📰 Green shoots of revival: on BIMSTEC summit
Next year will be crucial in further development of the Bay of Bengal region
•The road to the fourth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Kathmandu, Nepal, last week was marked by scepticism and hope. This was understandable, given the grouping’s past performance — modest in the previous 19 years and promising in the past two years. The same blend characterises the summit’s outcome. A dispassionate mindset is essential to assess its results accurately.
The positives
•On the positive side, the fact that the summit could be held was a success in itself. It had been delayed. More importantly, BIMSTEC leaders listened to officials, experts and business chambers, and concluded that this grouping (composed of five South Asian and two Southeast Asian nations) needed to be given a firm institutional foundation. As a result, several important decisions have been taken. First, work begins now on drafting a charter for BIMSTEC, which has functioned so far on the basis of the Bangkok Declaration of 1997, and outcomes of the past three summits and the Leaders’ Retreat in 2016. Second, a Permanent Working Committee will be set up to provide direction during the period between two summits and also to prepare the Rules of Procedure. Third, the Secretariat has been promised additional financial and human resources and enhancement of its role to coordinate, monitor and facilitate the grouping’s activities.
•Fourth, as the institution has been handicapped due to lack of financial muscle, the leaders took the bold decision to establish the BIMSTEC Development Fund. This is not an easy task, but without strengthening itself financially, BIMSTEC cannot shed the unwanted tag of being a mere talk shop. Fifth, a push to increase its visibility and stature in the international fora will also be made. Finally, recognising that 16 areas of cooperation represent too wide a spectrum, the BIMSTEC governments will make a serious endeavour to review, restructure and rationalise various sectors, identifying a few core areas. In this exercise, Thailand has proposed a new strategy of five pillars (viz. connectivity, trade and investment, people-to-people contacts, security, and science and technology). This will be considered, although the difficulty in dropping specific sectors dear to individual member-states should not be minimised.
Concerns
•As to the debit side of the balance sheet, it should be noted that of at least six legal instruments awaiting finalisation, only one, the Memorandum of Understanding on Grid Interconnection, could be inked in Kathmandu. Fourteen years after signing the framework agreement on Free Trade Area (FTA), the leaders could only renew, rather lamely, their “commitment to an early conclusion” of FTA negotiations. The Thai Prime Minister bravely urged participants to accept making BIMSTEC a Free Trade Zone by 2021 as “our common goal”, but this did not find a place in the summit declaration. The Myanmar President pointed out that the grouping had established its Energy Centre in 2009, but it was still struggling for the “early operationalisation” of the Centre.
•Every participant dwelt on the advantages and potential of connectivity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi aptly emphasised that “the biggest opportunity is connectivity — trade connectivity, economic connectivity, transport connectivity, digital connectivity, and people-to-people connectivity.” The Kathmandu Declaration has spelt out a number of measures, old and new, to secure this objective. However, it was noted that the Motor Vehicle Agreement and the Coastal Shipping Agreement would still need more time for finalisation.
•Hopes were pinned on the leaders agreeing to make the BIMSTEC summit an annual affair. But they stopped short of it, choosing a “timely holding of Summit”. Probably the timing of the next summit will be determined by the degree of progress ministers and officials achieve in the coming months. If the grouping succeeds in holding its next summit in 2019, it will be seen as a healthy sign.
Other facets
•The annex to the summit’s declaration presents an overview of the present state of play in various areas of activity. Plans to revitalise the Business Forum and the Economic Forum should be welcome if they help in fully engaging business and industry. Cooperation in the security domain has been progressing satisfactorily, with a new instrument added to the arsenal: a meeting of home ministers. This will be in addition to annual meetings of national security advisers and the first meeting of army chiefs, which is due to take place in Pune this month. Also envisaged is a sound plan to establish forums for parliamentarians, universities, cultural organisations and the media community.
•The summit articulated a vision for the Bay of Bengal Region heading towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future. The region is now widely viewed as a common space for security, connectivity and development.
•Think tanks are fond of advising governments that they should walk the talk. But this time, that role was appropriated by the Nepalese Prime Minister and the summit chairman, who asserted: “Now is the time not just to deliberate, but also to deliver. Now is the time to translate promises into performance.” If this prescription is followed by all, BIMSTEC can become a dynamic, effective and result-oriented organisation. The coming year will be crucial in its further development.
