Weekly 26th Novembe To 2nd December 2012 IAS

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26TH NOVEMBER 2ND DECEMBER, 2012
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2nd December: Infrastructure & Resources 1. Transportation infrastructure: Road and Highway Networks, Mass Transit Systems, Railways, Waterways, Ports.... 2. Energy infrastructure:- Thermal Power Generation, Natural Gas Pipelines & Petroleum Pipelines, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy...... 3. Water management infrastructure:- Drinking water supply, Sewage Collection and Disposal of Waste water, Flood Control, Water Harwesting..... 4. Communications infrastructure:- Television and Radio Transmission, Internet, Social Network, Search Engines, Communications Satellites...... 5. Solid Waste Management 6. Economic Infrastructure: Manufacturing Infrastructure, including Industrial Parks and Special Economic zones, Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Infrastructure.... 7. Resources: Water Resources, Forest Resources, Land Resources, Energy Resources, Minerals, Resource Management..... 9th December: Demography : Population Composition, Density, Literacy, Sex Ratio... 16th December: Environmental Problems & Global Environmental Governance : Deforestation, Pollution: Air, Water, Land, Noise, Desertification, Biodiversity Depletion, Global Warming, SD.......
Production and productivity, Microirrigation, Urbanization, Government Initiatives...... 6th January: Indian Economy Basics, Planning & Trade 1. Industry Services, Agriculture, Energy..... 2. Balance of Payments. Foreign Direct Investment....... 3. Growth, Development and Other Issues......... 4. Poverty Estimates, Impact of Poverty........ 5. Exchange rate. Role of RBI..... 6. Nature of Planning - Five Year Plan, Planning after 1991 (LPG), Inflation..... 13th January: Governance and Contemporary Political Developments : Development Politics, Political and Administrative Institutions, Good Governance, Internal Security....
23rd December: Human Development, Social Sector Initiatives and Programmes & Policies 1. Concept of Human Development, Development vs. Growth, Human Development Index, MPI, Innovation..... 2. Social Inclusion, Child Welfare, Women Welfare.... 30th December: Agriculture, Urbanisation, Health : Agriculture and GDP, Agricultural Regionalization,
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Weekly Current Affairs 26th November 2nd December, 2012 [3]
NATIONAL
Ministry of I&B Approves Anti Piracy Initiative in the XII Plan
The Government has approved a Scheme under 12th Five Year Plan for carrying out an Anti Piracy Initiative in the audio-visual sector. This new scheme of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has an outlay of Rs2.0 crores for the Plan period 2012-17. d) Efforts at inclusion of anti-piracy awareness material in the curriculum of the schools and colleges; e) Road shows/Street Plays for creating awareness; f) Programme in Schools & Colleges: Debate/Essay competition; The planned activities will be implemented in collaboration with Business Chambers and NGOs, wherever possible.
Piracy continues to be a key challenge for the Indian film sector and has been a prime reason for decline of Home Video market in India. It is estimated by the FICCI-KPMG report for 2011 that the piracy market accounts for 600-700 million unit sales of DVDs each year with more than 10000 vendors operating in illegitimate DVD market. With increased competition within this sector, prices of pirated DVDs are declining as compared to previous years. Another new emerging threat to legitimate exhibition of films is illegal download of films available on websites. The magnitude of this problem is set to increase in the coming years, given the expansion and availability of broadband infrastructure. While digital technology on the one hand plays a significant role in accessibility of content across various new media platforms, the film sector faces a massive challenge of grappling with pirated software on web-based platforms in the current Indian environment where mechanisms for regulation of content on the Internet are non-existent.
It is generally felt that money from piracy goes towards funding anti-national activities. In view of the foregoing, there is no alternative to government intervention. Hence, it has been envisaged to spread an awareness campaign against piracy in collaboration with stakeholders like business chambers, schools, colleges, etc. Some of the major activities planned are as follows: a) Campaign on piracy through audio-visual, internet and print media; b) Training programmes and workshops to sensitize police, judicial, administrative officials, multiplex and cinema hall owners about the Copyright Act. c) Conduct research on effects of piracy and develop public-private strategies to combat piracy;
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Weekly Current Affairs 26th November 2nd December, 2012
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HIV Estimations 2012 Report Released
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has released the HIV Estimations 2012 at New Delhi. In order to refine these strategies and to evaluate the impacts of the interventions, National AIDS Control Organisation conducts HIV Sentinel Surveillance and HIV Estimations at regular intervals. The latest round of HIV Sentinel Surveillance was completed in 2011. The data generated there has been used for estimation of HIV burden and projection of HIV epidemic trends in the country. The HIV estimations 2012 indicate an overall continuing reduction in adult HIV prevalence, new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in India. The India HIV estimates 2012 utilised improved methodology and updated epidemiological data from the latest round of HIV Sentinel Surveillance, Census 2011 and other information on High Risk Groups for more accurate understanding of the Indian epidemic. Spectrum model has been customised with Indian data to allow robust projections for each state. The entire process is supported by national and international experts, epidemiologists and demographers from National Institute of Medical Statistics, UNAIDS, WHO, CDC and other public health institutes of India. National AIDS Control Programme in India has been recognised globally as a success story. This programme rests on two key pillars - prevention for those who are not infected and care, support & treatment for those who have been infected. Since large proportion of the population is not infected with HIV, prevention remains the cornerstone of the programme. The strategies for prevention include targeted interventions for high risk groups, condom
promotion and strong IEC campaigns for general population. Care, support and treatment aim at increasing access to testing and treatment services. According to the report India is estimated to have an adult (15-49 years) HIV prevalence of 0.27% in 2011. Adult HIV prevalence among males and females is estimated at 0.32% and 0.22% respectively. In 2011, among the states, Manipur has shown the highest estimated adult HIV prevalence of 1.22%, followed by Andhra Pradesh (0.75%), Mizoram (0.74%), Nagaland (0.73%), Karnataka (0.52%), Goa (0.43%) and Maharashtra (0.42%). Besides these, Odisha, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Chandigarh have shown estimated adult HIV prevalence greater than national prevalence (0.27%).
in 2011). Besides North Eastern states where declines have been achieved, newer pockets of high HIV prevalence among IDU have emerged over the last few years, in the states of Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Bihar. Prevention strategies for IDU in the newer areas have been initiated recently and are prioritised for further scale up during the next five years. In certain North Indian states, evidence indicates the possible role of migration in fuelling HIV epidemics. Besides high risk migrants, long distance truckers also show high levels of vulnerability and form an important part of bridge population. It is estimated that the scale up of free ART since 2004 has saved over 1.5 lakh lives in the country till 2011 by averting deaths due to AIDS-related causes. At the current pace of scale up of ART services, it is estimated to avert around 50,000 - 60,000 deaths annually in the next five years. Above evidence shows that India is on track to achieve the global targets of 'Zero New Infections, Zero AIDS-related deaths & Zero discrimination'. However, sustaining prevention focus and intensity in the areas where significant declines have been achieved, is highly critical to consolidate the gains, while effectively addressing the emerging epidemics. With increasing coverage of treatment & decreasing AIDS-related mortality, a significant number of people are likely to require first and second line ART treatment in the coming years. Major challenge for the programme will be to ensure that the treatment requirements are fully met without sacrificing the needs of prevention. NACO has taken cognisance of these emerging challenges and have focussed on region specific prevention strategies and evidence-based scale up. The strategies include: Scaling up of Opioid Substitution Therapy and other harm reduction strategies in the North Western states where injecting drug use is identified as the major driver of the epidemic. On the other hand, in the eight states of North India, where migration is increasingly being identified as playing role in HIV transmission, revised migrant strategy is being implemented with focus at source, transit as well as destination points. Interventions to provide HIV prevention services to long distance truckers are being scaled up at the trans-shipment locations and truck halt points across the country.
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The adult HIV prevalence at national level has continued its steady decline from estimated level of 0.41% in 2001 through 0.35% in 2006 to 0.27% in 2011. Similar consistent declines are noted among both males and females at national level. Declining trends in adult HIV prevalence are sustained in all the high prevalence states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur & Nagaland). India has demonstrated an overall reduction of 57% in estimated annual new HIV infections (among adult population) during the last decade from 2.74 lakhs in 2000 to 1.16 lakhs in 2011. This is one of the most important evidence on the impact of the various interventions under National AIDS Control Programme and scaled-up prevention strategies. Major contribution to this reduction comes from the high prevalence states where a reduction of 76% has been noted during the same period. However, rising trends of new infections are noted in the some of the low prevalence states. Programme has evolved focused prevention strategies to address these emerging vulnerabilities. Further considerable declines in HIV prevalence have been recorded among Female Sex Workers at national level (5.06% in 2007 to 2.67%) and in most of the states, where long-standing targeted interventions have focussed on behaviour change and increasing condom use. Declines have been achieved among Men who have sex with Men (7.41% in 2007 to 4.43% in 2011) also, though several pockets in the country show higher HIV prevalence among them with mixed trends.
Stable trends have been recorded among Injecting Drug Users at national level (7.23% in 2007 to 7.14%
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In the states that account for a larger share of HIV burden, treatment services are being scaled up through expansion of ART and Link ART centres. Second line ART and paediatric ART are being provided at greater number of centres across the country. The main features of the estimations are as follows: a) 57% reduction in new HIV infections during last decade. b) 1.5 lakh lives saved due to scale up of free art services since 2004. c) Sustaining the intensity of interventions to consolidate gain. d) Emerging epidemics given the highest priority in the next five years. e) Balancing prevention and treatment is a key challenge.
Nearly 95 per cent of the population has been enrolled under Aadhaar in Mysore and Tumkur districts, where the universal identity scheme was taken up on a pilot basis. In Dharwad, nearly 45 per cent of the population has been covered; in Bangalore Urban district, the coverage is only around 30 per cent. Hence, while the Centre was keen to introduce the system in Mysore, Tumkur and Bangalore Urban, the State government has conveyed that Aadhaar coverage was higher in Dharwad than Bangalore Urban. Over the next month, it will be ensured that Aadhaar coverage is near cent per cent in the three districts chosen. Those with Aadhaar cards, deriving benefits from a government scheme, will have to mandatorily open a bank account to receive the subsidy. In case there are no bank branches in a given area, then the banks will appoint business correspondents who in turn will pay the beneficiaries at their doorstep. Under the direct cash transfer scheme, the proposal is to pay the food subsidy (public distribution system), fertilizer and kerosene subsidy, apart from some pension benefits, directly to the beneficiaries through their bank accounts. At a later stage, even LPG subsidy (cooking gas), educational grants etc. will be covered under the scheme.
