📰 Sharp drop in smoking tobacco in India, says WHO report
Problem of chewing tobacco in country not addressed: Mumbai doctor
•From 19.4% in 2000, the prevalence of smoking tobacco in India dropped down to 11.5% in 2005, according to a World Health Organisation report released on Thursday.
•The report projected the prevalence to drop down further to 9.8% by 2020 and 8.5% by 2025.
•“The prevalence of tobacco use has decreased more slowly in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries, because the introduction of strong tobacco control policies by low and middle-income countries is impeded by relentless lobbying from the tobacco industry”, it stated.
•While the report only covered tobacco usage in the form of smoking, India has a large population of chewing tobacco users, thus posing additional burden. Experts said the decrease therefore is nothing to rejoice over. “The drop in smoking prevalence is in sync with the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) outcome. However, India has a unique problem of chewing tobacco. More than 3/4th tobacco users have it in the chewing form. Therefore, we need policies that address this form of tobacco rigorously”, said Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, head and neck surgeon from Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. Dr. Chaturvedi who is also India’s most vocal anti-tobacco activist said that it is upsetting that our government has turned a blind eye towards regulating pan masala.
•According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, “Most people know that using tobacco causes cancer and lung disease, but many people are not aware that it also causes heart disease and stroke — the world’s leading killers.”
•“This ‘World No Tobacco Day’, WHO is drawing attention to the fact that tobacco does not only cause cancer, it quite literally breaks your heart.”
•While many people are aware that tobacco use increases the risk of cancer, there are alarming gaps in knowledge of the cardiovascular risks of tobacco use, said the health organisation.
•It also noted that while tobacco use has declined markedly since 2000, the reduction is insufficient to meet globally agreed targets aimed at protecting people from death and suffering from cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
•Tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure were major causes of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and stroke, contributing to approximately three million deaths per year. But evidence revealed a serious lack of knowledge of the multiple health risks associated with tobacco.
•In China, over 60% of the population was unaware that smoking could cause heart attacks, said the Global Adult Tobacco Survey.
📰 Hot classrooms lower children’s grades
Suggests use of AC to reduce temperature
•Hot weather is likely to lower children’s academic grades, said Harvard scientists, who have found that higher temperatures make it harder for students to study in lessons in school and concentrate on their homework.
•The research found that every 0.55 degree increase above 21 degrees Celsius cost a child 1% in their exam scores.
•Researchers from Harvard University in the U.S. analysed 10 million children’s test scores taken across 13 years.
•The study found that hotter weather made it harder to study lessons in school and to concentrate on homework out of school. It suggests air conditioning should be used to keep classrooms cool, the researchers said.
•Colder days did not damage achievement, however the reduction in learning accelerated once temperatures rose above 32 degrees Celsius and even more so above 38 degrees Celsius.
•The data showed that students were more likely to have lower scores in years with higher temperatures and better results in cooler years, ‘The Telegraph’ reported. This applied across the many different types of climate, whether in cooler northern U.S. states or in the southern states, where temperatures are typically much higher.
📰 What will the caretakers take care of?
The question before Pakistan is whether the caretaker Prime Minister can maintain his writ over the judiciary and the military
•In a country which has had three-decade-long military dictatorships, interim caretaker governments are somewhat of a novelty. For whenever the military takes over, it changes the pattern and rules of political transition, with the preference to transfer power to one of its own. Yet, it is also surprising that Pakistan has had as many as 10 general elections since 1970. Except for those in 1970, 2008 and 2013, all the others have been neither free nor fair, with the military’s imprint on most of them. It is in the most recent of civilian transitions, following Pakistan’s longest democratic journey, of a decade, that Pakistan’s seventh caretaker government since 1990 takes over today, ostensibly for a two-month period.
