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NDA nominee <keyword id="19896877" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Om-Birla" source="keywords">Om Birla</keyword> was elected as speaker of the Lok Sabha for a second consecutive term by voice vote on Wednesday, capping days of intense battle on the issue with the <keyword id="19895395" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="opposition" source="keywords">opposition</keyword> in a rare move proposing its own candidate. <keyword id="19911515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister" source="keywords">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="19895781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi" source="keywords">Narendra Modi</keyword>, who moved the motion for Birla's <keyword id="19895095" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="election" source="keywords">election</keyword> as speaker, lauded the balance he showed in maintaining decorum of the House during his previous term. Several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, congratulated Birla too, stressing on "impartiality" and hoping he would allow them to raise the voice of the people and not apply his restraint orders only to opposition benches. Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab made the announcement of Birla's election after the opposition, which had forwarded the the name of eight-term Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh as its candidate, did not press for votes to the motion. This is the fifth time that a speaker will serve beyond the tenure of one Lok Sabha. It is also amongst the few occasions that an election became necessary for a post conventionally decided by consensus. As he assumed charge, Birla read out a resolution condemning the Emergency imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 and asked members to observe a moment's silence, triggering a wave of protests by the opposition. "Democratic values and debate have always been supported in <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword>... Indira Gandhi imposed dictatorship on such an India. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled," Birla said while reading the resolution. His first day in the chair saw the House being adjourned. While opposition members vociferously protested inside, <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BJP" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BJP">BJP</keyword> members held a demonstration outside <keyword id="19895397" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament" source="keywords">Parliament</keyword> House, raising slogans and demanding an apology from the Congress for the Emergency. Earlier in the morning, after the election, the prime minister and Leader of Opposition Gandhi escorted Birla to the speaker's chair. Gandhi also shook hands with Modi before escorting him. In his address, the first in the 18th Lok Sabha, Modi said Birla's work as a parliamentarian should be an inspiration for new Lok Sabha members. He said Birla presided over a golden era in Lok Sabha history with a number of historic decisions taken during its previous term. Modi lauded the balance shown by him in maintaining the decorum of the House which also involved taking several tough decisions. He expressed gratitude towards Birla for choosing to uphold the values of the House while maintaining traditions. The prime minister emphasised that the functioning of the house, conduct and accountability deepen the foundation of <keyword id="19973112" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="democracy" source="keywords">democracy</keyword> in the country. Congratulating Birla, Gandhi said the opposition wanted the House to function "often and well" and added that it was very important that cooperation happens with trust. "The opposition would like to assist you in your work. I am confident you will allow us to speak in the House," he said. Gandhi also pointed out that the opposition this time represents significantly more voices of the Indian people than last time. Samajwadi Party chief Yadav hoped that actions like suspension of MPs would not be taken as they hurt the dignity of the House. He said he also hoped Birla would be impartial towards the opposition and give its leaders equal opportunities. Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and DMK leader T R Baalu echoed the sentiment. Bandyopadhyay said the functioning of the House always depends on the attitude of the treasury benches. "It is my firm belief and so far parliamentary democratic practice is concerned, the House belongs to the opposition," he said. He referred to the suspension of opposition MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha and said it was "not desirable". "You might have been elected by my BJP friends (but) hereafter there is no politics between you and the powers... You have to treat the opposition and the ruling party in the same manner. Kindly be impartial," added Baalu. Birla, 61, the BJP's MP from Kota, has risen through the ranks of the party. He is a third-term MP from Kota in Rajasthan and been a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly thrice. "Treasury and opposition benches run the House together, the strength of Indian democracy is in listening to everyone, and running the House with everyone's agreement. I will expect that I run the House with everyone's agreement. Even if there is lone member from a party, they should get sufficient time," Birla said. "It will be my expectation that the House runs without obstruction. We are elected by people with hope, which is why I urge there should not be disruptions in the House." There can be criticism, but obstruction is not a tradition of the House, Birla said. "I never want to act against any member, but everyone wants the high standard of parliamentary tradition to be maintained. For that I have to make tough decisions at times," the speaker said. During the course of the proceedings, Birla intervened several times, reminding members to be precise and raise issues they wanted to during the debate on the motion of thanks to the president's address. He said the members should remember for the next five years that others should take their seat when the speaker is standing, Union Minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan took a jibe at the opposition for forcing an election for the speaker's post. In many opposition ruled states, he said, the post of both speaker and deputy speaker in the assembly is held by the ruling party. Birla's election follows a rare showdown by both the ruling alliance and the opposition bloc after the effort for a consensus was failed. The opposition's last-minute decision to go for a contest came after senior BJP leaders did not agree to the precondition that the INDIA bloc must be offered the post of deputy speaker in lieu of supporting Birla. "INDIA parties exercised their democratic right and moved motions in support of Kodikunnil Suresh as <keyword id="19990696" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-speaker" source="keywords">Lok Sabha Speaker</keyword>... Voice Vote was taken. Thereafter, INDIA parties could have insisted on division. They did not do so. "This is because they wanted to a spirit of consensus and cooperation to prevail, a spirit singularly lacking in the actions of the PM and the NDA," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. With the NDA having 293 MPs in its kitty and the INDIA bloc 233 in the Lok Sabha, the numbers were clearly in favour of Birla. The Lok Sabha currently has 542 members after Rahul Gandhi resigned from one of the two seats he was elected from. At least three independent members also support the opposition. Balram Jakhar is the only presiding officer to have served two complete terms extending seventh and eighth Lok Sabha.

Om Birla elected for second time as Lok Sabha speaker, opposition hopes their voice will be heard

<ul><li>India slipped two places to come in at the 53rd position on the Democracy Index 2020 as compared to last year.</li><li>The dip in its score has largely been attributed to mishandling of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).</li><li>“The increasing influence of religion under the Modi premiership, whose policies have fomented anti-Muslim feeling and religious strife, has damaged the political fabric of the country,” said the report by The Economist Intelligence Unit.</li></ul>India is the world’s largest democracy but its 1.38 billion citizens do not seem to be enjoying many freedoms. According to the latest report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the South Asian giant fell another two spots to 53rd position in the Democracy Index 2020. The primary reason for the massive fall was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/nrc-npr-and-caa-are-not-the-same-know-the-differences/articleshow/72963691.cms">the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act </a>(CAA) that came into being in January 2020. India versus rest of South Asia While being categorized as a ‘flawed democracy’, at first glance, India fares better than its neighboring countries. However, while India has been falling in the ranks, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Pakistan have improved marginally in 2020. Even those countries which saw a fall in scores, none were as massive as India’s drop. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Country </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Change in Democracy Index score from 2019 to 2020 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-0.29 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bhutan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+0.41 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bangladesh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+0.11 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pakistan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+0.06 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">China </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+0.01 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Afghanistan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">No change </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nepal </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-0.06 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sri Lanka </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-0.13 </td></tr></tbody></table> India’s ranking has been falling and it may get worse <div type="image" title="India democracy ranking" msid="80671295" hostid="261"></div> The Economist Intelligence Unit calls it ‘democratic backsliding’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The instances of high handedness by the state have only increased. For instance, stand-up comedian Munawar Farooqui was <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/comedian-munawar-faruqui-in-jail-for-22-days-for-joke-on-hindu-gods-a-timeline-of-events-3320342.html">arrested</a> for a joke that he didn’t even crack. Not to mention the heavy language used by the judiciary while denying him bail. The judiciary’s sensitivity was seen yet again when lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan was brought under the scanner for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/prashant-bhushan-files-fresh-plea-in-supreme-court-seeking-review-contempt-case-punishment/articleshow/78422984.cms">tweets criticizing the government. </a> Access to the internet was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/internet-access-in-jammu-and-kashmir-isnt-about-the-right-to-freedom-its-about-the-right-to-life-according-to-lawyers/articleshow/75708351.cms">blocked in Kashmir</a> for 213 days — two-thirds of a full year — after Article 370 of the Constitution was scrapped by the Modi government. Even today, internet shutdowns are being used to stifle the farmers' protest against India’s new farm laws along the borders of New Delhi. Creators of shows like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/tandav-controversy-fir-filed-against-the-shows-director-and-amazon-india-head-of-content-in-up/articleshow/80329036.cms">Tandav</a>, Sacred Games, and others have been dragged to court after being accused of hurting religious sentiments. Most recently, the Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/uttarakhand-anti-national-posts-to-hit-passport-clearance-101612289325781.html">stated</a> that the state police will track people posting ‘anti-national’ and ‘anti-social’ posts on social media to be taken into consideration when verifying passport and arms. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Type of democracy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Number of countries </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Percentage of countries </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Percentage of world population </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Full democracies (E.g. Canada) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">23 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13.8% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.4% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flawed democracies (E.g. The US) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">52 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">31.1% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">41% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hybrid regimes (E.g. Myanmar) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">35 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">15% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Authoritarian regimes (E.g. China) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">57 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">34.1% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">35.6% </td></tr></tbody></table> The issue with the new citizenship law The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) allows persecuted minorities who are, by religion, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian from ⁠— from neighbouring countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan — eligible for Indian citizenship. The fundamental argument against this bill is that religion was never a criteria and should never be. When critics questioned why persecuted Muslims were left out of the Act, the government said that in the three countries specified, Muslims are the majority and not persecuted. However, many debaters have pointed out that Muslims are a minority in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and the amendment excludes them. What’s worse, the government had planned to execute the National Registrar of Citizens, which would identify the undocumented and illegal migrants. However, if any non-Muslim gets caught without papers, he could be reinstated under the CAA. But a Muslim does not have the safety net that other communities have. The fear of many Muslims, who have been living in India for decades or generations, losing their state led to the widespread protests going into 2020. It took a riot in Delhi and the pandemic thereafter to bring the protests to an end. India scores well for its electoral process but takes a hit in political culture <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Metric </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India’s score </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Electoral process and pluralism </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.67 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Functioning of government </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7.14 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Political participation </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.67 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Political culture </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Civil liberties </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.59 </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/no-covid-cess-but-agri-infra-cess-will-hike-prices-of-fuel-imported-alcohol/slidelist/80629471.cms">No COVID-cess but agri infra cess will hike prices of fuel, imported alcohol</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/indias-health-budget-sees-a-137-jump-in-2021/slidelist/80626468.cms">India’s health budget sees a 137% jump in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/india-budget-2021-updates-and-highlights-from-nirmala-sitharaman-speech/articleshow/80624564.cms">Union Budget 2021 highlights: Pensioners over 75 years need not file IT returns, says FM</a>

