Daily wagers, vendors need cash handouts, not long drawn out policy interventions that aggravate their agony
We must not forget the stark truth. No matter what the Government’s reassurances, the fact of the matter is that the reverse migration continues in greater swells. Even though dedicated buses and trains are now running to ferry workers home as they have been rendered jobless and penniless in the cities due to the COVID-19 lockdown, thousands are continuing the long march by road. And various reports indicate that they aren’t coming back anytime soon as they feel a thoughtless Government didn’t care for them or provide an actionable alternative before announcing the lockdown. Many have said that they would rather earn little, even go back to subsistence farming, than risk a return to the city that gave them the disease, stigmatised them as carriers, took their jobs and evicted them from their homes as landlords didn’t even grant a grace period. Their anger, hurt and determination have already resulted in a chronic shortage of labour across the country and although economic activity may slowly resume through the post-COVID recovery, labour isn’t coming either cheap or ready. Which is why the second tranche of the fiscal package for daily wagers and street vendors, again in the nature of policy interventions that never make it to implementation and funds that routinely bleed out before they reach the beneficiaries, makes no sense at all. Nobody can afford to wait or queue up for food doles, destitute labourers need money in hand now. And all the relief announced so far involve an incubation period and will take time to materialise. Farmers and agricultural workers’ unions have been consistently demanding an income support of Rs 7,500 per month instead but the Government is yet to address the need for a cash component. They had demanded Rs 18,000 a year under PM-KISAN for all farmers, including tenants. But other than the routine Rs 2,000 installment to a reduced number, nothing has materialised. Nor is there any mention of interest-free loans. In a joint statement, farmers have claimed that while 14.5 crore of them should have benefitted from the PM-KISAN scheme, only three crore had got agricultural loans and that is not as part of any special drive carried out under the lockdown circumstances. Besides, most of the loans are cornered by agri-businesses and large farmers as banks are reluctant to give them to smaller growers. Neither are there any assured remunerative prices for agriculture produce or compensation for supply disruptions and wastage. Although loans have been announced for street vendors, they are expected to take a long time coming, given our procedural hassles and clearances. Verification of over 50 lakh street vendors, who are expected to benefit from an estimated outlay of Rs 5,000 crore, is not a fast-track operation. Neither can they wait so long for a working capital of Rs 10,000. So no immediate relief for them either. In short, there is just a promise but no clear cut means to honour it.
The Government has attempted food security by pledging foodgrains to even non-ration card holders for the next two months and announcing portable ration cards. But the “one India ration card” will take at least a year to materialise, considering the Government envisages covering eight crore migrants. Till then they have to use their existing ration cards at their native places, one of the reasons that fuelled the exodus in the first place, the prospect of free food. Question is why weren’t these measures mulled earlier than dumped as an apologetic afterthought? Wouldn’t it have been easier to have an organised network of community kitchens or even food tokens in the short term? A cash dole would have also helped labourers retain some dignity and they could use it as they would their own incomes. A few days ago, there was much noise about returnee migrants being absorbed in projects under MGNREGA. The enrolment numbers did go up initially but have now plateaued out. One, the scheme itself needs funding to expand operations and two, social distancing and new norms in a post-pandemic scenario mean only certain activities can take place. The subsidy scheme for affordable housing has been extended by another year but that’s hardly an intervention. For without jobs and incomes, nobody is certainly thinking of awaas yojanas. The Government also has to balance its declaration of ensuring minimum wages and workers’ rights while the BJP Governments in States are trying to do away with the complex web of labour laws in a bid to attract sizeable investment. But won’t 12-hour work shifts without a concomitant social security net be counter-productive in the end?
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Vijay Mallya should be on his way home. This is a good signal from the Government to economic criminals
After a long-winded process through the English courts, it finally appears that fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s last and final appeal against extradition to India has been exhausted. Despite a last-minute tweet and the use of some pliable retired judges to argue against the extradition, just as that other fugitive Nirav Modi is doing, Mallya seems to have run out of options now. He can still approach the European Court of Human Rights but that court has not usually fallen on the side of those accused of financial crimes. The exhaustive appeal process, where the Government of India has been assisted by the British Government and Home Secretary Priti Patel, has been thorough. The assistance of her Majesty’s Government has been welcome. It is good that the British Government is finally taking a stand against such fugitives from justice and who are making London their home.
