DICTATION EXERCISE-62

          The House of Parliament of India, which contains the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, is located in New Delhi. It was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker in 1913 as part of their wider mandate to construct a new administrative capital city for British India. It is said that the circular structure of an 11^th-century Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh may have inspired the design of the building. Construction of the Parliament House began in 1921 and it was completed in 1927. The opening ceremony of the Parliament House, which then housed the Imperial Legislative Council, was performed on 18^th January, 1927 by Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India. On the very¹²⁰ next day, the third session of Central Legislative Assembly was held in this house. Two floors were added to the¹⁴⁰ structure in 1956 due to a demand for more space. The Parliament Museum, opened in 2006, stands next to the¹⁶⁰ Parliament House in the building of the Parliamentary Library. The shape of the building of Parliament is circular, at the centre of which is the Central Chamber, and surrounding this are the semicircular halls that were constructed for the sessions of the Chamber of Princes, the State Council, and the Central Legislative Assembly. The Chamber of Princes is now used as the Library Hall, the State council is now used for the Rajya Sabha, and the Central Legislative Assembly is²⁴⁰ now used for the Lok Sabha. The building is surrounded by large gardens and the perimeter is fenced off by sandstone railings.

          A new Parliament building may replace the existing complex. The new building is being considered on account of²⁸⁰ the stability concerns regarding the current complex. A committee to suggest several alternatives to the current building was set up by the ex-Speaker, Meira Kumar. The present building, which is an 85-year-old structure, suffers from inadequacy of space to house³²⁰ members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to be protected because of its heritage. In August, 2019 the Vice President and the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Shri Venkaiah Naidu proposed³⁶⁰ to Prime Minister Modi to have a new building for the Parliament. In January, 2020, Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla announced that Parliament will be holding its sessions in a new building in 2022 when the country would be celebrating its 75^th Independence Day. Renovation of Central Vista from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate is also underway. Lok Sabha⁴²⁰ chamber is expected to have increased seating capacity to accommodate more members as number of MPs may increase with India’s population. Lok Sabha may need to have 848 members by 2026. New complex will be able to house 900 Lok Sabha MPs and 1350 members in total. According to the architect in charge of the redesign of the Central Vista, ⁴⁸⁰ the new complex is likely to have a triangular shape. It will be built next to the existing complex and will be much bigger than former one. North and South Blocks which house ministries will be converted into museums and relocation of Prime Minister’s Office and ministries and redesign of Rajpath will take place.

          Last week, Australia announced that it will now force technology giants such as Facebook and Google to pay new companies for using content. The Government⁵⁶⁰ of Australia said that this was meant to ensure a level playing field and the announcement came after an 18-month investigation into the power of these digital platforms by the country’s competition and consumer commission. Earlier this month, France’s top competition⁶⁰⁰ authority asked Google to negotiate with media companies including both publishers and agencies for using snippets on its search engine and news aggregator and pay them proper remuneration. Both Australia and France are right. For too long, there has been⁶⁴⁰ an unfair ecosystem that has been built around the digital news landscape. Media organizations invest tremendous resources, such as personnel, editorial gatekeeping, overhead costs and distribution. Big digital intermediaries such as Facebook and Google take their content and push it on their platforms. But operating under ambiguous regimes, they pretend not to be media companies. This means they neither⁷⁰⁰ have the legal accountability that media organizations have, nor do they incur the same levels of expenditure. But they monopolize the⁷²⁰ revenue that streams into the digital news world. This has made several genuine media organizations unviable, forcing them to scale down their operations or even close down. This hits not just particular companies but hurts democracy and the right of citizens to be informed. This crisis has become even more acute given the economic slowdown after the coronavirus pandemic. India is not immune from either the trends in the digital news world, or the slowdown. Media companies now face additional⁸⁰⁰ challenges. For traditional print platforms, circulation has dipped because of unfounded fears about the possibility of the infection spreading through newspapers. Revenue is hit due to the curtailment of advertisement expenditure by private companies as well as the Government. In⁸⁴⁰ this backdrop, it is time for the Government to institute clearer rules for intermediaries. It is time to get Facebook and Google to meet their legal obligations. It is no surprise that there is a proliferation of fake news on some of these platforms in the absence of stronger accountability rules. It is also time to get them to pay the rightful share of compensation to those platforms whose content they use and leverage to build their own audience and profits. India must carefully consider other global examples and put a stop to the reckless and unfair trade practices adopted by digital intermediaries. It is, indeed, time for a level playing field, not just to help India, but also to⁹⁶⁰ preserve democracy and keep up the news-gathering mechanisms that are so essential to keeping citizens informed.

