+ ¢ * 3 Don't misconstrue IMF’s debt outlook’ ‘The Hindu Bureau NEW DELHI ‘The Union Finance Minis- try on Friday sought to dis- pel “certain” factually in- correct “presumptions” being made about India’s indebtedness levels from a scenario-based assessment by the International Mone tary Fund (IMF) that warned government debt could hit 100% of GDP by 202728 under adverse circumstances. “In the light of the IMF's latest Article IV consulta tions with India, certain presumptions have been made taking into account possible scenarios that Government debt could hit 100% of GDP by 2027-28, the IMF had said. REUTERS does not reflect factual po- sition,” the Ministry said. The Ministry stressed that any interpretation that the report implies that gen- eral government debt would exceed 100% is misconstrued. CONTINUED ON >» PAGE14 Centre criticises T.N’s flood preparedness The Hindu Bureau CHENNAI Union Finance Minister Nirmala. Sitharaman on Friday blamed the DMK go- vernment for its alleged in- efficiency in its mitigation and relief efforts during the recent floods in Chen: nai and southern districts of Tamil Nadu. She stressed that the Centre had promptly offered sup: port for rescue and relief. ‘Addressing the media in Delhi, she said the Union Home Minister, at her re quest, had ensured that the armed forces began re- lief work on December 18, soon after the extremely heavy rain in the southern districts. She said the Inter: Ministerial Central Team (MCT), which usually v- sits the places of such dis- asters to assess the dam- age, visited the affected districts on December 20. Denying that the IMD did not predict this ex- treme weather event, she said the Regional Meteoro- logical Centre in Chennai, which was among the most advanced in the country, had been issuing forecasts of such rainfall in the southern districts since De cember 12. CONTINUED ON » PAGE 10, Bajrang writes to PM, says he is returning Padma Shri in protest Press Trust of India NEW DELHI Olympic medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia on Friday decided to return his Pad- ma Shri award in protest against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh as the president of Wrestling Fed eration of India (WFD). “Lam returning my Pad- ‘ma Shri award to the Prime Minister. This is just my let- ter. This is my statement,” read a post shared by the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler on X (formerly Twitter). Mr. Punia also posted a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the denial of justice to the country’s female wrestlers. Earlier in the day, Mr. Punia was stopped at Kartavya Path by the Delhi Police after he made an attempt to meet the Prime Minister in Parlia- ment and personally hand over the letter. ‘The letter read: "When I sot these awards, I was on Making a statement: Wrestler Bajrang Punia holds his Padma She ‘award near the Kartavya Path in New Delhi on Friday Pi cloud nine, But today the sadness weighs more. And the reason is a woman wrestler left the sport be- cause of her security.” Mr. Punia said sport has made a big difference to the lives of girls in the country but the situation is not ideal right now. “Women leaving sport” “Sport has empowered our women athletes. and changed their lives but the situation is such that the women who could have been the brand ambassa dors of ‘beti bachao, beti padhao’ are now leaving the sport,” he added. “And we, the wrestlers who were awarded could not do anything. tcan’t live my life as a Padma Shri awardee while our women, wrestlers are insulted. Hence I return this award ‘to you,” Mr. Punia said. ‘Mr. Punia was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2019. ‘SPEAK UP FOR WRESTLERS? » PAGE 15,Mosques shelter people of all religions as floods force them out of their homes P. Sudhakar TIRUNELVELI About 45 mosques in Tiru- nelveli and Thoothukudi districts were converted in- to relief camps where a sizeable number of flood- affected people of all reli- gions were accommodated and served food thrice a day. : When the Tamirabhara- | is ni was in spate and torren- Humane act: Food being served to people sheltered at a mosque in tial rain flooded the homes Paattapaththu near Tirunelveli town. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT of many, the gates of the mosques in urban and ru- Paattapaththu. People en- ing centre from various ral areas were thrown joyed similar hospitality at parts of the southern dis- open to shelter those who the Miyan Mosque in Tiru- tricts were stranded at were forced to move out of —_nelveli town for four days. their hostel after the rain, their homes. Children Residents of Santhanam- — MDMK Tirunelveli city dis- were served hot milk, malpuram were accommo- trict secretary K.M.A. Ni- bread, and biscuits, while dated at a mosque at Mela-___zam, also knowns ‘Nizam. the others were served palayam for three days, | Maama’, prepared biryani food. anda mosque at Kailaasap- for them at a mosque at Around 1,000 people ram sheltered many af NGO Colony. sought shelter at the mos- fected persons of the area, “Since his house too was que at Paattapaththu near situated on the banks of inundated, he prepared Tirunelveli town for four — the Tamirabharani. the food in the mosque days. Despite the hard- — “Wehaveservedfoodto and served it to the stu- ships caused by the inces- the people staying in mos- dents. He continued to sant rain, food was pre- ques and the marooned _ serve biryani to the affect- pared on the premises and areas,” says Mohammed _ ed persons until the situa- served to the people. Ghani of the Social Demo- _ tion improved,” said Peru- “They also managed to get cratic Party of India, which mal of the MDMK. medicines for those who deployedits cadre to distri ‘Mr. Ghani says 30 of the were in need of them and bute food, milk, bread, 150 mosques in Thoothu- refused to take money for blankets, and clothes to kudi district were turned them. They gave clothes to the affected persons, be _ into relief camps. “Though our children. We were sides rescuing the strand- this situation should not there for four days during ed. recur, it was an occasion which they did not con- When students ofa Na-__ for us to show our love. We duct prayers at the mos- tional Eligibility-cum-En- love alll, irrespective of que,’ said Selvalakshmi of — trance Test (NEET) coach- their religion.”2024 will have more seven-judge Benches hearing crucial matters in Supreme Court ‘The Hindu Bureau NEW DELHI The New Year will have a slew of seven-judge Consti- tution Benches of the Su- preme Court hearing a se- ries of crucial issues. These include the passage of laws such as Money Bills; sub- classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; the interplay bet- ween breach of privilege of legislatures and citizens’ fundamental rights; whether Speakers can hear disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule when notices for their re- moval were pending; the criteria for an educational institution to be tagged as minority-run; and the va- lidity of State laws to im- pose surcharge on sales tax. Of the six cases, four will be heard by a seven- judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud in January 2024. ‘The sales tax and minor- ity educational institution cases would be listed be- fore this Bench on January 9. The — sub-classification and Money Bills issues will be listed on January 17 and 30, respectively. The case on the Speaker's authority to adjudicate disqualifica- tion petitions and the one on the interplay between the breach of privilege and fundamental rights will be heard in March. Of the six cases, four will be heard bya seven-judge Bench. SHI KUMAR PUSHPAKAR The Money Bill refe- rence concerns amend- ments, including ones made from 2015 in the Pre- vention of Money Launder- ing Act (PMLA) through Money Bills, giving the En- forcement Directorate al- most blanket powers of ar- rest, raids and so on. The court had left the question of whether the amend- ments could have been passed as Money Bills to the seven-judge Bench. The issue is whether such amendments could be passed as a Money Bill, by circumventing the Rajya Sabha, in violation of Arti- cle 110 of the Constitution, The — sub-classification case dates back to 2020 when a fivejudge Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra (retired) held that States could sub-classify Sche- duled Castes and Sche- duled Tribes in the Central List to provide preferential treatment to the “weakest out of the weak”. However, the view taken by this Bench was contrary to a 2004 judgment by another five-judge Bench in the E.V. Chinnaiah case. This judg- ment had held that allow- ing States to unilaterally “make a class within a class of members of the Sche- duled Castes” would amount to tinkering