top of page

By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Trust Reset

As the recent protests over the NEET paper leak showed, India’s examination system has reached a point where incremental repairs are no longer enough. The appointment of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, headed by technology pioneer Nandan Nilekani, is therefore not merely an administrative response to the NEET-UG paper leak crisis but a concrete attempt to rebuild confidence in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Examinations are gateways to opportunity,...

Trust Reset

As the recent protests over the NEET paper leak showed, India’s examination system has reached a point where incremental repairs are no longer enough. The appointment of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, headed by technology pioneer Nandan Nilekani, is therefore not merely an administrative response to the NEET-UG paper leak crisis but a concrete attempt to rebuild confidence in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Examinations are gateways to opportunity, social mobility and professional ambition. For millions of students across the country, a competitive examination represents years of sacrifice by families and the possibility of a better future. When question papers leak repeatedly, evaluation systems fail or allegations of manipulation emerge, the resulting damage strikes at the idea of fairness itself. The crisis surrounding NEET-UG exposed uncomfortable vulnerabilities in the country’s examination infrastructure. The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the subsequent appointment of Pralhad Joshi with additional charge of the ministry underlined the political seriousness of the issue. But political accountability alone cannot fix a structural problem. That is why the composition of the new task force is a move on the right direction. It brings together expertise from technology, space research, intelligence, education administration and logistics. Nilekani’s appointment is particularly significant. The former Infosys chief executive and architect of Aadhaar has experience in building large-scale digital public infrastructure involving hundreds of millions of citizens. The Aadhaar project itself was born out of a similar challenge: how to create a reliable identity system in a country where leakages and duplication weakened welfare delivery. India’s examination system now requires the same kind of thinking. The committee’s mandate to examine the entire examination lifecycle - from question paper creation and distribution to candidate verification, evaluation and results - is the right approach. The problem lies in multiple weak points where human intervention, poor security protocols and outdated processes can create opportunities for malpractice. Technology will inevitably be central to the solution. Artificial intelligence can help detect unusual patterns, blockchain-based verification can strengthen record security and better data systems can improve transparency. But a secure examination system requires independent oversight, professional management, clear accountability and swift punishment for wrongdoing. India’s National Testing Agency was created to bring efficiency and standardisation to public examinations. Its credibility must now be restored through reforms that are visible and trusted by students. The Nilekani task force has been given the difficult job of repairing that trust. The government has chosen a committee led by people with experience of managing complex national systems. It is a sensible first step. The real test will now be whether its recommendations translate into action.

Gaza’s Water Wars Amid Trump’s Peace Gambit

Without secure access to clean water, even the most ambitious ceasefire will be little more than a cease-fire.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump announced what he calls a ‘breakthrough’ in Gaza’s interminable war. The framework for an agreement between Israel and Hamas for the first phase of a peace deal includes a ceasefire, release of hostages, withdrawal of Israeli forces to a mutually agreed line and the opening of humanitarian aid channels. These developments foster cautious hope that more than just violence might be halted. But lurking beneath the headlines is an even more intractable crisis that may determine whether any future peace will hold. That is Gaza’s water system, which is presently dead on its feet.


Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth, squeezed between Israel, Egypt, and the sea. Its main source of fresh water, the coastal aquifer, has been degraded by decades of overuse and by saltwater intrusion. Much of the water that does reach people is polluted by untreated sewage.


Breaking point

The war that reopened in October 2023 has pushed this system past its breaking point. Fuel shortages driven by blockades and border restrictions have crippled desalination plants, pumping stations, wastewater treatment, and sewage networks. Reports show that over 85 percent of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure is now either damaged or in partial disrepair.


For most Gazans, access to clean water has fallen far below even the bare minimum. Estimates range from only 3-5 litres per day per person for drinking and basic cooking needs. That is a fraction of the World Health Organization’s emergency benchmark of 15 litres. Meanwhile, nearly 96 percent of groundwater is deemed undrinkable, whether because of salinity, chemical pollution or sewage contamination.


Water in Gaza is not just a tool of survival. It has become a bargaining chip, a tool of coercion. The supply lines from Mekorot (Israel’s utility) once supplied up to 70 percent of Gaza City’s needs. But the damage to those pipelines in the ongoing war and the numerous blockades have sharply reduced that share.


To control water is to control life, or at least to make survival dependent on others. For any peace plan to take root, negotiators must somehow guarantee not just a ceasefire or a troop withdrawal, but reliable and sustainable access to water, power, fuel, and repair of broken infrastructure.


The articles and statements emerging from recent negotiations suggest that Trump’s deal includes a phased Israeli withdrawal, hostage exchanges and perhaps an interim governance mechanism for Gaza under international supervision. But governance over water and infrastructure has so far received scant public detail.


Perilous existence

Critics warn that unless control over fuel supply, electricity, and access for reconstruction is explicitly addressed, water access will remain unstable. If Gaza’s desalination plants cannot run, if its wells have no power, if its sewage cannot be treated and if transmission pipelines are unusable, then its daily survival will still depend heavily on external aid.


Needless to say, humanitarian urgency is paramount at the moment. Disease, malnutrition and death will not wait for diplomacy. Tens of thousands already face life-threatening shortages, and unsafe water spreads cholera, typhoid, and other preventable illnesses. Any peace deal that fails to deliver essentials - clean water, sanitation, electricity - is unlikely to be accepted by Gaza’s population, and hollow peace will further breed resentment and instability. Control over water provides leverage not only for humanitarian relief but also for regional influence; the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others can shape the balance of power depending on who oversees infrastructure, aid flows and utilities.


Scarcity of water is a proven catalyst for conflict, and in Gaza, water could either spark renewed hostilities or serve as the fragile anchor holding peace together.


For peace to endure, fuel and electricity for water and sanitation infrastructure must be guaranteed, because without power, desalination plants, pumps, and treatment works cannot meet daily needs.


Repair and protection of pipelines, wells, and sewage systems must be prioritised, with existing damage not only fixed but safeguarded against further disruption, and technicians, materials, and shipping granted safe and sustained access. Governance of water services must be transparent and accountable. An interim body, if agreed upon, should include water experts and ensure neutral oversight of tariffs, maintenance, and supply chains. Reliable cross-border and international aid flows are critical, with spare parts, chemicals, and generators reaching Gaza without interruption, and logistical agreements structured to survive diplomatic breakdowns. Finally, monitoring and accountability mechanisms must be in place, including independent audits of water quality and infrastructure integrity to guarantee transparency and prevent failures from being hidden or ignored.


Trump’s recent announcement of a first-phase Gaza peace deal is a first step in what has turned into the most violent conflict of our times. Yet, unless water systems are front and centre, the deal risks being undone by what it fails to deliver, rather than affirmed by what it wins.


For its longevity, any proposed peace deal in Gaza must grapple with pipes as much as politics.


(The author is a Mumbai-based educator and an expert on the Indus Waters Treaty. Views personal.)

Comments

bottom of page