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SUNDAY, 4 AUGUST 2019

12 pages in 1 section WORLD P9 WORLD P8
MUMBAI (CITY)
~10.00
VOLUME XIII NUMBER 20
THE $20-MN NAZI PORSCHE THAT EU SETTLES FOR WORLD BANK’S
MAY NOT BE A PORSCHE AT ALL GEORGIEVA TO LEAD IMF
PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM BENGALURU, KOLKATA, MUMBAI AND NEW DELHI

THOUSANDS FLEE RBI MONETARY POLICY POLL

KASHMIR AFTER
SECURITY ADVISORY Majority see 25-bp cut, Wrong to project
us as villains,
more can be in store say PE leaders
PAVAN LALL
ANUP ROY
Mumbai, 3 August WHAT EXPERTS uidity surplus or deficit mode
and what would be the factors
Mumbai, 3 August

Thousands of visitors have started leaving
Kashmir after the local administration issued
a security alert related to possible militant
attacks in the area, a senior government
official said on Saturday. Security officials had
said on Friday they found evidence of attacks
planned by Pakistani military-backed
militants on the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.
The UK’s foreign office advised against travel
to Jammu and Kashmir, with the exceptions
of travel by air to Jammu and within the city
and Ladakh. The Indian advisory had
cautioned tourists in general, but did not give
any specific advice to foreign nationals. 12 >
> Airlines told to keep fares in check
Opposition demands Modi govt’s
>
statement in Parliament
COMPANIES P3
RIL set to acquire
87.6% stake in Fynd
Reliance Industries will acquire an 87.6 per
cent stake in Shopsense Retail Technologies,
also known as Fynd, for ~295 crore, it said.
The company said its wholly-owned
subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments
and Holdings has an option to further invest
up to ~100 crore by December 2021 in Fynd.
ECONOMY P6
Auto sector slowdown
hits non-life insurers
The slowdown in the auto industry has cast a
shadow on the business of non-life
insurers. The motor insurance segment —
the largest contributor to general insurers'
revenues — has been seeing muted growth
of late. Hopes of a recovery depend on an
improvement in customer sentiment.
E
conomists and market
participants expect at
least a 25-basis point
cut in policy rates in
the August 7 monetary policy
review — and some more in the
coming policies — to tackle the
growth slowdown.
Inflation concerns seem to
be behind us till such time that
commodity prices start firming
up. In an environment of trade
wars, where global growth has
itself taken a hit, it is unlikely
that commodities will be in
much demand either.
Of the 15 economists and
market players who participat-
ed in the poll, two predicted a
50-basis point cut, while the rest
anticipated a rate reduction by
25 basis points (bps). But by no
means economists see the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to
stop at just a 25-bp cut. Some of
the economists such as
Soumyakanti Ghosh of State
Bank of India (SBI) are of the
firm view that rates have room
to fall by a total of 75 bps in the
current financial year, starting
with 25 bps in the August 7 pol-
icy.
“We expect the RBI to cut by
25 bps on August 7. We also
believe the rate cut could be in
multiples of 25 bps. We are now
in a synchronised rate-cutting
cycle by central banks across
the world, and this looks even
PREDICT that determine that. The RBI in Private equity (PE) funds, in the spot-
50
Sameer Narang Samir Lodha a previous policy had said the light after the death of Coffee Café
bps present liquidity framework Day founder V G Siddhartha, have
Bank of Baroda QuantArt
had become out of sync with sought to dispel speculation about
Abheek Barua Ramkamal Samanta the real situation on the ground. any wrongdoing in their funding
HDFC Bank SUD Life Siddhartha Sanyal, newly methods. They say the notion that PE
appointed chief economist and investors leverage bait-and-switch to
Aditi Nayar Rupa Rege Nitsure
head of research at Bandhan lure promoters and entrepreneurs
ICRA L&T Finance ANYONE WHO TAKES DEBT
Devendra Pant Samiran
bps
25 Bank, said he expected the cen-
tral bank to lower policy rates by
into lose-lose situations through debt
products is misleading. OR DEBT-LIKE PRODUCTS IS
India Ratings Chakraborty 50-75 bps in total, including 25 A letter purportedly written by
Citibank EXPECTED TO BE RESPONSIBLE
Gaurav Kapur bps in August. “Growth Siddhartha days before his death said:
IndusInd Bank Siddhartha Sanyal momentum remains subdued. “I fought for a long time but today I
TO UNDERSTAND THE
OBLIGATIONS THAT COME WITH
Indranil Pan Bandhan Bank Headline inflation stays low, gave up as I could not take any more
IDFC First Soumya Kanti Ghosh with a markedly weak core pressure from one of the PE partners THAT PRODUCT”
SBI inflation print. Erratic rains can forcing me to buy back shares.” He had
Jayesh Mehta Renuka Ramnath
potentially pose upside pres- also alleged “tremendous pressure” Founder & CEO, Multiples
BofAML Upasna sure on food inflation in the from lenders and “a lot of harassment”
Bhardwaj Alternate Asset Management
Madan Sabnavis near term, but that will likely from the tax authorities.
CARE Ratings Kotak Mahindra Bank remain short-lived. Globally, Sameer Sain, chief executive officer
different from 2008. There is of hawkish Viral Acharya in the
central banks have turned more
dovish in recent months,”
(CEO) of PE firm Everstone Capital
Asia, says while he can’t speak for those
also a pressing need for the cen- six-member monetary policy Sanyal said. who invest equity with guaranteed
tral bank to define an equilibri- committee (MPC) could help Consumer Price Index (CPI) returns or, effectively, debt-like struc-
um real interest rate,” Ghosh gather a consensus on rate cuts. inflation stood at 3.18 per cent in tures, promoters are aware of what they
said. Banks have started lowering June. The RBI tries to keep infla- are doing and enter into such transac-
Aditi Nayar, principal econ- their rates, starting with deposit tion under 4 per cent. Growth, tions willingly.
omist of ICRA, sees one rate cut rates, and this will lead to lend- however, is at around 7 per cent, Everstone’s PE fund (Everstone
of 25 bps, followed by a pause. ing rate cuts in the coming days. below its potential. Capital), its real estate arm (IndoSpace)
“An increasing risk to the Abheek Barua, chief econo- “Based on a variety of activ- and the infra business (Eversource) are
already slowing global econo- mist of HDFC Bank, expects a ity indicators and a weakening pure equity investors and mainly get TO MAKE A CAPITAL
my from the US-China trade 25-bp rate cut now, and then global economic momentum, it into buyout-and-build businesses,
dispute further increases the another at a latter policy date. is quite likely that domestic where the investor is the promoter and
PROVIDER THE VILLAIN AFTER
uncertainty. We see scope for a “The critical factor now is the growth, especially over the first owner, he says, adding that hence, YOU TAKE THEIR MONEYAND
cumulative 50-bp rate cut in the liquidity framework that the half of the year, would under- there is no question of a debt return. ARE UNABLE TO LIVE UP TO THE
months ahead, with 25 bps in RBI might announce in the pol- perform the RBI’s estimates and “We take pure equity risk, work TERMS AGREED IS NOT
the upcoming policy,” said icy, or soon after the policy,” as a result the slack in the econ- hard, run these businesses, and expect
Upasna Bhardwaj, chief econo- Barua said. According to econ- omy would increase,” said an equity return,” Sain says. “We may CORRECT”
mist of Kotak Mahindra Bank. omists, the new framework Gaurav Kapur, chief economist have expectations but no guarantees.” Sameer Sain
Even as the rate decision will would likely spell out clearly if of IndusInd Bank. Turn to Page 4 > CEO, Everstone Capital Asia
be data dependent, the absence the system would be in the liq- Turn to Page 4 >

BS SPECIAL GETTING READY FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY Jet bid

IN DEPTH
Universal health care priority,
but system is under-staffed
SWAGATA YADAVAR on where India’s health
care system stands in light of the ambitious
national health protection scheme 7>
ECONOMY P6
PM-KISAN beneficiary
target may be missed
As more and more states send in their list of
beneficiaries under the flagship PM-KISAN
scheme, officials say the final number of
beneficiary farmers may not exceed 100-110
million. This is significantly lower than the
earlier calculation of 146 million.
deadline
FAILURE ATREMENDOUS
extended
EXPERIENCE: NILEKANI
At a time when business failure is
to Aug 10
still considered a taboo in India,
where risk-taking is not
encouraged the wayit is in the US’
Silicon Valley, Infosys co-founder
Nandan Nilekanisaid there was a
need for a social fabric that delinks
failure from entrepreneurs.
“You need a social fabric that delinks
failure from the person, and which
recognises that failure is a
tremendous experience that is likely
to increase the probability of success
the next time around. This happens
there (in Silicon Valley),” Nilekani
told co-panellists Vinod Khosla ANEESH PHADNIS
(venture capitalist) and Sharad Mumbai, 3 August
A worker dries portions of the National Flag at a state-run workshop ahead of Independence Day, in Sharma (co-founder of tech think-
Guwahati on Saturday PHOTO: PTI tank iSpirt) at an event. 3> The deadline for submission of expression of
interest (EoI) for the revival of Jet Airways has
been extended by a week to August 10.
The last date has been extended as potential

People with autism are hot hires for AI jobs
Companies are bringing in workers on the spectrum who can do repetitive tasks for hours or who excel at pattern recognition
JOHN MURAWSKI
3 August
Businesses scrambling for artificial-
intelligence talent are tapping an
unusual resource: people with autism.
Ernst & Young LLP, Credit Suisse
Group AG , Dell Technologies Inc.,
Microsoft Corp. , DXC Technology Co.
and other companies are hiring autistic
applicants for AI jobs through
neurodiversity
programs they have
established. EY, a
professional services
SPECIAL firm, is also advising a
dozen Fortune 500
companies on starting similar
programs.
Autistic workers are often hyper-
focused, highly analytical thinkers with
an exceptional proficiency for
technology, said several company
officials who have hired people on the
spectrum. Many are capable of working
long hours on repetitive AI tasks, such as
labeling photos and videos for
computer-vision systems, without
losing interest. Others have a high
capacity for logical reasoning and
pattern recognition, enabling them to
systematically develop and test AI
models.
Demand is soaring for workers with
skills in AI, data science and related
areas. CompTIA, a tech trade group,
said in June that the IT jobless rate fell to
1.3% in May, a 20-year low, intensifying
competition for scarce talent.
Meanwhile, many autistic adults
lack jobs. About 42% of autistic students
who had special education in high
school had no paid job in the first six
years after leaving high school,
according to a 2015 study by Drexel
University researchers.
“Autistic individuals really are a
solution for employers who are looking
for highly skilled analytical individuals
for certain jobs,” said Marcia Scheiner,
founder and president of Integrate
Autism Employment Advisors, a New
York nonprofit that advises companies
on setting up autism hiring programs.
About 40 to 50 U.S. companies have
such programs, Ms. Scheiner estimates.
Companies often find autistic
workers through such groups. However,
PHOTO: ERNST & YOUNG
job candidates for their time while EY
doesn’t.
EY employs about 80 autistic people,
more than double the number who
worked there a year ago. Previous jobs
for recent hires included working as a
janitor, pizza deliverer and Uber driver.
Their education levels range from high
school diplomas to doctorates.
They work across the company’s five
U.S. neurodiversity centers of
excellence in Chicago, Dallas,
Philadelphia, San Jose and one that
opened this summer in Nashville, Tenn.
A 14-member team in Dallas, eight of
whom are on the autism spectrum, last
year developed an algorithm to
automate the generation of EY
Ernst & Young employee Justin Pierce, who has autism, at his desk in the consulting contracts—producing 2,000
company’s Chicago office. Ernst & Young, Credit Suisse Group AG , Dell contracts a month and saving the firm
Technologies, Microsoft, DXC Technology and others are hiring autistic about 500,000 work hours a year, said
applicants for AI jobs through neurodiversity programs they have established Hiren Shukla, the firm’s neurodiversity
innovation leader.
people with autism can be socially interviews with these hires because The team also built neural networks
awkward and reclusive, meaning that autistic people tend to do poorly in to quickly identify potential tax
companies need to make some unscripted social situations. Instead, deductions for a client, Mr. Shukla said;
adjustments, Ms. Scheiner said. both companies have opted for the AI system took a mere 12 minutes to
EY and DXC, an information- performance assessments that can last process five years of memos, emails and
technology services firm, don’t conduct several weeks. DXC compensates the other paperwork. Turn to Page 4 >
bidders sought additional time, resolution pro-
fessional Ashish Chhawchharia said in an
announcement on Saturday. As part of the
ongoing resolution process of Jet in the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), August 3 was
earlier set as the deadline for submission of EoIs
from potential bidders.
Jet Airways shut operations on April 17 and
was referred to the insolvency court in June as
lenders were unable to secure viable invest-
ment offers. A fresh process is being carried out
to find a buyer under the insolvency rules.
Sources said two to three companies had
shown interest in reviving the grounded air-
line and had held discussions with the reso-
lution professional. The idea behind extend-
ing the deadline is to enable better
participation, they said.
Etihad Airways, which holds a 24 per cent
stake in Jet, is said to be one of the interested
parties. The Abu Dhabi-based airline had
revived talks with Hinduja group to submit a
joint offer but it is yet to firm up its plan, a source
in the know pointed out. Etihad is still looking
for partners to co-invest in Jet, it is learnt.
The grounded airline's liabilities are also
said to be an area of concern for Etihad. The
resolution professional has received claims
worth ~24,000 crore from Jet's creditors and
employees. Etihad did not immediately com-
ment on Saturday.
The resolution professional's announce-
ment said the deadline had been extended pro-
visionally, subject to approval from the com-
mittee of creditors. Turn to Page 4 >

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2 COMPANIES
>
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 1

Poor consumer confidence Drug companies tap

analytics to cut costs
hits rural FMCG demand ANEESH PHADNIS
Mumbai, 3 August

Wages in villages and IN THE SLOW LANE
wholesale crop prices Poor growth in rural marketis pulling
down the overall FMCG business
have not picked up VALUE GROWTH: („ Volume + „ Price-led)
YoY growth rate (Figures in % )
ARNAB DUTTA & SANJEEB MUKHERJEE 20.0
New Delhi, 3 August
3.7
14.1
weak trend seen over the last few years.
Data from India Ratings in a report pub-
lished last year showed that average real
rural wage growth (agriculture and non-
agriculture) slumped from 11.18 per cent
in FY13-FY15 to just 0.45 per cent in
FY16-FY18. “Rural wages should not be
seen in a one-year horizon because there
16.2 can be aberrations in between,” said
3.0
Pharmaceutical companies, on
account of price pressures and
an intense regulatory gaze, are
investing in data analytics and
digital tools to sharpen their
marketing focus and improve
compliance.
The move comes in the
backdrop of price competitive-
ness in key markets and regu-

T
hose expecting a resurgence of
consumer confidence once the
upheaval of demonetisation and
GST settled, have had their hopes
squashed by rural India where demand
for fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) remains weak.
The recent data from market analyt-
ics firm Nielsen shows that the rural mar-
ket in the country’s 630,000-odd villages
is pulling down the overall FMCG busi-
ness. In the April-June quarter, tradi-
tionally a strong period after the slump of
the winter months, growth in rural mar-
kets was the lowest since early 2018.
FMCG product sales in the rural mar-
ket in this quarter grew by a meagre 5.9
per cent. Coupled with a 4.4 per cent
price hike, the total value growth in the
villages where over 65 per cent of the
population lives, grew 10.3 per cent, or
9.7 percentage points lower than July-
September 2018.
Three quarters ago, the rural market
had grown by 20 per cent by value and
a staggering 16.3 per cent by volume.
As a result of the rural figures, overall
growth in the ~3.5 trillion FMCG market
has also slumped. While in the
September 2018 quarter, the overall
growth stood at 16.2 per cent, this has
now come down to 10 per cent.
Nielsen said that food and personal
care were the categories most affected by
the slowdown. While the value growth
of food and personal care in the calendar
year 2018 was 15 per cent and 12 per cent
respectively, this is expected to fall to 13
per cent and 11 per cent in the current
calendar year, said the agency.
Rural sales growth, which was ahead
of urban sales growth by at least 400 to
700 basis points for most companies in
early to mid-2018, has now slowed to
just 90 basis points over urban.
Growth in urban markets has also
slowed during the April-June quarter
from 10.9 per cent growth by volume to
6.4 per cent but its impact remains
much lower than that of the rural mar-
ket.
According to Nielsen, rural house-
holds contributed 57 per cent to this
ongoing slowdown. This is significant,
given the fact that the revenue contri-
bution of the rural market to the overall
market is 30 per cent — much lower
than that of the urban market.
The sales and profits of most FMCG
and retail firms have been weak of late,
10.3
3.2 9.7
3.3 4.4
10.9 16.3 13.2
6.4 5.9
Jul- Apr- Jul- Apr- Jul- Apr-
Sep Jun Sep Jun Sep Jun
2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019
Urban (63%)* Rural (37%)* All India
* Contribution to the overall FMCG market
Source: Nielsen
showing signs of stress. Rural wages and
wholesale crop prices, which can be an
accurate barometer, haven’t really
picked up by much between January
and July this year from the slump seen
a few years ago.
Data from agmarket.nic.in show that
the average wholesale price of key kharif
and rabi crops such as channa, soybean
and mustard have been below the
Minimum Support Price.
FMCG sales executives say that, in
spite of the government’s recent meas-
ures to streamline crop prices and offer
~6,000 a year dole to farmers, poor con-
sumer confidence has hit the market.
“People are overly cautious while tak-
ing purchasing decisions. Most con-
sumers are buying only when they need
and not what they can afford at the
moment,” said a sales manager with a
major FMCG company.
Wage growth too has been slack and
experts say this is a continuation of the
Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist
10.0
and director of India Ratings.
3.8 Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestle
6.2 India, said an impetus was needed.
“India has consistently posted stable
growth in the past few years with low
inflation. However, with inflationary
pressures now growing and the forecast
of a below-normal monsoon, farm
incomes will be affected. Giving an
impetus to rural households is the need
of the hour,” he said.
According to Kishore Biyani, founder
and CEO of the Future Group, ‘rural
incomes have to rise so that the con-
sumption slowdown in these markets
is addressed’. He added: “A revival pack-
age for rural areas will help and with a
stable government in power, I think, a lot
can happen.”
Anand Kripalu, managing director
and CEO, Diageo India, is hoping for
more reforms. “A stable government is
welcome for the nation and economy.
We hope in its second term the govern-
ment will usher in the next phase of
reforms. In sectors that contribute sig-
nificantly to state GDP (such as bever-
ages and alcohol), we look towards the
federal government to encourage states
to bring about comprehensive regula-
tory reform,” said Kripalu.
Nielsen has lowered its growth fore-
cast for the domestic consumer goods
market for the 2019 calendar year by 200
basis points, citing weak sentiment.
latory actions leading to
adverse audit observations and
warning letters.
“Businesses that digitalise
will have a huge competitive
advantage over others. At Cipla
we are leveraging new-age tec-
hnologies to drive efficiencies,”
said Kedar Upadhye, Cipla's
global chief financial officer.
The drugmaker has imple-
mented manufacturing-execu-
tion systems to provide real-
time feedback, automate
material flows, capture cost
information, and drive a paper-
less workflow, which reduces
waste and scrap.
“This was piloted this year
at our Patalganga plant and we
hope to roll out in other
facilities. Our fully digitised
Business to Business(B2B)
supplier network system was
implemented this year.
The tool has been used to pro-
cure direct and indirect mate-
rials worth ~260 crore,”
Upadhye said.
Cipla is the first company
in the Asia Pacific to upgrade to
a cloud-based pharmacovigi-
lance solution, which enables
enhanced compliance and
speeds up case reviews, he
WAY AHEAD
| Cipla using data analytics
and digital solutions for
improved doctor
engagement and cost
optimisation
| GSK Pharmaceuticals
increased hiring of experts
in data analytics
added. Pharmacovigilance
refers to analysing information
and data to prevent adverse
reactions from drugs.
Digital and data analytics
are bringing other benefits too.
PwC partner Sujay Shetty says
using data analytics is helping
drugmakers to improve distri-
bution, increase sales force
productivity, and effectively
manage working capital. For
companies, cost optimisation
is critical because growth is
under pressure because of
price erosion. Domestic sales
growth slowed to 7 per cent
year-on-year in May, the slow-
est in the last 17 months. In
June, domestic market growth
| Zydus Cadila using
digital tools for sales
improvements and
product development
| Tools helping companies
effectively manage
working capital,
reduce costs
was 6.6 per cent.
GSK Pharmaceuticals are
using the same tools to drive
customer insight and improve
engagement with doctors.
“Under our new marketing
model, we are accelerating the
use of credible scientific data,
data analytics, and digital tools
across our operations. We
increased the hiring of experts
in digital technology and data
analytics this year,” GSK
Pharmaceuticals said in its lat-
est annual report.
Zydus Cadila is using digital
applications for improvements
in supply chain process, prod-
uct development, and sales
and marketing.

