Common entrance exam...are we prepared?

OUR roads remain workable, thanks to the patchwork done here and there to avoid catastrophes. So can our higher education system, believes Human Resource Development Minister (HRD) Kapil Sibal, who is adamant about implementing the common entrance examination for all engineering colleges from 2013. This insistence on his part ensures that premier institutions like IITs resort to patchwork in a rush to implement his will. The faculty for 14 IITs, barring Guwahati and Patna, their administrative bodies and powerful alumni associations have opposed the decision of the minister, stating they are not prepared to implement the new one-nation, one-exam policy in a rush.

Every year over five lakh students take the entrance exam for 10,000 seats in IITs. The proposed common entrance exam will have two steps — ‘main’ and ‘advanced’. The results of class 12 board exams will also play a decisive role. The ministry had proposed a 40:30:30 formula - with class 12 board results counting for 40 per cent, and the two stages of the entrance exam counting for 30 per cent each. However, IIT officials objected and won the right to form their own formula. Starting next year, IITs will give equal weight (50 per cent each) to class 12 results and to the performance of the candidate in the main exam. Some 50,000 short-listed students will then move on to the advanced exam.
The assurance given by Sibal that the common entrance exam will reduce the pressure on students and discourage coaching centres has met with resistance from the faculty of IITs. They say both the processes and content of the new examination will not be clear to them any time soon and insist that in no case the new system should be introduced before 2014. The HRD Ministry should at least respect the wisdom of existing institutions of excellence by not meddling in their autonomy to implement its ‘political will.’

The tobacco epidemic

HAR fiqr ko dhuen mein udaata chala gaya…runs the refrain of a popular Hindi song that validates the somewhat romanticised status of smokers—as carefree souls who can puff away their worries and cares. The only success model that can offer some inspiration to break this image of tobacco addiction in our society is the Polio Plus campaign. For, it was based primarily on generating awareness among the masses. Unlike other addictions which are considered a social taboo, tobacco use is hard to control because of its cultural acceptance in most states. In Haryana, it is customary to offer a hukkah to a guest, which has to follow a proper protocol. Even among women, offering hukkah to the elderly is a sign of showing respect. Any number of men and women do not feel any hesitation asking for a packet of gutkha or paan masala, even at their work place, which contain varying percentage of tobacco.  

With such cultural connotations attached to tobacco intake in its variants — from smoking cigarettes to eating gutkha, the governments are hard-pressed to find solutions to curtail the growing menace.  About 2500 people die every day due to tobacco-related diseases in India. And chewing of tobacco and gutkha contributes to 90 per cent of oral cancer. Despite harsher pictorial warnings on tobacco products and many state governments like Bihar, Kerala  and Madhya Pradesh banning the sales of these items, the menace seems to remain unabated. In fact, a survey conducted in 23 cities of India shows a rise in the number of smokers, especially those belonging to the fair sex.
While in developed countries, the number of smokers has come down, the practice of consuming smokeless tobacco makes the banning of tobacco more challenging in India. On World No Tobacco Day, it was heartening to observe that efforts are made to regulate the contents of gutkha, which is supposed to follow the Food Safety and Standards Association of India Act, and should not have any trace of tobacco.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS of interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir r report

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

NEW COMPACT
The Interlocutors Report on Jammu and Kashmir has proposed a “New Compact with the people of J&K”. It has three components:
POLITICAL: Greater devolution of administrative and financial powers to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
ECONOMIC: Make the state self-reliant. The report calls for “fair compensation” to the state for power generation and for the waters originating in the state and flowing to other parts of the country. It wants certain hydro power projects to be handed back to the state. SEZs to promote handicraft, horticulture, floriculture, tourism, etc.
CULTURAL: Initiate confidence-building measures, such as inter and intra-Kashmir dialogue between community representatives of all regions. Establish exchange programmes of students, writers, artistes and crafts people. Promote cross-LoC tourism too.

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

The report, underlining the state’s dual character, says it is an integral part of the Indian Union, yet it has a special status enshrined in Article 370 of the Constitution, and the Centre-state relations must be settled accordingly:
n Review all Central Acts and Articles of the Constitution extended to the state after the 1952 Delhi Agreement. For this, set up a Constitutional Committee to take into account the changes over the past six decades — strategic, political, economic, technological, ecological and cultural — in India, South Asia and the world at large.
n Replace the word “temporary” from the heading of Article 370 and from the title of Part XXI of the Constitution with the word “special”.
n For the Governor, it says the state government, after consultations with Opposition parties, should submit a list of three names to the President. The Governor should then be chosen by the President, and hold office at the pleasure of the President.
n On Article 356, its notes the action of the Governor is now justiciable in the Supreme Court. It says the present arrangement should continue with the proviso that the Governor would keep the state legislature under suspended animation and hold fresh elections within three months.
n Proportion of officers from the All India Services should be gradually reduced in favour of officers from the state civil service.
n Do not change nomenclatures for Governor and Chief Minister.
n Create regional councils for Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

ROADMAP FOR CREDIBLE DIALOGUE

n Release all “stone-pelters” and political prisoners.
n Reduce intrusive presence of security forces.
n Work for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.
n Implement report of the PM’s Working Group on CBMs.
n Establish a judicial commission to look into the unmarked graves.
(Compiled by Arteev Sharma)