Emblematic choice
•Of the previous caretaker Prime Ministers, five have been politicians with little following or standing, and one economist lent to Pakistan by the World Bank. This is the first time that a retired judge of the Supreme Court — a retired Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), no less — has been chosen by the previous leaders in Parliament to be the bridge between elected governments. The selection of a former CJP is clearly emblematic of the rise of Pakistan’s superior judiciary as one of the two institutions now dominating political discourse and political outcomes in Pakistan.
•Of the three institutions — the military, judiciary and Parliament — for five decades from 1958 to 2008, the military dominated, barring a few short years in the early 1970s. The judiciary had been a constitutional ally of the military throughout this period, defending the military’s need to intervene in the civilian domain under a supposed ‘doctrine of necessity’. A shared vision of society and power kept both entwined in subverting any semblance of civilian political agency. However, this bonhomie between the military and judiciary changed in March 2007, when a sitting military dictator-president asked the CJP to resign, something that the latter refused to do.
•The Lawyers’ Movement of 2007 against the pressure put by General Pervez Musharraf on the CJP was a key catalyst in bringing back democracy to Pakistan in 2008, after nine years of yet another military dictatorship. The Lawyers’ Movement became one of the few popular movements against military rule and saw the superior judiciary taking on an independent and, for a change, pro-democratic, position, defending the electoral process against military hegemony. At a time when the media was coming of age as another independent institution a decade ago, the judiciary finally gained respect for its independence.
•Just as the military lost some of its power after 2007, the judiciary was seen to emerge as a free and independent force, defending the Constitution. A decade later, today as Pakistan prepares to go to elections in a few weeks, the superior judiciary is being castigated for overstepping its role of playing fair and becoming a handmaiden to the military, the other dominant unelected and unaccountable institution. Despite the covert censorship imposed on the media, newspaper editorials have gone as far as calling the Supreme Court “self-righteous” and suggesting that it is overstepping its writ of interpreting the Constitution by meddling in administrative and political affairs. Today, the threat to democratic politics in Pakistan comes not just from the military as it has for decades — the judiciary is being perceived as being partial to certain individuals and institutions, with the Supreme Court sending home two elected Prime Ministers, one for contempt of court and the other for not being a sagacious and righteous Muslim. Following the 2007 Lawyers’ Movement, the term which became popular in the public sphere with regard to the judiciary was ‘judicial activism’. In 2018, ‘judicial martial law’ and ‘judicial imperialism’ have now become part of Pakistan's public lexicon.
The military’s mind
•Numerous independent newspapers and research organisations, as well as many journalists, have been talking about a process of prepoll rigging and political engineering under way in Pakistan for many months now, so that the results of the July 2018 election could bring about ‘positive results’ for the military, with no single party winning an absolute majority. This started with the dismissal of Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in June 2017, followed by him being barred from public office for life, both decisions taken by the Supreme Court rather than by the military. Mr. Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML(N), was expected to win again in the next elections, and by ending his political career, an attempt has been made to create divisions within the party. Moreover, numerous other measures have also been taken which would suggest that at least one ‘hidden hand’ is involved in ensuring that certain groups and individuals do not contest elections from the ticket of the PML(N), with defections taking place to strengthen the military establishment’s favourite candidate, Imran Khan.
•Over the last few months, much evidence has emerged in the public domain showing that Pakistan’s army played an active role in destabilising Mr. Sharif’s government over the last few years. Mr. Sharif has said this was on account of him bringing a former Chief of Army Staff, General Musharraf, to trial for treason. While the military and its institutions have been active in imposing severe controls on the media, which many journalists say are far worse than those imposed by General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s, the judiciary has been seen to be the military’s active partner, imposing its judicial writ where necessary.
On Justice Mulk’s watch
•It is against this background that a former CJP, Nasirul Mulk, has become Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister. Perhaps it might not be inconsequential to mention that it was when he was on the Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012 that proceedings for contempt of court were initiated against the incumbent Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was eventually disqualified.
