Feats on clay: On Rafael Nadal, Jeļena Ostapenko's French Open wins (The Hindu - 13 June 2017)

    While Nadal sealed his greatness at the French Open, Ostapenko announced her promise

    In sport, there aren’t many tests tougher than playing Rafael Nadal on Parisian clay. For over a decade, the Spaniard has reduced nearly every player, regardless of reputation, Roger Federer included, to an unrecognisable heap of dust. On Sunday, when he did the same to Swiss Stan Wawrinka to win an unprecedented 10th French Open title and his 15th major overall, it was just a reiteration of the same. Nadal lost only 35 games all tournament, a number second only to Bjorn Borg’s 32 in the 1978 French Open, and did not concede more than four games in any set he played. Coming as it did after two years of under-performance, troubled by a creaky wrist and stripped of his aura, it might well be his most significant title. This does not mean that Nadal’s status as the greatest of all clay-courters was ever in doubt. As the 31-year-old himself said after thrashing Dominic Thiem in the semi-final, “I think I don’t need to make more history. It’s enough. Nine are more than good.” Rather it should highlight, more vividly than ever before, that Nadal is no ordinary dirt-baller. When he won for the first time at Roland Garros in 2005, he was seen as yet another of those cautious, risk-averse, immovable objects the clay-court specialists were. Through 15 Grand Slam titles, including two Wimbledon titles, he has proved that his tactical nous and regenerative powers are second to none. The last fortnight perhaps offered a glimpse of what a devastating blend a happily married offence and defence is.

     On the women’s side Jeļena Ostapenko, the 20-year-old Latvian, sent out the same vibes with her triumph as a teenaged Nadal had done in 2005. If Nadal had won his maiden title in his first attempt in Paris, for Ostapenko the 2017 win was the first trophy of any kind and helped her become the first unseeded woman to win at Roland Garros since 1933. Like when Maria Sharapova, all of 17, mowed down Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2004, Ostapenko played with a panache that belied her experience. She was up against Simona Halep, the favourite, in the final but so nerveless was her performance that even being a set and 0-3 down did not affect her poise. She lived by the sword, making 54 winners and as many errors in the final. It’s a tactic that does not always fetch the right dividend on clay but credit should go to Ostapenko for persisting with her attacking mindset. Admittedly, the women’s draw was shorn of stars with Williams, Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka all absent, Petra Kvitova just about recovering from a knife attack, and World No.1 Angelique Kerber anything but that. Regardless, the competitive quality on the women’s side was a notch above the men’s, and Ostapenko, playing five thrilling three-set matches out of her seven, was a testament to this.

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The rot in farming: on farmers agitation and sustainable pricing for their produce (The Hindu - 13 June 2017)

     We must enable a sustainable price discovery for agricultural produce

     To say it is a domino effect of the loan write-offs for small and marginal farmers by the Uttar Pradesh government may be simplistic, but farmers in different parts of the country have begun agitating for waivers. In Tamil Nadu, they have given the State government two months to meet their demand for a full waiver or face a fresh agitation. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in the face of protracted protests by farmers, has announced a blanket loan waiver for ‘needy’ farmers, with an estimated outgo of ₹35,000 crore. In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has resisted announcing a waiver, but unveiled a ‘package’ that includes a ‘settlement scheme’ to bring loan defaulters back into the credit net with interest-free loans. Farm groups in Punjab also began dharnas on Monday for loan waivers and other interventions. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has categorically said States must generate their own resources to fund such largesse, and the Reserve Bank of India has warned of inflationary risks from fiscal slippages caused by large farm loan waivers. However, it would be short-sighted to see the rising angst in the farm sector as simply the desire of farmers around the country to keep up with U.P. There are deeper reasons that must be addressed holistically.

     The problem is price discovery. In fact, there is deflation in pulse and vegetable prices. The RBI has acknowledged that already falling vegetable prices dipped more sharply because of ‘fire sales’ following demonetisation, and pulses are cheaper because of high output on top of imports. Prices for eggs, oils, cereals and milk are moderating, and while the sharp fall in food prices has kept consumer price inflation tepid, rural distress has been aggravated. The new cattle trade rules threaten the viability of livestock and dairy farming. Banks are awash with funds since the note ban, but rural lending growth collapsed to 2.5% in the second half of 2016-17 and even shrank in several States, including Punjab and Maharashtra. Prices of fuel used by rural households have surged for three successive months. It is this squeeze on several fronts that seems to have pushed farmers to the brink. In consultation with the States, the Centre must reconsider whether it is prudent to narrowly target low food inflation. If India wants to be the world’s food factory, its farm policy needs to recognise farmer requirements for state support. If consumers and producers can benefit from a single national market in the GST era, farmers should also have the freedom to sell their produce where and when they want — with a predictable policy framework (no flip-flops in export-import stances, for instance) that enables farm-to-fork supply chains independent of local mandis and traders. Labour and land reforms also need to be revisited to create more opportunities beyond farming, and irrigation and other infrastructure projects speeded up to boost farm productivity.

