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12.06.2024 Editorial
12.06.2024 Editorial
4 நீட் தேர்வை தமிழ்நாடு அரசு ஏன் எதிர்க்கிறது? அதன் தாக்கம் குறித்து Indian 27
ஏ.கே.ராஜன் குழு கூறியது என்ன? - அபிநய ஹரிகோவிந்தா Express
The country presents a textbook example of the key elements that signal an emerging
calamity.
Rapid credit growth is akin to a siren song. It lures economies with the promise of
prosperity only to lead them into crises. Each financial boom is framed as a story of
financial innovation and good times. But each new story is just whipped-up frenzy, it is, in
economist Robert Shiller’s words, “irrational exuberance”. As the economists Carmen
Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff explained in their celebrated history of financial folly,
governments and market participants dismiss previous crises that followed credit booms
by invoking the mantra “this time is different”.
India is in the midst of similar folly, driven by policymakers wedded to an unhinged hype
about the country’s performance and prospects. The ‘this-time-is-different’ theme touts
India’s digital infrastructure as the catalyst for financial innovation and inclusion,
promising growth and equality. Ironically, this lofty narrative has enabled a poorly
regulated financial sector and consumers living beyond their means to generate a lending
surge.
Both international and domestic analysts are applauding this surge. In December 2023,
the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised the performance
of the Indian financial sector, citing robust growth in bank lending and low levels of
non-performing assets. Similarly, the March 2024 review of National Council of Applied
Economic Research cheered a 20% increase in bank lending over the previous year,
interpreting the particularly large increase in “personal loans” — while lending to industry
struggled — as signalling bright prospects.
This distressing script is set to repeat for India especially because of the feverish
expansion of households lending at between 25% and 30% a year. As financial
intermediaries have pushed their loans, many lower- and middle-income households have
viewed the funds as easy cash to make ends meet or to buy homes, gadgets and cars,
pay for education, and indulge in ‘lifestyle’ spending, including vacations and elective
medical procedures.
A household debt boom is a quintessentially “bad” boom. It does not add to productive
capacity but, instead, bids up domestic prices, making the country less competitive. As
economists Atif Mian and Amir Sufi report: the higher the household debt burden, the
steeper the crash that follows. Add to the bad credit boom a stock market rising
unmoored from weak corporate investment and anaemic consumer spending, an
overvalued exchange rate, and a tendency for Indian authorities to talk up dodgy data,
and India presents a textbook example of the key elements that signal a looming financial
crisis. The financial crisis will cause not just economic pain but will also degrade the
economy’s long-term well-being.
While the two terms of the Modi government have brought us to this moment, three
decades of economic and financial policy are culpable. Unable to generate job-rich
manufacturing growth, successive policymakers have pushed the financial services
industry to raise headline GDP growth rates: in the last decade, the financial sector has
contributed over a quarter of GDP growth.
Making matters worse, Indian-style liberalisation has promoted a large and chaotic
financial services industry. At the top are 30-odd large providers — scheduled
commercial banks and major non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs), all with a history
of rogue behaviour. Alongside, thousands of smaller players, including fly-by-night NBFCs
and new fintechs operate in dubious ways.
The problem is simple. There are too many financial services’ providers with too few
options to lend for productivity-enhancement projects. Indeed, over time, lending
opportunities have narrowed as the Indian corporate sector has reduced its
investment-GDP ratio and borrowing pace. Financial institutions have, therefore, been
under great pressure to generate profits.
From the start of economic liberalisation in 1991, the search for easy profits spawned
scams. But especially after COVID-19, financial services providers redirected lending
toward households eager to borrow in lieu of stagnant incomes. The newly emergent
fintechs led this charge by offering loans to desperate households at extortionary
interest rates. A new set of scammers preyed on the gullible. Yet, some borrowers
became addicted to such loans.
Twenty-five-year-old Rohan (not his real name) is an example. He used his card to buy a
TV, a laptop, and a smartphone. Drawn by rewards, cashbacks, and “no-interest EMIs”
Eventually, he took a cheaper loan to pay off his credit card dues. Multiply the Rohans
manifold and you have a macroeconomic threat point.
Indian household debt, at 40% of GDP, is low by international standards, but household
debt-service-to-income ratio, at 12%, is among the highest in the world because of high
interest rates and predominantly short duration loans. Indeed, the Indian household
debt-service ratio is alarmingly similar to that in the United States and Spain just before
their 2008 financial crises, when high household debt-service burdens precipitated major
economic downturns.
