Integrated solid waste management programme in Punjab

On August 31, Punjab will become the first state in the country to start an integrated solid waste management programme in the entire state.
Local Bodies and Industries Minister Tikshan Sud said that this multipurpose project would be first of its kind in India where all towns and cities would be covered under MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) management in a scientific manner.
He said that the Punjab Government was committed to making cities free of solid waste. Under the project, the state has been divided into eight mega clusters that included Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Amritsar, Pathankot and GMADA. He said that each cluster would cover 15 to 30 cities.
The minister said that 137 cities of Punjab produce 4,300 tonnes of solid waste per day that would be utilised for producing power, compost or other useful products.
Finally, the disposal of the remaining residual material would be done in a landfill site in a scientific manner. He said that this project would be operated and maintained by public-private partnership for 25 years.

UNDERNOURISHMENT OF INDIAN WOMEN AND MMR

IN 1970, a young community health physician, Saroj Pachauri in her PhD thesis focused on low birth weight, which was a major cause of death among infants in India at that time. Thirty per cent of all babies born then had low birth weight. Today, the figure remains the same and low birth weight continues to be a major cause of death among infants.
Decades of various family planning and welfare programmes have not been able to give our babies a better start in life. Of all infant deaths, 65 per cent occur in the very first month, and majority of them are babies with low birth weight. It becomes very tough to save them in the sub-optimal conditions of our rural health centres, if they reach there at all.

Dismal picture

The health of the Indian women is among the worst in the world. A recent World Bank report put the figure of anaemic and undernourished girls in India at 300 million and women at 30 million. This should jolt a country to remedial action.
Poverty, poor infant feeding practices, neglect of the girl child and social customs like eating after the men and the boys have been fed, leave the females undernourished. When under and malnourishment is coupled with early marriage as over 50 per cent of Indian women marry before they reach 18 years, it spells danger, especially during childbirth.
A recent study puts the maternal mortality figure at 254 per 1,00,000 live births. Infant mortality, defined per 1000 live births, is at 53. Both the figures, though improved over the last few decades, are still extremely high. A real shame! For a country, which attracts people from around the world for complicated medical procedures, cannot save its own women and babies. India’s maternal mortality ratio is 16 times higher than Russia, 10 times that of China and four times that of Brazil.
Both the babies and the mothers die largely from the same factors – apart from poor hygiene, lack of adequate newborn and maternal care. Low birth weight predisposes them to complications and death from malaria, pneumonia, and diarrohea.
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam contribute 75 per cent of all infant deaths in the country. Maternal mortality figures are high among, what are now termed as the Empowered Action Group states - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh and Assam.

Schemes don’t reach out

India has been dispensing iron and folic acid tablets to the pregnant women for decades and dishing out meals to its school going children. For the last 40 years, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme has been running. However, these schemes have had only limited success. One of the criticisms against ICDS was that it failed to reach the very vulnerable 0-3 year age group, in any significant way. By then, under-nourishment had done its harm.
The upcoming Fourth National Family Health Survey will reveal just how well the efforts at improving the health of women and children have been. Since the third survey in 2005-06 the National Rural Health Mission and the Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY) have been launched, entailing large-scale employment of resources, human and monetary, like never before.
In 2005, JSY, the biggest cash transfer scheme ever, was launched. It aimed at getting the women to deliver at a medical centre, as opposed to home, so that they and the newborn could get timely medical attention. Initial studies show that women have started going to institutions for delivery, but they are being discharged within a few hours, so that they become eligible to receive the Rs 1400. Health scientists point out that woman and her baby need to be under medical care for at least 48 hours. The neonatal period is a critical time and many infants and their mothers could be saved.
Interviews by the writer in Uttar Pradesh villages revealed that people are happy with the cash amount they get, at times given after a mandatory ‘cut’ to the ‘authorities’. But it is not being spent on food for the mother; instead it goes towards buying household items. Even the National Rural Health Mission, which has improved the demand for public health facilities, has not been able to check infant mortality rate in any substantial way.
The results of NFHS 3 have been disappointing. Around one third of the women were having their first child while still in their teens. The risk of low birth weight and neo natal mortality increases when the woman is an adolescent. The Indian Council of Medical Research has found maternal mortality among adolescents to be as high as 645 per 100,000 live births.

Think beyond numbers

In 1983, the National Health Policy had expected to reach the replacement level total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.1 per cent by 2000. TFR is calculated as the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime. But by 2000, we were nowhere near. However, the year saw the establishment of a new National Population Policy and the goal of 2.1 TFR was extended to 2010. Today ten states – Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have TFR between 3.0 and 3.9. Demographers now predict that the near replacement TFR is still some decades away. The US Census Bureau calculates a fertility rate of 2.2 by 2050! By then, we would have become the most populous country in the world with numbers that could range from 1.5 billion to 1.8 billion, overtaking China in 2030.
We will soon have the largest ever generation of adolescents. They can be a ‘demographic dividend’ only if they are healthy. But a half of India’s children today are moderately or severely malnourished.
What is more, most Indian children suffer from at least one micronutrient deficiency. Over 75 per cent of preschool children suffer from anaemia and almost 60 per cent have sub-clinical Vitamin A deficiency. Progress in reducing the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in India has been excruciatingly slow. Child morbidity and mortality is higher for girls aged one month to 5 years than for boys, as the girls receive less food and health care. It is a vicious cycle—an undernourished girl will grow up to be unhealthy and give birth to low weight babies.
In 1994, some health scientists brought out a book – “Listening to Women Talk About their Health”. It featured health studies from different villages and slums of India and made a strong case for population-based studies on women’s health instead of hospital/clinic ones to get a better picture so that better policies can be framed and their needs addressed. For often poor women do not, or to put it better, cannot access the health system. Therefore, listen to what they are saying, what they want from a health system.
Some health scientists have been critical of India’s obsession with numbers, i.e. population control, and not focusing enough on women’s health and well being. At the end of it all – a healthy woman means a healthy baby. And a healthy and an educated woman means a healthier child and adult. Forty years down the road, Dr Pachauri, now heading Population Council of India, is saying the same thing: Improve the health of the women if you want to save the babies

UK 'S CONTROVERSIAL NEWSPAPER

A tabloid that failed to live up to its creed, “Our motto is the truth, our practice is fearless advocacy of the truth”, has been shut down by its owner in an effort to contain damage to his media empire. It had history —168 years of it; readership of 7.4 million which made it the biggest-selling English-language Sunday newspaper in the world, and was the first British newspaper acquired by the media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1969. The paper’s old formula of sensationalism and sex, which had earned it a certain reputation for scurrilousness, had a new patron in Murdoch and the tabloid attracted more and more readers, and thus circulation figures soared.

Instead of reporting scandals, The News of the World itself has been the focus of a growing scandal, as it faces an investigation into phone hacking of individuals, perhaps thousands of them, allegedly conducted at the paper’s behest, through a private investigator. The hacking of voicemail messages of murder victims and their families, and the relatives of London 7/7 London bombings have particularly angered the British public. The newspaper has apologised for intercepting voicemails between 2004 and 2006, but its executives and editors are facing a fresh investigation. Even as the paper is shuttered, the investigation goes on, and the political fallout is likely to impact the Murdoch media empire that controls 37 per cent of Britain’s newspaper circulation. It is increasingly clear that senior executives lost perspective and instead of looking for truth, became purveyors of information that would make headlines, without giving much thought to human emotions and values.
The conduct of executives at The News of the World brings into sharp focus the pitfalls of not paying enough attention to means and bothering only about the ends. While Britain will continue to debate the controversial decision to shut down the paper and the transgressions of its staff, some of whom have been arrested, the fall of this tabloid is a cautionary tale for all those who stray from journalistic norms and practices and seek sensationalism over substance.

INDIAN COMPANIES IN FORTUNE 500 LIST

Mercedes Benz

Yesterday, after a long gap of time, I boarded a bus. I had to visit my ailing relative at Jallandar but my car broke down so, I had to travel by bus. On the way to bus stand, I was recalling the days when I had to take trips of bus very often. I also remembered the pathetic condition of roadways buses those days. Following couplets were best written to describe the condition of buses.

