Daily Archives: August 17, 2020

Not even two decades since they were set off, the light has gone out of power distribution reforms. Accumulated financial losses of distribution companies, or discoms, ballooned to about Rs 4.7 lakh crore in fiscal 2019, while average cost of supply-average revenue realised (ACS-ARR) gap and aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses are both higher than Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana targets.

The lack of autonomy of state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) has been a major stumbling block to progress. The move to create a single central selection committee for appointment of chairman and members of all SERCs in the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020, is thus the right step. It may finally eliminate state interference and pave the way for much-stalled reforms.

So how have the SERCs been an impediment?

They have wide-ranging powers and the responsibility to ensure efficiency by introducing competition and upholding consumer interest. Instead, they begot irregular tariff revisions, continuous cross-subsidisation, large regulatory assets, and delays in adjudication on tariff and non-tariff disputes.

SERCs are also empowered to grant licences, fix tariffs and targets, and punish errant licensees. However, with political appointees as members, the current mess is not surprising.

Discoms in some states (such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan) have failed to file tariff petitions and issue orders on time, submit annual accounts, and get true-ups done regularly. Thats again telling on SERCs, which are ultimately responsible to ensure petitions are filed promptly and can do so suo motu even if discoms fail to. Such non-action has not helped timely reconciliation of tariff requirements to meet costs.

Discoms are also carrying huge regulatory assets with no concrete plan to get rid of them. For instance, in tariff petition of fiscal 2018, TN discom filed for regulatory assets of Rs 68,873 crore and the SERC approved only Rs 10,432 crore. In UP, discoms regulatory assets were around Rs 40,541 crore at fiscal 2019 end, again, no clear timeline for liquidation.

All this is why, even after years of reform, tariff structure in many states is still skewed, with disproportionate burden on the industrial and commercial segment. Some SERCs have also dragged their feet in certain cases on conducive regulatory actions to promote open access, which could have helped propel competitive industrialisation as well as the option for independent power producers to sell power directly to consumers.

But now that SERC members will be selected by a central body (once the amendments go through), certain long-pending reforms could find renewed vigour:

Indeed, private sector participation and separation of retail supply, or for that matter any reform, will depend on how non-politically and independently the sector is regulated. Only when tariffs start reflecting the true cost of supply and AT&C losses, will the rest follow.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Freedom and power: Autonomy for state electricity regulatory commissions can be the harbinger of big change - The Times of India Blog

LONDON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos(NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, has appointed Al Potter as Managing Director of the National Security and Defence Business for Leidos UK. In this role, he will be responsible for engaging the defence, intelligence and national security markets.

Potter has joined from Boeing Defence UK where he served as a Board Member alongside his day-to-day role as Managing Director of Government Service Business. Prior to this, Potter spent four years at Lockheed Martin Global as Business Development Director for UK and Europe, where he was responsible for identifying and capturing new business across the mission systems and training portfolio.

Al is a recognised diversity champion - having built very diverse teams and championing leadership development. He has also acted as a mentor for many employees and often advises veterans leaving the services. In addition, Al is also a Trustee and Director of the Midlands Educational Trust, an Education Academy that runs four primary schools in the Malvern and Worcester area.

Potter began his career with the Royal Air Force, eventually earning the rank of Squadron Leader after 23 years of service. During his time, he flew Search and Rescue helicopters, completing over 400 rescues and awarded an Air Force Cross for his service. A qualified helicopter pilot instructor, he later ran the UK Search and Rescue training academy on return from an overseas deployment with U.S. Forces on Operation Enduring Freedom.

Chief Executive of Leidos UK & Europe, Simon Fovargue, said: "We see enormous opportunity to contribute towards the UK Government's security and defence agenda leveraging the wider company and growing organic skills and capability. Bringing someone of Al's calibre and expertise to lead on these efforts is a great coup for us and I am confident that he will make a meaningful impact on this priority market for us."

Alan Potter said: "I am thrilled to be joining the Leidos team at such an exciting period of growth for the business, and particularly in the UK as we look to expand our services in national security and defence. I have known Simon for a number of years, he is a top-class leader and I look forward to working with him and the rest of the team at Leidos."

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 37,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. For more information, visit http://www.Leidos.com.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements include contract valuation assuming the exercise of all options. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 3, 2020, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

Media Contacts:

US: Melissa Duenas Melissa.L.Duenas@leidos.com

UK: Robert McNeill Robert.McNeill@leidos.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/4662/leidos_logo_4817_21071_.jpg

http://www.leidos.com

SOURCE Leidos

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Leidos UK appoints new Managing Director of National Security and Defence - PR Newswire UK

Roughly five months after Indias first lockdown to tackle the Covid-19 scourge, its easy to blame the pandemic for the current economic woes. Sure, GDP contraction isnt something we would have to reckon with if it wasnt for the virus, but an economic slowdown was very much underway. In the second quarter of fiscal 2020 (July to September 2019), growth was down to a six-year low of 4.5 percent (subsequently revised at the end of the year to 4.2 percent); the following quarter was marginally better at 4.7 percent growth, although the pandemic-induced revision brought it down to 4.1 percent; the fourth quarter growthwhich included just seven days of the lockdownwas pegged at 3.1 percent and the full years at 4.2 percent.

The pre-Covid-era, however, is water under the bridge. The new normal may by now be a well-worn buzzword but for industries that have been busy restoring supply chains and stoking fresh demand, its quite literally a start from scratch. And its been an encouraging beginning.

