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OPINION

THE TRIBUNE

CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 10 MAY 2018

THE TRIBUNE

The US, India parallel

established in 1881

Elections, foreign policy to decide course of democracy

Trump’s Iran walk-back Double whammy for India after CATSA

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UST when Indian diplomats were figuring out how to mitigate the impact of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CATSA) on its arms and oil trade with Russia, South Block has another reason to burn the midnight oil. US President Donald Trump’s intention to exit the Iran deal, and reimpose sanctions if Tehran declines to renegotiate, could send India’s plans for the region in smoke. The sanctions will pretty much cover all areas of interest to India vis-a-vis Iran: petroleum, ports, shipping and banking. The bright side is that except for Saudi Arabia and Israel, pretty much the rest of the world has not taken kindly to Trump’s attempt to redefine the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to cover “responsible” behaviour by Iran both externally and domestically. The world can be grateful that Tehran doesn’t have an impetuous leader like Trump. Javed Zarif, Iran’s chief negotiator for the deal, has resolved to diplomatically lobby with the other parties to the agreement. Yet, Trump’s explanation that Iran could emulate North Korea by negotiating denuclearisation will find few takers for it is widely realised that Tehran would have to be suicidal if it were to show signs of weakness. On the contrary, the US may have lost North Korea’s trust by going back on the Iran deal just as it lost Palestinian support after Trump announced the shifting of the US embassy to East Jerusalem. India needs to work with countries with a shared interest in the JCPOA to ensure that Trump’s exit from the Iran deal does not harm its investments and plans for the region. India and other countries on the same page must also engage with Iran to discourage it from retaliatory malign behaviour that may further muddy the waters. PM Modi will get the opportunity to discuss the issue with like-minded leaders when he meets them for two multilateral summits later this year. The problem for India is it has no company like the Chinese Sinopec which has no business interests with a US company and can thus escape sanctions. India will first have to make common cause with countries in the same Iranian boat.

The odds of a storm

Better to err on the side of caution

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O, there was an alert for a storm in North India on May 7 and 8. People prepared for it and waited for it like never before…it didn’t quite loom on the skies, they waited some more; the heightened expectation led to the prospect of every gust of wind or clap of thunder or lash of raind building up to the predicted squall, even as the preparation made them feel secure against the oncoming fury of nature. Stung by the huge loss of life (more than 100) and property in the ‘freak’ unexpected dust storm on May 2-3, the fresh warning seemed ominous. Not wanting to risk the children being caught in the coming monstrous squall, Haryana closed its schools for the two days. Some more areas panicked. But the weather proved to be as unpredictable as… well, as the weather. The rainy forecast was a damp squib, and the promised howling winds ended in a whimper. With the sun largely shining through May 7 and 8, the situation was ripe for jokes galore. So, did the meteorologist deserve the ridicule? As per the response to an RTI query, nearly 44 per cent of heavy rainfall predictions issued by the India Meteorological Department in 2017 were incorrect. Compare this with the over 80 per cent accuracy rate of the advanced countries’ weather agencies. No doubt, it does warrant that we get hi-tech prediction tools to boost data processing capacity and hone the existing model’s accuracy so that not only do we get to manage disaster better but also don’t get unnecessarily worked up. While weather forecasts have advanced over the past couple of decades, we are still a long way from blaming the weatherman for the slip-ups. Rather, it is better to err on the side of caution. After all, a warning is issued only for the people to take to the necessary precautions. The disaster may or may not strike. Being prepared for any eventuality is definitely preferable to the many instances when can be taken unawares. There is no knowing how many precious lives would have been saved had there been some advance notice for the May 2 thunderstorm or for the floods and other natural disasters that we face regularly.

Thought for the Day When people are divided, the only solution is agreement. — John Hume

