The News Editorial Analysis 24th November 2021
India, U.S. commit to linking economies across sectors
Indian grapes, U.S. cherries could be early winners as Trade Forum revives
The United States and India committed to integrating their economies across sectors to harness the untapped potential of the bilateral relationship, at the Trade Policy Forum convened after a gap of four years on Tuesday.
Co-chaired by Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai, the Forum resolved to take economic ties between the two countries to the ‘next high level’ and exchanged views on ‘potential targeted tariff reductions’.
The two sides decided to activate working groups of the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) on agriculture, non-agriculture goods, services, investment, and intellectual property to meet frequently and address issues of mutual concern in a mutually beneficial manner. The idea is to deliver tangible benefits to farmers and businesses of both countries by resolving outstanding market access issues.
Mutual market access
Specifically, the Forum has decided to forge an agreement to facilitate U.S. market access for mangoes, grapes, and pomegranates, pomegranate arils from India, and reciprocate with similar access in the Indian market to cherries, pork/pork products and alfalfa hay for animal feed from the United States.
Discussions will also be held on enhancing market access for products such as distillers’ dried grains with solubles from the U.S. and resolving market access concerns for water buffalo meat and wild caught shrimp from India.
‘Restore GSP benefits’
The Indian side has sought restoration of the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) benefits by the U.S. and said this would help industries from both sides in integrating their supply chain efficiently. The United States noted it ‘for suitable consideration’, an official statement said.
The Forum also agreed on the significance of negotiating a Social Security Totalization Agreement in the interest of workers from both sides, and pursuing further engagements for reaching such an agreement.
The agreement, being pursued for over a decade, would allow workers from both countries to move their retirement savings.
New Crypto Bill seeks to ban private players
Exceptions for underlying technology
The Union Government will introduce a Bill to regulate cryptocurrency and ostensibly ban all private cryptocurrencies, along with 25 other pieces of legislation, in the winter session of Parliament that begins on November 29.
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, which is yet to be officially approved by the Cabinet, seeks to create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
Pilot project
The central bank is looking at launching a pilot project for an official digital currency soon.
“The Bill also seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India. However, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses,” according to the stated purport of the Bill in a Lok Sabha bulletin and the tentative list of the government’s legislative business for Rajya Sabha.
So far, the precise contours of the Bill are not in the public domain and no public consultations have been held.
The Finance Ministry has been tight-lipped on the Bill, which had been readied for the Cabinet’s approval as early as August.
No details
Media queries about who would be held responsible if investors betting on crypto assets that are liberally advertised, were to make heavy losses, have been met with silence.
Breaking the ice
Reviving the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum is a chance to break vicious cycle in economic ties
On her maiden visit to Asia, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai held bilateral meetings with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and relaunched the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF). A lot has transpired in the Indo-U.S. economic partnership in the four years since the TPF was last convened — from machinations towards a free-trade agreement to the failure to even reach a mini-trade deal towards the latter half of the Donald Trump administration days. Instead of progress, there were setbacks, including raised import tariffs and the withdrawal of benefits to Indian exporters under the U.S.’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) which triggered retaliatory trade barbs. That marquee American businesses (Harley-Davidson and Ford) have left India has not helped optics, even if their motivations may not have been solely linked to difficult trade norms. With the Joe Biden administration shutting the door on new trade pacts and being cold to restoring the GSP status, India must be ruing the hard stances that scuttled the chances of sealing a deal in the Trump era. Ms. Tai’s visit offers a fresh reset chance. GSP restoration, she has said, could be considered, while nudging India to set targets for tariff reductions and easing market access across sectors. The TPF statement also outlines the sectors and goods and services that need quick attention.
Whatever misgivings may have existed at the beginning of the Biden administration, Ms. Tai’s visit, that follows trips by key U.S. Secretaries, indicates U.S. interest in engaging with India in significant spheres. That it looks at India as a key partner in rebuilding critical supply chains in a post-pandemic world seeking to cut its dependence on China, is clear from its desire for integration in areas such as health, medical devices and pharma. India’s pharma exports account for 40% of the U.S.’s generic drugs supply and Ms. Tai has assuaged its concerns about delays in U.S. regulatory inspections of pharma units. Her plain-speaking that Indo-U.S. trade never really lives up to its potential and references to India’s unpredictable regulatory shifts, tariff- and non-tariff barriers as her priorities, suggests these talks have begun from a place more grounded in realism. This should serve as a wake-up call for the Government about its trade posture and spur a more open approach towards a market that will remain the most critical, irrespective of the trade deals it is seeking with other nations. While America’s stance on India’s proposal on IPR waivers for the COVID-19 vaccine and medicines will be watched at the upcoming WTO ministerial, India must seize this fresh initiative with the U.S. to cement its place in the new supply chains being envisaged. For starters, it must pro-actively steer away from the protectionism that is leading the globalised world adrift.
Over-valued unicorns in a distressed economy
Euphoria over the ‘beacons’ in India’s unicorn gale may be misplaced as their valuations are linked to future earnings
Early this month, the biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO) in India fell flat on its face on the first day of its listing in the stock exchange, with shares being traded at prices less than 27% of the IPO price. The timing of this IPO is blameless as investors have responded enthusiastically in recent times reaping massive gains in the range of 60% to 100% at the end of the first day’s trade.
Naturally then, questions arise on the valuation of the firm and the IPO. This firm, along with an educational technology start-up, is viewed as one of the ‘shining beacons’ among a growing list of unicorns in India. But the muted response towards the giant IPO casts doubts about the valuation of unicorns in India. Are they really worth the expectations? Or are they overhyped?