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.
Sebi raises concerns over
rising corporate failures
The regulator asks firms to protect interests of minority shareholders
AVISHEK RAKSHIT
Kolkata, 3 August
F
ollowing the rise in corporate failures
over the past few months, the
Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) has flagged concerns on key
issues plaguing companies and recom-
mended corrective measures.
The primary issue, according to the
capital markets regulator, is related party
transactions (RPT) — being extensively
used by some companies to raise capital
for another firm.
The regulator feels that while RPTs serve
the promoter’s purpose to raise capital by
means of mortgage or extension of
loans/inter-corporate deposits, it goes
against the interest of minority sharehold-
ers. Moreover, it is being used as a means to
commit fraud.
“We have seen promoters use the RPT
route when their company is heading
towards insolvency,” said Amarjeet Singh,
executive director at Sebi, during an event
organised by the CII.
According to Singh, boards need to pro-
tect the interests of both minority and
majority stakeholders, and need to balance
the same.
The second aspect, which the markets
regulator said was plaguing the industry is
non-disclosure of valuation reports and
low transparency.
“There are concerns over adequacy and
transparency of the disclosures,” Singh said.
Sebi is of the view that some promoter
groups have been using a complex structure
of companies to conceal possible fraud that
is hard to detect and surfaces only at a time
of dire financial stress. Singh cited an inci-
‘Failure a tremendous experience’
PEERZADA ABRAR
Bengaluru, 3 August
At a time when business failure is still
considered a taboo in India, where risk-
taking is not encouraged the way it is in
the US’ Silicon Valley, Infosys co-founder
Nandan Nilekani said there is a need for a
social fabric that delinks failure from
entrepreneurs.
“You need a social fabric that delinks
failure from the person, and which
actually recognises that failure is a
tremendous experience likely (going) to
increase the probability of success the
next time around. This happens there (in
Silicon Valley),” Nilekani told co-
panellists Vinod Khosla (venture
capitalist) and Sharad Sharma (co-
founder of tech think-tank iSpirt), during
a fireside chat at a Bengaluru event.
“Here (India), the failure, the person and
institution all get entwined. And that
leads to consequences,” said Nilekani,
while responding to a question from
Sharma about tackling the stigma
associated with failure.
Reliance to buy 87.6% stake in Fynd
REUTERS The company said its whol-
New Delhi, 3 August ly-owned subsidiary Reliance
Industrial Investments and
Reliance Industries will Holdings has an option to fur-
acquire an 87.6 per cent stake ther invest up to ~1 billion by
in Shopsense Retail December 2021 in Fynd, a soft-
Technologies, also known as ware technology company
Fynd, for ~2.95 billion ($42.33 formed in September 2012. RIL
million), it said in a statement. already runs retail stores and
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MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019
BONE OF CONTENTION
| Related-party
transactions
| Non-disclosure of
valuation reports
| Transparency and
quality of
disclosures
| Use of complex
corporate structure
| Role of
independent
directors
dent in which a promoter group had float-
ed as many as 150 companies to hide “his
misdeeds”. Singh also called for more par-
ticipation from independent directors.
Economy to revive
Government and industry officials say that
while the current sluggishness is momen-
tary, one needs to consider ongoing invest-
ments and other parameters that will help
revive the economy.
Anand Mohan Bajaj, joint secretary (FM)
at the Centre’s department of economic
affairs, says an investment of ~1 trillion is
being lined up to boost rural infrastructure
to help the economy recover, while good
corporate governance norms, greater use
of technology, and fiscal prudence will help
India achieve its projection of becoming a
$5-trillion economy.
“I believe the target is very much
achievable. Low inflation, stable
exchange rate and an optimal GDP
“YOU NEED A SOCIAL FABRIC THAT DELINKS
FAILURE FROM THE PERSON, AND WHICH
ACTUALLY RECOGNISES THAT FAILURE IS A
TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE LIKELY TO INCREASE
THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS THE NEXT TIME
AROUND. THIS HAPPENS THERE (IN SILICON
VALLEY). HERE (INDIA), THE FAILURE, THE
PERSON AND INSTITUTION ALL GET ENTWINED.
AND THAT LEADS TO CONSEQUENCES”
NANDAN NILEKANI, co-founder, Infosys
Nilekani’s comments come at a time
when the demise of Coffee Day
Enterprises’ founder V G Siddhartha has
left India’s entrepreneurial community in
shock. Sharma pointed out that there are
many situations where entrepreneurs
end up relying on debt capital, which is
less forgiving when things go wrong, due
to shortage of equity capital — and this
leads to bad outcomes. He highlighted
that the Silicon Valley largely avoids debt
has announced plans to diver-
sify into e-commerce. Fynd pro-
vides technology platform and
solutions to merchants to man-
age their inventory and sales
across multiple demand chan-
nels for consumers, including
e-commerce platforms.
REUTERS
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COMPANIES 3 <
J&K Bank Q1 profit plummets 58% to ~21.8cr
N RESULTS CORNERN
Mangalore
Refinery’s posts
State-run Jammu & Kashmir Bank on Saturday reported a 58 per cent fall in its net profit to ~21.87 crore in
the first quarter of 2019-20 due to a rise in provisions for bad loans. The bank
had posted a net profit of ~52.59 crore in the April-June quarter of the
~547.85 cr Q1 loss
previous fiscal. Total income during the first quarter of 2019-20 rose to Mangalore Refinery and
~2,256.25 crore from ~1,897.24 crore in the same period of 2018-19, the bank Petrochemicals on
said in a release. On asset front, gross non performing assets fell to 8.48 per Saturday reported a
cent of gross advances as on June 2019, as against 9.83 per cent by June-end consolidated net loss of
2018. Net NPAs also came down to 4.36 per cent from 4.46 per cent a year ~547.85 crore for the first
ago. However, the provisioning for bad loans and contingencies moved up quarter ended on June 30,
to ~293.21 crore in the June quarter from ~255.01 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal. PTI 2019. The company had
reported a net profit of
~122.5 crore during the
LIC Housing Finance posts Aditya Birla Capital Q1 net April-June period of
previous fiscal.
7% rise in profit to ~609 cr profit up 27% to ~270 crore Revenue from
LIC Housing Finance on Saturday posted a 7.39 Aditya Birla Capital on Saturday reported a operations declined to
per cent increase in its consolidated net profit 27 per cent increase in consolidated profit after ~11,175.60 crore during the
at ~609.13 crore for the quarter ended on June tax (PAT) at ~270 crore for the first quarter ended period under review as
30. It had reported a net profit of ~567.18 crore June 30.The company had reported a PAT (after against ~16,846.09 crore
during the same period of FY19. Total revenue minority interest) of ~213 crore during the April- in the year-ago period,
from operations rose to ~4,815.57 crore for the June period of 2018-19. Revenue grew to ~3,962 Mangalore Refinery and
first quarter as against ~4,068.93 crore in the crore during the first quarter as against ~3,424 Petrochemicals said in a
year-ago period, LIC Housing Finance said. crore in the year-ago period, Aditya Birla regulatory filing.
PTI Capital said in a statement. PTI PTI
growth rate will help achieve the target,”
he said at the conference.
Ashishkumar Chauhan, managing
director and CEO of the BSE, said the cur-
rent sluggishness is momentary and growth
will return.
“These are temporary things — cycles
that come and go. Investments aren’t some-
thing that happen in one day; they take 10-
20 years,” he said.
According to Chauhan, investors who
stick to older ways of undertaking invest-
ments will have a “tough time” as the
world becomes enabled with better tech-
nology, and urged people to use modern
digital technologies to take informed deci-
sions. While acknowledging that volatili-
ty and uncertainty in the market has
increased, Chauhan said that in the next
50 years, the world will create so much
wealth it hasn’t done in the past “10,000
years”, and that India will account for 20-
25 per cent of that wealth.
capital. However, Khosla — a legendary
Silicon Valley investor — was of the view
that the more money an entrepreneur
raises initially, the less likely they are
going to succeed.
“If you get a lot of money, you start
executing without being enlightened
about the problem. My experience (says)
that less money actually makes you more
creative, and is more likely to create a
large breakthrough,” said Khosla.
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 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
4 YOUR MONEY
>
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 1

REAL ESTATE
BS TUTORIAL

Good for tenants and owners Jayant Pai

Financial literacy
1. Which is the only African country not to sign the African
Except issues like security deposit that might impact owners in some states, the Model be received as evidence of facts in
any court of law.
Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) ?
A. Eritrea
Tenancy Act has taken the right call on most things Vacate premises on time: The Act B. Nigeria
proposes to levy heavy charges on C. Kenya
SANDEEP JHUNJHUNWALA tenants who do not vacate on time. D. Mozambique
Under the provisions of Section 22,

T
he real estate environment in
India has been facing land
market distortions, including
inflexible zoning, rent control and
protected tenancies for a large
number of years. These were detri-
mental to the health of this mar-
ket. The earlier Rent Control Act
was an attempt by the government
to eliminate the exploitation of ten-
ants by landlords. However, in the
long run, these archaic laws have
gathered operational inefficiencies
and have led to several adverse sit-
uations, including weakening
investments in rental housing,
deteriorating municipal property
tax revenue, and so on.
Given the acute housing short-
age and to achieve the vision of
“Housing for All by 2022”, there was
a definite need to incentivise and
boost rental housing. The Finance
Minister, in her maiden Budget
speech of 2019, had also highlight-
ed that the current rental laws are
archaic, as they do not address the
relationship between the lessor and
the lessee realistically and fairly.
The Model Tenancy Act, 2019,
issued by the Centre, seeks to
address the distortions in India’s
rental markets and could help mod-
ernise it.
Applicable prospectively: The
for owners in cities such as
Bengaluru and Mumbai, where 10-
POSITIVE MOVES
„ Two months’ rent as
security deposit for
residential properties
„ Property owner has to give
three months’ notice before
increasing rent
„ Tenant has to agree/give
rent comes into effect. The tenant
should either accept the increased
notice to owner. Otherwise,
a landowner is entitled to get com- 2. Who holds the title of “Youngest self-made billionaire”,
pensation equal to double the currently?
monthly rent for two months, and A. Mark Zuckerberg
four times the monthly rent there-
B. Even Spiegel
after, for the use and occupation of
premises by a tenant who does not C. Kylie Jenner
vacate the premises after his ten- D. Jay Z
ancy has been terminated by order,
notice or according to agreement. 3. Which country has signed the largest number of regional
Trade Agreements?
Grievance redress mechanism: A. India
For disputes between owners and B. South Korea
tenants, the Model Act stipulates a
C. China,
robust grievance redress mecha-
nism comprising Rent Authority, D. Mexico
Rent Court and Rent Tribunal, set
up in specific areas, which will set- 4. Theodore Roosevelt propounded ‘The New Deal’ in the wake
tle disputes within 60 days. An offi- of ______________.
cer, not below the rank of Deputy A. Pearl Harbour
Collector, shall be appointed as B. Japan's defeat in World War II
Rent Authority, with the approval C. Wall Street Crash (1929)
of the state government. Rent
D. The Great Depression
Courts and Tribunals, with presid-
ing officers from the judicial serv-
ices background , have been vested
the powers of a civil court under
5. Which of these billionaires has not signed 'The Giving Pledge'
so far?
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. A. Larry Ellison
B. Jeff Bezos
Will states toe the line? The C. Elon Musk
Centre is confident that the states D. Azim Premji
and union territories will back the
Model Tenancy Act, 2019, and it on-board.
will not go the way in which the philanthropic causes. Bezos has yet to come
Real Estate (Regulation and
to contribute a majority of their wealth to
Development) Act was implement-
ed, with considerable dilutions and
5. B. It is a campaign to encourage wealthy people

Act will be applicable to premises
let out for residential, commercial
or educational use, but not for
industrial use. It also won’t cover
hotels, lodging houses, inns, etc.
This model law will be applied
prospectively and will not affect
12 months’ rental as security
deposit has been the norm.
Also, if a tenant defaults or causes
significant damage to the property,
a two-month security deposit
may not be enough to cover
the expenses that the property
rent or give notice for termination
of the agreement. If the tenant fails
to reply to the notice for an increase
in rent, he shall be deemed to have
accepted the increase proposed by
the landlord.
he shall be deemed to have
accepted the rent increase
„ After termination of
tenancy contract, a tenant
will be charged double the
rent in the first two months,
U-turns. All states have already giv-
en their commitments by signing
memorandum of understanding.
Under this, states will either enact
the same Act or align their existing
rental laws with it , once the Centre
comes up with the Model
Great Depression.
USA between 1933 and 1936 as an antidote to the
financial reforms, and regulations enacted in the
4. D. It was a series of programs, public work projects,
Japan was next with 17.
3. B. It had signed 18 such deals as of June 30, 2019.

existing tenancies.
Limits on security deposit: The
law tries to address the most com-
plex factor in a rental deal – securi-
ty deposit. The draft Act proposes
to cap the security deposit to a max-
imum of two months of rent in case
of residential properties and a min-
imum of one month’s rent in case of
non-residential properties.
The cap on security deposit
could become an acute pain-point
owner may incur in repair and over-
haul works.
Norms for increasing rent: The
draft Act also tries to address the
issue of how rent can be increased.
Section 9(2) of the model law pro-
vides that rent can either be
increased according to the terms
and conditions mentioned in the
agreement, or the land owner shall
be required to give a notice in writ-
ing three months before the revised
Inform the Authority: A form for
information of tenancy as pre-
scribed in the first schedule to the
model law needs to be filed with
the Rent Authority, along with
know your customer (KYC) docu-
ments of the owner and the tenant,
within two months of entering into
a rental agreement. A digital plat-
form will be set up in the local ver-
nacular language of the state for
submitting tenancy agreement and
other KYC documents. The Model
and four times thereafter, if
he does not vacate
„ Rent Authority,Rent Court
and Rent Tribunal to be to set up
to settle cases within 60 days
Act imposes that the information
filed with the Rent Authority shall
be taken as evidence of facts relat-
ed to the tenancy. In the absence of
any statement of information, the
tenancy agreement alone will not
Tenancy Act.
It remains to be seen to what
extent the states will toe the central
government’s line, as land remains
a state subject. If the states and
union territories are able to enforce
this novel legislation in letter and
spirit, it will go a long way towards
reviving the fortunes of the rental
market in India.
The writer is Director, Nangia Advisors
(Andersen Global)
milestone in March 2019.
and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, when she crossed the
2. C. Kylie, who is 21 surpassed Facebook co-founder
of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
terms of participating countries since the formation
Union (AU) nations. It is the largest in the world in
1. A. It is a free trade area, among 54 of the 55 African
Solutions
The quiz master is head - marketing, PPFAS Mutual Fund
Send your queries and feedback at yourmoney@bsmail.in

FROM PAGE 1 India takes up trade deficit

Wrong to project us as villains, hard-pressed. “If you look at all the recent frauds, NCLT
say PE leaders cases or bankruptcies, the only real losers are investors
(retail and institutions) and lenders,” Sain says.
The bottom-line is that debt per se isn’t an evil.
“Leverage is a very important wheel of financing.
Therefore, a leverage product itself cannot be coloured
as bad. Just as equity investing vide stock markets itself
can result in missteps when investors use tools such as
leveraged positions, margins, forwards, if risks are not
well mitigated” Ramnath says.
corporate social responsibility.” issue with RCEP members
Credit Suisse began a neurodiversity hiring program
at its Research Triangle Park facility in North Carolina
nine months ago. It has two autistic employees, is about
to hire a third, and has seven going through a 12-week
apprenticeship program, said Rosemary Lissenden, an IT
director at the bank. The two hires are developing
machine-learning algorithms to improve client service
for Credit Suisse’s investment banking business.
“They work intensely,” Ms. Lissenden said. “They
spend long hours in intense concentration. Their brains
like that sort of work and they don’t get tired.”

