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SUNDAY, 26 MAY 2019

12 pages in 1 section WORLD P9 WORLD P8
MUMBAI (CITY)
~10.00
VOLUME XIII NUMBER 10
NIKE TO END FINANCIAL PENALTIES IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO BE A
FOR PREGNANT ATHLETES CEO, AND THE PAY KEEPS RISING
PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM BENGALURU, KOLKATA, MUMBAI AND NEW DELHI

MANPASAND MD,
OFFICIALS ARRESTED Goyal, wife Win sabka vishwas, give up VIP
IN GST FRAUD CASE culture: Modi to party MPs
Manpasand Beverages Managing Director
Abhishek Singh, along with two other top
executives, has been arrested in a ~40-
crore goods and services tax (GST) fraud
case. The Central Goods and Services Tax
stopped from Says poor and minorities have been misled since Independence
ARCHIS MOHAN
PHOTO: PTI

Commissionerate, Vadodara -II, on Friday

arrested Singh, his brother Harshvardhan
Singh and MBL's Chief Financial Officer
Paresh Thakkar for evading GST worth ~40
crore. According to a CGST Commissionerate
statement, the company had been running
flying abroad New Delhi, 25 May

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on

fake units for availing input tax credit,
committing a tax evasion of ~40 crore,
involving a turnover of ~300 crore.
Saturday said the mandate of 2019 had
increased the aspirations of the people
and called for a people’s movement for a
samruddha Bharat, to make India pros-
perous, by 2022, the 75th year of India’s
2> independence. The PM also amended the

ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA

ECONOMY P6
CSO, NSSO to be
merged into NSO
In an attempt to streamline and strengthen
the statistical system, the government has
decided to merge the Central Statistical
Organisation and the National Sample
Survey Office into the National Statistical
Office. The move is a follow-up of a decision
taken in 2005 during the UPA's tenure.
COMPANIES P2
Three firms to bid for
slogan of his first government — sabka
saath, sabka vikas — to add that the new
government would win sabka vishwas.
In the evening, President Ram Nath
Kovind, exercising powers vested in him
under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution,
appointed Modi PM-elect and asked him
to form the new government. This was
after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs,
and also of its allies, unanimously elected
Modi their leader amid chants of “Modi,
Modi” and Bharat Mata ki Jai in
Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife, Anita, who are non-resident Indians, Parliament’s Central Hall. The National BJP President Amit Shah (left) greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the NDA
were travelling to Dubai on an Emirates flight to attend business meetings Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders later parliamentary board meeting on Saturday as veteran BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli
met the President to submit a letter in this Manohar Joshi look on. Later, the President invited Modi to form the next government
ANEESH PHADNIS Jet, which has a debt of over ~8,000 regard.
Mumbai, 25 May crore, shut operations last month, after After he was

building six submarines running short of cash. Banks denied

mmigration officials at Mumbai air- fresh loans as well. Goyal's resignation
elected the
leader in Central CWC rejects Rahul offer to
Hindustan Shipyard and two other public
sector undertakings have come together to
float a consortium for building submarines.
The two other PSUs are Bharat Heavy
Electricals and Mishra Dhatu Nigam
I port called back a taxiing Emirates has come under much criticism and
Boeing 777 aircraft to stop Jet unpaid employees have questioned why
Airways founder Naresh Goyal and banks asked their chairman to step
his wife, Anita, from leaving the country. down and not release any funds.
Goyal and his wife, who are non-res- The airline's grounding has left
Hall, Modi
bowed in front of
a copy of the
Constitution of
India and then
step down as Cong chief
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA voice rejected the same
(Midhani). Indigenous construction of six ident Indians, were travelling to Dubai 14,000 employees without pay. The CEO addressed the New Delhi, 25 May and requested the
conventional submarines is envisaged by on an Emirates flight to attend business and other senior executives have quit. MAMATA OFFERS newly elected Congress president for his
the Ministry of Defence. meetings, a source said. They were A staff union, led by Nationalist TO QUIT, PARTY MPs. In an hour- A crucial meeting of the leadership and guidance in
deboarded and informed Congress Party MLC Kiran SAYS NO 12 > long speech, Congress Working these challenging times,"

PHOTO: SANJAY K SHARMA

BS SPECIAL
IN DEPTH
The climate refugees
of Sunderbans
Many of its islands have been swallowed by
rising seas and others are sinking fast,
leaving thousands of families with nothing,
writes NAMRATA ACHARYA 7>
Surat fire: Toll climbs to 22,
coaching class owner held
The toll in the devastating fire that engulfed
a commercial complex in Surat's Sarthana
area has gone up to 22, with two more
students succumbing to burn injuries, a
senior police official said on Saturday. The
owner of the coaching class, Bhargav
Butani, was arrested on Saturday while
two others — Harshul Vekaria and Jignesh
Paliwal — are on the run, police said.
ECONOMY P6
Record iron ore prices to
spur low-grade exports
At over $100 a tonne, the global price of
iron ore’s higher grades is now the
highest in five years, kindling hope of a
revival in export of lower grades of ore
from India.
they could not leave the Pawaskar, had filed a police Modi tried to Committee (CWC) on said the resolution passed
country. Later, they complaint seeking restric- allay the fears of Saturday unanimously by the CWC.
Later, they were allowed were allowed tions on Goyal and the sen- the minorities after the BJP’s spectacular rejected Rahul Gandhi's The CWC "unanimous-
to go home and their pass- to go home and ior management from leav- electoral win. offer to resign as party pres- ly" called upon the Rahul
ports handed over to them their passports ing India The PM said the government from ident after the Lok Sabha Gandhi to lead the party in
after the completion of for- handed over to Jet is also facing multi- 2014 to 2019 was dedicated to the welfare poll debacle and authorised its ideological battle and to
malities. According to them after the ple probes by the income- of the poor and tried to ensure the delivery him to overhaul and restruc- The CWC meeting headed champion the cause of
sources, the couple was completion of tax department and the cor- of basic services. “The country’s poor have ture the party at all levels. by Congress President India's youth, the farmers,
stopped on the basis of a formalities porate affairs ministry for now brought us back,” he said. The PM The meeting deliberat- Rahul Gandhi deliberated the SC, ST, OBCs, the
look-out circular against tax evasion and other non- said the poor had been misled in the last ed on the reasons behind on the reasons behind the minorities, the poor and the
Naresh Goyal. compliance issues. The 70 years, and so were the minorities. He the Congress’ defeat in the party’s defeat in the LS polls deprived sections, it said.
The aircraft eventually took off Enforcement Directorate is also prob- said the minorities should have had access polls for four hours, with Top Congress leaders on
around 5 pm after a 90-minute delay. ing the majority sale of its loyalty pro- to better education and amenities but they various leaders urging Rahul Gandhi in his Saturday got together to
In a statement, Emirates said: "Emirates gramme to Etihad Airways. were exploited in the name of vote-bank Rahul Gandhi to continue address to the CWC offered review the Lok Sabha poll
is co-operating fully with the relevant The development comes as lenders politics by people who scared them by to provide leadership to his resignation as the party drubbing, as the party's
authorities and we abide by the laws of continue to search for an investor. Over conjuring up “imaginary fears”. the party. president. The CWC unan- highest decision-making
the various countries we operate in." half its planes have been repossessed. Turn to Page 4 > "Congress President imously and with one body met in New Delhi.
Goyal founded Jet Airways in 1993 Lenders and strategic partner Etihad
and was its chairman till he was asked to Airways are in discussions with the
step down by lenders in March. Hinduja group for a possible revival.
Gold regulator, revamped GMS on cards
RAJESH BHAYANI not yet formalised. The gold board will
NOVARTIS’ $2-MN GENE THERAPY FOR RARE Mumbai, 25 May be set up in line with regulators such as GOLD ECOSYSTEM (Figures in tonnes)
Sebi or the Forward Markets
DISORDER IS MOST EXPENSIVE DRUG EVER The second phase of gold reforms is
on the government’s priority list and an
Commission, which was later merged
with Sebi. According to sources, once
18 Gold 26-27
mobilised
749 Gold
Sovereign gold imports
Swiss drugmaker Novartis has won US action plan, prepared by the econom- the Precious Metals Board starts func-
approval for its gene therapy ic affairs department and commerce tioning, it will work on norms for a gold under GMS bonds sold in CY18
Zolgensma for spinal muscular
atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic
ministry officials while the country was
in election mode, will soon be
spot exchange, which will ensure that
any gold trade above 5 gm goes through
25,000 Gold held by Indian households
cause of death in infants, and priced
the one-time treatment at a record
announced. The measures include a
revamped gold monetisation scheme
the online exchange for transparency
and to track the end user.
3,500-4,000 Gold with Indian
temples
PTI $2.125 million. The Food and Drug (GMS), treating gold as an asset class, Along with the Bureau of Indian
Administration approved Zolgensma for setting up the gold board as regulator, Standards, it will finalise good deliv- Sources: Industry, GMS
children under the age of two with SMA, and forming a domestic gold council as ery norms, making gold refined in
including those not yet showing symptoms. The approval covers babies the policy advisory body, said sources. India acceptable globally.
with the deadliest form of the inherited disease as well as those with types
where debilitating symptoms may set in later. “This is potentially a new
The Budget session of Parliament is
likely to discuss the gold board. A Bill
The government is also consid-
ering making gold as an asset class,
standard of care for babies with the most serious form of SMA,” said Dr. for the Precious Metals Board of India a source said. As on now, sovereign
Emmanuelle Tiongson, a pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital Los Act, 2019, is ready and after the new gold bonds are also an asset but
Angeles who has provided Zolgensma to patients under an expanded Cabinet’s approval, it will be introduced when gold formally becomes an
access programme. “The job now is trying to negotiate with insurers that in Parliament. The board has already asset class, one can invest in it and
this would be a long-term savings,” he said. 9> started basic functioning under the on maturity, investors will receive
finance ministry but its operations are the precious metal. Turn to Page 4 >

Tech’s Cold War: Geopolitics shaping your next smartphone

JAMIE CONDLIFFE
25 May
US President Trump’s latest swipe at
Huawei could be the start of a deep
transformation of the tech sector.
Citing national security concerns, the
Commerce Department said this month
that American companies would need
special permission to sell some products
to Huawei and other Chinese companies.
This past week, things escalated.
Companies including Google,
Qualcomm and Broadcom froze some of
the supply of products to the Chinese
technology giant. (Google, for instance,
will no longer offer Huawei the full
version of its Android operating system.)
The crackdown may expand, with a ban
on sales to Chinese surveillance
companies possible.
Third-country suppliers also need a
license to sell products to Huawei if
content from the United States
contributes more than 25 percent to their
value, and the British semiconductor
designer ARM said it would stop licensing
technology to Huawei’s chip unit. (Mobile
carriers in Britain also stopped offering
retaliate. So this could be the start of a long
fight — the raising of “a digital Iron
Curtain,” as my colleague Li Yuan put it.
“This is a turning point,” said Xiaolan
Fu, the director of the Technology and
Management Center for Development at
Oxford University. “It is changing the
direction to a more closed, protectionist
approach.”
If the freeze-out persists, the near term
looks rough for Huawei’s smartphone
division. It has stockpiled Western chips,
maintained supply from Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Company (the world’s largest contract
chip maker) and developed its own phone
software. But it could be crippled by an
inability to source components and may
Companies including Google, Qualcomm and Broadcom froze some of the supply of struggle to find markets outside China for
products to Huawei. Google, for instance, will no longer offer Huawei the full version its devices.
of its Android operating system In the long term, the ban could push
the world toward divided technologies.
Huawei phones to some customers, over Huawei’s founder, said, but it could signal “The lesson the Chinese have taken
Android support concerns.) that the overarching ban is little more from the Trump administration’s trade
What now? The United States than short-lived trade posturing. strategy is that the US is pursuing a
government offered a 90-day grace Still, the Trump administration has technology containment approach,” said
period for some transactions between spoken repeatedly about its desire to Adam Segal, the director of the digital and
American companies and Huawei. That blunt China’s technological cyberspace policy program at the Council
“doesn’t mean much,” Ren Zhengfei, development, and China threatened to on Foreign Relations. The solution is
independence — something China has
pushed for by encouraging domestic tech
prowess, including in chip production.
“I think we are moving toward a
bifurcated technology system,” Segal
said. China uses Chinese products, and
America uses American products.
A big question then: Which side do
other countries take? The United States
probably assumes the West will follow its
lead. But nations like Britain and
Germany aren’t yielding to American
pressure to block Huawei from building
next-generation 5G wireless networks
over national security risks.
Poorer countries are likely to be won
over by price: Huawei is one of the
leading, and cheapest, developers of 5G
technology. For some countries wanting
to jump-start economies with fast
wireless networks, siding with China may
be the only option.
Such fragmentation may affect
consumers. Ms. Fu points out that in a
globalised economy, manufacturing
takes place in the most efficient location.
A move to protectionism would
prompt China and the United States to
relocate production domestically, or at
least to ally nations, which could drive up
prices of devices. And the development
and deployment of 5G in a fragmented
environment could lack economies of
scale afforded by globalism, Mr. Segal
said. That could potentially delay its
rollout and increase cost.
Welcome to tech’s Cold War.
Qualcomm’s court loss
Geopolitics isn’t the only force of change
in the smartphone industry: So is the tech
industry’s new obsession, antitrust.
On Tuesday, Judge Lucy Koh of
United States District Court in San Jose,
California, ruled that Qualcomm had
suppressed competition in the
smartphone chip market and charged
“onerous” fees for the use of its patents.
“Qualcomm’s licensing practices have
strangled competition,” she wrote. It
must now strike new licensing
agreements and be monitored for seven
years to ensure compliance.
Phone makers, particularly Apple, had
bristled at Qualcomm’s royalties, which
could be as high as 5 percent of a handset’s
wholesale price. Turn to Page 4 >
©2019 The New York Times News Service

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2 COMPANIES
>
MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019

Salzer acquires 72.32 per cent

stake in Kaycee Industries
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Coimbatore, 25 May
City-based Salzer Electronics
has acquired 72.32 per cent
stake in Kaycee Industries of
CMS group, a pioneer in
industrial switches for more
the industrial switchgear mar-
ket by increasing its product
offering and expand its foot-
print in railway business, man-
ufacturing set-up in western
India and access to all-India
dealer network, a company
press release said on Saturday.
Fortis Healthcare back in black
Net profit was ~135.6 crore in Q4 against
a loss of ~932 crore last year
SOHINI DAS
Mumbai, 25 May
Commenting on the results,
Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, managing
director and chief executive officer
(MD & CEO), Fortis Healthcare, said,
The exceptional items for the quar- “Our operations are improving steadi-
ter stood at ~66.31 crore while for the ly, and we are on the path to recovery
full year it was ~67.95 crore. The full as the worst is behind us. Our priority

than 75 years.
The acquisition is in line
with companys focus to
strengthen Salzers position in
Acquisition was to aid
Salzer to expand its presence
into the electrical equipment
sector, the release said.
F
ortis Healthcare showed signs
of revival in the fourth quarter
of FY19, with improved earn-
ings before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortisation (Ebitda).
The Gurugram-headquartered
health care major reported net profit
(profit after tax and minority inter-
ests) of ~135.6 crore after accounting
for exceptional items for the fourth
quarter of the FY19. This was against
a loss of ~932 crore in the same peri-
od last year.
Exceptional items for the quarter
primarily include allowance for
doubtful advance and security
deposit given to corporate entities,
along with impairments taken in cap-
ital work in progress (~47.4 crore),
impairment of investment and
allowance for doubtful loans to sub-
sidiary company (~55 lakh) and
impairments of goodwill of Shalimar
Bagh property, among others.
year saw additional expenses on com-
posite scheme of arrangement and
amalgamation.
This was pertaining to an earlier
board decision (around August 2016)
to demerge the diagnostics business
SRL into another majority-owned sub-
sidiary of Fortis Malar Hospitals. In
June 2018, Fortis Malar, and SRL
decided to withdraw from the scheme.
Consolidated revenues for the
fourth quarter grew 9 per cent to ~1,184
crore. Consolidated operating Ebitda
grew by 123 per cent to ~167 crore in
the quarter. The company said in a
statement that adjusted for the one-
time off Ebitda from RHT Trust
Manager, the consolidated operating
Ebitda growth was at 88 per cent.
RHT Trust Manager (RHTTM) is
the trustee manager of the RHT
Health Trust and is 100 per cent
owned by one of the step-down sub-
sidiaries of Fortis Healthcare.
Fortis has said it is working on balance sheet strengthening through
portfolio optimisation and non-core asset monetisation
The one-off Ebitda from RHTTM
relates to the one-time payment
received by the trustee manager as a
result of completion of the RHT trans-
action in January 2019.
The hospital business’s operating
Ebitda grew 120 per cent to ~92 crore
against ~42 crore in Q4FY18. The diag-
nostics business operating Ebitda
grew 48 per cent to ~49 crore against
~33 crore in the corresponding period
of the previous quarter.
For the full year of 2018-19, Fortis
posted a loss of ~299 crore (after
accounting for exceptional items),
which has improved from ~1,009 crore
(loss) in 2017-18. Income from opera-
tions dipped by 2 per cent year-on-
year in 2018-19 to ~4,469.36 crore.
Consolidated operating Ebitda mar-
gins were at 7. 3 per cent against 8.5
per cent in FY18.
this year is to further strengthen our
liquidity position that would enable
us to invest in future growth to
achieve shareholder returns. Despite
the challenging last couple of years,
we’ve bounced back.”
Fortis noted that it is working on
balance sheet strengthening through
portfolio optimisation and non-core
asset monetisation. Bringing back the
RHT (hospital assets) as well IHH’s
infusion of ~4,000 crore during the
year have strengthened the compa-
ny’s balance sheet.
The health care major continues to
focus on strengthening cash flows and
liquidity position through lower cost
of borrowings (reducing finance costs
by 400-500 bps) and it is working on
strengthening working capital man-
agement and is focusing on receiv-
ables and inventory. Rating agencies
like Icra and CARE have raised the
company’s credit ratings.

Three companies to bid for Manpasand MD held

building six submarines
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Visakhapatnam, 25 May
Hindustan Shipyard (HSL) and two
other public sector undertakings
have come together to float a con-
sortium for building submarines.
The two other PSUs are Bharat
Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and
Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani).
Indigenous construction of six
conventional submarines is envis-
aged by Ministry of Defence, a press
release from HSL said in
Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Representatives of HSL, BHEL,
and Midhani signed a memoran-
dum of understanding (MoU) on
Friday, in the presence of HSL
Chairman and Managing Director
Rear Admiral L V Sarat Babu, the
release said.
The MoU is a step to keep in line
with the ‘Make In India’ initiative
of the government in the defence
The consortium will jointly stake claim to be considered as a prospective
bidder for the proposed project of the Navy
sector, it said.
The agreement aims to harness
the complimentary expertise of the
three companies and provide the
country with a credible, domestic
alternative for construction of the
submarines.
The consortium would jointly
stake claim with the ministry for
being considered as a prospective
bidder for the proposed project of the
Navy in partnership with original
equipment manufacturer (OEM, for-
eign technology provider) for build-
ing six submarines at the Hindustan
Shipyard, the release added.  After being produced before a
in ~40-cr GST fraud case
VINAY UMARJI
Ahmedabad, 25 May
Controversy continues to broil at
Vadodara-based Manpasand
Beverages (MBL), which has now seen
the arrest of its Managing Director
Abhishek Singh, along with two other
top officials in a ~40-crore goods and
services tax (GST) fraud case.
After a thorough investigation and
multi-locational searches, the central
goods and services tax (CGST)
Commissionerate Vadodara-II on
Friday arrested Singh and his brother
Harshvardhan, along with MBL’s Chief
Financial Officer Paresh Thakkar, for
evading GST worth ~40 crore.
A CGST Commissionerate state-
ment said the listed beverages com-
pany had been running fake units for
availing input tax credit (ITC) fraud-
ulently, committing a tax evasion of
~40 crore, involving a turnover of
~300 crore.
court on Friday, the trio have been
sent to judicial custody.
The investigation revealed a net-
work of over 30 fake or bogus units
located across the country, which
were used for committing fraud by
availing illegal credit. The investiga-
tion regarding the ultimate benefi-
ciary of the fraud and web of shell
companies is under progress, the
commissionerate stated.
Last year, the company had court-
ed controversy after the sudden exit
of its auditors Deloitte Haskins & Sells
India. Known for its beverage brands
like Fruits Up and Mango Sip, among
others, Manpasand Beverages has a
market capitalisation of ~1,200 crore,
with total stand-alone income of ~985
crore in fiscal FY18, and a reported
bottom line of ~100 crore.
Meanwhile, a meeting of its board
of directors is scheduled on May 28,
for considering and approving audited
financial results for the fourth quarter
and year ended March 31, 2019.

