India needs a mass movement for banning crackers. For what is considered enjoyment is tantamount to collective suicidal self-indulgence
India is in the grip of a raging COVID-19 pandemic, which is surging forward relentlessly. New cases and deaths are reported every day in alarming numbers. Things are made worse by severe air pollution levels in many places — particularly Delhi. Besides enhancing people’s vulnerability to the Corona virus — these are causing permanent damage to the health of children and the old. One would have thought that all this and the crisis stalking the economy would invoke a sombre mood that would be reflected in the observance of Deepavali, one of the most beautiful events in the country, which is celebrated by a large section of Indians of the diaspora as well, and prompts warm gestures by friendly countries. Witness the lighting up of the Times Square in New York City on the occasion.
One had expected that the emphasis in India would be on observing Deepavali as a festival of lights, dispelling the gloom that has enveloped the country this year, creating an interlude of cheer in the midst of grief and despair. One had hoped that people would abjure crackers, whose use had been banned or severely restricted in many parts of the country. Nothing like this happened. There was not only no decline in their use but they continued to be burst on Deepavali day, which was November 14, and in some cases, even a week later, albeit in diminishing frequency.
Sky-rocketing decibel levels heaped miseries on the old, infirm and the ill. Animals, particularly dogs, suffered terribly, with some going almost crazy with fear. Billowing smoke from cracker bursts severely spiked the already high air-pollution levels that had been playing havoc. Unforgivably, all this happened despite restrictions and bans, exhortations against unrestrained cracker bursts by civil society elements, environmentalists and a growing army of school children pleading that their future be not jeopardised. In fact, over the past several years now, there has been a growing movement calling for a progressive reduction in the explosion of crackers and a ban on the more deafening and polluting kinds of these, without, of course, any significant effect.
Why is it that a large section of Indians is relentlessly trying to reduce what is meant to be a splendid festival of lights into a prolonged orgy of horrid, ear drum-splitting noise? They cannot be unaware of the consequences of what they are doing and the impact this will have on their children and grandchildren, not only in terms of health but of character. Their progenies, and those of the latter, will come to feel that what matters is doing what they want to and not their society’s well-being and future, and that rules and laws can be broken with impunity. The consequences can be serious in terms of maintaining social harmony and law and order if this leads to a generally cavalier attitude towards obeying laws, including those embodied in the penal code in respect of crimes like murder, robbery, serious fraud, printing of counterfeit currency and so on.
People engaged in orgies of bursting crackers cannot be unaware of the consequences of what they are doing. These have been dinned into their consciousness for at least two decades now. Is it that they enjoy bursting crackers so much that they cannot help doing it heedless of the consequences? If this be true, what can be the explanation?
To answer the first question, one needs to look at some of the deeper processes at work. Every action by an individual is fundamentally a result of instinct or an exercise of will. One instinctively jumps out of the way of a truck that suddenly comes across a bend and threatens to run one over. It is the result of the instinct for survival at work. The bursting of a cracker is an act of will, the final one of a series that involves the decision to buy it, the act of buying it, followed by acts of storing it, taking it out and igniting it.
Every act of will is an act of self-assertion. The self wills the action which, in turn, underlines its existence. One can act because one exists. A much-referenced statement by the French philosopher, Rene Descartes, runs, “Cogito ergo sum” or “I think, therefore I am.” One can see a subconscious extension of the same thought process behind the statement implied in each cracker burst, “I explode crackers, therefore, I exist.” In fact, there is more. One sometimes gets hurt — even badly — while setting off a cracker. This therefore, can also be projected as a testimony to one’s courage. It can be doubly so if the act is in defiance of a ban – or restrictions – on the use of crackers. One can then show oneself as a daring rebel as well.
There are doubtless, other means of self-assertion in the form of producing works of art like painting and photographs, making films, staging plays, writing, dancing, singing, making sculptures and designing and building celebrated works of architecture. Engaging in these requires training, skill, effort and, of course, talent, and the expending of a huge amount of time, which would leave one with little opportunity for going though all the stages of activity associated with explosion of crackers. One may be asked: How does one know that people who explode crackers are not engaged in creative activity? Some of them may. This writer, however, is not aware of any survey, which shows how many or what percentage of cracker enthusiasts are engaged in creative pursuits. The nature of activity required in any form of creative venture and the setting off of crackers respectively are, moreover, totally different and this writer knows of no novelist, poet, playwright, painter, film-maker or stalwart photographer who explodes crackers.
The argument can be that people explode crackers because they enjoy doing it and that those engaged in pursuits that are essential to the functioning of a society but are not regarded as creative — businessmen, administrators, managers, clerks, lawyers, doctors, engineers and so forth, for example — have as much right to enjoy themselves as writers, painters, film-makers, photographers and so on. They certainly do, but not when it causes serious damage to public health and the environment. In such a situation, enjoyment is tantamount to collective suicidal self-indulgence. We are steeped in a culture conducive to it.
Throughout history, most cultures have sanctioned an element of self-indulgence in the form of gorging on food that thrills the palate and consuming beverages that can inebriate. There is nothing wrong with this within limits. It has created demands, the satisfaction of which has contributed to economic, and even creative, activity. In the present instance, the cracker industry employs thousands in the manufacture and distribution of its products.
It is, however, an industry that causes severe damage to society. Year after year, there has been talk of drastically restricting use of crackers during Diwali and a few days before and after it. Virtually nothing, however, has been coming out of it; as almost unrestricted supply of crackers is available every year and, if anything, used on a continuously escalating scale. Since restrictions imposed by the Government on the use of crackers have hardly had any effect, the Union and State governments need to take steps to drastically curtail production, if not close the industry down altogether. It should not be difficult to absorb the workforce thus rendered surplus into the manufacture of fireworks, which will receive a boost as the bulk of the money now spent on crackers will then be spent on these.
Meanwhile, school children and civil society organisations and personnel, who have been demanding severe restrictions on the use of crackers, must step up their efforts. The target must be on building a nationwide citizens’ mass movement whose tidal sweep can be ignored by neither the Union and State governments nor the manufacturers, the distributors or the exploders of crackers.
