Four of the biggest givers

Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, George Soros and Gordon Moore lead the pack when it comes to philathropy and charity

Global and local icons are known for their charitable donations almost as much as they are known for excelling in their fields. Celebrities have often donated huge amounts from their personal wealth or through foundations for a noble cause. Mint takes a look at four such people.

Bill Gates

The former Microsoft chief has donated $29 billion towards his charitable organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation works to improve healthcare, offer educational opportunities and access to information technology, among other things. The couple have pledged to donate 95% of their personal fortune.

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO and chairman made donations to the tune of $2.8 billion in July to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has also contributed $2 billion towards charitable causes and organizations. His biggest donation, however, is a pledge to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will receive a whopping $37 billion after Buffett’s death.

George Soros

George Soros

The business magnate has donated around £5.1 billion to health and educational institutes around the world. He supported underprivileged students in apartheid-era South Africa and backed progressive institutions in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Gordon Moore

Gordon Moore

Following Gates, Buffett and Soros is technology giant Gordon Moore. The Intel founder reportedly donated about $6.8 billion to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation that he runs with his wife. According to its website, the foundation has interests in environmental conservation, scientific research and higher education.

Cleaning up India’s air pollution problem

It will require a comprehensive, synergized government approach that is currently lacking 

Anyone who ventured out at night in New Delhi in the past few days would have experienced something akin to one of Victorian London’s infamous pea soupers—the thick fogs caused by air pollution that proved lethal to more than a few of the city’s inhabitants. The onset of the haze blanketing the capital come winter has become an annual ritual. The governmental response, starting with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s meeting to deal with the issue on a “war footing”, has a similar air of the routine.

The levels of particulate matter 10 and 2.5—the most dangerous components of air pollution—spiked severely after Diwali. The former was recorded at eight times the safe limit and the latter at 10 times. This is a no-brainer given the nature of the festival. But the problem, of course, extends far beyond this, and for that matter, beyond the capital. The World Economic Forum (WEF) rates Delhi as having the highest level of air pollution globally among mega-cities—but Gwalior, Allahabad and Raipur all have the dubious distinction of beating it out to rank among the 20 most polluted cities in the world.

The burning of agricultural waste in states like Punjab and Haryana, vehicular emissions, dust from construction sites and factory emissions, among other factors, combine in toxic fashion come the winter months when lower wind speeds and shallow inversion layers prevail across much of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Governments at the central and state levels have responded at various times and in various ways. The evolution of India’s road transport landscape—from the introduction of catalytic converters in cars and unleaded petrol in 1995 and 1998, respectively, to the reduction of sulphur content in diesel in 2000 and the steady progress of successive emission norms—is a case in point. So is the Punjab government’s ban on burning paddy straw and Sisodia’s purported road map that envisions everything from retrofitting crematorium chimneys to vacuum cleaning and sprinkling water on Delhi’s roads.

