Indian road network

Indian road network is the second highest with 42.36 lakh km of length. It comprises 70,934 km National Highways, 1,54,522 km of State Highways, 25,77,396 km of Major District Roads and other District Roads & 14,33,577 km of rural roads .
The National Highways serve as the arterial network of the country. The development of National Highways is the responsibility of the Government of India. The Government of India has launched major initiatives to upgrade and strengthen National Highways through various phases of National Highways Development project (NHDP) Phase-I to Phase-VII which are briefly as under:

Phase I
NHDP Phase I approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in December 2000 comprises mostly of GQ (5,846 km) and NS-EW Corridor (981km), port connectivity (356 km) and others (315 km). Under Golden Quadrilateral only 19 km remain to be completed.

Phase II
Approved in December 2003 comprises mostly NS-EW Corridor (6,161 km) and other National Highways of 486 km length, the total length being 6,647 km. The total length of Phase II is 6,647 km. Phase-II is targeted for completion by December 2011. 5733 km (80.2 %) of NS-EW corridor is completed till June 2011.

Phase III
It consists of upgradation and 4 laning of 12190 km of National Highways. Construction of 2351 km under NHDP-Phase-III is completed till June 2011. The target for NHDP Phase-III for completion is December 2013.

Phase IV
Under this 20000 km planned to be constructed as 2 – laning with paved shoulders. Out of this, the Government has approved in July, 2008 the proposal upgradation/ strengthening of 5,000 km of single/intermediate/two lane NHs to 2-lane standards with paved shoulders under NHDP Phase-IVA on BOT (Toll) and BOT (Annuity) basis at an estimated cost of Rs. 6,950 crore. So far, 5 projects aggregating to 719 km length has been awarded by NHAI and 1 project of 108 km length has been awarded by Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation (MPRDC). In addition to the above identified list of 5,000 km under NHDP-IVA, about 15,000 km have been identified so far by this Ministry on the basis of recommendations received from various State Governments, NHAI and inter assessment. Phase-IV is targeted for completion by December 2015 as per the financing plan.

Phase V
It comprises six laning of 6,500 km includes 5,700 km of GQ and other (800 km) stretches on Design Build Finance and operation (DBFO) basis. Phase-V is targeted for completion by December 2012. 619 km of six laning is completed under NHDP-Phase-V till June 2011.

Phase VI
The Government has approved construction of 1000 km of Expressway under NHDP Phase-VI at a cost of Rs. 16,680 crore on DBFO basis. NHDP Phase-VI is targeted for completion by December, 2015.

Phase-VII
It includes construction of 700 km of ring roads/bypasses and flyovers and selected stretches. NHDP Phase-VII is targeted for completion by December, 2014.

Port Connectivity
The NHDP inter alia includes port connectivity projects for improvement of roads connecting 12 major Ports in the country. Programme for connectivity to Major Ports was approved in December, 2000 for 393 km (connectivity to Kandla for 56 km on NH-8 was on-going. Hence, total length is 449 km).
The Government under its various phased programmes sanctioned an amount of Rs.1896 crore on 10 major projects in the country for port connectivity. These phased programmes also include one project for four-lane connectivity to the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Cochin at a cost of Rs.557 crore. Similarly, another project on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, at a cost of Rs.1655 crore, was sanctioned for construction of an elevated road for Chennai Port to Maduravoyal. Most of the major ports in the country were likely to be connected by four lane connectivity projects. Among these projects, the JNPT Phase-I and II, Paradip Port in Odisha and Visakhapatnam project in Andhra Pradesh have been completed. The projects, at the remaining ports, are at various stages of completion. Kolkatta Port connectivity project was dropped since the proposed alignment was passing through defense land which was not made available. Mumbai port connectivity project was also dropped since the proposed alignment was passing through salt pan areas. Therefore, out of 12 major ports 2 (Kolkata and Mumbai) were dropped, on one (Kandla) the work was already in progress and now it has been completed. In the remaining projects the work is either complete or in progress at various stages.
The Government has given top priority to the development of national highways which will facilitate the overall development of road infrastructure and transport sector at a faster rate.

New Initiatives
The Ministry has taken initiatives to develop 6,700 km of single lane/intermediate lane NHs to minimum 2 lane standards on corridor concept keeping in view the targets stipulated in the Eleventh Plan for accelerated efforts to bring NHs network to a minimum of two-lane standard. The program is targeted to be completed by 2014. A length of 3770 km (33 Stretches) is proposed to be funded from a World Bank loan of US $ 2.96 billion and the balance length is proposed to be taken up through budgetary resources. A preparation of DPR for all the 33 stretches is nearing completion. Stretches having length more than 25 km in plain terrain or more than 15 km in hilly/rolling terrain and costing less than Rs 150 crore are being considered for taking up through budgetary provisions.

Road Development in Extremism Affected Areas
The Government has approved approved in February 2009 scheme estimated to cost about Rs. 7,300 crore for development of NHs and State roads in Extremism affected areas. It includes 34 districts in eight States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. Under the scheme, development of identified stretches of NHs (1202 km) and State roads (4363 km) to two lane standards are planned to be taken up in a phased manner. An allocation of Rs. 1,200 crore has been made from GBS under Annual Plan during 2011-12 for this programme. The total additional fund requirement for this programme for the Eleventh Five Year Plan is Rs. 5,376 crore. Sanction has been issued so for 186 works for 4,967 km costing Rs. 6,629 crore. Out of these, 146 works for 3,889 km length costing Rs. 4,827 crore have been awarded.

Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-East Region (SARDP-NE): Phase ‘A’ of SARDP-NE approved by the Government envisages improvement of about 4,099 km length of roads (2,041 km NHs and 2,058 km State roads). The SARDP-NE Phase-A is expected to be completed by March, 2015. Phase ‘B’ of SARDP-NE, covering 3,723 km (1,285 km NH and 2,438 km State road), has been approved for DPR preparation only and so far DPRs for about 450 km has been completed. So far, about 742 km length has been completed under SARDP-NE Phase-A till May 2011. It is targeted to complete 270 km roads during 2011-12.
The Arunachal Pradesh Package for Road and Highways involving development of about 2,319 km length of road (1,472 km is NHs & 847 km is State/General Staff/Strategic roads) has also been approved by the Government. Projects on 776 km are to be taken up on BOT (Annuity) mode and the balance 1,543 km is to be developed on EPC basis. The entire Arunachal Package is targeted for completion by June 2016. The status of Projects under this Programme is as follows:
BOT(Annuity) Projects – 2 Projects awarded in 58 km costing Rs. 1,553 crore; tendering for 3rd time completed for remaining 2 projects for balance 718 km & projects are on the verge of award.
EPC Projects –sanctioned 359 km; under tendering 25 km; under process for sanction 118 km; DPRs under preparation for balance 900 km; target for award of all civil works – March, 2012.

Progress of works under Major Projects
In order to make a visible impact, the Ministry has targeted to accomplish construction of National Highways at the pace of 20 km per day keeping in view the requirement to achieve the quantum jump from the current pace of construction. At present works on over 10,500 km is in progress and to achieve the target of completing 20 km per day, works of about 20,000 km should be in progress at any point of time. As on 1/4/2011 works were in progress is about 15,600 km length under NHDP, Spl. Programme for development of roads in extremism affected areas and SARDP-NE including Arunachal Pradesh package. It is being targeted to award works in a total length of about 11,050 km and complete works in about 3,570 km under these programmes. With this, it is being targeted to have works in progress in about 23,079 km length as on 1/4/2012. Thus, it is being targeted to progressively build up the works in progress

G.S TITBITS

The train services in operation between India and Pakistan are i) Samjhauta Express (from Attari-India to Lahore-Pakistan via Wagah). This route is also opened for the movement of freight trains and ii) Thar Express (from Munabao-India to Zero Point Railway Station near Khokrapar –Pakistan).

Cruise tourism has the potential to attract both domestic as well as foreign tourists in the country.
Initially, five ports namely Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Mangalore and Kochi have been identified for cruise tourism including development of cruise terminal.The Government of India has approved the Cruise Shipping Policy in June 2008. Some salient features of this policy include conducive fiscal regime, development of facilities at Ports and connectivity through rail, road transport, air and metro, quick completion of immigration formalities, hassle free custom clearance and proper waste disposal system ensuring cleaner ocean. An Inter Ministerial Steering Committee with Secretary (Shipping) as Chairman was constituted in June, 2010 to address issues relating to development of cruise shipping. Other steps taken for development of cruise tourism include production of a CD and participation in cruise shipping conventions.

The present installed capacity for generation of power from biomass including paddy husk and bagasse based cogeneration in sugar mills is 1045 MW and 1742 MW respectively. As per the National Biomass Resource Atlas prepared by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore under a project sponsored by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the estimated power generation capacity from biomass including paddy husk is about 17,536 MW. Besides, a surplus power generation capacity of about 5000 MW through bagasse based cogeneration in sugar mills has been estimated in the country.the installed capacity of a biomass power project varies between 6 MW to 10 MW depending upon the availability of biomass, whereas the installed surplus capacity of a bagasse cogeneration project in a sugar mill varies from 6 MW to 25 MW depending upon their daily cane crushing capacity.the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been implementing various schemes during the 11th Five Year Plan, to encourage setting up of projects for generation of power from various biomass residues including bagasse and paddy husk for power generation based on combustion/ cogeneration and gasification technologies. Against a target of 1700 MW, a capacity addition of 1645 MW has been achieved which is 96% of the planned target.

The Atomoic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) has established the presence of 1,71,672 tonnes of Uranium (U3O8) as on last month of June. This is a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy Commission. The indigenous Uranium resources are adequate to fuel reactors of the capacity of about 10,000MWe.At present AMD is exploring uranium deposits at Tumallapalle-Rachkuntapalle,Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, Rohil, Sikar district in Rajasthan, Wahkut and Umthungkut in Meghalaya, Gogi, Gulburga district in Karnataka, , Sinridungari –Banadungri and Bangurdih, Singhbhum district in Jharkhand.Out of these deposits,63,269 tonnes of uranium (U3O8) have been established during the XI Plan Period. In Rohil, the Exploratory Drilling done till date has established 5,100 tonnes of uranium (U3O8).In About 19,738 tonnes .4,682 tonnes and 50,987 tonnes of of uranium(U3O8) has been established in Meghalaya , Gogi and Jharkhand respectively. There are number of smaller deposits in Chhattisgarh, UP and Katnataka.

Why is India Suddenly so Angry about Corruption?

Corruption is not exactly new in India. Quite apart from the extensive historical evidence of its spread, during and after the "mixed economy" period of state planning, the "licence-permit raj" was regularly accused by commentators of breeding graft, constraining economic activity and forcing citizens to be at the mercy of corrupt officialdom at all levels.

So if this is an old problem, why has it suddenly become such a hot political issue? Has Indian society now come of age, as the citizenry demands official transparency and freedom from corruption? This is partly true: the movement for the Right to Information (which culminated in a law) does reflect to some extent the social mobilisation and citizens' awareness necessary in mature democracies.

