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- Uttarakhand avalanche: As Uttarkashi counts the dead, families of climbers brace for worst

- After UK Minister’s visa barb, India says both sides keen on FTA

- ED attaches Rs 1.54 crore assets in money laundering case against Amnesty

- Mandate singing of national anthem in all Madhya Pradesh schools: NCPCR chairman

- CBI files chargesheet against Lalu, Rabri, daughters in land-for-job case

- India conveys its objections to US over visit by American envoy to PoK

- Your Daily Wrap: Centre asks CJI to name his successor; Nobel panel announces peace prize winners; and more

- Situation has not returned to normal: MEA on eastern Ladakh border row

- CBI files charge sheet against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi in land-for-jobs scam

- YSR Telangana Party seeks CBI probe into alleged corruption in Kaleswaram irrigation project

- Two Army personnel killed in field firing exercise in Madhya Pradesh

- Six Indian prisoners died in Pakistan in last 9 months: MEA

- India: Rights of people of Xinjiang must be respected

- Ex-CJI named head of panel on SC status for Dalit converts

- BSF jawan injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh

- UP: Two arrested in connection with suicide of gang-rape victim

- Tharoor releases poll manifesto, pitches for limiting state chiefs’ term

- Woman set on fire in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, 1 held

- 153 HC judges appointed this year, more appointments in higher judiciary likely

- Uttarkashi avalanche: 3 more bodies recovered, toll climbs to 19

- Governance focus has shifted outside Delhi, adopt holistic approach: PM Modi to new IAS officers

- Name your successor, Law Minister writes to CJI; window for Collegium he heads closing

- Govt sets up tribunal to adjudicate PFI’s ban justified or not

Uttarakhand avalanche: As Uttarkashi counts the dead, families of climbers brace for worst

According to officials, the 41-member team had 34 trainees and seven instructors. Of the 26 bodies recovered, they say, four have been brought to Uttarkashi while the rest are still at the base camp.

Written by Avaneesh Mishra

Dehradun | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:39:36 am

Rescue efforts underway on Friday. SDRF

TWELVE RESCUED; 26 bodies recovered, only two identified; three still missing.

These are the numbers staring at several families that have reached the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand over the past three days. Some are still hanging on to a fading sliver of hope, others are waiting for those numbers to turn into words they don’t want to hear.

“The last time I spoke to my husband was on September 23. He said that for the next 15-16 days, he will not be able to talk to us as he will be out of the network area,” says Kamna Singh.

Kamna’s husband, IAF Sergeant Amit Kumar Singh, was among the 41 mountaineers who were hit by an avalanche near Draupadi Ka Danda-2 (DKD-2) peak on Tuesday morning. But he was not among the 12 rescued. And of the 26 bodies recovered, including ten on Friday, only that of two female trainers — Naumi Rawat and Savita Kanswal — have been identified. There is no word yet on three others.

Distressed and barely able to speak, Kamna says her husband “had completed his basic training in 2019 and left for NIM in September”. The Jaipur-based couple has a two-year-old daughter.

The family of Haryana resident Nitish Dahiya (20), who was the youngest in the group, has no words to convey. They are among those who are being accommodated on the NIM campus.

Then, there are those who are on their way.

“I am still waiting to get some information about my younger brother. He’s just 23,” says Kuldeep Singh, the elder brother of Arjun Singh Gohil who has not been traced. Speaking over phone from Bhavnagar in Gujarat, Kuldeep says he is “in constant touch with them (the authorities)”.

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SDRF teams leave from Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun to rescue the trainees trapped in an avalanche in Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak. (Source: ANI)

“Arjun used to help the family in their farm but he was most passionate about mountaineering,” says Kuldeep.

“Our team had people from the government, Army, Navy and Air Force — and some from DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation). Some of them had completed basic training and waited as long as six years to get a slot for advanced training,” says Rohit Bhatt (21), an ITI-diploma holder from Tehri Garhwal who completed his basic training at NIM last October. Bhatt was among the 12 rescued.

According to officials, the 41-member team had 34 trainees and seven instructors. Of the 26 bodies recovered, they say, four have been brought to Uttarkashi while the rest are still at the base camp.

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According to NIM officials, the climbers hail from across the country: West Bengal, Delhi, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. “But many in the group were local youths interested in mountaineering. All the members were between 25 and 35 years of age,” says an official.

Army personnel move towards the avalanche site in Uttarkashi to carry out rescue operations, Thursday. (PTI via @suryacommand/Twitter)

Naib Subedar Anil Kumar, who was one of the instructors rescued, says the 41 were part of an advanced training batch. “Many of those who come for the basic course are people who have not undergone any training in mountaineering. Once the basic training is complete, sometimes it takes a few years to get a slot for advanced training,” says another NIM official.

Shashi Bahuguna, a mountaineer who runs Bohemian Adventure in Dehradun, says several clearances are required before a team embarks on a climbing expedition.

“First, we need to book a peak for the given dates. We need to pay a fee to the Forest department and take permission from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) after giving them details of the climbers. To climb the peak, advanced training is the minimum requirement for most of the team members. Only one person with basic training is allowed per team. The person going on an expedition must be trained in rock climbing, river crossing, snow crafting, ice crafting and rope fixing,” says Bahuguna.

According to officials, the 41-member team had 34 trainees and seven instructors. Of the 26 bodies recovered, they say, four have been brought to Uttarkashi while the rest are still at the base camp.

According to officials, the team that got hit by the avalanche was undergoing a 28-day advanced course that started on September 14. “In the first few days, they were given a refresher basic course and then advanced training. The last leg of the training included staying at a camp set up near the Dokriani Bamak glacier for around 10 days and then climbing the DKD-2 peak. A base camp was set up at 12,600 feet for them to climb DKD-2, where mountaineers have been going for the past 50-55 years,” says an official.

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At present, there are at least six institutes that provide basic and advanced mountaineering courses in the country. But NIM, where three-four batches undergo training every year, is the only institute that provides training in rescue operations, too.

Says Col Ajay Kothiyal (retired), the institute’s former principal, “The NIM courses are mainly for character-building and training in extreme conditions.”

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:13:49 am

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After UK Minister’s visa barb, India says both sides keen on FTA

The MEA spokesperson, however, refused to respond specifically to Braverman's comments. “All negotiations are part of give and take...it needs to be a win-win for both sides...I wouldn’t like to get into what people say perhaps for domestic perspectives,” Bagchi said.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:39:01 am

“There is interest on both sides to conclude the FTA at the earliest. I understand that intensive discussions are underway towards this and continuing,” Arindam Bagchi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, said Friday. Asked about a deadline, Bagchi said, “I think Diwali was set as a goal but that’s a goal.”

A DAY after Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman cast doubts over the proposed Free Trade Agreement with India, while linking the issue to migration and saying that Indians were the “largest group of people who overstay” visas in the UK, New Delhi said both sides are keen to wrap up the FTA “at the earliest”.

“There is interest on both sides to conclude the FTA at the earliest. I understand that intensive discussions are underway towards this and continuing,” Arindam Bagchi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, said Friday. Asked about a deadline, Bagchi said, “I think Diwali was set as a goal but that’s a goal.”

The MEA spokesperson, however, refused to respond specifically to Braverman’s comments. “All negotiations are part of give and take…it needs to be a win-win for both sides…I wouldn’t like to get into what people say perhaps for domestic perspectives,” Bagchi said.

In an interview to British weekly magazine “The Spectator” on Thursday, the 42-year-old Indian-origin minister, Braverman, expressed concerns on what she termed “an open borders migration policy with India”. She also indicated that she would not offer Cabinet backing to a trade deal that offers India greater visa concessions.

“I have concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit,” Braverman told the magazine. “We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to encourage and facilitate better cooperation in this regard. It has not necessarily worked very well,” she said.

Braverman was referring to the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) that was signed by her predecessor in the Home Office, Priti Patel, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in May last year.

In Delhi Friday, the MEA spokesperson said he did not have data on overstayers. “I don’t have data on overstayers or otherwise, I am not even sure I’ll be able to comment on that… whenever there is an Indian citizen abroad, we strongly encourage legal immigration and if they need to come back they will come back,” Bagchi said.

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“Migration mobility is an important element and you know there was an understanding in this regard which we would expect, certainly, that both sides would honour it and we certainly are taking action on our elements and we expect the UK side to also show… demonstrable actions on that,” the MEA spokesperson said.

The Indian High Commision in London had on Thursday issued a statement on the Home Secretary’s comments, especially on the MMP.

“As part of our wider discussions under Migration and Mobility, the Government…is committed to working with the government of the UK to facilitate the return of Indian citizens who have overstayed their visa period here in the UK,” the statement said.

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“As per the data shared with the Home Office, as of date, action has been initiated on all of the cases referred to the High Commission. Further, the UK has also undertaken to fulfil certain commitments as part of the Migration and Mobility Protocol, on which we await demonstrable progress,” it said.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:10:17 am

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ED attaches Rs 1.54 crore assets in money laundering case against Amnesty

According to ED, its probe revealed that upon cancellation of FCRA licence of AIIFT, a new method was adopted by Amnesty entities to receive money from abroad. Amnesty International, UK, allegedly sent Rs 51.72 crore to AIIPL in the guise of Export of Services and Foreign Direct Investment.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | October 8, 2022 2:08:29 am

The ED case is based on a CBI FIR against Amnesty for alleged violation of the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act (FCRA), 2010.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 1.54 crore belonging to Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) in connection with its money laundering probe into the finances of Amnesty International and its related entities. The assets are in the form of deposits in bank accounts.

The ED case is based on a CBI FIR against Amnesty for alleged violation of the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act (FCRA), 2010. “In this case, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had been granted permission under the FCRA during 2011-12 for receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK. However, the same was cancelled and permission/registration has been denied. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and IAIT were formed in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively, to escape the FCRA route and carried out NGO activities in the guise of service export and FDI,” the ED said in a statement.

According to ED, its probe revealed that upon cancellation of FCRA licence of AIIFT, a new method was adopted by Amnesty entities to receive money from abroad. Amnesty International, UK, allegedly sent Rs 51.72 crore to AIIPL in the guise of Export of Services and Foreign Direct Investment. ED alleged there was no documentary proof for the alleged export such as invoices and copies of the agreement submitted during the investigation.

“It is prima facie found that Amnesty International, UK, invested in AIIPL in the form of ‘Compulsory Convertible Debentures’. Subsequently, another Indian entity, IAIT established an overdraft facility for Rs 14.25 crore keeping the Rs 10 crore FD of AIIPL as collateral. The overdraft facility was used by IAIT for Amnesty India’s NGO activities. Therefore, the FDI received by AIIPL are being used by the Indians for Amnesty International Trust, Bengaluru, to carry out its NGO activities…,” the ED said.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 02:08:29 am

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In Madhya Pradesh, 2 Cong MLAs booked for harassing woman travelling with her baby on train

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Mandate singing of national anthem in all Madhya Pradesh schools: NCPCR chairman

The directive came after NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo made a field visit to a ‘CM-Rise’ school in Kurwai town of Vidisha district, after taking into cognisance reports that a ‘mazar’ (tomb) had been constructed within its compound.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | October 8, 2022 1:21:22 am

NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Friday asked the Madhya Pradesh government to mandate the singing of the national anthem as part of morning prayers in all schools across the state.

The directive came after NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo made a field visit to a ‘CM-Rise’ school in Kurwai town of Vidisha district, after taking into cognisance reports that a ‘mazar’ (tomb) had been constructed within its compound.

In his report, Kanoongo said that he found two mazars within the premises of the school — one built by a former principal and another by a sports teacher. Taking note that the mazars were open to public, who had been given access to the school’s premises, the chairperson said in his report that this posed a threat “to the safety of the children” studying in the school.

Kanoongo said there were two more schools in Kurwai with “mazar-like structures”.

A PTI report from Vidisha quoted District Collector Uma Shankar Bhargava as saying that a probe has been ordered. The principal has been arrested.

The NCPCR has recommended that an FIR be filed against the school principal.

The NCPCR report said: “…the involvement of organizations like PFI and SlMl in the State of Madhya Pradesh is well known… it is recommended that the State Govemment may also consider getting a thorough investigation carried out in relation to the involvement of organizations like PFI and SIMI in the Kurwai Town.”

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Kanoongo said that the principal in question “had stopped” the singing of the national anthem, which would “only be sung during Independence Day and Republic Day”. Instead, the school students would sing the Madhya Pradesh anthem.

“It is recommended that the State Government may pass order(s) thereby, mandating the schools in the entire State of Madhya Pradesh to sing National anthem as a part of the morning prayers,” said the NCPCR report.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 01:21:22 am

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Bihar govt to move Supreme Court against High Court ban on quota in local bodies

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CBI files chargesheet against Lalu, Rabri, daughters in land-for-job case

The CBI had booked Lalu and his family members in a fresh case of corruption in May this year. The agency had named as many as 16 people, including Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, as accused in the FIR.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:51:17 am

The CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry in this regard in September last year. (File Photo)

The CBI on Friday filed a chargesheet against former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti among 16 accused in connection with its probe into the “land for job” case. Agency sources said those chargesheeted also include two senior railways officials apart from the beneficiaries of the “irregular” employment.

The case pertains to allegations that Lalu Prasad and his family took land to provide jobs to people in the Indian Railways.

The CBI had booked Lalu and his family members in a fresh case of corruption in May this year. The agency had named as many as 16 people, including Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, as accused in the FIR.

Those chargesheeted on Friday also include Sowmya Raghvan, the then GM, Railways; Kamal Deep Mainrai, the then CPO, Railways; alleged beneficiaries appointed as railway substitutes Rajkumar Singh, Mithlesh Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Dharmendra Kumar, Vikas Kumar, and Abhishek Kumar; and alleged middlemen Ravindra Rai, Kiran Devi, Akhileshwar Singh and Ramashish Singh.

“During investigation, it has been found that the accused in conspiracy with the then GM Central Railways and CPO, Central Railways engaged persons as substitutes in lieu of land either in their name or in the name of their close relatives. This land was acquired at prices lower than the prevailing circle rate and much lower than the market rate. It was also alleged that the candidates have used false TC and submitted false attested documents to the Ministry of Railways,” a CBI statement said.

Following its FIR in May, the agency had also launched search operations at 17 locations on premises associated with Lalu and his family members, including his daughter Misa Bharti, among others.

The case, according to the central probe agency, is based on allegations that Lalu allegedly took land plots as bribes to give jobs to people when he was the railways minister in the UPA government.

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The agency has alleged as many as 12 people from Patna were appointed in Group D posts in the Indian Railways, and in lieu Lalu’s family got seven plots of land in Patna and elsewhere for a pittance. All these plots belonged to the families of those 12 people who got the job.

According to the CBI, Lalu’s family acquired over 1 lakh sq ft of land in this way for a meagre Rs 26 lakh when the then circle rate puts the cumulative value of the land at over Rs 4.39 crore.

The CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry in this regard in September last year.

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In August this year, when the newly-formed JDU-RJD government was facing trust vote in the Bihar Assembly, the CBI raided multiple locations in connection with the case which included premises of four senior RJD leaders and a mall in Gurgaon which CBI claimed was linked to Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, a charge denied by him.

The raids were also carried out at the premises of RJD treasurer and MLC Sunil Singh as well as two Rajya Sabha MPs from the party, Faiyaz Ahmad and Shfaq Karim. Apart from this, premises associated with former RJD MLC Subodh Rai were also raided.

In July, the CBI had arrested Bhola Yadav, the former OSD to Lalu when the latter was the railways minister, and a railway employee.

The CBI had in 2018 chargesheeted Lalu, his wife Rabri and son Tejashwi in the IRCTC case where it is alleged that as the railways minister, Lalu favoured a company in awarding contracts of two IRCTC hotels for operation and maintenance. His family allegedly received a prime piece of land in Patna at a throwaway price from the owners of the company that bagged the contract as quid pro quo.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:33:54 pm

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Harbhajan Singh accuses PCA president of corruption

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India conveys its objections to US over visit by American envoy to PoK

India also objected to ambassador Donald Blome holding some meetings there.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 10:36:39 pm

In April, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar visited Pakistan-Occupied-Jammu and Kashmir, drawing sharp reaction from India. (File)

India has conveyed its objections to the US over the recent visit to Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by US Ambassador to Islamabad Donald Blome, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

India also objected to the ambassador holding some meetings there.

“Our objection to the visit and meetings in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by the US ambassador to Pakistan has been conveyed to the US side,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.

He was replying to a question on the issue.

In April, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar visited Pakistan-Occupied-Jammu and Kashmir, drawing sharp reaction from India.

“We have noted that US representative Ilhan Omar has visited a part of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir that is currently illegally occupied by Pakistan,” Bagchi had said.

“If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that may be her business. But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty in its pursuit makes it ours. This visit is condemnable,” he added.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:36:39 pm

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A sneaker with a built-in puddle

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Your Daily Wrap: Centre asks CJI to name his successor; Nobel panel announces peace prize winners; and more

From RBI announcing the launch of digital rupee to Goodbye movie review, here are today's top stories.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 9:39:40 pm

Clockwise from top left: Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski; K G Balakrishnan;, JD(S) leader and former Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy and K Chandrachekar Rao; Chief Justice of India UU Lalit.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organisation Center for Civil Liberties. The laureates represent civil society in their home countries, said the committee. With the awardees being from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, an implicit message has been sent about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. A look at the winners and their work.

With a month left before Chief Justice of India (CJI) U U Lalit retires, the government today started the process of appointment of the next CJI with Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju asking the incumbent to recommend his successor. CJI Lalit retires on November 8. The second seniormost judge on the Bench is Justice D Y Chandrachud. If appointed, Justice Chandrachud will have a tenure of over two years as CJI till November 10, 2024.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it will soon commence the pilot launch of the digital rupee for specific use cases as it tests digital currency in India. In a concept note on Central Bank Digital Currency, the RBI said the digital rupee system will further bolster India’s digital economy, make the monetary and payment systems more efficient and contribute to furthering financial inclusion,” the paper said.

From RBI announcing the launch of digital rupee to Goodbye movie review, here are today’s top stories.

India has said that its decision to abstain from voting on the rights situation in China’s Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Commission was in line with the practice of not voting on country-specific resolutions. Speaking during a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “It is in line with India’s practice of not voting on the country-specific resolution.”  On Thursday, the draft resolution on “holding a debate on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China” was rejected in the 47-member Council after 17 members voted in favour, 19 members voted against, including China, and 11 abstentions, including India, Brazil, Mexico and Ukraine.

Political Pulse

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s national launch had at least one other major party in attendance, the Janata Dal (Secular) from neighbouring Karnataka. Facing a tough contest in the Karnataka Assembly elections next year, the JD(S) is hoping that the partnership would help the party grow beyond its traditional Vokkaliga heartland of south and parts of central Karnataka, and secure hopefully eight to 10 seats in the north, bordering Telangana, in the 2023 Assembly elections. The JD(S) is also sanguine that the gains may not come right away, but reflect in the long run. Sources say the preparations for the alliance began with the meeting of KCR with Deve Gowda earlier this year. Akram M reports.

Express Explained

The central government has notified a Commission under former Chief Justice of India and former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission K G Balakrishnan “to examine the matter of according Scheduled Caste status to new persons, who claim to historically have belonged to the Scheduled Castes, but have converted to religions other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders issued from time to time under Article 341 of the Constitution”. What is Article 341, and why don’t Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam get quota benefits? What efforts have been made to include Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs? We explain.

Movie Reviews

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This week we reviewed Amitabh Bachchan’s Goodbye, Madhuri Dixit and Gajraj Rao starrer Maja Ma, Lena Dunham’s Catherine Called Birdy, Julia Roberts Ticket to Paradise, and Chiranjeevi-Salman Khan starrer GodFather. Watch them or skip them? Read our reviews to decide.

In Express Opinion today

A Russian response: On Ukraine, India is on the right side of history

Say no to alcohol: The case for abstinence

What the success of Vikram Vedha says about the failure of the multiplex

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 09:39:40 pm

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Situation has not returned to normal: MEA on eastern Ladakh border row

The comments of MEA Spokesperson came days after Chinese envoy claimed that the two sides have moved from "emergency response" that followed the Galwan valley clashes in June 2020 to "normalised" management.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 8:46:43 pm

Indian Army's Exercise Parvat Prahar in eastern Ladakh, amid the disengagement with China in the Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area on the LAC. (PTI)

India on Friday said the situation in eastern Ladakh has not returned to the stage of full normalcy as some steps are yet to be taken for it.

The comments of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came days after Chinese envoy Sun Weidong claimed that the situation in eastern Ladakh is “overall stable” as the two sides have moved from the “emergency response” that followed the Galwan valley clashes in June 2020 to “normalised” management.

“Some steps are required for full normalcy, we have not reached there,” Bagchi said when asked about the Chinese ambassador’s remarks.

The MEA spokesperson said India has been maintaining that it expects disengagement followed by de-escalation for the return of normalcy on the border, which could pave the way for normal ties between the two neighbouring countries.

“We have not reached there…. I would not like to say that the situation is normal. There have been some positive steps, but some steps are yet to be taken,” he said.

Bagchi also referred to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks last month that the disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 in eastern Ladakh was “one problem less” on the border.

Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Tuesday said the benchmark for the situation to become normal in eastern Ladakh would be to return to status quo ante prior to the standoff and a complete withdrawal of troops from all friction points.

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Though the two sides have disengaged from Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15), there has been no progress yet on resolving the standoff in the Demchok and Depsang regions.

Following the eastern Ladakh standoff, India has been consistently maintaining that peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is key for the overall development of its ties with China and the state of the border will determine the state of the bilateral relationship.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry.

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As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

The disengagement in the Pangong lake area took place in February last year, while the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Patrolling Point 17(A) in Gogra took place in August last year.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 08:46:43 pm

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BTS members face possible military conscription

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CBI files charge sheet against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi in land-for-jobs scam

The central agency had registered a preliminary enquiry on September 23, 2021 related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam in the Railways which was converted into an FIR on May 18.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 8:41:41 pm

RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav (File)

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against former railway minister Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and 14 others in connection with an alleged land-for-jobs scam during his tenure in the Railways, officials said on Friday.

Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti and a former general manager of the Railways have also been named as accused in the charge sheet filed before a special CBI court recently, they said.

The central agency had registered a preliminary enquiry on September 23, 2021 related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam in the Railways which was converted into an FIR on May 18.

Candidates were allegedly appointed as substitutes in group D positions within three days of applying in “undue haste” by Railway officials and were later, regularised when the “individuals themselves or their family members transferred their land”, according to the agency.

The transfers were made through deeds in the name of Rabri Devi and daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, it alleged.

The agency has alleged that land measuring about 1.05 lakh square feet in Patna was acquired by Prasad’s family members by making payments to the sellers in cash.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 08:41:41 pm

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YSR Telangana Party seeks CBI probe into alleged corruption in Kaleswaram irrigation project

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YSR Telangana Party seeks CBI probe into alleged corruption in Kaleswaram irrigation project

Though officially the project has been completed and inaugurated several times at several locations, the entire system as a whole did not yield desired results, YS Sharmila claimed.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 8:40:24 pm

Sharmila also said the KLIP to a large extent has been financed by the central government funds. (File)

YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila on Friday met CBI director Subodh Kumar Jaiswal and demanded a probe into the alleged financial irregularities and corruption in the Rs 1.20 lakh crore Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project in Telangana funded by the central government.

Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, also attacked the BJP for not investigating the case despite central ministers including Nirmala Sitharaman and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat pointing out alleged irregularities in the project.

“The CBI director has assured that he will assign a DIG rank officer to look into the corruption involved in the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). …If still nothing happens we will file a writ petition,” Sharmila told reporters here.

Sharing the details of alleged irregularities in the project collected from RTI filings, the YSRTP chief claimed there was escalation in the cost of the project from Rs 38,000 crore to more than Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

Though officially the project has been completed and inaugurated several times at several locations, the entire system as a whole did not yield desired results, she claimed.

Sharmila also said the KLIP to a large extent has been financed by the central government funds in the form of loans from PFC, REC Ltd, PNB Consortium, NABARD, Union Bank of India Consortium and Bank of Baroda. These institutions have given a loan to the tune of almost Rs 1 lakh crore for the project.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 08:40:24 pm

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Two Army personnel killed in field firing exercise in Madhya Pradesh

The Indian Army has ordered an investigation into the incident.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 6:14:07 pm

“The Indian Army expresses deep condolences to the bereaved families of the soldiers who lost their lives in the accident,” said an Army statement. (Representational/ File)

Two Indian Army personnel were killed and another sustained injuries when the barrel of a T-90 tank burst during a field firing exercise in Madhya Pradesh’s Babina, officials said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday evening, they said.

“During the annual firing at Babina Field Firing Ranges on October 6, a tank barrel burst… The tank was manned by a crew of three personnel. The crew was provided immediate medical aid and evacuated to the military hospital in Babina,” said an official.

“The commander and the gunner unfortunately succumbed to burn injuries. The driver is out of danger and under treatment,” the official said.

It is learnt that the commander was a JCO (junior commissioned officer).

The Army has ordered an investigation into the incident.

“The Indian Army expresses deep condolences to the bereaved families of the soldiers who lost their lives in the accident,” said an Army statement.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 06:14:07 pm

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Six Indian prisoners died in Pakistan in last 9 months: MEA

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the deceased included five fishermen.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 5:39:02 pm

It is the responsibility of Pakistan to ensure safety of Indian prisoners in that country, MEA spokesperson said.

Six Indian prisoners died in Pakistan in last nine months and India has raised the issue with Islamabad, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the deceased included five fishermen.

The situation is alarming. All the dead had completed their sentences, he said at a media briefing.

It is the responsibility of Pakistan to ensure safety of Indian prisoners in that country, he said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 05:39:02 pm

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India: Rights of people of Xinjiang must be respected

This comes a day after India abstained from voting on a resolution at the United Nations High Commission that called for a debate on concerns over the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 2:03:30 am

East Turkistan Awakening Movement holds a rally outside the White House against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to coincide with the 73rd National Day of the People's Republic of China in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/FILE)

Rights of the people of the autonomous region in China’s Xinjiang should be “respected and guaranteed”, India said on Friday in what is being viewed as its first clear comment on the situation in the neighbouring country.

This comes a day after India abstained from voting on a resolution at the United Nations High Commission that called for a debate on concerns over the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

“The human rights of the people of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region should be respected and guaranteed. We hope that the relevant party will address the situation objectively and properly,” Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

On India’s abstention, Bagchi said it was in line with long-held practice in India’s foreign policy to not vote on country-specific resolutions. The comments came amid the continuing border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh. “India remains committed to upholding all human rights. India’s vote is in line with its long held position that country specific resolutions are never helpful. India favours a dialogue to deal with such issues,” he said.

Bagchi said India has taken note of assessment of human rights concerns in Xinjiang by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

On India’s conflict with China vis-à-vis the border, India said the situation at eastern Ladakh has not returned to the stage of full normalcy as some steps are yet to be taken for it. “Some steps are required for full normalcy. We have not reached there,” Bagchi said, responding to the comments of Chinese envoy Sun Weidong on Thursday when he claimed that the situation in eastern Ladakh is “overall stable”.

The MEA spokesman said India has been maintaining that it expects disengagement followed by de-escalation for the return of normalcy on the border, which could pave the way for normal ties between the two neighbouring countries.

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“We have not reached there… I would not like to say that the situation is normal. There have been some positive steps, but some steps are yet to be taken,” he said.

On other issues, Bagchi said that six Indian prisoners, who completed their jail terms, died in Pakistan in the last nine months and India has raised the “alarming” issue with Islamabad.

“All the six, interestingly, had completed their sentences, but what we would say, were illegally detained by Pakistan despite completing their sentences and in spite of multiple demands by the Indian side for their release and repatriation,” he added.

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India has also conveyed its objections to the US over the recent visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by the American Ambassador to Islamabad, he said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 05:25:59 pm

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Ex-CJI named head of panel on SC status for Dalit converts

The commission will examine the matter in line with the Presidential Orders issued from time to time under article 341 of the Constitution.

Written by Esha Roy

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:37:11 am

Former CJI KG Balakrishnan. (File)

THE CENTRE has appointed a three-member commission, headed by former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, to consider the possibility of granting SC status to “new persons who have historically belonged to the Scheduled Castes’’ but have converted to religions other than Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

According to a notification issued Thursday by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the commission will also include retired IAS officer Dr Ravinder Kumar Jain and UGC member Prof (Dr) Sushma Yadav as members. The commission will have to submit its report to the Ministry in two years, it said.

The Indian Express had first reported on September 19 about the Government’s move to set up a national commission to study the social, economic and educational status of members of SCs who have converted mainly to Islam and Christianity.

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, stipulates that no person professing a religion different from Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. The original order under which only Hindus were classified was later amended to include Sikhs and Buddhists.

The new commission has been set up at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a PIL filed by the National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC), which has been fighting for SC status since 2020 — there have been numerous other cases filed in the apex court on the matter since 2004. In August, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to submit its current position on the issue.

The contention of Dalit Christian and Muslim organisations has been that these communities continue to face discrimination. On Thursday, these organisations criticised the latest move by the Centre as a “delaying tactic’’.

The commission will also examine the implications of any decision in this matter on existing SCs, and the changes they go through on converting to other religions in terms of customs, traditions, social and other discrimination, and deprivation.

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The Social Justice Ministry said “certain groups’’ have raised the question of revisiting the “existing definition of Scheduled Castes by according the status to new persons who belong to other religions beyond those permitted through Presidential Orders”.

The Ministry said that whereas there is a demand for inclusion by certain sections, representatives of existing Scheduled Castes have “objected to such granting of Scheduled Caste status to new persons’’.

“…this is a seminal and historically complex sociological and constitutional question, and a definite matter of public importance… given its importance, sensitivity and potential impact, any change in definition in this regard should be on the basis of a detailed and definitive study and extensive consultation with all stakeholders,” the notification said. “…no commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952…has so far inquired into the matter,’’ it said.

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Opposing the move, NCDC president Vijay George said, “This is a delaying tactic by the Government, which clearly does not want to see a conclusion to this case. What was the need for another commission when there have been numerous commissions and committees in the past that have submitted reports to the Government, including the Ranganath Misra commission that ruled in favour of awarding such status. When Buddhists and Sikhs were accorded SC status, there were no commissions. This move is politically motivated and discriminatory on the basis of caste and religion.”

Echoing the NCDC’s opinion, All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz founder and former Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, Ali Anwar Ansari, accused the Government of delaying the decision “so that it can get past the 2024 elections’’ without having to make a commitment on the issue.

Incidentally, over the past year, the BJP has made concerted efforts to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims. “But we had made it very clear to them that our support rests on the resolution of two issues. The first is that mob lynching, cow vigilantism and atrocities, where Pasmanda Muslims face the brunt, should be stopped immediately. The second issue was that of awarding SC status. I will be rallying the community over the coming week,’’ Ansari said.

National Dalit Christian Watch governing board member Richard Devadoss said Dalits who have converted to Christianity and Islam still face discrimination and atrocities. “While we continue to be treated as Dalits and face untouchability, we do not get the advantages of reservation and do not have the protection afforded by the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” he said.

However, National Commission for SCs chairperson Vijay Sampla said it is not possible to make new inclusions in the SC list without a fresh study. “We need to see the parameters for reservation of these communities. We need to verify if they indeed face the discrimination that they claim to face,’’ he said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 03:20:25 pm

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BSF jawan injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh

The incident occurred between 9 am and 10 am on Koyalibeda-Panidobir Road under Koyalibeda police station limits when a team of BSF personnel was evacuating an ailing colleague for treatment, a senior official said.

By: PTI

Kanker | October 7, 2022 2:09:42 pm

According to the police the blast is suspected to have been triggered by Naxalites, in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh

A jawan of the Border Security Force (BSF) was injured on Friday in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast, suspected to have been triggered by Naxalites, in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, police said.

The incident occurred between 9 am and 10 am on Koyalibeda-Panidobir Road under Koyalibeda police station limits when a team of BSF personnel was evacuating an ailing colleague for treatment, a senior official here said.

“The jawans, who were on motorcycles, were on their way back to Koyalibeda camp after picking up the ailing jawan from Panidobir camp. When it reached near Markanar village, the explosion happened leaving a jawan injured,” he said.

The injured jawan was shifted to a local hospital, he said, adding that his condition was stated to be out of danger.

Subsequently, security forces recovered two live IEDs from the area and a search operation is still underway, he said.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is on a day-long visit to the Bastar division in the state, is scheduled to inaugurate a minor crop processing and value addition unit in Charama area of Kanker district on Friday.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 02:09:42 pm

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UP: Two arrested in connection with suicide of gang-rape victim

Among the two arrested is the girl's aunt, while the other has been identified as Arshad, the police official added.

By: PTI

Ambedkarnagar (up) | October 7, 2022 2:06:16 pm

The police official said efforts were on to nab two persons who had allegedly raped her. (File)

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the suicide of a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-raped, a police official said on Friday.

The Malipur police station SHO has been sent to Police Lines and the investigating officer suspended for alleged laxity, the official added on condition of anonymity.

Among the two arrested is the girl’s aunt, while the other has been identified as Arshad, the police official added.

The official, however, did not provide details on the role the duo played in the minor’s suicide.

The police official said efforts were on to nab two persons who had allegedly raped her.

In a statement issued on October 5, Ambedkarnagar Police had said, “On September 16, the girl left for her school from her village at around 7.00 am and did not return. Subsequently, a case was registered at Malipur police station under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code). On September 17, the girl came back to her house, following which her medical examination was done, and her statement taken.

“Based on the statement, it was confirmed that she was raped by two unknown persons. A case has been registered against them under 376D (gangrape) of the IPC and (provisions of the) POCSO Act.” The minor allegedly killed herself on October 5, the police said, adding that the body was sent for post mortem.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 02:06:16 pm

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Tharoor releases poll manifesto, pitches for limiting state chiefs’ term

Denying rumours that he may opt out of the presidential race due to meagre support, Tharoor said he was very much in the fray and has been receiving support from various quarters.

By: PTI

Chennai | Updated: October 7, 2022 12:56:00 pm

The manifesto focuses on the need for the Congress to return to the ethos of social work, Tharoor added. (Twitter/@ShashiTharoor)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has favoured limiting the term of office for state presidents in the party and called for Congress to be revived and re-energised to take on BJP in the 2024 general elections.

Denying rumours that he may opt out of the presidential race due to meagre support, Tharoor said he was very much in the fray and has been receiving support from various quarters.

“My message is revive the party, re-energise it, empower workers, decentralise authority and be in touch with the people. This, I believe will make Congress politically fit to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the 2024 general election,” Tharoor said during his interaction on Thursday with media persons at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters.

Stating that he has respect and great regards for party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, Tharoor said the contest was friendly based on different approaches to face the BJP and not ideological, as both hailed from the same party.

“We need to reform the way our party functions. We need to bring young people in the party and give them real authority. At the same time, we should give greater respect to hardworking and long-serving karyakartas,” he said releasing his poll manifesto.

Decentralising powers, strengthening party at the booth level, utilising general secretaries for nation building activities while dispensing their services as state in-charges, and trusting state presidents by giving them a free hand in decision making besides limiting their term of office, are among the 10 points highlighted in the manifesto.

“We need to reiterate the core convictions of the Congress. We are the party of inclusive India, a party that believes in equal rights and is against oppression. This is the idea we stood and fought for and we must reiterate it,” he said.

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If elected as president, he has promised to revive certain institutions like the parliamentary board.

The manifesto focuses on the need for the Congress to return to the ethos of social work, Tharoor added.

“The party is not a machine to fight elections once in five years, but it should live along with and serve the people… we should connect with the people and work with them,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

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Popular connect with people is fundamental and this was being illustrated by the successful Bharat Jodo Yatra of party leader Rahul Gandhi, he said.

Tharoor also said he was getting enormous amount of feedback from ordinary party workers, especially the youngsters.

He said it was very gratifying for him that the youth who are the future and also the majority in our country, back him in the polls. Those aged 35 years and below account for 65 per cent of our population. “It is their country, this is a young India,” he said.

“I want Congress to be the party of young India. I want to represent the aspirations, dreams and hopes of young India, just as (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi attempted to do 40 years ago and succeeded in his initiation of telecom and IT revolution. We too have to now move forward to seize the opportunity available to young India. I am very happy to have the support of the young people,” he said.

Responding to a question, Tharoor replied that the party has a successful alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu and it enjoyed good ties with the state government.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 12:46:31 pm

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Woman set on fire in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, 1 held

According to SDPO Shivender Thakur, "A local man, who wanted to marry the victim, had entered her home on Friday morning, poured petrol on her when she was asleep, and set her ablaze."

By: PTI

Dumka | October 7, 2022 12:26:17 pm

This comes weeks after another minor girl in the district was set on fire allegedly by a man for spurning his advances. The girl died days later.

A 22-year-old woman was set ablaze in Jharkhand’s Dumka district early on Friday allegedly by a man whose marriage proposal she had rejected, a police officer said.

The woman, a resident of Bhalki village in Jarmundi area, was rushed to a local hospital by family members, the officer said.

The accused, already married, has been arrested, Shivender Thakur, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Jarmundi, told news agency PTI.

This comes weeks after another minor girl in the district was set on fire allegedly by a man for spurning his advances. The girl died days later.

According to Thakur, “A local man, who wanted to marry the victim, had entered her home on Friday morning, poured petrol on her when she was asleep, and set her ablaze.”

“She was rushed to Phulo Jhano Medical College and Hospital by family members, and doctors later referred her to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).” Last month, a 14-year-old tribal girl was found hanging from a tree in Dumka, with her mother claiming that she was raped and killed.

The two incidents in Dumka involving minor girls are currently being probed by various bodies including National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Women (NCW).

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 12:26:17 pm

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153 HC judges appointed this year, more appointments in higher judiciary likely

Six additional judges were appointed to the Bombay High Court on Thursday.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 11:17:05 am

The government is also set to initiate the process of appointing the next CJI, most likely this week or early next week. (Representational/File)

A total of 153 judges have been appointed to the various high courts in this calendar year so far, with sources hinting at more appointments to the higher judiciary in the coming days.

Six additional judges were appointed to the Bombay High Court on Thursday.

It is learnt that the government is also set to take a call on the elevation of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta to the top court shortly.

If he is appointed to the apex court, its working strength will go up to 30. The sanctioned strength of the top court is 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

The government is also set to initiate the process of appointing the next CJI, most likely this week or early next week.

As part of the procedure, the Union law minister writes to the CJI to name his or her successor.

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit retires as the CJI on November 8. Justice D Y Chandrachud is the senior-most judge after the CJI.

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According to practice, the CJI names the senior-most judge as his or her successor. Going by the established practice and convention, Justice Chandrachud will be the 50th CJI.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:17:05 am

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Uttarkashi avalanche: 3 more bodies recovered, toll climbs to 19

Two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters took off from Harsil in Uttarakhand to help in the search operations, officials said.

By: PTI

Uttarkashi | October 7, 2022 10:34:55 am

Army, IAF, NIM, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, High Altitude Warfare School (Jammu and Kashmir) and State Disaster Response Force along with the district administration are conducting the search operations. (Twitter/ANI)

Three more bodies were recovered from the site of an avalanche here, taking the death toll to 19, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said on Friday.

