All English Editorials 18 - 12
All English Editorials 18 - 12
think
DELHI
businessline.
THURSDAY - DECEMBER 18 - 2025
Simply essential
W
hen a US federal judge
ruled in late
November that Meta
does not maintain an
SIM binding to phones can check cyber crime illegal monopoly in
social media, it was a reminder that even
the strongest evidence can look weak
he Department of Telecom’s move to tighten
T
when enforcers act too late.
SIM-binding norms is driven by a real, Rejecting the US Federal Trade
Commission’s narrow market
escalating, and costly problem. definition, the court instead concluded
Telecom-enabled fraud, from SIM swaps and mule that Meta, formerly known as Facebook,
numbers to OTP theft, has become one of the weakest competes against a broad array of rivals
such as TikTok and YouTube. While GETTY IMAGES
links in the country’s digital economy. The Centre is legal scholars can and will dissect the
right to intervene. Communication apps can easily be
Antitrust delayed is
opinion, the biggest takeaway is that
used by detached, untraceable accounts, posing a timing matters in dynamic markets,
implying that antitrust authorities must
threat to individual and national security. develop a preventive approach, rather
than relying solely on reactive measures.
antitrust denied
The new SIM binding rules mandate that The case centered on Facebook’s
messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and
Telegram, must remain linked to the original, WhatsApp in 2014, when both were
active SIM card in a user’s phone, stopping unmistakably competitive threats.
Facebook said so itself: internal emails
use if the SIM is removed or inactive, and
forcing web versions to log out every six
and strategy documents spelled out its TRUST FACTOR. The Meta verdict on monopoly power offers a sobering lesson.
intention to copy, acquire, or neutralize
hours for re-authentication via QR code. A rivals, while the firm’s leaders explicitly Rather than acting post facto, mega mergers in the big tech space must be prevented
SIM card is verifiably linked to an individual acknowledged the existential threat
(through KYC), and tied to a specific device posed by Instagram. FTC lawyers rarely The flaws of late enforcement were Instagram and WhatsApp in the first and the UK also have powerful
uncover this type of smoking-gun also on display in the Google antitrust place, but erred on the side of caution, preventive tools, including merger
via IMEI, so misuse via SIM swapping, evidence. trial. Even as a US federal judge ruled in fearing false positives and believing that review and market studies. Even just
cloning, or mule phones becomes harder. The But the case collapsed under the 2024 that Google had illegally the market would self-correct. But that initiating an investigation can create
move to extend the rigorous security model of weight of today’s market reality. Instead monopolised general-search services, decision has proved impossible to enough friction and uncertainty for
platforms like UPI to general communication of considering the world as it existed the remedy was softened by the unwind, even though Facebook’s parties to abandon a deal, as happened
when the mergers occurred, the court perception that AI chatbots were already acquisition of direct competitors in a with Nvidia-Arm and Visa-Plaid. Until
apps is widely seen as a necessary security (incorrectly) cited the rise of TikTok, reshaping the market. Even the boldest competitive market should have been a recently, the UK Competition and
enhancement by the government and the Snapchat, and YouTube Shorts as proposed remedies centered less on straightforward win for antitrust Markets Authority, like the FTC and
telecom industry. For an overwhelming evidence that Facebook lacked restoring competition in search and authorities — the very kind of textbook DOJ in the US, was increasing its
majority of users who use their messaging app monopoly power. But TikTok’s success more on ensuring that the next tech harm the law is designed to prevent. scrutiny of tech mergers and
hardly disproves Facebook’s earlier frontier remains open. To their credit, the FTC and the partnerships, particularly in the AI
on one phone with a single, permanent SIM, dominance, because ByteDance, its The same dynamic was evident in the Department of Justice under former US sector.
the change will seem imperceptible. parent company, spent vast sums on landmark antitrust case that the US President Joe Biden had begun to But the global scramble to attract AI
It is perhaps true, that for those who rely user acquisition, at one point becoming federal government brought against develop and use their preventive toolkit. investment has pushed competition
heavily on desktop/web versions for work the one of the largest buyers of ads on Microsoft in the 1990s. Instead of They challenged several mergers enforcement into retreat. Amid
directive introduces some friction and Facebook, Instagram, and Snap in the reviving competition in operating (including Nvidia-Arm, Illumina- increasing geopolitical turbulence,
US. A Chinese company with almost systems, where Microsoft’s dominance GRAIL, and Microsoft-Activision regulators are forgetting the
operational challenges. But cyber-fraud losses unlimited capital breaking into the was entrenched, the litigation cleared Blizzard), examined practices in nascent hard-earned lessons of the platform era
in India are staggering, with sophisticated market is hardly proof of healthy space for the next generation of industries such as AI partnerships, and and pulling back precisely when they
scams often exploiting accounts whose competition. companies by preventing Microsoft launched early probes into emerging should be applying those lessons to
registered SIM cards have been removed, from extending its monopoly into monopolies in the cloud computing and block anti-competitive AI mergers and
LEGAL FLAWS browsers and apps. Of course, this is a semiconductor markets. But the prevent the emergence of AI
deactivated, or are being misused from The flaws in the court’s reasoning reflect worthy goal. But illegally monopolised pendulum has swung back under Donald monopolies. The result is a classic
outside the country. This lack of an active, a deeper problem with litigating markets need not be treated as a fait Trump’s second administration, which collective-action problem, even though
traceable SIM-to-device link has allowed consummated mergers: it asks judges to accompli. has pursued merger settlements, dialled all it takes is one courageous
fraudsters to operate with near-perfect travel back in time and forget what they In fast-moving markets, prevention is back investigations into AI giants, and competition authority to block a global
now know. Questions like “Would better than cure, which is why revived the myth that tech firms are the deal and change the trajectory of an
anonymity. By mandating continuous SIM Instagram have become this significant intervening early to block illegal guardians of innovation and national entire market.
presence, the government is extending the without Facebook’s investment?” or mergers must be the norm, not the security. The Meta decision can seem like much
robust, proven security model used by our “What competition might have emerged exception. Regulators should have ado about nothing: one case that was too
banking and UPI systems, where the physical if the acquisitions had not taken place?” prevented Facebook from acquiring POLITICAL WILL difficult to win despite overwhelming
presence of the KYC-verified SIM is are inherently counterfactual. It is very It doesn’t have to be this way. US evidence. But viewed in a broader
mandatory. The directive’s requirement for
difficult to measure the impact of
competition that never existed.
US antitrust regulators antitrust regulators now have stronger
merger guidelines and a clearer
context, it becomes clear that timing
makes all the difference in antitrust
periodic logouts of web sessions (every six This suggests that the acquisitions now have stronger merger understanding of how digital markets enforcement. Regulators must learn to
hours) is a security hygiene measure, akin to should have been challenged when they guidelines and a clearer work. What they need is the political will flex their preventive muscle to have any
auto-logouts on banking portals, designed to were first proposed — a difficult task, to act early and decisively. hope of taming Big Tech.
but not as hard as challenging understanding of how The same applies to other
curb the remote abuse of accounts. While consummated deals. Predicting the digital markets work. What governments. The most consequential The writer is Deputy Director of the Thurman Arnold
inconvenient for business workflows, this future is less formidable than tech mergers are reviewed Project and a resident fellow at the Information Society
friction is the cost of closing a critical gateway reconstructing the present on the basis they need is the political will simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions, Project at Yale Law School. Copyright: Project
for account takeover and fraud. of an imaginary past. to act early and decisively and regulators in the European Union Syndicate, 2025
That said, there are apprehensions.
Tethering a private messaging account to a
government-verified identity (the
KYC-linked SIM) could expose
whistleblowers by creating a single, traceable
metadata link between their official identity
Interest rates unlikely to dip in the medium term
and their communications. Furthermore, This is due to a combination of factors — tariff uncertainty, weakening currency, high global rates
there are fears over potential government
misuse of this traceability. This is where the attempting to drive growth (in the case sector-specific tariffs and strategic
Sachin Gupta of India) and employment (in the case of re-shoring incentives, continue to
government must tread with caution and the US), but the bond market is influence inflation expectations and
absolute clarity. The success of this essential
T
he Reserve Bank of India began indicating a harsher truth of persistently global capital flows.
security upgrade is contingent on its lawful its monetary easing cycle in high long-term rates. For India, uncertainty regarding
and judicious implementation. The February 2025, with policy rates US-India trade relations, export
cut by 125 basis points by December SOVEREIGN BOND MARKETS competitiveness, and potential
government must enforce SIM binding while 2025. Meanwhile, the 10-year G-sec A key factor influencing long-term yields retaliatory tariffs affects currency
strictly adhering to the principles of the yield has decreased by only 17 basis is the demand and supply dynamics in stability and foreign investor sentiment.
Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, points during the same period, sovereign bond markets. Since many For banks, these uncertainties translate
2023. The focus must be solely on traceability indicating a limited and gradual major economies face high fiscal deficits RATE DYNAMICS. Uncertain times ISTOCK into a higher risk premium. Currency
for crime prevention, not data acquisition or pass-through of interest rate reductions and substantial debt levels, the demand volatility raises hedging costs, while
at the longer end of the yield curve. for future borrowing stays elevated. geopolitical risks reduce appetite for
surveillance. Likewise, the US Federal Reserve has Consequently, increased net issuance of funds remains high, and thus they are long-duration assets, keeping bond
reduced its policy rates by 175 basis bonds pushes up the term premium, unable to reduce their lending rates. In yields firm even in easing cycles.
points over the last 15 months. resulting in higher interest rates. fact, it adversely affects banks. Their While central banks can guide
Surprisingly, the 10-year Treasury yields Specifically for India, despite an benchmark-linked lending rates reduce short-term rates, long-term yields
POCKET: AI Now RAVIKANTH have increased by 38 basis points. This
shows a clear disconnect between
improving fiscal position, low inflation,
strong GDP growth, and long-term
in line with the lower repo rate, even
though their cost of deposits remains
remain largely driven by fiscal pressures,
inflation expectations, and geopolitical
central banks’ expectations and the interest rates remain elevated. This can high. This impacts banks’ margins. uncertainties. Globally, persistent
bond market’s actual behaviour. be attributed to tariff uncertainty, a inflation, heavy sovereign borrowing,
Why is this happening? Policy rates weakening currency, and globally high MACROECONOMIC RISKS and volatile capital flows continue to
mirror central banks’ outlook and their interest rates. Beyond demand, supply dynamics, and hold long-term yields high. In my view,
informed assessment of the economy’s What does it mean for us? It domestic factors, global macroeconomic none of these risks is likely to abate in
interest rates. Nevertheless, actual essentially means that despite the RBI’s risks have a far-reaching impact. Trade the near term; hence, long-term interest
outcomes depend on supply-demand actions, the long-term borrowing and and tariff-related uncertainties have rates in India and globally are unlikely to
dynamics, anticipated inflation, tariff lending rates remain high. High added another layer of complexity. decline in the near future.
disputes, geopolitical issues, and overall long-term bond yields imply high Ongoing tariff disputes, supply-chain
macroeconomic uncertainty, which we expected bank deposit rates. High bank realignments, and uncertainty around The writer is Chief Rating Officer & ED, CareEdge
have enough of. Central banks are deposit rates mean that banks’ cost of US trade policy, including Ratings
LETTERS TO EDITOR Send your letters by email to [email protected] or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.
For transparency restore balance between mobile take a scientific approach. The Delhi rupee's slide and raised worries Cumin acreage, a lesson
Apropos “How tax havens really help capital and sovereign revenue. government should appoint an about a vicious cycle of depreciation Apropos ‘Cumin acreage may
in raising debt” (December 13). The The challenge is not to choke access expert committee to advise the and further selling. decline ... .Subdued China demand’
widespread use of offshore hubs to to global finance but to ensure government on reusing the stubble Yet domestic investors have stepped (December 17).
issue corporate debt highlights a transparency and fairness. for productive purposes. The in robustly, pouring in record sums It is a lesson that dependence
grey zone between efficient finance K Chidanand Kumar farmers should be given reasonable into the markets. on one market for agri
and aggressive tax avoidance. For Bengaluru compensation for not burning the High valuations and US tariffs have commodities severely affects
many multinational firms, tax havens stubble. The Centre and States must driven much of this caution abroad, domestic farmers.
are no longer vaults for hidden Delhi’s deadly air put aside politics and act in sync to narrowing the gap with cheaper When domestic consumption
profits but conduits that lower This is with reference to the article solve this issue. emerging peers. cannot be increased overnight to
borrowing costs through treaty ‘Delhi’s deadly air crisis’ (December Veena Shenoy Still, with corporate earnings likely to offset subdued export to China,
benefits and interest deductions. 17). The twin issues of pollution in Thane recover and valuations now more trade agreements that India is
While such structures may be legal the Capital and stubble burning in competitive, a deft RBI approach to entering with many other smaller
and commercially rational, they neighbouring states of Punjab, FPI pull out rupee management — smoothing nations due to US tariff pressure,
steadily erode the tax base of Haryana and Rajasthan have been Apropos “Selling season”, extremes without rigid defence — must be well utilised and the
developing economies like India. debated for a long time without any (December 17).The relentless could help restore confidence and government can appoint a nodal
Regulators have responded with amicable solutions. foreign portfolio outflows this year, draw flows back . officer to oversee such issues.
GAAR and global anti avoidance Every problem has a solution if our exceeding ₹1.6 lakh crore, have M Barathi Rajiv Magal
norms, which are necessary to politicians think beyond politics and understandably deepened the Bengaluru Halekere Village (Karnataka)
Published by Nirmala Lakshman and Printed by Praveen Someshwar at HT Media Ltd. Plot No.8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P.201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT. LTD. Chennai-600002. Editor: Raghuvir Srinivasan (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRP Act). ISSN 0971 - 7528
CM A ND-NDE
YK
think . bl . 7
DELHI
businessline.
THURSDAY - DECEMBER 18 - 2025
T
here are a few things
money can’t buy, but that
IPOs a signal of
maturing market?
list is shrinking by the day.
Consider: A prison cell upgrade:
$75-127 a day. Your doctor’s
mobile no: from $1,500 p.a. The
legal right to shoot an endangered FIASCO. Fans could barely see the
black rhino: $350,000. While star DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
these examples are extreme, they SCALING UP. Exits via IPOs free up venture/PE capital,
signal a broader truth: nothing during his GOAT India Tour.
seems off the market anymore. As What they got instead was a while the secondary market absorbs stakes at prices
Michael Sandel (the creator of masterclass in VIP culture gone
Harvard’s legendary Justice wrong. Messi reportedly appeared discovered across wide demand
course) argues, the urgent for barely 20-30 minutes and was
question today is not what money engulfed by politicians,
can buy, but what it should not. dignitaries, and other VIPs. Fans ANI
who had paid ₹4,500 to ₹12,000
ETHICS AND MARKETS could barely see the star. To be disappointing, to some segment of want to hold through the business cycle. over the years scaled dramatically. Even
In a world where everything is for fair, sponsors expect access, investors, until you recall what mature The primary pipeline is also getting with periodic dips, exchange data show
sale, life becomes harder for organisers argue that proximity is markets look like. The pop narrows as broader, not just bigger. In the first half high, persistent turnover and robust
people of modest means. But the part of the package, and pricing improves and book-runners of calendar 2024 alone, 153 IPOs (38 derivative hedging tools. That depth
deeper cost is moral: once politicians claim visibility. Yet in a anchor deals with better institutional mainboard and 115 SMEs) raised about allows founders and/or PE exits to be
markets invade certain domains, city renowned for its football ABHIJEET CHANDRA participation. Lower pops mean fewer ₹34,923 crore, more than 3.5x the staged without destabilising the float.
they change not just how goods passion, proximity to power ARYANSH SINGH mis-pricings and less value left on the comparable period a year earlier. This, again, is a hallmark of a market that
are distributed, but how we value mattered more than devotion table, that is good for issuers and SME listings are crucial. They has the capacity to recycle risk
I
them. If someone pays for a from the stands. ndia’s Chief Economic Advisor long-term allocators. diversify the opportunity set and widen efficiently.
kidney, and a consenting adult is This was not just poor event (CEA) recently called out a Third, exits via IPOs are normal in the investor base beyond mega caps. A
happy to sell, the only question management. It was the triumph visible shift: many IPOs are being developed ecosystems. They free up maturing market isn’t just one where DERAILMENT OR SCALE UP?
asked is, “how much?”. Human of VIP culture over shared joy. used as exit routes for early venture/PE capital to fund the next unicorns list; it is one where the middle There are two scenarios that could
dignity is irrelevant. Markets, by Crucially, market pricing and VIP investors rather than as pure cohort, while the secondary market of the distribution can tap public capital possibly derail the maturing narrative:
design, don’t discriminate capture are distinct phenomena. engines of long-term capital formation. absorbs stakes at prices discovered without much drama, and fuss. excessive short-termism among
between noble choices and Markets sell access through price; At first glance, that sounds like mission across wide demand. India’s secondary To be sure, the CEA’s caution matters. investors and poor post-listing
questionable ones. VIP culture reallocates it through drift. Look closer, and it reads like a market has become deep enough to India still needs IPOs that fund capacity performance of major IPOs.
Economists defend markets for power, proximity, and political market growing up. shoulder that role. creation, not just shareholder transfer. If too many IPOs trade below offer
efficiency. Paying for “fast track” privilege. The Messi fiasco reveals In deep markets, IPOs are both Even on quiet months, cash market But the evidence doesn’t show a price for long stretches, it’s natural for
at airports or amusement parks a twin failure: access was first price-discovery events and orderly turnover at NSE and BSE put together crowding-out of new capital. public confidence to erode. Some of that
saves time. For Prof Sandel, the priced, and then even that transfer points. The classic textbook routinely runs in lakh-crore territory; Fund raises have been large in rupee pain is already visible.
case for “markets” over “queues” allocation was overridden. Fans argument is that IPOs serve as a ₹1.02 lakh crore average daily cash terms, pipelines are heavy, and the Recent numbers show that less than
stands on two arguments: lost twice: once to the market, and price-discovery mechanism and signals a turnover in July 2025, despite a cyclical investor mix is broadening. half of 2025’s IPOs delivered listing-day
libertarian: people should buy and again to privilege. liquid market. soft patch, signals robust ongoing Reuters’ year-to-year tallies point to gains, and many cooled subsequently.
sell freely, so long as no one’s Where all good things are At the same time, it also posits liquidity for post-listing churn. Liquidity $20.5 billion from 91 IPOs in 2024, The remedy isn’t to throttle exits.
rights are violated; and utilitarian: bought and sold, money exchange of ownership through transfer is the oxygen that makes exits via the which banks expecting 2025 to surpass It is to tighten disclosure, emphasise
markets can increase collective inevitably matters. ‘First come, of securitised instruments, usually from market possible. those levels. That is compatible with profitability paths, and calibrate offer
well-being by allocating goods to First served’ has an egalitarian venture/private equity to diversified exits and growth capital, given that the sizes. All these measures should upgrade
those who value them most. appeal precisely because it public holders. Indian capital market is LETTING BIG AND SMALL SAIL pricing is rational and disclosures are the depth of markets.
Defenders of markets might argue disregards power, privilege, and increasingly there. It is evidence of functioning secondary strong. Policy, too, can help the transition.
that pricing can also expand pockets. Queues are imperfect discipline. A 2024 SEBI study found that We believe that there are just more The CEA’s nudge is timely. Nudging
access: higher ticket prices fund too — they favour flexible SCALE, CREDENCE AND VIBES 54 per cent of IPO shares allowed to than one reason to accept this issuers to articulate use-of-proceeds
logistics, security, and scale, schedules, stamina, and Start with the scale and credence. By non-anchor investors are sold within a exit-via-IPO trend as healthy. more clearly, promoting
making large public events geography — but the inequality mid-November 2025, India has already week. You can read this as froth, or as the First, when early investors sell into anchor-to-retail transparency, and
possible. Without markets, many they encode is different. seen about 91 IPOs raising about ₹1.52 market efficiently testing and the float, their selling discipline pressing for post-listing governance will
such experiences would simply Markets allocate by willingness trillion, nearly matching the ₹1.59 reallocating shares to stronger hands. (staggered offers and lock-ups, for keep public markets from morphing into
not exist. to pay; queues by willingness to trillion raised in all of 2024. Going Over time, such churn is how ownership example) and the market’s willingness pure flipping venues.
What both arguments miss is wait. Neither is perfect but further, a pipeline of IPOs suggests 2025 migrates towards investors who truly to absorb those shares become live test In particular, ironing out the issues
that some goods are not merely willingness to pay is no better could set a new record. That’s not a sign of quality. such as, earning guidance discipline,
scarce. Attending a papal mass or measure of value than willingness of fragility; it is a sign of an ecosystem The recent moderation in pops related-party transactions, among
a concert is about more than to wait. A billionaire can pay for a confident enough to recycle capital Two scenarios could implies bankers and issuers are reading others will enhance this evolution.
access, it is about shared front-row seat to a concert they quickly. derail the narrative: books more carefully; cheap money era Needless to say that flows and volumes
experience. Turning these into barely care about, while a A second marker of maturity is habits, such as over-tight pricing, suggest a robust market is already in
commodities erodes that value. passionate fan in the back misses cooling listing-day euphoria. Average excessive short-termism momentum allocation, among others, place. That’s what mature markets look
Bruce Springsteen confronted a moment they saved months to listing gains slipped to around 9 per cent among investors and poor are fading. These are, in a way, better like, and it is where India is headed.
this trade-off in 2009. By capping afford. The Messi episode exposes in 2025 (till October), a sharp price discovery and governance signals.
ticket prices at $95 — well below a bitter truth: markets may sell comedown from the prior year. That post-listing performance of Secondly, India’s trading Abhijeet teaches Finance at IIT Kharagpur where
market rates — he left millions on access, but power still decides sounds, at the loss of a better word, major IPOs infrastructure and participation have Aryansh studied Economics major. Views are personal
the table to remain faithful to his who actually gets it. When VIP
working-class fans. Charging privilege overrides passion, public
what the market dictates would events become private
erode the communal meaning of performances funded by the many
the event.
Last week, this tension played
out in Kolkata. Thousands of
and enjoyed by the few.
T
he Bondi Beach (Sydney) they strike. population.
shoot-out last Sunday by a Also, terror attacks are no longer the The Australian Police is yet to
thehindu businessline. father-son duo that resulted in
at least 15 deaths raises questions
result of hierarchical organisations
calling the shots.
fathom reasons for this travel. It is
something like searching for a needle in
about the ability of the civilised world Motivated and insane individuals the haystack while mounting a search
TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY. to contain the madness that terrorism with a record of bigotry, irrespective of for the average terrorist. The latter has
is. Where religious hatred is their religion, can easily dodge the the incredible ability to merge with the
December 18, 2005 overwhelming and where authorities and carry out lethal strikes community and surface only when
over-indoctrinated strikers who are at innocent congregations. TERRORISM. No magic wand to mounting an action.
