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GREY IS THE NEW BLACK
DIGITAL ISSUE
www.outlookindia.com July 6, 2020
China dragon
with a spanner
Pakistan in our wheel
terrorism, Nepal
unremitting defiant
hostility revanchism,
anti- India
sentiment
Little Fires
EVERYWHERE Myanmar
China-
leaning junta
Bangladesh
water dispute,
NRC concerns
mar friendly
attitude
Sri Lanka
sharing
influence
with China
Maldives
ties on
political
tenterhooks
R N I N O. 7 0 4 4 / 1961
‹ NAVIGATOR›
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ruben Banerjee
MANAGING EDITOR Sunil Menon
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Ali (Senior Associate Editors), G.C. Shekhar
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24 COVER STORY
After the Chinese incursions in Indian territory,
CHIEF MANAGER Shekhar Kumar Pandey
MANAGERS Shekhar Suvarana, Sudha Sharma India seems more cornered than ever in a hostile
CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION Anindya
Banerjee, Gagan Kohli, G. Ramesh (South),
Vinod Kumar (North), Arun Kumar Jha (East)
neighbourhood. What next as China’s economic and
DIGITAL Amit Mishra
political influence in South Asia increases?
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2 O U TLO O K | JULY 6, 2020
LETTERS FEEDBACK › OUTLOOK@OUTLOOKINDIA.COM
22/6/2020
Here And 2018-19, it remains high. Even
the Sardar Patel statue was
There made in China. It spends 2.19
per cent of its GDP on R&D,
whereas India spends a mea-
DEHRADUN gre 0.85 per cent! This reflects
Rakesh Agrawal: This refers in their institutions. China
to the cover story Can Indian has about 2,000 universities,
Become China 2.0? (June 15). out of which eight are listed
It is merely a fantasy to think among the world’s top 200,
of India as the China of the whereas India has 836 univer-
post-COVID-19 world. sities and none of those found
Despite the reduction in trade a place in the prestigious list.
deficit with China by On top of that, this govern-
$10 billion to $53 billion in ment is determined to destroy
FROM THE Daak Room
Queen of Scotland
8 Feb. 1587
Royal brother, having by God’s will, for my sins I think,
thrown myself into the power of the Queen my cousin, at
whose hands I have suffered much for almost 20 years, I have
finally been condemned to death by her and her Estates. I
have asked for my papers, which they have taken away, in
D I G I M A G . O U T LO O K I N D I A . C O M
World Of order that I might make my will, but I have been unable to
recover anything of use to me, or even get leave either to
The Virus
make my will freely or to have my body conveyed after my
death, as I would wish, to your kingdom where I had the
honour to be queen, your sister and old ally.
Tonight, after dinner, I have been advised of my sentence: I
ON E-MAIL am to be executed like a criminal at eight in the morning. I
Vijai Pant: Your special issue on have not had time to give you a full account of everything
COVID-19 (All We Know. All We Don’t, that has happened, but if you will listen to my doctor and my
YO U T U B E . C O M / O U T LO O K M A G A Z I N E
June 22) is comprehensive, but did little other unfortunate servants, you will learn the truth, and
to clear the air about how to deal with the how, thanks be to God, I scorn death and vow that I meet it
innocent of any crime, even if I were their subject. The
pandemic. Stories like Does India not have Catholic faith and the assertion of my God-given right to the
a milder epidemic? and Asymptomatics: English crown are the two issues on which I am condemned,
Can they infect? left the questions unan- and yet I am not allowed to say that it is for the Catholic
swered. Agreed that the virus is still in the religion that I die, but for fear of interference with theirs.
process of un- The bearer of this letter and his companions, most of them
your subjects, will testify to my conduct at my last hour. It
ravelling itself—
remains for me to beg Your Most Christian Majesty, my
it is not
FAC E B O O K . C O M / O U T LO O K I N D I A
brother-in-law and old ally, who have always protested your
following a fixed love for me, to give proof now of your goodness on all these
pattern across points: firstly by charity, in paying my unfortunate servants
the world and the wages due them – this is a burden on my conscience that
there are many only you can relieve: further, by having prayers offered to
God for a queen who has borne the title Most Christian, and
unknowns—but
who dies a Catholic, stripped of all her possessions.
busting the
growing myths Your most loving and most true sister
associated with the disease that cause
T W I T T E R . C O M / O U T LO O K I N D I A
Mari R
unreasonable fear and panic would have
served us better, rather than knowing Filial Feelings Translated excerpts of a letter Mary Stuart,
about the presence of zillions of viruses Queen of Scots, wrote to her first husband’s brother six hours
on earth. Eventually, the issue didn’t turn before her beheading. Her first cousin, Elizabeth I, Queen of
out to be the informative and exciting England from 1558-1603, had her executed.
read that the cover promised.
