Animals have similar rights as humans: HC

The Uttarakhand high court ruled that “all members of the animal kingdom, including birds and aquatic life, have similar rights as humans”. It also said that animals across the state should be treated as “legal entities having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.”

The division bench of Justices further named “citizens throughout Uttarakhand persons in loco parentis as the human face for the welfare/protection of the animals.”

The court also directed the state government to constitute societies for prevention of cruelty to animals in each district and to appoint infirmaries for the treatment and care of animals. The HC, in its 57-page order, banned use of “spike stick or bit, harness or yoke with spikes, knobs or projections or any other sharp tackle or equipment” throughout the state.”

The court also directed the state government to “enforce the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, to prevent the animals from infectious and contagious diseases” and to appoint veterinary officers.

The judges cited in their order several articles as well as Isha Upanishad which they said dwell on the principle of equality of all species. They also cited an SC judgment which had held that an animal, too, has honour and dignity which it cannot be arbitrarily deprived of and its rights and privacy have to be respected and protected.

The HC was hearing a PIL which sought to restrict the movement of horse carts/ tongas between Nepal and India stating cruelty on horses and mules used in the carts.

Lynching Unacceptable : SC

The Supreme Court called the latest instance of lynching over rumours of child-lifting “unacceptable” and said it would frame guidelines to prevent such incidents and force governments that fail to stop them to pay compensation.

The guidelines could come out in two weeks, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said, while dealing with a petition on cow vigilantism. The three-judge bench’s attention had been drawn to the latest instance in which a mob had gone after alleged child lifters and it said lynching was not acceptable in a civilised society.

“… people can’t take the law into their own hands. These kind of incidents cannot occur. They are unacceptable…by any norm,” said Misra, sitting alongside justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud. The CJI declared at another point that no motive can “justify such mob violence”. “It is the duty of the court to prevent such incidents and the obligation of the states to prevent it,” the CJI remarked.

He was hearing a petition filed by activist Tehseen Poonawala against cow vigilantism. The petition was argued by senior advocates Indira Jaising and Colin Gonsalves. The bench indicated it would not restrict its intervention to cow vigilantism and would cover all mob violence.

The bench insisted that state governments, charged with the constitutional duty of maintaining law and order, must be held responsible for failing to check the occurrence of such incidents.

The court hinted its norms could include payment of compensation for victims of all mob violence. “For controlling law and order, each state will be held responsible,” the CJI said.

The CJI’s remarks came after the central government said it had done its part by issuing advisories to state governments to prevent such incidents from happening.

“We have taken cognisance of such incidents and issued advisories,” additional solicitor general PS Narasimha told the court. “If states are not implementing this, take states to task.” The CJI said that states have to be held to constitutional parameters of governance. He was open to a suggestion to incorporate guidelines laid down in the honour-killing case.

These guidelines include tasking senior police officials with identifying problem areas and taking preventive steps to ensure that these type of incidents do not recur. Jaising complained that despite a court direction earlier to appoint nodal officers in each district to prevent such crimes, more such instances had been reported from different parts of the country.

Things have gone way beyond law and order, she said. There seems to a pattern and motive to this targeted violence, she argued.

Jaising said since most of these incidents took place along highways and railway tracks, the Centre could not wash its hands of the matter. She suggested more highway patrolling in vulnerable, violence prone areas.

New MSP scheme in the making

Moving to fulfil its budget promise and address political heat over farmer discontent, the government is set to announce a new minimum support price regime that will provide farmers a profit margin of 50% over cost of production and the additional bill is likely to be around Rs.33,500 crore.

The new MSP, to be considered by the cabinet on Wednesday, will largely apply to paddy and pulses but will benefit ‘nutri-cereals’ like millets the most. The added cost of MSP is indicated at 0.2% of GDP in the cabinet note. The share of paddy in the additional outgo will be around Rs.12,300 crore.

Moving away from a focus on rice and wheat, a range of crops will be covered by the promised MSP and a procurement mechanism will be announced later. The maximum weight in calculating cost of production has been accorded to labour which is about 53% while other costs like fertilisers, farm animals, pesticides, seeds and irrigation add up to the rest.

Among millets, ragi (finger millet) will see a maximum hike of over 52% compared to its current MSP, followed by 42% for jowar (sorghum) and 36% for bajra (pearl millet). The hike in MSP of nigerseed (oilseed) and moong (pulse) is also expected to be much higher. As compared to other non-cereal crops, pulses have been procured in larger quantities.

The main Kharif crop, however, remains paddy. The revised MSP will be Rs.200 higher than the current Rs.1,550 per quintal. Last year, the procurement of paddy stood at 38 million tonnes. Farmers in some states are already getting a price that equals or exceeds 150% of production cost and this will remain untouched. States such as West Bengal, Assam and Maharashtra, with lower yields and productivity, will gain.