But this does not explain the recent eruption of either the problem of corruption or the social reaction to it. All indicators suggest that economic illegality, fraud and corrupt practices have ballooned in recent times in India. Increasingly, this is felt as a great betrayal by a populace that had been told that the era of neoliberal economic policies would end vices that were supposedly associated with greater government involvement in economic activity.

Scams and scandals have become a staple of the economic environment. The numbers keep growing, as hundreds of billions of rupees are extracted in various ways: through government spending on mega-projects or big events (such as the recent Commonwealth Games in Delhi); through often illegal and inadequately compensated expropriation of land to benefit large private players (for industries and real estate projects); through the gratuitous takeover and handing to favoured parties resources ranging from water and minerals to spectrum (the allocation of which was at the centre of one recent high-profile scam).

One reason for the public anger is that the period of market-oriented reforms has delivered higher aggregate growth but also significantly increased economic inequality and material insecurity for the majority of India's population. As the elites and burgeoning middle classes become more confident, they become more brazen in flaunting their consumption to a population that is generally denied any such access and may even be facing worsening prospects. So the collusion between economic power and political/bureaucratic power that leads to the rapid enrichment of a few is resented even more.

Many recent analyses of such corruption have seen it as a brake on India's growth potential. In fact, however, such graft and the "crony capitalism" associated with it have been an integral part of India's growth trajectory. The last two decades have seen strongly "corporate-led" growth, with huge rises in the ratio of profits and interest to GDP. Much of this is related to what Marx called "primitive accumulation" – the use of extra-economic means to extract resources and surpluses. The Indian state has played a crucial role in this.

The animal spirits of entrepreneurs tend to be unleashed by such avenues of surplus generation, and this contributes to buoyant economic growth. But this is raw, wild west-style economic dynamism – unfettered by adherence to any rule of law that treats all citizens as equal, and reliant on close relations between capital and the state to ensure high levels of surplus extraction.

The extreme dependence of large corporate capital on these relations, and therefore the extent to which they are deeply implicated in the corruption that they openly deplore, is usually missed by observers. Most of the media and even the citizens' movements against corruption add to the obfuscation, by presenting the problem solely in terms of the corrupt behaviour of politicians.

Consider the two protests that are currently exercising the media and the government in Delhi. One of them is led by Anna Hazare, a self-styled Gandhian social worker with some success in water harvesting and other development activities in his village of Ralegan Siddhi, in Maharashtra. He combines personal integrity with a puritanical, and even slightly authoritarian, streak. Hazare went on a fast to demand (eventually conceded by the government) to be part of a panel to draft a bill for a public auditor to monitor the activities of top officials.

Hazare's associates pride themselves on being "apolitical" (as if that itself were a badge of honour), and persist in seeing the problem entirely in terms of the government – politicians and bureaucrats – without noting the connection with corporate power. Their demand for yet another law conveniently ignores the point that the lack of genuine implementation of existing laws is often the most obvious way in which corruption occurs.

Recently, another figure has emerged. Baba "Swami" Ramdev is an entrepreneurial yoga instructor who has built up a significant business empire based on yoga camps, traditional medicines and TV channels. Unlike Hazare, Ramdev openly declares political ambitions and plans to float a political party, and he has a large mass following. Many businessmen and bureaucrats are also impressed with his skills, despite his often socially reactionary views.

The central government behaved in an extraordinary fashion with Ramdev. First, they greatly elevated both him and his demands by sending four senior cabinet ministers to meet him at Delhi airport and whisk him off for private talks. Then – when this did not succeed – within two days they sent riot police to break up his peaceful camp of tens of thousands of followers, injuring women and children.

Such peculiar and often contradictory responses of the central government have been attributed to the possibility that senior figures in the administration and the ruling Congress party are deeply involved in many scandals and is reportedly stashing "black money" in accounts abroad.

But it might be that these strange responses reflect a deeper and genuine dilemma. Perhaps the government knows something that is not yet explicitly recognised in the media: that the Indian growth story has been reliant on corruption, and that reining this in will also rein in the extravagant growth that has become so necessary not just for the survival of the government but for the self-image of the country's elites.

The Urbanisation Challenge

One of the features of the provisional results of Census 2011 that has already captured a lot of media attention is the apparent increase in urbanisation. At one level, this may not seem to be all that significant, with urban residents going from 27.81 per cent of total population in 2001 to 31.16 per cent in 2011, or an increase of only 3.35 percentage points over a decade. This is not really a very major shift, and certainly a rate of urbanisation of less than one-third of the population is significantly less than in many other developing countries, even those at similar levels of per capita income.

Nevertheless, it has created some excitement, because for the first time since Independence, the decadal increase in the size of the urban population (by 90.99 million people over 2001-11) was greater than that of the rural population (90.47 million). It is not only in the smaller states that urbanisation appears to be proceeding apace. In some larger states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the proportion of urban to total population is already approaching nearly half, while Maharashtra and Gujarat are not too far behind.

This finding has quickly generated reactions in the policy making community. The Planning Commission has already noted that ''addressing the problems posed by the urban transformation that is likely to occur'' is among the four key challenges posed for the next Five Year Plan. (The others are described as those of managing energy and water and of protecting the environment.) Other commentators have talked about the need to put much greater emphasis on urban infrastructure creation and management, and on the need to ensure that the growing cities are ''livable''.

The implicit assumption in much of the discussion seems to be that the expansion of urban population is occurring largely in the bigger towns and cities, as well as the apparently unstoppable metros. But is this supported by the evidence?

