Beeline for mating habits of peafowls
Rajasthan HC judge’s remark brings Kerala sanctuary into limelight
•Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma of the Rajasthan High Court earned his fifteen minutes of ‘fame’ by remarking that peahens get pregnant after gulping tears of peacocks.
•But a fortnight later, his views on the immaculate conception among peahens still reverberate in a small and little known peafowl sanctuary in Choolannur in Kerala’s Palakkad district.
•The number of people visiting this sanctuary, from within and outside the State, has spiked sharply following the retired justice’s observations about the mating habits of peafowls – from an average of a mere half-a-dozen every day to more than 200.
•“Few birds are capturing our collective imagination like the peafowls. The sanctuary has been low profile all these years and it attracted hardly half a dozen visitors till the justice made the interesting remark.” says forester T.G. Babu.
•Adds forest guard M. Surendran: “With more than 200 people visiting the sanctuary daily over the last one week, we have the additional task of clearing doubts about the reproductive behaviour of peafowls.”
•Home to over 300 peafowls and spread over a modest 3.42 sq km, the park located near Alathur was established in 2007 as a memorial to legendary ornithologist Induchoodan alias K. K. Neelakandan, who hailed from nearby Kavassery.
•Addressing a bunch of visitors, Mr. Babu is at pains to explain how peafowls mate. “During courtship, peacocks spread their tail feathers into large fan-shape and strut about to attract peahens. The peacock then mounts the peahen and transfers its sperm into the peahen’s uterus to fertilize the egg via muscular spasms.”
•Environmentalist S. Guruvayurappan estimates that the peafowl population has increased due to the prohibition on hunting and the lack of predators in the area.
•He says that peafowls are crucial for the ecosystem as they feed on insects that may harm the crops, thus helping farmers by keeping a check on the insect population.
•“For breeding purposes, a peahen needs a secluded vegetated area and the sanctuary provides this. The bird makes a nest on the ground. In order to make it a perfect haven for the national bird, we keep most areas of the sanctuary semi-wild. We have also launched a feeding programme for peafowls,” says Mr Babu.
Three new sites recognised as biodiversity hotspots in Goa
Bombay Natural History Society publishes updated list
•BirdLife International, a conservation organisation, has recognised three new sites in Goa as hotspots for protection. The sites have been added to their list of “Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas”.
•The inclusion of these ecological hotspots in a new book come after systematic data collection by the Goa Bird Conservation Network (GBCN).
•The book is authored by noted ornithologist Asad Rahmani, along with two other co-authors, and is published by the Bombay Natural History Society.
•Now, seven areas in Goa have been termed important biodiversity areas by BirdLife. GBCN president Parag Rangnekar said Goa earlier had four recognised biodiversity areas: Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, Carambolim Wetlands, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Larger extent
•The list has now added Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Navelim Wetlands and Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary.
•The extent of Carambolim Wetland has been increased to include the fragile ecosystem of Dhado, which has recently become a wintering ground for many species of migratory birds. “While analysing data on birds of the State we realized that we have two species of critically endangered, eight species of vulnerable and 11 species of near-threatened birds that have been documented,” says Pronoy Baidya, vice-president of GBCN and one of the contributors to the Goa chapter in the new book.
•“Goa harbours a good population of the lesser adjutant and the Nilgiri wood pigeon in certain pockets of the State apart from the identified sites,” said Mr. Baidya.
•“Goa probably has more sites than the seven identified but a lack of systematic effort in the past to document birds created a void of data because of which we could not propose more sites to BNHS, which coordinates the programme in India,” said Mr. Rangnekar.
•He recalled that in 2012-13, zoology students from Government College, Sanquelim, in north Goa monitored the Navelim Wetlands for an entire year documenting birds and their population.
•“It was primarily a marsh land with paddy fields bordered by mangrove growth that is under the local community’s control. It was important to highlight the significance of this area for conservation on a global platform” says Harshada Gauns, an office-bearer of GBCN, who led the team that monitored the wetland.
