NMC Guidelines will Bar New Medical Colleges in South; ‘Modi’s Promise’ is Strategy for 2024 ― Though Modi Doesn’t Keep Promises
CAD widening, Trudeau denies bizarre coke story, double engine caused Manipur train wreck, British Sikhs seek protection, Sunak’s India deal angers unions, Sri Lanka’s ancient defences against drought
A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by MK Venu, Seema Chishti, Siddharth Varadarajan, Sushant Singh, Sidharth Bhatia and Tanweer Alam | With inputs from Kalrav Joshi and Anirudh SK | Editor: Pratik Kanjilal
Snapshot of the day
September 29, 2023
Pratik Kanjilal
A suspected suicide bomber has killed 52 people and injured 50 in an Eid procession in Balochistan, Pakistan.
From transport unions to private schools and movie stars, a wide spectrum of groups support the Karnataka bandh on the Cauvery waters issue. Bengaluru’s international airport has cancelled 44 flights. About 200 protesters have been detained.
The Digital India Bill, which is to succeed the Information Technology Act, 2000, will empower the government to ban or penalise the deployment of disruptive technologies which are against its stated principles. The immediate targets could be the metaverse and blockchain, reports Indian Express.
Canadian government and military websites report a distributed denial of service attack traced to Indian hackers. DDoS is a blunt instrument which slows websites to a crawl. The problem was rapidly addressed, and critical data does not appear to have been compromised. Recently, Canada has also reported similar cyberattacks originating from Russia.
Canadian PM Trudeau’s office has denied the bizarre allegations of former Indian envoy to Sudan Deepak Vohra that he flew into Delhi for the G20 summit in an official aircraft fully loaded with cocaine, and that he was stoned immaculate during the proceedings. Vohra featured on a Zee TV show anchored by Deepak Chaurasia, who is notable for interviewing the WWF wrestler Great Khali at close quarters. Khali permitted him to live.
The New York Times says that PM Modi has amplified a Punjabi separatist threat that enjoys no traction in India, but is a persistent fantasy of the diaspora.
Kerala doctor Cyriac Abby Philips has been running an online campaign against pseudoscientific remedy systems, including Ayurveda, which the government promotes. His X account has now been suspended by court order for his observations on Himalaya’s Liv 52, which has for decades been known to be either useless at the dose administered, or harmful. The thread which got him into trouble has been archived.
Xiaomi has contracted with Indian firm Padget Electronics to assemble phones and other hardware in Noida. It calls it a coup for the PM’s Make in India campaign.
“British PM Rishi Sunak’s trade deal with India will not include legally enforceable commitments on labour rights or environmental standards,” reports Politico, and UK firms and unions are incensed about being taken for granted.
Samanth Subramanian investigates the unexpected effect of new UK visa policies ― the exploitation of care workers and nurses from India, who are lured by new employment agencies into situations resembling modern slavery.
A probe instituted by the CPI(ML) into the ethnic violence in Manipur concludes that the Centre and the state government played key roles, reports The Wire. The ‘double engine’ caused the train wreck.
Beijing and Washington are pouring oil on troubled waters as Xi Jinping and Joe Biden prepare for a summit meeting. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Xi’s top aide on the economy Vice Premier He Lifeng are to visit Washington.
Currency traders tell Reuters that RBI is probably selling dollars to prevent the rupee from falling to a record low.
India’s current account gap is outstripping estimates. It was $9.2 billion in the June quarter and may rise on the back of oil prices. Credit card spends rose to $18 billion last month, suggesting that households are on the brink and even the well-off are flying on vapour.
The debut of Major League Cricket in the US has surpassed expectations and the project looks forward to its second season, reports Forbes. It kicked off with an investment of $100 million, helped by Indian businessmen in the US, some of whom are in Silicon Valley.
Sir Michael Gambon, whose extraordinary acting career took him from Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre to screen roles in The Singing Detective and the role of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise, has died at the age of 82. Dame Eileen Atkins told the BBC that “he just had to walk on stage and he commanded the whole audience immediately”.
