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Hours after the announcement thatRohingya “refugees” would be provided housing and police protection in Delhi, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, was left red-faced after the Home Minister’s Office denied any such move, and said “illegal foreigners” will be kept in a detention centre until their deportation.
Puri backed down, saying “Home Ministry’s press release with respect to the issue of Rohingya illegal foreigners gives out the correct position”.
On Wednesday morning, Puri announced that Rohingya refugees would be shifted to EWS flats in the Bakkarwala area of West Delhi.
In a Twitter post at 7.32 am, in which he tagged the Prime Minister’s Office, Puri said, “India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country.
Those who made a career out of spreading canards on India’s refugee policy deliberately linking it to #CAA will be disappointed.
India respects & follows @UN Refugee Convention 1951 & provides refuge to all, regardless of their race, religion or creed. In this tweet, he tagged the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
More than seven hours later, at 2.50 pm, the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah denied that the government had taken any such decision.
In a series of tweets, the Home Minister’s Office said, “With respect to news reports in certain sections of media regarding Rohingya illegal foreigners, it is clarified that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not given any directions to provide EWS flats to Rohingya illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi.”
It clarified that the government was in fact trying to deport them.
“Govt of Delhi proposed to shift the Rohingyas to a new location. MHA has directed the GNCTD to ensure that the Rohingya illegal foreigners will continue at the present location as MHA has already taken up the matter of their deportation with the concerned country through MEA.”
Govt. and Politics
Agriculture Ministry’s advance estimates: production of wheat sees a drop but several crops set for record (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The production of wheat is estimated to come down to 106.84 million tonnes in 2021-22 from 109.59 million tonnes in 2020-21, according to the Fourth Advance Estimates of Production of Foodgrains for 2021-22 released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
In a statement, the ministry said, “Production of Wheat during 2021-22 is estimated at 106.84 million tonnes. It is higher by 2.96 million tonnes than the last five years’ average wheat production of 103.88 million tonnes.”
The estimated wheat production figure for 2021-22 is 2.87 per cent lower than the target of 110 million tonnes. It is also lower than the total wheat output of 107.86 million tonnes in 2019-20.
The dip in production comes at a time when the Food Corporation of India’s wheat stocks have depleted to a 14-year low.
According to information on the FCI website, wheat stocks stood at 26.645 million tonnes as on August 1, 2022, which is the lowest since August 2009, when the figure stood at 31.623 million.
The dip in stock is due to lower procurement — 18.794 million tonnes during the current rabi marketing season — and higher outflow on account of allocation of wheat under the Pradhan MantriGaribKalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) during the last two years.
According to the ministry, overall foodgrain production in the country is estimated to reach a new high of 315.72 million tonnes in 2021-22, which is higher than the target of 307.31 million tonnes for the year. It is also higher than the total foodgrain output of 310.74 million tonnes recorded in 2020-21.
Of the total estimated foodgrain production in 2021-22, rabi production accounts for 159.68 million tonnes, while kharif output accounts for 156.04 million tonnes.Record production is estimated of rice, maize, gram, pulses, rapeseed and mustard, oilseeds and sugarcane.
According to the fourth advance estimates, “The estimated production of major crops during 2021-22 is as under: foodgrains 315.72 million tonnes, rice 130.29 million tonnes (record), wheat 106.84 million tonnes, nutri/coarse cereals 50.90 million tonnes, maize 33.62 million tonnes (record), pulses 27.69 million tonnes (record), tur 4.34 million tonnes, gram 13.75 million tonnes (record), oilseeds 37.70 million tonnes (record), groundnut 10.11 million tonnes, soyabean 12.99 million tonnes, rapeseed and mustard 11.75 million tonnes (record), sugarcane 431.81 million tonnes (record), cotton 31.20 million bales (each of 170 kg), jute and mesta 10.32 million bales (each of 180 kg).
According to the statement, the total production of rice during 2021-22 is estimated to be a record 130.29 million tonnes. It is higher by 13.85 million tonnes than the last five-year average production of 116.44 million tonnes.
Commenting on the foodgrain production figures, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the record production of several crops is the result of what he described as farmer-friendly policies of the government as well as the “tireless hard work” of the farmers and the diligence of the scientists.
Explained
Why a stable Kenya is in the interest of Africa and the world (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The Kenyan presidential election of August 9 has thrown up interesting results. Despite receiving the support of incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and leading in opinion polls, the veteran RailaOdinga lost narrowly to Deputy President William Ruto, 55. This was the fifth presidential election defeat for Odinga, the 77-year-old politician from the populous Luo tribe.
