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Tesla Said to Have Restarted Search for New Delhi Showroom with DLF

Ashish Singh — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 08:11:15 +0000

Elon Musk’s Tesla has resumed its search for showroom space in New Delhi, two sources told Reuters, in the first sign it is rethinking entering the Indian market after putting its investment plans on hold earlier this year.

Musk said in April he would meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a trip where he was to potentially announce an investment of $2 billion (roughly Rs. 16,972 crore) to $3 billion (roughly Rs. 25,458 crore) in India. However, he called off his visit at the last moment after Tesla decided to sack 10 percent of its staff amid falling sales.

Tesla, which had paused its search for a showroom in India in recent months, is now in early-stage talks with DLF to help secure space in the capital region, said the two sources, who have direct knowledge of the situation.

A third source said it is not certain that Tesla’s talks with India’s biggest property developer will lead to a deal and the electric vehicle giant is also in discussions with others.

Tesla and DLF did not respond to requests for comment.

One of the sources said Tesla is looking for 3,000 to 5,000 square feet (280-465 square metres) to create a consumer experience centre as well as a space three times larger for its delivery and service operations.

Tesla is evaluating multiple locations including DLF’s Avenue Mall in southern Delhi and the Cyber Hub office and retail complex in nearby Gurugram city, the source added.

Foreign retailers including Japan’s Uniqlo, Spain’s Mango and Britain’s Marks and Spencer also have outlets in the Avenue Mall, where Tesla is looking to secure an 8,000 square feet showroom space, the second source said.

Tesla’s search is still “exploratory” and nothing has been finalised, the first source said.

It was not immediately clear whether Tesla will consider importing cars at the tax rate of as high as 100 percent or if it will make investment commitments under India’s new policy, which would allow it to import certain EVs at a lower rate of 15 percent.

After Tesla did not deliver on earlier investment plans, India’s government is trying to relax certain provisions of its policy to attract automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Toyota which have expressed initial interest.

India’s EV market is small, making up about two percent of total car sales of 4 million last year, but the government wants to increase the share to 30 percent by 2030.

Tesla’s showroom hunt comes as Musk’s Starlink is also considering entering India after winning a lobbying battle against billionaire Mukesh Ambani over how New Delhi should allocate spectrum for the service.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

How Factory Pollution May Be Linked To Unexpected Snowfall | Explained

Diksha — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 14:39:51 +0000

Last Updated:November 18, 2024, 20:09 IST

A study by scientists found that industrial pollution can trigger a phenomenon that results in more snowfall in nearby areas.

In some cases, the snowfall generated by industrial pollution could cover large areas. (Image: Shutterstock/PTI)

In recent years, Delhi has been grappling with hazardous levels of air pollution, especially during the colder months. The combination of industrial pollutants and fog often results in poor visibility, creating serious health risks for residents. However, a recent scientific study has revealed an unexpected consequence of this pollution: snowfall. It turns out that emissions from factories may be influencing local weather patterns, leading to more frequent snowfall in areas close to industrial sites. Here’s how it works and what this means for the environment.

Pollution and Snowfall: An Unlikely Connection

The air quality in Delhi, and many other industrial areas around the world, is deteriorating due to increased pollution from factories, power plants, and other industrial sources. While the air may seem to clear up momentarily when it rains, new research suggests that this could also be linked to snowfall – but not in the way most people would expect.

A study conducted by an international team of scientists found that industrial pollution, specifically the tiny particles emitted by factories, can trigger a phenomenon that results in more snowfall in nearby areas. This happens through a process known as cloud glaciation, which takes place under specific temperature conditions.

How Factory Pollution Triggers Snowfall

Clouds typically form when water vapour condenses into droplets. In colder conditions, these droplets can freeze and form ice crystals, creating snow. However, this process doesn’t always occur naturally. The new study suggests that pollutants, such as aerosols emitted by factories, can play a crucial role in this transformation.

When the temperature drops between -10°C and -24°C (14°F to -11°F), these pollutants serve as ‘nuclei’, providing a surface on which water droplets can freeze. This is known as cloud glaciation. The study also highlights that emissions from industries, including coal-fired power plants, can release heat and water vapour into the atmosphere, which might further contribute to the process.

Unexpected Snowfall Around Industrial Sites

Researchers observed satellite images of clouds near 67 industrial sites, analysing near-infrared data from NASA’s Terra satellite. The data revealed something unusual: while clouds were forming, they were not composed of the typical liquid water droplets. Instead, the pollution-laden clouds were turning into ice clouds, even in places where such snowfall wouldn’t usually occur.