📰 Beyond uniformity: on ruling out a uniform civil code
The Law Commission’s advice to end discrimination in personal laws is persuasive
•The Law Commission’s consultation paper on reform of family laws is a progressive document that avoids the advocacy of a uniform civil code merely for the sake of uniformity. Instead, it adopts an approach that would facilitate movement towards establishing a body of civil law that promotes equality within the law governing each community. In other words, it advocates the removal of discriminatory provisions in the law relating to aspects such as marriage, divorce, succession and adoption in all religions — and the adoption of certain universal principles that would address gender bias and other forms of existing discrimination. A simple way of moving towards a common marriage law is to make 18 the marriageable age for all communities and genders. When the age of majority and the age of voting, among other indicators of adulthood, stand at 18, there is no reason for differential treatment on this score. The Commission rightly points out that the present age of 21 for men merely affirms the stereotype that the wife should be younger. Decriminalising adultery and making it a common ground for divorce, simplifying the ‘no-fault’ divorce procedure and introducing ‘irretrievable breakdown’ as a ground for dissolving any marriage are other measures it throws open for discussion. The panel suggests abolition of the 30-day notice period for civil marriages to prevent its misuse by those against inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. It also suggests division of property equally after divorce, and removal of illnesses that can be cured or controlled from possible grounds of divorce.
•The thrust of the Law Commission’s report is founded on the idea that “the mere existence of difference does not imply discrimination, but is indicative of a robust democracy.” Changes have been mooted to give equal treatment to children and parents of any gender in guardianship and adoption matters. The juvenile law principle that the child’s best interest is the ‘paramount consideration’ has also been put forward for universal application. While calling for a wider public debate on its views, the Law Commission has framed the issue in the most reasonable way possible when it says it has “dealt with laws that are discriminatory rather than providing a uniform civil code which is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage.” In a strict and narrow reading, this goes against the Directive Principles of State Policy that favour a uniform civil code; also, some court judgments have questioned why such a code was not yet in place. However, in a world that increasingly heeds cultural diversity, it is unnecessary that every aspect of personal law should be dealt with in exactly the same manner. A just code is one in which universal principles of equality, non-discrimination and avoidance of taboos and social assumptions are applicable in equal measure within every community’s set of laws.
📰 Talks on for logistics deal with Russia
Officials hope to conclude consultations before the Modi-Putin annual summit in October
•India and Russia are in the process of concluding a logistics agreement, with both sides targeting to conclude consultations before the annual summit in October between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
•The proposed agreement follows a series of such agreements India has signed since the first logistics agreement with the U.S.
Draft from Moscow
•“A draft logistics agreement has come from Russia. At the end of July, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had sent it to the Integrated Defence Staff and the three services for their comments,” an official source with knowledge of the matter said.
•The Army and Navy have since sent back their observations on the draft. Another official said the agreement with Russia will be on the lines of those signed with the U.S. and France.
•“The idea is to increase our operational flexibility and we thought we should do one with our long term partner Russia,” another official source said.
Short timeline
•While the consultation process is on, officials are working against time to have the agreement ready by October.
•“Drafts are being readied. It is work in progress. Timelines are tight but we will try and aim for the October summit,” the source stated.
•India signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Understanding (LEMOA), with the U.S. in August 2016 after a decade of negotiations.
•Since then it has concluded several such agreements with France, Oman, Philippines, Singapore and for access to the Sabang port in Indonesia.
•Australia too has sent a draft agreement.
•Logistics agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India.
•Officials underscored the fact that India and Russia have had deep rooted military cooperation for several decades.
📰 India, Cyprus vow to curb money laundering
President Ram Nath Kovind holds talks with Cypriot counterpart Anastasiades
•India and Cyprus on Monday signed two agreements on combating money laundering and cooperation in the field of environment as President Ram Nath Kovind met his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades and held wide-ranging talks here.
•Mr. Kovind is in Cyprus on the first leg of his three-nation visit to Europe to continue India’s high-level engagements with European countries.
Economic cooperation
•Mr. Kovind and Mr. Anastasiades exchanged views on economic cooperation.
•India was the fastest growing major economy in the world today with a growth rate of 8.2% last quarter, Mr. Kovind said.
•“In this context and given Cyprus’ niche expertise in financial services and investment banking, both of us agreed that there was much scope to deepen our investment partnership,” he said in a statement.
•“We welcomed the signing of the MoU between Financial Intelligence Unit, India, and Unit for Combating Money Laundering of Cyprus.
•“This agreement would further strengthen the institutional framework to facilitate investment cross-flows. We also emphasised that the revision in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement made in 2016 provided greater opportunities for our investment partnership to grow,” Mr. Kovind said.
•External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet: “India and Cyprus signed two MoUs [memoranda of understanding] today on combating money laundering and cooperation in the field of environment in the presence of Presidents of both countries.”
•Mr. Kovind and Mr. Anastasiades held discussions on issues of mutual interest, including promotion of business collaboration in the fields of IT and IT-enabled services, tourism, shipping and renewable energy, Mr. Kumar said.
