January Magazine

INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014
http://insightsonindia.com
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NATIONAL & SOCIAL ISSUES
FOOD SECURITY:: The Food Security Act- an initiative to avert malnutrition Food security refers to households physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that fulfills the dietary needs and food preferences of that household for living an active and healthy life. It includes at a minimum Ready availability of nutritious and safe foods. An assured ability to acquire food in socially acceptable ways. Definition of food security by WHO. It defines food security with three ingredients:Food availability-: it is, having available sufficient quantities of food in homogenous way. Food access-:it is, having sufficient resources both economic and physical to obtain nutritious diet. Food use-: It is the appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition, care, water and sanitation. The fourth ingredient of stability of these three ingredient has been added up by FAO. Ensuring the food security continues to be a challenging issue of vital importance in countries like India The National Food Security Act 2013 One of the major initiatives towards providing the food security to the people of the country, governments most ambitious bill recently passed in Parliament on 10th sep, 2013. Objective:
To provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach by ensuring adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life of dignity and for matters connected therewith. The act enshrines freedom of right to food and nutrition. Salient features of the Act-: The act promises to cover 67% of population which covers 75% rural populations and 50% urban population The beneficiaries are to be able to purchase 5 kg of food grains per person per month through Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) at the following prices (Rice at Rs 3/kg, Wheat at Rs 2/kg, Coarse grains(millets) at Rs 1/kg) In case of any unavailability of entitled quantities of food grains, the eligible beneficiaries to receive Food Security Allowances from respective state government. Special focus on nutritional support to Women and Children, Pregnant women and Lactating mothers by ensuring nutritious meals as per requirement along with maternity benefit of not less than Rs 6000. Eldest women not less than 18 yrs of age shall be the head of the household for the purpose of issue of ration cards thus promotes women empowerment. Special focus on women, children and other destitutes living in starvation. Challenges on food security implementation: Reforms in Targeted Public Distribution System: TPDS in our country needs reform such as improvement in application of information and communication technology, Unique identification
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 AADHAAR should be used properly to identify targeted beneficiaries to ensure transparency. The working network of PDS in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh is of great example to learn from as PDS working in these states are most effective. In states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu 95% of the population is presently covered by the PDS whereas in Chattisgarh, certain and simple exclusion from the population has made the proper identification of targeted beneficiaries possible with minimum errors of inclusion or exclusion. Same approach should be adopted by the other states too. Availability of Resources: The implementation of Food Security Act will require resources in cash and kind. It follows then that fiscal allocations will have to rise if the Act to be implemented properly. The Economic Survey of India 2013 states that the food subsidy bill is putting huge stress on fiscal side which has rarely exceeded 1% of the GDP over three decades as defined by GOIs budget. Therefore 1 or 2% of GDP is not a high cost to incur to end malnutrition. Promotion of sustainable agriculture: Provisions have to be made in terms of production of rice, wheat and other cereals. Adequate investment will have to be made in enhancing agricultural production including in research and extension with special attention on coarse cereals like Sorghum and millets which have been termed as nutri-cereals by M.S. Swaminathan. Strengthening the local Authorities : It is necessary to meet the obligation of the Food Security Act and the role of gram sabha is very crucial in this regard. The 12th five year Plan has also taken steps to identify beneficiaries of various schemes specific to each scheme. The Social And Economic Caste Census (SECC) is an integral part of this objective. It has also built provisions of authentication and validation by the participation of Gram Sabha which is likely to reduce errors of inclusion and exclusion.
In addition nutritional poverty can be identified from the results of National Family Health Survey (NFHS). But unless there is political commitment backed by financial resources, the Food Security will not lead to major changes in existing Food Insecurity in the country. Since the proposed legislation ensures paradigm shift from the welfare approach to rights based approach , the definition of priority or targeted population needs to be kept flexible. All these can make this program a flagship programme in the country and can help to avert hunger and malnutrition. Report on the Functioning of TPDS much of the opposition to the recently passed Food Security Act has been in the background of inefficient Public Delivery System- as it is, no one can in principle oppose food security to the poor in this context, it is important to analyse the entire PDS system- its processes, challenges, issues and most importantly the need to reform Analysis of issues surrounding the TPDS : 1.Procurement of food grains- It is necessary to have enough grains available for the purpose of distribution to the entitled To induce farmers to produce more grains, government provides for MSP(minimum support price) MSPs, though is a great assurance of fair returns to farmers has its own problems it has been criticized for having kept prices of the grains artificially high despite huge production levels- logically increased production and availability should lead to decrease in prices MSP has been blamed to be the cause of preventing the farmers to respond to the market demand- we know that the diet pattern of Indians is changing and shifting towards fruits, vegetables, pulses and other protein based food products- MSP prevent
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 farmers from diversifying to these items-thereby leading to shortage of these items and a spiralling high prices- as we know, fruits and vegetables substantially contributes towards inflation also, food grains are water intensive crops and MSP has induced farmers to go grow water intensive crops like rice in regions which naturally and traditionally has not been suited for it E.g. rice cultivation by farmers is Punjab and Haryana- is said to be the main culprit behind ground water depletion; additionally, this practice also leads to soil degradation and poses a risk on the future of agriculture the present act requires procurement of around 61 million of food grains- the availability of such huge quantity is easier in years of increased production but is under question but in years of domestic shortage, for varied reasons , the government will have to rely on large scale imports of grains thereby leading to significant increase in prices the recent act thereby raises question on government ability to procure food grains without affecting the open market prices and subsidy bill (a very pertinent point in the context of high fiscal deficit and recessionary growth of Indian economy) 2.Storage of food grains- FCI(food corporation of India)is the main agency responsible for storage of food grains food grains normally stored in warehouse, silos on in the open- storage capacity has been insufficient and FCI hires storage space from centre and sate warehousing corporations as well as private parties inadequate and inefficient storage compromises the quality of food grains severely Transportation of food grains to state warehouse is carried out by the centre while its distribution to end consumers is taken care by the states. Here, the problem relate to those of leakages to open markets errors of inclusion exclusion adulteration of grains etc. MECAHNISM TO STRENTHEN TPDS Role of AADHAR- may help in eliminating duplication or ghost beneficiaries; make identification more accurate However, 100% enrolment and subsequent renewal, admission of newborns etc. will depend on the efficiency of this system TECHNOLOGY based reforms- this becomes important in light of the fact that manual recording of eligibility of beneficiaries is prone to errors and tampering Some examples: Digitalisation of ration cards This allows for online entry and verification of data regarding storing of monthly instalments, no. of dependents, off take of grains from fair price shops etc. Computerised allocation to fair price shops(FPS), declaration of stock balance, web based truck challan's etc.- this allows for quick and efficient tracking of transactions Use of GPS technology to track movement of trucks from state depots SMS based monitoring-citizens to receive sms alerts during dispatch and arrival of TPDS commodities Web based citizens portal to publicise the grievance Redressal mechanism The above mentioned mechanisms are already in operation in different states and hence can easily be emulated across the country to make PDS efficient
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besides, there is imbalance in availability of storage capacity across states and whatever space is available that is not optimally utilised (as reported by CAG) 3 .Distribution of food grains- responsibility for distribution is shared by both centre and the state.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Alternatives to PDS Universal PDS- here errors of identification and inclusion exclusion can be eliminated completely; Tamil Nadu has an efficient universal PDS; Cash transfers This helps in reducing administrative costs and allows for efficient, quick and leak proof mechanism- however has been strongly opposed by food rights activists on certain grounds such as: The fact that cash can be used for other things; Women and children are disadvantaged as the head of the family is usually the men who get to decide on the area where cash is to be spent; 100% financial inclusion is yet to be achieved Cash transfers fluctuations do not guard against price The people as identified beneficiaries by the State Governments will now get foodgrains at highly subsidized prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains. Each beneficiary will get five Kg. foodgrain per month. However, existing entitlement of Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households which is 35 kg. of per household per month will be protected, since AAY constitute poorest of the poor. With the implementation of the Act now pregnant women and lactating mothers and children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years will be entitled to meals as per prescribed nutritional norms under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) schemes. Higher nutritional norms have been prescribed for malnourished children upto 6 years of age. Beside this pregnant women and lactating mothers will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000. The Act will also give significant contribution in the women empowerment in the country with its provision of declaring eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above as the head of the household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards. The Government has notified the National Food Security Act, 2013 on September10, 2013 to further strengthen the efforts to address the food security of the people. The Act provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population. The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children.
Food coupons-food coupons could be bought in lieu of money which could be used to buy food grains from any grocery store. This has certain advantages such as - Freedom of citizens to choose where it wants to buy grains from -increases incentive for competitive pricing and assures the quality of food grains the disadvantage is that it is gain not indexed to inflation.
Seven States/UTs Get Allocations Under National Food Security Act With the implementation of National Food Security Act in Karnataka and Chhattisgarh also, the National Food Security Act has taken off now in seven states/ UTs- Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh . The Government of India has made foodgrain allocations to these States/UTs as per requirements projected by them for the implementation of the Act. Uttrakhand and Chandigarh are also expected to join this group soon.
ENERGY SECURITY:: Power Grid in India Electric Power is the biggest power in the world, without it no power like political power, economic power or technological power, could not work. Electric Power acts as blood of economy, with the
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 growing size of economy, power consumption is also increased and same situation is with India at present. India is one the power hunger country, so to deal with it, India has started power reform. So in this article we will discussing various issues regarding the power in India under various headings. Power Grid and its failure reason: The power grid refers to generating stations which are connected through an interconnected network of transmission lines and substations. These generating stations supply power through these transmission lines. The companies responsible for distribution take the power coming through these lines and forward it to the consumers. The stability of the grids depends on a delicate equilibrium of demand-supply chain. The amount of load is directly proportional to the amount of power generated. When the equilibrium between power generated and consumed gets disturbed and the load becomes more, it leads to tripping of the line. It is duty of the power distributors to maintain the equilibrium intact so that not trigger a grid failure. A power grid consists of three sections stations which produce electricity from fuel (fossil or non-combustible), the transmission lines which carry the power to the substations from the plants and lastly the transformers which keep a check on the voltage. A schedule is declared by the generating plants for injection of power to the grid operators. Similarly a schedule is also drawn by the distribution stations according to which they are supposed to draw power and distribute it further. The stability of a grid is determined by keeping a check on the demand and supply, as per the drawn schedule. According to the Indian Electricity Code,
49.5 Hz to 50.2 Hz is the permissible band for grid operations in India. It is supposed that a bigger grid is more stable than smaller ones. Grids collapse due to two basic reasons. One is the failure of the equipment, like it happened a decade ago in 2002 when the northern grid collapsed, due to fog/pollution. The second trigger is power suppliers drawing excessive power from the grid. Which results in the balance of power generation and supply goes haywire with a cascading effect. This is probably the reason why the grid failed this time. There are various reasons why an excessive withdrawal of power happens. Weather phenomenon and change in sudden climate is one reason. Most of them cannot be controlled physically but can be minimized by keeping a close check. There is a penalty clause: Unscheduled Interchange rate whenever the discoms draws more than necessary power, the UI rate goes up as a penalty. Northern states of India, like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Jammu Kashmir, have been found to be habitual violators. The UI penalty has as is evident not been able to deter the violators. Presence of heavy industries and fast growing cities has necessitated the need for more power. But the production has not been able to cope up with the required distribution. Power Grids Status in India: So to avoid such grid failures and in case of grid failure, for recovering the situation single national grid would be helping India. India has five electricity regional grids Northern, Eastern, North Eastern, Southern and Western. All of them are now got interconnected. Advantages with the National Grid (One nation-one grid) It will be a synchronous grid so it will augment inter-regional power transfer capacity of the states in the south.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 It will also relieve the congestion in some transmission corridors. It will solve frequency problems of Tamil Nadu and also would help in getting sufficient power in shortage case. Besides these advantages, now complexity of the grid management has been increased. So there is high need to use efficient tools to manage it so that total blackout like in 2012 in northern India could be avoided. This need to enforce discipline amount the states in drawing power from the grid. One nation one grid is a step toward reforming power sector in India. Presently power sector is having huge problem in the distribution side. So there is need of reducing of distribution leakages in the power sector in India. This could be solved by SMART GRID. A smart grid is modernized electrical grid which with the help of ICT technology keeps track of power consumption and distribution in automated fashion. This will help in increasing the efficiency and reliability. Besides this major success in integrating the grids, India still need reforms in generation, transmission and distribution. This could be achieved by increasing competition and having a political will. Courtesy http://zeenews.india.com/exclusive/power-gridfailure-how-does-it-happen_3584.html Legislative Measures: Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012: Model Guidelines under the POSCO Act, 2012 were issued by the Ministry on 18th September, 2013 under Section 39 of the POSCO Act. State governments are required to make guidelines for the use of professionals to assist the child in pre-trial and trial stage. On request made by several state governments, the MWCD prepared model guidelines through consultations. Five Regional conferences on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 were held from July to September, 2013 to spread awareness on the Act. The conferences covered all States/UTs. The participants including officers from Women Child Department, Health Department, Education Departments, SCPCRs, State Judicial Academy, Police Academy, CWC members and officers of Prosecution Administrative Academy. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: Government of India has brought in a more progressive Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 that includes punitive measures against those who perform, permit and promote child marriage. This Act came into effect in November, 2007.As per Section 16(1) of the Act, the State Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint for the whole State, or such part thereof as may be specified in that Notification, an officer or officers to be known as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) having jurisdiction over the area or areas specified in the notification. Under Section 19(1) the State Government may, by Notification in the Official Gazette, make Rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been pursuing with the State Governments for appointment of CMPOs and Notification of Rules. As per information received from States/UTs, so far, 20 States and 5 UTs have framed Rules and20 States and 6 UTs have appointed Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs).The draft Plan is under finalization.
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http://www.powergridindia.com/_layouts/PowerGri d/User/ContentPage.aspx?PId=78&LangID=english
CHILD WELFARE:: (Year End Review of Ministry of Women and Child Development)
CHILD WELFARE: LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMMATIC MEASURES http://insightsonindia.com AND
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Programmatic Measures: Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Government of India and represents one of the worlds largest and unique programmes for early childhood care and development. It is the foremost symbol of countrys commitment to its children and nursing mothers, as a response to the challenge of providing pre-school non-formal education on one hand and breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition, morbidity, reduced learning capacity and mortality on the other. The beneficiaries under the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing this comprehensive Centrally Sponsored Scheme since 2009-10 through the State Government/UT Administrations on predefined cost sharing financial pattern. The objectives of the Scheme are to contribute to the improvement in the well being of children in difficult circumstances, as well as reduction of vulnerabilities to situation and actions that leads to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from parent. ICPS provides preventive, statutory care and rehabilitation services to children who are in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law as defined under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and its Amendment Act, 2006 and any other vulnerable child. It provides financial support to State Governments/UT Administrations for running services for children either themselves or through suitable NGOs. These services include Homes of various types for children; National Youth Policy Emergency Outreach services through Childline;
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Open Shelters for children in need of care and protection in Urban and Semi Urban Areas; Family Based Non-Institutional Care Sponsorship, Foster Care and Adoptions. through
Scheme for the Welfare of Working Children in Need of Care and Protection The scheme is being implemented since January, 2005 with the objective of providing non-formal education, vocational training etc. To working children to facilitate their entry/re-entry into mainstream education in cases where they have either not attended any learning system or where, for some reason, their education has been discontinued, with a view to prevent their future exploitation. Sabla- Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG)Sabla, a Centrallysponsored scheme introduced in the year 2010-11 on a pilot basis. Sabla aims at all-round development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years(with a focus on out of school girls) and is being implemented in 205 districts from all the States/UTs. The scheme has two major components: Nutrition and Non Nutrition Component. While the nutrition component aims at improving the health & nutrition status of the adolescent girls the non-nutrition component addresses the developmental needs including IFA supplementation, health check-up & referral services, nutrition & health education, ARSH counseling /guidance on family welfare, life skill education, guidance on accessing public services and vocational training (only 16-18 year old adolescent girls).
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Government of India is in the process of introducing a new national youth policy with the vision of empowering the youth of the country to achieve their full potential. The new youth policy focuses on: Developing the youth into a productive work force, by providing them the right to education and skills and promoting entrepreneurship. Developing a strong and healthy generation through effective healthcare and promotion of a healthy lifestyle and sports. Promoting social values and spirit of community service. Effectively engaging with the youth and facilitating their participation in government process. Inclusive policies to take care of disadvantaged sections of youth and the youth with special needs. The government of India through the proposed new national youth policy also intends to promote social entrepreneurship as an attractive employment proposition. This would facilitate setting up of social ventures in India by the overseas Indians. In India, 27.5% of the population belong to the 15-29 year age group while 41.3% are in the 13-35 years age group. By the year 2020, the population of India is expected to have a median age of 28 years only as against 38 years for US, 42 years for china and 48 years for Japan; making India one of the youngest nations in the world. River interlinking projects Recently government defer a decision on interlinking the Ken-Betwa rivers,the first of 30 such projects. The idea of interlinking river projects first initiated in 1972 as a garland canal with the Ganga-Cauvery as its central component. In 1982, NATIONAL
WATER DEVELOPMENT AGENCY was set up to carry out technical studies to examine the feasibility of 30 links= 14 Himalayan + 16 peninsular. Issues hindering the projects: (1)practicability and necessity (2)hydrological and technical feasibility (3)rehabilitation and resettlement (4)general environmental concerns (5)cost and benefit analysis (6)lack of clear vision from government Benefit from the projects: (1)transfer of water from surplus basins to deficit basins-serves two purposeavailability of water to drought-prone regions relief to areas routinely ravaged by floods Rational approach: (1)while environmental concerns deserve the utmost consideration, interlinking should not be served down merely because of the vague and unscientific feeling that it constitutes an interference with Mother Nature. (2)consider projects on individual meritfactoring in the cost and time for implementation extent of land to be submerged logistics for resettlement evolving mechanism for dispute settlement between the receiving and donating river States. Conclusion:
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 (1)concept is not new- diversion of river waters has taken place since Mesopotamian times. (2)in India, the Periyar-Vaigai link,the KurnoolCuddapah canal and the Beas-Sutlej projects have all involved inter-basin transfers. (3)abroad, Colorado-Big Thomson successful . projects are Supreme court orders states to probe all acquittals (4)Supreme Court- in 2002 and 2012- directed the implementation of river-interlinking projects in a time-bound manner. (5)Come again to Ken-Betwa projectone of priority peninsular link detailed project report has been completed tripartite memorandum has been signed between Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the Centre. project has opposition from with in Union cabinet. Status Quo in the Definition Of Handloom Under Handloom Reservation Act The apprehension of a change in definition of handloom has triggered speculation and insecurity amongst a section of weavers and handloom activities. It has given a mistaken impression on handloom activists that Government has taken a decision to allow the introduction of automatic machines to replace handlooms and that the Government intends to change the definition of handlooms to include such mechanized looms. In this regard, it is clarified that no change is contemplated by Ministry of Textiles, in definition of handloom, which has been defined as any loom other than powerloom under the Handlooms (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985. To improve the productivity and reduce the manual labour on loom, the Advisory Committee on
Handloom Reservation Act, had recommended the modifications in definition of handloom as handloom means any loom, other than powerloom; and includes any hybrid loom on which at least one process for weaving requires manual intervention or human energy for production.
Far reaching implications for law enforcement and the criminal justice system Every criminal case with accused being acquitted will have to be examined by state governments to ascertain whether there were any lapses by police and the prosecution or if accused were deliberately framed 6 months time has been given to state governments to put in place a mechanism to examine all acquittal orders and record reasons for failure of prosecution cases. It also suggested a standing committee of seniors officers of police and prosecution departments be vested with aforesaid authority and penal action for erring officers Also ordered governments to evolve a concrete procedure so that only those against whom sufficient evidence if available shall undergo rigors of criminal prosecution An acquittal means either police or prosecution failed to secure justice for the victims or the accused has been framed MoEF set to notify new Forest conservation rules 2013 replacing 2003 rules Realistic tiered timelines to grant forest clearances depending on requirement of forest land and Explanation by state governments in case of delay along with appropriate action against the responsible officials. More relaxed and shorter forest clearance procedure for exploratory/prospecting projects. Earlier these
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 projects through entire forest clearance procedure as full-fledged mining projects Under new rules the total timeline including at central and state levels is 140 days for diversion of forest land up to 5ha and it goes up to 300days for projects involving forest land diversion more than 100ha CPM opposed these rules saying that the MoEF is trying to circumvent Forest Rights Act and give all powers to bureaucracy as against gram sabhas with regard to settlement of rights involved in projects that require diversions of forest land CCEA approved renaming of Mill Gate Price Scheme as Yarn Supply Scheme The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the renaming of Mill Gate Price Scheme (MGPS) as Yarn Supply Scheme (YPS). The CCEA also approved the continuation of the MGPS with the new name in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) and allowed 10 percent subsidy component with modifications. The Scheme has been allotted an outlay of 443 crore rupees in the 12th Plan.Under the Scheme, the target for the 12th Plan is to supply 3506 lakh kg yarn worth of 4364 crore rupees. Besides, the Scheme aims to provide the services to identified beneficiaries. 23 lakh handloom units have been identified as beneficiaries. The Scheme provides subsidized yarn to the underprivileged weavers and vulnerable groups so that they can compete with the powerloom and mill sector. Mill Gate Price Scheme (MGPS): The MGPS was launched in 1992 by the National Handloom Development Corporation under the Union Ministry of Textiles. The Scheme is to make yarn available to handloom weavers at mill gate price by reimbursing transportation charges to depot operating agencies, primary weavers cooperative
societies, apex societies and other handloom organizations. Nirbheek, Indias first gun for women, launched Indias first gun for women, Nirbheek was launched on 9 January 2014. It is a tribute to the gang rape victim of December 2012, Nirbhaya. Gun has been manufactured by the Indian Ordnance Factory, Kanpur. It is a 0.32 bore light weight revolver which has been developed to give more power to women to defend themselves. It only weighs 500 grams and is made of titanium alloy. Besides, being the lightest revolver, Nirbheek is also the smallest revolver made in India. For it simple mechanism and light frame it has been described by arms experts as an Indian hybrid of a Webley & Scott and Smith & Wesson. SC directed Centre to appoint a National Regulator to oversee implementation of Forest Policy The Supreme Court of India directed the Government of India to appoint a national regulator to oversee the implementation of forest policy. The court rejected the contention that there is no need for such a body. The Supreme Court Bench of three judges, which was headed by A K Patnaik and comprised justices SS Nijjar and FMI Kalifulla, while hearing a PIL, also ordered the Centre to file an affidavit on compliance of its order by 31 March 2014. The bench also observed that directing the implementation of the national regulator is must as the present system under the central government was deficient.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 The bench of the Court in its order said to the Union of India to appoint a regulator with its offices in as many states as possible. The judgment was passed after rejecting the plea of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) that there is no need to need to appoint such a regulator to oversee the implementation of forest policy. In its order the Court made it clear that the regulator will see the implementation of the Forest Policy of 1988, while the clearances will be made under the Forest Act by the MoEF only. The national regulator will deal directly the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of 2006 for every project. Government notified new natural Gas Pricing Formula The Government of India notified the new natural gas pricing formulae, which will be in effect from 1 April 2014. As per the newly issued notification, the rate of all domestically produced fuel will be almost doubled to 8.2 to 8.4 dollar per unit. The notification of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said that the prices of the gas will be the average price of liquid gas imports into India and benchmark global gas rates. This formula will be in applicable for the next five years from the date of its being into effect. The rates will be changed every quarter on the basis of the 12 month average of global rates and LNG import price. This formula will be applied to all gas produced by both the public sector firms like ONGC and the private companies. The formula was announced during the Petrotech Conference, where the government interacts with the industry leaders and markets the next round of
the New Exploration Licensing Policy for the potential investors. Might be possible that the development of the formula will help in development of the new fields, which were missed out by the companies that doesnt know about the revenue can be generated from the gas fields. Effects of the formula on prices of other materials: This formula will lead to raise the subsidy on fertilize and will enormously raise the costs of the power plants fired with gas. The fertilizer and power firms lobbying exercise failed to be in effect with the raise of the domestic gas prices. DISABILITIES According to Census 2011, the number of disabled in India amount to 2.21 percent of population that is 26.8 million. Disability activists opine the count is grossly underestimated as no. of disabled in a country on an average roughly amount to 5-6 percent of the population. India has ratified the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It requires the nations which are party to the treaty, to provide an enabling atmosphere so that disabled enjoy the status as full and equal members of the society with human rights. It enjoins the states to provide disabled friendly voting machines for their right to vote, to promote good standards of living through access to poverty reduction programs, with right to health, education and work without discrimination based on disability. It prohibits compulsory sterilization of disabled persons and their right to adopt children. It is also gender sensitive. All the four disability-specific legislations i.e. The Mental Health Act 1987, Rehabilitation Council of India Act 1992, Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 and the National Trust Act 1999 would have to be harmonized with the letter and spirit of the UNCRPD after India ratified it. The most marginalized and vulnerable sections of the population has been excluded out of the
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 millennium development goals agenda till 2015. The disability activists are pressing for an inclusion in post 2015 development agenda. Full inclusion of the disabled in the mainstream of the nation necessitates absence or removal of physical barriers to them. Disability is not only a Human Rights issue, it is a Developmental issue as well. Disabilities directly impinge on the poverty. They often go together. Families with Disabled persons in a household will lead of loss of income from the caretaker. Girls with disabilities are more prone to sexual abuse and are forced sterilization in hospitals are they are assumed incapable of maintaining menstrual hygiene. They were not medically necessitated. Also parents of mentally disabled fearful of rape, sexual abuse or unwanted pregnancy consider hysterectomy as a solution. They are not considered fit to assume the traditional familial roles and they are conditioned to being dependent on someone unable to take care of themselves, which in turn makes them more vulnerable. Disability activists press for Gender sensitive disability law. There is a need to recognize the reproductive rights of the disabled. Children with Disabilities arent even guaranteed an admission in the school despite the legal provisions in the Right to Education Act. They are considered a part of the disadvantaged where the Act necessitates mandatory 25 percent reservation in private and public schools. The elders with disabilities cannot lead a life of dignity in the absence of a supportive social security system. Many are not aware of the govt. programs for the disabled. Many in India resign their disabilities to their fate/karma. Mentally Disabled are even more vulnerable. They figure out at the bottom of hierarchy in the disability category. They are not even entitled to the reservations in govt. services that physically disabled enjoy. They do not enjoy the Right to Vote that a billion other people in India enjoy. A person who is mentally unsound and stands so declared by court isnt entitled the right to vote according to the Representation of People Act 1951. Mental unsoundness also limits a person from marriage and family according to our marriage laws.
A disabled person in developed nations might have far better opportunities than for a normal person in India. It is lack of the opportunities to lead a life of dignity that disempowers them. The effects of disabilities is negated by the presence of an enabling societal atmosphere. It is the Universal access and education that empowers them. It is the society that disables them, that denies them the physical access to the workplaces, public places etc. due to lack of enabling environment. It is lack of equal opportunities that they are treated as liability, but indeed they are an asset to the nation if provided enabling atmosphere. Failings of the PWD Act : The PWD Act 1995 is the principal legal instrument concerning the limited rights available to persons with disabilities and the obligations of the State. This is not a rights based legislation. The Act fails to impose mandatory obligations on the appropriate government and leaves the realization of opportunities to the discretion of the various state governments. The implementation of provisions pertaining to non-discrimination and physical access depends on the state governments limits of economic capacity and development. This absolves the state govt. of any responsibility. The Act is not appreciative of Gender concerns of reproductive rights. It does not prescribe punishment for forced abortions or sterilization The PWD Act does not internalize any of the core principles of the Disability Convention, which is Disabled persons are right holders and that they are not merely passive recipients of govt. scheme. The rights the disabled enjoy according to the convention are the Rights of Women and Children with Disability to full and equal enjoyment of human rights, right to privacy, reproductive rights, right to family, health care, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of disability in employment, political rights of right to vote and
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 contest etc. which are not taken care adequately in the Act The Disabilities according to the Act is narrowly defined and includes only blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness. As opposed to this, the Disability avoids listing specific conditions and severities and broadly casts persons with disabilities to include those who have longterm physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. No penal provisions for the non-implementation of the law resulting in inaction by govt. in ensuring a disabled friendly schools, hospitals, public transport, pedestrian pathways etc. Highlights of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill that overrides the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995 It raises the reservation to the Disabled in the Govt. jobs from 3 to 5 percent Every person with disability who fulfils eligibility requirements is entitled to be registered as a voter. He/she should not be disqualified from exercising the voting right on the grounds of disability, irrespective of any stipulation to the contrary in any law for the time being in force. Provides incentives/disincentives to the Private sector for presence/absence of employing persons with disability less than 5 percent. An employer can deduct from his taxable income, an amount equal to the salary of the disabled employees above the 5 per cent or add to the taxable income salary of the disabled employees falling short of the 5 percent requirement Any person who is unable to vote in person due to disability or because of admission to hospital for treatment is entitled to opt for postal ballot. It
requires the Election Commission to ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities. Recognizes the right to fertility to the mentally unsound women making the bill take into account the gender concerns Prescribes punishment for forced abortions or hysterectomy The latest Supreme Court judgment for disabled in the State, Central govt. and Public Sector Undertakings has scrapped the different basis for reservations across the Group A, B, C and D posts and held that 3 percent reservation to be notified across all the Groups. The ruling also held that reservation be calculated on the total number of vacancies in the cadre strength rather than only the vacancies in the identified posts fit for the disabled. This ensures that whoever is capable for a job can try and qualify for it and is not denied opportunity for a particular job on the grounds of disability. Prevention of communal and targeted violence (access to Justice and reparations) bill, 2011 and subsequent amendments WHY DO WE NEED A SPECIFIC LAW FOR PREVENTING COMMUNAL VIOLENCE? Long history of communal violence: Communal violence has wracked India for decades. Partition of the subcontinent in 1947 was accompanied by horrific violence between Hindus and Sikhs on the one hand and Muslims on the other, leaving a million dead and over 10 times that number homeless. Since independence, there have been countless instances of communal violence. In the 2005-09 periods alone, 648 people were killed and 11,278 injured in 4,030 such incidents, according to the PRS Legislative Research website. Communal clashes during this period peaked in 2008 with 943 cases being reported that year.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Some of the worst communal pogroms have occurred in the past three decades. 1984 Anti Sikh riots: In 1984, following the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, mobs led by politicians from the ruling party incited and organized the burning and looting of property and killing of Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of North India. Around 3,000 Sikhs were killed. The government did nothing to halt the violence for at least three days. 1992 Hindu- Muslim riots following demolition of Babri Masjid: When the Babri Masjid, a famous mosque in Ayodhya was destroyed by Hindu nationalists in December 1992, riots broke out in various parts of the country. Mumbai suffered the worst with around 900 people killed, about 575 of them Muslims. 2002 Gujarat riots: A decade later, Gujarat convulsed with communal violence when mobs led by ministers and politicians of the states ruling Party and its fraternal organizations attacked Muslims and destroyed their property. Government did little to stop the violence. In fact, police were reportedly instructed at a meeting that they allow Hindus to vent their anger against Muslims over an attack on a train, the Sabarmati Express, which was set alight a few days earlier, resulting in the death of around 59 passengers, mainly Hindu. The communal riots in Gopalgarh, Dhule and Muzaffarnagar are the recent examples. Institutional Bias: In some instances of communal violence, Institutional bias against minorities and oppressed sections has been shown up. Police ignore calls for
help and refuse to register cases filed by victims. If communal violence occurs and is not controlled immediately it is because the police and local authorities refuse to do their duty impartially. In majority cases of Communal violence seldom have the guilty been brought to justice. According to Harvinder Singh Phoolka, a senior Supreme Court advocate who has been fighting for justice on behalf of victims of the 1984 riots, Out of 2,733 officially admitted murders [in the anti-Sikh violence of 1984], only nine cases led to convictions. Twentyseven years since the pogrom, just over 20 of the accused have been convicted a conviction rate of less than 1%. Therefore it is imperative to have such a legislation which hold government executive responsible. Inadequate relief and reparation: Another incontrovertible truth is that rarely victims have received the relief they are entitled to or whatever they have received is insufficient compared to loss of lives, property etc. Communal clashes are different from Ordinary Law and Order problem Given that larger public sentiments are involved, Communal clashes are starkly different from ordinary law and order disturbances. Whatever the immediate trigger for communal clashes, they are engineered and sustained by chauvinist and anti-social elements in both the majority and minority communities. Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill 2011, seeks to address some of the problems associated with communal violence in India, and put in place an institutional mechanism for redress. SOME IMPORTANT PROVISIONS OF THE BILL:
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 It describes Communal and targeted violence act that includes any act or series of acts, whether spontaneous or planned, resulting in injury or harm to the person and or property, knowingly directed against any person by virtue of his or her membership of any group which destroys secure fabric of nation. Such acts include sexual assault, hate propaganda, torture and organized communal violence. The bill provides for the right to relief, reparation, restitution and compensation not only to not only to religious and linguistic minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but also to nonminorities and non-Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes affected by communal and targeted violence. The bill creates a National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice, and Reparation, charged with preventing acts of communal violence and monitoring investigations into incidents. The law also makes it obligatory that at least four of the seven member posts in the National Authority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparation belong to a minority community. It gives Centre to unilateral power to deploy forces during the incidents of communal violence if the Centre feels State has failed in its duty. It also covers the punishment of officials (10 years imprisonment for breach of command responsibility) who fail to discharge their duties in an unbiased manner during outbreaks of such violence and it also holds their superior accountable. WHY HAS IT MET WITH OPPOSITION? CONTROVERSIAL PROVISIONS AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS, REVISED DRAFT, 2013: According to a key definition on the people who are presumably the focus of targeted violence, group means a religious or linguistic minority, in any state in the Union of India, or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST). This provision of bill was criticized widely by some political parties. They objected to the way it set the defaults in favour of
religious and linguistic minorities, its prior assigning of victimhood and agency. They are arguing why violence against the majority community should not be considered communal. However, after much hue and cry, this provision was amended and has now been made neutral between all groups or communities. Earlier, the centre was given unilateral powers to send Central paramilitary forces during the outbreak of communal violence without consulting the state government. Given that law and order is state subject, States were seeing this provision as encroachment on jurisdiction of States and claimed that it endangers federal structure of country. After much opposition, the powers of intervention of the Centre in the event of riots have also been diluted in the revised bill as a result of which the Union government will not have any perceived overriding powers anywhere. The fresh draft says, if the state government is of the opinion that assistance of the Central government is required for controlling the communal violence, it may seek the assistance of the Central government to deploy armed forces of the Union for such purposes 3. An earlier draft of the bill had irked secular sections as well. It had defined communal violence as that which has destroyed Indias secular fabric. This prompted criticism that the bill raised the bar for violence to be regarded as communal too high rendering it meaningless. After all it is arguable whether any incident of communal violence has actually destroyed Indias secular fabric. In the revised draft the term Indias secular fabric has dropped. Some has pointed out that many of the provisions are worded vaguely, open to wide subjective interpretation, and hence misuse. Instead of a sharp focus on communal violence, the bill proposes to target hate propaganda too. Thus, anyone who disseminates any information that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate an intention to promote or incite hatred could attract the penal provisions of this law. In the