Government to launch direct cash subsidy transfer from 1st Jan
Government will launch the payout of direct cash subsidy to people through the Aadhaar based system in 51 districts of the country from January 1. Further the government intends to complete roll out of the direct cash transfer through the Aadhaar system in the entire country by the end of 2013.
UIDAI will set up a dedicated cell of technical experts in UIDAI to facilitate Aadhaar enabled Direct Cash Transfers and help individual ministries. Departments will work towards digitising their databases quickly, particularly at the state level, with the help of state governments, Department of IT and NIC to ensure convergence. The per family-per year cash transfer amount will be Rs 32,000 in the bank accounts of 10 crore poor families, however Aadhar's coverage has so far been much less even after three years since its launch. Figures indicate that 250 million people have been enrolled so far.
State accepts move to pay Central subsidies directly to beneficiaries
The Centre's move to directly pay beneficiaries the subsidies that it doles out under a range of schemes will be implemented by the government of Karnataka. To begin with, Mysore and Tumkur districts, and possibly even Dharwad, are expected to be covered under the system of direct cash transfer of subsidies through Aadhaar, effective from January, as per a proposal mooted by the Union government.
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Government considering easing norms for road building in rural areas
Government is considering relaxation of norms for building roads in rural habitats asking the Rural Development Ministry to review population norms for habitations and come up with a new proposal in this regard. According to the existing scheme, habitations above 250 in tribal areas and hilly areas in the North East and habitations above 500 in all other areas of the country are eligible for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme. Under the new norms the threshold limit will become 250 from 500. In the tribal areas and hilly areas in North East, the scheme will be relaxed and it would be reduced to 100 from 250. Construction and upgradation of rural road under PMGSY provides socio-economic benefits to all sections of the rural population including Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes, differently-abled and minority communities. The funds will be used to provide all-weather connectivity to rural areas. It will, therefore, promote equity and geographical inclusiveness of growth processes by enhancing connectivity in the poorer and backward regions.
monitoring of projects, the Union Ministry of Urban Development's flagship programme - the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission - has failed on all counts. The performance audit of the Mission shows huge deficiencies. For instance, only 22 of the 1,517 projects approved in 2005 and 231 of 1,298 approved in 2011 were completed as of March 31, 2011. The urban renewal mission was launched in 2005 with the objective of reforms-driven fast track development of cities. The CAG noted that the Mission had failed to strengthen urban local bodies, even though it was supposed to make them more accountable and efficient. Other than execution of housing and urban infrastructure, it was also intended to strengthen the urban local bodies (ULBs) in terms of their structure, composition, financial resources, functions and powers. However in the selected States/UTs, the mandatory and optional reforms were not implemented as per the commitments made in the Memorandum of Agreement. Thus the objective of bringing about reforms in institutional, financial and structural governance structure of the ULBs to make them efficient, accountable and transparent could not be achieved as has been envisaged. It stated that the ministries of the Central Government were not equipped to monitor a project of JNNURM's magnitude. The JNNURM guidelines had been deficient as they did not give adequate advisory to States regarding the parking of funds and the utilisation of interest thereof. There was no uniformity in utilising interest earned on parked funds amongst the States/ Union Territories and the revolving fund had also not been created in almost all the States. There were delays in release of funds to States and the guidelines did not contain any directions to stipulate the time in which such releases should be made. The flow of funds showed that there was a rush of expenditure in the last quarter of the financial year and particularly in the month of March. The Government allocated only Rs.37,070.15 crore of the Rs.66,084.66 crore sanctioned by the Planning Commission. Of this, Rs.32,934.59 crore had been released by March 31, 2011. The audit's findings indicated the risk of ineligible beneficiaries of the schemes meant for the urban poor. The CAG also ticked off the authorities for allowing diversion of funds for projects not admissible under
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New guidelines for arrest norms under IT Act
Last week, two women were arrested for comments on Facebook following the death of politician Bal Thackeray. The arrests led to an outrage with many calling for scrapping the law. Hence the Delhi student Shreya Singhal, who has filed a petition in court stating that the phraseology of section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 is so wide and vague and incapable of being judged on objective standards, that it is susceptible to wanton abuse and hence falls foul of Article 14, 19 (1)(a) and Article 21 of the constitution". This provision allows cases to be registered against those who simply cause 'annoyance' to others by their Internet activities. The plea has also sought issuance of guidelines by the apex court to "reconcile section 41 and 156 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code with Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution" and that offences under the Indian Penal Code and any other legislation if they involve the freedom of speech and expression be treated as non-cognizable offence for the purposes of Section 41 and Section 156 (1).
Section 41 of the CrPC empowers the police to arrest any person without an order from the magistrate and without a warrant in the event that the offence involved is a cognizable offence. Section 156 (1) empowers the investigation by the police into a cognizable offence without an order of a magistrate. Thus the Centre issued new guidelines for arrests under a controversial provision of the IT Act.
The new guidelines say approval from a police officer of IGP rank in metros and DCP rank in other areas will have to be sought before registering complaints under section 66A of the Act. (Section 66A provides for a jail term of up to three years, and a case under it can be registered by a police station in-charge or an inspector-rank officer).
Urban renewal mission a failure: CAG
The new CAG report on JNNURM states that from basic guidelines to implementation and subsequent
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JNNURM. For instance, at Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir about Rs.2.21 crore was distributed to unverified beneficiaries for housing construction. Under the Urban Infrastructure & Governance scheme, not even a single project has been completed in Uttar Pradesh's seven mission cities. In Delhi, only four of 28 have been completed, in Gujarat 33 of 71 and in Karnataka 16 of 46. The CAG recommended that the government consider suitable incentives to states that have
implemented the reforms envisaged under JNNURM guidelines. The Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation should introduce a zero-tolerance policy at all levels with respect to irregular expenditure and diversion of funds. It also recommended identifying the deficiencies in the monitoring of the scheme, at both Central and State levels, and to address these within the next two years.
[ 8 ] Weekly Current Affairs 26th November 2nd December, 2012
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INTERNATIONAL
Egyptian assembly passes draft constitution
The constituent assembly tasked with drafting Egypt's post-revolution constitution has passed the document. The draft had been criticised for its ambiguous language on human rights, minority rights and freedom of expression, as well as its concentration on enshrining sharia law as the basis for legislature. It also protects army privileges that revolutionary forces want rescinded, including the ability to try civilians in military courts. appointed to examine how the State deals with the issue of lawful abortions. The report sets out a series of recommendations but strongly supports legislation to provide for limited abortion. It calls for specific "regulatory" guidelines down to specifying particular centres where abortion can take place. The report of the expert group sets out four options -- Non-statutory guidelines: Statutory Regulations; Legislation Alone; or Legislation plus Regulations. Non-statutory guidelines: would meet the need for speedy action" but on the other hand, "guidelines are, by their nature, non-binding and do not have force of law." Statutory Regulations: would involve the Minister for Health issuing regulations, based on enabling legislation passed by the Parliament, whose membership would provide "the principles and policies." In relation to option three, Legislation Alone, "might be too rigid an approach." On Option four, Legislation plus Regulations, is better. The advantages of this option are that it fulfills the requirements of the judgment, it provides for appropriate checks and balances between the powers of the legislature and the executive, and would be amenable to changes that might arise out of clinical practice and scientific advances.
Articles that were passed included one prohibiting the insult or slander of any person, which could prove troublesome for free speech. However, the rights of expression, the press and belief were included and passed. The right of religious practice was also included, but extended only to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Article 36 included an 11th-hour addition of the word "torture" in the article regarding treatment of detainees. Initially the article had stipulated that detainees should be treated "with respect" and not "humiliated". Egypt has been plunged into a constitutional crisis since a self-issued decree by Morsi gave him sweeping powers and immunity from judicial challenges. The decree also granted the constituent assembly immunity from legal challenges, which were already under way and expected to be decided in December. Morsi's extraordinary powers will remain in effect until a constitution is passed and a parliament is elected. The draft will now be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days. If the constitution is rejected at referendum, it is then returned to the same assembly for redrafting and Morsi will keep his powers.
Ireland publishes expert group report on abortion
Amid controversy over the death of an Indian dentist who was refused termination of her pregnancy despite miscarrying, the Irish Cabinet discusses the report of an expert group which was
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Euro zone, IMF secure deal on cutting Greek debt
Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund clinched agreement on reducing Greece's debt in a breakthrough to release urgently needed loans to keep the near-bankrupt economy afloat. In a significant new pledge, ministers committed themselves to take further steps to lower Greece's debt to "significantly below 110 percent" in 2022-the most explicit recognition so far that some writeoff of loans may be necessary from 2016, the point when Greece is forecast to reach a primary budget surplus.
To reduce Greece's debt pile, ministers agreed to cut the interest rate on official loans, extend their maturity by 15 years to 30 years, and grant Athens a 10-year interest repayment deferral. They promised to hand back 11 billion euros in profits accruing to their national central banks from European Central Bank purchases of discounted Greek government bonds in the secondary market. They also agreed to finance Greece to buy back its own bonds from private investors at what officials said was a target cost of around 35 cents in the euro. Greece will receive up to 43.7 billion euros in stages as it fulfills the conditions. The December installment will comprise 23.8 billion for banks and 10.6 billion in budget assistance. The IMF's share, less than a third of the total, will only be paid out once a buy-back of Greek debt has occurred in the coming weeks.
reduction in the numbers of TB-associated HIV deaths over the past two years, the pulmonary disease continues to remain the leading cause of death among HIV patients. People living with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to develop active TB than people without HIV infections, with pregnant women and children particularly at risk. In 2011 alone, 25 per cent of all AIDS-related deaths were caused by HIV-associated TB disease. Preventing HIV/TB deaths In countries where HIV and TB are prevalent, testing for both should be provided to everyone. People living with HIV are far less likely to become ill with and die of TB if they begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) before their immune systems begin serious decline. All people who are eligible for ART should receive it as early as possible. In addition to earlier ART, people living with HIV should be protected against becoming ill with TB through a daily dose of the drug isoniazid. All people who test positive for HIV and are also found to have TB disease should start TB treatment immediately. After two weeks on TB treatment, they should begin ART, regardless of the status of their immune system.
UN-backed initiative aims to halve HIVassociated tuberculosis deaths
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that there has been a 13% reduction in tuberculosis (TB)-associated HIV deaths in the last two years. The reduction is due to a sharp increase in the numbers of people with HIV and TB co-infection accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART)-a 45% increase between 2009 and 2011. Yet TB remains the leading cause of death among people living with HIV.
UNAIDS and the Stop TB Partnership have signed a new agreement to accelerate action to achieve the 2015 goal of reducing deaths from TB among people living with HIV. The agreement - between the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Stop TB Partnership - will seek to achieve the 2015 goal of reducing deaths from TB among HIV patients by 50 per cent, or the equivalent of 600,000 lives.
