📰 Excavations shed light on early Harappan ritual
Students, researchers from the Kerala University were part of the team
•Archaeological excavations undertaken by a group of researchers and students of the University of Kerala in Kutch (Gujarat) have shed light on the custom and burial rituals that were prevalent during the early Harappan phase.
•The 47-member team, which camped in Khatiya village of Kutch for a month-and-a-half, unearthed several skeletal remains from a cemetery-like burial site where 26 graves out of the nearly 300-odd ones were excavated.
•The rectangular graves, each of varying dimensions and assembled using stones, contained skeletons that were placed in a specific manner. They were oriented east-west with the heads positioned on the eastern side. Next to the legs on the western side, the archaeologists found earthen pots and pottery shards and other artefacts, including conch-shell bangles, beads made of stones and terracotta, numerous lithic tools and grinding stones.
•“While the burial of belongings next to the corpse could possibly suggest the prevalence of the concept of afterlife, much study was required before we could arrive at any such conclusions,” says Rajesh S.V., Assistant Professor at the university’s Department of Archaeology, who along with Assistant Professor Abhayan G.S., led the excavations.
•Of the 26 graves that were excavated, the biggest was 6.9 metres long and the smallest 1.2 metres long. The skeletal remains of human beings in most of them were found to be disintegrated. The presence of animal skeletons along with those of humans were also recorded in a few graves.
Non-uniform
•Interestingly, the researchers found the mode of burial to be non-uniform. Instances of primary burial and secondary burial (when the remains of the primary burial are exhumed and moved to another grave) were found. The remains of those who were possibly cremated were also found in a few graves. The excavation team managed to recover a complete human skeleton, which was later placed in a box structure made of plaster of Paris with the assistance of Kanti Parmar, a faculty member of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. The recovered skeleton and artefacts will be kept for display at the museum of the Kerala University’s Archaeology Department. The other skeletal remains will be sent to various laboratories to run tests to understand the age, gender, circumstances that could have led to the death and the salient features of the respective DNA, Prof. Rajesh said.
•Lending credence to the trade network that could have existed during the early phase of the Harappan civilisation from 3300 BCE to 2600 BCE, the researchers claimed that the mud pots bore similarities with those that were unearthed from other Harappan sites in Kot Diji, Amri and Nal in Pakistan, Nagwada, Santhali, Moti Pipli and Ranod in North Gujarat, and Surkotada and Dhaneti in Kutch.
However, Bench refuses to stay 10% reservation for the poor in general category
•The Supreme Court on Monday decided to consider the question of whether the challenge to the 10% economic reservation law should be heard by a Constitution Bench. A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, scheduled the hearing for March 28.
•The court, however, refused to pass any interim order to stay or hamper the implementation of the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act that provides for 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the economically backward in the unreserved category.
•The issue arose when senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan pointed out that the 50% quota limit was part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution, and the new amendment tinkered with it.
•The Act amends Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, adding clauses empowering the government to provide reservation on the basis of economic backwardness.
‘Basic features violated’
•The petitions, mainly one filed by activist Tehseen Poonawala, said the Act violated the basic features of the Constitution. The petitioners argued that the 50% ceiling was “engrafted as a part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution’s equality code” by the court.
•One of the petitions, filed by Youth For Equality, represented by advocate Senthil Jagadeesan and settled by advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, contended that the court, in a nine-judge Bench judgment in the Indra Sawhney case, had settled the law that economic backwardness could not be the sole basis for reservation. The petition argued that the Act was “vulnerable” and negated a binding judgment of the Supreme Court.
•The petitioners contended that the amendments excluded the OBCs and the SCs/STs from the scope of the reservation.
‘Only for elite’
•This, it said, “essentially implies that only those who are poor from the general categories would avail themselves of the benefits of the quotas.” It said the high creamy layer limit of Rs. 8 lakh a year meant the elite would capture the benefits.
•Further, the petitioners contended that the court had already settled the law that the “state’s reservation policy cannot be imposed on unaided educational institutions, and as they are not receiving any aid from the State, they can have their own admission if they are fair, transparent, non-exploitative and based on merit.”