Diverse sectors
There has been a unicorn gale in India in recent years, covering diverse sectors from fintech to cloud kitchen. By the end of 2021, India is expected to have produced 40 more unicorns, more than three a month on average. An ecosystem which combines thriving digital payments, a growing smartphone user base and digital-first business models adopted by many start-ups has driven expectations of investors, resulting in large-scale fund flows into new business ventures. Expectations are high as the country has around 640 million Internet users, of which 550 million are smartphone users. Digital payment has seen a growth of 30.19% as of March 31, 2021 and by the end of September 30, the unified payments interface (UPI) registered 3.5 billion transactions amounting to ₹6.54 trillion.
Fintech leads
This growth in digital payment is reflected in the fintech sector that has contributed the most to the unicorn list. For the period 2011, when the first fintech unicorn in India was reported, to 2020, the economy had six fintech unicorns. However, this year has already seen seven fintech firms joining the unicorn list. American investment firms Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have been the major investors, providing very quick follow-up rounds of funds across all stages and sectors. The bulk of these deals are on the basis of potential market opportunity and the expectation that these firms have the ability to sustain an initial level of hyper growth. Fundamental financial performance of the business is not factored in these decisions which could lead to biased valuations.
Ever since Clayton M. Christensen popularised the idea of disruptive technologies in his 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, it has become a buzzword for characterising start-ups. The idea was that start-ups with limited resources can aim at technology disruption by inventing an entirely new way of getting something done. The firm which came out with the giant IPO was considered by many as a technology disruptor and game changer — which created hype and overvaluation.
However, in reality, the firm does nothing that other big players do not do. In fact the spread of UPI has made the firm’s core business of wallets redundant, and it is losing market share as more and more people are opting for UPI-based payments to directly transfer money from their bank accounts.
A report says, “Its business model is no different than that of several other fintech and ecommerce businesses”. Still, the firm’s IPO was valued at an outlandish 26 times its estimated price-to-sales ratio for 2022-23, which assumes significance as the global benchmark is 0.3-0.5 times the price-to-sales growth ratio for fintech firms. These valuations have to be seen in light of the shrinking of consolidated revenues by 11% for fiscal year 2020 -2021 and losses of ₹1,701 crore.
The EdTech parallel
To make matters worse, the structure of the group has an inherent weakness emanating from the fact that there are 39 subsidiaries and over half of these put together contribute to a mere 5% of its revenues. These were clear warning signals for the brokerage firm, Macquarie Capital Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd, which calls the firm a “cash guzzler” having funding losses, burning 70% of the money it has raised since its launch. Further, valuation expert Aswath Damodaran, in his own valuation of the firm called the company “India’s premier cash burning machine”.
The story is similar in educational technologies (EdTech) as well. In fact the novel coronavirus pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for EdTech firms, as it is this external environment that is pushing the industry, giving it an acceleration by four to five years.
Rising Internet penetration is also shaping the fortunes of the sector. Here we have the case of an EdTech firm touted as a shining example of entrepreneurship in the new economy, having 30% rise in valuations every six to nine months without a change in its fundamentals. This firm acquired nine other firms in one year. Too many acquisitions with big ambitions to grow inorganically puts pressure on the balance sheet in the years to come as some of the new acquisitions are likely to fail. Even, EdTech firms with reasonably good business models are highly overvalued due to abundant liquidity.
Almost every second advertisement on primetime television is either of a digital payment firm or EdTech platform. This is because one of the things that technology companies typically attempt first is to induce a behavioural change to customers who have lived in a particular style. New firms in services will have to indulge in this process for a longer period than firms in other industries such as transportation as these firms have to bring about a particular kind of change that customers are significantly comfortable using the service. It is only when this journey of behavioural change starts that more and more consumers utilise such services. But inducing such behavioural changes are costly to new firms as they have to incentivise customers. “Firms burn cash to give massive discounts to customers in the hope that people will get so habituated to these platforms that they will remain active even when the prices are hiked”.
To some extent this worked in the context of mobile telephone services as Indians have got hooked to mobile phones and reoriented spending to buy more sophisticated smartphones and data. But in other services this does not seem to work so easily.
The projections flaw
A mistake that firms and valuation experts seem to make is that they overestimate the Indian economy’s ability to consume services as they assume exponential demand growth for longer time horizons. Data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) points to this flaw of over-optimistic demand projections as there are just about 23 million households which earn more than ₹5 lakh per year i.e., less than ₹42,000 a month, which is about 7% of all Indian families. It is only this class which can be coaxed to behavioural changes — i.e. people who can afford various kinds of goods and services. If firms want to go beyond this 7% of households they have to offer bigger discounts, burning more cash, with the possibility that once the discounts are reduced, customers drop off.
Given the current state of the economy and employment situation, we have “a scenario of consumer-facing tech companies already reaching the saturation point of their real customer-base; people who can afford to consume without discounts”. It is in this milieu that we are witnessing new unicorns emerging every month, which are products of inflated valuations to tap more funds to burn more cash. These valuations are solely on the basis of future earnings, with virtually no profits to show in the present. Ecstasy and euphoria over these unicorns then has to be based on illusions rather than on reality.
- Suresh Babu is Professor of economics at IIT Madras. The views expressed are personal
The road to a Himalayan blunder
In its current form, the Char Dham road project goes against all environmental safeguards
The Char Dham road project, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016, is an ambitious attempt to widen nearly 900 kilometres of hill roads at the cost of ₹12,000 crore. The project, which will be executed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), aims to provide all-weather connectivity to the four major shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. In the enthusiasm for an infrastructural project that will increase pilgrimage tourism from the Indian plains and provide attendant local economic dividends, the government has ignored the facts proven by the many tragic incidents in the hills of Uttarakhand over decades. Rampant construction and its complex interaction with climate change has led to massive landslides and floods in the fragile Himalayan range.
