MARCH 2011 National Magazine of Farmers Voice

8/7/2019 MARCH 2011 National Magazine of Farmers Voice

1/36


2/36

The Union finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjeehas once again tried to confuse the public by his jugglery of wordsin his Budget 2011-12 speech intending toproject that the Government has doledout enough for the farmers and the rural poor. But the fact is the Budget isentirely oriented to boost the investment prospects in industry, infrastructure,capital market, services and housing sectors and has negligible positive impact foragriculture.Agriculture has routine allocations like Rs 7,860 crore for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana,Rs 400 crore for Green Revolution in the eastern region, Rs 300 crore each for productionof pulses, oil palm, peri-urban vegetables, coarse cereals, fodder and for the new NationalMission for protein Supplements. These allocations are meager to serve the interests of750million farmers in 600,000 villages in the country.However, a good thought has come to the Finance Minister. He has admitted that soil healthhas deteriorated due to excessive chemical agriculture and therefore the need to encourageorganic farming. The government's decision to deliver fertilizer subsidy directly to farmers isawelcome step. But the government has planned to deliver fertilizer subsidy only to farmersliving below the poverty line. Fertiliser subsidy should be given to all farmers and the quantumof subsidy should be determined as per the land holding. The amount should be deposited infarmers' bank accounts. All farmers need subsidy and there should not be any distinction asceiling on land holdings isimplemented throughout the country. Farmers should be free to use the,subsidy in the way he likes either for chemical farming or for organic farming. Ifthe governmentwishes to promote organic farming it should provide additional subsidy to cover the high cost oforganic certification.

For 2011-12 there has been a massive Rs 20000 crore cut in major subsidies on fuel, fertilizer andfood from what was spent in 2010-11 (Revised Estimate). The cut in food subsidy by Rs 27 croreexposes government's sincerity toward ensuring food security. Government should give dieselsubsidy directly to farmers. The reduction in fertilizer subsidy exposes the anti-farmer character ofthe government.Instead ofsetting ofsetting up ofMega Food Parks the government should assist unemployed youthsin rural areas to set up small agro- processing and value addition units, cold storage andwarehousing in rural areas The Budget has not given any attention to tribal farmers and those inhilly areas. The Budget has not given the needed attention to irrigation.

More than 50 million sugar-cane growers and farmers affected by natural calamities will not beable to get the benefit of government's 3% subvention oninterest for crop loans. Sugar-cane isa 11to 18 month crop and mills pay late to farmers and therefore farmers cannot repay bank loan in ayear. The government should allow at least two year's time for repayment of crop loans so thatfarmers can reap the benefit government's interest subvention scheme.As per the Statement of Revenue Foregone, total tax concessions were to the tune of over500,000 crore in 2010-11 with corporate tax exemptions amounting over Rs 88000 crore. Ifgovernment can dole out such huge benefits to corporate houses then why it is miserfarmers. Government's failure to provide adequate facility for primary healthcare andeducation at affordable rates in rural areas exposes the exposes government's apathy forthe poor.


3/36

Editor:Dr. Krishan Bir Chaudhary,President,Bharatiya Krishak Samaj,F-l/A, Pandav Nagar,Delhi-ll 0091

Advisory Board:S. P.Gulati, Sect. G.O.!., Retd.Lingraj B. PatilProf. Sanjay JadhavDr. R.B. ThakareD. Guruswamy, Adv.Rajesh Sharma "Bittoo"Pratap Singh, DIG Retd.Hatam Singh Nagar, Adv.K. SareenAjay SinghAjit Singh Adv.

Desiged by: Rahul SharmaAastha ChaudharyPrinted & Published by :Dr. Krishan Bir Chaudhary on behalf ofBharatiya Krishak Samaj.Printed at Everest Press, E-49/8, OkhlaIndustrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-20.Published at :F-lIA, PandavNagar, Delhi-l10091Mob.:9810331366, Telefax:01l-22751281,E-mail: [email protected]@gmail.comWebsite:- www.kisankiawaaz.orgThe views expressed by theauthors are their own. Theeditor does not acceptresponsibility for returningunsolicited publication material.Disputes arising if any will beunder Jurisdiction of DelhiCourtSingle copy Rs. 25/-, Annual Rs. 300/-

[ ~ _ V t _ O _ 1 . _ 2 _ N _ O _ . _ 3 M _ a _ r _ c h _ , _ 2 _ 0 _ 1 _ 1 JKISAN KI AWAAZNational Magazine of Farmers' Voice

CONTENTSIndian Billionaires and their growingHUNGER BY DESIGN* Dr. Vandana ShivaAn Empire of Lies: The CIA and the Western Media* Jonathan CookCaught In The Food Pirates' Trap* Devinder SharmaGM crop cultivation nosedives across EuropeMonsanto, Dow to begin pushing dangerous* Jonathan BensonBlack money, corruption blacken Indian democracy* Ashok B SharmaHow not to tackle the black economy in India* AmnKumarPesticides May Block Male Hormones* Marla ConePoor Countries Have Already Given Enough in Doha Round* Ravi Kanth Deverakonda1fnB'R~: 1fnfi~~~'lit* l I T o l { C f . o i T . 1 m ''State should stop trials on GM potato'* Amarjit ThindThe trnth behind India's nuclear renaissance* Praful BidwaiUSDA Approved Monsanto Alfalfa Despite Warnings* Mike LudwigBlame game stalls Doha talks* Martin Khor

New SubscriptionAnnual subscription charge ofRs 300/- for our monthly journal'KISANKI AWAAZ'may please be sent by chequelDraft, drawn infavour ofBHARATIYAKRlSHAK. SAMAJ,F-lIA, Pandav Nagar, Delhi-l10091.Complimentary CopySuggestions for improvement are invited

24

610131416192123

2527283031

1a r c h - 2 0 1 1 Kisan Ki Awaaz
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.kisankiawaaz.org/http://www.kisankiawaaz.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


4/36

Indian Billionaires and their growingexposures to massive scam stories

Indian Billionaire Heroes now thrown into colossal scam investigations:NEW DELHI: One of the most telling images fromthe frenzied media coverage of India's corruptionscandals in recent months was billionaire telecomstycoon Anil Ambani emerging from the CBIheadquarters after questioning. The reputation of thecountry's titans of industry has taken a beating over arash of graft cases, and with it has come the risk of abacklash over their murky links to politicians.Once seen as invincible, even heroes, bigbusinessmen were lauded for freeing India from thebureaucratic shackles of a planned economy into aglobalised world and they were often feted mBollywood as good guys battling corrupt officials.That is changing."The interrogation of Ambani would never havehappened five or 10 years ago," said SiddharthVaradarajan, strategic affairs editor at the Hindunewspaper, who has written on the scandals. "Societyat large had grown to admire these people. People arenow associating business with corruption as never inthe past." The scandals, which include the alleged saleof some telecoms licenses for kickbacks, come aftertwo decades of reform that opened up the economyand spawned dramatic corporate growth. In a countrywhere more than 450 million people live in poverty,around 50 billionaires account for 20 percent ofIndia's GDP and 80 percent of stock marketcapitalisation, according to a 2009 AsianDevelopment Bank report, which warned that anexcessive concentration of power could hindergrowth and reforms.In 2010, there were six Indian industrialists onForbes.com's list of the world's top 50 billionaires.The risks now for companies are greater judicial andmedia scrutiny and stricter enforcement ofregulations: the upside for foreign investors may begreater transparency. "What industrialist has gone tojail in the last 10 years? Until now the bigindustrialists, and politicians, the bad ones, could getaway with what they wanted," said billionaire Rahul

Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto and an Indianlawmaker. "In terms of corruption ... this will continuefor many years but we have reached the bottom of thepit," Bajaj told Reuters. "I am not saying they aresaints but willy nilly they are being forced to put theirhouse in order." Ambani, owner of No.2 mobilecarrier Reliance Communications, denieswrongdoing inthe telecoms case.Ambani's grilling was part of a growing probe inwhich one telecoms executive was arrested andothers, including billionaire Prashant Ruia, chiefexecutive of the Essar Group business house, werequestioned. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hisgovernment have come under unprecedented attackand his former telecoms minister A Raja has beenarrested. One of the clearest signals of change cameearlier this month when, in an unprecedentedstatement, the Supreme Court told the Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI): "We have a large number ofpeople who think themselves to be above the law. Youmust catch all of them. Merely because a person is inthe Forbes list ofmillionaires and billionaires does notmatter."A REPUTATION TAINTED?Indian entrepreneurs are widely respected forinnovation and business acumen. The rise of aglobalised, corporate India with the likes of softwareleader Infosys have helped spur growth rates to neardouble digits over the last few years. Most companiesare not tainted by corruption, and Indian executiveshave long enjoyed the image of being more innovativethan the bureaucrats-cum-businessmen in rival China.But the recent scandals have exposed the nexusbetween the corporate world and politics, where it isnot uncommon for lawmakers to have theircredentials on one side of their cards, and theirbusiness details on the flip side.Ambani was elected as a member of parliament in2004, with backing from the leftist Samajwadi Party.He quit in 2006 in a controversy over MPs holding