If there are glimmers of hope, theyre largely being seen in agrarian India. Even pre-Covid, it was agriculture, and not manufacturing and construction, that helped take fiscal 2020 GDP past 4 percent. Since then, strong monsoons and record sowing levels are manifesting in an increase in rural spending, which has also been buoyed up by the government pumping cash into villages via a series of schemes.

That windfall has started reflecting in report cards of consumer companies, from tractor makers and two-wheeler makers to biscuit marketers. Even Indias largest carmaker Maruti, which typically derives 80 percent of its demand from urban India, is seeing higher growth from rural.

Our cover story is on a company that may well be a barometer of the rural ray of economic hope, Hero MotoCorp. Consider: In the April-June quarter, rural sales have outpaced urban by 12 percent for Hero that would get half of its overall sales from rural pre-Covid. July sales, of almost 5.15 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters, were almost at levels of a year ago. Sensing the opportunity, the worlds largest two-wheeler maker is going the whole hog with its rural outreach efforts, which include 650 rural sales executives (RSEs) covering 55,000 villages. The RSEs are in touch with the rural community through video and phone calls, with information on everything from Covid safety measures to product information and retail finance. As Hero MotoCorp chairman & managing director, and CEO, Pawan Munjal tells Rajiv Singh, who penned the cover story: We have to learn to live with the virus. You cant sit at home and wait for it to go away. Yet, whether the July rebound will persist is a billion-dollar questionat a time when Covid-19 in India is spreading further upcountry. Clearly, a rural recovery can do its bit for the Indian economy, but as the analysts at Barclays succinctly put it in a recent research report: Ultimately, health care management and disease resolution will dictate the pace of the economys return to normal.

India completed 73 years of Independence in a period in which individual freedom didnt have a lot going for it. When locking down and masking up were the calls of the day, the pandemic shone a light on how shackled so many of the nations citizens still are in accessing quality health care and educationand, indeed, a livelihood to make ends meet. Our Independence Day package, put together by Jasodhara Banerjee, delves into Finding Freedom from disease, illiteracy and unemployment. Covid-19 is a cruel reminder that you cant take anything for granted.

Best,Brian CarvalhoEditor, Forbes IndiaEmail:Brian.Carvalho@nw18.comTwitter id:@Brianc_Ed

(This story appears in the 28 August, 2020 issue of Forbes India. You can buy our tablet version from Magzter.com. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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The Great Rural Hope - Forbes India

American democracy balancing precariously

"May you live in interesting times" an old Chinese well wish or curse.

We are living at a point in the life of our democracy philosophers like Alexis Charles de Tocqueville and others predicted as the end of democracies a life expectancy ranging about 250 years.

Americas democracy is balancing on the point of a pin. Corruption among the royal leadership is a caustic poison that drips down to the people.

In 1787 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, said: "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

Professor Tyler continued with these eight steps of a democracy:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;

2. From spiritual faith to great courage;

3. From courage to liberty;

4. From liberty to abundance;

5. From abundance to complacency;

6. From complacency to apathy;

7. From apathy to dependence;

8. From dependence to bondage

We seem to be on pace to make Professor Tylers predictions come true. Our ancestors took great risks, sacrificing sweat, blood and life to free themselves from the bondage of monarchs, despots and dictators. They fought hard for the treasures of freedom.

It appears recent generations are surrendering those freedoms in the most cowardly of capitulations, rolling over like dogs to be leashed in bondage. Settling fat, happy and lazy, back again to emaciated and downtrodden.

Gerald J. Furnkranz, Millport

Maennerchor an area treasure

Frank Tomainos July article in the O-D mentioned the Utica Maennerchor and described how it was founded in 1865 by a group of 15 men who started a German choir in a brewery.

These men faced numerous difficulties as they created one of the largest and most popular clubs in central New York.

UMC has continued to struggle and face innumerable challenges the Great Depression, Prohibition, losing the building to fire and then to urban renewal twice.

Times have changed and the Maennerchor has changed where once it was a closed club with over 500 dedicated members, it is now open to the public with 300 members dedicated to song, dance and German culture.

The Maennerchors singers and dancers perform free at various cultural events and nursing homes often donating proceeds from in-house concerts to other worthy causes.

The facilities are presently open to anyone who wishes to enjoy the fine bar and Friday dinners, to renting the spacious grounds and buildings for private parties or monthly meetings.

The Bavarian Festival has been canceled due to COVID and has been replaced with a GoFundMe drive which has helped with some revenue loss.

The Utica Maennerchor has existed for 155 years and should it not survive, it would be a great cultural loss to our area.

John and Erika Perrone, Marcy

Safely reopening SUNY Poly

We are writing to alert the public as to the concerns our faculty and staff members have about the reopening plan for SUNY Poly, especially its Utica campus.

SUNY Polys Reopening Plan adheres to standards established by the CDC, state and SUNY guidelines. The plan complies with some of the recommended best practices while adhering only to minimal standards with regard to testing with a 7 to 14 day "good faith" precautionary quarantine and event testing upon arrival only if the student is showing symptoms.

Mandatory testing of students, faculty, and staff before returning to campus and throughout the semester is essential to protect the safety of students, staff, faculty, and of the wider community.

We applaud the examples set by private colleges and some SUNY campuses, and believe that the practice of mandatory testing should be extended to all campuses, including the Utica campus.