with the Presidential list. ‘The Speaker’s authority to hear disqualification pe- titions against MLAs came up during the Shiv Sena rift case, The Uddhav Thacke- ray faction had questioned the reasoning of a five- judge Bench in the Nabam Rebia verdict of 2016. ‘The Rebia judgment had ruled against a Speaker with a shadow of doubt ov- er his own office from hearing — disqualification petitions.China bans export of rare earth technologies Reuters BEYING China, the world’s top pro- cessor of rare earths, on ‘Thursday banned the ex- port of technology to ex- tract and separate the stra- tegic metals, as it overhauled a list of tech- nologies deemed key to na- tional security. ‘The commerce ministry sought public opinion last December on the potential move to add the technolo- gy to its “Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Ex- port”. It-also banned the export of production tech- nology for rare earth me- tals and alloy materials as well as technology to pre- pare some rare earth mag: nets. The move comes as Europe and the U.S. scram- ble to wean themselves off rare earths from China, which accounts for 90% of global refined output. Centre exploring one-stop health sector regulator ‘The Hindu Bureau NEW DELHI ‘The Central government is exploring setting up a health sector regulator that will bring private and go- vernment health insurance schemes under its purview to facilitate affordable insu- rance coverage for all, The Hindu has learnt. The Ministries of Fi- nance (MoF) and Health are in “initial discussions” ‘over the need for a sector watchdog. The Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPD, in a letter to the Private doctor bodies say private and govt. insurance must come under proposed regulator's purview MoF, welcomed this saying “making healthcare availa: ble, accessible, and affor- dable has been resolved by the present government. Penetration of private insu- rance is increasing at a fast rate and along with govern- ment-run insurance, India should soon be covering 70% of the population”. Doctors’ bodies have urged that private and go- vernment insurance be brought under a single reg- ulator. Meaning, regulating government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the Central Go- vernment Health Scheme, Employees’ State Insu- rance Corporation, etc. Dr. Girdhar Gyani, DG, happen, if government in- surance schemes are res- tructured in a manner that more and more tertiary care hospitals come for- ward and get empanelled in these schemes to enable beneficiaries to get health- care services”,& Telecom Sector Lead at Deloitte India told The Hin- du that the start-up sector let the cash burn happen as long as the valuations spiked. “In that era probably that was the right thing to just burn cash and survive on funding. Some start-ups actually boomed then. But today, they have certainly passed that era as they have matured, learnt how to run with less cash and achieve better profitabili- ty,” Mr. Vaish said. Milan Sharma, Founder and MD, 35North Ven- tures, a VC Firm in Mumbai opined that the funding winter was a mid-course ‘Funding winter’ helped start-ups cut cash burn and mature: Deloitte, others correction for businesses with spiked valuations and low profitability. “Yet, those who were quick to pi- vot and focus on low cash burn models have man- aged to stay immune,” he added. According to Rajeev Ranka, Partner at Incubate Fund Asia, recent market shifts led investors to prior- itise startups with robust economics, a well-defined problem-solution fit, and resilient business models. ilGovt. silencing people, stifling voice of Opposition: INDIA bloc Opposition parties stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar against suspension of MPs, Rahul blames Modi government’ policies for Parliament security breach; Kharge says he was not allowed to speak in the House, sams Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar ‘The Hindy Bureau EW DELHI a Former Congress presi- dent. Raul Gandhi said that by suspending these parliamentarians, the go- vernment had shut the voice of 60% Indians. “EV ery MP carries laklis of votes. You have not only suspended the MPs but havealso silenced crores of people who had voted for the representatives who are now suspended,’ Mr. Gandhi said, Reiterating his earlier Taking ton: Leaders ofteNDIA partes seen during a protest aganst tne suspensionof