Customer takes first class seat in Prabhu’s plans

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu effected no hike in passenger fares, indicated a cut in freight tariffs, admitted that the global economic slowdown is hurting India’s core sectors and pointed out that the looming impact of the Seventh Pay Commission made it one of the toughest times to formulate a Budget.

Yet, Mr. Prabhu, in his second Rail Budget presented on Thursday, unveiled a bouquet of new train services, innumerable new initiatives to make life easier for passengers and proposed an ambitious capital outlay of Rs. 1.21 lakh crore for 2016-17, a jump of 21 per cent over this year.

While the Railway Minister didn’t refer to a sharp 50 crore shortfall in his passenger traffic estimates for 2015-16 — the Railways is expected to carry just 810 crore passengers down from 860 crore that he had projected in the last budget — he sought to win back passengers by offering some airplane-type features like on-board entertainment and travel insurance options at the time of booking.

The Minister also signalled a fresh approach to woo industry from alternative modes of transport that have chipped away a large share of its freight traffic over the years, by moving away from the typical focus on increasing revenues through tariff hikes.

“We want to challenge our conventional thinking on freight policies to win back our share in the transportation sector,” Mr. Prabhu said. “We will exploit new sources of revenue so that every asset, tangible or non-tangible, gets optimally monetised,” he said, referring to potential revenues that could accrue from advertising and monetisation of the Railways’ vast land holdings.

Chairman of the Railway Board A.K. Mittal later said the Railways is looking at bringing down its freight rates for the first time in the coming year, in a bid to increase revenues through higher volumes.

While Mr. Prabhu reiterated the government’s commitment to rev up the economy through public investments, he is betting on a string of belt-tightening measures, other income and optimism to fulfil that commitment with gross budgetary support of Rs. 45,000 crore for the public utility in 2016-17.

Pointing to austerity measures yielding savings of Rs. 8,720 crore this year, the Minister promised to increase cost optimisation in diesel, electricity and other expenses. “…With an optimistic outlook for the economy… we hope to generate revenues of the order of Rs. 1,84,820 crore next year, 10.1 per cent higher than the revised target for 2015-16,” Mr. Prabhu said.

Tapping new revenue streams and optimizing expenses are part of a new structure Mr. Prabhu announced to revitalise the Railways.

More powers to zonal railways for faster decision-making

Besides proposing to tap new revenue streams and optimizing expenses, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget presented on Thursday announced a radical overhaul of its organisational structure, more transparency and a hard look at the status quo on its operational parameters such as the average train speed.

Significantly, the Minister said more powers have been delegated to the zonal railways for faster decision-making. He has also introduced accountability for officials not usually seen in the government. This includes defining key result areas (KRAs) for general managers and divisional railway managers to evaluate their performance. He also said a single official would be made accountable for each train’s on-board experience to address passenger concerns, even as a third party audit will be conducted to ensure the quality of services on trains and stations.

While the government stuck to its stand on not announcing new train routes in the Rail Budget, it however committed to expediting critical projects to connect the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.

The Railway Minister also announced three new dedicated freight corridors to connect North-South (Delhi to Chennai), East-West (Kharagpur-Mumbai) and East Coast Corridor connecting Kharagpur to Vijayawada. The projects, he said, will be taken up on a priority basis.

Over the next four years, the Minister said the Railways will work on ensuring reserved accommodation to travellers on demand, time tabled freight trains (for which a pilot will be started in 2016-17) and semi-high speed trains along the Golden Quadrilateral.

“That new project announcements are limited indicates adherence to implementation focus, highlighted in the previous Budget,” said Manish Agarwal, Partner and Leader-Infrastructure, PwC India. “Among the new announcements, East Coast connectivity through Dedicated Freight Corridor is perhaps the most impactful, as it would contribute to India participating in global production networks in South East Asia, and to Make in India,” he said.

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It’s not sedition, says Chidambaram

Former Finance and Home Minister P. Chidambaram has described the Union government’s case against Jawaharlal Nehru University students charged with sedition as weak, saying, “Any lawyer familiar with the law laid down in this behalf will know that this is not sedition.”

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Chidambaram said it was entirely “possible that there are some students whose sympathies lie with the Maoist movement, but unless there is incitement to violence, it is not sedition”.