Timeline of the case
The project began as a road connectivity project for pilgrim tourists. Now the government argues that it is essential to back up troop and arms movement towards the India-China border. The case is in the Supreme Court. The Attorney General argues that wide roads are necessary for the sake of national security in the Garhwal region. The petitioners, residents of the valleys in the Garhwal region, stress on the need for a regulated and narrower intermediate road width with a walking footpath.
Let’s look at the timeline of the case. In 2018, the road-expansion project was challenged by an NGO for its potential impact on the Himalayan ecology. The Supreme Court constituted a a high-powered committee (HPC) to examine the issues. In an order in September 2020, the Court said that the carriageway width of the roads cannot exceed 5.5 metres. The Court went by March 2018 guidelines issued by the MoRTH for mountain highways, which set a standard specification of a carriageway width of 5.5m with two-lane structures (7m). In doing so, the Court upheld the minority recommendation of the HPC. In November 2020, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) filed an appeal in which, quoting the MoRTH Affidavit, it asked for “a double-lane road having a carriageway width of 7m (or 7.5m in case there is a raised kerb) with 8-10m formation width” to “meet the requirement of the Army”. On December 15, the MoRTH amended its 2018 circular and raised the 5.5m width limit to 10m. The new circular read: “For roads in hilly and mountainous terrain which act as feeder roads to the Indo-China border or are of strategic importance for national security, the carriageway width should be 7m with 1.5m paved shoulder on either side.” Why did MoRTH amend the circular way beyond the requirement placed by the MoD?
These wide roads are being sought to be built in Uttarakhand, which has been a victim of several disasters in the last two decades. It is crucial to note that the terrain of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand is different from the terrain in Ladakh. Valleys in Uttarakhand are narrow and close-ended with steep slopes of 60-70 degrees. On the other hand, the valleys in Ladakh have a slope elevation of 30 degrees. Just this year, we saw how the floods in the Dhauli Ganga, Rishi Ganga and Alaknanda rivers claimed over 200 lives. During the monsoons, owing to the massive hill-cutting for the Char Dham road project, several landslides have occurred in the region. Such is the condition of the State that the national highways of the Char Dham project, including ones leading to the border, were closed repeatedly and sometimes for months this monsoon season.
And so, the question is, why did the MoRTH enter such a fragile terrain with this massive, ambitious project without even doing a basic environment impact assessment, as is mandated? Violations of the intermediate road width of 5.5m were said to be happening even after the Supreme Court reprimanded the MoRTH. Then, the MoD was brought in to justify the demand for double-lane paved shoulder roads.
When reprimanded, the MoRTH informed the Supreme Court that the project had been taken up under a different category which is why the 2018 circular was not being followed. Such a bizarre submission should be — and was — rejected by many. However, some toed the line of the government and agreed to the double-lane paved shoulder road width. Later, it was revealed that the project proponents intend to install toll booths along the Char Dham roads, and that is feasible only with the double-lane paved shoulder road width. Is it the intent of the government to levy a tax on Char Dham yatris?
In its November 2020 appeal, the MoD had requested a 7m carriageway width with 8-10m formation width. This was supported by the MoRTH in its affidavit. The petitioners and the small minority within the Supreme Court-appointed committee recommended an intermediate road width of 5.5m tarred surface which facilitates easy bilateral movement, with a 1.5m walking footpath, which pilgrims and residents of the valley need. The formation width of this design is the same as that proposed by the MoD (8-10 m) with the only difference being a walking footpath. What then is the difficulty? When the judges raised this question, the government had no answer. Several violations of the MoRTH came tumbling out and the fact that the MoD was being used to justify the new road width became clear. .
It is often argued that landslides are a natural consequence of the construction of roads and can be mitigated. Similar arguments were made in court about this project too. However, the rainfall this year showed that the mitigation measures are no match to nature’s fury. Prevention and regulation of activities seem to be the only effective way of mitigation in these fragile mountains.
Desecrating the Himalayas
Disaster-resilient, safe and stable infrastructure is the only solution for commuting by road in the hills. But double-lane paved shoulder roads are excessively wide and render the slopes vulnerable. The unique Himalayan landscape with steep slopes and sharp gradients is not amenable to human engineering. Any human-induced change beyond the Himalayas’ carrying capacity will have an impact on stream run-offs and erosional or depositional processes. Considering such vulnerabilities, we need to keep the scale of human-induced disturbances to the minimum level possible. The Char Dham project in its current form goes against all environmental safeguards.
If the government does not desist from widening the roads under this project, it will be a Himalayan blunder. It will significantly reinforce mass wasting processes and erosion rates given the steepness of the slopes, earthquake activity and erosivity of increased monsoonal precipitation. The Himalayas need to be preserved as a nature reserve for future generations. That is why they are known as the ‘abode of Gods’. So, why desecrate them?
Mallika Bhanot is a member of Ganga Ahvaan, a citizen forum working towards conserving the Ganga and the Himalayas; C.P. Rajendran is an adjunct professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru and author of a forthcoming book ‘Earthquakes of the Indian Subcontinent’
Maha Vir Chakra for Galwan hero
Five other personnel awarded Vir Chakra for Operation Snow Leopard
Colonel B. Santhosh Babu, Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar who was among the 20 personnel killed in the clash with Chinese troops at Galwan in June 2020, was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the country’s second highest wartime gallantry award, by President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday.
Havildar Tejinder Singh from 2 Medium Regiment was awarded the Vir Chakra, the third highest wartime gallantry award.
Four other personnel — Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren and Naik Deepak Singh from 16 Bihar, Havildar K. Palani from 81 Field Regiment and Sepoy Gurtej Singh from 3 Punjab — were honoured with the Vir Chakra posthumously.
In a coincidence and an honour for the Sainik School at Korukonda in Andhra Pradesh, six former students, including Col. Babu, were among the recipients of gallantry and distinguished service medals this time.
