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US Ambassador to India apparently sacked

March 31, 2014

It seems the US Ambassador to India, Nancy J Powell,  has been forced to resign by the Obama Administration (read John Kerry’s State Department) after just 2 years in her position. The story doing the rounds is that she earned the displeasure of her bosses for

  1. totally misjudging and underestimating the Indian reaction to the diplomat Khobragade’s prosecution in New York,
  2. misjudging the political developments and therefore not patching up and developing a proper relationship with Narendra Modi who is likely to be the next Prime Minister of India after the imminent general election, and
  3. being “missing from the action” by going off on long trekking excursions.

The thinking is that Washington wants to “reboot” the US/India relationship which is currently “frozen” and that requires a new, more politically savvy person – though Nancy Powell was herself a career diplomat. During her 37 year career, Powell, has served as US ambassador to Uganda, Ghana, Pakistan, Nepal and India. Also if Narendra Modi does become the next Prime Minister, Nancy Powell continuing as Ambassador would not be possible. It would be better therefore if she was already out of the way and did not present a potential liability.

These at least are the reasons which can openly be deduced. However there has also been an involvement of the US Embassy consular staff in support of getting US visas for the family of the maid who Devayani Khobragade was accused of mistreating. Apparently members of the maid’s family worked for some consular officials in India and the whole prosecution may have been engineered by US consular officials breaking many of their internal rules – and the buck for that stops with Nancy Powell.

IndiaToday: It was a series of diplomatic cables sent on behalf of US ambassador Nancy Powell that led to her being forced to resign by the US State Department, which didn’t want to be saddled with the Nancy legacy for doing business with a new government in New Delhi.

 Top diplomatic sources said that Powell authorised cables during diplomat Devyani Khobragade arrest row described the Indian position as weak and that it will not escalate the matter as the country was in an election mode, the reverse happened because of elections round the corner there was an unprecedented Indian anger and response which dipped the relationship to an all time low.

Earlier too Powell was blamed for not advising the Washington to do business with Narendra Modi and the US only courted Narendra Modi recently after the intervention of the US State Department.

The envoy was also blamed for being on frequent trekking tours and even the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi had informed the interlocutors in Washington that her conduct was not helpful to the relationship.

The Obama Administration has said  – as they had to – that they had no differences with Powell and that her retirement was a planned event.

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US dismisses charges as idiotic Khobragade episode “ends”

March 13, 2014

I remain convinced that this was a “ploy by a maid and her family to get visas for the US with US consular officials in Delhi conniving with the New York prosecutor”.

The “bad guys” in this story are Wayne May – the US consular official – and Preet Bharara the ambitious New York prosecutor who were certainly involved in some form of “conniving together”. Sangeeta Richard – the maid – comes out as just being opportunistic. Devayani Khobragade herself comes out as either being – at best – naive, and – at worst – somewhat incompetent.

In any event the case generated much diplomatic heat between India and the US but has now been brought to a sort of conclusion with a US Federal judge dismissing all charges. However the dismissal is not because there was no substance in the charges but because she should have been granted immunity.

The Hindu: 

Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on Thursday won dismissal of the indictment against her for visa fraud, with a U.S. judge ruling she had full diplomatic immunity although prosecutors are not barred from bringing new charges in future.

District Judge Shira Scheindlin said in her 14-page order that “it is undisputed” that Ms. Khobragade acquired full diplomatic immunity at 5:47 p.m. on January 8 after the U.S. State Department approved her accreditation as a counsellor to India’s mission to the United Nations.

While the indictment was returned on January 9, Ms. Khobragade had the immunity till she departed from the U.S. for India on the evening of January 9 and so the prosecutors cannot proceed with the current indictment.

“Ms. Khobragade’s motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground of diplomatic immunity is granted. Ms. Khobragade’s conditions of bail are terminated, and her bond is exonerated. It is ordered that any open arrest warrants based on this indictment must be vacated,” Ms. Scheindlin said in her 14-page order, capping months of unprecedented diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and India.