Two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters took off from Harsil in Uttarakhand to help in the search operations, officials said.

The avalanche occurred at a height of 17,000 feet on Tuesday when a team of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was returning after summiting Draupadi Ka Danda II peak.

Uttarkashi avalanche | Rescue operations delayed for Draupadi’s Danda-2 peak with currently prevailing bad weather conditions pic.twitter.com/YIgLXPWnho

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) October 7, 2022

Three more bodies were recovered from the avalanche site late on Thursday evening, taking the total number of bodies retrieved so far to 19, the NIM said.

While 17 of these bodies are of trainee mountaineers, two are of their instructors, it said.

According to the NIM, 10 trainees are still missing.

Army, IAF, NIM, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, High Altitude Warfare School (Jammu and Kashmir) and State Disaster Response Force along with the district administration are conducting the search operations that were launched hours after the avalanche struck on Tuesday.

The mountaineers who went missing after the avalanche were part of a team selected by the NIM for an advanced training course.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:34:55 am

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Governance focus has shifted outside Delhi, adopt holistic approach: PM Modi to new IAS officers

Addressing officers of the 2020 batch in the concluding session of the Assistant Secretary Programme, 2022, Modi said on Thursday that they have the opportunity to serve the country during the 'Amrit Kaal' and help realise the 'Panch Pran'.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 10:25:14 am

Speaking about MGNREGA, Modi highlighted the requirement of implementing the scheme in a more effective manner. (File photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked IAS officers to adopt out of the box thinking and a holistic approach in their work, while noting that the focus of governance has shifted outside Delhi to all regions of the country.

Addressing officers of the 2020 batch in the concluding session of the Assistant Secretary Programme, 2022, Modi said on Thursday that they have the opportunity to serve the country during the ‘Amrit Kaal’ and help realise the ‘Panch Pran’.

They have a key role in ensuring that the target of a developed India is achieved in the ‘Amrit Kaal’, he said.

The prime minister has termed the period in the run up to the 100th anniversary of India’s Independence in 2047 as ‘Amrit Kaal’ and had spelt out ‘Panch Pran’ (five pledges) for the duration, including making India a developed country.

In his address, Modi discussed the importance of innovation and how it has become a collective effort and part of work culture in the country, according to a statement.

He noted that the number of startups in the country has witnessed a significant jump in the last few years, and that it has been made possible due to several ministries working as a team through a “whole of government” approach.

Asserting that the focus of the governance has shifted outside Delhi, he gave examples of several important schemes being launched from places outside the national capital.

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He suggested that officers develop an understanding of the local culture of the area of work and strengthen their connection with local people at the ground level.

The prime minister asked them to focus on “One District One Product” and explore the opportunities of exporting products of their district.

He also asked the officers to prepare their action plan for the aspirational districts programme.

Speaking about MGNREGA, Modi highlighted the requirement of implementing the scheme in a more effective manner. He also underlined about the significance of people’s participation and said that this approach can play a key role in tackling malnutrition.

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Highlighting the success of the Jan Dhan Yojana, he talked about the importance of digital economy and exhorted the officers to try to connect people across villages with digital economy and UPI.

Underscoring the importance of service to the nation, he stressed on the significance of performing one’s duties, adding that the mindset of ‘Rajpath’ has now changed to the sentiments of ‘Kartavya Path’, a reference to the change in the name of a key avenue in the Central Vista.

The statement said eight presentations were made by these assistant secretaries to the prime minister, including on the tool for improved monitoring of nutrition campaign, enabling multi-lingual voice based digital access through ‘Bhashini’ and corporate data management among others.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:25:14 am

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Name your successor, Law Minister writes to CJI; window for Collegium he heads closing

If recommended as per procedure, Justice Chandrachud, most senior SC judge, will have a two-year term

Written by Apurva Vishwanath

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:37:50 am

Chief Justice of India UU Lalit. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)

With a month left for the retirement of Chief Justice of India U U Lalit on November 8, the government Friday initiated the process for the appointment of the next CJI, asking the incumbent to recommend his successor.

Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju has written to CJI Lalit, seeking his views on appointing the next CJI.

“As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, today the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor,” the Union Ministry for Law and Justice said.

As per the Memorandum of Procedure governing the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, “appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office”.

Justice D Y Chandrachud is the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court. If appointed, he will have a tenure of two years until November 10, 2024.

As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, today the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor.

— Ministry of Law and Justice (@MLJ_GoI) October 7, 2022

The MoP stipulates that the Law Minister would, at an “appropriate time,” seek the recommendation of the outgoing CJI for the appointment of the next CJI. Under this process, after receipt of the recommendation of the CJI, the Law Minister puts it before the Prime Minister who advises the President in the matter of appointment.

This process is conventionally done a month before the retirement of the incumbent CJI.

After the recommendation process, once a new CJI is designated, as per convention, the Collegium headed by the outgoing CJI also freezes.

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The Supreme Court will reconvene on October 10 after its Dussehra vacation – it is likely the last opportunity for the CJI Lalit-led Collegium to make recommendations.

Currently, there is division within the five-member Collegium over the CJI’s proposal to recommend four new judges to the Supreme Court through “circulation” or a written note.

Other than the CJI, the four Collegium members are Justices Chandrachud, S K Kaul, S Abdul Nazeer and K M Joseph.

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While one member of the Collegium has agreed with the CJI’s proposal, two judges have opposed the idea, saying the process of “holding a Collegium meeting by circulation” instead of face-to-face deliberations is unheard of and they cannot be a party to it.

The Indian Express has learnt that the fifth member has now written, supporting the CJI’s proposal to recommend the four new judges through a written note instead of a formal meeting.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:14:52 am

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Govt sets up tribunal to adjudicate PFI’s ban justified or not

The PFI and its associates were banned by the government for five years under the UAPA on September 28, accusing them of having "links" with global terror groups like the ISIS.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 9:58:03 am

The PFI was accused of multiple cases of violent protests in different parts of the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), alleged forced conversions, radicalisation of Muslim youths, money laundering and maintaining links with banned groups. (File)

The Centre has set up a tribunal comprising Delhi High Court judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma to adjudicate whether sufficient grounds were available for declaring the Popular Front of India (PFI) and eight associate groups as unlawful.

The Union home ministry issued a notification on Thursday announcing the formation of the tribunal.

“The Central Government hereby constitutes an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal consisting of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, High Court of Delhi, for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Popular Front of India and its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as unlawful association,” the notification said.

Earlier, the Department of Justice in the Ministry of Law had sent a communication conveying that Justice Sharma will head the tribunal.

Once an organisation is banned under the UAPA, a tribunal is set up by the government to adjudicate whether there is sufficient ground for the decision.

According to the procedure, the home ministry requests the law ministry to name a sitting judge of high court as presiding officer of the tribunal.

The law minister then requests the chief justice of the high court concerned to recommend a judge to head the tribunal.

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The PFI and its associates were banned by the government for five years under the UAPA on September 28, accusing them of having “links” with global terror groups like the ISIS.

Ban on these organisations followed a number of actions against them including seizure of properties, freezing of bank accounts and complete prohibition of normal activities.

The PFI was accused of multiple cases of violent protests in different parts of the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), alleged forced conversions, radicalisation of Muslim youths, money laundering and maintaining links with banned groups.

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It was also accused of cold-blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing the other faiths, collection of explosives to target prominent people and places, support to Islamic State, and destruction of public property.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 09:58:03 am

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Express Network

- Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry to hold textile trade fair in Dhaka next year

- Submitted complaints, was not heard: Father of UP gangrape victim who ended her life

- In Madhya Pradesh, 2 Cong MLAs booked for harassing woman travelling with her baby on train

- J&K to have uniform academic calendar in all schools

Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry to hold textile trade fair in Dhaka next year

Confirming this, SGCCI president Himanshu Bodawala said that the purpose of organising the textile event in Dhaka is that there is ample opportunity in the textile sector in Bangladesh.

By: Express News Service

Surat | October 8, 2022 2:29:55 am

The SGCCI expects a footfall of 20,000 including garment exporters, manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, fashion designers and textile businessmen, for the exhibition. (File Photo)

The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) will organise “Indian Textile Trade fair”, an exhibition cum fair, in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka from January 11 to 14 next year.

Confirming this, SGCCI president Himanshu Bodawala said that the purpose of organising the textile event in Dhaka is that there is ample opportunity in the textile sector in Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh imports textile fabrics from different countires. Surat can be a part this textile fabrics supply. Major imports of textile fabrics is China, but Bangladesh is searching for other opportunities,” Bodawala said.

The SGCCI expects a footfall of 20,000 including garment exporters, manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, fashion designers and textile businessmen, for the exhibition.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 02:29:55 am

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Submitted complaints, was not heard: Father of UP gangrape victim who ended her life

More than a fortnight after she was allegedly abducted and gangraped, the girl died by suicide on Wednesday. Police on Friday said they have arrested the two men who allegedly raped the girl at a Lucknow hotel.

Written by Asad Rehman

Ambedkar Nagar | October 8, 2022 2:12:41 am

The victim’s father alleged that he met Ambedkar Nagar Superintendent of Police Ajit Kumar Sinha on September 29 with his complaint, but was not given a hearing.

“HUMNE KISI adhikari ko nahi chhoda… Yahaan se Lucknow tak main kisi ko nahi chhoda hoon. Maine logon se karza le kar beti ko adhikariyon se milwaya. Lekin humari sunwai kahin nahi hui (I have not left out any official. From here to Lucknow, I have not left out meeting any official. I had to borrow money from people to travel and meet officials. But I was not heard by anyone),” says the father of a 13-year-old girl who died by suicide in Ambedkar Nagar district over alleged inaction by police despite multiple complaints that she was gangraped by two men at a hotel in Lucknow. The father shows copies of complaints that he submitted to different officials in Lucknow and Ambedkar Nagar.

More than a fortnight after she was allegedly abducted and gangraped, the girl died by suicide on Wednesday. Police on Friday said they have arrested the two men who allegedly raped the girl at a Lucknow hotel. While one of them lives in another village in Ambedkar Nagar district, the other is from Lakhimpur Kheri district.

The victim’s father alleged that he met Ambedkar Nagar Superintendent of Police Ajit Kumar Sinha on September 29 with his complaint, but was not given a hearing. Asked about the allegation levelled by the father of the victim, Sinha said, “This is not true. I had told the father that whatever is right in the matter will come out. I had told him that because the complaint is against unidentified people, the girl needed to be questioned.”

With her family alleging that she took the step due to alleged police inaction in the gangrape investigation, the district police administration had on Thursday removed the in-charge (SHO) of the police station concerned and suspended the investigating officer for alleged dereliction of duty.

“I had also submitted a complaint to the District Magistrate. I had also gone to meet the CM in Lucknow, but couldn’t meet him and submitted a complaint with an official there,” said the father.

Lucknow News

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Police arrested two persons – the girl’s aunt and a 35-year-old man – Thursday after the girl died by suicide Wednesday. The first arrests happened weeks later despite the family naming the two accused in their complaint on September 18. “They made the arrests after she took the extreme step. Before that, no action was taken,” says the father. The girl was allegedly kidnapped by two persons when she was on her way to school on September 16. Two days later, she returned home and said she had managed to escape from her captors in Lucknow.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 02:12:41 am

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In Madhya Pradesh, 2 Cong MLAs booked for harassing woman travelling with her baby on train

The accused MLAs were identified as Sidharth Kushwaha (Satna) and Suneel Saraf (Kotma) who were booked by the GRP under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (use of assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) at Sagar station.

Written by Iram Siddique

Bhopal | October 8, 2022 1:59:50 am

Saraf said they were sleeping when around 3am, two cops came and informed them that they have been accused of harassing a woman.

Two Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh were booked by the Government Railway Police (GRP) allegedly for sexually harassing a woman while travelling in the Rewa-Habibganj Rewanchal Express train on Thursday night.

The accused MLAs were identified as Sidharth Kushwaha (Satna) and Suneel Saraf (Kotma) who were booked by the GRP under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (use of assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) at Sagar station. The incident came to light after the woman, who was travelling with her infant, shared her ordeal with her husband, who in turn sought “help” on Twitter after which the GRP reached the woman at Sagar.

In his tweet, the woman’s husband stated, “My wife is travelling with my newborn baby. The other two persons are drunk and have started abusing. You [GRP] are requested to rush there immediately.” According to Sagar GRP in-charge PK Ahirwar, they were informed by the control room that a woman in a particular coach needed help. “We deputed three personnel…they travelled with her up to Bhopal and recorded her statement, based on which an FIR under Section 354 of the IPC was registered at Sagar against the Congress MLAs,” Ahirwar said.

The woman in her statement to the police said: “While I was asleep with my baby… the two Congress MLAs, too, were in the same coach. They were drunk and abusive. As I was asleep, they woke me up and tapped on my shoulder, seeking to know if I had eaten my dinner.” She further said the two didn’t pay any heed to her requests to behave. It was only after the police reached that she could change the coach. Even as she was leaving, the woman alleged, Kotma MLA Saraf stopped her and asked why she was leaving and “if there was any problem?”

Saraf termed the complaint baseless, saying, “I boarded the train from Katni and bumped into Khushwaha by chance. There were four people in the coach, the two of us [MLAs], the woman and another passenger who was asleep on an upper berth. When I entered the coach at Katni and tried to turn on light, the woman was against it as the child was asleep. We [MLAs] had dinner and stepped out to wash our hands.” He said when they [MLAs] were returning to the coach, they saw the woman moving out. “We reached our berths and were more comfortable as she was the only woman in coach.”

Saraf said they were sleeping when around 3am, two cops came and informed them that they have been accused of harassing a woman. “We [MLAs] were shocked. The police clicked our pictures and left.” The two legislators subsequently learnt of the tweets put out by the woman’s husband.

Saraf said the “woman’s husband has accused Sidharth of harassing her, while her complaint accuses me of the same”. “Both stories are not consistent. We are public representatives, how can we afford to behave in such a manner… in an AC coach of a train… there was a fourth passenger in the coach, who, too, was equally shocked when the police reached alleging harassment.”

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 01:59:50 am

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J&K to have uniform academic calendar in all schools

This also affects admissions from the next session as the government in its order clarified that admissions to new sessions will begin in the month of March starting next year.

By: Express News Service

Srinagar | October 7, 2022 11:51:45 pm

The move primarily affects academic session in Kashmir since Jammu already adheres to a March session, barring some areas of the Pir Panjal region. (File Photo)

TO STREAMLINE the academic calendar in schools with the rest of the country, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday ordered that the annual examinations for classes up to the class 9 will be held in March-April. The academic calendar in Kashmir until now adhered to an October-November session, allowing for an extended winter break.

In his order issued on Friday, Principal Secretary to the J&K Government, School Education Department, Alok Kumar, said, “Sanction is hereby accorded to the implementation of Uniform Academic Calendar including conduct of annual examinations in March-April session for classes up to 9th.” The order applies to all government and government recognised private schools in the Union Territory.

This also affects admissions from the next session as the government in its order clarified that admissions to new sessions will begin in the month of March starting next year.

The move primarily affects academic session in Kashmir since Jammu already adheres to a March session, barring some areas of the Pir Panjal region.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:51:45 pm

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Delhi Confidential

- Delhi Confidential: In goodwill gesture, Rajnath goes to visit Mulayam in hospital

Delhi Confidential: In goodwill gesture, Rajnath goes to visit Mulayam in hospital

On Friday evening,Rajnath Singh went to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram to visit ailing Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was once defence minister.

By: Express News Service

Updated: October 8, 2022 7:44:04 am

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives to enquire about the health condition of former union minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, at Medanta hospital in Gurugram, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav is also seen. (PTI Photo)

At a time relations between the government and Opposition parties are not very cordial, there was a goodwill gesture from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. On Friday evening, he went to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram to visit ailing Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was once defence minister.

Rajnath, also a former CM of Uttar Pradesh, could not meet Mulayam. But he spent over 30 minutes speaking with Mulayam’s son and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav and doctors. Earlier, Rajnath had spoken with Akhilesh over the phone to enquire about Mulayam.

Change Of Mind

He was among the 50-odd leaders who had signed Shashi Tharoor’s nomination papers. Praveen Davar, a former functionary of the AICC’s ex-serviceman department, however, sprang a surprise Friday by favouring a consensus approach instead of an election. In a tweet, he argued that it may be a good idea if some senior leader or leaders seek a consensus the way K Kamaraj did in 1964 and 1967. He added that it is “never too late”. Davar’s comments came a day after the Tharoor camp complained to the party’s central election authority that some of his proposers are being “pressured and intimidated” to change their stance.

Surprise Venue

NITI Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer is hosting an informal interactive afternoon over lunch for all the flexi pool/consultants and young professionals working in the government’s think tank, on Saturday. It is learnt that one of the objectives of the event is to introduce the staff to the Aayog’s “priority projects”. The event will be hosted at the University of Chicago Center in New Delhi. However, the choice of the venue has surprised many, as the NITI Aayog building has well-equipped meeting places, including a big committee room where even the Prime Minister has chaired meetings in the past.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 01:04:41 am

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Op-Ed

- Arvind Kejriwal’s retort at Delhi L-G stands out in grim and humourless times

- Nobel Prize for literature: Annie Ernaux turned the art of the memoir into a political act of record and rebellion

- Accounting for subsidies: Let’s build on the ‘revdi’ debate

- The challenging task of recovery amid a slowing global economy

- Looking past propaganda: Why India’s minority groups are not in danger

- Protests at Vizhinjam Port raise deeper questions about the future of fisherfolk

- There are no poor people, only people in poor places

- Say no to alcohol: The case for abstinence

- What the success of Vikram Vedha says about the failure of the multiplex

- A Russian response: On Ukraine, India is on the right side of history — it is guided by national interest, not western propaganda

- Why Russia isn’t the villain of the war

Arvind Kejriwal’s retort at Delhi L-G stands out in grim and humourless times

Not so long ago, wit and the lighter moment weren't quite so rare in politics. Now, social media makes one-way communication more possible. Perhaps that's why there is less conversation – and less laughter

By: Editorial

October 8, 2022 4:35:10 am

Kejriwal was uncharacteristically silent after an irate Saxena wrote to him demanding an explanation for his absence at Rajghat on Gandhi Jayanti.

Descriptions of Indian politics rely on metaphors that are usually violent. There’s “poaching of leaders”, “battleground x” (where x is a state going to polls), and even the “cut and thrust of debate” in the legislature. As politics becomes more and more polarised, the political conversation is turning increasingly vitriolic. Parliament, the putative centre of debate and dissent, is either stifling disagreement and discussion or being held up by disruptions, depending on which side of the fence you stand. What is missing in all this — whether from the high-minded pulpit or the shrill attacks on TV channels — is a bit of humour. In such a setting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s jibe at L-G V K Saxena is striking.

Kejriwal was uncharacteristically silent after an irate Saxena wrote to him demanding an explanation for his absence at Rajghat on Gandhi Jayanti. When he did finally respond via Twitter, Kejriwal asked the L-G to “chill”, saying that “my wife doesn’t scold me as much as L-G sahib does every day”. This light moment, the well-timed display of wit, is a breath of fresh air, not just because Kejriwal usually sounds heavy-footed and self-righteous as he paints contrived oppositions between “us”, the AAP vs “them” the political class. More importantly, in these grim times, it is a rare instance of someone in high office wearing power lightly.

Not so long ago, wit and the lighter moment weren’t quite so rare. Parliament, in particular, was a place for poking gentle fun at colleagues who were adversaries but never enemies. Election rallies were about a more relatable oratory, and the ability to make a huge crowd chuckle along was a much sought-after skill. Now, of course, social media and the democratisation of the audio-visual medium make one-way communication more possible. Perhaps that’s why there is less conversation — and less laughter.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:35:10 am

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Nobel Prize for literature: Annie Ernaux turned the art of the memoir into a political act of record and rebellion

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Nobel Prize for literature: Annie Ernaux turned the art of the memoir into a political act of record and rebellion

Ernaux’s triumph lies in exhorting her readers towards a moment of collective lucidity to the circumstances of their own experiences to find out where they come from and what makes them who they are

By: Editorial

October 8, 2022 4:30:12 am

The memoir that Ernaux writes, however, is quite unlike the mellow reminiscences of a fulfilled life.

Turning the odds against the bookies yet again, this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature recipient is the French memoirist Annie Ernaux, whose visceral exploration of the self and its potential implications on social and political life has long made her a champion of, what French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted after her win, “the collective and intimate memory” of France. Yet, Ernaux, 82, does not speak only for her nation. In recent years, with the availability of translations of her most well-known works, she has been “discovered” with equal felicity in the English-speaking world, a testament to the universality of the feminine experience and the popularity of memoir as a genre.

The memoir that Ernaux writes, however, is quite unlike the mellow reminiscences of a fulfilled life. The Nobel citation lauds Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”. Stripped of all poetry, her prose is spare and journalistic, leached of emotional excess, examining from the vantage point of hindsight the events that had shaped her — her hardscrabble early life in a Normandy town; the fire in her belly to be more; her relationships with her parents, husband and lovers; the acute sense of ignominy and inadequacy induced by gender and class barriers, and the inevitable scuffle with age and ailments. Quite early in her literary career, Ernaux had abandoned the seductive allure of fiction, choosing instead the shifting sands of truth. Potently aware of the infidelity of memory, Ernaux embraced the rigours of an ethnographer as she went about deconstructing her past in works as profound as A Man’s Place (1983), A Woman’s Story (1987) or Shame (1996), eventually abandoning the subjective “I” in her 2019 International Booker Prize-shortlisted and much feted, The Years, for the third-person collective of “she”. In the process, over a career spanning well over five decades, Ernaux would turn the art of the memoir into a political act of record and rebellion, that married a sociologist’s curiosity with an archaeologist’s diligence.

There is a reason why the real lives of people at a particular place during a particular period make for interesting reading. It allows the reader to go into the murky depths of messy lives and find succour. It offers healing and hope, but also an awareness of history and one’s place in its ranks. Ernaux’s triumph lies in exhorting her readers towards this moment of collective lucidity to the circumstances of their own experiences to find out where they come from and what makes them who they are.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:30:12 am

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Accounting for subsidies: Let’s build on the ‘revdi’ debate

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Accounting for subsidies: Let’s build on the ‘revdi’ debate

A fiscal council can help the government streamline disbursement of freebies

Written by Nitya Chutani

Updated: October 8, 2022 8:54:05 am

Regardless of which one gets classified as good or bad, freebies are simply expenditures or foregone revenues. (Illustration by C R Sasikumar)

The debate that began with an RBI 2022 report on state finances followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment on “revdi culture” aka freebies, has garnered substantial attention — so much so that the Supreme Court is hearing on this issue. In a country where millions of people were only a pandemic away from being pushed back into poverty, freebies have now assumed more importance than ever.

Freebies could be defined as non-merit subsidies. Subsidies are money transfers (implicit or explicit) by the government in an attempt to drive prices artificially below market prices. As a National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) study by Sudipto Mundle and Satadru Sirkar puts it, budget subsidies, in particular, are defined as the unrecovered cost of economic and social services. However, all subsidies cannot be easily classified into merit or non-merit.

It could be said that providing freebies empowers the state to, first, deliver welfare as a welfare state should, by providing subsidised merit goods like health and education; second, to help households combat poverty (especially in economically stressed times characterised by fewer job opportunities, lower incomes, high inflation, etc.) by providing subsidised public goods like food, electricity, etc.; and third, to appeal to the electorate (through outright populist spending).

The boundaries between the aforementioned objectives begin to blur when it comes to classifying one form of freebie as a merit or a non-merit subsidy. For example, are corporate tax cuts non-merit subsidies or a measure to boost investment? Is making bus rides free for women in the national capital a non-merit subsidy or a way to boost women’s mobility and labour-force participation? In a similar tone, are free laptops to students in Tamil Nadu not a way to bridge the digital divide in education? The existing arguments develop an understanding that freebies cannot be defined in a finite context, and that the definition varies across space and economic conditions.

Regardless of which one gets classified as good or bad, freebies are simply expenditures or foregone revenues. Either way, they lead to an increase in fiscal deficit whose financing could necessitate taking on debt. The targeting of beneficiaries to ease the burden on the exchequer is one way to check these expenditures but lack of data has forced a situation wherein leakages and duplication of beneficiaries is commonplace.

Going ahead, any freebie-induced debt burden could have an adverse effect on the state finances if, one, it hasn’t been properly accounted for through transparent budgeting procedures (including off-budget borrowings in debt calculations), and two, it threatens fiscal sustainability, ie, it limits the state’s ability to service its debt-related commitments without making an unrealistic fiscal adjustment.

That said, in the absence of adequate avenues of revenue mobilisation, any fiscal adjustment achieved by contracting critical expenditures on the social sector and capital formation further jeopardises long-term growth and development. The emanating risk of fiscal sustainability means a “revdi” today would take a toll on tomorrow’s generation.

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A solution to this problem lies in setting up an independent fiscal council that has been recommended by the FRBM Review Committee (2017), and recently constituted Finance Commissions too, including the 15th Finance Commission. Incidentally, the FRBM panel and 15th FC were both headed by N K Singh. The FRBM report says, “the council will serve both an ex-ante role — providing independent forecasts on key macro variables like real and nominal GDP growth, tax buoyancy, commodity prices — as well as an ex-post monitoring role, and also serve as the institution to advise on triggering the escape clause and also specify a path of return.”

Such a council should work for the union as well as the states. Furthermore, such monitoring of finances and fiscal rules could also help ensure that states comply with a medium-term fiscal policy framework, which has been long argued for by economists. For the above reasons, it is imperative to fill the widely recognised institutional void.

In summary, freebies cannot be defined easily, and constitutionally, any state government should be empowered to spend the way it wants, provided the fiscal policy is sustainable. Such a debate, therefore, warrants undertaking strategic measures via strengthening fiscal guidance through an institution like a fiscal council. That will enable the state to make informed economic decisions whilst attending to key development objectives.

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The writer is a PhD Economics candidate at JNU and a researcher on a project at NIPFP. Views are personal

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:20:12 am

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The challenging task of recovery amid a slowing global economy

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The challenging task of recovery amid a slowing global economy

With already stretched government finances, the possibility of worsening growth prospects, a higher subsidy outgo and uncertainty over revenues, the capacity of public spending to provide a fillip to growth is limited. With the drivers of growth exhibiting weakness, policy-makers will have to carefully weigh their options as they provide support to the economy

By: Editorial

Updated: October 8, 2022 4:18:45 am

On the domestic front, the concern is that even as the economy has recovered to its pre-Covid level, large parts continue to be mired in stress.

With the global economic environment taking a turn for the worse, the outlook for the Indian economy also appears to have dimmed. On Thursday, the World Bank lowered its forecast for India’s economic growth this year to 6.5 per cent, down from its earlier assessment of 7.5 per cent. The downward revision is based on the Bank’s assessment that monetary policy tightening across the world and the spillovers from the Russia-Ukraine war will “weigh on India’s economic outlook”. This revised assessment comes days after the RBI had lowered its own forecast for the country’s growth to 7 per cent, down from its earlier projection of 7.2 per cent. Till now the ruling dispensation had been rather sanguine about the country’s growth prospects — after all, even despite these downward revisions, India is still likely to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world. However, policymakers have now begun to voice concerns over the state of the economy.

On the domestic front, the concern is that even as the economy has recovered to its pre-Covid level, large parts continue to be mired in stress. For instance, micro, small and medium enterprises continue to struggle. An indication of this is that 16.4 per cent of those who availed credit under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme of the government defaulted and have not been able to repay their obligations owing to financial difficulties. Considering that MSMEs employ a sizeable section of the labour force, their continuing struggles are bound to affect labour market prospects. In fact, as per the latest periodic labour force survey, the labour force participation rate in urban areas is lower than pre-Covid levels, while in rural areas, wage growth continues to be subdued indicating labour market slack. And there is still no firm evidence of a broadbased revival in the private investment cycle even though the twin balance sheet problem — an over-leveraged corporate sector and banks saddled with bad loans — that was believed to be holding back investments no longer appears to be an obstacle. In such a scenario, tighter monetary policy is only going to complicate matters further. And with already stretched government finances, the possibility of worsening growth prospects, a higher subsidy outgo and uncertainty over revenues, the capacity of public spending to provide a fillip to growth is limited.

On Wednesday the World Trade Organisation lowered its forecast for global trade volume growth to 1 per cent, down from 3.4 per cent earlier. The effects of a slowing global economy are already being felt. After growing at 22 per cent in April-June, growth has tapered off sharply in the months thereafter. In such an environment, with the drivers of growth exhibiting weakness, policy-makers will have to carefully weigh their options as they provide support to the economy while navigating this tumultuous period.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:17:06 am

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Looking past propaganda: Why India’s minority groups are not in danger

Ram Madhav writes: There is a vested interest in creating the narrative of 'minorities in danger' and besmirching the image of BJP and RSS. Newly emerging Muslim leadership should reject this cacophony and seize an opportunity that is being offered

Written by Ram Madhav

Updated: October 8, 2022 8:54:52 am

Such propaganda, although a PR challenge for Indian embassies abroad, may not have any impact on average Indians. But the gullible among sections of the minority community may still fall for it. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)

India’s first citizen is an “Adivasi” woman from one of the remotest tribal areas in eastern India who succeeded a “Dalit” president. Muslims, Christians and other “minorities” hold high positions in government, judiciary and bureaucracy and are members of Parliament and legislators in states in large numbers. India’s Sikh majority state of Punjab has a Sikh chief minister. Christian majority states like Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya have Christian chief ministers, some in alliance with the BJP. The minority welfare ministries across the country, including in Uttar Pradesh with over 40 million Muslims, are in the hands of Muslim ministers.

In fact, in the last few years, systematic efforts by central and state governments have helped the poor and more discriminated sections within the Muslim community — the Pasmanda or Arzal (Dalit) — to rise in economic, social and political status in the country. Muslim women are the beneficiaries of measures regulating “triple talaq”, a regressive practice continuing in India even as most Islamic countries have rejected it.

Sporadic incidents involving individual members of different communities apart, India has been largely free of communal clashes in the last eight years, a regular occurrence across the country in the past. Even the reprehensible incidents of mob lynching were few and not limited to any one community. If there were Muslim victims, there were Hindu victims too. India’s law and order establishment takes swift action against all culprits.

Yet, a paid advertisement in a prestigious American daily claims that in India “millions of citizens face religious persecution, discrimination and deadly mob violence”. The advertisement, released “on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday”, goes against the central tenet of Gandhism — truth. It is filled with lies and innuendo, and there is no substantiation by facts or data. The newspaper concerned has categorised those blatant lies as an “advertisement”, but it should probably be called an “advertorial”.

A simple fact-check would have prevented the prestigious newspaper from publishing this malice-filled piece. The criminal justice system in India, the law and order machinery, is controlled by the governments of the Indian states, many of the larger ones controlled by the Opposition. Similarly, India’s judiciary is highly reputed for its independent thinking and jurisprudence. Yet the propagandists peddle lies that “Indian judiciary and police are filled with BJP/RSS loyalists”.

The global audience is constantly fed such misinformation largely by groups inimical to India’s democracy and interests. Pakistan-sponsored or Khalistan-inspired groups are conspicuous by their presence. But what lends credibility to such lies is the insidious lending of support by the left-liberal cabal in the West. Salvatore Babones, a respected Australian political sociologist, called these western think tank elites the “true barbarians”. Unable to accept the rejection of their biases by mainstream Indian society, these groups have now shifted their base to the western world and continue their propaganda by firing from the shoulders of groups such as the ones that paid for the advertisement.

Such propaganda, although a PR challenge for Indian embassies abroad, may not have any impact on average Indians. But the gullible among sections of the minority community may still fall for it. Especially when sections of India’s own political establishment, for their own political ends, seek to lend credibility to such a narrative.

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In the latest shocker, Mallikarjun Kharge, the senior Congress leader aspiring to be the next president of the party, has “warned” his partymen that if Modi gets strengthened further, “the rule of sanatan dharma and RSS will come in this country”. From “Hindutva forces”, the Opposition leadership has now gone on to besmirch “sanatan dharma”. Kharge probably doesn’t know that Gandhi always called himself a “sanatani Hindu”. Today’s Gandhis may not have read their own great grandfather Jawahar Lal Nehru who wrote in “Discovery of India” that “Sanatana dharma, meaning the ancient religion, could be applied to any of the ancient Indian faiths (including Buddhism and Jainism)”.

It is a test for the ability of the minorities in general and Muslims in particular to see through the deviousness of this propaganda. There has always been a vested interest in creating the narrative of “minorities in danger”. It was Jinnah who used it to the hilt before Partition. It has now become bread and butter for many a liberal. The newly emerging Muslim leadership in the country should reject this cacophony and seize an opportunity that is being offered.

A large number of Muslim leaders have seen in the RSS an adversary all these years despite its engagement with the community right from the time of Guruji Golwalkar. Today, there is a thaw in the relations between the two. Some prominent members of Muslim civil society have initiated a dialogue with the RSS chief recently, which was followed up by him visiting a madrasa in Delhi.

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Bhagwat has been showing considerable openness in engaging with the Muslim community for quite some time now. His predecessors like Balasaheb Deoras, Rajendra Singh and Sudarshan also did it. This time, Bhagwat’s efforts are more focused. At a Muslim congregation last year, he told the audience that they were not separate from the Hindu community. In his annual Vijayadashami address a few days ago, the RSS chief told the audience that “shakti shanti ke liye” — strength should be for peace.

India is a large country. Its diversity is mind-boggling. It has a centuries-old history of communal strife too. The partition on communal lines was the singularly most harmful political development in the last century that had created a huge gulf between the two communities. The legacy of that communal strife manifests in occasional and sporadic flare-ups. Yet, Indian society has always firmly kept up the ethos of “unity in diversity”. It didn’t allow India to be converted into another version of Pakistan.

Managing “diverse democracies” and preventing them from falling apart is seen as a big challenge by the western world today. Yascha Mounk of Washington’s Council on Foreign Relations called it “The Great Experiment”. But in India, it was not merely an experiment, it has been the lived experience.

The writer is member, board of governors, India Foundation

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:04:55 am

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Protests at Vizhinjam Port raise deeper questions about the future of fisherfolk

Sunny Jose writes: The coast is more than a mere dwelling place for the fisherfolk. It is as much a lived space as well as an occupational space. The state government should not dismiss their concerns

Written by Sunny Jose

Updated: October 8, 2022 8:57:54 am

Fishers and citizens using their fishing boats lay siege to Adani port during their protest against Adani Group's port development project at Vizhinjam, in Thiruvananthapuram. (PTI Photo/File)

The ongoing protest of fisherfolk for the past three months against an upcoming port project in Vizhinjam, Kerala raises two important questions: Why does a political party whose elixir is class mobilisation decry a democratic, non-party mobilisation by a marginalised social group like fisherfolk? What would force the state to pause the construction of a financially unviable port project to conduct a robust, unbiased assessment of its adverse impacts?

On the face of it, it seems strange that the government of a highly literate state has been evasive at best when the not-so-literate fisherfolk demand that a study must be conducted to ascertain whether the project has contributed to intensifying the sea erosion leading to the destruction of habitation and livelihoods in villages close to the port site. On closer inspection, this reluctance is not merely emblematic of an apathetic government, but rather a tectonic shift in the character of a government which claims to be pro-poor.

The controversial deep-water multi-purpose port at Vizhinjam, a thickly populated fishing village 16 km away from Thiruvananthapuram, is touted as a “dream project and a gamechanger for the fortunes of Kerala”. It was announced as a fast-track project in 2009 though actual work began much later. The key advantage of the site is the availability of naturally deep draught and proximity to the East-West shipping channel. The Kerala government gave the contract for the construction and running of the port to Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd., based on the concession agreement, for 40 years to begin with.

The government claims the project has a huge strategic significance and additionally, the potential to contribute to the growth of the state’s economy. The strategic significance of the project notwithstanding, a feasibility analysis carried out in 2015 reveals that the project is not economically viable on a standalone basis even after financial support from the government. The fisherfolk raised their concerns regarding the likely adverse impact of the project on their homesteads and livelihoods at the very beginning. So, what forced them to a protracted protest now? Here, changes to the shoreline as well as the centrality of the beach to their occupation and habitation assume significance.

Thiruvananthapuram district has a coast of 78 km, which serves as a habitat to 42 marine fishing villages housing a population of about 1,73,000 in 2021, with a density of over 4,000 people per village. This shoreline has been undergoing changes — from both erosion and accretion — at regular intervals.

During 1989-2006 (prior to the project), major accretion leading to an increase in beach width had been happening in some villages, whereas significant erosion of 60-120 m was observed in villages located immediately north of Vizhinjam harbour. Several studies confirm this broad beachline dynamics. The latest analysis of shoreline changes up to the year 2020 reaffirms the fact that villages north of Vizhinjam port have been witnessing increased erosion, whereas areas south of it have had accretion. An important requirement for the Vizhinjam port is the reclamation of about 66 ha of coastal waters and the construction of a 3.2-km-long breakwater. A study argues that this large intervention has the potential to cause major shoreline shifts and other morphological changes in the region.

Whether the sea erosion in villages north of Vizhinjam port is a result of construction activities is a matter of investigation. But the undeniable fact is the habitats of more than 330 families have already been destroyed during the past five years. Most of these families have been housed in warehouses and other temporary shelters since then.

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The coast, as Harekrishna Debnath observes, is more than a mere dwelling place for the fisherfolk. It is as much a lived space as well as an occupational space used for landing, selling, salting, smoking, curing or drying of fish and tying up boats and fishing implements and doing maintenance work, among others. For them, the erosion of the shoreline is not merely the disappearance of the land but the loss of a natural space that nurtured their livelihood, habitation and culture. The state simply overlooks this dimension and labels mobilisation that highlights the issue as anti-development. If social mobilisation is anti-development, how can a government run by a political party whose bedrock is nothing but class mobilisation justify its innumerable mobilisations against several projects?

The mobilisation, though triggered by the increasing sea erosion and habitat and livelihood destruction post the harbour project, raises issues which are broader and substantive in scope. In the era of climate change-induced adverse consequences, it cautions the state against designing projects that could potentially undermine and destroy the habitations and livelihoods of fisherfolk, and by doing so deprive their right to a dignified life.

To dismiss the concerns of fisherfolk as empirically unfounded and brand them as anti-development is the easiest, obdurate thing to do. In contrast, ordering a robust, unbiased assessment to better understand the increasing intensity of sea erosion leading to the destruction of the lives of fisherfolk demands statesmanship and openness to course correction, if required. The state government needs to be sensitive to the concerns of a social group that continues to be on the margins of the much-touted Kerala model of development.

