The Island nation of Sri Lanka is suddenly becoming a hot favourite with the Indian tourists. Last year it recorded one of the highest tourist arrivals from India. Mixing tourism with cricket has been a regular past practice. But now the Island nation is bullish about India and to cater to the growing wave of tourism into Sri Lanka and connecting these tourists with other destinations around the world especially South East Asia and China, the Srilankan Airlines, an alliance partner of OneWorld, has drawn up very ambitious plans.

As the number of tourist arrivals from India including the pilgrim tourists to the Buddhist circuits showing an upward trend, the Srilankan Airlines has already drawn up big expansion plans to tap the growing potential of the Indian market especially North India. 

Stating that India would be the focus for the Srilankan Airlines, its North India region Manager, Chinthaka Weerasinghe, who is leading the charge for its focus on Maldives, is upbeat about charting a new course with the Indian customer. Currently operating from 14 destinations in India with 125 flights per week, the airline is not resting on its laurels and has lined up much more offers to connect Indians to destinations like Male and Gan Island in Maldives, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Bangkok, Bali, Jakarta, Cambodia and destinations in China.

And leading the charge from this month-end will be the all new New Delhi-Melbourne flight which is already drawing lot of attention in shape of bookings. As Sri Lanka has one of the highest expatriate community living in Australian cities of Mebourne and Sydney, it is seeking to provide seamless connectivity now to Indians also traveling to Australia and New Zealand. In order to sustain the feasibility of these routes, the New Delhi-Melbourne flight is being started and is already open for bookings.

The Srilankan Airlines is seeking to tap the key markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Punjab for the New Delhi-Australian circuit. `We have come up with a schedule of double daily flights from Colombo with transit time of less than one and half hours. The total flight time from Delhi to Melbourne would be around 15 hours which is unique. Similarly, connectivity would also be provided on the same basis from New Delhi to Sydney,’’ Mr. Weerasinghe said.

In order to tap the huge potential of rich markets in Punjab and Gujrat, Srilankan Airlines has tied up with Vistara and some other local carriers to give special fares so that it could be coupled with Delhi Melbourne flight. And the response has been overwhelming. Aalready the Deli-Melbourne flight has seen 1200 bookings till now. The airline has also tied up with OneWorld alliance partners to give auto price rates through Sydney and other domestic points in Australia and New Zealand to make the route lucrative for passengers. 

Hold one,, the bonanza does not end with a very well managed flight schedule, the pricing is also very competitive as the New Delhi-Melbourne route price is coming to an attractive Rs. 43,000 all inclusive. The price for the Delhi-Sydney flight is also the same. The response has been amazing as this route is selling like hot cake in the North India market. The price for Business Class on this route would be around Rs. 95000.

Offering a whole compact package for the passengers, there is the attractive baggage policy with the economy class being allowed 30 Kg, Business Class 40 Kgs and 50 Kgs allowance for the students.

Mr. Weerasinghe said in addition to this, the focus would also be on regional routes at Asia and South Asia. China is a big market for us and Srilankan Airlines has good connections to Bangkok, Indonesia.“We are looking at consolidation in India with a larger focus to get Indian tourists on our national airlines. Tourism has been a big attraction with a double digit growth along with wedding, leisure and MICE.

Mr. Weerasinghe said Srilankan Airlines has been operating for the longest time in India since 1979 from Bombay and Madras at that time. It commenced its Delhi operations from 1993 and now presently are in 14 destinations in India. “We are celebrating 25 years of operations from Delhi next year which speaks volumes about our services and commitment to the Indian market. We have 125 flights per week from India which we plan to increase to 134 flights in the coming months,’ he added.

Srilankan Airlines has over 28 frequencies given in the bilateral agreements and we are one of those airlines which has utilized these most making us the number one career in terms of points of operations. In terms of frequencies, we stand around third. On the cards is a double daily flight to Mumbai. The Sri Lankan airlines gives a lot of importance to the Indian market which is indicated in the number of tourist arrivals from India into Sri Lanka. Last year nearly 3.75 lakh Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka making it the number of inbound tourist country. This year it is expected that this number will cross the 400,000 market. Over the years, the airline has mainly focused on the South Indian market but now has turned its focus on the Northern region sensing its huge potential. Plans are already afoot to open three new stations in India – Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore. DOubel daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai are now operated. The airlines has three flights from Kolkata which will soon be increased to four.