2 March - 2011isan Ki Awaaz


5/36

profit-making positions, citing the need to upholdpropriety in public life. Other wealthy businessmenare also lawmakers, including liquor and airline baronVijay Mallya and Naveen Jindal, managing directorof Jindal Steel and Power.Asia's third-largest economy is dominated bybillionaire owners with a concentrated wealth akin tothat of Russia's oligarchs. So many billionaires wereusing Delhi airports with their private jets to visitgovernment ministers for business that airportauthorities have clamped down on their operations,infuriating executives.But a Who's Who of corporate India has now beenmired in controversy in the past year. Even the icon ofIndia Inc, Ratan Tata, went to court to stop the releaseof leaked taped conversations of lobbyist Nira Radiaand top industrialists, politicians and journalists, withtalk of swinging deals, granting favours and ministerstaking bribes. The tapes published in local mediashowed Radia, whose lobby company represents Tataand MukeshAmbani, speaking to politicians to ensureAndimuthu Raja was appointed telecoms minister.Raj a isnow under arrest over the graft case.The founder of Satyam Computer was arrested in anaccounting fraud -- software services had previouslybeen seen as one ofIndia's cleanest sectors -- and thehead of India's $4 billion cricket premier league wasfired over alleged irregularities. "The image of thesocially responsible businessman, the untainted hero,has taken a beating," said V. Ravichandar, head ofFeedback Consulting in Bangalore, which advisesmultinationals.BACKLASH?All this may point to a regulatory response that coulddamage India's attractiveness to foreign investors.There are signs a growing urban, middle class -- withan increasingly important political weight -- is losingthe respect it once had for these tycoons, a sentimentthat would feed into the ruling Congress Party's leftistroots."The old order is changing fast and I don't think thepoliticians realise it, especially the government," saida veteran executive from one of India's topcompanies, who declined to be named for fear it could

hurt his company. "The scary thing is that people aretaking out their frustrations on us in the industry.Before we were respected, now we're in the firingline."One businessman said he knew executives linked tograft cases who, worried about the public hurlinginsults at them, had stopped dining out in Mumbai.Recently, thousands of youths took to the streetsacross the country in spontaneous protests againstcorruption, something unheard of a few years ago.Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh typifies thenew intolerance emerging in India. He has blockedhuge industrial projects over environment concerns,including U.K.-based Vedanta Resources' plans toexpand its alumina refinery."Many companies have navigated the system verycreatively in the past," Ramesh told media. "Therehave been numerous instances of large companieswho have circumvented the laws." The question ishow far CBI probes will go into a world so closelylinked to the political establishment, and whether thatestablishment will apply pressure. The CBI has beencriticised as politically influenced, and fewindustrialists are put in jail. A new actor has alsoappeared. The Supreme Court, under a new chiefjustice, has pushed the probes, overseeing the CBIinvestigations and directly targeting the business elite.Many companies fear the investigations, spurred onby public pressure and 24-hour media coverage, couldlead to a witch hunt. "There is media and publicpressure to go after anybody," said Bajaj.Some believe business will soon hit back. PrimeMinister Singh has already criticised media coverage,saying India's self-confidence was being damaged."One expects them to play the card that it will affectIndia's image and investment," said Ravichandar.Though the scandals are traumatic, some say India isgoing through a cleansing to make it a betterinvestment destination. "That transparency will begood for foreign investors," said Ravichandar. "It willgive confidence that India is increasingly open andthat interests may be protected by the judiciary."(Additional reporting by Henry Foy and Paul deBendern in Delhi and Jui Chakravorty inMumbai; editing by Paul de Bendern and JohnChalmers)

March - 2011 3isan Ki Awaaz


6/36

HUNGER BYDESIGN* Dr. Vandana ShivaWhy is every 4th Indian hungry? Why isevery 3rd woman in India anemic andmalnourished? Why is every second childunderweight, stunted and wasted? Why has thehunger and malnutrition crisis deepened even as Indiahas 9% growth? Why is "Shining India" a starvingIndia?

In my view, hunger is a structural part of the design ofthe industrialized, globalised food system. Hunger isan intrinsic part of the design of capital intensive,chemical intensive mono cultures of industrialagriculture, also called the Green Revolution.The Green Revolution was neither green, norrevolutionary. It merely created a market forcorporations by transforming war chemical intoagrichemicals and breeding crops to respond to highchemical inputs.It increased production of a few commodities riceand wheat, at the cost of production of pulses,oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, and other cereals likemillets which we inNavdanya call "forgotten foods".It focused on one region, Punjab, and pushed theagriculture of other regions into neglect.This is a design for scarcity. Industrial mono culturesproduce less food and nutrition per acre thanbiodiverse ecological farms that we promote inNavdanya.Hunger is also designed into a non-sustainableproduction system inwhich costs of inputs are higherthan the price of outputs. The farmers gets trappedinto a negative economy with debt and suicides as aninevitable consequence. The 200,000 farm suicidessince 1997 are part of the genocidal design ofcorporate driven high cost agriculture.There is now much talk of the second GreenRevolution in India and a Green Revolution inAfrica.The second Green Revolution is based on geneticengineering which is being introduced intoagriculture largely to allow corporations to claim

intellectual property rights and patents on seeds. Theflood gate of patenting seeds was opened through theTrade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)agreement of WTO written by corporations likeMonsanto.When seed is transformed from a source of life into"intellectual property" which becomes a source ofsuper profits through royalty collections, biodiversityand small farmers both disappear. We have seen thishappen with Bt. Cotton.The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) of the WTOwas drafted by Cargill. It was designed to allowCargill and other agribusiness corporations to haveaccess to world markets. This was done by forcingcountries to remove import restrictions (QuantitativeRestrictions) and using $400 billion to subsidize anddump artificially cheap food commodities on theThird World.The case of dumping of soya and destruction ofIndia'sdomestic edible oil production and distribution is anexample of how the global reach of MNC's createshunger by destroying local livelihoods and drivingdown farm prices. Indian farmers are losing $ 25billion every year to falling prices.While farm prices fall, food prices continue to risecrating a double burden of hunger for ruralcommunities. This iswhy half of the hungry people inIndia and the world are farmers.Globalised forced trade in food, falsely called freetrade, has aggravated the hunger crisis byundermining food sovereignty and food democracy.With the deadlock in the Doha round ofWTO, forcedtrade is being driven by bilateral agreements such asthe U.S. India Knowledge Initiative inAgriculture onthe board of which sit corporations like Monsanto,Cargill/ ADM and Walmart.Sadly, the Prime Minister is trying to use the foodcrisis his trade liberalization policies have created tohand over India's seed supply to Monsanto, food



7/36

supply to Cargill and other corporations and retail toWalmart, in line with the U.S India Agreement onAgriculture, he signed with President Bush in 2005.Speaking at a conference on the crisis and foodinflation on 4th February, 2011, he said India needs to"shore up farm supply claims by bringing in organisedretail players (read Walmart) (Business Line,February 5, 2011). Recent research shows thatglobalised, industrialized retail is destroying farmerslivelihoods, destroying livelihoods in small retail andis leading to wastage of 50% food. This too is hungerby design.Both the U.S Government and the Indian Governmentare supporting U.S agribusiness corporations toexpand markets and profits, The common citizen ispolitically orphaned in a world shaped by corporaterule. Farmers rights and people's right to food areextinguished as corporate rights to limitless profitsdesign "The Market". Instead of the right to foodbeing sacred "The Market" becomes sacred.It cannot be touched. When the Supreme Court ofIndia told the Government to distribute the food grainthat was rotting in the godown's, the Prime Ministersaid he could not do it because it will distort "TheMarket". When the National Advisory Committee(NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi drafted a FoodSecurity Act, the Prime Minister appointedRangarajan Committee said that itwould distort "TheMarket". In other words, corporate rights to profitthrough creation of hunger must be protected even aspeople die.For corporations, food is a commodity, profits are themotive. A deregulated market is allowing prices to bedriven by speculation.Corporations make their profits at the cost of farmers.That is why small farmers are always driven out ofagriculture when agribusiness takes over.Corporate driven agriculture has created both theagrarian crisis and the food crisis, with deepeninghunger and anuncontrollable rise in food prices.While corporate greed has led to the food crisis,corporate takeover of seed, food and land is beingoffered as a solution.

The Government has already allowed 20 millionhectares of fertile farmland to go out of foodproduction. New farm land is being given toagribusiness. Planning Commission Vice ChairmanMontek Singh Ahluwalia invited Gulf countries tofarm in India and export food to their countries duringa visit toMuscat (Outlook, 31stJanuary, 2011).A Bahrain firm, the Nader and Ebrahim Group (NEG)recently tied up with Pune based Sanghar group togrow bananas on 400 acres. So far 2.6 million kilos ofbananas have been exported.Indian Laws do not allow foreigners to buy land. ThePlanning Commission Chief is encouraging foreigncorporations to subvert India's land sovereignty byasking them to have partnerships with Indiancompanies and encouraging contract farming.Diverting land from food for local communities tocash crops for the rich in U.S, Europe and the Gulfcountries isnot a solution for hunger; itwill aggravatethe food crisis. This is not investment in agriculture; itis land grab and food grab. To get rid of hunger weneed a paradigm shift in the design of our foodsystems.We need to shift from mono cultures to diversity, fromchemical intensive to ecological, biodiversityintensive, from capital intensive to low cost farmingsystems.We need to shift from centralized, globalised foodsupply controlled by a handful of corporations todecentralized, localized food systems that are resilientin the context of climate vulnerability and pricevolatility. And as our work in Navdanya shows, suchlow cost, decentralized biodiversity rich small farmercentered systems could feed twice India's population.Biodiversity organic farming, if adopted nationally,could provide enough calories for 2.4 billion, enoughprotein for 2.5 billion, enough carotene for 1.5 billion,and enough folic acid for 1.7 billion pregnant women.There is no place for hunger in a sustainable, just anddemocratic society. We must end it by building fooddemocracy, by reclaiming our seed sovereignty, foodsovereignty and land sovereignty.