Urban population increase reflects the outcome of three separate forces: the natural increase in population within the urban areas; the migration of rural dwellers to urban areas; and the reclassification of settlements from rural to urban. All three have been at work over the past decade. While we still do not have access to the detailed Census data that would allow for the disaggregation, we do know that the last factor is likely to have played a major role, simply because there has been a significant, even remarkable increase in the number of urban conurbations in the latest Census. The number of urban settlements has increased from 5161 in 2001 to 7935 in 2011, an increase of 54% that dwarfs the 32% growth in urban population.

The 2011 Census classifies an area as urban if it fulfils any one of two conditions. Firstly, any area that comes under a corporation, municipality or town panchayat is automatically classified as urban, and is defined as a ''statutory town''. Secondly, a location is considered to be urban if it contains a population of 5,000 or above, has a density of at least 400 persons per square km and 75 per cent of the male work force employed in non-agricultural occupations. It is then defined as a ''Census town''.

Table 1: Urban Settlements in 2011
	Per cent urban population in 2011		Total urban settlements in 2011	Increase in number since 2001
				Statutory towns	Census towns	Total
India	31.16		7935	242	2532	2774
Jammu & Kashmir	27.21		59	0	2	2
Punjab	37.49		217	4	56	60
Uttarakhand	30.55		116	0	30	30
Haryana	34.79		154	-4	52	48
Rajasthan	24.89		297	1	74	75
Uttar Pradesh	22.28		915	10	201	211
Bihar	11.3		199	14	55	69
Assam	14.08		214	8	81	89
West Bengal	31.89		909	6	528	534
Jharkhand	24.05		228	-4	80	76
Orissa	16.68		223	0	85	85
Chhattisgarh	23.24		182	93	-8	85
Madhya Pradesh	27.63		476	25	57	82
Gujarat	42.58		348	27	79	106
Maharashtra	45.23		535	5	152	157
Andhra Pradesh	33.49		353	8	135	143
Karnataka	38.57		347	-6	83	77
Goa	62.17		70	0	26	26
Kerala	47.72		520	-1	362	361
Tamil Nadu	48.45		1097	0	265	265

Table 1 >> Click to Enlarge

As the table shows, one of the significant processes that has been at work in India over the past decade is the very significant increase in ''Census towns'' – that is, those places that are not recognised in a statutory sense as urban areas but fulfil the criteria laid down by the Census. These account for more than 90 per cent of the increase in the total number of urban settlements. In a few states (such as Karnataka, Haryana and Jharkhand) the number of statutory towns has actually fallen, while the number of Census town has increased very sharply. Overall all, the number of Census towns has increased by more than 180 per cent, while there has been more than threefold increase in their numbers in Bihar, Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

It is also likely that a very significant part of the ''urbanisation'' that is being talked about is actually a reflection of this reclassification of settlements, rather than of rural-urban migration per se. This will only be clear when further Census 2011 results are provided, but it is obvious that such a large increase in the number of Census towns must have had a counterpart in the number of people defined as living in urban areas.

This brings into play a set of entirely new issues around the phenomenon of urbanisation, and it is surprising that these have not yet come up in any significant way in the policy discussion. How exactly do we define ''urban''? When villages grow in size and start including a greater proportion of work force engaged in non-agricultural activities, they will increasingly be considered as ''urban'' in this sense, but they will be outside of the administrative and policy framework that is designed to deal with urban areas. And this leads to a huge range of new questions and problems.

In the absence of the institutional framework of a municipality, how are the standard problems relating to urban infrastructure, utilities like electricity and water, sanitation and the provision of other basic services to be dealt with? To what extent has the planning process (and policy making generally) incorporated the needs and requirements of these areas? Indeed, are there any plans at all for such settlements, including the standard plans relating to land use, provision of schools, health care centres, community services and the like? What about spatial provisions like sufficient open spaces, public parks and playgrounds, and avoiding congestion?

It could well be that currently these ''Census towns'' are simply off the radar of most policy makers and implementers, because they do not fall into the statutory definition of urban and are still included in ''rural'' areas for administrative purposes. Yet there are 3,894 such towns according to Census 2011, and they are bound to account for a significant (and possibly growing) part of the urban population as described in the Census. Ignoring the specific needs of these areas and their residents is likely to create many problems in the future.

So this clearly amounts to another major challenge posed by ''urbanisation'', but one that has still barely been recognised in official circles.

It is worth adding to this another feature that has emerged from the other important official dataset that has just been released – the employment and unemployment data of the National Sample Survey round of 2009-10. That reveals that rates of employment generation have slowed down dramatically in both rural and urban areas (though it is not clear whether they have included only statutory urban areas in their definition).

So we have a potentially deadly combination: growing population in small urban areas, with poor or possibly non-existent facilities, no urban planning to speak of to ensure liveable conditions, and inadequate employment generation especially for the increasing numbers of young people that are part of the demographic bulge. The potential for social tensions and conflict as well as instability of various sorts, hardly needs to be reiterated given our unfortunate history with such issues.

In this context, it is surprising that the Planning Commission did not list adequate good quality employment generation as a major challenge for the coming Plan period. Ignoring this very formidable challenge is perilous, because the adverse implications are not long term or even medium term: they are likely to come and bite us only too soon.

Does India Need A Second Green Revolution?

In his Independence Day speech Manmohan Singh has emphasised on the need for a second green revolution and the Food Security Bill. While making these comments, he has completely ignored the Supreme Court’s proposal to distribute surplus food rotting in the open among the poor

Political observers, who watch the Congress-led ruling coalition’s moves with suspicion, are somewhat alarmed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s refrain of launching a second green revolution, as well as the implications of the Food Security Bill. He stressed the need for a second green revolution in his Independence Day speech as well. Baffled commentators have since long been pointing out that before initiating this exercise, which requires enormous investment, policy-makers should try and implement the Supreme Court’s proposal that surplus foodgrains be distributed free or at minimal cost to the poor and hungry, instead of rotting in warehouses or wherever.