KC Singh

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HIS column comes from New York, the global financial capital. The world from here appears at multiple inflexion points. For India the bell tolls to decide the nature of the republic, i.e. the model founding fathers envisioned in 1950 or a semi-theocratic majoritarian India based on Hindutva. Karnataka election could be an important milestone on this journey. US television is fixated on two issues. One, the unending saga of President Trump’s alleged philandering and Mueller probe into Russian meddling in presidential election. The other of greater global concern is Trump announcing US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal. It can complicate India-Iran bilateral trade, oil purchases from Iran, besides pushing up oil price. But a certain parallelism exists today between politics of India and the US. For instance, polarisation between Trump’s followers and opponents is as stark and toxic as between those of Narendra Modi. Both leaders face crucial midterm elections. In the US, the entire Congress and one-third of the Senate go to the polls in November. The Republican senate majority is now 51-49 (two democrats being independent). A marginal loss can negatively change the political scenario for Trump. Senator John McCain, Republican Party’s moderating voice, is terminally ill with brain cancer. If he dies before June, his seat goes to election. If not, the Republican governor can nominate a successor. McCain reportedly has conveyed that Trump is unwelcome at his funeral, though Vice-President Mike Pence, a McCain friend, would attend. He wants funeral orations by former Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama. Even in his death, McCain seeks political unity to bridge the toxic divide on which Trump thrives. Can one imagine families of two surviving BJP icons sending a similar message? In the US, altered congressional balance of power can have Trump face an impeachment motion if he ignores a subpoena or bungles his deposition or even worse decides to fire prosecutor Mueller. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, stepping up as new Trump attorney, controversially claimed Trump may take the Fifth Amendment or refuse to

DEAL’S OFF: The Iran debacle will have repercussions on India too. depose to avoid self-incrimination. Mueller is now examining a new link between a Russian oligarch and Trump attorney Michael Cohen about receiving half a million dollars. In India, the focus is on impeachment motion against the Supreme Court Chief Justice, rejected by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu. The Congress had moved the Supreme Court for judicial review. The CJI constituted a Bench, bypassing four senior-most collegium members, raising questions about conflict of interest. The ensuing logjam finds the government and the CJI in a

PM Modi, in turn, dodges media and Parliament — the recent Budget session mostly disrupted by ruling party’s supporters among the Opposition. Social media platforms are used to run down mainstream print and electronic media. Trump tried to browbeat Washington Post by threatening its owner Jeff Bezos with more tax on his company Amazon. Against this scenario, Yascha Mounk asks in his book The People versus Democracy: “Might liberal democracies be less stable than we have assumed? And will the rise of populism lead to the decomposition of our political system?”

The Karnataka election outcome like the midterm US congressional elections can rebalance domestic political forces. In both nations populist leaders are straining institutions on which democracy rests.

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mutually protective role. Thus Karnataka election outcome, like the midterm US congressional elections, can rebalance domestic political forces. In both nations, populist leaders are straining institutions on which rests democracy. The US and Indian governments are showing similar contempt for media, without the independence of which democracy cannot survive. Minister Gen (retd) VK Singh’s tirade against “presstitutes” in 2014 began the onslaught. Trump has turned mediabaiting into an art form by systematically debunking all criticism as “fake news”. Charges of sexual harassment or philandering are dismissed as fictional.

The abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal is in keeping with populist promises made in the heat of electoral battle. The Iran deal, called Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA), is being abandoned by the US, not because Iran breached its commitments, but rather because it is allegedly inherently flawed and Iran continues to sponsor terror through surrogates like the Lebanese Hezbollah, besides developing missiles or potential delivery systems for nuclear weapons. Trump naturally ignores that President Obama signed the deal as he determined that only Iran had the will and the resources to counter the IS, in com-

bination with its Shia allies across West Asia. That task accomplished, the US now wants to constrain Iran to please its Sunni rivals led by Saudis and Emiratis. President Trump, relying on Israeli intelligence, claimed that the Iranian nuclear weapons programme was active and not shelved. This reminds one of the erroneous weapons of mass destruction charge against Saddam Hussein by the Bush administration, which became the justification for the 2003 attack on Iraq. Is the US at another such moment, driven by ideology rather than reliable intel? Moreover, with the US opening a dialogue with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, how will reneging on the Iran agreement impact these negotiations? However, the US calculation may be to signal DPRK that the new benchmark is the total elimination of nuclear weapons and not a status quoist freeze and retention of the existing nuclear arsenal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, embarrassed by US withdrawal, has warned that they are preparing to restart enrichment after implications of the US move are assessed. E-3 group, consisting of France, Germany and UK, want to save the deal, as indeed would China and Russia, the other two members of the P5+1 group that signed the JCPOA. Iran will wait and see if the EU can keep trade and investment links open despite US sanctions. That seems difficult to envisage as European companies would hardly risk their US businesses for the small Iranian market. For India, it would be back to the post-2005 scenario, when India was forced to scale back commercial and investment links under US pressure. But the danger of war due to mixed signals looms over West Asia and the Gulf as Iranian hardliners will dig in for a fight. Thus as democracies reel under the onslaught of populist leaders and antiglobalisation ayatollahs, the people must decide whether democracies, as evolved over the past two and a half centuries, can survive with institutional tweaking. Alternatively, are we on a glide path to illiberal democracies, under elected rabble-rousing autocrats detesting free media, independent judiciary and vibrant Parliament? The writer is a former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs

From joy of retirement to retiring hurt Brig IJ Singh (Retd)

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ETIREMENT blues hit hard with regards to authority, power and command. My successful culmination of the Army innings was celebrated in a befitting manner by my wife. A surprise holiday with designer outfits and footwear from her own savings touched my heart. First three months after retirement were memorable, as I was pampered to the hilt — my favourite dishes, visits to my relatives, golf at will. But the scale tilted over the next three months: I dug my own grave. Considering myself a management guru, I thought I could contribute to household management too. My first advisory was to the kitchen staff with regards to salt, sugar, cleanliness, personal hygiene

and maintenance of appliances. Result — cook with a long face. The second advisory was to the maali in connection with the pruning of plants. Suggestions for rooftop garden, fruit plants and homegrown organic vegetables were put across in a confident and forceful manner. Result — sarcastic smile by maali. The third advisory was to the washerman on not mixing clothes, cautioning him about heavy press and use of papers to be put into the folds of shirts. Result — nobody had ever complained about his work, he said. The fourth advisory was to our man Friday-cum-dog handler. He was told about vehicle maintenance, cold start, dos and don’ts and use of headlights at night. He was told about the pet’s diet

and exercise schedule. The overweight dog had to be brought to the ideal weight. Result — a frowning driver; and a starving dog. I tried breaching the last of the ‘citadel’ — getting my wife to my ways. I started advocating her the advantages of having light meals at night, keeping pace with economic developments, time management, attire and being accommodative to impromptu visits by my friends and relatives. My golfing outings should be seen in the correct perspective, as I will be fit and have longevity which will be good for the family. Soon, I was struck by a tsunami. The maali and the washerman told memsahib that they were overworked and we should look for an alternative. Cook said he would be going to his native

place for some marriages in the family. The pet was taken to a vet, who said it was emotionally disturbed and not liking somebody’s presence in the house. Then came the big advisory from the wife: ‘Go and do something constructive for yourself and society. Stop interfering in household chores…the dog has stopped eating and if he dies the onus will be on you! Give space to everybody by having a routine….Stop giving orders to the workers. Nothing will change till I give approval.’ Realisation came soon. I started my second innings by starting a venture where my wife became the ‘principal adviser’. Now all are happy and my wife has started pampering me again. There is a big difference between ‘retirement’ and ‘retiring hurt’.

syllabus of plus two classes by the PSEB is nothing but an attempt to highlight the situation to gain political mileage. The history of the Gurus is taught right from junior classes and children know about the values of Sikhism. But political parties as well as the SGPC have not done much to further strengthen Sikhism. They are only trying to make it an emotional issue. The SGPC has never bothered to work on the real teachings, principles and ideologies of the Gurus. Guru Gobind Singh had said manas ki jaat sabhe ek hi pehchan bo (accept all humans as your equal, and let them be your only sect). But all parties and the SGPC have not worked against the prevailing caste system in Punjab. They just support the caste system to garner votes. No leader has ever raised his voice to make Sikhism free of caste system.

his own state. We hold jagratas, path, jalsa, juloos on our roads; people block the entire road during jagrata, keeping everyone in the vicinity awake. When a politician becomes a Chief Minister, he should not remain a foot soldier of any ideology. He is like a father figure for the citizens. But our politicians are pygmies who can never rise above their political divide.

enforce law and order in jails where drugs, mobile phones, management of unscrupulous visitors and feigning illness by prisoners is rampant. It is beyond the capability of the police to enforce instructions contained in the jail manual. If the police is not able to do its duty, let the government outsource the entire police force and do away with our worthless police, where the government is spending crores of taxpayers’ money without any gains.