“On January 9, immediately following the return of the indictment, Ms. Khobragade appeared before the court through counsel and moved to dismiss the case. Because the court lacked jurisdiction over her at that time, and at the time the indictment was returned, the motion must be granted,” the judge said ordering that the motion and the case be closed.

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Indian General Election 2014 – by the numbers!

March 7, 2014

By the numbers, GE 2014 could be the greatest show on earth!

The logistics are frightening. The Election Commission of India’s arrangements for securing a “free and fair” election are quite comprehensive and more than a little daunting.

Press Note GE-2014_05032014

About 11 million people will be involved under the authority of the Election Commission of India as election officials or in providing security. Almost 1 million polling stations, over 800 million voters, over 1,400 political parties and more than 4,000 candidates are expected. The administrative cost for holding the election is expected to be about $650 million.

It is worth noting that other than at village level China does not even attempt any kind of “free” elections. Elected leaders are always subject to the over-riding authority of the secretary of the appropriate level of the strictly hierarchical Communist Party of China.

  1. 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will go to the polls.
  2. Voting will begin on April 7th and continue on nine separate dates until May 12th.  Counting will take place on 16.05.2014 (Friday) and is expected to be completed on the same day.
  3. More than 1,400 political parties are involved. There are 6 recognised and registered National parties, 54 recognised and registered State parties and 1,392 registered but “unrecognised” parties.
  4. The total electorate in the country is approximately 814.5 million compared to 713 million in 2009. This marks an increase of more than 100 million electors.
  5. There has been a remarkable increase in the enrollment of electors in the age group of 18 to 19 years. Over 23 million electors are in this age group. Electors in the age group of 18 to 19 years now constitute 2.88% of total electors, against 0.75% in 2009. 
  6. Transgender persons with gender written as “Others” have been in the electoral rolls since 2012. The number of electors enrolled as “Others” gender is 28,314.
  7. Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1950, allowing enrollment of Indian citizens living overseas as electors. 11,844 overseas electors have been enrolled in the current electoral rolls.
  8. There are 1,328,621 service electors in the electoral rolls (see note below).

  9. There will be approximately 930,000 Polling Stations in the country, as compared to 830,866 Polling Stations set up during Lok Sabha election, 2009. This marks an increase of nearly 11.9 percent Polling Stations. 

  10. Electronic Voting Machines will be used. There are 1,468,430 Control Units (CUs) and 1,495,430 Ballot Units (BUs) available in the country. Manufacturers have been asked to manufacture and supply 251,650 Control Units and 382,876 Ballot Units, which are expected to be received by 31st 

    March, 2014. With this, the country will have 1,720,080 Control Units and 1,878,306 Ballot Units. 

  11. The Supreme Court has directed that there should be a “None of the Above” 

    (NOTA) option on the ballot papers and a special button has been provided for this on the voting machines.

  12. All the candidates will be required to file an affidavit along with 

    their nomination papers. This affidavit will include information on the criminal antecedents of the candidate, if any, assets (including the movable, immovable 

    properties and investments even in foreign countries, of the candidate, his/ her spouse and dependents), liabilities of the candidate, his/ her spouse and 

    dependents and his/ her educational qualifications. 

  13. The maximum limit of election expenses for a Lok Sabha Constituency is Rs.70.00 lakh per candidate for all States except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim. For these three States it is Rs.54.00 lakh per 

    candidate. For the Union Territories, the maximum limit is Rs.70 lakh per candidate for NCT of Delhi and Rs.54.00 lakh per candidate for other UTs. For the Assembly Constituencies, the maximum limit is Rs.28.00 lakh per candidate for the bigger States and NCT of Delhi and Rs.20.00 lakh per candidate in the other States and Union Territory of Puducherry. Accordingly, in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha the limit of expenses for Assembly Constituencies is Rs.28.00 lakh per candidate and in Sikkim it is Rs.20.00 lakh per candidate. (Note Rs 1 lakh = $1,600 approximately).