In addition to this, there is the chartered flights traffic to to Bodh gaya and Varanasi to cater to pilgrim traffic. After US, United Kingdom and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka ranks fourth in terms of tourist arrivals into India. The focus in the North Indian market is on leisure traffic and MICE. “We are seeking to build relationships with stakeholders and tour operators.

Speaking about the Maldives market, where Srilankan Airlines has a strong presence, Mr. Weerasinghe said the airline is quite established for the Maldives market in South India and Mumbai. In Delhi, there were initial hiccups due to single flight but now that has changed and we have a second flight operating from Delhi giving more choice and convenience to the tourists. Now Delhi is properly connected with Male and tourists can now reach their destinations in Maldives by evening instead of spending one night in Male. This brings down the tour expenses and also gives convenience to the tourist to plan their trip.

Srilankan Airlines is sure that the double daily flight from Delhi will give them more numbers for the Maldives market. The connectivity from the airline hub of Colombo is seamless as now five flights operate to Male. “We are also looking at guest houses and hotels to increase our volumes. Also last year, we were first operator to operate to Gan Island in Maldives. We have four flights a week, and we hope to increase it further. We need to give more options of connectivity to tourists going to Gan island to various resorts of Island destinations from there. We need to work with the industry, government and the resorts in Gan Island to increase the frequency of fights.

Similarly, with Colombo emerging as a major hub, Srilankan has been able to provide options to the Indian travelers. Now Indian tourist to go to Seychelles seamlessly and the pricing is also very competitive. The Seychelles route is doing fairly well in terms of traffic from India.

Faith of Kashmiris in the political system must be strengthened.

There is no alternative to resuming the stalled political dialogue.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hardline approach in tackling the protracted Jammu and Kashmir problem proving futile, he has been compelled to change tack and return to the negotiating table. This comes three years after Union Home minister Rajnath Singh had called such an exercise non-productive. 

The Valley has faced violent stalemate for much too long since Modi came to power at the Centre in May 2014. With barely twenty months remaining for the 2019 general elections Modi has acquiesce to the persistent demand for resuming the stalled political dialogue in the Valley. 

It is in this context that the Centre’s choice of Dineshwar Sharma, a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, has been welcomed even though he is bound to be viewed with suspicion in the Valley. The saving grace is he does not carry any political baggage. The task at hand is complex and it will be naive for anyone to expect matters to be smooth. This is particularly so with the separatists reiterating that nothing short of independence will be acceptable to them. 

As the Centre’s Special Representative, Sharma has sought to remove any misgivings or doubts “of anyone being left out of the ambit of talks”. His endeavour will be to talk to everyone having stakes in J&K. The talks being a two way process it will depend on how much support he gets from all sections of Kashmiris encompassing politicians, students, businessmen and government employees.

He has already called on J&K Governor N N Vohra who has briefed him in detail of the situation. The Centre’s wants Sharma to address the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiris. Any solution to the vexed Kashmir tangle has to be within the ambit of the Constitution. 

Having neutralised the terrorists to a considerable extent in the Valley, the Centre has created conditions for sitting across the table. It appears the announcement on October 23 for restarting the dialogue underlined the imperatives of democracy, mutual coexistence and democracy. 

The mood of the ordinary people in the Valley is one of extreme frustration wanting the prolonged spell of uncertainty to end. Legitimate aspirations mean different things to different people. To the separatists it means nothing short of secession and independence. They want the Centre to acknowledge that there is a dispute in J&K requiring resolution rather than refusing to accept this premise. 

To New Delhi legitimate does not mean compromising the suzerainty and territorial integrity of the country. Dealing with this complex situation has led to several previous interlocutors falling by the wayside. In the circumstances the ‘K’ word needs to be approached in the context of being the only Muslim majority state in the country. J&K remains an inalienable part of this country. 

It is hoped that the talks will infuse a sense of purpose and direction. The unthinkable PDP-BJP government in J&K has an “agreed agenda of governance” which appears to be taking shape now. 

The talks process revived by Modi believes in following the path of BJP stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It also took interminably long for J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti to assume control of the sensitive border state after the death of her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Being circumspect she did not want the mistakes of the past to be repeated. 

