current affairs newspaper analysis and summarry · newspaper analysis and summarry– 06th march...

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Newspaper Analysis and Summarry– 06th March 2015

NATIONAL

After government bans film, Internet releases it – The Hindu

After committing to ensure a blanket ban on all platforms for the documentary India‟s

Daughter , the Centre was left struggling on Thursday as copies of the film continued to

circulate on the Internet.

Twenty-four hours after Home Minister Rajnath Singh informed Parliament that the

government had secured a court injunction banning the broadcast of the film, a YouTube

link to the documentary got over one lakh views before it was removed.

However, new URLs (uniform resource locator) kept popping up even as the government

raced to identify individual users who were uploading the film. As of 9 p.m. on Thursday,

the film could still be viewed on YouTube. The court injunction, therefore, could apply only

to television broadcasters.

Intermediaries such as YouTube are liable to act only if the government notifies them about

specific URLs showing illegal content. The blocking action is limited to those specified

links. Meanwhile, responding to a legal notice from Tihar Jail authorities, the BBC said the

documentary was filmed to gain an insight into the mindset of the criminal.

“The remarks of the perpetrator are set among a number of other views, including those of

the parents, ex- or present members of the judiciary, witnesses and personal testimonies,” it

said.

Maharashtra scraps Muslim quota – The Hindu

The Maharashtra government has officially scrapped the five per cent reservation for

Muslims in educational institutions, despite a Bombay High Court ruling in its favour.

It, however, said admissions in educational institutions and jobs already granted under the

quota would be protected.

A Government Resolution (GR) issued by the State Minority Affairs Ministry scrapped the

pre-Assembly poll notification issued by the NCP-Congress government in July 2014. The

Ministry, in its defence, said the ordinance had lapsed on December 23, 2014 — the

penultimate day of the Winter Session. The Congress-NCP government had announced

reservation in education and jobs for Marathas (16 per cent) and Muslims (five per cent)

ahead of the Assembly polls in October 2014. This was challenged in court through several

petitions. Eventually, the court scrapped the reservation altogether for Marathas, but

allowed it for Muslims in education alone.

However, in the Winter Session in December, the BJP-Sena government allowed the

Muslim quota to lapse, while bringing in a law for Maratha reservation.

Campaign seeks larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products – The Hindu

„Lives Bachao Size Badhao‟ (Save Lives, Increase the Size) is a public awareness campaign

to support the move for a larger graphic health warning on tobacco products sold across

India.

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The prime objective of this campaign is to garner support through a petition that will be

presented to the Central Government in March; signatures for which will be collected both

online and on ground. The petition, which has been addressed to J. P. Nadda, Union

Minister for Health and Family Welfare on behalf of oral cancer survivor SunitaTomar is

currently available online athttp://chn.ge/1Dy6QQu.

“Last year in October the Central Government announced the new pictorial health warnings

for tobacco products that have made India the global leader in pack warnings,” said Binoy

Mathew of Voluntary Health Association of India, a non government organisation working

in the area of tobacco control.

A notification was released requiring tobacco manufacturing companies to devote at least

85 percent of the surface areas of all tobacco products on both sides to graphically and

literally represent the statutory warning.

Beginning April 1, 2015 every tobacco product will carry on both sides pictorial depiction

of throat and mouth cancer and a message in English, Hindi or any Indian language.

“We are trying to involve as many people as we can in the campaign. If a huge section of

society raises its voice in support of using bigger pictorial warnings, the Government of

India will implement the new pictorial health warnings from April 1,” said Bhavna

Mukhopadhyay, executive director, Voluntary Health Association of India.

At present, India ranks 136{+t}{+h}in the Global Cigarette Package Health Warnings

ranking, but this move would elevate India to the 2nd position.

Encouraged by the Indian Government decision on the new pictorial health warnings, even

Pakistan‟s Health Ministry on 11th February, 2015 announced the new pictorial warning

which will cover 85 percent of the cigarette pack on both sides from the current 40 percent.