•“While the impugned amendment attempts to overcome the applicability of Articles 19(1)(g) and 29(2), it remains silent on Article 14, which protects the citizens from manifestly arbitrary State action,” the petition said.
•The petition also contended that the term ‘economically weaker sections’ remained undefined in the Act, along with the “ambiguous” term of ‘State’. The question of reference came up even as the Centre sought more time to file its counter.
📰 A compromise is still possible: on Ayodhya dispute
But there is need for clarity on the status of one mediator and the efficacy of mediation on Ayodhya
•The Supreme Court’s attempt to maintain Hindu-Muslim harmony through a mediated settlement of the long-standing Babri Masjid dispute deserves appreciation. But it has raised a couple of concerns too. One relates to the choice of a mediator, and the other to the efficacy of mediation at this stage.
Mediator neutrality
•By definition, a mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated settlement between adversarial contenders. Unfortunately, the neutrality of one of the three court-appointed mediators, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has come into question as some of his public pronouncements in the recent past appear to negate his supposed disinterestedness.
•A year ago, in an open letter to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had said: “People from both communities who are adamant on following the court’s verdict are also driving the issue to a situation of defeat.” The “best solution”, therefore, is “an out-of-court settlement in which the Muslim bodies come forward and gift one acre of land to the Hindus who in turn will gift five acres of land nearby to the Muslims, to build a better mosque.”
•He even told Muslims that giving up their claim to the disputed property did not amount to “surrendering this land to the people who demolished the Babri Masjid or to a particular organisation. On the contrary, they are gifting it to the people of India”.
•Apart from the fact that this position betrays Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s bias in favour of disputants belonging to one religion, it is difficult to understand the justifiability of treating a gift to Hindus as a gift to the people of India. Does he regard only Hindus as “the people of India” to the exclusion of other communities?
•Nonetheless, it stands to reason that Muslims would be in a position to gift the land only when their ownership of it is confirmed by the Supreme Court. If Muslims lose the case, the entire land would come under the control of Hindus and the question of Muslims giving up their claim would then be rendered redundant.
•But the Art of Living founder thinks that even a Hindu victory would not be conducive to peace. It could foster Muslim resentment and may “lead to riots throughout the country”, he told the AIMPLB, thereby insinuating that Muslims are violent. He seems to be unaware that Muslims have agreed to abide by the court verdict whichever way it goes. Now that he has been made a mediator, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar must clarify if he still stands by his statements.
Advisability of mediation
•Despite Hindu groups opposing a negotiated settlement, the Supreme Court made it clear that an attempt should be made to settle the dispute by mediation. It overruled their objections by invoking Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) which allows the court to refer any dispute to one of the four modes of non-adjudicatory resolution processes: namely, arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement (including settlement through Lok Adalat), or mediation. In this case, the court opted for mediation.
•This was again opposed on the basis of a two-judge Supreme Court judgment in Afcons infrastructure and Ors. v. Cherian Verkay Construction and Ors (2010). It illustratively explained that mediation cannot be done in a representative suit which involves public interest or the interest of large number of persons who are not represented in the court.
•But the five-Judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi differed. Citing the provisions of Order 1 rule 8 CPC and Order XXIII rule 3-B, it stated that there was no legal impediment to making a reference to mediation. Whether the said CPC provisions would apply in the event parties arrive at a settlement in the mediation proceedings was left open to be decided later.
•Also, what the Supreme Court had frowned upon in Afcons was a civil court exercising power under Section 89 of the Code to refer a suit for “arbitration” without the concurrence of all the parties to the suit. But the court is free, the Supreme Court had said, to consider and decide upon any non-adjudicatory resolution method other than arbitration such as judicial settlement or mediation.
•Questions still remain. If the Hindu groups continue to reject mediation, how will this dispute be resolved? And if they agree to negotiate, will the compromise they reach with Muslims be binding on all Hindus in India?
•Even Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who conceded that a negotiated settlement is most ‘desirable’ in this case, was initially not sure if such a settlement could bind millions of Hindus and Muslims as the issue is not an ordinary dispute between two private parties.