It is a national scandal, with the media routinely reporting about sacks of foodgrains being left out in the open, in school rooms, beside roads, anywhere, exposed to the elements and assaults by rodents and pests. If the UPA Government is serious about feeding those who lack food security, it should have heeded the apex court’s suggestion.

Instead, last August Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar had stated that it was not possible to distribute food grains free. But the Government was buying wheat at Rs 16 per kg and selling it for Rs 2 a kg to the poorest of the poor. It is difficult to ascertain whether such wheat is reaching all the targeted people. So far as storage of foodgrains is concerned, a large quantity continues to rot in the absence of proper facilities.

One might have assumed that after the ineptitude of the Food Corporation of India in this matter was exposed, remedial action would immediately have been initiated. That is expecting too much. Last August, seven FCI open godowns in Haryana’s Kalyat, Kaithal district, were found full of mud. More than 10 lakh bags of wheat were reported to be rotting inside. The godowns were private, and had been hired by the FCI with the State Government’s help. The colossal waste was replicated this year, with TV channelHeadlines Today reporting:

“Hundreds of tonnes of wheat and rice are rotting in godowns across the nation — the reason being there is simply no space. So, while paddy sacks are dumped inside classrooms in Andhra Pradesh, wheat is left to rot on the roadside in Kurukshetra and sacks can be seen lining up parking lots of residential areas in the fertile wheat belt of Punjab and Haryana.”

This is a criminal waste. The Prime Minister must explain to the nation why we need a second green revolution when India is said to be self-sufficient in foodgrains. The report estimates that foodgrains production including wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals will go up to a record 235.88 tonnes. The earlier record was 234.47 million tonnes in 2008-09. The report adds that the current storage capacity is 62.8 million tonnes, which is proving inadequate.

There were record rice and wheat stocks of 65.6 million tonnes in godowns in early June. The problem is expected to become worse after the kharif harvest arrives by September-October. Clearly, what ails India is a lack of will to create better storage and ensure that the hungry get access to foodgrains at an affordable rate, even free, during hard times.

Our cattle, too, should be fed the surplus since that would mean better milk yield. Non-dairy cattle can be saved from slaughter houses and deployed to till fields and for providing natural fertilisers, in place of agrochemicals. That is also a cheaper option for farmers, otherwise forced to borrow from banks to buy costly and toxic pesticides and fertilisers. The grain yield would be healthier without chemical residue, with people in southern Punjab reportedly afflicted by a range of cancers, infertility, neurological and other maladies, resulting from sustained use of agrochemicals.

Bumper harvests are negated by letting grain rot or be devoured by pests. The public distribution system, the ubiquitous ration shops of the socialist era, are rife with malpractices, with commodities being diverted to the open market, hoarded and misused. The Supreme Court had ordered enhancing storage facilities. There really would be no need for the food security legislation if the concerned agencies could ensure proper storage and distribution of foodgrains.

Mr Pawar has already voiced reservations about the mammoth cost and burden of the proposed legislation. He is reported to have written to the Prime Minister, suggesting direct cash transfer to target groups, in place of cereals and foodgrains. But such cash transfers are likely to reach the pockets of middlemen, in part or whole, just as essential commodities under the public distribution system are often diverted. Under the Food Security Bill, framed by the National Advisory Council, an extra constitutional body, the state will give 35 kg of foodgrains to each household below poverty line every month at Rs 3 for rice, Rs 2 for wheat, and Rs 1 for millets. General category households will be entitled to 20 kg of foodgrains at half the minimum support price.

The Government will undertake an agricultural survey, like the economic survey, before tabling the Bill. The second green revolution presumably will be launched to fulfil the commitments made in the Bill, with the Government expressing worry about the successive failure to achieve the targeted four per cent growth in agriculture in the last three Five Year Plans.

However, cynics interpret this as a prelude to letting in agro MNCs, with the second green revolution hinging on the latest agrochemicals, patented seeds and genetically engineered inventions, available at great cost. Traditional farming methods, more congenial to health and the economy, would perish. 

DOPING IN SPORTS

These have been athletics’ darkest decades. Evidence of doping, or the use of banned performance-enhancing substances, has been lengthening its shadow on track and field events ever since Canada’s Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympics 100m gold medal almost within hours of breaking the world record at Seoul in 1988. With improvements in diagnostic tests and more proactive investigations, others too have been retrospectively relieved of their titles — most notably American Marion Jones, once hailed as the greatest athlete of her generation, who lost the three gold and two bronze medals she had won at the 2000 Olympics. The prevalence of doping — or the suspicion of it — is so overwhelming that now even those who have cleared tests are viewed with suspicion, and at the great championships sprinters have lost their celebrity status.

The Indian sport establishment cannot affect surprise at the instances of doping that have come to light these past few days, with one after another athlete testing positive for anabolic steroid use. Among them are Ashwini Akkunji, the golden girl of the moment with her medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games last year, and her colleagues on the celebrated 4x400m relay squad. With the scale of possible offences growing, coach Yuri Ogorodnik and two of his assistants have been sacked. The athletes claim that they did not intentionally consume banned substances, and that it could be that their nutritional supplements had been contaminated. Cases will, as they must, be investigated individually, but the number indicates complicity and callousness at many levels. In fact, suspicions have been rampant not just about widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs, but also about a systemic support for the practice.

