only on fishery resources will be looked into. The influence few insectivorous bats that could adapt to highly modified of coastal upwelling and associated biogeochemistry habitats thrived here. However, rivers running through and biological oceanography on coastal fishery including plantations helped offset this slightly. Coffee plantations their mortality, will be studied as part of the project, said did better because of native tree presence which is re- G.V.M. Gupta, the Principal Investigator of the project. quired for coffee growth; but protected areas and forest Preliminary studies carried out at the south-western coast fragments were the most ‘functionally’ rich, home to bats of India, according to a project note prepared by CMLRE, with diverse morphologies corresponding to their several have indicated that monsoon trawl ban had a positive im- functional roles in the ecosystem. pact on benthic production. Similar studies are essential The team’s results show that bats with shorter and broad- for entire west coast to assess the overall impact of mon- er wings, like the lesser woolly horseshoe bat, are most soon trawl ban on fishery resources, it said. vulnerable and require urgent conservation action in Val- The “evolution to decay of upwelling, its dynamics and parai. “These bats are insect eaters; they keep ecosys- associated bio-geo-chemistry all along the eastern Arabi- tems healthy and functioning by keeping the insects they an Sea,” the inter-relationship between winter convective eat in check,” says lead author Claire Wordley. mixing (oxygen minimum zone) and coastal upwelling, Bats and other fauna could benefit if tea plantation own- “factors behind the formation/intensification of seasonal ers leave a buffer of native trees on both sides of every hypoxia (deoxygenation) and greenhouse gases produc- river, write the authors. Protecting existing forest frag- tion along the eastern Arabian Sea shelf” will be moni- ments and extending them wherever possible could also tored under the project. help. The National Institute of Oceanography, Kochi, and “While tea plantations will never be as rich for wildlife as Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, and a host coffee plantations, it can be more biodiversity-friendly if of fisheries and scientific research institutions are expect- small changes in land aspirantforum.comuse practices are implemented,” ed to join the project. says Divya Mudappa of NCF. Why ice creams give you ‘brain freeze’ Studying the health of Arabian Sea Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. decoded
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Scientists have identified what causes ‘brain freeze’ — a “The Home Ministry is preparing an internal cybersecu- quick and intense headache felt when we consume ice rity policy as it is required under the national plan,” said creams or other such chilly treats too quickly. Ashok Prasad, Ministry spokesperson. “A brain freeze is what happens when cold food touches In a statement’s data breach, posted by a website, RJio a bundle of nerves in the back of the palate,” said Steph- said the “data of subscribers was safe and maintained anie Vertrees, assistant professor at Texas A&M Univer- with highest security.” It also said it had come across sity in the U.S. “the unverified and unsubstantiated claims of the website “The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is a group of nerves and are investigating it,” adding that the law enforcement that are sensitive to cold food, and when they’re stimu- agencies have been informed. lated, they relay information that stimulates a part of the On July 7, Airtel’s Radio Access Network went down for brain to have a headache,” said Ms. Vertrees. more than an hour in and around Delhi. Airtel said there The SPG is a very important bundle of nerves, and al- was a network outage in Delhi/NCR and “one of the net- though it is the source of brain freeze, this group of work nodes had been corrupted.” nerves is also the cause of other types of headaches, Worrisome dependence researchers said. A senior Home Ministry official said about two years ago “This is the same ganglion that is responsible for migraine various telecom giants had been sensitised about the headaches and cluster headaches,” Ms. Vertrees said. vulnerability of equipment and products imported from “There has been a lot of research done on this bundle of China. Both Airtel and Jio use Chinese equipment, an of- nerves, but mostly for trying to prevent these more seri- ficial said. ous and longer—lasting headaches,” she said. “We now “We have been warning the telecom companies for long have two different kinds of devices for the SPG. regarding the use of Chinese products. Earlier person- One device blocks the nerve with a numbing agent, and alisation of SIM cards was being done by Bharat San- the other that stimulates it electronically with the goal of char Nigam Limited (BSNL) for a fee, but later on the eliminating or preventing migraine or cluster headaches contract was given to Chinese companies. Essentially all from occurring,” she added. Obviously, that approach is a telephone data is with the Chinese and we had warned bit extreme for treating a brain freeze, but these links be- against this dependence,” a senior ministry official told tween the different types of headaches can help people The Hindu . who suffer from migraines. No dumping of waste near Ganga: tribunal Cyberattack link to glitches in RJio, NSE No-development zones are zones where no construction, under probe including commercial or residential buildings, can come India is investigating whether last week’s outage of Airtel up. network in Delhi, alleged data breach of users of Reli- Giving its verdict on a 1985 PIL petition of noted envi- ance Jio Infocomm and the technical glitch at the Na- ronment activist and lawyer M.C. Mehta — which was tional Stock Exchange (NSE) were part of a “possible transferred to the NGT from the Supreme Court in 2014 cyberattack.” — a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swa- “The government’s senior cyber security officials are tanter Kumar noted that all authorities concerned should looking into both the Airtel and Jio incidents to see if they complete various projects, including a sewage treatment were possible attacks,” a senior government official told plant and cleaning drains, within two years. The Hindu , adding they expected to know more about “The Uttar Pradesh government is duty-bound to shift the cases in the next few days. Another official said the tanneries, within six weeks, from Jajmau in Kanpur to attacks could have emanated from a neighbouring coun- leather parks in Unnao or any other place it considers try. appropriate,” the Bench said. 2016 data breach The court has also appointed a supervisory committee, aspirantforum.comheaded by the Secretary of the Water Resources Ministry In 2016, security codes of around 32 lakh debit cards were breached and several users reported unauthorised and comprising IIT professors and officials of the Uttar transactions from locations in China. Events like this Pradesh government to oversee implementation of the have prompted the government to have a customised directions passed in its 543-page verdict. The committee Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. cyber security policy for each ministry and department. is to submit reports at regular intervals.
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Groundwater extraction may account for up to 19 percent of emissions by 2050 if The Bench further noted that all industrial units falling in their manufacture continues unchecked. the catchments of the Ganga should be stopped from in- That’s because from India to the Philippines to South Af- discriminate groundwater extraction. rica, air-conditioners are increasingly a must-have item. The green court reiterated its earlier order of ban on Businesses and homeowners in Asia and Africa are ex- mechanical mining in the Ganga and said “no in-stream pected to buy about 700 million air-conditioners by 2030, mechanical mining is permitted and even the mining on and 1.6 billion by midcentury. the floodplain should be semi-mechanical and preferably “This is going to matter a lot,” said Lucas Davis, an as- more manual”. sociate professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. “If one is thinking about Functional mini human hearts developed energy and environment in the next couple decades, you Scientists have created miniature functional human have to think about cooling.” hearts in the lab that may be used to test safety and ef- One way to curb emissions associated with air-condi- ficacy of potential new drugs to treat cardiac diseases. tioning is already in the works: the Kigali amendment to Researchers from AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical com- the Montreal Protocol, the landmark 1987 pact designed pany in Sweden, grew human heart cells in the matrix of to close the hole in the ozone layer by banning ozone- a whole rat heart to make the mini organ. depleting coolants called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. They delivered solutions that strip away cells from the rat The amendment reached last year in the capital of Rwan- heart while preserving the lining matrix of the whole heart da binds nations to phase out HFCs, avoiding an estimat- to repopulate with human cells, researchers said. ed half degree Celsius of warming by 2100. It was em- The remaining ‘scaffold’ is the framework of the heart — braced by environmentalists and industry leaders alike, consisting of collagen and other proteins. but its fate in the United States is unclear. The blood vessels were intact, the valves working and Efficiency doesn’t require a global treaty. It does, how- the four chamber structure of the heart was maintained, ever, call for new regulatory policies on manufacturing and the organ was then repopulated with human cells. standards and labeling. But most countries have a lot of The team was able to preserve the blood circulation work to do in modernising their energy policies. “Many within the entire heart to maintain the normal flow and countries haven’t updated their standards in a while,” in addition to stimulate the mechanical expansion heart said Nihar Shah, a senior scientific engineering associ- chambers. ate at the Lawrence Berkeley laboratory.