8/36

An Empire of Lies: The CIA and the Western Media* Jonathan Cook

Feb 28, 20ll-The Guardian, Britain's main liberalnewspaper, ran an exclusive report on the belatedconfessions of an Iraqi exile, Rafeed al-Janabi,codenamed "Curveball" by the CIA. Eight years ago,Janabi played a key behind-the-scenes role -- if aninadvertent one -- inmaking possible the US invasionofIraq.His testimony bolstered claims by the Bushadministration that Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein,had developed an advanced programme producingweapons ofmass destruction.Curve ball's account included the details of mobilebiological weapons trucks presented by Colin Powell,the US Secretary of State, to the United Nations inearly 2003. Powell's apparently compelling case onWMD was used to justify the US attack on Iraq a fewweeks later.Eight years on, Curve ball revealed to the Guardianthat he had fabricated the story of Saddam's WMDback in 2000, shortly after his arrival in Germanyseeking asylum. He told the paper he had lied toGerman intelligence in the hope his testimony mighthelp topple Saddam, though it seems more likely hesimply wanted to ensure his asylum case was takenmore seriously.For the careful reader -- and I stress the word careful--several disturbing facts emerged from the report.One was that the German authorities had quicklyproven his account of Iraq's WMD to be false. BothGerman and British intelligence had travelled toDubai to meet Bassil Latif, his former boss at Iraq'sMilitary Industries Commission.Dr Latif had proven that Curveball's claims could notbe true. The German authorities quickly lost interestin Janabi and he was not interviewed again until late2002, when it became more pressing for the US tomake a convincing case for an attack on Iraq.Another interesting disclosure was that, despite the

vital need to get straight all the facts about Curveball'stestimony -- given the stakes involved in launching apre-emptive strike against another sovereign state -the Americans never bothered to interview Curveballthemselves.A third revelation was that the CIA's head ofoperations in Europe, Tyler Drumheller, passed onwarnings from German intelligence that theyconsidered Curveball's testimony to be highlydubious. The head of the CIA, George Tenet, simplyignored the advice.With Curveball's admission in mind, as well as theseother facts from the story, we can draw some obviousconclusions -- conclusions confirmed by subsequentdevelopments.Lacking both grounds in international law and thebacking of major allies, the Bush administrationdesperately needed Janabi's story about WMD,however discredited itwas, tojustify its military plansforIraq.The White House did not interview Curveball becausethey knew his account of Saddam's WMD programmewas made up. His story would unravel under scrutiny;better to leave Washington with the option of"plausible deniability".Nonetheless, Janabi's falsified account was vitallyuseful: for much of the American public, it added aveneer of credibility to the implausible case thatSaddam was a danger to the world; it helped fortifywavering allies facing their own doubting publics; andit brought on board Colin Powell, a former generalseen as the main voice ofreason inthe administration.In other words, Bush's White House used Curve ball tobreathe life into its mythological story about Saddam'sthreat toworld peace.So how did the Guardian, a bastion of liberaljournalism, present its exclusive on the mostcontroversial episode in recent American foreign



9/36

policy? Here is its headline: "How US was duped byIraqi fantasist looking to topple Saddam".Did the headline-writer misunderstand the story aswritten by the paper's reporters? No, the headlineneatly encapsulated its message. In the text, we aretold Powell's presentation to the UN "revealed that theBush administration's hawkish decisionmakers hadswallowed" Curveball's account.At another point, we are told Janabi "pulled off one ofthe greatest confidence tricks in the history ofmodemintelligence". And that: "His critics -- who are manyand powerful -- say the cost of his deception is toodifficult to estimate."In other words, the Guardian assumed, despite all theevidence uncovered in its own research, thatCurveball misled the Bush administration intomaking a disastrous miscalculation.On this view, the White House was the real victim ofCurveball's lies, not the Iraqi people -- more than amillion of whom are dead as a result of the invasion,according to the best available figures, and fourmillion ofwhom have been forced into exile.There is nothing exceptional about this example. Ichose it because it relates to an event of continuingandmomentous significance.Unfortunately, there is something depressinglyfamiliar about this kind of reporting, even in theWest's main liberal publications. Contrary to itsavowed aim, mainstream journalism invariablydiminishes the impact of new events when theythreaten powerful elites.We will examine why in a minute. But first let usconsider what, or who, constitutes "empire" today?Certainly, in its most symbolic form, it can beidentified as the US government and its army,comprising the world's sole superpower.Traditionally, empires have been defined narrowly, interms of a strong nation-state that successfullyexpands its sphere of influence and power to otherterritories.Empire's aim is to make those territories dependent,

and then either exploit their resources in the case ofpoorly developed countries, or, with more developedcountries, tum them into new markets for its surplusgoods.It is in this latter sense that the American empire hasoften been able to claim that it is a force for globalgood, helping to spread freedom and the benefits ofconsumer culture.Empire achieves its aims in different ways: throughforce, such as conquest, when dealing withpopulations resistant to the theft of their resources;and more subtly through political and economicinterference, persuasion and mind-control when itwants to create new markets. However it works, theaim is to create a sense in the dependent territories thattheir interests and fates are bound to those of empire.In our globalised world, the question of who is at thecentre of empire is much less clear than it once was.The US government is today less the heart of empirethan its enabler.What were until recently the arms of empire,especially the financial and military industries, havebecome a transnational imperial elite whose interestsare not bound by borders and whose powers largelyevade legislative and moral controls.Israel's leadership, we should note, as well its elitesupporters around the world -- including the Zionistlobbies, the arms manufacturers and Westernmilitaries, and to a degree even the crumbling Arabtyrannies of the Middle East -- are an integral elementin that transnational elite.The imperial elites' success depends to a large extenton a shared belief among the western public both that"we" need them to secure our livelihoods and securityand that at the same time we are really their masters.Some of the necessary illusions perpetuated by thetransnational elites include:-- That we elect governments whose job is to restrainthe corporations;-- That we, in particular, and the global workforce ingeneral are the chiefbeneficiaries of the corporations'wealth creation;-- That the corporations and the ideology that



10/36

underpins them, global capitalism, are the only hopefor freedom;-- That consumption is not only an expression of ourfreedom but also amajor source of our happiness;-- That economic growth can be maintainedindefinitely and at no long-term cost to the health ofthe planet;-- And that there are groups, called terrorists, whowant to destroy this benevolent system of wealthcreation and personal improvement.These assumptions, however fanciful they mayappear when subjected to scrutiny, are the ideologicalbedrock onwhich the narratives of our societies in theWest are constructed and from which ultimately oursense of identity derives. This ideological systemappears to us -- and I am using "we" and "us" to refertowestern publics only --to describe the natural order.The job of sanctifying these assumptions -- andensuring they are not scrutinised -- falls to ourmainstream media. Western corporations own themedia, and their advertising makes the industryprofitable. In this sense, the media cannot fulfil thefunction of watchdog of power, because in fact it ispower.It is the power of the globalised elite to control andlimit the ideological and imaginative horizons of themedia's readers and viewers. Itdoes so to ensure thatimperial interests, which are synonymous with thoseofthe corporations, are not threatened.The Curveball story neatly illustrates the media's role.His confession has come too late -- eight years toolate, to be precise -- to have any impact on the eventsthat matter. As happens so often with important storiesthat challenge elite interests, the facts vitally neededto allow western publics to reach informedconclusions were not available when they wereneeded. In this case, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld aregone, as are their neoconservative advisers.Curveball's story is now chiefly of interest tohistorians.That last point is quite literally true. The Guardian'srevelations were of almost no concern to the USmedia, the supposed watchdog at the heart of the USempire. A search of the Lexis Nexis media database

shows that Curveball's admissions featured only in theNew York Times, in a brief report on page 7, as well asin a news round-up in the Washington Times. Thedozens of other major US newspapers, including theWashington Post, made nomention of itat all.Instead, the main audience for the story outside theUK was the readers of India's Hindu newspaper andthe Khaleej Times.But even the Guardian, often regarded as fearless intaking on powerful interests, packaged its report insuch a way as to deprive Curveball's confession of itstrue value. The facts were bled of their realsignificance.The presentation ensured that only the most awarereaders would have understood that the US had notbeen duped by Curve ball, but rather that the WhiteHouse had exploited a "fantasist" -- or desperate exilefrom a brutal regime, depending on how one looks at it-- for its own illegal and immoral ends.Why did the Guardian miss the main point in its ownexclusive? The reason is that all our mainstreammedia, however liberal, take as their starting point theidea both that the West's political culture is inherentlybenevolent and that it is morally superior to allexisting, or conceivable, alternative systems.In reporting and commentary, this is demonstratedmost clearly in the idea that "our" leaders always act ingood faith, whereas "their" leaders -- those opposed toempire or its interests -- are driven by base or evilmotives.It is in this way that official enemies, such as SaddamHussein or Slobodan Milosevic, can be singled out aspersonifying the crazed or evil dictator -- while otherequally rogue regimes such as Saudi Arabia's aredescribed as "moderate" -- opening the way for theircountries to become targets of our own imperialstrategies.States selected for the "embrace" of empire are leftwith a stark choice: accept our terms of surrender andbecome an ally; or defy empire and face our wrath.When the corporate elites trample on other peoplesand states to advance their own selfish interests, such