Naandi Foundation’s HUNGaMA (Fighting Hunger and Malnutrition) report,

pdf file is available at
www.naandi.org/CP/HungamaBKDec11LR.pdf

PAKISTAN - A FAILED STATE

A visit to Pakistan lays bare the uncertain future facing this troubled country despite much bravado and whistling in the dark. The economy is in parlous condition with growth no more than 3 per cent, 12 per cent inflation, falling FDI, IMF support withdrawn and repayments due next March, public enterprises bleeding, power cuts, a gas shortage, unemployment, a continuing low HDI performance resulting in failure to meet several Millennium Development Goals. With the implementation of the 18th Amendment, a structural problem has arisen with increased revenues going to the provinces and “inflexible” expenditures remaining with the federal government. The “War on Terror”, howsoever calculated, is said to have cost the country $ 60-70 bn whereas US aid has been no more than $ 18 bn.
The saving grace has been buoyancy in the rural economy with bumper production of wheat, cotton, sugar and milk and a transfer of income from the towns to the countryside. Defence expenditure accounts for 18 per cent of the revenue budget and internal security an additional 10 per cent. The tax-to-GDP ratio is low and collections lower. Poor governance, mismanagement and corruption are held responsible for this sorry state of affairs. The extensive 2010 and more limited 2011 floods devastated large swathes of the Indus basin. Independent surveys attribute this not merely to aberrant rainfall, deforestation and consequent heavy erosion in the upper catchments, but also to poor maintenance of barrage and canal infrastructure that gave way and have yet to be fully repaired. Despite all of this, opulent (urban) and feudal life-styles have not been affected.
Pakistan continues to be afflicted by political turbulence and military assertiveness in governance. The Memogate crisis (following an alleged missive drafted by the former Pakistan Ambassador in Washington, Hussain Haqqani, at the instance of President Zardari and handed over to the US military by a controversial Pakistan-born US businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, pleading for US pressure on General Kayani to avert a coup after the inglorious and incomprehensible Osama bin Laden episode, in return for a more zealous Pakistani role in the War on Terror) incensed the Army and has given it greater ascendancy over the civil government. The Foreign Minister, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, admitted that Memogate had provoked questions. The Army had “played a larger-than-life role in the history of Pakistan” and the assertion of civil power in the existing democratic set-up had to be an “evolutionary process”.
It was at this delicate moment that US-NATO forces bombed a border post, killing 24 Pakistan military personnel. Outrage and fury marked nationwide demonstrations denouncing the Americans for deliberately and repeatedly violating Pakistan’s sovereignty with drone attacks along the AfPak border. The engagement lasted two hours with ascending ferocity despite US-ISAF commands being informed. The Americans aver they were given permission by Pakistan to engage a Taliban raiding party, but the Pakistanis assert they were provided the wrong coordinates. The other theory is that the Taliban decoyed the US into action by firing on its aircraft. Both sides have ordered inquiries, pending which Obama has refused to apologise, though senior US officials have regretted the loss of life.
Many issues arise. US forces have not infrequently been responsible for “collateral damage”, while Pakistan has a long record of violating Indian (and Afghan) sovereignty through well-established cross-border strikes. Despite its protestations of innocence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the Pakistan Army had sheltered him under its eye in Abbottabad. Since the Army does not admit to singular incompetence, complicity alone explains what happened.
As in Abbottabad, so in the Mohmand border post strike, the Pakistan Air Force or ground forces did not engage the intruders? Why not? In both cases the Pakistan military presumably thought discretion the better part of valour as it feared escalation would cost it dear. However, Pakistan has closed all US supply routes to Afghanistan and ordered the US to vacate the Shamsi air base in Balochistan from where it has mounted drone attacks on targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Curiously, but typically, the Shamsi base was leased to the UAE (for what ?) which had in turn sub-leased it to the US. So much for sovereignty!
Pakistan has declared that it is reviewing its entire relationship with the US. It will huff and puff but is unlikely to break its military-strategic alliance with Washington. China is not willing, nor militarily able just yet to take on the US role of playing military godfather and banker to Pakistan. It is already getting all it wants strategically from Islamabad by providing it military supplies, nuclear reactors and assistance to upgrade and extend the Karakoram Highway, build the Neelum-Jhelum and Diamer-Bhasha dams and undertake mining projects in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has also proposed a trans-Karakoram rail link from Tibet and Xinjiang to Gwadar and an oil/gas pipeline along a similar alignment.
With its economy on drip, Islamabad needs US aid as much as the US needs Pakistan’s cooperation to sustain an effective presence in Afghanistan. Therefore, the current stand-off is likely to be followed by a rapprochement, continuing US aid and more elbow room for Islamabad to position itself as top-dog in Afghanistan when US-ISAF militarily pull out in 2014. Pakistan is talking to its own Taliban as a first step. Its formal boycott of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan will not necessarily detract from that meeting. The fact is that the US is part of the problem rather than of the solution in Afghanistan. The best option would be to secure a truce in Afghanistan, regionalise a reconciliation and reconstruction programme for it (with Pakistan, Iran, India, China, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and others), with US-European and World Bank backing. The object should be to rebuild its infrastructure and economy and restore to a neutral Afghanistan its traditional role as a thriving crossroads and international commercial hub.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is still caught in a hate-India identity crisis, reflected in its uncorrected school textbooks, and the fetishism it has developed about J&K. The last week of November saw the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) take schoolchildren from Faisalabad to Lahore to protest the US/NATO Mohmand air strike. The speeches spoke of plans to Talibanise Pakistan, wreak vengeance on “Christians and Americans” and wage jihad against the US and India.
The decision to extend most-favoured nation treatment to India and promote trade and investment is greatly to be welcomed. But tolerance for JuD hate rallies suggest that, for some, this could be no more than a tactical move to tide over a difficult time. Hopefully, the opening of trade and investment will be truly transforming. Some weeks ago, the widow of Moshe Dayan, the Israeli hero of the 1967 war, wrote, “Zionism has run its course.” The same is true of the “Ideology of Pakistan”, born of a hollow and divisive two-nation theory. A recent article in Friday Times, Islamabad, commented, “By now everyone in Pakistan should at least suspect that being “not Indian” isn’t a strong enough foundation on which to build a country.” How true

INDIA 2011=USA 1980

Globally, outrage and the ensuing chaos, as witnessed in India in recent months, have often been the harbinger of order for many countries. One such country that has been there and done that is the US and it has important lessons for us. Recent events notwithstanding, the US has, for the greater part of this century epitomised success- a country where the government delivers and true talent, innovation and entrepreneurship usually get rewarded.

Striking parallels

And yet it wasn’t always so. The crucible of such efficiency lay in circumstances, in the early 1900’s, which were remarkably similar to those that the Indian polity finds itself in now. Widespread corruption, lackadaisical governance and politician-businessmen nexus was commonplace.
Just as in India, there were allegations that the government often rewarded business houses with unfair advantages and contracts. There were business tycoons who, it was alleged, routinely bought seats in the House of Representatives. They manipulated legislatively determined pricing of critical national commodities (such as Gold and rail freight- the historical equivalent of telecom spectrum) in return for favors for the President’s family members.
In fact, some of the best known American universities were sponsored by individuals who were tainted with allegations of political graft. Noted political scientist, Fred W Riggs, might as well have been speaking of India when he described this state as a ‘Prismatic’ society-where prices could be determined by the reciprocal power of the trading partners and not due to the more impersonal relationship between supply and demand. Also, political control could be grabbed through coercion, violence, money, or charismatic rule, but not always through consistent application of constitutional law. Just as the recent scandals have led investors to doubt the Indian growth story, the American crises of 1894 and 1907 led foreign investors to doubt if a corrupt US governance system would ever get its act together. American democracy took time to mature and at times seemed just as inept and chaotic as the Indian governance appears today.