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The writer is RBI Chair Professor at Council for Social Development, Hyderabad. Views are personal

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 03:50:51 am

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There are no poor people, only people in poor places

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There are no poor people, only people in poor places

India’s problem is not jobs but wages. Wages will not rise without balanced targeting of policy-induced price distortions. State governments must restore policy balance by combining targeting poor people with transforming poor places

Written by Manish Sabharwal

Updated: October 8, 2022 8:53:16 am

Hyderabad has a higher GDP than Odisha and four times that of J&K. (Representational/File)

Also written by Mohandas Pai

Chile’s recent rejection of a draft utopian constitution — it made free housing the job of government, gave glaciers constitutional rights, legislated digital disconnection, and would have exploded government debt — was an act of considerable civic maturity. The verdict creates optimism about the wisdom of crowds over the madness of mobs. The “Nirvana Fallacy” — a concept that compares existing, pragmatic and second-best solutions to idealistic, imperfect, and unrealistic ones — is a form of perfectionism that led to the economic decisions causing the current pain in Punjab, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Mexico, and Bolivia. We agree that a modern state is a welfare state, but if borrowing for spending could make countries rich, then no country would be poor. State governments must sustainably create high-paying jobs by raising the productivity of five places — three are of them are not geographic.

There are no poor people, only people in poor places. An electrician moving from Kanpur to Bangalore gets three times more salary; on moving from Bangalore to Switzerland, she earns 20 times more. The higher salaries reflect the higher productivity of the electrician’s customers in Bangalore (if every Indian lived in Bangalore, India’s GDP would be more than China’s) and Switzerland (their nine million people produce more GDP than India’s 220 million farmers). The paper Place Premium by Harvard economist Lant Pritchett suggested global wage differences for identical workers are a policy-induced price distortion. Extending his thinking to India, the country’s wage differentials reflect massive productivity differences between five areas — states, cities, sectors, firms, and skills. Let’s dive deeper.

States: In the next decade, more people will die than be born in Karnataka. In the next 20 years, six states in South and West India will account for almost 35 per cent of GDP growth but only 5 per cent of population growth because economic complexity breeds higher wages. Economic complexity is like a game of scrabble — to win, you must make more, and longer words — and the government provides vowels while the private sector offers letters. States that provide more vowels — it’s unviable for employers to provide public goods — will attract more high-paying jobs.

Cities: Hyderabad has a higher GDP than Odisha and four times that of J&K. The 299 remarkable people who wrote our Constitution got many things right, but their mental model of the three pillars of governance — PM, CM, and DM — is no longer fit for purpose. District magistrates — or their horrible synonym collector — are unelected, inexperienced, and unempowered for the complex trade-offs needed to breed well-paying jobs. Cities that blunt the bad urbanisation that creates a divergence between nominal wages (what employers care about) and real wages (what employees care about) will attract high-paying jobs.

Sectors: Software — an oasis of high firm productivity — employs only 0.8 per cent of our labour force but generates 8 per cent of GDP, while agriculture has 42 per cent of our labour force but only generates 16 per cent of GDP. Our large population, colossal farm employment, and self-exploitation pair our fifth total GDP with the 138th per-capita GDP country ranking. China raised its per capita income 80 times in 40 years by moving 700 million people from farm to non-farm employment. States that increase manufacturing and service jobs will have more high-paying jobs; the only way to help farmers is to have fewer of them.

Firms: We fought with our parents, who said, “he has found a good job; he now works for a multinational company,” believing it was racism. But we now recognise that “MNC” was their proxy for the higher wages paid by higher productivity firms with more capital, technology, and meritocracy. The pre-1991 unfair labour market advantage of multinationals no longer exists as Indian firms have raised their game. But the problem persists — our 6.3 crore enterprises only translate to 23,500 companies with a paid-up capital of more than Rs 10 crore, and our largest and smallest manufacturing companies have a 24 times difference in productivity. States that replace deals with rules by reducing regulatory cholesterol will attract high-paying jobs.

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Skills: There are many reasons — fair and unfair — that Indian cricket players have 100 times higher lifetime earnings than hockey players. The wage difference between a good and lousy electrician is five times, but it’s fifty times between a good and bad programmer, CEO, or investor. It is impossible to predict wage premiums, but Grade 12 is the new Grade 8. English fluency is like Windows, an operating system that is a vocational skill. Wages are higher for using minds than muscles. States with high populations of residents with skills in demand will attract more high-paying jobs.

Fixing these five places requires a chief ministerial agenda. Police reforms, or how the rule of law is experienced. Empowered mayors — this pertains to devolution of funds, functions, and functionaries. Fixing government schools — raise their 45 per cent share of enrollment. Creating the supply that will attract demand (providing skills to workers in advance for the manufacturing boom just like South India did for software with its 1980s engineering college deregulation). Agriculture reform — prices and distribution. Uninterrupted power (generators are unaffordable by small employers. Reliable public transport — this helps the environment, women, and youth). Formalisation — state governments generate more than 75 per cent of India’s 67,000 plus compliances, 6,700 plus filings, and 26,410 employer criminal provisions. A rational HR in the Civil Services — don’t punish good performers by promoting bad performers. Digitise: Set a 12-month target for paperless and cashless for all citizen interfaces by leveraging India’s unique stack of digital public goods.

The new book Balance by academic Paul Thagard explores the physiological workings and metaphorical resonance of balance in the brain, the body, and society. He suggests that balance enables solving life’s puzzles by turning signals — or an incongruous comparison— into a coherent whole. India’s problem is not jobs but wages. Wages will not rise without the balanced targeting of the five poor places. State governments must restore policy balance by combining targeting poor people with transforming poor places.

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Manish Sabharwal and Mohandas Pai are co-founders of Teamlease Services and Aarin Capital, respectively

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 03:50:19 am

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Say no to alcohol: The case for abstinence

Nimai M Mehta writes: Rapidly changing demographics and socialisation of alcohol consumption in India requires that each of us take seriously the wider impact of our drinking

Written by Nimai M Mehta

Updated: October 8, 2022 8:56:31 am

The demand for alcohol in India is fuelled by the conspicuous consumption preferences of an aspiring, upwardly mobile middle class. As a result, alcohol is one intoxicant whose consumption by households is being normalised and glamourised to an extent that one does not see with any other drug. (Representational/Express Archives)

“Dr. Chaturvedi, Deputy Director, Tata Memorial Centre, told The Indian Express that they have written several letters to the Health Ministry to bring out an alcohol-related policy. ‘We are not asking for prohibition but there is an urgent need for limiting the consumption of alcohol. Due to peer pressure the age of drinking is coming down and there are children between 14-16 years who are consuming alcohol,” he said.

The Indian Express, Sunday, August 7, 2022

Having celebrated 75 years of Independence, and soon after Gandhi Jayanti, let’s recall the early spark that lit both our fight against an imperial state and our desire for progress through self-control. The temperance movement that began in the 1880s, especially among the lower castes and tribes of India, became an integral part of progressive reforms to address poverty, untouchability, domestic violence, illiteracy, etc. It faced a formidable counterforce — a revenue-maximising state unanswerable to its subject population. The British aggressively encouraged the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol to exploit its revenue potential. Temperance gave our founders an important political platform in their struggle against the state. We have forgotten that Gandhi’s fight was against state power that leverages alcohol to fill its coffers. And we mistakenly associate Gandhi with a state-led, strong-armed policy of prohibition. As Hansa Mehta, a close confidante of Gandhi, made clear in the 1949 Constituent Assembly debates, Gandhi’s objection was to the state having a role in the production and distribution of alcohol. And he did not support the build-up of a police-state to enforce prohibition. The creation of excise and prohibition police were seen as equally corrupting.

Moreover, Gandhi understood a key requirement for any law — it works best when there is the least need to enforce it. Without wide-spread self-regulation by individuals, prohibition would devolve into corrupting attempts at enforcement. A similar point was made by the doyen of modern Indian liberalism, C Rajagopalachari. Rajaji argued that the presence in India of a cultural proclivity for abstinence would make prohibition less corruptible, relative to other countries. The temperance movement, by leveraging these cultural norms, would prepare the ground for more effective state interventions.

These early temperance lessons along with our struggle against an imperial state remain surprisingly relevant today — more so, given current trends in alcohol consumption and the stalling of reforms by state governments addicted to alcohol revenues. Alcohol continues to engender violence against women, inside our homes and on our streets, and preys on our children. It wreaks havoc with the lives of the poorest among us. It is linked with multimorbidity, lower life expectancy, mental impairment, and loss of productivity. As the scientific consensus on the adverse effects of alcohol has strengthened, public health authorities, including the WHO, have issued stronger warnings while walking back on both the idea of a risk-free level of “responsible drinking” and claims of beneficial health effects. These scientific warnings have also become far more concrete in terms of age, gender, and geography. In one of the most comprehensive global studies on alcohol published this year in The Lancet, researchers flag the under-40 age group as most at-risk at any level of consumption, with no offsetting beneficial effects. A 2019 study in Science Direct estimates that alcohol-related deaths in India — based on just three related harms of liver disease, cancers, and road accidents — would lead to a loss of 258 million life years between 2011 and 2050. And an average annual loss of 1.45 per cent of GDP. In comparison, the government’s total annual expenditure on health amounts to around 1.1 per cent of GDP. With alcohol consumption in India seeing its highest growth in the 15 to 30 age group, and among women, the welfare significance for India cannot be overstated. What is to be done?

Older cultural-religious norms that encouraged abstinence have weakened. The demand for alcohol in India is fuelled by the conspicuous consumption preferences of an aspiring, upwardly mobile middle class. As a result, alcohol is one intoxicant whose consumption by households is being normalised and glamourised to an extent that one does not see with any other drug. While this should be a growing public health concern, state policies have only compounded the problem. Far from fulfilling their primary public health and safety responsibilities, state governments remain addicted to excise tax revenues and licence fees generated by the alcohol industry. Easy access to alcohol revenues has placed state governments under a “resource-curse” that disincentivises them from making the difficult choices needed for the type of reforms that would broaden the long-term tax base. It is no surprise then that states have refused to shift alcohol under the GST reform umbrella.

With growing alcohol consumption, these dynamics are likely to worsen. Corruption remains rampant. Production and consumption of illicit liquor remains widespread, and deaths from alcohol poisonings occur with depressing frequency in all states. These failures have affected poor households the most, creating, in turn, a highly unstable policy environment. The draconian prohibition law introduced by the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in response to the electoral demands of poor womenfolk measures the extent of desperation felt by the weakest members of our society.

Given the present state of policy dysfunction in face of rapidly growing levels of alcohol consumption the need for a new spirit of temperance cannot be overstated. A study published this year by the US National Bureau of Economic Research used household migration data to confirm what was well-known among the early temperance advocates – that it takes a village to discourage drinking and sustain abstinence. The rapidly changing demographics and socialisation of alcohol consumption in India requires that each of us take seriously the wider impact of our drinking. The potential harm from alcohol radiates outwards – from the individual drinker to the wider community — in ways that are unpredictable. A moderate drinker, without intending to, encourages others who end up drinking immoderately. All drinking risks being socially irresponsible once we consider the wider, negative externalities that are produced.

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The good news is that each one of us has the potential to create social good – without waiting for a state that is unable to shake-off its own revenue addictions. There is strong scientific evidence now to convince us that abstinence is in our individual self-interest. Each of us, by simply pursuing our own self-interest, will, at the same time, end up promoting the interests of the most vulnerable amongst us – the poor, women and children. Relatedly, as free citizens we must also recognise the power each of us has to “starve the beast” of its alcohol taxes and force it to reform itself towards a healthier, wider tax base. As our founders understood, we have always had the freedom, as individuals, to pursue our enlightened self-interest and, in doing so, limit the power of the state to harm these interests. The time to exercise this freedom is now.

The writer is professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, American University, Washington DC

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 06:16:29 pm

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What the success of Vikram Vedha says about the failure of the multiplex

Twenty-five years after the single-screen theatre was abandoned, the popular film is not willing to let go of the memory of the less sanitised, less exclusive experience. What had become undesirable is now being missed — only too late perhaps

Written by Aakshi Magazine

October 7, 2022 5:12:30 pm

The pandemic-led financial uncertainty has played a major role, but could it be that the general decline in cinema-going is also the long-term impact of making the theatre an exclusive space?(Photo: Hrithik Roshan/Instagram)

Two nostalgic moments occurred recently. Multiplexes across the country saw huge crowds after announcing Rs 75 tickets on “National cinema day”. And a cop-and-gangster film romanced the stardom of Hrithik Roshan. Both invoke memories of the older single-screen experience. And are linked to a development from 25 years ago, though its effects are being fully recognised only now.

When the multiplex first came to India in 1997, its technological promise went hand in hand with its exclusivity. If you picked one, you also picked the other. The exorbitant ticket price was accepted because for a certain class of people, the future looked promising in liberalised India. This was the logic of the times and those who could not afford it would have to move on. Only, the price of tickets never stopped increasing. Neither did the cost of cinema hall popcorn. Gradually both became luxuries.

Twenty-five years later, the multiplex theatre is struggling. The pandemic-led financial uncertainty has played a major role, but could it be that the general decline in cinema-going is also the long-term impact of making the theatre an exclusive space? Multiplex culture didn’t nurture cinema going – to be fair, it had never really promised to. OTT added to this, no doubt. But when film watching in a theatre no longer remained an everyday, affordable pastime, this was only waiting to happen. We walked into this trap.

Perhaps it was inevitable then that the crores notwithstanding, even the biggest hits would be watched by a smaller number now. Worldwide, the box office is struggling, but in India’s case, the decline in numbers marks a huge change in the history of the medium, one that had begun much earlier than the current pandemic.

One of the staples of that earlier cinema experience – the relationship between the star and a very vocal audience – gradually got lost too. While female stardom has found a way to innovate and evolve, Hindi film male stardom often appears stuck in an unimaginative place. Over the years, it has lost its sincerity. Some of it is just time taking its toll. If the popular Bollywood film tries to be more creative, it can let go of this limiting idea. But when it looks for a replacement for the earlier male superstar, no one seems to fit the bill (Ranveer Singh probably comes close, but he appears to mimic stardom rather than embody it). The earlier stars were a product of their times, the current lot often appear all style without context. A part of the Bollywood box office crisis then is an inevitable crisis of big-budget male stardom, and the competition with films from the “south” too is part of a strictly male-star discourse.

It is no surprise that Vikram Vedha, with its inoffensive celebration of masculinity, is inviting praise. Pushkar-Gayathri’s remake of their Tamil film, Vikram Vedha is a stylish upgrade on the single-screen style film. It appeals to an urban sentiment but is devoid of the ironic style of Hollywood. I watched it in a Monday evening show at a local multiplex, which was relatively empty perhaps because of the show’s timing. During one of its Hrithik Roshan sequences, tailor-made to invite whistles and awe, the silence at this show was haunting. In other multiplexes, people are happily (and nostalgically) reporting cheers and claps.

This is not the first time a film is doing this, but something about the absent whistles made the film feel out of sync. Twenty-five years later, it seems like the popular film is not willing to let go of the memory of the less sanitised, less exclusive cinema theatre experience. It wants to rely on it to attract audiences to the theatre. What had become undesirable is now being missed. Only, it’s too late perhaps because the working class is no longer in the picture. And without that democratic promise, however illusory it may have been, is it any surprise that the cinema hall feels empty?

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Aakshi Magazine, a writer based in Delhi, teaches film studies at Ashoka University and has recently co-edited ReFocus:The Films of Zoya Akhtar. The views expressed above are those of the writer alone and do not reflect those of Ashoka University

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 05:12:30 pm

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A Russian response: On Ukraine, India is on the right side of history — it is guided by national interest, not western propaganda

India is a country capable of making independent foreign policy decisions. Why must it sacrifice its interests for somebody else’s?

Updated: October 7, 2022 5:01:23 pm

Gone are the times when India had to support – by its wealth and soldiers’ lives – the “right side of history”, as perceived by a white Sahib. Now, it determines what to do not by “soft corners” for somebody but by national interest. (Reuters/File)

Written by Eugenia Vanina

I would like to thank the editors of The Indian Express for publishing the message from Anastasia Piliavsky (‘Dear Indian friends’, October 6). You have been instrumental in letting Indian readers understand with whom and what Russia has been dealing. No Russian propagandist could write something better to disclose the mindset of Ukraine and its Western bosses. I will not waste time and space disproving Piliavsky’s statement of “bad Russia” and “Putin the tyrant”. She seems to be a worthy disciple of L Denivosa, the Ukrainian ombudsman sacked for concocting too many foolish stories of Russian soldiers raping everybody and everything from humans to telegraph poles – nothing has been verified (ask honest journalists like Adrien Bouquet, persecuted for telling the truth about the staging of the “Bucha massacre”). I will, instead, draw the reader’s attention to the utter disrespect shown by the author to Indians. Madam, do you really believe that Indian foreign policy is driven by a “soft corner” and senile nostalgia for “Hindi-Rusi bhai-bhai”? Are you seriously pretending to be an eye-opener for Indian leaders and people that “Russia is not USSR”? Or has it not just occurred to you that a country like India may build its international relations on pragmatic grounds? That it is a young and dynamic society, not immersed in the reminiscences of Raj Kapoor, but building its future? What a “civilised” approach to treat Indians like children who do not know what they are doing! Smells of racism, doesn’t it?

Your message, Madam, is a hysteria of a slave unable to understand how one dares not to obey their master. For your information, India has been an independent country for 75 years now. Gone are the times when it had to support – by its wealth and soldiers’ lives – the “right side of history”, as perceived by a white Sahib. Now, it determines what to do not by “soft corners” for somebody but by national interest – the term fully forgotten by the “democracies” of the West who are ready to let their populations freeze because Uncle Sam wants to profit by selling its shale gas. Why should India be like them? India needs gas, oil, fertiliser, and weapons for its own people, army and country; it needs a Russian market for its goods. Why on earth does it have to sacrifice its interests for somebody else’s?

India has been neutral in this conflict – unlike the “defensive” NATO alliance, which fans the conflict by showering weapons on Ukraine (about its “defensive” character, ask the people of Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, etc). India follows its own interests and remembers the past too. It remembers how once, in East Pakistan, people had been bombed and killed for speaking the language of India’s national genius, Rabindranath Tagore. At the time, Pakistan also said, “they needed no protection” – like Ukrainian propaganda. People were prohibited from learning their mother tongue at school in East Bengal – just as they are now in Ukraine! However, India stepped in to protect them through military action. Again, India acted as a free power, not manipulated by any other country. If some Indians understand that Russia has done the same, it demonstrates that they can think independently of the Western neo-racists and their Ukrainian chamchas.

The writer is a professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:55:26 pm

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Why Russia isn’t the villain of the war

Anastasia Piliavsky's article exhorting Indians to support Ukraine and the West presents a biased picture. Russia's position is a response to the aggressive moves by the US, NATO.

Written by Subrata Mukherjee

October 7, 2022 9:31:14 am

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a conference of heads of security and intelligence agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States member countries via a video link in Moscow, Russia, Sept 29, 2022. (Reuters, file)

Anastasia Piliavsky’s article entitled ‘Dear Indian Friends’ (IE, October 5) soliciting the support of the Indian people for Ukraine against Russian intervention is full of falsehoods and oversimplifications. She ignores the fact that the NATO dismemberment of Yugoslavia and the creation of Kosovo in 1999 demonstrated the weakness of international law and the UN. The big powers could get by within an international order that is essentially anarchic and where might is right. It was a humiliating experience for the Russian Federation as there was no Security Council resolution endorsing an action with a trumped-up charge of genocide. A relatively weak Russia realised that the US-led Western Alliance would treat it more as a defeated country than as an equal.

The Westernisation project that Boris Yeltsin and a young Vladimir Putin endorsed had a drastic course correction, the cornerstone of which was a reassertion of Russian greatness exemplified by Yeltsin’s angry remark that Russia was not Haiti. The initial euphoria of the Russians also evaporated and the nation moved towards adopting the Primakov doctrine that accepted Russia’s relative weakness, preparing itself with a long term-plan for resurrecting intricate alliance formation and taking cognisance of two invaluable assets that Russia enjoyed: Its huge nuclear arsenal and its veto power in the Security Council. The present unipolar world being inherently unstable, destabilising and aggressive, the emergence and consolidation of a multipolar world would be more just, peaceful and stable.

The suspicion of NATO being an aggressive organisation was strengthened by the former’s foray into the non-Western world. Its expansion up to the Russian border in phases, the regime changes attempted in Georgia and Ukraine and an open proclamation that both these countries would be made NATO members riled Russia. They led to the promulgation of the Russian red line with Moscow stating it would not tolerate any further NATO expansion.

Piliavsky is silent on the critical elements of this evolution. The EU expansion and the West’s encouragement and direct involvement in the pro-democracy movement in Ukraine, which began with the Orange Revolution in 2004 culminated in the illegal removal of a democratically-elected pro-Russian government. Putin considered the overthrow of a legitimate regime as crossing the red line. He immediately took control of Crimea which he thought — justifiably — would become a NATO naval base. This was the beginning of the Russian determination to create a buffer between NATO and Russia with Ukraine being neutral.

The Clinton administration’s policy of the eastward expansion of NATO, contrary to the firm commitment of the Bush administration, emboldened the George H W Bush Administration to attempt further consolidation of the Western Alliance. Alexander Grushko, Russia’s deputy foreign minister commented that “Georgia’s and Ukraine’s membership in the alliance is a huge strategic mistake which would have the worst serious consequences for Pan-European security.” Putin minced no words when stating that this would represent a “direct threat” to Russia.

Astonishingly, the US and its European allies ignored these Russian moves. Croatia and Albania became NATO members in 2009. Even the EU expansion continued.

Piliavsky forgets that Ukraine, being a huge landmass, is of great strategic importance to Russia and contrary to Western propaganda, any Russian leader would have done what Putin did on February 4. John J Mearsheimer comments, “Great powers are always sensitive to potential threats near their home territory.” The Monroe Doctrine and the Cuban missile crisis are good examples of such intolerance on the part of the US. The Russian reaction was predicted by George Kennan in 1998 when he said that NATO expansion was a “tragic mistake” and prophesied that “the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and will gradually reset their policies.”

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Piliavsky conceals the fact that Ukraine, one of the poorest nations of Europe, is also one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Far from being a shining example of democracy, many nefarious acts are regularly performed here. There is a strong undercurrent of lingering fascistic instincts in an influential segment of the population which provides substantial support to populist and anti-Russian sentiments in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government did not implement the Minsk Agreement (2015), which envisaged a reasonable power-sharing arrangement which would include Russians and the Russian language as it is spoken by 30 per cent of the population. In 2019, the Ukrainian legislature, instead of taking steps towards resolution, reiterated its desire to be part of NATO.

It has often been said that whoever controls oil controls the world. This is vindicated by the fact that the US even approached highly sanctioned nations like Iran and Venezuela for oil to offset the sanctioning of Russia. Paradoxically, Germany and a few others in Europe refuse to sanction Russian oil and the rising prices of gas and petrol would largely offset the shrinking Russian economy to 7 per cent, much less than many advanced economies suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Piliavsky’s article does not mention the fact that for the Russians, it is hard to swallow the genocide in Donztsk — 14,000 people were killed in the last eight years. This act is comparable to events that happened in Georgia 14 years ago. Georgia is not part of the bandwagon of sanctions against Russia. The Western double standards stand exposed by the earlier allegation of genocide in Yugoslavia and the creation of Kosovo. Neither action had UN sanction.

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NATO in the Cold War days adhered to the First Strike Doctrine because of the imbalance in the conventional forces between the Warsaw Pact countries and NATO. But in the post-Cold War phase, when there were no such threats, the emergence of an offensive NATO beyond the shores of Europe in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria led to security considerations for Russia. If this elementary demand was accepted, the war would have become avoidable.

Both Germany and France tried their best to avert the war but lacked the courage to veto the US project,. The long-term loss of Germany from sanctions would be severe as after years of distrust, Angela Merkel brought about a healthy trading relationship which benefited both and was crucial for Germany’s growth and central role in the EU. With a higher cost of inputs and increased defence expenditure, the German growth rate would suffer. In contrast, Russia’s loss would be minimal as both gas and wheat is likely to be diverted to an ever-growing Asian market.

Finland and Sweden may join NATO but it would not alter the balance of power in Europe. The overuse of sanctions and especially its use against Russia since 2014 has led to a self-reliant Russian economy that is 80 per cent self-sufficient in consumer goods and impressive technological advancements in the gas and oil sectors. It has also greatly benefited from Chinese cooperation enabling it to offset the impact of sanctions.

Significantly, the entire continents of Africa and South America have no role in the conflict. The close allies of the US, Saudi Arabia and UAE along with two major economies of South America, Mexico and Brazil, and South Africa along with India and China did not support the General Assembly resolution of the collective West and abstained from voting. Together they constitute 85 per cent of the world’s population. Piliavsky overlooks the destabilising and inherently conflictual aspect of a unipolar world. The expectation is that a post-Ukrainian war world would see a return to a firmly established multipolar world which would provide for a stable world order.

The writer retired as Professor of Political Science, Delhi University

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 09:31:14 am

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- Can halting kiln operations during the stubble burning period in Punjab check pollution?

- Nobel Peace Prize for 2022: A statement as Russia-Ukraine war rages

- Aatmanirbhar in defence production: Where India stands among Indo-Pacific nations

- India-made syrups and deaths in Gambia: what we know so far

- Politics and power: A short history of chairs in India

- Why Denmark will sport ‘muted’, black jerseys at 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

- Name your successor, Govt tells CJI Lalit — how is India’s top judge chosen?

- Why has Govt appointed a panel to look into quotas for Dalit Christians and Muslims?

- Why the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Russian organisation Memorial, was previously liquidated by its Supreme Court

- Who are the Nobel Peace Prize winners for 2022?

- As world celebrates Nobel Peace winners, a question: Why didn’t Gandhi ever win the Prize?

- US President Biden pardons those convicted for marijuana possession; how does it affect Americans?

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Can halting kiln operations during the stubble burning period in Punjab check pollution?

Normally, kilns remain operational for 6-7 months in a year. So, closing them during paddy harvesting from October to December, when there is already air pollution due to stubble burning, would be an ideal situation.

Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba

Chandigarh | Updated: October 8, 2022 8:56:06 am

Farm fires are considered a major source of air pollution. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav, File)

When the stubble burning cases have already begun in the state with the harvesting of paddy, the Punjab government can control the pollution level to a large extent during paddy harvesting followed by stubble burning by halting the operations of brick kilns in the state. Can stopping the operation of kilns for a couple of months is possible without harming the interests of the kiln businesses and how can it contribute to keeping the Air Quality Index (AQI) under control, The Indian Express explains.

Why closing brick kilns during paddy harvesting season will not affect their businesses

Normally the kilns remain operational for 6-7 months in a year except for some exceptional cases where kiln owners even run them for 8 months in a year. So closing these during paddy harvesting and post paddy harvesting for 3-4 months from October to December when there is already a lot of air pollution taking place due to huge stubble burning would be an ideal situation. Nearly 200 to 250 people are dependent on a kiln for their living and if a system is created then they would be aware of the operational months of these kilns. Hoshiarpur-based brick Kiln owner of Tata Bricks, Shiv Walia said that in the National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi these are not operational in the winter months.

Did the government do it before?

In 2018 Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) ordered of halting the operations of Brick kilns for four months from October 1, 2018, to January 2019 to check the air pollution level during paddy season and the winters month in Punjab and then in December 2018, the department of Science and Technology and Environment Punjab, on the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT) had allowed operating those Kilns which were upgraded with new technology and certified by Science and Technology department.

What was the AQI of Punjab in that year during the stubble burning period?

According to the PPCB in 2018 stubble burning started in Punjab on September 21. From September 21 to October 21 that year 10,813 field fires were recorded in Punjab. And according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Punjab’s main cities including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Khanna, Patiala and Rupnagar have recorded satisfactory to Moderate AQI on most of the days barring a couple of days when Mandi Gobindgarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana recorded poor AQI for some hours in that one month. While the National Capital’s AQI had remained in the poor category for several days during this period then. RSMP remained between 0-55 /cubic meter (mg/cm) in the air is considered to be good quality air and it is permissible/satisfactory up to 100 RSPM. The moderate limit of AQI is between 101 to 2o0 RSPM, Poor between 200 to 300, Very Poor 300 to 400 and Severe between Above 400 AQI.

Even the Ambient AQI at the rural stations (as the stubble fires take place in the rural areas) under the National Ambient Monitoring Programme (NAMP) NAMP had remained satisfactory to Moderate at most of the rural stations in September and October 2018, as per the records of the PPCB.

How kilns can reduce pollution

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In Punjab, there are 2800 kilns out of which nearly 2100 are operational. And all the operational kilns are upgraded to ‘zigzag’ technology, which minimises the pollution emission to 70% as compared to old technology. PPCB officials said that this has reduced the emission of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the air by 4-lakh tonnes by upgrading the kilns.

A kiln is run on coal and a single operation needs around 135 to 150 tonnes of coal. When all 2100 kilns run during October and November when stubble burning takes place then with a single operation, which lasts for around a month, this kiln will burn between 2.83 lakh tonnes to 3.15 lakh tonnes of coal and if they remain operational all winter months then the amount would be much more.

PPCB officials said that not only stubble burning is responsible for poor AQI but industrial, and vehicular pollution is also largely responsible.

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According to Science and Technology department, new technology has reduced the pollution level but still, their operation must be stopped during these months when stubble burning takes place.

Experts said that in winters the wind flow is slow at 8 to 10 Km/hour and the polluted air gets accumulated instead of dispersing out.

Punjab Brick Kiln Owner Association President Harmesh Mohi said that they have no objection if the government wants to halt the operation during the winter months.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 08:55:29 am

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Nobel Peace Prize for 2022: A statement as Russia-Ukraine war rages

The Nobel Peace Prize, which has often mirrored the West’s current geopolitical choices, has been given jointly to an individual and two organisations who stand, directly or indirectly, against Russia.

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | October 8, 2022 7:27:06 am

The common thread among the winners of the Prize is that they stand, directly or indirectly, against Russia or an ally of Russia.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2022, awarded to a jailed Belarus civil rights activist, and a rights organisation each in Russia and Ukraine, puts the focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its eighth month. The common thread among the winners of the Prize is that they stand, directly or indirectly, against Russia or an ally of Russia.

The Nobel Committee’s choice of the winners made a statement — and it came, as Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, noted, on the 70th birthday of President Vladimir Putin.

Ales Bialiatski, who is in jail since 2021, is a vocal critic of Putin’s ally, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. Memorial, the Russian civil rights group, was shut down by Putin, and Center for Civil Liberties is a Ukrainian rights organisation that is documenting alleged war crimes by Russia in Ukraine.

Their Nobel citation said: “The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said “[t]hrough their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations — a vision most needed in the world today”.

Activist Ales Bialiatski was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. (PTI Photo)

Ales Bialiatski of Belarus

In 1995, Bialiatski founded the Belarus human rights group Viasna (Spring) which, according to a fund-raising page on patreon.com, “defends human rights, promotes human rights and exposes violations”. Bialiatski has “devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country”, Berit Reiss-Andersen, head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said on Friday.

The 60-year-old activist was first jailed in 2011 for evading taxes, a charge that he has denied. He was released in 2014, before being arrested again in 2021 during mass public protests in Minsk against elections that opposition activists said had kept Lukashenko in power the previous year.

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In an interview given to Reuters in November 2021, Lukashenko, the first and only President of Belarus since it became an independent country, described himself as the “last dictator of Europe”. A close ally of Putin, Lukashenko has since the beginning of the war offered his country’s territory to Russian troops for launching attacks into Ukraine. Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine in the latter’s northwest, and the distance from Minsk to Kyiv is just over 500 km. Russian missile launchers have been stationed on Belarus territory, and its soldiers are said to have fought alongside Russian troops, even though Lukashenko denies this.

Viasna states its mission as “working to build a just and free society and ensure the rights of all without exception”. It watches over elections and human rights violations in Belarus, and provides human rights education and legal assistance to victims of human rights violations.

According to the site, seven members of Viasna are behind bars for defending human rights in Belarus. Homes and offices of Viasna activists and volunteers have been searched dozens of times, and hundreds of people have been interrogated and detained for working with Viasna.

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Bialiatski is being held without trial, and the Nobel Committee noted that “despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy…”

Memorial group of Russia

Memorial was established by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union during the Gorbachev years of glasnost and perestroika, and among its founders were 1975 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and Russian mathematician Svetlana Gannushkina. Its objective was to record atrocities committed during the communist regime, especially under Joseph Stalin. The Nobel Committee noted on Friday that Memorial “is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones”.

The Committee said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation in Russia. It established a centre to document victims of the Stalinist era, and compiled information on political oppression and human rights violations in Russia. Memorial, the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities, also leads efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights.

During the Chechen wars, Memorial gathered and verified information on abuses and war crimes by Russian and pro-Russian forces. In 2009, the head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, Natalia Estemirova, was killed because of this work. The organisation was stamped as a “foreign agent” early on, and in December 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that it must be liquidated and the documentation centre shut permanently.

“The closures became effective in the following months, but the people behind Memorial refuse to be shut down,” the Committee said.

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Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine

The Center was founded in Kyiv in 2007 with the aim of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. The Nobel Committee said it has “taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy”. The Center has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court.

Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the Center has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population in collaboration with international partners.

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Nobel Peace Prize 2022: The choice of winner

The Nobel Peace Prize has often mirrored current geopolitical choices of the West. For this reason, the choice of some laureates has been as politically contentious as the word peace itself — including the question of peace for whom. One question that is periodically asked is why Mahatma Gandhi, almost universally revered as an apostle of peace, was overlooked by the Committee.

The winner of the Peace Nobel is chosen by a committee of five persons selected by Norway’s Parliament. There were 343 candidates — 25 individuals and 92 organisations — for this year’s prize, the second highest after the record 376 nominations of 2016. The names of nominators and nominees cannot be divulged for 50 years. Among eligible nominators are members of national assemblies and national governments of sovereign states as well as current heads of state, and members of The International Court of Justice and The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 07:27:06 am

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Aatmanirbhar in defence production: Where India stands among Indo-Pacific nations

The 12 countries in the study were selected because they have the highest military spending in the region — Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

By: Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 7:05:27 am

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at a sortie in the newly inducted indigenously built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) "Prachand", in Jodhpur, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

India ranks fourth among 12 Indo-Pacific nations in self-reliant arms production capabilities, according to a study released this month by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a widely respected independent resource on global security. China tops the list, Japan is second, South Korea is in third place, and Pakistan is at number 8.

The study, which measures self-reliance until 2020, is based on three indicators of self reliance in each country:

* Arms procurement — imports, licensed and domestic production as a proportion of the government’s total procurement of major conventional arms;

* Arms industry — the study presents the five largest arms companies in each country, where data are available, ranked by sales of arms and military services in 2020 to both domestic and export customers;

* Uncrewed maritime vehicles, the sea equivalent of drones — covering both uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) and uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), meant to provide a qualitative understanding of how countries are engaging domestic research institutes and firms to produce such cutting edge systems.

Sources: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, March 2022; SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, April 2022

The study’s choice of maritime domain was because the Indo-Pacific region is a “maritime theatre”, and most of its flashpoints involve navies. The 12 countries in the study were selected because they have the highest military spending in the region — Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the study, understanding and determining the extent of self-reliance in the Indo-Pacific region, which has several ongoing flashpoints, is crucial for trust and confidence-building among states. This region has also seen a growing allocation by states for defence procurement. Eighteen arms manufacturing companies based in the region were ranked among the world’s largest arms companies in 2020.

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“[I]n a region where tensions among neighbours are rising, this report contributes to transparency with regards to levels of self-reliance in domestic arms production, allowing for an independent assessment of the region’s respective arms industries,” the study says.

China was the world’s fifth largest arms importer in 2016-20. Its self-reliance policies, and its high economic growth in that period meant that the Chinese arms industry now increasingly fulfills the requirements of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Its high volume of imports in absolute terms accounts for only 8 per cent of total procurement for the period, the lowest share for any of the 12 governments studied in this report.

China’s arms industry primarily involves nine large state-owned enterprises (SOEs). All eight companies for which data are available are in the top 100, with four in the top 10 in 2020. Four are dominant in the aerospace and aviation sectors, two in land systems, one in electronics, one in shipbuilding, and one in nuclear power.

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The PLA is the main customer for the arms companies. China also has 17 ongoing projects, in collaboration with universities and other agencies to develop “long-range precision, intelligent, stealthy or unmanned weaponry and equipment”.

India is ranked as the second largest importer of arms for its armed forces in 2016-20. India is highly dependent on imports of complete foreign major arms, including many produced under licence or as components for its domestic production.

Of India’s total volume of procurement in 2016–20, 84 per cent was of foreign origin. Domestic arms companies provide only 16 per cent of its total procurement. According to the study, the significant arms sales of local firms and the high level of licensed production push India to fourth position in the list.

Indigenously built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) “Prachand” during its induction ceremony, in Jodhpur, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Indian Ordnance Factories, Bharat Electronics, Mazagaon Docks and Cochin Shipyard are among the major Indian arms servicing companies. Ashok Leyland, one of the largest suppliers of trucks to the Indian Army, is the only company ranked in the top 50 in the Indo-Pacific.

India has seven Uncrewed Maritime Vessel projects ongoing. In the private sector, Larsen & Toubro has been developing AUV prototypes on its own and in collaboration with foreign partners, such as Italy’s EdgeLab, while DRDO and the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute have been considering development of AUV prototypes.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 07:04:51 am

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India-made syrups and deaths in Gambia: what we know so far

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India-made syrups and deaths in Gambia: what we know so far

The World Health Organisation has issued an alert about four Indian-manufactured cough syrups that it said could have caused 66 deaths in Gambia. What do we know about the cough syrups? Are they sold in India? Should you be worried?

Written by Anonna Dutt , Edited by Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 7:34:39 am

A health department official arrives at the Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd unit in Sonipat, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an alert about four Indian-manufactured cough syrups that it said could potentially be linked to acute kidney injury in children and 66 deaths in the small West African nation of The Gambia.

The syrups — Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup — were manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals, based in Sonipat, Haryana.

What happened in The Gambia?

At the end of July, the country’s Epidemiology and Disease Control Department was informed of a “sudden” increase in cases of children ages 5 months-4 years reporting to hospital with acute kidney injury. By August, 32 cases and 28 deaths had been reported — a case fatality ratio at 87.5 per cent — local media quoted the Ministry of Health as saying.

In a press release issued in early August, the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, the biggest in the country, said: “There is a rare condition currently under observation in paediatric outpatient. Samples were collected from the affected children and awaiting results from the lab. Our doctors are working very hard to establish the cause of the condition.”

In September, The Gambia reported the four syrups, used for fever, cough, and allergic cold, to the WHO. In its alert, the WHO said laboratory analysis of samples of each of these products had confirmed the presence of “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants”.

The Gambia initiated a nationwide recall of the syrups on October 5, beginning with three of the worst-affected regions.

What do diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol do?

Both are chemical contaminants that may be present in the solvent that is used in the syrups. It is toxic to humans, and can result in abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, and altered mental state. It can also lead to acute kidney injury that may be fatal in children. In 2020, 17 children died in Jammu and Kashmir after consuming a syrup with high levels of diethylene glycol.

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Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited factory in Sonepat district, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Should you be worried?

No. The four medicines were manufactured by the Haryana-based company only for export to The Gambia. “These 04 drugs are not licensed for manufacture and sale in India. In effect, none of these four drugs is sold domestically,” the Union Health Ministry has said in a release.

According to an official, the company had taken special permission to make the medicines with specifications of the export country in mind after receiving a purchase order.

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Why are the syrups not sold in India?

