The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Renewing ties with Egypt
India has advantages in Cairo

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s visit to India as the first elected head of state of the politically most important Arab country has provided an indication that he believes India’s success in various fields can be of great help in his efforts to rebuild Egypt after the end of dictatorship in the wake of the Arab Spring. The seven agreements the two countries signed on Tuesday cover only some of the areas where Egypt can learn from India’s experience, but this is definitely a good beginning for the two founder-members of the Non-Aligned Movement to strengthen their relations under the changing scenario in West Asia. The fields covered in the accords include cyber security, information technology and intellectual property rights. But as the two countries begin a new era of cooperation for mutual good, they are bound to touch more areas like defence and the satellite segment, as Mr Morsi has mentioned.

The new Egyptian President is known for combining principles with pragmatism. This is evident from his assertion that “opening of avenues (with one country) does not mean we close them with others”. If he is desirous of India helping Egypt to grow fast as a plural and democratic society, Mr Morsi wants China to assist his country particularly in the area of heavy industry. Since he appears to be inclined to seek any kind of assistance available from these two Asian giants, the situation is going to be quite challenging for Indian diplomacy in Egypt.

But, as Mr Morsi will realise in times to come, China cannot be as useful as India from many angles. India is a multi-religious democratic country and Egypt too has chosen the democratic path with its people professing various beliefs. The two countries have a history of cooperating with each other at the global level during the days of India’s first Prime Minister Nehru and Egypt’s legendary leader Nasser. They have commonality of views on many regional and international issues even now. These are, however, times when pragmatism is the best mantra for success which India and Egypt will have to remember as they begin to strengthen their relations under the prevailing circumstances.

Political compulsions
A compromised law

An unprecedented growth in sexual crimes against women is reflective of politics of humiliation and degradation of the female gender. It is not about sexual pleasure alone. These result from a perceived threat to patriarchy by sudden empowerment of a certain class of women. The incidents of exceptional brutality against women resulted in an unparallelled show of anger by the 50 per cent populace of the country, also joined by men. The movement became reflective of changing dynamics of democracy. For the first time it made the government machinery wake up and take note of the mass anger, sustained without any political support.

The government set up a three-member committee of legal experts to propose amendments to the existing laws. For the first time crimes like an attempt to throw an acid and acid attack or stalking, disrobing and voyeurism that were not covered under any section of the IPC thus far were prescribed grave penalties in the anti-rape Bill, cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Even the death penalty was not spared for extreme cases of sexual assault. Though it did not accept marital rape in the same ambit and watered down stringent punishment for stalking and voyeurism for the first time offenders, which were made non -bailable offences in the original draft. Also, the age of consent was again raised to 18 from 16 under intense political pressure.

While divergent voices emerge from the social, political and legal arena on the issue, scrapping of moral values in society should worry us all. The way society has begun to treat its women is becoming bizarre and sick. What lies at the core of this sickness should concern everyone. It cannot be left to the law-enforcing agencies alone. The demand for the dilution of laws from political parties was based on the apprehension of victimisation of the accused men. Rightly so. But the fate of Tarn Taran girl who went to report a case of sexual harassment and was beaten up mercilessly by the police is another reality women of this country have to live with.

Thought for the Day

There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another. — Edouard Manet

ARTICLE

Tackling power shortage
It's a major national challenge
by Charan Singh

THE country is suffering from multifarious problems as it is not easy to metamorphose from an emerging country to a super power. A significant component of the development process is energy and India records a perennial shortage of electricity especially during summers, mainly due to substantial transmission losses, high demand from agriculture and higher consumption in residential areas. Regular power cuts not only disrupt daily life but also impacts industrialisation and the general image of the country's infrastructure.

A number of cities experience agonisingly long power cuts despite the enhancement of productive capacity and cooperation between different states or regions. The shortage of power is in the range of 7 to 11 per cent per year, including the period of peak demand. Major consumers of power in 2010-11 were industry (45 per cent of total consumption), domestic (22 per cent), agriculture (18 per cent) and commercial (9 per cent). With increasing levels of income and urbanisation, power consumption in the domestic and commercial sectors has increased rapidly in the last few decades. Thermal plants using coal account for 57 per cent of power generated while natural gas accounts for 9 per cent. India imports about 135 million tonnes of coal compared to the domestic production of about 550 million tonnes annually. While the government is relentlessly pursuing long-term measures to ease the situation and capacity utilisation is improving, some illustrative practices, effectively used globally, can help tide over the problem, especially in the immediate future.