British Sikhs alarmed about Nijjar’s killing
British Sikhs, who number over 5 lakh, are urging their MPs to seek information from Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman regarding police measures to protect Sikh activists following the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, reports The Guardian. The Sikh Federation is concerned about the safety of prominent individuals, gurdwaras and the Sikh community. It will urge MPs to grill Sunak about his discussions with PM Narendra Modi and inquire about security measures in the UK. It wants MPs to “write to the home secretary and security minister” seeking measures to alert Sikh activists at risk.
Inflation low, but Sri Lanka economy still not in the black
Bankrupt Sri Lanka’s economic recovery is not assured, the IMF warned after the first review of its $2.9 billion bailout for Colombo. It said Sri Lanka had been unable to meet its revenue targets and ensure growth. “Despite early signs of stabilisation, full economic recovery is not yet assured,” the IMF said, though inflation is at an eight-year low. Year-on-year inflation of 1.3% in September was healthier than August’s 4% and well below the soaring 69.8% a year ago. The economic crash sparked shortages of essentials and months of civil unrest that eventually toppled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. An IMF delegation wrapped up their two-week mission to Sri Lanka without an announcement on releasing the second tranche of $330 million. China, which accounts for 52% of Sri Lanka’s bilateral debt, has not taken a position on restructuring but will support Colombo.
New policy will bar South from training more doctors
Long before the southern states pay the price for reducing population growth, which will lower their representation in Parliament after delimitation, they will suffer a public health slowdown. If guidelines framed by the National Medical Commission for undergraduate courses come into force, none of the five southern states will be able to open new medical colleges or add seats in existing institutions. The new guidelines cap the ratio of seats to population at 100 per million, which the progressive southern states crossed long ago.
(Source: The South First)
Gujarat law students file serious gender complaints
Earlier this week, the Gujarat High Court took cognizance of a news report about rape allegations by a second-year law student against her batchmate, and the harassment of a queer student at the Gujarat National Law University. A bench of Justices AS Supehia and MR Mengdey sought a report with the names of members of the Internal Complaint Committee and issued a notice to the registrar and head of academic affairs. This was after the Ahmedabad Mirror reported on the allegations last week, wherein the queer student complained of the absence of a redressal mechanism.
Another student posted that she was raped by a batchmate after he got her drunk. “I was not in my senses and he raped me,” wrote the student. “He took my naked videos and threatened to leak the videos if I raised an alarm or talked about it. His friend is also aware about it.”
The Long Cable
‘Modi’s promise’ is strategy for 2024 ― though Modi doesn’t keep promises
P Raman
Let down by the domestic industry despite hefty tax cuts and the lacklustre performance of his government, PM Modi has adopted a new campaign style: “This is Modi ki guarantee.”
“When Modi gives a guarantee, he fully implements it,” the PM said at a Kshatriya function in Haryana. He seems to be keenly aware of the large number of broken promises. And of late, he gives too many ‘guarantees’ to all and sundry.
“India will be among the world’s top three economies in the coming years… This is Modi’s guarantee”, he again thundered from the ramparts of the Red Fort. “When I say this, it is with full responsibility.”
In a virtual address highlighting the role of the tourism sector, Modi repeated the ‘guarantee’ theme: “When I give this guarantee I do it with full responsibility,” the PM said with determination. Tourism, he said, would create 13-14 crore new jobs for the youth.
Referring to the Rs 6.5 lakh crore annual subsidy on fertilisers, a routine budgetary allocation from the pre-reform days, the PM claimed it was “yeh Modi ki guarantee” ― “This is Modi’s guarantee. I am only talking about what I have done, and not promises.”
“When you associate with India’s growth journey, India gives you the guarantee of growth,” Modi said at a business function. Here, he identified himself with the nation.
Now, the PM warns against false guarantees from the Opposition. Addressing a function at Lalpur in Madhya Pradesh, Modi cited many such Opposition promises, like the implementation of the old pension scheme.
At a Bhopal rally this week (on September 25), Modi said that the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed because “Modi means the guarantee of fulfilling his guarantees.” Referring to himself multiple times, he said: “Modi’s mehnat and mission are different from others.”
But the hard fact is that unlike its predecessor, this government does not have a comprehensive economic vision or policy. The PM is always busy with political management, which is his forte. He makes big economic pronouncements, but as part of emerging political needs.
His government takes decisions under pressure from foreign governments and business friends. Now, we are told in graphic detail how his friend Gautam Adani managed to force the controversial farm laws through the NITI Ayog. An NRI businessman suddenly appeared with the bright idea and all wings of the government joined ranks in support of the new farm reform.