One should not suppose that Mallya will be found guilty by the Indian justice system. He must be given a fair trial for he might well be innocent. It is, however, certain that some facts and details will emerge during the case that might leave several politicians, bureaucrats and bankers with red faces. Indeed, some of them might even not want their complicity to emerge. This is why Mallya ought to be given proper security as well as healthcare facilities when he is extradited to India. It is also important that all prisoners being brought back to the country are kept safe from the Coronavirus, which is spreading like wildfire in certain prisons here and across the world, too. It is particularly appropriate in these times of strife brought about by the virus that economic crimes are prosecuted. When millions are in economic distress, those who have stolen money from Indian banks and, thus, the taxpayers, must be made to pay for their crimes if they are successfully prosecuted. However, India must work towards improving prison facilities to ensure that future extradition cases do not drag. This is not just for economic offenders alone. Possibly India should seriously consider having separate types of jails for different types of offenders and criminals. White-collar non-violent criminals should have different jail facilities. This may not be an idea that can be implemented quickly but it must be something that the Home Ministry should look at going forward.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
For a sentiment to become reality, we need to generate mass confidence, demand and scale of home-grown brands, a tall order
If there is one big lesson that COVID-19 has taught us, it is the need to be self-sufficient and shed some dependencies of globalisation, which have been good for market economics but have been tested during the pandemic that has found us wanting in preparedness. From testing kits to drugs, ventilators and hospital equipment and capacity, we are relying on imports. The poor budgetary support to healthcare and education over the years has meant our public health system is extremely fragile while our R&D is languishing. Yet if some rapid inventions of the last month-and-a-half are anything to go by — indigenous test kits, ventilators and aggressive vaccine efforts that are both reliable and cost-effective — then the crisis has also opened up the possibility of capitalising on our innovation and skill sets. If we prime and encourage these efforts through incentive and funding hereon, we could at least develop some resistance given the frailty of our healthcare services. For example, the pharmaceutical industry imports nearly 70 per cent of crucial chemical ingredients from China. It is with the idea of building self-sufficiency in mind that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call about being “vocal about local” goods but set off a neo-Swadeshi movement in motion. Canteens of military personnel have even been asked to stock up “made in India” products, including FMCGs. While we must attempt our own recovery in crucial sectors bit by bit, a blanket call may sound a bit like sloganeering, considering we depend on global brands for 70 per cent of all consumer goods. The fact is all such home-grown enterprises have failed in the past without economies of scale and the depth of experience. In the end, the imports have always come cheaper. So till we generate a mass demand, develop scale and upgrade quality benchmarks, “be Swadeshi buy Swadeshi” will just be a sonic boom. Perhaps, this is a good time as any to at least push “Make in India” at the granular level. At the same time, we also have to take care about not being too insular and protectionist but competitive. Once we graduate to a level-playing field and comply with the market insistence on evolved standards of quality, our brands could see greater visibility internationally instead of having curated presence. But that’s still a long way off. Anyway, most MNC majors, who have been doing business in India for over 50 years, source raw materials locally and manufacture them here. So it is not like they should be turfed out or that we should be left without stocks of essentials. There is no doubt that India should promote local manufacturing, which will create jobs and develop critical engineering and manufacturing skills. But that “import substitution” should be done by encouraging foreign firms to bring in their expertise and money to India, not discourage them.
The Gandhian ideal of self-reliance did birth several home-grown majors, some of which have survived though most have fallen by the wayside. JN Tata established his Swadeshi Mill in 1886. And Ardeshir Godrej believed that India could realise its dream of self-rule by reducing its dependence on the West for manufactured goods. But we aren’t a colonial outpost anymore. One has to look at what happened to home-grown soft drinks, born after the American giants were chucked out by the Janata Government in 1977. While Thums Up survives today, it is owned by Coca-Cola. Localisation did not give birth to globally competitive companies, so we must temper our reactionary responses. Similarly, Bajaj Auto’s incredible international success today is because it competed in the crucible of the Indian market with foreign giants. And the success of the Tata Group, Mahindra and Hero, all Indian multinationals, is because they have weathered competition and have collaborated with the best foreign partners. India is particularly dependent on China, importing goods and services worth $50 billion more than it exports. We are deficient in rare-earth metals and cannot produce solar power equipment, wind turbines, cellphones, laptops and electronics. Many international manufacturers already have plants here, assemble 90-100 per cent of their portfolio here, are expanding their R&D facilities and component sourcing from India. Global brands dominate 90 per cent of the market in the smartphone and television categories, although the latter did have a healthy domestic brand showing till about the 80s. Our own brands of refrigerators, washing machines and ACs have long lost out to Chinese, Japanese and South Korean imports. Our discretionary and luxury segments are totally dominated by global brands. Khadi is still a home-spun effort that has slim international acceptability as Indian linen. But if our experiments with home-grown retail majors, hypermarket chains and fast food brands are any indication, then we have stood up quite well despite global players. Promoting Indian firms for smaller contracts is a worthwhile cause. But we should stop conflating self-reliance with Swadeshi. India is an integral part of the global economy and we do not want to go back towards the bankrupt days of India in the 1970s.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
With Covid-19 looming large, social justice, the signature tune of our Constitution, still eludes scores of citizens in these troubled times
Noble words like “justice”, “liberty” and “equality” in the Indian Constitution’s preamble — “We the people of India… do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution” — safeguard the staggering population of above 137 crore citizens amid adversities. Pitching real issues over rhetoric to improve our Human Development Index (HDI) ought to be sensed pragmatically. With a plan to impose lockdown 4.0 to wage war against the Coronavirus, the Government announced a Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package. This is equivalent to around 10 per cent of India’s GDP, which is the component of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India. Further, the Prime Minister has stated, “Corona will be with us for a long time but our lives cannot revolve around it. We will wear masks, we will follow doh gaj doori (keep a distance of six feet) but we won’t let it derail our targets.”
However, stories of starvation are becoming the new normal. The migrant population is struggling to manage one meal a day. Unemployment and desperation are all around, be it in rural or urban areas. In the aftermath of the lockdown, distribution networks of crops are choked and sometimes the State Governments are clueless on how to move the food to where it is most needed. At the beginning of this year, the World Economic Forum reported that India ranked 76th out of 82 countries on the social mobility index. This precisely signals the sordid state of social justice. Reflecting on inclusive development, the United Nations (UN) has underlined the aspects of HDI, equality and justice in its ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprising 17 objectives. Nonetheless, the Corona crisis will upend the timeline and derail the development of prescribed goals. It has infected the SDGs at the very core.