At the 2011 UN High-Level Meeting on AIDS, Member States agreed on the ambitious objective of halving TB/HIV deaths by 2015, which also happens to be the target year for the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agenda. As a result, preventative treatments would focus on the 10 countries which currently bear threequarters of all TB/HIV fatalities: Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. However, despite increased access to antiretroviral therapy for patients and a consequent 13 per cent
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HIV epidemic showing signs of reversal: WHO
The HIV/AIDS epidemic shows signs of reversal globally and in South-East Asia. WHO and countries are now working towards zero new HIV infections, zero deaths from AIDS-related illnesses and zero discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. To achieve this goal, the WHO has emphasised the need for people to learn about their HIV status, and for greater effort to reach and support young people and men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, migrants and others who are most vulnerable to the disease. December 1 is observed as World AIDS Day annually the world over. The WHO launched the updated treatment guidelines for adults, children and pregnant women in 2010. Consolidated guidelines that are being developed will have both normative and operational guidance on scaling up testing and treatment services. These will also look at models of care beyond the health sector to enhance community and health sector linkages. These guidelines will be launched in 2013.
The HIV epidemic is now clearly reversing. In 2011, 2.2 million people across the world were infected with HIV and 1.7 million died, half a million fewer new infections than 10 years ago, and 6,00,000 fewer deaths than 2005. In all 11 countries of the WHO's South-East Asia Region, there was a 35 per cent reduction in new infections, from 3,20,000 in 2001 to 2,08,500 in 2011, according to the WHO. One of the key factors behind the decline in HIV infections, according to the WHO, is increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and expansion of HIV prevention programmes. In the region, 46 per cent of adults in need of treatment were enrolled in care and treatment by the end of 2011 - up from 12 per cent in 2005. The coverage for HIV treatment in children was 39 per cent in 2011, up from 9 per cent in 2005. Early treatment reduces morbidity and mortality due to HIV, and recent studies have also confirmed the prevention benefits of early treatment in uninfected regular sexual partners of HIV-infected individuals.
of the sovereign state of Palestine. The vote will upgrade its status to non-member observer state at the world body. The UN victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined by only a handful of countries in voting against the move to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity," like the Vatican. India was among the 138 nations in the 193member body that voted in favour while nine countries opposed the resolution that sought upgrading the status of Palestinian Authority from 'entity' to 'non-member observer state. Forty-one countries abstained from the voting. The vote could enable Palestine to access bodies like the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which prosecutes people for genocide, war crimes and major human rights violations. Now Palestine could use access to the ICC to complain about Israel. In the resolution, the Assembly also voiced the hope that the Security Council will "consider favourably" the application submitted in September 2011 by Palestine for full UN membership. The vote comes on the same day that the UN observed the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Established in 1977, the Day marks the date in 1947 when the Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning then-mandated Palestine into two States, one Jewish and one Arab.
While there is much to rejoice, challenges remain. Nearly half of those in need of treatment are not getting it. Vulnerable groups such as sex workers, people who inject drugs, and homosexual men continue to face stigma and discrimination in accessing prevention, care and treatment services. Linkages between programmes were critical to the expansion of the reach of the services.
Palestine wins de facto UN recognition of sovereign state
The 193-nation UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition
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ECONOMY
GDP growth slows to 5.3% second quarter
The economy slowed in the July-September quarter due to sluggish farm sector performance and anaemic manufacturing growth, fuelling expectations of an interest rate cut and calls for implementing economic reforms to boost growth. Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday showed growth slowed to 5.3% in the July-September quarter compared to 6.7% expansion in the same year-ago period. It marked the slowest pace of expansion in three years and was below the 5.5% growth in the previous AprilJune quarter. Growth in the first half of 2012-13 stood at 5.4% compared to 7.3% in the year ago period. The weakness in the manufacturing sector continued in the second quarter, with the sector growing 0.8 per cent as against 2.9 per cent in the year-ago period. investments. In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India's economic growth at 4.9 per cent in 2012.
India worst performing domestic air travel market globally: IATA
The agriculture sector grew 1.2 per cent, hit by a lower-than-normal rainfall in July and July. "The impact on the khariff crop has pulled down the growth rate," the statement added. A weak manufacturing output pulled down industry growth from 2.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2011-12 to 0.8 per cent in the second quarter of the current year. Although services showed some improvement, it still remains below the trend level. The sector grew 7.2 per cent in the second quarter this year, down from 8.8 per cent in the year-ago period. India's economy is battling weak consumer demand in overseas and domestic markets. The trade deficit is the widest ever after exports fell for six straight months. Industrial output has contracted in four out of the last six months. The government now aims to achieve 5.8 per cent growth for the full year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) too sharply lowered this fiscal's economic growth projection to 5.8 per cent, from 6.5 per cent earlier. However, markets and analysts widely expected the economy to grow at a slower pace under pressure from slowing exports, persistent inflation and lower
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The International Air Transport Association has revealed in a report that India, which was being considered the fastest growing aviation market in the world, has now become the worst performing domestic air travel market globally. Operating cost for an airline is among the highest in India globally. High price of jet fuel - caused by a high base price set by oil PSUs and then the 20%40% sales tax levied by states on that high base and steep private airport user charges in Delhi are the biggest threat to airlines' survival. Forget the mismanaged Kingfisher or Air India, even the wellrun airlines are finding it hard to survive. Senior officials of Indian carriers warned that unless the government does something fast on rationalizing jet fuel prices and lowering landing and parking-charges and steep airport user fees on passengers, especially in Delhi, the cost of flying would get prohibitively high and kill the fabled Indian aviation story. Domestic air travel in November 2012 has fallen by 15.7% over same month last year. In this backdrop, BRIC partners are leaving India far behind in the field of aviation. IATA says Brazil experienced the strongest growth - 9.8% - in domestic air travel in October. The healthy result supports indications of an economic recovery in Brazil; China continued to rebound from the slowdown earlier this year with growth of 7.5%.
Amendments to FEMA tabled in LS
The government has tabled in Lok Sabha amendments to FEMA Regulations, including the one that has operationalised the controversial decision to allow FDI in the multi-brand retail. Five amendments to regulations issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) between May and October this year were tabled in the Lower House by Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena during Zero Hour.
These amendments seek to provide for 51 per cent foreign investment in multi-brand retail, 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail and investment by foreign airlines in domestic carriers. Under the FEMA Act, the government is required to seek Parliament approval on changes in the regulations issued by the RBI. The government had allowed overseas investors to enter the domestic retail space despite stiff opposition from allies, Opposition parties and small retailers. The amendments to regulations, however, will have to get Parliament approval as under Sections 47 and 48 of FEMA, the government has to place the amendments to regulations in both the Houses before 15th sitting of the first session after their notification. Once these are tabled, they have to be either approved or disapproved within 30 days.
followed by Reliance Industries (6.48 per cent market capitalisation), ICICI Bank (5.54 per cent), HDFC Bank (5.48 per cent), HDFC Ltd (5.30 per cent), Infosys (5.27 per cent), L&T (4.21 per cent), TCS (3.49 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (2.73 per cent) and ONGC (2.68 per cent). Meanwhile, the carbon credit market worldwide is now reported to be worth about USD 188 billion, one of the only markets that continued to increase during the recent years of worldwide recession. About BSE Established in 1875, BSE Ltd. (formerly known as Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd.), is Asia's first Stock Exchange and one of India's leading exchange groups and has played a prominent role in developing the Indian capital market. BSE is a corporatized and demutualised entity, with a broad shareholder-base which includes two leading global exchanges, Deutsche Bourse and Singapore Exchange as strategic partners. BSE provides an efficient and transparent market for trading in equity, debt instruments, derivatives, mutual funds. It also has a platform for trading in equities of small-and-medium enterprises (SME). BSE also provides a host of other services to capital market participants including risk management, clearing, settlement, market data services and education. It has a global reach with customers around the world and a nation-wide presence. BSE systems and processes are designed to safeguard market integrity, drive the growth of the Indian capital market and stimulate innovation and competition across all market segments. It operates one of the most respected capital market educational institutes in the country (the BSE Institute Ltd.). BSE also provides depository services through its Central Depository Services Ltd. (CDSL) arm.
BSE launches CARBONEX
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched BSE Carbonex, the first carbon-based thematic index in the country, which takes a strategic view of organizational commitment to climate change mitigation. This index has been launched with the aim of creating a benchmark, and increasing awareness about the risks posed by climate change.
It will enable investors to track performance of the constituent companies of BSE-100 index regarding their commitment to greenhouse gases emission reduction. Constituents of BSE Carbonex are over or underweighted compared to the benchmark based on their performance in the assessment process. In every industry, companies that achieve the strongest assessment scores are favoured at the expense of those achieving poor results.
The British High Commission in India through the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office's Prosperity Fund supported the development phase of the index. ENDS Carbon, a specialist in environment, social and governance (ESG) ratings and benchmark services provider, has provided its expertise in assessing the companies with data sourced from the carbon disclosure project (CDP), a not-for-profit organisation which holds the largest and most continuous set of climate change data in the world. The top 10 constituents in BSE Carbonex are ITC Ltd having 7.11 per cent market capitalisation
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carbon-based index
RBI considering four alternatives to gold
As the demand for gold is increasing and the pressure on the current account due to its import is accumulating, the Reserve Bank of India is considering introducing four gold-related instruments to ease the physical demand for the yellow metal. The instruments are modified gold-deposit scheme (GDS), gold-linked account, goldaccumulation plan, and gold-pension plan. Under the modified GDS, which will be suitable for mid-size investors, physical gold is deposited
with banks for a definite period and interest will be paid in the form of 'gold' after maturity. However, gold will not be returned in the original form. The gold-linked account will be a non-interest bearing account wherein gold will be purchased and kept abroad. The yellow metal will be hedged abroad and physical delivery of the metal will not arise. At the end of the maturity period, the customer disposes off the gold and gets equivalent of cash. This account will allow easy entry and exit. The gold-accumulation plan will be like the systematic investment plan offered by mutual funds,
that is, buys gold in small quantities at regular intervals. Though the returns could fluctuate, over time the average cost of accumulation goes down. Physical delivery is quite low. The gold-pension plan will be like reverse mortgage of property - where a homeowner can borrow money against the value of his home, and no repayment of the mortgage is required until the borrower dies or the home is sold. Targeted at senior citizens, banks will open an annuity plan with insurance companies for a definite period. Though banks will not return the jewellery, the high return is expected to attract the gold owners.