Kenyatta, the leader of the dominant Kikuyu people of central Kenya, chose to back Odinga, who had contested against him in 2017, over his deputy Ruto. The electoral support that Ruto, who faced a new coalition, received, split the Kikuyu people down the middle.
Both Ruto and Odinga had Kikuyu deputy presidential running mates. Deputy President elect RigathiGachagua, a career public servant, seems to have brought more to the Ruto campaign than Martha Karua, the first woman candidate for the post, could do for Odinga.
Ruto’s narrow victory met the ‘50 per cent plus 1’ rule of Kenya’s elections, obviating the need for a runoff. As of now, Rutois expected to be sworn into office on August 30.
Odinga has rejected the result as “null and void”, and is expected to appeal in the Supreme Court. Four of the seven election commissioners have dissociated themselves from the result. Kenya, which has a history of post-election violence, is on tenterhooks — hoping that the matter would be settled in court rather than on the streets.
In 2007, rioting and strikes followed the announcement that Odinga had lost to MwaiKibaki. In 2017, police used deadly force against opposition supporters protesting the victory of Kenyatta.
To keep his country together will be Ruto’s first challenge. Africa, and the world as a whole, could do without a meltdown in Kenya.
The country is in transition, with a different tribal and class coalition, and new kinds of engagement. Expectations are high among younger citizens of Africa’s sixth largest economy — but Kenya’s debt is 67% of its GDP, and the country received a 38-month, $2.34 billion IMF finance package in April 2021.
One, Ruto does not have the stature of the outgoing President, a senior African regional leader who largely kept his deputy in his shade. As President, Ruto will have to build relationships with other leaders in the region, and effectively leverage Kenya’s position of influence. His ability to do that will be impacted by any serious domestic post-election problems that he gets mired in.
The developed country goal (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Indians to embrace the “PanchPran” — five vows — by 2047 when the country celebrates 100 years of independence.
The first vow, he said, is for India to become a developed country in the next 25 years. It was a “big resolution”, the PM said. What will it take?
Different global bodies and agencies classify countries differently. The ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ of the United Nations classifies countries into three broad categories: developed economies, economies in transition, and developing economies.
The idea is “to reflect basic economic country conditions”, and the categories “are not strictly aligned with the regional classifications”. So, it isn’t as though all European countries are “developed”, and all Asian ones are “developing”.
To categorise countries by economic conditions, the United Nations uses the World Bank’s categorisation (chart 3, with selected countries), based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (in current US dollars).
But the UN’s nomenclature of “developed” and “developing” is being used less and less, and is often contested. Former US President Donald Trump had criticised the categorisation of China as a “developing” country, which allowed it to enjoy some benefits in the World Trade Organization. If China is a “developing” country, then the US should also be “made” one.
It can be argued that the UN classification is not very accurate and, as such, has limited analytical value. Only the top three mentioned in chart 3 alongside — the US, the UK and Norway — fall in the developed country category.
There are 31 developed countries according to the UN in all. All the rest — except 17 “economies in transition” — are designated as “developing” countries, even though in terms of proportion, China’s per capita income is closer to Norway’s than Somalia’s. China’s per capita income is 26 times that of Somalia’s while Norway’s is just about seven times that of China’s.
Then there are countries — such as Ukraine, with a per capita GNI of $4,120 (a third of China’s) — that are designated as “economies in transition”.
As chart 2 shows, India is currently far behind both the so-called developed countries, as well as some developing countries. Often, the discourse is on the absolute level of GDP (gross domestic product). On that metric, India is one of the biggest economies of the world — even though the US and China remain far ahead.
However, to be classified as a “developed” country, the average income of a country’s people matters more. And on per capita income, India is behind even Bangladesh. China’s per capita income is 5.5 times that of India, and the UK’s is almost 33 times.
A heart attack while exercising – why it happens and who is at risk (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Comedian Raju Srivastava suffered a heart attack on August 10 while working out in a gym. Over the years, there have been reports linking strenuous physical activity to sudden cardiac death. Does high-intensity exercise raise the risk of a heart attack?
Heart attacks are caused when there is a sudden blockage in the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle.
“Chronic obstruction of 70 per cent or more in a coronary artery produces angina or chest pain on exertion, since available blood supply does not meet the increased oxygen demand during exercise.
However, a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction) can also occur when soft plaques that form in the coronary arteries rupture and cause a large clot to form. This may come without any prior warning symptoms.