A few days ago, Helios Capital founder Samir Arora said
in a tweet that although PE investors buy shares, they
were actually debt investors disguised as equity
investors, who seek minimum guaranteed returns on
investments and then mislead the larger public.
A leading PE executive, who requested not to be
named, says he “completely disagrees” with that view.
“Private equity players take an equity risk and do not, in
any way, mix equity and debt. There is a conceptual con-
flict if both are mixed. There could be cases where debt
investors disguise themselves as equity investors, but
that is not the norm in private equity, and certainly not
so with larger established players,” he says, adding that
even for those who engage in such transactions, the
terms and structures are laid out for promoters to see.
Renuka Ramnath, founder and CEO of Multiples
Alternate Asset Management, says while she sees her
fund as purist and doesn’t do debt, she has no issues with
anyone who does.
“Anyone who takes debt or debt-like products is
expected to be responsible to understand the obliga-
tions that come with that product. While you take debt
in good times, if the market changes for the worse, you
are caught in a situation where you are staring at busi-
ness deceleration, liquidity crunch, falling share prices,
and business headwinds, all coming together,” she says.
Problems don’t arrange themselves in a row and show
up one after the other. They arise together, making it
impossible for a debt-ridden company to come out of the
crisis. Therefore, before assuming debt in a company, one
needs to look at the worst-case scenario and then assess
how much leverage can be sustained. However, the ten-
dency is to take as much leverage as available without as
much focus on sustainability, according to her.
Another PE analyst points out that it’s a generalisa-
tion to suggest that most PEs have a credit business.
There are many, he adds, who just don't do it. “It’s not
opportunistic, but more to do with the thesis of that par-
ticular fund and that particular company.”
No one forces anyone to make one choice versus
another. If all leverage products were bad, then the stock
market would be equally responsible for a number of
casualties, Ramnath says.
If a promoter wants to pledge his shares and borrow
at a very high cost and provide guaranteed returns, then
it is the choice of that promoter and for the fund/insti-
tution which is lending or investing to price and agreed
terms. “These are not retail transactions with unsophis-
ticated individual borrowers,” Sain adds. “To make a
capital provider the villain after you take their money
and are unable to live up to the terms agreed is not cor-
rect in my opinion.”
In light of all the companies that have gone bust in the
last year, it’s not only entrepreneurs who have been
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
Jet bid deadline extended
to Aug 10
It said requests were received from "prima facie credible
interested resolution applicants."
"The proposed extension is to ensure the objectives of
the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are achieved and
we are able to maximise the value of the assets of the cor-
porate debtor and achieve a better outcome for all the
stakeholders in this fast-track process," it said.
People with autism are hot
hires for AI jobs
Ian Nancarrow, a 31-year-old who has Asperger syn-
drome, a type of autism, joined EY’s Chicago office in
January. He has an associate degree in interactive media
and previously lived with his parents in Michigan, simul-
taneously working three jobs: package delivery, fast food
and remote beta-testing of electronic products.
Today, he is an EY account support associate, knows
six programming languages, and writes code for algo-
rithms that monitor regulatory compliance for the firm.
“I have the ability to learn really well,” Mr. Nancarrow
said in a phone interview. “I can basically analyse and
iterate what I’ve learned so I can reference it and recall
it, from front to back.”
Hiring staff with autism, said Mr. Shukla, “is a busi-
ness imperative for EY. We don’t look at it as charity or
https://t.me/Banking4Exams
One of the workers, Kenneth Clark Johnson, is a
robotics engineer in global markets technology process
automation and quality control. Mr. Johnson said one
aspect of his job is applying machine-learning models to
extract and classify data from unstructured emails and
attachments to populate a database that is used by
traders. Mr. Johnson, who responded to questions by
email, said that he brings “a new perspective to my
team” and that he works with “exceptional speed PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
and efficiency.” New Delhi, 3 August
India has told China that the pro-
Majority see 25-bp cut, posed mega free trade agreement
by RCEP should address the causes
more can be in store of high trade imbalances among
member countries, the commerce
ministry said on Saturday.
The matter was among the issues
raised by Commerce Secretary Anup
Wadhawan in his meeting with Wang
Shouwen, the Vice Minister of China’s
Commerce Ministry, on the sidelines
of the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) inter-
sessional ministerial meeting in
Beijing, on Friday.
In his meeting, the secretary
“emphasised on the importance of
an RCEP agreement that would
duly address the causes of existing
trade imbalances,” the Commerce
and Industry Ministry said in a
statement. Wadhawan is in Beijing
for the eighth RCEP inter-sessional
ministerial meeting.
While inflation remains under control, “the need A joint statement issued after the
for more monetary stimulus to support growth is quite two-day RCEP ministerial meeting
clear, even as past rate actions gradually translate said the ministers noted that over
into lower lending rates and help drive a recovery,” two-thirds of market access negoti-
Kapur said. ations have reached mutually satis-
Kapur, along with other economists, expects it would factory outcomes, and that work on
be important to ensure comfortable liquidity condi- the remaining areas are being
tions to help improve the flow of credit and to help bank intensified through constructive
transmit the policy rate cuts. engagements at all levels.
The bond yields, meanwhile, have fully factored in a Determined to keep the momen-
rate cut, and have fallen about 60 bps in July. According tum towards achieving the Leaders’
to Ramkamal Samanta, vice president, investment, at mandate to conclude the RCEP
SUD Life Insurance, a 25-bp cut at this point would be negotiations by the end of the year,
desirable, “with a clear communication about the liq- the ministers "called on all mem-
uidity stance of the RBI”. bers to find pragmatic and solution-
Apart from cutting rates and lowering growth fore- oriented approaches to narrow
casts, the RBI policy might announce some concrete divergence on the various remain-
steps for the NBFC segment as well, said Rupa Rege ing issues”, the statement said.
Nitsure, group chief economist of L&T Finance. Covering 47.4 per cent of global
However, despite rate cuts, there is no guarantee population, 32.2 per cent of the
that consumers could be made to buy goods, or com- global economy, 29.1 per cent of
panies to invest in new projects, economists fear. global trade, and 32.5 per cent of
“It remains to be seen how much rate cuts help in global investment flows in 2018, the
reviving demand in the economy,” said Devendra Pant, ministers emphasised that RCEP is
chief economist of India Ratings and Research. the most important trade agenda
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
in the region, supportive of an
open, inclusive, and rules-based
trading system, and an enabling
trade and investment environment,
it said.
The RCEP bloc comprises 10
ASEAN group members (Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand,
The Philippines, Laos and
Vietnam), and their trade partners
India, China, Japan, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand.
India registered a trade deficit in
FY19 with as many as 11 RCEP
member countries — including
China, South Korea and Australia
— out of the grouping of 16 nations
that are negotiating a mega trade
pact since November 2012.
In FY19, India’s trade deficit
with China stood at $50.2 billion.
“India’s concerns regarding
market access and other issues
leading to imbalanced trade
between some of the partner coun-
tries was specifically flagged during
the meetings,” the ministry said.
The secretary also raised bilat-
eral trade issues with the Chinese
minister. India has sought greater
market access from China for its
products like sugar, rice and phar-
maceuticals to narrow the high
trade deficit.
Besides, he asked for easing of
the business visa regime by China
for Indians.
In his meeting with Boonyarit
Kalayanamit, Permanent Secretary
of Thailand, the Secretary request-
ed Thailand to improve its offer in
goods and services under RCEP.
Wadhawan requested Chan
Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and
Industry of Singapore, to support
operationalisation of the mutual
recognition agreement on nursing
as agreed in the 2nd CECA, a kind
of free trade agreement, review and
work towards speedy progress on
the 3rd CECA review.
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
6 ECONOMY
>
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 1

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS BINAY SINHA

Rishad Premji has become the chairman
of Wipro, taking over, in a low-key
handover ceremony, from father Azim
Premji, who will continue to be on the
board of Wipro
Chairman N Chandrasekaran announced at
Tata Motors’ 74th annual general meeting
that the automaker would launch as many
as four new electric vehicles in India over
the next 12-18 months
PM-KISAN beneficiary Auto slowdown
hits insurers
target may be missed SUBRATA PANDA
Mumbai, 3 August
premiums have seen 9.3 per cent
growth, despite the insurance regula-
tor increasing the premiums recently.
SANJEEB MUKHERJEE The slowdown in the Indian auto Subramanyam Brahmajosyula, head
New Delhi, 3 August industry has cast a shadow on the busi- (underwriting and reinsurance), SBI
ness of non-life insurers. The motor General Insurance, said: “The notifi-
As more and more states send in insurance segment — largest contrib- cation of increase in motor third-party
their list of beneficiaries under the utor to general insurers’ revenues — premiums was issued by the regula-
flagship PM-KISAN scheme, offi- has seeing muted growth of late. Hopes tor in June 2019 and hence the full
cials say that as of now it seems the of a recovery depend much on an impact of the increase will be seen in
final number of beneficiary farm- improvement in customer sentiment, Q2 onwards. However, as the proposed
ers may not exceed 110 million. which could lead to revival in demand increases are relatively moderate and
This is significantly lower than for new vehicles. since motor TP insurance is compul-
the earlier calculation at 146 mil- Premiums collected from the sory, they expect an overall increase
lion, of which 125 million com- motor insurance segment contribute in motor insurance premiums”.
prised small and marginal ones that close to 38 per cent to the overall col- “Slowdown in sales of new vehicles
held less than 2 hectares of land. lection from various segments, for the has impacted the growth in premiums
The earlier estimates were based non-life industry. In the June quarter, in the motor insurance segment.
on the 2015-16 agriculture census. growth in the segment stood at around However, the expected rise in sales
The low number of beneficiaries 4 per cent, with premium collection during the festive season should be
could also mean that the Centre’s at ~15,724 crore against ~15,074 crore in able to negate the impact of this
entire allocation of ~75,000 crore for Under PM-KISAN, the government gives income support of ~6,000 per year the same period of FY19. This was the decline to a certain extent. Further,
the scheme in 2019-20 may not be in three equal installments to all identified farmers to supplement their lowest growth in the last five quarters, the second half of the year should be
required and there could be sub- input cost requirement starting from Q1FY19. relatively better for motor vehicle sales
stantial savings on that front. In FY19, the motor insurance seg- and therefore motor insurers. Also, the
Under PM-KISAN, the govern- to over ~87,000 crore. That apart, West Bengal isn’t par- ment saw 9 per cent growth, with pre- recent increase in motor third-party
ment gives income support of ~6,000 However, officials said since then, ticipating in the scheme, which clear- mium collection at ~64,000 crore insurance premium rates should pos-
per year in three equal installments as the states started sending their list ly removes around few million ben- against ~59,000 crore in FY18. itively impact the industry GWP trend
to all identified farmers to supple- of beneficiaries, the actual number of eficiaries in one go, the official said. “Most of the manufacturers across going forward,” said Sanjay Datta,
ment their input cost requirement. farmers seems lower than the agri- Of the expected 100 million ben- private cars, two-wheelers, and com- Chief (underwriting and claims), at ICI-
The scheme was announced in culture census 2015-16. eficiaries expected to become part of mercial vehicles have shown continu- CI Lombard.
the interim Budget of 2019-20 by the This is also attributed to insuffi- PM-KISAN, officials said so far names ous negative sales trend for the past
Narendra Modi government just cient land records, land not mutated of 80 million have already been few months. This slowdown has BUMPY RIDE
ahead of the 2019 general elections in the name of the original holder, uploaded in the official portal and impacted motor insurance adversely, „ Motor insurance premiums in Q1
with an initial allocation presence of joint hold- payment of nearly 60 million of them as insurance from new vehicles con- grew 4%, lowest in last five quarters
of ~75,000 crore. ings in land and also have been made. tributes a significant part,” said
States have to identify The final number farmers not willing to The remaining 20 million names Gurneesh Khurana, president and „ Fire, health and other segments
the beneficiaries based of beneficiary reveal their land details. are pending for correction in all the country head (motor business), Bajaj saw decent growth
on their land records and farmers is unlikely In some states like installments of which almost 0.7 Allianz General Insurance. „ Experts believe muted growth
other documents, to exceed 110 Jharkhand, where most million transactions have failed, 60 While the overall segment saw 4
trend likely to continue
including bank accounts million against tribal land is governed by per cent of which is due to NEFT per cent growth, the own-damage seg-
and upload the list in a the expectation Santhal Pargana Tenancy failure and pending KYC at the bank ment in motor insurance declined 2.2 „ Revival might kick in in Q3
central portal. Once the of 145 million Act and Chhota Nagpur level. per cent, with premium collection at „ Expected once BS-IV and BS-VI
list is uploaded and veri- Tenancy Act, it is the Officials said all payments for ~6,339 crore in Q1FY20 against ~6,546 transition along with inventory
fied by banks and others, the money responsibility of the revenue officer pending transactions will be made crore in the same period of FY19.
adjustments take place
gets transferred. to verify the land records and actual as soon as issues get sorted out at On the contrary, the third-party
Earlier, the income support was beneficiary under the scheme. the local level and in case any of
meant for only small and marginal Such is the case for North-East the installments gets skipped, it is
farmers (those who hold less than 2 states as well. paid as arrears to the farmer.
hectares of land), but through a cab- “For example in the case of Officials said the number of 100-
inet decision in May 2019, it was Karnataka, the total number of ben- 110 million final beneficiaries under
expanded to cover all farmers irre- eficiaries according to the PM-KISAN also looks plausible
spective of the size of their land- Agriculture Census 2015-16 should because according to the soil health
holdings. have been 8.7 million. But the state card records, India has around 104
This raised the total number of has sent a list of only 6.3 million million farmers who have proper
beneficiary farmers to 146 million farmers. In Kerala, against an esti- land records and titles.
from the earlier estimated 125 mil- mated 7.5 million beneficiaries as per In the output and outcome budg-
lion as mentioned in the agriculture the census, the state has furnished et of 2019-20, the Centre has said that
census of 2015-16 and also increased details of around 3.5 million benefi- it plans to target 100 million farmers
the total expenditure for the scheme ciaries,” a senior official said. under PM-KISAN.

HEALTH
>
1

FIT & PROPER Sesame allergy more common One in 10 older adults
Your weekly health guide
binge drinks: Study
Regular exercising than once thought, says report ERIC ATHAS people in the U.S. who cur- reaction, it is important to get it
EMILY S RUEB
3 August
drinking as consuming five or
more drinks in a sitting for

is essential for 3 August

At least one million children

rently probably have a sesame
allergy and therefore are avoid-
ing sesame in their daily lives,”
diagnosed, because you want
to make sure it really is an aller-
gy to that food before you
Excessive alcohol consumption
is not safe for a person at any
men, and four or more drinks
in a sitting for women. And a
drink equalled a can or bottle of

women after 30s and adults in the United States

VIKAS JAIN,
MD, Anytime Fitness
Ageing is an experience that
comes with different advan-
tages and disadvantages for
each human being. For some,
they will present themselves
sooner rather than later. Few
people may not even feel any
aches and pains however for
few health becomes a major
concern. This is probably
because exercise has been an
important part of their daily
routine and with modern
lifestyle; people tend to avoid
regular exercises.
It's no secret that moving
more helps us to be fitter and
healthier. Few modern
research and records show that
only 30 minutes of exercise
each day can boost one's over-
all health and well-being for a
longer period of time.
Exercising regularly has ample
of benefits for body, mind and
soul especially after 30s'.
Different exercises have differ-
ent impacts on human body; It
can reduce fat, stress and cho-
lesterol, improve body func-
tions, prevent diabetes and
boost self-confidence.
Women are undoubtedly
very efficient in comparison
with men and they do have
proven the same at each step
but being physically frailer than
men, should take their health
more seriously. In the course of
completing her responsibilities
duly, a woman skips her food
which might not make a huge
difference when she is in her
20s but can easily haunt in her
30s. Thanks to the penetration
of internet and education that
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
women have started taking
their health seriously.
Now the question arises
that why it is so important for a
woman to do physical activi-
ties when she enters in her 30s.
When you grow old, your body
becomes really weak and it can
easily be haunted by diseases.
To start something new,
everyone needs encourage-
ment and motivation. It's on us
to realize that what motivate us
to move. It shall be fair to say
that being in her 30s for a wom-
an is the beginning of her adu-
lthood. When you are in your
30s, you are well- settled in your
job, most probably in a rela-
tionship and for few a must
time to plan a family. To keep
everything in shape with a he-
althy living and to avoid rough
40s, a woman must exercise.
Unlike women in their 20s,
women in their 30s have to con-
tend with a changing body,
making weight loss and even
weight maintenance more
challenging. As a woman ages,
she needs fewer calories to sus-
tain her as metabolism natu-
rally slows and she begins to
lose lean muscle. For a com-
mon 30-year-old woman,
workout plans need to focus on
building muscle all over, in
addition to cardio exercises like
cycling, running and walks.
Workout plans for women
at age 35 need to include two to
three strength-training sessions
as the muscle's endu-
rance/strength post 30 tends to
weaken. Also engaging in car-
dio intervals three to five days
per week to boost caloric burn;
you can walk, jog, cycle or use
an elliptical for cardio intervals.
Add one day of moderate- or
high-intensity cardio lasting 45
to 60 minutes and one day of
rest to your week.
At this stage people are
much more susceptible to back
pain. It's very important to
work on glute and core
strength. Make sure you
address the target areas before
you get pain.
are allergic to sesame, an
ingredient used in everything
from hummus to snack bars,
researchers reported on Friday.
The finding indicates that
sesame allergy is more preva-
lent than previously known,
although still far less common
than peanut allergy. But
sesame is not among the aller-
gens that the Food and Drug
Administration requires man-
ufacturers to list on food labels.
“Sesame allergy is becom-
ing a common allergy in the
U.S.,” said Dr. Ruchi S. Gupta, a
professor of pediatrics at
Northwestern Medicine in
Chicago and senior author of
the study, which was pub-
lished in the journal JAMA
Network Open. “The impact
on over a million people in the
U.S. is significant.”
A brain scan may predict alzheimer’s. Should you get one?
PAULA SPAN
3 August
Juli Engel was delighted when a
neurologist recommended a PET
scan to determine whether amyloid
— the protein clumps associated
with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s
disease — was accumulating in her
mother’s brain.
“My internal response was, ‘Yay!’”
said Engel, 65, a geriatric care
manager in Austin, Tex., who has
been making almost monthly trips to
help her mother in Florida. “He’s
using every tool to try to determine
what’s going on.”
Sue Engel, who’s 83 and lives in a
retirement community in Leesburg,
Fla., has been experiencing memory
problems and other signs of
cognitive decline for several years.
Her daughter checked off the
warning signs: her mother has been
financially exploited, suffered an
insurance scam, caused an auto
accident.
Medicare officials decided in
2013, shortly after PET (positron
emission tomography) amyloid
imaging became available, that they
said Christopher M. Warren,
an epidemiologist at the
Northwestern Center for Food
spend your life avoiding that
food,” she said. Currently, the
federal government requires
age, but it is particularly dan-
gerous for older adults.
And according to a study
beer, a glass of wine or a wine
cooler, a shot of liquor, or a
mixed drink with liquor in it.
Allergy and Asthma Research manufacturers to tell con- published this week, about one Dr. Han’s group analysed
and lead author of the study. sumers when a product was in 10 older adults is considered data from the annual U.S.
Exposure to a food allergen made using any of eight aller- a binge drinker. National Survey on Drug Use
like sesame can lead to an ana- gens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, “Binge drinking, even and Health between 2015 and
phylactic reaction, including peanuts, wheat, soybeans and episodically or infrequently, 2017. In all, the findings includ-
throat swelling and a drop in tree nuts. Consumers can find may negatively affect other ed 10,927 adults aged 65 or old-
The study relied on online blood pressure. Severe reac- those allergens printed in the health conditions by exacer- er who reported their drinking
and phone survey responses tions can be fatal. ingredients list or in a special bating disease, interacting with habits in the previous 30 days.
from 40,453 adults and 38,408 Among people with a warning. prescribed medications and The group did not include
children. People who have had sesame allergy, 62 percent said But sesame, which Dr. complicating disease manage- adults living in long-term-care
at least one symptom of they had a prescription for epi- Gupta referred to as “the ninth ment,” said Dr. Benjamin Han, facilities or nursing homes, Dr.
sesame allergy made up an nephrine, the injected medi- most common allergen,” was- the lead author of the study that Han added.
estimated 0.23 percent of the cine used to ease an allergic n’t part of the 2004 law that was published on Wednesday The prevalence of binge
population, Dr. Gupta and her reaction. Of those with an epi- mandated the labeling. in the Journal of the American drinking among adults 65 and
colleagues found. nephrine prescription, about Consumers cannot know for Geriatrics Society. older is still relatively low com-
Those who have been diag- one third said they had used certain whether food at the Alcohol is also a risk factor pared with other age groups,
nosed with the allergy but the medication at some point. grocery store has sesame in it. for injury, Dr. Han said, but the Dr. Han said. Over 38 percent of
have never experienced a Many people in the survey Even if sesame were used as consequences and recovery college-aged adults, 18 to 25,
symptom accounted for an reported symptoms of sesame an ingredient, it might be from a fall are much more seri- had recently drunk excessively,
estimated 0.11 percent of the allergy but were never actual- described as “natural flavours” ous for an 81-year-old than a 21- the highest prevalence of any
population. ly diagnosed, Dr. Gupta noted. or “spices.” year-old. age group.
“That’s about 1.1 million “If you eat a food and have a ©2019 The New York Times News Service The study defined binge ©2019 The New York Times News Service
lacked evidence of its health benefits. lifetime risk of developing
So outside of research trials, Alzheimer’s dementia; for a
Medicare doesn’t cover the scans’ woman that age, with a longer life
substantial costs ($5,000 to $7,000, expectancy, the figure is about 24
the Alzheimer’s Association says); percent.
private insurers don’t, either. That’s primarily because
Juli Engel thinks Medicare Alzheimer’s rates climb steeply at
should reimburse for the scan, but “if older ages, when people grow more
necessary, we’ll pay for it out of likely to die of other causes before
pocket,” she said. they can develop symptoms. (With
Her mother already has an additional biomarkers, or with the
Alzheimer’s diagnosis and is taking condition called mild cognitive
a commonly prescribed dementia impairment, the lifetime risk rises.)
drug. So she probably doesn’t meet But older people may also be
the criteria developed by the among the 30 percent or so of those
Alzheimer’s Association and with amyloid deposits who, for
nuclear medicine experts, which unexplained reasons, retain normal
call for PET scans only in cases of for amyloid that can predict the disease. “My hope is we’ll think hard cognition.
unexplained or unusual symptoms development of plaques in the about the unintended downsides.” “If we start treating everyone with
and unclear diagnoses. brain, but it is years away from use What downsides? Amyloid preclinical Alzheimer’s, we’ll treat a
But as evidence mounts that in doctors’ offices. plaques occur commonly in older lot of people who would never have
brain damage from Alzheimer’s Some experts fear PET scans people’s brains, but not everyone gone on to have dementia at all,” Dr.
begins years before people develop offer few benefits, at substantial with amyloid will develop Langa said.
symptoms, worried patients and costs. “There are lots of incentives, dementia, which probably involves Moreover, what treatments
their families may start turning to including financial incentives, for multiple factors. Nor does a would those be? Multiple trials have
PET scans to learn if they have this doing more testing and negative PET scan mean someone failed to find drugs that prevent,
biomarker. interventions,” said Dr. Kenneth won’t develop dementia. reverse or slow Alzheimer’s
They have few alternatives. Langa, a researcher at the University Biostaticians at the University disease, perhaps because these
Scientists at Washington University of Michigan and author of a recent of California, Los Angeles, have treatments were introduced too
in St. Louis announced on Thursday article in JAMA Internal Medicine calculated that a 75-year-old man late in the disease’s course.
that they’ve developed a blood test about diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s with amyloid has a 17.2 percent ©2019 The New York Times News Service
https://t.me/Banking4Exams https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