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Farms and ostriches: Devendra Fadnavis knows that loan waivers are not a durable solution (The Times of India - 13 June 2017)

     Maharashtra on Sunday announced a total farm debt waiver. Its conditions are not yet fully known but it will escalate costs beyond the Rs 30,500 crore waiver announced for marginal farmers. Next Punjab is expected to announce a waiver to fulfil the Congress’s electoral promise. But chief ministers are surely aware that these waivers are not a durable solution. A national loan waiver for farmers nine years ago, for instance, did nothing to solve structural problems. Instead, through the mechanism of loan waivers, agricultural distress is now morphing into fiscal dangers for states.

     Meanwhile violent farmers’ protests in Madhya Pradesh seemed to catch its state government napping. Over the last decade MP did have an impressive track record in wheat production. Focus on cereals however has blindsided policy makers to two parallel developments which have led to contemporary challenges. Last decade was characterised by enhanced private investment in agriculture in the form of tube well irrigation and intense input use. Simultaneously there was a shift to horticultural production, with enhanced risk of perishability.

     In MP, the value of output from fruits and vegetables more than doubled to 19.6% in the three years ending 2013-14. Even as Indian agriculture witnessed such structural changes, policy remained unchanged in its focus on the cereal economy. And the enhanced risks Indian farmers have been taking in the backdrop of greater variability in climatic patterns made them more vulnerable to shocks. Demonetisation definitely sent shock waves across the rural economy. The way out at this juncture is for the Centre and states to retool their agricultural policies. Intervention has to be smarter and designed to keep pace with the underlying changes.

     Government needs to focus on building infrastructure which links farmers to urban centres consuming horticultural products. It is only with the availability of adequate infrastructure that other schemes such as price stabilisation funds – to provide a floor price for farmers in years of glut – can be effective. India’s farm economy is intertwined with the rest of the economy. Therefore reforms in areas such as power will have a knock-on effect on agriculture too. The key to relieving agricultural distress is to replace the current policy of ad hoc interventions like farm loan waivers with one that holistically supports the transition away from a cereal-led rural economy.

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Perfect 10 at 31: Rafael Nadal’s exploits show athletes today are turning age on its head (The Times of India - 13 June 2017)

Rafael Nadal

     Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal has long been known by the moniker ‘King of Clay’. But it fails to do justice to his achievement this past Sunday when he won an incredible 10th French Open title – no tennis player before this has won a single Grand Slam 10 times in the Open Era. Consider also that Rafa today isn’t the dynamite 19-year-old that took the tennis world by storm. At 31, he is now a veteran of multiple serious injuries.

     It says something about modern sports science that despite the level of the game constantly increasing, players are finding ways to not just prolong their careers but also improve their performance in the would-be autumn of their professional lives. If it’s Rafa, Roger Federer (35), Serena Williams (35) and Leander Paes (43) in tennis, then there’s Tom Brady (39) in American football and Gianluigi Buffon (39) in soccer. Meanwhile, in cricket the likes of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni – both 35 – continue to enthral us.

    True, there have been athletes in the past who have pushed the boundaries of age. But what we are witnessing today is a growing crop of special players who are dominating their respective games despite their advancing years. This has only been made possible by advances in sports medicine that allow a player to withstand and quickly recover from punishing injuries. In Rafa’s case, injuries have cast doubts on his career several times before. But each time the Spaniard was able to bounce back and take his game to the next level. Rafa has certainly earned a legendary status in tennis and already set an incredibly high standard for youngsters in the game. And he looks set to raise the bar even higher.

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ब्रिटेन के लिए और मुश्किल होती राहे. . . (Rajasthan Patrika - 13 June 2017)

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सम्मान से विदा होते जस्टिस कर्णन लेकिन . . ! (Rajasthan Patrika - 13 June 2017)

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लाल बत्ती हटने से वीआईपी नहीं हुअा है आम आदमी (Dainik Bhaskar - 12 June 2017)

कुलदीप यादव - इंस्टीट्यूटऑफ मैनेजमेंट स्टडीज एंड रिचर्च, एमडीयू कैम्पस, रोहतक

     क्या सचमें हम सब वीआईपी हो गए हैं? लालबत्ती की परम्परा समाप्त करते हुए प्रधानमंत्री का बयान था कि अब आप सब वीआईपी हैं। सुनकर दिल को बहुत सुकून मिला था और लगा कि शायद अब गरीबों को भी वीआईपी जैसी तवज्जो मिलेगी, लेकिन शायद हर उम्मीद का जवाब समय से बेहतर कोई नहीं दे सकता।

