www.freepressjournal.

in edit
Mumbai, Thursday, October 24, 2024

The anatomy of scams – trust,

hope and deception
ESTD -1928
✩✩✩
QUALITY @ VALUE

The Free Press Journal Mirror to Society

Founder Editor: S Sadanand
From tech-savvy professionals to seasoned public officials, stories of people
SRINATH SRIDHARAN
being duped by online and phone scammers are alarmingly frequent

A house for L
et’s be honest: if most gullible because they can’t keep especially when it comes to matters triggers such as fear, greed, or sym- pecially when combined with the
you have ever re- up with the flood of OTPs, phishing of the heart. But sometimes, that be- pathy, which push the victim to act fear of missing out (FOMO) or the
ceived a call telling links, and fraudulent apps. The truth lief comes with a hefty price tag. A quickly without thorough scrutiny. fear of loss.
you that you've is, even the most tech-savvy among swipe is all it takes, until the heavy Finally, the scam culminates in a Social engineering exploits not

Mr Kejriwal
won a lottery you never entered, or an us can be tricked. Age is not a bar- hand of the scan strikes. critical point of vulnerability, where just our emotions but also our cog-
email from a distant relative you didn’t rier. Consider the well-informed So why do we keep falling for the victim is prompted to provide nitive biases—the mental shortcuts
know existed leaving you a fortune, bank manager who gets a call from these scams? Is it because we’re fool- sensitive information or make a fi- our brains take to make decisions

A
you've probably paused for a moment. someone posing as a “VIP customer” ish? Not at all. It’s because we’re nancial transaction. Throughout this quickly. Scammers often capitalise
Yes, you, the educated, internet-savvy, demanding an urgent transfer of human. We want to trust others; we process, scammers skillfully ma- on the scarcity principle, creating a
few days ago, the Public Works Department of cautious citizen. For just a split second, funds. It’s not just the trust in auth- want to believe in good fortune, in nipulate emotions and trust, making sense of urgency that makes us be-
the Delhi government compiled a list of fittings and you may have wondered, “Could this ority that trips him up; it’s the press- love, in the possibility that some- their deceit difficult to detect until it’s lieve we need to act immediately to
fixtures at 6 Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines, Delhi. It was be real?” And that’s where it starts — ure, the perceived duty to act thing amazing could happen to us. too late. Scammers leverage shame avoid missing out on something
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official bungalow the tiny, fleeting hope that maybe, just quickly, and the fear of con- And scammers know this. They as a weapon, knowing that the valuable. They also use authority
until a couple of days earlier which he vacated upon maybe, you have struck gold. sequences if he doesn’t comply. Be- don’t just prey on our ignorance — powerful sting of embarrassment bias, where we’re more likely to
his resignation. Why Kejriwal felt constrained to re- In an age where our smartphones fore he knows it, the deed is done, they prey on our optimism, our can silence victims and keep their comply with requests from some-
sign upon his release on bail in the Delhi liquor excise have become extensions of our- and he’s left to wonder how he hope, and yes, sometimes our des- deception hidden from the light of one who appears to be in a position
scam in itself is a comment on his skullduggery. In- selves, and news cycles constantly could’ve been so easily fooled. peration. scrutiny. of power, like a bank representative
stead of resigning in March this year when arrested highlight the latest fraud schemes, Or take the government officer, For many, especially those well- The Social Engineering Game or a government official. These tac-
by the Enforcement Directorate, he dug in his heels, one would think we are all too wise accustomed to navigating bureau- versed in technology, there is a Social engineering is the art of tics are deliberately designed to
clinging to the CM’s “gaddi” against convention in all to fall victim to scams. Yet, in India, cratic red tape with ease, who falls sense of overconfidence. A bank manipulating trust, turning our short-circuit our critical thinking
such cases. Notice the contrast. Sometime around the the reality is sobering. From tech- prey to a scammer wielding just the manager or IT professional might natural instincts into the very tools processes. When someone receives
time, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was ar- savvy professionals to seasoned pub- right mix of insider jargon and polite believe that they are too savvy to be that betray us. Scammers are not a call stating that their bank account
rested in a corruption case. He immediately resigned. lic officials, stories of people being insistence. The scammer speaks his fooled, which ironically makes just hackers or tech wizards; they is at risk, the fear of losing their
Upon release on bail a few weeks later, he reclaimed duped by online and phone language, understands his concerns, them prime targets. Scammers ex- are master manipulators of human hard-earned money can override
the CM’s post. The court had not stipulated any con- scammers are alarmingly frequent. and by the time the officer realises ploit this false sense of security by psychology. Social engineering, the their usual caution, leading them to
dition which could impair his functioning as chief Despite the barrage of awareness he’s been had, it’s too late. It’s easy to using sophisticated methods that art of manipulating people into di- follow instructions they would
minister. However, in the AAP supremo’s case, the messages, it seems our vulnerability laugh at these situations from the catch even the most vigilant off vulging confidential information, otherwise question. Social engin-
apex court barred him from attending CM’s office or is only increasing. The question outside, but when you’re in the thick guard. The psychological effect of plays a significant role in most eering, therefore, isn’t just about
signing any file. You may ask why such stern con- arises: Why are we still so gullible? of it, the line between truth and de- believing one is in control often scams. They craft their approaches tricking people—it’s about under-
ditions in the case of Kejriwal. Maybe because he did India, a country that seems to ception gets blurry fast. It hurts and blinds people to the subtle cues of with precision, often creating scen- standing and manipulating the very
not heed the set precedent, continuing to pretend that thrive on WhatsApp forwards, bur- is expensive to the one who is the deception. arios that induce fear, urgency, or mechanisms that guide human
running the CM’s office from prison was okay in law. sting with advice on how to avoid victim here. The anatomy of a scam involves excitement. For instance, a call decision-making.
The SC order forced him to nominate Atishi Marlena getting scammed, remains paradox- And then there are the romantic several carefully orchestrated el- claiming your bank account has But here’s the thing: getting
as CM, who betraying her foreign degrees dramati- ically vulnerable to the most out- scams — the ones where logic is ements designed to exploit human been compromised is designed to scammed doesn’t mean you’re not
cally placed an empty chair next to her, claiming she landish cons. The scam engines thrown out the window, and love, or psychology. It typically begins with a trigger panic, making you more smart or savvy. It just means you’re
was a mere chair-warmer for Kejriwal. But the char- seem more innovative than others, what looks like love, takes over. In compelling hook — an enticing offer likely to comply with the scammer’s human. And the good news is, with
latan that he is, Kejriwal made it out that his resigna- with newer ones, be it the Customs India, where marriage is more than or urgent message that grabs atten- demands without thinking critically. each new scam we hear about, we
tion was a moral, and voluntary, act in keeping with scam to FedEx scam to more. Every just a personal milestone but a social tion and creates a sense of urgency Scammers have perfected the art get a little bit wiser. We learn from
the best traditions of public life! Now, to get back to day, we're bombarded with stories of expectation, the stakes are high. So, or excitement. Scammers then es- of persuasion. They use language our mistakes and the mistakes of
the PWD inventory for the official abode of the Aam people being duped — stories that when a charming stranger online tablish credibility through the use of and techniques that sound authori- others. We share our stories, and in
Aadmi CM. Even a cursory reading of the items would range from the mundane to the promises a life of happiness, even the authoritative language, official-look- tative, often mimicking official com- doing so, we help others avoid the
be enough to testify the veracity of the media reports downright absurd. You’d think by most rational among us might find ing documents, or impersonation of munication from banks, same pitfalls.
about the huge expenditure lavished on the construc- now we'd be immune to these tricks. ourselves getting swept up in the trusted entities, which lowers the government institutions, or even
tion and interior decoration of what had popularly Let’s not just point fingers at the fantasy. It’s human nature to want to victim’s defences. The scam often in- employers. This level of sophistica- Dr Srinath Sridharan is a policy researcher
come to be called Sheesh Mahal. It proved the old elderly, who are often seen as the believe in the best possible outcome, cludes a series of psychological tion can easily deceive anyone, es- and corporate adviser. X: @ssmumbai
adage about there being no smoke without fire. Re-
markably, the AAP minions the Supremo routinely
sends out nightly to tell lies on his behalf, remained
tongue-tied even as sections of the media blared out
in graphic detail about the vulgar ostentation in
Hankering for the past: Where have
those nostalgic traditions gone?
`renovating’ a house
for Kejriwal and Politicians
family. The land
under coverage in with great
the CM complex private Outlook
was increased by
fortunes on Extreme urbanisation has robbed us of our nostalgic cultural
appropriating four
adjoining houses of becoming MPs SUMIT PAUL resplendence, reminders and remnants

E
judicial officers who
were summarily
or even rasure of old and palanquin-bearers carrying a pe- sang for them (palanquin-bearers) chand admitted that he got the of Lord Ganesha! Won't you be
made to vacate. The ministers do cherished tradi- tite bride and ambling through in Assamese, Bangla and Hindi. idea of many of his characters mightily impressed by his deep
built- up area in not spend so tions speaks of lush green pastures and meadows The demand for palanquin- from these mobile ear cleaners. knowledge of people and places?
Delhi CM’s house of erstwhile Bengal. The palan- bearers was phenomenally high in There's an Avadhi adage that only In The City of Joy (French: La Cite
vulgarly on
the cultural im-
was now four times poverishment of a nation and its quin-bearers were so respected the pre-Independence days and two people have the knowledge of de la Joie), the legendary French-
the normal sanc- official people, said Nirad C Chaudhuri in during the regime of king Nimi- their ancestors were raking in a the world: A barber and a mobile man Dominique Lapierre de-
tioned limit for sen-
ior central cabinet
residences as The Autobiography of an Unknown
Indian.
tosh Sen of Burdwan that they
were accorded the importance,
lot of moolah. In fact, palanquin-
bearers were always present at so-
cleaner. These two species are in-
deed all-knowing. They're full of
scribed how enlightened he
became when he went to a mobile
ministers. Since no the AAP What would Nebadhai, a small generally given to the lesser cial functions and ferried people interesting anecdotes to tell you ear-cleaner in the backwaters of
monetary value was
put on the over
messiah did, village in Duttapukur in West
Bengal's North 24 Parganas dis-
courtiers. Bankim Chandra Chat-
terjee's epochal novel Devi
from one village to another. Alas,
where have they gone and where's
with necessary spices from their
ends. Whose daughter has eloped
West Bengal. He found him to be
a polymath, a know-it-all. From
2,000 square meter- raiding the trict and BK Pal Avenue, a Chaudhrani immortalised the the romanticism of that era dis- with whom and whose mother-in- elections to ecology, he talked on
complex, public dis- public crowded locality in North Kol- role of palanquin-bearers and appeared? law beats her daughter-in-law and all subjects under the sun, moon
course omitted the kata, have in common? The two, Premendra Mitra of Bengal wrote As regards mobile ear cleaners, gets beaten in turn, all amusing and the boundless sky with the
land-value while treasury despite being opposites in terms a story in which a bride fell for one they too are languishing in obliv- pieces of information can be had authority of an erudite scholar, ob-
reckoning that of geography and social con- of the palanquin-bearers! The ion, awaiting an occasional cus- from a barber and a mobile served the French novelist. But
nearly Rs. 1,00 crores was spent on building and in- ditions, house the last survivors of great Mohammed Rafi sang tomer. The uber-refined Rehman cleaner. And more often than not, sadly, nowadays, there's a prolifer-
teriors. It is probably the most opulent government two almost extinct professions – “Chalo re doli uthao, Kahaar...” as of old Hindi movies suggested that their stories have an iota of truth ation of mobiles that are sure to
house in India. Old-timers claim that they cannot palanquin-bearers and mobile ear one of his last numbers in 'Jani Gurudutt accommodate the role in them. They're the BBC of their damage your ear-drums and what
think of any chief minister or central minister who cleaners. Both the professions Dushman.' Poet-lyricist Gopaldas of a champi-cum-ear cleaner in villages. A mobile ear-cleaner lit- not! Times have changed. Haven't
had lavished such a vast amount of taxpayers’ money evoke a deluge of nostalgic mem- Saxena 'Neeraj' tellingly wrote, the film Pyaasa and Johnny erally gives you an earful and they? Extreme urbanisation has
building an abode for himself. Short of genuine silver ories of a bygone era, when life “Jyon loot lein kahaar hi dulhan ki Walker made it immortal. He stuffs your ear-drums with his robbed us of our nostalgic cultural
and gold toilets, Kejriwal spared no expense on ensur- wasn't so fast as it is today. Sarojini paalki / Haalat yahi hai aajkal Hin- went to Calcutta and observed wisecracks. He'd also analyse your resplendence, reminders and
ing vulgar luxury for self and family. Politicians with Naidu had time and empathy for dustan ki” (The way palanquin- mobile cleaners at Bow Bazar. He character on the basis of the size remnants.
great private fortunes on becoming MPs or even min- palanquin-bearers to write a bearers plunder the palanquin of closely observed the way they of your ears and stun you with his
isters do not spend so vulgarly on official residences beautiful poem on them. Rabin- the bride/ We're witnessing the cleaned their customers' ears. The General Knowledge that Mahatma Sumit Paul is a regular contributor to the
as the AAP messiah did, raiding the public treasury. dranath Tagore was moved by the same deplorable scenario in mobile ear cleaners were great Gandhi had pretty big ears, a sign world’s premier publications and portals in
Imported Japanese toilet seats, costing up to Rs 12 synchronised movements of today's India). Bhupen Hazarika raconteurs and Munshi Prem- of wisdom and greatness like that several languages
lakhs each, walk- in imported refrigerators, king-sized
cooking ranges, dozens of ultra-smart TVs, water pu-
rifying systems costing upwards of Rs. 15 crores, mas- Dear reader, We are eager to know your opinions, comments and suggestions. Write to letters@fpj.co.in with the title of the letter in the subject line.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
saging chairs and sofas, fancy curtains, waterfalls, Using snail mail? Send your letters to The Free Press Journal, Free Press House, 215 Free Press Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021.
art-worked pillars, manicured lawns and garden fur-
niture et al adorned the abode of an “aam aadmi” who Reviving folk arts similar programmes. India sters like Nandesh Umap, to orthodox presentations and
HASAN ZAIDI

goes to great lengths to be seen in public sporting a Mass media is the most ef- boasts a rich and evolved preserve their cultural leg- gone a step ahead by experi- Too many, too few
cheap bush-shirt, un-ironed trousers, modest chap- fective means of communi- tradition of folk culture. In acy. I have seen Nandesh menting through fusion with The editorial, ‘The politics of
pals or shoes and a regulation one-rupee ballpoint in cation and contrary to Maharashtra, with the loss of Umap's debut performance renowned artistes, and procreation’ (Oct 23) pres-
chest pocket. The PWD claimed that the expensive popular perception, it is folk adequate patronage only a as an independent per- hence rightly deserves to be ents a valid argument. The
toilet seats were missing while it took charge of the arts and not electronic few self-sustaining forms like former at Akashvani Ken- a Sangeet Natak Akademi chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
house as per the established drill when a house is va- media that are authentic kirtans and lavani continue to dra's Radio Bhavan where he award-winner. and Andhra Pradesh have
cated and before its allotment to the next occupant. mass media. This has been survive. In such a scenario, displayed unparalleled con- Bhushan Sarmalkar, given a call to their subjects
Even here, apparently to avoid PWD inventory, Kejri- proved time and again by Dr Priyanka Mathur’s well- fidence and passion for the Mumbai to have more children. Both
wal handed over the keys to Atishi Marlena, in de- state and central govern- researched Weekend article art he inherited from his are not emotional calls from the faulty system of popu-
fiance of the set procedures. Anyway, the bigger con ments’ usage of folk arts like on Maharashtra's rich folk father late Shahir Vithal Cuba in crisis ordinary persons. We have lation as base to share the tax
he indulged in while erecting Sheesh Mahal was to get kirtan, folk music, puppetry culture, ‘Songs of yester- Umap who kept the art alive It is beyond imagination that heard communally moti- revenue from the national
around the stipulation which required the Delhi gov- and folk theatre to popular- years’ (Oct 20), is an apt despite all odds. Nandesh at an entire country can go vated persons asking Hindus pool. The issues being seri-
ernment to seek prior approval of the Lieutenant Gov- ise their family planning, illit- tribute to the efforts of folk times has broken away from without electricity for days to give birth to more children ous, all concerned should
ernor, Vinay Kumar Saxena in this case, before eracy eradication and other artistes, especially young- together, bringing it to a to ensure the demography give serious thought to it. But
spending Rs. 10 crores or above. So, the new-fangled MIKA’S MATRIX grinding halt. But Cuba, one tilts in favour of the Hindus. the solution should not be to
messiah split the expenditure into several bills, all of the largest island coun- But the calls from the two call for giving birth to more
slightly less than the Rs. 10-crores. Also, it will be in- tries in the Caribbean sea, CMs of important southern children. The reason for the
teresting to find out whether any kickbacks were in- has been experiencing this states are points to ponder. educated population to re-
volved in the procurement the expensive toys and devastating blackout since When the Union government spond positively to the call to
trinkets brought for the amusement of Kerjiwal and last week, following one of took up the task of control- control the population was
family. A whole host of items were bought at the maxi- the country’s main power ling the population explosion mainly the growing cost of
mum listed price, while it is customary in all such plants suddenly went offline. in India it was the southern bringing them up with rea-
cases for the actual price to much lower. These nag- The blackout isn’t an isolated states which took the lead sonable education and viable
ging questions must be explored once a thorough in- incident, but part of a much and achieved the desired re- living standards. But neither
vestigation is undertaken into the AAP supremo’s larger problem for Cuba. sults. The education level, has the cost of living come
heist. Even the most wealthy are careful with their The country has long which was better than the down nor has the income
money, avoiding wasteful expenditure. But not Aam struggled to keep its electri- other states, was also a con- level increased to bear more
Aadmi Kejriwal. Small wonder that for the first time cal grid running efficiently, tributing factor for the suc- children now. Those who give
in three decades Delhi is staring at a huge hole in its largely due to the ongoing cess. Now the same success a call to increase population
budget. Even the AAP government in Punjab has run U.S. blockade. For decades, is to punish them with re- for whatever reasons do not
up a much bigger deficit than it had inherited from the economic restrictions duced representation in Par- come with solutions for the
the previous Congress government. Of course, politics imposed by the U.S. have se- liament after the delimitation increasing cost of bringing
is teeming with charlatans, but there has been no verely limited Cuba’s access process is carried out. Be- them up. Let leaders suggest
bigger charlatan in Indian politics than the AAP su- to essential fuel and energy sides, they are already paying solutions also.
premo. He is a disgrace even to the civil society move- resources. more by way of tax and get- AG Rajmohan,
ment from where he had emerged to clean the Ranganathan Sivakumar, ting much less in turn due to Anantapur
Augean stables of politics – only to sully it the most. Chennai
06 NEW DELHI, THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER 2024 Vol. CXXXXXVIII 252

The great divide

A MEMBER
OF THE

Incorporating and directly descended ASIAN VOICES

from THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818
In 1965, July through October were cruel months witness to the 'monsoon war' NATO chief assumes
Modi's Peace Push spreading across the India-Pakistan border. Military movements were matched predecessor's mantle
by representations at the United Nations by the two nations. In Parliament,
T he BRICS summit has once again brought the
group’s growing global clout into sharp focus, par-
ticularly in the context of the ongoing war in
Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for peace,
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a no-confidence motion even as he
was bracing for the challenges of war. Eye-catching are media headlines of 27
efore Mark Rutte assumed the
NATO general secretary’s post
on Oct 1, there were hopes he
would make more balanced B
expressed during his meeting with Russian President August 1965: 'No-Trust motion defeated: PM warns of prolonged trouble in and independent decisions than his
predecessor Jens Stoltenberg, even try to
Vladimir Putin, highlights India’s desire for a resolution
to one of Europe’s most devastating conflicts in recent Kashmir'. The voting came after MR Masani (Swatantra Party), mover of the persuade Russia and Ukraine to end
their hostilities at the earliest. Yet a gath-
history. Mr Modi’s stance underscores India’s role as a motion, replied to the debate. In his reply, the PM said that the nation had to ering of NATO defense ministers the for-
potential mediator, reflecting its emphasis on diplomacy
and peaceful conflict resolution, while maintaining its be prepared for a grim and prolonged struggle against Pakistan in Kashmir mer Dutch prime minister presided over
last week belied those hopes.
strategic partnerships, notably with Russia. However, Rus- The NATO defense ministers’ meet-

A
sia's firm position on Ukraine, particularly regarding ter- t the recently-concluded dus and Muslims to forge an ing in Brussels on Thursday and Friday
ritorial concessions, casts doubt on the prospects for 23rd SCO (Shanghai enduring solidarity and reunite was by no means a gathering to
peace. Mr Putin’s refusal to negotiate away the four east- Cooperation Summit) the partitioned land.” Under the exchange views on the global security sit-
ern Ukrainian regions now claimed by Moscow reveals meeting in Islamabad, Defence of India Rules, large-scale uation. Instead, it was an occasion for
the significant challenges facing any truce efforts. While External Affairs Minister S Jais- arrests of SSP workers in Bihar, the new NATO chief to assume the man-
discussions of a potential ceasefire persist, the broader hankar kept the focus on terror- Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and tle of his predecessor as a US yes-man.
geopolitical landscape ~ marked by Russia’s military ism, extremism and separatism West Bengal was condemned. With North Atlantic Treaty Organi-
while his brief exchanges with State units were asked to organise zation’s close partners in the Asia-Pacific
advances, Western sanctions, and global economic insta-
Pakistan counterpart Muhammad demonstrations and hunger-mar- region ~ Australia, Japan, New Zealand
bility ~ complicates the situation. For Russia, this BRICS Ishaq Dar at the reception were ches from September 15 against and the Republic of Korea ~ and the
summit is an opportunity to highlight the strength of the hailed as the “first thaw” in Indo- the government’s food policy. European Union taking part in the exec-
non-Western world in the face of Western efforts to isolate Pak relations which have remain- Jayaprakash Narayan, con- utive-level meeting of NATO, the organ-
it. BRICS, representing nearly half of the world’s popula- ed diplomatically stressed, stub- sidered the tallest of socialist lead- ization, under Rutte's leadership, has
tion and a substantial portion of the global economy, has bornly frozen and violently grid- ers of his generation, also spoke taken a big step forward in transforming
emerged as a platform through which Russia can seek locked. When the Indian ministe- against the indiscriminate use of their symbolic presence at the NATO
new economic and political alliances. rial team commented that “the Defence of India Rules. In Calcut- summits in Madrid last year and Wash-
Mr Putin’s focus on expanding BRICS and building atmospherics were good,” it seems ta, just before his departure to ington earlier this year into a worrisome
an opportune moment to peer Manila to accept the prestigious routine practice. Although details of the
an alternative financial system immune to Western sanc- through the broken bridges of Magsaysay Peace Award, Jaya - meeting remain unknown, the selective
tions reflects the group's strategic importance in Russia’s diplomacy between the two neigh- ed them with troops in enemy. The Government would prakash said, “I feel very per- information NATO has chosen to release
long-term foreign policy objectives. Yet, the internal bours, who suffered the horrors of 1947...Seventeen years after that not put up with any kind of vio- turbed over the manner in which shows China's growing national strength
dynamics of BRICS present their own set of challenges. Partition and then a series of wars, aggression of 1948, Pakistan has lence at that juncture, he DIR is being used to deal with civic was cited as the main “reason” for NATO
Despite some signs of a thaw, India and China, the two entrenching international powers repeated it on a much larger scale. declared. Winding up the debate, disturbances which the normal to justify its expansion to the Asia-Pacific.
largest buyers of Russian oil, continue to have strained in the sub-continent amidst a con- There was no justification for it. MR Masani asserted that he was law of the land could have taken Rutte said the participation of NATO’s
relations. This tension, along with the potential inclusion tinuing arms-race. Pakistan’s idea was to annex Kash- completely unconvinced with care of all I would say is that the “Indo-Pacific” partners and the EU in the
of additional members like Saudi Arabia and Iran, raises In an editorial titled ‘Drums mir by force; India had to defend Government arguments in reasons so far given out by the defense ministers’ meeting is “a clear
questions about whether BRICS’ expanding membership of War’, National Herald, dated 12 it. Pakistan had to escalate the war defense of their economic and Government of India for a sweep- sign of our deepening cooperation in the
will dilute its effectiveness or strengthen its global influ- September 1965, underlined: “The to save herself from the predica- foreign policies. At a time when ing action taken against the left face of shared challenges”. “The war in
peace which India sought to wid- ment of a short end to a long-pre- even Communist countries, communists are not convincing Ukraine has shown that instability in
ence. While some may argue that the inclusion of new
en and maintain has been shat- pared aggression, and India has notably the Soviet Union and enough.”
members enhances the group’s legitimacy, others worry tered again. It may have been a had to enlarge the fronts.” Yugoslavia, were abandoning Trouble was brewing in Uttar
that the complex web of interests and rivalries could ren- false peace, after the slumber of In 1965, July through October controls, regimentation and Pradesh as Congress legislators
der it unwieldy. centuries not a live peace but a were cruel months witness to the excessive state monopoly in wrote en masse to party president Europe can have far-reaching conse-
Mr Modi’s diplomatic overture, though, signifies a smokey smugness of the spirit. If ‘monsoon war’ spreading across favour of encouraging free enter- K Kamaraj seeking permission to quences across the world, and that coun-
balancing act for India. As the world’s largest democracy it was so, it had to be shattered. the India-Pakistan border. Military prise, India was moving in the resign; Kamalapati Tripathi, head- tries thousands of miles away ~ as far
and a key player in the Global South, India’s position is But India was alive to the realities movements were opposite direction, ing the UP Congress Committee, away as Iran, China and even North
unique. It maintains strategic ties with Russia while also of the world and was working to matched by repre- he declared. Reply- was in constant touch with both Korea ~ can become security spoilers in
engaging with the West. In the context of Ukraine, Mr make peace more than the absen- sentations at the ing to criticism that Kamaraj and PM Shastri, never our own backyard. Our world is closely
Modi’s message is clear: India favours a peaceful solution, ce of war. She had gone through United Nations by he had thought it divulging the legislators’ real linked ~ and so is our security,” Rutte
the intense agony of partition and the two nations. In fit to bring the grievances in public. Sucheta Kri- told journalists.
not only to restore stability in Europe but also to ensure the perils which a newly free Parliament, Prime motion when the palani, while being the first Rutte even outdid his predecessor
that the global economic system, already shaken by war nation faces in an uncertain world Minister Lal Baha- country was facing woman chief minister of an Indian by publicly declaring that he is willing to
and other crises, does not spiral further into uncertainty. and plunged into the endless dur Shastri faced a serious external state, was negotiating through fulfill Ukraine’s wish to become a NATO
Ultimately, the BRICS summit serves as a reminder of the adventure of nation-building. no-confidence mo- dangers, Mr political turbulence during those member, a move widely seen as a grave
shifting global order. While the West continues to domi- There were challenges of poverty, tion even as he was Masani said it was months, shuttling between Kama- provocation to Russia and will further
nate global finance and military power, emerging illiteracy and the enervating influ- bracing up to the his duty at this raj and Tripathi, dutifully keeping complicate the Ukraine crisis. “At the
economies are increasingly asserting their own vision for ences of two hundred years of for- challenges of war. hour of peril to the Prime Minister informed. To moment it seems that it will be Ukraine
RAJU
a multipolar world. Whether BRICS can harness this eign rule to meet with energy and Eye-catching are MANSUKHANI
pinpoint the say these were testing times for as number 33, but maybe somebody else
potential to mediate global conflicts or address economic enthusiasm. Pakistan has dis- media headlines of defects in the Shastri would be a gross under- pops in front of him. But Ukraine will be
turbed the even tenor of that life, 27 Au gust 1965: The writer is a researcher- economy so as to statement. a member of NATO in the future, “Rutte
disparities remains to be seen. For now, the group offers author on history and
soon after China made it clear that ‘No-Trust motion heritage issues and a former
save the ‘collaps- The media coverage in those said.” That is what we decided in Wash-
a platform where non-Western voices, like India’s, can she could be a long-term menace defeated: PM warns deputy curator of ing domestic front’ months ~ be it National Herald, ington. So the question is now about the
advocate for peace and cooperation, even in the face of on the northern frontier. Pakistan of prolonged trou-
Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya
to stren gthen the The Statesman, Hindustan Times, timeline ... Then the question exactly
profound geopolitical challenges. has always been an unfriendly ble in Kashmir’. defence effort. On The Times of India, Indian Express about ... when I cannot answer now .... “
neighbour, unreconciled to the According to the Pakistani infiltra- or The Hindu ~ was justifiably Allies need “to move further and

Centrist Gamble
consequences of partition. But National Herald, the Lok Sabha tion into Kashmir, he pledged his patriotic but balanced in giving faster to meet the growing threats we
even she would not have unleash- rejected by an overwhelming ma- party’s fullest support to the Gov- international news and events face”, he said, adding that “this requires
ed massive aggression against jority of 318 votes to 66 a no-con- ernment in any measure they their due importance. In fact, the more forces, capabilities and investment

A ustria’s political developments reflect a significant

crossroads for the country, as President Alexander
Van der Bellen’s decision to sidestep the far-right
Freedom Party (FPÖ) in government formation sends a
India without the encouragement
given to her by China. Behind
Ayub’s Mussolini’s front, the
Machiavellian mind of Bhutto was
working dangerously.”
fidence motion against the Gov- may take. He said his party stood
ernment headed by Prime Minis- for retaliation.
ter Shastri. The voting came after Voices outside Parliament
MR Masani (Swa tantra Party) were equally strong and profound
mover of the motion, replied to as the Samyukta Socialist Party
United States aggression in Viet-
Nam was consistently on the front
pages, editorial and news pages of
the dailies. Unsparing in the out-
rage against US bombings, it was
to meet the ambitious targets set by our
defense plans”. It is apparent that Rutte
was carrying out Washington’s task of
merging security with technology, trade
and climate action by overgeneralizing
clear signal about the future direction of leadership. M Chalapathi Rau, National the debate. In his reply, the PM (SSP) with doyens like Dr Ram reported that Giant B-52 jets of the concept of “security”, which the
Despite the FPÖ winning the most votes in the general Herald’s iconic editor, made the said that the nation had to be pre- Manohar Lohia, SM Joshi and the United States Strategic Air Unit ed States-led West believes will
election, the refusal of other parties to work with its leader, editorial ring with relevance: “It is pared for a grim and prolonged Anan tram Jaiswal at the helm, Command bombed the Viet-Cong prove effective in countering the China
Herbert Kickl, reveals deeper concerns about the political tragic that Pakistan should have struggle against Pakistan in Kash- called for a ‘flexible approach’ to guerilla jungle stronghold of ‘War “threat”. However, neither NATO’s pro-
and ideological landscape of Austria. At the heart of this become the agency for compelling mir. Mr Shastri wanted that the settling India’s disputes with Pak- Zone’, about 30 miles north of mise to help Ukraine nor its so-called
situation lies a fundamental question of democracy: India to shake off her ancient capture of certain posts by our istan to enable the two countries Saigon. It was the 11th raid on commitment to contain China is new.
should a party that wins the largest share of votes, but lethargies and to subject her peo- security forces across the cease- to develop common defence and Viet-Cong targets by the huge While the former has worsened the secu-
remains politically isolated, be entitled to lead the gov- ple to the discipline of war instead fire line should not create a sense foreign policies, common citizen- strato-fortresses. Meanwhile rity situation in Europe, the latter has
ernment? Austria’s president has taken a stance that chal- of the discipline of development. of complacency. “The situation,” ship and common market. The North Viet-Nam said the United soured relations between China and
It is a tragedy for India and a trage- he said, “is much more difficult resolution, adopted at a special States was doomed to a ‘humili- NATO, which is a pity because before the
lenges this idea, emphasising that electoral success is not dy for Pakistan, the two same ra- and much more grave. The trou- session of SSP in New Delhi, ating defeat’. Ukraine crisis broke out, China and
the sole determinant of governance. cial stocks and the same cultural ble in Kashmir would not be a referred to Indian security forces Pravda, the Soviet Commu- NATO could still communicate with each
The argument here is straightforward: a party unable strains, but divided forcibly into shortened affair. Therefore, we crossing the line of cease-fire: nist Party newspaper, accused the other in good faith to seek to work toge-
to form a coalition or build consensus across the political two nations in a bitter moment of have to prepare our country to “The committee would welcome US of committing genocide in ther to deal with common security thre-
spectrum lacks the legitimacy to govern effectively. In this separation. The two succession meet this situation. Any help or this step if it presages the inaugu- Viet-Nam, of waging a ‘war of ter- ats. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spok-
case, the FPÖ's divisive policies ~ marked by euro-scep- states, with their separate nation- support from any quarter, even ration of a new policy with regard ror’ against the Viet-Namese peo- esperson Mao Ning said, China has the
ticism and close ties with Russia ~ have alienated potential alities, could have lived as friendly those who oppose us, would be to Pakistan and a firm determina- ple. “This is a real genocide, a cry- best track record among major countries
coalition partners, leaving it isolated despite its electoral neighbours, if there had been an most welcome.” tion to liquidate the aggression ing violation of the principles of when it comes to maintaining peace and
win. This decision is important not just for Austria, but ounce of statesmanship in Pak- Strongly deprecating the and not just a clever manoeuvre international law and of the stan- security. So it is to be hoped that NATO
istan to match the abundant good- violent demonstrations in several to silence criticism. In deciding dards of humanity and ethics. This will take a hard look at what it has done
for Europe. The rise of far-right parties across Europe has will which Indian leaders were parts of the country, Mr Shastri India’s policy towards Pakistan, is a crime against mankind,” Prav- to Europe’s security architecture, reflect
raised concerns about the erosion of democratic values, prepared to extend. Kashmir was said while India was engaged in the Government should not pay da said. The divide between natio- on the consequences of triggering bloc
especially in the face of growing nationalism, anti-immi- the great divide. It became an a grim struggle with Pakistan, it any attention to the reaction of ns in 1965, or now in 2024, seems confrontation, and stop smearing China
grant rhetoric, and challenges to the European Union's intractable problem when Pak- was essential that nothing should foreign powers and pressures.” to be bridged by barbaric hostili- and see China for what it is: a peace-lov-
core principles. In this context, Austria’s rejection of a istan let loose raiders and support- be done which would help the The resolution “appealed to Hin- ties, destruction and hatred. ing, development-oriented nation.
far-right-led government sets a precedent that could res-
onate across the continent, offering an alternative to the
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR editor@thestatesman.com
wave of populism that has taken hold in many other Euro-
pean countries.

