📰 The Asian ripple effect
China, Japan and India seem to be adapting quickly to the possibility of a post-U.S. world order
•The ‘America First’ approach of the Donald Trump presidency, buttressed by growing protectionism, has had the unintended fallout of pivoting Asia inwards, in search of new supply chains and markets. Asia’s three main pillars — China, Japan, and India — seem to be adapting quickly to the possibility of a post-U.S. world order. Even some heavyweights within the 10-nation ASEAN group, which have unquestioningly relied on U.S. power as the guarantor of their well-being, are feeling the strain of their umbilical relationship with the U.S.
•The signs are already unmistakable that Asia is seeking a “new balance” with the world’s largest and second-largest economies. India’s reset of ties with China therefore needs to be viewed as part of a larger Asian reset with Beijing and Japan, the world’s third largest economy.
•When Mr. Trump levied steel and aluminium tariffs on Japan, China’s Vice President Wang Qishan saw a fresh opening to reach out to Tokyo. Within days, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi was off to Tokyo on an unscheduled visit. The strategic economic dialogue between China and Japan was quickly reconvened. Mr. Wang’s visit was significant because under the shadow of Mr. Trump’s threat of sanctions, China and Japan began a conversation on two potentially divisive themes: China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy. It is likely that when Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang goes to Japan next month, there could be further discussion on President Xi Jinping’s blueprint of industrialising Eurasia through the BRI, and Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy covering an engagement with the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and with Asia and Africa. Significantly, both China and Japan, under the new circumstances, are not enamoured by a classic zero-sum balance of power game. In their ongoing dialogue, the compelling logic of geoeconomics seems to be winning over the obsolescence of geopolitical fundamentalism. After Premier Li’s visit, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will head to Beijing for a summit with President Xi. The cycle of China-Japan re-engagement is likely to conclude with Mr. Xi’s visit to Japan, possibly for the Osaka G20 summit next year.
•China is the key to a new wave of globalisation, with Asia at its core. But despite its economic heft, it is not in pole position to command a new Asian hierarchy. The brewing trade war with the U.S. threatens to undermine its ‘Made in China 2025’ project for achieving advanced digital manufacturing. China would therefore need solid partnerships with regional countries such as Japan, South Korea and India, as well as a free trade deal such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, to achieve further success. India is well positioned to forge a new geoeconomic relationship with China, which could be coordinated with Tokyo’s growing engagement with Beijing, to establish an extensively collaborative but multipolar Asia.
📰 ‘India, China are guardians of multipolar world’
Looming trade war with the U.S. could form the basis for a new bilateral bonding, says Chinese Foreign Ministry
•China on Monday asserted that Beijing and New Delhi are at the vanguard of a new wave of globalisation and are the guardians of a multipolar world.
•Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in response to questions regarding the upcoming informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan that India and China are “important forces in promoting the multipolar world and economic liberalisation, and as well as ensuring... peace, stability and development”.
•Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi and visiting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday jointly announced that a two-day summit between Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi will be held in Wuhan from April 27.
•On Monday, Ms. Swaraj met Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan. Mr. Wang is Mr. Xi’s right hand man, and plays a key role in imparting strategic direction to Chinese foreign policy, including Beijing’s relations with the United States and Japan.
Sushma calls on Xi
•Local media reports said that Mr. Wang steers the newly formed Central Foreign Affairs Commission, with politburo member Yang Jiechi as its director.
•Later, Ms. Swaraj also called on Mr. Xi, as part of a delegation of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
•Mr. Lu highlighted the growing protectionism in the world, which included a brewing trade war with the United States, as the new basis for bonding China and India. Mr. Lu pointed out that “as newly emerging markets as well as developing countries with big populations... we believed the two countries (India and China) will continue to uphold the globalisation so that it is more inclusive”.
•In the light of a “lot of shared interests, concerns and positions”, the two leaders in their meeting in Wuhan will take of long view of their ties, and tailor China-India relations to impact the evolving international situation. Underscoring the global impact of the unprecedented summit, he stressed that President Xi and Prime Minister Modi “will discuss the latest trends of the world so (that) there is a stable global development”.