NIIT Q4 net profit up 18% to ~23 cr Google’s duplex uses AI to

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi, 25 May
NIIT on Saturday said its con-
solidated net profit rose 18 per
cent to ~23.2 crore in the March
quarter. The hike was helped
by increased productivity and
turnaround in its skills and
careers (SNC) business.
The skills and talent devel-
opment firm had posted a net
profit of ~19.7 crore in the year-
ago period.
Its revenue grew 8 per cent
to ~239.7 crore in the quarter
under review from ~222.8 crore
in the year-ago period, NIIT
said in a statement.
NIIT, which had
announced selling its shares in
NIIT Technologies in April this
year, said the company
received gross proceeds of
~2,020.4 crore in cash from the
transaction.
“The Board constituted a
committee to make recom-
mendations for utilisation of
proceeds for rewarding share-
holders in the most efficient
and judicious manner, subject
to statutory limits and neces-
sary approvals, and after pro-
viding for transaction related
costs, taxes, retirement of debt,
growth capital, and a prudent
Indemnity reserve.
The committee shall pro-
vide its recommendations to
the Board prior to the declara-
tion of audited results for Q1,”
it added.
For the full 2018-19 fiscal,
NIIT’s net profit climbed 38 per
cent to ~86.4 crore, while rev-
enue grew 7 per cent to ~910.2
crore from the previous finan-
cial year.
NIIT Vice-Chairman and
Managing Director Vijay K
Thadani said the increase in
quarterly profit and revenue
was on the back of improved
productivity and turnaround
in the SNC business.
“The SNC business has
seen a break-even and going
forward, we expect it to catch
growth momentum,” he
added. NIIT’s SNC business
recorded net revenue of ~62.9
crore in the March 2019 quar-
ter, and ~242.8 crore for
2018-19.
He further said that given
the improving performance of
the business and liquidity, the
Board proposed a “dividend of
~5 per share which amounts to
250 per cent of face value of
each share”.
The company’s Corporate
Learning Group (CLG) record-
ed revenue of ~158.8 crore, up
9 per cent year-on-year during
the March quarter. It signed
five new managed training
services (MTS) contracts in the
said quarter, taking the total
number of MTS customers to
46. CLG revenue for the fiscal
was ~632.4 crore, up 22 per cent
from the previous year.
mimic humans (sometimes)
BRIAN X CHEN & CADE METZ
25 May
On a recent afternoon at the
Lao Thai Kitchen restaurant,
the telephone rang and the
caller ID read “Google
Assistant.” Jimmy Tran, a
waiter, answered the phone.
The caller was a man with an
Irish accent hoping to book a
dinner reservation for two on
the weekend. This was no
ordinary booking. It came
through Google Duplex, a
free service that uses artifi-
cial intelligence to call restau-
rants and — mimicking a
human voice — speak on our
behalf to book a table. The
feature, which had a limited
release about a year ago,
recently became available to
a larger number of Android
devices and iPhones.
The voice of the Irish man
sounded eerily human.
When asked whether he was
a robot, the caller immediate-
ly replied, “No, I’m not a
robot,” and laughed.
“It sounded very real,”
Tran said in an interview
after hanging up the call
with Google. “It was perfect-
ly human.”
Google later confirmed, to
our disappointment, that the
caller had been telling the
truth: He was a person work-
ing in a call center. The com-
pany said that about 25 per
cent of calls placed through
Duplex started with a
human, and that about 15
percent of those that began
with an automated system
had a human intervene at
some point.
We tested Duplex for sev-
eral days, calling more than a
dozen restaurants, and our
tests showed a heavy reliance
on humans. Among our four
successful bookings with
Duplex, three were done by
people. But when calls were
actually placed by Google’s
artificially intelligent assis-
tant, the bot sounded very
much like a real person and
was even able to respond to
nuanced questions.
In other words, Duplex,
which Google first showed
off last year as a technologi-
cal marvel using AI, is still
largely operated by humans.
While AI services like
Google’s are meant to help
us, their part-machine, part-
human approach could con-
tribute to a mounting prob-
lem: the struggle to decipher
the real from the fake, from
bogus reviews and online
disinformation to bots pos-
ing as people.
Here is the result of our
experiment.
Google’s AI is eerily
human, when it works
To test Google Duplex, we
used a pair of Google’s Pixel
smartphones, which include
the company’s virtual assis-
tant by default. At the bot-
tom of the screen, we
pressed a button to summon
the Google assistant and
then said, “Book me a dinner
reservation.”
Google’s assistant then
loaded a list of nearby restau-
rants. For the restaurants
that took reservations only
over the phone, Google
offered to step in and place
the call with Duplex.
We tried using Duplex
more than a dozen times.
Several restaurants, like
Henry’s Hunan in San
Francisco and China Village
in Albany, California, rejected
our requests for a table of two
to four people because they
took reservations only for
tables of 10 people or more.
Eventually, we secured
four reservations in Albany:
two separate reservations at
Nomad Tibetan restaurant,
one booking at Lao Thai
Kitchen and one reservation
at Bowl’d Korean Rice Bar.
We witnessed or reviewed
each of the phone calls, and
the restaurants were made
aware that we were testing
Duplex before they picked up
the phone.
Only the reservation at
Bowl’d, which we witnessed
at the restaurant, was made
entirely with Google’s AI
service. The bot introduced
itself as Google’s automated
booking service, followed by
a request to book a table for
Tuesday the 21st. The call
demonstrated the ability of
Google’s AI operator to insert
pauses and “ums” to mimic a
human — in effect making
the interaction feel more life-
like and less scripted.
At several moments dur-
ing the call, the restaurant’s
manager, Jin Park, acted
confused and asked the
caller to state the party size
and reservation date. The bot
patiently answered the ques-
tions again and again. Then,
Park threw a curveball: “Are
there any kids?”
The Google bot was quick
to improvise: “I’m actually
booking on behalf of a client,
so I’m not too sure,” he said.
“Everything was perfect,”
Park said in an interview
after conversing with the
Google bot. “It’s like a real
person talking.”
Park added that he was
especially impressed with
how the bot handled his
question about whether there
were children in the party.
©2019 The New York TimesNews

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MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 COMPANIES 3

NTPC net profit surges 48.7% in Adani Solar striving

for 50 per cent market
Q4 amid reduction in expenses share in two years
Firm’s board has recommended final dividend for FY19 at 25% of paid-up share capital Manufactures cheaper module, panels for India
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Consolidated net profit of as 80% of those available are made in China
New Delhi, 25 May the firm rose to ~12,633.45 crore
in 2018-19 from ~10,501.50

S
tate-run power giant crore in the previous financial
NTPC on Saturday post- year. Total consolidated
ed a 48.7 per cent jump income also rose to ~97,537.34
in its stand-alone net profit to crore in the last fiscal from
~4,350.32 crore for the March ~89,641.59 in 2017-18.
quarter, compared to the year- The Board of Directors of
ago period, mainly on the back NTPC has recommended a
of lower expenses. final dividend for 2018-19 at
The company’s standalone the rate of 25 per cent of the
net profit in January-March paid-up share capital (~ 2.50
2018 was ~2,925.59 crore, per equity share of the face val-
according to an NTPC state- ue of ~10 each), subject to the
ment. approval of shareholders in the
The firm’s total Annual General
income slipped to The gross power Meeting scheduled
~22,545.61 crore in generation of the to be held in the
the March quarter NTPC Group for month of August
from ~23,618 crore FY2018-19 was 2019.
in the prevous 305.90 billion units The final divi- In a span of three months, Adani Solar has expanded the retail distribution of
financial year. (BUs) as against dend is in addition its solar panels in seven regions, helping over 500 cities across the country
Expenses also 294.27 BUs during to the interim div- The company's domestic coal supply rose to 46.94 million tonnes in March quarter from 44.36 million meet their renewable energy requirements
decline to the previous year. idend of ~3.58 per tonnes a year ago
~19,008.44 crore in The average power equity share for PRESS TRUST OF INDIA In a span of three months, Adani
the quarter from tariff of the firm was 2018-19 paid in was ~3.38 per unit in the fiscal The company’s domestic ter from 0.10 million tonnes New Delhi, 25 May Solar has expanded the retail distri-
~20,229.26 crore. ~3.38 per unit in the February 2019. year under review. The compa- coal supply rose to 46.94 mil- year ago. bution of its solar panels in seven
For 2018-19, financial year This is the 26th ny’s plant load factor or capac- lion tonnes in March quarter During the last financial Adani Group’s solar manufacturing regions, helping over 500 cities
stand-alone net under review consecutive year of ity utilisation (PLF) of coal from 44.36 million tonnes year year, the company’s coal arm Adani Solar is expecting to get across the country meet their renew-
profit rose 13.60 per dividend payment based projects dropped to 77.58 ago. During the last financial imports also increased to 1.05 50 per cent market share in two able energy requirements, he said.
cent to ~11,749.89 by the company. per cent in March quarter from the company’s domestic coal million tonnes from 0.32 mil- years, a top company executive said The partnership with K Powers is
crore, compared to ~10,343.17 The gross power generation 79.03 per cent year ago. supplies also increased to lion tonnes in 2017-18. on Saturday. a stride towards facilitating the
crore in the previous year. of the NTPC Group for FY2018- During the 2018-19, the 175.05 million tonnes from The NTPC Group’s total Given that 80 per cent of solar switch to sustainable solar power,
Total income was ~92,179.56 19 was 305.90 billion units company’s PLF of coal fired 168.21 million tonnes. installed capacity has panels available in the country were across consumers, SMEs, MSMEs
crore in 2018-19, up from (BUs) as against 294.27 BUs power plants also declined to Coal imports by the compa- increased to 55,126 MW as on made in China, the company was and institutions in the state at the
~85,207.95 crore during the pre- during the previous year. The 76.68 per cent from 77.90 per ny also went up slightly to 0.66 March 31, 2019 from 53,651 MW manufacturing module and panels, lowest capex costs, he added.
vious year. average power tariff of the firm cent in 2017-18. million tonnes in March quar- as on March 31, 2018. which were cheaper and durable, for Tamil Nadu is an emerging solar
Indian markets, general manager power-producing state with many
(business development) of Adani big firms switching over to solar
Solar, Cecil Augustine, told reporters energy and Vision Tamil Nadu 2023,

‘Serenity’ needed in Nissan PNC Infratech Q4 here.

With a market share of 10 per cent
and expected growth, the company
managing director of K Powers
Sanjay Kondaas said.
A strategic plan for infrastructure

talks: Renault’s Senard

was sure to capture 50 per cent mar- development in Tamil Nadu

profit jumps 25% ket share in another two years,

Augustine said.
The company official was here to
includes a solar energy target of
5,000 MW, he added.
The partnership would help to
announce the launch of its retail dis- contribute for achieving the states
Trump dines tribution business in Tamil Nadu goals in harnessing solar energy and
with Japan with K Powers Solar, an exclusive
channel partner for the region.
increasing
Kondaas said.
power generation,

The alliance between Renault and Nissan was thrust into the
spotlight in November with the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the
chairman and architect of the global car-making alliance
GREGORY VISCUSI ken about a lot recently and
Paris, 25 May made people frightened. We
all have our sensitivities.”
Renault SA, Nissan Motor, The alliance was thrust
and Mitsubishi Motors into the spotlight in
Corporation should take November with the arrest of
time and discuss the future Carlos Ghosn, the chairman
of their alliance with “seren- and architect of the global
ity”, according to Jean- car-making alliance
Dominique Senard, chair- between the three compa-
man of the French car nies. The arrest also trig-
company in the three-way gered speculation that
tie-up. “Every company in Renault was seeking to
the world must reflect on its merge with Nissan, a move
future and the best way to the Japanese company resis-
strengthen itself, and in the ted.
case of an alliance — on how France Pushes for
to optimise the same,” Stronger Ties Between
Senard said in an interview Renault, Nissan
to France Inter radio. Ghosn has been indicted
Talk about fusion or in Japan on allegations of
shareholding changes crimes ranging from falsifi-
between Renault, Nissan cation of financial docu-
and Mitsubishi was ments to diverting company
“reopened a bit dramatically funds into personal
and wasn’t necessary,” accounts, charges that he
Senard said. “It’s been spo- has denied. BLOOMBERG
executives
US President Donald Trump’s
dinner with Japanese business
leaders included one who had
unusually sharp words for him
just last week.
Akio Toyoda, president of
Toyota Motor Corp, was among
Japan’s top executives who
met Trump soon after he
arrived in Japan for a four-day
visit. Earlier this month, he
had rebuked Trump’s
declaration that imported cars
and components threaten US
national security, saying it sent
a message to Toyota that its US
investments aren’t welcome.
Trump looked for Toyoda in
in pre-dinner remarks at the
US ambassador’s residence in
Tokyo, asking "where’s
Toyota?" PRESS TRUST OF INDIA cial year. Expenses increased to
"There’s nothing like the New Delhi, 25 May ~972.14 crore from ~628.19 crore
boss", he said after people during the period.
pointed out Toyoda in the Infrastructure company PNC “Several infrastructure orders
crowd. Infratech has reported a 25 per cent bagged by the company during
Toyoda is also chairman of jump in standalone net profit at FY19 helped the company post a
the Japan Automobile ~139.93 crore for the quarter ended good balance sheet. The company
Manufacturers Association. March 2019, helped by higher recorded its highest ever revenue
Other automaker chiefs invited income. and profit after tax during Q4,” PNC
to the dinner included those The company had posted a net Infratech Managing Director
from Nissan Motor Co, Honda profit of ~111.52 crore during the Chakresh Jain said.
Motor Co, Mazda Motor Corp same quarter of the last financial Agra-based PNC Infratech has a
and Subaru Corp. The year ago, said PNC Infratech in a presence in close to 15 states across
unusually sharp-worded statement. the country, and provides end-to-
comments from Toyoda During January-March 2019, end infrastructure implementation
reflected rising concern on the total income rose to ~1,087.96 crore solutions that include engineering,
part of Japan’s all-important from ~765.52 crore in the correspon- procurement and construction
auto sector. BLOOMBERG ding quarter of the previous finan- (EPC) services.

Volkswagen to step up
talks with Northvolt on
planned battery project

CHRISTOPH STEITZ In an interview published

Frankfurt, 25 May
Volkswagen is intensifying
talks with Swedish startup
Northvolt on plans to jointly
build up battery cell produc-
tion in Salzgitter, near its
headquarters in Lower
Saxony, one of its board
members told a German
newspaper.
Volkswagen earlier this
month pledged to spend ^1
billion ($1.12 billion) on the
project, which it says
depends on certain econom-
ic pre-conditions, such as
subsidised electricity.
on Saturday, Volkswagen
board member Stefan
Sommer told Boersen-
Zeitung he was confident
that battery cell production
in Salzgitter would be
realised.
“We will intensify our
talks over the next weeks
with regard to a more
detailed planning,” he was
quoted as saying, adding that
Volkswagen was also looking
at other locations around the
European region for poten-
tial battery cell production,
without specifying further
details. REUTERS

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4 YOUR MONEY
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MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 1

INVESTING
BS TUTORIAL

Robo advisory works for

that SIPs give linear returns and tend Jayant Pai
to exit or stop investing once they
see negative returns.
In several instances, online
Financial literacy
investors were advised to invest in 1. Which stock exchange claims that it is the fastest in the
balanced funds for a tenure as low

those who are starting out

As income and responsibilities increase, financial planning gets more complex and needs
regular human intervention
MRIN AGARWAL
click of the button is all it
world in terms of transaction times?
as three years, though equity A. New York Stock Exchange
requires an investment horizon of at B. Bombay Stock Exchange
least five-seven years. Over the
C. London Stock Exchange
long-term, the volatility of returns
D. Deutsche Börse
reduces and average returns
increase in equities.
An investor’s best defence against 2. Who asserted that he would do "whatever it takes" to
save the Euro in 2012?
mis-selling is his financial knowl-
edge, which will help him ask the A. Wim Duisenberg
right questions and take informed B. Michel Camdessus
decisions. For instance, investors C. Mario Draghi
NOT A COMPLETE who understand the basic difference D. Jean-Claude Trichet
INVESTMENT SOLUTION between equity markets, which are

