India, Pak. to fight it out in The Hague for Jadhav today
Delhi will present its case in the morning session of the ICJ
•The Peace Palace, home of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, will on Monday hold public hearings on the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Indian Naval officer, who was arrested and sentenced to death by Pakistan in April over allegations of espionage and abetting terror.
•The one-day hearing will involve two sessions of an hour and a half, according India and Pakistan an opportunity to make their case, starting with India in the morning. Pakistan’s session will follow in the afternoon. The court’s judgment, which could follow as early as in a few days or take several months, is binding with no appeal.
•On Friday, ICJ President Ronny Abraham directed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to “act in such a way as to enable the court to enforce any decision it takes on the India plea,” effectively staying Jadhav’s execution until the court was able to hear and deliberate on the matter.
•Ahead of the hearing, legal teams from India and Pakistan arrived at The Hague. The Indian team, led by former solicitor general Harish Salve who won the stay at the ICJ last week, is expected to focus on the violations of the Vienna convention by Pakistan on the issue of consular access, and on the lack of transparency in the Pakistani military court, which India has said, in its 12-page appeal, qualifies for the trial to be pronounced “illegal”.
•The Pakistani team will be led by Attorney-General Ashtar Ausaf, assisted by senior lawyer Asad Rahim. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, who has prior experience at the UN, is also expected to fly to The Hague, where Pakistan will be presenting its case using past precedent where India has refused the ICJ jurisdiction, including in the 1999 Atlantique case of a plane that was shot down by India.
Xi evokes Panchsheel as India skips meet
‘China will enhance friendship with all countries’
•Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday proposed five principles of peaceful co-existence or Panchsheel — the brainchild of China, India and Myanmar in the 1950s — as the mantra for advancing the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI), and as a vehicle for achieving sustainable globalisation.
•Despite India’s decision to skip the two-day Belt and Road Forum (BRF), the once special relationship between New Delhi and Beijing echoed during the opening session of the conclave. In his keynote address, President Xi highlighted that China “will enhance friendship and cooperation with all countries in the world on the Belt and Road Initiative on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence”.
•He added: “We are ready to share the experience of development with other countries. We have no intention to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, export our own social system or model of development, or impose our own will on others.”
•Mr. Xi emerged as the new defender of globalisation, countering the resistance to open economic borders in the U.S. and parts of Europe, with a solid integrative plan, during his address to 29 world leaders and representatives from countries across the continents.
‘Open to dialogue’
•India’s decision to boycott the BRF, as a mark of protest against the infringement of its sovereignty by the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), provided Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an opportunity to appear magnanimous at the conclave. In his address, he signalled Islamabad’s openness for a dialogue with India, and offered to accommodate “all countries” in the CPEC. “Let me make it very clear that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an economic undertaking open to all countries. It has no geographical boundaries,” observed Mr. Sharif.
•In an obvious reference to India, he added: “We are also trying to [establish] a peaceful, connected and caring neighbourhood, it is time we transcend our differences, resolve conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy and leave a legacy of peace for future generations.”
•India’s decision to stay away has raised eyebrows here, as other countries such as Japan and Vietnam, which have serious maritime disputes with China, have sent high-level official delegations, to the BRF.
Rs. 11,000 cr. to be spent on roads in Naxal-hit areas
Centre to begin connectivity project in 44 districts soon
•The Centre will soon begin work on a Rs. 11,000-crore project to provide road connectivity to 44 Naxal-affected districts, including Sukma in Chhattisgarh, which had recently witnessed one of the deadliest Maoist attacks.
•Five per cent of the total project cost i.e. Rs. 550 crore will be kept aside for administrative expenses including for deployment of security forces at strategic locations, officials said.
•To improve rural road connectivity in the Left Wing Extremism affected districts, the Cabinet had last year approved the centrally-sponsored “Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas” scheme.
•The project will be implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the districts that are critical from a security and communication point of view.
•Under the project, there will be construction or upgradation of 5,411 km of roads and 126 bridges. Work will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 11,724.53 crore in the above districts.
Chhattisgarh to benefit
•The project is likely to be started in the next few weeks and all necessary arrangements have been made for its launch, a top government official said. Out of these 44 districts, the maximum are in Chhattisgarh, where 25 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed by Naxals last month.
•Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra are the other States that will be covered under the scheme.