In fact, snowfall levels in these areas were higher than in surrounding regions, with snowfall reaching up to 15 mm (over half an inch) in some cases. The intensity of the snowfall was also greater, averaging 1.2 mm per hour. This means that, in some cases, industries are not just contributing to air pollution but may also be causing significant weather changes in their immediate surroundings.

Potential Health and Environmental Impacts

The findings are concerning for both public health and the environment. While the harmful effects of air pollution have been well-documented, this new research suggests that the pollutants from factories could also lead to unexpected weather events, like snowstorms, in areas that might not typically experience such conditions.

Professor Nicolas Bellouin, one of the study’s co-authors, pointed out the broader implications: “We already knew about the health effects of air pollution, but now we know that emissions from factories can turn rain clouds into ice clouds. This can lead to unexpected snowfall that does not occur in other areas.” The impact of such snowfall could be severe, particularly for local communities who might not be prepared for heavy snowfalls in the middle of winter.

Snowfall Threat That Could Affect Larger Areas

In some cases, the snowfall generated by industrial pollution could cover large areas. A single snow event could potentially drop more than 1.3 cm (half an inch) of snow over an area larger than a typical city. This raises concerns for people living near industrial sites, who may need to adapt to the possibility of sudden snowstorms.

There’s also a broader environmental concern at play. Clouds are known to play a crucial role in reflecting sunlight back into space, helping to regulate the Earth’s temperature. Ice clouds, however, reflect less sunlight than liquid clouds, meaning that as more ice clouds form, they could contribute to changes in global weather patterns.

Need for More Research

While the study’s findings provide compelling evidence of the connection between factory pollution and snowfall, the researchers emphasise that more research is needed. Understanding how industrial pollutants affect cloud formation and precipitation is complex, and scientists are keen to explore the full extent of their impact on the global climate.

The study, published in *Science*, concludes that aerosols from industrial sites may have a far-reaching impact on both local weather and the wider climate system. However, much remains to be understood about how these particles interact with clouds and what long-term consequences they might have for our environment.

This new research provides valuable insight into the unexpected consequences of industrial pollution, shedding light on the complex relationship between air quality and weather. While the snow generated by pollution may seem like a minor inconvenience, its implications for public safety, health, and the environment could be far-reaching. As the study shows, it’s not just the air we breathe that’s at risk – it’s also the weather patterns that affect our daily lives. With further research, we may better understand how to mitigate these effects and prepare for the impact of pollution-driven snowfall.

News explainers How Factory Pollution May Be Linked To Unexpected Snowfall | Explained

Canada accuses India’s Amit Shah over campaign targeting Sikh separatists

Diksha — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:39:41 +0000

Canada has accused Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah of being behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh activists, in a move likely to extend a recent diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison confirmed to the members of the national security committee late on Tuesday that the government considers Shah – considered India’s second-highest leader and a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – the architect of the campaign against Sikh separatists in Canada, which has included the assassination of an activist.

India has not so far responded, however, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that government officials had rejected the accusation.

Morrison told committee members that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which had earlier reported the allegations.

“The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee. He did not reveal the evidence behind Canada’s allegation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously said Canada has credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

Canada expelled Indian diplomats that it linked to the campaign it claims has targeted Sikhs. India responded with its own expulsion of Canadian officials.

The United States also charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York City.

Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the security committee on Tuesday that Canada had evidence the Indian government had been gathering information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

Canadian authorities have in the past said that they have shared evidence with India, but officials in New Delhi have repeatedly denied that and called the allegations absurd.

India did not immediately comment on the accusation against Shah. However, Reuters quoted unnamed government sources who said that New Delhi considers Canada’s evidence to be “very weak” and “flimsy” and that it does not expect it to cause any trouble for the powerful interior minister.

India ex-official charged in US murder plot faces murder charge in Delhi

Diksha — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 06:04:36 +0000

A former Indian government official charged in the United States this week for allegedly directing a foiled murder plot had been arrested in New Delhi in December in an attempted murder case, according to court records and a police officer.

The US Justice Department unsealed the indictment of Vikash Yadav, 39, on Thursday, alleging he led a plot to murder a Sikh separatist in New York.

From May 2023, the US indictment alleges, Yadav, described as an Indian government employee at the time, worked with others in India and abroad to direct a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen.

Delhi Police had arrested Yadav on December 18 in the Indian capital, the police officer told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Yadav and an associate were charged with attempted murder and other crimes, according to a filing in a Delhi district court.

