Seasonal Magazine November 2016 Issue by John Antony

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VOLUME 15 ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2016

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MAGAZINE

Seasonal www.seasonalmagazine.com

Managing Editor Jason D Pavorattikaran Editor John Antony Director (Finance) Ceena Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva Senior Correspondent Bina Menon Creative Visualizer Bijohns Varghese Photographer Anish Aloysious Correspondents Bombay: Rashmi Prakash Hyderabad: Iqbal Siddiqui Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical) John Antony Publisher Jason D Pavorattikaran

why not apply some creativity across the border… Didn’t our blood boil when we saw the Uri attack on TV? Nineteen of our brethren, who were guarding the borders for us, brutally killed. The outrage we felt then is what makes us Indians.

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It is that same indignation towards terrorist activities that made all of us applaud Indian Army’s surgical attack on terror camps just across the Line of Control. What followed, however, should make us wary. Ministers thumping their chests, Pakistan getting taunted, they taunting us in return, military chiefs on either side expressing supreme confidence in case of a war, summits called off, diplomats warned, matches abandoned, artistes boycotted, and what not. And see the end result. Tension at the LoC escalating to unprecedented levels. In fact, the titbits of news coming from the border reveals that India and Pakistan are already engaged in a low-level conflict that may take months to resolve at best, or escalate to an all-out conventional war at the worst

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EDITORIAL

Amidst all these, is the greatest hypocrisy – our politicians’ soaring love and respect for our soldiers. Spending Diwali with them, courting arrest for OROP, and more is to be expected as UP elections are just round the corner. If they had even a little love for our soldiers, they would have done just the reverse. They wouldn’t have thumped their chests, they wouldn’t have taunted the enemy, and they would have let at least the arts and sports proceed as planned. In short, they would have done everything in their control to de-escalate the tension!

War has got a price. And it can’t just be counted in dollars or rupees. Soldiers must have opted to be soldiers, based on their patriotism, natural strengths, and of course, in a country like India, also due to purely economic concerns like securing their family’s future through a pensionable job. Our soldiers are reasonably paid, and are provided various amenities, but compared with the personal and familial risks they take for the country, they are still underpaid. That makes it a nation’s responsibility to do whatever it can to reduce the risks they face. A nation cannot counter aggression without force, but to think that nothing more is to be done than display of force is foolhardy behaviour. But before coming to that, an even greater foolhardiness should be addressed. A pre-schooler can run to her teacher, crying that the little guy sitting next, pinched her. Any teacher would attend to it immediately, warn or advise the naughty one not to repeat it, and console the little angel. That is it, and it is so because the teacher is pure at heart with no agenda of her own with regard to either baby But why is a mature and strong nation like India, which should be fully capable of dealing with any eventuality, seeking support from other nations, against Pakistan? That itself undermines our position, as we come across as too trying or too weak, which is quite bad in diplomacy. What is more, we get depressed when the support we expect from other countries is not forthcoming. We recently got unhappy at European Union’s muted response to Uri. What else did we expect from some of the

biggest global arms exporters like France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey? They are all very happy when incidents like Uri happen across the world, as such events are what drives the global arms trade. Forget European Union, even bigger and more influential countries like USA, Russia, China, and UK, all have huge arms export industries that feed on Uri type conflicts and their aftermaths. For example, USA and Russia are supplying different arms to both India and Pakistan! And these are the countries to which we run to for support, when attacked. What can be more idiotic in international relations and diplomacy? Now, coming back to exploring what else can be done, apart from use of necessary force. Reality is that a lot can be attempted to build better relations with our enemies. When incidents like Uri or Mumbai attack happens, it is so human and easy to think for a moment that all Pakistanis are enjoying it. But it is not true at all, and there are millions of Pak citizens who sympathize with India’s genuine grievances, and feel

that what their military is doing directly or by abetting terrorists is just not correct. So, strategy number one should be to tap the democratic potential of Pakistan. A war is more costlier for Pakistan, in all senses, and there would be many Pak people who realize this fact. To tap Pak’s democracy, we need to support all democratic leaders and institutions in that country. Every time we are attacked, and each time we respond strongly against the export of terror from across the border, we should also make it clear to the Pakistani people that we are not against them. That our action is against terrorists and those in the Pak army who are found supporting them. Whenever we overreact to terrorist provocations, remember, we are strengthening the Pak army, and weakening that country’s democracy. Secondly, as the bigger and stronger nation, it was our duty to help ensure the economic development of Pakistan. This is one area which we have neglected, thanks to the four wars the Pak military establishment had unleashed on India since independence. And China has made good use of our neglect, by getting to

forge a multi-dimensional relationship with Pakistan. An economically developed Pakistan – at least to the level of India – is less likely to focus on silly stuff like border attacks or infiltration of terrorists. Thirdly, India needs to show the world - as a country having the third-largest Muslim population – that our Muslims are most contented and safe. They and their forefathers are patriotic to the core, and genuine people who thought that a shift to the newly created Pakistan, on religious lines, was unnecessary. Instead, what we find from extreme right wingers in India is an unnecessary jingoism regarding too many sensitive issues like nonvegetarianism, yoga, enforcing national song, uniform civil code etc, and this jingoism getting conveniently tolerated by almost all the BJP / NDA leaders. Lastly, we also can’t push the Kashmir issue under the carpet. A righteous and peaceful solution acceptable to both Kashmiris and India, should be arrived at. Proactive steps to ensure the economic development of Kashmiris can go a long way in building trust. While army can’t be withdrawn from the valley until the situation improves, every care should be taken to ensure that excess force is never used. As long as India passionately believes that Kashmir belongs to India, Kashmiris are Indians, and should be treated with all the privileges Indians enjoy. India’s defence budget is a staggering Rs. 3.44 lakh crores. It is the sixth largest in the world, and one of the fastest growing defence budgets. If we can work on better relations with Pakistan and China, imagine how much of that precious annual spend can be used for making India a developed country. Let us pause and ask the question Lincoln asked, "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" John Antony SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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CONTENTS COCHIN SHIPYARD LTD

sailing the high seas

I defeat those who fight against me,” says hymn 1.8.3 of Rig Veda as well as INS Vikrant’s motto. On delivery, the 40000 tonne Vikrant will open the doors for India to join an elite technology club in defence. The country’s first indigenous Aircraft Carrier, Vikrant, is at phase-II of construction. There are only 37 active aircraft carriers in the world. Of course, that is not a very meaningful number, as 10 among them belong to a single nation - USA. That leaves only 27 in rest of the world.

WHY THE POOR ARE NAMED AND SHAMED IN INDIA

FOLLOWING THE SCENT OF MORE PERFUME SALES

In Uttar Pradesh, debt-ridden farmers have their backs to the wall. Tehsils in Chitrakoot district are humiliating farmers by putting up the names of loan defaulters on public walls, despite several..

There was a time when buying a bottle of tax-free perfume as a gift or personal indulgence was a standard part of a trip for many travellers.

OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE HAS 10 TIMES MORE GALAXIES THAN EARLIER THOUGHT

DOING A SURGERY ON SURGICAL STRIKES

Astronomers using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescopes and other telescopes have performed an accurate census of the number of galaxies..

Over the last week, ever since the announcement by the Indian Army on that it had carried out crossborder attacks on terrorist camps across the Line of Control on September 28, the term “surgical strikes” has dominated prime-time debates, social media chatter and..

A SMALL PLUG TO STORE A LIFETIME OF DATA

CHINA FUNDING PAKISTAN'S EMERGENCE AS A LOGISTICAL HUB

NextDrive, a Taiwanese startup is making the waves for inventing a small plug type data storage device that can store 24 terabytes of data, and which need not be carried around, as it can receive and send backup data through..

The development of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor has spurred debate in all quarters. Some perceive it as a form of neocolonialism, criticising Pakistan’s government for promoting unethical business practices at..

HOW TO LOWER STRESS AND INFLAMMATION BY YOGA BREATHING

SNAPS FROM THE SKIES: GEOMETRICAL BEAUTY CAPTURED BY DRONES

Marlynn Wei, MD, JD, a boardcertified Harvard and Yale-trained psychiatrist and therapist in New York City, and author of the upcoming book 'The Harvard Medical School Guide to..

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The word 'drone' is often mistaken as a straitjacketed term exclusively used for military operations. But, its growing relevance in the field of science, sport, entertainment and cinema have enabled people to..

DR. HARSH VARDHAN

Face of Science in Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cabinet When everyone speaks about development in India, the domains that get automatic attention are economics, finance, and business. No wonder then that next to politicians and bureaucrats, the experts who seemingly gets to call the shots are economists, financial wizards, management gurus, legal experts, and the like. But is this how a nation really progresses? To put it simply, no nation including India has so far progressed on such expertise alone, and no nation will do so in the future too. It is no coincidence that every top ranking nation by prosperity in the developed sphere is a de..

VITAMIN D TO MOTHERS MAY HELP REDUCE ADHD IN KIDS

CHINA'S STRUGGLES WITH ITS KIDS' GAMING ADDICTION

A recent research shows that children, whose mothers take Vitamin D during pregnancy with resultant high levels of the vitamin in the umbilical blood, have fewer symptoms of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)..

Children in China could be banned from playing online games after midnight under a new rule designed to combat internet addiction amid rising concerns over mushrooming military style..

WHY JAPANESE HOMES ARE INVESTING HEAVILY IN RUPEE BONDS

IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE ESSENTIALLY AN 'UNINDIAN' CONCEPT?

Looking for fat profits, Japanese households are betting big on the rupee. The number of rupee-linked bonds bought by Japanese..

IS RBI STARTING TO GO SLOW ON INFLATION? In the October 4 monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of India in a press conference said it believes the neutral real rate for India has dipped to 125 basis points (1.25 percent) from 150-200 bps that it maintained until recently. Does this mean the Reserve Bank has eased the intensity of its fight..

WHY ONLY 1% OF INDIANS PAY INCOME TAX Nirmalya Kumar, visiting professor at London Business School, and distinguished Fellow at INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, explores the roots of this anomaly, and finds it in a crisis of trust.

People take a lot more work home now, and they also bring a lot more of their personal lives to work. But what about those breadwinners who are left with no option but to commute for long distances (not to mention endure..

FUTURE NAVIGATION MODEL USES WIFI AND CELLULAR DATA, RATHER THAN GPS Global Positioning System (GPS) is a very important tool that helps millions of smartphone users reach their final destination without..

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SOCIETY

China's Struggles with its Kids' Gaming Addiction Children in China could be banned from playing online games after midnight under a new rule designed to combat internet addiction amid rising concerns over mushrooming military style "boot camps" treatment centres.

he rules, released by the Cyberspace Administration of China last week, also call on schools to work with "institutions" to help rehabili tate young internet addicts, raising concerns about the risks to children at "boot camp" treatment centres.

If the regulations go into effect, web game developers would have to block minors from playing online games from midnight to 8 am, Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported. Anybody under the age of 18 would also have to register for the games with their identity cards and the information would be stored on the game operator's servers. The games should be designed to deter young people from becoming addicted and software developed to detect underSEASONAL MAGAZINE

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age users. The draft rules are open to public feedback until the end of the month, the report said. The regulations are the latest official effort to stop young people from spending too much time on online games. Last month a 16-year-old girl from northern China killed her mother because she was angered by the harsh treatment she received when she was sent to an internet addiction treatment centre. The girl said she had been beaten and ill-treated at the "boot camp" in

If the regulations go into effect, web game developers would have to block minors from playing online games from midnight to 8 am, Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

Shandong province where she spent four months earlier this year. According to the China Internet Network Information Centre, 23 per cent of China's internet users were aged below 19, as of June 2016, with the total number of internet users stated to be 750 million. Military-style "boot camps" promoting themselves as treatment centres for internet addiction have flourished in China. Some reportedly use extreme methods such as electric shocks and other physical punishment to wean clients off online games.

Lawyer Wang Qiushi said he feared the regulations would lead to more of the boot camps. "This is a disaster for Chinese teenagers," Wang said. "More such boot camps might emerge after the passage of this regulation. It will encourage more people to get into the 'business'," Yue Xiaodong, a City University of Hong Kong psychologist who has studied internet addiction in China, said the problem used to be a serious social issue but was waning. Now the smartphone is replacing computers as the new cause of addiction. If the 'no gaming after midnight' rule comes into effect, it might affect the industry, Su Jun, a Shanghai-based senior web game developer, said the proposed regulations could make a slight dent in gaming companies' revenue.

KARNATAKA: Malleshwaram 23441738, 737 & 637 I Jayanagar 26538140, 26536899 I Bommanahalli 25733020 I K R Puram 25615151 I Yelahanka 28460443 I Whitefield 22716595 I Kengeri 28488155 I Nelamangala 27722020 I Mysuru 2500797, 2512482 I Hubballi 2358564, 2257029 I TELANGANA Abids 24753183, 7784, 63777 I Kukkatapally 23057163, 23057263 I Secundrabad, 27712993, 27712994 I Warangal 2448787, 2458787 I ANDHRA PRADESH Vijayawada 2482587, 72587 & 88 Vizag 2525259, 2737629 I Tirupathi 2244601, 2240950 I Kurnool 278180, 228180 I Nellore 2335855, 2335856 I Rajamundry 2430717, 2475717 I Anantapuram 244173 I Guntur 2222587 I Kakinada 2342555 I TAMIL NADU Chennai 24349364, 24354453 I Coimbatore 2470438, 2470017 I Kumbakonam 2402280, 2423480 I Trichy 2760208 2760209 I Madurai 2530229 2530299 I Nagercoil 276900, 277111 I Dindigul 2441445, 9025511445 I Erode 2255664, 2255661 I Chidambaram 222202 I Villupuram 229666, 229667 I Karaikudi 230229 I KERALA Cochin 2375051 I Calicut 4044033 I Palghat I UTTAR PRADESH Noida 2455203, 2455201-2 I MAHARASHTRA Malad 28803278, 28803273 I Pune 24430535, 24430536 I Chinchwad 20275539, 65112393 I Nasik 2469629, 2469639 I Page 11

NEWS IN BRIEF INDIAN DESIGNER RITU KUMAR EXPANDS WITH TWO NEW STORES IN DUBAI Indian fashion designer Ritu Kumar announced the launch of two new stores in Dubai. Located in Dubai Festival City mall and Bur Juman center, the stores will carry each of the sub brands from Ritu Kumar – the pret line Label, classically elegant Ritu Kumar and the opulent & exquisite bridal wear by Ri Ritu Kumar. Spread over 1600 sq ft in Duba Festival City Mall with a triple height shop-front and over 1900 sq ft in BurJuman centre, the interiors of the new stores represent Ms Kumar’s detailing and timeless craft. Speaking about the launch, Amrish Kumar, CEO, Ritu Kumar said, “The market in Dubai is a mix of cosmopolitan as well as traditional significances with a strong cultural diversity.

BENTLEY GETS A KOREAN MAKEOVER After securing a special spot in the hearts of the likes of David Beckham, Robert Downey Jr, and even the Queen of England, Bentley's custom division, Mulliner, forays into South East AsiaSouth Korea-with two special editions of the Flying Spur. While we celebrate these special South Korean editions, here's a look at a few other masterpieces by Bentley Mulliner. South Korea is known for its classic ceramics and the Red Devils football team; and these

limited edition versions of the Flying Spur are reflections of these cultural nuances. The special editions are created by the brand's design head, Sang Yup Lee, in association with the country's GQ magazine head, Lee Choong Keol. On its exterior, one of the editions sports dual coloursmagnetic onyx with burnt oakcomplemented by saddle-hide interiors. The second one, on the other hand, flaunts the South Korean white and blue ceramic colours.

MONTEGRAPPA UNVEILS 'THE BEAUTY BOOK' COLLECTION Born of awareness during previous projects, Montegrappa is now collaborating in support of efforts to eradicate brain cancer, in conjunction with The Beauty Book. The Beauty Book is a 312-page hardcover coffeetable book filled with images of celebrities, musicians and top models, taken by the famed photographer Darren Tieste. All the monies raised will go directly to Brain Cancer via two charities: SNOG and HEADRUSH. In support of this cause, Montegrappa has developed writing instruments for both men and women. Both are made of celluloid, employing new colours. Both series will be available as

TOD'S AND TATTOO ARTIST SAIRA HUNJAN COLLABORATE FOR ONE-OF-A-KIND BAG Who thought about tattoos on a bag? Tod’s takes the lead by collaborating with London-based tattoo artist Saira Hunjan. A limited edition piece with which Tod’s celebrates the timeless elegance of the double T, a hallmark of the brand, this project marries creativity with leather, craftsmanship with the hand. The elaborate strokes by Ms Hunjan find a perfect symmetry with Tod’s. The Tattoo Bag was premiered during London Fashion Week to celebrate the opening of the new Tod’s flagship boutique in Old Bond Street. The special limited edition Double T collection featuring tattoo inspired lions by Ms Hunjan will be available in Tod’s boutiques worldwide from December 2016 and are available to pre-order on tods.com. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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fountain pens and rollerballs. All pens feature solid sterling silver trims, while the fountain pens’ nibs are 18k gold; the latter all use ebonite feeders and will be offered in three writing grades of fine, medium and broad.

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NEWS IN BRIEF AKHILESH'S 'VIKAS RATH YATRA' IS 'BANKRUPT YATRA': MAYAWATI BSP supremo Mayawati on Friday termed Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘vikas rath yatra’ as “bankrupt yatra”. Had Samajwadi Party (SP) “really worked” for people’s welfare, it “would not have needed to take out the yatra with massive government expenditure”, she added. Akhilesh's luxury rath worth crores of rupees made the rath yatra bankrupt at the very start, she said.

ALL STATE-OWNED HOSPITALS TO BE AIR-CONDITIONED: The Delhi government has announced that it is working on a plan to make all state-owned hospitals air-conditioned and there will be no special VIP wards for any minister or dignitaries. “Now, we are in the process of doubling the capacity of our hospitals from 10,000 beds to 20,000,” said Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.

CHINA DOESN’T OPPOSE INDIA’S ENTRY INTO NSG: CHINESE ENVOY

Consul General of China Zhanwu Ma has rejected the claims that China is opposed to India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), stating both the nations are working on this matter. “China is very friendly towards India. Some people don't seem to believe so. Of course, we have differences. But the shared interests outweigh the differences,” Ma said.

CORPORATE SECTOR, NGOS' INVOLVEMENT SOUGHT IN HEALTHCARE

Health Minister JP Nadda on Friday sought corporate sector and NGOs’ involvement to make healthcare services available for people across the country. “The provision of healthcare, though primarily the responsibility of the government, cannot be undertaken by the government alone," Nadda said. The minister said that while presenting the National Oral Healthcare Sushruta Awards at Mumbai.

LECTURE SERIES ON TV TO HELP STUDENTS CLEAR IIT ENTRANCE Starting January 1, a lecture series called "IIT Pal" will be telecast on a national television channel by the government, to help students who cannot afford coaching classes clear the IIT entrance exam. About 80% of the teachers recording the lectures are from IIT Delhi. There would be 200 lectures each on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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IN NEXT WAR, INDIA SHOULD DIVIDE PAK INTO 4 NATIONS: SWAMY BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has said that if India goes to war with Pakistan again, it should divide Pakistan into at least four nations. “All that Pakistan will be left with is west Punjab,” he added. He further said that Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif will soon be replaced by a dummy Prime Minister appointed by the Pakistani Army.

MALDA POLICE TO USE DRONES TO CHECK ILLEGAL POPPY FARMING

The Police in West Bengal's Malda district will use drones to track illegal poppy cultivation in the blocks close to the IndiaBangladesh International Border, a senior district police officer has said. “We have been trying to stop illegal poppy cultivation through our excise and district administration arms, but so far there has been no remarkable progress," the official added.

NEWS IN BRIEF NANO INVESTMENTS SIGNIFICANTLY WRITTEN OFF: TATA MOTORS After ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry blamed Nano for bleeding Tata Motors, the company said it has significantly written off development cost and investments related to the car. It is refocusing its strategy on “growing and attractive segments” of passenger vehicles market, Tata Motors added. Earlier, Mistry said Tata was unable to shut down the lossmaking Nano due to “emotional reasons”.

WARNER DISMISSED AFTER STRUCK BY 'COMMENTATOR'S CURSE' David Warner was batting on 97 in the ongoing Test against South Africa when he was dismissed after being struck by 'commentator's curse'. Commentator Mark Nicholas, while praising Warner, said the batsman was going to score a century as he was never dismissed in the 90s in Test matches. Warner nicked the next delivery from Steyn to the first slip.

SELF-DRIVING CARS WON’T WORK IN INDIA: MARUTI CHAIRMAN

COMPANY USES SCRAP TYRES TO MAKE PLAYGROUNDS FOR POOR KIDS

Anthill Creations, a company founded by IIT graduates, uses scrap tyres as construction material to build playgrounds for underprivileged children in Bengaluru. As per cofounder Souradeep, building a playground usually costs approximately Rs 2 lakh, but with recycled tyres, playgrounds can be set up for Rs 20,000. The company built its first low-cost playground at IITKharagpur campus in 2014.

Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava in an interview said that self-driving cars won't work in India as “nobody obeys any of the driving rules”. He added, "How will you devise a technology that will predict customer behaviour? Nobody can predict customer behaviour". Bhargava. however, said that he'd love to see people put self-driving technology to use in Indian driving conditions.

VOLVO LAUNCHES S90 SEDAN IN INDIA AT ?53.5 LAKH Swedish car manufacturer Volvo today launched its flagship sedan S90 in India at a starting price of Rs 53.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai). Powered by a 2-litre diesel engine, it generates 190PS of power and has a top speed of 230 kmph. The Volvo S90 will compete against the likes of Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E Class and Jaguar XF.

TATA SONS UNVEILS NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM AFTER MISTRY'S EXIT Tata Sons on Friday announced a new management team for the group, after it removed Cyrus Mistry as Chairman and disbanded his advisory council. The new team has five executives, including two former Mistry advisors, a statement read. The team members are Mukund Rajan, Harish Bhat, S Padmanabhan, Sanjay Singh, and Gopichand Katragadda.

UNFAIR TO EVEN COMPARE ROOT WITH KOHLI: PIETERSEN Former English cricketer, Kevin Pietersen claims that it is unfair to even compare Indian Test captain Virat Kohli and English top-order batsman Joe Root, since the former is statistically ahead of the Yorkshire man. Speaking about Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Pietersen said, "Ashwin is a good bowler. He uses his variations very well, especially the way he approaches the crease". SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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NEWS IN BRIEF GOVT TO FURTHER IMPORT 1.7 LAKH TONNES OF PULSES The government approved further import of 1.70 lakh tonnes of masoor and tur dal for buffer stock to boost domestic supplies and keep prices in check. Further, cooperatives NCCF and NAFED have been asked to sell tur and urad dal through their outlets in cities other than Delhi at Rs105 per kg and Rs 120 per kg respectively.

ONGC TO INVEST ?34K CR IN 2 DEEPWATER OIL BLOCKS State-run ONGC Ltd will invest nearly ?34,000 crore in four years to develop two east coast deepwater blocks, the company said in a tweet on recently. These fields are expected to produce around 77,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 16.29 million metric standard cubic metres of gas per day by 202122, the company had said earlier.

SOCIAL MEDIA BEING MONITORED FOR HATE CONTENT As per reports, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and other agencies are monitoring the social media for hate content, rumours and morphed videos to check reactions after Indian Army's mission along the LoC. Claiming that the ATS is deleting jihadi videos, an official said, "Citizens are being alerted through WhatsApp that they should not forward any rumours text without confirmation."

LUPIN GETS US FDA NOD FOR GENERIC ALZHEIMER'S DRUG Mumbai-based drugmaker Lupin said it has received an approval from US health regulator Food and Drug Association (FDA) to market its generic drug used in treating the Alzheimer’s disease. The company’s product is a generic version of Allergan’s Namenda XR capsules, whose sales in the US accounted for $1.22 billion in the year ended June.

TOYOTA DROPS DIESEL ENGINE FROM NEW MODEL OVER 'DIESELGATE' Japanese automaker Toyota announced on Thursday that it will not offer a diesel variant of its new C-HR compact model following Volkswagen's emissions scandal. The company's Executive Vice President said that demand for diesel engines has fallen sharply over the past 6-12 months. He added that Toyota is likely to drop diesel variants from future renewals of its models also.

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TIRUPATI AIRPORT NAMED MOST TOURIST FRIENDLY AIRPORT The Tirupati Airport in Renigunta has been given the 'Best Tourist Friendly Airport' award under the category of 'State Annual Excellence Awards (201516)' by Andhra Pradesh Tourism. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu presented the award on the eve of World Tourism Day The state tourism awards are awarded for maintaining friendly relations with passengers.

NO DISCOUNTS ON NEW TESLA CARS: MUSK TO STAFF Electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk in an email has directed employees to follow the company's no negotiation and no discount policy on new cars, after a Twitter user raised concerns. Musk responded on Twitter saying, "Am tracking this down...There are zero discounts even for family." Musk also apologised to his employees for the "draconian language" in the email.

NEWS IN BRIEF OBAMA LIGHTS FIRST-EVER DIYA IN OVAL OFFICE ON DIWALI In a first, US President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali by lighting a diya in the Oval Office of the White House, hoping his successors would continue the tradition. “I was proud to be the first President to host a Diwali celebration at the White House in 2009...will never forget how the people of India welcomed us,” he stated.

INDIA CAN PRODUCE 492 NUCLEAR BOMBS: PAK THINK-TANK A research by Pakistan-based Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) has claimed that India has sufficient material and the technical capacity to produce between 356 and 492 nuclear bombs. According to researchers, India has the "largest and oldest unsafeguarded" nuclear programme in the developing world and among states which have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

GOVT RELEASES DRAFT RULES FOR REGISTRATION UNDER GST The government on Monday released draft rules for registration, payment, and invoices under the Goods and Services Tax regime which will be finalised by the GST Council on September 30. These guidelines provide for online registration by residents within three days of applying and aim to minimise the physical interface between taxpayers and the authorities to check corruption and harassment.

GOVT BANS VISITORS FROM TAKING PHOTOS OF PARLIAMENT The government has ordered the prohibition of photography and shooting of videos in the Parliament House complex by visitors, officers and staff of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, and allied agencies. The order is part of the "strategic security arrangements", said Yogesh Deshmukh, Joint Secretary (Security), Parliament House.

INDIA INKS PACT FOR EXPLORING MINERALS IN INDIAN OCEAN

India on Monday signed a 15-year contract with the International Seabed Authority, that will give New Delhi the exclusive exploration rights of polymetallic sulphides (PMS) in the Indian Ocean. This will enhance India’s presence in the region where countries like China, Korea, and Germany are active, a statement read. PMS have attracted attention for their long-term commercial and strategic value.

INDIA DONATES 98 LAKH TO FIGHT RACISM IN SOUTH AFRICA India has donated 20 lakh rands (around 98 lakh) to Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in South Africa to fight racial incidents in the country. This comes after reports suggesting that racial incidents still occur in South Africa 22 years after apartheid had ended. Notably, the fund is named after a freedom fighter and aide of former South African President Nelson Mandela.

