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SUNDAY, 19 MAY 2019

12 pages in 1 section COMPANIES P2 WORLD P8
MUMBAI (CITY)
~10.00
VOLUME XIII NUMBER 9
WHY DMART IS EARNING RIPPLES FROM HUAWEI CRACKDOWN
LESS FOR MORE REACH MEDITERRANEAN SHORES
PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM BENGALURU, KOLKATA, MUMBAI AND NEW DELHI

BARING ACQUIRES
30% STAKE IN NIIT
TECHNOLOGIES
Tech giants No desire to take IndiGo’s
control: Rakesh Gangwal
put on hold
Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) has
acquired a 30.50 per cent stake in mid-
sized software services firm NIIT CEO Ronojoy Dutta asks media not to speculate, says will hear if differences not resolved
Technologies for about ~2,627 crore, a
regulatory filing said on Saturday. Last ARINDAM MAJUMDER Dutta said he "deeply resents and
month, funds affiliated with BPEA signed New Delhi, 18 May wishes" to dispel all attempts to portray

definitive agreements to purchase a 30.5
per cent stake in NIIT Technologies from NIIT
Ltd and other promoter entities at ~1,394 a
share. In a filing to the BSE on Saturday, NIIT
Technologies said Hulst BV acquired
18,848,118 equity shares of the company for
a face value of ~10 each on May 17. 2>
COMPANIES P2
Veteran salesmen check out
of Boeing at crucial time
Three prominent sales executives are
retiring from Boeing, leaving key vacancies
India plans
To seek clarity on e-commerce policy, data
storage norms from new govt
SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY &
KARAN CHOUDHURY
New Delhi/Bengaluru, 18 May
POLICY offshore. If that stays, it
would affect businesses a
CONCERNS lot,” added the advisor.
Many companies have
"us as a fractured team at IndiGo".
IndiGo co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal on The shareholders’ agreement gives
Saturday sought to scotch speculation Interglobe Enterprise Group (IGE) the
that he was trying to gain greater control right to nominate three non-independ-
over the airline, saying he had no inter- ent directors, and the RG group one
est or desire to do that. non-independent director. One direc-
The remarks came against the back- tor each of the two groups, however, can
drop of his reported differences with become a non-retiring director. The IGE
another co-promoter Rahul Bhatia. group also has the right to appoint the
While the Gangwal family holds around top brass — chairman of the board, CEO,
37 per cent stake in InterGlobe Aviation,
the Bhatias own 38 per cent of the
managing director and president of the
company. However, the shareholders
company. The remaining shares are have to endorse the appointment of MD.
While Rakesh Gangwal’s family holds
held by the public, mutual funds, for- In the case of CEO and president, the
around 37 per cent stake in InterGlobe

G
lobal technol-
on the planemaker’s global commercial ogy majors
marketing team ahead of next month’s have put on
Paris Air Show, the aerospace industry’s hold their
largest trade expo. With the turnover, investment plans for
Boeing loses executives with deep customer India as they wait for a
relationships in some critical markets. new government to clear
the air around a host of
issues such as the e-com-
WORLD P8 merce policy and data
Exit polls go for a toss, Aus protection laws, people in
the know said.
PM Morrison set to win Public policy teams of
Australia's Liberal-led conservative Amazon, Flipkart,
government was headed for a win in the Facebook, and TikTok,
national election on Sunday after among others, are plan-
uncovering a narrow path to ning to meet senior offi-
victory. The results upended cials of the Department for
pre-election polls that had Promotion of Industry
predicted a Labor victory. Scott and Internal Trade (DPI-
IT), finance ministry, and whetherand how to shift through the differences
Morrison is set to become
the PM again. information technology consumer data from
ministry after the forma- offshore to local servers
tion of the government, to | Investment plans
BS SPECIALS understand its stance.
“A lot of questions
also deferred their invest-
ment plans. “We need to
know what the policies
are. There is too much
to and fro happening on
that front. Till the time
we have crystal clear
policies, investment
might not happen,” said a
senior vice-president of a
technology firm.
The proposed e-com-
merce policy, aimed at
streamlining and regu-
lating the digital busi-
ness ecosystem, is
expected to dominate
the headlines after May
23. The new government
| Global firms unsure of will have to navigate
between public and
industry opinion regard-
ing the policy that has
remain on hold due to diverged despite a long
stakeholder consulta-
uncertainties about tax
eign institutions, financial institutions,
and others.
In a statement made by Chief
Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta,
Gangwal said the RG group (led by his
family and their trusts as well as
JP Morgan Trust Company) had
no interest in taking control of the
company. “To put to rest the messaging
on the fact that the RG group is attempt-
ing to renegotiate the shareholders'
agreement (SHA), I am placing on
record that the RG group stands by the
current SHA, which in any case expires
this October,” Gangwal was quoted by
Dutta as saying.
FINAL PHASE OF
POLLING FOR LS
ELECTIONS TODAY
59
Lok Sabha
constituencies
across 7 States
Aviation, the Bhatias own 38 per cent of
the airline
Sources said the statement was made
by Dutta to impress that IndiGo was a
management-run company and was not
impacted by any differences between
the promoters.
Dutta said there might be differences
between the two promoters on certain
matters, but the company had a great
track record of resolving such issues. "If
the current differences were to not get
resolved, you shall certainly hear about
it. However, it serves no purpose specu-
lating about it," he said in the statement.
Satta market
poll verdict:
board also needs to clear the appoint-
ment. It is believed that this arrange-
ment might also come under discussion
among the law firms hired to sort out
differences between the promoters.
The two sides through their law firms
— JSA Law for Bhatia, and Khaitan &
Co for Gangwal — are discussing possi-
ble changes in the shareholders’ agree-
ment, sources said.
The differences, sources had earlier
said, were over the strategy of
the company and hiring of expat
executives a result of which former pres-
ident Aditya Ghosh stepped down
as president.

IN DEPTH
Is Sikkim green?
The state is being overrun by a contractor-
driven rush of tourism eyesores. To protect its
fragile ecosystem, it must learn to reject
projects that cause irreparable damage for
questionable benefit, writes HIMRAJ DANG 9 >
DEMOCRACY AT WORK
‘Jobs, agrarian crisis real
issues'
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister BHUPESH BAGHEL
tells Sandeep Kumar the Congress will make a
clean sweep in the Lok Sabha election.
BJP to get
remain unanswered. The tion period. and 1 UT
e-commerce policy talks liabilities “While the govern-
more about data protec- | Tech biggies say ment has already held 100,175,153 112,993
tion. The changes compa- classifying data as detailed discussions
nies had to make due to 'national asset' is against with technology compa-
the tweaks in the FDI (for- laws protecting data
eign direct investment) privacy
nies, law firms, and
industry associations
Size of
electorate
No.ofpolling
booths 244-247;
policy are still affecting
businesses. We need to | Questions over
understand what exactly e-commerce norms,
over myriad aspects of
the policy, only provi-
sions regarding data
918 No. of candidates
| In 2014, BJP won 33 of
80 for Cong
the new government copyright issues and flows and foreign invest- the 59 seats going to RAJESH BHAYANI & VISHAL CHHABRIA
would do on these issues,” regulation of online ment have been incor- polls and its then allies Mumbai, 18 May
said a senior public poli- services remain porated into the policy. won 7
cy advisor to one of the We don't know what The satta market is betting on the National
biggest e-commerce happened to the other | Polling to be held in Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form the gov-
companies in India. These companies issues such as e-commerce norms, Bihar's 8 seats, West ernment for the second time in a row, with
are concerned about data protection trademark rights, and the extent to Bengal's 9, UP's 13, Narendra Modi continuing as the prime
laws, which make it mandatory for them which online services will come under Himachal Pradesh's 4, minister.
to store all data of Indian users onshore. the policy hammer," a senior func- Jharkhand's 3, MP's 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates in a After the poll dates were announced, the
“The problem is that the government is tionary of the Confederation of Indian
not even allowing us to process the data Industry said. Turn to Page 4 >
Punjab's 13 and
Chandigarh's 1 seat
cave near Kedarnath on Saturday. He is on a two- illegal betting market came out with the
number of seats that the Bharatiya Janata
day pilgrimage to Himalayan shrines PHOTO: PTI
Party (BJP) would win on May 23. The mar-
KEY CANDIDATES IN THE FRAY ket is sticking to those numbers, with some
minor changes.
10 >
FINE-TUNING THE MATCH BETWEEN VARANASI
NARENDRA
PATNA SAHIB POLITICS
P6&7
The satta market, which accepts bets on
cricket matches, elections, etc, is expecting

EMPLOYERS AND JOBLESS MIGRANTS MODI (PM)

vs
THERE’S
244-247 seats for the BJP. In mid-March, its
tally was 245-251. With this tally, it expects
ECONOMY P8 From 2011, LabourNet ceased to be a hyper local
vs MUCH MORE the NDA to form the government, with 40
seats for its allies.
KIIFB’s masala bond connection and started technical and vocational RAVI SHANKAR SHATRUGHAN TO POLLS The market is
training in three places: At work sites, its own training
issuance could be one-off centres, and in schools. The main aim of all these PRASAD (BJP) SINHA (Cong) THAN expecting the Congress
to win around 80 seats.
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund activities was to bridge the gap between skills and GORAKHPUR KOLKATA POLITICS The grey market,
Board’s (KIIFB’s) masala bond offering could market needs and to increase wages. LabourNet has AJAI RAI which usually main-
SOUTH
be one-off for now as the issuance has
happened after the window for a tax rebate
worked with around 100,000 workers so far, training
them at construction sites and with leather companies
(Cong) MALA ROY
TDP CHIEF tains no physical
records, is seeing some
came to an end in March. KIIFB, however, and rubber manufacturers. Typically, these workers AMRITSAR (TMC) vs NAIDU Bookies said participants feed the
registered for the issuance in March, RBI were originally earning between ~9,000-10,000 a
HARDEEP MEETS there were bets in a computer soft-
data shows. But they may have delayed month. Founder Gayathri Vasudevan has managed to CHANDRA
issuing the papers overseas, incurring a increase these wages by about 15 per cent to ~11,000- SINGH PURI RAVI KISHAN KUMAR BOSE
RAHUL also cases
where some
ware this time. Sources
said key operators were
withholding tax of 5 per cent on the coupon. 13,000 a month. ANJULI BHARGAVA writes 8> (BJP) (BJP) (BJP) GANDHI candidates based overseas, main-
had placed ly in Dubai.
bets on rival The satta market is
candidates as not giving the BJP a

Election Commission caught in dissent storm a hedge in

Full Commission meeting on Tuesday to discuss issue; Congress slams govt, demands probe
ARCHIS MOHAN & PTI
New Delhi, 18 May
Under attack not just from the Opposition for what it has called “parti-
san” conduct but also facing dissent from one of his team members,
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday described as
“unsavoury” and “avoidable” reports that fellow commissioner Ashok
Lavasa had decided to recuse himself from meetings related to model
code violations until he was allowed to record his disagreements.
Arora said members of the Commission were not supposed to be
"clones" of each other, and that a divergence of views was natural.
Lavasa, on the other hand, said it was an "internal matter" and he would
like to offer no comment.
In a strongly worded letter to Arora on May 4, Lavasa had said he was
being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full commission since
minority decisions were not being recorded. He also said his participa-
tion in the meeting was "meaningless" as his dissent remained unrecord-
ed. Lavasa said his notes on the need for transparency had not been
responded to so he had decided to stay away from model code-related
complaints.
Lavasa had dissented in some of the 11 decisions the EC has taken
over the course of the elections on complaints against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for alleged model code viola-
tions. The EC gave them a clean chit in all cases.
The Congress demanded a probe into the charges made by Lavasa.
It said that eroding institutional integrity had been the hallmark of the
case they lost
full majority, which is
in divergence to what
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said at
a press conference on Friday. Some punters
also became sceptical after the press con-
ference and said they found the BJP to be
issues which arose in the course of conduct of the Lok Sabha elections. defensive and worried.
"Out of the 13 issues/areas which were identified, model code of conduct Sources said high-roller bookies were
is one of them," he said in a statement, his first after reports last week maintaining their positions. Bets are also
that Lavasa was upset that the EC had not recorded his dissent. being placed on other parties winning a
Over the last couple of weeks, the Arora-led EC has come in for crit- majority or the BJP not getting enough seats
icism from several opposition parties, the most recent being earlier to form a majority.
this week when it cut short the duration of election campaign in West Bookies said there were also cases where
Bengal by 18 hours. some candidates had placed bets on rival
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also heads the candidates as a hedge in case they lost. For
Trinamool Congress, shot off a letter on Saturday appealing to the EC market players, betting against the NDA is a
to ensure that the last phase of elections in the state were completed hedge against their bullish stock market
“impartially” and “without any undue interference” of the Centre and bets in derivatives.
“without any intervention of the ruling party at the Centre”. After 7 pm on Sunday, the market will
In his statement, Arora said the report on Lavasa’s decision not to take readjust the odds following the exit polls
part in model code related issues came at a time when the poll watch- that various channels will announce after
Election Commissioner Ashok Chief Election Commissioner dog was gearing up for the last phase of polls and counting of votes. "The the end of the last phase of voting.
Lavasa has opted out of meetings Sunil Arora has denied rift, three members of the EC are not expected to be template or clones of In the 2014 general election, the satta
over clean chit given to the prime saying commission members are each other. There have been so many times in the past when there has market was expecting the NDA to win, but it
minister's speeches not clones of each other been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be. But the same large- did not expect the BJP to win half the seats.
ly remained within the confines of the EC," Arora said. As a result, many punters had to bear huge
Modi government and asked whether the poll panel had become EC rules suggest preference for an unanimous view, but provide for losses.
“Election Omission” and a “puppet” in the PM's hands. a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity. At the state level, bookies are expecting
The “full commission” would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of The EC's legal division has said dissent cannot be recorded on deci- the BJP-led NDA to win 23 seats in
dissent and related matters. sions as model code violations are not part of a quasi judicial hearing Gujarat, 42 in Uttar Pradesh, 33 in
Arora said that in the last meeting of the Election Commission (EC) where all the three — the CEC and two fellow commissioners — sign. The Maharashtra, 22 in Madhya Pradesh, and
on May 14, it was "unanimously" decided to form groups to deliberate majority view is conveyed to the parties concerned. Turn to Page 4 > 21 in Rajasthan.

https://t.me/SSC4Exams https://t.me/Banking4Exams https://t.me/UPSC4Exams


2 COMPANIES
>
Losing to win, the DMart way
Competition from peers like Big Basket, Amazon Pantry pushing DMart to keep prices down, take a hit on margins
VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO
Mumbai, 18 May
A
venue Supermarts,
operator of the DMart
chain of stores in India,
saw its margins contract for
the third straight quarter when
it reported its March Quarter
(Q4) results last week.
This came even as revenue
and profit growth surged 32
per cent and 21 per cent year-
on-year, respectively.
At 7.5 per cent, earnings
before interest, tax, deprecia-
tion and amortisation (Ebitda)
margins in Q4 were the lowest
in three quarters, pointing to
pricing pressure that the retail-
er is seeing.
“Competitive intensity
from organised retailers as well
as e-commerce players has
only grown in the last few
quarters. This is weighing
down on both gross and
Ebitda margins,” Latika
Chopra, analyst at JPMorgan,
Veteran salesmen check out of Boeing at crucial time
JULIE JOHNSSON
Chicago, 18 May
Three prominent sales execu-
tives are retiring from Boeing,
leaving key vacancies on the
planemaker’s global commer-
cial marketing team ahead of
next month’s Paris Air Show,
the aerospace industry’s
largest trade expo.
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
said in a report this week.
While gross margin is a
company’s net sales minus
cost of goods sold, Ebitda mar-
gin is an assessment of a firm’s
operating profitability.
Both are calculated as a
percentage of sales. In Q4,
With the turnover, Boeing
loses executives with deep cus-
tomer relationships in some of
its most critical markets, as the
company tries to rebuild con-
fidence in the 737 Max after
two fatal crashes. Boeing,
which like Airbus, is off to a
slow start on jetliner sales this
year, must also navigate the
US-China trade tensions.
https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
HEADING SOUTH
TREND OVER THE LAST
FOUR QUARTERS (figures in %)
EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation
Source: Company/analysts
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
DMart’s gross margin shrank cent region, lower than the 15-
50 basis points to 14.4 per cent 16 per cent range seen earlier.
from a year earlier, and Ebitda Ebitda margins have fallen
margins contracted by 20 basis from 8 per cent and 8.3 per
points over the year-ago peri- cent in the September and
od. In the last three quarters, December quarters, respec-
DMart’s gross margins have tively, to 7.5 per cent (in Q4).
hovered largely in the 14 per Net profit margin dropped
Dinesh Keskar, former sen- dent in charge of sales for West
ior vice-president of sales for Asia, Russia and Central Asia,
Asia-Pacific and India, said in has told clients he intends to
an interview that he stepped retire next month, said people
down from Boeing on May 2 familiar with the matter.
after 39 years with the compa- Asked to confirm the
ny. Rick Anderson, who had impending departure, compa-
led sales in China and ny spokesman Paul Bergman
Northeastern Asia, retired in said Bentrott “is still employed
March after 38 years at Boeing. at Boeing”.
Marty Bentrott, vice-presi- Under Ihssane Mounir,
https://t.me/Banking4Exams
60-70 bps sequentially to
touch 4 per cent in Q4. On a
YoY basis, the contraction in
net profit margin was 40 bps,
the firm said when announc-
ing its results.
The sharp fall in net profit
margin, said experts, is not
only due to pricing pressure,
but also limited room to make
productivity gains. In Q4, for
instance, DMart’s total expen-
diture increased 28 per cent
over the year-ago period, led
by a nearly 19 per cent increase
in employee costs and 31 per
cent hike in other expenditure.
Experts say these cost pres-
sures could surge as the com-
pany expands its base of stores
even as a larger network of out-
lets will help improve its
topline and bottomline. In Q4,
the company added 12 stores
to take its total base of outlets
to 176. Analysts at Motilal
Oswal say that DMart's every-
day low pricing (EDLP) model
is being replicated aggressively
Boeing’s hard-charging chief
commercial salesman, the US
planemaker’s sales had flour-
ished through 2018 as Airbus
shuffled its team. Boeing had
last year snapped its European
rival’s six-year winning streak,
netting 893 orders valued at
$143.7 billion based on list
prices.
Keskar, 64, who earned a
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019
by most players (online as well
offline retailers), compelling
the firm to keep prices down
significantly. A recent survey
by analysts at Edelweiss had
found that DMart continued
to offer the lowest price in
most food and grocery cate-
gories, implying it wasn’s pre-
pared to cede ground to play-
ers such as Reliance Smart and
Big Basket.
“On an aggregate basis, a
typical consumer basket at
DMart comes at a 10 per cent
discount to the most expen-
sive seller,” Edelweiss said in
a recent report. “Moreover,
among the 27 items (sur-
veyed), we found that offline
businesses like DMart sell
products cheaper compared
to online platforms such as
Big Basket and Amazon
Pantry. Nearly 52 per cent of
the 27 items are cheapest at
DMart, followed by 15 per cent
at Reliance Smart,” the bro-
kerage said.
doctorate in aerospace engi-
neering under the supervision
of astronaut Neil Armstrong,
estimates he helped land
approximately 2,500 airplane
orders worth $400 billion after
he shifted to a sales role in 1987.
“There have been quite a
few wins for me and they were
all hard-fought,” he said by
phone. BLOOMBERG
Baring Asia
acquires 30%
in NIIT Tech
NIIT Tech said in a filing to the BSE that Hulst B.V. acquired
18.8 million shares with face value of ~10 each on May 17
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi, 18 May
Baring Private Equity Asia
(BPEA) has acquired 30.50
per cent stake in mid-sized
software services firm NIIT
Technologies, for an
amount of close to ~2,627
crore, according to a regula-
tory filing.
Last month, funds affili-
ated to BPEA had signed
definitive agreements to
purchase 30.5 per cent stake
in NIIT Technologies from
NIIT as well as other pro-
moter entities, at about
~1,394 per share.
In a filing to the BSE on
Saturday, NIIT Technologies
said that Hulst B.V. acquired
18.8 million equity shares of
the technology company
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
with face value of ~10 each,
on May 17.
The Netherlands-regis-
tered Hulst is indirectly
owned by funds affiliated to
BPEA. Following the stake
transfer, Chairman Rajendra
Singh Pawar, Vice-
Chairman and Managing
Director Arvind Thakur, and
Non-Executive Director
Vijay Kumar Thadani, have
all resigned from their posi-
tions as directors on the
board with immediate
effect, the filing added.
NIIT Technologies’ pro-
moters, which included
NIIT and the families of
Rajendra Pawar and Vijay
Thadani, had a total of 30.04
per cent stake in the compa-
ny. NIIT directly held 23.1
per cent stake.
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