But these are patchwork efforts, lacking the cohesiveness that is necessary to tackle a multisectoral issue. The first and perhaps most glaring deficiency is the paucity of research to guide policy. There have been a number of studies in Delhi examining the effect of air pollution on respiratory functions and the associated morbidity, including a comprehensive one by the Central Pollution Control Board in 2008. But there has been little focus on the effects on cardiovascular health, an issue that is receiving increasing attention globally.
And as Hem H. Dholakia, Dhiman Bhadra and Amit Garg point out in a 2014 IIM Ahmedabad research paper, Air Pollution in Indian Cities: Short Term Mortality Impacts and Interactions with Temperature, there is a lack of epidemiological evidence in the broader Indian context; the studies they found examined the short-term impacts of air pollution on mortality only for Delhi and Chennai. As WEF rankings on 20 most polluted cities in the world show, the problem is far more widespread than that. From weather conditions to level of development and primary causes of pollution, the specific context of various cities and regions is unique; so too must be research-guided policy decisions. The lack of this leads to knee-jerk moves of dubious benefit such as the Delhi government’s odd-even experiment earlier this year.
The second problem is a lack of political will and imagination to implement proven methods. Congestion charges and restricted parking have been successful from London to Singapore. An emphasis on convenient, easy-to-access public transport has been similarly successful. And as The Hindu pointed out in its editorial on 3 October, there is a puzzling lack of effort to find a synergy between the rising demand for fodder and the agricultural waste that contributes to air pollution via biomass burning.
Thirdly, as in many other areas, there is a lack of adequate enforcement. There are 61 major construction sites in Delhi, for instance, that can be easily monitored, but a host of smaller ones violate most of the existing rules. Industrial emission norms and pollution under control certificates are other stress points where defaulters have it far too easy. China’s example is perhaps not the easiest to follow here given its political structure and the fact that global economic conditions have kick-started a downturn in its rust belt. But even so, Indian administrations could do worse than look to the comprehensive nature of Chinese government efforts to tackle air pollution and emphasis on enforcing regulations.
It took the Great Smog of 1952 bringing about the premature deaths of over 10,000 people in London for the British government to introduce the Clean Air Act 1956 and put an end to the pea soupers. India has it worse; according to the Global Burden of Disease report, outdoor air pollution was responsible for 620,000 deaths in 2010. It’s time, perhaps, for a similar clean-up effort.
Is the government doing enough to tackle India’s air pollution problem

Green farms and clean air

massive pollution cloud enveloping northern India every year is a good example of the disconnect between official policy and ground realities. It has been known for long that burning of agricultural waste in the northern States significantly contributes to the poor air quality in large parts of the Indo-Gangetic Basin, with local and cascading impacts felt from Punjab all the way to West Bengal. Harmful fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 mm in diameter (PM2.5) is among the pollutants released. Punjab responded to the issue with a prohibition on the burning of paddy straw, and the launch of initiatives aimed at better utilisation of biomass, including as a fuel to produce power. Yet, there is no mission mode approach to the annual crisis. The efforts do not match the scale of agricultural residues produced, for one, and fail to address farmers’ anxiety to remove the surplus from the fields quickly to make way for the next crop. The national production of crop waste is of the order of 500 million tonnes a year, with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal topping the list. Again, 80 per cent of straw from paddy is burnt in some States, impacting air quality and depriving croplands of nutrients.

It is an irony that the national capital and several other cities suffer crippling pollution in the post-monsoon and winter months partly due to biomass burning, when demand for fodder is rising and the surplus material could be used productively. Pilot projects to produce power using biomass demonstrated in Rajasthan, and mechanised composting and biogas production units of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute could be scaled up, and farmers given liberal support to deploy such solutions. Given the twin benefits of pollution abatement and better productivity, conservation agriculture needs to be popularised. This would encourage farmers to use newer low-till seeding technologies that allow much of the crop residues to remain on site, and curb the release of a variety of pollutants. Burning residues add greenhouse gases that cause global warming, besides pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide that severely affect human health. Sustained work is called for, given that higher agricultural productivity to meet food needs is inevitable, with a cascading increase in biomass volumes. The challenge is to identify measures to utilise it. By one estimate, if India can reach its own air quality standards for fine particulate matter from all sources, annual premature deaths can be cut by almost 10 per cent. A programme to cut pollution from waste-burning would be a good start.

NASA completes construction of largest space telescope

It’s 100 times powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope and may help in finding the first galaxies

NASA has successfully completed building the largest space telescope — one that is 100 times powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope and may find the first galaxies that were formed in the early universe.

The James Webb Space Telescope will be the successor to NASA’s 26-year-old Hubble telescope.

The Webb telescope’s infrared cameras are so sensitive that it needs to be shielded from the rays of the Sun. A five-layer sunshield of the size of a tennis court will prevent the heat from interfering with the telescope’s infrared sensors.

