Category: International

WTO ruling on India’s IT Agreement — key implications of this adverse verdict in a taxman’s view

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The wait is over. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has circulated its findings in the cases brought in 2019 alleging violation of India’s commitment under the Information Technology ( IT) agreement . The findings, circulated early this month, were in response to complaints filed by the European Union, Japan and Chinese Taipei in “India — Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods in the Information and Communications Technology Sector” (DS582), “India — Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods” (DS584) and “India — Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods in the Information and Communications Technology Sector” (DS588) respectively.

The three complainants held consultations with India but failed to reach an amicable agreement. Subsequently, a panel was established by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in June 2020. The panel chaired by an Australian arbitrator Paul O’Connor consisted of representatives from Mexico and Chile as the other members.

A common refrain in all the three complaints was that India was applying tariffs on imports of certain Information Technology Agreement (ITA) products in excess of the duty limits as set out in its WTO Schedule. The complainants argued that India had violated the provisions of its commitments, particularly Articles II:1(a) and II:1(b) of the GATT 1994. The provisions of Articles II:1(a) and (b) of the GATT 1994 in effect states that products described in the schedule ‘ shall, on their importation into the territory to which the Schedule relates, and subject to the terms, conditions or qualifications set forth in that Schedule, be exempt from ordinary customs duties in excess of those set forth and provided therein’.

Also Read: Clerical error led to wrong trade tariffs, says India; starts remedial actions to settle WTO dispute

By way of background it may be mentioned that most of the WTO agreements are the result of the 1986–94 Uruguay Round negotiations, signed at the Marrakesh ministerial meeting in April 1994. Negotiations since then have produced additional legal texts such as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA ). The original ITA was reached in 1996, through the Singapore “Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products”.

The ITA covers a large number of technology products, including computers, telecommunication equipment, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment, software, scientific instruments, as well as most of the parts and accessories of these products. The ITA requires each participant to, within prescribed timelines, eliminate and bind customs duties at zero for all products specified in the Agreement. India is a signatory to the ITA.

The range of products cited by the three complainants fell under Chapters 84 and 85 of the Indian Customs Tariff. They ranged from static converters for automatic data processing machines and units thereof to telecom apparatus, telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks, base stations, machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, image or other data, including switching and routing apparatus.

Again, by way of background it may be mentioned that a common system of classifying products globally called the Harmonized System (HS) has been adopted. This system uses code numbers to define products. The HS is updated (transposition) periodically (every four to six years) by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to keep pace with new technology/ products. India’s Customs Tariff also adopts the HS; the WTO Schedule is linked to the HS.

The process of transposition could result in new products being incorporated in the HS Schedule. This is where the dispute has occurred. India’s argument was predicated on the premise that the transposition of the HS2002 to HS2007 by the WTO Secretariat had added some items in the zero tariff category that it felt shouldn’t have been included. It has been contended that a number of products mentioned in the subsequent HS Schedules did not exist when the ITA was signed -and hence are not a part of the ITA commitment. Further India contended that pursuant to Article 48 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna Convention), aspects of India’s WTO Schedule are invalid as a consequence of an error during the transposition of the HS 2002 to the 2007 version. 

In other words, India’s contention was that the benefit of exemption need not be extended to such new products. Smartphones is a case in point. Hence India justified the imposition of custom’s tariff’s ranging from 7.5 percent to 20 percent on some IT products. The 3 member panel however was not convinced. It held that the tariff treatment of products under contention were inconsistent with Article II:1(b);that they were ‘subject to ordinary customs duties in excess of those set forth and provided in India’s WTO Schedule.

India can and will appeal against these findings. There is a certain delicious irony here– USA which is also a party to the contention raised by EU, has ensured that the WTO’s appellate body is non-functional. Since 2019 they have blocked appointments; the term of the last member having expired in November 2020. So it is unlikely the matter will be heard anytime soon.

India currently has a duty regime in a large number of IT products which are consistent with its ITA commitment — a fact acknowledged in the Dispute Settlement findings. However there are also a large number of IT products on which tariffs are applicable. Despite the ruling it will be attractive to continue with the tariff protection on such products. Our Atma Nirbharata doctrine can domestically justify such imposition-more so since it is this protection ( and PLI ) which is prompting foreign investments in the sector. Our exports in this sector have performed ‘smartly’ –smartphones alone worth more than $10 billion are estimated to have been exported in 2022-23.

