A Story for Sri Rama

O Rama, there is a great rock that is full of tenderness and affection, which is obvious and ever clearly perceived, which is soft, which is omnipresent and eternal. Within it, countless lotuses blossom. Their petals sometimes touch one another, sometimes not, sometimes they are exposed and sometimes they are hidden from view. Some have their roots intertwined, some have no roots at all. O Rama, this rock is indeed the cosmic consciousness; it is rocklike in its homogeneity. Just as one conceives or imagines different forms within the rock, this universe is also ignorantly imagined to exist in this consciousness. Even if a sculptor ‘creates’ different forms in the rock, it is still rock; even so in the case of this cosmic consciousness that is a homogenous mass of consciousness. Even as the solid rock contains potentially diverse figures that can be carved out of it, the diverse names and forms of the creatures of this universe exist potentially in cosmic consciousness. Even as rock remains rock, carved or uncarved, consciousness remains consciousness whether the world appears or not. The world-appearance is but an empty expression; its substance is naught but consciousness. Even these manifestations and modifications are but Brahmn, the cosmic consciousness — though not in the sense of manifestation or modification. Even this distinction is meaningless in Brahmn. When such expressions are used in relation to Brahmn, the meaning is quite different, like water in a mirage. … When this truth is realised, duality ceases. All is Brahmn.

Source: Economic Times, 27/11/2018

World War I: a turning point for the Indian economy

The centenary celebration of the end of World War I has mostly focused on its political impact, especially the implosion of multinational empires that led to the creation of new ethnic nations in Europe, as well as the communist capture of power in Russia. In India, the return of Punjabi soldiers after the end of the war also galvanised political activity against colonial rule in that province, which became the spark for wider protests.

Less attention has been lavished on the economic impact of the conflagration. World War I ended the first era of globalization. It was followed by three decades of economic misery thanks to the collapse of global trade, a rising tide of protectionism and deep recessions in several countries. The balance of global economic power began to shift as the US and Japan made a deeper impact on the world economy.

World War I also proved to be a turning point for the Indian economy. The economic historian Tirthankar Roy has explained in his work how the British engagement in World War I had a complicated impact on India. There was a sharp increase in demand for Indian goods in Britain as production capabilities in Britain itself were diverted to the war effort. However, the disruption in shipping lanes because of the war also meant that Indian industry faced dislocations because of the shortage of inputs that were earlier imported from Britain and Germany. There was excess demand as well as supply bottlenecks.

One result was inflation. Industrial prices nearly doubled in the six years after 1914. Accelerating prices benefitted Indian industry, as was also the case during World War II a few decades later. Farm prices rose as well, but at a slower pace than industrial prices. The internal terms of trade moved against agriculture. This trend continued for most of the next few decades, and especially during the collapse in global commodity prices during the Great Depression. The rapid rise in industrial prices as well as improving internal terms of trade for Indian industry benefitted industrial enterprises.

However, that was not the entire story. The war years also saw a shift in colonial policy away from laissez faire to a more interventionist approach—a shift that had a profound effect on the subsequent policy framework. There were two primary forces driving this shift.

First, the British realised that their most important colony needed strategic industrial depth if it had to be successfully held during disruptions such as a world war. Second, the long nationalist campaign for the state to support Indian industrialization began to bear fruit. The colonial state finally accepted the need for a specific policy framework to support industrial investment in India.

In March 1916, Ibrahim Rahimtoola proposed in the Imperial Legislative Council that a committee should be appointed to examine what policies were needed to promote industrial development in India. The Viceroy accepted the proposal. There were four Indian members in the group that wrote the Indian Industrial Report that was made public in 1918, or 100 years ago. These Indian members were Fazulbhoy Currimbhoy, R.N. Mookerjee, D.J. Tata and Madan Mohan Malaviya.

The Indian Industrial Report recognised the need of state support for industrial growth, but also stopped short of the original demand by Rahimtoola that the power to impose import, export and excise duties to promote domestic industrial investment should be shifted from London to New Delhi. Fiscal autonomy was rejected, and the anodyne conclusion was: “A powerful and well-directed stimulus is needed to start the economic development of India along the path of progress. Such a stimulus can only be supplied by an organised system of technical, financial and administrative assistance.”