The layers work together to reduce the temperatures between the hot and cold sides of the observatory by about 298 degrees Celsius. Each successive layer of the sunshield, made of kapton, is cooler than the one below.

The U.S. space agency has also made the first important optical measurement of James Webb Space Telescope fully assembled primary mirror, called a Center of Curvature test.

“This is the only test of the entire mirror where we can use the same equipment during a before and after test,” said Ritva Keski-Kuha, NASA’s Deputy telescope manager for Webb.

“This test will show if there are any changes or damages to the optical system,” Keski-Kuha said.

The space telescope will provide images of the first galaxies ever formed, and explore planets around distant stars.

It is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

GST rate structure finalised, majority of items in 12% and 18% tax slabs

On demerit and sin goods like aerated drinks, luxury cars, tobacco and pan masala, a cess will be levied by the centre over and above the 28% GST rate

d services tax (GST), the centre and the states managed to reach a consensus on the tax rates and the tax slabs under this ambitious tax regime.

The decision, arrived at by a consensus, proposes a multi-tiered tax system aimed at minimizing the inflationary impact on the common man, finance minister Arun Jaitley said at a press conference after the end of the first day of the fourth GST council meeting.

As per the rate structure agreed upon by the centre and the states, 50% of the items present in the consumer price index basket, including foodgrains like rice and wheat, will be exempted from the levy of GST.

The lowest tax slab will be 5% wherein items of mass consumption will be taxed. There will be two standard rates of 12% and 18% where a majority of the items used by the common man will be taxed. There will be a higher slab of 28% where items currently attracting a tax of 27-31% will be taxed. However, items used by the middle class like toothpastes, soaps and oil which currently have a high tax incidence of more than 27% will be brought down to the lower slab of 18%.

On demerit and sin goods like aerated drinks, luxury cars, tobacco and pan masala, a cess will be levied by the centre over and above the 28%. This amount along with the proceeds of the clean energy cess will be used to compensate states for losses arising from GST. However, this cess will have a sunset clause of five years.

A technical committee comprising of central government and state government officials will finalize the allocation of items into different rate categories. The tax rate on gold will be decided after this allocation of items.

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Essential items including food, which presently constitute roughly half of the consumer inflation basket, will be taxed at zero rate.

A four-tier GST tax structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent, with lower rates for essential items and the highest for luxury and de-merits goods that would also attract an additional cess, was decided by the GST Council on Thursday.

With a view to keeping inflation under check, essential items including food, which presently constitute roughly half of the consumer inflation basket, will be taxed at zero rate.

The lowest rate of 5 per cent would be for common use items while there would be two standard rates of 12 and 18 per cent under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime targetted to be rolled out from April 1, 2017.

Announcing the decisions arrived at the first day of the two-day GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said highest tax slab will be applicable to items which are currently taxed at 30-31 per cent (excise duty plus VAT).

Luxury cars, tobacco and aerated drinks would also be levied with an additional cess on top of the highest tax rate.

The collection from this cess as well as that of the clean energy cess would create a revenue pool which would be used for compensating states for any loss of revenue during the first five years of implementation of GST.

The cess, he said, would be lapsable after five years.

Mr. Jaitley said about Rs. 50,000 crore would be needed to compensate states for loss of revenue from rollout of GST, which is to subsume a host of central and state taxes like excise duty, service tax and VAT, in the first year.

The four-tier tax structure agreed to has slight modification to the 6, 12, 18 and 26 per cent slab that were under discussion at the GST Council last month.

The structure to agreed is a compromise to accommodate demand for highest tax rate of 40 per cent by states like Kerala.

While the Centre proposed to levy a 4 per cent GST on gold, a final decision was put off, Mr. Jaitley said.