“aa gayi roadways di lari.......na koi buha na bari........dakhe maran ohnu savari”(here comes the roadways bus, with shattered doors and window panes and have to be pushed by passengers to move)

But whole of view changed when I saw a gigantic white coloured bus from the make of Mercedes on the counter. Although I have heard about the makeover of transport system in recent times but have not got any first hand experience. To describe, it was an AC bus with sofa type comfortable seats, two movie screens and effective audio system. This bus was totally different from its precedents. It looked that I was travelling in a airline and not in a bus. I mean it as I have travelled many times in domestic airlines and this bus can be compared with the airbus at every level of comfort .After entering a sense of proud stared flowing and wanted to thank and congratulate Punjab government for such efficient transport system. As, since birth every Indian dream to sit in a Mercedes Benz. Although it was a bus and not car yet star logo of the Mercedes gives a unique sense of gratification. Although ticket was doubled priced yet every penny spent was justified.

On the way I found many of such type of buses sprinting on the road but strangely, all of them from the private players. The bus was full to capacity then why not government entering into such fruitful business. Why government wants private players to take such large chunk of money. After enquiring about this it came to me that all buses are owned by major political leaders of Punjab who are openly flaunting rules to run these buses on roads  like low road tax, without permit buses, favourable times, favourable and high revenue generating routes etc. Even conductor of that bus told me that public players like PUNBUS and PRTC  are finding it difficult to run such luxury busses. As per him, recently PRTC  quit its Patiala-Amritsar Volvo bus as PRTC faced a huge loss of 2.5 crore. Then how these private operators are finding it gainful to continue with these busses.  After a further enquiry, revealed that  these busses are acting as source to convert black money into legalized money. Also this is a measure to garner votes of upper middle class. Government always promise to work for the welfare of common masses yet ends up quenching the selfish needs of political personal and some elite classes of the society.

 In the end, safar(in Punjabi)  was good but at the end I have to suffer as a common man.

a New Section "EDITOR'S DESK"

Dear readers,

Thanks for your overwhelming response to this blog. Taking leap forward, today, I am starting a new section "EDITOR'S DESK" reflecting of my own views about various recent trends in our society. These are not big issues like corruption or climate change but little issues that impact our life. Hope you like this weekly instalment.

Please give your feedback to every article  through your comments  as it will depict your viewpoint and  enhance my knowledge as there is unlimited knowledge to gather that is theme of Punjab Unlimited-  your own blog.

Thanks  and Regards

K.Singh

matrisarb@yahoo.in

BEGINNING OF NEW CHAPTER IN THAILAND'S POLITICS

THAILAND’S just concluded elections have led to an interesting development. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democratic Party has been ousted from power through the battle of the ballot despite the powerful military and the monarchy being its backers. The people’s mandate has gone in favour of the opposition Pheu Thai Party, whose 44-year-old woman leader, Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, has taken oath as the country’s new Prime Minister. Her party won 263 seats in a 500-strong Lower House of parliament, the House of Representatives. That she is the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006 and then convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to a jail term, did not deter people from casting their vote in support of her party. Mr Thaksin Shinawatra has been living in self-imposed exile in Dubai since then.

Ms Yingluck Shinawatra could easily form her party’s government as it won a clear majority in parliament. But she has decided to go in for a coalition with the help of a few like-minded parties. She says she has preferred the path of national reconciliation, required in view of last year’s disturbances in which 90 people lost their lives with the ordinary Thais expressing their disenchantment against the ruling dispensation in a strong manner. The voters’ disapproval of the nexus between the Democratic Party, the military and the Thai King can be seen in the election results too.
The military may look for an opportunity to intervene again if Ms Yingluck Shinawatra does not play her cards tactfully. She has been described as a proxy for her brother, whose return to Thailand may be facilitated by the new government. Nothing should be done by ignoring the country’s justice system. It would be better if Mr Thaksin himself remains away from Thailand for some time and plays the role of a mentor from where he is — in Dubai. Even if he is back to Bangkok, he should keep himself away from the corridors of power so that the military does not find a pretext to destabilise the Yingluck government.

CHILD MARRIAGES AND HARYANA

THE women of Haryana have an uncanny way of making it to the news pages. Sometimes, even before they are born. Often, for being killed by their own kith and kin for such a simple act like marrying someone they like. The social web they are born and brought up in pushes them to make startling headlines — female foeticide, honour killings, and now child marriages — indicators of society’s obstinacy for clinging to feudal values, while modernity knocks at its doors. In six months, 195 child marriages have been reported in Haryana, as compared to 47 in 2009. The reasoning offered behind these marriages is startling — safety for the girl and protection of family honour!

There are clear indications of violation of human rights for women at various stages of their existence. There are, of course, paradoxes like Commonwealth champions Babita and Geeta from Balali village in Bhiwani district, who were encouraged to take up ‘kushti’ (wrestling) by their parents, despite a lot of opposition from the villagers. After the medals started pouring in, the scenario changed. Now, four other girls from the same village have joined wrestling. And these are not isolated cases. But, unfortunately, instead of highlighting these champions and using them as their poster girls in a state where female foeticide is showing alarming figures, the government chooses to introduce cash incentives for the girl child, from her birth to her marriage!
So long as the girl child is treated as a liability, and money is offered as a kind of compensation under several schemes (Ladli, Balika Samriddhi Yojna, Dhan Luxmi, etc) by the government for letting a girl child take birth, it will be impossible for her to grow up with self-respect and the required confidence to claim her rights. And girls will continue to be bartered with money, material, in barter marriage (atta-satta) and under all other kinds of violations of her rights. If the government is serious about tackling this malaise, it should provide a safe environment for girls to come to schools and colleges, so that like other parameters of modernity, independent girls too find their space. 

CENTRALIZED KITCHENS FOR MID DAY MEAL SCHEME

The Punjab government has decided to set up centralised kitchens through NGOs for the supply of quality cooked mid-day meals to the students in primary (classes I to V) and upper primary schools (classes VI to VIII) within the municipal limits of eight districts in the state. It may be mentioned here that mid-day meals are being provided to more than 18 lakh students in the state.
 in the first phase eight districts namely Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Bathinda, SAS Nagar, Sangrur and Moga would be covered and more than one centralised kitchen would be set up in each district. He informed that tenders had already been invited from NGOs with condition that the cooked mid-day meal should be as per norms fixed by the Government of India.
 it was noticed that the schools were witnessing difficulties in running this scheme as there were problems ranging from lack of experienced cooks, refilling of LPG cylinders, purchase of spices lack of concentration amongst students during the whole cooking process.
He was confident that the new arrangement would ensure that the place for cooking is more hygienic and the inspection of cooked food could also be undertaken at a single spot resulting in saving of time and expenditure.
It may be mentioned here that under midday meal scheme students of primary schools were being provided 100 gm wheat/rice with 3.89 paise cooking cost each. Similarly, 150 gm wheat/rice with 4.33 paise cooking cost is the criteria for an upper primary student (Class VI to VIII). An NGO has already been supplying mid-day meal in Nawanshahr and Ferozepur districts.

Digitisation of the land records in Punjab

• Revenue records of 12,000 Punjab villages to be digitised; 156 fard centres being set up across the state
• Anybody who wants a copy of his jamabandi or mutation can go to the kendra and obtain a certified copy at a very nominal fee, instead of running after revenue officials
• Farmers to have access to information related to girdawari, mutation, jamabandi, fard, roznamcha and other records of the Revenue Department
• Records to be updated twice a week; awareness among rural populace about the fard centres to be spread through FM Radio and cable network

More powers tol PRI's in Haryana

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today announced a number of steps to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the state and ensure maximum involvement of people in development projects.
Now all funds or grant-in-aid under all schemes would be transferred directly to the bank accounts of gram panchayats and they can grant administrative approval for all works to be undertaken under various schemes, except that of Haryana Rural Development Fund (HRDF), without any limit, Hooda said in a statement here.
Also, now instead of the Deputy Commissioner, the president of the zila parishad would be the chairperson of the District Rural Development Agency. Members of the zila parishad and the panchayat samiti would have the right to inspect various development works within their wards. The engineering wing of the Panchayati Raj Department would work under the panchayats.
The Chief Minister said all funds or grant-in-aid under all schemes like the HRDF, Pavement of Streets, Surcharge on VAT, Mukhya Mantri Anusuchit Jati Nirmal Basti Yojana, Special Development Works, State Finance Commission Funds and Central Finance Commission Funds would be transferred directly to the bank accounts of gram panchayats through the Real Time Gross Settlement system. Earlier, the funds used to be given through Deputy Commissioners or Additional Deputy Commissioners.
Hooda said the gram panchayat would have the discretion to either execute the work itself, directly or through a local contractor, or it could entrust the work to the Panchayati Raj Engineering Wing for the works estimated up to Rs 10 lakh. In case of works estimated above Rs 10 lakh, the gram panchayat could get those executed through the Panchayati Raj Engineering Wing.