A takes to access online finan-

cial planning websites or robo
advisory platforms. But if you are
looking to draw up a detailed finan-
cial plan for the future, you may still
need a financial expert.
As online shopping becomes the
buzzword, many investors are
bypassing traditional financial plan-
ners and switching to online invest-
menting. This, however, cannot be
equated with buying clothes online.
Investments are meant to safeguard
your finances over the long term
and require in-depth planning.
Unless the investor comes armed
with strong financial knowledge
and has enough time to manage his
financial portfolio, online investing
may not give him the same satis-
faction that online shopping does.
There are many models of robo
advisory. Some only suggest mutu-
al funds or stocks for your goals and
horizons. A few also make a finan-
cial plan and then advise individu-
als on where and how to invest.
Online financial planning is
cheaper : An investor visiting a robo
advisory platform is asked to answer
a set of questions to determine his
risk profile, goals and time horizon.
Algorithms work on the answers and
suggest age-appropriate asset allo-
cation, minimising or negating the
need for human intervention.
A robo advisor may seem like
the perfect solution for those with
only a small investment capital
who are just starting their invest-
ment journey, but it may not be
suitable for long-term financial
plans. As income and responsibili-
ties increase, financial planning
gets complex and requires constant
intervention that can be provided
by a human financial advisor only.
He will come up with a holistic
Advantages
| Costs are low
| Free of human bias
| Can reach far-flung areas
and small towns
| Technology enables alerts
and better reporting
Disadvantages
| Algorithm may not work
unless updated regularly
| It could recommend
unsuitable funds
| May not work well as the
portfolio size swells
| Cannot handhold investors
during downturns
long-term financial plan that
accounts for the investor’s future
needs and emergencies, and will
chalk out a road map for achieving
future goals.
Online investing is cheaper in
the absence of distributor’s fees and
other marketing expenses, result-
ing in higher returns for the
investor. A financial planner
charges ~15,000-40,000 a year to
manage a client's finances. Wealth
management companies, which
cater to the wealthy, charge 0.75-1.5
per cent annually of the assets
under management (AUM).
The charge for a robo advisor
could vary from ~1,000 a year to
~7,500. A few only work on the com-
missions they get from fund houses
or insurers and the client does not
pay anything.
Robo advisory platforms have
their flaws: The positive aspect of
robo advisory is that it takes away
human biases from investments. As
robo advisory platforms are driven
by technology, they allow investors
to automate many aspects of invest-
ment and financial planning, set
alerts, get instant reports, and so
on. Investors are also not subjected
to mis-selling of financial products.
While these platforms are free of
human biases, the algorithms driv-
ing them need to be evaluated con-
tinuously and updated to suit the
current investment environment.
Good investment advice is rec-
ommending the right fund to an
individual based on his goals and
risk appetite. To be able to take an
informed decision, investors need to
be aware of downside risks. Without
detailed explanations on the recom-
mended product, the investor may
well be locking his money in an
investment where he doesn’t know
what to expect. A case in point is
credit risk funds, where investors
parked funds based on high histori-
cal returns, without understanding
the associated risks. When these
funds were hit by credit defaults and
their net asset values (NAV) dropped,
investors were unprepared and
pressed the panic button. It is the
same with equity systematic invest-
ment plans (SIP). Investors believe
more volatile than debt, know that
the former is suitable for longer-term
investments while the latter is suit-
3. Which country is often cited as a victim of Chinese debt-
trap diplomacy?
A. Pakistan
able for shorter-term investments. B. Venezuela
C. North Korea
An advisor is essential when D. Sri Lanka
things go wrong : Even as investors
might get reminders regarding pay- 4. Jayant Rane is the artist behind the ___________
ments, changes to the portfolio, etc, mascot.
they alone are responsible for being A. Asian Paints' Gattu
regular with their investments and B. Air India's Maharjah
following the suggested investment C. Amul Girl
plan. Online investment platforms D. Vodafone's Zoozoo
and robo-advisors cannot assess
irrational decisions like selling dur-
5. The term Troika Laundromat concerns a ___________
ing a downturn and buying in a
bank.
bullish market. A human advisor,
A. Swedish
on the other hand, would under-
stand the nuances governing those B. Swiss
irrational judgments and with per- C. Polish
sistent intervention, even be able D. Russian
to persuade the investor to invest
for a longer term. investment bank Troika Dialog.
In developed markets, hybrid operated by staff at an independent arm of the Russian
robo advisors are becoming popu- of dollars of private wealth from Russia to the West. It was
lar. This is because, over a period of companies whose controllers used them to move billions
time they have realised that cus-
5. D. It is the name given to a collection of 70 offshore shell
tomers need to talk to someone.
Most robo advisors there now pro- 4. C. He has sketched the Amul ads since 1986.
vide financial advisory services over
the phone or via video chat as well
for a fee that is based on the size of double-edged sword.
the customer’s portfolio. often cited as a vivid example of how China’s loans are a
Given the low penetration level China in lieu of its inability to service its debt burden, is
of financial products in India even 3. D. Hambantota Port, which Sri Lanka had to relinquish to
among the educated, both robo
advisors and human advisors can European Central Bank.
co-exist and are required. Since 2. C. He said it in 2012 in his capacity as the president of the
investment decisions are 80 per
cent based on an investor’s behav-
iour and 20 per cent based on a microseconds.
product, a robo platform will pro- microseconds. The next fastest is ten times slower at 60
vide transactional convenience. In 1. B. It states that its median trade speed is a mere six
the long term, however, human Solutions
advisors can help keep investors on
the right path in their investment
journey. The quiz master is head - marketing, PPFAS Mutual Fund
Send your queries and feedback at yourmoney@bsmail.in
The writer is founder, Finsafe India

ECONOMY
>
> FROM PAGE 1

Private placements gain Win sabka vishwas, give up VIP culture,

traction amid cash crunch Modi tells party MPs
SACHIN P MAMPATTA
Mumbai, 25 May
The private placement route
has been gaining steady trac-
tion over the past few months,
following a dip in mid-2018.
The rise comes in the back-
drop of tightening liquidity
conditions in the aftermath of
the Infrastructure Leasing &
Financial Services (IL&FS) cri-
sis. Fundraising through the
private placement route has
hit ~71,183 crore as of April,
higher than the same month
last year.
This is based on a three-
month rolling average, calcu-
lated on data collated by pri-
mary market tracker PRIME
Database. The figure stood at
~62,599 crore in April 2018.
Private placement takes
place when a company raises
debt from a select group of
investors. This is different from
a public issue, where it is open
for all.
Arvind Chari, head (fixed
income and alternatives),
Quantum Advisors, said that
public sector fundraising may
have contributed to the uptick.
“The supply of public sector
paper has been huge. It may be
driven by the government’s fis-
cal constraints, because of
which there is a nudge towards
borrowing through public sec-
tor companies. Given the cred-
it risk aversion, there has also
been interest from funds and
insurance firms, given there is
more comfort with investing
money in public sector paper,”
he said.
This comfort with investing
Dabholkar murder: Lawyer, Sanatan member held
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Pune/Mumbai, 25 May
The CBI on Saturday arrested
a lawyer representing some of
the accused in the Narendra
Dabholkar murder case along
with a member of the right-
wing organisation Sanatan
Sanstha. Advocate Sanjeev
in government-backed entities
has helped them borrow at sig-
nificantly lower rates than usu-
al, according to another fund
manager.
Funding costs elsewhere
have been on the rise after the
IL&FS defaulted on its obliga-
tions in the latter half of 2018.
The non-banking financial
companies (NBFC) segment has
been affected, in particular.
A Bank of America Merrill
Lynch report — Liquidity
crunch: Darkest before the
dawn? — on May 15 said that
conditions may improve by
September. Reserve Bank of
India Governor Shaktikanta Das
has been looking to ease the
strain by injecting liquidity
through what are called open
market operations (OMOs),
which makes more money
available to borrowers.
The Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC), which is
responsible for deciding inter-
est rates, is also expected to
reduce the cost of borrowing.
This is in contrast to a 50-basis-
point (bp) hike in 2018. A basis
point is equal to one-hundredth
of a percentage point.
Punalekar and Vikram Bhave,
a member of the Sanatan
Sanstha which came under
investigators' scanner after
Dabholkar's killing, were
arrested in Mumbai, said an
official of the Central Bureau
of Investigation.
They will be produced
before a Pune court Sunday,
“While Governor Das’ OMOs
have cooled the markets, defus-
ing the real impact of the end-
2018 liquidity crunch is taking
time, naturally. So, what’s
changing? The RBI MPC is set to
cut rates by 75-100 bps on a
benign inflation outlook in
2019, reversing 2018’s 50 bps
hike. We see the next cut on
June 6, with May inflation
tracking a low 3.2 per cent,” said
the report, authored by India
economists Indranil Sen Gupta
and Aastha Gudwani.
Chari added that bond
issuances are muted in the
April-June quarter, but this has
seen large issuances in April
and May, pushing up corporate
bond yields and thus increas-
ing spreads.
A stable government at the
Centre should also lead to high-
er foreign inflows into the
Indian government and highly
rated corporates, according to
him. Central bank action to
ensure liquidity may also help.
However, troubled NBFCs
will continue to find it chal-
lenging despite positive
changes to the liquidity situa-
tion, he added.
he said, adding that prelimi-
nary probe has revealed that
Punalekar and Bhave had
links with the two men who
allegedly killed Dabholkar.
Dabholkar, a renowned
anti-superstition activist, was
shot dead while he was out on
a morning walk in Pune on
August 20, 2013.
He said the slogan of his government way line to achieve development. He said
was not just sabka saath, sabka vikas, the NDA has both energy and synergy.
but also winning sabka vishwas, or the The PM spoke at some length warn-
trust of all communities. ing his MPs not to speak out of turn to the
The PM advised his MPs to abjure VIP media. He said media would try mis-
culture and respect queues in airports leading them into uttering something
lest someone were to make a video clip irresponsible. He said for the last 70-
and post it on social media, and be care- years BJP’s rivals have nursed the media
ful in what they utter to the media, par- and it cannot support them.
ticularly television channels. Modi asked Before the speech, BJP chief Amit
MPs to not trust the media on the for- Shah proposed Modi’s name as the
mation of the union council of ministers leader of the BJP parliamentary party
and be wary of people who promise that with Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari
they could secure for them a ministerial seconding the proposal. Shiromani Akali
berth. “Newspapers neither make min- Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal proposed
isters nor lose them the job,” he said. Modi’s name as the leader of the NDA
Modi asked the MPs to follow the ide- parliamentary party and Bihar Chief
ologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Deendayal Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP President Amit Shah at Parliament Minister Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena’s
Upadhyaya and Ram Manohar Lohia, as House on Saturday PHOTO: PTI Uddhav Thackeray, Ram Vilas Paswan
also B R Ambedkar, who has had an and others seconding the proposal.
imprint on the Constitution. He said it gulf between people, but the 2019 polls entire vote share US President Donald Earlier in the day, Chief Election
was unlikely they would give any a cause have broken walls and unified people. Trump received in 2016, the PM said. He Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election
for complaint if they followed these two He said the people of the country were said the BJP won more than 50 per cent Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil
touchstones. In his speech, the PM also active participants in his first govern- votes in 17 states. Chandra met the President to submit a
congratulated the Election Commission ment from 2014 to 2019, and he won on Modi said the next Lok Sabha will copy of the notification containing the
for conducting a smooth election. The a “pro-incumbency” wave. have the highest number of women. The names of the newly elected Lok Sabha
EC had come for much criticism from The PM asked the MPs to work and PM also stressed how coalition politics MPs. The President had dissolved the
opposition parties during the elections. win the confidence of not just who sup- was important for India. “I am stating 16th Lok Sabha on Friday night.
Modi repeatedly warned the MPs not to ported them, but also those who did not this after BJP has won 303 seats. This The PM and his council of ministers is
allow power go to their heads, to be wary but could in future. He said the increase shows my commitment to gathband- expected to take the oath of office on
of arrogance, spurn satta bhav and serve in BJP’s vote share between 2014 and han,” he said. He said national ambition Thursday. The PM is to visit Gujarat on
with seva bhav. 2019 was nearly 25 per cent. To under- and regional aspirations – NARA, or slo- Sunday. The PM will also visit his Lok
Modi said usually elections widen the stand the scale of this, it was equal to the gan, as he put – were two tracks of a rail- Sabha constituency of Varanasi next week.
Gold regulator, gold deposit scheme is also
expected to be announced in
advisory in nature and will coor-
dinate with different interest
making a payment of at least
$4.5 billion to use Qualcomm’s
Protection Regulation. The real-
isation: Regulations that would
revamped GMS the coming months where gold groups in the country. 5G chips.) So the ruling could affect the nation’s tech industry
will be invested in any form and The third and final phase of reduce costs for smartphone were coming, and federal offi-
on cards banks will give returns on it and gold reforms, which is some makers and consumers. cials needed to participate if
For this, banks and financial give back the gold on maturity. time away, will see initiatives It also undercuts they were to shape them.
intermediaries will be asked to This gold will be used for lend- such as the setting up of the gold Qualcomm’s business model, So the administration decid-
open gold metal accounts. ing to jewellers who otherwise spot exchange and encouraging which is largely based on profits ed to collaborate with the
At present, banks open gold import it. gold mining in India. from patent fees. It could also Organization for Economic
accounts in rupee terms. For The GMS, which was In the first phase of reforms, complicate efforts by the United Cooperation and Development,
example, current norms for the announced three-and-a-half the government had focused on States to assert itself in the cre- and this is the first time that it
GMS suggest that gold should years ago, has not met with compliance measures such as ation of 5G networks. has formally endorsed a set of
be deposited but on maturity, much success, with just 18 making the permanent account international AI guidelines. The
banks will return rupee equiv- tonnes of gold being mobilised. number (PAN) compulsory for America’s first AI rules guidelines — which suggest that
alent of the gold value. As a Even banks are not taking inter- trades above ~2 lakh, discourag- The Organization for Economic A.I. should benefit people and
result, many temples and even est. The government has now ing cash deals, promoting digi- Cooperation and Development the planet, and be designed to
retail or high net worth indi- revised the whole scheme, tal/online transactions, stream- announced a set of principles respect the rule of law and
viduals are not participating in
the GMS. If gold metal
which will be unveiled soon,
said sources. Banks will be asked
lining gold imports, and
introducing sovereign gold
on Wednesday to guide the
development of artificial intelli-
human rights, among other
things — aren’t legally binding.
accounts are opened, investors to complete all required formal- bond. gence. Conspicuous by its pres- But Jack Clark, the head of
may buy gold digitally and ask ities and, wherever possible, ence on the list of nations back- policy at OpenAI, an artificial
the seller to transfer it in the additional incentives will be ing the rules: the US. intelligence lab in San
GMS. This will open up new provided to them. Tech’s Cold War: The Trump administration Francisco, said it was “quite sig-
avenues to use idle gold for pro-
ductive purposes.
The commerce ministry is
expected to announce the set-
Geopolitics.... long shied away from such poli-
cies. But as my colleague Steve
nificant” that the United States
had signed on to them. It is, he
Sebi allowed gold exchange ting up of a domestic council for (Apple turned the other cheek Lohr reported in April, it was said, a sign that the administra-
traded funds to invest in gold gold in line with the Gem and settled its royalty case with spurred into action by a wave of tion is “putting its weight
they bought through the GMS Jewellery Export Promotion Qualcomm last month, sacrific- tech regulation — particularly behind” the development of AI.
and gold deposit schemes. A Council. The council will be ing $27 billion in damages and Europe’s new General Data ©2019 The New York Times News Service

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MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 WORLD 5 <

Huawei’s European customers are put on hold

after Trump’s move to ban telecom giant
They’re unsure how Android phones will keep working as Google and other companies assess a Trump administration order
AMIE TSANG AND ADAM SATARIANO
London, 25 May
Europe has been one of Huawei’s
biggest success stories. Now it is on
the front line of the trade and tech-
nology war between China and the
United States.
The move by Google this week to
cut off Android support to phones
made by Huawei, the Chinese tele-
com giant, will hobble their European
users and highlights how deeply the
Continent relies on American and
Chinese companies for gadgets, apps
and internet services.
From its early days selling
equipment to wireless carriers,
Huawei has expanded at an extraor-
dinary rate in Europe, capturing
more than a quarter of the smart-
phone market. Google’s action is
“potentially catastrophic” for
Huawei’s hopes in Europe, said Ben
Stanton, a senior analyst at Canalys,
a research firm.
The Trump administration’s
order this month barring American
telecommunications firms from
using foreign-made equipment that
could pose a threat to national secu-
rity — exactly what Washington has
accused Huawei of doing — is like-
ly to have a knock-on effect on
smartphone users’ experience.
Google Maps and other apps, for
example, will not be supported.
European customers will be hit
harder than those in the United
States or China. Huawei phones are
largely unavailable in the United
States, and Google’s services have
long been blocked in China by the
government.
But they are best sellers in coun-
tries like Greece, Portugal and
Spain. Those phones, plus robust
sales of telecommunications equip-
ment, have made the market cover-
ing Europe, the Middle East and
Africa into Huawei’s second biggest
after China. It accounted for 28 per-
cent of Huawei’s revenue in 2018,
compared with 7 percent from the
Americas.
The pressure has mounted.
Since the administration’s order,
one company after another has
moved to suspend business with
the company, which is the world’s
second-largest smartphone maker,
after Samsung.
Google announced its pullback
on Monday. The Commerce
Department said it would grant a
90-day extension for companies to
work out how to support existing
cellular networks and handsets, but
Google said it planned to abide by
the ruling once the time expired.
On Wednesday, two British car-
riers, EE and Vodafone, said they
would not offer Huawei phones to
customers who wanted access to
their new 5G services. Two of
Japan’s largest mobile carriers also
said they would delay the debut of a
new smartphone by Huawei.
Huawei will be unable to recov-
er quickly, analysts said.
“It would be extremely unlikely
that they would use their own oper-
ating system here in the short term,”
said Dario Talmesio, a telecommu-
nications analyst at Ovum, a
research and consultancy firm in
London. “And that means people
with existing Huawei devices will
gradually see devices that are
reliant on Android deteriorate
because they are not able to per-
form certain upgrades.”
Customers shopping for a hand-
set are unlikely to buy one that
doesn’t come with Google’s latest
version of Android, apps like Gmail
or the Play app store. The drop in
demand for Huawei phones could
also hurt European carriers that are
“very heavily relying on the quality,
with fairly low cost, of Chinese
devices” to get customers onto the
new hyperfast networks that are on
the horizon, Mr. Talmesio said.
Huawei’s bottom line could suf-
fer from the loss of sales of its more
expensive phones, with their high
profit margins, said Steve Tsang,
the director of the China Institute at
the School of Oriental and African
Studies in London. And the dimin-
ished prospects in Europe may hin-
der Huawei’s ability to expand else-
where.
The Trump administration’s order this month barring American telecommunications firms from using foreign-made equipment that could pose a
threat to national security — exactly what Washington has accused Huawei of doing — is likely to have a knock-on effect on smartphone users’
experience. Google Maps and other apps, for example, will not be supported
“Being able to make it in Europe
means that it is a lot easier for
Huawei to make it in the rest of the
world,” Mr. Tsang said. “Success in
Europe is significant for Huawei,
both in terms of revenue and in
terms of future growth.”
To succeed in Europe, Huawei
made a sustained effort over nearly
two decades to work with network
operators and allow governments
to test its equipment for security
flaws. Huawei first made inroads by
providing cheap gear to build phone
networks in countries including
Britain, Germany, France and
Poland. The company became the
world’s largest seller of telecom
equipment, besting Nokia and
Ericsson.
Huawei deepened its reach
when it began selling mobile
devices, first as low-cost alterna-
tives to a Samsung Galaxy or an
Apple iPhone and then with pricier
models respected for their technol-
ogy. Huawei gives carriers and
retailers better financial terms than
rivals by allowing them to make
money from every handset sale.
Industry analysts said retailers had
an incentive to display and promote
Huawei phones.
The strategy helped Huawei sell
more than 42 million smartphones
in Europe last year, according to
Canalys. “Huawei has been the dar-
ling of the European smartphone
industry for the last three or four
years," Mr. Stanton of Canalys said.
Huawei's growth highlights how
Europe's influence in tech has fad-
ed. European policymakers have
been trying to nurture the region’s
technology sector, which played an
important role in the growth of the
global tech industry. Finland’s
Nokia was once the world’s largest
seller of mobile phones, and Skype,
founded by Scandinavians, helped
pioneer the now-common ability to
make calls over the internet. But
Europe could not keep up with
Silicon Valley or Shenzhen, where
Huawei has its headquarters.
For months, Washington has
been warning allies of security risks
associated with Huawei, but sever-
al countries balked at its assess-
ment. The Trump administration
has threatened America’s intelli-
gence-sharing relationship with
Germany, Britain and other allies
as Huawei sought to build their
fifth-generation, or 5G, networks.
The networks promise not only
faster cellular service but also better
wireless connections for “internet of
things” devices like autonomous
cars, security cameras and indus-
trial equipment.
The Trump administration’s
order moved the debate about
Huawei beyond the more obscure
equipment needed to make wire-
less networks to which handsets
consumers can buy and apps they
can use.
“It’s not in our control,” said Mr.
Talmesio at Ovum. “We are stuck
in the middle of this commercial
war, and we are becoming very
much a kind of proxy war territory.”
Google’s decision surprised
potential phone buyers in Europe,
and many were hesitating. Security
risks were not their worry. They
wanted to know that their phones
would work anywhere.
“Such applications as YouTube
and Google Maps, they are vital,”
said George Kirmizidis, a civil ser-
vant browsing at a BASE mobile
phone shop in Brussels. “If I can-
not access those through my smart-
phone, what’s the point of buying a
smartphone altogether?”
“As a customer, of course I would
like to have the choice to choose
between different products, and
now Huawei is out of the market for
me,” Mr. Kirmizidis, 44, added. “I
have a limited choice of products,
which is not fair if we support cap-
italism.” Solongo Unurbat was
examining a Huawei phone priced
at more than $1,000 in the Mall of
Berlin, and the 34-year-old was not
concerned about the loss of Google
functionality.
“For me, it’s all about the cam-
era, ” she said. Keerthana
Annamaneni contributed reporting
from Brussels, and Christopher F.
Schuetze from Berlin.
©2018 The New York Times New
Service

UK PM frontrunner wants 'even closer' partnership with India

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
London, 25 May
Britain's frontrunner in the prime min-
isterial race, Boris Johnson, wants an
"even closer" partnership between India
and the UK after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's "emphatic" victory.
Johnson is the former foreign secre-
tary in the Cabinet led by Theresa May,
who is set to formally resign on June 7
triggering a leadership contest for the
new Conservative Party leader who will
take over from her as British prime min-
ister.
The 54-year-old pro-Brexiteer is seen
as leading the race for his decisive with-
in the influential Brexit wing of the par-
ty and has often spoken out in favour of
closer India-UK trade relations once the
UK has left the European Union (EU).
"Congratulations Narendra Modi on
your emphatic victory in Indian
Election results 2019. A strong endorse-
ment for your optimistic vision of New
India," Johnson said in his message for
Modi soon after the results of the NDA's
landslide victory on Thursday.
"Let's look forward to an even closer
partnership between UK-India in the
years ahead," he said.
The Indian elections continue to res-
onate in the UK, with senior politicians
and entrepreneurs effusive in their
praise for the world's largest democrat-
ic exercise.