opposition Psa Jantar Nantar a New Delhi on Frida. SSH UMARVERSA claim, the Congress leader blamed the Modi govern- ments polices for the Par iment security breach, "The government has hot given employment 10 youth, This is why chey jumped and entered the Parliament,” he added. Mr. Gandhisaid the Opposition under the INDIA. bloc ‘would fight the hate the IP was spreading, Kharge flays Dhankhar Congress president Balli- karjun Kharge once again wok a potshot at Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagileep Dhankhar saying that a person sitting m2 consti ‘onal post must noe talk on. caste lines. Me Kharge asked, “I was not allowed. to speak inthe House. Should T say that the BJP governments net allowing Dalit to speak. The Con- stitution allows all ofus to speak Mr. Kharge said. CconTINUED ON » PAGES Opposition MPs requested for suspension: Joshi Pariomentary Afar Minister Prat Josh on Fiday Clad that several (Opposton HPs requested for thesrsuspension pelts mileage.» PAGE AS Dhankhar reacts on Opposition refusing meeting Rajya Sabha Chairman Jageep Dhaka, na eter to Congres president Malieran Khare on Fly, ceapresed anguish atthe Oppostion’s retusa to meet hie.» PAGE 15 Macron accepts PM's invite, to be the chief guest at R-Day fete ‘The Hinds Bureau ew DELHI resent tat he vl Be fereon ny for he tnd snd nes she meee IndaFrance Strategic Parinershipy sai the MEA inthe announcement Accepting the invite from the indian Prime Mi nist, Mr. Macron said ina social media post, “Thank you for your invitation, ray ear friend Narendra ‘Mo «di India, on your Republic Prime Minister Narendra Mog and French Presidont Emmacusl Maron, Day, Fl be here to cele~ brate with you French President v sited New Delhi during the G20 Summit on Septem ber 9 and 10 when he had ako travelled to Dhaka for ashort visKarnataka all set to revoke ban on hijab in classrooms Previous BJP government has banned wearing hijab in educational institutions; Chief Minister Siddaramaiah say The Hindu Bureau MYSURU 1a significant move, Karnataka govern- ment is set to revoke the contentious order ban- ning hijab in classrooms, which was passed by the previous BJP government and later led to a legal battle. Chief Minister Siddara- maiah, who alluded to the hijab issue at a programme in Nanjangud in Mysuru district on Friday, an- nounced that he had asked for withdrawal of the hijab order. “We will withdraw the hijab circular and there is no restriction and peo- ple can wear the clothes of their choice,” he said. ‘The previous BJP go- matters pertaining to food habits Contentious order: The previous BJP government had banned wearing hijab in educational institutions. Fite PHOTO vernment had banned wearing hijab in educa- tional institutions which resulted in a political fu- rore. There were protests for and against the move across the State. Petitions were filed against the order in the Karnataka High Court in 2022, which ruled in fa- vour of the State’s circular and said that students in educational institutions should only wear pre- scribed uniforms, and and attire are a matter of personal choice where no code was pre- scribed, they should wear “such attire that would ac- cord with equality and in- tegrity and would not dis- rupt public order” They held that the wearing of hi- jab was not an essential re- ligious practice. Later in the year, the Supreme Court delivered a split ver- dict on the issue, and the case is now pending before alarger Bench. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that matters pertaining to food habits and dress are personal. “One should not politicise such issues for political gains,” he said. ‘The BJP said the Chief Minister was “trying to sow the poison of religious bi- gotry in a harmonious so- ciety”Assam-Meghalaya pane on boundary dispute to submit reports by Dec. 31 The two States settled their dis utes in six of 12 sectors in March 2022 in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, the disputes have persisted since Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972 gS BF az Es a i ac Bz Ps ‘Three regional commit- tees for three districts were set up by both States to stu- Strained borders: People waiting at the Assam-Meghalaya boundary on the outskirts of Guwahati FiLe PHOTO dy the disputed sectors, meet the stakeholders, and submit a report to their respective governments. “Extended time’ “In pursuance of