India Last Week #4
India Last Week #4
A round-up of research & reportage on India across climate, energy, foreign policy, politics & more over the last week
Climate, Energy & Environment -
“In India, 37.9 million people—equal to more than half of the UK’s population—live with asthma. Lancet, in a 2020 paper, noted that “the burden of asthma in India exceeds the number of people with HIV infection or tuberculosis”. It quoted a study that found the prevalence of allergic rhinitis to be a staggering 24.4 percent in children aged 13–14 years. This high burden of asthma and allergic rhinitis in India is linked to the country’s air pollution levels. And the cause? India happens to have one of the highest concentrations of air pollution caused by biomass burning, fossil fuels, and vehicular exhaust.” Read more: Divya Gandhi, Frontline
“In India, more than 300 million people depend on forests for survival. Further, around 4.3 million live in and around forests which are now called protected areas (PA). Even as protected areas increase, activities under India’s flagship compensatory scheme--the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)--have distressed communities across states, with the forest department fencing off community-owned and common lands on which people depend for livelihood.” Read more: Sushmita, India Spend
“India’s coal reserves are largely concentrated in seven south-central and eastern Indian states, all of which have significant indigenous populations. Many of the biggest coalfields are located in densely forested pockets of the country. The states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra combined account for about 97% of the country’s total coal reserves… Coal communities in Chhattisgarh’s mining districts tell Carbon Brief their key concerns include forest rights, forced evictions, compensation, pollution and a lack of formal coal jobs promised in exchange for their land.” Read more: Aruna Chandrasekhar, Carbon Brief
“State-run miners Coal India and NMDC are exploring lithium mines in Chile and Australia, Secretary of Mines V.L. Kantha Rao said on Wednesday. The Indian mines ministry is also encouraging other state-owned companies, such as ONGC Videsh, to scout for critical minerals overseas, Rao told reporters at the sidelines of an industry conference in New Delhi. "We are looking at four state-owned companies to become active," he said. Last June, NMDC's unit Legacy Iron Ore had signed a lithium exploration pact with Australia's Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd. India will additionally take a delegation to Zambia in June, with executives from the Tata Group and Vedanta, the secretary said. The two governments will discuss the joint exploration of critical minerals such as lithium.” Read more: Neha Arora, Reuters
Economy -
“At what the government classifies as its “major ports”—a dozen of them—capacity has more than doubled in the past decade from 745m tonnes to over 1,600m. Traffic at these ports (see map), which handle more than half of India’s trade, jumped by 46% to 795m tonnes in the ten years to 2023. Turnaround time, or the number of hours between the arrival and departure of a cargo ship, has plummeted from 127 hours in 2010-11 to 53 hours ten years later (see chart). India rose from 54th in the World Bank’s “logistics performance index” a decade ago to 38th last year.” Read more: The Economist
“US President Joe Biden's plan to levy high tariffs on a host of Chinese products, including electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and medical supplies, will likely benefit Indian exporters, government officials and trade experts believe. Higher duties on Chinese face masks, syringes, needles, medical gloves and natural graphite could aid Indian exports of these products. By scaling up production and exports of these sough-after products, India stands to boost its presence in the US market, they said.” Read more: Dhirendra Kumar, Mint
“The problems of the electricity system are of particular importance in India given that the existing institutional arrangements work relatively poorly. While this has been a concern for decades given the importance of electricity in economic growth, it has achieved a fresh prioritisation due to the need for a clean energy transition. The problems of the electricity sector have become the critical bottleneck for the decarbonisation of the economy (Jaitly and Shah, 2021). De jure government subsidies, and de facto theft, take place in this field on a significant scale. While researchers are able to readily observe de jure subsidies, theft is hard to observe. Domestic consumers and agriculturists shape the political economy of sub-national electricity. Policymakers make decisions about the de jure and de facto policy frameworks with an eye on how these pressure groups will react. The mechanisms through which transfers take place are often subtle.” Read more: Susan Das, Renuka Sane, and Ajay Shah, The Leap Blog
Foreign Policy & Security -
“The EU and India have a shared interest in developing connectivity infrastructures in the sub-region and beyond supported by the EU Global Gateway or initiatives such as India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, to deepen security and defence cooperation and act as bridge-builders of global solutions to development and climate challenges. As the current EU-India strategic roadmap for 2025 will soon come to term, the perspective of the next EU-India Summit should be used to take our partnership to a new level.” Read more: Herve Delphin, Hindustan Times
