📰 Next PSLV launch in November-December
Real problem is certifying a technology, says Kiran Kumar
•The next launch of the PSLV will be in November-December, ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said here on Friday.
•He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the two-day national seminar on Emerging Trends in Aerospace Technologies, AseT 2017, organised by the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
•Earlier, in his inaugural address at the seminar, Mr. Kumar said there was a real problem in certifying a system or a technology for actual usage. This was a problem faced by developing countries. Government agencies and industry partners could design, build, and realise products.
•“The real question mark is certification. Another problem is in quickly establishing a mechanism for translating design into product. There is a real need to adopt enabling technologies and incorporate them in the systems we build. Otherwise, technology will remain the forte of the Western countries. We need to identify technologies and incorporate them into our designs and provide cost-effective solutions to the nation. While there have been many developments on the aerospace front, nothing much has been done by way of designing passenger aircraft to be used for domestic flights,” he said.
•In his presidential address, society president and member, NITI Aayog, V.K. Saraswat said technology had to be consistently upgraded so that India was globally competitive. There was a need to accelerate commercialisation of technologies we developed. The nation faced a major lacuna in terms of design capabilities.
•The chairman of the AeSi, Thiruvananthapuram S. Pandian, VSSC director K. Sivan, AeSI secretary general Lalit Gupta and secretary of the Thiruvananthapuram branch A. P. Beena were among those present for the inaugural ceremony.
•The 68th AGM of the Society is also being held along with the conference.
📰 Strident Pakistan presses for UN envoy on Kashmir
Addressing the General Assembly, Abbasi accuses India of rights violations
•Pakistan on Thursday blamed India and Afghanistan for the volatile security situation in the region, while denying charges that it is harbouring terrorists who target both the countries.
•Striking a strident note against the neighbours and portraying Pakistan as a victim of terrorism, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also sought the appointment of a special UN envoy on Kashmir, and accused India of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
•Mr. Abbasi’s claims and allegations were refuted by both India and Afghanistan at the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In a strongly worded reaction, India said Pakistan had become a “terroristan,” and Jammu and Kashmir would remain an integral part of India.
•Eenam Gambhir, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India, said, “In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror. The quest for a land of pure has actually produced “the land of pure terror.” Pakistan is now ‘terroristan,’ with a flourishing industry producing and exporting global terrorism,” she said.
•A representative of Pakistan responded to India’s reply, naming National Security Adviser Ajit Doval for allegedly pursuing a strategy of aggression against Pakistan.
•The Pakistan PM told the UNGA that another strike by India on territory under its control would invite a matching retaliation. “…if India does venture across the LoC or acts upon its doctrine of “limited” war against Pakistan, it will evoke a strong and matching response,” he said, adding that his country had “faced unremitting hostility” from India.
•He said India was trying to “divert the world’s attention from its brutalities,” by ceasefire violations on the LoC. “The Kashmir dispute should be resolved justly, peacefully and expeditiously. Terming the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir the “most intense foreign military occupation in recent history,” Mr. Abbasi sought an international investigation into “India’s crimes in Kashmir.”
•The Pakistan PM said India has responded to Kashmiris’ demand for self-determination “with massive and indiscriminate force…shooting indiscriminately at children, women and youth,” adding that this “constitute war crimes.”
•Ms. Gambhir said Pakistan has been trying to dupe the rest of the world on the question of fighting terror. Islamabad has diverted international military and development aid towards creating “a dangerous infrastructure of terror on its own territory,” she said. “Pakistan is now speaking of the high cost of its terror industry. The polluter, in this case, is paying the price,” she said, adding that Pakistan’s “globalisation of terror is unparalleled.” “Pakistan can only be counseled to abandon a destructive worldview that has caused grief to the entire world. If it could be persuaded to demonstrate any commitment to civilization, order, and to peace, it may still find some acceptance in the comity of nations,” the Indian diplomat said. Mr. Abbasi had said in his speech that Pakistan’s counter-terrorism credentials cannot be questioned. “After 9/11 it was Pakistani efforts that enabled the decimation of Al-Qaeda,” he said. Mr. Abbasi said 27,000 Pakistanis have died in its fight against terrorism. “We took the war to the terrorists. We have paid a heavy price,” Mr. Abbasi said.
