📰 In the database: on registration of marriages
A case for making registration of all marriages compulsory
•In October, the Supreme Court held that that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife who is below 18 years of age is rape. The judgment was interpreted as a strong warning against child marriage. Similarly, in July 2017, the Law Commission of India suggested amendments in the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to make registration of marriages compulsory, like births and deaths, as an effective antidote to social evils like child marriage, bigamy and gender violence.
•Instead of a standalone legislation to make marriages compulsory, the Commission recommended changes in the 1969 Act which would act as a “guiding principle” for States to legislate under Entry 5 of the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution taking into consideration the size of the population and sheer diversity of customary forms of marriage. However, State laws on the subject should be confined to the procedural, and not substantive.
•The inclusion of marriages in the Births and Deaths Act would supplement the domain of family laws that already exist. It would not aim to remove, abolish or amend specific religious/cultural practices and laws that are accepted under personal laws prevailing in India.
•The Commission suggested that the Registrar who is responsible for the registration of births and deaths be responsible for the registration of marriages as well. The Amendment Bill should provide that if the birth or marriage or death is not registered within the specified time limit, then the Registrar shall, on the payment of a late fee, register the death or birth (a) within a period of 30 days; (b) within one year, only with the written permission of the prescribed authority; and (c) after one year, only on an order of a First Class Magistrate. It provides for a penalty of ₹5 per day in case of delay in registration of “marriage without a reasonable cause”.
•If the Registrar finds that any entry of a marriage in the register kept by him is erroneous or fraudulent or improper, he may correct or cancel the entries after hearing the parties concerned, subject to State government rules.
•In a marriage solemnised abroad, and in which one of the parties is Indian, the Registrar shall verify it was conducted as per the laws of that country and the marriage satisfies conditions laid down in Section 4 of the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.
•The Commission called for village panchayats, local civil bodies and municipalities to create awareness about compulsory registration of marriages and to make marriage certificates mandatory for getting benefits or welfare like agricultural loans.
📰 Coup de Grace: on Zimbabwe's political crisis
The contours of a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe are still not clear
•Zimbabwe’s prolonged political crisis reached the boiling point earlier this month when President Robert Mugabe dismissed the Vice-President, Emmerson Mnangagwa. A battle to succeed the 93-year-old liberation hero-turned President had already been brewing within the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), with the old guard backing Mr. Mnangagwa, himself a freedom fighter, and ‘Generation 40’, a grouping of younger leaders supporting Mr. Mugabe’s 52-year-old wife, Grace. Ms. Mugabe, known for her extravagant lifestyle and interfering ways, has been vocal in recent months about her political ambitions. Mr. Mugabe was seen to have endorsed her when on November 6 he dismissed Mr. Mnangagwa. But Mr. Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, erred on two counts: he underestimated the deep connections Mr. Mnangagwa has within the establishment and overestimated his own power in a system he has helped shape. In the good old days, Mr. Mugabe was able to rule with an iron grip. But those days are gone. Age and health problems have weakened his hold on power, while there is a groundswell of anger among the public over economic mismanagement. So when he turned against a man long seen by the establishment as his successor, Mr. Mugabe left little doubt that he was acting from a position of political weakness. This gave the security forces the confidence to turn against him and make it clear they didn’t want a Mugabe dynasty.
•The military doesn’t want to call its action a coup d’etat, for obvious reasons. A coup would attract international condemnation, even sanctions. But it is certain that the army chief, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, is in charge. His plan, as it emerges, is to force Mr. Mugabe to resign and install a transitional government, perhaps under Mr. Mnangagwa, until elections are held. If Mr. Mugabe doesn’t resign, it will complicate the process. He has not been seen since the army took over the capital, Harare. Any attempt to hurt him could backfire. Even if he agrees to resign, the transition may not be smooth. However inept and dictatorial Mr. Mugabe’s regime had been, a coup will remain a coup irrespective of what the plotters call it, raising questions of legitimacy about the new government. Also, Mr. Mugabe can still tap into his support base among the black working class, which has provided him a buffer against public anger towards his government. Across Africa, he continues to be seen by many as an anti-colonial hero. His successor, who will be picked by the generals, will inherit huge challenges — a dysfunctional economy, massive unemployment, a broken ruling party and a united opposition. Besides, the military has shaken up the civilian supremacy over the armed forces by staging this coup. The biggest challenge for the new leader will be to make sure that the military stays in the barracks.