New citizenship law pulls India down in the democracy rankings — and 2021 is not looking better

The Congress on Wednesday said the <keyword id="19900449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="government" source="keywords">government</keyword>'s proposal of giving individuals the option to choose between two tax rates for long-term capital gains (<keyword id="6357448" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LTCG" source="Orion">LTCG</keyword>) tax on properties is not enough. It should also allow <keyword id="21006654" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="indexation-benefits" source="keywords">indexation benefits</keyword> for other forms of <keyword id="20044873" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="savings" source="keywords">savings</keyword> such as <keyword id="19905382" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stocks" source="keywords">stocks</keyword> and <keyword id="19975805" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fixed-deposits" source="keywords">fixed deposits</keyword>. Professionals' Congress Chairman Praveen Chakravarty accused the government of "betraying" the middle and salaried class in the Union Budget through the removal of indexation and higher taxes on their savings and <keyword id="22703183" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="investment-gains" source="keywords">investment gains</keyword>. "On 23rd July, Finance Minister <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> presented the government's budget in Parliament. We welcomed certain aspects but we strongly opposed many parts of the budget. We welcomed the fact that the FM took some ideas from the Congress party's manifesto such as the employment linked incentive (ELI) scheme, the Apprenticeship Act and removing Angel tax," Chakravarty said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here. Among other things, we strongly opposed what the finance did to the middle class and salaried professionals, he said. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in his response to the Budget in Parliament categorically said that this was a "betrayal of the middle class" through removal of indexation and higher taxes on their savings and investment gains, Chakravarty pointed out. "He (Gandhi) had promised to fight for the middle class on this issue. This issue affected nearly 7 crore Indians who filed income taxes, owned or aspire to own a home and invest their savings. In this budget, effectively, through removal of indexation and increase in capital gains taxes, the taxes of salaried professionals through investment gains went up dramatically," he said. Already, the middle class and the salaried professionals are bearing the brunt of taxation under the Modi government because for the first time in India, total income taxes paid by middle class individuals are higher than taxes paid by rich corporates, Chakravarty said. There were huge protests on social media and in business events in cities like Mumbai where professionals came out spontaneously to protest, he said. Chakravarty said the <keyword id="22703184" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="All-India-Professionals-Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="All India Professionals' Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="All India Professionals' Congress">All India Professionals' Congress</keyword> and the Congress Party launched a campaign to 'Bring Back Indexation' with a petition asking people to sign it. "We had nearly 12,000 people who signed the petition in just one day since its launch. Yesterday, the government of India announced a rollback of indexation of property gains by giving individuals the option to continue with indexation benefits. We welcome this. This is a victory to the 7 crore people that file income tax," he said. "But this is not enough. We urge the government to allow indexation benefits for other forms of savings too such as stocks, debt, fixed deposits and so on," Chakravarty asserted. More importantly, this is a testament to middle class power and the power of democracy, he said. "When professionals come together and raise their voice, it will be heard. This is also proof of what a strong Opposition and a concerted and united effort can achieve for the people of India. The AIPC will continue to raise issues that impact the middle class working professionals," Chakravarty said. His remarks come a day after the government proposed significant relief for individuals who bought houses before July 23, 2024, by giving them the option to choose between two tax rates for long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax. The Budget 2024-25 had proposed to lower the LTCG from 20% to 12.5% but removed the indexation benefits. The new rates have come into effect from July 23, 2024. The indexation benefit allowed the taxpayers to compute gains arising out of the sale of capital assets after adjusting for inflation. The tax experts had said that the proposed changes in the Budget would raise the LTCG tax burden. As per the amendments to Finance Bill, 2024, circulated to the Lok Sabha members on Tuesday, individuals or HuF who bought houses before July 23, 2024, can compute his/her taxes under the new scheme (@12.5% without indexation) and old scheme (@20% with indexation) and pay such tax which is lower of the two. After the Budget presentation, the Income Tax department said that 'substantial tax savings' are expected for a vast majority of taxpayers due to a reduction in the long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) rate in the real estate sector. As per the changes brought in the 2024-25 Budget, the government has retained the indexation benefit for the taxpayers on properties bought or inherited before 2001.

Allow indexation benefits for savings such as stocks, fixed deposits: Cong to govt