Hooda’s Agenda

Funds under all schemes to be transferred directly to bank accounts of gram panchayats
President of zila parishad to be chairperson of District Rural Development Agency, instead of Deputy Commissioner
Members of zila parishad and panchayat samiti to have the right to inspect development works

POLITICIZATION OF PPSC

he appointment of a politician as Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) a few months before the assembly elections is being read as a political move. It certainly is not good news for the commission that is in the process of making recruitments.
For the past some years, successive governments have refrained from appointing politicians as heads of the commission. SK Sinha, a retired bureaucrat, who headed the commission till his demise in May this year, was, however, seen more as Amarinder’s man than a bureaucrat.
Since the scam that rocked the PPSC in 2002 when former journalist Ravi Sidhu was its chairman, no attempt has been made to cleanse the system. The commission remained mired in various controversies with Sinha himself coming under the Vigilance scanner.
Whichever party forms the next government in Punjab, the appointment of Harish Rai Dhanda, who resigned as SAD MLA from Ludhiana (West), does not augur well for the state. If the Congress forms the next government, it is unlikely to give him any task, he being a SAD loyalist. If the Akali-BJP government retains power, it will expect Dhanda to recruit those owing allegiance to the SAD-BJP. In either case, merit will be the casualty.
The Congress president, Capt Amarinder Singh, has questioned Dhanda’s credentials for the job while opposing the appointment of a politician to the important post. Congress Legislative Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has said the post should go to a scholar if the appointments made are to be fair and on merit.
As the ruling alliance did not trust Sinha, recruitment procedures were delayed, several vacancies notified way back in 2009 have not been filled till date. The PPSC was assigned the task of recruiting 100 doctors in 2008 and 212 doctors in 2009. Despite claims of transparency, the appointment of at least 100 PCMS doctors created a controversy with the commission failing to provide information (under the RTI Act) on the selection criteria. The Tribune had carried a report on the matter, revealing that candidates with inferior qualifications but clout had been favoured.
Already, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau is investigating a case of alleged irregularities in the appointmen, though this had no direct link with the PPSC. The PPSC, established under Article 315 of the Constitution, is an independent body not subject to government control, charged with the responsibility of recruitment /management of public services.
At present the commission has seven members besides the chairman. The SAD-BJP government proposes to raise the strength to “adjust” some loyalists.

SOUTH SUDAN: A NEW BORN STATE

 As South Sudan prepares to declare independence on July 9, the capital city of the world’s newest nation is busy dressing up for a three-day celebration.
Workers armed with brooms made of reeds wage a losing battle against the dust that coats everything in this city. The new nation’s flags festoon the streets. And banners emblazoned with congratulatory messages decorate the city’s streets, many of them little more than rutty mud tracks.
A digital clock in the middle of a traffic circle in downtown Juba counts down the hours to independence. "Free at last!" it flashed. "Welcome to Africa's country No. 54."
Security is a major concern in this post-conflict nation in which rebels are still fighting in nine of the 10 states. Officials have begun confiscating illegal weapons from residents, many of whom are former rebels who fought the northern Sudanese army.
Southern officials and Western organisations accuse the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of arming some of the rebels. Some acknowledge that tribal rivalry and disenchantment with the government is also a factor. Southern Sudan’s Internal Affairs Minister Maj Gen Gier Chuang Aluong told journalists that the "enemies" of the state were working to destabilise the south. "They want to portray South Sudan as a failed state even before take-off," he said.
Southerners voted overwhelmingly in a referendum in January to secede from the north. But there are many post-referendum issues that still need to be worked out between north and south Sudan.
When Sudan Prez will meet his detractors Prominent among them are the fate of the oil-rich region of Abyei that straddles the internal border and is claimed by both sides, and the sharing of oil revenue. Most of the oil fields are located in the south, however, the pipelines that pump the oil to the Red Sea port of Port Sudan are all located in the north. Officials from the north and the south are engaged in intense discussions in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to resolve these outstanding issues. However, southern officials told The Tribune a solution before July 9 is unlikely.
“These post-referendum issues will become post-independence issues,” Barnaba Marial Benjamin, South Sudan’s Minister of Information, said in an interview.
Acknowledging the tremendous challenges faced by the new country, he said: “South Sudan is bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined. It has been destroyed over 50 years of war and so it is a real ground zero, and to have a ground zero of this size means that there are many challenges in infrastructure and development.”
Two decades of north-south civil war that ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 left at least two million people dead.
On Wednesday night, the legislative assembly approved a transitional constitution after a marathon debate that wrapped up just shy of midnight. Government critics, including some in the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), have expressed concern about the disproportionate powers vested in the office of the president. Vice-President Riek Machar has been a leading critic in particular citing the authority given to the President to dismiss state governors at whim. Others criticise the power to appoint 66 members of the president's choosing to the legislative body, which is already dominated by the SPLM. To some, the inclusion of these powers are ominous portents of one-party dominance on a continent that is no stranger to strongmen.
Despite these concerns, Southern Sudanese are in a mood to celebrate. At midnight on Friday, as the date switches over to July 9, the joyous sounds of church bells, drum beats and ululating women will resound across Juba.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND INDIA : UN WOMEN REPORT

Justice is still out of reach for thousands of women in India with the acceptance of violence being a general mindset, said the report launched by UN Women’s flagship report on world’s women progress.
Addressing issues like marital rape, domestic and sexual violence, gender inequality etc, the survey done in the report suggest that 39 per cent men and women in India think that it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife.
According to the report, 63 per cent of women in India, between the age group of 15 and 49 years, lack autonomy in their homes which is defined as having no say in any of the vital everyday decisions, including own health care, large household purchases, purchases for daily needs and visits to family or relatives. India also significantly lags behind the rest of the world with women being just 3 per cent of the judges.
UN Women, the United Nation’s new organisation for women has called on the government to take urgent action to transform justice system and laws for women in India. Some of the key recommendations of the report include employing more women police, providing legal aid and awareness for women, creating specialised courts, implementing gender-sensitive law reforms.

Talking about women presence in politics and public life, the report said that much needs to be done to ensure that women can access justice and achieve their rights. “The report has found that the existing laws are inadequately enforced. Many women avoid reporting crimes due to social stigma, prohibitive costs, expensive legal advice and weak justice systems.The report has also emphasised employing of women on the front line of justice services and police officers.

“Data shows that there is a positive correlation between the presence of women police officers and reporting of sexual assault. Recruitment of women police officers and resourcing of gender desks must be part of a broader strategy to train the police to adequately respond to women’s needs

ECONOMY BYTES

MPLAD funds hiked from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore :Cabinet also cleared a massive hike of Rs 3 crore in the annual allocation for a scheme that enables every MP to recommend development works in their constituencies. A hike of Rs 3 crore in the annual allocation for a scheme that enables every MP to recommend development works in their constituencies, was also approved by the Cabinet. The move would cost the exchequer an additional Rs 2,370 crore annually.

 Phase III expansion will extend FM radio services to around 227 new cities with a population of over one lakh. According to the new policy, radio operators have been permitted to carry news bulletins of the All India Radio.
 The govt is expecting to raise about Rs 1,733 crore from auctions. It has taken the e-auction route to auction the channels to maintain transparency
 The Cabinet also approved increase in the FDI and FII limit in private FM radio broadcasting company to 26 per cent from the present 20%.

