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Blow to
telecom firms Unjustified
swap deal |
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Hot,
really
Constraints
on defence spending
Bordeaux
in Bathinda
The
Indian maritime legacy
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Unjustified swap deal
The
Odisha government’s virtual capitulation to Maoist groups in agreeing to free as many as 27 of their ilk in exchange for two men held hostage by them — the ruling BJD’s Koraput MLA Jhina Hikaka and Italian tourist Paolo Basusco — is utterly unwarranted and shocking. Ironically, the two men were taken hostage by two Maoist groups that were inimical towards each other. The Andhra Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist) which was involved in the abduction of the Koraput legislator had set a deadline of April 5 for its demands which included release of their comrades. The group had been declining all offers of mediation. Considering that Hikaka is a young tribal legislator, the Maoists would predictably not have carried out their threat to kill him and could have been engaged in prolonged negotiations to wear them down. On the Italian tourist’s release, negotiations had been going on and the wearing down process was working because of the original two tourists abducted, one had been released. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who announced the release of Maoist prisoners in the State assembly should have pondered over the disastrous consequences of the action on the morale of the police which has been fighting the Maoists in the jungles against heavy odds. Last year in February, Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna was kidnapped by the rebels and released after a 14-point agreement between the Odisha government and the mediators. While the Maoists are now claiming that the government had gone back on most of the promises, the fact is that anti-Maoist operations were halted for quite some time after Krishna’s release and were only now picking up. The new release of 27 prisoners would put the clock back in the campaign against the Maoists. For this the Patnaik government would have only itself to blame. The manner in which the whole issue of abductions of two tourists and later a legislator was handled makes one feel that there is merit in the Central government’s plan to have a nodal agency for counter-terrorism which Mr Patnaik had recently opposed. Whatever infirmities there are in the plan must be sorted out at the earliest.
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Hot, really
It’s now official — scientists of the Hazard Assessment and Forecasting Division, Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) say there has been an increase of 1.7° C in the average temperature in the Himalayan region. This has, expectedly, and unfortunately, come with the news of a decrease in the average snowfall in the Himalayas, a significant fall of 15 to 20 per cent. These scientists have access to data collected in the past 140 years, and as such they are in a position to calibrate the changing weather conditions in the Himalayan region. In recent years, initial scepticism about global warming has eroded as it has been confronted with the reality of receding glaciers and ice cover, but precious little has been done to take necessary action. In this case, the scientists have held the increase in road traffic in summer in the Manali-Rohtang-Lahaul-Leh-Ladakh region and the resultant pollution as a major cause of the rise in temperature. They have advocated using non-conventional sources of energy and an extensive use of electric trolleys, which, while ideal, may not be implementable soon. Both long term and short term measures must be taken to reduce pollution, especially in the high-altitude areas. We know that most of the fresh water in the country comes from the Himalayas, through the rivers that originate there and flow down. We disrupt the checks and balances of nature at our own peril. The world over, global warming is an issue that is driving changes in the way governments and people at large use energy sources, especially fossil fuels. Various alternatives, especially non-conventional means of transport, need government support in order to be viable. The government should support them and provide incentives that would make people take to them. Other means that would reduce the meltdown of glaciers have been discussed at various international fora. India needs to take an active part in such discussions. As we see the effects of global warming hitting us, it is imperative that we take whatever steps we can to protect our environment, sooner, rather than later.
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It appears to be a law that you cannot have a deep sympathy with both man and nature. — Henry David Thoreau
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Constraints on defence spending
The
allocation of Rs 1.93 lakh crore (about $40 billion) for the defence sector, as reflected in the national budget, was entirely on the expected lines. At 1.9 per cent of the GDP, a marginal hike from the previous year’s 1.83 per cent is nothing much to cheer about. The armed forces have been clamouring for about 2.5 per cent all along so as to remain competitively modernised vis-a-vis the adversaries. This seemingly big hike of 17.6 per cent in this year’s budget estimate comes down to 13.1 per cent when viewed against the revised estimate of Rs 1,70,937 lakh crore. And when seen in the light of current inflation, it becomes all the more marginal. The armed forces have a long list of crucial acquisitions, comprising aircraft, ships, submarines, guns and modernisation of shipyards that may require as much as $50 billion in the coming years. The amount of Rs 79,579 crore, (about 41 per cent) earmarked for capital expenditure would only meet a part of the requirement. Besides, 30 per cent of this amount goes into pay and pension, leaving behind a long-term inadequacy of resources to juggle around. The usual statement that additional needs of the armed forces would be met as and when the circumstances demand is a pet weapon used by every Finance Minister to silence the critics. This scenario became obvious after the government had