There is unconfirmed news about EU contemplating retaliatory tariffs against Indian exports. The world can ill afford to descend to trade chaos. In the longer run though it would be prudent and advisable for all to adhere to commitments made under international treaties.

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New US Ambassador to India — Eric Garcetti to pave the way for a stronger partnership

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Eric Garcetti has arrived in India, thus ending the longest period since the United States has gone without an ambassador to India. Since Ambassador Ken Juster served his last days in January 2021, Roosevelt House in New Delhi had been without an occupant.

Ambassador Garcetti will no doubt hit the ground running and will be soon settling into an Indian summer after making the rounds in Washington. The former mayor’s experience of having been the executive of a large metropolitan like Los Angeles gives him a sharp perspective on the economic issues and prioritising the need to attract investors, all of which play a vital part as we seek to strengthen the commercial relationship.  

Also Read: Joe Biden renominates Eric Garcetti as envoy to India

On a personal front, the incoming ambassador shares a special affinity for India, having visited the country in his youth and having studied Hindi in college. During his time as Mayor, he interacted with Indian officials on matters pertaining to energy, ports, culture, and urbanisation and of course catered to the large diaspora in the Los Angeles metropolitan county.

Also Read: US Ambassador Designate Eric Garcetti has arrived in India

As Ambassador, Garcetti will have a plate full of US-India engagement on the horizon with the Quad Summit in Australia, India hosting G20 world leaders, and an impending state visit by Prime Minister Modi over the summer.

Also Read: PM Modi likely to be in US in June-July for state visit | Bilateral talks, dinner and joint address to Congress on cards

One of the key aspects is that Garcetti is a well-known confidant of President Biden and this close convivial working relationship will expedite key decisions, which at times in the past could be stuck through layers of formal bureaucracy.

Garcetti’s biggest impact will be to help expedite the wait times as the visa backlog across all categories from working professionals to business visas, tourist, and student visas were severely affected due to the pandemic. The bureaucratic delays have exacerbated the wait times as several people have been unable to secure an appointment across the embassy and consulates in India.

His priorities will be threefold. On the commercial relationship, the US is now India’s largest trading partner, with annual bilateral trade touching near $200 billion. The commercial relationship remains robust with major American manufacturers looking at India for electronic manufacturing as companies seek a China plus-one strategy.

As India works to promote the investment climate and enhance the ease of doing business environment, Garcetti will be a key champion for American industry, creating a win-win situation as the positive tailwinds align in his favour.

On the geopolitical and geo-strategic part, Garcetti will reap the benefits of successive administration efforts, right from the Bush administration to the Civil Nuclear Deal, to the Biden Administration’s push for the inaugural Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).

Defence has been one of the cornerstones of the US-India strategic partnership and Garcetti understands this well through his former background in the military as a US Navy reserve. The relationship has grown from almost zero sales to $20 billion in defence relationship since the seminal US-India civil nuclear arrangement. The new Ambassador’s top priorities will be to consolidate and build on these defence partnerships as the Indo-Pacific Quad gets momentum and the I2U2 begins to fructify in the same manner.

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Furthermore, there is a vital opportunity for both American defence manufacturers as New Delhi seeks to gradually wean away from a dependence on the Russian-era arsenal. The war in Ukraine has galvanised the need to look at consolidating imports from the US, France and Israel, and the effects of the war on Russia’s military will also add to a supply chain issue for India in the long run, should this dependence continue.

The technology industry for decades has provided the US with a global competitive edge, and Silicon Valley continues to epitomise that hub for innovation. The time is ripe to focus on co-development and technology sharing, as iCET has opened this golden avenue. As the race for semiconductors heats up, the US and India can work towards chip manufacturing and focus on shared military technologies through the sale of jet engine technology.

Garcetti will be tasked to carry on the progress we have seen this year from the restart of the US-India Commercial Dialogue and the US-India CEO Forum. The commercial partnership is focused on rebuilding resilient supply chains, both to recover from pandemic losses and preclude a supply chain lacuna.

