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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES | MUMBAI | THURSDAY | 26 SEPTEMBER 2013

Fast-Track Cases Against Lawmakers

Automatic disqualification not the solution
The right way to go about decriminalising politics is to speed up the entire justice system so that no case fails to get resolved beyond final appeal within 18 months or so, and pending that reform, to fast-track cases against those who enter public life so that cases against them are disposed of beyond final appeal within the same period. Given the quality of work by the lower judiciary in several instances, this would be both fair and necessary to would-be lawmakers. On the face of it, the Supreme Court judgment banning a convicted person from contesting elections even if he has filed an appeal might seem a solid blow against criminalisation of politics. Equally , the proposed Ordinance to negate the Supreme Court ruling could be seen as an attempt by the political class to protect its own and specifically as an attempt by the Congress to keep RJD chief Lalu Yadav safe, given that the judgment relating to the 1996 fodder scam is looming. These assumptions are only partially true. It is the interminable judicial process that allows people with influence to escape being sentenced. And, given the Supreme Court ruling, nip budding challenges to their authority in the bud. Now, the reform of our messy judicial system is a big task, though it is not unachievable. And if the rot of the criminalisation of politics is to be seen as an issue that merits special treatment, then why not introduce fasttrack trials and speedy convictions (or acquittals) of people in public life, including politicians? The governments Ordinance does not envisage that logical way out, even though it seeks protection for elected, convicted representatives only if an appeal is taken up by higher courts within 90 days and a stay is granted on the conviction and sentence passed. This is based on the Representation of the People Act, which allows a reprieve to elected members if they file an appeal against a conviction. That special treatment could also be extended to being subject to a faster judicial process, while it must be clear that the wider task of decriminalising politics also depends on reforming the justice system as well.

Target-setting without a roadmap and banking only on PSUs has made broadband a cruel joke

Spiritual Atheist

Why Broadband is Stuck

Pradip Baijal
obile telephony in India has shown remarkable growth, with the number of subscribers rising from 10 million to 900 million between 2003 and 2013. Reports say that this is the fastest dispersal of any technology in the world. Having established connectivity through 900 million mobiles, 30 million fixed lines and about 100 million cable TV connections, and thus having the transmission media for about one billion, it is surprising that we have only 16 million broadband subscribers 13 million on telephone lines and three million on cable TV and other media in comparison to a target of 20 million for 2010, 175 million for 2017 and 600 million for 2020.

The Building Spirit

MUKUL SHARMA

these targets with the provision of broadband access to all gram panchayats (2,50,000) by laying fibre with the help of state-owned companies by 2014, and to all villages and habitations (6,00,000) by 2017. The mai-baap government mindset perhaps does not realise that connections only do not reach broadband to millions of subscribers targeted. There have to be concrete steps enumerated in policy . We have to concentrate on the existing infrastructure first. We will need schemes to use and share the existing telecom towers first (four lakh urban and one lakh rural), 28,000 BSNL exchanges connected with fibre as backhaul to give wireless connectivity for broadband to consumers, and all fixed-line resources including the already available coaxial or optical fibre cable network for the last mile.

ARINDAM

Phoney: 1 Phone per Village

We must plan and give the networks incentives to upgrade and run shared services. We have the lacklustre experience of laying down rural lines with the help of our PSUs that led to just 1% teledensity in the first 60 years of Independence, and most of those single village telephones did not work as no system can maintain single phones (more so broadband in far-flung areas). That monopoly public sector companies will lay down fibre lines to 2.5 lakh villages in two years and six lakh villages in five years is a hugely optimistic assumption, and takes us back to a 1970s mindset. The policy also talks of community centres at these points to give broadband-related citizen services. Similar rural telecom policies had earlier led to disastrous results. We know that the huge growth in telephony was achieved both in rural and

A Map without a Road

A decade ago, the Broadband Policy of 2004 set ambitious targets without suggesting the way forward to connect subscribers, and missed the targets. Do we have the wherewithal and a strategy for achieving or exceeding the present broadband targets, as was done consistently for voice targets after 2004? It was around 2011 that the focus shifted back to broadband, with the government declaring broadband for all as a national priority and launching 3G and 4G auctions, realising that broadband density contributes hugely to GDP . The government set

urban areas mainly by private operators. This was not at the cost of PSUs, as they also grew at their own pace. If we are serious about reaching the target of 175 million for 2017 and 600 million for 2020, we must first think of all-inclusive growth where business cases are built around sharing of existing and new towers, fixed telephone lines and cable TV network intensively for broadband dispersal, again through intelligently-structured schemes that are viable and attractive for private operators. Most broadband in the world is on fixed lines. In India, we have to depend on wireless, but the revised wireless usage will take time to be popular after it is connected. Cable TV networks require huge capital to upgrade to broadband networks.

