COMPILED BY
ABHISHEK
SHARMA
EDITED BY
SIKANDER GARG
Mains
2013 are being held this year on a new pattern which envisages to test
multidimensional skills of candidates under a wide variety of topics. Edugaps
has created a set of focus issues for the civil services aspirants based on
current affairs from The Hindu and Press Information Bureau website along with
other sources.
UPSC
Foundation Day Lecture Series on ‘Governance and Public Service’
The 4thLecture on “Governance
and Public Service” delivered by President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee on
29th November, 2013 at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is responsible for advising the
Government on service related matters that actually cover personnel policy and
human resource management. It is in furthering this central role in the
governance structure that UPSC has initiated an annual lecture series focusing
on the inter linkage of governance and public services.
This lecture series aim at providing a forum for raising issues of contemporary
relevance to governance and public administration and to generate ideas and
fresh thinking that will help not only the UPSC but concomitantly all other
units of governance as well.
GOOD GOVERNANCE is essentially a democracy-intensifying concept
to make government administration and functioning more open, transparent and
accountable. Its major perspectives include :-
1. Good governance means focusing on the organisation’s
purpose and on outcomes for citizens and service users
1.1 Being clear about the organisation’s purpose and
its intended outcomes for citizens and service users
1.2 Making sure that users receive a high quality service
1.3 Making sure that taxpayers receive value for money
2. Good governance means performing effectively in
clearly defined functions and roles
2.1 Being clear about the functions of the governing
body
2.2 Being clear about the responsibilities of non-executives
and the executive, and making sure that those responsibilities are carried
out
2.3 Being clear about relationships between governors
and the public
3. Good governance means promoting values for the whole
organisation and demonstrating the
values of good governance through behaviour
3.1 Putting organisational values into practice
3.2 Individual governors behaving in ways that uphold
and exemplify effective governance
4. Good governance means taking informed, transparent
decisions and managing risk
4.1 Being rigorous and transparent about how decisions
are taken
4.2 Having and using good quality information, advice
and support
4.3 Making sure that an effective risk management
system is in operation
5. Good governance means developing the capacity and
capability of the governing body to be effective
5.1 Making sure that appointed and elected governors
have the skills, knowledge and experience they need to perform well
5.2 Developing the capability of people with governance
responsibilities and evaluating their performance, as individuals and as a
group
5.3 Striking a balance, in the membership of the
governing body, between continuity and renewal
6. Good governance means engaging stakeholders and
making accountability real
6.1 Understanding formal and informal accountability
relationships
6.2 Taking an active and planned approach to dialogue
with and accountability to the public
6.3 Taking an active and planned approach to
responsibility to staff
6.4 Engaging effectively with
institutional stakeholders
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PUNCHLINES FOR CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS
. The dance
of Indian democracy is a virtuoso performance, the functioning of its
institutions a monumental catastrophe. This irony is so palpable and needs to
be cured through civil service reforms.
. There is a need of
ideological philosophers rather than methodological technocrats, a need of
realists with an idealist dream, a need of creative philosophers rather than
mechanistic perspectives and above all a need of human engineers rather than
technocratic foremen in Indian Civil Services.
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Unshackling the
bureaucracy
The image of an honest civil servant subjected to arbitrary
transfer or suspension by the political executive at the behest of vested
interests is etched in the public consciousness as a key archetype of the
Indian bureaucracy. The rising public awareness of the importance of the
bureaucracy in the delivery of basic services to citizens has received a
welcome boost from the Supreme Court’s reformative verdict on insulating
officers from political interference.
Three significant
administrative reforms arise out of the court’s verdict on a petition by more
than 80 former bureaucrats: a fixed tenure for civil servants so that they are
not transferred at the whims and fancies of the political executive; and a
stipulation that all instructions by superiors be in writing, to protect
officers from wrongful pressure from their superiors, political masters and
vested interests. To prevent arbitrary transfers, the court has directed
that the Centre and the States establish Civil Service Boards (CSB) comprising
serving officers to advise the political executive on transfers, postings and
disciplinary action, until Parliament enacts a law in this regard. These
directions are meant to “ensure good governance, transparency and
accountability” in governmental functions, the court has said.
The Bench said: “We notice that much of the deterioration of the
standards of probity and accountability with the civil servants is due to the
political influence of persons purporting to represent those who are in
authority. The Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption, 1962 has
recommended that there should be a system of keeping some sort of records in
such situations. Rule 3(3) (iii) of the All India Service Rules specifically
requires that all orders from superior officers shall ordinarily be in
writing.”
It added, “Where in exceptional circumstances, action has to be
taken on the basis of oral directions, it is mandatory for the officer superior
to confirm the same in writing. The civil servant, who has received such
information, in turn, is required to seek confirmation of the directions in
writing as early as possible and it is the duty of the officer superior to
confirm the direction in writing.”
The Bench said: “There must be some records to demonstrate how
the civil servant has acted, if the decision is not his, but if he is acting on
oral directions, instructions, he should record such directions in the file. If
the civil servant is acting on oral directions or dictation of anybody, he will
be taking a risk, because he cannot later take the stand the decision was in
fact not his own. Recording of instructions, directions is, therefore,
necessary for fixing responsibility and ensuring accountability in the
functioning of civil servants and to uphold institutional integrity.”
Pointing out that “democracy requires an informed citizenry and
transparency of information,” the Bench said: “Oral and verbal instructions, if
not recorded, could not be provided [to citizens]. By acting on oral
directions, not recording the same, the rights guaranteed to the citizens under
the RTI Act could be defeated. The practice of giving oral
directions/instructions by the administrative superiors, political executive
etc, would defeat the object and purpose of RTI Act and would give room for
favouritism and corruption.”
The Bench, therefore, directed all State Governments and Union
Territories to issue in three months directions like Rule 3(3) (iii) of the All
India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. The petitioners said weak governance
manifesting in poor service delivery, excessive regulation, whimsical
interventions for personal benefit, wasteful public expenditure, inadequate
transparency and lack of accountability had reduced effectiveness of government
policies and impinged on development. They submitted that lack of good
governance affected the quality of life and violated the guarantees provided
under Article 21 (right to life and liberty) of the Constitution.
A question that might be raised is whether the Supreme Court was
overstepping its ambit by directing the constitution of a mechanism to regulate
transfers and postings, especially when draft Bills are in circulation on such
reforms. But it is evident that the court has taken judicial note of the
various official reports and studies in this regard. It quotes extensively from
past exercises — the reports of the K. Santhanam Committee on prevention of
corruption, the Hota Committee and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission
— that addressed these questions. These reports had recommended fixed tenures,
insulation from political interference, avoidance of oral instructions, and a
statutory board to decide on transfers. But these were not taken forward. The
failure of the executive to frame a legislative framework to address these key
concerns has forced the court to step in. The reality is that the phenomenon of
the ‘politician-bureaucrat-industrialist’ nexus is so entrenched that it
requires a sustained systemic effort to cleanse the administrative system. The
real gain for citizens is that the Supreme Court judgment has raised the bar
for good governance in this country by providing a framework to insulate
bureaucrats from the pressures of a clutch of vested interests which act
through the political system. Public confidence in governance is bound to rise
as a result of this landmark verdict.
NOTA will curb impersonation: court
(ELECTORAL REFORMS)
In
the existing electoral system, a dissatisfied voter does not turn up for voting
and this provides an opportunity for unscrupulous elements to impersonate
him/her. But if the option of ‘none of the above’ candidates is provided, even
reluctant voters could turn up at the booth and press the NOTA button in the
electronic voting machine, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
Allowing
a petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a three-judge Bench
headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam, said the provision for negative
voting would send clear signals to political parties and their candidates as to
what the electorate thought about them.
The
Bench pointed out that France, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Ukraine, Chile,
Bangladesh, the United States, Finland, Sweden, Columbia and Spain had provided
for neutral/protest/negative voting.
“Eventually,
voters’ participation explains the strength of democracy. Lesser voter
participation is rejection of commitment to democracy slowly but definitely,
whereas larger participation is better for democracy. But there is no yardstick
to determine what the correct and right voter participation is. If introducing
the NOTA button can increase participation of democracy then, in our cogent
view, nothing should stop the same.” Non-participation in the elections would
cause frustration and disinterest, “which is not a healthy sign of a growing
democracy like India.”
The
fundamental right under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution read with the
statutory right under Section 79(d) of the Representation of the
People Act would be violated unreasonably if the right not to vote
effectively was denied and secrecy was breached. The right to vote as well as
the right not to vote was statutorily recognised under Section 79(d) of the RP
Act and Rules 41(2) and (3) and 49-O of the Election Conduct Rules
respectively. “Whether a voter decides to cast his vote or not, in both cases,
secrecy has to be maintained. It cannot be said that if a voter decides to cast
his vote, secrecy will be maintained under Section 128 of the RP Act, read with
Rules 39 and 49M, and in case a voter decides not to cast his vote, secrecy
will not be maintained. Therefore, a part of Rule 49-O read with Form 17-A,
which treats a voter who decides not to cast his vote differently and allows
secrecy to be violated is arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Article 19
and is also ultra vires Sections 79(d) and 128 of the RP Act.”
The
court said the NOTA button sought for by the petitioners was similar to the
‘ABSTAIN’ button provided for in the voting machines in Parliament, the other
two being ‘AYES’ and NOES. For, by pressing the NOTA button, the voter would in
effect say he was abstaining from voting since he did not find any of the
candidates worthy of his vote.
The
Bench, therefore, directed the Election Commission to provide the necessary
provision in ballot papers/EVMs and the NOTA button.
“Inasmuch
as the Commission itself is in favour of the provision for NOTA in EVMs, we
direct the EC to implement the same either in a phased manner or at a time with
the assistance of the Government of India. We also direct the Government of
India to provide necessary help for implementation of the above direction.
Besides, we direct the EC to undertake awareness programmes to educate the
masses,” the Bench said.
The
Supreme Court, on July 10 this year, also declared ultra vires Section 8(4) of the Representation
of the People Act, 1951, which gave immunity to the convicted
parliamentarians/legislators from disqualification, provided they had
appealed against their conviction in the higher court within 90 days of being
sentenced
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RAGHURAM RAJAN COMMITTEE
The
Raghuram Rajan Committee has released its report on “Evolving a Composite
Index of States,” based on which the Centre should allocate funds to the
States. It recommends that “8.4% of funds will be allocated as a fixed basic
allocation. Of the remaining 91.6%,{+3}/{-4}th and{+1}/{-4}th of the funds
should be allocated on the basis of need and performance respectively.” Need
has to be captured through constructing an index of (under) development with
the help of 10 variables — monthly per capita consumption expenditure,
education, health, household amenities, poverty rate, female literacy, SC-ST
population, urbanisation rate, financial inclusion, and connectivity. Most
crucially, the report recommends that 25 per cent of the funds should be linked
to performance — recognition for effective governance and efficient use of
resources. Further, the formula rewards underdeveloped States more for an
improvement in the index so that these States do not to lose on allocations as
they develop.