Yadav’s lawyer, RK Handoo, called the Indian charges “fallacious”, adding there was “an international plot to bring shame on the government of India and my client”.

Handoo declined to comment further.

He and the police did not respond to questions on Yadav’s whereabouts. The Washington Post, citing American officials, reported on Thursday that Yadav was still in India and that the US was expected to seek his extradition.

Yadav’s arrest was based on a complaint by an Indian businessman, who alleged Yadav and an associate kidnapped him in December, assaulted and robbed him, according to details in a Delhi district court order dated Feb. 23.

“The accused persons tortured and manhandled the complainant and demanded money in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi,” said the February 23 court order, summarising the complaint.

Bishnoi, in jail in India’s Gujarat state, is an organised crime gang leader, according to India’s National Investigation Agency.

Bishnoi’s lawyer says he is contesting more than 40 cases on charges including murder and extortion, with many trials yet to begin.

Indian government agents were separately accused by Canada this week of having links to Bishnoi’s gang and running a campaign to target Indian dissidents in Canada. India’s government denies the allegations.

In Yadav’s Delhi case, the court order citing the complaint said: “The accused persons also brought bank cheque book from the cafe of the complainant and got his signature on blank cheques and later on dropped him near his car, threatening to remain silent.”

India needs to engage with Bangladesh much more proactively: Sudeep Chakravarti

Aseem — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 11:34:43 +0000

The prolific author Sudeep Chakravarti’s 10th book, Fallen City, is about Delhi, where two children, Geeta and Sanjay, were brutally murdered in 1978. He places the crime in a socio-political context. Chakravarti’s own life is as interesting as his work and he has just emerged after three years in Dhaka, where he set up a South Asia study department at a university. In an interview with Frontline, he speaks about his latest book, Bangladesh’s transformation over the years, the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the recent spate of violence against the nation’s Hindus, the protests in Kolkata, and more. Edited excerpts:

This could be the rare Indian book told through crime because it reenacts the murder of two children in Delhi’s Ridge area, which shocked the country. Eventually, it was a senseless killing and we never quite understand why it happened. It is disturbing. We are living in an age when there is a lot of true crime on Netflix for example. The name Billa Ranga is even today, associated with terrible criminals. They were eventually hanged. But their story is the randomness of the violence that struck me.

You are absolutely right. It translates to the nation. I think one of the reasons why we were transfixed as teenagers at that time is they [the children] were people like us, middle-class kids, who were trying to get ahead in life, doing interesting things, aspiring to get into what was being built to us at that point of time, not in 2024, but back in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, as the symbol of brave new India emerged; and these bright young kids are brutally taken away from society. It horrified people, it shocked people because of the sheer brutality of it and the sheer senselessness of it. And it also, I think, came at a certain time in India’s dark arc, or Delhi’s dark arc.

That arc for me began with 1975, the beginning, the imposition of the Emergency, then the cessation of the Emergency, the Opposition coming into play, the fall of the Congress empire, the Gandhi empire, the generation of the Janata government, the strange goings-on, like the hard Hindu right, conservative right being a part of a coalition government with a left-of-centre coalition. Billa and Ranga emerged as hyphenated villains. And ironically their names continue to capture us to this day even though we tend to forget about Geeta and Sanjay. So, in a way, it was paying homage to people of my generation. Dreams that were taken away so brutally. It gave me an opportunity to talk about something that could be described as a true crime but interweave it with the socio-political environment and actually the mood of the moment.

Also Read | Time for a turnaround in Bangladesh

You have researched the newspapers, and spoken to top-notch journalists. What were the events happening simultaneously as the crime took place? Atal Bihari Vajpayee goes on to address the protesters at the Delhi boat club and he is hit with stones. Would you just tell us about that?

Indeed. And, remarkably, most people do not realise that Vajpayee was a member of the Janata government. I spent months delving through archives looking through newspapers, clippings, and microfilmspools. To come to Vajpayee’s incident, it was remarkable that he took it upon himself because even then he was an affable guy. He wanted to speak and he wanted to calm things down. He saw his role as a diplomat, the chief diplomat for India, but also in a way a chief diplomat for the government.