Ranbaxy loses Lipitor case willing to sacrifice their lives are contain the scourge REUTERS This is true of the father-son
In yet another setback to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, the US District Court of involved, there is precious little SAVAGE ATTACK combination of Sydney. When they did
Delaware ruled that the generic company’s product infringes the two patents government security outfits can do. It is the recklessness and hatred of to be confirmed. I may sound cynical act they were daring, ruthless and
covering Pfizer Inc’s cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor. This follows a ruling in We erroneously tend to conflate individuals that is causing more when I say that even the best of professional. We do not know what
October by a UK High Court delaying an early launch of atorvastatin (generic) alertness with efficiency and public damage to the community than antiterror outfits cannot normally kind of planning they did. It was
in that market. safety. No security agency however directives from well-organised outfits prevent an attack. This is despite the possibly within the family.
well trained and equipped can like al Qaeda, ISIS and a host of other fact that we do not know how many What stands out eventually is the
EU proposes deadline for farm subsidies anticipate and frustrate terror all the organisations. Bondi Beach was the plans have been nipped in the bud. growing anti-Semitism in the world. An
The European Union and some of the world’s poorest nations raised the stakes time. A failure is more often the case. most savage attack in the recent past Agencies need enormous luck and average Israeli will increasingly
as efforts to push forward troubled global free trade talks entered their final Fortunately India's record of that was motivated by the crudest perseverance to unravel plans of shudder travel to any part of the world.
stretch. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) warned they could “walk away” outwitting terrorists has been religious antipathy. ruthless elements to strike. Is this the kind of world that we want to
from the talks if their demands for duty-free, quota-free access to rich encouraging, barring a few aberrations Unchecked, this hatred is likely to When this is the backdrop, how can live in?
countries were not met. ld not cross. like Pahalgam and Red Fort. I believe spawn, affecting other religions as well. we berate our agencies whenever they This is the debate that should
public awareness and cooperation have India fortunately does not have a fail. dominate discussions in many forums.
Pawar rules out FMC-SEBI merger been a contributing factor; we need to sizeable Jewish population that could Terrorists have several huge
Putting an end to all speculation on having a single regulator for both avoid complacency, though. be a target of religious madness. advantages over government outfits. The writer, a former CBI Director, is presently
commodities and securities markets by merging FMC with SEBI, the There is no magic wand to contain It is rumoured that the two from First is supreme mobility, to travel Professor of Criminal Justice at the Jindal Global
Government has decided to retain Forward Market Commission (FMC) as the the scourge. Democratic nations are Sydney had links to the ISIS. This is yet across continents. One of the Sydney University, Sonepat (Haryana)
sole regulator for the commodity futures markets in India.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 18, 2025 OPINION 08
Editor’s
TAKE The uncertain geometry of relationships
A strategic embrace Relationships rarely follow a straight line. They move through phases of deep intimacy and unsettling distance, moments
in Addis Ababa when minds seem to think in unison and others when trust quietly erodes
Upgrading bilateral ties to a strategic partnership
signals New Delhi’s intent to deepen cooperatiowith
a African nation of the Global South VINAYSHIL
GAUTAM
In recent years, India has emerged as a powerful voice of the
Global South. The G20 Summit in Delhi further cemented its
Any relationships of a close bond—say
position as a leader keen on taking up issues concerning between parents and children; among siblings;
developing countries and forging lasting ties with nations in between married couples; childhood friends
Africa and Asia that form the bulk of the Global South. In who have grown up together, and more—have
keeping with India’s policy of cooperation with these countries, predictable patterns of intimacy, aloofness,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first-ever visit to Ethiopia marks and so on. There are patches of time where
the intimacy is so strong that thought process-
a significant diplomatic milestone.
es almost run parallel and overlap. It leads to
The most important takeaway from the visit is the elevation of intimacies and togetherness—a kind of
India–Ethiopia relations to a strategic partnership, backed by bonding which gives meaning not only to life
multiple agreements. These agreements clearly signal strong but also to the understanding of relationships.
political intent translating into concrete developmental While it lasts, it is like a roller-coaster ride, and
priorities. The personal rapport between the two leaders was it almost appears timeless.
But then, as time passes, experiences vary,
another highlight that received media attention, and rightly so. and people no longer trust each other the way
Prime Minister Modi’s bilateral meeting with Ethiopian Prime they did not so long ago. There are many
Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali offered clear evidence of the growing reasons why this could happen, and one of the
bond between the two countries. The emphasis on cooperation commonest is the entry of another figure who
in areas such as the economy, technology, defence, health, responds more closely to a person’s felt
capacity building, and multilateral engagement points to a needs or aspirations. The entry of a third figure
affects many direct relationships and some-
relationship that is moving beyond traditional goodwill towards times may even be as close as sibling relation-
long-term collaboration. Modi’s assertion that the partnership ships or conjugal relationships. Hence, an
would bring “new energy, new momentum and new depth” important takeaway is the ability of relation-
reflects an ambition to institutionalise cooperation. The ships to jointly handle a third person’s involve-
conferment of Ethiopia’s highest civilian honour—the Great ment with caution, care, and foresight. fully emerge. Interestingly enough, men Unfortunately, the present state of research
Honor Nishan of Ethiopia — on Modi was a powerful diplomatic This is difficult because emotions are also pass through menopausal influences, and knowledge does not do more, and one
involved, and one’s needs change. A
RELATIONSHIPS but literature on this is less common. In the has to deal with the facts of the case as they
signal. The warm welcome accorded to Modi, with Abiy Ahmed husband–wife relationship can typically be ARE AN case of men, this is less studied than in are. There is an expression in this statement:
personally receiving him at the airport and accompanying him affected, one way or another, by the birth of IMPORTANT women. “the truth is often stranger than fiction”.
to public engagements points to personal bonding. a child or even life experiences from the family COMPONENT OF In case both parties in a relationship are All this can be a fitting subject matter for
A key highlight of the visit was India’s decision to double background of one or both partners. EXISTENCE, AND going through the influence of menopausal research into personality and the coping
scholarships for Ethiopian students. This move is likely to further If this can happen in the intimacies of a hormonal changes, then the relationship is options which an individual is capable of
direct relationship, how much more so would THE SOONER ONE bound to be affected, and the effect can often mastering.
strengthen India’s standing in Ethiopia and deepen people-to- SUCCEEDS IN
it happen in a distant relationship, where be more unpredictable, without Many a time, proverbs sum
people ties. Education and training have long underpinned people have met not in a natural bonding but GIVING THEM any research validation to which up generations of experience
India’s soft power, and expanding these avenues creates casually, over work or even a location? one can refer. Thus, relationships and can be quite illuminating.
HIGHER
connections that endure beyond political cycles. The broader All put together, the arithmetic or calculus are very often like fiddling with However, proverbs are some-
of this law has eluded many attempts at devel-
PREDICTABILITY wires in the dark. The results and times contradictory, and illus-
framing of both nations as “democratic powers” and “fellow
oping a pattern or even predictability. THAN AT consequences are not always trations would help to explain.
travellers of the Global South” is equally noteworthy,
positioning the partnership within a shared worldview that Operationally, therefore, it becomes a PRESENT, THE pleasant or, for that matter, predictable. It There is a statement, “look before you leap”,
matter of insights into the basic characteris- EASIER LIFE is amusing to notice that in spite of so much and an equally powerful statement, “he
emphasises development, strategic autonomy, and reform of tics of human beings as such, rather than as drumming up about artificial intelligence, who hesitates is lost”. Which of these two
global governance institutions. COULD BE FOR
individuals. these issues have not even begun to be statements is closer to the truth?
India also found in Ethiopia another African partner that It would seem obvious that people seek rela- ALL capped, let alone approached. Similarly, there is the statement, “two
shares concerns over terrorism. Ethiopia’s support and tionships to suit their fundamental needs of While it is easy to identify scientific break- heads are better than one”, and another, “too
condolences following the Pahalgam terror attack reinforce living, loving, and progressing; each one throughs or new expressions of modelling many cooks spoil the broth”. Which of these
wants happiness, appreciation, and depend- product design or even work design, reflec- statements is true? Similar other examples
counter-terrorism as an area of shared concern.
ability. How one offers this to another person tions on emotional crests and troughs are can be given, but enough has been said to
Moving on, the Ethiopia leg of Modi’s tour followed a is a matter not only of chance but also of the few and far between. Thus, the true area of point out the limitations of folk wisdom rep-
The writer is an
productive visit to Jordan, where five MoUs were signed, physical state and condition of the person. internationally acclaimed manifestation of one’s efforts needs more resented through popular statements.
underscoring India’s expanding outreach to West Asia and It is commonplace to realise that hormon- management consultant attention than perhaps many other things. Clearly, the time is ripe to create a research
Africa, yet another frontier of Global South. Taken together, al balances create behavioural overtones, and This is because emotions determine the basic agenda on relationships and slowly bring
these visits illustrate India’s effort to weave economic at times very distinctive and identifiable dailypioneer orientation of a person and how they relate greater light to the grey areas of networking,
ones. An obvious occasion for the manifesta- to another worker or even, for that matter, which indeed affect everyone’s existence. A
cooperation, cultural diplomacy, and strategic interests into a @VinayshilG
tion of hormonal impacts is menopause. a machine of the times. beginning has to be marked somewhere.
cohesive foreign policy. India sees Ethiopia as a political Formal literature on the effects of menopause vinayshil-gautam- Guidance or orientation, therefore, Relationships are an important component
gateway to Africa and a fast-growing economic partner, while has been widely researched in women. 3488128 becomes a challenge, and much ill-informed of existence, and the sooner one succeeds
Ethiopia views India as a dependable development ally without However, a reliable pattern identified consen- behaviour takes the place of informed guid- in giving them higher predictability than at
a hidden agenda. The ties can only grow stronger with time. sually under menopausal influence has still to ance, let alone directive guidance. present, the easier life could be for all.
PIC TALK When Gen Z dials: The unlikely return of the landline
relentless taskmasters. Notifications bark for attention, the landline revival is no exception. Pastel rotary
applications beg to be opened, and algorithms observe phones, translucent plastic models from the 1990s, and
with the vigilance of an overzealous invigilator. sculptural retro designs now adorn minimalist apart-
A 2024 Deloitte Digital Wellness Report revealed that ments and artisanal cafés. Interior designers speak of
nearly half of Gen Z respondents felt overwhelmed by a growing appetite for “retro corners”, spaces where
SHAINY constant alerts, with many actively exper- nostalgia is staged but the yearning
imenting with digital detoxes. Like the beneath it is sincere. These phones photo-
SHARMA prodigal child returning home, this gener- graph beautifully, nestled beside house-
ation appears to be rediscovering a simple plants and beverages whose prices could
2 ND OPINION
THE PIONEER
truth: when everything demands attention,
silence becomes a luxury. The landline,
blissfully indifferent to applications, updates, and ana-
lytics, offers exactly that.
fund a small nation. What was once obso-
lete has become desirable the moment it
stopped trying to keep up.
Yet beneath the décor lies a deeper cultural unease.
It is a truth universally acknowledged — though rarely There is something almost poetic about a device that The rise of artificial intelligence and algorithm-driven
admitted aloud — that the generation born with a smart- does only one thing — and does it unapologetically. A content has sparked quiet anxiety, with studies
phone almost fused to its palm is now, quietly and with landline rings; you answer, you speak, you hang up. There showing that many Gen Z students worry about
a hint of mischief, placing a landline on its coffee table. is no doom-scrolling spiral, no accidental plunge into unseen forces shaping their preferences. Choosing a
Buddhist monks play the shehnai during the ‘Kagyu Monlam’ prayer ceremony at Yes, the same landline once confined to grandparents’ conspiracy videos at 2 am., no fitness app quietly landline, then, is more than nostalgia; it is a subtle rebel-
the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. homes, complete with coiled cords, dramatic rings, and judging your life choices. The physical act of replacing lion. Being unreachable, even briefly, has become an
PHOTO: PTI
the uncanny habit of dying during thunderstorms. the receiver creates a sense of closure no touchscreen assertion of autonomy. Sociologists read this as resis-
In 2025, this technological relic is enjoying an unlike- can replicate. tance to a world engineered for distraction. In slowing
DIGITAL EXPERIENCE ly renaissance, embraced by Gen Z with equal parts irony
and intent. When history repeats itself, it seems, it does
As one Gen Z user observed in a recent cultural
feature, once the handset goes down, the world truly
communication, the landline restores something pre-
cious: the space to breathe, to listen, and occasional-
www.dailypioneer.com not ask permission; it simply rings. stops buzzing. Proverbs may evolve, but the old ly, to think. Sometimes, to move forward wisely, one must
At the heart of this revival lies a profound fatigue with wisdom remains intact: too many cooks spoil the broth, dare to dial back — quite literally.
facebook.com/dailypioneer @TheDailyPioneer hyper-connectivity. Smartphones, once hailed as tools and too many apps certainly spoil the mind. Naturally,
The writer is an educator
instagram.com/dailypioneer linkedin.com/in/The Pioneer of freedom and empowerment, have evolved into Gen Z does nothing without an eye for aesthetics, and
Editorial Delhi
T
he Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar between citizenship and territory, causing a Varghese K. about 22% of the population foreign-born. migrant-receiving States — as opposed to Bihar,
and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G conceptual drift. Neither governments nor George Australia stands out, with around 31%-32% of its which is a net migrant-sending State, has different
RAM G Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha on political parties are fully equipped to deal with population born overseas. Immigration is among political implications for national politics.
Tuesday to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National this, and what we see around the world is public the top three issues for voters in most developed Changes in population composition affect
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), angst that is being harnessed for mobilisation countries in 2025, though its intensity as a politics, and an example is Mumbai, where
deserves to be rejected for more than one reason. against recent immigrants, mass deportations concern has reduced a bit. Marathi speakers now constitute less than 40%,
What is sought to be changed is not only the no- and efforts to clean up voter lists. Governments want to regulate and manage the while Hindi speakers are around 30%. The
menclature but also the fundamental character In India, the Election Commission of India flow of people. India wants to ‘export human nativist politics of the Shiv Sena has been
of the existing Scheme (MGNREGS). This marks (ECI) is undertaking a Special Intensive Revision resources’, a euphemism for sending more decimated; parties now routinely field
yet another attempt by the BJP-led government at (SIR) of the electoral rolls. Pushing back against people abroad for jobs. Rich countries that need Hindi-speaking candidates in elections. In 2001,
the Centre to reduce the size of the development challenges to the move, the ECI told the Supreme young workers are increasingly not wanting them 31% of India’s population were migrants and by
space to States. The only plausible reason for the Court of India: “Rapid urbanisation and frequent to stay on and claim citizenship, but to leave after 2011, this proportion had increased to 38%.
name change is the fact that the BJP’s ideological migration of population from one place to a certain number of years. Returning migrants Two-thirds of these migrants are women, due to
master, the RSS, had strong differences with another on account of education, livelihood and will bring back new social and political attitudes. marriage. Men, who make up the remaining
Gandhi. The use of Gandhi’s name in the 20-year- other reasons have become a regular trend. Some In their host countries, they will form a labour third, tend to move farther and largely for
old scheme signifies the link to his Gram Swaraj electors obtain registration in one place and then class without political rights — as with H-1B economic reasons. Census 2027 will capture the
concept that gives importance to democratic de- shift their residence and register themselves at workers in the U.S., though they have a distant enormity of this movement of people after nearly
centralisation. But the new Bill, by making the another place without getting their names pathway to citizenship. The Gulf Cooperation two decades.
Union government virtually the sole decision deleted from the electoral roll of the initial place Council (GCC) countries and Singapore have Migrating people carry attitudes, values,
maker in the proposed law, will not make any of residence. This has led to an increased created a category of workers without any stories and belief systems. The White House now
positive contribution in this direction. Suppor- possibility of repeated entries in the electoral roll. political identity, and developed countries are celebrates Deepavali — a practice that began in
ters of the government point out that the increase Thus, the ECI came to the conclusion that the now looking at temporary workers on similar 2003. It was through migration that Vedic
in the days of work to 125 in a year is a major be- situation warrants the conduct of a pan-India SIR lines. practices spread from the Aryavarta
nefit for people in rural India. But, the data, on beginning with the State of Bihar.” There are about 35.4 million region of the epics to its eastern and
employment given to households under the Under President Donald Trump, the United Overseas Indians (people of Indian peninsular frontiers, mixing with
MGNREGS, reveal that it was only during 2020-21, States Department of Justice asked all 50 States to origin); 15.8 million of them are pre-existing lore and expanding the
the COVID-19 pandemic year, that 9.5% (nearly hand over their full voter registration databases, Indian citizens, and 19.6 million are cultural universe that would later be
7.2 million) of households actually worked for arguing that access to complete electoral rolls was persons of Indian origin. Under the called Hinduism. Languages move
100 days. Over the last two years, only around 7% necessary to enforce federal election laws. The Representation of the People with migrating people. Historically,
of families could get the full quota. move triggered resistance from several States. (Amendment) Act, 2010, Indian it has been a case of more men than
By calling the VB-G RAM G “a centrally spon- This push coincided with a sweeping executive citizens living abroad can enrol and exercise their women who migrated, and migrating men met
sored scheme”, the Union government has done order signed by Mr. Trump to reshape federal franchise in their place of residence in India as native women; the languages we speak today
away with the special status that the MGNREGS election procedures, including a requirement for mentioned in their passport. A petition before the reflect this, Peggy Mohan argues in Father
had enjoyed, wherein it had been absorbing the documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a Supreme Court argues that they should be able to Tongue, Motherland
entire cost of wages payment for unskilled ma- passport or birth certificate — measures vote remotely. The petitioner contends that the
nual labour. In the proposed scheme, the fund- supporters say strengthen election integrity, but 2010 amendment shortchanges non-resident Birthright citizenship
sharing pattern between the Centre and States which critics warn could undermine State Indians by granting them the right to vote on the Moving people is now challenging even the idea
generally would be 60:40. A benefit of the exist- autonomy and restrict voter access. Around 22 one hand, while requiring them to be physically of birthright citizenship in countries where it
ing scheme was that rural wages have gone up million-24 million non-citizens are in the U.S. present in India to actually exercise that right. once existed unquestioned. The Trump
sharply. The finances of States are not in a robust legally; estimates of undocumented residents administration is trying to overturn a long-held
condition and there are apprehensions about the vary but run into the millions. In India and the Policies and migration interpretation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S.
likely impact of the restructuring of the GST. Be- U.S., the notion of alien voters influencing politics Indian government policies have also encouraged Constitution that all those born in the U.S. are
sides, when direct cash transfer schemes are in- is strong. migration from rural to urban areas and to eligible for citizenship. Until recently, an
creasingly being viewed as a political game chan- specific regions such as Kashmir. In 2020, the estimated 30,000 people were travelling to the
ger, it is an open secret that not many States will A rise in those moving out rules for domicile in Jammu and Kashmir were U.S. annually to give birth, and there were tour
be keen on participating in the fresh scheme. Though the proportion of international migrants relaxed, allowing non-locals — such as companies that made this a business model. A
More importantly, the soul of the current law — a in the world’s population has remained broadly government officials posted for 10 years, 2015 law made it legal for people to seek visas for
bottom up demand-based scheme — has been ta- stable over the decades, the absolute number of residents for 15 years, and students for seven giving birth in the U.S., but in 2020, with the rise
ken away. What has been proposed is a supply- migrants has grown rapidly. Migrants as a years — to obtain domicile status, with access to of Trump-era nativism, this was withdrawn.
driven framework wherein allocations will be proportion of the global population may have
The Special jobs and property. While critics argue that these India, through a change in its citizenship law, has
capped, as decided by the Union government. Al- increased by only about one percentage point Intensive changes are intended to alter the region’s barred children born to an illegal immigrant from
so, States will have to bear any excess expendi- since 1960 according to most estimates. But the Revision of the demographic composition, the government acquiring citizenship by birth.
ture, which is a new feature. Tamil Nadu and Ker- number of people living outside their country of electoral rolls, maintains that they are meant to facilitate Moving people moves the history of
ala have opposed the Bill citing an undermining birth has expanded dramatically — from about Census 2027 development and integration. humankind. Moving people is remaking the
of States’ interests. A feature of the Bill, which is 154 million in 1990 to over 300 million by and Within national boundaries, there are other politics of India. These changes will become
meant to ensure that work does not clash with mid-2024 — nearly doubling in just three decades borders, and migrations across them have visible through the Census, the SIR, and then
delimitation
farm work during sowing/harvesting, may be in- and rising faster than the overall global political and governance consequences. Domicile delimitation, which will redistribute Lok Sabha
cluded explicitly in the MGNREGS, after consulta- population growth.
will sharpen laws restrict access to many streams of education representation across State borders for the first
tions with States. Howsoever passionately Minis- In western countries, nativist populism is the migrant and jobs to natives of a particular State or region. time in half a century.
ter for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan linked to the rise in the proportion of imprint on The most significant implication of movement
may say that the new law is in line with Gandhi’s foreign-born residents. In the U.S., about 14%-15% Indian politics within the country’s borders concerns voting [email protected]
sentiments, good governance, which is the goal
of the idea of Ram Rajya, does not become a real-
ity without diffused grassroots democracy — a
condition neither sought to be promoted nor
nourished by the proposed legislation.
