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Will turn J&K into heaven: Rajnath

Home Minister, former PM Manmohan Singh lead separate outreach efforts in the

State

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh continued his four-day “outreach” visit to

Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, vowing to “turn Kashmir into a heaven (jannat),

even as a delegation of the Congress led by former Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh landed in Jammu as part of a similar outreach to several other areas of the

State this week.

Mr. Singh, who visited Anantnag in south Kashmir on Sunday, praised the role of

the Jammu and Kashmir police as well as paramilitary forces for their

“unassailable and unmatched courage.”

“Kashmir will be free from terror and no force in the world will be able to stop it

from becoming heaven again,” said Mr. Singh, during his interactions with the

police and the CRPF in Anantnag, one of the Valley’s most volatile areas.

Police role lauded

On his second day in the State, Mr. Singh lauded the role of the police force, which

lost 25 personnel this year in militant attacks, the highest in the past four years.

He promised more bullet-proof vehicles, bullet-proof vests and a trauma centre for

the police, as well as helicopter services for security forces in the State.

“This is not an ordinary sacrifice, this is the supreme sacrifice. Even the Prime

Minister has praised your courage. Not only J&K but the whole nation is proud of

your bravery and valour in facing terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring

country,” said Mr. Singh.

Paying tribute to constable Imtiyaz Ahmad, killed on Saturday in a militant attack,

Mr. Singh said he “can’t bear the tears” of families of policemen killed.

“The J&K police are giving their sacrifice for Kashmir, for the country and for

Kashmiris, but it is unfortunate that people are not ready to understand it,” he

added.

Congress delegation

The high-level Congress group, headed by Dr. Singh, met a number of delegations

in Jammu, including groups representing women, minorities, migrants from

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, besides prominent civil society members.

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The Congress delegation, which is planning to visit the Kashmir Valley next week,

is holding a wide-ranging interaction with civil society groups to “understand the

changing ground realities.”

It will later apprise the party at the executive meeting being held on Kashmir.

Senior Congress leader Dr. Karan Singh, former Union Home Minister P.

Chidambaram, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad,

and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni are also part of the group.

“This visit is aimed at holding talks with a cross section of society in J&K to know

about issues confronting the State. We had announced our visit much earlier than

him (the Union Minister). However, it’s good if any engagement has started with

Kashmir,” said Mr. Azad.

Omar meets Minister

National Conference working president Omar Abdullah led a party delegation to

meet the Home Minister and raised the issue of J&K’s special status.

Referring to the “deteriorating situation” in the Valley, Mr. Abdullah sought a

sustained and open-ended political engagement with the stakeholders in Kashmir

“irrespective of their ideology.”

He also urged New Delhi and Islamabad to make sincere and sustained efforts

towards resumption of a comprehensive dialogue on all outstanding issues,

including that of Kashmir.

Will turn J&K into heaven, says Rajnath

As a result of the VIP visits to the State, heavy security arrangements have been

made in Jammu, Srinagar and Anantnag.

“The shutdown during Mr. Singh’s visit once again proved that Kashmir is not a

law and order issue or an internal matter of Delhi but a human and political issue

which needs to be resolved by accepting its disputed nature,” said Hurriyat

chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

However, another Hurriyat faction chairman Syed Ali Geelani said, “It’s

meaningless to talk about development as people are being mercilessly killed and

properties vandalised.”

Dhaka plea made MEA shift stand

Delhi broke silence on Rohingya issue




India’s shift in position on the Myanmar issue on Saturday, where it expressed

concerns about the outflow of Rohingya refugees for the first time in recent

months, was prompted by a series of requests from the Bangladesh government “at

the highest levels”, officials in New Delhi and Dhaka told The Hindu.

“There was some disappointment in our government when we saw that the India-

Myanmar joint statement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit didn’t

include any reference to the refugee situation,” a senior Bangladeshi official said.

He confirmed that the government had raised the issue with India at several levels,

and was equally concerned by India’s decision to reject the Bali declaration at the

World Parliamentary Forum on human rights concerns with Myanmar that had

been backed by Bangladesh.

Pressure on Bangladesh

Last week, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar had met his Bangladesh counterpart

Shahidul Haque on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Colombo. It is

understood that the Indian High Commission in Dhaka had shared an assessment

about the pressure faced by the Bangladesh government and the need for India to

shift its tough stand. In the joint statement issued on September 6 in Nay Pyi Taw,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi had

referred only to the “terrorism” problem in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, and not to

the refugees. A similar statement was issued by the MEA on August 26, after

Rohingya militants attacked police posts, killing 12 members of the security forces,

which led to a crackdown on Rohingya villages

Sadhus want law against ‘fake babas’

Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad appeals to people to beware of them

Irked by the recent controversies surrounding the self-styled godmen, the Akhil

Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of Hindu sadhus, on Sunday released a

list of 14 “fake babas” and demanded a crack-down on “rootless cult leaders” by

bringing in a legislation.

List 14 names

Giving out the list, which includes names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh,

Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, the parishad president Swami Narendra

Giri said, “We appeal to even the common people to beware of such charlatans

who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus

and sanyasis.”




The parishad is a council of akharas, that are monastic orders drawing their

spiritual lineage from the 8th Century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have

established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma.

CBI court

The development comes close on the heels of a Central Bureau of Investigation

court in Haryana sentencing Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim to 20 years in

prison for the rape of two of his former disciples.

Large scale violence took place in various parts of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan

following his conviction by the court. Forty-one people were killed in the clashes

in Haryana. However, no death was reported from Punjab and Rajasthan.

While Asaram is in jail in connection with a sexual assault case, his son Narayan

Sai, also booked in a similar case, is out on bail. Rampal is behind bars, facing trial

in a number of cases relating to violence.

“We are going to send copies of this list to the Centre, the State governments as

well as all the Opposition parties with the demand that a strong legislation be

brought to check the activities of these self-styled cult leaders,” Giri told reporters

here.

Complaint filed

He also claimed that he had yesterday received a phone call from a person

claiming to be a devotee of Asaram, who “threatened to kill me if a mention was

made of his guru in the list of fake babas we planned to bring out today”.

“An FIR has been lodged at the Daraganj police station in the city, based on a

complaint of Giri. The matter is being investigated,” Senior Superintendent of

Police of Allahabad Anand Kulkarni said.

Data base soon on Bonda migration

In search of livelihood they migrate to other States where their women are often

sexually exploited

The Bonda Development Agency (BDA) has started an inquiry and survey in the

remote Bonda-inhabited villages in Malkangiri district of Odisha following reports

that these primitive tribals are migrating to other States in search of employment

and that some of their women are being sexually exploited.

A minor Bonda girl recently lodged a complaint with the Mudulipada police

station, alleging that a man had lured her through promises and made her pregnant.

She is seven months pregnant now. According to media reports, another minor




Bonda girl has also come up with a similar allegation but has not approached the

police.

Dubious contractors

Both the girls had allegedly fallen prey to dubious labour contractors in adjoining

Andhra Pradesh. They along with several other Bonda men and women had

migrated to Andhra Pradesh in search of work. It is alleged that labour contractors

take these Bondas outside the State as cheap labour.