Win-win situation
•If examined closely, it would be seen that the Babri Masjid dispute is not really an explosive issue affecting the religious sentiments of millions of Hindus and Muslims as has been portrayed. This may have been the case in the initial years after the illegal demolition of the Babri Masjid. But today, more than a quarter century later, such a portrayal should be construed as having entered the realm of political mythopoeia where myths of various kinds are created at the hustings for electoral advantage.
•The fact is, there is no evidence to show that the handful of parties claiming to represent Hindus and Muslims in this case are fully backed by their respective communities. In other words, the Babri Masjid/Ram Janmabhoomi imbroglio is no longer a life-affirming issue for the Indian masses, who are more concerned about jobs, poverty alleviation and access to affordable housing, health care and education.
•That said, both communities cannot afford to let the Ayodhya dispute simmer forever and stall the country’s socio-economic growth. The main reason for the unrelenting Muslim attitude is the fear that if they give up their claim on the Babri Masjid, Hindu groups would ask for other “disputed” mosques to be handed over. After all one of the post-demolition kar sevak slogans in 1992 was, “Yeh toh sirf jhanki hai, ab Kashi, Mathura baaki hai (This is only the trailer, now Kashi and Mathura remain),” in which Kashi and Mathura are metonyms for two more disputed places of worship.
A question of trust
•If this Muslim fear is addressed by the Hindu parties to the dispute, and also by influential organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the chances of amicably resolving this seemingly intractable conflict would exponentially increase. A collective assurance from the Hindu side that it would not stake claim to any other “disputed” mosque in India could be the face-saving compromise and win-win situation both sides are looking for.
📰 A case for aggressive diplomacy: on India-Pakistan relations
Indian state responses cannot be reactive to the agenda of terrorist groups
•Pakistan and India are strange nations. Just as the conflict after India’s bombing of the Balakot terror camp was winding down, Pakistan alleged on March 5 that it had thwarted the entry of an Indian submarine into its waters. India responded that Pakistan was indulging in false propaganda. On the same evening, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a statement that its High Commissioner to India, Sohail Mahmood, would be returning to Delhiand talks with India on the Kartarpur Corridor would go ahead. It was a signal that tensions were officially being defused. India confirmed the talks on Kartarpur and also sent back Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria to Islamabad.
•The morning and evening’s events of March 5 could cause genuine confusion among the public. But it appears as though Pakistan, through its morning assertion, was playing to its domestic audience, while its evening statement was a signal to the international community that it had no further desire to climb the escalation ladder with India.
Winding down tensions
•It was U.S. President Donald Trump who provided the first clear indication of the involvement of major powers in defusing tensions between India and Pakistan. Apart from the Americans, the Chinese and Saudis also seem smack in the middle of the India-Pakistan equation. If the Indian intention post-Pulwama was to isolate Pakistan, that doesn’t seem to have happened.
•For the two governments, given that the score was level — one had shot down a F-16 and the other had shot down an MiG-21 — they could now respond positively to global concerns. As for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘Operation Balakot’ had given him ammunition to use in his election rallies.
•The Modi government’s decision to go ahead with the Kartarpur talks days after tensions were at the peak, and after withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan, is bizarre, but it serves two purposes. One, it is an effort to win votes in the Punjab. Two, it shows India as being reasonable before the international community.
•There is little doubt that India got away with its pre-emptive strike in Balakot because Pakistan’s denials that it has nothing to do with fostering groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) carry no credibility, including among thinking members of its own civil society. Further, the JeM even claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror strike. There’s also little doubt that India and Pakistan narrowly escaped a full-fledged conflict, the extent of which can never really be predicted amid social media propaganda, fake videos, domestic pressures and ugly jingoism on both sides.
The Vajpayee years
•The India-Pakistan nuclear ‘deterrent’ was first put to test by General Pervez Musharraf, who planned the Kargil incursion months after Pakistan went publicly nuclear in response to the Indian nuclear tests of May 11 and 13, 1998.