The first indication of the stalled political dialogue getting a fresh impetus came during Modi’s Independence Day address on August 15 when he emphasised “abuses and bullets cannot be the way forward in embracing Kashmiris”. The main question for the Modi government at the Centre is does it have the will and determination to get things moving. It encompasses among other aspects Indo-Pak relations, a volatile regional balance, a hardline opposition and the need to think out of the box for breaking the stalemate. 

What is encouraging is the realisation at the Centre that there is imperative need to go beyond the security measures. For Mehbooba making such a dialogue meaningful will be challenging. The security situation has deteriorated ranging from militant attacks on Kashmiri policemen and regular ceasefire breaches by Pakistan on the border. A new generation of youth has taken to militancy over last four years since 2013. 

The drift and anxiety in the Valley is the protest amid allegations of “braid chopping”. Sharma wants to get started and is expected to be in J&K from next Monday. He will spend the first four days in Srinagar and then move to Jammu on Friday and Saturday. 

This is the time for the actual stakeholders, the Kashmiris, to have a voice and be heard. Dialogue has, therefore, become vital more than ever before. 

Madras : The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has signed an agreement with Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, a German High Voltage Technology firm and RWTH Aachen, a German University for carrying out research in Power Engineering and to support research in sustainability, electrical grids and related fields.

An MoU was signed by the German company and IITM on the occasion of the inauguration of the New Premises of the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (ICGS) at IIT Madras.

Under the MoU, Maschinefabrik Reinhausen will sponsor a research project that will deal with the use of latest power semi-conductor devices for grid control.

The ICGS was established at IIT Madras to promote cooperation between German and Indian scientists on fundamental and applied research, teaching and training besides in dissemination of information in the area of sustainable development. The New Premises is located at the Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, IIT Madras.

It was inaugurated by Mr Achim Fabig, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai in the presence of Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT-Madras and Prof Ernst Schmachtenburg, Rector, RWTH Aachen University.

Speaking during the inaugural function, Mr Achim Fabig said “Questions of sustainability have become more and more pressing and important. The role of civil society has become even more important and centres like IGCS have a stronger role to play by coming up with solutions to the challenges being faced.”

The IGCS provides opportunities for researchers and students to work in the core areas: Sustainable Energy, Land-Use, Waste and Water management and Climate Change Adapatation. The new premises will provide more space for interactions, visiting faculty and staff.

According to Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi:“It is good to have a proper physical space where people can brainstorm on issues of importance. The IGCS is poised to focus on additional aspects of sustainability, which are beyond the agenda of the Govt. The major focus area, of the Centre, for next five years will be issues of sustainability, survival, coastal area resilience and so on.”

The ICGS was set up in 2010 with funding from both Germany, through the German Academic Exchange Program, DAAD, for exchange of scholars, and India through the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India) and IIT Madras for carrying out research. Its special focus is the protection of the environment considering water resources, energy, land use and rural development and waste management.

The Centre promotes the development of relevant ideas on and solutions to specific local issues, through interdisciplinary research and study projects in the above mentioned areas.

‘Ease of doing business’ refers to the regulatory environment in a country to set up and operate a business. Every year, the World Bank compares the business environment in 190 countries in its Ease of Doing Business Report. In its report released yesterday, India’s rank improved to 100 out of 190 countries in 2017, from its rank of 130 in the previous year. In this context, we explain the parameters on which each country is ranked, what has led to India’s improvement in rankings, and some recommendations made by committees to further improve the business environment in the country.

What parameters is a country ranked on?

The ease of doing business rankings are based on a country’s performance on 10 parameters such as enforcing contracts and starting a business.  In India, these rankings are based on the business environment in Mumbai and Delhi. A lower rank indicates better performance on that parameter, whereas a higher rank indicates worse performance on the indicator.  India’s ranking improved in six out of the 10 parameters over the previous year, while it remained the same or fell in the remaining four.

Note that these parameters are regulated by different agencies across the three tiers of government (i.e. central, state and municipal).  For example, for starting a business, registration and other clearances are granted by central ministries such as Finance and Corporate Affairs.  Electricity and water connections for a business are granted by the state electricity and water boards.  The municipal corporations grant building permits and various other no objection certificates to businesses.

What has led to an improvement in India’s ease of doing business rankings?