Curiosity rover mission
It turns out the red planet doesn’t have
any atmospheric methane. Earthlings longing for inter-galactic
companionship may have to set their sights elsewhere, for the gas is an
important chemical signature of microbial activity. On earth, more than 90
per cent of methane is produced by living organisms. A series of tests
conducted by Curiosity, NASA’s rover on Mars, indicates an insignificant
amount of methane on the planet: 1.3 parts per billion by volume. This tiny
amount — about six times lower than previous estimates — greatly “reduces the
probability” of ongoing microbial activity and, possibly, of any microbial life
in the past. The results, published in Science , come as a surprise as a series of
observations made from satellites and earth-bound telescopes had found evidence
of higher amounts of methane. But some of these studies were mired in
controversy, and recent measurements had lowered the upper limit. Although most
of the studies found seasonal abundance or sudden spikes, it has not been
established that the spikes were associated with seasons on a repetitive basis.
Also, given that the methane molecule has a lifetime of about 300-600 years in
the atmosphere, its near absence is a setback for seekers of life on Mars.
The
consolation, however, is that its absence does not automatically rule out the
existence of life. Even on earth, not all organisms necessarily produce
methane. Unlike the evidence collected earlier, every find of Curiosity has
strengthened the possibility that Mars had been a habitable environment in the
past. Two definite, separate sources have confirmed the presence of liquid
water, the most essential prerequisite for habitability. The presence of
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen has further increased the habitability
quotient. Going by this, more tests at several other locations need to be
undertaken before methane’s absence can be fully confirmed. Aside from further
tests by Curiosity, the 2016 launch of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter by the European
Space Agency and Curiosity’s successor in 2020 may possibly settle the matter.
The search for life on Mars has been based on our understanding of life as seen
on earth. While all life forms on earth are based on carbon, science does not
rule out the tantalising possibility of silicon-based organisms in our
universe, though the theme has held more attraction for sci-fi writers than
scientists.
MOM – mars orbiter mission
ISRO plans to launch a 1,350 kg Mars
Orbiter from Sriharikota using PSLV-C25, an XL variant of the launcher, on
October 28, 2013 between 3.30pm and 4pm to avail of the November 2013 launch
window for the planet.
PSLV-C-25 will injected the MOM into a 250 X 23000 km orbit with an
inclination of 17.864 degree.
ISRO is aiming to send the spacecraft hurtling on a Mars intercept trajectory
from earth orbit on November 27, 2013.
The Mars orbiter will be placed in an orbit of 372 x 80,000 km around Mars and
will have a provision to carry 14.49 kg of scientific payload on- board. The following are the payloads short
listed for the Mars orbiter:
- Thermal Infrared
spectrometer weighing 4 kg to map the surface composition of Mars.
- Colour camera weighing
1.4 kg
- Lyman-alpha photometer
weighing 1.5 kg to measure atomic hydrogen in the Martian atmosphere.
- Mars Exospheric Neutral
Composition Analyser (MENCA) to study the Martian atmosphere.
- Methane Sensor weighing
3.59 kg capable of scanning the entire Martian disc within six minutes.
The Indian orbiter will concentrate on
climate and geology which is going to be crucial for future explorations of
Mars. The orbiter will join the international effort of assessing the
suitability of Mars to life by searching for subsurface groundwater trapped in
aquifers for thousands of years. It will also study the effect of solar wind on
the Mars' atmosphere and its surface magnetic field.
National Policy on Universal Electronic
Accessibility
The National
Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility recognizes the need to eliminate
discrimination on the basis of disabilities as well as to facilitate equal
access to electronics and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
The policy will facilitate equal and unhindered access to electronics and ICTs
products and services by differently abled persons (both physically and
mentally challenged) and to facilitate local language support for the same.
This shall be achieved through universal access to electronics and ICT products
and services to synchronize with barrier free environment and preferably usable
without adaptation. Differently abled persons all over the country will benefit
from this policy.
The following strategies are envisaged for the implementation of the policy:
• Creating awareness on universal electronics accessibility and universal
design.
• Capacity building and infrastructure development.
• Setting up of model electronics and ICTs centres for providing training and
demonstration to special educators and physically as well as mentally
challenged persons.
• Conducting research and development, use of innovation, ideas, technology
etc. whether indigenous or outsourced from abroad.
• Developing programme and schemes with greater emphasis for differently abled
women/children.
• Developing procurement guidelines for electronics and ICTs for accessibility
and assistive needs.
India ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Persons
with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2007 which, among other things, says that
"State Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with
disabilities, access on an equal basis with others, to the physical
environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including
ICTs and systems and to other facilities and services open or provided to the
public". Many countries who
are signatories to UNCRPD have legislation policy or a framework to ensure
equality for those with disability. Electronics and ICTs are key enablers in
mitigating barriers faced by differently abled persons and in helping them to
provide better opportunities for livelihood.
National Early Childhood Care and Education
(ECCE) Policy
The vision of
the National ECCE Policy is to promote inclusive, equitable and contextualized
opportunities for promoting optimal development and active learning capacity of
all children below 6 years of age. The Policy focus is on early preschool
learning for every child below six years. The
Union Cabinet approved the following proposals of the National Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE) Policy :
i) to implement and monitor of the Policy through National and State ECCE
Councils;
ii) to develop National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Framework
and Quality Standards and circulate to the States/Union Territories (UTs) for
preparation of Action Plans and implementation by States /UTs; and
iii) to delegate of power to the Ministry of Women and Child Development to
make necessary changes
The Policy would help to 158.7 million Indian children under six years of age
who need holistic and integrated early childhood care. In particular it would
enable preschool education inputs for their optimum development to realize
their potential. The key areas of
this policy are universal access with equity and inclusion, quality in ECCE,
strengthening capacity, monitoring and supervision, advocacy, research and
review.
Use innovation as a ladder to leapfrog to status of a developed nation,
says President
The President
of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the National Innovation Council’s
Report to the People 2013 in Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 19, 2013. Following are the extracts from his speech
. Knowledge and Innovation are the twin pillars around which nations will
compete, grow and prosper in the 21st Century. Strengthening the country’s
knowledge and innovation ecosystem is critical to ensure a brighter future for
our young and to enhance competitive advantage in an increasingly globalised
world.
. Applying the lens of innovation to these critical-needs sectors can not only
generate new solutions to solve old problems, but also enable the development
process to become more inclusive by serving a large section of underserved
populations at the bottom of economic pyramid.
. Innovating
in the areas of education, skill development, and entrepreneurship can enable
our youth emerge as the work force not only for India, but also for the world,
as working age populations decline globally.
. We are in
the midst of exciting times as we have access to new tools, technology and
connectivity and these platforms can ignite innovation like never before. New tools and platforms will have a
massive impact on organisational structures, delivery models and business
processes, where innovation will be critical. We as a nation must be ready for
this new wave of innovations. Indian approach of inclusive innovation can
emerge as a model for sustainable development for the world to emulate.
. Governments around the
world are making concerted efforts to encourage innovation. India, too,
dedicated 2010-20 as a decade of innovation. Government of India has announced
a Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy for innovation-led
development. The success of this policy will require creation of an eco-system,
collaboration and adoption of best global practices for innovation activities to
thrive. I am happy that National Innovation Council has been working through
international collaborations by inviting the top brains around the globe for
Global Innovation Round Table. The eco-system for innovation based on access,
equity and excellence will ensure that innovation becomes a way of life in this
country.
. All our efforts should
focus on inclusive growth, affordability, scalability and sustainability. Our
pervasive model of innovation ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’
should truly empower the nation and in the process lead to creation of wealth
for the stakeholders. This Indian approach of inclusive innovation can
also emerge as a model for sustainable development for the world to emulate.
. The Council is in the
final stages of launching the India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF), in
collaboration with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. This
fund is the first of its kind in the world, that will back creative new
solutions to developmental challenges - projects that improve quality of life
for the poor. Many innovative ideas suffer due to lack of funding options. This
fund, through appropriate structure, will ensure that this does not happen in
India any more.
India has an estimated
5,000 small and medium scale regional industry clusters and 85,000 MSME units
which are employing over 10 lakh people. These units are not functioning at the
optimal level. I am told that the National Innovation Council has been working
towards the creation of an ecosystem for seeding innovations in these small and
medium enterprises, by facilitating the creation of Innovation Clusters to
drive job creation and productivity.
. National Innovation
Council has piloted the Innovation Cluster models in 7 Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprise (MSME) clusters in the past 24 months. By successfully demonstrating
10 new products, 12 new processes and 2 new centres, the MSME cluster pilots
have opened the doors for positive impact in these units benefitting over a
million employees.
The National
Innovation Council has suggested the creation of a Meta University
riding on National Knowledge Network, which will reinterpret the concept
of a university as not just a traditional, physical space of learning, but as a
repository of knowledge and information that can be delivered in multiple ways,
and can be accessed from anywhere and anytime. This would offer a collaborative
and multi-disciplinary learning platform, where students enrolled in a primary
college/university will be able to take courses available in other universities
and colleges.
. The Council
has launched the ‘TOD FOD JOD’ (TFJ) initiative which aims to provide a
hands-on learning environment, where students can de-construct, re-construct or
re-purpose everyday objects that they see or use. This initiative is an
exciting step in fostering creative thinking and analytical skills amongst the
students.
. The Father of our
Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had said, “India lives in its villages.” He also
advocated for ‘village swaraj’. We have been making attempts through
conventional means to improve the lives of people living in villages. In spite
of our best efforts, we are still away from our goal. Government has launched
an ambitious programme to connect two lakh fifty thousand Panchayats in the
country through optic fibre based broadband. The empowerment of people
through innovative ICT applications will transform the way people live,
think, work and take decisions in villages. This will be closer to the dreams
of Mahatma Gandhi, who saw villages as nerve centres of India.
China rules out setting up ADIZ near India border
China has said
there was “no question” of it establishing an air defence identification zone
(ADIZ) near its border with India. It pointed out that such zones are set up
only by littoral countries in international airspace.
China
announced the setting up of its first ADIZ — an area in international airspace
within which countries monitor aircraft — which extends over the disputed East
China Sea islands that are at the centre of a dispute between China and Japan. The
Chinese government said that aircraft that enter its ADIZ — which overlaps with
parts of the ADIZ set up by Japan in 1969 — will be required to notify the
authorities in advance about their flight plans. Failure to do so could trigger
“emergency” responses from defence forces. Following the setting up of the East
China Sea ADIZ, China has said it will establish other zones “at the right time
after necessary preparations” are completed.
The
announcement has generated wide attention in the region, prompting Japan and
South Korea to voice concern, as the ADIZ overlaps with both countries’ zones.
Chinese officials have, however, defended the move, pointing out that many
countries, such as the U.S., Japan and South Korea, have long established
similar zones to track aircraft heading towards their airspace.
CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY
China often characterizes its foreign policy and national security
goals in terms of a series of principles and slogans.
Since the
1980s under Deng Xiaoping, Beijing has said it pursues an “independent
foreign policy of peace” under which China’s “fundamental” foreign policy
goals are:
• “To preserve China’s independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity,” and
• “To create a favourable international environment for China’s
reform and opening up and modernization.”