Pollution and politics

However, the decision to bypass the FPÖ does not
come without risks. Mr Kickl has already framed the move
DMK government and Chief Min- CHALLENGES
ister MK Stalin.
as undemocratic, arguing that it is a betrayal of the Aus- Due to controversial decisions, SIR, This refers to the article “West Asia Challenge” by Shantanu
trian people who voted for his party. This rhetoric plays SIR, This refers to the reports in India phenomenon, but a world- the Governor has ruined the dignity Mukharji, published today. The escalating conflict in West Asia pres-
into a broader narrative of victimhood that populist lead- your edition of 20 October, wherein wide scourge. Air, water and land of this post. Firstly, he does not sign ents a multifaceted challenge for India, underscoring the need for
ers across Europe have successfully used to galvanise sup- both BJP and the AAP are blaming have all become polluted. But our bills passed by the state govern- nuanced diplomacy.
port. The FP֒s exclusion from government could each other for environmental politicians would have us believe ment or if he does, he does so with India's energy security is highly dependent on the region, with
strengthen its base, fueling claims that the political estab- degradation. that pollution is caused by the delay of six to eight months or when nearly 60 per cent of its oil imports coming from West Asian coun-
lishment is conspiring against the will of the people. This The BJP blames the AAP for actions/non-actions of a political forced to do so when the Supreme tries. A wider conflict threatens to disrupt these vital energy supplies,
could deepen polarisation in Austria, making future elec- poor air quality and toxic Yamuna party! The fact is there is more pol- Court orders. impacting its economy.
foam. To counter the BJP’s charge, lution in Indian politics than in our Once, he went beyond his lim- Moreover, with over 8 million Indians living and working in the
tions even more contentious. The coalition-building the AAP blames the BJP govern- environment. its and jurisdiction and dismissed a Gulf, safeguarding their safety is a top priority. India must also con-
process now underway between the conservative People’s ment of Haryana for polluting the And this is why leaders of dif- minister. Perhaps he was not satis- sider its strategic partnerships, balancing ties with nations like Iran
Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) presents Yamuna river. Both the charge as ferent political parties can't and fied with those controversies, so and Saudi Arabia, while maintaining strong relations with Israel
challenges. While this centrist approach may appeal to well as the counter charge are won't smoke the peace pipe to tack- now, while trying to forcefully and the U.S. Navigating these complex dynamics is crucial for
Austrians wary of extremism, the ideological differences bizarre. Pollution is not only a pan- le air or water pollution as con- impose Hindi in the southern state. India to secure its economic interests, protect its diaspora, and pur-
between the ÖVP and SPÖ are significant. cerned citizens of India. Passing the On 18 October, the line ‘Thek- sue its broader geopolitical ambitions without being drawn into
Mr Nehammer, the ÖVP leader, has signalled that buck and scoring brownie points kanamam Athhil Sirantha Dravi- regional hostilities.
reforms will be necessary to ensure a stable government, appears to be the preferred option dam Naal Thirunadum’ (The south- Yours, etc., Narayanan Kizhumundayur,
but bridging the gap between the SP֒s calls for wealth of all political parties. They would ern region and the Dravidian coun- Thrissur, 19 October.
rather suffer collectively than fight try are the best in it) was omitted
and inheritance taxes and the ÖVP’s conservative policies
pollution collectively. from the traditional Tamil state
could prove difficult. The inclusion of a third party, pos- Yours, etc. Avinash Godboley, anthem ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’. dislike for this word. In such a situ- when he says, “In the guise of cele-
sibly the liberal Neos, may help create balance, but it Dewas, 20 October. This created a controversy, ation, it seems that the days of brating India, the Governor is
would also represent Austria’s first three-party coalition which was bound to happen. Lead- the Governor are now numbered insulting the unity of the nation and
since its post-war independence. Ultimately, Austria’s UNSEEMLY ers of all parties, including the in Chennai. the diverse ethnic communities liv-
political future hinges on whether its centrist parties can SIR, Ever since 18 September 2021, opposition, condemned the remo- Because this time not only the ing on this land.”
forge a government that not only excludes far-right when RN Ravi was appointed as val of the word ‘Dravidam’. ruling DMK but also the opposition Yours, etc.,
extremism but also addresses the concerns of voters who Governor of Tamil Nadu, he has It is noteworthy that Governor AIADMK has come out against him. Jang Bahadur Singh,
turned to the FPÖ. been playing a tug of war with the Ravi has constantly expressed his I completely agree with CM Stalin Jamshedpur, 21 October.
 NEW DELHI, THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER 2024

100 YEARS AGO

07
Does America have a right to preach? OCCASIONAL NOTE
JAPAN'S earthquake of September
SUNIL SHARAN The US talks a good game, lectur- 1, 1923, has received, and is receiving,
ing the world on religious freedom, careful study. The Imperial Earthquake

W
hen Nimrata (Nikki) while retaining its top spots for Chris- Inv estig ation Commi ttee o f Japa n
Haley married Michael tian people. Barack “Hussein” Obama appointed many subcommittees which
Haley, there was the was mocked relentlessly by Donald are collecting information of every
obligatory Sikh wedding. Trump for having a Muslim middle kind, and mean while Professor Ima-
When Usha Chilukuri married JD name. Well into Obama’s presidency, mura, the head of the Committee, has
Vance, there was the obligatory Hindu some 30 per cent of Americans issued a preliminary report. In the Bul-
wedding. Nikki Haley converted to believed that he was a Muslim. He letin of the Seismological Society of
Christianity while Usha has remained had to prove his Christianity by going America also has appeared a paper by
a practicing Hindu. to church every week. Dr. T. A. Jaggar. From these two
Where on the religious spectrum The US is not a Christian nation.
accounts the details may be known.
does Kamala Harris lie? Unlike Nikki It is a secular nation which strictly
Terrible as this earthquake was, others
Haley who was born to Sikh parents, separates church from state in its con-
and Usha Vance who was born to stitution. Yet it practices otherwise have sur¬passed it in severity and
Hindu parents, Harris was born in a when it comes to its top jobs. Unlike extent, though not in destruction. Its
mixed marriage—her father was a the US, the UK is a strictly Christian epicentre was about 92 km. S. W. of
Jamaican Christian and her mother nation. The head of state in the UK, Tokyo, and the great shock lasted 2
an Indian Hindu. Her father had a i.e. the king must be Christian. Yet the hours and 20 minutes. Its cause is still
negligible role in her upbringing; it person who rules the country, the unknown. Its effects were varied. The
was her mother, Shyama Gopalan, prime minister, can be a practicing coast was in places elevated, while the
who really brought her up. Hindu, as Rishi Sunak so proved. He .sea bed was depressed, especially for
But Gopalan realized that she also openly flaunted his religion when an area of 700 sq. km. in Sangami Bay,
would be bringing up a black girl in he was in 10 Downing Street. where the average subsidence was 39
America. This was no one else’s real- No wonder many Americans fathoms. It was followed suddenly and
ization, it was her self-realization alone. themselves consider the British to be without warn¬ing by another long and
Harris has talked about Hindu rituals a sophisticated people. severe shock the next day, and the
as part of her upbringing, but Gopalan What about India? Four of our after-shocks in Tokyo during the rest of
quickly sent her to a black church to heads of state, our presidents, have the month numbered 1,256. There is
assimilate and adopt Christianity. been from a religion other than the considerable discrepancy, about the
Most of the older people that majority religion, Hinduism. Three - number of deaths. The American esti-
Harris has said who have had an influ- Dr. Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali
mate is 400,000. The Japanese report
ence on her were black Christian peo- Ahmed, and APJ Abdul Kalam - have
puts the death figure at about 99,000,
ple. It is unclear if Gopalan ever con- been Muslim. Another, Giani Zail
verted to Christianity, although she Singh, was Sikh. One prime minister, of which 59,000 occurred at Tokyo and
must have spent a lot of time at the Dr. Manmohan Singh, has been Sikh, 23,600 at Yokohama, the wounded at
black church. and one supreme leader of the land, A hilarious thing. As dissolute a When will America realize that it to self-correct, the world will be 104,000, and the missing at 44,000.
This brings into focus an impor- Sonia Gandhi, was Christian. man as Donald Trump is selling it will be a better nation if it were a better place. And in the mean- 250,000 houses collapsed wholly or par-
tant point about America. To aspire Yet, the US government contin- Trump Bibles off his web site called not such a hypocrite? Using religion time, it should really get rid of the tially, and 448,000 were burnt. Damage
to the highest offices in the land (pres- uously chides us for violating religious Truth Social. Trump hasn’t got reli- for political gain, which unfortu- religious freedom report that its to property is estimated at from four to
ident and vice-president), one has to freedom. We too like the US are a sec- gion, it is religion that has got Trump. nately happens in India as well. State Department issues every year. five thousand million dollars.
be from the majoritarian religion, i.e. ular state, in whose constitution, He is using religion to win the presi- Lecturing Israel not to ground Gaza And if it continues to do so, it
Christianity. Nikki Haley converted, church and state are strictly separated dency. One of the more notorious to dust for the October 7 incident, should have a special chapter on
Usha Vance didn’t need to because as in the US constitution, but we seem photoshoots of his presidency was whereas launching preemptive Trump, who continues to berate NEWS ITEMS
she was not running for any office to take our secularism more seriously him waving the Bible in front of a nation-destroying strikes on unpre- non-Protestant people in his own
unlike Haley who was running for than the US. What right then does the church to quell the Black Lives Matter pared nations like Iraq and land.
president. US have to scold us? Practice what movement. His instincts might have Afghanistan for 9/11.
And now, Kamala Harris has con- you preach is the dictum that they been vaguely right, but he got it all America has such a preeminent (The writer is an expert on energy and
contributes regularly to publications in India
WOMENÊS PROGRESS
verted. should follow. wrong, waving the Bible upside down. place to play in the world that were and overseas.)

POLITICAL
ADVANCE FROM
Time to rethink retirement and financial security PINK-AND-WHITE
STAGE
NIRUPAMA VG alternative to more rigid schemes like WOMEN’S evolution from the time
EPF. when they were advised to “be pink and

Y
ou might have seen news So, why should a government white and men will marry you” to the
about the Unified Pension employee care about this? The UPS is realization of the fact that trousers were
Scheme (UPS), maybe even more than just a policy - it’s a wake- an unsatisfactory test of citizenship, was
skimmed a few articles, and up call. It’s a reminder that you need described by Mrs. Wintring- ham, M. P.,
then moved on, thinking this is just to start thinking seriously about your at the Scottish Liberal Summer School.
another policy tweak that doesn’t retirement, not just as a distant future She resented the separation of men
concern you. But the truth is it does concern but as something that and women questions, contending that
— especially those in government requires attention now. The idea of any wrong done to women reacted on the
roles. It will change how government retirement can seem like years, even whole human family. Women’s influence
employees, including those in central decades, away. But the truth is, the at the polls was probably a factor in secur-
and state government positions, pub- sooner you start planning for it, the ing the recognition in Parliament of ques-
lic sector enterprises, and even the better off you’ll be. tions in which women were particularly
armed forces, think about their work, A significant advantage of UPS is interested.
retirement, and financial future. that it encourages you to take control A woman delegate said that for
First things first: what exactly is of your financial future. Unlike older Income Tax purposes a married woman
UPS? It is an evolution of the National pension schemes, where you might was classed with infants and idiots. Her
Pension System (NPS) with added fea- have had little to no say in managing income had to be recorded by her hus-
tures to make retirement savings your funds, UPS is built on trans- band and added to his for taxation. She
more efficient and resilient. It builds parency and involvement. It’s about could evade this imposition, of course, if
on the structure of NPS but with a making informed decisions, under- she refrained from going through the for-
stronger emphasis on shared contri- standing where your money is going, mal ceremony of marriage with her hus-
butions from both employees and and actively participating in growing band, but this seemed rather to put a pre-
employers. This shift is key to its sus- your retirement funds. mium on irregularities.
tainability. Unlike older pension What is compounding? Remem-
schemes like the Employee Provident
Fund (EPF), which rely heavily on
ber those math classes where we
learned about compound interest?
FASTEST PLANES
fixed returns and government back- Well, they are about to be put to use represents a more structured and sus- without stress, a well-planned pension informed, and making decisions today SECRET military trials at Villacou-
ing, UPS is designed to balance public because compounding is everything tainable approach, where both parties can make all the difference. that will benefit you tomorrow. blay, near Paris, are stated to have pro-
and private responsibility. By moving when it comes to pensions. The UPS share financial risks and rewards. While the UPS primarily targets On a broader scale, this scheme duced the fastest air-fighter in the world.
away from a system where the gov- leverages the power of compounding Employers might initially consid- government employees, there’s a represents a shift towards more sus- With its single wings and streamline
ernment or employer shoulders the to grow your retirement savings over er this an additional cost, but it’s an broader lesson. The importance of tainable financial practices. It’s about hull, it appears like a gleaming, winged
entire pension load - often straining time. The earlier you start contributing, investment in their workforce. A financial health and security cannot creating a system that’s fairer, more projectile. It is said to reach 230 miles an
public finances - UPS spreads the the more time your money has to financially secure employee is more be overstated. The scheme serves as transparent, and ultimately, more hour — 40 miles an hour faster than the
contribution burden, making it easier grow, leading to a significantly larger focused, loyal, and productive. It’s a a reminder that proactive retirement beneficial for everyone involved. It’s previous highest speed by a French air-
to maintain in the long term. retirement fund when the time comes. simple equation: when you know your planning is essential for everyone, a move towards a model that shares fighter. Britain is building aeroplanes car-
What sets UPS apart is its hybrid This isn’t just theory - it’s fact. future is secure, you can concentrate regardless of sector. Though the UPS responsibility and rewards proactive rying one gun and a small fuel-load which
approach to fund management. Part The magic of compounding means on the present without that nagging doesn’t apply directly to the private planning. will exceed 200 miles an hour.
of the contributions are invested in that small, regular contributions can worry about what comes next. sector, its employees have similar The UPS is designed to empower
market-linked assets, which, while add up to a substantial amount over One of the biggest misconcep- options through schemes like PPF and employees, but it requires active
carrying some risk, offer the potential the years. And you and your employer tions about pensions and retirement other retirement plans, reinstating the engagement. With its transparency DRINKERSÊ LONG LIFE
for higher compounded returns over contribute to this pot, making it even planning is that only older employees value of early and informed financial and compounding benefits, it provides
time compared to the guaranteed but
lower yields of EPF. It aligns with
more robust.
But the UPS isn’t just about what
need to worry about it. This is far from
the truth. The UPS is designed to be
decision-making.
The UPS underscores a universal
a framework for financial security.
However, it will only work if employees
TEETOTALLERS'
modern retirement planning, favour-
ing growth over time, and helps miti-
you, as an employee, need to do.
Employers, particularly those in the
accessible and beneficial for employ-
ees at all stages of their careers, not
truth: financial stability is not a given
- it must be built, step by step, over
take it seriously and actively partici-
pate in their financial planning.
INFERIOR RECORD
MR. RAYMOND PEARL, an American
gate the financial pressure on govern- government sector, have a significant just those nearing retirement. time. We all need to cultivate a mind- So, let’s embrace this change, scientist of the School of Hygiene and Pub-
ment resources. Moreover, by pro- role to play too. The scheme encour- Think of the pension as a safety set of proactive financial planning, not take control of our financial futures, lic Health, Johns Hopkins University, has
moting transparency and flexibility in ages employers to contribute to their net that will allow you to make choices just for retirement but for every stage and ensure that when the time comes, carried out investigations into subjects
investment choices, UPS allows for employees’ pensions, creating a shared later in life without being constrained of life. This means understanding your we can retire with security and peace which were divided into eight groups, four
better fund management and adap- responsibility. While the government by financial worries. Whether you want income, expenses, and investments of mind. male, four female, as follows: — Total
tation to changing economic condi- has always contributed to pensions to retire early, travel, start a new ven- and how these will shape your future. abstainers; moderate drinkers, who occa-
tions, making it a forward-looking under the old system, the UPS ture, or simply enjoy your golden years It’s about taking control, being (The writer is Founder & MD, Ad Astra
Consultants.) sionally took beer, wine, or spirits, but
never in large enough quantities to
become intoxicated; moderate steady
drinkers; and heavy drinkers, in the habit
CROSSWORD NO-292939 of becoming drunk occasionally, with or
without moderate drinking in the intervals.
Statistical tables based on these
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
ACROSS 16 Suspect due bail in 28 Appropriate assertion 5 Wonderful nurses 19 Worried Russia s observations prove that “at every age
hearing (7) of modernist poet? (7) name condition one ready to invade
9 10 9 Serenade briefly 18 Clamour about 29 Deal with business has to face? (4)
from thirty to one hundred inclusive the
Thailand s borders (8)
YESTERDAY'S SOLUTION interrupted by sealing off derelict issue (7) 6 Perhaps local bank s 20 Face fine after persons in the ‘all moderate’ class,
cheers after sailor s pit is difficult to run down by huge distributing legal whether men or women, have a some-
M A L I C E B A S S E T
11 12
A O O A E U R
refrain (7) understand (7) DOWN number of people (8) high? (8) what higher expectation of life than the
P E R S O N A L P R O N O U N
10 Baker perhaps follows 21 Current time could 1 Fanatical gunmen 7 Refrain from tasks 21 Having suit inside out persons in the ‘abstainer' class.
short cut to do be time to take on destroyed SAS requiring English to in church is uncouth
13 14 15
S E D C O F S “Men in the ‘all heavy’ class have a
decorative work (7) staff (11) training be universal (6) (6)
S T E R E O O B S O L E T E
11 Parent caught fish (5) 24 See 13 establishment (8) 8 Put away heads of 22 Cover article plugs
markedly lower expectation of life at all
R N V O O E ages from thirty to one hundred inclusive
12 Worst hospital is 25 Awareness of crime 2 Helped out when syndicate that got something
C O N C R E T E L OW K E Y
16 17 18 19 20
A E
involved in public essentially relative almost died into debt (6) newsworthy (6) than men in the abstainer class up to and
T H I R S T G E N E R A T E
dispute (9) accommodated by (8) 15 Men cycle in unusual 23 Outstanding figures including the age of Sixty. From Sixty on
A B R R O W 13/24 Begin to date court s punishment (9) 3 Terms of reference and unforgiving reportedly make firm the expectation of life is somewhat higher
21 22 23 24 vacuous upper-class 27 Computing device sometimes limited by position (10) leader in sector (6)
F I G U R I N E C U P T I E in the ‘all heavy’ class.
R N P A A O T twit? (3,3) mainly provides vehicles in bill (6) 17 Book published that 26 English academic
14 Designer drug cut means of 4 Rambling company is without question revolutionised device “This result is possibly due to a selec-
K N U C K L E S A N DW I C H
25 26 27
E L E E D E H with crushed silica summarising has essential cover catering to niche connected to tive effect of the high mortality in the
T W E N T Y R O B R O Y (11) information (5) (10) market (8) internet? (4) heavy drinking group prior to the age of
28 29
sixty. In the case of women the expecta-
tion of life is markedly lower for the per-
sons in the ‘all heavy' group than for those
NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London)
either in the ‘abstainer' or the ‘all mod-
erate’ group at all ages.

CMYK
 EDIT
DECCAN CHRONICLE | THURSDAY | 24 OCTOBER 2024 | COIMBATORE
pg 6

Subhani

24 OCTOBER 2024

Modi-Xi handshake sends

a strong message of peace
K
eeping up the recent diplomatic momentum aimed at easing LAC
tensions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President
Xi Jinping shook hands to show the world that there is no insur-
mountable obstacle to relations among nations.
Briefly ignoring the hand that Mr Modi was just extending to shepherd
him to a place in the spotlight with the flags in the background, Mr Xi then
offered his hand for the ceremonial handshake that was sealed with a
broad smile from the Chinese President as he looked down from the advan-
tage he holds of a few inches in height.
The message they wished to convey in their first bilateral meeting in five
years since President Xi journeyed to the beach town of Mahabalipuram
near Chennai in 2019 is clear. China and India are really trying to mend
ties. All the cynicism around it, given the history of mistrust and suspi-
cion, was not going to come in the way of two leaders seeking a new path
amid increasingly complex global geopolitics.
The Kazan meeting in one of Russia’s largest and wealthiest cities was a
milestone moment that could become historic if it leads on to a betterment
of ties between the world’s two most populous nations whose three billion
people could be somewhat better off for the
The Kazan meeting peace it could bring if indeed there is a restora-
LETTERS
in one of Russia’s tion of tranquillity on the LAC.
largest and wealthi- The optics of the meetings among leaders may
est cities was a have tended to overshadow the BRICS summit
of leaders representing 40 per cent of the world’s
milestone moment population. The ambience of comfort as
Israel can celebrate Sinwar’s HONEST POLITICIANS!
that could become Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and India’s
historic if it leads on Modi laughed over the state of India-Russia ties
to a betterment of amid their own easy relationship and there
being no need for translation of Russian words
ties between the was notable.
world’s two most Given the prominence of the host Vladimir
killing, but no end to war yet More than 500,000 should not be impossible
Edappadi K.
Palaniswami accused
Deputy CM
Udhayanidhi Stalin of
populous nations Putin sitting between Mr Modi and Mr Xi Israelis have moved
to find a federal arrange- being inexperienced
throughout the summit, it does appear the
Russian President played a role in bringing about this rapprochement
Sunanda K. into the West Bank
ment with international
guarantors for the people and having come to
between India and China even as he admitted to being comfortable enough Datta-Ray excluding East of Gaza and the West Bank
power by surpassing
with Mr Modi often bringing up the Ukraine question and recommending Jerusalem, where and supervised no-fly
dialogue and diplomacy to end the war, as the Indian PM has maintained zones as in Iraq. One obsta- several senior leaders
over the last two-and-a-half years.
The value of peace has been never more stressed in recent times than
Reflections an additional
220,000 Jews
cle is that despite the
PLO’s recognition of in the party. In a tit-
now when two wars are raging in Europe and in the Middle East. In stress- reside. Another Israel, Israel has never for-tat, Udhayanidhi
ing on how much peace might mean for both countries, Mr Modi may have 20,000 Israelis live acknowledged the exclu-
has said that the peo-

I
sounded a bit more anxious than Mr Xi speaking about the need for coop- sraeli jubilation at Comparing national rich- sive identity of the
in settlements in
eration after their 21st meeting in the last 10 years, but the first meaning- the elimination — es at a meeting in Haifa on
the Golan Heights...
Palestinians. For Israel, ple are aware of the
ful one with a full delegation in support after several years. the politically correct my only visit to Israel the Palestinians are either
For Mr Putin, basking in this role as host bringing together nations from term for murder — of more than half a century Arabs pretending to be Kuvathur episode and
mostly the Global South, the greater meaning of BRICS in a multipolar the Hamas comman- ago, a veteran leader of something else,
Jordanians who flaunt a
or the subsequent devel-
world and lofty ideas of managing money flows in a dollar-dominated der, Yahya Sinwar, may be Histadrut, Israel’s nation- flagging. With the Arab
world might have meant less than showing to the US and the West that he a trifle premature. If the al trade union, told me that population going up by fancy name. But these are opments leading to
is not without support despite Russia’s clear expansionism in Ukrainian killing does “pave the way India’s people made it one leaps and bounds every
year, unimpeded by any
only words like Israel call-
ing the West Bank by the
Palaniswami becoming
territory. He has used the summit as adroitly as China and India did in for a change that will lead of the richest countries in
forging their own road map to address mutual concerns. to a new reality in Gaza”, the world. Money might question of birth control, mythic Biblical names of the Chief Minister.
to quote Israel’s foreign
minister Israel Katz, that
appear to be more effective
in the short run, but he
there will always be an
abundance of martyrs
“Judea and Samaria”.
More dangerous than the
Political leaders accus-
fantasy of claiming that ing each other is
Flight hoax calls: Stop menace change may indicate West was convinced that in the ready to die for the
Asia’s future polity rather long term nothing com- Palestinian cause. Never- Judea and Samaria are meaningless, because
than just the removal of pares with manpower, theless, what Israel has part of Eretz Yisrael
Hamas and Iranian con- properly inspired and gained is considerable, if (Greater Israel) is the it’s like the pot calling

T
mobilised. only the Israelis were not Israeli tactic of fragment-
he Indian aviation industry is facing an unprecedented situation in
the wake of bomb hoaxes flooding social media networks. In the last
trol, as Mr Katz hopes.
True change demands, Management is crucial greedy for more: The Oslo ing the West Bank into 165
the kettle black. In
few days, over 170 flights run by Indian airlines and thousands of pas- especially in the aftermath for the most effective Arab process begun after secret “islands”, where the India, you’re either
sengers bore the brunt of these fake threats. of drone attacks on the pri- force, the Arab Legion, negotiations in Norway’s Palestinians live, and 230
Security experts attributed the hoax bomb calls to factors ranging from vate residence of Israel’s later renamed the Royal capital, resulted in both settlements for Jews. honest or a politician.
malicious intent and attention-seeking to mental health issues. Prime Minister, Benjamin Jordan Army, was most the recognition of Israel by More than 500,000 P.G. Menon
Worried over the sheer number of fake bomb threats, the Bomb Threat Netanyahu, some innova- effective when a British the Palestine Liberation Israelis have moved into Chennai
Assessment Committee (BTAC) tweaked its aviation security protocol tive thinking on both sides general, Sir John Glubb, Organisation and the the West Bank excluding
based on a set of new “red flags”. There is a common pattern in all these of what now looks like a was its commander. recognition by Israel of the East Jerusalem, where an
fake bomb threats, which include the use of virtual private networks permanently impenetra- Applying the Histradrut PLO as the representative additional 220,000 Jews
(VPN), and recently created social media accounts. However, if the securi- ble barrier of enmity. The official’s logic, 9.9 million of the Palestinian people reside. Another 20,000
ty agencies ignore threats based on these parameters, but the bomb threat
does turn out to be true, it would erode people’s trust in air travel.
Oslo Accords, that pair of
interim agreements
Israelis present a puny
adversary against more
and as a partner in bilater-
al negotiations. Even if
Israeli citizens live in set-
tlements in the Golan
GOVERNORS VS CMS
Even if the intent behind such bomb threats is mere pranking, the gov- between Israel and the than 473 million Arabs. this peace process does not Heights, captured from In India we find CMs expect well-edu-
ernment should not consider this practice as the new normal that passen- Palestine Liberation The phenomenal oil achieve a peace treaty Syria. cated but egoistic Governors to be sub-
gers must get adjusted to. A step in this direction would leave the Indian Organisation that were wealth of many Arab based on Resolutions 242 In addition, the West servient to them and to play only the
aviation industry and air passengers vulnerable to terrorist attacks, meet- signed in Washington DC nations is irrelevant; it’s and 338 of the United Bank is criss-crossed by role of a ‘yes’ man, a drummer boy and
ing the same fate as the shepherd boy did in the ‘Cry Wolf’ story. in 1993 and in Taba, Egypt, because of their manpow- Nations Security Council, military roads and riddled a courier between the State and the
There are calls for banning people behind these hoax calls from flying for in 1995, must underlie any er that Hamas and it does provide a basis for with check-posts and Centre. The CMs think that their power
their entire life. However, this punishment could be excessive. long-term arrangement, Hezbollah have been able Israelis and Palestinians watchtowers manned by can reach the sky and even beyond
That said, disruption in a flight due to the bomb threat causes a loss of Rs but we must also recognise to withstand the ferocity of to co-exist without the Israeli military. There because they have been elected by the
30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh to an airline. Thousands of passengers, too, suffer that they are less and less Israeli attacks all these friction. can be no movement in the people and they have the right to be
mental trauma and loss of precious time. likely directly to shape the weeks, sustaining more Plenty of instances terrain without Israeli despotic using the police under their
For many in India, air travel is still not a default option and they choose future. than 42,000 deaths in Gaza worldwide assert that military clearance, and command. Most non-BJP CMs have
it because of speed and comfort. If these very factors turn out to be mirage, The brutality of Hamas’s alone. It is because of the institutional sovereignty reports indicate that started seeing Governors as a hin-
the Indian aviation industry will take a serious hit. As this industry is inti- October 7 raid last year, strength of numbers that is not essential for nation- Palestinian fields, farms drance to their rule. The situation will
mately linked to economic growth, the government should brook no which is blamed for the Hamas still has not sur- hood. Even if the Dalai and olive groves are not drastically change if the Governors are
excuse from the pranksters involved in this sinister game and try to recov- present cycle of Israeli vio- rendered some 100 of the Lama fades out, the safe from the depredations empowered to have direct control over
er the losses from mischief makers under the Revenue Recovery Act. lence, may turn out to be a hostages that it took on Central Tibetan Ad- of armed Israeli vigilantes. the Police and IAS men instead of being
crucial turning point in October 7, when it also ministration and its demo- No power can or will com- mere show pieces in the palatial
the sad history of what killed about 1,200 Israelis. cratic institutions will re- pel the Israelis to disman- RajBhavans and as guest speakers in
Palestinians denounce as Recalling that Mr main as the legitimate tle the elaborate and exten- university convocations and music fes-
the “Naqba”, the Netanyahu proclaimed in political successor of His sive security structure tivals.
DECCAN CHRONICLE Catastrophe, that over- early October that Israel’s Holiness. Sri Lanka’s they have been allowed to S.Nagarajan Iyer
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR whelmed their lives in campaign, Operation Tamils are a nation even if erect since the 1967 war. Coimbatore
Editor Printer & Publisher 1948. Put bluntly, this Swords of Iron, had two Colombo refuses to discuss They might as well be
R. MOHAN means that the two-nation goals — to destroy Hamas devolution despite a bitter asked to remove the
Resident Editor solution on which this and free the hostages — it and bloody 30-year war. mobile all-weather air
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at:
Chennai: SP 3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600032. Phones: (044) 22254750 ,
22254751
columnist — among others
— has been harping may
must be admitted that
despite a fearful loss of life
Quebec was not allowed
to secede. The sovereign
defence system called the
Iron Dome that protects
INDIA, CHINA AGREE
Coimbatore: No. 2/22 Sengalipalayam Road, N.G.G.O. Colony Post, Kurudampalayam Village, not be the decisive mantra and the destruction of Kurdistan that the 1920 Israel from the fusillade of The patrolling agreement on LAC by
Coimbatore-641022. Phone: (0422) 2231255, 2231256 for tomorrow. The reason towns, villages and most of Treaty of Sevres promised Palestinian rockets and India and China is to be appreciated as
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003. Phone: (040) 27803930-4. Fax: (040)
27805256. is that Israel will not even the basic facilities of never materialised. The missiles. The task for the steps taken by both countries. It will
Visakhapatnam: Survey No. 1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony, permit it. civilisation, the campaign autonomy of Iraq’s Kurds, global community is to certainly lead to tensionless
Visakhapatnam - 530 017. Phones: (0891) 2552333/2552334, Fax (0891) 2755285 The United States will has been a failure. Mr comprising roughly 20 per ensure that Palestinian living for citizens in the two countries,
Vijayawada: No. C 3 & 4, Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.). Phones: (0866) not compel Mr Netanyahu, Netanyahu has not cent of the population, is autonomy is not extin- especially for the people living near
2555284/ 2555287, Fax (0866) 2555234
Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry 533125. Phones: (0883) 2417208, 2417618 and the international destroyed Hamas — not upheld in the 2005 consti- guished by these borders.
Anantapur: Thapovan Colony, Bangalore Bye-Pass Road, Anantapur 515004. Phones: (08554) 276903, order is not strong enough yet, anyway — and he has tution, which designates pressures. M.S. Raghavan
Fax: 08554-276904 or willing to compel the not freed all the hostages. Kurdistan an autonomous Chennai
Nellore: Survey No. 527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemudugunta Panchayat, Nellore. US. Moreover, the recruit- federal region. The writer is a senior
Phone: (0861) 2348581/ 82, Telefax (0861) 2348580
Nothing speaks more elo- ment drive by Hamas and There are plenty of mod- journalist, columnist and
Karimnagar: H .No. 1-21-12/1, Cheralabhutkur Road, Mugudhumpur Village, Karim Nagar - 505186 Mail your letters to
Phone : 9121181123 quently than numbers. Hezbollah shows no sign of els to choose from. It author
chennaidesk@deccanmail.com