.
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 IN DEPTH 7 <

Universal health care is priority, but care are considered, the density comes down to
15.8 per 10,000 — seven workers fewer than the
2006 WHO standards. The older standard con-
tinues to be used because only developed coun-

health system is under-staffed

tries meet the 2016 standards.
The problem of unqualified medical profes-
sionals is not unique to India: China, Bangladesh,
Uganda and Australia also face this deficit.
However, not allowing these unqualified prac-
titioners to practice would be difficult to enforce
in a country like India, said Avani Kapur, direc-
Swagata Yadavar on where India’s health care system stands in light of the ambitious national health protection scheme, or tor of Accountability Initiative, a public policy
think-tank. It may result in many communities
the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) having no access to any health care at all.
“Instead, recognising that we have a large infor-

W
hile the Indian government has
promised improved and universal
health care, a new study has point-
ed out that the country’s health
care system is under-staffed, does not meet glob-
al standards for density and is largely unquali-
fied to meet rural health needs.
“We will make Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY and
health and wellness centres into a people’s move-
ment,” union health minister Harsh Vardhan
told the media as he took charge of his min-
istry on June 3, 2019, referring to the prime min-
ister’s national health protection programme,
the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
Launched in September 2018, PMJAY, the
national health protection scheme, offers
insurance of up to ~5 lakh to 100 million poor
households to reduce “catastrophic expens-
es” and aims to move India towards universal
health coverage.
However, it may be difficult to achieve these
ambitions given the shortcomings pointed out in
a study published in BMJ Open, an open-
access medical journal, on May 27, 2019. The
density of doctors, nurses and midwives per
10,000 population was 20.6 in 2016, up from 19
in 2011-12 — calculated using National Sample
Survey Office (NSSO) data — said the study,
which also used (registry) data from profession-
al associations such as the Medical Council of
India, Indian Association of Physiotherapists,
Indian Nursing Council and the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare.
New medical, nursing and paramedical tech-
nical education institutes that cropped up over
the decade to 2016 were responsible for the
increased numbers. “However, this rise is still
not enough to meet the minimum standards set
by the WHO [World Health Organization] which
is 22.8 health workers per 10,000 population,”
said Anup Karan, additional professor at the
Indian Institute of Public Health, run by the
Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), a
Delhi-based advocacy. “About 250,000 health
workers are needed to meet this requirement.”
Ensuring that the health care system is fully
staffed is important because of India’s many
health crises, some of which include: 17 per cent
of maternal deaths globally; increasing cases of
non-communicable diseases, which accounted
for 61 per cent of deaths in 2016; and an ongo-
ing struggle to control communicable diseases
such as leprosy and malaria. Since most Indians
pay out of pocket for health expenses, millions
slip into poverty every year because of health
catastrophes they cannot afford, as IndiaSpend
reported in July 2018.
Health care workforce: ‘Most severe crisis’
As we said earlier, according to the WHO norms
of 2006, there should be a minimum of 22.8
health workers — including 10 doctors — per
10,000 population: India has 20.6 doctors, nurs-
es and midwives per 10,000 population, and no
more than 5.9 allopathic doctors, according to
the NSSO.
The Global Health Workforce Alliance, cre-
ated to address health workforce shortage crisis,
and the WHO in 2006 categorised India among
57 countries facing the “most severe crisis” with
regard to health care human resources.
Ten years later, in 2016, the WHO revised
its norms to 44.5 health care workers per 10,000,
needed to achieve sustainable development
goals and universal health coverage. This is
almost double of India’s current health care
workforce numbers.
In 2016, India had a health care workforce of
3.8 million, including nurses, mid-wives, doc-
tors, paramedical professionals, health assis-
tants and non-medical personnel, such as
administrative and housekeeping staff. Rural
India and the eastern states had an even lower
density — an average of 17.
However, these estimates do not include
790,000 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), vil-
lage-level female health care workers, who are
vital to India’s primary health care system. “This
is because ANMs are not recognised as nurses
according to international standards,” said
Karan from the Indian Institute of Public Health.
Initial steps to give ANMs internationally-
recognised training and licenses are under way
in Telangana, as IndiaSpend reported in
February 2019, and could be scaled up as well as
replicated in other parts of the country. If ANMs
are counted, India has 29 health care workers per
10,000, higher than the 2006 WHO norm for
human resources for health but still 14.5 workers
below its 2016 benchmark.
There was a 1.2 million gap between the num-
ber of health workers registered and the data
reported by the NSSO. The density of doctors,
nurses and midwives was 26.7 using registry data,
the gap being attributed to the fact
that 20 per cent of these health pro- Nearly 19 per cent of
fessionals may be registered but are those who are
currently not employed in the graduate in medicine
health care workforce, said the and 31 per cent of
study. those with a diploma
India’s missing women health or certificate in
workers medicine are not in
Much of this shortfall can be attrib- the workforce
uted to the missing women in
India’s health care workforce, said the study.
Nearly 19 per cent of those who are “graduate
in medicine” and 31 per cent of those with a
“diploma or certificate in medicine” are not in
the workforce. Among women, 26 per cent grad-
uates in medicine and 46 per cent of those who
hold diplomas or certificates in medicine are
out of the workforce.
Between men and women, there is an
employment difference of more than seven per-
centage points in employment among gradu-
ates and 30 percentage points among those with
certificates or diplomas in medicine. With regard
to vocational training in health and paramedical
services, the proportion of men out of the work-
force is greater than women.
“It is noticed that most women in their most
productive age face challenges in being in the
workforce due to marriage and
childcare,” said Karan, and often
their families have reservations
about their profession.
“Just getting the trained
women in the workforce will help
India bridge the gap in health
worker density to an extent and
improve the situation,” he said. Of
the 25-35 per cent of women out of
the workforce, it would be possible
to get at least half of them back through gender-
sensitive policies, he said.
Available but not trained
Not all of India’s currently working health pro-
fessionals are trained: 54 per cent of all health
care workers, including 25 per cent of allopath-
ic doctors, had “inadequate or no training”, the
study said.
The proportion of unqualified workers
among the health care workforce is similar
across the board: pharmacists (62 per cent);
health associate professionals, including dieti-
cians, optometrists and physiotherapy assis-
tants (62 per cent); nurses and midwives (58 per
cent); and physiotherapist, diagnostician and
others (45 per cent).
If only human resources qualified for health
mal network and ensuring training would defi-
nitely help since for a large part of India's primary
health care system, very qualified degrees are
not needed for basic outpatient care,” she said.
Conducting training programmes for infor-
mal health care providers could improve the
quality of care, a 2016 study in West Bengal
had found, so that more patients would consult
them, increasing their income.
The present study suggested that traditional
birth attendants, snakebite healers and bone set-
ters, often the first point of contact for rural pop-
ulations but unqualified as health professionals,
could be brought into the “mainstream” by reg-
istering them. Also, dais (traditional midwives)
could be registered with the government and
allowed to deliver babies, while many other work-
ers could be registered as paramedical personnel.
However, there is no clear policy on these
workers in India, the paper noted.
The great lag in eastern, central India
With seven health care workers per 10,000 pop-
ulation, Jharkhand possesses India’s worst
health care-workers density, according to the
study. Many central and eastern states are sim-
ilar: 11 (per 10,000) in Assam, 12 in Madhya
Pradesh, 20 in Odisha, 23 in Bihar and 25 in the
northeastern states. An exception is West Bengal,
which has a density higher than the national
average with 36 health workers per 10,000.
With 67 health workers, Delhi has the highest
density in India, followed by Kerala (66), the union
territories (62), Punjab (52) and Haryana (44).
“There is an urgent need to open more med-
ical institutions in the eastern states of India,”
said Karan. “Most of these institutions are in the
south and the west, which is why doctors from
the eastern states end up going there and often
don’t return. If more institutes opened in other
parts of the country, chances are that the doctors
will stay back in their own states.”
Most southern Indian states have higher
health-worker densities than the all-India aver-
age of 29, except Andhra Pradesh with 25 per
10,000, according to the study.
There are rural-urban disparities too. Despite
being home to 71 per cent of India’s population,
rural India has 36 per cent of its health workers,
with densities being especially low for dental
practitioners (3.2 per cent) and physiotherapists,
diagnosticians and others (14.7 per cent); 34 per
cent of doctors and 33 per cent of nurses, respec-
tively, serve in rural India.
Predominantly private
Health care in India is driven by private care
providers, with 72.4 per cent of the country’s
health workforce being engaged in the private
sector, according to the study.
Almost all (93.6 per cent) AYUSH practition-
ers (Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy
practitioners), 91.7 per cent of dental practition-
ers, 80.4 per cent of allopathic practitioners and
55.3 per cent of nurses and midwives, practice in
the private sector.
Private health care in India includes for-
profit and nonprofit hospitals and private
practitioners: 53 per cent of all health workers
are self-employed, and only six per cent are
employed in large corporate health care
companies.
( Swagata Yadavar is a special correspondent with
IndiaSpend)

IMO

hypocritical) to claim it dsn't mix religion with

food. It fusses over religious clients' halal/Jain
food. Curious if it does for all, eg a religious Sikh
wanting non halal meat
For freedom, Japan’s women drop marriage
More women than ever are part of the Japanese workforce but cultural norms have not changed
MOTOKO RICH to government estimates. It was the
sixth straight year of decline in the

UNNAO RAPE CASE
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra@priyankagandhi
Grateful to the SC for taking cognisance of the
‘Jungle Raj’ being unleashed in U.P. Meanwhile,
the BJP finally acknowledges having empowered a
criminal and takes some action to correct itself and
move in the direction of justice for a young
woman who has suffered immeasurably.
Barkha Dutt@BDUTT
Isn't it extraordinary that the UP opposition is
tweeting on #Unnao but has failed to make it a
mass street protest. A tweet, no matter how clever,
is no substitute for the mobilisation of people. It is
Citizen rage that's compelled court action in
transferrring case out of UP
Umar Khalid@UmarKhalidJNU
Sacking Sengar won't undo what the #Unnao
survivor has gone through. It won't bring back her
father or relatives. It won't end her trauma & pain.
Instead, we need to demand action against all
those who provided support to Sengar all this
while, and this includes the UP CM too.
ZOMATO DELIVERY ROW
Baijayant Jay Panda@PandaJay
#Zomato is right to deny a customer's request for a
delivery person of a diffrt religion. But wrong (&
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
Harsh Goenka@hvgoenka
If you ask me who I am, I will say I am an Indian, a
son, a father, a businessman, a Hindu...my being
Hindu is only one aspect of my identity. Yet world
over, identity is being defined by narrow confines
of religion at cost of all other identities. It’s a
dangerous trend! #zomato
TRIPLE TALAQ BILL PASSED
Sambit Patra@sambitswaraj
From Shahbano to Shairabano is not merely a legal
journey but a giant leap for womenkind
..upholding their right to decent living,equality &
non-discrimination! #TripleTalaq at one go has
finally been criminalised,thanks to PM Sh
@narendramodi Ji & All those who fought for it!
Asaduddin Owaisi@asadowaisi
At the cost of reiteration, marriage in Islam is a civil
contract and not a union for “janam
janmatnar”as in Hinduism. We will stick to our
Holy Quran and Sunnat. No bill is going to force us
to do otherwise. BJP needs to stop parading their
ignorance.
CCD FOUNDER'S DEATH
Rahul Dev Official@RahulDevRising
Sad indeed to see a genuine entrepreneur
succumbing to mounting pressure from banks &
agencies. My condolences to the family of
#VGSiddhartha ... Meanwhile some get their way
away, here & overseas. Irony ... #RIPSiddhartha
#CCDFounder
Naveen Jindal@MPNaveenJindal
The death of #CCDFounder #VGSiddhartha is
beyond tragic. While I don't know the actual
details, his letter shows that he struggled to keep
his business afloat despite under tremendous
pressure from the Income Tax officials and a PE
Investor.
T
he bride wore a birthday cake of
a dress, with a scalloped-edge
bodice and a large hoop skirt. A
veil sprouted from her black bob.
Moments before the wedding began,
she stood quietly on a staircase, waiting
to descend to the ceremony.
“Wow,” she thought. “I’m really
doing this.”
This was no conventional wedding
to join two people in matrimony.
Instead, a group of nearly 30 friends
gathered in a banquet room in one of
Tokyo’s most fashionable districts last
year to witness Sanae Hanaoka, 31, as
she performed a public declaration of
her love — for her single self.
“I wanted to figure out how to live
on my own,” Hanaoka told the group,
standing alone on a stage as she
thanked them for attending her solo
wedding. “I want to rely on my own
strength.”
Not so long ago, Japanese women
who remained unmarried after the age
of 25 were referred to as “Christmas
cake,” a slur comparing them to old
holiday pastries that cannot be sold
after December 25.
Today, such outright insults have
faded as a growing number of Japanese
women are postponing or forgoing
marriage, rejecting the traditional path
that leads to what many now regard as
a life of domestic drudgery.
The percentage of women who
work in Japan is higher than ever, yet
cultural norms have not caught up:
Japanese wives and mothers are still
typically expected to bear the brunt of
the housework, child care and help for
their aging relatives, a factor that
stymies many of their careers.
Fed up with the double standard,
Japanese women are increasingly opt-
ing out of marriage altogether, focusing
https://t.me/Banking4Exams
Not so long ago, Japanese women who remained unmarried after the age of 25
were referred to as “Christmas cake,” a slur comparing them to old holiday
pastries that cannot be sold after December 25.
on their work and newfound freedoms,
but also alarming politicians preoccu-
pied with trying to reverse Japan’s
declining population.
As recently as the mid-1990s, only
one in 20 women in Japan had never
been married by the time they turned
50, according to government census
figures. But by 2015, the most recent
year for which statistics are available,
that had changed drastically, with one
in seven women remaining unmarried
by that age.
And for women aged 35 to 39, the
percentage was even higher: Nearly a
quarter had never been married, com-
pared with only about 10 percent two
decades earlier.
The change is so striking that a
growing number of businesses now
cater to singles, and to single women in
particular. There are single karaoke
salons featuring women-only zones,
restaurants designed for solo diners,
and apartment complexes that target
women looking to buy or rent homes
on their own. Travel companies book
tours for single women, and photo stu-
dios offer sessions in which women can
don wedding dresses and pose for solo
bridal portraits.
“I thought, ‘If I get married, I will just
have to do more housework,’” said
Kayoko Masuda, 49, a single cartoonist
who stopped by to croon in private at a
One Kara solo karaoke salon in Tokyo.
A separate section is cordoned off for
women, behind sliding doors marked
“Ladies Only.”
Last year, the number of couples
getting married hit the lowest level
since the end of World War II, according
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
nation’s marriage rate, which is falling
at a much faster clip than the drop in
Japan’s population over all.
Not surprisingly, the number of
births in Japan — a country where few
people have children out of wedlock
— is also tumbling. Last year, the num-
ber of babies born in the country fell to
the lowest level since at least 1899,
when record-keeping began.
Local governments, eager to
encourage marriage and raise fertility,
have started campaigns to bring cou-
ples together. “We are working on fos-
tering a mind for marriage,” reads an
ad for matchmaking tours and semi-
nars for singles sponsored by the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government.
But for more and more Japanese
women — who have traditionally been
circumscribed by their relationships
with men, children and other family
members — singlehood represents a
form of liberation.
“When they marry, they have to give
up so many things,” said Mari Miura, a
professor of political science at Sophia
University in Tokyo, “so many free-
doms and so much independence.”
The shift is tied to the changing
Japanese work force. Close to 70 per-
cent of women aged 15 to 64 now have
jobs — a record. But their careers are
often held back by a relentless tide of
domestic burdens, like filling out the
meticulous daily logs required by their
children’s day-care centres, preparing
the intricate meals often expected of
Japanese women, supervising and
signing off on homework from school
and after school tutoring sessions, or
hanging rounds of laundry — because
few households have electric dryers.
© 2019 The New York Times News Service
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
8 WORLD
>
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 1

