3 Feb Edut

3 February, 2017
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 1. The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference held in New
Delhi, envisioned to be India's flagship conference
of geopolitics and geo-economics.
 2. Shipki la is in Himachal Pradesh.

Editorial Discussion

 H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States It allows
U.S. employers/firms to temporarily employ foreign workers in
specialty occupations .
 effects on Indian IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro etc.
 profitability and revenue

2) fundamental changes in their strategies in terms of hiring
,salaries ,jobs etc
3) reduce the operating margins
4) It may force them to shift their jobs in other countries.

 Context H-1B non-immigrant visa programme in the U.S. for skilled workers
in tech jobs.
 Indian IT firms have been among the top recipients of the 65,000 such visas
made available annually via a lottery system, in some years garnering well in
excess of 80% of them.
 campaign promise of “Buy American, Hire American”, now has this “specialty
occupation worker” visa in his crosshairs.
 Shares in Indian IT majors took a nosedive last week when an unconfirmed draft
executive order leaked to U.S. media houses appeared to call for reform of
immigration rules for skilled foreign workers that would raise the salary
eligibility for such visas to $130,000,
 reverse the extensions granted by the Obama administration to the Optional
Practical Training programme for foreign graduates in the U.S.,
 institute a rigorous monitoring system for companies employing L-1 visa
holders, intra-company transferees.
 Any hope that India Inc. may have of such executive orders not gaining the
requisite support in Congress is likely to come to naught: at least two bills with
bipartisan backing were introduced in the House of Representatives last month,
both urging tightening of conditions for skilled-worker visas that are, in the
government’s view, costing Americans jobs.
 Notwithstanding the shadow of protectionism that it would cast on
the bilateral relationship with New Delhi, this visa crackdown in the
making raises troubling questions for the U.S. tech sector and the
broader economy as well.
 Any significant hike in the minimum salary levels for the specialised
jobs held by H-1B visa recipients will hit not only Indian IT firms
 but also the tech titans of Silicon Valley, including Microsoft,
Google and Facebook.
 Similarly, unless skill-based criteria are used in addition to wage-
level restrictions, numerous U.S. firms will struggle to fill mid-level
jobs with qualified Americans.
 Indian firms have for years been the most rapidly growing investors
in the U.S. economy.
 Ironically, that could lead to job losses for American workers.

 Critically analyze the recent steps in budget 2017-18 govt.
has taken to bring reforms in Funding of political parties.

 Arun Jaitley was seeking to address this concern about the lack of transparency
and accountability in the funding of political parties
 . But his proposals are doomed to fail, not because they do not go far enough
but because they go in the wrong direction.
 The ceiling of ₹2,000 on cash donation by any individual to a party, slashed
from the existing ₹20,000, might inconvenience parties to some extent
 but is unlikely to stop the disguising of huge, off-the-books cash donations from
corporate houses and vested interests as small contributions from ordinary party
workers and sympathizers.
 All that the parties will now have to do is find more people to lend their names
to these donations, or better still, find more names of unsuspecting people to be
listed as cash donors.
 If Mr. Jaitley was indeed intent on getting the political class to truly account for
their donations, he should have placed a cap on the amount a party may receive
in cash as a donation.
 In any case, the declared income is only a small part of their funding, much of
which is spent during elections and mobilisation efforts without coming under
the radar of the Election Commission or the Income Tax Department.

 The proposal to allow donors to purchase electoral bonds from banks against
cheque and digital payments to be given to registered political parties for
redemption, meant to cater to donors’ need to remain anonymous to rival
political parties, hardly contributes to transparency.
 Indeed, donors should not enjoy any anonymity, before tax authorities or the
general public.
 The absence of such anonymity, of course, will bring down the level of
contributions from corporate houses and other entities to parties, not such a bad
thing.
 Far from aiding transparency, the proposal only clouds the funding process.
 The Budget makes it mandatory for political parties to file returns within a time
limit,
 but in the absence of extreme penal provisions compliance is likely to be low.
 Mr. Jaitley, while raising visions of a crackdown on illicit funding, seems to have
left the issue untouched in real terms.
 Half-measures will not go even halfway in achieving the purpose of bringing
about transparency and accountability in political donations.

 What are the Roadblocks For the relations of India and china
get improved. How far connectivity may be useful to
strengthen the relations?