The changing patterns of India’s student migration
Rearguard action
I
ndia’s latest wave of student migration marks approximately only one in four Indian low-wage unskilled jobs, often juggling multiple
a decisive shift that is no longer confined to postgraduates in the U.K. secures a sponsored part-time jobs, sometimes undocumented, to
India needs year-round action to tackle elite universities or programmes that are skilled visa. work longer hours, and facing exploitation.
fallout of change in weather fully funded. Today’s migration is characterised Student migration from India represents a Restrictive visa rules, limited post-study
by self-financed education where middle-class middle-class aspiration with significant risks. employment options and a lack of placement
T
he fog season has commenced in India,
kickstarting the annual cycle of adversity, households invest heavily in the promise of a Kerala, historically defined by Gulf labour support from low-ranked colleges exacerbate this
accidents and chaos in northern India. global degree and upward social mobility. In Ginu Zacharia migration, illustrates this transformation as the downward mobility. For instance, until 2024, the
The spike in particulate matter pollution after Ministry of External Affairs data, more than 13.2 Oommen Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2023 reports that U.K. allowed students to convert student visas
monsoon winds, and how it lays bare the year- lakh Indian students were enrolled in over 70 is Chairperson , student migration doubled in five years, from 1.29 into care visas, offering a survival route in a tight
round unmitigated pollution — now characteris- countries by 2023, which rose to 13.35 lakh in Kerala State Food lakh in 2018 to 2.5 lakh in 2023, which is 11.3% of job market, but this pathway has since become
tic of not only Delhi, its surrounding capital re- 2024, and projected to reach 13.8 lakh in 2025. Commission total emigrants. Outward student remittances impossible due to new restrictions.
gions and vast swathes of the Indo-Gangetic India is one of the top senders of international from Kerala are estimated at ₹43,378 crore,
plains but, increasingly, even Mumbai, Kolkata students, with the United States and Canada as equivalent to about 20% of total inward The local context
and mushrooming urban clusters — is well the top destinations (40%), followed by the remittances from labour migrants. This outflow of students needs to be understood
known. Fog, which results from the fall in tem- United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. This within the domestic context that is driving it. Is it
peratures and an accumulation of moisture close significant development is reflected in the report Reverse remittance the perceived lack of quality in domestic
to the ground, is also accompanied by air quality of the Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of Most students migrate through self-financing or institutions or an inability to find well-paid
nose-diving. The air quality index (AQI) — that Indian Diaspora (2022) which engages with education loans, often mortgaging family domestic employment? With foreign universities
anyway hovers in the danger zones of 300-400 or students as one of India’s major diaspora Anu Abraham property, with the hope of better establishing offshore campuses in
‘very poor’ air — breaks through into the worst categories. employment and higher wages that Dubai, Singapore, and other
is Senior Researcher, would repay debts and enable destinations offering western
categories of ‘severe’ and ‘severe+’ (400+) trigger-
The true picture Peace Research higher living standards. However, degrees at lower costs, it is telling
ing extended waves of panic among citizens al- Institute Oslo (PRIO)
ready besieged by poor quality air. Fog does not While all this is seen by some as a for many, this journey ends in debt, that Indian students rarely choose
necessarily increase the toxicity of the air, which democratisation of foreign education, with doors underemployment or forced return, them. The reason is more
is anyway beyond permissible limits, but brings opening to students from different a phenomenon that economists structural. For many, studying in
in additional catastrophes from poor visibility. So socio-economic classes, the reality is more describe as reverse remittances, OECD countries is not only about
far, at least 25 people have been killed and 59 in- complex. Many of these students are channelled where Indian households subsidise foreign education but about permanent residency, social
jured in fog-linked road accidents across Uttar into lower-tier institutions and vocational economies. mobility and an escape from a third world
Pradesh, with the worst tragedy unfolding on the colleges, into courses often unrelated to their Foreign students contribute significantly to identity.
Yamuna Expressway in Mathura, where a multi- expertise and without much job prospects, due to host economies. In Canada, international Ironically, this wave of student migration has
vehicle pile-up turned into an inferno. Airline op- recruitment agencies that operate in a grey legal students contributed about $30.9 billion to GDP also created a new form of cheap labour for
erations are in disarray in Delhi as 228 flights, in- zone. The partnership between recruitment in 2022, supporting over 3,61,000 jobs. In 2023, OECD countries, akin to Gulf labour migration
networks and less credible private colleges The rapid Canada hosted over 4,27,000 Indian students, except that it is now accompanied by reverse
cluding 131 departures and 97 arrivals, were can-
abroad is driven primarily by commissions and expansion of which is roughly 45% of international enrolments. remittances often financed through savings and
celled and hundreds delayed on Monday.
The plummeting AQI saw emergency-level res- profit, reflecting the largely unregulated Indian student In the U.S., roughly 4,00,000 Indian students, in debt.
trictions, called GRAP-4, come into effect in Delhi expansion of the foreign education industry. migration points 2024, spent an estimated $7 billion-$8 billion This rapid expansion of Indian student
— it bans construction and demolition activities, The outcome is widespread deskilling and to annually on tuition, housing and living costs, migration exposes deep systemic contradictions
pushes schools online and restricts the kinds of underemployment, with many graduates unable contradictions sustaining universities and local economies. between aspiration and outcome, and between
vehicles that can ply. On top of this, the Delhi go- to transition into skilled work. In the U.K., what Across destinations, students shoulder opportunity and exploitation, resulting in a
between
vernment delivered a vacuous threat that vehi- were once polytechnics have become universities substantial financial burdens, sometimes to the phenomenon that can be described as brain
post 1992 that cater primarily to international aspiration and tune of ₹40 lakh-₹50 lakh, to finance studies waste. It calls for stronger regulation of education
cles without a pollution under control certificate
students, sometimes waiving entry requirements outcome, and abroad. Rising rents, restricted working hours, agents, pre-departure counselling, and bilateral
would be denied fuel at refuelling stations, and
those that did not comply with Bharat Stage-6 and triggering controversy due to declining opportunity and visa caps exacerbate financial and mental frameworks to ensure institutional accountability
emission norms would be barred from entering academic standards. Reports suggest that and exploitation strains. Unable to find skilled work, many take up abroad.
city limits. This does not account for the fact that
it is the residual emissions that are unabated in
the capital region, trapped by moisture, that de- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
presses the index. The Centre announces a spate
of ‘meetings’ that do little other than regurgitate Contentious move scheme, named after the burden of States is the first While the objectives of VB-G guarantee and make the opportunities in villages.
exhortations that are unheeded. This is the time The move by the Centre to greatest icon of our step that would lead to the RAM G sound good, the scheme less accessible to Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,
that the Commission for Air Quality Manage- change the name of the freedom movement? breakdown of the scheme. mechanisms chosen to the rural poor. It is a fact Hyderabad
ment, an empowered body, must stress its inde- rural employment scheme, Increasing the number of The Centre can initiate new achieve them (capped that India has witnessed a Letters emailed to
pendence and take year-round action to ensure MGNREGA, to VB-G RAM G is man days, from 100 to 125, welfare schemes. funding, increased State gradual rise in [email protected]
that whatever the weather, Delhi’s AQI stays be- jarring. Where is the need to is a smokescreen. S.V. Venkatakrishnan, burden, central control) will rural-to-urban migration must carry the full postal
low 350. change the name of the Increasing the financial Coimbatore practically dilute the legal due to a lack of address.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
Thursday, December 18, 2025 7
Delhi
Opinion
Overseas Bill betrays migrant workers A summit that rose beyond optics
The Telangana Rising Summit outlines the Congress government’s Vision 2047
I
n the shadow of India’s women and children; the new one digital Wild West where fake jobs
economic ascent, millions of dilutes this to a vapid nod towards lure the desperate via WhatsApp
its citizens — predominantly “vulnerable classes,” a catch-all scams, goes unmentioned. showcasing its proposed Bha-
from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, that invites judicial foot-dragging. Reintegration, that fragile STATE OF PLAY rat Future City, which is even-
and Kerala — embark on perilous The Bill’s silence on human bridge home, fares no better. The tually expected to span
journeys abroad, chasing the trafficking leaves a yawning Bill murmurs of “safe return” but N. Ravi Kumar 30,000 acres and form an in-
mirage of dignity through sweat Rejimon chasm. Labour migrants are not skimps on funds for vocational [email protected] tegral part of a three-tier deve-
and sacrifice. Kuttappan statistics; they are sons and training or trauma counselling, lopment model for Telangana.
F
These are India’s labour is a labour migration daughters, dispatched to high-risk cynically excluding deportees or the Revanth Reddy- Many of the projects for which
migrants: construction workers expert corridors, where exploitation is within 182 days as led Congress govern- MoUs were signed are to be
scaling Gulf skyscrapers, domestic not an aberration but non-“returnees.” ment, the Telangana grounded there. Interestingly,
helpers scrubbing floors in Arab architecture. By scrubbing these This centralised colossus Rising Summit earlier this in a State where protests over
mansions, factory hands safeguards, the Bill does not compounds the cruelty, erecting a month was the first major land acquisition have been
assembling gadgets in Southeast facilitate mobility — it fertilises the Delhi-dominated edifice that ground-up event of its kind common, but where land has
Asian sweatshops. They remit soil for modern-day slavery. sidelines the federal mosaic where since coming to power two ed some of its poll promises, yielded manifold returns for
billions, fuelling families back Exploitation’s machinery hums migration pulses. States such as years ago. Keenly watched, it especially the popular free speculators and investors in a
home and propping up a gross on unchecked, too, as the Bill guts Kerala, with its migrant-sending was as important for the un- bus scheme for women, even short span on the back of ra-
domestic product that aspires to anti-predation tools that once kept savvy, or Uttar Pradesh, cradle of derlying message it sought to as delegations led by Mr. Red- pid development and growing
superpower status. Yet, as the recruitment agencies in line. Gone the exodus, get no seat at the convey as for the optics. dy to Davos, the U.S., and demand, the Future City did
Overseas Mobility (Facilitation is the 2021 mandate for Overseas Mobility Council’s table, Everything about it was South Korea helped garner in- not find opposition. It is possi-
and Welfare) Bill, 2025, wends its transparent fee disclosure, the nor do trade unions or rights new: the ambitious Telangana vestment commitments for bly because realty is a com-
way through the Indian very dam against the flood of debt groups. Vision 2047 document for new projects. mon denominator and cuts
Parliament, it stands not as a bondage that drowns migrants State Nodal Committees, which it served as a launch The Telangana Rising Sum- ice across ideologies, given
shield for these foot soldiers of before they even board the flight. grassroots sentinels in the 2021 vehicle, the wide-ranging dis- mit thus provided an oppor- how the credit for the deve-
globalisation, but as a conveyor Today, a worker from rural draft, evaporate under centrally cussions, and the choice of the tunity for the Chief Minister to lopment of Cyberabad or IT
belt accelerating their slide into Bihar might fork over lakhs to a anointed officers. Crises brew proposed Bharat Future City elaborate on his government’s hub of Hyderabad is sought to
exploitation. shadowy agent for a locally — family pleas as the venue. Though Chief plans to make the State a $1 be cornered by politicians.
This legislation, billed as a sleek “guaranteed” job in in Lucknow, hospital Minister A. Revanth Reddy trillion economy by 2034 and If there was any opposition,
upgrade to the 1983 Emigration Riyadh, only to vigils in Thrissur — sought to avoid any political a $3 trillion economy by 2047. it was nothing beyond mur-
Act, is a Trojan horse of arrive facing a yet solutions gestate connotation by declaring in The government made the murs. While the BJP State lea-
deregulation dressed in the garb of substituted contract in air-conditioned the run-up that the two-day most by unveiling the Vision dership described the Summit
efficiency. It promises “facilitation” at half the pay — if isolation. Penalties, event would be an economic document — the pathway with as an attempt to whitewash
but delivers fragility, prioritising he arrives at all. meanwhile, limp: summit and by personally in- inclusive growth as its core. the government’s failures, a
bureaucratic streamlining over the The Bill’s “accreditation” recruitment rackets fined, but viting Prime Minister Naren- Ministers spelt out the broad BRS leader dismissed it as a
blood-and-bone realities of system for agencies invites a traffickers and overseas tyrants dra Modi, the link was not ea- outline, discussing both op- road to a real estate venture,
migrant workers. If passed carnival of crooks. Emigration are untouched. sy to miss. Comments from portunities and challenges for and another from the party
unamended, it will etch deeper Check Posts vanish in favour of Opposition leaders in the State their departments. While the used the occasion to recall the
scars into India’s global workforce. digital nods — convenient for Time to act only helped generate more Chief Minister stressed the its 10-year rule and how it
Delhi’s desks, catastrophic for the India’s labour migrants are not public attention. larger picture, unveiled the Vi- serves as the foundation for
Key issues worker signing away his life in a expendable exports; they are the Neither Mr. Reddy nor his sion document and presided the present level of interest.
At its core, the Bill eviscerates back-alley deal. sinew of a nation that preens on government, however, is new over MoU signings, the em- No one, however, opposed the
enforceable rights that could Once abroad, the betrayal their remittances while pocketing to challenges. It was not just li- phasis on team effort also sent Bharat Future City. Given the
anchor labour migrants against deepens. The 2021 vision held their perils. The 2025 Bill will mited to politics; the State ad- a clear message about who broad-based development
the tempests of abuse. The 2021 agencies responsible for reception, turbocharge this inequity. ministration encountered op- was in the driver’s seat. proposed, the long gestation,
draft, for all its flaws, at least dispute mediation, and document Parliament must intervene, position to land acquisition, The staggering cumulative and the need for policy conti-
envisioned migrants as agents of renewals. Now, these duties reinstate self-advocacy rights, was rapped on the knuckles investment commitments re- nuity, it is anyone’s guess as to
their fate — empowering them to dissolve into “functions” for mandate fee transparency and when it tried to dispose of 400 ceived from a number of com- how it will shape. The Hydera-
haul exploiters into court with government bodies, overburdened post-arrival safeguards, federalise acres of prime land near Hyd- panies added value to what bad Pharma City project,
their own hands. The 2025 and under-resourced. governance with civil society’s erabad, and grappled with a might otherwise have been which derailed after a change
version yanks that lifeline away, The legislation, The Integrated Information roar, and arm penalties with resource crunch while trying seen as a two-year-in-govern- in leadership, is a case in
consigning workers to the whims billed as a sleek System, touted as tech-savvy compensation claws. Define to move fast on big-ticket pro- ment celebration. Though it is point, with the Congress go-
of indifferent state machinery. upgrade to the salvation, morphs instead into a trafficking, broaden “work” to jects, be it Metro Rail expan- common knowledge that vernment deciding to use land
Worse still, the Bill abandons 1983 Emigration surveillance spectre, hoovering embrace gig frontiers, and fund sion or the Musi River rejuve- MoUs and letters of intent take acquired by the BRS for that
the most vulnerable flanks of the Act, is a Trojan migrant data without consent. reintegration that rebuilds lives. nation. A proposal to raise time to fructify, the commit- project for the Future City
migrant army. Labour migration is horse of Who benefits? Not the worker The hour demands not reservations for Backward ments worth ₹5.75 lakh crore instead.
a gendered battlefield, with phoning home in desperation, but facilitation, but fortification. For Castes in local bodies also ran on projects across diverse sec- The Summit thus was a fo-
women bearing the brunt of deregulation the state logging his every move — these workers, whose hands build into legal hurdles. tors could not be ignored. rum for the government to
trafficking and sexual violence. dressed in while foreign bosses, spared empires abroad and homes The two years were not The most significant state- take stock and live up to the ta-
The 2021 draft imposed heftier the garb of direct penalties, laugh from afar. within, anything short is not without their share of highs. ment the government made gline “Telangana means busi-
penalties for crimes against efficiency Illicit online recruitment, the reform — it is rupture. The dispensation implement- through the Summit was by ness”.
Record-high number of Indians deported from U.S. in 2025 FROM THE A RCHIVES
Concern and distaste for deportations have increased among Democrats and Republicans
FIFTY YEARS AGO DECEMBER 18, 1975
DATA POINT
who feel Donald Trump is over- Sarees export in 1974-75
stepping, a considerably high
share of them continue to believe New Delhi, December 17: India’s exports trade in
The Hindu Data Team that all immigrants living illegally sarees amounted to a little over Rs. 7.5 crores in
in the country should be deported 1974-75
I
n 2025, 3,258 Indian nationals (Chart 3). White Republicans were The saree has found a permanent place in
were deported by the United the racial group with the highest many a feminine wardrobe abroad despite
States to India, the highest an- share of respondents who believed climatic differences and surprising range of
nual figure since at least 2009. the same. About 40% Asian Repu- fashion trends.
Concurrently, more than half of blicans shared the same beliefs. Cotton sarees constitute the major area of
surveyed Americans said that the While only 8% of Democrats Indian exports. These fetched the bulk of
U.S. was doing “too much” when it said that all illegal immigrants foreign exchange of Rs. 3.9 crores in 1974-75. The
came to deporting illegal immi- should be deported, a large share export range in the group includes a variety of
grants, according to the Pew Re- of Democrats did believe that sarees, such as, decontrolled powerloom sarees
search Centre. some such immigrants should be. grey which brought in foreign exchange worth
The data on deportation was About 16% of Black Democrats Rs. 1.13 crores (46 lakh sq. metres) during
provided in a reply to a question wanted the deportation of all ille- 1974-75. The main importer of this variety was
posed by Minister Ramji Lal Su- gal immigrants. Hispanic respon- Bangladesh whose intake was 44 lakh sq.
man in a Rajya Sabha session. The dents from both parties were the metres, valued at Rs. 1.08 crores.
figure for 2025 includes deporta- groups with the most respondents Bleached carded yarn sarees valued at Rs. 14.3
tions that occurred between Janu- who said no illegal immigrants lakh were marketed in USSR, German
ary 1 and November 28, 2025. should be deported. While general Democratic Republic and Saudi Arabia.
There were more than two times concern about Mr. Trump over- Piece-dyed fetched foreign exchange over Rs. 19
as many deportations this year stepping in deportations increased lakhs. The main importers were Bangladesh,
when compared to 2024 (Chart 1). between March and October Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Hand-printed sarees
The deported individuals are across both parties, the same can- valued at Rs. 10 lakhs were exported to Nepal,
those who have, according to the not be said when it comes to their Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
U.S. government, illegally entered worry about personal impact. In Silk sarees secured nearly Rs. 1.9 crores in
the country, overstayed their visa March, 27% of Democrats were foreign exchange. In this group, different
validity, are staying there without worried that regardless of their im- varieties of silk sarees zari bordered over 90 per
any documentation, or have crimi- migration or citizenship status, a cent silk handlooms, earned Rs. 64 lakhs (2.1
nal convictions against them. family member, close friends, or lakh metres). The main markets were U.K. (Rs.
In October this year, more than themselves were at risk of being 27 lakhs) followed by Singapore, Kenya and
half of the surveyed U.S. adults be- deported. By October, more than Mauritius. Other silk sarees, over 90 per cent
lieved that the Trump administra- 40% of Democrats reported they silk handloom, valued at Rs. 1.02 crores (3.8 lakh
tion was overstepping when it felt this way. metres) were exported to U.K. (Rs. 21.5 lakhs),
came to deportations. In fact, The Republican respondents Singapore (Rs. 14 lakhs), Malaysia (Rs. 14 lakhs)
when asked if “all” the illegal im- did not waver in their sentiments and Federal Republic of Germany (Rs. 12 lakhs).
migrants should be deported, only over the course of the year, as only Handloom silk sarees embroidered with real zari
31% of them said yes, with more 10% of them said the same in both brought in foreign exchange worth Rs. 60 lakhs
than half saying that only “some” March and October. While con- and handloom silk sarees embroidered with
should be deported. cerns have risen across most racial imitation zari earned Rs. 13.6 lakhs.
The disapproval of deportations and ethnic groups, they remain Art silk sarees were also in demand abroad.
has increased by nine percentage highest among Hispanic indivi- The export earnings in this field was valued at
points between March and Octob- duals, as more than 50% of them Rs. 1.7 crores.
er of this year. The increase was said they were worried that some-
seen across partisan coalitions. one close to them could be deport-
Where only 13% of Republicans ed. Hispanic respondents, along
and Republican-leaning respon- with African-American and Asian
dents said the administration was individuals, saw spikes in the share A HUNDRED YEARS AGO DECEMBER 18, 1925
doing “too much” in March, 20% of people who felt the same (Chart
of them did in October. The share 4). About six in ten Hispanic peo- Sale of Kipling’s work
of Democrats and Democrat-lean- ple say Immigration and Customs
ers who believed so also increased Enforcement has conducted ar- New York, December 17: The sale of a collection
during this time period, chalking rests or raids in their area in recent of 622 rare Kiplingiana yielded a record price of
up to 86% in October (Chart 2). months. This is higher than the 12,662 dollars. The first edition of the
Even though there is an in- shares of Asian (47%), Black (39%) “School-boy Lyrics” fetched 1,450 and “Echoes”
crease in the share of Republicans or White (38%) adults who said so. 1,225 dollars respectively.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
Delhi www.thehindu.com Thursday, December 18, 2025
● ●
Text&Context 0
NEWS IN NUMBERS
Number of Number of Afghan Number of National EU members who Number of posts
government schools refugee camps shut Highway projects voted to delay the currently vacant in the
with zero students down by Pakistan behind schedule deforestation law Delhi Police
T
he Supreme Court (SC), in an Survey of India and the CEC. This down rules restricting mining
order last month, settled on a committee was tasked with creating a to only sanctioned projects but
uniform definition of the scientifically grounded, nationwide these have been flagrantly
Aravalli hills and ranges, and definition of the Aravallis. The committee violated.
paused the grant of fresh mining leases submitted its findings in October 2025.
inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, The SC committee finally ruled that only 쑽
Rajasthan and Gujarat. hills above 100 metres would make the In June, 2025, the Centre
cut. The amicus curae, K. Parameswar, started an Aravalli ‘Green Wall’
What is the range’s significance? objected that this was too narrow a project. The plan is to expand
Apart from being nearly two billion years definition and potentially opened all the green cover in the five-km
old and India’s oldest mountain range, hills below 100 metres for mining, buffer area around the Aravallis
they serve as an important ecological compromising “...their continuity and in 29 districts of Gujarat,
barrier to prevent the desertification of integrity. “ However, the Additional Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.
the Indo-Gangetic plains. They help arrest Solicitor General, Aishwarya Bhati The government said this
the eastward spread of the Thar Desert countered that the definition on slopes, initiative will play a crucial role
in restoring 26 million hectares
into Haryana, Rajasthan and western foothill buffers etc. as proposed by the FSI
of degraded land by 2030.
Uttar Pradesh, and play a major role in would, on the contrary, exclude large
stabilising climate, supporting areas from the Aravalli Hills and Ranges. 쑽
biodiversity, and recharging groundwater. The committee recommendations of
The Court explained that past
Stretching from Delhi to Gujarat across 100m was far more inclusive. experiences show total bans
650 km, the mountains support often lead to the rise of illegal
water-recharge systems and are the Threatened landscape: A sunrise against the Aravalli mountain ranges in Ajmer, Rajasthan, in 2022. AP What are the SC’s other directions? mining syndicates, violent sand
source of important rivers such as the The Court directed the preparation of a mafias and unregulated
Chambal, Sabarmati, and Luni. It is richly blanket ban on mining in the Faridabad, completed. These recommendations were detailed Management Plan for Sustainable extraction.
endowed with sandstone, limestone, Gurugram, and Mewat districts of taken up by the Court in its order of Mining (MPSM) covering the entire
marble, granite, and minerals such as Haryana. In May 2024, the SC prohibited November 2025. Futher, in June, 2025, Aravalli range. The plan must demarcate
lead, zinc, copper, gold, and tungsten. granting of fresh mining leases and the Centre started an Aravalli ‘Green Wall’ areas where mining must be absolutely
While historically mined for these renewals in the range and directed its project. The plan is to expand green cover prohibited, identify zones where limited
resources, it has in the past four decades Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to in the five-km buffer area around the and highly regulated mining may be
been excessively quarried for stone and undertake a detailed examination, leading Aravallis in 29 districts of Gujarat, permitted, map sensitive habitats and
sand. This has contributed to to a set of recommendations submitted in Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. The wildlife corridors, evaluate cumulative
deteriorating air quality as well as March 2024. The CEC proposed a government said this initiative will play a ecological impacts, determine ecological
plummeting groundwater recharge. A comprehensive approach that included a crucial role in restoring 26 million carrying capacity, and articulate
proportion of the mining has also been complete scientific mapping of the hectares of degraded land by 2030. restoration and rehabilitation measures.
illegal. The Court noted that India is Aravalli range across all States; a
bound by international commitments, macro-level environmental impact Why a uniform definition? Why was there no ban on mining?
under the UN Convention to Combat assessment of mining activities; and strict The Court found that States were using The Court explained that past
Desertification, to protect vulnerable prohibition of mining in ecologically inconsistent criteria to identify Aravalli experiences show total bans often lead to
ecosystems such as the Aravalli range. sensitive areas such as protected habitats, formations. There have also been the rise of illegal mining syndicates,
water bodies, tiger corridors, key aquifer differing definitions, including by expert violent sand mafias and unregulated
Was action taken against mining? recharge zones and areas within the groups such as the Forest Survey of India extraction. The Court therefore opted for
The Environment Ministry, since the early National Capital Region. It urged stringent (FSI) on what makes up ‘Aravalli Hills and a calibrated approach: existing legal
1990s, has laid down rules restricting regulation of stone-crushing units. It also Ranges.’ In 2010, the FSI had said hills mining continues under tight regulation,
mining to only sanctioned projects but recommended that no new mining leases with “(i) slope >3°, (ii) foothill buffer = new mining is paused until a scientifically
these have been flagrantly violated. In or renewals be permitted until proper 100m, (iii) inter hill distance or valley driven plan is prepared, and permanently
2009, the SC stepped in and imposed a mapping and impact assessments were width= 500m and (iv) the area enclosed sensitive areas remain off-limits.