A drug regulatory expert who was part of the investigation into the 2020 J&K deaths said India has phased out syrups in favour of suspensions.

In syrup, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is completely mixed in the solvent — imagine a sugar solution. In a suspension, on the other hand, API particles are suspended uniformly in a solvent — imagine cooked dal.

“That is why it says on labels on the bottles, ‘shake well before use’, otherwise the API will settle at the bottom,” the expert said.

APIs such as paracetamol and others contained in the four syrups are not water-soluble, and hence need a base solvent like propylene glycol. “Propylene glycol is available in two varieties — one type is meant for industrial use, the other for pharmaceutical use. To save on costs, some companies use the industrial propylene glycol that may contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants,” the expert said.

Suspensions do not need propylene glycol as the active ingredient does not have to be dissolved. They use a liquid base called carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), with no risk of containing the two contaminants.

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What are the Indian authorities doing?

After being informed about the incident on September 29, India’s apex regulatory body, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), along with the state authorities, opened investigations and lifted control samples — from the same batch of syrups — which are being tested in a Chandigarh-based lab.

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Should the control samples be found to contain high levels of contaminants, “proportionate action will be taken against the company, which may include suspension of the licence to export the drug”, said an official. “However, we are unsure whether we can initiate criminal action because the deaths did not happen in India,” the official added.

Pharmaceutical expert C M Gulhati said it is the responsibility of the importing country to test medicines before releasing them in their market. “India tests what is imported… If Indian authorities start testing all the drugs that the country exports, then that is all they will be doing,” Gulhati said.

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The Health Ministry has asked the WHO to share a report on causal relationship — confirmation that the syrups led to the deaths in The Gambia — at the earliest. “The exact one to one causal relation of death has not yet been provided by WHO to CDSCO. As a robust National Regulatory Authority, CDSCO has requested WHO to share at the earliest with CDSCO the report on establishment of causal relation to death with the medical products in question,” an official release said.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 06:54:10 am

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Politics and power: A short history of chairs in India

Over the centuries, the seat in India has taken many forms, shapes and styles. It begins with the stark simplicity of the patlo or palakka and the mooda (low stool) or charpai (woven cot), which continue to serve as fresh inspiration for designers in the 21st century.

Written by Pooja Pillai

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 7:55:16 am

From The Frugal to the Ornate: Stories of the Seat in India By Sarita Sundar.

In 2016, the Godrej Archives, set up to document and preserve the legacy of the Godrej Group, published With Great Truth & Regard: A History of the Typewriter in India. This book about the once-familiar object helped create a kind of discourse which has been rare in India — the “cultural biography” of an object. From the Frugal to the Ornate: Stories of the Seat in India by Sarita Sundar is the follow-up to that book, compiling essays on the very ancient history of the seat — including the chair in its European sense — in India, with a wealth of photographs (many drawn from the Godrej archives), paintings and posters illustrating this story.

Over the centuries, the seat in India has taken many forms, shapes and styles. It begins with the stark simplicity of the patlo or palakka — a low seat, typically made of wood, used by people as they go about their daily chores — and the mooda (low stool) or charpai (woven cot), which continue to serve as fresh inspiration for designers in the 21st century. If the moulded plastic bucket chair of waiting rooms speaks of a certain universality and accessibility in India’s urban spaces, another strand of the story is told by the fabled, ornate Peacock Throne or Takht-i-Ta’us (jewelled throne) of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The book is as much about India’s ancient civilisation, with a rich tradition of crafts, as it is about a modernising nation. As the number of factories and commercial offices expanded and cities grew, the “office chair”, with its wheels and sophisticated support mechanisms, and the highly-versatile plastic chair came to represent an India that was rapidly changing and always on the move.

The story of the seat — who sits where and at what height, who has one and who doesn’t — is also one of politics and power. To take one example, there’s a story about the shifting sands of power in the journey of the Peacock Throne, from the Diwan-i-Khas in Delhi’s Red Fort to Persia after Nadir Shah’s attack in 1739, where it was taken apart, each of its precious components, including the Kohinoor, finding its way into other hands. But more than all the elaborate thrones, including those of Mysore or Travancore, the low-slung planter’s chair, with its indelible association with the Raj, came to represent power — not just of the British colonialist over “native” underlings, but also of caste and gender as Indians adapted it for their use.

Not all of these inequalities were erased after India began its modernising project, but the chairs that began dotting the landscape after 1947 speak of a nation that was slowly, but stubbornly democratising. Take, for example, the dining-table chair of the new nuclear family, accessible to everyone, regardless of age and gender. Or the Irani Cafe chair, representing the growing proliferation of communal eating spaces, and the plastic Monobloc chair, first created by Canadian designer D C Simpson in 1946, and now found all over India and available to seat anyone from security guards at museums to guests at weddings.

Title | From the Frugal to the Ornate: Stories of the Seat in India

Author: Sarita Sundar

Publisher: Godrej & Boyce

Pages: 361

Price: Rs 1,930

Explained Books appears every Saturday. It summarises the core content of an interesting work of non-fiction.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:05:35 am

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Why Denmark will sport ‘muted’, black jerseys at 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

The Danish Football Association (DBU) wants to minimise activity in Qatar as part of protests against the country's human rights record – in sharp focus with the mega sporting event due to begin in late November.

Written by Rishika Singh

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 10:14:47 pm

Lodging a note of protest against Qatar, host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Denmark’s football team on Wednesday (October 5) said it would travel to the West Asian country without any family members accompanying them.

The Danish Football Association (DBU) wants to minimise activity in Qatar as part of protests against the country’s human rights record — in sharp focus with the mega sporting event due to begin in late November. “We don’t want to contribute to creating profit for Qatar,” DBU communications manager Jakob Hoyer told local newspaper Ekstra Bladet, Reuters reported.

Similarly, when releasing the latest world cup kits a few days ago, the team’s kit maker, Hummel, shared black jerseys’ images on Instagram, adding it was the “colour of mourning”, and supporting the Danish team should not be confused with “support for a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives.”

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A post shared by hummel Sport (@hummelsport)

What is Denmark’s charge against Qatar?

Last year, DBU said it was in talks with its sponsors to not have their branding on the jersey for the tournament. Jakob Jensen, President of the Danish Football Association, told BBC Sport, “We have written to the Qatari authorities and to Fifa to explain the difference between the facts they present and the facts Amnesty presents”.

Jensen was referring to a 2021 Amnesty report that said thousands of migrant workers in Qatar were still being exploited while working in the construction of stadiums and other World Cup-related infrastructure. Jensen said they planned to speak with the associations of other countries, including the English Football Association (EFA), for forming a coalition critical of Qatar’s policies. The EFA later echoed the concerns.

There have been long-standing concerns from countries across the world over Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, many of whom come from countries such as India, Pakistan, and Nepal in search of better employment prospects. It is estimated that “non-Qataris”, as migrants are called by the Qatari government, compose around 70 per cent of the Gulf nation’s population.

Interestingly, Qatar’s bid for hosting the World Cup was in itself controversial, given the average summer temperature in Qatar is close to 50 degrees celsius – a reason why the games have shifted from a summer schedule to winter this year.

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How many workers in Qatar?

Qatar’s World Cup organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), have disputed that the tournament caused the deaths of thousands of workers. The Qatari government has said it is working to improve the system but rubbished the 2021 Amnesty report.

Further, The Guardian’s report in 2021 concluded that 6,500 South Asian migrants had died in Qatar since 2010 when the world cup was announced. “The findings, compiled from government sources, mean an average of 12 migrant workers from these five south Asian nations [India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka] have died each week since the night in December 2010,” said The Guardian’s report. The International Labour Organisation (ILO), of which India is a founding member, has also said Qatar is not adequately reporting worker deaths.

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The ILO report said: “There is a need to review the approach taken to investigating deaths of seemingly healthy young workers from “natural causes”, to be able to determine whether they are in fact work-related, and ensure more accurate identification of the cause…to ensure workers’ families receive due compensation.”

Organisations like the ILO say not enough has been done by the Qatari government to protect workers, many of whom are working at construction sites during high temperatures days. It counted deaths due to heart attacks and respiratory issues as part of worker deaths, the BBC reported. Amnesty’s report also said that new laws meant to protect workers were not enforced properly.

How did Qatar defend its worker policies?

The spokesperson for the Qatar World Cup organiser said they had “always been transparent about the health and safety of workers,” The Guardian reported. He added: “Since construction began in 2014, there have been three work-related fatalities and 35 non-work-related deaths. The SC has investigated each case, learning lessons to avoid any repeat in the future. The SC has disclosed each incident through public statements and or annual workers’ welfare progress reports.”

Al Jazeera, a Qatari government-owned media organisation, quoted Khaled al-Suwaidi, a senior member of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, as saying, “There has been a lot of improvement, we’ve used the World Cup as a catalyst for that change”.

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In 2020, some reforms were introduced. The first centred around abolishing the ‘kafala system’ or requirement for a “no objection certificate” that migrant workers needed to get from their employers before changing jobs. Now, workers must serve a one-month notice period if they have worked for less than two years and a notice period of two months if they have worked longer.

The second reform was on increasing the minimum wage by 25 per cent to $274 or 1000 Qatari riyals and additional money for food and accommodation if not provided by the company. These reforms are now applicable to workers of all nationalities across sectors, including previously-excluded domestic workers.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:07:39 pm

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Name your successor, Govt tells CJI Lalit — how is India’s top judge chosen?

Upon recommendation by CJI Lalit and appointment by the President, Justice Chandrachud will be CJI for a little more than two years until November 10, 2024.

By: Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 6:37:18 pm

The government asking for CJI Lalit's recommendation on his successor sets the ball rolling on the process of appointment of India's next CJI. (PTI)

The government on Friday (October 7) asked Chief Justice of India (CJI) U U Lalit to name his successor. CJI Lalit retires on November 8. The second seniormost judge on the Bench is Justice D Y Chandrachud.

The seniormost judge of the Supreme Court becomes CJI. Upon recommendation by CJI Lalit and appointment by the President, Justice Chandrachud will be CJI for a little more than two years until November 10, 2024.

As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, today the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor.

— Ministry of Law and Justice (@MLJ_GoI) October 7, 2022

Why has the Law Minister written to the CJI?

The government asking for CJI Lalit’s recommendation on his successor sets the ball rolling on the process of appointment of India’s next CJI. The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) that governs the appointment of members of the higher judiciary says that the “Union Minister of Law, Justice…would, at the appropriate time, seek the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice of India for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India”.

Although the MoP mentions an “appropriate time”, the process is by convention begun a month before the date of retirement of the incumbent CJI.

What happens after the CJI sends in his recommendation?

As per the process laid down in the MoP, “after receipt of the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India, the Union Minister of Law, Justice…will put up the recommendation to the Prime Minister who will advise the President in the matter of appointment”.

Article 124(1) of the Constitution says that “there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India…and…other Judges”; Article 124(2) lays down that “every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal…”.

On what basis does a CJI recommend his successor?

The MoP says that the “appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the seniormost Judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office”.

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Even before the MoP was agreed upon, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court after the CJI (in terms of the years served) was by convention elevated to the top post. This convention was famously discarded by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, whose government recommended the appointment of Justice A N Ray as CJI in 1973 superseding three more senior judges, Justices J M Shelat, K S Hegde, and A N Grover.

Justice Ray was considered more favourably disposed towards Indira’s regime than the other judges. The supersession was announced the day after the Supreme Court pronounced the landmark ‘Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala’ order, which laid down the “basic structure” doctrine. Justice Ray was part of the minority in the 7-6 judgment of the 13-judge Bench.

Subsequently, in January 1977, Indira’s government superseded Justice H R Khanna by appointing Justice M H Beg as CJI. Justice Khanna had been the lone dissenter in the ‘ADM Jabalpur vs Shiv Kant Shukla’ order, in which the majority comprising Justices A N Ray, P N Bhagwati, Y V Chandrachud, and M H Beg agreed with the government that fundamental rights including the right to life and liberty stood abrogated during a period of national Emergency.

What is the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP)?

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The MoP is the playbook agreed upon by the government and the judiciary on the appointment of judges. It is a crucial document — because the Collegium system of appointing judges is a judicial innovation that is not mandated through legislation or text of the Constitution.

The MoP has evolved as the standard based on three decisions of the Supreme Court, known as the First Judges Case (1981), Second Judges Case (1993) and the Third Judges Case (1998). These three judgments form the basis of a peer selection process for the appointment of judges.

The MoP was first drawn up in 1999. It was re-negotiated in 2016 following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down, in 2015, the constitutional amendment that brought in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) that sought to change the system of appointments and give the government a foot in the door.

While the government and the SC continue to disagree on a few clauses, the rest of the MoP is generally agreed upon by both sides.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 06:27:36 pm

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Why has Govt appointed a panel to look into quotas for Dalit Christians and Muslims?

As of now, the benefits of reservation are available only to Dalit Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Several petitions are pending before the Supreme Court seeking reservation benefits for Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam.

Written by Shyamlal Yadav , Edited by Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 8:57:13 pm

The panel will be headed by former Chief Justice of India and former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) K G Balakrishnan. (Express file)

The central government has notified a Commission under former Chief Justice of India and former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) K G Balakrishnan “to examine the matter of according Scheduled Caste status to new persons, who claim to historically have belonged to the Scheduled Castes, but have converted to religions other than those mentioned in the Presidential Orders issued from time to time under Article 341 of the Constitution”.

The three-member Commission, also comprising retired IAS office Dr Ravindra Kumar Jain and University Grants Commission member Prof Sushma Yadav, will also “examine the implications on the existing Scheduled Castes, of adding such new persons as part of the existing list of Scheduled Castes”.

The Commission will submit its report within two years.

As of now, the benefits of reservation are available only to Dalit Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Several petitions are pending before the Supreme Court seeking reservation benefits for Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam.

What is Article 341, and why don’t Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam get quota benefits?

The rationale behind giving reservation to Scheduled Castes was that these sections had suffered from the social evil of untouchability, which was practised among Hindus. Under Article 341 of the Constitution, the President may “specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall…be deemed to be Scheduled Castes”.

The first order under this provision was issued in 1950, and covered only Hindus.

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Following demands from the Sikh community, an order was issued in 1956, including Sikhs of Dalit origin among the beneficiaries of the SC quota.

In 1990, the government acceded to a similar demand from Buddhists of Dalit origin, and the order was revised to state: “No person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.”

Does this religion-based bar apply to converted STs and OBCs as well?

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It does not. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) website states, “The rights of a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe are independent of his/her religious faith.”

Following the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, several Christian and Muslim communities have found place in the Central and state lists of OBCs.

What efforts have been made to include Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs?

After 1990, a number of Private Member’s Bills were brought in Parliament for this purpose. In 1996, a government Bill called The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill was drafted, but in view of a divergence of opinions, the Bill was not introduced in Parliament.

The UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up two important panels: the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, popularly known as the Ranganath Misra Commission, in October 2004; and a seven-member high-level committee headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic, and educational condition of Muslims in March 2005.

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The Sachar Commission Report observed that the social and economic situation of Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians did not improve after conversion. The Ranganath Misra Commission, which submitted its report in May 2007, recommended that SC status should be “completely de-linked…from religion and…Scheduled Castes [should be made] fully religion-neutral like…Scheduled Tribes”.

The report was tabled in both Houses of Parliament on December 18, 2009, but its recommendation was not accepted in view of inadequate field data and corroboration with the actual situation on the ground.

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A report by a team of sociologists led by Satish Despande, titled Dalits in the Muslim and Christian Communities — A Status Report on Current Social Scientific Knowledge, said in January 2008 that there was a strong case for extending SC status to Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims. However, the study, which was commissioned by the National Commission for Minorities, was also not considered reliable due to insufficient data.

What view did the BJP take on this issue before it came to power?

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In February 2010, the BJP national executive passed a resolution criticising the Misra Commission. It said that the “Commission cannot dictate or thrust its opinion on the Christian Pope or Muslim maulvis…reservation would amount to a formal introduction of a caste system in Islam and Christianity, thus changing the basic tenets of these religions, which is outside the jurisdiction of both Parliament and the judiciary and also contrary to the provisions of the Koran and the Bible.”

Back in 1961, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision making body of the RSS, had said: “If any scheme of separate reservation…of different sects is sought to be envisaged for political purposes, it will prove highly detrimental to national unity…” In 1990, in response to Christian demands for reservation on the lines of neo-Buddhists, the ABPS said “the Constitution makers envisaged these concessions only to remove caste-based discrimination and inequality prevalent in Hindu society…”.

What happens here onward?

Based on the recommendations of the Ranganath Misra Commission, there are some petitions pending before the Supreme Court, seeking reservation benefits for Christians and Muslims of Dalit orgin. In the last hearing on August 30, a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul gave the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta three weeks’ time to present the stand of the Union government on the issue.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 11, and the government is likely to formally apprise the court of the notification of the Justice Balakrishnan panel.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:39:10 pm

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Why the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Russian organisation Memorial, was previously liquidated by its Supreme Court

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Why the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Russian organisation Memorial, was previously liquidated by its Supreme Court

Russia’s Supreme Court had ordered the closure of Memorial International in December 2021 and it was shut down earlier this year, but despite the orders they have refused to stop their work.

By: Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 6:27:20 pm

The logo of this year's joint Peace Nobel Prize winner Memorial. (Reuters)

Memorial, Russia’s most prominent and oldest human rights organisation, was one of the three recipients that received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (October 7).

The other winners are Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski and Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

Russia’s Supreme Court had ordered the closure of Memorial International in December 2021 and it was shut down earlier this year, but despite the orders they have refused to stop their work.

Established in 1987, Memorial sought to ensure that the victims of state-led oppression during the rule of the USSR would never be forgotten. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became Russia’s largest human rights organisation, compiling information not only about the victims of the past, but also becoming the foremost source of information of political prisoners in Russian detention centres, the Nobel Peace Prize press release notes.

It has opposed combat militarism, promoted human rights and played a crucial role in collecting information about war crimes committed by Russian forces and their supporters during Chechen Wars from the 1990’s to the 2000’s.

One of the founders of the memorial is the 1975 Nobel peace prize winner Andrei Sakharov father of the Soviet Hydrogen bomb, who later became an opponent of nuclear tests.

Why did the court order its closure?

The court said the decision to shut down this branch was taken because it violates a controversial foreign agents law. It also said that the organisation is misinterpreting Soviet history and “creating a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state,” “lashing out criticism on government bodies”.

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In 2012, the Russian parliament advanced this legislation, which broadened the definition of a spy to include Russian nationals who help foreign states and organisations.

In December 2020, certain amendments to this law allowed the targeting of any organisation that receives foreign funds. Foreign Policy reported in September that the amendments make it possible for the Russian regime to target any individual critics of Putin, even on social media.

On December 27, Reuters reported that an investigative journalist working for the BBC’s Russian language service was designated as a ‘foreign agent’ in October took the decision for self-imposed exile in Britain because of unprecedented surveillance.

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The court’s decision has prompted criticisms from the US and European Union. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted, “We condemn today’s decision to forcibly close International Memorial, one of Russia’s most respected human rights organizations. Russian authorities should end their repression of human rights defenders and other independent voices.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:37:15 pm

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Who are the Nobel Peace Prize winners for 2022?

With the awardees being from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, an implicit message has been sent about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

By: Explained Desk

Updated: October 8, 2022 7:01:43 am

With the awardees being from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, an implicit message has been sent about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. (Twitter/@TheNobelPrize)

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 has been awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday (October 7).

The laureates represent civil society in their home countries, said the committee, “They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy”, it said on the Nobel website.

With the awardees being from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, an implicit message has been sent about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbour countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine”, said the committee.

The Guardian reported Berit Reiss-Andersen, the head of the Nobel committee, as responding to a question on whether the prize was “a timely birthday president” to Vladimir Putin on the Russian president’s 70th birthday which falls on October 7. She said the prize is not being addressed to him, and that “we always give a prize for something and to somebody and not against anyone.”

The three prize winners: Belarus’s Ales Bialiatski

According to the website, “Ales Bialiatski was one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s.” Before 1991, when the former Soviet Union fell and independent countries emerged, many countries in Central Asia and Europe saw pro-independence movements. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 – when the post first came into being.

Bialiatski is also credited with founding the organisation Viasna (Spring) in 1996 in response to the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president dictatorial powers. Over time, Viasna evolved into a “broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners”, said the committee.

Having been imprisoned earlier for three years, he was arrested most recently after the large-scale demonstrations against the regime in 2020 and is still detained without trial. In 2020, he was one of the three recipients of the Right Livelihood Award by the Swedish Right Livelihood Foundation, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel”.

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The committee lauded his efforts and said, “Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus”.

Russian human rights organisation, Memorial

The committee said the organisation was established in 1987, “by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to ensure that the victims of the communist regime’s oppression would never be forgotten.” Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, who won the prize in 1954, and human rights advocate Svetlana Gannushkina were among the organisation’s founders. “Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones”, said the committee.

It has been described as the largest human rights organisation in Russia, and in the present day, it helped in gathering information on “the political oppression and human rights violations in Russia”, as per the committee’s press release, which called it “the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities”.

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In the last two years, it has been shut down and liquidated by the Russian Supreme Court, but the organisation responded at the time by saying, “Nobody plans to give up.”

Ukrainian human rights organisation, Center for Civil Liberties

The Center for Civil Liberties was founded in Kyiv in 2007 “for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine”, said the committee.

As per its own website, the Centre describes itself as “One of the leading actors in Ukraine, influencing the formation of public opinion and public policy, supporting the development of civic activism, and actively participating in international networks and solidarity actions to promote human rights”.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Center for Civil Liberties has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian “war crimes” against the Ukrainian civilian population, according to the committee.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:06:39 pm

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As world celebrates Nobel Peace winners, a question: Why didn’t Gandhi ever win the Prize?

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As world celebrates Nobel Peace winners, a question: Why didn’t Gandhi ever win the Prize?

How is it that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest apostle of peace and the most inspiring symbol of non-violent struggle against oppression and discrimination in the modern era, was never honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize, either during his lifetime, or later?

By: Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 4:08:11 pm

There were six Nobel Prize nominations on Gandhi's behalf, including from the 1947 and 1946 Laureates, The Quakers and Emily Greene Balch. (Express Archive)

As the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the 2022 Peace Prize for human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties on Friday (October 7), an old question recurred.

How is it that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest apostle of peace and the most inspiring symbol of non-violent struggle against oppression and discrimination in the modern era, was never honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize, either during his lifetime, or later?

It is a question that the Nobel Committee has itself pondered.

The Nobel website asks: “Was the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee too narrow? Were the committee members unable to appreciate the struggle for freedom among non-European peoples? Or were the Norwegian committee members perhaps afraid to make a prize award which might be detrimental to the relationship between their own country and Great Britain?”

Under the section ‘Mahatma Gandhi, the missing laureate’, the Nobel website says: “Up to 1960, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded almost exclusively to Europeans and Americans. In retrospect, the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee may seem too narrow. Gandhi was very different from earlier Laureates. He was no real politician or proponent of international law, not primarily a humanitarian relief worker and not an organiser of international peace congresses. He would have belonged to a new breed of Laureates.”

Indeed, over the years, Gandhi did receive several nominations.

The Mahatma was nominated in 1937, 1938, and 1939 by Ole Colbjørnsen, a Labour member of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament).

The motivation for the first nomination was written by women in the Norwegian branch of Friends of India, a network of associations in Europe and the US. However, the Nobel Committee’s adviser, Professor Jacob Worm-Müller, argued in his report that Gandhi, although “a good, noble and ascetic person”, was given to “sharp turns in his policies”, which made him both “a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist”.

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Worm-Müller referred to critics who alleged Gandhi was not consistently pacifist, and doubted if his ideals were universal — his “struggle in South Africa was on behalf of the Indians only, and not of the blacks…”

In 1947, Gandhi was nominated by B G Kher, G V Mavalankar and G B Pant. Pandit Pant described him as the “the greatest living exponent of the moral order and the most effective champion of world peace today”.

This time, the Committee’s adviser, historian Jens Arup Seip, gave what the Nobel website describes as a “rather favourable, yet not explicitly supportive” report.

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Committee Chairman Gunnar Jahn recorded that two members, Christian conservative Herman Smitt Ingebretsen. and Christian liberal Christian Oftedal, favoured Gandhi, but the other three — including Labour politician Martin Tranmæl and former Foreign Minister Birger Braadland who did not want to honour Gandhi in the middle of Partition and riots — did not. The Nobel went to The Quakers.

What about a posthumous consideration?

Gandhi was assassinated two days before the 1948 Peace nominations closed. There were six nominations on his behalf, including from the 1947 and 1946 Laureates, The Quakers and Emily Greene Balch. Seip wrote that given the numbers of people on whose attitudes Gandhi had left his mark, he “can only be compared to the founders of religions”.

The Nobel Foundation’s statutes did allow a posthumous award under certain circumstances. But Gandhi did not belong to an organisation and had not left a will, so it was unclear who would receive the prize money.

The Committee’s lawyer, Ole Torleif Røed, sought the opinion of prize-awarding institutions, and was advised against a posthumous award. Eventually, the Committee said “there was no suitable living candidate” that year. Chairman Jahn recorded that Oftedal dissented on this.

The big picture on the exclusion of the Mahatma then, is as follows:

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* Up to 1960, when anti-apartheid activist Albert John Lutuli was honoured, the Peace Nobel went almost exclusively to Europeans and Americans. According to the Nobel website, Gandhi was a ‘different’ man — not a real politician or proponent of international law, not a humanitarian relief worker, not an organiser of global peace congresses.

* The Committee’s archives do not suggest that a possible adverse British reaction to an award to Gandhi was ever taken into account.

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* In 1947, a majority in the Committee had doubts about the consistency of Gandhi’s pacifism, triggered by a misleading news report that quoted him as saying that “if there was no other way of securing justice from Pakistan… the Indian Union Government would have to go to war against it”, and “Muslims whose loyalty was with Pakistan should not stay in the Indian Union”.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:05:51 pm

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US President Biden pardons those convicted for marijuana possession; how does it affect Americans?

Joe Biden released a statement on Thursday announcing three steps towards reforming marijuana laws in the United States.

Written by Sanskriti Falor

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 3:02:10 pm

Joe Biden said that no one should be in jail for using or possessing marijuana. (Reuters)

United States President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans on Thursday (October 6) who had been convicted of possessing marijuana, paving a way for its possible rescheduling under US federal law.

These pardons are in line with Biden’s 2020 election campaign promise, in which he said he would seek to decriminalise marijuana if elected. Through this move, Biden is likely to please his liberal to left-leaning supporters before the midterm elections scheduled in November, which will determine the party that will control the US Congress.

What did Biden say?

Joe Biden released a statement on Thursday announcing three steps towards reforming marijuana laws in the United States.

Biden said that no one should be in jail for using or possessing marijuana.

He added, “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.”

I’d also like to note that as federal and state regulations change, we still need important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales of marijuana.

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 6, 2022

Those convicted for marketing, distributing and selling of marijuana do not come under these pardons. Biden tweeted, “I’d also like to note that as federal and state regulations change, we still need important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales of marijuana.”

Biden also touched upon how arrests in the cases of marijuana possession target coloured and black Americans more than white people. He said, “While white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

How will it affect Americans?

The first step that Biden announced was to pardon all prior federal offences relating to marijuana possession. He said that he had directed the Attorney General to create an administrative process and issue certificates of pardon to those who are eligible for the same.

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Biden said, “There are thousands of people who have prior Federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result. My action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions.”

Secondly, Biden urged Governors of all the states to pardon those who were convicted of only possessing marijuana. “Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either.”

Further in his statement, Biden asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to work towards developing an administrative process to see how marijuana comes under the purview of federal law.

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He stated, “Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances. This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic. “

Biden added, “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

These pardons will clear all those who have been convicted of simple possession of marijuana on federal charges since the 1970s, when it became a crime.

The New York Times reported that while the officials said complete data was not yet available, 6,500 people convicted of possession of the drug between 1992 and 2021 will benefit from the move, The New York Times reported.

The White House on Thursday said that there were “no individuals currently in federal prison solely for simple possession of marijuana”.

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The move came after Biden apologised for the role he played in strengthening the criminal laws in a 1994 crime bill, which incorporated aggressive measures against drug offenders and was passed by then President Bill Clinton.

Current Law on marijuana possession

Under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, marijuana comes under Schedule 1, along with drugs like LSD and heroin and is defined as “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.

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The possession of marijuana in the US is an offence which is punishable by imprisonment for up to a year and a fine of minimum $1,000 on first conviction.

On second conviction, the offender is imprisoned for a minimum of 15 days and can go up to two years along with a $2,500 fine.

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Convictions after the same lead to a minimum imprisonment of 90 days to up to three years along with up to $5,000 fine.

US and marijuana legalisation

The United States has completely legalised marijuana for recreational use in 20 states and for medical use in 38 states.

These 38 states, which including the 20 states where recreational marijuana is legal are: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

Many states in the US have been increasingly legalising the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.

In February this year, the House passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act which allowed marijuana businesses to get access to financial services. The bill is yet to pass in the Senate.

In March this year, the Senate passed the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act to make it easier for researchers to study the medicinal properties of cannabis and other products.

According to a 2021 survey by Pew Research Centre, 91 per cent of Americans believe that marijuana should be legalised to some degree, of which 60 per cent want it to be legalised for medical and recreational use and 31 per cent for only medical use.

It’s long past time that we finally decriminalize marijuana.

Too many lives like Paul’s have been destroyed by misguided policy most Americans want to see reformed. @POTUS you have the power to use your executive authority to chart a new course. https://t.co/pNKxF0SnVq

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 29, 2022

Many Democrats have long been asking Biden to decriminalise the use of marijuana. Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman tweeted over a month ago saying, “It’s long past time that we finally decriminalize marijuana. “

According to a 2021 Gallup poll, 68 per cent of Americans support legalising marijuana and 48 per cent of Americans have tried marijuana once in their life.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 03:02:10 pm

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Who was Begum Samru, the nautch-girl turned ruler of Sardhana

Begum Samru (1750’s - 1836) was a figure that defied any fixed identity. She was a Muslim who converted to Catholicism, a nautch-girl (dancing girl) who became a warrior and an aristocrat.

Written by Raghu Malhotra

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 2:09:12 pm

A portrait of Begum Samru preserved at the palace, now St. Charles' Inter College in Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh. (Express photo by Oinam Anand)

The first week of October is said to mark the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, one of India’s minor basilicas situated in Sardhana in Uttar Pradesh.

It was constructed in 1822 by Begum Samru, a woman of humble origins that came to be popularly known as the only Catholic queen of India. For the bicentennial celebration of the church’s completion, we explain the life and times of this remarkable figure that began her life as a concubine, and died as one of India’s richest and most powerful women.

Who was Begum Samru?

Begum Samru (1750’s – 1836) was a figure that defied any fixed identity. She was a Muslim who converted to Catholicism, a nautch-girl (dancing girl) who became a warrior and an aristocrat, and was described by her contemporaries as dressing more like a man than a woman, sporting a dark turban and ever-puffing away at a hookah.

She was a shrewd leader who was able to find a favourable position in the ever-dynamic political terrain of 18th century northern India. While she had first supported the waning Mughal empire, from the 1790’s the Begum began to provide service to the rising Marathas, before joining the British to ensure that she could maintain her landholding rights if they emerged victorious.

Some sources claim that Begum Samru, birth name Farzana, was born to a second wife of a poor noblement in present day Meerut, while others claim she was of Kashmiri descent. She spent her early years as a nautch (dancing girl) in a tawaif’s (courtesan) kotha (household) in Delhi.

It was here she met Walter Reinhardt, an Austrian mercenary of uncertain origins and even more uncertain allegiances, who after reaching India in 1750 had served the British, French and Jats, i.e any force willing to employ him. While some accounts suggest he was called Le Sombre due to his serious nature, other sources claim he took on the name Sommers or Summers, which was Indianised into Samru.

In 1767, the teenage-Farzana became the much older Reinhardt’s close companion, and remained so until his death, assuming the role of his wife and became known as Begum Samru.

Her rise to power

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After first fighting in armies against the Mughals, Reinhardt switched sides and began to serve them, for which the emperor Shah Alam II bestowed upon him the jagir (land tenureship) of Sardhana, in present day Meerut district.

Begum Samru accompanied Reinhardt on his military campaigns and began to play an essential role in managing Sardhana and its land revenue dealings, writes Manu S Pillai in his book The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin.

The historian Durba Ghosh writes in her book, Sex and the Family in Colonial India, the Begum had lived among Reinhardt’s military force and formed strong relations with his officers. Thus, after his death in 1778, they looked to her as his successor, rather than Reinhardt’s son from a woman. She was able to be recognised as such by the Mughal emperor and was granted all her ‘husbands’ lands, thereby becoming not only a commander of a retinue of around 3,000 troops, but also a major landed magnate.

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In the late 18th century, Delhi faced increasing threats from the rising Marathas, Jats, Sikhs and Rohilas, and the now waning Mughal Empire relied on the support of the Begum who provided her armies for protection. For her service, she was bestowed the title Zeb-un-nissa by emperor Shah Alam and honoured with a khilat (ceremonial robe). The title and award brought her into the emperor’s inner circle of trusted nobility and she was given a land grant near Delhi

Her conversion

Three years after Reinhardt’s death, Begum Samru, the established ruler of Sardhana converted to Catholicism in 1781 and was christened Joanna. While the reasons for her conversion are unclear, she continued to retain both her names, enabling her to “associate with a larger community of Catholics, as well as to remind her political foes of her military prowess”, writes Durba Ghosh. Her conversion, according to her, did not interfere with her status of a powerful landholder in northern India.

Despite her change in faith, the Begum did not forgo earlier practices and norms associated with other religions. Manu S. Pillai notes that she maintained her “Islamic appearance even after conversion”, much to the disappointment of the priest who had baptised her, while simultaneously spending lakhs of rupees on Christian institutions.

She held lavish Christmas feasts where she hired dancing girls and musicians for entertainment, which her European guests recorded with intrigue. While Begum was a Christian, she followed the north Indian practice of not eating with people from other castes and communities, choosing to puff away at the hookah instead.

Begum Samru built one of the largest churches of the time in north India, where she attended Mass every Sunday. At the same time, she dispensed money to her subjects during Eid and celebrated Diwali and Holi, practices that annoyed her resident bishop, notes historian Mrinalini Rajagopalan in her article, Cosmopolitan Crossings: The Architecture of Begum Samru. Clearly the Begum had no problem cross-cutting between different cultures.

The church

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While she had constructed a mansion in Chandini Chowk and another in her independent territory, Begum Samru, referred to by some as India’s only Catholic Queen, is best known for building a Catholic church in Sardhana known today as the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces. It is one of the 23 minor basilicas of India, and the only one in the north, after the church was bestowed the status by Pope John XXIII in 1961.

The architect was an Italian engineer Antonio Reghellini from the city of Vicenza, and the Begum is said to have incurred a cost of Rs 4 lakh. Completed in 1822, it is commonly believed that the church was built as a replica of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, however Mrinalini Rajagopalan claims that it was likely based on ‘Akbar’s Church’ in Agra, which had been built as a tribute to the Jesuit missionaries in the emperor’s court in 1599.

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The structure consists of a blend of architectural styles, of Indian and Islamic features added to a European cross-plan church, writes Rajagopalan. The church’s domes lie next to large steeples reminiscent of Islamic minarets, while the central altar contains pietra dura or parchinkari designs that are found in the Taj Mahal and Red For.

The church helped Begum Samru establish relations with Europeans, beyond the networks she had established with the British in India later in her life. In the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces there lies a letter that the former dancing girl is known to have written to Pope Gregory XVI, stating, “I am proud to say it (the church) is acknowledged to be the finest, without exception, in India.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 02:09:12 pm

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What does X mean to Elon Musk?

On Tuesday, Elon Musk tweeted: "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app." What is X, and how does Twitter factor into it? What is the history behind X?

By: New York Times

San Francisco | October 7, 2022 2:01:12 pm

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk smiles at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019. (Reuters Photo: Mike Blake)

Elon Musk on Monday proposed to acquire Twitter at $54.20 a share, a surprise return to his original $44 billion deal with the company after months of trying to terminate it. In April, as the acquisition came together, Musk said he wanted to own Twitter so people could speak more freely on the platform.

On Tuesday, though, Musk shared another motivation for buying the social media company, tweeting: “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.”

Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2022

What is X?

Musk, the richest man in the world and the CEO of auto company Tesla, has been thin on details about what an “everything app” would look like. But he has expressed interest in making a worldwide social media platform modeled after WeChat, which is owned by Chinese technology giant Tencent.

In China, WeChat is used by more than 1 billion people as an all-in-one social media, instant messaging and mobile payment app. Used to order food, hail cabs and find news, it is sewn into the fabric of daily life. Musk has said that if a similar app were used by enough people worldwide to communicate, it could establish a payment system as well.

“I think such an app would be really useful. And just the utility of sort of a spam-free thing where you could make comments, you could post videos — I think it’s important for content creators to have a revenue share,” Musk said on a podcast in May.

In August, when a Twitter user asked Musk whether he had considered creating his own social platform, he replied, “X.com.” Earlier that month, at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, Musk said he had “a pretty grand vision” for X as “something that would be very useful to the world.”

How does Twitter factor into X?

Musk has not publicly offered a plan or timeline for X. But he has said that, despite not being necessary to create X, “Twitter probably accelerates X by three to five years.” Should Musk acquire Twitter, it is unclear if he would make X from scratch using parts of Twitter, or turn Twitter into X.

During a question-and-answer session with Twitter employees in June, Musk said that he views the company as a digital town square “essential for a functioning democracy” but that it ought to include as much of the world as possible. To encourage people to use and stay on the platform, it should be more all-encompassing, like WeChat, he said.

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In 2020, a Twitter user proposed that Musk create X “to ensure human survival and progress.” This version of X would be the parent company of Tesla, SpaceX, his brain computer company Neuralink and his tunnel construction company the Boring Co., the user suggested. Musk called the proposal a “good idea.” Whether X is meant to be a conglomeration of Musk’s companies, a global WeChat or something else is unknown.

X is also the name of the three holding companies Musk registered in Delaware to acquire Twitter. If the acquisition takes place, X Holdings I would function as Twitter’s parent company, X Holdings II would buy Twitter and X Holdings III would fund the deal, according to regulatory filings.

What is the history behind X?

Musk has said he has “a fondness for the letter X.” X is how Musk publicly refers to his first child with Claire Boucher, the musician known as Grimes, but his history with the letter dates to at least 1999, when he helped found X.com, an online bank.

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In 2000, X.com merged with Confinity, a competing software company. In 2001, Peter Thiel, one of Confinity’s founders, replaced Musk as X.com’s CEO, and the company was renamed PayPal.

In 2017, Musk bought the domain for X.com from PayPal. The website directs to a blank white page, save a black lowercase “x” in the upper left corner. A separate page, X.com/x, directs to a page with a lowercase “y,” which is the nickname of Musk’s second child with Grimes.

When Musk bought the domain, he tweeted: “Thanks PayPal for allowing me to buy back X.com! No plans right now, but it has great sentimental value to me.”

The plans, it now seems, have to do with “everything.”