The turn-around

Given the striking parallels in the initial conditions, it is natural to think of the key causes for the American turnaround and the possible path that India might adopt going forward.
In the late 19th century, the US banking system was dependant on political patronage to receive licenses - not unlike the licensing raj that existed in India. The Regency Democratic Party held monopoly over the licensing regimen and used it extensively to fill party coffers.
However, reform emerged with the opposing Whig party’s desire to restrict the Democrat’s monopoly over these rents of patronage. Their intention behind deregulating the banking sector was more to end their rival party’s monopoly on bribes than to act against corruption itself.
Similarly, it was a rogue splinter group of the Democratic Party, the Equal Rights Party, composed of traders and entrepreneurs, which rose against its leadership. They did so only when it became apparent to them that a heavily regulated banking sector threatened their own economic interests. Personal gain and political brinkmanship played a bigger role in prompting reform than any sanctimonious regulation ever could.
In India, we have already seen some of this happen with the opposition having to clean its own tainted stable to maintain pressure on the government. Also, new interest groups, such as those led by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, have risen to take advantage of the ideological gap.

Popular angst

Ultimately, in a functioning democracy, popular angst usually creates enough political space for new political parties (and old parties with new found ideologies) to cash in on emerging public opinion. Reform doesn’t always need legendary leaders with far reaching vision, but invariably needs a critical mass of popular angst. And a hitherto stable equilibrium of mutually beneficial silence unravels into a game or a jostle for the newly emerging popular mandate- ultimately leading to sustained reform.
Secondly, it was the emergence of a truly independent judiciary and civil service that bucked the existing trend. Earlier in its history, the US had followed a system of political patronage for government jobs. Thousands of appointments were made purely as political favour to those who demonstrated loyalty to the ruling party. Even judicial appointments were heavily influenced by the choices that the ruling party made.
However, growing inefficiency and public disgust with corruption finally forced congressional action to create a separate civil service cadre. These were purely expeditious political decisions driven by short term factors. The decision makers never truly intended them to have the far reaching consequences that they did.
In India, we are already witnessing a resurgent judiciary, unafraid to test the government’s conviction in going after the corrupt. However, actions of the bureaucracy have so far remained muted. Indeed, historically we have seen it regress from being the steel framework supporting India’s democracy into a favor seeking extension of the political machinery. Provided these institutions can remain independent in thought and action, it is entirely conceivable that in India too, these institutions, along with the media, will raise the cost of corruption to a level where it outweighs the marginal benefits of being corrupt.
Crucially, in the US, neither of these reforms was borne out of an explicit vision or conviction to root out corruption. And yet these reforms emerged because the system, for all its ills, was one that allowed popular mandate to fully express itself. Subsequently, the invisible hand of selfish political survival guided the various players into reactions that inadvertently led to sustainable change and reform.
The current chaos engulfing Indian governance and policy making, seems utterly incapacitating. However, it would bear well to remember that it is part of a broader narrative, a journey that culminates in the emergence of hugely successful societies.

RESPONSE TO FDI ISSUE IN PUNJAB

Political rhetoric aside, a large cross-section in Punjab is batting for FDI in retail. Being one of the most progressive agrarian economies, Punjab will be a major sourcing state for any foreign retailer who sets up shop in India.
The ruling party in the state, SAD, may have been forced to take a U-turn on its support for allowing FDI because of political considerations, but in private, SAD leaders agree that it will help the state's sagging agro economy. However, concerns about small traders and farmers persist.
There is almost a consensus on the need for a regulator for the foreign retailers and some protectionist policy for the small domestic companies.
The Tribune spoke to some prominent politicians and an industry representative, asking them about FDI and whether it would help carry the growth story of Punjab's farm sector forward. Here is what they had to say:-

On FDI in retail sector

Amarinder Singh: Allowing FDI in retail will augur well for the farmers of Punjab and all other food producing states. The foreign players entering the Indian market in multi-brand retail will not only pay better prices to farmers but also help bring quality and good manufacturing practices in agriculture.
Navjot Sidhu: I believe that FDI in retail sector is in nobody's interest, be it consumers, farmers or traders. The Indian economy is dominated by the services sector which accounts for 58 per cent of the country's GDP. Allowing foreign players, with deep pockets, will kill competition and lead to loss of jobs. International retailers operate on the principle of buying internationally at cheapest prices. A majority of items to be sold by international retailers are going to be sourced from cheaper manufacturing economies like China.
Mohinder Aggarwal: The FDI in retail sector will be in nobody's interest, except big foreign companies that will get access to a huge Indian market. The government cannot allow foreign companies to flourish at the cost of thousands of small retailers and businessmen. All middlemen and small traders will be eliminated when foreign companies set their stores here, thus leading to unemployment.
Amarjit Goyal: Opening of FDI in retail will be beneficial for all, provided the government allows it with some riders. The government should enhance the limit of sourcing from local SMEs to 50 per cent (from the present 30 per cent), and it should be done only from Indian SMEs. Also, the government should ensure that the benefits reach farmers by putting a clause that the farmers be paid more than the actual cost of crop production.

On advantages for Punjab

Amarinder Singh: Punjab is one of the top food producing states. The state's experience with agri conglomerates, be it Bharti Wal-Mart, Tata Khet Se, or Pepsi Co, has proved that farmers supplying their produce to these companies are earning much more than those selling in mandis. In latter's case, it is the middlemen who are making profit. The corporate sector has also brought better agriculture practices by providing better seeds, educating farmers on efficient use of fertilisers/ pesticides; and helped them improve post-harvest technology.
Navjot Sidhu: Without getting into what the SAD is saying, I would like to reiterate that the FDI will not benefit the farmers. Those advocating FDI say the farmers will benefit. I only want to ask what do they have to say on the plight of sugarcane farmers who sell their produce right at the gate of sugar mills. If the farmer does prosper on account of international retailers then why it is that the farmers in the US and the European Union have to be subsidised to an extent of $1 billion per day.
Mohinder Aggarwal: The government is favouring FDI in retail, saying that it will help improve infrastructure. But that may not be the case. Two years ago, the government opened FDI in construction of cold storages, but it failed to attract any foreign player. The government has to realise that infrastructure development will have to be the joint responsibility of the state as well as the Central Government. As far as benefiting farmers in Punjab, even the big agri houses who are currently sourcing their produce from here, are paying only a small percentage of fixed profit to these farmers.
Amarjit Goyal: Punjab will be a major state for sourcing of food grains and vegetables. This will not only help improve the economic condition of farmers, but also help in crop diversification as more farmers will grow vegetables for these companies. We have already seen the benefits reaching those farmers who are supplying to big cash and carry stores in the state.