the deci- sion of the Chief Minister- level meeting on the As- sam-Meghalaya border held on September 30, the government has extended the time for submission of the report by the three re- gional committees to De- cember 31,” a notification issued by Meghalaya’s Chief Secretary, D.P. Wah- lang said earlier this week. Two Deputy Chief Mi- nisters - Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar ~ and West Jaintia Hills dis- tricts, respectively, while Minister Paul Lyngdoh is the chairman of the region- al panel for the West Khasi Hills district. Atleast a dozen peo- ple have been killed in these disputes. Other disputesMaoists blow up railway _IndiasriseinGlobal_| Ministry holds meet with tracks in Jharkhand; South marl a pivotal CMs of northeast States trains halted at stations — PONG Says “over lag in DevINE scheme Miia inch Out of ¢561 crore Nisile Heber ee Neworust lunder the DevINF The Minds Busco ‘EW DELA scheme. DPR has nly bee amprevcd ‘worth fiat ewe tire achobeere mantandenegpPe and ile "The organisation has ak sought belp from intel Wwasalso put upon theen- Tecra and human rs and fine of the Tatblewari pas organisations to make the Senger in. success ‘The Bharat bandh was According tally of ft, the movement of trans hasbeen stopped on the route and reoraton work inane way. "The ofc ahd that ‘once the damaged portion ‘would be hha eatier put upabanmer fn Maia aatored by At Vice Marchal Suresh Singh eu. tal meeting withthe Cie Ministers ofall the north ry teams and courses of | enst States to discus the ‘rough dhe Indian ofall pre Technical and Ezonomic | jctsinchading those under (Cooperation programme | DeviNE. peed the way for i | — Manipur Chief Minister "Phe Shalimar Kurla press wal was stopped at Mahadevsal sation. Later, the tat was rug 3 1 Gollkera ralay thmandtated been Curia cut on the dalpur Howrah express eased cooperation, ait | N. Biren Singhs sak 10 Macks (98006, shale LY? Ex Sing such programmes fo- | have apprised the Minster ‘uous attack, thelr com (08000) and Pune- fased on Funan resource | about huge losses suered rales were being captured Howrah Express (1223. evelopment bythe State dae eoaw ardCAG audit finds govt. gave widow pension to men in Jharkhand Amit Bhelari RANCHI Several irregularities have been found in the imple- mentation of government schemes in Jharkhand. These were revealed when the Comptroller and Audit- General (CAG) report of the financial year 2021-22 was tabled on the last day of the Assembly Session on Thursday. The State government has given widow pension to men. Many students have received more than one scholarship despite the fact that they were en- tiled for only one scholarship. The CAG report found lack of social audit and monitoring in the Di- rect Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes in which fake be- neficiaries were given the scholarship. During the audit, it was found that payment of %9.54 lakh was done to 16 men under the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and the Rajya Vidhwa Samman Protsahan Yojna. In the audit, irregulari- ties were found in pre- and post-matric scholarships in which 21.17 crore were paid to fake students. Apart from this, 9.99 crore of payments were done to fake students under the scholarship given to the minorities. Irregularities have also been found in the scholarship given to Sche- duled Caste (SC), Sche- duled Tribe (ST), and Back- ward Class (BC).Keeping watch Monetary Policy Committee members focus on containing inflation and reviving growth = Maintain a restrictive monetary policy long enough to glide inflation to its target of 4%, suggests Varma @ As inflation drops well below upper tolerance band, it is necessary to prevent real interest rate from becoming excessivePARIS WASHINGTON ANKARA, YEREVAN Exiled writer Akunin says Russia ‘Purkiye detains 304 people with Karabakh dissolution not valid, slipping into totalitarianisn’ aga certify V suspected links to IS group says Armenian separatist leader F t ‘ . . Fenced Rison wir Bois Atnin he wa dele Donald Tunp pushed aes ott catiy2120elecion | Tushstenit forces have rounded ip 34psoresuspcté ot | The lade afAmenan spnasson Fda ssprvus veer byMoscon, says Rutter sgl resis nchiganocardingto ao xorangscted na Tnstothetdamc Sate erent youn nsinkaneovstle rileteneia he courtr/shgary “Usrarfutreragime has | In The Bolt Rowson Thuedy Theacaraens con ‘eros