     अभी हाल ही में जब केंद्रीय मंत्री मेनका गांधी पीलीभीत के दौरे पर थीं तो अचानक उनकी तबीयत बिगड़ गई। उन्हें फटाफट वहां के स्थानीय अस्पताल में भर्ती कराकर बड़ी फुर्ती से सभी टेस्ट कराए गए बेहतर इलाज के लिए चंद घंटों में नज़दीक के अच्छे अस्पताल में स्थानांतरित किया गया। सभी न्यूज़ चैनल पर ब्रेकिंग न्यूज में यह खबर थी, क्योंकि वे केंद्रीय मंत्री थीं। मैं यह सब इसलिए कह रहा हूं, क्योंकि दूसरे ही दिन एक खबर और सुनने को मिली जो एक गरीब लाचार इंसान के वीआईपी होने की असलियत बता रही थी कि आम आदमी का वीआईपी होना महज एक ख्वाब है। कर्नाटक के एक सरकारी अस्पताल में एक बुजुर्ग महिला के कई बार व्हीलचेयर मांगने पर भी व्हीलचेयर मिलने के कारण उसे बीमार पति को चादर पर लिटाकर उसे खींचकर जांच करवाने के लिए ले जाना पड़ा। इस घटना से केवल हमारे गरीब लोगों का वास्तविक दर्जा पता चलता है बल्कि हमारे समाज में मानवीय संवेदनहीनता के बारे में बहुत पता चला है। जाहिर है सिर्फ लालबत्ती हटाने से वीआईपी आम आदमी नहीं बन सकता बल्कि आम नागरिक वीआईपी तो छोड़िए मानवीय दर्जे की भी उम्मीद नहीं कर सकता। यह घटना बताती है कि जहां लोगों को जमीन पर रेंगते हुए जांच के िलए जाना पड़े वहां का मानव विकास सूचकांक कितना ऊपर हो सकता है। वीआईपी के लिए असंभव सेवाएं भी संभव बना दी जाती हैं और दूसरी तरफ आम जनता के लिए जरूरी सेवाएं भी असंभव होती हैं। जब तक हम अपनी मानसिकता सोच से लालबत्ती नहीं हटाएंगे तब तक वीआईपी संस्कृति को समाप्त करने का सपना देखना भी रेगिस्तान में फूलों के बगीचे लगाने के समान है। अगर हमें वीआईपी संस्कृति समाप्त करना है तो अपनी विचारधारा से लालबत्ती हटानी होगी। 

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किसान को राजनीति नहीं, समाधान चाहिए (Dainik Bhaskar - 12 June 2017)

एम.वेंकैया नायडू सूचना-प्रसारणमंत्री

     कांग्रेस पार्टी फिर आग में घी डालने के अपने पुराने खेल पर लौटकर बेचैनी पैदा करने की कोशिश कर रही है। जैसी इसकी आदत है, यह मध्यप्रदेश के मंदसौर में किसानों के हिंसक आंदोलन के दौरान गोलीबारी में छह लोगों के मारे जाने की दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण घटना का राजनीतिक फायदा उठाने में लगी है। 

     यह बहुत दुख की बात है कि हिंसा में लोगों की जान गईं। जहां केंद्र में एनडीए सरकार और भाजपा किसानों की चिंताओं पर गौर कर रही है, विपक्ष खासतौर पर कांग्रेस ऐसे दर्शा रही है जैसे कृषक समुदाय को एनडीए के सत्ता में आने के बाद ही समस्याओं का सामना करना पड़ रहा है। पांच दशकों तक अपने राज के दौरान किसानों की उपेक्षा करने के बाद उनके बारे में बात करने का क्या कांग्रेस को कोई हक है? सच तो यह है कि किसानों की दशा यूपीए की लगातार दो सरकारों के दशक भर के शासन के दौरान खराब हुई, जब किसानों की आत्महत्याएं अत्यधिक बढ़ीं और कृषि में वृद्धि दर दो फीसदी से भी नीचे गिर गई। किसानों की समस्याओं का इस तरह राजनीतिकरण क्या खुला अवसरवाद नहीं है? सभी दलों को संकुचित राजनीतिक फायदों से परे जाकर स्थिति को सामान्य बनाने में मध्यप्रदेश और केंद्र सरकार का समर्थन करना चाहिए। दुर्भाग्य से भड़की हुई भावनाएं शांत करने की बजाय राजनीतिक दल ठीक इसके विपरीत चल रहे हैं। अन्यथा कांग्रेस उपाध्यक्ष राहुल गांधी के दौड़कर मंदसौर पहुंचने की कोई कैसे सफाई देगा? जाहिर है उन्हें लगता है कि यह उन्हें मीडिया में आने का मौका देगा। उत्तर प्रदेश के सहारनपुर में हिंसा भड़कने पर भी उन्होंने यही करने का प्रयास किया था। इसी तरह वे जेएनयू हैदराबाद यूनिवर्सिटी में 'सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रम' और विरोध प्रदर्शन के बाद वहां पहुंच गए थे, जहां देश को बांटने और आतंकियों को महिमामंडित करने वाले नारे लगाए गए थे।

