Swiss support India’s NSG bid
But leave the door open for Pak. too
•Switzerland, the incoming chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), will support application for membership, but has left the door open for Pakistan to join as well. India, meanwhile, appears to be mulling its options over how strongly to pitch its case at the nuclear club.
•“We are of the view that it would contribute to strengthening global non-proliferation efforts if all countries having relevant nuclear technology and being suppliers of such technology were to become NSG members,” Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pierre-Alain Eltschinger told The Hindu in exclusive remarks ahead of the NSG’s annual plenary session in Bern on June 19.
‘Grossi process’
•Without referring directly to the “Grossi process”, Mr. Eltschinger said Switzerland would take up the issue once it took over as Chair. The “Grossi process” mandates the former NSG chairperson and diplomat Rafael Grossi to build a consensus among all 48 countries of the NSG, many of which resisted India’s membership bid at the Seoul plenary session in 2016, unless the country signs the Non-Proliferation Treaty,
•“Switzerland’s national position on India’s application to the Nuclear Suppliers Group remains unchanged,” the Swiss spokesperson said. “We support India’s application for participation in the NSG and acknowledge India’s support to global non-proliferation efforts. [As Chair], Switzerland will take into account the views of all participating governments and seek to guide the Group towards reaching consensus on the question of how to integrate non-NPT-States,” Mr. Eltschinger said in his written replies to specific questions, promising that Switzerland would handle the question in a “neutral, transparent and inclusive manner”.
•Despite the supportive Swiss position, announced when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the then President, Johann Schneider-Amman, in June 2016, India is yet to hold talks with officials at the NSG to push ahead with its membership this year, said a senior official of the nuclear body.
No clarity
•Speaking to The Hindu on the phone, a senior diplomat involved with the NSG said that unlike last year, where India had vigorously pushed its candidacy for months, and intensified efforts in May 2016, this year, the External Affairs Ministry and officials concerned had not clarified their plans.
•“India has yet to contact us with its plans ahead of the session, so we don’t know what New Delhi wants at present,” said the official who asked not be identified, given the secrecy the NSG mandates on internal discussions. Referring to the strain in India-China ties, over the Belt & Road initiative, China’ refusal to block Masood Azhar at the U.N. Security Council, and other issues including the NSG itself, the official said the NSG which works by consensus, could get log-jammed again.
•“There is a certain rigidity in China’s posture, and it isn’t helped by the fact that instead of improving, India-China ties seem to have gone in the opposite direction.”
•Despite Mr. Modi’s “positive and cordial” talks with President Xi at the SCO summit on Friday, there was no official statement on a change in China’s position.
Data protection law mooted
Proposal aimed at protecting personal info has been sent to PMO for approval
•The government is mulling a new data protection law to protect personal data of citizens, while also creating an enabling framework to allow public data to be mined effectively. The move assumes significance amid the debate over security of individuals’ private data, including Aadhaar-linked biometrics, and the rising number of cyber-crimes in the country.
•“The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEIT) is working on a new data protection law. A proposal to this effect has been sent to the Prime Ministers’ Office for approval,” a senior ministry official told The Hindu . Once the PMO approves it, the ministry will set up a “cross-functional committee” on the issue.
•“We want to include all stakeholders. It will be a high-level committee, and all current and future requirements of the sector will be discussed.”
•The official said: “We are working with two main aims – to ensure that personal data of individuals remain protected and is not misused, and to unlock the data economy.”
Beneficial data
•The official explained that a lot of benefits can be derived from the data that is publicly available, by using technology and big data analytics. “The information can be used for the benefit of both individuals and companies,” the official said.
•“The underlying infrastructure of the digital economy is data. India is woefully unprepared to protect its citizens from the avalanche of companies that offer services in exchange for their data, with no comprehensive framework to protect users,” Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in), a non-profit, said in an emailed reply.
No regulatory body
•Currently, India does not have a separate law for data protection, and there is no body that specifically regulates data privacy.