China has
also formally introduced the concept of a “harmonious world” into its
official lexicon to compliment its commitment to “peaceful development,” and
a “harmonious society” at home (see box).
China’s
concern over its “territorial integrity” is most associated with
(re)assumption of sovereign control over Taiwan and continued control over
the restive western autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet.
As communism declined as a
credible ideology, the
measure of the Chinese Communist Party’s fitness to lead – and arguably its
survival – became based on its ability to enhance national prosperity,
restore China’s prestige and stature as a great power, and unify the nation.
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India-China relations
(Extracts from Manmohan Singh's speech on India-China
relations at the Central Party School, Beijing )
Relations between India
and China are unique in the world. We are two continuous ancient civilizations.
We are neighbours with a long history of cultural, spiritual and economic ties.
We both embarked on a new phase of our political histories around the same
time. Today, we are the world’s two most populous nations, engaged in a process
of socio-economic transformation of our people on a scale and at a pace
unprecedented in human history.
Both our countries have
achieved considerable success in this endeavour. Indeed, China’s early economic
reforms and impressive achievements are a source of inspiration across the
developing world. After China, India has been the fastest growing major economy
in the world, averaging a growth rate of 7% per year over the past two decades
and around 8% per year during the past ten years. As a result, both our
economies have expanded several times. We have achieved a high degree of
economic modernization and have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of
poverty. In our own ways, we have also had an impact in shaping the global
economy – China in the manufacturing sector and India in the services sector.
Over the past two
decades, the process of economic reforms in India has gone through the rigour
of democratic debate, and met the test of political consensus and public
support. India’s policies have focused not only on accelerating growth, but
also on making it sustainable and regionally balanced. We have emphasized not
only modernization, but also addressing the challenges of opportunities,
capacity and equity for our vast and diverse population. This is the path on
which we will continue to move forward.
In structural terms,
India’s growth is propelled by domestic demand and financed largely by our own
resources. But we are also increasingly integrated into the global economy. The
prolonged global economic crisis has affected us, as it has many emerging
economies. I believe, however, that this is a temporary disruption. In recent
months, we have taken measures to enhance foreign investment flows, speed up
implementation of major projects, boost infrastructure development, strengthen
our financial markets, reform our tax systems and make our business environment
more attractive. Our effort is to return the Indian economy to a sustained
growth rate of 7-8% per annum. We believe that the underlying fundamentals of
our economy, particularly investment and savings rates, are strong and
consistent with this projection.
India’s critical
challenges in the days ahead are precisely in areas where I see opportunities
for cooperation between India and China and I would like to highlight eight
specific areas in this regard.
One, we need to pay much
greater attention to the expansion and modernization of our infrastructure.
India plans to invest one trillion U.S. dollars in infrastructure in the next
five years and we would welcome China’s expertise and investment in this
sector.
Two, we need to increase
our agricultural productivity in order to reduce rural-urban disparities in
income and manage efficiently the process of mass urbanization, which is a
phenomenon common to both our countries. This will mean paying particular
attention to the issues of water and waste management. China has significant
experience of urbanization and our national planners, city administrators and
entrepreneurs should share experiences and seek solutions in dealing with the
physical, social, environmental and human challenges of mobility and
urbanization.
Three, we want to draw
upon China’s strength in the manufacturing sector, which is vital for providing
mass employment. India, for its part, has strength in services, innovation and
certain manufacturing sectors, which can benefit China. A linked challenge for
India is in skill development, where we can learn from each other’s experience.
Four, as large and
growing consumers of energy, we should intensify cooperation on the shared
challenges of energy security, including joint development of renewable energy
resources, as well as working jointly with third countries.
Five, growing
population, shrinking land, improving consumption levels and price volatility
make food security a key policy priority for us. India has launched a major
legislation-based food security programme. Our two countries should pool our
resources and expertise in this area.
More broadly, in an
uncertain global environment, India and China can work together to impart
stability to the global economy and sustain growth in our two economies by
leveraging our resources, large unsaturated demand, economies of scale and our
growing income levels.
Six, in an integrated
world, economic success requires a favourable external environment. In recent
decades, India and China have been among the greatest beneficiaries of an open
global economy; a rule-based and open international trade regime; and free flow
of finance, information and technology.
However, the emerging
global environment may not remain as propitious as it has been in recent
decades. We should therefore work together to make the international economic
environment more conducive to our development efforts. Allow me to elaborate
this point.
After the prolonged
global economic crisis of 2008, we face a fundamentally different future for
the world economy. We are in the midst of a significant and ongoing
transformation where both political and economic power is being diffused. A
multi-polar world is emerging but its contours are not yet clear. Protectionist
sentiments in the West have increased and the global trading regime may become
fragmented by regional arrangements among major countries. India and China have
a vital stake in preserving an open, integrated and stable global trade regime
even as we work together to foster regional economic integration. We should
also intensify our efforts to support trade and investment and reduce risks in
emerging markets. The BRICS Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve
Arrangement are examples of such cooperative efforts. Our cooperation will also
help accelerate reforms in global financial institutions.
Seven, while we welcome
and celebrate the rapid economic growth of our economies, we must also confront
the challenges of climate change and focus greater attention on the
safeguarding of our fragile environment. Both India and China are heirs to
civilizations that value Nature and have practiced sustainability through the
ages. However, as we meet the basic needs of our people, we also face the
danger of unfair burdens being imposed on us for mitigating climate change. We
should ensure that the international response to climate change does not
constrain our growth and that it continues to be based on the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities.
Eight, India and China
have also benefited from a largely stable global order and peaceful periphery.
But we cannot take a stable political and security environment in our region
and beyond for granted. If we look carefully, many of our challenges are common.
Terrorism, extremism and radicalism emanating from our neighbourhood affect
both of us directly and can create instability across Asia. Similarly, maritime
security in the Pacific and Indian Oceans is vital for our economies just as
peace and stability in West Asia and Gulf are essential for our energy
security.
Above all, India and
China need a stable, secure and prosperous Asia Pacific region. The centre of
gravity of global opportunities and challenges are shifting to this region. In
the coming decades, China and India, together with the United States, Japan,
Korea and the ASEAN Community, will be among the largest economies in the
world. While this region embodies unparalleled dynamism and hope, it is also
one with unsettled questions and unresolved disputes. It will be in our mutual
interest to work for a cooperative, inclusive and rule-based security
architecture that enhances our collective security and regional and global
stability. While both India and China are large and confident enough to manage
their security challenges on their own, we can be more effective if we work
together. Regional stability and prosperity will also gain from stronger
connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region. This should be a shared enterprise of
India and China.
I have said on several
occasions that India welcomes China’s emergence. Frankly, old theories of
alliances and containment are no longer relevant. India and China cannot be
contained and our recent history is testimony to this. Nor should we seek to
contain others.
We both know that the
benefits of cooperation far outweigh any presumed gains from containment.
Therefore, we should engage with each other in a spirit of equality and
friendship and with the confidence that neither country is a threat to the
other. This is the essential premise of India’s external engagement. Our
strategic partnerships with other countries are defined by our own economic
interests, needs and aspirations. They are not directed against China or anyone
else. We expect a similar approach from China.
The landmark visit of
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China 25 years ago marked a new beginning in our
relationship. Since then, successive leaders in our two countries have built on
that historic opening. Over this period, our relationship has prospered and our
cooperation has expanded across a broad spectrum of areas. This is because we
have managed our differences and have, in general, kept our border regions
tranquil. At the same time, we continue to make progress on resolving our
border dispute. Having agreed the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles,
we are now discussing a Framework for a fair, reasonable and mutually
acceptable boundary settlement.
This stability in our
relationship has created the basic conditions for our two countries to exploit
the opportunities created by our economic growth and opening. Indeed, the most
dynamic area of our relationship has been economic and China has emerged as one
of India’s largest economic partners.
Naturally, there are
also concerns on both sides – whether it is incidents in the border region,
trans-border rivers or trade imbalances. Our recent experiences have shown that
these issues can become impediments to the full exploitation of the
opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation between India and
China, which is important for the continuing progress and transformation of our
two countries.
I believe that our two
countries not only share a common destiny, but that we have unlimited
possibilities for closer cooperation. Let me therefore outline seven practical
principles of engagement that I believe will set India and China on this
course.
One, we should reaffirm
an unwavering commitment to the principles of Panchsheel and conduct our
relationship in a spirit of mutual respect, sensitivity to each other’s
interests and sovereignty, and mutual and equal security. India has welcomed
President Xi Jinping’s concept of a new type of great power relations. This is
a contemporary development of the Panchsheel or Five Principles of Peaceful
Co-existence, elaborated by Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Zhou Enlai in the
1950s. It highlights, in a modern context, the need for creating inter-state
relations among major powers, based on mutual trust, sensitivity to each
other’s core concerns and a commitment to resolving all outstanding issues
through peaceful dialogue. We should develop our relations on the basis of
these principles.
Two, maintaining peace
and tranquility in the India-China border areas has been the cornerstone of our
relationship. It is essential for mutual confidence and for the expansion of
our relations. We should do nothing to disturb that. Indeed, we can achieve it
by adhering to our agreements and utilizing our bilateral mechanisms
effectively. At the same time, we should move quickly to resolve our boundary
issue.
Three, we should
increase consultations and cooperation on complex issues such as trans-border
rivers and our trade imbalance so as to strengthen our strategic and
cooperative partnership.
Four, we should maintain
a high level of strategic communication and consultations, in a spirit of
transparency, on our region and our periphery, eliminating misunderstanding
between our two countries and building experience of positive cooperation. As
the two largest countries in Asia, our strategic consultation and cooperation
will enhance peace, stability and security in our region and beyond.
Five, our convergence on
a broad range of global issues should lead to enhanced policy coordination on
regional and global affairs and cooperation in regional and multilateral forums
in the political, economic and security domains.
Six, we should harness
the full potential of cooperation in all aspects of our relationship, including
in the economic area.
And finally, we will
achieve much greater success in our relations by increasing contacts and
familiarity between our people in every walk of life.
Like a beautiful tangram
that emerges from seven different shapes, these seven principles would together
create a beautiful tapestry of India-China relations in the years ahead.
I am pleased that the
agreements that we have signed yesterday will help to advance many of these
shared principles. As officials who will determine public policy, I hope you
will do everything to advance our cooperation and promote India-China relations
from your positions of responsibility.
Before I conclude, let
me recall what I have often said, namely, that the world is large enough to
accommodate the development aspirations of both India and China. In my meeting
with President Xi yesterday, he echoed this thought when he said that the
Chinese and Indian dreams for becoming strong, developed and prosperous nations
are inter-connected and mutually compatible. My meetings with President Xi and
Premier Li give me great confidence that we can fulfill this vision. More than
ever before, the world needs both countries to prosper together. We were not
destined to be rivals, and we should show determination to become partners. Our
future should be defined by cooperation and not confrontation. It will not be
easy, but we must spare no effort. What is at stake is the future of India and
China; indeed, what may be at stake is the future of our region and our world.
