Sunday, December 16, 2012

Reforms Governance and role of CAG


The institution of C&AG is an important part of the governance and accountability structures of our country. Its existence underpins and highlights the necessity for accountability of public expenditures by public authorities towards Parliament which represents the Supreme will of the people of this country. One of the main instruments through which Parliament exercises this accountability is the office of the CAG. It is in recognition of this role that the CAG has been assigned constitutional status by our founding fathers.
A constitutional mandate for the CAG also reflects the high value that we have placed on integrity and transparency in our public life. All public servants in this country are first and foremost accountable to people. The rationale for whatever decisions that we take must be empowerment and welfare of our people. This is absolutely fundamental for any democratic system. There will be moments in a nation’s life when institutions would appear to be under stress but as long as we have faith in our basic democratic values and the supremacy of our people and Parliamentary processes, we shall be able to tide over any crisis that we may face.
From the time we opened up our economy in the Nineties, Government has had to take many decisions of far reaching import the results of which are becoming visible only now. Financial sector and social sector reforms do not deliver overnight and their full impact on a country’s economic and social well-being is felt only over extended periods of time.
Most such reforms also involve use of public money and public resources. Optimal use of such resources by balancing conflicting demands on such public resources has always been the challenge for the decision makers in all sectors and in all parts of the world. In a country like India, public administrators have, in addition, the onerous responsibility of actively ameliorating the conditions of the poor and the needy as soon as possible. As I stated at the time of assuming the office of the First Citizen of our country, trickle down theories of growth will no longer work in the Indian context. When we talk about optimal decision making, we will do well to keep in mind that, in the long run, use of public money must improve the living conditions of the people.
Governance during the last six decades has become much more complex. Public expenditure has increased manifold, newer delivery mechanisms have had to be thought of and brought in to reach services to the people. The range of governmental activities itself has changed manifold. Before independence, administration was colonial and mainly responsible for revenue collection and law enforcement. With independence and introduction of the planning process, Governments- both at the Centre and the States- took upon themselves many responsibilities that were unthinkable previously. Governments built factories, roads, ports and public infrastructures. They also directly provided services like health and education. The thrust on developmental administration from a purely revenue earning and law and order centric administrative system represented a major paradigm shift.
Another major paradigm shift is taking place today. We have realised that governments alone cannot do everything. As a result, we have many players who are responsible for public expenditure and for delivering services- not only the Central and State Governments but also local bodies, registered societies and NGOs etc. Given the scale of funding required, particularly for infrastructure financing, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as part of the institutional framework. They represent recognition by the Government of the need to engage with the Private Sector in diverse areas for the purpose of ensuring broad-based and sustainable growth.
This has introduced great complexities in funds flow, expenditure, accounting and evaluation. In our efforts to reach services to the poor and the needy in the remotest corners of our country, we have had to develop faster channels of service delivery. There have been occasions when the system was not fully developed, the process of accounting not fully operational, the local officials who handled government money not fully skilled in their multifarious functions. This is, however, a reality we need to accept and a situation we need to address through continuous capacity building and upgradation of human skills.
The C&AG for the past several years has taken a positive approach on this and has not hesitated to offer his helping hand to governments and local bodies in building up and enhancing skills in financial management. Your department has developed considerable expertise in financial management through your exposure to different organizations. It is in the fitness of things that the expertise available should be utilised fully.
Public audit is just one aspect of financial administration. What is most important is that we must introduce a robust internal control system in all spheres of government activity. Many significant steps have been taken. Ministry of Defence has, for example, worked out detailed “Defence Procurement Procedures” for capital procurement. The ‘Public Procurement Bill’ 2012 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha. Several state governments have now established full-fledged Internal Audit departments within the Government. The Union Ministry of Finance is currently examining the Report of the Working Group set up to strengthen ‘Internal Audit Mechanisms’ in Government of India. The recommendations, once accepted by the Government, will go a long way in making Internal Audit an effective tool of governance and internal control, thereby complementing the role of the CAG. All these are significant steps towards transparency and good financial administration.
Equity and justice, fairness and transparency, therefore, continue to be cornerstones of our polity. India is once again on the cusp of change. The transformational agenda that we have boldly undertaken requires innovation and performance. It requires huge resources but, more importantly, it requires judicious use of these resources so that we get the optimal outcome from these resources. Every institution in the government must reorient themselves for these momentous changes and must be ready to contribute.
During the past years, CAG’s audit has shifted from routine compliance audit to a more macro perspective.while redefining organisational roles and boundaries, all constitutional authorities need to adhere to the fine and calibrated system of checks and balances which forms the bedrock of our governance structures. Any attempt by any organ of the State to overreach will unnecessarily lead to dissonance within the system. It is, therefore, necessary that all constitutional authorities introspect on their respective roles.
Audit reports are essentially feedback on the many programmes undertaken by the government. The tone and timeliness of such feedback is, therefore, important. The Central Government releases funds to State Governments and even to the local bodies at district levels. The utilization of these funds is known to the Central Government only through the mechanism of utilization certificates. By the time these utilization certificates are received, the programme has already been implemented. It is thus important that CAG’s reports are presented in time so as to enable mid-course corrections, if required.
We have a fairly stabilised system of the ‘Public Accounts Committee’ and the ‘Committee on Public Undertakings’. Through these committees, the Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies exercise the oversight functions that are expected of them. These institutions have always functioned in a bipartisan manner and have contributed a great deal to the cause of transparency and good governance. It is an important responsibility of the legislators to ensure that such committees remain active and all important observations of audit are considered with all the seriousness that they deserve.
C&AG, as the Apex Audit Institution of India, has remained in the forefront of international audit. Apart from being a member of the Board of Auditors for UN and other Agencies for almost two decades, you have conducted audit of United Nations and many other International Organizations. C&AG has a earned great respect from the international community for your knowledge, skills and high professional calibre.
The unique institution of CAG has over the years, now more than 150 years old, made significant contribution to ensuring that we have governance systems that are transparent and accountable.