O
n December 8, Thailand Malaysian mediation, ending the tensions. Mountains watershed, but the In 2025, renewed fighting in July led to
launched airstrikes into The truce was formalised in October with French-drawn maps placed key ancient fresh mediation efforts. President Trump to the dispute, with both
Cambodia after clashes an agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur. Khmer temples, particularly Preah held calls with leaders in Bangkok and countries claiming historical
erupted along their disputed However, in November, Thailand Vihear, on the Cambodian side. Phnom Penh; his threats of 36% tariffs on ownership.
border, with both sides accusing each suspended its implementation after a The 11th century Hindu temple Preah exports to the U.S., their biggest market, 쑽
other of breaching the U.S.-brokered landmine injured a soldier. It accused Vihear has been central to the dispute, led to an unconditional ceasefire.
ceasefire in October. On December 12, Cambodia of planting new mines. with both countries claiming historical At the border level,
after calls with both leaders, President On December 7 and 8, clashes ownership. In 1962, the International What is the way forward? de-escalation should build on
measures attempted under the
Trump stated that Thailand and renewed, escalating to Thai airstrikes Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Preah At the border level, de-escalation should
October agreement, including
Cambodia had agreed to “cease all targeting Cambodian military sites, Vihear belonged to Cambodia, although build on measures attempted under the
verifiable troop withdrawals,
shooting”. However, Thailand has vowed including alleged rocket positions. As of the surrounding promontory remained October agreement, including verifiable joint de-mining, and direct
to continue military actions until threats now, casualties include over 15 Thai contested. Later, in 2013, the ICJ troop withdrawals, joint de-mining, and military communication.
are neutralised. soldiers and dozens on the Cambodian clarification affirmed Cambodian direct military communication. At the
side, along with mass civilian evacuations. sovereignty over most of the area. bilateral level, sustained engagement
What happened early this year? Nationalist sentiments in both through joint commissions is necessary
In May 2025, tensions between the two What is the border dispute about? countries complicate the bilateral issue, for border demarcation; Thailand’s
countries escalated when a Cambodian The core issue is sovereignty over with temples reflecting historical Khmer preference for bilateral talks must be
soldier was killed in a skirmish, leading to un-demarcated sections of the 817-km glory for Cambodia and territorial reconciled with Cambodia’s openness to
troop buildup and diplomatic strains. July border, inherited from colonial-era integrity for Thailand. Between third-party involvement.
witnessed five days of intense fighting treaties concluded in 1904 and 1907 2008-2011, deadly clashes occurred after R. Preetha is pursuing a postgraduate
involving artillery, rockets, and Thai between France (which ruled Cambodia) Cambodia tried to list Preah Vihear as a degree at Stella Maris College, Chennai.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
THE HINDU
II Thursday, December 18, 2025
SCIENCE
Delhi
Prakash Chandra
businessline.
THURSDAY - DECEMBER 18 - 2025
Simply essential
W
hen a US federal judge
ruled in late
November that Meta
does not maintain an
SIM binding to phones can check cyber crime illegal monopoly in
social media, it was a reminder that even
the strongest evidence can look weak
he Department of Telecom’s move to tighten
T
when enforcers act too late.
SIM-binding norms is driven by a real, Rejecting the US Federal Trade
Commission’s narrow market
escalating, and costly problem. definition, the court instead concluded
Telecom-enabled fraud, from SIM swaps and mule that Meta, formerly known as Facebook,
numbers to OTP theft, has become one of the weakest competes against a broad array of rivals
such as TikTok and YouTube. While GETTY IMAGES
links in the country’s digital economy. The Centre is legal scholars can and will dissect the
right to intervene. Communication apps can easily be
Antitrust delayed is
opinion, the biggest takeaway is that
used by detached, untraceable accounts, posing a timing matters in dynamic markets,
implying that antitrust authorities must
threat to individual and national security. develop a preventive approach, rather
than relying solely on reactive measures.
antitrust denied
The new SIM binding rules mandate that The case centered on Facebook’s
messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and
Telegram, must remain linked to the original, WhatsApp in 2014, when both were
active SIM card in a user’s phone, stopping unmistakably competitive threats.
Facebook said so itself: internal emails
use if the SIM is removed or inactive, and
forcing web versions to log out every six
and strategy documents spelled out its TRUST FACTOR. The Meta verdict on monopoly power offers a sobering lesson.
intention to copy, acquire, or neutralize
hours for re-authentication via QR code. A rivals, while the firm’s leaders explicitly Rather than acting post facto, mega mergers in the big tech space must be prevented
SIM card is verifiably linked to an individual acknowledged the existential threat
(through KYC), and tied to a specific device posed by Instagram. FTC lawyers rarely The flaws of late enforcement were Instagram and WhatsApp in the first and the UK also have powerful
uncover this type of smoking-gun also on display in the Google antitrust place, but erred on the side of caution, preventive tools, including merger
via IMEI, so misuse via SIM swapping, evidence. trial. Even as a US federal judge ruled in fearing false positives and believing that review and market studies. Even just
cloning, or mule phones becomes harder. The But the case collapsed under the 2024 that Google had illegally the market would self-correct. But that initiating an investigation can create
move to extend the rigorous security model of weight of today’s market reality. Instead monopolised general-search services, decision has proved impossible to enough friction and uncertainty for
platforms like UPI to general communication of considering the world as it existed the remedy was softened by the unwind, even though Facebook’s parties to abandon a deal, as happened
when the mergers occurred, the court perception that AI chatbots were already acquisition of direct competitors in a with Nvidia-Arm and Visa-Plaid. Until
apps is widely seen as a necessary security (incorrectly) cited the rise of TikTok, reshaping the market. Even the boldest competitive market should have been a recently, the UK Competition and
enhancement by the government and the Snapchat, and YouTube Shorts as proposed remedies centered less on straightforward win for antitrust Markets Authority, like the FTC and
telecom industry. For an overwhelming evidence that Facebook lacked restoring competition in search and authorities — the very kind of textbook DOJ in the US, was increasing its
majority of users who use their messaging app monopoly power. But TikTok’s success more on ensuring that the next tech harm the law is designed to prevent. scrutiny of tech mergers and
hardly disproves Facebook’s earlier frontier remains open. To their credit, the FTC and the partnerships, particularly in the AI
on one phone with a single, permanent SIM, dominance, because ByteDance, its The same dynamic was evident in the Department of Justice under former US sector.
the change will seem imperceptible. parent company, spent vast sums on landmark antitrust case that the US President Joe Biden had begun to But the global scramble to attract AI
It is perhaps true, that for those who rely user acquisition, at one point becoming federal government brought against develop and use their preventive toolkit. investment has pushed competition
heavily on desktop/web versions for work the one of the largest buyers of ads on Microsoft in the 1990s. Instead of They challenged several mergers enforcement into retreat. Amid
directive introduces some friction and Facebook, Instagram, and Snap in the reviving competition in operating (including Nvidia-Arm, Illumina- increasing geopolitical turbulence,
US. A Chinese company with almost systems, where Microsoft’s dominance GRAIL, and Microsoft-Activision regulators are forgetting the
operational challenges. But cyber-fraud losses unlimited capital breaking into the was entrenched, the litigation cleared Blizzard), examined practices in nascent hard-earned lessons of the platform era
in India are staggering, with sophisticated market is hardly proof of healthy space for the next generation of industries such as AI partnerships, and and pulling back precisely when they
scams often exploiting accounts whose competition. companies by preventing Microsoft launched early probes into emerging should be applying those lessons to
registered SIM cards have been removed, from extending its monopoly into monopolies in the cloud computing and block anti-competitive AI mergers and
LEGAL FLAWS browsers and apps. Of course, this is a semiconductor markets. But the prevent the emergence of AI
deactivated, or are being misused from The flaws in the court’s reasoning reflect worthy goal. But illegally monopolised pendulum has swung back under Donald monopolies. The result is a classic
outside the country. This lack of an active, a deeper problem with litigating markets need not be treated as a fait Trump’s second administration, which collective-action problem, even though
traceable SIM-to-device link has allowed consummated mergers: it asks judges to accompli. has pursued merger settlements, dialled all it takes is one courageous
fraudsters to operate with near-perfect travel back in time and forget what they In fast-moving markets, prevention is back investigations into AI giants, and competition authority to block a global
now know. Questions like “Would better than cure, which is why revived the myth that tech firms are the deal and change the trajectory of an
anonymity. By mandating continuous SIM Instagram have become this significant intervening early to block illegal guardians of innovation and national entire market.
presence, the government is extending the without Facebook’s investment?” or mergers must be the norm, not the security. The Meta decision can seem like much
robust, proven security model used by our “What competition might have emerged exception. Regulators should have ado about nothing: one case that was too
banking and UPI systems, where the physical if the acquisitions had not taken place?” prevented Facebook from acquiring POLITICAL WILL difficult to win despite overwhelming
presence of the KYC-verified SIM is are inherently counterfactual. It is very It doesn’t have to be this way. US evidence. But viewed in a broader
mandatory. The directive’s requirement for
difficult to measure the impact of
competition that never existed.
US antitrust regulators antitrust regulators now have stronger
merger guidelines and a clearer
context, it becomes clear that timing
makes all the difference in antitrust
periodic logouts of web sessions (every six This suggests that the acquisitions now have stronger merger understanding of how digital markets enforcement. Regulators must learn to
hours) is a security hygiene measure, akin to should have been challenged when they guidelines and a clearer work. What they need is the political will flex their preventive muscle to have any
auto-logouts on banking portals, designed to were first proposed — a difficult task, to act early and decisively. hope of taming Big Tech.
but not as hard as challenging understanding of how The same applies to other
curb the remote abuse of accounts. While consummated deals. Predicting the digital markets work. What governments. The most consequential The writer is Deputy Director of the Thurman Arnold
inconvenient for business workflows, this future is less formidable than tech mergers are reviewed Project and a resident fellow at the Information Society
friction is the cost of closing a critical gateway reconstructing the present on the basis they need is the political will simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions, Project at Yale Law School. Copyright: Project
for account takeover and fraud. of an imaginary past. to act early and decisively and regulators in the European Union Syndicate, 2025
That said, there are apprehensions.
Tethering a private messaging account to a
government-verified identity (the
KYC-linked SIM) could expose
whistleblowers by creating a single, traceable
metadata link between their official identity
Interest rates unlikely to dip in the medium term
and their communications. Furthermore, This is due to a combination of factors — tariff uncertainty, weakening currency, high global rates
there are fears over potential government
misuse of this traceability. This is where the attempting to drive growth (in the case sector-specific tariffs and strategic
Sachin Gupta of India) and employment (in the case of re-shoring incentives, continue to
government must tread with caution and the US), but the bond market is influence inflation expectations and
absolute clarity. The success of this essential
T
he Reserve Bank of India began indicating a harsher truth of persistently global capital flows.
security upgrade is contingent on its lawful its monetary easing cycle in high long-term rates. For India, uncertainty regarding
and judicious implementation. The February 2025, with policy rates US-India trade relations, export
cut by 125 basis points by December SOVEREIGN BOND MARKETS competitiveness, and potential
government must enforce SIM binding while 2025. Meanwhile, the 10-year G-sec A key factor influencing long-term yields retaliatory tariffs affects currency
strictly adhering to the principles of the yield has decreased by only 17 basis is the demand and supply dynamics in stability and foreign investor sentiment.
Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, points during the same period, sovereign bond markets. Since many For banks, these uncertainties translate
2023. The focus must be solely on traceability indicating a limited and gradual major economies face high fiscal deficits RATE DYNAMICS. Uncertain times ISTOCK into a higher risk premium. Currency
for crime prevention, not data acquisition or pass-through of interest rate reductions and substantial debt levels, the demand volatility raises hedging costs, while
at the longer end of the yield curve. for future borrowing stays elevated. geopolitical risks reduce appetite for
surveillance. Likewise, the US Federal Reserve has Consequently, increased net issuance of funds remains high, and thus they are long-duration assets, keeping bond
reduced its policy rates by 175 basis bonds pushes up the term premium, unable to reduce their lending rates. In yields firm even in easing cycles.
points over the last 15 months. resulting in higher interest rates. fact, it adversely affects banks. Their While central banks can guide
Surprisingly, the 10-year Treasury yields Specifically for India, despite an benchmark-linked lending rates reduce short-term rates, long-term yields
POCKET: AI Now RAVIKANTH have increased by 38 basis points. This
shows a clear disconnect between
improving fiscal position, low inflation,
strong GDP growth, and long-term
in line with the lower repo rate, even
though their cost of deposits remains
remain largely driven by fiscal pressures,
inflation expectations, and geopolitical
central banks’ expectations and the interest rates remain elevated. This can high. This impacts banks’ margins. uncertainties. Globally, persistent
bond market’s actual behaviour. be attributed to tariff uncertainty, a inflation, heavy sovereign borrowing,
Why is this happening? Policy rates weakening currency, and globally high MACROECONOMIC RISKS and volatile capital flows continue to
mirror central banks’ outlook and their interest rates. Beyond demand, supply dynamics, and hold long-term yields high. In my view,
informed assessment of the economy’s What does it mean for us? It domestic factors, global macroeconomic none of these risks is likely to abate in
interest rates. Nevertheless, actual essentially means that despite the RBI’s risks have a far-reaching impact. Trade the near term; hence, long-term interest
outcomes depend on supply-demand actions, the long-term borrowing and and tariff-related uncertainties have rates in India and globally are unlikely to
dynamics, anticipated inflation, tariff lending rates remain high. High added another layer of complexity. decline in the near future.
disputes, geopolitical issues, and overall long-term bond yields imply high Ongoing tariff disputes, supply-chain
macroeconomic uncertainty, which we expected bank deposit rates. High bank realignments, and uncertainty around The writer is Chief Rating Officer & ED, CareEdge
have enough of. Central banks are deposit rates mean that banks’ cost of US trade policy, including Ratings
LETTERS TO EDITOR Send your letters by email to [email protected] or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.
For transparency restore balance between mobile take a scientific approach. The Delhi rupee's slide and raised worries Cumin acreage, a lesson
Apropos “How tax havens really help capital and sovereign revenue. government should appoint an about a vicious cycle of depreciation Apropos ‘Cumin acreage may
in raising debt” (December 13). The The challenge is not to choke access expert committee to advise the and further selling. decline ... .Subdued China demand’
widespread use of offshore hubs to to global finance but to ensure government on reusing the stubble Yet domestic investors have stepped (December 17).
issue corporate debt highlights a transparency and fairness. for productive purposes. The in robustly, pouring in record sums It is a lesson that dependence
grey zone between efficient finance K Chidanand Kumar farmers should be given reasonable into the markets. on one market for agri
and aggressive tax avoidance. For Bengaluru compensation for not burning the High valuations and US tariffs have commodities severely affects
many multinational firms, tax havens stubble. The Centre and States must driven much of this caution abroad, domestic farmers.
are no longer vaults for hidden Delhi’s deadly air put aside politics and act in sync to narrowing the gap with cheaper When domestic consumption
profits but conduits that lower This is with reference to the article solve this issue. emerging peers. cannot be increased overnight to
borrowing costs through treaty ‘Delhi’s deadly air crisis’ (December Veena Shenoy Still, with corporate earnings likely to offset subdued export to China,
benefits and interest deductions. 17). The twin issues of pollution in Thane recover and valuations now more trade agreements that India is
While such structures may be legal the Capital and stubble burning in competitive, a deft RBI approach to entering with many other smaller
and commercially rational, they neighbouring states of Punjab, FPI pull out rupee management — smoothing nations due to US tariff pressure,
steadily erode the tax base of Haryana and Rajasthan have been Apropos “Selling season”, extremes without rigid defence — must be well utilised and the
developing economies like India. debated for a long time without any (December 17).The relentless could help restore confidence and government can appoint a nodal
Regulators have responded with amicable solutions. foreign portfolio outflows this year, draw flows back . officer to oversee such issues.
GAAR and global anti avoidance Every problem has a solution if our exceeding ₹1.6 lakh crore, have M Barathi Rajiv Magal
norms, which are necessary to politicians think beyond politics and understandably deepened the Bengaluru Halekere Village (Karnataka)
Published by Nirmala Lakshman and Printed by Praveen Someshwar at HT Media Ltd. Plot No.8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P.201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT. LTD. Chennai-600002. Editor: Raghuvir Srinivasan (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRP Act). ISSN 0971 - 7528
CM A ND-NDE
YK
16 NEW DELHI
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 18, 2025
Opinion
{ OUR TAKE }
E S TA B L I S H E D IN 1 9 24
America-first compass
The end of for new security strategy world”. His second one simply wants a and for those who seek to engage with
The US’s new National
MGNREGS Security Strategy signals
a “hands-off” approach
safe western hemisphere, and leaves it.
the rest of the world to fend for itself, Again, while the 2017 iteration called
unless US security is involved — in out China’s increasing threat in all
VB-G RAM G’s funding and administrative which case, Washington expects each areas, this one recognises China’s eco-
structure should strengthen and expand rural towards matters that are power to step up and contribute rather nomic muscle and calls for a “rebal-
than leaving it to US troops and money. ance” of America’s economic relation-
jobs, not weaken the scheme not of American That said, it still mentions the vitality of ship with China, “prioritizing reciproc- While the 2017 NSS called out China’s increasing threat in all areas, this one
interests. All tools will be uninterrupted oil and the ity and fairness” even while calls for a “rebalance” of America’s economic relationship with China. AFP
security of Israel, among noting that, to realise the
T
he Union government sprang a surprise in used to ensure the US’s other issues. But the US is not objective of reaching a sels’. It is hardly surprising, given that with this on India’s terms. It is almost
Parliament this week by introducing the Viksit getting into “nation-building”. $40-trillion economy, it may Ukraine’s capabilities in this area are the same stance when it comes to Chi-
Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika primacy remains intact That era is over. need strong trade with Bei- getting weaker by the day. nese salami slicing, except that Beijing
N
Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G, to replace ot even the most blasé Then, there is the rather jing. That’s supply-chain In the final analysis, this is a rather must stay aware that Taiwan remains
among us can complain of unusual list of threats. In 2017, Tara dependence talking. How- honest and realistic document — in off bounds. Meanwhile, NSS makes
the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural boredom in international the list of threats included ever, it also calls for a policy of most ways. Honesty does take a hit as clear that there will be no space for
Kartha
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), a politics. Events are mov- Russia, China, and North strong deterrence to prevent the NSS, yet again, repeats the US Presi- de-dollarisation. That will be met with
showpiece of the previous UPA administration. Beyond ing so swiftly that it is Korea. This time, North Korea war in the Indo-Pacific, recog- dent’s attempts to grab credit for end- strong economic reproof. Many will
becoming increasingly dif- has been dropped, while Iran nising that any grabbing of ing the India-Pakistan post-Pahalgam repine that the NSS no longer hails
the obvious political overtones in renaming a project ficult to keep up with the latest devel- is mentioned only in terms of praise for Taiwan would affect not only semicon- conflict, but the way this document India as a “leading global power”. But,
that once netted the Congress rich electoral dividends opments, even for those in the busi- Trump’s air operations and Israeli ductor access but also allow China to itself was written is quite instructive. India remains vital to US interests in the
and engineering an abbreviation with ideological ness. One of the most drastic changes actions. Russia is seen against Europe’s dominate one of the busiest shipping The new NSS arises out of asking three Indo-Pacific and for mining critical
that occurred recently was the shift in fixation on it as an “existential threat”, routes. But here’s the difference with simple questions. First, what “should” minerals in Africa — a nod to New
alignment with the ruling coalition, three aspects of the the US’s geopolitical compass, as and the need to end the conflict in the earlier approach. In line with a sim- the US want; second, what the available Delhi’s influence in the Global South. In
debate merit discussion. underlined in its new National Security Ukraine. That divide was seen recently ilar demand it makes of its allies in means are; and third, how to connect sum, this is a no-holds-barred exercise
One, the proposal expands the statutory guarantee of Strategy (NSS) released by the Donald at the meeting of foreign ministers of Europe, there is a “spend and do more” ends to the means. These are indeed the that signals to allies, friends, and part-
Trump administration. It is an aston- the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation instruction here as well for allies such basic parameters of any NSS, which no ners that American interests come first,
wage employment in every financial year from 100 ishing document, quite unlike what is (Nato) on Ukraine. US secretary of State as Japan and Australia, which have sig- amount of fine language can get past. and all tools will be used to ensure their
days to 125 days, a welcome development in a country expected of a global power. The short Marco Rubio chose not to attend. nificant stakes in the region. New Delhi might do well to follow this primacy.
where chunks of the rural population move between point is that it has immediate implica- Meanwhile, the NSS calls out Germany This is where India also comes in for in its own NSS. It also makes it clear that those who
tions for India’s security. That might for “building some of the world’s larg- mention. Since India will also suffer The end result of this exercise is that haven’t fallen in line must come to heel
relative comfort and destitution with alarming need more changes in our policies est processing plants in China, using from such Chinese transgressions, the US is now clearly looking inwards, soon or else be barred from US favours,
regularity. The bill suggests paying an allowance across multiple areas. Russian gas that they cannot obtain at Washington wants “strong coopera- while recognising that it does not want as secretary of war Peter Hegseth said
within 15 days of application of work, potentially easing US administrations over the years home”, even as Europeans as a whole tion” with New Delhi. That seems to be or care to engage in costly adventures recently. As the US ends its “nation-
have released NSSs to orient the gov- are censured for “civilisational era- alright with the Indian Navy. It has just outside its hemisphere. But that doesn’t building” of the past, antagonism on
chronic delays in payments. It delineates clear focus ernment, at all levels, towards the direc- sure”, apparently due to, among other cleared a ₹7,995-crore deal for sustain- mean America’s primacy doesn’t count. India’s rise can also be expected. It
areas for asset creation such as water security or tion of their choosing. Everything, from things, too much migration — which it ing the MH-60 Seahawk order with It will use all available levers to fulfil might be better to bide our time and
climate adaptation, a good step for a programme budgeting to fighting doctrines of the flags as being at an end. These are dan- Lockheed Martin. This was welcomed that objective, including “strategic use hide our strengths. Now is no time for
armed forces, is based on the docu- gerous paths to tread at a time when in no uncertain terms by the US State of tariffs”. So, it’s more of the same chest beating. That is best left to Trump.
where the quality of assets is sometimes sub-par. And ment. As such, it is usually big on right-wing parties such as the Alterna- department on X.com. Meanwhile, it is together with a “hands-off” policy on It is safer that way.
it mandates regular audits, fraud detection, GPS and “vision” in terms of global interests and tive for Germany have been increasing worth noting that almost all of the most crises that don’t affect the US
mobile-based monitoring — which could be of help in a the strengths needed to advance them. their vote-share, as part of a surge in Indian Navy’s recent purchases are directly. For India, this means more Tara Kartha is former director,
Trump’s first administration talked of such politics seen across Europe since from the US, with General Electric pow- adventurism by Pakistan — as also the National Security Council Secretariat.
scheme where allegations of corruption are rife. “advancing American influence in the 2024. This is bad news for Europe itself, ering the ‘Next Generation Missile Ves- obverse, which is the freedom to deal The views expressed are personal
Two, the bill proposes sharing of financial liability
between the Centre and the states in a 90:10 ratio for
northeastern and Himalayan states, and 60:40 for
other states and Union territories with a legislature.
