Perspectives Inc.

EIA 2020: A tale of oppression

2020-08-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

In midst of the pandemic, we know the government brought about some significant changes in the Education Policy. There is already significant hype around it. Mostly all of us are praising it because of the flexibility and all other advantages that it seeks to inculcate in the education system of India. But while this whole hype was going, a new draft on EIA came out. For those who do not know what EIA is, EIA is Environmental Impact Assessment policy which seeks to protect the environment from the ill effect that may arise from a significant economic project like- mining, infrastructure building, industrialization, etc. It not only seeks to provide relief to the environment but also to the indigenous people who might be affected in due course of the project. So EIA is more than a technical review. It is very obvious that any good that we do to our environment today, will be beneficial in the coming days. So, this policy is essentially looks for sustainability in a project in terms of the environment.

The process of the impact on environment assessment is very simple. The committee that is formed to check on the impact, assesses the site/location selected for the project, analyses the impact, considers alternate scenarios and goes in for a public hearing. Here the gets a chance to voice their opinion about the project. The people of that selected location also get to propose their demands regarding relocation and reimbursement and safety norms. So, this policy not only is about the environment but also about human rights.

What are the changes that are being brought?

1. Exclusion on waterways and highways project from public hearing.

2. No information will be provided on ‘Strategic projects’ on public domain.

3. Reduction of Public hearing time to 20 days.

4. Projects involving constructions having an area up to 1,50,000 sq. m. will not be required to take any environmental clearances.

5. Any project operating without environmental clearance may take the clearance later.

6. The violations can only be pointed out by the companies/corporations who are actually violating the principles and policies of EIA or by Govt. Officials and regulatory bodies.

7. Any projects from border areas will be exempted from public hearing.

What are the implications of such laws?

This policy amendment reminds me of the economics class in my college where my professor said that there is always a trade-off between economic development and the environmental issues. Now, we must be paying attention to is the vision of the present government. This present government seeks to maximize industrialization in our country be it at the expense of the environment. This aggressiveness can be explained mostly due to the fact the that China’s policy in trade and International relations is making it an unfavorable place for doing business and India wants to take this opportunity to allow more rapid industrialization and thus encouraging FDIs. This move is praiseworthy indeed. But the effects can be dangerous for not only the next generations but also the people of this generation. We have seen how Vishakhapatnam chemical plant disaster happened and affected lives of so many people. The plant was operating without environmental clearance and the new draft is legalizing it. The point is, anyone may set up a factor emitting gases and dislocating people of that area and your opinion about it won’t be given much importance to. Now, who will be answerable to the residents where the project is taking place or to the massive deforestation that may happen due to a project establishment? Also not allowing citizens to report about a violation is highly oppressive in nature.

After publication of this draft, the government allowed public to vent their opinion. It is obvious that several people would oppose to such changes in the EIA. But funnily, after receiving such opinions of the public, the government sent legal notice to several activities for “sending to many emails” and termed the mails as “unlawful” and “acts of terrorism”. Later, the notice was withdrawn saying that it was a “clerical error”.

In my opinion, the dream of rapid industrialization is fine when it is done after striking some sort of balance between human rights and environmental protection. With India shifting its focus from agricultural economy, it is important that this shift is complimented with rise in industries and factories but of course, not at the expense of the environment or the society at large. Also, when you allowed citizens to vent their opinions, you cannot term them as terrorism, that is for sure.

The dilapidated airline industry in India

2020-07-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been reading about the Airlines industry in India. Amidst the lockdown and the corona virus tension, the industry has been severely affected. With so less passengers willing to travel due to the virus the companies are skeptical about covering the fixed costs as well. The recent article that I read in Finshots very analytically summarizes the dreadful condition the industry. The report on the industry tries to view the industry on parameters like passenger load factor, improvement of yields and the purchase order conundrum and also tells how the players in the industry are doing to cope up with the situation.