•In the many months leading up to the end of the tenure of the government that was elected in 2013 and to the appointment of the caretaker Prime Minister, there have been widespread accusations, most backed up with much evidence, that Pakistan’s military has been undertaking prepoll rigging and electoral engineering, to ensure that the candidates of the PML(N) do not win, and that there is a hung Parliament. Moreover, the press has been stifled, media houses reprimanded, and dissent strangulated in what once was a very vibrant media landscape, even in the times of General Musharraf. At the end of 10 years of a democratic government, the judiciary and the military are perceived to be in cahoots with each other, ensuring the domination of both non-elected and unaccountable institutions over Parliament.
•For a former CJP, who seems to have considerable respect amongst analysts and lawyers for being non-partial, heading a government for two months leading up to Pakistan’s 11th general election since 1970, the key question is whether a supposedly independent individual can maintain his writ over that of two institutions which are hell-bent on having their own way. Elected governments have been cut down to size and the bar has been lowered to such an extent that perhaps the only thing the caretakers could do is to ensure that elections are held on time. Ensuring that they are fair and free may no longer be in their jurisdiction.
📰 Regulating medical education
On the amendments to the National Medical Commission Bill
•The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017, which seeks to regulate medical education and practice, and replace the Medical Council of India, ran into rough weather in January when the medical fraternity protested against it, terming the Bill as “anti-poor”. They also protested against the proposed “bridge course” in the Bill, which allows AYUSH practitioners to prescribe modern medicine, arguing that this provides opportunities for quacks.
•Faced with these protests, the Lok Sabha referred the Bill to a Parliamentary Standing Committee in January.
•The government considered the recommendations made by the Standing Committee, as well as the general feedback, and tabled its report in the House on March 20. On March 28, the Union Cabinet approved the amendments to the NMC Bill, which seeks to replace the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956.
•The approved amendments include allowing for the final MBBS examination to be held as a common exam across the country. This way students will not be subjected to an additional licentiate exam for the purpose of obtaining a license to practice medicine. The MBBS exam will serve as an exit test to be called the National Exit Test. This test will also serve as the screening test for doctors with foreign medical qualifications who want to practice in India.
•The Cabinet has also removed the bridge course provision. It has been left to the State governments to take necessary measures for addressing and promoting primary health care in rural areas.
•The amendments also concern fee regulation. The maximum limit of 40% seats for which fee can be regulated in private medical institutions and deemed universities has been increased to 50% seats. Further, it has been clarified that the fee will also include all other charges taken by the colleges.
•Responding to the demands from States to increase their representation in the NMC, the nominees of States and Union Territories in the NMC have been increased from three to six. The NMC will comprise 25 members, of which at least 21 will be doctors.
•The amendments also introduce stringent punishment for unqualified medical practitioner, or quacks, including a provision for imprisonment of up to one year along with a fine extending up to ₹5 lakh.
📰 Modi, Mahathir hold ‘productive’ talks
Exchange views on strengthening the strategic partnership
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his newly-elected Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohammad and the two leaders had a productive exchange of views on strengthening the strategic partnership.
•Mr. Modi, who arrived here on Thursday on the second leg of his three-nation tour, met 92-year-old Mahathir in his office at Perdana Putra Complex, Putrajaya.
•“Glad to have met Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I thank him for the warm welcome. We had productive discussions on further cementing India-Malaysia ties,” Mr. Modi tweeted in both Malay and English. The two leaders discussed ways to boost economic and cultural relations between India and Malaysia.
•Mr. Modi is among the first world leaders to meet Mr. Mahathir after he became the world’s oldest elected leader when his opposition alliance registered a stunning victory over the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which had ruled Malaysia since 1957. Dr. Mahathir was sworn in as Malaysia’s Prime Minister on May 10.
First meeting
•This is the first meeting between the two leaders. Mr. Modi last visited Malaysia in November 2015.
•External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders had a productive exchange of views on strengthening the strategic partnership.
•Mr. Modi congratulated Dr. Mahathir on assuming the post of Prime Minister of Malaysia, he added.
•During his brief stopover, Mr. Modi also met with Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband Anwar Ibrahim.