The economist Rudi Dornbusch’s warning applies to India: “The crisis takes a much longer
time in coming than you think, and then it happens faster than you would have thought.”
The source of the impending crisis lies in a paradox: despite buoyant credit growth,
household consumption is increasing at an excruciatingly slow pace. Households are
struggling; their savings rates have declined and they are boosting meagre consumption
by borrowing money. Soon, it will no longer be possible to repay old loans with new ones
and consumption could even contract. The crisis will come initially through such
macroeconomic contraction; defaults on loans will follow. The initial defaults will topple
more dominoes, a consequence of the interconnected nature of banks, NBFCs, and
fintechs. Cascading defaults will induce more economic contraction and financial sector
distress.
A solution
The 2024 general election results might diffuse the India hype, but a sudden stop in
credit could trigger a crisis. Preventing the crisis requires surgically downsizing the
financial services industry to better match lending capacity and productive borrowing
needs, and weakening the rupee to help expand exports and cushion the downturn when
But policy change is unlikely. In opposition to Joan Robinson’s dictum that finance must
follow growth, Indian policymakers have committed themselves to the notion that finance
will spur growth and help overcome the country’s severe developmental handicaps in
human capital and other public goods. Policymakers are also committed to a strong
exchange rate as a metric of the nation’s virility. Meanwhile, as the risks of a financial
crisis grow, an acute job shortage persists, reflected most poignantly in a catastrophic
regression of the workforce back to agriculture.
India’s heavily credit-reliant economic strategy is akin to a car speeding toward a cliff’s
edge without brakes. Sadly, the nation’s financial and policy elite has adopted a
see-no-evil attitude. After all, the weak and vulnerable will bear the burden of the crisis,
as the dire employment situation becomes worse — and stark inequalities become
starker.
Ashoka Mody teaches at Princeton University. He previously worked for the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund, and is the author of India is Broken: A People
Betrayed, Independence to Today (2023)
© The Hindu, First published on: June 12, 2024 02:46 am IST
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/indias-looming-financial-crisis/article68278359.ec
e
ஒரு தீர்வு
The general election is just over and a sizable share of India’s youth is scrambling for
college admissions; their contributions are crucial in realising the dream of Viksit
Bharat@2047.
The reasons
Improving quality
Higher education in the social sciences — the lens for observing and understanding
changes in society, economy and polity — needs an overhaul at all levels. Quantity
expansion to accommodate excluded aspirants of other disciplines needs to be followed
up with a concerted effort for quality improvement. Teaching quality enhancement and
course contents needs to be accorded top priority in such a mission. An obsession with
© The Hindu, First published on: June 12, 2024 02:40 am IST
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-social-sciences-a-shelter-for-the-excluded-
student/article68278414.ece
காரணங்கள்
தரத்தை மேம்படுத்துதல்
The Supreme Court recently delivered two significant judgments that impact the liberty
of people accused of criminal offences.
The Supreme Court did not mince words in May 2024, while delivering two significant
judgments that impact the liberty of people accused of criminal offences. The first
judgment says that the custody of an accused is not necessary prior to the filing of the
charge sheet in certain criminal cases. If the lower courts strictly comply with the
directives in this judgment, it would bring relief to investigating agencies.
The second judgment relates to informing an accused of the grounds of arrest in writing.
This is a fundamental right under Article 22 of the Constitution. While this judgment was
delivered in the context of special statutes — namely, the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 —
it will be relevant to see whether these directives can equally be extended to provisions
of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) as far as communication of grounds of arrest is
concerned.
In Siddharth vs State of Uttar Pradesh and Another (2021), the Supreme Court held that it
is unnecessary for the investigating officer (IO) to present the accused in custody at the
time of filing the charge sheet if the accused has been cooperating in the investigation
and if the investigation can be completed without arresting the accused. The Court held
that Section 170 of the CrPC does not impose an obligation on the officer-in-charge of a
police station to arrest each and every accused at the time of filing the charge sheet.
Therefore, it is not justified under law for criminal courts to refuse to accept the charge
sheet without the accused person being produced before them. The Court further said
Supreme Court asks if arrest can be called invalid after cognisance of case
This implies that in bailable cases and in those non-bailable cases in which the IO thinks
that the accused will neither abscond nor disobey summons, the IO is not obliged to
produce such an accused in custody while filing the charge sheet in court.
