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Date: 09-11-16

Mixed bag from May

UK must liberalise visas to take New Delhi-London ties to next level

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s India visit – her first bilateral tour outside the EU – has turned out to be a mixed bag. Coming after Brexit, May’s trip was intended to signal the UK’s continued international relevance. And the relationship with India was viewed as a vital axis to prop up the UK’s economic future outside the EU. This is precisely why May has signalled her intention to facilitate easier visas for Indian businessmen, proposed a possible free trade agreement, and pledged support to raise a £500 million fund to finance Indian infrastructure projects.

Additionally, both sides have taken a strong position on terrorism and expressed determination to enhance the extradition mechanism. In the latter context, India has handed over the names of 57 suspects including Vijay Mallya, while the UK has provided a list of 17 it wants extradited. Further, the British side has reaffirmed its support to India’s bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council and backed India’s campaign for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. That said, glaring discrepancies remain. May’s pitch to attract Indian businessmen stands in stark contrast to her non-commitment on easing student visas. Add to this the high threshold of annual pay for working professionals to obtain a British visa.

Such stipulations show that the UK visa regime continues to be extremely stringent. But a free trade agreement can’t be achieved in the absence of people movement. Plus, London must realise that the UK was an attractive destination for India Inc because it served as an entry point to Europe. With that route now closing, London needs to take corrective steps to reverse the slowdown in bilateral trade since 2011. May’s visit may not be enough to arrest the decline in the relationship.

Date: 09-11-16

Why PM Modi’s move will lead to disruption than economic benefit

Stamping out black money in the economy is a noble goal.

But demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will cause huge disruption, push up the demand for gold and dollars as safe stores of wealth, give a big boost to e-wallets and credit cards and, most significantly, send into disarray the finances of all political parties that had filled their war chests with cash to fight the Uttar Pradesh elections and had no clue about the demonetisation move in the offing.

It will inconvenience small traders and businessmen across the hinterland, where the reach of the modern banking system is yet rudimentary. Will it put an end to black money? Hardly.People with large amounts of black money would convert it into gold and foreign currency, happily incurring the conversion costs this would entail, both when rupees are converted into precious metals or dollars and when these are converted back into rupees. The real way to stamp out black money is to disincentivise fresh generation and clean up political funding.Political parties spend thousands of crore rupees on their campaigns and rallies but declare only a few hundred crore rupees of income. The bulk of their income and spending are not accounted for.

To supply that money, businessmen have to generate black money, through overinvoicing of project costs and imports and other such means.Implementation of the goods and services tax would create multiple audit trails that lead to a unified database of production and income. Much of real estate still remains outside the ambit of the formal economy, and will stay like that till a system of registering land is instituted, in which the ownership of every bit of land is entered into a central registry maintained and guaranteed by the government.Once benami holdings become impossible, black money would become more difficult to maintain. Till then, measures like demonetising currency in an economy like India where more than 80 per cent of all transactions are in cash will serve more to disrupt economic life and to disarm political rivals than to curb black money.

Date: 09-11-16

जीने का तरीका बदलेंगे, तो ही प्रदूषण से बचेंगे

Date: 09-11-16

समग्र विकास की अवधारणा में भ्रामक है जीडीपी की होड़

इसमें कोई दो राय नहीं कि दिल्ली की हवा दुनिया में सबसे खराब है। जनवरी की सुबह की तरह का अंधेरा इन दिनों भरी दोपहरी में फैला हुआ है और धुएं का कहर चारों तरफ फैला हुआ है। सरकारी आंकड़ों के मुताबिक हवा का स्तर जैसा होना चाहिए, वह उससे छह गुना खराब है। ऐसी हवा में एक घंटे भी खुला घूमने पर फेफड़ों को भारी नुकसान हो सकता है। हालात यहां कैसे पहुंचे? बीते एक सप्ताह या 10 दिन में हवा का स्तर बुरी तरह खराब हुआ है। दीपावली के पटाखों के कारण हवा में सल्फर की मात्रा बहुत बढ़ गई है। इसके अलावा पंजाब और हरियाणा में खेती के बाद बचा हुआ कचरा जलाया जा रहा है। इन राज्यों के किसान बार-बार अनुरोध के बावजूद खेतों में बची खूंटियों को निकालने के बजाय उनमें आग लगा देते हैं। उनका कहना है कि खेतों को दूसरी तरह से साफ करना खासा मुश्किल काम है। कहा जा सकता है कि यह समस्या गलत आर्थिक सोच से उपजी है।

Date: 08-11-16

Unwise move

The decision to bring in a political appointee to the NHRC must be reconsidered.

The apparently unanimous decision to appoint a career politician to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a questionable step. Since its inception in 1993, the NHRC has always had a retired chief justice of India as its chairperson, a former judge of the Supreme Court, a former chief justice of a high court and two persons who have knowledge of, or practical experience in, matters relating to human rights. This precedent evolved from a principle laid down in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. There is no evident reason for it to be abandoned now and the panel that appoints the NHRC members — including the prime minister, the Lok Sabha speaker, leaders of opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha among others — should rethink its decision.

The reported choice of the panel for the post is Avinash Rai Khanna, a vice president of the BJP and a former MP, whose only claim to be a part of the NHRC seems to be a short stint in the Punjab State Human Rights Commission. The question is not whether a politician ought to be in the NHRC. It is: Why change a convention that has served the institution and the system well? The ex-officio members of the NHRC are mostly political appointees — chairpersons of the national commissions for minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women. It is important for the balance of the institution to exclude persons with clear political affiliations from full-time membership. This organisational structure has allowed the NHRC to gather a standing, over the years, as an independent and fair-minded body capable of resisting pressure from the political executive. The contributions the NHRC has made to help victims of the Gujarat riots of 2002 and human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir reveal the ability of the body to stand for justice, even if it means standing against the current.

It is telling that the Opposition, which rarely agrees with the government on any issue, has been a willing participant in the government’s bid to capture the body for the political class. Earlier, the BJP had opposed the nomination of a former judge to the NHRC because he was “perceived to be close to certain political and religious organisations”. Indeed, perceptions matter, especially when it comes to institutions like the NHRC. It is ironic, then, that in office, the BJP has picked a party office-bearer for the body. The move could erode the institution’s standing as an impartial body.

Date: 08-11-16