In October, the PM said, “First be vocal for local and then foreign”. “This Diwali, you should buy local products,” he said. The Make in India programme was launched in September 2014 with great fanfare. “I want to tell the people of the whole world to come and invest in India,” Modi thundered.
Then came his Atmamirbhar Abhiyan in 2020. Sadly for Modi, industries did not spring up everywhere despite lucrative economic packages made available to corporates like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
This was followed by Modi’s famous slogan, ‘Vocal for local’. Another dream he sold was to make India the world’s ‘factory’. The bravado did not move domestic investors, who do their own calculations.
By that time, crony capitalism was in full play. Corporate tax cuts alone cost the exchequer Rs 1.84 lakh crore during the past two years. The figure for 2021-22 is expected to be over Rs 1 lakh cr. Despite the largesse, the famous ‘animal spirits’ remained subdued. The story of the great corporate betrayal did not end, but the tax cut spree continued.
Thus, the effective income tax on Modi’s corporate friends was slashed to 25.17% from the highest rate of 34.94%. The minimum alternate tax was lowered from 18.5% to 15%. The tax rate for larger companies was moving even lower and stood at 20.77% by the end of last year. ‘Animal spirits’ remained elusive.
“I believe the government has no business doing business. The focus now will be on minimum government and maximum governance,” said Narendra Modi on May 14, 2014. Explaining his concept of minimum government, Modi boasted: “In just an hour, I have cleared projects worth Rs 12 lakh crore which were dragging on for 30-40 years …What took six months earlier, now takes 15 days.” Those were the days when every pronouncement of the PM enthralled the middle classes and the aspiring youth. Business and trade found a new reform hero who, unlike his predecessor, could act on his own.
With hardly six months left before the general elections, Modi is now called upon to account for his innumerable unkept promises. The middle class and the youth who dreamt of flourishing industries everywhere and 2 crore new jobs every year remain frustrated. Domestic business and trade, which wrested innumerable concessions and packages over nine years, are still not investing.
Despite Modi’s promise of minimum government, his interventions have surpassed the record of all other post-reform PMs. As a major liberalisation measure, on April 1, 2000, the Vajpayee government had at one stroke removed quantitative restrictions on 714 items. In contrast, Narendra Modi has revived the licensing system which was abolished by Manmohan Singh 30 years ago. This has evoked sharp criticism even from pro-government economists like Arvind Panagaria.
The government has repeatedly acted in panic over the past year:
Aug 25, 2023: 20% duty imposed on parboiled rice. More curbs on basmati rice.
Aug 19: 40% duty imposed on onion exports.
July 20: Exports ban extended on non-parboiled, non-basmati rice.
June 12: Stock holding limits imposed on wheat.
June 2: Stocks limits for arhar and urad dal.
Sept 8 2022: Exports of broken rice banned and 20% duty on white variety.
June 1: Sugar exports banned.
May 24: Further restrictions on sugar exports.
May 13: Wheat exports banned.
Aug 4: India bans import of laptops, tablets and personal computers.
Sept 5: On the eve of US President Joe Biden’s visit, India reduced tariffs on imports of turkey, duck, cranberries and blueberries.
Sept 8: Tariff reductions on US apples, chickpeas, lentils, almonds and walnuts.
Modi is best at announcing — and forgetting — populists welfare schemes. The first generation was announced in 2014-15. Schemes with the ‘PM’ prefix — like PM Pranam, PM Usha, PM Awas Yojana — alone account for two dozen. Initially, special teams in the PMO monitored each scheme.
Now, most are left to languish. Those like Namami Gange — highly emotional for the RSS — remain works in progress after nine years. The Allahabad High Court described the scheme as a “money distribution machine”. The graveyard of Narendra Modi’s failed promises begins with the assurance to bring back money stashed away overseas “during Congress rule”. “I will remit Rs 15 lakh in the account of every Indian,” he assured during the 2014 election campaign. What we got instead was the stonewalling of official data since 2014.
The Finance Ministry told the Lok Sabha that the Centre did not have an estimate of black money stashed away abroad. Instead of bringing back black money, 33 big bank fraudsters, including the PM’s own Mehulbhai, were allowed to escape with their booty.
