4 march

Ø  The Narendra Modi government faced its first defeat in Parliament on Tuesday when an amendment to the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address moved by a combative Opposition was carried in the Rajya Sabha, 118-57. In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition made up for its lack of numbers through its tactical footwork: working in perfect coordination, it tested the government’s patience by demanding frequent divisions, or voting, on amendments that it moved on two of the Bills — on Insurance and Mines and Minerals — that are to replace ordinances. Though they were all defeated, the Opposition managed to underscore the message that this was a government that privileged the interests of wealthy mine-owners over the poor from whom mineral rich land was being purchased. As MPs streamed out of the Rajya Sabha after they succeeded in amending the President’s Address — only the fourth time since Independence — the mood was celebratory among those belonging to the Opposition and sombre among those belonging to the ruling parties. The amendment to the President’s Address expressed “regret that there is no mention in the address about the failure of the government to curb high-level corruption and to bring back black money.” The NDA’s parliamentary managers sought to make light of it, saying the government did not have time to commit any acts of corruption. If the government’s failure to adopt a conciliatory approach has helped unite the Opposition — with the once-neutral Biju Janata Dal joining its ranks — the latter’s successes, thanks to the well-thought-out floor coordination in both Houses, has pumped in new energy in its ranks so much so that the government will now have to work overtime to get its Bills replacing six ordinances through the Rajya Sabha.

Ø  Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the Chief Ministers last Tuesday that his government had ‘wholeheartedly’ accepted the 14th Finance Commission’s recommendation to increase the States’ share of Central taxes to 42 per cent from 32 per cent in the spirit of ‘cooperative federalism.’ He wrote that the decision was taken despite the strain it would place on the Centre’s finances. The Hindu has learnt that ahead of the finalisation of the commission’s recommendations, the Finance Ministry had submitted to it the Central government’s view that the devolution should not be increased and must be retained at 32 per cent. Even after the commission’s report was received, the Department of Expenditure opposed the recommendation of higher share for States. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, overruled the view in line with the Modi government’s policy of cooperative federalism, a highly placed source told The Hindu . “The Finance Ministry, in its memorandum, has argued in favour of retaining the existing level of tax devolution in accordance with the recommendations made by FC-XIII [the 13th Finance Commission],” the commission report says. The Ministry argued that any change in the States’ share from the 32 per cent level will prove to be detrimental to the Union government’s fiscal health as it was faced with the dual challenges of meeting its new fiscal consolidation road map and allocating more resources to the revival of growth. Assam, Bihar and Tamil Nadu are among the big losers from the commission’s award because of the change in criteria for horizontal devolution across States. Madhya Pradesh is the biggest gainer.

Ø  Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, reached a “broad understanding to continue the dialogue process” during their talks in Islamabad on Tuesday, official sources told The Hindu. Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Chaudhry wrapped up their talks, the first at their level since 2012, without any announcement. India had cancelled talks last July. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed the “resumption of talks between India and Pakistan” when Mr. Jaishankar met him to hand over a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a statement after the talks, Mr. Jaishankar, who said they had been held in a “constructive and positive atmosphere,” said New Delhi’s concerns about cross-border terrorism and the pace of the Mumbai 26/11 trial were raised. “We engaged on each other’s concerns and interests in an open manner. We agreed to work together to find common ground and narrow differences,” he said. At a press conference a few hours later, Mr. Chaudhry said “both countries were equally affected by terrorism,” as Pakistan raised what it called India’s “involvement in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan” and the “lack of evidence-sharing” in the Samjhauta express blast case. However, an official present at the talks confirmed that Pakistan did not hand over evidence to support its claims on Indian support to Baloch groups. Mr. Chaudhry said the two sides should “discourage hostile propaganda” and move to resolve the Kashmir dispute and others through dialogue. Ceasefire violations on the Line of Control and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir were discussed, with Mr. Jaishankar calling them a key concern. Pakistan avoided obvious controversies around the talks. Briefing the press, Mr. Chaudhry did not refer to any discussions on Jammu and Kashmir. Ahead of the meeting, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit desisted from open talks with the Hurriyat leadership. It was this which made the Indian government cancel talks last year. The Foreign Secretary visited Islamabad on the penultimate stop of his ‘SAARC Yatra’.

Ø  The Union government will kick-start its biggest-ever 2G and 3G spectrum auction on Wednesday, which could fetch it at least Rs. 82,000 crore. Eight companies, including Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, are expected to bid aggressively for a total of 380.8 megahertz (MHz) of bands valid for 20 years. 