•As India began clearing the Kargil heights of the Pakistani Northern Light Infantry masquerading as ‘mujahideen’, there was enormous pressure on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to use the Indian Air Force across the Line of Control after the loss of two MiG aircraft. But Vajpayee held firm against both public and IAF pressure. During the Kargil conflict, Pakistan’s then Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed and Minister Raja Zafar-ul-Haq made it clear that its nuclear weapons were not for show, but for use. Pakistan’s conduct during Kargil exposed the state as irresponsible and led to numerous international calls for respecting the LoC. Had India retaliated across the LoC then, or hit back against Pakistani retaliation during this year’s confrontation, the country’s “miltablishment”, to borrow Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi’s expression, in Rawalpindi may well have been pondering the unthinkable nuclear option.
•Pakistan went to great lengths to obtain its nuclear capability to insulate itself against India and no “miltablishment” can survive there if it’s unable to even the score with India. The nuclear option is built into the trajectory of its survival as a state.
•India can ignore such default Pakistani options at its own — and the region’s — peril. Looking strong in an election year might be good for a political party’s prospects, but will do nothing to enhance India’s credentials as a responsible state that thinks long term.
•During the Kargil war in 1999, after the Parliament attack in 2001, and post the Mumbai attack in 2008, two Prime Ministers of India had the option of retaliation, but they did not exercise it. Instead, India’s patience projected the responsible nature of the state, which was in stark opposition to Pakistan’s tattered credibility.
•It is a commentary on the sorry state of India’s covert capabilities that key figures in the terror network in Pakistan operate unhindered. A key planner of the 1999 IC-814 hijacking and founder of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Fazlur Rehman Khaleel, was recently received at a Pakistani air base in Waziristan. That’s the ground reality. Whatever Pakistan is doing to rein in the JeM and LeT is being dictated by the threat of sanctions from the Financial Action Task Force, not by Indian pressure. These actions will vanish if the threat of sanctions dissipates.
Talks and more talks
•A conventional response to terrorist groups can demonstrate intent, but does very little to whittle down their abilities. Covert capabilities coupled with deft and persistent diplomacy is the only way forward in such difficult circumstances.
•The Modi government’s inability to reach out to Kashmiris and its actions against the Hurriyat leadership at a time when the separatists have lost control of the public mood underline an uncaring attitude. This has also created a fertile ground for Kashmiri youth to join terrorist ranks.
•Indian state responses cannot be reactive to the agenda of terrorist groups, howsoever brutal their actions are. A calm, mature, informed and long-term strategy with aggressive diplomacy at its core, one that leverages India’s economic strength, remains the country’s best bet to deal with the terrorist threat from Pakistani soil.
📰 53% of working women say their workplaces are male-dominated
Gender discrimination high in telecom and manufacturing sectors, says survey
•For 97% of working women, life has changed post migration, said a survey by ICICI Lombard on the physical and mental health of working women through their career span.
•The study surveyed working women in the age group 22-55 years, covering aspects like migration for work, resuming work post maternity and women at work facing menopause. The objective of the survey was to understand issues faced by working women at the workplace.
•While gender equality at the workplace has become a byword in the corporate sector, the survey has brought forth the fact that 53% of the working women believe their workplaces are still male-dominated.
•Of this, 46% belong to the age group 22-33 years, followed by 35% group from the age group 34-44 years. Women in the telecom and manufacturing sector experienced more instances of gender discrimination than any other sector.
•Another interesting facet of the survey was in that 62% of the respondents believed that recognition at par with male counterparts notwithstanding, there is a gap when it comes to remuneration. This was found to be more prevalent in the manufacturing and financial sectors.
•The imbalance thus created puts extra pressure on women leading into ‘increased frustration levels (66%)’, ‘working beyond their capacity to prove their mettle (64%) and ‘stress due to high expectations (62%)’.
•Workplace abuse was an aspect faced more by older women (45-55 years), with a majority of them reporting this to HR (43%), but a significant lot (32%) also quitting on account of this.
Positive change
•Migration for work has proved to be a positive change for 97% of working women, enhancing self-confidence and financial independence. Cultural shock, though, is a major challenge.