According to the 2017 report, India introduced changes in some of these parameters, which helped in improving its ranking. Some of these changes include:

• Starting a business: Starting a business involves obtaining clearances, and conforming to various regulations under laws such as Companies Act, 2013.  The report noted that India merged the application procedure for getting a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and the Tax Account Number (TAN) for new businesses.  It also improved the online application system for getting a PAN and a TAN.
• Getting credit and resolving insolvency: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code passed in 2016 provides for a 180-day time-bound process to resolve insolvency. It also provides for the continuation of a debtor’s business during these proceedings.  The Code allows secured creditors to opt out of resolution proceedings, and specifies that a debtor will be immune against creditor claims during the 180-day insolvency resolution process.  Prior to the passage of the Code, it took 4.3 years in India to liquidate a business (as of 2015).
• Paying taxes: The report notes that India made paying taxes easier by requiring that payments to the Employees Provident Fund are made electronically. Further, it introduced measures to ease compliance with corporate income tax.
• Trading across borders: Import border compliance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai was reduced.  Export and Import costs were also reduced through increasing use of electronic and mobile platforms, among others.
• Enforcing contracts: The introduction of the National Judicial Data Grid has made it possible to generate case management reports on local courts.

What are some of the other recommendations to improve the business environment in India?

Over the last few years various committees, such as an Expert Committee constituted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Standing Committee of Commerce, have studied the the regulatory requirements for starting a business in India and the made recommendations on the ease of doing business. Some of the issues and recommendations made by these committees are discussed below.

Starting a business:  The Standing Committee observed that regulations and procedures for starting a business are time-consuming.The Committee observed that as a consequence, a large number of start-ups are moving out of India and setting base in countries like Singapore where such procedures are easier.  It emphasised on the need to streamline regulations to give businesses in India a boost.  Note that the government announced the ‘Start-up India Action Plan in January 2016. The 19-point plan identified steps to simplify the process for registering and operating start-ups. It also proposed to grant tax exemptions to these businesses.

The Committee had suggested that the procedures and time period for registration of companies should be reduced.  In addition, a unique business ID should be created to integrate all information related to a debtor.  This ID should be used as sole reference for the business.

Acquiring land, registering property:  Under the current legal framework there are delays in acquiring land and getting necessary permissions to use it.  These delays are on account of multiple reasons including the availability of suitable land and disputes related to land titles.  It has been noted that land titles in India are unclear due to various reasons including legacy of the zamindari system, gaps in the legal framework and poor administration of land records.

The Standing Committee observed that the process of updating and digitising land records has been going on for three decades.  It recommended that this process should be completed at the earliest.  The digitised records would assist in removing ambiguity in land titles and help in its smooth transfer.  It also suggested that land ownership may be ascertained by integrating space technology and identification documents such as Aadhaar.  Note that as of September 2017, land records had been linked with Aadhaar in 4% of the villages across the country.

Several states have taken steps to improve regulations related to land and transfer of property.These steps include integration of land records and land registration by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, and the passage of a law to certify land titles in urban areas by Rajasthan.  The Committee also recommended creating a single window for registration of property, to reduce delays.

Construction permits:  In India, obtaining construction permits involves multiple procedures and is time consuming.  The Standing Committee had observed that it took 33 procedures (such as getting no objection certificates from individual departments) over 192 days to obtain a construction permit in India.On the other hand, obtaining a similar permit in Singapore involved 10 procedures and took 26 days.

Taxation:  The Standing Committee had noted that the tax administration in India was complex, and arbitration proceedings were time-consuming.  It observed that the controversies on the Minimum Alternate Tax on capital gains and the tax disputes with companies like Vodafone and Shell had harmed India’s image on taxation matters.  Such policy uncertainty and tax disputes have made foreign companies hesitant to do business in India.

The Committee observed that for ‘Make in India’ to succeed, there is a need for a fair, judicious and stable tax administration in the country.  Further, it suggested that to reduce harassment of tax payers, an electronic tax administration system should be created. Such a system would reduce human interface during dispute resolution.  Note that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced across the country from July 1, 2017.  The GST framework allows for electronic filling of tax returns, among other measures.

Enforcing contracts:  Enforcing contracts requires the involvement of the judicial system.  The time taken to enforce contracts in India is long.  For instance, the Standing Committee noted that it took close to four years in India for enforcing contracts.  On the other hand, it took less than six months for contract enforcement in Singapore.  This may be due to various reasons including complex litigation procedures, confusion related to jurisdiction of courts and high existing pendency of cases.