GOVERNMENT JOBS FOR EUNUCHS

Eunuchs can now be recruited in government offices and a third category, that of transgender, has been created for them in the application forms by Punjab.
As a case for their rights came up for hearing this afternoon, the Punjab and Haryana High Court made it clear that they were not ineligible for government jobs.
Punjab informed the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice AK Mittal that a separate category (transgender) had been created and a notification issued on March 4.
In an affidavit, Punjab Deputy Secretary, Department of Social Security and Women and Child Development Amritpal Singh, referred to a statement made before the court earlier that a separate transgender (T) category, other than male (M) and female (F) would be incorporated in all application forms.The “T” category would be considered in the category of men.
Following Punjab’s stand, Haryana too has made it clear that eunuchs will be considered in the category of men.
Punjab is the first state to “give the eunuchs their due”. So far, a national policy on categorisation of eunuchs has not been formulated. The move by the two states is expected to go a long way in helping the eunuchs get respectable jobs.

NEW VARIETIES OF WHEAT AND COTTON

DIRECT cash transfers subsidies

DIRECT cash transfers to the poor in lieu of subsidised kerosene, fertilisers and cooking gas are being introduced as an experiment in seven states, including Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan, on the recommendation of a task force headed by Nanadan Nilekani. The bold experiment will be under watch for six months, and if found successful, it would possibly be announced in the coming Union Budget for a countrywide rollout. A subsidy creates dual prices – the price the targeted beneficiaries pay and the open market price, which is higher. This leads to the diversion of subsidized items. Cheap kerosene, for instance is meant for the poor, but is widely used for adulteration of petrol or diesel. The highly subsidised domestic LPG cylinder is put to commercial use. The subsidy on fertilizers is meant for farmers but is paid to the manufacturing companies.

Under the new scheme the government will transfer cash direct in the bank accounts of kerosene, LPG and fertilizer users, who can buy these items from stores near them at the market rate. This arrangement will help the government eliminate middlemen and make foolproof payments direct to the needy. The undeserving like rich farmers can be denied the fertilizer subsidy. Companies will no longer have assured payments and will have to be efficient and price their products competitively. The government, which pays an annual subsidy of Rs 80,000 crore on kerosene, LPG and fertilizers, will make huge savings.
The move to switch over to direct cash transfers is fraught with risks. The vested interests may resist change. Identifying the poor is a daunting task. The well-connected often grab benefits meant for the poor, who may not have easy access to a bank or a post office. Pensions do land in wrong hands. Rich farmers in connivance with officials may open and operate bank accounts or smart UID cards in the names of illiterate, poor farmers. Challenges are there but these are not insurmountable. The key to the success of the ambitious project is good governance, especially at the state level.

INDIAN POLICY AND CHINA'S PEACEFUL RISE

In orchestration of its “peaceful rise”, the Chinese leadership is convinced that sustained economic development has to be accorded the highest priority. In the Chinese concept of Comprehensive National Power (CNP), both soft and hard power are equally relevant. For enhancing CNP and emerging as a global player, China requires strategic space and enlarged area of influence. Its continuing march into south and southeast Asia is part of a well-calibrated Asia policy in consonance with the overall grand design. China has used its strategic advantage to leverage and consolidate its standing in the region.
PRC has specially developed close relations and partnerships with India’s neighbours. Today, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka affirm to “One China” policy and unequivocally support China on the sensitive Tibet issue. They speak one voice with regards to China’s entry into SAARC, disregarding Delhi’s discomfort. Whereas PRC professes a policy of peace and friendliness, its strategic aim remains marginalising India through overt engagement and covert containment. However, PRC does make efforts to keep India from making strategic alliances with the US.
It is imperative that India crafts a deliberate and effective strategy to ensure its rightful status as a regional power. This implies seriously contending the growing Chinese influence around its periphery and simultaneously striving to enlarge its footprint particularly in southeast and central Asia. The approach has to be multi- pronged, a combination of soft and hard power. India’s relations with southeast Asia should have three fold objectives: Strengthen bilateral relations, institutionalise political and economic mechanism and mutually address regional security concerns. India has to play a more proactive role in the region. Even President Obama, while addressing the Parliament during his visit here, stated that India should upgrade its relations from “looking East” to “engaging East”.
India’s emergence is seen as positive development by Asia-Pacific nations. They now see India as a power that could play a balancing role in the region. ASEAN accounts for 9.42 per cent of the global trade and is India’s fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade of over $50 billion. As India is not a direct competitor for ASEAN export-led economies, the opportunities for mutual gains are considerable. In defence cooperation, there is vast scope in areas like combating terrorism, maritime security, sharing intelligence, capacity building and training.
To ensure a favourable neighbourhood, India needs to take fresh initiatives that combine good economics and astute diplomacy. A shortsighted approach vacillating between appeasement and coercion has not yielded the desired results. In the prevailing environment, smaller neighbours are not averse to India playing a lead role as long as their interests are well served. Politically, India must treat China on equal footing and not give in to its coercive diplomacy. Underplaying the Dragon’s growing capability would be a serious strategic blunder. India ought to improve its potential in the application of combat power on its northern borders and enhance force projection capability in the region.
China’s inroads into the strategic neighbourhood are in sync with its grand design, as it prepares to take its rightful place in the new world order. In a systematic manner, Beijing has made long term investments in the region to gain a strategic foothold, while dispelling concerns about a “China Threat’. Favourable response from majority of the nations in the region implies a major diplomatic triumph for Beijing. Expanding influence of China in the Asia-Pacific region is a reality. To cope with the live challenge, India needs to formulate a pragmatic national security policy after undertaking a holistic strategic review in the long term global perspective. Keeping in view the magnitude and complexities of the security spectrum, bold reforms would be required to be put in place to institute a dynamic mechanism to ensure seamless coordination and synergy that are the inescapable prerequisites for effective implementation.

CHINA AND ASEAN

China has traditionally wielded significant influence in southeast Asia, which constitutes a fluid turf due to the power game dynamics and often referred to by Chinese scholars as a soft underbelly. PRC has pursued its designs through skilled diplomacy, binding the region to China politically, economically and militarily. China’s broad objectives in the region are:

• Work towards peaceful and prosperous South East Asia to sustain modernisation.
• Ensure diminution of U S influence in the region.
• Seek passive and strategically neutral Japan.
• Endeavour for sovereign authority over South China Sea.

China’s policy towards south east Asia is marked by soft paddling outstanding regional disputes and willingness to engage in multilateral dialogue while projecting an attitude of good neighbourliness. Chinese inroads into south Asia region have been primary economics centric.
Conscious that its rise manifests concern among its neighbours, PRC has tried to dispel fears of a “China threat” and demonstrated its desire to behave as a responsible power. However, China is wary of Japan, which has refused to exclude Taiwan Strait from its security agreement with the US. Beijing also knows it has limited influence in the Korean Peninsula. China’s activism in southeast Asia, therefore, is an important element of its response against potential containment.
Southeast Asian nations have responded rather favourably to Chinese regional activism. Due to historical and geopolitical realities, these nations have reconciled to the inevitability of living in China’s shadow. Countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are able to leverage their positions optimally by exploiting the resources of both China and the US. Even Myanmar, due to its political isolation, has been a major beneficiary of China’s assistance as reciprocation for its favourable policies towards China.Despite growing Chinese influence, the US continues to retain a dominating position in southeast Asia. The US–ASEAN Enhanced Partnership Agreement of 2005 seeking closer cooperation in trade, investment and security is a step towards ensuring greater involvement in the region. ASEAN too seeks enhanced US cooperation to obviate overdependence on China The choices before Washington are either to maintain status quo by following the current policy through bilateral alliances, or assign Beijing participatory role in the region. The way Obama administration is courting Beijing indicates that US’ Asia policy is no more driven by an overarching geopolitical framework.