Col. Babu’s wife B. Santoshi and mother Manjula received the award at the investiture ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and top military officers.
Naib Soren’s wife Laxmi Mani Soren, Havildar Palani’s wife Vanathi Devi and Naik Singh’s wife Rekha Singh and Sepoy Singh’s parents Prakash Kaur and Virsa Singh received the Vir Chakra from the President.
Valiant resistance
In the first combat fatalities on the Line of Actual Control in 45 years, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the clash after they were attacked by Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on the night of June 15, 2020. Under Operation Snow Leopard, Col. Babu was tasked with establishing an observation post in the face of the enemy, and he successfully executed the task, organising and briefing his troops about the situation with a sound plan, the citation said.
Col. Babu led from the front with absolute command and control despite hostile conditions to deter the vicious enemy attack at his position, the citation read. “In the skirmish that broke out and ensuing hand to hand combat with enemy soldiers, he valiantly resisted the enemy attack till his last breath, inspiring and motivating his troops to hold ground.”
Naib Subedar Soren led his column and resisted the enemy’s attempt to push back the Indian soldiers while establishing the observation post, the citation said. “Soren displayed raw courage, fighting with a resolute spirit before succumbing to his injuries.”
Fierce fight
Havildar Palani stood bravely and tried to defend his comrades even when the enemy attacked him with a sharp weapon. His act of valour inspired other fellow soldiers to fight fiercely and resist enemy aggression, according to his citation.
Naik Singh was performing duties as a nursing assistant and played a pivotal role in rendering treatment and saving the lives of more than 30 Indian soldiers. Sepoy Singh successfully spotted the enemy troops while establishing the observation post and displayed raw courage and exceptional combat skills in resisting the enemy troops and kept fighting even after he was seriously injured, his citation stated.
The names of the 20 killed at Galwan have been inscribed at the National War Memorial in New Delhi. The Army has built a memorial to the ‘Gallants of Galwan’ at Post 120 in Eastern Ladakh.
‘Bharat Gaurav’ scheme eyes Railway tourism
Theme-based trains on the anvil
To tap the huge potential of tourism, the Railways on Tuesday announced the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ scheme, under which theme-based tourist circuit trains, on the lines of the Ramayana Express, can be run either by private or State-owned operators.
“Till now, the Railways had passenger segments and goods segments. Now, we will have a third segment for tourism — ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train. We have earmarked about 3,033 coaches or about 150 trains,” Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The Minister said these will not be regular trains that will run as per a timetable but will be more on the lines of the Ramayana Express being run by the IRCTC.
Service providers, who can be an individual, company, society, trust, joint venture or consortium, will be free to decide themes and circuits such as Guru Kripa trains for covering important places of Sikh culture or the Ramayana Express for places connected with Lord Ram.
They will offer an all-inclusive package to tourists, including rail travel, accommodation, sightseeing, visit to historical and heritage sites and tour guides, and have full flexibility to decide the package cost.
‘Glacier changed track 20,000 years ago’
Scientists say it fused into an adjacent glacier in present-day Pittoragarh
Nearly 20,000 years ago, a five-kilometre-long Himalayan glacier “abruptly” changed course and over time fused into an adjacent glacier in present-day Pittoragarh, Uttarakhand. This is the first time, say scientists who have described the findings in a peer-reviewed journal this week, that such a turn in glacier’s course has been recorded in the Himalayas. Change in climate along with tectonic movement probably caused this to happen.
Based on remote sensing and an old survey map, the study, which appears in the Journal of Geosciences, assessed that the glacier had been affected by active fault and climate change.
The glacier, which does not have a name and lies in an extremely inaccessible region, was large enough that it formed its own “valley” and the accumulated debris that accompanies the formation of glaciers probably caused it to turn from a north-eastern direction to a south-eastern course, said Manish Mehta of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), a Department of Science and Technology institute, who is among the authors of the study.
The study adds to evidence of the inherent instability of the Himalayan region, among the youngest mountain ranges in the world due to which the underlying tectonic plates that support it are not stable but are jittery and frequently trigger earthquakes and landslides.
The event had “similarities” to the February disaster in Rishiganga valley, Uttarakhand, in which a large mass of rock and debris detached from a glacier and hurtled down the Rishiganga river.
“This event that we have described is a much larger event. However, that the Himalayan region is ecologically fragile and prone to events such as these is certain,” Mr. Mehta added.
Countries must brace for future food ‘shocks’: FAO
Countries must prepare for future “shocks” to their agricultural and food systems from droughts, floods or diseases following the fallout from the pandemic, a UN agency said on Tuesday.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has left the fragilities of national agri-food systems widely exposed,” the Food and Agriculture Organization said in an annual report. “An obvious reason to address these fragilities is, of course, the unwelcome increase in food insecurity and malnutrition,” the FAO said in the document on the state of the agri-food business. Agri-food systems include production, food supply chains, transport networks and consumption.
Three billion people around the world cannot afford a healthy diet to protect themselves against malnutrition, the FAO said. “An additional one billion people are at risk as they would not be able to afford a healthy diet if a shock were to reduce their incomes by one-third,” the report said.
In July, the FAO said that between 720 million and 811 million people faced hunger in 2020 — some 161 million more than in 2019, largely due to the pandemic.
“Risk management strategies for shocks such as droughts, floods and pests — including multi-risk assessments, timely forecasts, early warning systems and early action plans — are key to help all agri-food systems… prevent and anticipate major disruptions,” the FAO said in Tuesday’s report.
Why Is the JPC Report on the Personal Data Protection Bill Being Criticized?
The JPC report does not add any safeguards against government exemptions and instead weakens the DPA.
With the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) finalizing its report on the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 on Monday, 22 November, India might finally get its long-overdue data protection law in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament.