Fixing a major piece of the climate puzzle Kharif sowing picks up with monsoon There’s no single solution for climate change, but there With the monsoon covering most parts of the country, is one that would be more effective than others: fixing sowing of the summer (kharif) crop has gained momen- air-conditioning. tum. A higher crop output is anticipated following in- Devising greener refrigerant chemicals will never make creased sowing of rice and pulses when compared with headlines the way solar installations or electric cars do. the last season. But fixing how we cool ourselves may also help fix the The latest Union Agriculture department data showed climate. that across the country, kharif crops have been planted New research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab- on 563.17 lakh hectares till now, as against 521.80 lakh oratory in California indicates that adding improved effi- hectares in the corresponding period last year. ciency in refrigeration and phasing out fluorinated gases Increase in acreage used for cooling, as mandated by international agree- With the sowing of crops apace during the past few days ment, could eliminate a full degree Celsius of warming across the country, paddy (rice) has been sown in 125.77 by 2100. lakh hectares in the current season till July 14, which is Given that the “businessaspirantforum.com as usual” trajectory leads to 4 to marginally higher than the 120.32 lakh hectares recorded 5 degrees Celsius of warming, that is shaving off a pretty in the 2016-17 season. The acreage under pulses has big slice. been recorded at 74.61 lakh hectares till now, as against Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, account for about 1 per- the 60.28 lakh hectares of the corresponding period for Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but they can the last season. be thousands of times as potent as carbon dioxide and The sowing of coarse cereals is up as well, at 113.06 lakh Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
hectares against the 98.79 lakh hectares of last year. But “The contact angle of paper, which was 62 degree and the total oilseeds sown has come down to 103.92 lakh therefore hydrophilic before coating, increased to 113 de- hectares, when compared with 115.75 lakh hectares of gree after coating and became hydrophobic,” says Krish- last year. nendu Maji from the Department of Chemical Sciences, Cotton acreage is up this season at 90.88 lakh hectares, IISER, Kokata and the first author of the paper. against 73.93 lakh hectares last year in the correspond- To demonstrate the effect of the hybrid material’s hy- ing period. Sugarcane, too, continues to see an increase drophobic nature, the two-member team led by Prof. in acreage and has been planted in 47.94 lakh hectares Debasish Haldar from the Department of Chemical Sci- against the 45.22 lakh hectares last year. According to ences, IISER, Kolkata, folded an ordinary paper and a the India Meteorological Department (IMD), conditions hybrid-coated paper and drenched the two pieces in wa- are favourable for further advancement of the monsoon ter. While the paper without any coating could not be un- and overall rainfall activity is likely to be above normal folded, the coated paper could be unfolded and regain its over the next two weeks, from July 13 to July 26. original shape. Conditions favourable Corrosion resistance “Sowing of kharif crops has gained momentum during Testing the hydrophobic nature of the hybrid material and the past few days as the monsoon is progressing well. its ability to prevent corrosion, the researchers coated Paddy transplanting, though, has been a bit sluggish in iron nails with the hybrid molecular material and exposed Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but it it to water. While the nails that were not coated rusted, is likely to pick up in the coming days. Sowing of pulses those with the coating did not. Coating one half of the is apace in the key growing states of Rajasthan, Madhya nail with the hybrid material, the team found the uncoated Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, which is an en- portion of the nail rusted in about 12 hours when treated couraging sign,” Anand Sharma, regional co-ordinator of with water; the coated portion remained rust-free. “The the IMD’s agricultural meteorology told, The Hindu . coated nails did not get rusted when treated with water “Apart from western parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and for up to one month,” Mr. Maji says. Haryana, the monsoon rains have covered most parts of The coated nails were able to resist corrosion even when the country,” he added. The monsoon rain delivers about treated with an aqueous solution of sodium chloride, po- 70% of India’s annual rainfall and is critical for millions of tassium chloride, sodium bromide and even hydrochloric farmers as nearly half the country’s farmland lacks irriga- acid. tion and is dependent on rain. The hybrid material is colourless and does not react with metal. The coated silver artefacts were able to resist the IISER Kolkata develops fire-retardant, formation of black colour (silver sulphide) on its surface when treated with hydrogen sulphide for 10 minutes. rust-resistant material “This hybrid material can protect artefacts from environ- Now, paper or other materials coated with a hydrophobic mental pollution and corrosion,” says Prof Haldar, the (water hating) hybrid molecular material synthesised by corresponding author of the paper. researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education The coated paper was found to inhibit bacterial growth. and Research (IISER) Kolkata can behave like a lotus While the researchers observed E. coli growing on the leaf and keep the surface clean and water-proof. surface of paper that was not coated, the hybrid-coated Besides increasing the mechanical strength of the coated paper was able to inhibit E. coli growth for 10 days. “We paper 1.5 times, the molecular material can inhibit bacte- tested the anti-bacterial property for up to 30 days and rial growth and even render the coated material such as found the hybrid-coated paper was able to resist E. coli paper or wood fire-proof. The results of the study were growth,” Mr. Maji says published in the journal ACS Omega. Fire-retardant property The organic-inorganic hybrid material was synthesised by Finally, the fire-retardant property of matchsticks coated combining polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) with the hybrid material was tested. While matchstick and diphenylalanine. Theaspirantforum.com POSS molecule by itself has with no coating burnt completely, those coated with only unique properties such as high thermal stability and fire POSS to more time to reach the end of the matchstick. retarding ability. While both POSS and diphenylalanine But matchsticks coated with the hybrid material were are naturally water repelling, the hydrophobic nature gets able to extinguish the flame as soon as fire reached the enhanced when they are combined. coated portion. “The peptide not only retards the flame Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol.
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but also extinguishes the fire,” they write. the possible release of genetically modified mustard. “Plenty of accidents take place when people throw light- In May, NAAS President Panjab Singh wrote to Prime ed matchsticks. By coating a portion of matchsticks with Minister Narendra Modi, endorsing DMH-11, a variety of the hybrid material, such accidents can be prevented,” mustard developed by Deepak Pental of Delhi University, Mr. Maji says. a NAAS Fellow, that employs genes from soil bacterium. If approved, it would be the first transgenic edible crop to New galaxy discovered be grown in Indian fields. Scientists have discovered a very distant galaxy, some 10 The plant had gone through adequate tests and was de- thousand million light years away, which is about 1,000 clared “safe” and passed regulatory muster. times brighter than the Milky Way. It is the brightest of the The Academy, according to Mr. Singh’s letter, was also submillimetre galaxies, which have a very strong emis- cognisant of the “massive negative propaganda” on GM sion in the far infra red, researchers said. The research crops by “activists” that was causing “serious damage” to was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Indian agriculture. Scientists led by Anastasio Diaz-Sanches from Polytech- The letter preceded a formal resolution by the NAAS, nic University of Cartagena (UPCT) in Spain used gravi- saying Central and State governments should take steps tational lensing that acts as a sort of magnifier, changing to ensure that DMH-11 is made available in farmer fields the size and intensity of the apparent image of the origi- this year. nal object. However, P.C. Kesavan, also a Fellow of the NAAS, “Thanks to the gravitational lens produced by a cluster of wrote that he disagreed with this endorsement. “I believe galaxies between ourselves and the source, which acts the resolution of the NAAS is neither scientifically valid, as if it was a telescope, the galaxy appears 11 times big- nor ethical, and therefore not maintainable… I suggest its ger and brighter than it really is, and appears as sev- withdrawal,” he said. eral images on an arc centred on the densest part of the Mr. Kesavan, a senior fellow of the M.S. Swaminathan cluster, which is known as an Einstein Ring,” said Diaz- Research Foundation, said DMH-11 did not perform Sanchez. as well as several other varieties and mustard hybrids “The advantage of this kind of amplification is that it does and that the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee not distort the spectral properties of the light, which can (GEAC), the Environment Ministry body that cleared be studied for these very distant objects as if they were DMH-11, was riddled by a “conflict of interest.” DMH-11 much nearer,” Diaz-Sanchez said. is a hybrid variety of mustard developed by crossing a To find this galaxy, a search of the whole sky was car- traditional variety of mustard, called Varuna, and an East ried out, combining the data bases of the satellites WISE European variety. and Planck in order to identify the brightest submillimetre Mr. Kesavan emphasised that using genetically-modified galaxies. technology to produce hybrid seed varieties was a “failed The galaxy is notable for having a high rate of star forma- experiment” as evidenced by the experience of Bt cotton. tion. It is forming stars at a rate of 1,000 solar masses per Though the latter occupied 95% of India’s acreage, its year, compared to the Milky Way which is forming stars at yields were on the decline since 2006, largely due to in- a rate of some twice a solar mass per year. sect resistance, and that it nearly tripled the cost of pro- “This type of object harbours the most powerful star form- ducing cotton between 2006-2013, he argued in his let- ing regions known in the universe. The next step will be ter, a copy of which was sent to the PM as well. to study their molecular content,” said Susana Iglesias— The NAAS — a 625-member body of agricultural scien- Groth, an astrophysicist at Instituto de Astrofisica de Ca- tists — had about 200 scientists in its quorum when it narias (IAC) in Spain. passed a resolution endorsing the GEAC’s decision to The galaxy is so bright that its light is gravitationally am- clear DMH-11 for commercial field trials. plified; this allowed scientistsaspirantforum.com to look into its internal prop- Mr. Singh told The Hindu that he would be replying to Mr. erties. Kesavan but this would not affect the NAAS’ decision. “Mr. Kesavan has raised these points earlier too. We’d asked members for any objections and there were none GM mustard release faces another hurdle except for those raised by him. It’s a unanimous deci- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. Dissent has crept in among agricultural scientists of the sion,” he said in a phone conversation. National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) over Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