11/36

as in the invasion of Iraq to control its resources, ourdominant media cannot allow its reporting to framethe events honestly. The continuing assumption inliberal commentary about the US attack on Iraq, forexample, is that, once no WMD were found, the Bushadministration remained to pursue a misguided effortto root out the terrorists, restore law and order, andspread democracy.For the western media, our leaders make mistakes,they are naive or even stupid, but they are never bad orevil. Our media do not call for Bush or Blair to be triedat the Hague aswar criminals.This, of course, does not mean that the western mediais Pravda, the propaganda mouthpiece of the oldSoviet empire. There are differences. Dissent ispossible, though it must remain within the relativelynarrow confines of "reasonable" debate, a spectrumof possible thought that accepts unreservedly thepresumption that we are better, more moral, thanthem.Similarly, journalists are rarely told -- at least, notdirectly -- what to write. The media have developedcareful selection processes and hierarchies amongtheir editorial staff -- termed "filters" by media criticsEd Herman and Noam Chomsky -- to ensure thatdissenting or truly independent journalists do notreach positions of real influence.There is, in other words, no simple party line. Thereare competing elites and corporations, and theirvoices are reflected in the narrow range of what weterm commentary and opinion. Rather than beingdictated to by party officials, as happened under theSoviet system, our journalists scramble for access, tobe admitted into the ante-chambers of power. Theseprivileges make careers but they come at a huge costto the reporters' independence.Nonetheless, the range of what is permissible isslowly expanding -- over the opposition of the elitesand our mainstream TV and press. The reason is to befound in the new media, which is gradually erodingthe monopoly long enjoyed by the corporate media tocontrol the spread of information and popular ideas.Wikileaks is so far the most obvious, and impressive,outcome ofthat trend.

The consequences are already tangible across theMiddle East, which has suffered disproportionatelyunder the oppressive rule of empire. The upheavals asArab publics struggle to shake off their tyrants are alsostripping bare some of the illusions the western mediahave peddled to us. Empire, we have been told, wantsdemocracy and freedom around the globe. And yet it iscaught mute and impassive as the henchmen of empireunleash US-made weapons against their peoples whoare demanding western-style freedoms.An important question is: how will our media respondto this exposure, not just of our politicians' hypocrisybut also oftheir own? They are already trying to co-optthe new media, including Wikileaks, but without realsuccess. They are also starting to allow a wider rangeof debate, though still heavily constrained, than hadbeen possible before.The West's version of glasnost is particularly obviousin the coverage of the problem closest to our heartshere in Palestine. What Israel terms a delegitimisationcampaign is really the opening up -- slightly -- of themedia landscape, to allow a little light where untilrecently darkness reigned.This is an opportunity and one that we must nurture.We must demand of the corporate media morehonesty; we must shame them by being better-informed than the hacks who recycle official pressreleases and clamour for access; and we must desertthem, as is already happening, for better sources ofinformation. We have a window. And we must force itopen before the elites of empire try to slam it shut.This is the text of a talk entitled "Media as a Tool ofEmpire" delivered to Sabeel, the EcumenicalLiberation Theology Centre, at its eighth internationalconference inBethlehem on Friday February 25.

Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based inNazareth, Israel. His latest books are "Israel and theClash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan toRemake the Middle East" (Pluto Press) and"Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments inHuman Despair" (Zed Books). His website iswww.jkcook.net.www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23432

http://www.jkcook.net./http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&ahttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&ahttp://www.jkcook.net./


12/36

Caught In The Food Pirates' Trap* Devinder Sharma

Ground Reality- Egypt paid the price, so will we if we ignoreThe Mahatma's prescription: production by the masses, not for the massesThe unexpected has happened. Rising foodprices and high unemployment have triggeredan unprecedented uprising in the Arab world.The fire that began from Tunisia had quickly spreadacross the desert sands. Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Sudanand Algeria were faced with a political turmoil.(Egypt has already got rid of its autocrat of 30 yearsHosni Mubarak.)Unlike the 2008 global food crisis, when 37 countriesfaced food riots, ousting the Haiti president in theprocess, spiralling fuel and food prices, especiallysince September 2010, have been more piercing thistime resulting in a strong political tsunami.Itall began when Russia, faced with extended droughtand widespread wildfires, brought in an export ban tillthe next year's wheat harvest, thereby propellingglobal prices to an unreasonable hike.Deadly food riots were witnessed in September inMozambique, killing at least seven people. Accordingto news reports, anger was then building up inPakistan, Egypt and Serbia over rising prices. In thefirst week of January, Algeria faced food riots. A fewdays later, Tunisia sounded the first bugle, ousting itspresident, and Egypt followed.As early as in September, Financial Times hadreported that wheat futures had taken advantage, andthat wheat prices internationally had gone up by 70percent since January 201O.This happened at a time when there was neithershortfall in production nor any appreciable rise indemand. Egypt, which imports nearly 50percent of itsfood requirement, was hit badly when Russia decidedto ban wheat exports.Many believe that the Switzerland-based food majorGlencore actually forced the Russian government,which had enough wheat reserves, to impose a ban on

exports thereby sparking a killing in the futuresmarket.The social and political unrest that has swept the Arabhinterland is a pointer to a grave crisis ahead.Although Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) agrees that therising food and fuel prices in recent months are themajor factors behind the massive anti-governmentprotests, he suggests more of the same prescription:"As tensions between countries increase, we could seerising protectionism oftrade and of finance."Not drawing any lesson from the debacle of thedominant economic model of growth, businessleaders from 17 private companies announced at theWorld Economic Forum at Davos in the last week ofJanuary the launch ofa global initiative --New Visionfor Agriculture -- that sets ambitious targets forincreasing food production by 20 percent, decreasinggreenhouse gas emissions per ton by 20 percent, andreducing rural poverty by 20 percent every decade.

The 17 agribusiness giants include Archer DanielsMidland, BASF, Bunge Ltd, Cargill, Coca-Cola,DuPont, General Mills, Kraft Foods, Metro AG,Monsanto, Nestle, PepsiCo, SABMiller, Syngenta,Unilever, Wal-Mart andYaraInternational.All such initiatives are, of course, backed by theUSAID, the main driving force for promoting anindustrial takeover of global agriculture. "We arewitnessing an unparalleled opportunity right now forinnovative, large-scale private sector partnerships toachieve significant impact on global hunger andnutrition," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said atDavos."USAID is committed to creating new public-privatepartnerships in Feed the Future focus countries toadvance their national investment plans."Well, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Every global



13/36

crrsis provides an opportunity for business.Multinational giants are quick to grab it. In the days tocome, I am sure political leadership across the world,with USAID backing, will welcome the initiative notrealising that it isthe industrial farming model that hascreated the global food crisis in first instance -- soilhealth devastated, excessive mining of groundwaterhas dried aquifers and chemical pesticides havecontaminated the food chain.Green Revolution has already run out of steam,leaving behind a trail of misery and terrible humansuffering. Over the years, an unjust world trade haspushed farmers out of agriculture. In the past 30 yearsor so, including the years of World TradeOrganization, 105 of the 149 third world countrieshave already become completely dependent on foodimports.With food prices manipulated through commoditytrading and the entire food chain gradually slippinginto the hands of a handful of agribusiness giants, theNorth will soon emerge as the world's bread basket.The South isbeing reduced to a begging bowl.How is this related to Indian agriculture? Well, let mebegin by the latest pronouncements first. EconomistRaghuram Raj an, a professor of finance at theChicago Booth School of Business, and an honoraryeconomic advisor to the prime minister, said the otherday: "Thinking that India will remain a country wheremore than 60 percent of people will remain inagriculture isjust a pipe dream.The people dependent on agriculture should bebrought down to five percent over years." This is intune with what prime minister Manmohan Singh hasbeen asking for a number of years now. At least 70percent of farmers need to be moved out ofagriculture.Read this in consonance with what planningcommission depty chairman Montek SinghAhluwalia says. He has invited Omani firms to farm inIndia for producing crops that can be exported. At atime when food prices have hit the roof, any measureto limit domestic production should raise concerns.Undeterred, a few weeks ago, Ahluwalia also went astep ahead. He supported the FICCI and cn demand