📰 RS Chairman rejects motion against Chief Justice Misra
Opposition petition based on suspicion, conjectures and assumptions: Venkaiah
•Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday refused to admit the motion for removal of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, a first in India’s constitutional history.
•Mr. Naidu ruled that the Opposition’s petition was based on “suspicion, conjectures and assumptions, and doesn’t constitute proof beyond reasonable doubt.”
Cong. to move court
•Former Law Minister Kapil Sibal, addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, responded by announcing that the party would challenge the “unprecedented, ill-advised and illegal order” in the Supreme Court.
•Mr. Naidu, in his 10-page order, dealt with the five charges of “misbehaviour” against the CJI and noted that the Opposition was “unsure” of its own case.
•“The Honorable Members of Parliament, who have presented the petition, are unsure of their own case. Page 1 of the petition uses phrases such as ‘the facts and circumstances of the Prasad Education Trust show prima facie evidence that the Chief Justice of India may have been involved in a case of illegal gratification’.”
•“The motion further states with regard to the Chief Justice of India that ‘he too was likely to fall under the scope of investigation.’ It further states that the Chief Justice of India ‘appears to have ante-dated an administrative order.’ I am mentioning this fact because the language used by the Honorable members of Parliament themselves indicate a mere suspicion, conjecture or an assumption.”
•“The same certainly does not constitute proof beyond reasonable doubt, which is required in a case of ‘proved misbehaviour’ under Article 124 of the Constitution. Conversations between third party with dubious credentials, which have been extensively relied upon, cannot themselves constitute any material evidence against the office of Chief Justice of India.”
•As for the charge of the CJI “arbitrarily assigning politically sensitive cases to select judges,” Mr. Naidu quoted a five-judge Bench order of the SC that reiterates the CJI as being ‘master of the roster.’
📰 ‘Cooperation can resolve Mahanadi dispute’
Experts urge warring Odisha, Chhattisgarh to discuss contentious issues
•With the dispute over Mahanadi river water sharing between Odisha and Chhattisgarh reaching a flashpoint, experts and civil society groups have urged the two governments to discuss all the contentious issues for a meaningful solution.
•At the second Odisha river conference, which concluded on Monday, experts said competitive politics over the Mahanadi water sharing was only making the matter complicated.
•A group of civil society organisations, river and water experts and academics from across the country and the two States gathered here to build an Inter-State Cooperation Framework for the resolution of the Mahanadi river water dispute.
Politics over conflicts
•“There have been a lot of politics and inter-State river water conflicts in the country. But in the process of fighting, let the rights of the river as an ecological entity not get snatched. While the dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh is rife, it is unfortunate that both the States are treating the Mahanadi as a commodity and not a natural resource,” said Ranjan Panda, the convenor of Water Initiatives Odisha.
•“No doubt Chhattisgarh has constructed many dams and barrages without the consent of Odisha and has obstructed a lot of water, but that does not mean we can conclude that Chhattisgarh has siphoned off water from Odisha’s share,” said Mr. Panda.
•“We need a comprehensive understanding and analysis of the impacts of all these structures and availability of water in the basin. Let the tribunal decide how to make such an analysis and instruct Chhattisgarh to stop these obstructions if they are illegal,” Mr. Panda said, urging the two States not to close the door on dialogue.
•Internationally renowned climate change expert Saroj Dash hoped good sense would prevail and the two States would climb down from their stand and make space for dialogue. “The premise for the discussion should be cooperation, not conflict,” Mr. Dash said.
•“We don’t need either Odisha-centric or Chhattisgarh-centric approach. People’s rights on the river should be the guiding principle for dialogue,” said Premananda Panda, an academic.
•Mahanadi, the sixth largest river in India, originates from Chhattisgarh and enters the Bay of Bengal travelling 851 km, of which 357 km lies in Chhattisgarh and 494 km in Odisha. Odisha has been grumbling that the Mahanadi is witnessing an 80% reduction of water flow in non-monsoon months while Chhattisgarh says it is only storing river water.