62 CR KIDS, MOSTLY INDIAN, BREATHE TOXIC AIR IN SOUTH ASIA Out of the 200 crore children breathing unhealthy air in the world, 62 crore are from South Asia—mostly northern India, as per a UNICEF report. South Asia is followed by Africa and East Asia. Around 6 lakh children younger than five across the world are dying every year from air pollution-related diseases, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake stated. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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NEWS IN BRIEF ESSENTIA ENVIRONMENTS LAUNCHES THEIR NEW COLLECTION OF LAMPS AND CHANDELIERS Luxury living and designing company, Essentia Environments, is presenting an exquisite gamut of chic and stylish Lamps and Chandeliers which aim to augment your interiors. The Lamps and Chandeliers are contemporary with sleek detailing. Available in colors of black, copper and gold, these light fixtures ooze elegance. The caged lamp, for example, is welded in a shaped of a chandelier, PVDed in champagne gold finish. The illumination is caused by a cluster of 15 bulbs stemming from the central rod. Also spectacular is the bunch of illuminating sticks tied together, bringing a casual but contemporary vibe to the space. Starting from INR 1,50,000, visit Essentia Environments website to see the rest of the collection.

ISRAEL PAYS TURKEY $20MN DAMAGES FOR KILLING ACTIVISTS

LOUIS VUITTON TICKS AHEAD WITH THE ESCALE TIME ZONE TABLE CLOCK This steel and Rosewood timepiece allows to view the time in all 24 time zones in a new and intuitive manner. The dial of the Escale Time Zone timepieces sports the colourful geometrical designs that have been used by Louis Vuitton’s customers to personalise their trunk. Bands of colour, crests, initials and geometrical shapes are applied to the dial using an artisanal craft technique. Paint contained in a pattern plate is transferred by hand onto the dial using a silicon-coated rubber stamp, colour after colour. This guarantees precise markings suited to all kinds of shapes and graphics. In the centre of the sapphire crystal, a subtly striped disc bearing the inscription ‘Time Zone’ evokes the shape of a stylised globe. Against this backdrop, a delicate minutes hand stands out, along with a small triangle-shaped hand showing the local time.

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CNG PRICE REDUCED BY RS.1.40, PIPED GAS BY RS.1

The price of compressed natural gas (CNG) in Delhi was on Sunday cut by Rs1.40 per kg and the new consumer price is now at Rs 35.45/kg. This follows the government's notification for reducing the prices of domestically produced natural gas. The price of domestic piped natural gas (PNG) was also reduced by Rs 1 per standard cubic metre to Rs 23/scm.

BSF JAWAN MARTYRED IN TERRORIST ATTACK ON ARMY CAMP IN J&K

One BSF jawan was martyred while another was injured when terrorists attacked an army camp in Kashmir's Baramulla district on Sunday. The terrorists were believed to have entered the establishment through the adjacent BSF camp but weren't able to breach the 46 Rashtriya Rifles camp. Indian Army's Northern Command tweeted that the situation at Baramulla was contained and under control.

Israel has paid $20 million compensation to Turkey for the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, in which Israeli commandos killed ten Turkish activists on a ship which was going to deliver aid to Gaza. The compensation was part of the recently signed reconciliation agreement between the countries which will restore the diplomatic ties that broke following the incident six years ago.

NEWS IN BRIEF FLASH MOB ON RUNWAY OPENS 'DOLCE & GABBANA' SHOW

LED SKIRT LIGHTS UP AS PER ACTUAL STAR CHART

The Spring-Summer 2017 showcase of Italian fashion house 'Dolce & Gabbana' at Milan Fashion Week started and ended with a flash-mob style dance on the runway. The label announced, "The starting point is no longer the outfit itself. It's the desire to tell our story." Outfits that featured ice cream, floral and pizza prints were part of the collection.

American online retailer 'ThinkGeek' has created a skirt called the 'Twinkling Stars Skirt', which consists of over 250 LED lights that twinkle based on an actual star chart. The blue skirt has three layers comprising a white liner, a gauze layer and a seethrough constellation layer. The skirt has been priced at $59.99.

ISRO HAS LAUNCHED 74 FOREIGN SATELLITES SO FAR Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 74 foreign satellites from 20 countries till date, according to ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation. In August, Antrix said it has bagged orders for the launch of 68 more foreign satellites. Notably, India's rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will launch five more foreign satellites on Monday, in ISRO's longest mission so far.

TOYOTA DEVELOPS DNA ANALYSIS TOOL TO BOOST AGRICULTURE Japanese automaker Toyota announced it has developed a new DNA analysis technology that can simplify the process of identifying and selecting useful genetic information to increase agricultural productivity. Genotyping by the Random Amplicon Sequencing (GRAS) method can help analyse DNA in about one-tenth the time needed, and at one-third the cost of conventional techniques, the company claimed.

NASA'S HUBBLE CAPTURES 'DEATH' OF SUN-LIKE STAR NASA's Hubble space telescope has captured the 'death' of a Sun-like star, about 4,000 light-years from Earth. The image shows 'NGC 2440' ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, forming a cocoon around the star's remaining core. With surface temperatures reaching over 2,00,000ยบC, the star shed its mass episodically.

FRENCH PILOT 1ST WOMAN TO COMPETE IN RED BULL AIR RACE France's Melanie Astles became the first ever female pilot to participate in Red Bull Air Race, an extremesport air racing competition. The competitors fly high-performance aerobatic planes at speeds of 370 km/h, navigating through 25-metre-high light-cloth, air-filled guiding towers. "I'm very calm in the plane and you can't be frightened, you don't have time for that," said the 34-year-old.

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NEWS IN BRIEF NVIDIA'S SELF-DRIVING AI LEARNS BY WATCHING HUMANS Chipmaker Nvidia has demonstrated an AI-based self-driving system that learns by observing human drivers. Nvidia claims the system can drive on any type of road as it learns by observing how humans drive in a specific situation. Dubbed 'BB-8', the program uses 'deep neural networks' to successfully navigate an obstacle course containing simulated construction zones and narrow country side roads.

NEW DEVICE CLAIMS TO DETECT BACTERIA IN WATER IN 1 HR Toronto-based startup Glacierclean has created a device which they claim can detect the presence of E. Coli bacteria in water within one hour. The system, which costs $2-3 per test, is based on a 'hydrogel matrix' which is inserted into water samples, and changes colour if the sample is infected. Traditional bacteria testing methods usually take up to 48 hours.

TERRORISTS ATTACK NEAR ARMY CAMP IN J&K Terrorists on Sunday attacked near the 46 Rashtriya Rifles army camp in the Baramulla town in north Kashmir. Adding that the terrorists tried to enter the camp through a public park nearby, reports said they have not breached the camp. "Colleagues in Baramulla town are phoning with reports of massive gunfire in their vicinity", former J&K CM Omar Abdullah tweeted.

INHALER THAT MAKES LUNGS POLLUTION-RESISTANT MADE German scientists have developed an inhaler which they claim can make lungs resistant to air pollution. The inhaler is based on ectoine, a naturallyoccurring organic compound commonly found in bacteria in the Egyptian desert. Ectoine reportedly creates a stabilising protection layer on the lung cells' surface, reducing inflammation and preventing further damage.

1ST MAN-MADE OBJECT TO GO TO SPACE WAS CREATED BY NAZIS The Nazis created the V-2 rocket, which became the first man-made object to go to space after a successful test launch, 74 years ago on October 3, 1942. The rocket, created to be used in strikes during WWII, travelled 190 kilometres during the test launch. Notably, due to Nazi atrocities, more people died manufacturing it than were killed by it.

RADIOACTIVE ROCKS FOUND IN 11 AUSTRIAN SCHOOLS A school in Austria's Salzburg was evacuated after an anti-nuclear activist delivering a lecture accidently discovered a radioactive uranium rock on display. The activist said people in the school have been exposed to 75 times more radiation than normal. Inspection of other schools in the area led to the discovery of 38 radioactive rocks in 11 other schools, officials said. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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3D-PRINTED FISH FOSSIL MAY UNVEIL HUMAN TEETH ORIGIN Australian researchers have created 3D prints of a 400 million-year-old fish fossil, which they claim may reveal the evolutionary origins of human teeth. High-resolution CT scans were used to study tissue structures of tooth-like denticles in the fossil's jaws. This helped scientists to study how and when teeth, a characteristic feature of animals with jaws, had originated in prehistoric times.

NEWS IN BRIEF DRUG ADDICTS SHOULD BE SHOT DEAD: CHECHNYA LEADER The Chechen Republic's leader Ramzan Kadyrov suggested that drug addicts should be "shot dead" after a sharp increase in the rate of trafficrelated deaths caused by drug intoxication. Kadyrov said it did not matter if the use of lethal force is against the law. Drug abuse in Chechnya had increased after the government imposed restrictions on the sale of alcohol.

50 ANTI-GOVT PROTESTORS DEAD IN STAMPEDE IN ETHIOPIA Over 50 people have reportedly died in Africa's Ethiopia on Sunday during a stampede that started when police fired teargas and warning shots causing panic among anti-government protestors at a religious festival. The Ethiopian government has not confirmed the death toll but said "lives were lost" and "[t]hose responsible will face justice".

WILD ANIMALS COUNT COULD FALL 67% FROM 1970-2020: STUDY The number of wild animals across the world could fall by 67% in the fifty years to 2020, according to a study by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It attributed the fall in animal numbers to the destruction of forested areas and pollution. WWF researchers reportedly monitored the changing presence of 14,152 populations of the 3,706 vertebrate species to draw conclusions.

WHITE HOUSE STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL BEGINS The third annual White House Student Film Festival began. The theme this year is 'The World I Want To Live In.' The White House said it received thousands of nominations, including documentaries and animations. The films selected as the finalists will be screened at the South by South Lawn festival.

NATURALLY OCCURRING 'ANTIAGEING' COMPOUND FOUND US-based scientists claim to have discovered a natural compound found in cabbage, broccoli and cucumber that produces 'anti-ageing effects'. Initial tests of the compound 'NMN' on elderly mice showed boosted levels of 'NAD', which is a compound involved in energy-production in the body. This enhanced physical activity, bone density and improved muscles, immune system, liver and eyesight.

SHASTRI FIRST TO ORDER USE OF WATER JETS TO DISPERSE CROWDS India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first person to order the use of water jets to disperse crowds instead of using lathi charge and firing. Shastri, who gave the slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan", gave this order while he was Minister of Police in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, October 2 this year marks Shastri's 112th birth anniversary.

7-YEAR-OLD FROM ALEPPO TWEETS ABOUT WAR IN SYRIA Seven-year-old Bana Alabed from Aleppo tweets to tell people about the war in Syria. Bana, who tweets with her mother's help, has posted a video of herself praying for the war to end. She has tweeted, "Good afternoon from Aleppo I'm reading to forget the war," and "This is my friend house bombed, she's killed. I miss her so much." SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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HEALTH

8 GLASSES OF WATER MAY END UP HARMING YOU! Researchers from Monash University in Victoria, Australia have found a mechanism that regulates fluid intake in the human body and stops us from over-drinking.

VITAMIN D TO MOTHERS MAY HELP REDUCE ADHD IN KIDS recent research shows that children, whose mothers take Vitamin D during pregnancy with resultant high levels of the vitamin in the umbilical blood, have fewer symptoms of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) till the age of two and a half years. Lead researcher Niels Bilenberg explained, “for every 10 nmol/ L increase in the Vitamin D concentration in umbilical blood, the risk of a being among the 10 percent highest score on the ADHD symptom scale fell by 11 percent.” 1,233 children from Odense Municipality were monitored in the study. Vitamin D was measured in umbilical blood and mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) of their children below two and a half years. The CBCL questionnaire can be used to identify early symptoms of ADHD, even though an ADHD diagnosis cannot be made at that age.

he findings showed that excess of water in the body can cause water intoxication or hyponatremia — a condition that occurs when vital levels of sodium in the blood become abnormally low. The condition can potentially give rise to symptoms ranging from lethargy and nausea to convulsions and coma. The study revealed that a ‘swallowing inhibition’ is activated by the brain after excess liquid is consumed, helping maintain tightly calibrated volumes of water in the body.

“We were very surprised that the link was so clear as there was no previous awareness that this link could be identified at such an early age. It’s impossible to say with which children will develop ADHD later on, but it will be interesting to further follow up those children who were at the highest end versus the normal range of the ADHD scale,” said the researcher.

“If we just do what our body demands us to we’ll probably get it right – just drink according to thirst rather than an elaborate schedule,” said Michael Farrell, Associate Professor at Monash University.

The study, however, offers no explanation as to how Vitamin D can protect against ADHD. But other studies have shown that Vitamin D plays an important role in the early development of the brain.

For the study, the team asked participants to rate the amount of effort required to swallow water under two conditions: following exercise when they were thirsty and later after they were persuaded to drink an excess amount of water. The results showed a three-fold increase in effort after over-drinking.

“We had an idea about it, but we cannot say with certainty that Vitamin D protects against early symptoms of ADHD. Our study only indicates that there is a link that we cannot explain in any other way,” said Aby. The study was published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

Further, the team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and found that the right prefrontal areas of the brain were much more active when participants were trying to swallow with much effort. “We found effort-full swallowing after drinking excess water which meant they were having to overcome some sort of resistance, as the swallowing reflex becomes inhibited once enough water has been drunk,” Farrell said. The study was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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“And the trend was clear: those mothers who had taken Vitamin D, and had a vitamin D level (25OHD) in their umbilical blood over 25 nmol/L, had children with lower ADHD scores,” said Bilenberg. He added, “This was after we had corrected for other factors that could explain the link, such as the mother’s age, smoking, alcohol, obesity, education, number of children, psychiatric disease in the parents, child’s sex, age and seasonal variation.” The link between Vitamin D and early ADHD symptoms has not been described before.

POLICY

IS RBI STARTING TO GO SLOW ON INFLATION?

IN THE OCTOBER 4 MONETARY POLICY, THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA IN A PRESS CONFERENCE SAID IT BELIEVES THE NEUTRAL REAL RATE FOR INDIA HAS DIPPED TO 125 BASIS POINTS (1.25 PERCENT) FROM 150-200 BPS THAT IT MAINTAINED UNTIL RECENTLY. DOES THIS MEAN THE RESERVE BANK HAS EASED THE INTENSITY OF ITS FIGHT AGAINST INFLATION?

Urjit Patel or that, a deep dive is need into what are the real and neutral real rates.

Real rate If you deposit Rs 100 in a bank for a one-year term deposit and get 7 percent on it, the 7 percent figure is the nominal interest rate. Because in one year, prices may have risen 6 percent because of inflation. The real rate of return is the nominal rate minus one-year inflation. That is 1 percent.

Neutral real rate It is that interest rate at which the economy is operating at potential and inflation is at the target set by the Reserve Bank. In 2014, ICICI Securities studied some data that showed that the neutral rate for India is 1.6-1.8 percent. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) study of October 2015 also estimated that the neutral rate for India is between 1.6 and

1.8 percent but said that depending on the method of calculation it could wary between 0.6 and 3.1 percent. From January 2014 to August 2016, RBI officials maintained in their communication that the neutral real rate for India is 1.5 percent to 2 percent.

the economy is growing below potential and hence policy real rate has to be brought below neutral rate. It said that neutral rate itself has fallen to 1.25 percent from 1.5-2 percent.

Why is the neutral real rate important?

From the trends in 2014 to 2016, RBI merely said neutral rate has fallen globally. But the global neutral rate has been falling since the financial crisis of 2008 due to overcapacity, demog raphic, ageing, excess saving etc. This process is now troughing-out. If the RBI arbitrarily said that the neutral rate has fallen to 1.25 percent, can it lower it further to 1 percent and then to 0.75 percent to justify lower and lower policy rates? Separately, RBI has also dropped its goal to reach 4 percent inflation by 2018 citing amendments to RBI law. Hence the riddle is has the RBI lessened its attack on inflation?

Theoretically, if the economy is operating below potential, the policy rate should be below neutral rate. The low rates will help people borrow, consume and push up growth. On the other hand, if the economy is overheated and is operating to potential, and inflation is therefore higher than target, then RBI should keep the real policy rate above the neutral rate so that people borrow less, consume less and inflation falls. However, in the just concluded monetary policy, RBI did not argue that

What changed in October 2016?

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NEIGHBOURHOOD

“

We, as an industry, are shifting our focus from recognition to resolution. But that does not mean recognition is over. The final results come out of resolution. That is a positive thing. This kind of signalling has never happened in the history of corporate India

We’ve seen more change of management in the last 18-24 months, than in the history of the financial sector. Resolution takes some working through the system, but it is happening. In the past we’ve had very few stress assets funds which have turned around companies

” CHINA FUNDING PAKISTAN'S EMERGENCE AS A LOGISTICAL HUB CHANDA KOCHHAR, MD & CEO, ICICI BANK.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINA-PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR HAS SPURRED DEBATE IN ALL QUARTERS. SOME PERCEIVE IT AS A FORM OF NEO-COLONIALISM, CRITICISING PAKISTAN’S GOVERNMENT FOR PROMOTING UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES AT THE COST OF ORDINARY CITIZENS’ LIVELIHOODS. OTHERS SEE THE CPEC AS AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY FOR ECONOMIC REVIVAL WITH POTENTIAL FOR A NUMBER OF POSITIVE SPILLOVER EFFECTS INCLUDING STRONGER LOCAL INSTITUTIONS.

CPEC is a package of infrastructure projects worth $46 billion. About twothirds of this funding, $33 billion, is committed towards establishing energy and power projects in Pakistan. Ahmed Zulfiqar Siddiqui, a senior executive at China Power, says these projects will help alleviate the country’s chronic energy crisis which cost the nation 7% of its annual GDP last year.

“The Chinese have invested in power generation from coal and LNG as well as hydel, wind and solar power," Siddiqui said. "A new transmission line funded by them will carry electricity from new power generation units in Sindh to load centres in Punjab. Shanghai Electric, a sister company of China Power, has also expressed interest in acquiring a major stake in K-Electric, SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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which is the main provider of electric power to over 20 million people in Karachi. The Chinese are therefore covering the entire power sector value chain – from fuel extraction (mining) to end-user distribution.” Improved energy supply could enable Pakistan to boost its flagging indigenous industries such as textiles, agriculture and manufacturing, increase exports and ultimately lead to sustained economic growth in the long term. A Deloitte study predicts that if everything goes according to the plan, the combined value of CPEC’s infrastructure projects would be equivalent to 17% of Pakistan’s GDP in 2015. Moreover, the project is expected to create at least 7,00,000 direct jobs and serve as a

”

SHIKHA SHARMA MD & CEO AXIS BANK

springboard for the development of industries such as retail, tourism, hospitality, health and education. The expansion of these industries could potentially lead to synergies among various downstream sectors with benefits accruing to the larger population. But Siddiqui stresses the need for policies to ensure involvement of local unskilled labour and small contractors since the mega-construction projects will predominantly be executed by Chinese labour. He also highlights the need to protect established local industries against price competition from China since local firms may not be able to compete with cheaper Chinese industries. The CPEC project may also benefit the real-estate industry along the trade route. In Gawadar, property prices have more than doubled in recent months due to demand for housing. Atif Alam, owner of RB Associates, a real estate agency which deals in property across the country, believes that demand for quality housing and recreation facilities will skyrocket as more Chinese expats move to Pakistan and infrastructure development enables access to previously isolated areas of natural beauty or historic significance. CPEC could catalyse Pakistan’s gradual shift from an agrarian economy to a logistics hub for the transport of goods from China to emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa and vice versa. With the development of emerging market economies, demand and supply have started to shift to the South. China has already surpassed the United States as Dubai’s largest trading partner and imports more oil than any other

“

If we believe in 7.6 per cent growth, it can’t happen without core sector growth. It’s more about the cash flows of the affected sectors than the sectors being bad. With dispute resalution becoming important in the year of so, the issues in these sectors will be fixed

No new digital player is creating a new bank. All their offerings are on the top of the banking system. If he can make an offer, technology is nobody’s private domain. I can use technology equally. It will substantially change the cost revenue dynamics for the banks

”

ADITYA PURI, MD, HDFC BANK

nation in the world. Singapore is another major bilateral trade partner for China. Dubai and Singapore have both evolved into major transport hubs for both passengers and cargo, due largely to their strategic geographic locations, robust infrastructure and strong leadership, serving as gateways to emerging markets in Asia, Middle East, Africa and Western Europe. Today, these cities connect cultures and commodities, deriving most of their earnings from external trade, tourism, aviation, real estate and financial services. Pakistan is strategically positioned to follow this model. However, in order to ensure long-term

”

sustainability, it must avoid some of the common pitfalls of foreign development. Sabrin Aziz Beg, Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware focussing on Development Economics and Political Economy, views the CPEC as a “promising” arrangement that could mutually benefit both countries. But she emphasises the need for more rigorous research and documentation in order to evaluate whether the economic benefits of large-scale infrastructure projects outweigh the social and environmental costs in the long term. Beg cautions that “long-term investments in infrastructure projects in developing countries are subject to the whims of

ARUN TIWARI , CMD, UNION BANK OF INDIA

political leaders. This means we risk having unfinished projects; resources are already expended, but the expected benefit is not realised leaving the host country mired in debt.” Based on research in Ghana, she said: “a third of development projects that begin are never completed.” Greater transparency and accountability is required to minimize risk of corruption and ensure that the sanctioned funds are used for the intended projects. Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araujo, co-authors of China’s Silent Army: The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing’s Image, find that Chinese state-owned corporations employ many of the same exploitative business practices overseas as they do at home. Forms of exploitation include illegal natural resource extraction, environmental pollution, human rights abuses and perpetuation of an (already damaged) status quo for economic gains. While white-collar executives are wellcompensated and enjoy improved living standards, the disenfranchised factory workers, labourers and low-skilled workers have to deal with minimal wages, abysmal living and working conditions with little hope of breaking out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Pakistani society already harbours vast disparity between wealthy and poor citizens, promulgated by a culture of feudalism. A foreign investor not interested in increasing the well-being of the marginalised, is likely to further exploit their vulnerabilities without fear of reprisal. There is no technology transfer or skill development focus by Chinese projects so far. CPEC is currently an SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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“

DR. RAJIV B. LALL, MD& CEO , IDFC BANK

investment & employment opportunity for the Chinese rather than Pakistan, and the “P” is largely missing from CPEC. Compared to international best practices such as the IFC Performance Standards and the Equator Principles for sustainable development, developing countries’ environmental and social standards are relatively lax. Without third-party oversight to ensure that the project is environmentally and socially sustainable, and stricter monitoring and law enforcement, abuse of authority will be difficult to prevent. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has expressed concerns about the potential environmental impacts of CPEC projects but local authorities have yet to take concrete action. Yawar Herekar, a sustainability expert with experience at the World Bank suggests inserting environmental and social clauses into the contracts to minimise the projects’ negative impacts with independent agencies monitoring the projects at all stages to ensure compliance. Currently there is no substantial collaboration in policy reform.

”

PRAMIT JHAVERI, CEO, CITYBANK

a collaborative approach to adaptation planning is certainly the correct way forward, policy makers from both countries appear to be going around in circles when it comes to addressing the root of the problem. “Sacrificing Pakistan’s welfare to mitigate climate change is not so simple an equation,"said Agha Ali Akram, an environmental economist and Visiting Fellow at Yale University. "Countries like Pakistan that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change need to think about adaptation options rather than focusing on mitigation efforts.” In order to incorporate environmental and social costs into the decision-making process, Akram recommends conducting a complete cost-benefit analysis that accounts for environmental and social costs that might not necessarily be captured in market transactions. For example, he said, “When we build a highway – we must account for not only direct pecuniary

Regulations have changed dramatically in the recent past and are allowing new entrants. But there is enoung regulations protecting the banking industry. Regulations are not simply going to make it into an open arena that everyone can come and do what they want

”

costs [such as building and maintenance] but also costs to the environment in the form of damages.” Pakistan is standing on the cusp of economic revival. Strong leadership is required to steer the country through the path of sustainable development. It is the Pakistani authorities’ responsibility to ensure that worker’s rights are protected, environmental and social externalities accounted for and the affected parties duly compensated for damages. First and foremost, the government should prioritise investment in its own people and empower them through access to education, employment and equal opportunities to become active participants in the economy. Vocational training and Chinese language training will equip people with the basic skills required to establish businesses, participate in infrastructure development projects and use the CPEC to their own advantage.

The CPEC’s energy projects which include several coal fired power plants will also contribute to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Ironically, under the CPEC agreements, China and Pakistan have also signed a MOU to address global threats such as climate change.

Government-mandated audits of infrastructure projects by third-party international environmental accredi tation bodies such as the International Organisation of Standardisation or ASTM International could help prevent human and environmental exploitation. An overarching policy framework is urgently required to manage the progress of CPEC and ensure that the benefits of the CPEC trickle down to the masses and uplift the entire country as opposed to enriching a select few.

Earlier this year, Pakistan and China both experienced unprecedented rainfall which has been linked to climate change. The resultant flooding killed over 150 people in China and caused economic losses worth $3 billion. While

Ultimately, economic revival could reduce socio-economic inequities among ordinary citizens, create a more level playing field for all the provinces and stamp out extremism which feeds on poverty and unemployment.

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“

banks are not going to finance private sector Greenfield infra projects for some time and the government has to understand that until the soft infrastructure of dispute resolution and contractual infirmity is not resolved , you will not get adequate financing for project finance

Sabrin Aziz Beg

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TREND

Following the scent of more perfume sales There was a time when buying a bottle of tax-free perfume as a gift or personal indulgence was a standard part of a trip for many travellers. ut while sales of duty-free beauty products have been rising over all in recent years, the proportion spent on scent has declined. And even as the number of global travellers increases - it is expected to rise 3.1 per cent this year - terrorism and security concerns have cut sharply into arrivals in France and Turkey, countries traditionally found near the top of the most-visited lists, and economic and political turmoil has curbed what were rising numbers of outbound travellers from other countries, including Russia and Brazil. What's a fragrance brand or tax-free retailer to do? Many companies have decided to put more emphasis on those who continue to travel, tailoring their offerings to match the distinct tastes of on-the-move shoppers in specific regions. "We are living in a VUCA world," said Vincent Boinay, managing director of travel retailing at L'Oreal, whose portfolio of fragrance brands includes LancĂ´me, Viktor & Rolf and Giorgio Armani. The acronym he used borrowed by the business world from American military jargon - stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. And so, he continued, "one of the key rules in our business model is agility." That agility is needed to cope with the depressed duty-free fragrance market. In 2015, sales in the beauty category, which includes scent, makeup and skin care products, totalled $19.8 billion, with fragrance accounting for 43.6 per cent, according to Generation Research, a travel analytics company. But in 2014, the overall sales were $19.3 billion, with fragrance accounting for 48.7 per cent and, in 2013, $17.5 billion SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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and fragrance, 50.8 per cent. The decline in the percentage of fragrance sales, which can be attributed to factors including a decrease in disposable income in some countries, has been a wake-up call to businesses.

adapting more to the passenger mix at the airport." For example, Armani/Prive, one of the brands Boinay works with, created a fragrance last year with Chinese customers in mind. Called Pivoine Suzhou, it has a scent redolent of peony (pivoine, in French), a flower that is a Chinese symbol of wealth and happiness. The perfume's box is detailed with lines about the flower by Liu Yuxi, a Tang Dynasty poet, written in Chinese calligraphy.