for doing away with APMC laws for horticulturalcrops. In other words, with fruits, vegetables andgrains (wheat and rice were already taken off theAPMC Act through an amendment in 2005) no longerrequired to be brought to mandis, the procurementsystem is all set for a breakdown.It doesn't stop here. Not only the planningcommission, economists, scientists and bureaucratsare now clamouring for free markets commodityexchange, future trading and food retail as the way totum farming economically viable.Coupled with land rental policies that have promoteda surge in land acquisitions, setting up of specialeconomic zones, and by encouraging contract farmingand commodity trading, India is now getting ready tohand over agriculture to private companies.Farmers have therefore become a burden on thesociety, and the government is in a raging hurry tooffload the burden. This is being facilitated bytailoring domestic laws on seeds, fertilisers,pesticides, mandis, biodiversity, biotechnology, waterand land acquisition to the needs ofthe industry. Let usbe very clear: second Green Revolution has no placefor farmers.What isworrying is that instead of drawing any lessonfrom the debacle of the first Green Revolution, thegovernment is on a fast track to usher in the secondGreen Revolution, which will only compound theexisting agrarian crisis.This is being backed by an Indo-US Initiative inAgriculture Research, Education and Marketing(KIA), an agreement signed with the Bushadministration in 2005, and which is expected to berenewed with ObamaAdministration.India is committed to privatisation of agriculture andvertical integration of farming to promote "farm-to-fork" model, wherein farmers are not required.This reminds me of what the World Bank hadforewarned way back in 1996. By the end of2020, theBank's estimate was that 40 crore people close todouble the combined population of UK, France andGermany would be migrating from the rural to theurban areas in India alone.



14/36

Prime minister Manmohan Singh has already laid theground rules for a population shift. The biggestenvironmental displacement the world will witnesswill therefore be in agriculture.Ironically, it isbarely 44 years after Mrs Indira Gandhilaunched Wheat Revolution (which later was re-christened as Green Revolution) that pulled India outof the hunger trap that the country is getting ready toreturn to the days of ,ship-to-mouth' existence whenfood came directly from the ships into the hungrymouths.A high growth trajectory and rising incomes do notprovide any security from social unrest. Let us notforget Egypt attained 5.6 percent rate of growth in2010 and has average income levels of$5,000 and yetfaced political turmoil when food prices went out ofreach.For any country, whether rich or poor, food self-sufficiency remains the hallmark of nationalsovereignty. Mahatma Gandhi had rightly said thatwhat we need is a production system by the massesand not for the masses.I thought Manmohan Singh would heed the warningthat was sounded by Jawaharlal Nehru just five yearsafter India became a republic. In his August 15address to the nation, Nehru had said: "It is veryhumiliating for any country to import food. Soeverything else can wait, but not agriculture."With limited option of absorbing the displaced ruralpopulation, the socio-economic and even the politicalfallout from the deliberate destruction of the farmingbase, is too difficult to fathom. It defies all plausibleraesons to find India dismantling the strongfoundations of self-sufficiency and resulting foodsecurity.Simultaneous to major economies, including India,removing all the protectionist measures to allow freetrade in agriculture, rich countries have alreadymoved in to grab fertile land in the developing world.These 'food pirates' come with bag full of foreigndirect investment and are moving swiftly where landis available, investing in crops that can be shippedback home. Already an area which exceeds the size ofFrance has either been leased out or out-rightly

purchased. Much of this is in Africa, Latin AmericaandAsia.We are, therefore, entering a phase when even if youhave money food will not be available in theinternational markets. This is primarily the reasonwhy companies from rich countries have invested indeveloping countries to meet the domesticrequirement back home.Add to it the fact that food is now being branded as ahot commodity, the futures market will continue toexploit. Unregulated commodity trading has alreadymultiplied from a mere $0.77 trillion in 2002 to over$7 trillion in 2007.While people die from hunger or storm into the citiesexpressing anger against the political leadership (notknowing that the real culprit is the Wall Street), theinvestment banks and hedge funds quietly make akilling from speculation.With the G-20, IMF/World Bank turning a blind eye tocurb food speculation, Hosni Mubarak may not be thelast political head to roll. If only Egypt had invested inattaining food self-sufficiency, history probablywouldn't have witnessed the march of the million.

Greener th e ideas,secure th e CE arth is .....

~ht up th e [am po f awareness .

" A astha Chaudhar~ "



15/36

GM crop cultivation nosedives across EuropeCracks Widen In Biotech Industry Myths - Friends of The Earth Europe

Feb,22 2011 - Brussels, Montevideo, Benin City, Onthe day of the release of annual industry-sponsoredfigures, a new report from Friends of the EarthInternational reveals that the cultivation ofgenetically modified (GM) crops across Europecontinues to decline with an increasing number ofnational bans, and decreasing numbers of hectaresdedicated to GMOs .The report, 'Who Benefits from GM Crops?', revealsthat less than 0.06% of European fields are plantedwith GM crops a decline of 23% since 2008. Sevenmember states uphold bans on Monsanto's GM maizedue to growing evidence of its negativeenvironmental impacts.Three countries have banned BASFs GM potato dueto health concerns, immediately after its authorisationin spring 2010, and for the first time five memberstates have sued the European Commission over theauthorisation of a GM crop. Public opposition to GMfood and feed has increased to 61%Europe wide.Mute Schimpf, food campaigner for Friends of theEarth Europe said:"The widespread opposition to genetically modifiedcrops and foods in Europe continues to rise becauseconsumers and farmers can see that they offer noadded value and only additional environmental andhealth risks. GM crops will hinder not help ourchallenge of ensuring we can feed our globalpopulation with safe and healthy food."Globally, the research highlights how even pro-GMGovernments in South America have been forced totake steps to mitigate the negative impacts of GMOson famers, citizens and the environment.The Brazilian Government has launched a GMO freesoy programme to help farmers' access non-GMO soyseeds.In Argentina new research has exposed how theherbicide Glyphosate, used on the majority ofGMOs

grown worldwide, could have severe negativeimpacts on human health . This has led to bans onspraying ofthe herbicide near people's homes.In Uruguay, local areas are declaring themselves GM-free.Martin Drago, food sovereignty coordinator forFriends of the Earth International said:"Farmers and citizens in South America are bearingthe burden of ten years of GM crops with widespreadhealth disasters and rising costs. The myths on whichthe biotech industry is built are crumbling. The havocwreaked across South America shows that thistechnology is not fit for purpose. It is a wake up callfor the rest of the world to move towards moreecological methods of farming."'Who Benefits from GM crops? An industry builton myths' also finds that:-A new generation of GM crops designed to promotethe use of hazardous pesticides Dicamba and 2,4 Dareset for release in the US. Biotech companies arepromoting these as a solution to the failure of existingGM crops to control weeds and reduce pesticide use.- Biotech companies, aided by the US Government arenow looking to new markets in Africa in an attempt torescue their business.The Gates foundation, which funds billions of dollarsworth of agriculture projects in Africa has boughtshares in Monsanto, giving it a direct interest inmaximising the profits of GM companies rather thanprotecting the interests of small holders inAfrica.

Http://www.gmwatch.eu/latest-listing/l-news-items/12 91 O-gm -crop-cultiva tion -nosedives-across-europe-new- reportMarch - 2011 13isan Ki Awaaz


16/36

Monsanto, Dow to begin pushing dangerous2,4-D herbicide as 'solution' to superweeds

* Jonathan BensonFeb, 18,2011 - It is something that many farmers ofgenetically-modified (OM) crops are already trying todo and failing to succeed in, but that the chemicalcompanies responsible for the problem may soon bepushing as an alleged "solution."The Dow Chemical Company has sponsored a studythat aims to position the 2,4-D herbicide, a popularcommercial herbicide, as the solution to Roundup-resistant "superweeds."But 2,4-D-resistant "superweeds" have already begunemerging as well, which suggests that increasedchemical interventions of any kind will only make thesuperweed problem worse, not better.Year after year, OM crop farmers have to battlemutant superweeds that continue to grow stronger andmore resistant to the toxic pesticides and herbicidesused inOM crop cultivation.But the practice is polluting the environment,contaminating the food supply, and spurring therampant growth of harmful superweeds.Rather than admit they are responsible for theproblem, agri-giants like Dow and Monsanto say thatusing different pesticides and herbicides will helpsolve the problem.But such a suggestion could not be further from thetruth. Treating plants with increasingly higher levelsand more potent concoctions of toxic chemicals is arecipe for disaster, and one that will only make thesuperweed problem worse.Dow, of course, found in its own study that using 2,4-D is a successful intervention to help prevent thegrowth of superweeds, But a review by the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service,which tends to be conservative in its estimation of theenvironmental harm caused by pesticides andherbicides, says 2,4-D leads to "risk quotients thatexceed the level of concern."

In other words, Dow's "solution" is highlyproblematic in terms of environmental and humanhealth.The report found that if 2,4-D is used the way Dowsuggests, humans will be exposed to dangerously highlevels of the toxin, which in tum causes autoimmunedisorders, cell destruction (apoptosis), nerve damage,metabolic dysfunction, and other serious problems.The only real way to stop the spread of superweeds, ifit is even still possible, is to stop planting andcultivating OM crops.Organic, sustainable growing methods do not requiretoxic chemical applications, which in tum do notcreate superweeds.They also do not pollute the food supply and theenvironment with extremely toxic chemicals like OMcrop cultivation methods do.