More powerful than the official report itself was the scholarly dissent note written by Malaviya. He marshalled data from Indian economic history as well as the recent experience of late industrializers such as Germany and Japan to argue for a more meaningful government support for Indian industrial growth. This was at a time when mainstream Indian nationalism was enthusiastic about rapid industrialisation, and a few years before the Gandhian idea of village self-sufficiency took hold of the public imagination. The dissent note written by Malaviya is a treat to read even 100 years later.

His protest was not wasted. The die had been cast. The next few years after 1918 would see the setting up of a Fiscal Commission to provide some element of fiscal autonomy for India as well as a Tariffs Commission that would offer temporary protection for a handful of industries that had been carefully identified based on the comparative advantage.

The coming three decades would be tough as the world economy stuttered. India also lost out to the Japanese in key areas such as textiles. However, what happened in the six years after 1914 had an impact over the longer term. The extraordinary profits earned during World War I provided the initial capital for several Indian industrial groups that would become dominant in the years to independence. The acceptance of state support for industrial development should be seen as the precursor of the more structured calls for national planning from political leaders as diverse as Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar, V.D. Savarkar and Subhas Chandra Bose.

The initial success followed by the eventual failure of Indian planning is another story altogether.

Niranjan Rajadhyaksha is research director and senior fellow at IDFC Institute. Read Niranjan’s previous Mint columns at www.livemint.com/cafeeconomics

Source: Mintlive epaper, 21/11/2018

What is Gause’s Law in Ecology?

lso known as the competitive exclusion principle, this refers to the proposition that the populations of two competing species cannot remain at stable levels over time. When two species compete for control over a limited amount of resources, the dominant species will take advantage over its weak competitor. This will cause the weaker species to get excluded from its previous territory and its population to drop over time. The law is named after Soviet biologist Georgii Gause although it was formulated first by American biologist Joseph Grinnell in his 1904 paper “The Origin and Distribution of the Chestnut-Backed Chickadee”.

The Hindu, 21/11/2018

Pollution is now a political subject, that has been its big success’

The Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute on what to expect from the Katowice Climate Change Conference and how to tackle pollution

Ajay Mathur is the Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). He is also a member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority and has been part of India’s negotiating team in earlier editions of the United Nations-convened Conference of the Parties (COP). In this interview, Mr. Mathur says we shouldn’t expect a big bang result next month at the Katowice Climate Change Conference, and explains how the air pollution problem is not insurmountable. Excerpts:

Next month, the COP will convene in Katowice, Poland, to finalise the rule book on how the 2015 Paris commitments should be implemented. Do you expect major headway?

The 2018 COP was always seen as the one where the rules for Paris would be put in place. Over the years there’s been a lot of discussion on that. At several meetings leading up to the COP, we’ve seen a lot of convergence on the rules regarding transparency (mainly on how nations will report their greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating actions) such that when you’re reporting, it is credible. This was a group of countries that was led by India’s Environment Secretary and was very successful as well as able to close discussions and get people together.

However, transparency is just one aspect of this rule book. There is still a huge degree of difference on issues related to financing. The developing countries believe that they cannot have certainty of action till international financial flows are known. So, they have to be reported ex ante (based on forecasts rather than on actuals). The developed countries don’t like it at all.

But isn’t this what the dialogue in every COP is usually about: Where’s the money that has been promised: about a $100 billion dollars annually by the developed countries, until 2020?

It’s absolutely clear that if you focus on this subject alone, there’s bound to be disappointment. I can’t see either the developed countries or the developing countries moving on this. But the point is that there are newer areas, like transparency, where we have moved ahead. The issue is, how will the political leadership be taken in Katowice, so that we can have an agreement on a rule book? This agreement could well be, say, here’s the core of the rule book and here are five other things that need to be agreed on and we we will do it over the next, say, one year, because Paris doesn’t kick into place until 2020. It could even mean that a rule book will be ready only in 2020. We were very ambitious and thought it would be ready in 2018 but we aren’t, so that’s fine.

But wouldn’t firming up a rule book mean that countries would have to agree to fixed targets on setting greenhouse gas emissions limits for themselves?

Absolutely not. As of now, the convergence is on transparency: How we will collect data, report the data, be sure that the reported data meet an acceptable level of quality control. If we agree to move ahead on obligations of the Paris deal, this is how you would do it. It is more about building trust that all of us are using the same kind of data. There may be differences in the (duties of) developed and developing countries but at least the elements are in place. We should go to Katowice expecting that at least the elements of the rule book are in place.