(The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)
It seems that mental slavery has gone into the blood and veins of some Bharatiya people. Some people have still not come out of the hangover of the colonial era. It is time to wake up and smell the coffee and see new reality in Bharat where people want to adopt their own culture and languages.
We all learnt English but that does not mean we have to give up Hindi or mother tongue, especially the coming generations must learn mother tongue and Hindi. Some people want to stay slave forever as they have started enjoying slavery. In response to any Hindi article many people start telling the advantages of learning English and adopting it for ever. They have killed their pride and consciousness instead of promoting their mother tongue and developing any link language for whole Bhaarat. If this happens then how they will get their satisfaction without being mentally slave. Dr. Jhaveri Madhusudan Ji although Gujrati himself has written about 200 articles in Hindi and have proved that Hindi has all the qualities for becoming National and link language of Bhaarat. It is not only in the matter of Hindi but all around Bharatiya people prove their mental slavery. Hindi has pure Sanskritnist pure Hindi words but media use and spread Urdu and English words in Hindi. Mental slavery is not shown in matter of Hindi only but all around in every field mental slavery is shown. Please watch the following program which discusses the mental slavery of Bharatiya people.
Decolonizing the Indian Civil Services: Rajiv Malhotra: (60) Decolonizing the Indian Civil Services: Rajiv Malhotra - YouTube
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has asked the National Testing Agency to prepare a fresh syllabus for the competitive examinations including JEE Main and NEET conducted for the admissions to the Engineering and Medical Courses in the country. According to reports, the National Testing Agency will assess the situation across the different states and central school education boards before finalizing the syllabus. The ministry will also be launching a campaign seeking views from stakeholders on the schedule for conducting the board examinations next year.
The Central Board of Secondary Education along with the different state boards have decided to reduce the syllabus by 30 percent for the class 10 and 12 board examinations due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Education Ministry has stated that the NTA will come out with a new syllabus for the competitive exams after conducting an assessment on the scenario in the different boards at present. The ministry will also launch a campaign to seek opinions from the parents and teachers on conducting the board exams next year.
JEE Main NEET Exams
The National Testing Agency has earlier stated that the first session on JEE Main 2021 exams is expected to be conducted in February 2021 instead of the usual January 2021. The application process for the same is expected to commence from next month onwards, however, the exam dates for the NEET 2021 examinations are yet awaited as the exams are usually conducted in May. The exams this year were delayed due to the pandemic.
DU PG 2nd Merit List 2020 Released: As per the latest update, the University of Delhi has formally released the 2nd Merit List 2020 for Delhi University PG Admissions 2020. According to information available right now, the DU PG Merit List 2020 for 2nd Round has been released in the form of PDF files available on the official website. Candidates who had registered and were seeking admission to postgraduate level programmes offered by the university can now check their selection status by logging onto portal du.ac.in. Alternatively, candidates can also check their selection status via DU PG 2nd Merit List 2020 easily via the direct link given below:
http://www.du.ac.in/du/uploads/COVID-19/Admissions-list.html#_admission-help-corner3
It leaves the regulatory door ajar for each country to force hard, localisation rules for data without being subject to scrutiny at the multilateral platform
The world has seen a major economic negotiating bloc getting “next to a done deal” in the last fortnight, in the form of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement (FTA) between 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. This pact, when ratified, will come to represent 30 per cent of the world’s GDP, impacting almost half of the global population. Most significantly, it is a multilateral trade agreement where China is a leading party. The RCEP has been at the negotiating table since 2012 before it went stagnant in recent years as India resisted opening its industrial and agricultural sectors to increased international competition. Subsequently, given the rise of an “abrasively ambitious and technology-aided” China, India had also pressed for localising data of each country’s citizens, unless the participating nation granted its outbound transfer. India formally withdrew from the RCEP in 2019 due to domestic demands. However, despite the November 15 agreement on the trade deal, New Delhi still has the option to join RCEP.
A post-pandemic world economy gasping to revive, a new regime in the US soon with a strong possibility of rejoining multilateral platforms for trade and strategic cooperation and the vision of a new India are some of the paradigms to be kept in mind before passing any judgment on what works best in our favour at this juncture. New Delhi not joining the RCEP has been received with mixed responses domestically, with those opposing the Government’s stance stating that an isolated India in South East Asia and our sensitivity to China’s imports may be more out of geopolitics than economic realisation. A study found that between 2007-2008 and 2015-16, India’s import of Chinese semi-finished goods and heavy machinery has had a positive impact on our industries, creating jobs and increasing competitiveness.Those who support the Government’s moves of withdrawal have equally strong positions on how importing these goods from China leads to job losses for the unskilled. In the post-pandemic economy, a huge chunk of jobs has to be created for this unskilled category.
The broad tenets of the RCEP agreement aim to achieve zero tariffs on over 90 per cent traded goods between partner countries in 15 years. The economic impact may be dulled by the knowledge that most of these trading partners already have bilateral FTAs in place. However, the geopolitical impact, given a heavy Chinese presence and an ambition to create a counter bloc to the US-led Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), can’t be overlooked. It is often said that China has a huge knack for reverse mastering/engineering the skill sets developed in any successful economy and, therefore, without any significant costs of indigenous development, it can scale up and produce similar goods and services at half the rates offered by original creators. The wordings of the RCEP, in terms of borrowed texts from the CPTPP chapters and approach, seem like a similar exercise. It is here that key emerging technology policy topics like e-commerce, data localisation, as envisaged in the RCEP agreement, have to be studied carefully before India makes any decision.
Electronic commerce, an evolving area of friction on bilateral and multilateral platforms, has found a chapter in the RCEP agreement document. It borrows heavily from the CPTPP. However, on execution, it has bleaker chances as the clauses (at least in their wordings) are less enforceable, ambiguous and too tight-jacketed. The dispute resolution mechanism in case of conflict must be referred to the RCEP joint committee if all other channels of negotiations fail. The contentious issues of source code disclosure requirements, data flows across trading partners and location of data centres and computing facilities have been left for future consultations and agreements. India and the rest of the world economies, including Europe, would be watching this space closely to get cues, before trying to make any overtures. The global policy space is currently staring at tonnes of ideas being floated to control the flow of data beyond sovereign boundaries, thereby acknowledging and equating data as a physical commodity to be traded as a chip on the high tables of multilateral agreements. It would take tonnes of space to argue and potentially arrive at a middle path between different approaches to data regulation globally, except, suffice it to say, this year has been the beginning of national data colonisation policies.