Naxalism in India

http://mla.prsindia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Naxalism-in-India-08May12.pdf


Steps Taken to Curb Naxalism



The CPI (Maoist), the main Left Wing Extremist (LWE) group, has been trying to expand its activities in various States of the country. The States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha are considered badly affected by Left Wing Extremism. The States of West Bengal and Maharashtra are considered partially affected. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are considered slightly affected States. There is substantial improvement in the situation in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, whereas LWE violence has remained low-key in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
This was stated by Shri Jitendra Singh, Minister of State of Home Affairs in the Rajya Sabha.
It is further clarified around 26 districts in India account for nearly 80% of the total LWE violence. The total number of ‘violence affected’ districts has to be viewed in this overall context. The details of damage to the government property is not fully maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
During the high level meetings held with the Chief Ministers, the Chief Secretaries and the Director Generals of Police of the Left Wing Extremism affected States, the latest LWE scenario in the country is generally reviewed. In these meetings, a number of strategic and tactical issues concerning security and development interventions are discussed to fine tune counter-LWE strategy.
The Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme of the Government of India provides ex-gratia payment of Rs.1 lakh to the family of civilians killed and Rs. 3 lakh to family of security personnel killed due to naxal attacks. Under the Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilians Victims/Family of Victims of Terrorist, Communal and Naxal Violence, an amount of Rs.3 lakh is given to dependants of deceased civilians for death or permanent incapacitation. Besides this, the State Governments have their own policy for payment of ex-gratia to the families of civilians and security personnel killed in naxal attacks.
In order to contain LWE, review of existing laws and formulation of new laws and institutions is a continuous process depending upon the requirements and ground realities. The Central Government has taken various measures to control Left Wing Extremism which includes augmenting the strength of Central Armed Police Forces; establishment of National Security Guard (NSG) hubs at Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai; strengthening and re-organizing of Multi-Agency Centre to enable it to function on 24×7 basis; and sanctioning of new Specialized India Reserve Battalions (SIRB). The Central Government also proposes release of funds under the Special Infrastructure Scheme to the States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha to raise Special Task Force to combat LWE. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 has been amended to strengthen the punitive measures.

CAUVERY DISPUTE


HAD there been a good monsoon, there would have been no Cauvery agitation this time around. It would not have been necessary for Karnataka to stop releasing waters to Tamil Nadu, disregarding a Supreme Court directive. Tamil Nadu also would not have petitioned the Supreme Court, accusing Karnataka of contempt of court.
Similar events had taken place in 2002 and 1995 when monsoon had failed. The interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in 1991 and the final order in 2007 have ignored the issue of water sharing between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, principal beneficiaries of the rain-fed Cauvery, during a year of inadequate rainfall. However, it is doubtful that even if the tribunal had suggested a formula, Karnataka, which is the upper riparian state, would have honoured the arrangement.
Just like Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar did last month, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka, SM Krishna, walked out of a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) in 2002, when Tamil Nadu had filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka for stopping the supply of waters before the period stipulated by the apex court.
There were agitations in both states in 2002 over the issue, which received vocal support from political parties and various other quarters, including film actors who enjoy iconic status in their respective states. Fortunately, monsoon was good in 2004 and washed away the bitterness.
This time, while the major political parties of Karnataka — the BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (S) — have tried to outdo one another to show their concern, actors, barring actor-turned-politician Ambareesh, have not jumped into the fray.
In Tamil Nadu, the megastar Rajnikanth (born to Marathi-speaking parents in Bangalore and did his elementary education in Kannada) identifies with the Tamil cause, but has refrained from speaking out.
The current crisis can be traced to September 19 when the river authority headed by the Prime Minister asked Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of waters every day to Karnataka till October 15. Tamil Nadu had demanded 24,000 cusecs while the Supreme Court had asked Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs. The CRA awarded the release of 9,000 cusecs. After the order was upheld by the court, Karnataka started releasing the waters. This sparked off protests in Karnataka, forcing it to stop the supply on October 8, saying it did not have enough waters.
The history of the Cauvery dispute goes back to over 100 years. In the middle of the 19th century, the princely state of Mysore wanted to build new irrigation projects. This caused anxiety to Madras, which was dependent on Cauvery. The then British government of Madras took up the case with the Mysore government and the Government of India. An agreement was reached in 1892.
River tribunal
In 1910, Mysore formulated a proposal for a reservoir on the Cauvery and sought the consent of the Madras government, which opposed it. The dispute was referred for arbitration. The proceedings began in 1913 and concluded in 1914. The award was not acceptable to Madras. After negotiations, another agreement was signed in 1924. Fresh disputes arose between the two states (now known as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) in the late 60s when Karnataka started constructing four irrigation projects on the tributaries of the Cauvery.
In August 1971, Tamil Nadu filed a suit before the Supreme Court, with a prayer to direct the Centre to constitute a tribunal as per the provisions of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, to restrain Karnataka. In 1990, the court asked the Centre to set up a tribunal.
While the tribunal’s interim order prescribing 205 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of waters to Tamil Nadu annually led to protests in Karnataka, its final order in 2007, asking for 192 TMC of waters for Tamil Nadu, also failed to satisfy the parties concerned. Both awards had stipulated the monthly release figures of water.
Though Tamil Nadu got relief whenever it approached the court, Karnataka has cut off the water supply, resulting in bad blood. The issue is an emotional one in Karnataka and political parties cannot ignore the sentiment once activists hit the streets. The late S Guhan, a civil servant of Tamil Nadu, is often remembered in this connection. He felt that a people-to-people dialogue had to be initiated to resolve the issue. In 1992, he convened a meeting that was attended by politicians and farmers. A decade after his death, the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) and representatives of farmers from both states formed the Cauvery Family. The recent row has seen cracks developing in this forum.
What is the dispute
Karnataka, the upper riparian state, has stopped releasing Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu, disregarding a Supreme Court directive. Tamil Nadu has petitioned the apex court, accusing Karnataka of contempt of court. The interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (1991) and the final order in 2007 have ignored the issue of water sharing during a year of inadequate rainfall. The lacunae have returned to haunt the states again and again.
How it all began
19th century: Mysore wanted to build irrigation projects
1892: British government of Madras took up issue with Government of India; agreement between Madras and Mysore governments

1910: Mysore formulated proposal for a reservoir; sought consent of Madras
1914: Conflict referred for arbitration; award not acceptable to Madras
1924: Another agreement between Madras and Mysore
Late 60s: Fresh dispute arose when Karnataka started work on irrigation projects on tributaries
1971: TN moved Supreme Court to direct Centre to set up tribunal to restrain Karnataka
1990: Supreme Court asked Centre to set up tribunal
1991: Interim order prescribes 205 TMC of waters to Tamil Nadu annually
2007: Final order allows for 192 TMC of waters for Tamil Nadu