[14] Weekly Current Affairs 26th November 2nd December, 2012
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INDIA AND THE WORLD

Second Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs
it by issuing visa to Chinese nationals containing Indian maps including these regions. The 3rd meeting of the Working Mechanism will be held in China at a mutually convenient time.
The two delegations reviewed developments in the India-China border areas since the 1st meeting of the Mechanism and acknowledged with satisfaction that peace and tranquillity continued to be maintained due to the efforts of both sides. The two delegations also exchanged ideas on additional measures for maintaining peace and tranquillity as well as further steps to build greater trust and confidence between the two sides. The two delegations welcomed the recent liberalization of border trade across Nathu La, which has led to a significant increase in the volume of trade. They continued their discussions on introducing additional routes for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. India and China are expected to try to bridge differences on a proposed framework to resolve the boundary dispute when National Security Adviser Menon meets Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo for consultations in the Chinese capital Dec 3 and 4. India and China have held 15 rounds of boundary talks. But tensions persist. China has shown Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory in maps on new e-passports. India countered
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Ahead of the next round of Special Representative (SRs) level discussion on resolving the Indo-China boundary issue, the 2nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held at New Delhi. The Indian delegation was lead by Shri Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) and comprised of representatives of the Ministries of External Affairs, Defence and Home Affairs as well as members of the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The Chinese delegation was lead by Ambassador Ms. Wang Xiaodu, Special Representative, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and comprised of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese delegation called on Foreign Secretary Shri Ranjan Mathai.
Eleventh Meeting of India-Canada Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism
The 11thmeeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism between India and Canada was held in New Delhi. The meeting took place within the framework of the enhanced interaction in bilateral relations between India and Canada, and in keeping with the desire of the Prime Ministers of India and Canada towards greater cooperation in counter terrorism matters, asset out inthe India-Canada JointStatement of 6 November 2012. The discussions were held in an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding. The two countries shared their respective threat assessments and informed each other of the measures taken by their Governments to strengthen counter terrorism policy and structure. They also discussed the follow-up of the Mumbai terror attack of 26 November 2008. The two sides also exchanged views on international developments, coordination in international fora and their bilateral cooperation in the area. The next meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in Canada in 2013 on mutually convenient dates. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Special Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India and Mr. Artur Wilczynski, Director General for International Relations, Canada.
India and China Sign MoU on Railway Sector
India and China signed an MoU on Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector. The signatories to the MoU were Mr. Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board, Ministry of Railways, Government of India and Mr.Wang Zhiguo, Vice Minister, Ministry of Railways, Govt. of the Republic of China.
Under the MoU, both the countries will enhance mutual cooperation across various areas of rail technology including High Speed Rail, Heavy Haulage and Station Development. The two sides will, inter-alia, undertake exchange of information on policies, training and exchange programmes, site visits, joint symposiums etc. Both sides have also agreed that future cooperation on railways between the two countries will be carried under the Infrastructure Working Group constituted under the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. The MoU will remain in force for 5 years from the date of signing.
a bilateral Social Security Agreement with Sweden is a significant requirement from the futuristic point of view to take advantage of the emerging employment opportunities and to strengthen the trade and investment between the two countries. India has singed similar agreements with Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Denmark, Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Finland, Canada and Japan.
India and Libya Sign MoU on Electoral Cooperation
India and Sweden has signed a social security agreement.
The agreement will help both the countries in more investment and work opportunities for nationals of India and Sweden.
India is the first Asian countries with which Sweden has signed this type of agreement.
The Social Security Agreement will enhance cooperation on social security between the two countries. The Agreement will provide following benefits to Indian nationals working in Sweden: a) For short term contract up to two years, no social contribution would need to be paid under the Swedish law by the detached workers provided they continue to make social security payment in India. b) The above benefits shall be available even when the Indian company sends its employees to Sweden from a third country. c) Indian workers shall be entitled to the export of the social security benefit if they relocate to India after the completion of their service in Sweden. d) The self-employed Indians in Sweden would also be entitled to export of social security benefit of their relocation to India. e) The period of contribution in one contracting state will be added to the period of contribution in the second contracting state for determining the eligibility of social security benefits. There are about 18,000 Overseas Indians in Sweden; most of them are working as professional and self-employed. Around 156 Swedish companies are operating in India and this agreement will encourage Swedish people to come in large numbers to India. However, there is a huge potential for Indian workers to take employment in Sweden owing to the huge labour supply gap in the market. As such,
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India and Sweden Sign Social Security Agreement
India has signed MoU for electoral cooperation with Libya, which has evinced interest in seeking training and electoral assistance from the Election Commission. The major aims of MoU are: promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral processes; exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel; production and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology, voters' education and awareness, and participation of women and minorities in electoral process. During the meet, the Libyan delegation was given a detailed briefing on the Indian electoral system and management practices, and a demonstration on the working of the Electronic Voting Machine. Election Commission of India has so far signed sixteen MOUs with Election Management Bodies and international organizations across the world. Some of the MoU signed recently are with Egypt, Venezuela, Republic of Korea and UNDP.
2nd India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue
The 2nd India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (hereinafter referred to as 'the Dialogue') took place in New Delhi. The Indian side was led by H.E. Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Republic of India and the Chinese side was led by H.E. Mr. Zhang Ping, Chairman, National Development and Reform Commission, People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the 'two sides'). Established during the visit to India of H.E. Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in December 2010, the Dialogue is aimed at improving macro-economic policy coordination, promoting exchanges on economic issues and enhancing India-China economic cooperation. The 1st Dialogue had been successfully held at Beijing in September 2011 where
the two sides agreed to constitute five Working Groups on policy coordination, infrastructure, energy, environment protection and high-technology. A working level delegation from China visited New Delhi in March 2012 following which the five Working Groups met in Beijing in the months of August and September 2012. This preparatory work has contributed immensely to the successful deliberations in and outcomes of the 2nd Dialogue. During the 2nd meeting of the Dialogue, the two sides discussed a wide range of topics including greater cooperation at the global level, strengthening communication on macro-economic policies, deepening and expanding trade and investment and promoting bilateral cooperation in the financial and infrastructure sectors. The proposals and recommendations made by the five Working Groups were considered during the 2nd Dialogue and directions given for their future activities. The two sides agreed that in the current global economic situation it was important to raise the level of economic engagement between India and China. The two sides agreed on the following issues:
a) Cooperation at the global level: The two sides recognized that as major developing economies, they needed to maintain close coordination and communication to pursue their common interests. Among them is the reform of international monetary and financial systems, stabilizing the volatility in global commodity markets, working towards sustainable development and climate change goals, and ensuring food and energy security. Both sides believe that the ongoing and future cooperation on existing and upcoming issues will greatly enhance mutual trust and expand common interests. b) Strengthening communication on macroeconomic policies: The two sides agreed that development growth trends globally have weakened as a result of a number of factors since the onset of the global financial crisis. This included weakening demand in the developed markets, the ongoing Eurozone crisis, lower business confidence, and growing inflationary trends. Both sides seek to maintain continued economic growth while adjusting manufacturing and services, upgrading levels of technologies and skills, while developing the hard and soft infrastructure for encouraging economic growth. The two sides agreed that they would regularly conduct joint studies on issues of mutual interest, focusing on benefits of best practices and information exchanges.
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c) Deepening and expanding trade and investment: With a view to promoting greater economic and commercial engagement, both sides recognized the need to explore potential synergies in areas where the two sides have mutual complementarities, improve trade and investment environments, work towards removing market barriers, enhance cooperation in project contracting, deepen business to business exchanges, improve transportation links, encourage greater bilateral investment and work towards achieving a more balanced and sustainable bilateral trade. d) Expanding cooperation in the financial and infrastructure sectors: Both sides have agreed to intensify the cooperation in the financial sector by encouraging financial institutions of the two countries to set up operations in either country to support enterprises of the two countries to establish / expand commercial operations. Both sides agree to undertake studies in related areas including innovative financial methods to support the requirements of priority sectors particularly the infrastructure sector having significant scope for furthering economic development. During the meet following Memorandums of Understanding were signed: a) Memorandum of Understanding between the Planning Commission of the Government of the Republic of India and National Development and Reform Commission of the Government of the People's Republic of China on Undertaking Joint Studies. b) Memorandum of Understanding between the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Government of the Republic of India and National Development and Reform Commission of the Government of the People's Republic of China on Enhancing Cooperation in the Field of Energy Efficiency. c) Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Railways of the Government of the Republic of India and Ministry of Railways of the Government of the People's Republic of China on enhancing technical cooperation in the railway sector. d) Memorandum of Understanding between the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), India and the China Software Industry Association (CSIA) on Enhancing Cooperation in the IT/ITES Sector. The two sides agreed that the 3rd India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue will be convened in China in 2013.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

National Bear Conservation and Welfare Action Plan
The National Bear Conservation and Welfare Action Plan for India released by the Ministry for Environment and Forests, focuses on ensuring stable status for all bear species and minimising bearhuman conflicts through conservation efforts. India is home to four of the eight species of bears found worldwide - making it one of the only two countries with this diversity, the other being China. in research efforts to address the urgent need for new anti-tuberculosis drugs. A number of new potential anti-tuberculosis drug candidates with novel modes of action have entered clinical trials in recent years. These agents are most likely to be effective against resistant strains. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR) Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative to develop an anti-TB molecule would soon go for first phase clinical trials. The initiative is aimed at developing low-cost drugs for infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and malaria which are generally not in the priority list of big pharmaceutical firms. Through this, OSDD will set a new milestone by linking researchers across the globe to solve key challenges in developing drugs for tropical diseases like malaria and TB. The project portal provides an open source platform for scientists, doctors, technocrats, software professionals and students to share knowledge. The collaborative approach, started four years ago, is designed to keep the cost of drug discovery low, thereby making the treatment affordable.
The Indian bears include the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos) and the Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus). Sloth bears are endemic to the Indian sub-continent and have gone extinct fairly recently from Pakistan and Bangladesh, underscoring the threats to the species of habitat loss and increasing human interface. The black bears and brown bears inhabit the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, while the sun bears are found in very small numbers along the northeast Indian border. The bears have an almost pan-India distribution, being found in 26 of the 28 Indian states. The plan aims to build a "green lawyer network" and to ban bear hunting in northeastern states using local communities from 2013 onwards. A separate section on the management of bear-human conflicts aims to create wildlife rapid action and rescue teams at district levels between 2013 and 2016, and even a "non-lapsable corpus fund" to meet plastic surgery costs for victims of bear attacks.
It is an outcome of a joint work by the Environment Ministry, the Wildlife Institute of India, the state forest departments and NGOs including Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), World Society for the Protection of Animals and International Fund for Animal Welfare.