As allegations are rife about mass migration of Bonda tribals from Odisha in

search of livelihood, the administration has taken the issue seriously.

Since Wednesday, officials of the BDA have started an on-the-spot inquiry and

survey relating to migration and alleged sexual harassment of Bonda women

outside the State.

Proper investigation

Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, BDA project leader Manga Panna accepted

that some Bondas undertake seasonal migration after the end of the kharif season

and return by Durga Puja to start agricultural work. Through the on-the-spot

inquiry and enumeration, the BDA plans to prepare a proper data base about Bonda

migration and realise the reasons behind it. Mr. Panna said the allegations of sexual

harassment would be properly investigated by the police and the culprits would be

punished.

Since Wednesday, Mr. Panna himself has visited two Bonda villages and within

the next few weeks all the 32 Bonda villages would be covered by BDA officials.

Most primitive tribe

Bondas are considered to be one of most primitive tribes in the world.

As per an official survey in 2015, around 8,000 Bonda tribals live in 32 villages of

four panchayats under Khairaput block. Their villages are located in remote and

isolated hilly region north-west of the Machhkund river. Their habitat in Khairaput

block is called the Bonda valley.

Around the world in seven months

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman flags off all-women Indian Navy crew




Women power: Nirmala Sitharaman flags off the expedition from INS Mandovi on Sunday. Atish Pomburfekar

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday hailed the global

circumnavigation being attempted by an all-women Indian Navy crew of ‘Navika

Sagar Parikrama.’

“This is not an occasion that can happen once in five years... once in 10 years. This

is a historic day for India. A historic day, which will be marked in navigation

history and globally,” she said, before flagging off the ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ at

the INS Mandovi Naval training base near here. Goa Chief Minister and former

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was present.

Later, Ms. Sitharaman, in a chat with press persons, said the Defence Ministry

would be more than willing to support and encourage women to explore

opportunities in the armed forces.

‘Why separate areas?’

She observed that there was no need to open separate areas for women, because

they have been taking up various challenges and proving themselves.

‘Navika Sagar Parikrama,’ perhaps the first-ever attempt by an all-women crew to

circumnavigate the globe, will have stopovers at four ports — Fremantle

(Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands) and Cape Town

(South Africa) — for replenishments and repairs. It will return to Goa in April next

year.

The crew has sailed approximately 20,000 Nm on board INSV Mhadei and Tarini

as part of training, which included two expeditions to Mauritius (in 2016 and 2017)

and a voyage from Goa to Cape Town in December 2016.

“The project is seen as essential for promoting ocean sailing activities in the Navy,

while highlighting Government of India’s thrust for Nari Shakti,” said Chief of the

Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in his welcome speech.




A press release of the Indian Navy here said the project would help change societal

attitudes and the mindset towards women.

Skippered by Lt. Cdr Vartika Joshi, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, the all-women team

has Lt. Cdr. Pratibha Jamwal of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh; Lt Cdr Swathi P. of

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh; Lt. Aishwarya Boddapati of Hyderabad,

Telangana; Lt. Sh Vijaya Devi of Manipur and Lt Payal Gupta of Uttarakhand as

crew members.

Among other things, the crew will collate and update Meteorological/ Ocean/

Wave data on a daily basis for subsequent analysis by research and development

organisations.

They will also monitor and report marine pollution on the high seas.

The first Indian solo circumnavigation was undertaken by Capt. Dilip Donde, SC

(Retd) from August 19, 2009, to May 19, 2010, on board the Indian built vessel,

INSV Mhadei. The first Indian non-stop solo circumnavigation was undertaken by

Cdr. Abhilash Tomy, KC from November 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013.

The disaster next door

India’s stance on the Rohingya refugees undermines its ties with Bangladesh and

its regional leadership

LightRocket via Getty ImagesProbal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images

In a span of two weeks, almost 300,000 Rohingya have crossed over to Bangladesh

from the northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, putting Bangladesh under immense

strain and compelling the refugees to find shelter in squalid, unsanitary camps

scattered along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Excluded from the 135 officially

recognised ethnic groups, the Rohingya have been harassed and hounded by the

Myanmar authorities for decades. The latest surge follows attacks on police posts

by an extremist Rohingya group in late August and military action. While the

Myanmar authorities claim that 400 lives have been lost, advocates cite double this

number.




Where is the spirit?

The flight of the Rohingya has quickened in the past two weeks, but Rohingya

refugees have been trying to find a home outside their native Rakhine for years

now, braving human traffickers and fraught conditions on rickety, overcrowded

boats. The Rohingya have also sought refuge in India where they have been

shunned, denied basic public services and deemed by authorities as ‘the

undesirables’.

While the government has called them to be illegal immigrants and trespassers, the

fact is that India, throughout its history, has been generously accommodative

towards refugees in the neighbourhood fleeing persecution, which includes Parsis,

Tibetans, Afghans, Sri Lankan Tamils, and Bangladeshis during the war of

liberation in 1971. India has prided itself in its tradition of Atithi Devo Bhava (the

guest is equivalent to god).

The stance on the Rohingya issue by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his

recent visit to Myanmar, has been disappointing and is contradictory to the values

of hospitality and inclusiveness that India stands for. South Asia, particularly

Bangladesh, which has been most affected by the crisis, was hopeful that Mr. Modi

would express concern about the humanitarian crisis with Myanmar’s State

Councillor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Instead, he was seen

empathising with Myanmar, and the joint statement at the end of the visit said:

“India stands with Myanmar over the issue of violence in the Rakhine state which

has led to loss of innocent lives.” In doing so, he overlooked the atrocious crimes

committed in the neighbourhood and almost turned a blind eye to both the untold

sufferings caused to the refugees fleeing persecution and the resulting difficulties

that a resource-constrained country such as Bangladesh has been put to — a

country which Indian politicians and officials frequently refer to as a role model of

friendship in India’s neighbourhood.

Bangladesh’s burden

International relief agencies in Bangladesh such as the office of the UNHCR and

the World Food Programme are struggling to attend to the large number of

refugees arriving each day on foot or by boat (picture shows refugees at the border,

at Teknaf, Bangladesh). Bangladesh, itself one of the world’s most densely

populated nations, has hosted more than 600,000 Rohingya compared to 40,000 by

India. Initially, hesitant to open borders along the Naf river, Bangladesh has now

started allowing in refugees.

Through the International Committee of the Red Cross, Dhaka has proposed that

Myanmar secure areas in Rakhine under international relief agency supervision,




but there has been no response so far from Myanmar. Bangladesh has plans of

making another 607 hectares of land available near the Myanmar border for camps

to accommodate refugees. It has also urged the international community to put

pressure on Myanmar to take back the refugees and stop the violence against them.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently said: “It affects a country’s

dignity when tens of thousands of its own nationals are fleeing home to take refuge

outside.”

On the other side of the fence

Last Friday, India’s move to dissociate itself from the Bali Declaration adopted at

the World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development in Indonesia, and

which called “on all parties to contribute to the restoration of stability and security

... respect human rights of all people in Rakhine State regardless of their faith and

ethnicity, as well as facilitate safe access for humanitarian assistance”, puts into

question its respect for human rights and the treatment of minorities. It weakens

India’s moral authority to speak for minorities in other parts of its neighbourhood.

