The Hindu Editorial News Analysis 15th Dec 2017 -

Table of Contents

Whither disaster management after Ockhi?

More lives of fisherfolk would have been saved if disaster management action plans were implemented properly
Widespread human, material, and environmental losses
Most disasters — floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides — are due to nature’s fury(गुस्सा).
Cyclone Ockhi struck Kanniyakumari district in Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala on
November 29th night and 30th morning.
As per the information given by fishermen associations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, over 120
fishermen are dead and about 900 are still missing.

Failure in damage control- basic failings in the government’s response:

1)-the cyclone warning was delayed; already out at sea; and
2)-Once the cyclone struck, there was no warlike mobilisation and action , which are the
hallmarks of good disaster management.
The Coast Guard, they said, turned a deaf ear to their pleas
Indian Navy with its vast array of ships, aircraft and stateoftheart technology should
have stepped in immediate.
Indian Meteorological Department’s timing of the cyclone forecast -?
What has happened to the1)-National Disaster Management Act (2005),2)-National Policy on Disaster Management (2009),
3)-National Disaster Management Plan (2016) and
4)-National Disaster Response Force and infrastructure created thereof?
Did the disaster management control room in Delhi function at all?Need for compensation
Cyclone has also resulted in massive losses to the livelihoods of people living in coasts due to
the destruction of crops, banana, rubber, coconut and forest trees
Calls for the combined efforts of the Central and State government
To get things moving, Central Relief Commissioner should immediately visit district, make
realistic assessments, and award reasonable compensation immediately.
Cyclonic storm — Cyclone Ockhi.
Kerala, squally winds brought down hundreds of trees, snapped power
and communication lines, destroyed houses and damaged crops.
Air Force and the Navy deployed aircraft,
First tropical cyclone for the season ‘Ockhi’, named by Bangladesh (meaning eyes), is
Likely to move towards Lakshadweep Islands and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm.

Revival Risks

Centre’s bid to dispel the pall of gloom over economy has been helped in recent weeks by

1)- A sovereign rating upgrade from a global agency

2) Improvement in India’s rank on a World Bank index for ease of doing business.

3)- Economy clocked a growth of 6.3% in the second quarter of this year, after slowing for
at least four quarters.

But official data for 3rd quarter (October to December) so far suggest that economy is still note entirely out of the woods(जंगल)
Rising oil prices, could upset the fragile(नाज़ुक) recovery
After2 months of robust 4%plus growth, industrial activity however slipped in October, with the Index of Industrial Production reflecting just 2.2% growth.
October was a festive month but consumer durables production contracted by nearly 7%,
mining was virtually stagnant, and manufacturing growth moderated to 2.5% from
3.8% last year
Nearly 10% drop in GST collections that month compared to September. The IIP has now
grown just 2.5% in First seven months of 2017-18,compared to 5.5% in same period last fiscal
Inflation touching 4.88%, up from 3.6% in October and just 1.5% in June
Greater concern about the rise in core inflation (excluding food and fuel) and inflation
imported through high global prices.
Tuesday, oil prices breached the $65 a barrel mark for the first time in over two years.That is not a path to a sustained revival.

Redefining hate speech

Law Commission recommends two new provisions in IPC
Hate speech poses complex challenges to freedom of speech and expression.
March 2017, the Law Commission, led by former Supreme Court judge, Justice B.S. Chauhan,
recommended inserting two new provisions in the IPC, including speech that instills
“fear or alarm” in the listeners, probably goading(भड़काना) them to violence.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2017 suggested by the Commission proposes to add
1)-Section 153C(prohibiting incitement(भड़काना) to hatred) and
2)-Section 505A(causing fear, alarm, or provocation of violence in certain cases) in the IPC
and make the necessary changes in the Criminal Procedure Code.
“hate speech is any word written or spoken, signs, visible representations within the
hearing or sight of a person with intention to cause fear or alarm, or incitement to violence.
Laws across jurisdictions treat hate speech differently. This is because fine line between what
constitutes hate speech and the constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression
vary from country to country
Law Commission in its 267th Report on ‘hate Speech’.
U.S. gives a wide berth to hate speech while international human rights covenants and other Western democracies like Canada, Germany, and U.K. regulate it and subject it to sanctions
Commission refers to hate speech as an expression likely to cause distress, offence or incite hostility towards a particular group
Proposed Bill punishes incitement to hatred under Section 153C IPC with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and ne up to 5000, or with both.
The punishment for an offence committed under Section 505A is imprisonment for
a term which may extend to 1 year and/or ne up to 5000, or both.

Looking for balance in power

‘Quad’ discussion on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Manila involving Japan,
Australia and the U.S., New Delhi.
Russia IndiaChina trilateral held its 15th meeting in what can be construed as New Delhi’s attempt to get a semblance of balance in its ties with Moscow and Beijing.
Political scenario in West Asia and North Africa, numerous challenges in putting
world economy back on growth track, concerns relating to terrorism, transnational organised
crime, illicit drug trafficking, food security, and climate change.
Mr. Lavrov -Targeting India’s participation in the ‘Quad’, he also underlined that a
sustainable security architecture cannot be achieved in the AsiaPacific region with
“closed bloc arrangements.”
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi also cautioned against “spheres of influence”
“We have handled the issue of crossborder incursions by Indian border troops into China’s
Donglang (Doklam) area through diplomatic measures.
The proposal for a MoscowBeijingDelhi ‘strategic triangle’ had originally come from
former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov during visit India in 1998, when he argued
that such an arrangement would represent a force for greater regional & international stability
Nothing concrete emerged out of that meeting three nations had very different expectations from this trilateral.
American policies towards Russia and China moved the two states closer to each other,
leading to the formation of a new balance of power against the U.S.
IndoU.S. ties as bilateral relations expanded while Russian and Chinese links with the U.S.
have witnessed a downward shift
As a multipolar world order takes shape, India will have to engage with multiple
partners so as to limit bilateral divergences.
Just as China engages with the U.S. on the one hand and with Russia on the other,
a rising India is quite capable of managing its ties with Washington , Beijing and
Moscow simultaneously.

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

Page-1- SC clears 12 special courts to try cases against politicians
Fast track courts across the country to dispose of 1,581 cases within a year
Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the green signal for the Centre’s scheme to set up 12
fast track courts to exclusively prosecute and dispose of 1,581 criminal cases pending against Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies within a year.
Centre to forthwith allocate 7.8 crore to the States for setting up of the special courts.
Page-2- Haven’t declared entire Amarnath as silence zone, clarifies NGT ‘Only asked devotees to maintain silence in front of the Shivling’
Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar said that the order
passed by the Tribunal on Wednesday, had “neither intended nor actually declared
the entire area falling under the Amarnath Ji Shrine Board as a silence zone”.

Exit polls predict BJP sweep with a comfortable majority across Gujarat, H.P.
Hearing on Aadhaar validity put o to January- court then fixed the date as January 17, 2018.
Pakistan to give visa to Jadhav’s kin- Pakistan on Thursday directed its High
Commission in New Delhi to issue visa to the wife and mother of Indian death
row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav,
Haryana govt. to provide free sanitary napkins to poor women
New airport in Kannur may boost tourism in Mysuru- Karnataka.