Through the years, there’s been concern that whenever India attends high-level meetings, it lacks its own empirical data and so ends up getting snowed in by modelling and projections made by others. Can the convergence towards transparency address this?

I would dispute that Indian experts are ‘snowed in’ by others’ data. What is true is that the level of analysis we do at a global level is more limited than what is done by others. What transparency will mean for us and other countries is that the basis for future projections and the basis for seeing whether we are actually achieving what we have promised is going to be much more superior than in the past. There were years in which we weren’t sure of data from many countries. Katowice is not a Paris but an essential meeting to operationalise Paris. There’s another thing in the rule book that relates to ‘stocktake’. It’s been decided that every few years from 2022, we will see how the world is doing as far as their actions are concerned. Are they on track to achieve what is promised? The stocktake will tell us that. As you can imagine, if we have poor data, we will make poor decisions.

Among India’s commitments is to achieve 100 GW of solar power by 2022. Several reports seem to suggest that we will fall short, particularly due to the slow uptake in rooftop solar. Will that be a major problem? Do we have time to fix this problem?

One part of the answer is that it is possible that 60 GW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (like in solar farms) can become large enough to meet the target. With rooftop solar there are a large number of implementation problems and policy issues that we are still trying to understand. Only a few years ago, our concept of solar PV, especially in rooftop solar, was that it would be used only in isolated places where electricity would be available sporadically. Now, we have a situation where it is possible that by the year-end or next March, every home in the country will be able to access a wired connection. As per the Saubhagya scheme, I believe 94% of the homes are already connected. This has a different meaning for micro-grids, or mini-grids, because they were envisioned as being completely isolated. Now it means that it will take care of local power supply needs and anything additional would go into the grid, and if you need more power, you take it from the grid. In other words, it becomes grid-interactive. This means a completely different technical and business model.

Now, how can we operate this within a grid-operated system? Our meters are built for a one-way flow. We now need safety and isolation equipment that can be built for a two-way flow. We are used to electricity being produced at a higher voltage and being ‘stepped-down’ to come into your house. Now we need the lower voltage current produced in the house to be ‘stepped-up’ for giving back to the grid. All these things need to be put in one place. The other aspect is that electricity companies will now say, everybody wants to buy from me at the same time and sell to me at the same time. This means a huge amount of capacity for meeting night-time loads; and during the day, when electricity companies produce a lot, they have to buy. So, we also need to put all these things in place and have diversity in the rooftop solar grid system. These are things we are learning.

Then there are problems with urban planning. Say, I have a system in place and another taller building comes up which blocks out my solar system. What happens to my investment? Eventually it will all work. We are trying out 10 different things and two will work and become the ruling models.

TERI and the Automotive Research Association of India presented a study earlier this year that showed that cars and two-wheelers together contributed about 10% of the pollution caused by the transportation sector, which contributes 28% of the overall winter pollution load. This is not a small number. However you haven’t suggested a congestion charge or reigning in private vehicles during emergencies.

We need solutions that are necessary for Delhi. Let’s look at where the pollution comes from. One of the fastest-growing components is secondary particulate matter. They are not emitted as gases but become particles once they are in the atmosphere for some time. There are ammonium-based gases that are emitted and become particulate matter. If you ask me, the single largest impact is if we can address fires (biomass fires which also include fires from burning wood or for cooking). If we could completely switch over to gas and ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity, it would make a massive difference to pollution.

We just celebrated Diwali. There was a lot of hope for reduced emissions vis-à-vis the Environment Ministry’s pollution-restraining drives. However, we saw a blatant violation of the Supreme Court order on crackers. Don’t you think a lack of implementation is the key cause of Delhi’s air pollution problem?

The Supreme Court had said that crackers were only to be allowed from 8-10 p.m. That too green crackers. The data show that the day before Diwali was a clear day. There were hardly any crackers. Come Diwali evening and — just look at the data — crackers were lit with a vengeance. A friend who did this analysis said that the crackers burnt on Diwali night were no less than last year. And all illegal, as there were no green crackers. What this suggests is that private lighting of crackers from 8-10 p.m. is also a problem. Even if you have crackers that reduce emissions by x% but you have more crackers, reduction will be more than compensated. You will have the same problem.

