📰 Among the multiple endings
How Kulbhushan Jadhav’s fate is tied to the state of play in India-Pakistan ties
•The symbolism was inescapable. Two years ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an impromptu stop-over in Lahore to reach out to the then Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, during the wedding of his grand-daughter, it was Christmas Day, December 25, 2015. Recall the circumstances. Ten days previously, Mr. Modi had addressed the Combined Commanders Conference aboard INS Vikramaditya. He had declared: “India is engaging Pakistan to try and turn the course of history, bring an end to terrorism, build peaceful relations, advance cooperation and promote stability and prosperity in our region.” The Indian and Pakistani National Security Advisers, Ajit Doval and Nasser Khan Janjua, had met in Bangkok to work on the modalities for the way forward, so we can presume that the Pakistani Army was more or less on board. So when Mr. Sharif suggested to Mr. Modi, who had called from Kabul, that he drop by, Mr. Modi let himself be persuaded. It was so last-minute that officials had to scramble to find an appropriate gift, and in the end Mr. Modi landed in Lahore bearing the message of peace.
Back to square one
•Two years later, by permitting naval commander Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife to visit him in Islamabad on December 25, Pakistan’s deep state was signalling that New Delhi should consider this a return gift. But that message of peace was torn to shreds in that metal container with a glass panel where India and Pakistan conducted fishbowl diplomacy. The rules of engagement need to be rewritten yet again, this time in a way that insulates bilateral relations from the vagaries of Pakistan’s internal politics.
•Was the outcome of Jadhav family reunion, with a disrupted conversation and the visitors’ accessories confiscated, a failure of anticipation? Consider the circumstances. There has been a downturn in relations with Pakistan in every sphere, against the backdrop of another domestic political upheaval that dislodged Mr. Sharif from the Prime Minister’s post. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed Parliament that what eventually happened in the Pakistan Foreign Office when Jadhav’s wife and mother were allowed to briefly interact with him in highly restrictive circumstances was a “departure from the agreed understandings between the two countries in the conduct of this meeting.” The Ministry of External Affairs also declared that “prior to the meeting, the two governments were in touch through diplomatic channels to work out the modalities and format. There were clear understandings…”
•There is still not enough detail in the public domain on what exactly were these modalities and understandings that had been worked out diplomatically and how much ambiguity was inherent in the resultant format for either side to interpret. That Pakistani journalists were allowed to repeatedly attempt to badger Mr. Jadhav’s wife and mother, that no communication was allowed in Marathi, their mother tongue, that the footwear Mr. Jadhav’s wife was wearing was confiscated and sent for unspecified tests indicate the potential for further diplomatic mischief.
•But the larger point remains that Pakistan has not allowed consular access to Mr. Jadhav — that is, Indian diplomats in Islamabad have not been able to visit him in prison and record his version of how he came to be in Pakistan’s custody, etc. It may not come as a surprise if it turns out that Mr. Jadhav was indeed a spy, but even that needn’t detain us here. Nations spy on each other.
•The issue here is the message that Pakistan is conveying.
Bruising episode
•The question is: at the end of this bruising diplomacy, who is likely to walk away smelling more of roses? And certainly, it is not clear how all this has helped Mr. Jadhav’s condition or eventual fate, whatever conclusion the International Court of Justice may or may not reach. From the debriefing the Ministry of External affairs got from his mother and wife, it appeared to them that the alleged spy was “under considerable stress and was speaking in an atmosphere of coercion.” Moreover, his appearance had also raised questions of his health and well-being.
•Mr. Jadhav may well receive a presidential pardon, and be retuned to India. There may even be a spy barter, though this occurs mostly before their cases come up for trial and rarely afterwards. So long as there are spies among us, the script has many potential endings. Which one will we eventually get to see?
📰 We can’t despair, we can’t abandon things, says Sri Lanka’s R. Sampanthan
Sri Lanka’s seniormost politician on the government’s record on the political solution to the Tamil issue
•R. Sampanthan, leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka’s Parliament, is also the country’s seniormost politician, having been in politics for more than six decades. In the January 2015 presidential poll, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) he leads backed the President Maithripala Sirisena–Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe combine that ousted former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Three years on, in a conversation at his Colombo residence, the Tamil leader, now 84, weighs in on the government’s performance, particularly on promises made to the Tamils in the aftermath of a brutal civil war. He also reflects on the future of Tamil politics. Excerpts:
It is three years since Sri Lanka’s national unity government came to power with the overwhelming support of ethnic and religious minorities, including the Tamils. How do you reflect on that moment and your decision to support President Sirisena?
