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With China blocking the listing of five Pakistan-based terrorists in recent weeks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue of listing planners of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack as global terrorists at a UN counter-terrorism conference in Mumbai.
Representatives of all 15 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members were present at the conference held at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, one of the sites of the 2008 terror attack.
China’s Yan Hua Wang, a Vice Consul General at the Consulate General of China in Mumbai, who was also present in the room, asked the countries to “avoid mutual accusations and politicising technical issues.
At the special meeting of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee on ‘Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes’, which is being held in Mumbai and New Delhi on Friday and Saturday, Indian officials detailed the conspiracy and the 26/11 attack.
In a presentation, watched by the current 15 UNSC members and 5 incoming members, senior officials of the Home Ministry played the audio clip of Sajid Mir, one of the attack planners. In the audio clip, he can be heard directing terrorists to shoot at Nariman House.
Sajid Mir’s listing as a global terrorist, an initiative of India and the US, was blocked by China at the UN in September this year.
India has been urging the UNSC to reflect on the signals being sent each time a move to list a terrorist is blocked. China has been blocking US and India’s moves on the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists – Sajid Mir, Abdul Rauf Azhar, AbdulRehmanMakki being the more recent cases.
Photographs of all major accused in different terror attacks on India, including Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-RehmanLakhvi, were shown on the screen to all the members present. The delegates sat at a replica of the iconic horse-shoe table at the UNSC chamber in New York.
UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, ReemEbrahim Al Hashimy, talked about the Nariman House incident where Israelis were targeted and said, “We all saw and heard what happened in Nariman House and we are all too familiar with how radical thoughts lead to radical practices.”
Jaishankar said, “In another month, we will be observing the 14th anniversary of these ghastly attacks on Mumbai in November 2008.
While one of the terrorists was captured alive, prosecuted and convicted by the highest court in India, the key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished.
When it comes to proscribing some of these terrorists, the Security Council has regrettably been unable to act in some cases because of political considerations. This undermines our collective credibility and our collective interests.
We need to ensure the effective and transparent functioning of the Security Council sanctions regime and make sure that they are not rendered ineffective for political reasons. Objective and evidence based proposals for listing of terrorist groups, especially those that curb their access to financial resources, must be seen through.
PM floats idea to states: One nation, one police uniform (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2 & 3, Governance & Internal Security)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi floated the idea of ‘one nation, one police uniform’, urging states to consider a single uniform for police across the country with states at liberty to have their own number or insignia.
Addressing the ChintanShivir of state Home Ministers and police chiefs in Surajkund near Delhi via videoconference, The ‘one nation, one uniform for police’ is just an idea.
He said this will ensure that the identity of police across the country is identical. Currently in our country, there is one nation-one ration card, one nation-one mobility card, one nation-one grid, one nation-one sign language.
Just like these, all states should think about having a one nation-one uniform policy… It will give a common identity to law enforcement as citizens will recognise police personnel anywhere in the country. Like a post box that has a distinct identity, police uniform should be identifiable across the country.
Pointing to social media, Modi said one should not limit it to being a source of information because a single fake news has the potential to snowball into a matter of national concern.
During the reservation issue, we saw the kind of fake news that was spread and the subsequent violence. Although things got cleared after 5-6 hours, we had to face losses.
There is a need to educate people about analysing and verifying any piece of information from 10 sources before forwarding it to people. We have to come up with technological advancement to prevent the spread of fake news.
Reiterating the need to obliterate the ground network of terrorism, the Prime Minister said every government, in its own capacity and understanding, is trying to do its part.
It is the need of the hour to come together as one and handle the situation. Every form of Naxalism, be it of the gun or the pen, has to be defeated to prevent them from misleading the youth of the country.
Warning that such forces are increasing their intellectual sphere to mislead the minds of the coming generations, he said, For the sake of the unity and integrity of the nation, and with the inspiration of SardarVallabhbhai Patel, we cannot allow such forces to flourish in our country. Such forces get significant help internationally.
He said in the last eight years, the number of Naxalite-affected districts in the country has come down significantly. “Be it Jammu & Kashmir or the North East, today we are moving fast towards permanent peace. Now we have to focus on rapid development in all these sectors including infrastructure.