     यह सही है कि विभिन्न राज्यों से कृषि ऋण माफ करने की मांग की जा रही है लेकिन, निश्चित ही यह दीर्घावधि का समाधान नहीं है, क्योंकि इससे किसानों को अस्थायी राहत ही मिलती है। इसका एक ही समाधान है कि कृषि में लगने वाली चीजों की लागत पर नियंत्रण रखकर कृषि उपज की वाजिब कीमतें सुनिश्चित करना। सच तो यह है कि आरबीआई गर्वनर ने कृषि ऋण माफ करने के खिलाफ आगाह किया है। उन्होंने कहा है कि यदि राज्यों के पास इसकी वित्तीय गुंजाइश नहीं है तो पिछले कुछ वर्षों में वित्तीय अनुशासन से हमने जो कुछ भी हासिल किया है, वह खत्म हो जाएगा। प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने पहले दिन से ही यह साफ कर दिया है कि गांव, गरीब, किसान, मजदूर, महिला और युवा उनकी सरकार की शीर्ष प्राथमिकताएं हैं। वर्ष 2022 तक किसान की आय दोगुनी करने के लिए कई किसान हितैषी पहल की गई हैं। प्रधानमंत्री फसल बीमा योजना किसान की फसल के बीमा की दिशा में सबसे बड़ा योगदान है। इसमें न्यूनतम प्रीमियम के तहत अधिकतम मुआवजा देने की बात है और यह योजना सभी मौसम की सभी फसलों को दायरे में लेती है। 50,000 करोड़ रुपए की प्रधानमंत्री कृषि सिंचाई योजना के तहत हर खेत को पानी पहुंचाने का लक्ष्य है। करीब 7.1 करोड़ सॉइल हैल्थ कार्ड जारी किए गए हैं और लक्ष्य सभी 14 करोड़ किसानों को ये कार्ड जारी करने का है। ई-नाम के जरिये किसान सारे कृषि बाजारों से जुड़ जाएगा और जहां अच्छा भाव मिले उपज वहां बेच सकेगा। सरकारी कदमों के कारण दलहनों का उत्पादन बढ़ा है। 2016-17 में अरहर का न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य 4,625 से बढ़ाकर 5,050 रुपए, उड़द 4,625 से बढ़ाकर 5,000 और मंुग 4,850 से बढ़ाकर 5,250 रुपए प्रति क्विंटल किया गया है। रबी फसलों का समर्थन मूल्य भी काफी बढ़ा दिया गया है। इस साल बजट में खेती के कर्ज के लिए 10 लाख करोड़ रखे गए हैं। खेती में आने वाली नई टेक्नोलॉजी और नवीनतम जानकारियों से किसानों को वाकिफ कराने के लिए दूरदर्शन ने खास किसान चैनल शुरू किया है। 

     गोलीबारी में पांच लोगों की मौत पर मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान से इस्तीफा मांगना कांग्रेस की दीवालिया सोच बताता है। यहां यह बताना मौजू़ होगा कि मध्यप्रदेश के ही बैतूल जिले के मुलताई में दिग्विजय सिंह के शासन (1998) में गोलीबारी से 24 किसान मारे गए थे। तब तो सिंह ने इस्तीफा नहीं दिया था। क्या काग्रेस ने उनसे इस्तीफा मांगा था? क्या सोनिया गांधी वहां गई थीं? वास्तविकता तो यह है कि मध्यप्रदेश में चौहान के रूप में अब अत्यधिक किसान हितैषी मुख्यमंत्री है। उनके फोकस के कारण पिछले दो साल में राज्य में कृषि वृद्धि दर 20 फीसदी हो गई है। कृषि हित में उठाए कदमों में कृषि कर्ज पर शून्य प्रतिशत ब्याज सब्सिडी, किसानों को बिजली पर 4,500 करोड़ रुपए की सब्सिडी और कृषि क्षेत्र को करीब 10 घंटे अबाधित बिजली सप्लाई। सिंचाई क्षेत्र को 7.5 लाख हैक्टेयर से 40 लाख हैक्टेयर तक बढ़ा दिया गया है। सभी फसलों पर वाजिब दाम के लिए मध्यप्रदेश सरकार अब मूल्य स्थिरता निधि स्थापत करने वाली है। प्रदेश सरकार ने मालवा की नदियों में नर्मदा लाने का अनोखा कार्यक्रम शुरू किया है और क्षिप्रा के साथ नर्मदा को तो जोड़ भी दिया है। एक लाख किलोमीटर ग्रामीण सड़कंे बनाई गई हैं। किसानों को सबसे बड़ा बीमा कवरेज दिया जा रहा है। रबी के लिए 4,060 करोड़ और खरीफ के लिए 4,416 करोड़ रुपए के दावे प्राप्त हुए हैं। 