•“President Anastasiades and I held detailed discussions on the way forward for our long-standing and excellent relations. I reaffirmed India’s unwavering support to Cyprus for upholding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Global issues
•“We reviewed our ongoing bilateral and multi-lateral engagements and discussed issues of regional and global concern. We underlined our common objectives to negotiate the challenges that lie ahead. And we committed ourselves to further step-up our mutually beneficial ties, especially in the economic field,” Mr. Kovind said in the statement.
•The President also paid tributes to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
•“Our founding fathers, Archbishop Makarios and Mahatma Gandhi have blessed our partnership with timeless values, wisdom and foresight. We have the greatest respect for Archbishop Makarios in India,” Mr. Kovind said.
📰 Xi Jinping offers $60 bn Africa aid, says ‘no strings attached’
The massive scheme is aimed at improving Chinese access to foreign markets and resources, and boosting Beijing's influence abroad.
•President Xi Jinping told African leaders Monday that China's investments on the continent have "no political strings attached", pledging $60 billion in new development financing, even as Beijing is increasingly criticised over its debt-heavy projects abroad.
•Mr. Xi offered the funding at the start of a two-day China-Africa summit that focused on his cherished Belt and Road initiative. The money — to be spent over the next three years — comes on top of $60 billion Beijing offered in 2015.
•The massive scheme is aimed at improving Chinese access to foreign markets and resources, and boosting Beijing's influence abroad.
•It has already seen China loan billions of dollars to countries in Asia and Africa for roads, railways, ports and other major infrastructure projects.
•But critics warn that the Chinese leader's pet project is burying some countries under massive debt.
•“China's investment in Africa comes with no political strings attached,” Mr. Xi told a high-level dialogue with African leaders and business representatives ahead of the summit.
•“China's cooperation with Africa is clearly targeted at the major bottlenecks to development. Resources for our cooperation are not to be spent on any vanity projects, but in places where they count the most.”
•But Mr. Xi admitted there was a need to look at the commercial viability of projects and make sure preparations are made to lower investment risks and make cooperation “more sustainable”.
•Belt and Road, Mr. Xi said, “is not a scheme to form an exclusive club or bloc against others. Rather it is about greater openness, sharing and mutual benefit.”
•Later, at the start of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Mr. Xi announced $60 billion in funds for eight initiatives over the next three years, in areas ranging from industrial promotion, infrastructure construction and scholarships for young Africans.
•He added that Africa's least developed, heavily indebted and poor countries will be exempt from debt they have incurred in the form of interest-free Chinese loans due to mature by the end of 2018.
•A study by the Centre for Global Development, a US think-tank, found “serious concerns” about the sustainability of sovereign debt in eight Asian, European and African countries receiving Belt and Road funds.
•South African President Cyril Ramaphosa defended China's involvement on the continent, saying FOCAC “refutes the view that a new colonialism is taking hold in Africa as our detractors would have us believe.”
•During a visit to China last month, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed warned against "a new version of colonialism," as he cancelled a series of Chinese-backed infrastructure projects worth $22 billion.
•Ahead of FOCAC, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, currently the chair of the African Union, also dismissed the concerns, telling the official Xinhua news agency talk of "debt traps" were attempts to discourage African-Chinese interactions.
'Fractured world'
•At the last three-yearly gathering in Johannesburg in 2015, Mr. Xi announced $60 billion of assistance and loans for Africa.
•Nations across Africa are hoping that China's enthusiasm for infrastructure investment will help promote industrialisation on the continent.
•Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will oversee the signing of a telecommunication infrastructure deal backed by a $328-million loan facility from China's Exim bank during his visit, his office said.
•Mr. Xi said Belt and Road complies with international norms, and China “welcomes the participation of other capable and willing countries for mutually beneficial third-party cooperation”.
•China has provided aid to Africa since the Cold War, but Beijing's presence in the region has grown exponentially with its emergence as a global trading power.
•Chinese state-owned companies have aggressively pursued large investments in Africa, whose vast resources have helped fuel China's transformation into an economic powerhouse.
Debt fears
•While relations between China and African nations are broadly positive, concerns have intensified about the impact of some of China's deals in the region.
•Djibouti has become heavily dependent on Chinese financing after China opened its first overseas military base in the Horn of Africa country last year, a powerful signal of the continent's strategic importance to Beijing.
•Locals in other countries have complained about the practice of using Chinese labour for building projects and what are perceived as sweetheart deals for Chinese companies.
•The concerns are likely to grow as countries in other parts of the world — especially Southeast Asia — begin to question whether Chinese aid comes at too high a price.