Alert sounded on malware
IT Ministry asks stakeholders to protect digital payments ecosystem
•The IT Ministry has reached out to key stakeholders like RBI, National Payments Corporation of India, NIC and UIDAI (Aadhaar) to advise them to protect their systems against ‘WannaCry’ ransomware to ensure that the digital payments ecosystem in the country is protected.
•The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also instructed cyber security unit CERT-In to gather information of ‘WannaCry’ ransomware that has wreaked havoc across sectors like healthcare and telecommunications in more than 100 countries.
•Over the weekend, the ransomware hit systems in over 100 countries, including Russia and the U.K., in one of the most widespread cyber attacks in history. It infected computers running on older versions of Microsoft operating systems like XP, locking access to files on the computer.
•The cyber criminals have demanded a fee of about $300 in crypto-currencies like Bitcoin for unlocking the device.
Security patch
•Microsoft has introduced a security patch to tackle the situation, and consumers across the globe have been advised to download the solution at the earliest.
•Noting that no reports have been formally received so far related to the ransomware attack, MeitY said a few systems of the Police Department in Andhra Pradesh were impacted and that the State government has been informed to follow the advisory by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
•“MeitY is keeping a close watch on the developments on the ransomware and is working in close coordination with all relevant agencies,” it said in a statement. The Ministry has also reached out to the Department of Telecom to alert internet service providers to secure their networks.
•Besides, it has also requested Microsoft India to inform all its partners and customers to apply the relevant patches.
•In Spain, major companies including telecommunications firm Telefonica have been infected. The most disruptive attacks were reported in the UK, where hospitals and clinics were forced to turn away patients after losing access to computers.
Minority status only if trusts enrol on NITI site
The rule will put all their transactions under state scanner
•Educational trusts and societies seeking minority status will now be required to register as non-governmental organisation with the NITI Aayog, whether they need government aid or not.
•The registration with the NITI Aayog portal Darpan is likely to put all the financial transactions of the trust and its office-bearers under government scanner as details such as PAN and Aadhaar of all trustees and office-bearers will be required for the enrolment.
•The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, however, said the rule will not be applicable to institutions run by individuals. Minority status permits schools and colleges to have a say in the reservation quantum and limits interference from the government.
•“All petitioners are required to submit unique ID of the trust/society as given by the NITI Aayog portal NGO Darpan (it is not needed only in cases of institutions run by individuals),” the new rule said.
Unique ID
•As per the requirement, the unique ID should match corresponding details on the NGO’s website.
•“While the cases already being heard before the commission will continue to be heard, the minority status certificate will be awarded only after the unique ID is provided by the petitioner,” it added.
•Since its inception in 2004, the commission has awarded minority status certificates to 12,954 schools and colleges in the country.
Exception to the rule
•The government last year made it mandatory for NGOs and voluntary organisations to register with the NITI Aayog portal to enable them to apply for grants from any Ministry.
•However, the trusts and NGOs not seeking government funding were not required to do so.
•The Constitution gives linguistic and religious minorities the fundamental right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
•A society or trust consisting of members of a minority community, or even a single member of a minority community, may establish an institution.
Policy tweak to speed up defence purchases
Single vendors to be considered in select areas
•Under a proposed change to defence procurement policy in select areas, acquisition will continue even if only one foreign original equipment manufacturer ( OEM) is shortlisted after competitive evaluation, resulting in a single vendor situation.
•Under existing rules, the procurement process has to be cancelled and started afresh in such cases, which has considerably delayed critical procurements.
•The proposed guidelines for Strategic Partnership (SP), which intends to give the Indian private sector greater role in defence manufacturing, are under final discussion. The policy now awaits clearance from the Defence Acquisition Council and then final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
•Preferably, two or more OEMs should be shortlisted for each segment, the proposed policy states. However, it adds that, “Even if only one OEM is shortlisted, the process will be taken forward.” There are still considerable concerns from various quarters on the idea of selecting a single company on a long-term basis.
Four segments
•There are four segments listed in the proposed policy — single engine fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles/ Main Battle Tanks (MBT). More segments could be added later.
•The provision on fighter airarcft is particularly interesting as it specifies “single engine.” The IAF is waiting for the promulgation of the SP model to initiate the process for selecting a single engine fighter to replace the Mig-21s, which are being phased out. The MoD had in the past broadly stated the need for fighter aircraft for the IAF, resulting in much confusion over single and twin engine jets. The MoD shared details of the SP model with the industry last week, details of which were accessed by The Hindu .