•Also, women migrating post 30 are more prone to stress as it is mentally difficult to accommodate in formal office environment, the survey said.
•Respondents to the survey relating to menopause revealed that depression is a common emotion impacting 89% of working women, leading 42% of them to take leave once a month. In order to relieve that stress, 49% of the women engaged in activities like yoga, while others preferred morning/evening walks and zumba. However, gym and outdoor sports are almost negligible.
•The study involved online quantitative interviews with 1500 working women, across five locations.
📰 Wood snake, last seen in 1878, rediscovered by scientists
The species is endemic to the Meghamalai forests and Periyar Tiger Reserve area
•A species of wood snake that wasn’t seen for 140 years has resurfaced in a survey conducted by scientists in the Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary. The species, endemic to the Meghamalai forests and the Periyar Tiger Reserve landscape, was recently rediscovered by R. Chaitanya, a herpetologist, and Varad Giri, director, Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation.
•The findings of the surveys, conducted over two years (2014-2016), were published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society last month. “The snake is a ‘point endemic’ (found only in Meghamalai). It was found in the same region that Colonel Beddome alluded to, and the morphological characters match with his specimen,” said Dr. Chaitanya, who found a female specimen. The snake he discovered was 235 mm long and uniformly dark brown.
Specimens deposited
•The local population of wood snakes was last spotted and recorded by British military officer and naturalist Colonel Richard Henry Beddome in 1878, who went on to describe it as a new species, Xylophis indicus. The specimens he collected were deposited by the officer in the Natural History Museum, London, and labelled as being from “the dense heavy evergreen forests on the mountains at the south of the Cumbum valley, Madura.”
•Mr. Giri said the rediscovery of the snake indicated that the quality of the habitat was good. “The documentation of the existence of this species will aid in both the management and conservation of biodiversity in this region,” he said. In their research paper, the scientists also mention their rediscovery of Xylophis indicus needs to be validated by both morphological and genetic data. While the morphological aspect has been done, the genetic data is pending. Meghamalai Wildlife Warden S. Kalanithi acknowledged that the process of capturing the specimen for genetic data would require several permits.
‘Reserve needed’
•Honorary Wildlife Warden, Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, C. R. Rajkumar said this discovery is a sign that the biodiversity in this area should be protected. “Meghamalai has a range of snakes, butterflies and ants, apart from the large mammals that we know of. Establishing a tiger reserve here will ensure that there is proper protection of this landscape,” he said, adding, “It will also help in the restoration of the Vaigai river.”
📰 Green panel orders inspection of Yamuna floodplain in Agra
Seeks report on its demarcation within four weeks
•The National Green Tribunal on Monday asked the Director of Namami Gange and the Director General of National Institute of Hydrology to inspect the Yamuna floodplain in Agra and submit a report within four weeks on its demarcation.
•A Bench headed by Justice R.S. Rathore said certain reports obtained earlier were not only inconsistent but serious objections had been raised against them.
•“The Director, Namami Gange, as well as, the Director General, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee shall nominate officials, concerning with the subject, who after visiting the site they should file a report with regard to floodplain within the timeline, mentioned above. The report should clearly reflect the demarcation of river floodplain in Agra and the construction in it,” the tribunal said.
•The matter is posted for next hearing on April 12.
•The tribunal had earlier refused to vacate its 2015 order restraining construction and transfer of possession of flats on Yamuna floodplain in Agra after two builders sought lifting of the ban.
‘No entitlement’
•It had said that even if the builders have transferred the flat to the purchasers, it does not entitle them to file an application for vacating the interim order passed in 2015 as the matter is still pending.
📰 Jumbo that scared villagers caught in Kerala
‘Vadakanadu Komban’ was captured in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
•The Forest and Wildlife Department on Monday captured a wild elephant that had caused fear among villagers in Vadakkanadu in the Wayanad district for several years.
•The tusker was captured from the Chembarathi Moola forest in the Kurichiyad forest range under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, and shifted to a temporary kraal at Muthanga.