  14.  Every contesting candidate will maintain and furnish a separate and true account of his/ her election expenditure.

  15. Since the tenure of the Legislative Assemblies of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will expire on 02.06.2014, 07.06.2014 and 21.05.2014 respectively and a new Assembly in Sikkim has to be constituted before 22nd May, 2014 elections will be held for new Legislative Assemblies for these three States, simultaneously with the General Elections to the 16th Lok Sabha. 

Service electors qualify as
(a) Being a member of the armed Forces of the Union; or 
(b) Being a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act have been made applicable 
(c) Being a member of an Armed Police Force of a State, and serving outside that state; or 
(d) Being a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India.

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Election Commission is the unsung hero of Indian democracy

March 5, 2014

The Indian Election Commission (EC) is one of the institutions which has maintained its autonomy, integrity and independence even though various political parties have from time to time tried to politicise it. It has been the unsung hero of establishing a solid tradition of the Indian style of  “democracy” and of orderly transitions between governments. There was a period during the 1980’s when the respect commanded by the EC among politicians and political parties diminished and election violence increased. But the advent of TN Seshan in 1991 as the Election Commissioner and his tough actions brought the political parties back into line and restored much of the EC’s position.

As the Chief Election Commissioner of Election Commission of India he introduced major electoral reforms and redefined the status and visibility of the Election Commission of India. He was largely successful in curbing electoral malpractices in India and his name became synonymous with transparency and efficiency.

Seshan was not popular with politicians but received enthusiastic support from the public. Governments tried to dilute the Chief Election Commissioner’s powers by appointing additional Commissioners but in 1993 the Supreme Court confirmed the CEC’s supremacy and reaffirmed his constitutional position. Constitutional amendments to alter his position require a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The Congress Party when in government made some half-hearted attempts to introduce constitutional amendments to curb his powers but gave up these attempts because of public opposition and lack of support in parliament.

The EC has just announced the dates of polling and counting for the next general election. The Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule for Lok Sabha polls 2014. Polling will be held in nine phases, starting on April 7th and the counting of votes will be held on May 16th. These general elections will see 814 million voters eligible to vote, about 100 million more than at the last general election. The term of the current Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) expires on June 1st and the new House has to be constituted by May 31st. This will be a fascinating election with a number of new forces in play – but more of that later.

The EC – rather than governments or political parties – has become the de facto guardian of free and fair elections in India and must be credited with much of the “success” of the establishment of a sort of “democracy” in India. The robustness of this “democracy” can be judged by the strength of the institution of the Election Commission and the independence of the Chief Election Commissioner.

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Delhi beats Beijing for bad air quality

February 1, 2014

Indian media and Delhi administrators are not amused. They are up in arms and struggling to find reasons why the Yale 2014 Environmental Performance Index is not correct when it states that Delhi’s air is worse than in Beijing.

Times of India: Delhi’s air quality is indeed very poor but not as poor as Beijing’s, claim scientists. After an international newspaper recently reported that Delhi’s air quality this January has been worse than Beijing’s, System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) – under the Union earth sciences ministry – issued a clarification on Tuesday.

Data from nine monitoring stations in Delhi states that PM 2.5 (fine respirable particles) never crossed 350 micrograms per cubic metre while in Beijing it did cross 500 microgram per cubic metre and went up to 650 micrograms per cubic metre. …

“It is true that Delhi is reeling under very poor air quality. But in terms of concentration of pollutants, we are doing far better than Beijing which has declared emergency conditions because of their air quality. Our PM 10 (coarse particles) and PM 2.5 are both high but not extreme. High PM 10 levels in Delhi can be attributed to road and construction dust while high PM 2.5 levels in Delhi can be attributed to incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass,” said Gufran Beig, chief project scientist at SAFAR.

What they seem to forget is that while building wastes are the main source of PM10 coarse particles, they also – inevitably – produce a large quantity of fine particles. Incomplete combustion in diesel engines produce only fine particles.

They are wasting energy on the wrong fight. Whether Delhi is worse or better than Beijing is irrelevant. The point is that Delhi is as bad as it is.