economist

Tribuenindia.com

 Context The Chinese Ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, recently put
forward some suggestions for improvement of bilateral ties between
China and India.
 Circumstances and current relations.
 Absence of trust
 On the CPEC, the Prime Minister himself, speaking at the Raisina
Dialogue(what ?) in New Delhi, implicitly criticised the Chinese actions
saying,
 “Connectivity in itself cannot override or undermine the sovereignty of
other nations.”
 While the border areas between the two countries have remained
conflict-free, the Line of Actual Control continues to be subject to
conflicting interpretations by both India and China and the scene of
intermittent transgression.
 India’s Tibet policy is also being recalibrated, drawing conclusions from
the Dalai Lama’s projected visit to Arunachal Pradesh and his being “seen
at Rashtrapati Bhavan, sitting beside President Pranab Mukherjee”. As
expected, the nationalist Chinese media condemned it.
 He suggested a ‘friendship and cooperation treaty’
 a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost bilateral relations
 joining of hands on China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative
 the time is ripe for both countries to reap some ‘early harvest’ outcomes
(based on negotiations held so far) on the unresolved boundary question.
 Could the Ambassador's statement be part of an effort within the Chinese
establishment to review relations with neighbours like India,
 given the strategic uncertainties generated by the advent of Donald
Trump’s administration in the U.S. and his unabashed negativity towards
China?
 Mr. Trump’s phone call with the Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen,
before he took office;
 his proclaimed intention to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese goods; and
the new U.S. Secretary of State,
 disguised threats against China’s building of artificial islands in the
disputed areas in the South China Sea have all generated concern in
Beijing.

 Sectors of the boundary, like Sikkim and the middle sector
(Uttarakhand/Himachal Pradesh), are by and large free of the
disputes
 that one sees in the western (Jammu and Kashmir) and
eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) sectors.
 But ‘solutions’ that segment the border instead of ensuring an
overall comprehensive settlement of the boundary may be
difficult to accept, especially for India.

 A treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two
countries recalls the 1954 “Panchsheel” Agreement which
essentially tied up the status of Tibet
 but also outlined the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence —
principles that became empty words over the ensuing years as
the relationship slid into conflict
 The 1993 and 1996 agreements on peace and tranquility and
confidence-building in the India-China border areas reiterated
the five principles and also spoke of the non-use of force and
the concept of mutual and equal security.

 Given the state of bilateral relations, and the extent of unresolved political and
security issues that bedevil the relationship,
 not to mention the disparity in economic strength, a treaty of friendship and
 cooperation may only be an inventory of good intentions but not a
transformative document.
 As for trade and economic relations, Mr. Luo’s idea of an FTA is no doubt
forward-looking.
 Trade between India and China has grown to an annual volume of $70 billion
(2015-16).
 India has made a strong pitch for Chinese investments under Make in India in
infrastructure development, solar energy and smart cities.
 Recent reports, however, also suggest security hurdles faced by Chinese firms
seeking to invest in India.
 An FTA that is goods-centred will obviously not benefit India given the huge
trade in goods imbalance that favours China.
 An FTA that is comprehensive, covering goods and services, cross-border
investment, R&D, standards and dispute resolution would be worth exploring.

 Connectivity builds the sinews of successful diplomacy today.
 Our own region of South Asia with its poor inter-country connectivity
only buttresses the poor state of diplomatic cooperation in much of the
subcontinent.
 India’s own reaction to China’s OBOR has been hedging and tentative,
mainly because of the CPEC through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
 At the same time, India is a part of the frontline membership of the
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that is bolstering OBOR.
 The Chinese have today chosen to disregard the sovereignty issues
surrounding the dispute between India and Pakistan over the State of
J&K,
 despite the provisions of the 1963 China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement
which conceded the disputed nature of the territory (in what Pakistan
now calls Gilgit-Baltistan but what India claims as part of Jammu and
Kashmir) covered under the agreement.
 The Chinese are seen by India to have acted in disregard of Indian
sensitivities on this matter, which is a cause for legitimate concern.

 The question however is, whether despite this, India should as a test of
the Chinese approach, and with reference to OBOR, explore the
development of connectivity between Tibet and India, especially through
the Sikkim sector into Bengal.
 The old route between Lhasa and Kolkata via Nathu La(where is shipki la)
was the most easily traversed route — and may still be,
 despite the road networks constructed by the Chinese in Tibet — between
Tibet and mainland China, via land and sea, up until the mid-20th
century.
 This is a road that provided for the transport of goods and services
between Tibet and the outside world through India.
 The case for its revival requires a serious examination and should not be
dismissed cursorily.
 Nathu La is already the crossing point for border trade between India
and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
 A true indicator of Chinese positivity would also be approval for India to
open a Trade Office in Lhasa in place of the old Consulate General that
operated there until 1962.
 Providing for air connectivity between Urumqi, the capital of
Xinjiang province, and New Delhi as one of the OBOR linkages, for
instance, would help the promotion of people-to-people ties and
trade and commercial contact and could also help open a new
chapter in counter-terrorism cooperation between India and China.
 The two countries have a common interest in curbing religious
radicalism and terrorism.
 Kashmir and Xinjiang, both contiguous neighbours, have similar
challenges posed by terrorism and separatist movements.
 India-China relations can definitely do with some new thinking and
new ideas, and from that point of view, the Chinese Ambassador
has done well to articulate his outlook,
 . The long peace between the two countries, stretching from the
1970s to the present day, deserves preservation and not
disturbance.
 It is entirely in the self-interest of each country to ensure this.