First clinical trials of anti-TB drug soon
Tuberculosis is a major health problem worldwide, with approximately 1.7 million people dying annually from the disease. The long current drug regimen, the emergence of drug resistant strains and HIV co-infection have resulted in a resurgence
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Hubble discovers a loose spiral galaxy
Astronomers claim to have spotted a new loose spiral galaxy filled with gas and dust, using the Nasa/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy ESO 499-G37 lies in the southern border of the constellation of Hydra, which is shared with Antlia. The arms of a spiral galaxy have large amounts of gas and dust, and are often areas where new stars are constantly forming. The galaxy's most characteristic feature is a bright elongated nucleus.
A drop of blood or saliva to help diagnose malaria
Researchers have developed a new, inexpensive and sensitive method that makes it possible to diagnose malaria from a single drop of blood or saliva. The method might eventually be used in lowresource areas without the need for specially trained personnel, expensive equipment, clean water or
electricity. With the development of this method, the researchers hope to go one step further in identifying and treating people suffering from malaria. Researchers at Aarhus University have developed the method based on measuring the activity of an enzyme called topoisomerase I from the Plasmodium parasite. The technology called REEAD (Rolling Circle-Enhanced Enzyme Activity Detection) makes it possible to diagnose malaria from a single drop of blood or saliva. This method is much more time-effective and cost effective than current diagnostic methods and can be performed by personnel with no specialised training. It can be used in low-resource areas without the use of expensive equipment, clean water or electricity.
Not all of the icy regions were bright. In slightly warmer regions, where temperatures exceed minus 280, the ice was covered by a dark layer about half a foot thick. The scientists believe in these places the water ice vaporized, leaving behind other materials that had been trapped, including carbon-based molecules known as organics. That could be similar to how water and the building blocks of life reached Earth billions of years ago.
Key immune system gene could subdue HIV
The ongoing fight against malaria is complicated by increasing problems with resistant Plasmodium parasites. In addition, several Plasmodium species (P vivax and P knowlesi) cannot be detected with the usual quick-test methods.
The new method distinguishes itself from other quick-test methods because it can measure whether a given Plasmodium infection is resistant to drugs.
The unique sensitivity, combined with its ability to detect infection in very small samples of blood or saliva, makes the method suitable for large-scale screening projects.
Nasa discovers ice on Mercury
Mercury is as cold as ice. Scientists working with Nasa's Messenger spacecraft reported.
That is a counterintuitive discovery for a place that also ranks among the hottest in the solar system. At noon at the equator on Mercury, the temperature can hit 800 degrees Fahrenheit. But near Mercury's poles, deep within craters where the Sun never shines, temperatures dip to as cold as minus 370.
The ice is almost pure water, which indicates that it arrived within the last few tens of millions of years, possibly from a comet that smacked into Mercury.
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A gene that protects the human embryo could possibly treat and subdue chronic infections such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. The newly-discovered gene, called Arih2, is basic to the immune system - making critical decisions about whether to switch it on during an infection or not. Marc Pellegrini, Greg Ebert and colleagues from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research's infection and immunity division, Australia, with collaborators from the University of Toronto, Canada, led the research. Arih2 is found in dendritic cells, the sentinels of the immune system that play an essential role in raising the alarm about the presence of foreign invaders in the body. During evolution, some organisms have evolved ways of exhausting our immune system to the point, where the immune system just switches off, and this is what happens in HIV, Hepatitis B and tuberculosis. These organisms counter the immune response exhausting T cells, which are stimulated over and over again by the infection and becoming exhausted or paralysed. The discovery will help in circumventing these mechanisms and reinvigorate the immune response temporarily to boost the immune system and help clear these infections.
2 - MARKERS
Saina Nehwal and M C Mary Kom are the New National Icons for Election Commission UN honours Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu for his contribution to human rights
Olympic Medalists Ms Saina Nehwal and Ms M C Mary Kom are the new National Icons of Election Commission of India to promote enrollment of voters in various states and union territories, particularly among youth and women. They are the first female national icons to support ECI. The two leading sportswomen have been roped in as part of ECI's strategy to bridge the noticeable gap in youth participation and also the gender gap in electoral participation in several areas. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and activist Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will be honoured for his contribution to building a universal culture of human rights around the world. Mr. Tutu was selected to receive this year's UNESCO/Bilbao Prize, for "the outstanding role he played in building the new democratic, non-racial South Africa and his invaluable contribution as Chairperson of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to national reconstruction which became a model for other postconflict societies. The Prize recognizes his activism, particularly with young people, to promote non-violence and oppose all forms of discrimination and injustice. The UNESCO/Bilbao Prize is given out every two years and is funded by a donation from the Spanish city. It succeeded the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education that was set up 30 years ago. The Prize includes a $30,000 cheque, a diploma and a bronze trophy designed by Japanese artist Toshimi Ishii. The prize was first awarded to Stphane Hessel, a French human rights advocate, in 2008.
Commission has availed the services of a large number of celebrities from various walks of life in the last 12 general elections to the states as part of its Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation programme (SVEEP). Sportspersons, Singers, musicians, actors and other artists from the states and regions have come forward to support the voter participation efforts launched by the Commission which has resulted in consistently higher turnout in recent Assembly elections and historic turnout in some of them. ECI has also been getting enthusiastic support of a range of Governmental and non-Governmental organisations, Civil Society and the Media in enlisting citizen's participation in the electoral process.
IB, RAW get new chiefs
The Prime Minister-headed Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has cleared the names of Syed Asif Ibrahim as heads of the Intelligence Bureau. Mr. Ibrahim is a veteran of the IB's operations directorate and was until last year, the IB station chief in London. Mr. Ibrahim was the first one to have a clear sense of the whole Indian Mujahideen movement within the organisation. Alok Joshi will result the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). Mr. Joshi will take over from Sajeev Tripathi as RAW chief, has vast experience in internal and external intelligence gathering.
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Joseph Murray
Joseph Edward Murray was an American plastic surgeon who performed the first successful human kidney transplant on identical twins Richard and Ronald Herrick on December 23, 1954 has died aged 93. Murray shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 with E. Donnall Thomas for their discoveries concerning "organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease."
Sachin Dev Pavithran
The Obama administration has appointed a visually challenged Indian-American to a key administrative post in an independent agency for people with disabilities.
Sachin Dev Pavithran has been appointed the Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. Mr. Pavithran is the Program Director of the Utah Assistive Technology Program at Utah State University's Center for Persons with Disabilities, a position he has held since 2011. He had served in a variety of other roles at the Center, including Program Coordinator and Disability Policy Analyst, since joining it in 2002. Mr. Pavithran has more than 12 years of experience as a consultant and developing and training users of assistive technology and accessible websites. He serves on the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs National Board, the Utah State Rehabilitation Council, the Research and Development Committee of the National Federation of the Blind, and the National Multicultural Council of the Association of University Centers for Disabilities. In 2007, the National Federation of the Blind awarded him the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship.
INDRA began in year 2003 and is being conducted every two years. The main objective of this exercise is to enhance interoperability, which will be useful if both the navies are working against the common threat like the pirates in the Gulf of Aden. It will be helpful for wider cooperation and mutual understanding between two. The navies will work on communication between ships, sending signals and guarding civil ships from pirate attacks. It also involves live firing drills, air defence and antisubmarine exercises.
Oldest tree Chhattisgarh
fossil
discovered
in
Joint naval exercise: INDRA
INDRA, joint military exercise with Russia, is being held in Mumbai from November 28 to December 3.
Destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, replenishment oiler Irkut and rescue tug Alatau of the Russian Federation's Navy Pacific Fleet (PF) Task Unit and India's INS Mysore and INS Tabar are participating in the exercise.
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Botanists of Chhattisgarh have discovered the oldest and the largest tree fossil in the country dating back to 250 million years Triassic (geologic) period. It is scattered over 700 hecatres of land across Shankarpur, Bhattidarh, Thadadpahri, Naginjhiria villages of Surajpur district on the northern fringe of Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary. The SFRTI along with Lucknow team explored the site and ascertained the age. It was found that the tree species date back to about 250 million years. Dinosaurs appeared during the Triassic period around 230 million years ago. The fossils belong to lower Gondwana geological formation and are from the species of Gymnosperms. This kind of vegetation used to dominate Earth and was followed by the advent of Angiosperms, the flowering plants. It is one of the greatest geo-botanical discoveries of contemporary times.
SPORTS
Gayathri made national record in high jump
High jumper Gayathri Sivakumar went over the under-14 girls' national record while winning the under-12 gold in the 36th Kerala State mini athletics championship at the Maharaja's Stadium. The champion team in the men's section stands to get Rs.2 crore, while the runner-up will bag Rs.1 crore. The third-placed side will get Rs.51 lakh. The title winning side in the women's event will be richer by Rs.51 lakh. Teams finishing second and third will receive Rs.31 lakh and Rs.21 lakh respectively as prize money. Besides, all the participating teams will get Rs.10 lakh each. Competitions will be held in 13 centres - Bathinda, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Sangrur, Ropar, Doda, Chohla Sahib, Jalalabad, Gurdaspur, Mansa, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. The women's final will be held at Jalandhar on December 13, while the men's final will be at Ludhiana on December 15. In order to discourage the use of banned drugs among athletes, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has been requested to conduct dope tests during the event.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel became Formula One's youngest triple world champion at the age of 25 after winning Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel became only the third driver in Formula One history to win three successive titles, equalling the feats of the great Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and his own childhood idol Michael Schumacher, who finished seventh for Mercedes in his final race before retiring.
India ranked last in Super 9 hockey tournament
India lost 2-5 to Pakistan and finished last in the four-nation Super 9 hockey tournament held at Perth. India had defeated Pakistan by an identical margin in the league phase. Australia beat England 5-2 in the final to retain the trophy. Final placings: 1. Australia; 2. England; 3. Pakistan; 4. India.
World Cup from Dec. 1 in Punjab
The third kabaddi World Cup will be held in Punjab from December 1-15. New Zealand, USA, Denmark, Scotland, Argentina, Canada, England, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Norway, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone and India will take part in the men's competition. The women's competition will feature Canada, Denmark, England, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, USA and India.
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Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest triple world champion
Ricky Ponting announces retirement
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting announced retirement from Test cricket career. Ponting, who turns 38 next month, has failed in three innings against the South Africans during draws in Brisbane and Adelaide and pressure has been building on the veteran ahead of Friday's series decider in Perth. .After being made captain in 2004, the righthander went on to become one of the country's greatest cricketers. He has 13,336 Test runs to his name - including 41 centuries with only Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar scoring more.
Juma wins gold in double trap
Juma Almaktoum of the UAE won the gold in double trap, as Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore settled for the bronze in the Asian Shotgun championship in Patiala.