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 absence of specific phrasing, there is scope for misuse by subordinate law enforcers. Significantly, a large section of minorities is also averse to legislation of this kind, which will facilitate fundamentalist forces to whip up frenzy against them. Their cynicism also stems from the fact that, despite an exemplary Constitution and a plethora of stringent laws, there has been no let-up in communal riots. They believe that rigorous implementation of the existing laws is needed, not a new law. The new draft of the bill has scrapped the proposed national authority and entrusted the functions of overseeing communal harmony to the NHRC. Some people are also arguing that How would such a toothless recommendatory body contribute to ensuring justice and communal harmony? Also it will out huge burden on the already burdened NHRC. Many of the bills clauses tread the same ground as the Indian Penal Code. There is already an array of laws on inciting hatred, spreading propaganda, and duties are clearly laid out for the police and administration. Many sections are arguing that what would it add new? Some are also opposing the timing of introduction of bill just before the upcoming Lok Sabha election. They are claiming that govt. is trying to woo minorities. Conclusion: The proposed bill ignores the deep pathological distrust and incomprehension that today appears to separate the Hindu and Muslim communities. A legal solution cannot solve the distrust and incomprehension between two communities. For now the major thrust of Government should be on rigorous implementation of existing laws, better policing and administrative precautions. The Government should also think of ways to promote fraternity among communities, which is the need of the hour.
While there is no denying that India needs special legislation to deal with communal violence, but is it is equally important that the bill is redrafted to ensure a sharper focus on the specific issues of prevention of communal violence and reparation. Questions from Secure 2014 1.How does the proposed Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill proposes to deal with communal violence in the country? Why is there controversy regarding the bill? Do you think objections raised against the bill are justified? Comment. (200 Words), 5/12/2013 2.The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011 was opposed by several states on several grounds. Why did many states oppose the bill? Do you think legislation is a right approach to prevent communal clashes? Comment.(200 Words),17/12/2013 The constitution (120th amendment) bill, 2013, and the judicial appointments commission bill, 2013 APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO SUPREME COURT- PRESENT SYSTEM Constitutional provision: Article 124(2): Clause (2) of Article 124 inter alia says that: every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years: Provided that in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted. Under our constitutional scheme, the President is the constitutional head. In exercise of the powers
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 vested in him by the Constitution, he acts upon the aid and advice of Union Council of Ministers. So far as the executive power of the Union is concerned, it is exercised by the Union Council of Ministers in the name of the President. Clause (2) of Article 124 speaks of consultation, whether it be with the Chief Justice of India, Judges of the Supreme Court or with the Judges of the High Court. The expression is not concurrence. Practice followed till 1981: A practice had developed over the last several decades according to which the Chief Justice of India initiated the proposal, very often in consultation with his senior colleagues and his recommendation was considered by the President (in the sense explained hereinabove) and, if agreed to, the appointment was made. By and large, this was the position till 1981. Collegium of judges: In a decision rendered by a seven-judge Constitution Bench in S.P. Gupta vs. Union of India, the majority held that consultation does not mean concurrence and ruled further that the concept of primacy of the Chief Justice of India is not really to be found in the Constitution. It was held that proposal for appointment to High Court can emanate from any of the four constitutional functionaries (President, Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State, the chief Justice of the High court) mentioned in Article 217 and not necessarily from the Chief Justice of the High Court. This decision had the effect of unsettling the balance till then obtaining between the executive and judiciary in the matter of appointment. The balance tilted in favour of the executive. Not only the office of the Chief Justice of India got diminished in importance, the role of judiciary as a whole in the matter of appointments became less and less. After this judgment, certain appointments were made by the Executive over-ruling the advice of the Chief Justice of India. Naturally, this state of affairs developed its own backlash. Advocates-on-Record Association Vs. Union of India case In 1993, a nine-Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Supreme Court Advocates-onRecord Association Vs. Union of India over-ruled the decision in S.P.Gupta. The nine-Judge Bench (with majority of seven) not only overruled S.P. Guptas case but also devised a specific procedure for appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court in the interest of protecting the integrity and guarding the independence of the judiciary. For the same reason, the primacy of the Chief Justice of India was held to be essential. It held that the recommendation in that behalf should be made by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with his two senior-most colleagues and that such recommendation should normally be given effect to by the executive. In short, the power of appointment passed into the hands of judiciary and the role of the executive became merely formal. The 1993 decision was reaffirmed in 1998 in a unanimous opinion rendered by a nine-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court on a reference being made by the President under Article 143 of the Constitution. All the basic conclusions of the majority in the 1993 decision were reaffirmed. There was, however, some variation. It was held that the recommendation should be made by the Chief Justice of India and his four seniormost colleagues (instead of the Chief Justice of India and his two senior-most colleagues) and further that Judges of the Supreme Court hailing from the High Court to which the proposed name comes from must also be consulted. In fact, the Chief Justice of India and his four senior-most colleagues are now generally referred to as the Collegium for the purpose of appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court. THE CONSTITUTION (120TH AMENDMENT) BILL, 2013, AND THE JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION BILL, 2013 The former CJIs M.N. Venkatachaliah and the late J.S. Verma; the retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Ravindaran, and Professor Madan Gopal expressed
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 concern over the appointments made to the High Courts under the present collegium system in which, they said, lobbying was rampant and the most eligible were often ignored. They strongly advocated the setting up of a JAC to select eligible and meritorious candidates as High Court judges The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013, seeks to reform the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges by establishing a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). Simultaneously, a constitutional amendment providing for the recommendation of the JAC for appointment of judges to the government is proposed to be made by the Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill, 2013. The proposed Bill provides for the constitution of the Judicial Appointments Commission, comprising of (a) the Chief Justice of India, an ex officio Chairperson; (b) two other Judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of India in seniority as ex officio Members; (c) the Union Minister in charge of Law and Justice as ex officio Member; and (d) two eminent persons, to be nominated by the collegium consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People, as members. The JAC would recommend to the government persons for appointment to the offices of Chief Justice of India, judges of the SC, chief justices of the high court and other judges of the high court. The proposed Bill would enable equal participation of Judiciary and Executive, make the system of appointments more accountable, and thereby increase the confidence of the public in the institutions. Modeled on the U.K. Judicial Appointment Commission- Why? The proposed JAC in India is modeled on the U.K. Judicial Appointment Commission. The U.K. JAC, in contrast, expressly excludes politicians and those connected with politics from being part of the JAC. This is done in order to secure the independence of the judiciary.
There are several models to choose from. But seeking a broader collegium on the lines of the United Kingdom Model needs a serious exploration. The appointments procedure in the United States is far too politicised: it requires politicians to both nominate and approve appointments. The intense political manoeuvering in the U.S. system has created a phenomenon where judges rarely oppose outcomes that are philosophically in accordance with the party which nominated and confirmed them. In Germany, the U.S. system of political partisanship is whittled down by the requirement of a two-thirds majority for the approval of a candidate. Therefore, the candidate must necessarily be acceptable to divergent political segments and hence the chances of political partisanship are eliminated to a great extent. South Africas Judicial Services Commission is highly politicised. With 15 politicians and eight lawyers, it has the ingredients necessary for the erosion of judicial independence. The JAC of the U.K. has a clear edge to secure the independence of the judiciary as its composition is dominated by non-politicians. There are also serious defects in the proposed legislation. 1) The JAC has the Chief Justice of India and two senior most judges. Then there is the Law Minister and two eminent persons, bringing the non-judicial component to three out of six members. The selection of eminent persons risks the taint of political appointments, given the fact that the selection is made by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition constituting a total of two, and reducing the judicial component consisting of the Chief Justice to one.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 2) The constitutional amendment bill, which provides the constitutional support for the JAC bill, does not incorporate the composition of the JAC. The composition of the JAC has to be entrenched in the Constitution itself; otherwise it could be subject to changes by any ordinary law by the government of the day. This is also the view of the standing committee. 3) The JAC is vested with the power to recommend persons for appointment of the Chief Justice of India which means the rule of seniority has been given the go-by. Every eligible senior judge will now face a direct threat to being superseded from being appointed as Chief Justice. To seek the opinion of the government and the Chief Minister of the State in the appointment process again raises the risks of political appointments which in turn jeopardizes independence. Under the JAC bill, the JAC has been entrusted with the formidable task of not only appointing 31 SC judges, but over 800 judges in 24 high courts. To be effective, such a commission has to be a fulltime institution. It is impossible for it to operate part-time with exofficio judges of the SC, who have full-time court work, and the law minister, who has other duties, in charge. In the UK, the judicial appointments commission has 15 commissioners and is a permanent institution working day-to -day with a large secretariat to support it Under the JAC bill, the JAC would have the onerous task of appointing SC judges as well as the high court. As the criteria for selection for SC judges is different from that of high court judges, and considering the importance of SC judges, there should be a separate commission for appointments to the SC, as in the UK. A serious lacuna in the bill is that the selection of judges is to be determined by regulations made by the commission to shortlist candidates. There is no indication of how candidates will be shortlisted and by whom. In the absence of definite objective criteria, the short listing could be highly subjective and even arbitrary. This has also been noted by the standing committee in its report. The standing committee has suggested public notifications be issued inviting applications for appointment to the post of judges of the high court, as is the practice in the UK. However, this is unlikely to work well in India. Advertising for a judicial post is likely to deter wellqualified candidates from accepting appointments because they will be apprehensive of the impact a rejected application could have on their reputation. In the UK, next to the consideration of merit for appointment as a judge, the JAC considers diversity of appointments with respect to appointment of women and judges from different communities. This is an important consideration, which is absent from the JAC bill. The bill only requires the JAC to recommend persons of ability, integrity and standing in the legal profession, with no regard to diversity. Responding to the criticism, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice has recommended that the structure and functions of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) which will replace the present collegium system be mentioned in the Constitution itself so as to protect the basic structure of the Constitution.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 The committee suggested that there should be three eminent persons in the commission, instead of only two as provided for in the Bill. At least one of the three members should be from SC/ST/OBC/women/minority, preferably by rotation. It has also suggested the government to consider the feasibility and practicability of creation of a Statelevel commission so as to reduce the JACs responsibility to select 800-odd judges of 24 High Courts The committee wants the government to incorporate amendments in the Bill as suggested by it. Conclusion: The JAC opens up the selection process, giving the executive, legislature and citizens greater say while maintaining the primacy of the judiciary. It balances diverse interests, making it difficult for any one group to railroad its preferences. But to be a truly worthwhile improvement, the JAC should also lay out clear criteria for the shortlist and for final selection. Given the magnitude of its responsibility, it should also have the infrastructure and ability to seek full information about prospective judges, including public feedback Forest STs to get additional 50 days wage employment under MGNREGA . The Union Ministry of Rural Development decided to provide an additional wage employment of 50 days beyond the stipulated 100 days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA for Scheduled Tribe (ST) households in forest areas. This means that the ST households in forest areas will receive the wages of 150 days. As per the Rural Development Minister those tribals who have received the land rights under the Forest Rights Act 2006 will be eligible for the additional benefit.
The additional man-day payment through MGNREGA also allows the households to undertake work on their land. Under the Forest Rights Act 2006, about 14 lakh individuals and community titles were distributed and of them about 8 lakh titles as individuals were given in Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattishgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Forest Rights Act has been included under the Indira Awaas Yojana for assistance. Battle against sexual harassment at the work place still continues It was in a village in Bassi and some NGOs in Jaipur and Delhi, 21 years ago, that the battle against sexual harassment at the workplace began. The case of the government aid worker who was raped and fought back with the help of the NGO, however, has travelled a long way since. Historic Jugdement of SC in Vishakha and others Vs State of Rajasthan and others Bhanwari Devi was a village-level social worker employed as a Saathin under the Womens Development Project (WDP) run by the Government of Rajasthan since 1985. In 1992, as part of the organizations work, Bhanwari Devi, with assistance from the local administration, tried to stop the marriage of influential village mans infant daughter. However, the marriage went ahead and she was subjected to social boycott. The influential Gurjar community felt that the police interference in their affairs must have been a consequence of Bhanwaris report to the police. To get revenge on Bhanwari Devi, Five men of the Gurjar community raped her while she was at her workplace. Despite discriminatory and derogatory behaviour by police and doctors, determined to get justice, she lodged a complaint against the accused. However, in the absence of adequate evidence, the accused was acquitted by a trial court.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Many social organisation and women activist took up Bhanwari Devis fight for justice. Realising that Bhanwaris ordeal stemmed from the work she did as part of a government initiative, womens rights activists decided to take up her case as an example for the need to protect working women from sexual harassment. Finally, together, they filed a PIL in the Supreme Court under Vishakha and Others Vs State of Rajasthan and Others. In August 1997, the apex court took cognisance of the case and delivered the historic Vishakha guidelines that held that sexual harassment of women at the workplace, which is against their dignity, is violative of Articles 14, 15 (1) and 21 of the Constitution. Sexual harassment, in other words, was held as a violation of fundamental rights. The Supreme Court observed, The immediate cause for the filing of this writ petition is an incident of alleged brutal gang rape of a social worker in a village of Rajasthan The incident reveals the hazards to which a working woman may be exposed and the depravity to which sexual harassment can degenerate; and the urgency for safeguards by an alternative mechanism in the absence of legislative measures. The guidelines were named Vishakha, on the Jaipur-based NGO who have petitioned with other four womens activist group. Vishakha guidelines, 1997 Sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour as physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favors; sexually colored remarks; showing pornography; any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non- verbal conduct of sexual nature. Sexual harassment as defined at the work place should be notified, published and circulated. Where such conduct amounts to a specific offence under law, the employer should initiate appropriate
action by complaining with the appropriate authority. Victims of sexual harassment should have the option to seek transfer of the perpetrator or their own transfer. An appropriate mechanism should be created for redressal of the complaint. THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT 2013 It took the government 17 years to pass the law against sexual harassment in the workplace earlier this year, in the wake of the Delhi gang rape last December, when the Supreme Court had in 1997 laid down the Vishaka guidelines on the matter. The Act includes many provisions of the Vishakha guidelines, which first called for the formulation of a code of conduct for work place. Building on the Vishakha guidelines, the Act calls for the formation of an internal complaints committee and a local complaints committee at the district level. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work in a much wider sense. The Bill was first introduced by women and child development minister Krishna Tirath in 2007 and approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2010. It was tabled in the Lok Sabha in December 2010 and referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources Development. The committees report was published on 30 November 2011. In May 2012, the Union Cabinet approved an amendment to include domestic workers. The amended Bill was finally passed by the Lok Sabha on 3 September 2012 The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha(the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. It received the assent of the President of India on April, 2013 and finally came into force on December 9, 2013.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Some important provisions of the Act: The Act defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints. It also provides safeguards against false or malicious charges. The definition of aggrieved woman, who will get protection under the Act is extremely wide to cover all women, irrespective of her age or employment status, whether in the organized or unorganized sectors, public or private and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as well. While the workplace in the Vishaka Guidelines is confined to the traditional office set-up where there is a clear employer-employee relationship, the Act goes much further to include organisations, department, office, branch unit etc. in the public and private sector, organized and unorganized, hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions, sports institutes, stadiums, sports complex and any place visited by the employee during the course of employment including the transportation. Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees. The District Officer is required to constitute a Local Complaints Committee at each district, and if required at the block level. The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a time period of 90 days. On completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be, they are mandated to take action on the report within 60 days. The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence. The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation before initiating an inquiry, if requested by the complainant. Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Noncompliance with the provisions of the Act shall be
punishable with a fine of up to 50,000. Repeated violations may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business. Has anything changed? It has been 21 years when Supreme Court had first delivered the historical Vishakha guidelines. What has changed over the years and can be called our biggest achievement is that the victim is believed and the case is taken forward on the premise that her word is the truth, unlike 21 years ago when Bhanwaris biggest battle was to prove she was not lying. Today victims are heard and prominent actions are being taken on the complaint. Twenty-one years later, the Vishakha guidelines springing from Bhanwaris case are now at the centre of two high-profile incidents (Tarun Tejpal and Retired Justice Ganguly case) which have renewed focus on sexual harassment at the workplace in India. Vishaka envisaged that women might finally go to work with the legitimate expectation that their workplace would be free of any of the overt or implied sexual harms that women would be accepted as colleagues and equals. And that the responsibility for ensuring that women no longer have to dodge the offensive sexual proclivities of colleagues and superiors would lie with the employer or those in positions of responsibility. Sixteen years later, those projecting themselves as the custodians of such basic and fundamental expectations, be it a Tehelka, the Supreme Court of India or even the state, have barely, if at all, complied with Vishaka. Had they done so, the law intern and the journalist would have entered a workplace that prioritized the prevention of workplace sexual harassment, encouraged its employees or members to speak up about it and cultivated an environment supportive of their claims.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 They would have been equipped with language that understood sexual harassment as a violation of constitutional equality at work and hailed leadership that promptly condemned sexually inappropriate behaviour (irrespective of the offenders status). As a last resort, they would have had access to a trained, skilled and capable complaints committee, with third party expertise, to hear their complaint empathetically and through an informed lens. They got none of this. In the absence of any institutional compliance, both women were subjected to ad hoc responses based on systemic sexist assumptions. Summoned before a panel of judges, seven meetings and three affidavits later, the law intern described the experience as being looked at with suspicious eyes. As for the journalist, she made her complaint to the managing editor, a proclaimed feminist, only to find the language of her sexual violation publicly diluted into an untoward incident, as a covert means to protect the institution. The most challenging adversary to changing womens experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace is not the actual offender, its the noncompliant institution. In its failure to educate its own, to inform and stake itself on building a culture intolerant of sexual harassment, such an institution plays the same role as the passive bystander, who fosters hostile sexual environments by simply doing nothing. Two persevering and articulate women, with everything to lose, and little to gain, remind us of one thing doing nothing, which perpetuates a sexist status quo, need no longer be our systemic truth. It need not be the way things are. That both incidents came to light at all is due solely to the remarkable clarity and confident expression with which each documented her experience of
workplace sexual harassment by men in positions of power. National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) (will be rolled out across the country in the coming months.) The NULM is actually an improved version of the earlier poverty alleviation programme for the urban poor titled Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) which was found to be wanting for a variety of reasons. Having identified the problem areas in the implementation of the SJSRY and recognising the need to address the needs of the growing population flocking to cities in search of a better livelihood, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) re structured the old scheme and unveiled it in its new avatar as the NULM. It has also expanded the beneficiaries of urban poor to include the homeless and street vendors who are invariably ignored in government programmes. A special provision has been made for the funding of all-weather 24/7 shelters with all essential facilities for the urban homeless. In addition, up to five per cent of the NULM budget has been earmarked to provide support to urban street vendors which will include skill up gradation and development of vendor markets. Under the improved programme urban poor, especially women, will be organized into self-help groups (SHGs), while infrastructure and trained manpower will be provided to upgrade their skills in keeping with the requirements of the market. In addition, beneficiaries will be helped to secure loans if anybody wants to set up his or her own enterprise. This will be first time that women in cities will be organised into thrift and credit-based SHGs to meet their financial and social needs. This is the main emphasis in NULM. The concept has been borrowed from the rural areas where this experiment has proved to be extremely successful.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 SHGs are typically small groups of 10-20 women who are bound by a common agenda. Not only are these groups an effective mechanism to improve the livelihood of its members but they are also found to be an excellent support system for the women and increases their levels of confidence and self-esteem. There are innumerable studies from rural areas which also show how involvement of women in SHGs has empowered them to play an active role in community matters like provision of adequate drinking water facilities and childrens education. Although municipal committees have been identified as nodal bodies for the implementation of NULM, they have been provided special funding to hire technical experts and also to draft civil society groups in the management of the programme since the local bodies do not have the expertise to do so. These professionals will mobilise the women into SHGs and encourage them to develop a corpus through their savings which can be used by a member for a personal need or for setting up a small business. In addition, the women will be helped to open bank accounts so that they have access to credit. A provision of Rs. 10,000 has been made for the formation and activities of each SHG for the initial two years. Now, he said, individuals and groups can get financial assistance under the missions SelfEmployment Programme (SEP) at a subsidized interest rate to set up their own micro-enterprises. In addition, beneficiaries can also avail credit for other activities like carrying out repairs to their house or funding a childs education through their SHGs. Being uneducated and having no skills, the urban poor are particularly vulnerable as they are forced to work as maids, cooks, guards or in sweat shops where they toil in poor working conditions, often being denied minimum wages. The framers of the NULM have decided to give them an opportunity to learn new skills so that they can command a better salary or set up self-employed ventures.
Since it is a critical component of the mission, 50 per cent of the budget is to be spent on the training of 2.8 million urban poor in the current five year plan. While training institutions will be set up for this purpose, the skill training providers will also place them in remunerative jobs and keep tabs on them for the first six months to guard against any exploitation. The skills imparted can range from retail to nursing, depending on what the market requires and on completion of the programme, each person will be given a certificate. The NULM is indeed an ambitious programme as nobody has, so far, focused on improving the livelihood of the urban poor. If implemented well, it could have a far-reaching and visible impact on the lives of those eking out a living in the slums of the countrys urban centres. India registered an increase of five years in life expectancy rate India registered an increase of five years in the average life expectancy rate. The average life expectancy rate increased from 63.9 years in 2004 to 69.6 years in 2014. The increase in the life expectancy was the result of consistent investments in public health sector by the government. Life expectancy is defined as the average number of years a person born in a given country would live if mortality rates at each age were to remain constant in the future. As per the census of 2011, the life expectancy in India was 65.48 years as compared to the global average life expectancy of 67.88 years. Japan, Switzerland, San Marino are the countries with highest average life expectancy of 83 years. On the other hand, poor countries of Africa like Somalia, Lesotho have an average life expectancy of
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 50 years with Sierra Leone having the least life expectancy at 47 years. Although India has improved its performance but it still has a life expectancy rate which is relatively very low in South Asia. For instance, Bhutan has the life expectancy of 65.79 years while Pakistan has managed to improve its overall Life expectancy to 67 years. Chinas life expectancy rate is 72.90 years, Bangladesh has life expectancy of 70 years and Sri Lanka has life expectancy of 75 years. Among the BRICS countries also India fares badly. For instance, Brazils life expectancy rate stands at 74 years, Russias life expectancy is 69 years and South Africa has a poor life expectancy of 58 years. Karnataka first State to provide Universal Health Coverage Karnataka became the first State in India to provide Universal Health Coverage to its population. It achieved the distinction with the launch of Rajiv ArogyaYojana. The Scheme entails the beneficiary to pay only 10 percent of the cost of treatment or procedures. It aims at providing subsidized healthcare to virtually every citizen in the State with Above Poverty Line (APL) card. The BPL families are already covered under health scheme through Vajpayee ArogyaSree programme. Under the scheme, APL family members are entitled for health check up to 1.5 lakh rupees per annum. In special cases, if the expenditure exceeds 1.5 lakh rupees, the government grants another 50000 rupees. The scheme covers 447 procedures and 50 follow-up packages. Basic Features of the Narcotic Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Drugs and The beneficiaries can avail treatment in 160 hospitals, including 14 hospitals outside the State. The scheme will cover cardiovascular diseases, cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy), neurological diseases, renal diseases, burns, poly-trauma cases not covered by motor vehicle insurance and neo-natal cases. The cost of Universal Health Coverage is estimated to be 120 crore rupees annually.
The Act is designed to fulfill Indias treaty obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The NDPS Act 1985 sets out the statutory framework for drug law enforcement in India. The main elements of the control regime mandated by the Act are as follows: The cultivation, production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transportation, warehousing, consumption, inter-State movement, transshipment and import and export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is prohibited, except for medical or scientific purposes and in accordance with the terms and conditions of any license, permit or authorization given by the Government. The Central Government is empowered to regulate the cultivation, production, manufacture, import, export, sale, consumption, use etc of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. State Governments are empowered to permit and regulate possession and inter-State movement of opium, poppy straw, the manufacture of medicinal
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 opium and the cultivation of cannabis excluding hashish. (Section 10). All persons in India are prohibited from engaging in or controlling any trade whereby narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances are obtained outside India and supplied to any person outside India except with the previous authorisation of the Central Government and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Central Government. The Central Government is empowered to declare any substance, based on an assessment of its likely use in the manufacture of narcotics drugs and psychotropic substances as a controlled substance. Assets derived from drugs trafficking are liable to forfeiture Both the Central Government and State Governments are empowered to appoint officers for the purposes of the Act. Narcotics Control Bureau was set up by the Central Government in 1986 with the broad remit to coordinate drug law enforcement nationally. The NDPS Act is in effect a comprehensive code not only for the control and regulation of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; but also for the control of selected chemicals commonly known as precursors which can be used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as for the investigation and forfeiture of drug related assets. ENFORCEMENT Given Indias size and the federal nature of our polity, a number of agencies both at the Centre and in the States have been empowered to enforce the provisions of the Act. These agencies include the Department of Customs and Central Excise, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
the Central Bureau of Narcotics and the Central Bureau of Investigation at the Central level and State Police and Excise Departments at the State level. The Union Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment and Health are responsible for the demand reduction aspects of drug law enforcement which broadly covers health-care and the deaddiction, rehabilitation and social reintegration of addicts. Section 4(3) of the Act envisages the creation of a Central Authority to coordinate the activities of the various Central and State agencies involved in drug law enforcement, to implement Indias obligations under various international conventions, and to coordinate with international organizations and authorities in foreign countries in the prevention and suppression of the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. In terms of this provision, the Narcotics Control Bureau was set up by the Central Government in 1986 with the broad remit to coordinate drug law enforcement nationally. The empowerment of a large number of agencies under the NDPS Act ensures that Indias drug laws are enforced effectively on the ground. The NCB basically functions as the national coordinator international liaison and as the nodal point for the collection and for dissemination of intelligence. This system assures coordinated implementation within the parameters of a broad national strategy. INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURES The act empowers officers duly authorized by the Central Government or a State Government to issue warrants, to enter and search premises, to stop and search conveyances, to seize narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, to take statements and to arrest persons suspected of having committed an offence, punishable under the Act.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 LICIT OPIUM CULTIVATION India is the largest licit producer of opium in the world, which is both exported as well as used by the domestic pharmaceutical industry. The licit cultivation of opium in India is regulated and controlled by the Narcotics Commissioner of India in terms of the provisions of Sections 8, 9 and 5 of the NDPS Act. The Central Government announces an opium policy each year which sets out the terms and conditions subject to which licenses for the cultivation of opium shall be given, the areas where cultivation shall be allowed, the prices at which the opium crop shall be purchased by the Government and the minimum qualifying yield for a license in the ensuing crop year. The crop cycle runs from October to May. Based on this policy, the Narcotics Commissioner of India issues licenses to individual cultivators for specified tracts of land. The key elements of the licit opium control regime in India are as follows: Opium can be cultivated only on fields specifically licensed for the purpose. ii) The entire crop must be tendered to the Central Government at prices fixed by the Government. iii) Failure to tender the minimum qualifying yield can disentitle the cultivator to a license in the following crop season. OFFENCES AND PENALTIES Offences can be tried by Special Courts and the punishments prescribed range from imprisonment from 10 to 20 years for first offences to 15 to 30 years for any subsequent offences together with monetary fines. The Act was amended in May 1989 to mandate the death penalty for second offences relating to contraventions involving more than certain quantities of specified narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The Act, however, makes a distinction between possession for personal consumption and trafficking, the punishment for the former being limited to between six months and one year only.
Criticism The NDPS Act has been criticized for clubbing marijuana, hashish and bhang with hard drugs like heroin, cocaine and crack. Source: http://narcoticsindia.nic.in/NDPSACT.htm Elderly in India The demographic transition from the young to the aged is happening faster than anticipated. Fertility rate in the India is decreasing and for the first time in census 2011, the population in the age category of less than six years declined by a little over 5 million between 2001 and 2011. By 2050, India will be home to one out of every six of the worlds older persons, and only China will have a larger number of elderly people, according to estimates released by the United Nations Population Fund. This shall soon result in too few hands supporting many elderly, the problem which should concern the policy makers in India. With the feminization of the elderly and many of elderly below the poverty line (30 percent), the concerns stand compounded. The elderly or senior citizen is a person aged 60 and above according to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and National Policy for Older Persons 1999. As the roots of joint family system are eroding in India, the elderly are more vulnerable now. Analysis of two rounds of the National Family and Health Survey shows that the proportion of elderly living alone or with their spouse only jumped from 9 per cent to 19 per cent in just over a decade. This is because number of migrations due to employment for men and marriage for women are on the rise. After the enactment of the Maintenance and Welfare of the Senior Citizens and Parents 2007 Act, it had become not only moral responsibility but also legal responsibility for children/ relatives to take care of their parents/ senior citizens. The Act provides the senior citizens to claim monthly maintenance from their children/relatives by Maintenance tribunal. It also enables the state in taking care of them by way of constructing old age
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 homes and others. The Act is to be implemented by the State govt. The critiques of the Act include It is the responsibility of the State to provide health care and assistance to the elderly, as is noted in the Article 41 of Directive Principles of State Policy. The state is absolving of the above said responsibility which is also seen, in the may construct old age homes etc. which is not mandatory. It is doubtful if parents who are suffering shall take their children to the maintenance tribunals due to the social factors involved. The act doesnt apply to those parents who do not have children, or those who do not have property. Elderly are a heterogeneous section. They are less vulnerable in rural areas as compared to their urban counterparts, due to the still holding values of the joint family system. The elderly in India are much more vulnerable because of the less govt. spending on social security system. Senior Citizens allowed to travel on a concessional price on railways. The general concerns of the elderly include lack of financial support for livelihood, emotional support from their children, ill health and others. In India, the state support of the elderly is minimal as compared to other countries, this combined with the Patriarchal system results in parents preferring sons as they can depend on sons later in life. This could be one of the many reasons for the skewed sex ratio in favor of males in India. One of the issues affecting old persons also involve the denial of active euthanasia in India. There is a right to live, but no right to die in India. A person suffering a chronic disease and is unable to live a life of dignity, which is also an enormous financial strain on the family with no resources, continues to live in that state as India doesnt allow active euthanasia. However, in 2010, a Supreme Court judgment in the famous Aruna Shanbaug case had with some safeguards allowed passive euthanasia in specific
cases. To treat the elderly requires good understanding of Geriatrics which only few private colleges and govt. colleges are offering an MD. In India, the Pension system is almost nonexistent. The formal pension system covers only few, whereas more than 90 percent of the workforce are in informal sector and arent covered under the formal pension system. There is a need for Universal Old Age Pension in India. The social security system in India fares worst even when compared some of the developing countries with low per capita income. Negatives of the Pension System in India Not universal Being arbitrarily based on BPL criteria. ( IGNOAPS) Based on contributions from the beneficiaries (NPS) Not present in India as a matter of right. Wherever allocated, the amount is not adequate. The informal sector which makes up for bulk of the population had played a crucial role in the Indias growth story last decade, they have been denied the benefits from state in form of social security. There has been a Dharna in May 2012 in Delhi by organizations from across 20 states supporting a Universal, non-contributory pension system as a matter of right, not based on some arbitrary criteria, and not as charity. They opine that it is the responsibility of the State to provide the social security to those who are in need of it the most, the informal sector that comprises percent of population, not to those which are in need of it the least. The unorganized sector which has been the backbone of Indias growth story and which accounts for the bulk of the labor force cannot be neglected in a democratic nation. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal agency for policies and programmes concerning the elderly. It has formulated the National Policy on Older Persons in 1999 to better
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 the welfare of the elderly in India. To oversee the implementation of the policy, National Council for Older Persons has been constituted in 1999, chaired by the Minister of SJE. It is the highest body to coordinate with govt. and help in formulation and implementation of policies and programmes on elderly. The implementation of the policy failed and a new National Policy on Senior Citizens is drafted under Mohan Giri Committee. An Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP) is being implemented since 1992, which is revised in 2008, with the objective of improving the quality of life of senior citizens by providing basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care and entertainment opportunities and by encouraging productive and active ageing through providing support for capacity building of Government/ Non- Governmental Organizations/Panchayati Raj Institutions/ local bodies and the Community at large. Under the Scheme, financial assistance up to 90% of the project cost is provided to non-governmental organizations for establishing and maintaining old age homes, day care centres and mobile medicare units etc. The National Programme for Health Care for Elderly in 2010, with the main objective of the Programme is to provide preventive, curative and rehabilitative services to the elderly persons at various level of health care delivery system of the country. Other objectives are, to strengthen referral system, to develop specialized man power and to promote research in the field of diseases related to old age. The major components of this programme are establishing geriatric departments in eight regional geriatric centres and strengthening health care facilities for the elderly at various levels in 100 districts. The social assistance provided by the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) by the Ministry of Rural Development is inadequate and distinguishes between BPL and non BPL categories which is quite arbitrary. And there are many who are in need of genuine assistance not just BPL, for poverty line in India is equated with destitution line, it ignores the real pictures.
For elderly who might suffer from physical, financial and emotional distress, what is needed is not just support from the children at the individual level and community levels, but state has to support the elderly in leading a life with dignity by instituting social security systems in place, by providing affordable housing, health care, formalization of employment etc. References http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/for-auniversal-oldage-pension-plan/article3401455.ece http://kafila.org/2012/05/18/resisting-the-secondchildhood-towards-universal-pension-in-india/