00 O U TLOOK4| JULY
OUTLOOK | JULY 6, 2020
6, 2020
LETTERS
| PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES |
News / SLUGGG/SUBSLUG FEEDBACK › OUTLOOK@OUTLOOKINDIA.COM
India’s best: JNU. NEW DELHI
Transnational companies go Abhimanyu K.: This refers
to countries with greater to your snippet on Corona
ease of doing business, not Devi (Worship Goes Viral,
where hate, animosity and Mixed Shots, June 22). It
mayhem are the order of the was fun reading about the
day. This reflects on the new goddess in Bihar.
silken streets of India, Today, amid the gloom and
where millions of tired, challenges that we face,
wounded and frustrated daily routines, companion-
souls are limping back to ship and gossip—all those
their villages. Such a immeasurable things that
shameful spectacle was not make life interesting—have
visible in China! gone for a six, causing anxi-
ety. Temple visits are not
just to appease gods. It is a
wholesome package of wor-
ship, social contact, tasty now pruned drastically and Basu da’s credit that he
treats—a pleasant excursion are often not published. The brought in people from
before one returns to the column has lost its sheen ‘Dharti Lok’ with their first
drudgeries of life. I wish after the unimpressive rede- rush of love, their first
these devotees well on their sign last year. From the Daak raise, their tight budgets
visit to their new deity. I Room has further eaten up and all those consequential
hope Corona Devi will pro- the space. The old letters and inconsequential
vide succour to them and featured in Daak Room may moments that lend colour
keep them sane. have archival value, but they and gravitas to life. He
must be published sepa- truly was a raconteur for
LUCKNOW rately. The long letter writ- the common person,
M.C. Joshi: I think it was ten in 1918 by a man in depicting them beyond black
from the March 16 issue Plymouth, USA, during the and white. RIP Basu da!
onwards that COVID-19 Spanish flu has consumed
began appearing on the about half a page in the June GURGAON
NAVI MUMBAI cover of Outlook. A lot has 22 issue. So many topical let- Kamna Chhabra: This
Ramani Subramaniam: been said about the disease ters could have been accom- refers to Balloting A
China’s disastrous incur- during these three months. modated instead of that! Pandemic (June 22). The
sions into Indian territory Now, a study of the Indian Bihar elections will be the
were imminent. These Council of Medical Research NEW DELHI first democratic exercise
prove that it cannot be suggests that the lockdown Sangeeta Kampani: This after the pandemic. The
trusted. Now that Chinese shifted the peak of the pan- refers to your write-up on COVID-19 scare could see
bellicosity has come out in demic by an estimated 34 to Basu Chatterjee (Middling the implementation of
the open, we cannot rely 76 days, which might now be Perfection, June 22). many precautionary meas-
on peace talks to improve in mid-November. Indeed, nobody celebrated ures that could disrupt
our relationship. China I have a complaint regard- the middle class—its over- campaigning. With spec-
might be superior in mili- ing the Letters section. You seers and office clerks, its tacular showmanship diffi-
tary strength, but India is first slashed it by half—from primary teachers and cult to achieve due to the
also strong. It could not four pages to two—and with supervisors, its scores of restrictions, poll expendi-
force India into submis- your editorial obstinacy, ordinary folk and their ture could be drastically
sion and was surprised at refused to accommodate the uncomplicated joys—like reduced. This could give
the quick mobilisation of request of readers to revert Basu Chatterjee did. He rise to a level playing field
troops along the LAC. to the old page count. was a master of middle- and offset the advantages
However, both countries Outlook was a magazine class minutiae and his of parties with overflowing
must realise that we need where I never had to worry movies had none of the coffers. It would be inter-
each other—neither can about the size of my letters. I staleness or tropes of regu- esting to see if caste arith-
afford friction. No one wants felt free to express my view lar Bollywood fare. That metic still play a dominant
wars, which are extremely in as many words I wanted was a time in cinema when role in the selection and
destructive. Both countries and the letters were pub- stories would revolve victory of candidates. All in
should take immediate steps lished. Those days, however, around either ‘Paatal Lok’ all, the elections will be
to end the conflict. are gone. Many letters are or ‘Swarg Lok’. It goes to interesting to follow. O
OUTLOOKINDIA.COM J UJLY
U LY 2 022002 |0OU
6, 6, | OU T LOOK0 5
T LOOK 0
THE
NEWS PTI
Yesterday Once
More Former CM
Ibobi Singh was
India recorded the highest single-day once again left
jump of nearly 16,000 COVID-19 cases clutching at straws
after eight days of
on Wednesday while Delhi surpassed
high drama.
Mumbai after the Capital’s cases
soared to over 70,390. Mumbai has
69,625 cases. Delhi is the second
worst-hit state ahead of Tamil Nadu.
Twist In the Tail
Over 14,000 new cases were regis-
tered in the country for the fifth day in
a row to take the total to 4,56,183.
Congress power-play fizzles out, BJP wins back rebels
Abdul Gani in Guwahati the demand but assured the rebels that
their problems had been taken note of
A
and will be resolved.
political upheaval in Manipur For the time being, it appears former
that had threatened the chief minister and Congress leader
BJP-led government in the Okram Ibobi Singh’s hopes of returning
state appears to have blown over, at to power will have to wait. Especially,
The Madras High Court set aside the least for the time being, with the party after he was questioned by a CBI team
death sentence of five convicts in the managing to win back the rebel MLAs on June 24 over alleged financial
2016 “honour killing” of Shankar in who had switched sides and decided to irregularities amounting to Rs 332 crore
Tamil Nadu’s Udumalapet. Kausalya’s back the Congress’s bid for power. in the Manipur Development Society.