T
he Election Commission of India has taken Opposition. In Jharkhand, the leadership change over who will replace him. handle such situations.
two very different stands in handling police aims to sidestep potential controversies, while There is talk that the Centre might follow a famil- Every single IAS collector surveyed was on the
appointments in the poll-bound states of Maharashtra remains steadfast in its procedural iar pattern, where top Union secretaries are repa- same page: they don’t make visitors leave their
Jharkhand and Maharashtra. approach, leaving its top police post unchanged. triated to their home cadres to take over as state phones outside. One collector even stated, “We’re
Dilip Cherian In Jharkhand, the EC has directed the removal of This stark contrast raises questions about the EC's
commitment to electoral integrity and feeds the
chief secretaries. We’ve seen this happen in
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan recently. As
government officials. If someone records in our
office, so be it! We’ll take calls at odd hours for pub-
acting director general of police (DGP) Anurag
Dilli Ka Babu Gupta, appointed in July 2024. This decision follows
a history of complaints lodged against him during
rumour mill, suggesting that political biases may
influence administrative fairness across different
Mr Prasad’s retirement looms, DoPT Secretary
Vivek Joshi, who still has a fair amount of service
lic concerns.” It’s encouraging to see such an open-
ness to dialogue and accountability.
previous elections, which raised concerns about his states. left, is being tipped as a potential successor. Conversely, some IPS officers voiced concerns
ability to remain impartial. The Jharkhand govern- about the potential misuse of recordings. They high-
ment has been asked to submit a panel of senior IPS TWIST IN HARYANA’S TOP APPOINTMENTS GUJARAT IAS vs IPS: A PHONE POLICY DIVIDE lighted the importance of preventing misinforma-

EC sends mixed officers, and Ajay Kumar Singh is expected to be

reappointed as DGP. The move is seen as an effort
by the EC to ensure neutrality and fairness in the
state’s electoral process.
Rajesh Khullar’s recent appointment as chief prin-
cipal secretary to Haryana chief minister Nayab
Singh Saini seemed like a routine move, but it took
an unexpected turn when the decision was abruptly
There’s a notable rift among IAS and IPS officers in
Gujarat regarding mobile phone policies during
meetings, as revealed by a recent survey from
Gujarat Samachar Digital. On the one hand, we
tion and protecting sensitive discussions. One SP
pointed out that while they don’t have a strict rule
about phones, they might request them to be left
outside based on the circumstance.

signals ahead of In contrast, the EC rejected calls from the

Maharashtra Congress to remove DGP Rashmi
Shukla. Opposition leader Nana Patole had claimed
put on hold just hours later. While Mr Khullar’s ini-
tial appointment didn't raise eyebrows, the sudden
reversal certainly did, and it left many wondering
have the IAS officers, who generally allow visitors
to keep their phones. They champion transparency
and accessibility, which is fantastic. On the other
S.D. Sharma, the joint secretary of the Central
government’s personnel and training department,
added that there’s no Central order about mobile

polls in J’khand that Ms Shukla’s extension beyond her retirement

date violated the Maharashtra Police Act and would
unfairly benefit the ruling alliance. However, the
EC clarified that her appointment had been cleared
what was going on behind the scenes.
Mr Khullar, who had previously represented In-
dia and its neighbours at World Bank, was recalled
to Haryana ahead of his term’s completion and
hand, some IPS officers insist that visitors surren-
der their devices, fearing unauthorised recordings
of sensitive information.
This clash of perspectives became particularly
phone policies in government offices, allowing IAS
and IPS officers to adapt their rules as needed.
The survey also revealed a rising trend of officials
using WhatsApp calls, likely driven by concerns

& Maharashtra by the UPSC through the standard procedure,

emphasising that her position would remain
unchanged during the election period.
seemed a natural choice for the top administrative
post. However, political insiders hint that internal
groups within the ruling party may have played a
evident during an encounter between Congress
MLA Jignesh Mevani and ADG Rajkumar Pandian.
During a meeting intended to discuss issues facing
over call recordings. But balancing transparency
with security is essential.

The EC’s differing decisions in these two states role in delaying the finalisation of his appointment. the Dalit community, Mr Pandian asked Mr Mevani Love them, hate them ignore them at national
highlight a perplexing inconsistency in handling The timing couldn’t be more interesting, as chief to leave his phone outside. Unsurprisingly, this did- peril, is the babu guarantee and Dilip’s belief. Share
what is essentially the same issue, fuelling specula- secretary T.V.S.N. Prasad is set to retire at the end n’t go over well, and it sparked a bigger conversa- significant babu escapades
tion and allegations of favouritism from the of the month. Naturally, there's been speculation tion about how different branches of government dilipcherian@hotmail.com.
 � ��������� �������

�������
������������������������
��������� ��� ��� ������
����� ����� ����������� �������� ���������� �������
�� ��� ������ ���������� ����������� ���������
���� ������� �������� �� �� �������� ���
�������� �� ����������

��������� ������� ��� ����

�� ��������� �������� � ������ ���

���� ���� � ��� ���� �� ������ ����� �� �������� ����� ��� ����� ��� ������ ���������

����� ������ �� ��� ���� ������

�������� ��������� ���� ����� ��� �������
������ ��� ��� �������� �������� ��� ����

�
���� ������ �� ��������� ������ �������� ����� ��� ����
����� ��� ����� ������� ��� �������� ��� ���������� ������� ��

�
��������� ������� ���� ������� ���������� ��� ����� ������
��������� ���������� � �������� ���������������� ��������� � ����� ����� ��� ������������ � ���� ������� ����� ���
��� ������� ��� ���� �� � ������ ����� ��� ��� �� ���� ��������������� ������ ���� ������� �� � ����� ��������� ��� ��������� � ����
�������������� ��� ��� ������� ������� ��� � ������������� �������� ������� ���� ������ ����� �� �������� �� ������� ����
������ �� ��� ��� ����� ���� ��� ���� �� ������ ����� ������ ��� ������ ��������� �� ������ �� ��� ���� � �������� ����� ��������� �� ���
�������� ������ ��� ����� ����� ����� �� �� ����� �� �� ��� �� �������� ��
��������� ���� �������
������ �������� �� ���� �� ��� ������ ����
����� �������� ������ ����������� ����� ����� ���
������ ���� �� ������ ��� �������
��� ��� ���������� ���� ������ �� ��� � ����� ������������ �������� �� ���� ������ �������� �� ���������� ����� ���������� ���� �� ������ �������� ������ �������� ���� ��� ��
���� �� ��� ���������� �� ������� ��� ���� ���� ��� ��� ������� ���� ������ ������� ������ ���������� �� ����� ��� ���� �� �� ����� ���� ���� ���������
������������������������������������������������������������������ �� ��������� ����������������� ������ �������� �� ���������� �����������
�� �� ��� ������ ������� ������� �� ������� ������� �� ��� ��� ����� ��� ��� �� ���� ������� ��� ������ ���� ����� �� �������� ������� ��� �������
������� ���������� ��� �������� ��������� �� �������� ��������������� ��������� ����������� ������ ���������� ���������� ��������� �� ��� ������ ����� �� ������� ����������� ������ ������ ������� �� ��� ������� ���� ��
��������� ����� ��� �� ��� ������� ���� ���� ���� ��� ��� ���������� ����� ��� ������ ��� ������ ��� ���� �� ���� ������ ��� ������� ���� �� �� ������
���������������������������������������������������������������� ��� ���� ���� ������ ��������� �� ��� ���� ������������������������������������ ��������� �� ��� �������� �������� ���� ����� ������ ����������
���� �� �������� �� ���� �������� �� � �������������������� ������� ��� ������� �� ������� ��� �������� ������ ��������� �������� ����� �� ������������ ���������� ��� ���� ����� ������� ����� � ��������� ��������� ��� ���
�������������������������������������������������������������� ��������� �� ���� �� ������ �� ������ ����������������������������������� ���� ��� ����� � ��� ���� ���� ����� �� ������ �� ���� ���� ����� �� � �����
������������ �� ��� ������ �� ��� �������� ����� ���������������������� ������ ����� �� � ������ ���� �� ��� ���� � ���� ���� ��� �� ��������� ��������������������������������� ������� ���������� ���� �� �� ����
���� �� ������ ������� ��� ������ ���� ��� ���������� ������� ������ ���� ��� � ���� ������������ ��� � ������ ��� ���� ����� �� �� ������ ������� �� ��� ��� �� ��� ������ �������������� ������ ������������ ��� �������� �����������
��� ������������ ����������� ���� �� ��� ��� ����� ������� ���������� ���� �������� �� �� ������������� �������� ������� ������ ��� � ������� ������� ��� ����� �� ������ �� �� ����� ��� ������ ���� ���� ���� ������ �� ������ �����
�� �� ����� ��� ����� ��� ��� �� ������ ������������������������������������ �� ��������������� �� ��� ������������ ��������� ������� ����� ��� ����������
��� ����� �� ������������������ �� ���� ��������������� ��� ���� ����
�� ��� ���������� ��� ���������� ������� ����� �� ������� �� ��� ����� ����� ��� ������ ���� ������� ����� �� �������� ����� ���� ����� ���� ��� �����������
������ ��� ����������� ��� ����� ���������� �� ������ ���� �� ���� ���� �� ��������� �� ��� ������� ��������� �� ��� ����� ����� ��� ����� ����� ���� ���� ������ ���� ��� �������� �� ��� ��� ����� ���
����� ���� �� ��� ������� ������� �������� ����� ��������� ���� �� �� ����� ��� ��������� ������ �� ��� ����� ��������� ����� �� ����� ��������� ������ �������� ������� �������� ��� ����
����� �������������� ��� �� ��� ����� ������ �� ����� ������������� ���� ������ ������� ����������������� ������ ������ ����������� ����� ���������� ��� ��� � ����� ����� ���� ������ ���� ����� ���� ��������� ��
�������� ��� ��������������� ��� ���� ������������ ���� ���� ���� ���� ����� �� ������ �� � ����� � ������� ������� �� � �������� �� ����
��������� ���� ������
����� ���� ��������� ��� ������ �� ������ � ���� ���� ������
����� �������� ���� ���� ��� �������������� ��� ��� ����� ����������� ����� ���� �������� ����� ������ �� ��� �������� ������ ��� ���� � ����� ������ ���� ������������ �� ����� ���� ���� ��
��� ����� �� ���� ��������� �� ��� ����� ����� �� ������ �� ������� ���� ������ ����� ���� ������ �� ���� ������ �������� ���������� �� ���
��� ������� ���� �� ��� ���������
�� ��� ���������� ��� ��� ������� ���� �� ���� ���� � ���� ������
������ �� ������ ���������� �������� �������������� �� ������ ������� �� � ���������� ��������� ��� ������ �������� ��� ��������� ������
���� ������ ��� ������������ ��� ��� ����� �� ����� ���� �� �� ����� ��� ��� �� ������ �������� ���������� ��� ��������� ���� ����
������������������������������������������������������������� ����� ���� ��� ���������� �� �������� ������ ���� ���� �� �� ��� ��������� �� ��� ��� �� ������� ���� ������ ������� �� �
��������������� ��� ������� �� �� ��������� �� ��������� ��������� ���� �� ����� ����� ��������� �������� ���� �� � ����� ������ ��� ����� ���� ������� �� ��������� ����������� ���������� �� �� ����� ��� ��� �� �����
������������ ��� ���������� ������� ������ ������� ������� �� ���������� �� �� ������� ���� ���������� ���� ��� ��������� ���� �������� ��� ������������ ��� ��� ���������� �� ���� ������� �� ��� ������������
��������� ������������ �� � ���� �� ��� �������� ������� ��� ���� ������ ������������� ���������������������� ���� ����� �� ��� ������� ������ ��������� ��� ����� ������� ������ ����� �������� ���
������ ���� ����� ����������� ������� ������� ����������� �������� ������ ������ ���� �� ����� ��������� ��������� ��� � ������� ������ ����� ���� �� �� ������� ���� ������� ������������ ���
�� �������� � ��������� ����� ������ �� ���� � ����� ������� �� ��� ��������� �� ����� ������ ������� ��������� � �����
�� ��� ������ �� ����� ������� ��� ��� ���� �� ����� ��� ����� ���� ��� ������ �� ����� �� ������ ������ �� ��� ����� �� ���� �� ����� ���� ������ �� ������ ��� �� �� ��������������������� ������� ��� ��� ���������� �����������
���� ���� ������ �������� ����� �� �� � ���������� ����� �� ��� ��� ��� ������ �� ���� ��� ��� ������ �� ���� ��� ����������������������� ��� ���� ��� ���� �� ����� ������� ������ �� ���� ���� �� ��� �� ���� ���� ���� �������� ��������
�������� ���� ���� ����� ���������� ���� ��������� ���������� �������� � ������ �� ������ ��� �������� ������� �������� �� ��� ������ ��� ���� ���������� ���������� ���� ��� ������� ���� ����� ��� ������� �� ����������
��� ���������� ���� ���� �� �� ��� ������� ��� ���� ��������������� ������ �������� �� �������� ������ �� ����� ��� ����������� �� ������ ��� ���� ���� �������� ������ ������ ������ ��� ��� ��� ���� ������ ��� � ����� �����
����� ������� ��������� ��� ��������� ������������� ��� ������� ����� ���� ������������� ������� �� � ����� ����� �� ��������� ��� �������� �� ����� ��� ���������� ��� ��������� �������� ����� ���� ������ �� ������������
���� � ������������� ����������������� �������� ��� �� ����������� ��� ������� �� ������������� ��� ���� �� ��������� ��� ���� ������ �� ��� ������������������� �� � ������������ ������� � �������� ����������� �� � ����
������ ��������� �� �� ������� ���� ��� ���������� ������� ��� ����� ��������� ������� ���������� �� ��� ������ �� ����� ����������� � ��� ��� ����� �� �� ����
��� ���������� ���� ������ ������ �������� �������� ��� ��������� ������
����� ��� ���� �������� ��� ��������� ����� ������ � ��������� ������������� ���������� ������ ���� �� ���� ���� ������������������� ��������������
����� ������������ ������� �� ���������������� ���� ��������������� ����� ��� ���� ����� ������ ���� ���� ���������� �������������� ������������ ��� � ��� ���� �� ��� ��������� �� ���� ������� ��������� ����� �������
����� ���� �������������� �� ������ ��� ������� ��������������� ��� ��������� �� ���� ��� ������� ������ ��� ��� ������� ���� ��� �������� ������ ����� �� ��� ��������� ���� ����� ���� �� ������ ��������� �������
�������� ��� ����� ����� ������������� ��� ���� ����� �� �������� ����� ����������������������������������� ��������� ����� ������ �� ��� ������� ������� �� ���� ����� ��� ����� ��� ����� �� �� �� �� ���� �� �� ��� ���� ����
��� ������� ��� ���� �� ����� ���� ���� �� ������� ���� ����� � ����� ���������� �� �������������� ��� �� ��� ������ �� ����� ���� ��� �� ������ ��������� �� ����� ���� �������� ���� ��������� ���� ����� �� �� �����
���� �������� �� ��� ������� ��������� �� � �������� ������� �������� �� ��� ���� �� ��������������������� ������ �� � ����� �� ����� ���� ������ �������� ���� ��������� ���� ����� ��� �� ������� ������������
���� ��� ����� ����� �� ���� ���� �� ��� ���� ���� �� ������������ � �� ���� ��������� �� � ���� ���� ������� �� ��� ��������� ������ ��� ��������� �� ������� ������ �� ������� ��� �� ����
��� ��������� �� �� ���� ��� �� ��� �� ���������� � �������� �� �� ��� ��� ��� ��������� ���� ��� ��� ���� ������ ����� ��� ��������
������������� ������� ���� ��� � ����� ���� �� ������ ��� ������� ������
� ������ ������ �� ��� ��� ����� ��� ������� ���� �� �� ��� �� ������
����� ����� ����� ���� � ����� ���� �� �� ��� � �������� ��� �� ����
���� ����� �� ���� ���������������� ����

������ ��������� ����� �����

������ �������� ��� � ������ �������
���� ����� ������� ����� ������� ������
�� ������� ��� ��������� �� � ������ ����������� �����
���� ����� �� �������� ���� �������� �����������
��� �������� ��� ������������ ������ ��� � �������� �������� �� �����������
�������������������������������������������������������������������������
���� �������� ���������� ������������ ��� � �������� ���������� �����������
��������������������������������������������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������������������
��� �� �� ��� ��������� ��������� ��� ������� ������������� ��� �� ��� ������ ���������� ������������������� ���� �� �������� ������� ������� �� ��� ���������� �� ������� ��������� ����� ������ ����������� ����� ���� �����
������������������ �������� ������ ������������ �������������� �� ����� ���� ���������� ����� ���������� ���������� ����� ������ �� �������������� ��� ����� ���� ���� ������� ������� �������� � ������������� �������� ���� �������
��� ���� ������ ������� �� ������� ������� �� ������ ������� ������������������������������������� ������������ �������� �� ��� ������ ��� ���� �� ��� ���� �� ���������� ���� ����������� �������� ������������ ���
���� ����� ���� �������� �� �������� ������������ �� ��� �������� �� ������� ���������� ������ ��������� ������������� ����������� �� ��� ��������� ������� ���������� ��� ������� ���������� ��� ������� � ����������������������������
��� � ��������� ������ ������� ����������� ����� �� ��� ���� ������� �� ��� �� ��� ��� ���������� ���������������� ���� ��� ������������ ��� ���� ���������� �� �������� ����� ����� ��� ������ ������ ����� ������������� ������� ��� ����
���� ���� ������� ������ ��� ������� ��������� ���� �� ��������� ����� ���� ��� ������������������������������������ �������� ������ ��� ��������� ����� ���������������������������������� �������� �������� ������������� ���
������ ����� �� ���� ��� �������� ������������� ����� ����� �� ��������� ���������� ����� �������� �� ��� ���� � �� �� ������ ������� �� ����������� ��� ���������� ����� ���������� ������� ��� ������� �������� ��� ����� �������� ��� ������
������ ���� ������ �� ���������������� ����� �� � ��������������������� ���� ��� ��� ���� ����� �������� ��� �������� �������� ������ ��� ����������� �� ��� ������ ����������� ��� ������� �� ������ ������� �������� ������������ �����
���� ��������������� ��������� �������� ��������������� �������������������� ��� ��������� ���������� ������ ���������� ������ �� ������ �� ���� ��� ���������������� ������ �������� ��� ������������ ������������� �����
��������� ��������� ������� ��� ������ ��������� ��������� �� ������������ �� ����������� ������������������ ����� ��������������� �������� ��� ����������� �������� ��� ����� ��������� ����������� ������
��� ���� ���������� ��� � ����������� ���� �� ��� �������� �������� �� ��� �������� ������� ������ �������� ��� ���� ������ �� �������� ����������� �������� ��������� � ��� ����� ������� ��� �������� ����� ��
���� ������ ������������� ������������ �������� ��� ����� ���� �� ����� ����� �� ������ �� ���������� ��������� ��������� ���� ������� ���� �� �������� ��������� ����������� ��� ��������� � ��� ��� ������������� ������ �������
����� ����������� ���� ��������� � ������� �� ����������������� ��� ��������� ����������������������������������� ��������� ��� ��������� ������ �� ����� ��� �������������� ��������� ����
������ ������� ���� ����� ���� ������� �� ��� ��������� �������� �� ��� ����������� ����� �� ������� �� �� ����� �� ��� �������� ��� ���� �� ��������� ������� ��� ���������� �����������������������������������
��� ����� ��� ��������� ������� �� ����� ����� �������� �������� ��� ��������� ���� ������������������������������������� ������������ ���������� �� ������� ��� ��� ���� ���������� ��� ��������������������� ���������������
���� ����� �������� �� �������� �� �������� ������ �� ���� ���� �� � ������� ������ ��� ������� ���������� ����� ������ �� ��� ������� ������ ��� ���������� �� ��� ���������
������� ���� ���� ���� ���������� ������ �� ��� ������ �� ����� �� ���� �� ��� �� ��� ������� ������� ������� ����� �� ������ ��������� � ����� ��� ���������� �������� �������
���������������������������������������������������� ������� ��� ���� �� �� ��� ������ ���� ������ ������ �������� ���� �������� ��� ���������� ��������� ��������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������ ������ ������ ����� ������ ���� �� � ��������� ������ ���� ����������� ����� ������ � �������
������������������������������������������������� ����� ���� �������� ������ ���������� ������������ ��� ������ ������� ������� ���� ��� ��� ����������� �� ���� �� ������ ���� ����� �����
��������� �� ���� ������ ������� �� ����� �������� ������ ��� ���������������������������������� ��������� ����� ���� ������������ ������ �� ��� ������ �������������������������������������
������������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������� ���� ������ ������� ���������� ������������ ������ ���� ���������� � ������ ������������� ���
���� � �����������������������������������������������������
������� �� ������� ��� ��� ��� ��� �������� ���� ���� �����
�������� ��������� ����������� ������
��� ����������������� ��� ��������
���� ��� ������ ��������
���� �������� ��� ������
������������������������
�������������� ���������
���� ���� ���� ������ ��� �������������
�������� ��� ����� �� ������ ������ ����
������ ��������������������������������������������������
���������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������
������ ������ ��� ��� ���� ���������
�������� �� ����� ��� ���� ���� ��
������� �������� ������������ �����
���� �������� ������ ��������� �����������
����� � ����������� ����������� ���
����� �� ���������� ��� ���������� ��
������������������������������� �����
��������� ���� �� �������� ���� ���� ����� ����������� ����� ��� �������� ����� ��� ���� �� ������������ �������������� ���������� ��� ��������� ��� ���������� ������� ����� ��� ������ ��� ���� ������
���� ��� ���������� �� ����� ������� ���������� ������ �������������������������������������� ��� ������� ����� ������ �� ������� ���� ������� ����������������������� ���� ���� �� ��� ������ �������� ��� ������
�������������������������������������������������������������������������� �� ��������� ��� ������ �������� ���� � ������� ���������� ������ ��������� �������� �� ��� �������� ����� ��� ������ �� � ���������� ������ �� ��� ������
����������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������� ���������� ���������� ���� �������� ��� ������� ������� ��� �������� ���������� ������� ��������� �������������� ��������� ����
������ ����� ��� ���� ���������� ������������ �� ������ �������� �� ��� ������ �� ��� ��� ������������� ��� ���������� ��� ������������ ���������� ���� �������� ������ �������� ���� ������ ���������� ������ ���� ������� ��������� �������
������������������������������������������������������������������������ ���������� ������ ���������� ���� ��� ������ ��������� �� ����� ����� ��������� ��� ������ ���������� ���� ��� ������������� �������� ���
��������� ������������� ������������� ��� ��� ������ ������ ������� ���� ������� �������� �������� ����������� ������������������������������������ ��������� �������� ������ ����������
��� ������� ���� ���� ������� ���� ��� ���� ��� �� ���� ��� ������ �������� ���� ������ ��������� �� ��� ����� �������� ��� ��������� ��� ������ �������� �������������� ��� ���� ���� ���� �������� ����������� ��� ������ ������
����������� �� ��� ������ ���������� �� �������� ������ ���������� ���������� ����� ����� ��� ���������� ����������� ���������� �� ��������� ��������� ������� ��� ����������� �� ��� ������ ���������� ����� ��� ����������������
����� ���������� �������� �� ���� � �� ������� ����������� ����� � ������� ���� ��� ������ ��� �� ����� ����� �� ��� �������� ���� �������� �������� ������ ��������� ���������������������������������
��������������� ���� ������ ������������ ������� ��� �� ������ ��� �� ���� �� ������ � ����� ������� �� ��� ������� ���� ����������� �� �������������� ��� �� ������� ��� ��������� �� � ������ �� ����� �� �����
������� ���� ��� �� �������� ����� ��������� ����������� ���������� ��� ��������
����� �������� �� ������ �� �����
��� ������� ���� ���� ���������� �� ������� ����������� ��� ������������ ��
���� ���� ��� ����� ��� ��������� �������� ������� ��� �� ��� ����� ������ ������� �� ��� ������
�������� ������ �� ����������� ������� �� �������� ����� ���� ��������������
����� ��� ���� ���� ������ ��� ��� �������� ������ �� �������� ������� ���������� ����������� ��� ��� ����� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� �� �������� �� ��� ��� ��� ��������� ��� �� � ���� ��
��� ��������� ����� ����� ��� ������������� �� ����������� ��������� ���������� ����� �������� ���� ��� ���������� ������� ���� � ������ ���� ������ �� �������� ���� �� �������� ���������
��� ����������� �������� ������ ���� ������������ ��������� ������ ����������� ������� �� ��������� ���� ��� ��������� ������� � ������ �� ������ ����� �������� �� �������� �� ������ ����������� �������� ������ ���
����� ���� ������� ����� ��� ������ ����� ������� �������� ���� ���� ��������� ������� ���� ������� ���� ��� ������ ��� ����� ����� ��������� ������ �� ��� ���������� ������� ������ ��������� ������������ �� �����������
���������������������������� �� ������ � ������������������������� ����� ���
����������� ������� ��� ������ ������������
������� ��������� ��������� ��
������� ���� ����� ��������� ��
��� ���� ��������� ���� �������
������� ���� �� ��� �������� ������� �������� ������ ������ ������ ��� ����� ���� ������ ����
��������� ��� ����� �������� ����
��������� �������� � ������ ��������� ������� ������� ��� ������� ��������� ��������� �� ������� ��� ��������� ����� �� �� � ���� �� ��� ����������� ��������� ������ ��� ���� ������ �� ������� ������������ ������� ����
���������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �������� ���� ������ ������� �� �� ��� ��� ���������� ������� ������ ������ ������� ��������� �� ��������� �������� ���������� �� ������ ��
������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �� ������� ������ �� ���� ���������� �� ������� ����� ������ ��� �� ����� ��� �� ������ ������ �� ����� ����������� ���� ������� � ����
���� ��������������������������������� ������� ������������������� ��������� ���� ������� ��� ���� ���� ���� �� ������ �� � ������� ���� ������ ����� ����� ���� �������� ���� ��� �������� ������ ��� ��� ���������
���������������� ������� ������������ ���� ���� ���� ��� ��������� ���� �� ����� �� ��� ����� ������ �� ������ ������� ��������� ���� ����� ��� �� ���������� ������ ���������� ������� ������������ �������� �������
�������� ������ ���� �� ��� ������ �� ������ ������������������������ �������� ����� �� ���� ��� ��������� �� �������� ��� �� � ���� ���� ��� ���� ���� ������ ����� ������������ ��
����� ���� �� � �������� ������ � ��� ���� ���� �� �� ���������� �� ����� ������� ���� �� ������ � ������ ������ ���� ���� ������ ���������� �������� ��� ��������� ���� ���������� ������ �� �� �� ��������������������������

����� ��� �� ������������� ������ ������������ ������� ��� ��������� �� ���� �������� �� ������ �� ��� ������ ������� ��� ��� ��� ������� �� ��� ������ ������� ��� ��� ������ ���� ��������� ����� � ������ ��� ��������� �� ��� ������ ������� ��� ���� ��������� ������ ������� ��������� � � ��� ������� ���� �����
����� ��� ������������� ������ ������������� ������ ������ ������ ������� ���� ��� � ��� ���� ������� ������� ���� ��� � ��� ���� �������� �� ��� ������ ������ ������� ������� ������� ��������� ������ ������� �������� ������������ ������������� ��� ��������� �� ���� ����� ��� ��� ���� ����������� ���
������ ������� ��� ��� ��� ������ ��������� ������������ �� ��� ������� ���������� �� ���������� �� ����� �� �� ����� ������� ����� ������� ���������� �� ����������� ��� ��������� ��������

��� �����
14 THURSDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2024
NEW DELHI VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | MYTHS AND MANTRAS

BLOOMBERG

Themes are good in music but

not in the world of investment
Steer clear of thematic funds. Most are launched for the benefit of fund houses more than investors

This is a theme (pun intended) you sized funds, and NFOs achieve this.
would see play out every time NFOs Plus, one should check if the name of
cluster around a particular category, be a scheme is a good descriptor at all of
it defined by geography, sector or size what it actually holds. We find that
(small cap versus large cap). Usually, value funds apply for overpriced initial
investors lose money or underperform public offerings (IPOs) and small-cap
on such investments. funds hold 10% in Reliance, which is the
The data is simple and clear. Most largest market-cap company in India.
thematic schemes come around the end Many fund houses apply under very
DEVINA MEHRA of the bull run for that theme. different schemes for the same IPO.
is chairperson, managing director and But then, why do fund houses launch One applied under its large, mid and
founder of First Global, an Indian and funds for themes that have already small cap schemes as well as a tax saver
global asset management company, and largely run their course? Don’t they scheme. Another fund applied for a
author of the forthcoming ‘Myths and understand that risks are high and loss-making company’s IPO both from