📰 The ASEAN outreach
As the region is reshaped by U.S. retreat and Chinese ambition, India must chart its own path
•The Philippines has been the centre of attraction for the last few days with Manila hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India and East Asia summits as well as special celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) leaders’ meeting and the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined these meetings, underscoring India’s commitment to deepening ties with the ASEAN member states and the wider Indo-Pacific region as part of the ‘Act East’ policy.
Centre of global politics
•The Indo-Pacific region is now central to global politics and economics and recent days have merely reinforced the trends that have been emerging for some time. China is the most important player in the region, and as Chinese President Xi Jinping made clear in his speech at the recent Communist Party Congress, Beijing is now more confident than ever of projecting regional and global power. In this, China has had the good fortune of having an administration in the U.S. that lacks seriousness of purpose and is unable to communicate effectively its priorities for the region. This makes this period of transition very significant for countries like India that have a stake in the long-term stability of the region.
•Addressing the 15th ASEAN-India Summit, Mr. Modi said India's relationship with ASEAN is a key pillar of its foreign policy. Referring to India’s Act East Policy, he underlined that “its centrality in the regional security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region is evident.” He focused on terrorism as well, suggesting, “It is time that we jointly address this challenge by intensifying cooperation in this crucial area.” In a symbolic move, all 10 ASEAN heads of state have been invited to be guests of honour for next year’s Republic Day function. Targeting China, Mr. Modi also assured ASEAN of “steady support towards achieving a rules-based regional security architecture that best attests to the region’s interests and its peaceful development.”
•The East Asia Summit, which includes India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Russia apart from the 10 ASEAN member states, also gave Mr. Modi another opportunity to underline ASEAN’s credentials: “ASEAN began in times of a great global divide, but today as it celebrates its golden jubilee, it shines as a beacon of hope; a symbol of peace and prosperity.”
•As China’s profile grows, and the U.S. continues to be unsure of its security commitments, there is a new opportunity for India in the region. U.S. President Donald Trump gave mixed signals during his Asia trip where his ‘America First’ policy was on full display.
For a balance of power
•Meanwhile, China has actually managed to emerge as a beacon of open and free global trade order. This has resulted in the regional powers taking it upon themselves to shape the regional economic and security order. On the one hand, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being resurrected without the U.S., and on the other, the idea of an Indo-Pacific quadrilateral involving Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. is back. Unlike in the past, New Delhi is no longer diffident about engaging with other regional players if it helps to further Indian interests in maintaining a stable balance of power in region.
•The ASEAN members and India together consist one of the largest economic regions with a total population of about 1.8 billion. ASEAN is currently India’s fourth largest trading partner, accounting for 10.2% of India’s total trade. India is ASEAN’s seventh largest trading partner. India’s service-oriented economy perfectly complements the manufacturing-based economies of ASEAN countries. There is, however, considerable scope for further growth. Formidable security challenges remain, and the two sides must think strategically to increase cooperation for a favourable balance of power that would ensure regional stability.
•India needs to do a more convincing job as a beneficial strategic partner of ASEAN by boosting its domestic economic reforms agenda, enhancing connectivity within the region, and increasing its presence in regional institutions. The ASEAN nations should be clearer and more specific in their expectations from New Delhi and nudge India for a deeper, more broad-based engagement. There is much at stake for both sides.
📰 An unsafe world
Global instability from proliferation and weaponisation may well be a reality
•The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) task at 60 — to balance the benefits of nuclear technology for human development against the irreversible risks to the planet’s survival — could not be greater. In the historic 1953 Atoms for Peace address to the UN General Assembly, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower proposed the establishment of the agency to harness nuclear science for peace. Eisenhower was apt to appreciate the rapid end to U.S. nuclear monopoly and underscore that the notion of mutual deterrence was a dangerous delusion. Nevertheless, the history of the Cold War and subsequent developments illustrate that global instability from proliferation and weaponisation may well be a reality, at least in the near future.