•Mr, Abbasi blamed Afghanistan for the security situation in the country, denying any role for Pakistan in supporting the Taliban. On the contrary, terrorists based in Afghanistan were launching attacks on Pakistan, its PM claimed. Urging Pakistan to adopt a “constructive approach” in tackling terrorism in the region, Afghanistan said facts disprove Pakistan’s claim.
📰 Hasina floats five-point peace plan
Takes centrestage at the UN with her call for action on Rohingya crisis
•Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has floated a five-point proposal at the United Nations to find a permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis.
•Emphasising swift action to resolve the crisis in her speech at the 72nd UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Thursday, she called for immediate steps to end the 'cleansing' of the ethnic Rohingya minority. She was at the centrestage at the UNGA this year, with the Rohingya crisis deepening along Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar, a crossing made by over 430,000 refugees fleeing violence in Rakhine State in past over three weeks.
•Hasina’s five-point proposal says: Myanmar must stop the violence and the practice of ethnic cleansing in the Rakhine State unconditionally, immediately and forever; the UN Secretary General should immediately send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar; all civilians, irrespective of religion and ethnicity, must be protected in Myanmar; for this, 'safe zones' could be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision; sustainable return of all forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar must be ensured; and the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission Report must be implemented immediately, unconditionally and entirely.
•She said it was the 14th time she was addressing the UN General Assembly, but this time she came with a heavy heart just after seeing the “hungry, distressed and hopeless Rohingya”.
•“Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from the Rakhine State are entering Bangladesh to flee violence. As estimated by IOM (International Organisation for Migration), in last three weeks, over 430,000 Rohingya entered Bangladesh. They are fleeing 'ethnic cleansing' in their own country where they have been living for centuries,” Hasina said, adding that Bangladesh is currently sheltering over 800,000 Rohinya in all.
•She proposed that the UN Secretary-General send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar where 'safe zones' can be built under the UN’s supervision for the protection of all civilians, irrespective of religion and ethnicity.
‘Take them back’
•Before her speech at the UNGA general debate, she cleared Bangladesh’s stance over the protracted Rohingya crisis at several meetings at the UN Headquarters in New York. At the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) Contact Group meeting on Tuesday, she demanded Myanmar take back the refugees and end ‘state propaganda’ that labelled the ethnic group as ‘Bengalis’.
•Hasina thanked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council for their attempts to stop atrocities, and bring peace and stability in Rakhine. She added, “We are horrified to see that the Myanmar authorities are laying land mines along their stretch of the border to prevent the Ronhingya from returning to Myanmar.”
📰 ‘It is for States to crack down on cow vigilantes’
The State governments cannot wash their hands of their responsibility to crack down on cow vigilante groups.
•A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, ordered the Chief Secretaries of 22 States to file their compliance reports on steps taken, including the appointment of dedicated nodal police officers in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, to prevent cow vigilantes, or ‘gau rakshaks’ as they call themselves, from “taking the law or becoming a law unto themselves.”
Five States filed reports
•Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat have already filed their compliance affidavits.
•Counsel for Bihar and Maharashtra said they would file their reports in the course of the day. All compliance reports have to reach the court before October 13, the next date of hearing.
•The court had on September 6 given the 29 States and seven Union Territories a week’s time to put in place a counter-mechanism to act against and prosecute cow vigilantes.
•“Let the compliance reports be filed... Nobody can wash their hands of [their duty]. We will give directions to all the States,” Chief Justice Misra said.
📰 Centre to hasten GST refunds
Govt. virtually rejects exporters’ claims of $10 billion in funds getting blocked
•The Centre on Friday termed as “wild estimates,” exporters claiming that working capital was getting blocked due to delay in Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds. However, it was working out a mechanism to expedite the refund process.