•“Declaring a site as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area does not ensure that the site gets legal protection or becomes inaccessible to people. Instead BirdLife International encourages national and State governments to recognise the areas as sites of vital importance for conservation of wildlife and to empower local community-based conservation initiatives,” said Mr. Baidya.
•“In Goa, the Forest Department has already provided support to GBCN in setting up the long-term bird monitoring project, which has completed one year in Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary. The information will help the Forest Department in planning their management strategies,” said Mr. Rangnekar.
Panel to study free movement along Myanmar border
Facility being misused by militants and criminals: Rajnath
•The Union Home Ministry has constituted another committee to examine methods to curb the misuse of free movement along the Myanmar border, indicating a significant shift in India’s policy towards Myanmar, a friendly country, with which it shares unfenced borders and unhindered movement of people across the border.
•Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Mizoram, said a committee headed by Rina Mitra, Special Secretary-Internal Security, was being constituted to “examine the present rules and regulations adopted by the border States for implementation of free movement regime.”
•Mr. Singh said on Twitter, “Free movement regime is being misused by militants and trans-border criminals who smuggle weapons, contraband goods and fake Indian currency notes. Taking advantage of the free-movement regime, occasionally they enter India, commit crimes and escape to their relatively safer hideouts.” Since the NDA government came to power, this is the second time a committee is being constituted to study the free movement across the Myanmar border.
‘Change misnomer’
•In 2015, a high-level committee report submitted by Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) chief R.N. Ravi suggested changing the “misnomer” related to “free border movement” and asked the government to replicate the model prevalent in villages and areas along the Bangladesh border. The report has suggested dedicated crossing points in border villages, where policemen would be made in charge of regulating the movement of people.
•India and Myanmar share an unfenced border of 1,643 km.
Loan waivers are on you, FM tells States
Says RBI is preparing list of debtors for insolvency process
•Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday reiterated that the States going in for farm loan waivers will have to generate funds from their own resources.
•He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with public sector bank chiefs, where among other things, the situation on bad loans was discussed.
Growing clamour
•The remark comes in the backdrop of farmers’ agitations over the demand and some States, such as Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — both Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled — announcing waivers.
•There are also demands for waivers in States such as Madhya Pradesh and Haryana (both BJP-ruled), Punjab (Congress-ruled), and Tamil Nadu ( under AIADMK government).
•This is the second time Mr. Jaitley has spoken on these lines.
•In March, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, he had said: “This issue of loan waiver has cropped up in several States. The Centre has its policies for the agriculture sector, under which we provide interest subvention and other support. We will continue to give all that. If a State has its own resources and wants to go ahead in that direction, it will have to find its resources. The situation where the Centre will help one State and not the others will not arise.”
Bad loans
•On bad loans, Mr. Jaitley said the Reserve Bank of India is at an advanced stage of preparing a list of debtors whose cases will be considered for speedy resolution through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process.
‘Tap newer markets to boost agri exports’
APEDA working on market access
•Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said on Monday that while India had emerged as the seventh largest exporter of agri-products globally, opportunities in newer markets had to be found to further growth.
•Ms. Teaotia said Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the Ministry of Commerce in association with the concerned line Ministries is addressing issues relating to market access.
•She said it was important to maintain traceability and accountability in value addition chain.
•Goods exports during 2016-17 stood at $276.28 billion of which agricultural exports comprised $33.38 billion, representing 12.08% of the total exports, according to an official statement.
•Exports of food products monitored by APEDA during 2016-17 stood at $16.28 billion, representing 48.77% of agri exports from the country. Vietnam, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Iran, Iraq and Nepal were the major destinations for export of food products from India.
•Ms. Teaotia asked organic goods exporters to certify their products as it would help boost competitiveness in the global markets.
CPI inflation slows to lowest since 2012
Index of Industrial Production expands 3.1% in April, output slows from 3.75% pace in March
•Retail inflation in May, at 2.18%, eased to its lowest level since the Centre began measuring it on a nationwide basis in 2012, driven in large part by cooling food prices, according to a latest government release. Separate data showed industrial output expanded by 3.1% in April.
•Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was even slower than the 2.99% seen in April, the previous record low. Within the index, food and beverages category witnessed a contraction of 0.2% in May, compared with a growth of 1.3% in April.
Pharma sector
•Growth in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was spurred by the manufacturing sector within which the tobacco and the pharmaceuticals sectors grew the fastest.
•“Even though the Reserve Bank of India has revised its estimates of inflation downwards for the first half of the year, these numbers are clearly going further down,” said D.K. Srivastava, chief policy advisor, EY India.
•“It reflects the crisis the farmers are facing because food prices have crashed as a result of bumper crops. This does provide stronger grounds for the RBI to revise its interest rates downwards in its next review,” he said.
•Inflation in the fuel and light segment in May stood at 5.5%, compared with 6.1% in April.
•Inflation in the clothing and footwear segment eased marginally to 4.4% from 4.6% over the same period. The housing segment saw inflation remaining at the same rate of 4.8%.
•“Food prices could turn around in June due to the farmer agitation in parts of the country,” said Care Ratings.
•“There is an upside risk to inflation on account of three major factors: the increase in the house rent component in CPI, the implementation of GST, and the announcement of large farm loan waivers and higher deficits of states.
•“The RBI is expected to maintain status quo until September 2017 as the inflation for next couple of months is dependent upon turnaround of monsoon, increase in the house rent allowances, implementation of GST and farm loan waivers,” Care Ratings added. “We expect only a 25 basis points (bps) cut in October 2017.”
•“Going forward, CPI is expected to be sub-2% for the next two months before moving up but will stay below 4% till November,” State Bank of India said in a report. “For FY’18, CPI inflation average could thus be 3.5% with a significant downward bias.”
Industrial production
•The manufacturing sector grew 2.6% in April compared with 2.7% in March, while growth in the mining sector slowed drastically to 4.2%. Electricity output grew 5.4% in April, slower than March’s 6.2%.
•The consumer durables segment saw a drastic contraction of 6% in April, from a growth of 13.8% in the same month of the previous year. The capital goods segment also witnessed a contraction of 1.3%, compared with a growth of 8.1% in April 2016.
•“The performance has been mixed in April with negative growth rates in capital goods and consumer durables which are the focal points for future growth,” Care Ratings added.
More to it than MSP
Price increase alone won’t benefit farmers. Issues of procurement and credit need to be addressed
•Agricultural distress is often viewed as a short-term phenomenon in which farmers look for support from various quarters on account of being unable to get a gainful return due to price crash, poor marketing facilities, rising credit burden, increasing cost of inputs and frequent occurrence of natural calamities. A prolonged unrest in rural India — such as the decision of Andhra Pradesh farmers not to sow in the 2011 kharif season and mark a ‘crop holiday’ protest — will have serious consequences for food security.
•Agricultural distress has become a permanent feature due to the failure of not only elected governments to find a lasting solution but also local institutions such as community or social networks which are supposedly weakening because of increasing individualisation. The consequence is that helpless farmers are increasingly pushed to the brink of committing suicides.
A tipping point
•The distress seems to have reached a tipping point, with scenes of dejected farmers throwing agricultural produce such as vegetables and milk on the roads becoming a routine feature in recent years. Rather than addressing the genuine problems of farmers, politicians are unfortunately busy scoring points over the deaths of innocent farmers.
•Are demands of our farmers unjust? Not really. They want a reasonable price for their produce, better marketing facilities, institutional credit, irrigation, quality seeds and fertilisers, procurement during times of market glut and a social safety net during natural calamities. These are the basic inputs and services farmers need to continue to engage in agricultural production. Many committees and commissions constituted in the past have looked into India’s farming conditions. Their recommendations have been shelved by successive governments.
•The non-availability of remunerative prices to farmers on agricultural produce is a vexed issue and emerges as the prime issue in various research studies wherein farmers are asked to rank production constraints. Will a rise in the minimum support price (MSP) solve the problem? Some critics argue that a rise in the MSP will lead to increase in food inflation, while others that it will augment farmers’ income. Both arguments rest on the mistaken notion that the MSP is a remunerative price. It is actually an insurance price, a floor price of sorts. Besides, a vast majority of the farming population is unaware of its existence.