Interestingly Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka joined the declaration.

In his 2015 visit to Bangladesh, Mr. Modi used eloquent phrases to describe the

India-Bangladesh friendship. Since 2009, Bangladesh has emerged as one of

India’s most trusted neighbours, with Dhaka addressing almost all of New Delhi’s

security concerns. This includes cracking down on cross-border terrorism and

insurgency conducted against India from Bangladeshi soil. The India-Bangladesh

border today is one of the safest for India, enabling massive redeployment of its

vital border resources for other purposes. Despite this, Bangladesh has neither

received water from the Teesta or support in times of humanitarian crisis from its

biggest neighbour.

Ironically, when Bangladesh procured two submarines from China, indicating the

growing economic and defence ties between the two countries, New Delhi rushed

its then Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, to Dhaka to elevate military

cooperation. Such promptness is missing when it comes to supporting Bangladesh

when it is overcome by helpless refuges persecuted at home and accepted by none.

The world does not expect Myanmar’s other big neighbour, China, to be vocal

about the atrocities being committed, but as the upholder of democratic values,

India has a unique opportunity to demonstrate statesmanship and regional

leadership by mediating a solution to the Rohingya crisis on the basis of a report of

the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State headed by former UN Secretary

General Kofi Annan and set up by none other than Ms. Suu Kyi.




While Myanmar is an important factor in India’s ocean diplomacy and a valuable

stakeholder in its ‘Look East’ Policy, India’s nonchalant attitude towards the

humanitarian plight of the Rohingya reflects inadequate moral leadership and an

inability to rise to the occasion as expected from a regional power vying to

enhance its influence in the neighbourhood. One of the reasons why India, despite

its enviable soft power and formidable hard power, fails to generate confidence in

the region, including with friends such as Bangladesh, is its complex geopolitics

based more on political opportunism and economic interests as opposed to

principles and values, practised consistently. This must be food for thought for

India.

Spanish steps

Madrid will have to calibrate its reaction to the Catalan secession referendum

The long-standing conflict in Spain over independence for Catalonia has escalated

into a full-blown political crisis. The legislature of Spain’s north-eastern region last

week passed a law to back the October 1 vote for secession, consistent with the

narrow electoral mandate it received on a promise of self-determination. Under its

terms, a declaration of independence would follow within hours of the

announcement of a ‘yes’ vote, no matter how low the turnout. In turn, the Spanish

constitutional court, which had until now cautioned that a plebiscite would be

unconstitutional, has swiftly declared the law illegal. A political confrontation is

thus imminent, whatever the outcome of the referendum. The conservative

government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had so far merely threatened to

invoke Article 155, which confers extraordinary powers on Madrid, with a view to

preventing the referendum. It is now gearing itself to suspend self-governance in

the province, an approach that could raise awkward questions in a European

democracy. In June, Mr. Rajoy had warned of dire consequences if authorities in

Catalonia utilised regional development funding for expenditure connected with

the plebiscite. But the separatists hope that Madrid’s hardline stance will further

stoke a defiant sentiment against the national government. Such consolidation is

critical for them since their support base has reportedly shrunk since the years of

the Spanish credit crisis earlier in the decade, despite the enthusiasm for a vote on

secession.

Although the constitutional court has invalidated the plebiscite, the prospects for

the conduct of the poll appear more realistic, whatever its legal and political

implications. Conversely, the confiscation of ballot boxes by the police, or their

refusal to allow polling booths to be opened, seem to be more a theoretical

possibility given the broader regional context. The European Union would

undoubtedly distance itself from any secessionist demand in Spain; it was careful




not to offer a carte blanche to Scotland on membership in the bloc during its 2014

independence referendum. It may nevertheless cause Brussels some embarrassment

to remain silent on any overt obstruction of a popular vote by Madrid, especially as

it has come out strongly against attacks on democratic freedoms in Hungary and

Poland. A more likely scenario is that the Catalonian referendum would be treated

as an informal exercise. The roots of the separatist conflict in this relatively

affluent area are linked to a tribunal’s overturning of a statute for greater regional

autonomy, as well as an effort to apportion the blame for the austerity of the

eurozone debt crisis to Madrid. With some imagination, it should not be hard to tap

into the currently improved economic prospects for Madrid to strike strategic

compromises with Barcelona. Such a conciliatory stance is imperative considering

the risk of a populist upsurge in a region where separatism remains a live issue.

Search for quality

SEBI’s proposed rules may not necessarily improve the quality of credit rating

services

Credit rating agencies may be in for a tough ride as the Securities and Exchange

Board of India continues to tighten the screws on them. The market regulator has

released a consultation paper seeking feedback on a new set of rules drafted to

improve “market efficiency” and enhance “the governance, accountability and

functioning of credit rating agencies”. Among them are provisions to restrict cross-

shareholding between rating agencies without regulatory approval to 10%, and

increase the minimum net worth requirement for existing and new agencies from

₹5 crore to ₹50 crore. Another mandates at least five years’ experience for

promoters of rating agencies. SEBI has proposed disclosure norms to improve

investor awareness about the operations of rating agencies. The spin-off of non-

core operations of rating agencies will allow SEBI to focus on regulating just their

credit rating operations. SEBI has spelt out its rationale for proposing each of the

rules. SEBI’s predominant concern, apart from improving the information

available to investors, seems to be to prevent rating agencies from resorting to

collusion in reaching decisions. This effort is in line with SEBI’s crackdown on the

agencies after the default in 2015 of a highly-rated debt issued by Amtek Auto.

The new rules, if they come into force, may not have any substantial impact on the

quality of credit rating in India. Prima facie, the intended effects of the rules sound

convincing. What is unclear are their unintended effects on competition in the

rating space. Also, how the rules will address the problem of “rating shopping” that

plagues the business of credit rating in the country is unknown. The present

business model of rating agencies is seen to allow considerable room for issuers of

securities to shop for a favourable rating or avoid negative ratings by severing their




ties with these agencies. Prudential regulation is thus justified to tackle this

problem. This criticism, however, ignores the reputational damage these agencies

suffer after each corporate default. Repeated failures have not affected the business

of rating agencies, primarily due to the lack of alternative service providers who

can help out investors. Individual creditors have thus had to trust the ratings of the

existing rating agencies at their own peril, even after repeated crises. As is well-

known today, the Indian credit rating market is an oligopolistic one due to the high

barriers to entry. SEBI’s proposed move to impose further quality requirements on

rating agencies is unlikely to change things for the better, or raise further barriers.

The way forward lies in making it easier for new players to enter the credit rating

space and compete against incumbents. This will go a long way towards making

credit rating agencies actually serve creditors rather than borrowers.

A forest policy on today’s terms

The National Forest Policy must be refreshed as it contains concepts that have been

long discarded

“There is no official definition for the term ‘forest’ yet, despite ministries and

government departments being named after it.” Lions lounge about the Devaliya

National park in Gujarat. special arrangement

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as well as all

State Forest Departments are guided by the National Forest Policy, 1988, which

states: “The basic objectives that should govern the National Forest Policy are the

following: Maintenance of environmental stability through preservation and, where




necessary, restoration of the ecological balance that has been adversely disturbed

by serious depletion of the forests of the country.”