The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has taken up the challenge to achieve the SDGs. Aroya Setu, the Government’s app, is enabling the machinery to identify potential Covid-19 cases in the country. However, the infection has claimed above 2,500 lives, rendered millions jobless and stranded people at numerous locations with empty bellies. This makes one question the achievement of inclusive development and social justice on the constitutional apparatus as 5.5 per cent of India’s total population is under the extreme poverty line and is battling the epidemic alone. Rights groups have demanded adequate social security measures for women and labourers on a war footing.
Social justice in India is in shambles. Sixteen migrant labourers, who were fatigued and fell asleep on railway tracks in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, were crushed to death. This human loss could have been averted if they had been promised free travel home. Millions are starving and the Public Distribution System (PDS) in many States is unable to address food insecurity as the gap between demand and supply is widening each day. To combat the Coronavirus, the nation is reeling under lockdown 3.0, which will extend into 4.0 after May 17. There are potential problems rising to counter the infection. The doorstep delivery of free rations and other essentials for vulnerable sections of society is yet to be intensified. When normalcy is limping back in a regulated manner, liquor shops have opened which contradicts the theory of meagre supply of essentials for the deprived. In a startling note, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies and the Supreme Court have asked States to contemplate online sales and home delivery of liquor.
Usually, the five southern States — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala — consume half of India’s liquor and also provide major excise to the Government. In the wake of the opening of liquor shops in Delhi, the Government has imposed 70 per cent “special Corona fee” on the sale of liquor, aiming at enhancing revenue, which has been hit hard due to the lockdowns. However, there is chaos outside shops, forcing police to use batons to disperse crowds jostling to buy alcohol. In the melee, social distancing norms are grossly violated. Though the police had drawn chalk circles at the appropriate distances for people to stand in a queue, all their effort was in vain.
With Covid-19 looming large, social justice, the signature tune of our Constitution, still eludes scores of citizens in these troubled times.The Union Government has taken a $1.5 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank to provide social protection to the needy. Understanding that constitutional justice is non-negotiable, State Governments are on their toes to deliver basic amenities to citizens. The Maharashtra Government has announced free ration to the disabled for a month. The policemen, who are above 55 years of age in Mumbai, have been asked to go on leave. The Rajasthan Corona Sahayata Yojana is catering to the needs of the disadvantaged.
The Odisha Government is trying to bring out a whopping 4.86 lakh stranded migrant workers from Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Uttar Pradesh Government has brought back thousands of labourers from neighbouring States. The Government has started train services from the national Capital to various cities. The passengers are made to adhere to social distancing norms and stand inside circles marked on the pathway and the platform. They are subjected to thermal scanning and the trains are being sanitised. However, it still seems that there is a dearth of efforts to meet the requirements of the people in the time of crisis.
In order to achieve its SDGs, India cannot afford to leave anyone behind and there is no other way to end stigma and discrimination than through social justice and inclusive societies. Previously, abject poverty, lack of education, healthcare facilities, gender parity and the inability to reduce maternal mortality rates were the factors due to which India failed to achieve its 2015 Millennium Development Goals. That cannot happen again.
Currently, glaring instance of lapses in securing social justice worldwide cannot be ruled out, too. Older Black Americans dying in greater numbers is setting a disturbing trend in the social milieu, warranting a probe in socio-economic and racial justice issues. In Spain, older people were found dead and abandoned and elderly homes were not paid the required attention. In India, such community issues are yet to come to the fore. However, these issues of neglected social justice, human rights and unaddressed social insecurity are not new. It is not during Covid-19 alone, the issues of social unrest were also there whenever any major epidemic broke out in the past. When the Zika epidemic broke out in South and Central America among sugarcane workers, they were subjected to racial, gender and economic inequity. Women in El Salvador from Central America encountered serious barriers in exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.
The West African Ebola epidemic, which killed above 11,000 people, exacerbated the poverty crisis. The endemic was neglected as a social justice issue. Human rights violations were prevalent while dealing with the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic and the Asian Flu. Similarly, the outbreak of SARS caused social exclusion of a racial minority — the Asian-Canadian group.
Social justice remains a distant dream. Millions were denied social, economic and political justice when epidemics were dealt with from time to time. There are several precedents of nonchalance in enforcing laws and initiatives during epidemics. The Indian Swine Flu outbreak in 2015 resulted in socio-economic inequities. Dana Majhi, a tribal from Malkangiri district of Odisha carried his wife’s corpse on his shoulders as he failed to get a hearse. His wife had died of Japanese Encephalitis and he walked around 10 km from the hospital with his wife’s body.
Social justice, equity and human rights are at the borderline. At this juncture, no one should be left behind and we must end discrimination through social justice and inclusive societies. The politics of epidemics is not the panacea. The approach to the epidemic should be holistic by bringing science, governance and social justice into one fold.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The Government must bring in ease of living with safety and hygiene practices post May 17
Ok, the clapping, torch lights, lamps and petal showers have all been done. Now we need to get back to the slow, frustrating task of getting back to our livelihoods, amid an almost Schrodinger equation- equivalent of a virus wreaking havoc and creating a “panic-demic.” This is my fourth “at home” column on the issue of what does it take to get back to ‘Make in India’ and live the rest of 2020.