On parties playing politics

Amarinder Singh: There is no doubt that the hue and cry on FDI is merely to gain political mileage. The UPA has taken a step in the right direction to help recover the country's economy. Opening FDI in retail will also help curtail inflation, as it would bring better supply chain management. The fear allayed by the Opposition that the entry of foreign companies will ease out the mom and pop stores has no basis. Everywhere in the world, neighbourhood retail stores have coexisted with big retailers.
Navjot Sidhu: We were never for the FDI in its current form. We are not against FDI but want a regulator to keep a check on predatory companies so that they don't get a free hand to source from cheaper manufacturing economies like China. We are also against the government allowing the companies to have 51 per cent stake in FDI as it will allow these companies to have a say in policy determination.
Mohinder Aggarwal: A forceful Opposition is beneficial in the larger interest of the public, as it keeps a check on the government's functioning and also raises the concern of the common man. One cannot ridicule the BJP for taking up the cause of thousands of traders.
Amarjit Goyal: I would not like to comment on this. But a healthy opposition will obviously augur well for all stakeholders. The government will gain in the form of higher VAT returns through these retailers, consumers will get better quality of goods, and farmers will get higher prices for produce.

AIDS AND INDIA

Ever since the first case of AIDS virus came to light in 1986 and HIV infection became a major health crisis facing the country, the spectre of AIDS has loomed large. What has been more worrisome is that it affects the vulnerable sections of the population i.e. women and children, too. But as December 1 marked World AIDS Day, there was less cause for gloom. India has not only made considerable progress in tackling the scourge but has also led the decline globally. In the decade between 2000 and 2010 fresh HIV cases in the country were down by 50 per cent. Now, the news that more men in Punjab are opting for safe sex is reassuring as well.

Safe sex practice plays one of the most crucial roles in checking the spread of HIV, particularly among women. Of the total HIV cases in India, nearly 40 per cent are women and many of whom get the cases from their husbands. Safe sex offers protection against transmission of the virus to those women who are at risk. It’s heartening that Bollywood celebrities too are raising their voice for the cause and advocating safe sex through various social platforms. Aggressive awareness drives and high literacy rates do lead to a decline in infections.
Nevertheless, while the decline in infections needs to be welcomed, there is no cause for complacency. Even today India has 2.5 million HIV positive people and the challenges are many. UNAIDS has already cautioned India against being complacent. In the light of global donors backing out and the danger of new infections lurking by, it has asked the government to step up investment. Indeed, India, which has done a commendable job in fighting the menace of HIV/AIDS, cannot afford to fritter away the gains. Concerted steps and the early passage of the HIV Bill can not only ensure that the battle against AIDS is won; even the human rights of HIV infected can be protected. Zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths may become more than an aspirational goal.

US-AUSTRALIA- INDIA? A DREAM

India has demonstrated that it has its own independent views on regional and global issues by categorically telling Australia that it cannot be part of any multilateral security arrangement. This has been the country’s policy ever since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, when India decided to chart a nonaligned course. The necessity to restate the fact arose when Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd declared in a media interview that India was ready to join the US-Australia security pact meant to keep a check on China’s moves in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr Rudd’s statement — the response of “the Indian government has really been quite positive” — has no meaning when India is “not aware of any such proposal”. Perhaps, he took India’s “positive” response for granted, as he is scheduled to be in New Delhi soon for talks with Defence Minister A.K. Antony when he is expected to convey his country’s desire to revoke the ban on uranium exports to India. India needs uranium from Australia and is also interested in reaching agreements on fighting terrorism and maritime security. But these are separate issues, having nothing to do with the US-Australia defence architecture.
The US and Australia have their own calculations as far as China’s rise as the dominant player in the Asia-Pacific region is concerned. The US is working overtime to stop China’s growing influence in the region and beyond. Washington’s new military base in Australia is aimed at implementing its policy of containing China. Interestingly, the US supported Vietnam when China protested against the India-Vietnam cooperation pact for exploring oil and gas in the South China Sea. Washington’s Myanmar policy also appears to be undergoing change as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited that country this week and appreciated the political reforms being undertaken by the ruling military junta.
But why should India become a part of the US Asia-Pacific strategy? New Delhi is, of course, concerned about China’s String of Pearls policy to strengthen Beijing’s presence in India’s immediate neighbourhood. But it has to plan its moves the way it suits India’s national interests. There is no point in demonstrating that India is competing with China. It is wiser to go in for cooperative diplomacy as can be seen in India’s Look East policy. It has resulted in considerable gains for India in East Asia.