letters to the editor Iran N-deal Reference to ‘Trump pulls out of nuclear deal’ (May 9); announcement of this decision by President Trump was not unexpected. The US under Trump has quit several deals engineered by the Obama administration like the TPP and the Paris climate deal. Quitting the Iran deal will have damaging consequences for the geopolitics of the Middle East and South Asia. It will also undercut the US South Asia strategy. With the reimposition of sanctions on Iran, India’s prospects to develop berths at the Chahabar Port may come to a halt and the import of oil will decrease significantly. Exiting this landmark deal means choking Iran economically by imposing sanctions. Though the JOCPA is still viable with other signatories of the deal, Iran is going to face tough times ahead. MINANSHU MITTAL, FARIDKOT

Bury the hatchet Apropos ‘Like Koreas, India & Pak must shake hands’ (May 8), India and Pakistan should discontinue their bitter relations and work collectively for the betterment of their peo-

ple. It is in the interest of the two nations to make every effort for developing a long-term association that is not disposed to impulsive disturbances, reprisals and unthinking reactions. The leadership must understand that hostile relations have caused incalculable loss of human and non-human resources, causing a detrimental impact on the socio-economic development of both nations. Ideas like conversion of the Line of Control into international border and then into ‘line of peace’ makes the article interesting. AS GILL, MUKTSAR

Two Punjabs can gain The article ‘Like Koreas, India & Pak must shake hands’ (May 8) is thought provoking and appreciative. I agree with the writer that both countries must strive for friendship instead of enmity. Hostility between them since 1947 has caused huge economic losses to both nations. Their defence expenditure has increased over the period. In 2017, the share of military expenditure in government spending was 9.1 per cent in India and 16.7 per cent in Pakistan. In fact, their mutual rela-

tions have always been governed by political interests rather than economic interests. The two Punjabs stand to gain if they start cooperating. There is need to open up more trade traffic through Hussainiwala, Khemkaran, Patti/Bhikhiwind/Khalra, Fazilka and Dera Baba Nanak routes. The movement of commercial and personal vehicles in each other’s Punjab can boost economies. DK MADAAN, PATIALA

Most would want it Reference to the piece ‘Like Koreas, India & Pak must shake hands’; it is a good idea, with the maximum population of both nations perhaps wanting the same. But our major problem is religion. About 60 per cent population of both Koreas have no religion. In India, clashes on religious lines are not uncommon. Common religion, or lack of any religion can help cement ties. HARWINDER S LONGOWAL, KURUKSHETRA

History syllabus row The recent controversy regarding the attempt to change the history

NAVNEET SETH, DHURI

Friday namaz Refer to the article ‘The fuss over Friday prayers’ (May 9); it was unbecoming of the Haryana Chief Minister to talk about namaz by people of

MAJ GURDEEP S SAMRA (RETD), LUDHIANA

‘Outsource’ police force CISF commandoes are being outsourced to guard six high-security jails in Punjab (May 8). How can a state like Punjab, which is already reeling under debt due to the mismanagement of economy, outsource the security of its jails? Has the government catered for this expenditure in its budget? The police administration is already top heavy, all departments like law and order, jails and security have their heads of department of the rank of DGP. The police is meant to administer law and order and provide security to a common man. It is a shame that the police expressed its inability to

Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: [email protected]

COL JASPAL SINGH (RETD), LUDHIANA

Tourism in Valley Refer to the report ‘Kashmir tourism sector faces desperate times’ (May 9); over the past few years, tourism economy in the Valley has been the worst hit due to several incidents of stone-pelting and terrorist attacks. The tourism industry is the source of livelihood for many families, but daily incidents of violence have hit the tourist inflow. The government should take strict action to stop these activities and provide sufficient security to tourists to give tourism a boost. SHIVANI VIJYAL, BY MAIL

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OPED

THE TRIBUNE CHANDIGARH | THURSDAY | 10 MAY 2018

Tackling measles, rubella The MR campaign started in India in 2017. It aims to vaccinate 410 million children, aged 9 months to 15 years, over two years.

The Pak army’s craze to match India’s rising military profile may prove detrimental to its long-term interest.

Pak budget reflects its anxiety

Anil Sud

Air Marshal RS Bedi (retd)

Consultant paediatrician, Jalandhar

Former Director-General, Defence Planning Staff

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A child being vaccinated for measles-rubella. TRIBUNE PHOTO the commitment to make India free from vaccine preventable diseases. The campaign has been started in phases and in Punjab it started on May 1. MR vaccination will be done by health workers who are trained for the purpose. Vaccination will be done in all the schools, health centres and state government health institutions and by anganwadi workers all over the state. For the MR campaign to be effective, it is important that no child is left behind during the campaign and routine immunisation coverage is improved to make the coverage 100 per cent. The WHO has termed this campaign as a big step towards reducing childhood mortality and incidence of birth defects.