.
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS 3 <

26 Maharashtra dams hit India slams UN for delaying $38 mn in dues

India, which is owed $38 mil-
lion by the UN for peacekeep-
“Reimbursement on time
for peacekeeping is a genuine
one-third of the annual assess-
ment of the United Nations,
These amounts do not
include the long unsettled

zero water storage level

ing operations, has voiced con-
cern over the “unjustifiable and
inexplicable” delays in reim-
bursement to countries pro-
viding peacekeeping troops
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA and police for UN missions.
Mumbai, 18 May It underlined that recurrent
delays in payments have turned
expectation,” First Secretary in
India’s Permanent Mission to
the UN Mahesh Kumar said
Thursday at a Fifth Committee
(Administrative and Budgetary)
session on ‘Improving the
Financial Situation of the
United Nations.’
adding that UN peacekeeping
also suffers from delay in reim-
bursements.
He pointed out that apart
from the one billion dollar
worth of unsettled reimburse-
ments to TCCs, large reim-
bursements related to Letters
Contingent Owned Equipment
(COE) reimbursements of many
TCCs, including India, from the
closed peacekeeping missions.
The UN owes India $38 mil-
lion for peacekeeping opera-
tions as of March 2019, UN
Secretary General Antonio

I
n a far cry from last year’s situation, the Troop Contributing Kumar noted that total of Assist ($178 million) and Guterres had said in his report
26 reservoirs in Maharashtra have Countries (TCCs) as “de facto arrears currently stand at a death and disability claims ($ 8 in April on improving the finan-
reached “zero storage” as on May 18, financers” of UN peacekeeping. whopping $ 3.6 billion, nearly million) were also outstanding. cial situation of the UN. PTI
according to statistics put out by the
Water Conservation department of the
state government.
The department’s website informed
that water storage in Aurangabad Division,
which comprises Aurangabad, Beed,
Hingoli, Parbhani and Osmanabad dis-
tricts, was 0.43 per cent as against 23.44 per
cent at the same time last year.
The dams in these division are Paithan,
Manjara, Majalgaon, Yeldari, Siddeshwar, Dead water storage refers to the water in a reservoir that cannot be drained using a
Lower Terna, Sina Kolegaon and Lower dam’s outlet and can only be pumped out
Dhudna, all of which have zero storage at
the moment, the department informed. Terming it an “animal farm” situation Monsoon prediction of the IMD and
The storage in these dams in May last where only the fittest survive, Patil said, Skymet is about a delayed one. It will be
year was 34.95 per cent in Paithan, 21.24 “Only the strong political leaders got cattle disastrous if there are no rains in June,” he
per cent in Manjara, 17.5 per cent in camps, fodder, water in their districts in claimed. Patil had petitioned the Bombay
Majalgaon and 52.03 per cent in Lower large numbers, whereas drought relief High Court on drought management
Terna. Other dams that have hit the zero should have been distributed equitably.” under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
storage level as on May 18 are Kadakpurna He added that drawing dead water The state government is already under
and Pentakli in Buldhana, Gosikhurd, stock would impact the safety of the dams. fire from the opposition Congress and
Dina and Nand in Nagpur Division, Upper Dead water storage refers to the water Nationalist Congress Party which have
Tapi Hathnur in Jalgaon, Waki, Bham, in a reservoir that cannot be drained using claimed that it is monitoring drought from
Bhavli and Punegaon in Nashik Division, a dam’s outlets and can only be pumped air-conditioned offices on mobile phones
Dibhe, Ghod, Pimpalgaon Joge, Wadaj and out. “There is no surface and ground water rather than through on-ground assess-
Temghar in Pune, Bhima, Kundali Tata in most parts of the state. The water qual- ment. Both NCP chief Sharad Pawar and
and Lonavala Tata in Solapur, it informed. ity supplied through tankers is of very poor Congress state unit president Ashok
Meanwhile, Tisgaon dam in Nashik quality. This is affecting the health of chil- Chavan have been routinely attacking the
and Totladoh in Nagpur have 0.01 and 0.08 dren and pregnant women in the rural Devendra Fadnavis government on the
per cent water respectively. areas. The government was in election drought situation in the state.
It said water storage in the state’s 103 mode and ignored drought-relief meas- The BJP, however, has rejected this crit-
large, medium and small reservoirs stood ures. It is monitoring such work from AC icism and has said that it has been putting
at 11.84 per cent, against 23.73 per cent last offices,” he alleged. technology to effective use to mo nitor the
year. Sanjay Lakhe Patil, a social activist, “The Central Water Commission has drought situation in the state.
alleged that the state government’s distri- issued an advisory to the Maharashtra gov- The state government had declared
bution of fodder camps for cattle in the ernment stating that water storage is the drought in 151 talukas and 260 mandals in
drought-affected regions was not proper. lowest in reservoirs here in a decade. October last year.

UK gets new
weapons Act
for Sikhs to
carry kirpans
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
London, 18 May

The UK government has

passed an amendment by
which Sikhs in the country
will be allowed to carry kir-
pans and use it during reli-
gious and cultural functions.
‘The Offensive Weapons
Bill’ received the royal
assent this week.
The bill aims at tackling
rising knife crime in the UK
and it become an act of law
after receiving the Royal
Assent of Queen Elizabeth
II on Thursday.
The bill had been
amended late last year to
ensure that it would not
impact the right of the
British Sikh community to
possess and supply kirpans,
or religious swords.
“We have engaged close-
ly with the Sikh community
on the issue of kirpans. As a
result, we have amended the
Bill to ensure that the pos-
session and supply of large
kirpans for religious reasons
can continue,” a UK Home
Office spokesperson said.
The All Party Parlia-
mentary Group (APPG) for
British Sikhs had led a dele-
gation to the UK Home
Office to ensure that the kir-
pan remains exempt when
the new bill becomes law.
“I am pleased to see the
government amend-
ment...which reflects the
importance of not criminal-
ising the Sikh community for
the sale or possession of
large kirpans,” said Labour
MP Preet Kaur Gill, chair of
the APPG for British Sikhs.
The new law would there-
fore maintain status quo in
continuing to legally safe-
guard the sale, possession
and use of large kirpans.
Fellow Sikh MP, Tan
Dhesi, had also made an
intervention during the
Offensive Weapons Bill
debate in the Commons to
seek “assurances about the
kirpan, given the Sikh com-
munity’s serious concerns”.
Large kirpans, with
blades over 50-cm, are used
by the community during
religious ceremonies in gur-
dwaras as well as for cere-
monies involving the tradi-
tional Sikh Gatka martial art.
They would have fallen foul
of the new bill on the pos-
session of large blades with-
out the amendment, which
has now been agreed.
The Offensive Weapons
Act covers new offences
around possession of certain
offensive weapons in public
and enforces new restrictions
on the online sales of bladed
articles and corrosive prod-
ucts in attempt to crackdown
on rising knife and acid-relat-
ed attacks in the country.
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4 YOUR MONEY
>
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019 1

ESTATE PLANNING
BS TUTORIAL

Transferring inherited property Jayant Pai

Financial literacy
1. The Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 led to the creation

can be cumbersome
of the ____________.
A. European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
B. International Monetary Fund
C. The Federal Reserve
D. Floating Currency Exchange Rates

The beneficiary needs to ensure that the property records are mutated to clearly establish ownership
RAJESH NARAIN GUPTA
W
hen an individual inherits
assets, either through Will
or under personal laws, he
needs to complete a few legal for-
malities to become the rightful own-
er. While the procedure to transfer
movable assets in the beneficiary’s
name is simpler, it can be tricky
when it comes to immovable assets.
In the case of jewellery, cash or
stocks, the beneficiary only needs
to transfer them in his name. When
it comes to real estate, the benefici-
ary not only needs to transfer the
asset but also mutate records in the
concerned government department
or revenue records.
Tedious procedure: It’s best to hire
a lawyer to assert your claim on the
assets and to comply with the for-
malities. However, knowing the pro-
cedure will help in arranging docu-
ments and will expedite the process,
if required. For this, you would need
to apply for a Probate of the Will, a
Letter of Administration or a
Succession Certificate from the
court. You may also need to take
physical control of the inherited
assets to protect them while carrying
out the transfer.
There is also a possibility that the
deceased who wishes to pass on his
property may have appointed some-
one as a nominee for some of the
assets, which may include movable
as well as immovable. But a nominee
is a mere trustee until he is success-
fully able to establish a beneficiary’s
claim and pass on the assets. To
avoid any problems, the asset own-
er should appoint someone close as
a nominee. The best practice is to
declare the nominee as the benefi-
ciary under the Will.
In the absence of a Will: If there is
no Will, the assets of the deceased
may be inherited by the legal heirs
based on the applicable Personal
Laws or the Succession Act. If the
deceased is a Hindu, for example,
and has not prepared a Will, the first
right of asset inheritance will remain
with Class I legal heirs comprising
the mother, wife and children in
equal proportion. If there are no
Class I legal heirs, the property or
assets will be passed to Class II heirs
which include brother, grandchil-
dren, father, sister or relatives.
If the deceased is a Hindu mar-
ried woman, the property will be
passed in equal proportions among
her husband and children. In their
absence, her assets will be passed
on to her parents and the legal heirs
of her husband.
If the property is inherited from
one generation to another, the person
who inherits it cannot pass it on as he
wishes. It will be subject to certain
legal limitations. Only property which
GET THE MUTATION
CERTIFICATE
| Mutation of title means
updating ownership title in
government records
| Documents required include
a copy of the sale deed, an
indemnity bond, an affidavit and
property tax payment receipt
| Mutation certificate
proves ownership
| It can be furnished
as a tax document,
too
| The certificate is
mandatory when the benefici-
ary sells the property
| In the absence of it, the owner
may not get the right price
is earned or owned by self-initiative registered Will and mutates the
can be bequeathed by the deceased to property based on it and other rele-
persons of his choice. In fact, a Will vant documents. The government
creates a barrier in the seamless suc- can then charge property tax from
cession as it does not permit smooth the rightful legal owner once the
inheritance by all the beneficiaries. mutation process is done.
Every authority has its pre-
Procedure for mutation of prop- scribed list of documents and fees
erty title: After inheriting the prop- for enabling mutation. The docu-
erty, the beneficiary needs to carry ments include a copy of the sale
out mutation of the property title deed, application for mutation with
once the relevant orders are affixed court fee stamp, indemnity
obtained from the court. bond on stamp paper of requisite
Mutation of title means the value, affidavit on stamp paper of
transfer of title ownership from the requisite value and receipt of prop-
existing owner to the new owner in erty tax payment.
the land records, municipal records A mutation certificate is manda-
and the records of the lessor, tory when the beneficiary plans to sell
depending upon the nature of the the property in the future. The certifi-
interest held in the property. cate proves the change in ownership.
In some states like Delhi, the It can also be furnished as a tax docu-
Municipal Corporation accepts the ment. The absence of mutation cer-
2. Cubes is a colloquial term for the __________ exchange
traded fund.
tificate creates hindrance when the A. NASDAQ 100
beneficiary is selling the property as B. S&P 500
clear ownership is not established. C. Dow Jones
Mutation of a property is the key to
ensuring transparency in the sale of a
D. FTSE 100
property and attracting the right mar-
ket value for it.
3. Amara's Law primarily deals with the impact
It is also advisable that the benefi- of ___________.
ciary obtains the appropriate orders A. Inflation
related to succession from the court. It B. Currency
will further establish proper title to the C. Technology
property, and avoid unnecessary legal D. Income inequality
hassles and disputes.
4. Fort Knox is renowned as a repository of ___________.
Beneficiary also inherits liabili- A. Silver
ties: There is an old saying that if the B. Diamonds
deceased had a black horse, the ben- C. Platinum
eficiary will also get a black horse.
D. Gold
The inheritor does not get any supe-
rior right to the assets that he inherits.
It’s not that a person may only inher- 5. A/an__________ monetary policy is usually ineffective
when interest rates are extremely low.
it highly-valued assets from a
deceased without inheriting the lia- A. Expansionary
B. Contractionary
bilities alongside. It is possible that an
estate or assets that are passed on C. Stagflationary
may come with mortgages or dis- D. Inflationary
putes. In the event of an inherited
home having a loan outstanding, the
beneficiary will be responsible for its
monetary tools.
Hence, it may have to be supplemented by other
repayment — the loan becomes the rates settle down at relatively abnormally low levels.
liability of the inheritor. the effectiveness of this policy steadily reduces as interest
It also needs to be noted here that to increase the supply of money in the economy. However,
the written permission of a lender is 5. A. An expansionary policy involves lowering interest rates
mandatory for the passing of a mort-
gaged property to the inheritor. It is held gold reserves of approximately 5,052 metric tonnes.
also the responsibility of the inheritor Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. As of September 2018, it
to obtain the loan clearance certifi- Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located within the US
cate of the inherited property once 4. D. The United States Bullion Depository, often known as
the loan has been paid in full. There
are chances that a property which in the long term.
has been inherited may be under lit- impact of technology in the short run and underestimate it
igation owing to specific reasons. The scientist, the law explains that we often overestimate the
3. C. Named after Roy Charles Amara, a researcher and
beneficiary of the estate also inherits
the litigation liabilities of the prop-
erty and bears accountability to face 100 ETF.
the conduct of a lawsuit associated 2. A. Also known as QQQ, it refers to the PowerShares Nasdaq
with it. The decision passed by the
court in any real estate litigation 1. B
becomes binding on the inheritor Solutions
subject to his right to appeal the ver-
dict in a higher court.
The quiz master is head - marketing, PPFAS Mutual Fund
The writer is managing partner, Send your queries and feedback at yourmoney@bsmail.in
SNG & Partners

ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS1

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> FROM PAGE 1

A curious case of hidden, dangerous
typhoid: It’s time to take action now
ANKUR PALIWAL
New Delhi, 18 May
In 2017, when clinician scien-
tist Gagandeep Kang and her
colleagues started an exten-
sive typhoid surveillance
study across India, the gener-
al perception among the sci-
entific community was that
typhoid was significantly
declining based on the data
reported by big hospitals in
India. But when Kang’s team
began to closely study people
at the community level, it
found about 20-fold increase
in typhoid cases, mostly chil-
dren, at most study centres in
comparison to the numbers
reported by the hospitals.
Researchers find about
800 typhoid patients for every
100,000 people. These num-
bers are comparable with
typhoid cases reported in
1990s from Delhi slums.
Typhoid cases over 100 for
every 100,000 people qualify
for high disease burden in a
country. “Typhoid never went
away, we had stopped look-
ing,” says Kang who heads
Transnational Health Science
and Technology Institute in
Faridabad.
While scientists continue
to find more typhoid patients
(exact numbers would be in
by mid- next year), what’s
worrying the scientists even
more is that treating the
patients is getting incredibly
difficult and could complicate
further in future. That is
because a typhoid bacterial
strain in India’s neighbour
Pakistan has become resist-
ant to second-last line of
antibiotics and caused an out-
break there.
If the strain travels to
India, “which it will sooner or
later,” says Kang, we could
end up in a similar situation.
Although the second last-
line of antibiotics still works
on Indian typhoid patients,
the bacterial strains in India
have also begun to show
resistance against some of
them. Spread by consuming
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Election Commission
caught in dissent storm
The dissent remains record-
ed in the file only and not
Surjewala said.
Senior Congress leader
made public. Ahmed Patel said: “There
supply and infects many oth- strain has already been Congress chief spokesper- must be a thorough, credible
ers. Those who get the disease reported in Saudi Arabia. son Randeep Surjewala asked inquiry into the issues raised
then probably repeat what the India would need really good whether the EC would save by Lavasa and restoration of
child did. Some patients con- disease reporting system to itself more embarrassment the Commission’s independ-
tinue to shed bacteria even pick up those strains, which by recording Lavasa's dissent ent status as the watchdog of
after typhoid symptoms go means doctors routinely test- notes, as he accused PM world’s largest democracy.
away. This way the typhoid ing patients’ blood samples. Modi of "muzzling" demo- Lavasa’s letter — contents of
strain keeps circulating in the That often doesn’t happen, is cratic institutions. which have appeared in the
community and patients costly for poor patients, and “This is a daylight murder media — is extremely seri-
don’t get diagnosed. even if it is done there is no of Constitutional norms, set ous. The sanctity of the elec-
Indiscriminate use of guarantee that the first test conventions and propriety. toral process and the institu-
antibiotics has compounded would pick up the strain if the The poll panel's rules express tional integrity of the
the problem. Typhoid bacter- patient has already taken preference for a unanimous Election Commission of
ial strains in India are already antibiotics. view, but provide for a majori- Ashok Lavasa India is in jeopardy.”
resistant to the cheapest first Inadequate diagnostic ty ruling in the absence of una- CPI(M) General Secretary
and second line of antibiotics. tests complicate the manage- nimity. Being a Constitutional election commissioner, sim- Sitaram Yechury asked if dis-
Doctors here use the third or ment of typhoid, wrote scien- body, the minority view has to ply because he had asked for senting opinions made by
second last line of antibiotics tists in a paper led by be recorded, but this is being a notice to be issued to PM judges in the Supreme Court
such as Azithromycin (given Christopher M Parry, a clini- trampled to protect the Modi- Modi, has severely tarnished could be made public, then
orally) and Ceftriaxone (giv- cian scientist with Liverpool Shah duo,” he said. the institutional integrity of why cannot those of the elec-
Of 14.3 million people affected worldwide, 72 per cent of the en through veins). School of Tropical Medicine “Omitting the dissent of the Election Commission,” tion commissioners.
patients are in South Asia because of poor sanitation conditions The bacterial strain in in United Kingdom.
Pakistan has become resist- Investments in newer diag-
water and food contaminat- from where some of them go
ed with feces, typhoid affects to hospitals, researchers
upto 14.3 million people found high typhoid burden.
ant to both of them leading to
outbreak. So, doctors in
Pakistan now use the last
nostics that do not require
sophisticated lab infrastruc-
ture is critical to improve
Tech giants put on
worldwide. “It’s a network paradox,” says available line of antibiotics — management of typhoid, the
As many as 72 per cent of John, a specialist in commu-
the patients are in South Asia nity medicine at the Christian
because of poor sanitation Medical College or CMC in
carbapenems. The per person
cost of treating typhoid fever
with carbapenems is about
paper recommends.
Treating typhoid is already
a problem. Some of Jacob’s
hold India plans
conditions. Typhoid, which Vellore. World Health ~10,000 excluding hospitali- typhoid patients have been in
has symptoms Organization sation and other costs, says hospitals for 15-20 days when
of fever, kills recommends Balaji Veeraraghavan, scien- they should have recovered
75,000 patients Increasing vaccination in tist working on anti-microbial between three and five days.
in South Asia anti-microbial countries with resistance in CMC Vellore. The ongoing typhoid surveil-
every year, and resistance and high typhoid Currently typhoid costs about lance study along with ongo-
this is likely an delaying vaccination burden. ~1000-1500 per patient. ing studies to estimate how
underestimate could mean loss of The para- What scientists fear is that much national typhoid vacci-
because of more lives and more dox persists Indian doctors might have to nation might cost would help
poor disease money in treating because in resort to carbapenems if the scientists evaluate whether or
reporting sys- typhoid patients most cases strains here become resistant not the Indian government
tems, accord- when a child to both the second-last line of should include typhoid vac-
ing to scien- gets fever, he or drugs or if the resistant strain cine in the national vaccina-
tists. she either takes antibiotics from Pakistan travels here. tion program. Numbers so far
In 2016, a study showed a over the counter from a Researchers in India have tell there is a case, and defi-
significant decline in typhoid chemist or is taken to a near- picked up strains in Mumbai nitely in urban slums, says
cases reported from big hos- by private or government hos- that show some resistance to Jacob. Meanwhile, civil society bodies and interest of Electronics and Information Technology
pitals in India. For example, pital where the doctor pre- Azithromycin (one of the sec- Although clean water is groups have also written to DPIIT Secretary have maintained a higher level of transparen-
in New Delhi’s All India scribes antibiotics but doesn’t ond-last line antibiotics). the real solution, it is unclear Ramesh Abhishek, expressing concerns over cy by publishing the comments received,” it
Institute of Medical Sciences send the blood sample for If the strain from Pakistan when India might achieve the consultation process. said. The letter, co-signed by more than 10 aca-
the number of confirmed testing to know whether or marries with the Mumbai that. Increasing anti-micro- In a letter sent to Abhishek earlier this week, demics, has also requested more discussions on
typhoid patients dropped not it is typhoid. strains, “then we are done bial resistance and delaying 13 such groups have called for publishing all issues such as tax, competition issues, intel-
from 103 in 2000 to just 31 in In either case, the child for,” says Kang. vaccination could mean loss comments received by the DPIIT as part of the lectual property and intermediary liability.
2015. If you look at those goes back to the community, Due to restricted travel of more lives and more mon- public consultation, to provide an opportuni- However, the issue of data management is
numbers, which policy mak- takes the antibiotics and between India and Pakistan, it ey in treating typhoid ty to all stakeholders to submit counter-com- expected to be most contentious. “The overar-
ers also look at, you’d think probably recovers without is more likely for the strain patients. The question is, sci- ments. The letter reviewed by Business ching approach to data management, which
that typhoid is declining, says getting diagnosed for typhoid. from Pakistan to reach India entists ask, whether we want Standard points out this is the norm in other mis-classifies data as a national asset, deprives
Jacob John who is leading the Meanwhile, the child sheds through West Asia where peo- to wait for a situation like in government consultations on policies of pub- individuals of autonomy over and consent for
national typhoid surveillance typhoid bacteria in the feces, ple from both India and Pakistan where the govern- lic interest. their personal data, a protected right in India,”
study. But when his team which through leaky sewers Pakistan travel for Haj and ment has to now mass vacci- "Prior public consultations conducted by the Asia Internet Coalition has said, which
began to investigate fever lines gets mixed with the business, says Veeraraghavan. nate people in response of the other government bodies such as the Telecom counts Apple, Facebook, Google and LinkedIn
patients in the communities community’s drinking water The Ceftriaxone resistant outbreak or act now. Regulatory Authority of India and the Ministry as its members.
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.
TDP chief calls on
Oppn bigwigs for
an anti-BJP front
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi/Lucknow, 18 May
T
DP chief N The alleged discontent with
Chandrababu Naidu
held a flurry of meet-
ings with Opposition leaders,
including Congress President
Rahul Gandhi, BSP’s Mayawati
and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav,
in an apparent bid to rally sup-
port for a non-BJP govern-
ment at the Centre.
Naidu, who arrived in the
national capital on Friday, also
met Nationalist Congress
Party chief Sharad Pawar,
Loktantrik Janata Dal leader
Sharad Yadav
and leaders of
the Communist
Party of India.
He then flew
to Lucknow and
POLL met Samajwadi
VAULT Party and
2019 Bahujan Samaj
Party chiefs.
“It is a pleasure to welcome
Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri N
Chandrababu Naidu ji to
Lucknow,” Akhilesh Yadav
tweeted. The Andhra Pradesh
chief minister did not speak
to the media after any of his
meetings. Sources, however,
said Naidu and Gandhi dis-
cussed the possibility of form-
ing a joint alliance of all
Opposition parties.
He told Gandhi to have a
strategy ready, in case the NDA
falls short of a majority and still
stakes claim to form the gov-
ernment, the sources said.
Naidu told all the leaders
that “we all should come
together and put our act
together” to form the next gov-
ernment by keeping the BJP
out, a source said.
“The campaigning of this
Lok Sabha Election 2019 has
ended and as we await the
last phase of polling, Andhra
GUNS ’N’ BALLOT
Women police personnel leave for polling stations ahead of the seventh and last phase of the
Lok Sabha polls, in Patna, on Saturday. As many as four Union ministers are among the 157
candidates in Bihar whose electoral fortunes will be decided on Sunday. About 15.2 million
voters will exercise their franchise in eight constituencies — Patna Sahib, Pataliputra,
Arrah, Buxar, Karakat, Sasaram, Nalanda and Jehanabad — at 15,811 booths, according to
the Election Commission. Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the
BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the ‘Mahagathbandhan’
Mamata’s nephew
sends defamation
notice to Modi
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee
on Saturday sent a defama-
tion notice to Narendra Modi,
demanding an apology from
the prime minister for “wildly
fabricated allegations” against
him at a rally earlier this week.
Modi has been given 36
hours to apologise or face legal
proceedings, according to the
notice. “... The malice with
which you chose to invoke
certain unverified, sensa-
tionalist and patently inac-
curate information, ostensi-
bly at the behest of your
party members... has com-
pelled my client to address
you vide this letter,” said the
notice, sent to the PM’s offi-
cial residence. PTI
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MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu with BSP President
Mayawati at her residence in Lucknow on Saturday PHOTO: PTI
Naidu alleges misuse of electoral
bonds, calls for 50% VVPAT count
Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu
on Saturday attacked the Modi
government, alleging that
there has been misuse of
electoral bonds and new ~500
and ~2,000 notes were
introduced after
demonetisation to “buy votes”.
Pradesh CM Shri N Sonia Gandhi meets top
Chandrababu Naidu paid
me a visit to discuss the
ongoing and future political
scenario of our country,”
Pawar said in a tweet after
the meeting at his residence.
Naidu met CPI leader G
Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja
over breakfast, asking them
to “come together”.
Reddy and Raja separately
met Pawar at his residence.
Spotlight on Patnaik as NDA, UPA woo BJD ahead of results
RAMANI RANJAN MOHAPATRA
New Delhi, 18 May
Voting for Odisha Assembly and
21 Lok Sabha seats is over, but the
challenge for Chief Minister and
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo
Naveen Patnaik is far from over.
The state government has a for-
midable task ahead in rebuilding
the districts devastated by
Cyclone Fani.
On the political front, howev-
er, Patnaik is in a sweet spot. He is
being wooed by both the BJP-led
ruling National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) and the United
Progressive Alliance headed by
the Congress. On its part, the BJD,
which has so far been claiming to
be keeping equidistant from both
the national alliances since the
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For the first time, West Bengal may
be casting ballot on religious lines
AVISHEK RAKSHIT
Kolkata, 18 May
For the first time in the history of
independent India, West Bengal
is expected to have voted largely
on religious lines in the past six
phases of the ongoing general
elections and may maintain the
same stance for the final phase of
elections slated on Sunday.
Chief Minister (CM) Mamata
Banerjee’s appeasement poli-
cies towards the minorities,
especially Muslims, is believed
to have played a part.
Runa Sen, a homemaker
from one of the older affluent
families from Kolkata North,
notes that even at a time when
Kolkata witnessed the ‘Week of
the Long Knives’ when the coun-
try was partitioned in the name
of religion, the city and the state
at large didn’t vote on religious
lines in the election of 1952.
“Elections used to be on the
lines of development, policies
and ideologies between a mod-
erate Congress and the com-
munist-socialist Left Front.
But times have changed now,”
Sen notes.
The Trinamool Congress
(TMC) roped in Bangladeshi
actor Ferdous Ahmed to seek
Naidu also stressed that
counting of votes in 50 per cent
of VVPATs can easily be done
even though the Supreme
Court has dismissed the petition
on the same and ordered
checking of VVPAT slips with
only five with the Electronic
Voting Machines. PTI
party leaders
The Congress leadership on
Saturday got its act together with
Sonia Gandhi stepping in and
formulating the party’s strategy
for government formation. AGENDA FOR NEXT
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul
Gandhi and former PM GOVERNMENT:
Manmohan Singh held
deliberations with Ahmed
TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Narendra Modi government
Patel, A K Antony and oth-
ers, sources said. tookmanyinitiatives such as
Startup India and improved
India’s rankin ease ofdoing
business. Butthis has notquite
translated into higher foreign
directinvestments (FDIs) despite
the governmentchanging the
norms for FDI thrice. The new
government’s challenge would
be to boostFDI, manufacturing
and come up with an e-com
policythat is fair to all investors
SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY
Yogi addressed more rallies than
all Opposition leaders combined
VIRENDRA SINGH RAWAT
Lucknow, 18 May
This election season, Uttar
Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister
and ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) star campaigner
Yogi Adityanath has addressed
more rallies in the state than
all of the Opposition leaders
combined.
Till the hectic campaigning
for the polls came to a close on
Friday, Adityanath had
addressed nearly 137 public
meetings in UP, which is more
than the rallies addressed by
the top leaders of the
Opposition camps — the
Congress, the Samajwadi Party
(SP) and the Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP).
While, Congress President
Rahul Gandhi addressed
PHOTO: PTI about 20 rallies/roadshows in
UP, his sister and party’s gen-
BJD parted ways with the BJP in
2009, is now keeping its options
wide open.
“We will not adopt the equal
distance (from the BJP and the
Congress) policy any more. The
BJD will support any front which
supports Odisha,” PTI quoted BJD
Vice-President and Minister S N
Patro as saying.
The confidence stems from the
fact that the BJD is widely expected
to come back to power in the state
despite a resurgent Opposition, allegations against Patnaik. The
particularly the BJP, trying to make attacks brought out an unusually
the most of the anti-incumbency combative chief minister, who
against the four-time Patnaik gov- countered the allegations point by
ernment. But the winning margin point touring the state in a high-
may take a few hard knocks, with tech bus.
the rousing response to Prime Now that the elections are over,
Minister Narendra Modi and party that tone has changed consider-
President Amit Shah’s corruption ably. Modi promptly visited the
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POLITICS 7 <
LOK SABHA ELECTION 2014 RESULTS
Vote Vote share Seats Seats
During the 2014 elections,
the BJP had a 17 per cent vote
share which was an 11.86 per
share (%) change (%) won change cent increase as compared to
Trinamool Congress 39.05 8.13 34 15 the 2009 elections, while in
the 2016 Assembly elections it
CPI (M) 29.71 N/A 2 -13 won three seats with a vote
BJP 17.02 10.88 2 1 share to 10.16 per cent. Also,
Congress 9.58 -3.85 4 -2 in the 2018 Panchayat polls, it
won 5,779 seats thereby
ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2016 RESULTS becoming the main opposi-
Vote Vote share Seats Seats tion party in West Bengal.
share (%) change (%) won change BJP’s state vice-president,
Chandra Kumar Bose believes
Trinamool Congress 44.91 6.00 211 27 the party’s vote share will
Left Front 26.39 -14.91 32 -29 increase to 38-40 per cent this
time. According to Bose, the
BJP 10.16 5.56 3 2
BJP is growing its presence
Congress 12.25 3.15 44 3 among the Bengali Hindus,
which account for 48 per cent
votes in Raiganj, a Muslim-dom- to polarise the population. West Bengal, this allowance is of the total vote base.
inated constituency. It also He notes that to gain politi- estimated to have potentially Bose pointed out how
brought in Ghazi Abdul Noor, cal favour with the Muslims, led to an outflow of ~126 crore anger and frustration of
another Bangladeshi actor, for a who account for 28 per cent of annually. “This hadn’t gone well Hindus prompted Mamata to
rally. Both were told by the the state’s population, Mamata, with the Hindus who asked why recite Sanskrit shlokas during
Centre to leave India. in the past, offered several dol- Hindu priests were denied such her campaign.
Such instances haven’t lops to the community. allowance,” Chakraborty said. Nevertheless, the desecra-
been taken lightly by a majori- But the most controversial Moreover, Mamata’s recital tion of Vidyasagar’s statue dur-
ty of traditional Bengali Hindu move was the Imam and of Islamic verses and her asso- ing Amit Shah’s rally may help
families of North Kolkata. Muezzin allowance of ~2,500 ciation with Muslim festivals Mamata gain some favour with
During a campaign, when BJP and ~1,500, respectively, which like Eid were also frowned the middle-class and erudite
President Amit Shah vowed to the CM proposed in April 2012. upon from a section of the Bengalis on Sunday.
oust illegal Muslims, the atten- However, it was struck down by orthodox Hindus. On the other But, as Chakraborty cau-
dees cheered with joy. Political the Calcutta High Court after hand, the TMC as well as tions, it may have been too late
observers like Biswanath the then BJP state general sec- Mamata herself have been for her to appease a section of
Chakraborty note that the BJP
has been successful in this state
retary Asim Sarkar challenged
it. For a debt-ridden state like
vehemently projecting the CM
as a devotee of goddess Kali.
Bengali Hindus who now view
the BJP as their saviour.
PUSHING UP FDI: Despite the government EASE OF DOING BUSINESS: While the PM had promised the country would in
overhauling FDI norms thrice over the past five years, the top 50 in ease of doing business by the end of his five-year term, India’s
the growth of incoming equity investments has rank has jumped to the 77th spot
crashed in the last financial year
RANK IMPROVES
FDI DATA Doing Doing Movement
„ FDI equityinflow „ Total FDI inflow( $ bn) Business ‘14 Business ‘19 in
Figures in brackets indicate annual growth (%) Report (‘13)* Report (‘18)* rank
60 61 India’s country rank (Out of 190) 134 77 57
56
(8) (1) 47
45
40 (23) 43 45 Dealing with construction permits 34 52 -18
33 (NA)
30 (25) (35) (9) (3) Trading across borders 28 80 -52
(22) (NA)
Starting a business 111 137 -26
Getting credit 121 22 99
Getting electricity 158 24 134
‘14-15 ‘15-16 ‘16-17 ‘17-18 ‘18-19 Enforcing contracts
Paying taxes
132
92
163
121
-31
-29
NA: Not applicable; as of 2018-19, data only for nine months
Sources: RBI Bulletin, DIPP
(Apr-Dec)
Protecting minority investors 179 7 172
REINING IN TRADE DEFICIT: Trade deficit reached a
Resolving insolvency 186 108 78
record high of $176 bn in ‘18-19. Reducing ‘non- Registering property 182 166 16
*Year in bracket represents the year report was launched; Grey represents the best development in rank;
essential’ imports and dependence on crucial products Black represents the worst development in rank Source : World Bank Doing Business 2019 Report
will remain high on next government’s agenda
TRADE DEFICIT REACHES RECORD HIGH PUSH FOR START-UPs: Start-ups and angel investors were hit by the angel
„ Trade deficit ($ bn)
tax and notices from the IT department. Partly-resolved, the new
government will have to address all issues on this to boost confidence
Figures in brackets indicate annual change (%)
137.70 118.71 176.42
UNEVEN FOOTPRINT
108.50 162.06
(-13.79)
(-8.60) (8.80) States at the top Registered States at the bottom Registered
(49.30)
Maharashtra 2,587 Manipur 11
Karnataka 1,973 Nagaland 7
Delhi 1,833 Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh 4
Uttar Pradesh 1,129 Meghalaya 2
‘14-15 ‘15-16 ‘16-17 ‘17-18 ‘18-19 Telangana 748 Sikim, Mizoram 1
Source: Commerce and Industry Ministry
Source : Startup India
Kejriwal: I’ll be
assassinated,
BJP after my life
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
which had tied up for the pre- New Delhi, 18 May
poll alliance in UP, had also
addressed 21 joint rallies in the Alleging that the BJP was
state, some of which also fea- after his life, Delhi chief min-
tured their partner Rashtriya ister and Aam Aadmi Party
Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit chief Arvind Kejriwal on
Singh and his son Jayant Saturday claimed that he will
Chaudhary. be assassinated like former
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Narendra Modi and BJP by his personal security offi-
President Amit Shah also gave cer. “The BJP would get me
ample time to the country’s murdered by my own PSO
most populous and the politi- (Personal Security Officer)
cally significant state during one day like Indira Gandhi.
electioneering. Modi addressed My own security officers
29 rallies apart from a roadshow report to BJP,” Kejriwal told a
in his parliamentary con- news channel in Punjab.
stituency of Varanasi, from “The BJP is after my life,
where he is seeking re-election. they will murder me one
eral secretary for Eastern UP for other parties. Shah addressed about 28 day,” he added.
addressed about 40 public SP President Akhilesh rallies and two roadshows Kejriwal was in Punjab to
meetings, apart from road- Yadav addressed more than 50 across the state, including campaign for his party
shows. The Congress is con- rallies, while BSP president Lucknow, from where union which is contesting on all
testing 70 of the total 80 seats Mayawati addressed nearly 25 home minister Rajnath seats in the state. Earlier this
in the state, while leaving the public meetings. However, the Singh is contesting for the month, he was slapped by a
remaining 10 constituencies leaders of the two parties, second time. man during a roadshow.
Though Patnaik is hand, wrote to the Prime Minister, course of action. The Congress has
thanking him for quick release of also reportedly deputed Madhya
known to be holding funds. The buzz about the BJP try- Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal
the cards close to his ing to cosy up to the BJD was the Nath to try and convince his good
chest, developments appreciation the Odisha CM old friend Patnaik to back the party
received from Shah. at the Centre.
after elections and
The BJP president said On the other hand, neighbour-
the cyclone hint that instances of violence in Mamata ing Telangana Chief Minister K
his party would Banerjee’s West Bengal during the Chandrashekar Rao had met
again join hands ongoing elections were not seen in Patnaik earlier that had fuelled
Patnaik’s state. The praise raised speculations about him joining the
with the BJP many eyebrows as Shah and his Federal/Third Front of non-
party leaders had recently accused Congress, non-BJP parties.
areas affected by cyclone Fani with the BJD of unleashing terror and Though Patnaik is known to be
Patnak in his side. What followed violence during the elections. holding the cards close to his chest,
was praises from both the sides, a The Congress is trying to woo developments post elections and
stark difference from the abuses the BJD, too, with UPA the cyclone hint that his party
and rhetorics used in the cam- Chairperson Sonia Gandhi inviting would again join hands with the
paigning a fortnight back. leaders of allies and non-NDA par- BJP. But those who know Patnaik
Modi hailed Patnaik for han- ties, including Patnaik, for a meet- well say his final decision would
dling the situation of before and ing in New Delhi on the results day depend on who has the edge after
after cyclone. Patnaik, on the other on May 23 to discuss the future the Lok Sabha elections.
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8 ECONOMY
>
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019 1