•As the world’s nuclear weapon states (NWSs) continue to flout their disarmament obligations with impunity, countries outside this elite club have felt encouraged to nurture their own big ambitions. The possession of the deadly bomb by four other countries, besides the five nations that founded the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), testifies to the impediments to restrict the use of nuclear energy for civilian purposes. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s defiance to expand the country’s weaponisation programme is only the latest instance of erosion of the NPT’s authority. Rather than engage diplomatically with Pyongyang, U.S. President Donald Trump is bent on ripping apart the 2015 agreement that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany brokered with Iran. Against this backdrop, the prospects are remote that the 2017 treaty to legally ban nuclear weapons could win support from the NWS.
•The IAEA Director General, Yukiya Amano, told the UN last week that lessons from the 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been incorporated into safety plans. But Mr. Amano also emphasised earlier this year that countries could not outsource the safety and security framework on the deployment of nuclear technology. That cautionary remark should not be taken lightly across the developing world, where a culture of safety and public accountability is lacking. This is especially critical since the share of nuclear power is expected to increase as part of attempts to reduce countries’ dependence on fossil fuels. Equally, the emphasis on nuclear science to promote the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals would be subject to the safety frameworks in place.
•IAEA member states have evidently been slow to adopt measures to enhance the safety (from terrorist threats) of nuclear material transferred within and across national borders. For instance, an amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material came into force only in 2016. The Fukushima disaster has brought into sharp focus major concerns over the management of nuclear waste, with potentially dangerous consequences for human civilisation and the environment over the long term. The issue will pose questions on the merits and sustainability of nuclear technology as a credible source of energy. Governments ought to be more transparent on these matters.
📰 Overreach: on the T.N Governor meeting govt. officials
Tamil Nadu Governor’s meetings with officials have no place in a parliamentary democracy
•It is an act of constitutional impropriety for the Governor of a State to review the work of government officials when an elected regime is in place. By holding meetings in Coimbatore to review programmes, the Tamil Nadu Governor, Banwarilal Purohit, has left himself open to charges that he has breached the constitutional limits of his office. Mr. Purohit met the District Collector, the Commissioner of Police and the Corporation Commissioner without any Minister present. The Governor has attempted to explain his interactions, saying he was seeking to familiarise himself with the administration and that he could appreciate its work in implementing schemes only if he got to know all details first hand. But this is hard to accept as a justification and his plan to visit all districts for a similar review does not augur well for parliamentary democracy. Article 167 of the Constitution says it is the Chief Minister’s duty to communicate to the Governor all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration and proposals for legislation. It enjoins the Chief Minister to furnish such information relating to the administration as the Governor may call for. If Mr. Purohit wants to understand how schemes are being implemented, he can seek details from the Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, instead of holding meetings in the districts. There may be occasions when the Governor may need to ask a top bureaucrat or the head of the police force for a report on a major incident or development, but even that should be for the limited purpose of getting an accurate picture before sending a report to the Centre.
•The political context in which Mr. Purohit is exhibiting his zeal to familiarise himself with the administration is significant. There is a sense of drift in governance in Tamil Nadu, and it is widely believed that it is running on ‘autopilot’. The Chief Minister’s majority in the Assembly is in doubt, given that the Speaker had to disqualify 18 dissident legislators to shore up his support within the legislature party. An impression has gained ground that the Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking to fill the perceived political vacuum, but is caught in a bind on how to go about it because of its lack of a political base in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the Centre is seen as leaning on the State government and the ruling AIADMK to help the BJP gain a political foothold. The prospect of the State coming under a spell of President’s Rule if the present regime formally loses its majority in the House is on everyone’s mind. Therefore, Mr. Purohit’s familiarisation exercise is bound to be read for signs of what the future has in store. Mr. Purohit will do well not to fuel such speculation. None of this, of course, implies that the Governor should refrain from taking an independent view of any matter or legislative proposal. But his functioning should be within the bounds of established norms and conventions.
📰 Anti-superstition Bill passed, with minor changes
Entire Opposition welcomes Bill
•The State Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017, popularly known as the ‘anti-superstition’ Bill, with minor changes.
