📰 Nilgiris pale tiger an ‘aberrant genetic mutation’
No such animal has been recorded in south India so far; it is not of great conservation value per se, says wildlife scientist
•While the pale tiger of the Nilgiris has won global attention, it could be just an instance of an aberrant genetic mutation, say experts.
•“This is interesting because no pale tiger has been recorded in south India so far,” says Yadvendradev Jhala, wildlife scientist who heads the Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. “However, it is just a normal tiger with an aberrant genetic mutation, so it is not of great conservation value per se,” he says.
•The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, where the pale tiger was photographed, also encompasses the Mudumalai-Bandipur-Nagarhole-Waya- nad complex, which is home to the world’s largest wild tiger population. Random genetic mutations could occur in large populations and since this contiguous patch allowed good intermixing of genes, this could just be a random genetic mutation as was natural in the wild, another genetics expert, who did not wish to be named, said. It is quite possible that paler-looking tigers may occur rarely due to reduced levels of the pigment melanin in a phenomenon called leucism, says tiger expert K. Ullas Karanth. “Excess melanin causes black tigers, such as the ones in Simlipal in Odisha. However, with so many fake and modified photos/videos going around, I do not want to comment on this specific case as there is very little detail as to the time and place,” he adds.
The ‘white’ gene
•In 2013, scientists from China’s Peking University sequenced genomes (entire genetic material) of white and normally-coloured Bengal tigers and found that a very small mutation in a single pigment gene – SLC45A2 – causes the white colouration. However, eumelanin pigments – which produce black and brown shades – are not affected, they showed, which explains the dark eyes and stripes of the tigers.
•This genetic mutation is already known to cause light coloration in horses, chicken and fish. Concluding that such mutations are natural, especially since adult white tigers have been recorded in the wild in India in the past, the researchers say that white tigers could be viable in the wild and important for a healthy wild tiger population.
•However, most white tigers may be at a disadvantage in the wild due to lack of camouflage, says Dr. Jhala.
•All white tigers in captivity across the world trace their origins to one of the last white tigers in the wild, a male named Mohan with blue eyes and pink nose and paw-pads, which was captured from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh in 1951.
📰 Central labs moot ‘human first’ approach to test malaria vaccine
‘Ethics meet’ to discuss feasibility of conducting ‘human challenge’ trials in India
•What if a potential vaccine for malaria was to be first tested in humans before mice and animals? This November, experts at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and labs affiliated to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), will have a first-of-its kind “ethics meeting” here to discuss the feasibility of conducting these so-called ‘human challenge’ trials in India. The meeting will also discuss testing two vaccine-candidates — one that causes falciparum malaria and the milder-but-more-prevalent vivax — developed at the New Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
Waste of money
•Because vaccines involve injecting the body with a mild strain of a parasite, the traditional approach — for drugs and vaccines — has been to test it in animals and only then, if safe and effective, check them in humans. This approach however has meant that several promising candidates, after tons of investment, fail to live up to expectations and consequently wasted money. Moreover, there are situations where the dosage requirements in people or, the manner in which disease manifests is different from that in animal models. However, not all strains are amenable to a human-first, or Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) approach. The strain of parasite, for instance, must only induce as much infection as can be treated by available medicines and only healthy, human volunteers — completely aware of the risks and have given informed consent — ought to be recruited for trials.
Immune response
•“It has to be a strain that induces an immune response that you are capable of controlling infection… if somebody starts getting sick you should be able to abort the infection,” Gagandeep Kang, Executive Director, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (a DBT-funded body), told The Hindu. Ms. Kang played a key role in developing India’s first rotavirus vaccine. Challenge trials were being conducted for testing typhoid vaccines at Oxford University, in the United Kingdom as well in other studies in the Netherlands and Africa. “I’m hoping to bring researchers, with experience in this [to the November meeting] and developing CHIMS as a strategy for future vaccine development in India, at my institute,” she added.
•Though plans to employ such an approach were discussed three years ago, it didn’t materialise. However Ms. Kang said she’d had several discussions with the ICMR officials, who “were on board in principle” but trials were still a long way off.