"Fragrance companies have understood that one size doesn't fit all," said Peter Mohn, chief executive of m1nd-set, a Swiss-based research firm that focuses on travel retailing. "They really understand that they have to have a different portfolio that they offer in different regions of the world.

For the holiday season, a special eau de toilette edition, infused with specks of mother of pearl, is being distributed to duty-free destinations, especially those most popular with Chinese travellers. Similarly, Miracle, a floral scent by LancĂ´me, is being spotlighted in some duty-free stores that cater to the Chinese, while La Vie Est Belle, another LancĂ´me fragrance, with iris gourmand notes combined with patchouli, is being marketed more toward Europeans and Americans.

"Ten years ago that wasn't the case - they were mostly standardised," he continued. "Now companies are understanding more and more what travellers are looking for, so they're

But fragrance companies are not alone in focusing on Asia, the world's biggest duty-free market, with more than $25 billion spent there last year, according to Generation Research.

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COVER STORY

COCHIN SHIPYARD LTD

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defeat those who fight against me,” says hymn 1.8.3 of Rig Veda as well as INS Vikrant’s motto. On delivery, the 40000 tonne Vikrant will open the doors for India to join an elite technology club in defence. The country’s first indigenous Aircraft Carrier, Vikrant, is at phase-II of construction. There are only 37 active aircraft carriers in the world. Of course, that is not a very meaningful number, as 10 among them belong to a single nation - USA. That leaves only 27 in rest of the

Seasonal Magazine recently met Chairman & Managing Director of Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Madhu S Nair, at his office in CSL campus, Kochi, for this exclusive interview.

world. There are only 12 other nations in the globe possessing aircraft carriers. What is more, just four countries have ever been able to build an aircraft carrier on their own - USA, UK, France, & Russia. Vikrant has been launched into the waters in 2013, from Cochin Shipyard, where this 262 metre long monster was built. It is now waiting for final fitments at the shipyard, before going for sea trials and commissioning. Seasonal Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team was recently in this shipyard, meeting with its Chairman & Managing Director.

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postgraduate naval architect from Japan’s Osaka University, which is incidentally top-ranked for this niche subject, Madhu S Nair currently heads a nearly 2000-people strong team of ship designers, engineers, builders, managers, and support staff at Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL). A Category 1 Miniratna PSU under Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, the campus of the shipyard at Kochi, Kerala, will come across as generous at 170 acres. Getting into the campus is a bit of a hassle, thanks to the CISF manned security outpost, and it was so for us despite the reception being intimated by CMD’s office of our visit. But it should be so, we guess, as at stake here is the security of one of the largest greenfield ship building yards in India, and the invaluable assets it creates like the INS Vikrant. But once civilian staff of CSL took over our reception, everything went smooth right up to the CMD’s office.

emerged inside the country, thanks to the thrust on Make-in-India program and another one to indigenize defence equipment manufacture. Cochin Shipyard Ltd, which has exported around 50 ships worldwide, is also re-strategizing itself to address new emerging opportunities in European Union and elsewhere. Madhu Nair also informs that the shipyard is utilizing the current lull in international market to overhaul its systems and train its workmen in newer technologies to get ready for the next cyclical upturn in international shipping. The fact that CSL has performed well in even adverse market conditions bodes well for this strategy. For instance, during the past ten fiscals, CSL’s revenue has risen by over 5 times from Rs. 374 crores to Rs. 1995 crores now, and its net profit has soared by over 15 times from Rs. 18 crores to Rs. 275 crores now.

Madhu S Nair, CMD, has been a shipyard veteran for the past 28 years, and guided us towards the core business and expansion plans of the shipyard. While Cochin Shipyard Ltd has been steadily posting good financial results in recent years, Madhu Nair doesn’t hide the fact that not everything is gung-ho with the shipping industry, and in turn with CSL. Indeed, the world shipping industry has been battered out of shape in recent years post the 2008 financial meltdown, and the final straw was the rout in crude prices, which took away the appetite for even oil & gas vessels. Still, Cochin Shipyard Ltd has been able to achieve 17% growth in profits in financial year 2015-16. In fact, CSL has been a consistently profit-making shipyard in India. The secret behind this performance is that instead of cribbing about lost opportunities elsewhere, the CSL team has adapted itself to serve new opportunities that have

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Of our two two large expansion plans, first is building up a large new dry dock for Rs. 1800 crores, and then there is an integrated international ship repair facility where we will be spending close to Rs. 1000 crore.

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Cochin Shipyard is at such an age that we need to invest for the future.

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While CSL’s performance is excellent by Indian standards, those exposed to shipbuilding momentum in, say, a country like Korea or Japan, might remain unimpressed. For instance, at the world’s largest shipyard at Ulsan, Korea, run by Hyundai Heavy Industries, a typical new ship (costing $80 million or around Rs. 550 crore) is launched into water every four days! Compare it with India where it takes much longer to build large ships. We posed this seemingly damning question to Madhu Nair, and his comprehensive reply speaks enough about the maturities and capabilities that have been built

into Cochin Shipyard Ltd over the past 45 years of its existence. He is most bullish about Kochi turning into a maritime hub, and CSL is doing more than its part, by doing some heavy lifting for this objective, by undertaking to a build a larger third dry dock, and a new international ship repair facility, both to be part-funded by proceeds from its IPO, and the rest coming from CSL’s cash reserves. Indeed, it speaks of courage in these troubled times for shipping, just like how the aircraft carrier CSL built has been named ‘Vikrant’ by Indian Navy, meaning ‘courageous’ in Sanskrit. A naval architect by training, Madhu Nair is also a seasoned leader in marketing, and it shows in his in-depth knowledge of the European and Asian markets for ship building and ship repair. Before taking over as CMD, he was Chief General Manager (Business Development), at CSL.

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CSL has an excellent relationship with trade unions. You will be surprised to know that there has not been a single day of strike during the past thirty years by CSL’s own workers. This must be a record, especially given the perception about Kerala in this regard.

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Seasonal Magazine interviews Madhu S Nair, Chairman & Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard Ltd. or naval ship repairs. In ship building what would be the product range?

Your FY’16 net profit is up by 17%. To what do you attribute this performance, do you see this bettering in the next few years, even if sales growth remains in high single digits?

We can build practically any kind of vessel. But it also depends on what kind of vessels the market needs now. Over the past 10 years, we have been more focused on vessels for the oil & gas sector, but suddenly oil is down, and we are not expecting an upside from that sector, soon.

Yes, we have had a decent increase in net profit, even though the topline growth was only 7-8%. What according to you is the most important strength of CSL?

For operations like Cochin Shipyard, where the sizes of the individual orders are huge but the number of orders is few, consistency in performance is a challenge. How do you plan to address this as a listed company?

Instead of going for any specific kind of performance numbers, what we essentially do is irrespective of whether we are a listed company or a non-listed company, we always try to optimize our resources both in terms of our facilities as well as our human resources. We always try to push forward at the maximum of our capabilities. How we do that is by building up a strong order book position, by delivering the maximum within deadlines, and by continually refilling the order book. One good development is the Make-in-India program which is driving the Indian market. Defence has also become a good spot.

To what do you attribute this recent better performance? It is basically the product-mix which we have now, as well as tightening of internal controls. As you know, this is a bad market for shipping industry and in a bad market you need to squeeze out the last drop to get your results. What would be your product range in this business? Our bread n’ butter business segments are ship building and ship repair. In each of these segments we cater to two sectors – commercial and defence. So, we have commercial ship building and defence ship building, and commercial ship repairs and defence

What would be your current order book size? Including our naval and commercial

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Better financial performance is due to the productmix which we have now, as well as tightening of internal controls. As you know, this is a bad market for shipping industry and in a bad market you need to squeeze out the last drop to get your results.

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works, our order book should be close to Rs. 4500 crore now. Have you identified any specific product that can be manufactured in more numbers? No, it doesn’t work that way in this industry. At the end of the day, we supply to a much bigger industry, which is shipping, and each shipping company is always trying to beat its competition by having more capabilities and customizations in its vessels. Each time they order a ship, they want something different. So our challenge as a ship builder would be to live up to that demand for agility. What about the cruise segment? We are not in the cruise segment currently, but there is a new segment coming up, which is the ferry. Ferry is the European term for passenger ships. We have been contracted for making four ferries for the Andaman. Two of them will have passenger capacity of 1200 and two are of 500 capacity. While we will do the design side, some strong European companies are also partnering with us in this contract. Once these vessels come into the market, industry is sure to notice the quality. Around 90% of the world ferry market is in Europe, with the rest scattered elsewhere. And we are opening up the ferry market for Cochin Shipyard with this contract. So to answer your question, while we may not be looking at a specific product, we are definitely looking at specific segments like ferries. Can you share us the approximate split in revenue between your domestic and overseas businesses? That varies very much from year to year, and as I said earlier, since the overseas market is down for some time now, the Indian business forms the majority. On the ship repair side, we have traditionally been domestic oriented. There is enough to tap in India. On the ship building side, we used to be 50:50, but as of now the only overseas order has, in fact, sailed off today, leaving us with almost 100% domestic ship building orders hereafter. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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Of course, within the domestic business, we have the commercial and defence segments. But on a long-term basis, say for the last 10 years, what would be the split in revenue between domestic and overseas businesses? Well, it used to be fifty-fifty if you take such a longer time-frame. We have exported more than 50 ships. We were doing strong in the oil & gas sector, but then this downturn happened. We are still strong in this segment and highly accepted by the oil & gas industry. Also, the share of your Indian government and non-government businesses? Indian order book, on the ship building side, is dominated by government orders. This is because Indian shipping industry too has been going through a bad patch. Shipping companies just don’t have that appetite to place new orders. On the ship repair side too we used to have non-government orders earlier. We were also building for firms like Shipping Corporation of India, which is a PSU. Which among your four broad segments is the fastest growing? The fastest growing segment for Cochin

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For ensuring consistency, we always try to optimize our resources both in terms of our facilities as well as our human resources. How we do that is by building up a strong order book position, delivering the maximum within deadlines, and by continually refilling the order book.

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Shipyard is ship repairs on the defence or naval side. What would be the approximate size of the ship repair industry in India? Well, there are various figures floating around. I would say that the size of the repair industry annually is around Rs. 2500 crore. This figure is really the potential business of getting Indian ships repaired in India and abroad. The actual ship repairing work being undertaken by Indian shipyards now would be between Rs. 700 to Rs. 900 crores annually. So, there is good opportunity for CSL in this business. Recently the Union Cabinet cleared a nearly Rs. 1800 crore proposal to expand Cochin Shipyard by building a dry dock. Can you explain the benefits from this project? Cochin Shipyard has been in existence for around 45 years now. We have two dry docks that are large as well as

efficient. But sizes of ships internationally have gone bigger. Our largest dry dock is not able to accommodate such larger ships like new Suezmax and new Aframax vessels, or an LNG vessel. We also had the business of repairing jack-up rigs. We had done about 50 such projects, but today jack-up rig owners prefer to dry dock their vessels which can’t be done here. Today we are missing out on all these segments. So we feel that a larger dry dock will open up segments like LNG vessels, new Suezmax / Aframax vessels, jack-up rigs, submersible repairs etc. It is a dock that will be 310 metre long, and it is a step dock with 75 by 60 metre. This will be an entirely new dock? Yes, it will be an entirely new dry dock. Modifications are not very feasible. We already have two docks, and this will be our third dock to come up. It can handle around 40% bigger ships than currently possible.

It is understood that this project is to be fully funded by CSL itself. What percentage of your cash reserves would go in for this development? We are doing two major projects simultaneously as I told earlier, this new dry dock and the international ship repair facility. Together they will consume around 60% of our cash reserves. These are most important projects for us, as Cochin Shipyard is at such an age that we need to invest for the future. Do you have enough human capital to address all these expansions? We do have expertise and scalability, but this is an ongoing process, and we are investing and focusing heavily on our training and skill development programs. Because, to build up workers in this business, it will take time and efforts. Another major project that CSL has been executing is the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF). When

“ The ISRF will have its own berthing spaces, six workstations on a ship-lift, and every modern facility. Another important factor is that we want to position Kochi as a ship repair hub with this new facility. When the volumes are built up, the supporting ecosystem should be here.

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will this be commissioned and how will this facilitate the company to grow the repairing business? Cochin Shipyard has the best ship repairing facility in the country. This is centered around our current 275 metre long dock. With optimizations and better efficiencies we may be able to do a bit better, but we think that we are nearing a saturation point with this dock. So, we need a new ship repair facility to scale up. Currently we handle between 70 to 100 ships coming in for repair each year. Among them many are sub 130 metre vessels like the offshore vessels, naval vessels, coast guard vessels, fishing vessels etc. The new dock will exclusively cater to these small and medium ships, while the existing repair dock will be dovetailed for the larger vessels. The ISRF will have its own berthing spaces, six workstations on a ship-lift, and every modern facility. Another important factor is that we want to position Kochi as a ship repair hub with this new facility. When the volumes are built up, the supporting ecosystem should be here. Today, when a ship owner considers Kochi there are concerns like whether his vessel will get a slot,

“ There is a new segment coming up for CSL, which is the ferry or passenger ships. We have been contracted for making four ferries for the Andaman. Two of them will have passenger capacity of 1200 and two of 500 capacity.

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whether there will be capable contractors etc. That makes ship owners to go for Singapore or Dubai, and we want to attract this business by making Kochi a viable hub. For making the new aircraft carrier for Indian Navy, was there any foreign collaboration? IAC-1 or INS Vikrant, the first indigenously built aircraft carrier in India has a design that is fully by the Indian Navy. It is also fully built in India by Cochin Shipyard. However, for some components and systems both Navy and Cochin Shipyard did have some technical collaboration with overseas companies. Countries like Korea have built massive expertise in delivering large ships in a rapid timeframe, and do you think CSL would benefit from a

technology transfer from such countries through the partnership/ investment route? Because, we hear these stories about how Hyundai, Daewoo, Samsung and the like complete ships in days rather than months or years… The scale and ecosystem with which CSL and Korean shipyards are operating are totally different. A ship builder there would have a whole supporting township around it. Imagine Kochi being Cochin Shipyard’s – something like that. We can’t compare these two models at all, as everything will be a challenge – the level of investment required, the scalability, the massive order book required, practically everything. They operate on 75% automation. They too were small operations, but then Korea too grew at an astounding pace, and these ship builders there grew with their country.

But then, such a model may not be suitable for India too. One reason is that the level of risk involved is also high. When the orders for new ships slow down, the effects won’t be just industry-wide but country-shaking. That is why today the Korean ship building industries are facing one of their worst crises, and are being funded by a $50 billion debt program. New ship building orders are down more than 90% for these companies. This can happen because a company like Hanjin Shipping which is Korea’s largest and a top-10 shipping company in the world, has recently filed for bankruptcy. Same is the case with Chinese ship building now. Since INS Viraat was here for the decommissioning refit recently, can you explain us what this

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A larger dry dock will open up segments like LNG vessels, new Suezmax / Aframax vessels, jack-up rigs, submersible repairs etc. It is a dock that will be 310 metre long, and it is a step dock with 75 by 60 metre.

” entails, and whether this is a prospective business for CSL from overseas? In the case of INS Viraat, we have been maintaining her for the past 25 years. The Navy has decided to decommission her, and prior to that we do this refit where we remove some critical underwater equipment, and ensure that nothing goes wrong with many systems, like oil leak or pilferage. It is like before abandoning or dismantling a house, we would remove the valuables, disconnect the main switchboard or water connection, that kind of work. After being towed back to Mumbai, it will be up to the Navy what they do with her. Europe is one geography from where CSL is getting significant business. Do you have major plans to grow this and/or to identify more such promising sources? Cochin Shipyard’s products and services are well-accepted in Europe, especially in Scandinavia and Western Europe. But as I told earlier, oil & gas was our major sector, and that was so even in Europe, and oil’s steep fall made us lose significantly on our European business. But we are now in the process of rebuilding the EU

business by leveraging our good reputation there, into other sectors. Also, instead of looking for short-term gains, we are planning for the long-term in sectors that will be sustainable. CSL has an education wing and given India’s maritime potential, do you have plans to grow this initiative? Yes, that is one area where we are very bullish about. We are investing strongly into skill development. Our training school, at any given time, is training close to 1000 people on various courses. For the last 25 years we have been running the Marine Engineering Training Institute, and now we are building a new campus at our land in Girinagar, Ernakulam, at an investment of Rs. 30 crore. We are motivated to go big in training as this industry is only about technology and people. Can you tell us some aspects that you learned and got trained in Japan? According to you, what should India do to exploit its maritime potential? As a manufacturing company we are proud of being part of programmes like Make in India. We need to have a long term vision. Just look at Maruti, their long-term vision to emerge as a leader in India, and how it has worked out beautifully. Coming to lessons from Japan, the prime lesson is to value your time. Start inculcating the value of time from childhood. When you promise something on time, deliver that on time. Schedules are sacrosanct. When schedules slip, companies slip, economies slip, and nation slips. There are around five major ship builders under the public sector, and around an equal number of private players in India. Where is CSL placed among these competitors? We are the only major shipbuilder under Ministry of Shipping. All other major PSU shipbuilders come under Ministry of Defence. In the private sector, there are around 5 to 7 major shipbuilders including new projects that have come up in later years. Some SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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of the private players are today facing difficulties due to the downturn in the shipping sector. By business size or revenue, we are the second largest shipyard in India, next only to Mazagon Dock which comes under Ministry of Defence. How do you assess the future prospects for shipbuilding in India, and for CSL in particular? There have been many positive developments like new favourable government policies, the infrastructure status given to this industry, ship building support scheme etc. The prospects for this industry are also dependent on Indian ship owners remaining invested in India. Government’s focus on shipbuilding is perfect for another reason too, which is the potential for employment. As far as CSL is concerned, we are looking forward to Kochi emerging as a maritime as well as economic hub with crucial projects like the Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal, Kochi Metro, BPCL expansion, LNG Terminal getting fully functional, the port turning to a cruise hub etc. With such overall progress in Kochi, the future looks brighter for CSL. Can you tell us something about your education, training, and background? I did my primary schooling in Mumbai, then shifted to Kochi with my highschooling in St. Albert’s. I did my predegree in Maharaja’s College, and then had my BTech in Naval Architecture from CUSAT. I got campus placement to Cochin Shipyard in 1988, and after 9 years of working here, took a break and did my Masters in Engineering with specialization in Naval Architecture from University of Osaka, Japan. Then I returned to CSL rather than stay back in Japan as some of my friends thought back then. I also did some specialized courses in ship designing from Japan. So, basically I am a naval architect, and I am also a member of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects. Do you think you succeeded to a SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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high degree due to specializing in a niche? Not really. My philosophy is that everyone should try to do their best in whatever space they are, and everything else would follow.

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The Korean model may not be suitable for India as the level of risk involved is also high. When the orders for new ships slow down, the effects won’t be just industry-wide but country-shaking. Korean ship building industries are facing one of their worst crises, and are being funded by a $50 billion debt program.

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Any major trends that you envisage as being a game changer for the ship building industry in the coming years? Well, there are many such trends that might catch up. Coastal transportation using ferries is one such area. If such systems come in India, you can travel from, say, Kochi to Mumbai in around 36 hours, enjoying the best of a sea voyage, yet at very reasonable cost. There are these roll-on / roll-off or ROPAX vessels in Europe, where we can even drive in our car or SUV, use the same for local travel at our destination city, and come back in that ferry the same way. ROPAX vessels are also intended for cargo like transporting new cars etc and this has recently started in India. With our long coastline and major cities along it, the potential for both passenger and cargo are immense. Also, when a port develops, demand for inland transportation grows, and the government has also been betting big on growing inland water transportation which holds immense promise in a country like India.

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CAREER

JOB-HOPPING IS THE NEW NORMAL AMONG MILLENNIALS REPORTS ARE MIXED ON IF MILLENNIALS ARE ACTUALLY JOB-HOPPING MORE FREQUENTLY THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS. WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT JOB-HOPPING IS BECOMING THE NORM FOR THE AVERAGE TWENTY SOMETHING. REPORTS SUGGEST THAT MILLENNIALS CAN EARN A HIGHER SALARY, GROW THEIR CAREER, CHANGE LOCATIONS MORE FREQUENTLY, AND FIND A BETTER CULTURAL FIT FROM JOBHOPPING. THE NEGATIVE STIGMA IS ON ITS WAY OUT, SO PEOPLE SHOULD LEAN INTO THE POSITIVE OUTCOMES FROM MAKING A CHANGE. ive years ago, I seemed to have it all. I was 28 years old and making $70,000 a year working for the federal government. I had a fancy job title, a nice apartment, health care, generous retirement benefits, and job security in the midst of the recession. You literally can’t get fired from working for the federal government. Trust me, there are people who should. But the pressure to “pay my dues” and climb a lucrative career ladder that didn’t really reflect my values was brutal. After I got shingles—a painful nerve disease often tied to stress and common among people over the age of 70, not twentysomethings—I knew I had to make a change. When I finally did leave my job, I began writing and speaking about how young professionals should pursue meaningful work. After interviewing hundreds of twenty-somethings, I learned that despite struggling with debt, recession, and the jobs crisis, millennials are not motivated by money. Rather, they are driven to make the world more compassionate, innovative, and sustainable. This isn’t a stereotype; it’s simply the truth. Deloitte’s 2015 milllennial survey found that 75% of millennials believe businesses are too focused on their own SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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Let’s start treating our careers as a lifelong experiment instead of a preordained slog. Find experiences that allow you to quickly test assumptions about your career interests.

agendas, rather than improving society. Only 28% believe their current organization is making full use of their skills. A full 50% would take a pay cut to find work that matches their values, and 90% of respondents said they wanted to use their skills for good. A recent Gallup report also revealed that 21% of millennials have switched jobs within the past year (three times the number of non-millennials), and only 29% of millennials feel engaged in their current jobs, making them the least engaged generation in the workplace. Clearly, organizations are not responding fast enough to this generation’s desire to align their work with purpose. Millennials don’t want to move “up” on a career ladder. Overall, we are less concerned with traditional metrics of success, like savings and home ownership, and more concerned

with creating lives defined by meaning, community, and shared value. So why are so many parents, colleges, and corporate HR programs still preparing millennials for a future they don’t want? When my friends and I graduated college just ten years ago, Facebook was barely getting off the ground—today, social media impacts pretty much every facet of our lives. The US Department of Labor has noted that 65% of today’s grade school kids will end up in jobs that haven’t been invented yet. More than one-third of Americans are freelancers (some 53 million Americans), and by 2020, that number could be as high as 60 million. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2006 and 2016, the average job tenure for all employees twenty-five and over was only five years. What all this suggests is that the US needs a new way of thinking about careers. We need to embrace instability and experimentation,

Clearly, organizations are not responding fast enough to this generation’s desire to align their work with purpose. Millennials don’t want to move “up” on a career ladder. Overall, we are less concerned with traditional metrics of success, like savings and home ownership, and more concerned with creating lives defined by meaning, community, and shared value.

and help the workforce of the future achieve what it actually wants: a way to make meaning, not just money. Unlike the career ladder mindset, which forces you to move in only one direction (up), let’s implement the lily-pad mindset, in which workers visualizes their career as a series of interconnecting leaps between different opportunities. What holds everything together are the roots of the lily pads—your purpose. Your roots may be driving you to do one thing now, but that thing may change in five years. Now, this doesn’t mean you should quit your job every six months. This kind of hopping around will likely lead to personal frustration (and perpetual underem ployment). Nor should everyone aim to be a career generalist, as scientific research has shown that skill mastery is a key motivation for fulfillment. But it does mean that you should be consistently questioning whether your current lily pad excites you, or is helping you make a valuable contribution to society. Let’s start treating our careers as a lifelong experiment instead of a preordained slog. Find experiences that allow you to quickly test assumptions about your career interests. Every job, every experience, every place you travel, is a chance to learn something new about yourself, what interests you (and just as importantly what doesn’t), what you’re good at, what types of people you want to surround yourself with, and what type of impact you want to have on the world. But companies need to adapt as well. They should be encouraging all of their employees to treat the office like a classroom and see where each employee fits best given their interests, skills, and purpose. If someone isn’t the right fit for an organization, that organization should help them find their next lily pad. Several years after quitting my own job, I’m making just as much as money as I did while working for the government. More importantly, my shingles are gone and I’m excited to wake up in the morning. I’m doing work that energizes me instead of drains me. Don’t get me wrong: I still am nervous about what my future as a writer may hold. But I’m also happy to be building a life that reflects my own metrics of success, not one passed down to me by previous generations. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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STUDY THE STUDY ANALYSED 249 CAUSES OF DEATH, 315 DISEASES AND INJURIES AND 79 RISK FACTORS IN 195 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES BETWEEN 1990 AND 2015.

LONGEVITY RISING, DISEASES TAKING AWAY THE FUN

lobally, people’s health is improving and life expectancy is rising, but progress is far from universal with chronic diseases bringing long-term illness and causing seven out of 10 deaths, according to research.

The Global Burden of Disease study, which shows the key drivers of ill-health, disability and death in individual countries, found that by 2015, the world population had gained more than a decade of life expectancy since 1980 – rising to 69 years in men and 74.8 years in women. Among main contributors to this were large falls in death rates for many communicable or infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and diarrhoea. The rate of people dying from cardiovascular disease and cancers has also fallen, the study found, although at a slower pace. The study analysed 249 causes of death, 315 diseases and injuries and 79 risk factors in 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2015. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which led the study, said its results painted a picture of patchy health gains across the world, driven in part by economic development. “Development drives, but does not determine health,” he said in a statement as the findings were published in The Lancet medical journal. “We see countries that have improved far faster than can be explained by income, education or fertility. And we also continue to see countries – including the United States – that are far less healthy than they should be given their resources,” he added. As well as life expectancy, the study SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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estimated healthy life expectancy the number of years people can expect to live in good health. It found that while healthy life expectancy had increased in 191 of 195 countries – by 6.1 years – between

CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, WHICH LED THE STUDY, SAID ITS RESULTS PAINTED A PICTURE OF PATCHY HEALTH GAINS ACROSS THE WORLD, DRIVEN IN PART BY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

1990 and 2015, it had not risen as much as overall life expectancy, meaning people are living more years with illness and disability. Among the world’s wealthier regions, North America had the worst healthy life expectancy at birth for both men and women. Diabetes, which is often linked to people being overweight or obese, and drug use disorders – particularly with opioids and cocaine – cause a disproportionate amount of ill health and early death in

the United States, the study said.

Its other key global findings were: Seven out of 10 deaths are now due to non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes Headaches, tooth cavities and hearing and vision loss each affect more than 1 in 10 people worldwide There has been progress in reducing unsafe water and sanitation, but diet, obesity and drug use are an increasing threat More than 275,000 women died in pregnancy or childbirth in 2015, most from preventable causes And under-5 deaths have halved since 1990, but there has been slower progress on reducing newborn deaths.