Let me draw attention to some real life experiences in the last two months and then I shall derive some inferences. My friend is a neighborhood doctor, kind and tax-paying with a worldview. He has a family of four, including an 80-plus mother, a teenage daughter and a doctor wife. His clinic, which employs three persons, has been shut for two months now. He has a salary, taxes and many such recurring incidentals, to pay every month. As per Government orders, opening up a healthcare standalone unit is/was always allowed but he didn’t have access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) initially. Now he has procured some, but the cost of each suit which has to be disposed after single use is `2,000, which is a recurring capital expenditure he has to bear daily. The question is, can a private healthcare personnel incur this expense every day?
The second instance is from a food distribution initiative organised by the Delhi Government. During the first phase of the lockdown and its concurrent State responses, people queued for food twice daily, but soon they started losing patience. At one instance I was mobbed by a group, who with folded hands, requested me to get them a pass back to their homes in distant villages.
All these are real-life, individual experiences of common people caught in a lockdown. We can always get into an informed argument of what worked and what didn’t and why something is wrong, based on our respective ideologies and political, religious identities. But today we need to act up and free India from these new mass gatherings and miseries. Here are a few suggestions for good governance.
The Central Government has been for nearly two months overruling State Governments due to the powers given it by the Disaster Management Act. The significant point here being Central rule, through District Magistrates who mostly would also report to their State Chief Secretaries and would be answerable to Central Government bosses. The key challenge here is the unwillingness of the bureaucracy to accept this public service not-for-profit job as also being a facsimile version of a corporate job. Agree, many District Magistrates go on to becoming some of the most diligent secretaries (highest level of bureaucracy) but do they become visionary leaders? The Prime Minister has done an good job of empowering this bunch of bureaucrats by getting them to present slide decks and showing targets. Did he get it down to the district level? Atma Nirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India will only happen if each District Magistrate is designated as the CEO. S/he should be able to produce two slides of pre and post-COVID decks on the GDP in the district. They should be empowered with adequate checks, to revive their own district’s economy in a relatively short span of time. Maybe the Disaster Management Act can be utilised for economic empowerment.
Second, the Government should put in more than generous efforts to remove bureaucratic language in policy announcements. Nobody understands “`20,000 crore Subordinate Debt for Stressed MSMEs” to take an example. Do we expect an entry-level staff in a bank, facing a loan-seeking local tailor, employing five, to explain, nuances of this policy to him? Can we expect the Government to simplify with FAQs who are and who aren’t beneficiaries of its schemes? Can governance simplify its language for the people? Land, labour, liquidity and laws can change only when authorities delivering them, start to speak a language understood by citizens. Is it time for simplified communications governance?
Also, can governance be unified? It can be a rhetorical question to ask if, local, district, Central and State Governments can be aligned for a resilient and self-dependent India? Is it possible to break and get an elephant’s share of global supply chains? Can we as a nation, besides shunning ‘Made in China’ Diwali lamps, electrical switches and textiles think about `5,000 phones? Do we acknowledge all these electronic gadgets and their spare parts are an assembly line of global supply chains with origins in China?
Finally, and again related to language, the nomenclature “lockdown” signifying a red line, needs to go away. Yes, the pandemic isn’t going to subside anytime soon and restrictions on movement of people and goods along with significant economic activity are here to stay for some time. However, changes in language will at least prevent the local police from lording over those who can’t afford to argue. Do not bring in “lockdown 4.0”, bring in ease of living with safety and hygiene practices post May 17.
(Writer: Kumardeep Banerjee; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
India and Nepal have successfully developed a cooperative mechanism to contain the Corona pandemic. They need to resolve border issues through peaceful diplomatic means as well
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, India-Nepal relations are witnessing a difficult phase as a long-time low-profile diplomatic row has now intensified between the two. Following Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s inauguration of the road section connecting Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, on May 8, social media went abuzz with hashtags such as #GoBackIndia and #BackOffIndia, with Nepal staking claim over the Lipulekh area. The new 80-kilometre link route developed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in India is aimed at cutting down travel time for Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrims by almost 80 per cent. The newly-constructed road originates from Ghatiabagarh and terminates at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.
Previously, Indian pilgrims had to undertake an arduous 90-km trek through treacherous high-altitude terrain running across the Indian State of Sikkim or through Nepal to reach the site. With the inauguration of the link road, travel time would be reduced by many days since the yatra will be carried out using vehicles. It is an engineering achievement of the BRO as the 80-km road spans altitudes between 6,000 and 17,060 feet.
Within 24 hours of the inauguration of the road, Kathmandu summoned India’s ambassador to protest against its inauguration. In a statement, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), the country’s ruling party, said the road construction “violates Nepal’s sovereignty. [Our] serious attention has been drawn to the ‘inauguration’ by India of a link road to Lipulekh of Nepal via Nepali territory.” The statement was signed by the NCP’s chairman and Nepali Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli. Using strong language, it said, “In light of this development, the Government of Nepal calls upon the Government of India to refrain from carrying out any activity inside the territory of Nepal.”
The Indian side, too, pushed back Nepalese concerns, saying that the disputed region was “completely within the territory of India.” The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, “The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the State of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra.” The MEA’s statement is in the same spirit as the one it made in November 2019 when India had again refuted Nepal’s alleged encroachment claims in the Kalapani region on India.
In fact, relations between the two countries had been strained since 2015 when India opposed Nepal’s newly-promulgated Constitution. What followed next was an economic blockade. Border tensions have renewed in the past six months. Particularly, following the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special privileges to the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and following the issuance of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, two new Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh came into existence on October 31.
