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23MAY 16
SEBI to Restrict
Wilful Defaulters
Bengaluru: The Securities and Ex-
Modi Taunts China on Ghulam Nabis
RSS-ISIS Remark
change Board of India (Sebi) will re-
strict wilful defaulters be they
promoters, compa-
Exchange Tactics, Trade Kicks Up a Row
New Delhi: Congress leader Ghulam
Nabi Azad sought to draw a parallel
T
nies or directors aking a jibe at China, between the RSS and the terrorist
Modi and Lagarde at the Advancing
from accessing the prime minister Narendra Asia conference in New Delhi outfit ISIS, evoking sharp responses
capital markets for Modi on Saturday said In- from the Sangh Parivar, which de-
raising funds from dias rapid economic growth in manded an apology. So, we oppose
public and from tak- Asia is very distinct as we have organisations like ISIS, the way we
ing board positions never tried to gain in trade at the oppose RSS. If those among us in Is-
in listed companies. The capital expense of our partners. We lam too do wrong things, they are no
market regulator also cleared a pro- do not follow beggar thy neigh- way less than RSS, he said at an
posal to tweak the definition of bour macro-economic poli- event organised by Jamiat Ulama-i-
control under the takeover code. cies, he said while speaking at Hind. Hitting back, an RSS spokes-
The Sebi board, which met in New the Advancing Asia conference, person said such a comparison
Delhi on Saturday, tightened rules jointly organised by the IMF and showed the intellectual bankrupt-
for wilful defaulters by barring them the government. cy of Congress and its unwilling-
from making a public issue of equi- We have never undervalued ness to deal with fundamentalist and
ty, debt or non-convertible redeem- our exchange rate. We add to cruel forces like ISIS. RSS will con-
able preference shares. A wilful de- world and Asian demand by sider legal action, he said. Agencies
faulter may also not be allowed to running current account defi-
take control over other listed enti- cits, said Modi, adding that In-
ties. It will be a deterrent to pro- dia is a source of demand to its Dont Overstate
moters who try to game the system. trading partners. He vowed to
This strengthens the banking sys- continue reform-to-transform Bad Loan Issue: FM
tems position in dealing with such process as he called the country ing quota reforms will give more New Delhi: Amid outrage over Vijay
Mallyas massive default on loans, fi-
cases, said Ananth Venkat, head,
corporate & institutional banking,
a haven of macroeconomic sta-
bility and a beacon of hope, dy-
say to countries like India in the
decision-making process. I am
Modi, Nitish nance minister Arun Jaitley cau-
Standard Chartered Bank India. namism and opportunity amid very happy that the IMF has de- Share Stage tioned against overstating the bad
loans crisis in the banking system,
Our Bureau global problems. cided to finalise the next round Patna: Months after they
lest it hampers the entire lending op-
India has shown that a large, of quota changes by October traded barbs during the Bi-
erations and growth. We dont want
BSE IPO Gets Nod diverse country can be managed
in a way that can promote eco-
2017, he said.
Pointing out that the current
har election campaign, PM
Narendra Modi and CM Nit-
to create a situation where we over-
state the crisis and, in the process,
of Mkt Regulator nomic growth and maintain so- IMF quotas did not reflect the ish Kumar came together on the whole activity of lending for
Mumbai: Asias oldest bourse, the cial stability, PM said. global economic reality, Modi a stage, underlining the growth itself starts suffering because
BSE, is set to launch its initial public Calling India the rare bright said India always had great faith need for better coordination people become extraordinarily de-
offer (IPO) in the next six-nine spot amid global gloom, IMF in multilateralism. All of us between the state and the fensive. We dont want to reach that
months. After nearly chief Christine Lagarde urged need to pursue policies that pro- Centre to ensure proper de- situation, Jaitley said. Agencies
two years of waiting, for further reforms in the Asian vide a stable macro economy, velopment of Bihar. Modi
Sebi announced on economies, outlining six priori- enhance growth and further in- was dedicating to the nation
Saturday that it has
given a go-ahead for
ties for the region to counter clusion, PM added. the Digha-Sonepur rail-cum- Ex-PM Gowda Bats
challenges posed by the fragile Under the IMF quota reforms, road bridge in Hajipur.
the exchange IPO.
global environment. over 6% of quota shares would He intervened to calm an For Vijay Mallya
The BSE had yet again
Lagarde said some of the shift to emerging markets and audience that was chanting Bengaluru: Former prime minister
written to Sebi on January 22, seek-
broad areas for action include a developing countries. It would Modi, Modi when Nitish HD Deve Gowda on Saturday de-
ing its permission for the IPO. Sebis
supportive monetary policy, also mark the shift in shares was speaking. Modi appreci- fended liquor baron Vijay Mallya,
announcement regarding the IPO ap-
proval came after its board meeting consistent with price and exter- from over-represented to un- ated Bihars cooperation in saying there was no reason to target
on Saturday. BSE will take six-nine nal stability objectives; growth- der-represented IMF members. the rural electrification an international businessman like
months to file its offer documents, friendly fiscal measures and India and IMF signed a pact work. They agreed that Bi- him. He is a son of the soil, he is
said Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, macro-prudential measures to on Saturday to set up an IMF hars development is neces- not running away from the coun-
BSE. The IPO would be an offer for safeguard financial stability. training and technical assis- sary to ensure the progress try, Gowda was quoted by news
sale by existing shareholders. Chau- Chief economic advisor tance centre in Delhi for the of the country. Our Bureau agency ANI. Mallya is facing legal
han said notices will be sent to share- Arvind Subramanian said: Chi- South Asian region towards ca- proceedings for alleged loan de-
holders by merchant bankers, seek- na needs to become a current pacity development and train- faults by his Kingfisher group to the
ing their consent on the number of account deficit country to partly ing of officials on macro-eco- tune of over `9,000 crore. Disgrun-
shares and the price at which they facilitate trade-led model of nomic and financial issues in tled employees, whose salaries
have to be sold. Brokers whom ET growth for other countries, not India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mal- have been held up for years, have
spoke to said BSE could be valued at just India. dives, Bangladesh and Bhutan. written to PM Modi, seeking his di-
over `4,000 crore. Our Bureau Modi said the IMFs impend- Our Bureau/New Delhi rect intervention. Agencies
Kingfishing
Expedition
parties not related to the borrowers business
to prevent diversion of funds.
E
xperience is the name every- along with accrued interest from Airbus In-
one gives to their mistakes, dustrie against which a case was filed in DRT
said Oscar Wilde. Bankers in In- Bengaluru. The advance payment for pur-
dia today are an experienced lot chase of aircraft by KFA was given to Air-
and need to thank Vijay Mallya for bus but the purchase order was subse-
this learning. They need to pon- quently cancelled.
der, in a consortium meeting, Pre-delivery payment (PDP) advance
when, how and where they went was give by three banks, UBI, Oriental
wrong, how they gave Mallya the op- Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Corporation
portunity to travel abroad, and how Bank on the basis of an agreement between
they failed to take drastic action for re- KFA, Airbus and OBC (OBC was acting as the
covery. leader on behalf of three banks). When the air-
Its not that money cant be recov- craft have not been delivered, the advance
ered or that Mallya cant be made to payment given to Airbus ought to be refund-
come back to India, but the issue is of a ed. Airbus attempted to wriggle out of this
debacle in terms of bankers strategy. contract by pleading in DRT Bengaluru that
In this tussle, banks have conceded it had no jurisdiction in the matter. The PO of
round one to Mallya. DRT attached this sum lying with Airbus by
pronouncing that the contract was signed in
Lessons for Banks India between banks, KFA and Airbus for pur-
First and foremost, laws need to be chase of aircraft, to be delivered in India, and
amended to empower the presiding of- ZAHID money was paid by banks in India.
ficers (PO) at debt recovery tribunals Likewise recovery from personal assets of
(DRT) to impound the passports of de- Mallya should be aggressively pursued. It is im-
faulters, with some safeguard. Wilful Last but not least, high-value debit op- certain timely realisation of book portant that the public should not lose confi-
default needs to be considered a serious erations in the account (outflows) must debts. Here, we can compare sales re- dence in the capability of public sector banks
crime. The process of taking possession be verified to see if the payments are re- alisation with the turnover in the ac- to recover from the high and mighty.
of secured assets should also be entrust- lated to the business activities of the bor- count and enquire into reasons for
ed to the POs of DRTs instead of empow- rower. Similarly, credit operations (in- poor turnover. One such reason may
ering the district magistrate or chief flows) should be checked be that the borrower
metropolitan magistrate to do so. to ensure that the sale pro- has opened a current
As for the takeaways for banks, there ceeds are being routed If Mallya has account with another
are many: One, forensic audit in one through the account. given his bank where the sales
form or the other should be made a part proceeds are depos-
of annual review of accounts. Also, a Monitor the Gateways
personal ited. In the case of
chartered accountant other than that of The Reserve Bank of India guarantee, Kingfisher Airlines
the borrower company should certify at is managing the payment then his personal (KFA), the company
quarterly intervals that there is no di- gateways through which assets can be had opened accounts
version of funds and the borrower has all transactions of RTGS/ with two private sec-
brought in his contribution for the pro- NEFT (which enable in-
identified and tor banks outside the
ject as per approved schedule. ter-bank fund transfers) the DRT can consortium. This fact
Two, the end use of funds for loans are routed. Technically, it be requested was relied upon by
The author
disbursed should be ensured by the is feasible to obtain de- to attach them United Bank of India
is a former
bank. Also, no project loan should be tails of all transactions ( U B I ) t o d e c l a re
executive sanctioned unless its cash flow can be that can be related to di- Mallya and other di-
director of monitored. version of funds, or transfer to own rectors as wilful defaulters for the first
United Bank Debt should be converted to equity and connected concerns from the sys- time.
of India. He
now teaches only if banks get a controlling stake as tem, and fix the liability on the borrow- Similarly, banks should get hold of a
at Amity is stipulated for strategic debt restruc- ers and prosecute the directors for list of major suppliers of raw materials
University and turing schemes. Of course, intangibles money laundering and wilful default. to ensure the end use of bank funds.
National Insti-
tute of Bank such as brands as collateral should not In addition, banks should obtain a We should be able to detect those
Management be accepted. list of debtors of the borrowers to as- cheques that are drawn in favour of
04 cover story
MARCH 13-19, 2016
A
sembly elections. However, the BJP can another five years with as big a victory as in 2011.
breathe easy this time, after the humili- The political curiosity in Bengal is the Cong-CPM alli-
ating losses in Delhi and Bihar. It is ad- ance that was unthinkable only a few years ago. Add to
vantage BJP right at the outset. It has that the X-factor in the BJP that made the party mysteri-
nothing to lose, could, with luck, form ously scale itself down after a lot of bombast a year ago.
the government in Assam, open its account in Kerala The poll season then kicks off with clear advantage to
and, in Tamil Nadu, and a proto-ally trounce an alliance the two strong women of Indian politics: the Amma and
of which the Congress is a part. the Didi. In Tamil Nadu, which often is a world of its own
For the Congress, it would be an when it comes to politics, the Opposi-
uphill task to retain either Assam or tion is a divided house. While Jay-
Kerala, and avoid being left with Kar-
For the Congress, it alalithaas doles, ranging from idlis to
nataka as the lone major state under would be an uphill laptops, have created a constituency
its control. task to retain either of her own, the principal opposition
For the Left, two of the three states Assam or Kerala, DMK is yet to offer a compelling reason
where it has a major presence are at and avoid being left why it must be brought back to power.
stake. Today, Tripura is the lone state with Karnataka as For BJP watchers, the irony is that
over which the red star shines. After the lone major state the party might earn more seats from
splitting the anti-BJP votes in Bihar by Kerala than from Bengal where it once
going it alone, the Left is now rediscov-
under its control challenged Mamata. All opinion polls
ering a friend in the enemy of the ene- and field reports indicate that the BJP
my, and hoping to have an understanding with the Con- could open its tally in Kerala for the first time in history
gress in Bengal, even while taking it on, with full dialecti- and could even get three-five seats in the 140-member
cal might, as the principal opponent in Kerala. assembly. Cut to Bengal: the party would be happy to
Kerala Tamil
Nadu This alignment of political fortunes explains the se- hold on to the single seat it had won in a bypoll after the
rene calm prevailing over 11 Ashoka Road, as compared 2014 general elections where it netted a 17% vote share.