Plus, any additional spends — MGNREGS was demand
A remit too wide: Personality { URSULA VON DER LEYEN } PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION
A
manipulated images and viral memes have of objective standards, there is a tendency to
work is high, will find the money. This newspaper has made it easier to reproduce and remix a public chill speech and expression and unduly inter- Remarks made ahead of an European Council
expressed concern over profligate spending by states — figure’s identity. fere with trade and commerce, meeting on Ukraine
across the political spectrum — on freebies and poll While the government has through blanket injunctions.
recently issued AI Governance Allowing celebrities to assert near-
sops. This cannot be allowed to hurt the scheme. Guidelines to address some of these absolute control over how they are
Three, VB-G RAM G’s design — where the Centre, concerns, we are already witnessing referenced, represented or discussed
based on objective parameters it prescribes,
determines the state-wise normative allocation for
each financial year — sets the stage for more friction
the emergence of a new kind of pri-
vate ordering of rights through celeb-
rity-led personality rights cases. The
Delhi High Court’s directives to social
Aparajita
Lath
is in tension with recognised demo-
cratic values. Few benches of the
Delhi High Court have cautioned
against an over-expansive interpreta-
From sedition to UAPA:
between the Centre and states not ruled by the BJP.
Despite all its faults, MGNREGS was an important
media firms to protect cricketer Sunil
Gavaskar’s and Andhra Pradesh dep-
tion of personality rights in DM Enter-
tainment v Baby Gift House and Digital
uty chief minister Pawan Kalyan’s personality Collectibles v Galactus Funware Technology in
Policing dissent in India
pillar for the rural economy for two decades, both as a rights are recent instances of this. 2010 and 2023. Even the Supreme Court in Bata ew laws reveal the Indian State’s unease the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or
cushion for the poor in good years and a lifeline in
moments of distress such as demonetisation or after
the pandemic. It buoyed peasants, set a floor for rural
wages, and just like the PM-Anna Yojana, worked as a
Celebrities argue that new technologies pose India Ltd v Prakash Jha Productions (2012), in
risks to their reputation, privacy and liveli- the context of trademark law, has recognised
hoods. At first glance, these concerns appear the importance of critical commentary and
reasonable. The law must provide remedies for allowed a more permissive approach for such
defamation, obscene portrayals and material purposes. These courts have emphasised that
F with dissent as starkly as sedition. UAPA. Originally enacted in 1967 to deal with
Drafted in 1870 to protect the British secessionist movements and terrorism, UAPA
Crown from political unrest and infa- has evolved into India’s most formidable
mously wielded against figures such as Bal national security statute. Its sweeping anti-ter-
Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, Sec- ror code with stringent bail provisions, and
deception of the public. In fact, the law already news reporting, criticism, satire, parody, infor- tion 124A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code broad definitions of “unlawful” and “terrorist”
safety net. Politics should not overwhelm its core does so for each of these harms. For example, mational and artistic expression are protected. was never meant for a constitutional activity allows the State to treat indi-
mission. VB-G RAM G should aim to do more. actions for defamation lie under both civil and However, other benches and high courts democracy. Yet, more than 70 years viduals as terrorists long before estab-
criminal laws; impersonation through deep- apply different standards. They rely on subjec- after Independence, it has resurfaced lishing guilt.
fakes can be regulated under provisions of the tive notions such as “negative portrayal” or in one form or the other whenever the This shift is visible in some of the
Information Technology Act and Bharatiya “harm to reputation” without clearly defining State felt politically challenged by citi- most prominent political trials of
Uncapped but very Nyaya Sanhita (BNS); and selling, circulating what crosses the legal line.
obscene material is punishable under the BNS. While privacy claims are justified, lines
Still, rather than invoking existing laws, celeb- remain blurred when it comes to public
zens. As the Supreme Court now
re-examines the law’s constitutional
validity, it is worth noting that the UK,
Insiyah
recent years. Sharjeel Imam and
Umar Khalid were both initially
Vahanvaty charged with sedition in connection
much in demand rities and courts are fashioning new “personal- records of celebrities. In 1994, the Supreme
ity rights” without clear benchmarks for Court in R Rajagopal v State of Tamil Nadu, had
assessing harm or misuse. laid down principles related to publicity rights
from where India inherited sedition,
has long since consigned it to history.
The immediate spark for this judi-
with the Delhi riots of 2020. Yet, as the
cases developed, sedition receded into
the background, and UAPA ultimately
alf (39 out of 77) the sold players in the IPL 2026 Personality rights are not statutory rights in and the right to privacy. While the general rule cial reckoning came in February 2021, anchored their incarceration. Courts
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8} THE ECONOMIC TIMES The Edit Page THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | THURSDAY | 18 DECEMBER 2025 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
Play Moneyball: Buy Does Jeff Bezos’ redefinition of being wealthy as how much wealth you create for others hold up?
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are taking this idea forward by determining prices on se- obligation. Wealth does not free you. It Fear is a primal instinct of a liv-
lect performance parameters in anticipation of super- ast December, Jeff Bezos of- binds you more tightly to the world. ing species, whether animal or
normal profits. This style of investing is also common in fered an interesting refram- Even for the newly wealthy, startup human. The fear of predators is
ing of wealth: think of it not founders, wealth appears to carry new prominent for animals, whereas
PE that chases alpha in startups with an uncommon risk- as the money one accumula- meanings. But scratch the surface and fear of the unknown is common
reward ratio. The objective is the same for value inves- tes, but as the value one crea- Spread the joy familiar patterns emerge. Startups re- to the human mind. Where there
tors, VCs and IPL team owners: market-beating returns. tes for others. It is an elegant thought. ly on family capital, teams reflect soci- is ignorance, there is fear, lead-
It makes wealth a shared asset, some- preferred self-portrait, a moral alibi ers in the marketplace. al hierarchies, and success depends on ing to beliefs in uncanny super-
The long-term investor is more than likely to be a pati- thing virtuous and inclusive, with the for sudden and overwhelming wealth. If Bezos’ equation were an accurate networks that predate the venture. St- stitions and viral videos based on
ent bloke, having done his homework before stumping added advantage of skipping over the The deeper issue, however, is concep- description of how wealth works, hed- artup founders have a startlingly com- speculative knowledge.
up the cash. In an efficient market, value discovery beco- somewhat inconvenient fact of enor- tual. Is wealth really outward-facing as ge fund billionaires should not exist. mon point of origin, whether in terms Ignorance may be bliss when par-
mous wealth for the few. If we- Bezos argues it should be? If Their wealth flatly contradicts the idea of community or educational creden- ticular knowledge is of no practi-
mes sophisticated to the point where alth is simply a byproduct of that were true, professions that that wealth measures value created for tials. Just look at the surnames of a lot cal use, but it is imperative to lea-
passive investment may be the most making life better for millions, distribute the greatest benefit others. It measures value captured for of these new founders, and the story rn correctly about matters that
productive approach. But startups — then the billionaire becomes a to others — teachers, caregiv- oneself. becomes clear. bother or interest us. Marie Curie
kind of accidental altruist. ers, farmers, nurses — would Bezos, then, is articulating a desira- Seen in this light, Bezos’ formulation said, ‘Nothing in life is to be fear-
and IPL players — do dwell in deep There is something about not sit at the bottom of the eco- ble fiction, rather than an economic becomes revealing not for what it cla- ed, only to be understood. Now
markets and there is scope for active this formulation that catches nomic pyramid. Wealth would principle. It is a plea for how wealth sh- ims but for what it obscures. By equat- is the time to understand more,
selection. Done right by professio- attention. To think of wealth naturally flow to those whose ould be understood, not a description ing wealth with value created for oth- so that we may fear less.’
generated rather than only contribution is greatest, not to of how it actually arises. And She said this almost a century
nals, this investment style delivers wealth accumulated does shift those whose position is most when this fiction travels to In- If wealth was really ago, and it still holds special signi-
outsized returns on capital employed. the meaning we usually attach to it. To advantageous. Using this logic, Karl dia, where the architecture outward-facing, it would ficance today, when access to kn-
conceptualise businesses as agents of Marx should have been a billionaire. of wealth is entirely differ- naturally flow to those owledge is at our fingertips and
The gains accrue from discovering value before the broa- whose contribution is
good, distributing social benefits in the But modern markets do not reward ent, it arrives in a landscape just a tap away.
der market arrives at the same conclusion. name of enterprise, warms the hearts contribution. They reward leverage, that neither fits his premise greatest, not to those Fear sometimes consumes a per-
Value investing has never quite gone out of fashion sin- of those engaged in it. capital, proximity to money and tim- nor directly contradicts it. whose position is most son. It could be related to the futu-
ce it was expounded by Benjamin Graham in the 1930s. Its But for all its surface appeal, the ing. They reward being in the right pla- Instead, it reveals an al- advantageous. Using this re, advancing age, career, educa-
idea does not really stand up to scruti- ce, with the right insulation, at the right ternate logic altogether. logic, Marx should have tion, children, or the fear of being
most famous proponent, Buffett, has consistently outper- ny. For one, this is hardly the dominant moment. To turn outcomes of this sys- Indian wealth has ne- been a billionaire alone. It is said that the time-test-
formed the market with this strategy over a long career in mental model of wealth in the West. tem into a moral metric is to read the ver been an individual af- edchanting of the names of Vish-
investment. The idea is to ‘simply’ distinguish price from Western capitalism still venerates the scoreboard as if it were the rulebook. fair. The Indian HNI is not a solitary ers, it invites us to overlook economic, nu, as in the Vishnu Sahasranam,
individual accumulator: the heroic fou- Hedge funds offer the clearest dem- peak, but a densely connected node. cultural and historical structures that removes all fear of disease, old
value and take an investment position accordingly. In the nder, brilliant investor, onstration of this conceptual problem. Wealth here is embedded inside a net- determine who gets to create wealth at age and death.
2011 film Moneyball, a baseball team’s manager says that solitary architect of Hedge fund managers can become ex- work of expectations: family, kin, caste, all, and whose contributions remain Another elementary solution is
personal fortune. Be- traordinarily wealthy. Some of the rich- community, dependents, loyalists and invisible. Simply renaming a certain to live simply in the present, as
after making one bad decision based on money, he won’t
zos is not describing est people on Earth belong to this tribe. the many who become quasi-kin over kind of social good as wealth does not fearing the unseen robs one of to-
make a money-based decision any more. His deputy wise- how the West thinks. And, yet, what value do they create for time. Western wealth promises concen- change how the world works. day’s equanimity. Yet another way
ly remarks, ‘No. You’re doing it for what the money says… He is offer- others, beyond their own investors? trated autonomy. Indian wealth promi- Wealth does not arise from helping is to remember que sera, sera —
ing Silicon They do not build industries, create ses diffuse continuity. In India, wealth others lead better lives. That is govern- what will be, will be — and that
That they’re worth it.’ Investment strategies have evol-
Valley’s products, generate employment at sca- is not a story one writes alone. It’s a hi- ed by an entirely different set of struc- the future is not ours to see.
ved beyond Graham’s insights. But the concept remains a le or solve col- ve of interconnections. tural factors. It’s the kind of idea that
vital building block in finance. Its spread beyond the fi- India has always believed lective challen- Ironically, this means India has al- looks good from a distance, but shriv-
in creating value for others ges. They re- ways believed in creating value for els when examined up close. Even if we
nancial community speaks of its abiding value. — just not in the way Bezos
imagines. Our ‘others’ are
distribute, ra-
ther than crea-
others — just not in the universalised
way Bezos imagines. Our ‘others’ are
were to accept it at face value, it changes
very little, except to help some billion- Chat Room
highly specific, based on a te. Their gains highly specific: extended family, trust- aires feel better about themselves.
feudal reading of belonging, come from the ed employee, old supplier, home villa-
Measuring
Nuclear is Atomic!
rooted in a long-term idea of losses, or limit- ge, religious community.… Indian bu- The writer is co-founder,
reciprocity ations of oth- siness routinely creates value for these Think9 Consumer Technologies
The Ruler
including a decarbonisation roadmap Southern Europe 6 All our regular flights are contradictory pulls and pressu-
res of geopolitical dynamics. Of
that is in line with its net zero by 2070 goal. Uncontrolled, 806 mt (38%) Northern Europe
Western Europe
5
2
cancelled. Would you like course, the maverick politics of
This plan must be more than just capaci- North America 0 to go fly-by-night, sir? Richard Nixon and Henry Kis-
ty-addition targets like 100 GW of nuclear singer in late ’60s-early ’70s did
Source: WHO, UNEP *Dumping/open burning
by 2047. It should consider the role and blot this record to some extent.
Angara Venkata Girija Kumar
share of different energy sources and their implications, be it Chennai
costs, access or supporting ecosystem requirements.
NY Resolution No. 3:
vious year, which were confusing for in- transparency and respect. ral of taxation and taxation where mindful eating and fine penditure res-
dividual taxpayers, have been replaced But years later, it remains a ombudsman combines comp- dining quietly intersect. ponsibility without assured rev-
with the concept of a tax year, defined as statement of intent, not a laint resolution with systemic Each course highlights qua- enue devolution risks hollowing
a uniform 12-month period beginning statutory guarantee. There has been reviews. The office has examined issues lity Chinese produce — vege- out the programme where it is
Boycott Fire
April 1. progress — refunds for many have been such as aggressive debt collection prac- tables, mushrooms and herbs needed most. The Finance Com-
u Exemptions and deductions linked to much quicker, faceless mechanisms tices and digital system failures, leading —handled with finesse to coax mission must append clear recom-
salary income such as gratuity, HRA, have helped taxpayers — yet, the char- to recommendations that reshape ad- mendations on compensatory de-
leave encashment, pension and retrench- ter needs to be legally enforceable. ministrative behaviour. Its strength lies volution, either through enhan-
This New Year, in your not-to-be-coughed-at attempts to ment compensation have been consoli- For instance, in Britain, if the taxpay- in treating individual complaints as ced tax shares or a dedicated fund
dated under the salary chapter. While er feels that services provided haven’t early warning signals of deeper institu- pool for employment guarantees.
drive toxicity out of air — not to be confused with attempts this is largely a structural clean-up, it met standards outlined in the charter tional problems. R Narayanan
to drive out air with toxicity — as part of 2025 Honest ET should make salary taxation easier to (which are wide-ranging and include w Canada’s office of taxpayers’ ombuds- Navi Mumbai
List of Resolutions (HETLoR), boycott fire. Every tandoor, navigate for employees. being treated fairly, being responsive man functions as an independent revi-
every open flame at weddings, every ceremonial puja fi- u Several compliance-related provisi- and keeping data secure), they can file a ewer of service-related complaints aga- Changing the name of a flagship
ons have been consolidated to improve complaint, which His Majesty’s Reve- inst Canada Revenue Agency. While it programme is not mere linguist-
re… snuff it out and exile that silly idiom, ‘Where there is understanding. The new Act also em- nue and Customs (HMRC) assures will does not intervene in tax disputes on me- ic adjustment, it requires repri-
smoke there is fire,’ into linguistic jahannam. Inspired by powers GoI to frame schemes aimed at be dealt with quickly and fairly. rits, it investigates unfair treatment, ex- the best from these daily ing- nting official documents, updat-
Delhi government’s ban on tandoors in restaurants and ea- improving efficiency, transparency and In case of a disagreement over the de- cessive delays and poor communication. redients. Signature dishes ing digital platforms, revising
teries under Section 31(A) of the Air (Prevention and Cont- accountability in tax administration cision, a statutory review is also possi- Its public reports have prompted chan- include kou san si, a delicate signboards, altering stationery,
that is increasingly powered by tech- ble, which is more cost effective than ges in how taxpayer rights are commu- blend of tofu skin, cordyceps modifying communication mater-
rol of Pollution) Act 1981, put an end to all coal- and firewo- nology. With this framework in place, appealing to the tribunal. HMRC states nicated and how vulnerable groups, in- flowers and black fungus with ial, testing bureaucratic systems
od-fuelled flames, matchsticks included. Frankly, do away perhaps the forthcoming budget can that three-quarters of disagreements cluding seniors and low-income filers, quinoa and spinach, a plant- and issuing new guidelines ac-
with gas-based or other cleaner-based appliances as well. introduce policy changes that have been are settled during a review, which is car- are handled. This mechanism offers a based mapo tofu, qi cai (Chin- ross districts. All of this costs pub-
Fire has had a good run — millennia of dominance, endless tried and tested in other countries and credible alternative to litigation for indi- ese chives) dumplings, egg- lic money that could, instead, be
are in sync with the needs of modern- viduals caught in procedural limbo. plant rolls with gai lan (Chin- used to clear pending MGNRE-
cameos in mythology and movies, and a starring role in every day taxpayers. Across jurisdictions, benefits are con- ese broccoli), and mashed taro GA wages, expand workdays, or
dhaba and Mughlai joint. It’s time for a cold revolution. At u Optional joint taxation for couples has sistent. Tax ombudsmen provide qui- (a root vegetable) dumplings raise stagnant daily wage rates
weddings, couples can circle a battery-powered LED lamp, its been proposed by the Institute of Char- cker relief for individuals facing hard- with pumpkin sauce. that still hover below minimum
flicker powered by three AA cells. Pujas can be conducted aro- tered Accountants of India (ICAI) in its ship, lower the cost and complexity of Clear mushroom broth deli- wage levels in many states. The
pre-budget memorandum. Under the redress, and shine a light on recurring vers pure umami, while des- nation does not need renamed
und induction cooktops, while tandoori chicken can be re- current system, each spouse is taxed se- administrative failures. Reviving the serts like black bean ice-cream schemes, it needs renewed com-
branded as ‘USB-heated poultry surprise’. Progress is micro- parately, even though incomes, expen- ombudsman office — with greater in- with mung bean pastry and mitment to the poorest citizens
waving fire goodbye. Humbugs will say this is absurd, and yo- ses and financial responsibilities are dependence, clear jurisdiction and goji berry sorbet with Shao- Gandhi spent his life defending.
often shared. time-bound resolution mandates — xing wine provide a refined Pradeep Kumar
u’ll relapse into your agneepath before the first week of the
Joint taxation would have a higher ex- would provide an essential balance in finish. Thoughtful tea pair- Surat
new year is done. But you’ll be surprised what you can achieve emption threshold and allow couples to the tax ecosystem. ings complete the experience.
Letters to the editor may be addressed to
by turning off aag. Old flames were always overrated anyway. file a single consolidated return, combi- Yum meets zen.
ning incomes and deductions. Tax pro- Iron out the crinkly bits [email protected] [email protected]
PD: 18-12-2025 Z: Delhi E: 1 U: c-subodh.kumar T: 12-17-2025 22:57
O
nOct 19, 1980, you could have walked into Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan (pride) – at stake is the images of Mahayuti leaders at Eid the vernacular press In recent elections,
at 3pm, and watched a screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s Thackeray political legacy. The two celebrations to blunt attacks on their has echoed fears UBT Sena has gained
face NDA, the BJP-Shinde Sena alliance, own secular alliances. While BJP has about the future of Even minor shifts in substantial support from
silent film, Battleship Potemkin, for all of `2, which was
for control of India’s wealthiest civic also accused Uddhav of “looting” the Marathi manoos neo-Buddhist Dalits and
the price of a bread loaf those days. It was organised by our body. Since the 1980s, the undivided Mumbai’s treasury, these allegations should the Thackerays
turnout could alter the Muslims. While this
own I&B ministry that, 45 years later, initially appeared to display Shiv Sena, in partnership with BJP, have struggled to gain traction as the lose BMC. BJP has results...But, beyond is likely to continue,
great reluctance to let a younger audience watch this classic at has controlled BMC. former has been an alliance partner in found it a challenge the headline battles, will Athawale’s RPI (A) and
the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). Today, this dynamic has reversed. running BMC for decades. to de-legitimise the the city’s crumbling infra Ambedkar’s VBA are
The ministry’s late clearance of censor exemption for 19 foreign BJP aims to be the dominant force in Politics of Marathi asmita received Thackeray brand find some space? likely to retain influence
the civic body, employing aggressive a fresh lease of life following the in Mumbai in the in specific pockets.
films in IFFK’s lineup made headlines the past few days. Potemkin,
manoeuvres to bolster its position. It even controversial introduction of Hindi Marathi press. Similarly, Samajwadi Party and
the cause celebre in the list due to its age – it will turn 100 on attempted to undercut partner Shinde as a mandatory third language in Beyond the headline clash AIMIM pose a significant challenge
Sunday – and multigenerational impact, eventually got exemption Sena, before electoral pressures forced primary schools. The Thackerays between Mahayuti and Thackerays, for the Muslim vote, complicating the
on Wednesday evening. But what preceded it once again shows it to contest the elections together. have leveraged this momentum to the election remains a multi- math for the major alliances.
why govt should let film fests function autonomously, like Cannes, Meanwhile, Brothers Thackeray are portray BJP as a ‘Gujarati party’ layered contest with razor-thin Ultimately, these hyper-localised
Berlinale, Sundance, and many others. fighting to reclaim their status as sole intent on siphoning development margins. Mahayuti has roped elections will be decided by candidates’
heirs to Bal Thackeray’s legacy. projects to neighbouring Gujarat. in BR Ambedkar’s grandson local networks and by party cadres’
It was to this end that govt changed rules in 2006, cutting out
Ideological battle lines were drawn This narrative has been bolstered Anandraj Ambedkar, via booth-level micro-management.
the Censor Board from the screening well before the polls – Uddhav and Raj by allegations of ‘vote theft’ Shinde Sena’s alliance with Even minor shifts in turnout could
process for film fests. Until then, the came together in July 2025 on the via fake Republican Sena, to woo alter the results across numerous
Board’s role in clearances had been Marathi language question. Mahayuti voters constituencies. These elections will
causing delays. The revised rules laid alliance anticipated the UBT Sena and decide, to quote the iconic line
down a 15-day time frame to clear lists MNS alliance for BMC polls and criticised from the film Satya, “Mumbai ka
the move as opportunistic. king kaun?”
submitted by fest organisers. Clearance
MNS had influence over 123 of BMC’s Amidst this verbal warfare, one
could be withheld on grounds of national 227 wards during last Nov’s assembly hopes some space will be given
security, law and order, and relations elections. Given this, Mahayuti has to discuss the city’s crumbling
with other countries, but the existence countered both the Thackerays, but their public transport, housing shortage,
of a preview committee among the organisers ensured ‘problematic’ focus has mainly been on Uddhav. inadequate healthcare, pothole-ridden
titles weren’t included. BJP has consistently sought to roads and water scarcity. These systemic
de-legitimise Uddhav’s Hindutva failures affect millions daily.