I visit Delhi 5 or 6 times every year and it has the worst air quality that I experience. It is dust particles in the main – and a lot of that is from the ubiquitous building rubble and  building materials lying in piles (some small and some large) all over the city. The diesel engine particulates have – I think – reduced after the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for taxis and autos but they build up every night when the long-distance trucks roll through the city (they are banned during the day).

But Delhi is essentially a huge building site. In new building projects (many for domestic dwellings), building materials (bricks, sand, cement, tiles, sewer pipes….) are all brought and dumped in open piles on the street long before any building actually commences. Even completed building projects leave behind their piles of sand and bricks and rubble on the street which are never cleaned up. If a road is dug up for any reason the remaining mud and rubble is never actually cleared up . it is usually just pushed to one side. The last mile syndrome applies and nothing ever gets finally or properly finished.

But the real issue is one of attitude and behaviour. It is not that all the building rubble and waste could not be removed or that funds are lacking. The real issue is that “civic sense” is not of great value. The city administrators themselves do not see any point in requiring their contractors to finish a job and the citizens of Delhi are too busy with large issues and cannot be bothered with such minor matters. The administrators pay lip-service to the problem by putting up signs banning the open storage of building materials – which are promptly ignored.

Typical street Delhi

Typical street Delhi

Delhi’s atmosphere is what it is because the citizens of Delhi do not give any value to it being any better.

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Jaguar Land Rover now the jewel in the Tata Motors crown

January 12, 2014

When the Tata Group acquired Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motors in 2008 there were many voices in the UK which were highly sceptical. Shareholders in India were concerned that group debt would be too high. They were scared that managing JLR from India could be too big a mouthful and would jeopardise the growth of Tata Motors and its core business in India. In the UK there were fears that the British automotive tradition and history would be threatened.

But five years on, this acquisition has been a resounding success. So much so that it is JLR and its growth which is now providing the bulk of the revenue (72%) and the profit (88%) for Tata Motors and which has more than compensated for the Indian operations which are stagnating in the current downturn.

It is JLR which is now truly the jewel in the Tata Motors crown.

The all-aluminum F-TYPE Coupe range will deliver, in production form, the uncompromised design vision of the Jaguar C-X16 concept, and will complement the existing F-TYPE Convertible, winner of the 2013 ‘World Car Design of the Year’ award.

The all-aluminum F-TYPE Coupe range will deliver, in production form, the uncompromised design vision of the Jaguar C-X16 concept, and will complement the existing F-TYPE Convertible, winner of the 2013 ‘World Car Design of the Year’ award.

Bloomberg: 

Jaguar Land Rover, the luxury-vehicle division of India’s Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT), reported record global sales last year, driven by growth in the Asia Pacific and China region.

Jaguar Land Rover’s total worldwide sales rose 19 percent last year to 425,006 vehicles, according to an e-mailed statement. Jaguar brand sales jumped 42% to 76,668 vehicles, the most since 2005, while Land Rover increased 15% for an annual record of 348,338 vehicles, the company said.

Jaguar Land Rover, which Mumbai-based Tata Motors bought from Ford Motor Co. in 2008 for $2.5 billion, accounted for 72 percent of group revenue and 88 percent of operating profit for the year ended March 31. In the quarter ended in September, Tata Motors posted profit that beat analyst estimates as rising Jaguar Land Rover sales outweighed a loss at the parent company’s Indian business. …… 

…. Sales in Asia Pacific and the China region jumped 30 percent during 2013, North America rose 21 percent, the U.K. grew 14 percent, Europe 6 percent and other overseas markets increased 23 percent, according to the statement. 

Under Tata, Jaguar and Land Rover have targeted emerging markets such as China and Russia for growth. In 2013, Jaguar Land Rover had record sales in 38 markets, including Russia, Brazil, Korea and Canada.

The sales growth in 2013 was driven by Jaguar’s F-Type convertible and Land Rover’s Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque models, it said. The F-Type began shipping in May.