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INTERVIEW SEASONAL MAGAZINE RECENTLY MET DR. HARSH VARDHAN, MINISTER FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY IN HIS OFFICE AT NEW DELHI FOR THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:

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FACE OF SCIENCE IN MODI’s CABINET When everyone speaks about development in India, the domains that get automatic attention are economics, finance, and business. No wonder then that next to politicians and bureaucrats, the experts who seemingly gets to call the shots are economists, financial wizards, management gurus, legal experts, and the like. But is this how a nation really progresses? To put it simply, no nation including India has so far progressed on such expertise alone, and no nation will do so in the future too. It is no coincidence that every top ranking nation by prosperity in the developed sphere is a de facto leader in two other fields that often goes under-mentioned – science and technology. If USA or EU or Japan or Korea, or even our neighbouring China, has come to command respect the world over, such respect has been painstakingly built on the building blocks of science and technology. India too has sterling examples in these domains, with the most noteworthy being our IT services industry, our automotive sector, and our space program. But unfortunately for the nation, we have fallen far behind others so far in ensuring comprehensive prosperity for our citizens based on progress in science and technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very well cognizant of this shortfall, and it shows in the person he has handpicked to head the crucial Science & Technology Ministry. Dr. Harsh Vardhan is not only a man of science, due to his medical education, but an achiever in applied science. Internationally acclaimed for his leadership role in the polio eradication program, Dr. Harsh Vardhan is someone who has taken science to the masses for their upliftment and well-being. In his current role as Minister for Science, Technology, & Earth Sciences, he is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the full prowess of his ministry is behind PM Modi’s ambitious programs like Make in India, Startup India, Swachh Bharat, Smart Cities, Clean Ganga, and every such initiative. Indeed, he is the face of science in Modi’s cabinet.

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Seasonal Magazine interviews Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Science & Technology

e have very few centres of excellence (CoE) be it with respect to IITs, IIMs, AIIMS. In a country with over 1.2 billion population, don’t you think there needs to be a greater utilization of these resources given the paucity of time in developing newer ones? See, it has to be dealt with at 2-3 levels. Firstly, we have to optimally utilize already existing services and manpower in these institutions. Secondly, there has to be a continuous process of upgradation of existing facilities and technologies. In the field of health, we offered proposals for the conversion of district hospitals into medical colleges and further a medical college being upgraded to an AIIMS-like status. Thirdly, there needs to be creation of more and more state-of-the-art facilities. As you can see under the current government, there are new AIIMS and IIMs coming up which is a testimony to our commitment towards excellence. In the budget speech, the FM proposed the setting up of 10-20 state-of-the-art international standard universities. So the problem that you posed is being attended very meticulously and scientifically. You have been active behind the Clean Ganga campaign. Any revolutionary measures that you would like seeing deployed? For the ‘Namami Ganga Project’, we have involved all the ministries, not just the Water Resources Ministry. The Environment Ministry and my ministry have been actively involved as well with a lot of research going on in this front. For cleaning the polluted water, we are looking into the use of biological inputs. It is a multi-pronged, thoroughly comprehensive strategy with the involvement of the local people. Recently, Ms. Uma Bharathi involved all the MPs and the people near the Ganges plains so that local participation SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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increases and awareness is spread. The scientific aspects of some of the related research are being strengthened. This is a very important issue as far as this government is concerned. I sincerely think that in the next few years we will see a perceptible and measurable difference. Do you think India has rightly tapped the country’s vast resources in medicinal plants. How do you plan to addresss this issue? Medicinal plants have a huge potential. A lot of labs in Assam and Jammu are looking into this. I was recently in Leh, Ladakh where we took a huge piece of land which will be an extension of our laboratory to improve on our existing facilities. This is in close association with the Indian Institute of Integrated Medicine in Jammu. The focus is largely on aromatic plants. Also, for the process of standardization of our indigenous systems and plants and their outputs, there is also another facility coming up in Jammu. Recently, we produced an anti-diabetic drug called ‘BGR-34’ from the ayurvedic extracts of certain plants. It has been well received by people and it has been proven that it significantly lowers blood sugar level. The Health Ministry has proposed spending 5000 crores solely for improving the indigenous systems, whether it is Ayurveda or homeopathy. Therefore, the

utilization of medicinal plants is a passionate exercise for us. You recently launched a solar power tree. What are its advantages and is it a scalable model that can be improved and deployed across the country by CSIR by licensing to private companies? When you license something, one should start from somewhere. In the initial stages when a product is developed, nobody wants to take the risk and which would later on require scaling up. A solar power tree has been installed right outside the premises of this office. In an area of 4 square metres, which would otherwise require 400 sq metres, we have managed to install a power tree which can generate some 5 kW of electricity. This will have a huge potential in the years to come. Although the current production and installation costs come up to almost 5 lakhs, in the years to come we should be able to bring it down considerably by subsidizing the industry. India has been lagging in developing pure science vis-à-vis technology, and with nations like USA renewing their efforts to lure brilliant science and maths graduates from across the world, how do you plan to pause or slow down this brain drain? Let me tell you, this was something of the past. The trends have certainly

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WE ARE ALSO ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE BEST PRACTICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD IN THE FIELD OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT. THERE IS ANOTHER PROJECT WORTH MENTIONING WHICH IS THE CONVERSION OF BIO MASS INTO 2ND GENERATION ETHANOL (CELLULOSIC ETHANOL) AND WHICH HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHED IN KASHIPUR.

reversed. Now it would be appropriate to term it as ‘brain gain’ in our favour. There are a variety of schemes and fellowships like the Ramanujan and Ramalingaswamy fellowship where we invite scientists from abroad to teach in good quality facilities. In the last 2 years, almost 250 scientists have come back to India. As far as fundamental science is concerned, there had been tremendous progress under this government. We are in the process of setting up of a centre to study the gravitational waves, which will only be the third of its kind in the world. In terms of scientific publication, we are sixth in the whole world. In nanotechnology, we are third in the world. And in terms of patents being converted into commercial application, it is close to 14% in India. We have a good standing in most

parameters and there is no reason to fear our prowess and potential in scientific and technological research. When it comes to technology, Indian efforts have been more toward exploiting the low hanging fruits like IT services outsourcing rather than IP based innovations that can create truly world class companies. How is your ministry attempting to address this issue? I don’t agree with this assessment at all. We are doing exceedingly well in the start-up industry and the PM has personally taken a special initiative to ensure that any young man or woman with an innovative mind can take their dreams to the next level. Close to 10,000 crores have been earmarked for this. There are numerous business incubators

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and technology parks being backed by the government. There are a large number of schemes to help young people to realize their dreams because we are currently in an ‘idea-based economy’ where the innovation coefficient becomes very important. Nothing is being compromised even when it comes to filing of patents at the national and international level. But we are definitely trying to keep pace with the rest of the world because ultimately it is about streamlining processes. Every decade or so, a new revolutionary technology comes along, and it offers opportunities to once again enter the missed bus of tech driven leadership. This time around it seems this innovation is Internet of Things. What are the ministry’s broad plans to get a

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rightful place in the emerging IoT ecosystem? It is not just in IoT, but the government is taking a keen interest in the other emerging trends also like artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity etc. We are stitching international alliances and collaborations to take such initiatives forward. For AI, we have a tieup with Japan and with respect to cyber security we are forming a working relationship with Israel. Therefore, we are working with the best of the minds from all over the world. We are focused on doing the groundwork for this in all possible ways with a clear understanding and awareness of the fundamentals. Employability of our science and technology graduates has taken a beating in recent years with the proliferation of low quality private institutions. As the Minister in charge of science and technology development how are you interfacing with HRD and Industries ministries to address this challenge? In our own department, we have

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A LOT OF NEW DRUGS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED OVER THE YEARS AND THE MINISTRY IS COMMITTED TO LEVERAGING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO EXPLORE THE FIELD OF MEDICINAL ADVANCEMENTS. ONE EXAMPLE WOULD BE THAT OF THE ROTAVIRUS VACCINE USED TO PREVENT DIARRHOEA IN CHILDREN THAT HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT AND RESEARCH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY.

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instituted a lot of scholarships, with the help of the HRD ministry. The underlying mission is to promote science in a big way. Lecturers in our universities and specialists in laboratories are now actively visiting schools and rural areas to impart their expertise. A large number of programmes have been rolled out to protect women scientists from being deprived of a chance to pursue their dream due to family and societal issues. What are your views on ensuring technology transfer while allowing FDI into the country? China has been doing it much more effectively than us and have no qualms about restricting even large internet companies... This government is committed to the task of strengthening the indigenous industries through the Make in India initiative, but also is open to accepting FDI in most areas. We have absolutely no reservations if FDI can influence the financial growth of the nation and economy. Even in the field of science, we look to encourage local scientists and indigenous practices and systems but are actively looking at international collaborations. Quality of research has been the Achilles heel of Indian universities and colleges, preventing them to be counted among the world’s top 100. What are your solutions for this issue? I don’t think it is either an issue of quality or lack of research but there is an urgent need to reorient the focus of our research. We want to make it more people-centric and ensure that it is used for spreading the scientific breakthroughs in a big way. Also, I don’t think it is a fair comparison because every country has its own unique situation and this may merit the need to have specific parameters to measure on a country-by-country basis. I agree with you that if there is scope for improvement, we should definitely invest all our energies to ensure the same.

I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THERE IS A NEED TO REVAMP THE MEDICAL EDUCATION SYSTEM. THERE IS A NEED TO RELOOK THE FUNCTIONING OF THE MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA AND TO BRING ABOUT REFORMS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SPACE.

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Can you provide some instances where science and technology can be put to use for improving sanitation or health problems like, say, readymade toilets that can be mass produced and deployed?

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We are doing a lot of research on sanitation with the help of science and the bio-toilets developed by our biotechnology department is one such endeavour. We are also in touch with the Railway ministry to improve the condition of toilets. A lot of new drugs have been discovered over the years and the Ministry is committed to leveraging science and technology to explore the field of medicinal advancements. One example would be that of the Rotavirus vaccine used to prevent diarrhoea in children that has been produced by the science department and research in biotechnology. We have been able to do this at 1/5th of the cost as compared to our colleagues in America. We also have collaborated with AIIMS, IITs, IISc

for the production of various biomedical appliances and the latest technology in the field. Overall, it has helped in cost reduction and the Make in India programme is also strengthened with the fillip for indigenous production. The impetus given to medicinal plants and their utility is being tested in our laboratories. We are also ensuring that the waste to wealth technology in terms of how to convert plastic waste for use in road making, to construct lightweight toilets, for radiation shields is actively promoted. Not to forget the conversion of solid waste into energy. We are also on the lookout for the best practices from around the world in the field of solid waste management. There is another project worth mentioning which is the

THE IMPETUS GIVEN TO MEDICINAL PLANTS AND THEIR UTILITY IS BEING TESTED IN OUR LABORATORIES. RECENTLY, WE PRODUCED AN ANTI-DIABETIC DRUG CALLED ‘BGR-34’ FROM THE AYURVEDIC EXTRACTS OF CERTAIN PLANTS. IT HAS BEEN WELL RECEIVED BY PEOPLE AND IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT IT SIGNIFICANTLY LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL.

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conversion of bio mass into 2nd generation ethanol (cellulosic ethanol) and which has been successfully established in Kashipur. With this we can now convert 10 tonnes of biomass into 3000 litres of 2G ethanol in less than 24 hours. This has been primarily managed by the laboratories in the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. Also, from crude oil, we not only produce diesel and petrol but have gone one step further in creating soft paraffin wax. We have established a factory for this in Numaligarh, Assam. There are countless other achievements and breakthroughs that I haven’t mentioned. But, the potential of science is quite remarkable and it really, the sky is the limit. You have exhorted recently that medical education standards are degenerating and that it is time for an overhaul. Are there any specific measures in your mind? I agree with you that there is a need to revamp the medical education system. There is a need to relook the functioning of the Medical Council of India and to bring about reforms in the educational space. Though it doesn’t fall under my domain right now but I can assure you that the government is looking into these aspects seriously. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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What can be done to deploy more doctors in rural India, according to you? People are travelling thousands of kms and waiting months or years to be treated at facilities like AIIMS? There is a shortage of doctors in this country, no doubt about it. And more especially, we are short of specialists. Some measures have to be instituted with the consultation o all stakeholders and there has to be a uniformity such that that no health facility should be deprived of a doctor. And also to ensure that there are no surplus doctors in a particular area or place. By and large, the deployment of doctors has to be linked up with completion of education, but this has to come out of a genuine consensus and the availability of an ideal atmosphere for the measures to be implemented. There are many doctors working in the tribal areas selflessly irrespective of whether they are posted there or not. So if the doctor can be adequately taken care of, then the situation at hand can be somewhat managed. You have come down on AAP Government heavily for not attending to Delhi’s cleanliness and instead continuing to criticize PM Modi. What according to you can be done for

I believe cleanliness is an issue everybody has to contribute towards, not the A LOT OF WE just ARE DOING government and WITH RESEARCH ON SANITATION NGOs. mindset THE HELP OFThe SCIENCE AND THE over theDEVELOPED past several BIO-TOILETS BY OUR years has been that BIO-TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT is somebody else’s ISitONE SUCH ENDEAVOUR. WE duty to keep our ARE ALSO IN TOUCH WITH THE roadsMINISTRY and public RAILWAY TO IMPROVE spaces clean. THE CONDITION OF TOILETS.

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improving cleanliness in Delhi? Isn’t it also an awareness issue among the masses? I believe cleanliness is an issue everybody has to contribute towards, not just the government and NGOs. The mindset over the past several years has been that it is somebody else’s duty to keep our roads and public spaces clean. Of course, the state government is crucial in terms of extending support and providing resources to undertake the same. In general, it is not only the Swacctha or cleanliness issue. But there are various other issues which the government is answerable to the people of Delhi. But it seems to me that the leadership of Dstion, they use unparliamentary and unkind words to smear his image. I partly blame the media for this because they air negative stories hoping to profit out of it. They think that hurling abuses day after day will give them the required ammunition and standard which they are badly mistaken. One achieves a level of respect

only through good and hard work and that is what the PM has shown over the years, even when the media and opposition parties have been viciously targeting him. However, he faced it in a dignified manner and the result of his relentless patience is there for everyone to see. Unfortunately, the people have been disillusioned with the Delhi government with news of everyday scandals and controversies painting a sorry picture of the government. The AAP presumably seems to be crying out for statehood for Delhi; is that a viable and realistic proposition? Let me tell you quite candidly that they are just playing politics over this issue. If they are sincere about this, they should present adequate proposals for the same and be willing to discuss this with relevant stakeholders. Also, I must add that the issue of statehood for Delhi has been in discussion over the last 40-50 years, irrespective of the government ruling the Centre. However, this issue requires considerable deliberation and

brainstorming and there are institutions like the Parliament and diplomatic offices and mission which come under the purview of the Central government. It would be difficult for the state government to handle all of this alone, but we believe there should be meaningful discussion on how the powers can be distributed in the best possible manner and how you can achieve better status and at the same time ensure that it doesn’t compromise on the security and welfare of the VVIPs living in the capital. However, the present Delhi government will never ask for a meeting with the Home Minister to discuss these matters because their concerns are borne out of political reasons. It is safe to say that nobody appreciates this kind of politics. You have been a champion of utilizing religion for furthering various causes like vaccination, and now cleanliness. Can you elaborate on how far can this be taken in an Indian context? I think it is India that can create a model that can be replicated and I say this with conviction. When I started the polio eradication movement in Delhi in 1993 when I was the health minister, at that time, India accounted for 60% of polio cases in the whole world. And Delhi accounted for 10% of that figure. Where I lived, that is the Trans-Yamuna area, had the maximum cases. We had a clear strategy but there were no takers for this strategy. When I dreamt of making India 100% polio free, most people mocked me. They wondered how it was possible in a vast country like India to convince every mother to bring their child to a polio vaccine Kendra. My response was that if we can provide ballot paper to everybody, we should certainly be able to administer vaccine also. When I started working on this in early 1994, for virtually 9 months, I utilized everybody’s services including local religious leaders. In a meeting with a local Sikh leader of that community, I was able to ensure the daily announcement of the free polio vaccine

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I MUST ADD THAT THE ISSUE OF STATEHOOD FOR DELHI HAS BEEN IN DISCUSSION OVER THE LAST 40-50 YEARS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE GOVERNMENT RULING THE CENTRE. HOWEVER, THIS ISSUE REQUIRES CONSIDERABLE DELIBERATION AND BRAINSTORMING AND THERE ARE INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE PARLIAMENT AND DIPLOMATIC OFFICES AND MISSION WHICH COME UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

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to close to 500 gurudwaras. The appeal was that this wasn’t a political message but a plea to bring their children to these centres to achieve the objective of a polio-free nation. Similarly, I had done this with the Church of North India taking the help of archbishops. I also reached out to the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid and the chief of Delhi Wakf Board which helped to publicize the message to around 300 mosques. However, it is not that only the religious leaders were used. We had the active participation of school teachers, students, NSS and NCC scouts. I remember that in the early part of the 21st century, India had a setback in terms of polio cases in spite of the fact that there were successes along the way. This was largely because of U.P and Bihar. At that time I used to work as an advisor to the WHO and was part of many high powered international committees dedicated to polio eradication. Therefore, the rise in polio cases in India became a concern for the whole world. When Atalji went to the

US in 2001-02, Mr. Clinton was the President at that time and the stark reality was brought to my notice by Atalji, who was closely associated with the polioeradication campaign in Delhi and when he became Prime Minister, he spearheaded this at a national level. However, a bit of a concern during this time was a baseless rumour being spread from some quarters that polio vaccination causes impotency and this primarily impacted the states of U.P and Bihar. We put out posters with the message of the Prime Minister regarding the polio drive and appealed to the clergy, imams and religious heads of local mosques to come forward earnestly. Atalji was able to get this rumour out of the minds of the people and when the community started supporting us, it ultimately achieved the objective of the campaign which was solely to make India 100% polio free. This convinced me that for any nonpolitical programme, people should not have objections and there needs to be a bi-partisan support from all political parties. Recently, I was in Leh where the religious leaders from all the major faiths congregated and took a pledge in front of students to work toward the Swacchta and Sadhbhavana mission of the PM and on the banks of the Sindhu, we unfurled the Tiranga and jointly took a pledge. This message would then be effectively disseminated to the millions of faithful about our social and national duty towards maintaining cleanliness. It removes the threat of diseases and gives a fresh air of breath. Therefore, to conclude, I believe that religious leaders should come forward proactively to spearhead such campaigns because after all religion is all about the establishment of truth and values in society and being in the larger interests of society, every religious leader should instill a sense of responsibility in each person as their words are taken seriously. Take for example, Baba Ramdev’s laudable efforts at spreading the virtues of yoga because it improves the overall health of the society and nation and taking a cue from Ramdev, PM has given it international attention. Therefore, I am strongly for using everybody’s energy in improving the welfare of the common man. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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CONFLICT

DOING A SURGERY ON SURGICAL STRIKES

But what really is a surgical strike? The technical definition of a surgical strike is “an attack (usually without prior warning) intended to deal only with a specific target.” In other words, it is a swift and targeted attack with minimum collateral damage to the nearby areas and civilians. Neutralising targets using surgical strikes also helps prevent a conflict from escalating into a war. Such attacks can be carried out through air strikes, by airdropping special operations teams, or through swift ground operations by sending in commandos or regular troops. Military strategist Sir Basil Liddell Hart said a surgical strike was akin to a single arrow shot by Paris (who eloped with Helen, queen of Sparta, sparking the Trojan war) at Achilles' heel, his only vulnerable spot. Modern examples In the contemporary context, a surgical strike is a single action that decapitates or significantly reduces the enemy's capability. The 1967, Operation Focus, an Israeli surprise SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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aerial attack that destroyed most of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground was a surgical strike. More recently, the killing of Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan’s Abobttabad by helicopter-borne US Navy SEALS is another example of a surgical strike. The June 2006 US air strike that killed Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab-el- Zarqawi in his safe house in the village of Hibhib in Iraq’s Diyala province near Baghdad; and the single Hellfire missile launched by a CIA drone that killed Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the 5,000-strong Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in August 2009, are classic examples of surgical strikes to decapitate enemy leadership to demoralise their forces. While all the aforementioned strikes had specific targets, surgical strikes can also be undertaken on a larger scale. The bombing of Baghdad in the initial stages of 1991 Gulf War, after Iraq had invaded Kuwait, comprised a coordinated set of surgical strikes on government offices and military and communication installations. On the other hand the carpet-bombing of Dresden, Germany,

during World War II, which destroyed the historic city and set it on fire, was clearly not a surgical strike. A successful surgical strike typically achieves its desired objective and has a devastating effect. By that measure, what happened post the Indian cross-border strikes does not qualify. What makes this different The September 18 militant attack on an Army base camp in Uri, which killed 19 soldiers, was succeeded by the so-called surgical strikes by the Indian military across the Line of Control. Just three days later, on October 2, Pakistan-backed terrorists struck at Baramulla in Kashmir, killing a BSF official. The Pakistan Army too has resorted to ceasefire violations at several places. All this while, Lashkare-Taiba leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Syed Salahuddin of the Hizbul Mujahideen still sleep soundly and safely every night. They still give press conferences. To pin them to a place and time is not very difficult. I have always advocated raising the ante with Pakistan by undertaking deep

EVER SINCE THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE INDIAN ARMY ON THAT IT HAD CARRIED OUT CROSS-BORDER ATTACKS ON TERRORIST CAMPS ACROSS THE LINE OF CONTROL ON SEPTEMBER 28, THE TERM “SURGICAL STRIKES” HAS DOMINATED PRIME-TIME DEBATES, SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER AND DINNERTABLE CONVERSATIONS.

strikes at terrorist leadership centre’s to make their activity costly. It is not required that we send men to do this job. The Indian Air Force and even the Indian Navy have missiles of great precision. But the fear cited by many military men is that Pakistan will react to this with counter strikes. But we have no terrorist targets in India. We have plenty of military targets for Pakistan to pick from if they want to hit back. But any such attack is a disproportionate response, leaving the ball in our court to decide how and where to counter this. Any further escalation will only lead to Pakistan’s military annihilation. Nuclear war will result in their complete destruction. Therefore, rationality will prevail before Pakistan mulls such a response.

What really happened I have no doubt that the Indian Army sent forces across the LoC and hit several places where terrorist foot soldiers were gathered. They have done this several times in the past without the accompanying fanfare. But misusing a nomenclature to describe the action to

be something bigger than it was is political charlatanism. Maybe it was National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s big idea derived after several years as an undercover agent in Pakistan, as his many hagiographers claim? Instead, a real surgical strike would have been if they had hunted down Lakhvi or Salahuddin and brought him back. If BJP leader Ram Madhav then lauded it as an achievement of the Narendra Modi government, we would all join in applause. But what I’m unable to fathom is why the Director General of Military Operations Ranbir Singh described the the attack as something it was not. I have known several DGMOs and they were all distinguished military men with great integrity and oratory skills. The job demands them to be clinically accurate in making an assessment and surgically precise in determining an action. I have no doubt that this DGMO too is of that lineage. But sometimes, they have to act out a script.

Political call The story of how a bunch of cross-border raids came to be called surgical strikes

is one waiting to be told. To me, the decision to call this a surgical strike was clearly political. That BJP workers have started putting up posters in pollbound Uttar Pradesh lauding the military and the government for the surgical strikes, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture in the foreground and a soldier's silhouette in the background, gives this away. Having not being able to bring about a nationwide development and economic miracle as was promised before the 2014 elections, the BJP has its back to the wall. The government;s claims of economic growth are proving to be hollow – it does not take much to figure out that economic growth cannot take place without investments and the tax to investment ratio is dwindling. The demand for power is falling. And most importantly, jobs-creation has staggered. To compound the situation, food inflation is still, now at 7.62% year-on-year. Consequently, the party's voter base also seems to be dwindling. And so, the BJP is in need of a (Modi) miracle. Hence, a new, false image is being created – one who can enthuse the masses. But will it work? As Faiz once said, “Hum dekhenge, lazim hain ki hum bhi dekhenge” – We shall see. (By Mohan Guruswamy) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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HEALTH

LOSE SLEEP AND YOU MAY NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE PEOPLE PROPERLY LACK OF PROPER SLEEP CAN IMPACT THE ACCURACY OF FACE IDENTIFICATION, RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND, SUGGESTING THAT THE CRUCIAL “PASSPORT TASK” BY OFFICERS CAN BE AFFECTED BY POOR SLEEP.

t is often necessary to identify unfamiliar people by compar ing face images: for example a CCTV image to a mugshot, or a passport photograph to a traveller. Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia and the University of Glasgow in the UK, found that accuracy of these decisions is impaired by poor sleep. However, the study also found that poor sleepers were just as confident in their decisions, highlighting possible implications for security and policing. Participants were asked to decide whether two images, presented on a computer monitor at the same time, pictured the same person or two different people. The researchers set the task to differ from the face recognition tasks most of us encounter in our daily lives in two

We found that poor sleep in the three days leading up to the test was associated with poorer performance on the face matching test.

important ways: firstly, the people pictured in the images are unfamiliar. Secondly, the task did not involve memory, because the images appear on the screen at the same time. Researchers said that while most people would typically expect to perform well on these tasks, many are surprised at how many errors they make. Previous studies have shown impaired memory for faces following restricted sleep. However, until now it was not known whether lack of sleep impairs performance on face identification tasks that do not rely on recognition memory. “We found that poor sleep in the three days leading up to the test was associated with poorer performance on the face matching test. In a separate experiment, we also found that participants with insomnia were poorer on the task,” said Louise Beattie, from the the University of Glasgow. “Sleep disruption is common in the general population, and especially so among night-shift workers,” Beattie said. “Here we show for the first time that performance in a crucial “passport task” is affected by poor sleep, and our research has important implications for those working in security or forensic settings,” she added. “This adds to the literature showing poor

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In modern society it is often necessary to identify unfamiliar people by comparing face images. In this study we show that the accuracy of these decisions is impaired in poor sleepers,” said David White, from UNSW. sleep and shift work to be associated with a range of adverse health, cognitive and emotional effects,” she said. The researchers said that poor sleep was not only associated with poorer performance, but also with higher levels of confidence in errors. “In modern society it is often necessary to identify unfamiliar people by comparing face images. In this study we show that the accuracy of these decisions is impaired in poor sleepers,” said David White, from UNSW. “Worryingly, although poorer sleep was associated with reduced accuracy, poor sleepers were not less confident in their responses. This has important implications for security and policing, where shift work is common,” said White. The study was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

SNAPS FROM THE SKIES: GEOMETRICAL BEAUTY CAPTURED BY DRONES The word 'drone' is often mistaken as a straitjacketed term exclusively used for military operations. But, its growing relevance in the field of science, sport, entertainment and cinema have enabled people to view it with a different lens. Drone photography is now the new rage among die-hard 'photophiliacs', who don't miss even a single opportunity to capture the most scenic imagery from around the world.