Editorial Page
Don’t rely on auctions alone (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3 & 2, Economy & Governance)
On September 22, the government released the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, seeking to replace the colonial era Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
The draft bill compares spectrum to aatma: “In a way, spectrum is similar to aatma, which is ajar, amar as described in Shrimad Bhagwad Gita. Like aatma, spectrum too does not have any physical form, yet it is omnipresent.”
And yet there is one immutable difference in this material world. While the value of aatma is inestimable, spectrum has always had a banal price tag associated with it.
It is widely acknowledged that spectrum policy in India has had ups and downs, regretfully more downs than ups. It has for the most part failed to capitalise on the ubiquity of the electromagnetic spectrum to provide meaningful connectivity to all citizens.
Despite the recognised failure, we boast of a billion plus mobile subscribers, 800 million internet users and host the second-largest telecommunications network in the world. We wonder what might have been achieved with a more reasonable and transparent spectrum policy.
How we got here is a depressing mix of operator and political greed that is best consigned to history. The intent of the draft bill is to correct past sins so that the benefits of spectrum and technology are better shared, and the quality of access improved for everybody.
In other words, since effective access to spectrum has remained a significant barrier to facilitating meaningful connectivity for Indians, we critically examine the role envisaged for spectrum policy in the draft bill, especially with regard to bridging digital divides.
The draft bill rightly refers to the spectrum as having the characteristics of a public good. It is also an inexhaustible resource.
But while spectrum per se is not depletable, there are technical limitations to its optimum utilisation at a given point in time.
Consequently, it is viewed as a scarce natural resource and what’s more, expensive auctions have made the spectrum dear and arguably exclusionary.
Since 2010, the government has consistently used auctions for spectrum allocation and in only one of the seven auctions held since then, the government was successful in selling 100 per cent of the available spectrum.
One reason for this lukewarm response, barring the 2010 auction, is the high cost of spectrum acquisition. According to one estimate, at 7.6 per cent of their aggregate revenue, spectrum cost in India is amongst the most expensive in the world.
Since network operators incur a significantly higher cost for spectrum compared to other emerging markets, the ability to invest in network upgradation and infrastructure is severely impacted, resulting in uneven distribution of service and poor quality to boot.
On an equal field (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1& 2, Social Issues / Indian Polity)
In my 21-year-long international career spanning from 1973 to 1994, I never made a single penny. It has been a long fight, and I think October 27, 2022, will be remembered as a momentous day for Indian women’s cricket.
After all, this year, India’s centrally-contracted women cricketers will finally earn the same match fees as their male counterparts for appearances in international matches. This is a watershed decision taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
I always maintained that women’s cricketers have a greater passion for the game than men. We played for the sheer love of the game because we never made money. We always depended on our families to support us. For us, it was never a profession.
As a former India captain, I am absolutely thrilled because we started playing cricket 50-60 years after England and Australia. And we are only the second country after New Zealand to have pay parity, which took this initiative in July.
This is just the first step. I feel a lot more areas are yet to be covered. We need to increase the match fees in domestic cricket so a larger section of women cricketers are remunerated fairly.
Currently, pay parity benefits the elite 20-25 contracted players. In fact, at the BCCI apex council meeting held on October 27, I raised this issue. I am sure the board will take the necessary action in due time.
BCCI President Roger Binny and Secretary Jay Shah told me, “Shantha, let’s do this in stages”. They have to provide funds; they will have to find the budget. If the board does that, it would be a massive step.
It has been a remarkable few months for Indian women’s cricket. We won silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, we routed the English team in the ODIs. Then, the board announced the much-awaited Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL), which will take place next year.
In my opinion, the WIPL will benefit a larger pool of cricketers because at least 50 domestic players will play in that tournament. So, the benefits will accrue to more domestic cricketers and not only to those who play for India.
As far as the BCCI’s annual retainers for women players go, it is nothing in comparison to the male cricketers. ViratKohli is taking home Rs 7 crore, while the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur and SmritiMandhana get Rs 50 lakh.