•The Government of India has an MSP for 23 crops, but official procurement at the MSP is effectively limited to rice and wheat, and that too concentrated in a few States only. Awareness about the MSP is limited to States such as Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh where such procurement takes place. According to the National Sample Survey’s (NSS) Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households 2013, even for paddy and wheat, less than one-third of farmers were aware of the MSP; for other crops, such awareness was negligible. Further, a substantial proportion of crops are sold to local private traders and input dealers to whom the resource-poor marginal and small landholders are obligated to sell their crops due to tie-up with credit.
•Since 2004, successive governments claimed to have increased institutional credit flow to the agricultural sector through increased budgetary allocation on crop loans. According to NSS data, over 40% of farmers still rely on non-institutional lenders, who mostly happen to be moneylenders-cum-traders and input dealers. Further, analysis of credit disbursement data from the Reserve Bank of India reveals that out of total advances to agriculture, the share of indirect finance has increased substantially over time, while that of direct finance to farmers has declined. This means that at the macro level, it would appear that there is an increase in credit flow to the agricultural sector but this has actually accrued to agro-business firms/corporations and not directly to the farmers. Consequently, marginal and small farmers continue to rely on traders and input dealers. Unless the fundamental problems of crop and regional bias of MSP policy, government procurement and access to institutional credit are addressed, mere increase in MSP will not benefit most farmers in the country.
•Further, the response of various State governments to a glut in the market appears to be muted. There exist intervention schemes to undertake the procurement of commodities whose market prices go below the MSP, but on most occasions the marketing season of bumper crops gets over by the time a bureaucratic decision on procurement is taken. Ultimately, the farmers are left at the mercy of unscrupulous traders to sell at whatever price they offer, with resultant repercussions such as the burning of the entire crop or throwing the harvested produce on roads in protest.
•Various studies show an increasing divergence between agricultural and non-agricultural income. And the rising aspirations among rural youth to emulate urban lifestyles put enormous pressure on them to find ways to increase income through various agricultural activities. Unfortunately, income from crop cultivation, which is a major segment of agriculture, is not growing enough to meet the expected level. On the contrary, the increasing market orientation and reforms in the input sector have resulted in a substantial rise in input costs.
Dipping income
•Analysis of data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare reveal that income from cultivation of many cereals and pulses has declined between 2004-05 and 2013-14 despite a considerable increase in MSP during this period. In the case of paddy, out of 18 major rice-growing States, net income has declined in five, and it is negative in six States. In seven States, it has increased only marginally. Income from the cultivation of even horticultural crops is uncertain due to the heavy investment involved and the high volatility in market prices. Most acute is the rise in prices of fertilisers: between 1991-92 and 2013-14, while the price of urea increased by 69%, that of DAP (diammonium phosphate) and potash rose by 300% and 600%, respectively.
•Recent policy pronouncements have added to the woes of already beleaguered farmers. The promotion of traditional farming at this juncture of agricultural development will take the sector to where it was decades ago. Most existing modern crop varieties will not respond to these practices in the medium term; consequently, yield and income will decline. Further, facilities to produce adequate organic inputs have not been developed either. Animal husbandry has been practised as a supplementary activity since time immemorial. Livestock acts as a cushion against crop loss during times of drought. The new rules on animal markets will put poor farmers and landless labourers in a fix. These developments do not augur well for rural youth whose interest in farming is already dwindling. While other developing countries are moving towards modernisation of agriculture which would reduce dependence of labour force and enable a rise in productivity, Indian agriculture is cluelessly plodding ahead.