NRI'S AND PUNJAB

IN October this year, the Punjab Legislative Assembly amidst pandemonium passed 11 Bills without any discussion. As a result, Punjab State Commission for NRIs Act, 2011 was enacted with a generous state government providing Rs.50 lakh during the current year for paying the salary of employees of the five-member Commission.
While Non Resident Punjabis generally descend here to reconnect with their roots, there has been a role reversal this year. With Punjab going to the hustings in 2012, Ministers in waiting and poll managers have flown in advance to UK, USA and Canada to lobby for support and seek greenbacks. Indigenous vote banks in rural Punjab are also influenced by the thinking of philanthropic and cash-rich NRIs in the matter of casting the ballot. Hence the scramble to woo them.
This regardless of the fact that only 38 NRI voters have actually registered themselves for casting votes, for which they will have to be physically present in Punjab. For wooing this perceived vote bank, the political competition and compulsion is about which party can devise the best mechanism for resolving the problems of the NRIs in Punjab.
About 5 million Punjabis, it is estimated, are settled abroad and are bound by family, property and business interests back home. Their problems do need solutions. Conventional laws and slow, tardy procedures do leave them disenchanted.
Who is an NRI or a PIO or an OCI for that matter?
Section 2 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) defines a person resident in India and a person resident outside India but does not define the term NRI. However, a notification defines NRI to mean a person resident outside India who is either a citizen of India or is a person of Indian origin. Under FEMA, a person “resident” in India is one who resides in India for more than 182 days in the preceding financial year and who comes or stays in India for any purpose and a “non-resident” is merely defined as a person who is not a resident in India. Therefore, an NRI can be summed up as an Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian passport.
PIO: It means a foreign citizen who at any time held an Indian passport; or he/she or either of his /her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in and was permanently resident in India; or he/she is a spouse of a citizen of India or of a person of Indian origin. PIO card holders can visit India without visa for 15 years and will be required to register with Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) in India when the stay exceeds 180 days continuously. PIOs enjoy parity with NRIs in respect of certain facilities but have no political rights and can apply for Indian citizenship after residing in India for a minimum of seven years.
OCI: A foreign national who was eligible to become a citizen of India on January 26, 1950, or was a citizen of India on or at any time after the said date or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947 and, his / her children and grandchildren are eligible for registration as OCIs. They enjoy multiple entry multipurpose lifelong visa for visiting India, are exempted registration with FRO/police authorities for any length of stay in India and are entitled to benefits notified under Section 7 B of the Citizenship Act. An OCI registered for 5 years and residing in India for one year can be granted Indian citizenship but have no political rights.
The Punjab State Commission for NRIs Act, 2011 is stated to be “An Act to provide for the constitution of the Commission for NRIs in the State of Punjab with a view to protecting and safeguarding the interests of the NRIs in the State of Punjab, and to recommend remedial measures to State Government."
It defines a “complaint” by stating that it “means all petitions/communications received in State Commission for NRIs from an NRI or any other person on his behalf, in person, by post, by telegram, by fax or by any other means whatsoever, alleging, disputes or violations or abetment thereof or negligence in the prevention of such dispute or violation, by a public servant or a private person or the material on the basis of which the Punjab State Commission for NRIs takes suo motu cognisance."
The flaws
The law however, does not define what is an “NRI dispute” or a “NRI violation". Consequently, the authority, jurisdiction and powers of the Commission, remain hazy and undefined.
Though the proposed body has extensive investigative powers through the existing official machinery, its capacity to provide practical relief and pass effective orders remains questionable. The NRI Commission cannot usurp the powers of courts and may well turn out to be unworkable.
Amusingly, the focus of the law enacted is more on the members of the Commission and what they will get as benefits. The actual emphasis on what the body in making would actually do and how it would dispense justice in relation to a defined arena of NRI disputes or violations is blissfully missing.
The grievances of NRIs revolve around family law related issues, property disputes, immigration related questions and trysts with criminal law. But then the system of Civil and Criminal Courts mandates that all disputes shall be adjudicated by Courts of competent jurisdiction as per statutory laws made by Parliament and applicable throughout India. Consequently, identifying an “NRI dispute” for being heard and decided by a different authority will clearly fall foul of the system of prevalent adjudication by existing courts. The aggrieved NRI will still need to invoke the powers of a competent Court for actual relief as a NRI Commission cannot enjoy parallel statutory adjudication powers.
In case the NRI Commission is meant to be a recommendatory body, the Law Commission of India and Punjab State Law Commission are already saddled with this exclusive role of suggesting changes in laws. In any case, no major exercise is needed to identify where amendments are required as both the problems and desired solutions are well known. Most of them relate to Central Laws within the ambit of Parliament. Hence, any state level exercise to achieve independent changes will be an exercise in futility.

PROBLEMS OF NRI'SIN INDIA

There is a huge Indian diaspora, numbering nearing 30 million strong and spread in 130 countries abroad. They increasingly come up with unique family law problems, which existing Indian matrimonial legislations find difficult to address. Hence, judicial innovation to carve out individual relief in distinct NRI family disputes is necessitated on a case to case basis. But there are few or no consistent and statutory remedies.
The response from the Government range from creating an NRI Commission, constituting NRI Cells, deputing designated authorities for NRI problems and forming special NRI Committees. However, all such administrative measures soon fade away and resurface with the arrival of the NRIs again in the following year.
NRIs seek resolution of their problems from an Indian legal system not designed and created for resolving their new age issues. Times have changed but statutory Indian laws have not kept pace. Most NRI problems are neither defined nor recognised by Indian laws but our legislators have no time to amend or even address them.
Thus, creating NRI Cells, Commissions, Committees or other bodies will not help. No such authority without statutory powers will have any credibility in the framework of the existing legal system. Parallel set ups without statutory sanction are meaningless. Such administrative bodies will at best be recommendatory officers whose decisions will need judicial sanction. The aggrieved NRI or affected party will still need to invoke powers of a Court of Competent Jurisdiction for actual relief.
The Parliament, therefore, needs to enact new laws or amend existing laws to define the NRI problem and prescribe solutions. One such example can be found under Section 13 of The East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. Its amendment in 2001, created a special class of NRI landlords who had a special right to recover immediate possession from tenants occupying their premises by a special summary procedure. Likewise, in the family law arena, limping NRI marriages, abandoned spouses, abducted children, overseas adoption and surrogate relationships need statutory solutions. Family laws for NRIs need an exhaustive overhaul. Either, all existing family law legislations be amended or one single comprehensive Indian legislation should be enacted for all family related legal problems of NRIs.
Similar is the situation in the field of property laws. Tenancy, succession, registration, investment & transfer of ownership of property form a bulk of NRI problems. But scattered and outdated legislations serve no purpose. Thus, there is again a dire need for multiple amendments or for enacting a new NRI property law dealing with their problems comprehensively. Special Courts will have to be created and empowered to deal with these lissues. A complete responsive machinery must be evolved under proper rules to be made under the newly enacted or amended NRI laws.
The answer is not in creating toothless bodies. Only enacting appropriate NRI laws, making corresponding procedural rules to implement them and vesting authority in Competent Courts to adjudicate NRI disputes will provide an effective remedy. This must naturally be done on an all India basis because piecemeal State legislations will not do.

WHY GROWTH RATE IS FALLING?

FROM aspiring to achieve a double-digit growth rate to actually slumping to 7 per cent or even less, if private predictions are to be believed, is quite a fall for the country, once widely seen as an emerging economic power. The latest official data shows the economy grew by just 6.9 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal and it is the slowest in the last nine quarters. While the growth of manufacturing fell to 2.7 per cent, mining actually witnessed a contraction, shrinking by 3 per cent due to a ban on mining of iron ore following scams encompassing Karnataka, Orissa and Goa. Despite a normal monsoon the agricultural growth shrank to 3.2 per cent from a healthy 5.4 per cent last year. The slowdown in investment and private consumption shows that the troubles are here to stay.
The chief culprit for the dismal scenario is, no doubt, untamed high inflation. For too long policymakers kept predicting inflation would ease soon and delayed the RBI response. Then the government left the job of controlling inflation entirely to the apex bank and failed to address the supply side constraints. Low agricultural productivity, poor state investment, rising input and capital costs have subdued farm growth and pushed up food inflation. The belated attempts to open up multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment, which is expected to cut food waste and streamline the supply chain, are being scuttled by misinformed opposition. Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu has blamed “slowdown in decision-making” for the economy’s poor performance. There are other factors: high interest rates, policy paralysis, major scandals, needless political standoff and uncertainty in global economy.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has tried to shore up the sentiment by pointing to the deterioration in the global economic scenario and held out the hope that the country’s growth rate would pick up soon, but economists and industrialists are less optimistic. They feel exports, which have remained robust, will lose the advantage of a depreciating rupee to the loss of orders from Europe and the US. Dark clouds loom on the horizon

WHERE THE LOKPAL IS STUCK

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.