The preview committee rule followed the global model. For
credentials by highlighting his support However, unless these substantive
instance, at Cannes, the world’s biggest film fest, 1951’s Swiss among Muslims. At Vijay Sankalp issues force their way into the debate,
entry, Four in a Jeep, was denied screening, only to avoid hurting Melava in Sept 2025, BJP’s Mumbai the BMC election slated for Jan 15 risks
Soviet feelings in the Cold War – Soviet soldiers were called “bloody president explicitly warned against devolving into a purely verbal war
Russians” in the film. Reciprocally, the Soviet entry, Liberated “infiltration”, suggesting that a “Khan” between two political camps, delivering
China, was also banned. Likewise, at the 20th Berlinale in 1970, could become mayor. plenty of noise but no concrete relief to
Uddhav has countered this by the citizens of Mumbai.
Michael Verhoeven’s anti-war film o.k. was “neutralised” by the
framing his party as the custodian of The writer teaches at OP Jindal Global
jury because it didn’t appear to encourage “understanding between “authentic” Hindutva, contrasting it University
nations” – it was inspired by the 1966 rape of a Vietnamese girl by Uday Deb
Do Let It Sleep
Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey remains the most influential model for unorganised challenged caste inequality in rural Maharashtra by
sector welfare boards in India. fanning out to rural areas, demanding a single, state-
Karnataka’s legislation Over time, it became clear that Adhav’s work with managed drinking water source in every village – “ek gaon,
for gig workers kicked the hamals shaped a far wider vision of workers’ rights. ek panghat”. This arrangement should inspire us to
in in Nov, mere weeks The model inspired waste pickers, domestic workers, demonstrate how public delivery systems, from water at
We work, we have fun late into night, work again…and before the man who auto-rickshaw drivers, and street vendors to demand MGNREGA worksites to mid-day meals when delivered
built the timeless recognition and collective structures of their own. Central by members of socially marginalised communities, can
stress out our bodies. We aren’t infinitely adaptable foundation for such a to this imagination was Adhav’s early articulation that help confront and dismantle social prejudices.
O
law, passed away at age 95. A tall trade union leader, pensions and social security are the composite burden Depth of Adhav’s contribution becomes even clearer
n weekdays, you wake up to a shrill alarm. On weekends, of every employer, of the entire sector, and of society. when viewed in light of contemporary labour struggles.
it is Baba Adhav’s work of 75 years that has become
you sleep in late. This is you living your best life. Except…is first principles to secure the labour rights and dignity This principle continues to sit at the heart of ongoing One of the fastest-growing sectors today is the gig
your body protesting? Is office on Monday full of pain? for contemporary India’s unorganised sector – over debates on universal social protection. economy, where workers operate without employer
No amount of coffee gets rid of the brain fog or nagging headache. 90% of the workforce. The transformative impact of this kind of creative trade recognition or legal protection. For over a decade,
Or irritability and heartburn. Interestingly, these are all symptoms It all goes back to the early 1950s, when a young gig workers remained trapped in a legal vacuum, with
of jet lag. You haven’t
DECOLONISINGTHE LAW-5 travelled across continents. But your body
DECODING
22-year-old Xiopolitics-I
doctor with socialist ideals began working aggregators denying any responsibility.
inIn
Pune. One Xiof the first groups
be Adhav set out to organise The breakthrough came when gig workers unions
experiences
How to write statutesthe difference
for free India
writers’ views are
in sleep timings between weekdays
and weekends as if it were hurtling through time zones. Travel-
were
October,
‘hamals’
anointed
on5-part
their
Jinping
as China’s
series
headson the
will again
– headloaders
leader. A specialwho carried heavy sacks
andman & whatMigrants
backs. he from surrounding
and social movements in India drew inspiration
from the Mathadi model. Registering workers and
induced jet lag is a short-term problem.P ER
Social SO
jet lag, N other
on the AL might mean for India & the world
rural areas, they had no fixed employer, moved from employers, fixing social security contributions per
hand, can be chronic. shop to shop negotiating rates, and had extremely short transaction, and creating a collective identity for a
DECODING THEoutJOBofMARKET
BUDGET
Tumble bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour yourself a working lives due to the physical nature of their work. scattered workforce offered a ready framework for
cup of ambition, and yawn and DECODING Xiopolitics-5
In a crisis, there was no fallback. The three cornerstones the digital age in India, and beyond.
2023-24
stretch and try to come to life – that,
Dolly Parton sang, is how the 9 to 5
Inof workers’
October,
and social
anointed
5-part Organising
rights,
Xi Jinping
security,
as China’s
fair wages,
will again
leader. A
series on the man &
were
what
be safe working conditions,
entirely absent.
special
he
hamals was extraordinarily difficult.
In Nov 2025, Karnataka became a pioneer in labour
protection for gig workers by notifying the Karnataka
Platform based Gig Workers Act. By fixing employer
THE day begins. Sometimes, it’s even 9 might mean for India & the world
Yet through years of persistent organising, struggle and responsibility for every transaction, the law demonstrates
FREEBIES A TRIBUTE
to 9. So Friday night you let loose. negotiation, Adhav and the Hamal Panchayat achieved how digital systems can scale what was once done
D E B AT E Maybe laughLata
withMangeshkar
friends well past a breakthrough that would permanently alter the imagi- manually, enabling auto-registration, tracking of worker
1929-2022 nation of labour rights in India. They evolved a legal and rights, and more transparent, worker-oriented boards.
midnight, to feel connected, to feel
lost in music, conversation, them. GALWAN
institutional framework that brought workers, employers With adaptation, this model could extend to and empower
FREEBIES
THE
adam@home
One late night here and one short sleep there is OK, but avoid cash per sack, workers collected coupons and received to fixed locations. For 50 uninterrupted years, through Baba Adhav’s contribution shows justice for workers
yo-yoing all the time. When you sleep late, try to get some bright composite monthly payments at rates fixed through bandhs, riots, and natural calamities, this kitchen has, on requires perseverance, structural imagination,
sunlight upon waking up. Stay hydrated. And remember, zzzing tripartite negotiations. A levy on each sack, funded a no-profit basis, fed nearly 10,000 people a day. institutional creativity and collective action by working
until 2pm makes the jet lag worse. As Peter Gluckman and social security including provident fund, gratuity, Adhav’s vision of justice drew from Phule and people themselves.
Calvin
workers’ and Hobbes
compensation, bonus, and administrative Ambedkar to advance equality and inter-caste solidarity. The writers are social activists and founder members of
Mark Hanson write in Mismatch: Why Our World No Longer Fits During the 1970s drought, he and other socialist leaders
costs. It was a stroke of institutional genius, and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
Our Bodies, while humans have evolved to be able to live in a
broad range of environments, we are not infinitely adaptable.
Let’s listen to our bodies more, abuse them less. Calvin & Hobbes Sacredspace
Every
KARNATAKA
aghast man says, ‘Young man, where’s your grammar?!’ To of life.
which the lad points upstairs and says, ‘She’s takin’ a nap.’ MK Gandhi
This old joke again reminded me about Rajiv Gandhi throwing
FINAL COUNTDOWN-4
the threatening Hindi idiom at his opponents, ‘Unki nani
A
I’m a ‘grammar Nazi’, but colleagues now dismiss my corrections as just 15-year-old Carlo Acutis who died not all of the faithful are convinced about even claim to speak in the voice of god. to a temple in Kerala for its rituals to avoid
Goebbelsdy-gook. No one wants to be dictated to by spelling. SMS of leukaemia in 2006 – popularly this. In the 1998 Bollywood film 1947 Jesus chatbots are fertile ground for the use of real-life animals. Certain
was the OG, then WhatsApp emerged from slangy ‘What’s up?’ or, known as ‘God’s influencer’ and Earth directed by Deepa Mehta, Aamir getting scammed, say experts. “It’s spiritual websites offer virtual services
worse, ‘Wassup?’. Both reduced phrases, even whole sentences, to the ‘Patron Saint of the Internet’ – used Khan plays a street-smart character difficult to know if they are really about like conducting puja, havan and
alphabets. Y r u ROTFL? This cancer is no longer b9; in fact it has digital media to promote Catholicism. who carries a dial-up telephone in his religion or are just milking money from abhishek, offering prasad, adorning the
Meta-stasised. A website he created documented bag, promising devotees to call god the faithful,” says Anne Verhoef, North- deity with flower offerings and so on,
But Hey! Wow! Outlier interjection is now the commonest Eucharistic miracles recognised by the on their behalf even as he dials West University, Potchefstroom, from remote locations. But these are mild
erratica part of speech. This, when comma’s gone into a coma, church. With its finger on the pulse of the the numbers 7-8-9 and holds South Africa, who analysed five uses of hi-tech as compared with large
apostrophe atrophied, and Mark Tully’s 1992 No Full Stops digital world, the Vatican led by Pope Leo an imaginary conversation popular Jesus chatbots by language models and AI tools like Jesus
in India unintendedly validated. Ouch! XIV on Sept 7, 2025, canonised Acutis, with the divine. Today, the asking them questions about chatbots that could be an alarming trend,
Grammar hara-kiri is relentless. Nouns have suffered ID theft; now tasked acknowledging the vital role of infotech faithful may not fall for themselves and basic because of the possibility of followers
with becoming verbs. Pronouns are forcibly gender-reassigned, turning ‘s/he’ in spreading the faith and keeping the flock that trick but some are theology. Verhoef says the getting misled or duped.
into a confusing ‘they’. But then, crazy angrezi itself makes plural a singular together in an increasingly social media being drawn to AI ‘Jesus possibility for abuse is huge, as In the early days of the Internet,
conundrum. An erudite friend never figured out why normally plural ‘s’ is and Internet dependent demographic. chatbots’ that promise the seekers tend to be vulnerable rumours were rife that the next
paired with singular nouns, not plural ones: ‘The boy stands’ but ‘Boys stand’. Brian Owens writes in Nature same, of helping them and gullible. Believing a appearance of Jesus Christ or the next
Now a new problem has dawned with the new ‘they’. that “the work of a saintly teenager speak directly with Jesus Christ chatbot to be divinity itself, they may Hindu avatar would emerge in the digital
I despair over my building WhatsApp group’s hourly request – ‘Does anyone tech-wizard is just one way that new or other religious figures. follow its instructions faithfully. world. A medium is a medium, whether
has…’, but shouldn’t it be singularly correct? technologies are finding their way into What is worrying is that these Other major religions are using human or digital, so one cannot rule
Looks like ‘grammar’ is not napping; often, she’s simply not alive to logic. religious practice: artificial intelligence chatbots are hosted by private outfits that generative AI tools to conduct automated out these possibilities, if you are a devout
*** (AI) chatbots and ritual-performing have no religious background and no one rituals. Some Hindu temples are known follower of a faith. Safeguards like prudence
Alec Smart said: “The devout may think ‘G RAM G’ is a jap-incantation robots are already taking on spiritual roles is sure as to what kind of scriptural or to use robotic arms to perform the lamp and caution need to be exercised.
not a job-guarantee.” that are conventionally filled by humans.” other information is being fed into these ritual before a deity (aarti). People for the [email protected]
EDIT
DECCAN CHRONICLE | VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | 18 DECEMBER 2025
pg 6
Subhani
18 DECEMBER 2025
W
ing strategy and programmes to be adopted by the bloc. Mr Abdullah’s pre- hen the hall in never out of office, Mr Yunus was bestowed in Khondaker Mushtaq
vious reference that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was on a life support system must Dhaka ex- is a permanent chief adviser. Ahmad, who immediately Among others, it changed
in fact be read in conjunction with the latest outburst. One should not lose ploded in ap- Is he now the sole incumbent 1990? stepped into his murdered the Centre and state ratio
sight of the lone battle the National Conference has been fighting for the plause bec- or does he share the crown boss’ shoes to become
restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. Indeed, that should ause Sheikh with the former Chief Jus- President. of financial commitment
have been on the I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s agenda. Hasina Wazed, the ousted tice, Shahabuddin Ahmed, often-tantalising acrobatics Brigadier Khaled Mush- from 90:10 to 60:40 and
Taken together, the responses of the alliance partners of the I.N.D.I.A. Prime Minister now living on whom the honour was of democratic ministry-mak- arraf’s abortive counter-
bloc portray a picture of a house unnecessarily divided. It now falls upon in exile in India, was sen- bestowed (by whom?) in ing. Initially intended to sup- coup against Mushtaq was
also capped the Budget
the shoulders of no party other than the Congress to take the lead in instill- tenced to death, I was re- 1990? Shahabuddin Ahmed port the transition from crushed and Col. Abu support. The Centre con-
ing a sense of unity of purpose within the alliance and make it a political minded of Sir Edward Pen- served twice as President of authoritarianism to demo- Taher’s loyal troops freed fines to supervisory role
platform with the potential to strike when an opportunity lands. Indeed, derel Moon, a British mem- Bangladesh and as Chief cracy, the caretaker system Ziaur Rahman from house
it’s time that the Congress got its act together and helped the alliance do ber of the Indian Civil Ser- Justice from 1990 to 1995. As was institutionalised in 1996 arrest, whereupon he while states have to exe-
the same. vice and a historian, arguing Chief Adviser, he oversaw by the Sixth Parliament as appointed himself the chief cute and take accountabili-
in his book Strangers In Bangladesh’s 1991 general mistrust increased between martial law administrator.
India that Anglo-Saxon ju- election with powers like the Bangladesh Nationalist But Gen. Zia was also ty of the programme.
Spotlight on ISIS sleeper cells risprudence was unsuited to
the subcontinent. His argu-
ment was that most Brits
those of a Prime Minister,
except for the sacred defence
portfolio with which a
Party and the Awami
League.
The present adviser for for-
gunned down, whereupon
Gen. Ershad took over.
Formal democracy was
Pratapa Reddy Yaramala
NTR district
INVALID VOTERS
T
he role of a terror-indoctrinated Indian, Sajid Akram, in the recent mass had little understanding of nation that has not forgotten eign affairs, Mohammed restored. But the cycle of
shooting that killed 15 people at Bondi Beach in Sydney is a worrisome India’s moral values, histori- its Pakistani past can’t Touhid Hossain, for inst- death continued. When Faz-
development and hints at steadily growing radicalisation in the country. cal legacy and traditional entrust mere civilians. ance, was a career diplomat lur Quader Chowdhury, a All political parties should realise
Sajid, who was born in Hyderabad around 50 years ago, left home to work ethic, although they had Gen. Ershad won a contro- and Bangladeshi deputy former Pakistan National that the nation’s security is more
overseas at a young age. His work took him to West Asia and Pakistan, where copied the Westminster sys- versial presidential election high commissioner in Kolk- Assembly Speaker, was important than the political power
he was indoctrinated into radical ISIS ideology. Sajid, in turn, influenced his tem lock, stock and barrel. in 1986 after ousting the civil- ata before becoming foreign jailed in 1973, his son, game (EC deletes 58.2L invalid voters
son Naveed, who was captured and is being interrogated by the Australian Muhammad Yunus’ call ian incumbent, but was ulti- secretary. If he offended Ind- Salahuddin Quader from Bengal rolls, Dec. 17). It is per-
police. for parliamentary elections mately worsted by the two ians by denying allegations Chowdhury, a leading light tinent that the EC deleted around 58
Though initially Sajid was suspected to be a Pakistani, his Indian passport next February confirms that Begums of Bangladeshi poli- of illegal migrants in N-E in the BNP, warned Taj- lakh fake voters in West Bengal
established his Indian links to Hyderabad. The Telangana police swiftly inves- Bangladesh remains a “rid- tics, Sheikh Mujibur India and by blaming New uddin and his colleagues to under SIR which includes 34 lakh
tigated his roots in Hyderabad and revealed all his details, without giving any dle wrapped in a mystery Rahaman’s daughter, Delhi for stagnant India- have air-conditioners and Rohingya mostly from Bangladesh.
scope for speculation. Ever since he left Hyderabad in 1998, the police said Sajid inside an enigma”. The 85- Sheikh Hasina Wazed, and Bangladesh relations, he other comforts installed in Under the alarming situation the
visited the city only six times and had no record of criminal antecedents there. year-old economist, entre- Mrs Khaleda Zia, widow of could also be caustic about the jail as their time would predominant Rohingya will have to
His radicalisation appears to be the result of his interaction with people in preneur and politician is the assassinated Gen. Ziaur Anwar Bakht Choudhury, also come. It did. Fazlur be deported to their homeland
West Asia and Pakistan — a modus operandi being followed by ISIS to enrol Bangladesh’s “fifth chief Rahman, who buried the the Bangladeshi-origin high Quader Chowdhury died immediately.
Indian Muslims into its terrorist agenda. adviser” since 2024. Have hatchet for once to unite commissioner that London behind bars before Tajuddin B.V. Apparao
The Islamic State or ISIS is a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organisa- four simply disappeared as against the military usurper. sent to Dhaka in 2004. “He and the others were Simhachalam
tion founded in 2006. Many Muslims living around the world joined it, but politician after politician is The then Army chief, Gen. has passed the Tebbit test!” butchered. Then Salahuddin
Indian Muslims were the least affected by its propaganda — forcing ISIS to tap murdered or executed. Nuruddin Khan, refused to was Mr Hossain’s reported and Ali Ahsan Mohammad The results of the first phase of SIR
Indian Muslims working overseas. Perhaps an even more lofty support Gen. Ershad, who comment. Mujahid were hanged after in West Bengal’s voter rolls is
The recruitment strategy of ISIS in India clusters around online radicalisa- authority whom “advisers” had to step down when Along with Mrs Wazed, a being convicted of genocide apparently an anti-climax to the
tion, small modules, IED experimentation, handlers and fund-raising chan- advise and in whom vests Army officers loyal to him former home minister, Asad- and rape — charges that they BJP’s ongoing propaganda against
nels. In most cases linked to ISIS in India, the sleeper cells consisted of fewer ultimate power is lurking were removed. uzzaman Khan Kamal, was denied. the illegal Bangladeshi or Rohingya
than 10 persons. However, the key concern is the proliferation of sleeper cells somewhere. Gen. Ershad tried one last sentenced to death in absen- So, it goes on. Trials are voters. In fact, the Murshidabad vio-
in the country. Indian Muslims must guard against being dragged into a glob- Realising that the system ploy. He appointed Justice tia. A third accused, ex- conducted under antiquated lence against Hindus last year was
al terror factory, and the government must extend all the help they need for was not best suited to their Shahabuddin Ahmed to Inspector General of Police British laws. Evidence is the flashpoint for the NDA govern-
this purpose. needs, Gen. Hussain Mu- form an acceptable neutral Chowdhury Abdullah Al- based on concepts that locals ment mandating EC to undertake
hammad Ershad, the dicta- caretaker government and Mamun, was sentenced to may not comprehend. Ques- SIR. It is however surprising to note
tor from 1983 to 1990, enacted prepare for democratic elec- five years’ imprisonment. tions are more intelligible to that there are 24 lakh dead voters in
DECCAN CHRONICLE the eighth constitutional tions. But instead of doing Mr Yunus thought the ver- lawyers than to respondents. the deleted list. Media reports indi-
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR amendment to elevate so, Mr Shahabuddin imme- dict “historic”, while Mrs Who knows what the latest cated that illegal Bangladeshis and
Editor Printer & Publisher Islam’s status. In the same diately arrested Gen. Er- Wazed called it “biased and killing of Sharif Osmann Rohingya left West Bengal as the
spirit, he changed “Dacca” to shad, an action that Bang- politically motivated”. Hadi, chief of the right-wing exercise of SIR commenced. There
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at: Dhaka which sounds closer ladesh’s Supreme Court This is not the end. It’s not Inquilab Mancha, will lead were more illegal voters among 68
to Bengali phonetics. He struck down but too late in the beginning either for that to? Few can tell where jus- lakh+ detected in Bihar when SIR
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad - 500 003, Ph: 040-27803930-4; Fax : 040-27805256
should also have revised the the day. lay in the Partition riots of tice ends and vengeance was conducted there. But then in
Vijayawada: No.C-3 & 4 Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.), Ph: 0866-2555284.
Visakhapatnam: Survey No.1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony, justice system, especially Bangladesh is lucky to 1947, compounded by the begins. Partly because of the West Bengal where illegal Muslims
Visakhapatnam - 530 017 (A.P), Ph: 0891-2552333/2552334; Fax: 0891-2755285 crime and punishment and have a reserve of so many 1971 war that created Judaic punishment system were more in number, the deletions
Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawaleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry, Ph: 0883-2417618/2417208; Telefax: 0883- rules of evidence. potential advisers and chief Bangladesh. and the Anglo-Saxon code of post SIR should be more. There is
2417208 It’s said in Pakistan, no advisers who can be dragged Another grim round fol- right and wrong, Bangladesh something more than meets the eye
Anantapur: Thapovan colony, Bangalore By-Pass Road, Anantapur - 515004, Ph: 08554-276903; Fax: matter who wins the polls, out of the closet when there lowed in 1975 when Sheikh is still wallowing in blood. in as the system has apparently
08554-276904 the military remains in po- is a crisis. They function Mujib and his extended fam- It’s not the only aspect of been compromised.