•“Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Wan Azizah called on PM @narendramodi during PM’s brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Good discussion took place to take our relationship to newer heights. Former DPM Anwar Ibrahim was also present,” Mr. Kumar tweeted.
📰 U.S. Pacific Command renamed U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Move is widely seen as a public expression of the U.S.'s keenness to count India as a key partner in its strategic planning.
•The United States on Wednesday renamed its strategically important Pacific Command (PACOM) the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in a move widely seen as a public expression of Washington’s keenness to count India as a key partner in its strategic planning.
•The Donald Trump administration has been using the term Indo-Pacific instead of Asia-Pacific in official documents already.
•Secretary of Defence James Mattis made the announcement at the change of command ceremony in Hawaii where Admiral Philip S. Davidson took charge of the command from Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr.
•Admiral Harris, a strong proponent of enhancing ties with India, commanded PACOM for three years. Mr. Trump has nominated him as Ambassador to South Korea.
Primary combatant command
•“For U.S. Pacific Command, it is our primary combatant command, it's standing watch and intimately engaged with over half of the earth's surface and its diverse populations, from Hollywood to Bollywood, from polar bears to penguins as Admiral Harris puts it,” Mr. Mattis said.
•The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is critical for “a region open to investment and free, fair and reciprocal trade, not bound by any nation’s predatory economics or threat of coercion, for the Indo-Pacific has many belts and many roads,” Mr. Mattis said, alluding to China’s “One Belt, One Road” policy for the region, and echoing Indian concerns about it.
•India is currently caught in the crossfire of anti-Russian sanctions mandated by the U.S Congress and Mr. Mattis has called for waiver for India though it has significant defence cooperation with Russia. The first two-plus-two ministerial dialogue between India and the U.S is scheduled for July first week.
•“America continues to invest vigorously in Indo-Pacific stability, bolstering the free and open rules-based international order that has enabled this region to grow and to thrive for over 70 years. While we are prepared to face any who would seek to challenge America's resolve, our National Defense Strategy is not a strategy of confrontation,” Mr. Mattis said.
Increasing connectedness between two oceans
•Tanvi Madan, Fellow and Director of India Project, Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., said, “The renaming reflects the existing geographic coverage of the command and the acknowledgment of the increasing connectedness between the two oceans —what happens in the Pacific, doesn't stay in the Pacific —, but also, more broadly, the process of India's re-entry into the US government's "Asia" orbit.”
•Joshua T White, Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, said: “Renaming the combatant command is strategically significant, in that it reflects a recognition within the U.S. government that East Asia and the Indian Ocean Region are gradually becoming a single competitive space. It's also shrewd marketing — a way of reaffirming to New Delhi and to the rest of the world that India is, and ought to be, an indispensable pole of the future Asian order.”
•However, the effectiveness of an Indo-Pacific defence and security strategy and U.S.-India cooperation would still depend on the level of discussion and coordination across combatant commands and bureaus, Ms. Madan said.
•“Such a step can have organizational implications, and affect the policy debate outside government as well. However, it's worth keeping in mind that, in other parts of the government [e.g. State, NSC], these regions are still categorized separately. Moreover, the U.S. and India have different ideas of what constitutes the Indo-Pacific — India includes the whole Indian Ocean region, which US CENTCOM and AFRICOM cover as well,” she said.
•Representatives from Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, New Zealand, Canada, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Nepal attended the change of command ceremony in Pearl Harbor.
•Admiral Davidson said China and Russia must remain the priority in U.S planning. Threats also emerged from North Korea, violent extremism, and Iran. “China continues to improve both the size and the capability of its armed forces in hopes to supplant the U.S. as the security partner of choice, not just in the Indo-Pacific region, but across the globe and on its own terms,” he pointed out.
📰 Tata, EU steel firms brace for tariff war
Tata Steel Europe and other manufacturers of the alloy will face 25% tariff on their exports to the U.S.