Till now more than 500 representations and over 4000 signed letters from women groups,

youth associations, doctors, hospitals, self help groups, heads of educational institutions,

voluntary organisations from across India have already been sent to the Prime Minister and

Health Minister strongly advocating and supporting for the stronger/new pictorial warnings

to be implemented on all tobacco packs from April 1st 2015.

Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, a senior cancer surgeon from Tata Memorial Hospital, where Sunita

was treated, adds: “Even tobacco industry agrees that awareness is one of the best ways to

control the demand of tobacco. However, they have used every possible strategy to

glamorise their product rather than educate the users against its lethal effect. Pictorial

warning is one of the ways government can reach out to every user in a very effective

manner because „picture speaks thousand words‟.”

Pictorial health warnings are meant to alert, encourage and support tobacco users in their

decision to give up the use of tobacco.


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It has been demonstrated that picture health warnings are more effective than text-only

warnings, especially for people who are illiterate. It has also been demonstrated that the

effectiveness of health warnings increases with size.

India has 12 crore tobacco users, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)

2009-2010, which means every ninth Indian consumes tobacco. Tobacco kills about 10 lakh

Indians every year.

French aerospace firm plans expansion in India – The Hindu

Safran Engineering Services, a French multinational aerospace-component and defence

company, plans to go in for a major expansion of its Indian operations if the Dassault

Rafale deal to supply 126 aircraft to the Indian Air Force goes through, according to Arun

Nayar, Director of the company.

Speaking at the inaugural function of Anokha 2015, a three-day annual National-level

student technical festival organised by the Amrita University in Coimbatore from Thursday,

he said that the aerospace and defence industry in India would also receive a major boost if

the contract materialised.

The firm had already identified land to facilitate its expansion.

The global aerospace industry, he said, was moving towards quieter, greener and fuel-

efficient engines.

Safran had tied up with Honeywell to develop EGTS, an electric system that would help

aircraft taxi to runways without using its jet engines.

The Hindu is the media partner for Anokha 2015.

U.S. flags threat to satellites from China – The Hindu

Ahead of the first Indo-U.S. Space Security Dialogue next week, the U.S. on Thursday

expressed concern over China developing disruptive counter-space technologies and

underscored the need for an early conclusion of a global code of conduct on use of outer

space.

“China has satellite-jamming capabilities and is pursuing a full suite of anti-satellite

systems,” said Frank Rose, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Arms Control,

Verification and Compliance, during an interaction at the Observer Research Foundation.

Stating that Beijing views space as the vulnerability of the U.S., Mr. Rose said: “The U.S.

has a comprehensive strategy to deal with that threat, which includes developing rules of

the world for use of outer space and also making our system more resilient.”

“Let me also be clear that the U.S. views space … as vital to our national security. We will

defend our capabilities,” he said.

Highlighting the threat posed by space debris to space faring nations, Mr. Rose sought

deeper cooperation with India for early conclusion of a global framework on code of


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conduct for space and stressed on maintaining long-term security and sustainability of outer

space environment, including space situational awareness and collision avoidance.

Asked about specific proposals for discussion, he said: “There are a number of things that

the U.S. is interested in collaborating with India. For example, maritime domain awareness

and improving space situational awareness capability.”

“I am hoping that this first dialogue will help us develop a framework for serious practical

cooperation and also how we can more effectively [work] together in multilateral forums,”

he added.

Indian and U.S. space agencies have cooperated in India‟s Chandrayaan mission launched

in 2008 and during the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to India in January, both

nations pledged to enhance space cooperation for peaceful purposes.

75 years on, Polavaram project remains jinxed – The Hindu

The prestigious Polavaram irrigation project is jinxed for a good 75 years. Right from its

conception in 1941 during Madras Presidency days, the project has been at the receiving

end from both the State and Centre.

In fact, sources reveal that the project was originally conceived much before 1941 by a

Telugu engineer Sir Sonthi Venkata Rama Murthy, ICS but the project still is suffering from

teething troubles. Meanwhile, the estimated cost of it has escalated from Rs. 6.5 crore in

1941 to over Rs. 16,500 crore in 2010-11.