📰 Finance Ministers to discuss wider range of issues
For a joint fight on lopsided terms of Finance Commission
•To forge a unified stand against what the southern States see as a lopsided Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 15th Finance Commission, the horizons of the second edition of the Finance Ministers conclave are being widened to pave way for the participation of other States such as Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab and Delhi. Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which skipped the first meeting at Thiruvananthapuram, are also expected to take part in the meeting to be held in the city on May 7. The meeting will also decide the course of action such as submitting a representation to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley or President Ramnath Kovind.
•Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac called on his Andhra Pradeshcounterpart Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Sunday to discuss the agenda.
•At a press conference on Monday, Mr. Thomas Isaac said every State, including the BJP-ruled ones, would be at the receiving end if the ToR were to be considered. The ToR was a deliberate attempt to forcibly impose conditions on and cut down tax devolutions. It was expected that States would lose about ₹80,000 crore per annum, he said.
•The Centre has plans to do away with the revenue deficit grant, a constitutional right of the States. Their fiscal autonomy was a question as the Centre wants to narrow down their borrowing limit to 1.7% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from 3% under the Fiscal Responsibility Management (FRBM) Act, he said.
Glorified municipalities
•“The Centre is attempting to reduce the States as glorified municipalities with its ill-conceived ToR,” he said. “The BJP-ruled States should understand the realities.”
•Tamil Nadu would be the worst affected by the ToR’s recommendation to use the 2011 census, he said. “Tamil Nadu is still a strange case for us. We still don’t understand why it skipped the first conference. It has, nevertheless, lodged its protest against the ToR.”
•Telangana did not attend with an apprehension that it was a south-north division. We clarified the purpose of the conclave. “This time, Telangana is expected to participate.”
•To a question, Mr. Isaac said the States would reduce the ad valorem tax on petroleum products if the Centre was ready to compensate the loss to that extent. Mere appeals to the States to reduce the tax would not suffice. The Centre should also bring down duties on petroleum products.
📰 Reject death penalty ordinance: activists
Slam populism over systemic reform
•Jurists, social activists and families of child rape survivors have urged parliamentarians to reject the ordinance on death penalty for rape of girls below 12 years and condemned it as a “populist move” which will prove “disastrous” for the safety of children.
•Pointing out that the punishment prescribed for rape of children below 12 years under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is “stringent, sufficient and proportionate”, they said the focus should be on reform of the criminal justice system so that trials can be completed in a time-bound manner and perpetrators do not walk free.
•President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated the Ordinance on Sunday, which will have to be ratified by Parliament within six weeks.
‘Diverts attention’
•“Death penalty diverts attention from problems ailing the criminal justice system such as poor investigation, lack of crime prevention and abuse of rights of victims,” said former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A.P. Shah at a press conference on Monday.
•He referred to the poor conviction rate of 24% for cases under the POCSO Act and a high pendency of 89.6% and said there was a need to address these flaws.
•“I appeal to all MPs to reject this law as it will cause a considerable harm to children. It is more of a political decision rather than a step to fight the menace of sexual violence against children,” Justice Shah said.
•Lawyer Vrinda Grover said the provision of fast track courts in the Ordinance is misleading as there are not enough judges. Without investing in more judges it will be impossible to finish trials in two months, as laid down in the Ordinance, she said.
📰 A summer of gathering discontent
The genie of Dalit unrest has escaped from the bottle of social control. We must understand why
•At the First Round Table Conference in 1930, B.R. Ambedkar reminded his audience: “The men who fought with Clive in the battle of Plassey were the Dusads, and the Dusads are Untouchables. The men who fought in the battle of Koregaon were the Mahars, and the Mahars are Untouchables. Thus in the first battle and the last battle (1757-1818) it was the Untouchables who fought on the side of the British and helped them conquer India.”
•The battle of Koregaon was fought on January 1, 1818, between the upper caste army of the Peshwa empire of the Marathas on one side, and the East India Company’s army manned by Mahars and their British officers on the other. The result is viewed with mixed emotions in today’s India. It is easy to say that an Indian empire lost to the British company. But it is difficult to not acknowledge that probably the Indian empire lost because of its insistence on treating fellow Indians as untouchables.