The end of the eight-day-long drama Congress alleged that the CBI probe was
father, B. Chinnasamy, was acquitted.
was announced on June 24 by Assam a desperate bid to save the BJP-led
Kausalya and Shankar, a Dalit, were
minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the government in Manipur. “CBI is being
attacked a year after their marriage in BJP’s go-to man in the Northeast who misused by BJP to delay a new SPF
2015. Shankar, 22, died while Kausa- managed to pacify four rebel MLAs of (Secular Progressive Front) government
lya, then 19, survived. the National People’s Party (NPP). He in Manipur. It is a political vendetta,”
also flew them down to Delhi on a said Manipur Congress spokesman
chartered plane and arranged a meeting Ningombam Bupenda Meitei.
with Union home minister Amit Shah Besides checkmating the Congress,
and BJP president J.P. Nadda. the BJP also managed to win the lone
“NPP will continue to support the Rajya Sabha seat on June 18 when its
BJP government in Manipur for the candidate Leisemba Sanajaoba—
development of Manipur,” Sarma said Manipur’s royal scion—defeated
in Guwahati. Meghalaya chief minister Congress’s T. Mangibabu by four votes.
and NPP supremo Conrad Sangma also Weeks ahead of the RS poll, the high
termed their meeting with Amit Shah court ordered that seven Congress
Diesel price at Rs 79.88 a litre became
and Nadda as positive. Though there rebels who were supporting the BJP
steeper than petrol (Rs 79.76) for the
was no immediate clarity on what government, would not be allowed to set
first time in New Delhi after a steep hike really transpired in the meeting of the foot in the assembly until the Speaker
in state VAT. A price notification of state rebels with Shah, it is learnt that the disposes off the anti-defection
oil marketing companies says petrol NPP legislators, deputy chief minister proceedings pending against them.
price was unchanged after 17 consec- Y. Joykumar Singh in particular, Assembly speaker Khemchand Singh,
utive increases, while diesel rates were strongly pressed for the removal of however, allowed three of these MLAs to
hiked by 48 paise a litre, the 18th daily Biren Singh as chief minister. Shah, attend the assembly and vote in favour of
increase in a row across the country. sources said, was non-committal on the BJP candidate in the RS polls. O
6 O U TLO OK | JULY 6, 2020
PTI
POLIGLOT
June 21, Sunday—Summer Solstice, the
year’s longest day, Father’s Day, Yoga
Day…and Solar Eclipse Day this year.
The sun hides in Calcutta, Coimbatore,
M I X E D S H O T S Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ghaziabad,
Patna, Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai.
SNAPSHOT
thwarted 17 Mughal invasions, several
of which were plotted in and launched
from Bardhaman or Badh-e-dewan,
whose rajas acknowledged Mughal
suzerainty. Sukaphaa and his band of
followers came from present-day
Myanmar in the 13th century,
assimilated with the natives, and their
descendents adopted Hinduism. More
Sukaphaa, founder
importantly, they gave the land its
of the Ahom
current identity—the Anglicised
kingdom in Assam
Assam from Axom, or uneven, drawing
from its topography. Axom Divas is
celebrated on December 2 to
commemorate the first Ahom king.
The tweet was double-edged: target the
BJP and upset Assamese sentiments.
Well, the “commentator” had tried that
before with a ‘Chalo Paltai’ campaign,
ostensibly for Bengali domination in
Assam where the two communities have
The Troll Invasion
been at loggerheads in the past and
chauvinistic elements from both sides
often try to snap the fragile peace.
Calling Sukaphaa a “Chinese invader”
Abdul Gani in Guwahati jail? What were they doing when was another attempt at that—quite
Bengalis fought for freedom? How come successful too. It was timed imma
In many ways, the today these Marwari & Gujarati culately too, just as the India-China
ASSAM work of a social media moneybags fund Hindi racist Gutkha border flare-up in Ladakh has spawned
troll is easy—he thrives goons who think they can give lectures strong anti-Chinese sentiments across
on negative criticism, abuses, fakery, abt patriotism to Bengalis?” Exhibit the country. He also posted a video clip
hate-mongering, rabble-rousing, and he Two: “Why does @sarbanandsonwal purportedly showing the ABVP’s Assam
risks little considering the protection he regularly celebrate a Chinese invader unit shouting slogans against the Indian
gets for doing the dirty job of his political and his invading army? Why does Army. The ABVP called the slogans an
masters. So, when a so-called political banned separatist group ULFA also “inadvertent mistake”.
commentator in Calcutta—a self- celebrate the Chinese invader? Do real A battery of litigation engulfed
attested “Bengali nationalist”, a former Indians know that Indian tax money is Chatterjee soon after and chief
leftist, and a Trinamool Congress being used by BJP in Assam to put up minister Sonowal sent a police team to
supporter now—spewed one poison statues of a Chinese invader?” Calcutta following a court warrant for
tweet after another targeting Marwaris The second one is from June 17, and his arrest. Sonowal underlined the
and Gujaratis with racist dysphemisms Chatterjee ended up trolling king need for legal action against such
such as “BJP’s Dhoklas, Banias, Bhujias Sukaphaa, founder of the Ahom “offenders”, and offensive remarks
and Gutkhas”, he simply got away. He is kingdom that ruled Assam for 600 misinterpreting historical facts, to
not ours, the ruling class clarified. And years—the longest continuous rule by discourage such acts in future. The
he goes on…ranting through his waking a single dynasty in India—and which cops, however, returned without him
hours against these communities and alleged that Calcutta police didn’t
(Gutkha is the slur for Hindi-speakers) cooperate. “We will see what legal
and more, especially the Assamese. action can be taken now,” said police
That’s Garga Chatterjee—leader of commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta.