lithe inter Wnt 0n Fads) Thegparaton, | yal Tester pase! iodo Nene mae bythe Cary deciedto tke nnewstep fom anauccate ate 3 | Trurprune agin for eset and isp nab an | acess irae; wasconduced pny ihe poke | Sepaatssto dave Oe petedtrtey Ew masat ec twaleivanstate? Mc akunn hobs inede so ramon 92024 Intdgence and course terorsm squad. ‘tn cont wanbewaen renin and Aan.Awards for words ‘The Sahitya Akademi must do more to promote Indian literature light. This year the Akademi has picked nine books of poems, six novels, five short stories, three essays and one literary study in Dogri, Guj- arati, Kashmiri, Manipuri, Odia, Punjabi, Rajas- thani, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Santali and others. Itis a prize to be welcomed just for the sheer lin- guistic diversity it acknowledges in a country where there is a change in dialect every few square kilometres, and no dearth of marginalised communities or languages facing extinction. The possibilities are immense: ina country where not everyone has the ability to whip up a PR frenzy, a Sahitya Akademi award is encouragement to keep pursuing the craft; writers can expect to see arise in sales and be taught in schools and univer- sities; and readers can hope to discover some hidden gems. Writers also have the opportunity to be translated into other regional languages, and into English too. Neelum Saran Gour, who hhas won this year for her English novel, Requiem in Raga Janki, which had also bagged The Hindu Fiction Prize in 2018, can look forward to her sto- ry being translated into other Indian languages. zg end, the Sahitya Akademi does hold lectures, readings, discussions, exchange programmes, and workshops, including all communities, but it is so woefully promoted that few get to know of the programmes. e a not enough is being done to promote its activi- ties. The Akademi’s website is not updated and is bristling with grammatical errors; its social me- dia presence is abysmal. It has brought out thou- sands of books, but the fact is that the publica- tions, though affordable, are hard to come by. At a time when children particularly are glued to screens and losing their reading habits, the Sahi- tya Akademi with its extensive network should do more to spread the word about Indic'’s rich lit erary tradition.Telecom law upgrades for a digital authoritarian state he tweet by the Union Minister for T Communications, ashwin Vaishay, “pharat moves on.=, on Thrsday evening, December 21, 7.58 pm. announced the parliamentary passage ofthe $elecommunications bill, 2023 an the repeal of “The nian Telegraph Act, 185, unde he “vision ofthe PM @naredramod i. Notice the intentional we ofthe word “Bharat” in olation, and the omission of, “India. Sir the Prime Minister's individual “visions by design, silat, crediting the Prime Minister's individual Vision” s by design, This snot pecular (othe Telecom Bl 2023 and draws fom Seommon brand kt used for daining cred oe any, and every event by the Union Government Put together, they area clever call ofeultural pativi for Inds, tally vealsing thie funifest destiny under te leader tip of ene ‘nan. programmes us to believe that we finally hae a Union government that represents the Interest of the masses in tarpaulin covered haps rather than those ofthe siggering urban elites sipping chai lates, This facade and diversion have succesfully cloaked scruiy of the Telecom Sl which sa ystem upgrade of ‘colonia ws for a cigtal authortaran sae. lgnoring the dial divide ‘us start by looking at the unique “barat provisions of he Teton Bil vena the time of public consultation, dhe explanatory ‘memorandum tothe draft compared spectrum to ‘aman soul as described in the Bhagavad Gita Indic influence has found its way in the Telecom ‘Bl with the renaming of the Universal Services ‘Obligation Fund (LSOF) as the "Digital Bharat Nidhi”. The USOF, which isa levy on telecom service providers (eliange oor Aire, funds Drojects such as rural conneetivity fas seen tle mere change in name does litle to address the challenges of a persisting digital divide that have recently become worse. Asin reportsby the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India the growth of new: telecom users has sharply stagnated and research ‘reports from the international Data Corporation show a contraction of smartphone sales forthe ‘second consecutive year. Here, with nationalistic