EU settles on World Bank’s US shale shippers will

Georgieva to lead IMF
FRANCESCO GUARASCIO
3 August
pay surcharge for
Trump steel tariffs
According to an IMF fact
sheet, a bylaw change to
remove or modify the age

E
uropean Union gov-
ernments picked
Bulgaria’s Kristalina
Georgieva as the bloc’s can-
didate to lead the
International Monetary Fund
after more than 12 hours of
talks on Friday that high-
lighted the EU’s internal divi-
sions.
The 65-year-old chief
executive of the World Bank
got the backing of a majority
of the 28 EU states, defeating
the Dutch candidate Jeroen
Dijsselbloem after two rounds
of voting and prolonged
negotiations among EU
nations.
“Congratulations
Georgieva for being selected
as European candidate to
lead the IMF. In the face on
rising global tensions, it is
imperative to uphold the IMF
as symbol of multilateralism,”
said the chair of euro zone
finance ministers, Mario
Centeno.
Georgieva is a centre-right
politician who grew up in
Bulgaria under communism
before a career that brought
her to the top of the World
Bank and the European
Commission.
Most EU states backed
Georgieva even though her
candidacy will force a change
in IMF rules that require the
managing director to be
younger than 65 years old
when appointed. The need
for that change could weaken
the European candidate if a
sufficiently large number of
IMF member states opposed
the reform.
However, a European offi-
cial said support from EU
countries and the United
States would be enough to
overhaul the rules in the glob-
al fund that has historically
been dominated by the
Western bloc.
limit would require approval
by a majority of board votes
cast.
The source added that
France, which is leading the
European selection process,
had already secured
Washington’s support on this
change.
A U.S. Treasury
spokesman could not imme-
diately be reached for com-
ment on Georgieva’s nomina-
tion, but U.S. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin
spoke highly of her work in a
Reuters interview last month.
The top job at the
Washington-based world
lender has always been filled
by a European. The former
IMF chief, France’s Christine
Lagarde, resigned in July
after EU leaders chose her to
replace Mario Draghi as
European Central Bank pres-
ident. COLLIN EATON try, economy, and potentially surcharge would raise.
“Great news and well 3 August energy consumers,” said “It’s making it clear the
deserved,” said World Bank Natalia Sharova, a spokes- steel sanctions are increasing
President David Malpass in Georgieva is a centre-right politician who grew up in Bulgaria under communism before a career Plains All American Pipeline woman for the trade group costs,” Sandy Fielden, an ana-
an emailed statement to that brought her to the top of the World Bank and the European Commission REUTERS LP said on Friday it will tack on American Petroleum Institute. lyst at financial services firm
Reuters. Georgieva “brings a fee for users of a new oil Two other new pipelines Morningstar, said of the com-
strong leadership and deep Merkel’s fading clout in the But Dijsselbloem conced- nor, Olli Rehn, and Spanish pipeline to pay for the cost of could also raise their prices if pany’s new fee. “The shipper’s
country knowledge,” he EU bloc. ed defeat. “I congratulate Economy Minister Nadia the Trump administration’s Plains’ surcharge sticks, three going to have to pay, come
added. Since an informal com- Kristalina Georgieva with the Calvino withdrew from the tariffs on imported steel, with analysts said. They pointed to what may.”
Georgieva promise was outcome of today’s European race. Mario Centeno had analysts and traders calling it Kinder Morgan Inc’s Gulf Plains disclosed spot tariff
said in a tweet impossible votes. I wish her the utmost pulled out on Thursday. the first U.S. energy pipeline Coast Express pipeline and a rates on the new pipeline from
that she was Georgieva said in a among increas- success,” he said on Twitter Britain opposed the plan operator to do so. EPIC Midstream’s pipeline, $4.75 to $5.60 per barrel,
relinquishing her tweet that she was ingly split EU after the second voting round to select a candidate now, say- In addition to the steel which were constructed after according to Friday’s regula-
World Bank relinquishing nations, France in which he had remained as ing it was “premature” and levies announced last year, the steel tariffs were levied. tory filing.
responsibilities her World Bank decided to use a the only opponent to did not allow London enough President Donald Trump on “There’s certainly a risk of The tariff went into effect
and would take responsibilities complex voting Georgieva. time to propose one of its own Thursday said he plans to them passing on inflationary on Friday.
administrative and would take system, under Dijsselboem, a former as the country has just expand U.S. tariffs to $300 bil- costs,” said It is one of
leave during the administrative which only the head of euro zone finance formed a new government, lion in Chinese imports, esca- Kendrick Rhea, In addition to three new
nomination leave during the candidate who ministers, steered the euro according to a confidential lating a trade dispute that has an analyst at the steel levies pipelines begin-
process. nomination process obtained 55% of zone out of the debt crisis, note seen by Reuters. increased costs for American pipeline industry announced last year, ning service over
the votes of the orchestrating with the IMF Candidates for the head of consumers of everything from researcher East President Donald the next few
Divisions 28 EU states, the bailout of Greece, Cyprus the Washington-based IMF steel to electronics to shoes. Daley Capital. Trump on Thursday months and is
A group of countries led by representing at least 65% of and Spanish banks. can be fielded until Sept. 6. Houston-based Plains will “This is an said he plans to expected to
the Netherlands and its population, would win. But he was opposed by Other world powers and begin charging shippers a 5 issue for the next expand US tariffs relieve a crude
Germany preferred Georgieva got the backing high-debt EU countries for emerging countries are cents per barrel fee on its go-around of to $300 billion in bottleneck that
Dijsselbloem, but were out- of 56% of EU states which the austerity measures expected to submit their can- 670,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) pipelines,” added Chinese imports has weighed on
numbered by southern and however represented only attached to the rescues. didacies by the deadline. The Cactus II pipeline next April Matthew Blair, regional oil
eastern states who backed 57% of the bloc’s population, After the first round of vot- IMF plans to select its new to offset higher construction an analyst at Tudor, Pickering, prices for more than a year.
Georgieva, in a new sign of falling short of one require- ing earlier on Friday, head by Oct. 4. costs from “governmental Holt & Co. Permian crude differentials
German Chancellor Angela ment. Finland’s central bank gover- REUTERS regulation and tariffs,” accord- Kinder Morgan Inc rallied on market speculation
ing to a filing with the Federal declined to comment. EPIC that the Cactus II pipeline will
Energy Regulatory did not immediately respond begin service in August,
Commission. to requests for comment. traders said.

JPMorgan in pole position to lead Plains last year estimated

the 25% steel tariff would add
$40 million to its costs for the
‘Unintended
consequences’
West Texas Intermediate
crude at Midland for delivery
in September traded at a 55-

WeWork IPO after debt offering

$1.1 billion pipeline, which Plains Chief Executive Officer cents-per-barrel discount to
runs 550 miles (885 km) from Willie Chiang last year told a U.S. crude futures, the
the Permian basin of West congressional hearing that the strongest level since mid-July
Texas and New Mexico, the tariffs on critical energy proj- and up from around a $1.10 a
top U.S. shale field, to the U.S. ects could have “significant barrel on Thursday, traders
JOSHUA FRANKLIN Aug. 1, Goldman Sachs is on top, with Bank of Gulf Coast. unintended consequences said.
3 AUgust America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N), JPMorgan The Trump administration that could undermine impor- WTI Midland for delivery
and Morgan Stanley following, according to last year imposed tariffs on tant progress towards realis- in the fourth quarter traded at
WeWork owner The We Company has tapped Refinitiv data. imported steel and aluminum ing American energy inde- a 35-cents premium, up 20
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) to head an upcom- The We Company, based in New York and to shield U.S. producers from pendence, strengthening cents, traders said.
ing debt offering, putting the bank in pole position founded in 2010, was most recently valued at $47 overseas competition and pro- national security and improv- Another pipeline operator,
to lead a planned initial public offering (IPO) later billion, making it one of the biggest private com- tect jobs. It was one in a series ing the balance of trade.” EPIC Midstream Holdings LP,
this year, people familiar with the matter said. panies in the world. of tariffs imposed by Trump The U.S. Commerce recently began filling a new
WeWork would like work on the debt offering to WeWork has helped popularise “coworking”, or since becoming president in Department rejected Plains’ 400,000 bpd crude pipeline
begin as early as next week, although this is subject shared desk-space, with a focus on startups, entre- 2017. two initial requests for a waiv- from the Permian and expects
to change as there are regulatory hurdles to be preneurs and freelancers, and has received signif- “This is an example of how er, and the company has filed to begin making deliveries this
cleared, the sources said. icant backing from some of the world’s biggest harmful trade policies such as a third request, said Brad quarter, President Brian Freed
WeWork has not officially hired banks for the investors, including Japan’s SoftBank Group steel tariffs and quotas are Leone, a Plains spokesman. said in an interview with
IPO but the expectation among people involved (9984.T). hurting the U.S. energy indus- He did not say how much the Reuters on Monday. REUTERS
in the process is that any lender’s role in the debt Despite its vast growth, the company has faced
offering will have a direct impact on its role in the questions about the sustainability of its business
IPO, said the sources, who requested anonymity model, which is based on short-term revenue
because the details are private. agreements and long-term loan liabilities. S Korea calls for ‘cooling-off’ in trade row with Japan
Other banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS.N), In both the scale of its valuation and losses, The
are also expected to have prominent roles for the WeWork is looking to raise $5 billion to $6 We Company has echoes of both Uber and Lyft, South Korea is exploring all options in a bitter trade South Korea may consider revoking a military
IPO, the sources said. billion through the bond offering and is then whose shares have struggled since going public row with Japan, including scrapping an information sharing pact as a countermeasure, a
WeWork is looking to raise $5 billion to $6 billion looking to go public as soon as September this year amid questions about their paths to prof- intelligence sharing pact, but wants a cooling off view raised during a trilateral foreign ministers’
through the bond offering and is then looking to go itability. period with Tokyo, a senior South Korean official meeting with the United States and Japan on
public as soon as September, Reuters reported last ing led preparations for the Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) list- Representatives for The We Company and said on Saturday. The trade row escalated on Friday Friday in Bangkok, said the South Korean official.
month. ing in March. Rival Morgan Stanley (MS.N) was JPMorgan did not respond to emails sent by when Japan removed South Korea from a favoured The accord, the General Security of Military
Leading the WeWork IPO would be a coup for the lead bank on the Uber Technologies Inc Reuters. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined trading nations list, prompting Seoul to warn it Information Agreement (GSOMIA), facilitates three-
JPMorgan and means it would occupy the lead (UBER.N) IPO in May. to comment. would not be defeated again by its neighbour, way intelligence gathering with Washington.
spot on two of the three largest IPOs of 2019, hav- In proceeds from U.S. IPOs for this year as of REUTERS laying bare decades-old war time animosity. REUTERS

Got impossible milk? The quest for lab-made dairy

KNVUL SHEIKH
3 August
In recent years, the alternatives to
conventional cows’ milk have proliferated.
The local grocery store is likely to offer any
number of plant-based options: milks
made from soy, almonds, oats, rice, hemp,
coconuts, cashews, pea plants and more.
But most nondairy milks pale in
comparison to cows’ milk. Plant-based
milks are made by breaking down plants
and reconstituting their proteins in water
to resemble the fluid from a lactating
bovine. These proteins differ
fundamentally from true dairy proteins,
and the results — milks, cheeses and
yogurts in name only — often fail to
measure up in colour, taste or texture. Inja
Radman, a molecular biologist and a
founder of New Culture, a food company,
put it plainly.
“Vegan cheese is just terrible,” she said.
“As scientists, we know why it doesn’t work.
It doesn’t have the crucial dairy proteins.”
Dairy tastes like dairy thanks to two key
proteins, casein and whey protein.
Researchers at several start-up companies,
including New Culture, have begun
producing these proteins in the lab, with
the aim of creating a new grocery store
category: cow-free dairy.
Their process is loosely comparable to
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
the way Impossible Foods or Beyond
Meat makes meatless burgers. Microbes,
such as yeast, are given the genetic
instructions to produce the dairy proteins.
The microbes are then cultivated en
masse, with nutrients added and the
temperature adjusted. Eventually the
organisms start churning out large
quantities of the proteins, and these are
isolated and added to various recipes.
For the Impossible Burger, the essential
protein is a molecule called heme, which is
abundant in animal muscles and gives the
burger its meaty flavour, and even makes it
appear to bleed. New Culture is focusing on
producing casein, a protein that coagulates
to give mozzarella cheese its stretchy
texture.
Ms. Radman said the company had
conducted double-blind tests to see if
people could tell the difference between
the proof-of-concept cheese and store-
bought mozzarella. “We’ve had really
positive results,” she said.
The quest for cow-free dairy is
expanding. In Oakland, scientists at a
community science lab are trying to make
their own open-source recipe for lab-
made cheese. And a start-up in Boston
called Motif Ingredients is engineering a
variety of ingredients to replace traditional
dairy, eggs and meat proteins.
dairy lovers broadly, while satisfying
concerns about animal welfare and
environmental sustainability. But to make
a real impact on the planet, and eliminate
the carbon emissions from all those
belching cows, a great many microbes will
need to be corralled.
The challenge is scaling up. Perfect
Day plans to sell its lab-made whey to ice
cream-makers, dairy companies and
restaurants rather than directly to
consumers. It has also partnered with
agriculture giant Archer Daniels Midland,
with its industrial-scale fermentation
infrastructure, to try to meet market
demand and reduce the cost of
producing proteins.
“That’s what the two of us spend the
most of our time on now,” said Perumal
Ghandi, a founder of Perfect Day. “Sure, we
have A.D.M., but even if we max them out,
it’s still just a drop in the bucket.”
A food scientist at Perfect Day measures the whey made by microbes. And there is already stiff competition
from plant-based dairy alternatives, which
Another company, Perfect Day batch was released, with flavours including offer similar environmental benefits and
(originally Muufri), may be the furthest chocolate, vanilla salted fudge and vanilla have gained popularity among consumers.
along in perfecting a recipe for lab-made blackberry toffee; it quickly sold out. Sales of plant-based milks jumped 6
dairy. The company produces whey Hundreds of thousands of metric tons percent last year, and now make up 13
protein and mixes them with other of whey and casein are consumed in the percent of the entire milk category,
ingredients found in traditional dairy — United States each year, virtually all of it according to data from the Plant Based
fats, carbohydrates, calcium and produced by dairy farms. Proponents of Foods Association and The Good Food
phosphates. In early July, a limited-edition lab-made milk see the product appealing to Institute. Sales of plant-based ice cream
https://t.me/Banking4Exams https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
and frozen desserts grew 27 percent;
plant-based cheese grew 19 percent, and
plant-based yogurt grew 39 percent.
“All of a sudden people are realising that
they don’t have to depend on cows for
milk,” said Cheryl Mitchell, head of
research and development at Elmhurst
1925, once one of New York State’s largest
dairy companies, which switched to
making nut milks in 2017.
Technology has also improved the
taste of plant-based milks and
decreased the amount of water needed
to produce several of them. “We want to
be increasing our agricultural diversity
to help environmental sustainability,
not just relying on one source,” Dr.
Mitchell said.
Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger
have been popular with consumers.
Whether lab-made milk can replicate that
success is an open question.
“What helped the Impossible Burger
was their lab-made heme, which had a
tremendous impact on both the flavour
and visual appearance of the burger,” said
Sam Alcaine, a food scientist at Cornell
University. “I don’t know if lab-made
dairy can make that leap and make
consumers notice a difference in their
dairy products.”
© 2019 The New York Times News Service
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

.
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 WORLD 9 <

Protesters march in Hong Kong S&P 500, Nasdaq

as rival rally supports police close out worst week
ANNE MARIE ROANTREE
since December
& VIMVAM TONG
3 August
Lawmakers EVAN SULL