The GEAC, India’s apex regulator for genetically modi- Indian —“indicating a likely end to the global bleaching fied seeds, had cleared GM mustard for environmental event”. release and use in farmer fields on May 11 this year. However, the approval is contingent on a final nod from Strong winds heat up west Antarctic ice Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan. Strong winds in eastern Antarctica are causing ice to melt in the west Antarctic peninsula, located as far away as World’s northernmost corals bleached 6,000 km, according to a study. Bleaching has damaged the world’s northernmost coral The study, published in Nature Climate Change , found reef in Japan, a researcher said , the latest example of that winds in east Antarctica can generate sea distur- a global phenomenon scientists have attributed to high bances that spread around the continent at 700 kmph via ocean temperatures. a type of ocean wave known as the Kelvin wave, reports Healthy coral reefs protect shores from storms and offer Efe news. habitats for fish and other marine life, including ecologi- The study comes a week after it was revealed that one of cally and economically important species. the largest icebergs, of around 5,800 sq.km., had broke Tough to recover off from the Larsen C ice shelf of the Antarctic peninsula. After coral dies, reefs quickly degrade and the structures According to the study, when the waves encounter the that coral build erode. While coral can recover from mild underwater topography of the peninsula they push the bleaching, severe or long-term episodes are often lethal, warmer water toward the ice along the coast, near the experts say. warm current that goes around the South Pole. About 30% of the coral reef off the Coast of Tsushima Combination of factors Island in Japan, which lies in the temperate zone some “It is this combination of available warm water offshore, 1,000 km southwest of Tokyo, suffered bleaching when and a transport of this warm water onto the shelf, that Hiroya Yamano’s research team observed the area last has seen rapid ice shelf melt along the West Antarctic December. sector over the past several decades,” lead researcher There was large-scale coral bleaching in Japan’s sub- Paul Spence said. tropical Okinawan chain of islands last summer, said Mr. “We always knew warm water was finding its way into this Yamano, director of the Center for Environmental Biology area but the precise mechanism has remained unclear,” and Ecosystem Studies at Japan’s National Institute for he said. The changes in the Antarctic coastal winds, par- Environmental Studies. “Recently coral in Okinawa were ticularly along east Antarctica, could also be related to taking refuge in waters with lower temperatures, expand- climate change, Mr. Spence added. ing their habitat range to (waters off) Kyushu, Shikoku Mr. Spence underlined the implications that small rises and Honshu,” he said, referring to three of Japan’s four in temperature could have on the ice sheets and warned main islands. that the melting in western Antarctica could contribute to “But now coral in refuges are threatened... the situation an increase in the sea level by a metre by the end of the is serious,” he said. century, at the current rate of emissions. Since 2015, all tropical coral reefs have seen above- normal temperatures, and more than 70% experienced A Sunderbans denizen staves off extinction prolonged high temperatures that can cause bleaching. A critically endangered resident of the Sunderbans is set Barrier Reef in danger to get a new home, beginning a slow journey to recovery Early in 2017, the rise in water temperature caused sig- from a disastrous decline in the wild. It is more threat- nificant bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia ened than the Bengal tiger, but far less known. for the second consecutive year and also in American Before winter this year, three fresh water ponds in the Samoa, which was severely affected in 2015. Sunderbans Tiger Reserve will house the rare Northern The U.S .National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- river terrapin ( Batagur baska ), whose presence in the tion said last month thataspirantforum.com coral reef bleaching may be eas- wild in West Bengal and Odisha had declined to unde- ing after the three years of high ocean temperatures, the tectable levels a decade ago. longest such period since the 1980s. Its experts said sat- Batagur baska , the 60-cm-long turtle that is presumed ellite data showed widespread bleaching was no longer extinct in several Southeast Asian countries, is classified Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. occurring in all three ocean basins — Atlantic, Pacific and as critically endangered by the International Union for
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Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) in its Red List of threat- ing the best drug molecules. This is both time consuming ened species. The tiger, by comparison, is endangered. and laborious. For the past ten years, officials of the Sunderban Tiger So a team led by Prof. Jyotirmayee Dash from the De- Reserve with support from experts at Turtle Survival Al- partment of Organic Chemistry at IACS first immobilised liance (TSA), have coordinated a recovery program for the G-quadruplex DNA on to gold-coated magnetic nano- what is described as the world’s second most endan- particles and left the target in a solution containing azide gered turtle, through captive conservation breeding. The and alkyne functional groups. Yangtze giant soft shell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei , is con- Fragment selection sidered the most endangered freshwater turtle. The azide and alkyne fragments that are capable of bind- Needs other homes ing to the adjacent sites of the G-quadruplex react with While conservation breeding to save the Northern river each other to produce triazole products. Theoretically, terrapin is ranked among the best programmes, Ravi the combination of azide and alkyne fragments can gen- Kant Sinha, Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief erate 66 triazole products. “Since the G-quadruplex itself Conservator of Forests, West Bengal, said it would be selects the azide and alkyne building blocks, only three bad management to put all eggs in one basket. Having triazole compounds were formed that can interact with more sites to breed is a natural extension of the ongoing the G-quadruplex target. The unreacted fragments could effort, he said. be easily removed,” says Prof. Dash who is the corre- The terrapin, which has a river estuarine habitat, has sponding author of the paper. Prof. Dash is a recipient had a lucky spell in recent years. Nilanjan Mallick, the of DST’s Swarnajayanti Fellowship and carried out this field director of the Sunderban reserve said there was work using this funding. not much early success in the breeding programme, but When the nanoparticles are heated, the triazole products things looked up after 2012. that are bound to the G-quadruplex target get detached “The number of turtles at Sajnekhali is well over 200. This and get into solution. Since the DNA-linked, gold-coated year alone we got 87 hatchlings,” Mr. Mallick said. magnetic nanoparticles (DNA nanotemplates) are used, The field director of STR said the decision to get a new they can be separated from the solution using magnetic enclosure for the breeding programme would protect the separation. “The DNA nanotemplates can be reused up species against natural risks, and also facilitate genetic to five times,” she says. management. Last year, forest officials and the TSA rein- Anti-cancer properties troduced ten turtles into the wild, using acoustic transmit- The researchers found that of the three triazole com- ters to monitor their progress. pounds that selectively bound to the G-quadruplex tar- get, one (Tz 1) was found in large proportion and was the A quicker, novel approach to cancer drug only molecule that was obtained when the nanoparticle was recycled for the fourth and fifth time. discovery “We found the Tz 1 molecule has remarkable anti-cancer Scientists at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of properties. The molecule binds to the G-quadruplex and Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata, have used a novel approach is able to switch off the c-MYC gene that gets over-ex- to drug discovery by attaching or linking a DNA sequence pressed in breast, colon and lung cancer. This leads to of interest to gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles and inhibition of cancer growth and ultimately leads to death picking those molecules that target and bind to the DNA of cancer cells,” Prof. Dash says. “The molecule preferen- sequence for further study. This approach helps in rapid tially binds to the G-quadruplex DNA and not the duplex identification of potential DNA binding molecules for can- DNA. Further, the molecule selectively kills the cancer cer therapy. The results were published in the journal Na- cells, without doing any harm to the normal cells.” “Based ture Communications. on the extremely high cellular activity of identified drug G-quadruplexes are four-stranded DNA structures found compound, we can conclude that this methodology using in human genome, for example,aspirantforum.com the presence of G-quad- DNA nano-template allows easy synthesis of high-affinity ruplexes in cancer-causing gene c-MYC. Since G-quad- drug molecules for the target DNA without performing ruplexes are involved in regulation of the gene expres- any conventional drug synthesis procedures,” she says. sion, there is increased interest in finding molecules that “Though this study is a proof-of-concept, this approach target them. can be used for economical and fast screening of poten- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. The traditional approach is to synthesise compounds and tial drug candidates for other DNA targets, RNA and even study their interactions with drug targets before choos- proteins.” Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
win-win With increasing urbanisation, invasive ants The headline in a recent PTI report “Saving 2 tigers gives more value than Mangalyaan”’ was intriguing, since it take over sacred groves said that saving two tigers yields a capital benefit of Rs As urbanisation spreads, battles are raging on holy 520 crores, while Mangalyaan cost us Rs 450 crores. lands: invasive ants are taking over the leaf litter in sa- The headline was both exciting and hurtful. Excited by it, I cred groves. contacted Professor Madhu Verma of the Indian Institute Sacred groves, known as devaru kadu in Kannada and of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, and she shared kavu in Malayalam, are fragments of forests protected by with me both a detailed report of 2015 titled: “Economic local communities. Hunting and logging are not permitted Evaluation of Tiger Reserves in India: A VALUE + Ap- here. The result is that many sacred groves still stand tall proach” (available free on the net as NTCA_Report 2015. in urban areas as well. While these islands of forest are pdf) and their recent research publication: “Making the crucial refugia for local wildlife, are they still untouched by Hidden Visible: Economic Valuation of Tiger Reserves in the effects of urbanisation around them? India” which appeared in the journal Ecosystem Servic- To find out, a team of scientists from the Central Universi- es; 26 (2017): 236-244. Both were eye openers! ty of Kerala studied ant species richness and abundance Putting a price on Nature and commodifying it may hurt in five sacred groves in both urbanised towns and rural our sensibilities. On the other hand, the authors of the villages in the Kannur and Kasargod districts of north above paper point out that an economic analysis helps in Kerala. They set up pitfall traps – small containers em- determining the quantity of goods such as fuel wood, and bedded in the ground that ground-dwelling ants fall into – fodder that can be allowed for extraction by local com- at specific locations, and listed the species and numbers munities, based on trade-offs with other services. Such of ants that fell in. economic analysis also highlights why such “large” areas The sacred groves were home to 32 ant species in to- are reserved for preserving fierce animals like the tiger, tal. Ant assemblages varied between urban and rural when we need more land for human use. groves; while only five ant species were exclusive to What is the total amount of land set apart for the 18 rang- urban groves, nine were exclusive to rural ones. Urban es as tiger reserves? It is 68,000 square km, which is groves were home to larger numbers of ants, and habitat about 2% of the area of India – set apart for the nation’s generalists as well as invasives (like the Yellow Crazy ant pride animal. A tiger reserve is not just for the tiger. The Anoplolepis gracilipes ) dominated leaf litter here, a clear six reserves (Corbett, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar, Ranth- indicator of human disturbance in the habitat. ambore, Sunderbans) that the team has studied house “Urban sacred groves supported greater numbers of the many other animals such as the elephant, rhino, langur, Yellow crazy ant,” Sinu P. A., who conducted the study barasingha, mongoose, river dolphin, olive ridley turtle, says in an email to crocodile — not to speak of the millions of herbs, plants The Hindu and trees. . “These do not bite us but damage our crops, are a pest What is the point in saving tigers? of household items and prey on insects, bird hatchlings, Why save this ferocious animal at all? Tigers are what crabs and other native species. In short, they replace na- conservationists call “umbrella” species. By saving them, tive biodiversity.” we save everything beneath their ecological umbrella - Why could urban groves be showing such a significantly everything connected to them - including the world’s last different pattern? New residents who migrate from else- great forests, whose carbon storage mitigates climate where and live near sacred groves often dispose waste change. Vidya Venkat has written more about it in this in the groves, says Sinu. “This might have been a reason newspaper of April 17, 2016. for the increased abundance of generalist and invasive What all does a tiger reserve offer? The 2017 paper above ants in urban sacred groves,” he says. Educating the lo- lists the following: (1) employment generation, (2) agri- cal community about the value of forests could be crucial aspirantforum.comculture (incidentally the famous IR-8 rice was discovered for conservation of sacred groves and their native biodi- from the wild rice plants found in one such reserve), (3) versity including minuscule ants, he adds. fishing, (4) fuel wood, (5) fodder and grazing, (6) timber, (7) pollination of plants, (8) kendu leaves, (9) carbon stor- age and sequestration (vital for climate protection against Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. Tiger reserves: Economic and environmental global warming), (10) water and its purification by filter-