<ul class="summary-list"><li>India wants to unseat China as the new factory of the world.</li><li>Modi is set to stay in power for another five years, but the results of the election are going to make it harder to beat China.</li></ul>India's economy is on a roll, chalking up <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/press_release/PressNoteGDP31052024.pdf">8.2% GDP growth</a> in the last fiscal year and a boom in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/india-eyes-100-bln-annual-foreign-direct-investment-coming-years-it-minister-2024-01-17/">foreign investments.</a>The growth is in part thanks to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-india-supply-chain-covid-sanctions-manufacturers-relocating-tariffs-options-2022-12">shift in supply chains</a> and investment flows as companies try to stop relying solely on China.This has boosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal, sending him to a historic third term as the country's prime minister in the country's general election.But Modi's win this time around also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indian-election-results-shocking-blow-narendra-modi-2024-6?mrfhud=true">comes with a huge loss</a>.While Modi is still hugely popular in India, his party — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indian-election-results-shocking-blow-narendra-modi-2024-6">Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP</a> — lost its majority in Parliament, reflecting resentment among voters amid rising <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-richest-1-has-highest-concentration-wealth-decades-study-shows-2024-03-20/">inequality.</a>"The problem is most Indians have not adequately participated in the fruits of an economy with gaudy headline numbers," wrote Atman Trivedi, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react-modi-loses-ground-electoral-surprise/">Tuesday note.</a> "Growth is unequal, and jobs are few and far between."India's unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in April from 7.4% in March, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmie.com/kommon/bin/sr.php?kall=warticle&amp;dt=20240502160006&amp;msec=476">Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy,</a> a private think tank. The country has a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=881bbd696b99c4065e343b97a60624443ddd9aabed87bc59213e9c4e53b5de60&amp;postID=665fc5bbe01a10ede1be40ec&amp;postSlug=india-election-results-complicates-plans-unseat-china-modi-bjp-2024-6&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd41586-023-03915-5">longstanding brain drain issue.</a><h2 id="2c7371a5-8197-477c-a8db-86744aed6de4">India wants to unseat China as the factory of the world</h2>BJP's likely loss of its majority is a testament to India's political system — but it will also make the dream of becoming the next China harder to achieve.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-business-market-entry-barriers-tariffs-supply-chain-china-2023-6">Decision-making and policy changes</a> in the world's largest democracy, after all, can take far longer than they do in Communist China — a one-party state."Coalition governments require compromises. That reality could complicate any plans for ambitious structural reforms on land, labor, or opening India's markets to unfinished and intermediate inputs," wrote the Atlantic Council's Trivedi, who is also a partner at Albright Stonebridge Group.India's stock markets tanked on the shock election results, with the benchmark <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/sensex">Sensex</a> index crashing over 5% in one day on Tuesday following the news. It rebounded on Wednesday.Despite the knee-jerk reaction, most analysts are optimistic about India's economic outlook given that Modi is still in charge."Modi's broader economic reform agenda is likely to remain intact. And so, fears of India's key economic reforms unraveling are overdone," wrote Vishnu Varathan, the chief economist of Asia excluding Japan at Mizuho Bank.<h2 id="d51e0b52-c0b2-432c-977a-5640abaef074">India needs to get rich before it gets old</h2>But India has a longer-term problem: aging.India is the world's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-overtake-china-worlds-most-populous-nation-2023-un-2022-7">most populous country</a>. With a 1.4 billion population, it has a huge pool of young people; <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/special-reports/look-forward/india-s-demographic-dividend-the-key-to-unlocking-its-global-ambitions">65% of its population</a> is under the age of 35.But aging is "rapidly progressing," according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://india.unfpa.org/en/news/indias-ageing-population-why-it-matters-more-ever">United Nations Population Fund.</a> By 2050, one in every five persons in India will be 60 years old or above, the fund wrote in a <a target="_blank" href="https://india.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/20230926_india_ageing_report_2023_web_version_.pdf">report last year.</a>So, even though India has grown rapidly in recent years, it will need to grow much faster to get rich before it gets old, Raghuram Rajan, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2024/06/04/g-s1-2226/india-election-democracy-china-economy-manufacturing">NPR's "Planet Money"</a> in a podcast.It's not enough to power up India's manufacturing sector in the wake of China's breakneck growth — because so many other countries are doing the same thing, added Rajan, who is a former head of the Central Bank of India and a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.He said India will do better to capitalize on its services industry, especially since so many Indians are English speakers.Despite its challenges, India is still expected to post healthy growth in the near future. The IMF <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/IND">forecasts</a> India's economy will grow by 6.8% this fiscal year and 6.5% next fiscal year.

India wants to be the new China. Modi's shock election result shows it won't be easy.

New Delhi [India], May 16 (ANI): <keyword id="9766785" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-elections-2024" source="Orion">Lok Sabha elections 2024</keyword> have seen a <keyword id="20108198" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voter-turnout" source="keywords">voter turnout</keyword> at polling stations of about 66.95 per cent so far, as approximately 451 million people have voted during the first four phases of ongoing general elections. In a bid to encourage voters to exercise their franchise in large numbers, ECI has enhanced its targeted interventions to reach out to every eligible voter. The Commission led by CEC Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, further directed CEOs of the states going to poll in the fifth, sixth and seventh phases to timely distribute voter information slips to all electors and enhance outreach activities. "Commission strongly believes that partnership and collaboration are essential pillars of the voter awareness programme. It's heartening to see that, at the Commission's request, different institutions, influencers and celebrities with significant reach are working enthusiastically on a pro-bono basis," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. Further, he added that a higher voter turnout would be a message from Indian voters to the world, about the strength of Indian Democracy. He urges all the voters to cast their vote in huge numbers, as voting day is not a holiday but a day of pride, by participating in the festival of democracy. According to an official release, various <keyword id="21686177" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voter-awareness-drives" source="keywords">voter awareness drives</keyword> and campaigns have been carried out by stakeholders in collaboration with ECI. Telecom Service Providers such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Bharti Airtel Limited, Jio Telecommunication, and Vodafone-Idea Limited are reaching out to every mobile user in the respective parliamentary constituency through push SMS/Flash SMSs, outbound dialling calls to mobile users, RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging and WhatsApp messages/alerts. These activities are carried out two/three days before the poll and even on the poll day, in regional languages, with an appeal to vote. ECI has collaborated with BCCI for voter awareness activities during the ongoing IPL season. The voter awareness messages and songs are being played at different stadiums during the cricket matches. The most innovative aspect of this campaign is the administration of voter's pledges by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in a pre-recorded video message, at various IPL venues. Further, voter awareness messages are integrated into cricket commentary. Cricketers from 10 IPL teams have encouraged voters to participate in the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections in 2024 with their recorded voter awareness messages. A voting day alert was sent to all Facebook users pan India to inform and inform the voters about the general elections and to nudge them to participate in the festival of democracy, the release mentioned. The release further stated that WhatsApp personalised messages have begun on polling day. Google India is contributing through its iconic feature of Google Doodle on poll days and banners appearing on YouTube, Google Pat and other Google platforms. The Retail Association of India has been actively engaging with voter awareness activities, through their retail network, whereby retail chains are encouraged to celebrate the election as a festival. The vast network of post offices and banking institutions was utilised by ECI to reach out to a wide and diverse audience across the length and breadth of the country. In collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the parliamentary elections campaign logo "Chunav ka Parv, Desh ka Garv" has been integrated with the IRCTC portal and tickets. Voter awareness announcements have been integrated with the public address system at all railway stations. The logo stickers are used on coaches of the superfast trains. In collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, hoardings on voter awareness have been installed in about 16,000 retail outlets. In collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airlines are making an inflight announcement with an appeal message to participate in the ensuing elections. Voter guides are being kept in aircraft seat pockets. Apart from this, many airports are providing space for the display of voter awareness messages. Selfie points have been installed at airports in 10 major cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh, and Pune. Cinema theatres across the country are playing ECI voter awareness films and ECI Song Main Bharat Hoon, Hum Bharat Ke Matdata Hai, at regular intervals, as a part of the Public Service Awareness (PSA) film. Sansad TV is creating short films on Unique Polling Stations set up in remote corners of the country by the election machinery after navigating difficult terrains to demonstrate the challenges in ensuring voting at the last mile. AMUL, Mother Dairy and other milk co-operatives have started branding their milk pouches with the message 'Chunav Ka Parv, Desh ka Garv' and encouraging voters through social media platforms. AMUL is also encouraging voters with its unique messaging through AMUL Girl Topical advertisements in newspapers. Prasar Bharati: Doordarshan has produced, various short films, including appeals from constitutional functionaries like President of India, Vice President of India, and Chief Justice of India, among others. Further, unique polling stations are being covered by the regional Kendra's audio-visual documentation. Music App Spotify is running a campaign called 'Play Your Part', and they have issued print advertisements, and curated the playlists for the elections, on their app. Payments app PhonePe has integrated voter awareness message into their app and is actively encouraging voters. BookMyShow has launched an integrated campaign, titled "Aaj Picture Nahi, Bigger Picture Dekho," to raise awareness among voters. MakeMyTrip is running a campaign titled 'MyVoteWalaTrip', whereby discounts are offered to citizens going to vote. Food delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy are disseminating voter awareness messages through their platforms and social media activities. Grocery App Blinkit changed its logo to "Inkit" for the elections, incorporating a message encouraging people to "Go out and Vote" as a tagline. Uber India is reaching out to voters through multi-channel messaging (in-app, emails, push notifications), offering discounts for rides to polling stations, and amplifying voter awareness messages on social media platforms. Bike app Rapido has been encouraging voters with a free ride to vote. Urban Company has launched 'I Have Voted Campaign' to encourage voters. Tata Neu app, serving as the Tata Group's group-wide consumer-facing mobile app, prominently features the "Cast Your Vote" animated banner on its homepage, with additional initiatives currently underway. Truecaller is enhancing its layout by displaying voter awareness message during outbound calls Some other independent initiatives are Mankind Pharma #VotingVirgin campaign, clothing brand Neeru's "Vote ki Taiyaari" TVC, Tinder's "Every Single Vote Counts" campaign, creatively curated social media post by Matrimonial sites like Jeevansathi.com, etc and discounts for voting by popular brands such as Shoppers' Stop, MakeMyTrip, Chroma and many more. Four phases of Lok Sabha polls have been held and the voting will conclude on June 1 with results on June 4. The remaining phases will be held on May 20, May 25, and June 1.