With India releasing a new map, Kathmandu criticised New Delhi for prominently displaying Lipulekh in the border area of Kalapani. But despite its allegations that the new Indian map had wrongly depicted Kalapani as Indian territory, Kathmandu fell short of supporting its claims as the new map was no different than the previous one. It was the internal boundaries that were updated. No other changes were made in India’s international borders. Later, it had also come in the public domain that the officials of the Pakistani embassy allegedly held talks with the Nepalese politicians and even funded anti-India demonstrations in several parts of Nepal.
Time and again, Nepal has cited the Treaty of Sugauli as a legal document to back its claim in these regions. Surprisingly, the Archaeological Survey of Nepal and the MoFA have reportedly not been able to produce an original copy of the pact. Even after going through the document, there was no clear demarcation of the borders agreed between the then British Indian Government and the King of Nepal. It is only through the modern-day border management exercises that the two countries have demarcated the open border. A prominent Technical Committee formed in 1981 to resolve the border issues has already clarified 76 border points out of 78 and more than 180 strip maps based on Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have been established. In fact, most of the differences were identified and resolved in 2007. On the official front, India has stated that “strip maps pertaining to 98 per cent of the boundary have been agreed to and signed in 2007.”
Additionally, in 2016, the two Governments had constituted the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India relations with a mandate to recommend measures and institutional framework with a view to elevate existing relations to a new height. The group has concluded its task and prepared a consensus report, which is yet to be made public. While Nepal has agreed with India that technicalities of the EPG report need to be worked out before it comes in the public domain, it is unfortunate that the Nepalese Government has failed to inform the same to its people and this is causing confusion.
In Nepal, it is a popular belief that it is a unilateral decision of India to not make the EPG report public. Meanwhile, considering the anti-India sentiment in Nepal, India is always depicted in a dark light. This may be paying off in the ruling Government’s political aspirations but is indeed not a wise act.
Notably, in the last 10 years, China has been attempting to manufacture artificial people-to-people relations with Nepal but it has failed tremendously. On the other hand, attempts are also being made to demolish the naturally existing people-to-people ties with India. In the long term, Nepal will have to realise the loss. Also, the Nepalese Government is well involved in the diplomatic exercises with India, including on border disputes. It has even gone on record to say that Nepal sees “diplomacy as the first and the last resort in mitigating any differences with India.” But had this been the case, a road inauguration in India would have been welcomed by it.
The 80-kilometre road construction was not an underground work that could be completed overnight without a close neighbour knowing about it, especially when there is an open border. The construction has very much been in line with India’s sovereign rights and a friendly neighbour like Nepal needs to understand this. To its right, Nepal has protested the road inauguration through an official statement. Still, the use of a strong language does not indicate the essence of the existing “special relations” between Nepal and India. Also, the use of common phrases and language in the statement issued by the ruling NCP indicated the involvement of the vested interest that aims to benefit politically on home ground.
To conclude, relations between India and Nepal are a product of the centuries-old deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture. They are neither artificially constructed nor based on distrust and blame-game. Hence, relations need to be cherished. And in case of differences, like every other close-knit family has, they need to be resolved through the diplomatic mechanism with a caution that even diplomacy should not hamper the demography of the “special relations” between the two countries.
It was a decade long war in Nepal which ousted centuries-old autocratic rule of the Shah kings that led to the establishment of democracy there. Therefore, as a democracy, Nepal has the best chance to interact with the biggest democracy in the world and use democratic tools to improve relations. It needs to critically introspect its diplomatic stances because in the worst of confrontations, countries have finally opted for reconciliation through diplomatic channels. With countries facing the COVID-19 challenge, India and Nepal have successfully developed a cooperative mechanism to contain it. The same needs to reflect in the border dispute mechanism as well.
(Writer: Rishi Gupta; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
As lockdown 4 comes with easing of curbs, let us not undo gains with reckless behaviour. Self-control is the best preventive
Though the country is now going into lockdown 4, ostensibly at the request of States that have high cluster spirals and where containment is still a long-drawn problem, there is also a corresponding easing of restrictions to get the economy back on rails. So this lockdown is a lot about public behavioural discipline and compliance of norms and less of Government enforcement to ensure we slip into a culture of living with the virus. The Government would much rather focus on containing transmission of the disease with a targetted and focussed approach in containment areas and allow resumption of the business of living in other areas. This, of course, does not mean a letting down of guard; the Government is keeping a watch but the onus of observance and vigil shifts considerably to citizens and local administrations. In fact, that is how things should be, a decentralised way of handling things. The Centre can only form broad policies but it is the States that are at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, which is manifesting itself in different ways in different contexts and strains. This is one of the reasons why at the Prime Minister’s teleconference with Chief Ministers, the latter argued that they be allowed to decide on zoning and easing of restrictions as they are best placed to assess and work on a situational report. It has taken Prime Minister Narendra Modi, usually known for his centrist and top-down approach, some effort to change himself and engage in consultative and cooperative federalism though all the “point taken” notes may not have reflected in policy always. But inputs now have to be matched with output. Which means the disease management has to be left to the wisdom of State Governments, irrespective of political affiliation or point-scoring. Central intervention can be limited to strategic management and lending expertise. Of course, it must now ramp up financial assistance within a reasonable range and work out a national fiscal stimulus, enable big bang reforms and launch economic correctives. Yes, things were mishandled in the beginning. The unplanned and sudden lockdown set off an unprecedented reverse migration of daily wagers, who were evicted from their livelihoods and settlements overnight. Now that there is a system of repatriating them through buses and trains, with the Prime Minister himself acknowledging that the right to return home must be respected, one wonders why this could not have been done before when the disease burden had not quite bulged out of shape and a disciplined exit would have saved them from contracting infection at overcrowded camps and assemblage points. Even now this unanticipated exodus of labourers from cities to their villages continues unabated, shocking us out of our wits when they die along the way due to hunger, dehydration or accidents. Those who cannot afford a bus or train as daily earnings have meant no savings — a majority, in fact — continue to trudge hundreds of kilometres, over weeks, in the journey back home where they may have a hovel and live off the land. And if they had to be held back, there should have been assurances, job camps and soup kitchens, something that are being organised by some private organisations even as States like Haryana and Punjab are registering migrants on a portal to relocate them to safe working sites that are running now. While the lockdown has given us ample time for preparing counter-strategies and medical infrastructure, testing wasn’t intensive or fast enough to trace a pattern of clusters and hotspots and map the spread early. And though the Government is relying on its response module of experts, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to broadbase that and get the best minds in medicine, economics and social sectors to submit their recovery strategies, regardless of whether they have been approached or not. Be that as it may, course correction can begin even now and howsoever flawed, the lockdown was needed in a densely populated country like ours.