Sachin Tendulkar bats
for sanitation
Cricket icon
Sachin Tendulkar has been named the regional brand ambassador by the UNICEF to
promote its Total Sanitation Campaign in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh and Nepal. After signing the relevant documents accepting his new
role in the presence of Karin Hulshof, UNICEF regional director South Asia.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born 24 April
1973) is a former Indian cricketer widely
acknowledged as the greatest batsman of the modern generation and by many as the greatest cricketer of all
time. He took up cricket at the
age of eleven, made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player
to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international
cricket. In October 2013, he
became the 16th player and first Indian to aggregate 50,000 runs in all
recognized cricket (first-class, List Aand Twenty20 combined). In 2002, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second
greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. Later in his career, Tendulkar was a part of the Indian team that
won the 2011 World Cup, his first win in six World Cup appearances for India. He had previously been named "Player of
the Tournament" at the 2003 edition of the tournament, held in South Africa. In 2013, he was the only Indian cricketer
included in an all-time Test World XI named to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
Tendulkar received the Arjuna Award in 1994 for outstanding sporting achievement, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, India's highest sporting honour, and the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively, India's fourth and second
highest civilian awards and within a few hours of ending of his final match
on 16 November 2013, the Prime Minister's
Office announced the decision to
award Tendulkar with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, making him the youngest recipient to
date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award. He also won the
2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the ICC awards. In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He was also the first sportsperson (and the first without an
aviation background) to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force. In 2012,
he was named an Honorary Member of the Order
of Australia.
In December
2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs. He retired from Twenty20
cricket in October 2013, and
subsequently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, retiring on
16 November 2013 after playing his 200th and
final Test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Tendulkar played 664
international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs.
|
“Reviving the India Story-
Policy Priorities for a Congress Government.”
(Extracts from Minister
for Information & Broadcasting Shri Manish Tewari’s Fullerton Lecture at IISS, Singapore.)
Since
its liberation in 1947, India has been an unfolding tale of a million
mutinies that have been imploding on its mosaic on a daily basis. Zillions of
ambitions and aspirations that bubble up every day in the hearts and minds of
more than a billion people who are the permanent cast in this story. It thus
becomes imperative to locate and anchor this milieu in its broader historical
context. Even a narrower focus on India's growth trajectory in the last
one decade would be incomplete and perhaps misleading if we do not take into
account the factors that have moulded and shaped the policies India has
adopted as also defined and determined the path it has trodden.
The
idea of India has baffled many thoughtful gentlemen in the past too.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill could not imagine that India was a
single Westphalian entity any more than the equator was.
Since Independence,
the warp and the woof of the India story has been consistently
woven by the Congress around a pluralistic society aspiring for equity in the
policy frameworks of governance. The India story has been, by and large, consistent
with this vision and understanding of India since the Congress has been heading
the government for almost the better part of time over the past sixty six years
except perhaps intermittently for little over a decade when other
political formations were at the helm of the ship of state.
As we engage in this
conversation a round of provincial elections are playing themselves out
concurrently and national elections are scheduled for the April-
May of 2014. However to discern the policy priorities for a Congress
government in its next term it is imperative too first delineate the core contours
that define India today and then rewind to 2004 and
evaluate the past nine plus years of UPA's rule as that is both the trampoline
and the spring board for future policy initiatives.
(i) The first contour of course is demographics. India is a young country with increasing capacities both among its employable and the employed population. When this dividend starts declining among some of the hyper powers of today say by 2033 India would just about be peaking and plateuing on this score.
(ii) The second is
the increasing efficiency of its working paradigms. A twenty one year
old who started his career in 1991, now has 21 years of experience in a
neo-liberal economic order. They are now more than acquainted with modern
technology, foreign companies, and above all a market driven domestic dynamic.
(iii) The third is better companies. Indian companies are
increasingly becoming both capable and competitive. The trepidation
that our corporate institutions are archaic monolith's that would collapse in
the face of global competition has been replaced by a sanguineness manifested
by Indian corporations in a plethora of sectors. They have not only
become conglomerates but are rapidly acquiring companies in the emerged
economies also.
(iv) The fourth is an increasingly robust financial order. India invests 35 per cent of its GDP every year. Steps are being initiated to reinforce the financial system by emulating best practices that the global financial system have on offer. The objective being to convert good investment to GDP ratio into a higher rate of GDP growth.
(v) The fifth is enhanced economic integration. India is now engaging with the world in a humongous manner. Gross flows on the current account are now 63.3 per cent of GDP and gross flows on the financial account are now 55.3 per cent of GDP. This fructifies into cross border gross flows of 118.6 per cent of GDP. This makes India one of the more permissive economies in the world. Engagement with the world brings in its wake a flow of ideas that invigorates the intellectual landscape also.
(iv) The fourth is an increasingly robust financial order. India invests 35 per cent of its GDP every year. Steps are being initiated to reinforce the financial system by emulating best practices that the global financial system have on offer. The objective being to convert good investment to GDP ratio into a higher rate of GDP growth.
(v) The fifth is enhanced economic integration. India is now engaging with the world in a humongous manner. Gross flows on the current account are now 63.3 per cent of GDP and gross flows on the financial account are now 55.3 per cent of GDP. This fructifies into cross border gross flows of 118.6 per cent of GDP. This makes India one of the more permissive economies in the world. Engagement with the world brings in its wake a flow of ideas that invigorates the intellectual landscape also.
(vi) The sixth is liberalism, democracy and a bottoms up
Public Discourse. A Liberal democracy that anchors both the rule of
law and an institutionalised judicial system Democracy ensures that
issues which resonate with an overwhelming bulk of the people engage the
collective energies of the policy community and liberalism ensures that there
is space for the last man in the last row to live his dream without fear of
discrimination or bias while the new media provides an opportunity to over 100
million Indians and growing the ability to articulate their views without let
or hindrance.
Economic
Development- In the past nine plus years the UPA government has built
up perhaps the most ambitious and holistic rights based social security
infrastructure. The Right to information, guaranteed 100 days of employment to
the rural poor, free and compulsory education to each child below 14 years of
age, the most comprehensive school lunch programme that feeds 120 million
children daily, food security for over 800 million people, forest rights to the
indigenous people and the overhaul of antiquated land acquisition laws the list
of initiatives is breath taking in the trinity of its scale conception and
implementation. All this was actioned without sacrificing growth. The UPA
government has delivered an average rate of 8.1 % GDP growth over the past nine
plus years. The mantra of equity with growth has been captioned and the talk
has been walked.This was achieved despite
the Arbitrage, Derivatives and leverages- the ADL cocktail of 2008 that mauled
the neo-liberal economic order down to its very fundamentals. After four
stellar years from 2004 to the September of 2008 growth did slow down in
2008-09, but India quickly rebounded from the slower growth of 6.7 per
cent in that year to record rates of growth of 8.6 per cent in 2009-10 and 9.3
per cent in 2010-11 respectively.
Unfortunately there was
a yet another upheaval in the global economy in 2011 on account of the
sovereign debt crisis in Europe and that resulted in the subsequent slide in
the global economic paradigms. Concurrently India also had to confront domestic
constraints on investment and consumption. As a corollary growth
declined to 6.2 per cent in 2011–12 and 5.0 per cent in 2012-13. The
current account deficit widened to USD 88 billion or 4.8 per cent of GDP
in 2012-13 though indications suggest that we would close the fiscal with a CAD
of 3.8%. A sharp down turn in manufacturing growth and a quantitative decrease
in the services sector further decelerated growth in the first quarter of
2013-14 to 4.4 %. India’s economic indices during this period are not an
exception but unfortunately the current norm. Most developing economies
have been hit by the phenomenon labelled as the 'Great
Descent'.
The silver lining however is
the manifestation of the green shoots of recovery in the badly-affected
Euro zone economies. Anticipation of an upward swing in the
economic trajectory of the US, coupled with the back benching of quantitative
easing, has generated hope of a gradual global revival. The Indian
economy has also showed early indications of recovery with an increase in
exports in the second economic quarter; reversal of negative growth
in the manufacturing sector, rise in freight traffic, a generous monsoon
and a sharp increase in the sown area which should fructify into enhanced farm
output. Numerous reform measures over the past one year should start
fructifying from the second half of the current fiscal translating into the
expectation that the Indian economy will grow at over 5.0 per cent and perhaps
closer to 5.5 per cent in 2013-14. Juxtaposed against global economic context
even a growth rate of 5.0 per cent should qualify for more than an E for
effort. Our foremost policy priority therefore, would be to return the growth
trajectory to the commanding heights of the previous decade by expediting
pending financial legislation as well as other policy initiatives which would
ensure the top tracking of this process.
Foreign Policy- In the past nine plus years one of the significant successes of the UPA has
been strategic positioning of India’s interests in the evolving
churn of global developments. India has successfully engaged with US,
Russia, China, EU, Japan, ASEAN, other global powers, multilateral institutions
and its own region managing contradictions without being overawed by the
responsibility that the movement to multi polarity portends. Notwithstanding
the Asian rebalance, the continued emergence of China as the lonely power or
the tumultuous events in the Middle east the moral imperatives that form the
bedrock of our foreign policy have not been diluted but tempered with the
pragmatism of the times we live in.
In the past nine plus
years the task of national reconstruction has been almost frantic to say the
least. Let me enumerate the steps taken to improve the Indian financial
architecture in this year itself. A commission of theoreticians and
practitioners has drafted a new Indian Financial Code a legislation drafted to
replace 50 existing laws governing finance with a single concurrent financial
statute. A brand new Companies Act is now in place. Commodity futures are
now dealt by the Ministry of Finance. A new law has been
promulgated establishing the Defined Contributory Pension mechanism under a
statutory regulator.
The first and foremost task is
to ensure that India transcends from a low Middle income to a Middle Income
country. This would require liberalising our economy further to attract
FDI/ FII inflows. This in turn means ensuring that an environment is recreated
where it is easy to do business and ensuring that profit is not made to sound
like a dirty word in our public discourse. This is the only way to ensure that
the ten million plus young people- the flower of our democratic dividend are
gainfully employed. Coupled with this is of course a special
emphasis too quickly put in place the remaining building blocks of the
financial edifice namely the Direct Taxes Code, Goods & Services Tax
legislation Banking and Insurance enactments DTAA's TIEU's to name
but a few.
The second is to build
the Capacity of the state to be able to effectively address, surmount and
yet nurture the opportunities that emerging frontiers have on offer. A
State that can deliver public goods and services efficaciously. The third
is a concerted attempt to completely overhaul India's colonial
administrative system so that vertical and horizontal avenues of talent intake
are created at every level of government. Perform or perish must be the new
administrative mantra of India. The fourth is the rewriting of a panoply
of century old laws with an expiry date to synchronise them with contemporary
realities that adequately empower the instrumentalities of the state to
implement these covenants by putting in place mechanisms that put a premium on
both performance and accountability. The fifth is to create capacity in
the judicial system at all levels to ensure that delivery of justice is
efficacious and swift. The sixth is to make it unambiguously clear
to our public institutions that policy choices and their execution are the
eminent domain of democratically elected governments. The seventh is to work
for the reform of global institutions to reflect current global realities
and not the post world war II power balance. The eighth is to augment
institutional wherewithal to protect our national interests both on land
and the high seas from state and non state actors. The ninth is to work with
likeminded nations prevent and pre-empt militarization of outer space. The
tenth of course is to redouble our efforts at global disarmament. in this
context we welcome the accord with regard to Iran's Nuclear programme. The last
but not the least is to fix our politics and regenerate a spirit of
multi-partisanship on critical policy issues so that our legislative
institutions remain relevant to underwrite this transformation.