•I have not the slightest doubt that we made the correct decision in backing Mr. Sirisena. We were sick of the Rajapaksa government which had been particularly unjust and unfair to the Tamil civilians.
•President Sirisena had been involved with Tamil politics even before he stood for election. He was one of the strongest supporters of a just and reasonable solution to the Tamil question. He supported the constitutional proposals put forward by President Chandrika Bandaranaike, between 1994 and 2000. That, no doubt, influenced our decision. We were also influenced in our decision by the fact that Mr. Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe were willing to work together. For the first time, this provided an opportunity for the emergence of a multi-party consensus, particularly between the two main political parties, on the Tamil question.
•I have no regrets about the decision we made, though the Tamil people, and consequently those of us who represent them, expected greater performance from the government.
Assessing this government’s record, especially in relation to a political solution to the Tamil question and constitutional reform, what are the substantial gains made by the Tamils?
•The Constitution process commenced in 2016 to evolve a reasonable political solution to the national question and considerable work has been done.
•The steering committee [appointed with 21 members under the chairmanship of the PM] met regularly for discussions and submitted an interim report, which has been debated in Parliament. After the local authority elections [in February], we expect the Constitution process to move forward more rapidly. The process has been somewhat delayed because of certain positions taken by certain political parties.
•The issues that have been of concern to the Tamil civilian population are the release of [civilians’] land held by the armed forces, the question of continued detention of political detenues and missing persons. I will not say that nothing has been done. I would certainly say that much more could have been done.
•Some of the lands [previously held by the military] have been released both in the north and east, after we exerted much pressure on the government. Release of land is a continuing phenomenon. It is not easy, but it is happening. Even a few days ago, 133 acres was released at Keppapilavu in Mullaitivu. I worked very assiduously on that.
•In regard to persons detained, about 40-50% of them have come out of jail. On the question of missing persons — apparently there have been about 20,000 complaints — it is a very large number. What their families fundamentally require is some information on their missing relatives. Some conclusion about whether that person is alive or not. There must be some solace, reparation, and some forms of assistance that will enable them to come to terms with reality and be able to pick up their lives and proceed.
•The government has not yet addressed its commitments on the question of accountability adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, and co-sponsored by the Government of Sri Lanka in 2015. The Tamil civilian population is bitterly disappointed about the delay.
The constitutional reform process that the TNA is supporting, even prioritising it over war crimes accountability mechanisms, has slowed down with the many deadlines set by the government having lapsed. The debate is mostly stuck on abolishing the executive presidency, according Buddhism the foremost place and initiating electoral reforms, and little on devolution itself. Do you feel that the coalition government is letting down the Tamil people?
•We are not able to come to any conclusion on what would eventually happen. But if there has been no serious debate on a certain matter, it can also be for the reason that there is not much disagreement on it. I will not go into the nuances of the issue now, for it is well known that the Chief Ministers of all the provinces of this country, particularly those from outside the north and east, have been very strongly supportive of extensive sharing of power between the centre and the provinces. But of course, I will hold my breath until we see the final formulations.
Are you optimistic?
•I am not pessimistic. This country needs a political solution to embark on a journey towards genuine development and progress, based on the equality of all its people. In these circumstances, what we can do is to remain steadfast in the pursuit of these processes, towards an early and successful conclusion. We can’t despair, we can’t abandon things.
•Those of us entrusted with the responsibility have a duty to continue to repose at least a measure of trust in the process. We have to play a role that is responsible, pragmatic and oriented towards achievement of what is important for the Tamil people, rather than make a noise about everything and be a source of disruption and disturbance.
•What is the alternative? Do the people want the return of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government? I am not saying that is a good enough reason for nothing to happen, but one must realise that under this government, the rule of law is maintained, we don’t have the culture of impunity that prevailed earlier, and the independence of the judiciary and civilian institutions has been restored.
•When you take an overall picture of the situation, this is an environment conducive to the resolution of the issues pertaining to the Tamil people.
As Leader of the official Opposition, in what ways do you think you have been able to represent the concerns of Sri Lankans of other ethnicities and in other regions?
•I have not ignored that aspect completely, but it may be that there is an expectation from some people that I could play a more constructive role. I will not disagree with that view, but at the same time, I think the most critical issue facing the country is the national question. If this country has not been able to get to where it should, it has been largely on account of this failure. I think the role that I am playing in that effort is probably not appreciated sufficiently by persons who think differently.