CHINA AND SOUTH ASIA- STRING OF PEARLS

South Asia, due to its strategic importance, is considered by China as part of its extended periphery. PRC perceives India as a rival and views the latter’s strategic posturing directed towards seeking hegemony in the region, exercising control in the Indian Ocean and containing China, while striving to emerge as a military power. China’s strategic interests in south Asia are largely economic. In consonance with the expansion of its strategic space, China has deepened its influence in India’s neighbourhood. China’s march into south Asia gained momentum when it went for market economy in the 1980s, opening new vistas beyond Pakistan. Salient facets that merit attention are:

• Beijing has an enduring strategic partnership with Islamabad. Change in the political leadership or shift in policies in either country has had no impact on continuing mutual trust and cooperation. Pakistan’s strategic significance is priceless for China, especially in the zero sum game orchestrated by Beijing in the Indian subcontinent. While denying access to southwest and central Asia, Pakistan has provided a direct link to China with Eurasia through the Karakoram highway. Presence of PLA soldiers in the Gilgit area for infrastructure projects has added new dimension to the military cooperation between the two countries. The Gwadar Port, where PRC has made huge investments, provides Beijing direct linkage to the Indian Ocean. Pakistan’s strategy in Kashmir to tie down a large number of Indian troops dilutes India’s capabilities against China.
• Bangladesh is a doorway for China to India’s northeast and both share a common ground on many issues. China values Bangladesh for its immense natural gas reserves, accessibility and geographic proximity to Myanmar. PRC has extended lucrative economic packages for infrastructure development and socio-economic needs of Bangladesh. China is a also a major supplier of arms and equipment to Bangladesh.
• Nepal’s strategic location is of immense importance to PRC, which has cultivated Kathmandu as part of its larger security agenda. With construction of the “Friendship Highway” from Lhasa to Kathmandu, China has gained strategic access into south Asia. The proposed extension of the Qinghai-Lhasa railway line to Kathmandu will further enhance the connectivity. There is also active defense cooperation between the two countries. PRC has always sought to use Nepal as a counter-weight to India and ensure Kathmandu’s neutrality in a Sino-Indian standoff.
• China cherishes bilateral relations with Colombo given Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is also crucial to China for implementing its “String of Pearls” strategy. Close relations between the two serves China’s interest in obviating Indian predominance. Colombo is a major beneficiary of Beijing’s economic and military assistance.
• As for Sino-Indian interface, there is definite concern regarding the concurrent rise of the two big powers. The relations between the two giants are complex and marked by contradictions. Despite the agreement on confidence building measures with regards to the boundary dispute, there is underlying antagonism, suspicion and trust deficit. In India the perception is that China has persistently endeavoured to deny it the deserved stakes in the international arena. The boundary issue and Dalai Lama’s presence in India are two major irritants in bilateral relations. Chinese officials attach considerable importance to India’s military capability and its impact on the periphery, particularly in the Indian Ocean Region.

TELENGANA-YES OR NO?

ANDHRA Pradesh is tending to go on the boil again over the Telangana issue. The fact that 10 Congress members of Parliament and 78 legislators belonging to that region drawn from various parties have submitted their resignations to press for statehood for Telangana is an index of nervousness among representatives from the region that the electorate would take them to task for not doing enough to espouse the demand. Yet, there is an element of optimism in the Centre as reflected by Union Home Minister Chidambaram’s statement that some solution would be worked out so that the political crisis is resolved for now.

It is indeed typical of our politicians to drag their feet over such demands till the clamour reaches a crescendo. It was Chidambaram who had given a new lease of life to the long-festering demand when he indicated back in 2009-end that the Centre was inclined towards accepting the demand for statehood. That led to sharp divisions and the politics of procrastination again. This time around, as the situation escalates again, it would be interesting to see how the day of reckoning is pushed further.
The Centre knows only too well that the grant of statehood to Telangana would give new impetus to demands for Gorkhaland, Vidarbha, Harit Pradesh or Bundelkhand, carved out of other states.The Telangana demand cannot therefore be seen in isolation. The formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 (by merging Andhra and Hyderabad state) had been followed by reorganisation of states across the country. Is the government then prepared for a second reorganisation of states? To stave this off, a proposal mooted is that of creation of a regional autonomous council for Telangana as also such councils for Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra within the State of Andhra Pradesh. Instead of postponing a solution and thereby keeping the pot boiling, it would indeed be prudent to work out a solution around this at the earliest to meet the pulls and counter-pulls half-way.

FDI IN INDIA - MAY 2011

India saw the second-highest FDI equity inflows of $4.6 billion over 11 years for May this year. More monthly inflows than May were last seen in April 2000.
However, with FDI inflows slowing in the last year, concerns persist about the investment climate in India. So, it remains to be seen if the upswing seen in May sustains or it is just a blip.
The May figures are an increase of nearly 111% over the FDI equity inflows of $ 2.2 billion received in the same month last year and also the highest inflow in the month of May over 11 years.
The Commerce Ministry feels that the recent trend of dip in FDI inflows appears to have been reversed in the current financial year, where a significant upward trend in the FDI inflows is evident.
The total FDI equity inflows, in the first two months of the current financial year (i.e. April and May, 2011), are $7.785 billion, representing an increase of around 77% over the FDI equity inflows of $ 4.392 billion for the corresponding period last year.
It says that recent investments are an indicator of this positive trend. For example, the proposed tie-up between BP and Reliance, with a likely FDI of over $ 7 billion, could possibly be the single largest FDI into any emerging market.
Similarly, Vodafone's purchase of Essar's stake, at around $ 5 billion, is also an indicator of continuing investor confidence.
The approvals given to POSCO and to the Cairn-Vedanta acquisition (a deal of around $8-9 billion) are also likely to increase FDI this year.

Biomedical waste

EVEN ordinary waste strewn around carelessly is bad for health. When biomedical waste is thrown along with municipal solid waste, it can kill. Yet, that is exactly what many of the hospitals of Punjab have been doing. When the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) conducted surprise checks at 108 hospitals and health care facilities across the state on Sunday, 20 hospitals were found to be violating waste disposal rules. Among them were eight government hospitals and 12 private hospitals. Being conscious of the fact that biomedical waste can play havoc with the health of thousands of people, the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, are very stringent and ordain that all hospitals and health centres segregate biomedical waste into different containers and bags according to colour code. These containers are to be transported from the premises of the Common-Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility located at Mohali, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Amritsar and Bathinda.

However, the rules are merrily ignored even by reputed hospitals. They either dump their waste – comprising solids, liquids, sharps and laboratory waste — along with municipal solid waste or throw it away in an unhygienic manner, unmindful of the fact that this is infectious and can pollute the entire locality. It is dangerous for humans as well as the environment. The PPCB has been running a sustained campaign for the past one year against this menace. If the practice still continues, it only shows that some people are incorrigible and will not mend their ways till harsh punishment is meted out to them.
It is necessary to keep a close watch on the various biomedical waste facilities because they too are known to be cutting corners at times. While taking action against the erring institutions, the authorities should also focus on the hygiene within the hospitals. If they can be so callous about waste disposal, they might be equally uncaring about the hygiene on the hospital premises. The cases of hospital-induced infections are not uncommon.

SC AND BLACK MONEY- BEST EXAMPLE OF JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

In a far-reaching order to deal with the “massive” problem of “astronomical levels” of black money stashed in secret overseas bank accounts, the Supreme Court today directed the government to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former apex court judges BP Jeevan Reddy and MB Shah and disclose the names of such bank account holders against whom show-cause notices have been issued.
Slamming the government for conducting the investigations “at a laggardly pace,” a Bench comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy and SS Nijjar observed that even the “named individuals had not yet been questioned with any degree of seriousness. These are serious lapses, especially when viewed from the perspective of larger issues of security, both internal and external, of the country.”
The Bench passed the order on a bunch of PILs seeking steps to bring back over $1trillion of black money taken out of the country illegally by individuals and entities in order to evade tax. Among the petitioners are former law minister Ram Jethmalani and former police chiefs of Punjab - KPS Gill and Julio F Riberio.
Arguing for the government, Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian had strongly opposed the pleas for the SIT and disclosure of the names of the account holders.
While Justice Jeevan Reddy would be the SIT Chairman, Justice Shah would be its Vice-Chairman. The SC also directed the government to include the Director of the country’s external intelligence wing - Research and and Analysis Wing (RAW) - in the SIT.
The apex court said the 10-member high powered committee set up by the government recently to investigate the black money cases, particularly of Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Kha, should be converted into a SIT with three additions - the two former SC Judges and the RAW chief.
The 10-member committee was headed by a revenue secretary in the Finance Ministry, while its other members were RBI Deputy Governor, Directors of Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Finance Intelligence Unit and CBI, Directors General of Narcotics Control Bureau and Revenue Intelligence and Joint Secretary (FT and TR-I) in the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
When the Solicitor General contended today that the government had attached Hasan Ali’s properties worth Rs 44 crore, the Bench wanted to know as to what happened to “all the zeros.” The Bench was obviously referring to the income tax notice issued to him demanding payment of Rs 70,000 crore towards tax arrears and penalties.
The SIT would have powers to investigate, initiate proceedings and prosecute the accused in all black money related cases, the SC clarified. The SIT would keep the SC informed of all major developments by filing periodic status reports.