Written by Kalley Huang. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 02:01:12 pm

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Iran: Furious, women-led protests take veil off social, economic frustrations

The hijab agitation in Iran has sprung from deep discontentments. As the protests enter the third week, what is the road ahead?

By: Explained Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 1:17:10 pm

People take part in a protest against the Islamic regime of Iran and the death of Mahsa Amini in front of the Iranian Embassy in Madrid, Spain, October 6. (Photo: Reuters)

For over three weeks now, women in Iran have stared down tear gas, batons and bullets as they frontline one of the biggest protests against the country’s theocratic regime, burning their hijabs, chopping off their hair, and chanting “death to the dictator”.

One of the protest videos to make it to the Internet – in a country where the online space is heavily regulated – shows schoolgirls heckling a personnel of the paramilitary force Basiji, shouting “get lost, Basiji”.

The sparks are now catching outside Iran, with French actors Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, among others, cutting their hair in solidarity with Iranian women.

What led to the protests, what is fuelling them, and how has the government responded?

What caused the protest

The immediate trigger of the protest was the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, allegedly at the hands of Iran’s morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, on September 13. Amini was visiting Tehran from the Kurdish city of Saqez when she was detained for not wearing her veil properly. The hijab is mandatory in Iran – though about 90 years ago, wearing it was legally punishable.

The hijab rule had been relaxed when the more reformist Hassan Rouhani was in power, but since the hardliner President Ebrahim Raisi took over the post in 2021, enforcement has been strict.

While the police claimed Amini had a heart attack in custody, her family claimed she was tortured. Pictures of her bruised face went viral, and soon, people poured out on the streets. Chanting “Women, Life, Freedom”, the leaderless protests have spread town to town, crossing provincial, class and ethnicity boundaries and directly targetting the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in whom are concentrated the enormous religious, political and military might of a state where political dissent can be punished with death.

Experts say that the young, educated, and more internationally exposed Iranians have been chafing against the hijab and other restrictions for long, and Amini’s death served as the last straw. Yet, the protests are underpinned by pervasive economic distress.

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Crippled by sanctions ever since its nuclear deal with the US broke down in 2015, Iran is witnessing both high inflation and high unemployment. Many Iranians feel that the effect of the sanctions has been worsened by domestic mismanagement and corruption.

Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director, foreign policy, The Brookings Institution, said in a podcast, “As a result of sanctions, but more particularly as a result of mismanagement over the past 43 years under Islamic rule, Iran has never reached anything like the economic potential that was briefly seen in the 1970s under the monarchy, whether in terms of oil production, but also just in terms of making the most of an incredibly well-educated population and a diverse natural resource and advanced industrial base.”

Anger had been building up as jobs became hard to come by and the cost of daily items rose, and is now fuelling the current protests.

How the govt has responded

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While on the street, protesters are being met by the riot police and being rounded up, officially, the state has maintained that “foreign powers” are behind the agitation, in order to destabilise Iran. It has also launched cross-border attacks on Kurdish separatists in Iraq. Internet has been restricted, furthering economic woes.

On September 28, President Raisi said that while Amini’s death had “saddened” everyone, “chaos” would not be accepted. “We all are saddened by this tragic incident … (However) Chaos is unacceptable. The government’s red line is our people’s security … One cannot allow people to disturb the peace of society through riots,” Reuters quoted Raisi as saying.

A few days later, over a fortnight after the protests began, the ayatollah officially reacted, blaming the US and Israel for the unrest.

“I say clearly that these riots and the insecurity were engineered by America and the occupying, false Zionist regime [Israel], as well as their paid agents, with the help of some traitorous Iranians abroad,” Khamenei was quoted by the BBC as saying. Over claims of a violent crackdown on protesters, Khamenei backed the security forces, saying “injustice” had been meted out to them. He made it a point to add that Amini’s death “broke our hearts”.

On the ground, several activists and journalists have been arrested or detained, though there is no clarity on the numbers. According to an Associated Press report, an Oslo-based group called Iran Human Rights “estimates at least 154 people have been killed, though that includes an estimated 63 people killed in violence in the eastern Iranian city of Zahedan. Iranian authorities have described the Zahedan violence as involving unnamed separatists.”

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Iran is known for an iron fist response to protests. In 2019, during agitations against inflation, security forces killed around 1,500 people, Reuters has reported. This time, the state is yet to unleash its full might, though it has made no outreach towards the supporters either. Some experts believe this is because the government is unsure of how to respond, with brutality likely to further fan the flames. Others have said the indecision is because of factionalism amid the power circles – the ayatollah is in his 80s and reportedly sick, and his successor has not been picked yet.

“Iran’s leaders are probably trying to see if a combination of internet shutdowns, mass arrests, and some violence against protesters will slow the momentum of the protests,” Reuters quoted Eurasia Group analyst Henry Rome as saying. “But I don’t think anyone should doubt that, at the end of the day, the state has a backstop of loyal enforcers willing to kill their fellow citizens who can be called upon to end this round of protests,” Rome added.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 01:05:11 pm

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How will Elon Musk pay for Twitter?

Elon Musk has pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition of Twitter, which covers the $44 billion price tag and closing costs. What is his financing plan?

By: Reuters

Updated: October 7, 2022 10:35:13 am

Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic)

Elon Musk bought himself some time on Thursday, after a judge accepted the billionaire’s request to halt a Twitter lawsuit to allow him to close his proposed $44 billion buyout of the social media company by Oct. 28. Now comes the big question: how will he pay for it?

Musk said earlier this week he would buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, the price that was agreed in April, but included a condition that the closing of the deal be contingent on debt financing for the transaction coming through.

Elon Musk-Twitter deal: What is his financing plan?

Musk has pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covers the $44 billion price tag and closing costs. Banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp, committed to provide $13 billion of debt financing to support the deal.

Twitter on Thursday cited one of the banks as saying that Musk had not communicated to them that he intends to close the transaction. Musk said that banks were “working cooperatively to fund the close” on or around Oct. 28.

Musk’s $33.5 billion equity commitment would include his 9.6% Twitter stake, which is worth $4 billion, and the $7.1 billion he secured from equity investors, including Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

That leaves Musk needing to secure an additional $22.4 billion of funds to cover the equity financing portion of the deal.

How much cash does Elon Musk have?

Musk, 51, is the world’s richest person with a net worth of $219 billion according to Forbes, but a large portion of his fortune is tied to his stakes in Tesla and Space X.

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According to a Reuters calculation, Musk has about $20 billion of cash after selling down part of his Tesla stake through multiple transactions in November and December last year and April and August this year. This means he would need to raise an additional $2 billion to $3 billion, even if the other equity and debt commitments are honored.

How can he fill the equity shortfall?

He can either choose to sell down more of his stake in Tesla, or his stake in SpaceX. Other options include obtaining a loan from banks against the stocks, or getting more investors to contribute equity.

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In August, Musk said he does not plan to sell down his stake in Tesla any further, but the latest U-turn from Musk has revived concerns over whether he will sell more of the electric-vehicle maker’s stock to fund the deal.

Musk owned 465 million Tesla shares worth $111 billion following its 3-for-1 stock split, according to Reuters’ calculation. He has already borrowed heavily against a big portion of his Tesla stake.

Does he have enough equity investors?

On April 20, Oracle founder Larry Ellison said he was interested in participating in the deal as one of the investors in Twitter.

Ellison is among a group of investors who have collectively promised to chip in $7.1 billion of financing for the deal. So far, no investors have publicly said they would back away from their commitments.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 07:11:34 am

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Thailand’s gun culture and past shootings

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Thailand’s gun culture and past shootings

In one of the worst mass killings in recent history, a gunman killed 34 people including 22 children at a daycare centre in Thailand.

By: Reuters

Bangkok | October 7, 2022 7:03:33 am

In this image taken from video, a distraught woman is comforted outside the site of an attack at a daycare center, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in the town of Nongbua Lamphu, north eastern Thailand. (Mungkorn Sriboonreung Rescue Group via AP)

A former policeman killed 34 people including 22 children in a gun rampage at a daycare centre in eastern Thailand on Thursday, later shooting dead his wife and child at their home before turning his weapon on himself, police said. It is one of the worst mass killings in recent Thai history.

Here are some other recent high-profile gun crimes in Thailand and facts about its gun laws and culture.

Recent shootings

– In February 2020, a soldier angry over a property deal gone sour killed at least 29 people and wounded 57 in a rampage that spanned four locations in and around the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Most of the victims were at the Terminal 21 shopping centre where the 32-year-old shooter held out against an overnight siege with an assault rifle and ammunition stolen from his army base. He was later shot dead. – Just 10 days after that mass shooting, a man killed his ex-wife and wounded another person at a shopping centre in Bangkok. – In June 2021, a former soldier fired gunshots in a coronavirus field hospital near Bangkok, killing a 54-year-old patient after earlier shooting dead a convenience store employee. The 23-year-old gunman had believed the patients in the hospital were drug addicts and said he hated drug addicts.

Thailand’s gun laws

– Gun laws are quite strict in Thailand. Illegal possession of a firearm carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 20,000 baht ($536), but gun ownership is high compared with some other countries in southeast Asia.

– Illegal weapons, many brought in from strife-torn countries, are common but mass shootings remain rare.

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– The estimated total number of guns held, legally and illegally, by civilians in Thailand was 10.3 million in 2017, or one for about every seven citizens. Of those, about 4 million were illegal.

– The annual number of deaths resulting from firearms was 1,292 in 2019, down from 2,953 deaths a decade earlier, Gunpolicy.org said.

– Applicants for a gun owner’s licence must give a genuine reason to possess a firearm, such as for hunting or to be part of a collection. The applicant must be aged at least 20 and first undergo background checks which consider personal conduct, living condition, income and any criminal records.

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Public attitudes

– Thais often complain online about a perceived decrease in personal safety and say guns are idolised by some as symbols of power and privilege because they are expensive and not easy to obtain legally.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 07:03:33 am

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Interest rates up, likely to rise further: how to manage your loan and savings

Home loan rates have risen in the last few months, and the higher EMI and longer loan tenures along with inflation have led to an increase in expenditure and a reduction in savings for individuals.

Written by Sandeep Singh , George Mathew

New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:46:19 am

With the last week’s repo rate hike, home loan EMIs would increase by an average of 8-9 per cent from six months ago. Ditto is the case with vehicle loans and other personal loans. (Photo via Pixabay)

With interest rates rising across the board in the financial system, borrowers will have to shell out higher equated monthly instalments (EMIs) for loans taken to buy homes, vehicles and other consumer durables. As a result, they may have to rework their strategies to keep finances under control.

What’s the hike so far?

The RBI had cut interest rates from 5.15 per cent in February 2020, when Covid-19 hit, to as low as 4 per cent by May 2020. Interest rates on home loans had fallen to as much as 6.50 per cent from around 10 per cent, prompting buyers to go for loans. Since May this year, interest rates are back on an upward climb, with Repo rates rising by 190 basis points to 5.90 per cent as the RBI fights to bring down inflation. The hike in Repo rates means the cost of funds of banks and housing finance companies is also rising, leading to the transmission of the hike to customers.

Sales of residential units have increased by more than two times during the first half of 2022 vis-à-vis the same period last year, and the growth trajectory was maintained during the July-September quarter. With the last week’s repo rate hike, home loan EMIs would increase by an average of 8-9 per cent from six months ago. Ditto is the case with vehicle loans and other personal loans.

The continuous rise in home loan EMI is hence, expected to act as a sentiment disruptor. “We believe that home loan interest rates inching towards 9 per cent and above may result in moderation of housing sales growth in the medium term, especially post the current festive season,” said Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of research and REIS, JLL India.

Will rates go up further?

The RBI raised the Repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.90 in the last monetary policy review as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) seeks to ensure that inflation remains within the target, while supporting growth. The regime of high-interest rates is expected to last for two to three years or till when the inflation level comes down and the central bank cuts down the Repo rate.

While the central bank retained its CPI inflation projection at 6.7 per cent for FY23, it downgraded the real GDP growth projections for FY23 to 7 per cent from 7.2 per cent and FY24 at 6.5 per cent. CPI is likely to remain above 6 per cent for the first three-quarters of FY23.

“Elevated imported inflation pressures remain an upside risk for the future trajectory of inflation, amplified by the continuing appreciation of the US dollar. We believe that a 35 bps rate hike in December looks imminent but beyond December it would be touch and go,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, State Bank of India.

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This indicates that EMIs or tenure on loans can rise further.

How is the rate hike impacting your loan and savings?

Home loan rates have risen by nearly 200 basis points over the last five months. The higher EMI and longer loan tenures along with inflation have meant that there is an increase in expenditure and a reduction in savings for individuals.

As the RBI has raised the repo rates by 190 basis points, many home loan customers have witnessed banks and housing finance companies raising their rates by around 190 basis points. The impact: If the interest rate on a Rs 50 lakh loan outstanding for the remaining tenure of 15 years (180 months) has gone up by 190 basis points from 7 per cent to 8.9 per cent, the tenure of the loan would rise to 236 months (if the EMI is kept constant). However, if someone wants to keep the tenure constant or is not able to increase tenure because of age limitation or any other factor, then the EMI would jump from Rs 44,941 to Rs 50,416, a monthly increase of Rs 5,474.

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What can one do?

Here are a few things that one can do to keep the financial impact under control.

Do assess your loan: The most common mistake that individuals make is that they ignore assessing their loan schedule — if the bank/HFC has not raised the EMI but only increased the tenure. While individuals keep reading that the rates have risen and banks and HFCs have revised their rates, there are very few who make the effort to check how much their loan tenure has increased. It is important to monitor the loan in order to be able to address the issue.

Can break fixed deposit and partially pay your loan: It is important to assess investments. If you have a fixed deposit that is earning 5 to 6 per cent, the post-tax return on it is limited to 3.4 per cent to 4.1 per cent (for an individual in the highest tax bracket). Individuals can use a part of that fixed deposit to pre-pay some of the loan and keep their tenure and EMI under check. There is no point earning 4 per cent from a saving instrument if there is an ongoing loan on which one is paying around 9 per cent.

Increase your EMI partly: If the increase in tenure is making you anxious, go for a partial increase in EMI. So in the above example, as the rise in interest rates leads to an increase in tenure from 180 months to 236 months, if the individual requests his bank/HFC to raise the EMI by Rs 2,500 to Rs 47,441, the tenure would come down to 206 months. For those who can afford it, it makes sense to increase the EMI and limit the impact of interest volatility on their loan schedule.

Big jump in personal loans

Personal loans of banks jumped by 19.5 per cent to Rs 36.47 lakh crore by August 2022 from Rs 30.51 lakh crore a year ago. Home loans, the biggest component of personal loans, rose by 16.4 per cent to Rs 17.85 lakh crore from Rs 15.34 lakh crore as borrowers took advantage of the low-interest rate regime. Credit card outstanding also jumped by 27.3 per cent to Rs 1.67 lakh crore from Rs 1.31 lakh crore.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 06:30:46 am

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UPSC-CSE Key

- UPSC Key-October 7, 2022: Why you should read ‘Avalanches’ or ‘Virtual Water Trade’ or ‘European Central Bank’ for UPSC CSE

- UPSC Essentials: One word a day – GRAP

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UPSC Key-October 7, 2022: Why you should read ‘Avalanches’ or ‘Virtual Water Trade’ or ‘European Central Bank’ for UPSC CSE

Exclusive for Subscribers from Monday to Friday: The Indian Express UPSC Key October 7, 2022 will help you prepare for the Civil Services and other competitive examinations with cues on how to read and understand content from the most authoritative news source in India.

Hyderabad | Updated: October 8, 2022 7:04:09 am

UPSC Key 2022: Here's what you should be reading from the October 7, 2022 edition of The Indian Express.

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for October 7, 2022. If you missed the October 6, 2022 UPSC key from the Indian Express, read it here

FRONT PAGE

India abstains at UN on vote for debate on human rights in China’s Xinjiang

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination:

• General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

• General Studies II: India and its neighborhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- India on Thursday abstained from voting on a draft resolution in the UN Human Rights Council on holding a debate on the human rights situation in China’s restive Xinjiang region.

• But, why India abstained on UNHRC resolution?

• Is India’s abstention a surprise?

• How did India explain its vote?

• Was India under certain diplomatic pressure?

• So, do you think that India’s abstention is good for India’s diplomatic space?

• By the way, who are Uyghurs?

• Map Work– Can you mark Xinjiang on world map?

• Why Xinjiang is important to China?

• What prompted China’s crackdown on Uyghurs minorities?

• What is the basis for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accusations?

• What has been China’s response?

• For your Information-The Uyghurs live in Xinjiang, the largest and most western of China’s administrative regions, which is surrounded by Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. They are Muslim, speak a language close to Turkish, and are culturally and ethnically closer to Central Asia than the rest of China.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Who are Uighurs?

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📍Explained: Why has China put Uighur Muslims in camps, and what happens inside?

GOVT & POLITICS

India pressed Russia on safety of Ukraine N-plant: Jaishankar

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination:

• General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

• General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

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• What’s the ongoing story- India is willing to do whatever it can to facilitate a solution to the Ukraine crisis, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday. Jaishankar, who is in Auckland on his first visit to New Zealand as the External Affairs Minister highlighted how India pressed Moscow on the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine when the two countries stepped up fighting near the highly sensitive facility.

• Map Work-New Zealand

• New Zealand consists of two main landmasses, the North Island and the South Island. Can you name the water body which is between both the islands?

• India and New Zealand have historically shared close and cordial ties-Can you brainstorm the cooperation areas between the two nations?

• Bilateral Economic & Commercial Relations between India and New Zealand-know in brief

• Pacific Islands forum (PIF) and India-connect the dots

• India, New Zealand and India’s Pursuit for Asia-Pacific region-can you correlate?

• Map Work-Zaporizhzhia

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• Ukraine has four nuclear power stations comprising 15 reactors but what makes the plant at Zaporizhzhia important and extremely volatile?

• What are the Cooling systems and why they are extremely crucial to the safe operations of nuclear reactors?

• What is a radiation emergency?

• What are anti-radiation pills?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍INDIA – NEW ZEALAND: BILATERAL BRIEF

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📍Explained: How fighting in Ukraine has put an active nuclear plant at grave risk

EXPRESS NETWORK

There was little we could do, says survivor; death count rises to 16

Syllabus:

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Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Twelve more bodies were recovered Thursday from the site of an avalanche that hit a team of climbers in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, officials said, taking the death toll to 16.

• What is avalanche?

• What are the main causes of avalanches?

• What are the effects of Avalanches?

• Why Himalayas are vulnerable to Avalanches?

• Locate on Map-Draupadi Ka Danda (Gangotri range of Garhwal Himalayas)

• What are the Prediction and protective measures for Avalanches in India?

• Avalanches Vulnerability Profile in India-Know previous such cases

• Avalanches and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)-connect the dots

• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)-Know in detail

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

UP AHEAD: RICE INSECURITY

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment, Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Poornima Varma writes: Unreliable rice export policy and precarity of production among other factors, will have long-term impact

• Quick Recall-On August 8, India banned the exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent duty on the exports of various grades of rice amid high cereal inflation and uncertainties with respect to domestic supply.

• What was India’s total rice exports in the year 2021-22?

• India is a major rice cultivation country. Rice is grown in which part of the country?

• What are the Climate Conditions required for rice cultivation?

• What is “optimal export tax”?

• ‘Ban on rice export help tame inflation’-Do you agree?

• How Export bans on food items shows irresponsible behaviour at the global level?

• What are the restrictions that have been put on rice exports?

• How much would all this impact the country’s overall rice exports?

• Why have these restrictions been placed?

• How important is India to the global rice trade?

• Where does India export rice to?

• Now, what exactly are parboiled and broken rice?

• Will India’s rice exports take a massive hit?

• The author of this article quotes “Rice exports are leading to an indirect export of water to other countries — a phenomenon known as virtual water trade (VWT)”-What have you understood by this statement?

• What is virtual water trade (VWT)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India’s water is being exported as agri-exports; is there a solution

ECONOMY

European Central Bank policymakers: Recession becoming ‘increasingly likely’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II:  Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- European Central Bank policymakers appeared increasingly worried at their Sept. 7-8 meeting that high inflation could become entrenched, making aggressive policy tightening necessary even at the cost of weaker growth, the meeting accounts show.

• What is European Central Bank (ECB)?

• For Your Information-The ECB Governing Council makes decisions on eurozone monetary policy, including its objectives, key interest rates and the supply of reserves in the Euro system comprising the ECB and national central banks of the eurozone countries. It also sets the general framework for the ECB’s role in banking supervision

• What are the primary responsibility of the ECB?

• European Central Bank and Reserve bank of India-compare and contrast (w.r.t to functions and responsibilities and inflation)

• European Union-Know in detail

• What are the Functions of EU?

• How are EU’s Relations with India?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍European Central Bank (ECB)

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com

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First published on: 07-10-2022 at 07:13:03 pm

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UPSC Essentials: One word a day – GRAP

What is GRAP? Know about this word often seen in news. Explore beyond the word to briefly related essential questions including an important report for prelims or mains. Don't miss the MCQ and Post Read Q&A.

Written by Manas Srivastava

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 2:11:56 pm

The GRAP was first notified in January 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. ((File/Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)

Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, and phenomena from the static and current parts of the UPSC-CSE. The Post Read Q&A will help you to self-evaluate your retention memory after reading the article.

Word: GRAP

Subject: Environment and Climate

Relevance: Terms associated with the environment and climate change form potential questions for UPSC-CSE. We go beyond the term to discuss CAQM and World Air Quality Report. The report has certain suggestions which can be quoted in Mains GS III.

Why in news?

— The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Wednesday (October 5) that measures under ‘Stage-1’ of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will be enforced in the NCR with immediate effect.

— The order came after Delhi’s AQI deteriorated to be in the ‘poor’ category on Wednesday. Other parts of the NCR, including Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida, also recorded ‘poor’ air quality on Wednesday.

What is the Graded Response Action Plan?

— GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold. Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300), and On Wednesday, for instance, the AQI in Delhi was 211.

— The second, third and fourth stages will be activated three days ahead of the AQI reaching the ‘very poor’ category (301 to 400), ‘severe’ category (401 to 450) and ‘severe +’ category (above 450) respectively.

— For this, the CAQM is relying on air quality and meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

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— Measures being imposed under the previous categories will continue even when the subsequent category is activated, that is, if measures under stage 2 are activated, measures under Stage-1 will continue to remain in place.

How is the GRAP different this year?

— The CAQM revised the Graded Response Action Plan earlier this year. The GRAP was first notified in January 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This was based on a plan that was submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in November 2016. According to the notification, the task of implementing the GRAP fell on the now dissolved Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the NCR. From 2021 onwards, the GRAP is being implemented by the CAQM.

— In the version of the GRAP that was notified in 2017, measures kicked in after pollution concentrations reached a certain level. This year, measures are pre-emptive and will kick in based on forecasts in an attempt to prevent the AQI from deteriorating further. The older version of the GRAP was enforced based only on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10. This year, GRAP is being enforced based on the AQI, which takes other pollutants also into account, such as ozone, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen.

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What are the measures that will be enforced this year?

— Some of the measures in the revised GRAP are also different this year. For the first time, it specifies that State governments in the NCR may impose restrictions on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four wheelers under Stage-3, or when the AQI is likely to reach the ‘severe’ category.

— In the ‘severe +’ category, GRAP imposes a ban on plying of four-wheelers in Delhi and NCR districts bordering Delhi, except for BS-VI vehicles and those plying for emergency or essential services. Under this category, there will also be a ban on the movement of Delhi registered, diesel-operated medium and heavy goods vehicles in Delhi, with exceptions for those carrying essential commodities or providing essential services.

— Restrictions on some construction activities will also set in earlier in the revised GRAP. A ban on construction activities (except for those involving railways, projects of national security, hospitals, metro services, and linear public projects like highways, roads) will be imposed under the ‘severe’ category. In the previous plan, the construction ban was implemented only in the ‘severe +’ category.

— Construction activities on linear public projects like highways, roads, flyovers, pipelines and power transmission, will be banned under the ‘severe +’ category this year.

What are citizens required to do?

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— The revised GRAP also has a set of measures for the public to follow – under the ‘poor’ category, this includes keeping vehicle engines tuned, ensuring PUC certificates are updated and switching off vehicle engines at red lights. Under the ‘very poor’ category, it is suggested that citizens use public transport and replace air filters in their automobiles.

— Under the ‘severe’ category, a recommendation is made to work from home if possible, and not use coal and wood for heating. Under the ‘severe +’ category, GRAP advises people with chronic diseases and children and the elderly to avoid outdoor activities.

Who will implement and enforce the GRAP?

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— The CAQM has constituted a sub-committee for the operationalization of the GRAP. This body includes officials from the CAQM, member secretaries of pollution control boards of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, the Central Pollution Control Board, a scientist from the IMD and one from the IITM, and Dr T K Joshi, Health Advisor, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Maulana Azad Medical College. The sub-committee is required to meet frequently to issue orders to invoke the GRAP.

— The orders and directions of the CAQM will prevail in case of any conflict between directions issued by the State governments and the CAQM.

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— Measures under the different categories of the plan are to be enforced by the pollution control boards of the NCR states and the concerned departments and agencies, including the traffic police, the Transport Department and road owning and construction agencies.

— Actions under Stages II, III and IV will be invoked three days in advance of the AQI reaching the projected level.

Stage 1 (AQI ‘Poor’ – 201 to 300)

(1) Stopping all construction and demolition activities with plot size of 500 square metres or more which have not been registered on dust mitigation monitoring portals

(2) mechanised sweeping, water sprinkling on roads

(3) enforcing guidelines on use of anti-smog guns at construction sites

(4) enforcing ban on open burning of waste and PUC (pollution under control norms) for vehicles

(5) DISCOMs to minimise power supply interruptions in NCR

(6) Encourage offices to start unified commute for employees to reduce traffic

Stage 2 (AQI ‘Very poor’ – 301 to 400)

(1) Not allowing coal/firewood in tandoors at hotels

(2) stopping use of diesel generator sets except for essential and emergency services (hospitals, railways, metro services, airports, water pumping stations, “projects of national importance”)

(3) enhance parking fees to discourage private transport

(4) augment CNG/ electric bus and metro services by procuring additional fleet and increasing the frequency of service

Stage 3 (AQI ‘Severe’ – 401 to 450)

(1) Ban on construction and demolition activities except railway, metro, hospitals, sanitation projects etc, linear public projects like highways, roads, flyovers

(2) closure of industries that have PNG supply and are not running on approved fuels. In industrial areas that don’t have PNG supply, industries not running on approved fuels will operate only for five days a week

(3) State governments in NCR may impose restrictions on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four wheelers

Stage 4 (AQI ‘Severe +’ – more than 450)

(1) Stop entry of truck traffic into Delhi (except for essentials, CNG and electric trucks)

(2) Ban on plying of Delhi registered diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles in Delhi, except for essentials

(3) Ban on plying of 4-wheeler diesel vehicles in Delhi and districts of NCR bordering Delhi, except BS-VI vehicles and vehicles used for essential or emergency services

(4) State Governments may consider additional emergency measures like closure of schools, plying of vehicles on odd-even basis

(5) NCR State governments to decide on allowing public, municipal and private offices to work on 50% strength and the rest to work from home

(6) Ban C&D activities in linear public projects such as highways, roads, flyovers

Beyond the word

What is the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)?

— The Commission for Air Quality Management was formed by an ordinance in October 2020, the “Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020”.

— It is chaired by a government official of the rank of Secretary or Chief Secretary.

— It will be a permanent body and will have over 20 members. The Commission will be a statutory authority. It will supersede bodies such as the central and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.

— It will have the powers to issue directions to these state governments on issues pertaining to air pollution.

— The Commission has been set up for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas for better co-ordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

— It has exclusive jurisdiction over the NCR, including areas in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, in matters of air pollution, and will be working along with CPCB and ISRO, apart from the respective state governments.

What are the key takeaways of World Air Quality Report 2021 released in 2022?

— Air pollution continued to spike to unhealthy levels in 2021, and New Delhi continues to be the world’s most polluted capital city for the fourth consecutive year, according to the World Air Quality Report, prepared by Swiss organisation IQAir. The index listed 35 Indian cities with the worst air quality tag for 2021 with Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi topping the list followed closely by Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.

— The report is based on PM2.5 air quality data from 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions, and territories around the world. The data used to create this report was generated by tens of thousands of regulatory and low-cost air quality monitoring stations operated by governments, non-profit organizations, research institutions, educational facilities, companies, and citizen scientists around the world, noted the report.

— The report also revealed that not a single country managed to meet the WHO’s air quality standard in 2021, and smog even rebounded in some regions after a Covid-related dip in numbers. WHO’s guidelines of September 2021 warrant good air quality with PM2.5 concentration level between 0-5 g/m3. However, all these cities have ultra-fine particulate matter (PM)2.5 levels at least 10 times more than the approved limits.

— According to the report’s executive summary, air pollution is now considered to be the world’s largest environmental health threat, accounting for seven million deaths around the world every year. Air pollution causes and aggravates many diseases, ranging from asthma to cancer, lung illnesses and heart disease. The estimated daily economic cost of air pollution has been figured at $8 billion (USD), or 3 to 4 per cent of the gross world product.

— We are increasingly seeing a number of patients develop an acute allergy reaction to these air pollutants resulting in worsening of the existing respiratory illnesses such as asthma or allergies, said Dr Aditya Agrawal, pulmonologist, Bhatia Hospital Mumbai.  “A large number of patients who have been exposed to such pollutants present with breathlessness and/or cough actually turn out to have hypersensitivity pneumonitis which is potentially reversible if detected & treated early. However if the patient presents late it may even result in lung fibrosis,” he told indianexpress.com.

— In India, major sources of air pollution include vehicular emissions, power generation, industrial waste, biomass combustion for cooking, the construction sector, and episodic events like crop burning, noted the report. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in its 2021 report stated that, in addition to slowing the speed of global warming, curbing the use of fossil fuels would help improve air quality and public health.

According to the report,

What can governments do?

*Decrease air pollution emissions

*Pass legislation to incentivize the use of clean air vehicles for personal and industrial use.

*Invest in renewable energy sources.

*Provide financial incentives, such as trade-in programs, to limit the use of internal combustion engines.

*Provide subsidies to encourage the use of battery and human-powered transportation methods.

*Expand public transportation and power with clean and renewable energy sources.

*Build additional infrastructure to encourage pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

*Strengthen and enforce emission limits for vehicles and industry.

*Adopt new air quality standards based on the 2021 World Health Organization

Air quality guidelines

*Implement forest management strategies to limit wildfires.

*Ban agricultural and biomass burning.

*Develop innovative civic strategies for improving air quality.

Expand the air quality monitoring framework

*Increase the number of public air quality monitoring stations.

*Provide incentives to non-governmental organizations and individuals who set up their own air quality monitoring stations

Limit your exposure to air pollution

*Reduce activities outdoors when air quality is unhealthy.

*Wear a KN95, N95, or FFP2 respirator mask when air quality is unhealthy.

*Prevent polluted outdoor air from entering homes and workspaces by closing doors and windows and setting A/C systems to recirculation mode.

*Use air filters and air purification systems where possible. “The best method to keep your indoor air pollution under control is to minimise clutter, use of carpets, control humidity and avoid aerosols,” said Dr Agrawal.

*Follow real-time and forecasted air quality reports to stay informed and safe.

*When possible, heat homes and cook with gas or electric rather than wood burning stoves.

*When outdoor air quality improves, even briefly, ventilate indoor spaces by opening windows and setting A/C systems back to fresh air intake.

Some recommendations to combat the menace

*You can use either artificial or natural purifiers at home. Plants like aloe vera, bamboo palm, golden pothos, peace lily, English ivy, etc. are natural purifiers which can be used as houseplants.

*Do breathing exercises to strengthen the lungs and help them combat the pollutants.

*It is proved that foods rich in vitamin E and C are great to reduce the effects of air pollution.

*Use air masks during the days of high pollution.

*Fluids help in detoxification of the body, so drink plenty of fluids.

How to lower air pollution footprint

*Choose cleaner, greener modes of transport such as walking, biking, and riding public transportation.

*Lower personal energy consumption.

*Reduce waste by recycling, upcycling, and purchasing less.

*Help to raise air pollution awareness in your community.

Point to ponder: Cleaning the NCR’s air will require a far greater sense of purpose and political will. Discuss.

MCQ:

Consider the following: (2011)

1. Carbon dioxide

2. Oxides of Nitrogen

3. Oxides of Sulphur

Which of the above is/are the emission/emissions from coal combustion at thermal power plants?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer to previous MCQ: One word a day – OPEC+ (a)

Post Read Q&A

Can you recall what you read?

1. Who will enforce and implement the GRAP?

2. What is CAQM?

3. What are key takeaway of World Air Quality Report?

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 02:11:56 pm

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Economy

- RBI to launch e-rupee pilot soon, can be based on token or account

- Credit guarantee scheme for startups notified; loans up to Rs 10 cr collateral-free

- Ambani sets up family office branch in Singapore

- Bids invited for IDBI Bank stake sale; Govt, LIC to sell 60.72%

RBI to launch e-rupee pilot soon, can be based on token or account

E-rupee is akin to sovereign paper currency but takes a different form, exchangeable at par with the existing currency and will be accepted as a medium of payment, legal tender and a safe store of value, the central bank said.

By: ENS Economic Bureau

Mumbai | Updated: October 8, 2022 6:38:48 am

The digital rupee would appear as a liability on a central bank’s balance sheet, the RBI said in a concept note.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday indicated that it will soon commence limited pilot launches of the much-awaited e-rupee, or central bank digital currency (CBDC), for specific use cases.

E-rupee is akin to sovereign paper currency but takes a different form, exchangeable at par with the existing currency and will be accepted as a medium of payment, legal tender and a safe store of value, the central bank said.

The digital rupee would appear as a liability on a central bank’s balance sheet, the RBI said in a concept note.

“Currently, we are at the forefront of a watershed movement in the evolution of currency that will decisively change the very nature of money and its functions,” the central bank said.

According to the RBI, e-rupee can be structured as ‘token based’ or ‘account-based’.

“A token-based CBDC is a bearer instrument like banknotes, meaning whosoever holds the tokens at a given point in time would be presumed to own them,” it said.

Explained

10 nations, more on the way

As of July 2022, 105 countries were exploring CBDC, a number that covers 95% of global GDP. Ten countries have launched CBDC, the first of which was the Bahamian Sand Dollar in 2020 and the latest was Jamaica’s JAM-DEX.

In contrast, an account-based system would require maintenance of record of balances and transactions of all holders of the CBDC and indicate the ownership of the monetary balances, it said.

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In a token-based CBDC, the person receiving a token will verify that his ownership of the token is genuine, whereas in an account-based CBDC, an intermediary verifies the identity of an account holder, it said.

Considering the features offered by both the forms of CBDCs, a token-based CBDC is viewed as a preferred mode for CBDC-R as it would be closer to physical cash, while account-based CBDC may be considered for CBDC-W, the RBI said.

It said CBDC-W could also be explored for the wholesale market for asset classes which are OTC and bilaterally or settled outside CCP arrangements – CPs and CDs and access to retail for buying assets such as G-secs, CPs/CDs, primary auctions etc bypassing the bank account route.

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In the case of g-secs, if assets are also tokenised, this could be extended to non-residents to investment in domestic asset classes.

The RBI has been opposing private cryptocurrencies, stating that they are a threat to India’s macroeconomic and financial stability.

“Private cryptocurrencies which have currency-like character will undermine RBI’s ability to deal with issues of financial stability. It is my duty to say that cryptocurrency investors should be aware that they are investing at their own risk. They should also keep in mind that cryptocurrencies have no underlying, not even a tulip,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said earlier.

The implications of CBDC for monetary policy essentially depends on the way it is designed and its degree of usage. In particular, it would depend whether CBDC will be non-remunerated or remunerated and whether it would be widely accessible just like physical currency, or limited to wholesale customers such as banks — as in the case of central bank reserves.

It would also depend on whether it will be anonymous like physical currency or ownership will be identifiable, which leaves the trail of different entries.

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The RBI’s concept note also throws more light on key considerations such as technology and design choices, possible uses of digital rupee and the issuance mechanisms. It examines the implications of introduction of CBDC on the banking system, monetary policy, financial stability, and analyses privacy issues

“The most widespread use and advantage of e-rupee was expected to emerge from the token-based variant in the retail segment,” the RBI’s working group had earlier said.

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The RBI has been exploring the pros and cons of introduction of CBDCs for some time and is currently engaged in working towards a phased implementation strategy, going step by step through various stages of pilots followed by the final launch, and simultaneously examining use cases for the issuance of its own CBDC — digital rupee or e-rupee — with minimal or no disruption to the financial system, the central bank said.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 04:14:08 am

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Uttarakhand avalanche: As Uttarkashi counts the dead, families of climbers brace for worst

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Credit guarantee scheme for startups notified; loans up to Rs 10 cr collateral-free

Loans or debt facilities sanctioned to an eligible startup on or after October 6 can be covered under the scheme, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in a notification.

By: ENS Economic Bureau

New Delhi | October 8, 2022 12:33:31 am

The move is aimed at supporting startups that are hit hard by the pandemic and are now going to be impacted further by the rising interest rate scenario when liquidity is unlikely to be easily available to new entrepreneurs.

The government has notified a credit guarantee scheme for start-ups (CGSS) under which lenders will extend collateral-free loans up to Rs 10 crore to each eligible borrower.

Loans or debt facilities sanctioned to an eligible startup on or after October 6 can be covered under the scheme, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in a notification. The loans will be backed by sovereign guarantee. The move is aimed at supporting startups that are hit hard by the pandemic and are now going to be impacted further by the rising interest rate scenario when liquidity is unlikely to be easily available to new entrepreneurs.   FE

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 12:33:31 am

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‘I’ll play practice matches in Australia and I’m ready for the India’: PCB chief Ramiz Raja says Shaheen Shah Afridi feels fit for the T20 World Cup

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Ambani sets up family office branch in Singapore

The family office will recruit additional staff and commence operations immediately, mainly scouting for profitable investment opportunities, sources close to the development said.

Written by Rajesh Kurup

Mumbai | October 8, 2022 12:29:35 am

Ambani, Asia's second-richest man

Much in line with global billionaires making a beeline to Singapore, Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani is setting up a branch of his family office in the island nation.

Ambani, Asia’s second-richest man, has already set up an office in Singapore and appointed a person to head it. The family office will recruit additional staff and commence operations immediately, mainly scouting for profitable investment opportunities, sources close to the development said. “Though the Ambanis had set up a family office in Mumbai much earlier, their investments were majorly into RIL. Even the acquisitions and part stake deals were also routed through RIL,” one source said. The Singapore office, Ambani’s first family office outside the country, is expected to be up and running in 10-12 months.  FE

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 12:29:35 am

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Gujarat: Parts of state to receive rain till Oct 11, says IMD

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Bids invited for IDBI Bank stake sale; Govt, LIC to sell 60.72%

IDBI Bank's stock closed 0.71 per cent higher on the BSE on Friday. At the current market price, the stake being offloaded is worth Rs 27,800 crore.

By: ENS Economic Bureau

New Delhi | October 8, 2022 12:26:31 am

IDBI Bank posted profit after tax of Rs 2,439 crore in FY22.