Thousands of mostly black-clad

urge US to 3 August

activists set off on a protest
march in Hong Kong’s Mong
Kok district on Saturday, as the
Chinese-controlled city braced
for another weekend of anti-
government demonstrations.
Protests against a proposed
bill allowing people to be extra-
dited to stand trial in mainland
China have escalated since
June, growing increasingly vio-
lent, with police accused of
excessive force and failing to
protect protesters from sus-
pected gang attacks.
Mong Kok, which includes
gritty working class sections and
is also a popular shopping des-
tination, was the scene of some
of the most violent clashes dur-
ing pro-democracy protests in
2014.
Many of Saturday’s demon-
strators wore yellow or white
hard hats, and the crowds
chanted “age of revolution!” and
“Hongkongers, add oil!” - a pop-
ular exhortation in Cantonese.
“I’m a little worried about
whether the police force might
use violent ways on the demon-
strators because the route of the
demonstration is a little bit nar-
row, and if we want to leave it
might be difficult to get away
from the police,” said a 20-year-
old university student named
Ivan.
“I think this entire move-
ment will continue until at least
the end of 2019,” he said.
Hundreds of marchers held
posters with an illustration of
protesters in hard hats tending
to a young child, with the words
“protect the future”.
The crowd was mostly
young, but also included fami-
lies and many older people.
Some young couples held
hands.
“We are here because we
want to stick up for Hong Kong.
We don’t need an evil law to take
over Hong Kong,” said a woman
surnamed Yau who was joined
Anti-extradition bill protesters march in Mongkok, Hong Kong, on Saturday
by family members including
her 11-year-old daughter.
As the marchers gathered at
the starting point, one passed
around pre-paid subway cards
to young groups, while others
gave out chicken wings and
McDonalds food. When the
march started, volunteers hand-
ed out hard hats, face masks and
water bottles.
Most of the shops in the
upscale Langham Place shop-
ping mall had pulled down their
shutters by late afternoon, and
many street-facing businesses
along the march route had
closed.
Police supporters
Across the harbor, on Hong
Kong island, thousands of police
supporters, mostly wearing
white, gathered for a separate
rally amid a carnival-like atmos-
phere in Victoria Park.
Many waved Hong Kong
and Chinese flags and the crowd
shouted slogans in support of
the police. Pro-Beijing lawmak-
er Junius Ho was greeted with
strong applause.
“We are the real Hong Kong
people who are not the same as
those black-shirted thugs. We
don’t need a so-called ‘HK revo-
lution’, we only need to do our
best, which is enough,” he told
the crowd.
Sylvia Lam, 61, who
described herself as a house-
wife, said she had turned up at
the pro-police rally to oppose
violence.
“I feel extremely uncomfort-
able when every time I watch
TV, the scenes are so radical,”
she said. “Young people should
stop and think, don’t become
someone’s political tools, be
rational please,” she said.
More protests planned
Further anti-government
protests were scheduled for
Sunday, with activists calling for
a mass strike on Monday.
On Friday evening in central
Hong Kong, thousands of civil
servants defied a warning from
authorities to remain politically
neutral and joined anti-govern-
ment protests for the first time
since they started two months
ago.
In Washington on Friday, a
bipartisan group of U.S. law-
makers called on the Trump
administration to halt future
sales of munitions and crowd-
control equipment to Hong
Kong’s police force, which has
been accused of using excessive
force against protesters.
Under Chinese rule, Hong
Kong has been allowed to retain
extensive freedoms, such as an
independent judiciary, but
many residents see the extradi-
tion bill as the latest step in a
relentless march toward main-
land control.
They also pose the greatest
popular challenge to Chinese
leader Xi Jinping since he took
office in 2012 and come as Xi
grapples with an escalating
trade war with the United States
and a slowing economy in a
politically sensitive year. On Oct.
1, China will mark the 70th
anniversary of the founding of
the People’s Republic. REUTERS
block sales of
crowd-control
gear to HK
A bipartisan group of US
lawmakers on Friday urged
the Trump administration
to suspend future sales of
munitions and crowd-
control equipment to Hong
Kong police which has
been accused of using
excessive force against
anti-government
protesters.
A Hong Kong democracy
activist, Joshua Wong, this
week tweeted pictures of
teargas shells and rubber
bullets he said were used by
police against protesters.
Representatives
Christopher Smith and
James McGovern, chairs of a
congressional human rights
commission, made their
request in a letter to
Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo and Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross.
“We ask that you
suspend future sales of
munitions and crowd and
riot control equipment to
the Hong Kong Police Force
and publicly announce that
the US will not contribute to
the internal repression of
peaceful protest in Hong
Kong,” they wrote.
They also urged the
secretaries to push back
“against the Hong Kong
and Chinese governments’
efforts to characterise the
demonstrations as ‘riots’
and to blame the US for
political instability which
they alone created”.
The State Department
and the Commerce
Department did not
immediately respond to
requests for comment.
REUTERS
Wall Street extended its sell-
off on Friday on renewed
trade fears as the benchmark
S&P 500 index and Nasdaq
saw their worst weekly per-
centage plunges since
December, when investors
were spooked by the prospect
of a looming recession.
The blue chip Dow and
the S&P 500 hit their lowest
levels since late June with
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reg-
istering their fifth consecu-
tive days of losses.
U.S. 10-year Treasury
yields saw their steepest
weekly decline in over seven
years. Technology companies, which get a sizeable portion of their
The sell-off wrapped up a revenue from China, were the hardest hit, falling 1.7%. This
tumultuous week, which saw sector was weighed by iPhone maker Apple and chipmakers
the U.S. Federal Reserve cut
interest rates for the first Of the 11 major sectors in ings rose 26%, in line with
time since 2008 and a renew- the S&P 500, eight closed in forecasts.
al of trade war fears following the red. Sprint Corp shares
a tweet by U.S. President Technology companies, dropped 5.8% even after
Donald Trump announcing which get a sizeable portion reporting fewer-than-expect-
plans to impose additional of their revenue from China, ed phone subscriber losses in
tariffs on $300 billion of were the hardest hit, falling the quarter.
Chinese imports on Sept 1. 1.7%. This sector Restaurant
“The irony is that these was weighed by Brands
trade policies are creating an iPhone maker The Dow Jones International
environment for the Fed to Apple Inc and Industrial Average jumped 6.1%,
lend itself to further rate chipmakers. fell 98.41 points, or after quarterly
cuts,” said Matthew Keator, The 0.37%, to 26,485.01, profits topped
managing partner at the Philadelphia the S&P 500 lost expectations.
Keator Group in Lenox, Semiconductor 21.51 points, or Declining
Massachusetts. “But Trump index slipped 0.73%, to 2,932.05 issues outnum-
is tweeting about hawkish 1.6%, while and the Nasdaq bered advanc-
trade policies and the mar- shares of Apple Composite dropped ing ones on the
ket is going down because of fell 2.1%. 107.05 points, or NYSE by a 1.77-
it.” Second-quar- 1.32%, to 8,004.07 to-1 ratio; on
A report from Labor ter earnings sea- Nasdaq, a 2.21-
Department on Friday son passed its to-1 ratio
showed that nonfarm pay- halfway mark, with 380 of the favoured decliners.
rolls increased by 164,000 companies in the S&P 500 The S&P 500 posted 11
jobs last month, in line with having reported. Of those, new 52-week highs and 12
economists’ expectations. 73.9% have beaten analyst new lows; the Nasdaq
The Dow Jones Industrial expectations. Composite recorded 20 new
Average fell 98.41 points, or New tariff threats dragged highs and 184 new lows.
0.37%, to 26,485.01, the S&P oil prices lower for the week, Volume on U.S. exchanges
500 lost 21.51 points, or as Exxon Mobil and Chevron was 7.78 billion shares, com-
0.73%, to 2,932.05 and the reported quarterly results. pared with the 6.62 billion
Nasdaq Composite dropped Exxon topped analyst average over the last 20 trad-
107.05 points, or 1.32%, to expectations but fell year-on- ing days.
8,004.07. year, while Chevron’s earn- REUTERS

Facebook to put Its name on Renault discusses cutting SHADOW PRACTICE

Instagram, WhatsApp brands Nissan stake to revive Fiat deal
ANGELINA RASCOUET
3 August

Renault SA and Nissan Motor

Facebook Inc. plans to attach its
name to Instagram and
WhatsApp, branding them
“Instagram from Facebook” and
“WhatsApp from Facebook.”
The move is controversial
because both of the apps were
born outside of Facebook, have
very different corporate cul-
tures and have thrived, in part,
by having their own identities
with consumers. Founders of
the photo-sharing app and the
messaging service left
Facebook in 2018. “We want to
be clearer about the products
and services that are part of
Facebook,” a spokeswoman for
the company said.
The Federal Trade
Commission is investigating
whether Facebook has monop-
oly powers. The regulatory body
is looking into whether the
social-media company
acquired rivals to remove com-
petitive threats and seek domi-
nance in the industry.
The changes in wording will
appear in the apps’ log-in
screens and in the Apple iOS
and Google Play stores, for now,
according to a Facebook spokes-
woman. The Information earli-
er reported the rebranding.
Facebook said in March they
were testing the new names.
REUTERS
Co. have held talks that would
see Renault reduce its stake
in the Japanese carmaker and
help the French company
restart merger discussions
with Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles NV, the Wall
Street Journal reported.
The sides are weighing
plans under which Renault
would cut its 43.4% holding
in Nissan, a move meant to
rebalance their global
alliance, the Journal said, cit-
ing internal emails as well as
people briefed on the talks. from the deal as the French
Any reduction of the stake government sought more
would need approval from time to convince their unsup-
France, which owns 15% of portive counterparts at
Renault. Nissan.
A spokeswoman for Talks to modify the
Nissan declined to comment alliance’s structure — which
on the report. Representatives are at an early stage — began
for Renault and the French after the Renault-Fiat deal col-
government didn’t immedi- lapsed, the Journal reported.
ately respond to requests for They could lead to an initial
comment. memorandum of under-
Merger talks between Fiat standing on the restructuring
and Renault collapsed in June as soon as September, the Soldiers with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of the US Army practice battle drills during
when Fiat’s controlling newspaper said, citing emails. training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky REUTERS
Agnelli family walked away BLOOMBERG

The $20-million Nazi Porsche that may not be a Porsche at all

HANNAH ELLIOT
3 August
In mid-August, during the Pebble
Beach Concours d’Elegance, the
world’s most prestigious car show, a
vehicle that RM Sotheby’s is calling
the Porsche Type 64 is expected to
sell for about $20 million. It
promises to be the most
controversial sale of the year.
Price isn’t the issue. The auction
estimate from RM Sotheby’s is far
shy of the record $48.4 million paid
for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. The Type
64’s price would still qualify as
rarefied, like that of the 1963 Aston
Martin DP215, which sold for $21.45
million last year.
It isn’t the car’s design, either,
that’s prompted public debate on
Instagram and in discreet
discussions between auto brokers
and their clients—though it does
look like a UFO.
Even the fact that the Type 64
was commissioned by the Nazis is
unsurprising, grim as that may
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sound. Many well-known vehicles
were developed for Nazi purposes,
including the Volkswagen Beetle
and Mercedes-Benz 770.
The conflict that has wealthy
collectors whispering is that the
Type 64 may not actually be a
Porsche.
“It’s not,” says Andy Prill, a
mechanical engineer and owner of
Prill Porsche Classics in England.
“This is one thing I’ve been at pains
to point out to people.” Prill
conducted the presale inspection for
RM Sotheby’s, compiling a 53-page
dossier on the car. His take: While
the Type 64 is a direct ancestor of the
Porsches that came later, its mixing-
bowl heritage disqualifies it from
branded distinction.
In 1939, Ferdinand Porsche was a
designer for Mercedes-Daimler
(founded in 1926) and Volkswagen
(1937), among others. He built the
Type 64 as a commission from the
National Socialist Motor Corps
(NSKK). Its chief, Adolf Huehnlein,
had hoped the Type 64 would win a
interior, split-window windshield,
and wide, black steering wheel, the
car originally consisted of VW parts
and special components made by
Porsche himself. It was built on a
modified VW chassis, using a body
made by German fabricator Reutter,
with a VW engine customised to
enhance power. In 1948 it under-
went styling modifications at the
coachbuilder Pininfarina.
RM Sotheby’s is nonetheless
calling it a Porsche, even though the
Type 64 was born years before the
company was founded in 1948. The
Porsche DNA is there: The round
headlights, gently curved roofline,
and smooth sides that define the
brand’s modern cars were evident
even then. In his later years, Porsche
The Type 64 in Salzburg, Austria, in 1952 referred to the Type 64 as “die
Ahnherr” (“the Ancestor”), and
Berlin-to-Rome race that was race was cancelled when war broke when starting his company, he
planned to celebrate the just-signed out, so Porsche—a member of the added his surname to the car’s grille.
fascist Pact of Friendship and Nazi Party and the SS who later spent “If Mr. Porsche thought it was good
Alliance between Italy and Germany time in prison for war crimes—used enough to carry the Porsche badge,”
agreement and to showcase it as his daily driver. says Alexander Weaver, a car
Deutschland’s engineering. But the Along with its tiny, two-seat specialist for RM Sotheby’s, “then
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yes, I’d call it a Porsche.”
Most observers consider the first
capital-P Porsche to be the 1948 356
Gmuend coupe. “People say the 356
No.?1 is the first Porsche,” Weaver
says. “We say Type 64 is the oldest
car to wear a Porsche badge. If you
take it exactly as I say it, that’s
correct.” He even used the Gmuend
car to arrive at the $20 million
auction estimate. “My initial
thoughts were, What is a Gmuend
worth, and how many Gmuends did
they build?” he says. “They are
valued anywhere between $4
million and $8 million. And they
built 50 of them.” The Type 64 is the
predecessor. “Is it worth three times
that of the Gmuend? Probably,” says
Weaver. “Is it worth twice? Surely.”
Over its eight decades, the car has
undergone changes that would
disqualify anything else from
“original” status. It started life with
left-hand-drive but was converted to
right-hand by its second owner, the
eccentric German racer Otto Mathé,
then changed back to left-hand
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years later.
At various points, Mathé added
Fiat brakes, new rear lights, and a
new steering rack, and he adjusted
the fuel tank and transmission. It
was originally black, but he
repainted it turquoise. (It’s now
silver.) Many of the original parts
Mathé swapped out during his 46
years of ownership (1949-95) will be
included in next month’s sale; few
are currently installed.
Prill’s report on the Type 64 for
sale is so detailed it notes such
things as hidden logos stamped
onto the metal steering rack, the
particular WWII way the
headlamps were fastened onto the
car, and certain tiny holes in the
dashboard drilled to hold a now-
gone radio. It even mentions the
type of (period incorrect) bolts
used under the hood: “Whomever
rebuilt the engine decided to use
modern “Allen” headed bolts for
the crank case perimeter bolts,”
Prill wrote.
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10 DEMOCRACY AT WORK
>
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019

DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?

CHATTERBOX

Kashmir’s political rivals in war of words CHECKLIST

A recent Twitter battle between the two titans of Kashmir on the triple talaq Bill was
instructive. Omar Abdullah(National Conference) tweeted: “Mehbooba Mufti ji, you
ONE-WAY TRAFFIC IN MAHARASHTRA: FROM CONGRESS/NCP TO BJP
might want to check how your members voted on this bill before tweeting. I understand n
In July, sitting MLAs from the Nationalist left in the Congress after Narayan Rane quit the
they abstained which helped the government with the numbers needed to pass the bill. Congress Party (NCP) Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale party two years ago. Kolambkar won the 2014
You can’t help the government and then fail to understand need to pass!” (Satara), Vaibhav Pichad (Akole) and Sandeep election by a narrow margin of 800 votes.
Replying to him, Peoples Democratic Party’s Mufti tweeted, “Omar sahab, I suggest you Naik (Airoli) resigned from their seats months n
Defector MLAs owe a lot to Shivendrasinhraje
get off your moral high horse since it was your own party that expelled Soz sahab for before the Assembly elections and joined the Bhosale’s cousin, Udayanraje Bhosale, an NCP MP
voting against the BJP in 1999. FYI in Parliament, abstention is essentially a no vote.” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With Naik leaving, from Satara. Vaibhav Pichad hails from Akole
Abdullah was quick to retort to Mufti’s claims, and wrote, “Madam, is recounting an the NCP would be wiped out in Navi Mumbai, tehsil in Ahmednagar district and is son of the
incident from TWENTY years ago the best you can do to defend PDP duplicity? So you where the Naiks — Sandeep, along with his former NCP minister Madhukar Pichad.
are accepting you instructed your MPs to abstain. And no an abstention is NOT a no heavyweight father Ganesh Naik and former MP n
NCP's Mumbai unit chief, Sachin Ahir, recently
vote, a no vote is a no vote. An abstention helped the BJP this time.” brother Sanjeev – are said to enjoy extensive quit the party to join Shiv Sena. Ahir, a minister
influence. The family feels they were sidelined in the previous Congress-NCP government in
Will Sandeep step into Sheila’s shoes? by the NCP leadership, specifically Ajit Pawar. the state, was associated with the Sharad
After Sheila Dikshit’s death, the hunt has begun for a new chief for the Delhi Pradesh This region comprises 63 Assembly seats — one- Pawar-led party since its formation in 1999. He
Congress Committeee as the party is conscious that it cannot delay the appointment. fourth of the Assembly’s strength. represented Shivdi Assembly seat in Mumbai
Elections in Delhi are round the corner and the Congress’s preparation is non-existent. ”NRC is not only for Assam; it is a must for the n
The Congress MLA Kalidas Kolambkar (Naigaon) from 1999 to 2009 and was later elected from
entire country. We cannot allow the country to
Sandeep Dikshit, late Sheila Dikshit’s son and former Delhi MP is one contender. So are be turned into a dharamsala that anyone and also handed over his resignation letter separately Worli. In 2014, he lost the Assembly election to
ex-Delhi Congress chiefs Jai Prakash Agarwal and Subhash Chopra. There are chances everyone can illegally enter and stay forever.” to Speaker Haribhau Bagade at Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena's Sunil Shinde. Jaydutt Kshirsagar,
that Sandeep Dikshit might be considered for the post. It is expected that the “sympathy BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on expanding the Vidhan Bhawan. Kolambkar is a seven-term NCP leader and former Maharashtra Minister,
factor” as well as Sandeep Dikshit’s clean image in public may yield dividends. National Register of Citizens to cover the entire country. lawmaker from Mumbai. He now has no mentors joined the Shiv Sena in May.

MCI through a board of governors. You could
OPINION say that for the last nine months, it was being
governed by the government.
M VENKAIAH NAIDU Earlier, it was the MCI to which the gov-
ernment would send all requests for medical
colleges: The MCI would conduct rigorous
the National Medical Commission Bill is
passed, a meritorious student from a remote
rural district of the country can even dream
of becoming a doctor? It will indirectly lead
to mushrooming of private medical colleges
and nothing else.

‘Let the Oppn have checks and formalities of the institutions and
send its recommendation to the government.
Now, in this NMC, there is no provision
So right now, isn’t it the case that you can
charge any amount as capitation fee?

its say and the for election. It is by nomination. And if you

see the constitution, there are 25 members
and almost all are government persons —
No, that is only for the NRI quota, which is
only 15 per cent. Now there is a cap on
capitation fee. In this Bill, for the remaining

govt have its way’ hand-picked from the central government,

or central government employees…

Does that make them less competent?