However, the recommendations suggested by the JPC report do not appear to have resolved the concerns raised about the 2019 bill, including the exemptions granted to the government.
While some recommendations are positive and recognise new privacy challenges, including on regulating data collected by hardware and the requirement to disclose data breaches within a fixed time, the JPC report also suggests changes that take the proposed law even further away from the well-crafted draft bill proposed by the Justice BS Srikrishna Committee.
Seven of the 30 committee members, all MPs from Opposition parties, have submitted dissent notes to the chairperson of the JPC, PP Chaudhary.
The dissenting members are Jairam Ramesh, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, and Gaurav Gogoi (from Congress), Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra (from the Trinamool Congress), and Amar Patnaik (from the Biju Janata Dal).
In their dissent notes, the MPs have called the bill “Orwellian” and take objection to the JPC’s failure to consider amendments to bill to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s right to privacy judgment.
The JPC should have been looking to restrict the scope of the state use exemption to prevent misuse, but by failing to remove the additional grounds for it, fails to offer any real protection.
The JPC has also failed to expressly reintroduce wording on how any attempt to apply the state use exemption would only be exercised under the terms of new legislation, and would comply with the tests of proportionality as laid down by the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy (right to privacy) judgment.
This is particularly concerning as Section 35 doesn’t just allow for the exemption when “necessary” but also when this is “expedient,” which does not meet the proportionality standard. The Srikrishna Committee draft included these aspects as safeguards.
Jairam Ramesh’s proposed amendments included both these aspects, but were not accepted by the JPC.
A failure to restrict the state use exemption also dilutes one of the useful recommendations for mandatory disclosure of information being passed on to a third party.
Why we need to vaccinate our kids against Covid
Children may become the main source of continuing endemic transmission of Covid. To minimise transmission and mutation risks, inoculating them becomes a public health imperative
Now that the pandemic has waned in India, we are in for the long haul of endemic Covid. Even now, for the individual who gets Covid, the attendant risks—serious disease, hospitalisation and death—are just the same as during the peak of the pandemic. We cannot let our defence down just because the toughest phase is over.
The whirlwind of vaccine development and rollout has enabled high inoculation coverage in many rich countries; among developing nations, India leads, with around 30% of adults vaccinated with two doses, while many are struggling to even reach two-digit figures. We anticipate that one or more vaccines may be approved for children fairly soon.
In endemic times, the coronavirus infection will affect three groups of individuals: primary infection in the non-immune, reinfection in those previously infected and breakthrough infections in those vaccinated. Now vaccination should be repurposed by giving (1) highest priority to save the lives of the elderly and vulnerable who must be specifically targeted; (2) second priority for the non-immune, including children (as soon as a vaccine is approved) to retard virus transmission; (3) third priority to boost immunity in previously infected (to prevent reinfection) and previously vaccinated (to prevent break-through infection).
Of these groups, children constitute the majority in view of our demographics. The 6-18 age group is a staggering 320 million. The 4th ICMR sero-survey showed that 50% of children were already infected by the end of July, leaving a susceptible pool of 160 million.
True, Covid is not a frequent killer disease in normal children; Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome of Covid is very rare. But the long-term consequences of non-life-threatening Covid are largely unknown; only careful long-term follow-up will inform us about the natural history of childhood Covid. While we wait for follow-up studies, prevention must also go on in parallel.
Covid in children tends to affect socio-economically disadvantaged families to a disproportionately greater extent, a study in the US showed. For them, the need for hospital admissions and ICU care are greater than in children of well-to-do families. Furthermore, like adults, children with comorbidities—asthma, obesity, malnutrition, etc.—are at higher risk of severe disease. These factors underscore the need to swiftly plan a Covid vaccination programme for children in India.
Vaccination is the most cost-effective public health tool of intervention, so are all medical students taught. Vaccination is not just for saving lives of the lucky ones who get vaccinated, but it is also a tool in the epidemiologic management of infectious diseases. Vaccination in healthcare is to prevent disease in the individual (individual benefit); vaccination as a public health programme is to control human-to-human transmitted infectious diseases by building up herd immunity (community benefit).
The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI, 1974) chose vaccines against six killer diseases—childhood TB, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, measles and polio—initially. That gave the impression that only vaccines against diseases with high mortality are relevant in childhood. The early years are also an opportunity to lay the foundation for lifelong immunity against many diseases, like the Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus vaccines to prevent serious chronic adult diseases, one for liver cirrhosis/cancer and the other for cancer of the uterine cervix. Even the Covid jab should be considered one more such vaccine. As more and more adults are fully vaccinated, the need for the adult Covid jab will dwindle, but the childhood vaccination programme is for the long-term, till such time as the virus is virtually eradicated.
Those who believe that childhood Covid vaccination is unnecessary err, because:
- In the interests of society at large, most parents have only one or two children, therefore society, in turn, must protect the life of every child. Vaccination then becomes the birthright of every child.
- William Wordsworth has famously said, “The child is father of the man.” With endemic Covid, every non-immune child will one day get the infection. Should they wait for their 18th birthday for vaccination? Administering a safe vaccine as early as possible to children elicits the best immune responses and forms a firm foundation for life-long immunity.
- With schools opening up, children and adolescents who contract the coronavirus infection at school will carry it home and spread it to the elderly and vulnerable and those with waned immunity. A very recent important paper by investigators in Harvard University concludes: “Asymptomatic and symptomatic children can carry high quantities of SARS-CoV-2 irrespective of disease severity. Our results suggest that children can serve as potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2 and viral evolution.” Indeed, children may become the main source of continuing endemic transmission. In order to minimise virus transmission and the risk of emergence of new variants by mutations, vaccinating children becomes a public health imperative.