In Ambedkar’s footsteps
•In pre-independent India, as part of his movement on behalf of the depressed classes, Ambedkar used to commemorate the victory of the battle of Koregaon, and often visited the site of the battle itself. That tradition of celebrating the rare triumph of broken men, over the twice-born, has been followed without interruption even after Independence.
•Two hundred years after that battle, no lessons appear to have been learnt. New year this time began with the bicentennial celebrations of the “victory” of the lower castes being attacked by mobs led by upper-caste leaders. The Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra, which is often called the new Peshwai, seemed to have done enough on New Year’s Day to justify that label. The leaders of the anti-Dalit violence were allowed to roam free and Dalits are even today agitating for the arrest of Sambhaji Bhide, who is said to be one of the principal instigators of the violence.
•Anti-Dalit violence is not limited to Maharashtra alone. On February 15, a retired revenue officer and Dalit activist, Bhanubhai Vankar immolated himself in the District Collectorate of Patan, north Gujarat, to protest against the State government’s failure to regularise ownership of land tilled by a Dalit. Also in Gujarat, on March 30 a 21-year-old Dalit youth called Pradip Rathod, of Timbi village in Bhavnagar district, was killed allegedly by upper caste men for owning and riding a horse. Around the same time, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a petition of a Dalit man, Sanjay Kumar Jatav, who had sought its protection to ride a horse at his baarat (wedding procession) around a village in western Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj district. An administrative solution was sought to be brokered by the district administrator to allow Sanjay to arrive on horseback at his marriage. At least five Dalit MPs from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have publicly voiced misgivings about the Central and State governments’ handling of Dalit issues.
•Into this bubbling caste cauldron, on March 20, came the Supreme Court judgment in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan v. the State of Maharashtra. The court in effect, defanged the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The judgment directed, “in respect of offences under the Atrocities Act, no arrest may be effected, if an accused person is a public servant, without written permission of the appointing authority and if such a person is not a public servant, without written permission of the Senior Superintendent of Police of the District… As and when a person arrested is produced before the Magistrate, the Magistrate must apply his mind to the reasons recorded and further detention should be allowed only if the reasons recorded are found to be valid. To avoid false implication, before FIR is registered, preliminary enquiry may be made whether the case falls in the parameters of the Atrocities Act and is not frivolous or motivated.”
Outpouring of anger
•Notwithstanding the government’s feeble protestations of not being responsible and despite filing an immediate review petition, the judgment was perceived as the straw that broke the camel’s back. A nationwide bandh in the first week of April saw an outpouring of Dalit anger that resulted in at least 10 deaths, mostly protesters. Protests had to be put down with the heavy hand of the state. The genie of caste unrest has however escaped from the bottle of social control. There has been a counter-mobilisation to do away with caste-based reservations in favour of the Scheduled Castes. The nation stands teetering on the precipice of a hot summer of discontent. It appears, as Ambedkar put it in his last address to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, that “those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so laboriously built up.”
•He had prophetically warned: “On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value.”
•It is an inescapable task of nation-building to seek to restore equal value to each individual who has been rendered less than a whole by socially assigned caste fractions. Ambedkar’s postulate for Dalit and Savarna alike was: “So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.” He warned: “It is not enough to be electors only. It is necessary to be law-makers; otherwise those who can be law-makers will be the masters of those who can only be electors.”
•Politics reflects society. From the days of the Poona Pact of 1932, Dalits have been co-opted into the power structure on terms dictated by others. They have been given a share of the pie, but never the rights to distribute or allocate the pie. It took nearly 50 years after Independence before a subaltern party headed by Kanshi Ram, managed to install a Dalit Chief Minister in its own right. That “miracle of democracy”, to use P.V. Narasimha Rao’s felicitous phrase, grew into a full majority in 2007 with Mayawati serving a five-year term as Chief Minister till 2012.