POVERTY AND POVERTY ESTIMATION IN INDIA DEFINING POVERTY Poverty, droughts, underdevelopment, different sorts of inequalities and domination have been the age old problems or phenomena observed from the past to the present and across the time and space. Poverty is a very vague concept with varied connotations and facets. Traditional definition of poverty is constructed with one dimensional approach of income and food intake capabilities. Social Scientists distinguish between relative and absolute poverty. Relative poverty views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context, hence relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Usually, relative poverty is measured as the percentage of population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income. Absolute poverty, extreme poverty, or abject poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food,
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services. Absolute poverty occurs when people fail to receive sufficient resources to support a minimum of physical health and efficiency, often expressed in terms of calories or nutritional levels. The World Bank defines poverty as the inability to attain a minimal standard of living. The World Bank website on Poverty Reduction and Equity defines poverty in comprehensive manner, saying, Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom. UN definition of poverty: Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to; not having the land on which to grow ones food or a job to earn ones living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. UNI-DIMENSIONAL VS. MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT OF POVERTY Uni-dimensional idea of poverty This traditional idea of poverty associates it with lack of sufficient money, so it tries to measure poverty in terms of shortage of income. It is a onedimensional approach focused on income or lack of it. Poverty researchers, in their efforts to quantify poverty, came up with the clearly tangible idea of
headcounts of the poor so that some number can be attached with poverty. This gave birth to the concept of monetary poverty lines people with income below the poverty line came to be labeled poor. But, Human well-being is a complex issue and is affected by many factors both material and nonmaterial. In fact, peoples well being depends upon a plethora of factors that can be psychological, social, cultural, political and environmental. Any oversimplified measure can provide convenience but cant ever present the complete picture. So, the one-dimensional poverty concept is inadequate. Multidimensional concept of poverty The modern multidimensional approach is characterised with a broader view and considers poverty as a deprivation of essential productive assets and opportunities to which every human being should be entitled. This approach believes that defining poverty in terms of consumption expenditure misses the point. Assets and its distribution are the key factor. There are two approaches that define poverty as a state of multiple deprivations. One is the basic needs approach (BNA) which views poverty as deprivation of consumption and the other is the capability approach (CA) in which poverty is seen as deprivation of opportunities. The Basic Needs Approach (BNA) This approach aims to provide the opportunities for the full physical, mental and social development of people. Although it aims to provide conditions for comprehensive fulfillment of human life (material, social, cultural and political), in operational terms it primarily focuses on the minimum requirements for a decent life health, nutrition and literacy and the goods and services needed to realize it, such as shelter, sanitation, food, health services, safe water, primary education, housing and related infrastructures.
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 This is the most popular idea behind states welfare programs which are designed so that peoples basic minimum needs (as prescribed) are met. Amartya Approach: Sens capability entitlements and many hurdles in the well being of human beings are included in the category of poor. There are many other social dimensions of poverty like caste, untouchability, bondages, gender discrimination, social exclusion, domination and violence against the downtrodden. OBJECTIVES OF POVERTY ESTIMATION To build awareness on poverty and to keep it in the agenda of discourse; To design policies, programs and institution to alleviate poverty To monitor and evaluate these policies, programs and institutions that are associated with it. INTERNATIONAL POVERTY ESTIMATION According to World Bank, Extreme poverty is defined as average daily consumption of $1.25 or less and means living on the edge of subsistence, while the daily consumption of $ 2 defines moderate poverty. OFFICIAL POVERTY ESTIMATION IN INDIA Poverty estimates in India, since 1979 has been done by the Planning Commission using data from NSS surveys(National sample survey) on household consumption expenditure. The major developments in this regard are as following: In 1962, the Planning Commission constituted a working group to estimate poverty nationally, and it formulated separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas of Rs 20 and Rs 25 per capita per year respectively. VM Dandekar and N Rath made the first systematic assessment of poverty in India in 1971, based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data from 1960-61. They argued that the poverty line must be derived from the expenditure that was adequate to
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Amartya Sens capability approach provides a more useful alternative to understand poverty. Capability approach to understanding poverty goes beyond income and emphasizes the whole range of means, available to achieve human capabilities like literacy, longevity and access to income. From this perspective, poverty is seen as the failure of some basic capabilities to function- a person lacking the opportunity to achieve some minimally accepted level of these functionings. The functionings relevant to his analysis include Physical ones as being well nourished, being adequately clothed, and sheltered Social achievements such as taking part in the life of the community, being able to appear in public without shame and so on; The opportunity of converting personal incomes into capabilities to function depends on a variety of personal circumstances including age, gender, proneness to illness, disabilities and so on; and Social surroundings. The notion of poverty thus goes beyond income and basic services. People who are under empowered, who are unable to participate in making the decisions, who are deprived of basic education, health care, nutrition, water and sanitation, employment and wages and who pass many different inabilities and adversities like inequality of asset, unequal distribution, ignorance, corruption, lack of political power, lack of political will, natural calamities, inadequate governance, lack of opportunities of development, inappropriate public policies and programmes, lack of access to
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 provide 2250 calories per day in both rural and urban areas. This generated debate on minimum calorie consumption norms while estimating poverty and variations in these norms based on age and sex. Alagh Committee (1979) In 1979, a task force constituted by the Planning Commission for the purpose of poverty estimation, chaired by YK Alagh, constructed a poverty line for rural and urban areas on the basis of nutritional requirements. It recommended 2400 kilocalories for rural areas and 2100 kilocalories for urban areas. Poverty estimates for subsequent years were to be calculated by adjusting the price level for inflation. Lakdawala Committee (1993) In 1993, an expert group constituted to review methodology for poverty estimation, chaired by DT Lakdawala, made the following suggestions: Consumption expenditure should be calculated based on calorie consumption as earlier; State specific poverty lines should be constructed and these should be updated using the Consumer Price Index of Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) in urban areas and Consumer Price Index of Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL) in rural areas; ( earlier it was based on wholesale price index) and Discontinuation of scaling of poverty estimates based on National Accounts Statistics. This assumes that the basket of goods and services used to calculate CPI-IW and CPI-AL reflect the consumption patterns of the poor. This method, in turn, received its share of analysis and criticisms. These criticisms centered on the method used for price adjustment, the rural urban differentials in poverty and inter-alia the continued relevance of the 1973 basket for poverty comparisons. The main concern was the undercounting of the poor specifically from the view point of targeted programs. Tendulkar Committee (2009)
In 2005, another expert group to review methodology for poverty estimation, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, was constituted by the Planning Commission to address the following three shortcomings of the previous methods: Consumption patterns were linked to the 1973-74 poverty line baskets (PLBs) of goods and services, whereas there were significant changes in the consumption patterns of the poor since that time, which were not reflected in the poverty estimates; There were issues with the adjustment of prices for inflation, both spatially (across regions) and temporally (across time); and Earlier poverty lines assumed that health and education would be provided by the State and formulated poverty lines accordingly. It recommended four major changes: A shift away from calorie consumption based poverty estimation; A uniform poverty line basket (PLB) across rural and urban India; A change in the price adjustment procedure to correct spatial and temporal issues with price adjustment; and Incorporation of private expenditure on health and education while estimating poverty. Planning commission accepted the recommendation of Tendulkar committee in 2011. The Tendulkar panel had redrawn the poverty line at a daily consumption expenditure of Rs 22.42 per person in rural areas and Rs 28.65 in urban areas. According to the new estimates, there has been a sharp reduction in both absolute numbers of poor, as well as the poverty ratio. The poverty ratio has declined to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05. (Table)
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 That methodology, as well as the poverty estimates arrived at using it, were widely criticised for under reporting poverty by fixing the consumption levels too low. (The Committee has lowered the calorie intake requirement from 2100 kcal per day for urban areas and 2400 kcal per day for rural areas to a single norm of 1800 kcal per day and has kept the daily consumption expenditure very low) The new estimates, revised based on the consumption expenditure survey, have revised the Tendulkar numbers upwards, but only slightly. The new poverty line pegs daily per capita consumption expenditure at less than Rs 33.33 in cities and Rs 27.20 in villages. Faced with hue and cry over the issue, the panel now supports the idea that entitlements for the poor should go beyond the poverty line benchmark and de-linked from the poverty line. The Planning Commission subsequently appointed another committee, headed by Chairman of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council, C. Rangarajan, which is expected to submit its report in 2014. Objectives: To provide an alternate method to estimate poverty levels and examine whether poverty lines should be fixed solely in terms of a consumption basket or if other criteria are also relevant; To examine divergence between the consumption estimates based on the NSSO methodology and those emerging from the National Accounts aggregates; To review international poverty estimation methods and indicate whether based on these, a particular method for empirical poverty estimation can be developed in India, and To recommend how these estimates of poverty can be linked to eligibility and entitlements under the various schemes of the Government of India. The Committee is expected to submit its report by 2014. National poverty line: While the Opponents criticizes the Planning Commission for using a formal definition of poverty that ensures the percentage of people below the poverty line is lower than what it ought to be, the government has begun moving to a broader and more realistic de facto definition that will include roughly 65 per cent of the population. (in the wake of passing of ordinance on food security bill (in July 2013 ) which entitles subsidized food grains to 67% population of country) This notional poverty line will stand at a per capita expenditure of around Rs. 50 per day in rural areas and Rs 62 in urban areas. By covering 67 per cent of the population, the government is in effect drawing the poverty line 85 per cent higher than what it is currently drawn at
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Percentage and Number of poor estimated by
Poverty Ratio (%) Rural Urban Total 1. 1993-94 50.1 31.8 45.3 2. 2004-05 41.8 25.7 37.2 3.2011-12 25.7 13.7 21.9 Annual 0.75 0.55 0.74 average decline: 1993-94 to 2004-05 Annual 2.32 1.69 2.18 average decline: 2004-05 to 2011-12 Tendulkar method
Number of poor (million) 328.6 74.5 403.7 326.3 80.8 407.1 216.5 52.8 269.3
Rangarajan Committee
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 By 2011-12 consumption expenditures, this works out to roughly Rs.1,506 monthly per capita expenditure or Rs. 50 per day for rural areas, and Rs. 1,850 per month or Rs. 62 per day for urban areas. While Indias poverty line has usually corresponded with the World Banks definition of extreme poverty, which is $1.25 (in Purchasing Power Parity terms) per person per day, the new notional poverty line would correspond more closely with the Banks definition of moderate poverty. Announcement of 12 subsidised cylinders Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis appeal to raise the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders could force Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to relax the expenditure ceiling his ministry had imposed on the Oil Ministry. If the government raises the annual cap from nine to 12, the higher subsidy outgo will force the Oil Ministry to breach the ceiling, sources said. The Ministry estimates the additional burden at nearly Rs. 7,000 crore. Asked for its reaction, Finance Ministry sources said they would take a call on relaxing the expenditure ceiling on receiving the Oil Ministrys proposal. Under the current LPG cylinder regime, 89.2 per cent of the 15 crore LPG consumers are covered. The remaining 10 per cent buy the additional requirement at the market price. If the quota is raised to 12, about 97 per cent of the consumers will be covered. Increasing the limit to 12 cylinders is likely to result in an additional fuel subsidy burden of Rs. 3,500 5,800 crore. The government already incurs an expenditure of Rs. 46,000 crore per annum as subsidy on LPG. In a move that is likely to hit currency hoarders and counterfeiters, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
decided to withdraw from circulation all currency notes issued prior to 2005. The public can easily identify the notes to be withdrawn as the notes issued before 2005 do not have on them the year of printing on the reverse side, the RBI said. From July 1, however, those wanting to exchange more than 10 pieces of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes in a bank where they do not have an account will have to provide proof of residence and identity. The move will flush out black money, according to bankers. Notes issued after 2005 have added security features that make counterfeiting difficult. The UPA government has formed a three-member Cabinet committee to examine the possibility of opening up agricultural land to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), following a proposal by the Urban Development Ministry on letting foreign realtors buy agricultural land. The committee includes Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. At present, FDI is banned in farm land. Further, Indian banking rules disallow loans for the purchase of farm land even for domestic investors except in the case of large-scale projects to safeguard against speculative land acquisition and hoarding. The Ministrys argument is that as farm land is already being acquired for township development, FDI would only help raise more funds for the purpose. Real estate developers would in any case be applying for land use change after acquiring farm land, the Ministry said. SCs direction to UGC on faulted deemed university
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 The Supreme Court has directed the University Grants Commission to consider afresh the status of 44 deemed universities which were sought to be derecognised on the basis of the Tandon Committee report. Passing the order on Tuesday on a writ petition filed by advocate Viplav Sharma seeking regulation of the deemed universities, a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Vikramajit Sen asked the UGC to examine the reports of the Tandon Committee and the Committee of Officers with notice to all 44 institutions. The institutions are free to raise their objections to the reports and the UGC has to consider the same and take an independent decision in accordance with law, if necessary, after affording them a hearing, within two months. The UGC would then tender its advice, which though not binding on the Centre, would have to be given due weight as it is an expert statutory authority. We make it clear that we have not given our stamp of approval to any of the reports and it is for the UGC to consider all the reports, the Bench said. The Tandon Committee had recommended denotifying the deemed university status to 44 institutions but they demanded that the panel report be discarded. Right To Education (RTE) Act Right to Education (RTE) is by far the most historic development in universalisation of elementary education in the country. Enacted in 2010, it implies that every child in the age group of 6 to 14 years has Right to elementary education. They are entitled for free and compulsory education. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is the main vehicle for implementation of the RTE Act. It is one of the largest programmes of its kind in the world. It is primarily funded from central budget and it covers the whole country.
More than 19 crore children are covered under this scheme in 11 lakh habitations. 98% of habitations in this country have elementary schools within 1 km and 92% have upper primary schools within 3 km of their locations. The programme has been implemented in order to narrow down gender and social gaps in elementary education. Special efforts have been made to reach out to girls and children belonging to SC/ST and Muslim minority communities. Over 3500 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) have been set up as residential upper primary schools for girls from SC, ST, OBC, Muslim communities and BPL girls in the educationally backward blocks. Free boarding / lodging, books, stationary and uniforms are being provided to the children in these schools. Under SSA, special attention has been given to urban deprived children, children affected by periodic migration and children living in remote and scattered habitations. Attempts have also been made to reach out to children suffering from autism. It involves their identification, preparation of individualized Education Plan, teacher training on Autism and therapeutic support. As part of the scheme, steps have been taken to improve the standard of elementary education in the country. It includes improvement in infrastructural facilities and sanctioning of new teacher posts in government schools. Free textbooks are being provided to all children in government and government aided schools. Last year, the centre released more than 23800 crore rupees and during the current financial year (201314), in the first eight months, over 16000 crore rupees have been released. This increased funding has led to massive creation and improvement of infrastructure at school level. About 95% schools have drinking water facilities and 90% schools have toilets. Similarly about 75% upper primary schools have furniture. More than 3 lakh new school buildings with toilets, drinking
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 water facilities and electricity have been created under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, a flagship programme of UPA government to implement RTE. Since the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the enrolment of children at the elementary level has increased from about 19 crore in 2008-09 to about 20 crore in 2012-13 as per District Information System for Education (DISE) data. A total of over forty three thousand five hundred schools, seven lakh additional classrooms, five lakh forty six thousand toilets and thirty four thousand six hundred drinking water facilities have been sanctioned to States/UTs under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme to meet the objectives of the RTE Act. The enrolment among the SCs has increased from 3 crore to 4 crore during 2008-09 and 2012-13. Similar positive trends have been noticed among STs and minorities also. Thirteen states have also admitted children belonging to disadvantaged groups/weaker sections in private unaided schools as per the RTE Act. Along with the Mid Day Meal Scheme, the Right to Education Act has made substantial impact on universalisation of elementary education, reduction in dropout rates and fighting classroom hunger. The improvement is reflected in the Net Enrolment ratio in Primary Education. It was 99.89% in 2011-12. There has been a substantial drop in dropout rate among the kids at the elementary level. The number of out of school children has come down sharply from more than 1.34 crore in 2005 to 29 lakh in 2012-13. Several new measures have been taken for improving quality under RTE, in letter as well as in spirit. About 20 lakh additional teacher posts have been sanctioned under SSA upto 2012-13. Out of this twelve lakh forty thousand posts are reported to have been filled. After RTE, it is compulsory that only those people who are able to clear the Teacher Eligibility Test may be appointed as teachers.
To improve quality of learning, children are provided free text books upto class 8. Continuous and comprehensive evaluation system is being promoted. Curriculum reforms are made to make learning more children friendly and inclusive. Training for in service teachers and head masters are being incentivized. The focus of all HRD Ministry schemes under the 11th Five Year Plan was access and growth whereas quality is the key under the current Five Year Plan. Source: special feature-PIB Nirbhaya card To curb growing incidents of crime against women in trains, North-Central Railway is distributing Nirbhaya Card, which has contacts of Railway Police and other helpline numbers inscribed on it. The ATM-sized card is being distributed to all trains passing through Kanpur station, GRP sources said. The card has numbers of Uttar Pradesh womens helpline, GRP police control room, GRP Lucknow Control room as well as of police stations under NorthCentral Railway division. If a woman faces harassment in the train, she can dial the numbers given on the card and lodge her complaint. A team of GRP police in the next station would come to her help. Bill on quota for disabled The government will table for passage in the upcoming Parliament session a new bill for the disabled persons that provides for five per cent reservation in public sector jobs. Inaugurating Samarth-2014, a program organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment , UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said the Disability Act of 1995 was being amended to meet the norms of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 The Union Cabinet had approved last month the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill to replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995. The bill covers a variety of issues relating to the disabled persons such as physical, mental and multiple disabilities. New land policy for major ports The Shipping Ministry land policy guidelines country that will help development projects basis. unveiled the much-awaited for 12 major ports in the them to undertake various on a tender-cum-auction The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) assigns Unique Identification Number Aadhaar to residents of India on voluntary basis The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is an agency of the Government of India responsible for implementing the Aadhaar Identities. The agency was established in January-2009, and owns and operates the Unique Identities database. The Unique Identification Authority of India has been established under the Planning Commission The agency provides a unique identification number to all persons resident in India on voluntary basis, but not identity cards. The agency maintains a database of residents containing biometric and other data, and is headed by a chairman, who holds a cabinet rank. Nandan Nilekani is its first chairman since Jun-2009. About Rs. 35 billion (Rs.3,500 crore) was spent on Aadhaar program from beginning (January-2009) till September2013 UIDAI is the Registrar of Identities i.e. it registers, assigns and verifies the unique identities. It is supposed to register two types of unique identities: Residents of India (called Aadhaar) Corporate entities (Corporate-UID) for company, bank, NGO, trust, political party etc. Corporate-UID has been provisioned within 12-digit UID number system. Corporate-UID is supposed to produce the similar effect as Aadhaar for corporate entities i.e. identification and traceability of transactions. It is supposed to bring transparency on financial transactions, donations; and to prevent corruption, money laundering, benami transactions (i.e. under a fictitious name), allocation of natural resources like land, spectrum, mining of sand, ironore, coal-blocks, etc. UIDAI owns and operates the main database server called the Central Identity Data Repository (CIDR).
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The new policy guidelines provides for a transparent mechanism for leasing and licensing of land in possession of major ports inside the custom bounded areas for short term licenses (from 11 months to five years) and outside the custom bounded areas on long term leases (for a maximum of 30 years). Till recently, major ports were not permitted to allot lands on long term licenses or leases, whereas the minor ports were not having such problems. Currently, the Chennai Port has 200 acres in custom bound area and can be allotted through the new method. Having exhausted the available land, the Ennore Port is in the process of acquiring 735 acres from the Salt department for expansion activities. One of the salient features of the new policy states that the land can be allotted to government agencies, public sector undertakings and statutory authorities on nomination basis. It cannot be given to religious institutions or political institutions. The policy also provides guidelines for mortgages, subleases, transfer and right of way permissions. Unique Identification Authority of India
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Reserve Bank of India has planned Aadhaar-linked bank account for all adults of India by January-2016 as its commitment of nation-wide Financial Inclusion. Rationale and goals In order to avail social security benefits as well as government-regulated services (e.g. bank account, insurance, mobile SIM, driving license, vehicle registration etc.); compliance to Know-YourCustomer (KYC) conditions are mandatory. The minimum KYC consists of 3 proofs: Proof of Identity (name with face photograph), Proof of Age (date of birth or estimated age), Proof of Residence (presently staying). Financial Inclusion Provide social security benefits Aadhaar-platform is aimed at providing social security benefits / subsidies based on eligibility thru direct benefit transfer. It provides access and options to rural and poor people. It helps bring transparency and eliminate corruption, leakage and inefficiency. What is Aadhaar? Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India. This number will serve as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in India. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident in India and satisfies the verification process laid down by the UIDAI can enroll for Aadhaar. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident in India and satisfies the verification process laid down by the UIDAI, can enroll for Aadhaar.
Each Aadhaar number will be unique to an individual and will remain valid for life. Aadhaar number will help you provide access to services like banking, mobile phone connections and other Government and Non-Government services in due course. Aadhaar will be: Easily verifiable in an online, cost-effective way Unique and robust enough to eliminate the large number of duplicate and fake identities in government and private databases A random number generated, devoid of any classification based on caste, creed, religion and geography
Aadhaar-enabled Bank Account (AeBA) is a Basic savings account (zero-balance) where a Debit-card is issued and Aadhaar number is used as the account number. It can be instantly opened (like prepaid bankcard). Transactions operate with fingerprint authentication only; as indicated by Aadhaar-logo on the card. PIN is not issued to zero-balance AeBA because it is aimed at financial inclusion of unbanked, illiterate and rural people. Bankcard operates at micro-ATM and other ATMs equipped with fingerprint scanner. Presently passbook is not issued to these accounts due to infrastructure problem. Transactions like deposit, withdrawal, transfer, and balance-check can be performed. AeBA is used for direct payment of social security benefits such as pensions, scholarships, NREGA wages, healthcare, and subsidy for LPG, kerosene, PDS ration, fertilizers etc. Generally, a micro-ATM consists of a laptop computer or smart-phone equipped with 2Ginternet, fingerprint scanner, receipt-printer, speaker and power backup (solar / battery). It is humanoperated by commission agent called Banking Correspondent (BC) so that illiterate customers do not face problems of ATM machine operations. BCs are generally chemist-shops, provision shops or
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 mobile-vans. It is similar to the commission agent model of prepaid mobile phone recharge. Some banks issue photo-bankcards that are boon to rural people and migrant workers because it works not only as bankcard but also as identity card. RuPay card by Indian payment-bridge NPCI and Saral Money Visa are two prominent AeBA bankcards. Once bankcards become common in rural areas, then whole India will become a nation of cashlesstransactions with higher transparency and accountability. Aadhaar-enabled Service Delivery Various financial as well as non-financial services are being made Aadhaar-enabled, called Aadhaarenabled Service Delivery (AeSD) in phased manner Aadhaar-DBT Aadhaar-Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is an Aadhaar-enabled financial service used for direct payment of social security benefits into the bank account of the Aadhaar-holder. An existing bank account can be enabled as AeBA by seeding (linking) it with Aadhaar number. Seeding makes mapping information stored onto NPCI payment-gateway that facilitates the subsidy payment. The seeding helps identify the genuine and eligible beneficiary, and prevents duplicate and nonexistent (fake, dead) persons. Eligibility of beneficiary is applied based on rules and is cross-checked with other related databases which are also Aadhaar-linked. This approach is designed to improve the audit trail, add efficiency; prevent corruption, middlemen and delayed payments; eliminate non-existent, duplicate and ineligible beneficiaries. It results in direct benefit access to the eligible people; and saves multi-billion rupee from corruption annually. E-governance The stand-alone databases of social security services cannot interact with each other due to lack of a unique identifier like AN. Thus stand-alone databases do not have ability to detect and prevent fictitious and ineligible beneficiaries. Therefore, AN is aimed at eliminating retail corruption in the public domain which has affected social security programs since independence. In India, about 750 million (60%) people starve every day for at least one meal. Prevention of corruption Although Aadhaar can prevent retail-corruption to much extent, yet it is not capable of preventing wholesale-corruption like allocation of coal-blocks, 2G spectrum, mining of Iron-ore, sand, onion hoarding etc. Corporate-UID is required to prevent such wholesale-corruptions and this provision is already inbuilt in UIDAI Number System, yet implementation is pending. Prevention of identity fraud Identity frauds such as identity theft (using the identity of another person, dead or alive) and identity document forgery (fake IDs created on
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Another objective of Aadhaar Number (AN) is to use it as an effective governance tool to bring transparency, efficiency and weed out the bogus beneficiaries from social security programs e.g. social security pensions, scholarships, public health, NREGA, subsidy on PDS Ration, Kerosene, and LPG etc. Thus Aadhaar is expected to save public exchequer from bogus beneficiaries up to Rs. 1.1 Trillion (Rs. 1100 billion) by the year 2020 as per study report of National Institute of Public Finance and Planning. In 1980s pointing towards the widespread corruption in social security programs in India, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had made a famous statement in Parliament that only 15% of benefits reach the poor people; the remaining 85% are eaten-away by the corrupt officials and middlemen. Similarly, the World Bank Chief said that Aadhaar will help eradicate poverty in India.
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 fictitious person, also called benami) have been a common practice in India. The scan, superimposition and color-print functions of ubiquitous printers have made paper-based and plastic cardbased frauds much easy. Identity fraud is committed for financial gain or due to compulsion. Identity fraud committed for financial gains are mostly benami companies and benami bank accounts used for bribery and money laundering. Identity fraud committed on compulsions is either due to lack of a persons own ID documents, or due to the intentio n of not using ones own ID. Existing IDs and problem areas Traditionally existing IDs in India have been tokenbased i.e. paper and plastic-based driving license, passport, PAN card, voter ID etc. None of these IDs have the feature of being lifetime digital identity that can be verified instantly in public domain at any time anywhere for uniqueness and real existence. Moreover, as of 2013, only 150 million hold driving license, 50 million people hold passport and 30 million pay taxes, and these are mutually inclusive. These IDs do not qualify the generic allpurpose ID for life. These IDs expire at certain intervals, for various reasons, and need to be reapplied with payment for fresh-issuance or renewal. Ration cards are issued one per family, and every family does not hold one. It is not verifiable online instantly in public domain. It does not help migrant workers when they move to another location. Millions of ration cards are either fake or defunct, yet these are used as ID. Voter ID cannot be issued to a person below 18 years. It is not verifiable online instantly in public domain. Although PAN is issued for the holders lifetime, yet it is meant only for income tax payers. It is not verifiable online instantly in public domain. There are only 30 million income tax payers, yet 170 million PANs have been issued. Obtaining a passport is costly and lengthy process, and only 50 million hold it. It is not verifiable online instantly in public domain. Fake passports also exist. The driving license cannot be issued to a person below 18 years. It is not verifiable online instantly in public domain. UIDAI versus NPR UIDAI has been mandated to enroll 600 million people in its assigned territory. Similarly, the Census Operations group (under the Ministry of Home Affairs) has been mandated to enroll the remaining 650 million people in its assigned territory under the National Population Register (NPR) program. Effects As the public databases are getting inter-linked one by one through Aadhaar Number (AN) in various states (particularly Delhi, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh), middlemen and officials in those regions now find difficult to continue with corruption in social security programs like pensions, scholarships, health, NREGA, PDS Ration, subsidized kerosene and LPG. Ineligible, duplicate and fictitious beneficiaries are getting eliminated from social security programs. Corrupt people are finding difficult to buy and sell benami land and building (i.e. Under fictitious name), to open and operate benami companies for money-laundering. They are also finding difficult to open and operate benami bank accounts for keeping criminal proceeds. Tax-evaders are finding difficult to evade taxes, and impersonation and proxy are getting difficult to commit due to online biometric validation. Criminals and terrorists are getting detected and tracked through inter-linked databases of mobile phone numbers, bank account numbers and travel documents. Illegal immigrants are similarly detected and tracked through these databases. Records are becoming accessible to police from any state of India. It is getting difficult to obtain new driving
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 licenses and arms license from another state, once one is impounded in another state. Impedance: Pending bill The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister of India has cleared the UIDAI Bill-2010 on 08-Oct2013. It is expected to be tabled in Parliament during winter session. The Supreme Court of India passed an Interim Order on 23-Sep-2013 that no public services such as LPG be denied to public due to lack of Aadhaar. Privacy concerns India has a law called Information Technology Act 2000 that protects, together with other laws, all types of information including the Aadhaar data from theft and misuse Aadhaar is the biggest anti-corruption platform 1. 2. 3. 4. Aadhaar Enabled Bank Account (AEBA). Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) National Payments Corporation of India. Direct Benefit Transfer Overview on Aadhaar Payments Bridge System (APBS): A centralised electronic benefit transfer system to undertake direct mandates from accredited bank attached to various government departments for the purpose of disbursing entitlements using Aadhaar numbers Millions of people are unable to receive the financial benefits in timely and efficient manner. Financial inclusion is expected to be a key application of Aadhaar authentication. To enable same, UIDAI has partnered with various stakeholders including RBI, NPCI, IBA and banks to develop two key platforms: Aadhaar Payments Bridge (APB) A system that facilitates seamless transfer of all welfare scheme payments to beneficiary residents Aadhaar Enabled Bank Account (AEBA) Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) A system that leverages Aadhaar online authentication and enables AEBAs to be operated in anytimeanywhere banking mode by the marginalized and financially excluded segments of society through micro ATMs Objectives of Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS) Aadhaar Payment Bridge Solution (APBS) will be used to Credit disbursements based on UID number, To sub-serve the goal of Government of India (GOI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in
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the Central entitlements.
government
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The purpose is to use Aadhaar as a platform to increase efficiency of benefits and subsides
Trident Group became the first corporate to use Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) for disbursal of salaries to its employees. The lack of identity gives way to duplication. UID through its detailed database removes duplication thereby avoiding leakages and corruption. APB is a system that facilitates seamless (smooth or without seems or obvious joints) transfer of payments to Aadhaar Enabled Bank Account (AEBA). It is a payment gateway platform created by National Payments Corporation of India. The APB was used for the first time on January 1, 2013, when Direct Benefit Transfer was launched by
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 furthering Financial Inclusion by way of processing government disbursement using Aadhaar number, To support various Schemes like NREGA, Social Security Pension, Handicapped Old Age Pension etc. of any Central or State Government bodies, to send financial details to the beneficiary using Aadhaar number. Aadhaar Enabled Payments What are the benefits of Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) System? Eliminates inordinate delays, multiple channels & paper-work involved in the existing system. Transfers benefits & subsidies in a seamless & timely manner and directly into the Aadhaar Enabled Bank Account. Customer not required to open multiple bank accounts for receiving benefits and subsidies of various social welfare schemes Customer just need to open one account and seed his/her Aadhaar number in the bank account to start receiving benefits and subsidies directly into his/her Aadhaar Enabled Bank Account. Aadhaar Payments Bridge APB is a repository of Aadhaar number of residents and their primary bank account number used for receiving all social security and entitlement payments from various government agencies. APB requires using Aadhaar number as the primary key for all entitlement payments. This would weed out all fakes and ghosts from the system and ensure that the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries. This benefit has an even greater ramification as more and more social security programs are moving from inkind to in-cash subsidies. APB Process Steps Service delivery agency that needs to make payments to its beneficiaries (such as MGNREGA wages, scholarships disbursement, old age pension
etc.) provides APB File containing details of Aadhaar number, welfare scheme reference number and the amount to be paid to its bank (called sponsor bank). Sponsor bank adds bank IIN (Institute Identification Number provided by NPCI to participant banks) to the APB file and uploads onto NPCI server. NPCI processes uploaded files, prepares beneficiary bank files and generates settlement file Destination banks can download the incoming files for credit processing after the settlement file has been processed. The Report of the Committee on Financial Inclusion chaired by Dr. C. Rangarajan made two important observations: Technology has to enable the banks to go where the customer is present, instead of the other way around. Technology should allow interoperability among different systems adopted by different banks. AEPS empowers the marginalised and excluded segments to conduct financial transactions (Credit, Debit, Remittances, Balance Enquiry, etc) through micro ATMs deployed by Banks in their villages. AEPS Process Steps Resident provides his/her Aadhaar number; details of financial transaction sought and fingerprint impression at the micro ATM device. Digitally signed and encrypted data packets are transferred via Bank Switch to NPCI to UIDAI. UIDAI processes the authentication request and communicates the outcome in form of Yes/No. If the authentication response is yes, bank carries out the required authorization process and advises micro ATM on suitable next steps.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Benefits to Various Stakeholders Residents Obviates need for multiple bank accounts for different schemes Faster channel for receiving all welfare payments without any middle-men Access to micro ATM in villages saves bank trips, thus reducing opportunity and access costs Will help in more usage of formal banking system for managing savings and borrowing Online and interoperable architecture of AEPS ensures anytimeanywhere access of bank accounts which can be a boon especially for the migrant population estimated to be 100 million Empowerment of individuals especially women Government Departments Use of Aadhaar as primary key eliminates ghost beneficiaries and leads to better targeting Sub-serves goal of furthering Financial Inclusion by processing government disbursements through Aadhaar number Reduces time and cost in payment processing Provide electronic audit trail and end-to-end visibility for all payments Banks Reduces the credit and operational risks in the branchless banking model Enables Banks to rely on BCs to reach the unbanked population, eliminating the need for a physical bank branch or ATMs in remote areas Will provide an impetus to electronic payments and thus reduce cash management costs Different financial products through micro ATMs can be an additional source of revenue for banks and for the BC model
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
RBI Sub-serves goal of furthering Financial Inclusion by processing government disbursements through Aadhaar number Promotes digitisation of retail payments through a secure mechanism Aadhaar and the PDS The Unique Identification number (Aadhaar) was conceived by the Indian government as a means for residents to clearly and uniquely verify their identity anywhere in the country. Perhaps the greatest value of Aadhaar for the PDS stems from how it can be easily integrated into the existing infrastructure. Using Aadhaar solely for identification would enable clear targeting of PDS beneficiaries. The inclusion of marginal groups, and expanded coverage of the poor through the elimination of fakes and duplicates. Implementing Aadhaar-based authentication across PDS would enable the government to guarantee food delivery to the poor. powerfully streamlining PDS processes, an Aadhaar-enabled MIS would make possible a more transparent, flexible system, and enable the government to fulfill the objective of food security in times of crises. Areas for PDS reform The Indian government and the Department of Food and Public Distribution have pinpointed critical aspects of the PDS that need reform, for the program to function more effectively. These include: Beneficiary identification and addressing inclusion/exclusion errors Addressing diversions and leakages Managing food grain storage and ensuring timely distribution
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Effective accountability and monitoring, and enabling community monitoring Mechanisms for grievance redressal Ensuring food security A role for Aadhaar within the PDS The following features of the number would be instrumental for delivering food entitlements to the beneficiary: One Aadhaar = one beneficiary: Portability in identification: Aadhaar-based authentication to entitlement delivered to the beneficiary: confirm Electronic benefit transfers: Aadhaar authentication at the delivery point the FPS would enable governments to transfer entitlements to residents through an electronic system. Beneficiaries could have an online food account on the PDS system, which would enable governments to directly communicate details of food entitlements to residents.
Aadhaar-based authentication to track food grain movement: Aadhaar-based authentication can be implemented across the supply chain, which will enable governments to track food grain as it is exchanged between PDS intermediaries. This would curb diversions, and help identify bottlenecks in delivery. Aadhaar-enabled cloud-computing infrastructure: The use of Aadhaar-based authentication across the supply chain gives governments the opportunity to link such authentication to a cloud-based management information system (MIS) within the PDS. An Aadhaar-linked MIS would enable the PDS to address broader procurement, storage and monitoring challenges. Registration and procurement orders could be managed online, enabling decentralized, and more local procurement Inventory management could be streamlined and handled online in real-time. This would also enable the PDS to implement state wide information systems that link all ration shops in a state, and give beneficiaries more flexibility in how they collect their entitlements, and from which ration shop.
INTERNATIONAL
government would help Indian diplomacy to sort out decade old contentious issues. 5) Indias foreign policy is based on the values cherished by its people namely democracy, secularism and liberalism. We shall thus continue to support these events in other countries like we are doing it in Afghanistan, Sri-Lanka, Nepal etc. This would prosper the entire Asian region to achieve its fullest potential. India is far away from becoming a world super power and probably would have to satisfy itself by remaining only a regional super power. Thus, instead of competing against china it should develop friendly/neutral relationship with it. Chinas growing heft in International arena would help India to realize its greater potential in the same way as Japan alliance with USA helped the former. This is an option worth looking into.
INDIA'S FORIGN POLICY & IT'S ANALYSIS