451 million voters! First four phases of Lok Sabha elections witness 66.95% voter turnout so far

<ul><li>Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> announced that the country’s “data has been democratised” with India’s new data laws expected to be tabled during the upcoming session of Parliament.</li><li>These new laws will dictate how your data is collected, stored, used and shared.</li><li>Business Insider India’s new campaign called ‘<keyword id="10780452" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="datacracy">Datacracy</keyword>’ dives into how technology has the power to improve democracy or undermine it, depending on how it is used and who controls it.</li></ul>“Data has been democratised. Several government services are now being delivered online.The poor and middle class have not only benefited from the convenience, but also seen relief from corruption,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during software industry association NASSCOM’s Technology and Leadership Forum (NTFL) 2021. <div type="image" title="BI-Take-and-Modi (1)" msid="81062990" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Business Insider India dives into India&amp;#39;s journey to becoming a data democracy&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> These comments from Modi have come at a time when India is getting set to debate a new bill for data protection — likely to be tabled on March 15. It is imperative that India’s new governance mechanisms as well as industrial advances, built on precious consumer data, should be guided by democratic values. And, that is why, Business Insider India’s campaign for awareness and advocacy around <keyword id="2617070" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Personal-Data-Protection-Bill">Personal Data Protection Bill</keyword>, 2019, is titled ‘Datacracy’. These new laws will set the foundation for India’s evolution, as a <keyword id="10780455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-democracy">data democracy</keyword>, in the digital era. <div type="twitter" handle="BiIndia" handlename="Business Insider India🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1232926719016718336/sfffJHNV_normal.jpg" favoritecount="26" retweetcount="6" status="#Datacracy: 'Cuz it is as personal as it gets.Stay with us for the next few weeks for all you want to know about… https://t.co/bExdqWG9eH" createdat="1613385000000" id="1361261470395363336"></div> What is Datacracy? Just as people treasure the power of an electoral vote in a political democracy, every individual consumer’s personal data would be considered as precious in a ‘data democracy’, such as the one promised by the Indian Prime Minister. The rights of ⁠— and the responsibilities towards⁠ — the citizen or consumer, in lieu of the power to collect and use their data, whether it is for governance or business, will also be immense. The Indian government and India Inc. should ensure transparency and accountability in the way this data is collected, stored and managed, keeping in mind the sanctity of the consumer’s privacy. Just like one wouldn’t appreciate the local cop, or neighbourhood grocer, to track every bit of your daily routine —- like what you like to eat, who you go out with, and so on — it is every consumer’s right to demand the same level of privacy in the digital space as well. And, that is where the new data protection bill will play an important role. Since this bill is yet to be debated and approved by the Parliament, we have the opportunity to highlight the issues and get them fixed before it becomes a law. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> India’s new laws will dictate how your data is collected, stored, used and shared. The government has proposed setting up a non-personal data authority (NPDA) in the Data Protection Bill. However, the bill is vague on the incentives and accountability of the NDPA. However, there is no transparent, predictable and targeted regulatory regime as per the review done by <a href="https://www.ikigailaw.com/summary-of-the-revised-report-of-the-committee-of-experts-of-non-personal-data/#acceptLicense">Ikigailaw</a>. <div type="image" title="Non-Personal" msid="81061352" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Role of the NPDA as per the Data Protection Bill 2019&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Technology has the power to improve democracy or undermine depending on how it is used and who controls it. Neither politicians nor big corporations ⁠— like witnessed in the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018 ⁠— can be trusted entirely with data that can be used to manipulate the consumer’s choices. However, in India, the debate so far has been reduced to this Hobson’s choice for the consumer between private corporations and the government. Hobson’s choice is basically a “take it or leave it” situation, where there is pragmatically only one choice on offer. India made a bold choice when it created the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-india-stack-that-bill-gates-and-sundar-pichai-so-love-is-set-to-get-much-bigger-thanks-to-the-indian-governments-new-blockchain-strategy/articleshow/80718403.cms">India Stack</a>. The government gave private developers access to a lot of personal data of citizens to create applications on top of it. <div type="image" title="india stack1" msid="81061445" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Layers of India Stack&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> This led to a lot of improvement in both government services like the creation of the Digi-Locker, and digital payments revolution — including India-specific innovations like Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Moreover, it created a new crop of millionaires and billionaires from the startup world. A similar experiment is due with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-india-stack-that-bill-gates-and-sundar-pichai-so-love-is-set-to-get-much-bigger-thanks-to-the-indian-governments-new-blockchain-strategy/articleshow/80718403.cms">blockchain technology</a>. While these innovations are welcome, they would be incomplete — or even be a failure — if the access to people’s personal data is democratised without providing adequate safeguards, including the right to be forgotten, in the consumer’s interest. This is what Business Insider aims to achieve with its ‘Datacracy’ campaign. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/a-japanese-supercomputer-is-on-a-mission-to-find-out-how-our-universe-went-from-nothing-to-everything-in-less-than-a-microsecond/articleshow/81048254.cms">A Japanese supercomputer is on a mission to find out how our universe went from nothing to everything in less than a microsecond</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/its-round-its-two-sided-and-it-could-be-the-most-accurate-world-map-created-till-date/articleshow/81033263.cms">It’s round, it’s two-sided and it could be the most accurate world map created till date</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/from-ambani-adani-to-godrej-indias-treasure-trove-of-satellite-data-goes-beyond-helping-startups/articleshow/80989166.cms">From Ambani, Adani to Godrej — India's treasure trove of satellite data goes beyond helping startups</a>

Datacracy: Indian Prime Minister's 'data democracy' must avoid the flaws of the country’s political system