The issue with Polavaram is apparently both funding as well as politics and some Chief

Ministers have taken interest and others preferred to ignore it according to Padmasri

Turlapati Kutumba Rao, who served as the Personal Secretary of Tanguturi Prakasam

Pantulu, the first CM of Andhra State.

“Ultimately, the project could not achieve critical mass due to apathy of State as well as the

Centre. Former CM Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy could move it a bit but there was no substantial

progress,” Mr. Rao said.

Besides, the project also involves relocation and rehabilitation of over 52,000 families in

AP, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha which could be another challenge for the

governments concerned. Once built, the project on river Godavari , is likely to bring over

seven lakh acres under irrigation in twin Godavari, Krishna and Visakhapatnam districts,

besides producing 960 MW hydel energy.

Polavaram was accorded National status, yet it could not attract the attention in terms of

fund allocation from the Centre. The meagre Rs. 100-crore allocation in Union Budget

manifests the quantum of seriousness.

Though Irrigation Minister D. Umamaheswara Rao has declared that the project will be

completed within four years, none other than the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu

responded after the paltry allocation in the Union Budget and said, “If the allocations are at

this level, the project would never get completed in near future.” The officials too are

thoroughly discouraged by the snail‟s pace of the project. “I‟ve lost hope after working for


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the project as superintendent engineer and consultant from 1982 till 2012. My

grandchildren may see the completion of the project, if they are lucky,” said Mr. K.

Haranath.

BUSINESS ‘Sri Lanka keen on Indian investment’ - The Hindu

Signalling potentially closer economic ties with India, Sri Lanka has invited several top

Indian companies to invest in major projects in the island nation, particularly for

collaborations in the manufacturing sector.

“We hope that these will be announced when the honourable [Indian] Prime Minister is

here,” Arjuna Mahendran, Governor of Sri Lanka‟s Central Bank, said in an interview to

The Hindu on Tuesday. Mr. Modi will be in Sri Lanka between March 13 and 15 in the

first official visit by an Indian Prime Minister since 1987.

Pointing to the manufacturing of tyres, two-wheelers and three-wheelers as potential areas

of collaboration between the two countries, the Central Bank Governor — who had held

top posts in private international banks — said they would bring “an immediate benefit to

the Sri Lankan economy.”

Observing that Mr. Modi has “embraced Sri Lanka very warmly,” Mr. Mahendran, who

assumed charge after the change in government here in January, said: “We are really

looking forward to interacting with India now on a different basis, on a much more stable

and constructive basis than what has occurred in the past. So, I hope this is really the start

of a new era in our relationship.”

On whether there was a shift in the Sri Lanka government‟s position on the Comprehensive

Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that New Delhi has been pushing since 2005 —

the Rajapaksa government deemed it redundant — Mr. Mahendran said both the President

and the Prime Minister saw huge potential for CEPA to be expanded into a full-fledged Free

Trade Agreement.

India is Sri Lanka‟s largest trade partner and bilateral trade between the countries stood at

$4.6 billion in 2014.

On the likely concerns of the local business, he said “obviously there are sensitivities by

local businessmen on whether they will have an even playing field with which to compete

against their Indian competitors.”

However, he added, Sri Lankan industries were now nimble and well positioned to take on

competition from Indian counterparts following the end of the war. “So, I am quite

optimistic. I think a Free Trade Agreement with India is definitely very desirable for Sri

Lanka, not only with India but also with China and the United States.” The countries

however needed to be mindful of vulnerable areas such as agriculture, he added.

“We want to be in a situation where Sri Lankans and Indians can travel to each other‟s

countries, engage in business and do any sort of activity without any hindrance. It should be

as if they are doing it in their own country.”


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Such an environment, he said, would lead to greater economic activity, compared to the

current situation where there were “many barriers to economic interactions.”

On the Central Bank‟s position on bilateral aid, particularly from countries such as China,

the Governor said while there was a “marked tilt towards China” earlier — reflected in the

debt accumulated in Chinese banks — Sri Lanka would now go for a “healthy balance

between sourcing projects from different countries.