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MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 IN DEPTH 7 <

The climate refugees of Sunderbans

Many of its islands have been swallowed by rising seas and others are sinking fast, leaving thousands of families with nothing, writes Namrata Acharya

bout three years ago when Sabina woke islands of Sundarbans within India are shielded save Ghoramara from sinking,” says a

A up one morning to see her farm

disappear, it was no surprise to her. She
had been anticipating this for long. The swelling
intermittently by broken and crumbling walls,
while a maze of rivers overflow and wash away
land parcels in bits and pieces.
government official.

ccording to government data, close to 4,000

river first washed away her land, then her home
at Ghoramara, the sinking island of the
Sundarbans.
After the deluge, Sabina and her family were
forced to move to a mud house in the nearby
Sagar Island, the putative refugee capital of the
Sundarbans. In the absence of any employment
opportunities in the area, Sabina’s husband
migrated to Kerala to work as a construction
worker. Then, last year, Sabina’s husband
stopped sending money home and went
missing. Sabina has now resorted to begging
for a living.
Her plight depicts how climate change is no
longer in the future, but a lived reality of many
people in the Sunderbans. With a steady rise in
sea level and vast swathes of land going under
water in the Sundarbans, a refugee crisis is in
the making.
According to a 2002 study by Sugata Hazra, a
professor at the School of Oceanographic Studies
at Jadavpur University, the total erosion in the
Sundarbans over a 30-year span, estimated
through a time series analysis between 1969 and
2001, was nearly 163 square km—roughly the
size of Washington DC.
Over the past five decades, at least four
islands — Lohacara, Bedford, Kabasgadi and
Suparibhanga—have completely disappeared.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates 6,000
families have been rendered homeless because
of this, according to a study published in 2010.
What is imminently worrisome is the
increased pace of erosion in recent years. With
thousands facing the prospect of displacement,
the refugee crisis in the region is set to reach a
tipping point faster than once perceived.
Multiple factors have contributed to this
precipitated erosion. Post Aila, a severe tropical
storm that hit the Sundarbans in 2009, the
embankments were damaged severely.
According to official estimates, out of the 3,122
km of embankment, nearly 778 km was damaged
by Aila. However, the actual breach was much
more, and the erosion remained a continuous
process after Aila.
Ten years later, nearly all of the 54 inhabited
“Most of the embankments in the
Sundarbans were built during the British era
and steadily they started losing ground from the
core. The cost of rebuilding is huge,” says
Dipankar Roy, director, Tagore Society for Rural
Development, engaged in development work in
the region.
Most of the efforts to reconstruct the
embankment go in vain as they break even
before the work is completed, according to a
government official at the block development
office in Namkhana, a block in the
Sundarban area.
“To add to the woes, the severity of sea has
increased manifold rendering the completion
work impossible. Land acquisition poses
another problem,” says the government official.
The constant clearance of mangroves for
human settlement has further exacerbated
erosion in recent years, says Roy. Mangroves
help keep the soil stitched together, thus
preventing erosion.
Among the inhabited islands of the Indian
Sundarbans, Ghoramara faces imminent end.
Its area shrank from 2,500 hectare about 60
years ago to about 216 hectare at present.
Close to 4,200 residents at Ghoramara are on
the brink of becoming environment refugees.
According to a government official, only 35 most
vulnerable families, or about 150 people, living
on the banks, are in the list of possible
resettlement plan.
ith a gleeful smile, Abhimanyu Mondal, well
W in his 60s, sits on a rickety wooden chair and
checks the daily register of mails at the Mud Point
post office at Ghoramara. He has been working at
the post office for the last 35 years, and never had
the luxury of having an electric fan as the island still
does not have electricity. Yet a bright red punkha,
a manually-fluttered cloth fan suspended to a ceil-
ing atop his table reminds of the luxuries of the
kingly era. A storage trunk, rusted and flaked, once
used to store currency, lies abandoned in a corner.
The manual fan and trunk are the antiques
from the old Mud Point post office, which holds
the glory of being the second telegram office in
Sabina with her son at a refugee colony in Sagar Island
West Bengal, established in the year 1853.
However, the present façade of the office is not the
original construct.The old building, along with a
watch tower, has long gone under the water.
Mondal has witnessed many homes drown,
several families becoming homeless and once
wealthy farmers reduced to daily wagers over
more than three decades. However, he has been
never so worried as he is today.
A Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model, a
mathematical model to assess potential impacts
of long-term sea level rise on wetlands and
shorelines, suggests that Ghoramara will
disappear by 2050, according to Hazra.
However, locals fear the end might come
sooner. “I have been witnessing Ghoramara
sinking for the last 35 years. But for the last five
years, the erosion is exceptionally steep. At this
pace, the island will vanish in five years,” says
Mondal.
The vertical slicing of land at the shores of
Ghoramara is a tip-off to this premonition. “In the
last four to five years, the erosion is so extreme that
now it seems that the island may sink in the next
three to four years itself,” says Satyajit Meta, an
employee at the local village administration office
at Ghoramara.
Manmade structures in the vicinity are only
adding to the problem. Sanjeev Sagar, the village
council head at Ghoramara, says erosion has been
particularly steep at the north-east fringes of the
island in the last few years. Few year ago, shipping
route from India to Bangladesh was diverted
towards the north-east of Ghoramara. Earlier, the
ships used to ply from the western fringes of
Nayachar, an island to the west of Ghoramara.
However, the bouldering work to create the new
shipping channel was left incomplete , causing the
waves to hit the shores of Ghoramara with
heightened force, says Sagar.
Hazra agrees this vehicular flow has
precipitated erosion at Ghoramara and it is only a
matter of time before it vanishes altogether.
“The government has given up the efforts to
restore the island as the erosion has been
massive and no amount of embankment can
A people from the lost islands of Sundarbans
have migrated to Sagar Island since the 1960s under
different government resettlement schemes. At
the same time, many more who did not get any
assistance from government also migrated in thou-
sands to the island, according to a senior govern-
ment official.
Between 2001 and 2011, Sagar’s population
density increased from 658 per square km to
nearly 750 per square km, according to latest
Census data. The resettlement at Sagar Island has
so far happened in phases, with the refugees
spread over five colonies. Those who moved to the
island in the 1980s, a comprehensive package,
inclusive of land and houses, was provided by the
government. Others got a piece of land, and some
got it along with a matching grant to build houses
under various government housing schemes.
Subhash Jana, who migrated to Sagar about six
years ago received a grant of ~80,000 from the
government to build a house. He took a loan of
~80,000 from a moneylender as the cost of
building the house was close to ~1.6 lakh. Every
month he has to pay ~4,000 as the monthly
installment for the loan. However, with a daily
income not more than ~200 as farm labourer, he
has been struggling to pay the debt, whereas his
house remains half constructed.
“The debt has ruined my life. Most of whatever
little I earn goes in paying the debt,” he says.
Apart from agriculture, there are no
employment opportunities in the area. Due to
rising salinity, even agriculture income is
shrinking, leading to indebtedness and
widespread poverty.
“Heavy migration to Sagar is not sustainable as
parts of the island itself are facing very steep
erosion and salination,” says Abhijit Mitra,
professor, department of marine science, Calcutta
University.
But despite the imminent threat, people
of Ghoramara continue to cherish their
connection to the land. Kanai Bhuyian is certain
his second house will be submerged any day, just
as the first one a few years ago. But his fighting
spirit is intact. “My father fought the waves, now
I will fight it,” he says.

In Kabul’s liberating cafes, ‘women common, often to a cousin or other rel-

ative. In the countryside, young girls are
sold as brides to older men. Honour
IMO killings — women killed by male rela-
open Indo-Pacific.”

Shazia Ilmi@shaziailmi
Never before in the history of any democracy has
an election has been so fiercely fought to remove
a Prime Minister instead of electing one ??Modi is
make the culture, not men’ tives for contact with an unapproved
male — still occur. Protections provided
by the Afghan Constitution and a land-
DAVID ZUCCHINO AND FATIMA FAIZI mark 2009 women’s rights law are not
Kabu, 25 May always rigorously enforced.
In 2014, the Taliban launched a series
n some days, life as a young of attacks against cafes and restaurants

Modi is the second prime minister to win two
consecutive majorities after Indira Gandhi
ELECTION RESULTS 2019
KABIR BEDI@iKabirBedi
PM MODI’S LANDSLIDE VICTORY is the nation’s
resounding reply to Indian journalists in
international media who claim Modi has divided
India like never before. India has united behind
him overwhelmingly.
Heartfelt congratulations PM @narendramodi
You make India proud!
Rajnath Singh@rajnathsingh
This historic victory in the General Elections is the
outcome of Modiji’s visionary leadership, Amit
Shahji’s dynamism and the hard work of millions
of BJP karyakartas on the ground. 2/3
Nikhil wagle@waglenikhil
India was always communal, racist and polarised.
Modi’s huge victory has once again underlined it!
Jeremy McLellan@JeremyMcLellan
Because of Modi’s victory in the elections I have
decided to cancel my upcoming 5-week tour in
India. I apologize to everyone who bought tickets
to my shows but I can’t support this. Will have to
go to Pakistan instead.
Brahma Chellaney@Chellaney
Modi’s landslide election win will help cement
India's special partnership with Japan, which he
will visit next month for the G20 summit. The
Japan-India entente is a central pillar of the
Trump administration's strategy for a “free and
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
not a factor.He is a phenomenon! Smell the ??
coffee folks!
RAHUL GANDHI’S RESIGNATION AFTER
POLL DEBACLE
Malini Parthasarathy@MaliniP
Strongly urge @RahulGandhi to resign. The
@INCIndia deserves a break from the Nehru-
Gandhi dynasty which has failed to stand up for
India’s foundational values & finally presented
the voter with no alternative modern vision at all!
barkha dutt@BDUTT
This charade of CWC rejecting a Rahul Gandhi offer
of resignation is worse than no offer to quit at all.
Sagarika Ghose@sagarikaghose
Sagarika Ghose Retweeted shahid siddiqui
Politics in cutthroat 21st century India is simply
not @RahulGandhi’s cup of tea. He must resign
for his own sake and for the sake of his party.
Shahid siddiqui@shahid_siddiqui
Rahul Gandhi worked hard, has matured as a
politician but lacks ground understanding &
street fighters tact which Modi/ Shah possess. His
advisers are equally naive & cut off from ground
realities. Time for him to go on a sabbatical for a
few years & let a new leader take over.
THERESA MAY’S EXIT
Robert Peston @Peston
Extraordinary that @theresa_may almost in tears
at the end of her statement that she resigns 7
June. And leadership election starts following
week, as I disclosed yesterday. #MayExit
Tommy Campbell@MrTommyCampbell
Nigel Farage resigns after Brexit campaign.
David Cameron resigns after Brexit vote.
Theresa May resigns after Brexit failure.
Donald Trump, who self-titled himself Mr. Brexit,
your turn to resign.
O
woman in Kabul can feel suffo-
cating for Hadis Lessani Delijam,
a 17-year-old high school senior. Once, a
man on the street harangued her for her
makeup and Western clothes; they are
shameful, he bellowed. A middle-aged
woman cursed her for strolling and chat-
ting with a young man.
“She called me things that are so ter-
rible I can’t repeat them,” Delijam said.
For solace, Delijam retreats to an
unlikely venue — the humble coffee
shop. “This is the only place where I can
relax and feel free, even if it’s only for a
few hours,” Delijam said recently as she
sat at a coffee shop, her hair uncovered,
and chatted with two young men.
Trendy new cafes have sprung up
across Kabul in the past three years,
evolving into emblems of women’s
progress.
The cafes are sanctuaries for women
in an Islamic culture that still dictates
how they should dress, behave in public
and interact with men. Those traditions
endure 18 years after the toppling of the
Taliban, who banned girls’ education,
confined women to their homes and
forced them to wear burqas in public.
These days, conversations at the
cafes often turn to the Afghan peace
talks in Doha, Qatar, between the United
States and the Taliban. Many women
worry their rights will be bargained away
under pressure from the fundamental-
ist, all-male Taliban delegation.
“We are so frightened,” said Maryam
Ghulam Ali, 28, an artist who was shar-
ing chocolate cake with a friend at a cof-
fee shop called Simple. “We ask each
other what will happen to women if the
Taliban come back.”
“When we come to cafes, we feel lib-
erated,” she added. “No one forces us to
https://t.me/Banking4Exams
Trendy new cafes have sprung up across Kabul in the past three years, evolving into
emblems of women’s progress
put on our head scarves.”
Many young women in Kabul’s
emerging cafe society were infants
under Taliban rule. Delijam had not yet
been born. They have come of age dur-
ing the post-Taliban struggle by many
young Afghans to break free of the harsh
contours of a patriarchal society. The
women have grown up with cellphones,
social media and the right to express
themselves freely. They cannot imag-
ine returning to the puritanical dictates
of the Taliban, who sometimes stoned
women to death on suspicion of adultery
— and still do in areas they control.
Farahnaz Forotan, 26, a journalist
and coffee shop regular, has created a
social media campaign, #myredline,
that implores women to stand up for
their rights. Her Facebook page is stud-
ded with photos of herself inside coffee
shops, symbols of her own red line.
“Going to a cafe and talking with
friends brings me great happiness,”
Forotan said as she sat inside a Kabul
coffee shop. “I refuse to sacrifice it.” But
those freedoms could disappear if the
peace talks bring the Taliban back into
government, she said.
“I don’t want to be recognised as
someone’s sister or daughter,” she said. “I
want to be recognised as a human being.”
Beyond cafe walls, progress is
painfully slow. “Even today, we can’t
walk on the streets without being
harassed,” Forotan said. “People call us
prostitutes, Westernised, from the
‘democracy generation.’”
Afghanistan is consistently ranked
the worst, or among the worst, coun-
tries for woman. One Afghan tradition
dictates that single women belong to
their fathers and married women to
their husbands. Arranged marriages are
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
in Kabul, including a suicide bombing
and gunfire that killed 21 customers at
the popular Taverna du Liban cafe,
where alcohol was served, and Afghan
men and women mingled among
Westerners.
Afterward, the government forced a
host of cafes and guesthouses to shut
down for fear they would draw more
violence. For the next two years, much of
westernised social life in Kabul moved to
private homes. But in 2016, new coffee
shops began to open, catering to young
women and men eager to mingle in pub-
lic again. Still, except for urban outposts
like Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif,
there are few cafes in Afghanistan where
women can mingle with men. Most
restaurants reserve their main rooms
for men and set aside secluded “family”
sections for women and children.
That is why the Kabul cafes are so
treasured by Afghan women, who seek
kindred souls there.
“Human instinct is as powerful as
religion,” said Fereshta Kazemi, an
Afghan-American actress and develop-
ment executive who often frequents
Kabul coffee shops.
“The need to connect, to share and
love, to make eye contact, is instinctual,”
she said.
After the Taliban fell in 2001, those
instincts were nurtured as girls and
women in Kabul began attending
schools and universities, working beside
men in private and government jobs,
and living alone or with friends in apart-
ments. The Afghan Constitution reserves
68 out of 250 seats for women, at least
two women from each of 34 provinces.
Protecting those achievements dom-
inates cafe conversation.
©2019 The New York Times News service
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
8 WORLD
>
MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 1

May’s resignation throws In contest to succeed

May, stars are aligning
Britain into further turmoil for Boris Johnson
BENJAMIN MUELLER eagerly anticipated even by
& STEPHEN CASTLE members of her own cabinet, is STEPHEN CASTLE
London, 25 May certain to mean a politically London, 25 May
charged summer in Britain.
rime Minister Theresa Mrs. May said she would step Only one person, the joke doing