Karnataka’s claims
  • Erstwhile Mysore was not allowed to exercise its powers over the utilisation of waters for irrigation because of protests by the lower riparian province of Madras controlled by the British.
  • Storage of the waters could be achieved only in 1931, after the construction of the Krishnaraja Sagara Dam (capacity 44.8 TMC).
  • By 1934, Madras had completed the Mettur Dam for storing 93.5 TMC of Cauvery waters, enabling cultivation of over 3,00,000 acres of new area. After the formation of Karnataka, covering the areas of Mysore and others, over 42 per cent of the drainage area of the Cauvery basin fell in Karnataka.
  • Hilly regions of the Western Ghats receive heavy rainfall, but Mysore, Mandya, Hassan, Tumkur, Bangalore and Kolar are plagued by drought.
  • Eastern basin in Tamil Nadu receives heavy north-east monsoon while the central part receives both south-west and north-east monsoon.
Tamil Nadu’s stand
  • Karnataka has constructed Kabini, Hemavathy, Harangi and Suvarnavathy reservoirs, besides other projects, for storing the Cauvery waters, much beyond the limit stipulated in the 1924 agreement.
  • This has diminished the supply of waters to Tamil Nadu, adversely affecting the Ayacutdars (farmers) who have been dependent on the Cauvery for centuries.

UIDAI - Aadhaar


Nandan Nilekani had rock-star status in the world’s software business when he was CEO of Infosys, which he co-founded. Three years ago he gave up his phenomenally successful career in the private sector to join the Government of India. He took over as Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) with the rank of a Union Cabinet Minister to execute the mammoth task of providing India’s 120-crore populace with unique identity numbers called Aadhaar.
When I met Nandan last year at the UIDAI headquarters in Bangalore and asked him why he decided to exit a 1,00,000-strong prosperous company to start life all over again, he answered simply, “I felt that I should be giving back to the country in some way. We all have benefited enormously from the Indian growth story. I went to an IIT, got a degree, I was there in the software boom and I have gained a lot from the social environment. So I felt that doing things for the country for a few years was the right thing to do.”
Look at “the things” Nandan has been doing in just the past two years. Yesterday, the 21st crore Aadhaar, or identification number, was handed over to Vali, a resident of a tiny village in Udaipur district, at a function presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was also present on the occasion, wasn’t exaggerating when she described Aadhaar as “the world’s largest social inclusion programme.”
Aadhaar will do more than just facilitate inclusive growth for India’s teeming millions. It will ensure far more effective implementation of the numerous welfare programmes and public services that both the Centre and state governments have launched over the years. It will cut down on graft and plug leakages by ensuring that those for whom the schemes are meant actually get the money. As Nandan put it, “We will be able to address the challenge of making government expenditure more efficient, reduce diversion and leakages.”
Cutting through red tape, Nandan built in a short time what he terms as “the electronic equivalent of roads for the country — a soft infrastructure that would help reengineer public services.” In a little over a year, the team he picked built from scratch a speedy and foolproof ecosystem to enrol large numbers of people swiftly and give them an identity number.
Basically, the UIDAI built a software architecture under which you and I could go to an enrolment station, have our fingerprints and iris scan taken, fill in essential details like name, address, date of birth and sex, and have the cards delivered to us quickly. All our information is stored in secure databases that act as an instant online identify verification system when you go to a bank or a government office to avail of services.
I met Nandan again over lunch in Chandigarh 10 days ago, when he had come to discuss the implementation of the project with the Punjab and Haryana governments. He was his usual unflappable self and modest about his achievements. He said with a matter-of-fact voice that by 2014, as many as 60 crore people — or half of India’s population — would have an Aadhaar number.
That itself is a stupendous achievement. But the real benefit will come when states across the country deliver schemes using Aadhaar numbers to authenticate the identity of beneficiaries. Nandan’s visit to the region saw the launch of several pilot projects to test the efficacy of the system. In Ambala, a scheme was launched to check how effectively education scholarships given by the Haryana Government could be disbursed to students. Punjab agreed to try out disbursing pensions for the aged in several towns using Aadhaar cards. The Chandigarh Administration has made a start by using Aadhaar numbers for its scheme to give houses to the poor to ensure that no beneficiary could misuse it to have more than one house allotted to him.
All across the country pilot projects are underway to test Aadhaar’s efficacy for various government schemes before full-scale launches are made. In Mysore, for instance, the Karnataka Government has LPG cylinders delivered to residents using the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System that employs a micro-ATM to authenticate identity to ensure they get their quota of subsidised cylinders. People in several districts in Andhra Pradesh are using Aadhaar cards to take their quota of rations from fair price shops.
What is happening is a rapidly expanding movement that would revolutionise governance in the country and curb corruption. It’s time we all stood up and applauded the selfless service of Nandan Nilekani and gave him whatever support we can to further the cause. I enrolled for my Aadhaar card early this year and I now proudly carry it in my wallet. Have you enrolled? Do so if you haven’t — at least as a tribute to his work.