The Standing Committee recommended that an alternative dispute resolution mechanism and fast track courts should be set up to expedite disposal of contract enforcement cases.  It suggested that efforts should be made to limit adjournments to exceptional circumstances only.  It also recommended that certified practitioners should be created, to assist dispute resolution.

(Source PRS Legislative Research)

New Delhi : Despite significant economic growth, more than one-fourth of 15-year-old children continued to suffer from malnutrition–28% stunting and 25% thinness in India, though a considerable reduction has seen in malnutrition in 2016 compared to 15-year-olds in 2009 (28% compared to 36%). Significant inequalities persist in malnutrition status across socio-economic groups, according to the round 5 of the longitudinal study of childhood poverty.

The results of the Round 5 of the study released today, 17% of Other Caste children were stunted in 2016 compared to 37% of Scheduled Caste children.

The food intake of children is changing over time. In 2016, 56% of younger cohort children had eaten pulses, legumes and nuts within the previous 24 hours, which is a substantial increase from 32% in 2009 for children of the same age. Socially marginalised groups and the poorest households need to be targeted in efforts to reduce malnutrition, the study has recommended.

Young Lives is an international study of childhood poverty, following the lives of 12,000 children in four countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) over fifteen year.

Overall, there is an increase in average wealth over time with the highest percentage change between Round 1 (2002) and Round 5 (2016) for Scheduled Tribes households. While differences in household wealth based on location and caste have reduced over time, substantial inequalities persist between Other Castes on the one hand and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the other.The highest percentage change in access to services is seen among Scheduled Tribes, in rural households, and in households where mothers had no formal education. The largest change is seen in the average access to consumer durables, particularly among Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, households from rural areas, and where mothers had no formal education.By 2016, access to safe drinking water and electricity is near universal across all locations.Only half of households have access to sanitation. Although there have been improvements since 2002, access to sanitation facilities remains at 30% among Scheduled Tribes compared to 55% for the other three caste groups, and 31% in rural areas compared to 95% in urban areas. More households report vulnerability to economic shocks in 2016 than in 2006, the report says.

As high as 91% of 15-year-old children were enrolled in secondary schools in 2016, up from 78% for 15-year-olds in 2009.The increase in enrolment was particularly significant for girls and Backward Class (BC) children, with 90% of 15-year-old girls enrolled in 2016 (compared with 74% in 2009) and 91% of BC children (compared with 76% in 2009).The number of children attending private schools marginally increased from 35% in 2009 to 37% in 2016.The private school enrolment in 2016 remains biased towards boys (41%), Other Castes (62%), the top wealth tercile (62%), and urban children (64%).The learning levels of 15-year olds in 2016 (for the same mathematics question) did not show improvement, compared to 15-year olds in 2009.

A substantial difference in the rate of enrolment in education and training at age 22 exists between young men (26%) and young women (16%). While 35% of young people had either completed or were pursuing higher education at age 22, 22% of the older cohort had had not been educated beyond primary or upper primary level. More men (76%) were engaged in economic activity by age 22 than women of the same age (47%). This was paralleled by more women (56%) than men (11%) being married, the highest rates being among Backward Class (54%) and rural young women (66%). Participation in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors combined is significantly higher among Scheduled Castes (70%), poorer households or bottom wealth tercile households (81%) and those living in rural locations (68%). Around 18% of 22-year-olds are using computers, 4% tablets, and 21% internet, and 34% are using mobile phones with internet access, although there are substantial gender and socio-economic inequalities. The use of mobile phones with internet access is three times higher among youth from top wealth tercile households (55%), than among youth from bottom wealth tercile households (17%).

While sharing the key findings from longitudinal study, Dr. Renu Singh, Country Director, Young Lives India, said that five rounds of data have shown that there has been an increase in wealth index across all households, inequities still exist between Other Castes on the one hand and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the other.

“Learning levels have showed no improvement, and is a matter of concern. At 22, we find that 61% percent of the 22-year olds engaged in both agricultural and non-agricultural work, 56% young women married and only 16% still studying. The gender inequity in access to technology is also an area that needs to be addressed,’’ she added.