The Central Bank and Sri Lanka‟s Finance Ministry are in touch with Indian law

enforcement agencies to track hidden assets or money transferred overseas by powerful

figures in the administration of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“The money that left Sri Lanka has probably gone to other destinations not necessarily to

India, but to the extent that the Indian law enforcement authorities can help us to tap these

international sources and find this money, we are definitely working with them very hard,”

Mr. Mahendran said.

EDITORIALS Unconstitutional exercise of power - The Hindu

In his celebrated treatise on constitutional law, H.M. Seervai began a discussion on the right

to property by quoting from Book II of Thucydides‟ History of the Peloponnesian War :

“We decide or debate carefully and in person, all matters of policy, holding, not that words

and deeds go ill together, but that acts are foredoomed to failure when undertaken

undiscussed.” These words, spoken by the great political leader, Pericles, in his funeral

oration, wrote Seervai, ought to occupy our thoughts when we consider the 44th

Constitutional Amendment, which removed the status accorded to the right to property as a

fundamental right without eliciting any public opinion. Today, we stand on the cusp of

something similar. The Central government, having introduced an ordinance to ease the

process of land acquisition by curtailing many of the safeguards introduced by a new law

that was brought into force only last year, now seeks to have the ordinance confirmed in

Parliament. Ought we not to heed to Pericles‟s cautionary tale?

Prior consent

In short, the proposed amendment bill to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency

in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 (LARR Act), which

replaced the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act of 1894, aims to do the following. One, it

removes a previous bar on acquisitions by the state for the purposes of establishing private

hospitals and educational institutions. Two, it removes a requirement established under the

LARR Act that necessitated the prior consent of at least 80 per cent of affected families

when acquiring land for private companies. And three, it removes a necessity for a detailed

social impact assessment (SIA) mandated by the LARR Act for land acquired for a special

category of purposes, such as projects vital to national security and the defence of India,

“industrial corridors,” and “infrastructure” projects. As Yogendra Yadav argued in The

Hindu, these amendments exemplify an exercise of state power sans reason, and are based

on nauseatingly vague assertions of a need for development. But what‟s equally disturbing

about the bill is that at least some of the changes that the amendments propose, if passed,

would also be patently unconstitutional.


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“Eminent domain,” generally understood, inheres in a sovereign. It grants a state the

authority to take private property without the owner‟s consent. The term is often traced

back to the 17th century jurist, Hugo Grotius. In fact, Justice M.C. Mahajan in an early

Supreme Court opinion on land acquisition laws — the State of Bihar v. Kameshwar Singh

— quoted Grotius and held that the meaning of eminent domain in its irreducible terms is

“(a) power to take (b) without the owner‟s consent, (c) for the public use,” after payment of

compensation.

In its original form, the Constitution not only guaranteed to all citizens a freedom to

acquire, hold, and dispose of property, but also provided that no person shall be deprived of

his or her property except by authority of law. And where property was acquired for a

public purpose, the taker was also required to compensate the landowner. Immediately after

the Constitution came into force, however, the state found its social reform programme

thwarted by an inability to reimburse zamindars for lands expropriated from them.

Consequently, a plethora of constitutional amendments were introduced, and a number of

pieces of legislation aimed at land reforms were placed beyond the scope of judicial review.

Ultimately, in 1978, the Janata Party, which had come into power following the Indira

Gandhi-enforced Emergency, removed the guarantee of the right to property as a

fundamental right. Article 19(1)(f), which gave citizens the freedom to acquire, hold, and

dispose of property, and Article 31, which limited the state‟s ability to expropriate property,

were both obliterated; the right to property was now reduced to the non-fundamental status

of a legal right. These amendments, as Seervai argued, failed to grasp that Articles 19(1)(f)

and 31 “were so closely interwoven with the whole fabric of our Constitution that those

rights cannot be torn out without leaving a jagged hole...”