We need to change the way crackers are used. We need to agree on an overall cap. If you want some equity around it, you could say that in each area there would be a locally organised community function and each of them would be given a permit to buy x amount of crackers. We need to control supply.

You’re a member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority. How effective has this agency been as an implementing body to address sources of pollution?

First of all, the EPCA is not a direct implementing body. It can direct agencies to take steps, point out to them that there’s a problem emerging, and fix it. If rules are flouted, the committee can issue directions to check activities in the National Capital Region. Those are its strengths. I’m a new member of the EPCA and have only been able to attend one meeting. I see that the EPCA will increasingly focus on the kinds of action that can lead to change that is felt here and now. We have an extremely active chairperson who has got huge experience in this area and there is no reason to think that he cannot lead a larger group of people. I would like more real-time data to be available to the EPCA to help with its decision-making.

Has the government become better at addressing pollution or is it restricting itself to legislation?

What has changed is that pollution has entered into the public consciousness in a big way. Pollution is also now a political subject and that has been its big success.

We should go to Katowice expecting that at least the elements of the rule book are in place.

We need to change the way crackers are used. We need to agree on an overall cap.

Source: The Hindu, 21/11/2018

Urban Only In Name

One-fourth of the urban population lives in these small towns (20,000 to 1,00,000 population). These 7 crore people need amenities to match up to their ‘urban’ status. Many of these towns may not be in the vicinity of big cities

Small towns in India are something of an oxymoron. They are far removed from cities in character and appearance and are constantly struggling to establish their “urbanness”. A drive along the outskirts of Gajraula, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, will reveal impressive fast food and retail joints, industrial plants and higher education institutes. But the town’s interior represents a different picture. It’s riddled with open drains, lacks sewerage along and is heavily-polluted. Sardhana, in contrast, boasts of a rich historical past — it’s home to the famous early 19th-century church built by Begum Samru. But Sardhana, which is situated away from the national highway, fares poorly on development parameters like Gajraula.

Every small town in India has its unique story and significance but their problems are similar — lack of basic services, dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded spaces and dwindling job opportunities. However, these towns have thriving marketplaces with urbanesque spaces like supermarkets, beauty parlours and gymnasiums. They have private schools and clinics, a variety of fast-food eateries, modern tailoring shops and mobile and electronic stores. Such entrepreneurial energy says something about the growing small-town population which desires better services and an improved quality of life. But this is relatively unrecognised by the government.

The UPA government’s urban development programme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), covered both big cities and small towns but gave financial preference to the former. The criticisms of JNNURM did lead the UPA government to change focus towards small towns in JNNURM-2. However, the change in government in 2014 led to amendments in urban policy. JNNURM was replaced by the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) that focusses on infrastructural development for Class I cities (those with a popu1ation of one lakh and above). The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was launched to address our growing fascination with world-class cities that use technology to improve their services.

The common thread between these urban schemes is that they cater to Class I cities, which already have better access to services. For example, as per the 2011 census, 50 to 60 per cent of households in these cities have access to piped sewerage and closed drains. The percentage of population who have access to these services in smaller towns is way lower.

One-fourth of the urban population lives in these small towns (20,000 to 1,00,000 population). These 7 crore people need amenities to match up to their “urban” status. Many of these towns may not be in the vicinity of big cities. But though they are small in size, many of these small towns have an enormous growth potential. Yet, mega cities continue to be seen as engines of economic growth and attract large sums of central investments just to sustain the weight of their population. But what seems to be forgotten is that the smaller towns have been doing that for decades with very little policy attention.

Many studies have shown that the benefits of small town development can spill over to villages, especially in terms of employment generation. Others have talked about the need for a well-spread network of cities to counter the problems of migration. But this discourse has remained at the level of the academia; it hasn’t translated into policy.

The debate between progress and development is not new — the former is largely about world-class cities while the latter focuses on a more inclusive agenda. But the current government’s focus on big cities is problematic. The development of small towns can make these urban centres fulfill the long-standing demand for a link between rural India and the country’s big cities and towns. The growing population in these small towns needs to be backed by adequate investments by the Centre. There should be a key role for these urban centres in development planning.

The writer is with the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi

Source: Indian Express, 21/11/2018

Asean must be more active in engaging with the Rohingya issue

Myanmar should take the grouping’s help to address the crisis. Opposing it will attract international criticism

The issue of over 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who are currently in neighbouring Bangladesh is one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times.