This laudable aim is obscured by the unfortunate fact that there is no such thing as

an ‘ecological balance’. The term originated as ‘the balance of nature’ in ancient

Greece and was quoted off and on through the Middle Ages. However, with a

better understanding of the functioning of natural systems, the concept was

completely rejected by the beginning of the last century and does not find mention

in textbooks of ecology. Similarly, the concept of ‘environmental stability’ is

questionable because it is evident that natural processes are never stable or

stagnant but are always in the process of change and succession. Therefore,

environmental stability is a myth.

Defining a forest

It is interesting that there is no official definition for the term ‘forest’ yet, despite

ministries and government departments being named after it. In order to couch the

laudable goals of the 1988 National Forest Policy, in valid terms, we would first

need to define the term ‘forest’. This is not a difficult task, since a forest is a self-

sown and self-regenerating community of plants that supports a community of

creatures dependent on those plants, and on each other, for food and shelter.

The ‘self-sown’ bit is important in the Indian context, since vast amounts of public

money have been spent on ‘planting forests’, which is an oxymoron. Naturally

there are no results to show for these ‘planted forests’, and Haryana has recently

shown the way by practically stopping ‘forest plantation’ in favour of protecting

and permitting existing vegetation to grow.

Having defined a forest, we can now state the primary aim of the 1988 National

Forest Policy in the following valid terms: “Maintenance of a healthy natural

environment through preservation and, where necessary, restoration of the original

natural ecosystems that have been adversely affected by over-exploitation of the

forests and other natural resources of the country.”

It may be noted that the term ‘original natural ecosystems’ refers to the state of

affairs prior to their exploitation by humans.

The second point of the policy states: “Conserving the natural heritage of the

country by preserving the remaining natural forests with the vast variety of flora

and fauna, which represent the remarkable biological diversity and genetic

resources of the country.”

Perhaps this should include grasslands, wetlands, and other ecosystems, and could

therefore be stated as follows: “Conserving the natural heritage of the country by




preserving natural forest and other ecosystems with their vast variety of flora and

fauna, and encouraging such ecosystems to expand into areas they had formerly

colonised, but from where they have been extirpated.” This would suggest that

degraded lands be protected so that original ecosystems can re-establish

themselves on those lands. When land has been thoroughly degraded, the usual

succession is grasses, shrubs, bushes and, finally, trees. By planting trees directly

in such areas, we try to jump the gun, but the build-up of top soil and soil

microorganisms that proceeds from a succession is missing, hence the large-scale

failure of such plantations.

The third point needs some modification, too. It states: “Checking soil erosion and

denudation in the catchment areas of rivers, lakes, reservoirs in the interest of soil

and water conservation, for mitigating floods and droughts and for the retardation

of siltation of reservoirs.”

It does not suggest how this is to be done and why this point fits in, in the policy.

Perhaps if it were stated in this way: “Protecting the catchment areas of rivers,

lakes, reservoirs to enable natural vegetation to grow back unhindered to conserve

soil, help groundwater recharge, for mitigating floods and droughts and for

retardation of siltation of reservoirs.” The justification for this wording is that the

natural vegetation of an area has evolved over millennia to adjust to the rainfall

regime, soil conditions, and the subsurface water systems of an area. In places

where catchment areas have untouched natural vegetation, rainfall percolates into

the soil and is released over a period of months, resulting in perennial streams and

rivers. Where this has been damaged, the streams, rivulets and rivers have become

seasonal, as in peninsular India.

The final point that needs modification is 2.2 of ‘basic objectives’: “The principal

aim of Forest Policy must be to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of

ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium which are vital for

sustenance of all lifeforms, human, animal and plant. The derivation of direct

economic benefit must be subordinated to this principal aim.”

This is a laudable point, but the terms of reference are not valid. Therefore, it

might be better to state this in the following terms, so that the spirit of what is

being stated is not lost: “The principal aim of Forest Policy must be to ensure a

healthy natural environment and the maintenance and healthy functioning of life-

support systems, including the water cycle and nutrient cycle, by protecting natural

forest and other ecosystems native to the area. The derivation of direct economic

benefit must be subordinated to this principal aim since the indirect economic

benefit of healthy life-support systems is incalculable.”




The remainder of the Forest Policy document is stated in valid language and needs

no modification.

A vital national goal

Couched in these terms, the Forest Policy document develops an overarching

responsibility for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change towards

restoring and maintaining the health of India’s surface and sub-surface water

systems, since both are largely governed by forests and other natural ecosystems.

The protection of healthy natural ecosystems in catchment areas should be a vital

national goal, given the challenges of failing freshwater systems facing the nation

at present. The State Forest Departments are the entities that can do the most in this

context, by stopping invalid practices like planting forests and instead use that

money in sensible ways to directly and indirectly protect natural ecosystems in

sensitive areas like watersheds, catchment areas, and coasts, as has already been

envisaged in the National Forest Policy, 1988.

What is worrisome, however, is that in the 30 years since it was formulated, no

officer of the Indian Forest Service has pointed out these shortcomings. There is

clearly an urgent need to review the curriculum of the Indian Forest Service since

it seems to rely on concepts that have been discarded more than a century ago

Military not short of munitions: Nirmala

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday dismissed as “factually wrong” a

CAG report which had stated that the defence forces had ammunition that could

last only for 20 days in the event of a war.

There was no dearth of weapons with the defence forces, Ms. Sitharaman told

reporters.

“After taking charge of the Defence Ministry, I have discussed the issue with

senior officers and experts. Purchasing weapons is a continuous process,” she said.

The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG), in its report tabled in Parliament

recently, had stated that the defence forces had ammunition that could last for 20

days in the event of a war, instead of the minimum requirement of 40 days. It

criticised the state-run Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for inadequate quantity of

ammunition supplied to the Army since March 2013.

Ms. Sitharaman’s predecessor, Arun Jaitley had told Parliament that the findings of

the CAG report, which had talked about shortage of ammunition, related to a

particular point of time.

India, U.S. in talks for C-17 deal




The aircraft will be handed over within a month of signing the contract

The consolidated cost of the aircraft is around $366.2 million.

India is in talks with the U.S. for buying another Boeing C-17 Globemaster

transport aircraft to be added to its fleet of 10.

Since induction in 2013, the aircraft has become the mainstay of India’s

humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

On June 26, the State Department notified Congress of a possible sale, approving it

under the Foreign Military Sales programme. “The validity of the Letter of

Acceptance for the sale expires in mid-October and India has to conclude the deal

before that or ask the U.S. for an extension,” an official said.

The aircraft, along with associated equipment, technical support and warranty, is

estimated to cost $366.2 million.

“The aircraft will be handed over within a month of the contract having been

signed after some routine checks and maintenance. The handover will be done in

the U.S. itself, and it will be flown to India by Indian pilots,” Pratyush Kumar,

president, Boeing India, told The Hindu.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave its approval for the purchase in

December last.

