Newspaper Editorials With English Vocab 28/3/2016

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THE HINDU: Pay consumers to take back e-waste

The new rules proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to manage electronic waste must be implemented with firm political will to close the gap between growing volumes of hazardous trash and inadequate recycling infrastructure. India generates about eight lakh tonnes of e-waste annually, while 151 registered recycling facilities can handle only half of that quantum.

There are no systematic studies on India’s waste generation, a problem that is probably much bigger than commonly believed. Producers and consumers of electronic goods have a responsibility under the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011 to ensure proper disposal, but progress has been slow for various reasons. Now the E-waste (Management) Rules 2016 provide several options to manufacturers — such as collection of a refundable deposit and paying for the return of goods — to meet the requirements of law. Consumers are naturally keen on recovering economic value from waste, creating a thriving informal recycling sector. These units use crude methods such as open burning to extract copper, lead, aluminium and iron. Studies done at informal recyclers near New Delhi show that concentrated acids are used in an open-air environment to remove copper from printed circuit boards; the corrosive chemicals are then discharged into surrounding lands. Several cities are similarly polluted. This is an unsustainable course, especially at a time when rapid obsolescence of electronic goods is the norm. The Environment Ministry must work closely with the States to implement the tighter rules.

In spite of its growing environmental footprint, sound management of electronic waste has received low priority. Urban solid waste management policy has focussed on cleaning streets and transferring garbage to landfills, ignoring the legal obligation to segregate and recycle. Hazardous materials, including heavy metals, are dumped in garbage yards, polluting soil and water. The new rules have positive measures in this regard: they classify mercury-laden light bulbs as e-waste, which will keep them out of municipal landfills. Bulk consumers have to file annual returns, another welcome move. An awareness campaign on e-waste will make it easier to implement the rules. Often, consumers do not let go of defunct gadgets. One U.S. study showed that on average a household keeps four small and two large e-waste articles in basements and attics. Several Indian households also stock e-waste items. The success of the new rules will depend on incentivising such consumers to enter the formal recycling channel using the producer-operated buy-back scheme. They will come on board when the repurchase offer is better than that of the unorganised sector and a collection mechanism is available. The Centre and the States have a responsibility to ensure that producers contribute to the e-waste management system, which has been designed with their inputs. The collection targets, that will touch 70 per cent in seven years, are realistic. A healthy environment demands that the targets get more ambitious.

trash

Discarded matter; refuse

obsolescence

The process of becoming obsolete; falling into disuse or becoming out of date; "a policy of planned obsolescence"

seg·re·gate

An allele that has undergone segregation

THE HINDU: Hasty cure for a familiar malady

The imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand on the eve of a vote to test the majority of the Harish Rawat government is yet another instance of a highly questionable resort to a constitutional remedy that was envisaged for extraordinary circumstances. The action is bad in law as much as it pre-empted a floor test, which the landmark Bommai judgment held as the right means to establish a government’s majority. The question of course is how one deals with situations when there are indications that the integrity of the floor test is or will be vitiated through abrupt and wholesale disqualifications. In this respect, the sequence of events in Uttarakhand bears an uncanny resemblance to the developments that led to the recent dismissal of the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, which was followed by the installation of a BJP-backed government there. The common features are a Congress Chief Minister losing the support of a section of his legislature party, and the opposition BJP making common cause with the dissidents to unseat the incumbent. In both cases, the Chief Ministers decided to risk a face-off in the Assembly, but only after taking the ‘precaution’ of getting the rebel legislators disqualified for defection. On its part, in both States the BJP showed little compunction in openly supporting rebellion in another party.

It was believed that the Bommai judgment of 1994, which sharply circumscribed the Centre’s power to dismiss a State government, would put an end to this abhorrent practice. Apart from demanding a floor test to ascertain a government’s majority, the Supreme Court held that the Assembly could not be dissolved immediately, but only kept under suspended animation until both Houses of Parliament approved President’s Rule. But we have a recent history that demonstrates that such norms can be cynically exploited by political parties. While the ruling party in a State can selectively disqualify legislators ahead of the vote, the prevailing political dispensation at the Centre has the option of placing the Assembly under suspension until it cobbles together an alternative regime. The Supreme Court is hearing a case on the constitutional validity of the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh, though the questions being addressed there are not germane in their entirety to what has transpired in Uttarakhand. In the latter case, while it is highly doubtful that there was a breakdown of the constitutional machinery as the Centre claims, what is required is some judicial clarity on the limits, if any, of a Speaker’s power to alter the composition of the House in the run-up to a floor test. It is unlikely that a complete breakdown of political morality can be set right by law alone. But even so, there is an urgent need to evolve a further set of norms that inhibit the blatant misuse of Article 356 on the one hand and the cynical use of a Speaker’s power to sustain a sinking regime on the other.