EDITORIALS
Hyping one threat to hide another
A lot of global attention right now is focussed on the World Conference on International Telecommunications of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) which will get under way in Dubai next week. This meeting is taking up a review of International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). When the ITRs were last reviewed in 1988, the Internet was not commonplace and, therefore, did not find mention. In 2012, it is difficult to think of global communication without the Internet. The key question today is whether the remit of the ITU should extend to the Internet or not, and if indeed it should, to what parts and aspects of the Internet, and in what manner. One summary view, quite popular in many quarters, is that with the Internet taking over global communication systems, there is no role for the ITU anymore. Unlike traditional telecommunication largely, telephony - global Internet traffic is mediated entirely through commercial arrangements among private players with almost no involvement of a regulator. Free market proponents, having greatly dominated the discourse so far, hold that the free market has fully triumphed, and delivered, in relation to the Internet. This model should not be disturbed. There is, therefore, no need for any kind of regulation of the Internet. 'Free market' view domination in the post-industrial world. Any kind of global regulation of the Internet, or even articulation of global principles of public interest, does not serve this agenda. The issue of freedom of expression vis--vis regulation of the Internet is of course very real. States are quite nervous about the transformational new means that allow citizens to exercise voice and associational power as never before. They are scrambling to get their hands on some lever or the other to prevent the potential damage. And it is not only the developing countries that are busy in this regard, so are the developed ones, greatly enhancing their surveillance capabilities. Nevertheless, at the ITU very few countries have floated proposals that could increase governmental control over Internet content. These proposals mostly pertain to subverting the current globally managed Internet names and addresses system, and the globally configured Internet traffic routing, to create more controllable national Internet spaces, or 'national segments' of the Internet, as one proposal calls them. There is very little support for these proposals. Almost all developed countries and most developing ones, including India, have not supported these. At the recently concluded U.N. Internet Governance Forum at Baku, a reporter asked Terry Kramer, the chief U.S. delegate to the upcoming ITU conference, what the whole fuss is about when decisions can be taken only by consensus and there is so much opposition to these problematic proposals. Mr. Kramer was disarmingly honest in his response. He agreed that there was not that much real danger of anything happening at the WCIT itself. But, he said, this is a long-haul thing. What is at stake are the principles that will guide Internet regulation/governance in the long run. And in this regard, he continued, Dubai was just one of the many forums/meetings/crossroads, and many more are yet to come. The U.S. and the dominant global Internet companies, which are at the forefront of the antiITU campaign, know their game and objectives quite well. It is important that others do so too. This is about the new paradigm of global governance/
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This 'free market' view has found a powerful ally among freedom of expression groups, so much so that the debate about the future of the ITU is almost entirely fronted by evocative appeals about preserving the Internet as the ultimate domain of free expression. Unlike market fundamentalism, there are no two views about freedom of expression among most groups and people, and thus such a strategy is understandable. Perhaps for similar reasons, Hillary Clinton has spelled 'Internet freedom' as a key U.S. foreign policy agenda. It may, however, need deeper thought and analysis to assess whether the real agenda here is to use the new Internet-based global communication realm - with the unprecedented domination of U.S. companies in it - as the key means for global economic, social, cultural and political
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regulation of the communication realm . Most hype around the WCIT seems to be missing this point, largely because it is to a considerable extent orchestrated and misled by the dominant powers. The paradigmatic issue here is whether the Internet, as the centrepiece of the new global communication realm, should be regulated at all. Freedom of expression is just one side of the story. The other, rather well disguised side is about the political economy of the global communication realm. It is about the division of resources within the communication realm, and, even more importantly, the larger global and sub-global division of resources - economic, social, and political - which is fundamentally impacted by the nature of regimes that govern the global communication realm. Closely regulated
best to look at what is happening in the U.S. right now. The U.S. telecom market is dominated by two players, Verizon and AT&T. Verizon has challenged the Federal Communication Commission's authority to enforce net neutrality (the Internet equivalent of the 'common carriage' rule), arguing that the Internet is not telecom and thus outside the FCC's mandate. AT&T went a step further. It claimed that since even traditional telecom services, like telephony, increasingly work on Internet Protocols (IP), the FCC's remit should not cover even telephony. In essence, more or less, the claim is that no regulation of the communication systems is needed at all. The FCC can close down! Markets have taken over, and are their own arbitrators! California recently became the latest of many States in the U.S., mostly Republican-ruled, which have deregulated Voice-over-Internet-Protocol, effectively removing regulatory control over telephony service, disregarding the concerns expressed by many public interest groups. There are many deep implications of such changeovers. To give just one illustration, unlike traditional telephony systems that are obliged to have their own powersupply to account for emergency situations, the new IP based systems do not have such obligations. When most 'new systems' failed recently in the aftermath of Storm Sandy, unlike earlier times, the FCC found itself unable to question the disaster preparedness of the companies providing much of the communication infrastructure in the U.S. today. What is happening at the ITU today, in good measure, is this game of freeing our communication realm from all public interest regulation. As mentioned, it is about a new paradigm of 'complete non-regulation.' And once the victory is achieved at the ITU, whereby the Internet and other IP networks, which would soon be the basis of all communication infrastructure, are considered out of any kind of regulatory oversight, the game will then be replayed at the national level, citing 'global norms.' In fact, during an on-the-side chat at a recent Internet governance meeting in New Delhi, a telecom company representative made a significant giveaway remark. He said to an official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), 'but isn't net neutrality about the Internet, and therefore TRAI should have nothing to do about it.' In presenting a view on whether or not the Internet should be subject to the remit of the ITU and the ITRs, India may be taking a position on whether it seeks to free the Internet from all regulatory control, which logic would then perforce also extend to TRAI's remit at home. The least one
The communication realm - or more descriptively, the information and communication realm, and its technologies - has always been closely regulated in public interest. It is generally understood that it is of vital and extraordinary public interest, and cannot just be subject only to normal commercial regulation, that for instance governs trade in white goods. Every telephone company is obliged to carry the traffic from every other company in a non-discriminatory manner, which is called the common carriage rule. One can well imagine what it would be like if this rule is not enforced. Long back, there was a time when there was no such rule. The telephony revolution was made possible because regulators forced common carriage regulation on big companies in the U.S. and other places. Similarly, the IT revolution began when regulators in the U.S. forced software to be unbundled from hardware, whereby an independent software industry could develop. The rest is history. There are universal service obligations in the telecom sector whereby every telecom provider must service every person/ household, etc., whether it serves its business model or not. And then there are regulations on tariffs, quality of service and so on. Telecom providers are forced to comply with disability friendly features, and they also contribute to Universal Service Funds that are used to universalise communication services. All of this, and much more, will disappear in an unregulated communication system. In taking a collective political decision on whether the Internet is at all to be regulated or not, we need to understand that we are taking decisions on all these issues, and not just on freedom of expression. In order to understand the real stakes in the 'regulation or not' debate regarding the Internet, it is
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can say, and appeal to the government and other actors in the space, is that this should be a considered decision after thoroughly assessing all sides of the story. Freedom of expression is not the only issue that is involved here. There are so many other issues, involving significant economic, social and cultural considerations, that are at stake with regard to regulation of the Internet. It may not be wise to throw out the baby with the bath water. Source: The Hindu
and modernisation of railways as part of their reconstruction of China after the Maoist era. Communist China, which had barely 27,000 km of rail routes in 1949, now has a network that is nearly 1,00,000 km. Much of the Chinese expansion has occurred in the last three decades. India, which inherited from the British nearly 54,000 km of network, has added just about 11,000 in the last six and a half decades. If China's vision for railways was driven by nationalism, Sun's strategy focused on the importance of active external collaboration with America, Europe and Russia. After an initial inward orientation, China's communists turned towards international cooperation. India's narrowly constructed ideology of "self-reliance" meant it never had the resources or technology for transforming the rail network. By confidently collaborating with advanced countries, playing one against the other, leveraging its size to get good terms on technology transfer, and designing effective policies for technology absorption, China has now become the world's top dog in railways. In the 19th century, Chinese labour was indispensable in the construction of transcontinental North American railroads. Today, Beijing is offering capital and technology to build high-speed train networks in the United States. For Sun Yat Sen, railways were not just about national unification; they were about integrating China with the rest of the world. Sun dreamt of linking China's railroads with those of Europe and extending them to India and Africa. China has brought its railroads to the borders of India through Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan provinces. It has plans to extend them into Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh. India, meanwhile, is struggling to extend the rail network to sensitive regions of Kashmir and the Northeast. Its Raj-era rail links to Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh are in acute disrepair. Let alone offering a vision for railways, successive governments in Delhi have been wilful in their neglect and the politicians ruthless in milking it dry for parochial ends. The nitpicking bureaucrats at Rail Bhavan have tended to squander the recent opportunities that have come India's way. Recall their delaying tactics in response to the Japanese offer seven years ago to build the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor. The railways are too important for India's future to be left to bureaucrats and engineers. India's
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Beijing-Delhi Express
India is said to be considering three major areas for collaboration with China - the development of high-speed rail networks, expansion of heavy freight haulage and the upgrading of major train stations. In all these fields, India is a laggard and can help itself by opening the door to the new world leader, China. Beijing has the money, technology, expertise and experience to accelerate the transformation of Indian railways.
The rail sector, in fact, captures the story of the divergent developmental trajectories that Delhi and Beijing have pursued in the last few decades and explains why India has fallen behind China in so many areas. But is Delhi capable of grasping the counter-intuitive truth that the road to political parity with Beijing runs through deeper economic collaboration with Beijing? At the turn of the 20th century, Chinese nationalists and communists understood the centrality of railways in the political unification and economic modernisation of the country. Few leaders of the Indian national movement matched the vision for railway development that the founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, had. Nearly a century ago, Sun Yat-sen, who took charge as the first president of the provisional Republic of China, outlined a blueprint for the building of 1,60,000 kilometres of rail network.