UNEMPLOYMENT


INDIA'S much touted demographic dividend - a country with a younger working population as compared to the ageing societies of the developed markets — may easily turn into a demographic disaster if sufficient employment opportunities are not created.
Demographic disaster
Cautioning on the impending fallout, FICCI president RV Kanoria says: "If we fail to create more jobs, we will face a situation what Aung San Suu Kyi recently described (at the World Economic Forum meeting on East Asia) in the context of Myanmar — the problem of youth employment is like a time bomb. Our demographic dividend may become a demographic disaster."
As per the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), an apex body of the flexi staffing industry in India, the labour force of India (in the age group of 15-59 years) as of 2011 is estimated at 420 million while the unemployed population is about 14 million.
Rituparna Chakraborty, vice-president of the federation, says most of the sectors require people for entry-level jobs, and are faced with huge talent shortage. Skill deficit is the biggest culprit in job creation, which in turn leads to unemployment.
No skill centres
As per the Labour Ministry statistics, there are no skill development training centres in the country. There are 9,960 government and private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) operating in the country under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS). There are also 7,125 vocational training providers (VTPs) who implement the modular employable skills programme under the Skill Development Initiative (SDI) scheme.
The number of ITIs has almost doubled in the last five years. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has formulated a scheme, "Kaushal Vikas Yojana", to set up 1,500 new ITIs and 5,000 skill development centres (SDCs) in un-serviced blocks under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The approval process for the scheme is on.
Unemployability factors
The sectors that are likely to see more jobs being created, says Chakraborty, would be retail (more so after FDI), FMCG, healthcare and pharma. On the linkage of employment with the economy, Chakraborty says that the economy is witnessing a slowdown and job creation has taken a hit. It will take some time for the reforms to take full effect and the economy to witness an upturn; till such time the slowdown in job creation is expected to continue.
She says the country is faced with a bigger problem, “unemployability”. To counter unemployment, we need to work on elevating unemployability. According to recent studies, around 60 per cent of the youth in India suffer from some sort of skill deprivation, which stops them from being employed at the entry level. The lack of proper vocational training facilities accentuates this problem. The key skills, apart from the relevant industry skills, will be communication, digital literacy and soft skills.
Estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Office. The last such survey was conducted during 2009-10. As per the recent surveys, the total estimated number of unemployed persons has declined from 10.84 million in 2004-05 to 9.50 million in 2009-10 and the unemployment rate has come down from 2.3 per cent (2004-2005) to 2 per cent (2009-10).
Government schemes
For employment generation, the government has launched programmes such as Swarana Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), besides several entrepreneurial development programmes run by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
As per the results of the last survey, the estimated urban unemployment was 4.36 million as compared to rural unemployment of 5.14 million during 2009-10. The unemployment rate among women was 4.3 per cent as against 3.3 per cent for men for the corresponding years.
Government initiatives like the National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), which seeks to create 100 million jobs in the next few years, and FDI in retail are being aimed at employment generation.
The 11th Five Year Plan aimed at creating 58 million additional job opportunities for the skilled and unskilled labour force at an average rate of growth of 2.73 per cent per annum from projected employment of about 402 million at the beginning of the 11th Plan to about 460 million at the end of the Plan. During 2004-05 and 2009-10, about 20 million additional job opportunities were created at an average rate of growth of around 1 per cent per year during 2004-05 to 2009-10 while the GDP grew at 8.6 per cent during the period.
The 12th Plan highlights that there is a potential for an accelerated pace of creation of more durable rural non-farm jobs and livelihood opportunities. Such job opportunities could come from faster expansion in agro-processing, supply chains and the increased demand for technical personnel for inputs into various aspects of farming that is undergoing modernisation and also the maintenance of equipment and other elements of rural infrastructure. The services sector, too, has to continue to be a place for the creation of opportunities, in both rural and urban areas.
Employment increased from 459.10 million in 2004-05 to 465.48 million in 2009-10, creating an additional employment of 6.4 million. During the same period, the labour force increased from 469.94 million to 474.98 million, adding 5.04 million to the labour force.
As per information available with the Directorate-General of Employment and Training, 25.89 million job-seekers, including the educated in the age group of 15-29, all of whom may not necessarily be unemployed, registered with employment exchanges in the country at the end of 2009.
 
CRISIL findings
  • The number of self-employed persons to go down by nearly 25.5 million
  • Job hiring will have to exceed 55 million by 2015
  • Easing demand constraints in manufacturing and supply constraints through reforms in higher education will be key
  • Between 2005 and 2010, the addition in jobs was 27.7 million, but the number of self-employed people decreased by 25.5 million
  • Job generation pattern lopsided during 2005-2010. In manufacturing, employment declined by nearly 7%
  • In services, growth slowed in financial and business services
  • Employment up by almost 70% in the construction sector, mainly in casual jobs
Growing labour force
  • Employment increased from 459.10 million in 2004-05 to 465.48 million in 2009-10, creating an additional employment of 6.4 million.
  • During the same period, the labour force increased from 469.94 million to 474.98 million, adding 5.04 million to the labour force.
Create more jobs
We are passing through a difficult phase of growth and unemployment. We need to focus on an all-important objective of creating jobs and meaningful employment opportunities for the millions who join the workforce every year in India, with 550 million people below the age of 25 years

Saturday, December 15, 2012

INDIA 2030


The draft Global Trends 2030 report, which is likely to be released after the US Presidential elections, will attract a considerable amount of attention as the new Presidency comes into office. The report outlines mega trends and a number of game-changers. By 2030 India and China will grow at a scale and pace not seen before. The question of what India’s approach, values and vision will be is of relevance to our future.
The historical vision of the nation as laid out by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sets the tone for today’s discussions about the future. Nehru was the first to see the strategic space that the Cold War opened up for the emergence of a third voice, much against the wishes of the superpowers. And he chose to use it not for his personal glory or for a narrowly defined national interest. He used it to promote world peace and create the peaceful environment that India’s transformation required. And most importantly, Nehru gave India a sense of destiny.