•"Time has come for African leaders to critically interrogate their relationship with China," an editorial in Kenya's Daily Nation said Monday.
•African leaders, "should use the summit to ask tough questions. What are the benefits in this relationship? Is China unfairly exploiting Africa like the others before it?"
📰 Draft charter of Patients’ Rights released
Emergency medical care, alternative treatment options figure on it
•If the draft Charter of Patients’ Rights released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare comes into force, patients will not just have the right to emergency medical care and informed consent, but will also have the right to non-discrimination, seek a second opinion and choose alternative treatment options, if available.
•The draft, prepared by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has been put up on the Health Ministry’s website on August 30 for comments and suggestions. According to a notice issued by Joint Secretary Sudhir Kumar, the Ministry plans to implement the Charter of Patients’ Rights through State governments for provision of proper health care by clinical establishments.
•According to the recommendation of the National Council of Clinical Establishments, a statutory body under Clinical Establishments Act, comments /suggestions on the draft can be forwarded to Dr. Anil Kumar, Addl. DDG, Dte.GHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Room No-560- A, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi- 110108 or by email to help.ceact2010@nic.in by September 30.
•Abhay Shukla, one of the national conveners of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (a people’s health movement), who was involved with the NHRC in drafting the document as a member of its core group on health, said there was a need for a consolidated comprehensive document on patients rights in India. “Although some States have adopted the national Clinical Establishments Act 2010 and certain others have enacted their own State-level legislations to regulate hospitals, there is no consolidated document on patients’ rights that can be followed by all States uniformly,” he said.
•The draft charter that includes 17 rights with description, draws upon all relevant provisions, inspired by international charters and guided by national level provisions, with the objective of consolidating these into a single document. “This charter is expected to act as a guidance document for the Union Government and State Governments to formulate concrete mechanisms so that Patients’ Rights are given adequate protection and operational mechanisms are set up to make these rights functional and enforceable by law. The onus is now on the States to follow the charter effectively,” Dr. Shukla said.
•Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor and researcher, pointed out that the controversial Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act that had initially included various rights for patients was watered down subsequently.
•“Right to non-discrimination is an important right. Every patient has the right to receive treatment without any discrimination based on his or her illnesses or conditions, including HIV status or other health condition, religion, caste, ethnicity or sexual orientation,” she said.
•Quoting the Charter, she said: “Now, the hospital management has a duty to ensure that no form of discriminatory behaviour or treatment takes place with any person under the hospital’s care.”
📰 Panel urges plan to save Himalayan springs
NITI Aayog constituted group of experts moots dedicated mission to revive Himalayan springs
•A NITI Aayog constituted group of experts has urged the government to set up a dedicated mission to salvage and revive spring water systems in the country’s Himalayan States given their vital importance as a source of water for both drinking and irrigation for the region’s inhabitants.
•Spanning States across the country’s north and northeast and home to about 50 million people, the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has been heavily reliant on these natural groundwater sources, that are under increasing threat from the urbanisation caused by a constant push for development and climate change.
•“Almost half of the perennial springs have already dried up or have become seasonal and tens of thousands of villages are currently facing acute water shortage for drinking and other domestic purposes,” the group noted in its report titled ‘Inventory and Revival of Springs in the Himalayas for Water Security.’ “Almost 60% of low-discharge springs that provided water to small habitations in the Himalayan region have reported clear decline during the last couple of decades,” the report’s authors, who included experts from the Department of Science and Technology, noted.
Shimla crisis
•The extent of the crisis plaguing the mountainous region was recently evident when more than half a dozen districts of Himachal Pradesh and the State capital Shimla faced a severe drinking water crisis this May after major water sources either went fully or partially dry. While poor water management was said to be the key cause, according to State authorities, they also attributed reduced snowmelt and depressed flow from springs as contributors to the crisis.
•Also, with almost 64% of the cultivable area in the Himalayas fed by natural springs, they are often the only source of irrigation in the region.
•The report noted that there were also multiple sources of pollution in springs and these were due to both geogenic, or ‘natural’ causes and anthropogenic, or man-made, ones.
•Microbial content, sulphates and nitrates were primarily because of anthropogenic reasons and contamination from fluoride, arsenic and iron was mainly derived from geogenic sources. Coliform bacteria in spring water could originate from septic tanks, household wastewater, livestock facilities, and manure lagoons in the source area or in the aquifers feeding springs. Similarly, nitrate sources were septic tanks, household wastewater, agricultural fertilisers, and livestock facilities.
•While Meghalaya with 3,810 villages with springs had the highest number of these water sources in the Eastern Himalayan States, Sikkim had the greatest density with 94% of its villages having a spring. In the Western Himalayas, Jammu & Kashmir had both the highest number of villages with springs at 3,313 and the greatest density of 50.6%.