•“There is nominally a data protection law in India in the form of the Reasonable Security Guidelines under Section 43A of the Information Technology Act. However, it is a toothless law and is never used. Even when data leaks such as the ones from the official Narendra Modi app or McDonald’s McDelivery app have happened, section 43A and its rules have not proven of use,” said Pranesh Prakash, policy director at CIS.
•Some redress for misuse of personal data by commercial entities is also available under the Consumer Protection Act enacted in 2015, according to information on the website of Privacy International, an NGO. As per the Act, the disclosure of personal information given in confidence is an unfair trade practice.
•Mr Prakash further added that the law should create an “independent (potentially parliamentary)” oversight for all government surveillance, as well as a data commissioner's office with the power to take proactive action against violators.
•SFLC.in added that all stakeholders should get a chance to contribute, and that the policy should not be approached solely from the private sector’s point of view.
•Mr. Prakash added, “Privacy is a fundamental human right, recognised as such in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. India has ratified the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which contains an obligation to protect privacy. Control over one’s personal data is an innate facet of privacy. And every day, thanks to tracking by companies like Facebook and Google, as well as overreach by the government, we find this right being undermined.”
Linking of PAN to Aadhaar fine: SC
But court partly stays ‘harsh’ proviso
•The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the validity of an Income Tax law amendment linking PAN with Aadhaar for filing tax returns and making Aadhaar or Aadhaar enrolment slip compulsory to apply for a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card.
•A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan held that the proviso to Section 139AA (1) of the Income Tax Act requiring citizens to mention their Aadhaar number or at least their Aadhaar enrolment ID to the designated authority was “directly connected with the issue of duplicate/fake PANs.”
Not discriminatory
•It held that Section 139AA (1) was not violative of the right to trade and profession under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution insofar as it mandates giving of Aadhaar enrolment number for applying for PAN cards in the income tax returns or notified Aadhaar enrolment number to the designated authorities. Neither did the court find Section 139AA discriminatory. It said Parliament was fully competent to enact Section 139AA and its authority to make this law was not diluted by the orders of the Supreme Court that Aadhaar was voluntary. “We do not find any conflict between the provisions of Aadhaar Act and Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act inasmuch as when interpreted harmoniously, they operate in distinct fields,” the court held.
•It upheld Section 139AA (2), which makes it mandatory for citizens who hold a PAN as on July 1, 2017 and are eligible to obtain Aadhaar number to intimate their Aadhaar number to the authorities for filing income tax returns. Those who have enrolled for Aadhaar are also free to do the same.
•However, the court issued a “partial stay” on the proviso to Section 139AA (2), which mandates that those who do not link Aadhaar with PAN by July 1 would face the consequences of invalidation of their PAN ab inito — that is, the effect of non-compliance would be the automatic invalidation of their PAN as if it had never existed. Finding it too harsh and a trigger for inviting “very severe consequences”, the SC read it down to the extent that the proviso would not affect past tax transactions in case of non-compliance.
New law to unlock data economy
•“The underlying infrastructure of the digital economy is data. India is woefully unprepared to protect its citizens from the avalanche of companies that offer services in exchange for their data, with no comprehensive framework to protect users,” Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in), a non-profit, said in an emailed reply.
•Currently, India does not have a separate law for data protection, and there is no body that specifically regulates data privacy.
•“There is nominally a data protection law in India in the form of the Reasonable Security Guidelines under Section 43A of the Information Technology Act. However, it is a toothless law and is never used. Even when data leaks such as the ones from the official Narendra Modi app or McDonald’s McDelivery app have happened, section 43A and its rules have not proven of use,” said Pranesh Prakash, policy director at CIS.
•Some redress for misuse of personal data by commercial entities is also available under the Consumer Protection Act enacted in 2015, according to information on the website of Privacy International, an NGO. As per the Act, the disclosure of personal information given in confidence is an unfair trade practice.
Centre sets up 18 sectoral groups for smooth GST rollout
Group officials to deal with issues of respective sectors
•The government has set up 18 sectoral groups, comprising senior members from the Centre and the States, to ensure the smooth rollout of the Goods and Services Tax, it announced on Friday.