•European steel makers are bracing themselves for the full force of U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs — and a potential trade war — as a deal on exemptions for the EU, Canada and Mexico fell through ahead of a Thursday midnight deadline. The EU has expressed its strong disappointment and announced plans for retaliatory measures.
•On Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the exemptions would be allowed to lapse, meaning EU steel makers exporting to the U.S. would face tariffs of 25% and aluminium producers 10%.
•The U.S. represents a major market for EU steel producers. For Tata Steel Europe, the U.S. accounts for 10% of its sales. “The EU believes these unilateral U.S. tariffs are unjustified and at odds with World Trade Organisation rules,” Jean-Claude Juncker, President, European Commission, said on Thursday.
•“This is protectionism, pure and simple,” he added.
•“The U.S. now leaves us with no choice but to proceed with a WTO dispute settlement case and with the imposition of additional duties on a number of imports from the U.S.
•“We will defend the Union’s interests, in full compliance with international trade law.”
•The U.S. tariffs are expected to be particularly injurious to the European steel sector, only just recovering from a protracted crisis.
Flooding other markets
•Alongside the loss of high quality, value-added steel sales into the lucrative U.S. market, the tariffs are also likely to result in part of an estimated 20 million tonnes of steel — which would have otherwise gone to the U.S. — flooding markets elsewhere.
•Tata Steel Europe urged the EU Commission to “take swift and robust action to combat the indirect effects” of the tariffs.
•“We must ensure our markets are not destabilised by millions of tonnes of steel being diverted away from the U.S. and into Europe,” Henrik Adam, chief commercial officer of Tata Steel in Europe, said in a statement.
•“The steel that doesn’t go to the U.S. has to go somewhere, and it won’t just happen equally around the world,” Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel, said. “Much of it will come to the EU because we are still very open and a liberalised trading block.”
•“With some half billion dollars of steel exported from the U.K. to U.S. last year, U.K. steel producers are going to be hit hard,” he added.
•“Throughout these talks, the U.S. has sought to use the threat of trade restrictions as leverage to obtain concessions from the EU,” said Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Trade.
•“This is not the way we do business, and certainly not between long-standing partners, friends and allies. Now that we have clarity, the EU’s response will be proportionate and in accordance with WTO rules.”
•During an OECD trade forum in Paris on Wednesday, Mr. Ross had criticised the EU for blocking trade negotiations because of the tariffs issue, pointing to China which he said had continued to negotiate on a trade deal.”
•Europe felt that “legitimate exports” from the EU to U.S. markets did not justify tariffs, David O’Sullivan the EU’s Ambassador to the U.S. told a discussion held by the Wilson Centre in Washington DC on Wednesday. “Most of the time as I travel around I get confirmation these are high quality high value steel imports,” he said, adding that in many cases these were products that couldn’t be obtained in the U.S. “We don’t understand the logic of this.”
•Following the U.S.’s surprise announcement of the tariffs on steel and aluminium earlier this year, the European Commission warned of the possibility of retaliatory action in the forms of tariffs on U.S. imports to Europe such as on Harley Davidson bikes, and Levi’s jeans.
📰 Indian economy grew 7.7% in Q4
However, economic growth slowed to 6.7% in 2017-18 compared to 7.1% in 2016-17.
•Stronger growth of 7.7% in the fourth-quarter GDP estimates for 2017-18, driven in large part by the manufacturing and construction sectors, led to an upward revision in the GDP growth projection for the full year to 6.7%, official data released on Thursday show.
•The fourth-quarter growth was the strongest in the entire financial year 2017-18, with the economy expanding by 5.6% in the first quarter, at a 6.3% pace in the second, and by 7% in the October-December period. The government had earlier forecast full-year growth at 6.6%. Growth in 2017-18 was notwithstanding the upward revision, however, still slower than the 7.1% pace posted in 2016-17.
•The manufacturing sector grew at 9.1% in Q4 of 2017-18, faster than the 6.1% seen in the year-earlier quarter. Overall, the sector is estimated to have grown at 5.7% over 2017-18, compared with 7.9% in 2016-17.