There is still time to require mandatory testing of students, faculty, and staff before they return to campus. We respectfully ask that the community support us in this effort by urging SUNY Polys Interim President Wang (president@sunypoly.edu) to do the right thing and require a rigorous program of testing.

Dr. Linda Weber, Poly Utica Faculty Assembly

Dr. Maarten Heyboer, Poly Chapter of UUP

Head to library for free wi-fi

I applaud any efforts to address digital access inequities in our community and the news that there are additional wi-fi hotspots for downtown Utica residents and visitors to the community is worthy of praise.

I would also like to point out that downtown Utica has had free wi-fi for 23 hours and 59 minutes of every day since March 13th, 2020, in the parking lot and grounds outside Utica Public Library.

We aren't alone, either.

Many of the libraries in the Mid York Library System which comprises all public libraries in Oneida, Herkimer and Madison Counties made efforts to expand their free, unlimited wi-fi access on their properties once we made the difficult but necessary decision to close our buildings almost five months ago.

While we are still unable to open fully to the public as we have have been in the past, staff have been providing both new online and on-site programming such as browsing of new library materials on Thursdays outside our building, free bagged lunches two days a week for children in partnership with Compassion Coalition, and take-and-make craft kits for children and adults.

Utica Public Library recently updated its mission statement: With over a century of service to the Greater Utica Area, The Library remains dedicated to providing information and learning experiences throughout our diverse community.

This hasn't changed due to the current pandemic, and while we certainly miss visitors coming freely through our doors and roaming our majestic stacks, our work hasn't stopped.

Christopher Sagaas, director, Utica Public Library

Disrespecting two saints

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a prominent Democrat from New York claims Fr. Damien, was an example of a white supremacist. This was a Catholic priest who went to Hawaii and ended up working with lepers.

This priest, knowing the dangers, went to the island to assist these walking dead. He died of leprosy at 48. Before he died, he came back to America looking for those who might assist him in his ministry. Over 50 religious congregations had refused his request, all knowing how contagious this truly deadly disease was.

It was not until he reached Syracuse that he met a Catholic nun who said she was interested. She grew up during the Civil War in Utica. She had already founded St. Josephs Hospital in Syracuse.

She along with six of her fellow sisters joined Fr. Damien.

The Church, on rare occasion, will choose extraordinary people to be used as good examples for us all. They are called saints. There have been 15 from America in our history. Marianne Cope is included on that list.

Where is the outrage from our local politicians to these blatant lies?

They sit back and say nothing as these people work to "cancel" the best of us.

Martin Droz, North Bay

Protect Adirondack Park

It disappoints me every year at the indifference some people have toward preserving the integrity of the Adirondack area. Garbage and beer cans thrown out of cars, the noise and pollution of snowmobiles, boats and Jet Skis its just the cavalier indifference of some of the visitors toward this environment.

Social media has also impacted the hiking trails. Everyone wants to get a selfie on top of a mountain and yet most have seldom, if ever, spent a night in the woods. They are ignorant of the history, solitude and spirituality of what this unique resource provides and means.

To many, the Adirondacks simply represents a destination to party. How do you keep the Adirondacks economically viable without taking away the thing that makes it the Adirondacks?

I hope this question gets the attention it needs before its too late.

Gerhardt Storsberg, Trenton

Comparing generations again

In his guest view "Greatest Generation " (OD, 8/09/20), the writer describes the differences between the sacrifices made during WWII and the refusal today, by some, to tolerate the small inconvenience of a face mask.

He reminded us that our whole nation collaborated on the homefront and the battlefield to defeat a horrific enemy, and compares those patriotic actions to the shameful behaviors of some today who refuse to fight a different, but equally dangerous public enemy through the simple expedient of a face mask.

I'd like to add another important comparison between then and now.

I'd like you to compare the national leadership that we were blessed with back in the dark days of WWII to the one we're burdened with today.

We had Roosevelt and an energetic, dutiful Congress to guide us and unify us through those awful times. Today we have Trump and his cowardly enablers whose leadership, or the lack thereof, has resulted in our nation displaying the worst position in the world relative to combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

November 3 can't come soon enough.

Carl Streeter, Ilion

Park condition shameful

A friend and I visited a park which has several monuments.

Who is responsible for the Purple Heart Memorial Park at Erie and Whitesboro streets in Utica?

I could not believe it. It was so sad to see the overgrowth at the Purple Heart Monument and the wanton damage and destruction to the pavilion, with supports kicked out. The flower pots were overturned and plants destroyed a general sense of abandonment.

Where is the civic pride?

Robert Fletcher, Ilion

A witness to poor policing practices

I am writing in opposition to the 10-point policing proposal introduced by sheriffs across the state.

I am the proud son of a retired police officer and I worked in police dispatch. Despite my compassion for the challenges and dangers of policing, I do not support legislating law enforcement officers as a protected class.

The protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd exposed the growing impatience with abuse of power and authority by law enforcement; over-policing, racial profiling, brutalization, and extrajudicial executions.

New York State sheriffs assert that the 10-point proposal will improve officer safety in a "climate of disrespect." I have witnessed the militarization of police over time, the shooting of a known mentally ill citizen, harassment of a Latino acquaintance, and have been subject to disrespect by police officers while engaged in my work as a pastor.

Draconian protection laws for police will not earn more respect.