Big push

“The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet the current and future

strategic airlift requirements ... India lies in a region prone to natural disasters and

will use the additional capability [aircraft] for humanitarian assistance and disaster

relief,” the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which manages the

Foreign Military Sales programme, said in a statement in June.

In 2011, India purchased 10 C-17s under the Foreign Military Sales programme

worth $4.1 billion, which had a follow-on clause for six more aircraft. However,

the delay in decision-making in the Defence Ministry meant the IAF missed out on




the opportunity. The last C-17 aircraft left Boeing’s Long Beach plant in California

in 2015.

While the C-17 assembly line was shut down, Boeing made 10 additional aircraft

without any order and offered them to all existing customers, including India. New

Delhi’s silence meant nine pieces were picked by the existing users and one is left

with Boeing.

Rohingya militants declare ceasefire

Rohingya militants in Myanmar, whose raids sparked an Army crackdown that has

seen nearly 300,000 Muslim Rohingya flee to Bangladesh, on Sunday declared a

unilateral ceasefire but the government declared it would not negotiate with

“terrorists”.

The UN said 2,94,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since the

militants’ attacks on Myanmar security forces in neighbouring Rakhine state on

August 25 sparked a major military backlash.

“The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) hereby declares a temporary

cessation of offensive military operations,” the group said in a statement on its

Twitter account.

It urged “all humanitarian actors” to resume aid delivery to “all victims of

humanitarian crisis irrespective of ethnic or religious background” during the one-

month ceasefire until October 9.

In addition to Rohingya, some 27,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus

have also fled violence in the northern part of Rakhine state. ARSA called on

Myanmar to “reciprocate this humanitarian pause” in fighting.

Myanmar, which has previously labelled ARSA as “terrorists”, appeared to reject

the overture. “We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists,” Zaw Htay, a senior

government spokesman, tweeted late Sunday.

Rohingya refugees say the Army operations against ARSA led to mass killing of

civilians and the burning of hundreds of villages, sending them across the border.

For China, ’64 n-test was meant as a ‘head-on blow’ to India

K. R. Narayanan, as China Division head, warned that the test, coming after 1962

war, would further weaken India’s position on border claims




Mushroom cloud from China’s first test of an atomic bomb on October 16, 1964.

Getty images

Beijing believed that it had delivered a “head-on blow” and sent shock waves

through India after its first-ever nuclear test conducted on October 16, 1964 — two

years after the border war fought by the two countries.

A cable sent from the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi to Beijing at the end of

October 1964 said the “success” of its nuclear test had led Prime Minister Minister

Lal Bahadur Shastri to get various countries to “censure” China, but they refused

to go along with him.

India, the cable said, was engaged in an internal debate on how to respond to

China’s nuclear test.

“The current issue for India is not whether it should produce nuclear weapons but

whether it can do so,” the communication said, concluding that Delhi would

actively strive to do this to enhance its international status. The cable is available at

the Wilson Centre’s Digital Archive.

Countering U.S. presence

The Chinese also believed that the United States was engaged in exerting its

influence on a weak India after the 1962 war.

“But now the United States wants to control India and manage its relationship with

Pakistan at the same time, thus it is unwilling to help India manufacture atomic

bombs.”

The Embassy also believed that China’s newly acquired nuclear status would also

enhance the chances of regaining its permanent seat on the United Nations Security

Council from Taiwan, clearly linking the two. “As we [China] now had a bigger

chance of regaining our place in the United Nations, India is hoping to become a




permanent member of the United Nations Security Council with Soviet support,”

the cable added.

In the Indian assessment, the Chinese nuclear explosion would “alter the political

balance in Asia and disturb profoundly the status quo in the world”.

As Director of the China Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, K.R.

Narayanan, who went on to become President of India, linked the Chinese nuclear

test with India’s options relating to the border dispute.

DRDO successfully tests Nag missile

India’s indigenously developed third-generation anti-tank guided missile Nag has

been successfully flight tested by premier defence research organisation DRDO in

the deserts of Rajasthan, marking the completion of development trials. The

Defence Ministry said Nag was successfully flight tested twice by the DRDO

against two different targets on Friday in Rajasthan. PTI

Will Nirmala break glass ceiling in military?

Facts show that the Services are the last bastion of male dominance, with women

even denied a permanent commission

Not an easy salute: The defence forces have a small number of women, and many

of them are battling court cases.File photo

Despite the latest move by the Army to induct 800 women into its ranks, cold facts

show that the Indian military is the last bastion of male dominance in the

government. Many women in uniform are hoping that the country’s first full-time

woman Defence Minister will take bold decisions against what they allege are

systemic discrimination against women.

Though Indian military has only a minuscule number of women in service, a

noticeably large number of them are fighting court cases or complaints against

discrimination in various forums.




By information given in Parliament as on early 2017, there are 3,578 women

officers in the three services. This broadly represents about 3.64% in the Army,

4.49% in the Navy and 13% in the IAF.

Besides, about 5,000 Military Nursing Service members are also in uniform.

Over the past three years, with the government’s focus on women’s empowerment,

the three services have taken some steps for expanding the avenues for women, but

several issues still remain. However, recruitment numbers of the past few years are

almost at the same level with a decline in women joining the Army.

While the issue of women in combat roles gets traction often, another aspect

mostly neglected is the issue of permanent commission.

Permanent commission

“With the new Defence Minister being a woman, I hope something beneficial for

the women fraternity will come. We will request time from her once she takes

charge,” said Commander Prasannaa Edayilliam, an Air Traffic Control officer

who retired from service in 2008 and since 2010 has been fighting a legal battle for

permanent commission, which is now in the Supreme Court. The case is likely to

come up for hearing before the Supreme Court on September 15.

The Navy has since opened up seven streams for women. These include law,

logistics, air traffic control, education and Naval Armament Instructor (NAI).

“These were opened for permanent commission prospectively from 2009 onwards.

NAI was opened up this year. These are areas where one doesn’t have to go to sea

and they can get promoted,” a senior officer said.

The Navy is now taking women as pilots and observers on fixed-wing aircraft.

This is the Short Service Commission (SSC) because they cannot be promoted as

they cannot do sea service.

Bigcatch

The biggest catch is that women officers are taken under the SSC which is up to 14

years. Due to this, those leaving are left without any pension as pensionable service

is 20 years.

Commander Edayilliam stated that the ATC officers’ course that they had

undergone at the Air Force Academy in Dindigul was not recognised at par with

the civil course at the Civil Aviation Training College, Allahabad. “So it is

extremely difficult to get a second career based on it,” she told The Hindu.

“Navy is a wonderful service. We want more and more qualified people to join it,”

she added, longing for the uniform she once donned.




This is where there would be great expectations from Ms. Sitharaman to

understand the intricacies and open the services. A group of Military Nursing

Service members have been fighting the government for over a decade, demanding

that they be treated as full officers.

The Supreme Court has taken a firm stand, asking the military to ameliorate their

condition. They are also hoping that the new defence minister will appreciate their

plight.

Parrikar’s promise

Former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had stated that the three services

would induct women in combat roles in a phased manner as infrastructure had to

be created.