‘Hint of a turnaround’
•“Capital formation is another area where growth has been strong, along with manufacturing and construction, which grew strongly on the back of negative growth in Q4 last year,” Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said at a press conference. “These indicate a turnaround in the economy and should also give a boost going forward.”
•“Sequential growth in manufacturing has picked up in Q3 and Q4, which suggests that the impact of GST is behind us,” said Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.
•“With the contribution of net export growth being negative in all four quarters of 2017-18, growth has clearly been driven by domestic factors,” D.K. Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY India said.
•The construction sector witnessed a robust growth of 11.5% in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, compared to a contraction of 3.9% in the same quarter of the previous year. This turnaround in the sector propelled its full-year growth to 5.7% in 2017-18 from 1.3% in 2016-17.
•The agriculture sector in the fourth sector grew faster than any previous quarters in 2017-18, at 4.5%, but this was still slower than the 7.1% seen in the fourth quarter of the previous year. Overall, the sector grew at 3.4% in 2017-18, compared with 6.3% in 2016-17.
•Gross fixed capital formation, a proxy for the amount of investment in the economy, grew 7.6% in 2017-18 compared with 10.1% in the previous year. Similarly, private final consumption expenditure grew at 6.6% in 2017-18, down from 7.3% in the previous year.
•“Currently, the Indian economy is in a sweet spot, with most macro-prints on the upside, especially seen in terms of broad-based industry growth, improving sales data, and positive sentiment as evidenced through the purchasing managers’ index (PMI),” Anis Chakravarty, Lead Economist and Partner at Deloitte India said.
•“However, despite a general upside sentiment, the economy remains vulnerable to external risks, key among them is the anticipated rise in crude price and input costs.”
📰 Settling disputes out of court
Pre-litigation mediation is an important step to improve the ease of doing business
•Mandatory pre-litigation mediation in commercial disputes has been introduced by the recent Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, which amends the Commercial Courts Act of 2015. This amendment is expected to alter parties’ sense of responsibility in resolving disputes. Mandatory pre-litigation mediation puts the ball in the court of the parties involved, rather than looking at external agencies like courts, and urges them to engage with and resolve disputes.
The meaning of mediation
•The Commercial Courts Act was legislated to improve the enforcement of contracts, as part of improving the ease of doing business. The law defines “commercial disputes” to include regular commercial and business contracts, construction contracts, shareholder agreements, licensing agreements, etc. The law makes changes for reduction of timelines, tightening processes and designating special commercial courts and commercial divisions to deal with these disputes, among others.
•The ordinance stipulates that no suits concerning commercial disputes will be filed under this Act unless the person filing the suit exhausts the remedy of pre-litigation mediation. If an urgent interim relief is required, this pre-litigation mediation can be dispensed with. However, in all other cases, the mediation is mandatory and will be conducted within a period of three months (extendable by another two months with the consent of the parties). Any settlement arrived at through mediation will have the status of an arbitral award on agreed terms and be enforceable like a decree of court. Importantly, the time limits for filing cases will pause during the time the pre-litigation mediation is underway.
•Mediation is a process of resolution of disputes by the parties to them. It involves discussion of the conflicts, moving out of the loop of allegations and counter-allegations, and assessing where interests lie in resolving the disputes. Options for settlement are explored and a settlement is worked out through joint evaluation. The process is managed by a neutral person called the mediator, who may evaluate the disputes and weigh in on options for settlement (a variant called conciliation) but has no authority to impose a settlement. The participation of the disputants is voluntary. The terms of settlement, if the parties do settle, are decided by the parties. The discussions are confidential.
•Mediation, and mandatory mediation specifically, is not new in India. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, makes a settlement arrived at through conciliation enforceable like a court decree. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, judges can refer cases to mediation. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Act, 2006, mandates conciliation when disputes arise on payments to MSMEs.