Staying on with data regulations, the text for cross-border data flows and location of computation facilities in the RCEP document leave ample room for subjective and aggressive interpretations. The bloc leaves the regulatory door ajar for each country to force hard, localisation rules for data without being subject to scrutiny at the multilateral platform. This clause may seem to be played to the galleries domestically for each partner but has its own repercussions on global cooperation. India for the time-being has chosen to call for an adjournment on the multidimensional chessboard of multilateral trade/strategic pacts, which is a wise move. It is always better to sleep over the problem and come back with a fresh perspective before going for Sicilian defence or the Queen’s gambit.
(The writer is a policy analyst)
While criticising the Constitution for the failure of those who are responsible in maintaining its sanctity, we are doing injustice to both, the founders and the text
November has by and large been an important month in history. On November 26, 1940, Nazi Germany began walling off the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. In November 1941, the Japanese 1st Air Fleet, also known as the Kido Butai, in a surprise military move, left the Kuril Islands to strike Pearl Harbour during World War II. In November 1944, a German rocket hit a Woolworth’s shop in London, killing 168 people. Simultaneously, on the same day, Himmler, a leading Nazi soldier, ordered the destruction of the Auschwitz-Birkenau crematoria. World politics was in a state of turmoil. Populist leaders, who were born from democracy, and their obsession with expansionism were being severely criticised and held accountable globally.
Back in India, the Hindu-Muslim tension and the differences between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Muslim League (ML) were growing at an alarming rate. After a failed attempt at the Shimla Conference to mediate between the INC and the ML, the Cabinet Mission Plan was released by a three-member committee set up to decide the fate of an independent India by the Labour Party heading the Government in the UK. Since the Cabinet mission had rejected the demands made by the ML, the league was miffed and had declared the infamous “Direct Action Day”, which had led to widespread violence all across the country.
Among all this chaos, on November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted a Constitution for an independent and democratic country. After hours of debates, discussions and discourses that were held for close to three long years by more than 350 men and women of astute credibility and a proven track record, the Constitution was adopted.
This was not an ordinary moment in India’s socio-political and constitutional history. For a majority of Indians, this was a “break from the past” moment. However, for the founding fathers, the task of framing a Constitution was far more sensitive. They had a dual role. On one hand, they had to justify to the world and future generations reading the text that India was the better of the two nations (the other being Pakistan) that were formed as a result of the Partition and on the other, they had to draft a Constitution that reflected the struggle of the founders. This second role, as Abhinav Chandrachud points out in his book, Republic of Rhetoric, had two competing goals — one was to transform India and the other was to keep things the same. Continuity and change were the two important aspects that rationalised the Constitution-making mandate of the Assembly. Granville Austin points out that the Constitution sought to bring about a “social revolution” while at the same time “trying to preserve national unity and stability.”
The founders were fairly optimistic Indians. They framed a Constitution that wasn’t just ahead of its time but was also a positive and radical intervention in the Indian political scene. For instance, it abolished untouchability, made it unconstitutional for anyone to be granted titles and made a provision for affirmative action for those who had been historically marginalised by society. It granted universal adult suffrage to everyone, irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, gender or race and ensured a fundamental right to equality to every citizen of this country.
All this at a time when the world was still not ready to accept these changes. For example, in the US, despite it being one of the oldest constitutional Republics around the world, it was only in 1954 in the Brown vs Board of Education case, when the “separate but equal” clause was held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Black women were allowed to vote only in 1965 under the Voting Rights Act and Affirmative Action for Blacks and Browns was held to be constitutional very recently in 2003 in the Grutter vs Bollinger case. The US Supreme Court made inter-racial marriage constitutionally permissible in 1967 and gave students the right to free speech in 1969 in the Tinker vs Des Moines case.
Even as a proud India celebrated Samvidhaan Diwas yesterday, little do we know that the Assembly that framed the most egalitarian and forward-looking Constitution of its times was also criticised by several quarters. There were two kinds of criticisms that were levelled against the founders — moral and legal. The moral criticism was that the Assembly was anti-Gandhian and wasn’t a democratic one. Mahatma Gandhi had espoused the concept of village republics and had stated that power should be vested in the hands of the panchayat whereas the Constitution had followed a highly centralised top-bottom approach to governance.
The Assembly was also stated to be non-representative because a majority of its members were Hindus and members of the INC, too. It was also argued that a colonial mindset prevailed in the Assembly whereby it followed a cut-copy-paste model of framing the Constitution. The legal shortcomings rest on the argument that the Assembly’s functioning was against the State paper and the Indian Independence Act of 1947. Many also felt that the Assembly laid the foundations for a non-secular India. However, there is no doubt that these criticisms had little to no bearing on the sanctity of the document. One-half of the Constitutions across the world don’t even get to see their 20th year. At the least, these criticisms show that dissent was very much a part of the Constitution-making process and virtually every leader in the Assembly had at one point of time or the other registered his/her concerns on issues that they felt strongly about. The Constitution was indeed adopted based on popular support and sovereignty that the Assembly enjoyed from every strata of the society. Today, the document enjoys the status of a holy book for all those who believe in its dreams for this great country.
This is not to say that we have been equally successful in curbing the menace of discrimination, inequality and religious intolerance in India. Arguably so, we might have failed, and the founders would not be very happy with the state of affairs that exist today. Gender inequality, caste-based discrimination, religious fundamentalism, lack of quality public education, criminalisation of politics, corruption, increased blue and white collar crimes, hunger, poverty, population, unemployment, climate change, stifling of dissent and increased populism in politics are concerns that continue to haunt us and our Constitutional framework even today.
But before we hold the Constitution responsible for all that pervades in our socio-political landscape today, let’s take a step back and understand the role that this text is and was supposed to be playing in democracies like the one that exists in our country. Constitutions are inherently symbolic documents and all that they do is reflect the minds and hearts of the people. This is not to say that they include all that is not morally permissible. Constitutional texts assert and reiterate the dreams that a nation saw for itself.