The Indian Air Force has long had women pilots in transport and helicopters

streams and last year commissioned three women fighter pilots on an experimental

basis.

Similarly, the Army gives permanent commission for women only in education,

law and medical streams. But given the operational conditions and spread, the

Army has been the most reluctant to take women in combat roles.

U.S. policy shadows Afghan talks

Foreign Minister to attend delayed India-Afghanistan Partnership Council meet

Salahuddin Rabbani




Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani will arrive in Delhi on Sunday

to attend the India-Afghanistan Partnership Council meeting that has been delayed

for years. The Minister is also expected to discuss new avenues for cooperation

within the India-U.S.-Afghanistan grouping.

However, officials said no new decisions on defence supplies or security

cooperation were likely during the talks which will end with a joint statement on

Monday.

U.S. role

All eyes will be on talks to discuss the way forward weeks after U.S. President

Trump unveiled his “new policy” for Afghanistan, where he proposed a larger role

for India in development assistance to Afghanistan.

Later this month, Afghanistan President Abdullah Abdullah and a senior U.S. trade

or commerce official will travel to India for the first India-U.S.-Afghanistan trade

expo, funded by USAID.

“We are breaking new ground in working with another mission on this sort of

project. Delhi is a natural market for Afghanistan, and we want to develop that,” a

U.S. official told The Hindu.

Senior Afghan diplomats said the emphasis of the Partnership Council talks would

be on “capacity building” for Afghan security forces in training and enhancing

existing cooperation as well as about 287 “small development projects (SDPs)”

that India is committing funding for including small dams, road and highway

construction, agriculture, education and health in the SDP-Phase III that were

signed in 2012.

Air corridor issues

The two sides will also discuss enhancing trade, especially the “air corridor” for

freight that was inaugurated in June to circumvent Pakistan, and has faced teething

troubles due to non-availability of cargo aircraft.

However, the Afghan government has recently engaged private airline Kam

Airways to carry freight, and officials said they would like to connect more Indian

and Afghan cities including Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Herat for trade in cotton,

fruit and dry fruit from Afghanistan and medical and electrical equipment from

India.

The air corridor agreement could be signed during Dr. Abdullah’s visit.

In addition, Mr. Rabbani and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will

witness the signing of two agreements: the Motor Vehicles agreement, announced




in 2014, and an agreement on Orbit Frequency Coordination for the South Asia

satellite launched in May this year.

Mr. Rabbani will also raise the problems of Afghans travelling to India for medical

care and students face in obtaining a visa as the process requires repeated visits to

the Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRRO). The minister is likely to

request longer duration visas for them.

According to the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by President Hamid

Karzai and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011, the India-Afghanistan

Partnership Council was supposed to meet annually. When asked about the reason

for the delay in holding the Partnership Council, which last met in May 2012, an

official said elections in India and Afghanistan, as well as Ms. Swaraj’s ill-health

had delayed the meeting.

The Afghan Foreign Minister will be accompanied by four deputy ministers who

head joint working groups on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Capacity

Development and Education, and Social, Cultural, Civil Society and people-to-

people contacts, and will meet with Ms Swaraj for talks.

Mr. Rabbani is also the head of the Jamiat-e-Islami party that is part of the

National Unity Government in Kabul, and officials said he would call on Mr. Modi

and Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi during his visit

Gripen or F-16? It’s a dogfight

While the Tatas have tied up with Lockheed, SAAB is aligning with the Adani

group

In grip: A Gripen jet, a SAAB product.Special ArrangementHANDOUT_E_MAIL

After several dramatic twists and turns, as the Air Force looks at procuring a new

single engine fighter, the Adani group is emerging as the dark horse that could end

up manufacturing a large number of India’s future fighters.

The IAF is now working on issuing Request for Information (RFI) to the two

single-engine fighter manufacturers available in the global market — Lockheed




Martin for its F-16 and SAAB for its Gripen. While the Tata group has tied up with

Lockheed Martin for possible manufacture of F-16s in India, SAAB last week

announced a tie-up with the Adani group.

“In the present scheme of things, Gripen enjoys a clear advantage because of its

capabilities,” says an Air Force source. While the F-16 is 50 years old, the Gripen

is a four-and-a-half generation fighter of very recent vintage.

The IAF had sent out an informal request asking the two manufacturers details of

their products. Based on the input and other analysis, the RFI would be issued

under the Strategic Partnership model in a couple of months, officers said. The

target would be to acquire at least 100 fighters in the first stage, but the demand is

expected to go up further now.

The government will select the preferred aircraft and its Indian partner based on

submissions. Once selected, the manufacturing plant for the selected fighter is to

be set up in India, with the Indian partner holding the majority stake in the venture.

MMRCA process in mess

“By not taking a quick decision and dragging its feet, the government has messed

up the MMRCA [Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft] process,” says Air Marshal

(retired) M Matheswaran, who played a crucial role in drawing up the requirements

and conceptualising its original tender in the early 2000s.

“[The] original MMRCA was not only to get fighters but also to get technology

here in India. All those objectives have been defeated,” he said.

The IAF in 2001 projected a requirement for 126 fighters, to fill the gap between

its future indigenous light combat aircraft and the heavy-weight Sukhoi-30

fighters.

Though the initial move was to buy more Mirage 2000 fighters, it evolved into the

MMRCA global tender.

In January 2012, the twin-engine Rafale fighter was declared the winner, and

finally negotiations began with its French manufacturers.

Air Force sources point out that the only reason the government has now put out

the present single-engine requirement is the cost.

The purchase of 36 Rafale fighters from France not only surprised most military

sources but also upset the financial projects for the fleet modernisation, sources

say.

Air Force sources point out that the requirement is now for over 200 fighters, and

the Rafales are being limited to just 36.




For China, 1964 n-test ‘head-on blow’ to India

“But even in the immediate future India cannot ignore the bomb…as one of the

factors affecting the power balance between China and India and the rest of Asia.

Peking’s bomb is not a tactical weapon, but a strategic instrument,” Mr.

Narayanan’s secret memo, circulated after internal discussions in the Ministry,

said.

“If the recovery of Aksai Chin and the settlement of the border question through

resort to arms was inconceivable hitherto it would be more so in the future,” Mr.

Narayanan believed, adding that India would also have fewer military and

diplomatic options after the Chinese nuclear test.

Arguing that China had now secured the breakthrough to “big power” status, the

memo felt the real question for India was a long-term one —how India and China

would be in 25-50 years if they followed different policies with regard to the use of

nuclear energy.

Mr. Narayanan felt the Chinese had attacked in 1962 because they wanted to

damage India’s influence in the Asian-African world and “expedite the process of

polarisation” in India’s domestic politics. “The ideological bitterness which the

Chinese evinced against Jawaharlal Nehru sprang from a realisation that it was his

policies of non-alignment and socialism which stood as a border against the

Communist dream of a violent revolution in India.”

Build the bomb

In Mr. Narayanan’s view, diplomacy could only embroider on the fact of power

but not act as a substitute for it. “Therefore, whatever policy we may choose to

follow, it seems that without a nuclear bomb of our own, India cannot answer the

challenge posed by China.”