I suggest legislation that promotes citizen input and defunding law enforcement to fund social services, mental health, conflict resolution, domestic violence intervention, combating poverty, and improving decaying neighborhoods.

Rev. Richard Moran, Jr., New York Mills

Choose wisely in November election

Conservatives and Libertarians endorsed Tenney; Working Families and Independents endorsed Brindisi (justfacts.votesmart.org, ballotpedia.org). I consider myself as an Independent Conservative, registered Republican.

For upstaters, the House elections are of even more importance than the presidential one. Tenny will claim Brindisi is Pelosi's puppet (yet she openly admits to being Trump's). The negative ads will increase, and we all need to be able to see through them.

Statistics on sites such as Govtrack.us show similarities. I encourage you to browse deeper into sites like these and make informed decisions. You will see the committees Brindisi sits on, and those Tenney did not. You can compare bills sponsored, and how they voted. You can see their ratings and how they fall on an ideology/leadership scale.

Most notable for me was Tenney's poor approval scores from "Club for Growth," which are very conservative: Reducing taxes, the size and scope of the federal government, spending, and passing a balanced budget (clubforgrowth.org).

Please dont believe all of Claudia's advertisements. Educate yourself to make the best decision for you and your family here in upstate New York.

Travis Owens, Clinton

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YOUR VIEWS: Letters to the Editor, Aug. 16 - Opinion - Utica Observer Dispatch

NEW DELHI: The focus of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shifted to alternate methods of providing reliefs rather than pumping more money into the banking system, in a way accepting most of industry and Streets demands.

RBI gave more freedom to banks to deal with loans while keeping mum on moratorium. The monetary policy committee (MPC) said Indias GDP growth is likely to slip in the red during the fiscal year.

As per expectations, the committee unanimously voted to maintain the status quo. It kept repo rate at 4 per cent and reverse repo rate at 3.35 per cent while not ruling out further rate cuts.

Here are key takeaways from the policy meet:Liquidity shot in the arm for MFsRBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said abundant liquidity has supported many segments of financial markets, including mutual funds, and the situation has stabilised since the Franklin Templeton episode.

Assets under management of Debt MFs, which fell to Rs 12.20 lakh crore as on 29 April, 2020, recovered and improved to Rs 13.89 lakh crore as on July 31, 2020, he said.

Recasting of MSME loansThe central bank allowed restructuring loans of the MSME sector, which came under heavy stress due to the lockdown and the following slump in demand.

It has been decided that stressed MSME borrowers will be made eligible for restructuring their debt under the existing framework, provided their accounts with the concerned lender were classified as standard as on 1 March, 2020. This restructuring will have to be implemented by 31 March, 2021, the central bank said.

More loans for your goldAs gold prices have been soaring, the central bank said it will now allow lenders to lend 90 per cent of the value of gold jewellery against earlier 75 per cent. This is likely to help Indian households, who are sitting on the largest amount of gold ornaments in the world.

Lockdowns hit high-frequency indicatorsThe MPC said even though the economic activity had started to recover from the lows of April-May, the surges of fresh infections have forced re-clamping of lockdowns in several cities and states. Consequently, several high frequency indicators have levelled off.

Petro tax fuel inflationThe central bank said higher domestic taxes on petroleum products have resulted in elevated domestic pump prices and will impart broad-based cost push pressures going forward.

It said inflation will remain elevated in the second quarter but may ease once new crops come into the market. Nonetheless, upside risks to food prices remain as vegetables and protein-based food items (meat, fish, etc.) could also emerge as a pressure point.

Low rates give boost to bond marketLower borrowing costs have led to record primary issuance of corporate bonds of Rs 2.1 lakh crore in the first quarter of 2020-21, the MPC said.

It noted the transmission of policy rate cut to bank lending rates has improved further, with the weighted average lending rate (WALR) on fresh rupee loans declining by 91 bps during March-June 2020.

Das in his statement noted that borrowing costs in financial markets have dropped to their lowest in a decade, with commercial paper yield for NBFCs falling to 3.8 per cent and non NBFCs to 3.4 per cent.

GDP to take a plungeFor the year 2020-21, as a whole, real GDP growth is expected to be negative, the MPC said. An early containment of the Covid-19 pandemic may impart an upside to the outlook. A more protracted spread of the pandemic, deviations from the forecast of a normal monsoon and global financial market volatility are the key downside risks, it said in its statement.

Space for rate cut availableThe committee said the economy is going through unprecedented stress and hence supporting the recovery of the economy assumes primacy in the conduct of monetary policy.

While space for further monetary policy action in support of this stance is available, it is important to use it judiciously and opportunistically to maximise the beneficial effects for underlying economic activity, it said.

Eternal optimismDespite all challenges on the monetary and economic front, Governor Das said he remains eternally optimistic. Throughout this traumatic period, one thing has stood out the indomitable spirit of humanity, the inner conviction that whatever be the challenge, we have the innate resilience to combat them, overcome them and emerge victorious, he said.

Originally posted here:

More freedom to banks, further rate cut not ruled out: 10 key takeaways from policy meet - Economic Times

Travelling is intrinsic to humankind. It is a human right. This right is enshrined under Article 15 of the Constitution of Pakistan. It stipulates that every citizen has the right to enter and move freely throughout Pakistan

Every citizen is free to walk on a footpath or drive on the roads. Additionally, several human rights are dependant on the right to freedom of movement. These include inter alia, the right to food, education, health care and employment. In the beautiful city of Karachi, one might like to see the stunning view of the sea and would be within their rights to drive from North Nazimabad to Clifton and enjoy some leisure time. However, how can one exercise any of these rights without proper and safe civil infrastructure? A simple twelve-minute commute from home to a workplace can turn fatal due to the dangerously crumbling of the civil infrastructure of Pakistan.