P May announced her res- down as Conservative Party

ignation on Friday after leader on June 7, a few days
three years of trying and failing after President Trump makes
the rounds in Parliament goes,
can stop the dishevelled, blond-
haired, crowd-pleasing former
to pull Britain out of the an official state visit. The con- foreign secretary, Boris
European Union, throwing her test to succeed her will begin Johnson, from becoming the
country into an unpredictable the following week, and Mrs. country’s next prime minister.
situation and setting off a bare- May will remain in office until That is Mr. Johnson himself.
knuckled contest among oth- her successor is chosen. One of Britain’s most recog-
er Conservative lawmakers to Brexit, meanwhile, will nisable, and now most divisive
replace her. remain in a state of suspended politicians, Mr. Johnson has a
As she stood behind a animation until a new leader history of verbal gaffes, a poor
lectern outside 10 Downing is chosen. Britain was original- record as a minister and many
Street, Mrs. May admitted that ly scheduled to leave the enemies in Parliament, not to
a different leader was needed European bloc on March 29, mention among the voters who
to shepherd the split, known as but the deadline was extended reject Brexit, which he helped
Brexit. But she also warned that to Oct. 31 after Parliament persuade Britons to embrace in
the unyielding stance taken by refused three times to pass the a 2016 referendum. One of Britain’s most recognisable, and now most divisive
the hard-line factions of law- withdrawal agreement that But his charisma, flair for politicians, Johnson has a history of verbal gaffes, a poor
makers who had proved her Mrs. May had negotiated with publicity and record of winning record as a minister and many enemies in Parliament REUTERS
undoing would have to change. European leaders. two elections as mayor of
“To succeed, he or she will Boris Johnson, the former London make him the runaway deal is to prepare for a no deal.” “He is the ‘In case of emer-
have to find consensus in foreign secretary and a hard- favorite in a crowded field to Not only is Mr. Johnson a gency, break the glass’ candi-
Parliament where I have not,” line supporter of Brexit, on Brexit has splintered both the Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party into warring succeed Prime Minister Theresa firm proponent of Brexit — date,” said Tim Bale, a professor
Mrs. May said. “Such a consen- Friday signaled an unflinching factions since the referendum that narrowly approved the departure on June 23, 2016. A second May, according to bookmakers. albeit one who is instinctively of politics at Queen Mary
sus can only be reached if those attitude, foreshadowing the referendum that could keep Britain in the European Union remains a distant possibility A victory for Mr. Johnson more flexible than Mrs. May — University of London. “The fire
on all sides of the debate are tone for a leadership contest. would have significant reper- but several European Union has begun and the
willing to compromise.” He is a leading contender to May’s own side were more gen- deal exit and are expected to Her Conservative Party cussions and could increase leaders have hinted they regard Conservative Party is genuine-
Whether such compromise replace Mrs. May. erous, despite many of them choose the new leader around faces a rejuvenated adversary the prospects of Britain the idea of dealing with him as ly worried. That makes them
is even possible in Britain’s “We will leave the E.U. on having been involved in back- July. in Nigel Farage, the former hurtling out of the European a nightmare come true. They more inclined to pick someone
polarized politics is unclear Oct. 31, deal or no deal,” Mr. room machinations to oust her That will leave the new leader of the U.K. Union without an agreement likely will be loath to make him with the X factor.”
at best. Johnson told an economic con- and having already begun cam- prime minister only a few Independence Party, who at the end of October, despite any concessions. “It’s fair to say that it’s his to
Brexit has splin- ference. “The way paigning in private to succeed months to try to rebuild the stormed back onto the politi- the potentially dire economic As a child Mr. Johnson lose,” Mr. Bale said of the lead-
tered both the Britain was to get a good deal her. Mrs. May’s government — wreckage of Mrs. May’s deal cal scene amid Mrs. May’s fail- consequences. famously announced his ambi- ership contest, before noting:
Conservatives and originally is to prepare for a deeply divided, and sometimes — and then decide what to do ure to win backing for her It also sets up a possible tion to become “world king,” “But, of course, he is perfectly
the opposition scheduled to leave no deal.” chaotic — suffered around if that fails. To make matters Brexit deal. constitutional showdown with and even if the job he now seeks capable of losing it.”
Labour Party into the European bloc Opposition fig- three dozen ministerial resig- trickier, the leadership of the The party Mr. Farage now Parliament, which has shown is not quite that, the stars could There is no shortage of oth-
warring factions on March 29, but ures relished Mrs. nations during her tenure. European Union is set to leads, the Brexit Party, is that the one thing it can agree be aligning for him. er contenders should Mr.
since the referen- the deadline was May’s departure. Andrea Leadsom, who only change during the coming expected to do well in the on is that there should never be The results of the European Johnson falter.
dum that narrowly extended to Jeremy Corbyn, two days earlier quit Mrs. May’s months. The bloc’s leaders European Union’s parliamen- a no-deal Brexit. If Britain’s Parliament elections are to The field is crowded because
approved the October 31 the Labour leader cabinet to protest her latest have insisted that their posi- tary elections this week — elec- new prime minister — whoev- announced on Sunday, and his Conservative lawmakers use
departure on June who has sparred effort to revamp her Brexit tion on Brexit will not budge, tions that Mrs. May had prom- er it is — was willing to exit the Conservative Party, according leadership contests to raise their
23, 2016. A second referendum relentlessly with the prime plan, said the prime minister’s making it difficult to see how ised would never take place on bloc without a deal, it is to opinion polls, appears head- profiles and put down markers
that could keep Britain in the minister in the House of departure was “an illustration Mrs. May’s successor will the assumption Britain would unclear if Parliament would ed to a humiliating defeat at the for the future, or to amass a bloc
European Union remains a dis- Commons, described her res- of her total commitment to wring new concessions be out of the bloc by now. The have the power to stop the hands of the populist of votes that they can use in bar-
tant possibility. ignation as an indictment of a country and duty.” Ms. from them. Conservatives are braced for a move, according to constitu- Euroskeptic, Nigel Farage, and gaining with front-runners for
But many Conservative law- Conservative Party riven for Leadsom, a pro-Brexit law- In Brussels, and even in collapse in support when the tional scholars. his new Brexit Party, which has future jobs.
makers have grown more hard- decades by the issue of Britain’s maker, is likely to be among the some quarters in London, Mrs. results are declared, on Sunday “A new leader will have the been fired up by Mrs. May’s fail- Under its leadership rules,
line during Mrs. May’s long, membership in the European crowded field of contenders for May won sympathy for her night or early Monday. opportunity to do things differ- ure to take Britain out of the Conservative Party lawmakers
fractious tenure and now sup- Union. her job. resilience and knack for If the results are as bad for ently and have the momentum European Union on March 29 will whittle down probably
port leaving the bloc with no Mr. Corbyn said she had To decide the leadership absorbing political punish- the Conservatives as some law- of a new administration,” Mr. as planned. around a dozen candidates to
withdrawal deal at all — a move “now accepted what the coun- contest, Conservative Party ment. But Mrs. May failed at makers fear, that could rattle Johnson said on Friday, accord- If the takeaway for the a shortlist of two. Party mem-
opposed by a majority in try has known for months: lawmakers will first winnow a her sole objective: delivering the party and make the selec- ing to Reuters, illustrating why Tories from the expected elec- bers, who are thought to num-
Parliament and one that most She cannot govern, and nor long list of contenders to two, Brexit. And she also left behind tion of a hard-line Brexiteer Britain could be headed into tion drubbing is that they need ber around 120,000, mainly
analysts warn could bring dire can her divided and disinte- then hand the choice to the a political system that is more successor to Mrs. May even turbulent waters. “We will leave to fight fire with fire, that aging, activists, will then
economic consequences. grating party.” party’s roughly 120,000 mem- deadlocked and deeply polar- more likely. the E.U. on October 31, deal or would point overwhelmingly choose the winner.
Mrs. May’s departure, Lawmakers from Mrs. bers, who largely favor a no- ized than before. © 2019 The New York Times News Service no deal. The way to get a good to Mr. Johnson. © 2019 The New York Times News Service

China’s top banking regulator says MARCH AGAINST CHANGE

yuan bears will suffer ‘heavy losses’

REUTERS
Beijing, 25 May
China’s banking and insurance regulator
said on Saturday it did not expect a per-
sistent decline in the yuan and warned
speculative short sellers they would suffer
“heavy losses” if they bet against the cur-
rency.
The yuan has lost more than 2.5%
against the dollar since the festering China-
U.S. trade dispute intensified earlier this
month. It is now less than a tenth of a yuan
away from the 7-per-dollar level authorities
have in the past indicated as a floor.
“Short-term fluctuation of the yuan
exchange rate is normal, but in the long-
run, China’s economic fundamentals
determine that the yuan will not depreciate
persistently,” Xiao Yuanqi, the spokesman
for the China Banking and Insurance
Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), told a
finance forum in Beijing.
“Those who speculate and short the
yuan will for sure suffer heavy loss.”
Xiao was reading from a script prepared
for Guo Shuqing, CBIRC’s chairman and
the Communist Party chief of the People’s
Bank of China (PBOC). Guo was scheduled
to give a speech at the same forum but
couldn’t make it due to last-minute
arrangements.
Sources have told Reuters China’s cen-
tral bank will use foreign exchange inter-
vention and monetary policy tools to stop
the yuan weakening past the key 7-per-
dollar level in the near-term.
A defence of the 7 level could help boost
confidence in the currency and soothe
investor fears about the yuan, even as sour-
ing trade relations with Washington make
competitive devaluation a compelling
option for Beijing.
Xiao also said Beijing must look out for
hot money moving in and out of the coun-
try, as well as large amounts of capital flow-
ing into the frothy real estate market.
“We must be especially vigilant about
money from overseas moving in and out in
large quantities, and hot speculative mon-
ey, and we must resolutely fight bubbles in
real estate and financial assets,” he said.
Chinese policymakers have struggled
to manage bubble risks in the property
market, the world’s largest, without hurting
growth in the sector, which is crucial for the
wider economy.
With talks stalled between Washington
and Beijing, and U.S President Donald
Trump threatening to slap tariffs of up to
25% on all Chinese imports, investors are
nervously reassessing risks amid growing
fears about their damaging impact on the
global economy.
Washington slapped higher tariffs on
$200 billion (£157.3 billion) in Chinese
goods earlier in May, prompting Beijing to
retaliate. But Xiao said the impact of addi-
tional U.S. tariffs on China’s economy, the
world’s second-largest, would be “very lim-
ited” even if the tariffs were levied “to their
extreme level”.
“First of all, most of the (Chinese)
products exported to the United States
are very suitable for domestic sales. China
is in the middle of a ‘consumption
upgrade’, so a huge market with rapid
expansion will absorb a large amount of
them without ‘crowding out’ existing con- People take part in a demonstration called ‘Global Strike for Climate 2’ in Brussels, Belgium on Friday REUTERS
sumers,” he said.

It’s never been easier to be a CEO, and the pay keeps rising
PETER EAVIS
25 May
This is not a difficult time to be a
chief executive.
The solid economy has
bolstered companies’ sales, and
President Trump’s corporate
tax cuts have juiced profits.
A huge increase in stock
buybacks has lifted
share prices.
Despite all the structural
forces aiding companies’
bottom lines and stock prices,
boards continue to act as if
C.E.O.s have unique powers to
deliver better returns — and
have gone to great lengths to
compensate them. The most
prominent example: Tesla
approved a pay package to Elon
Musk valued at as much as $2.3
billion. It’s not just the highest
sum for last year; it’s the biggest
ever, according to
compensation experts.
Something about this feels
inevitable. Every year, Equilar,
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
an executive compensation
consulting firm, conducts a
survey for The New York Times
of the 200 highest-paid chief
executives in America. And
nearly every year, C.E.O.s
already earning huge sums get
even bigger payouts. In 2018,
our analysis shows, they did
particularly well: The median
boss received compensation of
$18.6 million — a raise of $1.1
million, or 6.3 percent, from the
year prior.
C.E.O. pay increased at
almost twice the rate of
ordinary wages. In 2018 — a
pretty good year for the labor
market — the average
American private-sector
worker got a 3.2 percent raise, or
an extra 84 cents per hour.
These gains at the top are in
spite of recent efforts to restrain
C.E.O. pay. Earlier this decade,
Congress required that
companies disclose the ratio of
their chief executive’s pay to
that of their median employee.
Lawmakers also gave
shareholders a special but
nonbinding vote on the matter.
Another trend theoretically
contributing to accountability
is that company boards, under
pressure from some
shareholders and advisory
firms, have tied a lot more of a
chief executive’s pay to a
company’s performance.
And yet the compensation
machine still spits out bigger
and bigger rewards. Mr. Musk
topped Equilar’s list by more
than $2 billion. In second place
was David M. Zaslav, the chief
executive of Discovery, an
entertainment company, at
$129.5 million.
Palo Alto Networks, which
provides cybersecurity
services, gave its incoming
chief, Nikesh Arora, a package
that it said was worth $125
million. Oracle awarded each of
its two co-chief executives
payouts of $108 million and
gave its chairman, Larry
Mr. Musk in January 2018, it
was hailed as a bold
experiment, fitting of a
visionary entrepreneur. Sure,
the multibillion headline
number was big enough to
appease the gods, but the award
was structured in such a way
that Tesla would have to reach
highly ambitious milestones
for Mr. Musk to receive any of it.
Tesla’s market capitalisation is
now $35 billion. To gain all the
options in the award, its market
value would have to increase 18
times over, to $650 billion.
“Elon’s entire
compensation is directly tied to
the long-term success of Tesla
and its shareholders, and none
Elon Musk’s package of $2.3 billion is not just the highest sum of the equity from his 2018
for last year; it’s the biggest ever performance package has
vested,” said Kamran Mumtaz,
Ellison, slightly more. One of 2018 report: a spokesman for Tesla.
the co-C.E.O.s, Safra A. Catz, The award’s structure was
was 2018’s highest-paid CEOs get paid regardless of driven by concern that Mr.
woman, one of only eight on the logic Musk’s attention could wander
Equilar list. When Tesla announced its to his other ventures, like
Some takeaways from the multibillion-dollar award for SpaceX, or that he could leave
https://t.me/Banking4Exams
Tesla altogether. In describing
the compensation package, the
board said it wanted to
“motivate Mr. Musk to continue
to not only lead Tesla over the
long term, but particularly in
light of his other business
interests, to devote his time and
energy in doing so.”
CEOs get paid extra to do
the basics
Two chief executives who
ended high up on Equilar’s list,
Robert A. Iger of Disney and
John J. Legere of T-Mobile,
are getting awards for leading
their companies through
large mergers.
But carrying out mergers
could be considered a core part
of a C.E.O.’s job description, and
not deserving of extra pay. CVS,
for instance, gave a few senior
executives a special award for
overseeing its big merger with
Aetna, but its chief executive,
Larry J. Merlo, did not
get one.
https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
CEOs get paid regardless
of scandal
Timothy J. Sloan stepped down
from Wells Fargo in March,
after struggling to convince
Congress and regulators that
the bank was fixing its
problems after several
scandals. Mr. Sloan’s stock
grants, worth around $24
million, according to Equilar,
will vest over the next three
years, Wells Fargo said.
Facebook had a horrible
2018. The Cambridge Analytica
scandal revealed the
company’s poor controls on
user data, and the activity of
Russia-linked actors on
Facebook around the time of
the 2016 election was one of the
biggest outrages to ever hit a
large technology company. The
company is now spending
billions trying to make its
network secure, and it faces
regulatory scrutiny that could
affect it for years.
© 2019 The New York Times News Service
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

.
MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 WORLD 9 <

Novartis’ $2-mn therapy for rare disorder is world’s most expensive drug
JOHN MILLER & CAROLINE HUMER
25 May
Swiss drugmaker Novartis on
Friday won U.S. approval for its
gene therapy Zolgensma for
spinal muscular atrophy (SMA),
the leading genetic cause of
death in infants, and priced the
one-time treatment at a record
$2.125 million.
The Food and Drug
Administration approved
Zolgensma for children under
the age of two with SMA,
including those not yet show-
ing symptoms. The approval
covers babies with the deadliest
form of the inherited disease as
well as those with types where
debilitating symptoms may set
in later.
“This is potentially a new
standard of care for babies with
the most serious form of SMA,”
said Dr. Emmanuelle Tiongson,
a pediatric neurologist at
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
who has provided Zolgensma
to patients under an expanded
access programme. “The job
now is trying to negotiate with
insurers that this would be a
long-term savings.”
Novartis executives defend-
ed the price, saying that a one-
time treatment is more valu-
able than expensive long-term
treatments that cost several
hundred thousand dollars a
year.
Novartis touched off a
debate over what gene therapy
is worth last year, estimating its
treatment would be cost-effec-
tive at up to $5 million per
patient. A review in April by an
independent U.S. group, the
Institute for Clinical and
Economic Review (ICER), con-
cluded Novartis’ value estimate
for Zolgensma was excessive.
But on Friday, ICER said
that based on Novartis’ addi-
Vas Narasimhan has much rid-
ing on Zolgensma, describing it
as a near cure for SMA if deliv-
ered soon after birth. But data
proving its durability extends
to only about five years. The
therapy uses a virus to provide
a normal copy of the SMN1
gene to babies born with a
defective gene. It is delivered
by infusion.
A rival to Biogen
Novartis is expecting European
and Japanese approval later
this year. Zolgensma will com-
pete with Biogen Inc’s Spinraza,
The FDA approved Zolgensma for children under the age of two the first approved treatment for
with SMA, including those not yet showing symptoms SMA.
The disease often leads to
tional clinical data, the broad installment payments for paralysis, breathing difficulty
FDA label and its launch price, Zolgensma as well as refunds and death within months for
it believed that the drug fell if the treatment does not work babies born with the most seri-
within the upper bound of its and upfront discounts for pay- ous Type I form. SMA affects
range for cost-effectiveness. ers who commit to standard- about one in every 10,000 live
Novartis said it was offering ised coverage terms. births, with 50 percent to 70
health insurers the option of Novartis Chief Executive percent having Type I disease.
Spinraza, approved in late
2016, requires infusion into the
spinal canal every four months.
Its list price of $750,000 for the
initial year and $375,000 annu-
ally thereafter was also deemed
excessive by ICER.
Some neurologists see gene
therapy becoming the pre-
ferred treatment for newborns
with severe SMA, while
acknowledging that families
may choose to wait for long-
term safety and efficacy data
for Zolgensma. Novartis is look-
ing into whether the death of
one severely ill baby treated
with Zolgensma was related to
the therapy.
“Most families will want to
do the gene therapy since it
avoids the frequent spinal
taps,” said Dr. Russell
Butterfield of the University of
Utah in Salt Lake City.
Butterfield has received pay-
ments from Biogen for con-
sulting.
The FDA said it approved
Zolgensma based on clinical tri-
als involving 36 patients aged 2
weeks to 8 months. The agency
said patients treated with
Zolgensma showed significant
improvement in developmen-
tal motor milestones such as
head control and ability to sit
up.
The most common side
effects of Zolgensma are ele-
vated liver enzymes and vom-
iting. The FDA is requiring
Zolgensma’s label to include a
warning that acute serious liv-
er injury can occur.
With additional studies
underway, Novartis said it has
so far treated more than 150
patients with Zolgensma,
which was acquired with its
$8.7 billion purchase of AveXis
last year.
Wall Street analysts have
forecast sales of $2 billion by
2022, according to a Refinitiv
survey. Spinraza sales hit $1.7
billion last year, and are seen
rising to $2.2 billion in 2022.
Roche is developing risdiplam,
an oral drug, for the condition
and plans to file for approval
later this year.
Novartis, Biogen and Roche,
as well as patient advocates and
neurologists, say babies with
SMA who receive treatment
before symptoms emerge stand
the best chance of near-normal
development. They are lobby-
ing to make SMA screening
standard for newborns in every
market.
“Babies (with SMA) are los-
ing motor neurons from the
day they are born, so the abili-
ty to treat them as early as pos-
sible is the way you get maxi-
mum value out of the therapy,”
David Lennon, who heads
Novartis’ AveXis unit, said in a
recent interview. REUTERS