Furthermore, a stronger and stable supply chain network and a critical technology partnership with the U.S. will make Garcetti’s job easier to bat for American investors. This is the ideal win-win scenario as India seeks to consolidate its domestic and high-tech manufacturing base and American investors will need to be the lion’s share of those investments. Apart from the Trade Policy Forum (TPF), both India and the US underscore their priorities to build a stronger trade relationship through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

The upcoming G20 in India will touch on pertinent aspects of energy from climate finance to a much-needed shift to cleaner sources of energy and reducing dependency on fossil fuels in the emerging market world. And an impending state visit by Prime Minister Modi later this summer will give both Washington and New Delhi a chance to renew their larger and more specific bilateral goals, and energy collaboration with the strategic clean energy partnership could certainly be one of them.

However, most importantly, the underlying strength of the US-India relationship is epitomised in the people-to-people ties and one that is the secret ingredient of the strategic partnership.

Recent footage of Commerce Secretary Raimondo, partaking in the colourful festival of Holi with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh won the internet.

Increased American engagement with the Indian diaspora will be one of  Garcetti’s top priorities, as his predecessor, Ambassador Juster partook in basketball activities as NBA teams made a splash across India.

Given his background in the southern Californian city of Los Angeles, codified as Hollywood central, Garcetti can help build on diaspora cultural linkage through Hollywood and Bollywood initiatives, as the Indian film industry has now garnered mainstream attention on American shores through the many years. Especially after the performance of RRR at the Oscars recently, a win for cultural diplomacy and the arts.

Visas continue to play an important part in ensuring education continuity, with constant student exchanges, and the recovery in the number of Indian students in the United States post the pandemic.

The eminent economist turned diplomat, John Kenneth Galbraith, known for his towering stature, served as President Kennedy’s envoy to India in the early 1960s and perhaps helped build the strong edifice US-India relations sit on today. This was far before, any nuclear deal was signed, or any commercial agreement was penned. In fact, it was during a time when India was rampantly socialist that was juxtaposed with American capitalism. But Galbraith had a deep affinity for the people of India, and saw as early as 1963, the possibility (when many may have seen none), of a US-India strategic partnership, based on shared democratic values and the people to people to relations.

Galbraith set the tone for his successors, eminent personalities such as Chester Bowles, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tom Pickering and Frank Wisner. Eric Garcetti has an opportunity to add himself to the roster of stalwarts by being empathetic, connecting with the population emotionally, and building a much stronger US-India partnership.

—The author, Dr. Mukesh Aghi, is President & CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Read his previous articles here 

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The Israel Ambassador to India writes on how to save the planet with innovation — the experience from home

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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This year on April 22nd we will celebrate Earth Day all over the world. Despite the growing acknowledgment of the importance of protecting the fragile and unique planet we live on, it appears that we are only making matters worse. The environmental crises are piling up; the climate crisis, the crisis of biological diversity and the extinction of species, the plastic pollution that reaches every corner of the earth, the growing water shortage, the deterioration of food security for many in the world, the continuous deforestation, intensifying desertification processes and with them, the increase in zoonotic diseases and more are all getting worse.

Also Read: World Creativity and Innovation Day 2023 — the da Vinci link and more

For a second, it looks like the human race has lost all hope because the pace of environmental crises and their consequences are increasing. But, losing hope is not an option, and just as we are the ones who cause the environmental-climatic crises, we are the ones who can and must not only stop them, but also restore nature, the environment, and the climate to live a better, healthier, and happier life.

The Israeli experience 

Many have written about how this can be done, and indeed, there is a wide variety of areas in which we can make an important change. However, in this article, we would like to concentrate on our experience in the State of Israel in the fields of climate and environmental innovation and offer several practical, applicable, and relatively inexpensive solutions that can help deal with the environmental and climate crises of our time. Due to its location in the desert with a scarcity of natural resources and water, Israel is a living laboratory for developing solutions of this type.

Water

We will begin with water. We celebrated international water day a month ago and we know that the world water crisis is growing rapidly. The Israeli experience shows we must accompany water conservation with a broad communication and informational campaign to encourage the public to save water. It is also necessary to purify as much wastewater as possible and use it in agriculture: Israel purifies 94% of wastewater, of which close to 90% is used for agriculture. Moreover, water loss in urban systems in Israel is minimal, standing at only a few percent. The above practices are thanks to the groundbreaking technologies developed in Israel and the knowledge accumulated over the years, which can be applied in large parts of the world.

Agriculture 

The second field is agriculture. The Israeli experience is to move as much as possible to irrigation-based agriculture, preferably one that is efficient, like drip irrigation, which results in higher yields and significant water savings. The development of drought-resistant crops, the use of brackish water in agriculture, the development of crops with a higher yield, biological pesticides, the use of satellites and precision agriculture – all contribute to increasing food security and reducing damage to natural resources.