However, the reality is that the IOs sometimes struggle to file charge sheets in criminal
courts. In cases of riots, when there are a large number of accused people and every
accused person released on bail by the police is not present at the time of filing the
charge sheet, the charge sheet is not accepted by the court. Sometimes, courts don’t
accept the charge sheet of cases beyond an arbitrarily fixed number in one day, or after
a particular time in a day. The IOs are reluctant to complain about these issues to a
Sessions Judge because this might prove counter-productive for other miscellaneous
works at the ground level. Though the Siddharth vs State of Uttar Pradesh judgment was
delivered more than two years ago, the situation does not seem to have changed much.
Grounds of arrest
In Pankaj Bansal vs Union of India and Others (2023), the Supreme Court held that the
grounds of arrest must be informed in writing to the accused as a matter of course and
without exception, to give true meaning and purpose to the constitutional and statutory
mandate of Section 19(1) of the PMLA. Similarly, recently in Prabir Purkayastha vs State
(NCT of Delhi), the Court reiterated the ratio of Bansal (supra) case and held that the
provision of arrest, as far as informing grounds of arrest is concerned, is pari passu
(equal footing) under the UAPA. The Court held that the ‘reasons of arrest’ are purely
formal parameters which commonly apply to any person arrested on charge of a crime
whereas the ‘grounds of arrest’ would be invariably personal and required to contain
details which necessitated the arrest of the accused. Therefore, unless grounds of arrest
are informed in writing, arrest and subsequent remand would become invalid in the eyes
of law.
The arrest memo prepared by the IO contains a note which says “the arrested person,
after being informed of the grounds of arrest and his legal right, was duly taken into
custody”. The arrest memo which is written separately for each accused contains inter
alia all sections of offence(s) applied, date of offence, place, and time and date of arrest,
and is signed by the IO. It is also counter signed by the arrestee. However, there is no
provision in law to provide a copy of this memo to the accused person at the time of his
arrest. This becomes more relevant for those who are not named in the First Information
Report.
The Court has said that the grounds of arrest must be provided in writing so that the
accused person can seek legal counsel and seek bail on the basis of unambiguously
stated facts of the case by the investigating agency. If that be so, the ratio of the Bansal
case (supra) must equally apply to Section 50(1) of the CrPC, particularly when such a
right is held to flow from Article 22 of the Constitution. It will be apposite to amend the
law and provide a copy of the arrest memo with some modification to fulfil the
constitutional mandate towards an accused person.
© The Hindu, First published on: June 12, 2024 02:20 am IST
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/arrest-agencies-and-criminal-courts/article682
77264.ece
குற்றப்பத்திரிகைத் தாக்கல்
Why Tamil Nadu govt opposes the NEET exam?, what the Rajan
Committee said on its impact?
-Abhinaya Harigovind
The NEET results, published 10 days ahead of the scheduled date, have been questioned
for several reasons. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin recently underscored his state's earlier
opposition to the exam.
Amid the uproar over the NEET-UG results that were declared on June 4, Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said that his government was the “first to foresee
the hazards of NEET”, and “undertook a large-scale campaign against it”.
The results, published 10 days ahead of the scheduled date, have been questioned for
several reasons: the unusually large number of candidates — 67, compared to at most,
three in the previous five years — who secured the top rank with the maximum possible
score; ‘grace marks’ being awarded to some 1,500 candidates for “loss of time”; and 44 of
The National Testing Agency (NTA, which conducts NEET-UG) and the Education Ministry
have set up a committee to review the results of those who got grace marks. Congress
leaders have asked for a probe supervised by the Supreme Court, and Maharashtra’s
Medical Education Minister has asked for the results to be cancelled. Some candidates
have moved High Courts.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Stalin said: “After coming to power [in 2021], we
constituted a High-Level Committee headed by Justice A K Rajan to study the impact of
the NEET-based admission process. The Committee’s report, based on extensive data
analysis and inputs from students, parents, and the public, has been published and shared
with various State Governments to expose NEET’s anti-poor and anti-social justice
nature.”
NEET is the all-India competitive examination held for admission to medical, dental, and
AYUSH courses in government and private colleges across India. This year, almost 24
lakh candidates appeared for a little more than 1 lakh MBBS seats in 700-plus medical
colleges.
The Rajan Committee found that after NEET was introduced in 2017-18, fewer students
from rural areas, those studying in the Tamil medium, those from families with lower
incomes, and those from Tamil Nadu state board schools, secured admission in medical
colleges in the state.
* While English-medium students secured more seats even in the pre-NEET period, their
share rose further post-NEET, while that of Tamil-medium students became smaller.
In the four years from 2017-18 (when NEET was introduced), the share of Tamil-medium
students in medical college seats ranged from 1.6% to 3.27%. And the share of
English-medium students shot up from 85.12% in 2016-17 to 98.41% in 2017-18, and was
98.01% in 2020-21.