Towards greater inequities

The removal of the right to property from its status as a fundamental right might have even

helped, in the short run, in bringing forth greater parity in land ownership. But, in today‟s

neo-liberal atmosphere, this has only contributed towards greater inequities. After the

constitutional amendment, through the archaic Land Acquisition Act of 1894, different

governments oversaw arbitrary expropriation of land, particularly from farmers, by

expanding the definition of “public purpose” to absurd lengths. The LARR Act sought to

cure this imbalance. And to the extent that it provided for an enhanced, and a more just

compensation, for a social and environmental impact assessment, and for a voice to

landowners, the new legislation was a success.

But the realignment of the right to property in 1978 continues to hold force. Therefore, the

state can, today, very plausibly argue in favour of the present amendment bill as follows.

One, consent of landowners is not required as a matter of constitutional guarantee (and that

it was not required even under traditional notions of eminent domain). Two, the conduct of

an SIA prior to land acquisition is similarly not constitutionally mandated. And three, the

Constitution no longer proscribes acquisition for purposes that are not public, and

acquisition of land for private educational institutions and private hospitals is hence wholly

permissible.

Counter to equality

Each of these arguments however suffers from innate flaws. The conventional notion of

eminent domain, which establishes specific constraints on land acquisition, might no longer

apply. But that every one of us ought to be treated as equal citizens, with equal care and


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concern, remains a fundamental guarantee. In removing the necessity for an SIA and for the

securing of consent of landowners from acquisitions for certain purposes in

contradistinction with acquisitions for other purposes, the government effectively wants to

treat one batch of landowners differently from other batches of landowners. To justify such

classification, the state will have to show us not only that the distinction between

acquisitions for rural infrastructure or industrial corridors — which are grouped specially

— and acquisitions, say, for wildlife protection is an intelligible one, but also that this

distinction bears some rational relation to the object of the former acquisitions. As the

Supreme Court held in Vajravelu Mudaliar ‟s case (1965), to argue thus would be to put the

cart before the horse. “It is one thing to say that the existing differences between persons

and properties have a reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved and it is totally

a different thing to say that the object of the Act itself created the differences,” wrote

Justice Subba Rao. “Assuming that the said proposition is sound, we cannot discover any

differences in the people owning lands or in the lands on the basis of the object.” The

creation of a separate category of purposes, therefore, militates against principles of

equality contained in Article 14. Neither the land that is being acquired nor the people from

whom the land is being acquired stand on any special footing that justifies the present

amendment.

The other limb of the state‟s case is that eminent domain, which inheres in a sovereign,

does not necessitate consent of landowners, and also does not mandate an SIA. Such

arguments, however, ignore a further precondition for the exercise of powers of compulsory

acquisition: the existence of a public purpose. In Kameshwar Singh ‟s case, Justice

Mahajan found that even if the Constitution did not expressly provide that a public purpose

was required for employing eminent domain, such a condition was implied.

Now, we might want to ask ourselves this: if no SIA is conducted, can the state confidently

argue that a proposed acquisition furthers public interest? Would it not defeat logic to

contend that the establishment of a new industry, in and by itself, is for a public purpose,

when the state is in no position to comment on the impact that an expropriation might have

on landowners? The necessity for an SIA, therefore, is intrinsic to eminent domain. The

LARR Act merely formalised this requirement, by establishing a procedure for SIA. It was

in similar vein that consent of landowners was mandated when acquisition was made for

the benefit of private companies. If the legislature were to do away with these requirements

altogether, there would be no legitimate way for government to justify any acquisition as

fulfilling a public purpose. When the ruling party argues in favour of the proposed

amendments, in Parliament, therefore, it ought to also show us how these provisions will

fulfil the conditions of equality under the Constitution.