     मौजूदा समस्या अनाज, दलहन, प्याज और सोयाबिन में उत्पादन अधिक होने और बाजार में भाव मिलने से उपजा है। मुख्यमंत्री ने तो किसान संगठनों द्वारा रखी गई 13 में से 11 मांगें मान भी ली हैं। मुख्यमंत्री ने मारे गए लोगों के परिजनों को 1-1 करोड़ रुपए का मुआवजा देने की घोषणा की है। मैं किसानों से आग्रह करता हूं कि वे अवसरवादी नेताओं के बहकावे में आएं। किसानों की विभिन्न चिंताएं दूर करने के लिए लगातार प्रयास करने होंगे। यह सोचना नादानी होगी कि इन्हें रातोंरात हल कर लिया जाएगा। गोदाम बनाने की बात हो, कोल्ड स्टोरेज चैन, रेफ्रिजरेटर वैन, बिजली, फूड प्रोसेसिंग यूनिट के माध्यम से वैल्यू एडिशन, किफायती समय पर कर्ज और बाजार की जानकारी तक पहुंच, कृषि से जुड़े सारे मसलों पर एनडीए सरकार कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ेगी। प्रधानमंत्री किसान की दशा सुधारने और उनकी आय दोगुनी करने के लिए दृढ़ संकल्पित हैं।

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Holding the rate: On RBI’s monetary policy decision (The Hindu - 8 June 2017)

    The RBI has rightly opined that premature action risks ‘disruptive policy reversals later

     The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to keep the policy interest rate unchanged, and reaffirm its “neutral” policy stance, clearly indicates that policymakers at the central bank are singularly focussed on their primary remit of ensuring price stability while supporting economic growth. That the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee has chosen to do so in the face of clamour for a rate cut, and Consumer Price Index data and the bank’s own survey of households’ inflation expectations appearing benign, points to the MPC’s determination to reassert the central bank’s independence, especially in the rate-setting realm. Laying out its reasoning for opting to remain “watchful”, the RBI has raised pertinent questions relating to the outlook for price stability, the foremost being whether the “unusually low momentum in the reading for April will endure”. It posits that the easing trend in inflation, excluding food and fuel, may be transient given its vulnerability to rising rural wage growth and strong consumption demand. And the elephant in the room, in the MPC’s opinion, is the real prospect of inflationary spillovers from the rising risk of fiscal slippages caused by farm loan waivers — Uttar Pradesh has set the stage, and Maharashtra’s government has vowed to come up with the State’s largest-ever. Observing that inflation has fallen below 4% only since November 2016, the RBI has reiterated its commitment to keeping the headline reading close to that figure on a “durable basis”.

     The MPC acknowledges that the latest monsoon forecast augurs well for the agriculture sector, and when viewed in conjunction with continuing robust government spending, it ought to help undergird overall momentum in the economy. The RBI’s business expectations index based on its industrial outlook survey of April points to upbeat prospects for the manufacturing sector in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, spurred by rising rural and overseas demand. However, on the growth front too the RBI’s policy panel has opted for caution given that the Central Statistics Office’s GDP and GVA (gross value added) data released last month suggest that the effects of demonetisation have lingered on. The RBI has accordingly cut its GVA growth forecast for the year ending in March 2018 by 10 basis points to 7.3% and flagged the risks that global political uncertainties, rising input costs and wage pressures and the twin balance sheet problem (an over-leveraged corporate sector and stressed lenders) pose to a revival in private investment demand and a more durable economic expansion. Spelling out the priorities, the MPC has said monetary policy can be effective only when private investment has revived, the banking sector’s health is restored and infrastructure bottlenecks are removed. To do otherwise “risks disruptive policy reversals later and the loss of credibility” of the RBI.