D-Street’s China shock

Mantras: The Ultimate Investment Guide’. super-normal returns are unlikely? its retirement and value schemes.
Her X handle is @devinamehra Of course they do. But they also It was the same during the 2021 IPO
understand that you, as a retail investor, boom, when even value funds were
have come to understand that theme applying for so-called ‘New Age’ tech

W
hat do you think when you see only by this point in time. Maybe you firms, which might have fit the criteria

can easily be absorbed a slew of new fund offers

(NFOs) from various mutual
funds or portfolio management services
(PMS) providers centred around a par-
even have some ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing
out). Hence, when the scheme is
launched, you’re likely to participate
enthusiastically, even if it eventually
for a different sort of fund but definitely
can’t be classified as value buys.
I’ve even seen green energy/ESG
funds holding coal and oil stocks. This
ticular theme? Over the past year, these won’t end well. In short, these schemes is a further indication that most fund
have been mostly in areas like small are launched because they can gather houses bring out NFOs or thematic
India’s month-long stock market slide since China’s stimulus should temper expectations caps, public sector undertakings, indus- assets for the fund house rather than funds just to gather assets. The poor
trials, defence, green energy, etc. optimize portfolio returns for you. timing of most thematic NFOs is one
and remind investors of ‘value’ and its drivers. This is a ‘correction’ in an educative sense too Most investors think it means these I remember an asset management issue. The other part that I have spoken
fund managers believe that the theme company (AMC) CEO being asked on a often about is that asset allocation
will give superior returns. Their enthu- panel how he felt when its fund, invest- determines 85-90% of your returns.
siasm shows up in data from the Securi- ing in a narrow list of global tech stocks Investing in a thematic fund gets you

F
or countless new investors who got this month. To be sure, investment experts ties and Exchange Board of India (Sebi): and launched in 2021, was down 37% locked into its asset/sector allocation.
used to a one-way climb in Indian tracking valuations had been warning for In 2024-25, 47.3% of net inflows into in a year. The CEO replied that he In addition, you are the one deciding
equity mutual funds have gone to sec- felt nothing, as he was only offering a when to invest in a particular industry or
stocks, the past month has been a rude months that our market has gone into over- toral/thematic funds. Small-cap funds product and it was up to the investor theme. Now that’s something that deter-
awakening. Since the Chinese central bought territory. Shares that compose major have seen inflows of another 7.6%. All to decide whether to invest in it. mines most of your returns, and, there-
bank’s ‘bazooka’ stimulus for its econ- indices have been trading at over 20 times their else, including large cap, multi cap, flexi AMCs also launch these schemes fore, if you are getting professional help
omy, India’s stock market has been one-year forward earnings, with Chinese scrips cap, mid cap, etc, make up only 45%. because Sebi regulations do not allow from a fund manager or financial advisor,
on a slide, as many foreign investors swung to available for less than half as much as a ratio of How skewed this is can be seen from multiple schemes from a particular the key input they must provide is how to
the fact that thematic funds made up AMC on the same theme. Thus, an do tactical and dynamic asset/sector allo-
Chinese stocks instead. India’s S&P BSE Sensex what they earn. This valuation gap left Indian only 12.5% of the assets under manage- AMC cannot have multiple small-cap cations. If they leave that decision to you,
index is down some 6.7% from its September shares vulnerable. Foreign portfolio re-alloca- ment for equity mutual funds at the schemes or multiple mid-cap schemes. then what are you paying them for?
peak, while other indices have fallen as well. tion patterns suggest a search for attractively beginning of the year. The theme this But nobody stops AMCs from launching Therefore, find a fund manager or an
Declines of such magnitude are not too sharp priced picks, rather than stocks driven chiefly year has clearly been thematic funds. funds on ‘new’ themes. investment advisor who dynamically
and do not suggest panic. This is an asset class by market momentum. Although the jury is still In the past too, we have seen a clus- For one, the NFO gets investor inter- manages this allocation for you across
tering of schemes around a particular est and investments. For another, Sebi asset classes, within equities or across
given to volatility. But since the market has long out on the efficacy of China’s booster dose (and theme. In 2021, for example, there were regulations cap the total expense ratio geographies and sectors—because that
been on a steep incline—that index has risen the policy idea of a central bank taking explicit many Nasdaq or China/Greater China of a mutual fund scheme by the size of will determine most of your returns.
24% over the past year and more than doubled action to reverse an equity slump), its CSI 300 funds launched. All of them crashed the its corpus. As the older schemes of an A tip from me: steer clear of thematic
in half a decade—to reach levels that made index has gone up by about 17% over the month. following year, with the Nasdaq being AMC become larger, the percentage funds, at least the new ones. They are
shares look overpriced, it’s a fair question to ask South Korea, Indonesia and Japan also gained. among the world’s worst performing chargeable as expenses reduce. The almost always injurious for the health
indices in 2022. way around it is to have some smaller- of your portfolio.
if a prolonged bull run has finally exhausted Where does all this leave us? Apart from
itself. What caused the month-long slide? absorbing the lesson that markets move both
Sell-offs by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). ways, retail investors must pay more attention
So far in October, on a net basis, they have sold to value: i.e., whether a stock’s earnings justify
close to ₹85,000 crore worth of Indian shares. its price. Long-horizon equity holders need to
In fact, this month looks set to be the heaviest track value drivers, like the strategic approach
month of FPI liquidation, with the covid-shock of companies within the larger context of how www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Saturday, October 25, 2014 Vol.8 No.255 `10.00 in Delhi-NCR/`11.00 outside Delhi-NCR 12 PAGES
+ 20 PAGES LOUNGE

record of March 2020 likely to be smashed. It the economy, its policy settings and other key Microsoft sales
EARNINGS:
exceed estimates >12
COMPANIES: Amazon posts biggest quarterly
loss in 11 years >12

is natural for investors to be somewhat nervous variables enable them to expand their earnings. twitter.com/ facebook.com/ plus.google.com/ pinterest.com/
ENERGY: India plans to diversify oil imports >5
DÉJÀ VIEW: Obsolete but awesome >11

Stock market bubbles

livemint mint.live +livemint livemint/

amid this scenario of a ‘China shock.’ India’s economic growth has held up well and SENSEX 26,851.05 ®

WORLD BANK REPORT

NIFTY 8,014.55 ® DOLLAR `61.28 ® EURO `77.63

INFRASTRUCTURE BANK
GOLD `27,315 ® OIL $86.22 æ $0.61

QUICK EDIT

Economic impact China launches rival Asian

Proportionally, though, the scale of this FPI profits have swollen faster than wages in recent don’t grow out of thin air.
dreams
to World Bank, ADB
of Ebola outbreak T he Asian
Infrastructure
R EUTERS and neither were South Korea Investment Bank was
feedback@livemint.com and Australia, according to a launched in Beijing with
························· pool report. delegates from 21 Asian

selling has not hit stocks as hard as the pan- years, as value-addition data shows. Yet, what
SHANGHAI Japan, China’s main rival in countries plus China

The major brunt is A ustralia, Indonesia and Asia and which dominates the attending. India is part of

They have a solid base in

South Korea skipped the $175 billion Asian Develop- the group. No prizes for
felt by sectors that EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS launch of a China-backed
Asian infrastructure bank on
ment Bank along with the US,
was also not present, but it was
guessing which country
will dominate the new
are integral to the EBOLA IMPACT INDEX AND NATIONAL GDP Friday as the US said it had not expected to be. institution, which will rival
economies of the (LOW EBOLA SCENARIO) concerns about the new rival Media reports said US secre- the Asian Development
to Western-dominated multi- tary of state John Kerry put Bank in which the US has
affected countries The Ebola impact index is based on the size of a potential Ebola outbreak
lateral lenders. pressure on Australia to stay a big say.
(calculated using the likelihood of a single case arriving in a given country,

demic sell-off did. The Sensex had dropped listed businesses rake in for their bottom-lines
multiplied by the number of cases likely to emerge once a single case breaks out) China’s $50 billion Asian In- out of AIIB. And Malaysia has said it
B Y V ENKAT A NANTH and a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), a proxy for the quality of the frastructure Investment Bank However, state department will collaborate with
venkat.a@livemint.com healthcare system. (AIIB) is seen as a challenge to spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: Indonesia to build a new
························· the World Bank and Asian De- “Secretary Kerry has made Asian car. The region is
NEW DELHI Liberia

reality, but reality as

100
Sierra Leone velopment Bank (ADB), both clear directly to the Chinese as one of the world’s most

O n Thursday, Craig
Spencer, a doctor who
recently returned from
Guinea, became New York
30

10
Gambia
Guinea

Guinea Bissau Mali

Ghana
of which count Washington
and its allies as their biggest fi-
nancial backers.
China, which is keen to ex-
well as to other partners that
we welcome the idea of an in-
frastructure bank for Asia but
we strongly urge that it meet
dynamic car markets,
currently dominated by
the Japanese.
Both developments take

20% back then. What our market has developed must accelerate to catch up with their high
Index of expected impact

City’s first reported Ebola case Cote d’Ivoire tend its influence and soft international standards of gov- us back to the 1990s.
after he was diagnosed with 3 power in the region, has limit- ernance and transparency. There was much talk
Senegal Nigeria
the virus. 1
ed voting rights in these exist- “We have concerns about about the need for a new
Mauritania Morocco UK
Spencer is the fourth Ameri- ing banks despite being the the ambiguous nature of the Asian financial system to
can to be so diagnosed. On the Belgium world’s second-largest econo- AIIB proposal as it currently avoid the humiliation
Kenya
same day, Mali, considered to South Africa my. stands, that we have also ex- many governments
be an important trade transit AIIB, launched in Beijing at pressed publicly.” endured to get

distorted by
.1 France
hub in sub-Saharan Africa, a ceremony attended by Chi- In a speech to delegates after International Monetary
reported its first case. With the Germany nese finance minister Lou Ji- the inauguration, Chinese Fund aid after the 1997

since is an enlarged cushion of domestic buying share prices. This means the market could stay
World Health Organization wei and delegates from 21 President Xi Jinping said the crisis. The idea of an Asian
(WHO) confirming the worst in .01 US countries including India, new bank would use the best car can be traced back to
its latest update, with nearly 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 1,00,000 Thailand and Malaysia, aims practices of the World Bank the unsuccessful
10,000 reported cases, the eco- Based on World Development Indicators (2013)
$ bn (2013) to give project loans to devel- and ADB. Malaysian project to build
nomic impact of the virus out- oping nations. China is set to “For the AIIB, its operation the Proton car.
break is slowly taking centre LOST GDP DUE TO EBOLA (SHORT AND MEDIUM TERM) be its largest shareholder with needs to follow multilateral A question: is Asia going
stage, especially in the African 2014 2015 (Low Ebola) 2015 (High Ebola) a stake of up to 50%. back to the future?
continent. Indonesia was not present TURN TO PAGE 2®
Guinea Core three
According to a World Bank

support, thanks to retail participants rushing in, choppy. Further drops should not be a surprise, a misconception.
report released earlier this 43 Liberia Sierra Leone countries
month, there are two distinct
channels through which the
outbreak could affect the -66 -59 Non-Gandhi PANDA AWARDS
economies in the affected
countries. First, “the direct and
indirect effects of the sickness
-130 -142
-113
-163
-129
politico can Kolkata’s Ashwika Kapur
and mortality themselves,
which consume health care re-
Estimates of lost GDP -234 head Congress: wins Green Oscar

even as mutual fund schemes pool in large sums although new investors still seem to be coming
in $ mn (2013)
sources and subtract people
either temporarily or perma-
For the three core countries, the forfeited GDP
in 2015 adds up to $129 million in the low Ebola
Chidambaram B Y S HRENIK A VLANI ing parents didn’t realize that
nently from the labor force”. case scenario and $815 million in the high Ebola -359 feedback@livemint.com the little duckling I brought
Effectively, it means lower case scenario. -439 B Y G YAN V ARMA & ························· home would be the beginning
labour supply in these coun- E LIZABETH R OCHE KOLKATA of a mini menagerie in their
-815
tries, largely because of work-
ers being diagnosed with the
Source: World Bank
·························
NEW DELHI
I ndia’s only entry this year at
the Panda Awards, Sirocco–
12th-floor apartment. That’s
how I fell in love with ani-
virus and subsequently dying
from it, or those taking care of
Yale study paints worrying
PARAS JAIN/MINT

F ormer finance minister P.

Chidambaram has said
How A Dud Became A Stud,
won the Icon Film Newcomer
mals,” said Kapur, who studied
wildlife filmmaking at Univer-

to invest in equities. While FPIs pulled out of in and the local cushion effect may stem losses.
patients or those staying at what was once unthinkable for Award in Bristol. Directed by sity of Otago in New Zealand.

picture of Ebola epidemic

home due to fear of exposure a Congress leader to voice Ashwika Kapur, 27, the docu- “A few years later, I became a
to Ebola, resulting in re- publicly: a non-Gandhi politi- mentary is about a New Zea- child actor in Calcutta (now

G EORG E SOROS
duced productivity, lower out- cian could take over in the fu- land parrot who is the official Kolkata) and I acted in several
put and lower household in- ture from party president So- spokesbird for conservation. commercials and TV shows.
come. B Y N IKITA M EHTA On Thursday, the World nia Gandhi. Sirocco beat competition And that’s how I fell in love
The second channel, the re- nikita.m@livemint.com Health Organization (WHO) In response to a question from the US film Pride and the with films. Post-college, when
port says, is largely through ························· said that 9,936 cases of Ebola whether a non-Gandhi family UK film We Are Rhino. Wildlife it was time to decide upon a
NEW DELHI

India, attracted partly by China’s new prop for Eventually, basic value drivers will count. So
the indirect or behavioural ef- had been reported and 4,877 of member or someone not from filmmaker Mike Pandey is career, I followed my heart,
fects of the outbreak, “result-
ing from the fear of contagion,
which in turn leads to a fear of
A study by scientists from
Yale University and Libe-
ria’s ministry of health and so-
those infected had died. WHO
experts noted that there con-
tinues to be an exponential in-
the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty
could be the head of the 128-
year-old Congress party,
among the few Indians who
have won this award, also
known as the Green Oscar, in
put my two loves together and
declared that I was going to be
a wildlife filmmaker.”
association with others and re- cial welfare has projected that crease in cases in the three Chidambaram said in an inter- the past. Kapur made her film on Si-
duces labor force participa- there could be more than countries with the most in- view to NDTV 24x7 TV chan- “Symbolically, this award is rocco, a kakapo (night parrot
tion, closes places of employ- 90,000 deaths from the Ebola tense transmission of the dis- nel: “I think so—someday.” important as it’s the highest in the Maori language), as her
ment, disrupts transportation virus outbreak in Montserrado, ease—Guinea, Liberia and Si- When asked about the de- accolade in the industry. But I university project on a shoe-
(and) motivates some govern- Liberia, alone by mid-Decem- erra Leone—and that because pendence of the Congress on didn’t make Sirocco expecting string budget of just £500

its stock market that had slumped under its long as these are intact, there is no cause for
ments to close land borders ber, if the epidemic continues of this the situation remains of the dynasty to provide the par- any awards,” Kapur said after (around `49,350 today) last
and restrict entry of citizens on its present course. A mathe- great concern. ty with leadership and electoral her victory from Bristol, where year.
from afflicted countries”. matical transmission model of WHO officials also said that wins, Chidambaram said: “It so she collected the award on “As a filmmaker, I believe
These effects, the report adds, the viral disease was applied to the number of cases and deaths happens that he (party vice- Thursday in the presence of that natural history documen-
also “motivates private deci- Montserrado, Liberia’s most in these countries are under- president Rahul Gandhi) is David Attenborough. “I was taries should both educate and
sion-makers to disrupt trade, populous city, which is already reported. They also noted that from that family, but that simply doing my best, and entertain. So, when I was re-
travel and commerce by can- severely affected by the disease. special attention needs to be doesn’t mean that other young- that’s always going to be my searching story ideas for my
celing scheduling commercial The findings were published paid to the needs of healthcare er leaders cannot emerge.” attitude towards my work: to graduation film, I was looking
flights and reduction in ship- in The Lancet Infectious Dis- workers, even after they return He cited the example of always give it my best shot. for a subject that would strike

slowdown, net local purchases worth ₹77,000 anxiety. This slide is best taken as a ‘correction’
eases journal on Friday as Mali to their own countries. former minister for corporate The rest will follow.” that balance,” she said. “While
TURN TO PAGE 4® confirmed its first Ebola case, “Our predictions highlight affairs and current Rajasthan Kapur’s interest in animals researching kakapo, I came
and a hospitalized medical aid the rapidly closing window of state Congress chief Sachin Pi- and birds started when she across Sirocco, a bird that inci-
Mint is also available for R14.50 with worker tested positive for Ebo- brought home a duckling when
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only la in New York City. TURN TO PAGE 4® TURN TO PAGE 2® she was four. “My unsuspect- TURN TO PAGE 2®

crore have been made in Indian stocks so far that’s educative no less than numerical.

MY VIEW | WORLD APART

America’s election season gets more bizarre by the day

minutes while he danced on stage. More lates to very different worldviews in the US large over this election that he might as well That is true, but in election after election,
RAHUL JACOB worryingly, he has described his political between those who did not go to college (and be a third candidate. from the UK’s 2016 Brexit vote to the far-
opponents as “the enemy within” and even whose children cannot afford to enrol for Since social media spreads conspiracy right’s victories in Austria and the Nether-
suggested the US Army deal with them. He higher education) and college graduates, theories, it is not a given that the election lands last year, social media has let lies about
has repeatedly said the election may be who mostly support Democrats. The less count will be accepted as free and fair. The immigrants (and much else) be peddled as
rigged, just as he claims the last one was, well-off are migrating to the Republican attack on Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021 to fact. This has undermined faith in govern-

T
he US election campaign may already without evidence. Party because its nostalgic message of ‘Make prevent then vice-president Mike Pence ment and its institutions. This week, Trump
be the most alarming since 1968—and On the side of the Democrats too, there America Great Again’ and from certifying Biden’s claimed that the Federal Emergency Man-
is certainly the most bizarre in mem- have been strange moments. This month, curtailing immigration election is seen by many agement Agency (FEMA) had not responded
ory. Republican candidate Donald Trump’s former president Barack Obama appeared at speaks to them. As Putnam The strange Republicans as justified. to people rendered homeless after a hurri-
pronouncements in recent months would a rally in Pittsburgh and suggested that Afri- observes in his 2020 book Trump’s claim that this cane struck North Carolina because FEMA’s
make for a book. “Right to try, where we can can-American men weren’t supporting The Upswing, intergenera- statements election may be rigged budget is spent on helping illegal immi-
try space-age materials instead of going to Vice-President Kamala Harris’s candidacy tional mobility in the US comes in spite of his being grants. This led to concerns about possible
Asia or going to Europe and trying to get adequately. His scolding tone, implying that has been declining for half
being made are tied with Harris in pan-US attacks on FEMA workers and hampered

is a Mint columnist and a

when you’re terminally ill,” he said in June.
“Now you can go and get something. You
they were being male chauvinists, made
things worse. Many commentators pointed
a century. In 1990, he rang
alarm bells over America’s
worsened by all polls and his apparent lead
in key battleground states.
their work in the storm-afflicted area.
As with falsehoods about FEMA, Trump
former Financial Times foreign
correspondent.
sign a document.” This stream of conscious-
ness, quoted word-for-word by The Econo-
out that opinion polls showed she was doing
as well or better than Biden before he quit
weakening social engage-
ment through civic com-
the falsehoods The likelihood of another
post-election riot is high.
continues to repeat that Democrat senators
Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff are “enemies
mist, emerged from his June debate with the race. Harris, though, seems to be getting munities such as bowling that pervade Optimistic readers with a from within.” Schiff rebutted this calmly
President Joe Biden, who subsequently less support from both young Latinos and clubs and churches. This historical bent will point to enough, but pointed out the dangers inher-
withdrew because his performance was young African-American men than Biden has been worsened by peo- social media violence during the 1968 ent in allowing an unpoliced social media to
incoherent. In the past few weeks, Trump’s did in 2020, which is another odd twist in ple turning instead to US election and say that take on such an outsized role in this election.
campaign utterances have become even this weird election. social media, an amplifier was worse. Both Martin As fake news on X showed by fanning mob
more strange. On 19 October, he started a This electoral battle of harsh words is play- of hate speech and conspiracy theories. Elon Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, who violence in the UK this summer that resulted
rally in Pennsylvania with a 12-minute anec- ing out against several worrying long-term Musk, owner of X, has described 2024 as was running for the Democratic nomination in attacks on British South Asians and immi-
dote about the legendary golfer Arnold social phenomena in the US. One is what the likely “the last election” if Harris wins; his after President Lyndon Johnson said he grants, not to speak of hoax alarms about
Palmer that included a reference to the late American sociologist Robert Putnam has ‘logic’ is that her party will turn so many ille- would not stand for election, were assassi- bombs on Indian planes, social media brings
golfer’s private parts. Earlier this month, at termed “the great divergence”: i.e., a contin- gal immigrants into Democrats that the US nated that year. Divisions over the Vietnam out the worst in many of us. In country after
another campaign rally in the state, loud- uing increase in income and educational ine- will become a one-party state. Musk’s control War were more acute than current divisions country, we are engaged in an endless
speakers belted out his Spotify playlist for 39 quality that has been getting worse. It trans- of such a popular platform now looms so over Washington’s support for Israel. uncivil war with ourselves.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS THURSDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2024
NEW DELHI 15

THEIR VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R

How best to cool the derivatives Who is Satoshi? The creator of

Bitcoin is yet to be unmasked
market takes regulatory finesse How come no effort has been made to cash in on Bitcoin’s success?

Sebi’s measures to cool the derivatives market should be subject to an independent review and studied by the regulator itself

REUTERS

TYLER COWEN
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and a
professor of economics at George Mason
University.
G.N. BAJPAI
is former chairman, Life Insurance Corporation
of India and Securities and Exchange Board of
India.

W
ho is or was Satoshi Nakamoto,
the creator of Bitcoin? A recent
HBO documentary names Peter
Todd [who denied it], with the possible An HBO documentary claimed to have

T
he explosion of volumes in the Indian assistance of Adam Back. Suffice to say the identified Satoshi Nakamoto. ISTOCKPHOTO
derivatives’ market—daily swaps, in truth here remains an open question, but it
particular—and the widespread is worth asking: Why does anyone care? If that’s the case, then maybe conspiracy
participation of retail investors has There is in fact a great deal at stake, cer- theories are more true than most of us
generated deep concern among tainly at the intellectual level and probably would care to admit.
regulators and policymakers. As financially and politically as well. It’s only According to many speculations, Satoshi
Warren Buffett famously said, “Derivatives are natural, and even healthy, to be curious came out of a movement obsessed with
financial weapons of mass destruction.” about who could have created more than $1 e-cash and e-gold mechanisms, dating to
A consultation paper published by the Securities trillion in market capitalization. the 1980s. People from those movements
and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) noted that in [Nakamoto’s concept paper, ‘Bitcoin: A who have been identified as potential Sato-
2023-24, an average 85 out of 100 individuals Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,’ has shi candidates include Nick Szabo, Hal Fin-
trading in index futures lost money. The market been pored over by crypto enthusiasts all ney, Wei Dai, David Chaum and Douglas
regulator’s solicitude seems to be the interest over the world, many of them in vigorous Jackson, among others.
taken by common investors in derivatives, apart agreement with such lines as: “What is At the time, those movements were con-
from the market’s efficacy and rhythm. Accord- needed is an electronic payment system sidered failures because their products did
ingly, Sebi has promulgated numerous measures based on cryptographic proof instead of not prove sustainable. The lesson here
to cool this market down. trust, allowing any two willing parties to would be that movements do not truly and
Derivatives are a risk-management financial transact directly with each other without permanently fail. It is worth experimenting
instrument. On one side of a trade is a risk-hedger, the need for a trusted third party.”] in unusual directions because something
and on the other, a risk-taker. The latter is a kind of Presume that Satoshi has passed away, useful might come out of those efforts.
speculator who consciously bets on possibilities. which would explain why we no longer If Peter Todd is Satoshi, then it’s appro-
Incidentally, derivatives also help in sharpening hear from Satoshi. priate to upgrade any estimates of the abil-
how the stock market prices stocks. Hal Finney is one oft-cited Satoshi can- ity of very young people to get things done.
Broadly, there are three kinds of threats to the didate, and he died in 2014. Under this sce- Todd would have been working on Bitcoin
tranquillity of a securities market: structural risks, nario, Satoshi’s reputation is likely to and the associated white paper as a student
systemic risks and operational risks. Aberrations in remain intact: He or she stays mysterious in his early twenties. At the same time, if
trading, sudden and disproportionate surges in and cannot do anything to disgrace Bit- the more mainstream Adam Back is
volume, misdemeanours and major market mis- coin. Satoshi’s large and valuable ‘origin involved, then maybe the takeaway is that
conduct must be examined from all three angles. block’ of Bitcoin is less likely to be sold. It rebellious young people should seek out
Often, only operational risks are in focus, with the might be frozen forever, with its current older mentors on matters of process and
low-lying systemic risk of ‘a banker not honouring nal concept of expecting one of every 10 invest- Anecdotal evidence suggests that many com- value in the tens of billions of dollars. marketing.
a banker’s cheque’ overlooked. This contributed ments to succeed, PE players have largely begun mon investors are learning the ropes of managing A deceased Satoshi also means that Sato- Whoever Satoshi may be, the fact that
substantially to the global meltdown of 2007-08. looking for all 10 to assure them a return-on-in- the risks of investing in equity through daily swaps shi cannot step forward and advocate the origin block has not been moved raises
In India, an upsurge in derivative volumes, high vestment of 25% and above. and other derivative products. Now they have changes in the rules of Bitcoin, such as ena- deep questions about human motivation.
interest in primary share issues (even by small and Second, individual investors are ready to risk more to grapple with. As regulatory actions have a bling the creation of more Bitcoin. That too Do some people just not want to be mul-
medium enterprises or SMEs) and widespread their surplus savings on equities, given how the propensity to raise operational and compliance is likely bullish for the value of Bitcoin. A ti-billionaires? What reasons might there
retail participation all warrant scrutiny from all Nifty-50 and BSE Sensex are perceived to deliver costs and orchestrate market distortions, Sebi’s living Satoshi, in contrast, might exercise be for not cashing in? Perhaps Satoshi died
three angles. returns that are very high in the short-term, high in recent measures to cool down the derivatives mar- considerable sway over Bitcoin users and very suddenly—but even a dying Satoshi
Shallow secondary research has indicated that the medium-term and moderate in the long-term. ket are also likely to have a fallout along these lines. institutions, if he or she stepped forward might have been expected to allocate the
the country’s savings-and-investment market Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, have been encouraged All regulators are accountable to the public and and suggested some rule changes. funds in some matter, if only to a relative or
structure is undergoing a transformation. Savers to raise money directly. Through a regulatory their accountability should be assessed on four cri- A parallel with religion is instructive. to charity. Or did Satoshi destroy his or her
are taking direct charge of their investments and framework created in coordination with stock teria. Do they cite reasons for decisions? Are they Most of the world’s major religions are password in a fit of pique or possible self-
entrepreneurs are directly approaching the mar- exchanges, Sebi has fashioned platforms for SMEs exposed to public scrutiny? Do their decisions based on the teachings of dead people. restraint?
ket for funding. Enthused by disintermediation and startups to raise risk capital. undergo an independent review? And do regula- That makes them easier to run compared One of the more extreme (and to me less
gains of the internet era, investors and entrepre- The capital market’s efficiency is gauged by the tory initiatives undergo an economic cost-benefit to religions with living charismatic leaders plausible) theories is that the US Central
neurs alike have turned reluctant to pay for costly ease and cost of participation. Once investors are analysis? While Sebi meets the first two, independ- who receive regular press coverage and are Intelligence Agency (CIA) is Satoshi, or at
financial intermediation. The clock is running linked with entrepreneurs, all regulators—Sebi as ent reviews of its decisions have been missing. vulnerable to mistakes and gaffes. It is least behind Satoshi. If that’s true, then the
down on the role of institutions as intermediaries the primary one and exchanges as secondary Also, crucially, their benefits do not seem to be probably best for Bitcoin if Satoshi is no CIA is far more innovative than I thought.
that use savings to finance businesses. ones—must watch from the sidelines to ensure that weighed against their economic costs, and if they longer alive. It is widely known for its cryptographic tal-
Many rants were aired in response to a recent the game is played fairly and the market’s efficacy are, the process is not available for public scrutiny. It also matters if Satoshi was a single per- ent, but it is less well-known for being
two-wheeler dealer’s ₹12 crore offer of shares and rhythm do not suffer. It is premature to comment on the trade-off son or a small team. If a single person, that innovative.
attracting bids of ₹4,800 crore. This was taken as a The Indian economy is poised to stay on a high- between market protection and the adverse fallout might mean future innovations are more Whatever the story, it is an interesting
sign of IPO market mania. Dig deeper, though, and growth trajectory for years to come and narratives of regulatory steps taken to cool off derivatives. As likely than generally thought: If Satoshi is one. Perhaps Satoshi is still alive, and cor-
it’s best seen as symptom of today’s undercurrents of the national political executive have created regulators often need to act pre-emptively in a a lone individual, then maybe there are rectly identifies extreme fame and wealth
of change. positive vibes. Entrepreneurs are being asked to hurry, ex-post analysis is essential. Sebi has access to more unknown geniuses out there. as something to be avoided. Someday, I am
First, venture capital funds have been vanishing make the most of opportunities while investors are academic resources at the National Institute of On the other hand, the Satoshi-as-a- confident, we will learn who Satoshi is or
from the Indian capital market, while private betting on this script. Fortunately, they have been Securities Markets. Hopefully, it will put its latest team theory would mean that secrets are was. And we will have to change our views
equity (PE) has turned risk-averse. From the origi- rewarded handsomely in the last couple of years. measures—as well as others—under examination. easier to keep than people think. of the world accordingly. ©BLOOMBERG

MY VIEW | OTHER SPHERE

Basic literacy and numeracy remain our big challenge

and learning is built upon these. And since opment. Simply put, our schools are better ence at home and in their community. but an inadequate understanding of their
ANURAG BEHAR we have a system-wide crisis on this issue, resourced and supported than most schools Children living in poverty have less, get curricular and pedagogical implications.
we need to focus on solving it as a country. in India, other than the elite ones that make less and experience a tougher life. For exam- We are able to achieve the grade-3 FLN
A description of our schools and their up 1-2% of the total. As a useful comparison, ple, they don’t get adequate food or appro- goal with many of those in poverty, so why
context is necessary to understand what is they are resourced much like the Centre’s priate nutritional content, which affects can’t we do it with the rest?
going on. We run these schools to enable our Kendriya Vidyalayas. both their biological development and day- We are not certain and still looking for