Take that Missed Call

These operators will not be in a position to upgrade without running voice and other value-added services. There could be other methods like use of white spaces in spectrum to be given to operators who want to use the same incentive to provide broadband services in earmarked areas. Another possibility could be the

If we are serious about reaching the broadband target of 600 million by 2020, we must think of all-inclusive growth where business cases are built around sharing

proposed Convergence Bill if it could become law, so that all the emerging value-added services are permissible by law, and are not at the mercy of the licensers discretion. It is also extremely important that backhaul is provided at minimal rental charges just for recovering the operations and maintenance costs. Even if all the proposed towers are connected, we will not reach the proposed numbers unless there is wide dispersal of broadband connections through wireless. The saga of missed opportunities continues in the much-hyped unified licence regime, announced recently . This too falls short of expectations, even those envisioned in the new telecom policy of 2012. It does not permit active-sharing and spectrum-sharing to facilitate unlocking the potential of existing infrastructure. Nor does it give shape to a new breed of network operators who could create infrastructure as an open access network to be exploited by the licenced service providers.
The writer is former chairman, Trai. Co-authored with Satyen Gupta, former adviser , Trai, and BT

Fix the Problem, Not the Banker

SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri cannot be faulted when he says the bank will not fund road projects till the developer completes land acquisition. Indias largest bank can ill-afford massive write-downs and has to be careful about the viability of projects and the quality of borrowers. Moodys recently downgraded SBIs unsecured debt rating, to bring it on par with the sovereigns, citing concerns over capitalisation of the bank, stress in the banks books and slowdown in the economy . True, the revised rating is unlikely to push up SBIs cost of overseas bond offerings. It is also in a position to raise capital from the market and the government. However, banking is a leveraged business, and banks cannot block capital in unviable projects. So, they must shed the burden of bad assets. Many projects turn unviable because government departments dither on clearances. These departments should be made accountable for holding up projects that lead to a rise in loan defaults, not officers of PSU banks. Take the power sector, for example. India has latent demand for power and there is no reason why a efficiently-built power project cannot be viable, except for the lack of availability of coal. To enhance coal supplies, it is plain that the government must open up and reform coal mining without any policy pussyfooting. Breaking up the monopoly of state-owned Coal India (CIL) brooks no delay . Pending that, CIL should be asked to engage mining contractors with the capacity and freedom to expand production significantly . Unfortunately , the threat of regulatory action has prompted bankers to say that they would be forced to insert impossible conditions in loan covenants that will make it difficult for borrowers to avail of loans. That would choke business and hurt growth. The government should see the writing on the wall.

Women Battle Job Curbs

In the last 50 years, womens legal status has improved all over the world. But many laws still make it difcult for them to fully participate in economic life, be it jobs or starting businesses, according to a World Bank report. 1.6 billion women live in economies with job curbs

Blinkers Off

Salam

As opposed to showpiece structural designs by grand globestraddling starchitects, Pritzker Prize winner Peter Zumthors work has been hailed as a return to the humanistic, spiritual side of contemporary architecture. In a recent interview, Zumthor described the qualities he ultimately looks for in the spaces that he creates as beautiful silence that I associate with attributes such as composure, self-evidence, durability , presence and integrity , along with a sense of warmth as well. The Swiss architect is not particularly religious, which is perhaps why his words, like his works, possess the ambience of prayer mats in a meditation hall rather than the dazzle of stained glass in a cathedral. As the New York Times Magazine says, Zumthors buildings work from the inside out, investing as much in feeling as in looking. According to Zumthor, hes looking for a harmony with wellbeing and a union with reality . Similarly , in that sense, his architecture resembles the yoga experience. For, it too is not particularly religious but is a system of discipline and control that while working from the inside out has as its goal the achievement of an altered state of consciousness where theres union with true reality . Also, like show-offy architecture, there are the more sensational physical by-products of yoga practice too ranging from the ability to eat lethal substances to being buried alive for long periods of time. All such activities pursued for their own ends are not only barriers to the building of a true yogic spirituality but can also lead to physical or mental disaster.