As we look to the next
two decades India requires space for consolidation to action the above
elucidated menu of priorities. That means tranquillity on our borders,
stability at home and an enlightened and secular leadership that can engage at
home and with the world in a spirit of partnership and not demagoguery. India’s
path of inclusive growth rests on the principles of social justice and equity,
peace and harmony, pluralistic understanding of the social reality and
celebration of diversity.
‘Anti-poverty programmes
are inefficient and leaky’
An internal
analysis in the Planning Commission shows that India can eliminate the poverty
gap by spending just a fraction of its annual anti-poverty budget instead of
inaugurating new anti-poverty schemes. The cost of pushing all households above
the poverty line would have been Rs. 55,744 crore during 2011-12 if cash
transfers were used instead of anti-poverty schemes.
Of this, Rs
42,932 crore would have had to be disbursed to the below poverty line
households in rural areas and the remaining Rs 12,812 crore to those in urban
areas. In 2011-12, the year for which the latest NSSO Consumption Expenditure
Survey data is available, the UPA government had spent Rs 72,822.07 crore on
food subsidy. The expenditure in the same year on the UPA’s seven flagship
schemes was Rs 1,09,379 crore.
The analysis
shows our anti-poverty programmes are so leaky and inefficient that even after
spending crores year after year, millions of Indians remain below the poverty
line. The government might as well lift everybody above the poverty line by
simply giving them cash.
Poverty gap is the
amount of cash given to a household to lift it above the poverty line. It is
the difference in the level of consumption of the households below the poverty
line and those on the line.
The analysis
uses the Tendulkar Poverty Line, according to which a household of five people
subsists with a monthly consumption of Rs. 874.50. This poverty line is very
close to the World Bank Poverty Line of an income of $1.25 a day (on a
Purchasing Power Parity basis). Households with lower consumption levels are
said to be below the poverty line or living on less than the bare minimum
required to subsist.
The UPA
government has on an average spent close to Rs. 1 lakh crore a year since 2004
on anti-poverty schemes. This is set to rise as the annual cost of implementing
the Food Security Law alone is estimated at Rs 1.2 lakh crore.
M S Swaminathan
gets Indira Gandhi National Integration Award
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|
Winner of many a award, Swaminathan has served as Director
of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (1966-72), Director
General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Secretary to the
Government of India, Department of Agricultural Research and Education
(1972-79).
A plant geneticist by training, Professor
Swaminathan's contributions to the agricultural renaissance of India have led
to his being widely referred to as the scientific leader of the green
revolution movement.
TELENGANA ISSUE
Giving life to
aspirations of a backward region
The demand
for a separate Telangana state is passing through twists and turns. The
protracted political process of claims, counter-claims, movement and
countermovement, coupled with electoral calculations by almost all political
formations, have complicated the issue beyond a reasonable and satisfactory
solution. The issue is on a chessboard. Every political move is dependent on
the move of the other, and does not address the basic problems or ask where the
political process went wrong.
While a
crisis of conflict of this kind calls for creative and constructive politics,
manipulative politics has occupied its place. Politics, conceptually, is the
science of analysing the problems of society and the art of solving them. This
institutionalised form of collective power is an invention of society to
resolve the contradictions that are thrown up in the course of change. Indian
politics has remained premature, and too pragmatic, rendering the problem-solving
mechanism difficult. The issue of Telangana and the way it has been handled is
testimony to this.
After
considerable procrastination, the Central government moved a step forward
towards the formation of the State of Telangana. But it has been accused of not
taking both regions (Telangana and Seemandhra) into confidence, not making
efforts to bring about a consensus, and imposing a unilateral and arbitrary
decision. Further, it is argued that whatever the decision, it should be fair
and just to both regions, without suggesting what such a solution is. This is
being oblivious to the historical process and the political failure to
intervene at an appropriate time to avert the present situation. A blame game
is on, forgetting that the seeds of the present crisis were sown at the time of
the merger of the two regions itself. The fact that there was a Gentlemen’s
Agreement at the time of the merger is reflective of the intrinsic tensions.
After entering into the agreement on six conditions to fortify the merger, the
leaders of Andhra Pradesh soon forgot the conditions. It is not only that the
conditions were not honoured; legal battles were waged to subvert them. The
Telangana people felt let down. Those who are more powerful believe that they
are at liberty to do whatever they wish, forgetting that such violations lead
to cumulative anger that flares up at one time or the other. It requires a deep
sense of history and strong commitment to the unity of the people to avoid
committing such mistakes. Rulers who lack vision always get trapped and start
blaming history.
The issue of
water- Apart
from the violations, the model of development that the rulers of Andhra Pradesh
opted for has these trappings. One of the major causes for the present
crisis is the technological choice made in the name of the Green Revolution in
the mid-1960s. This technology, which was essentially irrigation-centric,
proved to be counterproductive to all drought-prone regions across the nation,
accentuating the regional imbalances. Indian socio-political history would have
been different if only there had been a simultaneous technological breakthrough
in water scarce, dry land cultivation. If one believed that this policy choice
was inevitable to meet food scarcity, agriculture in the backward regions ought
to have been heavily subsidised. Farmers who were dependent for centuries on
open well or minor irrigation started tapping groundwater beyond capacity,
spending huge private resources on bore wells and electric pumps without any
subsidy on electricity which landed them in a debt trap. The situation was
further aggravated as the State started withdrawing subsidies under the
pressure of global economic forces as a part of structural adjustment. This was
so disastrous that more than two lakh farmers committed suicide. There were no
instances of suicide in the irrigated belt. All suicides took place in
water-deficit regions, sharpening subregional consciousness. One can see
the manifestation of this phenomenon in multiple subregional demands for statehood,
based on the logic that political power is a correction for regional imbalances
and distortions of development.
It is perhaps
keeping in view such possibilities that the makers of the Constitution provided
the simplest procedure for the formation of a new state. The flexibility built
into the Constitution reflects not only the historical times but also a
profound understanding of an evolving polity in a multiethnic,
multi-linguistic, multicultural, multi-caste, and multi-class Indian society. Realising
that it would be the backward and smaller regions that would demand statehood,
approval by the State Assembly was not made mandatory. Referring the matter to
the State Assembly is more a gesture to federalism than a constitutional
requirement.
To pit Article
371D against Article 3, as is now being done, is more to litigate the
issue than solve it. Article 371D is a provision made to divide the State into
six zones to protect public employment for locals in the State of Andhra
Pradesh. How can a provision meant for government employment in one State
supersede a provision that forms a part of the basic structure of the
Constitution? Article 3 of the Constitution acquired critical significance in
the wake of the neo-liberal model of development that accentuated the
sub-regional imbalances and shifted development from being state-centric to
ruthless market force-driven, with no qualms about pursuing profit. The market
would rather put up with any level of human sacrifice than concede democratic
aspirations.
Claims on
Hyderabad- It is in the very nature of capital that it always moves to
greener pastures and already developed industrial-friendly urban centres,
widening the gap between the rural and the urban, leading to claims and
counterclaims on urban spaces, forgetting that a huge population continues to
live in rural areas. Hyderabad was not the bone of contention in the 1972 Jai
Andhra agitation. Since huge investment went into the city, neglecting
agriculture in both the regions, Hyderabad has become a lucrative site. The
farming community which suffered on account of this perverted development is
not inclined to share the water or agree to the legitimate claims of a backward
drought-prone region. Instead of fighting for reasonable prices for agricultural
products, the focus is on more water for irrigation and the claims on
Hyderabad. Both these claims widen the gulf rather than bridge it.
The leaders
of the bigger region are using pressure tactics to stall the decision,
forgetting that they are the cause of the crisis. Telangana’s political
leadership too has to share the blame, whatever its present political position.
Added to it is the process of globalisation, and an obsession with growth and
expansion of the service sector at the cost of industrial and agricultural
development, creating an illusion that everybody’s future is tied to the city.
One should realise that this flawed development reduced the share of
agriculture to a mere 13 per cent of GDP and of industry to 16 per cent. This
is an economic volcano which may explode at any point. Rulers are looking for a
fascist alternative which can suppress all democratic aspirations and pave the
way for rapacious global capital and callous market forces. Subregional demands
are a historic search of backward drought-prone regions for a way out.
Subregionalism-
This
is the context in which the rise of subregionalism needs to be understood. Not
that a separate state of Telangana is a panacea for all the problems of the
region. But nor is keeping Andhra Pradesh together. The aspiration for
statehood has been simmering in Telangana for a very long time. It got
expressed violently in 1969 when 360 youth died in police firing. Indira Gandhi
took a tough line at that point of time. Surprisingly, in 1972, the Andhra region
wanted a separation. That was perhaps historically the right time to divide the
State; it would have been a bloodless solution. This time, the Telangana
movement has gone far deeper. Hundreds of young people tragically took their
lives as a form of protest. As the movement was picking up, the political
leadership of both regions took it very lightly, underestimating the political
aspirations of a backward region. It has reached a point where the truth has to
be faced. It is too late to think of alternative solutions. There is no single
political force either in Andhra Pradesh or at the national level which can
perform the miracle of keeping the people together or facilitate a friendly
separation. That is the tragedy of Telugu-speaking people and the Indian
political system.
National interest should
override sectional interest
Serious
national policies need serious, critical and rational thinking. Crowds and
political pressure, ad hoc gains and myopia can destroy carefully nurtured
systems. The unseemly haste in trying to push through a division process of
Andhra Pradesh hides more than it reveals. This was not how States were formed
earlier. As for the States Reorganisation Commission, clear guidelines were
laid out for the formation of states. Yes, the issue has been hanging fire for
a few years. Yet, the way it has been handled smacks of Machiavellian
manoeuvrings. When Andhra Pradesh was formed, leaders from different regions
sat down to discuss and solve disputes. This has not been properly attempted
now. Supposedly open agreements have not been openly arrived at. A centrally
brokered opinion was sought to be created. It was like growing an artificial
organ around a pre-designed matrix. Free suppression of opinion was not
tolerated in some places. People talked under duress. Intellectuals were
silenced by threats. This was the case in the 1969 Telangana and the 1972
Andhra agitations. This is usually the aetiology of any hysterical mass
movement. So, fake saints prod on people, calling for unleashing ‘the dogs of
war’.