The government on Friday invited expressions of interest (EoIs) for IDBI Bank and offered to sell a total of 60.72 per cent stake in the bank, including major portions of the shares held by the government and state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

IDBI Bank’s stock closed 0.71 per cent higher on the BSE on Friday. At the current market price, the stake being offloaded is worth Rs 27,800 crore. With the consent of the regulators — the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India — the government has made the mandatory glide path for stake reduction for the buyer more flexible than what is specified for promoters of private banks. The buyer, therefore, would get 15 years to bring down the equity to 26 per cent. Of course, in the first five years, 40 per cent of the equity capital would be locked in, as per the RBI guidelines.

The last date for submission of EoI is December 16. While the Centre is keen to conclude the transaction during the current financial year, it may spill over to the next year, given the formalities to be completed. Banks, non-banking financial companies and private equity funds have already shown interest in IDBI Bank.

The Centre’s disinvestment receipts so far this fiscal year have been Rs 24,544 crore, as against the annual target of Rs 65,000 crore. “A cumulative 60.72 per cent of the shareholding shall be divested. GoI shall divest such number of shares representing 30.48 per cent and LIC of India shall divest such number of shares representing 30.24 per cent of the equity share capital of IDBI Bank, along with transfer of management control in IDBI Bank,” the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) said in a statement.

Currently, LIC holds 49.24 per cent in IDBI Bank, while the government holds 45.48 per cent. On May 5, 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had granted in-principle approval for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank along with transfer of management control.

IDBI Bank posted profit after tax of Rs 2,439 crore in FY22.

Its net interest margin stood

at 3.73 per cent and return on equity at 13.60 per cent. The bank’s capital to risk (weighted) assets ratio stands at a comfortable 19.06 per cent.

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As per the EoI conditions, private sector banking companies, foreign banks, NBFCs, and alternative investment funds registered with Sebi are among the entities eligible to bid. However, large industrial/ corporate houses and individuals (natural persons) aren’t eligible. FE

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 12:26:31 am

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MSRTC staff ‘behind attack at Pawar’s house’ reinstated

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Business

- OPEC has sovereign right to decide on oil production, India at receiving end: Hardeep Singh Puri

- RBI to soon launch Digital Rupee on pilot basis for limited use

- Gautam Adani announces Rs 65,000 cr investment in Rajasthan

- Gold Silver Price Today: Gold and silver prices inch higher in domestic market on weak rupee, steady in global market

- Govt notifies credit guarantee scheme for startups

- Global economy is moving from a world of relative predictability to one of greater uncertainty: IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva

- RBI sells dollars as rupee hits record low on US rate hike fears

- Billionaire Mukesh Ambani to open family office in Singapore

- Britannia Industries expands in Africa with Kenya deal

- Rupee drops below 82 on recession fears, crude spike

- Stock Market Today: Indices end a tad lower; Sensex slips 31 points amid weak global cues

OPEC has sovereign right to decide on oil production, India at receiving end: Hardeep Singh Puri

Refraining from commenting on the controversial decision of OPEC on cutting oil production by two million barrels a day, which has taken the world by surprise, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said it is likely to be scrutinized very carefully.

By: PTI

Washington | October 8, 2022 8:38:48 am

Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri. (PTI)

It’s the sovereign right of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to decide on the oil production capacities, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said Friday.

Refraining from commenting on the controversial decision of OPEC on cutting oil production by two million barrels a day, which has taken the world by surprise, Puri said it is likely to be scrutinized very carefully.

During an interaction with a group of Indian reporters, he said that India as one of the major consumers of oil and gas also has a major say in the global oil market.

“India is not a part of OPEC. India is at the receiving end of OPEC decisions…,” he said in response to a question.

“I have always traditionally taken the view, it is their sovereign right to decide what they wish to do, how much oil they want to produce and how much they want to put into the market,” Puri said when asked about the decision of OPEC countries to cut oil production.

“But I always say that all of this is subject to the doctrine of consequences intended and unintended,” he said.

“That’s why I’m deliberately exercising not just calm, but also restraint in commenting on what has happened, because I’m told that there were assurances given, don’t ask me whom, etc., that in fact they were not planning to do this,” Puri said.

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“In our interaction with the oil price producers in the grouping that you call OPEC, or OPEC, plus, our understanding, my understanding, based on what we were told last year that this was a temporary adjustment and what you would see is that by February the amount of crude which is released into the market would be sufficient to cater to the increasing demand,” Puri said.

Obviously from March 2020, when the global economy was in a virtual lockdown state there has been a calibrated opening. But now most of the economies are slowly firing on all cylinders, and therefore there’s an increase in demand, he said.

But the fact of the matter is that large parts of the world today are either in recession or are experiencing conditions (like) recession, he added.

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Observing that OPEC’s decisions have been widely commented upon, both here and in other parts of the world, he said, “How much of the proposed 2 million barrels which has been curtailed absorbs less production earlier and how much are going to be fresh cuts is something that will be very carefully studied.” The market was already preparing for having a million barrels cut. So, the announcement of a two-million-barrel cuts, has taken large parts of the world by some surprise and questions are bring asked because it stands to reason if there is a large shortfall in the amounts of energy which are released into the global market, then prices will escalate, the minister said.

And prices escalating would in turn exacerbate the movement towards recession which in turn will lead to loss of demand. “So, it becomes a vicious cycle.” “Whether that has been fully taken into account or not, it’s not for me to comment on the decision has been taken. But I believe that all decisions which are taken and which have global ramifications have both intended and unintended consequences. How these play out we will see,” he said.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 08:38:48 am

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RBI to soon launch Digital Rupee on pilot basis for limited use

The RBI said that the purpose behind issuing the concept note is to create awareness about CBDCs in general and the planned features of the Digital Rupee.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 4:44:09 pm

A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) logo is seen at the gate of its office in New Delhi. (Reuters/File photo)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that it will soon commence the pilot launch of the Digital Rupee for specific use cases as it tests digital currency in India. It released a concept note on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The RBI said that the purpose behind issuing the concept note is to create awareness about CBDCs in general and the planned features of the Digital Rupee.

“It explains the objectives, choices, benefits, and risks of issuing a CBDC in India. The note also seeks to explain Reserve Bank’s approach towards introduction of the CBDC,” the central bank said in a statement.

The concept note also discusses key considerations such as technology and design choices, possible uses of Digital Rupee, issuance mechanisms, etc. It examines the implications of the introduction of CBDC on the banking system, monetary policy, financial stability, and analyses privacy issues.

“As the extent and scope of such pilot launches expand, RBI will continue to communicate about the specific features and benefits of e₹, from time to time,” the statement said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2022-23 budget speech earlier this year had announced the launch of the Digital Rupee – a digital currency backed by the central bank. The announcement expressed government’s intention on cryptocurrencies and other virtual currencies.

In the past, the RBI had on several occasions flagged concerns of money laundering, terror financing, tax evasion, etc with private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, etc and had planned to announce its own CBDC.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:21:04 pm

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Gautam Adani announces Rs 65,000 cr investment in Rajasthan

"Combining all ongoing and future investments, we anticipate investing an additional Rs 65,000 crore in Rajasthan over the next 5 to 7 years and creating over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs," Gautam Adani said.

By: PTI

Jaipur | Updated: October 7, 2022 4:18:30 pm

Rajashtan CM Ashok Gehlot and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani during the Invest Rajasthan Summit 2022, in Jaipur, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (PTI)

Richest Asian Gautam Adani on Friday announced a Rs 65,000 crore investment in Rajasthan over the next 5 to 7 years in setting up a mega 10,000 MW solar power capacity, expanding cement plant and upgrading Jaipur airport.

The investment by ports-to-energy conglomerate that Adani heads also spans city gas infrastructure for retailing CNG to automobiles and piped gas to households and industries as well as laying transmission lines to carry renewable power.

Speaking at the Invest Rajasthan 2022 Summit in Jaipur, he said the Adani group already has a sizeable presence in the state. It operates a thermal power plant, has set up a solar park and supplies coal to the state’s power-generating units.

Adani Group is investing Rs 50,000 crore to add 10,000 megawatts of renewable power generation capacity.

“This will be commissioned progressively over the next 5 years,” he said, adding the group just a week back achieved commercial operation of the world’s largest wind-solar hybrid power plant in Rajasthan.

Rajashtan CM Ashok Gehlot, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited Anil Agarwal, Congress leader Shakuntala Rawat and others during the Invest Rajasthan Summit 2022, in Jaipur, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (PTI)

Besides, it is looking to double its cement manufacturing capacity following its acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC.

“While we already have three cement plants and limestone mining assets, a significant part of our capacity expansion will continue to happen in Rajasthan. We anticipate investing another Rs 7,000 crore to double our cement manufacturing capacity in the state,” he said.

The Group is also the operator of Jaipur airport which will be expanded, he said.

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Adani would also develop a network to supply piped natural gas and CNG to accelerate cleaner fuel availability to industrial, commercial, transport and domestic consumers, and set up new transmission projects to move the renewable power being generated.

“Combining all ongoing and future investments, we anticipate investing an additional Rs 65,000 crore in Rajasthan over the next 5 to 7 years and creating over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs,” he said.

In another sign of revolt and brewing discontent against the Gandhis, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot invites Gautam Adani for the investor summit. He is given a seat right next to the CM. This is an open message to Rahul Gandhi, who doesn’t tire berating Adani-Ambani, to back off… pic.twitter.com/ycdCoBcxi1

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 7, 2022

The Adani Group, which started off as a commodity trader in 1988 and expanded rapidly into ports, airports, roads, power, renewable energy, transmission, gas distribution, real estate, FMCG, cement, data centres and media business, is also making one of the world’s largest bets on energy transition.

It is looking to build capacities to produce green hydrogen – a fuel that can run automobiles as well as factories. It plans to use renewable power to split water to produce green hydrogen.

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Adani said the group is betting on green hydrogen, given its ability to generate the most inexpensive solar and wind power. “I believe this opportunity to generate green hydrogen to transform Rajasthan’s deserts into ‘an oasis of jobs enabling energy transition’ is an opportunity that no other state has.” His group has already invested over Rs 35,000 crore across multiple industrial sectors in Rajasthan.

These investments have been across a 1,320 megawatt (MW) Kawai power plant and a 10,000 MW solar park that produces 1,500 MW of green power. Besides, it has invested Rs 20,000 crore in commissioning over 4,000 MW of renewable projects.

Adani Group supplies coal to over 4,300 MW of state thermal plants.

It also operates high-voltage transmission lines, a dry port container terminal in Kishangarh and two edible oil manufacturing plants in Alwar and Bundi.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 04:13:26 pm

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Gold Silver Price Today: Gold and silver prices inch higher in domestic market on weak rupee, steady in global market

Gold Silver Price in India, Gold and Silver Rate Today (7th October 2022): The opening price for 999 purity gold was Rs 51,908 per 10 grams, up Rs 70 from Thursday’s closing price of Rs 51,838, while that of 999 purity silver was Rs 61,154 per kg, up Rs 484 from Rs 60,670, the data available on India Bullion and Jewellers Association’s (IBJA) website showed.

Written by Debashish Pachal

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 3:59:23 pm

Today Gold and Silver Rate in India: Gold bars. (Image: Unsplash)

Gold and Silver Rate Today in India: Prices of gold and silver prices opened higher in the key spot markets on Friday, October 7, amid weakness in the rupee, analysts said.

The opening price for 999 purity gold was Rs 51,908 per 10 grams, up Rs 70 from Thursday’s closing price of Rs 51,838, while that of 999 purity silver was Rs 61,154 per kg, up Rs 484 from Rs 60,670, the data available on India Bullion and Jewellers Association’s (IBJA) website showed.

Bullion

Purity

Opening price (Rs)

Previous close (Rs)

Gold

999

51,908

51,838

995

51,700

51,630

916

47,548

47,484

750

38,931

38,879

585

30,366

30,325

Silver

999

61,154

60,670

Source: India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA)

On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the gold contract for December delivery was trading at Rs 52,022.00 per 10 grams, up Rs 50.00 (0.1 per cent) at 1:58 pm while the silver contract for December delivery was at Rs 61,713.00, up Rs 367.00 (0.6 per cent).

In the global market, spot gold was little changed at $1,710.09 per ounce, as of 0651 GMT and US gold futures eased 0.2 per cent at $1,716.90, according to Reuters data.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Ajay Kedia, founder and director at Kedia Advisory said, “Gold prices are finding support in the domestic market due to weakness in the rupee which is trading near a record low, but internationally, gold and silver prices are trading in sideways to negative today as investors are keenly waiting for the US jobs data to understand the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike plans in the near term.”

Additionally, Kedia noted that some global gold-supplying banks have cut shipments to India in favour of focusing on China and Turkey where better premiums are offered. He said that such a move ahead of major festivals like Diwali when demand is higher in the domestic market may lead to a rise in local prices.

Navneet Damani, Senior VP – Commodity Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said, “Gold prices held steady ahead of the US jobs report that could help investors gauge the Fed’s rate-hike path, and were headed for their biggest weekly gain since March. The dollar index and benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields were steady after rising overnight.”

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“Investors are now focused on the US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report due later in the day, with economists forecasting 250,000 jobs to have been added last month, compared with 315,000 in August. Along with NFP, focus will also be on the US unemployment rate, average hourly earnings and other jobs market data will be important to watch for. Broader trend on COMEX could be in the range of $1,700-1,730 and on domestic front prices could hover in the range of Rs 51,480–52,350,” he noted.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 03:29:31 pm

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Govt notifies credit guarantee scheme for startups

In a notification, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that loan/debt facilities sanctioned to an eligible borrower on or after October 6, would be eligible for coverage under the scheme.

By: PTI

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 12:50:39 pm

This scheme would help provide the much needed collateral-free debt funding to startups (Representative image: Unsplash)

The government has notified the credit guarantee scheme for startups to provide them collateral-free loans up to a specified limit.

In a notification, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that loan/debt facilities sanctioned to an eligible borrower on or after October 6, would be eligible for coverage under the scheme.

“The Central Government has approved the ‘Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) for the purpose of providing credit guarantees to loans extended by member institutions (MIs) to finance eligible borrowers being startups,” it said.

This scheme would help provide the much needed collateral-free debt funding to startups, it added.

MIs include financial intermediaries (banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, AIFs) engaged in lending/investing and conforming to the eligibility criteria approved under the Scheme.

Recognised startups that have reached the stage of stable revenue stream, as assessed from audited monthly statements over a 12 month period, amenable to debt financing; and startups that are not in default to any lending/investing institution and not classified as non-performing asset as per RBI guidelines, are eligible to avail benefits of this scheme.

“Maximum guarantee cover per borrower shall not exceed Rs 10 crore. The credit facility being covered here should not have been covered under any other guarantee scheme,” the Department said.

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For the purpose of this scheme, a trust or fund would be set up by the government of India with the purpose of guaranteeing payment against default in loans or debt extended to eligible borrowers, managed by the Board of National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd as the Trustee of the Fund.

It also said that lending institutions will have to evaluate credit applications by using prudent banking judgement and shall use their business discretion/due diligence in selecting commercially viable proposals and conduct the accounts of the borrowers with normal banking prudence.

These institutions should also have to closely monitor the borrower account.

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Further there will be a Management Committee constituted by the DPIIT to oversee the affairs of the trust.

The committee will be responsible for reviewing, supervising and monitoring the’ functioning of the trust and shall provide necessary guidance to the trust on broad policy matters related to the scheme.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 12:50:39 pm

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Global economy is moving from a world of relative predictability to one of greater uncertainty: IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva

In a major policy speech here ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, IMF Managing Director Georgieva on Thursday said the World Economic Outlook to be released next week would further downgrade the global growth projections.

By: PTI

Washington | Updated: October 7, 2022 12:06:31 pm

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, speaks at a conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 3, 2022. (REUTERS/File Photo)

The global economy is moving from a world of relative predictability to one of greater uncertainty, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has said, warning that countries accounting for about one-third of the world economy will experience at least two consecutive quarters of contraction this or next year.

In a major policy speech here ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, IMF Managing Director Georgieva on Thursday said the World Economic Outlook to be released next week would further downgrade the global growth projections.

“We have downgraded our growth projections three times already, to only 3.2 per cent for 2022 and 2.9 per cent for 2023. And as you will see in our updated World Economic Outlook next week, we will downgrade growth for next year,” she said.

“We will flag that the risks of recession are rising. We estimate that countries accounting for about one-third of the world economy will experience at least two consecutive quarters of contraction this or next year. And, even when growth is positive, it will feel like a recession because of shrinking real incomes and rising prices,” she said.

“Overall, we expect a global output loss of about USD 4 trillion between now and 2026. This is the size of the German economy — a massive setback for the world economy. And it is more likely to get worse than to get better,” she said.

Observing that uncertainty remains extremely high in the context of war and pandemic, she said there could be even more economic shocks. “Financial stability risks are growing: rapid and disorderly repricing of assets could be amplified by pre-existing vulnerabilities, including high sovereign debt and concerns over liquidity in key segments of the financial market,” she said.

“We are experiencing a fundamental shift in the global economy: From a world of relative predictability — with a rules-based framework for international economic cooperation, low-interest rates, and low inflation… to a world with more fragility — greater uncertainty, higher economic volatility, geopolitical confrontations, and more frequent and devastating natural disasters — a world in which any country can be thrown off course more easily and more often,” Georgieva said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 12:03:22 pm

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RBI sells dollars as rupee hits record low on US rate hike fears

The rupee was last trading at 82.2675, down from 81.88 in the previous session, but off the session low of 82.33.

By: Reuters

Mumbai | Updated: October 7, 2022 11:49:26 am

U.S. Dollar banknote is seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. (REUTERS/Illustration/File Photo)

The Reserve Bank of India likely sold dollars via state-run banks on Friday after the rupee slid below 82 to a record low against the dollar on concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve rate outlook, traders told Reuters.

The rupee was last trading at 82.2675, down from 81.88 in the previous session, but off the session low of 82.33.

The rupee dropped to 82.33 within the first ten minutes of the open and has been range bound since, likely due to the RBI intervention, traders said.

The intervention by the RBI was confirmed to Reuters by four bankers and a brokerage firm.

“Basically, the RBI is making its presence felt and letting traders know once again that it will not allow one-sided moves,” said one of the state-run bankers who confirmed the intervention.

“The intervention will have an impact to (the extent) that it will not allow the rupee to fall more, but will not help rupee recover by much.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:45:23 am

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Billionaire Mukesh Ambani to open family office in Singapore

Ambani is the latest in a series of ultra-rich people to pick Singapore for their family offices — the organizations set up to manage the affairs of wealthy clans — joining the likes of hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

By: Bloomberg

October 7, 2022 11:27:39 am

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., at India Mobile Congress 2022 in New Delhi, India, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (Bloomberg)

Asia’s second-wealthiest man, Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Mukesh Ambani, is setting up a family office in Singapore, according to people familiar with the move.

The Mumbai-based billionaire has picked a manager to hire staff for the new entity and get it running, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The Ambanis have also chosen real estate, one of the people said.

A spokesman for Reliance, who also represents Ambani, wasn’t available for comment.

Ambani is the latest in a series of ultra-rich people to pick Singapore for their family offices — the organizations set up to manage the affairs of wealthy clans — joining the likes of hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

The city-state has become an attractive hub for family offices thanks to its low taxes and relative security. The Monetary Authority of Singapore estimates about 700 were in place by the end of 2021, up from 400 a year earlier.

But the rising number of global rich crowding Singapore’s shores is also resulting in higher prices for cars, housing and other goods. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong signaled in an August interview that the wealthy may face more taxes to boost inclusive growth.

Ambani

Ambani’s move to set up the family office ties in with his larger vision of taking his retail-to-refining empire global and acquiring assets outside India. While announcing the appointment of Aramco’s chairman on the board of Reliance in 2021, the billionaire told his shareholders that this marked “the beginning of internationalization” of his conglomerate, without elaborating. “You will hear more about our international plans in the times to come,” he had said at the time.

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Reliance paid $79 million for Stoke Park Ltd. in April 2021, adding an iconic UK locale that’s been the setting for two James Bond films. It also bought an indirect 73.4% stake in Mandarin Oriental New York for $98.15 million in January and an $80 million beach-side villa in Dubai this year.

Ambani, who is worth an estimated $83.7 billion according to the Bloomberg Wealth Index, wants the Singapore family office to be running within a year, one of the people said. His wife Nita Ambani is also helping to set it up, the people added.

Reliance has been pivoting from its legacy oil refining and petrochemicals business toward e-commerce, green energy and the expansion of its retail footprint across India. In 2020, its technology venture Jio Platforms Ltd. lured more than $25 billion from marquee Silicon Valley investors including Meta Platforms Inc. and Google. It has also unveiled ambitious plans to take on Amazon.com Inc. in the country, including in streaming.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:27:39 am

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Britannia Industries expands in Africa with Kenya deal

Britannia is a 130-year old company whose brands include Good Day and Marie Gold cookies in India. It has been looking to add capacity in Africa, where governments want to expand their industries and reduce imports of products that can be made locally.

By: Bloomberg

October 7, 2022 11:07:04 am

Britannia Industries didn’t immediately respond to questions about the Kenya deal when contacted on Tuesday. (Photo: File/Representative)

India’s biggest cookie manufacturer, Britannia Industries Ltd., clinched a deal for operations in Kenya as part its plan to expand in Africa.

The company teamed up with Nairobi-based Kenafric Industries to purchase Catalyst Capital-backed Britania Foods Ltd. in Kenya in a $20 million transaction that also involved acquiring property and a plant, Mikul Shah, a director at Kenafric, said in an interview. Britannia Industries, unrelated to Britania Foods, took a controlling stake in the partnership, he said.

The refurbished factory in Nairobi is scheduled to be commissioned this week, according to Kenafric.

Britannia is a 130-year old company whose brands include Good Day and Marie Gold cookies in India. It has been looking to add capacity in Africa, where governments want to expand their industries and reduce imports of products that can be made locally.

The company recently set up contract-packing facilities in Egypt and Uganda, and has been considering ventures in Kenya and Nigeria, Bloomberg reported in March.

Britannia Industries didn’t immediately respond to questions about the Kenya deal when contacted on Tuesday.

Kenafric, which is backed by private equity firms Paris-based Amethis and Johannesburg-based Metier, is a family-owned business that started in 1987 as a footwear maker. It entered the biscuits business four years ago, according to Shah, as it expanded into products including confectionery, beverages, stationery and food spices. It has a presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo, Burundi and Malawi.

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“We had to make a big investment or think of what to do because it was too small to stay within our portfolio,” Shah said about the biscuits business. The deal with Britannia Industries will help Kenafric to become Kenya’s second-largest biscuit-maker from No. 5, he said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:07:04 am

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Rupee drops below 82 on recession fears, crude spike

The rupee finished at 82.32 per US dollar, down from 81.88 in the previous session. The rupee opened at 82.20 and reached a record low of 82.4250 in the session.

By: ENS Economic Bureau

Mumbai | Updated: October 8, 2022 5:10:50 am

A person is trying to sanitize currency note using UV ray at Tung Fong restaurants  Park street kolkata on Monday, June 08, 2020 after lockdown restriction eased out ( Unlock 2) in Ithe city  several, restaurants open today in Park street kolkata. Express photo by Partha Paul.

The rupee slid past 82 level to fall to a fresh record low 82.33 per US dollar on Friday as the greenback strengthened against major currencies amid risk aversion on fear of global recession and also as oil prices climbed.

The local currency ended 44 paise down today compared to previous close of 81.89 against the US dollar, dealers said. It touched an intra-day low of 82.43 and a high of 82.18 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, domestic equity markets closed flat, with the benchmark Sensex at the BSE ending down 30.81 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 58,191.29. The broader Nifty at NSE ended 17.15 points, or 0.1 per cent, to finish at 17,314.65.

Forex dealers said the rupee fell to a fresh all-time low on Friday as the dollar remained strong and also a rally in global crude oil prices weighed on the overall market sentiment.

On Wednesday the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, also referred to as OPEC+, announced to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day from November.

“Reduction in oil production will increase prices of crude oil further, which, in turn, raises concerns over inflation and rate hikes,” said Gaurang Somaiya, forex and bullion analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Explained

Intra-day low of 82.43

The rupee ended 44 paise down compared to previous close of 81.89 against the US dollar, dealers said. It touched an intra day low of 82.43 and a high of 82.18 against the US dollar.

Market participants said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in the spot market at 82.30-82.40 levels, which helped check the rupee fall further.

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Traders said the sentiments also turned negative after the World Bank on Thursday revised downwards the growth estimates for the South Asian region, including India.

India’s growth forecast for 2022-23 was trimmed by 100 basis points to 6.5 per cent from the June projection of 7.5 per cent. In 2021-22, the country’s GDP grew by 8.7 per cent.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed the real gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for fiscal 2022-23 to 7 per cent from the 7.2 per cent projected in August.

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Investors also turned risk averse after a US Federal Reserve official on Thursday hinted at more rate hikes to tame inflation, forex dealers said.

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Governor Lisa Cook said that inflation poses both a near-and-long term threat and it was critical to prevent an inflationary psychology from taking hold.

The rupee is expected to trade in a range of 81.80 to 82.80 against the US dollar in the short term, said Anindya Banerjee, vice president – currency derivatives and interest rate derivatives, Kotak Securities Ltd.

Meanwhile, according to AP, US employers slowed their hiring in September but still added 263,000 jobs, a solid figure that will likely keep the Federal Reserve on pace to keep raising interest rates aggressively to fight persistently high inflation.Friday’s government report showed that hiring fell from 315,000 in August to the weakest monthly gain since April 2021. The unemployment rate dropped from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent, matching a half-century low. US stocks dropped sharply in early trading Friday after data showed the economy was creating jobs at a strong pace. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.69%, the S&P 500 lost 2.17% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.79%, as per a Reuters report. Meanwhile, oil rose about 3% to a five-week high on Friday. Brent futures rose $2.73, or 2.9 per cent, to $97.15 a barrel by 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.94, or 3.3 per cent, to $91.39.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 09:59:56 am

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Stock Market Today: Indices end a tad lower; Sensex slips 31 points amid weak global cues

Share Market News, Sensex, Nifty Share Prices, Stock Market Today News Updates, October 07: The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 30.81 points (0.05 per cent) to end at 58,191.29 while the Nifty 50 declined 17.15 points (0.10 per cent) to settle at 17,314.65.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 7, 2022 5:06:33 pm

Sensex Nifty Share Prices Today: Staffs working at a Kolkata based stock broking agency. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Market Today, Sensex, Nifty Share Prices Updates: The frontline equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) trimmed some of their intraday losses and ended with marginal cuts on Friday amid weakness in the global market.

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 30.81 points (0.05 per cent) to end at 58,191.29 while the Nifty 50 declined 17.15 points (0.10 per cent) to settle at 17,314.65. Both the indices had opened lower earlier in the day and slipped as much as 0.66 per cent with the Sensex touching a low of 57,851.15 and the broader Nifty dipping to 17,216.95.

On the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bajaj Finance and ITC were the top losers of the day while Titan Company, Power Grid Corporation of India, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki India and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers.

Among sectors, Nifty IT index fell 0.70 per cent, Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.72 per cent and Nifty FMCG slipped 0.64 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Consumer Durables rose 1.32 per cent and Nifty Media inched 0.38 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 39.28 points (0.15 per cent) to end at 25,384.80 while the S&P BSE SmallCap rose 86.77 points (0.30 per cent) to settle at 29,182.93.

Global Markets (from Reuters)

Stocks eased on Friday as Federal Reserve officials talked up the likelihood of more hefty US interest rate hikes, though battered Credit Suisse Group rose after announcing a $3 billion bond buyback to steady investors nerves.

Worries over the global economy deepened after chipmakers Samsung and AMD flagged a slump in demand, blaming inflation, higher interest rates and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. European chipmakers Infineon, STMicroelectronics and ASML fell in tandem.

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In Europe, the STOXX index of 600 leading companies was down 0.2 per cent, but still heading for its largest weekly gain since late July. It is down about 19 per cent for the year.

The MSCI All Country stock index fell 0.3 per cent, leaving it down about 24 per cent for the year so far.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.7 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2 per cent, weighed partly by a decline in Samsung shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 1.4 per cent lower, with its tech stocks tumbling 3 per cent. Mainland Chinese shares remain closed for the final day of the Golden Week holiday.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 09:43:44 am

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World

- Uvalde schools suspend entire police force after outrage

- Four individuals want me assassinated, alleges former Pak PM Imran Khan

- Russia Ukraine War Live Updates: Putin marks 70th birthday with little public fuss; Lyman mass grave reportedly holds 180 bodies

- UN group adopts 2050 goal of net-zero emissions from planes

- South Korea military ups chorus for K-pop group ‘BTS’ to enlist

- Multiple explosions rock eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv

- Israel: Indian-origin teenager stabbed to death during brawl at birthday party, less than a year after immigration

- After Russia-Ukraine plan, Musk offers proposal to resolve China-Taiwan tensions

- UK’s Truss fires trade minister over alleged misconduct

- Pink diamond breaks world record in Hong Kong auction

- US asks its citizens to exercise ‘increased caution’ while travelling to India due to crime, terrorism

- Will only sign trade deal with India that meets our interests: UK

- Blunt criticism of Russian Army signals new challenge for Putin

- Iranian coroner says Mahsa Amini did not die from blows to body

- Thailand mass shooting: Here’s what we know about the ex-cop who killed 36 people

- Top climate stories of this week: Hurricane Ian death toll crosses 100, Australia to see heavy rains, and more

- Ales Bialiatski, Russia’s Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties win Nobel Peace Prize 2022

- In global slowdown, China holds sway over countries’ fates

- Putin’s path: From pledges of stability to nuclear threats

- Action initiated on all cases, India counters UK Home Secretary Braverman claim on visa overstayers

- ‘I cried until I had no more tears’: Thailand mourns shooting that killed 24 kids, 12 others

- India-US relationship moving in right direction: Pentagon

- Russia lashes out in Ukraine, raising question of what’s next

- US kills 3 Islamic State leaders in 2 Syria operations

- Hurricane Ian evacuees return to mud, rubble as death toll hits 101

Uvalde schools suspend entire police force after outrage

The extraordinary move follows the revelation that the district hired a former state trooper who was among hundreds of officers who rushed to the scene of the May 24 shooting.

By: AP

Austin | October 8, 2022 9:26:18 am

A Uvalde police officer watches as family and friends of those killed and injured in the school shootings at Robb Elementary take part in a protest march and rally, Sunday, July 10, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP)

Uvalde’s school district suspended its entire police force Friday amid fresh outrage over the hesitant law enforcement response to the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School.

The extraordinary move follows the revelation that the district hired a former state trooper who was among hundreds of officers who rushed to the scene of the May 24 shooting.

School leaders also put two members of the district police department on administrative leave, one of whom chose to retire instead, according to a statement released by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Remaining officers will be reassigned to other jobs in the district.

Investigators search for evidences outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022, after an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. (AP)

Uvalde school leaders’ suspension of campus police operations one month into a new school year in the South Texas community underscores the sustained pressure that families of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed have kept on the district.

Brett Cross, the uncle of 10-year-old victim Uziyah Garcia, had been protesting outside the Uvalde school administration building for the past two weeks, demanding accountability over officers allowing a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth-grade classroom for more than 70 minutes.

Uvalde families have said students in the district are not safe so long as officers who waited so long to confront and kill the gunman remain on the job.

“We did it!” Cross tweeted.

Family, parents and friends file out of a meeting where Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo was dismissed by the Board of Trustees of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP)

The Uvalde school district had five campus police officers on the scene of the shooting, according to a damning report from Texas lawmakers that laid out multiple breakdowns in the response. A total of nearly 400 officers responded, including school district police, the city’s police, county sheriff’s deputies, state police and U.S. Border Patrol agents, among others.

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The fallout Friday is the first in Uvalde’s school police force since the district fired former police Chief Pete Arredondo in August. He remains the only officer to have been fired from his job following one of the deadliest classroom attacks in U.S. history.

The district said it would ask the Texas Department of Public Safety, which had already assigned dozens of troopers to the district for the school year, for additional help. Spokespersons for the agency did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday.

Law enforcement, and other first responders, gather outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP)

“We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,” the district said in a statement.

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The statement did not specify how long campus police operations would remain suspended.

The former DPS trooper who was hired by the district was among at least seven troopers later placed under internal investigation for her actions at Robb Elementary.

Officer Crimson Elizondo was fired Thursday, one day after CNN first reported her hiring. She has not responded to messages left by The Associated Press.

Steve McCraw, the head of the Department of Public Safety, has called the law enforcement response to the shooting an “abject failure.” McCraw has also come under pressure as the leader of a department had more than 90 troopers on the scene but still has the support of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

On Thursday, after Elizondo was fired, Abbott called it a “poor decision” for the school to hire the former trooper and that it was up to the district to “own up to it.”

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 09:26:18 am

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Four individuals want me assassinated, alleges former Pak PM Imran Khan

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Four individuals want me assassinated, alleges former Pak PM Imran Khan

He announced that a video containing names of the ‘conspirators' will be released if anything happened to him. “If I get killed then they will say a religious fanatic killed him [Imran] because he had committed blasphemy,” Imran Khan said.

By: PTI

Islamabad | October 8, 2022 9:21:26 am

Over 250 personnel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Frontier Constabulary and Pakistan Rangers are deployed to ensure Khan's security, Islamabad IG Akbar Nasir Khan had said in September. (AP Photo)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday alleged that four individuals were conspiring to assassinate him on charges on blasphemy, warning that the names of these conspirators will be revealed to the nation if anything untoward happens to him.

Addressing a rally in Mianwali in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were accusing him of committing blasphemy in a bid to incite religious hatred against him.

“What was the game behind this [allegation]… four individuals sitting behind closed doors decided to get me killed over blasphemy allegations,” Khan alleged.

He announced that a video containing names of the ‘conspirators’ will be released if anything happened to him.

“If I get killed then they will say a religious fanatic killed him [Imran] because he had committed blasphemy,” he said.

“The nation will not forgive these conspirators,” he warned.

This is not the first instance that Khan has claimed that his life is in peril.

Over 250 personnel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Frontier Constabulary and Pakistan Rangers are deployed to ensure Khan’s security, Islamabad IG Akbar Nasir Khan had said in September.

Khan’s latest revelations come when a third alleged audio of Khan surfaced on Friday, featuring him trying to buy the loyalties of lawmakers and also justifying his action before he was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April.

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The two other audio clips, leaked last month, have three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders talking about the American cypher with Khan, the party chairman.

The former premier asked his party workers to prepare for the Azadi March, adding that his planning for the protest was well-thought.

Khan on Monday had asked his party workers to prepare for a mega protest later this week to press for the dissolution of the National Assembly and announce fresh elections in the country.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 09:21:26 am

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Russia Ukraine War Live Updates: Putin marks 70th birthday with little public fuss; Lyman mass grave reportedly holds 180 bodies

Russia-Ukraine War Live Updates, October 8, 2022: Ukrainian authorities found a mass grave in the eastern town of Lyman, recently retaken from Russian forces, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in an online post.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: October 8, 2022 9:17:58 am

Forensic technicians and officers work at what appears to be a mass grave declared by regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko as found in the town of Lyman, recently retaken by the Ukrainian army. (Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko/Handout via Reuters)

Russia Ukraine War Live Updates, October 8: Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his 70th birthday with little fanfare and a decree targeting a key Western energy investment, but signs grew that key parts of his Ukraine invasion were unravelling to trigger unprecedented criticism at home.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities found a mass grave in the eastern town of Lyman, recently retaken from Russian forces, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in an online post. News agency Ukrinform cited a police official saying it held 180 bodies. In video remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces’ latest offensive had liberated 2,434 sq km and 96 settlements in the country’s east.

Russian news site RBC said Moscow had sacked the commander of its eastern military district, but gave no details of the reasons, while the army and the Kremlin offered no immediate comment. That followed a comment a day earlier by a Russian-installed leader in occupied Ukrainian territory suggesting that Putin’s defence minister should have shot himself.

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Putin marks 70th birthday with prayers, little public fuss; Nobel Peace Prize goes to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus activists; Russia's eastern commander fired as defeats mount . Follow live updates here.

09:17 (IST)08 Oct 2022

After Russia-Ukraine plan, Musk offers proposal to resolve China-Taiwan tensions

Billionaire Elon Musk, days after floating a possible deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine that drew condemnation in Ukraine, suggested that tensions between China and Taiwan could be resolved by handing over some control of Taiwan to Beijing.

“My recommendation . . . would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy,” Musk, the world’s richest person, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday.

Musk made the remarks when asked by the newspaper about China, where his Tesla electric car company operates a large factory in Shanghai. (Read more)

09:16 (IST)08 Oct 2022

Multiple explosions rock eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv

A series of explosions rocked the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv early Saturday, sending towering plumes of illuminated smoke in the sky and triggering a series of secondary explosions.

An Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the frontline city of Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, April 28, 2022. (Reuters/File)

The blasts came as Russia concentrated attacks on Friday in its increasingly troubled invasion of Ukraine on areas it illegally annexed, while the death toll from earlier missile strikes on apartment buildings in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 14.

It was not immediately clear what caused the Kharkiv blasts or what was hit. (Read more)

Blunt criticism of Russian Army signals new challenge for Putin

Russia’s foundering invasion of Ukraine has produced an extraordinary barrage of criticism from supporters of the war in recent days, directed primarily at the leadership of the Russian military. The outpouring of discontent is creating a new challenge to President Vladimir Putin, who, after cracking down on Russia’s liberal opposition, now faces growing dissent in his own camp.

Russian recruits take a train at a railway station in Prudboi, Volgograd region of Russia, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP)

The latest salvo came Thursday when a Russian-installed official in an occupied region of Ukraine belittled the Kremlin’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, a close associate of Putin. The official, Kirill Stremousov, said Shoigu should consider killing himself because of his army’s failures in Ukraine.

“Many people are saying that as an officer, the defense minister could simply shoot himself for being the one who let things get to this state,” said Stremousov, Russia’s “deputy governor” of the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.

It was a strikingly blunt and public rebuke, and one that built on growing frustration with the war effort. Last month, it was largely pro-Russian bloggers who were voicing anger over the failings that led to the Russian army’s being routed in northeastern Ukraine. But after Russian troops were forced to retreat in two other sections of the front line in the past week, prominent officials have increasingly joined the chorus. (Read more)

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 09:15:23 am

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UN group adopts 2050 goal of net-zero emissions from planes

Aviation is a relatively small contributor to overall climate-changing emissions, but its share is expected to grow.

By: AP

October 8, 2022 8:39:23 am

Crucially, the U.N. agency's resolution does not set targets for individual countries or airlines. (Representational)

A United Nations organization on Friday committed to sharply cut carbon emissions from air travel by 2050 in response to growing pressure for airlines to reduce their pollution.

Several major environmental groups praised the move, saying it could encourage the production of more sustainable aviation fuel. But they cautioned that it will be difficult to push countries to follow up with policies that actually reduce emissions.

Aviation is a relatively small contributor to overall climate-changing emissions, but its share is expected to grow. More people are expected to travel on planes in the coming years, and aviation lacks cleaner alternatives such as electric power that are rapidly becoming widely available for cars and trucks.

