Daily Current Affairs 08.07.23
1. Artist, sculptor Namboodiri leaves behind a legacy of indelible images
1 of 2 Namboodiri, and, right, one of the artist’s paintings. Special Arrangement
Karuvatta Mana Vasudevan Namboodiri, beloved to readers of Malayalam as Artist Namboodiri, passed away on Friday at Kottakkal in Malappuram.
Artist, illustrator, cartoonist, art director and sculptor, he was at home in many realms of art and was master of all. With his passing, a glorious and indelible chapter in visual art of Kerala comes to an end.
His lithe, sweeping, flowing lines created the early images of immortal literary characters. The big-bosomed, wide-hipped women with large eyes, and men with lean torsos, broad shoulders and angular features who peopled his world seem to have been inspired by the sculptures he saw in the Sukapuram temple near his home.
Born on September 13, 1925 at Ponnani in Malappuram, Kerala, he was the eldest son of Parameshwaran Namboodiri and Sreedevi Antharjanam. At an interaction at a youth camp at the Aluva YMCA campus, he once told this correspondent how he could not stop doodling and drawing on walls and on sand.
Eventually, he joined the Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai where he was influenced by the greats of the erstwhile Madras School of Arts, then led by stalwarts such as KCS Panicker and Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury.
The artist’s stint with Kerala’s Mathrubhumi magazine started with a pocket cartoon, ‘Naniyammayum Lokavum’, then he became the chosen illustrator of Jnanpith awardee M.T. Vasudevan Nair.
Auteur G. Aravindan reached out to Namboodiri during the making of Uttarayanam. In 1974, Namboodiri received the Kerala State Film Award for art direction for the film. He also worked with Aravindan in his movie Kanchana Seetha.
A great aficionado of Kathakali and theatre, he had painted several scenes from Kathakali plays.
2. Ominous signs India must calibrate its diplomacy on Khalistan issue to better effect
Ahead of planned rallies by pro-Khalistan separatists in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia on July 8 that target Indian diplomatic missions and diplomats, the Indian government has taken steps to speak to officials in these countries for added security and vigilance. The issue was raised by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in talks with his British counterpart in Delhi on Friday, and was the subject of calls between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and its counterparts in all partner countries, requesting pre-emptory action. Posters in these countries have billed the protests as “Kill India” and “Khalistan Freedom” rallies, exhorting supporters to march to Indian missions. What is worrying is that the posters sport the photographs of India’s top diplomats posted in these countries. The protests — after the attacks on Indian missions, arson attempts and vandalism — indicate a sharp uptick in separatist activity overseas and have left New Delhi concerned. However, they should be of far greater concern to the countries incubating these groups, as they involve their citizens. The rallies planned for Saturday put the respective governments on notice — to ensure adequate protection to Indian diplomatic interests, as obligated under international conventions. In addition, it is a test of their resolve to investigate groups threatening violence, gathering and sharing intelligence on any organisations supporting them to plan or carry out attacks or a terror strike like the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight. Above all, these governments must not use “freedom of speech” tropes as a cover for failing to prevent criminal acts.
While the onus remains on the four countries where pro-Khalistan attacks have increased, New Delhi must also reconsider its public diplomacy on the issue. Repeatedly calling out foreign governments for their failure to respond to Indian requests, freezing diplomatic contact, tit-for-tat retaliatory measures such as downgrading security for the British High Commission might be demonstrative, but hardly diplomatically effective. In addition, with the exception of the U.S, the MEA has regularly summoned top diplomats of the countries named, to démarche them over attacks (there is often no distinction made between violent attacks and graffiti). While the government is justified in raising concerns over the safety of Indian citizens and Indian property, it must leave law and order issues and policing to the sovereign government in that country. New Delhi’s vocal protests on behalf of the Indian diaspora and community centres targeted by pro-Khalistan groups, for example, fail to recognise that, most often, the victims and perpetrators are of Indian origin. Given the rising protests and the alarming nature of the threats, the need of the hour is more cooperation, and not brinkmanship, between the governments, and a mechanism to share information, intelligence and discuss solutions to growing violence by such groups.
3. Govt. to share PM Gati Shakti data
Industry and potential investors will have access to infrastructure data captured on the PM Gati Shakti platform, according to a top government official; data sharing to be compatible with the policies of the Science and Electronics & IT ministries
The government is working out a mechanism to share data with industry and potential investors about multi-modal connectivity as well as other physical and social infrastructure captured on the PM Gati Shakti platform, a top official said on Friday.