The new MSP regime hinges on wider procurement of crops. The details of procurement and storage are being worked out with sources saying it was still three months to harvest. The plan for a higher MSP gained momentum after the 2017 Gujarat elections where farm protests were seen to reflect a “problem of plenty” as agriculturists expressed discontent over falling prices. The move to hike MSP is aimed at boosting farm incomes and providing some political buffer to the government.

Though procurement of pulses, oilseeds and cotton is done under a ‘price support scheme’, the procurement method has suffered from shortcomings. At present, farmers get lower than MSP prices for a majority of the 23 notified crops including groundnut, soyabean, ragi, maize, bajra and jowar. For procurement of these farm products, the government will compensate agencies concerned for losses.

It is learnt that the government is ready with a mechanism which includes market assurance scheme. The MAS involves decentralised procurement and disposal by state agencies. The second proposal is the price deficiency payment scheme — like ‘Bhavantar’ in Madhya Pradesh — while a third option involving private agencies is not being considered. The cereals will be used in the food security programme, reducing the costs of holding and disposal.

The Centre had in April notified millets as ‘nutri-cereals’ which are not only a powerhouse of nutrients but also are climate resilient as these crops consume less water and can be grown in drought prone areas. More widespread MSP could help diversify cultivation of non-cereals.

Procurement of winter sown crops (Rabi) is in progress since April based on MSP announced by the government last year. The MSP of most Rabi crops — wheat, barley, gram and lentils — already provide more than 50% profit to farmers over the cost of production.

Core sector slows

Growth in the eight core sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery production, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity — slowed to a 10-month low of 3.6% in, May dragged down by crude oil and natural gas output and sluggish performance by steel and cement sectors.

The eight core sectors account for 40.3% of the index of industrial production

June manufacturing PMI

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose from 51.2 in May to 53.1 in June, registering the fastest improvement since December 2017.

This is the 11th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.

Reflecting greater production requirements, manufacturing firms were encouraged to engage in purchasing activity and raise their staffing levels.

On the price front, input cost inflation and output charges rose at a stronger pace, indicating that the central bank might tighten the monetary policy.

In June the Reserve Bank of India had upped its retail inflation projection by 0.30 per cent and kept the policy stance in the neutral zone, even as it hiked the key rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent.

Meanwhile, business confidence eased to the weakest since last October, and the dip in optimism partly reflected concerns of a potential market slowdown in the year ahead.

Tata Motors races past Mahindra

Powered by a young product portfolio, Tata Motors edged out Mahindra and Mahindra to become the No. 3 passenger vehicle maker in India in June, closing the month behind market leader Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.

Tata Motors, which has been working on a revival for the last one and a half years, sold 18,213 units in June against 18,137 units sold by M&M.

The Tiago hatch was perhaps the first model that saw consumer interest coming back and has been followed by other models such as the Hexa SUV, Tigor mini sedan and compact SUV Nexon.

The company had also hired former Maruti top executive Mayank Pareek to lead its renewed efforts and he is the president of the passenger vehicle business.

Mahindra, on the other hand, has been relying on old warhorse Scorpio and XUV500 to build volumes even as new models such as TUV300 are being pushed aggressively to bring in younger, and urban customers. The company has been working on a number of new models to attract younger customers as it increasingly faces stiff competition from companies such as Maruti, Hyundai and Toyota.

June 2018 saw healthy growth for most of the companies as volumes in corresponding month last year was subdued for many due to implementation of GST from July 1, 2017. Companies had held back deliveries in June last year as prices were expected to come down from July due to lower duty in the GST regime.

Maruti saw volumes grow by 44% at 1.34 lakh units. while for Hyundai the growth was 21% at 45,371 units. Honda, which recently launched the next-generation Amaze entry sedan, saw sales surge by 37% in June to 17,602 units, while Toyota sold 13,088 units against 1,973 units in June last year.

Mumbai’s moment of glory arrives

Mumbai's Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensembles were inscribed in the world heritage site list at the 42nd session of the world heritage committee of UNESCO at Manama, Bahrain, on Saturday.

The inscription gives Mumbai the distinction of having 3 UNESCO world heritage sites, (including Elephanta and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus).

Spread over 66.34 hectares, with a buffer zone of 378.78 hectares, the ensembles comprise two architectural styles — the 19th century collection of Victorian structures and the 20th century Art Deco buildings along the sea, conjoined by the historical open space of Oval Maidan.

As recommended by the world heritage committee, the heritage precinct is set to be renamed as ‘Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai’ shortly.

For inclusion in the WHS list, sites must be of “outstanding universal value” and meet at least one of 10 selection criteria. A team of observers comprising heritage experts, conservation architects and UNESCO officials visit these sites to ascertain if their make the cut for nomination. Factors like the condition and maintenance of sites are also looked into.

For the city’s ensemble, the nomination dossier pitched it under criteria (ii): exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design, and (iv): to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history.

Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma called the international tag as “a matter of great pride to the nation”.