Strategic autonomy
We in India are clear that our goal is to transform India. It is this focus that has made India consistently avoid external entanglements and restraints on our freedom of choice and action. Strategic autonomy as is practised today was and remains the essence of the policy of non-alignment. If we have sought strategic autonomy, it is to be able to pursue this goal without distraction or external considerations.
India is in an exciting transition. A nation constituting one sixth of humanity is undergoing an economic and social transformation on an extraordinary scale. It is taking place in a democratic and federal framework; in the midst of growing political pluralism and social diversity; and, in the context of a continuing debate on equity, opportunity and sustainability.
Internal stability and prosperity lie at the heart of India’s vision for the future. We need at least another 15 years of 9-10 per cent growth, if we are to accomplish the task of abolishing poverty. So, while India is already a major economy in terms of size and ability to influence prices and supply and demand in certain markets, it will remain a country with overwhelming domestic priorities for an extended period of time. This will certainly be true for the foreseeable future.
For these goals to be achieved, India needs a peaceful periphery, collective and secure access to natural resources, and an enabling international environment. India is more than willing to contribute to the betterment of the international situation, to shaping the contours of the global order, to promote global public goods, even as it actively pursues its own interests. One of these important interests and areas of our immediate focus must also be the integration of our neighbourhood through increased connectivity.
We are conscious that we are living in an interconnected world, where our security is shaped by many events outside national borders and by situations of shared vulnerabilities, the primary being threats emanating from terrorism. Given the strategic uncertainties of the world in 2030, we must develop the means to defend ourselves. Whether this capacity will include our becoming a net provider of security in the Indian Ocean and beyond will depend on to what extent we can effect India’s own transformation.
The rise of Asia
Forecasting the future is a tricky business, but present trends do indicate that the rise of Asia - particularly China and India - is a fact that cannot be wished away. The draft report of the Global Trends 2030 also points in this direction. The dramatic shifts in the balance of power as a result of China’s military modernisation will obviously have implications for global and regional security and provoke responses from other major powers depending on their geo-political considerations.
The India story has also been impressive. In 1947, the average Indian lived for 26 years and only about 14 per cent were literate. Today our average life expectancy is 68 years (WHO figures), with women’s life expectancy exceeding that of men by three years, and 2/3rds of our population is now literate. Our economy has also done well in the last several decades. Its fundamentals remain strong, and we hope to surge forward in spite of the current slowdown. While we need to work harder on our developmental and economic goals, there is reason to take pride in our progress, and be optimistic for the future.
The second aspect that will drive global developments is energy production and utilization. Countries will work to ensure access to energy sources. In this, coal, oil, renewable energy as well as extraction of shale gas resources will naturally be relevant. Then, there will be linked issues like the melting of Arctic icecaps, the opening up of opportunities for new shipping routes, and the exploration of oil, gas and mineral deposits.
Technology is developing at a rate faster than can be comprehended. The consequences of this in the domains of space and cyber space, and proliferation are of particular concern. Just as the world had to learn new rules and ways of thinking about nuclear weapons, we are now at the beginning of doing so for outer space and cyber space, both of which are increasingly critical to our daily lives, economies and futures. Advances in technology and discussions about what is called the Revolution in Military Affairs, though interesting and important, may not fully explain the revolutionary changes taking place as a result of increasing “connectivity” and “complexity” in a globalized world. One example of such complexity is the nexus we can see between climate change, rising sea levels, and the resultant migration that could lead to conflict. This would demand a different mindset for accurate predictions of likely implications, and also to find effective policy solutions.
Strategic initiatives
Coming to India’s responses to such developments, as a nation, India has consistently shown tactical caution and strategic initiative, sometimes simultaneously. The record bears this out. Non-alignment itself, in fact, was an act of strategic courage
On our external relations, since 1988 we have made considerable and steady progress in our relations with China. The list of our other strategic initiatives is impressive - the Indo-Soviet Treaty, the India-Sri Lanka 1987 Agreement and the FTA, the India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement, and so on. But equally, initiative and risk taking must be strategic. That is why it is important to peg our goals and use our power to our immediate and overriding aim of domestic transformation. In other words, our condition, and the state of the world, require us not to seek hegemony, or domination, or expansion, or strategic depth. None of these serve our basic interest, even in a defensive sense. Being a bridging power, or a swing state might, in certain circumstances. For example, in the case of piracy from Somalia, which threatens the trade routes, we would seek to build coalitions to deal with the issue. There could be other similar scenarios in the future too.
‘Reverse Engine’ scenario
I was struck by the three postulates in the report, firstly the ‘Reverse Engine’ scenario, according to which the US will draw inward, constrained by its mounting fiscal problems; the second scenario of ‘Fusion’ which suggests that the developed and growing powers could work together to ignite a technological revolution to rebuild their economies; and the third scenario of ‘Fragmentation’, which visualizes a world in which there is absence of widespread political will to solve global problems. The scenario of ‘Fusion’, which is the middle path, is the most likely outcome by 2030. Similarly, the game-changers identified in the report are thought provoking, whether relating to the international economy, global governance, interstate and intrastate conflicts, technology, climate change, energy security, sustainable development, and, finally, from an American perspective, what will be the role and influence of the US in the new international order.
For a better tomorrow
Proceeding from the present and moving into the future requires some clarity on where we stand today. Just as India has premised her future on the transformation of society for a better tomorrow, it appears that the international order will have to work towards a new system of governance.
As Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh pointed out in his remarks to the XVIth NAM Summit in Tehran: “We need new instruments of global governance to confront cross-cutting and trans-national challenges through coordinated global action. These (challenges) include international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the menace of maritime piracy, the growing threat to cyber security, and the growing challenge of pursuing ecologically sustainable development, while ensuring energy, water and food security.”
Given the scale of these challenges, our present and future are interlinked by our ability to handle the crisis of the present. Only this capacity and capability will give us the means to achieve a more just and equitable world order. Meanwhile, policy planners such as ourselves will continue to look to the strategic community to construct scenarios and “alternate worlds” for us so that we are, so to speak, ahead of the curve, forewarned and forearmed.
There are a number of issues that are likely to continue to engage us in the future. Developments in the Af-Pak region after the withdrawal of US/NATO forces in 2014 and the prospects for instability, or, alternatively, unprecedented regional cooperation, will probably be a priority area. The increasing radicalisation of Pakistan, the possibility of conflict in West Asia provoked by rival geo-political interests, the potential for maritime clashes in North East Asia due to competing nationalisms, and developments in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea are some of the other areas that will be closely watched. These should be carefully analysed in any strategic thinking in India about the future.

Crop diversification and Punjab


THE Punjab Chief Minister has asked for Rs 5,000 crore in the 12th Plan to encourage crop diversification, which practically means looking at alternatives to paddy. Till the other day he was demanding a similar amount as relief for paddy growers hit by a deficient monsoon in July.
No one objects to wheat, a traditional crop, the state, and also the country, cannot do without. It is paddy that needs to be discouraged. The damage the water-guzzler paddy has done to the state’s groundwater resources is well known. If crops other than paddy are to be encouraged, political leaders will have to first stop pleading for a higher minimum support price, a bonus or relief for paddy.
While it is understandable for the Chief Minister of a cash-strapped state to make demands on the Central funds, it would be interesting to know what the state itself has done to either discourage paddy or promote alternative crops. The state government formed committees of experts in 1985 and 2002 but their reports have been dumped. The state can only create an enabling environment but cannot tell farmers what crops to grow. Pulses, oilseeds, sunflower and maize have been tried, but these crops do not give returns matching paddy. And there is no assured marketing. Horticulture, organic and contract farming may suit only large farmers.
The vast majority of small farmers, especially those close to towns and cities, can try vegetables, given the price rise. But there are hurdles. Due to lack of quick, affordable transportation and enough cold storages, 40 per cent of fruits and vegetables go waste, reducing returns for the grower and raising the cost for the consumer. Retail FDI can boost agriculture-based businesses apart from small and medium units as supermarkets are required to access 30 per cent of their needs from them. By shutting Punjab’s doors to foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the Akali Dal has denied farmers and industrialists an opportunity to link themselves to organised marketing and grow or produce what markets demand

