Vol 109 3rd January 2013 To 9th January 2016

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Page 1

NATIONAL EVENTS
Terrorist attack in Pathankot
A group of four terrorists stormed the Pathankot Air Force base early morning, killing six services
personnel and injuring 18 after a fierce gun battle through the day, before being shot dead.
The attack raised the spectre of cross-border terror yet again challenging peace efforts between India
and Pakistan.
One Garud commando of the Air Force and two Defence Security Corps personnel were among those
dead.
The attack was the culmination of several dramatic hours that began on December 30-31 night, when
the terrorists are suspected to have sneaked into India from Pakistan.
Sometime around early Friday morning they intercepted a Superintendent of Police, Salwinder Singh,
and two other men near Dinanagar.
The terrorists thrashed them, dumped the SP on the road a few kilometres away and slashed another
person.
In the attack on the Pathankot Air Force station, one of Indias key airbases on the Western border, the
air assets stationed there was miraculously saved as security forces quickly sealed of the area.
The MiG-21 BiS fighter jets and the Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters were in the technical area
which was swiftly sealed of. The attack is another in a string of hits on security installations.
However, it is still surprising that even with specialist puts a forces such as the National Security
Guards (NSG) and the Garuds (Air Force Special Forces), along with others, it took close to 13 hours
to neutralise all the terrorists.
The IAF said intelligence in had been available of likely attempt by terrorist to infiltrate into the
military installation in the Pathankot area Due to the effective preparation and coordinated efforts by
all the security agencies.
North Indian cities have fouler air than South Indian cities
All six north Indian cities for which data was available had worse air quality than Beijing in 2015.
However the souths comparatively better air quality levels could hide some lethal truths about toxic
combustion sources.
Launched in April 2015, Indias National Air Quality Index portal produces an Air Quality Index
(AQI) value for around 15 cities based on the most prominent pollutant at that time for that city.
Pollution monitoring stations measure the concentration of six different pollutants PM2.5 (particulate
matter of diameter less than 2.5 micrometres), PM10, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide and ozone.
For the AQI to be calculated, a station needs to have values for three or more pollutants, one of which
needs to be particulate matter.
The AQI is then classified along one of six categories good, satisfactory, moderate, poor, very poor
or severe.
For passage of GST bill Govt. may call special session
The National Democratic Alliance government is prepared to convene a special session of Parliament
to get the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill approved if the Congress is willing to back the Bill.

Page 2

The government is hopeful of the passage of the Goods and Services Tax Bill in the Budget session of
Parliament, when the numbers in the Rajya Sabha will swing in its favour.
The GST is expected to boost economic growth by one to two per cent as it will replace Indias complex
indirect tax regime of multiple state and central levies that makes inter-State trade and movement of
goods tedious.
The government had announced a target date of April 2016 for the rollout of the GST regime, but is
now eyeing a start in the middle of financial year 2016-17.
After the Constitution Amendment Bill is passed in Parliament, there are three more legislation
Central GST (CGST), State GST (SGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) that need to be passed for the
GST regime to come into force.
IRCTC tie up with Self help groups to provide food
Passengers travelling in trains will now have the option of enjoying food prepared by some womens
self-help groups (SHGs) as the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is planning
to tie up with them to enhance its e-catering portfolio.
The empanelled SHGs will be displayed on e- catering websites with their menu and prices.
Passengers may choose meal or food items offered by the SHGs and place the order. This will help in
sustainable development of SHGs.
Second terrorist attack in two days, this time in Indian consulate
Even as the operation against terrorists at the Pathankot airbase continued on Sunday, the Indian
consulate in Mazar-e- Sharif in Northern Afghanistan came under attack from four armed terrorists.
The commandos of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, which guards the consulate building,
were the first to engage with the terrorists for almost an hour and were able to thwart the attack.
Firing was directed at the consulate from an adjacent building and there were at least four armed men.
Biggest military helicopter manufacturing complex inaugurated in