Seventy one years ago, our founders dreamt of a nation that would be free from all kinds of prejudice, hate and stigmatisation. We haven’t achieved this goal. But while criticising the text for its supposed failure we forget that our anger is misplaced. This is precisely because the Indian Constitution places an extremely huge amount of trust on whom it applies, in this case the citizens of this country. While holding the Constitution accountable for the failure of the people, we are doing injustice to the text that works best only when “We, The People” act with complete honesty and uphold principles of Constitutional idealism.
The reason why Samvidhaan Diwas is important is fairly simple, it tells you a story. The story of the rising sun in the history of India’s Constitutional journey. It tells you that the Constitution was drafted by appreciating dissent and favouring intellectual discourse. It tells you that the document was framed at a time when the dynamics of global politics was being reconsidered. It tells you that even in the face of criticism, the Assembly was successful in framing a document that was forward-looking, optimistic and has until now survived the wrath of several populist governments and authoritative leaders. It tells you, most importantly, that the criticism of the Constitution is misplaced and that the failure of those who are responsible to ensure its sanctity does not necessarily mean the failure of the text itself.
The Indian Constitution is a living document and it is going to survive and will continue to stand for those who are vulnerable, downtrodden and have been historically sidelined by a cacophonic Parliament. Let’s promise to shape a nation that aims to build on from where the founders left off.
(The writer is from the National Law University, Visakhapatnam)
Bots Trump Humans in Online Ethics
A study of Twitter data between 2006 and 2017 by a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined 126,000 stories shared by more than 3 million people. They found false news was likely to be re-tweeted 70% more than the truth.
If that doesn’t make you run for cover to hide your face in shame for Humanity, this should: It isn’t bots that are spreading false news, it’s us – live, thinking, breathing human beings. But why would anyone want to spread false news? Sometimes the spreader doesn’t know it’s false but most times, the spreader doesn’t care – it’s just too spicy to pass up.
This is not entirely surprising given the need for human beings to appear “in the know” and to be “the first one to know”. We see this disease even on smaller platforms like What’s App groups where there is inevitably one trigger-happy, fact-free, confident know-it-all who is undaunted by minor details like the truth, discretion and decency. Twitter has just managed to achieve scale. The MIT study showed that the top 1% of false news could reach 100,000 people while the truth reached about 1000.
Early this year in February, Twitter issued a statement to underline its commitment to making the platform more reliable and... well, truthful. “We’re exploring a number of ways to address misinformation and provide more context for Tweets on Twitter,” they said. Good luck with that. At the risk of sounding cynical, Twitter either is hugely optimistic by character or grossly underestimates human ingenuity and motive – despite ample evidence.
The ones who spread false news believing it to be true are usually ready to take down their statements and issue an apology. India’s iconic celluloid hero Amitabh Bachchan has more than once retracted his tweets after finding they were inaccurate. Even the Ministry of Labour in India was recently left red-faced after retweeting an item released from the fake account of a well known singer.
Truth doesn’t always triumph
The revolution in communication technology has been nothing short of phenomenal but that comes with its own flip side. In 2017, BBC asked a few experts about the greatest challenges of the 21st century in the run-up to a program launch. “Many named the breakdown of trusted sources of information as one of the most pressing problems today,” the globally renowned broadcaster reported. Social media is now influencing mainstream media coverage. Both print and television many a time take the lead on newsworthiness from community platforms. News has truly become “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
But what if even a small percentage of these people begin to specialize in baseless character assassinations and shredding reputations that have been established over years and decades? Tragically, social media platforms can be hijacked by a vociferous minority of the bigoted – and there’s little we can do about it. Holding accountable wilful mischief makers is easier said than done – but it has been done. In the first of its kind of libel action involving Twitter in England nearly a decade ago, New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns sued former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi after the latter accused him of “match fixing” on Twitter. Cairns won the lawsuit after the Court found that Modi “singularly failed to provide any reliable evidence” for his claims. It ordered him to pay damages and costs running into millions of dollars.
This “happily ever after” ending is the exception rather than the norm. Now that the novelty of Twitter has turned into fatigue for many, victims of Twitter hate and abuse are demanding greater accountability and stricter guidelines from the platform. It is little wonder that the recent #EmptyTwitterTrash campaign found such large scale resonance. The daylong campaign launched by Isha Foundation, an international non-profit humanitarian service organization, shot up the charts to trend at No.1 nationally in India.
A dose of self-awareness, anyone?
Isha’s founder, Sadhguru, has been a target of vicious attack on Twitter – “for what I don’t know, I hope they know” – he characteristically shrugged off when a news anchor commented on the active hate brigade. Most people who spread hate and false news on Twitter have never met their targeted victims personally or professionally. These are the types who are neither placated by evidence nor tamed by common sense. A love for their 15 minutes of fame and the safety of an online platform seems to drive them. Their rants are usually picked up and circulated widely –most times because of their morbidly fascinating murder of the English language rather than for its substance. Anything but the truth.
Kevin Kelly, a technology author and co-founder of Wired magazine says, “Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers. For every fact there is a counterfact. All those counterfacts and facts look identical online, which is confusing to most people.”1 The MIT study backs this theory. It found “Falsehood diffused significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth in all categories of information.” Worse, when falsehoods were countered with facts, it didn’t reach all the people or even the same people who spread the falsehood.
Paul Resnick, professor of information at the University of Michigan says, “It is going to come down to the reputations of the sources of the information.”2 In other words, it’s not what is being said but who is saying it. This is both a cause for celebration and concern if you look at the list of the 20 most followed people on Twitter. Former US President Barrack Obama who is largely considered to be of impeccable personal integrity (regardless of whether one may or may not agree with his politics) is the most followed influencer on Twitter. On the other hand, President Donald Trump is at no. 7 with nearly 90 million followers. The President, described by fellow Republican Mitt Romney as “having a relaxed relationship with the truth” is known to be a frenzied and volatile tweeter.
While #EmptyTwitterTrash is a much-needed initiative, the jury is still out on ‘how’. After its study and analysis of online behaviour, the BBC report concluded, “Technology may help to solve this grand challenge of our age, but it is time for a little more self-awareness too.” Sadhguru will agree.