First, in India, nearly 23 per cent of power is lost during transmission and distribution. The loss is above 40 per cent in Jharkhand and above 30 per cent in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. This is in sharp contrast to 4 per cent in South Korea, 7 per cent in China and the world average of 9 per cent. This loss is basically power theft which is effected through many means, including meter tampering even in rich residential areas. It is important to plug this loophole; after all, power salvaged from theft is as good as power generated and we could be sufficient in the power sector. It is easy for the electricity board to identify the areas where power theft occurs and the first set of people to suffer "cuts" should be the power thieves, irrespective of their status and residence.

Second, as uncontrolled consumption can be ruinous, so would unlimited use of scarce resources like electricity. As even practised in electricity-surplus advanced countries, commercial enterprises and small business units should also follow stipulated fixed hours of operations; illustratively say 48 hours for a six-day week. The state governments can stipulate working hours, and work culture can develop where businesses mainly operate during daylight hours. To compensate for the loss of business in the evening hours, shops and business complexes can be permitted to work on Sundays and other holidays, again exclusively during day-time. As there is no religiosity of a Sunday in secular India, there can be flexibility for a weekly holiday in different towns and bazaars.

Third, consumption of electricity in public areas and street lighting should be evaluated. In view of the acute power shortage, bright street lighting on main roads and junctions could be restricted, illustratively, between dusk and 11 pm, to meet the requirements of heavy traffic. Thereafter, skeletal street lighting could be considered from 11 pm until dawn. This policy should certainly be possible during the fortnight around the full moons, utilising the moonlight. Incidentally, some advanced countries do not provide extensive street lights in many elite residential areas, as rich residents are expected to arrange for their own lighting and security.

Finally, realistic and dynamic pricing of electricity, especially when nearly one-fifth of coal is being imported, would play an important role in balancing the demand and supply. The tariff structure, on an average, is such that commercial users pay Rs.5.8 per unit, followed by industry (Rs.5) and domestic (Rs.3.2). The tariffs have not risen steeply for commercial users in recent years as has been the case for domestic users. Therefore, the elite shopping malls, five star hotels, club houses, entertainment theatres and exclusive business complexes in major metropolitan cities, which cater exclusively to the upper strata of society, should be able to pay a steeply higher tariff on their consumption. As it is, in times of power cuts, these entities incur a significantly higher cost in operating generators or alternate sources of energy, implying that there is scope for raising official tariffs. The electricity boards could also consider a seasonal price variation and fix rates on a monthly basis, dynamically adjusted with higher rates for peak months.

To leap-frog into a developed country, India needs to prioritise the use of scarce electricity on sectors which yield maximum productivity. Power shortage should be considered a national challenge and used as an opportunity to review transmission losses, devising a suitable pricing policy and pursuing strategies to conserve electricity. These should, in fact, become an integral part of power sector reforms in India.

The writer is RBI Chair Professor, IIM, Bangalore.

MIDDLE

Vulgarisation of comedy
by Upendra Bhatnagar

Laughter is an essential element of our life without which it will be something like a flower without fragrance. Wise people say that we must laugh out loudly at least once in a day to keep our blood circulation in control and our face glowing.

Even in cinema a comedian is an inseparable character of the story. Many a times he carries the entire story on his shoulders from beginning to the end (veteran actors Mahmood and Johny Walker did it in the past). Perhaps that is the reason small screen producers thought of creating a show which dishes out the lighter side of life — laughter — for the entertainment of small screen viewers. “Comedy Circus” being one of the starters won many hearts initially, but as the time passed and the programme earned a huge TRP rating, the entire essence of the show was polluted with undesired elements having absolutely no relation with even smiling.

Renamed as “Kahani Comedy Circus Ki”, the programme has crossed all the limits of decency vulgarising the laughter element. Archana Puran Singh’s own laughter is more than enough to deprive others of a chance to laugh. But she is not the subject of my script.

At the time when this show had started, viewers nestled a hope of neat, healthy and enjoyable show, but as the time passed and the show started getting TRP, its morality blew out of proportion, replacing healthy subjects with substandard and double meaning dialogue. Today the show can be rated as “Double X”, cheap and vulgar which cannot be seen along with the family because of its obscene dialogue and gestures. The most stunning part of the show is that the main anchor is a female and she is not at all ashamed of what she is supporting in the name of comedy.