140
SEATS 234 with the feverish activity in the BJP HQ during the polls And what do these elections mean for changing the
SEATS for Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar and Oppositions ability to dominate the Rajya Sabha? Pre-
MAY 16 MAY 16 even Jammu and Kashmir. cious little. Whoever wins in Kerala, Bengal or Tamil
But life is more hectic on the other side of the political Nadu, no seats will accrue to the BJP. A few additional
divide. For the grand Opposition that has so far been seats in Assam will not, by itself, tilt the balance in the
able to match every move of the Narendra Modi govern- Upper House.
cover story 05
MARCH 13-19, 2016
T A M I L N A D U
Freebie Ride
F
ew regional political scions have had to in the Fray grinders and televisions for households.
wait as long in the wings to become chief against early projections for May 16 polls) The AIADMK defied expectations and won
minister as 63-year-old Muthuvel Karuna- 37 of 39 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls,
nidhi Stalin has. He was a deputy chief thanks in part to some of these schemes.
minister in Tamil Nadu, running the show Total: 234 *Projected
An issue that seemed to unite all opposi-
during his father M Karunanidhis regime, tion parties last year was the call for prohibi-
**Seats Seats
and was declared heir apparent, but has 2011 2016 tion, but it has lost steam. The AIADMK is
never held the coveted title. The upcoming expected to field more female candidates to
assembly poll, on May 16, is no different, take the edge off the demands for prohibi-
with the alliance led by their party, the
J Jayalalithaa tion. The government is the sole seller of al-
AIADMK
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), de- cohol and earns a lot from it alcohol sales
In this early projection,
claring Karunanidhi, who turns 92 in June, AIADMK+ falls two seats will reportedly account for about `30,000
as its chief ministerial candidate. short of a simple crore in tax revenue in 2015-16, nearly a
Stalin may not have the top job, at least majority third of the states total tax receipts.
not initially, if the alliance wins he will be The 73-day gap between the announce-
deputy CM but this election, more than ment of poll dates and polling has sent par-
any in the past, will be a reflection of his po- 203 AIADMK+ # 116 ties into a tizzy since they have to be pru-
litical chops and popularity among the dent about when to name their candidates
masses. Between September last year and M Karunanidhi Vijayakanth and when to start campaigning, to keep
DMK DMDK
February, Stalin visited all 234 constituen- their expenditure under control and avoid
cies as part of his Namakku Naame (We for fatigue among voters. We have to see if the
Ourselves) initiative. The primary objective long gap has an impact on the campaign
of the roadshow, during which Stalin crystallising around the governments wel-
swapped his traditional veshti for trousers fare schemes, says an AIADMK source.
to meet youngsters, was to highlight his and In 2011, Jayalalithaa was able to trounce
the DMKs approachability compared with DMK not just because of the 2G scam, which
chief minister J Jayalalithaas, who heads the saw Karunanidhis daughter Kanimozhi
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhag- and the partys A Raja, who was Union tele-
am (AIADMK), the arch-rival of the DMK.
DMK+ ## 101 com minister, going to jail. She ensured that
One of the criticisms of Jayalalithaa has the anti-DMK votes were not split, by joining
been her aloofness from the people and her hands with actor Vijayakanths Desiya Mur-
partys attempt to score political points Level of Anti-incumbency pokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). The
even during the recent floods in the state. RAT
E HIG DMDK, founded in 2005, had hoped to
When she went to her own constituency DE H
emerge as an alternative to both the DMK
MO
RK Nagar (in Chennai) after the floods, she 31 Others 17 and the AIADMK and fought its first three
was there for only half an hour and ad- elections alone, getting over 10% of votes in
VE
LOW
dressed people as Vaakaala perumakkale the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2011 assem-
RY
(Dear voters). She is anti-people, says KS *Source: India TV-CVoter pre-poll survey bly polls, the DMDK won 29 of the 41 seats it
HIGH
Radhakrishnan, a DMK spokesperson. ** The 2011 figures show results of pre-poll contested, with about 8% of the votes.
alliances. #In 2011, AIADMK+ included DMDK, which
With the AIADMK getting a simple major-
won 29 seats; in 2016, DMDK is part of Others
The Floods and After ##
ity, the DMDK sat in the opposition and Vi-
The DMK alliance includes Congress
The Jayalalithaa government got a lot of flak jayakanth became the leader of the Opposi-
for its initial handling of the floods in No- Methodology of pre-poll survey: Random stratified sample of 14,353 tion, which was a humiliating blow to Karu-
vember-December in five districts Chen- interviews covering all assembly segments in poll-bound states in February nanidhi; DMK had won just 23 seats. Things
nai, Kanchipuram, Cuddalore, Tuticorin have since been going downhill for Vijaya-
and Thiruvallur which killed around 470 kanth. Thanks to the rising influence of his
people and displaced thousands. Relief ma- wife Premlatha and her brother LK Sud-
terial came with Jayalalithaa stickers on heesh, the party has lost nine MLAs since
them and the party held an ostentatious 2012, all of whom have joined the AIADMK.
meeting in Chennai after the floods. The With his constant lashing-out at Jay-
government partly restored its reputation alalithaa since 2011, Vijayakanth effectively
through its rehabilitation efforts. ruled out an alliance with her this time.
The governments handling of the floods However, in the past few months, he was
and Jayalalithaas conviction by a special sought by different political groups: the
court in Bengaluru in the disproportionate DMK; a BJP-led coalition, which has so far
assets case are among the few specific failed to convince any major party to join it;
charges being bandied about by AIADMKs the Peoples Welfare Alliance, which has
opponents. She was disqualified as chief Vaikos Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra
minister and was in jail for 21 days before Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthai-
being acquitted by the Karnataka High gal Katchi and the Communist parties.
Court. There is no issue with an emotional The DMDK, according to sources, had
appeal, like the 2G spectrum scam of 2011. demanded that Vijayakanth be named the
Jayalalithaas opponents talk of sycophan- CM candidate of the BJP alliance, which the
cy, corruption and lack of inner-party de- national party turned down. The Pattali
mocracy in the AIADMK because there is no Makkal Katchi, which is projecting former
other significant issue, says Maalan V Union health minister Anbumani Rama-
Narayanan, consultant editor with Puthiya doss as its CM candidate, also demanded
Thalaimurai, a Tamil weekly. The last time the same of the BJP.
an incumbent party won the Tamil Nadu as- Earlier this week, Karunanidhi said that
sembly polls was in 1984. The election office of Chennai whitewashed Jayalalithaas paintings on the walls, he was confident of the DMDK joining its
in compliance with the election model code of conduct
06 cover story
MARCH 13-19, 2016
W E S T B E N G A L
2011 vs 2016
alliance, which includes its old ally, the Con- :: Madhuparna Das l Kolkata
W
gress. However, Vijayakanth said at a rally in hen the talk of the town is the strange smirk. She immediately pointed to far-
Chennai on March 10 that his party would
fight it alone, which means that he would split
coming together of two Opposition par-
ties struggling for survival in Didis Ben-
flung Kerala where the Left and the
Congress are at each others throats in
184 TMC 156
the anti-AIADMK votes, which is precisely gal, you may think the outcome is a no- the state election that coincides with
what the DMK wanted to avoid. brainer in favour of the Iron Lady of West Bengals. What is the point of
Kolkata. But the Left and the Congress holding election in Kerala? The Con-
Who is the Ally? believe there is enough anti-incumben- gress and the CPM can divide the seats
Some say the DMDK is essential to the DMKs cy in the state after five years of Mamata between them evenly. I really do not
defeating the AIADMK. According to an opin-
ion poll by CVoter and India TV, the AIADMK
Banerjees rule, which they can reap by
holding hands.
understand the moral ground of their
alliance in Bengal,
INC 13
alliance, which includes some small parties, When Congress lead- when in Kerala they are
will win 116 seats and the DMK-Congress com- ers walked into the CPM For the first fighting each other,
bine 101. The DMDK could have added some
heft to the DMK alliance, since it is believed to
headquarters on Al-
imuddin Street, Kolka-
time, TMC is said Mamata. For good
measure, she added
42
going it alone in
have a 5% vote share. Interestingly, Tamil Nadu ta, as part of the talks to that she would go to
has never had a coalition government. (DMDK forge some sort of a
assembly polls, Kerala and expose
leaders were not available for comment. ) combined front in the having tasted the real face of the Con-
People of Tamil Nadu do not vote for some- imminent polls to the success in the
2014 Lok Sabha
gress and the CPM. 62 Left 114
one, they vote against someone. The anger state assembly, barriers
against Jayalalithaa is very palpable and the that stood for decades elections when it Didi in the Saddle **BJP
DMK has lost all self-confidence. They were were breached literal- junked partner As things stand in West 4
desperate for an alliance with the DMDK, says ly and metaphorically. Bengal, Mamata seems
6 Others 7
Congress
Ramadoss. He adds that the DMDKs not join- The outcome for West poised to come back to *Source: India TV-CVoter pre-poll survey
ing the DMK alliance is an advantage for his Bengal, on May 22, will power for another five ** The BJP entered the West Bengal assembly,
party, which released a draft manifesto as early depend a lot on how the alliance years with as big a victory as in 2011. For winning a bypoll in September 2014
as September last year. shapes up and, if at all, takes root. the first time, the Trinamool Congress
A DMK-Congress alliance is more than For starters, everyone is trying to (TMC) is going it alone, having tasted
enough to win the poll, says EVKS Elangovan, explain away this beast. Announcing success in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls
president of the Congress state unit. But we the first list of Left candidates last when it junked partner Congress. It CM Candidates
thought like-minded parties should join to week, CPM veteran Biman Bose ruled bagged 34 seats and reduced the Left to in the Fray
make it formidable. On the other side of the out any joint campaign with Congress just two; the Congress won four and the
political battle, there is speculation that the BJP and even any jote ba ghont (alliance BJP two.
might join the AIADMK combine. or ganging up). For Amit Shahs BJP, good news will
L Ganesan, a member of BJP national execu- Mamata, although wary about the be hard to come by from Bengal. The
Mamata
Banerjee
tive, says the central leadership took charge of potential harm from a united opposi- 2014 Lok Sabha polls saw a surge for the TMC
alliance negotiations about two weeks ago. But tion, reacted with her trademark party in the state and it looked ready for She is banking on
work has already begun in all constituencies. development as the
Both DMK and AIADMK will benefit from the main poll plank
fact that two cases are unlikely to conclude in
the Supreme Court before polls: the Enforce-
ment Directorates case related to a financial
transaction between the DMK-run Kalaignar * Surjya
TV and DB Group in the 2G scam, and the dis- Kanta
proportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa. Mishra
CPM
As alliances are close to being finalised, so-
cial media and messaging platforms like
*CPM doesnt officially declare CM candidates
WhatsApp are expected to play a big role. It
before polls. Mishra, as party secretary,
was evident in the DMKs advertisement tar-
is frontrunner
geting Jayalalithaa for not meeting the people,
and the AIADMKs counter about Karunani-
dhis absence in the assembly. Level of Anti-incumbency
Being the only state among the four large E
RAT HIG
poll-bound ones Assam, Kerala and West DE H
MO
Bengal being the rest where the two main na-
tional parties are marginal players, Tamil Nadu
VE
RY
a takeoff with a huge Bengali Hindu refugee struck, and Darjeeling, which was hit for a the Left and the Congress? According to po- analyst, says, To form a formidable opposi-
vote bank. The BJP had planned to enter the long time by violence associated with the litical observers, their electoral understand- tion, the Congress and the CPM needed to
eastern gateway via Bihar, but that was not to Gorkhaland movement. ing might increase the vote share for the op- be united in some form. If there is seat ad-
be. In West Bengal, meanwhile, the party Lack of investment and industry has been position. In 2011, the TMC could secure 184 justment between these two parties, the
seemed to be winning new ground in Birb- a major stumbling block. A deep sea port, seats. The TMC-Congress alliance got 226, joint figure can reach 100 or maybe more. If
hum and Burdwan. But the inadequacies of coal block in Pachami and the MSME sector with Congress getting 42, while the Left they fight a lone battle, they will end up be-
leadership and internal squabbles frittered have been some consolation. Front wound up with 62. low 30.
away a golden opportunity. If Shamik Bhat- Didi is confident, so is her party. What, Explaining the political situation, Biswa- Even though, the ideologies and struc-
tacharya the only BJP MLA in the assembly then, is left for the non-alliance between nath Chakraborty, a professor and political tures of the two parties are poles apart, they
manages to hold on to his seat in Basirhat needed an alliance to get the status of the op-
SUBHA JIT PAL
(South), it would be a tremendous feat. position. We know that the CPM was not able
The Mamata government has been bank- to form booth committees in many districts
ing on development as its main plank for this as their cadres had joined the TMC out of po-
election. Stressing on the development pro- litical compulsion, adds Chakraborty.
jects she has taken up in the state, the chief Meanwhile, the first casualty of an alliance
minister never tires of narrating the efforts between Congress and CPM would be the
her government has been making to pull the greater Left unity that Left Front chairman
state out of debt burden. Biman Bose has advocated. The CPI(ML) and
Apart from the revenue model that she has SUCI (C) have now decided to come out of
implemented, Mamata has also been pro- the Left unity in Bengal.
jecting two success stories: in Junglemahal,
the Maoist bastion where a peace deal was Opposition Gambit
The CPM has already announced its candi-
dates in 116 seats and the list looks bold.