22 people, including three children, lost their lives in the three days of rain in Karachi. Some lost their lives due to electrocution, others due to the accumulated rainwater and billboards falling and collapsing. Many have faced the same fate in the previous year. Yet, the government failed to take any relevant and appropriate measures to prevent the unfortunate casualties. Who will look after the dependents of the (below) minimum wage earners who left their homes to go to work but never returned?

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), while hearing a case about billboards and hoardings installed in Karachi, noted that the mayor of Karachi, Wasim Akhtar, always complained about lack of authority. He stated, Go home if you do not have authority; why are you sitting as a mayor? The CJP further stated, The mayor of Karachi seems to have a vendetta against the city, [even though] people voted for him so that he could do something for Karachi.

Mr Akhtar claimed that all powers of the KMC, including transport, building control and master plan were controlled by the Sindh government. Furthermore, he believed that the people of Karachi were suffering from the issue of transport and that Karachi was being neglected deliberately. He added that no department of the provincial government was performing, that is why the people were facing severe problems. Sadly, the blame continuously shifts from one political party to the other.

According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan ranked first in Asia for most deaths caused by traffic accidents. Furthermore, the Global Competitiveness report of 2019 ranked Pakistan at 105 for its infrastructure, 52 for its road connectivity and 67 for the quality of its road infrastructure. Even easily fixable issues such as potholes and sewers without vent covers are a common sight and have been the cause of many casualties, especially during the rain. Each year, several areas in Karachi such as Ayesha Manzil, Karsaz Road, II Chundrigar Road, Shara -e- Faisal, MA Jinnah Road get flooded due to the rain. Daily wage earners are left with no option but to either risk their lives or lose an earning day. Citizens are already struggling due to the pandemic. This adds on to their miseries.

The right to public transport is severely restricted. In a Case (2020 S C M R 622) concerning non-functioning of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), the Supreme Court highlighted the issues relating to public transportation in Karachi.

The often untouched but real complexity of the concept of justice, however, is its duality

It was held that Article 9 (right to life) included the provision of transportation for citizens. The State is required to provide citizens with safe, humane and dignified means of travelling from one destination to another, within and outside cities. This right is essential towards ensuring the equality of citizens to eradicate social evils and to promote the social and economic well-being of the people. CJP Ahmed stated, the real issue for the people of Karachi is about making the KCR available to them and that too, at the earliest possible date, for that, transportation of the people from one area of the city to another area has almost become impossible due to absolute non-availability of road transport. The city is choked by motorcycles, on which, at times, the whole family of a poor person travels, which of course is very dangerous for their lives. Whatever other transport is there, it is altogether inhuman and below the dignity of a citizen. We note that no planning has been made so far for addressing the unending misery of the people of Karachi, as they are altogether starved of transportation. He further added, The mega city like Karachi, where the bulk of the population of the province of Sindh is settled, needs optimum and immediate attention by the State to provide these constitutional rights and safeguards to the people. The State, by rendering such services to the citizens, does not give any favour to them but such is the right of the citizens under the Constitution, which the State and its organ are duty-bound to perform.

The Court directed that Pakistan Railways, with the aid and assistance of all agencies in the country, had to revive and operate KCR and it shall do so positively within a period of six months, otherwise, the Court may take action against all relevant Government Executives and officials of Pakistan Railways for contempt of court and for not complying with mandatory provisions of the Constitution.

Th divisional superintendent of Pakistan Railways Karachi, Arshad Salam Khattak stated in July of this year that, as per the directives of Supreme Court, restoration of KCR, was the top priority of Pakistan Railways while claiming that the trackwork has been initiated. He added that the federal government has allocated Rs. 1.8 billion for the mass transit project in the Public Sector Development Programme, for the Fiscal Year 2020-21.

It has been revealed that Karachi ranks fourth in road accident deaths in the world (ref. department of geography, KU). While the restoration of KCR seems like a ray of hope amidst despair, a lot more needs to be done for the 14.91 million (as per UN) people that reside in the city. Restoration of KCR is a progressive step, but it is not enough.

The writer is Barrister of the Honourable Society of Lincolns Inn and teach United States constitutional law and civil law to Pakistani LLB students

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The right to freedom of movement in the City of lights - Daily Times

Today, America has a choice of two paths. We can embrace the foundational principles that created this nation of limited government and individual liberty. Or we can veer down the path of bigger, more intrusive government that promises to solve all our problems if we just turn over more of our freedom and our paychecks.

The difference between the two paths recently has become even starker as those on the left have gotten more radical. They have sought to destroy the lives of those who disagree with them, rewrite history to teach our children that America was illegitimate from the start, and express solidarity with those rioting across the country.

This future-altering choice reminds me of 1964 whenRonald Reaganspoke about a similar decision the American people faced. A Time for Choosing was Mr.Reagans indictment of big government policies and the deceptive lure of socialism. Amazingly, his warnings are just as applicable today as they were nearly six decades ago.