I am shocked at the silence of the censor board. It is keeping mum while passing such scripts. Its inactiveness is encouraging writers to scribble only such vulgar scripts. Such shows must be either censored with a tough hand or stopped. I have been told by a friend of mine that one day he noticed his son using the comedy show’s double meaning dialogue in the case of one of his friends. And when asked not to use that language, the child replied spontaneously, “Papa, TV pe bhi to artists aise he bol raha tha. Agar yeh bat ghalat hoti to TV wale isey TV pe kyon dikhate?” I was speechless at that moment. The child might be right in his own logic but we, as adults, know that the language they were using was objectionable.

Vulgar comedy is influencing children’s mind the most. They enact the scenes without knowing the actual meaning of the dialogue. TV is a very powerful medium of not only entertainment but it also acts as a teacher, an informer and a guide. So programmes like “Kahani Comedy Circus Ki” should be kept under the strict scanner and if they do not mend their ways or improve their standards, they should be stopped immediately.

OPED — Diaspora

The new financial hub
Once an unknown outpost, Hong Kong is emerging as a favoured location for young Indian finance professionals. According to a recent census report, a tidal wave of Indians landed on the shores of Hong Kong between 2006 and 2011
Swati Maheshwari

Hong Kong has been rated as the world’s top financial centre for the past two years in a row by the World Economic Forum, beating the US and Britain into the second and third place, respectively. The fortunes of the “fragrant harbour” have improved dramatically, propelled by a combination of factors, including the rise of China and the decline of recession-hit western economies. Until 10 years ago, the saying was “Failed in London, try Hong Kong,” underlining the inferior status Hong Kong held. Now that has changed to finance professionals making a beeline to this Asian city hoping to escape the recession in the West.

Hong Kong is a destination of choice for finance professionals because of its low rate of taxes as compared to Europe and the US

Unfamiliar outpost

Indian professionals have long preferred to work in New York or London and if stationed in Asia, Singapore has been the unhesitating choice. Nearly every fourth person in Singapore is Indian, which makes Indians feel very at home in the city. In comparison, Hong Kong has been an unknown and unfamiliar Chinese outpost that hardly registered on the Indians’ radar. Historically, there have been blue- collar Indian workers and a small Sindhi community of traders settled for decades but hardly any of the younger finance professionals who have made a name for themselves in other financial centres.

China’s growing clout and the financial crisis of 2007-2008 changed all that with the city witnessing a steady influx of Indian professionals since then. The census report of Hong Kong’s population shows a tidal wave of Indians landing on Hong Kong’s shores between 2006 and 2011, an increase of more than 30 per cent in the ethnic Indian population. With most global banks and multinational companies building their regional headquarters in Hong Kong, thousands of Indians have gravitated to the Chinese city rather than its Asian rival Singapore. It must be added that even though Indians have become much more visible in the financial services in Hong Kong, they remain a small ethnic minority in the overall population.

Changed perception

Just how drastic the change in perception about Hong Kong has been is evident when an Indian lawyer reminisced that Hong Kong felt like the Wild West when he moved from New York six years ago! Gaurav Kumar, a banker who shifted to Hong Kong in 2003, says, “We didn’t know any Indians here then. If we saw an Indian, we would go up and say ‘hi’ and strike up a conversation as it was such a novelty. The IIM placements in 2004-2005 changed that significantly. Then the companies who hired Indians liked their quality, which they found was much better than the locals and it became a formal policy to hire from Indian campuses.” Saurabh Agrawal, an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, who moved to Hong Kong a year before Gaurav, says, “If you knew one Indian family and their friends, then you knew all the Indians on Hong Kong island as there were so few but there was a huge amount of hiring after 2004 as companies tried to build their Asian businesses and wanted local talent to build relationships with clients.”

Asia growth story

The first significant wave of Indian finance professionals reached the shores of Hong Kong when the belief that Asia would be the growth story of the future became widespread in the years preceding the bust in western economies. Shiva Shankar, an IIM graduate and now a senior-level executive in a global investment bank, moved to Hong Kong from New York. He says there were at least 40-50 IIM graduates reaching Hong Kong every year between 2005 and 2008. With Asia growing at more than 10 per cent and most banks enhancing their strength in Hong Kong, the city presented an added incentive. “I would be able to visit my family in India just once a year from the US, taking 20-hour flights but I can easily go home three to four times a year from Hong Kong while being in the thick of things. Hong Kong has become much more accessible with many flights daily to India. Also, why would I want to work in New York City and London where tax rates for the highest earners are above 50 per cent as compared to less than 20 per cent rates in Hong Kong? Hong Kong has become a lot more visible now and if you want to rise to senior management in banks, this is the place to be.”