Chakraborty points out that the party has
fielded 68 young faces as candidates, which
is close to 60%. This means that the party
The Classroom has a future plan,
he says. The con- The CPM list
Wars of Bengal tours of the Left-
Congress deal have
leaves enough
The states universities are to be worked out, space for the
allow the police on campus. JU has al- withdrawing permission to the alumni as- but party leaders say Congress to
in ferment as student ways stood for freedom of expression and sociation to hold a seminar on Freedom there are likely to be focus on its
unrest dovetails into autonomy and we will solve the problem of Expression and Students Politics. I few ego tussles sim- strongholds in
through discussions. That has always been was approached by the alumni associa- ply because of the north Bengal.
an assembly election JUs tradition, Das had said. tion, seeking permission to hold the event, enormity of the chal- TMC hopes
Wheres the problem, then? Capturing but they had not mentioned that it was lenge in front of
:: Ishani Duttagupta pioneer institutions is the primary agenda open to all and thats why we had to call it them. The CPM list
for a walkover
for Mamata in
M
intu Paul is a 22-year-old, final- of the RSS-BJP so that they can preach off, Lohia told ET Magazine in an exclu- leaves enough space
year student of electronics and communalism wrapped in violence, said sive interview. She feels that while healthy for the Congress to south Bengal
telecommunication engineering Arumita Mitra, a student leader at JU, who and democratic discussions among the focus on its strong-
in Jadavpur University ( JU). Besides his spearheaded the recent agitation and is a student community have been the holds in north Bengal. The CPM leaders
classes and exams, there is something else member of the All India Students Associa- strength of Presidency over the years, too would have you believe that with the Con-
that is keeping Paul busy these days. As a tion, the student wing of CPI(ML). This much of activism could lead to violence gress on board, north Bengal will ditch Didi.
student coordinator for the JU placement has to be fought by students. At the other and disruption of academic activities on The battle then is going to be in south Ben-
cell, he is working with placement officers end of the political spectrum, the Akhil the prestigious and heritage campus. gal where, the TMC believes, Mamata will
of the university and companies looking Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), About 100 km from Kolkata, the state have a walkover.
to recruit on campus. Our placements BJPs student wing, alleged that activism government-run Burdwan University (BU) While we have to wait two more months
improved last year and this year we hope on the JU campus was fuelled by anti-na- saw clashes between the Left-backed Stu- to find out who ditched whom, the Elec-
to do even better. Although tional elements. There were dents Federation of India and the non- tion Commission is looking at one certain-
there were student agita- anti-national slogans and teaching staff backed by the ruling Trina- ty: a violence-ridden poll, considering
tions on campus recently, The VC of posters on campus. It is mool Congress. The bone of contention: West Bengals recent history. Following
none of the companies Presidency shocking that the state gov- irregularities in the publication of BUs complaints of poll violence from the oppo-
who recruit our students University says ernment is quiet on this issue results. I deeply regret the violence on sition parties, the EC has started sending
and hold campus inter- too much activism and the university has not yet campus and take moral responsibility for Central forces to the state. They have initi-
views have given us any could lead to taken any steps to book the it, BU vice-chancellor Smriti Kumar ated area domination and route march in
negative feedback so far, violence on its culprits, said Kishore Bur- Sarkar told ET Magazine. We are under districts as part of confidence-building
says Paul, who got a job of-
fer from Pricewaterhouse-
heritage campus manStudent of the state ABVP unit.
unrest that
intense pressure to hold exams of over
50,000 candidates before the elections in
measures. According to a senior officer of
the CRPF, till the first phase of elections,
Coopers in the last place- spread across the country in April so that results can be published by close to 400 companies would be de-
ment season. the wake of the suicide of Hyderabad Uni- June and students can apply for jobs as ployed in the state. For six phases of polls,
Like him, Samita Bhattacharyya, who versitys Rohith Vemula and the arrests at well as admissions to other institutions. around 800 companies will be there.
heads the training and placement cell, JNU is palpable on Bengal campuses too. At Visva Bharati, vice-chancellor Sush- Polls in Bengal whether municipal, pan-
doesnt see either the recent student agita- With the state election due in less than a anta Duttagupta was dismissed last month chayat or general election have always
tion or the upcoming state election as a month, political activism is set to peak. by President Pranab Mukherjee after he been marred by violence. Mamata has al-
cause for concern. Our students are our What we are seeing on many campuses was found guilty of misconduct and finan- ready come out with what looks like a veiled
biggest asset. After last year, which saw a across India are attacks by the govern- cial irregularities by an HRD ministry pan- warning. Recently, she said quite candidly
record in terms of the number of place- ment on freedom and democratic student el. Duttagupta alleges that he was unfairly that the Central forces would not be in the
ments and salaries offered, recruiters are movements. In most cases, like in JU, inde- targeted by some sections of the staff and state forever; and that once the elections
coming back to the campus for more. pendent student bodies are reacting to campus residents because he was an out- are over, she herself and her administration
JU is one of the few varsities in India such crackdowns. Such protests are likely sider. Provincialism and nepotism have would be in charge. Abdur Rezzak Mollah, a
with science, engineering and arts facul- to intensify in the coming months, said hit the standards of what was Ra- rebel CPM leader who joined the TMC re-
ties on the same campus, with a student Kunal Chattopadhyay, professor of com- bindranath Tagores dream of a global hub cently, said in a public meeting soon after:
strength of over 9,000. Despite protests parative literature in JU. of academic excellence. With so much po- Will you be able to have a peaceful sleep
and slogans, some of which were said to Not too far away, on College Street, the litical interference in the academic and ever, after the Central forces are withdrawn
have been anti-national, vice-chancellor heart of Kolkatas academic district, an- administrative matters of Visva Bharati, from the state? Only we will be there to pro-
Suranjan Das did not resort to first infor- other vice-chancellor, Anuradha Lohia of things will only get worse in the months to vide security then.
mation reports against students nor did he Presidency University, faced criticism for come, he rued. The Left, and their non-ally Congress,
hope they too will be around post May 22.
08 cover story
MARCH 13-19, 2016
K E R A L A
Rajashekharan, as a surprise state head,
Will Lotus Bloom in Red Kerala? the BJP feels it is all set to open its ac-
count in Kerala assembly.
Not only has it altered the bipolar po-
All signs point to a win for the Left front, thanks to a Congress-led litical structure of the state, dominated
by the LDF and the UDF, it has also
government mired in scandals. But the million-dollar question is prompted the coalitions to adopt more
whether the BJP will finally make it to the Kerala assembly aggressive postures in a do-or-die battle
for political supremacy in Kerala 2016.
Kummanam, while taking over the
leadership of the party from V Muraleed-
haran, had said that his goal is not just to
open the BJPs account in the state as-
sembly. The aim is to capture power in
the state this time, he said.
The BJPs confidence stems from the
18% vote share that it got in the local body
polls in the state in 2015. It shows a steady
increase from 6.1% in the 2011 assembly
polls and 10.83% in
the 2014 general
elec tion. Apar t Pre-poll
from a pro-BJP surveys do not
mood created by give more than
the Narendra Modi five-six seats
government at the to NDA. But
Centre, the party even if BJP
also had an elec-
:: S Sanandakumar | Kochi toral understand-
manages to get
CM Candidates one member
J
ust what do you do when you have a lead- 2011 vs 2016 ing with Vellappal-
er who is more popular than the party it- (The 2011 assembly poll win against in the Fray ly Natesan, the into the
self? Celebrate him or sideline him? Well, general secretary assembly, it
early projections for May 16 elections)
thats the nature of the conundrum that
Oommen
of the SNDP Yo- will be historic
the Communist Party of India (Marxist) gam, for the local
Chandy
faces as it enters the poll season where
every survey, every pundit predicts that Total: 140 *Projected
UDF
Congress has to fight
body polls. The
SNDP represents the Ezhava, the largest
the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Seats Seats Hindu community, and has traditionally
the enemy within
will trump the ruling Congress-led Unit- 2011 2016 too, as factional feud been a source of strength for the CPM. Vel-
ed Democratic Front (UDF). becomes bitter lappallys new party, the Bharat Dharma
VS Achuthanandan, better known as Jana Sena (BDJS), is now part of the NDA.
VS, is the name thats both the bane and The BJP pins its hopes on the capital
the boon of the CPM. The 92-year-old out- district of Thiruvananthapuram from
spoken leader the only living founding
member of the CPM continues to be the 72 UDF (Congress +) 49 Pinarayi
Vijayan*
where five of its top leaders, including
Kummanam and Muraleedharan, would
most popular politician in the state al- LDF contest. O Rajagopal, who lost to Shashi
though the partys Kerala unit would rath- Tharoor by a whisker from the Thiru-
er have him lead the campaign than be the vananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency
chief ministerial candidate himself. in 2014, will also contest from the dis-
It is on this wedge that the Congress trict. Pre-poll surveys by different agen-
and a scandal-ridden VS cies do not give more than five-six seats
chief minister, Oommen Achuthanandan* for the NDA. But even if the BJP manages
In a rare Chandy, rest their hopes. LDF to get one member into the assembly, it
intervention, That the internal contra- would have breached a psychological
barrier.
the CPM dictions of the CPM will
ultimately let the anti-in- *The politburo has asked both Vijayan and VS
politburo has cumbency wave wither
68 89
Playing a Tired Hand
to contest polls; will decide on CM afterwards
decided away. That there could be LDF (CPM +) Chandy came to power in 2011 with a
that both a repeat of the 2011 elec- wafer-thin majority of two seats which
Achuthanandan tion, when the outgoing Level of Anti-incumbency has gone up to four after bypoll victories.
E
and Vijayan LDF government, led by RAT HIG The deft politician who has perfected the
DE H
MO
will contest. VS, was almost voted art of playing his rivals inter- and intra-
A CM will be back to power, but the
party lost barely due to
party against each other would have
been holding strong had it not been for
VE
1
RY
A S S A M
15-year Itch?
As pre-poll rainbow alliances and potential post-poll
equations are hammered out, the anti-incumbent voter
may well decide the verdict in the northeastern state
O
n the evening of Shivratri, Himanta Biswa went on a rampage in protest against the alli-
Sarma, a former Congress rebel who is now ance with AGP, targeting mainly Sarma who,
convener of the Bharatiya they believed, was the man
Janata Partys (BJP) election behind the party strategy of
management panel for As- The rainbow alliance leaving 24 winning seats to
sam, organised a family
puja at his Uday Path resi-
is a big gamble for the theAngry AGP.
grassroots workers
dence in Guwahati. A terse BJP. The issue of tore posters and banners as
instruction was left at the immigrants may work local news channels covered
With CM Oommen Chandy on an inauguration spree before the code of
conduct kicked in, critics began to refer to him as Inauguration Chandy
bungalows gate not to let in lower Assam, the events live, with some
anyone in even as party but not quite in agitators threatening a mass
workers, ticket seekers and upper Assam resignation. They believe
those protesting the tie-up Sarma was the mastermind
However, Chandys accessibility and his public outreach between the Asom Gana who convinced Ram Mad-
programmes where he would dole out money to the poor Parishad (AGP) and the BJP queued up outside hav, national general secretary in-charge of As-
and the needy the Opposition says this is feudal in nature to meet him. As the priest chanted mantras, sam, to engineer this pact, without taking on
had kept him largely popular. Chandy is also betting on Sarma was checking email and the latest news board the local leaders and workers. Some pro-
the mega projects that he has been implementing in the on his iPad and taking calls that he considered testers dubbed Ram Madhav Rabon, the As-
state like the Kochi metro rail project, unavoidable. samese pronunciation of Ravan.
the Kannur airport project, the Earlier in the day, thousands of BJP workers
Vizhinjam international container Chandy has Dividing the Muslims
terminal and the Smart City project in perfected the Says Sarma: The main concern in Assam is that
Kochi. In fact, there has been such a Bangladeshi Muslims comprise 32% of the total
surge of inaugurations in the past one
art of playing 2011 vs 2016 population of Assam (Muslims as a whole make
month, just before the election code his rivals (The 2011 assembly win against early up 35% of the population, the remaining being
of conduct kicked in, that his critics against each projections for elections on April 4, 11) the Assamese Muslims who have been in the
refer to the CM disparagingly as In- other. He state for about 800 years). They entered the
auguration Chandy.