<ul><li>Facebook and Twitter have come under the scanner for how they regulate content on their platforms in India for two separate incidents in the past three months.</li><li>The threat to democracy lies in the grey area where freedom of speech ends and crosses over to ‘hate speech’ territory.</li><li>Lawyers told Business Insider that India’s IT (Amendment) Act, 2018, which has been pending for nearly two years now, is far from perfect.</li></ul>In India, Twitter and Facebook are facing two sides of the same coin. While one is under fire for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/twitter-removal-of-prashant-bhushan-tweets-opposed-by-internet-rights-body/articleshow/77667757.cms">removing content without being asked</a> to, the other is being asked why it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/facebook-row-escalates-as-bjp-leader-asks-for-shashi-tharoors-removal-from-parliamentary-panel/articleshow/77656021.cms">didn’t remove content</a> that was ‘hate speech’. The power which social networks have over democracies worldwide has come under global scrutiny, whether that’s in India, the US, Australia, or Brazil. The 2016 US election was only one example of how a social network, if manipulated, can influence the behaviour of people across an entire nation. <div type="image" title="mark zuckerberg congress" msid="78121719" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., United States on 10 April 2018 on how he is &amp;quot;responsible for&amp;quot; not preventing the social media platform from being used for harm, including fake news, foreign interference in elections and hate speech.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> At the center of it all is the content they peddle and what they choose to remove — the battle between freedom of speech and where it crosses the line to become ‘hate speech’. “Companies will be better off if they stop this narrative of how they have their own community standards. They can cite the law and explain why they removed a post,” Mishi Choudhary, an online civil liberties activist and the Legal Director of Software Freedom Law Center in New York, told Business Insider. <div type="image" title="jack dorsey rahul gandhi" msid="78121757" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Jack Dorsey meets then Congress President Rahul Gandhi in November 2018&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> According to her, companies like Twitter and Facebook have ad-hoc policies that they change on their own or under the pressure of local governments. There is no standardisation. The solution proposed by India, which has been on the docket for nearly two years now, is the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2018. It no longer allows Facebook, Twitter or any other social network to operate as an ‘intermediary’. The inner workings of the IT (Amendment) Act, 2018 The first part of the IT (Amendment) Act, 2018, makes it mandatory for social media apps to trace the origin of content on their platforms — upon receiving a court order. It is an important aspect that has been clarified, according to lawyer Harsh Walia, a partner at Khaitan &amp; Co. “This specific provision may bring much respite to the social media companies as the term “actual knowledge” was a subject of debate/judicial interpretation so far,” he told Business Insider. The second part of the IT (Amendment) Act, 2018, is where content regulation comes in. If social networks are no longer ‘intermediaries’, they will be accountable for what is circulated on their platforms. They will be required to deploy technology or appropriate mechanisms to ‘proactively’ identify and remove access to unlawful content. This is what Twitter already did with <keyword id="6368850" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="prashant-bhushan">Prashant Bhushan</keyword>’s tweets — and why it could be a problem was highlighted in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/twitter-removal-of-prashant-bhushan-tweets-opposed-by-internet-rights-body/articleshow/77667757.cms">letter by the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF)</a> sent to the social network protesting the move. “This biggest issue is that the term “unlawful” has a broad connotation and social media companies should not be expected to know the intricacies of all statutes to determine what may be lawful or unlawful,” explained lawyer Harsh Walia, a partner at Khaitan &amp; Co. What’s the alternative? One way to standardise the process by which content is regulated and reduce government influence is to have human rights law become the underlying framework. It would also take away the power from social networking platforms to decide what is and isn’t hate speech, according to Choudhary. “Human rights are agreed upon globally, and they also enable transparency. Social networks can cite the law and say why they removed a post. Mark Zuckerberg shouldn’t have to justify his actions — why should he have the power,” she said. The amendment also doesn’t spell out specific consequences — any kind of liability or punishment — for failing to adhere to the requirements. According to Walia, non-compliance with these obligations will lead to a situation where the safe harbor granted to these platforms will no longer be available to violators. “This could expose them to consequences stipulated in respect of the relevant content-related offenses,” he said. India takes center stage “The arguments and the level of scrutiny this time around is different because it’s the US election year. The Indian elections may not have mattered for social media platforms, but the 2016 election <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/a-republican-led-senate-panels-report-on-russian-election-meddling-threw-a-wrench-into-trumps-conspiracies-here-are-its-biggest-findings-/articleshow/77619881.cms">changed the conversation in a very big way</a>,” said Choudhary. The problems of how social networks are operating in India may have pulled it to the spotlight due to the upcoming US elections but India — as the world’s largest democracy — can poise itself as a leader, according to Choudhary. “India will have to rise above party lines. It will also have to consider that governments can’t actually pressurise companies to change their policies as and when they deem fit,” she said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/rajnath-singh-to-address-parliament-on-india-china-border-row-as-tensions-continue-to-simmer-in-ladakh/articleshow/78118498.cms">Rajnath Singh to address Parliament on India-China border row as tensions continue to simmer in Ladakh</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/snapdeal-says-it-has-just-tested-deliveries-using-robots-and-it-was-successful/articleshow/78120511.cms">Snapdeal says it has just tested deliveries using robots and it was successful</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ronnie-screwvala-explains-why-covid-edtech-boom-is-unlike-demonetisation-boost-for-digital-payments/articleshow/78119790.cms">Ronnie Screwvala explains why COVID edtech boom is unlike demonetisation boost for digital payments</a>

For Facebook and Twitter, the changes to India's IT (Amendment) Act is just what the doctor ordered — or not

<ul><li>The <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword> judge says gatekeepers of the app ecosystem – Apple and <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google" source="keywords">Google</keyword> – are the new East India Company and they operate with complete arrogance and impunity.</li><li>Just as startup founders are coming under pressure, venture capitalists and auditors too need to be held accountable for their behaviour.</li><li><keyword id="20225195" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shark-tank" source="keywords">Shark Tank</keyword> India has become a catalyst for driving entrepreneurship and giving it legitimacy. </li></ul> <keyword id="127971" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="anupam-mittal" source="Orion">Anupam Mittal</keyword> is India’s original internet entrepreneur, who is the founder and CEO of People Group. Way before platform economy became a buzzword, Mittal built a platform for Indians seeking life partners. And even today one million Indians find their partners on shaadi.com every year. Call him the OG of startups or a serial entrepreneur, he is a man who does not mince words. In a free wheeling chat with Business Insider’s Malini Bhupta, Mittal talks about unfair trade practices of Google, his investment in Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal and what he thinks is the biggest achievement of Shark Tank India. Edited Excerpts: With some high profile startups like Paytm and Byju’s coming under lens, what do you think is wrong with the startup ecosystem? I think the Paytm issue is a little different. There are two issues there in my view – one is valuation. The company came out with its IPO at the height of the unicorn boom and as a result, their valuation was corrected when the pvt. market corrected. This is part of the pricing game and one can hardly blame them for it. Eventually, they would have grown into their valuation is what I believe. However, the second issue which is regulatory in nature is far more serious. Whether it is justified or not I don’t know. I think there is a little heavy-handedness here as what you are talking about is a payments bank KYC stuff being the reason to shut them down, which could be seen as over-reach since they are not a significantly important lending institution. Talking about what is wrong with India’s ecosystem and why founders are behaving badly is a common issue that occurs when there are high levels of greed. When there is massive liquidity in the system people think they can take advantage of the situation. In the US you have seen Theranos, crypto frauds and an industry that was created around SPACs. Billions of dollars have been lost on that. What is happening in India is a small reflection of that. Greed manifests in two ways – one is the founders who are ambitious who see the ecosystem celebrating unicorns and that gets weaponised. Over time a few start with minor refractions and very soon they start fabricating revenues and manipulating auditors to keep up with the image that has been created. They are riding tigers they can't get off. The venture capitalists too want to see their investments being marked up as their future fund raises depend on the portfolio's net asset value and so they play along and at times actually drive the founders at a velocity that is unsustainable. I think they need to be held accountable by their LPs. Auditors have a very important role here and are perhaps the ones who need to pay the highest price through government censures. They are market participants who have been entrusted with a certain job for which they get paid hefty fees. When they start looking the other way, the system breaks. You have been waging a pitched battle against the unfair trade practices of Big Tech companies in India. What, in your view, are the steps that need to be taken by the government to prevent such unfair practices by large global players? Fundamentally the experience of the internet is through apps – two companies control the entire app ecosystem Google and Apple. Both operate with complete impunity. Two years ago the CCI passed an order against Google around <keyword id="963171" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-play" source="Orion">Google Play</keyword> Billing System (GPBS). Now they have changed the name to User Choice Billing. If you look at the order CCI says there will be no discrimination at all. Being on the App Store means nothing unless you advertise on Play Store. Startups spend anywhere between 10-50% of revenue on advertising on these platforms already. Essentially, the app store is worth nothing if you don’t have content. What choice does a company have but to adhere to their unfair practices… Now they say that any transaction that happens on apps downloaded via the store will be subject to 15-30% tax/commissions. What this means is that they want 50% of the revenues of the startups. It is the new East India Company and they operate with complete arrogance and impunity. The problem is in getting these companies to comply. Their strategy is to stretch out the legal process and tire the system. Our government and regulators have the right intent but sometimes democracies are messy. As a government, we have to ensure that nobody becomes the gatekeeper to our economy which is what these companies are trying to do. There should be penal provisions for anybody who abuses the law or twists and turns it while violating the very spirit of it. Non-compliance with judicial orders is contempt of court and so there is an opportunity to send a very strong message. These bullies need one arm chopped off in the form of penalties, a rap on the knuckles will not work as they are too big to care about a couple of hundred million in penalties. What is the biggest achievement of Shark Tank, which has now become a huge hit in India? In life timing is everything. Shark Tank’s first season was in December 2021, which was the peak of the startup hype cycle, and it demystified the whole conversation around startups and funding. Shark Tank has become a catalyst for driving entrepreneurship and giving it legitimacy. India is a land of entrepreneurs with every second person running some small business, many from home. A decade ago, if you told someone you are an entrepreneur, you would be told to come back when you get serious. The show has played an amazing role in celebrating entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem. A lot of companies have done very well. About 8-10 companies that got funded in Shark Tank are doing very well out of 180 companies that came to the show. This is an early stage game and will play out the same way. When you invest in 100 early stage companies, 4-5 will do very well and help recover the investments and some will become very big. A majority will fail. What I found amazing was that the companies that came to the show were not the elites who came from IIT or IIM. These are small businesses founded by housewives and family members. Entrepreneurship is not the reserve of the few. The next decade will be defined by Indian entrepreneurs globally and so there is no better time to be an entrepreneur than now. Shark Tank has put belief in every Indian that they can do it and that changes the game. Many of the founders that come to Shark Tank can do even better than the founders who have come from an IIT or an IIM. I believe that these people understand commerce and ‘dhandha’. The elitist founders are used to being served everything on a platter. Many professionals who come out of large companies or consulting firms cannot start without large funding. Out of the 100 unicorns we have, many will spectacularly fail in 2024 as they were built on the wrong foundations. These companies were built on a template of Ivy League founders and old school networks and so they got funded. Of the businesses that come to Shark Tank, what sectors can do well and stand a better chance of being funded? Indians now have the same aspirations as people in other parts of the world. Anybody who comes in and can bridge the gap between aspiration and affordability will do well especially in lifestyle. For example - Companies in the clothing and jewellery space will do well if they can deliver high aspiration at a value pricing. Last year a company called Snitch came with a revenue of Rs 60 crore and is now doing Rs 250 crore in sales. A company called Skippy, which makes ice pops was funded on Shark Tank too and has a run rate of Rs 50 crore from a few lakhs before ST. I funded a company called Sharmaji Ka Atta which has a revenue run rate of Rs 20 lakh a month in less than 12 months from less than 1 lakh. Another one called Whatsapp Wellness just got funded by HUL. Fundamentally, companies that can build premium products but don’t break the bank on affordability in categories like fashion, lifestyle and food will do well. People read labels now and the young generation is focused on what they are eating. Beauty and wellness products will do well as a secular trend for most of our history Lakme meant beauty, that’s how unbranded we were. Do you feel Shaadi.com is still relevant after Tinder and other dating apps came about? Let’s understand why Tinder is used, it is for hookups and is struggling to grow its revenue in India. Shaadi.com is not an arranged marriage platform. Shaadi.com is a planned marriage platform. Indian culture has four stages of life and marriage is one of the life stages. When you are planning to marry you look for compatibility and it is not about a chemical reaction. On Shaadi.com the family and parents collaborate to find a partner. The old community networks are now dying and we replace those networks. We are bringing together people in the same life stage to find a like-minded partner. The hook-up sites don’t do that and don't understand the Indian ethos. They are applying the same global model to India which does not work beyond a certain point. You were the original internet entrepreneur with a disruptive product. Why did you not create a large business that went on to become a decacorn or a unicorn? It depends on how you define success. If the definition is labels such as decacorn and unicorn, then that's not the game we are playing. Those are vanity labels that I would rather not pursue. Our definition of success is value creation and we are long-term compounders, much like Berkshire &amp; LVMH, so in a sense our ‘overnight’ success story is still waiting to become obvious to the world. From that lens, our ROCE is perhaps the best in the industry we have only ever raised about $20 mn but created several billion in value between our operated and invested cos. Our investee companies employ thousands, have raised over $20 bn and will go on to create $100 bn in value over time, in the bargain generating tremendous wealth for the country and hopefully for us too. We boast an IRR of 52% consistently for more than a decade which is extraordinary by any standards and a testament to our approach and story. Many people build businesses but we were fortunate to create entire industries such as online matchmaking via Shaadi.com, which we still run; proptech company Makaan.com which we sold to NewsCorp very handsomely; India’s first &amp; still the largest digital ad agency, Interactive Avenues, which we sold to IPG at a benchmark price that is yet to be crossed; India’s first mobile gaming company, Mauj Mobile which spawned a massive industry. So, whether it is our customers, employees, shareholders, the country or society at large, I think we have already impacted 10s of millions and while we don’t have a market listed entity like Jio or TCS to show for it, we have delivered massive national and global level impact. Keep in mind that we are most often the first to check into investee cost and every company we have founded has been the first in its industry. Our innovations have generated billions of dollars in wealth and given rise to innumerable founders and entrepreneurs who have learnt at our companies and gone on to build massive companies of their own. Further, I am still very young and the Indian opportunity is only now unfolding. In the next couple of years, you will see some of our other bets in space exploration, mobility real edtech, &amp; sustainable fintech come into the limelight besides something very special we are building on our own. So, in short, I still remain the OG and if you force me to use your labels we have birthed not one or two but several Unicorns &amp; Decacorns and that too with very limited capital. It is perhaps one of the most spectacular untold stories of value creation in the digital economy. Ola is one company that is headed for an IPO and you own 2% in the company. How did that happen? When we invested in Ola, there was not much of a concept of venture funding and the company did not have any suitors so we were able to get in at a very attractive valuation and hold an extremely healthy minority stake which obviously has been diluted over time. I think the network effects are so large that it is hard for others to get into it. I am still a shareholder and looking forward to the initial public offering. I invested in 2012 and when I met Bhavish first, I did not understand the problem he was solving as I live in Mumbai where cabs are available. So I did not think there was a problem. A few days later when I was in Delhi and needed a cab, I was told that they would call a taxi stand. After I came back from Delhi, I realised there was a problem everywhere. And I used to call the call centre and Bhavish used to answer the call centre, which showed me his commitment and reminded me of myself when I had started and so I invested.