* In the pre-NEET period from 2010-11 to 2016-17, students from rural areas secured 61.5%
seats on average in government medical colleges. In 2020-21, this figure had fallen to
49.91%. By contrast, the share of students from urban areas in government medical
colleges rose from an average 38.55% in the pre-NEET years to 50.09% in 2020-21.
* The share of students from higher-income families increased in the post-NEET period,
while that of students from poorer families decreased, the Rajan Committee found.
Students whose parents had an annual income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh secured an
average 41% of admissions in the pre-NEET period; this figure fell to an average 36% in
the post-NEET years. For students whose parents had an annual income of over Rs 2.5
lakh, these numbers were 58% and 62% on average in the pre-NEET and post-NEET
periods respectively.
* Post NEET, CBSE students came to have an advantage over Tamil Nadu state board
students, the Committee found.
The share of applicants from state board schools fell from around 95% on average in the
pre-NEET years to 64.27% in 2020-21, while applicants from CBSE schools increased from
an average 3.17% pre-NEET to 32.26% in 2020-21.
The share of CBSE students who secured admission to government medical colleges
increased from 0.13% in 2010-11 to 26.83% in 2020-21, while state board students’ share
fell from 71.73% to 43.13% during this period.
* The report said that “the argument that the NEET mark, as opposed to HSC (higher
secondary certificate of the state board) mark tests the standard of the student and
signifies merit is a baseless argument”. It noted that in the pre-NEET period, the average
* On the impact of coaching centres on admissions, the report said that 99% of students
who secured admissions in 2019-20 received training before NEET.
Panel’s recommendations
Concluding that NEET has “undermined the diverse societal representation in MBBS and
higher medical studies” and favoured affluent sections of society, the Committee asked
the state to take immediate steps to eliminate NEET from the admission process.
It recommended that HSC scores, “normalised” to ensure equality across boards, should
be used as the admission criteria. It also said that “socio-economic and other
demographic adversities” that may result in poor performance in the higher secondary
examination may be identified, and “re-profiling of scores” should be done using the
framework of an “adversity score”.
In his X post, Stalin wrote: “Based on the recommendations in the report, a Bill seeking
exemption from NEET was unanimously passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. It
is now awaiting Presidential assent, after an inordinate delay from the Tamil Nadu
Governor’s side.”
The Tamil Nadu Admission to Under Graduate Medical Degree Courses Bill was passed by
the Assembly in 2021, returned by the Governor in 2022, and passed again by the
Assembly the same year. It provides for admissions to undergraduate medical, dental and
homeopathy courses on the basis of Class 12 marks.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 12, 2024 07:51 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/rajan-panel-report-on-neet-and-why-tn-oppo
ses-the-exam-9384221/
குழுவின் பரிந்துரைகள்
அறிக்கையைத் தொடர்தல்
What is the Council of Ministers and who are its members? What are the duties entrusted
to them? What is the difference between a Minister of State (MoS) and an MoS with
independent charge? We explain.
President Draupadi Murmu administered oaths to the Central Council of Ministers of the
new NDA government on Sunday (June 9). Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the COM
What is the Council of Ministers and who are its members? What are the duties entrusted
to them? What is the difference between a Minister of State (MoS) and an MoS with
Independent Charge? We explain.
The Central Council of Ministers is led by the Prime Minister and plays a vital role in
government policy-making. Given the parliamentary system of government in India, it is
effectively the real executive authority.
While the President of India is the head of the Executive, they must act on the aid and
advice of the COM as mandated by the Indian Constitution. According to Article 75,
“There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and
advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with
such advice…”
Article 75 further states that the President appoints the Prime Minister. Based on the
PM’s recommendation, the President also appoints other ministers. The article mandates
that the size of this council should not exceed 15% of the strength of the Lok Sabha, or
the House of the people.
The Prime Minister is the head of the Central Council of Ministers in an executive
capacity. The position he holds is often described as “first among equals”, wherein the PM
For instance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the Ministry of Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions — a position he held in the outgoing council as well. He also
supervises the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space.
The Prime Minister additionally serves as head of the Cabinet Secretariat, the
government body which supervises the day-to-day administration of the government and
the conduct of business between ministries. Additionally, he heads the NITI Aayog and the
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The cabinet ministers are ranked as the senior-most in the council, second only to the
Prime Minister. They oversee the strategic and important ministries of the Central
government – related to Home Affairs, Finance, Defence, etc. – with the authority to
organise and attend meetings and make important policy decisions.