•In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, despite a largely intact vote share, her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) failed to win a single seat in U.P. Dalit representation even in the reserved seats was provided by BJP members, many of whom had been with the BSP earlier. In terms of political power, Dalits today are no more independent wielders, but have been subordinated to their assigned roles within the Hindutva umbrella.
Solidarity of the oppressed
•The wilting of the Dalit political clout has simultaneously seen an increase in the use of legal and illegal force against them, by those who think that they have at last regained their rightful roles of dominance. In response, attempts are now being made to harness the Dalit vote to the votes of others who feel equally alienated. Immediate results have followed, in the form of victories in by-elections for the Lok Sabha from Phulpur and Gorakhpur, which were constituencies earlier represented by the current Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister, respectively. Retribution came in the Rajya Sabha elections, when the defeat of a BSP candidate also called Bhimrao Ambedkar was loudly hailed as the revenge of Chanakyaniti.
•Political power, however, cannot be an end in itself. The attempt must be to bring about a far more equitable distribution of political and social power than has hitherto happened. That power must be used to achieve social transformation and cultural change for an egalitarian India where Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are available to all. We must strive to achieve “a just society… in which ascending sense of reverence and descending sense of contempt is dissolved into the creation of a compassionate society”.
📰 Jurists divided on Venkaiah Naidu’s act
‘Merits of charges have to be decided by Inquiry Committee’
•Former Supreme Court judges and jurists are divided on whether Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu “pre-determined” the notice of motion to remove Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
•Section 3 (1) (b) of the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968 is silent on whether the Rajya Sabha Chairman or Lok Sabha Speaker could refuse or admit a motion on the merits of the charges.
•Justice V. Gopala Gowda (retd), former Supreme Court judge, said the law trusted the Rajya Sabha Chairman to exercise his discretion judiciously.
•Justice Gowda said the Chairman was only clothed with “substantive procedural power” to see whether the signatures of a minimum 50 MPs were there, whether they are genuine, etc. The merits of the charges have to be decided by the Inquiry Committee.
•Justice Gowda however said the Chairman’s order was judicially reviewable. “Every citizen has power to go to the court under Articles 32 or 226 of the Constitution,” he said.
Grounds for notice
•But former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap disagreed with Justice Gowda. “The job of the Chairman is to see whether there is a prima facie case, whether the notice for motion is based on substantial grounds, before admitting or rejecting. Now if there is no prima facie case and they (parliamentarians) went public with the charges, obviously, the Chairman is fully justified in rejecting the notice,” he said.
•Legal scholar Upendra Baxi explained that the power of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker to refuse or admit a notice for motion to remove a judge is derived from Article 124 (4), which had asked Parliament to make a law — Judges Inquiry Act of 1968 — for the removal of judges.
•“The Chairman or the Speaker look at the bona fide of the motion to see if the judge has prima facie committed alleged acts of mala fide. The Speaker or Chairman is the Master of his House. His/her order to admit or refuse a motion would be given after application of mind. This means, basically, an assertion that says ‘nobody can look behind my order. My order is final. I have to manage the House. You have to trust me’,” Dr. Baxi said.
•He said if a plea challenging the Chairman's decision is filed in court, the court has four options. First, it could dismiss the petition outright on the grounds of Separation of Powers – Chairman and Speaker are independent co-constitutional authorities. The motion is a matter between the members of the House and the Presiding officers. Second, the court could agree with the Chairman that no prima facie case has been made. Third, the court could say that members have not proved the alleged mala fides in the ruling. Finally, it could hear and decide as per the Constitution and the law.
📰 SC notice to govt. on petition to outlaw Section 377
Plea seeks inclusion of ‘right to choice of sexual orientation’ as a fundamental right of the Constitution
•The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to respond to a plea by a hotelier to strike down the colonial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality.
•A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra issued notice to the Centre on the plea by the Lalit Suri hospitality group head Kesav Suri, seeking the ‘Right to choice of sexual orientation’ to be declared as part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
•The Bench, also comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, considered the submission of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi on behalf of the hotelier and asked the Centre to respond within a week.