Of course, we need to be cautious—the vaccine should be safe, on par with all other childhood shots. Careful short- and long-term follow-up of vaccinated children to monitor their safety is mandatory.
As soon as regulatory agencies declare any vaccine safe and effective in children and the supply is enough to avoid clashing interests of adults versus children, the government ought to roll out vaccination in kids. Now is the time to plan.
The first priority should be children with comorbidities, who are at increased risk of serious disease when infected. Their follow-up should be meticulous so as to provide accurate information on safety and efficacy.
The next priority is school going children aged 12 to 18. Plans ought to be ready when any vaccine is approved. Parents, public and all school and health authorities should be well-informed through all available channels. A nationwide school-based vaccination campaign is doable. It may be piloted in selected schools to cover about 10,000 children while collecting daily follow-up information for two to four weeks before a nationwide campaign. For the next group, children aged 6 to 12, a similar school-based strategy can be implemented.
Finally, Covid vaccination could be started in the 2-5 age group and nested within the Universal Immunisation Programme—either as a standalone vaccine or concurrent with others. Concurrent vaccination calls for immediate research to confirm non-interference between different jabs.
We are on the threshold of extending Covid vaccination to children as part of routine immunisation. This important and futuristic public health action must be carried out with due diligence and caution.
How to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon? NASA invites ideas for Artemis missions
The agency requires the system to work from the deck of a lunar lander or a rover and provide at least 40 kilowatts of power.
NASA’s ambitious Artemis program planned to send the next man and first woman to the lunar surface by the year 2024. But last week, a US government watchdog forecasted the space agency would not likely complete the mission until “2026 at the earliest.”
Under the Artemis program, NASA has planned to use several new innovative technologies to explore the lunar surface. It also plans to build an Artemis Base Camp on the Moon which will help robots and astronauts conduct more science than ever before.
In coordination with the Department of Energy, the agency is now asking “American companies for design concepts for a fission surface power system that could be ready to launch within a decade for a demonstration on the Moon.” The agency requires the system to work from the deck of a lunar lander or a rover and provide at least 40 kilowatts of power.
In 2018, NASA along with the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration successfully demonstrated a new nuclear reactor power system that could be used during crewed missions to the Moon, Mars, and destinations beyond.
“Fission surface power – in conjunction with solar cells, batteries, and fuel cells – can provide the power to operate rovers, conduct experiments, and use the Moon’s resources to produce water, propellant, and other supplies for life support,” explains a release from NASA.
What is nuclear fission?
In simple terms, nuclear fission is the process in which a large nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei with the release of a huge amount of energy. The nuclear reactors in India use nuclear fission reactions and this reaction was also utilised to make atom bombs.
NASA adds that there are several reasons behind using fission as a source of energy. It states that fission systems are reliable, powerful, compact, lightweight, and can operate continuously.
Dr Jhilam Sadhukhan from the Theoretical Physics Division of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata explains that nuclear fission is predicted to be the key power production system of the future and is an ideal choice for deep space exploration programs.
“But I am unsure if it can be automated and remotely operated. We would need some sort of human intervention,” he told indianexpress.com. He adds that compared to solar power, nuclear fission has advantages as it can work even during lunar nights.
NASA: Twin satellites to track Earth’s water launched
The GRACE-FO launched by SpaceX is a joint mission by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences.
A twin spacecraft to monitor the changes in sea level rise, ice melt and drought on Earth was today successfully launched aboard a SpaceX rocket, along with five communication satellites, NASA said. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is a joint mission by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). It lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US, sharing their ride into space with five Iridium NEXT communications satellites. Ground stations have acquired signals from both GRACE-FO spacecraft. Initial telemetry shows the satellites are performing as expected. The GRACE-FO satellites are at an altitude of about 490 kilometers, travelling about 7.5 kilometers per second. They are in a near-polar orbit, circling Earth once every 90 minutes.
“GRACE-FO will provide unique insights into how our complex planet operates,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Just as important, because the mission monitors many key aspects of the Earth’s water cycle, GRACE-FO data will be used throughout the world to improve people’s lives – from better predictions of drought impacts to higher-quality information on use and management of water from underground aquifers,” said Zurbuchen.
GRACE-FO is continuing GRACE’s legacy of tracking Earth’s water movement across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, and changes in sea level provides a unique view of Earth’s climate and has far-reaching benefits for its people. Over its five-year mission, GRACE-FO will monitor the movement of mass around our planet by measuring where and how the moving mass changes Earth’s gravitational pull. The gravity changes cause the distance between the two satellites to vary slightly.
Although the two satellites orbit 220 kilometres apart, advanced instruments continuously measure their separation to within the width of a human red blood cell. The original GRACE mission, which operated from 2002 through 2017, created monthly maps of regional gravity variations, providing new insights into how the Earth system functions and responds to change. Among its innovations, GRACE was the first mission to measure the amount of ice being lost from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
Also Read: SpaceX flies Iridium, NASA satellites in 10th launch of 2018
The mission improved our understanding of the processes responsible for sea level rise and ocean circulation, provided insights into where global groundwater resources are shrinking or growing, showed where dry soils are contributing to drought, and monitored changes in the solid Earth, such as from earthquakes. Frank Webb, GRACE-FO project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, noted that to understand changes taking place in the climate system, scientists need data records several decades long.
“Extending the data record from GRACE will allow us to better distinguish short-term variability from longer-term trends,” he said. The GRACE-FO satellites will spend their first few days in space moving to the separation distance needed to perform their mission. When they reach this distance, the mission will begin an 85-day, in-orbit checkout phase. Mission managers will evaluate the instruments and satellite systems and perform calibration and alignment procedures. Then the satellites will begin gathering and processing science data. The first science data are expected to be released in about seven months.