50 per cent, they will prescribe the guideline
for capitation fee, not the capitation
fee per se.
So if a meritorious student tries and fails

E
lections cannot be completed without peoples’ partici- Let me tell you…The minister said of the 25 to get one of the 50 per cent seats, he or she
pation. People’s participation is not limited to contesting members, 21 were doctors. But who are they? will be overlooked by the system. The
elections and taking part in voting every five years. When All are central government student who will get admis-
I say “peoples’ participation”, I am referring to the importance employees: Director of AIIMS, sion will be the child of a per-
of continuously encouraging and enthusing people about elec- Director of JIPMER…Will son who can afford to pay

ILLUSTRATION BY BINAY SINHA

tions. It is also equally important to recognise the efforts put in a central government employ- crores of rupees as capitation
by various agencies, including the security personnel and civil ee ever go against the decision fee. What kind of doctor will
society organisations. of the government when it that make him or her?
I would also like to emphasise that the time has come to comes to giving the licence or Moreover, this Bill says
devolve as many functions as possible to the rural and urban recognition? SANTANU SEN that inspecting new medical
local bodies. I also request various state governments to under- President, Indian colleges should be
take electoral reforms, including amending the state laws concer- If there is no autonomy, how Medical Association discretionary. What do you
ning local self-governments, in conformity with the Constitution. can such an important mean by discretionary?
India has embarked upon a great social revolution by pro- institution function without vested Today, I open a medical college. It will be
viding universal adult franchise in all its elections and reserving interests driving it? absolutely discretionary whether my med-
seats for SC/STs & minimum 33 per cent for women in the LSGs. SANTANU SEN is a doctor and a Trinamool Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha, and heads the Indian Medical We believe the NMC is anti-federal. The MCI ical college will be inspected or not. I will
This has led to bringing down the walls that were erected in the Association (IMA). In an interview to Aditi Phadnis, he talks of his reservations about the National Medical used to have at least three members from collect crores and crores of rupees as
name of caste and community. Commission Bill. Edited excerpts: every state in India. But in the NMC capitation fee. My medical college will not
On the occasion of presenting these awards today, as a mark proposed by government, there will be six be inspected for three-four years. After three
of celebration of our democracy, it is appropriate on my part to
share some of my thoughts and concerns about our cherished
democracy, functioning of our legislatures and the conduct of
MPs and MLAs. I am deeply distressed by the behaviour of
‘NMC Bill will be the members nominated from states and union years, I might have accumulated crores and
territories and five members from the elected crores of rupees. They might shut it down
state council members. According to this whenever they inspect it: But I would get
formula, every state will get the opportunity away. What will happen to the students

some sections in the Rajya Sabha during last two years.
Parliament functions based on the rules of the constituent
Houses, conventions, earlier rulings of the Chair and code of
conduct for members. As the chairman of Rajya Sabha, it pains
me if members chose to disregard them, resulting in pande-
monium which in turn erodes the stature of the House of Elders
in the eyes of the public. Members of Rajya sabha have a special
responsibility cast on them of leading by example being the
members of the House of Elders. During this session, some
members in their wisdom have preferred to tear official papers
and throw them at the Chair on some occasions. Such conduct
does not speak well of the functioning of our parliamentary
democracy. It is the people of our country who have imbibed
the true spirit of democracy by regularly voting in rising num-
bers and choosing their representatives to Parliament .
After doing so, they expect their representatives to conduct
themselves in the best possible manner and strive over the next
five years to make a difference to their lives by enabling them
fulfill their hopes and aspirations.
However, I am sad to say that the elected representatives
often do not match the democratic spirit of our people through
their conduct. Democracy is all about — debate, discussion and
decision. This can’t be replaced by — disorder, disruption and
delay, which is nothing but a negation of the spirit of democracy.
The basic functions of the Parliament and State Legislatures
are… Legislation, that is making laws for socio-economic trans-
formation of our country; deliberation that is raising issues of
public importance and ensuring the accountability of the exec-
mother of quackery’
You made your maiden speech about the
National Medical Commission and you
slammed the government’s proposal to
make medical education uniform across
India. Now, doctors across the country are
on strike in protest. Why?
The National Medical Commission Bill was
introduced on December 29, 2017, and it was
first placed in Parliament on January 2 last
year. Our fight against the NMC Bill is
because of the following reasons: First, this
Bill is undemocratic. Why? The existing
Medical Council of India used to be formed
through an election in all the states of the
country. It would have elected representa-
tives from the states.
And the purpose of the MCI was…?
… To regulate medical education in the coun-
try! To give the licence (to medical colleges),
to recognise, to fix curriculum … medical
education used to be regulated by this
autonomous body.
But weren’t there a lot of problems with the
whole process of recognition, de-
recognition, licences…? The CBI also
conducted an enquiry, after which the
government decided to change the way
medical education is structured in India…
Yes, your question is the right one. But my
point is: There are many issues, many
complaints about this government. If there
is a complaint about any institution, does
it mean you dissolve the institution? Is that
the solution?
For the last several months, the Union
government was indirectly controlling the
to have its nominee on the council once left in the lurch? What will be the fate of
every 12 years and every state council nomi- those students?
nee once in 14 years. There could not have There are many other aspects of the Bill
been a worse marginalisation of the states. that we oppose. This Bill is going to be the
For instance, if the state of Delhi is repre- mother of quackery in India because AYUSH
sented this year, 2019, the next opportunity (Ayurveda, Yunani, Siddha, homoeopathy)
will arise in 2031 and 2033. doctors are going to be treated on a par with
The Bill is also anti-poor. As of now, even trained doctors. And not just these. The Bill
according to the guidelines of the Supreme allows lab technicians, ECG technicians,
Court, capitation fees of private medical X-ray technicians, compounders, ambulance
colleges were governed by a regulatory body. drivers, etc. who are directly or indirectly
If I run a medical college, my capitation fee associated with medical system to get the
cannot be anything I want. licence and practise as doctors.
In India there are almost 530 medical col-
leges, of which 270 are run by the govern- The Bill has now been passed. What is your
ment and 260 are private. The admission fee next step?
of 85 per cent seats of private medical col- Because of the efforts of the IMA, and all the
leges is regulated by the government. pressure put by us, they have agreed to listen
According to Clause 10(i) of this Bill, not only to four of our amendments. State represen-
would 50 per cent of the seats be sold freely tation has been corrected; On Ayush the
but also for the remaining 50 per cent, this minister has replied in his own way — let us
Board will only fix the criteria but will not see what he does. He has said he will set up
prescribe the capitation fee. So, indirectly, a committee to decide who will be given the
hundred per cent seats of all private medical licence. But until it is made clear by the gov-
colleges will be for sale. Do you think after ernment, the IMA will continue to agitate.

Speaking up for voiceless: One woof at a time

utive of the day. If MPs and MLAs resort to slogan shouting,
rushing into the well of the Houses and disruption of the pro-
ceedings, they are only compromising on these core functions.
This is a great disservice to the Parliamentary democracy.
In every election, people give a certain mandate to the gov-
ernments. Thereafter, the governments go about delivering on Shiranee Pereira is quietly but insistently arguing that dogs can and must be replaced by tech and AI in testing
the promises made to the people over the next few years.
Respecting such a mandate and allowing the governments to
drugs. More to the point, drug firms are listening. She is among India's new Gandhians, writes Aditi Phadnis

deliver as per the mandate should be an essential principle of
functioning of such legislatures.
Opposition parties do have the right and responsibility of
seeking the governments to deliver on the promises made by
them during the polls. Opposition can and should take the gov-
ernments to task, if they deviate from what has been offered to
the people for which various effective instruments are available.
I want to make it clear that both the ruling and the Opposit-
ion parties have shared responsibility of ensuring effective func-
tioning of our legislatures by taking on board concerns of each
other. Stalling the functioning of legislatures means subverting
democracy and betraying the people. The best way is to let the
Opposition have its say and the government have its way. The
democracy is all about the ‘numbers’ of each section of a legis-
lature. Whoever has the highest numbers, run the government
and those who have lesser numbers are required to ensure that
governments do not stray from the mandate of the people.
The ruling and Opposition parties should not look at each
other as enemies or adversaries. Instead, they should function
as joint stakeholders in the well-being of the people and socio-
economic transformation of the country. Our nation needs both
effective and responsible governments and equally effective
and responsible Opposition. The country’s interests are not well
served if either of them is found wanting.
It is the Parliament and State Legislatures that give ample
opportunities for both the ruling and the Opposition parties to
give out their best. MPs and MLAs should always be guided by
these cardinal principles, so that our legislatures can become
vibrant instruments of the change that the people wish to happen.
I expect the MPs and in particular, the Members of Rajya Sabha
to take the lead in the transformation through their exemplary
conduct and contribution to effective functioning of the House.
The country has witnessed a couple of days back, a Member
of Lok Sabha making some objectionable comments about a
women presiding officer who was in the chair. Members of that
House have rightly voiced outrage over the comments of that
member. It is not in our civilisation to disrespect women. This
kind of behaviour and comments demean our parliamentary
democracy and should be avoided by accommodation.
We are the largest democracy in the world. We shall be the
best in terms of its quality as well. I urge upon both the ruling
and Opposition parties in all the legislatures to be guided by
such a spirit of mutual respect and accommodation.
Edited excerpts from a speech by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu
after presenting the first Democracy Awards instituted by the State
Election Commission, Maharashtra, in Mumbai on July 27
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E
very email sent by Shiranee control/immunisation programme for these
Pereira, who started the Chennai dogs at the same premises — the lethal
chapter of People For Animals, ends chamber. Now, around 10,000 dogs are ster-
with this Franciscan blessing: ilised and immunised every year. “The pro-
May God bless us with DISCOMFORT: at gramme has been so wonderfully successful
easy answers, half-truths, and superficial that the incidence of human rabies in the
relationships, so that we may live deep within city have dropped from 49 persons per
our hearts. annum in 1995 to nill in 2009 as per the
May God bless us with ANGER: at injus- records of the Health Department of the
tice, oppression, and exploitation of people Corporation of Chennai. This is turn helped
and the earth so that we may work for justice, to evoke a state-wide order for the imple-
freedom, and peace. mentation of the animal birth control pro-
May God bless us with TEARS: to shed for gramme in Tamil Nadu and stop all killing
those who suffer from pain, hunger and war, of stray dogs,” she said.
so that we may reach out our hands to comfort She then scaled up her programme sev-
them and turn their pain into joy. eral notches. In 2003, she put together the
And may God bless us with enough FOOL- “The Science of Alternatives movement” in
ISHNESS to believe that we can make a dif- India to promote the universal concept of
ference in this world, so that we will do what 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement)
others say cannot be done. in the use of animals in research and educa-
St Francis of Assisi is considered the patron tion. India’s first-ever Conference on
saint of the animals and his endorsement is Alternatives to Laboratory Research on ani-
crucial for Pereira’s charges: Around 1000 ani- mals was held in Delhi that year, under the Pereira reckoned that cognitive computing and read-across strategies, using Big Data, could
mals, including, dogs, cats, horses, aegis of Committee for the serve as a robust and far more predictive, economical and humane replacement to the use of
donkeys, monkeys and others, at the Purpose of Control and animals in toxicity testing
People for Animals sanctuary on the Supervision of Experiments on
outskirts of Chennai. The lame, the Animals (CPCSEA), Ministry of treading on the toes of the multi-billion-dol- enough to set up a retirement facility for race
blind, the mad, the rejected, the Environment and Forests. lar drug discovery industry, in which testing horses and does not want to be seen as cruel
abused and the abandoned… they’re Pereira was an expert consultant on animals is a manditory part. But she reck- and exploitative. Pereira is merely trying to
all welcome here and they will all be with the CPCSEA then. Globally, oned that cognitive computing and read- appeal to the better side of their nature.
cared for with tenderness and single- 500 scientists and students were across strategies, using Big Data, could serve Every animal at the PFA shelter in Chennai
minded attention. invited. The concept of alterna- as a robust and far more predictive, econom- has a personal connect to Pereira’s life. Laxmi,
Pereira is a singular individual.
And, without being conscious of it,
THE OTHER tives to dogs in laboratory
research, she said, was so new,
ical and humane replacement to the use of
dogs in toxicity testing. IBM’s Watson would
the donkey (featured in the picture), for
instance, is a carrot thief, she exclaimed with
she has internalised the Gandhian INDIA shocking and morally provoking be the vehicle for this. She found enthusias- affection. She records with deep sorrow, the
method of reconciliation: That for the Indian scientific commu- tic support from the pharma industry — no passing of a rescued Labrador, Ms Cherry, who
there’s no bad in anyone, and if we nity that hundreds of the partic- one wants to be seen as heartless, after all. was dumped at the shelter by a cruel breeder.
only rouse the ethical and the just in every- ipants walked out of the conference. But the This was in 2018 and though the details of Ms Cherry was used as a breeding machine
one and make sure no one loses face, every- first seed was sown to better laboratory ani- the project are confidential, she is certain it and was abandoned when she developed a
one would win. Since 1932, the Corporation mal welfare in India. will take off. liver ailment. Pereira nursed her back to
of Chennai had been eliminating street dogs The coup was a chance meeting with IBM Pereira is also negotiating a buy-in from health and she began following Pereira like a
via electrocution at a designated facility — and the launch of Project, DONT — Dogs are the famed racing industry of Tamil Nadu, the shadow, laughing and chattering with her, but
the Basin Bridge Lethal Chamber. In 1995, Not for Testing. DONT is a project that seeks Madras Race Club to launch a rehabilitation never letting her out of her sight, maybe
Pereira took up the battle with the civic to augment the precision and prediction of facility for race horses. These horses, in their because she was afraid of being discarded
authorities and managed to end this barbaric drug/chemical toxicity by replacing the dog prime, earn so much for their owners but are again. Ms Cherry lived for four more years but
practice. Acknowledging that street dogs in testing with the power and potential of either sold to breeders or abandoned when the liver and kidneys packed up and she could
were a problem, she offered a solution: machine learning and Artificial/Augmented they are judged too old to work. The racing not be saved. This and other stories: At PFA,
Chennai’s first mass animal birth Intelligence. She realised that she would be industry in Tamil Nadu is large and solvent Red Hills.
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>
OPINION 11
Volume XIII Number 20
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019

Call of the wild

ple are not natural food for tigers; they kill
humans only when threatened or lack prey.
Leopards, to take another example, are one
of the most adaptive of the big cats and
National Park tourism must evolve beyond the tiger tend to encroach on human habitat, espe-
cially those that are garbage-ridden when
their natural habitat shrinks. This is what is
reflection of this. Another is the mono-
focus of tourists visiting National Parks.
Every National Park promises the visitor a
unique view of the tiger and builds up the
mystique of the animal (some even invoke
The Jungle Book, for good measure). In
National Parks such as the ones in
ingly reveal themselves even in the
thinnest deciduous forests (this is one rea-
son a tiger census is so challenging).
Spotting the tiger then becomes a com-
petitive exercise that appears to bring out
the worst in the average Indian tourist —
noise and litter are their hallmarks. What

T
he 33 per cent bump in the tiger
population according to the latest
census reflects a triumph of
India’s conservation efforts and
its ability to conduct a complex exercise,
possibly the world’s largest, in counting
carnivores. These are remarkable achieve-
ments: India not only has the world’s
largest tiger population but has managed
this with the world’s second-largest popu-
lation. Taken together with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s scheduled appearance on
Discovery TV with Bear Grylls, this is an
opportune time to propagate awareness
and appreciation of India’s ecological boun-
ty among the wider Indian populace. Mr
Modi's appearance on Mr Grylls’ show may
further this aim, though a programme that
features man overcoming beasts in the wild
may not be the most appropriate way to
spread the good word. Many man-animal
conflicts — the kind that results in the trag-
ic killing of leopards, tigers, and elephants
— are often a result of rank ignorance
rather than livelihood encroachments. Few
care to acknowledge, for instance, that peo-
happening in the Borivali National Park,
for instance, where real-estate encroach-
ments are impinging on the eco-system for
leopards and other lesser mammals. As a
result, they stray into newly urbanised
areas, often killing unsuspecting humans
who cross their path.
At least part of the trouble is the lack
of awareness-building in India’s zoos and
institutions, official and private, involved
in wild-life tourism. The appalling behav-
iour of the Indian public at zoos is one
Ranthambhore, Corbett, or Kanha, this has
created something of a circus-like atmos-
phere where jeeps and guides keep a laser-
focus on the whereabouts of the big cats to
the exclusion of all else. This is a great pity.
For one, this single-minded mission of
spotting a tiger in the wild raises unrealis-
tic expectations. Unlike the vast open
plains of Serengeti in Africa, where big cats
and other animals can be viewed in their
hundreds, tigers are an extraordinarily
reclusive beast, and are unlikely to will-
they miss in this single-minded quest are
the multiple bounties embedded in Indian
forests — trees, birds, insects, leaves, and
flowers. As Pranay Lal’s encyclopaedic
Indica (2016) has revealed, South Asia is
home to a record number of species of flora
and fauna and unique habitats. If National
Park administrations and guides worked
towards offering tourists a journey through
nature and the environment, Indians would
come away with a better appreciation of the
raison d’etre of conservation.