We traverse over roads everyday, but seldom see the beauty of such enormous geometry drawn across the earth’s surface. Although satellite images provide a glimpse of the world from above, it is really with drone photography that we are brought up close to these stunning man-made structures. With more photographers piloting drones these days, a bevy of breathtaking images of roads and intersections can be found on social media. Renan Pissolatti (@do.alto) is an amateur drone photographer from Brazil who’s been snapping up amazing photographs of the country’s urban landscape. On Instagram, his images show off the vibrance of tropical metropolitan life in a myriad of lines and shapes. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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In the US, Nick Verbelchuk (@snickersv), a photographer based in Portland, Oregon, is using his DJI Phantom 4 drone to show roads slicing through thick pines in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas tree capital.

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ECONOMY

By Mihir S Sharma

Sorry PM Modi, but spending more and more won't get you investors ndia’s celebrated position as the world’s fastest-growing large economy conceals a dangerous weakness: Too few people seem to want to invest in the country. Even going by the government’s growth figures, private investment is shrinking at an increasing pace -- by 1.9 per cent between January and March, and by 3.1 percent between April and June. The government is struggling to make up for this lack of confidence with its own money. Recent reports suggest officials may seek parliamentary approval for $7.5 billion of additional spending over the next five months, which they hope will increase growth by 0.4 percentage points. The strategy isn't new. When he entered office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi confronted a slowdown in private investment that had brought India’s growth down from near double digits in 2010 to around 5 to 6 per cent in 2014. He and his economic team decided then that public spending was the answer. They hoped that boosting government expenditure would “crowd in” private investment that it would raise investors’ spirits, fuel optimism and lead to major private-sector activity on the ground. But that’s simply not happened. And it’s worrying that, with half its term gone, the government seems unable or unwilling to admit that its approach isn't working. There are two reasons for India's dangerous investment gap. First, the financial pipeline for new investment is broken. In India, funding for new projects tends to come from the banking sector, which is dominated by state-controlled banks. Unfortunately, state banks are struggling with their balance sheets. They’ve got a large number of bad debts to clean up; while many have been accounted for in the last couple years, more will no doubt emerge. The result, of course, is that credit growth has been anemic. As a matter of fact, bank lending to industry actually contracted in August for the SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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first time in a decade. The government has done too little to fix the pipeline. There’s only one real solution: to reduce the economy’s dependence on public sector banks, which are so vulnerable to manipulation by influential tycoons. Instead, officials have not only taken the idea of privatizing these banks off the table, but are now promising to be more “pragmatic” -read: more lenient -- about forcing them to clean up their books. Second, investors have been burned too often in the past by arbitrary government decisions; disputes over taxation or environmental regulations have stopped work on many projects. Infrastructure investment in particular continues to be held up about half of India’s large projects are delayed tying up capital and leading to big losses for investors. Investors will need to see concrete change before they start putting money back into the economy. The government has made a lot of noise about easing the task of doing business, a key element of Modi’s flagship "Make in India" program to boost manufacturing. And some low-hanging fruit has been plucked; the country rose four spots on the World Bank’s “Doing Business” ranking last year, to 130th. But Modi has often stated that he doesn’t even know what “big bang reform” would look like. He's thus focused more on pushing public investment than promoting the sustained

deregulation and reform --to labor and environmental rules in particular -- that would restore investor confidence. Many investors openly say now that real change remains elusive, which is why companies have met government promises with their own promises, not money. Consider what was being sold as one of the big successes for "Make in India" -- a promise from Taiwan-based Foxconn to set up a plant in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Over a year has passed without any sign of that investment. Even companies that have committed money are having second thoughts. Another supposed success of Modi’s PR blitz was to have been a new Ford plant in his native Gujarat. But Ford’s CEO Mark Fields said this week that the company was “reviewing alternatives” for India; he was more pessimistic about operations there than in any other emerging market. The government seems oblivious to the warning signals. Worse, its choice to double down on public spending is doubly dangerous, as it will jeopardize one of the few unquestioned successes of the past few years: the restoration of stability to India’s budget mathematics. The government has already overshot its fiscal deficit target for the current financial year by a larger margin than at any point in the past five years. Simply spending more and more won’t help -- and might well hurt.

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SOCIETY

WHY THE POOR ARE NAMED AND SHAMED IN INDIA IN UTTAR PRADESH, DEBT-RIDDEN FARMERS HAVE THEIR BACKS TO THE WALL. TEHSILS IN CHITRAKOOT DISTRICT ARE HUMILIATING FARMERS BY PUTTING UP THE NAMES OF LOAN DEFAULTERS ON PUBLIC WALLS, DESPITE SEVERAL ORDERS AGAINST SUCH TACTICS.

t the entrance to Manikpur tehsil in Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh is a wall, painted to resemble a blackboard, unmarked by graffiti or paan stains. It is no ordinary wall for it serves as a public record of loan defaulters, most of them farmers. Periodically updated, it is ominously titled “The Top 10 defaulters of Manikpur tehsil”. To a drought-hit farmer, it is a daily reminder of unpaid loans and the humiliation and harassment that go with them. Ram Lochan is currently number four on the wall. “Ram Lochan, s/o Nanku, Naya SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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This public naming and shaming of defaulters is part of the loan recovery process, often coercive, followed by banks and tehsils.

exist. In 2013, the Allahabad High Court ordered an end to coercive loan recovery, responding to a spate of farm suicides in Bundelkhand. Two years later, as drought set in, the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh announced a ban on all farm loan collection. And in September this year, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular asking banks to stop making photographs of defaulters public.

The wall in Manikpur – located in the Bundelkhand region, which comprises seven districts of Uttar Pradesh and six of Madhya Pradesh and has been drought-hit since 2003 – should not

But none of these orders have helped farmers like Ram Lochan. Neither have the numerous promises of loan waivers made by governments and political parties in the state since 2009.

Chandra village, Allahabad Bank, debt of Rs 490,006,” reads the entry. The 70year-old farmer has held that spot for two years now. His son Jagatpal complained, “Almost every farmer in our village is indebted, but we are the only ones up on that wall.”

EMPTY PROMISES With the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in early 2017 drawing near, the kisan has once again become an integral feature of the poll campaign, with parties promising them everything from debt waivers to crop insurance. In the last 10 months, the Central and state governments have launched an array of farmer-friendly schemes, especially in drought-hit regions like Bundelkhand. The Congress has vowed to write off

UP Allahabad Gramin Bank regional manager SK Patra said non-performing assets in Chitrakoot had doubled from Rs 52 crores last year to Rs 100 crores this year. “It is getting difficult to help the farmer,” he said. “If the loans are not regularised, the farmer is deprived of crop insurance, the interest rates are high and he is ineligible for fresh loans.”

ineffective as ineligible farmers made the cut while only a few banks – the Land Development Bank and cooperative banks – were covered.

CORNERED BY DEBT In the absence of any relief, farmers have continued to suffer. Those in Bundelkhand, especially, have seen their debts mount on the back of consecutive crop failures since 2014. According to Bundelkhand Kisan Union leader Anil Pradhan, agricultural indebtedness in the region is 80% against the state average of 45%. Abhinandan Mishra, the lead district manager who oversees the credit plans of 16 banks in Chitrakoot, said that loans worth Rs 818 crores were disbursed last year, of which unpaid dues amounted to Rs 664 crores. As the number of farm loans rises each year, so does the number of defaulters. “Nearly one-third of all loans taken on Kisan Credit Cards have been restructured," Mishra said. "Currently, UP Allahabad and Allahabad Gramin Banks have the highest number of defaulters.” UP Allahabad Gramin Bank regional manager SK Patra said non-performing assets in Chitrakoot had doubled from Rs 52 crores last year to Rs 100 crores this year. “It is getting difficult to help the farmer,” he said. “If the loans are not regularised, the farmer is deprived of crop insurance, the interest rates are high and he is ineligible for fresh loans.” Mishra said the farmer was not a bad

customer, just one with many problems. “Loan recovery is very slow in Bundelkhand due to consecutive droughts and this builds pressure on banks,” he added.

COERCIVE TACTICS According to SK Patra of the UP Allahabad Gramin Bank, the recovery process begins with banks sending a notice to the borrower. If the borrower is deemed a wilful defaulter – one who has the ability to pay but chooses not to a legal notice is issued. In many cases, depending on when the loan was taken and the farmer’s financial state, banks recommend restructuring of the account, which entails relaxing some of the original terms and conditions, such as interest rates. Apart from banks, tehsils also monitor loan repayment, often by sending recovery agents to the borrower’s home. The pressure of bad loans leads to the use of coercive measures such as threats, public naming and shaming, legal notices without warning and even jail time. However, bank and tehsil officials denied the use of such methods. Patra said his bank was involved in organising camps in villages, going door to door to raise awareness and involving the panchayat. Manikpur tehsildar Raju Kumar Verma, too, said, “There is a freeze on farm loan recovery and no coercive collection is on.” However, farmer Jagatpal said that if the tehsil had issued a notice about the

farm debts within 10 days of coming to power, while reminding voters of its track record. But a 2013 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General shows the debt waiver scheme launched by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre left out one in 10 eligible farmers while 6% did not receive benefits according to entitlements and 35% were not given debt waiver certificates, making them ineligible for fresh loans. After the last Assembly elections in 2012, the Samajwadi Party government had rolled out a Rs 1,650-crore debt waiver scheme. But that, too, was SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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suspension of loan recovery, he was unaware of it. “The amin (recovery agent), sometimes even two of them, keeps coming,” he added. Lost in this cycle of crop failure, mounting debt and loan recovery are the tragedies playing out in the homes of affected farmers.

12 YEARS IN DEBT Ram Lochan’s tractor is 12 years old. So is his loan of Rs 2.5 lakhs from the Manikpur branch of UP Allahabad Bank. But that has more than doubled now. The farmer has suffered successive crop failures since the drought in 2003. More recently, heavy rain in August washed out his sesame crop. The crisis has forced two of his three sons to migrate for work, leaving their families behind. The third son, Jagatpal, has inherited his father’s 14 bighas and his loan. In 2014, the recovery agents came knocking on their door. “They handed us a recovery certificate and threatened to seize our tractor and auction our house and lands,” said the 45-year-old farmer. “Our name went up on the wall… it was a humiliating experience.” Since then, the family has been paying the bank monthly instalments of varying amounts. They have also borrowed more, informally. The family of 18 relies on one ration card issued to them under the National Food Security Act. “What do we eat?” asked Jagatpal. “Sometimes we eat salt and roti for days, and at other times, nothing.” Lochan does not know when his financial troubles will be over. “Perhaps another three years,” he said, hazarding a guess. “The bank doesn’t tell us how much of the loan is left to repay. Just last month, I enquired in Manikpur… they said nothing. We ask the amin who comes by every month, but he tells us nothing.”

TRACTOR TROUBLE Anil Kumar holds the third spot on the defaulters’ list on the wall, one above Ram Lochan. Ten years ago, he took a bank loan of Rs 3 lakhs to buy a tractor. That amount has doubled to Rs 6.1 lakhs. “I don’t know how that happened,” he said. “When I bought the tractor, the SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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The third son, Jagatpal, has inherited his father’s 14 bighas and his loan. In 2014, the recovery agents came knocking on their door. “They handed us a recovery certificate and threatened to seize our tractor and auction our house and lands,” said the 45-year-old farmer.

interest rate was 9%, then it was 14%.” A 2014 IndiaSpend report explained, “For a Bundelkhand farmer, a loan of Rs 10,000 rises to Rs 18,704 in four years.” It argued that farm loans here were “deadlier than home loans… for the first six months of the cropping season, the interest rate is 4% per annum, skyrocketing to 22% per annum if the loan remains unpaid after a year”. Last summer, the tehsil sent a recovery agent to Kumar’s home in Kota Kandela gram panchayat. “I wasn’t home but my wife and three children were,” he said. “The amin arrived with a recovery certificate and threatened my children that the bank would take away our cattle and tractor, tear down our house and send me to jail.” A frightened Kumar moved the Allahabad High Court to obtain a stay order against the notice. He added, “I thought of repaying the

loan this year. But how, the crop (sesame) has failed again.” According to the farmer, the tractor he took the loan for has brought him nothing but trouble. The police have impounded it on more than one occasion and also booked him on the allegation that he is involved with dacoits. This part of Manikpur is dacoit country, once home to the feared Dadua gang. Farmers still face threats from the remaining gangs. Last month, the police took Kumar into custody for allegedly “giving Dadua dinner”.

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES Yogendra Kumar Singh, 40, has not had steady employment for eight years. It wasn’t always like that. In 2008, he was a farmer with a plan. “I wanted to start a dairy business, so I took a loan of Rs 1.9 lakh,” he said. But one family emergency after another ensured Singh’s plan never took off. First, his father was diagnosed with liver cancer and he used up the loan and sold 80% of his 15 bighas to pay for the treatment.

Chitrakoot district, and the only farmer on the list. He has just received a fresh notice from the tehsil informing him that a date for the sale of his house has been set. Singh will lose his house – which has also been badly damaged by the monsoon – and land if he doesn’t repay his loan by the year-end. He asked in desperation, “What have I done? Have I stolen the money? Have I looted someone? All I did was take a loan to start an honest business.” Singh’s wife Archana has frequent anxiety attacks because of the family’s troubles. “The house is torn up and my daughter is of age, and this makes me nervous,” she told Scroll.in, before clutching her chest in pain and collapsing on a cot. Her sister-in-law Kesar said this was normal. “She faints at least thrice a day,” Kesar said. Singh said he had tried to get a basic loan under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana but was rejected because of his credit history. The scheme, with the slogan Fund the Unfunded, offers a basic loan of Rs 50,000 without collateral or a processing fee.

Soon after, Singh’s brother developed kidney trouble and his wife was diagnosed with a heart condition. Over the years, the medical bills piled up and so did the debt, which now amounts to Rs 2.6 lakhs. He worked odd jobs – as a security guard, a courier and a broker – to pay the bills.

Karwi tehsildar Gulab Singh said the wall was just a record “to motivate debtors to repay loans, not embarrass them”. But that is not how Singh and others like him see it. A lawyer from the tehsil, who did not want to be identified, said, “Of course, debtors should be ashamed. The wall is intended to humiliate them.”

Currently, he is defaulter number nine on the wall at Karwi tehsil, also in

(By Priyanka Kotamraju, Pavithra Chandrasekar, & Anshu Lalit, for Scroll) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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YOGA

HOW TO LOWER STRESS AND INFLAMMATION BY YOGA BREATHING Marlynn Wei, MD, JD, a board-certified Harvard and Yaletrained psychiatrist and therapist in New York City, and author of the upcoming book 'The Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga', shows how to lower stress and inflammation through a simple yoga breathing technique. oga isn’t just about physical poses. The ancient practice has specific yogic breathing techniques known as pranayama. Yoga breathing has been scientifically shown decrease stress, lower blood pressure, and improve immunity. A new study has found that yoga breathing may also lower stress-related inflammation in the body.

Researchers measured samples from the beginning of the exercise in five-minute intervals up to 20 minutes and found that, at the end of 20 minutes, three stress-related biomarkers significantly decreased in those who did the yoga breathing exercise but not in people who were just reading.

The study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that yoga breathing for just 20 minutes was able to lower stressrelated markers of inflammation measured in the saliva.

You can experience the relaxing effects of yoga breathing at home, with as little time as one minute a day. Rhythmic yoga breathing can reduce stress and improve focus, and many ratios (not just the 2-84 exercise in the study) can be helpful.

Try a simple yoga breathing exercise for as little as a minute a day to reduce stress and relax. It's best to pick a regular time to practice yoga breathing, whether it's first thing in the morning, when you transition from work to home, or right before bedtime.

Researchers examined levels of biomolecules in the body called cytokines in the saliva of twenty participants. Half of the group read text for 20 minutes while the other half did specific yoga breathing exercises: 10 minutes of Om chanting and 10 minutes of rhythmic breathing. Om chanting is an ancient practice that repeats the sound or vibration “Aum.” Rhythmic breathing is a simple breathing exercise that regulates the breath based on specific counts. In this study, yoga instructors taught participants to inhale for two counts, hold for eight counts, and exhale for four counts. The notation for this breathing exercise is 2-8-4, which based on inhalation-hold-exhalation. (Note: There can also be a pause at the end of your breath cycle after exhalation, which is a more advanced technique).

Just a short but important note of caution: Yoga should never be painful—this goes for breathing exercises, too.

Come to a comfortable seat and sit upright with your spine tall.

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Rhythmic Breathing Exercise

Rhythmic breathing is a simple yoga breathing technique with set intervals for

inhalation, exhalations, with additional pauses after inhalations or exhalations. The breath has four parts: inhalation, pause at the “top” of the breath,” exhalation, and a pause at the “bottom” of the breath. Adding pauses after exhalations is a more advanced technique and should be reserved for those with yoga breathing experience.

Close your eyes and bring your attention to your natural breath. Inhale through your nostrils for four counts and imagine your lungs filling up from the bottom, middle, and all the way to the top. Exhale through your nostril for four counts. Imagine your lungs emptying from top, middle, and the bottom. Repeat this breath pattern for 10 cycles. Next, inhale your nostrils for four counts, hold for four counts, and then exhale through your nostrils for four counts. Repeat this breath pattern for 10 cycles.

Marlynn Wei

Once you are comfortable timing of

your breath, you can also repeat sayings or mantras in your mind as your breath to pace yourself. For example: I inhale slowly and steadily as I feel my chest expand with air. I pause to let the air fill and circulate through my entire body. I exhale to empty all the air from my lungs, releasing any tension. Try these yoga breathing exercises a few minutes a day, working up to 10-15 minutes over a month. We'll be including many more yoga breathing exercises in our upcoming book.

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SOCIAL

IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE ESSENTIALLY AN 'UN-INDIAN' CONCEPT?

PEOPLE TAKE A LOT MORE WORK HOME NOW, AND THEY ALSO BRING A LOT MORE OF THEIR PERSONAL LIVES TO WORK. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE BREADWINNERS WHO ARE LEFT WITH NO OPTION BUT TO COMMUTE FOR LONG DISTANCES (NOT TO MENTION ENDURE LONG HOURS) TO AND FRO? AS EMPLOYEE FATIGUE ISN'T CULTURE-SPECIFIC, IS THERE A BUSINESS CASE FOR IMPLEMENTING A WORK-FROM-HOME SCHEME? HOWEVER, IN INDIA, THE REALITY IS STARKER THAN NEW-AGE TECHNOLOGY AND IDEAS CAN EVEN FATHOM, LET ALONE OFFER SOLUTIONS FOR.

n an upscale lifestyle boutique in south Mumbai, the concept of work-life balance is a bit of a joke. So much so that when a friend who works there announced to her colleagues that I was looking for someone to interview for this story, ideally someone who felt that their worklife balance had been compromised, the entire group burst out laughing. That’s because they all had horror stories to share, stories of working overtime for no extra pay or giving up their days off with little to no notice at all. “I would say it is very difficult to have work-life balance working in retail… there’s probably no work-life balance at all,” my friend, who is 25 and has worked at the store for around nine months, said. She asked to remain anonymous to protect her job. While officially the opening hours of the store are fixed between 10am and 8pm, in reality employees find themselves working longer, keeping the doors open late to accommodate customers looking to pick up luxury tableware or other home decor items past closing hours. Even taking their one mandated day off every week is sometimes a struggle, because no two employees in the small team can be away at the same time, making for difficult situations in cases of medical or family-related emergencies. This is certainly an extreme situation but the employees’ gripes are no doubt familiar to those of Indian workers in SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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other industries, too. Across the country, work-life balance remains elusive with many spending hours at the office, often at the expense of their personal lives. Indeed, five of India’s biggest cities Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi rank extremely low when it comes to work-life balance, according to a recent study of 100 cities around the world by the Amsterdambased consultancy Arcadis. While Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata ranked in the 70s, Mumbai was at number 86 and New Delhi at 87. To measure work-life balance, Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Report looked into the average annual working hours in each city and the results were clear: Indians work around 2,195 hours on an average every year, far above the 1,473 hours a year in Hamburg, the city that ranked among the top three for work-life balance. That adds to the results of a 2015 study by EY that surveyed worklife balance in eight countries, including India. Over 30% of the Indian respondents in that study said that managing work, family, and personal responsibilities had become harder in the past five years. Policies on paper To be sure, in recent years, the need for work-life balance has increasingly been acknowledged by a number of companies across sectors in India. A 2012 study published in the South Asian Journal of Global Business Research showed that among private and multinational firms like Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, and GE, “work-life interventions” ranging from flexible hours and work-from-home options to childcare facilities at the workplace were made available for employees. “It’s certainly very much more in the consciousness of HR departments than it was even 20 years ago (or) 15 years ago,” Ujvala Rajadhyaksha, the author of the study and an assistant professor at Governors State University in Illinois, said. That could explain why India is surprisingly ahead of the curve when it comes to paternity leave, for instance. Around 75% of Indian firms now offer days off for new dads, according to data from Mercer. That makes India among the world’s top-five countries with the most number of companies offering paternity leave above the statutory requirement. And with maternity leave being extended to around six months,

India Inc. has definitely taken some big steps forward towards making life easier for new parents. But while on paper that sounds like great news, it’s not necessarily great in reality, notably for Indian women. That’s because most Indian working women struggle with a double burden: they’re expected to take good care of their kids and households and at the same time thrive at the workplace. While companies are investing in programs to improve gender diversity in the office, with mentorship schemes and professional workshops targeting women, these policies don’t have an effect on women’s conventional social roles as good wives and mothers. “Gender roles have not changed rapidly enough… So you see particularly working women in India getting buffeted by the stresses and strains of trying to deal with longer work hours and not

India’s cities are already overcrowded, but the UN estimates that another 300 million people will be living in these centres by 2050. shedding off their older roles,” Rajadhyaksha said. And that’s a problem for work-life balance. Bengaluru-based Chaya D knows this story all too well. The 51-year old worked in the hotel industry for years, including a stint with the Taj Group, putting in long hours to keep up with the demands of her job. But when her two daughters were born in the ’90s, she decided to take a seven-year sabbatical to have more time with her family. “The majority of women who work for hotels have this challenge,” she said, adding that Indian women bear the burden of raising children with often very little help from their husbands. This forces them to rely on live-in maids or in-laws if they continue working. But such help isn’t always easy to find. Meanwhile, corporate India is a long way away from making room for the daily demands of childcare. Even though a number of companies are offering

creches and day-care facilities on site, they’re still not common enough. Many talented women, thus, take long career breaks or even quit permanently. And what makes things worse for all workers is a problem particular to India: dreadful urban infrastructure. The travails of traffic India’s cities are already overcrowded, but the UN estimates that another 300 million people will be living in these centres by 2050. Now that’s a problem because urban infrastructure in India is already creaky. Indeed, in Bengaluru, labelled as India’s Silicon Valley, the traffic is so bad that employees spend on an average two hours a day commuting, adding up to a whopping 470 hours per employee, per year. Last year a satirical website joked that IT companies would offer “Work from Traffic” as an option to employees. And that’s not even unlikely, given that it’s not uncommon to see city techies stuck in jams, working on their laptops inside cabs. What’s more, in Mumbai and its suburbs, there are people who travel an insane eight hours a day getting to and from work. As Rajadhyaksha puts it, that’s “a lot of unproductive time just being stuck on the streets.” For employees who work in the technology industry, for instance, this sorry state of affairs, combined with the need to coordinate business with other time zones, notably the US, makes life hell. A Bengaluru-based project manager who works in the industry told me that it’s the “outside office” factors that mark the difference between working in India and working in a country like the US, where he lived for three years. The 31-year-old, who asked not to be named as he isn’t authorised to speak to the media, said that in India, the work day starts late because of traffic and the time it takes to recover from being stuck in traffic. The day ends late too, because of evening meetings, making for longer hours. And while he noted that company policies were in place to encourage work-life balance, the reality is that work comes first. “I work for one of the better companies and they do attempt (to encourage worklife balance). However, (at the) end of the day what matters is business,” he said. And that goes for every industry, making the balance of work and life a complicated endeavour in India. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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STARTUP

A SMALL PLUG TO STORE A LIFETIME OF DATA NEXTDRIVE, A TAIWANESE STARTUP IS MAKING THE WAVES FOR INVENTING A SMALL PLUG TYPE DATA STORAGE DEVICE THAT CAN STORE 24 TERABYTES OF DATA, AND WHICH NEED NOT BE CARRIED AROUND, AS IT CAN RECEIVE AND SEND BACKUP DATA THROUGH 4G OR WIFI. IT IS SOMETHING LIKE YOUR PERSONAL CLOUD! o one wants to shoot a smartphone video or start updating software only to find a popup saying storage is full. Photos and music probably maxed out the phone. A certain six people in Taiwan kept running into these problems and knew plenty of others who did, too. So they decided to do something about it commercially. They were the original members of the firm NextDrive, the founder of which once designed USB chips for an American company but worried about his future as phones and pads were installing fewer jacks. So a year ago October they began selling electrical plugs at NT$2,990 ($94.1) each to absorb extra photos and sound files. The plug competes with USB on-the-go cables that link smartphones to flash drives. But the plug can be parked anywhere in the world, not something you need to carry around like another accessory. Users send their excess files by WiFi, 3G or 4G mobile phone services using a NextDrive app for iPhones or Android phones. NextDrive has sold about 10,000 of the black rectangular devices since their launch in October 2015 and posted profits of 20% to 30%, founder and CEO Yan Jer-yuan says. Most sales were made online in Taiwan, with a small market in the United States. “We discovered that phone users didn’t want to carry something else when they bring their phones,” says Yan, 46. “So we figured we’ve got something you don’t have to take out.” The startup based in suburban Taipei first designed a wireless SD card reader to absorb smartphone overflow but realized people didn’t want to cart it around while out. NextDrive also considered cloud storage but

its staff feared that would rely too much on Internet speeds or hit limits on free use, the Taiwanese online news service Meet reports. The plug siphons off excess photos in bulk and audio files one by one (the designer is still working on a way to offload videos). Plug owners can put 24 terabytes, essentially a lifetime’s worth of data, into the black rectangular blockshaped devices that come with standard electrical cord prongs and a USB port. The USB port can allow transfers of photos later to other mass storage devices as well as accept additional files from cameras or phones. Customers complain that the plug’s app updates too slowly on iPhones, Yan acknowledges. His firm must redo it every time Apple asks users to install a new version of iOS and never knows when that will happen. He cites no other recurring gripes. “Most people are positive on the plugs, otherwise we wouldn’t sell 10,000,” he says. From the end of this year the company, now at 26 employees, expects to start selling its relatively new NextDrive Cube in Japan. NextDrive picked Japan after winning a design award there and finding a Japanese telecom partner. It now needs regulatory approval. The cube, like the plug, can store excess smartphone files. It also comes with a sensor and camera for recording motion, air temperature and humidity. NextDrive expects the NT$3,970 setup designed largely for business security will sell 200,000 units next year after a crowdfunding campaign.