Boy killed last year
•The jumbo, aged about 26 years, had been causing panic among people in various hamlets after it killed a boy last year. Though it had left the area after the incident, it reappeared again and started destroying crops.
•The jumbo, a regular crop-raider in the Sulthan Bathery and Kurichyad ranges under the sanctuary, was fixed with a radio collar telemeter on March 13, 2018, after protests by villagers.
•A contingent of forest officials, veterinary doctors, tranquiliser experts, trackers and kumki (trained) elephants were employed at the wildlife sanctuary to capture the elephant, known among villagers by the name ‘Vadakanadu Komban’.
•“The operation began at 5 a.m. with the help of three kumki elephants,” Warden N.T. Sajan said. The team located the animal in the Chembarathi Moola forest near Vadakkanadu area under the Kurichiyad forest range at 5 a.m.
Tranquiliser used
•“Soon after, a team of veterinary surgeons led by Arun Zachariah administered the first dose of a tranquiliser dart at 6 a.m., followed by a mild dose around 6.30 a.m,” B. Anjan Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, Palakkad, told The Hindu .
•When the pachyderm had shown symptoms of sedation, it was shifted to the ambulance parked near the forest, Mr. Kumar said.
•He added that it was later shifted to a makeshift kraal.
📰 Let them take flight: on Tejas and Kaveri projects
It is not late to declare the Tejas and Kaveri projects as ‘national missions’
•At the Aero-India 2019 airshow and aviation exhibition, held in Bengaluru last month, there were two developments of significance, for India’s national security as well its moribund aeronautical industry. On February 20, the Indian Air Force and the aviation community heaved a collective sigh of relief after the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark 1, received its long-awaited Final Operational Clearance; this means it is combat-ready and can be exploited to the limits of its approved ‘envelope’. However, a day later, came a rather unwelcome report: a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announcement at the show of its decision to shelve the Kaveri turbo-jet engine project. While one waits for this report to be confirmed or denied, given the criticality of this engine for India’s aeronautical industry, the issue deserves a close look.
Political myopia
•Historically, all major aerospace powers have possessed the capability to design airframes as well as power-plants. Until India can design and produce its own aero-engines, the performance and capabilities of any indigenously designed/built aircraft will be seriously limited by the technology that we are permitted to import. India has already had two bitter experiences in this regard. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s sleek and elegant HF-24 Marut fighter, of the 1960s and 1970s, failed to achieve its huge potential as a supersonic fighter for want of a suitable engine. Rather than exert itself to seek alternatives, the government of the day, with stunning myopia, closed the programme.
•Similarly, many of the problems the Tejas faced emanate from lack of engine thrust. Even as the Kaveri has failed to make an appearance, U.S.-made alternatives such as the General Electric F-404 engine, or even the more powerful F-414, do not deliver adequate thrust for the Tejas Mk 1, to meet all its missions. For the Tejas Mk IA, Mk II, the LCA Navy, and other aircraft programmes such as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India will need turbo-jet engines of even greater thrust. Thus, it is vital for India to develop a family of homegrown jet engines to power indigenous combat aircraft as well as re-engine imported ones.
A pivotal role
•In this context, it is necessary to recognise that both the Tejas and Kaveri projects — which have seen more than their share of headwinds and uncertainty — form key components of India’s technological aspirations. Unless carefully guided, protected and nurtured, their failure could spell the end of India’s aeronautical industry, or condemn it forever to licensed production. A long production run of, say, 250-300 aircraft for the Tejas and its advanced derivatives is essential if the industry is to hone its design and production skills.
•The same holds good for the Kaveri, except that the design and production of a functional turbojet engine are even more challenging. The HAL claims to have “manufactured” nearly 5,000 aero-engines of British, French and Russian design, and overhauled 18,000 of them. Since this putative “manufacturing” process involves merely the assembly of imported components, several engine divisions of the HAL have failed to imbibe aspects of design, metallurgy, thermodynamic and aerodynamic engineering as well as the complex tooling and machining process required for the design and manufacture of aero-engines, over the past 60 years — a sad commentary. In 1986, the DRDO’s decades-old Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) was tasked with developing an indigenous power plant for the LCA, which was to replace the U.S. engines being used for the development phase of the aircraft.