Ø  Widespread deforestation, especially in the northern high latitudes, takes a toll on the monsoon across the northern hemisphere, with rains over India particularly badly affected, according to a new study from researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. By the 1750s, only about seven per cent of the global land area had been cleared for agriculture and that proportion has since risen to around one-third. Govindasamy Bala, a professor at the IISc’s Divecha Centre for Climate Change, along with post-doctoral researcher N. Devaraju and a doctoral student, Angshuman Modak, used a climate model to investigate the effects of large-scale deforestation. With the climate model, they could simulate what happened when extensive deforestation took place across the whole globe, just in the northern high latitudes, only in temperate areas as well as when it was restricted to the tropics. Such deforestation reduced rains in the monsoon regions of the northern hemisphere. India was affected the most, with global deforestation producing an 18 per cent reduction in its summer monsoon rains, the scientists noted in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. On the other hand, the deforestation led to moderately increased rains over South Africa, South America and Australia in the southern hemisphere. The study showed that when forests in the northern high latitudes were removed, more sunlight was reflected back into space and this region cooled sharply.

Ø  With Maharashtra’s long-pending Bill widening its ban on cow slaughter getting Presidential assent on Monday, The Hindu took a look at the status of the legislation across the country. Ritwika Sharma and Alok Prasanna Kumar, fellows at the Delhi-based Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, compiled all State-level legislation and amendments on the slaughter of cows and other types of cattle for The Hindu . The data show that Indian States can be classified into five categories — north-eastern States with no restrictions on cattle slaughter; Kerala with no law but a caveat; Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam which allow the slaughter of cattle with a certificate; Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Goa and Odisha which ban cow slaughter, but allow the slaughter of other cattle with a certificate; and the rest of India which bans the slaughter of all cattle. Beef is less popular than other meats, The Hindu’s analysis of data from the 2011-12 National Sample Survey shows, with just four per cent of rural Indians and five per cent of urban Indians saying that they consumed beef within the last week. However, consumption varies widely by State; the average person from Nagaland eats half a kilo of beef in a month, while the average person from Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh does not eat any.

Ø  British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, whose documentary on the December 16 gang rape has created furore in India for showing an interview with one of the convicts, said on Tuesday that it was her attempt to examine men’s attitude towards women. Ms. Udwin also claimed she took permission from the then Director General of Tijar jail, Vimla Mehra, before interviewing the convict Mukesh Singh. “I wrote to DG of Tihar. The DG had to consult with MHA. The letter basically stated that it was a campaign film. I had applied for permission in May 2013 and I got the answer ‘yes’ in two weeks. Official permission of MHA had also come. Permission from the prison was also signed,” she said. India’s Daughter tells the story of the horrific Delhi gang rape of December, 2012, from the perspective of the convicts and the victim’s parents, she claimed. “We took a lot of time to make the film… almost two years. If we had something sensational, then we would have thrown it out immediately. There is nothing sensational about the film. It’s a very serious campaign film in public interest,” she told reporters here. Before making the BBC documentary, Ms. Udwin said she met the parents of all the convicts, including the juvenile’s. “Mukesh’s mother got him to speak. I interviewed his mother and told her… it was important for us to speak to him. She told him to speak to us,” she said. In the interview, Mukesh said the women who went out at night had only themselves to blame if they attracted the attention of gangs of molesters. Ms. Udwin was asked why she gave a platform to the convict. “That’s a great pity,” she said. “Indian media should highlight what is going on in their minds. You have to keep repeating it until it stops and changes. The film looks at the issues of mindset and gender inequality...The film paints a picture of a set of attitudes towards women.” 

Ø  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that the deal being negotiated between world powers and Iran would leave Tehran free to develop nuclear weapons. In an impassioned address to the U.S. Congress, conducted even as Secretary of State John Kerry was in nuclear talks in Switzerland with his Iranian counterpart, Mr. Netanyahu branded Iran a global threat. “That deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons,” he said, placing himself in stark opposition to U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy of containing Iranian ambitions through a diplomatic accord. “It would all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons, lots of them,” he said, dismissing promises from U.S. and European leaders that the planned accord would block Iran’s path to the bomb. Around 50 Democratic members stayed away from the event, but many more lawmakers from both sides of the aisle did attend, and Mr. Netanyahu was welcomed with a warm standing ovation and left to cheers and raucous applause.