Even plaques of 30 per cent can rupture and lead to the formation of a large obstructive clot,” said Prof K Srinath Reddy, a cardiologist, epidemiologist, and president, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
A common misconception is that a blockage results from deposits of fat (lipids, cholesterol) and cells on the artery wall — similar to blocks in household plumbing. This is incorrect, according to DrTushar Gore, managing director, Resonance Laboratories.
“The blockages are a result of cells and cholesterol particles breaking through the barrier of endothelial cells and infiltrating the lining of the artery.
As a result, there is a bump in the artery wall — like a pimple. This is known as plaque or stenosis. The plaque need not bulge into the artery but could protrude outwards as well… Break-up and disruption of such blockages inside the coronary artery initiates blood clotting mechanisms to ‘repair’ the injury from plaque disruption,” he says.
According to Dr Reddy, “Plaques form in the coronary arteries due to injury caused to the blood vessel lining by factors causing inflammation.”
Fats circulating in blood can then deposit at the site of injury to grow the plaque, says Dr Reddy.
High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, unhealthy diets, stress, inadequate sleep or recent infection are factors that can cause such inflammation.
Each of those chronic causes of inflammation can also acutely precipitate a plaque rupture leading to a heart attack, if there is a sudden or severe rise in one or more of those factors.
Sudden cardiac death during strenuous physical activity occurs more often in cases where blockages are undiagnosed, and sometimes in the background of a known diagnosis.
Editorial Page
A indirameghwal,9 years old (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 1, Society)
On August 4, 1923, the Bombay Legislative Council recommended that the “untouchable classes” be allowed to use all public watering places, wells and dharamshalas — as well as public schools, courts, offices, and dispensaries — which are built and maintained with public funds or administered by bodies appointed by the government or created by statute.
Four years after this recommendation, BhimraoRamji Ambedkar, on March 19, 1927, marched along with thousands of satyagrahis to claim water from the publicly-funded and maintained Chavdarlake in Mahad, now in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.
The upper castes could not tolerate this act of defiance by the “untouchable” satyagrahis led by Ambedkar. They attacked and beat the satyagrahis black and blue.
This is history. But the beating of a Dalit boy, IndraMeghwal, in Jalore, Rajasthan, resulting in his death, is the shocking reality of contemporary India, which is celebrating AzadiKaAmritMahotsav, 75 years of Independence.
After Independence, the founding fathers of India sought freedom from untouchability. The Constitution abolished untouchability, its practice in any form was forbidden and enforcement of any disability on account of untouchability was declared a punishable offence.
Following the constitutional mandate, Parliament enacted the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, which was subsequently amended in 1976 and renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.
This act made the enforcement of untouchability or any disability arising therefrom a cognisable and non-compoundable offence and enhanced the terms of imprisonment.
The enforcement of the PCR Act proved ineffectual. So, Parliament passed another law called the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
This Act defined “atrocity” and covered multiple aspects, ways and mechanisms through which Dalits and Adivasisare subjected to exclusion, discrimination, humiliation, and violence.
This Act has been amended twice, the latest being in August 2018. These efforts of the government heavily relied on the enactment of laws and making them tougher.
However, independent India betrayed the vision of freedom from untouchability and atrocities against Dalits continued to mount.
As per data compiled by this writer for the National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations, based on figures from the annual reports of the NCRB from 1991 to 2020, more than 7 lakh atrocities on Dalits, including 38,000 rapes of Dalit women, have taken place in the last two decades.
More than five atrocities per hour have taken place against Dalits in the last five years. It is, therefore, timely to ask if law enforcement is working as it should.
Idea Page
A modest agenda for reform (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In our previous article (‘Power, a reality check’, IE, August 17), we presented three new facts on the power sector. First, the problem of discoms is considerably worse than recognised because true losses of Rs 3 lakh crore exceed substantially the headline number of Rs 78,000 crore.
Second, as a result, state government finances are considerably more precarious than even the recent RBI analysis suggests. True state government deficits are about 5.5 per cent of GSDP compared with the headline number of 4.7 per cent, and the true debt of state governments is 34.5 per cent of GSDP not 31.0 per cent.
Third, unsustainable discom operations are increasingly financed not by public sector banks but by the Power Finance Corporation/Rural Electrification Corporation (PFC/REC).
The financial situation of the discoms has been a real concern for the government, especially the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The government has responded by offering carrots to — and wielding sticks at — state governments to incentivise reforms.
Under the latest Revamped Distribution Sector scheme (RDSS), states’ access to some central government resources is conditional on their adhering to regular revision in tariffs, smart metering and committing to a reduction in the AT&C losses. But it is possible that the objectives of different ministries –the Ministry of Power (MOP) and those of the MOF— may be diverging.