Enhanced Indian presence

This resulted in a strong network and enhanced presence of Indians in China’s global financial centre. The recession and the resulting shrinking of business in the US and London added to its attractiveness, leading to another wave of professionals leaving these traditionally dominant financial centres. Sneha Kohli, a banker who graduated from Chicago business school in 2007, says the market for new graduates in the US was difficult in 2008. She moved to London but there weren’t too many opportunities in the global markets and she was tired of looking. “Even though we were not actively looking to move, I thought I’d be able to find something better in Asia. There are many more opportunities for Indians here. Most banks do India from here or Singapore and the equities market is much bigger in HK. It was really a career move.”

This was also the time when Indians settled in the US and Europe for many years decided to take the plunge to go to Asia. Rupali Saluja, an IT professional who relocated to Hong Kong after 10 years in the US, says she and her husband had been considering a stint in Asia for a while to be closer to India but the opportunity to move materialised only after the financial crisis. She says, “We wanted to try out Asia for both personal and professional reasons but the opportunity came when our bank shut down its US credit-card options and Asia became big. Hong Kong was an unknown destination and I was quite nervous. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians here. Integrating here was much easier than I had imagined.”

Prashant Kanodia, another IIM graduate who relocated to Hong Kong after eight years in London, describes the situation in London as much bleaker. “There is definitely more action here. Most people are busy and not so depressed. Contraction is far worse in Europe. I have friends who are keen to move here as the environment and growth is better here.”

Transient destination

But for most Indians, Hong Kong is not a long-term location. Rupali says they would like to move back to the US after their Hong Kong stint but they have found that there is a divide and moving cross geographies is difficult. She feels, “Hong Kong is a transient place. It is difficult to grow roots in the city as language is a big barrier.” Shiva Shankar adds, “You have to realise that the move from the West is a one-way ticket as business is done very, very differently in these regions compared to the West.” Unlike the US or UK, it is far more difficult to integrate with the local population and make it a permanent home.

And now with the optimism about Asia turning out to be exaggerated, banks and other financial service companies are not just downsizing their operations in the West. There have been job cuts across the financial sector in the Asian financial centres too resulting in Indians having to leave.

Sneha Kohli says, “Banks built huge overcapacities in Asia but the growth in Asia has not been as expected or hoped for. Banks want to get rid of expensive senior-level management so these firings are different from 2008-09 firings, which were about pruning numbers of staff.” These cuts have checked the tide of Indian professionals in the last year but there is no doubt that Indians have made their presence felt in this currently top- ranked financial centre.

Why Hong Kong takes the lead

Hong Kong was named the world's top financial centre for the second year running by the World Economic Forum (WEF), thanks to the strength of its business environment, infrastructure and a favourable tax regime.
The WEF's annual Financial Development Report considered a wide range of factors and underscored the rise of Asian trading centers and the influence of China as the world's second-largest economy.
Rival surveys based purely on the total value of transactions typically put New York or London in top place. However, stalling capital markets, sputtering economic growth and waning trust in financial organisations served to ensure that the top six positions remained unchanged from 2011, the WEF said. "Macroeconomic uncertainty as well as concerns related to regulation, contributes to inhibiting the financial industry from funding much-needed growth," said Giancarlo Bruno, senior director at the WEF, which hosts an annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
Though the report noted "pockets of improvement" across some banking-related indicators, it said that these signified "only a small step in what will be a long road to recovery". The United States, Britain, Singapore, Australia and Canada followed Hong Kong in the 2012 rankings. The report looked at legal and regulatory factors, business environment, financial stability, banking and non-banking services, markets and access to them.
“Despite these strengths, Hong Kong has a relatively underdeveloped bond market and its financial sector has yet to be fully liberalised," the report said.
Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden made up the remainder of the top 10 financial centres. The report said that policymakers face a “monumental” task to restore confidence in markets as waning trust in the overall system holds back investment. — Reuters