A UN fact-finding mission report released in September this year concluded that there was a “genocidal intent” and called for the Myanmar military commander-in-chief and five generals to be prosecuted.

While governments and international organisations have spoken out to condemn the disproportionate and overwhelming use of force by the Myanmar military and or the inaction of the Myanmar civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has largely been silent on the issue.

Governments and activists around the world want to see Asean playing an active and constructive role in helping address this humanitarian crisis. Still, many who understand the complexity of Asean’s organisational structure which makes it difficult for the body to play such a role.

The fundamental principles of Asean require member states to show mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations; recognize the right of every state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion; and not interfere in the internal affairs of other member countries.

These principles have prevented not only individual member states but the organisation as a whole from engaging with the issue since Myanmar has not invited them to do so.

That does not mean Asean member states have completely shied away from the issue. For example, the two Muslim-majority countries -- Malaysia and Indonesia -- have spoken out. The Malaysian government, in particular, has been quite vocal on the issue and criticised Myanmar.And as the Rohingya issue continues to overshadow several other important issues of the region, Asean leaders have begun taking a more visible position, especially under the chairmanship of Singapore.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September this year, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that Myanmar should start repatriating Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and ensure that there is security, peace, justice and better prospects for everyone.

The regional grouping’s frustration was also evident during the 33rd Asean summit in Singapore in November, when, unlike previous Asean summits, the Rohingya issue was discussed in almost every forum .

During the summit, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that Thailand, which will chair the regional grouping next year, sees the regional bloc as capable of playing an important role in addressing the situation in Rakhine state in a constructive, tangible and sustainable manner.

The key question is whether Myanmar would welcome such diplomatic interventions. There is a possibility that it could construe such moves as an attempt to interfere in its internal affairs.

But Myanmar has to understand that it has already internationalised the Rohingya issue following the constitution of the Kofi Annan Commission in 2016, and then the formation of an Advisory Commission for the Implementation Committee of Rakhine State last year with experts from home and abroad.

Moreover, in June, Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to create conditions conducive for a voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable refugee returns from Bangladesh.

Myanmar should welcome Asean’s goodwill gesture to help address the protracted Rohingya crisis. An attempt to oppose Asean’s intent to engage will only hamper the cohesion and strength of the organisation, and invite criticism from the international community.

Besides Asean summits, platforms such as the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM-Plus should be utilised to explore possible ways for the body to cooperate with the Myanmar military, which not only controls the security matters of the country but also retains significant political power.

While it is true that the Asean grouping has not taken any substantive measures on the Rohingya issue in the past, the signs are that we can hope for a more active and engaging role from it, although the results of this will largely depend on the openness and receptiveness of Myanmar, as well as the level of commitment from member states.

Nehginpao Kipgen is associate professor and executive director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University. He is the author of three books on Myanmar, including ‘Democratisation of Myanmar’

Source: Hindustan Times, 20/11/2018

Well-Being With Yoga

 The science of yoga is a powerful stream of knowledge. Radiant physical health, a serene mind, continuous spiritual uplift and ability for harmonious social living is experienced by yogic practitioners worldwide. Lack of harmonisation with nature and control over one’s mind-body complex, lack of faith in one’s scriptures and failing in one’s resolve to act cause problems. Yoga is scientific and rational, having a set of rules and kriyas that blend in with all manner of faiths. A person given to drinking can benefit from the practice of yoga; he will experience changes in his personality and his reasoning and intellect will be purified enough to rid him of self-destructive habits. Yoga and Ayurveda are sister sciences. For holistic healing and well-being, a judicious combination of both should be adopted. Practising yoga mechanically or taking Ayurvedic preparations without faith does not yield results. The practitioners’ attitude, thoughts, his convictions, the method by which instructions are being imparted to him, his bhakti and obedience to the guru, all play a crucial role. The tradition of yoga and Ayurveda is rich and has powerful methods and preparations which — when practised and adopted under expert guidance — work wonderfully well with our human system. Both traditions have been handed down to us by divinity and its efficacy has been experienced since time immemorial. Even if a person is breathing his last, by imbibing the spirit of yogic principles, he can leave his mortal body with total ease and contentment.

Source: Economic Times, 21/11/2018