Indias foreign policy is often criticized for lacking pragmatism and realism. From the days of Gujral doctrine, Indian foreign policy have never been defined except the much touted Look east policy. Recently Dr. Manmohan singh provided an insight into the depths of Indian foreign policy by highlighting the following principles as its foundation:1) Indias relation with the world are increasingly being shaped with both the developed and developing world by its development priorities. The single most important objective of Indian foreign policy is to pursue the interests of Indian development by making the geo-political & economic environment conducive. 2) India would benefit from better integration with world economy and thus opening up Indian economy and investing in other countries is a natural choice which Indian foreign policy should work on. Reforms are not an event but a process and Indian foreign policy should create friendly relation with foreign countries keeping this aspect in India. Greater economic integration would provide Indian diplomats with better leverage. 3) India seek stable, long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with all major powers including China. This would help India in realizing its potential and would better the prospects of millions of its destitute citizens. 4) Indian subcontinents shared destiny requires greater regional cooperation and integration. Many projects like East Asian expressway, Kaladan Multi Modal transport link etc are being chalked out under this principle. Better connectivity & cooperation among sub-regional people &
Analysis of Indias foreign policy Indias foreign policy is often accused of lacking realism and pragmatism in the era where it is regularly confronted by China who is following the policy of realism to develop friendly relationship with all its neighbor and has been successful to some extent in developing excellent relationship with all Indias neighbors through its policy of string of pearls and cheque diplomacy. In this context, the relatively successful implementation of Indias look east policy is worth mentioning. India has been generous in dealing with its comparatively small neighbors and has become realistic in handling its diplomacy. From the recent controversy marred elections in Maldives to Nepal and Bangladesh, India has made it well-known that they are ready to do work with any political party that comes to power. This a drastic change from its earlier policy of taking moral high ground and dealing with only democratically elected
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 governments which were sanctimonious by others. often viewed as 3) Sri-Lanka: India has never faced such strong negative scenario in Sri-Lanka. While on one hand, Sinhalese government of Mahinda Rajapaksa is slowly using its 2/3rd majority to amend the constitution in order to dilute the provisions of 13th amendment which provides autonomy to tamilian dominated north Srilanka. Further damage was done when Indian PM instead of going to CHOGM meet in Colombo and using the occasion to put pressure on Sri-Lanka PM of divulging more powers to tamillankans and constituting an independent Truth and Reconciliation tribunal to account for war crimes bowed to the pressure of regional political parties and skipped the meet. China has been able to foray deeply into Sri-lanka due to such decisions of India and is already constructing Hambantota port & power equipments apart from contracts to supply defence equipments to Sri-Lankan Army. Thus, India would have to muster all its might to woo its neighbor and for that should actively encourage India Inc. to invest in Srilankan economy. 4) Bangladesh:- India have failed to make much progress with Bangladesh even though the present regime of Awami League is considered pro India having done a lot to stop Anti-India terror camps in its territory. Indian government heckled by regional party Trinamool Congress have failed to ink key agreements like Teesta water treaty and Land boundary agreement which could have bound India & Bangladesh into strategic ties. Due to this, Bangladesh could not sign an agreement with India to use its territory to link with India with its NorthEast states. This could prove to be a strategic fauxpas in coming years and would choke Indias north east from realizing its vast potential. Again we can see that the principle elaborated by Dr. Manmohan Singh that Indias foreign policy should focus on helping Indias grow economically and integrate with world economies remain mere rhetoric. 5) Myanmar: Myanmar ruled by military government since last 4 decades have mixed relationship with India. Myanmar have vast amount of non-renewable sources of energy which India failed to use due to its policy of not dealing with
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In contemporary times Indias relationships with most of its neighbors are bedeviled by its lack of any coherent vision making Indian foreign policy as reactions to individual events and not based on any principles. Though Manmohan Singh recently provided some clues to basic principles on which Indias south block base its decision on but the same has been derided by intelligentsia as mere rhetoric. Indias relationship with its neighbors is analyzed below:1) Afghanistan: One of the biggest investor in Afghanistan, India has pumped in more than 2 billion $ and is also building key infrastructure projects including its parliament. India has been trying to build key institutions in Afghanistan and is also training its army to help the later in checking the rise of Taliban. It dramatically increased its efforts after Obama prematurely announced USA troops withdrawal in 2014. While Afghanistan considers India as its close friend, it considers Pakistan as its brother and is precariously trying to maintain good relationship with both of them. With the imminent withdrawal of USA forces, India would have to face real challenge in keeping Afghanistan secure and in turn peace at her own border. 2) Pakistan: Indias relationship with Pakistan was supposed to hit new highs when for the first time a democratically elected government passed baton to other. With a new Prime Minister at helm, hopes were high but nothing good happened. While Nawaz Sharif is known for his pro India views, there were marked increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan along with beheading of Indian soldier with each event pointing to the string role Army plays in Pakistan decision-making. Thus, it is expected that the going forward, Indias position would be to maintain status-quo while going through back channel diplomacy to work out agreements between the two nations starting with more people to people contact and the pending issue of granting MFN (Most favored nation) by Pakistan to India.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 military government. The result was that China and its companies made significant inroads in its economy which could pester India in long term as the boundary shared by both countries is often used by anti-India camps to spread terror in India through Myanmar. In recent times, Indian foreign policy showing maturity have started dealing with Military government while also backing nascent democratic movement being led by Indian educated Aung San Sui Kyi. As a result of this both the governments are mutually executing a project named Kaladan Multi Model Transport project which could provide India an alternative route to its north-east states apart from the chicken neck. Also, the trade between both the countries is growing at a good pace and has recently crossed 2 Billion US$. Thein Sein lead military government could be further prodded by Indian government to successfully allow democratic elections which could further provide impetus to strategic relationship between both the countries. 6) Bhutan: Bhutan King was chief guest at last year republic day parade signifying the close relationship both countries have. Bhutans have recently transformed its governing system from monarchy to democracy and is constantly nudged by India to develop further reforms. Recently both countries have signed agreement to develop Bhutan hydroelectric power potential in order to export the surplus to energy deficient Indias north-east states which could prove to be win-win for both the countries. Also, Bhutans strategic location near chicken neck corridor makes it strategically important for India to maintain close relationship with. 7) Nepal: India and Nepal always have a factitious relationship due to the flexing of economic & military muscle by China. The transition going on in Nepal from monarchy to democracy is littered with problems and this is creating problem for Indian diplomacy to develop a sound strategy to push forward Indian interests. Recently the elections to elect 2nd constitution assembly has been completed successfully with CPM (UML) and Nepali Congress gaining majority of the required seats in turn
pushing UCPM (M) to 3rd position. This is good news for India as Maoist was often seen as supporting naxalism in India through the long porous border both country share. Nepal is strategically important for India as it acts as a buffer between India & China. Also, being upper riparian states for some rivers, India must keep Nepal in good books and see that its transition to democracy is successful. 8) China: Well lets talk about elephant in the room. China, the only country with which India have fought an unsuccessful war is often portrayed as its competitor, an observation which given a modicum of common sense seems unjustified. China is well on its way to become a new world super power and India might have to satisfy itself with only being a regional economic power. In that case, it would be best if India could develop a relationship with India which could help the latter to take advantages of Chinas growing might in International diplomacy such as India candidature for permanent seat at security council needs chinas approval to the controversial issue of Aksai-Chin and Chinas claim of Arunachal Pradesh being its territory should be sorted out with diplomatic channels. Both the countries could join hand to usher a new era in world politics but for that to happen, they would have to sort out their differences and join hands. As Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh once said that we can choose our friends but not neighbors, India would have to live in a increasingly neighborhood where warmongering, pseudo-diplomacy would be call of the day and if India would have to course its chart through this very territory only if it has to bring prosperity to multitude of its poor and destitute people.
Devyani Khobragade Case What was the issue?
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 On December 12, American Authorities arrested Indian consular officer Devyani Khobragade. She was subjected to handcuffing, strip-searching and she was treated like an ordinary criminal. This followed a louder protest by Indian Government and the intense national outrage. Indias stand: question of diplomatic and consular immunities and privileges. The intense national outrage at the arrest and humiliation of Devyani Khobragade is justified. Indian society was deeply shocked that a senior Indian official was subject to a strip search. This also created a deep sense of cultural outrage. There was no reason for the American authorities to treat her like an ordinary criminal, even if they believed she had breached US criminal laws and her actions were not covered by the immunity provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). By handcuffing, strip-searching and locking her up with criminals, the Americans clearly violated the provisions of the VCCR, which requires that consular officials be treated, at all times, with respect. Question of diplomatic and consular immunities and privileges. Among the many issues brought into focus by Khobragades arrest is the question of diplomatic and consular immunities and privileges These are codified in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). These conventions provide the formal basis for the conduct of diplomatic and consular intercourse among nations. The VCDR provides complete immunity from any criminal action to accredited diplomats. It also ensures that embassy premises as well as homes of diplomats are secure, and cannot be entered by any
person of the receiving country. The VCDR also protects the communications of diplomats, though it is well known that intelligence agencies try to clandestinely pry into them. The VCCR provides all the immunities to consular officials that diplomats enjoy, except that it significantly excludes immunity against grave crimes. The reason for this vital difference lies in the fact that the representative status of the consular officials is circumscribed to commercial, economic, cultural and scientific work, apart from looking after the interests of their nationals and servicing passports and issuing visas. Immunities and privileges are meant to ensure that the conduct of diplomacy and consular work can take place without impediment and harassment and in a conducive environment. The main objective of diplomats and consular officials is to foster good and beneficial bilateral relations through cultivating the government and opinion-makers of the countries of their postings. In addition to the formal framework of the VCDR and the VCCR, there were informal customs and understandings that sought to ensure that aberrant or disturbing behaviour of diplomats and consular officials was managed in a discreet manner, so that it never reached a point where it cast a direct shadow on relations between countries. In extreme cases, diplomats and consular officials were declared persona non grata and asked to leave. As the diplomatic world is governed by the principle of reciprocity, their countries asked an equivalent number of their counterparts to leave as well, and the matter ended there. USs Stand: According to US officials, Devyani Khobragade had signed an agreement to pay her domestic help, Sangeeta Richard, $9.75 an hour. Instead she paid her only $3.31 an hour.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 As Khobragade had violated US laws, it was both legal and legitimate for the US attorney, Preet Bharara, to have her arrested and charged. USs double standards exposed: In the past there were cases when American government has literally whisked away their citizens from prosecution in foreign countries e.g. Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor, was whisked away from the Pakistani judicial system after shooting and killing two Pakistani citizens. It is normal for American diplomats to receive diplomatic immunity. Rather abnormally, the American government expects that even its nondiplomats should receive immunity. American government allows no foreign government officials, including a powerful person like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then head of the International Monetary Fund, any immunity from American laws. Yet it expects its government officials to be in theory and in practice immune from other countries legal courts. Whenever any US government official faces the threat of prosecution in a foreign legal court, he or she is quietly whisked away, as few governments can withstand bilateral pressure from the US government. Cheer India cheer.!!!!! All governments in the world are aware of this double stand attitude of the US government. On one hand, the US government is second to none in defending the rule of law at home. On the other hand, the US government is second to none in defending immunity for its officials from all foreign legal courts and judicial procedures. This double stand attitude of the US government explains why virtually every other government in the world was quietly cheering on the Indian government as it insisted on total reciprocity in the treatment of Indian and American officials.
They hoped that India would finally succeed in persuading the US government to accept a level playing field in dealing with other countries. The Indian governments success in persuading the American government to allow Khobragade to return home and not face charges in an American court will therefore be cheered all around the world. Most countries realise that they would not have had the weight to shift the US government. India is one of the few who could do so. And in doing so, India has also enhanced the rights and standing of other foreign diplomats on American territory.
INDIA-CHINA
CHINAS PEACEFUL RISE IS IT SO? Chinas peaceful rise or sometimes referred to as Chinas peaceful development is an official policy in China under the leadership of Hu Jintao. The term was implemented to rebut against the China threat theory. As China emerged as a great political, economic and military power, China wanted to ensure other countries that its rise will not be a threat to peace and security. China implements this policy by internally harmonizing Chinas society and externally, promoting a peaceful international environment. It seeks to characterize China as a responsible world leader, emphasizes soft power, and vows that China is committed to its own internal issues and improving the welfare of its own people before interfering with world affairs. The term suggests that China seeks to avoid unnecessary international confrontation. For roughly a decade, the Chinese government has spared no effort in trying to convince the rest of the world that chinas rise will be peaceful. The issue of Chinas peaceful rise has always been remained a hot topic of debate between the realists and Liberal minded intellectuals. Realists argue that China would behave like a traditional great power (that means may be she use its financial and military power to dominate others)
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Liberal minded analysts hope that, given the right incentives, such as the economic benefits of globalization, China will behave responsible and become a stakeholder in the existing international order. Chinese stand on Arunachal Pradesh (Staple visa controversy and protest following the visit of President), Chinas controversial intrusion into the Indian territories inside the Line of Actual Control and recently announced controversial Air defense identification zone in East China sea have made the Chinas peaceful rise doubtful. As Chinese foreign policy began to grow more assertive, particularly on territorial disputes, realists who insisted that China would behave like a traditional great power gained greater credibility. Really, Is China behaving like a traditional great power? Answer lies in Announcement of East China Sea ADIZ With the most recent escalation of tensions between China and Japan over the ownership of a group of small uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, there is little doubt that advocates of Chinas peaceful rise are losing the debate. What makes the latest round of escalations special is the way Beijing chose to challenge Japans sovereignty claims over the Senkaku Islands, as Japan calls them (they are called the Diaoyu in China). At the heart of the dispute are eight uninhabited islands and rocks in the East China Sea. To be sure, this particular dispute began in 1972, when the United States handed over administrative authority (but not legal ownership) to Japan. For four decades, China and Japan had adhered to a tacit agreement over the status of the islands: Japan would retain administrative control and claim sovereignty, and China would contest the sovereignty but not challenge Japans administrative control. This understanding broke down in late 2012 when Tokyo was forced to nationalise the islands in order to prevent an extremist right-wing leader from purchasing some of the islands from their private owners, a development the Japanese government thought would lead to a confrontation with Beijing. China regarded this as a step tantamount to formally establishing sovereignty claims over the islands. As part of its response, Beijing has gradually escalated. After repeatedly sending ships and planes into the territorial waters and airspace of the islands to challenge Japanese claims of exclusive administrative control, On November 23, 2013 Chain announced the East China Sea Air Identification Zone covering most of the East China Sea. The Chinese announcement of ADIZ met with strong protest from Japan, US, South Korea and other ASEAN countries. Even though sovereign nations are not prohibited by international law to set up ADIZs, and more than a dozen countries have done so (including Japan and the US), Chinas ADIZ in the East China Sea overlaps with those of Japan and South Korea. Most alarmingly, it also covers the airspace over the disputed islands. Beijings intentions are crystal clear. By setting up an overlapping ADIZ over the disputed islands, it has mounted a legal challenge to Tokyos claims of administrative control. Under the rules announced by Beijing, all aircraft flying through Chinas ADIZ must com
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Moreover, International community is worried about three consequences. First, Beijings attempts to enforce the ADIZ in future could result in accidental military clashes with Japanese and US military aircraft in the zone, thus starting a conflict no one really wants. Similar attempts could also lead to aviation disasters similar to the infamous KAL 007 incident (when a Soviet MiG shot down a South Korean jumbo jet in 1983). Second, encouraged by this precedent, China could set up a similar ADIZ in the South China Sea, using the same tactic to assert its maritime claims. Third, emboldened by the lack of a unified response from the international community to its unilateral move, China might be tempted to flex its muscles even more recklessly in future. The ultimate question to ask is whether China gains or losses more in this case. Tactically, we must concede that Beijings move is brilliant: it is controversial, but not illegal. Its new ADIZ should help China achieve its objective of contesting Japans sovereignty claims through clever legal manoeuvres. But strategically, we would find it hard to deny that Beijing has lost more. China has lost credibility of its claim of peaceful rise and it has also pushed Asian nations, bound by their fear of an assertive China, closer to each other and to America. Image URL http://rt.com/files/news/taiwan-us-china-japan919/map-locating-disputed-south.jpg http://cdn.staticeconomist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/origin alsize/images/2013/11/articles/main/20131130_ldm222.p ng
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municate their flight plans and identify themselves to the Chinese military, which will enforce the ADIZ. Obviously, Beijing views compliance with these rules as recognition of Chinas legal control over the airspace over the islands and, by implication, the islands themselves. Japans Response: Beijings escalation has infuriated Tokyo, which promptly announced that it would not recognise Chinas ADIZ, and instructed its civilian airlines not to comply with Chinas rules. Japan also openly challenged China by sending military aircraft through Chinas ADIZ without notifying the Chinese military (South Korea has also dispatched military jets into the Chinese ADIZ). USs Response: Caught in the middle is the US, a treaty ally of Japan. Eager to show solidarity with Japan but reluctant to allow the dispute to escalate further, Washington has opted for a middle course. It has flatly rejected Chinas new ADIZ and sent two unarmed B-52s through the Chinese ADIZ almost immediately after Beijings announcement. However, to avoid potential catastrophic accidents in the zone, the US government has also advised its civilian airlines to comply with the Chinese ADIZ.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Reference : Based on editorial published in Indian Express, wikipedia wants a military doctrine that will leverage the Japanese lead in technology, focus on Chinese vulnerabilities and let Tokyo stare in the Beijing in the Eye. The second most important development in this regard is release of countrys first-ever national security strategy. This comes just weeks after China declared a new air-defense identification zone in the East China Sea, covering the disputed islands that Japan calls the Senkaku and the China the Diaoyus. Abe has underlined the importance of a dynamic deterrence and active defense against the growing Chinese military challenge. Japan will now develop a marine corps of its own, integrate unmanned drones into defense plans, strengthen its capacity for real-time military intelligence, and respond effectively and immediately to Chinese intrusion into the disputed air and maritime spaces. Abe is complementing changes in the military strategy with policy change and institutional innovation. He wants to lift the ban on Japans arms export in order to strengthen the domestic defense industrial base. He is also trying to dismantle the many self-imposed political constraints on Japans ability to cooperate with other nations in securing the region from military threats. Alliances Abe is very well aware that Japan on its own cant balance China, whose comprehensive power is growing by day. Therefore he is focusing on making closer alliances with US, India, ASEAN, and Australia. Alliances, therefore, are central to Abes strategy, specially the longstanding one with the US. As the Chinas dominance on the region is growing and that of US is declining, some in Japan are indeed questioning the overreliance on US for security. Some in Japan also doubts the US commitments. Will the US defend Japan against China, when Washingtons stakes in a good relationship with Beijing have risen so much in recent years?
CHINAS ASSERTIVE FOREIGN POLICY AND JAPANS GROWING MILITARIZATION Chinas growing nationalism and assertive foreign policy particularly over territorial disputes have made Tokyo to think over its pacifist constitution particularly article 9. The constitution, also known as the postwar constitution or the peace constitution, is most characteristic and famous for the renunciation of the right to wage war contained in article 9. The constitution was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and has intended to replace Japans previous militaristic and absolute monarchy system with a form of liberal democracy. Currently, it is a rigid document and no subsequent amendment has made to it since its adoption. Due to this pacifist constitution, Japan relies on US for external security matters. After returning to power in 2012, Abe has set about transforming Japans foreign policy. He has emphasized on three pillars of Japans foreign policy, which are strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance, deepening cooperative relations with neighboring countries, and strengthening economic diplomacy as a means to promoting the revitalization of the Japanese economy. To counter the rising dominance of China on Asia Pacific, Abe has put stress on transforming Japans military strategy and forming close alliances with US, ASEAN, India, Australia and South Korea. Japans growing militarization Abe has proposed a 5 percent increase in defence spending to $240 billion for the next five years. As Abe is very well aware that Tokyo can never match Beijings rapidly growing defense budget or the size of the PLA (Peoples liberation Army), he therefore,
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Abe is now focusing more on developing strategic partnerships with key ASEAN neighbors. In an intense round of diplomacy over the last year, Abe travelled to all the 10 countries of Southeast Asia and held a summit meeting with the leaders of ASEAN in Tokyo in December. The message from Abe was that Japan was not going to stand by and quietly watch Southeast Asia slide into Chinas sphere of influence. China and Korea have reacted harshly to this development while the ASEAN countries are eager to see Japan contribute actively to the construction of a stable regional balance. Abes Democratic Security Diamond http://www.simplydecoded.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/08/Japanese-securitydiamond.jpg Reference: Based on Editorials published on Indian Express.
INDIA-SRILANKA
India and Sri Lanka: Reshaping and Revamping the Bilateral Channels In the run-up to the January 20 this year meeting here between fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, 275 Tamil fishermen lodged in various prisons in Sri Lanka would be released from January 13.Tamil Nadu will in turn release 179 Sri Lankan fishermen as requested by the Indian government to facilitate the talks. India-Sri Lanka Relations have traditionally been cordial save a few hiccups from time to time. With the near annihilation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by the Sri Lankan forces with tacit help from India, the relations have been improved. But there is an issue which needs frequent strong diplomatic remedial measures, that is the Constant Trespassing of Indian Fishermen in Sri Lankan Waters and Their Continuing Arrest and Detention. Learning from the past in 2008, a Joint Working Group (JWG) has been established in order to identify the causes of frequent firing on Indian Fishermen who mistakenly crossed over into Sri Lankan waters. In the JWG meeting, It was agreed by both sides that high priority must be accorded to the issue of fishermen and their livelihoods, which depend upon fishing, and often tempt them to drift into the island-nation territorial waters in the lure of a richer catch.
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The day after Shinzo Abe was elected for a second time as Prime Minister of Japan, He proposed Democratic Security Diamond in Asia Pacific whereby Australia, India, Japan and the US form a diamond to safeguard maritime commons stretching from Indian Ocean to the western Pacific. Some has marked this attempt as a revival of his controversial and short-lived 2007 initiative, the quadrilateral dialogue or quadrilateral cooperation. The proposal was not materialized at that time because of strong protest from Beijing. Image url:
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 It was clearly mentioned in the JWG statement that, To ensure security and safety of fishermen, both sides agreed that use of force cannot be justified under any circumstances Further, the bordering countries had Agreed to put in place practical arrangements to deal with bona fide Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) keeping in mind the humanitarian and livelihood dimensions of the fishermen issue. It may be uncharitable to link the earlier Sri Lankan position to their perceived dependence on India at the height of Eelam War IV just as it is improper to link the recent spate of arrests to perception of hostility in Tamil Nadu, or to Indias vote against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva, twice in a row. Sri Lanka has repeatedly indicated that their putting pressure on the Tamil Nadu fishers is a result of their own Tamil fishermen in the North and the East of the country taking to their traditional trade in a big way, in the months and years after the war. Intermittently, there have been suggestions from sections in the Colombo dispensation that spoke about issues of sovereignty, territorial integrity and State security. Earlier a draft MoU on Development and Cooperation in the field of fisheries was discussed and the two sides agreed that such discussions will continue. Also regulatory measures for managing fishery resources in the waters of the two countries were discussed. Both sides recognised the need for a road map to ensure security sustainability, livelihood issue, safety and security of fishermen of both countries. The preparation and implementation of such a road map will go long distance in sorting out the problem relating to fishermen. Reference: Based on editorials published in The Hindu, Indian Express, http://www.PRSindia.com
NEPAL
Nepal: Celebrating this Empowering Democracy NEW YEAR by
Learning from the directives of the Supreme Court of India, now Nepal is all set to celebrate its New Year with a set of electoral reforms into its democratic system. For democracy to survive, it is essential that the best available men should be chosen for proper governance of the country. This can be best achieved through men of high moral and ethical values who win the elections on a positive vote. In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of Nepal in its joint bench of justices Kalyan Shrestha and Prakash Wasti issued the order responding to a writ petition filed by two advocates. With this decision, the ballot papers in coming elections will now have a separate option None of the above or NOTA to allow voters to cast negative votes during the parliamentary or local elections. Citing the provisions enshrined in the interim Constitution, which upholds sovereignty of the people, the writ petitioners had demanded that voters must be allowed to cast negative votes in election. The current provision infringes on the peoples right to reject a candidate, the writ petition said. The court in its order has asked the Prime Ministers Office, Election Commission and the Ministry of Law Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs (MoLJPA) to ensure negative voting provision in the electoral process. Following the apex courts decision, Nepal has become the 15th country to ensure negative voting in elections. India, South Africa, Sweden, Finland, France, Belgium, Brazil, Bangladesh, Greece, among others, have introduced negative voting provision in their election laws.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Giving right to a voter Not to vote for any candidate while protecting his right of secrecy is extremely important in a democracy. Such an option gives the voter the right to express his disapproval of the kind of candidates being put up by the parties. Gradually, there will be a systemic change and the parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and contest candidates who are known for their integrity. This will accelerate effective political participation in the present state of the democratic system and the voters will in fact be empowered. The right to cast a negative vote, at a time when electioneering is in full swing, will foster the purity of the electoral process and also fulfil one of its objectives, namely, wide participation of people. INDIA-NEPAL BORDER SECURITY ISSUES Why do we need to concentrate on India-Nepal border security issue? The arrests of two high profile terrorists, Adul Karim Tunda and Mohammed Ahmed Sidibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal have brought the India-Nepal border into sharp focus. Differences of opinion, however, exist as to the exact location from where these two terrorists were arrested. While India maintains that Tunda was arrested at the BanbasaMahendernagar border point and Bhatkal in Raxual, some media reports indicate that Tunda was arrested from Kathmandu Airport and Bhatkal was picked up from a hideout in Pokhara during a joint operation with Nepalese law enforcement authorities. Whatever maybe the case, these arrests highlight the fact that terrorist and criminal groups are increasingly using Nepal as a base because the open border with India allows them to enter and exit India with ease. The seeds for an open border between India and Nepal can be found in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship which the two countries signed in 1950. Articles VI and VII of the treaty specify that citizens of both countries have equal rights in matters of residence, acquisition of property,
employment and movement in each others territory, thus providing for an open border between the two countries. These provisions allowed the citizens of India and Nepal to cross their shared borders without passport and visa restrictions. During the colonial times, the British required Gorkhas for the Indian army and the Nepalese market for their finished goods. These requirements necessitated unrestricted cross-border movement of both goods and people. After independence, India continued with the practice of an open border with Nepal. The open border has been misused by terrorists and criminals. Likewise, human trafficking and smuggling of Ganja from Nepal and pharmaceutical preparations from India is also quite rampant. More recently, the Indo-Nepal border has also become a route for smuggling of gold from Tibet into India. The problem is further aggravated by intelligence inputs that Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has been using Nepalese territory to carry out antiIndia activities since the 1990s. Encroachments in the no-mans land by removing or damaging border pillars have added another dimension to the problem. Security agencies believe that the buildings which have come up in the no mans land could be used as a hideout as well as for storing arms and explosives. Steps taken by both the countries related to this security issue. Transforming the border from an open border to a closed border would severely damage these ties with disastrous consequences for the citizens and economies of both countries. It would therefore be prudent to keep the border open but manage it more effectively by strengthening security through effective law enforcement, installing screening and detection devices at the check points, and enhancing intelligence networks. Policymakers in India have taken note of the deteriorating security situation along the IndiaNepal border and have undertaken a number of measures in response. For instance, the presence of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) along the IndoPage 56
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Nepal border has been further augmented with the construction of five additional Border Out Posts (BOPs). The SSB has been granted the powers to search, arrest and seizure under the Criminal Procedure Code as well as powers to arrest under the Passport Act. In addition, 1,377 km. of strategic roads are also being built along the border to facilitate the easy movement of the border guarding personnel. The SSB is also installing surveillance cameras along the border. For addressing the twin objectives of security and trade facilitation, two integrated check posts with state of the art detection and screening devices as well as support facilities are being constructed at Raxual and Jogbani. The Nepalese security agencies had conducted a study and identified 18 types of crimes that are widespread along the India-Nepal border including human, arms and drugs trafficking, unauthorised trade, smuggling of counterfeit currency, kidnapping, robbery, and extortion. They have also prepared and enforced a Cross-Border Crime Control Action Plan 2013 to curb trans-border crimes. But more needs to be done. India and Nepal have to collaborate and coordinate their efforts to improve the situation along their border by setting up joint task forces to investigate cross-border crimes, sharing real time intelligence, conducting coordinated or joint patrolling, re-installing missing border pillars and repairing the damaged ones and jointly developing infrastructure along the border. strengthened through an exchange of visits at the highest level. The State visit of the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Myanmar in May 2012, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister after a gap of 25 years, was a major milestone in bilateral relations. During the visit, 12 Agreements and MoUs were signed, including on the US$ 500 million Line of Credit; Air Service Agreement; border area development. Earlier, the President of Myanmar, U Thein Sein, had paid a State visit to India in October 2011. India is working closely with Myanmar on various infrastructure development and cooperation projects, including in the field of roads, waterways, power, health, education and industrial training, telecommunications, and others. Myanmar is also central to Indias Look East Policy. Being the only ASEAN Country with which India shares a land boundary, Myanmar is Indias gateway to the larger ASEAN Community. India is actively engaged with Myanmar in improving cross border connectivity and expects that the direct and smooth road connectivity to South East Asia through Myanmar will be materialized by the end of this decade greatly facilitating trade, tourism and travel in the region. The significant political and economic reforms instituted by the Government of Myanmar over the past year have led to an increased international interest in Myanmar. India remains committed to extending all possible assistance and support to the process of national reconciliation and the further strengthening of democracy in Myanmar. Further, it is pertinent to mention that there are no contentious issues looming over India-Myanmar bilateral channels. A number of agreements for enhancing bilateral cooperation have been signed between the two countries. Institutional mechanisms for facilitating regular dialogue on a range of issues of bilateral interest have also been established. Indian Consulate General in Mandalay was re-opened in 2002 and the Consulate General of Myanmar was set up in Kolkata. India has been
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INDIA-MAYNMAR
Myanmar Indias Entry Ticket Towards the ASEAN India and Myanmar share special ties of culture, language, trade and tradition rooted in historical linkages through Indias North East. India sees a direct relationship between peace and stability across the borders with Myanmar with development and prosperity of its own North Eastern region. Over the past year, Indias close and multifaceted relationship with Myanmar has been further
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 responsive to the needs of friendly people of Myanmar and has been providing relief materials and assistance. The recent exchanges of visits between both countries at political and other levels had imparted a new momentum to the bilateral relationship. Recent Visit: October 2013 Gen. Bikram Singh is on a two-day official visit to Myanmar. President Thein and Gen. Singh held discussions on the two countries bilateral friendship forged through successive governments, implementation of the agreements signed during the latest visits of the Myanmar president and Indian prime minister to each others country and Indias assistance to Myanmars human resource development. They also touched on cooperation between the two countries armed forces, Indias offer of scholarships for Myanmar trainees, its assistance for modernising Myanmars armed forces, Myanmars help in cracking down on Indian rebels on the Indian border, patrolling for border security and signing of an agreement on cooperation in boundary affairs. Gen. Singhs visit to Myanmar came after Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antonys tour to the country in January this year. Positive Aspects: Major Indian Projects in Myanmar Development cooperation is a key of our relationship and we have offered technical and financial assistance for projects in Myanmar, both in infrastructural and non- infrastructural areas. These include: 1. A national centre of excellence- The Myanmar Institute of Information Technology (MIIT) being set up at Mandalay; GOI has also agreed to extend assistance in setting up a Language Laboratories and EResource Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. Other projects include
2. An Advanced Centre for Agricultural Research and Education (ACARE) along with a Rice Bio Park at Yezin Agriculture University Nay Pyi Taw. Recognising the importance of connectivity, India in coordination with Myanmar is implementing the various connectivity projects: Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, building/upgrading 71 bridges on the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road; pledged to construct/upgrade the Kalewa-Yargyi section of the trilateral highway which envisages seamless connectivity between India, Myanmar and Thailand by 2016. Government of India is also closely working with Government of Myanmar to implement the MOU on Border Area Development where India has granted an assistance of USD 5 Million each year for next five years. The first year project is under implementation and under which 21 schools, 17 health centres and 8 bridges are being built in Chin State and Naga self Administered Zone of Myanmar. An India-Myanmar Industrial Training Centre has been set up by HMT(I) in Pakokku with the assistance of GOI, a second centre is being set up in Myingyan. Myanmar-India Centre for English Language (MICELT), a Myanmar-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MIEDC) and an India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of IT Skills (IMCEITS) have been set up under GOI assistance and are running successfully. GOI has again decided to upgrade the IMCEITS with state of the art equipment.
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Restoration of the Ananda Temple in Bagan, Upgradation of the Yangon Childrens Hospital, Sittwe General Hospital along with proposed upgradation of Monywa General Hospital. Commercial and Economic Relations There has been steady expansion of bilateral trade from US$ 12.4 million in 1980-81 to US$ 1.92 million in 2012-13. Indias imports from Myanmar are dominated by agricultural items (beans, pulses and forest based products from 90% of our imports). Indias main exports to Myanmar are primary & semi-finished steel and pharmaceuticals. India is the fourth largest trading partner of Myanmar aster Thailand, Singapore and China. The two countries have set a target of $3 billion by 2015. At the institutional level, an Agreement for setting up of a Joint Task Force between UMFCCI and CII was signed in 2004. A Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement (BIPA) and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) were also signed in 2008. India and Myanmar are both signatories to the IndiaASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, which was signed in August 2009. Myanmar is also a beneficiary country under Indias Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for LDCs. There has been regular interaction between CII, FICCI and other important chambers of commerce from India and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). The Joint Trade Committee (JTC) chaired by the respective Commerce Ministers was set up in 2003 and has been effective in reviewing and setting policy objectives for bilateral trade between the two countries. During the visit of Prime Minister to Myanmar, Joint Trade and Investment Forum (JTIF) chaired by prominent businessmen from both sides was set up. The 1st JTIF was held in Yangon in June 2013. Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles and
Myanmar Minister of Commerce also attended and addressed the 1st JTIF. Border Trade India and Myanmar signed a border trade agreement in 1994 and have two operational border trade points: Moreh-Tamu and Zowkhatar Rhi on the 1643 km long border. A third border trade point is proposed to be opened at Avakhung- Pansat/Somrai. The border trade between India and Myanmar had a quantum jump during the year 2012-13 touching US$ 36.2 million from US$ 15.4 million. First meeting of the India-Myanmar Border Trade Committee was held in Moreh (Manipur) on November 8, 2012. The meeting reviewed the current status of border trade and discussed border trade points/LCSs along with the proposed expansion of items under border trade. Trade Fair & Market Promotion Recent trade promotion events include visit of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) delegation to Myanmar (26-31 August 2012), Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) (3-7September 2012) for India Show, EEPC delegation (13-19 January 2013), Bengal Chambers of Commerce (18-22 February 2013), Indian Chamber of Commerce and FICCI (4-9 March 2013) and Calcutta Chamber of Commerce (4-7 April 2013). India-Myanmar Business and Investment Conclave in Monywa in May 2013. Marker events including Business seminar and b-2-b meetings were organized in Yangon and Sittwe during the visit of Indian Naval Training Ship Sudharshini from March 6-9, 2013. Training programmes Myanmar is a beneficiary of training programmes under different schemes such as Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme, Technical Cooperation
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Scheme (TCS) of Colombo Plan and also various scholarships offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) like the General Cultural Scholarship Scheme (GCSS), Mekong Ganga Cultural Scholarship Scheme (MGCSS), Ayush Scholarship to BIMSTEC member countries. A large number of participants from different Ministries of Myanmar Government attended various courses offered under the ITEC/TCS scholarships. In 2012-13 the slots under ITEC/TCS were doubled to 500 from 250, which has again been enhanced to 525 for this year because of the enthusiastic response from Myanmar. The specialized training programme for Parliamentarians and Parliamentary secretariat were also organized where 42 MPs and 30 staff attended the training course. Myanmar diplomats have also been attending training courses at the Foreign Service Institute of India along with other foreign diplomats. Cultural Exchange The cultural wing of the Mission has been organizing regular cultural activities besides having active Yoga & Bharatnatyam classes with dedicated instructors from India. An International Conference on Buddhist Cultural Heritage was organized on the sidelines of which, Buddhist Cultural Heritage Photo Exhibition and Book on Buddhism was organized in Shwedagon Pagoda. The Sarnath Style Buddha Statue donated by GOI to people of Myanmar and installed at the Shwedagon Pagoda premises was also unveiled in Yangon in December 2012. Other cultural events include a Carnatic Music Nite by Padmashri Sudha Ragunathan, book reading function by famous author, Dr. Amitav Ghosh, an Odissi dance performance by a leading troupe from India and local dances by Myanmar troupes in connection with the ASEAN-India Car Rally. A night of India & Myanmar Dance was organized at National Theatre in collaboration with students of the Art and Culture University of Yangon. India is also working on the restoration/preservation of Ananda Temple in Bagan. Indian Diaspora The origin of the Indian community in Myanmar is traced back to the mid-19th century with the advent of the British rule in Lower Burma in 1852. The two cities of the Myanmar namely Yangon and Mandalay had a dominating presence of Indians in various fields such as civil services, education, trade and commerce during the British rule. According to 1983 official census of Myanmar the number of Person of Indian origin (PIOs) in Myanmar is 428428. A large number of the Indian community (nearly 150,000) live in Bago (Zeyawaddy and Kuayktaga) and Tanintharyi Region and Mon State and are primarily engaged in farming. The NRI families in Myanmar mainly live in urban/cities and are engaged in export import business or are employees of MNCs based in India, Singapore and Thailand. Air links with India / Convenient Travel Routes 1. Thai Airways flies daily to various cities in India via Bangkok; 2. Indian Airlines flies Kolkata-Yangon (to-and-fro) twice a week on Monday and Fridays. Cooperation between India and Myanmar in the regional/sub-regional context ASEAN: Myanmar became a member of ASEAN in July 1997. As the only ASEAN country which shares a land border with India, Myanmar is a bridge between India and ASEAN. A few proposals for cooperation have been implemented and some are under discussions with Myanmar within the framework of ASEANs IAI programme.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 BIMSTEC: Myanmar became a member of BIMSTEC in December 1997. Myanmar is a signatory to the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement. Myanmar is the lead country for the energy sector. Myanmar trades mostly with Thailand and India in the BIMSTEC region. Myanmars major exports to India are agricultural products like beans, pulses and maize and forest products such as teak and hardwoods. Its imports from India include chemical products, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances and transport equipment. The 13th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Myanmar in January 2011. The 3rd BIMSTEC Summit meeting is expected to be held in Myanmar during the year. Mekong Ganga Cooperation: Myanmar is a member of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) since its inception in November 2000. MGC is an initiative by six countries India and five ASEAN countries namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam for cooperation in the fields of tourism, education, culture, transport and communication. The chairmanship of MGC is assumed by member countries in alphabetical order. SAARC: Myanmar was given the status of observer in SAARC in August 2008. Negative Aspects 1. India and Myanmar trade relations have improved at an appreciable rate, but still China is its largest trading partner and also the potential source of foreign Investments. 2. Myanmar has raised its voice against the large scale poppy cultivation by the Manipuri People in Myanmar and hope that this issue of environmental harm would be resolved very early. 3. Recently, Myanmar troops had attempted to construct a base camp next to Holenphai
village near Moreh but they were persuaded not to do so until a joint survey between the two is conducted. India has asked Myanmar to setup a Joint Border Working Group(JBWG) to address the issue of demarcation of border, extends to over 1,600 km, between, the two countries. As per the understanding, there cannot be any construction within 10 metres from the boundary. Future Potential and Prospects: 1. Geopolitically, Myanmar is important for India in order to counter Chinese presence in South East Asia by creating its own sphere of economic zones. As, Indias Investment in Myanmar is around $275 million. India should use this opportunity to earn the confidence of the people as well as the government of Myanmar. 2. The border trade and investment facilitation as well as cooperation in services and technology must be addressed with greater economic potential. Both countries should also evolve measures to capture the attention of private players. 3. It is believed that tax free markets will come up along the borders. For this, a preliminary agreement has been inked between Chin State of Myanmar and the Govt. of India to open such markets, which will allow merchants to trade around 40 commodities.
INDIA - JAPAN
(A comprehensive relationship) coverage of India-Japan
BEGINNING OF NEW ERA IN INDIA JAPAN RELATIONS POST 2000 Visit of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to India- A new beginning After 1998 nuclear tests, India and Japan relations remained nearly frozen for three years. However, a
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 turnaround in the ties was achieved shortly afterwards, when Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori visited India in August 2000. He urged both countries to build a new global partnership that would address a wide spectrum of international issues like nuclear disarmament, antiterrorism, the restructuring of the UN, maritime safety, technology transfer, environment, etc. In particular, he wanted both India and Japan to take advantage of the IT revolution in building a new partnership. The same point was reiterated by the Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he visited Japan in December 2001. The Joint Communique he issued with his Japanese counterpart Koizumi Junichiro on 10 December provides a comprehensive framework for the future directions of Indo-Japanese relations. Both leaders recognized that unbounded opportunities exist especially in the area of Information and Communication Technology in which there are extraordinarily strong complementarities between Japan and India. They wanted their two countries to help bridge the digital divide so that the benefits of IT revolution could be shared by all. Reasons that compelled Japan to conclude global partnership with India 1. During the 1990s, there was considerable misunderstanding in Japan on President Bill Clintons overtures to China and many Japanese leaders wondered whether it would be wise for Japan to continue to depend solely on its alliance with the US. 2. This skepticism was further deepened at the time of the currency crisis in 1997-98 in Southeast Asia. During the crisis, Japans proposal to create an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) with a capital of US $10 billion for assisting the countries affected by the crisis was turned down by the US, as it did not entertain a prominent role for Japan in the region. 3. It is relevant in this context to note that Japan at the same time was promoting ASEAN+3, a new institutional mechanism
that would bring greater coordination with China and South Korea and link it up with ASEAN countries. All these developments indicated Japans anxiety to increase its diplomatic options outside the ambit of US Japan alliance. It is in this backdrop of Japans quest for seeking a broader Asian arena to safeguard its own interests that Moris call for a global partnership between India and Japan was made. Towards Annual summitscooperation Building greater
The idea of global partnership received a fresh impetus from the top leaders of the two countries. The visit made by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2005 was a landmark that set in motion a process by which the Prime Ministers of the two countries would meet annually in either of the countries. Since then eight annual summit meetings have been held. The joint statement contained an eight-point agenda which provided a new direction to the bilateral relations. One of its objectives was to develop a well-structured framework for security dialogue and cooperation between the two countries. It was agreed that both countries would pursue their partnership at three levels. 1. Bilaterally, they would strive to strengthen the prevailing political and economic links. 2. At the regional level, they would promote peace and security in Asia by contributing to regional cooperation in such areas as maritime security and energy selfsufficiency. 3. At the global level, both would cooperate in areas such as UN reforms, nuclear disarmament, counter terrorism and environment. Beginning of India-Japan strategic and Global Partnership
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 The second summit was held in Tokyo in December 2006 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met his new Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. He was keen to establish a close rapport with Abe who, on his side, was strongly desirous of cultivating closer relations with India. Their joint statement entitled Towards India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership constitutes a long and detailed roadmap for building a multilayered network of bilateral relations. Broadly, it proposed that following actions be taken: a) Holding annual summit meetings between the top leaders of the two countries; b) Institutionalizing strategic dialogue at the level of foreign ministers; c) Pursuing negotiations for the conclusion of a bilateral economic partnership agreement/comprehensive economic cooperation agreement; d) Establishing of a business leaders forum; e) Cooperating in the field of science and technology; f) Encouraging of people-to-people exchanges; g) Cooperating in multilateral fora like the UN, SAARC, EAS and ARF and; h) Cooperating in areas like energy, environment and global trade. Eighth bilateral summit in Tokyo in 2013 reflecting a new trend The Bilateral annual summits started since 2005 have been conducted regularly till now and we have been successfully completed sixty years of diplomatic ties. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan in May 2013 to conclude eighth Annual summit in Tokyo. The Tokyo summit took place at a time when both countries face serious territorial frictions
with China. The Ladakh crisis arising out of Chinas controversial intrusion into the Indian territories inside the Line of Actual Control demonstrated the unpredictable nature of their bilateral relations. Though China agreed to withdraw to its earlier position after Indias rather tough stance, the incident left a long trail of bitterness. Many believe that Beijings withdrawal was due to its concern to see that Prime Minister Lis scheduled official visit to India was not affected in any way. Japan continues to face tremendous pressure from China in the maritime sphere, particularly since 2010 when a Chinese ship rammed a Japanese coast guard vessel. Chinas relentless pursuit of its claims to the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands became far more intense after September 2012 following the Japanese governments purchase of three of the islands. On almost a daily basis Chinas surveillance ships intrude into Japans territorial waters around the islands and Chinese air forces have also violated Japanese air space in the area. For a long time, the partnership was centered on economic matters such as development loans, trade and investment. But it has diversified to cover a wide spectrum of interests including security, counter terrorism, sea-lanes, UN reforms, energy security and climate change. This years bilateral summit in Tokyo reflects this trend. Indias look east policy and mutual interests with Japan New Delhi has optimally utilized its Look east policy to foster its deeper relations with Japan particularly with regard to forging the foundations of a potentially far-reaching economic and strategic partnership with Japan. As pointed out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Our relationship with Japan has been at the heart of our Look East Policy. In addition to their shared concerns about growing financial and military strength of China, New Delhi and Tokyo have found mutual interests in their engagement of Southeast Asia. Both are working actively to support Burmas political and economic opening; investing in regional trade frameworks for
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 open economic exchange with member states of ASEAN; and engaging strategically important Indonesia and Vietnam. Both are playing a greater role in ASEAN-led institutions not only to boost regional webs of economic connectivity, but, importantly, to prevent regional clubs from tilting in a sino-centric direction. India is emerging as a favored destination in Asia for Japanese FDI. DIPP (Department of Policy and Promotion) statistics show that Japanese companies have made actual investments of $14.85 billion to India between April 2000 and August 2013. This accounted for 7% of total FDI inflow into India and made Japan the 4th largest investor in India (top three being Mauritius, Singapore, U.K.). According to the Japanese External Trade Organization, (JETRO), Japanese firms increasingly prefer India as an investment destination over China. The availability of a large market and abundance of semi-skilled and skilled workforce make India an attractive destination. In the private sector, Japanese investments in India have been mainly in the form of mergers and acquisitions( M & R), as is evidenced from JapaneseIndian companies ties like Ranbaxy-Daiichi Sankyo, Hero-Honda, Tata- DOCOMO, etc. which have made sizeable investments in India. The majority of investments have been in traditional fields like automobiles, auto parts and electronics, although some companies have invested in businesses like pharmaceuticals (EISAI), health drinks (Yakuruto), pulp (Nihon Koso) and rice processing (Yanmar). Japans small and medium enterprises have also started to discover India as the new growth market. Share of Japan in FDI equity inflows from April 2000 to august 2013 1. Rank: Japan ranks 4 2. Percentage share of total FDI inflows: is 7.36% 3. Total FDI Inflows from Japan: are US$ 14.85 billion Top sectors that attracted FDI equity inflows (from April 2000 to August 2013), from Japan, are: 1. Services Sector (19%) 2. Construction Development: Townships, Housing, Built-Up Infrastructure and Construction-Development Projects (11%)
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INDIA JAPAN Economic Relationship:

END OF COLD WAR ERA AND INDIAS ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION The launching of the economic liberalization programme in India in 1991 was a landmark development in the post-independent economic history of India. The new policy had placed India on the road to free and market economy. Japan, which had always entertained deep misgivings about Indias earlier inward-looking economic strategy based on import substitution, welcomed the liberalization policy. Japanese foreign direct investment into India The Economic reforms coincided with a period of global surge in FDI outflows. Investment outflows from Japan also registered an impressive rise even from the 1980s. During this period, US, Europe, China and ASEAN countries remained top destinations of investment for Japanese companies. Though economic liberalization policy of India was welcomed by Japan, Investments in India remained far below compared to other countries. The reasons were numerous i.e. issues related to infrastructure, custom clearance, taxation, land acquisition, official bottlenecks in India and cheap labour and investment friendly climate in others countries. The period following the nuclear tests by India in 1998, Japanese companies hesitated in investing in India. The diplomatic relations remained nearly frozen during this period and so the economic relations. It was only after the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Mori, the relations became normal.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 3. Telecommunications (6%) 4. Computer Software & Hardware (6%) 5. Drugs & Pharmaceuticals (6%) Portfolio investment and its growth Another trend that deserves to be noted is the steady increase in the number of portfolio funds through which the Japanese could invest in the Indian stock market. The India Portfolio Fund that was started only in 2004 has already attracted huge Japanese investments into the Indian stock market. The total asset of the Japanese portfolio investment funds amounted to $8.2 billion in March 2007. Bilateral trade Trade between Japan and India had never been impressive. Japan has always enjoyed favorable balance of trade with India except in 2001 and 2002. Improving bilateral trade between India and Japan has always been a priority agenda for both the countries. Realizing this in November 2004, the then Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi and the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh agreed to set up a Joint Study Group (JSG) to study all aspects and give its recommendations on strengthening economic relations between the two countries. The JSG in its Report of June 2006 concluded that there was a huge potential to deepen and expand existing bilateral economic relations. The negotiations for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) commenced in January 2007 and were concluded after fourteen rounds in September 2010. The Japan- India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement finally came into effect in August 2011. It covers such areas as trade in goods and services, investments, intellectual property rights, customs procedure. CEPA goal is to abolish tariffs over 94 per cent items bilaterally traded over a period of next ten years. Japanese exports to India picked up momentum after the CEPA came into effect, but Indias exports to Japan have not seen much of an increase. There has not been any significant change in the composition of trade and the major items of Indias exports to Japan continue to be gems and jewellery, marine products, minerals, iron ore and textiles whereas Japans exports have been mainly centred on machinery, transport equipment, electronic goods, chemicals and metal products. In other words, Japans exports to India consist of products that are on the higher side of the value chain, but Indias exports to Japan cover only the lower levels of the value ladder. Any significant breakthrough in the bilateral trade can occur only if India is able to diversity its exports. In 2012-13 India-Japan bilateral trade touched US$ 18.6 billion. Indian exports to Japan were at US$ 6 billion, and imports at US$12.5 billion. In effect, Indias exports and deficit were nearly equal. Official Development Assistance (ODA) The ODA has been the core component of the bilateral partnership for decades now and India was the first country to receive Japanese assistance (1958), following Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehrus historic visit to Tokyo in 1957. In 1990s Japan became the largest donor to India. Even at a time when Japans overall ODA volume has shrinking to declining economy after 2003, its assistance to India markedly increased. This indicates the importance that Japan attaches to its partnership with India. In general terms the basic objective of Japanese ODA loans is to facilitate long-term, low interest funds for the self-help efforts of developing countries for their socio-economic infrastructure development. Japanese ODA has three categories- bilateral loans, grants and technical assistance. Loans are extended at the government to government level on the basis of extensive negotiations and consultations. These
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 loans are repayable within a prescribed time and carry a fixed rate of interest. Today the ODA loans are totally united and project related. The sectors that benefitted most were electric power, gas, transportation, irrigation and environment. Some of the important projects that received ODA were Delhi Mass Rapid Transport system, Kolkata East-West Metro project, Chennai Metro project etc. Indias flagship projects and Japanese assistance: Japan is closely associating itself with Indias three mega power projects which would give a huge boost to investment and industrial progress. The projects are: 1) Delhi Mumbai Industrial corridor 2) The dedicated fright corridor project 3) Chennai Bangalore Industrial Corridor India-Japan complementarities Japan: Surplus capital with businesses and technology powerhouse Limited investment opportunities and stagnant domestic demand Aging population 23% above 65 years Limited availability of skilled and technical manpower High tech hardware and technological capabilities High cost economy India: Requires capital in all areas and technology Many investment opportunities with strong domestic demand Young population Easy availability of scientific, Technical and skilled personnel Global powerhouse in software solutions
Extremely cost competitive There is a lot to do!!!! The growing presence of Japanese companies in India are obvious, as India offers a large domestic market base, but mutual synergies between businesses in the two countries are also driving initiatives. Japan is a relatively labour-scarce, capital and technology abundant country that complements Indias rich spectrum of human capital. Indias prowess in the software sector lends synergy to Japans excellence in the hardware sector. Indias abundance of raw-materials and minerals matches well with Japans capabilities in technology and capital to produce knowledge intensive manufactured goods. But still Japanese companies have apprehensions about underdeveloped infrastructure, policy bottlenecks, red tapism, Land acquisition problems, Labor laws etc. It is imperative for India to ally these apprehensions to tap the unrealized potential of Indo- Japanese economic cooperation. INDIA-JAPAN DEFENSE AND SECURITY TIES In July 2001, the first comprehensive bilateral security dialogue was held in Tokyo to discuss security and defence policies, the Asian security environment and nuclear non-proliferation. The dialogue was institutionalized as an annual event. This was followed by greater military-to-military cooperation between the two countries. Japans participation in the International Fleet Review held in Mumbai in February 2001 was an important event followed by the visit of a Maritime Self-defence Force (MSDF) squadron to Chennai in May 2001. Such mutual visits have been taking place regularly since then, in addition to exchange of visits by service chiefs.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 India and Japan also set up another mechanism on counter-terrorism within the bilateral security framework. JOINT DECLARATION COOPERATION ON SECURITY The Singh-Hatoyama action plan lays out a comprehensive agenda that mentions specific measures to be taken by the two countries in nine areas, including strategic and defence cooperation mechanisms, maritime security, safety of transport, cooperation at the UN, disaster management, and cooperation on disarmament and nonproliferation. MARITIME SECURITY: SHARED INTEREST STRENGTHENING
A truly epoch-making development in Defense and Security arena took place on October 22 2008, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso signed the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation on the sidelines of third annual summit. This is a historic document in that Japan has such arrangements only with Australia and the US. Undoubtedly, it was an outcome of the continuous efforts made by the top leaders of both countries over a long period. A study of the document shows that it embodies almost all the pledges and assurances made by them in various joint statements and other official meetings since 2001. One significant aspect of the Declaration is the emphasis placed on the need for bilateral policy coordination in regional affairs, as well as bilateral cooperation within multilateral fora in Asia such as the EAS(East Asia Summit), ARF(Asean regional forum) and RECAAP (Regional cooperation Agreement on combating piracy and armed robbery). The Declaration essentially seeks to build on the existing tempo in defence ties, while attempting to broaden the framework with a view to influencing the emerging security architecture. In this context, it has also envisaged an action plan that would define specific measures to concretize security cooperation. ACTION PLAN COOPERATION: ON SECURITY
As noted earlier, the India-Japan Action Plan pays considerable attention to maritime security as a critical area in the bilateral relations. Both countries share identical interests and concerns on the need to ensure the safety of the sealanes of communication (SLOCs) in the Indian Ocean area. Maritime security in the Indian Ocean calls for systematic efforts at multilateral levels in view of the diverse and overlapping interests of numerous countries involved. In this context, it is imperative for both Japan and India to jointly address several issues such as ocean piracy, maritime environment, transport of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the safety of Malacca Strait. Indo-Japanese cooperation should become a key component in the whole Indian Ocean security mechanism. Why does it hold great importance for Japan and India? Japan is a maritime nation depending on the Ocean for its basic resources and external trade. More than seventy per cent of its energy resources are transported by sea from the Middle East and any disruption to its energy supplies could seriously affect its economy. Indian Ocean security is directly linked to the well-being of the Japanese economy. With a coastline of 7,500 kilometers, India too has a vital stake in the security of the Indian Ocean. Since the end of the Cold War, India has pursued a comprehensive maritime strategy that
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In 2009 Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama visited India and the two significant outcomes of this visit were signing of an action plan to strengthen bilateral security cooperation and initiation of 2+2 security dialogue at the cabinet/official level.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 emphasizes the development of modern ports and harbours, exploitation of marine resources, expansion of shipping, and modernization of fishing industry. Following the implementation of the UN Convention on Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), it set up its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and went on to widen the framework of its maritime strategy. Equipped with warships, aircraft carriers, submarines and minesweepers, India has one of the strongest and most sophisticated navies in the AsiaPacific region. India also has a highly developed Coast Guard whose main function is to protect life and property at sea against piracy and terrorism. With Indias commercial and trade relations growing with East and Southeast Asia, the need for ensuring the safety of the SLOCs has assumed much greater importance. More than 90 per cent of Indias external trade is sea borne. India also depends on oil supplies from the Middle East to the extent of seventy five per cent. There is therefore a strong convergence of mutual interests between India and Japan. They share many common perceptions on the evolving security situation in the Indian Ocean. Since piracy is one of the most serious threats to the SLOCs, they have already started cooperating with ASEAN countries. The India-Japan Action Plan talks about strengthening cooperation between the navies and Coast Guards of the two countries. Both countries have held periodical antipiracy joint exercises in the Bay of Bengal. Compelling interest in freedom of the sea India and Japan share a compelling interest in freedom of the seas. The three common areas of interests are: 1) South China Sea: Civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between India and Japan and controversial issues India plans to build about 20 nuclear power plants to increase the share of nuclear power in supply from the current 4% to 25% by 2050. To meet its energy needs, India would like to partner Japan on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Following the
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The Indian armed forces exchanges and jointexercises with not only Japan but also with Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Korea require unimpeded access through these waters. Chinas 2012 warning not to penetrate the South China Sea littoral for an Indian Navy vessels port call in Vietnam was seen as unwarranted interference in Indias relationship with a third country with which it has long enjoyed ties. 2) Western Pacific
The Western Pacific is another maritime domain of vital concern to both India and Japan. These waters connect both nations to their principal military partner, the United States, and its major hubs of power projection in Guam and Hawaii, while carrying exports to North America. Chinese dominance of these waters would put at risk the security of the air and sea lanes and the US militarys ability to operate freely in waters that bind together the economies of East Asia and North America. New Delhi has demonstrated its strategic interest in the freedom of these distant sea lanes by holding naval exercises with both Japan and the United States east of Okinawa. 3 ) Indian Ocean The third maritime domain of special interest to both India and Japan is the Indian Ocean, which carries a majority of both nations energy imports from the Persian Gulf and is, therefore, intrinsically important. It is the home sea of India, whose balancing role in East Asia is growing, as attested by the development of security partnerships with Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other regional powers.
Both India and Japan are dependent on freedom of passage through the South China Sea for trade flows and access to naval partners in Southeast Asia. (Nearly 60 percent of Japans energy supplies are shipped through there.) One-third of all global trade passes through the South China Sea.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Us-Indo Civil nuclear agreement, 2008, India and Japan has also started talks on the same line. The talks have been stalled since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima on 2011. As the only nation to have faced the fury of nuclear weapons, Japan remains sensitive about concluding a nuclear pact with a nation that is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and as such wants additional guarantees from New Delhi. But, the discriminatory nature of NPT has refrained India from signing the treaty. As far as CTBT is concerned, India has unilaterally declared a moratorium on testing, but wants the world to move categorically towards nuclear disarmament in a credible time- bound manner. FMCT (Fissile Material Cut off Treaty), which aims to stop further production of fissile material for weapons purposes, Indias stand is that it will accept anything which is universal, non-discriminatory, and effectively verifiable in nature. Civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between India and Japan is vital also because all the US and French firms, which have bagged contracts to build nuclear plants in India are either partly or, wholly owned by Japanese companies. As Japanese firms have very advanced capabilities in the nuclear field and play a very important role in the global supply chain, it will not be possible for these companies to use Japanese technology, because of Japans ban on the transfer of military and arms related technology since 1976. For example, French firm Areva depends upon Japan Steel Works, the worlds main forger, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for the manufacturing of equipments that are installed in Arevas nuclear power plants. India, on the other hand, argues that it has already given a number of assurances in its civil nuclear pacts with other nations, which should work for Japan as well. ( The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the NonProliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of
nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty by which states agree to ban all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes.) Reference: Contents are taken from relevant articles of The Hindu and IDSA website.
INDIA- JAPAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION Until recently, mutual interests between India and Japan were primarily limited to economic matters like development assistance and trade, but today they are more diversified and cover a wide range of subjects, the salient ones being nuclear disarmament, maritime security, energy cooperation, climate change, counter terrorism, UN reforms and regional community building. Moreover Science Technology is also one of the fields where the two countries showed active interest in building a new relation. Realizing this potential, the two leaders launched a joint committee on Science and Technology Cooperation in 2000. They stressed on areas such as modern biology, biotechnology, health care, agriculture, hydrocarbon fuels, environment, information and communication technology, robotics, alternative sources of energy, etc Since then India and Japan have cooperated in various fields and have taken initiative in rare earth production, Technology transfer in various fields especially non renewable energy, Nuclear energy, information and communication technology, interaction at various ministries level on science and technology upgradation etc.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 In the following areas two countries have been cooperating: 1) Development of rare earth industry in India implementation. Japan is giving financial and technical aid for the project. The project aims to develop an environmentally sustainable, long lasting and technological advanced infrastructure utilizing cutting age Japanese technologies and to create world class manufacturing and investment destinations in this region. The two countries are also working on upcoming Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor project. Smart Community projects: India and Japan has also agreed to promote a Smart Community initiative under Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor project that aims to create an eco-friendly society with focus on renewable energy, recycling and efficient power management system. (Smart communities cities, towns, neighborhoods and villages that reduce their energy demand and generate their own power from renewable sources) 3) Energy cooperation: Since 2006, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) in association with NEDO (New Energy and Technology Development Organization has been co-hosting the India-Japan Energy Forum which provides an opportunity to the Indian and Japanese stakeholders to discuss various technological and policy related issues in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
India and Japan have signed the memorandum of understanding in November, 2012 to develop rare earth industry in India. The MOU also enables Japan to import rare minerals from India. They would also work to develop a joint venture in other countries. Japan is the worlds largest importer of REE, mainly because of its major industrial base in electronics and the consequent demand for a significant amount of REE. REEs are required for computers, laptops and televisions. They also have significant usage in mobile telephony and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment. Given that the majority production of rare earth materials (over 97 percent of the worlds REE market) is controlled by China it is imperative for Japan to diversify sources for REE import (a potential safeguard against a possible embargo by China amid the Japan-China territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands). India is known to be the second largest producer of REEs. According to one estimate made in 2010, China produced 1.3 lakh tonnes of REEs while Indias output was 2,700 tonnes. India could supply around 4,100 tons a year, equivalent to roughly 10 percent of Japans peak annual demand Indian Rare Earth Limited, a company affiliated with Indias Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and Toyotsu Rare Earths India Pvt. Ltd have already made some progress in the production of rare earth material. 2) DMIC project and Smart Community Projects Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor Indias ambitious $90-billion DMIC project is aimed at creating mega industrial infrastructure along the Delhi-Mumbai Rail Freight Corridor, which is under
Indo-Japan Relations and Issue of China One of the main contributing factors to the question of peace and security in the Asian region is the phenomenal growth of China. These include the rise of China as an economic power. This rise in the last decade has also led to increased military spending by China, creating one of the most sophisticated armed forces in the world. Consequently, China has used its military and economic power to assert its dominance in Asia.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 For both India and Japan, China is a challenge as well as an opportunity. Chinas claim over the South China Sea makes the security environment in the East Asian region fragile. Despite tensions between India and China, and Japan and China, their bilateral economic relations have flourished. Chinas position in the world clearly demonstrates the importance of having financial power. Japan cannot afford to derail the process of deepening economic ties with China. Similarly, any irritants between India and China, in the political domain, have not deterred strengthening of economic ties between the two. Engaging China, rather than infuriating it by designing a strategy of containment, would be in the larger interests of securing peace and stability in Asia because the Chinese have spent significant dollars on military expenditures. Chinese military expenditures were almost 1.5 times more than the defence outlay which stood at 788.0 billion yuan in the year 2010. This expansion of military power is a cause of concern for both countries as they are engaged in talks with China over Arunachal Pradesh and Senoku Islands. Way forward Every relationship has its ups and downs and the Indo-Japan relationship is no exception. Over the past year, Indo-Japanese relations have gained new momentum. In the words of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the time has come for India and Japan to build a strong contemporary relationship, one involving global and strategic partnership that will have a great significance for Asia and the world as a whole. In Abes words a strong India is in the best interest of Japan, and a strong Japan is in the best interest of India. Given the Shared areas of interest and mutual issues of concern, Both the countries have a long way to go together. Might be in near future, they will emerged as a global players in real sense. reference: All articles covering indo-japan relations from The Hindu, IDSA website, Indian express. Articles of
K.V.Keshavan from http://www.eastasiaforum.org website of ministry of external affairs articles from international policy digest
International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Structure, Functions, Objectives, and Resources) IMF came into being on December 27, 1945 when 29 countries of the world signed on Articles of Agreement. It started functioning in march 1947. Structure: the board of governors is the supreme body of IMF, which is headed by governor and an alternate governor who are appointed by the members of the fund. The of governors deals with the entry of new members, determination of quotas and distribution of SDRs. Board of governor consists of one governor from each of its 188 members. There is an annual meeting of the fund which is held once in a year all members participate in it. The other big authority in the IMF is Executive Board. It has a Managing director who is the chairman of the executive board and controls dayto-day matters of the fund. Objectives: 1. To increase international cooperation by providing consultancy services regarding international monetary issues. 2. To assist in the balanced growth of world trade, which will be helpful in raising the efficiency, employment and income of the world. 3. To stabilize the exchange rate and discourage the tendency of competitive devaluation. 4. To abolish those restrictions which are obstacles in the way of world trade and create a multilateral system of payments.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 5. The countries facing deficit in their balance of payment can borrow from IMF to finance temporarily. 6. To reduce the volume and time period of disequilibrium in balance of payment. Functions: 1. To maintain stable exchange rate policies. 2. Surveillance: it is responsibility of the fund to see whether members are serious regarding their functions and responsibilities thus under this function there is regular dialogue and policy advice which IMF offers to each member. Hence IMF makes an appraisal of each members economy 3. Exchange restrictions: no country can put any type of restrictions on the payment regarding current account. However a country can impose restrictions on the movement regarding capital amount. Again no country can impose restrictions that the transactions will be made in certain currencies. 4. Consultation and Technical Assistance: fund provides technical assistance to its members regarding strengthening their capacity to design and implement effective policies. Fund assists in the area of fiscal policy, monetary policy exchange rate, banking and financial system etc. 5. Lending for BOP difficulties: basically fund is aimed to provide assistance to those member countries which suffer from BOP difficulties. But to the poor countries it also assists in the attainment of growth and alleviation of poverty. Resources: The main source of the fund is those subscriptions which are paid by the members in the form of quotas and SDRs. In order to enhance its resources, the fund can borrow from the official as well as non-official sources. Special Drawing Rights and IMF quota:- the big question at the Bretton Woods conference with
respect to the institution that how member country would access international liquidity. After consultation quota was assigned to member countries in accordance to their relative economic power and their credit to IMF. Further members were provided voting rights in proportion to their quotas. Hence there is conflict between developed and developing countries regarding their voting rights as developing nations have lesser say in major decisions of IMF. SDRs: SDRs are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the IMF. it is not a currency instead represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged. The value of SDR is defined by a weighted currency basket of four major currencies: the US dollar, the Japanese yen, the Euro and British pound. The central bank of member countries held SDR with IMF and it can be use by them to access fund from IMF in case of financial crisis in their domestic market.
ECONOMICS
RBIs initiative to tackle black money In a move that is likely to hit currency hoarders and counterfeiters, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to withdraw from circulation all currency notes issued prior to 2005. The public can easily identify the notes to be withdrawn as the notes issued before 2005 do not have on them the year of printing on the reverse side, the RBI said. From July 1, however, those wanting to exchange more than 10 pieces of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes in a bank where they do not have an account will have to provide proof of residence and identity. The move will flush out black money, according to bankers. Notes issued after 2005 have added security features that make counterfeiting difficult. Cabinet to take decision on FDI in farm land The UPA government has formed a three-member Cabinet committee to examine the possibility of opening up agricultural land to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), following a proposal by the Urban Development Ministry on letting foreign realtors buy agricultural land. The committee includes Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. At present, FDI is banned in farm land. Further, Indian banking rules disallow loans for the purchase of farm land even for domestic investors except in the case of large-scale projects to safeguard against speculative land acquisition and hoarding. The Ministrys argument is that as farm land is already being acquired for township development, FDI would only help raise more funds for the
purpose. Real estate developers would in any case be applying for land use change after acquiring farm land, the Ministry said.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TELE-MEDICINE What is Telemedicine and its scope& initiatives in India? Telemedicine is medical information exchange between one site to another using the high end and sophisticated communication networks. Telemedicine facilitates the provision of medical aid from a distance. It is an effective solution for providing specialty healthcare in the form of improved access and reduced cost to the rural patients and the reduced professional isolation of the rural doctors. Telemedicine can enable ordinary doctors to perform extra-ordinary tasks. In India, TELEMEDICINE :Healing Touch Through Space is an initiative by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) enabling specialty healthcare to the rural and remote population of India. India is a vast country having an area of 3.2 million square km. To provide the basic medical facilities to all including privileged ,rural and residents spread along various geographical locations had been a major concern for the administration. Having a scoop of policies on health, still quality healthcare is limited to the Urban areas. It is known that 75% of the qualified doctors practice in urban centres, whereas the vast majority of Indias population lives in the rural areas. With the advent of Communication Technology, especially the Satellite Communications (SatCom) combined with Information Technology, we have means to extend the benefits from the advanced medical sciences even to the remote and inaccessible areas. Through its Telemedicine projects, ISRO has successfully linked hospitals and healthcare centers in remote rural areas with specialty hospitals in
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 cities through INSAT satellites. Thus, connectivity between patients at remote end and the specialist doctors at urban centers has been effectively established. With a large and skilled medical community receptive to new ideas, a modest beginning in Telemedicine was made by ISRO in the form of a Telemedicine Pilot Project in the year 2001, linking Apollo Hospital at Chennai with the Apollo Rural Hospital at Aragonda village in the Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh. Later in March 2002,the Karnataka Telemedicine project linked the Narayana Hrudayalaya, a super specialty hospital for cardiac care at Bangalore with the district hospital, Chamarajanagar and the Vivekananda Memorial Trust Hospital at Saragurin south interior Karnataka. The valuable experience gained during these Pilot Projects encouraged ISRO to further endeavour for enabling specialty healthcare delivery to the rural population. Explain the working of TELEMEDICINE Telemedicine is confluenced by Communication Technology, Information Technology, Bio-medical sciences and Medical Sciences. The network is having Hardware and software at both ends with some of the diagnostic equipments like ECG,XRAY,PATHOLOGY CAMERA/MICROSCOPE provided at the patient end. They are connected through a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) system and controlled by the Network Hub Station of ISRO. Through the telecommunication using small computer at patient end, Data consisting of Images, Reports can be sent to specialist doctors in form of Digital Data Packets. These packets are received at the specialist centre, the images Medical data packets sent Video. Conferencing signals sent & received and other information is reconstructed so that the specialist doctor can study the data, perform diagnosis, interact with the patient and suggest the appropriate treatment during a Video Conference with the patient end. Telemedicine facility thus enables the specialist doctor and the patient separated by thousands of kilometers to see visually and talk to each other.
This enables the specialist doctor to assess the physical and psychological state of the patient and suggest treatment. This remote tele-consultation and treatment is much more valuable in case of post operation (Post Surgery) follow up since the patient is not required to travel unnecessarily and hence saving money and time. In this way, the systematic application of Information and Communication Technologies to the practice of healthcare rapidly expands the outreach of the healthcare system. What are the Future Prospects of TELEMEDICINE in India ? ISROs Telemedicine endeavour is expanding its outreach and has the potential to open up new frontiers for facilitating rural healthcare in India. Encouraged by the steady growth of its Telemedicine programme, ISRO has also envisioned the development of HEALTHSAT, an exclusive satellite for meeting the healthcare and medical education needs of the country at large. This satellite, when deployed along with wireless and terrestrial communication links, can bring a large change in augmenting the present healthcare delivery system in the country. Specialty TeleConsultation access to large Population Due to the untiring efforts of various departments like the Department of Space and the Department of Information Technology, State Governments, NGOs and Private and Corporate Hospitals/Agencies, the majority of the rural population all over the country will stand to benefit from Telemedicine Technology that can usher in a revolution for transforming the face of Healthcare in India. Thus, Telemedicine can enlarge the gap between life and death and can extend quality Healthcare to the needy and the under privileged rural, semi rural and urban population at large. Criticality and safety in a Nuclear Power Plant
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 When the fission reactor of a nuclear power plant is operating normally it is said to be critical or in a state of criticality. The word often describes situations with potential for disaster. Nevertheless, in the context of nuclear power, criticality indicates that a reactor is operating safely. Criticality is a balanced state. Nuclear reactors use uranium fuel rods to create energy through fission. Fission is the process of splitting the nuclei of uranium atoms to release neutrons that in turn split more atoms, releasing more neutrons. Criticality means that a reactor is controlling a sustained fission chain reaction where each fission event releases a sufficient number of neutrons to maintain an ongoing series of reactions. In the balanced state of criticality, fuel rods inside a nuclear reactor are producing and losing a constant number of neutrons, and the nuclear energy system is stable. In a nuclear reactor, the neutron population at any instant is a function of the rate of neutron production (due to fission processes) and the rate of neutron losses (via non-fission absorption mechanisms and leakage from the system). When a reactors neutron population remains steady from one generation to the next (creating as many new neutrons as are lost), the fission chain reaction is self-sustaining and the reactors condition is referred to as critical. When the reactors neutron production exceeds losses, characterized by increasing power level, it is considered supercritical, and; when losses dominate, it is considered subcritical and exhibits decreasing power. Controlling criticality: When a reactor is starting up, the number of neutrons is increased slowly in a controlled manner. Neutron-absorbing control rods in the reactor core are used to control neutron production. The control rods are made from neutron-absorbing elements such as cadmium, boron, or hafnium. The deeper the rods are lowered into the reactor core, the more neutrons the rods absorb and the less fission occurs. Technicians pull up or lower the control rods into the reactor core depending on whether more or less fission, neutron production, and power are desired. If a malfunction occurs, technicians can remotely plunge control rods
into the reactor core to quickly soak up neutrons and shut down the nuclear reaction. What is super criticality? At start-up, the reactor is briefly put into a state that produces more neutrons than are lost. This condition is called supercritical state, which allows the neutron population to increase and more power to be produced. When the desired power production is reached, adjustments are made to place the reactor into critical state that sustains neutron balance and power production. At times, such as for maintenance shutdown or refueling, reactors are placed in a subcritical state so that neutron and power production decrease. Indias Future projects in Space Technology India has made remarkable progress in Space Technology and Planetary Exploration in the last decade and took major strides in utilizing the operational space systems in various fronts of national development commercial, strategic, societal and economic. The major focus will be on the development of next generation launch vehicle GSLV Mk III, which currently is in advanced stage. GSLV Mk III will provide the capability to launch 4 T class communication satellite into orbit. Research and Development on critical technologies related to Semi-cryogenic engine, Re-usable Launch Vehicles, Air breathing Propulsion and Human Space Flight will pave the way for realisation of advanced launch vehicles. Satellite Navigation is an emerging area of Space Applications. The first of the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS-1A) has been successfully launched in July 2013. The completion of the IRNSS constellation with seven satellites will lead to the introduction of satellite-based positioning and timing services in the country. The Satellite Communication services in the country are planned to be expanded with more powerful INSAT/GSAT satellites operating in new frequency bands.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Earth Observations are planned with the development of Geo imaging Satellite (GISAT) to provide near real time images of large areas of the country and hyper spectral imaging systems for natural resources survey and disaster management applications. Space technology is a powerful catalyst for social development in the areas of natural resources management, food security, rural development, education and literacy, health-care and environment. Innovations in space based communications and earth observations will be pursued to achieve faster delivery of information to remote areas and finer observation of planet earth. Several exciting missions in Space Science and Planetary Exploration have been planned in the near future including Chandrayaan-2, with a lander and a rover intended for in-situ investigations of the Lunar Surface; multi-wavelength Astronomy observatory satellite ASTROSAT-1 for observation of celestial objects covering optical, UV and X-ray bands and Indias first space- borne solar coronagraph mission ADITYA-1 for studies on coronal mass ejections. Achievements made by department of Space in the last decade which are as follows: Indian Cryogenic Engine & Stage and GSLV D5 The successful flight testing of indigenous cryogenic stage onboard GSLV-D5 Flight on January 5, 2014 was a major land mark technological milestone in achieving self-reliance in Indias Cryogenic Launch Vehicle technology. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is capable of placing 2 Tonne class communication satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and India is one among six countries in the world to demonstrate such launch capability to GTO with the use of complex cryogenic technology. This success, coming after two consecutive failures of previous flights of GSLV-D3 and GSLV- F06 in 2010, has demonstrated the ability of the organization to cope-up with setbacks, implement objectively the corrective actions with determination and accomplish the goal.
GSLV-D5 has successfully put a communication satellite GSAT-14 into a precise GTO orbit. The health of the satellite is normal. Mars Orbiter Mission Indias first inter planetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was successfully launched on November 5, 2013 onboard PSLV-C25. The voyage of the spacecraft towards Mars, following crucial orbital maneuver of Trans-Mars Injection on December 01, 2013, made India to become one of the four nations in the world to send space mission to Planet Mars. Mars Orbiter spacecraft has been realized on fast track mode in a record time of less than 18 months to meet the earliest launch opportunity (the next opportunity would have been only after 26 months). Mars Orbiter Mission is mainly intended to establish the Indian technological capability to reach Martian orbit and to explore Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments. Besides the scientific and technological challenges, Mars Orbiter Mission is a vital step in enthusing the younger generation in the country in scientific research in general and planetary exploration in particular. The injection of the spacecraft in to Mars Orbit would take place on September 24, 2014. PSLV A Workhorse Launch Vehicle Indias Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), with a proven track record of 24 successful flights, has provided the country the crucial autonomy in access to space. During the last decade, PSLV had 15 successively successful flights and has placed 23 Indian satellites and 31 foreign satellites into orbit. The versatile vehicle PSLV has been successfully used for launching lighter communication and navigation satellites into GTO, apart from launching remote sensing satellites to Low Earth Orbit and Interplanetary missions. PSLV, to its credit, has the successful launch of Indias first Inter-planetary Mission to Mars in November 2013 as well Indias first Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-1 earlier in September 2008. PSLVs launch capability has been progressively enhanced with ability to place multiple satellites into varied orbits. A noteworthy
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 achievement of PSLV is the successful launch of TEN satellites into multiple orbits during PSLV C9 flight in 2008 demonstrating the versatility of the vehicle. Space Capsule Recovery A leap-frog in Indian Launch Vehicle Technology was achieved in 2007 through the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment Mission SRE-1 which established Indias technological capability to recover an orbiting satellite with precise re-entry trajectories. SRE-1, demonstrated several advanced technologies such as thermal protection system, deceleration and recovery system, etc.; of relevance for future Human Space Flights. Indias Mission to Moon Indias maiden moon exploration mission Chandrayaan-1 was launched in October 2008 for mapping the lunar surface with high resolution remote sensing and study the chemical and mineralogical composition. This mission has enabled to detect the presence of Hydroxyl (OH), a molecule consisting of oxygen and hydrogen atoms and water molecules on the lunar surface, which has set new directions of lunar explorations in the global community. Remote Sensing and National Natural Resource Management System The Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) System, with currently 11 satellites in orbit, is one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation in the world today. It provides inputs for management of natural resources and various developmental projects across the country using space based imagery. IRS Satellites provide data of varied spatial resolutions and improved repeativity to suit many spectra of applications. During the last decade, 13 remote sensing satellites have been launched and operationalized. The imaging technology of the country witnessed a quantum jump with the successful launch of Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1) in 2012. RISAT-1 gave
the all-weather day and night imaging capability for the country, crucial for applications in Agriculture and Disaster Management. The advanced cartography satellite, Cartosat-2 launched in 2007, enhanced the imaging capability to sub-meter high resolution in tune with the global trend and provided immense services for cartographic applications. To study the climate of tropical regions, a joint Indo-France satellite MeghaTropiques was launched in October 2011. With the launch of advanced meteorological satellite INSAT3D in July 2013, an atmospheric sounder payload has been placed over the Indian Ocean for the first time which enabled detailed climatic studies over this region. The Scatterometer on Oceansat-2 satellite launched in September 2009 is the only operational instrument providing data not only for India, but also for the global agencies like NASA and NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) of US. Data from IRS satellites are used for meeting varieties of societal needs locating sources of drinking water in remote areas, potential fishing zone advisories, environmental monitoring, agricultural crop forecasting, disaster management to name a few. The fact that data from IRS satellites is also received and marketed through international ground stations across the world is a testimony for the quality products generated by IRS. INSAT System INSAT system has grown as one of the largest domestic communications satellite constellations in the Asian region, providing services of telecommunication, television broadcasting, meteorology and disaster management to a cross section of users in the country including strategic sector. In the last decade, INSAT system has been augmented with the launch of 12 INSAT/GSAT communication satellites providing together 232 transponder capacity covering C, Ext-C, Ku and S bands for meeting national demands for communication transponders. A vital application of INSAT system in the last decade has been in the field of education with the launch of thematic satellite EDUSAT in 2004. EDUSAT was specially designed to spread education (formal and informal)
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 at all levels and regions of the country and about 25 States were covered by the footprint of EDUSAT with more than 55,000 EDUSAT class rooms. INSAT system was also instrumental in taking the benefits of space technology to the doorsteps of common man through the initiatives of Telemedicine and Village Resource Centres in the country. Satellite Navigation A vital space technology initiative of the last decade has been the Satellite based Navigation System. India is pursuing satellite navigation programme to provide position and navigation information for various applications. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is being developed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary. The first satellite of this 7-satellite constellation, IRNSS 1A was successfully launched in July 2013. In addition ISRO and Airports Authority of India have jointly taken up GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) programme, as a forerunner for the operational Satellite based Augmentation System (SBAS) over the Indian Airspace. GAGAN payloads are already incorporated in GSAT 8 and GSAT 10 satellites. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has provisionally certified the GAGAN system, so as to enable the aircraft fitted with SBAS equipment to use GAGAN signal in space for En-Route Navigation and Non-Precision Approaches over Indian air space. Space Commerce/Antrix Indias Space capability is being marketed globally by Antrix Corporation Limited. As the commercial and marketing arm of ISRO, Antrix is engaged in providing Space products and services to international customers worldwide. By using the launch services of ISROs workhorse launch vehicle, PSLV, 31 satellites belonging to 17 countries have been launched on commercial terms during the last 10 years. An important achievement of the last decade is realising two high power communication satellites, viz. W2M and HYLAS for European
customers contracts bagged by Antrix against tough competition. Additionally, the data from Indian Remote sensing satellites are commercially disseminated to users globally. Antrix leases transponders of the INSAT system for commercial purpose. International Co-operation Indias maiden mission to moon Chandrayaan-1 carried six scientific instruments from USA and Europe. Two satellite missions viz. (MeghaTropiques and SARAL (Satellite with ARgos and ALtica) were realized through India-France Cooperation. YOUTHSAT, a satellite for space weather studies has been realized by young scientists of India and Russia. India has co-operation with Jet Propulsion Laboratory of USA for ground stations support for Mars Orbiter Mission and India and USA together are planning to develop a dual band Radar Imaging Satellite to be launched by 2019-2020. During the last decade India has signed 10 new cooperative instruments with various countries and space agencies. The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2013 What is Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India:- a proposed regulatory authority to regulate the research, transport, import, manufacture and use of organisms and products of biotechnology. Why we need Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India:- because India has signed US convection on biodiversity and Cartagena protocol on Biosafety which make regulatory authority necessary. Current status: Currently biotechnology is regulated by Ministry of Environment and Forests and Department of Biotechnology under Ministry of Science and Technology. Highlight of bill: set up an independent authority .
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 regulate products and processes of Biotechnology and certify that the product is safe. Doesnt specify for any liability, the tribunal and the court will decide the liability. Field trials of the modified products will only be conducted after permission from BRAI. For a drug or vaccine with elements of biotechnology, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) will forward the application to BRAI to assess whether it is safe to proceed with a clinical trial. BRAI UNITS:Risk Assessment Unit (RAU): The RAU will undertake science based safety assessments of the applications. Product Rulings Committee (PRC): The report of the RAU will be forwarded to the PRC and the PRC will make recommendations regarding the safety of the product or organism. Environmental Appraisal Panel (EAP): BRAI may refer an application to the EAP, in case of products or organisms having an environmental impact. Opposition :The states are objecting that Center is trying to interfere in state right because the Bill brings the regulation of biotechnology under the powers of the center. The Centre claims that the states still have the powers in issues like GM technology as agriculture belongs to the State list The bill bypasses the RTI under the garb of being Confidential Commercial Information. Conflict of Interest : this bill seen as a quick one-stop clearing house to benefits GM corporation as a committee of just 5 scientists will be empowered to clear the patented technology for use in whole country.
COPYRIGHT It is a right available for creating an original Literary and dramatic work. Musical or artistic work. Cinematographic films (Soundtracks, Video films, Disc/Tape/Roll recordings. Computer software/ Programs (within definition of literary work.) Berne Convention India is a member of Berne convention. Under this international treaty, registration of copyright is not an essential requirement for protection of right. Thus, a copyright or a work created in India would be automatically and simultaneously protected in all the member countries. Transfer of Copyright The owner of a copyright may assign to any person, the copyright either wholly or partially For the entire world or for a specific nation/territory. For the full term of copyright or a part thereof. Relating to all the rights or only a part of such right. INDUSTRIAL DESIGN The external design, colour scheme or ornamentation of a product plays a key role in the market acceptability of the product. These rights intend to protect the external design of a product from imitation. Definition of DesignThe Two dimensional or Three dimensional features of Shape Configuration Pattern Ornamentation
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Pattern of lines or colors Requirements of Design New or original Should relate to features of shape/configuration/pattern/ornamentation Should be applicable to a production by mechanical process Should appeal to and judged by eye only Should not include any trademark/ property mark/artistic work Should not contain obscene or scandalous matter Note: It does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance, a mere mechanical device. TRADEMARK A distinctive sign, which identifies certain goods or services as provided/produced by specific person/enterprise May consist of drawings, symbols, 3-d signs, shape colors used as distinctive features Certificate Trademarks indicates that the goods are of Certain quality or Manufactured in a particular way or Come from a specific region or Use some specific material Maintain a certain level of accuracy GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS Applicable to agricultural, natural or manufactured goods Goods originating or manufactured (Production/Processing/Preparation) in the particular territory of a country or region or locality in that territory PROTECTION OF INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LAYOUT DESIGN It provides protection for semiconductor IC layout design including a transistor layout and other circuitry elements like lead wire designs. An IC layout design cant be registered if it is Not original Commercially exploited anywhere in India or World Inherently not distinctive Terms of various IPRs Patent20 years (From the date of filing application) Copyright: Literary/Dramatic/Artistic/Musical work Lifetime of the author +70 years from the year of death of the author All others50 years from the date/year of application o Industrial design 10 years (Can be extended up to 5 years)
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The given quality, reputation and other characteristics of goods is essentially attributable to its Geographical origin. This concept is new in India and came in limelight after India signed Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). According to TRIPS A GI is applicable and protected in all the member countries A GI not protected in the country of origin will not be protected anywhere else. Conditions for Homonymous GI (Ex: Wines) will be determined by the state Provision for principals of national treatment and fair competition Provision for seizure of goods indicating false GI
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 o Trademark10 years (Can be extended by 5 years) o Geographical Indications 10 years (Can be extended by 5 years) Legislations Covering IPRs Patents The Patent Act (1970)
Copyright The Copyright Act (1957)(Amended 83, 84, 93, 94 99) The Copyright Rules (1958) Trademark The Trade and Merchandise Marks Act (1958) The Trademark Act (1999) (Supersedes the former, waiting enactment) Industrial Deign The Designs Act (1911) The Designs Act (2000) (New, supersedes the former) IC layout design The Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Layout Design Act (2000) (Waiting enactment) Geographical Indications The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999 (waiting enactment)
DEFENCE & SECURITY