He gave A Time for Choosing shortly after President Lyndon Johnson introduced his Great Society proposal, which created new welfare programs, expanded food stamps, gave birth to Medicaid and Medicare, and inserted the federal government into local education, among other massive expansions of government.

Like conservatives of today, Mr.Reaganexpressed a grave concern that too many Americans saw more government as the solution to their problems, even though by 1964, history had already shown that bigger government actually was the problem.

For example, he spoke of how government programs to eradicate poverty hadnt solved much of anything: If government planning and welfare had the answer and theyve had almost 30 years of it, shouldnt they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help?

In recent years, weve spent about a trillion dollars a year on federal welfare programs. Divide that up among the 40 million or so Americans considered poor, and we could have given a family of four $100,000 a year. Yet, the poverty rate has stayed about the same as it was when the War on Poverty began in 1964. Tragically, most welfare programs have only been successful at creating perpetual reliance on government.

Mr.Reaganalso pointed out that, despite the fact that Washington was collecting unprecedented amounts of money from taxpayers in 1964, it never seemed to be enough: Today, 37 cents of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collectors share, and yet our government continues to spend $17 million a day more than the government takes in.

Washingtons poor fiscal restraint has only gotten worse. In 2019, the government spent $2.7 billion a day more than it took in, and currently, the national debt exceeds $80,000 for every man, woman, and child.

Yet today, despite years of failures, just like back then, the left continues to promote policies that usurp our freedom, harm our economy, endanger our security, and create an unhealthy dependence on government.

Today, theyre proposing government-run single-payer health care and cutting our military when those who want to do us harm are increasing theirs. They want to defund the police across America, putting out the neighborhood welcome mat for criminals everywhere. Theyve proposed climate legislation that would eliminate gas-powered cars, ground all airplanes, and forbid beef consumption. Their proposals would guarantee every person in America access to free health care, free college, and even a free paycheckpaid for with massive tax increases.

Mr.Reaganurged Americans to resist the lure of these types of big government programs coming from their leaders. He said that the issue was whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.

As polls show more Americans warming up to socialism, conservatives need to take a few lessons from The Great Communicator. We must better convey how policy solutions based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual liberty, traditional American values, and a strong national defense are what made this nation greatand what will continue to make life better for all Americans.

This is another time for choosing for America, and the path we choose will affect generations of Americans to come.

Those who promote socialism havent given up on their plans for America, and neither can we. If we are able to succeed in taking a coherent, compelling argument to the American people that spells out why free market, conservative solutions are better for them than the false promises of socialist Utopianism, we will, in Mr.Reagans words, preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth.

That must be our mission, and the future of America surely depends on our success.

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Why Reagan's Call to Conservatism Needs to Be Heard Again Today - Heritage.org

Recently millionaires from different countries signed a petition under the name Millionaire for Humanity demanding their respective governments to raise taxes on them to help with the coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 individuals have signed the letter, and most signatories belong to the developed nations like the US, UK, and Germany. One of the key aspects of the petition is that taxes can only create a huge impact against charitable contributions, no matter how generous these contributions are. It might be a rare and historic moment to witness wealthy individuals quoting Tax us, Tax us, Tax us to fund the social sector like health, education, and security. The phrase rebalance our world through wealth tax seems like a unique moment of truth for the wealthy to play their part towards humanity.

But is the voluntary action enough to counter the states inaction to tax the wealthy? A few individuals voluntary actions are a drop in the ocean that might not even make a dent to make all wealthy accountable?Wealthy do indeed pay proportionate taxes according to their state laws in many parts of the world. But the bitter truth is that there are also increased tax avoidance cases by the wealthy, which the Paradise Papers, Panama Papers, and other evidence show. That is why there is a rigorous debate on taxing the rich even more.

According to Oxfams 2020 report worlds 2,153 dollar billionaires had more wealth than 4.6 billion people or 60% of the world population in 2019. Even in the aftermath of COVID-19 there has been no change in the millionaires status quo who actually saw their wealth grow exponentially. According to Forbes magazine report, 10 billionaires gained $51.3 billion or Rs 3.9 lakh crore (at exchange rate of Rs 76) in just a week between April 2 and 9 when the global economy was almost shut (except for a few essentials) and millions were losing their incomes and jobs.They did this through the stock market. These billionaires included Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Mukesh Ambani.

Thus the paper analyses two main issues in relation to the petition. Firstly, why similar actions were not taken by the wealthy in the developing nations, with focus on India? Secondly, will a voluntary compliance mechanism via a petition resolve the ongoing issue of tax evasion by the wealthy?

The petition seems to appear as a global movement, but in reality, it is a mere representative of the few wealthy individuals residing in developed economies. The less participation and debate amongst the developing countries on taxing the rich can be understood in terms of their societal and cultural background. In India, it is easier to project it as a home to the poorest, but it is also a home for some of the worlds wealthiest people. In this context, it is essential to understand how the wealthier populations nature changed significantly since Independence and how a favourable tax system helped them to grow.

1.1. From Inherited wealth to private enterprise:

When the British left, a handful of business families and dynastic royalties were in charge of key economic industries. These dynastic royalties had amassed and inherited great fortunes over time due to their close ties to the colonial administration. Although there was poverty amongst the general population, the most lavish lifestyles were only enjoyed by the princely classes, some business houses and large zamindars (landlords).

Primarily the inherited wealth was the primary source of wealth amongst the wealthier population.