In the new COM, Amit Shah has been re-appointed Home Minister, tasked with overseeing
the maintenance of the country’s internal security, including the police force. Also
retaining their posts from the outgoing cabinet are Nitin Gadkari as Minister of Road
Transport and Highways, Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister, and Rajnath Singh as
Defence Minister.
This time, 37 ministers have been dropped from the outgoing cabinet.
Ministers of state are junior members of the COM. A Minister of State (Independent
Charge) is empowered to administer their respective ministry without oversight from
cabinet ministers or other members of the Union government.
In the outgoing council, Rao Inderjit Singh served as Minister of State (Independent
Charge), overseeing both the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and
the Ministry of Planning. Dr. Jitendra Singh served as Minister of State (Independent
Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Arjun Ram Meghwal served in the
same capacity, overseeing the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The new council has retained all three members from the outgoing council and has
inducted Prataprao Jadhav and Jayant Chaudhary as well.
Ministries with crucial mandates such as the Home Ministry, the Ministry of External
Affairs, the Health Ministry and the Education Ministry may have two or three ministers
of state working with the cabinet minister.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 11, 2024 20:50 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/new-council-cabinet-mi
nisters-modi-9386223/
The DM Act was enacted in the wake of the 1999 Odisha super-cyclone and the 2004
tsunami. It defines a disaster as a “catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence”
arising from “natural or man-made causes” that results in substantial loss of life,
destruction of property, or damage to the environment.
The ongoing spell of extreme heat in many parts of the country has once again reopened
discussions on the inclusion of heatwaves as one of the notified disasters under the
Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005.
The DM Act was enacted in the wake of the 1999 Odisha super-cyclone and the 2004
tsunami. It defines a disaster as a “catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence”
arising from “natural or man-made causes” that results in substantial loss of life,
destruction of property, or damage to the environment. It must also be of such nature
which is “beyond the coping capacity” of the community.
If such an event happens, then the provisions of the DM Act can be invoked. The
provisions allow states to draw money from the two funds that have been set up under
this law — the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) at the national level and the State
Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) at the state level. The states first utilise the funds
available in the SDRF, and only if the magnitude of the disaster is unmanageable with the
SDRF, states seek the money from the NDRF. In the FY 2023-24, only two states drew
money from the NDRF (see box).
While the entire money of the NDRF comes from the central government, states
contribute 25% of the money in the SDRF (10% in case of special category states), the
rest comes from the Centre. The money in these funds cannot be used for any purpose
other than response and management of notified disasters.
Currently, there are 12 categories of disasters which are notified under this Act. These
are cyclones, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche,
cloudburst, pest attack, and frost and cold waves.
Though heatwaves are not a new phenomenon in India, and heat-related illnesses and
deaths have been common in large parts of northern, eastern and central India, these
were not viewed as a disaster when the Act came into being in 2005. It was because
heatwaves were a common occurrence during summer, and not really an unusual
weather event.
In the last 15 years, however, both the severity and frequency of heatwaves have
increased. Due to increased economic activity, there is a far larger number of people who
have to remain outdoors for their livelihoods or other reasons, exposing them to the risk
of a heat-stroke. There are 23 states, which are vulnerable to heatwaves.
These states as well as several vulnerable cities have now prepared heat action plans
(HAPs) to deal with the impacts of extreme heat. HAPs involve activities like creation of
shaded spaces, ensuring availability of cool water in public places, distribution of simple
oral solutions, and reorganising the schedules of schools, colleges and office working
hours.
These measures require expenditure but state governments have not been able to use
the SDRF for them. This is the reason for the demand for inclusion of heatwaves as a
notified disaster in the DM Act.
States have put the demand of including heatwaves as a notified disaster before the last
three Finance Commissions — the periodically established Constitutional body that
decides on the distribution of financial resources between the Centre and states.
However, the Finance Commissions have not entirely been convinced. The 15th Finance
Commission, whose recommendations are currently being applied, said the existing list of
But it endorsed an enabling provision created by the preceding Commission that allowed
states to utilise at least a part of the SDRF money — up to 10% — for “local disasters”
such as lightning or heatwaves, which states could notify on their own.
Using this new enabling provision, at least four states — Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha,
and Kerala — have added heatwaves as local disasters.
The Centre has so far resisted demands to notify it as a national disaster, using the
Finance Commission as an excuse.
2. Practical Difficulties
Although unstated, the main reason behind the reluctance to add heatwave as a notified
disaster is the potentially huge financial implication of the move. The government has to
provide monetary compensation — Rs 4 lakh — for every life lost because of a disaster
that is in the notified list. Grievous injuries also have to be compensated.