Mao Zedong, who established the People's Republic, understood the importance of railways in uniting the country and focused on expanding the rail network to western China. Deng Xiaoping and his successors have invested heavily in the expansion
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The second round of the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, held in Delhi today, is expected to generate a preliminary agreement to explore Beijing's participation in the long overdue modernisation of Indian railways.
challenges of national integration, inclusive development, industrialisation, economic efficiency, employment generation, environmental management and urban development, to name just a few, depend critically on the rapid modernisation of its railways. It is up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then, to make sure that the current opportunity for collaboration with China does not become just another MoU that will gather dust. To be sure, there are many technical issues that will need to be addressed before a large Chinese participation in Indian railway development can occur. That, precisely, is where the PM must demonstrate leadership in resolving contentious policy issues expeditiously. With the Rail Bhavan in the hands of the Congress, a rare opportunity is at hand for the PM to push forward purposefully with China. More broadly, the rail sector allows Delhi to demonstrate that it is ready for serious government-to-government collaboration with Beijing.
earlier announced by the government survive the onslaught of Parliament, the lost excitement is expected to return. This should not only restore, but revitalise foreign investors' confidence in the India Inc story. Many corporations have started reviving their plans for making an entry into India. One such announcement was made by the Cabinet in October to amend the Companies Bill, 2011, which is expected to be introduced in its amended avatar in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. CSR Provisions One critical proposal in the amended Companies Bill that should worry businesses is that of corporate social responsibility (CSR) being made mandatory for companies with net worth exceeding Rs 500 crore, or their turnover exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, or their net profit exceeding Rs 5 crore. Under this proposal, both private and public companies will be treated alike. Thus, a company that crosses any one of these limits will be legally required to contribute 2 per cent of its average profits of the preceding three years towards CSR activities listed in the Companies Bill. The errant company's board of directors will also need to provide reasons for non-compliance. This could hit companies hard, since 2 per cent of a company's average profits is a significant chunk of money, especially when there is no clarity on whether such spending will be eligible for tax deduction from the income of the company. The amendment further emphasises that preference should be given to local areas where the company operates. In effect, it could generate more benefits to Indian States with a larger number of companies. Ideally, the location of CSR activities should have been left to the company's discretion. Another change is the shift of the benchmark rate for inter-corporate loans from the existing prevailing 'bank rate' of the RBI to the prevailing 'interest on dated government securities'. Consequently, interest rate on inter corporate loans cannot be lower than the prevailing interest on dated government securities. This shouldn't be a significant change. Other amendments include punishing a person who falsely induces a person to enter into financing arrangements with a view to obtaining credit
Until now, India's private sector has pulled the train of India-China commercial cooperation. While a large number of Indian corporates recognise that China is a growth opportunity, much of the government is paralysed by fears about an expansive commercial engagement with Beijing. The second round of the strategic economic dialogue is the right moment for India to end its ambiguous signals on industrial cooperation with China, which is now the world's second largest economy and might replace the US as the first within the next two decades.
While Delhi must necessarily exclude Beijing's presence in a small set of areas on national security considerations, it must actively facilitate Chinese participation in the rest. The railways are a good place to start welcoming what could be consequential Chinese contribution to India's industrial and technological rejuvenation. Source: Indian Express
Two cheers for Companies Bill
The proposed amendments on CSR and on regulation of private limited companies are quite excessive in scope. The recent reform announcements ought to shake the Indian economy and corporate houses out of their slumber, provided Parliament does not stop the government in its tracks. Opposition parties have raised an uproar in Parliament against FDI in retail. If the policy changes
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facilities; retirement by rotation not being applicable to independent directors; the auditing partner of the statutory audit firm to be rotated at the discretion of the members of the company and not necessarily on an annual basis, and; the appointment of auditors for five years to be subject to ratification by the members at each annual general meeting. Too Much Control The above amendments do not address some defective provisions in the Companies Bill. One of them is the limiting of the layer of subsidiaries to a total of two, for the purpose of making investments. This will unnecessarily restrict the investment structures that companies choose to adopt. The concerns that companies operate with a complicated, opaque web of subsidiaries could have been addressed by enhancing disclosure standards, rather than imposing limits on the layers of subsidiaries. Another concern is that private companies will be subject to greater control and regulations. Presently, private companies are subjected to fewer compliance requirements than public companies.
Interestingly, a new Clause 462 has been introduced in Companies Bill giving power to the Central government to notify class or classes of companies to which certain provisions will not apply. Possibly, the exemptions to private companies may be provided by way of separate notifications of the Central government. Whatever be the case, it would have made more sense if the private companies had continued to be less regulated. Further, the Companies Bill does not clearly provide that acts and actions undertaken pursuant to the Companies Act, 1956 will be grandfathered i.e. the Companies Bill will not repeal them. If that is the intention, then the language of Clause 465 dealing with this subject needs to be corrected. Last but not the least, the benefits to 'small companies' should now be significantly enhanced. Presently, these newly introduced categories of companies are exempted from preparing cash flow statements, their annual returns have to be signed by a company secretary, they can hold board meetings once in six months, and any merger will be through the Central government approval route, instead of National Company Law Tribunal route. While the market reaction to the amendments has been largely positive, its long-term effects cannot be anticipated at this stage. All in all, it's a welcome step in the right direction, but still lacks complete transparency as to the intent, and the cause-and-effect relationship between the drafting and the interpretation of numerous clauses. One hopes that the outcome is unequivocally a boost for India Inc. We hope it gets passed in this session of Parliament. Source: Business Line
The basis for relatively less statutory control is that these companies do not access public funds and thus public interest in them is minimal.
On this basis, the Companies Act, 1956, gives them an array of exemptions, some of which would now be taken away by the Companies Bill. This is going completely in the opposite direction - from a less controlled regime to one of greater control, which would adversely alter how private companies manage their affairs.
For example, private companies will require shareholders' approval for preferential allotment of shares; they can issue only two classes of shares equity and preference shares; voting rights will have to be proportionate to shareholding; they will be unable to commence business unless a prescribed declaration is filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC); the profit and loss account will not be separately filed with RoC, meaning that their profit and loss positions will now come within the public domain, consent from directors will be required prior to appointment, loans to directors and their affiliated persons and inter-corporate loan, guarantee and investments will be subject to stringent conditions; and, interested directors will be debarred from voting.
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Rebuilding India's Steel Frame
Modern management practices must be employed to rejuvenate our civil services At perhaps no time in recent history has the need to deliberate on civil service motivation arisen so urgently as now. The alarming Khemka case of 43 transfers in 21 years, the surge in criminal cases registered against civil servants and their sense of helplessness in dealing with societal shortcomings highlight the gravity of the situation. That the report of the Administrative Reforms Commission is going to be shortly considered at the highest level adds relevance to this.
The general refrain today is that the civil service has lost its steel-frame sheen because it has become malleable and ductile. Consequently, the current advocacy in this regard is more vigilance oriented, and partially ignores the immense sensitivity and magnitude of their work and the complexities of their work environment. Clearly, new and innovative management techniques are required to deal with the problem at hand. While training and skill development can help to promote an adequate response to routine professional issues, a lot more is required to deal with dynamic problems involving divergent interests and the multitude of stakeholders. Often, the civil servant has nobody to discuss his situation with; trying to find the right balance between what is legally correct and what is desired by superiors involves shrewd judgment. Either path is fraught with risk, for unlike the corporate world, the objectives of the superiors in the managerial hierarchy are not necessarily aligned with the goals of the shareholder, read public interest. Often, young civil servants get carried away either in exuberance or in expediency only because they do not have time-tested templates to guide and absolve them when they are confronted with such dilemmas.
School teaching is entirely case-based, and while there are no conclusive answers as to what strategy was the perfect one, a thorough analysis of a case generates a high level of debate. It also throws up diverse approaches which are beyond what any textbook can prescribe for managers in the real world. Encouraging team-building and project-mode working can lead to greater efficiencies in delivery. Team-building would be an antidote to the current hierarchical approach to problem-solving, which is antiquated because it does not encourage effective communication and goes against the modern ideal of flatter decision-making. As matters stand, postings and transfers are not based on expertise but require approval by the political executive. This discourages teambuilding and fosters cronyism, given that senior civil servants are expected to take cold calls and then explain their competence to unknown political superiors. The potential of civil servants has been undermined by keeping them out of the ambit of PSUs which are sitting on huge resources and have the potential for becoming even bigger global players. It is imperative today to steer them to invest more in infrastructure as part of the overall process of nation-building. Currently, the managerial pool available within the PSU community is limited and lacks diversity and dynamism. Allowing civil servants to join them at the highest managerial level on deputation basis, rather than permanent absorption basis, will lead to a wider choice of candidates as well as enhance competitive advantage. Another way of preserving institutional memory and ensuring that civil servants do not hanker after post-retirement sinecures even while they are serving is to create administrative think tanks. The stipulation would be that as Fellows, within the first six months they would have to prepare a report on the area of their expertise and submit it to the government. After six months, the use of space would be extended only upon the Fellow securing a consultancy assignment from any department through a formal application process; no extra emoluments would be given to him, other than TA/ DA in case travel is necessitated. Modern management theory recognises that employee motivation is not just about pay and emoluments (extrinsic motivation) but as much about praise and respect. Add a congenial working environment and you have an intrinsically motivated
In the Indian context, it may be useful to institutionalise a system of mentoring of civil servants. Distinguished retired officers with a reputation of being able to communicate paternalistically and yet forcefully with civil servants as well as the ability to set up a dialogue between the various executive levels can be selected for such a role. Officers will receive guidance and support in dealing with tricky situations that they encounter and recalcitrant ones will be encouraged to fall in line. To extract their best efforts, these mentors should be appropriately paid for their services. And mentorofficer dialogue should be strictly off the record; this will facilitate free discourse. Developing a suitable institutional memory to guide civil servants in their actions would be very helpful. The current methodology of the National Academy of Administration which is largely theoretical should be made case-based. Case studies should cover all facets of situations faced by civil servants - for example, recriminations in the 2G case, the Adarsh case, the NHRM case - so that their role can be assessed from different angles. Different perspectives can be developed on what was correct and what went wrong, how different results could have been achieved had different courses of action been adopted. Harvard Business
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civil service - productive, efficient and an enabler for good governance. Source: Times of India
Cash is no cure-all
Like most medicine, cash transfers are a cure, but not a cure-all. It helps to clarify which maladies can be solved by cash transfers, which cannot - and identify those cases where the side effects of introducing cash could be worse than the disease. Over the years, studies of the PDS show that some states manage supply of in-kind transfers fairly well, while in a large number of cases, the pipeline connecting citizens to ration supplies is prone to leakage and corruption. Money at the top, spent by state treasuries for the distribution system, produces little food or fuel for PDS beneficiaries at the bottom. Such findings, in combination with fiscal stress, have bolstered the characterisation of the current delivery of in-kind transfers as inefficient. However, we need to consider three key issues when thinking of using cash transfers as an antidote to inefficiencies within the public distribution channel. First, if the only inefficiency within any public distribution system was that the costs of moving materials and getting the public sector to produce or procure goods and services were much higher relative to the overall gain, transparent and direct cash transfers would be a complete and comprehensive solution. The development of technologies such as biometrics and centralised fundflow management systems have created new pipelines through which cash can flow cheaply and accurately to recipients. Second, the efficiency of cash transfers has to be measured against larger programme goals. For decades, economists have shown that the direct
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Cash transfers seem to be the latest fad. With elections looming, the Prime Minister's National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers has been tasked with an ambitious mandate to provide vision and direction to enable direct cash transfers of subsidies under various government schemes and programmes to individuals to enhance efficiency. Certain activists warn against an ill-considered and hasty transition from food to cash. Others believe directly transferring the subsidy amount to citizens can offer beneficiaries more choice and allow the state to sidestep poor supply side management practices plaguing the public distribution of goods and services that result in leakage. Cash transfers have increasingly become synonymous with ideological contestation on the role of the state, making the debate on feasibility shriller.