Einstein Notes For Theory Of Relativity Fetch 11.6 Million Euros At Paris Auction
Bids on Tuesday opened at 1.5 million euros and quickly went past the auctioneers’ estimate.
There was no immediate information concerning the identity, or nationality, of the winner.
Around 100 collectors and onlookers turned up for the sale, but all bids were made remotely.
Christie’s said it was thanks to Besso that the manuscript was preserved for posterity.
Einstein died in 1955 aged 76, lauded as one of the greatest theoretical physicists of all time.
This initial manuscript contains “a certain number of unnoticed errors”, it added.
Once Einstein spotted them, he let the paper drop, and it was taken away by Besso.
Bill to amend Scheduled Tribes list in Uttar Pradesh before 2022 polls
Brace up! Orange alert issued for north TN
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FDI gap in India’s big infrastructure dreams
This situation is worrying, especially at a time when the Union and state governments are embarking on ambitious infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy in the aftermath of Covid-19. The pipeline for projects is large—80,000 kms of roads under Bharatmala, 100% electrification of broad-gauge rail track by 2023, 1,000 kms of metro in cities and 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030. Potentially transformational, these planned infrastructure projects will not take off without sufficient capital funding. The Economic Survey 2018 was prescient in its estimation that India will need Rs 450 lakh crore of investment in infrastructure by 2040. Initiatives to marshal the capital have been announced as well— Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline over four years and Rs 3 lakh crore National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development. However, attracting foreign investment is largely absent from the plan to fund infrastructure. Given the tepid response of foreign investors, the government has been forced to look inwards and set an aggressive disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for FY22.
There ought to be a closer examination of foreign investors’ unwillingness to allocate capital towards infrastructure. In greenfield projects, multiple factors like long gestation periods and delayed completion contribute to a lower rate of return for the foreign investor. Take for instance the statistics ministry’s 2020 report finding that 442 infrastructure projects had a collective cost overrun of Rs 4 lakh crore and 536 projects with an average time overrun of 44 months.
The situation of the road and highways sector is instructive. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport in its report on the highways ministry’s budget for this year noted that 888 road projects of 28,000 kms worth Rs 3 lakh crore are delayed. The primary reasons for delays were land acquisition, delayed payments to contractors and poor planning of utilities among others. However, these reasons are not unique to highways and plague most greenfield infrastructure projects.
Eventually, many such delayed projects are classified as non-performing assets and creditors approach the National Companies Law Tribunal. Here too, they don’t find a timely resolution. The secretary to the corporate affairs ministry noted the need for reducing delays in bankruptcy resolution by the tribunal. The Standing Committee on Finance had noted in August that 71% of cases in NCLT have been pending for more than 180 days, which is a deviation from the objective of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Further, the recovery rate as of June 2021 was 36%, which is low when compared to the United States’ 59%. High pendency, large backlog and low recovery rates increase the risk perception for foreign investors.
To boost FDI in greenfield projects, the focus must be on two aspects—reducing risk in executing projects and providing a secure exit mechanism in case of failure. Regarding the latter, the Union government should strengthen the NCLT by disallowing post hoc bids during resolution and bringing more flexible resolution plans for infrastructure. Regarding the former, the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan has the potential to improve execution of infrastructure projects.
The plan seeks to centralise all infrastructure projects of 16 different ministries under one portal to synchronise development. Unified GIS-based planning and centralised monitoring have the potential to energise the speed of infrastructure development. However, this coordination cannot be restricted solely to the Union level since states are integral to aspects like land acquisition and environmental and regulatory approvals. For instance, the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project has been delayed by three years to 2026 because only 30% land has been acquired in Maharashtra. For the master plan to succeed, the Union government will have to coordinate with the states. Its success will also provide a fillip to attracting FDI in greenfield projects.
Given greenfield projects present a higher risk profile, foreign investors may be more attracted to brownfield projects. Such projects offer significantly lower risk with the primary concerns being operations and management. The National Monetisation Pipeline has been designed to monetise Rs 6 lakh crores of brownfield assets and should be leveraged to attract foreign investment. The NMP should also create within itself an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) pipeline since foreign investors have preferred InvITs as a vehicle. Currently there are 15 registered InvITs, however infrastructure-related PSUs can launch more and aim to raise `8 lakh crore till FY27.
History is replete with examples of infrastructure financing transforming entire economies. After the Great Depression, United States President Roosevelt brought forth the New Deal that created jobs for 90 lakh Americans and built 6 lakh kms of roads, 1 lakh buildings and 75,000 bridges. India faces a similar context—our GDP contracted by 8% last year. However, great infrastructure cannot be built solely on domestic capital and the government would do well to attract foreign investment. Ultimately, the 2.5–3.5x multiplier associated with infrastructure spending would bring back demand and rescue lakhs of households that have slipped back into poverty due to the pandemic.
Shimla tops Niti Aayog’s urban development index
Out of 56 urban areas ranked in the index, 44 are with population of above one million and twelve are state capitals with population of less than a million.
Shimla tops the list of cities scoring highest on urban Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) index. Coimbatore and Chandigarh were at second and third position in the ranking of urban SDG index. Thiruvananthpuram, Kochi, Panaji, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are among the list of top 10 cities.
The Niti Aayog on Tuesday launched the SDG Urban Index & Dashboard (2021-22) which ranks 56 urban areas on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework. A senior official said that the index and dashboard will further strengthen SDG localization and institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level. It highlights the strengths and gaps of ULB-level data, monitoring, and reporting systems.
“Such tools will contribute to the creation of an ecosystem in which all stakeholders will be equipped to adopt and implement data-driven decision making. This transformative change is quite essential, given the increasing prominence of our cities and urban areas in charting the future of development.”