On Friday in Montreal, representatives of nearly 200 nations in the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization adopted what the agency called an “aspirational goal” of reaching “net zero” emissions by 2050. The decision capped nearly a decade of negotiations and occurred as aviation comes under more pressure to fall in line with conditions of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate, which aims to cap the rise in global temperature. Crucially, the U.N. agency’s resolution does not set targets for individual countries or airlines.

Mark Brownstein, a senior official at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the resolution raised hope that travel will be more sustainable. “But the work isn’t over,” he said. “Now is the time for countries to act by establishing policies that support achievement of a 2050 net-zero goal for aviation with measurable progress in the interim.”

Dan Rutherford, who tracks the issue for the International Council on Clean Transportation, said that to hit the net-zero target, aviation emissions will need to peak and start decreasing as soon as 2025, “with richer countries taking the lead.”

Airlines and governments expect to greatly reduce emissions by gradually switching from kerosene-based jet fuel to fuels made from fats, grease, plants or renewables. The European Union has proposed higher taxes on fossil fuels including jet fuel. But reaching net zero could require tougher measures including limits on flights – at least until large electric- or hydrogen-powered planes are feasible decades from now.

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Airlines for America said it applauded the U.N. group’s resolution, which could avoid a patchwork of policies by individual countries. The industry trade group called the 2050 milestone “ambitious,” but said airlines are already working with the U.S. government to make 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel available by 2030.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 08:39:23 am

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South Korea military ups chorus for K-pop group ‘BTS’ to enlist

Whether the band’s seven members must serve in the army is one of the hottest issues in South Korea because its oldest member, Jin, faces possible enlistment early next year after turning 30 in December.

By: AP

Seoul | October 8, 2022 8:22:31 am

Members of South Korean K-pop band BTS, V, SUGA, JIN, Jung Kook, RM, Jimin, and j-hope from left to right, pose for photographers ahead of a press conference to introduce their new single "Butter" in Seoul, South Korea,May 21, 2021. (AP, File)

South Korea’s military appears to want to conscript members of the K-pop supergroup BTS for mandatory military duties, as the public remains sharply divided over whether they should be given exemptions.

Lee Ki Sik, commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, told lawmakers on Friday that it’s “desirable” for BTS members to fulfill their military duties to ensure fairness in the country’s military service.

Earlier this week, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup made almost identical comments about BTS at a parliamentary committee meeting, and Culture Minister Park Bo Gyoon said his ministry would soon finalize its position on the issue.

Whether the band’s seven members must serve in the army is one of the hottest issues in South Korea because its oldest member, Jin, faces possible enlistment early next year after turning 30 in December. Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men are required to perform 18-21 months of military service. But the law provides special exemptions for athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers who have won top prizes in certain competitions that enhance national prestige.

Without a revision of the law, the government can take steps to grant special exemptions. But past exemptions for people who performed well in non-designated competitions triggered serious debate about the fairness of the system.

Since the draft forces young men to suspend their professional careers or studies, the dodging of military duties or creation of exemptions is a highly sensitive issue. In one recent survey, about 61% of respondents supported exemptions for entertainers such as BTS, while in another, about 54% said BTS members should serve in the military.

Several amendments of the conscription law that would pave the way for BTS members to be exempted have been introduced in the National Assembly, but haven’t been voted on with lawmakers sharply divided on the matter.

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Lee, the defense minister, earlier said he had ordered officials to consider conducting a public survey to help determine whether to grant exemptions to BTS. But the Defense Ministry later said it would not carry out such a survey.

In August, Lee said if BTS members join the military, they would likely be allowed to continue practicing and to join other non-serving BTS members in overseas group tours.

People who are exempted from the draft are released from the military after three weeks of basic training. They are also required to perform 544 hours of volunteer work and continue serving in their professional fields for 34 months.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 08:22:31 am

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Multiple explosions rock eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv

It was not immediately clear what caused the Kharkiv blasts or what was hit.

By: AP

Kyiv | October 8, 2022 8:14:10 am

An Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the frontline city of Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine April 28, 2022. (REUTERS/File)

A series of explosions rocked the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv early Saturday, sending towering plumes of illuminated smoke in the sky and triggering a series of secondary explosions.

The blasts came as Russia concentrated attacks on Friday in its increasingly troubled invasion of Ukraine on areas it illegally annexed, while the death toll from earlier missile strikes on apartment buildings in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 14.

It was not immediately clear what caused the Kharkiv blasts or what was hit.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 08:14:10 am

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Israel: Indian-origin teenager stabbed to death during brawl at birthday party, less than a year after immigration

Yoel Lehingahel, who immigrated to Israel from India with his family earlier this year, travelled north from his home in Nof Hagalil to visit a friend and fellow immigrant from India, media reports said.

By: PTI

Jerusalem | October 8, 2022 7:30:30 am

A teenager, who immigrated to Israel from India less than a year ago, was stabbed to death in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. (Representational image via Unsplash)

A teenager, who hailed from the north-eastern Indian Jewish community of Bnei Menashe and immigrated to Israel from India less than a year ago, was stabbed to death after a fight broke out at a birthday party in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, media reports said on Friday.

Yoel Lehingahel, 18, who immigrated to Israel from India with his family earlier this year, travelled north from his home in Nof Hagalil to visit a friend and fellow immigrant from India, media reports said.

A brawl involving more than 20 teens broke out at a birthday party which was attended by Lehingahel, Meir Paltiel, who works with the community of Indian Jewish immigrants to Israel, told news portal Ynet.

“Lehingahel was supposed to come home for Shabbat, but in the morning [Friday] at 7 am, a friend called [the family] and told them there had been a fight last night and that he was injured and in hospital,” Paltiel told the news portal.

“The family didn’t even manage to leave for the hospital in Safed before they were told he had died,” he said.

Police reportedly arrested a 15-year-old resident from the nearby town of Chatzor Haglilit on suspicion of being involved in the incident.

On Friday, police said they had detained another seven youths, between the ages of 13 and 15, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

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Nof Hagalil’s Mayor, Ronen Plot, in a social media post called it “his town’s loss”, describing Lehingahel as a “happy” boy who had expressed his desire to join a combat unit of the Israeli army.

“A whole life cut short because of an act of violence, which in my eyes was an act of terror in every way”, Plot said.

A social worker who had worked with Lehingahel through his absorption process in Israel and was identified as Shlomo by Channel 12 network said “he had acclimatised amazingly and was loved by all his friends”.

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“He never got into arguments or into fights with anyone. He only went out to a party with a friend and was just injured in this unthinkable way. It’s difficult news for all of us,” Shlomo said.

Lehingahel was a member of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community that has been immigrating to Israel over the past two decades from north- eastern Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram.

The Bnei Menashe are believed to be descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes exiled from the Land of Israel more than 2,700 years ago.

In 2005, then-Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar declared them descendants of Israel paving the way to their immigration to Israel

Some 3,000 Bnei Menashe community members are said to have immigrated to Israel in recent years.

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 07:30:30 am

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Nobel Peace Prize for 2022: A statement as Russia-Ukraine war rages

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After Russia-Ukraine plan, Musk offers proposal to resolve China-Taiwan tensions

Elon Musk said he reckoned that conflict over Taiwan was inevitable and warned of its potential impact on not only Tesla, but also on iPhone maker Apple Inc and the wider economy.

By: Reuters

Washington | October 8, 2022 7:19:26 am

Elon Musk (Express file photo)

Billionaire Elon Musk, days after floating a possible deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine that drew condemnation in Ukraine, suggested that tensions between China and Taiwan could be resolved by handing over some control of Taiwan to Beijing.

“My recommendation . . . would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy,” Musk, the world’s richest person, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday.

Musk made the remarks when asked by the newspaper about China, where his Tesla electric car company operates a large factory in Shanghai.

Beijing, which says democratically ruled Taiwan is one of its provinces, has long vowed to bring Taiwan under its control and has not ruled out the use of force to do so. Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s 23 million people can decide its future.

“And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong,” Musk, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The Shanghai factory accounted for about half of Tesla’s global deliveries last year. Musk also said China has sought assurances that he would not offer the Starlink internet service of his SpaceX rocket company there.

Musk said he reckoned that conflict over Taiwan was inevitable and warned of its potential impact on not only Tesla, but also on iPhone maker Apple Inc and the wider economy. The interview did not elaborate on those remarks.

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Earlier this week, Musk proposed that Ukraine permanently cede Crimea to Russia, that new referendums be held under UN auspices to determine the fate of Russian-controlled territory, and that Ukraine agree to neutrality.

He asked Twitter users to weigh in on his plan, drawing sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who proposed his own Twitter poll: “Which @elonmusk do you like more? One who supports Ukraine (or) one who supports Russia.”

First published on: 08-10-2022 at 07:19:26 am

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UK’s Truss fires trade minister over alleged misconduct

Burns is a long-time ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to step down in July.

By: AP

London | October 7, 2022 10:38:46 pm

British Prime Minister Liz Truss talks to reporters after a meeting of the European Political Community at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct 6, 2022. (REUTERS)

A British trade minister was fired by Prime Minister Liz Truss and suspended by the Conservative Party on Friday over allegations of misconduct.

The government said Truss had asked Conor Burns to leave the government “with immediate effect” after “a complaint of serious misconduct.” “The prime minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour — as the public rightly expects,” the prime minister’s office said.

The Conservative whips’ office said Burns had been suspended from the party’s group in Parliament “pending investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour earlier this week.” He remains a lawmaker but will sit as an independent.

British media reported that the alleged misconduct took place at the Conservatives’ annual conference in the central England city of Birmingham.

Burns is a long-time ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to step down in July.

Johnson endured a series of scandals about money matters and illegal government parties during coronavirus lockdowns, but was finally toppled after appointing to a senior government post a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct.

Burns, 50, served as a Northern Ireland minister in Johnson’s government and was made a trade minister when Truss took office last month.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:38:46 pm

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Pink diamond breaks world record in Hong Kong auction

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Pink diamond breaks world record in Hong Kong auction

The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, sold for $392 million Hong Kong dollars ($49.9 million). It was originally estimated at $21 million.

By: AP

Hong Kong | October 7, 2022 10:37:21 pm

In this undated photo released by Sotheby's, The Williamson Pink Star is seen. The pink diamond was auctioned off at $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction. (Sotheby's via AP)

A pink diamond was sold for $49.9 million in Hong Kong on Friday, setting a world record for the highest price per carat for a diamond sold at auction.

The 11.15-carat Williamson Pink Star diamond, auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, sold for $392 million Hong Kong dollars ($49.9 million). It was originally estimated at $21 million.

The Williamson Pink Star draws its name from two legendary pink diamonds. The first is the 23.60-carat Williamson diamond which was presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 1947, while the second is the 59.60-carat Pink Star diamond that sold for a record $71.2 million at auction in 2017.

The Williamson Pink Star is the second-largest pink diamond to appear at auction. Pink diamonds are among the rarest and most valuable of the colored diamonds.

“This is an astounding result, proving the resilience of top diamonds in a shaky economy,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds.“Hard assets such as world-class diamonds have a history of performing well even in times of instability,” he said. “Some of the world’s highest quality diamonds have seen prices double over the last 10 years.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:37:21 pm

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India conveys its objections to US over visit by American envoy to PoK

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US asks its citizens to exercise ‘increased caution’ while travelling to India due to crime, terrorism

In a new travel advisory issued on Friday, the US State Department reduced the India Travel Advisory Level to 2 on a scale of one to 4 with the latter being the highest.

By: PTI

Washington | Updated: October 8, 2022 7:13:49 am

According to the travel advisory, "Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India." (File)

The US on Friday asked its citizens to exercise “increased caution” while travelling to India due to “crime and terrorism” and advised them to not to travel to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a new travel advisory issued on Friday, the US State Department reduced the India Travel Advisory Level to 2 on a scale of one to 4 with the latter being the highest.

The State Department in a separate advisory, a day earlier, had put Pakistan on Level 3 and asked its citizens to reconsider their travel especially its restive provinces due to terrorism and sectarian violence.

“Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism,” said the State Department.

“Do not travel to: The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest. Within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border due to the potential for armed conflict,” it said.

According to the travel advisory, “Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations.” The advisory said that “terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities.”

“The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in rural areas from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal as US government employees must obtain special authorisation to travel to these areas,” said the travel advisory.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 08:00:10 pm

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Will only sign trade deal with India that meets our interests: UK

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who met Indian leader Narendra Modi in April, set an ambitious target to sign the free trade agreement (FTA) by Diwali, the Indian festival of lights in late October.

By: Reuters

London | October 7, 2022 6:52:34 pm

British Prime Minister Liz Truss (Reuters)

Britain said it will only sign a trade deal with India when there is one that “meets the UK’s interests,” in response to comments from Delhi that talks needed to be a win-win for both sides.

“We remain clear that we won’t sacrifice quality for speed and will only sign when we have a deal that meets the UK’s interests,” a spokesperson for the British government said on Friday.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who met Indian leader Narendra Modi in April, set an ambitious target to sign the free trade agreement (FTA) by Diwali, the Indian festival of lights in late October.

As that deadline approaches, both sides have indicated that work remains to be done.

Kemi Badenoch, who was named trade secretary by new Prime Minister Liz Truss, said earlier this week that the deal might not have everything that the services sector wants as the deadline approaches.

“There is interest on both sides to conclude the FTA at the earliest,” a spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry told reporters in a briefing on YouTube. “All negotiations are a give and take and it needs to be a win-win for both sides.”

“The migration mobility is an important element and there was an understanding in this regard, which we would expect that both sides honour it.”

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“We certainly are taking actions on our element and we would expect the UK side to also show … demonstrable actions on that.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 06:52:34 pm

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Blunt criticism of Russian Army signals new challenge for Putin

The latest salvo came Thursday when a Russian-installed official in an occupied region of Ukraine belittled the Kremlin’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, a close associate of Putin. The official, Kirill Stremousov, said Shoigu should consider killing himself because of his army’s failures in Ukraine.

By: New York Times

Updated: October 7, 2022 6:39:21 pm

Ukrainian soldiers on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, near a makeshift walkway over the Inhulets River, leading to Velyka Oleksandrivka, Ukraine. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

Written by Anton Troianovski and Neil MacFarquhar

Russia’s foundering invasion of Ukraine has produced an extraordinary barrage of criticism from supporters of the war in recent days, directed primarily at the leadership of the Russian military. The outpouring of discontent is creating a new challenge to President Vladimir Putin, who, after cracking down on Russia’s liberal opposition, now faces growing dissent in his own camp.

The latest salvo came Thursday when a Russian-installed official in an occupied region of Ukraine belittled the Kremlin’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, a close associate of Putin. The official, Kirill Stremousov, said Shoigu should consider killing himself because of his army’s failures in Ukraine.

“Many people are saying that as an officer, the defense minister could simply shoot himself for being the one who let things get to this state,” said Stremousov, Russia’s “deputy governor” of the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.

It was a strikingly blunt and public rebuke, and one that built on growing frustration with the war effort. Last month, it was largely pro-Russian bloggers who were voicing anger over the failings that led to the Russian army’s being routed in northeastern Ukraine. But after Russian troops were forced to retreat in two other sections of the front line in the past week, prominent officials have increasingly joined the chorus.

Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the defense committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament, excoriated the Defense Ministry for covering up the bad news from the front. Another lawmaker said that members of parliament had written to Russia’s prosecutor general asking for an investigation into the military’s supply problems.

A Ukrainian soldier sits in his car in front of a destroyed home on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, in Velyka Oleksandrivka, Ukraine. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

“They need to stop lying,” Kartapolov, who served as a senior military commander before becoming a lawmaker, said Wednesday. “Our people aren’t stupid, far from it, and they see that they are not being taken seriously. It’s not being considered necessary to tell them even part of the truth, let alone all of it.”

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Shoigu, who has vacationed with Putin in Siberia, has yet to respond to the criticism, and Putin did not comment on it Thursday. Some of the faultfinding was directed at Gen. Vasily Gerasimov, the head of the armed forces, in addition to Shoigu.

There were indications that the criticism was part of infighting in the Russian ruling elite that was spilling into the open. It comes on the heels of a tirade against the military leadership published over the weekend by Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman ruler of the southern Russian republic of Chechnya and an ally of Putin.

Kadyrov’s broadside appeared to open the floodgates — especially after the Kremlin did nothing public to punish him for his breach of wartime discipline. While none of the prominent pro-war critics of the military have attacked Putin personally, the Kremlin could still lose control of the situation if Russian battlefield losses continue, said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst.

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“We’re seeing for the first time a personified attack of one against the other within the regime,” said Stanovaya, the founder of R.Politik, a political analysis firm. “This is a rather dangerous situation for Putin because no one is in control of it.”

One common thread in the criticism has been that Russia’s military, despite the country’s enormous defense budget, turned out to be unprepared for a real war. Many Russian hawks have been calling on the military for months to escalate its offensive but are frustrated by its poor execution.

“So what’s the genius idea of the General Staff?” Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent state television host, said on his online talk show Thursday. “Just explain it to me, dear people who have received all the necessary budget resources for so many years.”

Over Putin’s 22-year rule, the Kremlin has generally allowed some level of criticism of the government, seeing it as a way for society to let out steam. But after launching his invasion Feb. 24, Putin has gone to enormous lengths to silence domestic dissent, forcing journalists and activists into exile and shutting down many of the independent media outlets that remained inside Russia.

What he did not appear to have bargained for is that the war’s loudest supporters would themselves turn into critics of the government. On Telegram — a social network and messaging app widely used by Kremlin critics and supporters alike — war bloggers and public officials have gone from cheerleading Russia’s advances to grumbling ever more loudly about the military’s failings.

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Beyond the military’s retreats on the battlefield, pro-war bloggers have been fuming over the failings of the draft announced by Putin on Sept. 21. The move was supposed to be a way for Putin to escalate the war quickly; instead it turned into a demonstration of the Russian military’s inability to house and train an influx of new soldiers.

The chaos surrounding the mobilization reached the point that even some of the loudest Kremlin cheerleaders on state TV aired examples of the system running amok.

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Margarita Simonyan, the head of the RT television network, and Solovyov tried to outdo each other in pointing out how some of the men who were drafted were in their 50s and 60s, even though the officially announced cutoff age was 35. Others highlighted how a man blind in one eye was drafted.

The military commissar in charge in the region of Novosibirsk, Russia, where multiple errors occurred, should be shipped off to the front for such lapses, Solovyov said. In numerous publicized cases, the summonses were withdrawn.

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Putin himself admitted last week that there had been problems with the mobilization, noting that some people called up should not have been, while others with needed skills were turned away.

The questions around mobilization are part of a larger, unusually public debate about how Russia’s military command is executing the war, and how it is possible that Russia could be losing. While the most common excuse is that Russia is fighting the entire NATO alliance, the questions are hitting closer to home.

“There are real questions, you are seeing questions on the news,” said William Alberque, the Berlin-based director of the arms control program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “‘Who is leading us? What is going on? Who are these donkeys? We have traitors among us; we need to shoot them.’ That is some of the worm-eating-its-own-tail stuff that should be sending alarm bells up the chain.”

It will be a challenge for Putin to blame the problems on any one person, analysts said, because the president took the lead role in selling the war and kept the generals and others in leadership very much in the background.

“What is he going to do, sacrifice Shoigu or Gerasimov?” Alberque said. “Saying that his commissars are wrong only works so far in a campaign that has been owned so personally by Putin. You have not seen Gerasimov and Shoigu every day in charge of this.”

Some analysts, however, cautioned against overstating Russia’s struggles and anticipating a collapse of the war effort. The mobilization is just getting started, they noted, and if deploying tens of thousands of new troops at the front, even if they are inexperienced, manages to stem the Ukrainian advances or allows Moscow to go on the offensive again, it is possible that the criticism will ebb.

“We have not seen the end of this, and it is only two weeks after the mobilization,” said Johan Norberg, a Russia analyst at the Swedish Defense Research Agency.

Generally, however, analysts are surprised at the public level of criticism of the war and how much of it is being lobbed at senior figures.

“There is more blame being tossed around more angrily at higher levels than I would have expected at this stage in the war,” Alberque said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 06:39:00 pm

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Iranian coroner says Mahsa Amini did not die from blows to body

The death of 22-year-old Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police has ignited more than two weeks of nationwide protests. Her father has said she suffered bruises to her legs, and has held the police responsible for her death.

By: Reuters

Dubai | October 7, 2022 5:37:16 pm

Women carry pictures during a protest over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iran, in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria, September 26, 2022. (REUTERS)

An Iranian coroner’s report into the death of Mahsa Amini said she did not die due to blows to the head and limbs but from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain, the official news agency IRNA reported on Friday.

The death of 22-year-old Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police has ignited more than two weeks of nationwide protests. Her father has said she suffered bruises to her legs, and has held the police responsible for her death.

The coroner’s report said her death was “not caused by blow to the head and limbs”. It did not say whether she had suffered any injuries.

Amini was arrested in Tehran on Sept. 13 for “inappropriate attire”, and died three days later while in custody, sparking demonstrations that represent the biggest challenge to Iran’s clerical leaders in years.

Referring to the day she collapsed in custody, the coroner’s report said she had regained consciousness before falling again due to what it described as underlying diseases.

“Due to the ineffective cardio-respiratory resuscitation in the first critical minutes, she suffered severe hypoxia and as a result brain damage despite recovery from cardiac functioning,” it said.

“She died due to multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia.”

The lawyer for Amini’s family, Saleh Nikbakht, previously told the semi-official Etemadonline news website that “respectable doctors” believe she was hit in custody.

The police have denied she suffered any harm.

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The police had previously said she suffered a heart attack after being taken to a station to be “educated”.

Her family deny she had any heart problems. (Writing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean)

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 05:37:16 pm

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Thailand mass shooting: Here’s what we know about the ex-cop who killed 36 people

The attack took place in Nongbua Lamphu province in northeastern Thailand.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: October 7, 2022 3:45:00 pm

This mug shot shows former police sergeant Panya Kamrap, 34, who attacked a day care center in the rural town of Uthai Sawan, north eastern Thailand, Oct. 6, 2022. (Nong Bua Lamphu Provincial Public Relations Office via AP)

A man opened fire at a daycare centre in Thailand’s Uthai Sawan town, killing at least 36 people, including more than 22 children, on Thursday in the nation’s deadliest shooting rampage.

Ten others were injured, of which seven people are still hospitalised. The attack took place in Nongbua Lamphu province in northeastern Thailand.

Who is the shooter?

Police identified the shooter as Panya Khamrab, a former police sergeant who was suspended in January 2022 on drug use charges, reported Thailand-based Bangkok Post. After the carnage, he killed his wife and child before taking his own life.

While police have been unable to establish a clear motive, initial reports suggest that the man was under the influence of drugs when he carried out the attack.

Police said that Panya was dismissed from the force in June.

How it unfolded

The 34-year-old man barged into the childcare facility at around 12.10 pm and opened fire, as per reports. The carnage lasted for approximately an hour. He was reportedly armed with a 9 mm pistol and a knife.

A day care center sits empty a day after it was attacked by a lone assailant in the rural town of Uthai Sawan, north eastern Thailand, early Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP/PTI)

His mother told the police that her son had gone to the court for a hearing in a drug-related case on Thursday morning, reported Bangkok Post. After he returned, he appeared “stressed” and consumed drugs which made him feel “paranoid”, said the report, quoting her statement to the police.

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He then headed to the childcare centre, where, unable to find his child, he shot at four staff members having lunch outside and continued inside to shoot the others, it added.

“There were some staff eating lunch outside the nursery and the attacker parked his car and shot four of them dead,” acting chief of the centre Nanthicha Punchum told news agency AFP. “The shooter smashed down the door with his leg and then came inside…,” she added.

Panya then left the scene in a pickup truck to his home around 5 km away from the site of the attack, crashing and injuring other travellers on the road. He shot himself and his family by around 3 pm as the police surrounded his home, as per Bangkok Post.

What action is being taken?

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Flags were flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning following what is said to be one of Thailand’s deadliest shootings in recent history.

Royal and government representatives in white, military-style coats joined weeping family members on Friday morning to lay wreaths at ceremonial tables in front of the Young Children’s Development Centre’s main door. Psychologists were on site to assist the bereaved.

The country’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha has ordered a fast-track investigation. “This should not happen. This absolutely should not happen,” he said.

The PM is scheduled to visit the site of the crime in the coming days. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida are scheduled to visit the wounded as well.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 03:41:38 pm

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Top climate stories of this week: Hurricane Ian death toll crosses 100, Australia to see heavy rains, and more

From the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian to two new studies on the impact of climate change on human life, here are the top climate stories of the week.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: October 7, 2022 3:37:36 pm

Here are the top climate stories of the week.

The number of victims of Hurricane Ian crossed three digits after over 100 people were reported killed in the aftermath of the storms fury in Florida. Meanwhile, Australia, which is already dealing with heavy rains in Sydney is in for another cloudburst with the northeastern parts of the country, in particular, braced for widespread showers.

Here are the top 5 climate-related stories of this week:

Hurricane Ian evacuees return to mud, rubble as death toll hits 101

Rotting fish and garbage lie scattered in Sanibel Island’s streets. On the mainland, debris from washed-away homes is heaped in a canal-like matchsticks. Huge shrimp boats sit perched amid the remains of a mobile home park.

“Think of a snow globe. Pick it up and shake it — that’s what happened,” said Fred Szott. For the past three days, he and his wife Joyce have been making trips to their damaged mobile home in Fort Myers, cleaning up after Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast. (Read more)

More heavy rains forecast for flood-weary Australia’s east

Australia’s two most populous states are preparing for heavy rains over the weekend as authorities on Friday urged residents in flood-prone regions to avoid unnecessary travel.

Starting late Friday, an intense weather system will bring widespread rain over eastern New South Wales (NSW) and northern Victoria likely resulting in riverine flooding, the latest warnings from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology showed. Some areas could receive up to 100 mm (4 inches), about a quarter of Australia’s annual average rainfall.

Many rural NSW towns are already inundated with television footage showing residents moving livestock on boats. Sandbags are being offered to help protect property, emergency crews said. The wild weather system is also likely to affect parts of Queensland and Tasmania before clearing out on Monday. (Reuters)

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Climate change made summer hotter and drier worldwide, study finds

Human-caused global warming has made severe droughts like the ones this summer in Europe, North America and China at least 20 times as likely to occur as they would have been more than a century ago, scientists said Wednesday. It’s the latest evidence of how climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is imperiling food, water and electricity supplies.

The main driver of this year’s droughts was searing heat throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, the researchers reported in a new study. Such high average temperatures, over such a large area, would have been “virtually impossible” without the influence of greenhouse gas emissions, the scientists said. (Read more)

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Extreme hurricanes show time of climate change denial is over, says Vatican

Recent extreme weather events, such as the hurricane that devastated parts of Florida, show that the time for climate change denial and scepticism is over, a senior Vatican official said on Tuesday.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, a Canadian who heads the Vatican’s development office, made his comments at a news conference presenting The Letter, a new film on the climate crisis by two-time Emmy award winner Nicolas Brown. The film takes its title from Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si (Praised Be) on the defence of the environment. It premiered at the Vatican on Tuesday and will be available free on YouTube Originals. Tuesday is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of the environment.

“The time is over for speculation, for skepticism and denial, for irresponsible populism,” Czerny said. “Apocalyptic floods, mega droughts, disastrous heatwaves, and catastrophic cyclones and hurricanes have become the new normal in recent years; they continue today; tomorrow, they will get worse,” he said. (Reuters)

Fast-melting Arctic ice is turning the ocean acidic, threatening life

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A team of researchers has flagged the changing chemistry of the western region of the Arctic Ocean after discovering acidity levels increasing three to four times faster than ocean waters elsewhere.

The team also identified a strong correlation between the accelerated rate of melting ice and the rate of ocean acidification. The study, published on Thursday in ‘Science’, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the first analysis of Arctic acidification that includes data from 1994 to 2020.

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Scientists have predicted that by 2050, Arctic sea ice in this region will no longer survive the increasingly warm summers. As a result, the ocean’s chemistry will grow more acidic, creating life-threatening problems for the diverse population of sea creatures, plants and other living things that depend on a healthy ocean. (Read more)

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 03:29:04 pm

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Ales Bialiatski, Russia’s Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties win Nobel Peace Prize 2022

Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byalyatski, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

By: AP

Updated: October 7, 2022 3:50:48 pm

Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski (Twitter/@TheNobelPrize)

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

The winner was announced Friday in Oslo by Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

A week of Nobel Prize announcements kicked off Monday with the award in medicine honoring a scientist who unlocked the secrets of Neanderthal DNA.

Three scientists jointly won the prize in physics Tuesday for showing that tiny particles can retain a connection with each other even when separated.

The prize for chemistry was awarded Wednesday to three scientists who developed ways of connecting molecules that can be used to design more targeted drugs.

French author Annie Ernaux won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature Thursday.

The 2022 Nobel Prize for economics will be announced on Monday, Oct. 10.

BREAKING NEWS:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2022 #NobelPeacePrize to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties. #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/9YBdkJpDLU

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2022

The award has in the past put a spotlight on groups and activists trying to prevent conflicts, alleviate hardship and protect human rights.

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Last year’s winners have faced a tough time since receiving the prize. Journalists Dmitry Muratov of Russia and Maria Ressa of the Philippines have been fighting for the survival of their news organisations, defying government efforts to silence them They were honoured last year for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” A week of Nobel Prize announcements kicked off Monday with Swedish scientist Svante Paabo receiving the award in medicine for unlocking secrets of Neanderthal DNA that provided key insights into our immune system.

The Center for Civil Liberties – awarded the 2022 #NobelPeacePrize – was founded for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. It has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. pic.twitter.com/rKQEUHYTDZ

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2022

Three scientists jointly won the prize in physics Tuesday. Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F. Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger had shown that tiny particles can retain a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, that can be used for specialized computing and to encrypt information.

The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to Americans Carolyn R. Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless, and Danish scientist Morten Meldal for developing a way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs that can target diseases such as cancer more precisely.

French author Annie Ernaux won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature Thursday. The panel commended her for blending fiction and autobiography in books that fearlessly mine her experiences as a working-class woman to explore life in France since the 1940s.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in the economics will be announced on Monday.

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The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly USD 900,000) and will be handed out on Dec. 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1895.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 02:35:19 pm

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In global slowdown, China holds sway over countries’ fates

According to the IMF, three-fifths of the world’s developing countries are now having considerable trouble repaying loans or have already fallen behind on their debts.

By: New York Times

October 7, 2022 1:29:11 pm

Hambantota Port, which the Sri Lankan government handed over to China when it couldn't repay its debt, in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, March 5, 2018. (NYT image)

When Suriname couldn’t make its debt payments, a Chinese state bank seized the money from one of the South American country’s accounts.

As Pakistan has struggled to cope with a devastating flood that has inundated a third of the country, its loan repayments to China have been rising fast.

When Kenyans and Angolans went to the polls in presidential elections in August, the countries’ Chinese loans, and how to repay them, were a hot-button political issue.

Across much of the developing world, China finds itself in an uncomfortable position, a geopolitical giant that now holds significant sway over the financial futures of many nations but is also owed huge sums of money that may never be repaid in full.

Beijing was the lender of choice for many nations over the past decade, doling out funds for governments to build bullet trains, hydroelectric dams, airports and superhighways. As inflation has climbed and economies have weakened, China has the power to cut them off, lend more or, in its most accommodating moments, forgive small portions of their debts.

The economic distress in poor countries is palpable, given the lingering effects of the pandemic, coupled with high food and energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many borrowed heavily from China. In Pakistan, overall public debt has more than doubled over the past decade, with loans from China growing fastest; in Kenya, public debt is up ninefold and in Suriname tenfold.

The nature of China’s loans is compounding the challenges. China issues far more of its loans to poor countries at adjustable interest rates than Western governments or multilateral institutions. With global interest rates rising swiftly, debt payments are soaring when these nations can least afford to pay. And their weak currencies make it even more costly for many countries to repay China’s loans, almost all of which must be repaid in dollars.

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Bureaucratic warfare among powerful government ministries in Beijing has already forestalled any easy solution to the debt problem, and threatens to delay it further. A new slate of ministers will take over in March, likely restarting the process to address debt issues.

China joined France last month in negotiating the outlines of a deal to reduce the debt of Zambia, with the final details still to come. It was done under the so-called Common Framework, a plan by the Group of 20 of the largest advanced and emerging economies to relieve the debt burdens of dozens of poor countries.

In August, Beijing forgave about 0.3% of its loans to African countries. It focused on 20-year-old defaulted debts, money that China was very unlikely to get back.

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Western nations are pushing for more such moves, on a much broader scale. “We’re constantly telling China that we want them to come to the table and participate in the Common Framework,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview in Washington.

Chinese officials and academics say the West is too quick to blame China. While most U.S. government financing for poor countries is now done through grants, not loans, American hedge funds have been big lenders to developing countries by buying up their bonds.

China also complains that multilateral lenders such as the World Bank, traditionally led by Americans, and the International Monetary Fund have not forgiven loans to poor countries — although doing so could endanger their credit ratings.

“Western commercial creditors and multilateral institutions, who hold the biggest share of debts, refused to be part of the effort,” Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said at a ministry briefing a month ago.

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, has insisted repeatedly that his country is making an earnest attempt to help borrowers. He has also continued to lash out at the Trump administration’s past accusations that China engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy,” that is, lending so much money to poor countries that they would become financially dependent on Beijing.

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“These are not ‘debt traps,’ but monuments of cooperation,” Wang said this year.

China and the United States have favored different approaches to debt troubles. In the past, Beijing has tended to lend more money to some countries, including Argentina, Ecuador and Pakistan, so that they can continue to make payments on existing loans. China’s approach helps these countries afford imports of food and fuel, but leaves them with ever more debt.

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The United States prefers requiring government agencies and banks to forgive part of their loans. This was done during the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980s, so that borrowers could afford to repay the interest on the remaining debt.

But this approach requires banks to immediately accept heavy losses, a tough sell in China given its economic slowdown and housing crisis. Weakening home prices and stalled real estate transactions have already left Chinese banks with bad loans to developers and homebuyers.

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Those conditions also mean that Chinese banks are reluctant to lend more to countries, including under the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s policy framework for developing countries. Such contracts dropped 5.8% in the first eight months of this year from the same period last year, according to data compiled by China’s Ministry of Commerce.

The sheer scale of China’s lending until very recently allowed many governments to keep racking up debt.

Sri Lanka borrowed heavily from China. Even after the pandemic began and tourism dried up, China made four more large loans from March 2020 through August 2021, to help keep Sri Lanka solvent.

Then China stopped, exacerbating an economic and political crisis. Violent street protests toppled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.

“The Rajapaksa government took Chinese funding for granted, and they thought China would continue to support it, so they went on borrowing and investing in projects without any plan to pay back,” said Nalaka Godahewa, a former minister in Rajapaksa’s government.

Countries are also being buffeted by macroeconomic forces as central banks around the world raise rates. Many nations took out adjustable-rate loans from China that initially seemed manageable when rates were low — and are now stuck with ballooning payments. Their loans are typically calculated by adding several percentage points to an interest rate in London that was 0.3% at the start of this year but is now around 4.2%.

“It’s like when you take out a mortgage and choose an adjustable mortgage, and it was a good bet for a long time, until it isn’t,” said Deborah Brautigam, the director of the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University.

In 2014, Argentina borrowed $4.7 billion from three Chinese state-owned banks to build two hydroelectric dams in southern Patagonia. Bradley Parks, the executive director of AidData, a research institute at William and Mary, a university in Williamsburg, Virginia, estimated that Argentina’s twice-a-year interest payment was $87 million in January and $137 million in July.

Argentina will owe a payment of over $170 million on the loan in January if interest rates keep rising at the same pace, he calculated. Argentina’s Finance Ministry did not respond to emails and text messages about the loan.

According to the IMF, three-fifths of the world’s developing countries are now having considerable trouble repaying loans or have already fallen behind on their debts. More than half the world’s poor countries owe more to China than to all Western governments combined.

For now, Chinese officials in poor countries face unpleasant jobs as debt collectors.

“You have a lot more influence when you’re providing the loan,” said Brad Setser, an international payments specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, “than when you’re begging for repayment.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 01:29:11 pm

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Putin’s path: From pledges of stability to nuclear threats

With his room for maneuvering narrowing, Putin has repeatedly signalled that he could resort to nuclear weapons to protect the Russian gains in Ukraine — a harrowing threat that shatters the claims of stability he has repeated throughout his 22-year rule.

By: AP

Moscow | October 7, 2022 1:16:09 pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin joins hands with Moscow-appointed head of Kherson Region, Zaporizhzhia region, leader of self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and leader of self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, as they celebrate at the Kremlin during a ceremony to sign the treaties for four regions of Ukraine to join Russia, in Moscow, Sept. 30, 2022. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP)

As he turns 70, Russian President Vladimir Putin finds himself in the eye of a storm of his own making: His army is suffering humiliating defeats in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of Russians are fleeing his mobilisation order, and his top lieutenants are publicly insulting military leaders.

With his room for maneuvering narrowing, Putin has repeatedly signalled that he could resort to nuclear weapons to protect the Russian gains in Ukraine — a harrowing threat that shatters the claims of stability he has repeated throughout his 22-year rule.

“This is really a hard moment for him, but he can’t accuse anyone else. He did it himself,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment. “And he is going straight ahead to big, big problems.” By unleashing the disastrous war in Ukraine, Europe’s largest military conflict since World War II, Putin has broken an unwritten social contract in which Russians tacitly agreed to forgo post-Soviet political freedoms in exchange for relative prosperity and internal stability.

Mikhail Zygar, a journalist who has had extensive contacts among the Kremlin elite and published a bestselling book about Putin and his entourage, noted that the invasion came as a complete surprise not only for the public but for Putin’s closest associates.

“All of them are in shock,” Zygar said. “None of them wanted to see the developments unfold in such a way just because they are going to lose everything. Now they are all stained by blood, and they all understand they have nowhere to run.” Stanislav Belkovsky, a longtime political consultant with extensive contacts among the ruling class, described the invasion as a mechanism of “self-destruction for Putin, his regime and the Russian Federation.” With the Russian army retreating under the blows of Ukrainian forces armed with Western weapons, Putin raised the stakes by annexing four Ukrainian regions and declaring a partial mobilisation of up to 300,000 reservists to buttress the crumbling front line.

The poorly organised call-up has triggered broad chaos. The military is struggling to provide supplies for new recruits, many of whom were told to buy medical kits and other basics themselves and were left to sleep on the floor while waiting to be sent to the front.

Social networks have been abuzz with discussions about how to dodge recruitment, and hundreds of thousands of men fled the mobilisation, swarming Russia’s borders with ex-Soviet neighbours.

The mobilisation, Kolesnikov noted, has eroded Putin’s core support base and set the stage for potential political upheavals. “After the partial mobilisation, it’s impossible to explain to anyone that he stabilized the system. He disrupted the foundation of stability,” he said.

The military setbacks also drew public insults from some of Putin’s top lieutenants directed toward military leaders. The Kremlin has done nothing to halt the criticism, a signal that Putin could use it to set the stage for a major shakeup of the top brass and blame them for the defeats.