INDIA'S NUCLEAR TRADE AND NSG

IT is a matter of great relief for India that the US, Russia and France are ready to honour the commitments they had made to India under their respective civilian nuclear cooperation agreements signed with New Delhi. The Nuclear Suppliers Group’s (NSG’s) latest decision that the countries that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty may get debarred from acquiring uranium enrichment and reprocessing technologies from any of the NSG members is not fair so far as India is concerned. India had been given a clean waiver after the operationalisation of the 2008 Indo-US civilian nuclear deal on the basis of its impeccable non-proliferation record. The NSG had then accorded India the right to do nuclear commerce with its members despite not being a signatory to the NPT. This was a major achievement for New Delhi, as the NSG waiver ended India’s status as a nuclear untouchable, particularly for the transfer of latest technologies.
At its coming meeting at The Hague the NSG is expected to announce strict conditions for the transfer of civilian nuclear technologies in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. No one can question the concern expressed by the 46-nation NSG. It intends to ensure that civilian nuclear technologies remain in safe hands. But clubbing India with such countries as have a dubious track record can never be justified. India has not signed the NPT because it considers it discriminatory in nature. But this has not affected in any way India’s conduct as a responsible nuclear power.
The controversial NSG announcement made after its recent meeting in Noordwiik, the Netherlands, propelled the US, Russia and France to quickly come out with their stand that the civilian nuclear cooperation agreements they had signed with India remained unaffected. A US State Department spokesman said, “Nothing about the new enrichment and reprocessing technology transfer restrictions agreed to by NSG members should be construed as detracting from the unique impact and importance of the US-India agreement or our commitment to full civil nuclear cooperation.” France and Russia, too, have made similar commitments. All other countries which had been planning to go in for nuclear trade with India should declare that they will go ahead with their plans regardless of the decision of the NSG. 

UIDAI or Aadhar

What does the UIDAI or Aadhar as the project is known seek to do
The project is simply to give a Unique Identity Number to every resident of India. It is for residents who meet the residency test and this number does not confer anything to you. It is not to confer any nationality. It is just a number that say this is Raj Chengappa No. 123. It is only used to verify somewhere that you are Raj Chengappa and we have used biometrics to make sure that you will get a unique number. We capture all the fingerprints of the 10 fingers and we capture the iris of both the eyes and of course your picture. The biometrics gives us a unique data pattern for everyone. So everyone will have a unique biometric signature. When it is converted into a digital pattern and because of everybody’s unique signature, we can make sure that you don’t get a number twice. So the whole design is that if Raj Chengappa registers in Chandigarh and then if you go to Bangalore and register again by giving Sri Raj and give a biometric, we will catch it because of the fingerprints. Biometric acts as a de-duplicator. So we have a massive, the world’s largest back end engine, for de-duplication (eliminating duplicate information). Nobody has done it on the scale that we plan to do.

What else do you collect in terms of information?
Apart from the biometric, we collect the name, address, date of birth and sex and it is very simple. Whatever the data you give that is the data for the rest of your life and it is in your interest to give the right data and it is self cleaning in the sense you cannot get multiple numbers. Unfortunately in India there are lot of people who don't know their date of birth and they give an approximate date of birth. We have a lot of homeless and they give us the address care of an NGO or a shelter or something. The whole thing is about inclusion. It is about giving millions of Indians an ID with some status. There are no parameters of income, caste, religion, none of those things — just an ID for you.
How does having this ID help?
It helps the people who do not have an ID; it gives them an ID and it is a big thing for such people. The middle-class people usually have driving licences and passports and they do not think such an ID is worthy. But for the poor, especially rural poor who migrate, they do not have ID so they cannot get a ration card, bank account, mobile connection or pension as all these things require IDs. ID is the first part of the process. Secondly, you have been given a nationally mobile ID. I can be a villager in Bihar and get my number and that number is valid in Delhi also. Thirdly, it is an online ID which means the ID can be used to verify my identity online either on the internet or on the mobile phone or if you go to get some particular service, he can authenticate it by using a device to confirm that you are the same person. You can use that for delivering services. Suppose you want him to withdraw money, you can have a business correspondent with a device, authenticate him and he can withdraw money. The important conceptual thing is the number and the number is yours for life.

What is the origin of such an ID and its status in Western countries?
All these ID systems came from the West when they started having social welfare and social security programmes. The USA came up with a social security number in 1936, the UK came out with the national insurance number in 1953, Sweden came out with the number in 1947 and all of them were designed to improve the identification of the beneficiaries. Now in India, in the last 10 years, there has been a huge increase in our social spending whether in Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, NREGA, PDS Reforms and Pensions and with that more and more money or services is going to beneficiaries. Now, it is obvious that you have to make the basic beneficiaries data base correct. By doing this we have removed duplicates and ghosts from our data base. Right now we have enrolled around 1.08 crore people. We hope to enrol half of India's population in the next three years.

What would be the value of such a system to the person and the country?

The value for the system is immense. The social value is incalculable because there are millions of people without an ID. You can use it for applying for a NREGA job and a person can be given a NREGA job card connected to his UID. When he goes to a worksite, you can record his attendance. Along with his UID or Aadhar number, he can have a bank account. Suppose when he earns money, then that money can be directly deposited to his Aadhar-linked bank account. Then when he goes to the bank to withdraw the money, the bank can authenticate it by using the Aadhar number. It helps to automate the workflow of public delivery processes.

What about issues of privacy and the information falling into wrong hands?

First of all the information we collect is very rudimentary just the name, address, date of birth and sex. If you so agree we put in the mobile number and Email ID. And then we do the biometry. We can add a lot more fields but remember if we do that we have to do it 1.2 billion times. So we have designed a simple and lean format. The biometry part is used for de-duplication and the database can only be used for authentication. So I can't call up the database and ask for your address. It's like a black box. In our scheme, everybody keeps their own databases which helps protect privacy. So the banks get their own database, the mobile companies their own database, the Public Distribution System or PDS has its own database, Pensions will have their own database. So that it is actually not one massive database but the data is dispersed. You need to be able to connect all of them to figure out something. This is called federated architecture and it also makes it safe from the privacy point of view.

How will Aadhar help in streamlining delivery of government services and plug leakages? There is a huge debate about corruption right now.

This will be a very important feature because what we need is systemic reforms. How do we re-engineer the delivery of public services to be more efficient, equitable and effective? So we will start with identity, the next thing is we are working with the banks to open bank accounts for everyone. When you open a bank account, then you can get payments into that account. So e-payments will start and that will help efficiency because a person getting a pension does not have to meet anyone to get his money and it removes the interface. Then we think the same thing can be used for PDS reforms. Again, with the Food Security Act coming, the PDS reform using the technology would be a big part of it. Here again you have to make sure that the right beneficiaries get it. It is like a platform for everything. Think of what we are building as the electronic equivalent of roads for the country. It is infrastructure but it's a soft infrastructure which can be used for a variety of things.

How will it help cut out graft and plug leakages?

Today when you look at many data bases, for example, some state PDS databases there is a lot of duplication going on. In many municipalities they are paying pensions to people who were no longer alive and that is leakage. That happens because we do not have a strong way of identifying a person and authenticating it. So here it can only go to a person who is alive and authenticated and because you have his number they cannot be two in the data base. You will be able to clean up the system a lot. That is one aspect of it which is reducing the diversion kind of stuff. Secondly, you can design a system to deliver services remotely.