Interview with Sudeep Chakravarti

In an interview with Frontline, author Sudeep Chakravarti speaks about his latest book, Bangladesh’s transformation over the years, the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the recent spate of violence against the nation’s Hindus, the protests in Kolkata, and more. In an interview with Frontline, author Sudeep Chakravarti speaks about his latest book, Bangladesh’s transformation over the years, the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the recent spate of violence against the nation’s Hindus, the protests in Kolkata, and more.
| Video Credit:
Frontline

You have written multiple books. One of your books, which I liked, was Red Sun about the Naxal movement. You have written books on the Northeast, on Bengal, and the Battle of Plassey. But your life’s journey has involved an amazing amount of travel. And you have spent the last three years in Bangladesh. You were there when Sheikh Hasina was deposed.

I have a great engagement with Bangladesh. When I was there in the early 90s, I was one of the few people who believed in the idea of South Asia. So, the magazine I was with at the time, India Today, let me travel all over South Asia. I have actually seen the transition of Bangladesh over the past 30 years—from a military dictatorship into a democracy. I interviewed Sheikh Hasina when she was the leader of the Opposition, a very different Sheikh Hasina then: she went from being a very sharp, approachable leader of the Opposition to an autocratic premier of a country where she lived in an ivory tower. I had the good fortune to travel across Bangladesh and even interview people who are considered to be hardcore ultra conservative Islamists like Ghulam Azam.

I’ve seen Bangladesh go from a conservative phase to a self-professedly liberal, secular phase, which became conservative in its own right because the Awami League became more and more autocratic and the leaders became more and more autocratic. So, you have the irony of a democracy becoming an autocracy over time. And Sheikh Hasina was a symbol of that. I think it is necessary to explore this.

At the same time, Bangladesh was doing so well on development indices.

It did. I always describe it to my students and also when I write to speak, as inequity. You have a situation where Bangladesh, like India, has tremendously positive growth. Its infrastructure has grown by leaps and bounds. It is a forward-looking country, economically, and socially, in many indices, including human resources. In many ways, it may be a more equitable society than India. And yet, because of the political command and control, you effectively have had for the last 10 years, an increasingly autocratic and self-isolating power structure.

Many institutions, political institutions, judicial institutions, and policing institutions in Bangladesh, were weakened on account of this autocracy. And Sheikh Hasina was at the apex. And so, the economic progress, unfortunately, because of nepotism and cronyism, you had growth at certain levels. But I would describe it as a comet: the comet was the growth invited to the growth party, but not the tail of the comet. There was a disconnect, so there was great resentment because there was inflation and corruption. Tens of billions of dollars are being taken away from Bangladesh by crony capitalism. So, Bangladesh was inherently weakened from within, by the autocracy, by the kleptocracy.

Since you were in Dhaka recently, were Hindus specifically targeted in the violence that unfolded?

I did not feel insecure, but maybe because I am trained as a journalist, so I don’t feel that way when I am out. I am just, sort of, personalising it to tell you that I did not feel insecure at any point in time, but that doesn’t mean that others did not. So, there were instances of Hindus being attacked. Also, like in East Pakistan’s [present day Bangladesh] history and Bangladesh’s history, minorities in general have been attacked from time to time. Whenever there has been a political dislocation, which has let loose the dogs of war, in anarchy, people who can leverage command and control, will always try to go and grab whatever power they possibly can.

So, this is a classic case of a repeat, if you will. It’s happened several times in Bangladesh’s existence. It happened in East Pakistan’s history when there was political anarchy and there have been political transitions, typically the minorities were attacked. They were attacked this time also because there was a power vacuum, but they were absolutely not attacked to the level at which the Indian media were dog-whistling. The whole episode was completely blown out of proportion and I imagine this is a mixture of misinformation riding on disinformation. I want to categorically state this.

There should not be any confusion about that. By then, the interim government was in power. They were neighbourhood watches being kept in Dhaka when instances of temples were attacked, some Hindu businesses were attacked, and some shops were burned. Nobody is denying this. But you had Hindu organisations in Bangladesh beseeching Hindu organisations in India saying, will you please let us be Hindus in Bangladesh because we are quite alright, thank you very much. We do not need your help. That is number one. Number two, I have seen, and Bangladesh has seen that it is not a perfect situation and it is not safe for anybody, including the Hindus.

Neither is Bangladesh entirely safe right now because of this vulnerable situation, this transitional situation for Muslims of Bangladesh too. Because anarchy affects everybody. The true stories that have not been played up, amped up as much in the Indian media, for obvious reasons perhaps, is that you had Jamaat people, neighbourhood watches, and standing guard. It happened in 1984 in Delhi, where neighbourhood watches to protect Sikh families.

Some of the disturbing images included Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s and Rabindranath Tagore’s statues being brought down. Tagore’s “Amar Sonar Bangla” is the national anthem. Do you think all of that will change in the future? Do you think they might even have a new national anthem?