Among the fugitives were powerful entrepreneurs who have a cosy relationship with the ruling party ― Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi. In eight years, none have been brought back and public sector banks have lost thousands of crores of the taxpayer’s money.
(P. Raman is a veteran journalist. He is the author of Tryst with Strong Leader Populism.)
Reportedly
After the government created tension by delaying visas for Pakistani cricketers, they were greeted with warmth and applause by hundreds of Indian fans upon its arrival for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which starts on October 5. The contingent landed in Hyderabad late on Wednesday and was given a terrific welcome by Indian fans. The heartwarming scenes in Hyderabad belied the diplomatic tensions that have all but stopped tourism across the heavily militarised border. Despite strained governmental relations, athletes from both nations have maintained friendships across borders.
Prime Number: 18.3% The rate of bank credit growth in retail, encompassing housing, vehicle loans and credit cards settled at 18.3% year-on-year, says RBI. It’s slightly lower than the 19.4% recorded in the same period last year. Housing, which dominates the segment, grew 13.8% annually, down from 16.3% in August last year.
Deep Dive
PM Modi claims to have lifted 13.5 crore people out of poverty in five years. The truth value of the claim is unclear because evolving poverty definitions render uncertain the numbers of the poor, and therefore the impact of poverty-alleviation initiatives. But when it’s election season, who cares about facts?
Opeds you don’t want to miss
For Project Syndicate, Ashoka Mody traces the roots of corruption in the Congress back to the founding of the republic. For once, it does appear to be Nehru’s fault.
US Army General Mark Alexander Milley, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retires tomorrow. His handling of the dangerously erratic Donald Trump, who wanted to recruit the forces to his political aims, holds lessons for the Indian military, says Gen HS Panag (retd.).
The INDIA alliance hasn’t boycotted journalism, writes Yogendra Yadav. It has only refused to dance with the jokers in the pack.
“Index inclusion will subject India’s economy and markets to greater scrutiny and stricter governance standards. With a fiscal deficit of nearly 9% of GDP – the biggest among the members of JP Morgan’s emerging market bond index – and a much higher public debt burden than countries with the same credit rating, India’s relationship with global debt investors is likely to become more tense,” writes Nicholas Spiro in The South China Morning Post.
When the US refrains from speaking clearly and strongly about the democratic deficit of its friends – as it did with India recently, and Israel and Saudi Arabia too – it risks losing its hard-won credibility, warns Howard W French in Foreign Policy.
In an editorial, Deccan Herald says that the government is chipping away at Indian science.
Vivek Agnihotri’s The Vaccine War, which is meant to celebrate Indian scientists, has more villains than heroes – and is not really about the scientists, says Garima Sadhwani.
Sick of having Hindi thrust upon you? How about Sanskrit instead? Chandrima S Bhattacharya joins the PM to root for a dead language.
Listen up
After a decade of deliberation, India’s Parliament recently passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. On the Grand Tamasha podcast, lawyer and author Rahul Matthan joins Milan Vaishnav to discuss the new law and what it means for India, its citizens and firms.
Watch out
With less than two weeks to go before the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, Indian spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin and commentator Harsha Bhogle came up with the chat show ‘Kutti Stories with Ash’. The duo will talk about India’s performance in various editions of the World Cup.
Over and out
For nearly two millennia, artificial water bodies called wewai have irrigated Sri Lanka’s fields. An old Sinhala phrase, “wewai dagabai gamai pansalai (tank, pagoda, village, temple) reflects the technology’s place in the community. Village tanks are part of an ancient hydraulic network called ellangawa, or “tank cascade system”. BBC Futures looks at rainwater harvesting in the ancient tank cascades of Sri Lanka, lifelines during prolonged drought.
Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, the video card-maker which is now in especial demand after its foray into AI, has consistently appeared in public functions in India, where it is rather warm, in his trademark leather jacket. He appeared in uniform even at the PM’s residence. Nvidia is worth over $1 trillion and he himself is worth $40 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It is not known what the leather jackets are worth.
That’s it for today. We’ll be back with you on Monday, on a device near you. If The India Cable was forwarded to you by a friend (perhaps a common friend!) book your own copy by SUBSCRIBING HERE.
Are Baap[P Raman} Re Ye To Dhoti Khol Raha Hai 🤣