He argued that India acquiring the bomb might make Chinese leaders sit up and

reconcile with Delhi just like the U.S. and other nuclear powers were coming to

grips with the reality of China. According to the memo, China’s ultimate aim was

to drive the U.S. out of Asia and “establish herself” as a nuclear power equal to the

U.S. and the USSR. A second nuclear test conducted by the Chinese in May 1965

drew great praise from over 100 Pakistani officials gathered for a reception hosted

by the Chinese embassy in Karachi

Bangladesh briefs India on Rohingya

India on Saturday expressed concern regarding the ongoing violence in Myanmar’s

Rakhine province that has triggered an exodus of the Rohingya into Bangladesh,

and said that the situation should be dealt with “restraint” and “maturity”. The




statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs asked for protection of the

civilian population in Rakhine.

“We would urge that the situation in Rakhine state be handled with restraint and

maturity, focussing on the welfare of the civilian population alongside those of the

security forces.,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement.

The statement from India came, hours after Bangladesh briefed India about the

measures it took to deal with the Rohingya influx from Myanmar. During a

meeting with Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, Dhaka’s envoy to India, Syed

Muazzem Ali briefed on the plight of the Rohingya because of the military

crackdown against them in Myanmar.

Air Astana seeks easy visas for Indians

Kazakhstan’s national carrier wants to connect Delhi and Mumbai with daily

flights

Peter Foster

“Governments and airlines just don’t mix,” says Peter Foster, president and chief

executive officer of Air , Kazakhstan’s national airline, that is working to widen its

traveller base from India.

Air Astana started flying to India in 2004, and now operates 10 flights a week —

seven between Almaty and Delhi, and three between Astana, the capital, and Delhi.

“Last year, 70,000 passengers flew between Kazakhstan and India, whereas this

year 50,000 have travelled between the countries up to now,” Mr. Foster says.

The airline expects to launch a flight to Mumbai in 2019, and aims to fly from

Delhi and Mumbai every day to Astana and Almaty, operating up to 21 flights a

week.




It also carries business to Hyderabad and has a tie-up with Air India for

transit/connect passengers.

Mr. Foster has been urging the Kazakh authorities for an easier visa regime for

Indian passport holders.

“Business from India is carried to Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Russia. Most

of our passengers are Kazakh and Russian. But we want more Indians to fly to

Kazakhstan. We are lobbying with the Kazakhstan government to relax visa

norms,” he says.

Independent operation

As the national airline of the Republic of Kazakhstan, based in Almaty, Air Astana

relies solely on its operational revenues.

“The government provides no funds, no subsidy, and all functions are based on

profits,” Mr. Foster says. “The government takes no part in the management of the

airline, which operates according to the best international standards. Samruk

Kazyna, as the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is a 51% shareholder and

exercises its shareholder rights in accordance with international practice of

corporate governance standards.”

As a votary of privatisation, Mr. Foster believes that efficiency can be guaranteed

only “when the government gets out”.

Otherwise, he says, “There is a massive drain of government funds.” Air Astana

has won the Skytrax World Airline Awards for the Best Airline in Central Asia and

India for the sixth time in a row.

At the CEO’s office, a model of a sleek Boeing Dreamliner and hot tea welcome

the visitor.

Expansion plans

Mr. Foster, who took over as head of the airline in 2005, explains that the company

plans to take delivery of three Dreamliners in the early part of the next decade. As

a national entity, the airline plays a major role in the economy.

“Successful airlines promote growth across a range of industries,” Mr. Foster says,

adding that the company employs 5,000 people and has never felt the need to make

staff redundant.

Air Astana has paid over $300 million in taxes in 15 years which, he says, is “a

measure of its successful operations.”

Can a private airline be called upon during times of emergency, for an evacuation,

if the government has nothing to do with its operations? The chief of the airline




from a former Soviet bloc country says: “There has been at least one requirement

during a national emergency when we pitched in effectively. One does not have to

be publicly evident to perform such moral obligations. In social media times, an

airline that doesn’t [rise to the occasion during an emergency] invites commercial

disaster.”

To attract passengers, a unique feature launched by Air Astana is the $1 offer — in

the absence of immediate connecting flights from Astana and Almaty, transit

passengers are given overnight accommodation at a four-star hotel for $1. If they

choose to stay on, they pay the normal tariff.

The airline has faced challenging times.

When sanctions were imposed on Russia in 2014 for the invasion of Crimea,

business suffered and revenue dropped 30%.

“But we remained profitable without making staff redundant because of our

efficiency,” Mr. Foster says. The global recession of 2008-09 was another testing

time, but there were “no layoffs”.

New growth horizons

Kazakhstan has seen nil economic growth in 2016-17 following a protracted

slowdown in global oil prices, and wants to move away from oil, gas and minerals

to sectors such as tourism and aviation.

The government has undertaken an aggressive expansion of roads, railways and

airports.

With the East and the West well connected, Air Astana is looking at linking India

with Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia. “That is Air Astana’s Indian market,”

asserts Mr. Foster.

The lowdown on railway safety

How did it come about?Why does it matter?What is it?What next?




A string of derailments in the last couple of weeks has put the spotlight on rail

safety. On August 19, thirteen coaches of the Haridwar-bound Puri-Haridwar Utkal

Express went off the tracks near the Khatauli railway station in Muzaffarnagar,

Uttar Pradesh, claiming at least 21 lives and injuring more than 90. This was

followed by the derailment of 10 coaches of the Kaifiyat Express in Auraiya

district of Uttar Pradesh four days later, after it collided with a dumper, injuring

around 100 passengers. This was followed by the collision of a train with a lorry at

an unmanned level crossing in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram region on the same day.

The saga didn’t end there with three trains — two carrying passengers and one

goods — jumping off the tracks in Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and Maharashtra

within a span of nine hours on Thursday. Two more accidents were averted – one

in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Mumbai when rail fracture was detected by the

patrolling staff on Thursday.

Although the total serious train accidents declined from 135 in 2014-15 to 104 in

2016-17, the derailments went up from 63 to 78 during the same period. The share

of derailments in total accidents has soared from 46.7% in 2014-15 to 75% in

2016-17. Till August 20 this year, 85% of the total rail accidents happened due to

derailments, raising the alarm among authorities.

In a safety review meeting chaired by the new Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on

Thursday, two major causes of accidents were identified: unmanned level crossings

and derailments due to track defects. According to official figures, track defects




had the highest share of around 44% in train derailments between 2012-13 and

2016-17. Derailments can also happen because of the failure of wheel and other

train components. In 2016-17, 61.5% of the accidents happened because of the

failure of railway staff against 37.7% in 2012-13. The Utkal Express derailment

highlighted severe neglect on the part of the local authorities — both maintenance

and station teams — in reacting to a broken track. While the track defect was

detected early in the day, the maintenance team temporarily joined the tracks while

waiting for a nod from the station authorities to get block time to fix it. Soon, the

Utkal Express arrived at a speed of 105 km per hour, ran over the track and

derailed.