Bangla Pokkho, a self-styled Bengali For its part, Bangla Pokkho alleged
patriotic front, and who calls himself a that there’s an attempt to harm
‘brain scientist’. Here are two samples of Chatterjee because he spoke for the
what he does on Twitter. Exhibit One: “marginalised” Bengalis in Assam. And
“Why no Marwari or Gujarati in list of for him, he got what a troll craves:
freedom fighters in Andaman cellular headlines. O
J U LY 6, 2 0 2 0 | OU T LOOK 7
POLIGLOT
TAMIL NADU
The Place
With Bones
G.C. Shekhar in Chennai
A
LMOST 24 years since Madras
bowed out to Chennai—people
still pick bones over it—there
was another mad rush for changing
place names in Tamil Nadu to appeal to and historians for being a pointless exer- Chennai is renamed ‘Ezhumboor’, Tam-
nativist sentiments and thereby score cise amidst a pandemic which the gov- ils would only end up calling it ‘Elum-
an easy political point. The majority ernment could scarcely control. boor’, which would then mean “a place
supported the state government’s move In truth, the state government had no with bones” and not “the seventh vil-
this June to rename 1,018 cities, towns answer to pointed questions if it would lage” that the British had acquired.
and localities to sync with their Tamil spend millions to repaint all signboards, Pandiarajan explained that the order
phonetic names rather than their Angli- reprint all government stationery and was being withdrawn only to address
cised versions. Yet, the strangest thing school text books and change all spell- inconsistencies in spellings that had
transpired—probably the first time a ings in government websites, especially been pointed out as three different
government did a U-turn following of the registration department. It was protocols were followed in the renam-
objections from “only 10 per cent that also at a loss for words when asked why, ing exercise. “We will absorb all the
did not speak Tamil”. Tamil develop- by the same logic, Tamil Nadu had not feedback and reissue the order with
ment minister K. Pandiarajan said as been changed to ‘Thamizhnaadu’. correct spellings,” he declared.
much after the order was withdrawn. Experience has shown that it is impos- The panel that had recommended the
The government announced its plan sible to reproduce the Tamil syllable new names had Tamil language experts
on June 11, by which Egmore became ‘zha’ ( ) with an exact English equiva- with little experience in transliteration
‘Ezhumboor’, Coimbatore became lent, leading it to be mispronounced as from other languages. Also, two Central
‘Koyampuththoor’, Saidapet became ‘za’ by non-Tamils. For that matter, most departments—railways and postal—that
Saithappettai, VOC Nagar in north Tamils themselves fail the test, as it would be most impacted were not con-
Chennai was renamed Va Oo Si Nagar requires the tongue to be rolled back and sulted. “From signboards in stations to
and so on. Though the order was dated touch the soft upper palate of the name boards on trains and ticketing
April 1, the announcement in June drew mouth—most take the easy way out and software, everything has to be changed,”
flak from the public, language experts pronounce it as ‘la’. Even if Egmore in pointed out a railway official. O
brevis
Indian-American Vera Lynn, Film director and Ian Holm, a British Former Reserve
scientist Dr S. Britan’s wartime script writer K.R. actor whose films Bank of India
Panchanathan, Forces Sweetheart, Sachidanandan, included “Chariots of governor Urjit
from Arizona State whose musical 48, has died of a Fire”, has died at 88. Patel was
University, will head recordings and cardiac arrest in Today’s moviegoers appointed chairman,
the National Science performances were Thrissur. His Ayyapa- know him as Bilbo National Institute of
Foundation, which enormously popular num Koshyum was Baggins in The Lord Public Finance and
supports research in during the WW2, has the biggest grosser of the Rings and The Policy, an economic
fundamental science. died at the age of 103. before the lockdown. Hobbit trilogies. think tank.
8 O U TLO O K | JULY 6, 2020
POLIGLOT
MixedShots
GO CHOWMEIN SAMOSA GO
T
ILL just a few days ago, Union minister Ramdas Athawale was an GIMME MOR
exemplar of the dictum ‘Hindi Cheeni Bhai Bhai’. In the august
K
company of the Chinese consul general in Mumbai, Tang Guocai, his ONI, 10 km from Gorakhpur, seems like
chants of “Go corona go” reverberated so forcefully, one would imagine the just every other village in the cow belt.