T
his column is an admission of our main work in helping improve the public So, why are we struggling to achieve these to-day behaviour, including attention. They answers, but it seems a matter of human var-
struggles. We run nine schools, with a education system. We ourselves learn from very basic capacities with get significantly less adult iability, for one. For almost all these stu-
total of about 2,700 students. About these schools and use them as ‘demonstra- such a large proportion of care and supervision. This dents, much more time and personal atten-
20% of our students do not achieve founda- tion’ models with government school teach- our students? Let’s be Even India’s is not because their families tion is required, which when used skilfully
tional literacy and numeracy (FLN) by grade ers and officials. Eight of our schools are on clear: we are not achieving love them any less, but can compensate for some kinds of deficits
3, and 6% not even by grade 5. Earlier, 40% the rural periphery of district towns across the goal, and it’s not that well-resourced because the adults are away and deprivations and thus achieve some
students were not achieving FLN by grade 3; four states; one is on the periphery of Banga- the children are failing. all the time, battling to earn educational goals. But the responses of indi-
we had to work hard to bring it down to 20%, lore. The schools are completely free—no Almost all these chil-
schools are a living. These children vidual children vary, and it appears that

is CEO of Azim Premji

and we seem to be stuck at this level. Our
goal, as for the entire country’s education
tuition fees, no charges for books, uniforms,
the midday meal or anything else.
dren are from among the
80% who live with disad-
unable to meet also miss school a lot more
because they fall ill more,
whatever time and attention we can devote
to them up to grade 3 is still inadequate for
Foundation. system, committed under the National Edu-
cation Policy 2020 (NEP), is that all children
Over 80% of our students are from socio-
economically disadvantaged and vulnerable
vantages and face depriva-
tion. In other words, they
our policy goals. and when they fall ill, they
do not get treatment; and
the 20%. That 14% from these 20% achieve
FLN by grade 5 is because we get two more
must achieve these very basic language and families, about 15% from lower middle-class live in poverty; even We need fresh even otherwise, when they years to work with them. The 6% who don’t
math capacities by grade 3. families and about 5% from the middle-class. within this, a larger pro- are healthy, they are often achieve FLN even by grade 5 usually have
Foundational literacy is the capacity to Since the schools have a good reputation, portion are from families approaches helping the adults with some disability or are facing some deep dis-
read a couple of very simple paragraphs with there is a scramble for admissions. Our pro- in extreme poverty and/or their livelihood. Poverty turbances at home.
comprehension and being able to write a few cess is designed to admit a demographic from particularly disad- and social exclusion cause Despite our resources and expertise, we
original simple sentences. Foundational profile which roughly mirrors the demogra- vantaged groups such as Dalits. Since we significant stress and other mental health struggle to achieve FLN goals. Most Indian
numeracy is recognizing numbers, knowing phy of the local population. All the schools have strong relationships with our stu- issues. In short, the deficits and deprivations schools serve similar populations, but are
place value, and being able to do simple have good campuses, lots of teaching and dents’ families, we understand their cir- that children live with affects their educa- not as well-resourced. Is it surprising that we
operations of two digits, such as addition and learning resources, and excellent teams— cumstances well. tional achievement profoundly. are struggling with education across the
subtraction. For navigating life in today’s with competent, hard-working and empa- The educational achievement of children In the field of school education, there is a country? What must be done in the curricu-
world, these basic capacities are inadequate thetic teachers, who are systematically sup- is a function of both what happens at school reasonable understanding of these underly- lum, in schools and in communities? We will
but critical because most further education ported in their work and professional devel- and what the children get, have and experi- ing sociological and psychological factors, take that up in the next column.
 NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 24, 2024

06
www.dailypioneer.com
facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

A diplomatic push for peace

Israel challenges the
PAPER WITH PASSION

UN ahead of UN Day
During his visit to Russia for BRICS Summit,
Prime Minister Modi once again roots for peace
rime Minister Narendra Modi met President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the
SANTHOSH MATHEW

P BRICS Summit in Kazan to discuss wide ranging issues. The meeting highlight-
ed India’s continued advocacy for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, particularly
the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The BRICS summit brought together leaders from Brazil,
Israel’s unprecedented declaration of UN Secretary-General António Guterres as
persona non grata has challenged the very foundations of global diplomacy
Russia, India, China and South Africa to discuss global issues and solidify their collec-
tive stance on a multipolar world order. During the meeting, PM Modi reaffirmed India’s he United Nations was

T
position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, stressing the importance of dialogue and peace- not created to take
ful solutions. This stance underscores India’s diplomatic approach of engaging with both mankind to heaven,
Russia and Ukraine while maintaining its strategic autonomy. PM Modi’s message comes but to save humanity
at a critical time when Russia is advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, and from hell. These
words from Dag Hammarskjöld,
global powers are grappling with the conflict’s wider implications. Modi’s call for peace the second Secretary-General of
aligns with India’s broader foreign policy, which seeks to mediate and foster dialogue the United Nations (UN), res-
without aligning explicitly with any one bloc. This onate with renewed urgency
Summit marks a significant milestone for BRICS, as today. As the world observes
United Nations Day on October
the addition of five new members, set to be formalised 24, the occasion is marked by an
through the ‘Kazan Declaration’ at the conclusion of unprecedented diplomatic crisis
the Summit, reflects the growing importance of the that raises critical questions about
bloc as an alternative forum in the shifting global power the future of global cooperation.
Israel’s recent declaration of cur-
structure and a multipolar world order. rent UN Secretary-General
No wonder Russia has touted the BRICS Summit as António Guterres as persona
a diplomatic victory, countering Western attempts to non grata has sent shockwaves
isolate Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. For India, through international diploma-
cy, challenging the very principles
this Summit was also an opportunity to reinforce India’s the UN was founded to uphold. for its perceived bias or inef- bias at international forums. reflects not only a national
pivotal role in BRICS as it continues to advocate for The persona non grata designa- fectiveness, especially in con- Israeli officials, including the stance but a broader global
multipolarity and global governance reforms. India and tion, meaning a foreign official is flict zones. Israel’s frustra- Prime Minister and Foreign trend of rising nationalism
Russia’s relationship has been characterised as a ‘special and privileged strategic part- no longer welcome, effectively tions with the organisation are Minister, quickly accused and isolationism.
bars Guterres from entering longstanding, rooted in con- Guterres of undermining their Across the world, countries are
nership,’ a sentiment echoed by President Putin, who noted that the bilateral ties con- Israeli territory. cerns about what it perceives security by portraying Israel’s increasingly resistant to inter-
tinue to actively develop. While the Ukraine conflict has strained Russia’s relations with This decision stems from his as an undue focus on its poli- military actions as dispropor- national oversight or critique,
the West, India has maintained a pragmatic approach by continuing to engage with Russia comments about the humanitar- cies while other nations escape tionate. a shift that threatens the very
on economic and strategic matters. Notably, India has emerged as a significant pur- ian crisis in Gaza, which were similar scrutiny. The exclusion This stance reflects broader role of the UN as a mediator
meant to emphasise the need for of Guterres from Israel, how- frustrations with internation- and peacekeeper. As we
chaser of Russian oil, much to the disapproval of Western countries that are attempt- aid and peace. However, many ever, marks a dramatic escala- al organisations, which some observe UN Day, the impor-
ing to limit Russia’s trade capabilities. India’s stance has remained clear: its foreign pol- Israeli officials viewed his tion in this discontent. It sig- Israelis feel have not ade- tance of this moment cannot
icy decisions, including energy procurement, will prioritise its national interest, partic- remarks as biased against Israel, nals a rejection not just of the quately acknowledged the be overstated. The UN’s mis-
ularly in securing affordable resources for its citizens. The United States remains con- sparking tensions that led to Secretary-General’s leadership complexities of their national sion to save humanity from
this extraordinary response. As but of the UN’s role in medi- security concerns. conflict, as Hammarskjöld
cerned over Russia’s diplomatic manoeuvers amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Modi’s the world pauses to honour the ating peace, setting a troubling While the declaration is a envisioned, is more critical
visit to Russia for the BRICS Summit and his meeting with Putin emphasised India’s UN’s efforts in fostering peace precedent for the organisa-
THE CONCEPT OF decision made by Israel, its than ever.
role as a mediator advocating for peaceful conflict resolution. The strengthening of the and multilateral dialogue, this tion’s future involvement in the PERSONA NON implications extend far The exclusion of Guterres
BRICS bloc and the deepening of the India-Russia partnership signify broader shifts in incident serves as a stark region. The concept of per- beyond its borders. Human exposes a fragile global order
reminder of the difficulties faced sona non grata has been GRATA HAS BEEN rights organisations and diplo- where the organisation’s abil-
global dynamics toward a multipolar world. As India navigates this evolving landscape, by diplomacy in an increasingly wielded as a powerful diplo- matic circles have reacted ity to mediate and foster peace
its policy of non-alignment and focus on strategic autonomy will be crucial in maintain- polarised world. Established in matic tool throughout histo-
WIELDED AS A swiftly to the move. Amnesty is increasingly questioned.
ing balanced relations with all major powers, while advocating for peace and stability. 1945 following the devastation of ry. Declaring someone unwel- POWERFUL International, for instance, Israel’s actions are not only a
World War II, the UN was cre- come goes beyond a person- condemned the decision, national response to perceived
ated to maintain peace, pro- al rebuke; it conveys a nation’s DIPLOMATIC TOOL arguing that it undermines the bias but also resonate with
PICTALK mote human rights, and foster
global cooperation. United
stance on international rela-
tions. Past examples include
THROUGHOUT principles of diplomacy and
the UN’s mission to foster dia-
broader concerns about the
fairness and effectiveness of
Nations Day is intended to cele- the expulsion of Russian diplo- HISTORY. logue. Critics assert that international institutions in
brate these ideals and the mats from various European Guterres, in his capacity as addressing security issues.
achievements of the world’s countries amid political ten- DECLARING Secretary-General, was ful- Despite these challenges, the
largest international organisa- sions, or Venezuela’s Hugo SOMEONE filling his duty by highlighting current diplomatic crisis could
tion. Yet, as we commemorate the Chávez being declared per- the humanitarian situation in serve as a turning point for
UN’s 79th anniversary, Israel’s sona non grata by Colombia. UNWELCOME Gaza, and his exclusion from global diplomacy.
declaration of Guterres as per- However, Israel’s designation Israel sets a dangerous prece- As we mark United Nations
sona non grata stands in sharp of the UN’s top diplomat is an GOES BEYOND A dent. Day, Guterres’ designation as
contrast to the spirit of multilat- extraordinary and rare occur- PERSONAL REBUKE; This incident highlights a persona non grata by Israel is
eralism. The move not only rep- rence, symbolising a low point growing trend of nations a stark reminder of the chal-
resents a significant rebuke of in the relationship between IT CONVEYS A rejecting external criticism, lenges facing diplomacy today.
Guterres’ leadership but also Israel and the international even when it comes from Yet, in the midst of this crisis
challenges the UN’s ability to act community. NATION’S STANCE ON humanitarian or impartial lies an opportunity. This mis-
as an impartial mediator in the For Israel, Guterres’ remarks INTERNATIONAL voices. The result could be a sion remains as vital now as it
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of on the Gaza crisis were viewed world where diplomacy no was when the UN was found-
the world’s longest-standing dis- as an affront to its right to self- RELATIONS longer seeks common ground ed nearly eight decades ago.
putes. defense, adding to long-stand- but instead shuts out dissent. (The writer is an associate
The UN has often faced criticism ing grievances over perceived The exclusion of Guterres professor; views are personal)

Women colour earthen lamps at a roadside shop ahead of the Diwali festival, in Jaipur PTI LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DEMOCRACY OVER RELIGION

Kerachakka unpaved
Madam —This refers to the editorial
‘Path to Democracy’. Growth and stabili-
ty could be achieved only under a vibrant
De-escalating border tensions Demchok, such efforts of engagement
democracy with liberty for all forces to and de-esclation are worth appreciating.

road to development CHOTU SINGH

RAWAT
make their productive contributions and
point out the misdeeds and mistakes of the
rulers for due corrections. In Bangladesh,
things are taking a swing from one
Although the timing is a bit dramatic
because PM Modi is in Russia for the
purpose of an official visit to attend the
BRICS summit, with probable estima-
It is home to 80 tribal families struggling for basic infrastructure. With impassable extreme to the next. In the name of restor- tion to meet President Xi Jinping with
ing democracy, rabidly communal funda- PM Modi on the sidelines of the sum-
road access to education, healthcare and essential services remains a distant dream mentalists are taking centre stage. The peo- mit.
ple should understand that religion is an The announcement from the side of
erachakka village, women and adolescent girls. innate affair and allowing it to dominate Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri with

K located about 50 kilo-

metres from the dis-
trict headquarters of
Malnutrition is rampant,
with women and girls often
being the first to suffer
political affairs can cause only hurdles to
revive the economy and care for the peo-
ple. he efforts of India and China for
respect to military personnel disengage-
ment and patrolling personnel arrange-
ments is particularly welcoming that
Sarangarh-Bilaigarh in
Chhattisgarh, is struggling
with a lack of basic infra-
when resources are scarce.
While pregnant women and
young children receive
History is clear that wherever religion plays
a dominant role, liberty and development
suffer. Even after 7 decades, Pakistan is still
T the purpose of military de-escla-
tion are welcome. At this critical
moment, when both the nations have
India’s hard efforts are now ripening
fruits and cooperation with China will
help India to manage the bilateral
structure. some nutritional support lingering around its basic issues. India, been facing critical tension around the rivalry and assist in strengthening ties
Home to 80 families, pri- from the Anganwadi centre, which was developing in many fields, is on Line of Actual Control and surround- between the two.
marily from the Khairwar this does not extend to a retrograde path with communal forces ing areas, including Depsang and Kirti Wadhawan | Kanpur
and Bariha tribal communi- other women, leaving them trying to dominate the affairs, leaving 81
ties, the village is accessible vulnerable. Recent govern- crore poor people to manage their lives months - that the remarkably peaceful polls 22). The word ‘Deepavali’ is derived from
only through a broken, ment initiatives, however, with 5 kg of free rice, unemployment reach- in the UT could not have taken place with- the Sanskrit fusion word ‘Deepavali’, which
unpaved road. During the offer hope. The Union ing its heights, untamed inflation and a out the Pakistani military establishment’s is formed from ‘dipa’ (light) and ‘avali’
monsoon, this road Cabinet has approved Rs miniscule section allowed to amass the tacit agreement. The attempt to disrupt an (series or row). It thus means a ‘row or
becomes nearly impassable, 70,000 crore for rural road wealth of the nation. Therefore, the peo- infrastructure project is aimed not just at series of lights’, which illuminates the coun-
cutting the village off from development under the ple of Bangladesh should be careful in stalling development in the valley and scar- try with its brilliance and dazzles all with
the outside world. This the children need. The tance from the district head- Pradhan Mantri Gram keeping religion away from politics and ing away migrant labourers and tourists joy. Illuminating homes with lights is the
affects not only transporta- broader issue is compound- quarters, Kerachakka has Sadak Yojana for 2024-29, focus on development failing which the who have a crucial role in boosting J and expression of obeisance to the heavens for
tion but also children’s ed by the migration of fam- been left behind in the and the Chhattisgarh gov- country may have to join the band of K’s economy, it is also to demonstrate that the attainment of health, wealth, knowl-
access to education. ilies in search of employ- development process. Poor ernment has allocated Afghans and Pakistan. no one in Kashmir is fully safe. edge, peace, and prosperity.
Sunil Lal Chauhan, the head ment, disrupting children’s road connectivity remains a Rs17,529 crore in its 2024- A G Rajmohan | Anantapur Clearly, Pakistan’s Army chief, Gen Asim While the electric illumination looks stun-
teacher of the local govern- schooling for extended peri- major barrier, preventing 25 budget for village roads. Munir, has a second message to his own ning, there is no comparison to the age-
ment primar y school, ods. Resident Badri Prasad growth and access to oppor- These investments aim to TERROR STRIKES GANDERBAL government in response to former PM old diyas. In fact, the advantage of light-
explains that while 23 chil- highlights another chal- tunities. improve infrastructure, cre- Madam— Apropos to the article ‘Dastardly Nawaz Sharif telling visiting Indian jour- ing diya lamps is that they are biodegrad-
dren are enrolled, only a few lenge: ineffective local gov- Rameshwar Prasad Kurre, a ate employment opportuni- Act,’ October 22. The Ganderbal terror nalists last week, “We have lost the last 75 able, cost-effective, and a feast to our eyes.
attend school during the ernance. local social worker, points ties, and reduce migration. attack, which claimed the lives of a doc- years, and it is important we don’t lose the The festival of Diwali is a lot more than just
rainy season. Though the village falls out that the village’s rocky Better roads could be the tor and six labourers at a tunnel construc- next 75.” Which is, that hosting an Indian bursting firecrackers, which, in fact, pose
The road conditions are under Gram Panchayat terrain limits agricultural first step in bringing tion site, leaves no room for doubt that foreign minister on Pakistani soil is all very serious health hazards given the significant
simply too poor, making the Gardih, meetings are rarely opportunities. Most families Kerachakka and similar vil- Pakistan will persist with its nefarious pol- well, but the Army cannot be kept out of relationship between air pollution and res-
journey unsafe, especially held, and the Panchayat own small plots of land lages into the fold of icy of bleeding India and J and K in par- any conversation with India. piratory infections. In comparison, diyas
for adolescent girls whose office is often closed. that barely yield enough to progress, ensuring they are ticular with a thousand cuts. It is no coin- N Sadhasiva Reddy | Washington serve the purpose of purifying the environ-
education suffers the most. Essential services like ration sustain them. no longer left behind in the cidence that the terror attack has taken ment by getting rid of negativity and cre-
Chauhan adds that with distribution happen only Consequently, many vil- race for development. place in Ganderbal, the constituency of J FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS ating positive vibes.
only one teacher, who is also once a month, which creates lagers migrate during the (The author is a grassroots and K’s new CM Omar Abdullah. Madam — The picture of the freshly-made Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai
burdened with administra- difficulties for the villagers. off-season in search of worker from Ajmer, Clearly, Pakistan-backed terror groups ‘diyas’ or ‘earthen lamps’ ahead of the
tive tasks, the school strug- Badri Prasad emphasises work, which has a particu- Rajasthan;Views expresed are sending the unmistakable message - Deepavali festival, which is just days away, Send your feedback to:
gles to provide the attention that due to the village’s dis- larly harsh impact on are personal) after targeting the Jammu region in recent was a visual delight. (“Pic Talk,” October letterstopioneer@gmail.com
 NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 24, 2024

07
www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMN
ENCOUNTERING
AI’s impact shines in
THE DIVINE
From answering prayers to reducing life’s
hardships, the divine remains ever-present
Nobel Prizes B K SINGH

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and others have harnessed AI to revolutionise

medicine and nanotechnology, ushering in a new era of scientific breakthroughs
AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI
ith the internet and social media, we are constantly being

W reminded about the wealthiest, the most powerful, very

famous, the prettiest, etc. Have you imagined meeting any-
one of these personalities except to see them in print or in a video?
What about God, who owns everything there is, is omnipotent, is omni-
scient, is omnipresent and a whole lot more, about which I will write
in this article?
God is not only omnipresent but available to us 24x7. Yes, God can-
not be seen in person except to the very best of devotees like Sant
Tulsidas, but can be seen in Deity forms and in nice photos every-
where. God even manifests in His murti forms like He had in His Rama
Lalla form in Ayodhya.
How is Lord helping us by His activities? He listens to all our prayers,
and He must respond to them, they being spiritual activities. However,
the response will be appropriate at a time chosen by God. Mostly, it
won’t be as prayed for, because most of the prayers are for materi-
al gains, which are undeserved. For example, a student prays for good
marks even though he doesn’t deserve them. God will give some-
thing as God can never be a debtor. Then, God is ever ready to guide
us, as He guided Arjuna by preaching the instructions of the Bhagavad-
Geeta. Few pray for guidance but those who do really benefit, because
direction is all important. It determines where we will end up. God
gives intuitions, uses mediums to convey, etc. God even instructs direct-
his year’s Physics and Chemistry ates have solved the problem by represented by nodes and each of solid, liquid or gas – based on its

T
ly His devotees as He instructed Arjuna.
both Nobel prizes are linked to using a large database of experi- these nodes having different values. energy and temperature. Hinton
Artificial Intelligence. While mentally obtained protein struc- A neural network as a system is used the tool to solve computing
Physics laureates applied princi- tures to train AI and allowed it to inspired by how the human brain problems in neural networks.
ples and tools of Physics name- learn the principles of folding. The works, it does the same with data. Hinton added hidden layers to
ly atomic spin and Boltzmann’s machine to result was AlphaFold2 which pre- It takes in information, processes it neural networks allowing machines
create structures that can store, reconstruct dicted three-dimensional struc- and makes decisions, learning from to analyse data in more sophisticat-
and discover properties in data for artifi- tures of proteins. A new nanoma- experience. Neural network utilis- ed ways.
cial neural networks to enable powerful terial was developed in 2016 where es Physics that describes character- The machine is trained by feeding
computers to mimic human memory and up to 120 proteins were sponta- istics of any material due to its it with examples that are most like-
learning, Chemistry laureates worked on neously linked together. In 2021 atomic spin, which makes each ly to arise when it is run. Boltzmann
computational protein design that advanced nanoparticles with protein were atom a tiny magnet. Hopfield machine can also classify images or
protein structure predictions. In all living developed that were found to imi- described the network as energy in create new examples on the pattern
creatures, proteins are essential for cell func- tate the influenza virus which will the spin system as in Physics and it was trained. A trained Boltzmann
tions. David Baker, a 62-year-old Professor further help in developing a vaccine is trained by finding values for con- machine can recognise a familiar
at the University of Washington, Seattle suc- THE SCIENTIFIC for influenza. Vaccines for livestock nections between the nodes such trait in information it has not pre-
ceeded in building an entirely new kind of AND ACADEMIC using the technology have already that saved images have low energy. viously seen. Hinton has further
Protein, that is known as life’s building been successful. Some of the other When it is fed with incomplete/ dis- developed this work which led to
The third important help God provides is to get us out of troubles, blocks and comprises 20 different amino COMMUNITIES developments are the proteins that torted images it works through the the current explosive development
acids. Since 2003, he and his research group function as molecular rotors and nodes and updates the values for of machine learning. “The laureates’
we get into due to our past faulty karmaphalas (results of acts). God have created several imaginative proteins HAVE EXPRESSED also the geometrically shaped pro- each in such a way that the energy work has already been of greatest
does not stop them from coming because that will make the that can be used in pharmaceuticals, vac- teins that can change their shape of the network falls. benefit. In Physics we use artificial
‘Karmaphala Principle’ ineffective; God only makes them less painful. cines, tiny sensors and nanomaterials. He
CONFUSION OVER under external influences. The overall state of his network i.e. neural networks in vast range of
Continuing about God’s bounties, God empowers us in various ways. was awarded half the prize money for the HOW MACHINE Such geometrically shaped proteins energy is calculated using a formu- areas, such as developing new
For example, a scientist is deep into looking for a solution, which will 2024 Chemistry Nobel Prize. which are impacted by external la that uses all values of the nodes materials with specific properties.”
benefit humanity, and he deserves getting credit for it due to past pious In 2020 David Hassabis and John Jumper LEARNING AND influences are quite useful in pro- and all strengths of connections Says Ellen Moons, chair of the
both Britons aged 49 years and 39 years ARTIFICIAL ducing tiny censors. Many new pos- between them. When the mini- Nobel Committee for Physics.
karmaphalas. God gives him the intuition, because God is the only
respectively presented AlphaFold2, an AI sibilities for the use of protein in mum energy is attained, the corre- The scientific and academic com-
source. We cannot invent or create anything new. All big or impor- model that predicted the structure of NEURAL nanotechnology are useful to devel- sponding saved image is most like munities have expressed confusion
tant acts are done by God only; He makes the deserving among us Proteins from amino acid sequences. Two op new tools for precise control and the imperfect image fed in the net- over how machine learning and
‘nimitta’ (instruments), just as He used Arjuna to kill the biggest war- Britons were awarded this year’s remaining NETWORKS CAN manipulation of elements at the work. Further improvements have artificial neural networks can be
riors of the Kaurava army (11.33) half of the prize. AI model AlphaFold2 has BE ALIGNED WITH nanoscale. Magnetic resonance made it possible to save more pic- aligned with the traditional bound-
God is especially partial to welfare workers, because it suits His opened ways to predict proteins and has imaging (MRI) of molecules has tures and to differentiate between aries of Physics. Nevertheless, the
Creation. He has promised that doers of welfare acts will not end up already been used by researchers to predict THE TRADITIONAL been studied and researchers have them even when they are quite sim- work of Hopfield and Hinton is
nearly 200 million proteins. Research has found how specially modified dia- ilar. having a profound impact on the
badly. (6.40) What this means is that such persons will not suffer a also advanced in understanding antibiotic BOUNDARIES OF mond flakes can be used as Using the Hopfield network, digital age, even if its classification
painful death. God goes a step further for His advanced devotees; He resistance and creating enzymes that have nanoscale magnetic field detectors. Hinton found the Boltzmann within the Physics domain remains
does miracles for them. Meerabai was given poison to drink because the potential to decompose plastics. Proteins
PHYSICS These tiny sensors can elucidate the machine using tools from statisti- contested.
she chose Lord Krishna as her worshipable Deity. What did the Lord are molecular machines of our lives mak- structure of a single organic mole- cal Physics – a new network that The laurites’ contribution is the
do? He made poison ineffective. How did Lord Krishna save Arjuna ing up a significant portion of bodies i.e. cule. can learn to recognise a character- brain behind medical imaging sys-
– His devotee and friend (4.3), who had sworn to enter fire, if he could muscles, enzymes, hormones, hair, blood With nanoscale MRI researchers istic element in the given data. tems that detect cancer faster than
not kill Jayadrath before sunset? As soon as Jayadrath came out of and cartilage. may one day directly image pro- Researchers use the tool from sta- doctors. Scientists are inventing
Proteins’ shape determines their function. teins. A 91-year-old Professor at tistical mechanics to look at the col- more and more applications of
hiding Arjuna’s imminent death, Lord brought the sunlight back. This Different shapes can be folded in numer- Princeton University, USA John lective behaviour of a large number machine learning and advanced
allowed Arjuna to kill Jayadrath before sunset. ous ways to arrive at the resultant shapes Hopfield and a 76-year-old of particles to determine large-scale studies in Physics like processing
I can go on regarding what all God does and can do for us if we link of protein. Incorrectly folded protein may Professor at University of Toronto, microscopic properties like temper- data to discover Higgs particles,
with Him. And He has made approaching Him very easy. What is so lead to improper functioning and can be the Canada have been awarded this ature, pressure and magnetisation. searching for exoplanets, and reduc-
difficult to have ‘darshan’ of God in His Deity form in a temple? What reason for Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, and year’s Nobel Prize in Physics. There are different energy states in ing noise in the measurement of
about chanting God’s names? Is it so difficult? It may appear child- diabetes. As protein’s shape is solely based Hopfield created associative mem- the model and the material is more gravitational waves from colliding
ish but this is the way it has been designed to gain God’s favour. on amino acid sequence, these can manoeu- ory for storing and recreating likely to exist in the lowest energy black holes.
vre into specific shapes duly minimising images. state. Boltzmann distribution ( The writer is Retired Principal
Someone may say why is it so easy to get so much cash out of a inter-atomic repulsions among the atoms Like the structure of the brain, the explains how likely the given state Chief Conservator of Forests- head
ATM? Because this is the way it has been designed. of amino acids. artificial neural network was creat- is. It describes the probability of a of Forest Force-Karnataka; views
(The writer is a spiritual teacher; views are personal) In the new era of machine learning laure- ed where the brain’s neurons were system being in a particular state – are personal)

Nobel Prize snub of Rosalind Lee sparks debate on fairness of the system
The exclusion of Rosalind Lee has reignited discussions about the fairness of scientific recognition
he recent announce- skewing career advancement, Many talented and skilled equally deserving. A system weightage could lead to con-

T ment of the Nobel

Prize snubbing
Rosalind Lee of Nobel Prize
compensation, and visibility
in the scientific community.
We still follow this flawed
youngsters are not getting
good positions because of
this flawed protocol in
that values equal contribu-
tion offers a fairer founda-
tion for hiring, promotions,
fusion over who contributed
most to a particular study,
possibly complicating the
who was the first author of authorship order in most research and academic insti- and awards. evaluation process.
the paper that was consid- recruitments, funding agen- tutions. In today’s world, This shift would ensure that To address this, journals
ered for this year’s Nobel cies, promotions, awards, science cannot be done in positions of responsibility should strictly include only
Prize in Physiolog y or and recognitions. isolation. and recognition are not lim- those who actively con-
Medicine, while consider- Even for awarding doctoral Most of today’s research ited to those with the tributed to the study, ending
ing her co-worker and hus- BIJU DHARMAPALAN degrees, our universities fol- involves interdisciplinary resources or negotiating practices of “gift authorship”
band, Victor Ambros, the low this order of authorship. work collaborating with one power to secure lead author to the department or the
corresponding author of the contrast, the last author often It often overlooks a person’s or more institutions, and positions. Moreover, equal head of the institution.
paper for the coveted prize, represents the senior scien- intellectual knowledge and each person involved may credit distribution could Science thrives on collabora-
has reignited discussions tist or principal investigator technical skills needed for contribute to its success. company that does the work appear on a paper, they improve diversity in science. tion and equal weightage
about fairness, recognition, who guided the research. the study. Projects like the Human has to be credited, though enable discoveries and inno- This approach could also for all authors in jobs and
and the implications of such Middle authors usually con- This bias creates an environ- Genome Project or the they may charge for it. vations by ensuring the boost diversity by supporting awards, including consider-
decisions on science. tribute in specific areas but ment where specific con- Large Hadron Collider The importance of each con- research is feasible, accurate women, early-career ation for the Nobel Prize,
Traditionally, scientific are not as heavily involved as tributors, though not in involve the contributions of tributor extends beyond the and applicable. researchers, and margin- which promotes a culture
papers list authors in an the first or last author. This prominent author positions, hundreds of scientists from experimenters. Data ana- In such a framework, reduc- alised groups who are often of inclusivity, fairness, and
order that reflects the per- system has fostered a hierar- have a diminished chance of varied institutions across the lysts, statisticians, field ing credit to a first-author or in middle-author roles due to shared achievement.
ceived contribution to the chy in academia that rewards recognition and growth, globe. researchers, technicians, and corresponding author model limited mentorship and sys- (The author is the Dean-
work. The first author typi- a select few. potentially leading to a loss Even in our national institu- other support staff often grossly underestimates the temic inequities, giving them Academic affairs, at Garden
cally plays a significant role At the same time, many of morale and an outflow of tions, outsourcing certain carry out substantial por- collective effort, leading to a better chance at securing City University and adjunct
in conducting the research essential team members go valuable talent from acade- works has become a norm. tions of the work. While unfair career advantages for resources and opportunities. faculty at NIAS, Bangalore;
and writing the paper. In unacknowledged, ultimately mia and research fields. In that scenario, even the their names might not always select individuals over others Critics may argue that equal Views are personal)
 >
OPINION 9
STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM

VOLUME XXXI NUMBER 163

NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2024

Reaffirm trade
Institutions for development
Growth is driven by technological dynamism even more monarchic dispensation became largely irrelevant.
New SOPs must make signing FTAs easier than by security for private capital From the perspective of growth, the change that is
most important is the emergence of individualism in sci-
ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA

D
oubts have been expressed over the past several years about the ence research and technology development that freed it
from religious beliefs or assumptions. Yes, there were
wisdom of signing free-trade agreements (FTAs). It has now been
episodes of the assertion of older dogmas, such as the
reported that the Department of Commerce will ask the Union attack on Galileo; however, these did not last long.
Cabinet for its assent to “fresh guidelines” for negotiating FTAs, Scientific research in Europe, particularly after AD 1500,
following a meeting with the Prime Minister’s Office on the subject of standard liberated itself from religious dogmas, such as those con-
operating procedures (SOPs) for such negotiations. This presumably reflects cerning the genesis of the Earth and humanity. The tech-
the view that India has not done well out of several FTAs it has signed, because nological advancements that drove the Industrial
exports from the partner countries have on occasion grown quicker than Revolution emerged from individuals rather than insti-
tutions, and many of these innovators were moderately
shipments from India. A review of the FTA process is welcome and it is to be