Before I summarize the key takeaways of the report, it is very important to understand the nature of the Indian customers. The Indian customers have got habituated to low cost carriers and moreover, during this time their spending has certainly decreased a lot. The customers being so price sensitive, the airline service providers are building around their strategies in their own way to crater the passengers. The following strategies have been taken by the players of the airlines industry:

· Indigo and Spicejet’s strategy has always been to maximize the passenger load factor which is the amount of seating capacity filled with paying passengers. With better capacity utilization and providing minimalist services, these two players according to the report, found their path to profitability. But with corona on the rise, and the government directives to fill on 33% of the seats has impacted these low cost carriers. But fortunately, they could make this rule go away along with the rule of keeping middle seats empty. But still the passenger travelling is low due to the pandemic and these carriers are facing losses on several routes

· Air Vistara used to focus on increasing their revenues by plying on the international routes. This helped them to make profits without thinking to the passenger load factor. But now, due to lockdown on international travel, this strategy is failing badly.

· Several airline carriers have already deferred on their new order payments and also on their lease payments. In such cases in past, it has been seen that the airlines after making such losses had to file for bankruptcy.

We sincerely hope that the airline industry gets to go past these tough times without several players getting bankrupt. Bankruptcy would only lead to monopolistic market which is always bad for the consumers. The key payers have kept their fingers crossed in the hope for some relief package or tax exemptions.

In my opinion, after some point of time commute will start again despite the pandemic. Then I believe, the consumers will consider flights to be safer than trains given the service quality and safety standards of the airlines. Till then, the government must find a way for the cash strapped airline service providers to give them some breathing space in the market. We all know how hard it is to build an industry from scratch if these players get obliterated from the market.

Mandi: A tricky one

2020-07-26T02:02:00.001-07:00

Dir: Shyam Benegal

A couple of days ago, I ended up watching a movie called Mandi. To be honest, it is really very difficult to say what Shyam Benegal has tried to conclude. I mean it is not his fault for having such mediocre audience like me. But what I understood that the movie deals with the plight of the sex worker in our society. There is hardly anyone who really is supportive of the profession unless they are looking for some kind of return. Similarly, this movie clearly depicts how the people of the society sees the profession and how insensitive they can be as and when their needs are fulfilled. Sex has always been a taboo in India, which is for sure. The topic of recognizing the sex as a profession is a long gone debate. Despite some superstitious scenes, what I believe that Shyam Benegal tried to portray is that the life and death of the sex workers are in the hands of some filthy rich people and the politicians. It can be seen how the sex workers are restricted to fall in love or to live with a free will.

What I especially loved about the movie was the acting of Naseeruddin Shah. It was so natural and powerful. There he plays the role of a helper who helps in day to day activities in the lives of the sex workers ranging from maintaining their house, maintaining it, making food to buying pan. The way he depicts his sadness about the profession is something more than praiseworthy. The way Naseeruddin conveys his deep seated pain about the lives of those women and the new ones is something to look forward to. His dialogue delivery, his walking style, his way of talking everything seems so natural. Of course we already know how great an actor he is and surely I am not in a position to judge him. To be honest, to be the movie was quite tricky to understand and I hope that my readers would give it a shot and leave their views in the comment section of this post. The movie is available on Netflix.

And let there be light!

2020-07-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have seen a post on the internet where the writer has condemned the fact that some people are romanticizing the dark time that we are going through. According to him, this pandemic is an eye opener for us all who are now trying to look “cool” by talking about being able to spend time with their family or watching TV series etc. I agree with his view of our weak healthcare facilities and the corrupt government. It is true that this pandemic exposed the reality of the political, social and economic structure of India.

But even after such strong statements of his, I still don’t find it totally offensive of people who are trying to stay happy and positive is such dark times. Yes, perhaps they could not spend time with their families or watch series before the pandemic, but we can’t really conclude that they did it purposefully. The chances are high that they were busy in their career or work life. This is highly probabilistic given the highly competitive society that we live in. I have no issues with agreeing that this pandemic might be an eye-opener and we need to identify our faults during this time. But I also don’t find any harm with people trying to be a little optimistic and people who are trying to find joy in rediscovering themselves. It is not at all true that all those who are talking about the way they are spending time by reading books or with their family and how they couldn’t do it before, are romanticizing these pathogenic days. It is not that they not acknowledging the toughness of the times that we are living it. They are just being hopeful and trying to be positive. It is good that people have hope and positivity around else the world would crumble very easily. Negative thoughts are very easy to generate but the positive ones, let us not drive them away when we need them the most.