novel coronavirus quivered in fear. That is until you notice it has more
Guocai, for his part, kept a straight face peacocks than humans, giving it the appella-
as he witnessed what he presumed tion ‘mor wala gaon’ (peacock village). Legend
has it that during a flood in 1998, its residents
must be an ancient Indian ritual. But
gave shelter and food to two marooned
like India and China, Athawale seems
peacocks. After the water receded and they
to have forgotten the dictum of friend-
returned to their homes, the peacocks
ship. After the incursions along the LAC,
followed them. The pair proved to be so
he wants Chinese products/food to be fecund and the village so hospitable that over
banned. We are not sure, though, if he is the years, their numbers surged to 170. They
referring to actual Chinese food, or its have settled well around the four ponds in the
misbegotten Indian progeny, such as chow- village surrounded by bamboo trees. O
mein samosa and paneer schezwan dosa. O
A
CURE WORSE THAN DISEASE
toddler in a tribal region in Amravati, Maharashtra, was
suffering from stomach bloating. So his father took him to a
55-year-old witchdoctor who came up with a cure so horri-
fying that bloodletting, snake oil and animal sacrifices seem cut-
ting-edge in comparison. She branded the child 100 times with the
tip of a scalding sickle, which predictably led to severe burns. The
police have now arrested both the father and the quack. It’s not a
one-off incident, though. Cases of branding, which purportedly
scorches a certain nerve that is responsible for diseases, have been
reported from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Odisha among other states. O
DEATH BY DUNCES CHUK CHUK COOL
A I
40-year-old on a ventilator at a government T was a marvellous idea—turn-
hospital in Kota was fighting for his life, until ing railway coaches to isolation
he suddenly died. The reason was not a wards for COVID-19 patients
sudden worsening of his condition—in fact, his and suspected cases. But as
COVID-19 test was negative—but because his relatives anybody who has travelled by
unplugged his ventilator. But why! It was too hot, you sleeper class can vouch, the caul-
see, so they removed the life-saving device from the dron-like temperatures during summer
socket and plugged in an air cooler. For 30 minutes, the are unbearable. So the railways used
ventilator ran on backup power, bamboo blinds, heat-resistant coating, hay and
but it finally stuttered to a bubble wrap to cool the ovens that the coaches were turning into. It
halt, along with the meant a relatively pleasant stint for those isolated in the giant steel
hapless patient’s life. If boxes, but there was something the railways hadn’t accounted for: the
that were not bad enough, attack of bloodsuckers. A family of six stationed in a coach in Mau,
his relatives even attacked Uttar Pradesh, were more fearful of contracting dengue and malaria
doctors. But how did they from the swarming mosquitoes than coronavirus. Luckily, they tested
get into an isolation ward? O negative and were soon able to return to a vermin-less abode. O
I L LU S T R AT I O N S : S A A H I L ; T E X T C U R AT E D BY A L K A G U P TA A N D SY E D S A A D A H M E D J U LY 6, 2 0 2 0 | OU T LOOK 9Businesses Must Go
Digital To Survive the
COVID-19 Crisis
COVID-19 has been a learning experience for businesses and economies. Many
businesses have collapsed or are struggling and worried about the future. Digital
solutions can help improve your work and rebound once this crisis is over.
Education:
During the pandemic, students are not
able to attend school. Teacher-student
interaction has become virtual and it has
become difficult to pay attention to each
student. Examinations are also difficult to
conduct during the pandemic. This
Mr. Harnil Oza situation affects students and could have
CEO, Hyperlink an impact on their future earning
potential.
As it is, it is difficult to engage
students in the classroom and inspire
them to learn. Without the physical
presence of the teacher, this becomes
Overview: even more challenging. It is possible that
Money is important. Every person on this fragile planet is working on after the pandemic ends, students might
want to avoid classroom lectures.
something, whether it is educating someone or selling products. Unfortunately, Many top app development
time is not under human control. There are many ups and downs—the best companies can help in such a situation
after the pandemic by creating online
example of this uncertainty is the pandemic. COVID-19 has had a devastating platforms for students. Many educational
impact on working, earning people. Many industries are experiencing institutions are offering lectures, tutorials
and entire courses online. These have
unprecedented turbulence. Even developed countries are unable to withstand helped students keep up with coursework
the ravages of this crisis. As economies tank, citizens face a tough time. Many and learn new topics. Such digital
solutions can help students improve their
countries are grappling with such difficulties. With every passing day, we hear of comprehension abilities and boost
closures and entire industries tanking. creativity. It will also help save on travel
The whole supply chain is affected. Industrialists aren’t able to get services time to the school and reduce the need
for lugging heavy backpacks with
and goods from the companies they depend on. Everybody is eagerly waiting for multiple notebooks.
things to change so they can return to their former lives, especially in sectors like It is possible that even after the
pandemic ends, educational institutions
food, delivery, retail, construction, automobiles, education and manufacturing. will continue teaching online. Even
These sectors have suffered the most during the pandemic. We need to bolster examinations could be conducted
virtually. We need to devise better
these sectors with digital solutions that will help them make a speedy recovery systems and quality-control mechanisms
and become profitable. Here are some solutions for various sectors: to ensure no student is left behind.maintain inventories of goods and
understand product demand. These will
also help make delivery schedules more
effective. Such companies must identify a
good app development company to scale
their operations and make profits. A digital
portfolio will be important to succeed in a
post-COVID-19 world.
Manufacturing:
The manufacturing industry is one of the
backbones of a country’s economy. But
the backbone seems to have broken now.
It’s tough for companies to continue
production. Many have even shut down or
laid-off workers.
Retail: can provide solutions to grow food at COVID-19 has led to a major fall in the
No matter how bad people’s economic home. manufacturing output. To remedy such a
circumstances get, survival is important. As people become more health- tough situation, a few companies are
Regardless of their financial condition, conscious, they will prefer nutrient-dense running with minimal employees and
they will continue to buy food and food rather than junk food. In such a stringent safety precautions. In the future,
essentials, such as food, soap, toothpaste, scenario, health and wellbeing apps can companies can increase their efficiency by
medicines etc. Due to the lockdown, help people make the right decisions for enabling work with technologies like AI
people are not able to access the items better nutrition and wellbeing. These can and IoT. By enabling such digital
they consider essential as many stores are make proper food recommendations with technologies, manufacturing industries
locked. Due to this, the retail industry is the right nutrient profile and calorie will be able to tide over the crisis.