Nuclear security around the world In 2009 President Obama delivered a speech in Prague in which he called nuclear terrorism one of the greatest threats to international security. With that in mind, US hosted the first Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington DC in 2010, in order to draw attention, at the highest possible level, to the need to secure nuclear material and thus prevent nuclear terrorism. Forty-seven countries and three international organisations participated in the first Nuclear Security Summit, held in Washington in 2010. The aim of the summit was to improve worldwide nuclear security by enhancing cooperation and to make concrete agreements aimed at better securing nuclear materials and facilities. Commitments made in Washington in 2010: Leaders jointly affirmed the seriousness and urgency of the threat posed by nuclear terrorism. The participating countries agreed to work to secure all vulnerable nuclear material worldwide.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 The participating countries agreed to shoulder their responsibility for securing nuclear material within their own borders. The participating countries agreed to work together as an international community to improve nuclear security. In 2012 the second NSS was held in Seoul. Fiftythree countries and four international organisations were invited. The first summit was concerned with making political agreements, while the follow-up in Seoul focused on the progress made on implementing those agreements. New ambitions were added to the Washington Work Plan: the participants recognised the need to increase synergy between nuclear safety and security and better protect radiological sources from theft and misuse. Radiological sources may not be usable for a nuclear weapon, but they are well suited for making a dirty bomb, which can release radiation and cause social upheaval. Nuclear Materials Security Index has been introduced, which surveyed the precautions, each country had in place and ranked them based on their security practices The 2014 summit(Third NSS summit) will chart the accomplishments of the past four years, identifying which of the objectives set out in the Washington Work Plan and the Seoul Communiqu have not been met and proposing ways to achieve them. The Netherlands will focus on the following achievable and visible goals: optimal security for and, if at all possible, a reduction in the use of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. Ratification of the amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material by more countries to ensure that the amendment enters into force as soon as possible. More frequent reviews of state security structures by IAEA advisory missions. National registration and protection of highly radioactive sources (e.g. medical equipment). Greater role for industry in nuclear security, to enhance the security culture and existing regulations. States should provide information to their own people and the international community to demonstrate that they are taking appropriate measures to maintain the security of their nuclear material and facilities. These confidence-building measures will increase trust in the international protection system. Gift baskets Certain countries involved in the NSS are interested in taking a specific security theme a step further. These countries are being given the opportunity to offer a gift basket, an extra initiative. The idea is for presenters of such gift baskets to acquire the backing of as many countries as possible, which will in turn function as role models for a given aspect of security. For example, the Netherlands, with the help of the highly respected Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), has taken the lead in further developing a gift basket that fosters expertise and cooperation in the field of nuclear forensics (forensic analysis of incidents involving nuclear or radiological materials) and international cooperation in this field. In a US based study, it has found that India has one of the weakest nuclear securities in the world. Number of nations having material for making nuclear bombs has been reduced by 25% over the past 2 years. But there remain weak links which could be dangerous as these could be exploited by terrorists.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Study used various factors such as accounting methods, physical security and transportation security etc for finding safety of nuclear material. Israel, Pakistan, India, Iran and North Korea are the weakest link in nuclear security. Study has ranked Australia as having the best nuclear security arrangements, followed by Canada, Switzerland, Germany and Norway. The US is at 11th rank. Australia was able to do so by reducing its quantity of nuclear materials and by ratifying a treaty that commits countries to criminalise acts of nuclear terrorism and to cooperate in bringing nuclear criminals to justice. Belgium improved by passing new security legislation, joining a treaty and decreasing its quantity of materials. Canada ratified treaties and issued new regulations on the transport of atomic materials for improving its score Japan has made sweeping nuclear upgrades after the 2011 Fukushima reactor disaster, including the formation of a regulatory body to address nuclear safety and security. It rose from 23rd in the rankings to 13th. As per the study, Mexico, Sweden, Ukraine, Vietnam, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary have removed all or most of the weapons-usable nuclear materials on their territories since 2012. The drop in the number of countries possessing such materials could be seen as encouraging for President Barack Obamas declared ambition to lock down all of the worlds highly enriched uranium and plutonium. North Korea remained in last place. There are an estimated 1,400 tons of highly enriched uranium and almost 500 tons of plutonium stored in hundreds of sites around the world.
The 2014 and 2016 meetings will provide opportunities for the moments of accountability for states to show progress on their own nuclear materials security and their commitment to working toward a robust global nuclear security system. Source- http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-indiadangerous-weak-link-in-nsecurity-/1217093/0 https://www.nss2014.com/en/nss-2014/about-the-nss
Defence Technology Indigenisation
Indigenisation
Guised
Over the last three decades, India has evolved significant design capabilities, as evident from its missile programme, its nuclear propulsion programme, a series of light helicopters, the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), the Arjun tank, and an array of naval technologies that drive warship building. Safeguarded technologies in electronic warfare, combat management systems and secure communications have also been developed. However, analysts and government watchdogs like the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) are critical. In August 2010, the CAG criticised the Dhruv helicopter, pointing out that 90 per cent of its systems and sub-systems are sourced from abroad. The Tejas LCA and the Arjun tank also have a high percentage of foreign components. While the warship building programme has made indigenisation a priority, some 60 per cent of the weapons and sensors in most Indian-built warships continue to be sourced from abroad, including in the recently launched aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. What does Indigenization Mean? In 2001, a growing ministry of defence (MoD) realisation that the public sector could not meet Indias defence needs triggered the entry of private companies into this sector. But that laudable policy change was not accompanied by a clear, holistic plan for indigenizing defence production. A dozen years later, there is no clarity about what indigenisation
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 means. Instead, indigenisation has been reduced to a slogan Indias current equipment ratio of 30 per cent indigenous and 70 per cent foreign equipment must be reversed to 70 indigenous and 30 foreign.We could indigenize 70 per cent and still have no real control over a product that we build a large part of. That is because we continue focusing on components and numbers rather than design expertise. If we build most of a system in India, but cannot tweak, modify or export it, how can we say we have indigenized it? Indigenisation, in a broader sense is being able to master; develop technologies and being proficient in externally acquired technology rather than just production of all defence equipment within India without the knowledge of related technologies. The Kelkar Report states: There is an urgent need to review the whole concept of indigenization and self-reliance and it is time to go beyond the idea of looking at indigenization purely as import substitution of components, sub-assemblies, etc. within the country from raw materials. Today indigenization as a concept will need to involve capability enhancement and development, increasing know-why, design and system integration, rather than having numerical targets. Indigenization involves the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), private sector, the Services and the civilian leaders. Procurement including transfer of technology India has been manufacturing Russian fighter aircraft and tanks under license for many years, the Russians never actually transferred weapons technology to India. Although the country has now diversified its acquisition sources beyond Russia to the West and Israel, recent deals have failed to include transfer-oftechnology (ToT) clauses. India never had a relationship in defence production beyond buyerseller or patron-client, with Russia or any other nation except in the production of BrahMos missiles. Indias efforts to sign contracts with foreign
companies that include both licensing as well as transfer of technology were never fruitful as the trade policy in those countries strictly restricted the companies to only licensing and sale of equipment, denying the transfer of technology. Whatever India procures now must be procured with a ToT clause being built into the contract even if it means having to pay a higher price. The aim should be to make India a design, development, manufacturing and export hub for defence equipment in two to three decades. Role of Defence Research and Development Though it seeks to encourage public-private partnerships, privately the government continues to retain its monopoly on research and development and defence production through the DRDO, the ordnance factories and the defence PSUs (DPSUs). Since its inception in 1958, the DRDO has achieved some spectacular successes like the missile development programme, but also has many failures to its name. Programmes like the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun have suffered inordinate delays and time and cost overruns. However, to its credit, the DRDO worked under extremely restrictive technology denial regimes and with a rather low indigenous technology base. The DRDO is now in the process of implementing the report of the P Rama Rao committee that had asked it to identify eight to 10 critical areas that best fit its existing human resource pool, technological threshold and established capacity to take up new projects. And, it must scrupulously stay out of production as the private sector has shown its readiness and technological proficiency to take up the production of weapons and equipment designed by the DRDO and must be trusted to deliver. Required strategy for Indigenization The DRDO must now concentrate its efforts on developing critical cutting edge technologies that no strategic partner is likely to be willing to share; for
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 example, ballistic missile defence (BMD) technology. Other future weapons platforms should be jointly developed, produced and marketed with Indias strategic partners in conjunction with the private sector. The development of technologies that are not critical should be outsourced completely to the private sector. Also, the armed forces should be given funding support to undertake research geared towards the improvement of inservice equipment with a view to enhancing operational performance and increasing service life. Gradually, the universities and the IITs should be involved in undertaking defence R&D. This fivepronged approach will help to raise Indias technological threshold over the next two decades by an order of magnitude. As the largest importer of arms and equipment in the world, India has the advantage of buyers clout. This clout must be exploited fully to further Indias quest for self-sufficiency in the indigenous production of weapons and equipment. In all major acquisitions in future, India should insist on joint development, joint testing and trials, joint production, joint marketing and joint product improvement over the life cycle of the equipment. The US and other countries with advanced technologies will surely ask what India can bring to the table to demand participation as a co-equal partner. Besides capital and a production capacity that is becoming increasingly more sophisticated, India has its huge software pool to offer. Today software already comprises over 50 per cent of the total cost of a modern defence system. In the years ahead, this is expected to go up to almost 70 per cent as software costs increase and hardware production costs decline due to improvements in manufacturing processes. In 10 to 15 years India must begin to acquire most of its defence equipment needs from Indian companieswith or without a joint venture with an MNC. Only then will the era of self-reliance in defence acquisition truly dawn on the country. It will be a difficult quest, but not one that a great nation cannot realize. With the defence budget languishing at less than two per cent of Indias GDP compared with Chinas 3.5 per cent and Pakistans 4.5 per cent plus US military aid it will not be possible for the armed forces to undertake any meaningful modernisation in the foreseeable future. India is expected to spend approximately USD 100 billion over the 12th and 13th defence five-year plans on military modernisation. As 80 per cent of weapons and equipment are still imported, there is an urgent need to further refine the defence acquisition process and insulate it from the scourge of corruption that has afflicted all other national endeavours, including major development projects, while simultaneously encouraging self-reliance and indigenisation. India cannot leap-frog to a higher defence technology trajectory virtually overnight. Transforming a low technology base to a higher plane will need time, patience and large scale capital investment. It will also need strong support across the political spectrum. Defence Procurement Procedure undermining the role of Private sector and MNCs The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) manual was introduced in 2005. Since then it has been revised and modified several time. The Defence Production Policy unveiled in 2011 with major objective of self-reliance in design, development remained wishful as at present most weapons and equipment continue to be imported. The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) was amended once again in April 2013 to reflect the current thinking on buying Indian. However, in effect it still favours the defence PSUs over the private sector. MNCs are allowed to bring in only up to 26 per cent FDI as against 74 per cent for nondefence sector joint ventures. Required amendments to DPP The defence production process must provide a level playing field between defence PSUs and Indian
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 private sector companies forming joint ventures with MNCs where necessary. The amount of FDI that MNCs can bring in must be raised to 49 per cent immediately and to 74 per cent in due course to make it attractive for MNCs. However, no MNC that is unable to provide transfer of technology either due to the home countrys restrictive laws or due to proprietary considerations should be considered for future defence acquisitions. Beyond the release of large amount of radioactive materials in the air and water, the reactor core had melted and burned through their containers into the base of the building. Although the worst was avoided, but the total release was equal to half the amount of radioactive materials as was released in Chernobyl. The apparent impact of disaster on Japans coastal biota is still a concerning matter. The exact death toll is still unknown, and may be Japan escaped the immediate numbers game, but studies suggest that there might be upto 1300 resultant cancer deaths, with extremely small noticeable effects in Asia and North America.
ENVIRONMENT/ECOLOGY
International Repercussions: In France, the strongly pro-nuclear govt. was defeated with 70 % people opposing the nuclear energy projects. The present govt. promised to radically reduce dependence on the same. In Germany, all the old nuclear reactors were closed and it was decided to completely phase out the rest by 2030. In Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, there was a major referendum against the goverments plan to build new nuclear plants and the respective governments had no other option left except conceding defeat. Malaysia, Philippines, Kuwait and Bahrain abandoned their nuclear plans while Taiwan had to drastically change its nuclear aspirations. China decided to first suspend and then restart its nuclear program with a reduced intensity of approving lesser number of nuclear projects. Moreover, there is an impetus on completely replacing the total nuclear energy contribution with renewables by 2020.
Environment: Japanese warning and Critical analysis of Fukushima Disaster. The current visiting Japanese delegation has warned India on the critical issue of equilibrating the priorities of development and its environmental impact. According to Mr. Natsuo Yamaguchi, Japan has experienced a catastrophic nuclear bomb explosion and a recent nuclear accident, which has instilled a greater sensitivity in the Japanese psyche. A critical analysis of Fukushima Disaster Even after more than two years, the ghost of Fukushima haunts the social and economic face of Japan. Although the devastating effect of the concurrent Tsunami was far greater, still the nuclear crisis provided an acutely distressing scenario, leaving some 50 workers as heroes, TEPCO as villain and more than 1,60,000 civilians as the victims.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 In US, some proposed projects collapsed and the proportion of renewable energy generation has already overtaken that of nuclear sources. Still Countries like UK, Russia, South Korea and India are planning major expansion with a large nuclear program in spite of severe public oppositions in many of these countries. Final Words: Canine Distemper Virus(CDV) For a country like Japan, which was planning to expand its nuclear program from 26% to 45% of total electricity by 2030, a shift to zero seems too steep a cliff. It would be very significant and would involve major changes, especially when the challenge is to reduce the Green House Gas emission by 23 to 25%, from 1993 levels, by 2030. A whole new field of renewable options ranging from solar to geo thermal will be explored with a significant up gradation of technology. Japanese track record of technological innovation is almost incredible and considering that, Fukushima Disaster might have had a destructive effect on Japan, but it might turn into a beacon light for a cleaner and greener future ahead. Note: For more details on exact sequence of events in the accident, please refer Wikipedia. Chinas ivory crushing. Two months after US destroyed its stockpile of ivory, China took a significant step towards discouraging ivory trade and poaching, by destroying 6.15 tonnes of ivory seized, in public. It is being interpreted as a move towards shedding its image of as the worlds biggest market for smuggled ivory, which figuratively sits at 70% of global demand. Conservationists welcomed the move as it sent out strong message to the potential customers as well as symbolically enhanced public awareness. Every year huge no. of African elephants are
killed and China has been acting as the dumping ground of their tusks Rare Odonate species found. In Southern Western Ghats, a rare Odonate species was spotted. Odonates are mainly aquatic insect groups who flourish in rivers, perennial streams and meadows.
Scientists at Indian Veterinary Research Institute(IVRI) have found Canine Distemper Virus(CDV) in the blood samples of dead animals from Dudhwa Tiger reserve, Patna zoo and many parts of West Bengal. According to them CDV is causing deaths of endangered Tigers, Red Panda and Lions. CDV is a common disease in domestic dogs. It affects nervous, respiratory and immune system. Spreads in animals which eat infected dogs and use infected water sources. Rare bird Indian Pitta At Aravalli diversity park in Delhi, an endemic species of colorful bird Indian Pitta was spotted after 60 yrs. Usually found in Himalayan foothills and Western Ghats, it is distributed all over Asia, Africa and Australia. CLIMATE CHANGE Tropical storm One hit the coasts of Sri Lanka on 5th Jan. The storm with wind velocity of 100km/hour struck the East coast of Triconamalee. The Disaster management center evacuated people from nearby coastline zone as US Navy and Air force Joint Typhoon warning center forecasted about the storm.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 What is a Tropical Storm? Rapidly rotating storm system. Low pressure at the center. Spiral arrangement of the thunderstorms. Produces heavy rain. Forms over large warm water bodies and derives energy from water evaporating from the Ocean surface. Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) TSR is a venture developed that has been developed from UK govt. supported Tsunami initiative project on seasonal tropical cyclone prediction. TSR forecasts to benefit basic risk awareness and aid Disaster management. Before dwelling any further, it is necessary to disburse the presumption that in Indian context, forests are the pristine vast stretches of greenery, flora and fauna as in the case of Amazons or Africa. Rather it should be noted that a huge a chunk of tribal population live inside the areas declared in law as forests. Lump sum purpose of the Act To grant ownership of those forest lands to tribal dwellers, which were already under cultivation, subject to a maximum of 4 hectares. To grant tribal dwellers with the usage rights of minor forest produce, grazing zones etc.. To grant them with proper resettlement and rehabilitation in case of any kind of necessary eviction (either developmental or for conservation purposes). To protect forest and wildlife community conservation programs. through
Reasons behind legislation: A critical analysis. General Studies-III [Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights ] The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006. On 8th Jan, at Balumath, Jharkhand, a group of 250 tribal villagers staged firm protest against the coal mining projects of Tata Steel and Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd.. They emphatically claimed that they were being forcibly denied their forest rights. Moreover they got little cooperation from local officials and were being threatened by a local pro-mining naxal outfit. Analysis of The Recognition of Forest Rights Act (2006)
In India forests are mainly governed by two laws, The Indian Forest Act (1927)(IFA) and The Wildlife Protection Act(1972). The IFA empowers the government to declare any area as forest (Reserved, Protected or Village) and the WPA empowers the government to constitute any area as protected area (National Park, Sanctuary or Reserve), based on studies, reports and recommendations. The IFA aims to bring all forests under the centralized control of forest department and take over the lands and rights of people living over there. Before Independence, the justification for the Act was give as necessary step for higher timber yield, Post-independence for nations Industrial requirements and in current era as a necessity for conservation.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Thus by law, a Forest Settlement Officer is supposed to survey and settle the rights of people in the area which is going to be declared forests. To no big surprise, these settlement officers either did nothing or recorded the rights of only those who were powerful. As a result, millions of people, mostly tribals were declared encroachers in their own homes. They became vulnerable at any time to extortion, jail, assault or eviction. Those who opposed destruction of forests due to Industries, Mining etc. were jailed or evicted. Moreover, the serious concern over conservation and the resultant rehabilitation of tribals was not being addressed properly. Thus, there was need for a set of rules which could address the grievances of these troubled forest dwellers in a more comprehensive and better way. The Forest Rights Act aims at reinvigorating the lost confidence of these people in governance, administration, bring them back in the mainstream development process and help them avail their basic fundamental rights, from which they have long been denied, owing to suppression and exploitation. Controversy and Misinterpretation: A huge section of Indian media and Environmentalists protested against the Forest Rights Act when it was first staged for enactment. And the reason was a gross misinterpretation of the provisions. It was wrongly interpreted that the FRA intends to entitle the ownership of forest lands to the tribals in huge proportions, which eventually would result in deforestation and will have devastating effects on flora and fauna. But it has to be understood that there is no provision for entitlement of new forest lands. Rather to grant ownership of only those lands, which are already under use. (Cultivation, grazing etc.)
Moreover it gives communities the legal rights to prevent forests and wildlife, instead of destroying them, as presumed. Note: For more details on exact provisions of the act and procedures involved, please refer Wikipedia. POLAR VORTEX What is POLAR VORTEX? Polar vortex is large frigid air mass. It is located near the earths geographical poles. It is low pressure area continuously circulating cold air in counter clockwise direction. When the air is being circulated it becomes more cold and denser. It is strongest in winter season and weaker during the summer. It moves very slowly or even stays stationary. Also known as SubPolar cyclone or Circumpolar Whirl.
Where is the Polar Vortex? Northern Hemisphere: On earth it hovers for year around the Arctic with two centers. i.e. 1. Canadas Baffin Island. 2. near Siberia. Southern Hemisphere: It is located near the edge of Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Why is polar vortex making this winter so cold in U.S.? Its normal for some of frigid air moves southward but these times it proves exceptionally by dragging piece of vortex towards U.S. U.S. Scientist have been told that in the past it occurred at the frequency of 20 years. Scientist have begun to study whether there is link between the effect of climate change and the extreme weather conditions. Polar vortex and Ozone depletion: The chemical reaction between nitric acid of polar stratospheric clouds reacts with CFC to form chlorine which acts as catalyst for ozone depletion. It is observed generally on the Antarctic Polar vortex. National Green Tribunal Bill 2009 Highlights: Key Issues: 1.It aims to establish specialized environmental courts in country. Bill replaces the existing National Environmental Appellate Authority and gives wider jurisdiction. Bill allows to hear complaints of substantial question relating to the environment. Here substantial questions means those which affects the community not individual or group of same and which causes significant damage to the environment. Substantial questions relating to environment under the following law can raised in these tribunal: Water (prevention and control of pollution) Act,1974 The Water Cess Act, 1977 The Forest(conservation) Act 1980 Meaning of substantial question related to environment is open to interpretation and does not give exact meaning. It may reduce the access to justice in environmental matters by taking away the jurisdiction of civil courts. All cases under these law will be handled by these tribunal which is benched at limited location(initially only five). It does give the tribunal jurisdiction over some environmental issues. Mainly the judicial members qualification is same as it was for NEAA. Bill does not give any clear idea about the composition of tribunal and selecting committee. References: The air(prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1981 The Environment(protection) Act,1986 The Public Liability Insurance Act,1991 The Biological Diversity Act,2002 Tribunal consists of both judicial and experts members. Judicial members should have been judges of high or supreme courts and expert member should have good technological background and essential practical knowledge. Bill states that order of tribunal shall be final and contains no provision for appeal. 5.Bill was introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in response to the supreme court and recommendations of law commission.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 1:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tpnational/ministry-uturn-may-clear-hurdles-formanipur-project/article5551594.ece 2.www.prsindia.org Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) WHAT is EIA? It is a study to evaluate and identify the predictable environmental consequences and the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits of the proposed project. On the basis of EIA, an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is prepared, which is a description of the means by which the environmental consequences as pointed out in the EIA will be mitigated. Together the whole draft is termed as EIA-EMP report. WHO does EIA? The project proponent or Independent agencies like NEERI, TERI, WAPCOS, E & Y, NCAER etc. WHY is EIA conducted? To systematically examine both beneficial and adverse consequences of the proposal. To ensure that those consequences are taken into account during project design. To identify possible environmental effects of the proposal and means to mitigate them. To predict whether there will be significant adverse effects even after the mitigation. To lessen conflicts by promoting community participation and informing decision makers. How is EIA done?
IDENTIFICATION of the consequences of the proposal. PREDICTION of the extent of consequences. EVALUATION of the predicted consequences. (Significant or not) MITIGATION of the adverse consequences. DOCUMENTATION to inform makers what needs to be done. decision
Issues related to EIA