•While the ordinance is an attempt to make parties evaluate and utilise mediation, some questions arise. One of the advantages of mediation is its voluntary nature; how does this reconcile with the mandatory nature of pre-litigation mediation? Will a pre-existing mediation agreement be enforced? What will be the status of cross-border mediation?
The Italian case
•Mediation policies in other countries mandate mediations through various mechanisms, with good effect. They show that mandatory mediation does not mean a compulsion to mediate and offer policy choices under the amendment.
•Italy, which faces a high rate of pendency of cases, has adopted what is referred to as ‘opt out’ mandatory mediation. In 2010 and 2013, it introduced a law for pre-litigation mediation. Attempts to mediate were made mandatory for certain disputes (like partition and joint ownership of property) before a case was filed in court.
•This law reconciles the voluntary nature of the process, while mandating mediation. All disputants are required to attend, with their lawyers, one session of mediation. After this session, any or all the disputants can choose to opt out of mediation and the disputants can proceed with their case in court. Parties who mediate and settle get tax credits.
•The outcome of this policy is encouraging. Disputants have found mediation worthwhile and continued with the process towards resolution. This has resulted from the opportunity of understanding the process in the mandatory first session. Italy has seen almost 200,000 cases going in for mediation until 2017. After trying out one session of mediation, when parties continued with the mediation, almost 50% of those cases were settled. More strikingly, Italy has seen a drop of 30-60% in the filings of certain categories of cases covered for mandatory mediation.
•Another approach to mediation policy has been to impose costs on disputants refusing to mediate, as is done in the U.K.
What lies ahead?
•The ordinance is an important step in mainstreaming mediation, but it is not enough. Most disputes seek urgent orders for preservation of status quo or restraint orders on filing. With such an application, pre-litigation mediation could effectively be given a go-by. There is a need for a comprehensive policy on mediation, rather than the abbreviated and disconnected steps so far. This policy would encapsulate the process, the role and professional responsibilities of mediators, the rights and obligations of parties in the process, and the outcome of the mediation agreement. When seen in the context of a deliberate and well-considered law, mediation as a process would be more credible to disputants, as has happened in the case of arbitration.
📰 How to be garbage-free
Cleanliness will only follow an attitudinal change
•In the spirit of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Goan government promised to make the State garbage-free by 2020. With a population of 18.2 lakhs and an economy geared for tourists, is Goa prepared to reach this milestone? Quite possibly not. In Candolim beach, for example, plastic and glass bottles are ubiquitous. This shows that tourists and beachgoers lack basic civic sense. The apparent dichotomy between their desire to enjoy a beach and their garbage-related attitude can be explained in terms of people equating the beach to revelry and not to nature’s beauty. Nevertheless, it is uncertain whether concern for nature would prevent littering. Perversely, tourists coming to imbibe the much-marketed carefree spirit of Goa have no qualms in pretending that waste disposal has nothing to do with collective enjoyment of this public good. Their ability to add to the litter and enjoy a dirty beach is something unique to this part of the world. Do foreigners, who may be more civic-minded in their home countries, consider this part of the much-vaunted Indian experience?
•Litter on the beach also shows that there is no responsible waste management system. One reason why people abandon their garbage with such impunity may be the paucity of waste receptacles along the beach. There is also abdication of responsibility by the companies, distributors, restaurants and shopkeepers who manufacture, market and sell these products. Garbage on the beach also shows a lack of attention by authorities towards this issue though it concerns health, hygiene and protecting natural spaces — all of which are key to attracting tourists. There are no police or other such representatives on beaches who are empowered to enforce the law and hand out fines. Just as justice needs to be seen to be done, respect for the law arises from its implementation and the visible presence of an agency dedicated to deterrence and application of the law.
•Behaviour change communication (BCC) could be the key to changing attitudes and behaviour patterns. India has seen success with this method regarding nutrition for expectant mothers. However, BCC on tourist-focussed waste management is non-existent in Goa. There is no mention of fines or the responsibilities of tourists. A critical element of BCC is having requisite infrastructure. In this case it would mean installation of waste receptacles, proper collection and management, and proper policing.