The country’s ethnic conflict was provoked and intensified by competing nationalisms — though arguably unequal — of the Sinhalese and Tamils. Even today, the dominant discourse of Tamil politics continues to be nationalist and ethnically polarising. How do you see Tamil nationalist politics, often evoking the LTTE and its relevance to the post-war context? Can it speak to the apparent religious intolerance and caste discrimination within Tamil society?
•There are no doubts that there are certain fissures within Tamil society. These exist, I suppose, in every society.
•The Tamil people need to come out of this sense of them being second class citizens in this country and not equal citizens. They don’t have the same rights that the others in the majority community have. The war was fought for that reason. The fact that the war has ended does not mean that the conflict itself has been resolved.
•While I do think that there must be a greater appreciation of the need for balance and a cautious approach to different issues, there is a basic root cause that also needs to be addressed. If the new Constitution is able to provide the Tamil people with some belief in their future, these issues can probably be better addressed at that point of time than now.
The historic Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections of 2013 gave the TNA its first opportunity in regional government. Despite the known limitations of inadequate power devolution, in what ways has the NPC served the people of the north? There is an accusation that much of the funds allocated remainS under-utilised, with the provincial administration not passing necessary statutes.
•From all reports that I received and which I read perhaps the NPC could have done better. The 13th Amendment has its shortcomings, but more could have been done within its framework. Initially, the governor was being difficult, he was a military person, but since 2015 there have been new governors who are quite liberal and progressive. The NPC should have addressed issues pertaining to the people, their daily needs, in a much more constructive way than they have done.
Tensions within the TNA keep surfacing frequently, with some constituents accusing your party, the ITAK (Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi), of dominating the alliance. Could you comment on how the imminent local elections may impact Tamil politics and national politics?
•Local government elections are held at the lowest level of the society and it is possible that under the new Constitution there will be a list of local government functions, like a list of national functions and a list of provincial subjects. If the provisions contemplated under the new Constitution are adopted, local government institutions can become reasonably important.
•At present, I see people raising national issues at the electorate. I would think that a majority of the people would be supportive of the politics of the TNA, as of now comprising the ITAK, the PLOTE (People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam) and the TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization). Only the EPRLF (Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front) has gone out. I am reasonably confident that the people in their wisdom will appreciate the policies being pursued by the TNA.
And nationally?
•We don’t know what is going to happen. There are three main players in the south, SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party), the party of the President, the UNF (United National Front) of the Prime Minister and the SLPP (Sri Lanka People’s Front) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. I don’t think one is able to yet discern the trends. We have to wait to see how it turns out.
Have you thought of succession plans for the TNA leadership?
•I have not been really planning anything or having any definite focus on anyone or any particular course of action. I think it must play out over a period of time, as early as possible. Let us see what happens as we go along. I cannot be there forever, we need to have someone take over. It is not easy — you have to be cautious, you have to be patient and you need not be answering everybody, that is not possible.
📰 Sushma to go on tri-nation tour
To lay the groundwork for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit
•Beginning the groundwork for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit later this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore from January 4 to 8. The three-nation visit is likely to cover India’s annual plans for the region and include the launch of the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas for the ASEAN countries.
•“On all three legs of her visit, the External Affairs Minister will share with her interlocutors relevant information about the forthcoming ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, which marks 25 years since the establishment of dialogue partnership between India and ASEAN,” said a statement from the External Affairs Ministry announcing the January 25 summit in New Delhi, which is likely to be attended by the heads of governments of all the 10 ASEAN member states.
•The visit to Thailand on January 4 and 5 is significant as that nation will assume charge of India-ASEAN relations in mid-2018.
•Ms. Swaraj will discuss defence, political and economic issues with her counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, in Bangkok.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
•The visiting Minister will inaugurate the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas of ASEAN countries in Singapore on January 7 on the theme “Ancient route, new journey: diaspora in the dynamic ASEAN-India partnership”.
•“The Regional PBD is a large-scale event covering a wide range of sectors such as political relations, culture, connectivity, start-ups and science & technology. PIO delegations from all ASEAN countries, including Ministers, eminent personalities, business and socio-economic leaders, are participating in the event,” the Ministry said.
•In Indonesia, Ms. Swaraj and her counterpart, Retno Marsudi, will jointly inaugurate the second meeting of the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks.
