I. Economy
1. India’s plan for public-private partnerships and
investments in railways set to transform the sector
The Indian Railways is in for a massive
makeover, rather a complete transformation. ‘India needs world-class railways
and it needs to be better than the airports,’ Amitabh Kant, CEO of the Niti
Aayog, said during a press conference at National Media Centre, while giving a
peep into the upcoming public-private partnerships in passenger train
operations. Joining him was the CEO of the Railway Board, Vinod Kumar Yadav.
‘This creates a win-win situation for Indian
Railways as well as investors, by tapping into the potential of huge unmet
demand in the passenger business. The private sector investment we are looking
at is about Rs. 30,000 crores,’ Kant said.
A peep into the Railways 2.0
The infrastructure of Indian Railways will
meet private entities operating modern technology. This means quality trains,
advanced technology, better service and a much better experience.
‘We are looking at 109 origin-destination
pairs, divided into 12 clusters requiring 151 trains… Our objective is also
50 railway stations.’
Kant further explained that efforts are
underway for transparent competitive bidding and some new, attractive routes
based on huge unmet demand will be put out to run premium passenger services.
In sync with the modernisation vibe, the newly-developed railway hubs will be
called Railopolis.
Public-private participation, it’s
happened before
Any inclusive discussion on privatisation
has often turned into apprehensions to do with the government’s redundancy. For
those looking at the flipside of the private investment, Kant puts a lot of
apprehensions to rest with the simple precedence of banks.
‘It is like when private banks were set up
in India. So many private players came in the banking sector. But that did not
lead SBI to shut. Private investment will bring in newer technologies. It will
create competition in the railway sector. The competition will increase
efficiency and reduce fares in the long run,’ he clarified to both in-house and
web-based participants during the conference.
Nominal hike in fares, experience
overhaul
The request for a quotation has already been
floated and the due date for applications is 7th October, 2020.
Addressing queries on the user charge proposed to be levied for the
redevelopment of railway stations, he assured that it will be a nominal amount.
‘It will be an affordable amount but it is
important to levy if we are looking at world-class facilities comparable to
airport infrastructure.’
The logistics, in a nutshell
The project will have a two-stage bidding
process; the first stage will comprise RFQ for pre-qualification based on
financial capacity, at least 50% of the estimated project cost. There will be
twelve clusters available for investment, namely, Chandigarh, Chennai,
Bengaluru, Delhi 1 and 2, Howrah, Mumbai 1 and 2, Jaipur, Patna, Secunderabad
and Prayagraj.
(Source: International Business Times –
By Manpriya Khurana – 18th September, 2020)
2. RBI stands battle-ready to take whatever steps
needed for Covid-hit Indian economy: Governor Shaktikanta Das
Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, while addressing the members of the India
Inc. body FICCI, said that the country’s economic recovery is not fully
entrenched and will be gradual as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has
still not subsided.
‘Recovery is not
yet fully entrenched. In some sectors, the optics noticed in June and July
appear to have levelled off. By all indications, the recovery is likely to be
gradual as efforts towards reopening of the economy are confronted with rising
infections.’
The Governor’s
remarks come at a time when the country’s economy is going through a period of
crisis. He also said that some high-frequency indicators including agricultural
activity, Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing, certain private
estimates for unemployment point to ‘some stabilisation’ of economic activity
in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.
‘Contractions in
many other sectors (are) simultaneously easing,’ he said.
‘Global economy
is estimated to have suffered the sharpest contraction in living memory in
April-June, 2020 on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis. World
merchandised trade estimated to have registered a steep year-on-year decline of
over 18% in the second quarter of the 2020 calendar year,’ the RBI Governor
added.
(Source:
International Business Times – By Meghna Sen – 16th September, 2020)
II. Science & Health
3. World leaders
drew 2020 deadline to save earth; set 20 goals, achieved none in 10 years
One million
species are at the risk of extinction as nature degrades and new opportunities
emerge for the spread of viruses like this year’s coronavirus.
Ten years; 196
world leaders; business as usual approach. And a bad report card. In 2010,
leaders from 196 countries gathered in Japan and agreed on a long list of goals
to save the only inhabitable planet known to mankind, Earth. They set a 2020
deadline to save nature and meet the 20 targets – but not a single target has
been met.
According to the
UN’s Global Biodiversity Outlook Report, the fifth report published in the
matter, the world has failed to achieve even a single goal from the list of
Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Aichi Targets are to biodiversity what the Paris
Convention is to climate change. These targets were established under the UN
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and are the best bet of nations for
biodiversity conservation.
First the sad
news, then the scary news
As per the UN
report, one million species are at risk of extinction. ‘Pollution, including
from excess nutrients, pesticides, plastics and other waste, continues to be a
major driver of biodiversity loss. Plastic pollution is accumulating in the
oceans, with severe impacts on marine ecosystems,’ the report states.
It must also be
noted, the report further warns, ‘The number of extinctions of birds and
mammals would likely have been at least two to four times higher without
conservation actions in the past decade.’
So small steps,
though not nearly enough, still truly count.
Twenty
targets, only six achieved… partially
Let’s start with
the less bad news. Each nation was supposed to meet each of the 20 targets. The
six targets that have been partially met in the past decade are to do with –
preventing invasive species, conservation of protected areas, sharing benefits
from genetic resources, biodiversity strategies and improvement and
dissemination of knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to
biodiversity.
On average, the
participating countries reported that more than a third of national targets are
on track to be met, 50% of them were seeing slower progress, 11% showed no
progress and 1% were in fact moving in the wrong direction.
Money spent
vs. money needed
The 212-page
report also zeroes things down to funding. The half-hearted approach and the
significance governments attach to the environment and climate crises reflect
in the funding. Governments at a global level spend $78 to $91 billion annually
towards the conservation and promotion of biodiversity. That is significantly
less than the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to give the cause the
momentum it needs.
The faint
silver lining
As per the
report, the recent rate of deforestation is lower than that of the previous
decade, but only by about one-third, but deforestation may be accelerating
again in some areas. Programmes to eradicate invasive alien species, especially
invasive mammals on islands, have benefited native species. However, the report
cuts short the celebration, ‘These successes represent only a small proportion
of all occurrences of invasive species.’
Now what?
‘This flagship
report underlines that humanity stands at a crossroads with regard to the
legacy we wish to leave to future generations,’ said CBD Executive Secretary
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema.
The statement
further reads, ‘As nature degrades, new opportunities emerge for the spread to
humans and animals of devastating diseases like this year’s coronavirus. The
window of time available is short, but the pandemic has also demonstrated that
transformative changes are possible when they must be made.’
If the pandemic
doesn’t make humanity imbibe the lessons, nothing else really will.
(Source:
International Business Times – By Manpriya Khurana – 17th September,
2020)