Enforcing a zero-tolerance regime of surprise checks is an obvious requirement. But athletes and their support staff also need to be updated constantly on training practices. Just the other day athletics was India’s good news story, a story of aspiration. That it’s changing so fast is sad. It must also serve as an alarm that we can no longer postpone the enforcement of best practices.

Shri Ajay Maken, Union Minister of State ( I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports has outlined various steps to  inquire into whole doping episode and curb this menace. At the press conference here today, Shri Maken gave the details of the six point directions issued to the officers of Sports Ministry and Sports Authority of India (SAI) to inquire into doping episode.

In light of the positive dope tests of eight athletes, M/s Mandeep Kaur, SiniJose, Joanna Murmu, Ashwini Akkunji, Tianna Mary Thomas (4*400 m), HariKrishnan (long jump), Sonia (shot put) and Priyanka Panwar ( 400 m)  and the ongoing inquiry thereof, it is directed that the Department/ SAI should take note of and focus on the role of the personnel support infrastructure behind these athletes, Shri Maken said.

Shri Maken further stated that while every doping incident involves personaldisgrace , banning and even threats of medals getting withdrawn from the accused athletes; the role of supporting coaches , doctors officials and other needs to be inquired, ascertained and suitably disposed.   Accordingly, the Government/SAI should;

1. Withdraw/ relieve the foreign coach/ coaches attached to these athletes with immediate effect.
2. Seek a report from Sports Authority of India (SAI) about any vigilance lapses and availability of such drugs/ dope on NIS, Patiala premises. DG, SAI should seek and submit this report within three days.
3. Immediate provisions be made for changing/ rotating Doping officers frequently.
4. Seek a report from the Athletics Federation of India ( AFI) regarding the issue.
5. Examine provisions for increasing the strength of Doctors at NIS, Patiala to at least three, including one Lady Doctor. And,
6. An inquiry headed by a Retd. High Court Judge or  Chairman, Disciplinary hearing Panel of NADA be constituted to look into and establish the reasons leading up to such state of affairs, its effect, prevalence and modus operandi. The inquiry may also suggest concrete measures to ensure that such events/ issues do not emerge in future.

The Sports Minister also gave the details of the various measures announced by the National Anti Dope Agency (NADA) in the last two days to prevent the occurrence of dope in sports. These are

1.      Increase in frequency of Dope Test.

2.      Tie up with the customs authorities to detect the import of such banned food supplements /drugs.

3.      Track movement of drugs in and around the campus area of TrainingCentres.

4.      Increase the session of counseling of the players.

5.      Greater surveillance of coaches, doctors and support staff through their employers.

6.      Conduct frequent searches of room/s of the players, coaches and support staff.

Why Cricket Succeeds In India And Other Sports Don’t

There's a perennial complaint in India's Olympic sporting circles that cricket has destroyed, or rather harmed, the Olympic sporting fraternity. Sponsors inevitably queue up to pay for the gentleman's game, television broadcasters give cricket a lot more airtime and print media publish cricket news as the lead sports item. These facts, more often than not, are correct.

However, the reasons behind such stepmotherly treatment of Olympic sports have hardly been delved into by the administrators of these disciplines, for these would tend to expose their own deficiencies and amateurish work ethic. A comparison between the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and the forthcoming cricket World Cup 2011 makes clear the fundamental differences in the governance structure of cricket and Olympic sports in India.

In contrast, World Cup merchandise is already on sale in India and elsewhere in the subcontinent. The range is impressive and the sales options easy to manoeuvre. One can buy official merchandise from the International Cricket Council (ICC) website and also from the kyazoonga.com website, official ticketing agents for the World Cup. By allowing Kyazoonga to sell merchandise, the ICC, in a smart marketing move, has enabled customers who buy tickets to also pick up merchandise. Says Neetu Bhatia, co-founder of Kyazoonga, "There's a huge demand for cup tickets and merchandise. While all games in Bangladesh are near sold out, all India games will see packed stands.Such is the demand that phase two of the ticketing in Bangladesh, which opened in early January, was an unprecedented success. For two days, the country came to a standstill with people queuing up for tickets all day and night. Interestingly, only 34% of the tickets were picked up by people from Dhaka and 15% by cricket fans in Chittagong while a whopping 51% of the tickets were bought by fans from across the 62 districts of Bangladesh. In India too, tickets have been available online from June 1, 2010 and matches such as the England-India contest at the Eden Gardens, now under a cloud of controversy, witnessed an unprecedented number of online hits.It is the professionalism associated with cricket, evident also from the way the Eden Gardens and Wankhede under-preparedness issues have been handled and hard measures taken, that explains the tremendous interest in the event across sectors of the Indian economy and society. In the case of Eden Gardens, the BCCI was never in trouble to come up with an alternate venue and the Cricket Association of Bengal was forced to realise that unless it gets the work completed by February 7, it stands to lose all its share of World Cup games. Interestingly, Eden Gardens' iconic status did not pre-empt the ICC or the BCCI from dealing with it professionally.

Unfortunately for the Delhi Commonwealth Games, ticket sales and distribution were a complete mess. While retail outlets had 'all sold' signs, stadiums were never more than half full in the competition's first week. Problems over ticket distribution for the opening and closing ceremonies had also resulted in numerous mini skirmishes at the organising committee headquarters.

The process of contracting cricketers as television experts for the World Cup started in July 2010. Agents seeking to make the most of the opportunity enlisted cricketers from across the world on the promise of getting them lucrative deals from Indian media networks. Barring the stars who will be doing commentary for the host broadcaster, many cricketers have been lured by the opportunity of earning anywhere between $800-1,500 a day, standing to earn anywhere between Rs 20-25 lakh from the tournament.