Heatwaves claim a large number of lives every year, even though the recorded number
of deaths have not been very high in recent years. But this is changing. This year, more
than 500 heat-related deaths have already been reported. Once the government is
mandated to provide compensation, a larger number of deaths could be revealed.
The other reason is the problem in attributing deaths to heatwaves. In most cases, heat
itself does not claim lives. Most people die due to other pre-existing conditions, made
worse by the impact of extreme heat. It is often difficult to ascertain whether it was heat
that made the difference. This is very different from other disasters in whose case the
identification of the victims is easier and more straight-forward.
For the five year period between 2021-26, the 15th Finance Commission had
recommended an allocation of Rs 1,60,153 crore to the various SDRFs, a substantial sum
On the other hand, inclusion as a notified disaster can improve the management of
heatwaves. Heat-related illnesses and deaths would be better reported, and authorities
would be more alert to minimise the impacts of heatwaves.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 11, 2024 19:44 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/heatwaves-notified-disaster-9386059/
1999 ஒடிசா சூப்பர் புயல் (super-cyclone) மற்றும் 2004 சுனாமிக்குப் பிறகு பேரிடர்
மேலாண்மைச் சட்டம் (Disaster Management (DM) Act) இயற்றப்பட்டது. இது ஒரு
பேரழிவை "இயற்கை அல்லது மனிதனால் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட காரணங்களிலிருந்து"
கணிசமான உயிர் இழப்பு, சொத்து அழிவு அல்லது சுற்றுச்சூழலுக்கு சேதம்
விளைவிக்கும் "பேரழிவு, விபத்து அல்லது கடுமையான நிகழ்வு" என்று
வரையறுக்கிறது.
தேசியப் பேரிடர் மீட்பு நிதி (NDRF) முழுக்க முழுக்க ஒன்றிய அரசிடம் இருந்து
வருகிறது. மாநிலப் பேரிடர் மீட்பு நிதிக்கு (SDRF) மாநிலங்கள் 25% பங்களிக்கின்றன,
இதில் சிறப்புவகை மாநிலங்களுக்கு 10% கூடுதல் நிதியும், மீதமுள்ளவை
ஒன்றியத்திலிருந்து வழங்கப்படுகிறது. அறிவிக்கப்பட்ட பேரிடர் மேலாண்மை மற்றும்
எதிர்வினை நடவடிக்கைகளுக்கு (response and management of notified disasters)
மட்டுமே இந்த நிதி பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது.
தயக்கத்திற்கான காரணங்கள்
2. நடைமுறை சிக்கல்கள்:
2021-26 ஆம் ஆண்டில், 15-வது நிதி ஆணையம் மாநில பேரிடர் மீட்பு நிதிக்கு
(SDRF) ரூ.1,60,153 கோடியை பரிந்துரைத்துள்ளது. உத்தரபிரதேசத்திற்கு ரூ.11,400
கோடியும், மகாராஷ்டிராவுக்கு ரூ.19,000 கோடியும் ஒதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்த நிதி
இந்த காலகட்டத்தில் நடந்த அனைத்துப் பேரழிவுகளுக்கும் பொருந்தும். வெப்ப
அலைகள் மற்றும் மின்னல் பட்டியலில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டால் இது போதுமானதாக
இருக்காது என்ற அச்சம் உள்ளது.
Muizzu’s presence was significant, given the way he has positioned himself politically vis
à vis India, and the crucial strategic aspect to the India-Maldives relationship.
The President of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, was one of seven leaders from India’s
neighbourhood who attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in at Rashtrapati
Bhavan on Sunday evening (June 9). Muizzu’s presence was significant, given the way he
has positioned himself politically vis à vis India, and the crucial strategic aspect to the
India-Maldives relationship.
Muizzu came to power on November 17 last year on an ‘India Out’ plank. The India Out
campaign had begun in 2020 as the Maldives opposition’s protest against then President
Ibrahim Solih’s policies that were perceived to be friendly towards New Delhi, but had
soon turned into a movement against India’s alleged military presence in the archipelago,
which both the Solih government and India denied.
During his presidential campaign, Muizzu repeatedly vowed to send back “foreign
soldiers”. Within hours of being sworn in, he demanded the withdrawal of all Indian military
personnel from Maldives.
Consequently, the final batch of Indian soldiers — who were stationed in the Maldives to
operate and maintain two helicopters and three Dornier aircraft India had previously
gifted to the country — were replaced by civilians in May.