Consumption of one fossil fuel over another will, on its own, not offer a long-term solution to climate change, but employing less emission-intensive fuels can reduce pollution significantly
As the winter approaches, Delhi-NCR is under its annual envelop of smog. Caused by an unhealthy combination of low wind speed, change in wind direction, dip in temperatures and stubble burning in parts of North India, air pollution is back in the headlines and our daily lives. According to a study of 28 cities by IQAir and Greenpeace Southeast Asia, air pollution in Delhi-NCR was linked to the loss of an estimated 24,000 lives and 5.8 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first two quarters of this year, despite a strict COVID-19 lockdown since March. In fact, the linkage between rising air pollution levels and increase in COVID 19-related cases and deaths is being confirmed by several studies from around the world.
A recent study published in Cardiovascular Research, which was the first of its kind to distinguish between fossil fuel-related and other human-generated sources of air pollution, estimated that long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19. The study estimated that about 15 per cent of deaths worldwide from the virus could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. In Europe, the proportion was about 19 per cent, in North America it was 17 per cent and in East Asia about 27 per cent.
A recent study by Harvard University indicated that an increase of only one microgram per cubic metre in PM2.5 is associated with an eight per cent increase in the Coronavirus death rate. Long-term exposure to chronically-high PM2.5 levels weakens the ability of the lungs to fight off infections, therefore making people more susceptible to COVID complications.
In 2016, the national Capital ranked third on a list of cities around the world reporting close to 15,000 deaths due to air pollution. Shanghai was ranked first among the cities with most premature deaths at 17,600, followed by Beijing with 18,200 premature deaths due to PM2.5 pollutants. A study undertaken by Lancet Planetary Health the following year stated that Delhi had recorded the highest annual population-weighted mean PM2.5 levels in its air. Further, in 2019, the World Air Quality Report, compiled by IQAir, listed Delhi on top of the list of the capital cities with most polluted air for the second consecutive year with annual PM2.5 levels nearly 10 times the limit prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Other prominent NCR cities were also listed among the top 10 cities in the world with most polluted air.
Source apportionment studies, such as the ones conducted by IIT Kanpur (2013-2014) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (2017), have pointed out that secondary particles are a significant contributor to PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi-NCR, with industrial point sources being the top four major contributors to PM2.5. Polluting fuels such as coal, diesel, pet coke and heavy fuel oil used by industries in Delhi-NCR are a major reason for this.
In such a dismal scenario, natural gas provides a good alternative to not only meet the energy needs of industries, but also as a less polluting option that can contribute to addressing environmental problems. The burning of natural gas for energy results in lower emissions of green house gas (GHG), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and nearly all types of air pollutants in comparison to burning coal or other fossil fuels to produce an equal amount of energy. However, natural gas has not seen much penetration in industries, especially those situated in Delhi-NCR. According to British Petroleum, India’s share of natural gas in the energy mix is lower than many large economies. It had reached a mere 6.2 per cent in 2019; this when the Government aims to raise the share of natural gas in the country’s energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030.
Switching to natural gas and displacing polluting fuels has contributed to lower GHG emissions and improved air quality in New York, Toronto and Beijing, according to a 2015 report by the International Gas Union (IGU). The benefits of increasing the use of cleaner-burning natural gas in the industry were acknowledged and put into force by policymakers in Northern China in 2017 where the shift from coal to natural gas in industries led to extensive reduction in GHG and air pollution. In Turkey, the industry around Istanbul, too, witnessed a reduction in air pollution as a result of switching from coal-lignite to natural gas in the early 2000s.
According to the 2019 World Energy Outlook special report analysis, an estimated 98 per cent of natural gas consumed today has lower life cycle emissions intensity than coal, when used for power or heat. The analysis incorporates both CO2 and methane emissions and indicates that, on an average, coal-to-gas switching reduces emissions by 50 per cent when producing electricity and by 33 per cent when used for heating purposes.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in 2019 had assessed the potential and impact of a switch to natural gas from heavier polluting fuels among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) units operating in Delhi-NCR. Data collected showcased the presence of thousands of MSME units operating in this region and using a variety of fuels ranging from coal to low sulphur heavy stock, light diesel oil, wood, bagasse, rice husk, other biomass fuels, high-speed diesel and natural gas. By and large, MSMEs were found to be disinclined to migrate to natural gas owing to high upfront costs such as connection costs and security deposit, limited access to natural gas and economic viability in terms of increased unit price compared to other fuel options. To add to this, end users were also charged a conversion cost and had to bear the cost of internal piping infrastructure.
Obtaining the right of way and other clearances from State/local Government to lay natural gas pipelines also contributes to delays in setting up adequate pipeline infrastructure. Notably, micro units among MSME clusters in Delhi-NCR were found to be located in non-conforming areas and were especially not in favour of switching to alternative cleaner fuels as this would entail putting themselves under the ambit of regulatory compliances.
However, a switch to natural gas in MSMEs is not without precedent. The case of Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad glass bangle industry is a prime example of how switching from coal and wood to natural gas, coupled with the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, can reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. Similarly, the Morbi-Wankaner area in Gujarat witnessed immediate reduction in air pollution as a result of the local ceramics industry shifting from coal to natural gas in 2019, following an NGT order the same year. The area recorded a 75 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels, 72 per cent reduction in PM10 levels and an 85 per cent reduction in sulphur dioxide (SO2).
Further, in case of a shift to natural gas at a metal casting unit in Faridabad, Haryana, the learnings have highlighted that along with fuel switching, there is also scope for further reduction in energy consumption if MSME units follow best operating practices to improve energy efficiency. This requires understanding of technological best practices and their assimilation and adaptation to meet the needs of individual MSME units.
The provisions for upgrading and introducing new clean technologies in MSME regulations can be capitalised in favour of natural gas augmentation in their energy mix. However, the diverse Government departments that have programmes and schemes related to enhancing clean energy measures in this sector are working in silos. It is important to achieve proper coordination among departments and link related programmes and schemes on clean energy, energy efficiency, technology upgradation, database generation, reporting and monitoring and capacity-building. This could ensure effective targetting and a confluence of actions at the intended delivery point.