Surprises in quick succession – The Hindu

Reserve Bank of India Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan has a penchant for surprises. For the

second time inside of two months, he chose to cut the key repo rate outside the standard

policy cycle. In all, the rate has been cut by 50 basis points in two equal instalments. The

surprise this time around should be read in the context of confusing signals that the

Governor had transmitted just a day prior to the announcement of the 25 basis points cut on

Wednesday. Pointing to an „avalanche of capital flows‟ while addressing a meeting in

Mumbai, Dr. Rajan said: “We cannot cut the interest rates very quickly to the bone in order

to tell those countries: don‟t come here expecting high interest rates.” What changed in

these two days? The timing of the rate cut, coming as it did within a few days of the Modi


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Government‟s first full-year Budget has, predictably, set tongues wagging. Two favourable

factors — the agreement with the government on inflation-targeting, and retail inflation at

below policy expectations — seem to have provided a sense of comfort for the Governor to

go in for a rate cut. While there is no particular sanctity about the policy cycle which may

not coincide with other developments, the question still arises as to why it was timed for

now. The Governor has justified it on the ground that any policy action has to be an

anticipatory one. The latest rate cut, in a way, will erase the widespread perception that the

RBI and the government have been pulling in different directions.

The reference to the „avalanche of capital flows‟ perhaps gives a clue or two to Dr. Rajan‟s

acute unease. Foreign capital flow is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can serve

to swell the nation‟s pride. On the other, it can also hurt the country‟s economy. Unbridled

flow of capital could drive the rupee value up, and make Indian exports uncompetitive in

the global marketplace. Money flows to where returns are high. Dr. Rajan is aware of the

consequence of keeping the interest rate high when central banks across the world are

cutting rates. Ipso facto , rupee-related concerns appear to have pushed the RBI to opt for a

rate-cut decision. This is a non-inflationary way of tackling any possible capital flow-

induced disturbances to the rupee. “We can act against temporary undesirable volatility. It is

very hard for us to act on a sustained basis to maintain a value of the rupee,” Dr. Rajan told

an analysts‟ conference after the rate cut. It is indeed a smart win-win act that should please

many a restless constituency in the economy. Significantly, banks have been playing

reluctant participants in the double-quick two-round rate cuts. Perhaps, fixing supply-side

issues may have to get top priority now.

From lip service to action in science – The Hindu

The Union Budget, which was presented on February 28, National Science Day,

unfortunately failed to bring a smile on the faces of Indian scientists. It is indeed ironic that

it was on the same day, before the Budget was presented, that Prime Minister Narendra

Modi referred to Indian scientists as “India‟s pride.” But young research scholars, the foot

soldiers of research and development who form the backbone of all innovation, marked that

Saturday as a “black day.” Many of them are now sitting on a fast in New Delhi seeking a

hike in scholarship amounts.

In the Budget which was supposed to announce “big bang” reforms, no new big ticket

initiatives were announced in Science and Technology, possibly a reflection of Science

Minister Harsh Vardhan‟s preoccupation with the Delhi elections.

Last fiscal, there was a drastic and unprecedented 30 per cent cut in the field of science. A

science secretary had a simple solution to this: “This year we will ensure that the money

allocated for sanctioned programmes is spent by December,” he said. At least then, he

added, the work force can be kept fully occupied with cutting-edge programmes.

Mr. Modi in his message on National Science day said, “It is an occasion to remember the

dedication, determination and untiring efforts of our scientists. Science and technology will

determine India‟s future, just as it has played a crucial role in bringing our nation to where

we are today.” But Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a couple of hours later after this message

by Mr. Modi, failed to increase the allocations for Science and Technology. Even in places

where there have been increase in allocations, they don‟t meet inflation. Further on the flip

side, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has had its plan budget cut by seven per cent and the


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Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the nodal agency handling India‟s future food

security, has seen its allocation actually drop by a massive Rs.24 crore.

Hollow message

As a consequence, Prime Minister Modi‟s science day message that “the government is

fully committed to encouraging research, innovation and excellence in science, particularly

among our young minds” seems hollow. If his new and much-needed thrust of „Make in

India‟ has to truly translate into reality, Indian Science and Technology has to be bolstered

much more.