displayed its Economic Survey in Parliament. The subsidies had risen to nearly 2.5 per cent of the GDP which is highest in the last 10 years. The fiscal deficit remained uncontrolled at 5.9 per cent instead of 4.6 per cent as envisioned last year. The disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore as projected in 2011-2012 budget had not been achieved. To add to the government’s woes, the crude oil price was escalating by the day. It was obvious that the government would cut expenditure wherever possible. In the light of dismal assembly election results, the rail fare hike ruckus and the ensuing elections in 2014, the government would avoid taking measures that could hurt aam aadmi. In fact, the Finance Minister conceded that he could not afford to take any political risk in the light of the constraints of coalition politics. Non-planned expenditures were, therefore, obvious choice for the Finance Minister’s axe. Defence spending thus bore the brunt of the cuts. Since national security is beyond the comprehension of aam aadmi, the government could afford to take a chance and relegate defence to a lower priority for some time without hurting it unduly. The Finance Ministry’s bizarre query some time back from the Ministry of Defence as regards the likely duration of threat from China betrays this approach. The armed forces are an easy target for the Finance Minister for they have no lobby among the parliamentarians or the public in general. China’s defence expenditure at $110 billion announced on March 4 is nearly three times that of India. The increase of $18.4 billion (11.2 per cent) over last year’s allocation is only a part of the total hike. Considering the hidden component of the budget, which is a part of communist China’s policy, the actual figures may be much higher. This is in step with the increased pace of defence spending over the last decade. China feels that its defence spending is commensurate with its economy. China’s rising defence expenditure and its proclivity to be aggressive and even intimidating has become a cause for disquiet in India. It has invested heavily in Tibet and all along the Indo-Tibetan border from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. It plans to spend another $1.5 billion this year on extending highways, building new roads and repairing the old ones. It has already built a wide network of roads, totalling to about 63,000 km in and around Tibet. Sitting in a position of advantage, it shows little interest in resolving boundary dispute with India. As a counter, India could take advantage of its own favourable standing in the Indian Ocean which is China’s life-line. The Indian Navy must show its flag as a maritime power to dominate the Indian Ocean. It is in India’s long-term interest to invest in strengthening the Navy. China has gone decades ahead of India. India can no more match it militarily in the near future, especially when China produces most of its military hardware indigenously and India relies largely on procurement from outside with hardly any worthwhile indigenous military industrial base. Interestingly, while China has emerged as the world’s sixth largest exporter of conventional weapons, India has become the largest importer of weapons. Under the circumstances, India can hardly afford to be discordant and anti-China. The only way it can manage China is through diplomacy and pursuance of common areas of interests. But diplomacy too works from a position of strength and, therefore, there is need to keep the powder dry without slackening military preparation. Even Pakistan with a weaker economy spends a much higher percentage of its GDP on defence and keeps us on tenterhooks. Last year it spent $6.4 billion on its armed forces. Considering the current strategic environment and the relations with our immediate and distant neighbours, the defence forces are required to maintain their combat potential all the time. With fast changing technology and competitive re-armament, modernisation remains an ongoing process, needing continuous investment of resources without much interruption. India has two compulsive strategic rivals who want to deny India its legitimate standing in Asia. Both spend heavily on defence, far in excess of India. The significance of defence spending and its impact on the national economy has not been fully realised in India. While some see defence and development as complimentary, others see it as competitive, and yet others unfortunately view it as mutually exclusive. As for development, security is an essential pre-requisite, so is security for development. Security ensures an environment of peace and stability in which the economy can flourish and without which it could even disintegrate. Such environment inspires confidence, stimulates foreign investment, trade potential and encourages industry and employment; all important ingredients of national growth. There is an obvious linkage between defence and development, needing equal emphasis. Unfortunately, we in India do not quite realise this relationship. The studies carried out by the US and the British after World War II have highlighted the relationship between defence expenditure and economic growth. In fully developed countries, military expenditure does not promote the same level of growth as it does in developing countries. However, excessive defence spending, as seen in under-developed countries, hurts the economy. Military expenditure results in a mixture of strategic, economic and political spin-offs. Though the linkages are obvious, it is not easy to quantify them clearly. Despite significant defence spending over the years, India failed to build its military industrial complex. The defence industry in the US, the European Union and China has shown how defence spending can promote economic growth. It is worth mentioning here that countries having major military industrial complexes are also the major economic powers of the world. The government’s effort to jump-start the indigenous defence industry, however belated, by opening the defence sector to the private sector, allowing FDI and ensuring an offset clause in all our procurements from foreign vendors, is a welcome
development. The writer is a former Director-General, Defence Planning Staff.