The MOP has the mandate to pursue those power sector objectives that are politically popular (access and quality) and important to showcase India’s reputation internationally (increasing renewable capacity).
As a result, the MOP has to lend higher priority to infrastructure building over financial sustainability while for the MOF the latter is a strong policy objective. And PFC/REC is an instrument for the MOP to achieve its objectives.
Now, PFC/REC is a strange institutional beast. On the one hand, it is regulated by the RBI as a non-bank financial company (NBFC) although it is not clear how effectively.
On the other hand, it is also a creature of the MOP, zealously pursuing the government’s quantity targets on access, quality, and renewable capacity.
It has a AAA rating despite its considerable exposure to the discoms and generating companies, which can only be due to back-stopping by the government.
Since discoms owe increasing amounts of money to PFC/REC, any default by them will jeopardise PFC/REC. Therefore, the MOP will be reluctant to impose hard budget constraints on the discoms, which creates moral hazard.
The incentives for discoms and state governments to reform are blunted. In fact, the new scheme itself is testimony to this moral hazard because it reflects a failure to enforce the hard obligations envisaged under UDAY. One can see why the MOP and MOF will then diverge in their approach to and enthusiasm for discom reforms.
When the public sector banks (PSBs) were doing the bulk of the lending, the RBI was an actor that in principle was on the same side as MOF in seeking discom reforms.
Of course, the RBI is meant to regulate PFC/REC as NBFCs but legally and practically, that regulatory oversight will be lighter compared to that involving the PSBs.
At the same time, we see that actual and aspiring state governments are tending to greater freebie-ism in the power sector — the underlying Ponzi dynamic of cost under-recovery shows no signs of being addressed.
Offering free electricity is increasingly becoming a stock promise in state elections, as the recent experience of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh shows.
Economy Page
Eye on hospitality, Cabinet clears Rs 50K cr for ECLGS (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Centre has announced raising the allocation under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur announced this decision by the Cabinet, adding that the additional amount has been earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.
As per data by the government and banks, loans of about Rs 3.67 lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till August 5, and Rs 2.54 lakh crore had been disbursed till April 30.
The ECLGS was unveiled as part of the comprehensive package announced by the government in March 2020 to aid the MSME sector in view of the economic distress caused by the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.
The tourism sector was one of the worst hit, as people postponed/cancelled their business and leisure travel plans. Even as the sector saw a spurt in demand as people planned trips, this demand could not be sustained due to various Covid waves in India as well as across the globe.
Post the Omicron wave that hit India earlier this year, travel demand has been healthy and is set to continue with the Centre announcing resumption of international flights from March-end.
The ECLGS credit facility is likely to help the industry fund its expansion, as demand for travel continues to surge.
With high immunisation levels, progressive roll-back of restrictions and overall economic recovery, conditions are in place for sustained growth in demand for these sectors as well.
This additional guarantee cover is expected to support the recovery of these sectors as well. This additional guarantee cover is expected to support the recovery of these sectors.
Customs Act offences: Guidelines for legal proceedings revised (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Hiking the monetary threshold for prosecution and arrest, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued revised guidelines for prosecution, arrest and bail for offences under the Customs Act.
The guidelines, dated August 16, specify that Rs 50 lakh would be the monetary threshold in case of baggage and outright smuggling, while it will be Rs 2 crore for commercial fraud. The previous thresholds were Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore, respectively.
While the Act does not specify any value limits for exercising the powers of arrest, it is clarified that arrest in respect of an offence, should be effected only in “exceptional situations”, the CBIC said.
Specifying such exceptional situations, the CBIC said they include cases involving unauthorised importation in baggage/cases under Transfer of Residence Rules, where the market value of the goods is Rs 50 lakh or more or cases of outright smuggling of high value goods such as precious metal, restricted items or prohibited items or goods or offence involving foreign currency where the value of offending goods is Rs 50 lakh or more.
Further, cases related to importation of trade goods (i.e. appraising cases) involving wilfulmis-declaration in description of goods/concealment of goods, or import of restricted or prohibited items where the market value of the offending goods is Rs 2 crore or more would attract arrest under customs act. Cases involving fraudulent duty evasion of Rs 2 crore or more too attract arrest provision.
Abhishek Jain, partner—indirect tax, KPMG in India, said in an effective justice system, prosecution and arrest should be initiated only in situations involving substantial duty evasion.
Pursuant to the revised monetary limits being prescribed by the government, going forward, while the civil proceedings would continue for duty, interest and penalty recovery, prosecution and arrest would be initiated in cases where the financial severity is high.