Http://www.naturalnews.com/031396 _superweeds_pesticides.html

http://http//www.naturalnews.com/031396http://http//www.naturalnews.com/031396


17/36

Black money, corruption blacken Indian democracy*Ashok B SharmaWhat is ailing India, the world'slargest democracy? It is thesaga of multi -crore corruptiongoing unabated be it those relating to theCommonwealth Games, Indian PremierLeague (IPL) event of cricket, allocationof 2-G Spectrum and S-band Spectrum,appointment of the CVC chairman,protecting market manipulators causingprice rise or the disclosures in Niira Radia

tapes.This is happening in the backdrop of asituation where farmers are committingsuicide, rural people are in acute distress,poor becoming more poorer, people losingtheir livelihood. Few are, of course,becoming rich through largescalecorruption and cornering crore of rupees,evading tax payment and stashing away ill-gotten money in German and Swiss banksin Liechtenstein Island. Such is theparadox of the day.Another paradox is money launderingleading to foreign funding of terroristactivities in the country. Terrorists are alsofunded through fake currency andresources mobilised through drugtrafficking.The government's premier investigatingagency, CBI is engaged in a cover up gameand the government was resisting thedemand of the Opposition parties for freeand fair investigations by Joint

Parliamentary Committees (JPCs) on eachof these issues. Only recently it had to bowdown to the Opposition demand andagreed for a JPC probe only on the issue ofthe allocation of 2-G Spectrum This dealwith the Opposition has helped thegovernment in skipping JPC probes inother issues, particularly the allocation ofS-band Spectrum an area of directresponsibility of the Prime Minister, DrManmohan Singh.Recently the Supreme Court had tointervene and squash the appointment ofthe Central Vigilance Commissioner, PJThomas. Thomas is involved in corruptioncharges relating to the import of palm oiland the apex court noted that the HighPowered Committee (HPC) headed by thePrime Minister, while appointing Thomasfor this top vital post, had overlooked thelaw that the "institution" of CVC is moreimportant than the "individual" Thomas.The Leader of the Opposition, SushmaSwaraj as a member of the HPC hadopposed Thomas's nomination for the post.Itseems that the Supreme Court is the onlyavenue for getting relief from the menaceof corruption. Then why cry foul overjudicial activism?The political leaders have failed to give aproper leadership in a crusade againstcorruption and price rise. Perhaps thenation is waiting when the people willcome out in the streets on their own as has



18/36

been in Egypt. If such a thing can happen ina dictatorship, then why not in ademocracy?The ill-gotten money is now being stashedaway in 15 banks in Liechtenstein Island,out of which seven are Swiss. Notedlawyer, Ram Jethmalani who has filed aPIL in the Supreme Court has estimated$1500 billion illegally stashed away inLGT and other foreign banks. The GlobalFinancial Integrity has estimated theamount at $462 billion. According toJethmalani if the total ill-gotton money isbrought back it would wipe out all thedebts of the country, each family would getRs 2.5lakh each and there would be a tax-free Budget for next 30years.The government, however, has the detailsof depositors of the ill-gotten money and isunwilling to make it public claiming thatthe Double Taxation AvoidanceAgreement with Germany would come inthe way of making the information public.If this is so, then why the government in ademocracy should strike an agreementwith any other country which compels it towithhold informations of genuine publicimportance and concern.The government has submitted thedocuments to the apex court under a sealedcover and has requested not to disclose thecontents to the petitioner. But thegovernment's contention is beingchallenged as Liechtenstein island is anindependent principality monarchy inEurope and the DTAA with Germanywould not come in the way of public

disclosure if the government opts to sourceinformation directly from LiechtensteinMonarchy.Other view is that the DTAA should notcome in the way when transactionsconcerned only Indians. DTAA comes intoplay when transactions are betweenGerman and Indian entities. The USAdministration has recently beensuccessfully in getting back the ill-gottenmoney from these banks. Why can't Indiagamer this courage and competence?The Union finance minister, PranabMukherjee claims that India has begunplaying a proactive role in the globalcrusade against illicit funds. But noconcrete action is seen on the ground.He says that India played an active role infinalizing the Declarations of G-20Finance Ministers Meetings inLondon andPittsburg which included delivering aneffective programme of peer review,capacity building and counter measures totackle non-cooperative jurisdictions thatfail to meet regulatory standards. As aresult, all the tax havens have now agreedto end the bank secrecy. They have alsoagreed for not applying the principle ofdual criminality while exchanginginformation for tax purposes. Countriesare also willing to enter into TaxInformation Exchange Agreements in theabsence of a tax treaty.India is playing a very active role as a ViceChair of the Peer Review Group of theGlobal Forum on Transparency and



19/36

Exchange of Information for tax purposesand making a positive contribution. Italsojoined the Task Force on FinancialIntegrity and Economic Development inorder to bring greater transparency andaccountability in the financial system.It has joined as the 34th member ofFinancial Action Task Force (FATF) onJune 25, 2010. FATF membership isimportant as it will help India to build thecapacity to fight terrorism and trace terrorfunds and to successfully investigate andprosecute money laundering and terroristfinancing offences.India on December, 15, 2010 gainedmembership of the Eurasian Group(EAG), which is a Financial Action TaskForce (FATF) styled regional body,responsible for enforcing global standardson anti-money laundering (AML) andcombating the financing of terrorism(CFT) in the Eurasian region. The EurasianGroup is strategically and geopoliticallyimportant for India to fight financing ofterrorism and money laundering throughdrug trafficking and fake Indian currencynotes. India is actively participating as anObserver in OECD and is also amember ofthe UN Tax Committee and Sub-Committee on Transfer Pricing.But where is the action on the ground tobook the culprits, Mr Finance Minister?Mere membership of global bodies will nothelp unless action is backed by sincerityand determination .India has Double Taxation Avoidance

Agreements (DTAAs) with 79 countries,but as many as 74 DTAAs needs to bemodified to broaden the scope of thearticles of exchange of information toinclude that on banking transaction. Thisshow that how DTAAs were drafted andsigned without proper homework.Letters have been issued to 65 countries forinitiating the negotiations to modify therelevant articles in DTAAs. Ongoingnegotiations with 9 countries has been puton the fast track. In negotiating newDTAAs with 15 countries, attempts arebeing made to ensure that articlesconcerning exchange of information are inaccordance with the internationalstandards and specifically providing forexchange of banking information.Two new DTAAs have been notified and in11 more, negotiations have beencompleted and are in the advanced stage offinalization. Negotiations are in progressin another 2 DTAAs.DTAA with Switzerland was signed onAugust, 30 2010 and is now before theSwiss Parliament for approval. Once theSwiss Parliament grants the approval,DTAAwill become operational.India has completed negotiations for 10new Tax Information ExchangeAgreements (TIEAs) with Bahamas,Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Isle ofMan, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Monaco,Saint Kitts & Nevis, Argentina andMarshall Islands out of 22 identifiedcountries/jurisdictions. G-20



20/36

Communique has made mandatory thesigning of TIEAs in case any countrydemands this instrument with low or no taxjurisdictions and countries.To sum up, a total of23 negotiations in linewith international standards have beencompleted for DTAAs and 10 for TIEAs.In 31 cases, DTAA negotiations and in 5cases, TIEAnegotiations are in progress.On June 1, 2009 the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) was amendedwhereby the predicate offences listed inthe Schedule to the Act were substantiallyincreased in terms of the Acts covered andsections covered under such Acts. Thisamendment has tremendously widened thescope of money laundering investigationsby the Directorate. The provisions of theAct also allow for causing attachment ofthe tainted proceeds located abroad byrequesting the foreign administrationsthrough Letters of Request issued bycompetent courts. FlU-INDIA is fullyfunctional now.However, the existing transfer pncmgprovisions which were introduced in 2001do not have detailed provisions ascompared to transfer pricing provisions ofdeveloped countries. There is need toupgrade these transfer pricing provisionsto meet the challenges of growingintangible economy and various complexcost sharing arrangements. DGIT(International Taxation) has constituted acommittee to look into the issue of revisingthe transfer pricing provisions. Thecommittee will submit its report by March2011.

The DGIT (International Taxation) isslated to formulate a strategy for swift anduniform application oflaw on internationaltaxation and transfer pricing. A committeehas also been constituted to formulate astrategy for proactive and comprehensiverepresentation before AAR, Tribunal, HighCourt and the Supreme Court by February2011. The Finance Minister claims that thenew Direct Tax Code Bill slated to beintroduced in the Parliament would help tounearth black money in the country.Recently overseas units of Income Taxoffice has been set up in 8 countries onlynamely, USA, UK, Netherlands, Japan,Cyprus, Germany, France and UAE totrack illegal funds of Indians. These 8offices will soon be functional. Howevertill date only two Income-tax overseasunits located in Mauritius and Singaporeand these units are providing somevaluable information. A dedicatedExchange of Information (EOI) Unit withdirect access power is being created underthe Foreign Tax Division of CBDT toensure that the work of exchange ofinformation is effectively carried out.Much needs to be done in making the lawsmore effective for checking tax evasionand sources of illegal money both insideand outside the country. Internationalagreements and bilateral agreements withcountries should ensure that informationsare made public in the best interests ofdemocracy and effective actions taken tobook the culprits.