Not all party colleagues of Chandy
would have
been holding
Total: 126 *Projected
Seats
state illegally and later managed to get voting
rights. To counter that, we have a rainbow alli-
Seats
share his optimism on the poll out- strong had it ance not just with the AGP, but with tribal com-
2011 2016
come. The factional feud in Con- munities of Bodo, Tiwa and Rabha. Its the fight
gress is bitter, said a Congress leader
not been for of 32 versus 68.
on condition of anonymity. The A the scams Sarma is explaining the rationale behind cob-
group, with Chandy as its leader, bling up an alliance that risks alienating a large
would try to prevent the I group, chunk of local BJP leaders and workers who
which has home minister Ramesh Chennithala as its leader,
from gaining an upper hand, he said. Moreover, they feel
that the sharp fall in the prices of key commodities like rub- 78 Congress 44
ber, cardamom, etc, would affect the prospects of the party CM Candidates
adversely. in the Fray
The Congress biggest ally, the Indian Union Muslim
League (IUML), has gone ahead and announced its 20 can-
didates. That they didnt wait to discuss it within the UDF Tarun Gogoi
has already become a controversy, with the Catholic Church Congress
expressing its displeasure with one of the constituencies Congress strategy is
where the IUML is fielding its candidate.
Congress leader Pandalam Sudhakaran said that despite
BJP & Allies 57 to rope in BJP
dissidents and resist
communal
all this, senior party leaders are confident about coming polarisation
back to power. Our reading is that we have an upper hand
5 BJP
as of now, he said. If there are no last-minute setbacks, we
are sure of coming back to power, he said.
The decision of the Election Commission to hold the elec-
10 AGP Sarbananda
Sonowal
tion in Kerala on May 16 has given the parties ample time to BJP
prepare. One problem that the candidates are likely to face
is the shortage of adequate resources to see them through
the long campaign period. One Congress leader said that he
18 AIUDF 19
may not contest this time because he does not have enough Level of Anti-incumbency
funds. Earlier the bar owners used to give election dona- 15 Others 6 DE
RAT
E HIG
H
tions. This time they will spend to defeat us, he said. MO
The 2016 election can be historic in many ways. For the
BJP in Kerala, a victory in even a single seat is enough to cre- * Source: India TV-CVoter pre-poll survey; The
VE
LOW
ate history. For Oommen Chandy, a victory will help break survey was conducted before the AGP-BJP tie-up.
RY
the trend of the two coalitions winning alternate elections. The AGP is part of Others here. The full impact of
HIGH
For the Left, if it fails to win Kerala, it will cease to be a na- AGP+BJP alliance, CVoter says, will be known only
tional player. in the next survey.
10 cover story
MARCH 13-19, 2016
have opposed to leaving their seats to AGP, the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta The AIUDF Angle 60-odd seats, could be the kingmaker. Its
regional party that ruled Assam twice (1985- was not very happy with
As a disciplined After the Nitish-Lalu for- spokesman Champak Kalita says the party
1990 and 1996-2001), but drew a blank in the what was labelled in some soldier of the party, mula worked in Bihar to would choose the bad over the worse,
2014 parliamentary elections. quarters as a surrender I accepted the defeat the BJP, a similar ex- indicating that it would prefer the Congress
For the BJP, this rainbow alliance is a big to BJP. AGP-BJP pact in the periment was planned for to the BJP in any post-poll calculation.
gamble. Whipping up the emotive issue of According to a party in- Assam. Badruddin Ajmal, a If the Lok Sabha votes in 2014 were to
Bangladeshi immigrants may work in lower sider who did not want to be
greater interest of businessman, religious translate into assembly segments, the AI-
Assam (middle and western Assam) and also named, Mahanta went to dislodging the leader and politician, had a UDF would win 24 seats, but now its popu-
in Barak Valley, where Muslims make up 46% Delhi last week for a health Congress from sitting with Bihar CM Nitish larity has waned because of a strong anti-in-
and 37% of the population respectively. check-up in Apollo hospital, power Kumar to work out a simi- cumbency wave against its MLAs (of its 18
These are also the regions where local resi- and when a colleague sug- lar model for anti-BJP po- legislators, two have joined the Congress)
Prafulla Kumar Mahanta
dents claim to have been victimised by illegal gested that he accompany senior AGP leader litical forces in Assam. and due to Ajmals inability to clear the air
migrants. But the same formula is unlikely to him to BJP president Amit Nitish Kumar initiated on whether he has any tacit pact with the
yield any dividend in upper Assam where the Shahs residence, he obliged. Shah reportedly the alliance talks. He called up Rahul Gandhi. Congress or the BJP.
Muslim vote percentage is quite negligible, agreed to the 24 seats for the time being, and Prashant Kishor (poll strategist and Nitishs
an area where the party had swept during the more seats could be negotiated; the negotia- aide) then met Rahul. But (Congress general Walks, Talks & Big Rallies
Lok Sabha poll. tions, however, did not materialise. Yes, at a secretary in charge of Assam) CP Joshi played The BJP has already issued a list of 88 candi-
If the opinion polls aired by a local Assa- personal level, I did not want a tie-up with a game and misled Rahul, claims Ajmal, dates, the most notable being the MP from
mese TV channel are any indication, the Con- the BJP. But as a disciplined soldier of the chairman of the All India United Democratic Jorhat, Kamakhya Prashad Tasa, and the
gress will be the single largest party, short of a party, I accepted the pact in the greater in- Front (AIUDF) which, in its 11 years of exist- chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda So-
majority. However, an opinion poll conducted terest of dislodging the Congress from pow- ence, has become a political force to reckon nowal in Majuli, a 421 sq km river island off
by CVoter put the combine of the BJP-Bodo- er, says Mahanta. with in Assam. the Brahmaputra that falls in Lakhimpur
land Peoples Front (BPF) ahead of the Con- For almost three months, the AGP had In a scenario where neither the BJP nor Lok Sabha seat, which Sonowal represents.
gress; this poll, though, did not take into ac- kept the door open to an alliance with the the Congress can form a government of its For the Congress, the strategy now is to
count the AGP joining the alliance. BJP or the Congress. own, the AIUDF, which is likely to contest in rope in BJP dissidents former president of
the All Assam Students Union and BJP lead-
Ideology vs Numbers er Sankar Prasad Rai, among others, joined
Though the 32 versus 68 formula sounds the Congress on Tuesday and somehow
good in theory, the impact of the BJP-AGP tie- resist polarisation along a religious line.
up cant be explained by pure mathematics. When Rahul participated in a padyatra in
After all, the AGP, which was formed in 1985 Sibsagar early this month, the local leader-
by student leaders participating in an anti- ship made it a point to highlight his visits to
foreigners agitation (1979-1985), is also a sym- Muslim areas as well as to Shiva Dol, a tem-
bol of Assamese chauvinistic forces, some- ple built by an Ahom king.
thing that alienates Hindu Bengalis who have Padyatras are so successful that every dis-
a sizeable population in urban areas across trict Congress committee wants Rahul to do
the state. Also, the AGP had steadfastly op- one in their district, says AICC spokesman
posed the BJPs move to give refugee status to and MP Gaurav Gogoi, indicating that Rahuls
Hindu migrants from Bangladesh. The tie-up campaign in the coming days will be a mix of
led the Congress to concentrate more on this walks and big rallies.
segment, which had solidly backed the BJP in The big question, of course, is whether Ra-
the 2014 Lok Sabha poll. hul Gandhi can walk the talk and resist a
Within the AGP, a section of senior leaders 15-year-long anti-incumbency in the north-
including two-time Assam chief minister eastern state.
in focus 11
MARCH 13-19, 2016
It Happened
in Haryana
A two-day global summit culminated in an
MoU-signing spree, although the violent Jat
agitation for reservation may cast a shadow on
those deals translating into actual investments
:: Prerna Katiyar
Days of Estimated Days of Total MoUs Deals signed Conversion
A
few Sundays ago, a slogan such
agitation Lives lost FIRs filed economic loss summit signed worth rate in 2014*
as Happening Haryana would
have invited humour of the
darkest kind. After all, thats
10 30 2,012 `35,000 crore 2 359 `5.8 lakh crore 19%
when a protest for reservations *Source: Friedrich Naumann and Cato Institutes
by the Jat community of the
state for inclusion in the Other ness summit. It is time for rap-
The timing
Backward Classes category prochement towards all the com-
turned violent, culminating in
is just right munities, said social scientist
the death of at least 30 people
for the Shiv Visvanathan.
and an economic loss that was
global But if the states are in a hurry,
pegged at `35,000 crore. investors its with good reason. Says RC
Time is said to be a good heal- summit. Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Su-
er, but there are ways to provide I do not think the Jat zuki, which has two factories in
a soothing touch of the shotgun agitation has had a Haryana, one each in Gurgaon
type, too. Less than a month af- negative impact on our and Manesar: In the coming
ter the agitation began, it was business focus days, India is likely to see a big
time for a two-day Global Inves- Manohar Lal Khattar wave of investment. At this time
tors Summit earlier this week chief minister, Haryana of competitive federalism, it is a
which, of course, would have question of which state does
been in the works much before This was what, how, how much and when
the latest burst of reservation not the right to create the right conditions for
protests began in Haryana. We Vij brushed aside the Jat agita- the-money captains of industry, time for a investment, he told ET Maga-
have worked for one and a half tion, telling ET Magazine that it law and order is a box thats business zine. Clearly, time is of essence in
years to make this event a suc- was just an incident, and that among the first to be ticked when summit. It these competitive climes, evi-
cess, said Haryana chief minis- investors do not care for such venturing into uncharted territo- is time for denced by at least eight similar
ter Manohar Lal Khattar. protests; minister of state for ry. Any investor looks for securi- rapprochement towards summits (in West Bengal, Uttar
defence Rao Inderjit Singh as- ty, and law and order; recent all the communities hit Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Andhra
Money Talks sured the corporate honchos events have cast a shadow on
by the strife Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
Firmly behind the states BJP-run present that the environment that. Im sure that the chief minis- and Himachal Pradesh) in the
government was a bevy of 13 of the state here on will be peace- ter will do whatever he can to Shiv Visvanathan past seven months, each tom-
social scientist
Cabinet heavyweights, including ful and no such agitation will maintain social harmony and law tomming the number of multi-
finance minister Arun Jaitley, de- happen in the future; and Khat- and order, said a cautious million dollar MoUs in the bag.
fence minister Manohar Parri- tar reckoned the timing was just Anand Mahindra, chairman and In India the
kar, minister for road, transport, right. I do not think the Jat agita- managing director, Mahindra & gap between Perform or Perish
highways and shipping Nitin tions would have a negative im- Mahindra, in a video message at whats put Shantanu Prakash, managing di-
Gadkari and ministers of state pact on our business focus. The the summit. down on rector, Educomp, feels new in-
Piyush Goyal (who has inde- experiments that we did in the paper and dustries in Gurgaon are hardly
pendent charge of power) and last few months are now bearing Conditions Apply what worried about Jat agitations. Be-
Jayant Sinha (finance). fruit, he told ET Magazine. The dichotomy of Haryana is best translates into action is ing part of the hi-tech industry,
Against the investment targets For good measure, spiritual gu- captured by two sets of data. huge. I hope Haryana can we barely have to deal with Jats
of `4.25 lakh crore set by the rus too lent their weight at the One, Haryana has a middling close the gap between issues. Perhaps those in the man-
state, deals worth `5.8 lakh crore event. Ramdev of yoga and noo- rank in the 2015 World Bank Ease policy and reality ufacturing space might have to
were signed, as per state govern- dles fame exuded that if the po- of Doing Business Index; at 14th, worry on this front.