Defying Congress, Trump okays Nike to limit pay cuts

military sales to Saudis, UAE
PATRICIA ZENGERLE
25 May
S President Donald Trump,
U
declaring a national emergency
because of tensions with Iran,
swept aside objections from Congress on
Friday to complete the sale of over $8 bil-
lion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The Trump administration informed
congressional committees that it will go
ahead with 22 military sales to the Saudis,
United Arab Emirates and Jordan, infu-
riating lawmakers by circumventing a
long-standing precedent for congres-
sional review of major weapons sales.
Members of Congress had been
blocking sales of offensive military
equipment to Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates for months, angry
about the huge civilian toll from their air
campaign in Yemen, as well as human
rights abuses such as the murder of Saudi
journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi
consulate in Turkey.
Lawmakers and congressional aides
warned earlier this week that Trump,
frustrated with Congress holding up
weapons deals including the sale of
bombs to Saudi Arabia, was considering
using a loophole in arms control law to go
ahead by declaring a national emer-
gency.
“President Trump is only using this
loophole because he knows Congress
would disapprove ... There is no new
‘emergency’ reason to sell bombs to the
Saudis to drop in Yemen, and doing so
only perpetuates the humanitarian crisis
there,” said Senator Chris Murphy.
Murphy, a Democrat, made public on
Twitter on Wednesday that Trump was
considering the loophole in the Arms
Control Export Act to clear the sales.
Several of Trump’s fellow
Republicans, as well as Democrats, said
they would object to such a plan, fearing
that blowing through the “holds” process
would eliminate Congress’ ability to
check not just Trump but future presi-
dents from selling weapons where they
liked.
Representative Mike McCaul, the top
Republican on the House of
Representatives Foreign Affairs
Committee, said the administration’s
action was “unfortunate” and likely to
damage future White House interactions
with Congress.
“I would have strongly preferred for
the administration to utilise the long-
established and codified arms sale
review process,” McCaul said in a state-
ment.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after their arrival in
Tokyo on Saturday
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said in a statement that U.S. partners in
the Middle East needed the contracts to
be completed to help deter Iran, and that
the decision to circumvent Congress was
meant to be a “one-time event.”
It is not the first time Congress and
Trump have clashed over policy in the
region, or the division of powers between
the White House and Capitol Hill. The
House and Senate voted to end U.S. mil-
itary support for the campaign in Yemen
earlier this year, but Trump vetoed the
resolution.
In documents sent to Congress,
Pompeo listed a wide range of products
and services that would be provided to
the countries.
They include Raytheon precision-
guided munitions (PGMs), support for
Boeing Co F-15 aircraft, and Javelin anti-
tank missiles, which are made by
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Corp.
Other companies that will benefit
include General Electric, now cleared to
sell engines for use in F-16 fighter jets
operated by the UAE and the U.S. unit of
French firm Thales, which was cleared to
sell a fuzing system for Paveway IV pre-
cision guided bombs to Britain and the
UAE.
It will also likely be welcome news
for Britain’s BAE Systems Plc and
Europe’s Airbus, clearing the way for
installation of Paveway laser-guided
bombs on European-built Eurofighter
REUTERS
and Tornado fighter jets sold to Saudi
Arabia, as well F-15 fighters built by
Boeing.
“I am disappointed, but not sur-
prised, that the Trump Administration
has failed once again to prioritize our
long-term national security interests or
stand up for human rights, and instead is
granting favours to authoritarian coun-
tries like Saudi Arabia,” Senator Bob
Menendez said in a statement.
Menendez, ranking Democrat on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
vowed to fight the action, and said he
was in talks with both Democrats and
some of Trump’s fellow Republicans on
ways to preserve congressional review
of arms sales.
The Foreign Relations Committee
chairman, Republican Senator Jim
Risch, said he had received formal noti-
fication of the administration’s intent to
move forward.
In a statement, Risch said, “I am
reviewing and analysing the legal justi-
fication for this action and the associat-
ed implications.”
In his memorandum justifying the
emergency declaration, Pompeo listed
years of actions by Iran. “Iranian malign
activity poses a fundamental threat to
the stability of the Middle East and to
American security at home and abroad,”
he wrote, and cited “a number of trou-
bling and escalatory indications and
warnings” from Tehran. REUTERS
Trump arrives
in Japan amid
trade tensions
U.S. President Donald Trump and his
wife, Melania, landed in Japan on
Saturday on a largely ceremonial
visit meant to showcase strong
ties with Tokyo even as trade
tensions loom.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe will treat Trump to an imperial
banquet and front row seats at a
sumo tournament during the trip,
which lasts through Tuesday.
The two men share a warm
relationship, which the Japanese
leader aims to emphasise as
Washington mulls tariffs on
Japanese auto exports that the
Trump administration views as a
potential national security threat.
The United States is in the middle
of an expensive trade war with
China in protest against Beijing’s
treatment of U.S. companies, and
tensions with Japan and the
European Union over trade are
simmering.
Trump and Abe are expected to
discuss trade during talks on
Monday, but officials have played
down the possibility of a deal during
the visit.
Trump will become the first
foreign leader to be received by new
Japanese Emperor Naruhito since he
inherited the throne earlier this
month.
He made clear during an
impromptu news conference on
Thursday that he was flattered by
the invitation.
“Prime Minister Abe said to me,
very specifically, ‘You are the guest
of honor.’ There’s only one guest of
honor ... I’m the guest of honor at
the biggest event that they’ve had
in over 200 years,” Trump said.
“So it’s a great thing. And we get
along very well with Japan. I get
along very well with the Prime
Minister.”
After his arrival, Trump was due
to meet with business leaders
before retiring.
On Sunday, Trump and Abe are
expected to play golf and attend a
sumo match. On Monday, they will
discuss North Korea’s nuclear and
missile programs in addition to
trade. REUTERS
for women athletes
who have children
NICK TURNER &
EBEN NOVY-WILLIAMS
25 May
Nike Inc., responding to criti-
cism that the brand treated its
female athletes unfairly during
pregnancy, vowed to better pro-
mote its policies and change a
rule that resulted in women los-
ing pay when they had children.
The company is eliminating
a performance requirement for
“12 months for those athletes
who decide to have a baby,”
Nike Vice President Amy
Montagne said in a memo to Olympic gold medallist Allyson Felix had earlier revealed that
staff. “Moving forward, we are Nike wanted to pay her 70% less after her pregnancy
also committed to including
written terms reinforcing this sored by Nike until 2016, said mean athletes don’t have to
policy in all our contracts with in a New York Times opinion maintain a certain performance
female athletes.” piece. “There’s no way I’d tell level to maintain pay.
Nike’s advertising stresses Nike if I were pregnant.” “We were saddened to hear
female empowerment, but ath- Olympic gold medalist her experience, but support and
letes have said they were pun- Allyson Felix shared her story admire her, as we always have,
ished for having children. this week, saying Nike wanted for speaking up,” Montagne said
“Getting pregnant is the kiss of to pay her 70% less after her in the memo. “This has been a
death for a female athlete,” pregnancy. humbling moment.”
Phoebe Wright, a runner spon- The 12-month rule would BLOOMBERG
Amazon facial recognition ban
won just 2% of shareholder vote
Amazon.com Inc shareholders overwhelmingly votes for, against and abstaining. The tallies
rejected a proposal that the company stop sell- excluded broker non-votes.
ing facial recognition technology to government Law enforcement in the United States have
agencies, while a resolution to audit the service used facial recognition for years, and vendors of
drew more support, a regulatory filing on Friday the technology have abounded, including
showed. France’s Idemia, Japan’s NEC Corp and newer
Some 2.4% of votes were in favour of the ban. entrants like Israel’s AnyVision and Microsoft
A second proposal that called for a study of the Corp, which has called for regulation in recent
extent to which Amazon’s “Rekognition” service months.
harmed civil rights and privacy garnered 27.5% Now, members of the U.S. Congress are look-
support. ing into the rights impact of the technology.
Amazon’s sale of the technology to law Amazon’s marketing of facial recognition has
enforcement in Oregon and Florida has put the resulted in intense scrutiny, and researchers
company at the centre of a growing U.S. debate have said its technology struggled to identify
over facial recognition, with critics warning of the gender of individuals with darker skin,
false matches and arrests and proponents argu- prompting fears of unjust arrests.
ing it keeps the public safe. Among other issues shareholders considered
Amazon has defended its work and said all before Amazon’s annual meeting on Wednesday
users must follow the law. was a request to make it easier for investors to
These and other Amazon resolutions by call a special meeting, which garnered 35.3% of
shareholders faced an uphill battle to winning votes.
majority support, with Amazon’s board recom- A proposal that the company report how it
mending against them and founder and Chief plans to deal with climate change received 29.8%
Executive Jeff Bezos controlling 16% of the stock of votes. Nearly 7,700 employees had signed a let-
and voting rights. ter of support of the climate resolution, in a sign
Calculation of support was based on the total of rising worker activism at Amazon. REUTERS

‘Not just a maid’: The ultra-running domestic workers of Hong Kong

MARY HUI
25 May
Six days a week, Jaybie Pagarigan cooks,
cleans and shops for her employers, a
family in Hong Kong.
Then on Sundays — her one day off —
she hits the trails.
Traversing the city’s lush and vast
country parks, the 39-year-old domestic
worker from the Philippines clocks in
miles of running and thousands of feet
in elevation as she conquers one peak
after another.
Ms. Pagarigan is part of a growing
community of maids in Hong Kong who
have taken up trail running for the
challenge of the sport and the
opportunity to be treated as equals in a
society that often discriminates
against them.
In addition to long work days, one-
day weekends and an exhaustive list of
responsibilities, these domestic workers
somehow find the time and energy to
compete in mountain ultramarathons.
They squeeze in training runs before the
crack of dawn or late at night, and find
creative ways to turn their household
duties into training opportunities.
On a recent spring Sunday, Ms.
Pagarigan stood under overcast skies at
https://t.me/SSC4Exams
the starting line of the King of the Hills
Hong Kong Island race, part of one of the
city’s oldest trail-running series. She
was there to race the sprint distance,
11.5 miles.
At 4 feet 11 inches, Ms. Pagarigan was
head and shoulders shorter than some of
the men around her. But she had a look of
steely resolve as she gazed into the
distance, hopping on her toes to keep
warm as the race director waited for a
thunderstorm warning to be lifted so the
race could start.
Ms. Pagarigan was not familiar with
the course and did not quite know what
to expect. But she did know that there
would be stairs, lots of stairs, and that her
legs would burn more than her lungs
would. She also knew that she had hours
of training behind her, and that “it’s
better to not know what’s in front of you,”
she said.
She ended up finishing the race in just
under three hours, a result that
disappointed her. The morning’s
rainstorms had made the trails slick with
mud and she had fallen twice.
Her friend, Fredelyn Alberto, 30, a
fellow Filipino domestic worker, came
third in the full race of 21.5 miles. Ms.
Alberto has established herself as one of
the city’s rising female trail runners
economy. Foreign maids first arrived in
the city in the 1970s, when there was a
shortage of local full-time housekeepers
as the economy began to take off in line
with China’s opening up.
The steady flow of migrant workers
has allowed large numbers of local
women to stay in the work force and has
paved the way for Hong Kong’s
transformation into a thriving service
economy. Last year alone, foreign maids
added $12.6 billion to the city’s gross
domestic product, according to a recent
report by Enrich, a nonprofit that works
on the welfare of migrant workers in
Hong Kong, and by Experian, a credit
reporting bureau.
And yet the workers often face
discriminatory treatment. The
authorities have denied foreign maids
the right to apply for permanent
residency and have mandated that they
must live in their employers’ homes —
Jaybie Pagarigan, 39, has joined a growing community of foreign maids in Hong Kong an arrangement critics argue increases
who have taken up trail running the risk of abuse. It is not uncommon for
domestic workers to be made to sleep in
after a string of podium finishes, training for several more. bathrooms, storage rooms or closets.
including winning a 27.9-mile When they are not on the trails, Ms. Trail running has emerged as
ultramarathon in January. Ms. Pagarigan and Ms. Alberto are among something of an unlikely equaliser for
Pagarigan ran her first ultramarathon in Hong Kong’s 380,000 foreign maids, domestic workers. For at least a few
February, a gruelling race covering 50 who make up 5 percent of the population hours, the sweat and camaraderie of the
kilometres, or about 31 miles, and she is but play an outsize role in the city’s trails blur the lines between employers
https://t.me/Banking4Exams https://t.me/UPSC4Exams
and maids, and among locals, migrants
and expatriates.
“On weekdays, people say, ‘Oh, you’re
a domestic helper,’” Ms. Alberto said.
“On weekends, on the trails, they say,
‘Oh, you’re a good runner.’”
The sport is one of several ways that
foreign domestic workers are reclaiming
their voices and a sense of agency in a
city where they are often expected to be
subservient and virtually invisible.
For Ms. Pagarigan, the King of the
Hills race was just the start of her day.
Afterward, she dashed to a graduation
ceremony for a course on money
management offered by Uplifters, a
nonprofit group that offers online
education to migrant workers.
Later that afternoon, she led a hike as
a volunteer for a local trekking group. In
all, in her one day off from work, she
covered 15 miles and 4,500 feet.
Ms. Pagarigan said that trail running
sends an important message: “We’re not
just a maid. We’re not just poor people.”
A typical day for her begins at 4:30
a.m., when she slips out of her
employer’s apartment for a “sunrise jog,”
a five-mile round-trip run to the
summit of nearby Mount Butler, a
1,430-foot peak.
© 2019 The New York Times News Service
 https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
10 DEMOCRACY AT WORK
>
MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019

DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?

CHATTERBOX

From the campaign trail CHECKLIST

As he landed in Varanasi to campaign for Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Shalini
Yadav, party supremo Akhilesh Yadav couldn’t resist having a dig at Prime Minister
DONATIONS TO REGIONAL PARTIES AS DECLARED TO THE ECI (FY 2017-18)
Narendra Modi’s cloud explanation on how the air strikes after Pulwama were delayed Under Section 29C(1) of the Representation of the Biju Janata Dal leads with ~13.04 cr from 6
because of the cloud cover. Speaking to NewsX news channel on his way to Varanasi, People’s Act, 1951, political parties are required to donations followed by Janata Dal United, which
as his plane touched the ground, he said: “Well here I am, to campaign in the PM’s prepare a report providing details of contributions has declared receiving ~11.19 crore from 27
constituency, without the benefit of cloud cover, aur bina kali ghataon ke (without in excess ~20,000 from any person in a particular donations. YSR-C declared receiving ~8.35 crore
dark clouds) but very visible on the janata ka radar.” financial year to avail 100 per cent tax exemption. that is the third highest amongst all regional
n
However, in FY 2017-18, 10 Regional parties - Aam parties.
Factionalism in state cadres Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), n
59.44 per cent or ~32.58 crore of the total
Why did as talented and bright a minister as Hardeep Puri lose from Amritsar? The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Sikkim donations received by regional parties have been
answer is one word: Factionalism. After Arun Jaitley, Puri is the second Bharatiya Democratic Front (SDF), Naga People’s Party (NPF), received solely by top three regional parties.
Janata Party (BJP) leader to have lost the seat at the height of a Modi wave. State BJP Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Parishad (MGP), n
Out of the total donations of ~54.81 cr declared
Chief Shwet Malik and former minister Anil Joshi don’t get on. And most BJP workers Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Pattali by the regional parties, ~77.49 lakh from 434
believe it was Malik’s job to get Puri — not familiar with Amritsar — elected. As soon Makkal Katchi (PMK), All India NR Congress (AINRC) donations was received in cash during FY 2017-18.
as news began trickling in that Puri was losing, messages began circulating on and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) This formed 1.4 per cent of the total donations to
Whatsapp groups blaming Malik for the defeat. Apparently, other seats like “State-centric constructive politics ought to be have also provided details of donations received the parties.
the norm in times ahead. No government at
Hoshiyarpur nearly fell a victim to this factionalism as well. The MP from this seat, centre can ignore any state. Gone are the days below ~20,000 in their contributions report. n
The maximum donations in cash was declared
Vijay Sampla was denied the ticket so he did no campaigning for the BJP candidate, Hindi-speaking states alone constituted India. n
The total amount of donations declared by by Naga People’s Front, which collected a total of
Som Pal. It was just timely intervention by the central leadership which got Modi to It's time to embrace and carry along all states” regional parties, including both above and below ~65.26 lakh, followed by AINRC with ~4.20 lakh
campaign here and sent four union ministers to camp in the constituency until the DMK Chief MK Stalin post the election win, in Chennai, on ~20,000, was ~54.81 crore, from 2,824 donations. and PMK with ~3.81 lakh.
election was over because of which the BJP won the seat. May 24 n
With regard to the total amount of donations, SOURCE: ADR

factured goods, for the government, it would Even basic income tax exemption limit has to
OPINION mean increased tax collection and fiscal con- be increased from ~3 lakh to ~5 lakh. We have
solidation and creation of a much simpler sys- promised to ensure reduced tax rates.
THERESA MAY tem to administer through GSTN network. Earlier, government had launched email-
Small businesses with aggregate annual based assessment. This facility was included
turnover up to ~40 lakh are exempt from GST. in e-filling portal. Later, Central Board of

For Brexit to be a And those having annual turnover up to ~1.5 Direct Taxation directed all cases barring cer-
crore can avail the benefit of composite tain exemptions to go for E-assessment. We
scheme by paying 1 per cent tax and get rid of would follow it up. E-assessment will help in

success, good exit GST formalities. removing widespread corruption in direct tax
Fear of mismatch is an initial hiccup, but is structure. It will smoothen the process and
necessary to clean the indirect tax structure. It remove subjectivity. Income tax notices etc

deal with EU must

penalises those who collect taxes but do not will be generated through central database.
deposit it to the exchequer. Without the com- The focus of all the steps would be to lower
plete audit trail, the gaps in the tax collection the effective tax rate for the payer and have a
can’t be filled. To overcome initial problems of better compliance so that there is net increase

I
became Prime Minister almost three years ago – immedi- mismatch, the government has been lenient in the tax revenue.
ately after the British people voted to leave the European and has allowed input tax credit on provisional
Union. basis. But ultimately the black Should we expect another
My aim was — and is — to deliver Brexit and help our sheep in the system have to be round of populist spending?
country move beyond the division of the referendum and weeded out. Your question presupposes a pre-

ILLUSTRATION BY BINAY SINHA

into a better future. A country that works for everyone. Where India with such diverse vious round of populist spending,
everyone has the chance to get on in life and to go as far as income groups can’t have a single which is not true. In the current
their own talent and hard work can take them. That is a goal rate GST. We plan to integrate 12 term as well, there would not be
that I believe can still unite our country. and 18 per cent GST slabs into a any populist spending. Indians will
I knew that delivering Brexit was not going to be simple or single 16 per cent rate with major- GOPAL KRISHNA have to understand the concept of
straightforward. The result in 2016 was decisive, but it was ity of items falling in this category. AGARWAL tax payer’s money and its sanctity.
close. The challenge of taking Brexit from the simplicity of Only six items termed as sin goods National Spokesperson for These are governance issues
the choice on the ballot paper to the complexity of resetting remain in the higher 28 per cent Economic Affairs, BJP involved with the exchequer.
the country’s relationship with 27 of its nearest neighbours slab. Essential commodities mostly The government is the biggest
was always going to be huge. As the Narendra Modi government comes back with a thumping majority, Bharatiya Janata food items are under 5 per cent tax slab. borrower. Giving out doles, with this money
While it has proved even harder than I anticipated, I con- Party’s National Spokesperson for Economic Affairs Gopal Krishna Agarwal talks to Aditi Phadnis With 30 GST council meetings, most of the will be inflationary and fiscal deficit will rise.
tinue to believe that the best way to make a success of Brexit on the government’s priority and how it plans to manage the economy in its second innings demands for simplification have been accept- If the government borrowing is used for asset
is to negotiate a good exit deal with the EU as the basis of a ed, like reverse charge. Anti profiteering pro- creation, it expands the economy. When we
new deep and special partnership for the future. vision has a sunset clause. And still if more say that in the next five or 10 years, we will go