Karimnagar: H. No. 1-21-12/1, Cheralabhutkur Road, Mugudhumpur Village, Karimnagar-505186, PH. wer. No wonder Gen. Ershad then as ministers but, not ily were murdered in their Asian life that needs review- Govardhana Myneedu
NO. 9121181123. was considering how to having been elected, are not Dhanmondi residence. Not ing in light of indigenous Vijayawada
Nellore: Survey No.527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemmudugunta Panchayat, Nellore, Ph:
0861-2348581/82; Telefax: 0861-2348580
involve the military in gov- answerable to Parliament. forgotten yet, that bloodbath requirements.
Chennai: SP-3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032, Ph: 044-22254747/ 48/50/51; ernance, as in Suharto’s However it evolved, the sys- inspired vicious calls during Email your letters to
Advt Fax: 22254765/22254766/42305325 Indonesia. Meanwhile, tem has always seemed to the recent upheavals in The writer is a senior [email protected],
Coimbatore: Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, No. 2/22 Sengalipalayam Road, N.G.G.O Colony Post, Bangladeshis may wonder if function with smooth effec- Dhaka to raze Mujib’s long journalist, columnist and
Kurudampalayam village - 641 022 like Pakistan’s ISI, which is tiveness in contrast to the demolished house to the author
[email protected].
F
or the last few decades terrorism has, unques- hold of the killer father and handed him over to the the international community, very little has been If the US does not do so, it should not be taken by
tionably, become the scourge of the modern local police. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that done collectively done by the global community, and surprise if there is a repeat of the 9/11 attacks on its
world. The latest major terror incident has several Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were its toothless watchdog, the United Nations or its soil. Many in the US who fully comprehend the nu-
been the horrific attack in Australia’s iconic found near the site of the attack. Ever since the Security Council. Unfortunately, instead of striving ances of the global security paradigm are surprised
Bondi Beach in Sydney, with two Islamist terrorists Israeli retaliation against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, for a peaceful law-abiding global order, many nations at the Trump administration’s new-found love for
gunning down 16 innocent civilians celebrating the over two years back, a few isolated incidents, rela- remain in pursuit of their own selfish interests and Pakistan, forgetting the latter’s relentless pursuit of
first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. tively less violent in intensity, have occurred target- thus are fixated on their brand of selective terrorism. terror activities in the past. How can America now
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ing the Jewish community Down Under. In August It’s not for nothing that the world, or the UN, has conveniently forget that the world’s most dreaded
Kamal Davar described the attack as a “devastating” event, clari- this year, Australia had accused Iran of mastermind- been unable to agree on a definition of terrorism or a terrorist, Osama bin Laden, designated as such by
fying that it was a “targeted attack on Jewish Aus- ing two anti-Semitic arson attacks in Sydney and terrorist. While the latter, to most people, is an evil both the US and the UN, was captured and killed by
tralians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should Melbourne, and had directed the Iranian ambas- person pursuing violence against unarmed civilians, US special forces after he was found hiding for years
be a day of joy, a celebration of faith”. India’s Prime sador to leave the country. amazingly, to some people the same person is a free- in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, with
Terror has to be
Minister Narendra Modi, while strongly condemn- While the United States, Britain, France, Canada dom-fighter! This anomaly has to end before the Islamabad supposedly ignorant of this fact?
ing this incident and expressing solidarity with Aus- and the Middle East region, including Israel and world can unite in the fight against global terror. India, which was consistently targeted by terror-
tralia, declared that “India has zero tolerance Syria, have been afflicted with terror activities, off Most security analysts agree that both the US and ism emanating from Pakistan, will have to further
towards terrorism and supports the fight against all and on, the South Asian region, comprising India, China are not doing enough globally to contain ter- strengthen its counter-terror structures. It must
from Bondi hit? and still carried an Indian passport. The son is fight-
ing for his life in a Sydney hospital. According to the
police, both had travelled recently to the Philippines,
ed. Pakistan, which is now afflicted with home-
grown terror itself, whether from the Afghan Taliban
or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or Baloch rebels,
and citadel of global terror, but unfortunately it
derives part of its strength and largesse from the US
and China to continue its evil endeavours both
Intelligence. India needs to be militarily strong to
serve as a deterrent to any mischief emanating from
Pakistani soil.
where they may have got weapons training. is now reaping all the evil it had sown, especially in among neighbours, such as India and Afghanistan,
That the number of those killed in the horrific its neighbourhood. but even within its own country. It is high time that The writer, a retired lieutenant-general, was the
attack was not larger was thanks to the efforts of a As the footprint of terror activities is spreading all these two powerful nations end their support to first head of India’s Defence Intelligence Agency, and
Muslim convenience store owner who bravely got across the civilised world, despite many warnings to Pakistan as a major sponsor of terror activities. is a strategic analyst
VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | 18 DECEMBER 2025
pg
91.02
Dollar (C 91.02 0.31 Malhotra expects the percentage point. Sept, and by ers face no criticism. This deficit from next
interest rates to remain reality requires India to — NIRMALA fiscal year.
Pound Sterling (C) 121.79 0.26 another $10 bn
low for a long period of negotiate cautiously while SITHARAMAN CENTRE nudges
Euro (C 106.99 0.41 in Oct.
time as India continues to leveraging its growing Union finance States to lower
Gold (10gm)* (C) 134,734▲325 0.24 post strong economic economic strength, said minister their debt levels
growth, which may fur- RBI’S MPC reduced RBI projects finance minister Nirmala
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 59.80 1.49 ther accelerate once India inflation to rise Sitharaman. to become a
repo rate to 5.25% developed
IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.601 0.43 concludes trade pacts with from 6.5% a year- to 2.9% for On growth, she said
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.176 0.027 the US and the European quarter ending India’s growth momen- nation.
Union. Rates may also
ago, cumulatively tum and global aspira-
125 bps in 2025. March.
* As of 8:30 PM IST stay low due to the defla- tions hinge on disciplined
tionary trend seen over fiscal management, com- this year, she said. must chart its own course
the past few months. INFLATION is well below the lower end of petitive manufacturing, “The RBI documents and amid shifting global
Malhotra said the cen- our target range. Growth will moderate and policymaking rooted studies show worrisome norms. Countries like
Trai sets Feb. 15 tral bank’s economic pro-
jections had not yet fac-
but remain robust. The last GDP number
was surprising.
in domestic priorities.
“From the next financial
debt-to-GDP in some
States. Unless managed
India must mark their
own goalposts by chalking
deadline for tored in the potential
impact of upcoming trade — SANJAY MALHOTRA, RBI governor
year, debt levels will be the
core focus area for the
within fiscal responsibili-
ty and budget manage-
their own growth story.
“We can aspire for an
numbers for making service Sept. quarter, had to taining financial stability FALAKNAAZ SYED intraday high of 89.99. It
and transactional calls to con-
sumers. Trai said the direction
has been issued with the obje-
ctive of enhancing consumer
improve its forecasting.
“Inflation is well below
the lower end of our tar-
get range. Growth will
and strengthening the
financial system were his
twin priorities.
Meanwhile, chief eco-
MUMBAI, DEC. 17
biometrics for
strong economic expan-
sion alongside low infla-
tion will play a decisive
role, as millions of young-
vent the rupee’s slide.
This was rupee’s
excessive volatility and
prevent a disorderly AGREE TO SIGN FTA Silver prices crossed
`2,06,000 per kg at Multi
na plans to restrict silver
exports from 2026, a devel-
payments
tion. The RBI’s Monetary
Policy Committee has
reduced the repo rate by
sters get ready to enter the
workforce over the next
two decades.
sharpest intra-day recov-
ery in more than seven
months.
move, signaling its dis-
comfort with rapid depre-
ciation. Today’s action
TODAY IN MUSCAT Commodity Exchange
(MCX) as international
silver touched a new high
opment that could disrupt
a key supply source and
intensify pressure on
125 basis points cumula- “Industry can co-design “The opening today was reinforces the RBI’s role MADHUSUDAN SAHOO of $66 per oun-ce. Having global market, said
Amazon Pay on Wednesday tively in 2025, bringing the curricula, offer credit- lower at 91.07 but RBI sold as a stabiliser rather than NEW DELHI, DEC. 17 risen 130 per cent in 2025, Kaynat Chainw-ala, AVP
launched aunified payments benchmark rate down to bearing internships, sup- dollars to halt further a defender of fixed levels,” silver carries the poten- commo-dity Research,
interface (UPI) biometric 5.25 per cent from 6.50 per port applied research, depreciation in the rupee said Abhishek Goenka, India and Oman would tial to move 20-25 per Kotak Securities.
authentication feature, which cent a year ago. share infrastructure,” he beyond the 91-mark, help- chief executive officer, sign a free trade agree- cent more in com- With Chinese silver
enables users to make payme- For the September quar- further said. ing the rupee to hit an IFA Global. ment (FTA) on Thursday ing months. inv-entories
nts using fingerprints or face in Muscat with an aim to On Wednesday, already at their
scans. There will be no need to boost economic ties betw- silver extended lowest levels in a
remember a PIN code to exe-
cute a transaction, the compa-
ny said, claiming this to be an
industry first. The feature is
PFRDA RAISES NPS
WITHDRAWAL LIMIT
Tax buoyancy, compliance een two countries, the
commerce ministry said.
The comprehensive eco-
nomic partnership agree-
its remarkable rally,
breaking above the $66
per ounce level for the
first time on record, driv-
decade, any export
curbs risk worsening
the physical squeeze, rein-
forcing the bullish narra-
limited to transact up to
C5,000, and a PIN will needed-
for payments beyond the limit. TO 80% FROM 60% to offset some revenue loss ment (CEPA), formally
began in November 2023
and the negotiations con-
cluded this year.
en by a combination of
physical supply condi-
tions, rising safe-haven
demand, strong inflows
tive and potentially sus-
taining elevated prices in
near term.
“Looking ahead to 2026,
New Delhi, Dec. 17: SANGEETHA G. tion is not static and there “The FTA offers imme- into silver-backed ETFs, the outlook remains posi-
Pension regulator PFRDA CHENNAI, DEC. 17 is buoyancy. Moreover, nse opportunities in a and growing expectations tive but far more volatile
has revamped the exit and lower rates are likely to number of sectors, inclu- of US Fed rate cuts, finds than gold. The metal car-
withdrawal rules, allow- Goods and services tax lead to improved compli- ding textiles, footwear, Kotak Securities. ries further upside poten-
ing non-government sub- (GST) rationalisation is ance and fewer disputes,” automobiles, gems and This saw silver touching tial of 20–25 per cent, with
scribers of national pen- likely to result in net neg- it added. jewellery, renewable ener- `2,06,111 per kg in MCX. MCX prices seen in the
sion system (NPS) to ative impact of about Replying to a query, the gy, and auto components,” Investment demand `2,45,000–`2,50,000 range,”
withdraw up to 80 per `47,700 crore to States, government said that the the commerce and indus- remains robust as silver- said Ajay Kedia, MD,
cent of the fund accumu- finds the government. Ho- consumption pattern in try minister Piyush Goyal backed ETFs continue to Kedia Commodities.
lated at the time of exit wever, the impact will not Kerala is such that the said, while speaking at
from 60 per cent of accu- be static due to tax buoy- 40 per cent tax bracket are majority of items consum- the Oman-India Business
Opinion
MumbaiMirror 10
Thursday, December 18, 2025
[email protected]
facebook.com/mumbaimirror
@mummirror
THECITYESTRANGED
NOTES ON URBAN AFFAIRS
Hussain Indorewala
[email protected]
Mumbai’s magic
was introduced in Bombay’s first tions - at the behest of the builder
Development Plan of 1964, as a lobby - to become what it is today: a
device to regulate land develop- sprawling regulation with 26 sub-
ment. Before that, regulations were sections exceeding 130 pages.
M
create jobs in the IT sector. In 2004, it buildings on defence land or affect-
umbai’s retired urban was granted to build amenities and ed areas. one section of the development reg- incentives create what are called
planner, VK Phatak, star hotels. In 2010, for building pub- The goal, we are told, is to pro- ulations, called DCR-33. “collective action problems” – so
once joked that Mumbai lic parking lots. It got so absurd that vide “relief to Mumbaikars dream- The DCR-33 section granted spe- forget about clean air, green cover,
may have smart people, Phatak envisioned FSI as an award for ing to live in an affordable home”. cial exceptions to categories such as light and ventilation, decongestion,
but it has a smarter meritorious students, or paid as sala- The question is: how did this hum- institutional buildings, MHADA affordable mobility, or access to
government. The government has ry to government officials (10 sqm to ble built-up area-to-land ratio schemes, rent-controlled structures, basic services. If more FSI for devel-
devised a “magical” formula to cre- the Chief Secretary and 1 sq cm for a assume the magical power to solve slums, etc. In 1991, the DCR-33 con- opers can’t solve your problems,
ate housing and social infrastructure peon). And why stop there? It is the city’s most intractable problems? sisted of 12 crisp sub-sections, and you’re asking the wrong questions.
for all - without spending from the quite likely, he quipped, that To understand this, we must go was two pages long. Since then, it Hussain Indorewala is a teacher
budget. The formula is to keep FSI Mumbai’s fabled FSI will someday back to the origins of this concept. has ballooned with innumerable and urban researcher at KRVIA,
low and then give landowners and replace the Indian Rupee. The idea of Floor Space Index (FSI) periodic amendments and modifica- Mumbai. Views are personal
I
n every generation, some Valley, those who think programs are simply patterns that we falsely
advanced piece of machinery can become conscious are telling us experience as self-expression.
comes to seem like a model of the that consciousness is a program. Our machines are products of our
human mind. When the written Here’s computer scientist minds. It doesn’t follow that our
word was the cutting edge in infor- Stephen Wolfram in a recent inter- minds work like machines. LLMs are detect and mimic patterns in words truth to which the self is privy. The
mation storage, Plato had Socrates view, discussing the large language trained to imitate the outward forms – are coded to reproduce our exterior idea that LLMs dispel the metaphys-
compare the human mind to a wax models, or LLMs, that enable AI of human speech – the sounds and language. They have no access to ical mystery of consciousness works
writing tablet in his “Theaetetus.” In chatbots to generate humanlike sen- sequences of the words we say – but the inner logos. only if we are deceived by the psy-
the era of the steam engine, Sigmund tences: “In terms of consciousness, I they’re not capable of understand- A person who says “How do you chological quirk that causes us to
Freud began to think of the mind have to say, you know, the idea that ing the subjective thoughts and do?” or, for that matter, “I am going view ourselves as “like unto” the
as a dynamic pressure chamber in there’s sort of something magic that experiences behind those words. to punch you in the face,” means machines we make.
which repressed energy returns with goes beyond physics that leads to The defining feature of human something by it, even if it’s not We are not. We are not machines
gathered force. And for the past sev- sort of conscious behaviour, I kind language is what ancient philoso- exactly what the words express. An at all, in fact, but organic unities –
eral decades, we’ve come to picture of think that LLMs kind of put the phers called “the inner logos” – the AI that says these things means abso- brain, heart, loins and senses – ani-
the mind as a computer, hardwired final nail in that coffin.” unique interior apparatus we have lutely nothing at all. mated by spirit and collaborating
to run certain kinds of software. To rephrase it more succinctly: If for structuring and understanding We have frittered away too much with creation on unique but inter-
By using machines as metaphors AI can produce language via algo- our experience of the world. LLMs – of human history toying with the connected experiences of life.
for our minds, we fall prey to the illu- rithmic patterns, then that’s what probability functions designed to fantasy that there is no self and no The Washington Post
NG 3.7 PubDate: 18-12-2025 Zone: Mumbai Edition: 1 Page: MMIRVIE2 User: cci Time: 12-17-2025 22:46 Color:
P
“By the end of this, almost everyone is it will revive US manufactur-
resident Donald Trump is coming up going to know someone who had a friend or ing, yet goods from pretty about 11 million high, and grocery costs keep
on a full year in office for his second family member or colleague affected, or who much every country in the undocumented going up - in part because
term. It’s been a period defined by witnessed an arrest happening,” said David world now cost more to Trump deported farm
his attempts to make the presidency Bier, director of immigration studies at the import because of them. immigrants in the workers. Trump touts his
more powerful than at any time in libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. Tariffs are essentially a United States, and work to lower some drug
modern history. He has touted his deporta- Trump and his administration say they are tax at the border, and the Trump has set a goal prices, but health insur-
tions, bragged about billions raised from targeting “the worst of the worst.” But Bier Constitution vests ance costs are going up
to deport 1 million
tariffs and promised an economic revival that calculates that about 5 per cent of those Congress with the power for millions of Americans
is right around the corner. “We’re getting in- detained had a violent criminal conviction. to impose taxes. The by his first next year if Congress
flation - we’re crushing it,” he said last week, In D.C., more than 80 per cent of the immi- Supreme Court is consider- year in doesn’t act soon.
“and you’re getting much higher wages.” Yet grants arrested don’t have a prior criminal ing the legality of most of his office
polls regularly show that a majority of the record, according to a Washington Post anal- tariffs and could issue a ruling in Rising unemployment
country disapproves of his presidency and ysis of federal data. There’s little evidence that the coming weeks or months. There have also been recession-like
most of his major policies. migrants commit crimes at a higher rate than It’s also getting harder for American com- layoffs in white-collar jobs, and the unem-
“The question then becomes whether the Americans. panies to avoid raising prices (in some cases, ployment rate is at its highest level since
growing discontent, does that translate to again) as they pay the tariffs to bring goods 2021. Even basics are a pain point for many:
meaningful political checks on his actions,” Tariff gamble and raw materials into the country. By one A majority of Americans say they are spend-
said Rosa Brooks, a national security expert at Most of his tariffs could get knocked down by estimate, Americans are expected to spend ing more on groceries and utilities than they
Georgetown University Law Centre, “either the Supreme Court $1,800 extra a year because of were a year ago, according to a recent
in Congress or at the voting booth?” Trump’s signa- tariffs. Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
Here’s what the end of Trump’s first year is ture economic Still, the pro-tariff side “In early December, half of Americans say
looking like. policy is a big sees early signs of a man- they were worse off financially than a year
ufacturing boom ago,” said Claudia Sahm, chief economist at
Mass deportations accelerate returning to the United the investment management firm New
despite legal challenges States. “Prices and costs Century Advisors.
His mass deportations are picking up are rising, but it has He’s pushing for peace deals while escalat-
There are about 11 million undocument- nothing to do with tar- ing military action in Venezuela
ed immigrants in the United States, and iffs,” said Nick Iacovella Some in Trump’s base have accused him
Trump has set a goal to deport 1 million by of the Coalition for a of focusing too much on foreign affairs.
his first year in office. Prosperous America, a He has spent much of his first year in
That’s a major logistical challenge, conservative, pro-tariff office pushing for peace deals around the
and some courts have ruled that some group. “They can be world, to mixed results, as he openly cam-
of his rapid deportations and removal done without causing paigns for a Nobel Peace Prize.
tactics are illegal. Yet the raids show harm to the U.S. econo- The biggest potential for peace comes
no signs of stopping. He has moved my and could lead to a between Hamas and Israel, a deal Trump
from targeting largely liberal cities lot of great benefits,” helped negotiate that has largely held, The
to more politically mixed areas he said. Post reports, though Gaza’s future remains
such as Charlotte, as well as Prices are going up, uncertain. After promising to end the war in
farm workers and major not down Ukraine on his first day in office, he said this
employers. The Trump But electricity week that a Ukraine-Russia peace deal is
administration recently is becoming “closer than ever,” though there is fierce criti-
signed a contract to pur- cism in Europe that this deal largely echoes
chase its own planes to Russian talking points. He’s also announced
deport people quickly. peace deals in Southeast Asia and Africa, yet
And the Supreme Court those conflicts escalated shortly after he took
credit for them. “Peace is not a pretty pro-
cess,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly
told The Post last week.
Amid all that, Trump has bailed out
Argentina and is bombing suspected drug
smugglers off the coast of Venezuela - actions
that some Republicans are criticising and
even scrutinising.
Trump has accused Venezuela’s president
of sending drugs and violent criminals to the
United States, but no expert I talked to said
they understood why Trump was singling
out Venezuela. “Trump doesn’t like big,
scary wars, so we don’t want to pick on
someone our own size,” Brooks, with
Georgetown University Law Centre, theo-
rised, “but if we can find a nice adversary
MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST
Subhani
18 DECEMBER 2025
Justice or vengeance? No
The NCP, too, has been spending most of its energies of late on this
shown its aloofness single topic of vote theft as the party feels it LETTERS
from the Congress amounts to undermining the very idea of elec-
agenda of opposing toral democracy. The party also feels that the
special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral
MARKET OVER CRICKET
the use of EVMs. It rolls which is being carried out across the coun-
W
ing strategy and programmes to be adopted by the bloc. Mr Abdullah’s pre- hen the hall in never out of office, Mr Yunus Khondaker Mushtaq
was bestowed in
vious reference that the INDIA bloc was on a life support system must in Dhaka ex- is a permanent chief adviser.
1990?
Ahmad, who immediately competitive cricket, in-
fact be read in conjunction with the latest outburst. One should not lose ploded in ap- Is he now the sole incumbent stepped into his murdered
sight of the lone battle the National Conference has been fighting for the plause bec- or does he share the crown boss’ shoes to become creasingly resembles a finan-
restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. Indeed, that should ause Sheikh with the former Chief Jus- President. cial arms race. Supporters
have been on the INDIA bloc’s agenda. Hasina Wazed, the ousted tice, Shahabuddin Ahmed, often-tantalising acrobatics Brigadier Khaled Mush- are left shell-shocked as yo-
Taken together, the responses of the alliance partners of the INDIA bloc Prime Minister now living on whom the honour was of democratic ministry-mak- arraf’s abortive counter-
portray a picture of a house unnecessarily divided. It now falls upon the in exile in India, was sen- bestowed (by whom?) in ing. Initially intended to sup- coup against Mushtaq was ung domestic talent quietly
shoulders of no party other than the Congress to take the lead in instilling tenced to death, I was re- 1990? Shahabuddin Ahmed port the transition from crushed and Col. Abu slips into the background,
a sense of unity of purpose within the alliance and make it a political plat- minded of Sir Edward Pen- served twice as President of authoritarianism to demo- Taher’s loyal troops freed
form with the potential to strike when an opportunity lands. Indeed, it’s derel Moon, a British mem- Bangladesh and as Chief cracy, the caretaker system Ziaur Rahman from house eclipsed by glamour sign-
time that the Congress got its act together and helped the alliance do the ber of the Indian Civil Ser- Justice from 1990 to 1995. As was institutionalised in 1996 arrest, whereupon he ings and aggressive bidding
same. vice and a historian, arguing Chief Adviser, he oversaw by the Sixth Parliament as appointed himself the chief wars. Is cricket turning into a
in his book Strangers In Bangladesh’s 1991 general mistrust increased between martial law administrator.