📰 Aadhaar not ‘totalitarian’: Centre
•Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal on Friday objected to arguments made by petitioners that Aadhaar was driving India into a “concentration camp” even as the Supreme Court said the constitutionality of the scheme has to be decided “once and for all” and probably by a nine-judge Bench.
•Sparks flew at the hearing before a three-judge Bench, led by Justice J. Chelameswar, after senior advocate Shyam Divan, for the petitioners, said Aadhaar was reminiscent of 1984 , a work by George Orwell about the totalitarian state where everybody and everything is watched by the ‘Big Brother state.’
•“Children are told to take their thumb prints for enrolling for Aadhaar. We are becoming vassals of the state. India is becoming a concentration camp. This is invasive... It will stigmatise. The new notifications even intend to withhold welfare benefits for those without Aadhaar. A state of total surveillance is creeping upon us,” he said. Mr. Venugopal said Aadhaar had helped over 350 million poor.
Money swallowed up
•“The tragedy of it is all that money intended for public welfare schemes was swallowed up en route. After Aadhaar, people are getting their money and benefits,” Mr. Venugopal submitted.
•He called Mr. Divan’s remark on the country becoming a concentration camp as hyperbolic and “rather unparliamentary.”
•Mr. Venugopal, who had earlier agreed to team up with Mr. Divan to approach the CJI for setting up an appropriate Bench to decide the constitutionality of Aadhaar, threatened to withdraw, saying “if he [Divan] continues to call India a concentration camp, I will not join hands with him.”
•“I reiterate my statement. It is not hyperbolic. In fact it was an understatement. Shall I use the word totalitarian,” Mr. Divan, along with advocate Vipin Nair, retorted, but later told the court that he would make mention before the CJI next week.
📰 Delhi has ‘ulterior motives’, asserts Beijing
Says the issue had ‘nothing to do with the tri-junction point’ and China had not breached the 2012 agreement
•China said on Friday that “ulterior motives” prompted India to include the tri-junction with Bhutan in the Sikkim stand-off and asserted that New Delhi’s acceptance of the 1890 Sino-British treaty on the boundaries in the area should not change with the passage of time.
•“The so-called tri-junction point as the name implies is a point instead of a line or an area,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here.
•Asked about India’s assertion that China is violating the agreement reached by the Special Representatives on the boundary in 2012 over the tri-junction, Mr. Geng said the road being built by China had nothing to do with it.
‘Trespass by India’
•Mr. Geng said the convention between Great Britain and China relating to Sikkim in 1890 stated that the Sikkim section of the boundary commences from the east of Mount Gipmochi.
•“The illegal trespass by the Indian troops took place at the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary, 2,000 metres away from the Mount Gipmochi,” he said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson asserted that the issue had “nothing to do with the tri-junction point” and China had not breached the 2012 agreement.
•Asked to provide exact coordinates of the tri-junction, he said he had no information on it. Mr. Geng also sought to justify China’s road building, saying that it was not part of the Doklam area.
Questions India’s stand
•He questioned India’s stand that Doklam is part of the strategic tri-junction also known as the Chicken’s Neck, which is the key corridor connecting India with its north-eastern States. “In disregard of the boundary convention, the Indian side takes entire Doklam area as part of the tri-junction. That is out of ulterior motives,” Mr. Geng said.
📰 Centre eases pre-merger filing norms
Removes 30-day notice rule, aims to give fillip to M&A activity in the country
•In a move that is likely to boost mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the country, the Centre has done away with the thirty-day time period to submit before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) an application for pre-merger clearance.
•According to a notification on June 29 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), “the Central government, in public interest, hereby exempts every person or enterprise who is a party to a combination.... from giving notice within thirty days...” This new provision (exemption from the 30-day time period) will be valid for five years starting June 29, 2017.
•The earlier norms had specified that an application to obtain the CCI’s prior approval for an acquisition, merger or amalgamation had to be filed within thirty days of: board approval of the proposed merger or amalgamation by each of the respective parties; execution of any agreement or other document of a binding nature conveying a decision to acquire shares, control, voting rights or assets; execution of any document by the acquiring enterprise conveying a decision to acquire shares, control, voting rights or assets, in case the acquisition is without the consent of the enterprise being acquired; or date of the public announcement under India’s takeover regulations applicable to acquisitions of listed entities.