MASHAV- Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation is engaged in different projects all over the world, including India, to pursue sustainable development. Together both countries have established 30 fully-active Centers of Excellence in different parts of India, which are benefiting local farmers. New agricultural technologies such as protected cultivation, drip irrigation and fertigation are demonstrated here.

Every year, these centers produce more than 40 million premium quality vegetable seedlings, over 500 thousand high-quality fruit plants, and train more than 120 thousand Indian farmers. MASHAV also brings many Israeli experts to India and trains the trainers of these centers throughout the year. Similarly, Indian agricultural officers heading these centers receive training in Israel.

Strategic partnership

India and Israel have a strategic partnership in water management. Both nations are cooperating intensively in this field by sharing knowledge, technologies and expertise. The importance of this partnership can be understood from the fact that India is the only country where Israel has the position of a Water Attache to help share Israeli best practices and technologies for advancements in India’s water management sector.

Few people know this, but from the very beginning of the founding of the State of Israel 75 years ago, its first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, saw the field of solar energy as one of the areas that Israel should lead. Today, more than 200 companies and start-ups in Israel are engaged in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage – all of which are necessary for successfully dealing with the climate crisis.

SDGs

Despite its young age and relatively small area, Israel has accumulated vast experience in planting forests in semi-arid regions and preserving them in dry and extreme conditions. This know-how and experience are priceless for a world where forests that are so necessary to deal with the climate crisis are dying from heat, drought and diseases and are burning.

When we celebrate Earth Day again, we must remember goal number 17 in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – the SDGs- that is about cooperation. Only through cooperation, sharing best practices, knowledge, experience and more can we overcome the significant challenges at our doorstep. 

Israel has so much to share and learn from our friends in India. Together both countries can play a major role in the global fight against the climate crisis.

—The author, H.E. Naor Gilon, is the Ambassador of Israel to India. The views expressed are personal. 

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International Customs Day—Let the occasion be remembered to make Customs a partner of trade and industry

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Even as India celebrates its  Republic Day today, customs administrations globally celebrate the  International Customs Day on 26th January. It is celebrated to commemorate the day when the inaugural session of the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) was held on January 26, 1953.

Though the idea of celebrating this day came about only in 1983 when the 30th anniversary of the first CCC session was held ceremoniously that year.  

In 1994 CCC was renamed the World Customs Organization ( WCO) as it is an independent intergovernmental body with a singular objective of enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of customs administrations. As the WCO website proudly states,  the WCO represents 184 Customs administrations across the globe today and it collectively process approximately 98 percent of world trade.

As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO is currently the only international organisation with competence in Customs matters and can rightly call itself ‘the voice of international Customs community’. Thus it has become a powerful body which ensures uniformity of customs tariff classification and procedures across borders.

The vision of the WCO is to bring Customs together for a safer and a more prosperous world. There is a clear  recognition that while ‘borders divide, Customs connects.’ The WCO seeks to ‘develop international standards, foster cooperation and build capacity to facilitate legitimate trade, to secure a fair revenue collection and to protect society, providing leadership, guidance and support to Customs administrations.’ Ambitious goals which the WCO has been doing admirably.

The role of customs is challenging. They are in effect to guard the economic frontiers of the country. They have to ensure that no contraband enters the country. They have to ensure that taxes which are due be paid. With globalisation and consequently trade exponentially increasing , they have to do this without impacting legitimate trade. What the increase in trade has also resulted is contraband being attempted to be smuggled  in the guise of legitimate cargo. While tariff barriers have been declining, non-tariff barriers, be it health and safety standards, intellectual property protection, quotas  have all been on the increase.

All legitimate trade expects speedy clearance. With transportation facilities on the increase, industries globally prefer to cut down on inventories. Just in time delivery is the mantra of today. What this means is that clearance across borders have to be speedy. Supply chains cannot be impacted since they in turn have a spiral effect on manufacturing. Customs administrations have to necessarily ensure a proper balance is struck between enforcement and facilitation.