•The group recommends “a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach of managing springs that will involve building upon the existing body of work on spring water management. The programme could be designed on the concept of an action-research programme as part of a hydrogeology-based, community-support system on spring water management.”
•With over 60,000 villages in the IHR, “growing” urbanisation - due to 500 townships and 10 cities - was increasing demographic pressure on the region’s water resources, the group noted.
•The task force moots an 8-year programme to overhaul spring water management. This includes: preparing a digital atlas of the country’s springsheds, training ‘para-hydrogeologists’ who could lead grassroots conservation and introduction of a ‘Spring Health Card.’
•A NITI Aayog constituted group of experts has urged the government to set up a dedicated mission to salvage and revive spring water systems in the country’s Himalayan States given their vital importance as a source of water for both drinking and irrigation for the region’s inhabitants.
•Spanning States across the country’s north and northeast and home to about 50 million people, the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has been heavily reliant on these natural groundwater sources, that are under increasing threat from the urbanisation caused by a constant push for development and climate change.
•“Almost half of the perennial springs have already dried up or have become seasonal and tens of thousands of villages are currently facing acute water shortage for drinking and other domestic purposes,” the group noted in its report titled ‘Inventory and Revival of Springs in the Himalayas for Water Security.’ “Almost 60% of low-discharge springs that provided water to small habitations in the Himalayan region have reported clear decline during the last couple of decades,” the report’s authors, who included experts from the Department of Science and Technology, noted.
Shimla crisis
•The extent of the crisis plaguing the mountainous region was recently evident when more than half a dozen districts of Himachal Pradesh and the State capital Shimla faced a severe drinking water crisis this May after major water sources either went fully or partially dry. While poor water management was said to be the key cause, according to State authorities, they also attributed reduced snowmelt and depressed flow from springs as contributors to the crisis.
•Also, with almost 64% of the cultivable area in the Himalayas fed by natural springs, they are often the only source of irrigation in the region.
•The report noted that there were also multiple sources of pollution in springs and these were due to both geogenic, or ‘natural’ causes and anthropogenic, or man-made, ones.
•Microbial content, sulphates and nitrates were primarily because of anthropogenic reasons and contamination from fluoride, arsenic and iron was mainly derived from geogenic sources. Coliform bacteria in spring water could originate from septic tanks, household wastewater, livestock facilities, and manure lagoons in the source area or in the aquifers feeding springs. Similarly, nitrate sources were septic tanks, household wastewater, agricultural fertilisers, and livestock facilities.
•While Meghalaya with 3,810 villages with springs had the highest number of these water sources in the Eastern Himalayan States, Sikkim had the greatest density with 94% of its villages having a spring. In the Western Himalayas, Jammu & Kashmir had both the highest number of villages with springs at 3,313 and the greatest density of 50.6%.
•The group recommends “a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach of managing springs that will involve building upon the existing body of work on spring water management. The programme could be designed on the concept of an action-research programme as part of a hydrogeology-based, community-support system on spring water management.”
•With over 60,000 villages in the IHR, “growing” urbanisation - due to 500 townships and 10 cities - was increasing demographic pressure on the region’s water resources, the group noted.
•The task force moots an 8-year programme to overhaul spring water management. This includes: preparing a digital atlas of the country’s springsheds, training ‘para-hydrogeologists’ who could lead grassroots conservation and introduction of a ‘Spring Health Card.’
📰 Medal meter: on India at Asian Games 2018
With 69 medals, India’s performance at the Asian Games has many lessons going forward
•India’s best-ever Asian Games medal haul at Jakarta has brought much cheer. The Indian contingent raked in 69 medals, including 15 gold. It may have lagged at eighth place on the medals table, way behind China with its 289 medals — but compared to recent Asiads, India registered significant progress in many events, with heroic performances among both women and men. These will go a long way in inspiring others, and also hopefully making the sports administration more responsive to the needs of athletes. Track and field was a happy hunting ground, with India picking up 19 medals, including seven of its total 15 golds. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, whose gold-winning 88.06m makes him among the world’s best, particularly shone. As did Swapna Barman, who kept ahead of the pack to win gold in heptathlon even as she coped with a painful tooth infection and shoes far from ideal for her six-toed feet. Boxer Amit Panghal shocked Uzbekistan’s Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov with a split verdict in the men’s 49 kg category. Shooting and wrestling seized two gold medals each while table tennis broke its Asian Games drought with two bronze medals. P.V. Sindhu claimed the country’s maiden Asiad silver in badminton and Saina Nehwal got a bronze. There were disappointments too, especially in kabaddi, in which for the first time both the men’s and women’s teams finished without a gold medal. In men’s hockey, India, the defending champion and favourite, slumped with a bronze, missing automatic qualification for the Olympics in Tokyo.