It was “a great year in which we have seen some incredibly exciting new models launched to customers across the world,” Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group sales operations director, said in the statement. “The Range Rover Sport, F-Type, new engines and drivetrains, and a number of 14 Model Year enhancements to our existing lineup have seen Jaguar Land Rover continue to build strong sales momentum in every global region.”

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Khobragade: Observing the niceties – for an idiotic episode

January 10, 2014

UPDATE 2!! The plot thickens. It seems more and more like a ploy by the maid and her family to get visas for the US with US consular officials in Delhi conniving with the New York prosecutor. According to the HT, 

the diplomat given “little more than 48 hours” to leave India is Wayne May, a counsellor instrumental in granting visa and helping Richard’s husband and two children’s “evacuation” to the US. … Another US diplomat, who purchased the tickets for the Richards availing tax exemption, could be in trouble next.

 

UPDATE!! Continuing the diplomatic niceties, India has asked the US to withdraw a diplomat from the US Embassy in New Delhi. The diplomat (consular official) is of similar rank to the expelled Indian diplomat and is thought to be the US official who connived with the maid’s father-in-law (an employee at the US Embassy) in causing the whole ruckus.

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Nobody comes out of this nonsense very well except perhaps the maid trying to stay permanently in the US.

But niceties have been observed and the incident will be soon forgotten. Devyani Khobragade was indicted, then granted full diplomatic immunity (starting after the indictment to save face for the prosecutor) and then allowed to leave the US. If she had immunity – even if it was only officially granted on January 8th – her diplomatic status was no different at the time she was arrested and – horror of horrors – strip searched (shades of Draupadi). The sensitivities and the sensibilities of the entire Indian male establishment (who as we all know revere women) were hurt. The Indian female establishment were torn between supporting the exploitative – but female – diplomat and the conniving – but female – maid and her family. 

But the New York prosecutor with political ambitions could not be seen to be a puppet duped by the maid and her family. So he was allowed to indict her before the immunity came into effect. So Khobragade can never now return to the US without the threat of being arrested.

To invoke the analogy with the  Mahābhārata, the prosecutor is Duryodhana to the Shakuni of the maid and her family. But then Khobragade has to take a composite role between Yudhishthira the reckless gambler and the “pure” but insulted Draupadi.

If I have to rank the players in order of culpability it would be:

  1. Preet Bharara, the US prosecutor in the Southern District of New York
  2. Sangeeta Richard (the opportunistic maid) and her family
  3. Devyani Khobragade,  Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of India in New York
  4. US State Department (John Kerry)
  5. Indian Ministry of External Affairs

Sangeeta Richard and her family will now get leave to live permanently in the US and come out of this best. They will probably get much financial assistance from the US prosecution authorities and various “Human Rights” groups.

Bharara has done himself no great harm even though he has been skillfully manipulated by Sangeeta Richard her husband and her father-in-law (who seems to be the Svengali in this tale). All publicity – even that which makes him out to be rather silly – is good publicity for Bharara’s political aspirations. From his record he will not be the flavour of the month with the Republicans. But he could find a place as a champion of liberal causes with the new image of New York as the bastion of liberal Democrats.

Khobragade ought to have a major reprimand in her personal file. If not for visa fraud then at least for being too gullible and having allowed herself to be caught in such a trap. Her next posting – if she stays with the Indian Foreign Service – could be to a diplomatic Siberia – perhaps Kazakhstan or Somalia. But if she wants to make use of the sympathy wave, her best bet is to go into politics. She is far too tainted to be acceptable to the Aam Admi Party or to the Indian feminist movement. She could do a lot worse than allying herself with Narendra Modi and the BJP. After all Modi has his own issues with US Visas but he will likely become the next Prime Minister of India. And when he does the US State Department will find some way to grant him a Visa and there could well be some collateral benefit for her to be following in his wake.

An incident which should never have happened.

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Flawless launch of ISRO’s GSLV

January 5, 2014

ISRO is riding high.