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The PM-in-waiting: On Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s new leader (The Hindu - 8 June 2017)

     Ireland’s new leader Leo Varadkar will have to oversee issues of Brexit and social reform

    Leo Varadkar, the son of an Indian immigrant, is set to be Ireland’s Prime Minister after he won an internal contest to lead the centre-right Fine Gael, the senior coalition partner in the Republic’s minority government. The outspoken Mr. Varadkar, the incumbent Social Protection Minister, is to take over the reins of the party and country from Enda Kenny, who is stepping down after heading the party for 15 years and the country for six. Mr. Varadkar will be Ireland’s first-ever openly gay Prime Minister with minority and immigrant roots. He is just 38 years old, and thus in a club of young world leaders with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Justin Trudeau. While it is indeed remarkable that a person of Mr. Varadkar’s background has been elected to lead Ireland, what is even more striking is that during the ruling party’s elections voters focussed not on his background but on his policies. This speaks volumes for how far the country has come on its social attitudes. Ireland is deeply religious. Catholicism, the state religion, has a far-reaching influence on many aspects of Irish life, including birth, death and marriage. Abortions, except to save the mother’s life, are illegal; divorce, legalised in the 1990s, requires a four-year separation; and gay marriage was legalised just recently.

     As Prime Minister, Mr. Kenny steered Ireland out of the financial collapse of 2008-2010 and campaigned, successfully, for the European Union (EU) to recognise Ireland’s unique position during the forthcoming Brexit negotiations between Brussels and London. The Republic of Ireland is contiguous with Northern Ireland, and therefore the only EU country that shares a land border with the U.K. Mr. Kenny leaves office having convinced the EU to address the fallout for Ireland during Brexit negotiations. He also leaves Mr. Varadkar a vastly improved economy, with an unemployment rate close to 7%, about half of what it was in 2012. Mr. Varadkar will now have to build on his predecessor’s success and address his failures, including a severe housing shortage and a police service that has demonstrated an ability to collude with other public agencies to punish whistle-blowers and cover up corruption. As regards Brexit, Mr. Varadkar will have to ensure that the Common Travel Area, a mechanism by which British and Irish citizens can live and work in the two countries, is maintained, and that the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is not reinstated. He will also have to manage the economic impact of Brexit on trade and jobs in the event that the negotiations diminish Britain’s access to the European single market. Finally, as Prime Minister, he will be expected to shepherd further reforms in laws relating to divorce and abortion if he wishes to further align the Republic’s values with those of the EU and other liberal democracies.

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Farmers revolt: India’s farm distress needs structural solutions, quick fixes such as loan waivers won’t do (The Times of India - 8 June 2017)

     All of a sudden it seems to be Kashmir in Madhya Pradesh: at least five protesters shot dead in Mandsaur district, prohibitory orders and internet shutdowns enforced. The difference is that MP’s turmoil is not the outcome of a political protest led by separatists but rather an economic protest led by farmers; ironically, in a state often upheld by BJP as a model of agricultural progress. Elsewhere, in neighbouring Maharashtra, far-off Tamil Nadu or other states, farmers are seething with discontent – despite a normal monsoon last year and robust produce.

     This is testimony to the deep-seated crisis in India’s agricultural economy and must serve as a wake-up call to the Centre as well as state governments. The usual populist fixes – such as farm loan waivers – is not going to defuse this crisis. Rather, policy makers must now remove the structural bottlenecks in India’s farm economy. Agriculture supports more than half of India’s population but makes up just 15% of its economic activity. It follows that holistic solutions to farmer distress will have to combine creation of non-farm jobs and enhancement of farm incomes.

     A bird’s eye view of agriculture points to an anomaly. Around 77% of farmland is devoted to staples such as cereals. This results in output almost equivalent to what high value crops such as fruits and vegetables yield on less than 20% of the land. Rectifying this mismatch will solve many problems. This is where government policy has a crucial role to play. The Indian farmer has to function in an overregulated environment made worse by capricious bans on exports. This is compounded by restrictions on internal food trade, unfounded fear of new technology such as genetically modified crops and the new bogey that has coincided with the unchecked rise of gau rakshaks: restrictions on cattle trade.

     States have a crucial role to play here as they make policy on marketing of high value perishables such as fruits. For example, when Karnataka took the initiative a couple of years ago by creating an online marketplace and breaking the grip of vested interests, there was marked increase in prices received by farmers. Better designed farm insurance policies which provide timely relief can mitigate adverse climatic impacts. A combination of lighter and smarter regulation and improvements in areas such as insurance will make a critical difference.

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Unsafe for women: Gurgaon-Manesar gang rape shows little has changed since Nirbhaya (The Times of India - 8 June 2017)

     The horrific gang rape of a 19-year-old woman by three men, who also murdered her eight-month-old baby in Haryana’s Gurgaon-Manesar area, once again highlights the utter lack of safety for women. The survivor was attacked when she, along with her baby, was on her way to her in-laws’ place in a shared autorickshaw. The driver and two co-passengers raped her at a deserted plot and threw her baby on to a concrete median verge. Even though almost five years have passed since the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case which shook the conscience of the country and compelled lawmakers to pass tougher laws against sexual crimes, the Gurgaon-Manesar incident shows little has changed on the ground.