Also, let us not forget the resurgence of the disease, the second wave as it is called, in South Korea, Germany and even Italy, where lockdown exits have been allowed but have gone out of hand as people got into their old socialising habits at public spaces. India will have to be very careful about not losing the advantage so far by giving into abandon. It can learn from scenarios in various countries. For example, the UK has allowed people to meet friends or relatives in parks maintaining a two-metre distance and will be permitting standalone shops, eateries and salons gradually thereafter. Of course, any spike will mean withdrawal of these freedoms. In the end, we have to reconcile that we have to mostly stay at home, even work from there and limit our public presence. This may seem a tall order but without a vaccine, our choices will shape our right to live.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
There is need for a comprehensive legislation encompassing all aspects of public life, stipulating rules and regulations vis-a-vis social distancing and crowd management
Despite the fact that nearly three billion people are under lockdown globally, there has been no let-up in the number of Coronavirus cases. The world is still busy battling the Corona crisis as the number of cases has risen to 42,68,496 and casualties have touched the 2,87,463 mark globally. India, too, has seen the number of confirmed cases rise to 70,827 and deaths spike to 2,294 despite the prolonged lockdown the nation has placed itself under. As the world economy stumbles and the monetary security of many nations lies in tatters, more and more countries are coming round to the realisation that they will have to open up their economies sooner than later. Even India has decided that it needs to live with the Coronavirus and the Government has begun to ease restrictions slowly.
As we gradually come out of the lockdown, there is a realisation that life is not going to be the same again. The world, as we know it, has changed as we have to live with the virus. The possibility of the invention of a vaccine as of now appears to be very remote. So, in order to survive, we just have to change the way we live our lives and bring in new legislation to enforce social distancing and crowd management, which are the two crucial aspects relevant to the control and the spread of the Coronavirus.
Albeit different legislations in relation to safety at the workplace and public places have been passed, they are directed only towards providing physical safety. These legislations, viz. the Municipal Corporations Act, Municipalities Act and certain other regulations relating to workplace hazards do not contemplate the requisite guidelines pertaining to social distancing and crowd management. Other statutes relating to workplace hazards contemplate only the steps to be taken in relation to the health of the staff vis-a-vis the nature of work that is being done.
Covid-19 has compelled us to adhere to new norms in relation to health, irrespective of the nature of work, place of congregation, reason for the gathering and so on. Certain measures like maintaining hygiene, social distancing, wearing masks and restricting the number of people travelling in a car to three, have to be compulsorily adhered to.
The shutdowns can only buy us time to prepare for the pandemic and reduce the pressure on the healthcare system, but will in no way help end the epidemic. There is a possibility of an exponential increase in cases once the lockdown is totally lifted. As it is, we have seen a spike in cases after the Government eased some restrictions and allowed limited economic activity.
So, unless our conduct is strictly regulated, it would be very difficult to prevent large-scale community transmission of the dreaded virus. Highly-regulated social conduct is warranted to minimise the destruction that may be caused in future due to outbreaks.
At present, the legislations are directed only towards workplaces. They are silent with regard to social distancing and crowd management. For instance while sanctioning permission for construction of a building to run a cinema hall, the requisite parameters taken into account would be the number of seats vis-a-vis the physical safety. But social distancing inter-se between the audience and the management of the crowd at the cinema halls is not stipulated in the legislation. It’s the same in the case of religious places, schools, marriage halls, restaurants and so on.
Therefore, there is a requirement for a comprehensive legislation encompassing all the aspects of public life, stipulating rules and regulations vis-a-vis social distancing and crowd management. The said legislation should have an overriding effect over all the other Acts and anything done under the said Acts should be in consonance with such a legislation.
It should provide for penal provisions in case of violations. The present enactments such as the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and the Disaster Management Act, 2005 are not enough to control and enforce strict social distancing and crowd management in various spheres of life as they don’t contemplate these norms. In fact, these legislations are being invoked as a temporary measure now.
The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is a very short legislation which can be enforced only when there is a pandemic but would not serve the purpose of preventing one. Similarly the Disaster Management Act, too, is directed mostly at post-disaster management and not at averting one.