The problem
has become a tangled web; will the decision be unnecessarily hastened? It moved
on to a fast track without serious thought or expert deliberations. It looked
as if the Group of Ministers was given a tailoring job to be finished in a
month’s time. Even stitching a coat to a design takes longer. Water disputes,
for example, require specified study by experts, engineers, hydrologists,
environmentalists, etc. The division of the High Court implies redistribution
of lakhs of pending civil and criminal cases, which definitely is bound to
delay justice. Pension problems are dime a dozen with several government and
autonomous government organisations requiring division too. The general
populace is bound to suffer. Service problems would mutate into court cases
requiring legal solution. The recent Supreme Court directive to Bihar and
Jharkhand on salaries of some employees not being paid for several years is a
pointer. While politicians and partisan interests can brush aside these things,
they are definitely not minor issues. If these are not addressed properly, what
is governance for? If waters get divided, revenue goes down, politically, both
probable States get weaker and the riverine deltas get damaged threatening food
security and pushing up food prices, why opt for it? If new states increase
insecurity and threaten national security and integration, what is the
rationale for creating them without a serious parliamentary debate on the
requirement or without a new States Reorganisation Commission? You have to work
out abscissio infiniti for a solution. The present exercise
is hopelessly inadequate.
The
peculiarity of the situation emanates from the almost callous, ad hoc and
visionless short-sightedness of the Congress think tank. They have landed
themselves in the proverbial “monkey’s tail in the wedge” situation of their
own making. The party has to rethink its national policies — whether to go in
for more states or not. It is time that all national parties rework their
policies on the issue of new states and the process to be adopted. A nation
cannot be kept in a labour room to deliver states on demand, long past its age
of conception. Developmental and human aspects of progress need attention and
nurturing. India cannot and should not remain a stone pelting, hate-mongering,
petty politicking nation, if it has to move forward. That kinetic energy cannot
be wasted; it should address the bigger issue of hunger, poverty and illiteracy
and gender discrimination among other such pressing human problems.
It is morally
and electorally improper and wrong to divide a state before elections. It goes
against all tenets of a free and fair election. The Srikrishna Report should
have been elaborately discussed in Parliament. It should be at some point of
time. Demonstrations and crowds should not be the deciders of policy in a
democratic system. Electoral outcomes or provisions for constitutional
procedures like a referendum alone should decide policy on crucial issues like
a state’s division.
The way the
entire process was handled looks synthetic and artificial, almost a mockery of
all democratic procedures. It is evident that a lot of hectoring was involved.
The so-called core committee has none who represent the two disputants or
protagonists. It does not even have the semblance of an honest broker. The
members are drawn from all the other South Indian States, competing for
industry, investment and river waters. Some represent the upper-riparian river
areas with vested interests. Since the talk of division, thousands of crores of
rupees of investment has moved out from Andhra Pradesh to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh Ministers queue up before New Delhi to present
their cases. The Antony Committee has turned into a farce. None of the members
ever visited the different regions of the State. It looks like a Hamletian mock
play; like a royal court with the defendant absent. This is in stark contrast
to the Prime Minister’s decision to not visit Sri Lanka, when Mr. Chidambaram
protested. It hurts you bad and hurts you deep.
Legal hurdles- The court
battle has not yet started. But it will. There are legal hurdles, not just
Article 371D and E. There are procedural hurdles. Even if they can be overcome,
the division cannot happen before the elections. There is absolutely no need
for such a hurried caesarean. People on both sides are fed up. Fed up with
politics and politicians. The 2014 election may throw up a strange mix of
results. The Congress may or may not remain divided. Some parties may fade
away. Some leaders will vanish too. In an undivided state, the Telangana
Rashtra Samithi (TRS) may turn into a Shiv Sena lookalike. The scenario is
unpredictable now. But elections are the only democratic way to solve this
issue. You either accept the Constitution and democracy, or you stay out of it.
Only through
another States Reorganisation Commission constituted by Parliament should
States be divided. National interests should override sectional and subregional
interests. India can ill-afford expenditures on bureaucratic infrastructure and
new capitals, as against the intense requirements of increasing food production
and increasing water storage through environment-friendly methodologies.
Creating new states is an ad hoc way of tackling unemployment or hunger or
improving education or science and technology. There have been apprehensions
whether all this is to weaken the quasi-federal nature of the Constitution and
whether this is to ensure that only some States have an edge over who rules
from New Delhi. It is time that these misgivings and doubts were dispelled and
democratic procedures and national integrity upheld.
A fresh opportunity in
Nepal
The results
of the elections to Nepal’s second Constituent Assembly are yet to fully
come out but there is little doubt that the Nepali Congress is set to become
the single largest party, followed by the Communist Party of Nepal (United
Marxist-Leninist). The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which won
a majority of the seats in the 2008 election, has been routed and is expected
to win fewer than a hundred places in the 601-seat House. The first
Constituent Assembly had to be dissolved after it failed in its task of framing
a Constitution even after its tenure was extended four times. Last week’s
election was originally scheduled for November 2012 but was postponed
repeatedly. The instability in Nepal belied the promise of the peace process
that ended the Maoist insurgency and brought the rebels into the political
mainstream. The Maoists have blamed their defeat in the election on
electoral fraud and have demanded a probe. But the extent of the rout shows
that it is more likely an expression of popular disillusionment and anger
against the former rebels. Seen as the establishment of the past five years,
they took the brunt of the blame for the dismal governance and inability to
deliver a Constitution to the people, even though this was a collective failure
of all parties. Nepali voters had rewarded the Maoists in 2008 because they
were unhappy with the nepotism, opportunism and corruption of the traditional
forces. With the Maoists copying the worst of these tendencies, voters saw no
reason to give them another chance. The 2012 split in the party also cost
the Maoists heavily.
The challenge
for Nepal’s fractious political forces now is to make the fresh start provided
by the election work. It is encouraging that after an initial threat to boycott
the new Assembly, the Maoists have been more conciliatory; the victorious NC
and the CPN (UML) have enough seats between them for government formation but
they have expressed the readiness to consider the Maoist demand for a
“government of consensus”. If Nepal is to go down this route again, the power
sharing negotiations will hopefully avoid last time’s pitfalls. A national
unity government will certainly help the Assembly’s main task of Constitution
making, which Nepal’s political forces have agreed must be based on consensus.
The last Assembly unravelled over the Maoist proposal, supported by Madhesi
parties but opposed by the NC and the CPN(UML), to divide Nepal into
identity-based federal units. This time, the parties have promised that they
will ready a Constitution within a year. This can be achieved only through
mutual accommodation. If there is a role for India, it should be to counsel the
victors against triumphalism and the losers against playing the spoiler.
RBI eases group limit
for NBFCs in insurance JVs
The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has decided to consider a case-to-case basis relaxation of
the 50 per cent group limit norm for NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) in
the equity of insurance joint venture.
``The IRDA
(Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) requires an insurance company
to expand its capital, taking into account the stipulations of the Insurance
Act and the solvency requirements of the insurance company,’’ the RBI said. The
current restriction of a group limit of the NBFC to 50 per cent of the equity
of the insurance JV ``may act as a constraint for the insurance company in
meeting the requirement of IRDA,’’ the apex noted.
If more than
one company (irrespective of doing financial activity or not) in the same group
of the NBFC wishes to take a stake in the insurance company, the contribution
by all companies in the same group have been counted for the limit of 50 per
cent equity investment in the insurance JV under the existing guidelines.
``On a
review, it has been decided that in cases where IRDA issues call for capital
infusion into the insurance JV, the Bank may, on a case-to-case basis, consider
need-based relaxation of the 50% group limit,’’ the apex bank said.
Application
for such relaxation, along with supporting documents, should be submitted by
the NBFC to the regional office of the RBI under whose jurisdiction its registered
office is situated, the apex bank said.
A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act,
1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities
issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a
like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but
does not include any institution whose principal business is that of
agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods
(other than securities) or providing any services and
sale/purchase/construction of immovable property. A non-banking institution
which is a company and has principal business of receiving deposits under any
scheme or arrangement in one lump sum or in installments by way of
contributions or in any other manner, is also a non-banking financial company
(Residuary non-banking company).
NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to
that of banks; however there are a few differences as given below:
i. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
ii. NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and
cannot issue cheques drawn on itself;
iii. deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee
Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.
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Child Marriages in India
Child
Marriage in India is a matter of serious concern. Child Marriage denies a child
the basic right to good health, nutrition and education. It is widely
acknowledged that early marriage makes girls more vulnerable to violence, abuse
and exploitation. For both girls and boys, marriage has a strong physical,
intellectual, psychological and emotional impact, cutting off educational
opportunities and chances of personal growth. While boys are also affected by
child marriage, this is an issue that impacts upon girls in far larger numbers
and with more intensity, so much so that nearly half of women age 18-29 (46
percent) and more than one-quarter of men age 21-29 (27 percent) are estimated
to have married before reaching the legal minimum age at marriage (NFHS III).
It is believed that the main reasons for early marriage are cultural factors,
social practices and economic pressures interacting with poverty and
inequality. Thus, the issue of child marriage is steeped in several
multi-dimensional social, economic, cultural and community related aspects.
Legislation forbidding child marriage in pre-independent India was put in place
in 1929. The child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 primarily focussed on
restraining the solemnization of child marriages.
The Union Government has endeavoured to curb the practice in recent years
through repealing Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 and bringing in a more
progressive Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 that includes punitive
measures against those who perform, permit and promote child marriage. Under
this Act, child marriage is defined as the marriage of males below the age of
21 years, and females below 18 years. It also provides for annulment of a child
marriage and gives a separated female the right to maintenance and residence
from her husband if he is above 18 or in-laws if he is a minor until she is
remarried. This Act came into effect in November 2007. The States are vested
with powers to formulate rules for implementation of this legislation and
carrying out the provisions. As per information provided by the States/UTs, so
far 24 UTs/ States have framed rules and 20 States/UTs have appointed Child
Marriage Prohibition Officers. The Central Government is regularly pursuing
with the State Governments for appointment of Child Marriage Prohibition
Officers and notification of state Rules.
The National Plan of Action for children 2005 also includes goals on eradicating
child marriage. One of the notable initiatives taken by India towards
protection of children including the girl child has been the establishment of a
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2007 for proper
enforcement of children’s rights and effective implementation of laws and
programs relating to children. Several National level policies formulated since
2000, including the National Population Policy 2000,the National Youth Policy
2003 and the National Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Strategy have
advocated delaying the age at marriage and the age of conceiving the first
child.
The Women and Child Development Ministry has taken a number of steps to enhance
the status of girl child and to address the problem of child marriage:
• To promote sensitization and awareness on the girl child, the Government has
declared January 24 of every year as ‘National Girl Child Day’.
• Every year, State Governments are requested to take special initiative to
delay marriage on AkhaTeej—the traditional day for such marriages, by
coordinated efforts.
• Workshops, seminars and legal awareness camps are organized to bring
attitudinal changes to prevent child marriage.
• SABLA, a Scheme for empowering adolescent girls, has been launched in 200
districts of the country from 19th November 2010. The Scheme aims at empowering
adolescent girls (11-18 years) by improving their nutritional and health status
and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational
skills etc. and building awareness on various issues. They would also be
sensitized towards the importance marriage at the right age. By empowering
adolescent girls, who can say no to early marriage, the Scheme would also
address the issue of child marriage.