January 8 ruling
•On January 8, the three-judge Bench decided to re-visit a December 2013 verdict of the Supreme Court in Suresh Kumar Kaushal versus Naz Foundation , which dismissed the LGBT community as a negligible part of the population while virtually denying them the right of choice and sexual orientation.
•The court said a section of people cannot live in fear of a law which atrophies their right to choice and natural sexual inclinations. It said societal morality changes with time and the law should change pace with life, adding that the concept of consensual sex may require more protection.
•While the court noted that Section 377 punishes carnal intercourse against order of nature, it added that “the determination of order of nature is not a common phenomenon. Individual autonomy and individual natural inclination cannot be atrophied unless the restrictions are determined as reasonable”. It observed that what is natural for one may not be natural for the other, but the confines of law cannot trample or curtail the inherent rights embedded with an individual under Article 21 (right to life).
📰 Threefold solution for sugar payments crisis
GoM suggests a sugar cess, production subsidy for farmers and reduced GST on ethanol
•A sugar cess, a production subsidy for cane farmers and a reduction of the Goods and Services Tax on ethanol are three suggestions that a Group of Ministers will present to the Union Cabinet in an effort to resolve the crisis arising from sugar mills defaulting on payments to farmers, with dues now likely to have crossed ₹20,000 crore.
•“We are looking for proposals that will help both the sugarcane farmers and the sugar mills,” Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan told The Hindu after the meeting on Monday evening.
•In a statement, Mr. Paswan said that the GoM discussed the three formulas for paying sugarcane farmers. A note presenting all the proposals will soon be prepared to present to the Cabinet, said the statement.
•The proposal is to reduce the GST from 18% to 5%, Mr. Paswan told The Hindu, adding that the GoM would hold another meeting to finalise the details of the proposals. He said the government was looking for ways to incentivise value-added products, including molasses and ethanol, which could utilise the surplus harvest of sugarcane, and which would reduce the burden on the mills.
•The GoM is headed by Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, and includes Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, as well as Mr. Paswan.
•Last month, the Food Ministry told Parliament that sugar mills had pending dues worth ₹13, 899 crore as on March 21. Industry lobbyist Indian Sugar Mills Association estimates that figure has now crossed ₹20,000 crore.
Record high
•Sugar production has hit record highs this year, crossing domestic consumption estimates and resulting in a crash in prices. According to ISMA data, sugar production up to April 15 stood at 299.8 lakh tonnes. That’s already 50 lakh tonnes more than the government’s estimated sugar consumption for the whole season, and 227 mills are still crushing cane. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra had each produced almost 105 lakh tonnes by April 15.
📰 The risks in fracking
The government should impose a moratorium on fracking as the negative consequences outweigh the benefits
•Many scholars believe that fossil fuel energy will decline markedly by 2050. Such conclusions have been challenged by others who say that the earth has enough resources to quench humankind’s thirst for development for many centuries to come. Among other energy supplies, shale gas and oil are likely to be abundant and available.
•Shale gas and oil are unconventional natural resources found at 2,500-5,000 m below the earth’s surface, as compared to conventional crude oil found at 1,500 m. The process of extracting shale oil and gas requires deep vertical drilling followed by horizontal drilling. The most common way to extract shale gas is ‘hydraulic fracturing’ (fracking), where high volumes of water mixed with certain chemicals are pushed down to break the rocks and release the trapped energy minerals.
•Because of its benefits, shale gas is being perceived by some as a ‘saviour’ of humanity. Fracking seems an attractive tool, both politically and economically. To gain such benefits, the government introduced a policy on shale gas and oil in 2013, permitting national oil companies to engage in fracking. Under the first phase, shale gas blocks were identified in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. However, environmental groups have strongly criticised this move, which they say will have adverse environmental impacts. Countries like Germany and France and subnational governments like Scotland have banned fracking.
Positive and negative impacts
•Fracking is bound to have positive economic and political impacts. In the U.S., where shale gas has been commercially exploited for two decades, the prices of fuel and electricity have dropped. Recent negotiations between the Secretary of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and American shale producers to control oil production and prices show that the U.S. has gained significant political advantage. Similarly, if India commercially exploits shale deposits, it could meet its ever-increasing energy demand, decrease oil and gas imports, and improve the balance of payments.