•Having developed two experimental engines, the GTRE took up a turbofan design, designated the GTX-35VS “Kaveri”, for the LCA. Full-scale development was authorised in 1989 for 17 prototypes at a cost of $55 million. The first complete prototype Kaveri began tests in 1996, and by 2004 it had flown on a Russian flying test-bed; albeit unsuccessfully. Since then, the Kaveri has made sporadic progress and the GTRE has been struggling with serious design and performance issues which it has been unable to resolve. As the Kaveri missed successive deadlines, the U.S. import option was mindlessly and gleefully resorted to.
A series of troughs
•Given the DRDO’s penchant for secrecy and misplaced optimism, the true story of the Kaveri’s halting progress has never been revealed to Parliament or the taxpayer. However, two details, available on the Internet, are revelatory of the organisation’s ‘modus operandi’. It has, at least, on two occasions, approached French and British aero-engine manufacturers for advice and consultancy in operationalising the Kaveri. Despite reportedly attractive offers of performance-enhancement and technology-transfer, the negotiations stalled reportedly on cost considerations. It is also interesting to note that in 2014, this project — of national importance — was arbitrarily shut down by the DRDO only to be revived subsequently for reasons unknown.
•It is obvious that the onus for repeated setbacks in these projects must lie squarely on India’s political leadership; for its neglect as well as absence of a vision for the aeronautical industry. There are three more factors: over-estimation by the DRDO of its capabilities compounded by a reluctance to seek advice; inadequate project management and decision-making skills of its scientists; and exclusion of users — the military — from all aspects of the projects.
•It is still not too late for the government to declare both these projects as ‘national missions’ and initiate urgent remedial actions. The success of both the Kaveri and Tejas programmes will transform the aerospace scene, and put India in the front ranks of aeronautical nations, perhaps even ahead of China, if the desired degree of resolve and professional rigour can be brought to the fore. If we miss this opportunity, we will remain abjectly import-dependent forever in this vital area.
📰 India is world’s 2nd largest arms importer
But figures decreased by 24% between 2009-13 and 2014-18, partly due to delays in delivery
•India was the world’s second largest arms importer from 2014-18, ceding the long-held tag as largest importer to Saudi Arabia, which accounted for 12% of the total imports during the period.
•“India was the world’s second largest importer of major arms in 2014–18 and accounted for 9.5% of the global total,” according to the latest report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday.
•However, Indian imports decreased by 24% between 2009-13 and 2014-18, partly due to delays in deliveries of arms produced under licence from foreign suppliers, such as combat aircraft ordered from Russia in 2001 and submarines ordered from France in 2008, the report stated.
•Russia accounted for 58% of Indian arms imports in 2014–18, compared with 76% in 2009-13. Israel, the U.S. and France all increased their arms exports to India in 2014-18. However, the Russian share in Indian imports is likely to sharply go up for the next five-year period as India signed several big-ticket deals recently, and more are in the pipeline. These include S-400 air defence systems, four stealth frigates, AK-203 assault rifles, a second nuclear attack submarine on lease, and deals for Kamov-226T utility helicopters, Mi-17 helicopters and short-range air defence systems. The report noted that despite the long-standing conflict between India and Pakistan, arms imports decreased for both countries in 2014-18 compared with 2009-13.
Pakistan at 11th
•Pakistan stood at the 11th position accounting for 2.7% of all global imports. Its biggest source was China, from which 70% of arms were sourced, followed by the U.S. at 8.9% and, interestingly, Russia at 6%.
•Globally, the volume of international transfers of major arms in 2014-18 was 7.8% higher than in 2009-13 and 23% higher than in 2004-2008. The five largest exporters in 2014-18 were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China together accounting for 75% of the total volume of arms exports in 2014-18. “The flow of arms increased to the Middle East between 2009-13 and 2014-18, while there was a decrease in flows to all other regions,” the report said.