Interest in the World Cup isn't confined to just sponsors and marketers. For the media as well, it is the first big event in 2011, a platform to catch eyeballs and garner high TRPs. Knowing full well that the World Cup will have to be covered from start to finish with the same intensity, most networks have already finalised their line-ups for the extravaganza. And in so doing, they have ensured that even lesser known cricketers end up making huge amounts of money as experts from the six-week gala.

Unlike in the Commonwealth Games where tourist interest had dwindled to minimal due to the disastrous build-up, tour operators from across the world are looking at the World Cup to make a killing. Especially for Indian tour operators and planners, this is being looked upon as their best opportunity to sell packages to NRIs who will inevitably make their way back home to catch the World Cup action.

In the final analysis, then, the World Cup is much more than a cricket competition. It is a battle for TRPs, a platform for rival brands to leverage the opportunity and for marketers to make hay. And all because it is a professionally managed and run event unlike the 2010 Delhi games.

The best way to drum up interest before a mega event is through sale of merchandise. For the Commonwealth Games, a full-scale merchandise programme was never launched. There was no sale of games merchandise at outlets throughout the country, no official agent appointed till the very end and the few samples produced were sold out within minutes of the start of the games on October 3, 2010. The result - a huge revenue earning opportunity lost.

SALWA JUDUM AND JUDICIARY

 THE recent Supreme Court judgment in what is known as Chattisgarh Salwa Judum case has thrown up a host of contentious issues. These have a vital bearing on the machinery of governance, its socio-economic policies and the roles assigned by the Constitution to the three main organs of state power ~ the  executive, the legislature and the judiciary. These issues call for a deep and dispassionate look, and can be resolved only with a clear and constructive approach.
The Court has held that the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh is related to the present neo-liberal economic policies of the Indian state, and that our “constitutional values and vision” do not permit this insurgency to be tackled through an “armed civilian vigilante group”, called the Salwa Judum. Or even by appointing special police officers, popularly known as “Koya Commandos”, from amongst the tribal youth who are “functionally illiterate” and even otherwise ill-trained and ill-equipped.
The judgment has sparked a sharp controversy. While quite a few “activist” organisations have hailed it as historic and enlightening, its critics have dubbed it as a glaring case of judicial over-reach, one that  has upset key administrative arrangements at the ground level. It has saddled the Chhattisgarh government with the formidable task of immediately disbanding about 6500 members of the Salwa Judum and Koya Commandos from whom retrieval of arms would be particularly difficult, In sheer desperation, they may even join the ranks of the Maoists. The severest criticism has, however, come from those who claim that the verdict has strayed into the realm of ideology.
The Bench has referred to the conditions portrayed by Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness. It has emphasised that the problem “rests in the amoral political economy that the state endorses”. It has quoted from books and reports which highlight the dark side of globalisation. It has mentioned the “unrestrained selfishness and greed” that is inherent in the philosophy of neo-liberalism. The court has left hardly any one in doubt where its sympathies lie and what its ideological predilections are.
But it would be wrong to infer that it is these sympathies and predilections that have led the court to declare the Salwa Judum and measures associated with it as unconstitutional.  Both the Salwa Judum and the attendant measures have been struck down because they violate the provisions of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution. Further, they violate the fundamental right to equality before the law and right to lead a meaningful and dignified life.
In analysing the fallout of neo-liberal economic policies and subjecting them to the test of constitutionalism, the court has literally walked on the razor’s edge. It has laid down that even in the challenging environment created by the brutal violence of Maoists, the fundamental rights cannot be circumscribed in the name of administrative expediency. It has, pertinently, observed: “To pursue socio-economic policies that cause vast disaffection amongst the poor, creating conditions of violent politics is a proscribed feature of our Constitution.”
As for the measures taken to deal with the insurgency, the court has rightly criticised the Union government for taking the stand that its role is limited to the reimbursement of the honorarium paid to the special police officers/”Koya Commandos”. It has referred to the provisions of Article 355 which stipulates that “it shall be the duty of the Union to protect every state against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”. Clearly, the Union is required to play an effective role in eliminating insurgency and terrorism from the states.
Unfortunately, there is little clarity in the public mind about the subtle distinction that exists between the three subjects ~ “law and order”; “public order”; and “internal security”. “Law and order” covers day-to-day cases of crime committed by individuals or small groups. “Public order” encompasses large-scale violence. Both these subjects come under the jurisdiction of the states. “Internal security”, which involves subversion, terrorism and threat to the order established by law is, in the main, the responsibility of the Union. A salutary outcome of the Salwa Judum judgment is that it has enjoined upon the Union government to discharge this responsibility in full.
In tracing the roots of insurgency, however, the court seems to have lost sight of a basic fact. The Maoist violence has more to do with  nihilist philosophy than with the deprivation caused or compounded by the economic policies of neo-liberalism. In fact, the Naxalite violence in the late Sixties was a “spring thunder” on the Indian scene long before the current policies came to be adopted. Its mission was to seek power through “the barrel of the gun”. After a temporary decline, it gained enormous strength when, in 2004, its scattered groups merged to form a new outfit, called CPI-Maoist. It was declared: “The new strategy is one of protracted armed struggle which defines its objective not in terms of seizure of land, crops or other immediate goals but the seizure of power.”
Over the years, the Maoists have been brutalising the Indian landscape. They have made substantial inroads into about 200, out of 607 districts, of the country. In 2010, they killed as many as 1003 persons. In Chhattisgarh alone, between 2004 and 2010, 2298 attacks were carried out by them, causing the death of 1064 villagers, 538 policemen and para-military personnel, 169 special police officers and 32 civilian employees. They have acquired a large quantity of sophisticated weapons and communication systems.
The Maoists’ methods are savage, and their actions on the ground are at complete variance with their professed theories. Though they claim to be fighting against the forces that cause deprivation, their targets are mainly those who belong to the deprived groups, such as the poor police constable or the poor traveller in a train. They and their protagonists talk incessantly about the absence of development, but they do not bother to explain how welfare projects can be executed if officials are taken as hostages and buses and bridges are bombed.
Had the Supreme Court commented upon such horrible aspects of Maoism, as it has done in the context of the adverse effects of  neo-liberalism, its judgment would have gone a long way in abating not only “development terrorism”, associated with the current socio-economic policies, but also the crude and cruel forces of subversion and violence that have tended to make life, in a sizeable part of India, “nasty, brutish and short.”
An issue of crucial significance that demands immediate attention pertains to the disbandment of 6500 semi-armed special police officers or “Koya Commandos” whose appointment and functioning, in the present form, has been declared unconstitutional by the court.
The only constructive way of resolving this  issue is to set up a new and regular cadre of the State Auxiliary Force, and appoint the officers of the disbanded group on a long-term basis. There must be provision for effective in-service education and training. Simultaneously, a connected scheme should be drawn up for offering suitable alternative jobs in the establishments run by the state and the Centre to the members of this cadre, as and when the Maoist insurgency is effectively tackled.
The judgment has ruffled many feathers. It has had a bearing on segments that are the domain of the executive and the legislature. But its incisive brilliance in highlighting constitutional values from the conflicts and controversies cannot be denied. It is a judgment that jolts and makes you sit up and think.