3 Deewarein- Too twisty to digest?

2020-07-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

DIR: Nagesh Kukunoor

Recently again I was searching for a movie which is “lesser know” and “is on Netflix”. My lockdown is practically devoted towards these kinds of keyword searches unless I make up my mind form a list of such movies. So, a couple of days ago, I decided to go with a movie called 3 deewarein. The movie stars some best of the artists like Juhi Chawla, Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff and Nagesh Kukunoor. The movie has been directed by Nagesh Kukunoor himself. If you don’t know who he is, then let me tell you that he has done a bunch of critically acclaimed movies like- Dor, Iqbaal, Hyderbad Blues, Dhanak, Lakshmi etc. One of his so called failed ventures is Bombay to Bangkok.

Now coming straight to the movie. The movie revolves around the story of 3 prisoners (Naseeruddin- who has already fled 3 jails earlier, Jackie and Nagesh) who are serving death sentences. These prisoners are accused of murder and all of them have different perspective to the sentences they are serving. Meanwhile, Juhi Chawla who is a documentary film maker comes to the jail to understand the system and specifically to study those three criminals who are serving the death sentences. The movie is somewhat (mind it, not all) inspired from Shawshank’s Redemption but here the climax is way too different. The film beautifully portrays the lives of the prisoners who are living in a jail where the jailer (played by Gulshan Grover) believes in giving them as much freedom as possible within the boundaries of the jail. Through their stories of their deeds, and their claims of their innocence, Juhi Chawla finds a direction in her own life which is already disturbed by an abusive husband of hers. She finds solace and a meaning to her life through her work.

In my opinion, the issue that I think lies with the story is the scene where the big twist comes. I don’t know if it makes any sense, but I personally think if a person is portraying revenge, his or her eyes plays a vital role to portray the feeling of vengeance .This is what I found lacking in that scene where the character seeks revenge (I won’t be telling the name and spoiling the movie in case you have not yet watched it). Also another thing I felt is that the twist was justified forcefully by linking the lives of the three prisoners. Also, I could not find a reason why a prisoner with such high flight risk is being kept in a prison where security is minimum and freedom is more. Other than these three things, I must say that this movie is worth watching.

Real Estate and the pandemic: A call for affordable housing

2020-07-18T01:10:00.001-07:00

The real estate sector has recently been in news a lot lately owing to the fall in their sales figure due to Covid 19. Since the pandemic has hit the Nation, the question is not- when people will start investing in real estate again but the question is how the people will buy. Amid the pandemic, the consumer preferences have significantly changed during such tough times. The consumers are now more conservative with their spending and hence the discretionary expenditures have significantly decreased. According to the recent research by Knight Frank India, the YoY decrease in sales of residential properties hit 54% which may be the worst one in the decade. This data clearly shows how people are being evaluative about their spending.

Housing sector in India, according to me had long abandoned the idea of creating affordable homes. The prices went up so high along with the demand and availability of loans that the model of business kind of formed an unsustainable bubble that was ought to burst at some point of time. The valuations stood way high than normal and so the demand. But now, perhaps the pandemic has pulled the reins. The realtors are decreasing prices to get rid of unsold inventories as people are spending more on essential products, healthcare and on insurances rather than on investing in real estates. The consumers now would prefer to save the discretionary portion being panic stricken in such situation. With such situation in hand, the pricing model of the housing projects will hopefully change and the prices will hopefully come down. I sincerely hope that the realtors will understand the fact that selling home at a price of 50L or 60L actually act as a burden on the Indian middle class consumers and the burden of repayment of the loan taken to purchase the house goes on for years and years. Sadly enough these days, the condition of the customers after buying a house is as stressful as not having one. The realtors must understand that the pandemic has taught the people the difference between luxury and need and they must focus on creating affordable housing without compromising on quality. This might help the real estate sector to get back on feet sooner than expected even in the presence of the pandemic.

The Indian Independence

2020-07-16T05:53:00.001-07:00

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance...

...The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye.”