•To boost the capabilities of the Indian private sector in defence manufacturing the Government intends to select six companies in each segment .
•Shortlisting of OEMs will follow the normal process as of now and in this Transfer of technology (ToT) will be the “main factor” including various parameters such as extent of ToT, extent of indigenous content proposed, future R&D in India.
Be scientific
On GM mustard for farms, the Centre must privilege reason over politics in taking the call
•With the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, an Environment Ministry body that evaluates genetically modified crops, approving transgenic mustard for environmental release, a key hurdle remains before farmers can cultivate it: Environment Minister Anil Dave’s approval, under a procedure set down by the UPA government. In 2009 the GEAC approved Bt brinjal, developed by Mahyco and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, for commercial release. As Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh overruled the GEAC clearance in 2010 and changed its status from an approval committee to an ‘appraisal’ committee. The issue before Mr. Dave is this: go by the expert findings of the GEAC and decide the issue on scientific merits, or opt for a replay of the Bt brinjal case. Broadly, the then government’s exceptionalism on Bt brinjal was framed along these lines: it was an edible substance unlike Bt cotton; long-term studies may be required to check its safety and environmental impact; it involved technology developed by the multinational Monsanto (which had an indirect stake in Mahyco). On the other hand, GM mustard (DMH-11) was developed by a team of scientists at Delhi University led by former vice-chancellor Deepak Pental under a government-funded project.
•In essence, it uses three genes from soil bacterium that makes self-pollinating plants such as mustard amenable to hybridisation. This means local crop developers have the equivalent of a platform technology to more easily develop versions of mustard with custom traits such as higher oil content and pest resistance. It has also gone through safety and toxicity tests (on mice) prescribed by the regulator, but this is unlikely to convince opponents of GM technology. Many of them are opposed to the commercial release of any form of transgenic plants; they fear that introducing genes from soil bacterium or other forms of animal life into plants will amount to playing with the natural order of plant life. Proponents of GM crops say plants and animals are constantly swapping bacterial genes with air, soil and water, and also that the only way of determining if a gene can produce proteins toxic to humans is to subject it to a systematic testing process. Years of field tests on transgenic corn, soyabean and brinjal in other countries have shown no health risks that vary with their non-GM versions. The concern that DMH-11 employs a gene that will compel farmers to use specific herbicides and be dependent on one or two companies deserves serious attention. However, these are matters for the government, regulators, labour markets and the courts to decide. Farmers need technology, new knowledge and governmental support to get the best out of their seeds. Successive governments have failed to move on the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008 that would enable a biotechnology regulator to take shape. Sans such legislation, issues to be decided on the basis of science will be at the mercy of political expediency.
Clamping down on crime
The police’s perception of public safety and their own role is changing, but too slowly
•The Nirbhaya ruling on May 5, where the Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty for four of the accused in the gang rape and murder case of a paramedical student in Delhi in 2012, is also an occasion to examine certain fundamental assumptions about policing. This takes into account protests after the incident that squarely blamed the Delhi Police for its failure to protect the victim. It is debatable whether the police alone were blameworthy here. Both the state and community at large have a role in shaping public safety, especially that of women and children.
•A reading of Kautilya’s Arthashastra will help one understand the genesis of the state and how it needed to legitimise its authority through the evolution of the police as we know it today. The creation in 1829 of the Metropolitan Police in London and the setting up of a similar organisation in New York and other large cities in the U.S. paved the way for organising the police in many western democracies and for our own police forces set up by the British in the early 1900s. The focus of law enforcement was initially on disciplining unruly elements disturbing public peace rather than on hunting for criminals depriving others of their life and property. Crime was petty in those days, not requiring any sophisticated methods of investigation and detection. Now, it is not only widespread and violent but also sophisticated with the abundant use of technology. A fallout is rising fear in a community, especially among elders, women and children. It is my conviction that the police force must address this fear in a
focussed manner. It is my lament that many unenlightened governments in our country do not evaluate police performance by this yardstick. Police pliability to serve political ends rates higher in their agenda.
A trust deficit
•What does the common man expect of the police? Several surveys point to a demand for protection of life more than guarding individual property. With the phenomenal expansion of the geographic area to be policed and the mind-boggling increase in the number of lives to be guarded, the Indian police, more than in many western democracies, have been stretched and outnumbered. There are only about 140 policemen per 100,000 people, a very poor ratio when compared to other modern democracies.