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS BINAY SINHA

Kerala’s masala bonds could be a one-off
ANUP ROY AND GIREESH BABU
Mumbai/Chennai, 18 May
the issuer builds the withholding tax A NEW BOND unreachable for them.
within the coupon itself, since the Issuance of RDBs (in ~cr) Data from RBI shows that $548.77
issuer is the one chasing an investor million worth of registration for masala
4,000

T
he state-owned Kerala who may not be keen on investing in bonds were done with RBI in March.
Infrastructure Investment Fund Indian bonds. 3,813 This included approval for ~2,673 crore
Board’s (KIIFB) rupee-denomi- The RBI had exempted masala 3,000 by KIIFB and ~1,000 crore by Housing
nated masala bonds could be a one-off bonds from withholding tax to make Development Finance Corp. (HDFC).
offering for now as it was issued after the investment tax free till March 31. 2,000 HDFC’s was a private placement and
the tax rebate window closed in March. “This masala bonds is a one-off. 1,000 KIIFB’s a public offering.
KIIFB had registered for issuance Quasi sovereign companies, such as 1,000 In December last year, approval for
before the March 31 deadline, data from the Power Finance Corporation and issuance of Rupee Denominated
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows, the Rural Electrification Corporation
0 Bonds or RDBs worth $37 million was
but may have delayed issuing papers can still raise money, but state Apr ‘18 Mar ‘19 taken from the RBI. No approvals were
Source: RBI Compiled by BS Research Bureau
overseas, incurring a withholding tax of backed companies don’t need to sought in January and February.
5 per cent on the coupon. unless the pricing is fine, or they The KIIFB’s ~2,150 crore bonds car-
As per government rules, foreign want to diversify their sources of paid 8.01 per cent for ~500 crore in been very effective. According to ry a coupon of 9.723 per cent, which is
investors in Indian bonds have to pay fund,” said a senior investment 10-year bonds. However, KIIFB had bankers, the market is regularly tapped paid on a semi-annual basis. The
a withholding tax on the coupon. For banker, requesting anonymity. to pay 9.723 per cent for its five-year by highly rated companies, which any- maturity date is March 2024 and they
example, if the coupon of a bond is 10 Kerala borrows through the masala bond offering. way have a ready onshore market. It is will be listed on Singapore Stock
per cent, the investor gets 9.5 per cent domestic bond market and those The masala bond market, once the companies with lower ratings that Exchange and International Securities
after deduction of the withholding tax. bonds are called state development thought to be the panacea for fund- need financing the most and the Market of the London Stock Exchange
In case of masala bonds, though, loans, or SDLs. On May 14, Kerala starved Indian companies, has not masala bonds market remains largely as per KIIFB’s website.
The board of cigarette-to-FMCG-to-hotel
conglomerate ITC has appointed MD
Sanjiv Puri as its chairman. The 56-year-
old Wharton graduate has become the
Fine-tuning the match: employers and jobless migrants
company’s fifth Indian chairman ANJULI BHARGAVA with a certified person. The have received training through per annum. Today, the compa-
Mumbai, 18 May assumption was that the ‘infor- these centres. Some have ny works with around 7,000
mation asymmetry’ in the mar- joined full-time and others have micro-entrepreneurs and some
Workers are looking for jobs ket had to be fixed. become micro entrepreneurs. of them have managed to raise
which they don’t get. The mar- The response was tepid. She Schools: LabourNet runs a their incomes by 20-25 per cent
ket is looking for particular delved into the reasons and four-year vocational training over the past 18 months.
kinds of workers which it does found that one, people wanted programme in schools. It begins From starting out more as
not get. The two pass each oth- workers with experience rather by helping students identify an NGO, the company has
er like ships in the night. Why than just certification and two, their areas of interest from grown at a rapid clip with 136
this yawning gap? the moment workers said they Class 9 onwards and guides per cent year-on-year growth
This was the thought that had come from an NGO, peo- them into the right training for last few years. Its annual rev-
struck Gayathri Vasudevan in ple felt they were not ‘really’ after Class 12, if they don’t want enue is touching ~175 crore.
2008 when she was working qualified. Vasudevan, 48, also to pursue academics. It is work- Vasudevan has very aggres-
with the International Labour noticed that while experienced ing in 500 schools in Punjab, sive expansion plans: the goal is
Organisation. She quit her job migrant workers were finding LabourNet CEO Gayathri Vasudevan (left) Haryana, Himachal, Odisha, to reach $200 million (approx-
because she ‘wanted to see exe- jobs, relatively inexperienced Assam and Chhattisgarh. imately ~1,500 crore) by 2024. A
cution on the ground, policy ones weren’t. That’s when she hyper local connection and (including overtime). Around 30,000 students are total of ~35 crore of equity fund-
alone was not resulting in exe- decided to start from scratch starting technical and voca- Vasudevan has managed to enrolled in the training. ing has been raised in three
cution’ and created LabourNet and look at vocational training tional training in three places: at increase these wages by about Around 2013, LabourNet tranches. In addition, debt
the same year in Bengaluru to as the starting point. work sites, its own training cen- 15 per cent to ~11,000-~13,000 started working with micro- funding of ~22 crore has been
see if this gap between what the “The reality was that their tres, and in schools. The main per month. Her aim over a two entrepreneurs in the medium raised. The primary investors
market needed and what was education did not equip stu- aim of all these activities was to year period is to push this fur- and small enterprise sector who include Acumen and the
available could be closed. dents for real world applica- bridge the gap between skills ther to ~20,000-25,000 a month. typically don’t invest in in- Michael and Susan Dell
For three years, LabourNet tion. This in turn led to and market needs and to Training centres: A second house training, tending to use Foundation. Labournet now
ran a call centre in 48 zones of depressed wages, low job secu- increase wages. segment of training is delivered outside contractors for their has 2,000 employees, 43 per
the city to register workers, cer- rity, and stagnant productivi- Work sites and shop floors: through Labournet’s 100 train- labour needs. LabourNet helps cent of them women. “For me,
tify them and send them to ty. Unemployment levels in LabourNet has worked with ing centres in Karnataka, Tamil them to operate more as a ‘busi- more than all the data, rev-
homes to perform jobs such as India were not sky high; what around 100,000 workers so far, Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal ness’ than as an ‘individual’. enues and profits, LabourNet
N Chandrasekaran-led $104-bn Tata group carpentry, driving, plumbing, was more worrying was that training them at construction Pradesh, and Haryana. This It trains them in managing a has been a ‘labour of love’ that’s
is demerging the consumer products electrical repairs and so on. It 300 million of the workers sites and with leather compa- lasts for two-six months and team, finance, and inventory allowed me to appreciate the
business of Tata Chemicals into Tata Global was a ‘hyper local connection’ earned less than US$ 3 per day,” nies and rubber manufacturers. includes beauticians’ work, and stocks so that they can real spirit of India’s countless
like Urban Clap, i.e. connecting said Vasudevan. Typically, these workers were welding, auto services (2-3 increase their yearly average migrant men and women who
Beverages as part of a larger mandate to a house owner who needed a From 2011, LabourNet originally earning between wheelers), and electrical serv- earning from ~2.5-3 lakh per have a resilience I have never
bring food & beverages under one unit good electrician or plumber changed tack, ceasing to be a ~9,000-10,000 per month ices. Another 100,000 workers annum to as high as ~10-25 lakh seen before,” she said.

WORLD
>
1

US may scale back restrictions on Australia’s exit polls go

Huawei to help existing users
KAREN FREIFELD
18 May
T
he US Commerce Department
said on Friday it may soon scale
back restrictions on Huawei
Technologies after this week’s black-
listing would have made it nearly
impossible for the Chinese company
to service its existing customers.
The Commerce Department, which
had effectively halted Huawei’s ability
to buy American-made parts and com-
ponents, is considering issuing a tem-
porary general license to “prevent the
interruption of existing network oper-
ations and equipment,” a spokes-
woman said.
Potential beneficiaries of the license
could, for example, include internet
access and mobile phone service
providers in thinly populated places
such as Wyoming and eastern Oregon
that purchased network equipment
from Huawei in recent years.
In effect, the Commerce
Department would allow Huawei to
purchase US goods so it can help exist-
ing customers maintain the reliability
of networks and equipment, but the
Chinese firm still would not be allowed
to buy American parts and compo-
nents to manufacture new products.
The potential rule roll back suggests
changes to Huawei’s supply chain may
have immediate, far-reaching and
unintended consequences.
The blacklisting, officially known
as placing Huawei on the Commerce
Department’s entity list, was one or
two efforts by the Trump administra-
tion this week allegedly made in an
attempt to thwart national security
risks. In an executive order, President
Donald Trump also effectively barred
the use of its equipment in US telecom
networks.
The United States believes Huawei’s
smartphones and network equipment
could be used by China to spy on
Americans, allegations the company
has repeatedly denied.
The latest Commerce move comes
as China has struck a more aggressive
tone in its trade war with the United
States, suggesting talks between the
world’s two largest economies would
be meaningless unless Washington
changed course.
A spokesman for Huawei, the
world’s largest telecommunications
equipment maker, did not immediate-
ly respond to a request for comment.
Out of $70 billion Huawei spent
The blacklisting, officially known as placing Huawei on the Commerce
Department’s entity list, was one or two efforts by the Trump administration
this week allegedly made in an attempt to thwart national security risks
buying components in 2018, some $11
billion went to US firms including
Qualcomm, Intel and Micron
Technology.
If the Commerce Department issues
the license, US suppliers would still
need separate licenses to conduct new
business with Huawei, which would be
extremely difficult to obtain, the
spokeswoman said.
The temporary general license
would last for 90 days, she said, and
would be posted in the Federal
Register, just as the rule adding
Huawei to the entity list will be pub-
lished in the government publication
on Tuesday.
“The goal is to prevent collateral
harm on non-Huawei entities that use
their equipment,” said Washington
lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce
Department official.
The entity listing bans Huawei and
68 affiliates in 26 countries from buying
American-made goods and technology
without licenses that would likely be
denied.
The entities list identifies com-
panies believed to be involved in
activities contrary to the national
REUTERS
security or foreign policy interests
of the United States. In a final rule
posted on Thursday, the government
tied Huawei’s entity listing to a crim-
inal case pending against the compa-
ny in Brooklyn, New York.
US prosecutors unsealed the indict-
ment in January accusing the compa-
ny of engaging in bank fraud to obtain
embargoed US goods and services in
Iran and to move money out of the
country via the international banking
system.
Huawei Chief Financial Officer
Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the com-
pany’s founder, was arrested in Canada
in December in connection with the
indictment, a move that has led to a
three-way diplomatic crisis involving
the U.S., China and Canada.
Meng, who was released on bail,
remains in Vancouver, and is fighting
extradition. She has maintained her
innocence, and Huawei has entered a
plea of not guilty in New York.
Trump injected other considera-
tions into the criminal case after
Meng’s arrest when he told Reuters he
would intervene if it helped close a
trade deal. REUTERS
Toyota rebukes
Trump for sending
message that
carmaker ‘not
welcomed’ in US
CHESTER DAWSON
18 May
Toyota Motor rebuked President
Donald Trump’s declaration that
imported cars threaten US national
security, signaling contentious
talks are ahead for the White House
and America’s key trading partners.
In an unusually strong-worded
statement, Japan’s largest auto-
maker said Trump’s proclamation
Friday that the US needs to defend
itself against foreign cars and
components “sends a message to
Toyota that our investments are not
welcomed.” The company said it has
spent more than $60 billion building
operations in the country, including
10 manufacturing plants.
Trump earlier Friday agreed with
the conclusions of his Commerce
Department, which investigated
imports of vehicles and auto parts
and found they harm national
security by having led to a declining
market share for “American-
owned” carmakers since the 1980s.
The White House set a 180-day
deadline for negotiating deals with
Japan, the European Union and
other major auto exporters. Toyota
said it remains hopeful that those
talks can be resolved quickly, but
warned that curbing imports would
force US consumers to pay more and
be counterproductive for jobs and
the economy. The company’s
critique comes two months after its
pledge to add $3 billion to a years-
long US investment plan.
Representatives for other
automakers were more diplomatic
but also registered concern about
the Trump administration’s saber-
rattling. The Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers, a trade group
representing a dozen of the largest
domestic and foreign carmakers
with operations in the US, warned
Friday that higher prices from
tariffs could put 700,000 American
jobs at risk. BLOOMBERG
wrong, ruling coalition’s
Morrison set for return
AP/PTI
Melbourne, 18 May
Australia’s ruling conservative
coalition led by Prime Minister
Scott Morrison on Saturday
made a “miraculous” comeback
and is set to form the next gov-
ernment after winning most
number of seats in the elections,
defying exit polls which pre-
dicted a victory for the opposi-
tion Labor Party.
Australians on Saturday vot-
ed to elect their next parliament
and prime minister, in what has
been widely referred to as the
climate-change election. After
five weeks long election cam-
paigning across the country,
around 16 million Australians
swarmed to the polling booths
across the country to elect the
nation’s 31st prime minister.
A Nine-Galaxy poll
released shortly before the vot-
ing stations closed in the east
of the country showed a victo-
ry for the centre-left Labor par-
ty and Liberal Party-led coali-
tion losing its bid for a third
three-year term.
The poll showed the Labor
winning as many as 82 seats in
the 151-member House of
Representatives, beating the
governing Liberal coalition. On
Friday, media reports also
endorsed Labor Party leader
Bill Shorten as the best chance
to end a “cycle of instability” in
Australian politics.
To win a majority in the
House of Representatives,
either major party will need 76
seats. The Coalition currently
holds 73 seats, while Labor has
72. Morrison cast his vote at Lilli
Pilli Public School in Sydney
while Shorten in Melbourne.
Defying the exit polls, the
early counting recorded a
swing in favour of the ruling
coalition, which so far won
74 seats, paving the way for
Morrison to become the coun-
try’s 31st prime minister.
Opposition Labor Party won
65 seats during the ongoing
counting of votes. Following
this, Shorten conceded defeat
and said he would resign as the
party leader.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) is assisted by his
wife, Jenny, as he casts his ballot in a federal election in Sydney
PHOTO: AP/PTI
Addressing his disbelieving seat of Warringah in northern
supports, he said “Without Sydney to independent Zali
wanting to hold out any false Steggall, a lawyer and Olympic
hope, while there are still mil- medallist in Alpine skiing, after
lions of votes to count and suffering a swing of over 13 per
important seats yet to be cent votes against him.
finalised, it is obvi- Abbott, conced-
ous that Labor will Morrison had wooed ing his defeat, said:
not be able to form voters by saying if “This is really
the next govern- re-elected Coalition extraordinary
ment. would deliver a stable results, it is a stu-
“I called Scott economy, more jobs pendous results, it
Morrison to con- and tax cuts is a great result for
gratulate him... Scott Morrison and
wished him good fortune and the rest of the Liberal team, and
good courage in the service of Scott Morrisson will quite right-
our great nation. The national ly enter the Liberal
interest required no less,” Pantheon forever.”
Shorten said. According to last week’s
So far, it is not clear whether Newspoll survey, even though
the Coalition will govern in Labor took the swing in its
majority or will need partner- favour, the leader approval rat-
ship of independent MPs in a ing favoured Morrison with 45
minority. per cent saying he would make
According to media reports, a better prime minister as com-
the ruling Liberal supporters pared to Shorten.
started an early celebrations at Morrison had wooed voters
the party headquarters after it by saying if re-elected Coalition
became clear that it may form would deliver a stable econo-
the next government. my, more jobs and tax cuts,
The Greens, Centre Alliance while promised funds for
and other Katter’s Australia par- women’s career initiative and
ty has all taken one seat each so domestic violence and conser-
far with counting reaching half vative plans to deal with climate
way. The coalition managed to change.
make significant gains in Following the results,
Queensland and Tasmania and Morrison, in his victory speech in
limited its loss in New South Sydney said, “I have always
Wales and Victoria. believed in miracles... for me and
Former prime minister Tony for my government, for all of my
Abbott, who once described cli- team it’s all about you...tonight is
mate change as "crap", lost his about every single Australian.”