USERS SEND THEIR EXCESS FILES BY WIFI, 3G OR 4G MOBILE PHONE SERVICES USING A NEXTDRIVE APP FOR IPHONES OR ANDROID PHONES. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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CHALLENGE

2 YEARS OF SWACHH BHARAT FAILS TO END OPEN DEFECATION

of the Swachh Bharat Mission, we asked a more difficult follow-up question: What do you think the programme does? We allowed people to volunteer as many activities as they could think of and we categorised their responses. Most people thought the goal of the Swachh Bharat Mission was general cleanliness, of homes and public spaces. This is no surprise given the ubiquitous image of government officials sweeping streets and cleaning public spaces. There was shockingly little awareness that an important goal of the Swachh Bharat Mission was to eliminate open defecation. Only 5% of respondents in Delhi-NCR and 3% in Uttar Pradesh mentioned that the programme had something to do with toilets or their use.

October 2 marked the second anniversary of India’s flagship sanitation programme, the Swachh Bharat Mission. On the occasion, high-ranking government officials across the country donned plastic gloves to collect garbage in front of media cameras. In Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh commemorasted the day by commending children for telling their elders not to litter. In Patna, a member of Parliament collected rubbish in a fancy silver bin, flanked by supporters. Where I am, in Panaji in Goa, government employees awkwardly swept the streets. ut in none of these places would one have guessed, from the day’s activities, the main goal of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Over two years ago on Independence Day, from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shocked the nation by talking about the need to eliminate open defecation, and proposed the lofty goal of doing so by the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019. Two months later, the Swachh Bharat Mission was born. Poor sanitation spreads infectious diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of children each year, and stunt the physical and cognitive development of those who survive. Announcing a goal of accelerating the reduction in open defecation was a great idea, articulating a worthy goal for serious public policy efforts But in the years since, the main objective of the campaign appears to have been conveniently forgotten by the nation’s SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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leaders, with huge consequences. We are almost half-way through the prime minister’s flagship programme and awareness of its primary objective – to eliminate open defecation – is still abysmally low.

Little awareness We conducted a phone survey to try to understand how much awareness there was about the programme. Between spring and summer 2016, we talked to over 2,500 individuals, a sample representative of Delhi, the National Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh. We first asked respondents whether they had heard of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Sixty-two per cent of people in DelhiNCR and 40% of urban and rural Uttar Pradesh claimed they had. However, it is possible that some respondents may have answered positively merely in order to appear engaged, or because they believed “yes” was the socially-desirable response. To people who claimed they had heard

That the Swachh Bharat Mission has turned into a public cleanliness campaign, that too for basically one day of the year, gets us no closer to accelerating the reduction of open defecation in the country. Although it may be more convenient to avoid conversations about open defecation, the costs of doing so are enormous. A more appropriate way to celebrate the anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission would be to publicly engage with the reasons why open defecation persists. The history and continuing practice of untouchability plays an important role in explaining widespread open defecation in India, and openly addressing these issues on Gandhiji’s birthday would be a fitting tribute to the legacy of the beloved leader, who challenged caste divisions by asking his followers to empty their own chamber pots. October 2 also marked another historic event: The Indian government ratified the Paris climate change agreement. India’s commitment to this deal is an important step towards curbing the rise in global temperatures that would have a profound impact on human health and well-being. I only hope that the government’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions does not suffer the same fate as its promise to end open defecation.

(By Sangita Vyas, Managing Director for Sanitation, Research Institute for Compassionate Economics)

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AUTOMOTIVE

4 PREMIUM CARS & SUVS LAUNCHING SOON Honda Accord Hybrid The full sized executive saloon will re-enter the Indian markets in its hybrid avatar. As per the reports, Honda might launch Accord by this Diwali. Honda outlets have already begun accepting orders for an upfront payment of Rs 51,000. Honda's new offering will compete against Toyota Camry and Skoda Superb in the premium luxury sedan segment.The price of the new Honda Accord is likely to fall between the Rs 25 to 30 lakh bracket.

New 2016 Toyota Fortuner

Toyota has been riding high on the success of their newly launched Innova Crysta in the country and the company is set to launch a new model of their most anticipated SUV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Toyota Fortuner on 7th November 2016. Toyota's premium SUV was launched in 2009 in India and received a mid-life facelift as well. But given that Toyota Fortuner's competitors like the Ford Endeavour has been updated with a lot more goodies, the car is in need of a revamp more than ever. The new Fortuner has already been unveiled globally and is powered 2,755 cc 16-valve DOHC engine that delivers 174 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque. It still remains to be seen as to what kind of a powertrain and features the India-spec variant receives. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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Jaguar F-Pace Tata Motors-owned British luxury automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) recently announced October 20 as the launch date for their upcoming performance SUV Jaguar F-Pace. The starting price is set at Rs 68.4 lakh whereas the topend edition costs a whopping Rs 1.12 crore (ex showroom, Delhi). Jaguar FPace will come with two engine options - the 2.0-litre Ingenium Diesel mill, which is capable of churning out 179.5PS and the 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 motor that gives out a massive 300.5PS of power and over 700Nm of torque.

Nissan GT-R Nissan has started prebooking of its latest car GT-R in India. The new GT-R was unveiled by the Japanese car major in New York in March and will hit Indian shores later this year. The sportscar has the potential of jumping from 0 to 100 kmph in less than 3 seconds, thanks to the 3.8-litre V6 twinturbocharged engine. Interested customers can pre-order their 2017 Nissan GT-R by paying a deposit of Rs 25 lakh, Nissan Motors India said in a statement. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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CHANGE

AUTOMATION COULD CAUSE ANXIOUS MOMENTS FOR MAKE-IN-INDIA PLANS Predictions that automation will make humans redundant have been made before, however, going back to the Industrial Revolution, when textile workers, most famously the Luddites, protested that machines and steam engines would destroy their livelihoods. However, automation may prove to be more of a spoilsport than a disruptor for the Make In India initiative. Although what determines vulnerability to automation is not so much whether the work concerned is manual or white-collar but whether or not it is routine, this could still be a slippery slope for Modi's industrial job push. ndia’s jobs could be under severe threat from automation. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim painted a grim picture during a discussion on extreme poverty at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC on Oct. 04, noting that automation poses a serious threat to jobs, especially in developing markets like India, China, and the countries in Africa. He then urged governments to re-think their strategies for providing new jobs to the millions joining the workforce every year. Referring to research based on World Bank data, Kim said 69% of all jobs in India could be at risk because of automation. In China, this figure is expected to be around 77%. Although Kim did not give any details on when the switch to more automated jobs would take place, he indicated that the consequences would be dire. “Now, if this is true, and if these countries are going to lose these many jobs, we then have to understand what paths to economic growth will be available for these countries and then adapt our approach to infrastructure accordingly,” he said. “As we continue to encourage more investment in infrastructure to promote growth, we also have to think about the kinds of infrastructure that countries will need in the economy of the future. We all know that technology has and will continue to fundamentally reshape the world,” he added. Kim’s comments add to the challenges faced by the ruling Narendra Modi government in India, which has been actively promoting its “Make in India” program to attract investment and SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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subsequently boost jobs, in labourintensive manufacturing sectors. But these sectors are particularly prone to infiltration by automation with hi-tech robots potentially replacing laborers on the work-floor. India is set to add a huge population of young workers to its labour force. By 2050, India’s working-age population is expected to cross one billion to become the largest in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a report by the United National Development Programme (UNDP) released in April. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014 promising more employment but hasn’t really achieved much success so far. Between January and December 2015, only 135,000 new jobs were added in eight labour-intensive sectorsthe lowest in six years.

Automation could make things worse. “If we want (Make in India) to be successful, we need to prepare for manufacturing as it will be five years from now, not the way it was five years ago. Given the rapid changes happening in manufacturing, we should be cognizant that manufacturing by itself is no panacea for our challenges of economic and job market growth,” Rishikesha T. Krishnan, director and professor of strategic management at the Indian Institute of Management, Indore, wrote in Founding Fuel, a media outlet for entrepreneurs, last year. As Kim puts it, “The traditional economic path from increasing productivity of agriculture to light manufacturing and then to full-scale industrialisation may not be possible for all developing countries.”

GADGET

A PIXEL WITH AN ASSISTANT GOOGLE PIXEL AND PIXEL XL ARE UP FOR PRE-ORDERS IN INDIA. HERE'S A LOOK AT THE EXCLUSIVE FEATURES OF THESE SMARTPHONES. Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are available on Flipkart for pre-order. And it looks like Google is only bringing the ‘Quite Black’ colour variant to India for now, with ‘Very Silver’ and ‘Really Blue’ both not available in India yet. Google Pixel and Pixel XL with their premium pricing are set to compete with the likes of Apple iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Google Pixel and Pixel XL are first ‘Made by Google’ smartphones, and come with Google Assistant in-built, which is also the highlight of the devices. Google Pixel and Pixel XL have an aluminum and glass design. Google Pixel is priced at Rs 57,000 for 32GB version in India. The 128GB variant of Google Pixel costs Rs 66,000. Google Pixel XL is available at Rs 67,000 for 32GB storage variant and Rs 76,000 for 128GB version. Here’s a look at the unique features of these phones.

Specifications Google Pixel features a 5-inch full HD display, while Pixel XL gets a 5.5-inch Quad HD display. Google’s new smartphones are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor with 4GB RAM and 32GB/128 internal storage. Google Pixel and Pixel feature pixel imprint fingerprint sensor and support USB-C port for charging. Pixel is backed by a 2,770 mAh battery while Pixel XL gets a bigger 3,450 mAh battery. The smartphones also feature 3.5mm headphone jack.

Camera Google is touting the camera as the USP of these phones. It claims this is the best smartphone camera ever made, and offers one of the best low-light performances in the market. Pixel XL smartphones feature a 12.3MP rear camera with large 1.55 micron pixels and f/2.0 aperture. Google Pixel and Pixel XL have 12.3MP

rear camera with 1.55 micron pixels and f/2.0 aperture. Interestingly both smartphone cameras don’t have OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), but EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization). Google says the EIS does a better job of handling low-light situations as it is dependent on software to compensate for handshakes, poor-lighting, and it will improve over time. The rear camera has an HDR + mode, which is supposed to provide an improved experience of “bright daylight scenes and shadows.” Google also claims the camera has no shutter lag. Then there’s a SmartBurst mode that uses machine learning to detect the best shot taken.

Google Assistant Google Pixel and Pixel XL are the first Google devices to come with Google Assistant built-in. Google’s AI-powered voice-assistant is company’s answer to Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon Alexa. Google Assistant can keep track of daily meetings, appointments and send news, weather updates, as well as find a user’s photos from Google Photos. Google Assistant will also get third-party app in the future. The home button can be long-pressed to activate Google Assistant. Google is

planning to open Google Assistant to developers in December. Google Assistant will be exclusive to Pixel smartphones for the time being.

Storage Google Pixel and Pixel XL users get unlimited online storage for photos and videos in Google Photos. Google says Pixel owners can store everything in full resolution, even 4K video on Google Photos. The unlimited storage space for full resolution can also be carried forward to another device, if the user gives up their Pixel device in the future. Once the device is running out of space, Pixel phones will automatically start deleting local versions of the photos on the device and back them up to the cloud in full resolution. A user has the option of downloading these pictures back on the device. Google has also added a Smart Storage feature that asks users to delete apps they might not have used in a long time.

Pixel launcher Google Pixel, Pixel XL smartphones get the new Pixel launcher, which has some unique features. For starters, a hard press on the phone dialer will show the recent contacts. Plus, there’s a new layout for the apps in the launcher. However, users can change the launcher on the Pixel phones.

Data transfer Google Pixel phones also come with special data transfer option to shift all their data including Messages (iMessages supported), Photos, etc from another Android/iOS device to their new Pixel device. Google has added Quick Switch Adapter in the box, and it is compatible with most phones running Android 5.0 and up, and iOS 8 and up.

Live in-built support Google Pixel smartphones come with a 24/7 live support for Google’s customer service. Also, Pixel users will be able to share their screen with the customer service to make it easier for them to detect the exact problem. Users can pause a screen in the middle of a live chat with the customer service. The new ‘Support’ option is in-built into Google settings itself. Apart from online support, Google will have walk-in customer servicing options in India as well. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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SCIENCE

OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE HAS 10 TIMES MORE GALAXIES THAN EARLIER THOUGHT

explains Conselice.

stronomers using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescopes and other telescopes have performed an accurate census of the number of galaxies in the Universe. The group came to the surprising conclusion that there are at least 10 times as many galaxies in the observable Universe as previously thought. The results have clear implications for our understanding of galaxy formation, and also help solve an ancient astronomical paradox - why is the sky dark at night? One of the most fundamental questions in astronomy is that of just how many galaxies the Universe contains. The Hubble Deep Field images, captured in the mid 1990s, gave the first real insight into this. Myriad faint galaxies were revealed, and it was estimated that the observable Universe contains between 100 to 200 billion galaxies. Now, an international team, led by Christopher Conselice from the University of Nottingham, UK, have shown that this figure is at least ten times too low. Conselice and his team reached this conclusion using deep space images from Hubble, data from his team’s previous work, and other published data. They painstakingly converted the images into 3D, in order to make accurate measurements of the number of galaxies at different times in the Universe’s history. In addition, they used new mathematical models which allowed SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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them to infer the existence of galaxies which the current generation of telescopes cannot observe. This led to the surprising realisation that in order for the numbers to add up, some 90% of the galaxies in the observable Universe are actually too faint and too far away to be seen yet. “It boggles the mind that over 90% of the galaxies in the Universe have yet to be studied. Who knows what interesting properties we will find when we observe these galaxies with the next generation of telescopes,” explains Christopher Conselice about the far-reaching implications of the new results. In analysing the data the team looked more than 13 billion years into the past. This showed them that galaxies are not evenly distributed throughout the Universe’s history. In fact, it appears that there were a factor of 10 more galaxies per unit volume when the Universe was only a few billion years old compared with today. Most of these galaxies were relatively small and faint, with masses similar to those of the satellite galaxies surrounding the Milky Way. These results are powerful evidence that a significant evolution has taken place throughout the Universe’s history, an evolution during which galaxies merged together, dramatically reducing their total number. “This gives us a verification of the so-called top-down formation of structure in the Universe,”

The decreasing number of galaxies as time progresses also contributes to the solution of Olbers’ paradox - why the sky is dark at night [3]. The team came to the conclusion that there is such an abundance of galaxies that, in principle, every point in the sky contains part of a galaxy. However, most of these galaxies are invisible to the human eye and even to modern telescopes, owing to a combination of factors: redshifting of light, the Universe’s dynamic nature and the absorption of light by intergalactic dust and gas, all combine to ensure that the night sky remains mostly dark. The limited speed of light and the age of the Universe mean that the entire Universe cannot be seen from Earth. The part visible within our cosmological horizon is called the observable Universe. The astronomer Heinrich Olbers argued that the night sky should be permanently flooded by light, because in an unchanging Universe filled with an infinite number of stars, every single part of the sky should be occupied by a bright object. However, our modern understanding of the Universe is that it is both finite and dynamic - not infinite and static. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. The results are going to appear in the paper “The evolution of galaxy number density at z < 8 and its implications”, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal.

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CREDIT CARDS

Free lounge access, movie tickets and more: Credit cards offer benefits but don’t miss the caveats ANALYSE YOUR SPENDING PATTERN AND GO WITH A CARD THAT COMPLEMENTS IT he benefits offered on credit cards sound tempting. You can get access to lounges at airports, book free golf sessions, avail of free air tickets and so on. But, when you go beyond the sales pitch, you realise each benefit comes with terms and conditions. Nagpur-based Rohan Trivedi opted for a card that offered “free film tickets worth Rs 6,000”. After using the card, he realised the underlying arithmetic. On purchase of a movie ticket, the card offered another one free. But, this came with restrictions: He could avail of it only twice a month, with a restriction of Rs 250 for each free ticket. This translates into a benefit of Rs 500 a month or Rs 6,000 a year. “While credit cards do save cost through the benefits and discounts they offer, a person should first understand the terms and conditions of each individual feature before enrolling,” says Navin Chandani, chief business development officer at Bank Bazaar.com. Understanding the offer is essential also because there are times when an issuer might appear to offer the same benefit across cards but when you read the fine print, you will realise that the terms and conditions are different for each card category. There will be fewer restrictions on a premium card while a regular free card may come with many. Free airport lounge access: This is usually offered with platinum cards or categories above it. Very few offer this in free cards and if they do, the customer needs to pay to access the lounge. For platinum card holders, there’s usually a restriction of two visits each quarter (eight in a year) and it’s restricted to domestic routes within the country. This means, you may not be able to access a lounge that is part of an international terminal. Once you cross the limit, you need to shell out between Rs 750 and Rs 1,000 for the SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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access. For the service, banks tie-up with Visa or MasterCard, which in turn have partnerships with airport lounges. There’s another service provider called Priority Pass, which offers three-tier membership in India. Standard membership costs $99 and a member has to pay around $27 for each visit. The fee is charged in dollars and the lounge levies the applicable conversion fee depending on the dollar rate on the particular day. Standard Plus plan ($249) offers 10 free visits and there’s unrestricted access in the Prestige plan ($399). When you are signing up with a card

company, check the service provider, network of lounges and number of times you can visit. The Standard Plus and Prestige plan are offered only in exclusive cards that are by invitation only. Free golf games: These are typically restricted to one per quarter. It gives you access to a golf club without being its member. This is called as Green Fees. But the cardholder needs to pay for the caddy, cart fee and any charges applicable at the golf course. Sometimes, this offer is linked to spending. The bank may offer one round of golf every month, provided the

cardholder spends Rs 1 lakh or more in the preceding month. “These may also come with restrictions such as booking your visit 15-30 days in advance,” says Naveen Kukreja, chief executive officer and co-founder, Paisabazaar.com. Free tickets: These are usually offered in a co-branded card. The customer receives one free ticket on signing up and then every year, on renewal of membership. But it covers only the base price of the tickets. All taxes, surcharges and fees need to be borne by the cardholder. The customer also gets to convert purchases into air miles. But, it is not easy. To travel between Mumbai and Delhi one way, you would need around 8,000 miles or minimum spends of Rs 2 lakh in a year. Besides, these expire at the end of the year and can only be carried forward by paying a fee. Similarly, cards that offer waiver of fuel surcharge only do so for a restricted amount each month. Free membership offered could be conditional — if you spend beyond a particular threshold every year. Features you need Cards that offer such high-end benefits come with an annual fee. “These can vary from Rs 3,000 to Rs 12,000. If you sign getting lured by benefits that cannot be fully used, the money will be wasted,” says Kukreja. An individual, therefore, needs to analyse where he spends the most before signing up for a card. Take a card that offers benefits based on your spending. “The card you take up shouldn’t force you to change your habits, rather should complement these,” says Chandani. Do you travel frequently and need access to an airport lounge? Do you prefer travelling by a particular airline? Do you run up a huge shopping bill? First shortlist cards those offer you features ‘aligned’ to your spending. Check if you can earn higher reward points for the area where you spend the most. Then, look at the benefits offered. Calculate the maximum benefit you can get by enrolling with an issuer.

MAKE YOUR VEHICLE MORE SECURE

From October 2017, certain safety features will be made mandatory in cars. These include airbags, antilock braking system (ABS) and rear view cameras. This could increase the price of entry-level cars by Rs 25,000-30,000, says Kamal Soi, of the National Road Safety Council. Entry level cars, such as Alto or Hyundai i10, currently account for 60-70 per cent of all cars sold. Maruti Suzuki introduced safety equipment comprising dual airbags with ABS and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) option across all variants of models like Celerio, Wagon R, Wagon R Stingray, Swift, Swift DZire, Ertiga, Ciaz and now the Vitara Brezza. Also, the base variant of Alto now comes with an option of driver side airbag. The SCross and Baleno come with dual airbagsand ABS with EBD as standard. Overall, the company has 14 models and 11 have airbags as an option in all variants. “The price increase is in the range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000. In higher segments, this price does not

include only safety features but also a few other features,” says a Maruti Suzuki spokesperson. Mandatory safety features Airbags: About Rs 10,000 for five airbags. Every car will need to have have a minimum of five airbags. Some bigger vehicles like SUVs could have airbags on the sides as well, to provide cushion during a collision. Rear view camera: Rs 5,00010,000 A high-end camera can record movement of the car. A rear view camera will be made mandatory for large cars like SUVs and large sedans where due to the length there are ‘black spots’. This means the driver is not able to see the rear of the vehicle and this is one of the main causes of accidents, says Soi. Anti-braking system: Rs 5,00010,000 This will be made mandatory in both two- and four-wheelers to prevent skidding on roads, Soi says.

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TECHNOLOGY

FUTURE NAVIGATION MODEL USES WIFI AND CELLULAR DATA, RATHER THAN GPS

3. Civilian GPS signals are unencrypted, unauthenticated, and specified in publicly available documents, making them spoofable. According to Kassas, "By adding more and more sensors, researchers are throwing 'everything but the kitchen sink' to prepare autonomous vehicle navigation systems for the inevitable scenario that GPS signals become unavailable. We took a different approach, which is to exploit signals that are already out there in the environment." Instead of adding more internal sensors, Kassas and his team in UCR's Autonomous Systems Perception, Intelligence, and Navigation (ASPIN) Laboratory have been developing autonomous vehicles that could tap into the hundreds of signals around us at any point in time, like cellular, radio, television, Wi-Fi, and other satellite signals.

GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOOL THAT HELPS MILLIONS OF SMARTPHONE USERS REACH THEIR FINAL DESTINATION WITHOUT BEING LOST. BUT IF WE TELL YOU THAT SOON YOUR ALL-TIME-FAVORITE GPS WILL BE A THING OF PAST IN DAYS TO COME, WILL YOU BELIEVE US? A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE HAS INVENTED A HIGHLY RELIABLE AND ACCURATE NAVIGATION SYSTEM THAT USES EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNALS SUCH AS CELLULAR AND WI-FI, RATHER THAN GPS. Apart from being used as a standalone alternative to GPS, this technology can also be used to develop navigation systems that meet the needs of fully autonomous vehicles like driverless cars and unmanned drones, revealed the researchers. It will further enable current GPS-based systems to enable highly reliable, consistent, and tamper-proof navigation. The research team, which was led by Zak Kassas--assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in UCR's Bourns College of Engineering—revealed that current GPS/INS systems will not meet the demands of future autonomous vehicles for three major reasons: 1. GPS signals alone are extremely weak and unusable in certain environments like deep canyons. 2. GPS signals are susceptible to intentional and unintentional jamming and interference. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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According to Kassas, "By adding more and more sensors, researchers are throwing 'everything but the kitchen sink' to prepare autonomous vehicle navigation systems for the inevitable scenario that GPS signals become unavailable.

In the research, Kassas' team showcased ongoing research that exploits these existing communications signals, called "signals of opportunity (SOP)" for navigation. The system can be used by itself, or, more likely, to supplement INS data in the event that GPS fails. The team's end-to-end research approach includes theoretical analysis of SOPs in the environment, building specialized software-defined radios (SDRs) that will extract relevant timing and positioning information from SOPs, developing practical navigation algorithms, and finally testing the system on ground vehicles and unmanned drones. Asserting that autonomous vehicles will play a pivotal role in a socio-cultural revolution, Kassas said that their ultimate goal is to make the autonomous vehicles function with no human-in-the loop for prolonged periods of time, which also includes performing missions like search, rescue, surveillance, mapping, farming, fire fighting, package delivery, and transportation. This research, which is likely to cater next generation, was presented at the 2016 Institute of Navigation Global Navigation Satellite System Conference (ION GNSS+) in Portland, Oregon. So let’s wait and watch how this latest research will transform the face of the current space-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

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CRICKET

WILL DRS REPLACE UMPIRES?

The DRS was introduced to help umpires. Now, it's on course to replace them. The onfield umpires' authority is steadily being eroded, prompting calls to check the DRS' growing influence. n the first Test between South Africa and India in Durban, in 1992, Sachin Tendulkar earned a dubious distinction for himself. Of being the first player to be given out by the third umpire. Despite the passage of time, this tag is one that refuses to stay in the shadows though it does little to diminish the former player’s outstanding career timeline. A path-breaking initiation at the time, the system of third umpires and television replays was introduced as a way of giving clarity to the on-field umpires’ doubts. It was not meant to take over, but was intended to complement the responsibilities of the two match officials, overseeing the play. Umpire's call Over two decades on, the refereeing module of the sport has been equipped with the Decision Review System, along with the supervising umpires. Teams can utilise the DRS to re-check if they felt the umpire had adjudged a call wrong, mistakenly. It says a great deal for the evolution of the sport, for employing technology to streamline match processes and eliminate contentiousness in umpiring decisions. There cannot be a more telling example than the Sydney Test in the 2007-'08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, to give, in this SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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context. Both India and Australia made mistakes in the test, with name-calling and insults dotting the picture much as the runs and wickets did. Bigger infamy however dogs the nature of Australia’s win over India in the match where Australia’s gamesmanship was bolstered by the umpires’ bias in giving decisions against the visitors. Both the umpires officiating in the match, Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson have retired, but their departure from objectivity still grates to this day. However, the partisanship was a oneoff and umpires, on either side of the incident, have taken a conscious effort in not lapsing in their duties. Nonetheless, since it has started to be used, with the citation of being a viable tool, in 2009, the DRS has augmented this divide of opinion between players and umpires. In a volte-face to its intended conception, it has honed on what had been accepted as reasonable margin of error in umpiring decisions. Previously the sole decision-makers, umpires have now been passed on, hierarchically. Before erroneous umpiring decisions made for loud grumbles and murmurs, the everincreasing usage of DRS has given players and teams legitimacy to

challenge any call that is perceived to be wrong. It has also given leeway, in case of over-turning of the on-field umpire’s call, to fans heckling the official whose initial decision has thus been overturned, seemingly heaping insult upon injury. As it happened in the second Test between Bangladesh and England, a week ago, when Kumar Dharmasena had a slew of decisions overturned by the DRS. The Sri Lankan umpire's castigation piled on to the numbers of those advocating DRS. Concurrently, it also went on to show the enhanced dependency of the players on the DRS. The latter factor is sure pick up further considering the recent rule modification to the DRS by the ICC. Question mark on the umpires This year in September, the ICC implemented a rule change to the DRS that will impact the umpires’ not out decision. The earlier rule specified that if 50% or more of the ball hit the batsman’s pad inside the area extending from the middle of the off-stump to the middle of the leg-stump, covering the bails as well, then the batsman would be declared out upon review. From the ball-tracking perspective, again if 50% or more of the ball pitched fell inside the demarcated area, the on-field umpire’s not out call would be reversed. The new rule sees an extension in the area covering the stumps to determine the impact of the ball with the pad and the projection of the ball pitched through the ball-tracking system. This extension has been 1.9 cm on either side of the stumps, effectively covering the entirety of the stumps. This, in turn, will prove advantageous to the bowling team overwhelmingly. More than supplementing the umpires then, the DRS is then almost supplanting them. And, making the vocation redundant since umpires exercising their discretion in the most basic terms, will result in them being countered and – most probably – overruled. It’s in this vortex of uncertainty that the ICC needs to step in, and step up. Employing technology to speed up the sport is as viable an idea as is. Maintaining and fostering the existing institutions needs to be made just as workable. For, much as engineering systems help brace proceedings, they do not speak authority the way umpires do.