RC Bhargava
ment data. Some 359 memoran- litical responsibility of any mis- it is ahead of states like Delhi, chairman, Maruti Suzuki Marutis Bhargava spells out
da of understanding were signed hap lies with the CM, I will take Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and that concern subtly but succinct-
during the two-day extravaganza the naitik (ethical) responsibility Kerala. But it ranks higher on an- ly. Many promises are made in
at a plush hotel in Gurgaon. The should anything happen in fu- other unenviable front: fourth in
We have such summits. But ultimately
conversion rate of such pledges ture. Art of Living founder Sri Sri the rate of total cognizable crimes
been potential investors will look for
into real investments in Haryana Ravi Shankar felt that the people committed in 2014, the latest year
deepening real conditions on the ground
was 19% in 2014, as per a study by of Haryana have a lot of resil- for which data is available. our roots in here I am not talking about sub-
Friedrich Naumann and Cato In- ience. Start investing in the state With memories and trauma of Haryana. sidies. In India the gap between
stitutes. The CM is working to- for your own as well as the coun- the inter-caste agitation that Were very whats put down on paper and
wards (by way of an industrial trys benefit. turned violent over 10 days still excited about this next what translates into action is
push) the larger goal of poverty However, for the not so meta- fresh, the timing of the summit phase of growth huge. I hope Haryana is one of
eradication, said Gadkari. physical, show-me-the-infra- did raise some eyebrows. This Pawan Munjal the states that can close the gap
Haryana health minister Anil structure-and-I-will-show-you- was not the right time for a busi- CMD, Hero MotoCorp between policy and reality.
12 centrespread centrespread 13
MARCH 13-19, 2016 MARCH 13-19, 2016
V
ijay Mallya may no longer be and Saif Ali Khan to dance at the wedding of his daughter Vanisha? The latest on the list would Twenty20 cricket. He is ththe man who
the king of good times, but include newly anointed chief executive of SoftBanks global operations Nikesh Arora. The former brought Fashion TV to India,
Ind and was
the first distributor of ES
ESPN. He also The founder of Oracle
a flamboyant lifestyle and Google honcho's wedding with Thapar scion Ayesha had Hollywood celebrities like Ashton Kutcher
among the guests. However, for these gentlemen, glamour will always be the sideshow launched a lottery in Kerala called Sixo in has been chastised by his
extravagant hobbies don't always have 2002. His claim to fame was, of course, the accountants for stretching his
credit limits to buy luxury
to correlate with loans that go bad IPL, of which he was the commissioner
com and
cars, yachts and mansions. For
successfully took the second IPL to South
and ventures that go bust. Globally, Africa when elections were held in India
his fourth marriage, Ellison
had Apple founder Steve Jobs
billionaires like Richard Branson and rubbed too many
in 2009. In the end he rub as the photographer. Ellison
Larry Ellison have made as much news Indian heavyweights the wrong way once sued his neighbours
for three trees that were
for kite-surfing with models (Branson) blocking his view
and their fast cars, jets and yachts
(Ellison) as for their adventures and Manu Chhabria,
a few misadventures with business. Rajan Pillai and Russi The richest man in China, Alibaba founder
Back home, flashing one's wealth Mody were serious
businessmen who
Jack Ma once donned a leather jacket and a
"Arun" who? you may well ask till Mohican wig to sing Elton Johns Can you
may still invite disapproving nods, but could give film stars
Son of a cashew trader, Pillai went on He was probably the most feel the love tonight for his employees.
you remember him not as the man
here aree a few
few a run for their money
on the newsmaking
to become a 'biscuit baron'. Life in the charismatic person ever to head with business interests in textiles
His personal interests include traditional
The liquor and electronics medicine, poker and history and insists
alists who
industrialists who quotient. The world baron, his younger brother
fast lane got going when he married a steel plant, and could possibly and computers but as the beau of Liz on giving each employee a nick-name from
jet-setting socialite Nina PIllai till have been as successful in any Hurley whom he met in 2002 and
don't mindin
nd revving
revving has lost some colour
since their demise
Kishore confessed, would
he got caught in a bruising battle for other industry. He learned to fly married in 2007. However, the media
a martial arts serial
From bringing back Tipu Sultans sword to India to Subrata Roy, co-owner of Vijay Mallyas Formula One
getting elected to the Rajya Sabha to owning cricket, venture Force One, has been trying hard to sell the stake; it's
The Russian billionaire and
football and Formula One teams, there seems to be little not easy since he is in jail, and trying to rustle up `10,000
owner of private investment
Mallya has not done to court glamour, alongside business crore to get bail by disposing assets. Roy built his fortune on
company Millhouse LLC is
success. His multiple business interests and glamorous a small-savings business and branched out in many directions, better known as the owner
promotion techniques also got him the sobriquet of the "Richard assiduously cultivating Bollywood stars and often inviting them of the English football
Branson of India. The launch of Kingfisher Airlines reinforced to sit on his company boards. He also sponsored the Indian cricket Club Chelsea. Abramovich
that image just for a while, though but what fared better team for almost two decades after ITC withdrew, and briefly often makes news outside
than the airline was the kittenish Kingfisher calendar, now in its owned an IPL team too. His last project, a book titled Life Mantras, business often in politics.
fourteenth year. The airline went belly up in 10 years is sombrely touted as the first of the Thoughts from Tihar trilogy For instance, it was revealed
that he had gifted a $35
million yacht to Russian
president Vladimir Putin
12 centrespread centrespread 13
MARCH 13-19, 2016 MARCH 13-19, 2016
V
ijay Mallya may no longer be and Saif Ali Khan to dance at the wedding of his daughter Vanisha? The latest on the list would Twenty20 cricket. He is ththe man who
the king of good times, but include newly anointed chief executive of SoftBanks global operations Nikesh Arora. The former brought Fashion TV to India,
Ind and was
the first distributor of ES
ESPN. He also The founder of Oracle
a flamboyant lifestyle and Google honcho's wedding with Thapar scion Ayesha had Hollywood celebrities like Ashton Kutcher
among the guests. However, for these gentlemen, glamour will always be the sideshow launched a lottery in Kerala called Sixo in has been chastised by his
extravagant hobbies don't always have 2002. His claim to fame was, of course, the accountants for stretching his
credit limits to buy luxury
to correlate with loans that go bad IPL, of which he was the commissioner
com and
cars, yachts and mansions. For
successfully took the second IPL to South
and ventures that go bust. Globally, Africa when elections were held in India
his fourth marriage, Ellison
had Apple founder Steve Jobs
billionaires like Richard Branson and rubbed too many
in 2009. In the end he rub as the photographer. Ellison
Larry Ellison have made as much news Indian heavyweights the wrong way once sued his neighbours
for three trees that were
for kite-surfing with models (Branson) blocking his view
and their fast cars, jets and yachts
(Ellison) as for their adventures and Manu Chhabria,
a few misadventures with business. Rajan Pillai and Russi The richest man in China, Alibaba founder
Back home, flashing one's wealth Mody were serious
businessmen who
Jack Ma once donned a leather jacket and a
"Arun" who? you may well ask till Mohican wig to sing Elton Johns Can you
may still invite disapproving nods, but could give film stars
Son of a cashew trader, Pillai went on He was probably the most feel the love tonight for his employees.
you remember him not as the man
here aree a few
few a run for their money
on the newsmaking
to become a 'biscuit baron'. Life in the charismatic person ever to head with business interests in textiles
His personal interests include traditional
The liquor and electronics medicine, poker and history and insists
alists who
industrialists who quotient. The world baron, his younger brother
fast lane got going when he married a steel plant, and could possibly and computers but as the beau of Liz on giving each employee a nick-name from
jet-setting socialite Nina PIllai till have been as successful in any Hurley whom he met in 2002 and
don't mindin
nd revving
revving has lost some colour
since their demise
Kishore confessed, would
he got caught in a bruising battle for other industry. He learned to fly married in 2007. However, the media
a martial arts serial
From bringing back Tipu Sultans sword to India to Subrata Roy, co-owner of Vijay Mallyas Formula One
getting elected to the Rajya Sabha to owning cricket, venture Force One, has been trying hard to sell the stake; it's
The Russian billionaire and
football and Formula One teams, there seems to be little not easy since he is in jail, and trying to rustle up `10,000
owner of private investment
Mallya has not done to court glamour, alongside business crore to get bail by disposing assets. Roy built his fortune on
company Millhouse LLC is
success. His multiple business interests and glamorous a small-savings business and branched out in many directions, better known as the owner
promotion techniques also got him the sobriquet of the "Richard assiduously cultivating Bollywood stars and often inviting them of the English football
Branson of India. The launch of Kingfisher Airlines reinforced to sit on his company boards. He also sponsored the Indian cricket Club Chelsea. Abramovich
that image just for a while, though but what fared better team for almost two decades after ITC withdrew, and briefly often makes news outside
than the airline was the kittenish Kingfisher calendar, now in its owned an IPL team too. His last project, a book titled Life Mantras, business often in politics.
fourteenth year. The airline went belly up in 10 years is sombrely touted as the first of the Thoughts from Tihar trilogy For instance, it was revealed
that he had gifted a $35
million yacht to Russian
president Vladimir Putin
14 big story
MARCH 13-19, 2016
Measure
fashion startups is standing out in
an over-cluttered market and
avoiding direct confrontation with
their mass-market counterparts
Aashray Thatai,
Ashish Gurnani
cofounders, PostFold,
started in November 2015
PHOTOS: ASHWANI NAGPAL
OFFERING
:: Joyshree Baruah & Rajiv Singh CLOTHES THAT WORK IN
S
uit up! From desk to dinner. This is where PostFold comes marketplaces. BOTH FORMAL US. You cant be something to
Sounds like a hoot? Maybe not. to the rescue. Offering versatile The four-month-young Post- WORKSPACES AS WELL everybody but you have to be
At least for Ashish Gurnani cotton wear to suit this need of Fold is keen to focus on afford- AS AFTER HOURS everything for somebody,
and Aashray Thatai, cofound- both men and women, the able fashion. We saw a gap in says Gurnani, adding that tar-
ers of PostFold, it does not. brainchild of Gurnani and the market of work clothing for USP geting helps in consolidating
Dressing up can take extra ef- Thatai might just be on to a young professionals, says Uses superior Supima marketing efforts and commu-
fort and fishing for clothes that good thing. 24-year-old Gurnani. cotton; is one of the two nicating to the right audience.
qualify as office wear that also In an effort to merge niche retailers in India PostFold also focuses on
work well for a casual dinner Working Wonders luxury fashion and affordable authorised to sell Supima what it calls mood-based
can be an uphill task for some. In Indias bourgeoning and fashion, the duo came up with a clothing for a Sunday brunch
crowded ecommerce sector, it business model where they man- Offers mood-based or a Saturday night shindig, or a
helps to stand out with a differ- ufacture and style apparel using clothing lines for Sunday weekday board meeting. The
While niche entiated product, promise and high-quality fabrics and keep brunch, Saturday night, fashion industry is extremely
can never its positioning. A bunch of fash- fixed costs low even as they cu- travelling and crowded but it allows players
become ion startups reckon they can dif- rate clothes with experienced the like like us to find our space, says
mainstream ferentiate themselves from the stylists who suggest an attire Thatai.
in terms of clutter and the me-toos by fo- range from desk to dinner. Niche marketing is a targeted
turnover and top cusing on specific consumer Our focus is on building the You cant be marketing plan that focuses on
line, it does groups. These startups are perfect product as opposed to something to one particular section of the
enjoy a higher not only carving a niche for building 10,000 unthoughtful everybody but market that has high potential
margin advantage themselves but also styles for everybody, says Gur-
you have to be to connect with a product or a
coming up strong nani. PostFold claims it is one service. Instead of casting a
Ankur Bisen in a sector domi- of only two retailers in India li- everything to wide net in mass-media and
senior vice-president, nated by the big censed to use Supima cotton, a somebody large-event marketing, niche
retail & consumer products, horizontal world-class cotton brand in the marketing zeroes in on strategi-
Technopak Advisors Ashish Gurnani
big story 15
MARCH 13-19, 2016
Indian
consumers
The Online Nidhi Agarwal are discerning
Records founder, Kaaryah, when it comes
started in September, 2013 to making a
purchase
OFFERING
high designs and style. Adding choice of of New York, Milan, Paris and Los
green credentials or shall we say, WOMENS NON-CASUAL WEAR clothes is no Angeles to bring exclusive and up-
indigo-blue credentials, to his WITH BEST POSSIBLE FITS to-the-minute designs for the fash-
brand, Shyam Sukhramani found-
longer ion lovers in India, says Mary
ed Korra in 2013. Sewn by a single restricted to Turner, chief executive, Koovs.
tailor, Korra jeans use organic cot- visual With the objective of providing
Fashion ecommerce in India is ton threads, recycled raw materi- appeal or its customers with a curated and
expected to see a turnover of als and naturally dyed, indigo sel- impulse on-trend collection, the online ap-
I A
was invited by the JNU Teachers Asso- same old shibboleths are being repeated ny kind of censorship, particularly to implicate teachers. In the Patiala House
ciation ( JNUTA) for a teach-in a lec- over and over. There was over-politicisation one produced by an appeal to a na- court, teachers were beaten up after being
ture series. This is how I was dragged of the discourse. We need to revitalise and tionalism that holds that the peo- asked, What do you teach students anti-
into the issue. reintellectualise our academic ecosystem, ple in power are the ones who are nationalism? But thats not what we teach
In the association, after these students which has been reduced to bipolar and stul- going to define what the nation is, does not here. Rather, we teach students to critically
were arrested, many mails were passed back tifying politics devoid of critical thought. serve the needs of the nation. attend to their own experiences, and to use
and forth. What had clearly emerged was I was not speaking from an apolitical We are a society where we have illitera- the knowledge produced globally to make
that there was more than one position. space. In fact, there are no apolitical spac- cy, social and economic inequality and sense of their own experience.