India-Russia Defence ties


The decision by Russia to defer by five days the visit of its Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to India for the annual Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation was viewed by many as a snub to India amid reports of growing bilateral relations between Moscow and Islamabad.
The decision to reschedule the bilateral meeting to October 10, instead of October 5, attracted considerable attention, especially since the intimation of the postponement came closer to the event and coincided with reports of Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Kayani’s visit to Russia.
Emerging relations between India’s tried and trusted friend Russia with Pakistan, once considered close to Washington, has neither come as a surprise nor is the changing nature of defence ties between New Delhi and Moscow to those formulating policy in the Defence Ministry.
Over the past five years, the traditional dependence of India on Russia for military wares has come down and there is a gradual shift towards the United States and Europe. While India continues to depend on imports to meet up to 70 per cent of its military equipment, the share of products being procured from Russia had shown an overall decline.
From over 80 per cent of imports from Russia during 2006-2010, the share of Moscow is sliding even as the country remains one of the leading exporters of arms and military hardware worldwide after the United States.
India, which depended largely on Moscow for its military equipment requirements during the Soviet Union-era, continues to face problems in the form of steady supply and quality of spares. One of the reasons for it is that the Soviet defence industry was spread across various parts and after the break-up, these manufacturers remain located in different countries. It is said even now, Russia has not been able to establish a coordinated mechanism and consolidate its industrial military supplies base to the benefit of its existing customers.
The other issue is that Defence Procurement Policy that the Government of India has put in place mandates minimum 30 per cent offsets for orders valued over Rs 300 crore, which means the Russians will have to source the products from domestic suppliers. The Western military manufacturers have been quicker to move into this area, while the Russians largely rely on existing tie-ups with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and other defence Public Sector Undertakings with whom it has such arrangements. Adding to the woes is the delay in handing over aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) which, according to reports from Russia, cannot be delivered before the fall of 2013 as against the scheduled date of December 4, 2012 that was said to be ‘set-in-stone’.
As against these two handicaps, the Russians are rated high vis-a-vis India on the crucial issue of transfer of technology, something the Americans are extremely wary in allowing access to critical high-end technology items without any strings.
It makes Russia stand out in allowing lease of the nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra to the Indian Navy for the second time in its history or in its quest to build an indigenous INS Arihant, the first of the nuclear submarine at Visakhapatnam docks, or the collaboration to co-develop Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft among others.
Even though India and Russia maintain that bilateral defence ties have moved beyond buyer-seller relations, the altering landscape in which Moscow lost out to the western nations cannot be understated, including the race for the prized $11 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft.

Conservation of Biodiversity


Iis virtually a race against time. The task of conservation of biodiversity in the face of man-made ecological degradation poses several daunting challenges including resource-mobilisation, protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of the local communities and harmonising the conflicting interests between development and conservation.
As over 8,000 delegates from 193 countries gathered at Hyderabad for the United Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to deliberate on strategies for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and regulated access to genetic resources, several questions came to the fore.
IPR protection
For India, hosting the 11th Conference of Parties (COP-11) to the CBD, a plethora of challenges stare in its face, key among them being protection of IPRs for its traditional knowledge and biological resources. Being one of the world's 12 mega-biodiversity centres with rich flora and fauna, India has been a victim of bio-piracy. There have been several cases of its unique genetic resources being plundered and misappropriated. The long patent battles over "neem" and "haldi" illustrate the enormity of the task for a country that takes pride in its traditional knowledge.
Biological diversity denotes the totality and variety of living organisms on Earth and is usually classified at three levels — genes, species and ecosystems. There is growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to present and future generations.
India’s bounty
  Nearly 7% of all globally recorded species
  Over 45,000 recorded species of plants and 91,000 of animals
  668 protected areas: 102 national parks, 515 wildlife sanctuaries, 47 conservation reserves and 4 community reserves
  40 tiger reserves and 28 elephant reserves
  UNESCO designated five protected areas as world heritage sites
COP-11 Agenda
  Setting national targets and updating national biodiversity action plans
  Status of Nagoya Protocol
  Resource mobilisation
  Biodiversity for sustainable development, livelihoods, poverty reduction and food security
  Coastal and marine biodiversity
Though India signed the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), it is yet to ratify the protocol because of its concerns over IPR issues. It was at India's insistence that the Hyderabad conference took note of the issue of involving local communities in devising laws pertaining to genetically modified (GM) organisms.
The member countries at COP resolved to consider the voice of local communities before deciding on GM organisms. The meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety gave a call to involve indigenous communities before deciding on GM technologies. It was also decided to set up an international ad hoc expert committee to decide on economic considerations of the people involved. The group will consist of 40 members from five regions of the world. While this development is seen as a vindication of India's stand, its own record on safeguarding bio-diversity, traditional knowledge and interests of the local communities is far from satisfactory.
National Biodiversity Authority
India is among a few countries to have enacted biodiversity law in 2002. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 under this Act. The NBA is also mandated to ensure equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of these resources and knowledge to the country and the people.
As of 2011, the NBA has approved 607 cases for access, IPR and transfer of research results. Of these, 437 were permissions for applying for IPRs. However, the NBA's access and benefit sharing agreements frequently come under fire from critics for not involving the local people. As many as 100 such agreements have been signed since 2006, which is a world record. Environmentalists have been raising objections over the current policy of allowing the NBA to screen IPR applications based on India's biological wealth and intellectual heritage. Even a decade after enacting the biodiversity law, India is still struggling to do a balancing act of punishing multinationals who indulge in bio-piracy and providing the private sector with an access to the rich biodiversity in the interests of science.
Bio-piracy
The latest case against the Maharashtra Hybrid Corporation (Mahyco) regarding Bt brinjal becomes the country's first-ever bio-piracy criminal case against a private company. The charge against Mahyco is that it was developing Bt brinjal by using a local variety's germplasm. There is growing opposition to the government allowing open research access of germplasm.
Questions are being asked whether the NBA has been effective in protecting farmers from multinationals. Though the biodiversity Act was meant to provide for the conservation of biological diversity, the reality check shows that it has been ineffective. Experts say the Act does not take a clear position on IPRs and there has been no instance of it invoking powers to oppose the grant of IPR in any foreign country on biological resources. Many states have evinced no interest in constituting Biodiversity Management Committees.
Economic crisis
The global economic crisis has also cast a shadow over the meet, raising doubts whether the member countries will be able to mobilise resources to meet the targets of biodiversity conservation. However, the Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan exuded confidence that the countries would raise investments in biodiversity.
A look at the status of implementation of goals regarding bio-diversity conservation reveals that not much is being done. Only 14 out of 193 countries, who are signatories to the 2010 Nagoya protocol on protection of endangered species and habitats, have actually ratified it. As per the targets fixed at the Nagoya meet, it was agreed to reduce the loss of natural habitats by 50 per cent and increase the area of the world's land taken up by nature reserves to 17 per cent by 2020.
The Aichi biodiversity targets also called for marine protected zones to increase from 1 per cent of the world's seas to 10 per cent by 2020.
Clash of interests
The Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises (ABLE) argued that restrictions on GM crops would impede progress. “Scaremongers have to be dealt with strictly. Risk management is important,” said Dr N Seetharaman, executive director of ABLE.
Dwelling upon conditions in India, Neema Pathak Broome, a member of Kalpavriksh, an NGO in Pune, said legislation on fresh water conservation was lagging. “In India there is a need for formation of laws aiming at conserving fresh water and marine biodiversity. We have many laws for forest conservation, she said.
Seeking to harmonise conflicting interests, Jayanthi Natarajan called for science-based regulation on the safe use of LMOs while acknowledging the reservations and concerns over their long-term impact on ecology and conservation.
What is Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
 The CBD is an international treaty to sustain the rich diversity of life on earth with three main goals of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
 The Conference of the Parties is the governing body that advances implementation of the convention through decisions it takes at its biennial meetings.
 Cartagena Protocol was adopted in 2000 for the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms.
 Nagoya Protocol was adopted at Nagoya, Japan, in 2010 to ensure fair access to genetic resources and equitable sharing arising from their utilisation. Six countries ratified it while 92 signed it. India is yet to ratify it.
The hitch
Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Convention on Biological Diversity executive secretary, says: “We need at least 50 countries of the 193 parties to the convention to ratify the protocol in order to acquire legal status.”