ECONOMY

WHY ONLY 1% OF INDIANS PAY INCOME TAX

NIRMALYA KUMAR, VISITING PROFESSOR AT LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, AND DISTINGUISHED FELLOW AT INSEAD EMERGING MARKETS INSTITUTE, EXPLORES THE ROOTS OF THIS ANOMALY, AND FINDS IT IN A CRISIS OF TRUST. ary Becker, the Nobel Laureate in economics, developed an elegant model of tax evasion based on economic factors. He contended that tax evasion was determined by the tradeoff between tax rates and the cost of punishment for noncompliance. Higher tax rates increase the incentive to cheat as one saves more money from evasion, while the cost of noncompliance deters avoidance. However, both these factors differ dramatically across countries. For

example, in the United States cheating on taxes is a criminal offence and many famous personalities have been imprisoned as a consequence. In Switzerland, it is a civil offense: they levy a fine, then send you back to work, in order to earn and pay. My argument here is that economic factors are not sufficient to explain tax evasion. Some Scandinavian countries with high tax rates and comfortable prisons have low tax evasion. Something else must be at work. My thesis is that the psychological factor of "citizen trust"

is an important determinant in explaining the pervasiveness of tax evasion in countries such as India. With respect to taxation, citizens need to sense three types of trust: 1) The taxes levied will be used to pay for valued services. 2) Their fellow citizens will pay their due share. 3) There is a fair process for revenue collection. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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LOW TAX BASE The problem in India, where estimates show only 1% of the population pays income tax, is that the trust of citizens on all these three dimensions is low. India compares poorly from this standpoint with the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, three other countries that I have lived in. Providing services that individuals cannot procure for themselves – infrastructure, law and order, and the like – is a fundamental duty of governments. Taxes are necessary for this. While governments will always be inefficient, because they are spending someone else’s money rather their own, it is a question of how inefficient they are. In the Indian context, we see a crisis in trust between citizens and the government. While total revenue collection in the country over the past decade has grown by leaps and bounds, citizens do not see any tangible effects on their lives. For example, roads are worse, public transportation is broken, the police are viewed as widely corrupt, and government schools and hospitals are always the last resort. Consequently, Indians do not see their taxes being used efficiently. The second dimension of trust is the belief that your fellow citizens will pay their due share. In India the perception is that the largest tax offenders go scot free, while the more honest or compliant individuals and enterprises are pursued aggressively. To many, it seems there is a penalty for being honest. This is a problem of enforcement. The third trust factor is about there being a fair process of revenue collection. What I have found in my research is that trust is determined by perceptions of "outcome fairness" and "procedural fairness". More interestingly, my

Public trust is one of the most precious assets that a country can have. It is the cornerstone of effective governance, the main ingredient to promote economic growth and social progress. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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research indicates that outcome fairness (e.g., tax rates) will be less of a determinant of citizens’ trust than procedural fairness.

PLAN FOR CHANGE A fair process incorporates six dimensions. To improve these should be the agenda for tax authorities. Bilateral Communication: Power over others often means that we listen less to them and our communication becomes one-sided. Two-way communication that engages citizens and allows them to give suggestions and complaints helps build trust. Impartiality: This has to do with consistency of policies and their application over time. While everyone cannot be treated identically, the system can be more equitable. A lot of the taxation issues that multinationals are facing in India are linked to this aspect of justice. It is impossible to plan without consistent policies. Refutability: The ability to appeal against tax decisions and have them resolved in a fast and cost-efficient manner is crucial. This is a huge problem in India, where the legal system is painfully slow in resolving disputes. Explanation: That means providing citizens with a coherent rationale for decisions and policies, and it calls for greater transparency. The more power we have, the less we feel the need to explain our decisions. But research

indicates that the same decision with an explanation attached is seen as fairer than one without. Familiarity: An understanding of the local conditions under which businesses operate is necessary. Think of service tax and the small business unit where both husband and wife work punishing hours. Perhaps they have a turnover of Rs 10 million and a profit of Rs 1 million. Now, with the service tax implication, they have to hire a new person and do lots of paperwork. The system must have empathy for such folks, which is why small business owners in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are exempted from many regulations and taxes, or have to comply with a simple process that dramatically reduces filing requirements. Interactional Justice: You have to treat people with courtesy and respect. For example, in Singapore you can pay customs duty on wine by presenting your credit card and filling out a form on an automated machine. Often, collections increase if the process is easier, faster and respectful. These six principles are the levers to help improve the citizen’s trust in the tax system. Public trust is one of the most precious assets that a country can have. It is the cornerstone of effective governance, the main ingredient to promote economic growth and social progress. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our distrust is very expensive.”(Credit: Scroll)

TREND

WHY JAPANESE HOMES ARE INVESTING HEAVILY IN RUPEE BONDS LOOKING FOR FAT PROFITS, JAPANESE HOUSEHOLDS ARE BETTING BIG ON THE RUPEE. THE NUMBER OF RUPEE-LINKED BONDS BOUGHT BY JAPANESE HOUSEHOLDS HAS PEAKED THIS YEAR.

he Indian rupee is bonding pretty well with the Japanese. This year, Japanese households have bought rupee-linked bonds like never before, according to Bloomberg. Bonds denominated in foreign currency are known as Uridashi bonds, and are specifically sold to Japanese household investors. Some $1.45 billion worth of Uridashi notes in Indian rupee denomination were sold this year, Bloomberg reported last week. With this, India has overtaken Turkey and New Zealand to grab a spot in the top five nations for Uridashi bonds. The Japanese are making big bets on the Indian currency because the potential return is estimated to be better than other developing economies. “Investors may prefer rupee Uridashi because India’s recent performance is better than other high interest-rate currency countries, implying that the risk of rupee might be lower than other currencies,” Toru Suehiro, a Tokyobased senior market economist at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg. Negative interest rates in Japan have forced individuals to look outside the country for investments and returns. The Indian rupee is estimated to appreciate by 8.1% against the Japanese Yen by the end of 2017, a Bloomberg survey found. The Indian rupee has been one of the best performing currencies among emerging markets, despite external risks. Moreover, the Indian economy’s standout growth rate of 7.6% has made

Asia’s third-largest economy a star performer. Why issue rupee-linked bonds? Indian companies typically raise money from rupee-linked bonds for infrastructure development. Banks also issue these to maintain their capital requirements. Multilateral agencies, too, have been issuing rupee-linked bonds lately. For instance, the International

“

Investors may prefer rupee Uridashi because India’s recent performance is better than other high interest-rate currency countries, implying that the risk of rupee might be lower than other currencies,”

”

Finance Corporation launched its first Uridashi Masala bonds, in March this year, to raise some Rs30 crore from Japanese investors. “Our latest bond opens up a new source of local-currency finance for businesses in India while enabling Japanese household investors to participate in the development of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies,” Jingdong Hua, vice president and treasurer at the IFC, said in a statement when the bonds were announced. Overall, the funds raised through rupee-linked bonds are seeing a drop. In the first nine months of 2016, rupeedenominated bonds raised Rs 2.1 lakh crore, a fall of 16.1% from the same period a year ago, according to data released by Thomson Reuters on October 3. (Credit: Quartz) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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IN-FOCUS

7 REASONS WHY FEDERAL BANK HAS REBOUNDED

SHYAM SRINIVASAN MD, & CEO

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Just two consecutive quarters of good performance, and Federal Bank Ltd’s stock has doubled from where it was less than nine months back. What is more impressive is that the private sector lender’s stock price has scaled an alltime high in recent days. However, at its current market capitalization of around Rs. 13,250 crores, the Kerala headquartered bank’s market valuation remains attractive at only 1.65 times its book value (P/BV). Led by internationally experienced and savvy banker, Shyam Srinivasan, the bank is poised for more growth in the coming quarters and years, thanks to a few unique attributes that sets it apart from the competition. Seasonal Magazine takes a look at some of these strengths, based on tracking the bank’s performance for the past few years.

1) Prudent Underwriting of Loans Federal Bank has desisted from growing any kind of risky credits. This has limited the quantum of the NPAs, that matter more than the percentage. For the last 4-5 years, Federal Bank has seen no dramatic growth in risky credit, and it was a conscious decision. Due to that cautious stance, now Federal Bank is confidently poised for quality growth.

2) Renewed Focus on SME Federal Bank’s traditional strength has been its SME business. But the bank has overhauled it entirely to address the new realities of today. The result is that from the earlier model of ‘SME coming to the bank’, the new model is ‘bank coming to the SME’. Due to their mounting bad loans, PSU banks have been slowing down on SME financing, and this has put Federal Bank in a sweet spot to address this burgeoning market, many segments of which are unaffected by the global slowdown. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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3) Leadership in Remittances

Federal Bank has a unique position in the remittance-fromoverseas business. Around 12.5% of all remittances to India come through Federal Bank. It is the top player in the Middle East to Kerala remittances.

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Federal Bank has a unique position in the remittance-from-overseas business. Around 12.5% of all remittances to India come through Federal Bank. It is the top player in the Middle East to Kerala remittances. But now, Federal Bank more bullish on growing remittances from South East Asian markets like Singapore & Malaysia, than pursuing further growth from traditional stronghold Middle East or reluctant markets for India-remittances like North America & Europe. Federal Bank has tied up with Singapore based Philip Capital towards this, and the bank is also offering portfolio management services to bring in capital from South East Asia.

4) Comprehensive Digital Delivery Ex RBI Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan spoke in a meeting after being shown Federal Bank’s various digital initiatives, this way - “I have seen the future of banking at Federal Bank.” Today, Federal Bank is not a follower

of big banks when it comes to the digital realm. Federal Bank has constituted a digital team of handpicked talents, and pioneered several products that have caught the nation’s attention like paperless selfie accounts, missed call phone recharges, and one of the best smartphone banking apps around. While selfie account has been copied by larger banks since then, the missed call recharge product helped many who were stranded during Chennai floods.

5) Startup Strategies The bank foresees that the many of today’s startups would be tomorrows successful SMEs or even beyond. Federal Bank has pioneered the concept of dedicated branches for startups, branded as ‘Launchpad’. But more than a dedicated branch, Launchpad is an array of products and services through which Federal Bank will provide credit support, equity participation, and financial planning support to startups. Already, highprofile startups like 4TiGO, which is an Uber for trucks, have been assisted

Federal Bank has a vastly improved work culture, during recent years, that has resulted in one of the best customer experiences in the sector.

by Federal Bank. It is promoted by Anjani Mandal and Vivek Malhotra, with IIT / IIM backgrounds and having over 25 years of experience in leading IT companies. They are supported by Indian Oil and have also won funding from Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

6) Work Culture

Federal Bank has a vastly improved work culture, during recent years, that has resulted in one of the best customer experiences in the sector. The workforce constitution is now younger and cosmopolitan as well as trained to put customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs first. The bank has successfully addressed the average age profile, geographical mix, ethnic background, gender mix etc. Today it has a large pool of talent whose average age is below 30 years. Also, around 50% of the staff is women now. When Federal Bank started 400 new branches in newer

geographies, it took care to recruit talent locally, and all together these policies have resulted in a more cosmopolitan work culture and is contributing a more pan India thought process in the bank.

7) Leadership Bandwidth

Just two years after the global financial crisis unfolded, in September of 2010, Federal Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shareholders led by its Board had decided to bring in a thorough banking professional with worldwide exposure, to lead the bank. At the time of joining, Shyam Srinivasan had two decades of experience in MNC banks, which included serving on Standard Chartered Bank's Global Executive Forum, comprising of its Top 100 Executives worldwide. He is an alumnus of IIM Kolkata and NIT Tiruchirapally, and has done a Leadership Development Program from the London Business School. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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CENSORSHIP

Is SEBI's Crackdown on Investment Talk in Social Media, Against Freedom of Expression?

By Raghu Tenkayala

SEBI'S PLAN TO PROTECT INVESTORS FROM FRAUDULENT STOCK TIPS COULD ACTUALLY END UP HURTING THEM. THE REGULATOR'S PROPOSAL TO BAN MARKET DISCUSSIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND WHATSAPP IS OVERLY RESTRICTIVE AND AN ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH. he Securities and Exchange Board of India has outlined a proposal that at first glance serves to protect Indians from fraudulent investment advice. In the age of pyramid schemes, attempting to address that problem is a good idea. But the way SEBI proposes to go about this in the consultation paper is heavy handed, cracking down not on fraudulent advisory services but instead on discussions of stocks and stock tips on social media, email, and on SMS/ Whatsapp. This move would deeply restrict any freespeech and discussion around stock markets. Have a conversation with a friend about a rising stock on Facebook? If this regulation comes into effect, that will be illegal.

SEBI’s proposal says the following: "No person shall be allowed to provide trading tips, stock specific recommendations to the general public through short message services (SMSs), email, telephonic calls, or any other social networking media such as WhatsApp, ChatOn, WeChat, Twitter, Facebook, etc. unless such persons obtain registration as an Investment Adviser or are specifically exempted from obtaining registration." The economist Ajay Shah has pointed out that it is an increase in conversation and discussion that allows people to obtain accurate information. Doing the opposite closes such access to regular investors, legitimising only advisors who are registered to offer advice. And what amounts to a "stock specific recommendation" or a "trading tip"? The fuzzy definition here opens ordinary Indians to a load of trouble if they recommend a stock they saw success with: "Y stock gave me great returns in the past six months." In the scenario that the SEBI proposes putting in place, an advisor on Facebook SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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could legitimately suggest investing in X banking stock, but it will be illegal for an investor to reply saying that X is a bad recommendation, and he prefers Y because Y has a stronger balance sheet.

One solution Discussion is critical key to healthy markets: people should be able to freely debate among themselves whether something is worthwhile to buy (or not). SEBI, in attempting to regulate this, is comparable to another regulator attempting to restrict an individual from recommending a bank service, or app, or washing machine, or any other product/service they use as a customer. One option here is a narrower regulation, restricting public advice and commentary by registered advisory firms in stocks that they have holdings in. That may be more effective than the current broad-ranging proposal that cracks down on anyone commenting on stocks. Some markets like the European Union have addressed the advisory issue by focusing on disclosure: advisors talking about stocks need to disclose holdings in those stocks.

The proposed SEBI regulation on the other hand is overly restrictive, interfering with the right of people to speak freely on social media. Protecting free speech always comes with consequences, some that regulators often don’t like. As Indian Institute of Management–Ahmedabad Professor Jayanth Varma points out, “Everybody wants to become a censor, because censorship is the most powerful weapon in a democracy." This move however, will hurt decisionmaking and knowledge around investing in equity markets. Equity investing has a substantial learning curve for ordinary investors, and its partly through conversations offline and online with their networks that people grow familiar with trading. Choking this off is counterproductive. And free speech aside, the state should not be in the business of regulating comment threads and social chatter – any regulation that proposes such a move deserves a thorough vetting and relook. The cure against fraudulent investment advice is more freedom and transparency, not less.

HEALTH

Poor Sleep Pattern Ups Cancer Risk

FACEBOOK ACTIVITY LINKED TO LONGEVITY

Here comes an interesting fact which could reveal how long you can live by analysing your social networking activities. In a new study, scientists stated that people who most likely accepts friend requests on Facebook have a longer life.

Men, take note! Working night shifts, skipping daytime naps or sleeping for more than ten hours every night may significantly increase your risk of cancer, a new study has warmed. cientists from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China reviewed data obtained via interviews with middle-aged and older Chinese in a cohort of about 27,000 retired workers. The researchers sought to investigate the independent and combined effects of three sleep habits on cancer incidence; night shift work, daytime napping, and night time sleep. Through a questionnaire they ascertained individuals who had worked night shifts for over 20 years, had a habit of taking day time naps and when they usually went to sleep at night and woke up in the morning. The researchers found that men who had worked night shifts for over 20 years had a 27 per cent increased risk of cancer incidence, and that men that did not nap in the day time had double the risk of cancer of those who took a one to 30-minute nap. They also found that men who slept for more than ten hours per night had an increased risk of cancer. However, no such relationship was observed in women. The researchers also found that male participants with at least two of these sleep habits (long-term night shift work, lack of daytime napping, or sleeping over ten hours per night) had a 43 per cent increased risk of cancer incidence and a two-fold increase in cancer mortality compared to those who exhibited none of the sleep habits. The study was published in the journal Annals of Medicine.

he study said that if you accepts all the Facebook friend requests then youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re probably expected to live longer. While, the scientists who studied the facebook activities for more than a decade as part of the research, suggest that people who have strong social media networks and receive multiple friend requests are less likely to die. But there is no relationship for those who initiate more friendships, the authors wrote. The study led by professor Williams Hobb from the Northeastern University and professor James Fowler, from the University of California, San Diego, found an interlink between peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health and their social media accounts, whether in person or online. The study revealed that people become friends in person with only moderate interaction on the social media giant Facebook. For the study, researchers observed data of over 12 million Facebook users over a time span of six months. All the participants were born between 1945 and 1989. Study authors also collected data from the California Department of Public Health from 2012 to 2013 in order verify whether Facebook use affects life or not. After analyzing the data, it was found that accepting friend requests on social media and making more friends does not have any impact of how longer one lives. Also, you would think that the association would go both ways, Hobb said in the newsletter. That was a disappointing finding because it suggests that telling people to go out and make more friends might not improve their health. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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HEALTH

Mental Health Tied to Your Sun Time SUNSHINE matters. A lot. The idea isn’t exactly new, but according to a recent Brigham Young University (BYU) study, when it comes to your mental and emotional health, the amount of time between sunrise and sunset is the weather variable that matters most. our day might be filled with irritatingly hot temperatures, thick air pollution and maybe even pockets of rainclouds, but that won’t necessarily get you down. If you’re able to soak up enough sun, your level of emotional distress should remain stable. Take away sun time, though, and your distress can spike. This applies to the clinical population at large, not just those diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder. “That’s one of the surprising pieces of our research,” said Mark Beecher, clinical professor and licensed psychologist in BYU Counselling and Psychological Services. “On a rainy day, or a more polluted day, people assume that they’d have more distress. But we didn’t see that. We looked at solar irradiance, or the amount of sunlight that actually hits the ground. We tried to take into account cloudy days, rainy days, pollution . . . but they washed out. The one thing that was really significant was the amount of time between sunrise and sunset.” Therapists should be aware that winter months will be a time of high demand for their services. With fewer sun time hours, clients will be particularly vulnerable to emotional distress.

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Preventative measures should be implemented on a case-by-case basis. The study, which was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, started with a casual conversation that piqued Beecher’s professional curiosity. “Mark and I have been friends and neighbours for years, and we often take the bus together,” said Lawrence Rees, a physics professor at BYU. “And of course you often talk about mundane things, like how are classes going? How has the semester been? How ‘bout this weather? So one day it was kind of stormy, and I asked Mark if he sees more clients on these days. He said he’s not sure, it’s kind of an open question. It’s

hard to get accurate data.” A lightbulb went off in Rees’ head. As a physics professor, Rees had access to weather data in the Provo area. As a psychologist, Beecher had access to emotional health data for clients living in Provo. “We realised that we had access to a nice set of data that not a lot of people have access to,” Beecher said. “So Rees said, ‘Well, I’ve got weather data,’ and I’m like, ‘I’ve got clinical data. Let’s combine the pair!’ Wonder Twin powers activate, you know?” The duo then brought in BYU statistics professor Dennis Eggett, who developed the plan for analysing the data and performed all of the statistical analyses on the project. The weather data came from BYU’s Physics and Astronomy Weather Station, and the pollution data came from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Mental and emotional health data came from BYU’s Counselling and Psychological Services Center.

PARENTING

TEACH YOUR KID TO SURVIVE BULLYING Bullying is one of the top concerns that parents have about their children’s safety and well-being—and it can make life a misery. A study carried out by the National Center for Social Research found that 47% of children reported being bullied at age 14, and that it is a particular problem for disadvantaged and minority groups. However, children who tell their parents are more likely to “escape” bullying. Here are five key ways to help your child:

1. Identify the signs The signs of bullying include a child showing behavioral changes, becoming withdrawn, not wanting to go to school, or perhaps developing lots of nonspecific illnesses. If your children reveal that they are being bullied, thank them for having the courage to tell you, and explain that it is the first step to sorting out the problem. Use your best listening skills and try not to get upset or angry. Remain calm and assure them that you will help. Ask sensitively what has been going on, what the bullying has involved, and how it makes them feel, so that you can comfort and reassure them. It is tempting to take over, but if possible, try to consider solutions with your child and ask what he or she would prefer you to do. Bullying can reduce children’s confidence and self-esteem, so highlight their strengths and help them spend time doing whatever helps relieve their anxiety. Always remind them that you are there for them. A number of online sites offer helpful advice.

2. Understand bullying Bullying is often defined as a repeated, deliberate action that relies on an imbalance of power. But even if something has only happened once, it is still serious if your children have chosen to report it. Talk to them about different kinds of bullying and how it can involve not just physical harm or threat, but name calling, leaving someone out, spreading rumors, or making someone do something they do not want to do. Explain how it can involve technology and social media, and show that you know that bullying can be directed at different individuals and groups to different extents. This will help educate them to spot and understand bullying, and demonstrate your empathy for others, too. We also need to encourage children to look out for bullying around them as the vast majority of bullying incidents involve

witnesses who often do not come forward because they worry they will become victims themselves, or believe it is wrong to “tell tales” or “snitch.”

3. Don’t hit back Encourage them not to retaliate aggressively. Fighting back may seem understandable, but it usually makes things worse and can lead to your child being hurt, laughed at, or the one who ends up being disciplined. We need to promote more assertive approaches to managing bullying, rather than aggressive—or passive—ones. Tell them to remove themselves from the situation as quickly as they can, and to report any instances of bullying to an adult.

4. Report it Contact the school if your child feel that he or she is unable to cope with your support alone. Talk to your child beforehand, but make it clear that this is what you must do. You may feel like talking to the bully’s parents, but this can have negative repercussions for you and your child. Try to support the school, which will also want to stop bullying— it is best to do this together. Have an initial conversation with your child’s

teacher who should also be able to involve other colleagues in helping your child through the school’s systems. Together, set out a strategy for tackling the bullying, including follow ups. If your child tells you that he or she is being bullied, keep a diary of who did what, what they said, and note when, where, and how often it happened. Keep a record of any relevant text messages, website comments, or social media postings. But do give the school a chance to work with your child to solve the problem. If you feel the school is not doing enough, however, you may want to take the matter to the school board, or, if necessary, the local authorities.

5. Don’t let it harm their education However difficult the situation, do not keep your child out of school, as this could make the situation worse and will mean that your child is the one who misses out. Whatever you do, remember that a graduated response is most effective in solving bullying problems. Bullying is a serious problem in schools and wider society. It is always wrong, and we need to support schools in helping to make them a place where all our children are safe to learn and develop.

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IN-FOCUS

KVB's Income Records Healthy Growth in Q2 and H1 Karur Vysya Bank, which completed its Centenary Year of operations in early September, in a glittering ceremony with Pranab Mukherjee as Chief Guest, has announced its second quarter results recently. The private sector lender's core growth metric of Net Interest Income has shown a healthy growth of 13.16%. The Karur, Tamilnadu headquartered bank which specializes in consumer and SME sectors, has also grown its total business impressively, crossing the milestone of Rs. 90,000 crore. It has also recently won a prestigious award by Dun & Bradstreet. The bank is led by its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, K Venkataraman, a highly experienced banker who was earlier with SBI Group. arur Vysya Bank is the first private sector lender in India to complete one hundred years of operation in its original identity, and the 11th Indian bank to achieve this feat, with 9 of them being public sector banks. President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, was the Chief Guest in a function at Chennai during early September to mark this unique achievement. During this past quarter of Q2, the

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performance of the Bank was recognized with an award by Dun & Bradstreet as the Best Private Sector Bank for Priority Sector Lending. Aggregate business level crossed the Rs. 90000 crore mark to stand at Rs. 91539 crore up from Rs. 84234 crore a year ago. Deposits were at Rs. 52002 crore up from Rs. 46715 crore, while gross advances moved to Rs. 39537 crore from Rs. 37519 crore. Net Interest Margin (NIM) rose to 3.61% from 3.39% in Q 2 of FY 2016.

Net Interest Income during Q 2 increased by 13.16% from Rs. 437.42 crore to Rs. 494.97 crore and for the half year by 13.43% from Rs. 860.52 crore to Rs. 976.09 crore. For the first half of FY 2017, the net profit was flat at Rs. 272.66 crores as against Rs. 276.80 crores in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, a decrease of 1.50%. For Q 2, the Net Profit figure was at Rs. 126.31 crores vis-Ă -vis Rs. 142.22 crores in Q 2 of FY 2016, less by 11.19%.

Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio stood at 11.44% as against the regulatory minimum of 9%. While asset quality troubles continue to affect all banks in the country, some newer banks are finding the issue more challenging as this is the first major crisis they are going through. How KVB is coping with this issue is better as both the bank as well as its major loan customers have gone through even worst times like wars, famines, market crashes, and recessions. It is not rare to find bank-customer relations that span 2 or 3 generations in KVB. During the second quarter of FY 2017, Ratio of Gross NPA to Gross Advances increased to 2.29% from 1.96%, while the ratio of Net NPA to Net Advances increased to 1.44% from 0.96%, when compared with September of FY 2016. Karur Vysya Bank's core philosophies of nurturing its customers through times, thick and thin, is what has earned it respect among customers and peers, through its 100 years of existence. The bank is professionally managed and guided by its Board of Directors drawn from different fields with vision, experience, knowledge, and business acumen, led by its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, K

Venkataraman who has been a veteran banker with SBI earlier, and B Swaminathan as Non-Executive Chairman. As on date, the bank has 697 branches, 1701 ATMs, 399 Recycler / Cash Deposit Machines and 56 Automatic Passbook Printers. Rather than rest on its laurels, CEO Venkataraman is exhorting Team KVB to get ready for its next 100 years, by continuing with its commitment to provide the best of products and services to its customers through inbranch experience of the highest quality and digital services that are simple, secure, and convenient. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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BUSINESS

Obsession with Ease-of-Doing-Business, Masks More Serious Issues with Indian Manufacturing We should get over our obsession with India's ease of doing business ranking. There are more important things to worry about when it comes to Indian manufacturing.

or the past few years, I have regularly experienced déjà vu when reading the financial news between the months of September and November. First, there is the release of the annual World Bank’s Doing Business report, which ranks 190 countries every year on regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. India, predictably, ranks poorly every year. Second, pundits begin (again, predictably) to criticise the government for not moving fast enough on the blatantly impossible target of pushing India into the top 50 ranking by 2018. And soon enough, the so-called intelligent circles, depending on which side one is on, will furnish India’s ease of doing business ranking as the key reason behind every disappointing statistic on manufacturing, or as a rallying cry for an energetic renewal of policy approach. It seems that the Indian government’s inability to fix routine bureaucracy in Mumbai and Delhi (they are the only sample cities in the Doing Business survey in India) has deep repercussions in the discourse on ideas in India. With another disappointing ranking for 2017, financial commentators over the next week can be expected to gloat over the government’s inability to do enough to ease the business environment.