     This appears to be particularly true of Haryana where reports of gang rapes in Murthal during the Jat quota agitation last year had shocked the public. Initially, the Haryana government was reluctant to even acknowledge the gang rapes but later backtracked. More recently, investigation into the brutal gang rape and murder of a woman in Haryana’s Rohtak revealed that the police had ignored complaints made against the main accused months before the crime. In the Gurgaon-Manesar incident, police would not file a rape case in the first instance and allegedly told the survivor they were too busy with the President’s visit.

     All of this highlights a clear failure of basic law and order. Unless this is remedied, simply enacting stringent laws will not suffice. Add to this India’s noxious VIP culture, prioritising security for politicians but not the common man. Authorities like to quip that mindsets need to change to eradicate heinous sexual crimes. This is a copout. Ensure proper policing and high rates of conviction, and the rest will follow.

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Heavy lifting (The Indian Express- 8 June 2017)

     Having established its superiority in the numbers game, ISRO is now throwing its weight around

     In February, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made world headlines by using a polar launch vehicle to slingshot a record 104 satellites into orbit. That established it as the go-to launch service provider for developers of small satellites, a market which can only grow at exponential speed. Now, the launch of the geosynchronous launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III has catapulted it into the league of big hitters. The launch vehicle, which includes a completely indigenous cryogenic motor, placed India’s heaviest satellite, GSAT-19, in a transfer orbit. The two achievements of 2017 place ISRO in a very special position in the space race.

     When the Cold War fired the starter’s gun, the race was dominated by prestige projects, like sending men into space and to the moon, funded by governments to demonstrate technological supremacy. But now, the commercialisation of space is imminent, private players have entered the fray and the race is about establishing a technological presence and facilities in orbit and on the less forbidding planets, like Mars. ISRO’s biggest GSLV has launched a 3,200 kg satellite into geosynchronous orbit, but can accommodate 800 kg more. Besides, it can send a payload of eight tonnes to low earth orbit, the preferred band for most satellites and all space stations.

     Therefore, ISRO can partially pay its way with cheap multiple launchers, though this market may soon be dominated by reusable vehicles operated by entrepreneurs like Elon Musk. It can also provide launch services to makers of heavy satellites, and pursue its own big projects, like manned flight, space stations and lunar and planetary missions bigger than Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan. It is in the enviable position of reaching for the stars with fiscal prudence. Perhaps no other national space mission currently has this capability, and it will make a difference to India’s prospects in space.

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Restive Gulf (The Indian Express- 8 June 2017)

     A mercantilist approach to the Qatar crisis will not serve India’s strategic and energy concerns in West Asia

    It is tempting to see the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) diplomatic offensive against Qatar as a rerun of earlier spats in West Asia. That seems to be the understanding behind New Delhi’s cautious reaction to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Yemen cutting off ties as well as transport to Qatar, sparked by an alleged statement of support for Iran by its Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Expressing concern for the over six lakh Indian workers in Qatar, Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, while asserting that the current row was an internal matter for the GCC, said that New Delhi is “trying to assess who and how many are stuck in the middle, and then we will move”. Securing the Indian diaspora in the Gulf is, of course, of paramount importance. New Delhi must, however, look at the current crisis, and West Asia and North Africa as a whole, from a broader prism than just Indian labour in the region.

The latest developments are symptomatic of a structural change in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia’s worries about Iran’s influence evidently sharpening. Since the “Arab Spring”, the Iran-Saudi rivalry has been playing out in civil wars, diplomatic manoeuvrings and internal conflicts in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Egypt. Against this backdrop, Qatar has often tried to play all sides: It was the only GCC country to support the Muslim Brotherhood — which has officially sworn off violence but is still accused of terrorism by many in the GCC — sided with Turkey in the Syrian civil war, and is perceived to be backing Iran. For the Sunni-ruled countries of the GCC, that has serious implications — Bahrain, for example, has a restive Shia majority ruled by a Sunni monarchy. Qatar is also a US ally and houses arguably its most important military base in the region. President Donald Trump’s reversal of his predecessor’s policy of relative non-interference has not helped.

     The situation in West Asia only looks to be escalating if the serial attacks in Tehran, for which the Islamic State has taken responsibility, are any indication. The pressure on Qatar seems to be aimed at changing its policy direction, making it fall in line with Saudi interests. If Iran intervenes or the royal family feud continues, Delhi should be prepared to evacuate its people. Over the longer term, India can’t continue with a mercantilist approach to the Gulf. The region’s salience to India’s strategic and energy concerns demand a deeper engagement.