Though the majority position was that the es. I would like them to be more political social injustice and, at the very minimum, I am not saying that only the Left does this
association should join the students, there and more interrogative. If you think poli- every part of the system we live in must be or that this is a Left hegemonic space. In
was another section that wanted a condem- tics means joining a party or becoming committed to redressing these imbalanc- fact, in student elections, the Akhil Bharati-
nation by JNUTA of the sloganeering that cannon fodder, it is not very enlightening. es. At the very least, people who are fortu- ya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) wins a huge
took place on February 9, in which Afzal For me, party politics and its encroach- nate enough to access higher education number of votes, and there is free and fair
Guru was commemorated and glorified. ment into the campus are reducing the must ask how they can address these ine- debate across positions. To call it such is also
JNUTA passed a resolution (10 days later) in space for critical debate and inquiry. qualities of access in whatever sphere they to imply that students are judged by their po-
which there were some general comments are in. If you study or teach in a university, litical (or religious or caste) affiliations,
to the effect that we stand by the Constitu- Manufacturing Dissent you should be able to ask: What is the goal which is simply not true. The suggestion that
tion. They did not condemn this event. I dont think the battle for who is going to of this system? we should have compulsory attendance in
On that very day, on the morning of Feb- rule India is to be fought in universities. Even For someone like Kanhaiya Kumar, com- classes is borne of a logic that is unaccepta-
ruary 19, I was invited to speak at a panel ble academic excellence cannot be pro-
called Freedom of Expression at the Sahi- duced by policing students.
tya Akademi. From February 9 to 19, JNU I want to emphasise that JNU teachers
had been in the news every day. There was stand for academic excellence, and that our
widespread expectation that I would speak university community tries to create a
on the issue. space where it is possible to ask new ques-
tions rigorously. You cant ask these ques-
Addressing Prejudices tions if we are told that the answer to any
I spoke on literature. The function of lit- question has to be Hindi, Hindu Hindu-
erature is not to escalate intolerances but stan. If you cannot critique voices outside
to act as a mediating force. We have to the classroom, you cannot critique inside
question whether this was a battle be- the classroom. Universities cannot be co-
tween intolerance and tolerance as it has erced into saying that the states version of
been put out in the media. In my opinion, the truth is the only truth.
its actually a battle between two different
kinds of intolerances. Thinking Through the Argument
While I stand with my association and All that students learn from their teachers
members of JNU community, I regret the ar- if Kanhaiya Kumar represents a party, he ing from a family where his mother, an an- (and carry forward into their lives outside
rest of the students; the charges are serious. also represents all students of JNU. If a sec- ganwadi worker who earns `3,000 a the classroom) is how to construct an argu-
I hope no witch-hunt is conducted. Prima tion of students is objecting to an event he month, it is perfectly legitimate to ask how ment, but we do not dictate to them their
facie, I am not sure whether shouting slo- took part in, he should reach out to them and this system must be altered to transform politics and what they must say. Student
gans constitutes sedition. not attack them. Why has the university be- the lives of thousands like him. politics, as far as I am concerned, is not a
But look at the other side. The association come a site for pitched battles because of JNU is a university whose students over- problem for the university, if it is peaceful.
is yet to condemn the event that was con- their sponsors outside? Which are the major whelmingly (nearly 60%) come from Rather it mostly produces an introspection
ducted under a false pretext. I did not even political parties? Should Indian students be smaller towns and rural areas. These stu- and awareness that is a resource we draw
know the media was there but the Press used for this? dents recognise the fact that education has upon in our classrooms.
Trust of India reported this. Once this was I dont think these students wanted to a transformative value in society and raise At the same time, as teachers we do have
covered, some teachers started targeting overthrow the government. Its just an anti- political questions about the states vision the right to protest when, through external
me. I wrote a letter to the JNUTA president. establishment rhetoric. I call it manufactur- of its role, but they do not do so at the cost or internal pressure, the university space re-
All I wanted to say was that the whole of JNU ing dissent. But what legitimates your posi- of academic excellence. This is evident in produces caste, gender discrimination and
cannot be painted in one colour. This is why tion? Have you even got the support of 8,000 the fact that JNU has been ranked as the violence. Rohith Vemula died not because
I said that if you think JNU is a democratic students of JNU before you make such state- No. 1 university in the country by the Na- he was a Dalit but because he was discrimi-
space, it is more likely a Left hegemonic ments to denigrate the entire system? If you tional Assessment and Accreditation nated against as a Dalit by the university hier-
space. But I also said that it is not a Left dicta- dont have faith in this, then you are more Council would it have received a score of archy. It closes the possibility of the univer-
torial or a Left totalitarian space as yet. I have like a Maoist. Here, its like we are continu- 3.91 out of 4 if there was no serious aca- sity as a space that can liberate anybody
had many experiences here where they try ously in a state of emergency. demics happening here? from their circumstances.
to marginalise you, silence you, if you disa- (As told to KP Narayana Kumar) (As told to KP Narayana Kumar)
gree. The students are also brainwashed. Our Right to Question
To me it is really a question of not thinking What has happened in JNU is that there is a
critically, which is what we should be doing. (Paranjape is a professor at the tremendous attack on our right to question (Kidwai is a professor at the
If you look around JNU, take a look at the Centre for English Studies, School of everything. There is a lot of focus on the Centre for Linguistics, School of
posters. You will see they are stuck in some Language, Literature, and Culture completely unwarranted sedition charges, Language, Literature and
Studies, JNU) Culture Studies, JNU)
other time, in some other space. There isnt but there are also charges of criminal con-
really a spirit of debate or inquiry but the spiracy, in which attempts are being made
18 special report
MARCH 13-19, 2016
A flamboyance of
flamingos at the
Nal Sarovar Bird
Sanctuary, Gujarat
Protected
A Bird In Hand...
areas have
risen in
number but
their total size
has fallen
T
he grasslands of the Great Indian Bustard Blackbucks at the Great
Sanctuary at Nannaj near Solapur in Indian Bustard Sanctuary
south-eastern Maharashtra are a sight to at Nannaj near Solapur,
Maharashtra. But you cant
behold in the hour before sunset. The dy- Total Area under Protected Areas (sq km)*
spot any bustard there
ing daylight brings out the beauty of dry
grass. Golden and silky, the undulating
grass takes your attention away from the
2000
1,55,476
lack of wildlife, if only for a while.
Besides a few blackbucks and raptors,
the grasslands are largely undisturbed, at
2010
1,64,063
least to the naked eye. Visitors ability to
spot wildlife may not necessarily be a good
barometer of healthy fauna populations in
2016
1,60,897
a protected area (PA), but at this sanctuary
*Excludes marine protected areas
it might well be the case. Only five of the
Source: Wildlife Institute of India
sanctuarys flagship species, the great In-
15.4% 3.4%
Indian
cant do that
with animals 4.9%
of Indias total
of the terrestrial and inland water
area is covered under protected areas,
of the ocean area is
under protected areas,
Bustard
Sanctuary
dian bustard or Ardeotis nigriceps, are left between March and August. A bird, which
in the region, a fifth of the population a can be as tall as 4 ft and weigh up to 15 kg,
decade ago, and a tenth of the population the Indian bustard is found in arid and
two-and-a-half decades back. semi-arid landscapes and, according to
There isnt one bird to be seen when we some estimates, less than 200-250 of them
drive through the sanctuary. The bustards are left in India, more than half of which
come to the sanctuary mostly during the are in Rajasthan, where it is the state bird,
summer and monsoon breeding seasons, and the rest in Maharashtra, Andhra
special report 19
MARCH 13-19, 2016
Indias
protected
areas could
be better
managed 18 42 62 3
*Total Protected Areas assessed by Wildlife Institute India on management effectiveness 125
*
Protected areas
globally have a
mixed record on
ment of wildlife habitats; Project Elephant biodiversity
got `25 crore.
Ravi Chellam, a wildlife conservationist,
Between 1970 and 2010
says PAs are only a part of conservation ef-
forts, given that most of Indias biodiversity is population of population
outside these areas. The average size of pro- birds in of
tected areas in India is less than 300 sq km, protected areas mammals
which by itself cant hold any significantly increased increased
large populations of large mammals. They
need space. You can cram people into multi-
storey apartments, but you cant do that with
animals, says Chellam.
57% 10%
Dipankar Ghose, director, species and Amphibians and
landscape programme, World Wildlife Fund
for Nature, India, says reserved forests,
which are not PAs, do not have a wildlife man-
74%
reptiles, however,
declined
agement plan: Unless they are buffer areas Asiatic lions of India
of tiger reserves, they do not get funding for Nearly 40% of the 130 monitored
wildlife management. Since PAs are only ad- countries show declining
ministrative boundaries and wildlife have to wildlife populations in Indigenous Government
move in and out of them freely, reserved for- protected areas communities
63.2 56.8
ests are as important to conservation efforts Source: Zoological Society of London
across the
as PAs, which is central to the landscape con- world Not reported
servation approach. For instance, the manage a
larger part of
34.4 32.3
Ramnagar forest division, which
adjoins the Corbett Tiger Re- naj to realise that planting trees protected Shared 1990 (%) 2014 (%)
serve, has a tiger density of 15 there was antithetical to their areas now 0.7 6
per 100 sq km, higher than efforts to save bustards. Sunil than in 1990 Private
some tiger reserves Corbett Limaye, the chief conservator 0.2 0.3
has nearly 18 but it does not of forests (for wildlife) in
enjoy the same legal protec- Pune, under whose jurisdic-
tion or financial backing. tion the sanctuary falls, says Indigenous
While non-PAs are in dire the forest department is now communities Source: International
straits, most PAs themselves
are not considerably better Unless they are sanctuary.
clearing trees in patches in the 1.5 4.6 Union for Conservation
of Nature
off. Most protected areas are buffer areas of The other area where the
created on the basis of one or tiger reserves, sanctuary management has tems can be protected only in isolation from of those running them. In the US, they have
two large mammals or birds. learned its lessons is the area humans has become outdated, many be- the National Park Service and the (US Fish
They tend to disprivilege
reserved forests under its control. The sanctu- lieve conservation in India, which accounts and) Wildlife Service, while here wildlife is a
small species, says Ashish do not get ary, when it was notified in for 8% of the worlds biodiversity, is still ex- subset of the forest department, says Vanak.
Kothari, cofounder of envi- funding for 1979, was spread over an area clusionist. You dont assume human activity The director of the tiger reserve quoted ear-
ronmental action group wildlife of more than 7,800 sq km. has a negative influence (on biodiversity). lier, however, believes there is no alternative
Kalpavriksh. Statistics bear Eight years later, the area rose There is a history of communities managing to the forest department for managing wild-
him out. According to the Zoo-
management to 8,500 sq km, which includ- forests where there have been conservation life and that the department officials are ade-
logical Society of London, be- Dipankar Ghose, ed private land on which there attempts, says Kothari. quately trained to do so.
director, Species and
tween 1970 and 2010, popula- Landscapes Programme,
were several restrictions, in- Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, indige- Many wildlife managers have lost the feel
tions of birds and mammals in WWF India cluding their sale. The wis- nous communities get to manage forest re- for the resource they are managing. Civil en-
PAs worldwide increased by dom then was to declare a sources and also use their knowledge to pro- gineering dominates wildlife management
57% and 10%, respectively, but amphibians sanctuary wherever the great Indian bustard tect the biodiversity of the region. If the im- budgets and actions. They should not keep
and reptiles declined 74%. went. But that antagonised the villagers who plementation of the landmark legislation has building more and more roads and bridges
are crucial to conservation, says Limaye. been underwhelming as a whole, within PAs and watchtowers and rest houses in our PAs,
Animals + People Last year, the Maharashtra government de- it is even worse, with people in says Chellam.