•While India improved on its previous best of 65 at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, it remains miles behind Asian powerhouses like China and Japan, the top two in Jakarta. The fact that one woman swimmer from Japan, Rikako Ikee, who was adjudged as the Asiad’s Most Valuable Player, could win six golds gives a fair idea of where India stands. While the competition in track and field had audiences riveted, it is a sobering reality check that independent India has not won a single medal in athletics at the Olympics; China already has 32, including eight golds, and Japan has 25, with seven of them gold. Hope of this equation changing rests on Chopra, who could excel in global events in the years to come, and perhaps on under-20 world champion Hima Das, whose time of 50.79s got her the 400m silver. India should now build on its Asiad success to do better at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games than it did in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when the contingent returned with just two medals. It also needs to ensure that the sport is clean.
📰 Still too many children out of school
Data show that the proportion of these children is higher in rural areas and among SCs, STs and Muslims
•The official numbers of out-of-school children in India are either out of date or contradictory. According to the 2011 Census, the number of out-of-school children in the 5-17 age group was 8.4 crore. However, according to a survey commissioned in 2014 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the number of out-of-school children in the 6-13 age group was only 60.64 lakh. This is a gross underestimation. It is quite unlikely that the number of out-of-school children came down so drastically from 2011 to 2014, especially given that there were no significant changes in objective conditions, warranting such a miraculous reduction.
A matter of serious concern
•We recently calculated the number of out-of-school children in India on the basis of the 71st round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) carried out in 2014. We took into account the 6-18 age group, which we consider to be the most appropriate for estimating out-of-school children, even though the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act covers only the 6-14 age group. According to our estimate, out-of-school children in this age group were more than 4.5 crore in the country, which is 16.1% of the children in this age group. In big States such as Odisha (20.6%), Uttar Pradesh (21.4%), Gujarat (19.1%), Bihar (18.6%), Madhya Pradesh (18.6%), Rajasthan (18.4%) and West Bengal (16.8%), about one-fifth of the children in this age group were out of school. In Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the proportion of out-of-school children was lower than the national average. It is a matter of serious concern that nearly 10 years after the enactment of the RTE Act, and 16 years after the right to education was elevated to a fundamental right, such a large number of children are out of school.
•We also found that the proportion of out-of-school children was higher in rural India (17.2%) than in urban India (13.1%). In rural areas, the proportion of out-of-school girls (18.3%) was higher than of boys (16.3%). The proportion of children from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) was the highest, followed by Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Among religious groups, the proportion of Muslims was as high as 24.1% in rural areas and 24.7% in urban areas. On the whole, the data show that out-of-school children came mostly from the rural areas, and a high proportion of them are SCs, STs, Muslims and from other economically backward communities.
From low-income families
•Recently, we completed a study on the extent, location (rural/urban), and distribution by social and religious groups of out-of-school children in the Fatuha and Bihta blocks of Patna district in Bihar. Our survey covered all those households in these two blocks which had one or more children in the 6-18 age group, the total number of households being 4,205. Our survey confirmed the national-level finding that out-of-school children came mostly from low-income, landless and marginal families — 99.34% of the families from which out-of-school children came were either landless or marginal. The annual income of the fathers of 58.19% of such children was less than ₹50,000. Also, fathers of 51.18% of out-of-school children and mothers of 88.45% of out-of-school children were uneducated. Moreover, fathers of 56.84% and mothers of 33.28% of such children were casual labourers.
•Analysing the data collected from these two blocks, we found that the most important reason for boys to drop out of school was to take up jobs to supplement the family earning; for girls, it was the compulsion to participate in household work. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that this is an all-India phenomenon. According to the RTE Act and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, these out-of-school children fall under the category of child labour. It is, therefore, not surprising that the largest number of child labourers in the world is in India.
Reasons for not going to school
•Several of the reasons given for the non-enrolment of children and their dropping out of school indicated the prejudice against educating girls that is prevalent in India. This prejudice has been brought out more sharply in the Telangana Social Development Report, 2018, prepared and published by the Southern Regional Centre, Hyderabad, of the Council for Social Development. This report also draws on the data of the 71st round of the NSS. According to these data, a proportionately larger percentage of girls than boys was not enrolled. In the rural areas, the gender gap on this count was as high as 13 percentage points. A relatively lower percentage of girls was found going to high fee-charging private schools. Similarly, a relatively lower percentage of girls took private coaching, which involves costs additional to those incurred for schooling. Very few students in Telangana resorted to private coaching, but among those who did, the share of girls was only 2% of the total number; the share of boys was 6%. A much higher proportion of girls than boys dropped out of school after Class 10, after which education is not necessarily free. An additional collaborative evidence is that in Telangana, the average expenditure on the education of girls was less than that for boys. In Telangana, 50% of the children walked to their schools. Among these, the proportion of girls was higher than that of boys.