Armed Forces Special Powers Act: Demands for change

Major changes to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act would be a politically and legally difficult exercise, but steps can be taken to give it a humane face
A major factor now preventing the return of normalcy in Kashmir is the opposition to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 or AFSPA. Demands are being raised for its repeal or for making it more humane. Another view is that the lawshould be lifted in certain districts of the state. The ministry of defence appears unwilling to accept any changes. Thedeliberations of the Cabinet Committee on Security and the all-party meeting convened by the government in September2010 have also failed to yield a consensus. Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‘s assurance in December 2006 thatchanges would be made in the Act to make it more humane, the law has not been softened. The Justice Jeevan ReddyCommittee report is also believed to have recommended a review of the Act.
What is AFPSA?
AFSPA is a legislative tool designed to confer special powers on armed forces personnel deployed in areas declared as disturbed or dangerous by the government. It was extended to J&K as the Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990. The Act confers on an officer of the armed forces the power to:
 Fire upon or otherwise force, even to the point of causing death, any person disregarding orders against unlawful assembly
 Arrest without a warrant
 Enter and search any premises
 Destroy any arms dumps
The Act also provides legal immunity to military personnel for their actions. Their prosecution cannot be initiated without prior permission of the Central government.
What the critics say:
 AFSPA gives military personnel draconian powers
 The Act is a tool in the hand of security forces to perpetrate human rights violations
 The Central government has retained the Act for decades without a valid justification
 Cases against military personnel for grave offences reported by state governments to the ministry of defence have failed to trigger prosecution.
Way forward:
 Any major changes to the Act would be a politically and legally difficult but a number of steps can be taken to give the Act a humane face. Such a formula could gradually bring normalcy.
 To begin with, a probe by way of a staff court of inquiry should be made mandatory in all cases where employment of troops has led to any civilian death or grievous hurt, or caused damage to personal property.
 For the sake of transparency and credibility, all such investigations must be attended by a civilian officer not below the post of a deputy collector.
 Local NGOs should be permitted to take up complaints of human rights violations with local military commanders.These must be treated as requests under the Right to Information Act.
 Cases forwarded to the Central government seeking sanction for the prosecution of military officers for any excesses in the discharge of their duties while operating under AFSPA should be promptly resolved.
 To reduce and discourage the use of lethal force by the security forces, incentives or awards could be instituted for capturing terrorists or militants alive. This may bring down the number of fatal casualties.

The Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture)

The Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture) was unveiled on March 24, 2011. The focus of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation in 2010-11 was on mobilizing higher investment in agriculture, bridging yield gaps, timely and adequate supply of quality inputs, and providing adequate support services to farmers.

The Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana has succeeded as a catalyst for pulling in more public investments for agriculture and allied sectors. This scheme has become exceedingly popular with states on account of flexibility autonomy provided in planning as well as execution. With help from the incentives from this scheme, some States have increased agricultural outlay spectacularly – Chhattisgarh by 892%, Orissa by 730%, Maharashtra by 605%, Tripura by 425% and Bihar by 423%. The other major programmes including the National Food Security Mission, National Horticulture Mission and Extending Green Revolution to the Eastern States - have made significant progress in terms of utilization of funds as well as meeting physical targets.

The availability of quality seeds now stands at over 321 lakh quintals, showing a jump of 2.5 times in five years. Over 8 lakh hectares additional area has been covered since 2009-10 with assistance from the National Mission on Micro Irrigation. Pulses production has seen a jump in the last two years.  Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of all major crops, especially pulses have been raised substantial in the last few years. In 2010-11 too, MSPs for rice, wheat, coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds were raised.

The Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) was implemented on pilot basis in rabi 2010-11. The new scheme takes panchayat, as against district in the earlier scheme, as a unit for insurance purposes. It has provision also for immediate relief in the event of a loss.

The Department has drafted a National Mission on Seeds with a proposed outlay of Rs. 3,773 crore for a period of five years starting 2011-12 to boost quality seeds production in the country. To meet the challenge posed by climate change, a National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture will be implemented in the country. A fund is also proposed for rehabilitation of sick cooperatives.