Advantages of MR vaccine ■ The vaccine is safe. The western world

eliminated measles in 2002 and rubella in 2009 through the same vaccine and a similar type of campaign.

■ Children

who have received routine immunisation with measles or MR vaccine are also supposed to be vaccinated.

■ After receiving MR vaccine, the remain-

ing routine immunisation has to be followed according to the schedule.

■ Children

with any minor illnesses are also to be given the vaccine during the campaign. Only seriously ill children, children suffering from cancer and kidney disease, children on steroids, history of allergy to measles or MMR vaccine should not be given the vaccine.

AKISTAN unveiled its national budget for the fiscal 2018-19 with a considerable hike in its defence allocation. It has been pegged at Pak Rs 1.1 trillion ($9.6 billion) which is tantamount to a whopping hike of 18 per cent over the previous year. This, perhaps, is the highest growth in Pakistan's defence budget in more than a decade. And this is when it does not include the pension bill. Increments in the past decade have remained in the region of 10 to 11 per cent. Pakistan's economy is not in a very good shape to sustain this type of spending on defence. US aid and support for helping operations in Afghanistan is fast drying up. Help from international organizations like the IMF and the World Bank etc dominated by the US may also not be easily forthcoming as hitherto. The security environment, both internal and the external, is a cause of serious concern. Declining internal security and periodic unrest and demands for secession in Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sind coupled with army's dominance over nation's executive and the judiciary leaves Pakistan in a state of deep turmoil and political instability. Currently, the relations between the government and the military brass are under severe strain. The country is also heading for the historic third General Election. How its fragile democratic process will unfold is not hard to visualise. Externally, the situation is no better. In this era of shifting alliances, Pakistan's closest allies like the US, China and Russia are gradually inching towards India. The US has taken a tough stand against its long-term ally Pakistan for its failure to curb support to the terrorists operating in Afghanistan. China, too, has realised the significance of improving Sino-Indian relations as witnessed recently in Wuhan. All this has unnerved Pakistan.

AFP

A

FTER conquering smallpox, polio, yaws and maternal and neonatal tetanus, India is marching ahead with the launch of its MR campaign. The MR campaign is to target measles and rubella viruses and stop their transmission in order to eradicate measles and rubella from India before 2020. Measles is a major killer disease, with 49,000 children losing their life every year to it. The morbidity due to measles infection is also of a great proportion, with 2.7 million children in India suffering from measles and many of them developing pneumonia, diarrhea, malnutrition and central nervous system symptoms. Rubella, on the other hand, can cause serious defects in the newborn baby if the mother gets infected during pregnancy. It can lead to stillbirths, miscarriages, cataract, blindness, deafness and congenital heart disease. About 40,000 children get congenital rubella syndrome every year. India has made important gains against measles in the past decade due to its unflinching efforts by improving measles immunisation coverage and thereby reducing measles mortality from 1,00,000 in 2010 to 49,000 in 2015. This MR campaign started in 2017 and it aims to vaccinate 410 million children across the country in the age group of 9 months to 15 years over a period of two years. It shows

AFP

In pursuance of its obsession for weapons against India, the army seemed to have pushed its claim hard for higher grants for the armed forces which the lame duck civilian government was in no position to resist. The army's craze to continuously match India's rising military profile, despite the vast differences in their economies may prove detrimental in the long-term interest of Pakistan. India's outlay for defence for the current fiscal at $63.9 billion which is merely 1.5 per cent of its GDP is more than six times larger than that of Pakistan. India's emergence as the world's fifth largest military spender in 2017, ahead of the UK, France and Germany is a fact that Pakistan can ill afford to overlook. With aids to Pakistan drying up, foreign exchange reserves fast dwindling and the economy in general not at its best, this match may not last very long. Unable to compete conventionally, Pakistan's reliance on nuclear weapons seems obvious. That's how the Pakistan navy got a much larger share of the budget this time, perhaps for the first time ever. It is not without reason that the navy got a hike of 21.4 per cent over the previous outlay in comparison to the army's 19.7 per cent and the air force's 19.5 per cent. Pakistan may be on its way to developing its second strike capability. It is trying hard to develop specific capabilities in order to retain a strategic edge over India.