•China, which has emerged as a major arms exporter, has increased its share by 2.7% for 2014-18 compared to 2009-13. Its biggest customers are Pakistan and Bangladesh.
•As Indian imports reduced, the impact was on Russian exports of major arms, which decreased by 17% between 2009-13 and 2014-18. The report said this was partly due to “general reductions in Indian and Venezuelan arms imports”, which have been among the main recipients of Russian arms exports in previous years.
📰 Uncertain govt. policies clouded developer sentiment, hit solar capacity addition: Crisil
‘Slow momentum may cause Centre to meet only 60% of 100 GW target by 2022’
•Inconsistent government actions have cast a shadow over developer sentiment in the solar sector and slowed down capacity addition momentum, Crisil said in a report. This will result in the government achieving only 60% of its 100 GW target by 2022, it added.
•“Crisil Research expects solar power capacity additions of 48-50 GW between fiscals 2019 and 2023,” the report said.
•“However, developer sentiment has been negatively impacted by the lack of clarity on several policy issues and arbitrary bid cancellations, which is contrary to a supportive policy stance from the government.”
•India’s solar sector installed capacity is expected to touch 60 GW by 2022 and 70 GW by 2023.
GST on solar
•The report said the two main factors increasing cost pressures for the solar sector included the imposition of the safeguard duty on solar component imports and the uncertainty over the Goods and Services Tax treatment of the sector.
•“Clarification on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) procedures and its implementation for solar was not forthcoming for over a year, impacting commissioning schedules and project costs across developers,” the report said.
•The report said that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had issued a clarification on the issue, saying that entirely solar projects would be taxable at 5%, but it also said that if an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract included both supply and services, it would be adjudged on a case-to-case basis. “This created further concern, as most projects were set up on an EPC basis, whether in-house or outsourced,” the report said. “The issue lacked clarity for over a year, until the GST Council in December 2018 clarified with regardto EPC contracts by setting a ratio of 70:30 of the entire value of the EPC contract, where 70% will be taxed at 5%, and 30% at 18%, to factor in both the supply and service component.”
•However, this clarification has meant an increased tax incidence, of about 8-9%, which is higher than the 5% expected by the industry, leading to an increase in final capital costs.
•Further, the imposition of the safeguard duty has resulted in an increase in capital costs by 10-15%, which resulted in bid tariffs moving in the range of Rs. 2.7-2.9 per unit.
📰 ‘India ranks 11th in gold holding’
At 607 tonnes, it would’ve been a notch higher had the list counted just countries
•India, which is the world’s largest consumer of gold, has the 11th largest gold reserve, with the current holding pegged at 607 tonnes, as per the latest report by the World Gold Council (WGC).
•India’s overall position in terms of total gold holding would have been tenth had the list included only countries. Whereas, International Monetary Fund (IMF) is included and is third on the list with total gold reserves of 2,814 tonnes.
•The numero uno slot is occupied by the U.S., which boasts of gold reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes, followed by Germany with 3,369.7 tonnes. Italy and France complete the top five list with reserves of a little over 2,400 tonnes each. Meanwhile, among Asian countries, China and Japan have more reserves of the precious metal when compared to India. China – WGC takes into account only ‘Mainland China’ – has reserves of 1,864.3 tonnes, while Japan has gold reserves of 765.2 tonnes. “Following the multi-decade high in gold reserves growth in 2018, central banks’ appetite remained healthy at the start of 2019,” said Alistair Hewitt, Director of Market Intelligence, WGC. “Gross purchases of 48 tonnes and gross sales of 13 tonnes led to global gold reserves rising by 35 tonnes on a net basis in January, with sizeable increases from nine central banks. This is the largest January increase in gold reserves in our records [back to 2002], and illustrates the recent strength in gold accumulation,” added Mr. Hewitt.
•He highlighted the fact that demand was concentrated among emerging market central banks, with diversification the key driver in the face of ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, countries like Taiwan, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Lebanon and Spain, along with the European Central Bank, complete the top 20 list of largest gold reserves.
•Pakistan, with its gold reserves of 64.6 tonnes, occupies the 45th position.