The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 was enacted for the better prevention of the spread of contagions. Section 2 of the Act contemplates that, “When at any time the State Government is satisfied that the State or any part thereof is visited by or threatened with an outbreak of disease, the State Government may take, or require or empower any person to take, such measures and by public notice, prescribe such temporary regulations to be observed by the public by any person or class of persons as it shall deem necessary, to prevent the outbreak of such disease or the spread thereof. It may determine in what manner and by whom any expenses incurred shall be defrayed.”
Section 2A confers power upon the Central Government to take measures and prescribe regulations for the inspection of any ship or vessel leaving or arriving at any port and for its detention. The said provisions do not contemplate any permanent regulations and the rules governing the field of social distancing. While enacting the said legislation, the draftsmen could not have visualised the present complex nature of development viz. commercial and technological.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 was enacted to provide for requisite institutional mechanisms for drawing up and monitoring the implementation of disaster management plans and ensuring measures for the prevention and mitigation of the effects of disaster and for undertaking holistic, coordinated and prompt response to any disaster situations. Section2(d) defines disaster as a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area arising from natural or man-made causes or by accident or negligence, which result in substantial loss of life or human suffering. The reading of the definition shows that essentially the Act is directed towards post-disaster management.
Similarly Section2(e) which defines disaster management also shows that it is directed only in relation to post disaster management. Section 75 and 76 confer powers upon the Central Government to make rules and regulations. Section 78 confers power upon the State Government to make rules but the said rules and regulations would be in relation to disaster management but do not take into their fold comprehensive guidelines to regulate social distancing and the crowd management at all places of congregation.
As these two legislations cannot provide any regulation for social distancing and crowd management post the lifting of the lockdown, there is a dire need for a comprehensive legislation to do that.
The statute would have to take into its fold various types of congregations and issue necessary guidelines to be followed for regulating social distancing and crowd management. What we require is the prevention of spread of any virus/disease due to human contact directly or indirectly. To do this we need a comprehensive legislation stipulating various conditions taking into its fold various spheres of congregation.
The said law should also contemplate the creation of an expert body to frame respective guidelines in relation to social distancing and crowd management at different places of congregation.
The action that has been initiated by the Central and State Governments at present is only for the purpose of controlling the spread of the virus during the lockdown period. Once the lockdown ends, and end it will one day, the parameters relating to social distancing and crowd management would be very essential. Therefore, unless such a legislation is brought into force it would be very difficult for us to live with the Coronavirus.
(Writer: Chittarvu Raghu; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Inter-city AC trains resume to inject lifeblood in a nation’s public transport system and codify how to live with the virus
The prolonged lockdown and the slowly peaking disease spiral have extracted a ransom beyond our capacity. Public health continues to be a concern in States as the fatigue and desperation of a lockdown mean there are more violations and people are getting out. And with the economy in stasis, now there is no option but to open it up and risk a percentage swell in disease figures than have thousands die because of joblessness and zero revenues. In essence, the Government is counting on a dual strategy. One is to facilitate the economy by allowing movement of labour and people and restart projects and production. Second, with a better depth of testing, hopefully it can identify the disease early enough and tame the virus even if there is a surge of cases. But the most important communication strategy to citizens is that they have to now live responsibly with the virus, follow norms strictly as the Government moves away from the role of enforcer of discipline to being a facilitator of governance and the economy. So in a carefully graded manner, the Government is opening up the public transportation system, beginning with long distance AC trains and linking destinations regardless of the colour coding. Till now only freight services to transport essential goods and ‘Special Shramik’ trains were operational. The idea of inter-city AC coach travel is clearly aimed at boosting revenue and facilitating need-based travel for business and family matters. There’s an emotional component that everybody has neglected, that of the right of far-flung people wanting to be with their family in the nation’s darkest hour. In fact, the newly-formatted train travel will change the way we access India’s other mass transport systems. There will be e-bookings and tickets, possibly some QR codes going forward. There will be no counter tickets or even platform tickets, so no more seeing off rituals. Passengers will have to report 90 minutes before the departure of the train, undergo screening drills and wear face masks at all times. Of course, there will be limits to passenger numbers to maintain social distancing norms. One has to carry one’s own food and linens as no blankets or food involving touch will be distributed. The 15 pairs of trains running from New Delhi will connect the far reaches of the country but are just a drop in the ocean. The Railways ran more than 20,000 passenger trains daily, on both long-distance and suburban routes, from 7,349 stations across India. But this is just a start. They will roll out more trains over the coming weeks once ‘Shramik Special’ trains, carrying thousands of internal migrants back, as well as the coaches for quarantine centres, are accounted for. The Railways have been preparing the drill weeks ahead at most stations as the new normal means more public wardens, railway police and a logistics systems to restrict overcrowding in platforms and ensure people comply with behavioural discipline. Besides, considering the virus thrives in enclosed and conditioned spaces, sanitisation and disinfection of compartments, particularly filtering the air ducts, will be a time-consuming drill.