E-panchayat applications will curb graft Kewal Sharma Additional Director, Panchayati Raj Department, Shimla

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PM Modi hands over the cheque for Rs 2 lakh to Nanhi Bai Marko during the National Panchayati Raj Day 2018 function at Mandla, Madhya Pradesh. PTI

13 states are using Priasoft applications for the maintenance of accounts. Tripura is at number one on the table and Himachal Pradesh at number two.

HE Panchayati Raj system has

been a matter of concern in our rural development process ever since its introduction in 1959. While it is considered to have generated factions and party politics in village communities, it is also seen as the only hope for activating people’s participation in the democracy. One of the greatest deficiencies of our parliamentary system has been poor representation. Just about 750 Members of Parliament and 4,120 Members of Legislative Assemblies represent more than 125 crore people. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, ensured a broad-based representation as there are more than 28 lakh elected members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), about 45 per cent of them women. The constitution of gram sabha ensures communication by giving voice to the people living in about five lakh villages. Notably, Panchayati Raj functioning has being recognised in all plan documents and guidelines have been framed from time to time about the role these institutions can play in development. Central and state governments have done a lot to give a central role to PRIs in the planning and implementation of schemes. But the big question remains:

on this day... 100 years ago

how far have the PRIs succeeded in delivering the goods? One of the major areas of concern is corruption in PRIs. Speaking on April 24, National Panchayati Raj Day, the PM urged members of the PRIs to focus on the right utilisation of funds, with transparency in the budget allocated to the panchayats and panchayat members ensuring that it is fully implemented. The statement points towards the allegation of misutilisation of funds at the panchayat level. It is worthwhile that no survey at the national or state level has been carried out to show the levels of corruption in the PRIs. Thus the extent of corruption in the PRIs is mostly perception based. Weak reporting system, poor accounting of income and expenditure, lack of unitary cost of public works and improper budgets and planning systems lead to corruption. No political party has made corruption in the PRIs an election issue; only discussions at various meetings and Assembly sessions are held. Institutions of local government provide an opportunity to introduce measures to further governance that is more responsive and accountable. Without an adequate and effective institutional mechanism to monitor the use of public funds, the institutions of local government will only add to the layers of client list network and claimants for commission of payoffs.

Access to information and the quality of information are factors that may contain corruption in the panchayats. This is possible with the use of technology. In view of this, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) started the E-Panchayat project in 2006 with a view to transforming the functioning of 2.5 lakh panchayats and making them more transparent, accountable and effective as organs of decentralised self-governing institutions. This project aimed at automating the internal workflow processes of rural local bodies. E-Panchayats is one of the 31 mission mode projects of the GoI under the national Egovernance plan. Citizens, state line departments, line ministries and PRIs were identified as major stakeholders. As many as 11 core software applications were developed for the use of panchayats. Emphasis has been given to implement Priasoft (to capture receipt and expenditure details through voucher entries and automatic generation of cashbooks, registers, utilisation certificates etc). Plan Plus and Action Softs help in the preparation of Gram Panchayats Development Plan (GPDP) and monitoring of its implementations (physical and financial). For providing various services, there is a dynamic Meta data-based service delivery portal to help in electronic delivery of all services. Given the poor connectivity, untrained

quick crossword

su do ku YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

Mr. Gandhi on Swadeshi.

THE Delhi people have set an excellent example by starting a swadeshi emporium. Mr. M.K. Gandhi, who opened it during his last visit to that place, said in Swadeshi lay the seed of Swaraj and asked the people to use Swadeshi goods as far as possible. Many people would use Swadeshi goods if they were made easily procurable at convenient centres and if their quality could be guaranteed. The establishment of Swadeshi stores by patriotic citizens would not only offer some stimulus for manufactures, but also do something to ensure their quality and regular supply. Mr Gandhi observed that India did not require an army of warriors to fight for Swaraj but required an army of Swadeshi workers. We hope the force of this observation will be recognised by the public and every town in the country will endeavour to start stores whose functions should be not merely to effect a certain amount of sales, but also to improve the standard of manufacture by making artisans meet public demands and tastes more satisfactorily than at present. "IN a world in which compulsion is now the rule among belligerent countries", writes the Gazette, "India still has the privilege of freedom of choice in respect both of military service and of financial assistance for the prosecution of the war." True, but is this the only matter in which India's position is singular? If India is to be put on a level of equality with other belligerent countries in this matter, surely it is not unreasonable to ask that she be put on a level of equality with them in other matters equally vital. Yet when we ask that this should be done, no one is louder or more vehement in his complaint than the Gazette.