There is an opportunity for natural gas penetration in the MSME sector provided the prices are rationalised, energy efficiency measures are put in place and proper regulations imposed to restrict consumption of polluting fuels. A policy directive from the Central Government to enforce the ban on usage of non-clean fuels like coal, wood and so on could be introduced in a phased manner. The city gas distribution companies could also be mandated by the Centre to completely erect the gas pipeline infrastructure in urban areas.
With the overall objective of increasing the adoption and usage of natural gas in the MSME sector, adopting a cluster-based approach would make natural gas penetration more effective. The Central and State Governments can play an important role in this area by facilitating the creation of necessary infrastructure and greener investments to ensure reliable and affordable supply of natural gas to MSMEs. Unabated consumption of one fossil fuel over another will, on its own, not offer a long-term solution to climate change, but employing less emission-intensive fuels such as natural gas can result in significant reduction in both CO2 emissions and air pollution.
(The writer is Associate Fellow, TERI)
With the passing away of Ahmed Patel and Tarun Gogoi, the old order has receded further. Rebuilding just got tougher
Perhaps, the Congress is in its lost year indeed. Perhaps that’s the trigger for that emboldening moment among its legacy holders to rescue the party. Electorally, it is quite done with trying to make a difference. Organisationally, it has been torn asunder like never before. And now an era that justified its bigness and relevance has ended with the passing away of two of its senior and indispensable leaders, Ahmed Patel and Tarun Gogoi. Both were organisation builders who used dissent as an opportunity to strengthen and glue the party further. But Patel’s loss is indeed irreplaceable as the Congress has lost its Chanakya. And the Gandhis, their lone warrior and the gatekeeper, who kept them safe and convinced everybody else that the party indeed needed them. A self-effacing man, who masterminded the shrewdest backroom strategies, he ran the party much like the late Pranab Mukherjee ran the Government under successive Gandhis, from Indira to Sonia. But he never let his ambition show unlike the latter, helming the party through crisis after crisis, propping up Governments with coalition partners when the numbers seemed impossible, raising funds and building a worth that would be bigger than any chair. He became the party, the Gandhis the representable face. That doesn’t mean he was a courtier, far from it. Or that he was shy, being socially one of the most accessible of Congressmen. He was just sagacious and discreet that made him the most trustworthy leader and the party’s ablest troubleshooter. He got the job done. A fact that he put to good use to build connections within the party and outside. He was accessible to cadres, had his ear to the ground and addressed their grievances, a quality that junior leaders are yet to imbibe, believing in data analytics than the human connect. A failing described by the well-meaning and weathered senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad as “five-star” culture. In fact, Patel was the bridge in the perennial tussle between the old guard and the young Turks, between the Congress and its allies in the coalition era and between the party and the Opposition. And he endeared himself to corporates, a fact that even compelled Rahul Gandhi to bring him in as Treasurer though the latter was not too close to him unlike his parents. Patel never went public, choosing to settle matters in private, his last manoeuvre being calming the 23 senior “letter writers” and keeping the party leadership out of an ugly spat. In short, he embodied all that held the Congress together. And he had deep political foresight, winning the Bharuch seat swearing loyalty to Indira Gandhi in 1977, post-Emergency, when the tide was against her even in her own party. Rajiv Gandhi noticed his deliverer capabilities and made him party general secretary, a most wanted post back then. Then he became part of the first family circle. Obviously, he was left out in the cold after Rajiv’s assassination but he never embarrassed PV Narasimha Rao despite being sidelined or chorused the then Prime Minister’s critics. He had that stabilising quality. By the time Sonia Gandhi warmed up to politics and was ready for the 2004 Lok Sabha election, Patel became her strategist and advisor, finding relevant talk points in the campaign that demolished the “India Shining” blitz by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. And despite the Modi wave, Patel made sure that the Congress at least had a moral victory by narrowing the BJP’s margins in the Gujarat Assembly elections or clinching his own Rajya Sabha victory. But the best part was that for all the Congress’ appeasement politics, Patel never ever played the Muslim card himself. Personal heft and consensus-building were also the virtues of Tarun Gogoi, who steadied the party’s presence in Assam in the post-militancy years as Chief Minister, ensuring development, peace and growth and rescuing a ravaged State from the brink. Both these stalwarts did pull the party out of its morass and kept it on course.
The problem with the Congress now is that none of them is around to steer it back. The senior leaders are understandably adrift, unable to convince the leadership that the party should now give up the culture of nomination and restore organisational democracy first before renewing and rebuilding itself. Sonia, bereft of fresh ideas and now Patel, continues to be reluctant about anything that could challenge the continuity of the Gandhi bloodline at the helm of affairs. And with divisions so sharp, anybody with a prescriptive formula to revive it is usually considered a rebel than a well-meaning loyalist or dismissed as a defector, usually to the other national party. Yet the dynastic entitlement has outlived its purpose in a politically empowered India, one that sees no potential in the leadership of Sonia’s children but would certainly believe in a rebuilt party. The Congress last held CWC elections 1998 and holding one now would keep the field workers and grassroots leaders invested in the party. All of them are currently cut off by a sedimentary layer of loyal courtiers, who are interested in simply playing along as long as their posts are secure. Yet State leaders like Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab’s Amarinder Singh have proven that they are able organisers and can even articulate and take a stand on national issues. If the Congress wants to stick around, this is its last chance to self-correct, rise above ego, value honest counsel and appear selfless in the interest of a larger political legacy. Unless its leadership just wants to exist for the sake of it. Dynastic stubbornness would have to give way to reason, wisdom and reconciliation. And if Rahul Gandhi still wants the adulation, he has to earn the confidence of the rank and file to be elected, not foisted, in the hardest of times. At least, he would have made a brave choice.
Shakila Makandar is a passionate entrepreneur. Having divorced at a young age and stepping out of an abusive relationship backed by religiously opinionated people, Shakila decided to withdraw from such false life. Pursued her studies that was halfway through and completed Diploma in Electronics and Telecommunications. Her passion for studies was too high but scope of getting sponsored for higher education was extremely low. Therefore, as she kept working, she completed her arts graduation with specialisation in history: the love for stories. It was a big shift but the bigger one came when after spending few years in corporate world, when she started her own venture. Today, she runs Orane Intelli Solutions with more than 60 employees and her Delhi based Marketing venture called Bromide, it is an end-to-end marketing solutions provider. Her journey so far has been inspiring to lot of people from various parts of the country and organizations she’s engaged in over the decade. She believes in individuality and equality that is as important to self-esteem. Excerpts from her interview with Opinion Express.