T
he 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded index from Political Risk Services as a proxy for institu- educated workers. In Asia, particularly in India and China,
hoped that any SOPs that are firmed up as a result of these discussions do to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James tions.” In essence, the institutions they value are those the results of science in areas like mathematics and astron-
not push India further towards protectionism. Robinson for their groundbreaking research on that curtail the power of monarchic and aristocratic rulers omy and a variety of technological and medical innova-
Over the past few years, India has taken forward discussions with some how political and economic institutions shape long-term on the business sector. tions did take place in the pre-modern world of Asia, par-
strategically important partners such as the United Kingdom (UK) and the prosperity. The substance of their argument is found in a How useful is the argument regarding the importance ticularly in India and China. However, the post-medieval
European Union (EU), while signing a comprehensive partnership with the seminal article by them on colonial impact on develop- of institutions developed in a democratising Europe for flourish of science engendered by the liberation from reli-
United Arab Emirates (UAE) and an early-harvest deal with Australia. This ment, which argues that the extent of settler mortality, or growth performance? Does it explain the development gious dogmas came to Asia only in the colonial period.
apparent forward movement, however, conceals some stumbles and hesitations. to put it more colloquially, the death rate of immigrant of Japan, which advanced in modernism after the An even more convincing example of the importance
settlers, determined the difference between colonies like Tokugawa shogunate was replaced by the Meiji of liberating science from religion is the loss of objective
For example, though it was expected the India-Australian deal, signed a few
the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and the other Restoration, when political institutions imitative of the science research in the world of Islam, which was the
years ago, would be converted from a preliminary to a comprehensive agreement, colonies, particularly in Africa and Asia. The North West were established, but where economic transforma- major centre of scientific advance in the Middle Ages.
there does not seem to be much energy among partners to take this forward. American and Oceania colonies became settler colonies tion depended heavily on the support of an oligarchic This vigorous scientific development was put to an end
The UK and EU FTAs too have not made as much progress as could be hoped. where European institutions relevant for property rights government? Will it explain the emergence of a single with the belief voiced by the theologian al-Ghazali, who
If new SOPs can address this issue, they will be a welcome improvement. In were established and led to upward growth. However, in party-led China as the dominant producer and exporter argued that seeking causation in nature contradicts the
some cases, slow progress is due to a lack of institutional memory of previous the Asian and African colonies, institutions supportive of manufactured goods in our times? Islamic belief that it is God who determines the behaviour
discussions — this might be particularly the case with the EU, which has been of growth were not introduced and the colonial rule was What really made a difference between the colonisers of nature. This illustrates the importance of liberating sci-
essentially extractive. and the colonised was the difference between individu- ence and technology development from theological pre-
a stop-start process for over a decade. This has been specifically reported as a
This argument is oversimplified alism and clan or community loyalty. conceptions and religious beliefs.
hurdle that the SOPs will attempt to overcome, which is an optimistic sign. when it comes to colonialism in India Human society began as a small clan, India today is only partially on the path towards a
This is an opportunity for the political executive to reiterate to officials and Southeast Asia. There, the absence perhaps only about 150 persons of birth- growth-positive institutional structure fostered by indi-
the importance of increasing India’s trading connections. SOPs have the capa- of settler settlements is a product not related individuals who recognised and vidualism. We do have people-based politics in the
bility of giving the officials some comfort in making concessions at the nego- just of climate-related mortality threats accepted their responsibility to clan democracy that we have established and an economic
tiating table. They should be accompanied, however, by broader attempts to to the Europeans, but also their inca- members. But they also did not accept system based on contractual laws. However, our politics
ensure that Indian exporters benefit as much from FTAs as Indian consumers pacity to overwhelm, eliminate, and iso- any sense of responsibility to other clans is still under the influence of kinship loyalties based
late the local inhabitants and their rulers and often indulged in battles with them. mainly on caste and an individualistic approach to
have. Industry needs to be given demonstrations of how to take advantage of
as they did with the indigenous people This changed overtime as society groups party loyalties has not yet spread widely among voters.
new markets that have been opened as a consequence of FTAs. Concerns that in North America and Oceania. became larger and larger and included Our scientific research is not much under the influence
non-tariff barriers could still exist even in trading relationships where tariffs Moreover, their interest in Asia certainly many who were not related necessarily of religion, despite some recent attempts. What is more
have been lowered must also be addressed through the creation of a compre- was largely extractive rather than for set- NITIN DESAI by birth. However, even then, some disturbing is the inadequacy of our science and tech-
hensive database of such non-tariff barriers. That can be taken up bilaterally. tlement purposes. notion of community connectivity did nology activities relative to our needs and our targeted
New-age FTAs also include clauses on environmental and labour regu- They go on to argue that the difference in settler inten- emerge. For instance, in India, the connectivity through position in the world economy.
lations. Commerce-ministry negotiators are naturally concerned about step- tions based on threatened mortality experience explains caste. The primary beliefs about rules that should be This year’s economics Nobel Prize winners explanation
even the current difference in income, except that the obeyed were kinship- and community-related, a belief of the institutional structure of the European colonising
ping into these areas, which fall in the domain of other ministries. The Union
current estimate they use is for 1995. Surely, the famous that perhaps continues to date in India. What drives eco- states as a sound basis for accelerating growth is not entire-
Cabinet must provide comfort and authority so that agreements on these Table 1 from their paper, which correlates current gross nomic behaviour in such a society is how it will be per- ly convincing when it comes to the success of growth in
issues too can be reached. Finally, if institutional memory is the criterion, domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power ceived in the eyes of the community rather than the pos- East Asia. Nevertheless, it is prudent to assume that accel-
the government must consider using external expertise. The government parity with their estimate of “settler mortality” during sibility that it may not be permissible under the law. erating growth in a democracy requires the dilution of
itself has think tanks, which can be tapped to create specialised cells to colonial times will look substantially different with today’s This changed radically in Europe when the dominant kinship loyalties, the emergence of individualism, the
provide support to ongoing negotiations even when individual officials within GDP and will most likely challenge their explanation for Catholic Church imposed a series of reforms in the Middle separation of property and economic rights from the pow-
the department have moved on. Overall, the idea should be to tap emerging current difference by 2050. Ages that banned cousin marriage and altered inheritance er of rulers, the secularisation of natural and social sci-
opportunities in global trade, partly because of the changing global economic The imperialist European countries that moved into rules, encouraging individuals to choose their own spous- ences, and, most importantly, the generation and main-
colonial rulership went through a process of democrati- es. This weakened kinship sentiments and encouraged tenance of an ethos of innovation by individuals that
and political environment. sation during this period of colonial expansion and, with individualistic morality. The Reformation that followed challenges existing methods of production, distribution,
the Industrial Revolution developing fast, they did develop reinforced this. The radical transformation of Europe after communication, and consumption.
new institutions. The view of the authors of the seminal the Middle Ages is very much a product of this. One can

Endless possibilities article about institutions supportive of growth is very pre-

cise. In their paper, they inform us that: “Since our focus
is on property rights and checks against government pow-
attribute to this shift to individualism the emergence of
people-based politics as a challenge to monarchic rights,
business based on contracts rather than community loy-
desaind@icloud.com
1. The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An
Empirical Investigation by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and
Microsoft Excel continues to add value er, we use the protection against “risk of expropriation” alties. The Industrial Revolution came at a time when James A Robinson, American Economic Review , December 2001

T
he two most commonly used computer programs in the world are
Microsoft (MS) Word and Microsoft Excel. Indeed, Microsoft Chief
Executive Officer Satya Nadella believes Excel is the best consumer
product the tech giant has ever made. Despite the availability of
multiple, free word processing and spreadsheet programs, billions of users
AI: One earth, one regulatory ecosystem
A
are still willing to pay for these MS flagships, and Excel in particular remains rtificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, built on pre- Both require inclusive, comprehensive stakeholder Five, establishing secure mechanisms for govern-
dictive and deterministic analysis of large data mapping, engagement, and education (ensuring all ment-to-government discussions with two-way infor-
the dominant player across office and personal computing ecosystems. Version
sets and patterns, transcend geographies. AI is stakeholders have access, information, skills, and mation exchange, feedback loops, and structured action
1.0 of Microsoft Excel was rolled out on September 30, 1985, about 40 years inherently collaborative, inclusive, agile, and continuously capacity to participate effectively, in an informed plans on enhancing security of AI-generated solutions.
ago. Ironically, it was written for the Mac platform because Lotus 123 had a evolving. Naturally, regulation of AI would need to be, manner). Critically, there can be no gaps globally in Six, leveraging this base to develop an ecosystem of
firm grip on the MS DOS systems loaded on to Microsoft computers. However, too. Regulatory sandboxes cannot cater to ensuring that AI regulation. Where each transaction, data point, and trust and accountability for collaborative global regulatory
MS soon challenged Lotus 123 with Version 2.0 of Excel, which became the the inter-connected, fast-evolving AI benefits all, with determination are inherently cross-jurisdictional, guidelines and frameworks for AI, factoring in sensitivities
leader as Windows superseded DOS as an operating system and personal com- minimal risks, globally. Cooperation is essential. building exponentially on a continuum, any regulatory of individual countries, employing best practices with
puters (PCs) started being offered with MS Office bundled in along with the India, with 1.4 billion people, and exponentially weak link will immediately and irreversibly render any maximum effective impact, while catering to the lowest
Windows operating system. increasing digital adoption, will play a key role in this attempt at regulation, even at the level of individual common denominator (of access and capacity).
discussion. The benefits of AI extend across domains — economies, moot. Therefore, the regulatory ecosystem Frameworks must ensure accountability for, inter alia,
Excel wasn’t the spreadsheet pioneer — Mac’s VisiCalc and Lotus 123
economic, social, health, logistics, education, security, must be developed globally, and implementation and responsible, ethical development, and use, including for
were among popular precursors — but it had many functions and features and environment. Evidently, the pace and manner of its enforcement would be national. informed omission. This requires inclusive, close, con-
that were missing in earlier spreadsheets. It had an easy to navigate interface, adoption into everyday activities is Leadership, evidently, is a matter of sidered cooperation across countries and stakeholders,
was faster, utilised more of ever-increasing hardware capabilities, offered more unprecedented. A significant dampener taking everyone together, establishing public and private. Inputs from national experiences and
functions, including many statistical and logic functions, and extended graph to this adoption is inadequate regulation, effective regulatory cooperation, and deliberations must inform the global regulatory ecosys-
options. Users could also write formulae and run macros. The current versions encouraging misuse, and impacting user spearheading such cooperation with a tem, and vice-versa. Seven, building substantive proposals
are integrated with Cloud, offering Software as a Service (SaaS). Business users confidence. Risks to security — human, focus on capacity building — guided by with quantifiable outcomes on the necessary capacity
national, economic, social — posed by the principle of Vasudhaiv building for all stakeholders into the foundation of this
can integrate Excel with Python Scripts and use the artificial intelligence (AI)
unregulated advancement and accessi- Kutumbakam — One Earth. One ecosystem. Digital (platform) technologies can be lever-
capabilities of Copilot to build scripts with natural language instructions. An bility of AI, are evolving with technology, Family. One Future. One AI Regulatory aged for reach and scale. The collaborative frameworks
estimated 1.1 billion users have also found unusual ways to exploit Excel not impacting all stakeholders. Ecosystem. can then be implemented in an agile manner at the
only for calculating balance sheets and plotting stock price charts, but also for Stakeholders make data — the spine Having already utilised its G20 pres- national level, in accordance with respective domestic
organising dates and planning weddings. Free competitors like Google Sheets, of AI. The larger, more diverse, more idency impactfully to discuss collabo- laws and administrative structures.
and Apache’s OpenOffice are quite functional, but they lag behind Excel, inclusive the dataset, the lesser the oppor- PALLAVI BAJAJ rative, inclusive solutions to global con- National implementation would also be continuous,
which has around 400 million paying users for the Cloud version. The familiar tunity for unintended bias, more accurate cerns, harnessing diversity of inclusive, collaborative, and built on a “whole-of-gov-
the assessment and outcome. This makes AI assessment experiences, challenges and solutions, India is in a prime ernment, all-stakeholders-on-board” approach, with built-
interface and extra functions continue to make it a preferred product. There
inherently collaborative, inclusive, and cross-jurisdic- position to assume the kind of leadership global regulation in capacity building across stakeholders — government,
is even an annual Excel World Championship. tional, with user confidence critical to its enhancement, of AI requires — taking everyone forward together on business, academia, consumers. Inter-Ministerial advi-
Over the decades, Excel has suffered its share of absurd glitches, sometimes and associated risks ubiquitous. The need for collaborative cooperation to develop an effective global ecosystem for sory bodies must be established to continuously monitor
with users inadvertently triggering inappropriate functions. Bioscientists com- regulation to minimise risks while optimising uptake AI regulation. The approach to such cooperation should and guide developments in AI, ensuring regulation keeps
plain about an infamous issue where Excel interpreted certain gene names as and enhancement follows naturally. be modular. pace with technology. They would actively engage with
dates, which forced scientists to rename genes like “SEPT9” to “SEPTIN9” The current global scenario where AI regulation is One, collective, comprehensive identification and industry, academia and civil society in a structured, con-
when collating genomic data. Barclays Capital famously bought multiple assets fragmented in individualistic sandboxes is sub-optimal. mapping of all stakeholder groups. Two, identification sistent manner, leveraging digital technologies, for a two-
The race for regulatory “leadership” is counter-intuitive. and agreement on universally acceptable definitions, fold outcome.
it didn’t want — for hundreds of millions of dollars — from the bankrupt
There cannot be a legitimate first-mover advantage when data structures and risk-mapping models, leveraging One, effective enforcement of regulatory guidelines
Lehman Brothers when it used a sheet with hidden rows in calculations. The effective regulation naturally necessitates cross-jurisdic- ongoing work in silos in the private sector and academia. at the national level, customised to domestic processes,
London 2012 Olympics offered 10,000 more tickets to a swimming event than tional collaboration. Three, mapping roles, responsibilities and risks associated capacity and sensitivities. Two, continuous feedback of
the venue could accommodate, as extra zeroes were inadvertently entered. This merits two questions. One, what is the optimal with each stakeholder group, including suppliers and evolving experiences, challenges and successes into the
Excel is also blamed for underreporting Covid-19 cases (due to running out of approach for effective AI regulation? Two, where is India consumers, with due regard to differing capacities, access collaborative global ecosystem for agile regulatory coop-
rows). The widespread induction of AI presents a new and different challenge positioned in this discussion? Optimal, effective AI reg- to technology (digital divide), and sensitivities — eco- eration. Static regulatory frameworks will not only be
in the data analysis sphere. But the introduction of AI features could help MS ulation bears two critical caveats. One, regulation must nomic, social, cultural. This would offer a better-defined ineffective, but will impede enhancement of AI, and opti-
maintain its pole position. Despite glitches, it seems impossible to calculate address risks to all stakeholders effectively, across problem statement. Four, establishing platforms for con- mal distribution of its benefits. The problem statement
geographies, demographics, society and economics. tinuous, collaborative, inclusive stakeholder engagement is agile. Regulation would necessarily have to be, too.
the value that the iconic spreadsheet, with its familiar format of rows and Two, regulation must not suffocate the enhancement with built-in feedback loops that ensure agility and effec-
columns, has given its billions of users for nearly 40 years. or adoption of productive AI technologies by intervening tiveness of resulting regulatory frameworks. This must The author is senior legal consultant with the Government of
with its inherently collaborative, inclusive, agile fabric. be a process, not an exercise. India. The views are personal

When religion meets nationalism emerge as the BJP’s strongest weapons in

the times to come,” they write.
Nationalism did not supplant
results for the BJP. In fact, the book argues,
many opposition political parties had to
consciously co-opt Hindutva in their
the window dressing. On the other hand,
the book notes that as themes in electoral
strategy, Hindutva and nationalism are
you. It is that niggling feeling that you been considered a Left radical enclave Hindutva; it supplemented it. The Balakot campaigns. But Hindutva also gave rise to here to stay. Indian society is seeing many
might have missed something, the (although it has contributed vast numbers strikes and the branding as anti-nationals instant leaders who had their own creative counter currents. For example, while
uncertainty and the doubt, the sense that to pillars of establishment such as the civil of those who asked questions about the interpretations of it. The BJP “disciplined” Bollywood films that reinforce the
what people are saying could be services). It is a campus known for fostering outcome of the attack, was one elements such as Nupur Sharma, though nationalism theme such as Tiger Zinda Hai
interpreted differently leading to a independent thinking. Deeming this component. Large rallies such as farmer the book notes that in any other society, and Border have been box office successes,
different outcome altogether…. quality insufficient for rounded education, protests and the rallying together of hate speech laws would have been so have movies like Veer Zara and the
BOOK REVIEW But Ms Shakil and Mr Mishra have former Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar wrestlers were other examples of “those invoked. The disciplining was a Gadar series that are India-Pakistan love
stuck their necks out, have taken a bet and batted to have a tank installed on the who wanted to show recognition of the stories. Gadar 1 and 2 have surpassed all
ADITI PHADNIS on the basis of their ground reporting have campus so that it would inspire ideas of India in bad light”. The INDIA ON THE pragmatic conclusion box office benchmarks, testifying to India’s
reached a conclusion about Indian politics. nationalism in students. In ideological book details other MOVE: When Jai that it would be continuing interest in Pakistan stories,
Shri Ram Met

M
arya Shakil and Narendra Nath It could be wrong, it might be right. It’s too terms, it was in JNU that the idea that India strands of the counterproductive for nationalist fervour notwithstanding.
Mishra are extremely busy soon to tell. But it is an interesting is a collective of many nationalities and nationalism narrative: Bharat Mata ki Jai India to anger the BJP took the brave decision of
television journalists. Ms Shakil hypothesis. The central premise of the religions was challenged by the assertion The Bollywood Author: Marya Islamic world. contesting 2024 in Punjab and Tamil Nadu
was the only journalist to whom Prime book is that the political mobilisation of that India was one nation and anyone who response and the Shakil & Narendra But why did the on its own. In these two states nationalism
Minister Modi granted an interview from Hindus as Hindus has been overtaken by said otherwise must be a traitor. “boycott” movement, Nath Mishra nationalism appeal is understood differently. The party
his campaign vehicle. So it is mystifying mobilisation on the basis of nationalism. The authors describe Kanhaiya the deployment of Publisher: lead to a sub-optimal contested more seats so its vote share also
how they got the time to develop an idea The turning point was the events in Kumar’s meeting, the hysterical chanting “influencers” on Penguin electoral result for the went up. But rising voter interest in the BJP
and write a book while covering recent Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in of “azaadi” by the students who attended alternative media, Pages: 174 BJP in 2024? The book is forcing local parties to devise new
events on the ground. For a reporter, 2016, when a protest was held against the and, amid some electoral defeats, the BJP’s vaccine diplomacy Price: ~699 is a bit vague on this electoral strategies. BJP workers are also
covering an election is not just about “judicial killing” of Afzal Guru, the 2001 conclusion that it needed something more during Covid, the aspect. Its conclusion pressing the senior party leadership to
hitting dusty roads, spending nights in Parliament attack convict, and Kashmiri than Hindutva. JNU events offered the corralling of the Indian diaspora, and even is that while Hindutva and nationalism are think about growth in these states. It needs
small hamlets, tolerating attacks by separatist Maqbool Bhat, in “solidarity opportunity on a platter. “The nationalism the new Parliament building with heavy all very well, people want governments to to be nationalism-plus. This book has
mosquitoes and sundry other wee beasties. with the struggle of the Kashmiri people for plank that the BJP now wore on its sleeve reliance on symbols such as the Sengol to govern efficiently and address issues of something to say. Whether you agree with
It is not just about talking to myriad people, their right to self-determination. JNU has would go on to become an even greater showcase India’s unity as a nation. livelihood, employment and social justice, its conclusions or not, if you want to
some of whom have to be coaxed to talk to for long been envied and resented; it has unifying force than Hindutva and would In 2019, Hindutva had yielded rich and they take no time at all to see through understand India, you have to listen.
More Newspaper and Magazines Telegram Channel join Search https://t.me/sharewithpride (sharewithpride)
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024

10 THE EDITORIAL PAGE

WORDLY WISE
Life is made of so many partings
welded together.
— CHARLES DICKENS

FOUNDED BY
An American deadlock
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
Gender, race, class, state will together determine
who wins the upcoming US elections

PERPETUAL EMERGENCY Ashutosh Varshney

NCR’s pollution crisis needs year-round action. Policymakers
must invest in technology, public transport, nudge change NOVEMBER 5 IS America’s election day. It is reason is that some Black men think the Theelectoralcollegehas538votes:435for

O
hardtopredictwhowillwinthepresidential Democraticpartyhasbecometoofeminised. the House of Representatives, 100 for the
N SEVERAL OCCASIONS in the past five years, the Supreme Court has said race: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. They are unwilling to accept a female presi- Senate and three for Washington DC. The
thatthe RighttoCleanAirisessentialto theRighttoLife.OnWednesday,the Current polls suggest a very tight contest. dent. But this problem may not be confined House is entirely population-based. In the
Court referred to this Fundamental Right once again while upbraiding the Which way it finally turns will depend on a toBlackmales.TheUShasalwayshadamale Senate,everystatehastwoseatsregardlessof
Centre and the governments of Delhi and its neighbouring states for failing host of factors, some uniquely American, es- president. Is it ready to accept a woman as its population size. This makes the electoral
pecially the electoral college. The US was fa- the nation’s highest leader and commander- collegenotentirelybasedonnationalpopular
toensureapollution-freeenvironmentintheCapitalanditsadjoiningareas.NCRresidents
mously called by Samuel Huntington “a in-chief? Some believe Hilary Clinton also will. Rather, the popular will gets a coating of
have been breathing “very poor” quality air for the past four days. The problem, as the SC Tudor Polity”, roughly meaning extreme de- suffered for this reason. small-state bias. Essentially, to win the presi-
pointed out, stems from an unfortunate lack of resolve from both the Centre and state centralisation and no national uniformity. What can we say about the White vote? dency, a candidate must obtain 270 votes of
governments. The data does show that seasonal stubble burning — one reason for the StatesintheUSnotonlyhavedisproportion- Its division appears to be both on racial and the electoral college. Some states, such as
pollution spike before winter — has come down in some parts of Delhi’s neighbourhood. atepower;theyalsohavequitedifferentelec- class lines, especially if education can be California and New York, are reliably
However, the gravity of the problem is such that incremental changes are insufficient to toral rules. Unlike India where the Election viewed as an indicator of class. The Pew Democratic, while others, like Texas and
Commission conducts and certifies electoral Research Center reports that Republican vot- Florida,unquestionablyRepublican.Asofnow,
make an appreciable difference in air quality.
results,thatpowerintheUSbelongstostates. ers are “overwhelmingly White”, accounting Harris is sure of 226 votes, and Trump 219. To
The SC was especially scathing of the Centre and state governments for their failure And such power, most of all, is embodied in for 79 per cent of the total vote for the party. bepresident,theformerneeds44moreelec-
to effectively implement the more than three-year-old Commission on Air Quality the concept of an electoral college which is, And “overall, about half of Republican voters toral college votes, and the latter 51.
Management (CAQM) Act. The Act had created an eponymous panel, the CAQM, to coor- comparatively speaking, an unusual institu- (51 per cent) are White adults without a col- Where will these votes come from? From
dinate between different agencies whose functions have a bearing on the NCR’s air qual- tion. It has the capacity to undo popular will. lege degree, making them the single largest the so-called battleground or swing states.
ity. In the past, the problem would get compounded because these agencies would often Let us begin with a larger national-level bloc within the party when looking at race, Currently, there are seven such swing states:
overview, which will allow us to unpack the Harris appears to be ahead ethnicity and education together.” Pennsylvania (19 votes), Georgia (16), North
work in silos, and at cross purposes. Delhi, Haryana and Punjab used to be at loggerheads
intricaciesoftheelectoralcollegelater.TheUS in national vote, but it is the Letusexaminethesenumbersabitdiffer- Carolina (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11),
on the issue of stubble burning. In 2022, after the AAP assumed office in Punjab, there has a population of roughly 335 million, and ently.AccordingtotheUSCensusBureau,only Wisconsin (10), Nevada (6). They are dead-
were hopes that the state government would coordinate better with its counterpart in electoral college that will
there are approximately 245 million eligible 38 per cent of the US population (age 25 and locked. Because they can swing an election,
Delhi in resolving the longstanding problem. However, politics continues to have its say voters. If the turnout is as high as 66-67 per determine who wins — it is older) was college educated in 2021, and 42 thesestatestakeupadisproportionateenergy
on government-level conversations on the issue. After 2022, the needle of the Delhi gov- cent, the level it touched in 2020, among the possible to win the national percentofWhitepopulationbelongedtothis ofcampaigns.HarrisandTrumpalwaysseem
ernment’s accusation has pointed towards Haryana and now Uttar Pradesh, even as the highest in decades, anywhere between 160- vote but lose the presidential category(ascomparedto28percentofBlack, to be campaigning there (over three decades
165 million votes will be cast. That will make 21 per cent of Hispanic, and 61 per cent of in Massachusetts, nearly always Democratic,
data continues to implicate all three states. On Wednesday, the apex court again called
it the third largest election exercise in 2024,
election, which has happened Asian communities). Nearly two thirds of I have seen only one candidate campaign.
out the Punjab and Haryana governments for their failure to check farmers from setting five times in American
exceeded only by India and Indonesia. WhitesupportforTrumpisnon-collegeedu- Barack Obama came in 2012, and only once).
crop residue on fire. The problem also is that the CAQM has failed its mandate of driving The four largest voting groups by ethnic- history, twice recently — in cated and only a third college educated. In Aconceptualcategorycanbeusedtosum
change in the post-harvest practices of farmers in Delhi’s neighbourhood. The agency ity/race are the Whites (67 per cent), 2000 and 2016. But how non-White communities, the education- up the situation.Thiselection willdependon
has scarcely taken a meaningful step to bring all parties to the negotiating table. It has, at Latinos/Hispanics(13percent),Blacks(12per basedclasspolarisationisnotsosharp.Trump what scholars call “intersectionality”. An un-
cent) and Asians (5 per cent). The political in-
would such divergence come is likely to get only 31-32 per cent of non- predictable combination of gender/race/
best, functioned as an emergency resolution body, when the problem at hand requires
clinationsofthethreeminoritiesareeasilyde- about? The electoral college White,non-collegeeducatedvote,withnearly class/state will determine who wins. But
round-the-yearvigilance.Thoughcrop-residueburningisaseasonalphenomenon,nudg-
ing farmers to desist from the practice should not be left to the last minute. The limits of
scribed.In2020,thesegroupsvoted65-87per has 538 votes: 435 for the twothirdsof non-Whitenon-collegevotego- whichever way this mix ultimately settles, it
cent in favour of the Democratic party, with House of Representatives, ing to Harris. In sum, most college-educated willbe,substantiallythoughnotwholly,inan-
enforcingpunitivemeasures,post-harvest,shouldhavebeenevidentfromtheexperience Blacksgoingashighas87percent.According Whites would vote for Democrats and most swer to two fundamental questions.
of recent years. Similarly, emergency measures are inadequate to address most other fac- tothemostrecentpolls,voteforDemocratsis 100 for the Senate and three non-college-educated Whites for Is America ready for a Black woman pres-
tors that drive NCR’s pollution, including vehicular and industrial pollution. down in all three categories, but it is not nec- for Washington DC. The Republicans,whereasfornon-Whitecommu- ident, or would White supremacy make a
It’s time policymakers recognise that the biggest elephant in the room is Delhi’s base- essarily going hugely in favour of Trump. House is entirely nities, ethnicity and race would trump class. comebackviaTrump?WillAmericacontinue
linepollution load. Cleaningit will require technological interventions, more investments The possible shift among Black men has population-based. In the But,afterallissaidanddone,thesecountry- to be engaged in the world, or would it de-
cometobewidelynoted,especiallyafterPre- leveldisaggregationsarenotgoingtobedeci- scend into a world of Trumpian tariffs, immi-
in public transport as well as nudging people to make behavioural changes. All this can- Senate, every state has two
sident Obama exhorted them to exercise sive. Harris appears to be ahead in national gration cuts and isolationism?
not be undertaken in an emergency mode. wisdom and sense, not conventional gender seats regardless of its vote,butitistheelectoralcollegethatwillde-
prejudice.Comparedtowomen,7-8percent population size. This makes termine who wins — it is possible to win the The writer is Sol Goldman professor of
fewer men are saying they will vote for nationalvotebutlosethepresidentialelection, International Studies and the Social Sciences
the electoral college not

CRUDE AND IMPROPER

Harris. According to James Carville, a long- which has happened five times in American at Brown University, where he also directs the
time adviser to Democrats who shot to fame entirely based on national history,twicerecently—in2000and2016.But Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at
as lead strategist to Bill Clinton in 1992, the popular will. how would such divergence come about? the Watson Institute

TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s actions hurt his party politically

and are a disservice to the people he represents

A
FOUR-TERM MEMBER of Parliament — a lawyer and among the most sen-
ior leaders of his party — should not require lessons in either civics or civil-
ity. On Tuesday, Kalyan Banerjeeof the Trinamool Congress was suspended
foradayfromtheJointCommitteeof ParliamentontheWaqf (Amendment)
Bill. The disciplinary action against him came after he smashed a glass bottle during the
INDIAN OCEAN CHURN
JCP meeting, reportedly during a heated exchange with former Calcutta High Court judge India must guard its strategic interests after UK’s handover of Chagos to Mauritius
and BJP MP Abhijit Ganguly. Committee Chair Jagdambika Pal has alleged that Banerjee
was attempting to throw the bottle at him — the TMC leader ended up injuring himself.
Parliament — including its committees — is a place for dissent, debate and even vocifer- Abhijit Singh
ous argument. It is not — and must not become — an avenue for abuse and violence.
THEUK’SDECISIONtotransfersovereigntyof US and UK, Diego Garcia could provide the withTehranandothernon-Westernpartners.
Banerjee, unfortunately, seems not to realise this. And at a time when the Opposition is
the strategically significant Chagos Indian Navy with a valuable forward base for Chagos’ handover is exactly the outcome
trying to gain ground, and at times, the moral high ground — after a decade in relative Archipelago to Mauritius is a watershed mo- maritime patrolling, anti-piracy operations, India had long hoped for. Delhi even played a
political wilderness — his actions are a terrible letdown. mentininternationalrelationsandmaritime and intelligence gathering. With increasing behind-the-scenes role to encourage both
A representative to the Lok Sabha carries the privileges and expectations of the people geopolitics.Thislong-standingissuehadsim- Chinese naval activity in the IOR, India could sides to reach such an agreement. But, while
who voted for him. Unfortunately, the incident this week is not the first time Banerjee has mered for decades until London settled it to leveragecloserlogisticalandmilitarycooper- it sees the continuation of the Diego Garcia
pushed the boundaries of propriety. Last year, when147 MPshadbeen suspended and the the apparent satisfaction of key stakeholders ation with the US to counterbalance China’s base under US control as a positive, it is likely
Oppositionwasbesieged,theTMCMP’scrudemimicryofVicePresidentJagdeepDhankhar whilesecuringitsownstrategicinterests.The maritime expansion. to temper its responses to project a balanced
transfer not only addresses the colonial lega- However, India’s proximity to the US mil- stance, avoiding the perception of excessive
drewunwarrantedattention.Infact,throughoutDhankhar’stumultuoustenureasGovernor
ciesbutalsoreshapespowerdynamicsinthe itary’sprimeIndianOceanfacilitycouldcom- alignment with the US-UK axis.
ofWestBengal,Banerjeeconstantlyavoidedthehighground—hecalledDhankhara“blood- IndianOcean,withsignificantimplicationsfor plicateitsbroadercalculus.DiegoGarciaisnot Even so, India’s strategic community will
sucker”andfiledcasesagainsthim.Earlierthisyear,duringtheLokSabhacampaign,here- maritime strategy and regional security. just any American base; it is a hub for US nu- likelyviewthisdevelopmentthroughthelens
ferredpejorativelytoCPMcandidateDipsitaDhar’scomplexion,andin2009,hemadeoff- In many ways, this outcome was in- clearsubmarinesandakeystaginggroundfor of China’s growing presence in the Indian
colour and unsubstantiated remarks about then West Bengal CM’s personal habits. evitable, given the mounting pressure on the navaloperationsintheWesternIndianOcean Ocean.WithanavalbaseinDjiboutiandlikely
Banerjee’sconductattheparliamentarycommitteemeet,then,isnoaberration.Given UKfromtheInternationalCourtofJustice,the — a theatre where India-US cooperation has future bases in Pakistan, China is positioning
his position and seniority in the TMC, it can also be seen as part of what ails the party.
UN General Assembly, and several regional To be sure, Chagos’ traditionally been constrained. Using this fa- itself as a significant Indian Ocean power.
states, including India. India has been a vocal handover to Mauritius is cility raises larger questions about India’s Despitehavingtomanagetheexpectationsof
IntoitsthirdterminofficeinWestBengal,andasthefourth-largestparty intheLokSabha, advocate of the decolonisation agenda, rein- strategic autonomy, especially as the Indian other regional states — many of whom have
the TMC is no longer just a party of protest and the street. While its origins were “anti-es- forcing the Mauritian cause and asserting its exactly the outcome India Ocean becomes more contested amid rising close ties with China — India’s main impera-
tablishment” in an era of Left dominance, it is now part of the power structure. Its lead- leadership role in the Global South. With its had long hoped for. Delhi tensionsintheRedSeaandtheescalatingIran- tive will be to counterbalance Beijing’s influ-
ers, with their words and actions, cannot be so immature as to resort to abuse and vio- diplomatic stance under increasing scrutiny, even played a behind-the- Israel conflict. ence in the Western Indian Ocean.
lence. Banerjee’s behaviour is not just politically counterproductive. It also shows an the UK likely saw this as a necessary move to scenes role to encourage Indiahaslongadheredtoapolicyofstrate- Indiaisalsomindfulof Mauritius’security
align with the international consensus. gic autonomy. Deeper military cooperation needs. Port Louis will likely seek New Delhi’s
unconscionable disregard for the processes of Parliament and the people he represents. both sides to reach such an
Strategically,thedealholdssubstantialsig- with the US could be seen as a shift towards assistanceincapacity-building,particularlyin
nificance. While it grants Mauritius full sov- agreement. But, while it sees aligningwiththeWest,potentiallyundermin- monitoringitsExclusiveEconomicZone(EEZ)
ereignty, it ensures US-UK control of the mil- the continuation of the ing India’s efforts to remain an independent and safeguarding its maritime assets from il-

SO SHORT, FAREWELL
itary base at Diego Garcia for 99 years. For player capable of engaging with a range of legal fishing and other threats. Given its own
Diego Garcia base under US
India, the principal security provider in the partners, including non-Western actors like concerns over Chinese intrusions, India has a
EasternIndianOcean,theimplicationsextend control as a positive, it is Russia, Iran, and other Middle Eastern pow- vestedinterestinstrengtheningMauritius’se-
far beyond potential access to Diego Garcia’s likely to temper its responses ers. While Diego Garcia is pivotal to US oper- curitycapabilities.ThekeyforIndiawouldbe
There is more to a New Zealand airport’s attempt to limit militaryfacilities,touchingonbroaderthemes to project a balanced stance, ations in the Middle East, India knows ten- to protect its interests, maintaining its image
goodbye hugs to three minutes than meets the eye of strategicautonomy,regionalalliances,and sions between Israel and Iran complicate its as an independent regional power.