•While stamping of mudra on the body, a practice in the upper caste community (Madhwa Brahmins), has been exempted from the ban, advertisements that offer miracle cures for diseases have been banned.
•In his reply, Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya said all suggestions given by members would be considered while formulating rules to the Act.
•The entire Opposition welcomed the Bill and suggested that more attention should be given to creating awareness about prevailing superstitions in various lower caste communities.
•Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar, C.T. Ravi, S. Suresh Kumar, Govind Karjol (all BJP); Y.S.V. Datta, H.D. Kumaraswamy, H.D. Revanna (all JD-S) spoke on the Bill and offered suggestions.
•While B.R. Patil demanded a ban on astrology and vaastu, Mr. Kumaraswamy sought a ban on conducting poojas in government offices. Mr. Shettar said the law should not be allowed to be misused by corrupt officials and awareness needs to be created among the public about the ill-effects of superstitions.
•Mr. Revanna suggested it was better the government postpone the Bill till after 2018 polls since passing of the Bill would bring more harm than good to the Congress in the coming elections. However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “The Bill will bring success to the party.” Calling himself a rationalist, he stressed that changing his car was in no way linked to a crow perching on it. Sometime ago, there was a debate on social media that he had changed his car after a crow sat on it, since according to a myth, it would bring “bad luck”.
📰 Govt. will uphold freedom of press in all forms: Modi
Giving voice to the voiceless is commendable, says PM
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the role of a free media was a “cornerstone of a vibrant democracy” and its contribution in giving “voice to the voiceless” was commendable, while greeting the press on the occasion of National Press Day.
•He underlined his government’s commitment to “upholding the freedom of the press and expression in all forms.”
•In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister appreciated the media for promoting Swachch Bharat, the government’s outreach on sanitation, as an example of its positive role in public discourse. “A free press is the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy. We are committed to upholding freedom of press and expression in all forms. May our media space be used more and more to showcase the skills, strengths and creativity of 125 crore Indians,” he said.
•“I appreciate the hardwork of our media, especially the reporters & camerapersons who tirelessly work on the ground and bring forth various news that shapes national as well as global discourse. The role of the media in giving voice to the voiceless is commendable. Over the last three years, the media has added great strength to ‘Swachh Bharat’ and effectively furthered the message of cleanliness,” he said.
•He flagged future trends in the media especially the growth of social media and the consumption of news via mobile phones due to changing technology, hoping that these would lead to making media spaces more democratic. “In this day and age we are seeing the rise of social media and news being consumed through mobile phones. I am sure these advancements will further the reach of the media and make the media space even more democratic and participative,” he said.
📰 Venkaiah for single media watchdog
Regulation should not become strangulation, he says
•Self-regulation is not working and there is growing need for a single watchdog for the television and print media, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.
•He was addressing the valedictory of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Press Council of India on National Press Day.
•“If there is self-regulation where is the need to go to the doctor? Press Council of India is only for print. There is need for a single watchdog body for both print and television media,” he said. He, however, added that “regulation should not become strangulation.”
•The watchdog was necessary to ensure that political and business interests of the owners of media houses did not affect news, he said. “News is increasingly coloured with views that are consistent with the agenda of the management.” A single watchdog has been a long-standing plan of the NDA government. Now, the Press Council of India oversees print and the News Broadcasters Association of India looks after TV channels. In the illustrious history of Indian journalism, Emergency was an aberration, he said. “Barring a few honourable exceptions, the press behaved like a handmaiden of the government.”
‘Credibility affected’
•Berating the media, the Vice-President said, “Credibility is becoming a rare commodity. One does not know what to believe. Reporting on same event one newspaper declares there was massive gathering while another carries pictures of empty chairs,” Mr. Naidu said.
•For a democracy to thrive, Mr. Naidu said, free flow of information was essential. “Democracy needs information and dissent but it does not mean disintegration.” There was an urgent need to carry the alternative views too. Before taking over as the Vice-President, Mr. Naidu was the Information and Broadcasting Minister.
•Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, in a crisp address, said upholding press freedom was the responsibility of every government. “Voices of media shouldn’t be suppressed and constitutionally it is our responsibility to ensure that media has the freedom to speak, even if politically I may not agree with these voices,” she said.
📰 Indian Bank to seek bids for sale of NPAs worth ₹1,100 cr.
Sale is without any recourse to the bank, says the lender
•Indian Bank has decided to invite bids for sale of NPAs (non-performing assets) worth close to ₹1,100 crore.
•Covering over 8,250 accounts, these NPAs will be sold “as is where is and as is what is basis,’’ the bank said. And, the sale is “without any recourse to the bank,” it added.
•The Chennai-based bank has invited proposals from eligible asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), banks, non-banking financial companies and financial institutions. It has set November 30 as the deadline for submitting the bids.
•The sale will comprise seven NPA accounts with a book balance of ₹25 crore and above worth ₹572 crore; 27 NPA accounts with book balance of ₹5 crore and above and less than ₹25 crore amounting to ₹308 crore; 36 accounts with a book balance of above ₹1 crore and less than ₹5 crore totalling ₹81 crore; 145 accounts with a book balance of ₹10 lakh and above and less than ₹1 crore aggregating ₹43 crore; 6,320 accounts with a book balance of ₹10,000 and above less than ₹10 lakh worth ₹56 crore; and 1,720 accounts with a book balance of ₹10,000 and above and less than ₹1 crore totalling ₹42 crore.
Top three
•The bank will shortlist the top three bidders based on the bid amount quoted.
•It could adopt either the e-auction process or could go for negotiation with the highest bidder as recommended by the asset sale committee.
•Though the bank has indicated the reserve prices for these NPA categories, the ultimate reserve price for each portfolio of accounts would be based on the dues on the cut-off date i.e. November 24, 2017.
•For the quarter ended June 30, the bank reported a lower net NPA of ₹5,238 crore (4.05%) against ₹5,552 crore (4.48%) in the previous year quarter. In the preceding quarter ending March 2017, the net NPA was ₹5,606 crore (4.39%).
•In a recent interview to The Hindu, Indian Bank managing director and chief executive officer Kishor Kharat said that the bank was attempting to bring down the gross NPAs to below 5% or at least in the range of 5-5.5% from the current level of 7% and the net NPAs to less than 3% from the current level of 4%.
📰 Govt. abolishes curbs on export of pulses
To help farmers get good prices
•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has abolished all restrictions on export of pulses to allow farmers to seek remunerative prices for their output.
•“Opening of exports of all types of pulses will help the farmers dispose of their products at remunerative prices and encourage them to expand the area of sowing,” said Law, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad after a Cabinet meeting. India produced 23 million tonnes of pulses in 2016-17 and the government has set a target to produce 22.90 million tonnes in 2017-18. The Centre has acquired 20 million tonnes at market rates or minimum support price.
•While lifting restrictions on exports, the Cabinet’s economic panel decided that the export and import policy for pulses will be reviewed by a committee of top officials, which would also be empowered to consider changes in import duties and impose quantitative restrictions on trade based on domestic and international production and demand trends.
•The committee will be chaired by the Secretary in the Department of Food & Public Distribution and will include the Secretaries in the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Revenue and Consumer Affairs. “It is expected that pulses production will be sustained and our import dependence on pulses will come down substantially. This is also likely to provide higher levels of protein to the population and work towards nutritional security,” said a government statement.
📰 GST rate cut: Centre doubles down on GST’s gains for consumers
Cabinet nod for National Anti-profiteering Authority; entity to ensure fair pricing
•A day after the Centre notified the latest set of cuts in the rate of tax to be levied on a wide range of goods as part of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of the National Anti-profiteering Authority to ensure that businesses pass on the benefits of GST to consumers.
•Coming well over four months after the new indirect tax system was introduced on July 1, the decision to set up the enforcement body marks the government’s resolve to ensure that the latest tax rate reductions approved by the GST Council on more than 200 items are implemented immediately by businesses. Crucially, the authority has been granted wide-ranging powers, including to cancel the registration of offending firms in extreme cases.
•“The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical Members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, following up immediately on yesterday’s sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption,” the government said in a release.