Like his mentor, former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, under whose rule
(2013-18) the India-Maldives relationship deteriorated severely, Muizzu has openly aligned
his country with China, India’s geopolitical rival in the Indian Ocean.
In January, Muizzu broke with a Maldivian tradition to choose Beijing over New Delhi for
his first foreign visit as President. He met President Xi Jinping, and signed 20 agreements
covering areas ranging from tourism to social housing and e-commerce.
In March, Malé signed an agreement with Beijing to obtain free “non-lethal” military
equipment and training from China — the first ever military deal between the two
countries.
The Chinese influence in the Maldives has increased steadily over the past couple of
decades. The island nation is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has led to an
Muizzu’s presidency and the anti-India sentiment fanned by sections of the Maldivian
political class is a culmination of this process.
A historical relationship
For India, the Maldives is a crucial ally, important to secure its maritime periphery and to
keep an eye on the larger Indian Ocean region where China is making aggressive moves.
The archipelago lies barely 70 nautical miles (130 km) from Lakshadweep’s Minicoy Island,
and some 300 nautical miles (560 km) from India’s west coast. Several important
commercial sea lanes run through the islands.
Regardless of Muizzu’s pro-China, anti-India posturing, the Maldives cannot simply “let go”
of India. It is heavily dependent on Indian imports in almost all important sectors, from
food to life-saving medicines, and aircraft used in search and rescue missions.
India has rushed to the Maldives’ aid in many crises — from being the first to send in help
after the 2004 tsunami to airlifting drinking water to the country after a desalination
plant broke down in 2014. During the Covid-19 pandemic, India sent medicines, masks,
gloves, PPE kits, vaccines, and other aid.
The Indian Army played a crucial role in thwarting an attempted coup in Malé in 1988.
“Across party lines in the Maldives, they don’t criticise this operation. They will mention
other issues that they have with India, but not this,” Maldives expert Dr Gulbin Sultana
had told The Indian Express in 2021.
At a time when relations between India and the Maldives are at a low, Muizzu’s visit sends
an encouraging signal. Some groundwork for a reset in the relationship has been done
over the past couple of months.
On May 9, Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer met External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar in New Delhi — the first high-level visit since Muizzu came to power. The two
leaders had “extensive discussions” on “bilateral relationship” and “regional security
issues”.
After a meeting with Muizzu on Monday, Jaishankar, on X, said, “Look forward to India
and Maldives working together closely”.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 11, 2024 22:53 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/significance-of-maldives-pro-china-president
-muizzus-new-delhi-visit-9384307/
முகமது முய்ஸூ கடந்த ஆண்டு நவம்பர் 17-ம் தேதி ‘இந்தியா வெளியே’ (India
Out) என்ற பிரச்சாரத்துடன் ஆட்சிக்கு வந்தார். இந்த பிரச்சாரம் 2020-ம் ஆண்டில்
அப்போதைய அதிபர் இப்ராஹிம் சோலியின் இந்திய நட்புரீதியான
கொள்கைகளுக்கு எதிராக மாலத்தீவு எதிர்க்கட்சிகளின் எதிர்ப்பாகத் தொடங்கியது.
இது விரைவில் மாலத்தீவில் இந்தியாவின் இராணுவ இருப்புக்கு எதிரான ஒரு
இயக்கமாக மாறியது. இதை இப்ராஹிம் சோலிஹ் அரசாங்கமும் இந்தியாவும்
மறுத்துள்ளன. தனது பிரச்சாரத்தின்போது, "வெளிநாட்டு வீரர்களை" (foreign
soldiers) திருப்பி அனுப்புவதாக முகமது முய்ஸூ சூளுரைத்தார். பதவியேற்ற சில
மணி நேரங்களுக்குள், மாலத்தீவில் இருந்து அனைத்து இந்திய இராணுவ
வீரர்களையும் திரும்பப் பெற வேண்டும் என்று அவர் கோரினார். இதன்
விளைவாக, இந்தியா பரிசளித்த இரண்டு ஹெலிகாப்டர்கள் (two helicopters) மற்றும்
மூன்று டோர்னியர் விமானங்களை (three Dornier aircraft) இயக்கி பராமரித்து வந்த
இந்திய வீரர்கள் மே மாதம் உள்நாட்டினரைக் கொண்டு மாற்றப்பட்டனர்.