“The slogan Pakistan Zindabad, etc. is heard every day in Kashmir. The slogan for Khalistan is heard almost every week in Punjab. There were people in Tamil Nadu who sing the praises of the LTTE and even glorify the LTTE cadres who were behind the killing of [former Prime Minister] Rajiv Gandhi. Some of it is clearly unacceptable and punishable. But is it punishable as sedition? That is the distinction we are drawing. Now which other law is attracted will depend on the nature of the provocation, the exact words that were uttered and the place and time and context in which they were uttered. Any lawyer familiar with the law laid down in this behalf will know that this is not sedition,” he said.

“And even today, I find that the Police Commissioner is defending the charge sheet against Kanhaiya Kumar [president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union] on the ground of sedition. Clearly, going through what Kanhaiya Kumar said on that day, it does not attract the law of sedition. In fact, I don’t think his speech attracts any law at all,” he said.

He said the government was framing the debate on identities — on the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri over the allegation of storing beef or the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad — in a polarising manner, distracting attention from bread and butter issues.

He said he had been in favour of withdrawing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir, but did not see it happening in this government.

Mr. Chidambaram said events in the rest of India and cases like that of Dadri and JNU would have consequences in Kashmir.

“See, the mind of the Kashmiri youth gets affected not only by what happens in the Kashmir Valley. It also gets affected by what happens elsewhere in India. I think the increased sense of fear and insecurity among the Muslims is playing on the minds of Muslims all over India, including Muslims in Kashmir. How can one say that the Kashmiri youth are not concerned about what happens to other Muslims in the rest of India,” he asked.

He denied that the previous Congress-led government had doubts over the culpability of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

“I said one can hold an honest opinion that the case was not correctly decided and the degree of involvement of Afzal Guru was not correctly assessed. If someone holds that opinion, he doesn’t become an anti-national. He’s just holding a different opinion,” he said.

On the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, Mr. Chidambaram said the government was wrong in saying that it was possible to mention a cap in the rate of the GST in the Bill.

“Of course, capping the rate on the Bill can be done. What is the problem with that? [Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley] Mr. Jaitley’s Bill, in one section, mentions the rate at one per cent. So why can’t the Constitution Amendment Bill mention a rate? His own Bill mentions a rate. Secondly, the profession tax provision of the Constitution — Article 276 — contains a cap of Rs. 2,500. That number is mentioned in the Constitution. So mentioning a cap in the Constitution is not unprecedented.”

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India adds 27 new billionaires

India added 27 new billionaires with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), emerging at the top with a personal wealth of $26 billion, according to Hurun Global Rich List 2016.

Cumulative Indian billionaires’ wealth stood at $308 billion, registering a 25 per cent growth over last year. Mr. Ambani, who is ranked 21st globally, was followed by Sun Pharma promoter, Dilip Shanghvi , with personal wealth of $18 billion.

India is home to 111 billionaires and most of them are from Mumbai, according to the report.

“With the launch of new central government schemes, Make in India push and so on, I see an immense potential for wealth creation in India,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Managing Director, Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India. “I hope India's 2016 budget would simplify tax laws, reduce red tape resulting in an overall increase in transparency.” - India’s e-commerce leaders, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal of Flipkart, with wealth of $1.4 billion, were ranked amongst the 69 billionaires under the age of 40.

Globally, 99 new billionaires were added to the list in 2016 to take the total billionaire rich list to a record of 2,188, 50 per cent more than 2013.

China’s rich

The rich in China overtook their U.S. counterparts to make Beijing, the `billionaire capital of the world’ for the first time, according to Hurun.

In China real estate generated most number of billionaires (117), followed by manufacturing and technology with 94 and 68 respectively.

Led by Beijing, five Chinese cities make the top 10 cities for super wealth creators. Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou are home to 100, 64, 50, 46 and 32 billionaires respectively. Average age of the billionaires is 56.

China is the number 1 in the world in terms of generating self-made billionaires akin to “rags to riches,” according to the report.

Total billionaires wealth increased by nine per cent to $7.3 trillion, more than the GDP of Germany and the U.K. combined and coming close to half that of the U.S.