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.
S
ikkim is a land of contrasts. Nature is
bountiful and people are friendly. State
capacity is impressive and idealism in
public service is alive. And yet, even after
a tidal wave of prosperity has deposited much
affluence, education, and infrastructure, Sikkim
is hardly making the transition to enlightened
and enhanced environmental management. This
has negative consequences for the state and the
rest of India.
The green critique of Sikkim has to surely be
its inability to say “No”. After having achieved a
raft of economic successes — the first state to
launch universal basic income, in the top five
tier of states ranked by per capita income, high-
est per capita transfers by the central govern-
ment, 90 per cent-plus literacy, 100 per cent
electrification, 100 per cent organic farming,
etc — one would have expected a small state,
with strong community organisations and a
diverse and vibrant democratic culture to assert
itself and selectively reject certain kinds of
development. This has not happened, and the
typical pan-Indian, contractor-driven rush of
roads, dams, tourism eyesores, explodes and
assaults the senses. This is absent in Bhutan
and Ladakh, no less affluent and no less strate-
gic for Indian defence.
The power sector is the most glaring example
of runaway development. Sikkim hosts some
2,200MW of operating hydro
projects, soon to rise to 3,000MW.
These are large projects, recently Conversations with
commissioned, and they export enough Sikkimese
most of the power generated out convince me they
of state. These large dams, pri- now have had
marily on the Teesta and Rangeet enough of dams for
rivers, have created enormous such a small state,
environmental problems. The and certainly do not
poster child of such projects is need any more
Teesta Urja’s Teesta III 1,200MW power, with less than
project at Chungthang, now 100MW used within
majority owned by the the state
Government of Sikkim, the con-
struction of which has seen,
besides embarrassing financial
shenanigans worthy of a soap opera, landslides
from road construction, deaths of labourers in
the tunnel during the 2011 earthquake, the col-
lapse of a bridge by an overloaded truck carrying
materials for the projects, disputes over non-
construction of fish ladders, issues around e-
flow of river water, shareholder disputes, take-
over by the government and a long list of social
and environmental failures.
Conversations with enough Sikkimese con-
vince me they now have had enough of dams for
such a small state, and certainly do not need
any more power, with less than 100MW used
within the state. And, yet, developers are still
eyeing another project on the Teesta, which
already has over a dozen large projects operating,
and Teesta VI (500MW) has just recently trans-
ferred from bankrupt Lanco to NHPC for com-
pletion. There is also the case of the infamous to-
be-constructed Teesta IV project in Dzongu, the
Lepcha reserve. Predictably, there is near-total
local opposition which has coalesced around
this project in a sensitive location.
In contrast, the 780-MW Nyamjang Chu proj-
ect in Arunachal has recently been cancelled,
after a successful, lengthy agitation by the local
Mon community, making the case for the con-
servation of the endangered Black-necked Crane.
Small and strategically important community,
border area, arcane environmental argument,
and, yet, an environmental success. Sure, after 10
years, but still a success, a community taking
charge and voicing its own priorities. Can this be
replicated in Sikkim?
Another case in point is the new road up
the Chopta Valley to and across the Lugnak La
pass into Lhonak. Note, this is not on or near
the border. In fact, the area this leads to,
Lhonak, is patrolled by the ITBP, not the Army,
for that reason. This road was justified for sup-
porting the military, and the objections of the
Forest Department were typically overrun.
There was a very good footpath which went
along the valley and gave perfect access to
Muguthang; first, an attempt was made to
widen it. When that failed, a massive road proj-
IMO
BJP candidate from Bhopal Pragya Singh
Thakur is facing flak for calling Mahatma
Gandhi’s killer a patriot
PRAGYA SINGH THAKUR'S REMARKS
ON GODSE
Anand mahindra@anandmahindra
For 75 yrs,India’s been the land of the
Mahatma;a beacon when the world lost its
morality.We used to be pitied for being poor
but we were always rich since Bapu inspired
billions globally.Some things must remain
sacred.Or we become the Taliban,destroying
statues that sustain us
Barkha Dutt@BDUTT
By next week Modi may be prime minister
again. Irrespective of whether he wins or not,
he must drop Pragya Thakur now. She is a blot
on our democracy & inaction stains his
reputation too
Vir Das@thevirdas
At this point I'm genuinely curious about what
Pragya Singh Thakur would have to say before
the BJP drops her. Not that I want to hear it. I
just want to know how much is too much for
the ruling party. Where their line is.
Yashwant Sinha@YashwantSinha
In a blog put out by NDTV today I have
requested all voters not to vote for the BJP on
May 19 to protest Pragya Thakur's remarks
eulogising Godse as a patriot and the very
weak response of the BJP and especially the
prime minister.
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019
Is Sikkim green?
The state is being overrun by a contractor-driven rush of roads, dams and
tourism eyesores. To protect its fragile ecosystem, it must learn to reject projects
that cause irreparable damage for questionable benefits, writes Himraj Dang
ect was started and resulted in being totally
annihilated by landslides, destroying a large
area of dwarf Rhododendron and Juniper. This
new road failed.
Finally, the third programme of road con-
struction went ahead, and I drove on this last
autumn. The road was very poorly constructed,
with water flowing down it in the absence of
even water channels on the side, eroding the
very road constructed. The picture that emerges
is of the enormous damage done and continu-
ing from this poorly-planned road in the frag-
ile country — three roads in one valley.
Shehla Rashid@Shehla_Rashid
If Pragya Singh Thakur is elected, the joke is on
the people. India will officially become a
terrorist state if that happens. Her speeches
are violent, her statements are violent,
everything about her screams violence. Shame
on the party that fielded an undertrial
terrorist.
VIOLENCE IN WEST BENGAL DURING
CAMPAIGNING
Swapan Dasgupta@swapan55
This is also happening in West Bengal. Fresh
violence against majority community; houses
vandalised, TMC hand alleged
Umar Khalid@UmarKhalidJNU
Amit Shah is hoping that the grounds that
they are losing from everywhere in India will
be recovered from Bengal. In their desperation
they have unleashed extreme violence and
vandalism. Sahab, Bangal ki dharti ne acche
achho ko maza chakhaya hai. Yaad rakhiega.
N Chandrababu Naidu@ncbn
Strongly condemn the violence perpetrated by
the BJP and its workers yesterday in Kolkata.
After desperately trying to destabilise the state
government of West Bengal through CBI, ED
and IT, they are now resorting to direct
violence which shows their true colours.
TRUMP’S SABRE-RATTLING ON IRAN
Bernie Sanders@BernieSanders
As someone who did as much as I could to
prevent the war in Iraq—the worst foreign
policy blunder in modern American history—
let me tell you: a war with Iran would be
much, much worse.
Lee Zeldin@RepLeeZeldin
Iran is the largest state sponsor of terror w
blood on its hands of US troops. They don’t
respect weakness, only strength. We must not
be silent; not bc we want war but to prevent
it. The military option is THE LAST option, but
should be on the table hopefully just as a
deterrent
https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
Someone should really justify why such a road
was needed, away from the border, and not of
great strategic value. It cannot be that all of
Sikkim is of strategic value and that every road
is welcome or necessary. That Sikkim must pay
the ecological costs for India’s national securi-
ty even if mainstream India wishes to trample
upon its own ecological security.
All the tourists who now go to Gurudongmar,
and this can be 300 vehicles a day in the peak
season, scarcely notice the tanks, trucks, and
large military facilities at Giagong and beyond.
This area has a highly sensitive trans-
‘Wemeetmoreclimatechangeobserversthansceptics’
India is home to some of the world's most polluted cities and rivers on the planet and the problem is only getting worse.
But there are reasons to be hopeful as awareness about environment is growing. KARUNA SINGH,regional director for
South Asia and country director, Earth Day Network, a global environmental protection and conservation chairty, tells
Ritwik Sharma about the network's people-based approach to tackling climate change and the impact it is having on the
country. Edited excerpts:
Earth DayNetwork (EDN) has been in India for
nearly a decade.Howdoyou gauge India in termsof
general awareness toenvironmental concerns?
Which population segments have shown greater
awareness and involvement?
Over the past decade, we have seen a quantum rise in
awareness in India about environmental issues —
whether it is in urban or rural spaces or among
different genders. The extent may vary but there is no
doubting the fact that people are conscious of
changing weather patterns, reduced natural wealth,
the need to manage waste, and of pollution levels.
The greatest awareness and involvement was noticed
amongst the youth. That youth are conscious of the
role they can — and
must— play for a greener
and cleaner Earth is
Head evidenced by our Rising
to Stars initiative. Under
Head this campaign, we award
youngsters whose efforts
Almost every person make Earth a better place
we interact with to live in. Their stories are
reminisces about the amazing. Have you heard
good old days when about the young girl in
the rivers were full of Kashmir who helps clean
fish, when harvests up the Dal Lake, or the
coincided with boy from Chhattisgarh
festive seasons, who calls himself a “Cool
when trees bloomed Calculator” and has so
to provide shade and eloquently explained ways
when taking a dip in to lead low carbon
pure river waters was lifestyles to over 10,000
refreshing students? They are indeed
India’s climate champions
— not of the future, but of the present.
HowdoyouseektoincreaseclimateliteracyinIndia?
Isthereaproblemofclimatechangescepticism?
India mandates the infusion of environmental
education in the curriculum of varied subjects taught
at schools. In 2017, Earth Day Network India organised
28 roundtables across the country to examine
whether these aims were being achieved.
Unfortunately not. Several recommendations on
https://t.me/Banking4Exams
Can Gangtok,
Ravangla and Peling
grow further? Where
will the water come
from? With such a
massive build-up of
concrete, what have
we learnt from the
last earthquake? Is
there any thought to
carrying-capacity for
tourism in limited
geographies?
A view of the Chopta Valley where a poorly
constructed and designed road has done
enormous damage to the environment
Himalayan ecology, with extremely slow plant
growth, given the temperature and wind con-
ditions. Damage to plant and associated bird
and animal life here is irreversible.
I am sure these tanks and trucks are needed
for the defence of the borders, but can we not
avoid the feral dogs coming up on the trucks,
methods to help students move from mere learning
to environmental literacy and then to stewardship
for the environment emerged from the roundtables.
A summary of the recommendations was presented
to the Human Resources Development minister
who was very receptive to our efforts and asked his
office to see what could be done. We have come
across more climate change observers than
sceptics. This is especially true of rural
areas where people live closer to nature.
Almost every person we interact with
reminisces about the good old days
when the rivers were full of fish, when
harvests coincided with festive
seasons, when trees bloomed to
provide shade and when rivers flowed
and taking a dip in their pure waters
was refreshing. In urban spaces, as
well, people are aware of the changes.
In their case, it is more dramatic as
existing data about levels of
pollution, heat indices, etc stare
them in the face every day.
How can EDN help change
mindsets in India so that
people are more aware
about environmental
problems and sustainable
living?
Ours is a bottom-up
approach and our mantra
is “green acts are good for
you.” Helping people
understand that
environmental issues
need to be addressed
because these will benefit
them, and not because a
law has been passed, has
been one of our key focus
areas. That said, as someone
once told me, “in India,
environmental issues tend
to be the privilege of the
IN DEPTH 9 <
which have interbred with the local mastiffs
and exterminated them? How is the military
disposing of its sewage and garbage, which is
seen littering the gorgeous landscape? And,
finally, is dialogue possible, to have the tanks
avoid areas with specifically-identified breeding
animals and birds?
Would that not be a solution, an accommo-
dation respecting nature, culture, and the high-
est traditions of the most disciplined military in
the world? The military presence was increased
here in the 1980s by remarkable officers like
Gen R K Gaur and Brig Baljit Singh, who were
both unashamed naturalists. With a bit of imag-
ination and mutual respect, so much is possible
to find enlightened solutions. And we are not
even talking to each other. The proposal to con-
serve the area around Tsolhamo lake as a high-
altitude sanctuary was rejected and the forest
department overruled, even as this area is being
progressively opened to tourism.
In Garhwal, the army has created a
Territorial Army eco-battalion, which is engag-
ing retired personnel in planting trees. You can
see them on the once-ravaged hillsides on the
way from Dehra Dun to Mussoorie. Could a unit
like that be set up in Sikkim to remove the obso-
lete mines and fences which are away from the
border, way past their useful life? Some of the
outdated and unmarked mines keep drifting
and hurting animals and shepherds, and as
such, have no useful military purpose.
I would like to bring one more example: The
dams proposed at Lachen and Lachung, the
prettiest high-altitude villages in North Sikkim.
Locals were not consulted, efforts were made to
co-opt the local dzumsa (or traditional, local
body for self-government), and surveys began.
When the “managed EIA” was to be conducted,
the officials and engineers were actually locked
up and then thrown out. The projects were
shelved or cancelled. Is this how we are going to
resolve our disputes? In peaceful Sikkim?
This is the Nyamjang Chu solution, where a
monk was jailed, peaceful protestors killed by
the police, and a whole community turned
against Indian democracy. Eventually, the
National Green Tribunal ruled in favour of the
opposition to the dam, and the dam is history.
Such a massive forest fire of local opposition is
going to spread everywhere, as the state loses its
authority, by itself undermining the laws and
regulations, with which we gov-
ern ourselves.
Before we blame the govern-
ment of India alone, Sikkimese
should also examine their own
management of urban develop-
ment. Can Gangtok, Ravangla,
and Peling grow further? Where
will the water come from? With
such a massive build-up of con-
crete, what have we learnt from
the last earthquake? And why is
all development along the road,
jamming up the small towns and
creating traffic congestion even
in remote places? Is there any
thought to carrying-capacity for
tourism in limited geographies?
And as for the disease of gigantism, that
giant ropeway eating up mature oak-and-rho-
dodendron forest has now reached
Bhaleydunga, apiece with the construction of
the Sardar Patel statue, and others large statues
to come up in Mumbai and Ayodhya. What
more can anyone say to such developments?
Sikkim must ask itself what it means to be a
green state. To show up happy smiling children
in a still massively forested state? Or, using rea-
son, science, and dialogue, to sieve through the
good projects and the bad ones. To respect
community opinion and not let social confla-
grations build up with its own people. To respect
rules, regulations, and EIA processes. And, yes,
to occasionally reject a few projects which cause
irredeemable damage for questionable benefit.
In other words, to learn to say “No.” Sikkim can
afford it, and India should be grateful for the
learning, to help us all choose between devel-
opment we all want and mindless growth we
do not need.
rich, not of the many who are more concerned with
getting a square meal, and ensuring they have a roof
over their heads.” Keeping this in mind, we try to
see how there could be an economic benefit to
people by going green. For example, we distributed
51,000 fruit trees in Lalitpur, one of India’s worst
drought-affected districts. We explained the
economic benefit people could get from selling the
fruit of the mature tree. In the Jethian Valley in
Bihar, we understood that people have no other
recourse but to cut down trees for firewood as they
were so poor. So, along with planting saplings we
looked for ways to enhance their incomes.
Why has there been scant progressin cleaning
uptheGanga, which was one of the touted
projects of the current government? How
does EDN plan tohelp in this regard?
Our analysis is that people at the ground
level are not sensitised enough about
the fact that they also must play a role
for a better environment.
Governments cannot keep cleaning
while people keep littering. With this
in mind, we launched on this Vaisakhi
in Devprayag, The Great Global
Cleanup initiative, a people’s
approach for the river Ganga.
For nine days after the launch,
people walked from village to
village along the route of the
river, calling upon
residents to bin their
waste, not strew it. On the
eve of Earth Day, the
rally culminated in
Haridwar. All along the
way, many ashrams
came forward to lend
their support. Many
other places along
the river held similar
programmes. We will
continue this initiative and
are looking for ways to fund
the setting up of plastic waste
management centres so that
plastic waste gets managed.
We want these centres to be
run by rag-picker associations
as entrepreneurship models.
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
10 DEMOCRACY AT WORK
>
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019

DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?