 Competitive coexistence, with a clear delineation of areas of
difference and how to manage them, the promotion of business and
people-centred connectivity, and mutual confidence-building with
tension-reduction measures cannot do any harm.
 The border problem, by virtue of its complexity and size, will take
its time to resolve.
 Its approach on NSG, Masood Azhar, the activities in PoK, to name
a few, have cast long shadows on the relationship.
 China cannot expect India not to pursue her legitimate interests in
ensuring the security of its periphery, and to promote ties with
countries like the U.S. and Japan and ASEAN partners in the Indo-
Asia Pacific.
 All these countries have extensively evolved and developed
relationships with China.
 Likewise, our cooperation with them need not hinder a productive,
comprehensive, open and frank dialogue between India and China
that
 January 30, Martyrs’ Day, is gradually losing significance just like
some of the other days related to our freedom struggle. There was
a time in the ’50s and ’60s when we truly mourned the
assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
 It not only seemed monstrous, but it foreboded a kind of evil, also
that despite all the talk about non-violent struggle, violence was in
our blood.
 It created not only shock and sorrow
 but also fear about India’s future, her civilisation and ethic, and her
fame for a non-violent freedom struggle.
 She was from gawlior, tensions, fear
 She was daughter of Gwalior dewan who supported Gandhi ideas
 So fear
 Exclusion from Rss from cabinet

 Meeting with Gandhi ji
 It is time now for India not to remember this day only as
Martyrs’ Day but as a day to reflect on the spirit of the
freedom movement.
 There should be much more discussion, public meetings, a kind
of eventful day that enables the new generation to recall what
was the politics
 we should have discussions on January 30 invoking the history
of the freedom struggle.
 A two-minute silence on the day and naming the road on
which Birla House is located Tees January Marg are not
enough.

 When the British occupied Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi),
 they remodelled the city and the Mughal Red Fort to suit their
convenience.
 Around 80% of the buildings inside the Red Fort were demolished
to make way for military barracks.
 Mansions and havelis were brought down to make way for broader,
new roads so that the British had easy access for defence purposes,
in case the people decided to ‘rebel’ against them again.
 Perhaps everything would have got demolished but for a horrified
Charles Canning who tried to preserve our heritage.
 The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was formed in 1861 by a
statute passed into law by Canning,
 with Alexander Cunningham as its first Archaeological Surveyor, to
excavate and conserve India’s ancient built heritage.

 Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 (modified on
September 1, 1949).
 Since much damage had already been done to our rich built
heritage, control “over traffic in antiquities
 The aim of the Act was to preserve monuments as
archaeological ruin on an “as is where is” basis.
 John Marshall also drew up a conservation manual in 1922,
which combined the best conservation practices from around
the world and adapted them to the Indian context.
 The job of the ASI, under the Ministry of Culture, is to protect
the cultural heritage of our nation.

 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains
(Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 was passed with provisions
to protect ancient monuments and antiquities and regulate all
construction activity around them.
 It specified a ‘prohibited area’, which meant that no construction
activity (erection or a building, including any addition or extension
thereto either vertically or horizontally) could take place within
100 m in all directions of a monument.
 There was another regulated area, which was 200 m beyond the
prohibited area
 where persons may undertake construction, reconstruction, repairs
and renovation,
 but only after obtaining permission from the competent authority
on the recommendation of the National Monuments Authority.

 sayyed Ali Nadeem Rezavi of the Centre of Advanced Study in
History, “Any tinkering with its provisions, especially the laws
around its maintenance and prohibitions in allowing any
encroachment or building around it, would create loopholes to undo
the watertight protection which has been provided for them by law.
 Once you allow constructions around it, the monuments can be
easily suffocated.
 We have already been witnessing this in heritage cities like Delhi.”
He also bemoans the destruction of many medieval monuments
such as Kos Minars, dams, barrages and bridges in the path of
development.
 World heritage sites are listed as category A monuments while
other ticketed monuments are category B.
 The most vulnerable are those marked category C, around which
dense habitation has taken place. In many cases, a monument is all
but stifled as it’s surrounded by unchecked construction.

 Anecdote of mubark shah
 And Companion Mosque

 The component of tax revenue slated to go up the most is
personal income tax.
 Annexure III to the Budget speech lists out a number of
strong-arm measures that would presumably help the
government achieve this goal.
 To prevent a backlash that would further discourage
investment, the government must ensure that taxmen use
their new powers with oversight and according to due process,
and
 that their actions would be amenable to swift redress, should
the need arise.

 The Budget has proposed sweeping powers for taxmen to
 attach property,
 conduct searches,
 call for documents
 determine fair market value of assets.
 This goes against the tenet of a non-adversarial tax regime, leading
to uncertainty for individuals and businesses.
 Empowering tax officers to provisionally attach properties in search
cases could coerce people into making declarations, before taking
legal recourse.
 And that is unfair.
 Similarly, empowering junior officers to conduct inquiries and
expanding the scope of searches to cover any activity done for a
charitable purpose could mean roving inquiries.
 Tax officers will not be obliged either to disclose reasons for a search
to an appellate tribunal, to maintain confidentiality.
 However, search and seizures are blunt, archaic tools of law
enforcement, and bring back memories of a bad pre-reform
past.
 Instead, the need is for intelligent data mining to create tax
demands and with a solid proof of evasion and avoidance.
 Amodern tax administration should minimise the interface
between the tax department and the taxpayer.

3 Feb Edut

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3 February, 2017

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 profitability and revenue

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