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“The infighting between powerful clans in Putin’s entourage could destabilize the system and significantly weaken Putin’s control over the situation in the country,” Belkovsky said.

The widening turmoil marks a dramatic contrast with the image of stability Putin has cultivated since taking helm in 2000. He has repeatedly described the turbulent rule of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, as a time of decay when national riches were pilfered by Kremlin-connected tycoons and the West while millions were plunged into poverty.

Russians have eagerly embraced Putin’s promises to restore their country’s grandeur amid oil-driven economic prosperity, and they have been largely indifferent to the Kremlin’s relentless crackdown on political freedoms.

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Insiders who have closely studied Putin’s thinking say he still believes he can emerge as a winner.

Belkovsky argued that Putin hopes to win by using energy as an instrument of pressure. By reducing the gas flow to Europe and striking a deal with OPEC to reduce oil output, he could drive prices up and raise pressure on the U.S. and its allies.

Putin wants the West to tacitly accept the current status quo in Ukraine, resume energy cooperation with Russia, lift the most crippling sanctions and unfreeze Russian assets, Belkovsky said.

“He still believes that he will get his way in the long showdown with the West, where the situation on the Ukrainian front line is just one important, but not decisive, element,” Belkovsky said.

At the same time, Putin threatened to use “all means available” to defend the newly annexed Ukrainian territories in a blunt attempt to force Ukraine and its Western allies to back off.

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The U.S. and its allies have said they are taking Putin’s threats seriously but will not yield to what they describe as blackmail to force the West to abandon Ukraine. Ukraine vowed to press its counteroffensive despite the Russian rhetoric.

Kolesnikov described Putin’s nuclear threats as a reflection of growing desperation.

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“This is the last step for him in a sense that this is a suicidal” move, Kolesnikov said. “If he’s ready for the step, it means that we are witnessing a dictator who is even worse than Stalin.” Some observers have argued that NATO could strike Russia with conventional weapons if Putin presses the nuclear button.

Belkovsky warned that Putin firmly believes that the U.S. and its allies wouldn’t dare to strike back if Russia used a low-yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

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“If the U.S. believes that there is no psychologically readiness for that, it’s mistaken,” he said.

Zygar compared the Russian leader to a fighter pilot who tries to win a dogfight by attacking the enemy head-on and waiting for him to turn away first.

“He thinks he has the nerve, and he believes he must escalate to the end,” Zygar said.

He noted that pundits failed to predict Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the current invasion just because they were using rational criteria.

“Our past perceptions about rational limits all have proven false,” he said. “There are no such limits.”

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 01:16:09 pm

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Action initiated on all cases, India counters UK Home Secretary Braverman claim on visa overstayers

Suella Braverman, the Indian-origin minister who took charge at the Home Office last month, said she had "concerns" over the FTA with India fearing what she termed as an “open borders” migration policy.

By: PTI

London | Updated: October 7, 2022 12:47:50 pm

British Secretary of State for the Home Department Suella Braverman speaks during Britain's Conservative Party's annual conference, in Birmingham, Britain, Oct 4, 2022. (Reuters)

India has countered UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s claim that the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) had not “worked very well” to say that India had initiated action on all cases raised with it under the agreement.

In response to a PTI query about Braverman’s interview in The Spectator that branded Indians as the “largest group of people who overstay” their visas in the UK, the Indian High Commission in London said that India awaits “demonstrable progress” on certain commitments undertaken by the UK government under the MMP that was signed last year.

“As part of our wider discussions under Migration and Mobility, the government of India is committed to working with the government of the UK to facilitate the return of Indian citizens who have overstayed their visa period here in the UK,” the High Commission of India statement said on Thursday.

“As per the data shared with the Home Office, as of date, action has been initiated on all of the cases referred to the High Commission. Further, the UK has also undertaken to fulfil certain commitments as part of the Migration and Mobility Protocol, on which we await demonstrable progress,” it said.

With reference to Braverman’s controversial comments about having visa-related “reservations” over the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated between the two sides, the High Commission noted that any future arrangements would be of mutual benefit.

“While certain issues pertaining to Mobility and Migration are currently under discussion as part of these negotiations, any comment on these matters may not be appropriate given that the negotiations are underway, and that any arrangement will include issues of interest to both sides,” the High Commission said.

Braverman, the Indian-origin minister who took charge at the Home Office last month, said she had “concerns” over the FTA with India fearing what she termed as an “open borders” migration policy.

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“I have concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit,” Braverman told the British weekly news magazine.

Asked about visa flexibility for students and entrepreneurs under an India-UK FTA, she said: “But I do have some reservations. Look at migration in this country – the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants.

“We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to encourage and facilitate better cooperation in this regard. It has not necessarily worked very well.” Braverman’s contention that the MMP has not worked very well is seen as a clear indication that she is likely to withhold Cabinet backing for any visa concessions for India as part of an FTA.

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This would put her on a collision course with her boss, Liz Truss, who is keen to stick to the Diwali deadline for an FTA with India as one of her highlight trade deals since taking over as the British Prime Minister. Diwali falls on October 24 this year.

On the Indian side, the ease of mobility for students and professionals has always been a key aspect of any trade agreement.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 12:42:15 pm

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‘I cried until I had no more tears’: Thailand mourns shooting that killed 24 kids, 12 others

Many relatives were gathered in front of the child care centre to start the process of claiming compensation and psychologists were also sent to the site to help them.

By: AP

Thailand | Updated: October 7, 2022 2:19:17 pm

A relative of a victim cries outside the Childcenter Uthai Sawan that was attacked by a lone assailant in the rural town of Uthai Sawan, north eastern Thailand, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP/PTI)

Friends hugged sobbing family members struggling with staggering loss on Friday in a rural northeastern Thailand community mourning the children and other victims slain by a fired police officer in the nation’s deadliest shooting rampage.

At least 24 of the 36 people killed in the assault on Thursday in the small town of Uthai Sawan were children.

On Friday morning, royal and government representatives in white, military-style coats stood in lines to lay wreaths at ceremonial tables in front of the Young Children’s Development Centre’s main door.

They were followed by weeping family members, who gathered their hands in prayer before laying white flowers on the wooden floor.

“I cried until I had no more tears coming out of my eyes. They are running through my heart,” said Seksan Sriraj, 28, whose pregnant wife was a teacher at the centre and was due to give birth this month.

VIDEO: Emergency services workers carry coffins of victims to the morgue of a hospital after a former Thai police officer armed with a gun and a knife killed at least 37 people in northeast Thailand, most of them children at a nursery pic.twitter.com/B9v6CY7lB9

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 7, 2022

“My wife and my child have gone to a peaceful place. I am alive and will have to live. If I can’t go on, my wife and my child will be worried about me, and they won’t be reborn in the next life. That’s about it.”

Many relatives were gathered in front of the child care centre to start the process of claiming compensation and psychologists were also sent to the site to help them. Seven of the 10 people who were wounded were still hospitalised on Friday.

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida were expected later on Friday to visit two hospitals treating the wounded, and Prime Minster Prayuth Chan-ocha was expected to visit the daycare centre and the hospitals.

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When asked whether he thought the child care centre was secure enough, Seksan noted the attacker had been a police officer.

“He came to do what he had in his mind and was determined to do it. I think everyone did the best they could.” Police speculated the gunman targeted the centre because it was near his home. They identified him as Panya Kamrap, 34, a former police sergeant fired earlier this year because of a drug charge involving methamphetamine. He had been due to appear in court on Friday.

VIDEO: Emergency services workers carry coffins of victims to the morgue of a hospital after a former Thai police officer armed with a gun and a knife killed at least 37 people in northeast Thailand, most of them children at a nursery pic.twitter.com/B9v6CY7lB9

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 7, 2022

Witnesses said the attacker got out of a car and shot a man eating lunch before pausing to reload.

Staff at the child care centre locked the door, but the gunman shot his way through it. The children, mainly two and three-year-olds, had been taking an afternoon nap, and photos taken by first responders showed their tiny bodies still lying on blankets.

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Panya took his own life after killing his wife and child at home.

Nopparat Langkapin, a local official in Uthai Sawan, said the victims were “all children of our community”.

“Relatives, families and close friends are deeply saddened by this incident. And we all felt this across the community very quickly. Most of us are feeling depressed and sad because they are our children,” he said.

The attack took place in Nongbua Lamphu province, one of the country’s poorest regions.

A video taken by a first responder arriving at the scene showed rescuers rushing into the single-story building past a shattered glass front door, with drops of blood visible on the ground in the entryway. Photos showed slashes to the victims’ faces and gunshots to their heads.

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In footage posted online after the attack, frantic family members wept outside the building. The floor was smeared with blood, and pictures of the alphabet and other colourful decorations adorned the walls.

Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand, which has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Asia, with 15.1 weapons per 100 population compared to only 0.3 in Singapore and 0.25 in Japan.

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That’s still far lower than the US rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australia’s GunPolicy.org nonprofit organisation.

The US and Australia expressed sympathy and solidarity. “All Australians send their love and condolences,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted.

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“This violence is both senseless and heartbreaking,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Thailand’s previous worst mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.

Nearly 60 others were wounded in that attack. Its death toll surpassed that of the previously worst attack on civilians, a 2015 bombing at a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people.

It was allegedly carried out by human traffickers in retaliation for a crackdown on their network.

Last month, a clerk shot co-workers at Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and wounding another before he was arrested.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:56:04 am

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India-US relationship moving in right direction: Pentagon

India and US now conduct more bilateral exercises with each other than they do with any other country. Aggregate worth of defence acquisition from US Defence has crossed over USD 13 billion.

By: PTI

Washington | October 7, 2022 11:34:46 am

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) website, defence relationship has emerged as a major pillar of India-US strategic partnership. (File)

The relationship between India and the United States is moving in the right direction, the Pentagon has said, noting that the two countries are particularly focused on the interoperability between their militaries.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) website, defence relationship has emerged as a major pillar of India-US strategic partnership. The two countries now conduct more bilateral exercises with each other than they do with any other country. Aggregate worth of defence acquisition from US Defence has crossed over USD 13 billion.

“It’s a relationship that we look forward to continuing to improve, and particularly focused on the interoperability between our two militaries,” Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder told reporters at a news conference here on Thursday.

“So, I think it’s moving in the right direction,” he said in response to a question.

According to the MEA website, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to America in June 2016, the US recognised India as a “Major Defence Partner”, which commits the country to facilitate technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners, and industry collaboration for defence co-production and co-development.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:34:46 am

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Russia lashes out in Ukraine, raising question of what’s next

As Ukraine claimed to retake more towns and villages in the south and east, missiles hit a residential area in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, killing at least seven people with five others missing — the latest in a series of attacks on civilian targets far from the fighting.

By: New York Times

October 7, 2022 11:29:16 am

Ukrainian soldiers at a temporary base near Bashtanka, Ukraine, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (The New York Times)

Written by Richard Pérez-Peña, Carly Olson, and Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainians far behind the front lines and new concerns about the safety of an endangered nuclear power plant highlighted questions about how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, with its troops retreating and dissension escalating at home Thursday, might lash out if its battlefield losses continue.

As Ukraine claimed to retake more towns and villages in the south and east, missiles hit a residential area in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, killing at least seven people with five others missing — the latest in a series of attacks on civilian targets far from the fighting.

“Absolute meanness, absolute evil,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said of Thursday’s strikes, speaking by video to a gathering of European leaders.

Ukrainian and Western analysts say Russian attacks on civilian targets have grown more indiscriminate, serving little military purpose but reminding people that no part of the country is safe. Less than a week ago, a rocket blast killed at least 30 civilians in Zaporizhzhia at a checkpoint and a bus stop, officials said.

Internally displaced Ukrainian civilians register for aid and social services in Dnipro, Ukraine on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. (The New York Times)

A day after the Kremlin announced that it would “nationalize” the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant it has seized in Ukraine, the United Nation’s top atomic energy official said Thursday that he could not recognize any change of ownership of the plant, which he described as unlawful and destabilizing. And he said a nuclear accident there is “a very, very clear possibility.”

Russia may yet prevail in the war that Putin launched in February — it still has superior firepower and numbers, and control of a significant amount of Ukrainian territory. But its military position in Ukraine has worsened in the past month, and as it has, Putin has repeatedly escalated the war, in words and deeds, rather than seek a way out.

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Ukrainian advances have drawn a chorus of outrage from Russian hawks, a remarkable departure in a country where dissent is often treated as a crime. They have accused top officials of incompetence and dishonesty, and have demanded that all of Russia be put on a war footing. One Russian official in an occupied part of Ukraine even suggested Thursday that the defense minister shoot himself.

A man walks past a Soviet-era mosaic on the exterior of a destroyed building in Bashtanka, Ukraine, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (The New York Times)

At the same time, Putin’s military draft has prompted widespread protests and an exodus of young men from the country, as word filters past Russian censorship that the troops are suffering heavy casualties, loss of territory, inadequate equipment and terrible morale. Some people fear or oppose the war, and as Putin has acknowledged, bungling has led to the conscription of many ineligible men. After he announced the draft Sept. 21, the Kremlin said it would call up 300,000 men, although Russian news outlets have reported that it could be many more.

Under growing pressure, Putin and his allies have suggested that Russia could use nuclear weapons. That has alarmed officials in Europe. In Washington, U.S. officials think it is probably a bluff, but a possibility they need to treat seriously.

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And in a bellicose speech last week, Putin accused the United States of “satanism,” referred to Western leaders as “the enemy” and cast the war as a fight for Russia’s survival — a far cry from his original claims to be protecting ethnic Russians in Ukraine and ridding Ukraine of fascists.

This week, his government completed the formalities to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine that it does not fully control, even as it loses ground there and Putin’s own spokesperson conceded that the boundaries were unclear. The Kremlin has signaled that with the annexation, which would follow staged referendums, it will now claim that Ukrainian military action in that part of Ukraine is an attack on Russian territory, justifying a harsh response.

As they advance, Ukrainian forces have found scenes of destruction and evidence of atrocities. Officials in the Kharkiv region said Thursday that they had found 534 bodies of civilians in areas the Russians had taken and then lost, mostly in the city of Izium, and 22 locations they suspected had been used as torture chambers.

A Ukrainian soldier sits in a car in front of a destroyed home in Velyka Oleksandrivka, Ukraine, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (The New York Times)

On Thursday, the Swedish government said its investigators had confirmed that explosions caused the damage to leaking natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea, and said they had gathered evidence, but did not elaborate. Seismologists had reported detecting the detonations Sept. 26 when the Nord Stream pipelines, which carry natural gas from Russia to Germany, ruptured.

Some European officials have speculated that Russia could have sabotaged its own lines to amplify Europe’s fears of energy shortages, which would be escalation of a different kind.

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In Prague, leaders of the 27 European Union nations, meeting Thursday, formally approved a plan engineered by the Biden administration to cap the price they pay for Russian oil. The action is an attempt to limit Kremlin revenues without an embargo that could cause fuel shortages and higher consumer prices. But a day earlier, Russia and the OPEC cartel of major oil-producing countries agreed to cut their output, in an effort to drive up prices.

When the Russian invasion began more than seven months ago, the Kremlin — and much of the world — expected that Ukraine’s military would be defeated in a lightning assault and its government toppled in a matter of weeks, if not days. But after embarrassing setbacks, Moscow settled on a slower offensive to take what it did not already hold of eastern Ukraine, the area known as Donbas. Despite heavy losses, the Russians made gains into the summer.

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But since then, a stunning Ukrainian counteroffensive, aided by Western weapons, has shown the Russian military to be weaker and in greater disarray than it appeared early in the war.

First in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, then the Donetsk region in the east and the Kherson region in the south, and now edging into the easternmost region, Luhansk, Ukraine has retaken what it says is more than 3,000 square miles that had fallen to Russia. Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson are three of the four regions Russia claims to have annexed.

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In the fourth, Zaporizhzhia, lies Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, captured early in the war by Russian troops but still operated by Ukrainian engineers, who are stretched thin and under growing strain.

“Staff at the plant is operating under almost unbearable circumstances,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, chief of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday.

The plant — the first of its kind to be in an active war zone — has been damaged repeatedly by shelling, raising the risk of a radiation leak or even a nuclear meltdown. There have been reports of Russian abuse of people in the town where the plant workers live, and Russian forces recently detained the head of the plant for a few days, for reasons that remain unclear. Russian officials have said they will cut the Zaporizhzhia plant off from the Ukrainian power grid, which nuclear experts say could introduce dangerous instability.

Speaking a day after the Kremlin said it would take ownership of the plant, Grossi, whose agency has safety experts stationed at the plant, said, “Of course, the position of the IAEA is that this facility is a Ukrainian facility.”

“This is a matter that has to do with international law,” he said.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:29:16 am

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US kills 3 Islamic State leaders in 2 Syria operations

According to officials, U.S. special operations forces conducted a raid near the village of Qamishli, killing IS insurgent Rakkan Wahid al Shamman, wounding another and capturing two others.

By: AP

Washington | October 7, 2022 11:22:47 am

The seal for the U.S. Central Command is displayed on Feb. 6, 2017, at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. (AP/FIle)

US forces killed three senior Islamic State leaders in two separate military operations in Syria Thursday, including a rare ground raid in a portion of the northeast that is controlled by the Syrian regime, U.S. officials said.

According to officials, U.S. special operations forces conducted a raid near the village of Qamishli, killing IS insurgent Rakkan Wahid al Shamman, wounding another and capturing two others.

Later Thursday, the U.S. conducted an airstrike in northern Syria, killing Abu Ala, the No. 2 Islamic State leader in Syria, and Abu Mu’ad al Qahtani, another IS leader, officials said.

A U.S. official said a small number of U.S. troops were on the ground near Qamishli for less than an hour to conduct the ground raid. The U.S. doesn’t often do missions on territory that is under the control of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the raid.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command said al Shamman was known to facilitate the smuggling of weapons and fighters in support of Islamic State operations. According to the statement, no civilians or U.S. troops or were killed or injured in the raid.

Additional information about the airstrike was not provided.

The U.S. continues to have about 900 forces in Syria to advise and assist Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.

One U.S. official said that, for the first time in a long time, the U.S. did not use its deconfliction phone line with Russia to notify them of the U.S. troop raid and presence there. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details, said the lack of deconfliction was more the result of operational security and not a reaction to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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The U.S. and Russia have used the deconfliction line to avoid any possible accidents or incidents when U.S. forces are in the northeastern region of Syria where Russian forces also operate.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:22:47 am

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Hurricane Ian evacuees return to mud, rubble as death toll hits 101

Ian, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 240 km per hour, unleashed torrents of rain and caused extensive flooding and damage.

By: AP

Florida | October 7, 2022 11:19:50 am

Workers and owners of a large shrimping boat prepare their vessel for towing back into the water after it was swept ashore by hurricane Ian in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US, Oct 1, 2022. (Reuters)

Rotting fish and garbage lie scattered in Sanibel Island’s streets. On the mainland, debris from washed-away homes is heaped in a canal-like matchsticks. Huge shrimp boats sit perched amid the remains of a mobile home park.

“Think of a snow globe. Pick it up and shake it — that’s what happened,” said Fred Szott. For the past three days, he and his wife Joyce have been making trips to their damaged mobile home in Fort Myers, cleaning up after Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast.

As for the emotional turbulence, he says: “You either hold on, or you lose it.”

The number of storm-related deaths rose to at least 101 on Thursday, eight days after the storm made landfall in southwest Florida. According to reports from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, 92 of those deaths were in Florida. Five people were also killed in North Carolina, three in Cuba and one in Virginia.

Ian is the second-deadliest storm to hit the mainland US in the 21st century behind Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,800 people dead in 2005. The deadliest hurricane ever to hit the US was the Great Galveston Hurricane in 1900 that killed as many as 8,000 people.

There’s not much to say short of how devastating the images are of the damage left behind by Ian. It will take a long time to recover for southwest Florida. pic.twitter.com/ppqyqWl6NR

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) October 6, 2022

Residents of Florida’s devastated barrier islands are starting to return, assessing the damage to homes and businesses despite limited access to some areas. Pamela Brislin arrived by boat to see what she could salvage.

Brislin had stayed through the storm, but is haunted by what happened afterward. When she checked on a neighbour, she found the woman crying. Her husband had passed away, his body laid out on a picnic table until help could arrive. Another neighbour’s house caught fire.

The flames were so large that they forced Breslin to do what the hurricane could not — flee with her husband and a neighbour’s dog.

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Ian, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 240 km per hour, unleashed torrents of rain and caused extensive flooding and damage. The deluge turned streets into gushing rivers.

US President Joe Biden hugs a woman as he tours Hurricane Ian destruction during a visit to Florida, in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, US, Oct 5, 2022. (Reuters)

Backyard waterways overflowed into neighbourhoods, sometimes by more than a dozen feet, tossing boats onto yards and roadways. Beaches disappeared, as ocean surges pushed shorelines far inland. Officials estimate the storm has caused billions of dollars in damage.

The broken causeway to Sanibel Island might not be passable until the end of the month. Officials on the island had ordered a complete curfew after the storm passed, allowing search and rescue teams to do their work. That meant residents who evacuated were technically blocked from returning.

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The city of about 7,000 started allowing residents back from 7 am to 7 pm on Wednesday. City manager Dana Souza told residents in a Facebook Live stream that he wished the municipality had resources to provide transportation but that, for now, residents would have to arrange visits by private boat.

Pine Island is closer to the mainland than Sanibel, and temporary repairs to its causeway were finished on Wednesday. But the island was hit hard by the storm. Cindy Bickford’s house is still standing. Much of the damage was from flooding, which left a thick layer of rancid muck on her floors.

Aerial videos of Lee County and the city of Kissimmee, both in Florida, show some of the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Ian.

Latest storm updates: https://t.co/c4xMkaF9q0 pic.twitter.com/lcDPjPJpIL

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 29, 2022

She’s hopeful that a lot can be salvaged.

“We’ll tear the home apart so we can live in it,” said Bickford, who wore a T-shirt that said “Relax,” “Refresh” and “Renew.”

“It’s not our stuff we’re worried about. It’s our community. Pine Island is extremely close-knit,” said Bickford, who arrived Thursday for the first time.

Jay Pick said the island still feels cut off from the outside, and a bit chaotic.“People are trying to do the right thing and help people, and yet other people are stepping up and taking their gas cans and stealing generators,” he said.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at a news conference Thursday in the Sarasota County town of Nokomis, praised the widespread restoration of running water through the storm-hit zone and the work toward restoring power. Some 185,000 customers remain without electricity, down from highs above 2.6 million across the state.

He said rescue workers have conducted around 2,500 missions, particularly on barrier islands on the Gulf coast as well as in inland areas that have seen intense flooding. More than 90,000 structures have been inspected and checked for survivors, he said.

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He said residents areas devastated by the hurricane had been showing great resilience over the past week.

US President Joe Biden toured some of Florida’s hurricane-hit areas on Wednesday, surveying damage by helicopter and then walking on foot alongside DeSantis. The Democratic president and Republican governor pledged to put political rivalries aside to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives. Biden emphasised at a briefing with local officials that the effort could take years.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:19:50 am

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Movie Reviews

- Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s terrific performance finds a match in Bindu Panicker

- Goodbye review: Amitabh Bachchan-Rashmika Mandanna film is an uneasy mix of genres, tragi-comedy

- Catherine Called Birdy movie review: Lena Dunham’s medieval comedy worships at the altar of Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s terrific performance finds a match in Bindu Panicker

Rorschach review: Mammootty magnificently embodies the psychological condition of a man with bottomless vengeance.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Written by Manoj Kumar R

Bengaluru | October 7, 2022 9:04:39 pm

Rorschach has hit theatres across India.

How can one review a film like Rorschach without spoiling certain aspects of the movie? Screenwriter Sameer Abdul has pieced together such a delicious puzzle in a way that a small revelation could just unravel the whole plot. Wait, no scratch that. Even if I tell you the whole story right now, you would still be surprised by how it all plays out. That’s how twisted and diabolic this film is.

In simple terms, Rorschach is a revenge thriller. But, describing it like that is barely scratching the surface. Director Nissam Basheer and Sameer dig way deeper to reveal the darkest parts of the human psyche. At one point, you feel like is this film ever gonna end? No, you don’t feel that way because the narration is too long or dull. It’s because you will be shocked at the possibilities of how far a human being can go when he’s consumed by vengeance. How does revenge work? In a traditional sense, if somebody hurt you, you hurt them back, call it equal and move on. But, what if even the death of the person, who tormented you, doesn’t end your thirst for vengeance? What if you never want to let your enemy find peace even in his death? What if you are ready to thrust your arms to the depths of hell and pull out the very soul of the person that wronged you and then subject him to more pain and torture? Then, you wonder, if it will ever end.

Mammootty magnificently embodies the psychological condition of a man with bottomless vengeance. Luke Antony (Mammootty) is stuck in his life just like his car, which has crashed into a tree just off the road and remains there, refusing to move. Luke is searching for his missing wife, who we are told is pregnant. She’s gone missing after the car crash. The cops are scratching their heads as they are unable to find the missing woman. And Luke refuses to leave the town without finding her. An otherwise sleepy town is now buzzing with gossip and theories about Luke and his ulterior motives.

Luke is a very difficult character to like. This film puts us in a very tough spot. While we understand Luke’s emotional state, it’s hard to come to terms with everything he does in pursuit of his vengeance. His revenge doesn’t just want to end the life of his enemy but defile every memory that he ever left behind on earth. And he goes to great lengths to achieve it. While he shows shades of goodness, his insidiousness and malevolence are hard to forgive.

Another actor who shines equally, if not more than Mammootty, is Bindu Panicker. Her character transformation is dizzying, especially the final reveal that brings out the main source of this unfathomable pain and suffering is jaw-dropping. Who knew a mother’s love could be such powerful poison?

Composer Midhun Mukundan deserves a special mention as his background score is terrific. The musical cues blend in with every scene and add to the unfolding mystery wonderfully.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 09:04:39 pm

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Goodbye review: Amitabh Bachchan-Rashmika Mandanna film is an uneasy mix of genres, tragi-comedy

Goodbye movie review: Amitabh Bachchan-Rashmika Mandana's film delivers broad humour and heavy-handed sentimentality, which succeeds best when the emotion occasionally swims to the top without the belabouring.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Written by Shubhra Gupta

Updated: October 8, 2022 8:41:14 am

Goodbye movie review: The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rashmika Mandana, and Neena Gupta.

Dealing with death, and its aftermath, is a familiar theme. ‘Goodbye’ is about a Chandigarh family, scattered to the winds, learning about the death of a beloved family member, each in their own way. It’s also about what happens after you come back to an empty house, where the spirit of the deceased is still very much around.

We’ve seen two films on the same subject, ‘Ramprasad Ki Terhvin’ and ‘Pagglait’ recently, both focusing on sprawling joint families in small towns. There’s no specific Chandigarh vibe in ‘Goodbye’, except for the presence of a few sardars, and a bunch of mourners who sound Punjabi. Instead of distant relatives, though, we see an immediate family which is large enough. Three sons, a daughter, an aunt, a grandfather, and the bereaved husband devastated at the loss of his beloved wife.

The bringing together of distant family members by a sudden death is another familiar device. And that’s the core intention of this new film by Bahl, who seems to have walked past his #MeToo accusations. That, and wringing tears out of the audience. ‘Goodbye’ is an uneasy mix of genres, tragi-comedy, broad humour, and heavy-handed sentimentality, which succeeds best when the emotion occasionally swims to the top without the belabouring. And that is down to the connection between the grieving Harish (Amitabh Bachchan) and his dear departed spouse Gayatri (Neena Gupta).

The warmth between the two is palpable. Gupta, who should have been on screen longer, sparkles. And Bachchan, after a long time, allows himself to pause, and infuse real feeling into his role of a husband who doesn’t know what to do with himself now that his lodestar has vanished, and a father trying hard to revive the old closeness amongst his flock. Yes, there is the predictable monologue: can there be a Bachchan film without one of those?

For the siblings, the death acts as a coming-of-age device. The insistence on tying these loose ends — sole daughter Tara (Rashmika Mandanna) on the way to becoming a successful lawyer, at first resisting the pressure of ‘tradition’, finally making peace with it; the sons (Pavail Gulati, Abhishekh Khan) agreeing to ‘sacrifice’ their hair so that their mother’s ‘aatma’ attains ‘shanti’– feels uncomfortably crowd-pleasing. It’s almost as if this is done to offset the ‘progressive’ elements: Tara’s Muslim boyfriend who arrives for the last rites, a young house-help who is elevated by a scantily-delivered romance to the family table, an adopted son who happens to be a Sikh (Sahil Mehta), his mum’s self-confessed ‘favourite’. There’s also a nosey-parker family friend (Vidyarthi) who comes and goes. There was enough here to create a very specific universe if each character had been invested with some depth, but they all remain on the surface, even Mandana, who gets the most screen time, after Bachchan: they all speak at, not to, each other.

The forced humour surrounding the mourning is both distasteful and annoying. The ‘modern-day’ pandit at Haridwar, played jovially by Sunil Grover, perks things up a bit, but is again a device to impart lessons to the youngsters, who, predictably, learn to smile rather than growl at each other. Their adorable Labrador, who had given up eating, also succumbs to the lure of food. Life, the film underlines, again predictably, goes on.

Finally, what you take away is the flavour of the relationship between an older man and a younger woman, the way they found each other, and the loneliness of the one left behind. My eyes welled up in a few places.

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Goodbye movie cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Neena Gupta, Rashmika Mandanna, Ashish Vidyarthi, Pavail Gulati, Eli AvrRam, Sahil Mehta, Shivin Narang, Abhishekh Khan

Goodbye movie director: Vikas Bahl

Goodbye movie rating: 2.5 stars

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 11:15:26 am

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Catherine Called Birdy movie review: Lena Dunham’s medieval comedy worships at the altar of Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Catherine Called Birdy movie review: Lena Dunham's new film -- her second of 2022 -- is a spirited but unmemorable medieval comedy that drinks from the well of Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Written by Rohan Naahar

New Delhi | October 7, 2022 8:15:53 am

Andrew Scott and Bella Ramsey in a still from Catherine Called Birdy. (Photo: Amazon Prime Video)

Once described (mostly by herself) as the voice of the millennials, writer-director Lena Dunham was effectively cancelled by Gen Z within 10 years of first making that claim. In those 10 years, Dunham has gone from being one of the most interesting new filmmakers in the American independent scene to becoming something of a television power-player to landing herself in regular trouble for her tone-deaf public statements — the latest of which she made as recently as last week.

It took Dunham over a decade to direct a follow-up to her debut feature, the Sundance hit Tiny Furniture, and now, she has another film up for release. But the period comedy Catherine Called Birdy — pun totally not intended, but utterly appropriate — isn’t at all like the divisive, and frankly icky Sharp Stick, which was shot in secret and released only a few months ago. Based on a children’s novel by Karen Cushman, Catherine Called Birdy, the film is a medieval comedy whose titular teenage heroine must battle growing pains and the possibility of a grim future when her father decides to barter her in exchange of social mobility.

Bella Ramsey stars as the perpetually conflicted heroine, torn between the responsibility that comes with being called ‘Lady’ Catherine, and the fast-disappearing childhood that she would’ve liked to enjoy more of as the carefree Birdy. Although the novel was published back in the 90s, the film is very much an extension of the Fleabag school of feminism popularised by Phoebe Waller-Bridge — to the extent that it counts the Hot Priest himself among its cast.

Andrew Scott plays Birdy’s status-obsessed father as a wastrel among men, casually squatting on inherited land and coasting by on entitlement alone. Bored silly (and practically penniless), he purchases a tiger for his amusement, which arrives — dead — on his doorstep many months later, presumably damaged during shipping. Of course, she’s constantly at odds with him. Birdy is unable to digest why he’d be willing to get her married to a dirty old man, just to preserve his own pride and collect a fat dowry in exchange. The film is perhaps designed as an exaggerated metaphor for how poorly women are treated, but in some cultures — including our own — it could practically play like a documentary.

Indian Matchmaking has disrobed some of our most shameful truths before the entire world. And like Birdy, who eventually resigns to her fate, women in India — and, I’m sure, in many other countries across the world — agree to participate in archaic traditions simply because they’ve been told that these are the ways of the world.

But when Birdy isn’t raging against the man, she has raging hormones to contend with. In the throes of puberty, she thirsts after her dashing uncle George, played by Mr Taylor Swift Joe Alwyn, and imagines the monks at the local monastery to all be hot — like members of a boy band manufactured by Simon Cowell himself.

Dunham infuses the period setting with a soundtrack transported directly from her iPhone, but like the whole Fleabag thing — which has been aped in not just the Enola Holmes movies, but also the recent Persuasion — this has been done many times before, perhaps most notably by Sofia Coppola in Marie Antoinette. But if Coppola’s film reimagined the French queen as a Valley Girl who just wanted to par-tay, Dunham presents Birdy almost like a version of Hannah Horvath from her seminal HBO series Girls — a complex concoction of white privilege and patriarchal oppression.

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It seems like in the decade since Tiny Furniture, Dunham’s ‘voice of a generation’ persona has allowed — either willingly or by mandate — the voices of other women to take precedence over her own. Catherine Called Birdy is as much a product of the industry-wide changes that people like Waller-Bridge and Shonda Rhimes have introduced as it is a ‘New Lena Dunham Movie’. And in the end, that’s for the best.

Catherine Called Birdy

Director – Lena Dunham

Cast – Bella Ramsey, Andrew Soctt, Joe Alwyn, Billie Piper

Rating – 3/5

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 08:15:53 am

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Sunday Eye

- ‘If I did not explore art, my life would remain unfulfilled’: Lalu Prasad Shaw

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‘If I did not explore art, my life would remain unfulfilled’: Lalu Prasad Shaw

Borrowing from Indian traditions and contemporary ethos, a recent Kolkata exhibition brought together over five decades of veteran artist Lalu Prasad Shaw’s works

Written by Vandana Kalra

October 7, 2022 10:48:57 am

Lalu Prasad Shaw (Photo courtesy Gallery Art Exposure)

You started at the age of 30 and have constantly experimented with mediums, from gouache and printmaking to tempera. Can you tell us about this need to experiment?

The mediums I’ve used best fit my need for both expression and sustenance at the time. In art college (Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata), I switched from a course called commercial art to painting, where I gained skills across various mediums — experimentation was a natural part of the learning.

I ventured into printmaking after seeing a graphic arts show in the late ’60s, organised by Kekoo Gandhy of Chemould Gallery. I also loved the works of the abstractionist Sailen Mitra. However, graphics required costly material and didn’t really sell at the time. I didn’t have the means to continue printmaking after 1973. So, I shifted focus to tempera in the late ’90s.

Untitled, Tempera on Board, 21” x 15”, 2018 (Photo courtesy Gallery Art Exposure)

The exhibition also includes your early fine-line drawings. Tell us about those.

Minute patterns and fine lines always fascinated me. I admired the works of Jamini Roy, particularly those that were inspired by Kalighat paintings. Even in my paintings, you will see heavy emphasis and distinct demarcation of lines.

Since the late ’90s, you have worked on the “Babu–Bibi” series — an idea that came from teaching at Santiniketan — on Bengali babus in dhotis, and the ladies decked up in saris.

I was in Santiniketan for two decades or so, studying and then later, returned to teach and practise my art. Photography stalls were very popular, especially during Poush Mela; I was struck by the idea. I saw families and couples flock to them. I thought, why not create paintings from scenes I see in the photos on display? That’s when I first started painting with temperas.

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From his ‘Babu-Bibi’ series (Photo courtesy Gallery Art Exposure)

The stark realism in your paintings is in contrast to your graphics and drawings that are most often surreal and distorted. Was it a deliberate distinction?

Both styles are very close to my heart. My affinity for abstractionism was channelised through my graphic prints, which I made during some very trying as well as hopeful points of my life. My first graphic works from 1966 were a marker of sickness and political turmoil, while also seeing me through to happier times. On the other hand, my observations of the lives of ordinary people around me, with their quirks, drama, foibles and routines, had to be in full of colour and distinct lines; I suppose these choices were initially subconscious.

If you could talk about your love for Kolkata and how that has been part of your pictorial story.

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I was born and brought up in Bengal; Kolkata is home. It is an essential part of me just as I am of it. I have always been drawn to its people, its culture and politics. There is no separating Kolkata from me — it is very much a part of my psyche.

Untitled, Mixed Media on Board, 11” x 8”, 2006 (Photo courtesy Gallery Art Exposure)

How did your teachers influence you?

I had joined a group called the Society of Contemporary Artists in the late ’60s, where I delved into my fascination for printmaking at length. It was artist Sanat Kar who actually encouraged me to try my hand at making graphic prints. My colleague Suhas Roy had come back from Paris full of new ideas and techniques, and helped me learn the process of etching. Ajit Gupta was my teacher during first year college and quickly became one of my favourites thereafter. I loved both his teaching and artistic style, and wanted to imbibe as much as I could from him. Much later, I carved out time on the weekends to master the art of painting, using temperas, under his guidance, after I had returned to Santiniketan.

What were the influences from your growing up in Birbhum, where you observed the malakars work on Sholapith craft and sculpt idols of Goddess Durga?

Yes, that is what first prompted me to pursue art as a subject. In my painting course I could explore a variety of mediums, including clay modelling. Malakars and sculptors, deftly shaping what became idols, had much to do with this. What I learnt from Kalighat and Ajanta paintings still influence my tempera paintings, as well as line drawings.

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Durga, Tempera on Board, 21” x 15”, 2012 (Photo courtesy Gallery Art Exposure)

There was a period when you drew drawings of birds, capturing their movements, and preferred decorative borders. Were those inspired by Mughal miniatures?

There was a little garden right outside my window in Santiniketan, which I tended to myself. It gave me the pleasure of a beautiful view from my studio. Birds would often pay a visit, and I took the opportunity to draw and paint while admiring them. Several of my birds and still life scenes were drawn from that garden.

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Was your family supportive of your decision to join art college in 1954? Could you talk about the driving factors?

My family was not particularly supportive of that decision. This was not surprising as the field of arts was not known to be exceptionally lucrative. Financial constraints did not allow me to go beyond and dabble in what was considered frivolous. However, it was my calling for a very long time and I knew that if I did not explore art, my life would remain unfulfilled and no other success would hold any meaning. So, I pressed on.

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You are 89 and have been an artist for over five decades now, what’s the legacy you want to leave behind? What are your thoughts on art in India today?

From what I can see, contemporary art in India has taken some new and very interesting turns. However, something I would always tell my students and continue to believe in is that it is very important to create and develop one’s own style of artistic expression rather than blindly aping what seems to be trending. Definitely explore different concepts and keep pushing the boundaries, but always remember to channel your own authentic voice when creating — this is one of my key principles.

First published on: 07-10-2022 at 10:48:57 am

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Indian Express

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Movie Reviews

Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s terrific performance finds a match in Bindu Panicker

Goodbye review: Amitabh Bachchan-Rashmika Mandanna film is an uneasy mix of genres, tragi-comedy

Catherine Called Birdy movie review: Lena Dunham’s medieval comedy worships at the altar of Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Sunday Eye

‘If I did not explore art, my life would remain unfulfilled’: Lalu Prasad Shaw