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ing organic wastes, (11) soil conservation, (12) nutrient Phobos imaged by Hubble Space telescope cycling, and (13) moderation of extreme events such as NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has beamed back im- cyclone storms, flash floods. Add to these cultural ones ages of the tiny Martian moon Phobos in its orbital trek like tourism, education, research and development, and around the red planet. Over the course of 22 minutes, spiritual ones (like visiting temples within some of them). Hubble took 13 separate images, allowing astronomers The approach, termed VALUE+, that the group uses has to create a time-lapse video showing the diminutive two components. The VALUE part indicates that the an- moon’s orbital path. nual cost of putting together and maintaining the above The Hubble observations were intended to photograph six tiger reserves is about Rs 23 crores. But then, what Mars, and the moon’s cameo appearance was a bo- about the “flow benefits”? Take the Periyar Tiger Reserve nus, scientists said. A football-shaped object of size as an example. VALUE estimates that this Reserve gen- just 26x21x17 kilometres, Phobos is one of the smallest erates Rs 17.6 billion (or Rs 1.9 lakhs per hectare) per moons in the solar system. The moon completes an orbit year. How? For example it helps provide water to Tamil- in just seven hours and 39 minutes, which is faster than nadu districts, amount to Rs 4.05 billions /year. Or, take Mars rotates. Rising in the Martian west, it runs three laps the famous Corbett Park (which is supposed to have the around the Red Planet in the course of one Martian day, “maneaters of Kumaon”). Its flow benefit per year is Rs which is about 24 hours and 40 minutes. It is the only 14.7 billion (Rs 1.14 lakhs per hectare). And it provides natural satellite in the solar system that circles its planet water to some parts of Uttar Pradesh (at Rs 1.61 billion in a time shorter than the parent planet’s day. per year) and Delhi (Rs 530 million per year). In effect, About two weeks after the Apollo 11 manned lunar land- the ratio of benefits to management costs is anywhere ing on July 20, 1969, NASA’s Mariner 7 flew by the Red from 200 to 530. It is worth investing and managing re- Planet and took the first crude close-up snapshot of Pho- serves! And the + sign part in the study highlights bene- bos. fits for which a monetary number is currently not possible (such as the “umbrella” mentioned above). Eye-openers, aren’t they? The
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saying. 2007 after striking an iceberg. Fortunately several other The stone monument was underneath the inscription, on ships were not very far from the stricken ship, and the which about 300 Chinese characters were carved, it said. 150 passengers and crew were rescued after five hours Both the inscription and the monument recorded the in lifeboats. renovation of the Chouchan Temple during the Song Dy- Commercial ships in northern waters have occasionally nasty. run into trouble, sometimes with deadly results. In De- The new discovery offers valuable materials to study the cember 2004, the Selendang Ayu , a 740-foot Malaysian history of Chouchan Temple and other famous temples. ship carrying soybeans and more than 1,000 tons of fuel oil, suffered an engine failure, drifted and eventually ran aground and broke apart in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Keeping safe while cruising in the Arctic Six crew members died when a Coast Guard helicopter When the Crystal Serenity, a 1,000-passenger luxury lin- that had just picked them up was swamped by a wave. er, sails in August on a month-long Arctic cruise through NYT the Northwest Passage, it will have a far more utilitarian escort: a British supply ship. The Ernest Shackleton , which normally resupplies sci- U.R. Rao, genial genius of ISRO entific bases in Antarctica, will help with the logistics of Udupi Ramachandra Rao, former chairman of the Indian shore excursions along the route from Alaska to New Space Research Organisation, acclaimed space scientist York through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago. acknowledged as the father of Indian satellite technology, But the escort ship will also be there should the Serenity is no more. become stuck in ice or something else goes wrong. The The celebrated cosmic ray scientist with an MIT schol- Shackleton can manoeuvre through ice and will be carry- arship and experience with early NASA projects in the ing emergency water and rations for the liner’s passen- 1960s is best remembered as the man who gave the gers and 600 crew members, oil spill containment gear country its first spacecraft Aryabhata from out of modest and a couple of helicopters. un-space-like industrial sheds of Peenya in Bengaluru. As global warming reduces the extent of sea ice in the His demise at age 85 somewhat brings the curtain on the Arctic, more ships — cargo carriers as well as liners like starry era of pioneering space troika of Vikram Sarabhai, the Serenity taking tourists to see the region’s natural Satish Dhawan and U.R. Rao. beauty — will be plying far northern waters. Experts in Regulars at Antariksh Bhavan, the headquarters of ISRO maritime safety say that raises concerns about what will and the Department of Space, will miss the gentle genius. happen when something inevitably goes wrong. A workaholic, Dr. Rao was active until about two weeks “It’s what keeps us up at night,” said Amy A. Merten, who back in his office at Antariksh Bhavan, recalled ISRO works on maritime response issues at the National Oce- Publications and Public Relations Director Deviprasad anic and Atmospheric Administration. Karnik. Although nations with Arctic lands, including the United Guided by Sarabhai States, have agreed to assist each other in the event of Dr. Rao’s space journey blossomed under the tutelage disaster, there is very little emergency infrastructure in of Vikram Sarabhai, his doctoral guide and later boss at either U.S. or Canadian Arctic waters, or in Russia along ISRO: in 1972, Sarabhai tasked the young Rao — fresh what is known as the Northern Sea Route. from MIT and the only Indian then who had worked on What keeps Ms. Merten and other experts on edge is the NASA’s Pioneer and Explorer satellite projects — with possibility that a ship could have a problem that would building an Indian satellite. require an extensive search-and-rescue operation. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had come down to There are relatively few government icebreakers or cut- see the assembled satellite — Aryabhata — which was ters in the region, and a long-range airlift by helicopters launched on a Russian rocket in 1975. Indian satellites would be extremely difficult.aspirantforum.com So an emergency operation had started sprouting. would most likely rely heavily on other commercial ships As the first director of what is now called ISRO Satellite that happen to be in the area. Centre, Dr. Rao was responsible for 18 early satellites Although the Arctic has not been the site of a major in- including the landmark Bhaskara, APPLE, the Indian Re- mote sensing Satellites or IRSs.
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. cident involving a cruise ship in recent years, a smaller liner, the Explorer , sank off the Antarctic Peninsula in In 1984, Dr. Rao succeeded Satish Dhawan as ISRO Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space.. rules that govern the structure and functioning of genom- Shaped many a project es. But it also opens the door to life with new and useful At ISRO, there has not been a planetary mission that has characteristics, like microbes or mammal cells that are not been touched or tweaked by Dr. Rao. better than current ones at pumping out medications in As the chairman of overseeing body ADCOS or the Advi- pharmaceutical factories, or new vaccines. sory Committee on Space Sciences, he finalised, shaped, Also on the horizon is redesigning human DNA. That’s refined or designed the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission of not to make genetically altered people, scientists stress. 2008; the Mars Orbiter Mission of 2013; and the upcom- Instead, the synthetic DNA would be put into cells, to ing Chandrayaan-2 set for 2018. One of the current un- make them better at pumping out pharmaceutical pro- finished projects of the cosmic ray scientist is Aditya L1 teins, for example, or perhaps to engineer stem cells as mission — India’s upcoming solar observatory, so to say. a safer source of lab-grown tissue and organs for trans- U.R. Rao was born on March 10, 1932, to Lakshminaray- planting into patients. ana Acharya and Krishnaveni Amma in Adamaru near Udupi. He studied in Udupi’s Christian High School. Panel for action against farmers using He completed his M.Sc in Physics from Banaras Hindu University in 1953 and briefly taught in Ahmednagar and herbicides on GM mustard Mysore. But space science was beckoning and he en- The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s (GEAC) rolled for a PhD under none other than Vikram Sarabhai sub-committee has drafted several recommendations on at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, and GM mustard before it approved the crop for commercial got the doctoral degree in 1960 from Gujarat University. release in May this year. These included a proposal for Dr. Rao is to our satellite programme what Vikram Sarab- legal action on farmers using the glufosinate-based her- hai is to the entire space programme and Homi Bhabha bicide (Basta) on the crop unless otherwise approved by is to atomic energy the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Commit- tee. In response to an RTI query, the GEAC has provided Scientists build DNA from scratch to alter minutes of the sub-committee’s May 11, 2017 meeting. life’s blueprint The minutes, accessed by The Hindu, reflect an appre- At Jef Boeke’s lab, you can whiff an odour that seems out hension that farmers may use herbicides to kill weeds of place, as if they were baking bread here. that grow in crops of herbicide-tolerant GM Mustard. But he and his colleagues are cooking up something else altogether: yeast that works with chunks of man-made DNA. Scientists have long been able to make specific changes in the DNA code. Now, they’re taking the more radical step of starting over, and building redesigned life forms from scratch. Mr. Boeke, a researcher at New York Uni- versity, directs an international team of 11 labs on four continents working to “rewrite” the yeast genome, follow- ing a detailed plan they published in March. Their work is part of a bold and controversial pursuit aimed at creating custom-made DNA codes to be insert- Detrimental to humans ed into living cells to change how they function, or even Glufosinate-based herbicides act as a neurotoxin and provide a treatment for diseases. have adverse impacts on humans, according to the U.S. Challenging future National Institute of Health. It could also someday helpaspirantforum.com give scientists the profound To a query on how the GEAC proposes to ensure ad- and unsettling ability to create entirely new organisms. herence to its recommendations, GEAC sub-committee The genome is the entire genetic code of a living thing. member C.R. Babu, also Director of the Centre for En- Learning how to make one from scratch, Mr. Boeke said, vironmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems, means “you really can construct something that’s com- University of Delhi, told The Hindu that the Ministry of Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. pletely new.” The research may reveal basic, hidden Environment and Forests was contemplating setting up
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a system to monitor the planting of GM mustard seeds flares — too small and frequent to detect individually, but when commercially released. with a large collective effect — might release heat into the Bt cotton lessons corona. No one has yet directly seen nanoflares, but the However, anti-GM activists question how effective such high-resolution and high-speed images to be taken from regulation will be, drawing attention to the experience the WB-57F jets might reveal their effects on the corona. with Bt cotton, the country’s first and only commercially The high-definition pictures, captured 30 times per sec- released GM crop. The GEAC had recommended plant ond, will be analysed for wave motion in the corona to refuges wherever Bt cotton was planted to ensure pests see if waves move towards or away from the surface of did not develop resistance to the Bt toxin. the sun, and with what strengths and sizes. “In the case of Bt cotton the government’s record of en- The two planes, launching from Ellington Field near NA- suring adherence to recommendations has been very SA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will observe the poor,” said Kavitha Kuruganti, activist and convenor of total eclipse for about three and a half minutes each. By ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture). flying high in the stratosphere, observations taken with The Centre submitted to the Supreme Court that it would telescopes on board will avoid looking through the major- file its affidavit on its preparedness for commercial re- ity of Earth’s atmosphere, greatly improving image qual- lease of GM Mustard on July 29. The Supreme Court has ity. asked the government to stay the commercial release of At the planes’ cruising altitude of 50,000 feet, the sky is GM mustard until it does so. 20 – 30 times darker than as seen from the ground, and there is much less atmospheric turbulence, allowing fine NASA jets to chase solar eclipse structures and motions in the sun’s corona to be visible. In a first, scientists are