The Hurun Rich list saw 729 individuals’ wealth declining while 102 fell out of last year’s list.

Russian billionaires

Russian billionaires lost $130bn on the back of a further 19 per cent drop in the Russian rouble and with lacklustre performance of mining, metals and energy sector.

Commodity price correction dragged down the wealth of metal & mining billionaires. Lakshmi Mittal, 65, lost US$7bn owing to iron ore price correction of 40 per cent as per IMF commodity price data

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said: “Despite its own slowdown and falling stock markets, China minted more new billionaires than any other country in the world last year, mainly on the back of new listings. Growth in billionaires for the rest of the world was held back by a slowdown in the global economy, the strengthening of the U.S. dollar and the drop in oil prices. The number of billionaires, however, has jumped 50% since 2013.”

Hurun Report on Wednesday released the Hurun Global Rich List 2016, a ranking of the US dollar billionaires currently found in the world.

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Complying with FBI demand is ‘bad for America’, says Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday that it would be “bad for America” if his company complied with the FBI’s demand for help unlocking an encrypted iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Cook said he’s prepared to take the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also said he would try to make his case directly to President Barack Obama, although he did not say when or where they would meet.

In his first interview since the controversy erupted last week, Cook told ABC News that it was a difficult decision to resist a court order directing Apple to override security features on an iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of two extremists who killed 14 people in the Southern California city in December.

“Some things are hard and some things are right, and some things are both. This is one of those things,” Cook said. The interview came as both sides in the dispute are courting public support, through interviews and published statements, while also mustering legal arguments in the case.

What FBI wants and what Apple doesn't want

Federal officials have said they’re only asking for narrow assistance in bypassing some security features on the iPhone, which they believe may contain information related to the mass murders. Apple has argued that doing so would make other iPhones more susceptible to hacking by authorities or criminals in the future.

The Apple chief expressed sympathy for the shooting victims’ families, and said his company provided engineers and technical advice to authorities investigating the case. But he said authorities are now asking the company “to write a piece of software that we view as sort of the equivalent of cancer.”
The software could “expose people to incredible vulnerabilities,” Cook added, arguing that smartphones contain private information about users and even their families.

“This would be bad for America,” he said. “It would also set a precedent that I believe many people in America would be offended by.”

Cook disputed FBI Director James Comey’s argument that the court order applies to only one phone.

“If a court can ask us to write this piece of software, think about what else they could ask us to write,” Cook said. “Maybe it’s an operating system for surveillance. Maybe it’s the ability for law enforcement to turn on the camera. I mean I don’t know where this stops.”

A Department of Justice spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Apple is expected to file its legal response to the judge’s order by Friday.

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Nitish flags off new buses, borrows money for ticket

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Wednesday embarrassed when a woman conductor of a government bus he flagged off issued him a Rs. 5 ticket for a ride. Mr. Kumar had to borrow the money from one of the officials accompanying him to buy the ticket. Earlier, he flagged off 140 new buses of the Bihar State Transport Corporation.

Mr. Kumar admitted that he felt embarrassed seeing dirty Patna and warned officials to keep it clean otherwise the government itself would take some steps to clear the mess.

“Whenever some VIPs come to meet me they point out towards dirt and garbage littered in Patna. I feel embarrassed and such adverse comments also belittle all the development work done by the State government. It is very sad,” the Chief Minister said addressing a function after inaugurating a number of projects of the Urban Development Department. Patna Mayor Afzal Imam was present at the programme.

Mr. Kumar said he got fed up while reading regular news about the clash between the Mayor and Patna Municipal Corporation officials. “If the situation does not improve, the government could step in and use the Patna Municipal Corporation’s last right to clean Patna,” said Mr. Kumar, referring to the working of municipal corporations of Mumbai and other cities. Recently, in a survey, Patna was ranked among the dirtiest cities of the country, while Mysuru was declared the cleanest city.

The Chief Minister also listed the steps the State government and the Patna High Court taken to control noise pollution in the city.

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Brain-dead student injects life into 8 others

A poor washerman family’s magnanimity in its time of grief saved the lives of eight people.