facing huge losses. As people are losing density. With advances in machine
jobs and have less spending power, this learning, these can provide solutions Construction:
reduces their ability to purchase from tailored to each individual. Gyms and COVID-19 affected construction work
e-commerce platforms. fitness centres can build fitness apps to throughout the country. Many buildings’
The retail industry must connect with help people stay healthy. This will not only construction remains at a standstill due to
the software industry to brainstorm digital help people improve health indicators, the pandemic. Many workers have
solutions. For brick-and-mortar stores that but also live a long and fulfilling life. returned homes and the disruption of
are facing losses, selling products online is supply chains has led to an increase in the
a viable option. As long as social distancing Delivery: cost of raw materials. To keep costs to a
rules are necessary to contain the disease, It has never been easier to buy products minimum, builders have stopped their
people will remain fearful of venturing from all over the world. With a few clicks, work. Some are not sure how to deal with
out. Thus, retail stores must offer digital all kinds of things reach out fingertips. It the surge in prices and whether to pass on
solutions such as online ordering, helps save money and time and also the costs to their clients. In these situations,
contactless delivery and cashless reduces transportation costs. However, online data and cloud technology can
payment. To support such activities, many with fears about contracting the virus, the help builders stay updated with respect to
trusted app development companies are delivery sector has also been affected. price listings. Also, using cloud technology
available. They can help stores develop Many migrant labourers have returned to will help manage the work effectively.
user-friendly apps and interfaces that will their homes and delivery operations are Even artificial technology will be of help to
help boost sales. It is important to connect suffering from a lack of resources and builders. This will in turn give a boost to
retail stores to digital platforms if they delays. the companies that develop AR apps.
want to thrive despite the lockdown. Many delivery companies are The CEO of Hyperlink Infosystem, Mr.
equipping themselves with digital Harnil Oza, says that regardless of the
Food: innovations to reduce their losses. In the situation, we must brainstorm solutions to
The pressures of modern life are such that future, most delivery companies will link overcome challenges. A positive mindset
often people don’t have the time to cook to digital platforms through tracking apps. is important. Thankfully, technology
nutritious meals. They often order in or eat They will use Internet-of-Things and provides us convenient solutions to the
out at restaurants. But due to the pandemic artificial intelligence technology to challenges posed by the pandemic. If we
and rules for social distancing, most adopt technology, it will make our life
restaurants remain shut or are offering more convenient and boost our incomes.
only take-out options. As the supply chain COVID-19 might have unsettled our
and transport systems remain affected, it lives, but nothing is permanent. This too
is difficult for restaurants to manage. shall pass. During the pandemic and
To minimise such losses, the food after, app development companies can
industry must come up with innovative help industries in different sectors boost
solutions. It could help make the process their business and profits. It is important
of preparing food at home easier through that we adopt technology and make the
ready-to-eat preparations. Entrepreneurs most of it.MINING/ENVIRONMENT
Puneet Nicholas Yadav
T
HE debate between the State’s
desire to harvest its mineral
wealth by displacing its peo-
ple—development versus conserva-
tion—has been an old one. We have
been here umpteen times before; each
time a mining project or power plant is
sanctioned or when forests and aborig-
inal habitats are sacrificed for infra-
structure development. And, each time
this debate begins afresh, the State
moves calamitously close to pushing
its people over the precipice.
Coming on the back of his aggressive
push for making India atmanirbhar—
self-sufficient—Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s recent decision to open up 41
coal blocks across the country for com-
mercial mining threatens to settle this
debate firmly in favour of the State and a
handful of industrialists who stand to
profit from the move. The coal blocks, 11
of them in Madhya Pradesh, nine each in
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha
and three in Maharashtra, are located
within dense forest areas that are home
to heavy concentrations of tribal popula-
Mine Your
tions and are a natural habitat for a wide
range of flora and fauna.
By opening up commercial mining for
the private sector and placing no end-
Own Business
use restrictions on the 225 million
tonnes of coal that these 41 blocks can
collectively produce per annum, the
Centre hopes to generate Rs. 33000
crore in investments over the next five
years. This grand scheme is also driven
by the hope that global players in the
Modi government’s push for self-sufficiency in coal
sector would come flocking to India to revives age-old debate over the cost of development
invest, thereby generating local employ-
ment. If the plan takes off as expected, it The other side of this dream, however, the people of the areas in which these
would end the monopoly that State- is a nightmare, from an environmental, coal blocks are situated exposes the
owned Coal India Limited enjoys in the humanitarian and even constitutional crony capitalism of the government; in
mining sector and also substantially viewpoint. While the coronavi- the name of atmanirbharta (self-reli-
reduce India’s need to import nearly 250 rus-fuelled restrictions on public gath- ance) the move takes away all owner-
million tonnes of coal annually. As min- erings have prevented any street pro- ship rights of the land owners and
ing giants move in with their arsenal to tests against the government’s gram sabhas and opens up natural
quarry the earth, the remote regions decision, the condemnation of the resources for corporate plunder”.
within which these blocks are situated move has been swift and palpable. The Centre has asserted that it would
can also hope to see massive develop- Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, a protect rights of people who are bound
ment—in situ employment, new roads, people’s movement for civil rights in to be displaced from their land once
better public infrastructure, et al. The the predominantly tribal and mineral the mining process begins. Union min-
elusive vikas will finally arrive; like a rich eastern state, has called for mass ister for coal and mines, Pralhad Joshi,
dream come true. Or so it would seem. protests, even if only virtual, against told journalists, “I want to assure peo-
The arguments in favour of Modi’s the government’s decision. Elina Horo ple of these regions that labour welfare
decision, thus, sound rational. But of the Mahasabha says, “The decision and development of coal bearing
then, this is just one half of the debate. taken without any consultation with regions are foremost on our mind.