planning to chase the shadow of Observations of Mercury will also be taken 30 minutes the moon using NASA’s research jets during the upcom- before and after totality, when the sky is still relatively ing total solar eclipse in the U.S., in order to capture the dark. These images, taken in the infrared, will be the first clearest ever images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere. attempt to map the variation of temperature across the Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in the surface of the planet. U.S. and his team will use two of NASA’s WB-57F re- search jets to follow the darkness across the U.S. on Au- Glow-in-the-dark shark discovered in the gust 21. Pacific Taking observations from twin telescopes mounted on Scientists have identified a new species of glow-in-the- the noses of the planes, Mr. Caspi will capture the clear- dark shark that has an unusually large nose, weighs a est images of the Sun’s corona to date and the first-ever little less than a kilo and measures less than a foot. thermal images of Mercury, revealing how temperature The new species, a member of the lanternshark family, varies across the planet’s surface. “These could well turn has been named Etmopterus lailae. It lives 1,000 feet be- out to be the best ever observations of high frequency low the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the northwestern phenomena in the corona,” said Dan Seaton, researcher Hawaiian islands. at the University of Colorado. The total solar eclipse pro- “This species is much understudied because of its size vides a rare opportunity for scientists to study the sun, and the fact that it lives in very deep water. They are not particularly its atmosphere. easily visible or accessible like so many other sharks,” Rare opportunity said Stephen M. Kajiura, professor at Florida Atlantic Uni- As the moon completely covers the sun and perfectly versity. blocks its light during an eclipse, the typically faint corona “The unique features and characteristics of this new spe- is easily seen against the dark sky. cies really sets it apart from the other lanternsharks,” Mr. The vantage point on th planes provides distinct advan- Kajiura said. tages over ground-based observations, researchers said. “For one thing, it has a strange head shape and an unu- The corona is heated to millionsaspirantforum.com of degrees, yet the lower sually large and bulgy snout where its nostrils and olfac- atmospheric layers like the photosphere — the visible tory organs are located. These creatures are living in a surface of the sun — are only heated to a few thousand deep sea environment with almost no light so they need degrees. Scientists are not sure how this inversion hap- to have a big sniffer to find food,” he said. Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. pens. Some of the other distinctive characteristics include its One theory proposes micro explosions, termed nano- Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam. aspirantforum.com Hindu and PIB Crux Vol. 35 News and Events of July 2017
flank markings that go forward and backward on their bel- your dorm by 6:30 p.m.,” Ms. Mohan said. lies and a naked patch without scales on the underside “Instead of asking them to remain indoors I think we of its snout. should provide more safety for them,” she said. The tech- Like other lanternsharks, the Etmopterus lailae is bio- nology can seamlessly integrate with existing clothing to luminescent and the flanks on the bottom of its belly glow respond to initial signs of assault such as forced disrob- in the dark. The markings on its belly and tail also were ing, researchers said. “The proposed solutions aim to specific to this new species, researchers said in the jour- combat child sexual abuse, college campus assault and nal Zootaxa. abuse of elderly and disabled,” Ms. Mohan said.
Indian student at MIT makes wearable Scientists set sail to unlock secrets of lost sensor to prevent assault continent An Indian scientist at MIT has developed a sticker-like Scientists are attempting to unlock the secrets of the wearable sensor that can detect sexual assault in real “lost continent” of Zealandia, setting sail to investigate time and quickly alert the victim’s friends and family and the huge underwater landmass east of Australia that has people nearby. never been properly studied. The sensor, which can be attached to any piece of cloth- Zealandia, which is mostly submerged beneath the South ing like a sticker, could be trained to learn the difference Pacific, was once part of the Gondwana super-continent between when a person is undressing them and when but broke away some 75 million years ago. they are being forcefully disrobed, said Manisha Mo- In a paper published in the Geological Society of Ameri- han, research assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of ca’s Journal GSA Today in February, researchers made Technology, U.S. the case that it should be considered a new continent. This allows the sensor to detect signs of an assault even They said it was a distinct geological entity that met all when the victim is unconscious or not in the position to the criteria applied to Earth’s other continents, including fight the assaulter. elevation above the surrounding area, distinctive geol- An integrated bluetooth connected to a smartphone app ogy, a well-defined area and a crust much thicker than can trigger a loud noise to alert people nearby and send that found on the ocean floor. out a distress signals to pre-set numbers of family mem- Large landmass bers or emergency services. The sensor works in two Covering five million square kilometres, it extends from modes. south of New Zealand northward to New Caledonia and In the passive mode, the wearer is assumed to be con- west to the Kenn Plateau off Australia’s east. scious and can set off loud alarms or distress calls on Drill ship Joides Resolution will recover sediments and their own by touching a button when they encounter an rocks lying deep beneath the seabed in a bid to discover approaching threat. In the active mode, the sensor tries how the region has behaved over the past tens of millions to detect signals from the external environment. of years. For example, if somebody is trying to remove the clothing The recovered cores will be studied onboard, allowing of a person, a message is sent to the smartphone asking scientists to address issues such as oceanographic his- if the person consents. tory, extreme climates, sub-seafloor life, plate tectonics If the smartphone user does not respond within 30 sec- and earthquake-generating zones. Co-chief scientist Jer- onds, the phone begins to emit a loud noise to alert peo- ry Dickens, from Rice University in Texas, said the region ple nearby. was a vital area to study changes in global climate. If the victim does not stop this alarm using a predefined “As Australia moved north and the Tasman Sea devel- password within the next 20 seconds, the smartphone oped, global circulation patterns changed and water app can automatically send distress signals to family or depths over Zealandia fluctuated,” he said. “This region friends, along with the location of the victim. was important in influencing global changes.” Personal experienceaspirantforum.com Australian National University’s Neville Exon said the Ms. Mohan’s experience as an engineering student in two-month expedition would also help better understand Chennai inspired her to create the device, she said. major changes in the global tectonic configuration that “Female students on campus were not allowed to work started about 53 million years ago. Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. beyond certain hours. You were expected to be back in This is around the time that the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a
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hotspot for volcanoes and earthquakes, came into exist- genes that are responsible for functional eye regenera- ence. tion in flatworms and test for their importance in human Hidden from view disease models and human stem cells,” says Dr. Akash In the February scientific paper, lead author Nick Mor- Gulyani, the corresponding author of the paper. timer said experts had been gathering data to make the Flatworms cannot tolerate any colour or amount of light case for Zealandia being a continent for more than 20 and tend to move away from it. But when exposed to two years. colours, the worms were able to fully discriminate be- But their efforts had been frustrated because most of it tween them. was hidden beneath the waves. For instance, when exposed to blue and green light of “If we could pull the plug on the oceans, it would be clear the same intensity, the worms always tended to move to- to everybody that we have mountain chains and a big, wards green. “Individually, the worms hate both the col- high-standing continent,” he said. our lights used. Since they are forced to make a choice, the worms were running away from a colour they hate Colour-blind flatworms can still choose more,” says Dr. Gulyani. The worms were able to effi- ciently differentiate light with just 25 nanometre wave- between colours: study length difference. The worms showed maximum avoid- Bengaluru-based researchers have found that flatworms, ance to light with 450-500 nanometre wavelength, with which are highly averse to light and move away from it, avoidance dropping off on either side of the peak values. have the ability to discern different colours despite being Sensing light intensity colour-blind. The researchers proved that the choice of colour was not Unlike humans who have three colour-sensitive photore- based on wavelength but on light intensity. ceptors for red, blue and green, flatworms have just one The worms that initially preferred 545 nm over 500 nm type. reversed their choice when the intensity of the 545 nm The study also found that flatworms were able to move in light alone was increased. “This proves that worms are response to long wavelength ultraviolet light even when converting the different wavelength information into in- the head was cut — proof that the worms could sense tensity information and trying to discriminate between light even without their eyes and brain. two wavelengths,” says Nishan Shettigar, the first author The two light-sensing responses — brain-mediated net- of the paper. work and eye-independent response — seen in flatworms To confirm if the brain was involved in sensing and pro- ( Schmidtea mediterranea ) show “a typical hierarchy of cessing a very small difference in wavelength, the re- dominance”. searchers took advantage of the worms’ ability to regen- While the light sensors spread across the body (eye- erate any body part and cut the head to study how light independent response) helped the decapitated worms sensing returns. move away from UV light in a reflex-like response, the After five days, a basic eye structure and part of the brain brain-mediated response to light became predominant were formed again, and the worms were able to sense when the brain regenerated the researchers from the In- light and move to darkness. But the worms were not able stitute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine to differentiate between two colours. (inStem) at the National Centre for Biological Sciences Ability to do fine discrimination of colours with 25 nm dif- (NCBS) found. The results were published in the journal ference was restored after 12 days. Science Advances. The researchers also found that decapitated worms could Simple structure respond to a small amount of long wavelength UV light. Flatworms have similar simple eye structures and neural “They seem to have sensors for long UV light all over the networks to those observed in other animals, the authors body, enabling decapitated worms to move after sensing say, and the complex light sensing and processing abili- UV light,” Dr. Gulyani says. ties may be much moreaspirantforum.com widespread in nature than previ- ously believed. “Our results now make it possible for us to use flatworms Centre plans to remote-map canals as a model for eye-brain regeneration, where the exact The Centre plans to link all canals via a geographical in- function of the eye and brain can be studied as regen- formation system that would allow them to be remotely Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. eration takes place. We can identify the molecules and mapped. V.K. Vohra, Commissioner (Irrigation) said that