• A National Consultation on Prevention of Child Marriage was organized on 25th
May 2012 in New Delhi. The discussions in the consultation primarily centred on
legislative and implementation aspects of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
(PCMA) 2006 and other related laws. It was agreed in the consultation that
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) measures and advocacy
particularly, after vulnerability mapping was the way forward for addressing
social attitude that perpetrates child marriage. Convergence between various
Central Departments and Ministries, and a coordinated inter-departmental action
for effective implementation of the relevant schemes and programmes of the
Centre and State Government on child marriage was also emphasized.
• A National Strategy on Child Marriage prevention focusing on law enforcement,
access to quality education and other opportunities, changing mind sets and
social norms, empowerment of adolescents etc. was prepared in December 2012.
• Based on the strategy, a draft National Plan of Action on prevention of Child
Marriage was prepared with the following main objectives:
i) To enforce PCMA 2006 and related laws and policies to protect children and
adolescents against child marriage and promote gender equality.
ii) To promote the right to quality education at all levels with a special
emphasis on girls.
iii) To generate a change in social norms and attitudes regarding child
marriage and the role and status of girls in society.
iv) To empower and build capacities of adolescent boys and girls to access
services and make informed decisions in matters affecting their lives.
v) To generate knowledge and data to inform programmes and policies.
vi) To develop and establish monitoring and evaluation systems to measure
outcomes.
vii) To enhance convergence across line Ministries, departments and other
stakeholders.
The draft Plan of Action was discussed in a Regional Consultation at Lucknow on
8th July 2013 and in a National Consultation at New Delhi on 18th July
2013.Based on the deliberations, the National Plan of Action is being finalized
.The National Plan of Action defines goals, objectives, and strategies besides
delineating roles of different stakeholder. It adopts strategic interventions
which will be implemented by various stake holders viz. Central Government,
State Governments, local self governments, Civil Society, and NGOs using
convergent and multi-dimensional approaches.
PM to inaugurate 3rd BRICS International
Competition Conference 2013
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India
will inaugurate 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference
(ICC) on Thursday, the 21st November, 2013 in a function at New
Delhi. The 2-dayconference is being organised by Competition
Commission of India (CCI) on behalf of BRICS countries in pursuance of the
Beijing Consensus, New Delhi Declaration and Action Plan adopted at Fourth
BRICS Leaders Summit in New Delhi on March 29, 2012. The theme of the 3rd BRICS
ICC is “Competition Enforcement in BRICS Countries: Issues and Challenges”.
The conference is organized biennially by one of the BRICS competition
authorities on behalf of the all the BRICS competition authorities. The first
BRICS Competition Conference was organized in Kazan, Russia in September,
2009 following the first BRICS Summit in June 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The second BRICS ICC was organised in Beijing, China during 20-22 September,
2011 by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), China as per
the mandate of second BRIC Leaders Summit in April, 2010 in Brasilia,
Brazil. The theme was “Competition Enforcement under Economic
Globalisation.”
The objective of the 3rd BRICS ICC is to discuss various
issues and challenges in competition enforcement in BRICS countries and take
the agenda of cooperation among the BRICS competition authorities forward from
the earlier two conferences. During the two day conference, discussions would
focus on issues and challenges in setting up an affective agency, enforcement
vis-à-vis state owned enterprises, public procurement and creation of
competition culture. A separate session has been provided for
experience sharing by mature jurisdictions on the subject of role of
Competition regulation in innovation and economic development.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) will also sign a MoU with
European Union (EU) on competition issues. A Delhi Accord shall be
signed with BRICS competition authorities on the second day of the conference
on 22nd November, 2013.
Upgradation of libraries
providing services to the public under the National Mission on Libraries
The Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Ministry of Culture's proposal
of the scheme for upgradation of libraries providing services to the public
under the National Mission on Libraries (NML).
The scheme would benefit students, researchers, scientists, children, artists,
differently abled persons, the general public, neo and non-literates and would
entail an expenditure of Rs.400 crore during the 12th Plan period.
The scheme envisages creating a National Virtual Library of India for
facilitating a comprehensive database on digital resources on information about
India and on information generated in India. This would be facilitated in an
open access environment.
The scheme would develop six libraries under Ministry of Culture, 35 state
Central Libraries and 35 District Libraries, with particular emphasis on
economically backward districts, as model libraries. In addition, 629 district
libraries across the States would be provided network connectivity.
The scheme intends to prepare a baseline data of libraries in India through a
quantitative and qualitative survey of 5000 libraries to collect detailed
information on quality characteristics and performance indicators in terms of
their traditional role as readership promoters. It would also be assessed
whether these libraries meet the requirement of their users in the
electronic/internet era.
The scheme also proposes to enhance the professional competence of library
personnel.
For setting up of the NML model libraries, existing libraries would be
identified in consultation with State governments, to improve infrastructure
and upgrade technology used by them. Efforts would be made to locate them
alongwith educational institutions.
Library professionals working in public and other libraries would be given need
based training to improve their managerial skill and competence to utilize
Information Communication Technology applications.
While the survey of libraries would be completed within one year, the other
objectives of the scheme would be achieved by the end of the 12th Plan
period.
Background: In pursuance of National Knowledge Commission
recommendation for setting up a National Mission on Libraries to revamp the
Library and Information Service Sector, the Ministry of Culture had set up a
high level committee as the National Mission on Libraries.
Mandatory use of jute in
packaging for the jute year 2013-14
In pursuance of the Jute
Packaging Material Act, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved
mandatory packaging of 90 percent of the production of foodgrains and 20
percent of the production of sugar in the jute packaging material for the jute
year 2013-14 (1st July, 2013 to 30th June, 2014), with the following
exemptions:
(i) Sugar packed for export, but which could not be exported may be exempted
from the operation of the Order on the basis of an assessment by and request of
the Department of Food and Public Distribution. For such exemptions, separate guidelines
will be prepared.
(ii) The following will be out of the purview of the reservation:
a. Sugar fortified with Vitamins.
b. Packaging for export of the commodities.
c. Small consumer packs of 25 kgs and below.
d. Bulk packaging of more than 100 kgs.
(iii) In case of any shortage or disruption in supply of jute packaging
material or in other contingency/exigency, the Ministry of Textiles will, in
consultation with user ministries concerned, relax these provisions further, up
to a maximum of 30 percent of the production of foodgrains over and above the
provisions mentioned above.
The approval will provide relief to 3.7 lakh workers employed in jute mills and
ancillary units as well as support the livelihood of around 40 lakh farm
families. Besides, it will help protect the environment as jute is a natural,
biodegradable and reusable fibre.
Under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory use in Packing Commodities) Act,
1987 (JPM Act), the Government is required to consider and provide for the
compulsory use of jute packaging material in the supply and distribution of
certain commodities in the interest of production of raw jute and jute
packaging material and of persons engaged in the production thereof and for
matters connected therewith.
India,
Belgium agree to enhance cooperation in Renewable Energy
India and Belgium have agreed
to work on signing an MOU to enhance cooperation in renewable energy. This was
discussed at a bilateral meeting between Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New
and Renewable Energy, Government of India and Her Royal Highness Princess
Astrid of Belgium. Princess Astrid is currently visiting India as head of the
Belgian Economic Mission to India. She is accompanied by Mr. Didier Reynders,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and
European Affairs and Mr. Kris Peeters, President of the Region of Flanders and
Flemish Minister for Economic, Foreign Policy along with a large business
delegation.
Dr. Abdullah briefed the visiting delegation on the energy situation in India
and the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector in India. He spoke of
India’s plans to add over 30 GW of renewable energy to its energy mix in the
next 5 years. He dwelt on the success of the wind programme as well as the
significant cost reductions in solar energy through the Jawahar Lal Nehru
National Solar Mission (JNNSM). He also highlighted India’s conducive and
investor friendly policy framework for promoting renewable energy in a big way.
Dr. Abdullah suggested that India and Belgium had great potential for enhancing
cooperation in promoting renewable energy and offered to provide all possible
assistance for the purpose.
The Belgian delegation recognized India’s considerable achievements and
strengths in renewable energy and noted that India had made large strides in
this field. The business delegation accompanying the official delegation also
made brief presentations on their activities and reciprocated India’s desire
for enhanced energy cooperation between the two countries.
After detailed discussions, the two sides agreed to start work on a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Renewable Energy between the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India and the Government of Belgium
in order to strengthen, promote and develop renewable energy cooperation
between the two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Both
countries also agreed to explore possibilities of coordination in renewable
energy through joint Research and Development programmes of mutual interest.
Ministry of Rural Development
launches Kaam Mango Abhiyan under MGNREGA
The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a
“Kaam Mango Abhiyan” last week to proactively register demand in
select districts of the country. Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister,
Rural Development has written to chief ministers of the six states last week
urging states to use the opportunity to’ motivate all stakeholders in realizing
the benefits conferred under the Act’ and ‘create good models that can benefit
large number of poor households’. He has urged Chief Ministers to personally
lead this effort and extend it to all districts of these states. Chief Minister
of Jharkhand Shri Hemant Soren has already flagged off
the abhiyan recently with several MGNREGA workers and civil society
representatives present.
The Ministry recognises that the decline in people demanding work
under MGNREGA is not because of a lack of demand but because of a failure to
capture demand effectively. This campaign therefore seeks to increase awareness
around the entitlements of MGNREGA and increase participation in
the programme by fulfilling the guarantee of employed against demand.
For the coming month, the focus will be on six districts in the country – Sitapur (Uttar
Pradesh), Nashik (Maharashtra), Raichur (Karnataka), Katihar (Bihar),
West Singhbum (Jharkhand) and Sundergarh (Odisha). This
will present a model for a nationwide campaign that will be launched on 2nd February
2014, MGNREGA Day.
The abhiyan will be a collaborative effort with district, state
and central government, NREGA workers and civil society organisations. In
this duration an attempt will be made to reach out to every ward/habitation and
give people an opportunity to register their demand for NREGA work. Multiple
modes to capture demand will be utilised. It will involve training of
officials, mass awareness drives viapadyatras and institutionalizing
monthly “Rozgar Diwas in every panchayat as an opportunity
for people to register their demand and grievances. Demand will be anticipated
and capacity will be built for increased responsiveness of the
administration.
Through this campaign, the Ministry of Rural Development invites the active
support and facilitation of all sections of society including civil
society organisations, district administration, state administration,
students, media, academics and most importantly NREGA workers. The Ministry
will be monitoring figures of demand as reflected on the official MGNREGA
website.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
is an Indian law that aims to
guarantee the 'right to work' and ensure
livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of
guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult
members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
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Jharkhand Kaam Maango Abhiyan Launch
The Kaam Maango Abiyan was launched in Jharkhand
in Chaibasa district recently
by Shri Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand during the
ongoing Vikas Mela. With over 2000 people present, the Chief Minister
directed the administration to implement the abhiyan in its true
spirit. The Chief Minister personally registered demand of twenty workers by
accepting the application and handing over receipts. These accepted
applications were then given to the Rozgar Sewak who was to
ensure that work is opened with fifteen days of the date of demand. In his
speech, the Chief Minister appreciated the collaborative efforts made by the
district administration and civil society organizations such as the Poorest
Areas Civil Society (PACS) working in the area.