•The situation at Candolim beach is a microcosm of the challenges that face Goa, if not the country. While technology such as clean composting can help, it is an insufficient response to an attitudinal issue. Lasting change may only come when people realise that their enjoyment of the beach is inextricably linked to keeping that beautiful environment garbage-free.
📰 Intra-State e-waybills to take effect in final 8 States
As of May 30, more than 2 cr. e-waybills had been generated
•The e-waybill system for intra-State movement of goods will be implemented for the final eight States over the first three days of June, the Centre announced on Thursday.
•The new system would be implemented for intra-State transport in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab on June 1, in Tamil Nadu on June 2 and in West Bengal, on June 3.
•“As on May 30, 2018, e-waybill system for intra-State movement of goods has been rolled out in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh along with the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry,” the Centre said in a statement.
•The Centre added that the e-waybill system was functioning successfully and that, as of May 30, more than 6.3 crore e-waybills had been generated, including more than two crore e-waybills for the intra-State movement of goods. “It may be mentioned that e-waybill system for intra-State movement of goods will be implemented throughout the country latest by June 3, 2018,” the Centre said.
‘Smooth functioning’
•“It has now been two months since the e-waybill system was implemented and the same is working smoothly and without any glitches. On an average more than 12 lakh e-waybills are being generated every day.”
📰 Mother of all lizards lived in Italian Alps
Megachirella roamed the earth about 240 million years ago
•Scientists said on Wednesday they had tracked down the oldest known lizard, a tiny creature that lived about 240 million years ago when Earth had a single continent and dinosaurs were brand new.
•Scans of the fossilised skeleton of Megachirella revealed the chameleon-sized reptile was an ancestor of today’s lizards and snakes, which belong to a group called squamates, an international team wrote in the science journal Nature.
•This finding dragged the group back in time by 75 million years, and means that “lizards inhabited the planet since at least 240 million years ago,” study co-author Tiago Simoes of the University of Alberta in Canada said.
•That, in turn, suggested that squamates had already split from other ancient reptiles before the Permian/Triassic mass extinction some 252 million years ago, and survived it.
•Up to 95% of marine- and 75% of terrestrial life on earth was lost.
Initial misclassification
•Megachirella, discovered some 20 years ago buried in compacted sand and clay layers in the Dolomites mountain range in northeast Italy, was initially misclassified as a close lizard relative.
•But Simoes had questions.
•“When I first saw the fossil I realised it had important features that could link it to the early evolution of lizards,” he said.
•So he hooked up with colleagues to perform a more detailed analysis of the tiny skeleton, which included CT scanning. The scans revealed previously unseen physical features, including the underside of the fossil, embedded in rock.
•The team found a tiny bone in Megachirella’s lower jaw that is unique to the squamate family.
‘Virtual Rosetta Stone’
•“I spent nearly 400 days visiting over 50 museums and university collections across 17 countries to collect data on fossil and living species of reptiles to understand the early evolution of reptiles and lizards,” Mr. Simoes explained.
•“I used this dataset... to conduct the phylogenetic analysis presented in this study.”
•Phylogenetics is the study of how different species relate to one another in the tree of life.
•Mr. Simoes’ colleague and study co-author Michael Caldwell likened the Megachirella fossil to “a virtual Rosetta Stone in terms of the information it gives us on the evolution of snakes and lizards.”
•The stone, dug up in Egypt, allowed scientists to decipher hieroglyphics.
•There are 10,000 modern squamate species alive today, Mr. Caldwell added, “yet we’ve really had no real understanding of where they came from in terms of their evolutionary history”.
•“We currently suffer a crisis in the world of lack of confidence in scientific evidence and facts. Denial of scientific information has been increasing and replaced by alternative facts not backed up by science.
•“This study, along with others that try to understand fundamental aspects of evolution... will hopefully draw back people’s curiosity and attention to the natural world and how it has been changing for hundreds of millions of years.”