New Delhi : It will probably now become more difficult for those who drink and drive to escape long arms of the law. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) here has set up a facility for calibration of alcohol breath analysers used by police. 

The new facility will help traffic police to ensure accuracy and reliability of their alcoholmeters. NPL is the national custodian for standards for all types of measurements.

Alcohol breath analysis is used to enforce laws relating to driving under the influence of alcohol as well as for forensic testing. “The accuracy and reliability of breath alcohol testing devices is critical to ensure successful prosecution. And accuracy directly depends on calibration source used to verify breath alcohol analyzers. Using standard reference material improves reliability of measurements,” Dr. R.K.Kotnala, Head of Environmental Sciences and Biomedical Metrology Division at NPL, said while speaking to India Science Wire.

The law enforcement agencies would be provided with a reference material consisting of a sample of alcohol at a concentration of 0.3 per cent so that they could calibrate their devices on their own regularly without having to visit NPL every now and then. They would, however, have to send their devices for a thorough check and recalibration once a year. 

The new calibration service was launched at a seminar on Tuesday. NPL has also launched a calibration facility for defibrillators installed at airports and other public places as part of their first aid kits. The defibrillators are life saving equipment but their effectiveness depends on how much energy is provided to the patient. It is critical that the right level of electric pulse is given.  Anything lower will not be effective, while a pulse larger than needed can even result in death. 

The facility will help calibrate the equipment with high precision as per the requirement of energy function specified in the International Standard for medical electrical equipment. 

In addition, a reference gas standard for precise measurement of nitrous oxides and other pollutant gases has also been unveiled. At present, NPL disseminates standards for various greenhouse gases as also national ambient air quality standards parameters such as PM 2.5, PM10, carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, and particulate lead, arsenic and nickel. 

The new initiative widens the spectrum with the establishment of facilities for preparation of primary gas mixtures, their analytical validation and impurity analyses. “Our facilities meet specified uncertainty and accuracy levels of less than one per cent required in many critical industries such as automobiles,” Dr. Kotnala added. 

NEW DELHI: In yet another push to the Modi Government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, cleared proposals worth Rs 21,738 crore for procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters through strategic partnership model.

“In a landmark decision, the DAC accorded the first approval under the recently introduced strategic partnership model for procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters,” sources in the Defence establishment said. 

As part of the proposal, 16 naval utility helicopters will be bought in a fly away state from the selected Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs) and the remaining 95 will be made by Indian Strategic Partners in India.

The DAC, which is defence ministry’s highest decision making body for capital acquisition, also accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of nine active towed array sonar system (Advance) for the Indian Navy at an estimated cost of Rs 454 crore, sources added.

The equipment will be fitted on model naval vessel and will be greatly enhanced the submarine detection capability. 

Once again, the old fox and veteran Congress Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh has managed to have his way about party ticket distribution, campaign for the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and getting his son, Vikramditya Singh, a party ticket defying the Congress high command diktat of one family one ticket rule.

Bowing to the continued unreasonable demands from Mr. Singh, over a period of last few years, the Congress high command has shown once again signs of a weakened leadership and a party whose vice president, Rahul Gandhi does not practise what he preaches. The continued humiliation of the State Congress president, Thakur Sukhwinder Singh at the hands of Mr. Singh and then twisting the party to remove him as the chairman of the campaign committee has certainly not gone down well with the party cadres. No doubt, Mr. Singh is one of the most popular leaders in the state and commands a certain amount of loyalty in the Legislative Party, but then the Congress high command has allowed him to get away with anything and everything.

Last month, Mr Singh, demanding the ouster of Mr. Sukhwinder Singh as the state party president, had threatened to the leadership that he will not contest elections if his demand was not met. He even got many party MLAs to write to the party leadership in this regard bringing out factionalism in the open. The very fact that party squabbles were played out in the open badly eroded the credibility of the government and the party giving an edge to BJP which, also looks a divided house, but has been bound by the central leadership which is assertive and strong.