“Days after Afghanistan’s most senior diplomat in India resigned over charges of smuggling, diplomats still loyal to the previous democratic regime in Kabul warn that the Taliban is making another attempt to install a nominee in India, and urged India and other countries not to “normalise” ties with the Taliban. The warnings came amidst turmoil within Afghanistan’s Delhi Embassy and Consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad and a scandal involving a top diplomat accused of smuggling gold, that has left the missions in India practically leader-less. “Normalisation and recognition should not occur until they take tangible actions aligned with the demands of the Afghan people and the international community, focusing on the formation of an inclusive system based on the will of the people, justice, and the rule of law,” Afghanistan’s acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations Naseer Ahmad Faiq told The Hindu, pointing to many countries in the region that have now accepted Taliban appointed diplomats, although no country in the world has at present recognised the Taliban government.” Read more: Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu
“Gahmar, an army village situated on the southern bank of the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district, is considered to be the largest village in Asia in terms of population. A resident of this village, 76-year-old Ram Lakshan Singh, said that there is only one reason for the prosperity of the village – most of the boys here are in the army. Each house has at least a couple of members in the army and it has brought prosperity and respect in the lives of the villagers. But now everyone is apprehensive about their career after four years of service as an Agniveer. Most importantly, if a lot of eligible candidates give up the idea of joining the army, what kind of youth will the army find, they wonder.” Read more: Ashutosh Kumar Pandey, The Wire
“Trump’s recent interview with Time magazine, where he outlined a radical agenda – on border security, immigration, trade, military alliances, all issues that matter to Delhi – got little coverage in the Indian media compared to the running commentary by hapless State Department spokespersons. The daily remarks in the US State Department press briefings are almost always in response to questions from Washington-based South Asia correspondents. This little theatre that few in Washington pay attention to is amplified into headlines in the Indian media. The state of the debate in Delhi on what America might be thinking barely corresponds to the reality in Washington.” Read more: C. Raja Mohan, The Indian Express
People & Politics -
“The framing of charges (sexual harassment and outraging modesty of women) against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a win for us but our battle will continue in court. Today we can stand without fear, our head held high, look him in the eye, the man we were afraid of for so many years. Brij Bhushan has got the message that we are not going anywhere until women wrestlers get justice. The framing of charges also sends a strong message that women can take on powerful men and they don’t have to be afraid. Protesting against someone so powerful was not easy, it was a daily battle and there were so many powerful people who wanted us to fail. There was also a negative campaign against us at all stages of our protests, be it when we were at Jantar Mantar and after that, too. Brij Bhushan had initially even said that if one woman comes forward and says that she faced sexual harassment, he was ready to hang himself. What happened to following up on that statement?” Read more: Vinesh Phogat, The Indian Express
“A report on religion-wise population growth in India has raked up a controversy, as it shows that the percentage of Muslim population has increased from 1950 to 2015, while the percentage of Hindu population has seen a slight dip. The report itself, prepared by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, shows this in a positive light, as a step towards more diversity and heterogeneity. The paper suggests that this is a sign that India is providing a “congenial environment for the flourishing of minorities.” But BJP leaders have given it a communal spin, falsely insinuating that Muslim population is growing at an ‘alarming’ rate due to ‘illegal immigration’ and ‘conversions’, and also blaming Congress for the same. The data from the paper says nothing new when compared to Census data till 2011, but is being used to give credence to the polarising Hindu-Muslim communal narrative pushed by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing elections.” Read more: Jahnavi, The News Minute
“In the 90-member House, the BJP has 39 seats and the Congress 30 seats. The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) holds 10 seats, the Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) one, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) one; Independents hold seven seats. The BJP’s tally of 41 MLAs in the 90-member House was reduced to 39 following the resignation of the MLAs from Karnal and Rania in March. Former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who represented Karnal, resigned as MLAsoon after he was nominated to contest the Parliamentary election from there. Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, son of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, too resigned from the Assembly after joining the BJP. An Independent legislator, he has been fielded by the BJP from Hisar in the Lok Sabha election. Six out of seven Independent MLAs had supported the BJP. With three of them—Sombir Sangwan (Charkhi Dadri), Randhir Golan (Pundri), and Dharam Pal Gonder (Nilokheri)—withdrawing support, the BJP has the backing of three Independents and one HLP MLA, that is, 43 MLAs in an 88-member House. Golan attributed unemployment and inflation as key factors influencing his decision. “For the last four and a half years, we have extended support to the BJP. Today unemployment and inflation are at their peak. Looking at this, we have withdrawn our support,” he said.” Read more: Ismat Ara, Frontline
“Demonising Muslim presence in India poses a serious challenge to the established constitutional principle of unity in diversity. 79 percent of respondents in the survey asserted that India belongs to all religious groups, including Muslims. Only an insignificant minority subscribe to the idea of a Hindu India. A significant majority of Hindus (77 percent) and Muslims (87 percent) overwhelmingly celebrate religious diversity as a way of life. It simply means that religious diversity is recognized as an important marker of national identity…. Despite supporting the inclusive idea of India and secularisation of affirmative action policies, 40 percent of respondents in this survey also asserted that they might vote for the BJP. This attitude underlines a rather paradoxical equation. The voters are certainly not very happy with the present regime, especially when it comes to social relations and inter-group cohesion. At the same time, they are unsure about the promises made by the Opposition. From the BJP’s point of view, this political behaviour was somehow problematic.” Read more: Hilal Ahmed, The Deccan Herald
Tech -
“On 9 April, National Dastak, a YouTube news channel with almost 10 million subscribers, received an email from YouTube saying India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had directed a blocking of the channel. “The notice itself is confidential so we are unable to share it with you at this time,” the email read. The YouTube channel still exists online, but the journalists are working under constant threat, said Jasneem -Ul Haque, a senior executive at National Dastak, an outlet which describes itself as a voice of Dalits, Adivasis, farmers, women and oppressed people… According to the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2023, 56% of respondents in India said they used YouTube for news with 39% using Facebook and 32% using Instagram. India has about 462 million YouTube users. In a country where TikTok is banned, research agency YouGov, said that India’s Generation Z – those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s – mainly use YouTube for consuming video content. Politicians are now increasingly granting interviews to YouTube channels, especially after some opposition leaders boycotted TV news channels. During his foot march across the country, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi only gave interviews to YouTubers such as Samdish Bhatia. He did not speak to mainstream journalists at all.” Read more: Raksha Kumar, Reuters Institute
“The scale of the BJP’s WhatsApp operations is incomparable to that of any other political party in the country. Over the past decade, the BJP has grown a vast network of WhatsApp groups that attempts to influence voters by spreading campaign messaging and propaganda. According to a report in the Deccan Herald, there are now at least 5 million WhatsApp groups operated by the BJP in India. Unnamed party leaders told the Herald the BJP’s WhatsApp infrastructure is so powerful that it can disseminate information from Delhi to any location in the country within 12 minutes. Shivam Shankar Singh, a political consultant who previously worked with the BJP, told Rest of World the party’s dominance on WhatsApp gives it an electoral advantage. “Distribution matters more than narrative,” he said. “WhatsApp provides India’s largest distribution platform [for political messaging].” Garimella, the Rutgers researcher, said the BJP’s “extreme coordination” and prowess on WhatsApp could benefit them. The closed nature of WhatsApp — only people in a group can see the content shared there — is also a concern. Unlike social media platforms such as X or Facebook, conversation in WhatsApp groups is usually hidden from public view, and largely goes unmoderated and unscrutinized.” Read more: Srishti Jaiswal, Rest of World
Bonus -
“Through an analysis of Allahabad University’s functioning, this article argues that independent India’s ideas of federalism reimagined university education. New visions of the educated person – linked to ideas about the ideal citizen – changed the kinds of disciplines and universities being funded. With support from industrial elites to buttress the new nation-state’s development plans, the state prioritised technical education over arts and humanities to serve a unified economic policy. This change manifested through increased scrutiny over university functioning and crackdowns on student protests. The Indian postcolonial state’s “centralised” federalism to manage the national economy and promote national integration impacted university funding. Ultimately, decisions about university funding were tied to the state’s vision of the ideal apolitical citizen student, who would contribute to national development.” Read more: Nainika Dinesh, Journal of the History of Education Society
simply superb