Entire Country gets National Food Security Act coverage

Entire Country gets National Food Security Act coverage

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have also rolled out the National Food Security Act (NFSA). With this, now the Act has been implemented in all the States and Union Territories. As a result, now 81.34 crore persons will get wheat at Rs. 2/ kg and rice at Rs. 3/ kg. This was announced by Union Minister of Consumer Affair, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan while interacting with the media here today. Being an important initiative for ensuring food security of the people, the Government of India actively pursued with all the States/UTs for its early implementation.

Shri Paswan said now the Center will focus on further reforms in PDS, which will include end to end computerization of the system for which States/UTs are being technically and financially assisted. He said this is important for bringing in transparency in the functioning of the public distribution system (PDS), which is vital feature of NFSA, in order to check leakages and diversion of foodgrains.

Highlighting other initiatives taken by the Centre to make the PDS leakage proof, Shri Paswan said that the beneficiary’s data base has been digitized in all the 36 States/UTs, wherein, information is available right upto beneficiary level and is in the public domain. Online allocation of foodgrains in being done in 28 States/UTs, and the entire foodgrain supply chain has been computerized in 18 States/UTs. 100 percent linkage of Ration Cards with Addhar, which is 71% at the moment, will be achieved. Foodgrains losses of FCI have been brought down to 0.04 percent and major FCI depots have been made online.

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. In another significant step towards better targeting and leakage-free distribution of foodgrains, direct benefit transfer is being carried out in two different modes. In the first mode, food subsidy is being transferred in cash into the bank account of beneficiaries, who then have the choice to buy foodgrains from the open market. This has been started in UTs of Chandigarh, Puducherry and urban areas of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The second mode involves automation of fair price shops, for distribution of foodgrains through an electronic point of sale (e-PoS) device which authenticates beneficiaries at the time of distribution and also electronically captures the quantum of foodgrains distributed to the family. As of 31.10.2016, e-PoS devices are operational in 1,61,854 fair price shops.

For smooth functioning of PDS, State Governments are also being provided Central assistance for meeting expenditure of intra-State transportation & handling of foodgrains and fair price shop dealer’s margin. The assistance for fair price shops dealers margin also contains a component of assistance for installation and operation of Pos devices at fair price shops. So far, Rs. 1874 crore has been released to State Governments by the Government of India in 2016-17.

At this current coverage, monthly allocation of foodgrains to States/UTs under the Act is about 45.5 lakh tons, with subsidy implication of about Rs. 11,726 core per month or about Rs. 1,40, 700 crore per year.

Regarding Sugarcane arrears, Shri Paswan said 2014-15 arrears which were Rs.21,000 at the peak have now come down Rs 205 crore. Prices of pulses except Chana have come down. Regarding wheat prices he said that Government has decided to release additional 10 lakh ton wheat for sale in domestic Market under FCI OMS scheme.