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99 projects, identified as a part of the Accelerated Irriga- ture (G-quadrauplex) found in the telomerase promoter. tion Benefit Programme, would have canals under satel- Once bound, the NME2 facilitates a well known suppres- lite scrutiny to ensure that they be completed on time. sor of gene expression (REST complex) to bind to the The Central government has earmarked Rs. 77,595 telomerase promoter and control the production of tel- crore to states to complete a range of irrigation projects omerase. that have been stuck for decades owing to lack of funds, “Experiments show that if you don’t have NME2 then the with the water ministry committed to ensuring that 99 REST suppressor cannot bind to the telomerase promot- such projects would be completed by 2020. Twenty-three er and control the production of telomerase,” says Dhur- would be completed by 2016-17 and 31 by 2017-18. jhoti Saha from IGIB and one of the first authors of the One of the major reasons for the projects to remain in- paper. complete was inadequate provision of funds by the con- “We used proteomics approach to study the protein- cerned State governments. protein interactions. We could identify protein members “Some of these canals could be hundreds of kilometres of the REST complex that interact with NME2. The IGIB long and some much smaller,” said Mr. Vohra. team then confirmed the role of the REST complex and its function,” says Dr. Ramesh Ummanni, from the Cen- IGIB researchers rein in cancer cells tre for Chemical Biology at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Researchers at Delhi’s CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad and a co- Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) have found the mecha- author of the paper. nism by which controlling the levels of telomerase can Drug target help in reining in the growth of cancer cells and probably “We established that the DNA structure (G-quadrauplex) prevent cancer metastasis. The results were published in could be a possible drug target once we understood the the Journal of Biological Chemistry. mechanism of NME2 binding to the promoter followed Unlike normal cells, most cancer cells have high levels by the REST suppressor complex,” Dr. Chowdhury says. of telomerase and this leads to more than normal length The involvement of a DNA structural architecture allowed of the telomere. Telomeres protect chromosome ends the team to use small molecules that recognised the spe- somewhat like the plastic clips at the end of shoelaces cific structure. that prevent fraying of the ends. While cells die when the Since the amount of NME2 is low in many metastatic telomere becomes shorter beyond a certain limit, in the cancerous cells, the researchers used small molecules case of cancer cells the length of the telomere is main- that were able to function like NME2 by recognising and tained thereby ensuring extended life span of the cells. binding to the DNA structure. “We screened 20 molecules In normal cells the telomerase is kept under tight control. and 11 were able to bring down the telomerase level in But in about 85% of all cancers the telomerase levels fibrosarcoma cancer cells,” Dr. Chowdhury says. are more than normal leading to malignant transforma- Based on the initial lead from the small molecules, the tion and aggressive metastasis in many cases. “It is not researchers are planning to synthesise new molecules to clearly understood how telomerase is kept under tight optimise for drug-like characteristics for therapeutic use. control in normal cells and how the telomerase levels The molecules will then be tested on animals. gets increased in cancerous cells,” says Dr. Shantanu Chowdhury from the Genomics and Molecular Medicine Scooping out oil spills made easy by IISER Unit at IGIB and the corresponding author of the paper. It is already known that when the amount of a particular Thiruvananthapuram protein that suppresses the spread of cancer (metasta- More efficient and quick absorption of crude oil from sis) called nonmetastatic 2 (NME2) is high the tendency the sea following marine spill has now become possible of the cancer to spread is low. But what came as a sur- thanks to scientists from the Indian Institute of Science, prise is the role of this proteinaspirantforum.com in controlling the telomer- Education and Research (IISER) in Thiruvananthapuram ase levels as well. “How NME2 controls metastasis is not who have developed a hydrophobic sorbent that can clearly understood. But surprisingly we found that NME2 suck up oil and congeal it. A hydrophobic material au- controls the levels of telomerase,” Dr. Chowdhury says. tomatically becomes oil-loving and takes up oil when it The mechanism comes in contact with it. The results were published in Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. The researchers found that NME2 binds to a DNA struc- the journal Angewandte Chemie.
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Hydrophobic sorbent A device to test infants’ field of vision A two-member research team led by Prof. Kana M. Sure- An advanced device to measure the field of vision of in- shan from the School of Chemistry at IISER developed fants has been developed by scientists at L.V. Prasad the hydrophobic sorbent by using a cheap raw material Eye Institute, Hyderabad. The device, named pediatric (mannitol) and cellulose pulp as a matrix. Mannitol was perimeter, can be used to test the eyesight of infants be- converted into a hydrophobic gelator through a one-step tween two and 12 months. Currently, there is no specific process and a solution was made using this compound. perimeter device to measure the field of vision in infants. Cellulose balls the size of marbles were then dipped in As a result, most of the eye defects arising during infancy the solution and dried. get detected only in adulthood. “The gelator gets adsorbed on the cellulose fibre through The pediatric perimeter helps to measure the area of vi- hydrogen bonding. This process of adsorption of gelator sion and also the reaction time of infants. The innovation on the cellulose fibre matrix changes the cellulose matrix was recently published in Translational Vision Science from being very hydrophilic (water-loving) to hydrophobic and Technology. (water repelling),” says Prof. Sureshan. A hydrophobic Most doctors and optometrists use a crude way of as- material naturally becomes oleilophilic (oil-loving). sessing visual fields by bringing bright toys from the side Unlike other alternatives, the sorbent can be easily ap- of the eye to the centre and see if the infant is attracted. plied over oil-water mixture, and no solvent is needed for While there is no accurate quantification when such spraying the gelator thus making it environmental benign. methods are employed, the use of pediatric perimeter The gelator adsorbed on the surface of cellulose fibre is addresses this shortcoming. Besides infants, the device able to absorb oil when it comes in contact with it. can also be used on patients with special needs where “Once the sorbent sucks the oil, the gelator slowly gets re- testing using conventional perimeters is not possible. leased from the cellulose fibre and congealing of oil takes Testing method place,” Prof. Sureshan says. Only when the oil congeals The device consists of a hemispherical dome fitted with can it be removed without the oil dripping due to gravity. LEDs in all directions which are controlled using a com- Congealing of oil becomes possible as the gelator used puter program. The infant is placed inside the dome in by the team self-assembles to form micro fibres and the the lying down position. The baby’s eye and head move- oil loses its fluidity and gets trapped within the entangled ments when the LED is switched on randomly are moni- fibrous network to form a rigid gel. Gelation essentially tored by an infrared camera mounted on the top of the turns the liquid oil phase into a semi-solid one and this dome. The test takes only 6-10 minutes .The reaction allows the fibre balls with the congealed oil to be simply time (time taken for the infant to look at the LED after it scooped out or removed using a scoop or a sieve. is switched on) measured helps identifying infants with “It takes only about 30 minutes to two hours from the time developmental delay — healthy infants react within 380 of application to scooping out the rigid fibre balls con- milliseconds and those with developmental delay took taining congealed oil, leaving behind clean water. Since 663 milliseconds. crude oil spreads quickly in the sea after a spill, it is nec- To measure the area of vision, the LED was switched essary to quickly remove the oil from water,” Prof. Sure- along the dome starting from the left and right sides to shan says. the centre, and also from front to back. The infants gaze The team tested the ability of their sorbent to congeal was monitored by the camera and the degree of eye oil using six different crude oils, including the one from movements along with the reaction time was calculated Bombay High. to identify visual field defects. Many neurological factors Irrespective of the different viscosities of the six crude can cause impairments in the vision of an infant. oils tested, the sorbent was able to absorb the oil and the The device was validated using adults with normal vision rigid globules could be scooped out in 30 minutes to two and those with glaucoma and retinal defects. hours. “The device is the result of collaborative effort of optom- Studies found that the aspirantforum.comsorbent was able to absorb and etrists, ophthalmologists, engineers and designers from congeal 16 times its own weight of oil. The absorbed oil all over the world at Srujana Center for Innovation at the can be recovered by applying pressure or fractionated by institute,” says Mr. Koteswararao Chillakala, Embedded a simple distillation process. Systems Engineer from the Srujana Centre for Innova- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. tion at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad in an e-mail
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to The Hindu. aim of the project is to provide rapid access to quality TB “Few patients with squint eye realise their visual field de- diagnosis for all presumptive paediatric TB patients in the fect only when they come for cosmetic correction. It is project intervention areas. therefore essential to test infants and address their visual Sunil D Khaparde, Deputy Director General (TB) and defects as early as possible,” explains Dr. PremNandhini Head of the Central TB Division, told The Hindu that the Satgunam, Associate Research Optometrist at L.V. Pras- RNTCP is committed to providing increasing access to ad Eye Institute, Hyderabad. quality TB diagnostics for the paediatric population. In 2016, the proportion of children among new TB patients Bio-glue for healing developed reported was 6%. Absence of appropriate samples cou- Scientists have developed a super strong, flexible adhe- pled with decentralised capacity to get good samples sive material inspired by the glue secreted by slugs that from children to test for TB remains a challenge in paedi- sticks to biological tissues — even when wet — without atric TB case detection, he said. causing toxicity. Admitting that paediatric MDR-TB cases had not been The “tough adhesive” is biocompatible and binds to tis- documented so far, he said children were more prone to sues with a strength comparable to the body’s own resil- primary MDR infection as they were in close contact with ient cartilage, researchers said. their parents and grandparents, who would have been “The key feature of our material is the combination of a infected. very strong adhesive force and the ability to transfer and “A considerable number of the 9% diagnosed to have dissipate stress, which have historically not been inte- MDR-TB are primary infections. This is a worrying fac- grated into a single adhesive,” said Dave Mooney, pro- tor,” said Dr. Khaparde, who is also the Project Director fessor at Harvard University’s Paulson School of Engi- of RNTCP. neering and Applied Sciences in the U.S. Clinical outcomes Slugs secrete a special kind of mucus when threatened “FIND’s collaboration with RNTCP is to enable rapid link- that glue it in place, making it difficult for a predator to pry age to treatment with an overall aim of improving clinical it off its surface. outcomes in this vulnerable (paediatric) population. As of now the project is in nine cities and based on the success we will extend it to other cities,” he said. Drug-resistant TB higher among children According to Sanjay Sarin, who heads FIND, India, TB than expected: report diagnosis in children is complicated due to challenges While detection of tuberculosis (TB) in children remains a associated with sample collection and poor sensitivity of challenge, it has now emerged that Multi-Drug Resistant tests like the Acid fast bacilli (AFB) smear. FIND, through (MDR) TB is higher among children than expected. This this project, has collaborated with the Central TB Division has been described as a “worrying trend” by the Union to improve access to more sensitive diagnostic tools like Health Ministry. the GeneXpert in the paediatric population, he said. As many as 5,500 of over 76,000 children tested in nine Free test cities have been diagnosed with TB. Nine per cent of The project was initially started to assess the feasibility these paediatric TB cases have been diagnosed to have of roll out of GeneXpert MTB/RIF, a cartridge-based test MDR TB, according to the Foundation for Innovative New used with an automated molecular diagnostic platform Diagnostics (FIND) that conducted the tests in collabora- that enables the diagnosis of TB and some drug-resistant tion with the Central TB Division under the Revised Na- TB (DR-TB) in less than two hours. tional TB Control Programme (RNTCP). The focus was on testing various types of paediatric Unique initiative specimens in routine programmatic settings. FIND initially started a unique initiative for diagnosing According to Debadutta Parija, Medical Officer, FIND, paediatric TB in four cities of Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad GeneXpert labs have been established within the refer- and Kolkata from April 2014aspirantforum.com with funding from the United ence labs of RNTCP in each of the project cities, catering States Agency for International Development (USAID). It to patients in both the public and private sectors. has now scaled up the project to include additional five GeneXpert MTB/RIF testing was performed free of cost cities —Nagpur, Surat, Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru and for all presumptive paediatric TB and drug-resistant TB Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. Guwahati. The project will start in Indore next week. The patients (aged under 15 years).