However, between 1961 and 1986, Indias notorious macroeconomic plight undermined a progressive effort to reduce the incumbent richs size and importance. Low economic growth was accompanied by a sharp reduction of the real value of wealth held by the top 0.1%. The backdrop for this decline was itself rooted in the integration of India when the government quickly took steps to abolish inherited wealth amongst the super-rich royalty. Hence inflation, progressive taxation, and nationalization that characterized the late 1960s and 1970s punished the outdated rentier class and expropriated much-existing wealth.

In the 1990s, domestic and external liberalization happened in India, resulting in the deregulation of taxation and private investment. This led to a rapid increase in stock market capitalization relative to GDP. In fact, given the tremendous rise in stock market capitalization, it seems possible that wealth concentration in India may have surpassed its pre-1970 levels in recent decades. This transformative wealth dynamics of the 1960s and 1970s are crucial to understanding how the elite class, once populated by inherited wealth, is now made up of private enterprises.

However, the rise of the new private enterprise did not address income inequality, only to make the rich richer and the poor more miserable. According to Oxfams January 2020 report Time to Care said, in 2019, the wealth of top 1% Indians went up by 46% while that of the bottom 50% by 3%. In 2019, the top 1% Indians held 42.5% of national wealth, which is, more than 4 times the wealth of 953 million people constituting the bottom 70%. The bottom 50% held just 2.5% of national wealth. According to the Credit Suisses Global Wealth Report of 2019, there were 7,59,000 dollar millionaires in India 2019, up from 725,000 in 2018 and 34,000 in 2010. This shows that even as a developing economy we do not have a dearth of wealthy people who are unable to participate in the petition.

1.2. How the tax system works favourably for the wealthy?

In developing countries, the governments primary focus is on resource mobilization, which dictates their tax system. This is due to the unequal income distribution. However, the tax system is also designed in such a way that makes it harder to tax the rich. This is because wealthy taxpayers political and economic power often prevents the government from developing fiscal reforms to increase their tax burdens.

Moreover, there are high personal exemptions and the plethora of other exemptions and deductions that benefit those with high incomes (for example, the exemption of capital gains from tax, generous deductions for medical and educational expenses, the low taxation of financial income). India has been an active recipient of FDI for decades. As a result, it results in lower effective tax rates for MNCs.

Simultaneously, the government keeps on slashing the corporate income tax rate during every budget, providing strong incentives for taxpayers to choose the corporate form of doing business for purely tax reasons. For instance, the Indian government slashed corporate tax to 22% (without exemptions) for domestic companies in September 2019, bringing the effective rate to 25.17% (with surcharge and cess). Such a move happened when the economy had nose-dived for several consecutive quarters.

According to the IMF, the combination of tax incentives and low corporate tax rates leads to the following:

Hence, it can be observed that wealthy individuals are provided with a plethora of tax incentives in a developing economy to prevent capital flight. However, this does not translate into high tax morale for these individuals due to increased tax evasion incidences. Now is the time for the wealthy to take part in the petition to share responsibility in rebuilding the economy.

2.1. Assessing the problem of tax evasion by the wealthy

Empirical data has shown (e.g., E. Hofmann, Voracek, Bock,& Kirchler, 2017b[1]), that the motivation to engage in tax avoidance and evasion increases with wealth. Recent studies indicate that tax evasion is directly proportional to wealth, with the top 0.01% of the wealth distribution (i.e., households with more than $40 million in net wealth) evades almost 30% of their wealth and income tax versus 3% by taxpayers overall (Altstaeder, Johannesen, & Zucman, 2017[2]). With the aim to minimize their taxes, it is easier for the wealthy to hire tax agents who are skilled in devising ways to achieve that(Sakurai & Braithwaite, 2001[3]).

Tax avoidance is a huge issue that amounts to $240 billion every year (Rs 18.24 lakh crore), according to OECD-G20s anti-tax avoidance initiative, Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Recent data by Fair Tax Mark shows that Facebook, Google and four other US tech giants, described as the Silicon Six (others being Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple) had avoided paying $100 billion tax (Rs 760,000 crore) between 2010 and 2019. Due to tax evasion, according to 2019 IMF study, the non-OECD countries are losing 1.3% of their GDP or $200 billion of revenue every year while the OECD countries about 1% of GDP or close to $450 billion.

Nonetheless, the blame cannot be squarely put on the wealthy for causing tax evasion. It is the legal, political, and economic context of national tax loopholes which not only give the wealthy many more opportunities to avoid taxes than the average citizen but might also create an ideal environment that legitimises aggressive tax avoidance behaviour.

2.2. How the petition will help in combating massive tax evasion problem?

It can be said that the petition is an example of committed motivation by the wealthy which drives them to pay taxes because of a felt moral duty(Gangl et al., 2015[4]) or due to emotional stress, caused by anticipated guilt or shame (Blaufus, Bob, Otto, & Wolf, 2017[5]). However before delving into the question whether such an initiative will be effective to combat tax evasion in the long run, it is important to understand the social psychological process that motivates the wealthy to either pay or evade taxes.

The wealthy can easily identify and compare themselves with other wealthy individuals as a result of pychological process in relation to belonging to a particular group. As a result they imitate not only lifestyles but also tax behviours out of comparison and competition, because one does not want to fall behind in the financial race (Mols & Jetten, 2017[6]).For instance, if all wealthy friends move money to offshore tax havens, then the individual will also more likely do that.