12 O U TLOOK | JULY 6, 2020MINING/ENVIRONMENT
Welfare provisions for contractual
labourers in event of mishap will be no “Coal blocks in dense
less than that for regular employees.” forest areas are being
Joshi’s assurance, however, is on just
one set of potential problems that are opened up for mining.
likely to arise from the government’s This is a triple disaster.”
move—that of labour rights. However,
the concerns over displacement of JAIRAM RAMESH
people, the ecological impact of culling Ex-environment minister
large tracts of dense forests, pollution
and climate change, among others,
have not been addressed at all. “...Labour welfare and
Jairam Ramesh, former Union minis-
ter for environment and forests, has
development of
dubbed the Centre’s move as “environ- coal-bearing regions are
mentally disastrous and irresponsible”.
He says the decision shows Modi’s “cal-
foremost on our mind.”
lousness and utter disregard for climate PRALHAD JOSHI
change realities.” It was during Ramesh’s Union minister, coal and mines
stint as environment minister during the
UPA regime that 30 per cent of India’s
coal blocks spread over 6,00,000 hec- marginalised communities, is predicta- led BJP government. Among his key
tares were declared ‘no go zones’, mak- bly up in arms against the Centre’s plan promises to the electorate was to
ing them practically impossible for any to displace the locals. protect the interest of the indigenous
extraction exercise. The Centre’s deci- Gram sabhas and sarpanches of nine population against corporate interests
sion has, effectively, undone these villages located within the Hasdeo who wish to plunder the state’s mineral
checks and balances put in place to pre- Arand have written to Modi, protesting wealth. The Jharkhand chief minister
vent reckless mining activity. against the mining of coal blocks in the has also written to Pralhad Joshi
In a letter to Union environment region which will force the displace- demanding a moratorium of the auction
minister Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh, ment, loss of livelihood and culture of process by six to nine months but his fee-
who is now the chairman of the Parlia- tribals who live in this forest and sus- ble protest has left his voters unim-
mentary Standing Committee on Sci- tain themselves from its produce. The pressed. Members of the Mahasabha
ence & Technology, Environment, For- Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha have said it is “deeply worrying” that Sor-
ests and Climate Change, has urged agrees with the contention of the peo- en’s government has extended support
that “coal blocks in ecologically fragile ple of Hasdeo Arand and says that the for the Centre’s decision and that a mora-
and sensitive areas put up for auction Centre is also violating a litany of laws torium will only delay the auction pro-
are cancelled immediately”. The letter and Supreme Court verdicts. cess but won’t stop it.
also says, “…coal blocks in very dense “The decision violates laws and consti- Like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh,
forest areas are being opened up for tutional provisions that aim to protect the Centre’s decision has also been met
mining. This is a triple disaster: first, the rights of Adivasis to self-govern. with stiff resistance from locals in
the mining, transportation of coal will Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Maharashtra’s Chandrapur where the
impose a very heavy environmental Areas) Act, 1966 and Schedule V provi- Bander coal block is situated. The
cost; second, the loss of very dense for- sions clearly define the role of gram sab- block lies near the periphery of the
est cover will mean loss of a valuable has as primary decision-making body of famous Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve
carbon sink and third, public health a village,” says Horo. The Supreme Court and locals allege that any mining activ-
will be even more severely affected.” had also, in 2013, held that ownership of ity in the area will naturally lead to
The environmental cost that Ramesh minerals should be vested with the wide scale deforestation and eventual
speaks about can be ascertained from land-owners. Even the Forests Rights displacement of the tiger population.
the fact that nearly every coal block now Act defines forests as a community prop- The Centre may hope that opening up
opened for commercial exploitation by erty of the Gram Sabha. Horo says the the coal blocks for commercial
private entities has a minimum 50 per Centre “did not even bother to discuss exploitation will bring in swift financial
cent forest cover. Coal blocks like Morga its plan with the Gram Sabhas.” benefits for the country’s stagnating
II, located within Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo The Hemant Soren-led JMM-Congress economy. In a style characteristic of the
Arand forests, which is among India’s coalition government in Jharkhand has Modi government, the grand plan may
largest contiguous dense forest spanning now moved the Supreme Court challeng- even be implemented in brutal disre-
over 170,000 hectares, have 85 per cent ing the Centre’s decision to auction coal gard of the people’s protest and obvious
forest land. Similarly, the Gotitoria East blocks. Soren had romped to power in impact such mining activity will have
coal block in Madhya Pradesh has an 80 the state last year riding on the disaffec- on climate change. However, will the
per cent forest cover. The indigenous tion among Jharkhand’s tribal popula- gains really be worth the ecological and
population, predominantly of tribal and tion against the previous Raghubar Das- human cost they’ll extract? O
J U LY 6, 2 0 2 0 | OU T LOOK 13O P I N I O N / Anil Swarup T H E W R I T E R I S A F O R M E R S EC R E TA RY,
M I N I S T RY O F C O A L A N D M I N E S
Private Limited
States’ cooperation vital for success of revamped mining policy
INDIA has the fourth largest
reserves of coal (esti
mated at more than
“Government ends monopoly in coal”. This was a trifle misleading. Yes,
commercial mining is the need of the hour and a great decision but the
decision relating to commercial mining was taken more than a year ago.