The theme of this year’s World Customs Day is ‘ promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in Customs’. This cannot be more appropriate and urgent. Illicit trade has been termed as the crime of the 21st Century. The World Economic Forum estimates illicit  markets at $ 2.2 trillion or about 3 percent of the world’s GDP. It is this proceeds which  generated from illicit trade which fuels and finance all nefarious activities across the globe threatening the very fabric of global peace and progress. And yet there is little cooperation across enforcement agencies. Petty turf issues continue to dog cooperation.

Lack of trust amongst enforcement agencies is the greatest barrier to more effective action. The tragedy is that there is greater trust, understanding and cooperation across boundaries amongst traffickers. And all this without reams of paper spent on drafting memorandum’s of understanding. Unless and until this barrier is overcome there are going to be challenges in curbing transnational crime.

Indian Customs is a member of the WCO and contributes to the organisation -both financially and having officers posted from the customs administration on secondment to the WCO. In fact, the present Director (Compliance & Facilitation ) in the WCO is Shri P.K.Das  the former Chairman of the CBIC.

India has multiple agreements of cooperation with many like-minded customs administrations. The challenge is of confidentiality of data, the need for an offence on which cooperation is being sought having to be an offence in both countries. The Letter Rogatory process is long, time consuming and presents legal challenges.

International Customs Day celebrations take place in India on 27th January in view of 26th being the Republic Day. While it is good and necessary to celebrate such days, the occasion should be used to deliberate, discuss and plug gaps. The effort should be to continue to focus on making the Customs administration a partner of the trade and industry, and to  increase cooperation within the country with other enforcement agencies and across borders with other administrations.

 —The author, Najib Shah, is Ex. Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs. The views expressed are personal. 

Read his previous articles here 

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Davos 2023 | Best way to deliver live sports, news through linear television, says Nielsen CEO David Kenny

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The best way to deliver live events such as live sports or news is through linear television over a broadcast signal, believes Nielsen CEO David Kenny.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan at the World Economic Forum meet at Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Kenny said that he is really excited about the prospect of having many different ways to reach people.

“We think it’s a real opportunity to serve the consumer better as India is a very heterogeneous community. So having more ways to reach them with streaming as well as linear means more people can find content that’s relevant to them and in some cases even create content and participate,” he said.

With mobile infrastructure in place, he said it was really great to organise people and serve them.

On the talk of shift of linear television to digital, Kenny said that linear television has a role, especially for live. “Live news, live sports, the best way to deliver them is through broadcast signal. I think it continues to work for more reasons. The IPL has never had more fans. News has never been so important. So we see this happening.”

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“(For) Entertainment, people do have more choices; some people like to catch up and watch it on streaming later. So linear creates some demand, it creates some exposure but it’s shifting. I think the idea that it’s over would be like saying print is over. It has a role but I have to say every linear company has a digital first strategy in India,” he noted.

The CEO of the television and video audience measurement company stressed on the fact that as part of the transition, they were making changes in the measurement of data from linear and digital television with a focus on people.

“We’re doing this in a number of markets, is to evolve the measurement so that you don’t measure linear and streaming as two things because then you end up with a high price on linear and a low price on streaming in some cases when the value is the same. So we’re really working to get a measurement that’s people based so that we measure where people spend their time whether they happen to receive it on a linear signal or a streaming signal because to them it’s the same,” he said.

By doing this, he said they are building a better model “because then your economics are aligned with the consumer and you can follow her through on the ad side”.

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Meet Nirav Shah, the Indian-origin epidemiologist who will be second-in-command at US CDC

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has appointed Indian-origin epidemiologist Nirav D Shah the principal deputy director, making him the second-in-command at the health agency. He is set to assume his new role under US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in March.

Shah is currently the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said a national search for the next Maine CDC Director will take place. In the interim, deputy director Nancy Beardsley will serve as acting director, a position she held before Shah’s arrival.

“I take comfort, as Maine people should, in knowing that the US CDC – and the American people at large – will soon become the beneficiaries of his leadership. Since his arrival in Maine before the pandemic, and every day throughout it, Dr. Shah has been a trusted advisor,” Maine Governor Janet Mills said.

“In my new role, I will be honoured to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here. As I prepare for this next step, I thank the people of Maine for taking care of me, as I’ve always asked them to take care of each other,” Shah said.

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Shah, in his mid-40s, has previously served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials between March 2021 and September 2022. His LinkedIn profile also says he was a former head of the Illinois Department of Public Health from January 2015 to February 2019. “Reporting directly to the (Illinois) Governor, focused on several public health and healthcare policy issues, including the opioid crisis, childhood lead poisoning, behavioural health, food safety, and maternal mortality reduction,” the profile states.