•While this paints a possible bright future, fracking is bound to have a detrimental impact on local communities and the environment. As fracking consumes large amounts of water (average 15,000 m3/well) and relatively larger surface area, it is bound to impact irrigation and other local requirements. In the U.S. experience, out of 260 chemical substances, 58 have been identified to pose a risk to human life and environment, eight are carcinogens and 17 are toxic to freshwater organisms. Further, as 25-90% of the fluid is not retrieved and cracks in the shaft are possible, there is a high risk of pollution to nearby underground water. Instances of groundwater pollution have been reported in the U.S. (Pennsylvania) and Canada. Fracking has other impacts such as increased air emissions (including greenhouse gases) and seismic activity. Environmental impact assessments of the European Union and the U.K. have recognised these risks.
Legal hurdles
•The Supreme Court of India has ruled that every person has the right to enjoy pollution-free water and air. It is also an established principle that the state holds its natural resources in trust for the benefit of the people, and has the duty to protect these resources from harm. If the risk from fracking to underground water materialises, courts can hold the state responsible for it, stop the activity, and order other corrective and preventive measures.
•Another hurdle that fracking might face is the ‘precautionary principle’, which has been incorporated into law. It dictates that where there is a significant risk to the environment or human health, precautionary measures must be undertaken, irrespective of any scientific uncertainty. Therefore, even though some scholars might contest the above-mentioned risks posed by fracking, the government would be obliged to adopt measures to reduce those risks.
•The Model Bill for the Conservation, Protection, Regulation and Management of Groundwater, 2016, sets a priority for use of groundwater — right to water for life, and water to achieve “food security, supporting sustenance agriculture, sustainable livelihoods and eco-system needs”. Only after satisfying these priorities can underground water be used for other purposes. In the light of the risks involved, the government should impose a moratorium on fracking.
📰 India highest recipient of remittances
Reverses sharp decline seen in 2016 but still falls short of $70.4 billion seen in 2014: World Bank report
•India retained the top position as a recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending about $69 billion back home last year, the World Bank said on Monday.
•Remittances to India picked up sharply by 9.9%, reversing the previous year’s dip, but were still short of $70.4 billion received in 2014. In its latest Migration and Development Brief, the World Bank estimated that officially recorded remittances to low-and middle-income countries reached $466 billion in 2017. This was an increase of 8.5% over $429 billion in 2016.
•Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, grew 7 per cent to USD 613 billion last year, from USD 573 billion in 2016, the bank said. The stronger-than-expected recovery in remittances was driven by growth in Europe, Russia and the U.S. The rebound in remittances, when valued in U.S. dollars, was helped by higher oil prices and a strengthening of the Euro and the Ruble, it added.
•India continued to top in terms of receiving remittance, and was followed by China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($33 billion), Mexico ($31 billion), Nigeria ($22 billion) and Egypt ($20 billion).
•The Bank said remittances to South Asia grew a moderate 5.8% to $117 billion.
•Reversing the previous year’s sharp decline (8.9% in 2016), remittances to India in 2017 picked up by 9.9%, the Bank said. As against $62.7 billion in 2016, it received $69 billion last year.
‘Upsurge to continue’
•The upsurge is likely to continue into 2018 on the back of stronger economic conditions in advanced economies (particularly the U.S.) and an increase in oil prices that should have a positive impact on the GCC countries.
•However, flows to Pakistan and Bangladesh were both largely flat in 2017, while Sri Lanka saw a small decline (-0.9%). In 2018, remittances to the region will likely grow modestly by 2.5%to $120 billion.
•Global remittances are expected to grow 4.6% to $642 billion in 2018. The Bank said the global average cost of sending $200 was 7.1% in Q1 of 2018, more than twice as high as the Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive place to send money to, where the average cost is 9.4%.
•Barriers to reducing costs are derisking by banks and exclusive partnerships between national post office systems and money transfer operators. These factors constrain the introduction of technologies, such as mobile apps and the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain in remittance services.