•The notification means that parties can make a CCI application at any time in course of an acquisition but cannot effect or close an acquisition before obtaining the CCI’s approval, according to the law firm Majmudar & Partners.
Flexibility option
•It will give parties the liberty and flexibility to decide at what stage they want to make the CCI filing, depending on the deal parameters and commercial terms, Majmudar & Partners said in a statement.
•Besides, this will specifically benefit large, multi-jurisdiction transactions where parties may be burdened with regulatory requirements in several jurisdictions and, therefore, need more time to assess the Indian law implications and prepare a comprehensive CCI application, the statement said.
📰 ‘India still edgy about in-flight Wi-Fi’
Civil Aviation Secretary calls for innovative solutions to make airports more viable
•Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said on Friday India was the only country other than North Korea to not allow Wi-Fi facility in aircraft. Mr. Choubey said security agencies were still not convinced about allowing in-flight Wi-Fi services.
•“Even international airlines flying over India have to switch off Wi-Fi when they travel over India,” Mr. Choubey said.
•Mr. Choubey said the Indian Air Force controlled two-thirds of Delhi's airspace, causing flights to hover above for long, which led to the wastage of fuel and escalated airfare, and that “civil aviation needs to be harmonised with the IAF”. He was speaking at the a seminar on international aviation security organised by National Security Guard.
UDAN scheme
•The Secretary said security at the new airports inducted under the recently announced regional connectivity scheme UDAN would be “airport specific”.
•The cost of security at airports is to be reimbursed by the airport operator and only 15 of the 115 airports operated by Airport Authority of India are making a profit, he said. “One of the significant reasons for losses [incurred by airports] is security,” Mr. Choubey said. “We are trying to have a template of an aircraft-centric security, rather than [that of] the entire airport. If I do not find a balance between growth and security, growth will come to an end,” he said.
•“At many international airports, the road runs right under the runway...[and] aircraft on the top. In India, we don't permit this as somebody can put a bomb and blow up the tunnel....we are exploring whether we can have bomb-proof tunnels," said Mr. Choubey.
•The Aviation Secretary said that though intelligence agencies had “veto power”, they should look for innovative solutions.
📰 SEBI to move against non-compliant firms
536 firms yet to submit plan of action
•The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has initiated action against non-compliant “Exclusively Listed Companies (ELCs) on Dissemination Board (DB),” and its directors and promoters.
•These are companies which were earlier listed on regional stock exchanges (RSEs) that have been de-recognised by the regulator. Such companies were allowed to be part of the national exchanges through a dissemination board but were directed to submit a plan of action for listing or providing an exit option to shareholders.
•SEBI can bar such promoters and companies from accessing the securities market for a period of 10 years apart from freezing the shares held by promoters and directors. The regulator can even attach the bank accounts and other assets of promoters and directors to compensate the investors.
Traceable firms
•The deadline to submit the plan of action was extended until June 30. As per SEBI, of the 2,000 companies listed on dissemination board as on June 30, there are 536 entities that are traceable and yet not submitted a plan of action.
•“Out of 536 ELCs, there are few ELCs which have made representation to SEBI/Stock Exchanges and their representations are under examination. SEBI has extended the time to submit plan of action by such ELCs till September 30, 2017,” according to a statement from SEBI.
📰 Substance and optics
Though successful summitry depends on personal chemistry, there is enough content in India-Israel ties
•As high-level visits go, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel was bound to attract superlatives like ‘historic’ and ‘groundbreaking’. Still, it is clear that the buzz in the relationship is on account of Mr. Modi’s personal diplomatic style and his host’s equally warm response.
•Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the tone when he welcomed Mr. Modi at the airport together with the spiritual leaders of all the major faiths in the region, an honour traditionally reserved for the U.S. President and the Pope. Mr. Modi’s trademark bear hugs were reciprocated, three at the airport, and by the time the visit ended, the TV commentators had lost count!