•We would not have been confronted with this high proportion of drop-outs if all the provisions of the RTE Act had been implemented within the time limit prescribed in the Act (latest by April 2015). For example, the Act provided for the availability of a school at a distance of 1 km from the residence of the child at the primary level and 3 km at the upper primary level. If these provisions had been implemented, a major reason for drop-out (distance of school) would have been eliminated. If all the infrastructure facilities prescribed in the Act had been put in place during the period of implementation, another reason for drop-out (environment not friendly) would have disappeared.
•The most important reason for drop-out (socio-economic conditions of the parents of the children) calls for a more comprehensive approach that is not reflected in the RTE Act. Until an adequate number of schools at the prescribed distances from the children’s homes becomes available, it would be necessary to provide secure modes of subsidised travel to schools, particularly for girls. Another important provision which ought to have been included in the RTE is financial support to poor parents, adequate to enable them to send their children to school. There is incontrovertible evidence of a positive correlation between economic incentives and a lower drop-out.
•The most important social reason for drop-out is lack of awareness of the importance of school education and of the fact that education is now a legal right. Ironically, education is the most important instrument for creating this awareness. Thus education is a quintessential example of being vested with intrinsic as well as instrumental value — being both the means and the end.
📰 Reserve Bank tightens ombudsman scheme
Stipulates criteria for appointments
•The Reserve Bank of India has tightened the banking ombudsman scheme with the objective to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism for customers.
•The banking regulator has asked all commercial banks having 10 or more banking outlets to have an independent internal ombudsman (IO) to review customer complaints that are either partly or fully rejected by the banks.
•“The IO shall, inter alia, examine customer complaints which are in the nature of deficiency in service on the part of the bank, that are partly or wholly rejected by the bank,” RBI said in a statement. The instructions are not applicable for Regional Rural Banks sponsored by commercial banks.
•As banks should internally escalate complaints that are not fully redressed to their respective IOs before conveying the final decision to the complainant, customers need not approach the IO directly, the RBI said.
Fixed term
•According to bankers, the Internal Ombudsman Scheme of 2018 mandates banks to grant a fixed term of three to five years, which cannot be renewed, to the IO. The IO can be removed only with prior approval from RBI. The remuneration would have to be decided by the customer sub-committee of the board and not by any individual.
•In a press release issued on Monday, RBI said that the Ombudsman Scheme of 2018 covers appointment/tenure, roles and responsibilities, procedural guidelines and oversight mechanism for the IO, among others.
•“The implementation of IO Scheme 2018 will be monitored by the bank’s internal audit mechanism apart from regulatory oversight by RBI,” the statement added.
📰 ‘No construction sans solid waste management policy’
SC imposes costs on errant States, UT
•The Supreme Court said it was “pathetic” that some States and Union Territories had not bothered to frame a solid waste management policy.
•The court ordered that further construction activities be stopped in some States and Union Territories that remained unmindful of the interests of their people to live in a clean environment.
•A Bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur imposed fines on some States and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for not placing on record their respective policies under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
•While Andhra Pradesh was ordered to pay ₹5 lakh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh were imposed costs of ₹3 lakh each.
•The amount would have to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee within two weeks and would be used for juvenile justice issues.
•The SC noted that other States, including, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh had deposited the costs imposed on them on July 10.
•“In case the States have the interest of the people in mind and cleanliness and sanitation, they should frame a Policy in terms of the Solid Waste Management Rules so that the States remain clean. The attitude of the States/Union Territories in not yet framing a Policy even after two years is pathetic, to say the least. Further constructions in the States/Union Territories are stayed until the policy is framed,” the Supreme Court observed in its order on August 31.
Next hearing on Oct. 9
•The court scheduled the case for further hearing on October 9. It is hearing the case suo motu since the death of a seven-year-old boy due to dengue in Delhi in 2015.
•Justice Lokur had condemned the attitude of the authorities at one point, saying “if they want the people to live in dirt, filth and garbage, what can be done then.”
•During the earlier hearing on July 10, some States did not attend court.
•Hence, the Bench imposed ₹1 lakh each on the defaulting States and UTs whose lawyers were present in court. These included Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Punjab, West Bengal, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. For the remaining States/Union Territories, who were either not present or not represented by lawyers, the burden of costs went up to ₹2 lakh.