mal·a·dy

A disease or ailment.

en·vis·age

Contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event.

vi·ti·ate

Spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of

un·can·ny

Strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way.

re·sem·blance

The state of resembling or being alike.

com·punc·tion

A feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows the doing of something bad.

ab·hor·rent

Inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant

pre·vail·ing

Existing at a particular time; current.

dis·pen·sa·tion

Exemption from a rule or usual requirement.

cob·ble

Repair (shoes).

ger·mane

Relevant to a subject under consideration.

bla·tant

(of bad behavior) done openly and unashamedly.

INDIAN EXPRESS: When they return

India’s current account deficit has narrowed to $22 billion in April-December 2015 from $26.2 bn for the same period of the preceding year, continuing a trend of decline from the record $88.2 bn level of 2012-13. Much of this is, of course, courtesy oil, the imports of which may fall to below $85 bn this fiscal from $164 bn in 2012-13. But amid all this improvement in the balance of payments (BoP) — foreign exchange reserves have hit an all-time-high of $356 bn — there is a less-noticed, yet disquieting trend: Net private remittance transfers, at $15.3 bn in October-December 2015, are down to their lowest in 18 quarters. Given that remittances constitute the country’s second largest export item — with annual earnings of $66.3 bn in 2014-15, only behind the $70.4 bn from software services — there are BoP implications as well.

But the real impact, not as easily quantifiable, is human. Currently, there are some 15 million Indian migrant workers living and employed abroad, about half of them in oil-rich West Asian and North African countries. The crash in oil prices have sent these economies into a tailspin, wrecking public finances and forcing their governments to not just undertake spending cuts but also restrict employment opportunities for expatriates. There are reports that up to one million foreign workers may have to leave Saudi Arabia by this year-end, as the kingdom, grappling with a $98 bn budget deficit in 2015 and an official unemployment rate of 11.5 per cent, seeks ways to ensure enough jobs for its own citizens. Similar pressures are building up in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, which are all suffering reversal of a decade-long economic boom primarily fuelled by oil. At the receiving end of the forced retrenchments are the millions, including from India, now facing the prospect of returning.

The last decade was, in many ways, a decade of migration for India, both external and internal. Exemplifying this was Kerala, which, in 2014, was estimated to have 2.4 million emigrants remitting around Rs 71,150 crore. But Kerala today also houses three million-odd domestic migrant labourers —mainly from West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh — who send back over Rs 20,000 crore annually to their home states. This phenomenon of Indians literally going places within and outside the country to find work was enabled by improved connectivity (think mobile phones and rural roads) and global economic growth creating all-round employment opportunities. It would be a tragedy if all this migration — a powerful force for poverty reduction — goes into reverse in the days ahead.

re·mit·tance

A sum of money sent, especially by mail, in payment for goods or services or as a gift.

wreck

Cause the destruction of (a ship) by sinking or breaking up.

grap·pling

A grappling hook or grappling iron.

retrenchments

(retrenchment) entrenchment consisting of an additional interior fortification to prolong the defense

ex·em·pli·fy

Be a typical example of.

THE Dawn :Rouhani’s visit

WHILE Iranian and Pakistani leaders are quick to point out the historical, cultural and geographical links Tehran and Islamabad share, the truth is that there is much unrealised potential within this relationship.

The recently concluded two-day visit of President Hassan Rouhani to Pakistan, in which the Iranian leader led a large delegation of officials and businessmen, can be a turning point in improving bilateral relations in every sphere — political, economic, cultural etc.

For long, Pakistan was hesitant to respond to the overtures of its western neighbour, mainly due to the nuclear sanctions that had been slapped on Iran. But now that Tehran has mostly been freed of these strictures, there should be little standing in the way of a more productive bilateral relationship.

President Rouhani met Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership, discussing economic and geopolitical matters.

From Pakistan’s perspective, if the fruits of regional economic integration, eg through projects like CPEC, are to be reaped by this country, then there is no alternative but to trade with our neighbours.

Currently, bilateral trade with Iran stands at an unimpressive $250m. In comparison, Iran’s trade with other regional states, such as India and the UAE, is worth billions of dollars.