He also had a stint at Sidley Austin LLP as an attorney from August 2008 till he joined the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The epidemiologist holds a law degree from the Law School of the University of Chicago and is a doctor of medicine from the university’s Pritzker School of Medicine. Shah started medical school in 2000, but his career focus shifted when he took a hiatus in 2001 to serve a fellowship in Cambodia, working as an economist on public health issues. As per the university website: “Among other things, he tackled disease outbreaks, conducted cost-effectiveness studies, fought against counterfeit drugs, and worked to root out the corruption that had become pervasive in the system. By the end of his time there, he held the title of Chief Economist within the Ministry of Health.”

On his dual degree in medicine and law, he had said: “Most modern public health issues come down to two things: regulation, and compromise or dealmaking among many competing interests and stakeholders…”

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Two-day ‘Think-20’ meeting under G20, to see 94 representatives from 22 countries

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A ‘Think-20’ meeting under the G20 will begin in Bhopal on Monday during which experts and foreign guests will discuss various topics including ‘Global Governance with LiFE, Values, and Wellbeing’, officials said.

The two-day meeting will be attended by 94 representatives from different countries, besides intellectuals and officials from India, an official release said.

The main speaker at the inaugural session will be Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean and CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will attend the inaugural function of the event, to be held at Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Centre in Bhopal.

Other speakers during the inaugural session will be Indonesia’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Law, Defence and Security Slamet Soedarsono, Chief Coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency Harsh Vardhan Shringla and NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery, the release said.

The session will also be addressed by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) Director General Sachin Chaturvedi and Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Director General Sujan Chinoy, the release said.

There will be 10 parallel sessions on the first day on various topics including institutional framework, investing in children as an investment in future, financing resilient cities and societies, economic systems transformation and one health wellness and traditional medicine.

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Talking to reporters on Sunday evening, Shringla said it is a very critical time both globally and in India.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the greatest shock to the international system since the Second World War and no sooner had they recovered from it, there is the Ukraine Crisis which has resulted in fuel and food shortages and inflation has been going up worldwide, he said.

This is a time of great concern all over the world, he said.

“We are very well placed to provide solutions that the world wants to see the G20 address as well as take bold, inclusive and result-oriented steps under our presidency,” Shringla said.

RIS Director General Chaturvedi told reporters that Think-20 or T-20 is an important part of the G20 engagement groups in which the world’s research institutions discuss G20-related issues.

Hope, harmony, peace and stability are defining ideas that will frame India’s G20 presidency, he said.

The guests from India and abroad will also visit the Tribal Museum in Bhopal. There will also be a cultural programme and dinner at the museum on the first day of the event.

The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Climate Change & Growing Disease Burden | Our healthcare systems need coordinated action now

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tuberculosis (TB) is curable and preventable. Yet in 2021, around 1.6 million people died from the disease. Worldwide measles cases spiked by 79% in the first two months of 2022, despite a licensed vaccine against the disease being available since 1963. In refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, an outbreak of diphtheria – another disease preventable through vaccines – saw nearly 8,000 people infected in 2018. 

Despite significant medical, scientific and sanitation advances, there is increasing potential for infectious diseases to spread. Climate change – which is not just an environmental emergency, but a public health one too – is meeting existing drivers such as globalisation, urbanisation and inequality to fuel the transmission of disease. New pathogens are emerging and existing ones are coming back to haunt us.

COVID-19 laid bare how woefully under-prepared we were for a pandemic – despite warnings for years that one was on horizon. It has left our healthcare systems scarred and scrambling to recover, and exposed many long-standing and systemic issues.

Now climate change is sending us headlong into another health crisis – and one we risk being equally poorly prepared for unless we can make significant progress on ensuring affordable, high-quality healthcare is accessible to everyone.

The climate-made health crisis 

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to human health. It is contributing towards the emergence of new diseases, and exacerbating existing ones. TB, for example, has been shown to be a climate-sensitive disease – changes in weather affect transmission through factors such as malnutrition, while population displacement as a result of extreme climate events also drives up infection rates.

Malaria – already a major killer – will also be affected by a warmer climate, which is likely to favour the spread of malaria-bearing mosquitoes. Alongside this, air, water and other forms of pollution are damaging our health. And climate change is causing more frequent and severe natural catastrophes that are putting lives and well-being at risk.

Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause around 250,000 additional deaths per year because of malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The direct damage costs to health (i.e. excluding costs in health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water and sanitation), is estimated to be between USD 2-4 billion/year by 2030.

An unequal world

Climate change is undermining many of the social determinants for good health, such as livelihoods, equality and access to health care and social support structures. These climate-sensitive health risks are disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, including women, children, ethnic minorities, poor communities, migrants or displaced persons, older populations, and those with underlying health conditions.

Medical advances, as well as improved access to healthcare and sanitation, have significantly reduced the mortality and morbidity of infectious diseases. And the speed at which a vaccine was developed in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the capabilities of modern science.

But the reality is, global access to vaccines for many diseases – not just COVID-19 – has been uneven, and many people are still struggling to access high-quality healthcare. The disease burden in the Global South remains significant in the face of neglected tropical diseases, HIV infections, TB and malaria, for example. And these are also the populations most at risk from crises related to climate change.

Even before the pandemic, the World Bank and WHO estimated that at least half the world lacks access to essential healthcare services. And the problem doesn’t stop at the level of basic healthcare – even more services in more developed nations are plagued by legacy systems that make them inefficient and unwieldy.

All the while, demand for medical services is rising. Ageing populations are putting pressure on systems as diseases such as dementia become more prevalent and comorbidities rise.

Mental health care provision is becoming a growing burden, with COVID triggering a silent epidemic. And inequalities are leading to uneven health outcomes for many.

While no one is safe from these health risks of climate change, the people whose health is being harmed first and worst by the climate crisis are the people who contribute least to its causes, and who are least able to protect themselves and their families against it – people in low-income and disadvantaged countries and communities.

Areas with weak health infrastructure – mostly in developing countries – will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond. We must invest now in healthcare systems and healthcare workers in developing countries. This is especially vital in places that are vulnerable to climate change like Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and the Bahamas.

Driving progress

The World Economic Forum is committed to shaping the future of healthcare, to improve sustainability and resilience in the face of these challenges. Through events such as our annual meeting in Davos, as well as throughout the year, we aim to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange, and bridge health inequalities. Our work falls into four main categories.

1. Preserving health and wellness

Our Global Health Equity Network aims to address disparities in health and well-being outcomes between countries and ensure that everyone has access to health and healthcare.

We bring together executive leaders to commit to prioritise health equity within their business, as well as to drive change within their wider ecosystem. Our initiatives have a particular focus on women’s health and workplace health and wellness, including workplace TB, workforce mental health, working with cancer, and workplace obesity.

2.  Systems transformation

The world could – and should – have been better prepared for the pandemic. Our Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience brings together multiple initiatives focused on fostering collaboration across sectors, to build more resilient and sustainable health systems for tackling global risks.

In conjunction with this, our Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare aims to eliminate ineffective spending on global health. It steers our work ensuring solutions and policy recommendations are based on evidence. And through innovation hubs, it also helps bring about improvements for patients while reducing overall costs.

3. Technology and innovation

Our Digital Health Action Alliance aims to bring the benefits of digital technology to healthcare, in particular in relation to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Non-communicable diseases account for nearly three-quarters of deaths worldwide, but only have 2.2 percent of development assistance allocated to them. Our  work focuses on targeting prevention, transforming diagnostics, expanding therapeutic access and innovation in community healthcare.

We are also exploring use of breakthrough technologies (such as AI, ML, VR, AR etc.) in creating better access to healthcare and improving health outcomes.

4. Emergency preparedness and response

We saw with the COVID-19 vaccine how extremely inequitable distribution was, with low-income and middle-income countries that lack manufacturing capacity generally at the back of the queue.

Our Distributed Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative is one way we are working to promote public-private collaboration to better respond to shared health challenges like climate change and endemic diseases, as well as to prevent future outbreaks.

In addition, we are working to help establish a network of genomic surveillance which is critical to detecting and instantly sharing information on pathogens that could cause infectious disease outbreaks, identifying their genome sequences, and accelerating the development of medical countermeasures.

Ensuring that every person has equal access to the highest standards of healthcare means identifying and scaling up new solutions – not relying on legacy ideas to solve future challenges. We need to transform healthcare globally through systemic change, innovation and collaboration, making the best use of the digital tools available.

Together, we can make progress on addressing the urgent unmet healthcare needs of the global population.