Habib says adaptive management is essential cided that some private parcels of land very few PAs having got their com- Economic development is in-
The average
to PAs. Abi Tamim Vanak, a fellow at the should be acquired and the total area of the munity forest rights. size of extricably linked to conserva-
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the sanctuary should be limited to under 370 sq You cant separate wildlife and protected tion in a country like India. Envi-
Environment, agrees: Grasslands are a natu- km. We believe the locals will now cooper- people in India. It is often said that areas in India ronmental activists were recent-
is less than
ral ecosystem but we dont recognise them as ate more with us, says Limaye. local people are a disturbance (to 300 sq km, ly up in arms over the
natural habitats. It took a while for officials While the fortress approach to conserva- wildlife), but after relocating local which by Maharashtra forest depart-
at the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary in Nan- tion which rests on the idea that ecosys- communities we are willing to al- itself cant ments decision to reportedly set
hold any
low petrol and diesel vehicles, significantly aside 58 hectares of forest land, a
which are polluting, and give high- large fifth of it in the Sanjay Gandhi Na-
paying tourists access to protect- populations tional Park, for a rail line for the
ed areas, says Chellam, who took
of large Delhi Mumbai Freight Corridor
mammals
charge in January as executive di- project. Ghose believes India
rector of Greenpeace India. should look to other countries to
find solutions to such problems: Malaysia
Elitist Tag has built elevated highways through wildlife
The director of a tiger reserve, requesting corridors. It does increase the cost of the pro-
anonymity, says, till recently, conservation in ject, but it is to protect natural capital, which
India unfortunately had an elitist tag: These is irreplaceable.
causes were picked up by people belonging While PAs are certainly crucial to protect-
to a certain social class and people who end- ing certain endangered species and to fore-
ed up facing the aftereffects of the project stall the adverse impact of development on
were left out of the debate. Countries like ecologically sensitive areas, they cannot be
Australia, Nepal and some in Latin America managed in isolation from the considerably
have had successes with engaging indigenous larger habitats outside. Moreover, expanding
communities in conservation. the PA network may not be of much use if the
Elephants at the Jim Corbett The other problem with the management existing ones do not serve the purpose for
National Park in Uttarakhand
of PAs is the qualification, or the lack thereof, which they were created.
special report 21
MARCH 13-19, 2016
Conflict Zones
The proposed freight corridor through the Sanjay Gandhi National
Park in Mumbai poses a threat to wildlife. Here are five more
places where people cross animals paths with disastrous results
:: Rahul Sachitanand WHERE: Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve,
Uttarakhand
WHERE: Sanjay Gandhi National
Park, Mumbai THE PROBLEM: Encroachment and popula-
tion explosion in surrounding villages,
THE PROBLEM: The path for the proposed resulting in shrinking tiger habitat
Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor is
contentiously routed through it THE EFFECT: Growing conflict between
tigers and humans. A couple of years
THE EFFECT: Some 12,000 trees are ago, a tiger T24, killed two humans
expected to be cut for this corridor and was relocated. Villagers living in
WHATS UNDER THREAT: Around 40 types
and around the park are at constant
of mammals, including leopards odds with tigers, since the predators
and deer, 274 species of birds attack them and their livestock
and 78 species of reptiles WHATS UNDER THREAT: Tiger, jackal, bear
SGNP, the largest
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Indias oldest tiger
tropical forest globally to be reserve, Corbett is at the forefront in
surrounded by a city, is a green keeping the big cats numbers from
lung for Mumbai falling
WHERE: Kutch Sanctuary, commissioning of high-power WHATS UNDER THREAT: The great Indian
Gujarat transmission lines have contribut- bustard
ed to decline in its numbers
THE PROBLEM: It is one of the last CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Rajasthan, Gujarat
remaining habitats of the great THE EFFECT: There are barely a and Maharashtra cannot decide
Indian bustard. But growing popu- couple of hundred of these on an action plan to save the bird.
lation, depleting grasslands, mas- birds alive, with few signs of Growing conflict may soon drive
sive industrialisation and its numbers rising it to extinction
22 food & drink
MARCH 13-19, 2016
Different
Cups of Tea
Offbeat food ventures are sprouting everywhere.
Here are five of them experimenting with new ideas
:: Anoothi Vishal
Opening a restaurant may come up pretty high on the list of the secret (or not so secret) ambitions
of many millennials. It is not an ambition without travails and tears. These may be fewer if you
choose not to open a restaurant but get into one of the offbeat food businesses. The opportunities
are more, risks lower. And while you do need to sweat it out, the rewards are many.
One good thing about living in India now when interest in food as entertainment is at an all-
time high is the potential to innovate and monetise that passion. Many exciting innovations in
food are not happening in restaurants, but in the offbeat retail space. It is a market ruled by
content, even if there are many stories of startups that refused to start. The failure rate of these
new businesses is perhaps as high as that of restaurants. At least half of these were led by pipe
dreams of funding. We only have to look at the dubious examples of many food-tech startups, now
flailing. Yet, with a younger demographic raring to try out new things at lower price points
new food formats are the Next Big Thing. Heres my pick of five:
V
arun Madan and Kunal Gangwani fered salads as a complete meal. Equal- have high repeats and customers who The Salad Days duo are determined
played for the same band at Xavier ly, there was the perception that this have spent `1 lakh a year on just salads for about not tossing it away. We dont un-
School of Management, Jamshed- would not work because it is not like themselves, says Madan. derstand this bubble of food tech start-
pur. They jammed well but little did they biryani that Indians are used to eating Operations have been the toughest ups. Funding has become the goal of
realise that they would also, one day, toss salads are side dishes in our homes, part. Sourcing ingredients they largely entrepreneurs. But people mess up the
up vinaigrette and greens. says Madan. But they took the plunge. use imported fruit and veggies to main- balance of growth in the quest to ex-
The writer
We both met up again when we With its smartly packaged offerings, tain consistency, get cheese and vinegars pand, says Madan. This one should be
looks at wanted to start something of our own, Salad Days has been quite a success in from Parma and Modena because the more wholesome.
restaurant says Madan, 32. Both zeroed in on sal- Gurgaon. From a lean operation, it now taste really is different, and pick herbs Viability Quotient: Salad Day oper-
trends, food ads which form such a vital part of eve- has three kitchens. Marketing has been grown in their own garden and main- ates on a net profit margin of 13%; op-
history and
culinary ryday meals in the world, but were lack- through social media and the customers taining supply chains are a task. erations need to be streamlined to up it
cultures ing in India. Madan developed a taste are not limited to offices. Last year, the business attracted a to the industry range of 15-20%.
Truck It In
Eggjactly and
Sushi House Mafia
Started by: Vikrant Misra, Lvanika Parti
Whats Special: These food trucks serve
waffles, milkshakes and fries in the NCR
F
ood trucks have been trendy all over America
for the past five years, serving up interesting,
quirky menus at about $20 a meal. For Vikrant
Misra, 33, who started one of the first food trucks in
India two years ago, the inspiration was simpler. A
former retail executive at Provogue, he and his busi-
ness partner Lvanika Parti were scouting for a caf
location in Gurgaon, but soon realised that the in-
vestments required were too high as was the risk.
food & drink 23
MARCH 13-19, 2016
W
hen Insia Lacewalla started organisers huge stall fees. That is the
Little Big Fry Small Fry in Mumbai two years
ago, Maximum City was going
business model, plus sponsorships.
Lacewalla and her business partner
through a local food resurgence. There Paresh Chhabria, 27, however, remain
Bombay Local were scores of food producers doing true to the spirit of the original enter-
high-quality local chocolate, artisanal prise. They do not want sponsors to
Started by: Insia Lacewalla, cheese, home-baked desserts, snacks tamper with the small, artisanal for-
Instead of a security deposit of `15-20 Paresh Chhabria and more. Lacewalla with a back- mat. Stall fee remains at `15,000-
lakh for a location that may or may not Whats Special: It is a food festival in ground in finance and stints at many dif- 20,000; and `150-200 is the entry fee
work, I thought it was better to invest the Mumbai that celebrates local food ferent things, from fashion shows to for customers.
same in a moveable restaurant that I could producers, home cooks, bakers films, to the handling of food and bever- About 60 stalls, tightly curated, are put
take to different places even if one location age for NH7 Weekenders decided to try up for one day, from 7 pm to midnight,
does not work, he says. her hand at a passion project. every quarter at the Khar Gymkhana.
No one had any idea, though, about how I wanted food to be at the centre- And every one sells out. The producers
to make a food truck. Misra ended up con- stage, says 29-year-old Lacewalla. So are happy and so are we. It is a closely
verting a bank van. the Bombay Local food festival came bonded community, says Lacewalla.
There are, however, some grey areas in up, putting local food producers, Content is the key.
legalities when it comes to food trucks. home cooks, caterers, bakers, From the time they put up their pilot
Theres no policy regarding licensing al- cheese-makers on the map. We with desserts 13 home bakers under a
though the National Restaurant Association had beer on tap, up-and-coming roof for a five-hour sale and were sold
of India is canvassing for one. Eggjactly and musicians jamming that was the out in half that time, they have not
Sushi House Mafia, Misras two trucks vibe, she says. looked back.
which he drives himself are GPS-enabled The market for food fes- Viability Quotient: Profit margin is
and move around the NCR (people can track tivals is highly competi- 50-60% for each local market they set
these through live social media posts). The tive now. It is also more up. The events are less commercial and
food they serve is mostly American-style commercial with estab- thus have lower revenues. Partners run
eggs, waffles, milkshakes, fries to appeal lished restaurants paying other consulting businesses.
to young, corporate, aspirational clients. Lacewalla (above)
All the food is made fresh, in front of you. and Chhabria
Getting the food out fast was a challenge,
though. We had to shut down operations
for 10 days till the staff learnt how to cook
and dish out food in five-seven minutes,
says Misra.
Viability Quotient: Profit margins are
higher and investment lower than in restau-
Butter Chicken on the Beach
rant retail. But you have to man the van in all
kinds of terrain and weather. Also, there are
Goila quick service restaurant or a takea-
too many variables and no clear govern- Butterchicken way with an investment of `15-20
ment policy yet. lakh, I decided to do a delivery be-
Started by: Saransh Goila cause you can leverage social media
Whats Special: Delivers to for it at the same cost. For every `30
Mumbai homes the not-so-rich spent on social media I hope to get at
butter chicken that made Goila
famous on social media and TV least one customer who will order. I
plan to spend `50,000 a month,
which should hopefully ensure 1,000
S
aransh Goila is a well-known customers per month, says Goila,
name on television having who has a substantial following on
hosted two food-based shows Goila smokes the butter chicken Twitter and Facebook.
and on social media. So funding The kitchen is in Andheri, Mum-
should not have been a problem range of kulchas (chicken rezala, bai, for now; Goila wants to go to Ben-
when he wanted to start his own mattar-paneer- mango, gongura - galuru and Kolkata this year, for
real venture. It wasnt. Except pork) that you can eat alongside the which he will seek investors.
that 28-year-old Goila wanted no BC, the menu is short and cool and This will be an interesting experi-
investor interference in what he de- designed for young consumers who ment where a chef is leveraging both
scribes as a pilot for Goila Butter- want higher quality food than the his cooking skills and social media
chicken. It is his delivery-only start- neighbourhood takeaway. presence for a business venture.
up that plays on the dish he is best Goila and his business partner Viability Quotient: According to
associated with, thanks to his but- Vivek Sahni, also a chef, have invest- some calculations, to be profitable,
ter chicken pop-ups that have be- ed personal funds of about `10 lakh Goila needs 100 people eating every
come popular on Twitter. each in the project. And they seem to day (dishes are priced in the `250-
From butter chicken rolls to a have done their math. Instead of a 300 bracket). Will they bite?
C
ommeat started by 34-year- But it is an idea whose time has come.