The wrong approach However, the Modi government, which has staked its entire manufacturing policy on the gilded Make in India campaigns, and on improving India’s ease of doing business ranking, does find itself in the lurch. With almost half its tenure over, there SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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really is no real take-off in the manufacturing and industrial sector. Total exports in 2016 – the biggest indicator of manufacturing competi tiveness – are likely to be less than in 2014, and nothing in India resembles the China take-off of the 1990s, the Japanese and German take-off of the 1950s or the South Korea take-off of the 1970s. This has to be the time for the government to urgently revisit the core assumptions of its policy to promote manufacturing.

The current wisdom is that with the right loosening of regulations and provision of infrastructure, the magical combination of land, labour and capital – as modern economic theory assumes production to be – will materialise into a manufacturing boom employing millions. This explains the government’s utmost focus on pushing up India’s ease of doing business ranking and promoting Make in India with a media and public relations blitz. But it is here where the government is wrong. The building blocks of modern

capitalism are not markets, regulations, equilibrium prices, contracts and trade. These have always existed, and perhaps shall almost always continue to be a part of society. When political scientist Adam Smith wrote of the “invisible hand” in the Wealth of Nations, the industrial revolution in England had not meaningfully taken off. He observed the small-scale workshop economy that was a product of Renaissance Europe. Ancient Rome too had legal sophistication and extensive trade but no modern industry. What uniquely characterizes modern capitalism is the presence of technology, mass production, rational management, mass market and capital. In other words, capitalism’s soul exists not in the stock market (again an early 17th century invention with roots that go much before the industrial revolution) but on the rational management of the factory floor. The government’s approach till now has been to worry about the first part (markets, regulations and trade) but have an almost wholly hands-off approach for the second part

(technology, nurturing, scale, presence of a mass market), leaving this to the international and national private actors.

Nurturing young industry If the government were serious about promoting manufacturing, it needs to go one step further and actively nurture young industries to take off. Why? Because technology and production know-how takes time to institutionalise. Usually manufacturing firms become better through a process of trial and error. But if they are already subjected to the whirlwind of international competition, they are unlikely to take root in the first place. The support can take many forms but is usually through subsidised loans, trade tariffs and other preferential policies. It is for this reason that it is easy for me (a manufacturer) to set up a nutrition or a pharmaceutical factory in India, but not an electronics factory. The pharmaceutical industry has existed in India for long and it is reasonably competitive. Its ecosystem of trained managerial manpower, ingredient suppliers, and Good Manufacturing Practices consultants allow for an enterprising individual with capital to set up a workable factory unit. But similar conditions do not exist for the electronics industry. It is up to the government to allow for the development of similar conditions. The news that India just improved its ease of doing business ranking by a single spot – from 131 last year to 130 – could not have come at a worse time.

Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn just announced that it is putting the brakes on its promised, and extremely hyped $5 billion investment in Maharashtra. This, despite the fact that the Maharashtra government had allotted 1,500 acres for the project, and the bureaucracy was inordinate in assuaging Foxconn’s every concern. The Maharashtra government made doing business for Foxconn as it easy as it can be. However, what really stopped Foxconn is not that it needs 100 licences to open its factory, but the most basic of capitalism’s problems – the absence of customers to sell products to. But will the Indian or Maharashtra government use India’s burgeoning electronics market that is already addicted to Chinese imports – as leverage to force these private actors to manufacture electronics in India? Almost certainly not. The bevy of thinkers with a religious belief in free trade that advise this government shall prevent that from ever happening. What we should think about is how on earth China became the largest exporter and manufacturer in history despite ranking 78 and 80 in the Doing Business report for the last two years respectively. But what will continue, however, is our collective scapegoating of India’s inability to improve its ease of doing business ranking to avoid confronting the real problems of Indian industry. (By Akshat Khandelwal, a writer and entrepreneur based out of Delhi) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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HEALTH By Menaka Rao

MORE DANGERS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE EMERGE A TRIAL ON A MALE HORMONAL CONTRACEPTIVE WAS CUT SHORT RECENTLY CITING SIDE EFFECTS, MOST OF WHICH WOMEN HAVE TOLERATED SINCE DECADES.

medical trial for a hormonal birth control shot for men being conducted in several countries including India has shown that injectable male contraceptives are far more effective now than ever before. However, the trial was halted after 20 of 320 men dropped off the trial on the grounds that the side effects were too bad to bear. The hormonal birth control shot was shown to prevent pregnancies in nearly 96% of cases. Male contraceptive shots suppress the sperm production. But like any hormonal contraceptive, this injection has side effects including mood changes, depression, pain at the injection site, and a shift in libido. The efficacy is comparable to the female contraceptive pill. The known side effects for the oral contraceptive pill range from minor ones such as headaches, nausea, to increased blood pressure, increased bleeding or spotting, and also other serious health conditions such as breast cancer or thrombosis, which is the formation of blood clots. Just last month, a study by Pyschiatric Central Research Register in Denmark of data collected from 1995 to 2013 of more than 10 lakh women showed that the use of oral contraceptive pills, especially among adolescents, was associated with the first diagnosis of depression. Many reports have pointed to the hypocrisy of the male contraceptive trial being suspended. As a report in The Guardian points out, the scientists did SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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not attempt to quantify whether the side effects were comparable or worse compared to the known side effects of the female pill. An editorial in Independent went as far as to say that suspending the trial was not justified, unless the researchers produce evidence that the contraceptive increase the risk of death or cancer. Trials in India Interestingly, one of the drugs used in the male contraceptive trial is norethisterone enanthate or Net-en, along with a testosterone injection. Neten was tested as a contraceptive for women in 1970s because a jab of the progesterone-only injection prevents pregnancy for two months. A Net-en trial conducted by Indian Council for Medical Research showed that 90% of the women in the suffered abnormal bleeding â&#x20AC;&#x201C; either too much or just spotting. At the end of one year, most of the women discontinued treatment after using the injection once or twice and only 26% of the women could be recruited. Despite that, the Drug Controller of India had given permission to proceed with Phase IV

The other side effects included headaches, severe abdominal cramps, bone demineralisation, and long-term effects like breast and cervical cancer.

trials for the contraceptive drug. The other side effects included headaches, severe abdominal cramps, bone demineralisation, and long-term effects like breast and cervical cancer. This is not the only drug with considerable side effects, which passed muster with the Indian drug regulators.

These drugs are added to the programme on the pretext of increasing the "basket of choices" of contraception for women. On April 5, Health Minister JP Nadda announced the introduction of another progesterone-only hormonal injectable contraceptive called depot medroxy progesterone acetate or DMPA. There had been no clinical trial conducted for DMPA under the National Family Planning Programme. The drug has a similar action to Net-en and similar sideeffects and can prevent pregnancies for three months after administration. The US Food and Drug Administration issues a black-box warning for DMPA. Black-box warnings call attention to serious and life-threatening risks. The warning states that the contraceptive should be used only if other methods of birth control are inadequate. Serious effects or merely irritants When DMPA was introduced into the National Family Planning Programme in April, it had many supporters. Dr Ravi Anand of ABT Associates in Lucknow

In India and abroad, we need to make men equally responsible for contraception. that works towards increasing the demand and access to DMPA told Scroll.in at the time, “They may irritate women, like a cold for instance. They require counselling after which the women can handle it. If you can help them tide over that time, then they can deal with it.”

planning programme in India in India, and other lower and middle-income countries, argue that the risks of family planning measures must be set off against the risk of suffering due to unwanted pregnancy, maternal mortality because of unsafe abortions and declining child health or higher child mortality in families with large numbers of children and lower access to nutrition and resources. Need for counselling There should also be more and better counselling for women. Women, more often than not, do not “choose” a contraceptive but given one and almost always are not told about side-effects or about safer alternatives.

Researchers also seem befuddled when it comes to “intolerance” to irregular bleeding, and consider it a “cultural barrier”. The black box warning issued by the US-FDA was dismissed as yet another case of the US-FDA being abundantly cautious, and not practical.

Healthcare providers are supposed to counsel women before prescribing a contraceptive but hardly ever do so. Besides, most primary healthcare centres which provide information about contraceptives and administer them are ill-equipped to treat their side effects.

However, those running the family

As per the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, nearly half the women interviewed in most states covered by the survey said that they did not receive any counselling related to side-effects of contraceptives. Only women from Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Meghalaya reported higher numbers of women who were told about side effects of contraceptives. In India and abroad, we need to make men equally responsible for contraception. Safer options such as use of condoms, vasectomy are not endorsed enough by the government. According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, 39.5 lakh female sterilisation procedures were conducted in in 201415 and 52.7 intrauterine devices like copper-T devices administered to women. In contrast, only 78,362 male sterilisation procedures were carried out. So, the calling off of the male contraceptive trial provides a good opportunity to talk about the side effects of contraception and to as why the India government’s family planning programme still has contraceptives such as DMPA and Net-en? Like in the case of the trial of the male contraceptive injectable, we should extend the same courtesy to women and stop peddling harmful contraceptives to them. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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NEWS IN BRIEF WORLD'S HOTTEST CHILLI IS SMOKIN ED'S 'CAROLINA REAPER' The world's hottest chilli is Smokin Ed's 'Carolina Reaper', grown by the US-based The PuckerButt Pepper Company, according to the Guinness World Records. Recognised for the same in August 2013, it measures an average of 1,569,300 on the Scoville scale. The scale measures chilli peppers' 'spiciness' by determining the concentration of chemical compounds.

US SUSPENDS SYRIA CEASEFIRE TALKS WITH RUSSIA The United States on Monday broke off talks with Russia on implementing a ceasefire agreement in Syria, effectively ending hopes of restoring the truce under the recent peace deal. The US also pulled out military personnel coordinating with Russia to mount joint bombing operations against the Islamic State. This comes after an intensified Russian-Syrian aerial bombing campaign in rebel-held areas.

JHARKHAND 1ST STATE TO IMPLEMENT DBT IN KEROSENE Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to implement Direct Benefit Transfer in Kerosene. The scheme is aimed at cutting subsidy leakages and has been implemented in the state's four districts currently. With this, kerosene under the Public Distribution System will be sold at a non-subsidised price, and the subsidy will be directly transferred to beneficiaries' bank accounts.

KAMAL HAASAN HAS MOST FILMS SENT TO OSCARS FROM INDIA Seven films of actor Kamal Haasan were submitted to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, which is believed to be the most number of films featuring any Indian actor. His movies- 'Saagar', 'Swathi Muthyam' and 'Nayakan' were submitted for three consecutive years from 1985-1987. Haasan, who debuted as a child artiste in 'Kalathur Kannamma', turns 62 today.

BELGIUM BLOCKS KEY EU TRADE PACT WITH CANADA Belgium's government failed to win the French-speaking regional authorities' consent over the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada. The deal, which had been under negotiations for seven years, was supposed to eliminate tariffs on most goods being traded between EU and Canada. The parties against the deal maintained their problems lay with EU authorities and not Canada. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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NASA DEBUTS INTERACTIVE MAP FOR INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION NASA recently launched an interactive map tool, called Spot the Station, to help track the International Space Station (ISS). The map will help locate, the 'third brightest object in the sky', from several thousand worldwide locations. By entering the location, it will be populated with blue pins, from where the space station will be visible in an 80-kilometre radius.

WORLD'S TALLEST WOOD BUILDING IS 53 METRE HIGH The construction of the world's tallest 53-metre high wood building was recently completed in Canada. The carbon dioxide stored by the 18storey wood building will reduce 2,432 metric tonnes of the gas, which is equivalent to taking 500 cars off the road for a year. It took less than 70 days and approximately $51.5 million to complete the building.

NEWS IN BRIEF TECHNOLOGY TO FIND SEX OF CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH Texas-based egg manufacturer Vital Farms and Israel-based electronics firm Novatrans are partnering on TeraEgg, a technology that identifies the sex of a chicken before it hatches. The technique captures and uses terahertz spectroscopy to analyse the gas emanating from the pores of eggs. This could prevent the unnecessary hatching and killing of male chickens.

STARTUP ENABLES BUILDING WEBSITES USING CHATBOT

STARTUP MAKES WEARABLE SENSOR FOR FOOTBALLERS

Paris-based startup Heek has created an interactive web service that lets users build their own websites by talking to a chatbot. Using a chat interface, the bot asks the users questions about themselves, their business and the kind of site they need, presenting step-by-step, various designs for the users to customise. Users need no coding expertise to build their websites.

California-based sports wearables startup Zepp has announced a sensor that lets footballers track their performance on the pitch. It wirelessly pairs with a smartphone, fits inside a leg sleeve and tracks statistics such as distance covered, number of ball kicks, and running, sprinting or walking time in a game. The sensor and leg sleeve package has been priced at $100.

RELIANCE CAPITAL NET PROFIT UP 1% AT Rs 253 CR IN Q2

FRANCE INVOLVED IN GYPSIES' PERSECUTION BY NAZIS: PREZ

Reliance Capital on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of ?253 crore for the second quarter, up 1% year-onyear. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total income increased to ?4,926 crore in the JulySeptember quarter of the current fiscal, more than double from ?2,372 crore in the year-ago period. As on September 30, the company's net worth stood at ?15,913 crore.

French President Francois Hollande has acknowledged that the country was involved in rounding up thousands of gypsies and holding them in concentration camps during the Holocaust. He made the statement during a ceremony at MontreuilBellay, which was the site of a concentration camp holding the gypsies for the Nazis. The event was attended by 500 people, including some camp survivors.

RUSSIA SUSPENDS PLUTONIUM DISPOSAL DEAL WITH US Russia has suspended an agreement with the US for the disposal of plutonium from decommissioned nuclear warheads, officials said. Justifying the move, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US was not delivering on the obligations under the agreement. Notably, the nuclear disarmament agreements signed in 2000, had survived so far despite strained US-Russian relations under Putin.

DHAKA CAFE ATTACK SUSPECT GETS BAIL Tahmid Hasib Khan, who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the terror attack on a cafe in Bangladesh's Dhaka in July has been released on bail. The 22-year-old was reportedly seen holding a firearm on the roof of the building during the attack. However, Khan claims he is innocent and was forced to hold the weapon by the terrorists.

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NEWS IN BRIEF LODHA PANEL TO APPOINT INDEPENDENT AUDITOR FOR BCCI: SC The Supreme Court asked the Lodha panel to appoint an independent auditor for the BCCI. The auditor will look into BCCI's award of contracts, including the impending sale of IPL's media rights for 2018 season onwards. The Lodha panel had recommended placing a representative of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in the Board.

TELUGU FILM ON TELANGANA CM'S LIFE BEING MADE A Telugu political drama on Telangana CM Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) is being made by filmmaker Madhura Sreedhar Reddy. The film's shooting will reportedly begin on June 2, 2017, which marks three years of Telangana's formation, while its release is scheduled for KCR's birthday on February 17. "Challenges KCR faced were on par with what Mahatma Gandhi... faced," said Reddy.

WHY TESLA MODEL Xâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DOORS OPEN AND CLOSE AUTOMATICALLY

HAND OVER FLAT TO MOS RATHORE IN 2 DAYS: SC TO PARSVNATH

Elon Musk Co-founded electric vehicle startup Tesla's Model X, which was launched in 2015, automatically opens and closes its doors to drop off owners. The feature is a part of Tesla's larger plan to make cars able to drop its owner off and park itself. Musk on Wednesday revealed his plan to have fully self-driving capabilities in company's new cars.

The Supreme Court today asked realestate company Parsvnath to hand over possession of a flat to Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore within two days. The court added Rathore should not pay any more amount to Parsvnath. The flat, which the Minister booked in 2006 and paid around ?70 lakh, was to be delivered in 2008-09.

SPIDERS CAN 'TUNE' THEIR WEBS TO IDENTIFY MATES According to an Oxford research, spiders can 'tune' their webs to help them locate and identify potential mates as well as prey. Scientists found that the spiders can control the tension and stiffness of their webs by transmitting vibrations in different frequencies through the spider silk, allowing them to control how sensory information is getting back to them.

FLIPKART MAY OPEN OFFLINE STORES: REPORT E-commerce marketplace Flipkart is planning to launch offline stores in small cities, where awareness about online shopping is low and users have inconsistent or limited internet access. Flipkart recently partnered with StoreKing, which offers products via its tablets installed at retail outlets in rural areas. Flipkart's rival Amazon launched its offline shopping initiative called Udaan in 2014.

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A ROAD IN CHINA HAS 24 'ZIGZAG' TURNS The 24-Zig Road, located near Qinglong town in the Chinese province of Guizhou, is a winding mountain road with 24 'zigzag' turns. The 8.9-kilometre road, which was built by the Chinese during WWII to transport supplies to help resist the Japanese invasion, is believed to be one of the most famous roads in the world.

NEWS IN BRIEF GOVT RELEASES SWACHH BHARAT STAMPS DESIGNED BY KIDS The Government on Sunday released commemorative postal stamps on the Swachh Bharat Mission, which were designed by children aged 10-14 years. The Department of Posts had organised a nationwide competition for designing the postage stamps of denominations of ?5 and ?25, and a miniature sheet. The first prize of ?10,000 went to 12-year-old Binita Biswajeeta.

900 FARMERS COMMITTED SUICIDE IN MARATHWADA IN 2016 Around 900 farmers committed suicide in Marathwada, Maharashtra, between January and October this year, Aurangabad officials have reportedly stated. Marathwada has been affected by severe drought since 2012. Furthermore, in the period between January to December last year, 1,133 farmers had committed suicide in the region, which is the highest number of farmer suicides recorded in 10 years.

SCRAP RESERVATIONS BASED ON CASTE: RAJ THACKERAY Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said reservation based on caste should be scrapped and be given to the economically backward. He added that he would put forward a request for the same to PM Narendra Modi. Thackeray further alleged that former Prime Minister VP Singh was the "culprit" who introduced the reservation system and "poisoned" the country.

BIHAR SCHOOLGIRLS GIVE UP JEWELLERY TO BUILD TOILETS Six girls of a government school in Bihar's Buxar district have pledged not to wear gold lockets until their parents get toilets constructed at home. "We are ashamed of living without a toilet that forces us... to defecate outside," one of the girls said. Despite no financial difficulties, toilet construction was never on the agenda of parents, the girls revealed.

40% TOILETS BUILT BY DELHI GOVT REMAIN UNUSED As many as 40% of the 10,821 toilets built in Delhi by the AAP government since February 2015 remain unused, as per reports. After inspections conducted by Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) revealed that most slum dwellers defecate in the open despite the presence of toilets. Consequently, construction of nearly 2,500 toilets has been put on hold.

US NO LONGER CONTROLS INTERNET'S 'DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM' The US government's contract with the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to control the IP address space allocations has officially expired. ICANN, which was founded in 1998, is now a fully "multi-stakeholder" nonprofit organisation that will control the web's naming system. The process has been underway since 1998 and was part of a move to internet privatization.

8K CR BLACK MONEY BROUGHT UNDER TAX AMBIT: GOVT TO SC The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has brought ?8,186 crore, illegally kept in foreign banks by Indians, under the tax ambit despite non-sharing of information by Swiss authorities. The Centre sought the dismissal of a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe against Indians mentioned in the Panama Papers, as a Multi-Agency group has already been formed for it. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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NEWS IN BRIEF LOW-COST AIRLINE SCOOT STARTS OPERATIONS AT JAIPUR Low-cost international airline Scoot started its operations from Jaipur, with it first landing in Jaipur on Saturday. In May this year, Scoot had launched its operations in India with flight services to Amritsar and Chennai with a Boeing 787 plane. Welcoming the move, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that it will boost tourism and trade for the city.

EMBRAER REACHES $205 MN GRAFT SETTLEMENT WITH US, BRAZIL Brazilian planemaker Embraer on Monday reached an agreement with the US and Brazilian authorities to settle a six-year corruption investigation, paying $205.5 million. Embraer said an internal probe, launched after receiving a subpoena in the United States, found evidence of wrongdoing in deals with Saudi Arabia, India, Mozambique and the Dominican Republic in the five years through 2011.

FRANCE'S BORDEAUX NAMED BEST CITY TO VISIT IN 2017 Bordeaux in France has been named the best city to visit next year by Lonely Planet in its 'Best in Travel 2017' list. Cape Town in South Africa and Los Angeles in the United States have ranked second and third respectively. Merida in Mexico, Ohrid in Macedonia, and Pistoia in Italy are some of the other cities on the list.

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WHAT WOULD A PARALLEL UNIVERSE BE LIKE? A three-minute video explores the possibility of living in a multiverse, a hypothetical set of finite and infinite possible universes. The video further discusses the 'eternal inflation' theory which is a phase of the universe's expansion that lasts forever. It adds that if there are infinite universes, it's possible that there is a bubble universe similar to our own.

PAK SUMMONS INDIAN ENVOY OVER 'CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS' Pakistan on Tuesday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and lodged a protest against "ceasefire violations" by India along the Working Boundary, Pakistan's Foreign Office said. The protest was lodged against alleged unprovoked ceasefire violations on October 23-24 by Indian forces in Phuklian and Chaprar sectors in which two civilians, including an 18-monthold girl, were killed.

FOODTECH STARTUP BOX8 SECURES ?50 CR SERIES B FUNDING Mumbai-based on-demand food delivery startup Box8 has raised ?50 crore ($7.5 million) in Series B funding round led by IIFL Seed Ventures Fund and Mayfield Ventures. Founded in 2012 by IIT alumni Amit Raj and Anshul Gupta, Box8 caters across Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. According to a company statement, Box8 now serves 12,000 meals every day through 60 stores.

J&K HAS THE HIGHEST LIFE EXPECTANCY IN INDIA Jammu and Kashmir has the highest life expectancy in India for all ages, barring life expectancy at birth, as per the latest data released by the Registrar General of India, custodian of census data. Until 2010, Kerala had the highest life expectancy in all ages. However, while Infant Mortality Rate in Kerala is 12, it's 34 in Jammu and Kashmir.

NEWS IN BRIEF VACHERON CONSTANTIN REINTERPRETS TO CREATE TRADITIONNELLE CHRONOGRAPH PERPETUAL CALENDER Watchmaker Vacheron Constantin has revised its iconic model to launch the Traditionnelle chronograph perpetual calendar, equipped with the new Manufacture Vacheron Constantin Caliber 1142 QP. With this new creation appearing in a 950 platinum version, Vacheron Constantin has combined two key complications: the chronograph and the perpetual calendar. The dial features various shades of grey with finishes that differ according to the functions, reflecting the layout of 1940s Vacheron Constantin chronographs.

SWAROVSKI PROFESSIONAL PRESENTS CONFLUENCE, A MULTI-DESIGNER COLLECTIVE OF JEWELRY Celebrating 15 years of existence in India, Swarovski Professional has unveiled an exclusive collective titled ‘Confluence’. The collection of jewelry has been designed by 11 top fashion luminaries in the country. The debut collection features statement designs crafted by Amrapali, Eina Ahluwalia, Gaurav Gupta, Isharya, JJ Valaya, Manish Arora, Outhouse, Pernia Qureshi, Rohit Bal, Shivan & Narresh and Suneet Varma.

THE MINI GOES ELECTRIC MINI, the small luxury car from BMW, now has a plug-in hybrid model! The series development process for this car has almost been completed. It features a combustion engine and an electric motor enabling purely electric propulsion for the first time in a MINI. At first glance, you wouldn’t

BREITLING LAUNCHES A SPECIAL EDITION OF CHRONOMAT 44 BLACKSTEEL Watchmaker Breitling has given a whole new personality to its Chronomat model featuring a resolutely technical and masculine style. The satin-brushed steel case and bezel stand out by their black carbonbased high-resistance treatment. They make a powerful contrast with the new yellow dial – Breitling’s signature color – against which the black counters and red hands reminiscent of instrument panels stand out with clarity. The originality continues on the caseback with a black oscillating weight visible through a transparent sapphire crystal, as well as on the twotone rubber TwinPro strap combining a black exterior with a yellow lining.

recognise the test car as a hybrid model. The charging socket for the high-voltage battery is discreetly integrated in the left Side Scuttle. Everything also looks familiar in the cockpit. The start/stop button in the centre of the dashboard glows yellow instead of red. As usual, you simply press the button to start the car – this vehicle, however, remains silent as the hybrid model always starts in electric mode. The rpm counter in the instrument cluster on the steering column has been replaced with a power display. Keeping a close eye on this display is particularly worthwhile for the first few kilometres as it informs the driver about the electric motor’s power reserves before the combustion engine fires up. When exactly the combustion engine starts varies depending upon on the vehicle’s speed and the intensity with which the driver operate the accelerator pedal.replaced with a power display. Keeping a close eye on this display is particularly worthwhile for the first few kilometres as it informs the driver about the electric motor’s power reserves before the combustion engine fires up. When exactly the combustion engine starts varies depending upon on the vehicle’s speed and the intensity with which the driver operate the accelerator pedal. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

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NEWS IN BRIEF ARMY JUSTIFIES BAR ON MARRIED WOMEN APPLYING TO JAG The Indian Army apprised the Delhi High Court that married women are barred from applying for the Judge Advocate General (JAG) post because they may seek maternity leave which will result in discontinuation of their training. The Army’s response came on a plea that said barring married women from applying for the post is "discrimination against females".

I HAVE GOT BOTOX DONE: KARAN JOHAR

As per reports, filmmaker Karan Johar recently revealed that he has got botox done. "I have put collagen on my forehead and adjusted my nose, I have done whatever everyone does in my industry," the 44-year-old filmmaker added. Notably, Karan Johar's directorial, 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma, hits the theatres had hit recently.

INFLATION TO BE BELOW 5%, ROOM FOR RBI RATE CUT: HSBC

MP BOY DEVELOPS APP TO IDENTIFY DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Harsh Songra, a Bhopal-based 19-yearold boy, has created an app, called ‘My Child’, that helps parents diagnose developmental disorders in children. It identifies developmental, neurological, motor and speech impairment issues through a questionnaire consisting of only ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions, and derives the results in 45 seconds. Notably, Songra himself suffers from a coordination disorder.

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Inflation is likely to remain below the RBI’s early 2017 target of 5% for the next 12 months, opening up space for a rate cut by the central bank by 50 basis points (0.5%), an HSBC report has said. Further, the global financial services major estimated a balance of payments (BoP) surplus of $25 billion in the current fiscal year.

ILLEGAL CASINO BUSTED IN DELHI, 8 PEOPLE ARRESTED The Delhi Police recently busted an illegal casino in the Vasant Kunj area and arrested 8 people, including 4 girls, reports said. Around Rs 44,000 cash, 85 bottles of liquor, and gambling chips worth crores were recovered from the casino. Police are investigating the role of the landlady, who rented out the casino premises, reports said.

MEXICO HAS AN UNDERWATER MUSEUM Off the coast of Cancun, Mexico there is an underwater museum, which houses sculptures built from concrete that is hospitable to coral and algae growth. The 'Museo Subacuatico de Arte' has over 500 sculptures based on human interaction and the impact on the environment. A one-minute video explores the works of art that will eventually transform into a reef ecosystem.