•Ms. Swaraj is expected to discuss the modalities of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit with Lim Jock Hoi, the new Secretary-General of ASEAN on January 5 and 6.
•She will preside over the fifth meeting of India-Indonesia Joint Commission.
•Following the summit, the visiting leaders are expected to attend the Republic Day parade in the capital.
📰 New Israeli law would make it harder to divide Jerusalem
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the legislation “tantamount to declaring war on the Palestinian people.”
•Israel’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday requiring a supermajority to relinquish control over any part of Jerusalem, a move that could hamstring the city’s division in any future peace deal.
•The amendment bars the government from ceding Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem without approval of at least 80 of the legislature’s 120 members. But the law itself can be overturned with a simple majority, making it largely symbolic.
•The law also permits the government to remove outlying Palestinian neighborhoods from the city, a move promoted by hard-liners to preserve Jerusalem’s Jewish majority. They would be turned into separate municipalities under Israeli control.
•The Knesset approved the legislation in a 64-52 vote early Tuesday, with opposition politicians saying it would make it even harder to make peace with the Palestinians.
•Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally, to be the capital of their future state. Tensions rose after President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital last month, breaking with decades of U.S. policy and an international consensus that the city’s status should be decided in peace negotiations.
•Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the legislation “tantamount to declaring war on the Palestinian people.”
•“This vote clearly indicates that the Israeli side has officially declared the end of the so-called political process and has already begun to impose dictatorial and de facto policies,” Abbas’s office said in a statement.
•The amendment came just days after the ruling Likud party’s central committee called for the annexation of West Bank settlements.
•The steering body’s decision was symbolic, but indicative of the prevailing opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, which is opposed to the internationally-backed concept of a two-state solution. The Palestinians condemned that decision and accused Mr. Trump of emboldening the Likud party.
📰 Questionable remedy: on the National Medical Commission Bill
Key sections of the National Medical Commission Bill need a rethink
•The decision of the Lok Sabha to send the National Medical Commission Bill to a standing committee for a relook is the right one. First proposed in 2016, the Bill aims to overhaul the corrupt and inefficient Medical Council of India, which regulates medical education and practice. But despite its plus points, the NMC isn’t the game-changing legislation it could have been. One of its goals is to rein in corruption in the MCI through greater distribution of powers. This is sought to be accomplished through an independent Medical Advisory Council to oversee the National Medical Commission, the proposed successor of the MCI. But all members of the NMC are members of the Council, undermining the latter’s independence. This, and other concerns, must be addressed. Perhaps the most controversial provision of all is for a bridge course allowing alternative-medicine practitioners to prescribe modern drugs. One motivation could be to plug the shortfall of rural doctors by creating a new cadre of practitioners. But if this was the rationale, better solutions exist.
•The shortfall of MBBS doctors is partly due to the fact that many of them seek a post-graduate degree to improve career prospects. MCI regulations prevent even experienced MBBS doctors from carrying out procedures like caesarians and ultrasound tests, while nurses are barred from administering anaesthesia. Empowering doctors and nurses to do more is a reform many have called for, and that would have been easier to implement than a bridge course for AYUSH practitioners. Yet, the NMC Bill hasn’t taken it up. Another way to bolster healthcare delivery is a three-year diploma for rural medical-care providers, along the lines of the Licentiate Medical Practitioners who practised in India before 1946. Chhattisgarh tried this experiment in 2001 to tackle the paucity of doctors it faced as it was formed. Graduates from such a three-year programme would only be allowed to provide basic care in under-served pockets. Massive protests by the Indian Medical Association and poor execution derailed the Chhattisgarh experiment, but the idea wasn’t without merit. India has no choice but to innovate with health-care delivery models to tackle the challenges it faces. The trick is to base these innovations on evidence. There is plenty of evidence that MBBS doctors and nurses can do more than they are legally allowed to do. But integrating alternative-medicine practitioners into modern medicine requires a lot more thought. The government will do well to empower existing doctors before attempting more ambitious, and questionable, experiments.
📰 Doctors call off strike after government defers National Medical Commission Bill
It will go now to Standing Committee
•The Indian Medical Association (IMA) called off its 12-hour strike on Tuesday after the government referred the controversial National Medical Commission Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha, to a Standing Committee.
•The strike was to have lasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and doctors, who were members of the IMA and its associated bodies, were to boycott out-patient departments. “The strike is called off as the Bill has been deferred,” said K.K. Aggarwal, former president, IMA. “Our next step would be to convince the Committee of the many flaws in the Bill.”