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FIND’s Project Coordinator (Paediatric) Aakshi Kalra said cases and 561 deaths. both sputum and non-sputum specimens are being test- Dr. Khusrav Bajan, a physician and intensivist at Hinduja ed using GeneXpert except stool, urine and blood. This Hospital, said, “Bacteria mutate much faster than viruses, is as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) recom- so I don’t think resistance should be a cause of concern mendations, Dr. Kalra said. when there is a spurt in H1N1 cases.”
Easier access to H1N1 medicines raises fears Curcumin nanoparticles found to shorten of drug resistance TB treatment time Concerns regarding a build-up of resistance to antiviral Curcumin, the basic ingredient of turmeric, when admin- drugs used to treat swine flu are surfacing, after two such istered in a nanoparticle formulation has several favour- drugs — Oseltamivir and Zanamivir — were taken off the able properties in the treatment of tuberculosis in mice, restrictive Schedule X of the Drugs and Comestics Rules. researchers have found. Now under Schedule H1, the drugs can be stocked by all Prof. Gobardhan Das from the Special Centre for Mo- chemists. lecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Del- Central health authorities have also advised doctors to hi and his team found nanoparticle curcumin to be five prescribe the drugs based on strong symptoms, without times more bioavailable (which is the proportion of drug opting for the swab test. Medical experts say these deci- that enters circulation after introduction into the body) in sions could lead to misuse and eventually, severe drug mice, than regular curcumin, and was able to drastically resistance. reduce liver toxicity induced by TB drug isoniazid. Oseltamivir and Zanamivir are antiviral drugs that block More importantly, treatment of TB with isoniazid along the actions of influenza virus types A and B in the body. with 200 nanometre curcumin nanoparticles led to “dra- While Oseltamivir is available as tablets, Zanamivir matically reduced” risk of disease reactivation and rein- comes in powder form. fection. Dr. Vasant Nagvekar, a Mumbai-based infectious dis- Treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs takes about six- eases expert, said, “We are already witnessing antibiotic nine months in the case of drug-sensitive TB and 12-24 resistance and related hazards. Resistance built up only months for drug-resistant TB. Besides improper use, because antibiotics were easily available and even sold the long duration to complete treatment substantially in- over the counter. Now, we seem to be going the same creases the risk of TB bacteria developing resistance. way with antiviral drugs.” Host-directed therapy His reaction to the government’s decision was mixed. “It Because of the increased bioavailability of curcumin, the is good, because when H1N1 cases are on the rise, the duration of treatment to achieve complete eradication of drug will be available to patients easily. However, it could the bacteria is reduced significantly. backfire because in India, we don’t use caution. The doc- “The treatment time required for complete eradication of tors will prescribe these drugs so widely that eventually it bacteria was reduced by 50% in the case of mice,” says will stop working.” Prof. Das. Restrictions in place The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Im- Drugs under Schedule X require three copies of prescrip- munology. tion for the doctor, patient and chemist, and can be sold Quite often, patients stop taking anti-TB drugs for a few by a chemist who holds a special Schedule X licence. days due to liver toxicity. Since the addition of curcumin Also, the chemist has to preserve the prescription copy reduces liver toxicity, there can be better treatment ad- for up to three years. In Schedule H1, only one copy of herence and lesser risk of drug resistance emerging. the prescription is required, and drugs in this category Like diabetes drug metformin and non-steroidal anti-in- can be sold by all chemists. flammatory drugs that limit inflammation, curcumin is a Hakim Kapasi, a chemistaspirantforum.com and wholesaler from Andheri, host-directed therapy, where the body’s immune system said, “Chemists will still need a prescription to sell the is manipulated, rather than targeting the cause of the dis- drug. The only difference is, the drug will be widely avail- ease directly. Besides reducing inflammation, curcumin able. It all depends on doctors now. If they prescribe the nanoparticles were found to enhance the immune sys-
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vents apoptosis, or cell death, of T cells that come up with and infects the foetus, Prof. Mysorekar and her team in- an immune response. As a result, the protective, long- fected human placental cells. lasting memory cells called the central memory T cells They found the Zika virus activating the genes related to get enhanced. autophagy thereby heightening the destructive recycling ‘Faster clearance’ system activity. “This leads to faster clearance of the TB bacteria, result- But treating the cells with drugs that inhibit autophagy ing in stronger host immunity against the bacteria and resulted in significant decrease in Zika virus replication therefore less chances of relapse of the disease after about two days after infection. On the other hand, when treatment,” said Dr. Dhiraj Kumar Singh from the Special drugs that promote the cell recycling process were ad- Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Univer- ministered, the virus multiplied and caused increased vi- sity and one of the lead authors of the study. ral infection. Mice, which were treated only with isoniazid, displayed Prof. Mysorekar got similar results when her team re- increased susceptibility to re-infection since the drug peated the experiments in mice. dampens the immune system. Mice treated with curcum- They infected two groups of pregnant mice — one which in nanoparticles and isoniazid were able to clear the bac- had reduced autophagy and mice that had normal au- teria at an accelerated rate in both the lungs and spleen. tophagy. “Curcumin nanoparticles are stable and can be adminis- In the former group, the virus in the placenta was 10 tered both orally as well as intraperitoneally and, there- times lower and placental damage was decreased com- fore, have greater potential for therapeutic use under dif- pared with the normal mice. ferent conditions,” they write. Also, the presence of Zika virus in the foetus was 15 times lower in mice with reduced autophagy. However, Malaria drug shields foetus from Zika the virus load in the blood was the same in both groups Commonly used malaria drug hydroxychloroquine can ef- of mice. fectively block the Zika virus from crossing the placenta Viral loads and getting into the foetus and damaging its brain, say “The viral loads in maternal blood were not affected by researchers from Washington University School of Medi- loss of autophagy which is good because we don’t want cine in St. Louis, U.S. whole body effects of loss of autophagy as that could The drug already has approval for use in pregnant wom- lead to side effects. Adults with Zika virus can clear the en. infection without too much trouble; it’s the transmission The placenta acts as a barrier to protect the developing to the foetus that is devastating,” Prof. Mysorekar said in foetus from disease-causing organisms. an email. It prevents pathogens from reaching the foetus through a Since the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine inhibits the form of a garbage recycling system that removes some cell recycling response, the researchers repeated the ex- components of cells, termed autophagy. periments using mice with a normal autophagy response. While infections often ramp up this recycling system to Pregnant mice infected with Zika virus were treated with get rid of any pathogens, the effects of autophagy on Zika the drug or a dummy for five consecutive days. Com- infection and its impact on transmission of the virus past pared with the controls, there was significantly less virus the placenta were earlier not known. in the placenta of mice that received the drug. “We found that the Zika virus actually manipulates the The damage to placenta was also less in mice that were garbage recycling system to its own advantage. The treated with the drug and foetus showed reduced Zika Zika infection ramps up autophagy. So when we use a infection. drug that inhibits or suppresses this ramping up, we can The drug has been approved for use in pregnant women block the virus from infecting the foetus,” says Indira U. but only for a short duration of time. Mysorekar from the Department of Obstetrics and Gy- But with Zika virus infection even during the third trimes- aspirantforum.comter causing foetal damage, the treatment has to be for a naecology, Washington University School of Medicine and the corresponding author of the study published in long time in the case of Zika virus. The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Lab to clinic Placental cells “We do not know what the risk may be of long-term treat- Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. To understand how the Zika virus crosses the placenta ment with the drug [Hydroxychloroquine]. These tests
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have to be done and that will be the next step as the Averting market failures findings leave the lab and head to the clinic,” said Prof. Actions focused on the intersections between intellectual Mysorekar. property rights, innovation, and public health are vitally “Carrying out a trial on pregnant women is always chal- important for resolving market failures in medicine devel- lenging. But given that the drug is already approved and opment and manufacture, unmet needs for research and Zika infections have such terrible consequences, there development, and pricing. may be more chances of going forward,” she said. This is especially true in light of the concentration of the generic pharmaceutical industry in India, and the global Half of HIV-infected get treatment now: AIDS response’s continued reliance on the Indian indus- try, which supplied nearly 90% of antiretroviral medicines UNAIDS in low- and middle-income countries in 2015”. For the first time since the global onset of the HIV/AIDS The report, Ending AIDS: Progress towards the 90–90– epidemic, the scales have tipped in favour of patients. 