Prime Minister’s address at Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

Prime Minister’s address at Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 

Friends,
2015 was a momentous year! Apart from the Sendai Framework, the international community adopted two other major frameworks to shape the future of humanity:
- the Sustainable Development Goals,
- and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The spirit of inter-connectedness, highlighted in the film, is the hallmark of these global frameworks. The success of each one of these depends on the success of the other two. Disaster Risk Reduction has a pivotal role in supporting adaptation to climate change as well as sustainable development. It is in this context that this conference becomes timely and relevant.
Friends,
Over the last two decades, the world, and especially our region has undergone many changes – most of them positive. Many countries in our region have transformed their economies and become engines of global economic growth. Hundreds of millions of our people have been lifted out of poverty. The Asia-Pacific region has been a global leader in more ways than one.
But we must not take this progress for granted. There are challenges as well. Over the last twenty years, more than eight hundred and fifty thousand people died from disasters in the Asia-Pacific. Seven of the top ten countries in the world in terms of number of deaths due to disasters are in the Asia-Pacific.
I have seen for myself the human suffering caused by disasters. I witnessed the Gujarat earthquake of 2001, and later, as Chief Minister of the State, I worked with my people to support post-earthquake recovery. It was distressing to see the suffering of the affected people. But I was also inspired by their courage, ingenuity and resolve to recover from the disaster. In my experience, the more we relied on people’s own leadership, the better were the outcomes. This was not limited only to owner driven reconstruction of houses, but also to construction of community buildings. For example, when we entrusted the community the task of reconstructing a school, the earthquake-resistant building was completed in time, at a lesser cost, and the savings were returned to Government. We need to support such initiative and leadership through policies and practices.
Friends,
We in Asia have learnt from disasters. A quarter century ago, only a handful of Asian nations had national disaster management institutions. Today, over thirty Asian countries have dedicated institutions leading disaster risk management efforts. After the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, the five worst affected countries brought in new laws for disaster risk management. In a couple of days, we will observe the first International Tsunami Awareness Day. This would be an occasion to celebrate the huge improvements we have made in tsunami early warning. In December 2004, the Indian Ocean Tsunami caught us unprepared, and there was no warning. We now have a fully functional Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Along with its Australian and Indonesian counterparts, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services is mandated to issue regional tsunami bulletins.
The same goes for improvements in cyclone early warning. In India, if we compare the impact of cyclone events in 1999 and 2013, we can see the progress we have made. Similar progress has been made in many countries. For example, after the 1991 cyclone, the Government of Bangladesh launched a large community-based cyclone preparedness programme. It led to a significant reduction in loss of lives from cyclones. It is now recognized as a global best practice.
Friends,
This is just the beginning. There are daunting challenges ahead. The Asia-Pacific is rapidly urbanizing. Perhaps within a decade more people in the region will live in cities than in villages. Urbanization will pose greater challenges for disaster risk management, by concentrating people, property and economic activity in smaller areas, many of them in disaster prone locations. If we do not manage this growth, in terms of both planning and execution, the risk of economic and human losses from disasters will be higher than ever before.