CHATTERBOX

Tea party politics CHECKLIST

What was behind Sonia Gandhi’s invitation to opposition parties to a tea party on May
23 ? Apparently, the effort was to forestall invitations by others and ensure the Congress
THE LAST PHASE OF ELECTIONS: SOME INTERESTING CONTESTS
had the initiative. The first attempt to create a common front was taken by Telugu Desam n
Ujjain: This is a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste rickshaw to reach out to his voters. The Akali Dal-
Party (TDP) leader Chandrababu Naidu, who reached out to all non-BJP parties including candidates. The BJP has fielded Anil Firojiya from BJP combine has fielded former minister Surjit
the Congress to hold a meeting on May 21 to address a strategy on May 23 . the seat against Congress' Babulal Malviya. In the Singh Rakhra from this seat. The Aam Aadmi Party
However, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee 2014 general polls, Chintamani Malviya of the BJP (AAP) has fielded greenhorn Neena Mittal, an
was markedly unenthusiastic about the meeting, informing Naidu that she would have defeated his Congress rival by a margin of 309,663 activist who worked for the party during the 2013
to stay confined to the state to prevent any mischief while counting. votes, or 30.5 per cent votes. This is pretty steep Delhi Assembly elections. Kaur lost the 2014
Naidu’s intention was to act as an honest broker — he firmly believes that he is the only margin. Then why was Malaviya not fielded again? elections by a margin of just 20,000 votes.
one who can persuade both Mamata and the Congress to the come to sit at the same Apparently because of the influence exercised by n
Ghazipur: You might have thought that
table. He shared his ideas over a phone call to other Opposition leaders, including DMK’s Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot who also between united opposition candidate and well-
Stalin, JDS’ Kumaraswamy and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav. Naidu even suggested belongs to this region. The BJP decided on a neutral known mafia leader Afzal Ansari and Union
that opposition leaders should meet President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to consider candidate and this could be a recipe for disaster, Minister Manoj Sinha, the choice would be
22 parties as a single bloc, while inviting the single largest group — rather than a party — given that the Congress won four of the five obvious. But it is not. Sinha is facing a tough fight,
to form the government in the case of a hung Lok Sabha. “Whatever has been said about Gandhi or Assembly segments in the 2018 assembly polls. given that at the height of the Modi wave he
Godse, these kind of statements are very bad
However, Mamata’s irritation with the Congress (which has put up candidates in every and worth contempt... In a cultured society, this
n
Patiala: A seat much in contention. Preneet managed to win the seat in 2014 by a margin of
constituency that has a sizeable Muslim population, thus cutting into the TMC’s votes) type of language is not permissible... Though Kaur, popularly known as Maharani Sahiba (she is only 33,000 votes. Moreover, caste, rather than
is palpable and she really doesn’t want to share a platform with the party that, in her she has apologised, I won't be able to pardon Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s wife. He development, is a big issue here. Yadavs, Dalits
view, is enabling a BJP victory. her with my heart" is the Maharaja of Patiala) will face sitting and Muslims are 50 per cent of the voting
Hence Sonia Gandhi’s decision to step in. Gandhi believes Mamata will not be able to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on BJP’s Bhopal candidate Pragya Member of Parliament Dharamvir Gandhi, a population. Modi is popular but, if the Opposition
say ‘no’ to her. Singh Thakur calling Nathuram Godse a deshbhakt, 17 May cardiologist by profession, who prefers to use a unites Sinha could be in for a shock.

reason behind Pragya Thakur's candidature
OPINION from the BJP? Do you buy their claim that
they want to prove there is no such thing
RAM NATH KOVIND such as saffron terrorism?
This is a doomed experiment. You must
remember how they fielded Kiran Bedi in Delhi
a national loss. They should understand this.
They have stopped funds related to toilets and
MNREGA as well. Even government officials
have been brainwashed by the BJP and RSS peo-
ple. Like MP, they also tried to create a fake elec-
tricity crisis during the election. We have started

A message to IFS and she lost. Similarly, Pragya Thakur will face
a heavy defeat. In the Sunil Joshi murder case,
the then BJP government of Shivraj Singh
an inquiry against them. We are doing our bit
to solve the problem.

trainees: Reach Chouhan lodged the FIR against her. She is a

habitual offender. Her brother lives in
Chhattisgarh and she was arrested here for a
When the Congress was in the Opposition, it
sought dismissal of controversial senior IPS
officer S R P Kalluri. But when it came to

out and serve knife attack. Even for a moment, if we believe

the argument that she has been framed in the
Malegaon blast case, my question is: Who
framed her? The BJP was ruling in Madhya
I warmly welcome you to Rashtrapati Bhavan. It is always a Pradesh for 15 years, the party is at the Centre
pleasure for me to interact with our youth, and more so, when for the past five years now. The accountability
they happen to be the ones ready to enhance our external should have been fixed against the officers who
relations and contribute to nation-building. framed her. As far as saf-
I congratulate you on joining the Indian Foreign Service fron terrorism is con-
“NOT ONLY IN
power, he was put in-charge of the Economic
Offence Wing?
The reason is very clear. He is considered to be
a close aide of Raman Singh, who made him
meet Prime Minister Modi defying all protocols.
I thought let him investigate the scams that
took place during Singhs' era. Now, he has been
transferred to the post of
additional transport com-

ILLUSTRATION BY BINAY SINHA

(IFS), and the two Officer Trainees from the Royal Bhutan cerned, the term was missioner. He has not been
Foreign Service. It is, indeed, a privilege to represent one’s coined by former home sec- given any field posting.
country. This privilege entails a deep commitment from you to retary R K Singh. He was
CHHATTISGARH BUT
serve the people of India. I hope you will attend to this higher given a ticket by the BJP ACROSS THE Chhatisgarh is a Maoist-
call of duty with pride, humility and dedication. I am happy
that, as a group, you represent India’s diversity in every sense of
and was even made a
Cabinet minister later.
COUNTRY, PEOPLE affected state. What is your
road map to tackle the
the term. It is equally satisfying that we continue to see greater HAVE SUFFERED situation?
gender balance in the newer batches of the IFS. Like in Madhya Pradesh, FROM STEPS LIKE If the previous government
You have had an intensive six-month training at the Foreign
Service Institute. It has given you an all-round exposure to the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister BHUPESH BAGHEL played a crucial role in delivering a two-thirds
the Chhattisgarh
government has also
DEMONETISATION had taken the right steps, this
problem would not have
political, economic and cultural facets of India. You have learnt majority for the Congress party in the 2018 Assembly elections. He remains assured that the party announced a farm loan AND THE increased this much. The
about our national interests and its linkages with the outside will make a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha election as well. Excerpts from an interview with waiver. What is the INTRODUCTION OF Maoists, once limited to four
world; of our hard-power options and soft-power influence; of
our expansive global agenda; and of the geopolitical
Sandeep Kumar where he discusses various issues — from politics to Left Wing extremism and the
future road map for the mineral rich state’s development
model? Is the government
waiving the loan with its
THE GOODS AND districts, are now operating
in 14. Confidence building is
complexities facing us. budgetary provision or SERVICE TAX” the only measure that can
There could not be a better time to join the IFS. India’s role banks are also writing off solve this problem. We want

‘Jobs, agrarian
and influence in the international arena is expanding. some of the amounts? to build confidence in the
Geopolitics and geo-economics are drawing Asia to the center
of global power relations. And, in this matrix, India has an
See, till date, we have
waived off the loan with
“WE WANT TO tribal people of Naxalite-
affected areas. The western
important role to play — as a driver of global growth and as an the help of the exchequer. BUILD CONFIDENCE model of development can’t
influential voice in global governance.
We are living in an age of rapid changes. As a country, we
We have initiated the
process but due to the
IN THE TRIBAL win their trust. We returned
them the land acquired by
have taken 70 years to become an economy of $2.5 trillion, but
would take just seven years to double the figure! If this be the
projection, you can imagine the scale of responsibility you have
before you: To foster peace and stability, scout for investments,
look for technology partnerships, secure new markets, and
create frameworks to tackle conventional and non-
crisis real issues' model code of conduct, it
had to be stopped for the
time being. We will talk to
nationalised banks. In
Madhya Pradesh, the
process was rather easy as
PEOPLE OF
NAXALITE-AFFECTED
AREAS. THE
WESTERN MODEL
Tata group. Distribution of
forest rights and better price
for tendu leaves are some oth-
er steps we are taking. As far
as dialogue with Maoists is
concerned, let me make it
conventional threats — from cyber security to energy security The Congress secured a tremendous victory Congress is going to attain a sweeping victory cooperative banks were OF DEVELOPMENT clear that, under the current
and more. Your work abroad primarily entails securing our
national interests and promoting India’s image. That being
in the recent Assembly polls, but in the 2014
Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party
across the state. involved. Now we will look
for all available options.
CAN’T WIN THEIR circumstances, it's not possi-
ble to talk to them. If
said, you are also responsible for fostering growth and (BJP) won 10 of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh. Whenever you address a public rally, you We will negotiate with the TRUST” they want to come to the
development in the country at the ground level. For example, if Can the Congress overturn the losing trend target only the PM. banks. In nationalised table, they have to put faith
we are aiming to enhance the income of our farmers, you have this time? That’s because he pretends to be omnipresent. banks, the per acre KCC in the Constitution and drop
to take initiative and work hard to look for new markets for our We are going to win all the 11 He displays a peculiar trouper tal- (Kisan credit card) loan amount is more than the gun.
exports. Similarly, if we are to construct a world-class high seats in the state. People who ent depending on the places he is cooperative banks. We will waive at the rate
speed train, you have to engage with relevant global financial voted for the BJP and Prime visiting. He pretends to be a tea of cooperative banks loan per acre. Rest of the Employment is a big issue in Chhatisgarh.
and technology entities to make it a success. Your role and Minister Narendra Modi in vendor, a chowkidar, a bullet train amount will be waived by the banks. One What model are you adopting to address this
contribution to India’s progress and prosperity are as 2014 are feeling deceived. Not driver and whatnot. In more thing, only crop loan will be waived. and for the development of the state?
important as that of your colleagues in other branches of the only in Chhattisgarh but across Chhattisgarh, he announced that Not only in Chhattisgarh but all over India,
civil service and you have to work with them hand-in-hand to the country, people have suf- he belonged to Sahu community. When the Congress formed the government unemployment is one of the biggest issues.
attain our larger goal. fered immensely from steps BHUPESH BAGHEL Elsewhere, he becomes someone in Madhya Pradesh, the central government This is in our priority. We want to focus on
We have brought engagement with our diaspora at the such as demonetisation and from a backward caste. I have sent under Modi was not very cooperative. What agricultural produce and small forest pro-
Chief minister, Chhattisgarh
center of our external relations. This year we are celebrating the the introduction of the goods him a mirror to help him identify has been your experience with regard to duce sector. This will generate thousands
150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, our greatest and service tax. That’s the rea- the real Modi, even getting an Centre-state relations so far? of jobs and also help in value addition of
pravasi. In his struggle overseas, he relentlessly fought for the son the BJP has denied tickets to all its sitting acknowledgment receipt for that. Yes, they did this to us as well. For example, the local resources. It will also boost the state’s
welfare of our people. Gandhijishould be an inspiration for you MPs in the state, including Abhishek Singh, Centre provides racks for picking rice. Earlier, economy. Other than employment, price
as you work to serve our community abroad. In my visits the son of former CM Raman Singh. If you Recently you campaigned for Digvijaya it used to provide about 100 racks. Now, they rise and agrarian crisis are the real issues
overseas, I have given high priority to meeting our brothers and consider the trend of Assembly elections, the Singh in Bhopal. What do you feel is the hardly provide 40 racks. If rice rots in open, it’s that we have to tackle.
sisters abroad. Our external affairs minister has done
exceptional work to make our consular duty and community
outreach service-oriented. She has provided a humane touch to

Addressing the loneliness of being

public service. This has received appreciation from far and
wide, and so has the work of our missions, who have been
sensitive to the needs of our people.As professional diplomats,
you must develop an attitude and mindset of serving the
people. At times, you may be required to go that extra-mile to
give them a helping hand. Such sensitivity and human In a bid to create awareness and safe space for
approach in your work will go a long way in enhancing our
public-service delivery. conversations on mental health and illness, Health
Today, the international community, indeed, has greater
appreciation of India and its global standing. Leaders from
Collective is building an accessible platform for all,
across the world are keen to visit India and strengthen bilateral
ties with us. Nations are looking for solutions to global
writes Sneha Bhattacharjee
challenges from us — be it climate change, cyber security,

humanitarian disasters or combating extremism and
terrorism. These open unprecedented opportunities, but also
pose new challenges for our diplomacy. In such a scenario, as a
country and as diplomats we must bring “strategic thinking” at
the center of our working more than ever before. Thinking into
the future and looking at the world holistically will help us
anchor our interests better.
I also experienced firsthand the value that communication
and use of cultural idiom brings to our external engagement.
You talk to your interlocutor in his or her language and you see
an instant connect developing. I understand you will shortly be
leaving for your language posting. Do your best to master the
languages you would be studying. On my visits abroad, I have
had the opportunity to see how well some of your colleagues
have done to achieve higher levels of specialisation in foreign
languages. I encourage you to follow them and do better. You
must also be open to embracing culture, people and
technology. We have two Officer Trainees from Bhutan with us.
To them, I wish to say we take great pride in India-Bhutan
friendship. I hope the engagement you have had with your
course-mates will strengthen our friendship.
To the IFS Officer Trainees, I would like to say you are
members of a very distinguished service. The high
responsibility of strengthening our bilateral relations and
global partnerships with countries rests on you. You have to
deepen political and security engagement, expand trade and
economic collaboration and foster closer people-to-people
relations. I am convinced that you will work with dedication,
integrity and honesty to bring greater peace and prosperity to
the country. And, while you do so, I urge you to be ever
empathetic to those you serve, especially the less privileged.
The people of India have high expectations from you and you
must live up to them. I wish you success in your career ahead.
Edited excerpts from an address by President R N Kovind to Indian Foreign
Service Officer trainees at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, May 14
A
mrita Tripathi was a journalist for 15 Collective, Tripathi has wondered whether
years before she founded the Health there is an audience for this kind of informa-
Collective — a safe space for conversa- tion. “We crossed about 100,000 unique visitors
tions, trusted information and resources on to the site sometime last year, with zero mar-
mental health in India. The organisation rep- keting or PR,” she quips. Having said that, it
resented who she was, as well as what she has not been easy to get people on board. The
thought the mental health arena needed: main challenge is around getting people com-
Dialogues in a safe space around problems such fortable enough to talk. “Many of the contribu-
as depression via accessible, conversational tors we work with have some very personal con-
reporting, and story-telling. “Today we have nection to this world, but that means we have
about 200 stories on the site — a mix of original to be empathetic, flexible with deadlines and,
reporting, expert columns and very powerful above all, ethical. The challenge in a space like
first person stories on living with conditions this is to ensure that you’re doing no harm. So,
like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and we also don’t commission or chase after first-
more,” Tripathi says. The site also has comic person stories. I do very light edits and keep it
strips including one by Solo — an as unintrusive as possible; I am more
artist who has borderline personali- than happy for people to share a Amrita Tripathi (seventh from left), founder of the Health Collective, says the organisation is a
ty disorder and uses illustrations to pseudonym if they want, instead of safe space for conversations, trusted information and resources on mental health in India
communicate what it’s like on the using their names. The last thing we
other side. want to do is trigger someone,” When asked if she ever felt like leaving the three-part book series commissioned by
Globally, reports say one in every Tripathi adds. task midway, Tripathi says it can be overwhelm- Simon & Schuster India. The next big step,
four people is likely to face a mental And, then, there are challenges ing sometimes. But, the incredible emails, com- Tripathi says, is to create and curate content
health challenge at some point in around funding. “While several edi- ments or testimonials that come in every once and safe spaces in regional languages. “We
their lifetime. The National Mental tors have also commented on the in a while on the website, keep her going. “What are also working on a sustainable business
Health Survey in India says one in THE OTHER quality of content, there’s unfortu- more could I ask for, in terms of validation, than model that will allow us to collaborate more
every 10 adults in India will have a nately no model for paying for con- a reader writing in a year after discovering the on offline projects for impact. We do want to
mental disorder at any given time. INDIA tent (or syndication). The reporters site to say that it helped her through a tough have these conversations outside the metros
However, an interview for the web- sometimes share some of the sites time? Or another reader saying reading some too,” she notes.
site with Dr Vikram Patel, a psychi- that are “inspired” by our stories reg- of these stories makes her feel less alone? That For Tripathi, having a conversation and
atrist, put it in context for Tripathi. “He said ularly, rather than crediting our work, which is she is a part of this community now? That being empathetic towards another person is of
this does not mean that the other 90 per cent also not ideal,” she adds. The challenge for makes me realise this is bigger than any one of extreme importance. And, that is what she
of us have ‘good’ mental health,” she says, Health Collective in such a scenario is keeping us and, collectively, we are such a powerful wants people to “equip themselves” with. She
adding: “If we don’t talk about what the impli- this information open and accessible to all — force to reckon with,” says Tripathi. concedes that it is a tough ask but is optimistic
cations and access to help mean to us, we are especially as they branch into languages — Funding so far has come through a mix of about creating a safe space for anyone who
doing ourselves a disservice”. while working out a sustainable business mod- syndication of content and private entities. wants to reach out, and tell them that they are
In her three-year association with Health el. The foundation is soon going to launch a not alone.