•The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017, seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the Bill had been referred to the Standing Committee.
•He requested the Chair to ask the panel to give its recommendation prior to the Budget session, even as Health Minister J.P. Nadda told the Rajya Sabha that the NMC would be “beneficial to the medical profession.”
•The Bill proposes a government-nominated chairman and members, who will be selected by a committee under the Cabinet Secretary. The medical fraternity is opposing the clause, fearing that the body would effectively be run by the government. The Bill also allows practitioners of Ayurveda and other traditional Indian systems of medicine the licence to prescribe allopathic drugs after they have passed a ‘bridge course.’
•In its current form, the Bill does away with the MCI and bring in a national licentiate examination.
•The government claims that the Bill will ease the processes for colleges to manage undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Earlier, the MCI’s approval was needed for establishing, renewing, recognising and increasing seats in an undergraduate course. Under the new proposal, permission needs to be sought only for establishment and recognition.
•The IMA saidthat the NMC would not be “national” as it did not represent all States. In its merging of Ayush with modern medicine, it posed a potential threat to patients and was as risky as an untested medical “trial.”
📰 Rajya Sabha passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Amendment Bill
The Bill, which replaces an ordinance promulgated last November, was cleared by the Lok Sabha last week.
•The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which bars unscrupulous persons from misusing the provisions of the Code. The Bill, which replaces an ordinance promulgated last November, was cleared by the Lok Sabha last week.
•Concurring with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it was only in recent years that the government had chartered into the bankruptcy and insolvency area. “Therefore, for all of us, it is a learning experience. We encounter situations that we had not anticipated earlier, and as we move further, we will certainly require evolution as far as our laws and procedures are concerned,” he said.
•Addressing another issue flagged by Opposition members, including Mr. Ramesh, about the Code’s application vis-à-vis Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Mr. Jaitley said Insolvency Legal Committee was examining if separate regulations were required for the sector.
•Another major concern was the huge “haircut [loss on account of auction of assets of defaulting companies],” to the extent of 75%, being taken by public sector creditors. To this, Mr. Jaitley said it was for the creditors to decide how much haircut they wanted to settle for.
•Initiating the debate, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said there were flaws in several clauses. “One should have kept exclusion to a very, very small number, which definitely must be excluded. By making clauses so broad, so over-inclusive, practically everybody in the financial world is likely to be excluded.”
📰 Fears over FRDI Bill misplaced, says government
‘Bail-in won’t be applied to public sector banks, it will be used as a last resort in the case of private entities’
•In yet another clarification about the Financial Regulatory and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, the government has said depositors will be given preferential treatment in the event of liquidation of a bank, and the controversial bail-in clause will be used only with the prior consent of depositors.
•The clarification also said the bail-in clause would not be applied to public sector banks, and it would be a tool of last resort — when a merger or acquisition is not viable — in the case of private sector banks. The government reiterated its implicit guarantee for the solvency of public sector banks.
•“The uninsured depositors, that is, beyond ₹1 lakh, of a banking company are treated on a par with unsecured creditors under the present law and paid after preferential dues, including government dues, in the event of its liquidation,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. “As per the provisions of the FRDI Bill, the claims of uninsured depositors in the case of liquidation of a bank will be higher than those of the unsecured creditors and government dues.”
•Under current laws, deposits with banks are insured up to ₹1 lakh. Under the FRDI law, the Resolution Corporation is empowered to increase this deposit insurance amount.
•The FRDI Bill was introduced in Parliament in August 2017 and is under the consideration of a Joint Committee of Parliament.
‘One of the tools’
•“Bail-in has been proposed as one of the resolution tools in the event a financial firm is sought to be sustained by resolution,” the statement said. “Certain misgivings have been expressed in the media, especially social media, regarding the depositor protection in the context of the ‘bail-in’ provisions of the FRDI Bill. These misgivings are entirely misplaced.”
•According to the government, there is no risk of public sector banks being required to avail themselves of the bail-in clause because the government “always stands ready to take care of the capital needs of the public sector banks.” “Most certainly, it [bail-in] will not be used in case of a public sector bank as such a contingency is not likely to arise,” it said.
•“The implicit guarantee for solvency of public sector banks remains unaffected as the government remains committed to adequately capitalise them and improve their financial health.”