Red alert
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature says nearly half of amphibian species, a third of corals, a quarter of mammals, a fifth of all plants and 13 per cent of the world’s birds are facing extinction.

Mobile and Health


THE recent move of the government to bring down the emission levels of mobile phone towers by 10 times has brought the issue pertaining to radiation back into focus. People living near cellphone towers are wary of the possible side-effects of the radiation. The question being asked is: Can radiation from these towers cause cancer? Although experts are divided over the issue, people are building pressure and want telecom operators to remove towers from the areas where they are living or even working.
On September 1, the government brought in new radiation norms that will put India in the group of a few countries to have established stringent electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation standards in the interest of public health. The standards would be for both the mobile towers as well as mobile handsets.
Indian standards would now be 10 times more stringent than over 90 per cent countries, with the EMF exposure limit for base station or cell tower 1/10th of the existing International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) exposure level.
The Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell has been entrusted with the job of conducting an audit on self-certification furnished by the service providers. The cell will carry out test audit of 10 per cent of the base transceiver station (BTS) site randomly and in cases where there is a public complaint. For non-compliance of EMF standards, a penalty of Rs 5 lakh is liable to be levied per BTS per service provider.
Norms for handsets
New norms have also been brought in for mobile handsets. All the new designs of mobile handsets shall comply with the specific absorption rate (SAR) values of 1.6 W/kg (watt per kg) averaged over 1 gram of human tissue.
The mobile handsets with existing designs that are compliant with 2.0 W/kg averaged over 10 gram of human tissue will continue to co-exist up to August 31, 2013. From September 1, 2013, only handsets with revised SAR value of 1.6 W/kg would be permitted to be manufactured or imported in India. Also, the minimum distance of a cellphone
tower would have to be at least 35 metres from residential areas.
While bringing in new norms, the government has stressed that there was no evidence relating health risks to radiation from cellphone towers. However, experts don’t agree. They say that being exposed to a mobile tower located within 50 metre of home or workplace is like being in a microwave oven for 24 hours.
While cancer may develop in extreme cases, those living close to mobile towers have been complaining of disorders like sleep disturbances, headaches, fatigue and joint pains.
WHO unsure
Experts are quick to say that no concrete evidence has emerged that can link cancer to radiation from mobile towers. But at the same time, they recommend less use of mobile phones on a daily basis. After 20 minutes of using cellphones, one feels a warm sensation near the ear, which is because the temperature of the earlobe increases by 1 degree Celsius. Everyday, a maximum of six minutes of cellphone use is suggested as a cellphone transmits one to two watts of power, which is very high and dangerous.
Incidentally, the report of the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says radiation from cellphone handsets and towers is “possibly carcinogenic to humans” and may cause glioma, a type of brain cancer. But there is no established evidence.
Benign swelling in the brain and head, hearing disorders, headaches and anxiety neurosis are some other health-related issues that are coming out. The impact can be higher in children, who have smaller and thinner skulls.
No conclusive evidence
The industry, predictably, is in denial mode. A spokesperson for a telecom operator said there were extensive factual, scientific research and papers that show that there is no conclusive evidence that EMF, at the levels prescribed by the ICNIRP, causes any risk to health.
Telecom operators say more than 90 per cent of their towers already comply with the new radiation norms brought in by the government, a fact which Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had also stressed upon while announcing the new limits.
However, reducing the radiation limits could affect the quality of calls. Telecom operators say reducing the power means reducing the signal strength, which could lead to call drops.
This would mean setting up more towers to reduce the gap within the towers to maintain call quality, another issue that the Department of Telecom (DoT) reviews periodically.
There are around five lakh towers across the country. The industry estimates that at least 20,000 more towers would have to be installed to maintain call quality. At Rs 25 lakh a tower, this would translate to about Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 crore more expenditure, which would not only increase operating costs, but also eventually lead to increase in call rates as
the profit margins of most operators, who are already under heavy debts, would decrease.
Emission factors at play
  • Frequency/wavelength of RF signal being transmitted
  • Operating power of transmitting stations
  • Radio frequency power radiated from the antenna
  • Time of exposure of RF signal at a given distance from the antenna
  • Exposure from other antennas located in the area
  • Over powering of amplifier for better reception quality, signal strength & more coverage
  • Duration/frequency of recurrent exposure
  • Age, size & portion of the body
  • Temperature and humidity
Radiation limits
W/m2 (Watt per square metre) RF fields (1800 MHz)
India
9 W/m2 ICNIRP & EU recommendation 1998 adopted but now lowered to 1/10 th of it
USA, Canada & Japan
12 W/m2
Australia
9 W/m2
Belgium
2.4 W/m2
Italy & Israel
1.0 W/m2
Auckland & New Zealand
0.5 W/m2
China
0.4 W/m2
Russia (since 1970), Bulgaria
0.2 W/m2
Switzerland & Italy
0.095 W/m2
Austria
0.001 W/m2 
MYTHS & FACTS
Myth: Cellphone use causes headache
Fact: No scientific evidence to relate headache to mobile phone use
Myth: It is safer to use a mobile phone in a car as it shields radiation
Fact: Radio frequency (RF) increases to overcome shielding in a vehicle
Myth: Mobile phones cause cancer
Fact: No scientific proof
Myth: Mobile base stations are dangerous and one should keep distance from them
Fact: One should keep distance from antenna if facing it at comparable height. At ground level, the RF radiation from base station is low
Myth: No research is being carried out on the health effects of radiation
Fact: WHO, besides many national and international organisations, is studying the effects of RF radiation