You have been an entrepreneur for more than a decade. What led you to taking that first step and setting up your own business?
I have been entrepreneur by birth, its in my head that I am an entrepreneur but it took me many years to discover. I kept exploring new avenues during my initial days of writing, poetry, traveling, and everything that meant nothing those days. Just passion of being on my own. I don't have more than four years of working experience. In perseverance of freedom of thought and action, I set foot in Mumbai to do something on my own will, something very independent, something that doesn't bind me. Initially, I was just trying to pick the work I enjoy doing but very soon I figured out that a venture of my own would make good sense. It was too early for the times that I started. I say this thing because I couldn’t find ways and means of independent women into technology business per say. Looking back, I feel it was a right decision because there's a lot of experience that I have gathered. And it truly makes me feel very nice that I'm an entrepreneur eventually.
Tell us something about your journey as an entrepreneur
Over the years, especially the past decade has been a roller coaster ride. I've had a true entrepreneurial journey, like they say, a full life cycle from start to fall and rise high. And then to see all the dark sides that one would anyway experience in business, some bad decisions, some bad influences, some unnecessary sacrifices, unforeseeable troubles etc. For example, in initial years, I thought having people with lot of experience, coming from big companies and with sound professional background in your team meant value addition to the organization in terms of more business, systematic and process driven execution etc., that was naivety but today, I am a mature entrepreneur, I have very passionate resource contributing a lot more to the company even though they don’t carry experience in their profiles or degrees holders from IIMs and IITs are naturally part of team now. My only determination is, “I can do it”. And I did it with almost little or no experience just by driving the team passionately towards quality service. Today we are self-sufficient and self-reliant organization working with same passion and enthusiasm, mixed set of team and happy associations internationally.
For me, a project is means working on a fast track mode. No project means a holiday for the entire team. Efficiency and process-oriented methods on a project delivery is critical. These are few things that I follow. These are my key learnings. I am happy and proud that every single team member who have been with us ever since, have settled in very good places, organization and positions in life.
What were the major challenges you faced as a young woman entrepreneur?
In my head, I was just another human being who wanted to do something on her own. But the world made me realise I was woman and that too a young woman. I’ve been sized and gazed upon many times. The funniest question I was once asked was, “how are you doing the business, you're too young to be doing an IT business?”. In, 2010-11 nobody even thought that somebody who's never been in business, hardly worked and has been living a free lifestyle in Mumbai would think of a serious business like IT, but I had to, and I did. Second thing they couldn't believe is the size of projects that we use to execute. Like, large manufacturing units, large retail conglomerate, some of the world's top companies. We did not make great margins, but they were some of the finest projects that we executed. In all these years I realised that being an entrepreneur itself was challenging but more so for a woman entrepreneur. And now I think it's all subsided because I have learned to tell NO, to stick to business conversation, talk work and leave the rest for another day.
On the international levels, it was worst. People had issues in understanding how I am so open minded, I'm too straightforward. I could tell men straight on their faces - can we just get straight to business? Or, sorry, I am not interested in any conversation. It's okay. I don't need your business. I've been that straight. Therefore, we do not have great number of prospects perhaps. Nonetheless, whatever we've done, is good and so far, commendable for the whole team. My ideology on success is executing each project to its glory, every project is as important as my first client. I've had my own share of hurdles being a woman entrepreneur, but today I’m sure it’s a different story.
How has lockdown affected start-ups like yours?
I don't think so it's greatly affected us because our success is with success of project, not with the success of the market. We were able sustain and execute projects at the same speed as it did in the past. In fact, we've had increased quality leads and inquiries with least pressure on sales pitch. Our team has grown and had added much better team to work with. So not that COVID has affected us greatly. We have lost some very good projects that were part of the pipeline from the Middle East, Europe and other parts of Asia and Africa. But otherwise, regionally we’ve been performing well. COVID also has given ease of operations. I think, in fact, more and more start-ups have come in the market during this crisis.
What is your advice to woman who are planning to start business?
To all the women, I always say- We women are blessed. We are natural entrepreneurs. We are natural administrators; it comes to us from our homes. We have managed a lot of relationships, in our own ways without being charged, it's innate in us. The same qualities out in the market, people look at you as somebody very vulnerable. Personally, let me tell you that many times I have been offered lucrative, enticing, quick buck offers; coming from various places because I was a woman, and everybody thinks women are easier option to deal with. But I could not ever succumb to such offers. They tend to impose themselves and manipulate your inner self. So, for all the women entrepreneurs, all I have to say is, hold your head high, no matter what you're doing. You only have course correction, when you set your foot on the journey. You need to patiently do what you are already doing and wait. Keep learning during the course. Don't get succumb to any situation. Work with open mind t known weakness, Self-motivate- I'm going to work on it. Gather your strength; Say- I'm going to be better at it. Every new business is important, but not every new person has to be important. So, keep your intuitions strong. Keep your gut feeling strong.
The liberty of the Vice-Chancellor of a university is not a shield against malpractices. In a democratic set-up, all individuals, no matter how high an office they hold, are accountable
Disciplinary action against over a dozen Vice- Chancellors (V-Cs) of Central Universities (CUs) over the last few years has been a cause of consternation. However, the polarised politics of universities views this from diametrically opposite prisms. While a larger segment hails it as much-needed spring cleaning, some consider it a pernicious design to whittle down institutional autonomy and academic freedom. The overall spectacle is worrisome and needs to be seen in the correct perspective, albeit in a detached manner.
The office of the V-C is an exalted one, and the academia views him as a friend, philosopher, guide and the high priest of the temple of higher learning. The constituting Act and the statutes, Ordinances and regulations of every university vest the V-C with certain powers and autonomy so that s/he executes her/his office efficiently and faithfully. The autonomy of the V-C is not a shield against accountability. In a democratic set-up, all individuals, no matter how high an office they hold, are accountable. In fact, higher the station, greater is the public scrutiny.