The Network Planning Group (NPG) under the platform which has multiple layers of geospatial data from across the country, has so far managed to evaluate and facilitate 85 large central infrastructure projects worth nearly ₹5.4 lakh crore so far, said Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
At the NPG’s 51st meeting chaired by DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Friday, the group evaluated five national highway projects worth ₹15,600 crore, which included two highways in Maharashtra, a ring road around Kanpur, and a tunnel project in Mizoram to help commuters and goods bypass the capital city of Aizawl.
A clutch of projects worth ₹719 crore, which are essentially disaster risk mitigation measures for Uttarakhand’s Garhwal region, were also taken up. These include 20 road stretches prone to landslides and 11 sinking zones.
Responding to a query from The Hindu on when the Gati Shakti portal may be opened up for investors and other stakeholders outside government, Ms. Dawra said the issue was discussed and ministries were working together to reach a consensus on the modalities.
“Geospatial data sharing has to be compatible with the Science Ministry’s policy, while the Ministry of Electronics and IT has been asked to examine issues relating to data protection and privacy. All ministries are working out what data can be shared,” she said, without indicating a time frame for implementation.
4. ‘Selective ban’ of messaging apps may be looked at: TRAI
More pressure: Telecom operators have previously called for messaging apps to be regulated.Getty Images
The body has sought inputs on bringing apps like WhatsApp under a licensing framework; this comes as a turning point as it had recommended against the regulation of such apps in 2020
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday put out a consultation paper asking if it would be possible for messaging apps such as WhatsApp to be brought under a licensing framework, and whether such apps can be banned “selectively” in places where an Internet shutdown would otherwise have been imposed.
TRAI had recommended in September 2020 that there was no need to regulate “OTT communication services,” the term for such apps that allow calling and texting over the Internet, often with encryption that makes it difficult for anyone to access the content of a conversation.
That recommendation does not hold up, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which is the licensor for telecom operators, told TRAI last September, according to a reference published by the telecom regulator.
Dindayal Tosniwal, a Deputy Director General at the DoT, cited the “need to holistically look into the various aspects of these [messaging] services including regulatory, economic, security, privacy and safety aspects”.
Telecom operators have previously called for messaging apps to be regulated, and demanded that they pay for some of the costs networks incur in running their infrastructure.
WhatsApp complies globally with requests to share so-called “metadata”, such as a given user’s phonebook or the details of whom they called or messaged in a certain period. They cannot, however, share the contents of messages exchanged between users, or recordings of phone calls, as these are end-to-end encrypted.
Internet shutdown
While this consultation is based on references received from the DoT months ago, it assumes special significance considering the ongoing Internet shutdown in Manipur.
The Manipur High Court has appointed a 12-member panel to look into whether it would be possible to restore Internet access while leaving social media websites and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which allow users to get around website and app restrictions, blocked.
TRAI’s questions on selective shutdowns appear to be along these lines, without reference to VPNs. Instead, the regulator has hinted at the possibility of a “collaborative framework” between telcos and OTTs. The regulator asked what challenges would be encountered in such a collaboration, including with respect to Net neutrality, the concept that all traffic on a network should be treated without discrimination in speed or pricing.
These proposals may run into resistance from the technology industry and civil society organisations, who have been aligned in the past on issues of privacy of online communications and in their opposition to Internet shutdowns.
5. Delhi to host test run of hydrogen fuel-cell buses later this year
Later this year, the first test runs of hydrogen-powered buses will likely be under way in Delhi followed by other States. The buses, developed under a joint venture involving Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Tata Motors, will ply — as part of a scientific test experiment — between Delhi and Faridabad, and thereafter on some “iconic” routes, according to S.S.V. Ramakumar, Director (R&D), Indian Oil.
“This will include, for instance, Delhi-Agra; Vadodara to Kevadia [Statue of Unity], in Gujarat, Thiruvananthapuram airport to Thiruvananthapuram city centre [in Kerala],” he said at a press conference in Delhi on Friday.
The hydrogen buses in this experiment are like an electric bus, in that hydrogen interacts with a ‘fuel cell’ battery producing electricity and no carbon emissions. The hydrogen fuel-cell buses to be deployed are “indigenously manufactured” in India but the actual fuel-cells are reportedly imported.
“We have applied to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for route permits and are currently in the process of homologation. The first three buses are expected to ply in October,” Mr. Ramakumar added, “This will be a structured scientific process.”
“There are several road-worthiness tests that have to be passed and special tracks have to be created to test these buses,” said Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory.
This is not the first time that hydrogen powered buses will dot Delhi’s roads. In 2020, the Delhi government tested 50 hydrogen-powered CNG buses.