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Bordeaux in Bathinda Move
over whisky and beer. If the Punjab Government's grapevine is to be believed, soon the hoary land of five rivers will be overflowing with the healthier choice of grape wine, instead of hard liquor. With a large yield of a grape variety known as 'Perlette' — that in French means 'little pearl' — now growing well in Bathinda and Ferozepur districts, the future is full of 'cheers'. The juicy, mouth-watering 'little pearl' that looks like a pale green berry, with mild, sweet flavour and a bit of a tarty tang, is sure to make it a vintners choice! With such tantalising delights in store and the cellar, soon the barrels of Punjab — and by that, one means those made in oak and not the butter-chicken-laden paunches of the land — will be bursting with fizz. While the experts will handle the technical side of the enterprise, I have been looking at the creative side of the venture. Half the magic and mystique of wine drinking lies in the grandeur of the name, the beauty of the bottle, its vintage and the esoteric tasting notes. While the outdated snob set might still continue to swear by the Burgundy or the Bordeaux produces, we in Punjab will soon have to invent our own wine flavours, poetic labels and fancy vocabulary to capture the tippling imagination. Instead of the famous French wine regions of Chablis, Champagne, Beaujolais, Burgundy and Bordeaux along the river valleys of Rhone, Loire, Avignon or Marne — we could perhaps be inspired by our own regions and rivers, never mind that no one passes through Bathinda, except for a seasonal trickle. We could perhaps market indigenous brands like Sauvignon de Sutlej, or a full-bodied, strong-on-the palate wine like Beas de blanc or perhaps even a Cote de Bhatinda-Boujoulis to celebrate a French collaboration. Or go in for a more complex, full-bodied bouquet with vigorous tannins, and a gritty aftertaste like Ravi-de-Grande Reserve' or a Pinot noir Punjab. Since food and wine go together, sommeliers and food columnists could be induced to promote some home-grown pairings like Murgh-Makhani with Merlot-de-Malout or our hallmark Sarson-ka-Saag with a fizzy, sparkling wine called Sauvignon de Saas served in a bucket of ice — produced as a special toast to the constantly fuming and fermenting proverbial Punjabi mother-in-law! The avowed dream of weaning away the aam-admi of Punjab from hard-core drinking to the gentler delights of wine drinking will only be fulfilled when the dhaba steel glass will also 'runneth over' with the angoori sharabh from the 'little pearl'. When the tired bones of the moustache- twirling, long distance, truck driver, alighting from his gaddi, will yell, "Oye! get me one plate rogon Josh with a 'thandi' bottle of 'Punjabi de Parllete' or a dry 'Medoc de Majha', would we have truly arrived! And something that the French will never enjoy, only a Punjabi wine will assure — a good and loud after-dinner-belch and some hot air
...!
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The Indian maritime legacy
The pioneering ship
The ship was built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction and Armament Co, Barrow, England for the Canadian Pacific Steamships. It was launched in 1891 as RMS Empress of India and was among the first of many ships to carry the prefix Empress. It was classified as an ocean liner with a tonnage of 5,905 tons and speed of 16 knots. It had a capacity of 50 1st class passengers, 150 2nd class and up to 400 steerage passengers. It was the property of the Maharaja of Gwalior from 1914-1919 and then passed on to the Scindia Steam Navigation till it was scrapped in 1923. The Indian merchant Navy fleet is ranked 18th in the world in terms of capacity. China ranks third while Pakistan is placed at 75. According to the Indian Shipping Statistics, released by the Ministry of Shipping in August 2011, India had a fleet strength of 1040 vessels with gross registered tonnage of 10.16 million. The maximum number of vessels (540) were Dry Cargo Liners followed by oil tanker (154). As many as 710 vessels with a tonnage of 1013 were engaged in coastal trade while 340 vessels with a gross tonnage of 9152 were employed for overseas trade.