•The government said bail-in is only one of many resolution tools in the FRDI Bill, with others including mergers and acquisition of the ailing financial institution, and is to be used either singly or in combination with other tools.
•The statement said the FRDI Bill includes formal safeguards for the use of the bail-in clause and the protection of depositors’ interests that current legislations do not. “Cancellation of the liability of the depositor beyond insured amount will be possible only with the prior consent of the depositor,” it said.
•The bail-in instrument, as designed by the Resolution Corporation, will be subject to Government scrutiny and the oversight of Parliament.
•“Bail-in power can be used in a judicious and reasonable manner only by the Resolution Corporation and it will have to ensure that all creditors, including uninsured depositors, get at least such value which they would have received in the event of liquidation of a bank,” it said.
•In other words, under the new law, uninsured depositors will recover at least as much of their deposits as they would have if the bank had been liquidated under current laws.
•“In case of injudicious and unreasonable exercise of bail-in power by the Resolution Corporation, for example, where the depositors of a bank get less value than in liquidation, such affected depositors will have the right to get compensation from the Resolution Corporation on an order of the National Company Law Tribunal,” the statement said.
📰 Arun Jaitley notifies electoral bonds for political donations
Electoral bonds will allow donors to remain anonymous and pay political parties using banks as intermediaries.
•Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday outlined the basic contours of the electoral bonds scheme announced during the 2017 Budget, including their denominations, validity, and eligibility of the purchasers.
•“Electoral bonds would be a bearer instrument in the nature of a promissory note and an interest-free banking instrument,” the Minister said in the Lok Sabha. “A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond.”
KYC norms
•Electoral bonds can be purchased for any value in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹10 lakh, and ₹1 crore from any of the specified branches of the State Bank of India. “The purchaser will be allowed to buy electoral bonds only on due fulfilment of all the extant KYC norms and by making payment from a bank account,” Mr. Jaitley said. “It will not carry the name of the payee.”
•The bonds, aimed at increasing transparency in political funding, will have a life of 15 days during which they can be used to make donations to registered political parties that have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last election to the Lok Sabha or Assembly.
•The bonds shall be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in the months of January, April, July and October, with an additional 30 days to be specified by the Central government in the year of a general election. “The bond shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a designated bank account with the authorised bank,” he said.
•Mr. Jaitley told reporters later that the aim was to bring transparency in funding of political parties and elections. “The political funding mechanism developed over the last 70 years has faced widespread criticism as people do not get clear details about how much money comes, from where it comes and where it is spent,” he said.
PTI adds...
•When Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked what purpose the bonds would serve when the name of the donor is not disclosed, Mr. Jaitley said bonds would get reflected in the balance sheet of the donors.“Let me clear misconceptions, if any. I had announced in budget speech that political funding needs to be cleansed up. A very large part of donation coming to political parties by the donors, quantum and source is not known... electoral bonds substantially cleanse the system,” he said.
•Electoral bonds, he said, can be given to a registered political party, which has secured at least 1% vote in last election. That party will have to give a bank account to the Election Commission and it will have to be encashed within 15 days, Mr. Jaitley said.
•“(For) donors who buy these bonds, their balance sheet will reflect (the purchase). It will ensure cleaner money coming from donors, cleaner money coming to political party and ensure significant transparency,” he said. The Minister said at present, the donor, the quantum and the source of funds is not known. “The donor will know, which party he is depositing money to. The political party will file return with the election commission. Now, which donor gave to which political party, that is the only thing which will not be known,” he said. “Electoral bonds will ensure clean money and significant transparency against the current system of unclean money”.
•Only political parties which has secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last general election or an Assembly poll would be eligible to receive donations through electoral bonds, Mr. Jaitley said. Later talking to reporters, he said the 15 days time has been prescribed for the bonds to ensure that they do not become a parallel currency.
•“Every political party will file before Election Commission return as to how much money has come through electoral bonds,” the Minister said. On why the name of the donor is being kept secret, he said the past experience has shown that once the names are disclosed, there is a tendency to shift to cash donations. “The present system is unclean money and new system is a substantial amount of transparency if not total,” he added.
•The idea is to move away from present system, which is cash, Mr. Jaitley said. “This will substantially help a lot of opposition parties because in case a disclosure is made it will always be in favour of ruling party,” he said. “People who are expressing apprehension let them suggest better way.”