I don’t think they would have a new national anthem, because there has been a pushback. All across Bangladesh, people gathered on the streets to sing Amar Sonar... Cultural activists, and sculptors, pooled resources, and they went and with their own hands, fixed as many statues as they could of Tagore. Bangladesh has a very fond space for him.

The Bangladesh story is, of course, eternal, since you are a Bengali and you have written a book called The Bengalis.

I have survived both Bengals—Bengalis in India and overseas, and I’ve also survived Bengalis in Bangladesh. And the book contains all of them.

Soon after the events in Bangladesh, which all of us in India followed, we saw this protest coming out in Kolkata. Indeed, in the beginning, there was some superficial commentary that Bengalis, this side, got instigated by the protests, but it has obviously taken a life of its own. Do you think that what hashappened in India is entirely different?

No. I think the outrage or the atrocity in Arjun Hospital in Kolkata happened around the time that the protest movement and the killings had peaked in Bangladesh. And the hasty departure of Sheikh Hasina coincided with that. So, I think the public mood in Bangladesh did spill over, I think, inspirational, if you will, to Kolkata, and to other parts of Bengal and in many ways, across India, because there was outrage. But I think it has taken on a life of its own. But it was for different reasons altogether. That actually brings us back to the loop of a fallen city where we are outraged over crimes against women.

And, of course, that was Geeta and Sanjay, a boy, too. But repeatedly, we have Nirbhaya here. We have Tilottama in Kolkata. We seem to be outraged over these grotesque atrocities being perpetrated. And it is 45 years since Geeta and Sanjay Chopra’s death several years since Nirbhaya, and several years since a Netflix series on Nirbhaya, and so many unspoken and unheralded atrocities across India. It is just a shame and a tragedy that the criminal justice system of India, in all these decades, has not been able to keep pace with the needs of security of the women and children and the citizenry of India. I mean, that is a tragic deficit. And I don’t know how we can overcome this.

Bangladesh and Bengal: How different are they?

Very similar, and yet very different. I cooked up a term for it. I call it “Banglasphere”. That is my definition of wherever Bengalis live. So Bangladesh is part of Banglasphere, and so is West Bengal. But I think this. They are very distinct entities. Many people in West Bengal either do not get or do not wish to acknowledge that Bengalis in Bangladesh are Bengalis too. That you have an entity, you have a Bangladeshi life of its own, that you have the fact that the country is called Bangladesh, the land of the Bengalis.

Also Read | Bangladesh: Modi government’s diplomacy debacle

Where is the better Bengali literature coming out of? Is Bangladesh vibrant?

Bangladesh considers itself to be a repository of Bengali culture, of the Bengali language. You have the Bangla Academy in Dhaka. You have high-quality literature coming out of Bangladesh. There is a peculiarity in Bangladeshi literature. They love the short story form. So, there is a lot of the writing that comes out of Bangladesh, in terms of fictional writing, there’s a lot of poetry, like in West Bengal, but there is a remarkable volume of short stories.

Tell us about this demand to get Sheikh Hasina back.

Right now, I think there is going to be a kind of diplomatic chess game going on where because India gave shelter to Sheikh Hasina as a great friend and ally, which is all well and fine, but you do need to keep in mind the repercussions of that. I might use the fact that Sheik Hasina continues to be in India as a diplomatic lever to gain diplomatic concessions for Bangladesh, which is, I think, quite the right thing to do because many extant issues were dampened during her premiership: for instance, the sharing of river water. 54 rivers from India flow into Bangladesh. It is not just the Ganga and the Brahmaputra: 52 other rivers also decant into Bangladesh. We need to sort that out.

There needs to be a river water commission, like the Mekong River Commission between India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. That needs to happen. It was completely stalled. Mamata Banerjee needs to get her act together and not stall an agreement over the Teesta to save her vote bank in north Bengal. I think the stakes are too high right now. And for national interest, India needs to be engaging with Bangladesh much more proactively than it has been.

To my mind, they’ve been treating Bangladesh like many other countries of South Asia. And I’ve written this and spoken about it frequently as a zamindari. India is the zamindar and South Asia is the zamindari. There has been, even with outreach and with regional outreach, a tendency to overreach as well. And I think it is no coincidence that you have had senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs make damage control visits to the Maldives, make damage control visits to Nepal.

Damage control visits to Bangladesh. I am sure they will get down to it.

That needs to happen.

Saba Naqvi is a Delhi-based journalist and author of four books who writes on politics and identity issues.