Anupam Mittal hits out at Google — 'Tech bullies need one arm chopped off in the form of penalties'

<keyword id="9954893" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress-leader-K-C-Venugopal">Congress leader K C Venugopal</keyword> on Thursday demanded a probe by a parliamentary committee into Facebook's alleged interference in the country's electoral democracy and that the social media platform publish all hate speech posts that were allowed since 2014. Making a special mention in Rajya Sabha, Venugopal said media reports have revealed about <keyword id="736869" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook-India">Facebook India</keyword>'s "blatant biases and dubious practices" in content regulation. "This is a damning and serious allegation of Facebook India's interference in the country's electoral democracy," he said, adding that India is one of the biggest markets in terms of users for Facebook and WhatsApp. Therefore, the expectations of social and moral responsibility of Facebook are even higher in nations such as India, he observed. The reports, Venugopal said also mention that hate speech of at least three politicians were wilfully permitted by Facebook India. "We have repeatedly raised the issue of bias with many executives of Facebook and WhatsApp, over the past few years, to mostly deaf ears," he said, and demanded that the government should ask for a high-level inquiry by Facebook Headquarters into Facebook India leadership team and their operations and submit a report to the board of Facebook Inc within a reasonable period of time. He also demand to "publish and make transparent" all instances of hate speech posts since 2014 that "were allowed" on the platform. "A parliamentary committee probe should be initiated to probe this very serious issue of Facebook's interference in our electoral democracy," the Congress MP said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/first-intact-planet-found-circling-a-dead-star-this-jupiter-sized-anomaly-is-in-orbit-rather-than-being-pulled-apart-at-the-seams/articleshow/78166938.cms">First 'intact' planet found circling a dead star — this Jupiter-sized anomaly is in orbit rather than being pulled apart at the seams</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/hcl-tech-enters-the-list-of-top-10-most-valued-companies-in-india/articleshow/78165311.cms">HCL Tech enters the list of top 10 most valued companies in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/latest-updates-on-india-china-border-issue/articleshow/78162853.cms">India will take necessary steps against China — 'We will not back down,' asserts Rajnath Singh</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/muthoot-finance-says-this-years-growth-is-likely-to-exceed-guidance/articleshow/78159469.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Muthoot Finance says this year's growth is likely to exceed guidance</a>

Congress' Venugopal demands probe into Facebook for 'interference in our electoral democracy'