The credit for setting sail the first ship under an Indian flag - that of the Scindia company - goes to the vision, resilience and courage displayed by Walchand Hirachand Doshi an industrialist from Maharashtra who, to fulfill the Indian dream, stepped into the unchartered arena of the Seven Seas over which the British had absolute domination and a stranglehold over all the sea routes. The British made sure that any ingress into this area was almost self defeating. It was in this back drop and the fact that over the past 60 years several Indian entrepreneurs tried to establish shipping companies but failed, that Walchand took the initiative. As per details in an 'Old Account' by Gita Piramal, 102 Indian shipping companies registered between1860 and 1925 went into liquidation. This success story begins during the train journey by Walchand, while he was returning to Bombay from Delhi in January 1919, when he heard of the Maharaja of Scindia having put up the vessel SS Loyalty for sale. Walchand, on reaching Bombay, directly went onboard and inspected the ship. With the fire of Swaraj burning within and the urge to have an Indian flag fluttering at sea, Walchand made a quick decision to buy the ship at the asking price of Rs 25 lakh. He reached out to his Swadeshi friends Norattom Morarjee, Lallubhai Samaldas and Kilachand Devchand, and floated the idea to form a shipping company. The idea fructified in the shape of Scindia Steam Navigation Company, which was incorporated and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange on March 27, 1919. The history of SS Loyalty dates back to 1890, when it was launched by Lady Louise Edgerton and christened as the RMS Empress of India. It became a part of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and for 23 years it plied between North Pacific ports and the Far East. The New York Times, in its edition dated December 20, 1914, carried the news that the Empress of India had been sold. The then Maharaja of Gwalior had purchased the vessel and converted her into a hospital ship as his contribution to the war effort. In 1915, the Empress of India, a 5905 gross tonne, twin-funnel clipper bow ship was re-fitted to serve as a hospital ship for Indian troops and renamed, Loyalty. The ship accommodated 700 passengers and cargo. After a service of nearly 33 years, she was finally scrapped in 1923 for a price of just Rs 1.35 lakh. SS Loyalty's Inaugural Journey Her first passage under an Indian flag was fully booked, but prior sailing cancellations took heavy toll due to pressure from the British. Despite that, amongst the passengers sailing on this maiden voyage were the Maharaja of Kapurthala along with his Spanish wife and the Maharaja of Kashmir. It made a safe successful passage to London to the dismay of the British. As soon as the vessel was set to sail from London back to Mumbai after refitting, secret instructions were passed by the British to all shipping agents against reprisals if any carriage booking was made for this ship. The Loyalty sailed back to Bombay in ballast, empty, with heavy financial loss, but this journey achieved the unthinkable -- the seed of Indian shipping was sown. The nationalist sway brought to the fore the need for training Indian seafarers to manage the Indian fleet, which gradually led to the establishment of the training ship, IMMTS Dufferin. Starting with Scindia Shipping, the path led to the final establishment of the Shipping Corporation of India. The significant companies created were the India Great Eastern, the visionary efforts of Dr Dharam Vir Teja who established Jayanti shipping that was later absorbed by SCI. Despite an early start, the question today is whether Indian Shipping has kept up to the vision of the pioneers. The answer is, sadly, in the negative. It is time for India to have a relook at its maritime policy. Shipping to date has not been given the attention or the incentives to develop to the extent it should have. The soft power of India is very strong but Indian shipping is lagging due to the lopsided policy of not having a level playing field for Indian entrepreneurs to increase ships under the Indian Flag. The recently announced budget gives credence to same, which completely neglects the shipping or ship building industry in the country. Today shipping can draw a parallel with the IT industry in the country. The Indian IT soft power and knowledge industry is recognised worldwide but it is heavily lagging in hardware. The shipping industry's fate is much the same. The Indian soft power in the form of highly trained manpower rules in all sectors of the shipping industry world-wide. Unfortunately the hardware in the form of ships under the Indian flag is far from satisfactory. The Indian power corridors should pay heed and give due impetus to the shipping industry, both for merchant vessels and needs of the Indian Navy. The Course Ahead Towards this a cue can be taken from China. Over the last decade, Chinese ships and manpower have developed hand-in hand in quantum leaps unmatched by any other country, backed by required infrastructure with government support. A second role model to follow is that of Norway, which at one stage to avoid losing tonnage under its national flag, opted to float a second registry under its flag in the form of NIS, giving special incentives for their entrepreneurs to keep vessels under the national flag. On similar lines India could offer special incentives and tax breaks to increase ships under the Indian flag by private sector participation. The southern tip of Indian mainland can be demarcated as a Union territory making it a free trade zone on the lines of Hong Kong. Lastly, the human resource development authorities must take cue from the neighboring countries, where on the basis of Seamen's Book, seamen making trips onboard a vessel immaterial of the period, are automatically exempted from tax. In India a seaman has to spend minimum six months in a financial year out of the country to avail tax concessions. Chinese authorities and many other countries have high regard for their national Passport and Seaman's Book carried by their citizens. As long as his name appears on the crew list of a vessel, a Chinese citizen requires no pass to enter or exit from the vessel on Chinese territory. Unlike this, Indian citizens visiting their own country are made to feel unwelcome and even perceived as security risks. There is thus an urgent need not to let the pioneering efforts of so many people go waste. The plethora of Indian shipping soft power must not go in vain. If the government pays heed, then a decade from now the pulsating effect of the dynamics of finance and shipping moving the economy will be felt. There are so many Indian entrepreneurs waiting on the sides for governmental reforms to come about in Indian shipping. Just like the new dawn of April 5, 1919, Harry Banga (from Chandigarh) and perhaps the most successful Mariner of the country stands soberly, reminiscing in his plush office overlooking the Hong Kong bay. While he salutes the pioneer, Walchand Hirachand Doshi, the Maratha from Sholapur who dared to take on the British and the plethora of Indian Mariners worldwide, who have contributed to the success of this Swadeshi adventure, he yearns to do something for his own country. It can be said that the Sun never sets on the Indian mariner today. The writer is serving with the merchant navy for the past 44 years and has been a captain since 1978
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