          On 21^st April, the⁹⁸⁰ price of Texas oil futures fell below zero dollars per barrel. In theory, an empty barrel of crude oil was worth more than a full one. This was a symbolic milestone which was a consequence of a lack of storage and quarter-end fire sales rather than a stable market situation. Oil price futures have recovered, but only to their still absurdly low band of 20 to 25 dollars per barrel. Brent crude price which is the relevant one for India continues to stay around 20 dollars. All of this reflects the enormous mismatch between global supply and demand. There was¹⁰⁸⁰ already a surplus of oil before the coronavirus pandemic. After the outbreak and the continuing economic retrenchment, the world is awash with black gold. The recent 15 million-barrel oil production cuts announced by various countries proved toothless in the face¹¹²⁰ of a 30 million-barrel drop in demand. The brief fall of Texas oil prices into negative was a headline-catching symptom of the current problem of surplus. There have been other signs such as the record 160 million barrels of oil stored on stationary tankers, and countries such as Nigeria being unable to sell sweet light crude at even 11 dollars. Natural gas prices have followed a slippery slope as well. As one of the world’s largest importers and a country¹²⁰⁰ repeatedly brought to its knees by crude spikes, India has always been happy when prices have crashed. But it has moved beyond the days when it looked at oil solely in terms of how much foreign exchange it could save. Today, it should look at how it can quickly enhance its strategic reserves to benefit from the falling price. For¹²⁶⁰ instance, China is doing just that. It should assure future supplies. This is a good time to enter into long-term¹²⁸⁰ contracts. Finally, it should also judge how the present oil crisis will affect, for better or for worse, its long-term energy strategy. New Delhi should keep a firm eye on its long-standing goals of promoting solar and wind energy, shifting more baseload power to natural gas, and shutting its most-polluting coal-fired power plants. But it is unlikely that even the most cost-effective of these will be able to match oil prices in the short and maybe even medium term.

         

          The national lockdown has entered its fifth week. It is also the second day of selective relaxations in districts and zones that have seen either limited or no cases of the coronavirus disease. With the lockdown, India is seeking to preserve¹⁴⁰⁰ public health and slow down the rate of the spread of the virus. With the partial relaxations, it is seeking to revive economic activities. But this picture obscures the variations within states. Health is a state subject, which requires state¹⁴⁴⁰ governments to be open to evolving responses based on the disease burden, best practices, and successful models. Some states have rightly decided to exercise more caution than others. Despite the economic toll of the lockdown, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Telangana are not easing restrictions for now. Telangana has even extended its lockdown till May 7. India stands at a crossroads, with both the Centre and the states on test. The next fortnight will determine if India can flatten the curve of infections enough for the partial relaxations to expand both in scope and geography or there is a somewhat unmanageable rise in cases, which leads to a continued stalling of economic activities. There is now a consensus on health protocols, from testing to isolation, provision of protective gear for healthcare workers to ramping up health infrastructure for severe cases. This must continue. The actions in weeks five and six of the lockdown will define India’s course beyond May 3. ¹⁶⁰⁰

DICTATION EXERCISE-61

    India has followed half a dozen countries in placing restrictions on foreign investment because of the pandemic-stricken condition of its domestic firms. The automatic route is now closed to investors from India’s land neighbours. This new regulation has only one target: China. New Delhi is only the latest country to fear that a recovering China will take advantage of the rock-bottom valuations of firms of national importance. India has long had barriers to Chinese holdings in critical infrastructure and technologically sensitive firms. Expanding investment screening to all sectors is an almost natural progression. The HDFC Bank share purchases by China’s central bank was only a trigger. However, New Delhi should not be under any illusion. Foreign capital remains crucial to120 the country’s economic success and will be doubly important as India tries to revive its economy. Making it more difficult140 for China will carry a price tag. China has been the fastest-growing source of foreign investment in the last five160 years. Chinese investors have shown a remarkable degree of risk appetite and now have a substantial presence in over half of India’s unicorns. A purely arbitrary method of deciding what types of investment is allowed would be a setback to India’s decades-long attempt to be more attractive to investors from all countries. As the screening process matures, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade should work out a process and precise regulations to decide what an acceptable investment is. 240 The issue of off-shore fund investments and who is the ultimate beneficial owner from an investment is trickier, though it should be recognized that these are used because India remains a difficult business environment. The spread of investment280 barriers is a reminder that economic openness is diminishing globally. China is not blameless. Look at its resistance to Indian service exports. The pandemic has seen great power rivalry only worsen and economic factors such as infrastructure, technology and finance320 move to the heart of geopolitics. India must walk a fine line. At its present state of development, it needs to expand its overseas economic engagements, even while remaining sensitive to its external security needs.