•Mr. Netanyahu gushingly described the relationship between the two countries as “a marriage made in heaven”, but behind the success was a receptive political backdrop as well as the careful planning undertaken by both sides.
A substantive relationship
•Marking 25 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries added to the historic character of an Indian Prime Minister’s first visit to a country that had quietly emerged as a strong defence partner. There had been high-level exchanges but the Indian response was cautious. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres first visited India in 1993, and Jaswant Singh reciprocated in 2000; President Ezer Weizman came in 1997, while President Pranab Mukherji’s visit only took place in 2015. The first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India was Ariel Sharon in 2003, and from the time Mr. Modi came to power, a return visit was a certainty. The two leaders had met on the margins of the UN General Assembly and continued their relationship by tweeting their greetings on Hanukkah and Diwali.
•Yet, official-level exchanges between the two countries have been intensive, beginning with the visit of Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit in early 1993. While relations between Mossad and Research and Analysis Wing had existed earlier, the strategic partnership got cemented when National Security Adviser-level dialogue was established in 1999 between Brajesh Mishra and Gen. (retd.) David Ivry. Gen. Ivry was a former Air Force chief who had led the air raid on Osirak, the Iraqi nuclear reactor, in 1981. Incidentally, Israel was one of the few countries that showed complete understanding of India’s decision to undertake the nuclear tests in 1998. This reinforced both the defence and the counter-terrorism cooperation relationship.
•By 2000, India was acquiring surface-to-air missiles (Barak 1) and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) from Israel. Subsequently, the refurbishing of MiG-21 aircraft employed Israeli avionics. During the 1999 Kargil war, Israel assisted with laser-guidance kits mated with gravity bombs, carried by the Mirage 2000 aircraft. With U.S. concurrence, Israel sold India the Phalcon airborne early warning system and mounted on the Russian Il-76, provided AWACs capability. Subsequent acquisitions have included Spike anti-tank guided missiles and the long range surface-to-air missiles in both the naval and land versions. Today, Israel has emerged as the third-largest defence supplier for India and accounts for over 40% of Israel’s defence exports.
•Commercial relations between the diamond traders in Gujarat and Israel had existed before 1992, but now annual trade grew from $200 million to nearly $5 billion with gems and jewellery accounting for nearly 40%. Gradually, Science and technology, agriculture, biotech and space emerged as new areas of cooperation.
•Tourism provided an impetus to people-to-people relations. India emerged as the preferred destination for young Israelis wanting to unwind after their compulsory military service and Hebrew signage in Varanasi, Manali and Goa is a common sight. Ambassador Pavan Kapoor was being quite matter of fact when he described the Modi visit as a ‘coming out visit’ for the relationship.
Advance planning
•In addition, both sides made efforts to ensure a productive visit. Mr. Modi had already undertaken visits to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran before embarking on his trip to Israel. Receiving Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Delhi in May eased the politics of skipping a visit to Ramallah while visiting Israel.
•A number of preparatory visits covering diverse areas of agriculture, water resources and space took place under effective coordination of the Prime Minister’s Office. On the Israeli side, the cabinet approved a 23-page document identifying potential cooperation areas with India with inputs from 11 government departments and a commitment of $79.6 million.
•The outcome is an impressive joint statement which elevates the relationship to a ‘strategic partnership’. In addition to defence and homeland security, it highlights other areas of science and technolgy, innovation, trade and investment. Of the MoUs signed, three pertain to space, two to water management and sanitation and one to agriculture. During the last three years, Israel has already set up 15 centres of excellence for introducing improved practices, particularly in horticulture and agro-processing. As a water-challenged state, Israel recycles 90% of its water, and 95% of sewage is processed for agricultural use, making it virtually a closed water cycle.
•An Industrial R&D and Innovation Fund has been created with a contribution of $20 million each to promote knowledge-based partnerships. Israel today boasts of nearly 4,500 start-ups and 140 incubators/accelerators. In a recent study, NASSCOM and Accenture estimated that cooperation with Indian start-ups has the potential to generate $5 billion within five years.