S
the evolving balance of power in the Indian
avoiding the perception of options. While India leans more toward Tel
ORRY,ASELTONJohnsang,mayverywellbethehardestword,butaclosesecond Ocean Region (IOR). excessive alignment with the Aviv, overt cooperation with the US, Israel’s The writer is head, Maritime Policy Initiative,
is goodbye. Who knows when that night might come when the same two ships Given India’s close military ties with the US-UK axis. mainallyagainstIran,couldstrainIndia’sties ORF, New Delhi
passeachotheragain?It’snowonderthatpeopletendtolingerovertheirparting,
stretchingitoutintofarewellpartiesanddinners,drawingoutthoselastfewmo-
ments to postpone, if only for a second or two more, the pangs of parting. It’s an all-too uni-
versal experience, yetNewZealand’s DunedinAirportishaving none of it, going byasignin
its drop-off zone: “Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells, please use the car park.” OCTOBER 24, 1984, FORTY YEARS AGO
Photographs of the terse sign have been widely shared this week, eliciting outraged
questions about how far an airport could go to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, people HEAD PRIESTS VS GOVT Richard Murphy, came out with a statement
“reiterating” the US conviction that India has
veyed to the Mauritian Prime Minister,
AneroodJugnauth,whenhecalledonthevis-
and their belongings, with its “hug police” and violation of travellers’ “human rights”.
Officials have been quick to disclaim any actual measure to time people’s hugs — no uni- TWO ROUNDS OF prolonged talks between no intention of attacking Pakistan. Murphy’s iting Indian President, Zail Singh.
Sikh head priests and the government repre- statement was apparently aimed at assuag-
formed buzzkill will be hanging around the drop-off zones with a stopwatch. The sign is
more a suggestion and less an injunction, a reminder to those lingering over their adieus
sentativesfailedtosortoutthecontroversyof
the Nihang chief of Buddha Dal, Baba Santa
ingIndianangeroverthestatementbytheUS
AmbassadorinPakistan,DeaneRHinton,por-
JANATA SPLIT
to be mindful of the fact that airports are busy places where the slightest hold-up by one Singh’s intention to visit Akal Takht to offer traying India as a potential aggressor. THE JANATA PARTY unit in Bihar split verti-
person can end up derailing someone else’s vacation plans. prayersonDiwali.Thegovernmentrepresen- callywithmajorityoflegislatorsandMPsow-
The real question, however, is how Dunedin Airport arrived at the specific duration of tatives,however,reachedanagreementwith
both the parties on maintaining law and or-
INDIA-MAURITIUS TALKS ing allegiance to Karpoori Thakur, favouring
entry into the newly formed Dalit Mazdoor
threeminutesforahug.Weretravellersinterviewedandstudiesconductedattheairport?
In any case, the airport’s CEO pointed to research that shows a 20-second hug is more der on the occasion. INDIA ASSURED ALL possible assistance to KisanParty(DMKP),headedbyCharanSingh.
Mauritius in its development activity and The resolution adopted at the residence of
than sufficient for a hearty dose of the feel-good hormone oxytocin. He also pointed out
that the quicker the hugs, the greater the number of people who can experience them. US BACKS INDIA agreed to enlarge areas of co-operation such
as education, culture, technology, technical
Thakurauthorisedhimtotakeafinaldecision
on the evolution of a national alternative in
So, far from being the enemy of love that it’s been painted as, the airport just wants to AFTERTWODAYSoftalkswiththeIndiangov- know-how and health. India’s keen interest thecontextof Oppositionunity,preservation
spread the love around a bit more. Can one really complain about this? ernment, the US Assistant Secretary of State, in the overall progress of Mauritius was con- of democracy and national interest.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

11
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024 WHAT THE OTHERS SAY

THE IDEAS PAGE

“The US policy of denying Israel’s genocide in Gaza is unlikely to change, even if
there is a new US administration... We can only hope that nations that still have a
conscience would finally come together to condemn Israel's genocidal acts and
ensure that Israel agrees to a ceasefire agreement...” — THEDAILYSTAR

Learning & nation-building With refugees at

The 75th Constitution Day, on November 26, is a moment to reimagine our universities.
The focus needs to be on education and research relating to Constitution’s ideals and aspirations
the centre
SC judgment on Section 6A speaks
language of statecraft. Verdict
should guide protection of rights of vulnerable
titioners argued that Assam was unfairly
burdened by Section 6A, which imposed a
different cut-off date for citizenship com-
paredtotherestof India.Theclaimwasthat
Assamwasdisproportionatelycarryingthe
C. Raj Kumar weight of immigration while other border
stateswerenotsubjectedtothesamerules.
THE CONSTITUTION OF India was adopted Relevant here was the right to equality un-
on November 26, 1949. While the vision derArticle14.Therightrequiresthatanydi-
and imagination of the framers of the
Mohsin Alam Bhat vergent treatment — so-called “classifica-
Constitution was far-sighted, the reality of tion”amonggroups—mustberationaland
India at that moment was very different. At THE SUPREME COURT of India’s recent de- justified by the purpose of the law.
Independence, India’s population was cisionupholdingthelegalvalidityofSection The Court upheld Section 6A’s constitu-
around 370 million, and women, on aver- 6A of the Citizenship Act is the most conse- tionality,acknowledgingthehistoricalcon-
age, had six children. The age structure was quentialjudgmentontheconstitutionallaw text of the Assam Accord and Assam’s
very young, and over 80 per cent of the of citizenship. Section 6A was enacted fol- uniquechallengeswithmigration.However,
population was illiterate. lowingthesigningof AssamAccordin1985 therewasadivergencebetweenthejustices
India had barely 20 universities and ap- and grants citizenship to migrants from on how much deference the courts should
proximately 500 affiliated colleges in 1947. Bangladesh who entered Assam before givetoParliamentinthismatter.JusticeDY
Student enrolment was around 2.5 lakh, March25,1971.Lastweek’sruling,however, Chandrachud,arguedthatwhencorerights
and faculty members across all universities has far-reaching consequences that extend andconstitutionallysignificantsubjectsare
C R Sasikumar
and colleges were about 20,000. Higher ed- wellbeyondtheregionof Assam,especially atstake,courtsmustintervene.JusticeSurya
ucation was an absolute privilege, available considering the controversial Citizenship Kant(fortwootherjudges)tookamoredef-
only to the elite. Today, India has over 40 as people. This consciousness will have a di- ing with diverse people can help build an Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019, which re- erential stance, which suggests that
million students enrolled in higher educa- rect and substantive bearing on promoting informed and enlightened citizenry. mains pending in the courts. Parliament’s classification of groups for le-
tion institutions and more than 1.5 million progressive nation-building ideas while Four, the Constitution as an instrument The stakes could not be higher. In terms galpurposesshouldberespected,provided
faculty members. shielding us from the consequences of sec- of social and political empowerment. By ofpolitics,thepetitionerschallengedSection it aligns with a legitimate public objective.
India has the largest population in the tarian perspectives. The framers of our abolishing untouchability in Article 17, the 6A based on the long-standing fears of Thisdivergenceonthedegreeof judicial
world.Forty-sevenpercentof Indiansarebe- Constitution were conscious of the imper- Constitution shook the foundations of the Assamese groups that uncontrolled immi- deferencewillhaveseriousimplicationsfor
lowtheageof 25.Two-thirdshavebeenborn ative of creating a collective consciousness practice of historically evolved caste-based grationfromBangladeshthreatenstheircul- the CAA case. The CAA’s stated objective is
after liberalisation. In this stage of India's de- of the people of India. They did that by pro- discrimination. But it did not stop there. It ture, economy, and political influence. to help persecuted minorities, but it fast-
mographictransition,universitiesareinfluen- viding flexibility and freedom to pursue a also made it an offence to cause any disabil- Legally speaking, it touches on vital consti- tracks citizenship for only non-Muslims
tial institutions that must contribute to the pluralistic idea of nation-building. ity arising because of “untouchability”. The tutional principles — particularly the limits fromPakistan,Bangladesh,andAfghanistan.
transformation of society. A single-minded Two, the Constitution as a framework vision of the makers of the Constitution was of Parliament’slegislativepower,theroleof The question now is which level of scrutiny
focusonsubjectsandcoursescomprisingsci- for identity creation. The Constitution has far-sighted enough to recognise that the evil judicial review, and how to interpret key will the Court apply to the CAA’s religious
ence,technology,engineering,mathematics helped us to create, nurture and expand an of untouchability cannot be quelled by constitutional values like fraternity and discrimination. WilltheCourtconsidercit-
(STEM)andmedicinecannotproducethede- Indian identity. Many of its provisions fo- merely proscribing it. The Constitution equality in the context of citizenship. izenship and the right to life too significant
sired transformation in the value system of cus on protecting rights and freedoms and sends a powerful message to our nation that The first significant aspect of the judg- toallowforbroadparliamentarydiscretion,
our society. Education must not be limited illustrating their inherent purpose for es- its foundations are the values of liberty, ment is its declaration that Parliament’s or adopt a more deferential approach?
to linking all learning only to job opportuni- tablishing a nation. The pluralistic identity equality and fraternity. Universities are power to legislate on citizenship is not un- This debate on judicial deference will
tiesandinstrumentally applying knowledge of the people of India is reflected in the val- places where values are formed, shaped limited.Likeanyotherlaw,legislationoncit- alsotesthowseriouslytheCourttreatssec-
for monetary gains without appreciating its ues that permeate the Constitution, espe- and changed. There is no better place where izenshipmustadheretoconstitutionallim- ularism as a constitutional principle. Will
intrinsic value in shaping the kind of citizens cially its Preamble. In an influential article the study of constitutional values can have its, including fundamental rights. secularism be interpreted as a core value,
that our republic requires. Schools and uni- titled ‘The rise of state-nations’, Alfred The Constitution as the basis a powerful impact. This is a noteworthy ruling because it alongside fraternity, that demands legal
versities must provide substantial knowl- Stepan, Juan J Linz, and Yogendra Yadav ob- Five, the Constitution as the basis for so- draws a clear line in the sand for the pend- protections for all citizens, regardless of
edgeabouttheConstitutionin all Indian lan- served, “…‘State-nation’ policies involve for social justice. The theme cial justice. The theme of social justice runs ing CAA case. In the CAA case, the govern- their religious identity? Will secularism be
guages. Achieving this goal must be a top creating a sense of belonging (or ‘we-feel- of social justice runs throughout the Constitution. As India cele- menthasarguedthatlawsoncitizenshipare interpreted — in fact as an extension of fra-
policy priority. ing’) with respect to the statewide political throughout the Constitution. brates the 75th anniversary of adopting the an expression of sovereignty and should be ternity — as a concept respecting diversity
India commemorates the 75th anniver- community, while simultaneously creating Constitution, the aspiration to advance the immunefromjudicialscrutiny,butthisrul- and solidarity?
As India celebrates the 75th
sary of the adoption of its Constitution this institutional safeguards for respecting and cause of social justice has never been more ing rejects that notion entirely. Despiteitsprogressiveframingoffrater-
year. Our higher education ecosystem, com- protecting politically salient socio cultural anniversary of adopting the critical. Universities are institutions where Citizenshiplaws,theCourtheld,aresub- nity, the judgment is striking for what it
prising more than 1,100 universities and diversities. The ‘we-feeling’ may take the Constitution, the aspiration through transformative education, the so- ject to constitutional limitations and judi- leavesout:Thevoicesofthemigrantsthem-
nearly 50,000 colleges, must prioritise the form of defining a tradition, history, and to advance the cause of social cietal structure can be challenged and a new cialreview,providingaclearindicationthat selves. The Court framed the issue as a bal-
study of the Constitution. The Viksit Bharat shared culture in an inclusive manner, with generation can become participants in an the CAA will likely face similar scrutiny. ancing act between the government trying
Vision for 2047 should focus on educating all citizens encouraged to feel a sense of at-
justice has never been more effort to achieve social justice. The consti- Asecondcriticaldimensionoftheruling tomanagethecostsof migrationanditshu-
young India to appreciate the values inher- tachment to common symbols of the state critical. Universities are tutional project of promoting social justice isitsdiscussiononconstitutionalvalues,par- manitarian concerns. But absent from this
ent in the Constitution and why the docu- and some form of ‘constitutional patriot- institutions where through can be realised only when higher education ticularlytheprincipleof fraternity.Thepeti- narrativearetherefugees,thestateless,and
ment is the lodestar for development and ism’.” An Indian identity that promotes val- transformative education, the institutions institutionalise these ideas tioners argued that the influx of migrants the multigenerational immigrants who are
social transformation. ues of “constitutional patriotism” should among the youth. India’s young people underminedAssamesecultureandviolated most affected by these laws.
I can adduce five compelling reasons define our aspiration to develop ideas for
societal structure can be must embrace the vision of building an their rights under Article 29 of the The Court did not fully engage with the
why our universities should educate their nation-building. Universities must shape challenged and a new egalitarian society. Constitution,whichprotectstheculturaland rights of those who have fled persecution
students about the Constitution's history, that Indian identity through education and generation can become The 75th anniversary of the Constitution educationalrightsofminoritycitizens.They or whose lives are now mired in uncer-
philosophy, and evolution and its impor- the process of learning. participants in an effort to should help us reimagine our universities to claimedthatthepresenceofthesemigrants tainty. It failed to consider whether the
tance in recognising and enforcing people’s Three, the Constitution as a reason for focus on education and research relating to was eroding their cultural identity, a viola- state has an obligation to protect the rights
fundamental rights and freedoms. celebrating diversity. The Constitution, par- achieve social justice. The its ideals and aspirations. It should educate tion of their rights. of refugees and stateless persons, who re-
One, the Constitution as a site for creat- ticularly its provisions on equality and non- constitutional project of and empower the youth to understand and The Court, however, took a broader and main invisible in the legal framework. The
ing collective consciousness. India is not a discrimination, recognises the value of di- promoting social justice can appreciate the historical struggles that re- more progressive view of fraternity, reject- judgmentspeaksthelanguageof statecraft
classic federation. Some continuing strug- versity. Universities are the appropriate be realised only when higher sulted in our freedom and the vision of the ingtheargumentthatdemographicchange but it does not fully account for the human
gles and synergies inform the evolution of institutions for promoting diversity. framers of the Constitution leading to the constitutedaviolationofculture.Fraternity, rights of the marginalised.
the idea of deliberative democracy in the However, the diversity promoted in univer- education institutions building of the Republic of India. thejudgesheld,isaboutfostering“intercon- This omission is significant. As India
country. Social and economic diversity has sities must be about lived and shared expe- institutionalise these ideas nectedness”amongcitizens,nottherightto continues to grapple with its citizenship
contributed to differing economic and hu- riences. It is about understanding and ap- among the youth. India’s The writer is founding Vice Chancellor of “chooseone’sneighbours.”Thisrejectionof laws, the Court must address the rights of
man development levels across the states. preciating that India is a land of diverse OP Jindal Global University and Dean of anarrowculturalprotectionistviewmarked the most vulnerable. The ruling on Section
young people must embrace
As we commemorate the 75th anniversary, interests and multiple persuasions. The op- Jindal Global Law School. JGU is establishing aseriousblowtoAssamesepoliticalclaims. 6A, while progressive in some respects,
we must build a more vital collective con- portunity to study the Constitution and the the vision of building an India’s First Constitution Museum at its The judgment emphasised that demo- leaves the fate of these individuals uncer-
sciousness of our Constitution that binds us lived experience of meeting and interact- egalitarian society. University Campus in Sonipat, Haryana graphic change does not inherently violate tain. With the CAA case on the horizon, the
cultural rights — a significant step in the Court once again has an opportunity to
broaderdebateoverhowtobalancemajor- centre the rights of refugees and stateless
ity cultural concerns with broader demo- persons in its legal reasoning.
cratic principles.

Children must come first

Thejudgmentalsodelvesintotheques- The writer teaches at School of Law, Queen
tion of equality in citizenship laws. The pe- Mary University of London

Fear of misuse is no reason to dilute strict laws, action against child sexual abuse LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Prabhsahay Kaur A BREAKTHROUGH COVERING GROUND
THE SUPREME COURT’S (SC’s) recent judg- The Kerala Police’s impressive initiative mental to understanding not only the gene- poignant. It reflects on the vulnerability of THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Breaking THISREFERSTOthearticle,‘Socialilland
mentonChildSexualExploitativeandAbuse madethebestuse of thisinformation. Itcon- sis of the problem but also in comprehend- childrenwhomightnotevenknowhowthey stalemate’(IE,October23).Itisquiteen- legal response’ (IE, October 23). The
Material (CSEAM) is the call of the hour and stituted a specialised unit for preventing on- ing how to tackle it. have been exploited till it is too late. The SC couragingthatbothIndiaandChinahave guidelinesoftheSupremeCourtarewel-
addresses a problem, the enormous propor- linechildexploitationandcarriedoutvarious Asomewhatsimilardisclosurewasmade has also held that the knowledge that their agreedtoreverttothepre-Galwanloca- come.TheProhibitionof ChildMarriage
tions of which are lost on most people. The covert operations. It was found that child recentlybycertainOneStopCentresthatrun abuse is being watched by countless tions. India has to verify the progress Act(PCMA)incaseswhereminorsmarry
mere possibility of misuse, as argued by an pornography groups operating over in all districts in Delhi to aid survivors of sex- strangers, sometimes much after the act, for throughcontinuousmonitoring.Itisim- by choice requires a closer look. The re-
editorial in this newspaper (‘Terms of pro- WhatsApp and Telegram and a number of ual abuse. Cases of teenagers being raped or years to come, exacerbates the wounds. The perative to establish peace at the Line of sultant destitution of girls due to hus-
tection’, IE, September 26) cannot be a rea- similar platforms had increased tremen- forced into sexual acts/abuse on the threat realisation that our children might be walk- Actual Control before any moves in the bands taking undue advantage of the
son to put children at risk. dously in recent years. It started identifying of their videos/photos, real as well as mor- ing on the road or eating at a restaurant and economic, communication and other marriage’s void status to remarry is un-
Some facts. The National Centre for persons downloading/uploading CSEAM phed, being made public are on the rise. strangersidentifyhim/herfromCSEAMavail- fields. The past trust deficit will be dis- just. This judgment may not succeed in
Missing&ExploitedChildren(establishedby from the internet by col- The SC has made it able freely on the internet, maybe by way of solved if there is mutual respect and upholding the true essence of absolute
theUnitedStatesCongress)hasreportedthat lectingIPaddresses,partic- D E
EAR DITOR , abundantlyclearthatwhile aspycamerainstalledinaschool/publicbath- well-coordinated mutual consultation justice on these harsh ground realities,
46,99,515 videos of CSEAM were uploaded
in India, depicting a chilling reality — India is
ularlymakinguseof there-
ports available under the
ID ISAGREE there might be a difference
between the act of viewing
room/changing room, is deeply disturbing.
This affects every one of us. In the words
betweenthetwonationsinthede-esca-
lation and disengagement process.
but it may shed some light on the mis-
use of the rule of law.
leadingtheworldinuploadingCSEAMinthe MoU.The KeralaPolicewas A column in which CSEAM and the act of en- of Justice J B Pardiwala, who authored the Subhash Vaid, New Delhi Shaswat Jena, Ghaziabad
form of photos and videos. Just Rights for able to seize over 200 de- readers tell us gaging in sexual abuse, the judgmentwithsensitivityandperceptiveness,
Children Alliance, a coalition formed by five
NGOs with over 120 NGOs as partners, ap-
vices containing graphic
and illegal videos and pic-
why, when they differ latter desire is always in-
herent in the former. Both
CSEAM perpetuates a culture in which chil-
drenareseenasobjectstobeexploitedrather
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Breaking
stalemate’ (IE, October 23). In welcome
WHERE ONUS LIES
proached the Supreme Court relying upon tures of children in a com- with the editorial share the same intent, and than as individuals with rights and agency. news,IndiaandChinahaveagreedtore- THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘A nascent
the above Report and data published by the promised state. positions or news it is the intent that makes While prosecution in cases of CSEAM is solve their four-year military standoff. but welcome thaw’ (IE, October 21).
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) that It was found that many coverage of the crime heinous. This imperative,inthelongerrun,whatwillmake Assumingthatthepatrollingagreement External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s
reflected a phenomenal increase in child of these videos and photos findingisthefulcrumof the themostdifferencearepreventivemeasures heraldsareturntostatusquoante,India visit to Pakistan to participate in the
pornography cases from 44 in 2018 to 1,171 in the CSEAM were of local
‘The Indian Express’ judgment. Ergo, viewing such as sex education and awareness, in shouldn’trelentonitspastdecisionslike SCO summit, is significant. Bilateral
cases in 2022. children, ranging in the age CSEAM, even in the con- schools, children’s homes, etc. Essentially, banning Chinese apps. Similarly, FDI by ties have been in deep freeze since the
To arrest this disturbing trend, the group of five to 16 years. fines of one’s home, even thepreventionof crimeisparamountfor en- Chinese firms should be judged on a Pulwama terror attack and the retalia-
Government of India signed an MoU with The necessary corollary was that local chil- one time, constitutes an offence. It has also suring a safe space for our children, both on- case-to-case basis. There can’t be a free tory Balakot airstrikes in February
NCMEC, US, under which receipt and analy- dren have been haplessly involved by mak- stated that demand will always incubate the line and offline. I can only hope that in im- licence for investment by Chinese firms 2019. While one cannot dispute that
sis of Cyber Tip lineReports(CTR) are carried ing covert videos/taking photos through spy corresponding production of CSEAM. plementing thisjudgment,law enforcement in India. India’s relations with China can both countries must move forward
out which detail activities related to CSEAM. cameras, etc. More significantly, the pre- Abusers are motivated to create and distrib- agencies, schools and governments realise be repaired but at a slow pace. There and tap the full potential for bilateral
These are then shared with the respective sumption that CSEAM available on the utethematerialtosatisfythedemand.Killing that the exploitation of a child anywhere, is arenoinstantsolutionsinglobalpolitics. trade, it must be pointed out that the
states/Union Territories for further action. Internet is from other countries or far-off the demand by prosecuting the viewing of exploitation of a child everywhere. It can’t suddenly be business as usual onus lies on Islamabad to create a
The MoU and the actions being taken using places and that the act itself has not taken CSEAM would eventually lead to a decrease with China. conducive atmosphere.
this technology lead the agencies straight to place here and is only being viewed here is in its production. The writer is a litigator practising in the Delhi Sanjay Chopra, Mohali Khokan Das, Kolkata
the culprits. completely false. This eye-opener is funda- The Kerela Police’s report is rather High Court and Supreme Court
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

12 E EXPLAINED THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024

@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com

Geoengineering idea: diamonds in the sky, cooling the Earth

Such solutions, called ‘geoengineering’, butthe bareminimum for achievingthistar- BothSRMandCDRare seenashavingthe perimentalprojectsaretryingoutthesetech- SRMoptionsobviouslyfacemassivechal-
AMITABH SINHA or more specifically, solar radiation manage- get requires the world to cut emissions by at potential to offer quick fixes to either reduce nologies, but the challenges are formidable. lenges of technology and costs. Also, manip-
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 23 ment (SRM), have been studied for several least 43% by 2030 from the 2019 levels. All emissions or lower temperatures, but nei- ulating natural processes on a large scale can
years now, although no attempt has ever ongoing and promised actions in this regard ther option has been proven to be viable yet. Mimicking volcanoes have unintended and unforeseen conse-
SPRAYING MILLIONS of tonnes of diamond been made to put them into practice. With are, however, likely to result in a reduction CCShasbeentriedoutinpractice,though. SRMisthemostambitious,andpotentially quences, including disrupting global and re-
dustintheupperatmospherecouldbeanef- thissameintention,theinstallationof space- of just 2% by 2030. Carbondioxideemittedbyindustryorpower most rewarding, form of geoengineering. gional weather patterns and rainfall distri-
fective way of cooling down the Earth and based mirrors has also been assessed. As such, scientists have been looking for generating plants is sought to be ‘captured’ It is inspired by volcanic eruptions, in bution. Altering natural sunlight can impact
fixing the problem of global warming, a new radicaltechnologysolutionsthatcanachieve at source, and deposited deep below the which large amounts of sulphur dioxide agriculture, vegetation, and biodiversity.
study has concluded. Hotter and hotter dramatic results within a short Earth’s surface in suitable geo- combines with water vapour to form sul- A study by researchers from Oxford
It sounds like an absurd idea, but it has
been put forward earlier, too. Several other
Measures to slow or halt global warming
have been extremely inadequate. Not only
time, even if they are only tem-
porary. This is where geoengi-
EXPLAINED logical formations for long-
term storage. Since carbon
phate particles that reflect sunlight back to
space. The massive eruptions from Mt
University and Imperial College London last
year showed that while it might be techni-
materials, including compounds of sulphur, have global temperatures continued to rise, neering efforts come in. SCIENCE dioxideisnotreleasedintheat- Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 are sup- cally possible to deploy CCS technologies, it
calcium, aluminium, and silicon, have been even the emissions of greenhouse gases, the mosphere, there is a reduction posedtohavebroughtdowntheEarth’stem- may not be feasible or practical to rely on
suggested previously for this same job. The main reason for the warming, have not been Geoengineering in overall emissions. perature by 0.5 degrees Celsius that year. them to achieve climate objectives.
essential idea is to scatter material that can curbed.Scientistsestimatethatevenif global Geoengineering refers to any large-scale Some solutions involve the use of ‘cap- Scientists trying to mimic this process ar- The study calculated that emission path-
reflect solar radiation back to space — and emissions were to magically drop to zero attempt to alter the Earth’s natural climate tured’ carbon as an input for other industrial tificiallyhaveexploredthecapabilitiesof sev- ways that required the world to put up to 20
not allow it to reach Earth — thereby cooling suddenly, it would still be several decades system to counter the adverse effects of processes (carbon capture and utilisation, or eralmaterials,includingsulphurdioxide,cal- billiontonnesof carbondioxideunderground
down the planet. before temperatures stabilise and begin to global warming. CCU);inothers,apartof thecarbondioxideis cium carbonate, and sodium chloride. by 2050 could cost at least $30 trillion more
According to the new study, published in come down. Solar radiation management (SRM), in utilisedandthereststoredunderground(car- Diamondshavebeentalkedabout,too.The thanthepathwaysinwhichonlyabout5bil-
Geophysical Research Letters earlier this Global temperatures are already about which certain materials are proposed to be boncapture,utilisationandstorage,orCCUS). new study compared seven compounds and liontonneshavetobestored.Besides,enough
month, diamonds can be more effective in 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than pre-indus- deployed in space to reflect the rays of the There are also direct air capture (DAC) founddiamondtobethemosteffective.Butto safe underground sites for storing such huge
doing this job compared to any other mate- trialtimes(1850-1900period),and2023was Sun and prevent them from reaching Earth, methodsthatseektouselarge‘artificialtrees’ achieveatemperaturereductionof1.6degrees amounts of CO2 may not be available.
rial considered previously. (‘Microphysical as much as 1.45 degrees Celsius warmer. is one of two broad geoengineering options to suck carbon dioxide from ambient air and Celsius, about 5 million tonnes of diamond That said, CCS options are considered al-
Interactions Determine the Effectiveness of There is no way that the world can keep this being explored. The other is carbon dioxide direct it to storage or utilisation sites. Since dustwouldneedtobesprayedintheupperat- most unavoidable now. There are no scenar-
Solar Radiation Modification via rise to under 1.5 degrees Celsius, which was removal (CDR) technologies, which includes these methods can potentially eliminate car- mosphere every year. ios for the world to achieve the 1.5-degree or
Stratospheric Solid Particle Injection’: S one of the targets mentioned in the Paris various carbon capture and sequestration bon dioxide accumulated over the years, the 2-degree Celsius targets that do not require
Vattioni, S K Käslin, and others) Agreement. In theory, this is still possible — (CCS) methods. benefitsarelargercomparedtoCCS.Someex- Challenges, concerns contributionfromCCSandCDRtechnologies.