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OPINION 11
Volume XIII Number 9
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019

A sporting chance
umpire for a men’s Grand Slam Final, the
US Open. Football, a sport that remains
mired in the antediluvian attitudes of the
previous century, was unexpectedly
ICC brings gender parity in the field, finally among the earliest to raise the gender bar-
riers. In 2017, Bibiana Steinhaus, a police-
woman by profession, became the first
appointed an all-women referee team to
officiate in a professional men’s match. In
retrospect, this is not so surprising; the
North African nation is a regional outlier in
terms of gender equality. In 2018, the
Tunisian cabinet approved a law recog-
nising gender equality in inheritance, a
now that women have summited Mount
Everest and travelled to the North Pole and
spent months in space, the question of
feminine weakness has been exposed as a
myth. In games such as football that
require referees to keep up with fast-mov-
ing players, no woman has been accused

I
n May, Claire Polosak of Australia
became the first woman umpire to
officiate in a men’s One Day
International and India’s G S Lakshmi
became the first woman to be appointed to
the International Cricket Council’s panel of
match referees. For a sport that has long
been considered aggressively male-ori-
ented, shading into outright sexism in the
way women TV anchors are presented, this
month, then, marks a great leap forward
for women in sport. But both appoint-
ments, however encouraging, only serve to
underline the deep-seated gender preju-
dice that lies at the heart of the interna-
tional sporting industry. For the longest
time, men officiated and managed
women's sports; over time, women were
grudgingly permitted to officiate only in
women's matches. It is only towards the
end of the second decade of the 21st cen-
tury that women started playing a role in
men’s matches.
Cricket, in fact, has been a latecomer
to the equality party. The tennis estab-
lishment, which prides itself on its gen-
der equality, paying men and women the
same prize money and according equal TV
time to matches by both genders, was
among the earliest mainstream sports to
break the gender barrier. In 2015, Eva
Esderaki-Moore was the first woman chair
woman to referee in a top European foot-
ball league men's match, a Bundesliga
match between Werder Bremen versus
Hertha Berlin (to mark the occasion,
Hertha Berlin offered its female fans tick-
ets at half-price). But well before that, there
were many women who served (and still
do) as assistant referees in men's games.
Back in 2011, two established football com-
mentators were relieved of their jobs after
they were heard suggesting that Sian
Massey-Ellis, an assistant referee in the
English Premier League, didn’t understand
the offside rule because the person con-
cerned was a woman. In 2017, Tunisia
first for an Arab nation. In the US, home to
the global feminist movement, a woman
officiated at a National Football League
(that is, American Football) only in
January this year.
The paucity of women in sporting
establishments — the number of women
team owners or heads of sporting institu-
tions are a noticeable minority — points to
an ingrained chauvinism. That is primari-
ly because sport is traditionally believed to
be an activity that demands physical
toughness and endurance, attributes
assigned to males. Today, two trends are
converging to change those attitudes. First,
yet of lack of fitness. In tennis Grand
Slams, women are regularly criticised for
being paid the same prize money for play-
ing three setters to the men's five sets. The
Women’s Tennis Association indicated its
willingness for women to play five sets in
2013. It is tournament administrators who
say doing so would be too time-consum-
ing. Second, as the burgeoning profession
of sports psychology illustrates, mental
resilience counts for much more than just
physical strength. It would take a brave
man to say women lag in this department.
Ms Lakshmi will be the standard bearer
for Indian women on this score.

Ending the scourge of measles Is China manipulating

Vaccination against measles has been declining steadily over the last ten years in India. This must be reversed
in order to avoid a serious outbreak of the disease
its currency?
REUTERS SITHARAM GURUMURTHI purchases. Incidentally, the Swiss franc
PHALASHA NAGPAL is easily the most over-valued currency

U
nited States President Donald in the world.
According to The Economist, China

M
easles is a highly contagious disease with
the potential to leave large sections of the
population vulnerable to morbidity and
mortality. Historically, it has claimed millions of lives
each year. The measles vaccine that John Enders
and his colleagues developed in 1963 changed the
morbidity and mortality demographics of the world
forever. Between 2000 and 2016, the two-dose
measles vaccine helped save an estimated 20.4 mil-
lion lives the world over. To reiterate efforts at the
global level, the WHO, under its Global Vaccine
Action Plan, is targeting the elimination of measles
by 2020.
However, it seems that the wheels of this pro-
found development may have been turned back. The
past two years have witnessed a resurgence in
measles outbreaks, with a 30 per cent increase in
cases reported globally. The tell-tale signs of such
resurgence are being seen with several countries hav-
ing lost their measles elimination status, including
the United States. Meanwhile, over 82,500 measles
cases were reported in Europe in 2018 — more than
three and fifteen times the cases reported in 2017
and 2016 respectively. This is corroborated by
research published in the journal Neuron, which
confirms that gaps in vaccination efforts the world
over is likely to pave the path for a serious come-
back for measles.
In India, the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
vaccine has been given a sustained push since 1985.
However, the recent outbreaks in Uttar Pradesh and
Maharashtra show that India’s story is consistent with
the global reality. An outbreak is defined as reporting
of five or more cases of a disease. In November 2018,
31 outbreaks were reported in Mumbai. As per WHO,
India has the second highest population of children
unvaccinated against measles and accounts for 37
per cent of global deaths due to measles.
Moreover, given our high population density and
the contagious nature of the disease, India’s posi-
tion is all the more precarious. Studies state that 95
per cent target population coverage is needed to pre-
vent outbreaks. A look at India’s data on coverage
would help us better understand the realities
on ground.
The graph shows that MMR vaccination coverage
in India has been declining gradually since 2008-
09, followed by a sharp decline in 2018-19. The
abysmal coverage in 2018-19 (April-March) is a strong
indicator of an impending sharp resurgence of the
disease in India. To gain perspective, of
the 26.277 million children in the cate- The major reason for ing anti-vaccine mind- Source: Health Management and Information
gory of the total need assessed for the the decline in
year 2018-19, only 36.2 per cent have vaccinations is due
been administered the MMR vaccine — to the trust deficit
a far cry from the 95 per cent threshold. between parents
This means that over 63 per cent of chil- and the
dren continue to remain unvaccinated government, the
and vulnerable to contracting measles. health care system
Among the major reasons for such and the vaccine
decline in vaccination administration is administrator
“vaccine hesitancy”, which WHO defines
as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines
despite availability of vaccination services.” Vaccine
hesitancy, which has been identified as one of the top
10 threats to global health in 2019, is linked to three
primary factors. First, when there is a trust deficit
between parents and the government, the health
care system and vaccine administrator. Second, com-
placency, which is directly linked to the low risk per-
ception of the disease. Paradoxically, PRECIPITOUS DECLINE
targeted efforts to eliminate measles
have led to its gradual decline in
% measles vaccine coverage
populations. The consequently low of total need assessed
prevalence across populations cre-
ates complacency among parents to
get their children vaccinated.
The third is convenience, which is
linked to access to vaccines and asso-
96.80
ciated costs. Unfortunately, the prob-
lem of vaccine hesitancy is worsened
through the spread of “fake news”,
rumours and incorrect information
on social media. Such misinforma-
tion often leads to confirmation bias
wherein parents tend to focus on
information floating around that
confirm their pre-exist- 2008-09
sets, superstitions, reli- Systems, National Health Mission under Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare
gious and political Need assessed: Estimated number of children up to coercion is counter-productive when
beliefs. Relatively low lit- one year of age during current year
eracy levels and knowl-
edge about the benefits of the vaccine
also make vast populations more sus-
ceptible in countries like India.
While the problem is ubiquitous, we
are not defenceless. A way forward must
focus more than just on national-level
efforts. Vaccinations require a community effort to
ensure confidence and convenience, and end com-
placency. Mission Indradhanush is playing an effec-
tive role in ensuring easy cost-less access, thus tack-
ling the issue of convenience. But for creating
confidence and ending complacency, there is a need
to strengthen grassroots awareness generation and
vaccine administration efforts. This means going
beyond identifying total need
assessed, which is currently under-
taken by the ministry of health and
family welfare.
100 It calls for identifying vulnerable
groups, that is, the people who fall
in either category: Unvaccinated, or
80 vaccinated with only one dose. Once
the challenges of access are tackled,
there is a need to understand the
60 social dynamics of the resistant pop-
ulations. Parents often fear adverse
reactions or long-term side-effects as
40 a result of the vaccine. Cases like the
attack on vaccinators in Kerala and
36.20
polio hesitancy in Bihar and UP for
20 fear of infertility and impotency
2018-19 highlight the adverse effects of vac-
cine hesitancy.
Besides, studies show that use of
it comes to vaccinating children with-
out parental consent. Therefore, a sys-
tem for educating mothers (after institutionalised
deliveries) about measles, the benefits of the vaccine,
its safety and potential side-effects is essential. This
must be coupled with mobile-based vaccine
reminders and efforts through the network of angan-
wadi ASHA workers under the National Rural Health
Mission. Adequate monitoring efforts must also be
ensured. Leveraging incentive-based mechanisms
like mandating vaccines as a pre-requisite to govern-
ment schooling may also show positive results.
The writer is with the NITI Aayog. These views expressed are
personal and do not represent the views of the government or
any other organisation
Trump has often been critical of
China for weakening its currency, has been trying hard to prop up its cur-
the yuan, which helps Chinese rency against the backdrop of large cap-
exporters. Even after assuming charge as ital outflows and China's score is
president Mr Trump has called China negative. In other words, China has
“the grand champion of currency raised the value of its currency. The
manipulation”. In a report released in scoring system shows that over the past
October 2018, however, the US Treasury decade China has “progressively done
refrained from calling China a currency little to distort the value of the yuan.”
manipulator, though it decided to keep This is reflected in the verdict of the
China on the watch list along with International Monetary Fund that
Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Korea and the Chinese currency is “no longer
India. undervalued.”
Patti Domm of CNBC noted that this But all this does not mean that China
decision came amid an escalating trade has never been guilty of currency
conflict with China that could ultimate- manipulation.
ly lead to the US imposing tariffs on all With the end of the recession in
Chinese exports until the conflict was March 2009 and the consequent recov-
resolved. In fact, recently, the US had ery, all the emerging economies of Asia
expressed concern when the yuan edged witnessed surging capital flows, lead-
near 6.93 to the dollar, but it was point- ing to significant appreciation of their
ed out that China was trying to hold the currencies to the point of destroying
currency back from falling further to sev- their export competitiveness. During
en to the dollar. his maiden visit to Beijing in November
In the wake of Mr Trump’s continued 2009, the then US President Barack
attack on the Chinese currency, The Obama called upon the Chinese gov-
Economist (May 2, 2017) carried an article ernment to allow the country's curren-
which examines whether China qualifies cy to appreciate further. But the then
to be called a currency manipulator. Chinese President Hu Jintao chose to
Though the criteria adopted ignore the demand.
by the US Treasury to identi- The US Treasury’s The Chinese currency
fy countries that indulge in criteria for was held at 6.83 to a dollar
currency manipulation are identifying between mid-2008 and
considered inadequate, countries that mid-2010. Prior to this, the
China does not come close indulge in currency dollar-yuan exchange rate
enough to be called a cur- manipulation are moved from 8.11 yuan to a
rency manipulator, even by considered dollar to 6.83 between July
those flawed criteria. inadequate, but 2005 and July 2008.
The US Treasury adopts China is not a Between June 2010 and
three criteria: Whether the currency July 2013, the yuan appreci-
country has a sizable trade manipulator even ated from 6.83 to 6.17
surplus with the United by those criteria against the dollar. The US,
States; whether its current the European Union and
account surplus exceeds three per cent of the IMF had individually and collective-
GDP; and whether the country spends ly taken all possible measures in 2009 to
more than two per cent a year to pur- persuade China to move away from its
chase foreign assets to depress the value fixed exchange rate regime to a market-
of its currency. oriented system. All this fell on deaf years.
As per its latest available report when In August 2015, however, the Chinese
this article appeared, China met only yuan was devalued. This move was seen
one criterion — it was running a very against the backdrop of China’s anxiety
large surplus in its bilateral trade with to have its currency included in the SDR
the US. basket. The IMF had found that while
The Economist has developed a crude the Chinese currency met the require-
scoring system to identify those coun- ments as a significant currency in terms
tries that would qualify as currency of international trade, the yuan had
manipulators. Using the current account failed to meet the requirements as a
metric, one manipulation point is award- freely usable currency.
ed to countries with surpluses at the The yuan was finally included in the
three per cent threshold, and two points SDR basket in late 2015. There is no
to countries with surpluses at six per denying the fact that China had
cent of GDP spent for bringing in for- remained a currency manipulator till
eign assets to depress the value of their about five to six years ago. It was only
currencies. Bilateral trade with the US is after the inclusion of its currency in the
not included in this scoring system, SDR basket that China has moved away
under which South Korea and Taiwan from its earlier avatar of a currency
scored higher than China. manipulator.
The highest score, however, went to
Switzerland, which has a large current The writer was formerly with the International
account surplus and hefty foreign asset Monetary Fund, Washington DC

> OTHER VIEWS

EC has dispensed with even Trade troubles Dark state of education
the pretence of neutrality India needs strategy to revive exports Overhauling processes is urgent
Most parties are justifiably critical of India’s trade deficit surged to contracted by three per cent As West Bengal has been The standard of spelling in
a five-month high of $15.3 bil- in April. slipping and sliding down common words on posters,
its conduct through this election lion in April with merchan- The lacklustre perform- the school education ladder walls and banners, film and
dise export growth slumping ance can be traced largely to for some time. The 2017-18 serial credits and other pub-
From pleading helplessness before the Supreme Court in to 0.64 per cent — the slowest the contraction in exports of Performance Grading Index lic texts is a simple indicator
enforcing the Model Code of Conduct a month ago, the pace since December 2018. engineering goods as well as report of all states and Union of the tragic level of learning
Election Commission has come a long way in asserting its This subdued performance subdued growth of major territories on school educa- in the mother tongue. In spite
powers. On Wednesday it took the rare step of ordering that in April comes after recent labour-intensive segments. tion, published by the min- of high enrolment and lower
campaigning in West Bengal's nine Lok Sabha constituencies data showed that industrial For instance, gems and jew- istry of human resource drop-out rates, the fact that
that go to the polls on Sunday end earlier than scheduled. production had contracted ellery contracted by 13.4 per development earlier this the state is 35th in a country
West Bengal had witnessed sporadic incidents of violence by 0.1 per cent in March. With cent, leather products by year, has placed the state in in which, according to the
through the previous phases of polling, but on Tuesday ten- both consumer durables as 15.25 per cent as did man- the fifth grade — among sev- Pratham report, 25 per cent
sions ran high after clashes during a roadshow of BJP president well as capital goods seg- made and cotton yarn. The en — on the basis of its of Class VIII students cannot
Amit Shah in Kolkata. The EC may have had sufficient reasons ments contracting sharply - near-term prospects for scores under the five heads read a Class II text and 56 per
to conclude that a “fear psychosis” has gripped the state, and the latter is a proxy for exports appear to be muted. of the PGI. That is a com- cent of them cannot do sim-
therefore campaigning must end prematurely. investment demand — it Clearly, the next government ment on the state of India's ple division, should cause the
However, the advanced deadline of 10 pm on Thursday to suggests that the underlying has its task cut out. It will school education as a whole, state school education
end campaigning was devoid of any logic or reason, other drivers of growth are sputter- have to carefully navigate the which was revealed alarm- department serious worry.
than being evidently partisan towards the BJP. The 10 pm cloud. The manifestly partisan decision on the campaigning ing. According to the latest intensifying trade war ingly by the 2018 Annual And worry is far from
deadline clearly accommodated Prime Minister Narendra deadline in West Bengal has further eroded trust in the insti- trade data, at the aggregate between the US and China Status of Education Report enough. Rehauling processes
Modi's last rallies in the state slated for Thursday evening. If in tution. Most parties have been justifiably critical of the EC's level, exports grew by a mere while putting in place meas- on school education has become urgent, since it is
the EC's assessment campaigning could have led to violence, conduct through this election, and it was not surprising that 0.64 per cent in April. But, ures to boost competitive- by Pratham. obvious that children are just
why did it not order its curtailment on Wednesday or early in the latest provocation has revived their complaints. strip away the spurt in petro- ness and revive exports. Bengal still prides itself on not learning.
the day on Thursday? Since the announcement of the Lok leum exports, and the its learning and “culture”;
Sabha poll schedule, the EC’s credibility has come under a The Hindu, May 17 remaining exports actually The Indian Express, May 17 clearly this is foolish fantasy. The Telegraph, May 17
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>
MUMBAI | 19 MAY 2019 1

US was ‘heaven’ for Chinese, US warns airliners flying in

Persian Gulf amid Iran tensions
but now they’re not so sure AGENCIES
18 May
Separately, the head of the
Revolutionary Guard report-
edly said the US and Iran
AMY QIN which has seen the world’s US diplomats warned already were in a “full-fledged
Beijing, 18 May two largest economies go Saturday that commercial air- intelligence war.” The semi-
head-to-head in a protracted liners flying over the wider official Fars news agency also