•The strongest criticism against the police is of their preoccupation with the problems of the political party in power and those of the rich and famous. This resonates with the dictum that all are equal (in a constitutional democracy), but some are more equal than the others. This is why the 10,000-odd police stations in the country are shunned by the better-off sections, who prefer organising themselves to ward off threats or buy safety services from other sources. The phenomenal rise in private security agencies accounts for the growing lack of trust in the state police. This is a shameful but real state of affairs in most of India.
Lessons from abroad
•What is the way out? Drawing lessons from elsewhere in the world is not beneath the dignity of the Indian police. Learning in public administration is a recognised healthy exercise the world over. I am not for a moment suggesting that this is not happening at present. I am only pleading for a greater readiness to sink our egos and borrow from the best practices of foreign police organisations.
•Two recent happenings — one each in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the Metropolitan Police, London (Met) — come to mind readily. Under its legendary Commissioner, Bill Bratton, more than a decade ago, the NYPD instituted a COMPSTAT (short for COMPuter STATistics) programme, that analysed crime with the help of computers, identified crime hotspots and took preventive action, such as intensified patrolling. Police commanders in New York were made to report to the commissioner each week explaining how they were tackling crime in their jurisdictions. This mechanism not only brought about greater attention to crime in the field but also enhanced police accountability at the grass-root level.
•The NYPD has recently gone beyond COMPSTAT by hiring a reputed private agency to survey public opinion on police performance. Focussed questions over mobile phones and the responses obtained look at how to fill visible gaps in policing. The effectiveness of this unique tool will depend on how forthcoming and honest the respondents are. Variants of this have indeed been tried in a few of our cities by some smart police leaders. We have not heard enough about their outcome to comment on their utility.
•Contrary to popular belief, London is now a high-crime city. There is not only public concern over looming terrorist threats but also over youth crime. There are at least three or more stabbings a day carried out by teenagers. Although guns have made a recent entry, it is crime using sharp and small knives that is fuelling anxiety. The Met has launched a major campaign against street crime that involves frisking and seizure of knives — a visible, street-level operation that has enhanced security perceptions. The use of large manpower has been the hallmark of this operation. Physical checks of youth in the streets has added an element of deterrence. This is analogous to the ‘stop and frisk’ practice of the NYPD, whose focus on the non-white population has often drawn flak, especially from African-Americans. Mr. Bratton and his successors have had to tone down the exercise. This is a real danger that the police face while working for greater public safety. Any overzealousness is liable to make the police a villain. Given the high corruption among the police in India, procedures such as ‘stop and frisk’ carry the risk of greater public harassment and dishonesty at the cutting-edge levels.
Some hope in India
•In my view, there are at least two features which offer a glimmer of hope for community safety in India. The first is the availability of a corps of leadership in the form of technically savvy young Indian Police Service officers who have a stake in working closely with the community to carry out experiments in the field to upgrade safety at minimum cost to the government. They can borrow from several studies under the rubric of ‘evidence-based policing’.
•The second is the spread of Internet use at all levels of the police. An offshoot is the use of social media in day-to-day policing. Information on crime incidents and criminals is as a matter of course conveyed to the public in many urban centres with encouraging results. Citizens are also encouraged to report crime through email or over social media. This practice gives no option for the police but to act without fail and swiftly. The participation of the print and visual media in this dialogue gives further fillip to the exercise of sensitising the police to the community demand for safety through police processes.
•The police’s perception of public safety and their own role here is changing, but only slowly. Many of us are impatient over the pace at which it is happening. We must realise that the Indian police is a behemoth and will respond faster only if there is constant pressure exerted on it by well-organised community leaders and the media.
Centre may execute proposed social security law in phases
In the first phase, small factories employing up to 10 workers may be exempt
•The Labour Ministry may implement its proposed social security law in a phased manner, exempting small factories employing up to 10 workers, from its ambit initially.
•“We are contemplating implementing the proposed law on social security in a phased manner,” said a senior Labour Ministry official, on the condition of anonymity.
•“The small factories could be covered in the second phase. Factories employing more than 10 workers and informal sector workers can be covered in the first phase.”