Though it seems a very simplified process, but the whole process of EIA encompasses numerous structural and procedural flaws. All the associated issues can be classified in two categories. Report Issues Public Hearing Issues. Report Issues. Screening and Scoping not well defined-In the EIA notification 2006, there is a lack of clarity in overall conductance of the Screening process. As it is discretion of the State Level committee to decide which projects are B1 and which are B2, many a times the bias of respective State Governments come into play. The Scoping process faces same types of issues because of lack of clarity in guidelines. Misleading EIA reportsSometimes the EIA reports lack the expected degrees of honesty, owing to bias, corruption, exaggeration and wrong claims. Due to poor knowledge of the project area the agencies lift paragraphs and sentences from other sources, thus presenting contradictory, inconsistent and outdated information. Moreover there is no process for punishing the agencies tabling such dishonest EIA reports.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Insufficient EIA reports-Agencies or project proponents also prepare incomplete EIA reports, which include incomplete surveys, arbitrary demarcation of EIA study area and unsubstantiated statements. Sometimes the impact with respect to flash floods, landslides, peak precipitation etc. round the year is grossly ignored in reports. Poor quality of EIA professionals This happens mostly when the proponents themselves conduct the EIA. They intentionally hire local and incompetent professionals to save cost over the whole process or some other vested reasons. These poor professionals prepare a poor quality of EIA reports. Public hearing issues Lack of awareness-There is a gross lack of awareness among the local people, about the process of EIA, its significance for them, role of various players and their own rights and responsibilities. Moreover there is a communication gap between authorities and local people because the notice for Public hearing is issued in local newspapers only and no separate notices are sent to individual concerned panchayats. Most of the times local people are unaware of the Public hearing meetings. Unavailabilty of EIA in local languages Most of the time EIA reports are unavailable in local languages, thus local people are unable to decipher the reports, and are misled by the proponents. This can be interpreted as a clear violation of the right to information on their part. The irony is local people are totally unaware of such implications. Ignorance of officialsThe concerned officials for example those in Public Hearing committee are ignorant of their roles and responsibilities. Sometimes they dont even get a copy of EIA report and it is passed without their consent, owing to gross corruption of the system. Over involvement of Public hearing consultants In the public hearing meeting, the consultants should not be allowed to have a dominant say, except responding to the issues of the people. On the contrary, they get involved in public hearings beyond requirements and thus mislead the local people. Unaddressed issues persist-The issues raised by people in public hearings remains unanswered and they do not know what happens to the issues, nor do they know if the issues raised are reflected in public hearing reports that is presented to Ministry of Environment and forests. Understanding Assessment (EIA) Environmental Impact
Recently the Ministry of Environment and Forest granted environmental clearance to POSCOs Steel plant, while rejected the proposal of Vedantas Bauxite mining projects. What was the procedure and why one was granted clearance while the other was not? What is their relation with the Environmental Impact Assessment? To answer these questions, there is a need to analyze the entire process of Environmental clearance and the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2006. Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (EIA) ,2006. The EIA notification categorizes all kinds of developmental projects in various schedules. The project proponent/investor has to identify to which schedule his proposed project belongs to. All the projects coming under Schedule 1 require environmental clearance. Schedule 1 contains two Categories A and B, Category B is further classified as B1 and B2 by respective State Level Expert Appraisal Committee. The EIA notification establishes four stages for obtaining Environmental Clearance.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 SCREENING SCOPING PUBLIC HEARING APPRAISAL complies with the prescribed effluent and emission standards. If so, a NOC is granted.
NOTE: B1 Categories project require Environmental Impact Assessment while B2 category projects are exempted from EIA.
NOTE: Public Hearing is exempted for projects like modernization of irrigation, expansion of roads and highways, all B2 category projects etc.
NOTE: Technically, this is the first step for A category projects, which requires Environmental clearance from Central govt. along with B 1 projects, while B 2 projects need clearance only from state governments. The proponent has to now conduct EIA and submit the report to State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and State Forest Department (SFD) (If the project covers forest lands). The SPCB and SFD evaluates the report qualitatively and quantitatively to assess if it
Understanding Intellectual Property Rights WHAT are Intellectual Property Rights? Broadly IPR are rights granted to creators and owners of works that are results of human intellectual creativity. These works can be in industrial, scientific, literary and artistic domains, and in the form of an invention, a manuscript, a suite of software or a business name. IPR as a collective term includes the following IP rights a) Patent. b) Copyright.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 c) Trademark. d) Registered Industrial Design. e) Protection of IC layout design. f) Geographical Indications. g) Protection of undisclosed information. WHY do we need Intellectual Property Rights? Due to globalization, geographical barriers to trade among nations are collapsing, leading to emergence of multilateral trade and a new economic order. The new knowledge economy places a tag of urgency, as the time for grasping knowledge has become an important parameter to determine the success of an institution, enterprise, government and industry. The face of changing trade environment is characterized by global competition, high innovation risks, short product cycle, need for rapid changes in technology and high investment in R&D. Thus the complexity of global trade would be on the increase with introduction of more and more variables. Many product and technologies are simultaneously marketed and utilized in many countries. All such products and technologies are susceptible to infringement leading to inadequate returns to the creator of knowledge. Developers of such products and technologies would like to ensure the R&D costs and other associated costs are recovered and enough profits are generated to invest in future R&D. Hence there is a need for Intellectual Property Rights. NATURE of Intellectual Property Rights Largely territorial except Copyright, which is global Awarded by the state and are monopoly rights. Have to be renewed from time to time. (Except Copyright and Trade Secrets) Have fixed term. (Except Trade Secrets, Geographical indications and Trademark which have indefinite life) Can be assigned, gifted, sold and licensed like any other property. Can be simultaneously held in many countries
at the same time. Can be held only by legal entities. PATENTS Exclusive rights granted by a country. Granted to the owner of an invention. Granted for making, using, manufacturing and marketing the invention Available for a limited period. Territorial in nature, i.e. inventor needs to file separate patent applications for different nations. Definition of Invention i. A new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application ii. New invention means any invention which has not been anticipated by any publication in the country or elsewhere in the world. iii. An invention must be : NOVEL (Undisclosed in public, through any publication, anywhere in the world) NON OBVIOUS (Not obvious to person skilled in the subject matter of the patent) USEFUL IPCC Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) What is IPCC- SPM? Every six years or so, IPCC publishes assessment reports on science, impact and mitigation of climate change. This is the 5th IPCC-SPM. The last (4th) report was published in 2007. Important Impacts of Climate Change Snow cover in the northern hemisphere in June has reduced by 11.7% per decade since 1967. That means the snow cover in that month over the northern hemisphere has fallen to half of what it was less than 50 years ago. Permafrost- The frozen soil that extends several million square kilometers along the high Northern latitudes has warmed by staggering 3 degrees Centigrade in Northern Alaska since
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 early 1980s and by 2 degrees Centigrade in the Russian European north sine 1971 The earths surface cover over each of the last three decades has been warmer than any preceding decade since 1850 and has warmed by .85 degrees Centigrade since 1880. Between 1901 and 2010, the sea levels rose by 19 cm on an average worldwide. In recent years, the rise has increased to 3.2 mm a year. Causes Of the total Green House Gases (GHGs) emission, 44% or little less than half accumulated in the atmosphere, and rest almost equally being taken up by oceans and land based ecosystems. As a consequence, the atmospheric concentration of three main GHGs has risen to levels unprecedented in at least 8,00,000 years. Even the oceans absorbing GHGs have become more and more acidic. Possible Impacts on India The increasing concentration of GHGs in atmosphere will further aggravate the increase in atmospheric temperature as it will rise by a further 0.3 to 0.7 degrees Centigrade in 20162035. The increase in seasonal and mean temperatures is expected to be larger in the tropics and subtropics than the mid-latitudes. The tropics are home to huge number of worlds known species, and which have historically evolved and been used to relative narrow temperature band. A small rise will mean that many tropical species have to migrate or become extinct. In the longer term, it is seriously alarming that much of North-west and Central India would be 4 degrees to 5 degrees warmer by 2081 -2100.
Monsoon retreat dates will likely be delayed in many regions. COMPREHENSIVE ARTICLE on WILDLIFE OF INDIA Apart from a handful of the major farm animals such as cows, buffaloes, goats, poultry and sheep, India has an amazingly wide variety of animals native to the country. It is home to Tigers, Lions, Leopards, Pythons, Wolves, Foxes, Bears, Crocodiles, Rhinoceroses, Camels, Wild dogs, Monkeys, Snakes, Antelope species, Deer species, varieties of bison and not to mention the mighty Asian elephant. The regions rich and diverse wildlife is preserved in 89 national parks, 18 Bio reserves and 400+ wildlife sanctuaries across the country. India has some of the most biodiverse regions of the world and hosts three of the worlds 34 biodiversity hotspots or treasure-houses that is the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas and Indo- Burma. Since India is home to a number of rare and threatened animal species, wildlife management in the country is essential to preserve these species. According to one study, India along with 17 mega diverse countries is home to about 6070% of the worlds biodiversity. India, lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, is home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species. Indias forest cover ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain. In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to Indias wildlife; in response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. The Indomalaya ecozone is one of the eight ecozones that cover the planets land surface. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental Realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya extends from Afghanistan through the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to lowland southern China, and through Indonesia as far as Java, Bali, and Borneo Threats Over-Exploitation of Resources In recent evolutionary history, threats facing many organisms have been driven primarily by the effects of a single species: humans. The extent to which humans have altered this planet has effected countless species and has initiated extinctions on such a vast scale that many scientists believe we are now experiencing a mass extinction (the sixth mass extinction in the history of life on earth). Preventable Threats Since man is indeed part of nature, man-made threats are merely a subset of natural threats. But unlike other natural threats, man-made threats are threats that we can prevent by changing our behavior. The Types of Man-Made Threats Habitat Destruction & Fragmentation The destruction or splitting up of once continuous habitat to enable humans to use the
land for agriculture, development of towns and cities, construction of dams, or other purposes. Climate Change or global warming Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, have altered the Earths atmosphere and have resulted in global climate changes. Introduction of Exotic Species Accidental and intentional introduction of nonnative species into regions never before occupied by the species have resulted in the extinction of numerous endemic species. Pollution Pollutants (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms.
Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing, for example). Hunting, Poaching, Illegal Trade of Endangered Species Some endangered species are targeted for their value on illegal markets. Accidental Deaths Car hits, window collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales). Invasive Species When a new and aggressive species is introduced into an ecosystem, it might not have any natural predators or controls. It can breed and spread quickly, taking over an area. Native wildlife may not have evolved defenses against the invader or they cannot compete with a species that has no predators.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Oil Spills Conservation The need for conservation of wildlife in India is often questioned because of the apparently incorrect priority in the face of direct poverty of the people. However, Article 48 of the Constitution of India specifies that, The state shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country and Article 51-A states that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. Large and charismatic mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India, and several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries cater to these needs. Project Tiger, started in 1972, is a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats. At the turn of the 20th century, one estimate of the tiger population in India placed the figure at 40,000, yet an Indian tiger census conducted in 2008 revealed the existence of only 1,411 tigers. 2010 Tiger census revealed that there are 1700 tigers left in India. The passing of the Forest Rights Act by the Indian government in 2008 has been the final nail in the coffin and has pushed the Indian tiger to the verge of extinction. Various pressures in the later part of the 20th century led to the progressive decline of wilderness resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) General Assembly meeting in Delhi in 1969, serious concern was voiced about the threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in India. In 1970, a national ban on tiger hunting was imposed, and in 1972 the Wildlife Protection Act came into force.
Conservation of Wildlife In India The National Wildlife Action Plan provides the framework of the strategy as well as the programme for conservation of wildlife. The first National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) of 1983 has been revised and the new Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) (File referring to external site opens in a new window) has been adopted. The Indian Board of Wildlife, headed by the Prime Minister, is the apex advisory body overseeing and guiding the implementation of various schemes for wildlife conservation. Project Tiger (External website that opens in a new window), now renamed as the National Tiger Conservation Authority, was launched in 1973 with a mandate to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. Its mandate was to be fulfilled by facilitating focused, concerted management of eco-typical reserves in various states, constituted on a core-buffer strategy through funding the technical support including sitespecific inputs to elicit local community support for conservation. The project has put the tiger on an assured course of recovery from the brink of extinction, apart from conserving the floral and faunal genetic diversity in some of our unique and endangered wilderness ecosystem. Under the Project Elephant (External website that opens in a new window), which was launched in February 1992, States that have a free-ranging population of wild elephants are being given financial as well as technical and scientific assistance to ensure long-term survival of identified viable populations of elephants in their natural habitats. Elephant Task Force Report, Gajah, lays out a comprehensive action agenda for protecting elephants in the wild and in captivity, and for addressing human-elephant conflict. Established in 1982, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) (External website that opens in a new window) offers training programmes, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management. The Institute is actively engaged in
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) (External website that opens in a new window) is a statutory body under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 with its headquarters at Chennai. Its basic mandate is to advise the Government on animal welfare issues, and create awareness regarding animal welfare. AWBI gives financial assistance to the eligible Animal Welfare Organisations for Shelter Houses, Model Gaushalas, for setting up Bio-Gas Plants, Famine/Drought Relief, Earthquake Relief, etc., in the various states. Zoological Survey of India (External website that opens in a new window) is a nodal organization under Ministry of Environment and Forests which plays a significant role in fulfilling Indias commitments under various international conventions. This organisation is a vast repository of National Zoological Collection in the form of various types and reference collections needed for the bio-systematic research and conservation strategies. CITES ,Convention Endangered Species. on Illegal trade in Establishment of protected areas Regulation and control of trade in parts and products derived from wildlife Management of zoos. The WLPA provides for several categories of Protected Areas/Reserves: National Parks Wildlife Sanctuaries Tiger Reserves Conservation Reserves Community Reserves National parks and Tiger Reserves are by law more strictly protected, allowing virtually no human activity except that which is in the interest of wildlife conservation. Grazing and private tenure rights are disallowed in National Parks but can be allowed in sanctuaries at the discretion of the Chief Wildlife Warden. The amended WLPA does not allow for any commercial exploitation of forest produce in both national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, and local communities can collect forest produce only for their bona fide needs. No wild mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile, fish, crustacean, insects, or coelenterates listed in four Schedules of the WLPA can be hunted either within or outside protected areas. On conviction, the penalty for hunting is imprisonment for a period ranging from a minimum of three to a maximum of seven years with fines not less than 10,000 rupees. Community reserves and conservation reserves are two new categories of protected areas that have been included under the WLPA. These
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Legal Framework for Wildlife Conservation in India The Government of India has introduced various types of legislation in response to the growing destruction of wildlife and forests. These are: The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Last amended in 2006) The Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972 is an important statute that provides a powerful legal framework for: Prohibition of hunting Protection and management of wildlife habitats
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 two categories provide a greater role for local communities, stakeholders and civil society as well as the opportunity to protect many areas of conservation value that cannot be designated under strict categories such as wildlife sanctuaries or national parks. The statute prohibits the destruction or diversion of wildlife and its habitat by any method unless it is for improvement or better management and this is decided by the state government in consultation with the National and State Boards for Wildlife. The WLPA contains elaborate procedures for dealing with legal rights in proposed protected areas and acquisition of any land or interest under this law is deemed as an acquisition for a public purpose. However, with the enactment of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, compliance of various provisions relating to tenure and community rights must be ensured. Apart from protected area establishment, other important aspects of the WLPA include procedures for the appointment of state wildlife authorities and wildlife boards, the regulation of trade in wildlife products and the prevention, detection and punishment of violations of the WLPA. The 2006 amendment introduced a new chapter (IV B) for establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and notification of Tiger Reserves (before this amendment, Tiger Reserves were not defined under the law, but were merely administrative designations to enable funding under Project Tiger). The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) was constituted vide the 2006 amendment to monitor and control the illegal trade in wildlife products. The WLPA provides for investigation and prosecution of offences in a court of law by
authorized officers of the forest department and police officers. The Indian Forest Act (1927) and Forest Acts of State Governments The main objective of the Indian Forest Act (1927) was to secure exclusive state control over forests to meet the demand for timber. The Act facilitates three categories of forests, namely Reserved forests Village forests Protected forests Reserved forests are the most protected within these categories. No rights can be acquired in reserved forests except by succession or under a grant or contract with the government. Felling trees, grazing cattle, removing forest products, quarrying, fishing, and hunting are punishable with a fine or imprisonment. The Forest Conservation Act (1980) In order to check rapid deforestation due to forestlands being released by state governments for agriculture, industry and other development projects (allowed under the Indian Forest Act) the federal government enacted the Forest Conservation Act in 1980 with an amendment in 1988. The Act made the prior approval of the federal government necessary for de-reservation of reserved forests, logging and for use of forestland for non- forest purposes. The Environment (Protection) Act (1986) The Environment Protection Act is an important legislation that provides for coordination of activities of the various regulatory agencies, creation of authorities with adequate powers for environmental protection, regulation of the discharge of environmental
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 pollutants, handling of hazardous substances, etc. The Act provided an opportunity to extend legal protection to non-forest habitats (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) such as grasslands, wetlands and coastal zones. The Biological Diversity Act (2002) India is a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The provisions of the Biological Diversity Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions in any other law relating to forests or wildlife. National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) replaces the earlier Plan adopted in 1983 and was introduced in response to the need for a change in priorities given the increased commercial use of natural resources, continued growth of human and livestock populations, and changes in consumption patterns. The Plan most closely represents an actual policy on protection of wildlife. It focuses on strengthening and enhancing the protected area network, on the conservation of Endangered wildlife and their habitats, on controlling trade in wildlife products and on research, education, and training. The Plan endorses two new protected area categories: conservation reserves, referring to corridors connecting protected areas, and community reserves, which will allow greater participation of local communities in protected area management through traditional or cultural conservation practices. National Forest Policy (1998) The National Forest Policy, 1988, (NFP) is primarily concerned with the sustainable use and conservation of forests, and further strengthens the Forest Conservation Act (1980). It marked a significant departure from earlier
forest policies, which gave primacy to meeting government interests and industrial requirements for forest products at the expense of local subsistence requirements. The NFP prioritizes the maintenance of ecological balance through the conservation of biological diversity, soil and water management, increase of tree cover, efficient use of forest produce, substitution of wood, and ensuring peoples involvement in achieving these objectives. DBTs(Department Of BioTechnology) Biotechnology Programs in North East India : What is Biotechnology: Use of living systems and organisms to develop useful products. Ex. Brewing i.e. production of beer (one of the early application of biotechnology). Some major area of application: Healthcare (eg. Pharmaceutical drug discovery) Crop production and agriculture(eg. Genetically modified crop ) Industrial use of crop (eg. Vegetable oil, biofuel ) Various terms related to Biotechnology: Bioinformatics:- address biological problems using computational techniques and make the process of biological analysis fast. Blue biotechnology:- use to describe the marine and aquatics applications of biotechnology. Green biotechnology:- Describe the agricultural use of biotechnology . Red biotechnology:- describe the medical use of biotechnology. White biotechnology:- describe the industrial use of biotechnology.
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Issues related to biotechnology: There are various issues related to biotechnology. Cost: Biotechnology products cost are relatively high because they require high investment for initial research. There may be high risk of failure, which further increase its cost. Ethics: debates over the ethics of biotechnology are raising. Ethics related concern include cloning and genetic modification of organisms. Laws: there are very few laws there address biotechnology practices. Uncertainty: the biggest issue with biotechnology is the uncertainty in its long term effects. Their immediate advantages are clear ,but their long term effect is still hide because most of the research have been done since mid 1990s. for example biotechnology developed genetically modified crops which solved the problem of hunger, increase the plants resistance to disease but still it is not clear that the same GM crops is safe to human health. So what we need is Regulation , currently bioengineered plants food fall under the jurisdiction of three agencies, the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection agency. The US Food and Drug Administration determine whether the new plant variety will adversely affect the environment. The Environmental Protection agency regulates pesticides and determine tolerance level in human and animal. The US Department of Agriculture determine the safety of genetically modified plants. But still there is a problem , the problem is that the companies are asked to voluntarily submit their test results, it is not compulsory. There is no way to check whether the companies that
have developed genetically modified products, is providing correct information or not. So it must be compulsory to submit test results and there must be a separate agency whose task is to check whether the company are providing correct result or not. In case of any violation, appropriate action should be taken. North East Region (NER) of India: [Consist of Seven sister state -Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Himalayan state of Sikkim] 8% of the total geographical area of the Indian subcontinent but 50% of the floristic wealth of the country. house of exceptional natural beauty, floral and faunal biodiversity and abundant mineral, water and forests resources. ideal climatic conditions for agriculture, plantations and sericulture(i.e. silk farming). Reason for rich biodiversity: High rainfall and plenty of sunlight coupled with unique biogeographical positioning. Because Of This(Rich Biodiversity) NER(North East Region) Provide Unique Opportunity For Biotechnology Based Interventions For Overall Development Of The Region. Started In the year 2009-10:- DBT had set up a North Eastern Region-Biotechnology Programme Management Cell (NER-BPMC) through Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL) for coordination and monitoring of biotechnology programme in the North Eastern States of India. Then NER-BPMC has biotechnology programme in States of India(since DBT BPMC, so ultimately this running by DBT) as follows:initiated FIVE the North Eastern has setup NERprogrammes are
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY/PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:Mainly focused on programme that lead to product development In order to ensure economic development of NER. Example includes:Biotechnology Led Organic Farming in the NER Twinning Programme (joint venture, between two or more institutes, where one of the institute is from North East India. ) A value chain on Jackfruit and its value added products . Value chain development in Citrus. Star College Scheme CAPACITY BUILDING:- Some initiatives were taken towards building capacities of the institutions in NER by supporting infrastructure facilities, high speed internet bandwidth, high end IT equipment, access to high impact ejournals, etc. some of the projects implemented are:North Eastern Bioinformatics Network Online human resource repository of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics resources of North East India (BABRONE) Development of Digital Database of Bio-resources of NE(North East) India The Establishment of Biotech DBTs e-Library Consortia (NER-DeLCON) 3.INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT:Since the infrastructure is the key of growth, Following programme has been initiated to support & create infrastructure facilities. DBT Nodal Centre, Tezpur Development of Infrastructural National Research Centre on Yak
Creation of infrastructure facility of labs at NEIGRIHMS, Shillong 4.HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT:- In order to develop human resource, following activities has been initiated. Overseas scientists Fellowship/Associateship for NER
Award of Biotechnology National Associateship to Scientists working in North Eastern States . Entrepreneurship Development in NER MD/MD Thesis Grants
Training program on utilization of bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers in NE states . 5. SETTING UP OF CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE: For strengthening agrobiotechnology research in NER, DBT has been set up Center of Excellence at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat The major focus of the centre will be a). Basic research-Gene technology, molecular breeding and microbial gene prospecting b). HRD component programme and with strong Ph.D.
c). Extending technology benefits through enhanced production of bio inputs etc Recently The DBT has decided to spend 10% of its total budget (148.50 crores) for the year 201314 to promote biotechnology activities in the North Eastern Region of India. Practice questions-
Facilities
of
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Expected Question for mains:

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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 What is biotechnology? Write down its major area of application.(50 words) What are various issues related to biotechnology. What steps has been taken to tackle these issues. (200 words) Explain the rich biodiversity of North East India. What are the factor behind it.(100 words) Department of Biotechnology(DBT) has recently focused on rich biodiversity of NE Regions of India. What was the reason behind this? Also write down some steps taken by DBT in this regard. (200 words) Reference:1) Department BioTechnology(DBT) http://dbtindia.nic.in/index.asp Of website Jan 4 Ministry of Environment and Forests granted environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance to multi-crore Vizhijam Seaport project in Kerala. MoEF instructed the state government to ensure that Hazardous wastes are disposed in the project area. No hazardous wastes and solid wastes are stored in CRZ. No ground water is extracted from CRZ. Mango City of Kerala, Muthalamada, has become the first victim of climate change in the state. With nearly 4500 hectares Mango cultivation, Muthalamada is known for its early mango harvest. In fact besides this Mango city, mangoes ripen in January only in Peru and Bolivia. So it is a first to hit the international market and mangoes fetch good export orders and high prices. Flower bloomed late last year due to heavy southeast monsoon and the previous year owing to severe drought. Jan 5 The Kerala government has expresses apprehensions over the K.Kasturirangan committee report on Western Ghats, demarcating flaws in the identification of Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) under Environment Protection Act. The panel report has recommended declaring 37%of Western Ghats area as ESA. Jan 6 A Pollution Monitoring system was installed on Periyar River, at Elore, Kerala. The system will continuously monitor Edayar Industrial Area and results of water quality will be displayed live on a display board. The Kerala State Pollution Board will also install 8 surveillance cameras
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2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotechnolog y
A Date Wise Synopsis of Environmental Current Affairs: Jan 3
Important
Shashi Tharoor was named Person of the year by PETA (INDIA), for taking steps towards animal protection and conservation. Mr. Tharoor recommended NCERT to ban use of animals in training teachers for dissection and other academic activities. Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) declared the K. Kasturirangan Committee report as anti- environmental and said that the report was prepared without considering the opinions of local people. They claimed that the report will give opportunities to mafia to exploit the ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats. Moreover they said that the committee has a hidden agenda to sabotage the recommendations of Gadgil report, which promotes sustainable development.
INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 along river banks to monitor changes in color and turbidity. Supreme Courts of India ordered the setup of a National Regulatory Body, for processing environmental clearances for industrial projects and implementation of forest policy. The regulator will have offices in most of the states and is a must since the present system under central govt. is deficient. The National regulator will directly deal with Environmental Impact Assessment notification (2006) for every project. Jan 7 Sunederbans, the IPCC recognized major climate hot spot fights the destructive implications of climate change without any robust model yet. The team of 50 scientists led by Robert Nicolls (Southampton University) visited Sunderbans to develop a climate change model that can be adapted to secure water supply, health and food security for millions residing along the belt. Every year water rises up to 7 mm in Sunderbans, which may result in large scale migrations. Jan 8 An expert committee setup by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, under the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT), will decide the standards of multi-tone vehicle horns and sirens. Ironically, while NGT wants regulation to frame guidelines for multi-tone horns, the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) bans all kinds of multi-toned horns strictly. CMVR restricts any kind of multi toned horn which produces any unduly harsh, shrill, loud or alarming noise. The Forest Advisory Committee, a statutory authority under Forest Conservation Act, headed by Director General of Forest will reconsider the project proposals awaiting forest clearances. The proposal in Singaruli (M.P.) is in close proximity to the Sanjay Dubhri Tiger reserve. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has already advised against
the project, declaring it as an Ecologically sensitive area. The proposal in Saranda, Jharkhand is inside notified Singhbhum Elephant Reserve. Jan 9 A rare discovery of conjoined Gray whale calves in the lagoon, Baja (California) is exceptional as till date, any precedent of such a whale has not been found. Siamese whale found were 4 meter long and linked at the waist with the two full heads and tail fins. A report was released on Gangotri, one of the largest Himalayan glaciers in Uttrakhand by G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development. The report states the retreating of Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas with a shrinkage in its volume and size. Report also highlights disintegration in the upper region of the glacier due to tectonic activities. Jan 10 A 800 MW hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh, The Tawang-2 and a 12 MT Steel plant by POSCO, the South Korean Steel giant, were granted environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The proposal by Vedanta in the Niyamgiri hills was simultaneously rejected. Though POSCOs proposal is still being probed by National Green Tribunal. On a PIL seekingdirection to halt discharge of effluents into the river Ganga, the Supreme Court issued notices to Central government, Central Pollution Control Board and governments of Uttrakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The petitioner contended the unrestricted discharge of untreated sewerage, industrial waste and invasion of his fundamental rights to practice religion as well as right to healthy environment (Art 21 and 25 respectively.) Jan 11
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 Taking serious note of a letter from a member of National Ganga River Basin Authority, PMO has asked the Union ministry of Environment and Forests to probe the reasons for increasing pollution levels in Ganga despite thousands of crores being spent on the cleaning of the river. Jan 13 The climate changes caused by severe cyclonic storm Phailin, which was followed by rains in October is believed to have brought changes in the sojourn of numerous migratory birds this winter as their number has fallen considerably. Chilika, the brackish water lagoon in Orissa is vital destination of these migratory birds and a major winter birding site. Jan 14 Jan 21 Increased Pollution levels in Yamuna river owing to release of untreated industrial wastes through Panipat drain in Haryana was noticed. The rise in pollution was attributable to high concentration of industrial and domestic wastes being discharged in Yamuna. Jan15 The Parliament of Europe has approved new CO2 restrictions for commercial vehicles that will slash the emission by 28 % . The Climate Commissioner of Europe stated that the set target of emission is achievable and is not too expensive for manufacturers. Jan 19 More regional centers to monitor environmental projects According to information revealed in an affidavit filed by MoEF in Supreme Court, the government is planning to open 4 more regional centers to strengthen monitoring of environmental projects in different sectors, including mining. The new centers will be located at Chennai, Dehradun, Nagpur and
Ranchi. Already 6 regional centers are working at Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Shillong, Lucknow and Chandigarh. Jan 20 Chilika for UNWTO project. Chilika, Orissa, has been chosen as one of the 8 global sites for development of sustainable tourism and livelihood of local communities to maintain its status as a destination for migratory birds by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). At Chilika, the only site in Asia to be selected, UNWTO would help develop strategies for protection of migratory birds through creation of innovative tourism and livelihood products.
No El Nino, still warm 2013 According to NASA and US governments National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2013 one among the warmest years, since the temperature records began in 1880. Important fact is that in 2013, there was no El Nino. Usually due to El Nino, a weather event leading to warming of Central Pacific, the average temperatures are boosted every year. Jan 22 At Davos, Switzerland, top leaders at the World Economic Forum have emphatically made it a top priority to push to reshape the Global economy and cut Global warming by shifting to cleaner energy sources. Jan 23 Green Rain In Mumbai At Dombivili, Mumbai, environmentalists and conservationists were forced to take note of the Green Rain and the larger pollution problem in Mumbai. Air pollutants reacting with rain water
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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014 may have resulted in Green Rain, thus causing water and soil pollution. There are a total of 450 industrial plants in and around the area, majority of which deal in chemical and hazardous wastes. Local people regularly complain of foul smell and choking gases emission from these plants. Jan 24 The International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), has identified 40 Germplasm of chickpea, resistant to extreme weather conditions like drought, high temperatures and salinity. The latest finding is the result of 14 year effort by a team led by Dr. Hari D. Upadhyay, head of Gene bank at ICRISAT. Chickpeas are rich in Protein, Starch, Fibers, Minerals, Vitamins and is an important legume in the world The lump sum monetary is given at the rate of 1 lakh, 60k and 40k to the 3 categories. Source:http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/mainpage.as px
MISCELLANEOUS
Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards-2013 The president of India has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak awards2013. These awards are given to a person for meritorious act of human nature in saving the life of a person. The award is given in 3 categories namely 1.Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak ; 2.uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak ; 3.jeevan Raksha Padak. Persons of either sex in all walks of life are eligible for these awards. The award can also be conferred posthumously. The decoration of the award (medal, certificates signed by home minister & demand draft for lump sum monetary allowance) is presented to the awardee in due course by the respective state government to which the awardee belong.

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INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014

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NATIONAL & SOCIAL ISSUES

Percentage and Number of poor estimated by

the Central entitlements.

INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014

INDIA'S FORIGN POLICY & IT'S ANALYSIS

Devyani Khobragade Case What was the issue?

INDIA JAPAN Economic Relationship:

INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2014

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DEFENCE & SECURITY

Defence Technology Indigenisation

Issues related to EIA

Expected Question for mains:

A Date Wise Synopsis of Environmental Current Affairs: Jan 3

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