•“This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which ismandated to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices.”
•The GST Council, at its 23 meeting last Friday meeting, held that restaurants had failed to pass on the benefit of input tax credit to customers. by way of lower prices. It decided to remove restaurants’ ability to avail themselves of input tax credit while at the same time slashing the final tax rate to 5%.
•The changes including removal of input tax credit immediately spurred controversy, with some restaurant chains including McDonald’s raising their pre-tax base prices while keeping the final bill charged to customers unchanged, triggering a storm of protests on social media. “The government has brought down GST from 18% to 5%, but there has been a removal of input tax credit,” McDonald’s India tweeted in reply to criticism it received for raising prices. “Due to this, our operating costs have gone up. However, keeping customer convenience in mind we have structured the changes in such a manner that total amount paid by the customer remains the same.”
•“From an industry perspective there are lot of implementing challenges and operational issues as to how to pass on the benefit,” Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner at EY, wrote in a statement. “Industry would accordingly expect that detailed guidelines providing guidance... are issued at the earliest by the GST Council,” he wrote.
•“The ‘anti-profiteering’ measures enshrined in the GST law provide an institutional mechanism to ensure that the full benefits of input tax credits and reduced GST rates on supply of goods or services flow to the consumers,” the government said in the release. “This institutional framework comprises the NAA, a Standing Committee, Screening Committees in every state and the Directorate General of Safeguards in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).”
•According to the rules, if the NAA confirms that there is a need to apply anti-profiteering measures, then it has the authority to order the supplier to reduce its prices or return the undue benefit availed by it along with interest to the recipient of the goods or services. If this can’t be done, then the company can be ordered to deposit the amount in the Consumer Welfare Fund.
•“In extreme cases, the NAA can impose a penalty on the defaulting business entity and even order the cancellation of its registration under GST,” the release said.
•“The provisions of penalty for making excessive profiteering and even cancellation of registration of such taxpayers will certainly help in achieving the objective of establishing this body,” Aditya Singhania, DGM GST, Taxmann, wrote in a note. “The measure will certainly keep a check on inflation as it will help in monitoring the prices of the products for which rate cuts have been made.”
📰 Indian scientists among signatories to second warning to humanity by scientific experts from 184 countries
•More than 120 Indian scientists are among the 15,364 scientists from 184 countries to endorse the second warning that the world's scientists have issued to humanity: not mending currently unsustainable ways of living could augur “widespread misery” and “catastrophic biodiversity loss”.
•This is the first time that so many scientists are signatory to such a letter.
•The first warning, issued in 1992 and signed by 1,575 scientists, urged governments to take immediate action to prevent environmental degradation. Following up on nine environmental issues identified by these scientists, a team led by Oregon State University's William Ripple compiled current data on them.
•Their findings, published three days ago in the interdisciplinary journal Bioscience, show declines in freshwater availability and the catch in global marine fisheries. Biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming pace: between 1970 and 2012, the world's vertebrate populations declined by 58%. Forest loss has been tabled at 129 million hectares between 1990 and 2015, and both human and livestock populations have increased.
•However, there is also good news: ozone depletors such as chlorofluorocabons in the atmosphere have declined, proving that change is possible, write the authors. Their recommendations to “transition to sustainability” include halting conversion of natural habitats such as forests and grasslands, reducing food waste through education and better infrastructure, promoting new green technologies, and revising economies to reduce inequalities in wealth.
•In a country like India, there is a need for both immediate and long-term solutions, says co-author William Lawrence, professor at the James Cook University, Australia. “In the short term, it’s critical to limit further habitat loss and the expansion of new roads, mines and mega-projects into the last wild places, and to enlist the help and engagement of local communities wherever possible,” he wrote in an e-mail to The Hindu.
•Indian scientists, from institutions that include the Delhi University, the Wildlife Institute of India, the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature Research, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), are among the signatories to the letter.
•“Societies need to take into account evidence-based inputs from the scientific community,” says Rajesh Gopakumar, Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru, and a signatory to the letter. “As a scientist, I feel that the letter speaks about issues that are critical to address, especially in a developing country like India.”