How do you plug leakages in things such as subsidies?

I am heading a task-force appointed by the Finance Minister to go into kerosene, LPG and fertilizer subsidies and our report will be out soon. It would also deal with how to use Aadhaar-based authentication for subsidy entitlement management. For example, let us say that you have a LPG cylinder and that the market value is Rs 600 and the subsidy is Rs 250. So, today when you go and buy, you pay Rs 350 and the subsidy is paid upstream by the oil company and by the government. Tomorrow what will happen is that you will buy it at market price but because you are entitled to a subsidy, you will get Rs 250 in your bank account. Then there will be a full audit of the transaction. Using these approaches you have to do something similar with the land records, PDS and expenditure. Our purpose is that every resident of India has a 'Aadhaar' number for identity, a mobile number for connectivity and a bank account number for transaction of payment. I personally feel that in the whole debate about corruption, passing a law is only part of the solution. I believe if you systemically re-engineer the public services — money is delivered into bank accounts on time, food is distributed to all concerned on time, etc — the whole problem at the point of public interface can be sorted out.

Krishi Karman award

Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are the joint winners of the Krishi Karman award for overall food grain production of more than 10 million tonnes recorded in the past five years, while Haryana has emerged as the winner for production of wheat. Krishi Karman awards are the first-ever awards being given to states for their effort and contribution towards raising the country’s food grain production.
According to the Agriculture Ministry statement, 10 states have been selected for the Krishi Karman awards for best performance. Three awards are being given for total food grain production and four awards for production of rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses - the crops constituting the food grain basket.
Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are the joint winners of the Krishi Karman award in the category of states with overall food grain production of more than 10 million tonnes recorded in the past five years.
Assam and Orissa are the winners in the category of states with overall food grain production between one and 10 million tonnes, while Tripura is the sole winner in the category of states with overall food grain production of less than one million tonnes.
In the second set of four awards, given for individual crops and crop groups, the award for rice goes to Chhattisgarh, wheat to Haryana, pulses to Maharashtra and Rajasthan and coarse cereals to Karnataka.
Each award-winning state gets a trophy, a citation and cash award. The cash award is Rs 2 crore for total food grain production and Rs 1 crore for each of the four crops included in food grains.
A selection committee headed by the agriculture and cooperation secretary assessed the performance of states against objective criteria that took into account production outcomes, implementation of crop production programmes and innovative approaches adopted for effective service delivery.

The Hansi-Butana row

THE onset of the monsoon has revived fears of floods in the Ghaggar and rekindled the political controversy over the construction by the Haryana government of a 16-foot-high concrete embankment along the Hansi-Butana canal, which blocks the natural flow of water, causing floods in Punjab areas. Last year people in 32 villages and crops on 20,700 acres were affected. Punjab political leaders, cutting across party affiliations, have voiced their concerns over the 3.5-km concrete wall. Construction work of the canal embankment was started by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda during the chief ministership of Capt Amarinder Singh.
Unseemly water disputes have soured the good neighbourly relations between Punjab and Haryana. These touched a new low when Capt Amarinder Singh’s government unilaterally terminated the inter-state waters pact in July, 2004. The inter-state bickering over the Hansi-Butana canal issue gets louder during the rainy or election season. Small-time politicians try to raise passions by using inflammatory expressions. Water is a sensitive and emotive issue and should be handled deftly. Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wrote a letter to Hooda protesting against the Haryana action. The matter has also reached the Supreme Court. Haryana Irrigation Minister H. S. Chatha, however, says that the issue is being politicised unnecessarily ahead of the elections in Punjab.
The larger issue is the leaders of the two states should thrash out the water disputes as also the Hansi-Butana canal issue in a spirit of give and take, preferably under the supervision of the Central leadership. The decisions of the courts on such matters are often not accepted by the losing party and the sense of injustice remains. Water resources can be best managed through inter-state cooperation as rivers cut across state boundaries. River floods and pollution can be controlled. Instead of indulging in the blame game and kicking off needless controversies the representatives of the people in the two states should focus on rainwater harvesting, which can help replenish the fast-depleting water resources. The Centre’s Rs 1,150 crore initiative, announced earlier this year to tame the Ghaggar, is a welcome step in this direction.

Knowledge texts in Indian languages

Students, long deprived of knowledge due to lack of availability of texts in Indian languages, have a reason to rejoice. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has decided to translate knowledge texts in 15 basic disciplines, including modern sciences, engineering and social sciences, into all 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
The move comes in the wake of growing realisation that whereas all original knowledge texts, no matter where they were written or developed, were available in English and most other European languages, these were barely available in the languages spoken and used in India.
Now, the government has tasked the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, to begin translating the most significant knowledge texts - at both graduate and postgraduate level - into the Scheduled Indian languages. To begin with, the translation will happen in languages that have an established market in India - such as Marathi, Malyalam and Tamil.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2011

India today took a huge leap forward towards guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination to more than 70 million of its disabled as a government committee appointed to draft a new law for the sector submitted a groundbreaking disability legislation that provides legal mechanisms to enforce civil and political rights of the persons with disabilities.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2011,  specifies, for the first time, criminal sanctions for acts of omission and commission against the disabled; bars discrimination on grounds of disability and proposes enhanced job quota for the disabled from 3 to 7 per cent in all establishments. The quota is to be distributed among seven listed categories of the disabled.
Twenty forms of disability, including intellectual disabilities, thalassemia, dwarfism and hemophilia, are covered by the new law (against seven currently covered), which proposes a National Disability Regulatory Authority to prescribe standards on accessibility and rules for service providers. The law says no new building plan can be passed unless it meets accessibility norms; existing government buildings will have to become accessible in three years of the law’s enforcement and other public buildings will get five years.
Non-compliance will result in suspension of water, electricity supply to buildings; cancellation or suspension of builders’ licence or fine up to 5 per cent of the building’s market value or a combination of all.
Separate chapters have been dedicated to the rights of disabled women and children and penalties prescribed for violation. All disabled children (0 to 18 years) will be entitled to the Right to Education though the RTE Act covers those from 6 to 14 years.
The Bill further replaces the existing concept of plenary guardianship with limited guardianship, which means all guardians of persons with disabilities will be legally obliged to consult them to arrive at legally binding decisions.
The law prescribes severe penalties - 6 months to 8 years in prison and fine for wilfully injuring a person with disability; up to seven years and fine for wrongful medical practises that cause infertility and up to 10 years for forceful termination of pregnancy. For general violations, a penalty of 6 months and Rs 50,000 fine is proposed.
The new law is in accordance with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability, which India ratified in 2007.

PROTESTS NOT ONLY IN INDIA BUT ARE UNIVERSAL.............

GREECE 
 The police clashed with protesters outside Parliament in
the early hours of Thursday before a second decisive vote expected to approve an austerity bill needed to avert default.
 The police fought running battles with stone-throwing
protesters on Wednesday as Greece voted to push through an austerity plan of tax hikes, spending targets and privatisations agreed as part of an EU/IMF bailout.
 Thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets in recent weeks belonging to ADEDY, the public sector union representing half a million civil servants, and GSEE, which represents 2 million private sector workers.
POLAND 
 The Solidarity Trade Union organised a day of protests in Warsaw against the centre-right government on Thursday, one day before Poland assumes the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union for the first time.
 Solidarity, heir to the organisation that toppled the communist regime in 1989, plans a petition to demand an increase in the minimum wage and a lowering of the excise duty on fuel and the protesters will then march through the capital to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s residence to hand it over.
 Solidarity has also invited workers from other European countries including crisis-stricken Greece to join the protests.
BRITAIN 
 Thousands of British teachers and civil servants went on strike on Thursday over plans to reform public sector pensions, launching what could be extended action testing the government’s resolve to drive through austerity measures.
 Schools closed as teachers stayed away and travelers face delays at ports and airports as immigration officials join the protest.
 The government and unions said talks over public sector pension reforms made progress on June 27 but the strikes by up to 750,000 teachers and civil servants would still go ahead.
 Public sector workers are facing a wage freeze and more than 300,000 job losses as the government cuts spending. For some in the unions, the pension reform was the last straw and they have vowed to stage coordinated national action in what could be Britain’s worst labour stoppages for decades.
SPAIN
 Dozens of “los indignados” (the indignant) rallying against high unemployment and economic stagnation have camped outside Parliament to protest as lawmakers debated amendments to the Socialist government’s wage reform bill, meant to make the economy more competitive. The reforms were decreed into law by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s cabinet on June 10 and have been criticised by both unions and business groups.
 On June 15, politicians in the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain were forced to enter parliament by helicopter or under police escort as protests grew against a planned 10% cut in public spending.
 Last month, tens of thousands of demonstrators, angry over unemployment and austerity measures, packed Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square before local elections. Demonstrators have filled Spain’s city plazas, outraged over austerity measures, marking a shift after years of patience over a long economic slump.
 At night the crowds on the square have swelled to up to 30,000 people. Hundreds of protesters camp out overnight and occupy the plaza during the day.
FRANCE 
 Solidarity with “los indignados” in Madrid has already inspired
several dozen French youths to spend nights camped out at the Place de la Bastille, the Paris square where a jail was torn down during the 1789 French Revolution