Also, wealthy individuals do acquire a heightened sense of self-esteem, freedom, and perceived control, which increases the willingness to resist anything that hinders freedom (Brehm, 1966[7]). Taxes on the wealthy is a classical case where the rich find it as an attack on their personal freedom for which they look for ways to fight against it. In fact, experimental research shows that coercive fines and audits increase taxpayer reactance more than less coercive attempts by the tax authorities (Gangl, Pfabigan, Lamm, Kirchler, & Hofmann, 2017). Thus, when faced with coercive form of taxation wealthier individuals will be motivated to employ more resources (compared to the average taxpayers) to escape this situation. This might make the classical coercive attempts to increase the tax honesty less effective.

In such a scenario, the voluntary form of tax compliance might appear as the ultimate solution to fight against reactance. Such a form of compliance comes with trust in the tax system, and thus, people accept their tax obligations without threatening audits and fines. However, state measures like suspending fines and audits or tax amnesties, which gives leeway to rich taxpayers to repatriate their money from tax havens without being fined, also show no longterm positive effect (Alm & Beck, 1993[8]; Toro, Story, Hartnett, Russell, & VanDriessche, 2017[9]). Thus, it is important to combine voluntary and coercive tax measures to ensure fair taxation with a sense of tax honesty on the part of the wealthy individuals.

3. Conclusion

In view of the COVID-19 it is apparent that the petition by the few wealthy individuals brings in a wave of hope towards achieving fair taxation for the sake of humanity. However, the outreach is still not global, with a participation of a fraction of wealthy individuals from a few developed economies.Thus, there is a need to ensure the huge participation of wealthy people, not only from developing economies but those involved in tax evasion.

As discussed in the article, tax-related decisions of the wealthy are different from average taxpayers due to social psychological differences of belonging to a particular community. So a unique approach must be followed to motivate the wealthier population to pay their share of taxes.

3.1. Possible solutions:

There are many ways to motivate the wealthy, either in developed or in developing countries, to contribute more taxes to the benefit of society. It is true that mere public plea to join the campaign will not attract the attention of majority of wealthy individuals. On the other hand, coercive audit or fines to ensure fair taxation also does not help much towards the cause. For example, a fine of 18.8 million Euros imposed on Portugals football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo did not diminish the fame and positive image associated with the player.

One possible solution to influence the tax decisions of the wealthy is to combine coercive and voluntary state measures by publicly naming and shaming the wealthy individuals who resist to be part of the global campaign or pay their fair share of taxes. Thus, if such accusations on famous wealthy individuals like Chief Executive Officers or politicians violate ordinary citizens tax morale, these latter might start questioning the reasons for their tax honesty. For instance, after Greece published a blacklist of over 4,000 citizens who owed tax money to the state (Aswestopoulos, 2012[10]), it experienced a decline in the shadow economys size from 25.4% in 2010 to 22.0% in 2016 (Schneider, 2016[11]). This way, identifying evaders publicly may act as punishment and a deterrent from engaging in aggressive tax avoidance. However, it is equally true that shaming needs active public support and media coverage, without which the debate towards fair taxation will lose its grip. So the time is ripe for citizens to join their hands in the global movement towards fair tax and compel the wealthy to be accountable.

[1]Ackermann, L.,Becker, B.,Daubenberger, M.,Faigle, P.,PolkeMajewski, K.,Rohrbeck, F., Schrm, O.(2017, June).Cumex. The great tax robbery.Zeit Online.

[2]Altstaeder, A.,Johannesen, N., &Zucman, G.(2017).Tax evasion and inequality. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nielsjohannesen.net/wp-content/uploads/AJZ2017.pdf

[3]Sakurai, Y., &Braithwaite, V.(2001).Taxpayers perceptions of the ideal tax adviser: Playing safe or saving dollars?Working Paper No 5, The Australian National University, Centre of Tax System Integrity.

[4]Gangl, K.,Hofmann, E., &Kirchler, E.(2015).Tax authorities interaction with taxpayers: A conception of compliance in social dilemmas by power and trust.New Ideas in Psychology,37,1323.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2014.12

[5]Blaufus, K.,Bob, J.,Otto, P. E., &Wolf, N.(2017).The effect of tax privacy on tax compliance An experimental investigation.European Accounting Review,26(3),561580.

[6]Mols, F., &Jetten, J.(2017).The wealth paradox. Economic prosperity and the hardening of attitudes.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

[7]Brehm, J. W.(1966).A theory of psychological reactance.Oxford, UK: Academic Press.

[8]Alm, J., &Beck, W.(1993).Tax amnesties and compliance in the long run: A time series analysis.National Tax Journal,46(1),5360.

[9]Toro, J.,Story, T.,Hartnett, D.,Russell, B., &VanDriessche, F.(2017).Italy. Enhancing governance and effectiveness of the fiscal agencies. Interantional Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Department. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mef.gov.it/inevidenza/documenti/Rapporto_FMI_Eng.pdf

[10]Aswestopoulos, W.(2012, January).Finanzamt stellt Liste der Schande ins Netz.Focus Online. Retrieved fromhttp://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/staatsverschuldung/liste-der-schande-viele-deutsche-unter-griechischen-steuersuendern_aid_706059.html

[11]Schneider, F.(2016).Estimating the size of the shadow economies of highlydeveloped countries: Selected results.CESifo Dice Report,14(4),4453.

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