India’s transportation system is its lifeblood. Running trains, buses and planes is a prerequisite for the country to get moving again. It also demonstrates our resolve to begin the long march to some semblance of normalcy. Local buses and trains might start functioning in green and even orange zones. Unfortunately most large cities across India are COVID-19 hotspots, so it might be a while before a substantial public transport system gets going here. Also some movement might be accelerated in contiguous safe stretches, creating micro-zones. Even the aviation sector is set to open with drills and assessments in place. To begin with, flights will operate in just 25 per cent of sectors with less than two hours of travel and would not provide catering services. Flyers have to compulsorily download the Aarogya Setu app, developed to track COVID-19 patients. However, the same app would be voluntary for train passengers, keeping in mind the general and second class travellers may not have smartphones. Countries across the world are gradually easing lockdown provisions and restrictions on domestic long-distance travel. It might be months before nations open their borders to businessmen and tourists but getting trains and planes running is essential towards the resumption of the economy that’s congealing rapidly. This has been an unexpected and devastating situation and getting out will take a lot of effort from governments, bureaucrats and the public at large. We should not even pretend it will be easy and applaud the Railways for their move. That said, we should not at any time let our guard down, we have already paid a terrible price for this virus, millions of shattered lives and a destroyed economy. Let’s not lose what we’ve gained from the lockdown.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Both Pakistan and China have kept the borders hot, taking advantage of the unprecedented challenge posed by COVID-19
Just when one thought that the devastation caused by the Coronavirus would unite the world in taming it and lead to a broader humanitarian spirit, geopolitics has inevitably come in play. In the middle of its toughest battle against the disease, India is facing a diplomatic standoff with its neighbours, namely Pakistan and China. Looks like the two all-weather friends have timed a pincer grip on India at its weakest moment to stare down at us diplomatically. Relations with Pakistan have gone further downhill during the pandemic as our western neighbour has not let up on exporting terrorism and escalating skirmishes along the borders. In fact, there has been an upward spike in cross-border infiltration since last year. According to Indian Army data, there were 411 ceasefire violations by Pakistan’s military in March, the highest number in a single month since 2018. This year itself, in 127 days, as many as 55 terrorists have been killed, which means roughly one encounter every two days. Besides, Pakistan-backed militants are making sustained attempts to infiltrate into India via the international border in the Jammu region, Punjab and the long coastline of Gujarat. With India busy tackling the pandemic, masterminds across the border have been using its preoccupation as an opportune time to divert us. Yesterday, top intelligence sources reported that the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba had joined hands with Pakistan-based don Dawood Ibrahim to repeat an attack similar to the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike. Encounters, too, have seen a steep rise. There have been reports of the Pakistan Army smuggling weapons from across the borders with the use of drones. With all trading activities suspended along the Line of Control, its tried and tested formula of using the narco-terror model to raise funds for terrorists is now futile. Other developments, like the US’ move to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, has emboldened it, too, as it sees itself as a strategic counterweight in our backyard. Of course, we weren’t caught off guard. The gunning down of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo came as a big blow to militancy in Kashmir and was yet another example of how misguided youths in the Valley continue to be used to fulfil the Pakistani agenda.
Although India has not been aggressive in its public stance against China despite the global flak the latter has drawn over the virus and the faulty test kits that it shipped here, China has not taken kindly to the Government’s rightful move of preventing takeovers of our companies by its corporations during the low economic troughs. So it has resorted to its old trope of renewing border hostilities at Ladakh and Sikkim and claiming rights over undisputed territories. Though both sides simmered down, the scuffles between the two nations’ armies have deepened the general distrust of China. Our preparedness has to be taut regardless of what ails us.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Web portals by Punjab and Haryana Governments, listing job and project sites, are helping reverse the migrant exodus
Amid the doom and gloom of reverse migration and heart-breaking stories of the long march home, there has been some hope. As migrant workers head back to their villages, about 1.09 lakh from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have applied on a Haryana government web portal to return to the State to work at plants and units located in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panipat, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Yamunanagar and Rewari. And encouraged by the response, the Haryana Government is even planning to make arrangements to bring them back. Even neighbouring Punjab has taken the lead in registering the migrants residing within the State on a portal, reaching out to them and facilitating their return to their home States should they want to or moving them to job sites should they decide to stay back. It is true that the migrants moving back home are just making the lesser hopeless choice. Having lost their jobs, daily wages and their shacks overnight, they chose to go back home and rely on the subsistence economy there. They hoped to get by with the Government increasing rations and some government project work at the local level. But at least they would be safe from the “big city” virus, not have to stay at the cramped encampments or be looked at with suspicion as virus carriers. In fact, Haryana’s relatively lower Coronavirus numbers are a major factor in the workers seeking to return. Till Friday, Haryana had 647 positive cases, including 14 Italian nationals, and eight deaths. This has also helped the State open up businesses faster. In fact, some migrants had already left the State before the lockdown and not having found suitable rehabilitation or job opportunities back home are now keen to return. Besides, some of the returnees, because they have moved across States hit by the virus, have not been able to resume their lives at their homes as they have been quarantined and are being monitored to see if they were asymptomatic carriers. The long clearances are costing them important man days at work.
Both Punjab and Haryana have launched the migrant web portal soon enough, and the responses there are reason enough why there should be inter-state coordination on mounting a national migrant database, along with labourers’ location, health status and skill sets. This would not only help them find job sites but also coordinate their journey back home should they so desire. As India opens up in phases post-lockdown 3, workforce coordination would have to rely heavily on data analytics and digital platforms that should be adopted by both the Centre and State governments. Till May 8, while 1.46 lakh labourers had applied to return to Haryana, 7.95 lakh wanted to leave. Three-fourths of those who want to come back (74.5 per cent) are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, while 82.55 per cent of those seeking to leave belong to the two states. So corresponding States should also synergise mapping. Besides, State Governments should also plan makeshift shelters at some work sites and hold counselling sessions for labourers before they make a rash decision. India needs its inter-city migrants to rebuild the economy, which is suffering a chronic shortage of labour, but it needs to make them feel valued.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
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