📰 PM to launch Gramin Swaraj Abhiyan from M.P. today
Will also take part in Aadi Mahotsav in Mandla district
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Rashtriya Gramin Swaraj Abhiyan in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh on the National Panchayati Raj Day on Tuesday and also take part in the ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ event, showcasing heritage of tribals in the region.
•Mr. Modi will launch the Rashtriya Gramin Swaraj Abhiyan at a public meeting and address Panchayati Raj representatives across the country.
Road map
•On this occasion, the Prime Minister will also unveil a road map for overall development of tribals during the next five years and will unveil a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone of an LPG bottling plant of Indian Oil Corporation at Maneri in Mandla district. He would also launch a local government directory, an official release said.
•Mr. Modi would also felicitate the sarpanchs of the villages that have achieved 100 per cent smokeless kitchens, full vaccination under Mission Indradhanush, and 100 per cent electrification under Saubhagya Scheme, it said.
•Mr. Modi will fly back to Delhi from Jabalpur around 3 p.m.
•Ramnagar is situated on the banks of the Narmada river. A number of ancient monuments associated with erstwhile Gond (tribe) rulers are situated in the town, surrounded by thick forest.
•Elaborate security arrangements are being made for the Prime Minister’s visit, an official said.
•Mandla MP Faggan Singh Kulaste said the ‘Aadi Mahotsav’is aimed at showcasing the rich heritage and traditions of tribals.
📰 AFSPA lifted in Meghalaya
•The Centre has removed the AFSPA from Meghalaya, from April 1 onwards, a senior Home Ministry official said on Monday. Earlier, the Act was effective in the State in the 20 km area along its border with Assam.
•In Arunachal Pradesh, the AFSPA has been restricted to eight police stations, instead of 16 earlier.
•Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, says it can be invoked in places “where the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.”
•The AFSPA gives power to the Army and Central forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of law, arrest and search any premises without a warrant and provide cover to forces from prosecution and legal suits without the Centre’s sanction.
•The official said the decision was taken in the wake of significant improvement of the security situation in the State.
•Except for Tripura and Manipur, the Centre was issuing such notifications for Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
📰 For a digital library of life
Preparing detailed sequences of every species on earth
•The Human Genome Project, which involved preparing a blueprint of the sequence of genes that make up humans, opened a new vantage point to appraise our species. It gave scientists a way to link networks of genes with disease and well-being, as well as discover unexpected links; for instance, why some women were prone to breast cancer more than others. Sequencing the human genome may have been the most high-profile activity of its kind, catalysing new academic disciplines, industrial applications and medical innovations. If mining a single species’ genes can yield such benefits — at least $1 trillion to the U.S. alone, according to a 2013 Nature study — the bounty from preparing detailed sequences of every species on the earth could be many multiples of that and could benefit the world and not just the U.S. alone, says a paper published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
•The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), as envisaged in the paper titled “Earth BioGenome Project: Sequencing life for the future of life”, proposes a detailed genome-sequence draft of every eukaryote species (organisms with a defined nucleus and to which belong all plants and animals). There are about eight million eukaryotic species and the authors argue that being able to create their detailed genetic sequences will reveal unexpected, evolutionary connections among the genus, orders and families that make up the so-called Tree of Life. So far, less than 0.2% of eukaryote genomes have been sequenced and these are at the level of “draft genomes”, meaning that they are still at the crudest resolution.
•The EBP has a 10-year road map and hopes to sequence about 1.5 million eukaryote species in three phases. This exercise needs global collaboration and can have many benefits. For instance, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has not only helped Indian physicists but also given a boost to Indian industries, in that they have designed specialised equipment for the machine. The EBP will have similar spin-off benefits, the authors say. Sequencing such a large number of organisms will require innovative computation- and-storage solutions and the programming acumen of many thousands across the world. “The greatest legacy of the EBP will be the gift of knowledge — a complete Digital Library of Life that contains the collective biological intelligence of 3.5 billion years of evolutionary history,” the authors conclude.