After a flawless launch of the GSLV-D5 using an indigenous cryogenic engine for the first time, it now remains to insert the GSAT-14 satellite into its operational orbit. In three orbit raising manoeuvres, using the Liquid Apogee Motor, on board, GSAT-14 will reach the intended circular Geo-stationary orbit.

Graphic ISRO

“It is a tough job to understand and master cryogenic technology. It is ultimate and we have put in a lot of efforts and made it possible. Today, we can say and prepare with more confidence for the next mission of C-25 stage with 25 tonnes of propellant and 20 tonnes of cryogenic engine thrust for the GSLV MK-3 D-1 mission in early 2017. The high-end cryogenic engine is slated for completion and testing by 2015,” Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre director S Ramakrishnan told TOI minutes after the lift-off of GSLV-D5. 

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About 3 hours to launch of ISRO’s GSLV-D5 mission

January 5, 2014

ISRO’s GSLV-D5 on the launch pad

Countdown Operations are underway at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s East Coast from where a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle will launch on a demonstration flight on Sunday at 10:48 UTC. GSLV is carrying the GSAT-14 communications satellite to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

Links for live webcast, 3:52 PM IST onwards, today

http://webcast.isro.gov.in/
http://www.24framesdigital.com/isro/webcast/050114/

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The Devyani Khobragade case: Ambitious prosecutor seeks publicity while India objects to an attack on privilege

December 19, 2013

The Devyani Khobragade case is causing waves in India -US diplomatic relations but I have difficulty to generate much sympathy for any of the parties involved.

The diplomat: Devyani Khobragade is a consular official and not a full-diplomat and she was trying to get her maid very cheaply. She was certainly subject to treatment which was  humiliating and undignified but the affront is primarily to her pride and the culture of privilege which prevails in India (and not only India of course).

The maid: Sangeeta Richard and her husband (and their advisors) are opportunists who are trying to circumvent visa restrictions and are trying to achieve a more permanent status to stay in the US. (There is little chance that she will retain her job with Khobragade). But the maid’s behaviour is rather suspect. “Why did the US grant visas to her husband and children and fly them out to the US two days before Devyani Khobragade was arrested in full public glare and strip searched? And Sangeeta’s father-in-law is apparently on the staff of the US embassy in New Delhi. A little blackmail and massive publicity  is seen as being a “good” thing in achieving their objective. In fact the fuss being made by the Indian establishment suggests that their lawyer could even make a claim for political asylum!

The prosecutor: US attorney Preet Bharara has been remarkably voluble in justifying his actions. That itself illustrates his clear political ambitions. No US prosecutor acts without an eye to the resultant publicity and his career development and – in many cases – his political ambitions. It is inconceivable that the particular prosecutor in this case (also of Indian origin) did not calculate the boost he would get.

The Indian political establishment: The entire Indian establishment (politicians and press) have had their nationalistic hackles aroused. Their culture of privilege is being attacked. The diplomat was subjected to a “cavity search”. Good grief! This is rape! Clearly a case of official rape by rampant US officialdom on a defenceless Indian woman!! To be seen to be fighting for a “raped woman” is very politically correct these days in India. Fighting for an underpaid maid – who is not from the privileged classes – does not win the same number of brownie points. (Note that a crime against a privileged person is always much much worse than the same crime against one of the lower classes).

The US political establishment: The US is probably a little bemused at how this has got out of hand. Kerry has expressed his regret  and “empathizes with the sensitivities we are hearing from India” but has not apologised. He cannot chastise an over-ambitious prosecutor who has used due process to further his political ambitions. Bharara could have behaved in a civilised manner but chose not to. He himself – of course – belongs to the privileged class of the US.

It has all the elements of a conspiracy and en entrapment (Sangeeta Richards, her father-in-law, unnamed US officials at the US Embassy in Delhi and the New York prosecutor Preet Bharara). For a lawyer specialising in corruption, Bharara’s behaviour is close to being morally corrupt in itself. No doubt Devyani Khobragade tried to get her maid cheap but some “entrapment” and publicity-seeking is apparent.

Interesting behaviour but all rather inconsequential.

 

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