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.

Address to the Nation by the President of India, on the eve of the 65th Independence Day

“Dear Citizens,

As I speak to you on the eve of our 65th Independence Day, I extend my warmest greetings to all of you living in India and overseas. To the members of our Armed Forces and Para-military forces who guard our frontiers, and our internal security forces, I extend special greetings.

This significant day in our nation’s calendar takes us back to the events that made our country, a free nation. It is to Mahatma Gandhi – the Father of our Nation, to all the other leaders of our freedom movement, and to the millions of people of our country, who fought with bravery and courage, that we pay homage. Our independence was won on the principles of truth and non-violence. It is this, as well as the transformational impact it had in other parts of the world, that makes our freedom struggle exceptional. In Asia and in Africa, voices of freedom against oppression and colonial power, were encouraged by India’s example. We can be proud that we all belong to a country that has proved its greatness through values, which have found such a wide resonance. We, as the inheritors of that great legacy, carry a responsibility to stand by truth and justice; to continue to conduct ourselves, in a manner that is in consonance, with India’s standing, as a progressive and responsible country, where values of democracy, harmony and tolerance are deeply embedded.

Today, our nation stands at a threshold. There are important issues on which we must focus, and as we do so, keep in mind that these are times, when we should also be on our guard, about not straying away from our main objective, of strengthening the nation in its many aspects. This is a time for introspection, a time to take well thought out measures, and to prepare well for the future. There have been occasions earlier, when confronted with many questions, we did find answers. The real strength of a nation is judged not by the challenges it faces, but by its responses. Therefore, as we analyze, make policies, legislate, implement schemes and enforce laws, we must not, forget that the purpose of all our efforts is to move on the path of progress while ensuring that morals and ethics in our society do not get eroded.

India is the world’s largest democracy. The country has performed well economically with a growth rate of 8.6 percent last year. We are committed to the welfare of all and are pursuing an inclusive growth agenda. There is much promise, much potential, much hope and much optimism about our future prospects. I point this out so that, as we deal with the challenges, we should not be unmindful of either our achievements; or of our past; or the principles on which our freedom, Constitution and democracy rest; or very importantly, of our future. Our actions today, our decisions today, will fashion our tomorrow. A deep sense of responsibility is a call of our times. All institutions and all citizens, have to demonstrate great maturity and, if I may say so, a degree of self-restraint, as we deal with our problems.

Corruption is a cancer affecting our nation’s political, economic, cultural and social life. It is necessary to eliminate it. Government, Parliament, Judiciary and society at large, should ponder about this, and find out ways to handle it in a manner that is practical, implementable and sustainable. There cannot be just one panacea or remedy to deal with it, but a system of transparency and accountability should be put in place at various levels, and, then, effectively enforced. It would require preventive and punitive measures, as well as adoption of rational approaches as we pursue the anti-corruption agenda. India is known for its sobriety and wisdom, balanced and sensible thinking. As is said in one of our shlokas, अति‍ सर्वत्र वर्जयेत, which means that anything in extreme should be avoided. We need strong institutions and we need good governance in the country. Our institutions need to be fortified and our governance constantly improved. We should analyze the situation and find considered solutions to address the challenges we are facing in a thoughtful manner.

As we look at our past performance, we can draw strength from the fact, that the framework of our Constitution has served us well. The institutions created by it – the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary – have been stable and have achieved much. The separation of powers, the elaborate system of checks and balances, have given our country a governance structure in which equilibrium is maintained, when every institution respects the field of responsibility of the others. Credibility of institutions depends upon their conduct, which must be in accordance with the constitutional framework. We should strengthen them and their ability to take corrective actions, whenever required. There should be no effort, consciously or otherwise, that will lead to the erosion of institutional credibility and authority.

Dear Citizens,

Parliament represents people from all parts of our country and a broad spectrum of political thought. Its legislation is an outcome of collective thinking and application of minds. Many path-breaking laws have been made by the Parliament of our country. New laws will also be formulated by legislative bodies. There can be discussions, debates, discourses among the people of the country for public opinion to emerge, which is an essential input in a true democracy. The different shades of opinion should be channelized, through elected representatives for the formulation of necessary legislation. We should not forget that we have to preserve the democratic values of our country and, for this, healthy conventions of parliamentary procedures should be upheld. Members of Parliament can contribute immensely to issues of national development. There are several instances of commendable initiatives being taken by our elected representatives, including one where young Parliamentarians in the country have come together, cutting across all party lines, to work on malnutrition. I appreciate these initiatives. There is possibility of other such issues which could be collectively addressed by Parliamentarians belonging to all political parties.

Moreover, I strongly feel good electoral practices are linked with a strong functional democracy. Various proposals have been made, from time to time, to reform the electoral process, including on State funding of elections and debarring the participation of criminals in elections. These should be examined early for adoption as a part of our efforts to further enhance the healthy functioning of our democracy and to cleanse the system.

Dear Citizens,

The Census has just been completed in our country. We are now a nation of 1.2 billion, constituting about a sixth of the global population. We will reap a demographic dividend, only when our population is educated and equipped with the necessary skills. This entails a focus on education and skill development, to build their capacities to meet the requirements of the nation. They can add immensely to India’s economy – in the service sector, cutting edge technologies, manufacturing, industry, and agriculture. We are a country shaped by the experiences, sacrifices and hard work of our citizens. Indians have shown tremendous enterprise and there are many success stories. They have earned goodwill for the country wherever they are working or they are settled. They have done us proud. Moreover, we must inculcate respect for pluralism, harmonious living and compassion, all of which are a part of our legacy of always upholding the highest human values.