300 billion tonnes) in In fact, government ‘monopoly’ in coal mining had ended long ago.
the world and the ann Private sector had been mining coal for quite a while but the end-use of
ual requirement of coal in the country coal that they mined was restricted. These mines were for captive use
is only around 900 million tonnes. Yet, only. Accordingly, they were not entitled to sell the coal in the market.
we are short of coal and import almost The decision to allow sale of mined coal by private sector in the open mar
25 per cent of our requirement. Hence, ket was taken last year. The announcement made by the finance minister
the announcement made by the fin recently thus was a reiteration of the decision taken earlier.
ance minister, as part of a Rs 20-lakh Whether commercial mining of coal will actually happen and lead to tar
crore package announced by the Prime geted additional production of more than 200 million, whether the over
Minister, relating to “opening” up of all production in the country will reach the targeted 1.5 billion tonnes per
coal mining for commercial purpose annum by 2024-25 and whether the “new” policy will eliminate import of
by private entities is a welcome one. A coal are all moot points. These have to be analysed and discussed in the
leading English daily ran a headline, context of what happened and didn’t happen during the past five years.
India has enough coal
reserves to meet its
requirements
14 O U TLOOK | JULY 6, 2020Encouraged by a record level production during 2014-15 by Coal India didn’t travel much distance. Most of
Limited (CIL), the first announcement for increasing coal production to 1 the DISCOMs are in a bad shape. Apart
billion tonnes by 2019-20 was made in 2015. Despite the fact that coal from other announcements as a part of
production saw an unprecedented increase during 2015-16, we are now the package mentioned in the first par
here near 1 billion tonne production by CIL in 2019-20. In fact, on acc agraph, the finance minister also dec
ount of shortage of coal in the country, imports have been going up since lared that Rs 90,000 crore would be
2016-2017 from 191 million tonnes to 235 million tonnes in 2018-19. made available to improve the finances
CIL will continue to be a major player as far as coal production is con of DISCOMS. However, this alone will
cerned. It is hoped that commercial mining will add to the kitty after a few not help. UDAY (or its new version)
years. However, the success of commercial coal mining will depend upon will have to be implemented in letter
a number of factors. and spirit.
The first and the foremost factor would be the quality of the coal blocks Even if the production of coal inc
that are earmarked for the purpose of coal mining. The best of coal blocks reases as envisaged, import of coal is
(in terms of stripping ratio and the quality of coal) are with Coal India. not likely to be eliminated. Out of the
Most of the coal blocks that are left have problems relating to stripping coal that is imported, 50 per cent is of
ratio (the depth at which coal becomes available), accessibility and quality such quality (coking coal and the qual
of coal. Thus, the geo-technical feature of the coal blocks will be an impor ity of coal for power plants located
tant factor that will determine the viability of the block. The size of the close to the ports with boilers that req
block will also be a factor as commercial miners would prefer large blocks uire a specific quality) that is not avail
The next step would not be that difficult. The protocol for auction of able in India. The focus, therefore,
coal blocks is already there and was should be on eliminating import of
hailed as transparent and objective such coal that is available in India
when coal block auctions The government will have to get
(non-commercial) were held in down to business immediately if com
2014. No one raised any doubt The Union mercial mining has to make headway.
about the process and the same government The bidders will have to be assured
process can be used now. that the government or its agencies
The real problem in mining coal will have will not sit on clearances as has been
will be around (1) land acquisition, the case in the context of coal mines
(2) environment and forest clear
to take that were auctioned earlier. The previ
ance and (3) evacuation of coal. the states ous auctions were quite smooth but
During the period 2014-16 when coal the processes thereafter were debili
production reached unprecedented concerned tating. Consequently, mining could not
levels, the first two elements were
tackled by engaging intensively with
on board. commence expeditiously in most of
the blocks that were auctioned. This
the state governments because these will need to be taken care of while auc
problems relate primarily to the tioning blocks for commercial mining.
states. The clearances were fast Government will have to act as a facili
tracked through the instrumentality of the Project Monitoring Group tator, hand hold those that win the
(PMG) as were the coal evacuation projects bids. The Union government will also
As coal is embedded in inaccessible area, evacuation was always a key have to take the states concerned on
concern. Additional investment is welcome. Evacuation will be a major board. Incidentally, all the coal-bear
issue even for commercial coal block allottees. It is not clear from the ing states are ruled by non-NDA par
announcement where the money for evacuation projects will come from. ties and some of them have already
However, even if such funds become available, new projects will take a making a noise. Clear-cut action plan
long time to fruition. For the immediate future, what needs to be done is will have to be worked out outlining
to fast track the existing evacuation projects that are languishing on acc what needs to be done, how will it be
ount of variety of reasons but primarily on account of delays in clear done, who will do it and by when will it
ances. Yet again, activating the PMG would help as would an intensive be done?
engagement with state government. The decision to go ahead with com
All the factors mentioned above will determine the viability of commer mercial mining is a sound one but if it
cial mining projects. This viability will also be dependent upon the capa has to happen on the ground, lessons
bility of the end-user of coal to pay up. The situation at present appears to have to be learnt from the success
be very grim in this regard. Most of the power generating companies achieved in coal production during
(GENCOs) are in serious trouble because the distribution companies 2014-16. The approach needs to be
(DISCOMs) to whom they supply power are not in a position to pay up. understood and replicated. It can be
These GENCOs owe CIL more than Rs 15,000 crore and DISCOMs in turn done because it has been done in past.
owe GENCOs more than Rs 30,000 crore. Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance It happened for Coal India then. It can
Yojana (UDAY) was put in place to improve the health of DISCOMs but it happen for commercial mining now. O
OUTLOOKINDIA.COM J U LY 6, 2 0 2 0 | OU T LOOK 15You can also read