Personal affinity, differences
•The positive outcome was overshadowed by the optics surrounding the visit — the hugs, images of Mr. Netanyahu accompanying Mr. Modi everywhere, the emotionalism of meeting young Moshe Holtzberg, the two leaders walking barefoot on the beach, Mr. Netanyahu recalling his dinner date with his wife Sara thirty years ago at an Indian restaurant as he hosted Mr. Modi for a private dinner… this is what enabled the two leaders to personalise the substantive outcome.
•There is a natural affinity in political style that draws both leaders together. In his first campaign for prime ministership in 1996, Mr. Netanyahu honed his election style with help from Arthur Finkelstein, an American consultant who had been campaign adviser to Republicans like Jesse Helms, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Sharp attacks on opponents, calls for making ‘peace’ safe, a demilitarised Palestinian state even as he pushed ahead with Jewish settlements, and polarising sound bites have now become Mr. Netanyahu’s trademarks as he has led three successive coalition governments since 2009.
•It is a style familiar to Mr. Modi’s. His decision to not visit Ramallah indicates that he is not worried about vote-bank politics. Both leaders project a strong nationalism, enjoined with faith. And this is perhaps where the key difference is — Israel is a country founded on Zionism and Mr. Modi readily accepted his host’s impromptu suggestion to visit the grave of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism. But when Mr. Netanyahu makes his return visit to India, possibly in 2018, and Mr. Modi accompanies him to Raj Ghat, they will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation who wanted to keep faith apart from nationalism in independent India. This is why the Israeli practice of using a ‘human shield’ by Major Leetul Gogoi in Kashmir became controversial.
•It is worth remembering that during a visit to Beijing in March, Mr. Netanyahu had also described Israel’s relationship with China as ‘a marriage made in heaven’. An Israel-China comprehensive innovation partnership with an outlay of $300 million has been launched.
•Fortunately, there is enough content in the India-Israel relationship though successful summitry depends on personal chemistry between leaders. Both sides have agreed to establish a task force to ensure implementation of the announcements made. This will ensure that the relationship stays on track and Mr. Netanyahu’s return visit is a success.
📰 Redraw the lines for better planning
The Smart Cities Mission calls for appropriate local spatial development plans
•Cities in India are governed by multiple organisations and authorities which have their own jurisdictions; thus Indian cities are characterised by multiple boundaries. The governing authorities in a city include urban local bodies (ULB) with the primary functions of service delivery, planning for socio-economic development and regulation of development. This results in their subdivision into different wards. Large cities also have development authorities, urban development authorities or improvement trusts responsible for planning and development that divide cities into various planning zones. Line departments, that is sector-specific organisations, deal with the provision of services in their respective sectors — the water supply agency has its own supply zones. Sewage disposal is also done based on various zones. The organisations responsible for safety and security delineate another set of zones. None of these zones is coterminus, generating a ‘maze of boundaries’. Since planning aims at achieving a shared vision, the different spatial entities of the city formed by non-coterminus boundaries deter effective planning and good governance. This is exemplified in the case of Delhi, for example.
•India’s capital, the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) bordered by Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh covers an area of 1,484 sq.km and has a population of 16.7 million as per Census 2011. Being a megacity, urban planning for promoting and streamlining development has always been a national priority. However, a close look at multiple governing bodies and their zones of jurisdiction reveals significant issues.
A maze in Delhi
•Until 2012, Delhi was governed by three municipal corporations — the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Cantonment Board. The area under the MCD was further sub-divided into 12 zones. In 2012, the MCD area was divided into three municipal corporations — the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Thus the NCT is governed by five bodies. In 2012, the administrative boundaries were reformed to include two more districts — South East and Shahdara — to form 11 districts. The Master Plan for Delhi, 2021, notified in 2007 and formulated by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), identifies 15 planning zones.
•The Delhi Jal Board, the authority responsible for water and sewage management within the jurisdiction of the NCT, has delineated 11 zones. The Delhi Police looks after the safety and security of 13 districts. The Delhi Traffic Police has divided the NCT into 11 districts, which are subdivided into 53 traffic circles. The multiple boundaries of jurisdictions of all these governing bodies and their spatial non-alignment and non-coherence further reinstates the argument of a ‘maze of boundaries’.