Despite Mr. Modi‟s much celebrated visits to the Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO), where he rightfully applauded the scientists on the success of Mangalyaan, this

year‟s Budget for the Department of Space has remained flat at Rs.6,000 crore. Mr. Modi

had earlier said at ISRO that the organisation must develop a SAARC satellite which can be

dedicated as a “gift” to the neighbours. In view of this, for the first time Rs.2 crore was

allocated to make this satellite. The satellite will be placed over the subcontinent and will

be a geostationary communications one helping in voice, data and television services. The

complex task of getting the SAARC countries on board has been left to the Ministry of

External Affairs, which will also ensure coordination between the countries. Perhaps,

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar‟s „SAARC Yatra‟ will yield a better understanding of the

SAARC satellite.

Modest allocations have been made for India‟s second mission to the moon Chandrayaan-2.

For the human space flight programme, Rs.21 crore has been allocated; the ISRO had

sought over Rs.12,500 crore for this. The fourth satellite of India‟s ambitious indigenous

navigation systems, which will be launched in a few weeks, has been allocated Rs.120

crore. With this launch, India‟s global positioning system (GPS) will be partly in place

giving our strategic forces the much-needed edge required.

A collaborative effort with the U.S. called the „NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar

Mission‟ (NISAR), which is likely to be launched by 2021, got a leg up with Mr. Jaitley

allocating Rs.50 crore for this. Kiran Kumar, the new chairman of ISRO says, “this is a

high-end satellite that will help in earth observation and monitoring climate change.”

The Indo-U.S. bonhomie on the “breakthrough understanding” on the nuclear deal is more

about positive atmospherics than reality. Foreign-made reactors are still a distant reality —

if all goes as per plans, the earliest any American or French-made reactor can deliver

electricity is not before 2024. The Budget shows that the Modi government has not

abandoned the country‟s ambitious three-stage nuclear programme with the Department of

Atomic Energy getting a 12.6 per cent increase in its budget and the plan outlay reaching

Rs.15,108 crore.

On expected lines, India‟s ultra-modern 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor, which is

powered in part by plutonium, and is being made at Kalpakkam has got an increased

allocation of over Rs.1,600 crore as it is likely to become operational very soon. The

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited that is constructing at least four indigenously

made 700 MW domestic reactors has seen its allocation zoom up to Rs.9,095 crore. The

Finance Minister also announced that the much-delayed second 1,000 MW unit of the

Russian- made Kudankulam nuclear power plant will become operational in this fiscal year.


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The Department of Science and Technology, the hub for a lot of civilian basic science

research, has to live with a measly 4.1 per cent increase in its budget. But one highlight is

an allocation of Rs.84 crore for a super computing facility with an almost fivefold increase

from the last fiscal. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has seen its budget

increase to Rs.1,855 crore.

In what could be bad news for research fellows, the amount allocated for disbursal of

fellowships has been increased only by Rs.18 crore this year. The outlay needed to meet the

demands of the 71,000 research fellows linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology

should have seen this amount zoom by at least Rs.750 crore.

The Department of Biotechnology has to contend with an increased allocation of a mere

Rs.107 crore. Secretary of the Department K. VijayRaghavan admits “some flab will have

to be trimmed,” but he hopes to partner with States to try and see how the new model of

“cooperative federalism” can be leveraged to get more bang for the buck. He feels

embedding Research and Development in the new AIIMS and IITs could be another way to

get India ahead.

Some scientists are rejoicing the fact that at least the allocation has not been axed. This is

interesting especially in the light of the ambitious Ganga cleaning project‟s fund. Despite

the hype, the plan budget for the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and

Ganga Rejuvenation has been slashed by over 50 per cent this fiscal. The government must

have realised that cleaning the river cannot be merely accomplished by pouring in money.

Supporting Indian science

In his science day message, Mr. Modi said, “We salute the brilliance and long-lasting

contribution of Sir C.V. Raman to the field of science.” Raman‟s discovery should ideally

be a lesson that the „Make in India‟ programme should internalise fully. The scientific

discovery of the Raman Effect was undoubtedly made in India but the commercial benefits

of Raman spectroscopy were garnered by companies in the West. Today almost all

explosive detection devices seen at airports run on signatures generated because of the

landmark discovery by Raman, but not a single paise flows to India. Thus a „discovered in

India‟ scientific breakthrough became a „Made in America.‟

If Mr. Modi‟s „Make in India‟ plea has to truly succeed in generating plenty of jobs in the

defence manufacturing sector alone, then supporting Indian science has to move away from

mere lip service to reality. Achhe din still seem to elude Indian scientists today.