Q
i Haohan describes trade war and a dispute over Persian Gulf faced a risk of quoted Gen. Hossein Salami
with pride the times he Huawei, the Chinese telecom- being "misidentified" amid using 9/11 as a metaphor for
has leaped and pirou- munications giant. The heightened tensions between America's political system,
etted with American dancers United States has also tight- the US and Iran. describing it “like the World
across stages in China, and he ened restrictions on visas for The warning relayed by US Trade Building that collapses
counts as a major influence Chinese students and visiting diplomatic posts from the with a sudden hit.”
Daniil Simkin, a principal scholars, measures it says are Federal Aviation Meanwhile, Lloyd's Market
dancer with the American aimed at curbing intellectual Administration underlined the family called on Thursday for el, while long-haul carriers Association Joint War
Ballet Theater. property theft and spying. risks the current tensions pose America to launch "surgical Etihad and Qatar Airways also Committee added the Persian
Ask him about China’s Such developments have to a region crucial to global air strikes" on Tehran. operate in the region. Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the
trade war with the United reinforced the Chinese per- travel. It came as Lloyd's of This all takes root in Emirates, Etihad and Qatar United Arab Emirates on
States, however, and Mr. Qi’s ception that the United States London warned of increasing Trump's decision last year to Airways all said they were Friday to its list of areas posing
admiration for America evapo- is deliberately thwarting their risks to maritime shipping in withdraw the US from the 2015 aware of the notice and their higher risk to insurers. It also
rates. country’s rightful rise — leav- the region. nuclear accord between Iran operations were unaffected. expanded its list to include the
“Fight, fight, fight!” the 25- ing China with no choice but Meanwhile, oil giant and world powers and impose Oman Air did not respond to a Saudi coast as a risk area.
year-old wrote on social to fight back. “We are not ExxonMobil began evacuating wide-reaching sanctions. Iran request for comment Saturday The USS Abraham Lincoln
media, urging his country to scared. China has money,” staff from Basra, Iraq, where the just announced it would begin about the warning. and its carrier strike group
stand strong after trade talks said Amanda Lin, 36, as she US Consulate has been closed backing away from terms of The warning appeared have yet to reach the Strait of
with the United States broke sipped an Americano at a for months following a rocket the deal, setting a 60-day rooted in what happened 30 Hormuz, the narrow mouth of
down. Starbucks in Beijing. She said attack America blamed on deadline for Europe to come years ago after Operation the Persian Gulf through
“America’s decision to the Chinese manufacturing Shiite militias backed by Iran, up with new terms or it would Praying Mantis, a daylong which a third of all oil traded at
increase tariffs will only bring company she works for had local authorities said. The begin enriching uranium clos- naval battle in the Persian Gulf sea passes. A Revolutionary
about its own destruction,” China’s President Xi Jinping with US President Donald Trump been badly hit by the latest island nation of Bahrain also er to weapons-grade levels. between American forces and Guard deputy has warned that
Mr. Qi, a dancer with the at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People FILE PHOTO: REUTERS round of tariffs. “Perhaps we ordered its citizens out of Iraq Tehran long has insisted it Iran during the country's long any armed conflict would
National Ballet of China, said have to sacrifice a little in the and Iran over regional tensions. does not seek nuclear 1980s war with Iraq. On July affect the global energy mar-
in an interview. “China is long depicted America as a that experts say a boycott short term, but if we don’t Concerns about a possible weapons, though the West 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes ket. Iran long has threatened to
totally ready to respond.” Mr. hostile, imperialist country would be impossible. fight, then we will suffer more conflict have flared since the fears its program could allow it chased Iranian speedboats be able to shut off the strait.
Qi’s views are an example of that has tried to keep China On the other hand, if in the longer term,” she said. White House ordered warships to build atomic bombs. that allegedly opened fire on a Benchmark Brent crude
the complex, sometimes con- down. “China now has the No Chinese leaders act too cau- Skepticism about and bombers to the region to The order relayed Saturday helicopter into Iranian territo- now stands around $72 a bar-
tradictory attitudes toward the 2 mentality,” said Yun Sun, a tiously, they could look inept American intentions taps into counter an alleged, unex- by US diplomats in Kuwait and rial waters, then mistook an rel. In Iraq, Exxon Mobil has
United States held across China analyst at the to a domestic populace that China’s collective memory of plained threat from Iran that the UAE came from an FAA Iran Air heading to Dubai for begun evacuating staff from
China — a love-hate relation- Washington-based Stimson has, in recent years, become the 19th century, when has seen America order non- Notice to Airmen published an Iranian F-14. The Basra amid the tensions with
ship that presents an unusual Centre. “It’s only natural for more self-assured about Western powers forcibly essential diplomatic staff out late Thursday in the US. It said Vincennes fired two missiles Iran, two Iraqi officials told
challenge to the ruling No 2 to want to surpass No 1.” China’s status as a rising power. opened Chinese ports and of Iraq. that all commercial aircraft fly- at the airplane, killing all The Associated Press. Exxon
Communist Party and its Even in China’s authoritar- What was once starry-eyed carved up the country into President Donald Trump ing over the waters of Persian aboard the flight. Mobil works in Basra at its
leader, Xi Jinping, as they try ian political system, public enthusiasm for America spheres of influence. since has sought to soften his Gulf and the Gulf of Oman Speaking in China, where West Qurna I oil field, which
to defend their image at home opinion must be carefully among many Chinese has giv- Nowadays, China is a fast- tone. Iranian Foreign Minister needed to be aware of "height- he finished a tour of Asian had been shut off for years
amid the bruising trade war. managed. If leaders push an en way to sober admiration, if modernising nation, home to Mohammad Javad Zarif also ened military activities and nations who rely on Mideast from Western oil firms over
Divided popular opinion — anti-American message too not outright disillusionment, a booming middle class and stressed Saturday that Iran is increased political tension." oil, Zarif told the state-run sanctions levied on Iraq during
and ambivalence about far, they run the risk of nation- as people have gotten to know cutting-edge infrastructure. "not seeking war," comments This presents "an increas- IRNA news agency that war is dictator Saddam Hussein's
America, even among some of alist sentiment spiralling out the United States better and But many Chinese still seemingly contradicted by the ing inadvertent risk to US civ- not what Iran wants. time in power.
its most ardent fans (and crit- of control. That would limit its problems have come into remember their outrage when head of the Revolutionary il aviation operations due to “In fact, as the supreme The US Consulate in Basra
ics) — makes it difficult for their options in talks with clearer view. the US accidentally bombed Guard, who declared an ongo- the potential for miscalcula- leader said, there will be no has been closed since
Beijing to come down too hard Washington by forcing them According to the latest China’s embassy in Belgrade ing "intelligence war" between tion or misidentification," the war since we are not seeking September after American
on the United States. But if it to adopt a tough posture. nationwide survey by the Pew in 1999, during the war in the the nations. warning said. It also said air- war and nobody in the region officials blamed Iran-aligned
does too little, the party risks Though China has ways to Research Centre, published in former Yugoslavia. The Regional tensions remain craft could experience inter- is suffering from a hallucina- Shiite militias for a rocket
looking weak. prop up its economy, there are 2016, 45 per cent of Chinese bombing, which killed three high. Authorities allege that a ference with its navigation tion to think that he is able to attack on the post, which is
Chinese people have long deep-seated concerns that it saw American power and influ- Chinese people, prompted sabotage operation targeted instruments and communica- confront Iran,” Zarif said. inside Basra's airport com-
looked to America as a source is not ready for a prolonged ence as a major threat to their days of violent protests. Two four oil tankers off the coast of tions jamming "with little to Zarif added that while pound. Basra as a whole has
of inspiration, with its gleam- standoff, which could exact a country, up from 39 per cent years later, tensions flared the United Arab Emirates, and no warning." Trump has said that he too is been shaken by violent
ing skyscrapers, financial heavy toll on people’s liveli- in 2013. More than half of again when China detained a Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen The Persian Gulf has not seeking war, “some that protests in recent months over
power and unparalleled mili- hoods. That could ultimately Chinese believed the United US Navy flight crew after a claimed responsibility for a become a major gateway for have sat around him” are entrenched corruption and
tary might. But they also backfire on the party, which States was trying to prevent Chinese fighter and an drone attack on a crucial Saudi East-West travel in the avia- pushing for such a conflict. poor public services, which
increasingly see it as a strate- has staked its legitimacy on China from becoming as pow- American spy plane collided oil pipeline. tion industry. Dubai That appeared to be a dig at earlier saw Iran's Consulate
gic rival — a view partly generating continuous eco- erful as America, the survey in midair. China has ratch- Saudi Arabia directly International Airport in the national security adviser John there overrun and set ablaze.
fuelled by pride in China’s nomic growth. found. eted up anti-American propa- blamed Iran for the drone United Arab Emirates, home Bolton, who for years has pro- Exxon Mobil, said it had
rise, and by the party’s propa- American culture is so That trend may well have ganda in recent weeks. assault, and a local newspaper to Emirates, is the world's moted the idea of overthrow- declined to discuss its “opera-
ganda organs, which have deeply embedded in China accelerated over the past year, ©2019 The New York Times News Service linked to the Al Saud royal busiest for international trav- ing Iran's government. tional staffing.”

Big companies pay CEOs for good performance—and bad

The best performers got big pay and big raises last year, but the laggards didn’t do much worse. Complex arrangements to tie compensation to company results keep coming up short
THEO FRANCIS & ment benefit that lets execu- that make big adjustments to hit. Pay consultants generally
VANESSA FUHRMANS tives keep restricted stock they measures of profit tend to pay say boards take into account
18 May otherwise would forfeit on their CEOs more—by an aver- adjustments from standard
retirement if they meet certain age of 16%—than other com- accounting measures when
The mechanics of chief-execu- age and tenure thresholds. panies, the researchers found. setting targets for executive
tive pay have grown ever more Absent that change, Mr. Thiry’s The difference averaged $1.9 compensation.
complex, but the rules remain pay would have risen 13% to million a year above and Ultimately, Mr. Alles could
simple: Strong performers get a $17.3 million. Mr. Thiry is step- beyond what the CEOs would get an even bigger payout:
raise. So do most of the rest. ping down as CEO June 1. otherwise be expected to earn. Celgene crafted new change-
For the fourth year straight, Gap said that since Mr. The solution, one of the in-control provisions for him
the biggest U.S. companies set Peck’s appointment to CEO in authors argues, is more clarity and other senior executives in
CEO pay records in 2018, a Wall February 2015, stock-price about how performance is December, as the company
Street Journal analysis found, changes and other factors measured. negotiated a $74 billion sale of
even as a majority delivered mean he ultimately received “If we’re going to ever come the company to Bristol-Myers
negative stock-market returns cash and equity averaging to pay for performance, we Squibb Co. He would receive
to their shareholders—a sign about $4.75 million a year— have to have a better compen- an exit package of $28 million if
of the often-weak rela- considerably less sation committee report that he departs after the acquisition
tionship between pay than the $12.9 million tells us what exactly these closes.
and average reported in measures are,” said MIT sen- A Celgene spokesman not-
performance.Median securities filings. In ior lecturer Robert Pozen, a co- ed that 2018 results exceeded
SPECIAL
compensation rose to 2018, Mr. Peck also author of the paper and former the company’s forecasts and
$12.4 million for the gave up his bonus “in executive at Fidelity that by GAAP standards, earn-
bosses of S&P 500 companies light of business performance.” Investments and MFS ings rose more steeply than on
last year, up 6.6% from 2017 For its annual ranking, the Investment Management. an adjusted basis, climbing 51%
and the highest since the 2008 Journal examined 442 compa- Mr. Kay, the pay consultant, per share from 2017. The
recession, the Journal analysis nies with fiscal years ending said directors are careful in spokesman also said Mr. Alles
found. Yet the median share- after June 30, 2018, and dis- picking performance targets. took on the duties of board
holder return for the compa- closing pay data through May “I see that the boards definite- chairman last year, in addition
nies was minus 5.8%, the worst 1. Companies that changed ly agonize over whether these to serving as CEO. The compa-
showing since the financial cri- CEOs during the year were shareholder return: Netflix 24% last year, even as the com- realize from the last three years CEOs consisted of restricted adjustments are appropriate to ny’s securities filing indicates
sis.For 97 CEOs, last year’s pay omitted, leaving 400 CEOs. Inc.’s Reed Hastings and Adobe pany posted a negative 37% was about 60% of his target stock. Including stock options, make,” he said. “In the final his salary rose about $265,000
was a high-water mark even The analysis includes salary, Inc.’s Shantanu Narayen. return in 2018—and annual compensation, thanks to stock- two-thirds of CEO pay last year analysis, we do think they add a year and his bonus target rose
while their shareholder returns bonus and stock awards as they More broadly, sorting CEOs returns trailed those of most price declines and other fac- was equity. the right things back and take about $670,000 at the time of
were in the bottom half of the are valued in securities filings. into groups by company per- other S&P 500 capital-goods tors. Increasingly, those awards the right things out.” the promotion.
group. Among them: dialysis The highest-paid executive formance shows the 20% with companies in the Journal “What you’re granted is not consist of performance shares Celgene Corp. relied on The growing complexity of
chain DaVita Inc., which dou- was Discovery Inc.’s David the highest shareholder return analysis for each of the past what you receive,” Dawn Stout, and options, meaning the exec- non-GAAP metrics last year to CEO compensation packages
bled Kent Thiry’s pay to $32 Zaslav, whose pay tripled to claimed the biggest paychecks, five years. Fluor’s vice president of law, utives get more of the securi- determine pay for CEO Mark and the performance mis-
million and recorded a nega- $129 million thanks to an equi- with a median of about $14 mil- Mr. Seaton’s total pay rose said. “We feel pretty strongly ties when the company meets Alles. The drugmaker’s shares matches have spurred some
tive 29% return, and Gap Inc., ty grant tied to a new five-year lion. But the 10% of companies in three of those five years, and we have a performance-based key targets—and fewer when fell nearly 40% over the course investors to call for revamping
which paid Art Peck $20.8 mil- contract. Discovery posted a with the worst returns also overall he was paid $56 million, plan, and 90% of his compen- they fall short. of 2018, battered particularly executive pay in a radically
lion, the most of his four-year 10.5% shareholder return for gave big packages, with a medi- much of it in stock, during that sation is variable, tracking per- So why—with formulas after Celgene hit setbacks in simple way: Pay CEOs in cash
tenure, when it logged a nega- the year. an of $12.6 million for those time. In the most recent year, formance.” yoking CEOs’ pay to the suc- the development of several and give them shares they
tive 21% return. The television-channel CEOs. 2018, restricted stock made up Indeed, companies and pay cess of the companies they potential drugs. Still, Mr. Alles’s must hold for, say, at least five
Such mismatches highlight owner said Mr. Zaslav’s pay One-year performance can $9.6 million of the total, com- consultants often complain manage, and to the perform- compensation rose 24% to years.
lingering questions about how increase is largely the result of be skewed by bad luck and pared with a $5.6 million award that the figures reported in ance of the companies’ $16.2 million. The idea of compensating
successfully corporate boards stock-option awards tied to his long-term plans that take time in 2017. Fluor said much of that securities filings can be mis- shares—are pay and perform- Despite its drug-develop- CEOs primarily by making
have tied executive pay to com- new contract running through to bear fruit. Over longer time increase stemmed from a leading. Equity is valued at the ance still so misaligned? ment stumbles, the company them long-term shareholders
pany performance. Urged on 2023, with exercise prices that periods, pay and performance change in the way the compa- time options and restricted A recent study by said, just under half of Mr. in their companies has been
by investors and governance escalate each year. Future pay correlate better—but still far ny structured its equity awards stock are awarded, even researchers at Cornell Alles’s annual bonus was based recently endorsed by
advocates, companies have will approximate earlier years, from robustly, analysts and beginning in 2016, leaving the though CEOs might not get full University and the on meeting selected objectives Norway’s $1 trillion sover-
spent years crafting mecha- it said. Mr. Zaslav has averaged many consultants say. reported value of stock grants title to it for years. Massachusetts Institute of in expanding Celgene’s prod- eign-wealth fund and recom-
nisms to do this. In many cas- $41 million in pay in most Comparing CEO pay growth that year and in 2017 smaller Measuring the pay CEOs Technology suggests part of uct pipeline. mended by a House of
es, new research suggests, the recent years. against shareholder returns than they otherwise would ultimately receive—including the problem may lie in the While Celgene posted Commons committee in the
fault lies with the execution There are almost as many over five years shows pay grow- have been. stock-price appreciation or operating and stock-market GAAP earnings of $5.65 per U.K. examining corporate
and complexity. ways of measuring corporate ing faster at about 28% of S&P Yet cost overruns on some declines—shows much better goals that corporate boards set share for 2018, the adjusted governance. Removing the
“The more complicated the performance as there are ways 500 companies, sometimes projects and other issues correlation with performance, to measure company perform- earnings the company report- specific, but often arbitrary,
scheme is, it’s less transparent to compensate a CEO. None of sharply so, according to data forced the company to take said Ira Kay, managing partner ance—and thereby determine ed to investors came in at $8.87, performance targets would
to consumers and society,” said them are perfect, pay experts from proxy advisory firm more than $1 billion in write- at consulting firm Pay executive pay. Many such goals once the company stripped out free CEOs from trying to hit
Alex Edmans, a professor of caution. But one widely used Institutional Shareholder offs over the three years, hit- Governance. “We measure use financial or other measures the cost of acquiring research them and instead let them
finance at London Business measure—total shareholder Services. ting its shares and leading to whether there’s after-the-fact that don’t meet generally assets and other items. For the focus on creating long-term
School who has studied execu- return, which tracks stock per- “There are lots of individ- several earnings misses in alignment.” accepted accounting princi- purposes of its management value, said Mr. Edmans of
tive-compensation trends on formance and assumes divi- ual cases where things aren’t recent quarters. On May 1, Mr. When pay fails to track per- ples, and instead substitute incentive plan, Celgene London Business School.
both sides of the Atlantic. dends are reinvested—illus- working great yet,” said John Seaton stepped down just formance, it generally isn’t for metrics that exclude some tweaked its EPS figure further Often, when it comes to
DaVita declined to com- trates the challenge. Roe, head of ISS Analytics. before the company reported a lack of mechanisms to link costs or financial benefits that to adjust for an acquisition and CEO pay, he said, “the simple
ment. Its proxy statement Only two of the 25 highest- At Fluor Corp. , David first-quarter loss that sent the CEO pay to the fortunes of the the company deems outside share buybacks. That revised things are better than the
notes that $14 million of the paid CEOs in the Journal Seaton led the engineering and stock tumbling 28% in a day. companies and their share- management’s control or not figure: $9.06, surpassing the sophisticated ones.”
increase in Mr. Thiry’s report- analysis led companies that construction company starting Fluor’s proxy notes that the holders. In 2018, half of com- reflective of core performance. $8.70 to $8.90 target range it
ed pay came from a new retire- ranked in the top 25 for 2018 in 2011. His reported pay rose pay Mr. Seaton could actually pensation awarded to S&P 500 The problem: Companies had set for its top executives to Source: The Wall Street Journal

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