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the new edition of <keyword id="9095853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-today">Insider Today</keyword>. Please <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-today">sign up here</a>.<h2>QUOTE OF THE DAY</h2>"What happened in <keyword id="92788" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Portland">Portland</keyword> over the weekend, it was not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it's just plain wrong … Sending armed, untrained police into the streets wearing fatigues without the knowledge or consent of the local police actually caused more violence." — Judge Andrew Napolitano on Fox News, talking about the presence of masked, unidentified federal agents in Portland. President Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/defending-portland-crackdown-trump-pledges-to-deploys-feds-to-chicago-and-other-us-cities-led-by-democrats/2020/07/20/fda42b8a-caaa-11ea-89ce-ac7d5e4a5a38_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-low_portland-525pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&amp;itid=hp_hp-top-table-low_portland-525pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans-ans">vows to expand</a> the use of federal agents in American cities. <h2>WHAT'S HAPPENING</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-resuming-regular-coronavirus-briefings-amid-sinking-approval-rating-2020-7">President Trump will resume daily coronavirus briefings this afternoon.</a> He stopped doing them in April after making gaffes and giving dangerous health advice, but he believes renewing the briefings could revive his popularity.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-vp-four-black-women-being-considered-2020-7">Four Black women are among Biden's VP candidates. </a>The Democratic nominee didn't name names, and didn't commit to naming a Black woman, but said four are being seriously considered. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-china-covid-19-vaccine-research/2020/07/21/8b6ca0c0-cb58-11ea-91f1-28aca4d833a0_story.html?tidr=a_breakingnews&amp;hpid=hp_no-name_hp-breaking-news%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar-bar">US accuses Chinese hackers of targeting vaccine research. </a>According to a DOJ indictment, two hackers were spying on biotech firms both for their own profit and for the Chinese government. Last week, the US accused Russia of hacking vaccine researchers. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-yoo-bush-torture-memos-confirms-working-trump-bypass-congress-2020-7">Torture memo author is working with Trump to help him expand presidential power.</a> John Yoo confirmed that he's advising the White House on ways the president can bypass Congress and not enforce laws he doesn't like. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-ppe-exports-uighur-labor-nyt-2020-7">China used forced Uighur labor to make PPE exported to the US</a>. According to a NYT report, 17 factories in Xinjiang use a Uighur labor program to make PPE. China denies that the labor is compelled.<h2>VIEWS OF THE DAY</h2><div type="image" title="Trump Portland" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77095089" hostid="261"></div>As Trump sends unmarked troops to US cities, remember — this is how democracy and the rule of law die.When we talk about the rise of dictatorships and fall of democracies, we often imagine that the change happens overnight.We go to bed in charge of our government, and we wake up under the control of an authoritarian regime.In fact, these transitions usually happen gradually, over many years. In the guise of doing what needs to be done to fix their countries, proto-dictators increase their power in incremental steps. And then, one day, the transition is complete.Hitler took <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hitler-trump-comparisons-2016-10">over Germany's democracy this way</a>. Putin <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin">did the same in Russia</a>. So did <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini/Rise-to-power">Mussolini in Italy</a>. <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> has displayed his authoritarian tendencies since long before he was elected. Over the past three years, invoking the usual story about acting for the good of the country, he has continually pushed against the restraints placed on leaders in a democracy — and, in so doing, continued to expand the boundaries. Each new step has triggered complaints. Sometimes, temporarily, the complaints have forced Trump to take a half-step back. But then time passes and he takes another full step. And slowly but surely...Trump long ago figured out that a clever way to get around the constitutional check-and-balance of Senate approval was to appoint loyalists and call them "acting." Here's what Trump's acting Secretary of Homeland Security <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/department-of-homeland-security/508176-acting-dhs-secretary-i-dont-need">just said</a> about sending federal troops to Portland, Oregon over the protests of local and state authorities — an action that would once have appalled members of a political party that used to champion states' rights:"I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not."So, now, in Trump's America, this <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/americas-interior-ministry/614389/">latest step in the transition to authoritarianism</a> is complete. — HBWhat Trump's campaign should learn from the Wall of Moms <div type="image" title="wall of moms portland protests" height="1250" width="2500" msid="77095091" hostid="261"></div>Operation Legend, the Trump administration's plan to invade American cities with federal agents — ostensibly to reduce a spike in violence — is provoking a huge response in Portland. Since unidentified federal agents in unmarked vans began yanking Portlanders off the street, the <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/portland-protests-continue-for-54th-night-amid-controversy-surrounding-federal-officers-presence.html">nightly demonstrations in Portland have only gotten bigger</a>. Notably, a Wall of Moms has shown up to stand between BLM protesters and the feds, while a group of Portland dads brought leaf blowers to the demonstrations to redirect tear gas.President Trump, who thrives on chaos, seems overjoyed at the conflict on the streets between American citizens exercising their right to peaceably assemble and the masked, anonymous jackbooted federal thugs he sent to harry them. <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-chicago-police-dhs-deployment-20200720-dftu5ychwbcxtg4ltarh5qnwma-story.html">He's planning to assault more cities with DHS forces</a>.But the Wall of Moms counterpunch reveals something important about the presidential campaign. With Trump, you always begin with the premise that everything he does is to feed his own ego, not serve the nation, and the chief way he wants to feed it is by winning reelection. (For example, the White House decided this week to bring back presidential COVID briefings not for any policy reason, but because they think the briefings improved his poll numbers in the spring.)Given his fixation on reelection, it's weird that Trump has not realized that the more he agitates the left, the worse his reelection chances are. He is trapped in a 2016 paradigm. In that campaign, agitation benefited him, because he was able to gin up immense fear and hatred about Hillary Clinton, while he himself remained an unknown quantity. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-trump-high-risk-2016-campaign-strategy-failing-reelection-2020-7">positions are reversed now</a>. Negative partisanship benefits Biden more than Trump. In 2020, the left despises, detest, abhors Trump as much or more than the right did Hillary Clinton in 2016. That's how you get a Wall of Moms. But <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/7/20/21326267/biden-trump-2020-winning-polls-polarization-election">as Ezra Klein explains in Vox,</a> the right does not loathe Biden nearly as much. Biden is an old white guy who doesn't trigger most of Trump's supporters. "80% of Biden supporters have a very unfavorable view of Trump, while only 53% of Trump supporters have a very unfavorable view of Biden." Trump would almost certainly rise in the polls if he said less. If he acted more typically presidential, some of the rage on the left would dissipate, and the fever Democrats feel about voting in November might subside. Bring the troops home from Portland, nod politely along as Dr. Fauci talks, express sorrow at the suffering caused by Covid and the recession. But sharks gotta swim. The chances of Trump doing anything other than trying to lather up his base and savage Democrats is nil. And who knows, maybe he'll be able to foment enough chaos that he convinces voters he's the solution, that only he can stop Biden from gathering a lefty mob to sack Washington and burn the suburbs. — DPIf you're enjoying this article, <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-today">sign up here</a> for more daily insights from Henry Blodget and David Plotz delivered right into your inbox.After weeks of nothing but bad news about coronavirus, hope is finally knocking at the door.<div type="image" title="Oxford University coronavirus vaccine test" height="600" width="1200" msid="77095096" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/world/covid-coronavirus-vaccine.html">Three vaccine trials</a> are showing enormous promise, and<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/serum-institute-of-india-to-soon-apple-for-local-trials-of-astrazeneca-oxford-covid-vaccine/articleshow/77077382.cms"> mass vaccine testing</a> will begin shortly in India. A trial suggests treatment with interferon beta may <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/world/covid-19-treatment-synairgen-interferon-beta.html">reduce the severity of COVID</a>. Those alarming stories warning that coronavirus antibodies disappear in a few months <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/could-covid-19-immunity-really-disappear-months/614377/">may be overstated</a>. And researchers are getting clever about figuring out how we can return to normal(ish) life: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/german-scientists-host-concert-to-study-how-the-coronavirus-spreads-2020-7">Check out this plan in Germany to stage an indoor pop concert for 4,000 fans</a>, and use it to study potential transmission: fluorescent hand sanitizer to track surface touching and fog machines to track air flow. It's encouraging! — DPMore incumbents should face primary challenges<div type="image" title="Rep. Eliot Engel" height="1296" width="2592" msid="77095098" hostid="261"></div>Rep. Eliot Engel of New York conceded he lost to his Democratic primary challenger and middle-school principal Jamaal Bowman. When Engel was first elected to represent a district comprising parts of the Bronx and Westchester in the 1988 election, Ronald Reagan was president. Ed Koch was the mayor of New York. Mario Cuomo was the governor. That's a long time in one job. And in an industry where the consolidation of <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/why-is-gop-money-going-to-democratic-congressman-eliot-engel/">power and influence</a> is considered the metric of a successful career, maybe it's too long in one job. It leads to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/politics/eliot-engel-hot-mic-primary-comment/index.html">complacency</a>, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/26/eliot-engel-primary-defense-industry-pro-israel/">cronyism</a>, and sometimes corruption. That's not how Engel sees it. That "safe" Democratic seat was his by right until he was ready to relinquish it. But when Bowman proved to be a competitive progressive competitor to the hawkish centrist Engel, some Democrats backed the insurgent.Engel <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/20/politics/eliot-engel-reaction-democratic-primary-fight/index.html">told CNN yesterday</a> that party members supporting primary challengers to influential incumbents like himself is "not something that should be done." "I think that it's a very dangerous thing for party unity if members are going to start putting up primary challenges to other members in the same caucus."Au contraire. Primary challenges are important and all too infrequent. They can keep an incumbent from losing touch with their constituency or getting too entrenched in the lobbyist swamp, and they can ensure that new ideas are regularly introduced into the national political conversation.It's a better solution than term limits, and it allows each of the two major parties to represent a wider berth of philosophies under each big tent.Americans should more regularly throw the bums out, and because of most House districts are deep blue or deep red, change has to happen at the party primary level. — AF<h2>Today's Must Read</h2><div type="image" title="ruth bader ginsburg" height="790" width="1581" msid="77095100" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/the-women-of-harvard-law-rbg-1959.html">The Story of RBG's Harvard Law School Classmates:</a> Slate's Dahlia Lithwick and Molly Olmstead track down the nine other women in Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Harvard Law School class, recount their lives as pioneering women lawyers, and — most remarkably — interview Justice Ginsburg herself about her classmates. <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/ruth-bader-ginsburg-interview-transcript.html#marilyn">"It's amazing to me how distinctly I remember each of these women"</a> The project shows us a moment American life began to change, and how these women--all extraordinary, one legendary — helped make the change real for millions to follow. — DP <h2>BUSINESS &amp; ECONOMY</h2><div type="image" title="Jeff Bezos" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77095103" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-added-13-billion-net-worth-monday-bloomberg-2020-7">Jeff Bezos added $13 billion to his net worth on Monday</a>, which is probably the most anyone has ever added in a single day. His net worth is $189 billion, up $74 billion this year. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/coronavirus-stimulus-eu-recovery-fund-agree-historic-860-billion-plan-2020-7-1029413313?_ga=2.225179866.1977374182.1595244294-163033034.1594207157">EU establishes an $860 billion pandemic recovery fund.</a> Angela Merkel led the bailout plan, which will give grants to the struggling countries, and will for the first time have the EU, rather than individual nations, issue debt.<h2>LIFE</h2><div type="image" title="NBA coronavirus" height="700" width="1400" msid="77095105" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/nba-bubble-coronavirus-free-after-latest-tests-zero-positive-results-2020-7">The NBA bubble is virus-free. </a> All 346 players tested for coronavirus, zero positives. The season is set to restart July 30. <a href="https://www.insider.com/apollo-11-deepfake-nixon-speech-anniversary-mit-scientific-american-2020-7">Disturbing deep-fake video shows Nixon announcing the lost of the Apollo 11 mission.</a> A lab at MIT created the video, which shows "Nixon" delivering the speech he would have given had the moon landing failed.<h2>THE BIG 3*</h2><div type="image" title="Walmart Black Friday" height="1500" width="3000" msid="77095107" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-401k-balance">The average 401(k) balance by age, income level, gender, and industry</a>: The median is only $22,200. If you're 45-54, the median balance is still only $40,200.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-will-close-stores-on-thanksgiving-ending-black-friday-tradition-2020-7">Walmart will close stores on Thanksgiving Day.</a> It ends a tradition of beginning Black Friday sales on Thursday evening.<a href="https://www.insider.com/redwood-city-blm-mural-trump-supporter-maga-2020-7">California city removes its Black Lives Matter mural</a>...after a local lawyer petitioned to be allowed to paint MAGA 2020 on the same street. The city said it removed the mural because it was a traffic hazard. *The most popular stories on Insider today.