‘Net neutrality’ myths – The Hindu

As a young reporter in the 1970s, I covered the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

Created in 1887, the ICC regulated the nation‟s railroads and sought to protect the public

against abusive freight rates. Congress deregulated the railroads in 1980 and ultimately

abolished the ICC. The verdict was that the agency had so weakened the industry that a

government takeover might be necessary. Deregulation was a desperate alternative to

nationalisation.

I mention all this because there are obvious parallels between the Internet today and the

railroads in the late 19th century. Like the railroads then, the Internet today is the great


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enabling technology of the age. Like the railroads then, Internet companies inspire awe and

dread. And now there‟s another parallel: the resort to regulation.

Just recently, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to adopt a proposal to

ensure “net neutrality.” The new rules will promote an Internet that‟s “fast, fair and open,”

said FCC chairman Tom Wheeler. As a slogan, net neutrality is swell. Who could oppose it?

Speed is good, and hardly anyone wants an Internet that favours some users and penalises

others.

Be sceptical. The FCC‟s new rules weaken — or reverse — decades of minimal regulation,

during which the Internet flourished. As often as not, economic regulation has adverse,

unintended side effects. That was true of the railroads, and it may be true of the Internet.

The railroads needed ICC approval for almost everything: rates, mergers, abandonments of

little-used branch lines. Shippers opposed changes that might increase costs. Railroads

struggled to meet new competition from trucks and barges. In 1970, the massive Penn

Central railroad — serving the Northeast — went bankrupt and was ultimately taken over

by the government. Others could have followed.

The ensuing deregulation succeeded brilliantly, as economist Clifford Winston has shown.

Costs and freight rates both declined. Railroads shed unprofitable lines and offered pricing

packages that rewarded shippers for moving more freight in bulk. Mergers consolidated

railroads into four major companies. Profits rose. The industry brags that it's spent $575

billion since 1980 to improve the rail network.

Switch now to the Internet. It‟s unclear what justifies new regulation. The FCC plan bars

companies like Verizon and Comcast — Internet Service Providers (ISPs) — from blocking

any Internet connection. But there was never any support for this sort of censorship, and the

agency‟s press release contains no evidence that it is widespread. “It‟s a red herring,” says

Brookings Institution economist Robert Litan.

The real issue is who pays for new Internet investment. Do big users like Netflix and

Facebook bear some costs or are these left to the ISPs — which shift them to the monthly

bills of households? For example: In 2014, Netflix agreed to pay Comcast for smoother

streaming of its videos. The open question is whether the FCC will permit these

interconnection payments and, if so, at what level. But the FCC has weakened the ISPs‟

bargaining position by requiring them to accept all comers.

Note the consequences: If Netflix doesn‟t pay its full costs, someone else will. In practice,

there could be massive cross subsidisation. Promoted as protecting the “little guy,” net

neutrality may do the opposite.

For the moment, the FCC majority promises not to adopt “utility style” price regulation (in

effect: limiting profits), which — it concedes — would discourage investment in added

Internet capacity. Instead, Mr. Wheeler pledges “light-touch” regulation. But this promise is

good only until some future FCC changes it. If typical telecom bills increase, political

pressures for full-scale rate regulation would surely intensify.


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What‟s also inconsistent with the “light touch” is “a general conduct rule that,” as Mr.

Wheeler describes it, “can be used to stop new and novel threats to the Internet.”

Translation: Anyone with an Internet gripe can petition for relief. Though the FCC need not

comply, this creates enormous uncertainty.

The Internet poses many genuine problems, led by cybersecurity; net neutrality is not

among them. It is an opportunity to impose more regulation that, as the example of the

railroads warns, threatens to exact a slow and growing economic toll on the Internet‟s

vitality. — © 2015. The Washington Post.


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