In fact, the Congress party had lost the high moral ground when it termed as politically motivated the corruption cases against the Chief Minister and his family members. The very fact that the court has framed charges against Mr. Singh and family members should have been grounds enough to oust Mr. Singh and install a clean image Chief Minister in his place. However, the congress leadership lost this opportunity as some senior leaders within the party batted for the Chief Minister and his threat to split the party if he was removed made the party high command nervous. “The party should have acted and ousted Mr. Singh even if it meant sacrificing the government which had only six-odd months to go. This would have certainly given the party the high moral ground to take on the BJP and won sympathy from the locals of the state. But now we are faced with a precarious situation where some party men are working to ensure the loss of some leaders,’’ a senior Himachal leader remarked.

Even during the last Assembly polls in 2012, Mr. Singh had threatened to split the party if he was not declared the party Chief Minister face for the assembly polls.  In fact, he had bulldozed the party to declare him not only the Chief Minister face but also the head of the party’s campaign. The party had won a moderate mandate with some of Mr. Virbhadra Singh’s loyalists biting the dust and the government was formed with the help of associate members and rebels.

There is little doubt that Mr. Singh has not allowed any party leader to emerge on the political scene and today the Congress leadership is struggling with the choice of replacing an ageing Mr. Singh who seems to now fighting a battle for not only his survival but also for the survival of his legacy or family rule and ensure that not  only he wins at the hustings but also his son, who is contesting from the Shimla (Rural) constituency, make his debut in the Himachal  Pradesh Assembly and formally launches himself into the political scene of the state.

The other senior party leader, Anand Sharma has been a reluctant customer as far as state politics is concerned. He has managed to get some of his supporter’s party tickets but by and large has not been able to project or position himself as the popular or dominating leader of the state. No doubt the party is fighting a very tough battle to retain the state but one can never know with the old horse that Mr. Virbhadra Singh is, he could have an ace up his sleeve.

(Views are personal)

Experts are evenly split on whether the coming decade will see a reduction in false and misleading narratives online. Those forecasting improvement place their hopes in technological fixes and in societal solutions. Others think the dark side of human nature is aided more than stifled by technology.

In late 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected “post-truth” as the word of the year, defining it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

The 2016 Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the tumultuous U.S. presidential election highlighted how the digital age has affected news and cultural narratives. New information platforms feed the ancient instinct people have to find information that syncs with their perspectives: A 2016 study that analyzed 376 million Facebook users’ interactions with over 900 news outlets found that people tend to seek information that aligns with their views.

This makes many vulnerable to accepting and acting on misinformation. For instance, after fake news stories in June 2017 reported Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin had died in a car crash its market value was reported to have dropped by $4 billion.

When BBC Future Now interviewed a panel of 50 experts in early 2017 about the “grand challenges we face in the 21stcentury” many named the breakdown of trusted information sources. “The major new challenge in reporting news is the new shape of truth,” said Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine. “Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers. For every fact there is a counterfact and all these counterfacts and facts look identical online, which is confusing to most people.”

Americans worry about that: A Pew Research Center study conducted just after the 2016 election found 64% of adults believe fake news stories cause a great deal of confusion and 23% said they had shared fabricated political stories themselves – sometimes by mistake and sometimes intentionally.

The question arises, then: What will happen to the online information environment in the coming decade? In summer 2017, Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center conducted a large canvassing of technologists, scholars, practitioners, strategic thinkers and others, asking them to react to this framing of the issue:

The rise of “fake news” and the proliferation of doctored narratives that are spread by humans and bots online are challenging publishers and platforms. Those trying to stop the spread of false information are working to design technical and human systems that can weed it out and minimize the ways in which bots and other schemes spread lies and misinformation.

The information environment will not improve: The problem is human nature

Most respondents who expect the environment to worsen said human nature is at fault. For instance, Christian H. Huitema, former president of the Internet Architecture Board, commented, “The quality of information will not improve in the coming years, because technology can’t improve human nature all that much.”

Michael J. Oghia, an author, editor and journalist based in Europe, said he expects a worsening of the information environment due to five things: “1) The spread of misinformation and hate; 2) Inflammation, sociocultural conflict and violence; 3) The breakdown of socially accepted/agreed-upon knowledge and what constitutes ‘fact.’ 4) A new digital divide of those subscribed (and ultimately controlled) by misinformation and those who are ‘enlightened’ by information based on reason, logic, scientific inquiry and critical thinking. 5) Further divides between communities, so that as we are more connected we are farther apart. And many others.”