21/36

How not to tackle the black economy in India*Arun Kumar

Feb 25, 2011- Technically, we know how to check theblack economy but the problem is political. Morestudies or committees and treaties with foreigngovernments are only to stall action.Another Joint Parliamentary Committee has beenannounced. The government has been trying to create animpression of being proactive with regard to tacklingthe black economy. The President's address and thespeech by Sonia Gandhi in January mentioned the needto curb it. The Prime Minister at various fora, whileexpressing helplessness, has emphasised action. TheSupreme Court has been applying pressure to tackleblack savings spirited out of the country and forunearthing wrongdoings in cases of corruption like the2G spectrum allocation case.Home Minister P.Chidambaram admitted in Davos thatin road construction, 50 per cent of the funds aremisappropriated. He has stated that there is deficit ingovernance and ethical functioning of government andthe Prime Minister has endorsed this. Finance MinisterPranab Mukherjee has announced studies into differentaspects of the black economy and a Group of Ministershas been set up to tackle the problem. Talks are on forDouble Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) withvarious countries supposedly to unearth wealth keptabroad by Indians.Is the government finally serious about bringing backthe black funds stashed away abroad, variouslyestimated to be between $ 462 billion and severaltrillions of dollars? These figures seem credible whenone considers the scale of the current scams (tens ofbillions of dollars) and the case of Hasan Ali where thetax demand runs into billions of dollars. The CDcontaining names of Indians with bank accounts in theLTG bank which the Indian government accepted inMarch 2009, a year-and-a-half after itwas offered by theGerman government, has added to the pressure on thegovernment. There are 77 tax havens where illegalfunds are stashed away; Switzerland is only the biggestand best known.The government's actions seem to be in directproportion to the public pressure on it as exposes comein thick and fast. The problem is not new, so what

explains the earlier inaction? Consider Bofors or the 2Gspectrum case. Initially there has been denial and thenminimal action, allowing the culprits time to escape (asin Hasan Ali's case where the money has disappeared).Rs.35 lakh crore in black income is generated annuallyand about 10per cent of it goes abroad. The capital lostthrough this route is greater than annual net foreigninvestment, yet action isminimal.The government pleads that tax havens do not revealnames unless criminality is established and that theSwiss government does not treat tax evasion as a crime.The moot point is why did the Swiss governmentannounce the immediate freezing of Hosni Mubarak'sassets without the Egyptian government giving anyevidence of criminality? Further, why did UBS agreefirst to give the names of 250 U.S. citizens and thenanother 4,500 names to the U.S. tax authorities in 2007-08 without any criminality being individuallyestablished? In the Hasan Ali case, the Swissgovernment has said that it has not been given theinformation required. Similarly, in OttavioQuattrocchi's case, the Indian government has twice lostin foreign courts because the case has not been properlyestablished. In 1992, Madhavsinh Solanki, thenMinister of External Affairs, passed on a chit to a SwissMinister apparently to slow down the Bofors case butthe Narasimha Rao government quietly buried theembarrassment by accepting his resignation. The fewcases of corruption initiated against the high and mightyare apparently spoilt ornot pursued.Given this history, will there be seriousness this time orwill the government wait out the storm? In the last 60years, dozens of committees have studied variousaspects of the black economy and given thousands ofsuggestions. Hundreds of these suggestions have beenimplemented but the size of the black economy hasgrown exponentially. The Wanchoo Committee reportbulges with suggestions. Since 1971, when the highesttax rate was 97.5 per cent, tax rates have fallen but theblack economy has grown from 7 per cent to 50 per centof GDP. Controls and regulations have been drasticallyeliminated after 1991 but the size of black economycontinues to rise. The causes ofblack income generationlie elsewhere. The recent rise in corporate tax collectionis a reflection of rising disparity and not better



22/36

compliance.Plugging loopholes has only made the laws morecomplex, as in the case of taxation. The ingenuity of thecorrupt thwarts the enforcement agencies by eitherdevising newer ways of circumventing the law orsimply bribing the officials. In India, laws on paper andin practice differ because of the 'Triad' of the corruptbusiness class, the political class, and the executive (seethe article "Honesty is indivisible," The Hindu, January29, 2011) who bend rules to their advantage. Thephilosophy is: if! am in power, I can bend rules for thefavoured.In brief, technically we know what needs to be done tocheck the black economy but the problem is political.The top echelons of the leadership are the prime driversof the black economy. They do not wish to forgo themassive illegal profits they generate. So how can thepolitical will be generated?A voluntary disclosure scheme to bring back blacksavings stashed away abroad for 'development' is beingconsidered. Wasn't the Mauritius route created to allowround tripping offunds? Ithas accelerated black incomegeneration by facilitating it. A National SecurityAdviser alerted the nation to terror funds entering thestock markets to destabilise the financial markets. TheWanchoo Committee argued that this kind of schememakes honest people dishonest. A report of theComptroller and Auditor General of India on the 1997voluntary disclosure scheme pointed out that the samepeople who declared their black incomes earlier tookadvantage of the 1997 scheme becoming habitual taxoffenders.Some argue that elections underlie black incomegeneration and corruption. Presently, when a Lok Sabhaconstituency sees the expenditure of crores ofrupees perserious candidate, state funding will make littledifference. At best, it can be to the tune of the allowedelection expenditure ofRs.25 lakh just a few per cent ofthe actual expenditure bymost candidates. Further, whatis spent on the national elections officially andunofficially is not even 1per cent ofGDP for that year;so this cannot be the cause of black incomes. It is theblack economy that works to subvert the elections. Ourpresent day legislators are largely the representatives ofthe monied and the powerful and not of the people; sothey need to keep the public confused to win elections.They resort to vote bank politics and bribing voters andthat is what makes elections costly. Genuine democracy

would not be expensive. Today, we have formaldemocracy with weak content.In this background, it is clear that the government'sactions against corruption will be in proportion to thepublic outrage and that too the minimum necessary. Itislikely that there will be pretence while the real culpritsgo scot-free. Setting up a committee isto buy time and tostall questions on the subject since the government canclaim itis waiting for the report. Later, itcan buy time bypretending to look into the recommendations or bury aninconvenient report (like the VoraCommittee report).The Supreme Court is going after the names of thosespiriting awaymoney abroad but not after the generationofthe funds. The black incomes generated in the countryare ten times the size of what is siphoned out. In theliberalised environment, those with black moneystashed away abroad can tum into non-residentsovernight and escape prosecution in India. This isperhaps the reason the Indian government is unable toproceed against the eight entities named in theLiechtenstein disc. For the rest, little money may be leftin their accounts, given the inordinate delays. Taxationtreaties being entered into by the government with othergovernments are all about legal incomes traceable toknown individuals. But black incomes are typicallyparked via shell companies and inbenami accounts.What is needed is serious investigation and prosecutionin the country that will also expose the money siphonedoff abroad. The government functionaries generatingblack incomes personally indulge in various illegalitiessuch as using hawala. So, in principle, there is privateknowledge but not public information to stop theseactivities. The help of foreign governments is hardlyneeded in this matter. Intelligence agencies provide theleadership with information through tapping and so on,which can be mined instead of being used for politicalblackmail. The prosecution agencies deliberately spoilcases for political reasons. If prosecution is not possiblein India, how can the case be made in foreign lands forbooking the culprits? In brief, the policypronouncements are delaying and diversionary tactics toallow those generating black incomes to escape via shellcompanies and benami accounts. There were limitedgains from earlier JPCs but will this time be different? Itwill be only if there is political will and action and notmore studies ortreaties with foreign governments.Source- The Hindu,(Arunkumarl [email protected].)



23/36

Pesticides May Block Male Hormones*Marla Cone

Feb 15,2011 - ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS: Manyagricultural pesticides disrupt the normal function ofmale hormones, according to new tests. Manyagricultural pesticides including some previouslyuntested and commonly found in food disrupt malehormones, according to new tests conducted byBritish scientists.The scientists strongly recommended that allpesticides in use today be screened to check if theyblock testosterone and other androgens, the hormonescritical to a healthy reproductive system for men andboys. "Our results indicate that systematic testing foranti-androgenic activity of currently used pesticides isurgently required," wrote the scientists fromUniversity of London's Centre for Toxicology, led byProfessor Andreas Kortenkamp.Thirty out of 37 widely used pesticides tested by thegroup blocked or mimicked male hormones. Sixteenof the 30 had no known hormonal activity until now,while there was some previous evidence for the other14, according to the study, published online lastThursday in the scientific journal EnvironmentalHealth Perspectives.Most of the newly discovered hormone disruptors arefungicides applied to fruit and vegetable crops,including strawberries and lettuce. Traces of thechemicals remain in foods."This study indicates that, not surprisingly, there aremany other endocrine disruptors that we have not yetidentified or know very little about," said EmilyBarrett, a University of Rochester assistant professorin obstetrics and gynecology who was not involved inthe study."This underlines the glaring problem that many of thechemicals that are most widely used today, includingpesticides, are simply not adequately tested and mayhave serious long-term impacts on health anddevelopment," said Barrett, who studies howenvironmental chemicals affect human reproduction.The findings come as the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency faces opposition from the pesticide