The Constitution of India guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws. It is unsparingly unexceptional as the President of India, too, can be impeached by the Parliament for violation of the Constitution. All public functionaries and public bodies are ultimately accountable to the legislature through the Minister-in-Charge.
The Indian higher education system, which is the second-largest in the world, comprises 54 Central Universities, 411 State Universities, 123 deemed universities and 282 private universities. The V-C is the chief executive and the administrative head of the university. A great responsibility, therefore, lies with the V-Cs in terms of the implementation of the national higher education policy, institutional reforms, nurturing the spirit of enquiry and research, building an ecosystem of innovation and adoption of international best practices of good governance.
According to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC’s) handbook, “the V-C has to evolve as the leader of a symphony orchestra” with the attributes of developing teams and teamwork. S/he also has to build partnerships and collaborations delicately interwoven with collegiality, friendship and intellectual engagement. This goes hand in hand with devising a deliverable action strategy, ensuring accountability of the self and various governing bodies of the university and steering an institutional monitoring and evaluation mechanism on the university’s performance, built on transparency. An ideal V-C is a great visionary, a true leader able to procure willing cooperation of the teachers, a constant source of inspiration to the students, an ace administrator who is able to maintain a conducive educational ecosystem, and is well-acquainted with the latest developments so as to bring global visibility to the university.
Plus, s/he must have the highest level of competence and her/his integrity must be beyond reproach. Like Caesar’s wife, the V-C must be above suspicion. S/he must execute her/his office faithfully and diligently and ensure that the provisions of the constituting Act, statutes, ordinances and regulations are fully observed. S/he must make various appointments as per procedure, delegate powers for day-to-day work to the officers of the university and audit their performance and exercise all administrative, disciplinary and financial powers as defined in the statutes and ordinances.
In fact, the catalogue of duties of the V-C is vast and varied, which adds a certain aura of reverential mystique to the office. S/he represents the vibrant face of the university, engages in constructive stable policy dialogue with the Government, other universities, research funders and academia. It’s for these reasons that the V-Cs are selected by the Visitor (the President in case of Central varsities and the Governor in case of State Universities) from the panel recommended by the search committee. This committee comprises three to five members who are persons of eminence in the sphere of higher education and the choice of the V-C is based on rigorous screening of the academic attainments and administrative experience of the people on the panel.
Interestingly, the V-Cs, who faced the axe, were appointees of the same Government. A critical scrutiny of the disciplinary proceedings initiated against the V-Cs broadly falls into four categories: Allegations of financial irregularity; allegations of dereliction of duty and defiance; wrongful appropriation of funds and academic fraud.
The Visitor does not initiate disciplinary proceedings against a V-C suo motu, but on the aid and advice of the Ministry of Education or the concerned administrative Ministry. This is because Central universities relating to maritime, agriculture, aviation, sports education, and so on, fall outside the domain of the Education Ministry. The trigger point for initiating disciplinary action is provided by the media, complaints by legislators, students and teachers and in some cases, the Chancellors themselves have demanded enquiries against the V-Cs. So, the Visitor is duty-bound to refer the complaints to the administrative Ministry for ascertaining facts and considered advice with respect to the corrective action required to be taken.
Some glaring examples of acts of omission and commission deserve mention. President Pranab Mukherjee approved the sacking of the V-C of Visva Bharati university, Sushanta Duttagupta, for alleged irregularities in appointments and flagrant violation of financial rules. The V-C of Pondicherry University, Chandra Krishnamurthy, was removed for alleged academic fraud (that is claiming to have written three books though an enquiry allegedly revealed authorship of only one). The V-C of Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Arvind Agrawal, allegedly resigned when governments sought his comments on the allegations of fudging vital information in his C-V.
Similarly, amid a spate of questions in Parliament and public complaints about financial and academic irregularities, the V-C of Allahabad University, RL Hangloo, allegedly resigned before the Union Government could initiate punitive proceedings. The V-Cs of HN Bahuguna Garhwal University, JL Kaul, and Manipur University, AP Pandey, were sacked for alleged financial irregularities and long absence from duty. The V-C of Tripura University, V Dharurkar, resigned when a sting operation showed him receiving alleged bribe.
In cases where the V-Cs appropriated funds for purposes other than the approved budget heads, the enquiries were closed as there was no personal pecuniary gain or enrichment. The cases of Dinesh Singh, V-C, Delhi University and Talat Ahmad of Jamia Millia Islamia fall in this category, both of whom were known for their competence and integrity. The V-C of Jamia Hamdard, Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain, a deemed to be university (self-financed but partly funded by the UGC), has been suspended by the Chancellor following the decision of the UGC to set up a fact-finding committee to probe allegations.
The Centre has no say in the appointment or removal of the V-C of a deemed university. In a recent case, the Tamil Nadu Government ordered an inquiry against Anna University V-C, MK Surappa, following complaints of alleged financial irregularities and malpractices in semester examinations and re-evaluation, even though the DMK has demanded his sacking.
The burning question is whether stringent disciplinary action against the V-Cs impinges upon the autonomy and academic freedom of the universities, which are emulated as role models and occupy a place of pride in the academia globally? Will these penal actions impact, dilute or undermine the autonomy and freedom of the institutions of higher learning? Autonomy and academic freedom are crucial to the well-being and smooth functioning of universities and key to attaining excellence in a globally-competitive environment.
The National Education Policy, 2020, lays great focus on the autonomy of institutions of higher learning, making every college in course of time an autonomous, degree-granting college and making India a global hub of education. It is, therefore, the right time to ponder and look to the future as autonomy is not a goal to be pursued in itself, but a fundamental pre-requisite for universities to be able to develop strategic profiles, operate in a competitive environment, deliver on their very important societal duties in an ecosystem of transparency and accountability.
The veneer of autonomy cannot conceal or camouflage acts of omission and commission. A zero-tolerance approach towards corruption demands that the Government be swift and surgical to weed out corruption or unethical practices. The import of the oft quoted statements “minimum Government and maximum governance” and “light but tight regulations” is loud and clear.
(The writer is former Additional Secretary, Lok Sabha and an author)
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