📰 How a British war memorial became a symbol of Dalit pride
Ambedkar’s visit to the battle site on January 1, 1927, revitalised the memory of the battle for the Dalit community, making it a rallying point and an assertion of pride.
•The Koregaon Ranstambh (victory pillar) is an obelisk in Bhima-Koregaon village commemorating the British East India Company soldiers who fell in a battle on January 1, 1818, where the British, with just 834 infantrymen — about 500 of them from the Mahar community — and 12 officers defeated the 28,000-strong army of Peshwa Bajirao II. It was one of the last battles of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, which ended the Peshwa domination.
•Babasaheb Ambedkar’s visit to the site on January 1, 1927, revitalised the memory of the battle for the Dalit community, making it a rallying point and an assertion of pride.
•In 2005, the Bhima-Koregaon Ranstambh Seva Sangh (BKRSS) was formed to keep alive the memory of this episode in Indian history and pay homage to those among the Dalit community who fought for their self-respect in that battle.
•From mere thousands in earlier years, today lakhs of visitors from across India come to pay homage at the site; there is a particularly massive representation of community members from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. One part of the tradition is that several retired officers of the Mahar Regiment come to do homage to this exploit of valour.
•This year, the Elgaar (battle-cry) Parishad, an event celebrating the bicentenary of the battle irked some right-wing Hindutva and Brahmin organisations, who demanded that the city police prohibit its staging at the Shaniwarwada fort, the erstwhile seat of Peshwa power.
The Dalit–Maratha rift
•Relations between the Mahars and the Peshwas, who were Brahmins, grew strained after the death of Baji Rao I in 1740, and reached their nadir during the reign of Bajirao Rao II, who insulted the Mahar community and spurned their offer of service with his army. This caused them to side with the English against the Peshwa’s numerically superior army.
•Dalit scholars say Indian history is often recorded from a Brahminical perspective, which has resulted in Bhima-Koregaon and other battles in which Dalits fought, not getting their due. BKRSS members, though, point out the dangers of the reductive view of the battle as caste conflict, and cite historical records documenting Mahars fighting in the Maratha army since the times of Shivaji, and even fighting alongside the Peshwa’s forces, including in the third battle of Panipat and the battle of Kharda.
•Some accounts say that Govind Ganapat Gaikwad, a Mahar, performed the final rites of Sambhaji (Shivaji’s son) after he was tortured to death and hacked to pieces on Aurangzeb’s orders in 1689.
📰 Factory activity quickens in December: PMI
‘Survey reading of 54.7 shows fastest pace of expansion in five years; GST pushes up raw material costs’
•Manufacturing activity quickened to the fastest pace in five years in December, bolstered by a sharp rise in output and new orders, according to a private sector survey.
•The Nikkei India Puchasing Managers’ Index registered a value of 54.7 in December, compared with 52.6 in November. A value over 50 indicates an expansion while one below 50 denotes a contraction.
•“The Indian manufacturing sector ended the year on a strong note, with operating conditions improving at the strongest rate in five years,” IHS Markit said in the report. “The overall upturn was supported by the sharpest increase in output and new orders since December 2012 and October 2016 respectively.” In response to the improved inflows of new business, job creation quickened to the strongest since August 2012, according to the report. “This was consistent with the strongest improvement in the health of the sector since December 2012. Notably, the PMI reading was slightly stronger than the average (54.0) recorded since the inception of the survey in March 2005.”
•At the broad market group level, growth was seen across all three monitored categories (consumer, intermediate and investment). Higher order book volumes and improved underlying demand conditions reportedly contributed to greater production, IHS Markit said.
‘Input cost inflation’
•“However, the sector continues to face some turbulence as delayed customer payments contributed to greater volumes of outstanding work,” Aashna Dodhia, Economist at IHS Markit and author of the report said. “On the price front, July’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) continued to lead to greater raw material costs, with input cost inflation accelerating to the sharpest since April.”
•Ms. Dodhia said firms were restricted in their ability to pass on higher costs to clients, which added upward pressure on margins.
•“Challenges remain as the economy adjusts to recent shocks, but the overall upturn was robust compared to the trend observed for the survey history,” Ms. Dodhia said. “This outlook was shared by the manufacturing community as sentiment picked up to the strongest in three months amid expected improvements in market conditions over the next 12 months,” she added.