industry after expanding its Endocrine DisruptorScreening Program, which requires testing of about200 chemicals found in food and drinking water to seeif they interfere with estrogen, androgens or thyroidhormones. None of the 16 pesticides with the newlydiscovered hormonal activity is included in the EPA'sprogram, which means they are not currently screenedand there are no plans to do so.The EPA's program has been slow to implement,largely due to a controversy over testing methods.Environmental groups criticize the EPA, which wasgranted the authority by Congress in 1996, for takingso long to order manufacturers to test only a smallgroup of chemicals. But chemical industry officialssay that the tests cost up to $1 million per chemical andthe techniques have not been fully validated. They alsostress that positive results don't necessarily mean thatthe pesticides are harming human reproduction.The British researchers screened the chemicals usingin-vitro assays, which use human cells to checkwhether the pesticides activate or inhibit hormonereceptors in cells that tum genes on and off. They are awidely accepted lab techniques. Scientists, however,are uncertain what actually happens inthe human bodyat the concentrations of chemicals that peopleencounter in fruits and vegetables.Fetuses and infants may be particularly at risk whenexposed in the womb or through breast milk becausethe hormones control masculinization of thereproductive tract.Some research has linked pesticides to abnormalgenitals in baby boys, such as cryptorchidism andhypospadias, and decreased sperm counts in men.Male fertility is thought to be declining in manycountries, and testicular cancer is increasing. Somescientists have dubbed this compilation of maledisorders "testicular dysgenesis syndrome," andsuggested that hormone-disrupting environmentalcontaminants playa role. R. Thomas Zoeller, chair ofthe biology department at the University ofMassachussetts, called it" a very important paper."



24/36

"It istelling us that the pesticides most prevalent inthehuman population have effects on the androgenreceptor," said Zoeller, who directs the university'sLaboratory of Molecular, Cellular andDevelopmentalEndocrinology."Considering all the evidence that human malereproduction is exhibiting troubling secular trends(sperm count and quality, hypospadias,cryptorchidism, testis cancer), this is highlytroubling," he said.Funded by the European Commission, the Universityof London scientists selected the pesticides to test byidentifying those found most often in European fruitsand vegetables. They are approved for use in manycountries, including the United States.The researchers noted "a clear disparity" betweentoday's most widely used pesticides and the currentknowledge of their risks, "with the majority of thepublished literature focused on pesticides that are nolonger registered for use in developed countries."Of the tested compounds, the most potent in terms ofblocking androgens was the insecticide fenitrothion,an organophosphate insecticide used on orchard fruits,grains, rice, vegetables and other crops.Others with hormonal activity include fludioxonil,fenhexamid, dimethomorph and imazalil, which areall fungicides. Fungicides are often applied close toharvest, so they are frequently found as residue infood. Some are new compounds which have been usedfor only a few years.Fungicides "are typically applied as mixtures in orderto increase effectiveness and prevent development ofresistant strains and therefore, human exposure tomixtures of these in vitro anti-androgens may beconsiderable," wrote Kortenkamp and the other studyauthors, Frances Orton, Erika Rosivatz and MartinScholze.For six ofthe pesticides that showed hormonal activityfor the first time, the authors said they "stronglyrecommend" the next round of testing, using labanimals. "Due to estimated anti-androgenic potency,current use, estimated exposure, and lack of previousdata, we strongly recommend that dimethomorph,fludioxonil, fenhexamid, imazalil, ortho-

phenylphenol and pirimiphos-methyl be tested foranti-androgenic effects in vivo."For the first four pesticides, they called it "a matter ofurgency." They are used on strawberries, lettuce,grapes and other fruits and vegetables.Mary Emma Young of CropLife America, whichrepresents the pesticide industry, said the group isreviewing the new study and could not yet comment onit. She added that "we continue to work with EPA andothers to understand the potential for a chemical tointeract with the endocrine system as well as thepotential consequences of that interaction on humanhealth and the environment."In 2009, the EPA ordered industry to use the in-vitroassays to screen 67 pesticides for their potential effecton hormones. The deadline is this October 15 yearsafter Congress granted the agency the authority toscreen for such effects but an extension islikely.Last November, the EPA added another 134 pesticidesand industrial chemicals found in water supplies. Thetesting is the first step toward including hormone datain the regulation of pesticides and industrialchemicals.Pesticide companies, in a January letter to the EPA,asked the agency to refrain from listing morechemicals for testing "until the agency has had anopportunity to evaluate the performance" of thetechniques used to test the initial 67 pesticides.Sheela Sathyanarayana, a University of Washingtonpediatrician who studies effects of environmentalchemicals on male development, said the new studyprovides strong evidence that the testing should beexpanded to more chemicals."There are many chemicals that may possessendocrine disrupting properties and the only way toknow is to screen," she said. "I definitely think allpesticides need endocrine disruption screening or astrong justification for not doing so. I'm sure mostscientists would agree," she said.

Http://www.scientificarnerican.com/article.cfrn ?id=pesticides-rnay-block-rnale-horrnones&page=3

http://http//www.scientificarnerican.com/article.cfrnhttp://http//www.scientificarnerican.com/article.cfrn


25/36

Poor Countries Have Already Given Enough in Doha Round* Ravi Kanth Deverakonda

GENEVA, Feb 14 (IPS) South Africa has expressedsharp concern over concerted attempts by leadingindustrialised countries, particularly the U.S. and theEuropean Union (EU), to extract onerouscommitments from developing countries as acondition to concluding the stalled Doha Round tradenegotiations."We are deeply concerned over attempts to raise thelevel of ambition by leading industrialised countriesin industrial goods and services that would call for asubstantial payment from developing countries,"South Africa's trade and industry minister Dr RobDavies toldIPS.At a time when many African countries are strugglingto recover from the raging global economic crisis thathas resulted in mass unemployment, it would be"unfair" to expect either South Africa or poorercountries to agree to onerous commitments to providemarket access in industrial goods and services, hesaid.Over the last two weeks, members of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) stepped up efforts to acceleratethe Doha Round trade negotiations, which entered its10th year. The Doha Round was supposed to havebeen concluded by Jan 1,2005.But sharp differences between industrialisedcountries and some developing countries, on one side,and a large majority of developing and leastdeveloped countries, on the other, over the level ofcommitment to reductions in egregious subsidies,high tariffs on farm products and tariffs on industrialproducts; and to market-opening for services put paidto an early agreement.Recently, former WTO director general PeterSutherland, who was responsible for concluding theprevious Uruguay Round oftrade negotiations, issueda report calling on members to conclude the DohaRound this year, failing which the credibility of theglobal trading system will be irreparably damaged.

"The emerging countries must provide substantialmarket access in industrial goods and services toconclude the Doha Round," he told IPS.Trade chiefs of the U.S. and the EU made similarcomments at the World Economic Forum in Davos afortnight ago.The U.S. and the EU made a strong pitch for "real" and"new" market access in industrial goods and servicesin emerging countries China, India, Brazil, SouthAfrica, and Argentina, among others to finalise theDoha Round oftrade negotiations this year.During the Davos meeting, trade ministers reiteratedtheir commitment to avail themselves of the "windowof opportunity" to conclude the Doha negotiations thisyear.But there remained pointed differences onwhat oughtto be the level of ambition and whether it is proper todemand a huge payment from developing countries toconclude the negotiations.Trade ministers of Brazil, India, China, and SouthAfrica issued a common declaration in Davosmaintaining that the final outcome in Doha tradenegotiations must hinge on the principle of"reciprocity" that would require proportionalcommitments between developing countries anddeveloped countries.More importantly, the four ministers insisted that finalcommitments in the market access areas ofagriculture, industrial goods, and services must bebased on the mandate that was agreed in the Jul 2004framework agreement and the Hong Kong MinisterialDeclaration of2005.The declaration and the agreement reaffirmed thecentrality of development and the interests of poorcountries in the Doha Round.The trade ministers said there should be no"reopening" of the texts that were tabled in Dec 2008



26/36

in industrial goods and services, which reflected thefinal compromises that members ought tomake.The trade majors, however, are in no mood to adhereto the commitments as suggested by China, India,Brazil, and SouthAfrica.The EU, for example, said there is "asymmetry" inwhat they are going to provide in agriculture and whatthey are going to receive in industrial goods andservices as part ofthe Doha commitments.EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht told hiscounterparts in Davos that Brussels will need moremarket access from the emerging countries,regardless ofwhat the mandate stipulated.In similar vein, U.S. trade representative Ron Kirkmaintained that the emerging countries bear theresponsibility to conclude the Doha tradenegotiations.He said the U.S. faces high unemployment, whichrequires real market access to big emergingdeveloping countries.Commenting on these conflicting positions, the SouthAfrican trade minister said, "despite a moderatelyambitious agriculture package (that is on the table),we had already paid much more in industrial goodsand services."We want an agreement because we are committed toaddressing the systemic issues in the global tradingsystem, such as cotton and duty-free/quota-freeaccess," said D

Documents

MARCH 2011 National Magazine of Farmers Voice