19 Catch of fish (4) 22 Succession (5) 23 Save from destruction (7) 24 Experiencing difficulties (2,4,5) DOWN 2 Situated (5) 3 Eagerly excited (4) 4 Difficult to handle (6)

5 6 7 8

Make resentful (8) As a substitute (7) Pragmatic (4-2-5) Crush by great power (11) 13 A judgment (8) 15 Suffer (7) 17 Let go by (4,2) 20Quickly (5) 21 Earnest request (4)

SUNSET: SUNRISE:

4 8 9 2 3 5 4 2 7 9

8

2

Down 1 Sympathy, 2 Abnormal, 3 Talk, 5 Incandescent, 6 Snub, 7 Avenue, 8 Detour, 11 Atmospherics, 15 Steep, 16 Break, 18 Alienate, 19 Idolatry, 21 Unreal, 22 Streak, 26 Stow, 27 Seer.

ACROSS 1 Dispel tension (5,3,3) 9 South American river (7) 10 Hemmed in (5) 11 Near (4) 12 Object of intense dislike (8) 14 An edible mollusc (6) 16 Sensitive to pain (6) 18 German shepherd dog (8)

forecast

V. HARD

Across 1 Sparta, 4 First aid, 9 Mantle, 10 Schubert, 12 Airy, 13 Stink, 14 Guru, 17 Heart-toheart, 20 Bespectacled, 23 Note, 24 Being, 25 Deal, 28 Electric, 29 Levant, 30 Likewise, 31 Breezy.

Lahore, Friday, May 10, 1918.

India "versus" other Belligerent Countries.

manpower and non-availability of hardware etc, implementation of the software is slow. Panchayats and their officials in some states are finding it difficult to implement this project fullydue to lack of connectivity and poor technical training. Once implemented, it will enable the citizens to monitor the working of panchayats, specifically financial transactions. As per the website of MoPR, 13 states are using Priasoft applications for the maintenance of accounts. Tripura is at number one on the table and Himachal Pradesh at number two. Similarly, Plan Plus and Action Soft software are being implemented in 28 and 26 states, respectively. With this, citizens can see the expenditure details of the panchayat online. Secondly, common people are not aware of the benefits and usage of these applications. There is need to educate the rural people about these software applications besides providing connectivity to far-flung panchayats. Increase in transparency will increase accountability and, in turn, minimise the chances of corruption. All this will increase the faith of the citizens in the Panchayati Raj system which is the best model of democratic decentralisation. Hence, panchayats should proactively take steps to adopt the E-Panchayat application to ensure transparency in their functioning. This will lead to containing corruption in PRIs.

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8 1 9 6 7 2 5 4 3

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9 3 7 5 1 4 8 6 2

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7 2 3 1 4 9 6 5 8

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3 4 calendar

Yesterday’s solution 5 9 8 2 3 6 7 1 4

1 6 4 7 8 5 2 3 9

Sunny Partly Cloudy Cloudy

Rainy

CITY MAX Chandigarh 37 New Delhi 38

MIN 20 23

PUNJAB

Amritsar Bathinda Jalandhar Ludhiana Patiala

35 38 35 36 38

20 20 20 20 20

37 38 39 36 39

20 22 21 20 21

HARYANA

8 1 4

THURSDAY 19:07 HRS FRIDAY 05:30 HRS

May 10, 2018 Thursday ■ Vikrami Samvat 2075 ■ Shaka Samvat 1940 ■ Vaishakh Shaka 20 ■ Vaishakh Parvishte 27 ■ Hijari 1439 ■ Krishan Paksha Tithi 10,

up to 11.29 pm ■ Endera Yog up to 2.21 pm ■ Shatbhisha Nakshatra up to 12.11 pm ■ Moon in Aquarius sign

Ambala Bhiwani Hisar Karnal Sirsa

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Dharamsala Manali Nahan Shimla Solan

31 18 32 25 30

14 05 13 08 12

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu Leh Srinagar

36 18 24

20 02 09

33 22 21

18 11 13

UTTARAKHAND

Dehradun Mussoorie Nainital

TEMPERATURE IN OC

Foggy