Instead of trading through third countries or letting smugglers exploit the situation, both countries would do well to create the infrastructure and legal platforms that can facilitate smooth cross-border trade and people-to-people contacts.

Strangely, there was no mention of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline; the Iranian president reportedly called for finalising the project soon. The government must explain why this key scheme was not brought up during such an important visit.

As for security and geopolitical matters, it is welcome that possibilities of cooperation between Gwadar and Chabahar were discussed.

These ports need not be rivals; instead, both can have a role to play in promoting regional connectivity.

About India’s closeness with Iran and reports of the involvement of Indian intelligence in Balochistan — which shares a long border with Iran — the Iranian and Pakistani security establishments need to discuss the issue constructively.

If Pakistan has solid evidence that Iranian soil is being used against this country, then it must be presented to Tehran.

In the past, Iranian officials have also claimed that anti-Tehran militants have found refuge in Pakistan.

Both Islamabad and Tehran must realise that instead of pointing fingers, a combined effort is needed to combat militants and criminals operating in the border region, as insecurity in either country will make dreams of economic integration unrealisable.

Moreover, regardless of how the situation develops in the Middle East, Pakistan should endeavour to maintain cordial links with Iran as well as Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Arabs.

The months ahead will tell whether or not the promises made in Islamabad by the respective leaderships will translate into a robust, healthy bilateral relationship.

del·e·ga·tion

A body of delegates or representatives; a deputation.

o·ver·ture

An introduction to something more substantial.

stric·ture

A restriction on a person or activity.

un·im·pres·sive

Evoking no admiration or respect; not striking.

en·deav·or

Try hard to do or achieve something.

cor·dial

Warm and friendly.

ro·bust

Strong and healthy; vigorous.

BUSINESS STANDARD: Plugging loopholes

A committee set up by the Central Board of Direct Taxes has recommended a tax of six to eight per cent on about a dozen services offered on digital platforms by entities that do not have any permanent establishment in India. At present, no tax is levied on transactions of non-resident entities providing online services to companies based in India. A range of online services like advertising, designing or maintaining websites, online computing and providing or maintaining e-mails could come under the tax net, if and when the recommendations are accepted. The proposal may have naturally provoked adverse reactions from those who would have to bear the new tax burden. A new tax never brings cheer to companies in any sector, particularly those belonging to the new economy, accustomed as they are to a preferential treatment from the government with respect to a wide range of policies. And if the final target of the new tax happens to be economic entities headquartered abroad without any establishment in India, the criticism is also likely to feed into the general narrative of the government continuing with an unfriendly taxation regime for foreign companies. But it is important to look at the specific tax proposal on overseas companies offering online services in India on merit and in the larger perspective of both domestic and international taxation practices.

There are three good reasons for the government to explore the new tax idea. One, the proposed taxation is in complete conformity with the international taxation policy under the newly introduced principles of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). The new policy, enunciated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD, is now being embraced by most countries. Once the BEPS framework is adopted by the Indian revenue authorities, the tax laws in the country would become more compatible and acceptable in a global business environment.

Two, the rapid expansion of online services business in the last few years has resulted in non-resident providers of online services enjoying a tax advantage over their competitors operating as domestic companies in India. The absence of a level playing field that such a tax system perpetuates is as harmful as its implicit encouragement to business to move overseas to enjoy the available tax advantage. If a foreign online service provider has a permanent establishment in India, it is taxed at a rate like other domestic entities. The current taxation policy, therefore, encourages even Indian online service providers to relocate to a foreign country in a bid to reduce their tax burden. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget for 2016-17 has already made a beginning in this direction by imposing a withholding tax of six per cent on annual payments of above Rs 1 lakh to such overseas providers of online advertising services that have no permanent establishment within the country. This is a sound principle of taxation and must be extended to other online services offered from an overseas establishment.

Finally, the government must learn the lessons from the vague taxation policy that was exploited by some foreign companies in recent past. This gave rise to the need for a controversial amendment of tax laws with retrospective effect, creating avoidable controversies and harming India's reputation as a place of doing business in a stable taxation environment. Such loopholes must be plugged before somebody can take undue advantage of them. The reasonableness of the proposal to impose tax on online services provided from overseas establishments arises also from such considerations.

pro·voke

Stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in someone.

e·nun·ci·ate

Say or pronounce clearly

per·pet·u·ate

Make (something, typically an undesirable situation or an unfounded belief) continue indefinitely.

loop·hole

An ambiguity or inadequacy in the law or a set of rules.

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