The next big thing in telecom Delivering higher

With its enhanced speed, ultra-reliable connectivity and guaranteed service quality, 5G will be
a key enabler of industry’s digital transformation initiatives
education effectively
REUTERS RICHARD HEALD to forge international partnerships
should they demonstrate, to both par-

An engineer stands under a 5G base station antenna in Huawei’s multi-probe spherical near-field testing system at its manufacturing centre in Guangdong, China
SUBRAHMANYAM KANAKADANDI ing assets (NPAs), they will be cautious about lending to
telecom operators. This situation is likely to change in the
connectivity costs for 5G features.
The uses of 5G in manufacturing are many. They
I
ndia is on the path to becoming a ties, real added value.
global 21st century economic and The plan to merge high quality voca-
political superpower. To succeed, tional training with mainstream educa-
engineers, data scientists, health care tion at the secondary, college, universi-
professionals, social workers and a ty and post-university level is to be
whole range of trained professionals will commended. However, given the New
be necessary on an unprecedented scale. Education Policy’s ambitious objective
It is therefore encouraging that the to “provide access to vocational educa-
Government of India’s Draft National tion to at least 50 per cent of all learners
Education Policy represents the largest by 2025”, we recommend that the min-
reform of Indian higher education in istry of human resource development
decades. This includes allowing for and the ministry of skill development
mutual recognition of qualifications, and entrepreneurship work much more
simplification of education regulation, closely together.
widespread adoption of online courses, This could be done by considering
integrating vocational training into models such as degree apprenticeships
mainstream education, and greater popular in the UK, where students learn
international collaboration. and demonstrate strong practical skills
The new policy’s emphasis on quali- in areas such as electrical, mechanical,
ty, equity, access, learning outcomes, and aerospace engineering alongside
teaching, and research is to be applaud- building an understanding of the theo-
ed, as is the acknowledgement of the ry. This would provide employers with
societal-level benefits of education and graduates that have sophisticated
the decision to set up an Inter University employability skills and has the added
Centre for International Education, advantage of fostering social accept-
specifically to support the internation- ability for quality vocational training.
alisation of universities. Where highly-skilled Indian gradu-
The UK India Business Council ates are emerging from studies in the
(UKIBC) has long supported and advo- UK or India, a lack of mutual recognition
cated these reforms. However, we of degrees is a significant barrier to har-
believe the scale of India’s challenge will nessing their skills. Currently, Indian
require further measures. authorities do not recognise foreign
Indian policy-makers are qualifications obtained
right to want the best the India’s economy is through articulation and
world has to offer, and at a crossroads, pathway programmes or the
allowing foreign universi- and the new one-year Master’s pro-
ties to offer their own education policy gramme offered by UK uni-
degrees in India is a wel- could determine versities, which are recog-
come step. However, limit- the path it takes. nised widely elsewhere.
ing participation to the top It takes significant

I
t is said that when it rains, it pours. That is more or
less the story of the development of Indian tele-
com. After years of constrained data growth, the
entry of Reliance Jio and its competitive pricing has
ensured rapid deployment and uptake of 4G, enabling
India to leapfrog from 2G networks to 4G. But, tech-
nology development does not rest easy.
The age of 5G, the latest generation of mobile net-
works, is around the corner. SK Telecom in South Korea
and Verizon in the US have already launched 5G serv-
ices commercially, while operators in many other west-
ern countries are gearing up to launch their own 5G
services soon. Our recent study on 5G in industrial
operations found that 72 per cent of telcom operators
across the globe are planning to launch 5G networks
within the next two years.
The Indian telecom industry is also gearing up for 5G
adoption. While the specific timelines are yet to be
declared, there have been reports that the government is
likely to auction 5G spectrum before the end of 2020.
Telecom operators and network equipment manufac-
turers have already started setting up joint initiatives. In
India, there are two aspects to 5G adoption — regulato-
ry and financial, and actual market development.
Indian telecom providers are saddled with large quan-
tities of debts. These operators are required to pay huge
sums of money to the government for using spectrum.
This licensing process, which started with 2G spectrum,
has continued until 4G spectrum was auctioned a few
years ago. Through this process, operators have amassed
a large amount of debt. In fact, owing to operational dif-
ficulties, this space has seen mergers and acquisitions
too, with the industry now consolidated into three
large private players.
Additionally, Indian banks are coming out of a cred-
it and liquidity crunch cycle, which started a few years
ago. As banks grapple with high levels of non-perform-
next year, as NPAs in the system started to decline in the
last quarter of financial year 2018-19. For 5G auctions to
succeed, telecom operators will have to work closely
with banks. Even after the auctions, banks will need to
support the capex requirement for the 5G roll-out.
The government on its part has also set up a com-
mittee to explore the feasibility of reducing the cost of
spectrum. This committee may recommend moving
towards a revenue sharing model with the government,
instead of an upfront royalty structure. If this happens,
telecom operators will be able to invest in 5G with
greater financial ease.
The second aspect telecom operators will need to
focus on is actual market development. While 5G’s
features, such as enhanced speed, ultra-reliable and
low-latency connectivity and guaranteed quality of
service, promise to transform the digital experience in
both the industrial and consumer space, they are of
particular interest to a subset of organisations — indus-
trial manufacturers.
Our research found a strong business case for 5G
adoption in smart factories or industry 4.0 initiatives.
Globally, 75 per cent of industrial companies feel that 5G
will be a key enabler of their digital transformation ini-
tiatives in the next five years. This is surprisingly higher
than the share of executives that feel the same for artifi-
cial intelligence or advanced data analytics. Not just that,
nearly two out of every three industrial companies are
ready to implement 5G in their operations within two
years of its availability in their respective markets.
Such a strong level of interest from industrial com-
panies can partly be explained by the fact that nearly half
of industrial companies feel that connectivity issues —
such as signal reliability and lack of speed — are a sig-
nificant hindrance for their digital transformation ini-
tiatives. Our research also found that industrial compa-
nies are ready to pay a premium over their current
range from video surveillance of remote production
lines to real-time service and breakdown alerts in shop-
floor operations, and remote monitoring of shipment
conditions (such as temperature and humidity), to vir-
tual testing of parts and packing from suppliers in sup-
ply chain operations. In countries such as Germany,
large industrial giants are actively considering acquiring
regional licences for 5G, so that they are in better control
of their destiny when it comes to smart factories. In
fact, our research found that a third of industrial com-
panies are considering applying for their own 5G licence,
assuming the regulator allows it.
With the focus on manufacturing growing in India,
the smart factory and industry 4.0 domains can provide
telcom operators a stable revenue stream. In our earlier
research on smart factories, we found that 70 per cent of
organisations in India either already had an ongoing
smart factory initiative, or were planning to have one
soon, with big investments flowing in from multina-
tionals such as GE and Bosch. Moreover, in areas such as
supply chains, we found that over 50 per cent of organi-
sations in India were already experimenting with or
implementing robotics and the Internet of Things ( 75 per
cent). 5G technologies can be a shot in the arm for all such
industrial manufacturers.
In order to tap the industry 4.0 opportunity, telcom
operators need to evolve from plain service providers to
digital transformation partners for industrial compa-
nies. This would require understanding business
requirements, translating the requirements into solu-
tions, and taking the lead in implementing the solu-
tions. Co-innovation projects with industrial companies
and close collaboration with the entire 5G ecosystem
can facilitate the journey of telcom operators into trust-
ed digital solution partners.
The writer is Director, Capgemini Invent India
Part of the rationale
200 globally ranked institu- steps in the right behind this is the “time” ele-
tions will not significantly direction, and will ment — a UK Masters
mobilise the global expert- help young degree programme is typi-
ise, resources, and invest- Indians achieve cally only one year while
ment necessary to achieve their full potential obtaining a Master’s degree
India’s ambitions. from an Indian university
Crucially, universities requires two years. Moving
outside the “top 200” globally frequent- from a “time-based” model to an “out-
ly offer world-leading education in top- come-based learning” approach, focus-
ics vital for India’s development. At the ing on credits acquired rather than num-
same time, institutions that have an ber of lectures, would end the current
overall ranking in the top 200 could situation where Indian employers are
bring individual courses to India that missing out on highly educated and
are ranked low. highly motivated graduates, and talent-
It is also important to note that inter- ed young people are missing out on
national rankings contain biases, sys- opportunities.
tematically underplay the importance Mutual recognition of qualifications
of university social responsibility, and and allowing universities to award dual
reward research over teaching. This degrees will be a game-changer for
makes them a poor proxy for the needs India’s higher education system, as it
of India’s employers, society and the will significantly increase international
wider economy. collaborations and attract more
There are also limits on which Indian foreign students to come and study in
institutions can form international part- India — one of the key objectives of the
nerships, meaning that Indian institu- new policy.
tions integral to India’s ability to meet its India’s economy is at a crossroads,
global economic and political super- and the National Education Policy could
power ambitions will not be able to ben- determine the path it takes. It takes sig-
efit from in-depth international expert- nificant steps in the right direction,
ise. This could prevent many Indian and with the further measures outlined
higher education institutions from above, it will help young Indians
accessing the very teaching and research and, indeed, India, achieve their full
resources they need to improve and potential.
deliver for students and employers.
We therefore recommend that all The writer is Chief Executive Officer, UK India
institutions within India be permitted Business Council

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iSTOCK

To stem slowdown, policies Making better drivers of us Refreshing stand

must aim to revive demand Enforcement of new law will be key Zomato affirms pluralist principles
Lower interest rates can only help The way India drives and change in the notorious defi- A person professing the Hindu ly be good for business. While
behaves on roads is set for a ance, nothing like it, but the religion in Jabalpur and a small minority supported
when economic sentiment is robust transformative course correc- compulsive jugaad mindset to observing Shravan in a ritual- the actions of the peeved cus-
tion, on paper at least, with dodge the system and make it ly sectarian fashion has turned tomer in Jabalpur, the vol-
Annual growth in eight core sectors, which account for 40 per Parliament's green signal to a corruptible calls for a supple- the spotlight on an India divid- ume of derision he has
cent of India’s industrial output, dipped to 0.2 per cent in landmark legislation that aims mentary step: projecting road ed, earned widespread deri- earned drowned out their
June. This is the lowest monthly growth in this index since to improve road safety with safety as a national mission, sion, and shown that the voices. At the same time,
April 2015. Earlier last month, the International Monetary stringent laws for errant driv- much like Swachh Bharat. majority online are not bigot- Zomato received congratula-
Fund brought down its growth forecast for the Indian econo- ers, contractors in case of The Motor Vehicles ed. He declined to accept a tory messages from all quar-
my in the current fiscal year by 30 basis points to 7 per cent. faulty roads and vehicle mak- (Amendment) Bill, 2019, has a Zomato order delivered by a ters, including politicians,
India’s Gross Domestic Product growth has been declining ers if they fall short of produc- slew of laudatory proposals Muslim, and when he took his businessmen and influ-
continuously starting with the quarter ending June 2018, tion standards. The minimum like cashless treatment for peeve to Twitter, the compa- encers, for defending the
with the most recent data available for the quarter ending penalty for violation of traffic victims in the golden hour, ny’s handle responded: “Food idea of a diverse India. India’s
March 2019. rules and regulations will now compulsory insurance cover- doesn’t have a religion. Food is corporate culture is not cele-
The Indian economy badly needs a policy stimulus to come be ~500, and ~10,000 is the age for all road users, protec- a religion.” The company’s brated for being led by liber-
out of its present deceleration. The Reserve Bank of India has standard fine for a whole set of tion of Good Samaritans, CEO joined in the conversa- al principles. Against that
already cut policy rates thrice in 2019. However, these rate cuts offences. The global model of infusion of ~14,500 crore into tion, sticking up for diversity backdrop, Zomato’s moral
do not seem to have worked. Lower interest rates can only help road discipline — strict pun- safeguarding fatal spots, a and stating that he was not determination to hold the
in reviving economic activity when economic sentiment is ishment and huge penalties National Road Safety Board “sorry to lose any business that line stands out in sharp relief.
robust. They will be ineffective if investors do not see future Responsibility funds etc are generating fears that the govern- for traffic-related offences — and technology-driven driv- comes in the way of our And it has answered one of
demand that justifies their investment. Such a situation can ment is being too harsh towards businessmen and top execu- now awaits the Indian test of ing licence. But then there’s values.” the oldest questions about
only be salvaged through policies that focus on reviving demand tives in order to meet its revenue targets. It is important that pol- enforcement, which has not the regulatory reality check As the conversation pro- capitalism: Does morality
rather than lowering borrowing costs. A series of policy deci- icy interventions do not make matters worse. exactly distinguished itself in for the best of intentions. ceeded, though, it may have matter in business? It does.
sions such as increasing the income tax rate on the super-rich the past. If bringing a law become obvious that stand-
and imposing strict regulations on spending Corporate Social Hindustan Times, August 2 results in even an incremental The Tribune, August 2 ing up to bigotry may actual- The Indian Express, August 2
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 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
12
>
MUMBAI | 4 AUGUST 2019 1

Thousands flee Kashmir IMD predicts more rain in Mumbai

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Mumbai, 3 August
In neighbouring Thane and
Palghar districts, heavy rain dis-

after security advisory

REUTERS Armanath yatra pilgrimage
Srinagar, 3 August route) are advised to leave
Jammu and Kashmir,” the
Incessant rain lashed Mumbai
and its surrounding areas on
Saturday and the India
Meteorological Department said
more heavy rainfall is expected
in the metropolis during the
next 24 hours, prompting
rupted normal life. One person
was electrocuted in Thane city
while another suffered serious
injuries after the roof of a bakery
collapsed in Mumbra in the dis-
trict, officials said.
The unceasing downpour in
Palghar district prompted

T
housands of visitors
have started leaving the
disputed region of
Kashmir after the government
issued a security alert related
to possible militant attacks in
the area, a senior government
official said on Saturday.
Indian security officials on
Friday said they had found evi-
dence of attacks planned by
Pakistani military-backed mili-
tants on a major Hindu pil-
grimage in Kashmir.
The security officials said a
mine with Pakistan ordinance
markings was among caches of
ammunition retrieved follow-
ing intelligence reports of likely
attacks on routes used by
devout Hindus who trek to the
region’s holy Amarnath cave
every year.
A local government order
effectively called off the pil-
grimage, asking the pilgrims
and tourists to return home.
On Saturday, a senior local
government official in Kashmir
Non-local NIT students wait for vehicle as they leave the Valley
after security alert from government officials PHOTO: PTI
said the advisory had caused said. The Indian advisory had
panic and led to the departure of cautioned tourists in general,
“thousands” of tourists, pilgrims but did not give any specific
and labourers. The official did advice to foreign nationals.
not give a specific number, but However, on Saturday
he said most of the 20,000 Germany and the UK issued
Hindu pilgrims and tourists and advisories to their citizens dis-
the more than 200,000 labour- couraging them from travelling
ers were leaving the region. to Jammu and Kashmir.
Around 60 international “Travellers staying in
tourists arrived in Kashmir on Kashmir (especially the
Saturday, however, the official Kashmir valley and the
German ministry of foreign authorities to declare a holiday authorities to declare a holiday
affairs said. in schools and colleges. for educational institutions on
The UK’s foreign office The IMD cautioned people, Saturday. The Brihanmumbai
advised against all travel to saying heavy rainfall warning Municipal Corporation issued
Jammu and Kashmir with the on a “very-high-tide day” an advisory asking Mumbai res-
exceptions of travel by air to (Saturday) is “not a good combi- idents to not venture into the Volunteers carry out rescue work in boats at a waterlogged street
Jammu and within the city, and nation”. sea or in water-logged areas. in Thane on Saturday PHOTO: PTI
within the region of Ladakh.
Tensions have run high in the
mountainous region since a
vehicle laden with explosives
rammed into an Indian police
convoy on February 14, killing
40 paramilitary policemen, and
leading to aerial clashes
between the two nations.
The advisory has left the
fleeing tourists and pilgrims dis-
appointed. Prabakar Iyer, 45,
had travelled to Srinagar from
Bengaluru on Thursday with his
family for a 10-day holiday, but
they returned on Friday night.
“I was staying in a house-
boat on Dal Lake when the
advisory was issued. I fail to
understand why we are being
asked to leave. Everything is
normal here,” he said.

Aviation ministry 3 JeM militants killed Omar gets guv’s

asks airlines to
keep fares in check
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Saturday
advised airlines to keep fares from
Srinagar in check as Amarnath pilgrims
and tourists prepared to leave the
Kashmir Valley. According to Airports
Authority of India, 6,126 passengers
reported at the Srinagar International
Airport on Saturday to travel out of the
valley. Out of this, 5,829 passengers
travelled by 32 scheduled flights. Remai-
ning 387 passengers were acco-
mmodated in four IAF aircraft and flown
to various destination. The Ministry of
Civil Aviation tweeted, “Hon’ble Minister
for Civil Aviation Shri Hardeep Singh Puri
has asked all the airlines to rein in the
surging air fares for pilgrims returning
from Amarnathdham.” PTI
in skirmishes in word on J&K special
Baramulla, Shopian status, wants
Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Centre’s statement
militants were on Saturday killed in
two separate encounters with security
forces in Baramulla and Shopian
districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police
said. While two militants were killed
in Sopore township of Baramulla
district of north Kashmir, another was
gunned down in Shopian district of
south Kashmir in an operation which
began on Friday, a police officer said.
Acting on specific information about
the presence of militants in Warpora
area of Sopore in Baramulla, security PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
forces launched a cordon and search Srinagar, 3 August
operation on Saturday, he said. As the
security personnel were searching the National Conference leader Omar Abdullah
area, the militants fired at them. PTI (pictured) on Saturday said Jammu and
Kashmir Governor S P Malik has assured his
party that no moves are planned on repeal-
ing articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution,

VHP calls off yatra to Budha or the state’s trifurcation.

Amarnath pilgrimage
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Jammu, 3 August
The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Saturday
announced cancellation of the annual
Budha Amarnath yatra, citing security
threat to the pilgrimage.
The 10-day yatra in Poonch district
of Jammu region was scheduled to begin
on August 6.
“In view of the emerging security sit-
uation following the recovery of US
made sniper rifle and landmine along
the Amarnath yatra track in Kashmir,
we have decided to cancel the yatra to
Budha Amarnath for the safety of the
pilgrims,” State VHP president Leela
Karan Sharma said.
Sharma, who was flanked by several
other senior leaders, including Bajrang
Dal national convenor Sohan Singh
Solanki, said the decision to suspend
the yatra was taken at a general meeting
which was convened here to take stock
of the situation. Besides Budha
Amarnath, the VHP has also decided to
suspend the Kousar Nag yatra in Kulgam
district of south Kashmir and the
Machail yatra in Kishtwar district,
Sharma said.
“We will not go for any confronta-
tion with the government over its deci-
sion to suspend the Amarnath and
Machail yatra... The safety of the pil-
grims is our primary concern and in case
anything bad happens here, it has seri-
ous repercussions across the country,”
Sharma said.
However, the former J&K chief minister
said he wants an assurance on these issues
from the Centre in Parliament on Monday
as “the governor is not the final word on
Jammu and Kashmir”.
Abdullah and some of his party col-
leagues met the Governor on Saturday on
these issues. “He assured us that there was
no movement on (repealing) Article 370
or Article 35A or delimitation (of con-
stituencies in the state),” Abdullah told
reporters.
The Governor also issued a statement
after the meeting, saying the state has no
knowledge of any changes to
Constitutional provisions and assured that
the deployment of additional paramilitary
forces was purely for security reasons.
Abdullah said he has asked his party
MPs to move a motion in Parliament on
Monday seeking a statement from the
Union government on the situation that has
developed in Jammu and kashmir over the
past few weeks.

UP to speed up
cases in crimes
againts women
VIRENDRA SINGH RAWAT
Lucknow, 3 August

Facing all-round flak over the sluggish

pace of investigation in the Unnao rape
case, the UP government has decided to
fortify and speed up prosecution in cas-
es of crimes against women.
Last week, the survivor had met with
an accident, in which her two aunts were
killed while she and her lawyer were
grievously wounded. They are undergo-
ing treatment and the Supreme Court
has taken note of the incident, which con-
tinues to make national headlines putting
the ruling BJP in a dock. As a conse-
quence, sub-judice cases in UP courts
pertaining to sexual harassment, rape,
and other serious offences against
women and minors — will be taken up
on priority for effective prosecution and
quicker disposal by the state government.
UP additional chief secretary (home
department), Awanish Kumar Awasthi,
on Friday issued directives to the state
director general (prosecution), for
speeding up pending cases in the ses-
sions, special sessions, and other dis-
trict courts across 75 districts.
Besides, the state prosecution
department will also apprise the gov-
ernment every month of the prospective
hearing dates. To argue cases on behalf
of the state, the government appoints
assistant prosecution officers, prosecu-
tion officers, senior prosecution officers,
apart from a joint director of prosecu-
tion, in all districts.

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