— The author, Shyam Bishen, is Head of Health & Healthcare, Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum. This article is part of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Morgan Stanley expects China to outperform global markets in 2023, raises GDP growth forecast

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Morgan Stanley on Monday raised its growth forecast for China’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023, driven by the faster reopening of the economy post the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its research report dated January 9, Morgan Stanley said that it sees an earlier and stronger growth recovery for China from the first quarter of the calendar year 2023 amid faster reopening, stronger housing support, and tech regulatory easing.

Morgan Stanley lifted its China GDP growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points to 5.7 percent year-on-year, while also raising the 12-month USDCNY target to 6.65.

“We believe the market is under-appreciating the far-reaching ramifications of reopening and the possibility that a robust cyclical recovery can occur despite lingering structural headwinds,” it said in its report.

Morgan Stanley also predicted that China was set to top global equity market performance in 2023. It raised price targets across the board for Chinese equity indices, moving their previous bull case to become the new base case, especially for the offshore indices (MSCI China, Hang Seng, and HSCEI).

China GDP Estimates for 2023

It said it saw another 13-16 percent upside (as of January 5, 2023 close) in China markets by the end of 2023, compared to 2 percent, 0.3 percent, and 12 percent, respectively, for S&P500, MSCI Europe, and MSCI EM, as per its base case forecasts.

“An ongoing constructive reassessment of China’s Equity Risk Premium and a major ROE (return on equity) recovery over the next two years are key structural developments that we expect, but are yet to be fully appreciated by the market,” the report said.

“The current situation is on par with that in late 2008/early 2009, in our view, with many investors insufficiently exposed to what is likely a key cross-asset portfolio alpha driver for 2023,” it added.

Morgan Stanley advised investors to accumulate stocks of large-cap, highly liquid Chinese internet companies, with a preference for Alibaba, to best take advantage of the China rally at this stage.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bulgaria protests after Russia puts top Bellingcat investigative journalist on wanted list

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bulgaria protested against Russia on Thursday, December 29, over the inclusion of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev on a wanted list. The country’s prime minister called the action an intimidation technique meant to stifle free expression. According to the information published on the website of the Russian Interior Ministry this week, Grozev, the top investigator on Russia for the Bellingcat news organisation, is “wanted under an article of the Criminal Code.”

Bulgaria’s Interim Prime Minister Galab Donev said Bulgaria will ask Russia for a clear explanation as to why Grozev had been placed on the list. “This act is unacceptable. It represents an attack on freedom of speech and an attempt to intimidate a Bulgarian citizen,” he told reporters.

Also read: Vladimir Putin’s critics who died mysteriously after Russian invasion of Ukraine

Grozev has infuriated Moscow through his inquiries into the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, and the downing of the MH17 passenger plane over eastern Ukraine.

However, Russia has denied responsibility on all counts.

Grozev claimed that putting him on the wanted list may be a ploy to stop other journalists from investigating what is occurring in Russia. He keeps his location a secret for security concerns. “For years they’ve made it clear they are scared of our work and would stop at nothing to make it go away,” Grozev said in a tweet.

A general comment: I have no idea on what grounds the Kremlin has put me on its “wanted list”, thus I cannot provide any comments at this time. In a way it doesn’t matter – for years they’ve made it clear they are scared of our work and would stop at nothing to make it go away. https://t.co/fd4Evbd7gJ

— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) December 26, 2022

Also read: Russian missiles hit Ukrainian capital, other cities

Lately, he has been reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to Bellingcat’s website, Grozev “focuses on security threats, extraterritorial clandestine operations, and the weaponisation of information.”

On Wednesday (December 28), Grozev told the Bulgarian NOVA TV station that he was worried for his life and that someone would try to kill or kidnap him on their own initiative in order to do “a favour to the Kremlin”.

While Grozev was no longer allowed in Russia, it “does not mean that someone will search for him around the world,” the ambassador said when Bulgaria asked Russia’s Interior Ministry why Grozev was added to the list.

Grozev claimed that the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, and Austria, where he has been residing lately, have all volunteered to assist him. The office of Bulgaria’s president has said Sofia is also taking steps to ensure his security.

Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia passed legislation making it illegal to spread what it deems to be “deliberately misleading information” about its military. The statute allows for a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Also read: Watch: Kabul University Professor tears up diplomas on Live TV against Taliban ban on women education

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow