1416d364 Part I Current Affairs 2012 October Vision Ias

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CURRENT AFFAIRS 2012: OCTOBER ( Part I )

NATIONAL................................................................. 6
Menta !eat" Care B#$ 2011.................................................................. 6
Nat#%na In&e't(ent B%ar) * Cr#t#+a ana,'#'.......................................... -
Nat#%na C%((#ttee %n )#re+t +a'" tran'.er'........................................... /
Nat#%na P%#+, %n Ee+tr%n#+'.................................................................. 10
Sr#01r#'"na Pane .%r .#nan+#a 'e+t%r....................................................... 12
Nat#%na 2ata S"ar#n3 an) A++e''#4##t, P%#+,......................................... 15
T"e 'tat6' %. Maa,aa( a' a +a''#+a an36a3e0 2e4ate......................... 17
UPA0II 3a(4e' 8#t" an%t"er r%6n) %. 4#3 4an3 re.%r('......................... 19
Na3a A++%r)............................................................................................ 16
A Ne8 Ur4an P%#+, ................................................................................ 1-
Aa)"aar Ena4e) Ser&#+e 2e#&er,........................................................... 1:
Ot"er S(a Ne8' Sn#;;et'....................................................... 1/
Nat#%na Tran';aren+, P%rta %n P2S...................................................... 1/
<Mer# S"a=t# Mer# Bet#> Ca(;a#3n............................................................ 1/

VISION IAS ?
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@ORL2 AFFAIRS........................................................ 20
Iran 'a,' Atan3#4eB ;r%3re'' #n In)#a0A.3"an#'tan #n=............................ 20
V%t#n3 #n A.3"an#'tan.............................................................................. 20
A(#n#Fa(eB tar3et' Iran......................................................................... 21
In)#a$ U.S.$ Ca;an ta= +%%;erat#%n........................................................... 22
A.U. rea)(#t' Ma# 8#t" 2015 ;% ;an ................................................... 22
IN2IA AN2 T!E @ORL2............................................. 25
In)#a0A6'tr#a............................................................................................ 25
In)#a0Sr# Lan=a......................................................................................... 25
In)#a0Ca;an.............................................................................................. 27
In)#a0R6''#a............................................................................................. 29
In)#a0B63ar#a.......................................................................................... 26
In)#a0In)%ne'#a........................................................................................ 2-
In)#a0Ne8 Deaan)................................................................................... 2:
In)#a0S;a#n............................................................................................... 2/
SOCIAL ISSUES............................................................ 50
Be33ar,.................................................................................................... 50
I''6e %. '6rr%3a+,..................................................................................... 51
T"e .e(#n#Eat#%n %. %) a3e * t"e #''6e %. e)er, 8%(en......................... 55
Ne8 F6ar)#an'"#; ','te( .%r ;er'%n' 8#t" 2#'a4##t#e' ........................... 57
C%n+ern' %&er an a3#n3 In)#a.................................................................... 59


<Tra+= C"#)> ;r%Ge+t t% 4e #(;e(ente) a+r%'' t"e +%6ntr,..................... 5-
C"#na 4atte' t"e <721 ;r%4e(>................................................................ 5-
BUSINESS AN2 ECONOMH.......................................... 5:
Cr#t#+a Ana,'#' %. t"e re&#'e) C%(;an#e' B#........................................... 5:
In'6ran+e La8' (A(en)(ent)$ B#$ 200:................................................... 5/
Pen'#%n F6n) Re36at%r, an) 2e&e%;(ent A6t"%r#t, B#$ 2011.............. 70
Ran3araGan ;ane re;%rt %n '63ar............................................................. 70
SEBI0 an ana,'#' %. '%(e re+ent #n#t#at#&e'............................................... 71
R%a)(a; .%r .#'+a +%n'%#)at#%n.............................................................. 72
SCIENCE$ TEC!NOLOFH AN2 2EFENCE........................ 75
B6)a;e't +,4er ';a+e 'e+6r#t, )#a%36e ................................................... 75
L%n30ter( #(;a+t' %. Fenet#+a, M%)#.#e) Or3an#'('............................. 77
S1A Pat".#n)er tee'+%;e.......................................................................... 79
C,4er Cr#(e 0T"reat %. t"e Net.................................................................. 79
N6+ear0+a;a4e 2"an6'".......................................................................... 7/
In)#a04a'e) Ne6tr#n% O4'er&at%r, (INO)................................................... 7/
!%8 F%%3e>' In)#a (a;' are 46#t0APr%Ge+t Fr%6n) Tr6t"B....................... 90
B# t% +reate 4an= .%r 2NA ;r%.##n3 %. a++6'e) +%(#n3............................. 92
Mea'6r#n3 2#3#ta )#&#)e............................................................................ 95
F%4a ;a+t %n )#'a'ter r#'= re)6+t#%n........................................................ 97
PUBLIC !EALT!........................................................... 99


Ne8 entrant' t% !eat" Care...................................................................... 99
S6;;%rt .%r t"e t8##3"t ,ear'..................................................................... 96
Ur4an "eat" #n#t#at#&e0 12
t"
Pan................................................................ 96
An #n#t#at#&e .%r 8a'te (ana3e(ent #n 12
t"
;an......................................... 9-
C"an3e' #n r6e' .%r +#n#+a tr#a'................................................................ 9:
2ea), )#'ea'e$ )e';erate (ea'6re'0Ca;ane'e en+e;"a#t#' (CE)................. 9:
ENVIRONMENT............................................................ 9/
C%P0110 C%n.eren+e %n B#%)#&er'#t,............................................................ 9/
Sea t#3er' .a+e +#(ate t"reat...................................................................... 61
B%at +a(;a#3n t% 'a&e en)an3ere) Fan3et#+ )%;"#n................................. 61
!%6'e ';arr%8 02e"#>' State 4#r)............................................................... 62
T#3er A6t"%r#t, +an n%t#., t%6r#'( n%r('.................................................... 62
Uttara="an) t%;' #n en&#r%n(enta 'tan)ar)'............................................ 65
Internat#%na Hear %. S6'ta#na4e Ener3, .%r a........................................... 65
Ne8 8etan)' e+%n%(#+' re;%rt................................................................. 67
Ban %n t%6r#'( #n t#3er re'er&e'> +%re area' 3%e'........................................ 67
e0Ata' %. (ar#ne 4#r) area'........................................................................ 69
C%n+entrate) '%ar ;%8er (CSP).................................................................. 66
PERSONALITIES............................................................. 6-
!ar%+"e$ @#nean) 8#n N%4e ;r#Ee .%r ;",'#+'........................................... 6-
T"e N%4e Pr#Ee #n P",'#%%3, %r Me)#+#ne................................................... 6-


Re+e;t%r' %n +e '6r.a+e' 'en'e en&#r%n(ent0 t"e 2012 N%4e Pr#Ee #n C"e(#'tr,
6-
L#terat6re N%4e .%r C"#ne'e........................................................................ 6:
S6n# Fan3%;a)",a,.................................................................................... 6:
RaGat F6;ta................................................................................................. 6:
S"r# Prana, Sa"a,........................................................................................ 6:
MISCELLANEOUS.......................................................... 6/
S"#;%t'a&02012........................................................................................... 6/
Ar%3,a Fa#r 2012.......................................................................................... 6/


NATIONAL
Menta !eat" Care B#$ 2011
2e'+r#;t#%n
Under the Bill, mental health means a state of well-ein! in which the individ"al realises his or her own
ailities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can wor# prod"ctivel$ and fr"itf"ll$ and is ale to ma#e a
contri"tion to his or her comm"nit$%
&ental illness incl"des an$ disorder, impairment, disailit$ or handicap of the mind, incl"din! mental
impairment as a res"lt of alcohol, dr"!s or s"stance a"se%
'he Bill provides for mental health care which shall e of the hi!hest ("alit$ possile and shall e provided
in a manner that preserves the di!nit$ of the person with mental illness.
)f the Bill ecomes an *ct of parliament, then ever$ person shall e entitled, if the person so wishes, to
medical ins"rance coverin! treatment to a person s"fferin! from mental illness and no ins"rance compan$
shall ma#e an$ ins"rance polic$ providin! ins"rance a!ainst sic#ness which e+cl"des or restricts the
treatment of persons s"fferin! from mental illness.
* person with mental illness shall not e discriminated a!ainst or s",ect to "nfair treatment in otainin!
ade("ate health ins"rance for the care and treatment of ph$sical and mental health prolems from p"lic
and private health ins"rance providers.
*n$ person or ins"rance compan$ that contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and
shall e liale, on conviction, to a fine not e+ceedin! five h"ndred tho"sand shillin!s, or to imprisonment for
a term not e+ceedin! three $ears, or oth.
* person shall not e discriminated a!ainst on the !ro"nd that he or she is s"fferin! from mental illness.
-ver$ person with mental illness shall have the ri!ht to e+ercise all civil, political, economic, social and
c"lt"ral ri!hts accorded to ever$ person $ the .onstit"tion and an$ other written law in force in /en$a. 'o
me this means that persons with a mental illness shall have the ri!ht to vote.
Cr#t#+#'(
'he activists said their main concern was that the Bill maintained the stat"s ("omental as$l"ms, while the
ri!ht to choose or ref"se treatment has also een removed.
&ental illness is the onl$ cate!or$ of 0disease1 within the medical discipline which till toda$ has the lowest
"rden of proof. 'here e+ist no tests, od$ scannin! or other empirical methods ao"t the scientific validit$
of mental illness.
)n this fra!ile sit"ation where ("estions ao"t the scientific validit$ of ps$chiatr$ are ein! raised world
over, the &ental 2ealth .are Bill hands over power to ps$chiatrists to deprive a person1s liert$.
3ith the law "nder which $o" can forcil$ #eep a person inside a private as$l"m for two months, renewale
after a da$1s parole, the "siness interest of private pla$ers in the mental health s$stem is ver$ evident.


S6;;%rt
'here is provision of *dvance 5irective wherein a person with mental illness can e+ercise choice of
treatment $ drawin! "p *dvance 5irective which is a le!al contract.
'he Bill itself sa$s that it can e potentiall$ challen!ed $ the treatin! ps$chiatrist or a relative or a famil$
memer.
'he Bill has een drafted after elaorate delierations with sta#eholders.
3hile #eepin! it Un#te) Nat#%n' C%n&ent#%n .%r t"e R#3"t' %. Per'%n' 8#t" 2#'a4##t#e' compliant, the
draftin! team and the &inistr$ have tried to accommodate vario"s view points as e+pressed d"rin! re!ional
and national cons"ltations. )t is, however, not possile to satisf$ ever$one to the f"llest e+tent.
'he e+istin! &ental 2ealth *ct 6&2*7 was passed in 1894 "t it came into effect in *pril 1883. 'he &2*
replaced the )ndian :"nac$ act of 1812, which had replaced the )ndian :"natic *s$l"m *ct of 1959.
'he 1894 *ct was a vast improvement over the 1812 *ct. 5ispara!in! terminolo!ies of )ndian :"nac$ *ct
1812 were dropped and polite terms were "sed.
3ith a view to improvin! standards of mental health care, a licensin! a"thorit$ was provided to e+ercise
chec# on !rant of licenses and wor#in! of ps$chiatric hospitals. ;rovision was made for estalishment of
new ps$chiatric hospitals.
<"tpatient care was provided to avoid detention for mana!eale cases and an attempt was made to
simplif$ proced"re for admission to and dischar!e from a ps$chiatric hospital=n"rsin! home.
;rovision was made for appointment of mana!ers and !"ardians for maintainin! propert$ and carin! of
mentall$ ill and ens"rin! that treatment e+penses are paid $ relatives or !overnment.

Nat#%na In&e't(ent B%ar) * Cr#t#+a ana,'#'
@"at #t #'I
'he discretionar$ and even re!"lator$ powers of individ"al ministries are li#el$ to come "nder serio"s attac#
with the Nat#%na In&e't(ent B%ar) (NIB) led $ ;rime &inister &anmohan >in!h set to ass"me the role of
a s"per aritrator over and aove merel$ e+peditin! clearances for ma,or infrastr"ct"re pro,ects.
*!!rieved companies with stron! le!al !ro"nds to estalish that their applications for infrastr"ct"re pro,ects
have een aritraril$ dela$ed or even re,ected $ the &inistr$ or 5epartment concerned can directl$
approach the ?)B for clearance.
?)B will e constit"ted as an empowered >tandin! .ommittee of the .ainet "nder the chairmanship of the
;rime &inister, carr$in! the a"thorit$ of the !overnment with #e$ &inisters li#e @inance and :aw A B"stice
as memers.
'he ?)B will e s"pported $ a small dedicated secretariat in the 5-* which will identif$ #e$ pro,ects that
re("ire contin"al monitorin!.
'he initial foc"s will e on investments "pwards of Cs. 1,DDD crore in roads, minin! 6especiall$ coal7, power,
petrole"m and nat"ral !as, ports and railwa$ pro,ects.


In S6;;%rt
'he stated p"rpose of the ?)B will e to ta#e over the process of !rantin! licences, permissions and
approvals whenever the competent a"thorities fail to act in time. 'his is intended to prevent adhocism
emer!in! from a"tonomo"s f"nctionin! of ministries and to fi+ responsiilit$ for inordinate dela$s in
otainin! all the approvals=clearances re("ired for implementation of the pro,ect.
'he process of !rantin!=ref"sin! approvals to @5) proposals "nder the approval ro"te has ecome ("ic#er
after the settin! "p of the F%re#3n In&e't(ent Pr%(%t#%n B%ar) (FIPB) and the ?)B is e+pected to have a
similar eneficial impact on !rantin!=ref"sin! approvals=clearances to #e$ pro,ects, especiall$ in the
infrastr"ct"re sector.
'he ?)B will prescrie different time limits for re("isite m"ltiple approvals in cons"ltation with the
ministries and #. t"e, rene3e %n t"e'e )ea)#ne', the a"thorit$ of the concerned &inistr$=5epartment
wo"ld stand transferred to the ?)B for ta#in! the decision.
5etailed anal$sis of the dela$s indicates that there are two asic sets of approvals=clearances which need to
e addressed.
'he first is re!"lator$ approval accorded "nder the relevant law as e+emplified $ the -nvironment
.learance and @orest .learance. * time frame ma$ have een prescried "nder r"les for some of the
clearances "t dela$s often occ"r eca"se of the inade("ate administrative arran!ements to
facilitate=s"pport the proced"re for timel$ !rant=ref"sal of clearance.
'he second is p"rel$ in the realm of administrative decisions, with each step cons"min! several da$s or
wee#s. .loser s"pervision and monitorin! wo"ld consideral$ red"ce the time ta#en for s"ch approvals.
'he ?)B see#s to instit"tionalise a s$stem which oth monitors the m"ltiple avoidale impediments
emer!in! from the .entral !overnment ministries=departments while ta#in! necessar$ action to e+pedite
these approvals.
)t will !o a lon! wa$ in eliminatin! red tape, red"cin! liti!ation and also rin! ac# investment.
Cr#t#+#'(
'he @inance &inistr$ proposal to create a ?ational )nvestment Board with e+traordinar$ a"thorit$ to
s"persede individ"al ministries and decide the fate of e+pensive infrastr"ct"re pro,ects is a retro!rade
meas"re that stri#es at the root of democratic !overnance.
'he asic tenets of all law-ma#in! incl"de p"lic participation, e("it$ and ,"stice, more so when it comes to
the environment and welfare. )ndia1s laws on protection of the environment, forests, wildlife and trial
welfare enshrine these principles, and the co"ntr$ has een centre-sta!in! them when ne!otiatin!
international treaties and protocols.
B"t a raEen attempt is ein! made "sin! the fi! leaf of Fdela$s1 in !rant of re!"lator$ approvals and
clearances to ne!ate all this and strip individ"al ministries of their lawf"l role, and to transfer their decision-
ma#in! powers to an ?)B.
'he &inistr$ of -nvironment and @orests, which is cast $ ind"str$ as the villain when it comes to pro,ect
clearances, is ,"stified in opposin! this misadvent"re.
'he stated o,ective of formin! an ?)B chaired $ the ;rime &inister, "nder the Government of )ndia
6*llocation of B"siness7 C"les, 1861, is to prescrie time limits for approvals.


)ts f"nctions, however, are far-reachin! and wo"ld serio"sl$ erode the powers and a"tonom$ of individ"al
ministries. 'heir proced"res and decisions will ecome s",ect to review $ an investment-foc"sed s"perior
entit$, with predictale conse("ences.
'a#in! the lon! view, Board proponents wo"ld do well to rememer that the$ see# to e+ploit a stoc# of
inval"ale, limited nat"ral capital. 'here is, th"s, a need to assess the s"stainailit$ of development, and not
e !"ided solel$ $ narrow meas"res of economic performance.
.onsiderin! the a"thoritarian character that an all-powerf"l committee will inevital$ ac("ire, it wo"ld e
pr"dent for the .ainet to !ive "p the ?)B proposal.
)t can achieve etter o"tcomes $ foc"sin! on administrative elements within ministries, and introd"cin!
acco"ntailit$ in pro,ect approvals.

Nat#%na C%((#ttee %n )#re+t +a'" tran'.er'
;rime &inister &anmohan >in!h constit"ted a hi!h-power ?ational .ommittee on 5irect .ash 'ransfers in
a id to red"ce corr"ption at the c"ttin! ed!e.
'he committee is e+pected to facilitate the introd"ction of direct cash transfers to individ"als eli!ile for
enefits flowin! o"t of the !overnment1s man$ welfare pro!rammes.
C%(;%'#t#%n
'he ;rime &inister will chair the ?ational .ommittee himselfH its other memers will e 11 .ainet
&inisters, two &o> with independent char!e, the 5ep"t$ .hairman of the ;lannin! .ommission, the
.hairman of the U)5*) and the .ainet >ecretar$. 'he ;rincipal >ecretar$ to the ;rime &inister will e the
convenor.
O4Ge+t#&e'
:evera!in! the investments ein! made in the *adhaar ;ro,ect with the o,ective of enhancin! efficienc$,
transparenc$ and acco"ntailit$, the .ommittee has een mandated to provide an overarchin! vision and
direction, as well as to determine road polic$ o,ectives and strate!ies, to enale direct cash transfers.
)t will also s"!!est the e+tent and scope of s"ch cash transfers for selected !overnment pro!rammes, and
coordinate the activities of the &inistries and a!encies involved in the pro,ect to ens"re its timel$ and
speed$ rollo"t across the co"ntr$.
@inall$, the committee will review the pro!ress of implementation and provide !"idance for mid-co"rse
corrections.
T"ree M#''#%n M%)e C%((#ttee' I on technolo!$, financial incl"sion and implementation I will help
desi!n and implement the direct cash transfer s$stem.
T"e Te+"n%%3, C%((#ttee will foc"s on the technolo!$, pa$ment architect"re and )' iss"es, the F#nan+#a
In+6'#%n C%((#ttee on ens"rin! "niversal access to an#in! and ens"rin! complete financial incl"sion and
the I(;e(entat#%n C%((#ttee' on -lectronic 'ransfer of Benefits at the &inistr$ level will wor# o"t the
details of cash transfers for each department.

VISION IAS www.visionias.wordpress.com 1D

Nat#%na P%#+, %n Ee+tr%n#+'
Ba+=3r%6n)
'he -lectronics ind"str$ reported at U>5 1.45 trillion is the lar!est and fastest !rowin! man"fact"rin! ind"str$ in the
world. )t is e+pected to reach U>5 2.4 trillion $ 2D2D. 'he demand in the )ndian mar#et was U>5 45 illion in 2DD9-
D8 and is e+pected to reach U>5 4DD illion $ 2D2D. 5omestic demand is e+pected to e driven $ !rowth in income
levels leadin! to hi!her off-ta#e of electronics prod"cts, a"tomation demands of corporate sector and the
!overnmentJs foc"s on e-!overnance.
'he domestic prod"ction in 2DD9-D8 was ao"t U>5 2D illion. 2owever, the act"al val"e-addition in the
domesticall$ prod"ced electronic prod"ct is ver$ low, ran!in! etween 5 to 1D percent in most cases. *t the
c"rrent rate of !rowth, domestic prod"ction can cater to a demand of U>5 1DD illion in 2D2D as a!ainst a
demand of U>5 4DD illion and the rest wo"ld have to e met $ imports. 'his a!!re!ates to a demand
s"ppl$ !ap of nearl$ U>5 3DD illion $ 2D2D. Unless the sit"ation is corrected, it is li#el$ that $ 2D2D,
electronics import ma$ far e+ceed oil imports.
'his fact !oes "nnoticed eca"se electronics, as a Kmeta reso"rceK forms a si!nificant part of all machines
and e("ipment imported, which are classified in their final sectoral forms, for e+ample, a"tomoiles,
aviation, health e("ipment, media and roadcastin!, defence armaments, etc.
-lectronics is characteriEed $ hi!h velocit$ of technolo!ical chan!e. .onse("entl$ the life c$cle of prod"cts
is declinin!. *s a res"lt, the val"e of desi!n and development in the prod"ct has increased ("ite si!nificantl$.
Given )ndiaJs !rowin! stren!th in chip desi!n and emedded software, the increasin! importance of desi!n
in prod"ct development has potential to ma#e )ndia a favo"red destination for ->5&.
-lectronic components, which are the asis of an electronic prod"ct, are low vol"me-low wei!ht, cheap and
eas$ to transport across the !loe. &oreover, "nder the )nformation 'echnolo!$ *!reement-1 6)'*-17 of the
3orld 'rade <r!aniEation 63'<7, which came into force in 1884, a lar!e n"mer of electronic components
and prod"cts are o"nd with Eero tariffs ma#in! trade "nrestricted across international orders. Under the
@ree 'rade *!reements 6@'*s7 and ;referential 'rade *!reements 6;'*s7 with vario"s co"ntries, the import
of electronics hardware from these co"ntries is allowed either at Eero d"t$ or at a d"t$ which is lower than
the normal d"t$ rate.
O4Ge+t#&e'
'he #e$ o,ectives of the ;olic$ areH
6i7 'o create an eco-s$stem for a !loall$ competitive -lectronic >$stem 5esi!n and &an"fact"rin! 6->5&7
sector in the co"ntr$ to achieve a t"rnover of ao"t U>5 4DD illion $ 2D2D involvin! investment of ao"t
U>5 1DD illion and emplo$ment to aro"nd 29 million people at vario"s levels.
6ii7 'o "ild on the emer!in! chip desi!n and emedded software ind"str$ to achieve !loal leadership in
Ler$ :ar!e >cale )nte!ration 6L:>)7, chip desi!n and other frontier technical areas and to achieve a
t"rnover of U>5 55 illion $ 2D2D.
6iii7 'o "ild a stron! s"ppl$ chain of raw materials, parts and electronic components to raise the indi!eno"s
availailit$ of these inp"ts from the present 2D-25 per cent to over 6D per cent $ 2D2D.
6iv7 'o increase the e+port in ->5& sector from U>5 5.5 illion to U>5 9D illion $ 2D2D.


6v7 'o si!nificantl$ enhance availailit$ of s#illed manpower in the ->5& sector. >pecial foc"s for a"!mentin!
post!rad"ate ed"cation and to prod"ce ao"t 25DD ;h5s ann"all$ $ 2D2D.
6vi7 'o create an instit"tional mechanism for developin! and mandatin! standards and certification for
electronic prod"cts and services to stren!then ("alit$ assessment infrastr"ct"re nationwide.
6vii7 'o develop an appropriate sec"rit$ ecos$stem in ->5&.
6viii7 'o create lon!-term partnerships etween ->5& and strate!ic and core infrastr"ct"re sectors - 5efence,
*tomic -ner!$, >pace, Cailwa$s, ;ower, 'elecomm"nications, etc.
6i+7 'o ecome a !loal leader in creatin! )ntellect"al ;ropert$ 6);7 in the ->5& sector $ increasin! f"nd flow
for CA5, seed capital and vent"re capital for start-"ps in the ->5& and nanoelectronics sectors.
6+7 'o develop core competencies in strate!ic and core infrastr"ct"re sectors li#e telecomm"nications,
a"tomotive, avionics, ind"strial, medical, solar, )nformation and Broadcastin!, Cailwa$s, etc thro"!h "se of
->5& in these sectors.
6+i7 'o "se technolo!$ to develop electronic prod"cts caterin! to domestic needs, incl"din! r"ral needs and
conditions, as well as international needs at affordale price points.
6+ii7 'o ecome a !loal leader in the -lectronic &an"fact"rin! >ervices 6-&>7 se!ment $ promotin!
pro!ressive hi!her val"e addition in man"fact"rin! and prod"ct development.
6+iii7 'o e+pedite adoption of est practices in e-waste mana!ement.
6+iv7 'o so"rce, stoc#pile and promote indi!eno"s e+ploration and minin! of rare earth metals re("ired for
man"fact"re of electronic components.
1e, Strate3#e'
6i7 .reatin! eco-s$stem for !loall$ competitive ->5& sectorH 'he strate!ies incl"de provision of fiscal
incentives for investment, settin! "p of electronic man"fact"rin! cl"sters, preferential mar#et access to
domesticall$ man"fact"red electronic prod"cts, settin! "p of semicond"ctor wafer farication facilities,
ind"str$ friendl$ and stale ta+ re!ime. Based on .ainet approval, a hi!h level -mpowered committee
has een constit"ted to identif$ and shortlist technolo!$ and investors for settin! "p two semicond"ctor
wafer man"fact"rin! farication facilities. Based on another .ainet approval a polic$ for providin!
preference to domesticall$ man"fact"red electronic !oods has een anno"nced. >eparate proposals have
also een considered $ the .ainet for approval of &odified >pecial )ncentive ;ac#a!e for the ->5&
>ector and for settin! "p of -lectronics &an"fact"rin! .l"sters 6-&.s7.
6ii7 ;romotion of -+portsH 'he strate!ies incl"de a!!ressive mar#etin! of )ndia as an investment destination
and providin! incentives for e+port,
6iii7 2"man Ceso"rce 5evelopmentH 'he strate!ies incl"de involvement of private sector, "niversities and
instit"tions of learnin! for scalin! "p of re("isite capacities at all levels for the pro,ected manpower
demand. * specialiEed )nstit"te for semicond"ctor chip desi!n is also proposed.
6iv7 5evelopin! and mandatin! standards to c"r inflow of s"-standard and "nsafe electronic prod"cts $
mandatin! technical and safet$ standards which conform to international standards.
6v7 .$er sec"rit$H 'o create a complete sec"re c$er eco-s$stem in the co"ntr$, thro"!h s"itale desi!n and
development of indi!eno"s appropriate prod"cts thro"!h frontier technolo!$=prod"ct oriented research,
testin! and validation of sec"rit$ of prod"cts.
6vi7 >trate!ic electronicsH 'he strate!ies incl"de creatin! lon!-term partnerships etween domestic ->5&
ind"str$ and strate!ic sectors for so"rcin! prod"cts domesticall$ and providin! 5efense <ffset oli!ations
for electronic proc"rements thro"!h ->5& prod"cts.


6vii7 .reatin! ecos$stem for virant innovation and CA5 in the ->5& sector incl"din! nanoelectronics. 'he
strate!$ incl"des creation of an -lectronic 5evelopment @"nd.
6viii7 -lectronics in other sectorsH 'he strate!$ incl"des s"pportin! and H developin! e+pertise in the electronics
in the followin! sectors of econom$H a"tomotive, avionics, :i!ht -mittin! 5iodes 6:-5s7, )nd"strial,
medical, solar photovoltaics, )nformation and Broadcastin!, 'elecomm"nications, Cailwa$s, )ntelli!ent
'ransport >$stems, and Games and 'o$s.
6i+7 2andlin! e-wasteH 'he strate!$ incl"des vario"s initiatives to facilitate environment friendl$ e-waste
handlin! policies.

Sr#01r#'"na Pane .%r .#nan+#a 'e+t%r
Under the e+istin! architect"re, the financial sector is re!"lated $ ei!ht a!enciesH the CB), >-B), the )C5*,
the ;@C5*, the @&., >*', deposit ins"rance a!enc$ 5).G. and the @inancial >ector 5evelopment .o"ncil
6@>5.7. *s per the proposal, there wo"ld e five new a!encies esides the CB) and the @>5.. 'he new ones
wo"ld e U@*, @>*', @C*, 5&< and Cesol"tion .orporation.'he "nification of re!"lation and s"pervision of
financial firms s"ch as m"t"al f"nds, ins"rance companies, and a diverse arra$ of firms which are not an#s
or pa$ment providers, will $ield consistent treatment in cons"mer protection and micro-pr"dential
re!"lation across all of them.
*t present, while the stoc# mar#et is re!"lated $ >-B), the activities in the commodities mar#et are loo#ed
after $ the @&.. 'he ins"rance sector is re!"lated $ the )C5*, while the ;@C5* is responsile for
mana!in! the pension sector.
>"!!estin! far-reachin! le!islative reforms in the financial sector, a !overnment-appointed panel said #e$
re!"lators s"ch as the >ec"rities and -+chan!e Board of )ndia 6>-B)7, the )ns"rance Ce!"lator$ and
5evelopment *"thorit$ 6)C5*7, the ;ension @"nd Ce!"lator$ and 5evelopment *"thorit$ 6;@C5*7 and the
@orward &ar#ets .ommission 6@&.7 sho"ld e mer!ed into a Unified @inancial *!enc$ 6U@*7.
'he @inancial >ector :e!islative Ceforms .ommission, headed $ former B"stice B. ?. >ri#rishna, has also
s"!!ested settin! "p of a financial redressal a!enc$ 6@C*7 to address cons"mer complaints a!ainst
companies across the financial sector.
'he *pproach ;aper, on which the .ommission will see# comments from the sta#eholders, "nderlined the
need for estalishin! an independent det mana!ement office 65&<7 and a @inancial >ector *ppellate
'ri"nal 6@>*'7 to hear appeals a!ainst re!"lators.
'hese chan!es will alter the )ndian financial landscape from ei!ht financial re!"lator$ a!encies to seven,
said the ;aper, which will form the asis of the report of the .ommission that was set "p in &arch, 2D11, to
re-write the le!islations affectin! the domestic financial mar#ets.
'he U@*, it said, wo"ld deal with all financial firms other than an#in! and pa$ments. )t wo"ld also $ield
enefits in terms of economies of scale in the financial s$stem.'he ;aper sa$s there is a need for separatin!
the ad,"dication f"nction from the mainstream activities of a re!"lator, so as to achieve a !reater separation
of powers.)t f"rther sa$s that the laws for the financial sector need to enshrine re!"lator$ independence.
'his involves enshrinin! an appointment process for senior re!"lator$ staff, fi+ed contract"al terms,
controllin! the loss of independence that comes from the possiilit$ of e+tension of term or promotion,
removin! the power of !overnment to !ive directions, rin!in! transparenc$ to oard meetin!s.'he


.ommission, as per its mandate, wo"ld draft a od$ of law, which wo"ld ens"re estalishin! so"nd financial
re!"lator$ a!encies.
'he @inancial >ector :e!islative Ceforms .ommission 6@>:C.7 was set "p to recast the financial sector
le!islations in t"ne with the contemporar$ re("irements of the sector.
*t present, there are over 6D *cts and m"ltiple r"les and re!"lations that !overn the financial sector.'he
fra!mented re!"lator$ architect"re has led to a loss of scale and scope that co"ld e availale from a
seamless financial mar#et with all its attendant enefits of minimisin! the intermediation cost.

Nat#%na 2ata S"ar#n3 an) A++e''#4##t, P%#+,
O4Ge+t#&e'
'he o,ectives of ?5>*; are to address all iss"es related to data in terms of the availale scope of sharin! and
accessin! spatial and non-spatial data "nder road framewor#s of standards and interoperailit$.
a7 5ata .lassification
7 'echnolo!$ for sharin! and access
c7 ."rrent le!al framewor# 6C') *ct and ;rivac$ *ct7
Bene.#t'
&a+imisin! "seH Cead$ access to !overnment data will enco"ra!e more e+tensive "se of a val"ale p"lic
reso"rce for the enefit of the comm"nit$.
*voidin! d"plicationH B$ sharin! data the need for separate odies to collect the same data will e avoided
res"ltin! in si!nificant cost savin!s in data collection.
&a+imised inte!rationH B$ adoptin! common standards for the collection and transfer of data more
inte!ration of individ"al dataases will e possile.
<wnershipH 'he identification of owners for the principal data sets enale "sers to identif$ those responsile
for implementin! prioritiEed data collection pro!rams and for developin! data standards.
Better decision-ma#in!H M"alit$ information allows to ma#e competent decisions. *voidin! lar!e potential
costs. Cead$ access to e+istin! spatial data is essential for man$ decision ma#in! tas#s s"ch as protectin!
the environment, development plannin!, mana!in! assets, improvin! livin! conditions, national sec"rit$ and
controllin! disasters.
-("it$ of accessH * more open data transfer polic$ ens"res etter access $ all onafide "sers


T"e 'tat6' %. Maa,aa( a' a +a''#+a an36a3e0 2e4ate
*s 'amil, 'el"!" and /annada received the stat"s of a F.lassical :an!"a!e1 over the past few $ears,
&ala$alam1s claim to that imprimat"r has remained "nmet I altho"!h it essentiall$ elon!s to the same
5ravidian lin!"istic famil$.
*s a lan!"a!e with a contin"o"s histor$ of more than 2,3DD $ears and a lon! record of ancient and modern
literar$ wor#s of ac#nowled!ed e+cellence, its claim is incontestale, at least in relative terms.
'he anti("it$ of the lan!"a!e, the richness and diversit$ of its literat"re and /erala1s pl"ralistic civilisational
ac#drop that the lan!"a!e has helped shape, stand it in !ood stead.
'he !rant of s"ch stat"s sho"ld not, however, remain merel$ of s$molic val"e. 'he reso"rces that come
with it sho"ld e "tilised meanin!f"ll$ to develop the lan!"a!e on the asis of a clearl$ laid-o"t plan.
'he !overnment sho"ld roll o"t a plan to ens"re the lan!"a!e retains its inte!rit$, p"rit$ and viranc$ I
while allowin! for the fact that a lan!"a!e has to evolve. 'here are worr$in! trends of corr"ption in spo#en
and written "se, and a certain lac# of ri!o"r in terms of !rammar and script is creepin! in, the process often
aided $ lac#adaisical "se in the vis"al media.
*lso, not all &ala$alam newspapers seem partic"larl$ #een to avoid orrowin! words indiscriminatel$ from
-n!lishH $ resortin! to s"ch short-c"ts, the$ do a disservice to the lan!"a!e.
&ala$alam ma$ e the official lan!"a!e of the >tate on paper "t it is not $et f"ll$ so. <ne !larin! !ap
relates to ,"dicial proceedin!s.
&ala$alam has achieved a si!nificant de!ree of we compliance over the last few $ears. 2owever, the
technical complications relatin! to the Fchil1 element of the script is an iss"e that needs to e addressed, so
that &ala$alam ecomes a lan!"a!e of the di!ital a!e.
'here is also a need to enco"ra!e the $o"n!er !eneration of &ala$alees, those who live in /erala and
elsewhere in the world, to ta#e pride in learnin! and handlin! it well. &ala$alam th"s needs to e enriched
and ener!ised I even as it co-e+ists in a pra!matic manner with ma,or lan!"a!es s"ch as -n!lish and 2indi
in order that its horiEons remain wide and open.
Lan36a3e an) I)ent#t, P%#t#+' #n In)#a
<ver the last cent"r$, as 'amil identit$ politics !rew even as political parties sim"ltaneo"sl$ accommodated
themselves within stron! "nion !overnments, the demand for official classical lan!"a!e stat"s to 'amil
ecame strident.
'he iss"e of stat"s too# the place of s"stance. 'his was especiall$ so after 1898 when re!ional parties N
especiall$ the 5ravida &"nnetra /aEha!am 65&/7 and *ll )ndia *nna 5ravida &"nnetra /aEha!am
6*)*5&/7 N e!an to have a i! sa$ in the formation of !overnments at the centre. )n the wa#e of the
"nprecedented electoral sweep of the 5&/-led alliance in the 2DD4 parliamentar$ elections in 'amil ?ad",
the classical lan!"a!e stat"s was one of the more easil$ conceded demands made $ an assertive 5&/. )t
was ("ic#l$ !ranted $ a &inistr$ of 2"man Ceso"rces 5evelopment 6&2C57 notification dated 12 <ctoer
2DD4. ?otwithstandin! the !en"ine claim of 'amil for the reco!nition of s"ch a stat"s, that this move was
political was never in do"t. 3hile the 5&/ went overoard in claimin! credit, the *)*5&/, then headin!
the !overnment in the state, was ti!htlipped. 'he s"se("ent developments onl$ reinforced the political
character of this concession.


'he constit"tion and composition of the vario"s e+pert committees for classical 'amil ears this o"t. 'o !ive
,"st one instance, a memer of one of the committees resi!ned when she was denied the 5&/ tic#et to
contest the 2DD6 :o# >aha elections.
.)n fact, in a stran!e inversion, >ans#rit was officiall$ notified as a classical lan!"a!e onl$ after 'amil even if
for all practical p"rposes >ans#rit alwa$s en,o$ed preferential state treatment. &ore dist"rin!l$, the nat"re
of the notification patentl$ lent itself to manip"lation.
'he perception that norms had een dil"ted to accommodate f"t"re claims, which emer!ed from even a
simple readin! of the notification, was not witho"t s"stance. 3hile the widel$ accepted scholarl$ criterion
for anti("it$ was the e+istence of earl$ te+ts of 2,DDD $ears, the 2DD4 notification had watered it down to
onl$ a 1,DDD $ears.
<nl$ after the intervention of the chief minister of 'amil ?ad", & /ar"nanidhi, it is said that this was
revised to 1,5DD-2,DDD $ears. .learl$ the !overnment of )ndia was preparin! to "ndermine the ("estion,
m"ch li#e the wa$ the &andal .ommission iss"e and reservation have een handled in the recent past.

UPA0II 3a(4e' 8#t" an%t"er r%6n) %. 4#3 4an3 re.%r('
Government has pressed ahead with some i!-tic#et reforms,
raised the @5) cap in the ins"rance sector to 48 per cent,
opened "p the pension sector for forei!n investment
cleared the .ompanies Bill, 2D11.
approved amendments to the .ompetition *ct, 2DD2, and the @orei!n .ontracts 6Ce!"lation7
*mendment Bill, 2D1D.
cleared a tr#;art#te a3ree(ent .%r In.ra'tr6+t6re 2e4t F6n) (I2F),
cleared the 12th @ive Oear ;lan doc"ment and
!ranted international airport stat"s to the :"c#now, Laranasi, 'ir"chi, &an!alore and .oimatore
airports.

'he tripartite a!reement is amon! the developer, the lender 6an#7 and the )5@. :oans will e refinanced $
the )5@ so that an#s co"ld have free f"nds for more lendin!. 'he )5@, proposed in the Union "d!et for
2D11-12, is aimed at acceleratin! and enhancin! the flow of lon!-term credit for f"ndin! infrastr"ct"re
development.
'he .ainet approved the @orward .ontract Ce!"lation *ct 6*mendment7 Bill, which see#s to !ive more
powers to the @orward &ar#ets .ommission 6@&.7, the commodit$ mar#ets re!"lator. )t will stren!then the
@&. $ providin! it with financial a"tonom$, facilitate the entr$ of instit"tional investors and introd"ce new
prod"cts for tradin! s"ch as options and indices.
'he .ainet !ave the !reen si!nal for f"rther amendin! the .ompetition *ct 2DD2, so as to meet the
present-da$ needs in competition, in the li!ht of the e+perience !ained from the wor#in! of the .ompetition
.ommission of )ndia in the past few $ears.
'he .ompanies Bill, 2D11, meant to ens"re the !rowth and re!"lation of the corporate sector, was also
approved.


Na3a A++%r)
@"at #' t"e Na3a '#t6at#%nI
?a!aland was created in 1863 as the 16th >tate of )ndian Union, efore which it was a district of *ssam.
)ns"r!ent !ro"ps classified as active, mainl$ demand f"ll independence. 'he ?a!a ?ational .o"ncil led
$ ;hiEo was the first !ro"p to dissent in 1844 and in 1856 the$ went "nder!ro"nd.
NSCN0IM
'he ?ational >ocialist .o"ncil of ?a!aland was formed in 189D to estalish a Greater ?a!aland,
encompassin! parts of &anip"r, ?a!aland, the north .achar hills 6*ssam7. 'he ?>.? split in 1899 to form
two !ro"ps namel$ ?>.? 6)&7 A ?>.?6/7. *s of now, oth the !ro"ps are in ceasefire with the )ndian
!overnment.
'ho"!h soverei!nt$ and independence was their ideolo!$ initiall$, of late the )ndo-?a!a tal#s seem to centre
aro"nd Greater ?a!aland which itself is ein! vehementl$ opposed $ the states of *ssam, &anip"r,
*r"nachal ;radesh etc. solel$ for the reason that it is nothin! sort of encroachment on their territories
which contin"es to foment s"spicion and ill-will in the ?orth-east )ndia.
2owever, the$ contin"e to e activel$ involved in ille!al activities incl"din! e+tortion, #idnappin!, inter-
factional clashes, ootle!!in! and recr"itment esides imposin! vario"s ta+=d"ties to all t$pes of
commercial enterprises and estalishments. )n spite of the name, the .o"ncilJs ideolo!$ is &aoist rather
than 2itlerite.
NSCN01
'he ?ational >ocialist .o"ncil of ?a!alandI/haplan! is the second faction with the same aim of a Greater
?a!aland and was formed in 1899.
Pre'ent Stat6' %. t"e ne3%t#at#%n'
* process that co"ld lead to an hono"rale settlement of the si+-decades-old ?a!a prolem seems to e in
the ma#in!.
3ith the ;rime &inister !ivin! the !o-ahead, the Union 2ome &inistr$ has e!"n disc"ssin! with all
re!ional sta#eholders the road conto"rs of a proposal that was hammered o"t earlier in ne!otiations
etween the Union !overnment and the ?ational >ocialist .o"ncil of ?a!alim 6)sa#-&"ivah7.
'he ?>.? 6)-&7, the ma,or pla$er amon! ?a!a !ro"ps, has accepted I at least for the interim I the
impracticalit$ of demandin! the inte!ration of conti!"o"s ?a!a-inhaited areas incl"din! those in *ssam,
&anip"r and *r"nachal ;radesh, and of redrawin! >tate o"ndaries.
&ore importantl$, it has tempered its demand for ?a!a soverei!nt$, there$ allowin! an o"tcome that
can conform to the asic str"ct"re of the .onstit"tion.
*n a!reement ein! stitched "p efore the >tate *sseml$ elections that are d"e $ &arch 2D13 will enale
former ins"r!ent !ro"ps to ta#e part in the democratic process. 'he lar!er political environment appears
cond"cive for a democratic reconciliation. B"t there is still a lon! wa$ to !o, and man$ minefields to cross.


>everal concessions on the !overnment1s part, incl"din! !rant of a special rand of a"tonom$ and freedom
for ?a!aland, will e re("ired.
@or the !rant of special stat"s, additions will need to e made to *rticle 341*, "nder which no *ct of
;arliament applies to ?a!aland in respect of the reli!io"s or social practices of the ?a!as, administration of
civil and criminal ,"stice involvin! decisions "nder c"stomar$ ?a!a law, and ownership and transfer of land
and its reso"rces, "nless its *sseml$ so decides.
'he creation of a pan-?a!a social od$ to hi!hli!ht the identit$ of the people appears to e a #e$ element of
the form"la. )ts role, scope and powers need to e defined with clarit$ in order to avoid diffic"lties. 'he
constit"tional amendment that some of these proposals will entail re("ires national political consens"s.
-ven the ("estion of decommissionin! weapons held $ militants needs to e resolved.
* pr"dent alance needs to e str"c# etween what the .entre can concede and what the ins"r!ents can
accept. 'his has to e done on the asis of a clear "nderstandin! of the chan!in! social and political
d$namics of the re!ion as a whole.

A Ne8 Ur4an P%#+,
* new "ran polic$ with ade("ate attention to land "se, transport inte!ration, transit-oriented
development and preparedness for disaster mana!ement is on the cards.
)t will foc"s on land "se, transport inte!ration, transit-oriented development and preparedness for disaster
mana!ement
'he Union Uran 5evelopment &inistr$ has anno"nced that it will "nderta#e a revision of the e+istin!
Uran 5evelopment ;lan @orm"lation and )mplementation 6U5;@)7 G"idelines, 1886, to ens"re that "ran
plannin! is carried o"t in a holistic wa$.
F6t6re nee)'
'he revision to e carried o"t $ cons"ltants will help the &inistr$ to ali!n cit$ development with f"t"re
needs of the !rowin! pop"lation and "nderta#e planned "ranisation.
'he U5;@) G"idelines, 1886, were primaril$ meant for the !"idance of >tate 'own and .o"ntr$ ;lannin!
5epartments, Uran 5evelopment *"thorities and Uran :ocal Bodies in terms of preparation of &aster
;lans, 5evelopment ;lans and form"latin! norms and standards in order to ens"re planned development of
towns and cities, said an official.
'he nat"re and scope of chan!es that have ta#en place since the framin! of !"idelines has created a need
for enhancin! infrastr"ct"re, amenities and reso"rce moilisation. Uran plannin! now has to address iss"es
li#e waste mana!ement, est practices for environment, comprehensive moilit$, service level enchmar#s,
disaster preparedness, s"stainale haitat, rationalisation of land% and none of these aspects can e dealt
with in isolation, said the official.
'o accommodate the f"t"re needs of the !rowin! pop"lation, the !"idelines will e revised to fill in the
!aps.


* United ?ation1s report, released recentl$ pointed o"t that for cities to e prospero"s the$ m"st have #e$
indicators of prod"ctivit$, infrastr"ct"re development, ("alit$ of life, e("it$ and social incl"sion and
environmental s"stainailit$ in place.
'he &inistr$ is #een to incl"de norms and standards for land "se and transport inte!ration in the revised
!"idelines and for earth("a#e-prone areas, environmentall$-fra!ile Eones and haEard-prone areas as well.

Aa)"aar Ena4e) Ser&#+e 2e#&er,
!#3"#3"t':
21 +r%re Aa)"aar n6(4er' "a&e 4een 3enerate) #n 2 ,ear': 'he 21
st
crore *adhaar n"mer was handed
over to >mt. Lali, a resident of &e!hwalon#a &ohalla, /"rawar, 5istrict Udaip"r. U)5*) has !enerated
21 crore *adhaar n"mers since the iss"ance of the first *adhaar n"mer on >ep 28, 2D1D.
*adhaar -naled >ervice 5eliver$ la"nched from Ca,asthan
*adhaar is the world1s lar!est social incl"sion pro!ramme. )t was the dream of Ca,iv Gandhi that the power
of technolo!$ e "sed for the enefit of *am *dmi . 'he *adhaar pro!ramme is the ne+t step of this dream.
*adhaar -naled >ervice 5eliver$ is the "sa!e of the *adhaar identit$ platform to identif$ and a"thenticate
residents for deliver$ of enefits=services $ vario"s !overnment or private a!encies.
Bene.#t'
'here are man$ enefits associated with s"ch inte!ration for vario"s sta#eholders, ran!in! from etter
compliance mana!ement to red"ced lea#a!es and increased efficienc$ and acco"ntailit$ in service deliver$.
'he di!nitaries present appla"ded the ease with which residents were ale to cond"ct the transactions.
S%(e Ca'e St6)#e' %. Aa)"aar
)n *"ran!aad, &aharashtra, pa$ments "nder the >cholarship and <ld *!e ;ension >ocial >ec"rit$ 3elfare
>cheme were made via the *adhaar -naled ;a$ment >$stem, with eneficiaries !ettin! their d"es after
a"thenticatin! their identit$ via a micro-*'& device.
:;G c$linders were delivered to residents of &$sore, /arnata#a "sin! the *adhaar -naled >ervice 5eliver$
mechanism, which involved a"thenticatin! the identit$ of the resident thro"!h a hand-held device.
)n Cam!arh district of Bhar#hand, mone$ which was transferred $ Bhar#hand Government directl$ to the
eneficiaries1 *adhaar-lin#ed an# acco"nts "nder the &?C-G> pro!ram, was withdrawn $ residents
thro"!h a micro*'& device operated $ a B"siness .orrespondent.
>imilarl$, the residents of 3est 'rip"ra district in 'rip"ra were paid their d"es "nder the <ld *!e ;ension
>cheme, "sin! the*adhaar -naled ;a$ment >$stem.
'he !overnment will roll o"t *adhaar -naled >ervice 5eliver$ initiatives in 51 districts across the co"ntr$.
'hese services will e lin#ed to vario"s !overnment schemes s"ch as &?C-G* wa!e pa$ments, ;5>
distri"tion, pa$ment of social sec"rit$ enefits s"ch as old-a!e pa$ments, distri"tion of :;G c$linders, etc.
* n"mer of state !overnments are alread$ read$ to roll o"t these initiatives.
."rrentl$ 23 crore residents have enrolled for an *adhaar n"mer, while 21 crore *adhaar n"mers have
een iss"ed.


Ot"er S(a Ne8' Sn#;;et'
Nat#%na Tran';aren+, P%rta %n P2S
&inistr$ of .ons"mer *ffairs has la"nched a ?ational 'ransparenc$ ;ortal for ;"lic 5istri"tion >$stem.
'he portal has een developed with the o,ective of providin! all ;5> related information thro"!h a sin!le
platform in the p"lic domain.
'he portal contains information relatin! to @air ;rice >hops 6@;>s7 and ration cards attached to the @;>s.
)nformation on @.) and >tate stora!e !odowns with capacit$ "tiliEation and data on .entral ;ool stoc#s is
also p"lished on the portal.
'he portal f"rther hosts information li#e the monthl$ allocation orders, >tate-specific commodit$ sale prices,
liftin! position, etc. for p"lic view.
*ll >tates=U's have een re("ested to maintain and "pdate the data on the portal thro"!h "se of ;5>
application software for end-to-end comp"teriEation of ';5>. 'he 'ransparenc$ portal ma$ e accessed
athttpH==pdsportal.nic.in. .itiEens ma$ also access the ;ortals of >tate=U' @ood A .ivil >"pplies 5epartments
thro"!h the lin#s provided.

<Mer# S"a=t# Mer# Bet#> Ca(;a#3n
'he pro,ect FMer# S"a=t# Mer# Bet#> has two components N one for the r"ral 6comm"nit$ watch !ro"p7 and
another for the "ran pop"lation 6committees a!ainst female foeticide7 in the area.
)nvolvin! the comm"nit$ at #eepin! a vi!il on hi!h ris# families with an open preference for the o$ child
and !ivin! the !irl child a fi!htin! chance at ein! orn, non-!overnment or!anisation .entre for >ocial
Cesearch with s"pport from the German -mass$ has in the >o"th-3est 5istrict of 5elhi 6which has amon!
the lowest se+ ratio in the .apital7 la"nched a pro,ect aimed at protectin! the "norn !irl child.
Under the r"ral pop"lation it will have the comm"nit$ to #eep a ta on hi!h ris# families, enco"ra!e them to
co"nsel them and #eep a strict vi!il on pre!nant women in the area.
)n the "ran pop"lation it will wor# thro"!h the resident welfare or!anisation and women1s !ro"ps.
*s part of the pro,ect, memers of the comm"nit$ watch !ro"p will #eep a vi!il over their immediate societ$
to c"r declinin! se+ ratio, create awareness ao"t the ;.;?5' *ct and tell families ao"t the ne!ative
conse("ences of female foeticide.
'he wa$ the pro,ect wor#s is simple -- the entire comm"nit$ contri"tes towards ens"rin! that the "norn
!irl child is not aorted after se+ selection.


@ORL2 AFFAIRS
Iran 'a,' Atan3#4eB ;r%3re'' #n In)#a0A.3"an#'tan #n=
)ndia and )ran hit "pon the idea of "sin! .hah-ahar ao"t a decade ac# "t pro!ress was thwarted d"e to
the 3est1s anta!onism towards )ran on the n"clear iss"e.
'he trilateral tal#s amon! *f!hanistan, )ran and )ndia on the port ,"st efore last month1s ?on-*li!ned
&ovement >"mmit in 'ehran mar#ed the first real advance in the concept of )ndia "sin! the )ranian port for
transit into *f!hanistan and, later, to .entral *sia.
)ran said there had een tan!ile pro!ress in the development of the C"a"04a"ar port which wo"ld serve
as the '"%rte't r%6te .%r #n3re'' #nt% A.3"an#'tan .%r In)#a.
'he development of the port and reconstr"ction of *f!hanistan is ver$ important for the sec"rit$ and
stailit$ of the re!ion. >ec"rit$ and reconstr"ction are lin#ed. 3e can1t have peace and sec"rit$ witho"t
ta#in! care of people1s lives.
'he .hah-ahar port will e m"ch closer to )ndia than the e+istin! one at Bandar *as.
)t can serve as )ndia1s entr$ point to *f!hanistan and later to .entral *sia $ !ettin! connected to the Paran,-
5elaram road in *f!hanistan1s ?imroE province, "ilt with )ndia1s assistance.
)n the first trilateral, )ndia, )ran and *f!hanistan a!reed on preferential treatment and tariff red"ctions for
)ndian !oods at .hah-ahar.
<n the )ran-;a#istan-)ndia !as pipeline, the )ranian official felt it was "p to )ndia to ma#e "p its mind and ,oin
the pro,ect.

V%t#n3 #n A.3"an#'tan
*s the t"rnin! point $ear of 2D14 approaches, *f!hanistan faces enormo"s militar$ and political challen!es.
'he former are well #nownH indeed, there is a ro"st international disc"ssion of what will happen when U.>.
and ?*'< troops draw down and responsiilit$ for the co"ntr$1s sec"rit$ passes to *f!han forces.
2owever, the latterIthe political transitionIreceives m"ch less attention, despite ein! e("all$, and
possil$ even more, important for the f"t"re of the co"ntr$ and the wider re!ion.
P%#t#+a +"aen3e'
;resident 2amid /arEai1s second term ends in &a$ 2D14, and the co"ntr$ will elect a s"ccessor.
5emonstral$ honest and transparent elections wo"ld estalish the crediilit$ of the s$stem and th"s ma#e
an enormo"s contri"tion to political stailit$. @ail"re wo"ld deal the !overnment of *f!hanistan a ma,or
low.
B"d!in! $ the last two elections, the sta!e seems set for tro"le. 'he 2DD8 and 2D1D polls were chaotic and
controversial at est, o"tri!ht fra"d"lent at worst.
'he !overnment needs to overcome s"spicions of a repeat performance in 2D14 with immediate, credile
meas"res.
.lean elections are as cr"cial to *f!hanistan1s stailit$ as a well-trained arm$ and professional police.


&ost !overnments have diffic"lt$ s"rvivin! witho"t le!itimac$% few can s"rvive solel$ on the stren!th of
their sec"rit$ forces.
'he co"ntr$1s leadership needs to demonstrate this time that elections are honest and well-or!anised, and
offer all who wished to do so a chance to cast their allot.
S633e'te) re.%r('
'he recent report $ anor!anisation, the )nternational .risis Gro"p, caref"ll$ e+amined the flaws and
prolems in the or!anisation, oversi!ht and s"pervision of previo"s elections, and s"!!ested technical,
detailed fi+es for 2D14.
)t tal#ed ao"t the need to reform the )ndependent -lection .ommission 6)-.7, for e+ample, as well as the
importance of ma#in! the -lectoral .omplaints .ommission a permanent od$.
)t called for caref"l forward plannin! to ens"re the sec"rit$ of the elections.
S%(e rea''6r#n3 '#3n'
'he da$ after o"r report was iss"ed, the )-. promised that the date of the presidential elections, which has
een the s",ect of m"ch an+io"s spec"lation, wo"ld e anno"nced ne+t month Qnow set for *pril 5, 2D14R.
'his is an important first step in a lon! process.
Ultimatel$, the est !"arantee of *f!hanistan1s stailit$ is its ailit$ t% en'6re t"e r6e %. a8 )6r#n3 t"e
;%#t#+a an) (##tar, tran'#t#%n in 2D13-2D14.
)f the leadership fails at this, the comin! cr"cial period will at est res"lt in deep divisions and conflicts
within the r"lin! elite that the *f!han ins"r!enc$ will e+ploit. *t worst, it co"ld tri!!er e+tensive "nrest,
fra!mentation of the sec"rit$ services and perhaps even a m"ch wider civil war.
>ome possiilities for !en"ine pro!ress remain I and we have to remain hopef"l I "t the window for
action is narrowin!.

A(#n#Fa(eB tar3et' Iran
* new c$er espiona!e tool lin#ed to the @lame vir"s has een infectin! comp"ters in :eanon, )ran and
elsewhere.
/aspers#$ :aIcredited with revealin! the @lame vir"s earlier this $earId"ed the new malware
mini@lame, and said it was a small and hi!hl$ fle+ile malicio"s pro!ram desi!ned to steal data and
control infected s$stems d"rin! tar!eted c$er espiona!e operations.
C"ssia-ased /aspers#$ said mini@lame is ased on the same architect"ral platform as @lame I widel$
reported to e part of an *merican-)sraeli effort to slow )ran1s s"spected n"clear weapons drive.


In)#a$ U.S.$ Ca;an ta= +%%;erat#%n
>enior officials from )ndia, U.>. and Bapan disc"ssed trilateral cooperation in maritime sec"rit$ and a r%6te
t"r%63" (#))e %r n%rt" %. M,an(ar ea)#n3 6; t% !an%#.
'he third trilateral meet also e+chan!ed proposals on doin! ;r%Ge+t' t%3et"er #n A.r#+a as well as
cooperatin! on the economic side in *f!hanistan with reliale so"rces assertin! that .hina was not reall$
disc"ssed in !reat detail e+cept as part of the re!ion.
3ith this meetin!, the three co"ntries completed a c$cle of tal#s that e!an with the first meetin! in
3ashin!ton in 5ecemer last $ear followed $ the ne+t one in 'o#$o this *pril.
.hinese state media o"tlets and strate!ic anal$sts have e+pressed wariness at the )ndia, Bapan and the U.>.
trilateral meet held in ?ew 5elhi descriin! it as aimed at e+ertin! press"re on .hina over its re!ional
amitions.

A.U. rea)(#t' Ma# 8#t" 2015 ;% ;an
(F%r (%re #n.% %n Ma# rea) C6,J A63 2012 N%te')
&ali was readmitted into the *frican Union 6*.U.7 after a meetin! of the *.U. ;eace and >ec"rit$ .o"ncil
Q*U;>.R.
'he *.U. had s"spended the 3est *frican nation after a co"p in &arch this $ear saw a militar$ ,"nta seiEe
power even as two thirds of &ali slipped into the control of a coalition of armed !ro"ps and or!anised
!an!s. 'he soldiers ehind the co"p had claimed that the e+istin! dispensation was "nale to tac#le the
ins"r!ents in the north.
>ince then, the ,"nta has !iven wa$ to a transitional all-part$ !overnment and has as#ed for pan-*frican
assistance to re!ain control of its territor$.
)n its comm"ni("S, the *U;>. endorsed a comprehensive plan to stailise &ali "sin! an *frican-led
international force to end the conflict, and to reinstall a democratic !overnment $ holdin! free and
transparent elections in the first ("arter of 2D13.
'he -conomic .omm"nit$ of 3est *frican >tates 6-.<3*>7 will hold a plannin! meetin! with the U.?., -U
and &alian !overnment to finalise a strate!$ to deplo$ troops in the re!ion, efore approachin! the U.?.
>ec"rit$ .o"ncil for a resol"tion a"thoriEin! militar$ action in &ali.


IN2IA AN2 T!E @ORL2
In)#a * A6'tr#a
In)#a$ A6'tr#a t#e 6; t% )e&e%; <'(art +#t#e'>
)ndia will draw on the *"strian e+perience to develop smart cities with an overha"led !am"t of service
from cit$ plannin! to "ran transport and even )nternet services.
)n the second phase of the Bawaharlal ?ehr" ?ational Uran Cenewal &ission, the .entre will p"sh for two
smart cities in all >tates with assistance from the *"strian )nstit"te of 'echnolo!$ on what is a model smart
cit$, what defines it, what will it cover, from roadand, Qein!R caron ne"tral, Qto havin!R intelli!ent
transport.
In)%0A6'tr#an B#atera Tra)e
)ndia1s main e+ports to *"stria are Garments, te+tiles A accessories incl"din! $arns, farics, leather and
leather man"fact"res incl"din! footwear, carpets, .hemicals and pharmace"ticals, *"to *ncillar$ prod"cts,
-lectrical power instr"ments, comp"ter software, handicrafts, spices, coffee% tea etc. *"stria1s main e+ports
to )ndia incl"de - &achiner$ A e("ipment incl"din! pro,ects !oods% newsprint% paper and paper prod"cts%
iron and steel prod"cts% professional instr"ments, etc.
)ndia1s e+ports to *"stria increased $ 15.6 T to U559.4 million while imports rose $ 2D.8T to U914.4
million in 2D11.
'he positive e+port trend contin"es to e p"shed $ increase in e+ports of F'e+tile Oarn, @arics and &ade
Up1, F*pparels and clothin! accessories1 and F@ootwear1, all of which acco"nt for more than 4DT of )ndia1s
total e+ports to *"stria in the period. Under the cate!or$ F&achiner$ and 'ransport -("ipment1, which
acco"nts for 26.6 T of total e+ports, e+ports of F;ower Generatin! &achiner$1 has seen accelerated !rowth.
In)#a0Sr# Lan=a
In)% Sr# Lan=a0Se+%n) ;"a'e %. In)#a>' ar3e't A#) Pr%Ge+t
'he second phase of the )ndian 2o"sin! ;ro,ect for constr"ction and repair of 43,DDD 2o"sin! Units in
?orthern and -astern ;rovinces was la"nched recentl$.
)n three $ears, )ndia, in partnership with >ri :an#a and the implementin! a!encies, hope to complete
constr"ction of 5D,DDD ho"ses. )ndia has alread$ set aside the re("isite f"nds for this p"rpose.
'he first phase of 1,DDD ho"ses ina"!"rated in ?ovemer 2D1D was completed in B"l$ this $ear.
Se+%n) P"a'e
'he second phase of the pro,ect adopts an owner-driven methodolo!$, "nder which owner-eneficiaries are
involved in the process of constr"ction.
)ndia had selected fo"r rep"ted )mplementin! *!encies to help with the processH U?-2aitat, )nternational
@ederation of Ced .ross in partnership with >ri :an#a Ced .ross, ?ational 2o"sin! 5evelopment *!enc$ of


>ri :an#a and 2aitat for 2"manit$. 'hese a!encies have e+perience in implementin! similar pro,ects in >ri
:an#a.
'he pro,ect is "nder f"ll !rant assistance of the Government of )ndia with a total o"tla$ of :/C 3D.6 illion
6)?C 1,342 crore or appro+. V24D million7 ma#in! it one of the lar!est !rant assistance pro,ects implemented
$ the !overnment o"tside )ndia.
'he constr"ction of 43,DDD ho"ses for resettlement and rehailitation of )5;s in ?orthern and -astern
;rovinces is part of )ndia1s overall commitment to "ild 5D,DDD ho"ses anno"nced $ ;rime &inister
&anmohan >in!h d"rin! the visit of ;resident &ahindaCa,apa#sa to )ndia in B"ne 2D1D.
T"#r) ;"a'e
'he third phase of the ho"sin! pro,ect is e+pected to commence efore the end of this $ear. )n this phase,
ao"t 2,DDD ho"ses will e directl$ "ilt $ constr"ction a!encies for people from the most v"lnerale
sections of )5;s in the ?orthern and -astern provinces "nale to "ild their own ho"ses and 4,DDD ho"ses
for )ndian-ori!in wor#ers in tea estates in the .entral and Uva provinces. 'he process of selection of
e+ec"tin! a!encies for constr"ction of 4,DDD ho"ses is presentl$ "nder wa$.

In)#a0Ca;an
In)#a$ Ca;an t% "%) 'e+%n) 2K2 )#a%36e
*s a!reed $ the ;rime &inisters of oth )ndia and Bapan at the *nn"al >"mmit in 5ecemer 2DD8, the 1
st

)ndia-Bapan 2W2 5ialo!"e was held in ?ew 5elhi in B"l$ 2D1D. 'he 2
nd
)ndia-Bapan 2W2 5ialo!"e was held on
22 <ctoer 2D12 in 'o#$o. Both sides e+chan!ed views on wide ran!in! iss"es incl"din! ilateral, !loal and
re!ional iss"es.
)ndia and Bapan held their second 2 W 2 dialo!"e in 'o#$o involvin! the @orei!n and 5efence >ecretaries of
oth sides
In)#a e(;%,' t"e 2 K 2 .%r(at %n, 8#t" Ca;an to address cross-c"ttin! sec"rit$ and forei!n polic$ iss"es
s"ch as maritime sec"rit$, c$er sec"rit$ and space, which are the foc"s areas of this dialo!"e.
'he maiden 2 W 2 )ndia-Bapan interaction was held in B"l$ 2D1D. 'he intention was to ma#e it an ann"al event
"t the meetin! co"ld not e held last $ear d"e to sched"lin! prolems.
'he @orei!n <ffice cons"ltations reviewed and s"!!ested co"rse-corrections, of several on!oin! me!a
pro,ects s"ch as the 5elhi &"mai )nd"strial .orridor 65&).7 and the 5edicated @rei!ht .orridor esides
e+chan!in! views on the Bapanese <verseas 5evelopment *ssistance component, a i! ch"n# of which
accr"es ann"all$ to )ndia.
@rom these meetin!s, )ndia is hopin! for some Bapanese investment and pro,ects to flow towards )ndia d"e
to 'o#$o1s tension with Bei,in!.
*t the same time, the so"rce pointed o"t that tho"!h the previo"s 'o#$o visit $ 5r. >in!h in 2D1D too#
place at the time of .hina-Bapan tensions, all deliverales anno"nced at that time 8ere ar3e, )r#&en 4,
e+%n%(#+ +%n'#)erat#%n rat"er t"an 3e%0;%#t#+a ten'#%n'.


'he 2W2 or meetin! of @orei!n and 5efence >ecretaries from oth sides, a format rarel$ "sed $ ?ew 5elhi,
also too# some decisions to advance defence and sec"rit$ cooperation. 'he two dele!ations also e+chan!ed
views on maritime and o"ter space sec"rit$.

In)#a t% te't0r6n Ca;ane'e 3reen ;r%Ge+t'
)ndia has a!reed to test-r"n Bapanese pro,ects intended to improve or "tilise the co"ntr$1s asic ener!$
reso"rces s"ch as coal and water.
5"rin! the In)#a0Ca;an Ener3, 2#a%36e, the two sides also disc"ssed the possiilit$ of technolo!ical
cooperation in the diffic"lt-to-e+tract !as h$drates, to"ched on the possiilit$ of developin! an almost
caron-free inte!rated !asification comined c$cle pro,ect in )ndia and reviewed on!oin! renewale ener!$
pro,ects.
Bapan is heavil$ involved in )ndian ener!$ efficienc$ pro,ects of var$in! siEes and dependin! on their
performance, its companies co"ld vie for orders that have een on offer to improve the performance of the
e+istin! plants relatin! to .oal )ndia :imited1s plans to spend Cs. 5,DDD crore on etter technolo!ies for coal
washeries.
3ith ash content risin! as )ndian coal mines a!e, washeries can remove the imp"rities I estimated at ao"t
half of the coal vol"me I th"s red"cin! the ener!$ that the railwa$s have to spend in ha"la!e.
)n this respect, the for"m called for the renewal of the memorand"m of "nderstandin! that wo"ld facilitate
the "tilisation of a hi!h-efficient washer$ technolo!$ $ &onnet )spat.
)ndia showed interest in a mini-h$del pro,ect that !enerates electricit$ with a two-metre drop, which is the
"s"al depth in canals here.
'he meetin! also too# stoc# of a 5 &3 solar plant which, if hi!hl$ scalale, co"ld e a ma,or so"rce of
ener!$ for the 5elhi-&"mai )nd"strial .orridor1s smart cities. *ll these concepts are c"rrentl$ on the
drawin! oard.
'he pendin! civil n"clear a!reement was not disc"ssed, said an official involved in the tal#s "t separatel$
)ndia made a presentation on its plans for e+pandin! civil n"clear ener!$ !eneration. 'he presentation was
made to an a"dience consistin! lar!el$ of those from the private sector.
.ompanies ased in Bapan control some critical component technolo!ies and invarial$ stand to !ain when
orders are placed on most leadin! n"clear power plant ma#ers.

In)#a0R6''#a
In)#a an) R6''#a a3ree t% ta=e F%r8ar) t"e#r 2e.en+e C%0O;erat#%n
'he twelfth meetin! of the )ndia-C"ssia )nter-!overnmental .ommission on &ilitar$ 'echnical .ooperation
was held in ?ew 5elhi. 'he )ndian dele!ation was led $ the 5efence &inister >hri */ *nton$ and the
C"ssian dele!ation was led $ >hri *- >erd$"#ov, 5efence &inister of the C"ssian @ederation.


5"rin! the meetin! of the .ommission, which was cond"cted in a spirit of m"t"al cooperation and
"nderstandin!, the two sides e+pressed readiness to ta#e all necessar$ meas"res to f"rther e+pand the
cooperation on a m"t"all$ eneficial asis.
'he .ommission noted that d"rin! the period "nder review, the two co"ntries have ta#en vario"s steps to
deepen interaction in the development of defence technolo!ies, moderniEation of militar$ e("ipment and
,oint man"fact"re of militar$-p"rpose prod"cts.
'he two sides confirmed that s"ch cooperation involves the stren!thenin! of interactions etween the
*rmed @orces, defense ind"str$ enterprises and research a!encies of the two co"ntries.
)ndo-C"ssian cooperation in the militar$ technical cooperation sphere has evolved from a simple "$er-
seller framewor# to one involvin! ,oint research Adevelopment, ,oint prod"ction and mar#etin! of advanced
defence technolo!ies and s$stems. 'he Brah&os missile s$stem is an e+ample of this t$pe of cooperation.
Boint development of the @ifth Generation @i!hter *ircraft and the &"lti 'ransport *ircraft, as well as the
licensed prod"ction in )ndia of >U-3D aircraft and '-8D tan#s, are other e+amples of fla!ship cooperation
pro!rams presentl$ "nderwa$ in this area.
C"ssia has een a lon! standin! partner of )ndia in n"clear ener!$ and reco!niEes )ndia as a co"ntr$ with
advanced n"clear technolo!$ and an impeccale non-proliferation record.
'he constr"ction of the /"dan#"lam ?"clear ;ower ;ro,ect 6//?;;7 is a !ood e+ample of on!oin!
cooperation in this area. Units 1A2 of the //?;; 6LL-C 1DDD &3 "nits7 have een "ilt with C"ssian
collaoration. Unit 1 is d"e to e commissioned soon, while Unit 2 is at an advanced sta!e of constr"ction.
?e!otiations for the constr"ction of two additional ?;;s at /"dan#"lam 6Units 3A47 are at an advanced
sta!e.
)ndia and C"ssia have also een collaoratin! in several hi!h-technolo!$ space pro,ects. Under the 2DD4
)nter-Governmental *!reement on .ooperation in the area of e+ploration and "se of o"ter space for
peacef"l p"rposes, C"ssia and )ndia are cooperatin! on pro,ects s"ch as the &oon mission .handra$an 2,
and the 2"man >pace @li!ht ;ro,ect. <n 2Dth *pril 2D11, the ,ointl$ developed )ndian-C"ssian >t"dent
>atellite Oo"thsat was s"ccessf"ll$ la"nched $ )ndia on a ;>:L roc#et.

In)#a*B63ar#a
)ndia and B"l!aria to -+plore .ooperation in 'o"rism >ector
)ndia and B"l!aria will e+plore the possiilities of cooperation in 'o"rism >ector.
)t was decided in the meetin! that oth the co"ntries will identif$ areas for wor#in! to!ether and e+plore
new opport"nities in 'o"rism sector especiall$ in the field of 2ospitalit$ 'rainin!, ;romotion, &ar#etin!,
5evelopment and mana!ement of 'o"rist destinations.
Both sides !ave an overview of the 'o"rism >ector in their respective co"ntries and re-emphasised on its
potential for emplo$ment !eneration and economic !rowth. )t was also a!reed that increased to"rist traffic
etween the two co"ntries co"ld stren!then the ilateral relations at people to people level.
Both sides also e+chan!ed views to e+plore the possiilities of promotin! investment in the field of hotel
ind"str$ to"rism and infrastr"ct"ral development. )ndia allows 1DDT @5) in 2otel sector on a"tomated
asis.


)ndia and the B"l!aria emphasised "pon the need of e+chan!e of visits of to"r operators and opinion ma#ers
to promote to"rism etween the two co"ntries. 'he importance of interaction etween the to"r operators
and destination mana!ers of the two co"ntries was stressed "pon to develop etter pac#a!es for to"rists.
'he information ao"t investment of opport"nities in the to"rism sector in oth the co"ntries was also
shared. Both the co"ntries a!reed that !rowin! opport"nities in to"rism sector sho"ld e showcased to
attracts investments from the private sta#e-holders of the two co"ntries.
)t was also a!reed to e+plore the possiilities of enhancin! air-connectivit$ etween oth the co"ntries as
lac# of direct air connectivit$ etween )ndia and B"l!aria is one of the ma,or reasons for small n"mer of
to"rists travelin! etween the two co"ntries.
B"l!aria with its ea"tif"l mo"ntains, the Blac#->ea coast oastin! of cities li#e Larna has ecome an
attractive destination for )ndian film )nd"str$.

In)#a0 In)%ne'#a
In)#a an) In)%ne'#a A3ree t% S#3n#.#+ant, Ste; U; 2e.en+e C%%;erat#%n
)ndia and )ndonesia have decided to si!nificantl$ enhance their defence cooperation with the 5efence
&inister >hri * / *nton$ declarin! his meetin! with his )ndonesian co"nterpart &r ;"rnomo O"s!iantoro as
a Ft"rnin! point1 and an Fe+cellent e!innin!1.
'his was the first &inisterial level iennial defence dialo!"e etween the two co"ntries.
'he two sides e+chan!ed views on a whole ran!e of iss"es relatin! to re!ional and !loal sec"rit$, ilateral
e+ercises involvin! >ervices, trainin!, co-prod"ction of defence e("ipment and amm"nitions and visits at
hi!h levels.
'he defence dialo!"e mechanism at the hi!hest level was a!reed "pon d"rin! the visit of )ndonesian
;resident >"silo Baman! O"dho$ono to )ndia in Ban"ar$ last $ear.
Givin! an overview of )ndia1s perspective on !loal and re!ional sec"rit$, >hri *nton$ said the threat of
terrorism perpet"ated $ >tate and non->tate actors affects all of "s e("all$.
5ealin! at len!th the power rivalries in the )ndian <cean Ce!ion, >hri *nton$ said altho"!h these are ein!
cond"cted in local theatres, the impact is felt in the wider re!ional arena and also, !loall$. 2e said, we have
a sta#e in the maintenance of peace and stailit$ in o"r immediate and e+tended nei!ho"rhood. 'his
incl"des the entire )ndian <cean re!ion to o"r east and west. F3e have a vital sta#e in the evol"tion of
alance sec"rit$ and cooperation mechanisms thro"!h which we can "ild consens"s and p"rs"e dialo!"e.
3e see# to improve o"r partnership with all co"ntries in the )ndian <cean Ce!ion on ilateral asis as well
as thro"!h m"ltilateral for a li#e )<?>, )<C-*C. etc1, he said.
&aintenance of peace and sec"rit$ in the )ndian <cean re!ion is of vital interest to the international
comm"nit$. F<"r view is that all co"ntries sho"ld e+ercise restraint and resolve the iss"e thro"!h dialo!"es
accordin! to principles of international law. 2e said, )ndia s"pports the freedom of navi!ation and access to
reso"rces in accordance with principles of international law. 'hese principles sho"ld e respected $ all.
'he two sides also e+chan!ed views on the emer!in! scenario in *f!hanistan and 3est *sia. 'he two sides
noted with satisfaction that 5efence .ooperation constit"tes one of the principal foc"s areas of their
diversified relationship. -nco"ra!ed $ the s"ccess of the first Boint -+ercise on .o"nter 'errorism and


B"n!le 3arfare in )ndia earlier this $ear, >hri *nton$ proposed that the two co"ntries sho"ld contin"e the
,oint e+ercises etween the two armies on a m"t"all$ a!reed fre("enc$.
>imilarl$, the two navies are re!"larl$ cond"ctin! coordinated maritime patrols 6.<C;*'7. 3e can e+amine
the possiilit$ of enhancin! the en!a!ement thro"!h cond"ct of ,oint naval e+ercises. 2e also offered to
)ndonesia estalishment of a formal maritime domain information sharin! arran!ement etween the two
navies.

In)#a0Ne8 Deaan)
F#r't In)#a0Ne8 Deaan) E)6+at#%n C%6n+# (eet#n3 "e)0F#&e M%U ' S#3ne)
>hri /apil >ial, Union &inister of 2"man Ceso"rce 5evelopment and 2on. >teven Bo$ce, &inister for
'ertiar$ -d"cation, >#ills and -mplo$ment, ?ew Pealand co-chaired the first meetin! of the )ndia-?ew
Pealand -d"cation .o"ncil.
'he .o"ncil has een constit"ted to draw "p a framewor# and devise mechanisms of co-operation and set
the a!enda for improvin! ed"cational relations etween the two co"ntries.
)ndia and ?ew Pealand e+pressed their commitment to earmar# U> V 1 million ann"all$ to enhance the
cooperative activities thro"!h specific pro!rammes desi!ned $ the )ndia-?ew Pealand -d"cation .o"ncil.
'he pro!rammes will incl"de ,oint research, st"dent moilit$, fac"lt$ development, ("alifications
framewor# as well as vocational ed"cation and trainin!, amon! others.
>i+ &oUs of cooperation etween different instit"tions were also si!ned on d"rin! the meetin!.
1. &oU etween the &inistr$ of Oo"th *ffairs and >ports of the Government of the Cep"lic of )ndia and
>port ?ew Pealand of the Government of ?ew Pealand on .ooperation in the field of >ports. 'he
o,ectives of this &oU are to enco"ra!e and promote an e+chan!e of pro!rammes, e+periences, s#ills,
techni("es, information and #nowled!e.
2. -d"cational ;artnership *!reement etween Universit$ of 5elhi, )ndia and &ass$ Universit$
?ew Pealand. 'he &oU covers the followin! activitiesH-
a. Boint teachin! 6)ncl"din! online, lended and distance ed"cation7
. Boint M"alit$ -nhancement 6)ncl"din! enchmar#in! and academic development7
3. &emorand"m of collaoration etween )ndira Gandhi ?ational <pen Universit$6)G?<U7, )ndia and the
<pen ;ol$technic of ?ew Pealand. <,ectives of the partnership areH
a. 'o estalish a networ# of partnership for vocational ed"cation thro"!h distance ed"cation
. >harin! of e+periences thro"!h comm"nication of fac"lt$
c. 5evelop strate!ies for desi!n development and implementation of Under Grad"ate and ;ost
!rad"ate pro!rammes with entr$ and e+it point.
d. 5evelop ,oint CA5 pro,ect collaorations
e. .reate aven"es for ).' enaled ed"cation
f. -stalish interface learner space
4. &oU etween Lictoria Universit$, 3ellin!ton, ?ew Pealand and Bawahar :al ?ehr" Universit$ of )ndia.
>ome o,ectives of the partnership areH
a. -+chan!e of fac"lt$ memers


. -+chan!e of st"dents
c. Boint Cesearch activities
5. &oU etween 3aiari#i )nstit"te of 'echnolo!$ of ?ew Pealand and ;"n,a 'echnical Universit$, )ndia.
6. -d"cational ;artnership *!reement=&<U etween Universit$ of 5elhi, )ndia and :incoln Universit$=*sia-
;acific @ootall *cadem$ has alread$ een si!ned.
'he memers of the .o"ncil reco!niEed s#ill development, especiall$ caterin! to the needs of the
ind"str$ and #eepin! pace with the e+ponential !rowth in !loal moilit$ of wor#force, as one of the
ma,or challen!es facin! the two co"ntries and pled!ed f"rther collaoration.
'he moilit$ of st"dents and wor#force also necessitates parit$ in ("alifications etween vario"s
co"ntries and therefore, the .o"ncil s"!!ested earl$ reco!nition of each other1s ed"cational
("alifications $ )ndia and ?ew Pealand.
'he .o"ncil also noted the need to set "p more instit"tions of e+cellence, for which enhancement of
the ("alit$ of fac"lt$ is a #e$ challen!e. )t was also a!reed to collaorate in the 'rial >t"dies and
preservation of lan!"a!es, c"lt"re and traditional crafts.
In)#a an) Ne8 Deaan) S#3n AArran3e(ent .%r C%%;erat#%n %n C#&# A&#at#%nB
)ndia and ?ew Pealand si!ned the *rran!ement for .ooperation on .ivil *viation.
Under the *rran!ement the two co"ntries will promote and s"pport the development of trainin! and
technical cooperation in the field of .ivil *viation.
'he t$pe of cooperative activities will incl"de civil aviation pro!rammes% sendin! and receivin! e+perts or
instr"ctors for trainin! p"rposes% acceptance of licenses% acceptance of aerona"tical prod"cts incl"din! "t
not limited to aircraft, en!ines, propellers and parts, and aviation services% or!aniEation of seminars%
e+chan!in! information on activities, policies, practices and laws and re!"lations concernin! civil aviation,
incl"din! "t not limited to safet$ and environmental matters% and visits and e+chan!es of technical
personnel or other e+perts.
* Boint committee of the two co"ntries will e formed to determine and oversee m"t"all$ acceptale
cooperation activities. 'he committee will also develop a ;ro!ramme of .ooperation.

In)#a0S;a#n
In)#a an) S;a#n S#3n M%U %n R%a)' an) R%a) Se+t%r
&emorand"m of Understandin! etween )ndia and >pain on Coads and Coad 'ransport >ector was si!ned
$ the &inister of Coad 'ransport A 2i!hwa$s and &inister of Cailwa$s,
'he o,ective of &<U incl"de promotin! efficient and environmentall$ s"stainale transport s$stems and to
instit"tionaliEe a technical and scientific cooperation in the fields of road infrastr"ct"re, constr"ction,
maintenance and mana!ement of roads.
)t will also incl"de e+chan!e of information etween Government officials and specialists of the 2i!hwa$
5epartments in the field of transportation $ road, and promote and develop the relations etween
enterprises 6cons"ltanc$, en!ineerin! and road transport service provider companies7 to enale transfer of
technolo!$ in the field of road and road transport.


)ndia and >pain >i!n &<U on 'echnical .o-<peration in the @ield of Cailwa$ >ector
&emorand"m of Understandin! etween the )ndian Cailwa$s and C-?@--<peradora and *5)@ 6>panish
Cailwa$s )nfrastr"ct"re &ana!er7 of >pain on technical cooperation in the field of Cailwa$ sector was si!ned.
Under this &<U, oth the co"ntries are to promote cooperation and information e+chan!e in the areas of
2i!h >peed Cailwa$, "p!radation of speed of passen!er trains on e+istin! lines, improvin! safet$ of train
operations, moderniEation of Collin! >toc#, constr"ction and maintenance technolo!ies for fi+ed
infrastr"ct"re N 'rac#, Brid!es, '"nnels, <2-, ;ower >"ppl$ >$stems, >i!nalin! and 'elecomm"nications and
other cooperation in railwa$ related technolo!$ developments.

SOCIAL ISSUES
Be33ar,
*ccordin! to the 1858 law on e!!ar$, Boma$ ;revention of Be!!in! *ct, an$one perceived as havin! no
visile means of s"sistence and wanderin! ao"t can e randed a e!!ar and detained in certified
instit"tions for a period of not less than one $ear and "p to 1D $ears for second time offenders.
T"e ;r%4e(
@or man$ decades, this has res"lted in the detention of not onl$ poor e!!ars "t also of disaled persons
and persons tr$in! to e#e o"t a livin! $ offerin! small articles for sale.
Ca! pic#ers and de-notified tries en!a!ed in earnin! paltr$ s"ms $ sin!in!, dancin!, fort"ne tellin! or
performin! have also een at the receivin! end of the archaic law.
Re+%3n#t#%n
@or the first time, perhaps, the fail"re of the law has een reco!nised and the 5elhi and &aharashtra
!overnments have !iven an in principle nod to endin! it.
)n 5elhi, a committee has een set "p to !ive recommendations to the !overnment on what needs to e
done ne+t.
)t is an e+traordinar$ admission of how adl$ the law has f"nctioned and that it cannot afford to e
contin"ed. )t is the responsiilit$ of the >tate to ta#e care of people in destit"tion and there can e no
compromise on that.
'he law is "nconstit"tional and is more ao"t social control than helpin! persons in e!!ar$.
'he anti-poor pre,"dice is so deep in o"r co"ntr$ that the$ are treated as a n"isance and criminalised.
'he idea of endin! e!!ar$ has to start with endin! the ca"ses of e!!ar$. )t is one of the methods of
s"rvival for people who don1t have eno"!h, to !o to those who have eno"!h, when the$ are h"n!r$. )t is
drasticall$ wron! to criminalise s"ch a thin!.
&oreover, the presence of moile co"rts that are sent to ro"nd "p e!!ars is also a pres"mption of !"ilt on
the part of the e!!ars.
)nstead, the$ sho"ld e !iven vocational trainin! and s"pported to s"pport themselves.


S%(e S%+#a In#t#at#&e'
&ohd 'ari("e of /oshish, TISS6'ata )nstit"te of >ocial >ciences7 is also on the committee and r"ns
rehailitation pro!rammes incl"din! le!al aid, reinte!ration with families and vocational trainin! "nits inside
the e!!ar1s homes. *ro"nd 2DD-25D people are pic#ed "p in a month and ro"!ht to the homes in 5elhi, he
sa$s.
'ari("e and his team motivate and co"nsel e!!ars to !ive "p e!!in! and ta#e "p livelihood and lin# them
with emplo$ers.
&an$ e+-e!!ars have fo"nd emplo$ment as car mechanics, sec"rit$, in f"rnit"re and tea shops, mostl$ in
the informal sector.
B"t for this to wor# on a mass scale, there is need for reco!nition and the !overnment1s increased s"pport.
'he intervention for women, who come inside homes, is different. &ost of them have mental health iss"es
and have faced a"se on the streets and so priorit$ for them is not emplo$ment "t treatment, tracin! their
famil$ and re"nitin!.
T"e '%6t#%n
'he law sho"ld !o and the >tate sho"ld provide complete care.
'here sho"ld e a helpline for the h"n!r$ and the s$stem sho"ld e ale to reach an$ h"n!r$ person
an$where.
)nstead of people !ivin! food and clothes on the streets in an "ndi!nified manner, s$stems sho"ld e p"t in
place to do the same.
'here needs to e a str"ct"ral chan!e and political will.

I''6e %. '6rr%3a+,
>"rro!ac$ in )ndia contin"es to e a ver$ sensitive topic. 'he laws meant to re!"late s"rro!ac$ are still in
nascent sta!es, as the$ are st"c# at vario"s le!islative levels.
'he onl$ !"idelines c"rrentl$ related to this field are those of the )ndian &edical *ssociation 6)&*7, which
date ac# to 2DD6.
&eanwhile, s"rro!ac$ is !rowin! rapidl$ $ the da$, than#s to )ndia emer!in! as a centre for medical
to"rism and ein! one of the few co"ntries in the world where commercial s"rro!ac$ is widel$ availale.
-stimates for the val"e of this ind"str$ ran!e from Cs. 2D illion to V2.3 illion.
'he le!al sit"ation in )ndia is in sharp contrast to that e+istin! in man$ other co"ntries. )n German$ and
.anada, s"rro!ac$ is o"tlawed or prohiited% in the U./., it is hi!hl$ re!"lated and ver$ e+pensive.
)n German$, over the last three $ears, there have een two controversial cases. 'he first, in 2DD9, involved
twins orn to a s"rro!ate mother% the second arose arel$ a $ear a!o.
)n oth cases, German a"thorities ref"sed to a"tomaticall$ !ive passports to children orn of s"rro!ate
proced"res carried o"t in )ndia. 'he main reason for the ref"sal of visas was eca"se s"rro!ac$ is not
allowed in German$.
'his is a homo!eno"s and consistent line of reasonin! and is ver$ m"ch in contradiction to the state of
affairs in )ndia where at the moment this sector is almost completel$ "nre!"lated.


'here are references in )ndian m$tholo!$ to s"rro!ac$, most notal$ in the le!end s"rro"ndin! :ord /rishna.
B"t it is not commercial s"rro!ac$.
'oda$, the small G",arat town of *nand, well #nown for its mil# prod"cts, has rapidl$ p"t itself on the !loal
map as the most fertile !ro"nd for <'6rr%3a+, t%6r#'(>.
*ll evidence s"!!ests that the phenomenon has now spread from cities to smaller towns in )ndia, with man$
of the centres callin! themselves #n &#tr% .ert##'at#%n (IVF) +#n#+' to avoid p"lic scr"tin$.
<f co"rse, there is not m"ch emphasis !iven to the settin! "p of norms to !overn this !rowin! ind"str$. 'he
)&* !"idelines are more li#e normative principles that are re("ired to e followed and not stat"tor$
instr"ments that invite penalties.
*t present, in )ndia the "nderstandin! etween the s"rro!ate mother and the commissionin! parents is
considered a contract, with a mention made of compensation to e paid to the mother.
>o altho"!h the !"idelines reco!nise the e+istence of commercial s"rro!ac$, it is rele!ated to the realm of
an ordinar$ "siness contract.
)n other words, ,"rispr"dence developed for commerce alon! with medical !"idelines are the onl$ form of
re!"lation of a "siness that is referred to I and one can onl$ ass"me witho"t iron$ I as Fwoms for rent1.
'he :aw .ommission of )ndia has ro"!ht o"t a report on s"rro!ac$ and the "r!ent need for re!"lation
entitled, F?eed for :e!islation to Ce!"late *ssisted Ceprod"ctive 'echnolo!$ .linics as well as Ci!hts and
<li!ations of ;arties to a >"rro!ac$1. Unfort"natel$, this report, too, is now over three $ears old and the
draft le!islation on the iss"e I 'he A''#'te) Re;r%)6+t#&e Te+"n%%3#e' (Re36at#%n) B#$ 2010 (ART) is still
nowhere in si!ht as a le!all$ enforceale stat"te.
T"e #''6e' #n t"e B#
'he draft Bill itself is not witho"t contentio"s iss"es since it is drafted from the perspective of the
commissionin! parents. 'he methods of pa$ment to the s"rro!ate and the other arran!ements it la$s down
seem to s"!!est that the s"rro!ate fi!"res low in the list of priorities in terms of care and protection.
'his is dist"rin! considerin! that s"rro!ac$ raises several ethical considerations incl"din! the fact that it
leaves poor women at the merc$ of a capricio"s s$stem. 'hese women often have no other reco"rse other
than commercial s"rro!ac$ arran!ements to "$ themselves and their families o"t of deilitatin!
circ"mstances.
'he n"mer of pre!nancies, the t$pes of proced"res and the care of the s"rro!ate are all matters that have
een inade("atel$ addressed, oth $ the medical s$stem as it e+ists toda$ and the Bill.
'here is also t"e #''6e %. ra+e an) et"#+' to e considered.
)n addition, it is pertinent to note that there is hardl$ the re("ired enco"ra!ement to loo# at adoption as a
viale alternative to s"rro!ac$ to parents willin! to consider this as an option to add to their famil$.
'he >"preme .o"rt, in the 2DD9 case of Ba$ &an,i Oamada v=s Union of )ndia disc"ssed s"rro!ac$ and
noted that commercial s"rro!ac$ is reachin! ind"strial proportions eca"se of the read$ availailit$ of poor
s"rro!ates.
B"t while civil societ$ !ro"ps, the media, the co"rts and the :aw .ommission have periodicall$ foc"sed on
the vario"s ne!ative aspects of the s"rro!ac$ ind"str$, the apath$ of the co"ntr$1s own le!islators ma#es
one wonder what is re("ired to sp"r them to address the serio"s ethical and moral dimensions of this
"nre!"lated enterprise.


T"e .e(#n#Eat#%n %. %) a3e * t"e #''6e %. e)er, 8%(en
*ccordin! to the World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, the c"rrent $o"th "l!e in the co"ntr$ is
e+pected to last till 2D25, after which, the !rowth rate of the elderl$ is li#el$ to ta#e over.
)t is imperative that the c"rrent needs of the $o"th and the emer!in! needs of the elderl$ are addressed
sim"ltaneo"sl$ within the diverse demo!raphic faric of the co"ntr$.
)n 2DD8, there were 99 million elderl$ people in )ndia. B$ 2D5D, this fi!"re is e+pected to soar over 32D
million.
'he ratio of the dependent pop"lation to that of the wor#in! pop"lation is defined $ the dependenc$ ratio.
)nvestment in the elderl$ pop"lation is no lon!er a ("estion of choice.
B$ 2D5D, women over 6D $ears wo"ld e+ceed the n"mer of elderl$ men $ 19.4 million, which wo"ld res"lt
in a "ni("e characteristic of Ffeminisation1 of the elderl$ pop"lation in )ndia as is ein! e+perienced in man$
provinces of .hina.
)n fact, the two most pop"lo"s nations will to!ether contri"te to 39 per cent of the !loal elderl$
pop"lation.
A3e#n3 )#..erent,
'he predicament of elderl$ women is a!!ravated $ a life time of !ender-ased discrimination.
'he !endered nat"re of a!ein! is s"ch that "niversall$, women tend to live lon!er than men. )n the
advanced a!e of 9D $ears and aove, widowhood dominates the stat"s of women with 41 per cent of
women and onl$ 28 per cent of men havin! lost their spo"se.
>ocial mores inhiit women from re-marr$in!, res"ltin! in an increased li#elihood of women endin! "p
alone.
'he life of a widow is riddled with strin!ent moral codes, with inte!ral ri!hts relin("ished and lierties
circ"mvented. >ocial ias often res"lts in "n,"st allocation of reso"rces, ne!lect, a"se, e+ploitation, !ender-
ased violence, lac# of access to asic services and prevention of ownership of assets.
*!ein! women are more li#el$ to !et e+cl"ded from social sec"rit$ schemes d"e to lower literac$ and
awareness levels.
<L%n3e&#t,> )#&#)en)
B"st as all thin!s end, so wo"ld the effects of )ndia1s $o"th dividend. 3hen people live lon!er, it offers
societ$ a chance to reap a Flon!evit$1 dividend. 'his implies that the elderl$ contin"e to contri"te
si!nificantl$ for an "nprecedented period of time.
)n order to address this "nprecedented demo!raphic shift it is necessar$ to "nderstandthe challen!es of an
a!ein! pop"lation.
* ,oint st"d$ $ the United ?ations ;op"lation @"nd and 2elpa!e )nternational called <F%4a Re;%rt %n
A3e#n3> see#s to fill the #nowled!e !ap. )t is to e released nationwide on <ctoer 1, 2D12, on the
)nternational 5a$ for <lder ;eople.
)t has een a decade since the adoption of the Ma)r#) Internat#%na Pan %. A+t#%n %n A3e#n3 (MIPAA).
)ts old a!enda foc"sed on t"ree ;r#%r#t, area'H older persons and development% advancin! health and well-
ein! into old a!e% and ens"rin! enalin! and s"pportive environments.


*s a si!nator$ to &ipaa, )ndia has the responsiilit$ to form"late and implement p"lic polic$ on pop"lation
a!ein!. )ss"es of povert$, mi!ration, "ranisation, r"ralisation and feminisation compo"nd the comple+it$ of
this emer!in! phenomenon.
Cenewed efforts sho"ld e made for raisin! widespread awareness and access to social sec"rit$ schemes
s"ch as ?ational <ld *!e ;ension and 3idow ;ension >cheme. ;rovisions in terms of special incentives for
elderl$ women, disaled, widowed sho"ld also e considered.
)nn"merale reasons add "p to ma#e a!ein! women in )ndia one of the most v"lnerale se!ments of the
pop"lation. 'heir social and health sec"rit$ can no lon!er e compromised. )n a co"ntr$ of a!ein! women,
)ndia m"st step "p to the challen!e to offer more than ,"st the solace of promises.
'here is a need to enale the elderl$ to lead life with di!nit$.
)ndia has the second lar!est pop"lation of old-a!e people after .hina.
Brea#-"p of the ,oint famil$ s$stem, lac# of care and respect towards elderl$ people, lac# of income and
pension, and hectic wor# life amon! wor#in! parents are the main reasons for m"shroomin! of old-a!e
homes.
*o"t 8D per cent of the elderl$ pop"lation in o"r co"ntr$ do not have re!"lar income or receive pension.
'he$ are dependent on their children after retirement. &ost of them elon! to the "nor!aniEed sectors. 'he
!overnment sho"ld la$ emphasis on health ins"rance and "niversalisation of pension scheme for the elderl$.
'here is a need to develop sensitivit$ over the !rowin! ne!lect and a"se of senior-citiEens in the co"ntr$
and called for meas"res to enale the elderl$ to lead a di!nified life.

Ne8 F6ar)#an'"#; ','te( .%r ;er'%n' 8#t" 2#'a4##t#e'
&inistr$ of >ocial B"stice and -mpowerment has come "p with a fresh draft le!islation that see#s to do awa$
with the plenar$ !"ardianship s$stem I where$ a !"ardian s"stit"tes for the person with disailit$
efore the law and ta#es all le!all$ indin! decisions for him or her, and replace it with a limited
!"ardianship s$stem.
Under the limited !"ardianship s$stem, decisions will e made ,ointl$ on m"t"al "nderstandin! and tr"st
etween the !"ardian and the person with disailit$.
'he draft of the R#3"t' %. t"e Per'%n' 8#t" 2#'a4##t#e' B#$ 2012 that has een p"t "p on the &inistr$
wesite also see#s to ens"re that all necessar$ steps are ta#en $ the !overnment to sec"re for persons
with disailities individ"al a"tonom$, incl"din! the freedom to ma#e one1s own choices, and independence
of persons% non-discrimination% f"ll and effective participation and incl"sion in societ$% e("alit$ of
opport"nit$ and e("alit$ etween men and women, amon! other thin!s.
;ersons with disailities wo"ld en,o$ le!al capacit$ on an e("al asis with others in all aspects of life and
have the ri!ht to e("al reco!nition ever$where as persons efore the law, the draft law sa$s.
)t see#s to ens"re that an$ dis("alification on the !ro"nds of disailit$ prescried in an$ le!islation, r"le,
notification, order, $e-law, re!"lation, c"stom or practice that has the effect of deprivin! an$ person with
disailit$ of le!al capacit$ shall not e le!all$ enforceale from the date of enforcement of the proposed
*ct.


*ll persons with disailities have the ri!ht, on an e("al asis with others, to own or inherit propert$% control
their financial affairs% otain access to an# loans, mort!a!es and other forms of financial credit, and not to
e aritraril$ deprived of their propert$.
'he le!al capacit$ of a person with disailit$ shall not e ("estioned or denied, irrespective of the de!ree
and e+tent of s"pport, $ reason of accessin! s"pport to e+ercise le!al capacit$.
3hen a conflict of interest arises etween a person providin! s"pport and a person with disailit$ in a
partic"lar financial, propert$ or other economic transaction, then s"ch s"pportin! person shall astain from
providin! s"pport to the person with disailit$ in that transaction, the draft sa$s.
*ll persons with disailities shall have the ri!ht to live in the comm"nit$ with choices e("al to others. 'he
appropriate !overnment and local a"thorities shall ta#e all appropriate administrative and other meas"res
to protect persons with disailities from ein! s",ected to tort"re, cr"el, inh"man or de!radin! treatment
or p"nishment.
)mportantl$, the Bill ars an$ person with disailit$ to e s",ect to an$ medical proced"re that leads to or
co"ld lead to infertilit$ witho"t their free and informed consent. )t proposes heft$ fine and imprisonment "p
to 1D $ears for violation. *ll estalishments will also provide medical and life ins"rance to their emplo$ees
with disailities on an e("al asis with others.
'he Bill sa$s that ever$ child with enchmar# disailit$, of the a!e of 6 to 19, shall have the ri!ht to free
ed"cation% and all !overnment instit"tions of hi!her ed"cation and all hi!her ed"cation instit"tions receivin!
aid from the !overnment shall reserve "p to 5 per cent of the total seats in each co"rse for persons with
enchmar# disailities, which incl"de ph$sical, and mental disailities and lepros$ c"red.
'he Bill recommends the settin! "p of a Nat#%na C%((#''#%n .%r Per'%n' 8#t" 2#'a4##t#e' to form"late
re!"lations that la$ down the standards of accessiilit$ for the ph$sical environment, transportation,
information and comm"nications, incl"din! appropriate technolo!ies and s$stems. 'he .ommission will
ta#e "p iss"es that violate the provisions of the *ct.
&ost of these provisions were in the Bill drafted $ a committee chaired $ >"dha/a"l "t it was criticised
for its inade("acies. 'he committee was constit"ted in *pril 2D1D and it came "p with a draft Bill on B"ne
2D11.

C%n+ern' %&er an a3#n3 In)#a
B$ 2D5D, )ndia will e home to one o"t of ever$ si+ of the world1s older persons, and onl$ .hina will have a
lar!er n"mer of elderl$ people, accordin! to estimates released $ the United ?ations ;op"lation @"nd.
'hirt$ $ears a!o, there were no Aa3e) e+%n%(#e'$B in which cons"mption $ older people s"rpassed that of
$o"th. )n 2D1D, there were 23 a!ed economies. B$ 2D4D, there will e 98.
3ithin a decade there will e one illion older persons worldwide. *nd $ 2D5D, nearl$ 9D per cent of the
world1s older persons will live in developin! co"ntries I with .hina and )ndia contri"tin! to over one-third
that n"mer.
'he report sa$s the n"mer of elderl$ women is more than that of elderl$ men. ?earl$ three o"t of five
sin!le older women are ver$ poor, and two o"t of three r"ral elderl$ women are f"ll$ dependants. 'here is
also an increasin! proportion of elderl$ at 9D-pl"s a!es, and this pattern is more prono"nced amon!
women.


'he ho"sin! data from .ens"s 2D11 also point o"t that the n"mer of ho"seholds has increased
s"stantiall$ in the last decade, and the n"mer of persons per ho"sehold has come down s"stantiall$.
5eclinin! fertilit$, mi!ration and n"clearisation of families are three possile reasons for s"ch red"ction in
ho"sehold siEe.
3ith a demo!raphic transition "nder wa$ and $o"th mi!ratin! o"t for economic reasons, there will e a
drastic chan!e in the livin! arran!ements of the elderl$ in r"ral and "ran areas.
'he lar!e se!ment of the elderl$, those livin! alone or with spo"se onl$, and the widowed who are illiterate,
poor and partic"larl$ those from the >ched"led .aste and >ched"led 'rie families, low wealth ("intiles will
definitel$ re("ire vario"s #inds of s"pportH economic, social and ps$cholo!ical.
'he &inistr$ of >ocial B"stice and -mpowerment p"t in place the Nat#%na P%#+, %n O)er Per'%n' in 1888
with a view to addressin! iss"es relatin! to a!in! in a comprehensive manner. B"t the pro!ramme failed at
the implementation level.
'he &inistr$ is now form"latin! a new polic$ that is e+pected to address the concerns of the elderl$. 'he
idea is to help them live a prod"ctive and di!nified life.
'here is a scheme of !rant-in-aid of the Inte3rate) Pr%3ra((e .%r O)er Per'%n', "nder which financial
assistance is provided to vol"ntar$ or!anisations for r"nnin! and maintainin! pro,ects. 'hese incl"de old-a!e
homes, da$-care centres and ph$siotherap$ clinics. 3hile the scheme, indeed the concept, is still alien to
)ndia, the &inistr$ is considerin! the revision of cost norms for these pro,ects, #eepin! in view the risin! cost
of livin!.
'he most recent intervention has een the introd"ction of the Nat#%na Pr%3ra((e .%r !eat" Care .%r
E)er, in 2D1D, with the asic aim to provide separate and specialised comprehensive health care to senior
citiEens.
'he ma,or components of this pro!ramme are estalishin! !eriatric departments in ei!ht re!ional !eriatric
centres and stren!thenin! health care facilities for the elderl$ at vario"s levels in 1DD districts..
'he enactment of the Ma#ntenan+e an) @e.are %. Parent' an) Sen#%r C#t#Een' A+t$ 200-, was a le!islative
milestone. 2owever, its implementation has een poor.
3ith poor social sec"rit$ arran!ements for the elderl$, it is not s"rprisin! that aro"nd 34 million elderl$ in
)ndia are en!a!ed in prod"ctive wor#, accordin! to ?>>< data for 2DD4-D5.
* ma,orit$ of these wor#ers are illiterate or have limited levels of ed"cation. 'his indicates that illiterac$ and
povert$ p"sh them to "nderta#e wor# o"tside as a s"rvival strate!$, or o"t of comp"lsion.
In+%(e 'e+6r#t,
*mon! the most "r!ent concerns of older persons worldwide is income sec"rit$, notes a recentl$ released
report of the United ?ations ;op"lation @"nd.
'heir health, it pointed o"t, was another ma,or concern.
)n the past, traditional social val"es and reli!io"s oservances "sed to e ("ite s"pportive of the elderl$ in
man$ developin! co"ntries, toda$, however, economic chan!e, the disappearance of the ,oint famil$ s$stem
and increased moilit$ are drasticall$ erodin! the s"pport ase of the elderl$.
*t the same time, instit"tional arran!ements caterin! to the needs of these people have een few and their
covera!e limited.
* person who reaches the a!e of 6D in )ndia can now e+pect to live for more than another 15 $ears. B"t
man$ cannot afford to ta#e life eas$ in their old a!e.


56 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women contin"e to wor# e$ond 6D. 6'he proportion is hi!her in r"ral
areas.7 -ven at 9D $ears and more, 2D per cent of men and 13 per cent of women are still wor#in!. 'his is
d"e to lac# of social safet$ nets and hi!h levels of povert$.
<nl$ 9 per cent of )ndia1s lao"r force of ao"t 46D million is covered $ an$ #ind of social sec"rit$ provided
$ the emplo$er, s"ch as pensions, provident f"nd and !rat"it$, as per the ?ational .ommission for
-nterprises in the Unor!anised >ector, which s"mitted its first report in &a$ 2DD6.
'here is no s"ch safet$ net for those in the "nor!anised sector, which emplo$s 94 per cent of the wor#force
and acco"nts for half the co"ntr$1s G5;.
Besides, half of those emplo$ed even in the or!anised sector as !ardeners, drivers, cleaners and the li#e do
not en,o$ s"ch enefits.
'he .ommission recommended in 2DD6 that the Union !overnment estalish a ?ational >ocial >ec"rit$
>cheme to provide a minim"m level of health, old a!e and accident enefits. B"t the !overnment chose to
create onl$ a health ins"rance scheme coverin! those elow the povert$ line and some limited !ro"ps of
wor#ers
/erala, which e!an its demo!raphic transition earlier, had p"t in place social sec"rit$ schemes that covered
4D per cent of the wor#ers in the "nor!anised sector.

<Tra+= C"#)> ;r%Ge+t t% 4e #(;e(ente) a+r%'' t"e +%6ntr,
3ith the co"ntr$ re!isterin! a sharp rise in the n"mer of missin! children, the Union 3omen A .hild
5evelopment &inistr$ has decided to implement the 'rac# .hild pro,ect all over the co"ntr$
sim"ltaneo"sl$ instead of on a pilot asis.
'he trac# child scheme envisa!es p"ttin! in place a child trac#in! s$stem which is aimed at maintainin! real
time data of all children availin! rehailitation services "nder the )nte!rated .hild ;rotection >cheme.
'he software also provides for settin! "p a national portal containin! identification details of the children
"nder vario"s schemes as well as missin! children reported in the police stations. 'he portal wo"ld facilitate
matchin! of the children availin! services "nder the )nte!rated .hild ;rotection >cheme with the reported
missin! children.
'he pro,ect is ein! implemented $ the &inistr$ thro"!h the ?ational )nformatics .entre. 'he &inistr$ has
now as#ed all the >tates to appoint a nodal officer for implementation of the pro,ect which the$ claim will
re("ire intensive co-ordination etween the police and a!encies wor#in! for resc"es and rehailitation of
children.
;rovidin! infrastr"ct"re is onl$ the first step forward and the enefits of the software wo"ld start flowin! in
onl$ when the data is "pdated on real time asis $ all sta#eholders.
-fforts are also ein! made to sensitise the police and )nte!rated .hild ;rotection >cheme f"nctionaries
re!ardin! trac# child with the &inistr$ #een that the enefits of the pro,ect starts flowin! in $ the end of
this $ear.

C"#na 4atte' t"e <721 ;r%4e(>
*t the end of 2D11, there were 123 million .hinese who were aove the a!e of 65.


B$ 2D5D, the .hinese !overnment estimates, that n"mer will rise to 323 million. <ne in ever$ fo"r .hinese
will then e 65-pl"s.
@or a co"ntr$ that has relied on a $o"thf"l lao"r force to drive !rowth over the past three decades, a
rapidl$ a!in! pop"lation presents oth short-term and lon!-term challen!es, .hinese demo!raphers sa$.
'he !overnment has emar#ed on a t"ree0'te; ;r%3ra((e to tac#le what social scientists have descried
as a A3ra&eB a3#n3 +r#'#'.
'his involves short-term meas"res, s"ch as oostin! investment in health care for the elderl$, and shorin!
"p the pension s$stem. 'hen, there are more complicated lon!-term polic$ chan!es that are still mired in
deates, incl"din! loosenin! "p the controversial one-child polic$ and transformin! a lao"r-driven
econom$.
*t the heart of .hina1s a!in! challen!e is what social scientists have neatl$ s"mmed "p as the A721
;r%4e(.B
* le!ac$ of famil$ plannin! r"les p"t in place in the 184Ds, the n"mer refers to the "rdens faced $ the
c"rrent !eneration of one-child .hinese families, where one !randchild is tas#ed with the welfare of two
parents and fo"r !randparents.

BUSINESS AN2 ECONOMH
Cr#t#+a Ana,'#' %. t"e re&#'e) C%(;an#e' B#
S6;;%rt
)t has also ro"!ht in more clarit$ on criminal liailit$ of a"ditors. *ppointment of a"ditors for five $ears
shall e s",ect to ratification $ memers at ever$ ann"al !eneral meetin!.
)n view of the vario"s reformator$ provisions proposed in the .ompanies Bill, 2D11, to!ether with omission
of e+istin! "nwanted compliance re("irements, companies will now e ale to compl$ with the
re("irements of the proposed .ompanies *ct in a more effective manner.
)t incl"des amendment to .la"se 36 6c7 to help in c"rin! corporate delin("enc$.
)t wo"ld also incl"de p"nishment for falsel$ ind"cin! a person to enter into an$ a!reement with an# or
financial instit"tion, with a view to otainin! credit facilities.
;rovisions relatin! to a"dit of !overnment companies $ the .omptroller and *"ditor General of )ndia 6.*G7
modified to enale .*G to perform s"ch a"dit more effectivel$.
.la"se 196 has een amended to provide that the rate of interest on inter corporate loans will e the
prevailin! rate of interest on dated !overnment sec"rities.
Cr#t#+#'(
)t not onl$ aims to serve the interests of the sta#eholders etter "t also mentions chan!es related to
spendin! on corporate social responsiilit$ activities. 'he revised Billhas limited the n"mer of companies
an a"ditor can serve to 2D.


In'6ran+e La8' (A(en)(ent)$ B#$ 200:
'he Union .ainet !ranted approval for increase of forei!n direct investment 6@5)7 limit in the ins"rance
sector from the present 26 per cent to 48 per cent.
*lon!side, it also cleared amendments aimed at attractin! investments and rin!in! transparenc$ in the
wor#in! of the ins"rance companies.
'he .ainet approved amendments to the )ns"rance :aws 6*mendment7, Bill, 2DD9, pendin! in the
Ca,$a>aha.
'hese amendments are aimed at removin! archaic and red"ndant provisions in the le!islations and
incorporatin! certain provisions to provide the )ns"rance Ce!"lator$ 5evelopment *"thorit$ 6)C5*7 with
fle+iilit$ to dischar!e its f"nctions effectivel$ and efficientl$.
'he overall o,ective is to f"rther deepen the reform process which is alread$ "nderwa$ in the ins"rance
sector, an official statement said here.
'he approved amendments incl"de that the forei!n e("it$ cap is proposed to e #ept at 48 per cent as
provided in the )ns"rance :aws 6*mendment7 Bill, 2DD9, as a!ainst the 26 percent. 'his is done to meet the
!rowin! capital re("irement of ins"rance companies.
@orei!n re-ins"rers will e permitted to open ranches onl$ for re-ins"rance "siness in )ndia and the
provisions of >ection 24-, which prohiits an ins"rer to invest directl$ or indirectl$ o"tside )ndia the f"nds of
polic$ holder, wo"ld appl$ to s"ch ranches.
'o enco"ra!e health ins"rance in )ndia, the capital re("irement for a health ins"rance compan$ is now
proposed at Cs.5D crore 6instead of Cs.1DD crore for !eneral ins"rance companies7 with a view to red"cin!
the entr$ arrier to a priorit$ sector in the ins"rance space.
'he !overnment has also revised the definition of Fhealth ins"rance "siness1 to clearl$ stip"late that health
ins"rance policies wo"ld cover sic#ness enefits on acco"nt of domestic as well as international travel.
Ce!ardin! the oli!ator$ "nderwritin! of third part$ ris# on motor vehicles, a separate &otor Lehicle
)ns"rance and .ompensation :e!islation is ein! proposed $ the !overnment and the concerns of the
>tandin! .ommittee re!ardin! the oli!ator$ third-part$ ins"rance on motor vehicles will e ta#en care of,
the statement said.
'he p"lic sector !eneral ins"rance companies and the G). will e permitted to raise capital from the
mar#et to meet the f"t"re capital re("irements, provided that the !overnment1s shareholdin! wo"ld not e
allowed to come elow 51 per cent at an$ point of time.
'o improve the f"nctionin! of s"rve$ors and rin! in !reater transparenc$, certain modifications are made
to provide for re!"lations on ("alifications re!ardin! appointment of s"rve$ors and to stren!then the
)nstit"te of )ndian )ns"rance >"rve$ors and :oss *ssessors 6)))>:*7.
'he amendments proposed in the Bill see# to do awa$ with the e+istin! stat"tor$ prescriptions pertainin! to
licensin! ins"rance s"rve$ors and loss assessors etc. and leave these iss"es to e addressed $ wa$ of
re!"lations.


Pen'#%n F6n) Re36at%r, an) 2e&e%;(ent A6t"%r#t, B#$ 2011
'he Union .ainet approved the amendments to the ;ension @"nd Ce!"lator$ and 5evelopment *"thorit$
Bill, 2D11 openin! "p the pension sector to forei!n investment.
'he .ainet did not specif$ the forei!n direct investment 6@5)7 cap in the pension sector "t the @inance
&inister, ;. .hidamaram said it wo"ld e at par with the limit set for ins"rance companies which has now
een raised to 48 per cent.
*ll five recommendations of the >tandin! .ommittee on @inance which e+amined the Bill have een
accepted.
'he amendments approved $ the .ainet specif$ that the s"scrier see#in! minim"m ass"red ret"rns
shall e allowed to opt for investin! his f"nds in s"ch schemes notified $ the *"thorit$.
3ithdrawals not e+ceedin! 25 per cent of the contri"tion made $ s"scrier will e permitted from the
individ"al pension acco"nt s",ect to the conditions, s"ch as, p"rpose, fre("enc$ and limits, as ma$ e
specified $ re!"lations $ the ;ension @"nd Ce!"lator$ *"thorit$ and 5evelopment *"thorit$ 6;@C5*7.
* ;ension *dvisor$ .ommittee with representation from all ma,or sta#eholders will e constit"ted to advise
;@C5* on important matters of framin! of re!"lations "nder the ;@C5* *ct% the memership of the ;@C5*
will e confined to professionals havin! e+pertise in economics, finance or law onl$.
'he ?ew ;ension >cheme 6?;>7 has een made mandator$ for all the .entral Government emplo$ees
6e+cept *rmed @orces7 who entered service on or after Ban.1, 2DD4. 24 >tate =U' Governments have notified
?;> for their emplo$ees. ?;> has een la"nched for all citiEens of the co"ntr$ incl"din! "nor!aniEed sector
wor#ers, on vol"ntar$ asis, with effect from &a$ 1, 2DD8.
)n order to effectivel$ invest and mana!e s"ch h"!e f"nds elon!in! to a lar!e n"mer of s"scriers and to
ens"re the inte!rit$ of the ?;>, creation of a stat"tor$ ;@C5* with well defined powers, d"ties and
responsiilities is considered asol"tel$ necessar$ and wo"ld enefit all ?;> s"scriers.

Ran3araGan ;ane re;%rt %n '63ar
'he Can!ara,an .ommittee s"!!ested de-control of the s"!ar sector $ !ivin! freedom to mills to sell their
prod"ce in open mar#et and removin! the oli!ation on the ind"str$ to s"ppl$ the sweetener at elow
mar#et price for ration shops.
3hile other sectors of the econom$ have een freed over the $ears, the s"!ar sector contin"es to e "nder
!overnment control, ri!ht from prod"ction to distri"tion.
C6rrent ','te(
'he .entre fi+es the s"!ar ("ota to e sold in the open mar#et and, for ration shops s"ppl$, forces mills to
sell 1D per cent of their prod"ction 6#nown as lev$ s"!ar7 at lower than the mar#et price.
:ev$ s"!ar oli!ation and administrative control on nonI lev$ s"!ar need to e dispensed with
immediatel$-this will free the ind"str$ from "rden of the !overnment1s welfare pro!ramme.
Pr%;%'a


)nstead, the panel s"!!ested that state !overnments sho"ld "$ s"!ar directl$ from the open mar#et for
ration shops and sell the same at price determined $ them. )t also said that the .entre sho"ld !ive Cs 3,DDD
crore s"sid$ to the >tates to ear proc"rement e+penses.
&r. Can!ara,an made it clear that the removal of these two controls wo"ld not affect domestic prices, "t
rather improve the financial health of s"!ar mills, there$ timel$ pa$ment of cane arrears to farmers.
)n order to prevent pilin! "p of cane arrears, the panel s"!!ested retainin! two ma,or controls "t with
minor chan!es.
)t s"!!ested that the !overnment contin"e with fi+in! of fair and rem"nerative price 6@C;7 of s"!arcane and
also ma#e it mandator$ to mills to share 4D per cent of reven"e from s"!ar and other $Iprod"cts to
farmers.

SEBI0 an ana,'#' %. '%(e re+ent #n#t#at#&e'
'wo recent moves $ the capital mar#et re!"lator to enhance the ("alit$ of investor protection, tho"!h well
intentioned, are li#el$ to e co"nterprod"ctive in practice.
T"e (%&e'
>-B) iss"ed a formal order la$in! down road criteria for re,ectin! the draft offer doc"ments filed $
prospective iss"ers of sec"rities.
*lso, >-B) revived an old idea of introd"cin! a mandator$ safet$ net mechanism for specified sec"rities in
p"lic iss"es.
T"e %4Ge+t#&e'
Both these see# to enhance the ("alit$ of the primar$ mar#et, the first one $ screenin! the draft
prospect"ses to weed o"t "ndesirale or ineli!ile p"lic offers and the second, $ "sherin! in a s"pport
price mechanism in the post iss"e period.
Ana,'#'
)nevital$, the re!"lator has onl$ een ale to prescrie road $ardstic#s which have ended "p ein! too
va!"e.
@or instance, one of the !ro"nds for re,ection is when >-B) has reasonale !ro"nds to elieve that the draft
offer doc"ment is deficient from the point of view of ade("ac$ and ("alit$ of disclos"res.
'hose are areas where s",ective ,"d!ements $ the re!"lator mi!ht smac# of mis"se of its discretionar$
powers.
&oreover, "nless the promoters raEenl$ violate !"idelines in areas s"ch as delieratel$ f"d!in! the o,ects
of the iss"e, or the so"rces of their initial capital contri"tion, it will e e$ond the re!"lator to spot
malfeasance and re,ect the offer doc"ment.
*n even more !eneral ar!"ment a!ainst oth the recent >-B) initiatives arises o"t of the fact that primar$
mar#et investments, as m"ch as those in the secondar$ mar#et, involve ris# ta#in! $ investors.


)t is the d"t$ of the re!"lator to prescrie reasonale safe!"ards and disclos"res of ris#s. B"t it is an entirel$
different matter for capital mar#et re!"lators to tr$ and ens"re total safet$ of e("it$ investments, even
ass"min! the$ have the wherewithal.
'he proposal to introd"ce a safet$ net for small investors lon! after the shares are listed will e another
e+ample of re!"lator$ overreach.
>ince the iss"ers of sec"rities will have to "$ a fi+ed ("antit$ of shares at the iss"e price if their mar#et
("otation falls elow certain enchmar#s, the e+penses of the iss"e will f"rther mo"nt and e a serio"s
disincentive to f"nd raisin!.
Besides, the proposal erroneo"sl$ ass"mes that all initial p"lic offers, after the$ are listed, will follow the
same price patterns in s$nc with identified stoc# mar#et indices. 'he re!"lator is not helpin! the new iss"e
mar#et and its participants with these two proposals.

R%a)(a; .%r .#'+a +%n'%#)at#%n
@inance &inister has "nveiled a five-$ear roadmap for fiscal consolidation in #eepin! with the /el#ar
.ommittee recommendations to contain the twin deficits and hi!h inflation, sp"r investments and p"t the
econom$ ac# on a hi!her !rowth trac#.
&a#in! a statement at a press conference here to mar# acceptance of a n"mer of reform meas"res in
ta+ation, disinvestment and e+pendit"re recommended $ the /el#ar panel, which had ca"tioned the
!overnment that a "siness-as-"s"al scenario for the c"rrent $ear mi!ht lead to the fiscal deficit risin! to
6.1 per cent of G5; Q!ross domestic prod"ctR, &r. .hidamaram asserted that efforts wo"ld e contin"ed to
restrict the fiscal deficit to 5.3 per cent of the G5; this fiscal, and re)6+e #t t% 5 ;er +ent %&er a .#&e0,ear
;er#%) #n 201601-.
*s per the roadmap, the deficit is to e ro"!ht down to 4.9 per cent $ 2D13-14, to 4.2 per cent in 2D14-15
and f"rther to 3.6 per cent in 2D15-16 and .#na, t% 5 ;er +ent ;er +ent #n 201601-.
*s fiscal consolidation ta#es place and investorsJ confidence increases, it is e+pected that the econom$ will
ret"rn to the path of hi!h investment, hi!her !rowth, lower inflation and lon!-term s"stainailit$.
*mon! the reform meas"res recommended, the /el#ar panel stron!l$ advocated a transition to the Goods
and >ervices 'a+ 6G>'7, a ("ic# review of the 5irect 'a+es .ode 65'.7 efore its introd"ction in ;arliament
and a n"mer of administrative meas"res to improve ta+ collection.
<n disinvestment, it s"!!ested a n"mer of new models for disinvestment and has pitched for
disinvestment of the !overnment1s resid"al sta#e in some companies that were privatised earlier.
<n the e+pendit"re front, it s"!!ested rationalisation of schemes, and strict control and monitorin! of
e+pendit"re.
.'he @inance &inister also e+pressed the !overnment1s firm resolve to address the challen!es posed $ the
risin! c"rrent acco"nt deficit 6.*57.
*s for the reforms in direct and indirect ta+ laws, &r. .hidamaram said the introd"ction of the amended
5irect 'a+es .ode 65'.7 Bill was "nder review and wo"ld e presented to ;arliament after ta#in! the
recommendations of the >tandin! .ommittee into acco"nt.
*lon!side, wor# is in pro!ress on the Goods and >ervices 'a+ 6G>'7.


SCIENCE$ TEC!NOLOFH AN2 2EFENCE
B6)a;e't +,4er ';a+e 'e+6r#t, )#a%36e
-ven as ima!ined and real c$er sec"rit$ threats scale new hei!hts, the stor$ comin! o"t of the recentl$
concl"ded >econd )nternational .onference on .$erspace in B"dapest was one of a widenin! !"lf etween
co"ntries, notwithstandin! the stated intent of rid!in! differences thro"!h dialo!"e.
3ith most co"ntries stic#in! to alread$ estalished positions, there appears to have een ver$ little pro!ress
made etween the previo"s iteration in :ondon in 2D11 and the present one. )f an$thin!, the vario"s sets of
actors and alliances on the iss"e p"shin! different a!endas seem to have d"! their heels in even f"rther.
)n terms of vario"s a!endas, the -"ropean co"ntries hi!hli!hted the h"man ri!hts aspects of c$ersec"rit$,
ased on their characteriEation of internet freedom as a f"ndamental ri!ht, leadin! the .hinese
representative to acericall$ as# whether he was at a h"man ri!hts conference or a c$ersec"rit$
conference. 'he .hinese approach to c$erspace was en"nciated thro"!h five principles, the first one ein!
that of networ# soverei!nt$ with the emphasis on soverei!nt$. 'his principle paved the wa$ for the
second principle of alance, i.e., the need to alance the free flow of information a!ainst the potential of
harmf"l threat to national sec"rit$, social order, and violations of the le!itimate ri!hts of the people.
Oet another concern was addressed in the third principle, that of peacef"l "se of networ#s and c"rin! the
development and "se of c$er weapons that wo"ld e a threat to international peace and sec"rit$. 'he
fo"rth and fifth principles called for e("itale development and international cooperation respectivel$,
with a call, on ehalf of the developin! co"ntries, for e("al ri!hts in mana!in! the )nternet and e("itale
distri"tion of the critical reso"rces of the )nternet. )n line with these principles, the .hinese also indicated
their preference for disc"ssions on c$ersec"rit$ to e held "nder U? a"spices and also called for a
c$erspace arms control treat$ d"rin! the co"rse of the conference. 'hese were co"ntered $ U> dele!ates
who descried s"ch policies as a throwac# to the past and inconsistent with the re("irements and realities
of the 21st cent"r$.
'he soverei!nt$ iss"e also came to the fore in the disc"ssions on c$ercrime where the C"ssians sto"tl$
resisted a p"sh to !et more co"ntries to si!n on to the B"dapest .onvention on .$ercrime. 'he$ descried
it as oth o"tdated and ineffective and wanted it to e deated in the United ?ations. 'o "ttress this
statement, a C"ssian dele!ate pointed o"t that so lon! as the "se of >t"+net was not considered a state act,
it had to e considered as a c$er crime, and the B"dapest .onvention was ineffective in this re!ard. 'hat
said, arrivin! at a consens"s in the United ?ations wo"ld e a s"re wa$ to p"t the .onvention into deep
freeEe.
)f the third set of actors, the vario"s private sector representatives !athered at the ven"e, had a messa!e to
p"t o"t, it was that there was no need for !overnments to !et involved in c$ersec"rit$ since practical iss"es
had to e addressed in c$er time, not political cons"ltation time. * representative from one of the .-C's
was also of the view that increased interference $ !overnments was destro$in! the tr"st-ased s$stem that
had een developed over the $ears since some re("ests for information were now seen to e politicall$
motivated.
)ndia1s contri"tion to the delierations was in the form of a #e$note address $ >achin ;ilot, the &inister of
>tate for 'elecomm"nications, where he called for internet !overnance to e made more e("itale and


effective. )ndia1s approach to the internet has een tech-centric and free of ideolo!ical overla$s, altho"!h
that approach seems to have r"n its co"rse. 'here are concerns that simpl$ tr"stin! in private companies to
deliver on c$ersec"rit$ witho"t ade("ate safe!"ards or ass"rances don1t pass m"ster. *s the &inister
pointed o"t in his speech and in an earlier interview, the thr"st of the )ndian !overnment1s policies were to
create a pool of 5DD,DDD c$er sec"rit$ professionals and to improve its record of p"lic-private partnership.
'he !overnment has alread$ e!"n to wal# the tal# insofar as !ettin! on oard the views of all the vario"s
sta#eholders is concerned, facilitatin! as well as ein! an active participant in the )ndian )nternet
Governance .onference held on the same da$s as the B"dapest .onference in ?ew 5elhi.
'he other notale initiative comin! o"t of B"dapest was the anno"ncement $ the the U/ !overnment of
plans to create a .entre for Gloal .$er->ec"rit$ .apacit$ B"ildin! with an investment of 2 million po"nds.
;ractical initiatives of this t$pe that emphasise "pon collaoration, s#ills sharin! and capacit$ "ildin! wo"ld
!o a lon! wa$ towards improvin! !loal c$ersec"rit$. 2owever, not onl$ are s"ch !overnmental initiatives
too few and far etween, the climate of distr"st that has e!"n to pervade c$ersec"rit$ means that the$
will e viewed with s"spicion and mi!ht not find man$ ta#ers. @rom the C"ssian dele!ate1s complaint that
the or!anisers did not incl"de C"ssian doc"ments on information sec"rit$ in the .onference literat"re to the
snipin! etween .hinese and Bapanese dele!ates reflectin! their c"rrent offline hostilities, s"ch distr"st was
ver$ m"ch evident at the .onference itself.
3ith the ne+t iteration of the .onference sched"led in >eo"l ne+t $ear, and the -ast 3est )nstit"te1s
.onference comin! "p in 5elhi at the end of this month, there is no dearth of ven"es to disc"ss c$er
sec"rit$. 'he moot ("estion is whether these wo"ld have an$ impact or relevance in the face of
f"ndamental disa!reements on c$erspace !overnance that are "nli#el$ to !o awa$.

L%n30ter( #(;a+t' %. Fenet#+a, M%)#.#e) Or3an#'('
.arta!ena ;rotocol on Biosafet$, which covers livin! modified or!anisms and addresses the iss"e of dama!e
ca"sed to iodiversit$ thro"!h a s"pplementar$ protocol named after ?a!o$a and /"ala :"mp"r, which was
adopted in 2D1D.
<nl$ indicative st"dies on G&<s and impacts are availale at present and these co"ld e s"perficial.
'he lon!-term environmental impacts of Geneticall$ &odified <r!anisms need intensive st"d$, "t the$ are
ver$ li#el$ to have impacts on hi!her-level species s"ch as irds.
'he iss"e is important to )ndia as it hosts a wider diversit$ of irds than man$ co"ntries, s"ch as the United
>tates, altho"!h it is relativel$ small !eo!raphicall$.
'he role of comm"nities in protectin! iodiversit$ is needed to e emphasiEed. 'he e+periment of ma#in!
the conservation of the *ndaman -dile-nest >wiftlet a comm"nit$-oriented initiative was promisin!. 'he
nests of these irds fetched a hi!h price, affectin! their s"rvival prospects "nder normal conditions.
*n "ncommon method of provisionall$ delistin! the ird from >ched"le ) of the 3ildlife ;rotection *ct was
resorted to, in order to ma#e the e+periment possile.
)f the species !ets o"t of its precario"s condition, Qwith the comm"nit$-led conservation modelR, we can !o
ahead.
>amples of wild irds fo"nd dead in )ndia showed hi!h levels of resid"es of poll"tants, he said, in answer to
("estions on threats to ird diversit$ from environmental de!radation.
Biotech .onsorti"m )ndia :imited 6B.):7, which is promoted $ the 5epartment of Biotechnolo!$, finance
companies and vent"re firms, provides a dataase of instit"tions "nderta#in! research on technolo!ies,


incl"din! G&<s and cond"cts events on man$ topics incl"din! iss"es related to foods derived from
!eneticall$ en!ineered crops, and c"rrent approaches to environmental ris# assessment.
S1A Pat".#n)er tee'+%;e
*"stralia "nveiled a colossal radio telescope that will allow astronomers to detect distant !ala+ies and
e+plore the depths of the "niverse with "nprecedented precision.
'he *"stralian S1A Pat".#n)er tee'+%;e, at the remote &"rchison Cadio-astronom$ <servator$ in the
3estern *"stralian desert, is made "p of 36 antennas, each 12 metres in diameter.
'he *"sV14D million 6V14D million7 facilit$ can s"rve$ the s#$ m"ch faster than e+istin! telescopes, with the
antennae sensitive to faint radiation from the &il#$ 3a$, !ivin! it the ailit$ to detect distant !ala+ies.
>t"d$in! the radio waves wo"ld tell astronomers "ni("e details ao"t the cosmos.
Ra)#% A'tr%n%(,
'he$ can tell ao"t the !as from which stars were formed and ao"t e+otic o,ects I p"lsars and ("asars I
that reall$ p"sh the o"ndaries of o"r #nowled!e of the ph$sical laws in the "niverse.
Cadio-astronom$ also !ives "s an insi!ht into the ver$ e!innin!s of the "niverse.
'he telescope is part of *"stralia1s contri"tion to the roader V2.5-illion >/* pro,ect, ,ointl$ hosted with
>o"th *frica and ?ew Pealand, which will have far !reater capailities.
'hat pro,ect will "se a forest of antennae, spread across remote terrain, to pic# "p radio si!nals from cosmic
phenomena that cannot e detected $ optical telescopes.
)t will e 5D times more powerf"l than c"rrent radio telescopes and will e+plore e+plodin! stars, lac# holes,
dar# ener!$ and traces of the "niverse1s ori!ins some 14 illion $ears a!o.

C,4er Cr#(e 0T"reat %. t"e Net
@"at #' C,4er Cr#(eI
.$er crime is the latest and perhaps the most complicated prolem in the c$er world. .$er crime ma$
e said to e those species, of which, !en"s is the conventional crime, and where either the comp"ter is an
o,ect or s",ect of the cond"ct constit"tin! crime. Any criminal activity that uses a computer either as an
instrumentality, target or a means or perpetuating urther crimes comes !ithin the am"it o cy"er crime#
* !eneraliEed definition of c$er crime ma$ e unla!ul acts !herein the computer is either a tool or
target or "oth# 'he comp"ter ma$ e "sed as a tool in the followin! #inds of activit$- financial crimes, sale
of ille!al articles, porno!raph$, online !amlin!, intellect"al propert$ crime, e-mail spoofin!, for!er$, c$er
defamation, c$er stal#in!. 'he comp"ter ma$ however e tar!et for "nlawf"l acts in the followin! cases-
"na"thoriEed access to comp"ter= comp"ter s$stem= comp"ter networ#s, theft of information contained in
the electronic form, e-mail omin!, data didlin!, salami attac#s, lo!ic oms, 'ro,an attac#s, internet time
thefts, we ,ac#in!, theft of comp"ter s$stem, ph$sicall$ dama!in! the comp"ter s$stem.


C%n&ent#%na &J' C,4er Cr#(e
'here is apparentl$ no distinction etween c$er and conventional crime. 2owever on a deep introspection
we ma$ sa$ that there e+ists a fine line of demarcation etween the conventional and c$er crime, which is
appreciale. 'he demarcation lies in the involvement of the medi"m in cases of c$er crime. 'he sine $ua
non for c$er crime is that there sho"ld e an involvement, at an$ sta!e, of the virt"al c$er medi"m.
M%)e' an) Manner'
Unauthorized access to computer systems or networks / Hacking-
'his #ind of offence is normall$ referred as hac#in! in the !eneric sense. 2owever the framers of the
information technolo!$ act 2DDD have no where "sed this term so to avoid an$ conf"sion we wo"ld not
interchan!eal$ "se the word hac#in! for F"na"thoriEed access1 as the latter has wide connotation.
Theft of information contained in electronic form-
'his incl"des information stored in comp"ter hard dis#s, removale stora!e media etc. 'heft ma$ e either
$ appropriatin! the data ph$sicall$ or $ tamperin! them thro"!h the virt"al medi"m.
Email bombing-
'his #ind of activit$ refers to sendin! lar!e n"mers of mail to the victim, which ma$ e an individ"al or a
compan$ or even mail servers there $ "ltimatel$ res"ltin! into crashin!.
Data diddling-
'his #ind of an attac# involves alterin! raw data ,"st efore a comp"ter processes it and then chan!in! it
ac# after the processin! is completed. 'he electricity "oard faced similar prolem of data diddlin! while the
department was ein! comp"terised.
Salami attacks-
'his #ind of crime is normall$ prevalent in the financial instit"tions or for the p"rpose of committin!
financial crimes. *n important feat"re of this t$pe of offence is that the alteration is so small that it wo"ld
normall$ !o "nnoticed. -.!. the %iegler case wherein a lo!ic om was introd"ced in the an#1s s$stem,
which ded"cted 1D cents from ever$ acco"nt and deposited it in a partic"lar acco"nt.
Denial of Serice attack-
'he comp"ter of the victim is flooded with more re("ests than it can handle which ca"se it to crash.
5istri"ted 5enial of >ervice 655o>7 attac# is also a t$pe of denial of service attac#, in which the offenders
are wide in n"mer and widespread. -.!. Ama&on, 'ahoo.


!irus/worm attacks-
Lir"ses are pro!rams that attach themselves to a comp"ter or a file and then circ"late themselves to other
files and to other comp"ters on a networ#. 'he$ "s"all$ affect the data on a comp"ter, either $ alterin! or
deletin! it. 3orms, "nli#e vir"ses do not need the host to attach themselves to. 'he$ merel$ ma#e
f"nctional copies of themselves and do this repeatedl$ till the$ eat "p all the availale space on a
comp"terJs memor$. -.!. love "ug virus, which affected at least 5 T of the comp"ters of the !loe. 'he
losses were acco"nted to e V 1D million. 'he worldJs most famo"s worm was the )nternet worm let loose
on the )nternet $ Ro"ert (orris sometime in 1899. *lmost ro"!ht development of )nternet to a complete
halt.
"ogic bombs-
'hese are event dependent pro!rams. 'his implies that these pro!rams are created to do somethin! onl$
when a certain event 6#nown as a tri!!er event7 occ"rs. -.!. even some vir"ses ma$ e termed lo!ic oms
eca"se the$ lie dormant all thro"!h the $ear and ecome active onl$ on a partic"lar date 6li#e the
)herno"yl virus7.
Tro#an attacks-
'his term has its ori!in in the word F'ro,an horse1. )n software field this means an "na"thoriEed pro!ramme,
which passivel$ !ains control over another1s s$stem $ representin! itself as an a"thorised pro!ramme. 'he
most common form of installin! a 'ro,an is thro"!h e-mail. -.!. a 'ro,an was installed in the comp"ter of a
lady ilm director in the U.>. while chattin!. 'he c$er criminal thro"!h the we cam installed in the
comp"ter otained her n"de photo!raphs. 2e f"rther harassed this lad$.
$nternet time thefts-
?ormall$ in these #inds of thefts the )nternet s"rfin! ho"rs of the victim are "sed "p $ another person. 'his
is done $ !ainin! access to the lo!in )5 and the password. -.!. )olonel *a+!a,s case- the )nternet ho"rs
were "sed "p $ an$ other person. 'his was perhaps one of the first reported cases related to c$er crime in
)ndia. 2owever this case made the police infamo"s as to their lac# of "nderstandin! of the nat"re of c$er
crime.
%eb #acking-
'his term is derived from the term hi ,ac#in!. )n these #inds of offences the hac#er !ains access and control
over the we site of another. 2e ma$ even m"tilate or chan!e the information on the site. 'his ma$ e done
for f"lfillin! political o,ectives or for mone$. -.!. recentl$ the site of &)' 6&inistr$ of )nformation
'echnolo!$7 was hac#ed $ the ;a#istani hac#ers and some oscene matter was placed therein. @"rther the
site of Boma$ crime ranch was also we ,ac#ed. *nother case of we ,ac#in! is that of the Fgold ish, case.
)n this case the site was hac#ed and the information pertainin! to !old fish was chan!ed. @"rther a ransom
of U> V 1 million was demanded as ransom. 'h"s we ,ac#in! is a process where $ control over the site of
another is made ac#ed $ some consideration for it.


Stat6t%r, Pr%&#'#%n'
'he )ndian parliament considered it necessar$ to !ive effect to the resol"tion $ which the General
*sseml$ adopted &odel :aw on -lectronic .ommerce adopted $ the United ?ations .ommission on 'rade
:aw. *s a conse("ence of which the )nformation 'echnolo!$ *ct 2DDD was passed and enforced on 14th
&a$ 2DDD.the preamle of this *ct states its o,ective to le!alise e-commerce and f"rther amend the )ndian
;enal .ode 196D, the )ndian -vidence *ct 1942, the Ban#er1s Boo# -vidence *ct1981 and the Ceserve Ban#
of )ndia *ct 1834. The "asic purpose to incorporate the changes in these Acts is to ma.e them compati"le
!ith the Act o 2000/ >o that the$ ma$ re!"late and control the affairs of the c$er world in an effective
manner.
'he )nformation 'echnolo!$ *ct deals with the vario"s c$er crimes in chapters )X A X). 'he important
sections are >s. 43,65,66,64. >ection 43 in partic"lar deals with the "na"thorised access, "na"thorised
downloadin!, vir"s attac#s or an$ contaminant, ca"ses dama!e, disr"ption, denial of access, interference
with the service availed $ a person. 'his section provide for a fine "p to Cs. 1 .rore $ wa$ of remed$.
>ection 65 deals with Ftampering !ith computer source documents1 and provides for imprisonment "p to 3
$ears or fine, which ma$ e+tend "p to 2 $ears or oth. >ection 66 deals with Fhac.ing !ith computer system,
and provides for imprisonment "p to 3 $ears or fine, which ma$ e+tend "p to 2 $ears or oth. @"rther
section 64 deals with p"lication of oscene material and provides for imprisonment "p to a term of 1D
$ears and also with fine "p to Cs. 2 la#hs.
Re+ent Ann%6n+e(ent'
?ational >ec"rit$ *dvisor has opened "p the national sec"rit$ re!ime to the private sector, with the la"nch
of a c$er sec"rit$ report titled FRe+%((en)at#%n' %. C%#nt @%r=#n3 Fr%6; %n En3a3e(ent @#t" Pr#&ate
Se+t%r On C,4er Se+6r#t,>.
'he enormo"s potential for dama!e has made c$er sec"rit$ a ma,or concern. 'here is no ("estion that
oth the !overnment and private sector need each other.
'he "ni("e nat"re of this collaoration is eca"se of the "ni("e nat"re of the domain, and we need to
develop the hait of wor#in! to!ether that hasn1t e+isted in the past.
Ceferrin! to the recent ';ate %. r#%t' #n Uttar Pra)e'"$ A''a( an) M6(4a#, &r. &enon said, 3e have
seen the mis"se of social media to affect comm"nal harmon$. 'he important thin! is to create a &#rt6%6'
+#r+e %. 'e+6r#t, while maintainin! o"r democratic ri!hts of freedom of speech and privac$.
'he primar$ o,ective of creatin! a permanent mechanism for p"lic-private partnership 6;;;7 in the area of
c$er sec"rit$ is to event"all$ estalish )ndia as the !loal h" for c$er sec"rit$ services, prod"cts and
manpower.
&inistr$ of -+ternal *ffairs 6&-*7 co"ld provide meanin!f"l s"pport as the international dimensions of
sec"rin! what is a lar!e !loal commons is self evident.
)ndia has initiated dialo!"e with the U.>., the U./., Bapan, C"ssia and the -U to develop norms to red"ce
critical ris#.
C"aen3e'
)ndia re("ires a mind o!!lin! five la#h professionals to protect c$er space, "t availale talent is ,"st a
fraction of this, necessitatin! a rapid scale-"p of capacities.


.$er sec"rit$ needs an inte!rated effort from the !overnment, ind"str$ and civil societ$. B$ its ver$
nat"re, c$er threats co"ld arise from international locations incl"din! from non-state actors, which
ma#es international cooperation at a m"lti-sta#eholder level a prere("isite.
Ca;a+#t, 46#)#n3
.apacit$ "ildin! is identified as a ma,or thr"st area.
.apacit$ "ildin! will re("ire collaoration etween the &inistr$ of .omm"nications A )' 6&.)'7 and the
&inistr$ of 2"man Ceso"rce 5evelopment. 'he &inistr$ of 2ome *ffairs and the &.)' will set "p trainin!
facilities for law enforcement a!encies in c$ercrime investi!ation and c$er forensics. )t will also "nderta#e
c$er sec"rit$ awareness campai!ns.

N6+ear0+a;a4e 2"an6'"
)ndia s"ccessf"ll$ test-fired n"clear-capale 5han"sh allistic missile for its f"ll ran!e of 35D #m from a naval
ship off <disha.
'he s"rface-to-s"rface 5han"sh, a naval variant of ;rithvi-)).
'he sin!le-sta!e, li("id propelled 5han"sh has alread$ een ind"cted into the armed services and is one of
the five missiles developed $ the 5efence Cesearch and 5evelopment <r!anisation 65C5<7 "nder the
)nte!rated G"ided &issile 5evelopment ;ro!ramme 6)G&5;7.
5han"sh can carr$ conventional or n"clear pa$load of 5DD-1,DDD #! and hit oth land and sea-ased tar!ets.

In)#a04a'e) Ne6tr#n% O4'er&at%r, (INO)
@", 2ete+t Ne6tr#n%'I
*fter photons, ne"trinos are the most a"ndant particles in the "niverse. *mon! the #nown f"ndamental
particles, the$ are also perhaps the stran!est. 'he$ interact ver$ feel$ with other particles. 'herefore, all
forms of matter, incl"din! the earth, are nearl$ transparent to them. *o"t 1DD trillion ne"trinos from the
s"n and other cosmic so"rces pass thro"!h o"r odies ever$ second witho"t ca"sin! an$ harm. *s the$
interact ver$ rarel$, the$ are not easil$ detected and, therefore, not well st"died.
'he lar!e ac#!ro"nd fl"+ of other particles in the cosmic ra$s presents an additional complication in their
detection.
?e"trino detectors are, therefore, "s"all$ placed deep "nder!ro"nd, t$picall$ a #ilometre or deeper. 'he
lar!e over"rden of roc# or earth aove the detectors red"ces the ac#!ro"nd particles $ a million times
or more.
)t is now #nown that ne"trinos come in t"ree t,;e' 6electron-ne"trino, m"on-ne"trino and ta"-ne"trino7.
<nce tho"!ht to e massless, the$ are now #nown to have ver$ tin$ masses. B"t their individ"al masses
remain "n#nown.


Re+ent C%ntr%&er',
* national pro,ect to st"d$ f"ndamental particles called ne"trinos has s"ddenl$ een drawn into a
controvers$
'he pro,ect involves the constr"ction of an "nder!ro"nd laorator$, called the )ndia-ased ?e"trino
<servator$ 6)?<7, to e located in a cavern "nder a roc#$ mo"ntain in the Bodi 3est 2ills re!ion in 'amil
?ad".
&an$ ne"trino detection e+periments are on in different parts of the world and, with !rowin! interest in
ne"trino ph$sics, man$ others are ein! proposed and "ilt. 'he )?< is one s"ch that has evinced worldwide
interest.
T8% (aG%r %4Ge+t#&e' %. INO
<f the three ne"trino flavo"rs, the heaviest has at least one 1D millionth the electron1s mass. 3hich flavo"r
is the heaviestY 'he orderin! of ne"trino masses too is "n#nown. 'his is called the Fmass hierarch$1
("estion, which the )?< is well s"ited to investi!ate.
'he stran!e particles also have the ailit$ to morph from one t$pe to another as the$ pass thro"!h space,
people, matter and the -arth itself, rarel$ interactin! with an$thin! in their path. 'his is called ne"trino
oscillation. 3hile the details of two oscillations are #nown fairl$ well, the third I the switchin! of ta"-
ne"trino to electron-ne"trino I is not well characterised and forms one of the main o,ectives of the )?<.
'he pro,ect has now een identified as one of the me!a science pro,ects in the X)) ;lan .
)t is drawn in controvers$ $ an alle!ation that the )?< is a pro,ect of @ermila, U>*, initiated alon! with the
controversial )ndo-U.>. n"clear deal.
2owever, it is a totall$ indi!eno"s pro,ect, conceived ,ointl$ $ scientists from man$ )ndian research
instit"tions and initiated lon! efore ne!otiations for the )ndo-U.>. n"clear deal e!an in 2DD5. ?or was
@ermila, U>*, an$where in the pict"re then.
'he pro,ect is a asic science e+periment that has nothin! to do with radioactivit$ or an$ other haEardo"s
n"clear activit$. ?or does it have an$ defence or strate!ic implications.
)t is also alle!ed that ne"trino eams from @ermila wo"ld adversel$ affect the iodiversit$ of the re!ion.
@or this, a proper !eotechnical anal$sis has indeed een done. 'he meas"res adopted to minimise the
pro,ect1s environmental impact have een detailed in the -nvironmental )mpact *ssessment report which
incl"des controlled lastin! that will e adopted in the initial reaches to dampen noise and viration.

!%8 F%%3e>' In)#a (a;' are 46#t0APr%Ge+t Fr%6n) Tr6t"B
2ow did Goo!le )nc., a start-"p that had ma,ored in the art and science of )nternet search, create maps that
have ecome the !o-to !"ide for comm"ters world overY
* first of its #ind report on what Goo!le d"s as FPr%Ge+t Fr%6n) Tr6t">, its ver$ secret mappin! pro!ramme,
revealed that ase la$ers for these maps so"rce data from the U.>. .ens"s B"rea", the Geolo!ical >"rve$,
and of co"rse, from the famo"s N infamo"sl$ discontin"ed after its la"nch in )ndia N F%%3e Street V#e8
&an' that have cloc#ed over 5 million miles till date. *ll this is, of co"rse, cr"nched $ Goo!le1s sophisticated
al!orithms and clever, ri!oro"s code.


-videntl$, the process of creatin! amon! the most acc"rate maps in the world is comple+, and fascinatin!.
B"t in )ndia, where an increasin! n"mer of smartphone "sers are lo!!in! on to maps, the <3r%6n) tr6t"> #'
'#3n#.#+ant, )#..erentH all that $o" see on the !rid on Goo!le &aps in )ndia has een created $ "sers. *n
entirel$ crowd-so"rced prod"ct, o"r maps are created $ "s.
*lto!ether different from how the search !iant went ao"t mappin! in these developed co"ntries, in )ndia,
Goo!le is onl$ now e+plorin! partnerships with some !overnment estalishments to map r"ral )ndia etter.
'he reason the$ choose to foc"s on "sers is eca"se emer!in! mar#ets li#e )ndia are in h$per-!rowth. 'his
means, the maps here chan!e ever$ da$. )f ) leave Ban!alore for a $ear, ) come ac# to see an alto!ether
different cit$, "nli#e sa$ >ilicon Lalle$ where not m"ch chan!es. 'here is constant ch"rn of points of
interest, road !eometr$, one-wa$s and "ildin! profiles. 'hat #ind of data can1t e !iven fresh to "sers
witho"t !ettin! "sers on oard.
'his wo"ld not have een possile if it werenJt for a platform li#e Goo!le &ap &a#er that provided "sers
with a simple, livel$ and interactive platform to map their streets, their nei!ho"rhoods or their cities. )t
solved a prolem that an individ"al compan$ co"ldnJt, $ simpl$ tappin! into the wisdom and initiative of
the crowd.

A L'%+#%0te+"n%%3#+aL ta'=
Ma; Ma=er$ t"e A'%+#%0te+"n%%3#+a ;"en%(en%nB that a small team at Goo!le started in 2DD6 when the$
!eo-ta!!ed UlsoorBen!al"r", is a tool that allows "sers ever$where to edit 6or create from a scratch7 the
maps the$ "se. &aps, whether "ser-created or otherwise, are scientificall$ some of the most challen!in!
data sets ever dealt with% far from simple te+t or ima!es, the$ involve what in comp"ter science parlance is
called a !raph comprisin! connected ed!es or nodes.
*nd most of all, the demand for acc"rac$ is so hi!h that maps less than 84 or 89 per cent acc"rate are simpl$
irrelevant.
A++6ra+, an) rea t#(e: !%8 #tM' )%ne
'he hi!h-resol"tion satellite ima!er$ on the &ap &a#er platform is where $o" start. <nce the "ser feeds in
a landmar#, or sa$ names a road, the &ap &a#er encodes the science of comp"tational !eometr$ to
a"tomaticall$ s$nthesise the map ased on individ"al !est"res from "sers.
'his e!ins with a "ser vis"all$ !est"rin! their #nowled!e, i.e. s#etch on top of satellite ima!er$. &ap &a#er
then ta#es these small inp"ts from a whole "nch of "sers and s$nthesises that into a connected !raph that
is !eo-spatiall$ overlaid on top of the world.
*nother #e$ challen!e is ma#in! all this happen in real time. 'hisis what sets Goo!le1s platform apart from
other comm"nit$-driven <pen >o"rce mappin! pro,ects s"ch as <pen >treet &aps.
Besides code written $ ver$ smart en!ineers to solve what is ovio"sl$ a hard s$stem challen!e, it also
levera!es the Goo!le .lo"d.
'his !ives Goo!le the ailit$ to manip"late the entire map of the world in real time in its data centres. >o,
ever$ chan!e flows to all the data centres that are servin! maps.
@or acc"rac$, "ndo"tedl$, the most important prere("isite of a map, the secret sa"ce is theAtr6't
','te(B$ which comp"ter en!ineers will call a s"pervised learnin! s$stem. 'his is a machine learnin! s$stem


that notes all that people are doin! I who is editin!, who is moderatin! and what which moderator is
sa$in!.
'his tr"st s$stem co"pled with the comm"nit$ approach lies at the heart of the entire Goo!le &ap
e+perience in )ndia.
<ver time, the machine learns ased on h"ndreds of si!nals I where can $o" e tr"sted to map, what $o"
map, which re!ions and what #ind of mappin! $o" do. )t creates a profile that informs when $o" come in to
map, the s$stem #nows that $o" are more tr"stworth$.
<ver 9D per cent edits in )ndia are approved immediatel$ in real time.
)t is radicall$ different than other comm"nit$-r"n <pen >o"rce pro,ect, 3i#ipedia eca"se there, the
moderators are hand-pic#ed, and the machine doesn1t contin"all$ learn and chan!e $o"r tr"st parameters
ased on $o"r histor$. 'hat1s static, while this is a tr"l$ d$namic s$stem.
!6r)e' #n In)#a
3hile these h"!e technical challen!es have more or less een solved, the path ahead is dotted with socio-
technolo!ical h"rdles.
)n )ndia, for instance, the first 1DD million "sers can e called as the .alifornia )ndians, who ehave and
have needs similar to his friends ac# in .alifornia.
B"t for the ne+t illion and more, the needs are e+traordinaril$ differentH their ailit$ to afford devices is
different, their lan!"a!e and content needs are local and ed"cation levels are different.
'his translates into them needin! a vis"al 3e.
'he challen!e is to "nderstand what the$ need and "ild services that are different from what Goo!le, and
literall$ the entire )nternet has "ilt for them till now.
'hat is, how to !et the mainstream of the world online, ma#e the )nternet "sef"l for them and remove the
h"!e information as$mmetr$ that we now live with.

B# t% +reate 4an= .%r 2NA ;r%.##n3 %. a++6'e) +%(#n3
'he 2"man 5?* ;rofilin! Bill, a Bill to create a 5?* data centre to profile people acc"sed of serio"s crimes
and "n#nown deceased is in the wor#s.
.rafted $ the 5epartment of Biotechnolo!$, it allows 5eo+$riose ?"cleic *cid 65?*7 profilin! for cases of
c"lpale homicide, m"rder, death $ ne!li!ence, miscarria!e, dowr$ deaths, ca"sin! death of new orn
child, se+"al assa"lt, "nnat"ral offences, o"tra!in! the modest$ of a woman, co-haitation with a woman $
deceit, ad"lter$, enticin! a married woman with criminal intent, amon! others.
Pr%te+t#n3 ;r#&a+,
*ddressin! iss"es related to protectin! privac$ of individ"als, the draft Bill envisa!es that access to the
information in the ?ational 5?* 5ata Ban# will e restricted to those related to the victim or s"spect% an$
individ"al "nder!oin! a sentence of imprisonment or death sentence can appl$ to the co"rt which convicted
him, for an order of 5?* testin! of specific evidence "nder specific conditions.


'he 2"man 5?* ;rofilin! Bill see#s to estalish a 5?* ;rofilin! Board that will la$ down the standards for
laoratories, collection of h"man od$ s"stances and c"stod$ trail from collection to reportin!. )t also has
a provision for settin! "p a ?ational 5?* 5ata Ban#.
'he 5?* anal$sis of od$ s"stances ma#es it possile to determine whether the so"rce of ori!in of one
od$ s"stance is identical to that of another, and to estalish the iolo!ical relationship, if an$, etween
two individ"als.
'he forensic material from which the 5?* sample can e lifted is iolo!ical material from the od$ and
represents intimate od$ samples. 'he$ incl"de lood, semen, or an$ other tiss"e fl"id.
*s envisa!ed in the Bill, the 5?* ;rofilin! Board at the national level, will delierate and advise on all ethical
and h"man ri!hts iss"es emanatin! o"t of 5?* profilin! in consonance with the United ?ations vis-Z-vis the
ri!hts and privac$ of citiEens, civil lierties and iss"es havin! ethical and other social implications.
*n$ mis"se of 5?* data will attract imprisonment "p to three $ears and monetar$ fine.
'he wor#in! draft of the Bill has een sent to the .entre for )nternet and >ociet$ for anal$sis and comments.
Cr#t#+#'(
'he .itiEens @or"m for .ivil :ierties has alread$ opposed the proposed le!islation and so"!ht pre-emptive
intervention to stop dan!ero"s erosion of privac$ $ 5?* profilin! of citiEens.
)n a representation s"mitted to the ?ational 2"man Ci!hts .ommission, the @or"m has said 5?* profilin!
is "ndesirale, partic"larl$ as forensic 5?* developments are intertwined with si!nificant chan!es in
le!islation and contentio"s iss"es of privac$, civil liert$ and social ,"stice.
'he @or"m has so"!ht immediate intervention to safe!"ard citiEens1 privac$ and their civil lierties, which
face an "nprecedented onsla"!ht from the provisions of the 5?* ;rofilin! Bill and other related s"rveillance
meas"res ein! "lldoEed $ "nre!"lated and "n!overnale technolo!$.

Mea'6r#n3 2#3#ta )#&#)e
'he di!ital divide etween the most and least developed co"ntries I meas"red in terms of costs, ("alit$
and connectivit$ I contin"es to !row, accordin! to data released $ the )nternational 'elecomm"nications
Union 6)'U7.
Gloal roadand prices have dropped nearl$ 45 per cent etween 2DD9 and 2D11, $et the poorest
co"ntries, partic"larl$ in *frica, contin"e to have the hi!hest connectivit$ costs in the world.
'oda$ the :east 5eveloped .o"ntries Q:5.sR are also the ::.s Q:east .onnected .o"ntriesR.
*frican co"ntries needed to rationalise price re!imes and increase investments in information and
comm"nication technolo!ies 6).'7.
'he )'U report, &easuring the $nformation Society '()', ran#s 155 co"ntries on the asis of the ICT
2e&e%;(ent In)eN, which meas"res ).' access, "se and literac$, and the ICT Pr#+e Ba'=et, a co"ntr$-wise
indicator of ).' affordailit$.
>o"th /orea has the most advanced telecomm"nication infrastr"ct"re in the world, while ?i!er was ran#ed
the worst.
5espite In)#a1s widel$ reported advances and investments in the telecomm"nication sector, the co"ntr$ is
ran=e) 11/t" in the world in the ).' 5evelopment )nde+, elow Pimawe, Bh"tan and Ghana.


)ndia fares sli!htl$ etter in the affordailit$ inde+, and is ran=e) :9t" o"t of 161 co"ntries in the ).' ;rice
Bas#et 6);B7 )nde+.
'he );B inde+ meas"res comm"nication costs as a percenta!e of Gross ?ational )ncome 6G?)7 per capita,
and hi!hli!hts the tremendo"s re!ional disparities in connectivit$ costs. @or instance, the avera!e *frican
moile "ser can e+pect to pa$ to almost 2D per cent of her monthl$ income on moile connectivit$ costs,
compared to the avera!e *sian who wo"ld pa$ less than 1D per cent, while the avera!e -"ropean wo"ld pa$
a per-cent-and-a-half.

F%4a ;a+t %n )#'a'ter r#'= re)6+t#%n
-+pressin! concern over the increasin! impact of disasters and climate chan!e in the *sia and the ;acific,
hi!h-level dele!ations from 5D co"ntries of the re!ion have called for drawin! "p an international
a!reement on disaster ris# red"ction to follow on the 2$o!o @ramewor# for *ction 62DD5-2D157.
'he 2$o!o @ramewor# for *ction, adopted $ 169 memer >tates of the United ?ations 6U.?.7 at the 3orld
5isaster Ced"ction .onference held in 2$o!o, Bapan, in 2DD5, was the first plan to la$ o"t a road map for
!overnments and different sectors to "ild the resilience of nations and comm"nities a!ainst disasters and
red"ce disaster losses.
'he 5th *sian &inisterial .onference on 5isaster Cis# Ced"ction or!anised $ the United ?ations <ffice for
5isaster Cis# Ced"ction 6U?)>5C7 in collaoration with the )ndonesian ?ational 5isaster &ana!ement
*!enc$ 6B?;B7, also called "pon sta#eholders to participate f"ll$ in the cons"ltations now "nder wa$
worldwide to mainstream disaster ris# red"ction in the development a!enda and provide inp"ts for the
post-2D15 framewor#. 'he conference o"tcome was "nanimo"sl$ a!reed at a f"ll-plenar$ session.
1e, ee(ent' %. t"e H%3,a=arta 2e+arat#%n #n+6)e
inte!rate local disaster ris# red"ction and climate chan!e adaptation into national development
plannin!%
identif$ acco"ntailit$ meas"res for effective implementation %
political commitment to deliver at all levels%
promote awareness, ed"cation, p"lic access to information and resilient investments% and
allocate reso"rces to "ild local capacit$.

'he conference has een a rea#thro"!h in ens"rin! that "ildin! disaster resilience and red"cin! ris# are
emedded into the post-2D15 development a!enda.
'he world has alwa$s loo#ed to *sia for leadership in disaster mana!ement and the Oo!$a#arta 5eclaration
o"tlines clearl$ what the re!ionJs e+pectations are for a new international a!reement on disaster ris#
red"ction.
'he declaration concerns not onl$ *sia "t the entire world and it was necessar$ that all sta#e holders p"sh
the a!enda of ris# red"ction.
)t is in the interest of the co"ntries to ma#e disaster ris# red"ction a national priorit$ and man$ have alread$
done so.
2owever, it is si!nificant to note that man$ co"ntries started wor#in! on the a!enda onl$ after the )ndian
<cean ts"nami in 2DD4.


PUBLIC !EALT!
Ne8 entrant' t% !eat" Care
'he &edical .o"ncil of )ndia 6&.)7 has finall$ !iven the !reen si!nal to a three-and-a-half-$ear medical
co"rse I B>c in .omm"nit$ 2ealth. 'his has the potential of chan!in! the face and f"nctionin! of more than
one la#h primar$ health centres 6;2.7 in the co"ntr$, especiall$ in remote r"ral and trial areas and
mo"ntaino"s terrain.
'he move reverses a historic decision ta#en $ >ir B.3. Bhore, chairman of )ndia1s first health s"rve$ and
development committee in 1852, to aolish the :icentiate in &edical ;ractice 6:&;7 and estalish a sin!le
medical ("alification, a "niversit$ de!ree &BB>, as the re("irement to ecome a doctor.
Unfort"natel$, &BB> doctors ta"!ht in "ran medical colle!es have een "nwillin! to serve in far-fl"n! and
inaccessile areas.
*t present, 26 per cent of doctors live in r"ral areas, servin! 42 per cent of )ndia1s pop"lation. 'he densit$ of
doctors in "ran areas is nearl$ fo"r times that of r"ral areas. 'his anomal$ has lon! needed to e corrected.
'he process e!an on @er"ar$ 6, 2D1D, when e+perts in medical ed"cation and p"lic health who had
!athered in 5elhi for a two-da$ national cons"ltation, !ave their f"ll ac#in! to the amitio"s pro,ect of the
Union 2ealth &inistr$ and the &.) to la"nch the Bachelor of C"ral &edicine and >"r!er$ 6BC&>7 co"rse.
)n >eptemer 2D11, the ;lannin! .ommission and its e+pert !ro"p !ave their approval to the three-and-a-
half-$ear lon! BC&> de!ree. 'he$ even recommended that as a career pro!ression incentive, a BC&>
candidate ma$ e promoted to the level of p"lic health officer after 1D $ears of service.
@inall$, a $ear after that, the &.) has endorsed BC&> "nder the new name B>c in .omm"nit$ 2ealth.
'his sho"ld not e seen as somethin! s"standard dished o"t to second !rade citiEens of the co"ntr$. *t
the level of the ;2., this medical ("alification will s"ffice.
C"e+=' an) 4aan+e'
&an$ h$pothetical catastrophic scenarios have een predicted. 3ill the$ not e tempted into private
practiceY 3on1t the$ not mi!rate to "ran areas and compete with &BB> doctorsY 3ill the$ e re("ired to
ta#e !overnment ,os in r"ral areas as a condition of admissionY 3ho will control=ens"re the ("alit$ of their
ed"cationY
B"t there are some preca"tionar$ meas"res in place.
BC&> !rad"ates cannot affi+ the prefi+ 5r. to their names.
'he candidates are locall$ recr"ited to serve !overnment health instit"tions "nder a service ond. 'he$ will
have a clear career pro!ression path as health officers "p to the district level.
'he co"rse is desi!ned to prod"ce health wor#ers who will e an effective lin# etween asic health wor#ers
and the doctor at the ;2. or comm"nit$ health centre 6.2.7.
'he$ will e ta"!ht to treat minor ailments, help in deliver$ and administer first aid% "t most importantl$,
when and where to refer a pateint promptl$, in case of complications.
'he$ will e "sed for implementation of national pro!rammes also. 'he decisions to accept and implement
the co"rse are now with >tate !overnments.
.hhattis!arh, where this model was adopted in 2DD1, has shown that it can e s"ccessf"ll$ implemented
with !ood res"lts.


:et the efforts of the &inistr$ of 2ealth A @amil$ 3elfare and the &.) ta#e root and show res"lts in fo"r
$ears. 'he medicall$ mar!inalised people of r"ral )ndia sho"ld e the ,"d!e of its s"ccess or otherwise.

S6;;%rt .%r t"e t8##3"t ,ear'
)ndia is !earin! "p to loo# after its a!ein! pop"lation which is pro,ected to to"ch 315 million $ 2D5D as
a!ainst the present 8D million. * lar!e proportion of this pop"lation wo"ld e women.
*fter havin! anno"nced an amitio"s ?ational ;ro!ramme for 2ealth .are for -lderl$ 6?;.2-7 in 2D1D-11 to
provide separate and specialised comprehensive health care to the senior citiEens, the &inistr$ of 2ealth
and @amil$ 3elfare proposes to develop two ?ational )nstit"tes of *!ein! in the 12th @ive Oear ;lan.
'he two instit"tes will e set "p at the &adras &edical .olle!e and *))&>, ?ew 5elhi with an o,ective to
"nderta#e research on a!ein! in addition to other thin!s li#e providin! health care to the senior citiEens.
*s of now, the pro!ramme has een implemented in 4D districts and is e+pected to cover the entire co"ntr$
d"rin! the 12th ;lan. )ts main o,ective is to provide preventive, c"rative and rehailitative services to the
elderl$ persons at vario"s levels of health care deliver$.
)t also aims at stren!thenin! referral s$stem to develop specialised manpower and to promote research in
the field of diseases related to old a!e.
'he re!ional instit"tions are e+pected to provide technical s"pport to the !eriatric "nits at district hospitals
whereas district hospitals s"pervise and coordinate the activities at the comm"nit$ health centres, primar$
health centres and s"-centres.
.lose to 65 per cent senior citiEens s"ffer from a chronic ailment of which arthritis=rhe"matism,
h$pertension, cataract and diaetes are the most prevalent. *o"t one-third s"ffer from two or more
chronic ailments sim"ltaneo"sl$.
)n !eneral, moridit$ levels tend to e hi!her amon! females across all a!e !ro"ps of elderl$ and also
associated with socio-economic classes with e+pected r"ral-"ran differentials.
)n case of hospitalisation, an avera!e senior citiEen spends over Cs. 9,9DD incl"din! for cons"ltation,
medicines and dia!nostics. )n the case of o"t-patient treatment, the avera!e e+pendit"re is ao"t Cs. 1,23D
I hi!her in "ran areas than in the r"ral. )n addition, the elderl$ also spend Cs. 5DD or more ever$ month
towards medicines to treat their chronic illnesses.

Ur4an "eat" #n#t#at#&e0 12
t"
Pan
'he proposal for an "ran health initiativewith foc"s on primar$ health care for the "ran poor has een
cleared $ the -+pendit"re @inance .ommittee 6-@.7.
'he 12
th
;lan doc"ment approved $ the .ainet provided for a s"stantial ,"mp in the plan o"tla$ !ivin! a
central position to health.
.onsiderin! that p"lic e+pendit"re on health in )ndia is one of the lowest in the world and disease "rden
is the hi!hest, the increase in ;lan o"tla$ is a timel$ and welcome e!innin!.
*nother important step in the 12th ;lan is the move to simplif$ and rationalise f"ndin! to >tates and to
provide them with the m"ch needed fle+iilit$ to prioritise and devise strate!ies that meet their needs.


)t was planned to provide the same fle+iilit$ "nder the 5isease .ontrol ;ro!rammes as e+isted in the
Ceprod"ctive and .hild 2ealth @le+i-pool and &ission @le+i-pool.
* !reat distance has een covered d"rin! the 11th ;lan period, res"ltin! in tremendo"s addition of health
infrastr"ct"re, as well as h"man reso"rces, "t there still remain several areas of concern.
Under the ?C2&, several thr"st areas had een identified for implementation in the 12th ;lan. 'hese
incl"ded stren!thenin! 2ealth >" .entres to develop them as first ports of call for health care,
stren!thenin! 5istrict 2ospitals to provide advanced level of secondar$ health care within the district itself
and developin! 5istrict 2ospitals as #nowled!e centres. 'he !overnment is also movin! towards Universal
2ealth .are. Banani >hish" >"ra#sha /ar$a#ram is la"nched to provide free care to pre!nant women and
neonates.
'here is !oin! to e an initiative to provide free essential medicines in all p"lic health facilities and
"niversal screenin! of children for disease, disailit$ and deficienc$ with free follow-"p treatments,
incl"din! those in tertiar$ p"lic health facilities.

An #n#t#at#&e .%r 8a'te (ana3e(ent #n 12
t"
;an
3ith risin! constr"ction cost and demand from vario"s sectors for conventional "ildin! materials, a move
is afoot to "se waste material for la$in! roads.
'he 12 @ive-Oear ;lan aims at !ivin! a thr"st to the initiative.
'he Union &inistr$ of Coad 'ransport and 2i!hwa$s favo"rs"tilisation of waste materials as reserves of
traditional materials are declinin!, ma#in! e+traction of ("alit$ inp"ts dearer.
'he Centra R%a) Re'ear+" In't#t6te (CRRI) has !ained e+pertise in "se of a3r#+6t6ra$ (6n#+#;a$
+%n'tr6+t#%n an) )e(%#t#%n 8a'te'$ (eta6r3#+a #n)6'tr, 8a'te an) 4,0;r%)6+t'$ O6arr, 8a'te$
;6&er#'e) .6e a'"$ )#a(%n) (#ne 8a'te an) ;a;er #n)6'tr, 8a'te.
5"rin! tests, roads constr"cted with these wastes were .%6n) t% 4e at ;ar with, if not etter than, the ones
traditionall$ laid with soil, stone a!!re!ates, sand, it"men and cement.
'ho"!h the )ndian Coad .on!ress has standardised most of the .CC) specifications, these have not een p"t
to "se $ the road constr"ction ind"str$ as $et.
'o carr$ forward the initiative, the .CC) has een directed t% ;re;are a )ata4a'e on availailit$ of waste
and mar!inal materials to optimise their "se in constr"ction of hi!hwa$s.
T"e Pr%4e(
3hile the effort wo"ld help in addressin! waste disposal and conservin! nat"ral reso"rces, the prolem was
availailit$ of waste materials close to the constr"ction pro,ect.
'he inhiitin! factor is transportation.
:ar!e ha"la!e wo"ld have its impact on environment and f"el costs and wo"ld o"twei!h the enefits of
waste removal.
'his e+plains the !overnment effort at preparin! a dataase on availailit$ of waste and mar!inal materials
to assess the cost of s"stit"tin! these for nat"ral materials and find means of ma#in! them economical.


C"an3e' #n r6e' .%r +#n#+a tr#a'
Under sharp criticism for inade("ate monitorin! of clinical trials in the co"ntr$, the !overnment is
contemplatin! ma,or chan!es in the 5r"!s and .osmetics *ct, 184D, and its C"les.
'hese wo"ld ma#e it mandator$ for the )nvesti!ator to report all serio"s adverse events, incl"din! deaths, to
the 5r"!s .ontroller General of )ndia 65G.)7, as well as the sponsor and the ethics committee, within 24
ho"rs of occ"rrence.
'he 5G.) will constit"te a committee of e+perts to anal$se the report of the )nvesti!ator, the sponsor, and
the ethics committee, to arrive at the e+act ca"se of the in,"r$ or death, and it shall then recommend the
e+act ("ant"m of compensation in case of trial-related in,"r$ or deaths within three months.
'here is also a proposal which ma#es it mandator$ for the sponsor to provide medical care to the person
who s"ffers in,"r$ d"rin! trial, for as lon! as re("ired. 'here will e a specific provision in the C"les for
pa$ment of compensation to the affected persons=their nominees, for trial-related in,"ries and deaths.
)n order to capt"re the socio-economic ac#!ro"nd of the persons participatin! in the trial, it is proposed to
modif$ the )nformed .onsent @orm to capt"re ("alifications, occ"pation, ann"al income, and address of the
person concerned. Ce("irements and !"idelines for re!istration of the ethics committee wo"ld e
prescried in the C"les.
2owever, this method has drawn a lot of fla#, as there have een complaints related to violation of ethics,
and pre,"diced reports of the ethics committee. -ven the e+istin! manner of sec"rin! consent from the
s",ects has een ("estioned $ ri!hts-ased health activists.
*pplications of In&e't#3at#%na Ne8 2r63' (IN2)$ which have never earlier een "sed in h"man ein!s, are
eval"ated $ the )?5 committee, chaired $ the 5irector General of the )ndian .o"ncil of &edical Cesearch.

2ea), )#'ea'e$ )e';erate (ea'6re'0Ca;ane'e en+e;"a#t#' (CE)
3ith tho"sands of $o"n! lives ein! lost and an e("al n"mer of children rendered disaled for life, the
!overnment has prepared a comprehensive strate!$ to tac#le Ca;ane'e en+e;"a#t#' (CE) an) a+6te
en+e;"a#t#' ',n)r%(e (AES). 'he dreaded disease has alread$ spread to 14 >tates affectin! 141 districts.
'he amitio"s strate!$ involves the &inistries of 5rin#in! 3ater and >anitation, >ocial B"stice and
-mpowerment, 2o"sin! and Uran ;overt$ *lleviation and 3omen and .hild 5evelopment which have
een !iven separate schemes to e implemented.
3hile the lar!est ch"n# of the f"nds will !o to the 5rin#in! 3ater and >anitation 5evelopment &inistr$, the
&inistr$ of 2ealth and @amil$ 3elfare will e responsile for stren!thenin! of p"lic health activities and
vaccination.
'he M#n#'tr, %. 2r#n=#n3 @ater an) San#tat#%n will wor# for replacin! shallow p"lic hand p"mps with deep
ore p"mps and solid and li("id waste mana!ement and to incentivise and provide credit to ho"seholds for
constr"ction and "sa!e of sanitation facilities at homes, in schools and other !overnment "ildin!s in
addition to creatin! awareness on h$!iene.
'he M#n#'tr, %. !eat" an) Fa(#, @e.are will stren!then hospitals and p"lic health facilities in 6D priorit$
districts, incl"din! estalishin! pediatric ).Us, set "p 2D new B-=*-> s"rveillance sites and co"nsellin!
centres.


<n its part, the &inistr$ will set "p and operate 15 new rehailitation centres for disaled children in fo"r
>tates.
'he &inistr$ of 3omen and .hild 5evelopment will train and sensitisean!anwadi wor#ers and their
s"pervisors re!ardin! B-=*->.
'he &inistr$ will also provide 'a#e 2ome Cation 6'2C7 to moderatel$ "nderno"rished children in 6D
districts. '2C is "s"all$ !iven to pre!nant and lactatin! women, children from si+ months of a!e to three
$ears and severel$ malno"rished children as the$ do not attend the an!anwadicentres on a dail$ asis.
'he disease affects mostl$ children elow the a!e of 15 $ears, of which 25 per cent die, and amon! the
s"rvivors ao"t 3D-4D per cent s"ffer from ph$sical and mental impairment.
3hile B- is ca"sed $ a vir"s which is transmitted thro"!h mos("itoes, *-> is an enteroviral infection
transmitted thro"!h contaminated water. Underno"rished children with low imm"nit$ levels ecome eas$
tar!ets of the vir"s.
'he >tates where the disease has spread to are *ndhra ;radesh, *ssam, Bihar, Goa, 5elhi, 2ar$ana,
Bhar#hand, /arnata#a, /erala, &aharashtra, &anip"r, ;"n,a, 'amil ?ad", Uttara#hand, Uttar ;radesh, 3est
Ben!al.

ENVIRONMENT
C%P0110 C%n.eren+e %n B#%)#&er'#t,
@ollowin! are the hi!hli!hts of the .o;-11 .onference on Biodiversit$ concl"ded in 2$deraad on 18 <ctoer, 2D12H
:ar!est ever s"ch conference or!anised in )ndia. 14D co"ntries participated. 'he n"mer of pre re!istered
dele!ates aro"nd 15DDD. &inister=Lice &inister level participation aro"nd 9D. &ore than 4DD side events N
man$ or!anised $ the 3orld Ban#, U?5;, G-@, other co"ntries and )nternational and national ?G<s.
'he elements of s"ccessf"l .o; were flawless lo!istics, strate!ic thin#in! in the development of *!enda1s
content, participation of a lar!e n"mer of sta#eholders and pers"asive $et effective ne!otiations.
<ne of the most important o"tcomes of the .o; is the commitment of the ;arties to do"le the
international financial flows for Bio 5iversit$ $ 2D15. 'his will translate into additional financial flows to the
developin! co"ntries to the t"ne of ao"t U> V 3D illion e("ivalent to ao"t Cs. 1,5D,DDD crore over the
ne+t 9 $ears. 'his is a ma,or achievement especiall$ in the conte+t of
1. Gloal economic downt"rn
2. .ontentio"s stands re!ardin! the ro"st aseline and the reportin! mechanism
3. *sence of an$ s"ch tar!et in the recommendation sent to the .o; $ 3GC)
4. 3ith no proposal from 3or#in! Gro"p on Ceview of )mplementation 63GC)7 the ;arties wo"ld not
have come with the re("ired clearance from the respective @inance &inistries.
)ndia rectified the sit"ation $ her initiatives
1. >"!!ested a two trac# sol"tion envisa!in! a preliminar$ tar!et and a road map.
2. .o-sponsored informal dialo!"e to promote etter Understandin! amon! the parties of the iss"es involved.


3. .o-sponsored )ndia U/ 2i!h :evel ;anel to assess the re("irement of f"nds.
4. 3or#ed closel$ with the B"rea" to introd"ce a specific element of preliminar$ tar!et, so that the parties
come prepared with mandates from their @inance &inistries.
5. 5"rin! the .o; )ndia led the efforts of the ;arties to find a satisfactor$ o"tcome
3a$ @orward )ndia will li#e to pla$ its leadership role d"rin! )ndia1s ;residenc$ $ s"pportin! and
hostin! capacit$ "ildin! in the developin! co"ntries to help them prepare pro,ect proposals to avail
the additional f"ndin! now envisa!ed.
)ndia will now e wor#in! closel$ with all the memer co"ntries to ma#e a s"ccess of the 2$deraad
Coad &ap. )ndia will also share its e+perience with other co"ntries to help them estalish a ro"st
aseline, so that the tar!et for reso"rces fi+ed now is f"rther refined $ .o; 12. )ndia has alread$ set
apart a s"m of Cs. 5D crores towards >o"th >o"th cooperation.
)ndia has la"nched the initiative of 2$deraad ;led!e which is now availale on the we site of .B5.
*ll the co"ntries are re("ested to pled!e mone$ for the ca"se of io diversit$. &-@ will now write to
all the &inisters the world over re("estin! them to pled!e additional reso"rces for Biodiversit$.
)ndia has alread$ ratified ?a!o$a ;rotocol on *ccess and Benefit sharin!. )ndia d"rin! its ;residenc$
will wor# tirelessl$ for the ratification of the ;rotocol $ 5D co"ntries so that it comes into force
d"rin! the ;residenc$ of )ndia. 'owards this end, )ndia will offer to host the meetin! of the )nter
Governmental .ommittee of ?a!o$a ;rotocol. )ndia will also host capacit$ "ildin! wor#shops of
developin! .o"ntries to help them ta#e le!islative = administrative meas"res. )ndia has alread$
offered to meet part of the cost of the meetin! of the 3or#in! Gro"p on *rt. 9, on 'raditional
/nowled!e.
*fter the reso"ndin! s"ccess of the >cience -+press Biodiversit$ >pecial. 'he Government will ta#e
special efforts to increase the reach of this -+press to even more remote corners of the co"ntr$ to
increase the awareness ao"t Biodiversit$.
&an$ dele!ates who visited the Biodiversit$ e+press in 2$deraad wanted somethin! similar done
in their co"ntr$. )ndia will e+plore wa$s of replicatin! this wonderf"l s"ccess of Biodiversit$ -+press
in other co"ntries $ providin! them appropriate s"pport.
)n 2$deraad, a commemorative ;$lon and a Biodiversit$ Garden have een estalished. 'he ;rime
&inister of )ndia had planted the first tree on ehalf of )ndia, representatives of the participatin!
co"ntries have also planted trees. )t has een decided to estalish a Biodiversit$ &"se"m on this
site. 'his will e a to#en of !ratit"de to the people of 2$deraad whose hospitalit$ had won the
heart of ever$ international dele!ate. 2$deraad is the first host cit$ of .B5 .o; to estalish
commemorative ;$lon, !arden and m"se"m.
5"rin! its ;residenc$ )ndia will ta#e special steps to stren!then the >tate Biodiversit$ Boards and to
prepare ;eoples Biodiversit$ Ce!isters at the villa!e level. * s"m of ao"t Cs.25D crores has een
approved for this p"rpose.
)ndia will s"stantiall$ increase its allocation for Biodiversit$ $ wor#in! closel$ with other &inistries
for mainstreamin! of Biodiversit$.
)ndia has instit"ted to!ether with U?5; Biodiversit$ Governance *wards. 'he first s"ch awards
were !iven d"rin! the .o; 11. )t is now proposed to instit"te Ca,iv Gandhi )nternational *ward for
2arnessin! Biodiversit$ for :ivelihood.


Sea t#3er' .a+e +#(ate t"reat
'he world1s lar!est man!rove forest, t"e S6n)ar4an', is increasin!l$ ecomin! v"lnerale to risin! sea levels
and fre("ent nat"ral disasters.
'he >"ndarans form an archipela!o straddlin! )ndia and Ban!ladesh, and are part of the delta of Gan!a,
Brahmap"tra and &e!hna asin. 'he )ndian part of the delta comprises of 1D2 islands 6of which onl$ 54 are
inhaited7 in 18 loc#s in 3est Ben!al.
*o"t a million people in the >"ndarans coe+ist with 26 species of tr"e man!roves, 234 species of irds
and 44 species of mammals incl"din! the R%,a Ben3a t#3er 6"ni("el$ inhaitin! a man!rove forest7 all of
which face a threat from !loal warmin!.
Cesearchers of the >chool of <ceano!raphic >t"dies, Badavp"r Universit$, estimate that ann"al sea level rise
is from 3.14 millimetres recorded till 2DDD to ao"t 9 mm in 2D1D.
)ndian >"ndarans 5eltaH * Lision a report prepared $ the instit"te as well as 3orld 3ide @"nd @or
?at"re - )ndia 633@7 estimates that nearl$ one million people will ecome climate chan!e ref"!ees $ the
$ear 2D5D. 'he report s"!!ests a planned retreat from v"lnerale areas and plantin! of man!roves in those
areas.
*n"ra!5anda, the 33@1s head of >"ndarans :andscape said that there is evidence that "ildin!
eman#ments alon! the v"lnerale islands will prove f"tile.
<ver the past decades some islands, oth inhaited and "ninhaited, have disappeared. 3hile an inhaited
island, :ohachara, was lost to the sea in 188D, $ 2DDD, the "ninhaited ?ew &oore island was s"mer!ed.
<ne estimate $ the United ?ations 5evelopment ;ro!ramme in 2D1D sa$s that 15 per cent of the
>"ndarans will !o "nder $ 2D2D.

B%at +a(;a#3n t% 'a&e en)an3ere) Fan3et#+ )%;"#n
-i!hteen oats were pressed into service to cover ao"t 2,9DD #m of the Gan!etic river s$stem in Uttar
;radesh in the .#r't (aG%r #n#t#at#&e towards creatin! awareness of conservin! the criticall$ endan!ered
species of Gan!etic dolphin 6Platanista0angetica7. 'he species is endemic to the Gan!etic river s$stem.
'he three-da$ <Sa&e Fan3a$ Sa&e 2%;"#n> campai!n was la"nched $ the U.;. @orest department in
association with the 3orld 3ildlife @"nd 633@7 and involvin! 14 ?G<s and local vol"nteers.
'he campai!n is also meant to collect aseline information on distri"tion of the dolphins and pop"lation
stat"s in the >tate.
.alled the FT#3er %. t"e Fan3e',1 the Gan!etic dolphin is an #n)#+at%r an#(a (;re)at%r).
)t is one of the fo"r species fo"nd worldwide and en,o$s the same position in the river ecos$stem as the
ti!er in the forest.
3ith the riverine s$stem facin! m"ltiple threats, the n"mer of dolphins declined to ao"t 1,6DD in 2DD5
from 4,DDD-5,DDD in 1892.
)t is said that at the t"rn of the last cent"r$, the Gan!etic dolphin pop"lation was aro"nd 5D,DDD.
'he first ever step to conserve the Gan!etic dolphin has a twin o,ective of #nowin! the headco"nt of the
mammal and p"licisin! the campai!n for its conservation


@ra!mentation of rivers with dams and arra!es ca"sin! lean flow, siltation, poll"tion and indiscriminate
e+traction of river water, apart from dolphins ein! accidentall$ ca"!ht in fishermen1s nets, are a (aG%r
t"reat to their s"rvival.

!%6'e ';arr%8 02e"#>' State 4#r)
'he h"mle ho"se sparrow has ecome the >tate ird of 5elhi
'he idea ehind ma#in! the ho"se sparrow the >tate ird was to protect it as the n"mer of ho"se sparrows
in the cit$ had declined sharpl$ d"e to rapid "ranisation.
'he sparrows fl$ within a radi"s of two to three #ilometres of their nests. 'herefore, it is re("ired to create
an atmosphere cond"cive to the haitat of sparrows in the cit$.

T#3er A6t"%r#t, +an n%t#., t%6r#'( n%r('
'he >"preme .o"rt has permitted the Nat#%na T#3er C%n'er&at#%n A6t"%r#t, (NTCA), &inistr$ of
-nvironment and @orests, to notif$ its fresh .omprehensive G"idelines on >trate!$, 'i!er .onservation and
'o"rism in and aro"nd 'i!er Ceserves.
2owever, >. made it clear that it wo"ld not validate or invalidate or !ive its seal of approval to the
!"idelines. 3ith several >tates pointin! o"t certain deficiencies in the !"idelines, the Bench said, it wo"ld e
open to the a!!rieved parties to challen!e them.
'he Bench said the plea of the .entre and the >tates for liftin! the an imposed on to"rist activities in core
areas wo"ld e considered at the ne+t hearin! on <ctoer 16 after the .entre iss"ed the notification on the
fresh !"idelines, which envisa!e that 2D per cent of the core reserve area e permitted for to"rism.
*fter the co"rt had imposed the an, several >tates and other sta#eholders "r!ed the .entre to revisit the
!"idelines. *ccordin!l$ the .entre filed an application see#in! modification of the order.
>"se("entl$ the co"rt as#ed the .entre to hold cons"ltations with all the >tates and others and come o"t
with fresh !"idelines.
<S"#.t .%+6' t% e+%t%6r#'(>
-+plainin! the need for shiftin! the foc"s from wildlife to"rism to ecoto"rism, the ?'.* recommended that
a ma+im"m of 2D per cent of the core=critical ti!er haitat "sa!e 6not e+ceedin! the present "sa!e7 for
re!"lated, low-impact to"rist visits e permitted $ the co"rt.
)n case the c"rrent "sa!e e+ceeds 2D per cent, the :ocal *rea .ommittee ma$ decide on a time frame for
rin!in! it down to 2D per cent. >"ch area ma$ e demarcated as a to"rism Eone and there sho"ld e strict
adherence to the site specific carr$in! capacit$.
-coto"rism is proposed to e fostered "nder ;ro,ect 'i!er to enefit the host comm"nit$ in accordance with
the 'i!er Ceserve-specific 'o"rism ;lan formin! part of the .onservation ;lan, s",ect to re!"lation as per
carr$in! capacit$, with the foc"s on "ffer areas. 2owever, no new to"rism infrastr"ct"re sho"ld e
permitted in s"ch core=critical ti!er haitats.


Uttara="an) t%;' #n en&#r%n(enta 'tan)ar)'
Uttara#hand has more than ,"st nat"ral ea"t$ to oast of. )t also tops the list of est-performin! >tates and
Union territories in terms of environmental well-ein!.
Uttara#hand is followed $ 2imachal ;radesh, .handi!arh, >i##im, and *ndhra ;radesh on the ;lannin!
.ommission1s -nvironmental ;erformance )nde+ 6-;)7 list.
-nvironmental well-ein! is one of the considerations for devol"tion of f"nds to the >tates "nder the Gad!il
form"la.
'he &inistr$ of -nvironment and @orests 6&o-@7 and the ;lannin! .ommission, alon! with a few non-
!overnment or!anisations 6?G<7, created an -nvironmental performance inde+ wherein cities are ran#ed
accordin! to criteria s"ch as air poll"tion, water poll"tion, conditions of forests, climate chan!e and waste
mana!ement.
&iEoram, /erala, Goa, >i##im, 'rip"ra, ;"d"cherr$ and *ndaman and ?icoar, with an avera!e score of 1,
have een ran#ed as the 4e't State' #n ter(' %. a#r O6a#t,.
)ronicall$, e+cept for Uttara#hand, all the >tates meet the prescried national amient air ("alit$ standard in
respect of the s"lph"r dio+ide of 2D micro!rams per c"ic metre.
'he indicators considered for meas"rin! the amient air ("alit$ performance are s"lph"r dio+ide, nitro!en
o+ide, and partic"late matter.
On 8ater O6a#t, 'tan)ar)', e+cept for 2imachal ;radesh, which has set "p 1DD per cent treatment capacit$
for sewa!e, the treatment capacit$ in the remainin! >tates ran!es from D 613 >tates7 to less than 2D per cent
69 >tates7 and more than 5D per cent in fo"r >tates, indicatin! a pathetic performance in this respect.
>ewa!e disposal, water ("alit$ of rivers I dissolved o+$!en, total coliform co"nt and the percenta!e of
water e+ploitation I are considered for the >tate-wise performance for water ("alit$.
On .%re't +%n'er&at#%n, .handi!arh, >i##im, *r"nachal ;radesh, Uttara#hand and &adh$a ;radesh are
amon! the five est-performin! >tates that have preserved forests as well as increased cover.

Internat#%na ,ear %. S6'ta#na4e Ener3, .%r A
)n reco!nition of the importance of ener!$ access for s"stainale economic development and s"pportin!
achievement and s"pportin! achievement of the &illenni"m 5evelopment Goals, the United ?ations
General *sseml$ has desi!nated 2D12 as the )nternational $ear of >"stainale -ner!$ for *ll. )n s"pport
of this declaration, &inistr$ of ?ew and Cenewale -ner!$, Government of )ndia or!aniEed a two da$ !loal
ministerial level international seminar on -ner!$ *ccess. 'he seminar envisa!ed as an international platform
for !overnment, private sector, and non- !overnmental leaders to ,ointl$ address the !oal of achievin!
-ner!$ *ccess.
'he plenar$ session was ina"!"rated $ ;rime &inister, 5r.&anmohan >in!h on 8th <ctoer at Li!$an
Bhavan. 'he seminar aimed to share and e+chan!e e+periences, est practices and innovative sol"tions on
ener!$ iss"es. *o"t 3D co"ntries participated in the two da$ seminar. @ollowin! o"tcome emer!ed o"t of
the conference.
*ctive involvement of developed co"ntries for ens"rin! availailit$ of ener!$ access technolo!ies,
partnerin! in innovation and also for enhancin! technolo!ical capailities. 'echnolo!ical advances sho"ld e


promoted thro"!h research and development, and stren!thenin! of relevant re!ional, national and local
instit"tions for s"stainale development%
)nternational cooperation in developin! and disseminatin! innovative ener!$ access technolo!ies and
provision of new, additional and predictale financial reso"rces and investment appropriate to the needs of
developin! co"ntries% and
>ettin! "p an international mechanism to facilitate research and development in ener!$ access and
renewale ener!$ technolo!ies in the p"lic domain to allow access to s"ch technolo!ies at affordale
prices.

Ne8 8etan)' e+%n%(#+' re;%rt
* ma,or report that will help co"ntries "nderstand the economic val"e of inland wetlands, which cover a
vast area of the earth1s land s"rface and provide #e$ ecos$stem services, was released at the conference of
the .onvention on Biolo!ical 5iversit$.
'he messa!e of the report is simpl$, Fdrain it, lose it.1 )nland wetlands cover at least 8.5 million s( #m of the
earth1s s"rface, and to!ether with coastal wetlands, 12.9 million s( #m.
Cestoration of this partic"lar t$pe of ecos$stem is the most e+pensive.
'hese water odies provide clean water for drin#in! and a!ric"lt"re, coolin! water for the ener!$ sector%
the$ also re!"late floods. *!ric"lt"re, fisheries and to"rism sectors depend heavil$ on the health of
wetlands.
)n 1DD $ears, we have mana!ed to destro$ ao"t 5D per cent of the world1s wetlands, which is a st"nnin!
fi!"re, said the report titled 'he -conomics of -cos$stems and Biodiversit$ for 3ater and 3etlands 6'--B
for wetlands7.
'he perception that wetlands are not essential to the f"nctionin! of societies and economies, contri"tes to
their destr"ction.
'he '--B report has een commissioned $ the Camsar .onvention.
)ndia, a si!nator$ to the .onvention, has 25 wetlands listed "nder the covenant 6s"ch as .hili#a7 and ao"t
15D identified wetlands of national importance.
'he co"ntr$ is ein! pers"aded $ international monitors to p"t in place mana!ement plans for the
protected sites.
2owever, the conservation approach in )ndia has to move from a Fp"ritanical1 one, to one that emphasises
economic val"e and its vital lin# to h"man s"rvival.
)ndia1s challen!e is to define wetlands on so"nd lines, and appl$ the r"les it iss"ed in 2D1D for conservation
and mana!ement of these water odies.
B"ildin! activit$ in fast-e+pandin! cities is drainin! wetlands, and man$ are also ein! filled with !ara!e.

Ban %n t%6r#'( #n t#3er re'er&e'> +%re area' 3%e'
'he >"preme .o"rt lifted the an on to"rist activities in core areas of ti!er reserve forests, after the
!overnment notified the revised !"idelines for the 41 ti!er reserves to e followed $ >tates.


'he co"rt said, *ll concerned a"thorities will ens"re that the !"idelines shall e strictl$ in accordance with
notification and re("irements of !"idelines are complied with efore commencin! to"rism.
Fre'" 36#)e#ne'
'he .entre held cons"ltations with the >tates and others and came o"t with fresh !"idelines. *ccordin!l$,
the ?'.* form"lated fresh !"idelines.
'he .omprehensive G"idelines on >trate!$, 'i!er .onservation and 'o"rism in and aro"nd 'i!er Ceserves
envisa!ed that 2D per cent of the core reserve area sho"ld e permitted for to"rism.
>hiftin! the foc"s from wildlife to"rism to eco-to"rism, the ?'.* had recommended that a ma+im"m of 2D
per cent of the core=critical ti!er haitat "sa!e 6not e+ceedin! the present "sa!e7 for re!"lated, low-impact
to"rist visitation mi!ht e permitted $ the co"rt.
)t said, )n case the c"rrent "sa!e e+ceeds 2D per cent, the :ocal *rea .ommittee ma$ decide on a time
frame for rin!in! down the "sa!e to 2D per cent. >"ch area ma$ e demarcated as to"rism Eone and there
sho"ld e strict adherence to site-specific carr$in! capacit$.
<ther s"!!estions areH 'he >tates sho"ld enact law to re!"late ti!er to"rism I to"rist facilities% to"r
operators sho"ld not ca"se dist"rance to animals% to"rism infrastr"ct"re m"st e environment-friendl$ li#e
"sa!e of solar ener!$, waste rec$clin! and rainwater harvestin! etc% permanent to"rist facilities located
inside the core areas sho"ld e phased o"t in a time frame and 1D per cent of the reven"e !enerated from
pil!rim centres located in ti!er reserves m"st e "sed for development of local comm"nities.

e0Ata' %. (ar#ne 4#r) area'
*n e-*tlas of &arine-$mportant +ird *reas, was la"nched $ the Bird:ife )nternational at the on!oin! 11th
.onference of the ;arties 6.<;117 to the .onvention on Biolo!ical 5iversit$ 6.B57.
'he inventor$, coverin! 3DDD I(;%rtant B#r) Area' (IBA') worldwide, was descried as a ma,or contri"tion
to marine conservation and a vital reso"rce for meetin! the .B5 tar!et of protectin! 1DT of marine and
coastal areas $ 2D2D.
)t will also e cr"cial to the process of descriin! E+%%3#+a, %r B#%%3#+a, S#3n#.#+ant (ar#ne Area'
(EBSA') and will have si!nificant inp"t into the sitin! of offshore ener!$ infrastr"ct"re, accordin! to a note
circ"lated at the .<;11.
'he e-*tlas will e availale e+cl"sivel$ online. :i#e Goo!le &ap, it will e d$namicall$ "pdated as new sites
are identified and new data ao"t them ecome availale.
)t will e lin#ed to other Bird:ife data reso"rces.
>eairds are now the most threatened !ro"p of irds. 'he$ present "ni("e conservation prolems, since
man$ species travel tho"sands of #ilometres across international waters and m"ltiple e+cl"sive economic
Eones, and onl$ ret"rnin! to land to reed.
Given the vast distances the$ cover, the lon! periods the$ spend at sea and the m"ltiple threats the$ face
there, identif$in! a networ# of priorit$ sites for their conservation is vital to ens"re their f"t"re s"rvival.


C%n+entrate) '%ar ;%8er (CSP)
* recent report released $ the .o"ncil on -ner!$, -nvironment and 3ater 6.--37, an independent polic$
research instit"tion in collaoration with the U.>. ased ?at"ral Ceso"rces 5efence .o"ncil 6?C5.7, has
shown that concentrated solar power co"ld pla$ an essential role in achievin! a sec"re and diversified
ener!$ f"t"re for )ndia, especiall$ to deal with the iss"es of ener!$ lac#o"ts.
'he report titled .oncentrated >olar ;owerH 2eatin! "p )ndia1s >olar 'hermal &ar#et "nder the ?ational
>olar &ission states that )ndia has ,"mp started its solar ener!$ ind"str$ in ,"st over two $ears, than#s to
;hase-) of the ?ational >olar &ission.
* ma,or contri"tor to this !rowth is solar thermal power, incl"din! seven lar!e-scale concentrated solar
power 6.>;7 pro,ects now "nderwa$ in )ndia.
.oncentrated solar power involves s$stems of mirrors that concentrate a lar!e area of s"nli!ht onto a small
area. 'he concentrated li!ht is converted to heat, with a t"rine and electrical power !eneratorIconvertin!
the heat into electricit$. >ince .>; allows for stora!e of electricit$, lar!e-scale .>; presents several potential
enefits for )ndia1s ener!$ profile. 'hese incl"de s"ppl$in! electricit$ to help )ndia meet its ase-load needs,
providin! s"pplemental electricit$ d"rin! times of pea# "sa!e and ens"rin! !rid stailit$.
Barr#er'
5espite the anticipated acceleration of .>;, however, several arriers e+ist that challen!e the lon!-term
s"stainailit$ of )ndia1s .>; ind"str$. 'hese incl"de the len!th of time re("ired to develop .>; pro,ects, hi!h
initial capital costs and a lac# of confidence in the .>; mar#et as a whole. .--3 and ?C5.1s report provides
recommendations for the )ndian !overnment, private sector and other sta#eholders to ens"re a ro"st .>;
ecos$stem develops to s"pport lon!-term feasiilit$.
Re+%((en)at#%n'
'he report also provides recommendations to stren!then the role of .>; in s"se("ent phases of the
mission.
3ith !reater confidence, investment, and transparenc$, oth sectors have the potential to stren!then
)ndia1s ener!$ profile while creatin! new "siness opport"nities for domestic developers, man"fact"rers
and s"ppliers, and technolo!$ innovators,11 he added.
'he report recommends that the &inistr$ of ?ew and Cenewale -ner!$ co"ld help ramp "p )ndia1s solar
mission $ la$in! o"t a clear roadmap for ;hase-)), witho"t loc#in! in one technolo!$.


PERSONALITIES
!ar%+"e$ @#nean) 8#n N%4e ;r#Ee .%r ;",'#+'
@renchman >er!e 2aroche and *merican 5avid 3ineland have won the 2D12 ?oel ;riEe in ph$sics for
inventin! and developin! methods for oservin! tin$ ("ant"m particles witho"t destro$in! them, for
!ro"nd-rea#in! e+perimental methods that enale meas"rin! and manip"lation of individ"al ("ant"m
s$stems.
'heir !ro"nd-rea#in! methods have enaled this field of research to ta#e the ver$ first steps towards
"ildin! a new t$pe of s"per fast comp"ter ased on ("ant"m ph$sics. 'he research has also led to the
constr"ction of e+tremel$ precise cloc#s that co"ld ecome the f"t"re asis for a new standard of time.

T"e N%4e Pr#Ee #n P",'#%%3, %r Me)#+#ne
'he ?oel ;riEe in ;h$siolo!$ or &edicine 2D12 is awarded to >ir Bohn B. G"rdon of the G"rdon )nstit"te in
.amrid!e and 5r. >hin$a Oamana#a from /$oto Universit$ for their path-rea#in! discoveries.
>ir Bohn laid the fo"ndation in 1862 $ showin! that the n"cle"s of a mat"red intestinal fro! cell inserted
into a den"cleated fro! e!! cell co"ld develop into a normal tadpole,
5r. Oamana#a proved that insertin! fo"r critical !enes into 6differentiated7 ad"lt cells was s"fficient to t"rn
the cloc# ac# and ma#e them ehave li#e pl"ripotent stem cells.
&"ch li#e the emr$onic stem cells, #n)6+e) ;6r#;%tent 'te( +e' (#PSC') are immat"re cells capale of
ecomin! an$ of the over 2DD specialised ad"lt cells. 'he 2DD6 p"lication of his paradi!m-shiftin! wor# on
mo"se s#in cells, repeated in 2DD4 with h"man cells, shoo# the ver$ fo"ndation of developmental iolo!$ $
demonstratin! that cell specialisation is reversile.
'he p"lication of 5r. Oamana#a1s res"lts, helps to sidestep the ethical controvers$ s"rro"ndin! emr$onic
stem cell research.
*voidin! the ethical landmine is onl$ a minor iss"e in the whole scheme of thin!s. 'he real advanta!es will
come from a wide !am"t of applications.
'he most important and immediate application is "sin! patient-derived i;>.s for st"d$in! disease
mechanisms. ;harmace"tical companies have ta#en it to the ne+t level $ "sin! stem cells, either emr$onic
or i;> cells, for screenin! dr"! candidates I for to+icit$ and potential new treatments.

Re+e;t%r' %n +e '6r.a+e' 'en'e en&#r%n(ent0 t"e 2012 N%4e Pr#Ee #n C"e(#'tr,
)n a h"man, tens of tho"sands of illions of cells interact.
&ost of them have developed distinct roles. >ome store fat% others re!ister vis"al impressions, prod"ce
hormones or "ild "p m"scle tiss"e.
)n order for "s to f"nction, it is cr"cial that o"r cells wor# in "nison, that the$ can sense their environment
and #now what is !oin! on aro"nd them. @or this, the$ need sensors.
>ensors on the cell s"rface are called receptors.


Coert B. :ef#owitE and Brian /. /oil#a are awarded the 2D12 ?oel ;riEe in .hemistr$ for havin! mapped
how a famil$ of receptors called G-proteinNco"pled receptors 6G;.Cs7 wor#. )n this famil$, we find receptors
for adrenalin 6also #nown as epinephrine7, dopamine, serotonin, li!ht, flavo"r and odo"r.
&ost ph$siolo!ical processes depend on G;.Cs. *ro"nd half of all medications act thro"!h these receptors,
amon! them eta loc#ers, antihistamines and vario"s #inds of ps$chiatric medications. /nowled!e ao"t
G;.Cs is th"s of the !reatest enefit to man#ind.

L#terat6re N%4e .%r C"#ne'e
&o Oan, a novelist who ro"!ht to life the t"r"lence of the 2Dth cent"r$ .hina in vivid and often !raphic
wor#s set a!ainst the t"m"lt of the Bapanese invasion and a str"!!lin! co"ntr$side, ecame the first writer
in .hina to e awarded the ?oel ;riEe in :iterat"re, which is hailed in .hina as a lon!-awaited landmar#
heraldin! the arrival of the co"ntr$Js literat"re on the world sta!e
Born G"an &o$e, &r. &o adopted the pen name of &o Oan I meanin! don1t spea# in .hinese.

S6n# Fan3%;a)",a,
?oted littSrate"r and >ahit$a*#ademi president >"nil Gan!opadh$a$ passed awa$ recentl$.

RaGat F6;ta
@allen 3all >treet t$coon Ca,at G"pta has een sentenced to two $ears in prison and ordered to pa$ a V5-
million fine $ a U> ,"d!e for )ndian-*merican1s insider tradin!.
In'#)er tra)#n3
)nsider tradin! is the tradin! of a corporationJs stoc# or other sec"rities 6s"ch as onds or stoc# options7 $
individ"als with access to non-p"lic information ao"t the compan$. )n most co"ntries, tradin! $
corporate insiders s"ch as officers, #e$ emplo$ees, directors, and lar!e shareholders ma$ e le!al, if this
tradin! is done in a wa$ that does not ta#e advanta!e of non-p"lic information.
2owever, the term is fre("entl$ "sed to refer to a practice in which an insider or a related part$ trades
ased on material non-p"lic information otained d"rin! the performance of the insiderJs d"ties at the
corporation, or otherwise in reach of a fid"ciar$ or other relationship of tr"st and confidence or where the
non-p"lic information was misappropriated from the compan$.

S"r# Prana, Sa"a,
>hri ;rana$ >aha$, );> presentl$ wor#in! as 5G, >>B and holdin! additional char!e of 5irector General,
.entral Ceserve ;olice @orce 6.C;@7.


MISCELLANEOUS
S"#;%t'a&02012
>2):;<'>*L-2D12 at 5illi 2aat, is an ann"al event of the &inistr$ of >ocial B"stice A -mpowerment. )t will
e ina"!"rated $ the >ecretar$, &inistr$ of >ocial B"stice A -mpowerment on 1st ?ovemer, 2D12.
'his is the si+th $ear of >hilpotsav. 'he >hilpotsav was started d"rin! the $ear 2DD4-D9 $ the &inistr$ of
>ocial B"stice A -mpowerment $ wa$ of collaoratin! with all the *pe+ .orporations and ?ational
)nstit"tes "nder the &inistr$ of >ocial B"stice A -mpowerment, with an o,ective to provide a platform to
the eneficiaries assisted "nder the developmental schemes of vario"s @inance A 5evelopment
.orporations and ?ational )nstit"tes to showcase their art A craft.
'he event also provides opport"nit$ for p"licit$ of &inistr$1s schemes with live e+amples of s"ccess and
tri"mph over the povert$ and "nemplo$ment amon! the tar!et !ro"p with assistance from the &inistr$1s
schemes.
5"rin! last >hilpotsav, sale of appro+. Cs.1.2D .rore was reported $ o"r participants and a total footfall
over 5DDDD was reported $ the 5illi 2aat a"thorities. :i#e, this $ear too we e+pect to have a lar!e n"mer
of visitors, "$ers and e+porters to place their orders and "$ prod"cts from this >hilpotsav d"rin! the
festival season.
B"$er >eller &eet will also e held wherein "$ers from -+port 2o"ses and Government 5epartments
dealin! in e+port oriented activities have een invited. * &edical 2ealth .hec#-"p $ >pecialist 5octors has
also een or!aniEed for the participants d"rin! the e+hiition.

Ar%3,a Fa#r 2012
*C<GO* is an e+hiition showcasin! the stren!th, efficac$ and affordailit$ of the *OU>2 s$stems of
medicine which incl"de *$"rveda, Oo!a A ?at"ropath$, Unani, >iddha, >owa-Ci!pa and 2omeopath$. 'he
fair showcases the est and latest developments in the field of *OU>2. 'he last *ro!$a fair at 2$deraad
was held in ?ovemer 2DD5.
*ddressin! the meetin! of *C<GO* fair at 2$deraad, >hri Gh"lam ?ai *Ead, Union &inister of 2ealth and
@amil$ 3elfare said the fair started in 2DD1. 'he fair has !rown into a co"ntr$-wide phenomenon with more
than 1D fairs or!aniEed thro"!ho"t the $ear now.
'he 5epartment of *OU>2 or!aniEes and s"pports these fairs to enco"ra!e the dissemination of information
on the enefits and achievements of the *OU>2 s$stems of medicine and for sharin! of e+periences and
est practices etween the ind"str$, academia and research instit"tions.
'he active participation of *OU>2 dr"! ind"stries, medicinal plant traders, research instit"tions, hospitals,
p"lishers and other sta#eholders in the *C<GO* fairs ens"res a wide spectr"m of activities th"s ma#in! it
more informative and interestin! for the !eneral p"lic.

1416d364 Part I Current Affairs 2012 October Vision Ias

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