Innholdsfortegnelse for July 13, 2020 i India Today

Modern warfare is fought at many different levels, although the current military stand-off between India and China in the Himalayas started in the most medieval fashion—with clubs and fisticuffs—leaving 20 of our soldiers dead and an undeclared number on the Chinese side. Now in its third month, the situation at the border remains unresolved with the troops standing eyeball to eyeball and both sides piling up military hardware even as the talks between the two military commanders drag on. The other option in a conflict is diplomatic. This, too, is not making any headway despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi having met China’s supreme leader, President Xi Jinping, 18 times since 2014. China is turning a deaf ear to any international opprobrium and instead accusing India of being the aggressor. This…

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s knack for winning over enemies remains as sharp as ever. He recently persuaded staunch opponent Raju Shetti to accept nomination as a legislator from the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Shetti, a leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, is known for his fiery agitations over the alleged exploitation of farmers by sugar factories. Pawar’s interest in the business and politics of sugar mills is well known. Word is he might ask Shetti to take on the sugar mill directors who switched from his party to the BJP last year.…

The book dwells on the unrelenting rise of inequality due to the Left’s failure to change income distribution and benefit its working-class supporters It is self-evident that incomes must be highly unequal under capitalism, a system that rewards owners of capital. The inequality was greatly reduced in World War II when countries at war were forced to tax the rich to fund their armies; once the war was over, they returned to normal. Income taxation generates statistics; so incomes are easy to study—at any rate in countries with solid taxation systems. Economist Simon Kuznets was the first to do so, in 1953. The French are proud of their language and publish exclusively in it; that shuts them out of the vast Anglophone market. Thomas Piketty is a rare exception who…

With the Union government announcing the setting up of IN-SPACe—an autonomous agency under the Department of Space to promote cooperation with the private sector—last week, India took a giant step towards opening its national space programme to private players. Until now, the Indian Space Research Organisaton (ISRO) has had a monopoly on all space-related activity, including building rockets and satellites and launching them into orbit. Private firms were limited to making sub-systems and assembling spacecraft, but were never permitted to own them or manage their operations. The government has now levelled the field and is creating an ecosystem for private players to augment, in a big way, the job that ISRO is doing. In order to reduce the investment burden for private players, the government is also opening up facilities…

IN THE TRADE BASKET INDIA EXPORTS 20-25 million kg of cotton yarn a month to China INDIA IMPORTS $460 million worth of synthetic yarn $360 mn of synthetic fibre $140 mn of accessories like buttons, zippers, hangers and needles GLOBAL SHARE IN APPAREL EXPORT China doubled its share between 2000 and 2010…

On June 29, India’s ministry of information technology blocked 59 Chinese apps, which, in its words, were ‘engaged in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India’. Telcos will already be taking the necessary steps to carry out that directive. Among the now-banned apps are videosharing giant TikTok as well as Weibo and Baidu Map and Translate. According to The State of Mobile 2019, a report by App Annie, a firm that tracks this sector, India saw a 165 per cent increase in app downloads between 2016 and 2018. Apps are a major business across the border: in 2018, firms based in China generated 32% of global consumer spending, about $19.6 billion, via apps. That same year, many of the top apps downloaded in India (from both the iOS…

They seemed to think and act as a single unit, standing united through earlier controversies, of which the extended Hinduja clan has seen aplenty. The brothers Srichand (84), Gopichand (80), Prakash (75) and Ashok (69), who form the second generation of this family, have a combined networth of $12.8 billion (around Rs 96,000 crore) as per Forbes. So when family ties begin to fray, as they are now, there is much to fight for. The Hindujas are wrestling in court for control of the Geneva-based Hinduja Bank, which caters to the super-rich. Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok have invoked a 2014 letter signed by all four brothers that reportedly says the assets of the group are owned by all of them and that each would name the other/s as their executor/s.…

China’s success, or its narrative of it, in the Galwan heights border brawl can be rendered as not ‘losing face’ (diu lian). China’s semi-colonial history (late 19th and early 20th centuries’ control of its eastern seaboard by European powers and encroachment of its west by Japan and its north by Tsarist Russia) is narrated in terms of humiliation and injured pride. Contemporary ultra-nationalism finds fuel in this, and embryonic arrangements by which China loses face in the eyes of its people or internationally are not an option. China’s policy of concealing losses has as much to do with its ‘saving-face’ nationalism as it does with its domestic politics Enforcing a Chinese right, redressing a Chinese grievance, especially on Chinese territory at the border, is in keeping with the best tradition…