What is Black Money ?

What is Black Money ?

Black money is money, which is not declared to the government and tax authorities. Any income which involves tax evasion is black money. Any income on which tax is due and is not paid constitutes black money. So, it is not only the billions of dollars stashed in secret accounts in Switzerland or other tax havens, it is also huge amounts of what constitutes the parallel economy or cash economy within India where income is concealed and different kinds of taxes are evaded.
Any income that is not disclosed is black money. It is the individual who makes Money black or white.

How is black money generated? 

When individuals and businesses, big or small, evade taxes, it is black money. In real estate transactions where there is valuation in white and black money components to avoid paying tax, black money comes into play. There are only 3.5 crore tax payers in the country, of whom a large number belong to the salaried class. Tax collection is obviously poor, so there are a large number of vendors and businessmen who may not be paying full taxes. A lot of people do not show their full income, they pay tax on a small component and hide the rest.

How is black money retained and used?

When proper receipts are not issued by shopkeepers, vendors and businessmen, it is safe to presume that they also conceal the income earned from such transactions. The black money thus generated is used to buy benami shares or property or, in case of larger amounts, sent abroad. Most cash transactions, unless there are proper receipts or invoices, are concealed income while most bank transactions are naturally white. But there are also cases when the money is in the bank but tax may not be paid on it.

How much Black Money does India generate?

It is safe to say that nobody knows for certain. Various estimates are there. According to some estimates, $1.4 trillion US dollars from India are stashed abroad in foreign banks. Another estimate says the outflow from India every year is $ 16 billion every year. Some have suggested that India has the largest amount of money in secret Swiss accounts among all nations.
However, officials who have dealt with these matters say that a precise estimate is very difficult. Some 30 years ago, Wanchoo Committee had provided some estimates. After that, the economic scenario has changed altogether and wealth has multiplied several times. The only estimate is to peg it as a number in relation to the white economy in the country.

Why does India have so much black money?

The trend dates back to the high tax regimes in the 70s and 80s and has continued and tax evasion has flourished since then. Tax collections and enforcement has also been poor and inefficient, which is partly due to weak willed governments and partly because of a lax tax administration. Tax laws are not enforced fairly and equitably.

Is black money in the country growing or declining?

It is growing despite tax rates having come down sharply. One would have expected black money to decline but that does not seem to be the case. Conspicuous consumption and the growing trend of spending on partying, designer items, grand entertainments and lavish lifestyles seem to be largely funded by black money. And since nobody gives or receives bills or receipts, it is difficult to check.

How is the black money taken out of the country?

The most prevalent way is the hawala channels where a deposit is collected in India and the amount delivered abroad in a foreign currency. So, you pay in Indian Rupees and get it exchanged for dollars, pounds or any other currency. Then you can put it in a Swiss account or buy a property in south of France or whichever place you fancy .

How easy is it to stash Black Money in tax havens?

Apparently, quite easy. Because it does not involve a physical transfer and you don’t have to carry the money in a suitcase. There is a flourishing industry which takes care of it. In an hour’s notice, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be transferred out.

What is meant by Tax havens?

Tax havens are countries and jurisdictions where taxes don’t apply. With countries like Cyprus and Mauritius, India has a double taxation agreement where taxation is only 5-10 per cent. The term money laundering came from cleaning money so these havens make your money white. Thereafter, you can route it back to India as stock market investments or investments into projects.

Is black money an India-specific phenomenon?

No, but the quantum is higher in India. The more developed economies have less of black money. They have been able to establish credible and durable institutional governance and tax administration systems which work well. Enforcement is swift and people fear the law and it is difficult to evade laws and when you are caught punishment is exemplary. Emerging economies and less developed countries suffer more from this phenomenon. In India, one reason that is cited is that this culture grew with the socialist agenda and when wealth was treated as unhealthy. Another factor is the Indian psychology of preserving and growing wealth for future generations.

What are the steps to curb Black Money?

The government seems to be taking some steps to curb black money. It is looking at legislation to ensure return of black money, confiscating it and meting out exemplary punishment. In addition, a criminal investigation department has been set up under the Income Tax Department. The more banking culture grows, less will be the use of cash. The more sophisticated the tracking and surveillance systems become, evaders can be caught more easily through tracking the money trail.

Will increasing the rate of Income Tax and reducing other duties help?

Highly unlikely. When income tax rates go up, evasion increases. One idea is that since the state is not able to collect the income tax legitimately due to it, duties should be raised on consumption items which is easier to collect. But that will make everything far more expensive and common people may not be able to afford them and thus demand and consumption will be reduced.

Will banning of large denomination currency notes help?

It was tried in 1979 but nothing much happened. These days, things are so expensive that even 500 or 1000 Rupee notes are not that large. And given the nature of the Indian economy, which is so unorganized and cash driven and with huge agriculture, large labour force and small businesses as components, it may be difficult.

Can money abroad be brought back?

The big issue is the chance of big names getting exposed. This could implicate politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists, even political parties among others. One idea may be to have a VDIS kind of scheme which says that you get the money back and no penalty is imposed. But that would result in a public outcry that first there is incentive to create black money and then even more incentive to bring it back. And without incentives, people may not bring it back or they may even have routed it elsewhere. In fact, some of it may have returned with the economic boom in India into the stock market and industrial activities.

WHY INDIA HAS MORE BLACK MONEY Traders do not give receipts Property transactions made both in ‘white’ and ‘black’ Agriculture income remains unaccounted Cash transactions remain the norm Indians hoard gold and silver Tax evasion still rampant Less than three per cent of the population pay income tax Some of the laws and initiatives, cited by the government, are : Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 : Individuals and legal entities like companies can be prosecuted for money laundering. The Act provides for a minimum of 3 years imprisonment, which can be extended up to 7 years, a fine up to Rs 5 lakh while the proceeds parked overseas can be recovered through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties. India has such treaties with 26 countries. Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ( FEMA) : Indian citizens found violating legal provisions in foreign exchange transactions can be given a maximum penalty of three times the amount involved, confiscation of the amounts lying abroad and directing their repatriation under this Act. Section 105 A of the Cr.P.C. : The section lays down procedures for attachment and forfeiture of properties generated from the commission of an offence. Where such properties are situated overseas and treaty arrangements exist between the Government of India and the other country, Letter Rogatories can be issued to a court of the other country for execution of such an order. Tax Information Exchange Agreements : Such agreements have been finalised with 44 countries to facilitate flow of information related to tax evasion, money laundering and other economic offences. The Direct Taxes Code Bill : The Bill has been introduced in Parliament and contains provisions for mandatory declaration of assets held abroad by taxpayers in India. It also contains provisions to combat illicit transfer of money and assets abroad through complex financial arrangements and instruments. Frequent visitors to tax havens : The Government of India claims to have initiated an exercise to build a data base of Indians going frequently to foreign countries, specially tax havens, and returning to India. The current Immigration/Emigration databases are being expanded for the purpose.