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Nagoya Protocol


The Union Cabinet has given its approval for ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). The objective of the protocol is fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies.
India has already signed the protocol, a new international treaty adopted under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), after six years of intense negotiations. It was adopted by the tenth Conference of Parties (CoP-10) held in Nagoya in Japan in October 2010. India's move to ratify the protocol came as the 11th Conference of Parties (CoP) to the CBD is underway in Hyderabad.
The Nagoya Protocol has been signed by 92 countries. Five countries have also ratified the protocol. India signed the Nagoya Protocol on May 11, 2011.
The move gives India an opportunity to consolidate, scale-up and showcase its strengths and initiatives on biodiversity before the world, a press statement said.
India is one of the identified megadiverse countries rich in biodiversity. With only 2.4 per cent of the earth`s land area, India accounts for 7-8 per cent of the recorded species of the world. India is also rich in associated traditional knowledge, which is both coded as in ancient texts of Indian systems of medicines such as Ayurveda, Unani and Sidha, and also non-coded, as it exists in oral undocumented traditions.
The genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge can be used to develop a wide range of products and services for human benefit, such as medicines, agricultural practices and cosmetics. Much of the world`s biodiversity is found in developing countries, and can thus contribute to their economic and social development,, and also create incentives for their conservation and sustainable use, thereby contributing to the creation of a fairer and more equitable economy to support sustainable development.
The Nagoya Protocol would also contribute to the other two objectives of the CBD relating to conservation and sustainable use, since benefits accruing from utilisation of genetic resources would act as incentive to biodiversity-rich countries and their local communities to conserve and sustainably use their biodiversity.

Knowledge Practice and Aptitude (KAP) survey Gender disparity in education


Gender equality is still a far cry in India, be it in representation in the country’s Parliament or in case of the gender ratio. This is also evident in the access of the girl child to education, as pointed out by a Knowledge Practice and Aptitude (KAP) survey recently conducted on the urban poor in the country’s five major cities.
While the dismal state of infrastructure in schools, especially separate usable toilets for girls, stands out as one of the major concerns voiced by the 450 randomly sampled households of the lower income group in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, safety issues, both within schools and outside and attitudinal barriers emerged as other contributors towards the grossly inadequate implementation of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education for children aged between 6 and 14 years - RTE Act, 2009, even after two years of its enforcement.
Only 44 per cent schools covered under the Right To Education Act have separate functioning girls’ toilets, reveals the survey conducted by Child Rights and You (CRY) in slums across the cities.
Further, Chhattisgarh has only 20 per cent schools with usable girls’ toilets while Jammu and Kashmir (22 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (23 per cent) are placed at a marginally better position.
Even in the north-eastern states, the scenario is pathetic, with very few schools having usable toilets for girls.
Among the respondents, in Delhi and Bangalore put together, more than 40 per cent said girls face abuse on their way to school, while in the national capital alone, 48 per cent of households agreed, attributing it to unsafe transportation system, and another 33 per cent in the city saying girls face abuse in schools.
The countrywide figures for children being abused are 23.7 per cent on their way to school and 20.4 per cent abused inside schools, noted the survey, which also found that 57 per cent of the households were ignorant about the RTE Act.
While 20 per cent were unaware about child education that too free being a right, a significant 72 per cent respondents across five cities were ignorant about any scheme for girls. In Delhi, more than half of those surveyed were in this bracket.
The findings which will be submitted to the HRD Ministry, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Women and Child Development Ministry, also draws attention towards a startling shift in children’s definition, with 44 per cent of those surveyed of the opinion that one should not be considered a child if he or she can do daily chores and work to earn, with Mumbai leading at 70 per cent.
Startling facts
  • Only 44% schools covered under the RTE Act that were part of the CRY survey have separate functioning girls’ toilets
  • 37% urban poor believe girls should be married between 16 and 18 years
  • As per a recent CAG report, while 40% children (6-14 years) are still out of school, in urban India, 66.7% girls complete schooling as opposed to 80.3% boys
  • Literacy among females is just 53.87%. About one-third of girls drop out of school due to early marriage, distance to schools, lack of separate toilets, lack of female teachers, for safety reasons and in order to take care of siblings

FDI in insurance


GIVING another push to reforms, the UPA government has allowed foreign investment in insurance and pension funds, placing the cap at 49 per cent. This is subject to Parliament’s approval. The government does not have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha and expects a bailout from the principal opposition party, the BJP, which has been put to an unexpected test. The BJP had indicated that it was open to foreign direct investment (FDI) in sectors other than multi-brand retail. The parliamentary committee on finance, headed by Yashwant Sinha of the BJP, had suggested the FDI cap in insurance at 26 per cent. The party’s stance on the 49 per cent cap, which has been welcomed by the industry, stock markets and the urban middle class, will decide the fate of the government move.
As a principle, the Left parties and Trinamool Congress are opposed to foreign investment. The opening up of the pension sector to foreign investment is particularly a red rag to the Leftist bulls. They fear that foreign funds’ presence in pensions can make the sector vulnerable to global financial quakes. But their opposition, as also of Mamata Banerjee, is irrelevant as long as the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party support the government. Showing flexibility, the government says it is open to changes in the pension Bill to provide for the safety of investment and a guarantee of minimum returns.
Currently, a vast majority of Indians, particularly in villages, have no access to pension. Only 4.7 per cent of the 1.2 billion Indians have an insurance cover. The scope for growth in both sectors is huge. Foreign companies already have up to 26 per cent stake in Indian insurance companies but have been hampered by excessive regulation and shortage of capital. More capital infusion will spur growth in these sectors. The pension and insurance Bills have been pending in Parliament for long. The Congress rides on the hope that the BJP would cooperate. The BJP has no logic in accepting a 26 per cent FDI limit and rejecting a 49 per cent cap.