•“The tragedy is that more than two-third of the States / Union Territories in the country have neither bothered to comply with the orders passed by the Court nor bothered to comply with the directions given by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India,” the Supreme Court had observed then, calling it a “shocking state of affairs”.
📰 PSU refiners to use Iranian tankers for oil imports
Move mirrors Beijing’s measures to side-step U.S. sanctions
•India will allow public sector refiners to import Iranian oil with Tehran arranging tankers and insurance after firms, including the country’s top shipper Shipping Corp of India (SCI), halted voyages due to U.S. sanctions, sources said.
•New Delhi’s attempt to keep Iranian oil flowing mirrors a step by China, where buyers are shifting nearly all their Iranian oil imports to vessels owned by National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC).
•The moves by the two top buyers of Iranian crude indicate that the Islamic Republic may not be fully cut off from global oil markets from November, when U.S. sanctions against Tehran’s petroleum sector are due to kick in. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the re-imposition of economic curbs after withdrawing the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. No one trading with Iran will do business with America, he said.
Insurers back away
•“We have the same situation (as most Western shippers) because there is no cover, so we cannot go (to Iran),” an SCI official said.
•New Delhi turned to the NITC fleet after most insurers and re-insurers had begun winding down services for Iran, wanting to avoid falling foul of the sanctions given their large exposure to the United States.
•SCI had a contract until August to import Iranian oil for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), two sources familiar with the matter said.
•Eurotankers, which had a deal with MRPL to import two Iranian oil cargoes every month, has also said it cannot undertake Iranian voyages from September, the sources said.
•The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to talk to the media about commercial deals.
•“The Shipping Ministry has given refiners permission to buy Iranian oil on a CIF (cost, insurance and freight) basis,” a government source said.
•Under a CIF arrangement, Iran would provide shipping and insurance, enabling Indian refiners to continue purchases of the country’s oil despite the non-availability of cover from Western insurers due to the restrictions imposed by Washington.
•The move would benefit Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and MRPL, which plan to lift Iranian cargoes during the rest of the fiscal year. India wants to continue buying oil from Iran as Tehran is offering almost free shipping and an extended credit period.
•State refiners, which drove India’s July imports of Iranian oil to a record 768,000 barrels per day, had planned to nearly double oil imports from Iran in 2018/19.
•Unlike their private peers, India’s state-run refiners need government permission to import oil on a delivered, or CIF, basis. Federal policy requires them to favour Indian insurers and shippers by buying only on a free on board (FOB) basis.
•The permission for CIF purchases applies only to existing annual contracts with Iran, the government source said.
•India, Iran’s top oil client after China, will finalise its strategy on crude purchases from Tehran after a meeting with top U.S. officials this week, a senior government official told Reuters last week.
📰 The impact of the river linking project
A study says the project will lead to shoreline loss
•India’s massive civil engineering project, the National River Linking Project (NRLP), will not only reduce inflow of the northern rivers, but also significantly reduce the sediments deposited by the rivers in deltas, a study shows. Fertile deltas will be under threat, with coastal erosion expected to threaten the land and livelihoods of local economies that support 160 million people.
•Four researchers from the University of Colorado sought to fill critical knowledge gaps in the understanding of the impact of the project: reduction in river discharge due to extensive canal works, and silt trapping in newer reservoirs and barrages. The study was published earlier this year in the journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
•The NRLP, which comprises 29 canals totalling 9,600 km, will involve the movement of 245 trillion litres of water, the study shows. Researchers supplemented data from the National Water Development Agency, which is implementing the project, with over 500 documents culled from various sources. On implementation, water discharge in 23 out of 29 rivers will reduce considerably, they say. The Ganga will see a 24% decrease in flow. Its tributaries Gandak (-68%) and Ghaghara (-55%) will be the worst affected. While the Brahmaputra will see only a 6% loss, its tributaries will see massive flow reductions: Manas (-73%), Sankosh (-72%) and Raidhak (-53%). Changes in water flow and trapping of silt in reservoirs will see a dip in the sediment deposited by rivers.
•In the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, projected aggradation (the amount of silt deposited by rivers in its delta) will decrease by 30% to 2.5 mm per year on average. This will aggravate loss of land in a delta where sea level rise is estimated to be 5.6 mm on average annually.
•The story for other deltas is similarly worrying. Already, reduced inflows due to natural and man-made processes has led to shoreline losses in the Krishna, Godavari and Mahanadi rivers. The NRLP will compound the problem. Though the Cauvery will see increases in flow (33%, with its tributary Penna seeing a staggering 450% increase), there will be almost no impact in its sediment discharge.
•“Rare ecosystems and vital agricultural areas would become more vulnerable to storm surges, river flooding, and heightened salinity... the system will push the deltas further in the wrong direction,” warns the study.