‘Good economics
That was my pitch to be leader of the Conservative Party modifications are required, government is for ~100 trillion of investment into infrastruc-
and Prime Minister. That is what I set out in my Lancaster open to those suggestions. ture, it is sustainable and will help economy.
House speech and that was what my Party’s election mani- In fact, our focus has been on increasing
festo said in 2017. That is in essence what the Labour Party’s You have in the past expressed clear the efficiency of government expenditure. For
election manifesto stated too. views about the role of the Reserve Bank example, better targeting through Jan Dhan
And over 80 per cent of the electorate backed parties which of India (RBI) in helping kick-start the account and direct benefit transfer. We did not

stood to deliver Brexit by leaving with a deal. We have worked
hard to deliver that — but we have not yet managed it.
I have tried everything I possibly can to find a way through.
It is true that initially I wanted to achieve this predominantly
on the back of Conservative and DUP votes.
In our Parliamentary system, that is simply how you nor-
mally get things done. I sought the changes MPs demanded.
I offered to give up the job I love earlier than I would like.
And on March 29 — the day we were meant to leave the EU —
if just 30 MPs had voted differently we would have passed
the Withdrawal Agreement. And we would be leaving the EU.
But it was not enough. So I took the difficult decision to
try to reach a cross-party deal on Brexit. Many MPs on both
sides were unsettled by this. But I believe it was the right
thing to do. We engaged in six weeks of serious talks with the
Opposition, offering to compromise. But in the end those
talks were not enough for Labour to reach an agreement with
us. But I do not think that means we should give up. The
House of Commons voted to trigger Article 50. And the major-
ity of MPs say they want to deliver the result of the referen-
dum. So I think we need to help them find a way. And I believe
there is now one last chance to do that.
I have listened to concerns from across the political spec-
trum. I have done all I can to address them. And today I am
making a serious offer to MPs across Parliament. A new Brexit
deal. As part of that deal I will continue to make the case for
the Conservative Party to be united behind a policy that can
deliver Brexit. 9 out of 10 Conservative MPs have already given
the Withdrawal Agreement their backing and I want to reach
out to every single one of my colleagues to make the very best
offer I can to them.
We came together around an amendment from Sir Graham
Brady — and this gave rise to the work on Alternative
Arrangements to the backstop. Although it is not possible for
those to replace the backstop in the Withdrawal Agreement,
we can start the work now to ensure they are a viable alterna-
tive. So as part of the new Brexit deal we will place the gov-
is good politics’
The country is facing a challenging
economic situation: a slowdown
threatens, unemployment is at historic
highs and manufacturing is at a
standstill. How does the BJP propose to
deal with the situation now that it has
come back to power? What should be its
top priority?
It is wrong to say that the country is facing a
challenging economic situation. If you look at
the macro-economic parameters, they all are
in a very good shape. Inflation is under control
at around 4.5 per cent. GDP is on a higher
growth path, and is about 7.5 per cent. Fiscal
deficit at 3.5 per cent is under control. Current
account deficit is also healthy. Tax to GDP ratio
has increased to 12 per cent. All this will allow
the government to take necessary steps wher-
ever required.
We understand that, if the economy has to
grow on this strong foundation, we have to
address many issues. We also have many
opportunities arising from growing aspira-
tional middle class. This middle class has huge
sums of money at its disposal for consumption
and investments. One important consideration
is our focus to reduce poverty to a single digit.
The aspirational middle class and reduction
in poverty will drive consumption demand in
the economy. The top priority for the govern-
ment would be to revive private corporate
investment, which has been low for some years
now. Once these engines work well, things like
manufacturing growth and employment gen-
eration would be taken care of. Our focus will
be on the manufacturing sector particularly
micro small and medium enterprises (MSME),
which we have termed as the missing link. The
government would be committed to take all
the necessary supportive steps.
The goods and services tax (GST) has left
enormous destruction in its wake. While it
has formalised the economy, it has also
increased the expenses of small
businesses, and the potential of
corruption. There is nothing a small trader
fears more than the word 'mismatch'.
Conceptually, no one has a problem with the
GST. It does away with the multiplicity of tax
structures, subsuming central, state and local
taxes. It results in a reduction of indirect taxes
for the consumer, creates ease of doing business
by online registration, filling of returns and ass-
esment and creating one tax one market. For
the consumer, it would reduce prices of manu-
economy. What should the RBI do now? announce farm loan waiver in our manifesto
There are two issues with the way the RBI has and still won with such a huge majority. We
conducted its monetary policy and banking believe that good economics is good politics.
regulation. First is that the monetary policy
committee (MPC) has always overestimated What should be the new government's
the future inflation in the economy as a result immediate big idea on economic
of which RBI has kept the benchmark interest management?
rate at an elevated level. This was clearly not Financial resolution and deposit insurance has
warranted by the level of economic activity in to be implemented. We also need Development
the economy. Second, whenever the RBI cut Financial Institutions to finance long-term ges-
the repo rate, it was not fully transmitted by tation projects. We will certainly do that.
the banking sector. As a result of these two fac- Big-ticket reforms in the factor market
tors the investors in India face one of the high- mobility; like land, labour and capital is very
est real interest rates in the world. Though we important for the industrialisation of the coun-
see an improvement in these areas in recent try and would step in that direction. The Centre
times, I would want the RBI to continue work- is pushing for digitisation of land records and
ing on these two issues. If they are taken care land lease agreement; it is helping in establish-
of, other pieces of the financial sector puzzle ing ownership of land. On the labour front,
will fall in place and the real economy will ben- there has been efforts on the formalisation of
efit. The government and the RBI are working labour. 93 per cent of our labour force is in infor-
to resolve the issues at IL&FS and some NBFC. mal sector. The working conditions in this sec-
The banks underwent cleansing via tor are very poor. Provident fund, ESI, job secu-
prompt corrective action or PCA. Six banks rity, social security etc. are not available. The
are still under PCA, they have to be corrected government has plans for consolidated labour
through bank mergers or infusion of capital. code and promote fixed term contracts.
We don’t need 27 public sector banks. There is stress in the agricultural sector. Food
grain production in the country has moved from
What are the direct tax reforms on the shortages to surplus. But the agricultural policies
anvil? are still being formulated with a deficit mindset.
The new government will present its first budg- We will drastically change this. Earlier all our
et in July 2019. We are waiting for the report of commodity import export policy was aligned
the task force on direct tax simplification. with the requirement of consumers. Our import
Corporate tax has to be brought down in line export policies are being aligned to ensure that
with withdrawal of exemptions and incentives. the farmers get better price for his produce.

A house of one’s own

ernment under a legal obligation to seek to conclude
Alternative Arrangements by December 2020 so that we can
avoid any need for the backstop coming into force.
I have also listened to Unionist concerns about the back-
stop. So the new Brexit deal goes further to address these. It
will commit that, should the backstop come into force, the
Government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned
with Northern Ireland. We will prohibit the proposal that a
future Government could split Northern Ireland off from the
UK’s customs territory. And we will deliver on our commit-
ments to Northern Ireland in the December 2017 Joint Report
in full. We will implement paragraph 50 of the Joint Report
in law. The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive will
notes. “We have three projects running in UP,
one in Uttarakhand, and one in Chennai. The
aim is to partner an institution in different geog-
raphies. In Chennai, we have partnered a devel-
oper who wants to build affordable housing,”
Shriti Pandey founded Strawcture Eco in Gorakhpur she adds.
As the company is currently bootstrapped,
in 2017 to make living spaces more functional, the profits from these commercial projects,
would, in turn, be used to build affordable hous-
aesthetically desirable, environment-friendly and ing in the rural sector. They have done over
affordable for all, writes Sneha Bhattacharjee 10,000 square feet of construction and made a
profit of ~1 crore since inception. Pandey hopes
to make a turnover of ~1 million by the end of

have to give their consent on a cross-community basis for
new regulations which are added to the backstop.
And we will work with our Confidence and Supply Partners
on how these commitments should be entrenched in law.
This new Brexit deal contains significant further changes
to protect the economic and constitutional integrity of the
United Kingdom and deliver Brexit.
It is a bespoke solution that answers the unique concerns
of all parts of the community in Northern Ireland.
But the reality is that after three attempts to secure
Parliamentary agreement, we will not leave the European
Union unless we have a deal that can command wider cross-
party support. That’s why I sat down with the Opposition.
I have been serious about listening to views across the
House throughout this process. That is why when two Labour
MPs, Lisa Nandy and Gareth Snell, put forward their proposals
to give Parliament a bigger say in the next phase of the nego-
tiations I listened to them. So the new Brexit deal will set out
in law that the House of Commons will approve the UK’s
objectives for the negotiations on our future relationship with
the EU and they will approve the treaties governing that rela-
tionship before the Government signs them.
So the new Brexit deal will offer new safeguards to ensure
these standards are always met. We will introduce a new
Workers’ Rights Bill to ensure UK workers enjoy rights that
are every bit as good as, or better than, those provided for by
EU rules. And we will discuss further amendments with trade
unions and business.
Edited extract of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on the new
Brexit, May 21 in London
A
master’s in construction management viable solution to stubble burning in India in 2019 and then go on to raise money from
from the US. A plush job with a consult- the long run,” says Pandey. investors as well as look to build these com-
ing firm in New York City. All this didn’t With the aim to fix the broken eco-system pressed agri panels on their own in India.
comfort Shriti Pandey as much as she thought of housing industry that only caters to the elite, “These insulated compressed panels made out
these would. The feeling of “living in a bubble” Pandey chose to build the first model home in One of the pilot homes built by Strawcture Eco of straw can provide an additional source of
was strong enough for her to leave everything Gorakhpur instead of any metropolitan. The in Gorakhpur income to farmers. With this project, a farmer
that she was doing and head back home in 2016. model home functions as an office for Strawture can make ~25,000 from a one-acre plot of straw,
A year-long rural fellowship with State Bank Eco where they bring their clients to show the native housing solutions that are low cost, sus- and reduce the carbon emission caused by stub-
of India, which comprised of a stay work they do. “When it comes to tainable, non-toxic, and take less than half the ble burning,” says Pandey.
in remote areas in Madhya affordable housing, a client would time to be built as compared to traditional con- Working towards a big pilot project in one
Pradesh, made her ponder over the want to first see a proof before invest- struction. She is confident that the material of the developing states in the country to show-
living conditions of the villagers. ing in it. Hence, we have built our own being used to construct these houses will stand case a new alternative model of social and
The poor design and structure of office as an example to show how we in all weather conditions prevalent in India. affordable housing, Strawcture Eco is aiming
the houses, quality of material work,” she says. The 350-square feet But more than the construction material, it is for dignity for families, and to design with
used, as well as dependence on home was built in just five weeks with her gender that has played a major role in get- empathy. “We are hoping that the technology
external agents of cooling led all finish work. The cost of the house ting investors. The usual remark of “you- would be accepted by the government so we
Pandey to start her own venture of was 30 per cent less then that of tradi- should-have-a-male-co-founder” that every can, with support of families, build houses
building affordable homes. THE OTHER tonal brick and mortar construction. woman founder of a startup receives, has under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and meet
After completing her fellowship, “We have collaborated with the oldest found its place in Pandey’s entrepreneurial life the government’s mission of providing housing
Pandey formed Strawcture Eco, in INDIA and largest manufacturer of com- as well. However, that has not deterred her for all by 2022,” adds Pandey.
2017. Her aim was to make living pressed agri fibre panels for technical from going ahead with plans of expansion Their unique idea and mission has won
spaces more functional, aestheti- know-how — Ekopanely,” says Pandey, across the country. them several accolades — from the United
cally desirable, environment-friendly, and who visited the Czech Republic based company “We are currently focusing on both residen- Nation 22nd Youth Assembly Impact Challenge
affordable for all. The firm uses compressed on her own to assess the quality of the product tial and commercial projects. Looking at com- Award to the runner-up award in the Uttar
agri-fibre panels and steel structures to build at the start of the project. mercial projects involves lesser time compared Pradesh Startup Conclave that provided them
houses. The panels are made of 100 per cent Pandey aims to address two problems to a residential one. We already have four proj- with funding. Most recently, they won the Green
rice straw. These reduce construction time by through her venture. One is of crop residue ects in Uttar Pradesh where we have built class- Building award at the Smart Cities Expo held in
50 per cent, cost per square feet by 35 per cent; burning in India, which has been in the news rooms and done about 50,000 square feet of New Delhi. Banasthali Vidyapeeth and IIM
they are termite proof and fire retardant, and and is a big contributor to Delhi’s hazardous construction,” says Pandey. With every project, Bangalore Women Startup Programme has
are 100 per cent recyclable. “These can be a pollution levels. The other is to provide alter- the firm is diversifying geographically, she mentored them.

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OPINION 11
Volume XIII Number 10
MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019

two teams down as the clear favourites for 2-0 lead against a rank average Australian dictable sides that can hurt anyone on their

The prize this summer the crown this time around.

In spite of England’s obvious batting
prowess and the fact that they will be play-
The 2019 World Cup is perhaps more open than we think ing at home, it is perhaps important to note
that India has the most balanced side in
he last time England hosted the brand of cricket in recent years. the competition: Batsmen that can operate
side at home earlier this year. That is what
makes the role of Mahendra Singh Dhoni so
crucial. The veteran keeper was at his wily
best while leading Chennai Super Kings in
the IPL, and Kohli must make full use of
Dhoni’s experience and his uncanny ability
day. Moreover, with traditional power-
houses like Australia and South Africa going
through a transition phase of sorts, lower-
ranked sides will fancy their chances.
When the International Cricket Council
(ICC) announced its decision to trim the

T cricket World Cup, 20 years ago,

India and England were both run-
of-the-mill one-day international
teams incapable of forging a serious chal-
lenge for the title. A dominant Australia,
under the stewardship of Steve Waugh, won
that edition, the highlight of which was a
pulsating semi-final between the eventual
champions and South Africa. Two decades
on and Australia is no longer the imperi-
ous force of old. In the supremacy stakes,
they have been overtaken by England and
India, two sides that have long overcome
their pusillanimous past, exhibiting a bold
England, in fact, is almost unrecognis-
able from the 2015 tournament, when they
faced the humiliation of crashing out to
Bangladesh in the group stages. Under Eoin
Morgan, the host nation has spent the last
four years preparing for just this, assem-
bling a formidable batting line-up that has
been blowing opposition bowling attacks
out of the water for fun. India, on the other
hand, has been remarkably consistent in
the last two years, building on the strengths
that saw them go all the way in 2011 and
make the last four in 2015. There is little
doubt then that the bookmakers have these
in different gears and a bowling attack that
has ample variety and enough mystery.
And it naturally helps that the Indians
boast the best batsman in the world, a cer-
tain Virat Kohli.
But more than his batting, Kohli’s
World Cup will be judged by his captaincy.
The Indian skipper has been guilty of rash
decision-making in the past, tinkering with
the bowling too much and not displaying
enough tactical nous in the field. Amid the
din that accompanied the latest season of
the Indian Premier League (IPL), it is easy to
forget that India under Kohli squandered a
to get the best out of players in clutch situ-
ations. Moreover, India must guard against
getting ahead of itself — high expectations
often end in crushing defeat. In 2007, a
seemingly impregnable Indian team that
comprised Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav
Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virender
Sehwag was humbled by Bangladesh.
In fact, it won’t be surprising if this
World Cup also throws up such upsets. In a
single-group round robin — being used for
the first time since 1992 — the big guns will
have to come up against the likes of Pakistan
and the West Indies, gloriously unpre-
number of participating teams from 14 in
2015 to just 10 this time, it came in for whole-
sale flak. Many argued that such a move
would significantly impact the chances of
Associate nations making the cut. But on
the flip side, the ICC seems to have made a
smart move: The tournament promises to
be extraordinarily competitive, with little
scope for meaningless, one-sided games
that were once a norm at major competi-
tions. Which means that the 2019 World
Cup, set to begin this Thursday, is perhaps
more open than we think — England and
India might want to take note.

How US-Russia ties affect India Reaching out to

The stagnation in US-Russia relations does not augur well for New Delhi’s strategic interests. It’s a throwback to the unreached
the Cold War, when India had to choose between the two countries ASHOK BHARTI Backward Castes (MBCs) by setting up
the Justice Rohini Commission to rec-
HARSH V PANT & RAJ KUMAR SHARMA o mobilise support for the ommend their share in 27 per cent

S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Sochi T second Bharat Bandhon

August 9, 2018, against the
reservation for the OBCs.
This was a clear signal to MBCs that

U earlier this week to meet Russian President

Vladimir Putin, underscoring a renewed out-
reach by the Donald Trump administration to establish
friendlier relations with Russia. US President Trump
has also announced he will meet with Mr Putin at a G20
summit in Japan next month.
Though unpredictability has been the hallmark of
Mr Trump’s foreign policies, there has been a method
to his madness in so far as his Russia policy is con-
cerned. Mr Trump has been trying to reset the troubled
US-Russia relationship, possibly not only to thwart
further strengthening of the Russia-China axis but also
to seek Russia’s assistance in balancing China in the
long-run.
The then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s
secret trip to China in 1971 started an era of US-China
cooperation against the former Soviet Union. Mr
Pompeo’s recent Russia visit is seen by some as the
beginning of just the opposite: The US and
Russia attempting to come together against a resur-
gent China.
The jury is still out on Mr Trump’s real Russia poli-
cy, given its mixed signalling. He approved the sale of
lethal weapons to Ukraine against Russia-backed
groups, implemented tough sanctions on Russia
and has called for an increase in the budget of the
European Deterrence Initiative, a programme aimed at
increasing the American security presence in Europe to
deter Russia.
Critics also argue that Mr Trump has never rebuked
Mr Putin in public and has expressed his liking for the
former KGB spy many times. Mr Trump has even hint-
ed at his support to Russian claims over the disputed
Crimean peninsula in Ukraine. Last year, Trump had
also suggested that the G7 should readmit Russia as a
member. Russia was expelled from the G8 in 2014 after
the annexation of Crimea.
The Mueller report has established Russian inter-
ference in the 2016 US presidential election but was
not able to prove a conspiracy between Russia and Mr
Trump’s campaign associates. Although it seems now
Mr Trump is free to reset US-Russia ties, his hands
are tied, as the next presidential election looms over the
horizon.
Recent remarks made by Kiron Skinner, chief of pol-
icy planning in the US State Department, added a civil-
isational twist to America’s relationship with Russia
and China when he suggested that American contesta-
tion with the former Soviet Union was a fight within the
Western family. Since Karl Marx was a Jew his ideas
were part of Western political philosophy. Mr Skinner
further added that China was a different civilisation
with no possibility of cooperation with the US.
Russians have long believed in their European iden-
tity, and it was Peter the Great who tried to cultivate
European values among Russians during the early 18th
century. Russia wanted to forge a close relationship
with the West after the disintegration of the Soviet
Union, and the roots of this policy can be traced to
Mikhail Gorbachev’s concept of a “Common European
Home”.
Under its foreign policy doctrine of “Atlanticism”,
Russia tried to promote democracy and market reforms.
Russia’s accession to the Council of Europe, G8, the
World Trade Organisation and efforts to seek Nato
membership are proof of this trend. By pursuing its
European identity, Russia wanted to achieve “Greater
Europe”, but it never materialised, courtesy the mutu-
al distrust between the US and Russia.
Often dubbed as the new Cold War, US-Russia ten-
sions have heightened after the Crimean crisis in 2014.
US President Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tensions with Russia are likely to divert US
attention from the Indo-Pacific towards Europe, allowing China to achieve its strategic objectives in the region
Continued confrontation between the West and Russia
has further pushed Russia to embrace China, and their
combined threat would be a bigger challenge to the
US. By antagonising Russia and China at the same time,
the US faces the threat of being militarily overstretched,
as its forces are engaged on multiple fronts: Syria,
Afghanistan, Russia and the South China Sea.
Tensions with Russia would likely divert US atten-
tion from the Indo-Pacific towards Europe, allowing
China to achieve its strategic objectives in the region.
Since 2001, as the US got sucked into Afghanistan and
Iraq, China made rapid economic
If Russia and the and military strides. Giving China
US can cooperate a further window of five to seven
in international years could be disastrous for US
affairs — for strategic interests in the Indo-
example, if they Pacific.
can find Russia is very sensitive about
common ground its great power status and the US
to work together could reboot its relations with
in Afghanistan — that country by accommodating
it would give some Russian interests. Barack
India more space Obama had provoked Mr Putin by
for strategic calling Russia a regional power in
manoeuvre in 2014, and Mr Putin intervened in
that country Syria to show Mr Obama that
Russia is a global power with the
military capability of challenging the Americans.
It has been suggested that the US could offer Russia
an economic partnership to build its Pacific coast and
should broker a peace deal between Japan and Russia,
to do away with strategic mistrust. Nato should also
stop its expansion in former Soviet republics to demon-
strate to Russia that it no longer sees Moscow as a
threat. These initiatives would lessen Russia’s depend-
ence on China and bring a semblance of normalcy to
US-Russia relations.
From an Indian perspective, the present stagnation
in US-Russia relations does not augur well for New
Delhi’s strategic interests. It is a throwback to the Cold
War days, where India had to make choices between the
two countries. The growing distance between the
US and Russia brings Russia closer to China and con-
strains India's strategic choices. It is not in India’s secu-
rity interest to see Russia depending too much
on China.
India benefits if Russia and the US have a workable
relationship and can cooperate to some extent in inter-
national affairs, which would give India more space
for strategic manoeuvre. For example, US-Russia ten-
sions are behind Moscow’s pro-Taliban policy in
Afghanistan. In case the two countries can find com-
mon ground to work together in Afghanistan, India
would be in a better position to attain its strategic objec-
tives in that country.
India would possibly not face the US threat of sec-
ondary sanctions like CAATSA, if the US-Russia reset
materialises. While a dramatic shift in their relations is
unlikely in the short term, American cooperation would
decrease Russia’s dependence on China, allowing
Washington to focus solely on Beijing, its real chal-
lenger in the long term.
Harsh V Pant is Director, Studies at Observer Research
Foundation, New Delhi, and Professor of International
Relations, King’s College London. Raj Kumar Sharma is an
Academic Associate at the Faculty of Political Science, IGNOU,
New Delhi
dilution of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of)
Atrocities Act, a delegation of the Dalit
and Adivasi organisations met several
Opposition leaders as well as people in
the government. How did the two
sides react to these meetings?
Opposition parties and their leaders
were cordial and sensitive to the
demand for restoration of the original
Act. They issued statements and boost-
ed our morale. However, they did not
seize the opportunity to connect and
provide political leadership to the mas-
sive unrest brewing among more than
300 million SC/ST people who consti-
tute about one-fourth of the total voters
in the country.
As far as the government is con-
cerned, one of the NDA leaders took the
initiative and used this opportunity to
provide leadership, as a result of which
the Bharat Bandh was cancelled. Not
only this, he also used his influence to
get several other demands met.
This was not the sole occasion where
the responses of the Opposition and the
government were different. There are
many other such examples — be it the
massive mobilisation of Jat, Gurjar and
Marathas in Haryana, Rajasthan and
Maharashtra; farmer’s issues including
suicides, unremunerative prices, grow-
ing debt etc; a 13-point roster affecting
recruitment of ST, ST and Other
Backward Classes in colleges and uni-
versities; reservation in promotion; the
Supreme Court judgment on Forest
Rights Act and the unprecedented press
conference by four judges of the
Supreme Court; CBI corruption case, etc.
The lack of initiative by the Opposition
in all these cases has affected the out-
come of the 2019 general elections.
As the Indian society is complex,
hierarchical and evidently exclusivist,
such instances are inevitable. These
crisis situations have always posed
challenges to the governance and the
polity of the country. Both — the gov-
ernment and the Opposition — could
use these crisis situations for their ben-
efit. Reservation for people other than
OBCs was such an issue which con-
stantly haunted the government and
the ruling party. Massive unemploy-
ment, non-recruitment in government
and the 13-point roster reducing the
scope of recruitment of SC, ST, Other
Backward Classes and other unem-
ployed also provided a huge opportu-
nity for the Opposition to put the gov-
ernment on notice and muster massive
support of all those affected. While the
Opposition failed in this completely,
the ruling party did exactly the opposite
— it used them as an opportunity to
reach out to the affected population. It
not only diffused the Maratha and Jat
movement, but also used this oppor-
tunity to advocate for the Most
BJP and its allies stand for them. As a
result, in the Hindi heartland, compris-
ing Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana
and Delhi, MBCs rallied behind the
NDA and voted it to an unprecedented
victory. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,
where Yadavs and Kushwahas form the
dominant OBC castes, the prime min-
ister portrayed himself as one who
comes from MBCs, clearly sending out
a message that one of their own is now
the prime minister. Another example
was the farmers’ crisis, where the
Opposition failed miserably. They out-
sourced political mobilisation of farm-
ers to social outfits or farmer coordi-
nating committees. Opposition parties
would attend these events, but the ener-
gy that was required to make farmers an
integral part of their political course was
missing. On the other hand, the gov-
ernment and the ruling party cleverly
diverted the agrarian reform agenda to
trimester payment to the farmers. And
to ensure the credibility of its promise,
it got ~2,000 transferred to each of their
accounts just before the election. The
fast action built an aura of credibility
and clearly outsmarted the opposition.
As a result, a massive number of small
farmers voted for the ruling party.
Same was with the Adivasis. The
SC judgment threatened the eviction
of 18.9 million tribal and forest dweller
families from their ancestral homes.
As soon as the judgment came, Dalits,
Adivasis, OBCs and Other groups came
together and called for Bharat Bandh
on March 5. implementation of a 13-
point roster in recruitment in univer-
sities and colleges and eviction of
Adivasis became a joint call. Adivasis,
who elect 47 MPs and have a say in
over 100 parliamentary constituen-
cies, had the potential to change the
electoral results. While the opposition
failed to sense this opportunity; the
ruling coalition swiftly moved and got
a stay order from the Supreme Court
and put its machinery to convince
tribals and forest rights dwellers that
they need not worry.
As a result, the NDA coalition was
able to reverse its fortunes in MP,
Chattisgarh and Rajasthan. That was
not all. The BJP and its allies had a bet-
ter strategy to engage the diverse sec-
tions of the society. They did not hesi-
tate in looking within, and removed
several influential leaders who created
a mess in states such as Gujarat and
Andhra Pradesh. The BJP’s better per-
formance in the election is an outcome
of the party’s ability to learn fast and
reaching out to the unreached.
The author is chairman, All India
Ambedkar Mahasabha, and principal
advisor, National Confederation of Dalit
and Adivasi Organisations