When you read these sentences, you will recognize who gave the speech. But do focus your valuable attention to the words and phrases like “life”, “freedom”, “long suppressed, finds utterance”, “from every eye”. Now when you think about these words and phrases you understand that the independence that India gained from the Europeans was aimed for each and every soul on the Indian soil irrespective of caste, creed, religion, colour, profession and numerous other parameters by which we differentiate individuals of the same species. But if you really think hard about it, is India really free? I don’t think so; though you might differ in your opinion of India’s freedom.

It has been 73 years of independence and funnily enough, India is still a developing country. It is said that the UPSC is one of the toughest exams in India and the civil servants are the brightest brains of the country. But if it is really so, why around 60% of India’s population is still below poverty line? Why there are still so many atrocities in the lives of the poor? The poor people hardly have any opportunities. Why the people are still rioting over difference of opinion? Why most of these Civil servants can’t maintain a civilization? The main aim of the Civil Servants was to eradicate these issues, wasn’t it? Are these best brains of no use or are they just being the “servants” of the so called political leaders?

Recently, there has been several news of deaths of people from lower castes. Even after so many years this caste system is still surviving like a lifelong plague in the Indian society. When shall we be able to free ourselves from so much ignorance? According to 2016 data, the number of Dalit deaths due to violence was recorded to be 40801. Just when you hope that the number has decreased this year, you come across videos of such atrocities even amid the crisis of corona virus. But who is to blame- The government? The police? The society? The education system? It is really hard to tell. It would be like answering the question which came first – egg or chicken. Some sensible Indians recognize these issues. They realize how rotten the system can be and leave India permanently in search of a better life. Some prefer fighting it and some just can’t find a way to solve it and so they prefer to leave it alone. Sadly, even after so much hype around Human Rights and all such things, the situation will certainly remain same unless we really change ourselves. And perhaps, education might be able drive away such ignorance one day. The pen will be mightier than the sword one day, I guess.

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days - An experience.

2020-07-15T12:12:00.002-07:00

Dir: Cristian Mungiu

One will often find me searching things like “lesser known movies worth watching” or “high rated movies to watch”. Same went for yesterday. I searched one of such sentences on Google and came across a movie named ‘4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days’ – A Romanian Movie. Being a movie lover, language never felt like a barrier in case of movies. Movies to me, are a symbol of universality.

Now let us come to the movie. If you have not seen it, GO WATCH! Set in a back drop of communist Romania, this movie speaks the plight of the people living there. No matter how badly a government tries to instill a totalitarian regime, people will always find a way around it. This movie speaks of the time when even oranges and bananas were banned in Romania, let alone abortion. People were jailed and killed if found doing the illegal things. The movie shows how two women deal with an illegal abortion and goes through emotional turmoil. The movie is extremely realistic. The emotions, the aesthetics, the dialogues and every other little bit of it is wrapped around realism. This realism makes the movie more close to your heart as if you can feel exactly what the characters are going through. I mean, that’s what a movie should be, right?

After deciding to go for an abortion, a naïve simplistic and confused personality, Gabriela (Laura Vasiliu), fixes an appointment with an abortionist, Bebe (Vlad Ivanov), who is of course doing it illegally. She is being supported by her friend Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) to carry on the whole procedure. Otilia is portrayed as a street smart person who knows her way around “things”. Vlad Ivanov excellently portrayed Bebe as a manipulating person who gets whatever he wants. Each and every character of the movie is so wonderfully developed that one will ever doubt their existence in the real world even just for once. The movie shows the traumatizing experience of the two young ladies who has to go length for just an abortion. In the movie it can be seen how selfish and gruesome humans can be in this world. The movie beautifully portrays not just the trauma or the risk of getting caught but also the fight of two women to decide about their own body. It is not just the government to blame but the society to create a stigma around abortion that it even leaves the surest of the person confused in the end.

All praises apart, I personally felt that there could have been two places where improvements could have been made. Firstly, the length of Bebe’s presence. I would have loved to see more of him in the movie. His ability to craft words into his own favour was amazing. I don’t know what kind of person I am that wishes more screen time for a villain. But was he a villain or just any other tremendously opportunistic person? Secondly, the ending was surely vague. It seemed to me that the filmmaker ran out of energy to portray any more feelings in the end. But overall, if you still haven’t watched it, then please do so as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: All views are personal.