chest beating, the Telecom Bill distracts us from AparGupta echcogy pobey profesional ‘The Telecom pall 2023 extends the colonial architecture of regulation to India’s) toa rash its fire to present any fresh ides o sitions. Willrenaming the USOF magieally lead rillions of Indians gaining Imerner access Innovation, when present, increases the discretionary power ofthe government to pick and choose pate firs a "national shiampions For irstane take the provisions or the allocation of satelite spectrum without the eed fractions that are sted in the Fst Schedule ofthe Telecom tl This i ely to Denefitthe market entry of select private firms as questioned by Member of Pararent inthe Rajya Sabha, Priyanka Chatrved. She sud “(gluess ‘who will soon step into Mobile Satellite Services fiom ind?” while linking to am article dated Agust 5, 025, ded "ISRO Trae Satelite ius Technology To Adani Group’ Apt Design "Technologies". ven provisions for "regulatory ssindboxes” and online dispteresoktion systems are likely to benefit large corporations ‘other than Indian users de to the prevailing aligopaly inthe telecom sector, Modern authoritarianism State control is present throughout the Telecom ‘Act without any change made tothe colonial architecture. Changes within it are a clever rewording of phrases. Por instance, “licensing” hasbeen changed to “authorisation” while ‘making it more severe, This has been achleved by studied definiional vagueness of “telecommunicaton” and “telecommunication services” that willinclude “transmission... of any ‘messages, Read together, this wil allow tne Union government to license Over-TieTop (OTT) ‘messaging applications such as WhatsApp or femal ervices such a§ Gmail. This power will, the coming years, be used alongside other regulations to break the security and confidentiality enjoyed by indians by using encryption based messaging, ‘the same pattern is repeated for the ‘Telegraph Bill hasbeen plagiarised without ‘safeguards. insertions, when present, such asa ‘resh provision on “national security”, expand ‘theability ofthe Union government rouse, _prescrie standards, suspend and take over any {elecommunication service, Here, just ke before, the phrase “national security" has not been defined. To ensure the web of a surveillance state iscomplete, the aw requires any ‘telecommunications service provide, that may include WhatsApp or Signal, (0 identify the user by “any verifiable biometric based identification ‘as may be preseribed”, To further ensure dat ‘every indian complies, astandard "kariayya ‘kaal” clause has been added in which there isa legal penalty of €25,000 for providing “any false particulars, suppress any material information’, ‘and, “fal fo share information as required by this ‘Act. Many of these concems were raised tothe ‘speaker of the Lok Sabha by Member of Parliament Gaurav Gogoi where ina briefone page letter, dated December 12,2023, he called for sending itt a Standing Committe”. Instead, the Telecom Bill was passed in haste through both Houses of Parliament. Constitutional charade [Neither Ms. Chaturvedi or Mr. Gogoi could raise their objections in Parliament or cast their vores. ‘They could noc even raise symbolic cries of “shame, shame, shame” as they along with at ‘east two thirds oftheir fellow Members of the ‘Oppesition benches have been suspended. ‘Commenting on the parliamentary session, Pratap Bhanu Mehta states inan atiele, “this formal language of democracy serves increasingly to provide a constitutional veneer to what isin ‘effec, an unconstitutional concentration of. power...” His lament is justified, for as Milan W. ‘Svolkhas empirically demonstrated in The Polis of Authoritarian Rule, 80% of dictatorial ‘countries surveyed from 1946 2008 held elections for legislatures to “facilitate powersharing among, aregime'’s elite” ‘Now, where does this leave the ordinary Indian, or should we siy bhararwusis? We are ‘being regularly reminded not to ponder over ‘these disturbing questions and instead maincain ‘health and sanity with det full of millets and a daily yoga practice. After all, we are undergoing transformation ofa colony toa rashtr, where the rule under the Constitution of India is being Feplaced to governance by scripeure under the ‘divine vision of the Prime Minister. As the Telecom fil shows, India has indeed moved on, however itis far from democracy. Tenens erscedare personal