📰 On the ledger: on fiscal consolidation
Expenditure data underline the government’s challenge on fiscal consolidation
•Eight months into the financial year, or until end November, the Union government’s fiscal deficit — the amount by which its expenditure exceeds revenue — had already overshot the year’s budget target by a significant ₹65,573 crore. And as in everything with numbers, there are several interesting insights to be had, some fairly straightforward and self-explanatory and others less obvious and disconcerting. One of the biggest contributors to the wider fiscal slippage has clearly been the faster pace at which total expenditure has grown. While the government had in the Union Budget provided for overall spending to increase by a modest 6.6% over the revised estimates for the previous fiscal, data for April-November released by the Controller General of Accounts show a 14.9% jump year-on-year. A look at the individual ministries and how they have front-loaded their spending shows wide variability with several ministries still significantly underutilising their budget allocations over the first eight months. (One of the government’s aims when it advanced the budget presentation by a month to February 1 was to ensure that government departments had adequate time to spend the funds apportioned to them in an optimal manner.) Similarly, revenue receipts for the eight-month period have shown an underwhelming 1.1% year-on-year increase while the budget projection was for 6.5% growth. Even if some of the sluggishness in revenue receipts can be explained by the fact that the current year has been a one-off, transitional period given that the GST regime was implemented from July 1, there are other pressure points that policymakers need to square up with. Non-tax revenue at 36.5% of budget estimates compares unfavourably with the 54.2% garnered in the corresponding period of the previous year.
•There is also the issue of how the government is likely to account the additional capital it has announced as part of the recapitalisation effort to bolster the financial health of public sector banks. There is the additional ₹50,000 crore in market borrowing that the government has planned for the fourth quarter — a move it has said will not significantly impact the fiscal calculus since it simultaneously plans to scale back collections from treasury bills. The fiscal gap has widened in spite of a healthy jump in non-debt capital receipts, which include the ₹17,357 crore the government received from the public listing of state-run insurance companies, and steady improvements in corporate and personal income tax collections. That the figures revealing the fiscal slippage have come less than two months after Moody’s upgraded India’s sovereign credit rating serves as a reminder that there is little room for complacency. With monetary authorities at the RBI having reiterated the inflationary risks that a worsening fiscal gap would pose, and private investment still struggling to gain traction, policymakers would do well to try and regain their footing on the crucial path of fiscal consolidation.
📰 Ministry gives final nod for Barak missiles, bombs
Nirmala Sitharaman clears purchases for IAF, Navy
•The Defence Ministry on Tuesday gave the final approvals for the procurement of 131 Barak missiles for the Navy and 240 precision-guided munitions (PGM) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), together estimated at ₹1,714 crore. The proposals were cleared by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Ministry said in a statement.
•“This PGM is a variant of the KAB PGMs the IAF has in service and employed by Su-30 fighter jets. It is a regular procurement through the revenue expenditure. Due to the value of the contract, the approval of Defence Ministry was required,” a defence official said.
•The 240 KAB-1500 PGMs will be procured from Rosoboronexport of Russia at a cost of ₹1,254 crore.
•The second proposal was the final contract for 131 Barak surface-to-air missiles (SAM), which are installed on all frontline warships of the Navy.
•Last April, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, had cleared the procurement under “Buy Global” category of procurement procedure from Rafael Advance Defence Systems Ltd. of Israel at a cost of ₹460 crore.
📰 Warming may turn quarter of Earth arid
‘Threat could be curbed if temperature is limited to 1.5 degrees’
•Over a quarter of the world’s land could become significantly drier even if global warming is limited to the target of two degree Celsius, according to scientists including one of Indian origin.
•The change would cause an increased threat of drought and wildfires.
•However, limiting global warming to under 1.5 degree Celsius would dramatically reduce the fraction of the Earth’s surface that undergoes such changes.
•Researchers from University of East Anglia (UEA) in the U.K. and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in China studied projections from 27 global climate models.
•They identified the areas of the world where aridity will substantially change when compared to the year-to-year variations they experience now, as global warming reaches 1.5 or two degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
•Aridity is a measure of the dryness of the land surface, obtained from combining precipitation and evaporation.
•“Our research predicts that aridification would emerge over about 20-30 per cent of the world’s land surface by the time the global mean temperature change reaches two degrees Celsius,” said Manoj Joshi from UEA.
•“But two thirds of the affected regions could avoid significant aridification if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said Mr. Joshi, one of the authors of the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
•“Aridification is a serious threat because it can critically impact areas such as agriculture, water quality, and biodiversity. It can also lead to more droughts and wildfires,” said Chang-Eui Park from SusTech.