delivery of money is more efficient than the transfer of physical materials, if our sole purpose is to transfer purchasing power. However, if programmes are not just intended to transfer the ability to purchase, then moving to a system of cash transfers is not efficient if the status quo of other objectives, such as nutrition or disease prevention, remains unchanged. For example, in a Honduran maternal and child health programme, it cost 1.03 lempiras to deliver 1 lempira of an income transfer in the form of a cash-like coupon, while it cost 5.69 lempiras to deliver the same income transfer in the form of food. However, the pure cash transfer had no effect on either children's calorie consumption or on the use of the health centres, while the food transfer increased both. Also, in Kenya, giving cash alone did not result in consumers buying bednets that prevented malaria. Much of the new behavioural economics is about using "nudges" to promote programme objectives. But such nudges need not be cash alone. In Rajasthan, experimental evidence shows how providing small food transfers such as lentils can improve the coverage of immunisation amongst resource poor families. Part of the government's objective of moving commodities in PDS, for instance, is to stabilise and "thicken" food and fuel markets so that consumers, and not just beneficiaries, are protected against price fluctuations and uncompetitive markets with few suppliers. While it may be the case that PDS doesn't do this particularly well or that this purpose is no longer needed in parts of the country, market-making and regulation is a public purpose that needs to figure into the "efficiency" discussion. That said, even moving money is not so easy in India. A financial inclusion survey conducted by a World Bank team found that only 35 per cent of Indians had accounts in formal financial institutions. This number dwindles to 21 per cent amongst the poorest quintile. These estimates are lower than the 50 per cent global average and the 41 per cent in developing countries. Recent assessments on social pensions - an existing cash transfer - highlight that opening bank accounts is tough for the poorest without policy and administrative support, even in urban areas such as the state of Delhi. The experience with rural social pensions shows that even cash transfers require fairly sophisticated financial delivery mechanisms, accounting and implementation capability, which is often lacking. Because the temptation to loot cash may be the same or greater, directing and tracking payments to individual beneficiaries require doing simple things such as digitising programme records. Doing such
simple things has so far proved difficult in high profile cash-for-work schemes such as NREGS. The government's own data indicates that a handful of states, such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Gujarat, have fully electronically updated the muster roll for workers. It is worth remembering that Mexico and Brazil, where conditional cash transfers famously replaced preexisting in-kind transfers, are richer economies with greater administrative capability. Finally, in a world with budgetary constraints that require capping the number of benefit recipients, moving from in-kind to cash transfers doesn't help with other administrative inefficiencies in beneficiary identification and implementation of the eligibility determination protocols. If the problem is that people who are eligible find it hard to procure paperwork to prove their citizenship and poverty to make claims on state resources, while those who are ineligible nevertheless manage to get benefits, it is hard to see how moving to cash helps. In cash-for-work schemes, a work requirement is costly to implement (as money has to be spent on inputs and works) but in spite of this, it can be efficient if it induces self-selection targeting, whereby only those truly in need show up. Evidence from many locales, like the Indonesian programme during the financial crisis, shows that a work requirement does identify those who have had negative shocks better than any eligibility scheme.
problematic. Much of the current discussion on cash transfers is focused on what the state ought to do, without enough consideration of what the Indian state is capable of doing. Proponents of a cash-based approach assume the state has better ability to supply cash than the supply of physical goods. However, cash transfers leave many of the hard problems in implementing social programmes in India just as hard, if not harder. Source: Indian Express
Striking at the root of corruption
The difficulty with cash-for-eligibility schemes is that everyone would like to be eligible (present company not excluded). If universal transfers are deemed too expensive, one way the move to targeted cash transfers through banking networks could help the eligibility determination process would be if fund flows, assets and financial activities of citizens applying for schemes could be traced to allow state governments to credibly distinguish between the rich and poor. However, this requires the effective implementation of parallel policy reforms to tackle state surveillance and increase incentives for all citizens to report and hold assets in financial institutions. Cash transfers are terrific at what cash transfers are terrific at - a pure and direct transfer of purchasing power. If the goal of transferring resources to citizens is simply to attain a socially desirable distribution of money and ability to buy things, cash works very well. However, if the idea is to tackle market failures and attain a socially desirable form of behaviour, where administrators allocate benefits to the poorest and the poorest are able to use the subsidy amounts for good nutrition and health outcomes, the idea of cash as a cure-all is
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Corruption is nothing but a reflection of the distribution of power within societies. The country is where it is because the political system is selfperpetrating and no party is accountable to anyone except a coterie of people that dominates all decisions. Unless the political system is accountable, going after individual cases of corruption will achieve little. Slew of anti-corruption bills By making a single point demand for a Jan Lokpal, to the exclusion of all else, Anna Hazare's agitation became circumscribed by its own rhetoric. Expectedly, the government response was a slew of anti-corruption bills that have been introduced in Parliament, unheard of in the annals of the past six decades. From 2010, in a span of just two years, as many as 10 anti-corruption bills have been tabled including the disputed Lokpal bill, the forfeiture of benami property, foreign bribery, money laundering, and whistle-blowing bills plus five more - all aimed at deterring specific acts of corruption or purporting to give corruption-free public service as a right. And it was not just the Central government that showed this eagerness. Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha have actually enacted laws which can result in the attachment of ill-gotten property of public servants - sometimes pending investigation. Undeniably, the citizenry will applaud such measures, frustrated and angry as people are about corruption. But wittingly or unwittingly, this response has deflected attention from a much larger issue. None of the bills or laws addresses the fountainhead of corruption - the opaque management of political parties which includes the source and deployment of their funds.
The second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC 2009) underscored the large-scale criminalisation of politics, illustrating how the participation by criminals in the electoral process was "the soft underbelly of the Indian political
system" leading to "the flagrant violation of laws, poor quality of services, protection from lawbreakers on political, group, class, communal or caste grounds, partisan interference in the investigation of crimes, the poor prosecution of cases, inordinate delays that last for years, high costs of the judicial process, mass withdrawal of cases and indiscriminate grant of parole." What is of great importance is the open admission that votes are in fact secured through large, illegal and illegitimate expenditure on elections. This has been termed as the starting point of corruption making cleansing elections the most important route to bringing principles into politics. The Lokpal brouhaha has deflected attention from issues infinitely more important for going after dishonest politics, which seems to be all-pervasive.
intrinsically linked with money power, quid pro quo s, and IOUs, clean candidates without money or political pedigree do not stand a ghost of a chance. And it goes without saying that once illegal and illegitimate expenditure is incurred on winning elections, there can be no prospect of honest dealings thereafter. In the OECD countries with which we frequently draw comparisons, three qualities on a scale of eight, considered the most important attributes required from members of the political executive are objectivity, impartiality and neutrality. In those countries, a Minister is expected to publicly commit himself to observing ethical principles if he is to set an example to public servants. In India, talk of ethical conduct is laughed at; civil servants take their cue from the standards of probity they are witness to - superiors in the service and their political bosses. Until political parties field clean candidates and promote and reward them, a climate of ethical dealings simply cannot emerge. Expecting the clean up to come only by reinforcing anti-corruption laws though necessary, will divert attention from the real issue of corruption - how political parties collect funds and give tickets. The only way this can change is by educating voters on the dynamics behind the power play. Simply put, it means having knowledge about the origin of party funds to provide insights into the interests that back a political party. Equally how such contributions might influence future policies -including the future outlook for using public funds and natural resources. It should come as no surprise that when ADR sought information on political party funding, using RTI, all political parties with the exception of the CPI (M) responded that they were not bound to provide such information. This, when income tax exemptions worth hundreds of crores of rupees, land and accommodation at nominal rates, and free airtime, are all provided at public cost. A full bench of the Central Information Commission (CIC) met in September to take a view on this. But major political parties shied away. The key issue Whatever the outcome, it is unlikely that the sources of party funding would be declared in the foreseeable future. But that is the key to understanding the compulsions of political parties and the decisions they make. One way of overcoming the clandestine collection of election funds would be to introduce state funding of elections as so many
[31]
And the context matters too. Much of India lives in as unequal a world - comparable in fact to preindustrial Britain. Feudal mindsets prevail and the exercise of patronage is expected. In addition, in India, money power can control decisions the voter makes. Bound by the mores of a largely agrarian way of life, the poor remain simultaneously protected and penalised not by the law and the police as much as by feudal lords, often having criminal records. Indian political parties had long used these local sardars and strongmen as trusted allies for defeating opponents. But the latter have moved up in life by increasingly joining the political fray as candidates not just supporters, and they have joined to win. According to the Annual Report of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), among 543 elected Members of Parliament who were elected in the 2009 election, 162 (30 per cent) had criminal cases pending. Five years earlier, that figure was 24 per cent. Meanwhile, the votes needed to win a seat have fallen to as low as 15 per cent. Criminal elements that once pulled in votes for party candidates are now getting voted to power themselves, gaining social respectability and public esteem in the bargain. Meanwhile, campaign-spending limits being easy to flout, buying the voter is easily managed. More worrisome than individual corruption is the widespread concern that funds are collected by political parties and parked in secret bank accounts abroad to be ploughed back to finance elections often by hook or by crook. Since fund management is confined to a handful of people in each party, it gives enormous power to the top leadership which controls the deployment of funds and all that accompanies it. When the choice of candidates is
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countries have done. More importantly there is a need for laws that mandate transparency in the deployment of political party funds coupled with rules that democratise inner party functioning. Unless the monopoly that a small clique that holds the reins of power in almost every party is freed, new blood can never transfuse into the political arena. A Bill called the Registration and Regulation of Political Parties (2011) has been drafted by a committee chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India. The bill includes a democratic process for selecting party office-bearers
as well as those given the ticket. It talks of limits on donations by individuals and corporations, suggests penalties for non-compliance and addresses the vexed question of how to deal with support groups that spend money that remains unaccounted for in the candidates' election expenses. It is legislation like this that the country needs. Much more than a Lokpal. It is only when political parties become answerable that clean candidates will emerge. Then alone might the use of public funds for private gain halt. Source: The Hindu
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Weekly 26th Novembe To 2nd December 2012 IAS

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