The rot in farming
We must enable a sustainable price discovery for agricultural produce
•To say it is a domino effect of the loan write-offs for small and marginal farmers by the Uttar Pradesh government may be simplistic, but farmers in different parts of the country have begun agitating for waivers. In Tamil Nadu, they have given the State government two months to meet their demand for a full waiver or face a fresh agitation. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in the face of protracted protests by farmers, has announced a blanket loan waiver for ‘needy’ farmers, with an estimated outgo of Rs. 35,000 crore. In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has resisted announcing a waiver, but unveiled a ‘package’ that includes a ‘settlement scheme’ to bring loan defaulters back into the credit net with interest-free loans. Farm groups in Punjab also began dharnas on Monday for loan waivers and other interventions. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has categorically said States must generate their own resources to fund such largesse, and the Reserve Bank of India has warned of inflationary risks from fiscal slippages caused by large farm loan waivers. However, it would be short-sighted to see the rising angst in the farm sector as simply the desire of farmers around the country to keep up with U.P. There are deeper reasons that must be addressed holistically.
•The problem is price discovery. In fact, there is deflation in pulse and vegetable prices. The RBI has acknowledged that already falling vegetable prices dipped more sharply because of ‘fire sales’ following demonetisation, and pulses are cheaper because of high output on top of imports. Prices for eggs, oils, cereals and milk are moderating, and while the sharp fall in food prices has kept consumer price inflation tepid, rural distress has been aggravated. The new cattle trade rules threaten the viability of livestock and dairy farming. Banks are awash with funds since the note ban, but rural lending growth collapsed to 2.5% in the second half of 2016-17 and even shrank in several States, including Punjab and Maharashtra. Prices of fuel used by rural households have surged for three successive months. It is this squeeze on several fronts that seems to have pushed farmers to the brink. In consultation with the States, the Centre must reconsider whether it is prudent to narrowly target low food inflation. If India wants to be the world’s food factory, its farm policy needs to recognise farmer requirements for state support. If consumers and producers can benefit from a single national market in the GST era, farmers should also have the freedom to sell their produce where and when they want — with a predictable policy framework (no flip-flops in export-import stances, for instance) that enables farm-to-fork supply chains independent of local mandis and traders. Labour and land reforms also need to be revisited to create more opportunities beyond farming, and irrigation and other infrastructure projects speeded up to boost farm productivity.
The road from St. Petersburg
Nostalgia may be useful, but it cannot make up for a lack of substantive drivers in India-Russia ties
•There has been a certain depressing pattern in India-Russia relations over the past decade. Annual summit-level meetings have been marked by expressions of nostalgia for the glory days of Indo-Soviet friendship , declarations of solemn intent to take contemporary relations to new heights and highlighting common perspectives even as the two countries mostly go their respective ways. The St. Petersburg Declaration issued at the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Russia appears not much different in this respect.
Convergences, divergences
•This is not to say that the two countries do not continue to have important convergent interests. Certainly there are specific areas such defence hardware and technology, nuclear energy and oil and gas where their cooperation is of mutual benefit. There may even exist longer-term convergence in helping shape a multipolar international political and security architecture.
•However, these shared interests must be balanced against divergences that are inherent in the very dramatic transformations which have taken place in the two countries themselves, and in the regional and global situation since the end of the Cold War, which have inevitably altered the overall context of our relations. This altered context has to be acknowledged by both sides, and rather than cling to the assumptions of a very different past, there should be an unsentimental reckoning of both the challenges and opportunities that could define India-Russia relations in the new millennium.
•It is fine to say that our relations are “immune” to the changes in the geopolitical situation. This is good political packaging but we should accept that in reality this is simply not true. India-Russia relations today are very different precisely because we are very different countries today and the world is very different from the 1960-1990 phase of the India-Soviet strategic partnership. The cordiality and mutual trust of the past may be leveraged to fashion a new relationship but they cannot substitute for a lack of substantive drivers in the relationship.
•Let us look at how the key assumptions underlying the Indo-Soviet strategic partnership, pre-Cold War, has changed.