The underlying purpose of our work is to provide to all citizens, opportunities of progress and to eradicate poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. I have always said that, it is a growing Gross Domestic Product along with the welfare of the people, that are the twin pillars of a progressive nation. Today, anti-poverty programmes, social welfare schemes, and a commitment to ensure food security, form the core of our inclusive agenda strategy. There are also a host of special economic packages for the under-developed regions of our nation. Welfare schemes create an entitlement for individuals belonging to identified groups. Delivering the benefits to them is our duty and lack of delivery, a failure. Government efforts need to be supported by voluntary agencies, NGOs and, indeed, by citizens themselves who can be development partners of the Government. Implementation needs to be done in a transparent manner and by creating accountability and integrity in functioning. The country cannot afford the loss of resources meant for its development.

We must persist with our efforts to bridge differentials in economic growth in the country. 68 percent of our population continues to reside in rural areas with a majority dependent on agriculture. Yet, agriculture is one area where we are yet to reach full potential. We need a model to revolutionalize agriculture, from the time when agricultural operations start, till harvest is reaped and beyond, where post-harvest processing aspects are addressed. Institutions linked to making available credit, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, have to be pro-active and work in co-ordination with each other. There should be greater use of technology in the agricultural sector to enhance productivity. Also, issues and problems relating to dry land farming, including labour shortage require to be addressed in a focused manner. We may need to examine whether existing rural employment programmes, can be utilized for agricultural land of farmers, whether small holders or otherwise, in rainfed areas. This will help to stabilize agriculture in these areas. At the same time, warehousing and cold storage facilities for agricultural produce in the country require to be augmented. Decentralized warehousing will make food distribution not only easier and quicker, but it would be a low cost option that also cuts on wastage during transportation. I have on several occasions called on the corporate sector, as well as small and medium enterprises to seriously engage with agriculturists and farmers, particularly in the rainfed areas, to avail of the many opportunities of working together for mutual benefit. Let the public sector entities take the lead in this regard. The integration of agriculture with the other sectors of the economy would not only be useful for agriculture, but would generate positive impulses in other sectors as well.

Our Census sadly shows that there has been a decline in the gender ratio in the 0 to 6 age group. It has touched a low level of 914 girls as compared to a 1000 boys. It reflects the continuing preference of boys in our society and the bias against the girl child. We need to fight social prejudices which have resulted in this situation, and also work to eradicate the practices of dowry, child marriage and female foeticide, which we are continuing to battle even in the 21st Century. Let each citizen of the country vow to fight these social evils. There are laws against them but we need to ensure compliance and create awareness. Moreover, crime against women needs to be dealt with most sternly. Women and men are the two wheels of the chariot of the nation and both need to be strong. Women have tremendous capabilities and capacities to contribute in any field, when given an opportunity. We have seen the success of the movement of the Self Help Groups in our country. Eighty percent of them are all-women groups. They operate at the lower rung of the economic strata and carry out activities on a limited scale. These groups have provided women not only with possibilities of income generating activity, but have given them confidence and a sense of self-esteem. Government should pro-actively take measures to universalize this movement, which will be beneficial to our agenda of women’s empowerment.

Dear Citizens,

Events of far reaching consequences are taking place in the world. In a globalised world, these developments have ramifications beyond borders. We are all aware of the consequences of the global financial meltdown of 2008. Uncertainty is again confronting the world economy, and would need to be tackled through co-ordinated global action, as also by suitable precautionary measures in our country. Our economy has fundamental strength and resilience, and its large domestic market can help it maintain steady growth rates. However, price rise is an issue engaging our attention, and would have to be dealt with. Rising prices affects families and especially those of our fellow citizens living below the poverty line. Efforts must be made to find ways and means to soften the impact of inflation, so that the benefits of growth are not blunted.

Also, we are all aware of the threats that terrorism is posing to peace everywhere. The attack in Mumbai last month is yet another grim reminder of the destruction that can be caused by terrorism. We need to be ever-vigilant, to fight this menace which is a global phenomenon.

Dear Citizens,

I recall the words of Swami Vivekanand, “this national ship of ours my countrymen, has been plying for ages, carrying civilization and enriching the whole world with its inestimable treasures.” Dear Citizens, the challenge for us, is how effectively we carry forward the nation from now onwards. Let history be the judge that during our time, we found the right answers to the challenges we faced, and acquitted ourselves with dignity and continued to work with unity, to build the India of our dreams.

Dawn will break tomorrow and our flag will flutter. Whatever task you are doing in the interest of the country is important, and I call on all citizens to pledge, that they will work with full commitment and dedication, honesty and integrity and with a sense of pride. If we do this, there is much that we will be able to achieve as a nation.

With these words, I wish all citizens the very best on the occasion of Independence Day.

Jai Hind!”

Highlights of the Prime Minister’s Independence Address

·         Prime Minister cautions against “some people who want to create disturbances in the country so that our progress gets stalled”.   Prime Minister calls for understanding and restraint, otherwise our security and integrity can get adversely affected. Prime Minister vows that “we will not let this happen”.
 Prime Minister claims “we have provided political stability and socio and economic progress”.Prime Minister says this is time “to rise above personal or political interests and build consensus on issues of national importance”. Prime Ministers asserts that we have “established an environment of communal harmony in the country”.Prime Minister says his seven years have seen rapid economic development.·         Prime Minister says “we have taken a special care of the needs of our brothers and sisters from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, Women and Children”. Prime Minister promises food security legislation soon. Prime Minister says the country is full of “confidence and self-respect”.         Prime Minister acknowledges “corruption is a big obstacle in national transformation”. Prime Minister says corruption should be discussed in a manner that “should not create an atmosphere in which country’s progress comes into question”. Prime Minister urges that discussion on corruption should not distract from self-confidence.  Prime Minister asserts that “the government is taking strictest possible action in cases of corruption”. Prime Minister says “there is no single big step which we can take to eradicate corruption”. Prime Minister says corruption cannot be eradicated unless “we improve our justice delivery system”. Prime Minister asserts “we want strong Lokpal to prevent corruption in high places”. Prime Minister says no one “should resort to hunger strikes and fast-unto-death”. Prime Minister says nothing should be done to dilute independence of the judiciary. Prime Minister acknowledges “misuse of governmental discretion in allocation of scarce resources”.  Prime Minister says the Government working on measures to reduce corruption in government projects. Prime Minister says “government will lay down principles and practices with regard to government purchases”.  Prime Minister says no government has a “magic wand” to eradicate corruption. Prime Minister asserts “we have to fight against corruption on many fronts”.  Prime Minister compliments farmers on producing a record level food grains. Prime Minister says we need a second Green Revolution in Agriculture. Prime Minister acknowledges “a phase of sustained high inflation”. Prime Minister says “our government fully understands its responsibility to control rise in prices”. International markets fuel inflation in India.    Prime Minister says “finding a solution to inflation will be our top most priority in the coming months”.         Prime Minister says “land acquisition must be transparent and fair”.  Prime Minister says “government will establish a new Education Commission to suggest improvements in education at all levels”. Prime Minister wants 12th Five Year Plan to focus on health. Prime Minister says investment in infrastructure has grown more than 1 1/2 times in the last seven years. Prime Minister says “we want to make India slum-free and the ownership of clean houses to slum dwellers”. Prime Minister says “malnutrition in women and children is a matter of concern for all of us”.  Prime Minister regrets “declining sex ratio and wants a change in approach towards girls and women”.  Prime Minister says we should not lower guard against terrorism; says it is a long battle to be fought jointly by the Central Government, State Governments and the citizens.  Prime Minister promises to eradicate the very reasons which gave rise to naxalism. Prime Minister warns against climate change and promises “an environmental assessment and monitoring authority to streamline the process of environmental clearances”.  Prime Minister acknowledges our younger generation’s higher aspirations and says our institutions should tap our people’s potential.  Prime Minister says “our entrepreneurs and business men should not feel constrained in their activities”. Prime Minister urges “we should all stay away from tactics that creates suspicion or apprehension among those connected with industry, business and investment.  Prime Minister says our development should not increase inequalities. Prime Minister says we have the collective capacities and the confidence to deal with tensions and conflicts in the society.