More people = more problems. The internet’s continuous growth and accelerating innovation allow more people and artificial intelligence (AI) to create and instantly spread manipulative narratives

There is a growing deficit in commonly accepted facts or some sort of cultural “common ground.” Why has this happened? They cited several reasons:

Information overload crushes people’s attention spans. Their coping mechanism is to turn to entertainment or other lighter fare.

High-quality journalism has been decimated due to changes in the attention economy.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Reddit and Twitter appear to be prime battlegrounds. Bots are often employed, and AI is expected to be implemented heavily in the information wars to magnify the speed and impact of messaging.

The credibility of the journalism industry is at stake and the livelihood of many people is hanging in the balance of finding the tools, systems and techniques for validating the credibility of news.

(Inputs from Pew Research)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts in enhancing funding to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, has been appreciated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In its annual Global Tuberculosis Report, 2017, the WHO has said that India stood out as a country in which the budget envelope for TB was substantially increased in 2017 (to US$ 525 million, almost double the level of 2016), following political commitment from the Prime Minister to the goal of ending TB by 2025.

The budget is fully funded, including US$ 387 million (74%) from domestic sources (triple the amount of US$ 124 million in 2016) and the remainder (26%) from international donor sources, the report has said.

According to the report, global efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB) have saved an estimated 53 million lives since 2000 and reduced the TB mortality rate by 37%.

Despite these achievements, the latest picture is grim. Tuberculosis remains the top infectious killer in 2016 and is also the main cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance and the leading killer of people with HIV. Progress in most countries is stalling and is not fast enough to reach global targets or close persistent gaps in TB care and prevention, it says.

Making large inroads into these gaps requires progress in a particular subset of high TB burden countries. Ten countries accounted for 76% of the total gap between TB incidence and reported cases; the top three were India (25%), Indonesia (16%) and Nigeria (8%).

Ten countries accounted for 75% of the incidence-treatment enrolment gap for drug-resistant TB; India and China accounted for 39% of the global gap.

“While the world has committed to ending the TB epidemic by 2030, actions and investments don’t match the political rhetoric. We need a dynamic, global, multisectoral approach,” said dr tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.  

In 2016, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, 10% of which were people living with HIV. Seven countries accounted for 64% of the total burden, with India bearing the brunt, followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa. An estimated 1.7 million people died from TB, including nearly 400 000 people who were co-infected with HIV. This is a drop by 4% compared to 2015.

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. WHO estimates that there were 600 000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin – the most effective first-line drug, of which 490 000 had MDR-TB. Almost half of these cases were in India, China and the Russian Federation.

Underreporting and underdiagnosis of TB cases continues to be a challenge, especially in countries with large unregulated private sectors and weak health systems. Of the estimated 10.4 million new cases, only 6.3 million were detected and officially notified in 2016, leaving a gap of 4.1 million. India, Indonesia and Nigeria accounted for almost half of this global gap.

Only one in five MDR-TB cases were started on treatment. India and China accounted for 39% of the global gap. Treatment success remains low, at 54% globally. Of the almost half a million reported cases of HIV-associated TB, 15% were not on antiretroviral therapy (ART) as recommended by WHO. Most of the gaps related to HIV-associated TB were in the WHO African Region.

The report said TB preventive treatment is expanding in two priority risk groups – people living with HIV and children under 5 years. However, most people eligible for TB preventive treatment are not accessing it.

For TB care and prevention, investments in low- and middle-income countries fall almost US$ 2.3 billion short of the US$ 9.2 billion needed in 2017. In addition, at least an extra US$ 1.2 billion per year is required to accelerate the development of new vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines.

TB is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV/AIDS. In 2016, there were an estimated 1.3 million TB deaths among HIV-negative people (down from 1.7 million in 2000) and an additional 374 000 deaths among HIV-positive people.  Globally, the TB mortality rate is falling at about 3% per year. TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year and 16% of TB cases die from the disease; by 020, these figures need to improve to 4–5% per year and 10%, respectively, to reach the first (2020) milestones of the End TB Strategy.

Funding for TB care and prevention reached US$ 6.9 billion in 2017 in 118 low and middle-income countries that reported data (and accounted for 97% of reported TB cases globally). This was an increase from US$ 6.3 billion in 2016 and more than double the US$ 3.3 billion that was available in 2006. Overall, most funding during the period 2006–2016 has been provided from domestic sources, and this remains the case in 2017 (84% of the global total