Letters

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.

Frank Zappa American rock musician

Percentage of economies per region with job restrictions

OECD East Europe & C Asia LatAm & Caribbean East Asia & Pacic Sub-Saharan Africa South Asia MENA

27% 54% 54% 57% 61% 80% 93%

An Exit and a Loophole

One can be for or against the Ordinance cleared by the Cabinet. But no one can be for criminality in politics. The apex courts ruling on summary disqualification of an MP or MLA on conviction overlooks the importance of the completion of the judicial process. The accused cannot be made to bear the burden of an inordinate delay in disposal of cases in appeal courts. As for the politics of it, the BJP backtracked on the Bill as its passage might help Lalu Prasad Yadav. It is a surprise that Lalu is still powerful enough to influence the UPA.
G DAVID MILTON Maruthancode

More women work when legal curbs are removed

53%
is the female labour force participation rate in economies with restrictions

66%
is the female labour force participation rate in economies without job curbs

79%
countries have laws that restrict jobs women can do

Theres politics, backstabbing and plotting in every ofce were looking for someone who will do the actual work

EMPLOYMENT

Citings

A Jobs Narrative, for Polls and the Economy

Manish Sabharwal
tal positions to 20%. Why would employers risk taking a starry-eyed fresher who is unrealistic about the workplace when you can get somebody with two years of work experience in informal employment at the same cost? The solution is rewriting the Apprenticeship Act of 1961. Only 2.5 lakh apprentices is a national shame, because learning-by-doing and learning-while-earning are powerful vehicles for skill development. I cant live on half my gross salary: India has one of the highest mandatory payroll confiscation regimes in the world for low-salary workers: 48% of gross salary is taken away for PF, ESI, EDLI, EPS, LWB and so on. This ensures that 100% of net job creation since 1991 has happened in the informal sector where gross salary is equal to net salary . PF is the worlds most expensive government securities mutual fund (fees of 440 basis points) and ESI is the worlds most expensive health insurance scheme (claims ratio of only 50%). The short-term solution is to allow EPFO participants to pay into NPS and employees to buy health insurance instead of ESI. The long-term solution is to reduce this 48% to 25% because in a cost-to-company world, benefits are not over and above salary but come out of it. I cant migrate to a metro on my salary: Employers care about nominal wages but job seekers care about real wages. Entry-level salaries have not kept up with the costs of living in a metro. But Indias job magnets Gachibowli, Magarpatta, Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mohali are high-quality , lowcost, mixed-use environments. India only has 50 cities with more than a million people, while China has more than 300. Indias six lakh villages two lakh of which have less than 200 people will not be job magnets. The short solution for this is metro rail in 50 cities; the long one is wellplanned new cities. I dont know how to get a job: Kids and employers have a matching problem because of geography , time, and low signalling value of education. The matching problem is amplified for rural youth coming off farms. The shortterm solution lies in fixing our 1,200 employment exchanges which gave three lakh jobs to the four crore people registered by making them career centres that offer counselling, apprenticeships, assessments, training and job matching. The long-term solution is an explosion in manufacturing jobs now only 12% of our labour force, the same as the US. Parentage and location have become important in getting jobs. But this tragedy can be ended by reforms in education, employment and employability . The 2014 elections will have many first-time voters who have no memory of pre-reform India. But politics is made of stories. Indian politicians are short of narratives: so how about a jobs one, which appeals to the young and does no harm to the economy?
The writer is chairman, Teamlease Services