The board has taken a positive step, and let’s just appreciate it because it is the thought that counts — they want to take women’s cricket to greater heights. All of us should join hands and appreciate the gesture.
Yes, we don’t play much cricket compared to the men’s team. It is also true that we don’t play too many Test matches in women’s cricket. As I understand it, the BCCI are in agreement with both Cricket Australia and England Cricket Board that whenever our team goes there or they come here, we’ll have at least one Test match.
Closing the Gap (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1& 2, Social Issues / Indian Polity)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India took a historic step towards reducing the gender pay gap in cricket. Under the “pay equity policy” centrally contracted players, men and women both, will now receive the same match fees. Women players who till now were paid Rs 1 lakh for a white-ball match and Rs 4 lakh for a Test match, will now be paid Rs 15 lakh for a Test, Rs 6 lakh for a one-dayer and Rs 3 lakh for a T20 international.
While this is a significant move towards bridging the gender pay gap in the profession, it is only when women players start playing more matches across all formats internationally that equal match fee will actually lead to pay parity in the truest sense.
The BCCI, whose mandate is to promote the game, must now push for more matches — only then will this move go beyond performative tokenism. In fact, it is the other announcement — of a women’s IPL — that could translate to more far-reaching changes on the ground.
Unfortunately, the gender divide is not just limited to the cricket field. Women’s labour force participation rate is considerably lower than that of men, and as studies have documented, there is a gender wage gap across occupations and industries.
On this issue, India fares poorly when compared to other countries, even those at similar or lower levels of income. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report 2022, India ranked 135 out of 146 countries on the gender gap index, with the country faring poorly on economic participation and opportunity.
Data presented in the report shows that there are few firms with majority female ownership and where women are employed as top managers.
As per the International Labour Organisation’s Global Wage Report 2018-19, the mean gender pay gap (based on hourly wages) in India was 34.5 per cent. This wage gap was the highest amongst the 73 countries with varying levels of per capita income examined in the report.
Indian governments have over the years taken steps to ensure wage parity, beginning with the Equal Remuneration Act. Yet gender wage gaps exist in both formal and informal labour market segments, and in this, societal prejudices play an important role. Given that gender-based discrimination is an important aspect of socio-economic inequalities, policy interventions must be guided by the urgency to reduce inequalities and expand opportunities for all, on and off the cricket field.
Economy
Inflation target: Why is MPC holding a special meeting? (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it would hold an additional Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on November 3, 2022.
This meeting has been called as the RBI has failed to maintain the consumer price index (CPI) inflation target within the 2-6 per cent band for three consecutive quarters, or nine straight months — January to September 2022.
While making the announcement, the RBI said the meeting is being scheduled under the provisions of Section 45ZN of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934.
The central bank also referred to Regulation 7 of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and Monetary Policy Process Regulation, 2016.
This is the first time since the RBI adopted an inflation-targeting monetary policy regime in 2016 that an MPC meeting has been called under the provisions of Section 45ZN of the Act.
This section says that in case the RBI fails to meet the inflation target, it has to present a report to the government explaining the reasons for the failure.
In the report, the central bank will have to mention the remedial actions it proposes to take, and an estimated time within which the inflation target will be achieved following the timely implementation of the proposed remedial actions.
The Regulation 7 of the RBI MPC and Monetary Policy Process Regulations, 2016 states that a separate meeting is required to be scheduled as part of the normal policy process to discuss and draft the report to be sent to the government.
Although the MPC is responsible for maintaining the inflation target, the report will be written by the RBI. However, the MPC will be consulted — and hence, the RBI has scheduled the additional MPC meeting on November 3.
The report is required to be sent to the government within one month from the date on which the RBI failed to meet the inflation target. In the present case, the September CPI inflation data was released on October 12. So, the RBI has time till November 12 to send the report to the government.
Currently, the MPC meets six times in a financial year, which is every two months. The schedule of the MPC meetings for the entire financial year is announced in advance.
At the beginning of this fiscal, the RBI said the MPC would meet from April 6-8, from June 6-8, from August 2-4, from September 28-30, from December 5-7, and from February 6-8, 2023.