•“After two years, factories employing less than 10 workers can also be brought under the framework of the proposed social security law,” the official added.
•The Labour Ministry had, in March, proposed a labour code on social security which will provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country, including self-employed and agricultural workers. Factories with even a single worker would have had to contribute towards social security benefits, as per the code.
Key demand
•This was the first time that the Central government had proposed a law for providing universal social security to all workers which have been one of the key demands of the central trade unions.
•However, small and medium enterprises, which are kept out of social security schemes at present, had raised concerns over the government’s proposal.
•“The small-scale industrial undertakings should be kept out of the ambit of social security framework as the financial implication of such a move would be huge,” said Avinash K. Dalal, national president and founder of the All India MSME Association.
•The provident fund and pension contribution, administered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is mandatory only for factories employing at least 20 workers at present. Further, medical benefits under the Employees’ State Insurance Act apply to factories with at least 10 workers and it is also applicable to shops, hotels, restaurants, cinemas and road transport undertakings.
•“We have received favourable reactions (on the proposed law), except probably (from) the small entrepreneurs who feel that they may have to bear a little bit of financial burden due to contribution (towards social security schemes),” Labour Secretary M. Sathiyavathy had said during a consultative meeting on the draft social security code, organised by the Labour Ministry last month.
•According to the Sixth Economic Census, 98.62% of the total establishments in India — both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors — employ less than 10 workers.
•Providing social security to all workers will be one of the key themes of the 47th Indian Labour Conference (ILC) which is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year.
GST: What still needs to be done
•The Goods and Services Tax Council will meet on May 18-19 to finalise various rules involved with implementing the new tax regime in the country, including on issues like input tax credit, valuation norms, composition and transition provisions, among others. What remains to be down between now and the final rollout? Here’s a lowdown.
What has been done so far?
•The GST Council has met 13 times to finalise the minutiae of the five laws that will help bring the new tax regime to reality. Four of these laws have been cleared by the Union Cabinet and passed by Parliament. The fifth, the State GST law, needs to be passed by the legislative assemblies of each state and union territory with legislature. The Council still has to finalise the rules and rates of individual products and services.
Where is clarity needed?
•According to experts, the draft rules that will be finalised during the upcoming Council meeting do not as yet address key operational issues that directly affect vendors, distributors, and service providers. These issues include the place of supply rules for service companies. Clarity on this will determine whether a service has been provided on an inter-state or intra-state basis, which in turn will determine whether the Integrated GST tax will apply.
•Another major issue is the treatment of cases where the billing address is different from the shipping address. Since most companies have so far configured their ERP programs to incorporate GST as a destination-based tax, there is no clarity as yet in the rules as to what happens if the destination of the goods or service is different from where the bill is to be made.
•For example, if a company places an advertisement in the Mumbai edition of a Delhi-based newspaper, it can be billed in Mumbai only if the paper can show that it has an establishment in Mumbai and can print invoices there. Else, it will be billed to Delhi. Industry associations have sought for greater clarity on such issues from the government. Another issue is the e-waybill, required for the transport of goods across the country.
•The e-waybill has to be accepted by the seller, transporter, and recipient for the transaction to be closed as far the GST Network is concerned. Tax experts say that the reconciliation of waybills is a big problem now, with the recipient usually failing to accept the waybill, leaving the transaction incomplete. The e-waybill system will require a big change in behaviour for it to work, they say.
•A larger issue is that incorporating GST will require SMEs to overhaul and computerise their systems, since even dealing with the Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) codes for individual products will require a computer. The codes are up to 10 digits in length. The first four define the category and the subsequent digits specify the exact product.
•For example, Lay’s chips and Kurkure could have the same first four digits, but subsequent digits would be different. Such an overhaul of systems and the implementation of a new ERP system takes time. Industry players are complaining that with the rules only being decided upon on May 18-19, they will be able to finalise their software only by the first week of June, leaving barely any time for testing.
When can we expect tax rates to be made public?
•The tax rates are not likely to be made public in the next meeting of the GST Council. Experts working on ERP systems say there is no great urgency on this count, because the numbers can simply be plugged into the software as and when they are known without having to change the code itself. The rules are more critical in that respect.
•Also, revealing rates too early may lead to hoarding of goods that are likely to be more expensive under GST due to higher tax incidence.
•Knowing the tax rates of individual items could greatly help firms in their procurement decisions for the July-September quarter.