•“There are various figures also being discussed on the blockage of such (working capital) funds (post-GST), which are wild estimates.... (and) not based on facts,” an official statement said.
Duty drawback
•Virtually rejecting claims by exporters that about $10 billion worth of funds is estimated to be a blocked (till December 2017) due to the delay in refunds, the Centre said in respect of 66% value of exports, exporters had preferred duty drawback scheme instead of taking actual refund of input taxes in the pre-GST regime.
•On the mechanism for expediting refunds, it said, “We are trying to find a way of giving refund by linking form (GST Return) GSTR 1 with form GSTR 3B and, therefore, for the month of July, where form GSTR 1 is already filed, the authorities would be in a position to process the refund applications.” Therefore, the exporters, who have not yet filed form GSTR 1 for July 2017, have to file it immediately, the statement said.
•“Allowing refund based on GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 submission will ease up working capital and business issues for exporters who have had their funds locked up,” said Archit Gupta, CEO, ClearTax.
•The Centre said while the GSTN application for refund was getting ready, the Centre was in the process of finding other ways of giving refund, if necessary, through a manual procedure.
•In the meantime, the State and Union government authorities have been asked to clear the pending refund claims of Central Excise and VAT for the pre-GST period so that exporters will get immediate relief.
•Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said the projection of the refunds was made looking into the merchandise as well as the services export sectors.
•He, however, welcomed the Centre’s decision to allow refund to the export sector based on GSTR1 and 3B, as proposed by FIEO. He said expeditious settlement of refund claims of Central Excise as well as VAT will add to the liquidity flow of exporters.
📰 Tax trauma
Glitches in the GST regime are increasingthe anxiety among Indian businesses
•For a reform that was cracked up to be India’s biggest tax overhaul since Independence, the roll-out of the goods and services tax is off to a less-than-desirable start. Over 80 days after its introduction, the GST Network, its online backbone, is struggling to keep pace with the millions of invoices and returns being filed electronically by businesses across the country. The government has extended the deadline for filing GST returns for July, the first month of the GST era, twice. And Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has reiterated an appeal to taxpayers to not wait till the last day, to avoid burdening the GSTN. But even those filing returns well before the last date have struggled. It is clear that the network had not been fully tested for chinks before July. A ministerial group formed by the GST Council to resolve the GSTN’s glitches gave an assurance last Saturday that 80% of the problems would be fixed by the end of October. For a country that takes pride in its IT edge, this is a strange impasse. Critically, for an economy that is slowing down for multiple reasons, even more troublesome is the implication of these implementation stumbles for 85 lakh taxpayers now registered for GST.
•Exporters, for instance, have already alerted the Centre that the delayed timelines for filing GST returns (the last of which must be sent in by November 10) will mean that no refunds can be expected before mid-November on input taxes paid in advance and the integrated GST levied on goods they imported. By their reckoning, as much as Rs. 65,000 crore of working capital will get blocked, cramping their ability to ramp up capacity and raw material procurement in time for festive season orders from around the world. Terming these as ‘wild’ estimates, the government has asserted that many exporters’ funds were blocked for five-six months even before the GST, even as it said a solution to speed up refunds is being worked out. Those producing only for the domestic market are no better off. Therefore, expectations of a rebound in manufacturing activity may be misplaced. Moreover, in contrast to the Rs. 95,000-crore GST collections recorded so far for July, about Rs. 65,000 crore has been claimed as transitional credit (that is, taxes paid on stock purchased before the GST). On Friday, the government clarified this is not ‘incredibly high’ as firms had outstanding credits of Rs. 1.27 lakh crore for central excise and service tax levies on June 30. Though the deadline to file the relevant return has been extended to October 31, initially only those who filed by September 28 were to be allowed to revise their credit claims. While revisions will be enabled from mid-October, the tax department is already examining some of these credit claims, triggering unease among firms. Several revisions in deadlines, tax and cess rates, rules, clarifications and tweaks later, the GST regime is turning out to be neither simple nor friendly for taxpayers.