From Bangladesh to Pakistan, how Modi 3.0 is being received by India’s neighbours
-Syed Munir Khasru
While opportunities for collaboration exist, India's neighbours may face challenges
engaging with the new government over historical grievances
The Indian general elections have captured global attention — but perhaps none are more
intently watching than its immediate neighbours. As a rising regional economic
powerhouse on the cusp of becoming the world’s third-largest economy, India’s political
trajectory profoundly impacts South Asia’s stability, security, and prosperity. The high
stakes have sparked diverse reactions and perspectives across the neighbourhood. The
BJP-led NDA securing a third consecutive term has ignited speculation from Dhaka to
Islamabad, from Kathmandu to Colombo. Nations sharing borders and ties with India are
closely scrutinising the poll results, seeking to decipher the ramifications of their
relationships with the regional powerhouse.
Bangladesh’s perspective
For Dhaka, the BJP’s electoral victory has evoked a mix of optimism and apprehension.
The continuity in leadership could facilitate progress in ongoing initiatives that have seen
bilateral trade grow threefold from around $5.3 billion in 2012-13 to over $15.9 billion in
2022-23. India is also a major investor in Bangladesh, with investments exceeding $3
billion across sectors like energy, telecommunications and manufacturing. Overcoming
However, certain longstanding issues pose potential challenges. The protracted Teesta
water-sharing dispute, which began in 1983, has taken an interesting turn with China
being awarded a contract for a comprehensive river management project. India’s
subsequent but delayed interest in the project has placed Dhaka in a delicate position.
With its close political relations and deep socio-cultural and historical ties to India,
Bangladesh has maintained a cautious stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called the Act “unnecessary” and Bangladeshi foreign and
home ministers cancelled visits to India after it was passed. Further, the BJP’s pledge to
implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has raised questions about its potential impact on
Bangladeshis, given the shared cultural ties between the nations.
As expected, Pakistan’s reaction has been apprehensive, fearing the BJP’s hardline
stance could complicate the Kashmir dispute and diminish prospects for dialogue.
However, bilateral trade between India and Pakistan increased to $1.35 billion during
April-December 2022, compared to $516.36 million in 2021-22, reflecting improved
economic ties.
While Bhutan’s relationship with India is expected to remain largely unaffected, Sri Lanka
and Maldives are wary of India’s potential renewed push for regional influence in the
strategically vital Indian Ocean region.
India’s goal of becoming the world’s third-largest economy by 2027 and a developed
economy by 2047 when it celebrates its centenary anniversary hinges on deepening
economic engagement with neighbours. Initiatives like the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and Bangladesh Bhutan
India Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement could facilitate cross-border movement of goods,
services, and people and promote regional connectivity through infrastructure, energy
cooperation, and people-to-people ties. The BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport
Connectivity identifies 167 projects worth $50 billion, aimed at enhancing regional
integration. Areas of shared interest also include combating climate change, fostering
sustainable development, and enhancing educational and cultural exchanges.
While opportunities for collaboration exist, India’s neighbours may face challenges
engaging with the new government over concerns regarding domestic policies and
historical grievances. The new government’s foreign policy approach will shape the
regional security dynamics. Addressing factors behind border incidents and security
concerns, smuggling and human trafficking, militarisation and radicalisation is vital for a
long-term resolution. India’s economic influence and desire for a stable neighbourhood
could drive cooperation in areas like counter-terrorism, maritime security, and combating
transnational organised crime. Constructive dialogue and mutual understanding will be
crucial in building trust and goodwill in the region.
The election results offer a pivotal opportunity for India to redefine South Asia’s
trajectory towards harmony. The newly elected leaders must sensitively address
neighbours’ concerns, reciprocated through collaboration. Prioritising people-ties,
economic interdependence, and dialogue can pave the way for an integrated, secure
future rooted in mutual respect and shared progress.
The path is challenging, but a thriving, harmonious region makes it worthwhile for India in
its pursuit of leadership – both regionally and globally. Positive change via constructive
engagement and sustained dialogue are the need of the hour in South Asia. This is a tall
order though for a region historically more fractured than integrated.
The writer is chairman of the international think tank IPAG India, New Delhi with a
presence in Dhaka, Melbourne, Dubai, and Vienna
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 11, 2024 22:53 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/narendra-modi-pakistan-bangladesh-in
dia-neighbours-relations-9385931/
வங்காளதேசத்தின் பார்வை
ஒரு வாய்ப்பு
எழுத்தாளர், புது தில்லியில் உள்ள IPAG India-வின் சர்வதேச சிந்தனைக் குழுவின் தலைவர்.
ஐபிஏஜி டாக்கா, மெல்போர்ன், துபாய் மற்றும் வியன்னாவிலும் அலுவலகங்களைக்
கொண்டுள்ளது.
*******