PPSC IS POSTPONING THE PCS MAINS EXAM DATE AGAIN........?

AGAIN ....YES AGAIN ..PPSC IS POSTPONING THE PCS MAINS EXAM DATE TO FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER. SEPTEMBER 2 IS AGAIN UNCERTAIN.NOW THEY WANT EXAMS TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER. I DONT KNOW WHY THEY ARE PLAYING WITH THE FUTURE OF 2500 CANDIDATES WHO ARE STRUGGLING SINCE DECEMBER 2009.NOW ONLY GOD CAN HELP PPSC

REFORMS TO BE MADE IN RAILWAYS

For a start, he may have to try to avoid the populist agenda, which all his predecessors had adopted. Undoing some of the wrongs done may no longer be possible but he can avoid the pitfalls such as the introduction of hundreds of new passenger trains every year which are crowding out freight business, the mainstay of rail finances.

The single most vital task facing him will be to walk a fine line between the Railways’ role as a commercially successful entity and its social responsibilities, especially in the development of backward areas, which, according to Ms Mamata Banerjee, Mr Trivedi’s party boss, was a highly desirable objective irrespective of the very low rates of return such projects may generate!

A vast backlog of nearly Rs70,000 crore of works should perhaps make him pause before venturing into new areas of growth. A high-level review to prioritise the existing projects will enable him to get a “bigger bang for the bucks”, particularly developing section capacity in certain critical areas by doubling or gauge conversion. Undoubtedly, political compulsions will require early funding of scores of projects, already in the pipeline in West Bengal.

For a developing country such as India, there is simply no alternative to Railways as a vital engine for economic growth, providing a speedy and safe transport for passengers and freight at the least possible unit cost. Like Madhavrao Scindia, it should not take long for his keen mind to get to know the ropes of this behemoth, which during 1986-89 took a number of significant measures, including the introduction of a string of inter-city trains and a world class passenger reservation system.

It may be a vast monolith with layers of management, yet it is capable of responding quickly to an emergency situation such as floods, riots and accidents. Moreover, unlike the defence services, the Railways always remains at war, moving 14 million passengers and over 3 million tonnes of freight everyday over its 64,000 km of network, come hell or high water.

For the experienced and suave Mr Trivedi it should not be too difficult to fathom the inter-department rivalries and curb tendencies to protect one’s turfs, often at the cost of overall efficiency in the system. For instance, elimination of brake vans and with it the train guards on freight trains by the introduction of electronic EOT (End Of Train) or LVD (Last Vehicle Device) has been hanging fire for quite some time. This will go a long way in reducing staff costs as has been done for over a decade now in the case of the US, European and other major railways.

It may be too late in the day for him to reverse the irreparable damage to Indian Railways’ command and control structure by Mr Nitish Kumar when overnight he created seven new rail zones, taking the number from a manageable nine to 16, adding substantially to overheads. However, a review of Mr Lalu Yadav’s hike in the carrying capacity of wagons to obtain higher freight earnings, which is reportedly leading to a dangerously higher rate of wear and tear on both the track and the rolling stock, may be in order.

Unlocking the immense potential of the DLW (Diesel Loco Works), the CLW (Chittaranjan Loco Works), the ICF (Integral Coach Factory) and the RCF (Rail Coach Factory), which are world class manufacturing facilities for locomotives and coaches, respectively, by aggressively marketing for exports may enable him to earn valuable foreign exchange and give a boost to the Railways’ finances, which at present it is woefully short of!

High-speed trains, whizzing past at 300 kmph and connecting important metros and modern state-of-the-art station buildings resembling airport terminals, are prohibitively expensive ventures which are best left for the private investor — if the minister can find one — under the prevalent PPP (Public Private Partnership) regime, which Planning Commission mandarins are assiduously pushing for.

Nor should he invest in expensive the ACD (Anti-Collision Device) developed by the Konkan Railways which has a very limited role to play. Intensive monitoring in the observation of safety rules and rigid preventive maintenance schedules of track and rolling stock are the two thrust areas to ensure safe running of trains perhaps at a fraction of the cost of the ACD.

An ACD may detect a train on the same track — a highly unlikely scenario — but cannot prevent a derailment as it happened recently at Malhan, nor can a collision with a train derailed on the other track in a double line section as could be seen at Khanna in Punjab more than a decade back!

However, a slew of passenger train accidents in the recent past are undoubtedly a cause for worry. Perhaps, the minister should get the Railway Board to have a relook at a new category of accidents in the 1980’s — the “inconsequential” ones. These are mostly derailments, particularly of goods trains, which have not led to serious “consequences” such as the damage or loss of assets or lives.

This was primarily done when things were really bad, giving a rather skewed picture of the Railways’ safety record. Since then large-scale renewal and up-gradation of steel rails and improved rolling stock designs have sharply brought down the number of such incidents. Time is now ripe to do away with such a category, ensuring a much higher transparency in reporting, detailed analysis and having a critical look at all train accidents, big or small

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