Come Eat
old Ruchika (last name withheld The Commeat website documents
on request) is short for com- recipes of different home cooks, who
munity eating. The idea is simple but are chosen with care, and posts short
Lager
Than Life
in Dublin
On St Patricks Day, the
craziness in the Irish capital
ratchets up many notches and
the city revolves around beer,
The parade
bright green and the parade winds its way
through Dublins
streets with
:: Anita Rao-Kashi short skits and
A
ll around me there was loud, foot-tapping street acts, people putting final touches on brightly
music, swirling crowds dressed in out- cheerleaders, coloured floats and performers were pol-
landish clothes, guffaws and bonhomie, bands, girls ishing their acts.
pageantry, strong whiffs of beer and a sea twirling batons, As the clock worked its way past nine in
of bright green. St Patricks Day in Dublin acrobats on the morning and I went back to my van-
is a crazy, overwhelming experience and I giant stilts and tage point, the parade began with the
was revelling in it. dancers in grand marshal in an adorable vintage car.
elaborate
Dublin on most days is a charming city He was soon followed by marching
costumes
that loves to tip over into the realm of school bands, martial bands, a platoon of
crazy fun. With a staggering 800 pubs, smartly uniformed men on horses, elab-
its not difficult to imagine why. But on orate floats depicting various themes,
March 17, St Patricks Day, the craziness short skits and street acts, cheerleaders,
ratchets up several hundred notches St Patricks Day is celebrated girls twirling batons, costumed acrobats
and everything revolves around the on March 17 and is on giant stilts, dancers and more. For
grand parade. probably the best time cal Irish to Christianity. He is considered over an hour and a half, for a mile and a
to be in the Irish capital the patron saint of Ireland. half, the parade wound its way through
Painting the Town Green How to Reach: There are no direct Though St Patricks Day is believed to some of Dublins central streets. It ended
Perched on a vantage point near Parnell flights to Dublin from India, but the have been commemorated as far back as with a flourish, just like it began, with
Square one St Patricks Day, I could see most convenient way to travel is via the ninth and tenth centuries, it was only scores of men, women and children on
the swelling crowds all around me. They a transit stop at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, in 1903 that a parade was introduced. colourful bicycles propagating health
were standing on barricaded pave- Doha or Frankfurt Ever since, it has become more a cultural and exercise.
ments, hanging out of windows and Where to Stay: Dublin has plenty of celebration than a strictly religious one. Once the parade passed by, people
spilling over from balconies. There was a options across budgets, but if you Over the last two decades, it has be- spilled on to the streets, singing loudly
palpable sense of anticipation and sup- want to be in the thick of things then come St Patricks festival and is celebrat- and dancing wildly to music wafting
pressed excitement. The overriding col- the Morrison by Hilton on Ormand ed over five days with a plethora of from various sources. It was as if people
our was green, be it suits, kilts, top hats, Quay is centrally located. If you events. Over half a million people de- had picked up from where they had left
disco caps, painted faces, bobbling hair prefer a quieter neighbourhood, scend on Dublin, swilling copious the previous night. Temple Bar, Dublins
then Clyde Court Hotel on
bands, even hair. People had pinned amounts of beer. However, the highlight most colourful and lively area filled with
Landsdowne Road is calm with
bunches of shamrock on their dresses lovely, spacious rooms continues to be the iconic parade through pubs, was teeming with people, a sea of
and hats, and there was an air of festivity Dublins streets. green. The iconic Book of Kells and the
everywhere. Where to Drink: Do visit the Long Room inside Trinity College were
As I waited for the parade to begin, an Guinness Storehouse, an Double the Fun open to the public and I wandered
interactive museum with plenty of
Irish friend explained that it had not al- The city had been preparing for this for around, a bit overwhelmed to be in the
drinking and eating. Other places
ways been this colourful and noisy. days. Stalls had sprung up on pavements same room once used by the likes of
to try include the Long Hall, the
March 17 was designated St Patricks Stags Head, the Brazen Head, near Trinity College and in the centre of Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar
The author is Day to commemorate the death of the ODonaghues, The Cobblestone, the town, selling green sashes, top hats Wilde, Samuel Beckett and Bram Stoker.
a Bengaluru- 5th century Romano-British Christian and head bands with bobbing lepre-
based travel
Porterhouse Bar, Dawson Lounge
and food missionary St Patrick who was responsi- and Kehoes. In addition, try Irish chauns and shamrock leaves. Many of On a Quiet Note
writer ble for large-scale conversions of the lo- coffee, a potent combination of hot the prominent buildings, including the In the evening, I headed to St Patricks Ca-
coffee, whiskey and sugar Dublin Castle, were bathed in green thedral, a massive 12th century church
light. Pubs and bars were bursting at the considered to be the largest in Ireland. It
seams with bands playing Irish pub stood amid sprawling lawns: a dark edifice
songs such as Rocky road to Dublin, with an eye-catching, 43 metre spire. In-
Whiskey in the jar and Galway girl. side, everything was calm and serene, in
On the morning of March 17, the whole contrast to the revelry outside. There
city was up, bright- were innumerable sculptures and burial
e ye d a n d b u shy- stones, including that of Swift,
tailed, the excesses of the Door of Reconciliation,
the previous night not- stained glass details and a mas-
withstanding. A couple sive organ. In the relative si-
of hours before the pa- lence, the church bell began
rade began, I wandered pealing, a deep sound
the streets that were fast fill- that celebrated the pa-
ing with parade-goers. More eye- tron saint as much as eve-
catching were the participants. rything else. It seemed an
Bands and platoons were appropriate note to end
practising, St Patricks Day.
A WEEKLY DOSE OF QUICK, QUIRKY AND TRENDY INFORMATION
alfresco 25
MARCH 13-19, 2016
IMPERFECTLY PERFECT
Unforced Error
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid woman in sports, failed a drug test
Some of the classics that we read today
are unfinished works of literature. Here
are five such pieces that were never
completed:
at the Australian Open this year due to a substance she has been taking for 10 years. The The Canterbury Tales
The English classic, written
five-time grand slam champion has been provisionally suspended from March 12 in the 14th century by
Geoffrey Chaucer, has
Here are a few other sports personalities who accounts from different
were entangled in dope scandals: pilgrims on their way to
Canterbury Cathedral.
However, before his death
Tyson Gay in 1400, Chaucer was
only able to finish 24 of the 124 tales
In July 2013, Gay tested positive for a
he had planned to write
Shane Warne banned anabolic steroid, following
which he withdrew from consideration
In February 2003, the ace
Australian spinner was for the World Championships in Kubla Khan
Moscow. The United States Anti- The poem has no ending.
charged with using a banned
Doping Agency suspended the Samuel Taylor Coleridge
diuretic to enhance
former World double sprint said that the idea came to
performance, and faced a
champion for a year and him in a dream but he was
two-year ban from cricket if
stripped him of his silver not able to finish it as his
found guilty. In the end,
medal from the 2012 vision vanished because its
Warne was found guilty of
Summer Olympics composition was interrupted by a
breaching the Australian
person from Porlock
Cricket Boards drug code
and a one-year ban was
imposed on him The Mystery of
Edwin Drood
Diego Charles Dickens final novel,
Maradona which was to depict a tale of
Martina The Argentine footballer mystery and murder,
reached only the sixth of 12
Hingis surprised everyone when
he failed a drug test for planned instalments before
Hingis tested the author died. Portions of the text
five different variants of
positive for were shown to Queen Victoria,
ephedrine and was sent
cocaine during but the ending was never revealed
home from the 1994
the 2007
World Cup. Maradona
Wimbledon. She
played only two
was banned for Weir of Hermiston
games at the
two years, after This unfinished romance by
tournament in the
which Hingis Robert Louis Stevenson is
US, scoring one goal
quit the sport, set at the time of the
against Greece,
but made a Napoleonic Wars. It was
before FIFA sent
return to cut short by Stevensons
him packing
playing doubles sudden death in 1894 from
in 2013 a cerebral haemorrhage
WEEKLY VECTOR
Jailhouse Rock
The US has the largest number of prisoners worldwide with over 2 million people in prison.
SOURCE: STATISTA, INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR PRISON STUDIES
Here are the top countries with the highest incarcerated criminals:
Stack
Talkt... GEORGE RR MARTIN
Game for iOS
Get it for: Free
R
emember Ketchapp?
Abou
PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS MAKING HEADLINES They were the
developers behind the
much-loved (and much-
before finishing the seven-part imitated) game 2048.
series. Now, they're back with a
new game called Stack.
AT LEAST IT IS HEARTWARMING As is evident from the
TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE CARE name, it requires you to
YES. REST IN PEACE MR MARTIN. SO DEEPLY. stack up blocks as high as
Okay but this Mr Martin is not Yes. However, in his blog post possible. But there's a
dead, you know. Dead Not Yet, quoting Mark twist: you start with a
Twain, Martin said, 'I insist that the large block as a base and
WELL, IM SURE HE IS.
rumours of my death have been a similar size block
For crying out loud, do not kill a
greatly exaggerated.' swings to and fro in midair above it. Tap the
healthy 67-year-old man. He is, in
fact, looking forward to the sixth screen to make the block fall on the base if
WELL, FANS MUST BE RELIEVED
season of Game of Thrones. you don't time it just right, the blocks won't
NOW.
stack perfectly and your blocks will
Indeed. They responded to
DUH! WHAT? become smaller in size. The next block is
Martins blog post with sighs of
P L AY
Yes, George RR Martin is alive and automatically the smaller size and you
relief and some friendly advice
kicking. The one that you are have to be more careful with placement.
on 'taking vitamins' and 'getting
talking about is the Fifth If you perfectly stack 10 blocks, the size
enough rest'.
Beatle George Martin, who of the base block increases a little. It
passed away last week. AND IM STILL ANXIOUS TO SEE sounds simple, but it's difficult to
IF JON SNOW IS ALIVE OR DEAD. perfectly stack blocks as they become
AH! SANS THE RR. I SEE
That remains to be seen. For now, smaller. The colourful graphics and
THAT NOW.
we can say that George RR Martin animation effects are top-notch. The only
You should. Martins fans
has taken a page out of his own issue is that you'll be interrupted by full-
on social media went SO DID I.
book and returned from the dead. screen ads in the free version. You can remove
berserk after mistaking The panic was very
these ads permanently with an in-app
the author of A Song of Ice visible. Martins longevity SPOILER ALERT!!! purchase of `150. Karan Bajaj
and Fire series better known has long been a concern Well, at least it is better than getting
as Game of Thrones with the among Game of Thrones fans, thousands of obits when you are still
90-year-old producer. who fear the 67-year-old might die alive, isnt it?
OneSafe
App for iOS
Get it for: Free
Targus L
aptops are getting sleeker but the video to a larger screen and projector at multiple services. Thats
unfortunate trade-off is limited the same time. The HDMI supports a why a password manager
ports. The VGA port has all but maximum resolution of 2560 x 1440 can be really useful to
USB 3.0 disappeared from new laptops, USB
ports are fewer in number and smaller
while VGA supports a maximum output
of 2048 x 1152 pixels.
store all the data you want
to keep away from prying eyes. On OneSafe,
Dock Travel Dock that you can use in such a power source using the micro USB port
kinds of IDs, private phone numbers,
loyalty cards, passports, wi-fi passwords,
D OW N LOA D
scenario. Its not really a "dock", but (you can use any phone charger) this is
Get it for: `9,999 software licences basically anything.
more like an extension for your ports. required for some high-power
The first time, it takes you through a
It's about the size and weight of a 5-inch peripherals like hard drives in case your
setup. You can choose to store the
smartphone and twice as thick. It has a computers USB port cant supply
information on the device itself or on
brushed metal lid and solid enough power. Its listed as being
polyc arb o n a te co n struc tio n . I t compatible with Windows 10, Windows Dropbox, iCloud, etc. Each time you open
connects to your laptop using a built-in 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Linux the app, it will ask for authentication. You
USB 3.0 cable and offers HDMI out, Ubuntu, Mac OS X (v10.8, v10.9, v10.10) can use a PIN, TRI-PIN, password or
VGA out, Gigabit Ethernet and and Android v5 (micro USB adapter pattern. On an iPhone with TouchID, you
additional USB 3.0 and micro USB required to plug into a phone or tablet). can ask the app to use that as
ports. This means you can comfortably You might be wondering how it works authentication. To prevent you from
connect additional peripherals like though its not exactly plug and play. getting locked out of your own phone, it
hard drives, printers while outputting You will need to download the additional will ask you to set two security questions.
DisplayLink software from the Targus If you forget your access password, the
website to enable all the functionality (or information is as good as gone, since the
the DisplayLink Desktop app for Android app uses 256-bit encryption. From then on, you
from the Google Play Store). can keep adding stuff you want secured and set
If youre always on the move and the app to have regular backups. It can backup
n e e d t o u s e yo u r l a p t o p f o r your data to Dropbox, iCloud or CloudKit or
presentations and the like, this is a you could just take a backup file and email it.
handy item to throw in the bag. This is one app that takes your security and
Hitesh Raj Bhagat
privacy very seriously. Hitesh Raj Bhagat
PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETORS, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. by Balraj Arora at Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110 002 and printed by him at (A) The Times of India Press, 13 & 15/1, Site IV, Industrial Area, Sahibabad, UP (B) Elegant Offset Printers, Shed No. D2-31, Thivim Industrial Estate, Karas-
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