Shared China concerns
•One, it is the shared perception of a Chinese threat which brought Delhi and Moscow together. The end of the Cold War changed this, with Russia no longer looking at China as a current security threat. The early settlement of their border dispute, the expansion in their economic and trade relations and the emergence of China as a major recipient of Russian weapons and defence technologies brought about an asymmetry in perceptions of China between India and Russia. But Russian perceptions of a long-term Chinese challenge to its interests persisted, and still do. For example, Russian nuclear experts have been reluctant to deep cuts in nuclear weapons in bilateral negotiations with the U.S. precisely because the gap with China’s expanding and qualitatively better nuclear arsenal is diminishing and this heightens Russian concerns. Chinese inroads into Central Asia and Eastern Europe are also a concern for Russia, which regards both these regions as part of its strategic periphery. These concerns may currently be muted because Russia needs Chinese support in confronting a hostile U.S. and Western Europe.
•What this means for India is that we need to adjust to a new and more positive phase in Russia-China relations, learn not to rely on Moscow to confront Chinese hostility towards India or support India against Pakistan, but seek to build a broader framework of relations based on the longer-term Russian concerns about the emergence of China. Russia, like India, prefers a multipolar world and is unlikely to accept a junior league status in a Chinese-dominated world. The St. Petersburg Declaration describes India and Russia as “great powers”. That is signal enough that neither is about to succumb to Chinese pretensions to singular dominance. For the same reason, Russia may welcome a higher-profile role by India in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In this context, India should pursue the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union and seek to play a more active role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a member.
•Two, it is in India’s interest to see an improvement in relations between Russia and the U.S. and Western Europe. It is the coordinated support of these three major partners of India which enabled us to overcome Chinese opposition and obtain the unprecedented waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008. This is no longer the case. The U.S. under President Donald Trump appeared to be moving in the direction of normalising relations with Russia, but this now seems unlikely as reports of Russian involvement in the American electoral process become more compelling. However, the very unpredictability of Mr. Trump and his roiling of the Western alliance confronts both U.S. allies and adversaries with the need to avoid misunderstanding and misperceptions. A more united and coherent European Union may well be open to re-engaging with Russia, and this should be encouraged by India. In an increasingly fluid international situation, an India which has strong relations with the U.S., Western Europe and Russia is in a unique position to play a larger geopolitical role. It can use its enhanced relations with each to upgrade its relations with the other major powers. This will also diminish Chinese pressures on India.
Defence, nuclear, energy ties
•Three, India and Russia should focus on maintaining and expanding their already considerable cooperation in the defence hardware and nuclear energy sector. Both sectors are important to Russia as well as to India. The loss of the Indian market in these two areas would be a blow to Russia and they would deprive India of advanced technology not always accessible elsewhere. However, there is no need for India to accept terms and conditions which are onerous merely because of sentimentality. During the recent visit, one heard nothing about the fifth-generation fighter aircraft that the two sides had agreed to co-develop and produce almost a decade ago. It is probably just as well since whatever one had heard about the Russians constantly changing goal posts and revising costs did not augur well for India’s long-term interests. We should not have to go through another Admiral Gorshkov episode, which has left such a bitter taste.
•Four, since the end of the Cold War, India sought to establish a strong, long-term energy partnership with Russia. While some important deals like the Sakhalin oil and gas project have been a success, the early promise of expanding cooperation in this sector has been mostly belied. Russia has seen its interests better served by giving priority to Western Europe and China. India has been rather low on the radar. In St. Petersburg, there was a reference to India and Russia setting up an “energy corridor” and another reference to the use of natural gas as a relatively clean and climate-friendly fuel. One hopes that this statement of ambitious intent is followed up with some concrete and practical steps. India has been reluctant to use gas for power generation. Does the joint statement signal a rethink in this regard and will Russia play a role as a major supplier? One will have to await details.
•This 18th annual India-Russia summit appears to have been more substantive than the previous ones, and one hopes that in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, India and Russia find a more realistic basis and more compelling reasons to work together. One’s assessment of Russia’s foreign policy remains: its current closeness to China is tactical; its long-term interest both globally and in its neighbourhood are not aligned with China. India should pursue its relations with Russia keeping this reality in mind.