Just before US President Donald Trump launched a trade war against China in 2018, he reportedly told his treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, “The Chinese don’t give a shit about us. They are cold-blooded killers on trade.” Trump then went on to instruct: “You are going to China to kick ass.” Soon after, the Trump administration raised its trade tariffs and barriers on certain goods and services to coerce China into reducing the adverse trade balance of a whopping $400 billion the US faced against it. China retaliated with similar measures, but Trump claimed early victory when US imports from China fell by 12.5 per cent last year. The battle, though, is far from won. Cut to 2020 and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has to make the tough…

>60% India’s imports of electronic products and components from China $ 16bn India sales of top Chinese smartphone brands in 2019 >66% of India’s $8 billion smartphone market (Q1 2019) controlled by Chinese companies Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus India’s imports from China of electrical, electronic equipment rose to $19.97 billion during 2019 compared with $11 billion in 2009 INDIA’S ELECTRONIC/ ELECTRICAL IMPORTS THE INDIA OPPORTUNITY India is among the top 3 global digital economies, estimated to be worth over $1 trillion by 2025. It has: $ 1.2bn mobile subscribers 661mn internet users $ 120bn electronics market 2.5% of GDP (valued at approx. $70 bn) $ 100-130 bn economic value generated by domestic electronics manufacturing as estimated by MEiTY $ 6.7bn sector Govt outlay over for 8 years…

₹ 1.28 LAKH CRORE Approx. annual value of India’s auto component imports (from all countries) ₹ 4.23 LAKH CRORE Size of India’s auto components sector in FY 2019 6 PER CENT China’s auto parts exports to India as a percentage of its global auto parts exports ₹ 33,750 CRORE Approx. annual value of auto components imports from China ₹ 1.13 LAKH CRORE India’s auto component exports (to all countries) in 2018-19…

The SOTS 2020 study of Uttar Pradesh’s 75 districts outlines broad economic and social development trends in the state and produces a district-wise ranking of performance. It does this by combining two methods. First, an analysis of objective ground data from various credible data sources. Second, a separate analysis of 16,916 interviews of respondents on various development issues, in 822 development blocks across 75 districts, with at least 20 respondents in each block. While Nielsen collected the first set of ground level data, Karvy Insights collected the second set of interview-based data. The INDIA TODAY research team combined the two data sets to analyse the development trajectory of the state. The evaluation of the Nielsen data has two segments: best-performing district at a particular time and the most improved district…

Shoots to resume with 33% of the original crew strength The standard director’s chair to make way for easy-to-disinfect plastic variants Each film crew to include an ambulance driver, a doctor and a nurse Each set needs to have a pulse oximeter No pregnant women to be permitted on set Neither fiction nor nonfiction shows to have audience participation Casting ideally to be done through digital platforms like Zoom, Skype, FaceTime No elaborate sequences, like marriages, markets or big fights to be shot until Covid is contained Junior artistes to be avoided or reduced in number in scenes All hairstylists and/ or make-up artistes to wear a face shield No children below 10 years allowed on sets, and only one person to accompany children participating in reality TV shows Mics…

Minutes after India announced a ban on 59 Chinese apps, Paras Tomar put out a succinct video on TikTok. “Follow me on Instagram,” the model and actor urged his 3.3 million followers. Tomar was one of the first users of TikTok in India, an “incubated creative”, he says. If he posted a video on Instagram, he got maybe 30,000 likes. But on TikTok, the same video got up to 400,000 likes. TikTok catapulted his popularity to such a stratospheric level that he rode on its wave to launch a skincare brand. “The sales were massive,” he says. Additionally, brands approached him frequently for collaborations. So, what now? “The TikTok ban is likely to affect a lot of businesses,” says Tomar, whose screen age is 24. “We were just closing in…