This is how democracy dies

<ul><li>Global Times, the propaganda outlet of the Chinese government, has taken a softer tone in its approach to the India-China border dispute in the last 24 hours. </li><li>Calling out Indian publications for being biased, it highlighted at <keyword id="129129" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-media">Chinese media</keyword> outlets “have been very restrained.”</li><li>Even now, it has not eased its narrative on the US being an obstacle in India-China relations.</li></ul>After trying to inflame tensions between India and China after the June 15 clash along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley, Chinese media is softening its tone against India. Just before the “violent clash,” one of China’s primary propaganda mouthpieces, the Global Times, was doubling down on its anti-India narrative. <div type="image" title="GlobalTimes via Twitter/BI India" msid="76444788" hostid="261"></div> However, as China’s Foreign Ministry eased its stance to push for bilateral talks to resolve the border dispute between India and China — Global Times, took the edge off its tone as well going so far as to highlight how Indian restaurants in Shanghai continue to serve customers from around the world during the lockdown. <div type="twitter" handle="globaltimesnews" handlename="Global Times" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1246507687178715136/6QKcEtxB_normal.jpg" favoritecount="794" retweetcount="165" status="Shanghai's #Indian restaurants continue to serve customers from around the world. Multi-cultural customers enjoy th… https://t.co/7oxCYOZrtx" createdat="1592386187000" id="1273186067936468994"></div> Its handle on Twitter went from suggesting that “India was playing with fire” in challenging one-China principle to analysing that Indian cults were “breeding criminals in foreign countries” — like China. <div type="image" title="GlobalTimes via Twitter/BI India" msid="76444778" hostid="261"></div> It has not eased the narrative of the US being a potential threat to the bilateral relations between China and India. It is also called on “biased India media” to remain rational and highlight that Chinese media outlets “<a href="https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1273465472625844225">have been very restrained</a>.” <div type="image" title="GlobalTimes via Twitter/BI India" msid="76444804" hostid="261"></div> It also went on to point out that India is currently involved in border disputes not just with China, but also with Nepal and Pakistan which could result in military pressures from more than one front. Taking a u-turn on the narrative between India and China Even after the news of the India-China clash broke, in an editorial Global Times wrote, “Arrogance and recklessness of the Indian side is the main reason for the consistent tensions along China-India borders.” <div type="image" title="GlobalTimes via Twitter/BI India" msid="76444821" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;The drastic change in the India-China narrative&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Even their opinion pieces took on a more moderate tone to say that the India-China border conflict will likely see a “<a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191924.shtml">soft landing</a>” despite the violent clash. As Indians called out for a boycott of China-products, the publication highlighted that Chinese netizens were calling for <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191941.shtml">restraint</a> highlighting that bilateral trade may drop as much as 20% if the situation between the countries remains uncertain. <div type="image" title="GlobalTimes via Twitter/BI India" msid="76444857" hostid="261"></div> After heavily accusing India of underestimating China, their editorial was now calling to ease the border tensions. Meanwhile, they did not leave the opportunity to highlight that the tag of the world’s largest democracy is a “label” that western countries have given to India and is contingent on how the US views China as a threat. <div type="image" title="GlobalTimes via Twitter/BI India" msid="76444868" hostid="261"></div> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/the-next-few-days-are-going-to-stormy-for-india-and-china-says-a-former-diplomat-and-retired-lieutenant-general/articleshow/76438507.cms">The next few days are going to be stormy for India and China say a former diplomat and retired lieutenant general</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/amid-indo-china-tensions-nepal-passes-new-map-bill-in-the-upper-house-showing-parts-of-india-as-its-own-territory/articleshow/76442175.cms">Nepal's new map is eating into India to please China</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/difference-between-india-and-china-military-expenses-soldiers-number-aircrafts-tanks-and-missiles/articleshow/76421399.cms">The strength of India and China’s defence forces compared</a>

You Searched For "india democracy issues" and got 11 results

Om Birla elected for second time as Lok Sabha speaker, opposition hopes their voice will be heard

PTI

New citizenship law pulls India down in the democracy rankings — and 2021 is not looking better

Prabhjote Gill

Allow indexation benefits for savings such as stocks, fixed deposits: Cong to govt

PTI

India wants to be the new China. Modi's shock election result shows it won't be easy.

Huileng Tan

451 million voters! First four phases of Lok Sabha elections witness 66.95% voter turnout so far

ANI

Datacracy: Indian Prime Minister's 'data democracy' must avoid the flaws of the country’s political system

Prabhjote

Sriram

For Facebook and Twitter, the changes to India's IT (Amendment) Act is just what the doctor ordered — or not

Prabhjote Gill

Anupam Mittal hits out at Google — 'Tech bullies need one arm chopped off in the form of penalties'

Malini Bhupta

Congress' Venugopal demands probe into Facebook for 'interference in our electoral democracy'

PTI

This is how democracy dies

David Plotz,Anthony L. Fisher…

Talking through the hat⁠ — the bizarre change in the tone of Chinese media

Prabhjote Gill

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