Out of 56 urban areas ranked in the index, 44 are with population of above one million. Twelve are state capitals with population of less than a million. While for some indicators, “urban area” implies ULBs, in other cases, it refers to all urban areas within a district collectively. For each SDG, the urban areas are ranked on a scale of 0-100. Overall scores are then generated from the Goal-wise scores to measure aggregate performance of the urban area.
GoM to meet on November 27 to finalise report on GST rate rationalisation
The government had formed a Group of Ministers in September, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to propose rationalisation of tax rates.
The panel of state finance ministers looking into GST rate rationalisation will meet on November 27 to discuss the rate revision of about 40 items, as suggested by the fitment committee. The panel will also examine the proposal of merging GST slabs of 12% and 18% to a single 15% slab. “The Fitment Committee has recommended many changes including the change of slab. It includes 40 items, like gold, precious metals, while there are also withdrawal of some exemptions,” a senior official from the finance ministry told
The government had formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) in September, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to propose rationalisation of tax rates, including immediate changes, as well as come up with a roadmap for short and medium-term changes to the GST rate structure, and give the report within two months.
While the merger of slab was ruled out that time by the finance minister, the order had said, “The GoM on rate rationalisation would review the current rate slab structure of GST, including special rates, and recommend rationalisation measures, including a merger of tax rate slabs required for a simpler rate structure in GST,”. “As the group will be meeting on Saturday, they will discuss the new slabs and rates and once there is consensus on the rates, it will be again discussed at the next GST council meeting, which is slated before the end of December,” the official added.
“This proposal to increase the rate of tax is not in sync with the objective of the GST Council to rationalise the tax rates. GST being an indirect tax, the increase in rate will ultimately be borne by the end consumer and hence, businesses may be apprehensive regarding the possible impact of these changes on the economy,” Charanya Lakshmikumaran, Partner Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorney said.
“Further, even in cases where the rates of tax are reduced, businesses will have to pass on the benefit of such reduction to their recipients on account of the anti-profiteering measures under the GST Laws,” Lakshmikumaran added.
GST Rate rationalization
There are about 40 items which are considered for rate hike
Possibility of merging 12% and 18% to one single slab at 15%
To hike compensation rate from 1% to 1.5%.
To raise 5% slab to 7%
To withdraw some relaxation given under Covid
The proposed GST on precious metal (gold/silver) will be hiked from 3% to 5%
Denying health insurance to those with genetic disorders is discriminatory: Delhi High Court to IRDA
In a significant judgment, the Delhi High Court directed the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India to have a re-look at the exclusion clauses in the insurance contracts.
In a landmark ruling that will benefit people who are denied health insurance cover on grounds of genetic disorder, the Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that the right to health insurance is an integral part of the right to health and healthcare under Article 21 of the Constitution.Justice Pratibha M Singh, while delivering the verdict, held that discrimination in health insurance against individuals based on their genetic heritage, in the absence of appropriate genetic testing and laying down of intelligible differentia, is unconstitutional.
The order came while deciding an insurance claim by Jai Prakash Tayal against United India Assurance. Tayal, who was suffering from Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, was denied his insurance claim on the ground that his condition was genetic, and genetic diseases were not payable as per the policy.
The court observed that the “exclusion of genetic disorders in all forms from health insurance would be contrary to public policy. Several of the prevalent medical conditions which affect a large mass of population, including cardiac conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes in all forms, could be classified as genetic disorders. The entire purpose of taking medical insurance would be defeated if all genetic disorders are excluded.”
“With spiraling medical costs, health insurance has to be an integral part of medical care and health facilities. Thus, healthcare without health insurance is a challenge. Health insurance with the exclusion of genetic disorders hits at the basic right of an individual to avail of insurance for prevention, diagnosis, management and cure of diseases,” the court said.
The court sought a proper framework to prevent genetic discrimination as also to protect collection, preservation and confidentiality of genetic data. “Insurance companies are free to structure their contracts based on reasonable and intelligible factors which should not be arbitrary and in any case cannot be exclusionary.”The court asked the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India to revisit the exclusionary clauses and ensure insurance companies do not reject claims on the basis of exclusions relating to genetic disorders.
‘Can’t expect laymen to read each & every clause’
“Insurance documents are standard form contracts and usually the insured person signs on the dotted line. It would be extremely tenuous to expect a layman to read each and every clause of an insurance document before signing it,” the judge said
Want govt to build 1,600 km green wall along Aravalli, says activist
The Green Wall of India, proposed by environmental activist Vijaypal Baghel at the September Conference of Parties (COP14) by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in New Delhi, was taken up for consideration by the Central government.
A group of environment activists who have pledged to cover five crore steps to mobilise people for 1,600 kilometre of “green wall” along the Aravalli hills, from Porbandar in Gujarat to Kurukshetra in Haryana, made a pit stop at Ahmedabad on Monday.
The Green Wall of India, proposed by environmental activist Vijaypal Baghel at the September Conference of Parties (COP14) by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in New Delhi, was taken up for consideration by the Central government.
Baghel said, “At a preliminary level, the government has shown a positive response by making the wall until Panipat, which comes up to 1,400 km, but we want this to cover the Aravalli range as well as the Shivalik range to completely contain desertification. Moreover, multiple ministries are needed to be involved to achieve this. The green corridor will act as a barrier against dust coming in from deserts in western part of the continent. We estimate that 135 crore trees will be part of this green wall which will be 5 km wide and may take up to 10 years to be created. The Great Green Wall of the Sahara was commenced in Africa involving multiple countries and though only partial work could be completed, the model’s results have shown success.”
“While crop burning contributes only eight per cent to pollution, diwali crackers contribute five per cent. The government has also put a ban on crackers. But what bout the remaining 87 per cent? Industrial pollution makes up 51 per cent of pollution and vehicular traffic makes up 27 per cent… why aren’t these being talked about?” Baghel added.