•Such a multiplicity of authorities is a problem in other metropolitan cities too; a minimum organisational set-up was suggested to bring these multiple agencies on a common platform to determine a metropolitan-wide strategy for planning and implementation. Since the planned development of Mumbai was deterred by a multiplicity of authorities such as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd and the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority, a single planning authority was suggested.
The Singapore model
•In this context, it is instructive to look at urban development abroad and learn from best practices. Singapore, with its planning boundaries and smart urban development, is a good example. The urban planning boundaries of Singapore were first delineated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in the 1991 Concept Plan. It comprised 55 planning areas organised into five planning regions, namely, the central, west, north, north-east and east regions.
•The 2014 master plan retains the five planning regions and 55 areas which are further divided into smaller subzones. The fact to be noted is that since the implementation of these boundaries, other departments have also adopted them for their administrative purposes. The Statistics Department of Singapore published the 2000 census based on these planning area boundaries — earlier, electoral boundaries were used. Subsequently, further studies were based on these boundaries as seen in the 2010 census and 2015 household survey. Similarly, the Singapore Police Force constituted the jurisdiction of its neighbourhood police centres based on these planning regions, which replaced the then existing seven land divisions. As for the administrative and electoral divisions, in 2001, the earlier nine districts were replaced with five districts corresponding to the urban planning regions of the URA. Each district was then further divided into town councils and electoral constituencies, which continues as of now, evident from the divisions of the 2015 election. The unified boundaries of the various forces in planning and coordinated efforts have contributed to the planned and smart urban development of Singapore.
•In India, the Smart Cities Mission, an initiative meant to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people, calls for appropriate local spatial development plans. However, a multiplicity of boundaries is a deterrent for proper planning efforts and good governance. The existing maze of boundaries needs to be revamped for more coherent and integrated planning and governance.
📰 Electric horses
The government should give tax incentivesto encourage production and use of e-vehicles
•After a century of spectacular growth powered by the internal combustion engine, the automobile industry is taking a serious look at moving away from fossil fuels, with cars, bikes and commercial vehicles powered by electricity. This quest for electromobility has surged ahead with Volvo, the Sweden-based manufacturer owned by China’s Geely, announcing a shift to all-electric or hybrid models from 2019. At the heart of the discussion is the affordability of e-vehicles (EVs) and the range they can cover on a single battery charge, if they are to become an attractive replacement for conventional motors. There is also the question of the sustainability of making millions of batteries that must be recycled. Progress is being made on some of these metrics, as a result of which the sales of all plug-in vehicles rose 40%, at 191,700 units worldwide, in the first quarter of 2017 over the same quarter in 2016. And the International Energy Agency says in its Global EV Outlook Report 2017 that the year-on-year growth was 60%. But in perspective, electric vehicles today make up only 0.2% of all light duty vehicles in the world. What is enlivening the debate on EVs is the entry of Tesla, with its goal to mass-market electric cars that are efficient on range, and offer a minimum of 340 km on one charge, while also scoring high on design.
•As the single biggest component in making electromobility mainstream, attention is focussed on battery technology. If Tesla’s assessment is correct, the technological limits of this power source are being pushed constantly: less material is being used to produce higher energy density, and at lower cost. Unsurprisingly, many major automobile manufacturers have announced plans for electrics to cater to both ends of the spectrum: marques like BMW and Volkswagen aiming at several affordable models with a moderate range per charge, and luxury cars from Daimler and Audi that run longer and appeal to keen buyers. Electromobility is also politically attractive. France, which floated a global tender at the 2015 Paris climate conference for a mass market car that costs under €7,000, announced recently that it will end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. India, which committed to reducing the intensity of carbon emissions under the climate agreement, could give electromobility a boost through its policy on EVs to be declared by December. Making electric two-wheelers and public transport buses attractive through tax incentives is certainly feasible, since these can be charged more easily and used for short trips within cities. The wider challenge today is to find the natural resources such as lithium, cobalt and nickel to make millions of batteries and recycle them later, besides putting up charging infrastructure across entire countries. The solutions are currently expensive. By contrast, the dilemma underscores the elegance of low-cost non-motorised options for cities, such as bicycles and walking.