90 target, is the annual scorecard for progress. The latest UNAIDS report reveals that more than half of In 2016, 1.8 million people became infected with HIV. all People Living with HIV (PLHIV) now have access to While this is a drastic decline from the peak of the epi- HIV treatment. demic in 1997 when 3.2 million got infected, experts Further, globally AIDS-related deaths have almost halved maintain that since 2010, the decline in new infections since 2005. has only been 16%. “We met the 2015 target of 15 million people on treat- Going by this trend, the global target of reducing the fig- ment, and we are on track to double that number to 30 ure to 500,000 a year by 2020 — adopted as a global million and meet the 2020 target,” said Michel Sidibé, Ex- target by UNAIDS in 2013 — seems unattainable. ecutive Director of UNAIDS. “We will continue to scale up The idea behind the 90-90-90 target is to diagnose 90% to reach everyone in need and honour our commitment of of people who are HIV positive; get 90% of the diag- leaving no one behind.” nosed HIV+ people on antiretroviral treatment, and 90% As of last year, 19.5 million of the 36.7 million HIV+ pa- of those on antiretrovirals should be virally suppressed. tients had access to treatment. Deaths caused by AIDS This is attained when an HIV+ patient’s viral load reaches have fallen from 1.9 million in 2005 to 1 million in 2016. an undetectable level, curbing transmission. New infections in India The bad news is that the majority of the cases — nearly 95 per cent of the cases in 2016 — were concentrated in Major solar flare detected in dwarf star close just 10 countries, India being one of them. India has 2.1 to sun million people living with HIV, with 80,000 new infections The Sun’s closest star neighbour, Proxima Centauri, a annually, as of 2016. In 2005, the annual incidence was cool dwarf star situated a little over four light years away, 1,50,000 people. may not be inclined to harbour habitable planets, if its “India is the country where most new HIV infections are temperament is anything to go by. AstroSat, along with occurring in the Asia-Pacific region. While India has other space and earth-based observatories, has detect- made big progress with new infections dropping signifi- ed a powerful solar flare sent out by this star. cantly, the emergence of HIV in some locations that were At an energy of 10-raised-to-30 ergs, this explosion is earlier considered ‘not high-burden’ areas is a cause for about 100 times a typical flare. “If [such a flare] occurs concern.,” said Eamonn Murphy, Director, UNAIDS Re- in our Sun, it might have a devastating effect on power gional Support Team for Asia-Pacific. grids, interrupt broadcasts and electricity, affect electron- While the world seems to be on track to reach the global ic instruments, and cause excess UV radiation in space,” target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020, access Professor K.P. Singh of the Tata Institute of Fundamental to medicines remains a major barrier and India plays a Research (TIFR), Mumbai, who was involved in the re- special role. The reportaspirantforum.com states that “although important search, said in a joint press release issued by the obser- progress has been made in improving access to medi- vatories. cines for people living with HIV, insufficient availability Observation campaign and poor affordability of essential medicines in low- and On 31 May 2017, three space-based observatories, the
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. middle-income countries remain major barriers. Astrosat, Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope, and the
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ground-based High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) observatory, participated in a multi-wave- length simultaneous observation campaign. “The mission teams of all satellites agreed to point to this star and spend a whole day watching this particular star. Also, AstroSat is sensitive enough to easily catch a flare from a star that is so close to us, if it happens during the night time of the satellite and if the telescope is pointed towards this star, as was the case here,” Professor Singh said in an email to The Hindu . Last year’s discovery of Proxima Centauri b — a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri and, more importantly, lying in its habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone — had set everyone wondering if it could host life. “It [the solar flare] makes it quite improbable for Proxima Centauri b to host a life form as we know it,” said Professor Singh.
Treatment for muscle disorder on the anvil Researchers have used gene editing to reverse symptoms in dogs of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) — a muscle-wasting and life-shortening disease that affects one in 5,000 baby boys. The dogs’ symptoms remained in check two years after receiving a single injection, a team reported in the journal Nature Communications . Successful treatment of a large mammal is a crucial step on the road to finding a treatment for human sufferers of DMD. The results, said the team, were “paving the way for human clinical trials”. Genetic mutations Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by genetic mutations that interfere with production of dystrophin, a protein needed for healthy muscles. The international team developed a new type of gene transfer therapy to restore dystrophin expression in affected dogs. They injected the dogs with “microdystrophin” — a compressed version of the dystrophin gene which is one of the largest in the human body with 2.3 million base pairs of coding “letters”. Given its size, it has been impossible to fit the distrophin gene into an emptied virus, which is used to deliver modified genes to patients. Dogs given the treatment showed “significant restoration of muscle function with a stabilisation of clinical symptoms for more than two years after injection,” the researchers said. Geneticist Darren Griffin of the University of Kent commented that this was “really a very exciting study indeed”. Boys affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy develop muscle weakness in their first year of life, and generally become wheelchair-bound before the age of 15.
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fort below a defensive fortification called Hadrian’s Wall in the U.K. Misc. News The fortification was repeatedly rebuilt over the years with turf and timber. “The letters were spaced out at regular intervals along the line of a trench, under a rubble-filled foundation lay- and Events er,” said Andrew Birley, an archaeologist at Vindolanda Trust. Ahmedabad gets world heritage tag “We wondered if somebody was carrying them in a bag The Walled City of Ahmadabad, founded by Sultan with a hole in one corner, or if somebody had been walk- Ahmed Shah in the 15th century, has been declared In- ing along reading them and chucking them away one by dia’s first World Heritage City. one,” Birley was quoted as saying by The Telegraph . The World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO The letters include written demands from Masclus — a made the announcement late night following a meeting Roman cavalry officer — whose previous letters demand- in Poland’s Krakwo. “Thrilled to announce! Ahmedabad ing more beer were discovered 25 years ago in 1992 at has just been declared India’s first #WorldHeritage city the same location. by @UNESCO,” India’s permanent representative to UN- Most of the letters are like the ones discovered previ- ESCO Ruchira Kamboj tweeted. ously, written on thin sheets of birch. However, experts The 5.5 km walled city area with an approximate popula- are particularly excited about a double-leaved oak tablet, tion of four lakh, living in century-old wooden residences which indicates it is an important document. in around 600 pol s or neighbourhoods, is regarded as a living heritage. The UNESCO had preferred Ahmedabad Aboriginals landed in Australia 65,000 years over Delhi and Mumbai. It has now joined the privileged club of heritage cities ago like Paris, Cairo, Edinburgh and two cities in the subcon- The timing of the first arrival of humans in Australia has tinent, Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka. “The been studied and debated for decades. Now, research- walled city of Ahmedabad on the eastern banks of Sa- ers have found evidence that suggests the ancestors of barmati river presents a rich architectural heritage from aboriginal Australians landed in the northern part of Aus- the sultanate period, notably the Bhadra citadel, the walls tralia at least 65,000 years ago. and gates of the Fort city and numerous mosques and The finding, which was published in the journal Nature, tombs, as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of pushes back the timing of when people first came to the later periods,” the WHC of UNESCO noted. continent by about 5,000 to 18,000 years. It also sug- According to Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner gests that humans coexisted with colossal Australian Mukesh Kumar, there are 2,600 heritage sites and over animals like giant wombats and wallabies long before the two dozen ASI protected monuments and sites in the megafauna went extinct. walled city. The city had figured in UNESCO’s tentative “This is the earliest reliable date for human occupation in list in 2011. Australia,” Peter Hiscock, an archaeologist at the Univer- The civic body and the State authorities expect a huge sity of Sydney, who was not involved in the study, said in boost to tourism after the UNESCO’s declaration. an email. “This is indeed a marvellous step forward in our explora- tion of the human past in Australia.” Trove of 1st century Roman letters Previous archaeological digs and dating had suggested discovered in U.K. people migrated to Australia between 47,000 and 60,000 Scientists have discovered a cache of 25 wooden writ- years ago. ing tablets in the U.K, datingaspirantforum.com back to the 1st century. The However, a new excavation at an aboriginal rock shel- correspondence includes a letter from a Roman cavalry ter called Madjedbebe revealed human relics that dated officer wanting to go on a vacation. back 65,000 years. Archaeologists found the haul of tablets in a trench at “We were gobsmacked by the richness of material that
Vol. 35 July 2017 35 July Vol. the deepest level of the Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary we were finding at the site: fireplaces intact, a ring of
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grind stones around it, and there were human burials in their graves,” said Chris Clarkson, an archaeologist from the University of Queensland in Australia and lead author of the study. “No one dreamed of a site so rich and so old in Australia.” Over 11,000 artefacts The Madjedbebe site had been studied in the 1970s. But during more recent visits in 2012 and 2015, Mr. Clarkson and his colleagues recovered more than 11,000 artefacts from the deepest layers of the excavation pit. In addition to uncovering leftovers of an ancient campfire and archaic mortars and pestles, they also found flaked stone tools and painting material. They also unearthed the earliest known examples of edge-ground axes, which are stone axes that would have had handles, which were 20,000 years older than those found anywhere else in the world. Mr. Clarkson said the finding provided further insight into the complex capabilities of ancient humans as well as the chronology of when they migrated from Africa and spread across the world. He added that the findings provide evidence against a prevailing theory that people rapidly drove Australia’s largest animals to extinction shortly after arriving on the continent. “It puts to bed the whole idea that humans wiped them out,” said Mr. Clarkson. “We’re talking 20,000 to 25,000 years of coexistence.” To determine the age of the artefacts, the team had to date the sediment layer where they were buried. They first performed radiocarbon dating on sediment starting at the surface until they got to layers that were about 37,000 years old. They then shifted to a technique called optically stimulated luminescence dating for the deepest layers, which was used to measure the last time the sand in the rock shelter was exposed to sunlight. Think of a grain of sand as an empty battery that slowly collects charge once it’s buried. As long as it remains in the dark it will continue gaining energy over time. If researchers can recover the grain of sand, and keep it dark, they can then use a laser to release the “charge” within it. By measuring the amount of energy the grain of sand releases, and comparing that with the amount of radiation that the sand was exposed to while it was buried, researchers can determine when it was last in sunlight.NYT
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