    When nations across the world are pulling360 out all the stops to flatten the coronavirus curve, it is incumbent upon leaders to refrain from any statement or action which could exacerbate the situation. But, regrettably, not all world leaders have been responsible or circumspect in their utterances and behaviour. United States President Donald Trump’s tweets asking his supporters to liberate the Democratic States of Virginia, 420 Michigan and Minnesota have been taken as licence to indulge in dangerous behaviour, disregarding norms of social distancing and easing lockdowns of businesses. This puts the lives of people at much greater risk. Brazil’s President has summarily sacked his Heath Minister, who was an advocate of social distancing and isolation. Despite a high number of cases, Brazil’s President has dismissed the virulent480 pandemic as nothing more than a normal flu. Closer to home, in Pakistan, conditional congregations in mosques have been allowed, violating protocols laid down by the World Health Organization. Muslim countries across the world have not eased restrictions, and rightly so, and have got the full support of their clergies on this. This cannot be merely treated as the policy preference of specific countries, and their internal affair, for its consequences will be global. The spread of the560 coronavirus disease has shown the intricate ways in which the world is interconnected and interdependent. In a world where borders are still porous, even when one nation slips, it carries the threat of the rapid spread of the virus. The international community600 needs to collectively insist on the need for scientific advice to be followed. Political considerations, which are clearly motivating the leaders who are advocating dangerous behaviour, have to be put aside for now. This could mean the difference between life640 and death. 

    In the afternoon of 14th April, just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the lockdown for another 19 days, hundreds of migrant workers made their way to Mumbai’s Bandra (West) railway station. They had been waiting for the lockdown to end, and had assumed that they could return home. Some reports say700 that this assumption was based on an erroneous news report about special trains. With restrictions in place, including on inter-state bus and720 rail travel, this was not to happen. The same day, in Surat, hundreds of textile workers staged a sit-in, demanding that they be allowed to return home. This yearning is not new. Soon after Mr. Modi declared the lockdown on March 24, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers began making their way home. Most of them walked long distances due to unavailability of transport. 

    These large congregations of workers at close proximity of each other are disturbing. They represent a800 sense of desperation, which is emerging from economic suffering and emotional anxiety. They also undermine the principle of social distancing, for one infected person in any of these gatherings has the potential of infecting hundreds, who may then come in840 contact with hundreds of others. It requires one incident to begin another chain of transmission, which can set back India’s efforts in the battle against the pandemic. That is why a two-pronged approach is necessary to allay the anxieties of migrant workers. The first is recognizing that they are economically insecure, without incomes, and often, without food. As the Government of Kerala pointed out, without income support, compliance with the restrictions will be low. The Government needs to immediately expand its cash transfer measure and include workers in the unorganized sector, at least till the lockdown is lifted. The partial lifting of restrictions in areas less vulnerable to the infection will help a segment of workers. But they need more960 direct financial and food support. There is a second element. Many workers are anxious to return home because they are980 frightened of the disease, of staying alone in the city, of the fate of their families back home. Travel will mean a high degree of risk because social distancing norms cannot be enforced in trains and buses. Travel is also difficult because their home states are not receptive to these workers, given the fear that they may spread the infection in villages. These are all real constraints, but the issue requires more sensitive communication and the announcement of measures which allay their anxieties and encourages migrant workers to stay where they are.  

    Farmers are currently harvesting a bumper rabi crop.1080 The India Meteorological Department has forecast a 100 per cent normal southwest monsoon with the possibility of a weak La Nina condtions developing in the second half of the four-month season from June to September. La Nina is the opposite1120 of El Nino that is generally not favourable for rainfall in the subcontinent. That bodes well for the coming kharif planting season too. Agriculture is important from two standpoints. The first is inflation control, which is predicated on adequate supply of food, feed and fibre. Secondly, farmers and rural labourers have high marginal propensity to consume. The Indian economy today needs both low and stable inflation as well as boost to spending, which is best guaranteed by increased farm production1200 and incomes. That being so, concerted efforts are required to ensure proper marketing of the rabi wheat, mustard, pulses and other harvested crops. The issuing of coupons or by governments to farmers for bringing their respective produce to mandis at given dates and times is fine, given the imperative for maintaining social distancing. But why are governments limiting the procurement1260 only to mandis? Why do they not open purchase centres at rice mills, or for that matter, even village schools,1280 panchayat offices, primary cooperative societies, district courts and other unused public places during lockdown? After all, wheat and chana only have to be unloaded, cleaned, weighed, filled in gunnies and stocked. There is no necessity of cold storage or reefer vehicles for subsequent movement to Food Corporation of India’s godowns. If the idea is to procure and pay farmers fast, while preventing overcrowding, the best way is not to stagger, but spread out purchases beyond mandis. Equally urgent is the planning for kharif, where sowing of cotton and paddy nurseries will start from early to mid-May in North-West India. Plantings of these and other crops across the country will take off from June, with the arrival of the monsoon.1400 There is no time to loose with regard to arranging supply of seed, fertilizer and crop protection chemicals. The same farmers who would sell grain in hordes now will very soon queue up for buying inputs for the next crop.1440 The challenge of managing crowds at fertilizer sale points is serious enough in normal times. In the time of novel coronavirus, it would be a herculean endeavour. That extra logical effort is, however, worth mounting for a sector offering some hope in this most uncertain economic environment. This is also the time to free agricultural markets. We should allow the farmer to sell to anyone and anywhere, while simultaneously lifting all restrictions on stocking, domestic movement and export of produce. 1520