📰 From ocean to ozone, the limits of our planet
Transformative changes must be considered to keep Earth safe for the future
•The population of vertebrate species on Earth in the wild saw a dramatic fall of about 30% between 1970 and 2006, with the worst effects being in the tropics and in freshwater ecosystems. Destruction of species’ habitats by pollutants and land-use change are obliterating flora and fauna at unprecedented rates. In fact, the ecological footprint of humanity — the natural habitats, such as water and land, transformed or destroyed as a result of human activity — far exceeds the biological capacity of the earth.
•In an attempt to understand the natural world, its relationships with human societies and limits, in 2009, Johan Rockström and others from the Stockholm Environment Institute described elements of the biophysical world that link us together. Often regarded as a “safe operating space for humanity”, these planetary boundaries include loss of biodiversity, land-use change, changes to nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosols loading, ozone depletion, chemical production, freshwater use and, of course, climate change.
•In the course of 12,000 or so years after the last ice age, the Holocene epoch has offered a stable climate, a period of grace for humanity to grow and to flourish, with settlements, agriculture and, more recently, economic and population expansion. This epoch has since given way to the Anthropocene, the exact beginnings of which are debated, but which has led to over-reliance on fossil fuels, industrial agriculture, pollution in water, soils and air, loss of species and so on, which are devastating for many life forms and connected ecosystems throughout the planet.
Biophysical considerations
•Many of these conditions respond in a non-linear manner to changes. This means, for instance, that ecosystems that are stressed by their exposure to pollutants may not recover once the pollutants are removed. Or, some systems may collapse precipitously under conditions referred to as thresholds. We understand many of these thresholds and how they interact with each other, but not all.
•When ecological thresholds or tipping points are crossed, significant large-scale changes may occur, such as breakdown of glaciers in Greenland and the Antarctica, the dieback of rainforests in the Amazon, or failure of the Indian monsoons. Since these boundaries interact with one another and cause changes across scales, crossing a threshold in one domain can speed up or undermine processes in another subsystem. For instance, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increase ocean acidification, land-use change often increases GHG emissions, and increasing nitrogen and phosphorus deplete species biodiversity and freshwater resources and increase warming from climate change.
Boundaries and limits
•According to Mr. Rockström and others, we are already at critical levels of concern for climate change, fresh water, species biodiversity and changes to nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, which are reaching tipping points. For example, GHG emissions have led to average atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations being about 410 ppm. This is well above the 350 ppm level considered a ‘safe’ limit, and the earth is already about a degree Celsius warmer than average pre-industrial temperatures.
•Since publication of these studies by Mr. Rockstrom and others, there has been plenty of discussion, even strong disagreement, regarding the boundaries. Some scientists, such as Kate Raworth, have expanded them to reflect and include several social dimensions such as equity and gender justice that were subsequently placed in the centre of a schematic representation of the boundaries as a circle with a hole or as a doughnut.
•One may regard planetary boundaries as support systems for life on Earth or view them as expressing “carrying capacity” and defining “limits to growth”. The latter is a thesis that was originally published nearly half a century ago by the Club of Rome as a book in 1972. It described the situation we would find ourselves in with exponential population and economic growth. While the “limits to growth” argument was challenged for good analytical reasons, it still provided a lens through which to view the changing world of the 21st century. It also offered the idea of thinking about a system as a whole — systems thinking — not just as separate parts and feedback mechanisms as valuable processes in considering long-term change.
On sustainability
•The idea of sustainability has been embedded in the human imagination for a very long time and is expressed through our ideas of nature, society, economy, environment and future generations. But it became formally a part of international agreements and discourse when it was recognised at the Earth Summit of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.
•This systems view and the recognition of interlinkages among the social, environmental, and economic pillars of sustainability, and between biophysical planetary boundaries and social conditions, are essential to have a chance of keeping the world safe for future generations. It is telling that scholars who work on planetary boundaries regard climate change as one of the easiest to manage and contain.
•In thinking about these planetary limits then, researchers and policymakers should reflect on multiple systems and the linkages among them, and whether step-by-step or transformative changes must be considered to keep the planet safe for the future.