EXPLAINED HEALTH EXPLAINED LAW

MCDONALD’S-LINKEDOUTBREAKIN
UNITEDSTATES:WHATISE.COLI? Taxing industrial alcohol
pitalsacrossIndia,wherethesurveillance Can industrial alcohol be included under the definition of ‘intoxicating liquor’? What happens when the
ANONNA DUTT is carried out.
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 23 The Food Safety and Standards Autho- Union and State Lists contain ‘overlapping’ entries? Here’s why SC held that states can tax industrial alcohol
rity of India (FSSAI) is working on creating
ONE PERSON has died and 10 have been a network of 34 microbiology labs across
hospitalisedintheUSduetoanE.coliinfec- thecountrythatwilltestfoodproductsfor The judgment rationalised this by find-
tion after eating McDonald’s burgers. 10pathogens,includingE.coli,salmonella, AJOY SINHA KARPURAM ing that the word “intoxication” can also re-
Whilethesourceof theinfectionisnot andlisteria.Testsformicrobialcontamina- NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 23 THE CASE AND THE BACK STORY fer to poisoning and not just inebriation, in-
knownyet,thefastfoodgianthasstopped tion were missing from most state food dicating that the purpose of the expression
serving quarter pound patties and sliv- safety laboratories in the country. A NINE-JUDGE Bench of the Supreme Court 1989: SC in Synthetics & Chemicals Ltd. went in appeal to SC. “seems to be [to] enhance the scope of the
ered onions in several states. Both ingre- heldina8:1rulingonWednesdaythatstates v State of Uttar Pradesh held that states Entry to cover liquor which has an impact
dients are primarily used in the burger. What are the infection’s symptoms? have the power to tax not just alcoholic bev- only have the power to regulate 2007: SC referred case to a larger on health”.
Themostcommonsymptomsof E.coli erages, but also ‘industrial’ alcohol. “intoxicating liquor” meant for Bench to determine if the Synthetics & Justice Nagarathna on the other hand,
Has the outbreak been reported infection include fever of more than 102 Excise duty levied on ‘drinking’ alcohol is human consumption, and that only Chemicals decision needed to be found that the deciding factor must be the
outside the US too? degree F, persistent diarrhoea, bloody di- a key component of the revenue generated the Centre can regulate “industrial reconsidered, since it did not consider “nature of the product” consumed. “Merely
No. The outbreak is restricted to 10 arrhoea,andvomiting.Themainproblem, by most states — and the top court’s ruling alcohol” after a declaration under the relevant past SC decisions including because there can be a potential misuse of
states in the United States. however,isdehydrationduetotheinabil- will add to their coffers. Industries (Development and the decision of a 5-judge Constitution “industrialalcohol”,forexample,byconvert-
However,E.coli,whichcausesgastroin- ityof thepatienttoretainwaterandfluids. Thekeyinterpretativequestionbeforethe Regulation) Act, 1961. Bench in Ch. Tika Ramji v State of Uttar ing rectified spirit (“industrial alcohol”) as a
testinal symptoms, is not uncommon in In very few cases, people may get court was whether “intoxicating liquor” can Pradesh (1951). beverage which has an intoxicating effect,
India. It spreads through contaminated acute kidney injury. bedefinedtoalsoinclude“industrialalcohol”. 1990: UP imposed a licence fee of 15 Entry8–ListIIcannotbestretchedtoinclude
foodandwater.“Weusuallyseecasesdur- Eight judges — Chief Justice of India (CJI) paise/ litre on denatured alcohol 2010: 5-judge Bench referred case to a such “industrial alcohol”,” the dissent noted.
ing the summer and rainy seasons, when How is it treated? D Y Chandrachud, and Justices Hrishikesh obtained from distilleries. 9-judge Bench.
there is an increase in gastrointestinal in- E.coli is a bacterial infection for which Roy, Abhay S Oka, J B Pardiwala, Manoj The ‘federal balance’
fections in general,” said Dr Atul Gogia, antibiotics are prescribed. Doctors em- Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma,
2004: Allahabad HC struck down the 2024: 9-judge Bench led by CJI Two interpretations are possible when
state’s notification, relying on the SC’s Chandrachud heard the case over six
senior consultant of internal medicine at phasise that medicines should not be and Augustine George Masih — ruled in two entries in the Seventh Schedule are
1989 decision. The UP government days and reserved judgment in April.
Sir Ganga Ram hospital, New Delhi. taken without consultation. favour of the states. ‘overlapping’: either states can be given the
Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consult- Indiscriminateuseof antibioticsleads Justice B V Nagarathna in her dissenting power to regulate intoxicating liquor, or
ant of internal medicine at Indraprastha to antimicrobial resistance and further opinion held that the power to regulate in- Parliament can be allowed to take complete
ApolloHospital,NewDelhi,said:“Among difficulty in treating common infections. dustrial alcohol should be with the Centre. ■ The tax levied on alcohol is a key com- it into industrial alcohol. This makes the al- control of the intoxicating liquor industry by
gastrointestinal and urinary tract infec- Forexample,E.coli’ssusceptibilitytoeven ponent of a state’s revenue, with state gov- coholunfitforhumanconsumption,andsig- passing a law under Entry 52 of List I.
tions, E.coli is one of the most common strong antibiotics, such as carbapenem, ‘Overlapping’ entries ernments often adding an additional excise nificantly lowers its price. To address this, the majority held that
pathogens.” has been on the decline, reducing from The core of the dispute arises from two dutyonalcoholconsumptiontofurtherdrive Industries use this impure alcohol to “Whentherearetwopossibleinterpretations
81.4%in2017to62.7% in2023toonetype “overlapping” entries in the Seventh upincomes.Forexample,in2023,Karnataka manufacture a range of products including of theentries,the Courtmust choose theone
How common are E.coli infections? of medicine in this category. Schedule of the Constitution, which lays raised the Additional Excise Duty (AED) on pharmaceuticals, perfumes, cosmetics, and that maintains the federal balance”.
More than 500 outbreaks of diar- down the division of lawmaking powers be- Indian Made Liquor (IML) by 20%. cleaning liquids. The ruling then held that intoxicating
rhoeal diseases were reported across When should you go to a doctor? tween the Centre and the states. ■ In addition to the impact on the ability However, this same industrial or dena- liquor under Entry 8 — which now includes
India in 2023, according to the National You must go to a doctor if you have Entry 8 of List II (State List) gives states of states to generate revenue from alcohol, tured alcohol is sometimes used to make il- ‘denatured’ alcohol and the raw material for
Centre for Disease Control. had diarrhoea for more than a couple of the power to regulate “the production, man- the verdict also provides clarity on Centre- licit liquor, cheap and dangerous intoxicants alcohol production — falls within the exclu-
E.coli is the most common bacteria days;youhavetovisitthetoileteveryhalf ufacture,possession,transport,purchaseand state relations when it comes to control over whose consumption poses severe risks, in- sive control of states. It held that the Centre
isolated from patient samples, according hour to an hour; you have bloody diar- saleof intoxicatingliquors”,whileEntry52of industries. Wednesday’s judgment affirms cluding blindness and death. cannot regulate matters concerning intoxi-
to the latest report of ICMR’s Anti- rhoea; you vomit frequently; and are un- List I (Union List) allows the Centre to regu- the power of states to pass laws on subjects cating liquor under Entry 52 as this would
microbial Surveillance Network. The able to retain any water and fluids. late industries as a whole to the extent “de- in the State List, even in the face of the wide ‘Intoxicating liquor’ resultin“renderingEntry8fullyredundant”.
pathogenwasfoundin23.19%of alltypes LONGER VERSION ON clared by Parliament by law to be expedient powers granted to the Centre regarding the CJI Chandrachud held that entries in the While JusticeNagarathna agreedthatthe
of patientsamplesfromtertiarycarehos- indianexpress.com/explained in public interest”. control of ‘Industries’ as a whole. Seventh Schedule must be given a “wide Centre and Parliament could not enact laws
As alcohol and other products of fermen- ■ The ruling also set aside the SC’s 1990 meaning”, and be deemed to include “inci- to regulate “intoxicating liquor”, she dis-
tation industries that deal with non-potable judgment in Synthetics & Chemicals Ltd. v dental”and“ancillary”mattersrelatedtothe agreed on what can be included under this
(non-drinkable) alcohol are included in the State ofUttarPradesh,whichheldthat “intox- entry in question. tag.Whilethemajorityopinionheldthat“in-
Industries (Development and Regulation) icating liquor” refers only to potable alcohol Hethenappliedthisruletotheexpression toxicatingliquor”includesindustrialordena-
Act,1961—alawpassedbyParliament—the and, therefore, states could not tax industrial “intoxicating liquor” under Entry 8 of List II, turedalcohol,JusticeNagarathnacametothe
Centre argued that it “occupied the field” alcohol. (See box) holding that the “Entry seeks to regulate opposite conclusion.
when it comes to industrial alcohol, and that everything from the stage of the raw materi- The dissent reasoned that so long as
states could not regulate the subject. Industrial alcohol alstotheconsumptionof‘intoxicatingliquor’.” ‘Alcohol’ and ‘Fermentation Industries’ re-
States, on the other hand, argued that in- Industrial alcohol is essentially impure The majority opinion, authored by the main as industries where the Centre can ex-
dustrial alcohol can be misused to produce alcohol that is used as an industrial solvent. CJI, held that “...even liquor which colloqui- ercise complete control under the Industries
consumablealcoholillegally,whichrequired Mixing chemicals such asbenzene, pyridine, ally or traditionally is not considered as alco- (Development and Regulation) Act, 1961,
them to enact legislation. gasoline, etc. in ethanol, which is produced holic liquor may be covered by the phrase “state legislatures are denuded of their pow-
by fermenting grains, fruit, molasses, etc., — ‘intoxicating liquor’ if it produces the effect ers to pass a legislation or to take any action”
Upshot of SC decision aprocessthatiscalled‘denaturation’—turns of intoxication”. relating to them.

The UN force in Lebanon, its mandate and role, and Israel’s aggression
km-long “line of withdrawal” set by the UN in by the Lebanese armed forces. UNIFIL’s year, Israel had called for Guterres’ resigna- dium named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel have 62 of the 128 democratically elected
2000 along Lebanon’s southern border. strength was augmented to 15,000 uni- tion. Respect for the office of the Secretary in Kawkaba village in Lebanon. seats in Lebanon’s parliament. Many aver-

EXPERT
formed personnel, and it was assigned du- General is part of the UN Charter. In addition, INDBATT has helped local age Lebanese probably believe Hezbollah’s
Why are UN peacekeepers in Lebanon? ties to assist the Lebanese forces in moni- Israel has also repeatedly attacked the communities with IT equipment, diesel armedwingisthecountry’sdefactodefence

EXPLAINS UNIFILwascreatedbytheUNinresponse
toIsrael’sinvasionofsouthernLebanon.Israel
had said it was acting to expel armed Pales-
toring and supervisory roles, along with
providing humanitarian aid.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UN-
RWA), alleging it has links with anti-Israel
generators, etc. India’s medical mission, a
component of the Indian battalion, has al-
waysbeen highly soughtafterintheregion.
force. However, this is not at all to say that
theLebanesedefenceforceshaveabdicated
their responsibilities.
Sanjiv Arora tinian elements operating from Lebanon. Are Israel’s actions against militant organisations, and called for it to
According to UN Security Council international law? be disbanded. UNRWA has rejected these Israel alleges UNIFIL has not done its job Where is the Lebanese army in all of
Resolutions425 and426, adopted in March Attacks on UN peacekeepers are in con- allegations. More than 220 UNRWA offi- in southern Lebanon, which has forced this? Are they fighting against the IDF?
1978,UNIFILwasestablishedtoconfirmthe travention of international law. However, cials have been killed in Gaza over the past Israel to go after Hezbollah. This is not an Israel-Lebanon war. This
ONOCTOBER 20,theUNforceinLebanonsaid withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern despite condemnation, Israel’s Prime year — the highest death toll in the history To blame UNIFIL would not be fair. The is Israel’s aggression in Lebanon, and
in a statement that the Israel Defense Forces Lebanon, restore peace and security, and to Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not of the UN. mandate of UN peacekeeping missions is Lebanon is in self-defence mode, repeat-
(IDF) hadused a bulldozerto “deliberately de- help the Lebanese government in restoring backed down, and instead asked UNIFIL to not to engage in armed action except in self edly calling for a ceasefire.
molish an observation tower and perimeter its control and authority over the region. “move out of harm’s way”. In a way, he is Are Indian troops part of UNIFIL? defence. As per UNSC Resolution 1701, it is TheLebanesearmedforcesarehighlypro-
fence of a UN position in Marwahin”. Southern Lebanon, which shares a bor- asking them to cease performing responsi- India is one of the largest contributors the Lebanese armed forces who are in con- fessional,butgiventhe tempestuoushistory
The United Nations Interim Force in Leba- derwithIsrael,hasbeenthesiteof repeated bilities given to them by the UN Security of troops to UNIFIL, alongside Indonesia, trol of that area, with assistance from the ofthecountryandtheeconomictroublesitis
non (UNIFIL) “reminded the IDF and all ac- conflicts between the IDF and Hezbollah. Council. This is a violation of the sanctity Italy, and Ghana. As of October 20, 2024, UNIFIL. Assistance does not mean that facing, the army does have a severe resource
tors of their obligations to ensure the safety Israel vacated its occupation of southern and the mandate of the UN. India had 903 personnel in UNIFIL, after UNIFIL will take armed action. crunch. It does not have a large budget, and
and security of UN personnel and property Lebanon in 2000, but a fresh conflict broke UN peacekeepers have come under at- Indonesia’s 1,230 and Italy’s 1,043. Animportantpartof UNIFIL’smandateis its technology and armaments are meagre
and to respect the inviolability of UN premises out in July 2006. On August 11 that year, the tackinvariouspartsof theworldinthepast, India has had a presence in UNIFIL since torenderhumanitarianassistance,whichit compared with the far more powerful and
at all times”. UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution but these were by non-state actors. Many 1998. INDBATT, the Indian battalion, is has been discharging admirably. In the face technically advanced Israeli military.
It noted that breaching a UN position and 1701, which called for Israel and Lebanon to of Israel’s actionsdo not behove the dignity, renowned for its utmost professionalism, of Israelihostilities,UNIFILhasmadeitclear
damaging UN assets is a “flagrant violation of support a permanent ceasefire, and signif- stature, and obligations of a UN member valour,andlocaloutreach.In1999,INDBATT that it will not vacate its positions. Sanjiv Arora is a former Secretary of the
international law and [UN] Security Council icantly expanded UNIFIL’s mandate. state. Earlier this month, the Israeli govern- built a public park in Ebel el Saqi in south- Hezbollah’s reality in Lebanon is multi- MEA. He was India’s Ambassador to
resolution 1701”. The resolution stated that there would ment declared UN Secretary General ern Lebanon, which has a statue of Gandhi, faceted and multidimensional. It is also a Lebanon from 2016 to 2019, and to Qatar
Israel has demanded that UNIFIL should be no ammunition and armaments in António Guterres persona non grata and and is called Mahatma Gandhi Park. It was political and cultural force with significant from 2012 to 2016. He was head of UN-
vacate its positions along the Blue Line, a 120- southern Lebanon except those possessed barred him from entering the country. Last renovatedin2020.INDBATTalsobuiltasta- public legitimacy — Hezbollah and its allies Political division at the MEA from 2005-08.
 Violence is the
last refuge of Isaac
the incompetent Asimov

08 BELAGAVI THURSDAY 24 10 2024

� �

A
MONG the major threats to Death and disability caused by injuries have risen in recent The combined database is analysed
human health and wellbeing, to identify the magnitude and patterns
INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN violence is seldom listed. It is decades. A model of intervention pioneered in Cardiff and of violent incidents that result in in-
INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION. regarded mostly as a law and found effective around the world deserves a closer look jury. The analysed data is shared with
— Ramnath Goenka order problem when it occurs the local community, with both the po-

THE NEED TO TREAT

within a country or war when lice and healthcare providers interact-
it is a conflict between coun- ing with community boards. Strategies
tries. Terrorism, whose origins may be to predict future incidents are devel-

SAFETY FIRST AT THRISSUR domestic or foreign, also results in vio-

lence, which invites a police or mili- VIOLENCE AS PUBLIC oped together by recognising triggers,
patterns and local hotspots.

POORAM: TRADITIONS tary response. While doctors and nurs-

es are called upon to treat victims of
HEALTH PROBLEM
The model has been evaluated and
demonstrated to be impactful in reduc-

MUST EVOLVE WITH TIME

violence, the medical profession is sel- ing urban violence and resultant inju-
dom engaged in identifying the magni- ries. In Cardiff, police patrol routes were
tude and principal causes of violence adjusted on a weekly basis to include

O
that occur in a community. hotspots identified by the combined data.
NE of the most iconic temple festivals of Kerala is The Global Burden of Disease study Police officers were redeployed from
back in the news again, thanks to new restrictions on periodically estimates the varied caus- crime-free areas to city areas of concern
fireworks proposed by the central government. While es of deaths and disability due to differ- K SRINATH REDDY Distinguished Professor of Public Health, PHFI; at night. Alcohol licensing and sales were
ent health disorders across the world. It author of Pulse to Planet suitably regulated. Some streets were pe-
the Explosives (Amendment) Rules 2024 have firmly
reports the total disease burden due to destrianised. Street lighting and CCTV
prioritised the safety of human lives, they have injuries (premature deaths or prolonged camera positions were improved.
earned the wrath of those who love the Thrissur Pooram, disability) has risen across the world in A multi-year evaluation that compared
which is known for its fiery fireworks display and grand the last three decades and accounted for Cardiff to 14 other cities showed a 32 per-
procession of caparisoned elephants. The new rules stipu- 247.7 million disability-adjusted life cent reduction in recorded injuries and a
late that magazine fireworks should be set off at least 100 years lost in 2020. With increasing lev- 42 percent reduction in hospital admis-
metres away from where the public views the show. The els of domestic and regional conflicts sions for injury. The cumulative social
since then, the disease burden due to benefit to cost ratio of the programme es-
distance currently maintained between the magazine and injuries is likely to have been even high- timated a benefit of £82 for each £1 spent.
the display site at Pooram is 45 metres. er in 2023 (yet to be reported). Implementing the programme in Cardiff
It’s not surprising that all political parties in the state are However, these estimates are likely to resulted in cutting the economic and so-
demanding withdrawal of the draft notification. They argue be lower than reality, as many cases of cial costs of violence by £6.9 million.
the new rules would be impractical at Thekkinkadu Maid- violence are not reported to the police, It has been adopted by several other
anam, the open ground surrounding the Vadakkumnathan who maintain and report such data. Inju- parts of the UK and cities in other coun-
ries from domestic violence, street brawls, tries. Milwaukee, Atlanta and Philadel-
temple in Thrissur that hosts the annual Pooram. In a letter
and school bullying are among the causes phia (US), Amsterdam (Netherlands),
to the prime minister, state revenue minister K Rajan said of injury that may not come to the atten- Kingston (Jamaica) and Bogota (Colom-
the new notification could be seen as a move to break the tion of the police. Even victims of acid bia) are among the cities that adopted the
Thrissur Pooram as they are “impractical”. The minister attacks, sexual offences and criminal ex- Cardiff model. After evaluation of such
pointed out it’s not possible to maintain the stipulated 100- tortion are often afraid to report to the global evidence, the World Health Organ-
metre distance at Thekkinkadu Maidanam and it should be police, having been threatened against ization has endorsed it and recommend-
approaching law enforcement agencies. ed its adoption by other cities.
reduced to 60-70 metres. This line of argument has been sup-
Violence from any cause is not a mat- In India, urban violence is an increas-
ported by all political parties, including the opposition. ter solely of individual concern. Nor is it SOURAV ROY ing threat to life and wellbeing. While
As politicians compete to be seen as protectors of tradi- only a problem to be handled by the po- the many social, economic and political
tions, it’s lost that the new rules are aimed at keeping those lice who seek to catch and criminally police records in the area of Avon and ed at hospitals led Dr Jonathan Shepard, drivers of violence must be studied and
who partake in these festivities safe. It would be prudent to prosecute the culprits. The causes of vio- Somerset over the same period. a trainee in maxillofacial surgery in the addressed in a context relevant manner,
recall that in April 2016 a large explosion during a fireworks lence in a community need to be identi- Concerned that such a high level of early 1980s, to initiate a programme that the principles of the Cardiff model are
display at the Puttingal temple in Kollam district had fied in order to reduce the risk of recur- data discrepancy can lead to the underes- has come to be known since 1997 as the worth applying. Data-guided approaches
rence. This is true whether the causes timation of the magnitude of the problem Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention. and community engagement are surely
claimed 111 lives. Cultural practices are not static and are domestic or communal, political or and data blind spots that can impede pre- The Cardiff model brings healthcare better than incomplete police assess-
should not be seen as such. Those who claim to be strict property-related. The levels of violence, vention measures, a novel initiative was providers, the police and the local com- ments for anticipating and preventing
custodians of traditions must realise such practices evolve types of victims as well as the principal launched in Cardiff, UK. It collates and munity together. In healthcare-related set- violence in community settings.
with time. Culture is—and must be—a living entity that causes need to be identified to prevent combines police records of violence-relat- tings (such as hospitals), violence-related All causes of violence will not be ad-
evolves. Any excess in the name of tradition will be eventu- violent acts and protect vulnerable vic- ed injuries with those recorded in hospi- injury data is collected. These include lo- equately identified or tackled, but there
ally done away with if it jeopardises the safety and security tims. However, this effort requires data tals to obtain a more complete estimate of cation, time, date and mechanism of in- will be an opportunity to undertake
related to violence to be as complete and the number of people who suffered vio- jury (type of assault and weapon) collect- proactive measures rather than merely
of people. What’s important is to preserve the carnivalesque
as location-specific as possible. lence-related injuries and as accurate a ed by the emergency room staff. To ensure react after people have been badly hurt.
spirit of the Thrissur Pooram, which is at once a religious If the injury is serious, the victim is list of principal causes as possible. protection of privacy and to avoid poten- If nothing else, violence by the police
practice and a cultural festival bringing together people likely to seek medical attention even This initiative was also sparked by in- tial further harm to victims of violence, themselves may be reduced by such an
from all walks of life. while the police may be unaware of the cidents of violence related to coal miner other personal identifiers (name, date of expanded database available for com-
incident. It was noted that only 23 percent strikes and clashes around football birth, social security number) are stripped munity monitoring.

NEED TO PLAN DIGITAL

of incidents reported in the emergency matches. Discrepancies between police off the database that will be matched and (Views are personal)
department of the hospital appeared in records of injured people and those treat- merged with the police database. (ksrinath.reddy@phfi.org)

DETOX FOR THE YOUNG

WHY REAL ESTATE NEEDS TO
U
S Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is talking loud and clear

MIND DATA PROTECTION LAW

about the oversized elephant in almost all modern-day
living rooms: social media addiction. He has been run- Localised solution
ning a campaign to raise red flags about screen overuse Ref: Small satellite cities are a better
solution to urban congestion (Oct 23). The
and linking social media use to mental health issues
small satellite city model presents a viable

I
among the young. His is warning of more people suffering from N an increasingly digital world, solution to urban overcrowding by fostering
low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy, and of growing so- every aspect of commerce uti- decentralised development. These self-
cial isolation. Among other things, he is urging governments to lises internet services to pro- sufficient satellite cities limit urban sprawl,
regulate social media. Murthy, who has roots in Mandya district mote businesses online. The create localised job opportunities, and deliver
of Karnataka, recently spoke in Bengaluru about the issue. real estate industry is no excep- AMAR PATNAIK Advocate, former CAG bureaucrat and former essential services tailored to the specific
The Surgeon General cited the physical impact of social tion, with buying and selling member of the Rajya Sabha from Odisha needs of local populations.
increasingly moving online. N R Jagannath, Bengaluru
media use on the US population—”social disconnection has Given the digital revolution, regulating
led to a 29 percent increase in the risk of heart disease, 32 the processing of personal data online nies must explicitly obtain consent from for X’s permission to process her data to ac- Covering workers
percent increase in the risk of stroke and a 50 percent in- has become all the more crucial to protect data principals providing clear privacy cess her location in order to provide recom- Ref: Extend social security for workers in
crease in the risk of dementia among older individuals”. individual data against possible privacy notices in multiple languages. They’d be mendations for homes for sale nearby, and Odisha (Oct 23). The editorial examined the
The global cost of treating depression and anxiety is around violations by real estate companies. required to store proof of consent in a access to the contact list on her phone. X limited social security benefits extended to a
$1 trillion a year. The other issue he has raised is lack of The Digital Personal Data Protection retrievable manner [Section 6(4)] and in- responds and provides her consent to both large chunk of the labour force in Odisha. The
Act of 2023 (DPDPA) is a much-needed form the data principals of the purpose, requests. As a result of privacy principles state government is in a dire need for a fresh
control over social media, comparing tech companies to
piece of legislation in this context. Even type, and intended use of the data. contextualised in DPDPA, her consent shall assessment of allotting its present overall
“20th-century car giants producing vehicles without seat- though it is not presently in force and Processing will encompass collection, be limited to processing only her location welfare schemes.
belts and airbags” and “having children in cars with no does not contain specific transitional storage as well as use. For instance, a stu- as a contact list doesn’t serve any purpose. Katragadda Sarveswara Rao, Bhubaneswar
safety features and driving on roads with no speed limits, no provisions such as timelines for issuance dent named X registers with JustDial’s Right to be forgotten, Section 12(1):
traffic lights and no rules whatsoever”. Unfortunately, chil- of rules and notifications, both the physi- Data principals are entitled to have their Netanyahu’s war
dren are left to figure out how to navigate this new terrain cal and digital parts of the real estate in- data corrected or erased. For instance, if Ref: Netanyahu: The man and his mission (Oct
dustry would have to comply with its a renter no longer wishes to list their 23). Netanyahu has to transform himself from
even as they deal with the pressures of student life.
provisions once the rules are out. property on Housing.com, all their asso- an expert politician and a war commander
Murthy is among the most prominent advocates warning The DPDPA introduces significant ciated data shall be erased upon request. to an outstanding statesman. The war he
against digital disconnection, which is resulting in fewer changes in compliance requirements, data The Real Estate Regulatory Authority is waging now will reach nowhere without
meaningful interactions and strong relationships. It’s para- handling practices and potential legal im- (RERA) mandates transparency and ac- dexterous diplomatic manoeuvres. On seeing
doxical that social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Face- plications for a data fiduciary, data princi- countability in real estate transactions the complexion of the war, the final outcome
book, Instagram and X, which aim to connect people, have pal, and data processor. For this, it propos- that involve handling personal data. There- is likely to be that of a winner with an empty
managed to create greater distances and misunderstandings. es to repeal Sections 43A and 87(2)(b) of fore, DPDPA’s stringent data protection hand and a devastated Palestinian people.
the Information Technology Act, 2000 and requirements would complement RERA’s Ullattil Pakiteeri Raghunathan, Thrissur
The onus is on adults to take the cue and curb the overuse. replacing it with Section 44(2) of DPDPA. transparency goals by ensuring personal
PTI

They need to foster a culture of conversation and exchange of As a result, the IT (Reasonable secu- data is handled securely. Non-compliance West’s complicity
ideas at homes and schools. Youngsters today are often in a rity practices and procedures and sensi- Once its rules are promulgated, of obligations by a fiduciary could poten- Israel’s state agenda has historically been
parallel universe of updates and notifications, with a fear of tive personal data or information) Rules, the Digital Personal Data tially result in adjudication and/or penal- one of ‘eye for an eye’ in the most violent
the real world and inability to deal with its problems. Digital 2011 that currently governs collection ties in line with Schedule I of DPDPA. manner, irrespective of who heads the
and handling of personal information
Protection Act will affect the real government. This has been facilitated by
disengagement experts are proposing school campaigns for estate industry, among others. Impact and challenges
in India, would also be repealed as they all-weather support from the West. Will
limited and responsible smartphone use, and weekend digital
were notified under the IT Act. Industry players will have to mind The DPDPA’s implementation will greatly West Asia ever see peace?
detox challenges. The return to more personal connectivity A data fiduciary in the real estate context improve safeguards and accountability in George Jacob, Kochi
could be gradual. But even Indian society, which thrives on
its stringent data protection
would constitute real estate firms and por- the real estate industry’s data handling
familial relationships, needs to be pointed in the direction. tals such as Housing.com, Magicbricks, or requirements, and users will have practices. However, real estate companies Two states
websites like Justdial, etc. Similarly, a data to know the rights they are given may face a number of hurdles while estab- Whether the perpetrator is the state or
principal will be home buyers, renters, lishing robust data security measures. non-state actor, the mindless violence that
Q U I C K TA K E property sellers, landlords, agents, brokers, mobile app to look for rental properties For instance, businesses would need to results in the killing of civilians can never be
developers, builders, etc whose data would in South Delhi. By registering with her update their data handling systems and condoned. The only hope for respite from the
DISSEMINATING WEATHER FORECASTS be collected with their consent. A data proc-
essor will be any third-party software as a
Google account, X consents to JustDial
processing her personal data in order to
use state-of-the-art data protection solu-
tions. Consequently, they would also need
loss of civilians lives in the ability of Israel and
the Hamas to realise both of them are entitled

T
HE government’s effort to make localised weather forecasts service company or even in-house pro- handle her request. The request for per- to establish compliance teams to that end. to a land of their own.
available to gram panchayats is laudable. On Wednesday, the gramming teams of the data fiduciary. sonal data from JustDial must therefore This may result in more financial and tech- S Balu, Madurai
be accompanied by, or preceded by, a no- nological burden for smaller enterprises.
panchayati raj ministry announced that such forecasts would Compliance requirements tification to X outlining the personal in- Furthermore, because DPDPA holds Laggard Bengal
be made available through the digital platforms e-GramSwaraj Consequent upon the landmark Puttas- formation that will be gathered—such as data fiduciaries responsible even in cas- Ref: Focusing on states to achieve a Viksit
portal, Meri Panchayat app and Gram Manchitra, a spatial plan- wamy judgement of the top court, baseline her location, phone number, Google pro- es where data processing is outsourced, Bharat (Oct 23). Kudos to the author for his
ning tool. But this January, the meteorological department an- principles of privacy such as consent, law- file etc—and how it will be processed. there is a chance operational expenses dispassionate analysis of economic indices
nounced the closure of all of its 199 district agromet units, which ful and transparent use of personal data, Fit-for-purpose approach, Section would rise even more. Nevertheless, com- actualised by states across the nation. But it
were set up to disseminate weather-related information to farm- purpose limitation, data minimisation, 6(1): Real estate companies must limit data panies would need to implement strong is worrisome that a big state like West Bengal
data accuracy, storage limitation, reasona- processing to what is necessary for specific data protection measures and comply lags far behind. It is hoped that an average
ers at the block level. Using technology to empower panchayats
ble security safeguards, and accountability purposes, transitioning from expansive with the DPDPA provisions while up- Bengali will rise up to the occasion, even if
is admirable, but the need for having trained officers to explain have found their way into the DPDP Act. data handling practices to a more focused holding the rights of all stakeholders. belatedly, to choose his or her ruler to take the
what the forecasts mean has not yet been obviated. The govern- Lawful and transparent notice for approach. For instance, when homebuyer X (With inputs from Savvi Singhal) state to its past glory.
ment must pursue both for the foreseeable future. consent, Section 5: Real estate compa- downloads the housing portal app Y, it asks (Views are personal) Venkat Desikan, Chennai

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Chairman of the Board: Manoj Kumar Sonthalia Editor: Santwana Bhattacharya
Published by R K Jhunjhunwala on behalf of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Limited, at 3360/4, Akshar Arcade, Gondhali Galli, Belagavi - 590 002 and printed by him at M/s Elegant O�set Printers, 3360/1, Gondhali Galli Cross Road, Belagavi - 590 002.
Belagavi. Vol. 28, No. 254 RNI Reg. No. 71152/97. Phone: 0831-2434887. Copyright: Express Publications (Madurai) Private Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
More Newspaper and Magazines Telegram Channel join Search https://t.me/sharewithpride (sharewithpride)
More Newspaper and Magazines Telegram Channel join Search https://t.me/sharewithpride (sharewithpride)