India that Anglo-Saxon ju- election with powers like the Bangladesh Nationalist But Gen. Zia was also marketplace where price
risprudence was unsuited to those of a Prime Minister, Party and the Awami gunned down, whereupon dictates prestige rather than
the subcontinent. His argu- except for the sacred defence League. Gen. Ershad took over.
skill? What message are we
Spotlight on ISIS sleeper cells ment was that most Brits
had little understanding of
India’s moral values, histori-
portfolio with which a
nation that has not forgotten
its Pakistani past can’t
The present adviser for for-
eign affairs, Mohammed
Touhid Hossain, for inst-
Formal democracy was
restored. But the cycle of
death continued. When Faz-
sending to the countless
players who rely on talent,
T
he role of a terror-indoctrinated Indian, Sajid Akram, in the recent cal legacy and traditional entrust mere civilians. ance, was a career diplomat lur Quader Chowdhury, a
mass shooting that killed 15 people at Bondi Beach in Sydney is a wor- ethic, although they had Gen. Ershad won a contro- and Bangladeshi deputy former Pakistan National patience and performance?
risome development and hints at steadily growing radicalisation in copied the Westminster sys- versial presidential election high commissioner in Kolk- Assembly Speaker, was Hasnain Rabbani
the country. tem lock, stock and barrel. in 1986 after ousting the civil- ata before becoming foreign jailed in 1973, his son,
Sajid, who was born in Hyderabad around 50 years ago, left home to work Muhammad Yunus’ call ian incumbent, but was ulti- secretary. If he offended Ind- Salahuddin Quader Mumbai
overseas at a young age. His work took him to West Asia and Pakistan, for parliamentary elections mately worsted by the two ians by denying allegations Chowdhury, a leading light
where he was indoctrinated into radical ISIS ideology. Sajid, in turn, influ- next February confirms that Begums of Bangladeshi poli- of illegal migrants in N-E in the BNP, warned Taj-
enced his son Naveed, who was captured and is being interrogated by the Bangladesh remains a “rid- tics, Sheikh Mujibur India and by blaming New
Delhi for stagnant India-
uddin and his colleagues to
have air-conditioners and
GRAP-4 NOT ENOUGH
Australian police. dle wrapped in a mystery Rahaman’s daughter,
Though initially Sajid was suspected to be a Pakistani, his Indian pass- inside an enigma”. The 85- Sheikh Hasina Wazed, and Bangladesh relations, he other comforts installed in AFTER AQI crossed 600 and up, GRAP-4 has
port established his Indian links to Hyderabad. The Telangana police swift- year-old economist, entre- Mrs Khaleda Zia, widow of could also be caustic about the jail as their time would been imposed in NCR which is experiencing a
ly investigated his roots in Hyderabad and revealed all his details, without preneur and politician is the assassinated Gen. Ziaur Anwar Bakht Choudhury, also come. It did. Fazlur mix of pollution and cold weather, resulting in
giving any scope for speculation. Bangladesh’s “fifth chief Rahman, who buried the the Bangladeshi-origin high Quader Chowdhury died persistent fog. This increases the risk of road
Ever since he left Hyderabad in 1998, the police said Sajid visited the city adviser” since 2024. Have hatchet for once to unite commissioner that London behind bars before Tajuddin accidents and one such mishap did take place
only six times and had no record of criminal antecedents there. His radi- four simply disappeared as against the military usurper. sent to Dhaka in 2004. “He and the others were on the Delhi-Agra expressway claiming sever-
calisation appears to be the result of his interaction with people in West politician after politician is The then Army chief, Gen. has passed the Tebbit test!” butchered. Then Salahuddin al lives. The changing weather has also led to a
Asia and Pakistan — a modus operandi being followed by ISIS to enrol murdered or executed. Nuruddin Khan, refused to was Mr Hossain’s reported and Ali Ahsan Mohammad surge in respiratory illnesses. Therefore, all
Indian Muslims into its terrorist agenda. Perhaps an even more lofty support Gen. Ershad, who comment. Mujahid were hanged after must take practical steps to protect them-
The Islamic State or ISIS is a transnational Salafi jihadist militant organ- authority whom “advisers” had to step down when Along with Mrs Wazed, a being convicted of genocide selves. But are taking emergency measures
isation founded in 2006. Many Muslims living around the world joined it, advise and in whom vests Army officers loyal to him former home minister, Asad- and rape — charges that they enough to contain what has now long become
but Indian Muslims were the least affected by its propaganda — forcing ultimate power is lurking were removed. uzzaman Khan Kamal, was denied. a yearly phenomenon? Shouldn’t states affect-
ISIS to tap Indian Muslims working overseas. somewhere. Gen. Ershad tried one last sentenced to death in absen- So, it goes on. Trials are ed jointly formulate a policy to curb stubble
The recruitment strategy of ISIS in India clusters around online radicali- Realising that the system ploy. He appointed Justice tia. A third accused, ex- conducted under antiquated burning and control vehicular emissions?
sation, small modules, IED experimentation, handlers and fund-raising was not best suited to their Shahabuddin Ahmed to Inspector General of Police British laws. Evidence is After all, there can be no compromise when it
channels. In most cases linked to ISIS in India, the sleeper cells consisted needs, Gen. Hussain Mu- form an acceptable neutral Chowdhury Abdullah Al- based on concepts that locals comes down to protecting citizens’ lives.
of fewer than 10 persons. However, the key concern is the proliferation of hammad Ershad, the dicta- caretaker government and Mamun, was sentenced to may not comprehend. Ques- Yugal Kishore Sharma
sleeper cells in the country. Indian Muslims must guard against being tor from 1983 to 1990, enacted prepare for democratic elec- five years’ imprisonment. tions are more intelligible to Faridabad, Haryana
dragged into a global terror factory, and the government must extend all the eighth constitutional tions. But instead of doing Mr Yunus thought the ver- lawyers than to respondents.
the help they need for this purpose. amendment to elevate so, Mr Shahabuddin imme- dict “historic”, while Mrs Who knows what the latest
Islam’s status. In the same diately arrested Gen. Er-
shad, an action that Bang-
Wazed called it “biased and
politically motivated”.
killing of Sharif Osmann
Hadi, chief of the right-wing
OPTIC WIN FOR CONG
spirit, he changed “Dacca” to
Dhaka which sounds closer ladesh’s Supreme Court This is not the end. It’s not Inquilab Mancha, will lead A DELHI COURT declined to take cog-
to Bengali phonetics. He struck down but too late in the beginning either for that to? Few can tell where jus- nizance of the ED’s money-laundering case
should also have revised the the day. lay in the Partition riots of tice ends and vengeance linked to the National Herald showing that
justice system, especially Bangladesh is lucky to 1947, compounded by the begins. Partly because of the the government is weaponising Central
crime and punishment and have a reserve of so many 1971 war that created Judaic punishment system agencies to harass the Opposition. The
THE ASIAN AGE rules of evidence. potential advisers and chief Bangladesh. and the Anglo-Saxon code of court order had exposed the “the big bosses
It’s said in Pakistan, no advisers who can be dragged Another grim round fol- right and wrong, Bangladesh of Gandhinagar”. The court also observed
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR matter who wins the polls, out of the closet when there lowed in 1975 when Sheikh is still wallowing in blood. that since Delhi Police’s Economic Offences
Editor Printer & Publisher the military remains in po- is a crisis. They function Mujib and his extended fam- It’s not the only aspect of Wing has already registered an FIR in the
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at:
wer. No wonder Gen. Ershad then as ministers but, not ily were murdered in their Asian life that needs review- matter, it would be premature to examine
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: was considering how to having been elected, are not Dhanmondi residence. Not ing in light of indigenous the ED’s case on merits at this stage. The
(011) 23211124. involve the military in gov- answerable to Parliament. forgotten yet, that bloodbath requirements. BJP’s campaign of political vendetta, car-
Published and Printed on behalf of and for ernance, as in Suharto’s However it evolved, the sys- inspired vicious calls during ried out over the past decade, now stands
◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Indonesia. Meanwhile, tem has always seemed to the recent upheavals in
Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301.
The writer is a senior exposed before the entire nation.
◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ. Bangladeshis may wonder if function with smooth effec- Dhaka to raze Mujib’s long journalist, columnist and Bhagwan Thadani
RNI Registration number: 57290/94 like Pakistan’s ISI, which is tiveness in contrast to the demolished house to the author Mumbai
F
or the last few decades terrorism has, unques- hold of the killer father and handed him over to the the international community, very little has been If the US does not do so, it should not be taken by
tionably, become the scourge of the modern local police. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that done collectively done by the global community, and surprise if there is a repeat of the 9/11 attacks on its
world. The latest major terror incident has several Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were its toothless watchdog, the United Nations or its soil. Many in the US who fully comprehend the nu-
been the horrific attack in Australia’s iconic found near the site of the attack. Ever since the Security Council. Unfortunately, instead of striving ances of the global security paradigm are surprised
Bondi Beach in Sydney, with two Islamist terrorists Israeli retaliation against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, for a peaceful law-abiding global order, many nations at the Trump administration’s new-found love for
gunning down 16 innocent civilians celebrating the over two years back, a few isolated incidents, rela- remain in pursuit of their own selfish interests and Pakistan, forgetting the latter’s relentless pursuit of
first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. tively less violent in intensity, have occurred target- thus are fixated on their brand of selective terrorism. terror activities in the past. How can America now
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ing the Jewish community Down Under. In August It’s not for nothing that the world, or the UN, has conveniently forget that the world’s most dreaded
Kamal Davar described the attack as a “devastating” event, clari- this year, Australia had accused Iran of mastermind- been unable to agree on a definition of terrorism or a terrorist, Osama bin Laden, designated as such by
fying that it was a “targeted attack on Jewish Aus- ing two anti-Semitic arson attacks in Sydney and terrorist. While the latter, to most people, is an evil both the US and the UN, was captured and killed by
tralians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should Melbourne, and had directed the Iranian ambas- person pursuing violence against unarmed civilians, US special forces after he was found hiding for years
be a day of joy, a celebration of faith”. India’s Prime sador to leave the country. amazingly, to some people the same person is a free- in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, with
Minister Narendra Modi, while strongly condemn- While the United States, Britain, France, Canada dom-fighter! This anomaly has to end before the Islamabad supposedly ignorant of this fact?
Terror has to be ing this incident and expressing solidarity with Aus-
tralia, declared that “India has zero tolerance
towards terrorism and supports the fight against all
and the Middle East region, including Israel and
Syria, have been afflicted with terror activities, off
and on, the South Asian region, comprising India,
world can unite in the fight against global terror.
Most security analysts agree that both the US and
China are not doing enough globally to contain ter-
India, which was consistently targeted by terror-
ism emanating from Pakistan, will have to further
strengthen its counter-terror structures. It must
from Bondi hit? and still carried an Indian passport. The son is fight-
ing for his life in a Sydney hospital. According to the
police, both had travelled recently to the Philippines,
ed. Pakistan, which is now afflicted with home-
grown terror itself, whether from the Afghan Taliban
or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or Baloch rebels,
is now reaping all the evil it had sown, especially in
and citadel of global terror, but unfortunately it
derives part of its strength and largesse from the US
and China to continue its evil endeavours both
among neighbours, such as India and Afghanistan,
Intelligence. India needs to be militarily strong to
serve as a deterrent to any mischief emanating from
Pakistani soil.
where they may have got weapons training.
That the number of those killed in the horrific its neighbourhood. but even within its own country. It is high time that The writer, a retired lieutenant-general, was the
attack was not larger was thanks to the efforts of a As the footprint of terror activities is spreading all these two powerful nations end their support to first head of India’s Defence Intelligence Agency,
Muslim convenience store owner who bravely got across the civilised world, despite many warnings to Pakistan as a major sponsor of terror activities. and is a strategic analyst
10 Chicago Tribune | Section 1 | Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Par Ridder
General Manager Phil Jurik, Managing Editor
Mitch Pugh
DIRECTORS OF CONTENT
Executive Editor
Amanda Kaschube, Sports and Audience
Todd Panagopoulos, Visuals
Chris Jones, Editorial Page Editor Founded June 10, 1847
EDITORIALS
The sausage making in the City Council’s Finance
Committee wasn’t pretty. But a budget thankfully is in sight
Tuesday’s marathon City Coun-
cil Finance Committee session, as
mind-numbing as it could get at
points, was a remarkable moment
in the history of Chicago govern-
ment.
We saw a City Council, in the
face of a mayoral administration
relentlessly driven by ideology,
for the first time wrest control of
Chicago’s budget in the name of
pragmatic solutions to a crisis.
The committee’s 22-13 approval
of the alternative revenue pack-
age forged by Aldermen Scott
Waguespack, 32nd, and Nicole
Lee, 11th, and shepherded by
panel chair Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd,
was a critical step in signaling to
the broader world that Chicago
recognizes it exists in a competi-
tive landscape and isn’t a progres-
sive bubble unto itself.
A majority of the council has
made it abundantly clear to
Mayor Brandon Johnson that
his proposal to revive the city’s
corporate head tax — a monthly
tax on each worker employed in
Chicago by large private-sector
firms — is a non-starter. But with
a year-end budget deadline loom-
ing, the opposition bloc looked to
garner more support by making
concessions to the mayor. They
scrapped a proposed increase to
the city’s monthly trash-collection
fee of $9.50, and they allowed for
a $6 million increase in summer
jobs for teens, a top priority for
Johnson.
We’ll state upfront that the
document the committee
produced and approved isn’t
perfect.
Chicago’s garbage fee, for exam- SCOTT STANTIS/FOR THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
ple, is far lower than nearly all peer
cities and doesn’t come close to goans far more than the tour- under a labor contract finalized not behave as if Chicago is in a will not veto this plan if it ends
covering the cost of the service; ists and conventioneers who are earlier this year as well as more business-as-usual situation vis-a- up being the will of the council
we believe a reasonable increase the primary target of the Bally’s than $280 million for current and vis the bond markets. majority, which it appears it will
is more than warranted. As it casino now under construction future legal settlements — mainly We’re sure to have more to say be.
stands, Chicagoans who live in at the former Chicago Tribune for past police misconduct. on debt and the bond markets After all, it’s not just his future
multifamily housing must pay for Freedom Center. The alder- And the panel endorsed as the city looks to tap investors electoral prospects that are at
private garbage collection and are manic opposition bloc projects $7 another $1.3 billion for future again early next year. stake in this moment. Chicago’s
subsidizing through their property million in net revenue from video capital projects despite the fact Despite our misgivings, we budgetary circus slowly but surely
taxes or rents their fellow Chica- terminals in bars in 2026, but far that the city has $2.4 billion in believe the opposition alders, who is drawing unwanted notice
goans who live in single-family more than that in later years. unused bond authority for infra- have performed remarkably well around the country. Editorial
homes or two- or three-flats. We think it makes more sense structure from past issuances. Ald. in hashing together an alterna- boards in cities far away are point-
For those, including the mayor, to modestly increase a highly Bill Conway, 34th, vice chair of tive in the face of a mulish and ing to our example as a cautionary
who derided the trash-fee subsidized garbage fee than it does the Finance Committee, tried to unhelpful administration, deserve tale. We are rapidly becoming the
increase as an attack on work- to expand gambling so aggres- eliminate that $1.3 billion from the support from the full council as poster child for how not to govern
ing people, we would remind sively into the neighborhoods. ordinance, but he was overruled this budget makes its way through a city.
them that lots of poor and work- But politics are what they are, and by his fellow committee members. the process in the next few days. Credit analysts, of course, also
ing residents of this city live in the demagoguery on the trash fee Chief Financial Officer Jill As Ald. Lee pointed out to the are lurking. “The level of brinks-
apartments and condos. And unfortunately has been effective. Jaworski said that needed proj- Finance Committee, the tax and manship we are seeing in Chicago
they are effectively paying twice It also was disappointing to see ects would be delayed if the coun- fee increases in the alternative is uncharacteristic of many other
over for trash services thanks to the Finance Committee approve cil didn’t vote on the new capital budget are overwhelmingly being rated local governments,” Michael
the refusal to allow for any fee the lion’s share of the record $2.8 plan. But here’s the thing: The levied on businesses rather than Rinaldi of Fitch Ratings told
increase — an argument Cate Plys billion in new bonding author- city’s credit rating is teetering; it individuals — and that’s with- Bloomberg News. In the cold-
so effectively made earlier this ity the Johnson administration may well be downgraded once out passage of the toxic head tax. eyed world of municipal finance,
month in our pages. requested. The panel cut $1 billion this budget is finalized, especially Businesses are shouldering 84% cities don’t want to be “uncharac-
We also have misgivings about from $2 billion the mayor’s finan- with the council now appearing of that load while residents are teristic” in that sort of way.
opening the door to video wager- cial team wanted for money-sav- set on debt-financing operational absorbing 16%. Let’s exit this road to fiscal and
ing in bars, a major expansion of ing refinancing. But it approved costs — a major fiscal no-no for For the sake of the city, the economic oblivion, and get to
legal gambling that would affect $449 million to cover $166 million credit rating agencies. Now is the mayor ought to make this easier work making Chicago a safe place
lower- and middle-income Chica- in back pay owed to firefighters time to err on the side of caution, for all involved and declare he in which to invest again.
The most serious rioting against the Communist were burned and cars, trucks and shops damaged or set do not see it as a salvationist cause … They know it to be a
government since the bread and freedom riots of 1956 has afire. There was extensive looting, and chants were raised repressive system, based on the guns of police, army and
left six persons dead and several dozen wounded in street against Wladyslaw Gomulka, the Communist Party boss, militia, and an economic failure.
battles in three Polish cities on the Bay of Danzig. The and Communist officials in the three cities. The minority of American youth that looks to totalitari-
disorders were triggered by government announcement Fighting began Sunday when 600 students and workers anism to produce the millennium would be obliged to revise
that food and fuel prices will go up 20 per cent. A meat engaged in a sitdown in the streets of Gdansk. The Polish its sights if it lived under the realities of Communism, as the
shortage was also a contributing factor. students, unlike campus revolutionaries and other young youth of Eastern Europe has been obliged to do. …
Damage ran to millions of dollars as public buildings activists here, have no illusions about Communism. They Tribune editorial board, Dec. 17, 1970
Chicago Tribune | Section 1 | Wednesday, December 17, 2025 11
OPINION
Chance the Rapper’s CTA campaign
is fun but won’t soothe our fears
Laura Washington
The CTA has teamed up with
famed Chicago musical artist
Chance the Rapper as the agency
urges us to “enjoy the ride.”
That’s the slogan for a new
collaboration to promote the
CTA.
It features two announcements
by Chance that are playing at rail
stations across the system. The
recorded messages plug the CTA
to the tune “Ride” from Chance’s
latest album.
As he reminisces in one greet-
ing, “Growing up in Chicago on
the South Side, I took the CTA
Red Line from 79th almost every
day,” he said. “I won’t ever stop
loving the CTA, and I encourage
you to keep supporting public
transit and its workers. Be safe
and just enjoy the ride!”
Acting CTA President Nora
Leerhsen touted the collaboration
as “a unique partnership between
two Chicago icons — CTA and
Chance — that allows us to cele-
brate the special meaning they
both have for our great city.”
Chance, an international
celebrity and multiple Grammy A CTA Brown Line train leaves the Addison station on Dec. 14 in Chicago. ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE
winner, is a welcome evangelist
for Chicago. I am delighted that Chicago reported. levels.” with the federal request but said iff’s office, Chicago police and
he is assisting the CTA. I am also “Over the past year and a half, Last month, MaGee was riding he is already working on the issue. other local municipalities, ABC 7
a native South Sider who grew there have been bullet holes in a Blue Line train when Lawrence “As I’ve said repeatedly, we do reported. These politicians don’t
up on the Red Line. I still take CTA bus windows, people stand- Reed approached her, poured have to look at what the security have to ride the CTA daily to get
the CTA daily, sometimes several ing with long guns on public gasoline on her and set her on fire, apparatus looks like for public to work, school and the grocery
times a day. transportation and weapons according to the Chicago police transportation. (The Chicago store. Riders who depend on the
So, as I slide into my seat on recovered,” the station reported. and federal prosecutors. Reed, 50, Police Department) plays a role system are at the mercy of people
the “L,” I could be jamming to his That’s why the Donald Trump who was arrested, “has violated in that. The city Department of who are roaming the system in
“Ride.” administration is right to call out the conditions of his home Public Health plays a role in that. search of victims.
I may also have to jump out Chicago’s CTA safety issues. confinement and has previously All of us play a role in ensur- In one recorded message,
of my seat to keep from getting On Dec. 8, Marc Molinaro, been arrested 72 times,” Block ing that CTA riders experience Chance urges CTA passengers to
robbed or worse. Growing up, I administrator of the Federal Club Chicago reported. maximum safety,” Johnson said in “be safe.”
was never nervous on the CTA. Transit Administration, wrote “Reporting to FTA shows CTA’s response to the letter. Chance, my man, hip rap songs
But in the wake of the pandem- Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. violent crime rate is nearly four He went on to attack the Trump are a fun treat, but they won’t
ic-fueled disruption of the system, JB Pritzker to demand that the times the national average, with administration, saying it “contin- soothe our fears. Let’s hope the
the ride can be nerve-racking. CTA deliver a “verifiable security four homicides in the past 18 ues to politicize on what really pressure from the feds will pump
Enjoy the ride? I regularly enhancement plan.” The agency months,” Molinaro wrote. could be addressed collectively.” up the volume on safety and secu-
encounter passengers who are threatened to withhold federal On Monday, the CTA wrote On Tuesday, Pritzker signed a rity on the CTA.
disruptive, aggressive or even funds from the CTA if it does not to ABC 7: “The Chicago Transit major transit funding bill passed
violent. comply. Authority (CTA) has submitted by the Illinois legislature that Laura Washington is a political
In November, violent crimes Molinaro highlighted the its response to the FTA Special includes a safety plan and the commentator and longtime Chicago
on buses, platforms, stations and recent horrific attack on Bethany Directive with the requested creation of a “sworn law enforce- journalist. Her columns appear in
trains increased by 6.6% from the MaGee, which he said “reflects timeframe.” The CTA has released ment officer crime prevention the Tribune each Wednesday. Write
yearly average over the three prior systemic failures in both lead- no details. program” that will include partic- to her at LauraLauraWashington@
years, ABC affiliate WLS-Ch. 7 ership and accountability on all Johnson pledged to comply ipation of the Cook County sher- gmail.com.
OPINION
What Las Posadas has taught me
about Christmas and community
By Anthony Pahnke
18 of 20 12/16/2025, 10:01 PM
Financial Times Europe https://ft.pressreader.com/1389/20251217
19 of 20 12/16/2025, 10:01 PM