On Monday evening, Ramesh, a first year engineering student who was riding a two-wheeler back home from college, was seriously injured in a head-on collision with another two-wheeler. Passers by admitted him to the nearby Dharapuram Government Hospital. He was later referred to the KMCH hospital for further treatment.

Ramesh, a resident of Kilangundal village near Mulanur in Dharapuram Taluk, was declared brain dead on Tuesday morning. His father Ramalingam, who had learnt about organ donation from newspapers, agreed to donate Ramesh’s organs.

A team of doctors from KMCH and the Coimbatore Government Hospital completed the formalities, and on Wednesday, Ramesh’s heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, corneas and skin were donated.

While liver and one kidney were transplanted to patients registered in KMCH, the heart was sent to Fortis Malar and the pancreas to Apollo Hospital in Chennai. Another kidney, the corneas and skin were sent to other private hospitals in Coimbatore.

On Wednesday, the traffic police created two green corridors to enable Fortis Malar and Apollo Hospital to receive the organs for transplant. “We received a call on Tuesday night and reached Coimbatore around 8.40 p.m. We wanted both the heart and the lungs but unfortunately the lungs were not in good condition. The heart was harvested this morning and it reached the hospital around 10.30 a.m.,” said K.G. Suresh Rao, head of Cardiac Anaesthesia at Fortis Malar Hospital.

Within an hour, the organ was transplanted in a 14-year-old Russian boy. He had suffered a stroke last month as his heart was weak and blood clots had travelled to his brain. It made him a candidate for transplant, said K.R. Balakrishnan, a cardiothoracic surgeon who did the surgery. The boy is recovering in the ICU. The second green corridor was created to transport the pancreas which arrived by a Jet Airways flight around 1.58 p.m. A 33-year-old recipient at the hospital, who was suffering from type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, was transplanted with the organ. Surgeon Anil Vaidya, who led the team, said the patient had been suffering from diabetes since the age of 12. “Diabetes affects a lot of organs, the heart, the blood vessels eyes and kidneys. This chap had lost all the warning signals of low sugar,” Dr. Vaidya said.

A routine visit to the clinic proved lucky for the patient. Dr. Vaidya said the patient’s blood sugar did not normalise even after a cup of tea, indicating that it was a severe attack of very low sugar. “Mostly world over, pancreatic transplants are done in conjunction with kidney. We usually take the patient for dialysis. But this patient did not need a kidney. This is the first time in India we did a lone pancreas transplant. He is now cured of diabetes and does not require insulin,” Dr. Vaidya said.

The organ left Coimbatore airport at noon and reached Apollo Hospital at 1.58 p.m. The surgery took about five hours. Dr. Vaidya said the pancreas was functioning normally in the transplanted patient.

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Sanjay Dutt released from Yerawada Jail

Actor Sanjay Dutt was released from Yerwada jail on Thursday. Sanjay Dutt will reportedly have a relaxed day and spend time with his family. “He will take a charter from Yerawada Central Jail to Mumbai. He will offer prayers at Siddhivinayak temple and then go to his mother’s (Nargis) grave in Marine Lines,” sources told IANS. “There is a portrait of his father (Sunil Dutt) in his building in Pali Hill. There will be a small puja there. It will be basically a relaxed day with his family,” the source added.

On Wednesday, a social worker has yet again moved the Bombay High Court stating that Dutt's release was reflective of the inequality in the treatment of prisoners. The PIL also states that the actor has been given preferential treatment throughout his term in prison. Pradeep Bhalekar, chairperson of Samajik Karyakarta Saurakhan Samiti, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) on Wednesday pointing out there are 27,740 others prisoners in the state who deserve to be released on the same grounds as Dutt. The petition also states that the actor, who has spent 42 months behind bars, has already benefitted a lot because of furlough and parole.

1993 Mumbai blasts

The actor was arrested in April 1993 and later convicted for illegal possession of an automatic assault rifle, a part of cache of arms and ammunition that landed ahead of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in which 257 people were killed.

In 2013, Dutt was sentenced to five years of imprisonment. He had already served 18 months behind the bars after being jailed in 1996, and so was ordered to serve the remaining 42 months. Dutt’s prison sentence has been mired in controversies due to the repeated paroles and furloughs he obtained.

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