A Tragic History
GARY BASS

The Card was Lost in Transit

This refers to The Court Gets it Wrong on Aadhaar (ET, Sep 25). Passport and PAN were designed as single-purpose identity vehicles, and yet, the sheer number and geographical spread for securing such pan-national identity entailed decades to streamline delivery . The Aadhaar, on the other hand, was conceived for a multiplicity of end-purposes, most of which were yet to be identified, even as it was prematurely loaded to cater to refund commodity/utility prices. Such overloading will continue unless the Aadhaar stage-I goal and timeframe are fixed. UID is a good concept but without excellence in design, administrative support and monitoring, it goes nowhere.
R NARAYANAN Ghaziabad

A new trend is to offer caffeine addicts furry solace at cafs

A Cup of Cappuccino, and the Billi Please

There are many views on what makes a perfect cuppa whether it is tea or coffee and researchers have even averred recently that beverage preferences also indicate the nature of the quaffers. However, the decision of a caf in Paris to take a cue from the Japanese and offer purrfect brews courtesy the addition of free feline add-ons shows that the concept has finally moved westwards after various avatars in south-east Asia. The Japanese, of course, also invented electronic pets to get round the difficulty of keeping dogs or cats in cramped homes whose owners had long working hours. But for true animal lovers, there is nothing like a furry , purring, lap-warmer to accompany a relaxing cup of coffee. So, in-house, on-the-house cats are a logical solution. Besides providing abandoned animals a home and people who can pet them, the initiative could serve a larger social purpose if the cats can also wean caf habitus away from their usual objects of affection, mobile phones, for even a little while. If the idea takes off in France and elsewhere London is slated to get one soon the owners could consider branches with other pets as cats are not everyones cup of tea or coffee. Dogs, rabbits and parakeets could be possible extensions. Any Dilli Billi, Mumbai Manjar and Chennai Punai cafs may have to wait awhile, though.

I disagree with the food security and land Bills, but admire the political courage to ram them through. Polls can galvanise action, political consensus is not a prerequisite for policymaking, and the only thing worse than being wrong is being confused. But why is the jobs agenda a policy orphan? The complexity or impossibility argument does not fly; the thousands of young job seekers this writer met at a recent job mela had five problems. These problems create an opportunity for a party willing to offer a jobs narrative that is specific, finite and actionable. Lets look at each problem and a short- and long-term solution to each. I cant get a job despite my education: This does not mean she will be unemployed; it means the jobs she is getting pay her a salary she could have got without her education. The mismatch between what the education system produces and what employers want is huge. The short-term solution is setting up a national network of community colleges offering two-year associate degrees not normal degrees on a diet but vocational training on steroids. The long-run solution is to shift the focus of the Right to Education Act from enrolment to learning because we now know that you cant teach somebody in three months or three years what they should have learnt in 12 years. I cant get a job without work experience: A toxic consequence of Indias 90% informal employment is that fresher hiring is down from 50% of to-

This book is about how two of the worlds great democracies, the US and India, faced up to one of the most terrible humanitarian crises of the 20th century . The slaughter in what is now Bangladesh stands as one of the cardinal moral challenges of recent history , although it is far more familiar to south Asians than to Americans today . It had a monumental impact on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh almost a sixth of humanity in 1971. In the dark annals of modern cruelty , it ranks as bloodier than Bosnia and plausibly in the same rough league as Rwanda. For the US, as Archer Blood understood, there are a small number of atrocities so awful that they stand outside of the normal day-to-day flow of diplomacy: the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda. When we think of US leaders failing the profound tests of decency in such moments, we usually think of sins of omission: Franklin Roosevelt fighting World War II without taking serious steps to try to rescue Jews from the Nazi dragnet, or Bill Clinton standing idly by during the Rwandan genocide. But Pakistans slaughter of its Bengalis in 1971 is starkly different. Here, the US was allied with the killers. The White House was actively and knowingly supporting a murderous regime at many of the most crucial moments This stands as one of the worst moments of moral blindness in US foreign policy .
From The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide

Not Barmy, but Army isnt all

Why Army Rule Fails (ET, Sep 25) was critical of the army , though obliquely . The defence forces have somehow come to believe they are a cut above the citizenry; and that the nation owes them a debt which can never be repaid. There is much to admire about their discipline, but if one is to believe the many exdefence personnel seen more often than necessary on TV channels, then only the army knows how to run the country!
ANTHONY HENRIQUES By email