•“As decided in the 14th Meeting of the GST Council held on May 18-19, 2017 in Srinagar, J&K, 18 sectoral groups have been constituted representing various sectors of the economy in order to ensure smooth rollout of GST,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
•These sectoral groups are to ensure a timely response to the problems of their respective sector by interacting with and examining representations received from trade and industry associations, highlighting specific issues for the smooth transition of the respective sector to the GST regime, and preparing sector-specific draft guidance.
•The 18 sectors that will be represented by these groups include banking, telecom, exports, IT & ITeS, transport and logistics, textiles, MSMEs, oil and gas, gems and jewellery, government services and food processing.
•Other groups include those representing e-commerce, big infrastructure, transport and tourism, handicraft, media and entertainment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and mining.
•“The officials of these sectoral groups will deal with the issues and the problems of the respective sector(s) they represent,” the statement added.
Guidance, resolution
•“Concerned industry groups/associations or even individual industry representative(s) may approach the respective sectoral group officers with their problems, if any, relating to GST implementation who, in turn, will try to guide and help them in resolving the same.”
Proper protocol
The revision of antibiotics classes by the WHO is a welcome step to prevent drug resistance
•The revision of antibiotics classes by the World Health Organisation in its list of essential medicines is a welcome step in the global initiative to push back against antimicrobial resistance, the phenomenon of bacteria becoming resistant even to the most potent drugs. With a graded approach to the use of antibiotics, under which some medicines are reserved for the most resistant microbes, the WHO list can stop their misuse as broad-spectrum treatments. The Indian Council of Medical Research issued a warning two years ago, based on studies conducted in hospitals, that resistance to antibiotics was found in 50% of patients. A large number of infants were dying due to infections that did not respond to treatment. Antibiotics have had great success, extending the frontiers of medicine for over 70 years. But Alexander Fleming, who discovered the first antibiotic, himself foresaw the danger of relying too much on them. The revised WHO classification can mitigate the problem if the many issues associated with use of the drugs can be monitored and regulated. Within the realm of medical practice, the prescription of antibiotics is often guided by such factors as patient demand, competing alternative treatment systems, and even financial incentives. Close scrutiny of these by national stewardship programmes such as those initiated by the ICMR is needed. There are also environmental factors, including the widespread use of antibiotics on farm animals, that require more research to determine their role in building resistance.
•One of the key aspects of the WHO’s guidance is the availability of a first-line ‘access’ group of antibiotics at all times. Other drugs are placed under a ‘watch’ category as second choice, or as ‘reserve’ to be deployed as a last resort. Clearly, this system underscores the need for universal access to essential medicines both in the public health system and for patients cared for by private practitioners. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which has promised health assurance for all, must come out with a framework to ensure this. Access to speedy and accurate diagnosis is equally important in order to deploy the correct antibiotic early. While the medical community can be sensitised to its responsibility to prevent antimicrobial resistance, it will take enlightened policies on housing, sanitation and hygiene education to prevent new infections and the spread of disease-causing organisms: hand-washing, for instance, is extremely beneficial. Drug-resistant microbes pose a serious challenge today to treat, among other things, pneumonia, infection of blood and surgical sites, and meningitis. The quest for new classes of drugs goes on. An effective response demands scrupulous adherence to prescription discipline of the kind advocated by the WHO. India has severe asymmetries in the delivery of health care: rural-vs-urban, and poor-vs-affluent patients, to name just two. It will take good public health policies, sufficient funding and determined leadership to overcome antibiotic resistance.
The arc to Tokyo
The India-Japan nuclear deal is today less significant than it would have once been
•Seven years of rollercoaster negotiations over an India-Japan civil nuclear energy deal came to fruition on Wednesday when Japan’s Parliament, the Diet, approved the pact. Opposition parties voiced protest against the deal, highlighting concerns that India has provided insufficient guarantees for Japan’s right to terminate the agreement in the event of New Delhi conducting a nuclear test. Nonetheless, the ruling coalition pushed the accord through with a majority vote. The agreement is set to take effect in early July.
•Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe believes that nuclear exports are key to kick-starting a Japanese economy stuck in a holding pattern for more than two decades. For India, the deal represents hope that the 2008 waiver it received from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group might finally begin paying off given that so far it has had limited tangible benefits for the country’s power industry. The deal with Japan is also a necessity for enabling India’s bilateral nuclear deals with other countries. Key elements of certain reactors like the AP 1000 and EPR, including safety components and domes, are a near-Japanese monopoly.
Erosion of Japan’s might
•However, circumstances in the nuclear industry, both globally and specifically in Japan, are undergoing tumultuous changes, making the India-Japan deal less significant than it would have once been. Recent developments have diminished Japan’s previously formidable nuclear capabilities, calling into question its very survival as a nuclear exporter of heft.
•The most dramatic example is that of Toshiba, once a titan of the Japanese nuclear reactor industry that is currently struggling to stay afloat following the enormous losses and eventual bankruptcy of its U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse Electric. After writing down Westinghouse’s value (the U.S. company had a total debt of $9.8 billion), Toshiba declared a net loss of $9.9 billion for the fiscal year that ended on March 31. At a news conference, Toshiba’s president, Satoshi Tsunakawa, put it baldly, stating, “We have all but completely pulled out of the nuclear business overseas.” A decade ago, Toshiba was dreaming of a big global expansion when it bought Westinghouse for $5.4 billion with plans to install 45 new reactors worldwide by 2030.
•Hitachi Ltd., another nuclear heavyweight, also booked ‘an estimated ¥65 billion ($588 million) write-down for fiscal 2016 related to a stalled laser-based uranium enrichment joint venture with General Electric in the United States’. The company said ‘demand for nuclear fuel in the U.S. was unlikely to grow as strongly as had been expected’.
•Meanwhile, Japan’s third major, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is in trouble too. Its French partner, Areva, is mired in losses and undergoing a major restructuring. Areva logged losses equivalent to more than $700 million in 2016, marking its sixth year in the red.
•For the moment, Hitachi and Mitsubishi are not giving up on their overseas nuclear businesses. In February, Hitachi partnered with the Exelon Corp group to promote a nuclear power project in the U.K. And according to Nikkei, Mitsubishi has reached a broad agreement to purchase about 15% of Areva’s reactor unit, investing $366 million for the stake. This will boost Mitsubishi’s total investment in Areva to more than 70 billion yen ($636 million).
•Whether such a move is wise in the current context is questionable. In the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the nuclear industry is facing a global crisis. Stricter safety regulations have spiked the costs of constructing plants and ‘some countries have become more cautious about new reactors. Germany, for example, once a committed nuclear champion, has decided to pull out of nuclear power altogether by 2022’. Last year, Vietnam scrapped plans for nuclear plants thought to be a sure win for Japanese builders. And the feasibility study for a planned Turkish project is dragging on far longer than anticipated.
•In Japan there has been no domestic construction on a new reactor for the past eight years, since a unit at the Tomari plant on the island of Hokkaido came on stream in 2009. Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Toshiba are all focussing on repair and maintenance of existing plants (most of which are idle) rather than on construction of new ones.
Emergence of viable options
•‘The emergence of cheap shale oil and gas has made competition in the energy sector tougher than ever, while wind and solar power generation are also growing as viable, alternative energy sources’. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), just three nuclear reactors started construction worldwide last year, and only 51 were begun between 2010 and 2016. In contrast 20 to 30 new were being built every year in the 1960s and 1970s.
•The IAEA still expects global nuclear capacity to grow, until at least 2030, although it thinks the increase could be just 1.9% over the whole period. Faster growth will depend principally on the pace of demand in China, South Korea, eastern Europe and India.
•In India, the cabinet decision last month to set up 10 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 7,000 megawatts, comes against this backdrop.
•A recent Observer Research Institute study concludes that it is highly feasible for India’s installed nuclear power capacity to rise to 40-50 gigawatts (GW) by mid-century, up from its current installed 5.78 GW capacity. For Japan’s nuclear industry this is an opportunity that might not knock twice, yet even if grabbed unreservedly, it might still not be enough to revive the archipelago’s flailing nuclear ambitions.