In this context, let me outline a ten-point agenda for renewing our efforts towards disaster risk reduction:
First, all development sectors must imbibe the principles of disaster risk management. This will ensure that all development projects - airports, roads, canals, hospitals, schools, bridges – are built to appropriate standards and contribute to the resilience of communities they seek to serve. Over the next couple of decades, most of the new infrastructure in the world will come up in our region. We need to ensure that we build it to best available standards of disaster safety. This is a smart strategy, which pays off in the long term.
All our public expenditure must take into account risk considerations. In India, the ‘housing for all’ programme and ‘smart cities’ initiative represent such opportunities. India will work with other partner countries and stakeholders to build a coalition or centre for promoting disaster resilient infrastructure in the region. This will help generate new knowledge for hazard risk assessment, disaster resilient technologies and mechanisms for integrating risk reduction in infrastructure financing.
Second, work towards risk coverage for all – starting from poor households to small and medium enterprises to multi-national corporations to nation states. Currently, in most countries of the region, penetration of insurance is limited to only middle and upper-middle income groups. We need to think big and also think innovatively. States have an important role in not just regulating but also encouraging coverage for those who need it the most. In India, we have taken bold steps to ensure financial inclusion and risk insurance for the poorest. The Jan Dhan Yojana has brought millions of people into the banking system. The Suraksha Bima Yojana provides risk insurance to millions who need it the most. We have launched the Fasal Bima Yojana, which will provide risk cover to millions of farmers. These are the basic building blocks of resilience at the household level.
Third, encourage greater involvement and leadership of women in disaster risk management. Women are disproportionately affected by disasters. They also have unique strengths and insights. We must train a large number of women volunteers to support special needs of women affected by disasters. We need women engineers, masons and building artisans supporting reconstruction, and women self help groups assisting livelihood recovery.
Fourth, invest in risk mapping globally. For mapping risks related to hazards such as earthquakes we have widely accepted standards and parameters. Based on these, in India, we have mapped seismic zones, with five as highest seismic risk and two as low risk. For disaster risk related to other hazards such as chemical hazards, forest fires, cyclones, different types of floods, we need to evolve similar globally accepted risk categories. This will help us ensure that we have a common understanding of the nature and severity of disaster risks in different parts of the world.
Fifth, leverage technology to enhance the efficiency of our disaster risk management efforts. An e-platform that brings together organizations and individuals and helps them map and exchange expertise, technology and resources would go a long way in maximizing our collective impact.
Sixth, develop a network of universities to work on disaster issues. After all, universities have social responsibilities too. Over the first five years of the Sendai Framework, we should develop a global network of universities working together on problems of disaster risk management. As part of this network, different universities could specialize in multi-disciplinary research on disaster issues most relevant to them. Universities located in coastal areas could specialize in managing risks from coastal hazards, and the ones located in the hill cities could focus on mountain hazards.
Seventh, utilize the opportunities provided by social media and mobile technologies. Social media is transforming disaster response. It is helping response agencies in quickly organizing themselves, and enabling citizens to connect more easily with authorities. In disaster after disaster, affected people are using social media to help each other. We must recognize the potential of social media and develop applications for all aspects of disaster risk management.
Eighth, build on local capacity and initiative. The task of disaster risk management, particularly in rapidly growing economies, is so huge that formal institutions of the state can at best be instrumental in creating the enabling conditions. Specific actions have to be designed and implemented locally. Over the last two decades, most community based efforts have been confined to disaster preparedness and contingency planning for the short term. We need to expand the scope of community based efforts and support communities to identify local risk reduction measures and implement them. Such efforts reduce risk and create opportunities for local development and sustainable livelihoods. Localization of disaster risk reduction will also ensure that we make the most of traditional best practices and indigenous knowledge.
Response agencies need to interact with their communities, and make them familiar with the essential drill of disaster response. For example, if a local fire service visits one school in its area every week, it would sensitize thousands of children over a period of one year.
Ninth, ensure that the opportunity to learn from a disaster is not wasted. After every disaster there are papers and reports on lessons learnt that are rarely applied. Often the same mistakes are repeated. We need a more vibrant and visual system of learning. The United Nations could start an international competition of documentary films that record disaster events, their scale, and relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery afterwards.
Post-disaster recovery is an opportunity to not just ‘build back better’ in terms of physical infrastructure, but also in terms of improved institutional systems for managing risk. For this we need to put in place systems that can quickly provide risk assessments. India will work with partner countries and multilateral development agencies to establish a facility for technical support to post-disaster reconstruction of houses.
And finally, bring about greater cohesion in international response to disasters. In the aftermath of a disaster, disaster responders pour in from all over the world. This collective strength and solidarity could be enhanced further if we work under a common umbrella. The United Nations could think of a common logo and branding under which all those who are helping with relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction operate.
Friends.
Armed Forces protect nation states against external security threats. But to deal with disasters, we need to equip society with the right education.
We have to wholeheartedly embrace the spirit of Sendai, which calls for an all-of-society approach to disaster risk management.
In India, we are committed to walk the talk on the implementation of Sendai Framework. In June this year, India’s National Disaster Management Plan was released which is aligned with the priorities set out in the Sendai Framework.
In our effort to build disaster resilience, we stand shoulder to shoulder with all the nations of the region. Regional and International Cooperation has an important role in providing an added push to our efforts.
Last year in November, India organized the first-ever South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise. In the spirit of regional cooperation, India will soon launch the South Asia Satellite. The capabilities of this satellite and other space-based technologies can support the full disaster risk management cycle – risk assessment, risk mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. India is ready to make its space capabilities available to any country for purposes of disaster risk management.
As we implement the Sendai Framework, we would welcome new opportunities for regional and international collaboration.
I am sure, this conference will energize our efforts and the outcomes of the conference will provide a solid blueprint for collective action.
Thank you.