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The Morning Knock (The Indian Express- 8 June 2017)

     How CBI handles the NDTV case has significant implications for media freedom — and its credibility

   Seven years after causing an alleged loss of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank on a loan they took, NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy were raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation Monday morning. Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu is right to affirm that a media house cannot presume itself to be above the law. Indeed, this is especially true when ownership of most media today is defined by a vertiginous web of cross-holdings involving

corporates and entities for whom media is not a primary business. In the interests of transparency, NDTV must submit to due process. The CBI’s FIR asks questions about disclosures by NDTV and ICICI Bank that will need to be addressed. But the story will unfold under intense public scrutiny, since summary raids on media houses are relics from a dark time to which no one wishes to return. Late last year, Naidu’s ministry, indefensibly, had ordered NDTV India to shut down for a day, a decision it, wisely, revoked. So, the manner in which the new NDTV probe is conducted has significant implications for freedom of speech, the health of democracy and the image of the premier investigative agency.

     Due process may have been followed so far but there are disquieting questions. The CBI has stepped in seven years after the event — in the interregnum, two of its directors are in the dock for their alleged ties with some accused in other cases — and barely a month after a complaint was lodged. Large parts of its FIR are little more than a cut-and-paste job from the complaint with no evidence of any original investigation. Significantly, ICICI Bank which is alleged to have suffered a presumptive loss has not complained. Further, it was a private loss, with no implications for the exchequer. Such private

matters are customarily decided by the law of torts and the government is not expected to weigh in. Disputes concerning defaults bigger by orders of magnitude are being heard by the courts and the government has made no attempt to short-circuit the process by letting the CBI loose. The complainant, a former consultant with NDTV, has approached the court but has got no order.

For these reasons, this investigation, both in form and content, is a touchstone. The CBI must ensure that it is nobody’s caged parrot. Its statement issued on Tuesday that it “fully respects the freedom of press and is committed to the free functioning of news operations”, is welcome. How it conducts the investigation — and itself — will be a test of this commitment.

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Staying the course (The Indian Express- 8 June 2017)

     Big picture in mind, the Monetary Policy Committee refuses to cut repo rate

     The decision by the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep the central bank’s benchmark “repo” or overnight lending rate unchanged, along with maintaining a “neutral” stance in its latest bimonthly review, can be questioned on many counts. The resolution statement released at the end of its two-day meeting admits to “deceleration” of economic activity since July-September and “contraction” in gross fixed investment in the latest January-March quarter. More importantly, it refers to lower inflation expectations “three months ahead and a year ahead”, based on the RBI’s own survey of households. On both grounds — a deepening slowdown with no signs of an investment pickup and “the abrupt and significant retreat of inflation” since April — there was a clear case for a reduction of policy rates, undertaken last on October 4. Even if no actual lowering of rates was resorted to, the least the MPC could have done is signal a return to an “accommodative” stance, as was the case prior to February. The current repo rate of 6.25 per cent, when adjusted for a consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 3 per cent, works out to over 3 per cent in real terms. This is much more than the RBI’s own 1.6-1.8 per cent estimate for the “neutral” or “natural” interest rate for India, consistent with the economy growing at its potential with low stable inflation.

     But whether right or wrong, one must still give credit to the MPC for its unwavering commitment to reining in inflation and not taking any premature action now that might risk “disruptive policy reversals later and the loss of credibility”. The latter part is most important. The RBI today enjoys credibility globally as a regulator largely for the impeccable inflation-fighting credentials it has built in recent years. That credibility has only been reinforced by the Narendra Modi government’s decision to enter into a monetary policy framework agreement with the RBI, tasking the latter with targeting CPI inflation to 4 per cent or thereabouts in the medium term. Subsequently, a six-member MPC headed by the RBI governor was constituted to take decisions on interest rates. The whole idea here was to insulate such decision-making from any political or populist pressures.

     Under these circumstances, it is unfortunate to see attempts, particularly by the Finance Ministry, to seemingly influence the MPC’s decisions. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian issued statements, both making explicit arguments for a significant monetary easing. It goes to the MPC’s credit for fending off these pressures, even if one might not agree with its decision. Ultimately, there are institutional arrangements that need to be respected. We would leave it to the MPC to decide when the time is ripe for the next cut, which may actually come sooner than later.

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भारत के लाइट निरपेक्ष रहना ही बेहतर (Rajasthan Patrika - 8 June 2017)

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अब सोशल मीडिया होगा बाजार का बादशाह ! (Rajasthan Patrika - 8 June 2017)

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अतिवादी दृष्टिकोण से खत्म नहीं होगा आतंक (Dainik Bhaskar - 8 June 2017)

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इसरो की मिसाल सामने फिर बजी शोध संस्थान पिछड़े क्यों? (Dainik Bhaskar - 8 June 2017)

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