As chief minister between 2012 and 2017, Akhilesh Yadav distributed nearly 1.5 million laptops among Uttar Pradesh’s high-school students. The state board exam results on June 27 have sparked off a far more modest freebie distribution contest. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a laptop and Rs 1 lakh in cash for the top 10 meritorious students of Class 10 and 12. Akhilesh, too, announced free laptops—51 each for the toppers of Class 10 and 12 exams and another 50 for successful students in Azamgarh, his Lok Sabha constituency. Now, students in Gorakhpur, Adityanath’s native district, are miffed the CM hasn’t come up with any special incentive for them. ‘If it’s free, why not me?’ they seem to be asking.…

The operations of most Hinduja Group businesses—Ashok Leyland, GOCL, Gulf Oil Lubricants, Hinduja Bank, among others—are headed by third-generation Hindujas, except in the case of IndusInd Bank, where professionals are in charge. • Shanu Hinduja, Srichand’s daughter, is chair of Hinduja Bank. Her son Karam was recently appointed CEO of the bank. • Dheeraj Hinduja, son of Gopichand, is chairman of Ashok Leyland • Ajay Hinduja, Prakash’s son, is chairman, GOCL • Sanjay Hinduja, son of Gopichand, is chairman of Gulf Oil Lubricants • Shom Hinduja, Ashok’s son, is chairman of privately held Hinduja Renewables. He is also a director in the board of Gulf Oil Lubricants.…

Q Prime Minister Narendra . Modi and you made a rather dramatic announcement of India aspiring to be the No. 1 mobile handset manufacturing destination, a $190 billion market, by 2025-26. How do you propose to make this a reality? A. When we came to power in 2014, India had only two mobile factories. Now, we are [more than] 250, including [units making] components. In Noida and Greater Noida, over 90 factories have come up. In 2014-15, the mobile manufacturing industry’s revenue was Rs 18,990 crore. In 2018-19, it reached Rs 1.7 lakh crore, and in 2019-20, it increased to Rs 2.25 lakh crore. Overall in the electronics [sector], production value in 2014-15 was Rs 1.9 lakh crore, growing to Rs 4.58 lakh crore in 2018-19, while the projection for…

The Indian start-up story has caught the fancy of global investors over the past few years owing to their sheer numbers and potential in a largely untapped market. In 2019 alone, India added 1,300 technology start-ups, taking the country’s total to close to 9,300, says IT industry body Nasscom. India is now the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world, which explains why one country across the border has pumped in over $6 billion into the sector over the past few years. According to data analytics firm GlobalData, Chinese investments in Indian start-ups have grown 12 times over the past four years to $4.6 billion (Rs 34,500 crore) in 2019, from $381 million (Rs 2,857 crore) in 2016, with a majority of unicorns (start-ups that command $1 billion or around Rs…

Q. Can India use bilateral trade and access to its domestic markets as ways to rein in an increasingly aggressive China? • BIBEK DEBROY Yes, it can. But this cannot be achieved overnight. Trade is not delinked from investments. The two go hand in hand. China does not have market economy status under the WTO (World Trade Organization) rules, which apply to countries, not companies (except in the case of anti-dumping agreements). Moreover, the MFN (most-favoured nation) clause doesn’t apply to all services. Therefore, a selective and gradual phasing out of Chinese imports is indeed possible. • AJAY SAHAI One of the reasons for China’s recent aggressive stance is to divert the attention of its people from the slowdown of its own economy. Therefore, hitting it economically can be an…

For the first few weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, Karuna Ezara Parikh barely posted anything on her Instagram account. She didn’t feel like creating content about things that did not resonate with her. But then she started writing about poetry and books. “With the news reaching a fresh heaving pitch of insanity, death count and injustice recently, I felt the need to jump into something otherworldly,” she posted one day to her 75,000 followers. The text accompanied a photograph of her collector’s set of The Lord of the Rings. “We may not roam with elves and dwarves, but we do know a thing or two about fighting doom,” the caption read. Parikh is a writer who posts about poetry, literature and activism. She is also an influencer. This means she…

Q. This pandemic has made many of us put ourselves first. What made you want to feed the hungry? I did it for my mother. She told me this is the time to feed my country. When I told her I can’t do it from New York, she asked, “What do all your PhDs and training amount to? Taking a selfie at home?” That hurt a little, but as a result, our operations are delivering food in 125 Indian cities today. Q. When you read reports of distress coming out of India, do you fear your efforts may not be enough? We fail every day and at a very large scale at that, but every day we reboot. It is not like running a restaurant, because restaurants don’t have to…