In 2016-17, the total number of casualties in train accidents was at a two-year high

of 238, mainly due to the derailment of the Indore-Rajendranagar Express near

Kanpur, one of the worst accidents in over a decade, killing 152 passengers and

injuring 183. In 2015-16, 122 people died in rail accidents compared with 292 in

2014-15 and 152 in 2013-14. The former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had

announced a ‘Mission Zero Accident’ while presenting his last budget of 2016-17

before the rail and general budgets were merged. With a slew of accidents still

taking place, it seems to be a distant goal.

The accidents last month led to a top-level rejig in the Railway Ministry, with the

resignation of Railway Board Chairman A.K. Mital and Mr. Prabhu owning moral

responsibility for the derailments.

For the first time in decades, a Railway Board member was sent on leave, having

been held responsible for the Utkal Express accident. Former Air India chief

Ashwani Lohani has taken charge as the Railway Board Chairman. Mr. Goyal has

made it clear that safety will be his top priority.

On Thursday, he ordered the elimination of all unmanned level crossings within a

year, advancing the deadline by two years. He told officials that the focus should

be on replacing tracks prone to accidents instead of laying new lines and asked the

Board to expedite the procurement of new tracks on a large scale.

He also directed the Board to stop the production of conventional Integral Coach

Factory coaches that topple over one another in case of derailments.

Is India’s GDP growth falling?




What happened?

As per the estimates released by the Central Statistics Office on August 31, India’s

economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), grew by 5.7% in the

first quarter of 2017-18, compared with 7.9% in the same quarter a year ago. This

is the slowest pace of GDP growth recorded since the NDA came to power in May

2014. India grew by a strong 9.1% in the quarter from January 2016 to March

2016. The growth recorded in the subsequent quarters was 7.9%, 7.5%, 7% and

6.1%. So this is the fifth quarter in a row that the growth has slipped, with the pace

of decline picking up momentum in the last two quarters. The gross value-added

(GVA) in the economy grew at 5.6% between April and June, the same pace as the

previous quarter, but sharply lower than the 7.6% growth in the first quarter of the

last year.

Is this surprising?

Most economists didn’t expect a sharp uptick from the tepid 6.1% mark recorded

in the January-March quarter this year, yet few anticipated a decline to 5.7%. The

government has sought to divorce the growth trend from the impact of its decision

to demonetise ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes last November, but economists

believe the lingering effects continue to jolt sentiment. Growth, the government

has argued, had begun to slow even before the move to suck out 86% of the

currency notes in circulation. With the currency levels reverting close to the pre-

demonetisation ‘normal,’ the bigger disruptive force affecting the latest GDP

growth numbers was the introduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) from

July 1. Businesses nationwide whittled down production in the April-June quarter

and focussed on off-loading the existing stock, thanks to the uncertainty about how

the new indirect tax regime will treat earlier tax credits on inputs.

This also impacted GVA numbers, as a lot of the inventory that was off-loaded had

already been accounted for in the value of production in the earlier periods.




Moreover, while firms saw a healthy growth in sales, their margins were dented by

a spurt in commodity prices spiking input costs. Lastly, wholesale price inflation

turned negative at this time last year, so growth numbers appeared higher as a

result of their statistical impact, which is no longer the case, the government has

argued.

Which sectors are hit?

The manufacturing sector, as a sub-set of industry, led the growth tumble,

expanding by just 1.2% in the quarter, compared with 5.3% in the previous quarter

and 10.7% a year ago. This was the worst quarter for Indian manufacturing in five

years. Overall industrial output also collapsed to 1.6% growth from 7.4% a year

ago and 3.1% in the previous quarter.

The construction sector that has been the bulwark of job creation grew by just 2%

(in GVA terms) as it grapples with the headwinds of a new regulatory regime

(RERA), the GST and leveraged balance sheets of developers. Mining GVA

shrank by 0.7%, compared with a 0.9% dip last year.

The services sector offered some semblance of stability, growing at 8.7%

compared with 9% in the same quarter last year, but a deeper look suggests this

was driven by a rise in trade-related GVA to 11.1% (from 8.9%). This is proof of

sorts that the destocking in manufacturing was reflected in higher volumes (often

discount-driven) in the trade segment. Agriculture GVA dipped from 2.5% in the

first quarter of last year to 2.3%, though crop output increased healthily. Low

prices for crops apart, it appears that other agriculture-related activities, such as

animal husbandry, have dragged down the sector’s overall growth.

What lies in store?

The Statistics Office hopes that growth will rebound in the current quarter, “subject

to how efficiently companies adapt themselves to the GST.” The new NITI Aayog

Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said growth would return to 7%-7.5% between July

and September. Analysts are reworking their growth hopes for the full year —

rating agency Crisil has curbed it from 7.4% to 7%. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

has admitted that the latest growth print poses a challenge for the economy and the

government needs to work harder in the coming quarters to spruce up growth.

Watch out for policy actions to spur investment and job creation.

Habitat loss




Borders don’ faze these tigers: over a decade, at least 11 tigers moved from India

into Nepal’ protected areas through the Terai, a landscape comprising agricultural

areas and protected forest-grasslands in the Himalayan foothills. This reaffirms that

tiger conservation requires not just protected areas but corridors too — especially

across large landscapes — to ensure habitat connectivity and in turn, population

growth.

Habitat loss

With protected areas becoming isolated due to habitat loss and conversion, large

mammals including tigers have to now traverse human-dominated areas to disperse

to new territories. North India’ Terai Arc Landscape, which shares a 700-km

border with Nepal, spreads across more than 50,000 sq. km and has one of the

world's highest human population densities. Apart from agricultural fields and rural

settlements, it also comprises 16 protected areas (five in Nepal and 11 in India) and

six major trans-boundary corridors which connect Indian wild habitats with

Nepal's.

To test how effectively these corridors aid tiger movement, scientists from WWF-

India and WWF-Nepal camera-trapped tigers for 38,319 days in the protected

areas, covering an area of more than 9,000 sq. km in multiple surveys between

2005 and 2016. Identifying individual tigers, they found that at least 11 tigers used

these corridors to re-colonise Nepal, thus aiding the recovery of tiger populations

which had declined drastically in the mid 2000s due to severe poaching pressures.

Growth rates of the tiger population in Nepal’s Suklaphanta and Bardia national

parks show that tiger numbers were far higher than would have been possible from

just reproduction by the existing population. Connecting the locations that

individual tigers were photographed from, the team found that one tiger had moved

across an area of 248 sq. km, as opposed to the usual 20-sq. km-area in the Terai.

“This speaks volumes about the need to protect large landscapes, even agricultural

ones which serve as crucial corridors,” says Pranav Chanchani, National

Coordinator for Tiger Conservation, WWF-India. “Till the 1930s and 1940s, the




now-fragmented protected areas were contiguous. But with increasing human

settlement large parts of the Terai were cleared and patches that would have been

corridors destroyed.”

Planned development near the protected areas — including two roads — could

endanger the already-fragmented habitat, say the authors. They suggest that the

tiger populations need to be conserved as a ‘metapopulation’, that is, populations

that are physically separate, but interact with one another as animals migrate

between them, helping populations persist over the years.


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