Just one in 10 women
inherit land
Just one in
ten women whose parents own agricultural land inherit any land, a
soon-to-be-published study by U.N. Women and the land rights advocacy group
Landesa has shown. Eight years after women were given equal inheritance rights
in law, dowry is still seen as ‘adequate’ recompense for inheritance, the study
finds.
In 2005,
India amended the Hindu Succession Act to give sons and daughters equal rights
in inheriting agricultural land. (Five southern States — Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra — had already amended their State
laws between 1986 and 1994.) The study, the first substantial evaluation of the
impact of the amended law, covered a sample of 1,440 women and 360 men in three
States — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh — between August and October
2013.
Despite the
poor impact of the 2005 legislation, the study still showed that laws are
significant. Andhra Pradesh, which has had an equal inheritance law in place
for 20 years more than the other two States, had over four times the rate of
female inheritance as in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh; over one-third of women in
the AP sample had either inherited parental land or expected to as compared to
8% in Bihar and 7% in MP. Moreover, the rate of female inheritance has gone up
substantially in AP, the researchers found, since far more women in the sample
had inherited land than their mothers had. Overall, only 36 women in the entire
sample said they had claimed parental land and of these only six women reported
being the ones who had handled the paperwork. Women inheriting land is so
uncommon that 69% of the women interviewed said that they didn’t know any woman
who had inherited land from her parents.
If the women
in the sample had inherited the share of land that they are entitled to by law,
they would have inherited an average of 11.88 decimals of land each, the study
found. The real average, however, was just 0.93 decimals of land each. Nor was
the value of dowry received by women in the sample equivalent to the value of
land they were legally entitled to, the study found. Three out of four women
were aware that daughters had the right to inherit land from their parents, but
most were unaware of the specifics of the law. The majority of women said that they
did not want to inherit land, because of the opposition they would face within
their families. Proving their apprehensions well-founded, the majority of men
said that they were opposed to their sisters or daughters inheriting land, the
survey found. Land and revenue officials were overwhelmingly male and most were
unaware of the specific clauses of the Act.
New Chief Justice of
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The President
of Pakistan approved the appointment of Justice Tassaduq Jillani as the next
chief justice of the Supreme Court, according to official sources.
Justice
Jillani who is acting chief election commissioner, will take over on December
12 from Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry when he retires after a tenure
of eight years. A Supreme Court judge since 2004, he too was sacked like many
others after General Pervez Musharraf imposed an emergency in 2007.
High-energy neutrinos
from alien sources found
In what is
called the dawn of the era of neutrino astronomy, researchers of the IceCube
collaboration have detected very high-energy neutrinos from extraterrestrial
sources, possibly from outside our solar system. In a paper published in Science on November 22, they share the results
of the experimental observations from 2010 to 2012.
Apart from
several low-energy neutrinos, they observed 28 events of high-energy neutrinos
interacting with the detectors, and of these, two have energies in the range of
petaelectronvolts (PeV). A petaelectron volt is equal to 1,000,000
gigaelectronvolt and is among the higher ranges of energy of the cosmic rays.
The studies show a statistical measure of four sigma, which means the data is
not merely a coincidence but has statistical significance.
“These are
the highest energy neutrinos ever observed, and except for a few, which were
detected from a nearby supernova in 1987, the only ones that have ever been
seen coming from outside of our solar system.”
Unlike
earlier detectors which were designed to detect neutrinos indirectly, the
IceCube detectors are designed to detect neutrinos of very high energy — up to
thousands of PeVs from higher energy cosmic rays. IceCube consists of over
5,160 detectors buried deep into the ice in the South Pole in Antarctica, and
the size of the entire ensemble is about one cubic kilometre.
This
extraordinary size is what makes it sensitive to the elusive neutrino, which
interacts extremely weakly with matter.
Navtex Chain- Navigational
Telex Coverage System Launched
The Union Minister of shipping
Shri G.K. Vasan said that his ministry is taking further steps to provide the
state of the art aids to facilitate navigation and to set up a most formidable
surveillance network for identifying unfriendly vessels. He was speaking after
laying the foundation of the Parangipettai Navtex Transmitting Station at a
function in Chennai this morning.
The Minister said that as part of our obligations under the Safety of Life at
Sea Convention, his Ministry has asked its technical arm of the Directorate
General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL) to provide for continuous
Navigational Telex (Navtex) coverage of Indian waters. DGLL has made a
meticulous plan in covering the entire Indian Coastline including islands by
establishing seven (7) transmitting stations where safety, weather, and search
and rescue related broadcast will be made up to 250 Nautical Miles. The scheme
is conceived at a cost of about Rs 20 crore and is likely to be operational by
the end of next year (2014). Two of these transmitting stations are being
established in Tamilnadu - one at Parangipettai and the other at Muttam Point.
Shri Vasan said that as the lighthouses are evenly spread along the Indian
Coastline and due to their even geographical distribution; they have been
identified for establishing our country’s surveillance network. Lighthouses
form a critical component of our coastal security. Keeping this in view, the
DGLL has set up a state of the art National Automatic Identification System
(AIS) Network which track vessels upto 25 NM from our coast.
He pointed out that another recent initiative was the establishment of the
Vessel Traffic System in the Gulf of Kachchh at a cost of about Rs.182 crore.
The VTS extends over a coastal area of 800 KM at 22 sites, catering to the
needs of all the ports of the Gulf of Kachchh. This is one of the largest
systems in the world presently catering to the requirements of six (6) ports
with capability of extension to ten (10) other ports.
Shri Vasan said that a pilot project to identify suitable transponders for
fishing vessels is also in progress. This is intended to caution other vessels
plying close to the coastline against possible collisions. After successful
trials, the project would be extended all over the country to provide
navigational safety for fishing vessels.
National Integration
Week
With a view to foster and
reinforce the spirit of Communal Harmony, National Integration and pride in
vibrant, composite culture and nationhood, the “Quami Ekta Week” (National
Integration week) will be observed all over the country, from the 19th to 25th
November, 2013.
The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous organization
with the Ministry of Home Affairs also organizes communal harmony campaign
coinciding with the Qaumi Ekta Week. The foundation also provides financial
assistance for relief and rehabilitation of children rendered orphan or
destitute in communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence.
The week long programmes to be observed during Quami Ekta Week
(Nov.19-25th,2013) include National Integration Day (Nov.19), Welfare of
Minorities Day (Nov.20), Linguistic Harmony Day (Nov.21), Weaker Sections Day
(Nov.22), Cultural Unity Day (Nov.23), Women’s Day(Nov. 24) and Conservation
Day (Nov.25) .
SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE
Territorial
disputes in the South China Sea involve
both land (island) and maritime disputes among seven sovereign states within the region, namely the:
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The disputes
include the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Tonkin as well as maritime boundaries off
the coasts of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. There is a further
dispute in the waters near Indonesia's Natuna
Islands. Additionally, there are disputes among the various island chains
of the South China Sea basin, including the Spratly Islands and the Paracel
Islands. The interests of different nations include acquiring fishing areas
around the two archipelagos, the potential exploitation of suspected crude oil and natural gas under the waters of various parts
of the South China Sea, and the strategic control of important shipping lanes.
The area is
potentially rich in oil and natural gas deposits; however, the estimates are
highly varied. The South China Sea is dubbed by China as the "second
Persian Sea." The
state-owned China Offshore Exploration Corp. planned to spend 200 billion RMB (US$30 billion) in the next 20 years to exploit oil in the region, with the
estimated production of 25 million metric tons of crude oil and natural gas per
annum, at a depth of 2000 meters within the next 5 years.
On March 11,
1976, the first Philippine oil company discovered an oil field off Palawan
Island (island within the South China Sea belonging to the Philippines). These
oil fields supply 15% of annual oil consumption in the Philippines.
The nine-dotted line was originally an
"eleven-dotted-line," first indicated by the then Kuomintang government of the Republic of
China in 1947, for its claims to the South China Sea. After, the Communist
Party of China took over mainland China and formed the People's Republic of
China in 1949. The line was adopted and revised to nine as endorsed by Zhou Enlai. The legacy of the
nine-dotted line is viewed by some Chinese government officials, and by the
Chinese military, as providing historical support for their claims to the South
China Sea.
Following World
War II, Chinese exercise of sovereignty over the South China Sea region, the
Spratly and Paracel archipelago and their adjacent waters was relatively
uncontested. The United States and Spain had not included the Spratly Islands
within the territorial limits of the Philippines in the Washington Treaty of
1898 and the Treaty of Paris in 1900. This understanding was reinforced by the
1973 Philippine Constitution, which followed the signing of the 1951
Philippine-US military alliance. In 1975, the government of North Vietnam (as
opposite to the Vietnam republic government in the South) explicitly recognized
China's territorial sovereignty over The Spratly archipelago after the fight
between the southern Vietnam government and China, and before December 1978 the
Malaysian published continental shelf map did not include the reefs and waters
of the Spratly archipelago in Malaysian territory.
In the 1970s
however, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries began referring to the
Spratly Islands as included in their own territory. On June 11, 1978, President
Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines issued Presidential decree No. 1596,
declaring the Spratly Islands (referred to therein as the Kalayaan Island
Group) as Philippine territory.
The abundant
fishing opportunities within the region are another motivation for the claim.
In 1988, the South China Sea is believed to have accounted for 8% of world
fishing catches, a figure that has grown since then. There have been many
clashes in the Philippines with foreign fishing vessels (including China) in
the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone. China believes that the value in fishing and oil from the sea has
risen to a trillion dollars.
The area is
also one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. In the 1980s, at least
270 merchant ships used the route each
day. Currently, more than half the tonnage of oil transported by sea passes
through it, a figure rising steadily with the growth of Chinese consumption of
oil. This traffic is three times greater than that passing through the Suez Canal and five times more than the Panama Canal.
Current
situation- Vietnam,
the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and other countries claim the reefs within
the Chinese nine-dotted line are unpopulated reefs. The United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea, which came into effect on November 16, 1994, resulted in more
intense territorial disputes between the parties. As of 2012, all of the Paracel Islands are under Chinese control. Eight of
the Spratly
Islands are
under Chinese control; Vietnamese troops have seized the greatest number of
Spratly islands, 29. Eight
islands are controlled by the Philippines, five by Malaysia, two by Brunei and
one by Taiwan.
ANSWER WRITING TIPS:-
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MAINTAIN THE STRUCTURE AND
FLOW THROUGHOUT THE ANSWER AND TRY TO IMBIBE ALL POSSIBLE ASPECTS OF THE
ISSUE
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ALWAYS END THE ANSWER ON A
POSITIVE/PROGRESSIVE NOTE WITH A FUTURE VISION
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BE SUCCINCT AND FOLLOW THE
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