> OTHER VIEWS

Fixing the economy must be Crop diversification needed Another eye in the sky
the new govt’s first priority Make it attractive to grow alternatives Civil, military monitoring possible
There are multiple challenges; failure to Alarmingly dire situations wheat cycle towards crop With the successful pre-dawn used by RISAT-1, the shorter
call for urgent and immedi- diversification because pad- launch of RISAT-2B satellite wavelength of the X-band
address them will cost India dear ate measures. With 75 per dy continues to give him on May 22, the Indian Space allows for higher resolution
cent of its groundwater higher returns and MSP. Plus, Research Organisation (ISRO) imagery for target identifica-
For any ruling party, the state of a $2.7 trillion economy, in one already extracted, it is imper- the ad hoc nature of the doles has added another feather to tion and discrimination. Since
of the fastest growing nations in the world, which is staring at ative for Haryana to arrest promised rather than long- its cap. The satellite will it has high resolution, the
a slowdown with a collateral impact on revenues, growth and the depleting water table. It term lucrative prices and enhance India’s capability in satellite will be able to detect
jobs, would have been the main issue it is judged by in a nation- must ensure that its schemes marketing of alternative crop monitoring during the objects with dimensions of as
al election. That the NDA government led by Narendra Modi reach the last acre and are crops make him wary of shift- monsoon season, forestry little as a metre. This capacity
has managed to buck that trend flies in the face of conventional implemented in totality so ing. Weighing in the cost fac- mapping for forest fires and to study small objects and also
theories on the linkage between economics and politics. With that soil health and hydro- tor of paddy against the other deforestation, and flood map- movement could be useful for
the combined deficit of the Centre and states now over eight logical levels are restored. crops reveals its feasibility. ping as part of the national dis- surveillance. As K Sivan, ISRO
per cent, coupled with a widening current account deficit, a The latest incentives to steer Consider this: The produc- aster management pro- Chairman and Secretary,
slump in exports and private investment, and the threat posed farmers away from the water- tion of 1 kg rice leaves the soil gramme. Given that overcast Department of Space, had said
by the fresh tariff war unleashed by Donald Trump, the chal- guzzling non-basmati paddy drier by 2,497 litres of water. skies are a constant during the last month, the satellite could
lenges are enormous. variety to maize or pulses Punjab, too, would do well to monsoon season and during be used for civil and strategic
The Modi-led NDA government’s economic agenda in its include ~2,000 per acre, sub- urgently review whether the times of flood, the ability to purposes. With ISRO planning
second term should be dominated by policy measures to boost sidised seeds and free crop power subsidy doled out to penetrate the cloud cover is to launch four more such
private investment, a progressively cleaner GST regime with sis in the farm sector. The Modi government has the comfort insurance. Of the 1.95 lakh paddy farmers is not render- essential. radar imaging satellites in a
just two rates, a quick one-shot recapitalisation of PSU banks of numbers on its side again. But falling short on economic hectares under this cultiva- ing the state a net loser. The RISAT-2B satellite uses year, its ability to monitor
to ensure greater flow of credit and governance changes, tight- management this time around will resonate with both domes- tion, the government hopes Irretrievable loss of ground- X-band synthetic aperture crops and floods as well as
ening of the provisions in the new insolvency law to make tic and global investors. The economic costs or fallout will be to divert 50,000 hectares to water and soil health is star- radar for the first time; the syn- engage in military surveillance
sure that timelines are met, flexibility on labour laws to severe. alternative crops. ing the state in the face. thetic aperture radar was will be greatly enhanced.
enhance competitiveness, privatisation of bleeding state- The peasant is not able to developed indigenously.
owned firms in competitive sectors and addressing of the cri- The Indian Express, May 24 break free from the paddy- The Tribune, May 23 Unlike the C-band that was The Hindu, May 23
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12
>
MUMBAI | 26 MAY 2019 1

ANATOMY OF VOTES IN
THE 2019 ELECTION
Mamata offers to quit as CM
TMC rejects the request which comes days after the party ceded ground to the BJP in the LS elections
The landslide victory of Narendra Modi-
difference between the two par-
led BJP has actually obviated any need
ISHITA AYAN DUTT
Kolkata, 25 May Governor Tripathi ties was about three per cent.
for further analysis. But a deeper look at
est Bengal Chief
appeals for peace Banerjee accused the BJP of
polarising the people along reli-

W
the results throws up some interesting
Minister Mamata gious lines. “I congratulate
facts about the sweeping victory: Banerjee offered to (Prime Minister) Narendra
resign on Saturday, days after Modi for their win but I do not
the Bharatiya Janata Party’s subscribe to this philosophy. I
(BJP’s) shocker in the Lok am a Hindu but I don’t believe
TOUGH CONTESTS AGNOSTIC TO PARTY OR REGION Sabha elections. that Muslims should be side-
Twenty-nine seats were won with a margin of less than Top narrow victors Addressing a press confer- lined,” she said.
10,000 votes in the election, and 14 parties emerged Party Seats ence after the party’s internal Political observers believed
victorious in these. This means that thin-slice victories were review meeting, Banerjee said, the BJP was successful in polar-
BJP 10
dispersed across parties, or, that no party benefitted too “I told my party it is very difficult West Bengal Governor Keshari ising the people of Bengal
INC 5 to continue as chief minister, Nath Tripathi on Saturday because of Banerjee’s Muslim
much or lost too much narrowly. The BJP won 10 seats in such TDP 3 and offered to resign. But my appealed to the people to appeasement policies.
a manner, while the Congress, five. But the Congress lost Others 11 party has not accepted it.” maintain peace “in accordance The twin strategies adopted
eight seats in this manner, with a margin of 1 per cent or less “I have resigned from many with the rich culture of the state”. by the BJP, according to
Top narrow losers chairs. It is my party symbol This comes after incidents of Banerjee, were polarisation and
Thin-slice victories spread across states and parties
Party Seats that matters.” Banerjee, who is violence in several districts were distributing money. “There is
Top three also Trinamool Congress chief, reported after Lok Sabha election no value for developmental
INC 8
Constituency Winner Runner-up Victory said for the past six months, she results were declared, leaving work. Votes were cast on the
BJP 6 had not been allowed to work. many injured and a person dead. basis of money distributed,” she
margin West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee interacts with the media at
YSRCP 3 “It was like an Emergency situ- PTI said. Banerjee said she would
UttarPradesh Machhlishahr BJP BSP 181 BSP 2
her Kalighat residence in Kolkata on Saturday PHOTO: PTI
ation. I was the chief minister continue to speak against the
Lakshadweep Lakshadweep NCP INC 823 Others 10 but working under pressure several places during the elec- the protection of the poll body. the party got a drubbing from BJP’s policies, but added that
WestBengal Arambagh TMC BJP 1,142 Note: All others have won/lost
from the Election tions, she tried to put the blame Trinamool Congress leaders the BJP. With 18 seats, the BJP she would maintain a construc-
one seat Commission,” she said. on the Election Commission, met on Saturday to discuss the was close to the TMC’s tally of tive equation with the Central
On instances of violence in saying the people were under results of the elections, where 22. In terms of vote share, the government.
BJP IS MASTER OF MASSIVE VICTORIES
In thumping victories, the BJP was unmatched. There were 17 Top thumping victors
seats in 542 contested seats where the victory margin was more
than 5 lakh votes. The BJP won 15, while the DMK the remaining
two. The Congress topped charts in losing seats massively,
Party
BJP
DMK
Seats
15
2
Not interested to topple MP govt, says ex-CM Shivraj
occupying 13 runner-up positions out of 17 in crushing defeats falls on its own. ment," he said. got 109 seats.
The BJP had won 28 out of 29 Lok During the Lok Sabha elections, the Meanwhile, Prem Singh Chouhan
Thumping victories belong to the BJP Sabha seats in the state in the just-con- BSP's Guna candidate Lokendra Singh (82), father of Shivraj Singh Chouhan,
Top massive losers
Top three Party Seats cluded general polls and there has been had opted out of the race and joined the died in a Mumbai hospital on Saturday,
Constituency Winner Runner-up Victory margin speculation about the longevity of the Congress extending support to a BJP spokesperson said.
INC 13
Congress-led government in the state Jyotiraditya Scindia. Prem Singh Chouhan died in the
Gujarat Navsari BJP INC 689,668 PMK 2 which is in power due to the support of Later, in a tweet, BSP supremo afternoon at Mumbai's Lilavati
Haryana Karnal BJP INC 656,142 SP 1 BSP, SP and Independent MLAs. Mayawati threatened to withdraw sup- Hospital, where he was admitted two
Haryana Faridabad BJP INC 638,239 AAP 1 "The BJP doesn't believe in any kind port to the Kamal Nath government. days ago for an illness, he said.
of horse trading, but there are contra- In the 2018 Assembly polls, the The former MP CM rushed to
dictions within the Congress. We are Congress had emerged as the single- Mumbai after hearing the news, he
BJP’S ARCH ENEMY not interested in bringing down the largest party with 114 seats, two short of said, adding that the last rites would be
(MP) government but BJP can't help if the simple majority mark of 116 seats, in conducted Sunday in their ancestral
This is reflected if we look at how differently the two national parties performed when it falls on its own," Chouhan told the 230-member Assembly. Jait village in the state's Sehore district.
they fought against each other, and when they fought other regional forces. The BJP’s reporters at a meet-the-press event The Congress then formed the gov- MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath, for-
average victory margin against a Congress opponent was 270,000 votes, while it was here. ernment in the state with the support of mer CM Kailash Joshi, BJP vice presi-
smaller, at 180,000 votes against a non-Congress opponent. Similarly, the Congress’s "After the ticket distribution, a BSP two BSP, one SP and four Independent dent Prabhat Jha, Congress general
average victory margin against non-BJP opponents was 130,000. But wherever it won candidate joined the Congress. MLAs. secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia among
against BJP head-on, its average victory margin plummeted to 95,000. Possibly, Mayawati ji can take this seri- The BJP, in power since 2003, had others expressed condolences.
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ously or something
BJP defeated Congress harder than others Congress played well against non-BJP parties Bhopal, 25 May happens within (the
Winner Runner-up Average Victory margin Winner Runner-up Average Victory margin Congress). I am
BJP national vice-president Shivraj telling you the truth,
BJP INC 273,254 INC BJP 94,784 Singh Chouhan on Saturday said his if we wanted, we
BJP Others 176,085 INC Others 131,877 party was not interested in bringing would not have
down the Kamal Nath government in allowed (Congress) to
Sources: ECI, BS calculations
COMPILED BY ABHISHEK WAGHMARE Madhya Pradesh but cannot help if it form the govern-

Rural Bengal gave a thumbs down

to Didi despite efforts for growth
NAMRATA ACHARYA
Kolkata, 25 May
Ever since coming to power, West Bengal
chief minister Mamata Banerjee has
been holding frequent administrative
review meetings, which most govern-
ment officials and district-level political
leaders dread.
In roll call-like sessions, she often
lashed out at top government officials
and party workers over the progress of
development works in full glare of the
media.
The review meetings hold key to
Mamata’s style of administration,
showing her strong connect with the
rural masses.
Till November 2018, she had done
430 such meetings. In nearly eight
years of the Trinamool Congress (TMC)
regime in West Bengal, rural areas have
been the focus of successive budgets by
the state government. Yet, the party
faced a major defeat in the countryside
while it retained urban seats.
According to analysts, since much
of the voting in this elections was on
religious lines, Mamata’s rural focus
became irrelevant.
Departments that saw massive
increase in fund flow in the last eight
years in the state include agriculture,
panchayats and rural development,
minority development, health, school
education, land reforms and refugee
relief and rehabilitation, among others.
At the same time, in some of the job-
creating sectors like commerce and
industry and information technology,
the relative increase in fund allocation
has remained low.
Numbers paint the picture
Bengal’s budget for agriculture stood at
~315 crore in 2012-13 when state finance
minister Amit Mitra presented the first
Budget of the TMC government. By
2019-20, the allocation rose to nearly
~6,086 crore.
About a month before the NDA gov-
ernment at the Centre announced a
yearly dole of ~6,000 to farmer, West
Bengal announced ~5,000 annually per
acre to farmer, along with a life insur-
ance scheme of ~2 lakh. The scheme
cover around 7,20,000 farmer in the
state. In February this year, Mamata
had announced that the state will bear
full premium burden for Bangla Fasal
Bima Yojna, the state’s own version of
Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojna.
Earlier, the state used to pay 80 per cent
of the premium, with the rest being
borne by the Centre.
Despite this, the TMC suffered a
defeat in the agriculture-rich con-
stituencies of Hooghly, and
Bardhaman-Durgapur.
Minority development has been
another area of major focus for the TMC
government – something which the
BJP in the state made a major political
issue about, as it blamed the TMC for
appeasement politics.
For minority development and
Madarsa education, Bengal’s budget
increased from ~570 crore in 2012-13 to
about ~4,017 crore in 2018-19. Some of
the projects aimed at Muslims include
construction of boundary wall at grave-
yards, involving a fund of ~563 crore so
far, construction of Haj House, with a
project cost of ~100 crore, setting up of a
Minority Bhavan – a single window
facility for the minorities for all govern-
ment schemes – in each district of the
state. The state has also set up Aliah
University, a minority education insti-
tution, spread over 20 acres on a budget
of ~257 crore. However, the most politi-
cally contentious scheme of the TMC
government remains that of providing
financial assistance to Imams and
Moazzins, about 63,378 in number.
The most successful welfare scheme
of the TMC government has been the
Kanyashree project, which also won
several accolades, including one from
the UN and replicated by other states.
Under the scheme, the state provides a
one-time grant of ~25,000 once a girl
reaches the age of 18 and continues her
studies. The state also provides annual
scholarship for unmarried girls aged 13-
18 years enrolled in classes VIII-XII.
Also, the government provides free
school bags, books, uniform and bicy-
cles to students between classes IX and
XII. Little surprise, TMC’s budget allo-
cation for school education rose from
~2,713 crore in 2012-13 to whooping
~27,541 crore in 2019-20.
Upbeat by the success of
Kanyashree, TMC later launched
Rupashree, which doles out grants for
the wedding of women.
Some of the other popular schemes
of the state government include
Yuvashree (financial assistance for the
unemployed), and financial assistance
to folk artists.
In the area of food security, Bengal
has been a top performer, as the gov-
ernment provides 5 kg of rice/wheat per
month at the rate of ~2 a kg to the poor.
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Guv invites Jaganmohan

Reddy to form govt in AP
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Vijayawada, 25 May
Governor E S L Narasimhan
on Saturday invited Y S
Jaganmohan Reddy, who led
his party to a thumping win in
both Assembly and Lok Sabha
polls in Andhra Pradesh, to
form the next government in
the State.
The swearing-in ceremo-
ny would be held at Indira
Gandhi Municipal
Corporation stadium,
Vijayawada, on May 30 at
12.23 PM, a Raj Bhavan com-
munique said.
After he was elected leader
of the YSRC legislature party,
Reddy met the Governor of
Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana and staked claim
to form the government.
Reddy is scheduled to
meet Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in the nation-
al capital on Sunday.
The meeting assumes
importance as the YSRCP
chief during the election
campaign had said his party
would support whoever
promises Andhra Pradesh the
Special Category Status.
Armed with the resolution
unanimously electing him as
the YSRCLP leader, Reddy
met Governor Narasimhan at
the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad
and staked claim to form the
government.

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