Tumakuru, Karnataka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the 610- acre military helicopter manufacturing complex that
would come up here would be big leap towards achieving self-reliance in the defence sector.
Mr.. Modi said it was expected to produce 600 helicopters over the next 15 years for the armed forces.
The small village would have a role in keeping the nation secure. Defence public enterprise HAL plans
to manufacture its Light Utility Helicopter for reconnaissance and surveillance; the Light Combat
Helicopter for battlefield offence; and subsequently add a range of heavier and advanced rotary
products.
The Rs. 5,000-crore copter complex easily the biggest investment in this backward region would
boost the government's Make in India agenda. It would also provide 4,000 jobs.
North east jolted by earthquake in Manipur
Nine persons were killed and over 120 seriously injured as an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter
scale hit Manipur early on Monday, damaging several buildings, including government offices, schools
and hospitals.
The epicentre of the quake which struck at 4.30 a.m., was at KabuiKjulen, 10 km from Noney subdivision of Manipurs Tamenglong district.

Page 3

People were jolted by the quake across the northeastern and eastern States including Assam, Tripura,
West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
While seven persons, including a teenaged girl, were killed in Manipur, one person each died in Bihar
and West Bengal.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in Manipur and rapid
action squads of the State Health Department were despatched to the affected areas. Another NDRF
team was sent to Assam.
Terrorists in Pathankot attack received training in Pakistan
After initially refraining from blaming the country, government said that the terrorists behind the
Pathankot airbase attack appeared to have received training from a professional armed force in
Pakistan.
The fidayeen (suicide) squad was more lethal and better trained than the 26/11 Mumbai attackers.
They had enough arms and ammunition, including under barrel grenade launchers, for a sustained
operation of more than 60 hours against a professional army.
Establishing the identity of the terrorists would be a challenge because Pakistan would certainly not
own them up. Security forces inside the air base have found bodies of five terrorists.
A sixth one was blown to pieces when the building he had taken refuge in was brought down with
explosives on Monday. DNA samples would be preserved.
After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Pakistan had refused to accept the bodies of nine Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) terrorists killed by the security forces. The tenth terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, the only one to have
been captured alive, was hanged in a Pune prison in 2013 and his body was buried on the premises.
The UJC, an alliance of more than a dozen pro-Pakistan militant groups based in Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir, had claimed responsibility for the air base attack.
The attack is a message by Mujahideen [militants] that no sensitive installation of India is out of our
reach, UJC spokesman Syed Sadaqat Hussain said in a statement.
Security agencies believe there were six terrorists and they were divided into two groups one of 4
and the otherwith 2 members.
It is suspected that two terrorists might have entered the Pathankot air base before the Superintendent
of Punjab Police Salwinder Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal were
abducted by the other four, and much before an alert was sounded about their presence in the area.
India will come up with its own model for global warming
India will have its own climate change models to project the impact of global warming over the decades
and these will form part of the forthcoming Sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports
that is expected to be available in 2020.
The IPCC reports there have been five so far since 1988 are coordinated by the United Nations
and bring together the scientific consensus on the causes and impact of climate change.
They also assess the extent to which the globe is expected to warm up over the medium and long term.
The IPCCs fifth report in 2014, was critical in shaping the resolution at the recently concluded climate
talks in Paris that all countries developed and developing had to, over time, do their bit to contain
their greenhouse gas emissions to keep ensure that mean global temperatures did not rise beyond 1.5
to 2 degree of temperature in the 19th century.
As per the Paris Agreement, which will come into effect in 2020, India and several other countries will
have report their emissions as well as detailed plans to curb them.
The climate models, being developed by the Earth Sciences Ministry, will be prepared by the Punebased Centre for Climate Change Research.

Page 4

These are so-called dynamic models that rely on super-computers to compute the weather on a given
day and simulate how it would evolve over days, months and even years.
These models, developed in the United States, have over few years been customised to Indian
conditions.
FM says more public expenditure on infrastructure projects this year
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Committed himself to increasing allocations for infrastructure projects
such as rural roads, highways and the railways during 2016-17.
He also said that public investments must lead the way during a global slowdown and India had an
opportunity to spend more on infrastructure because of low oil, commodities and mineral prices.
He mentioned that there would be no easy day in a world economy passing through a phase of
volatility.
Worldwide, the experience has been that when the going is tough, state institutions have to take the
lead. When the going is good, the private sector has an important role to play.
FM said funding infrastructure projects remained a big challenge, and the government was hopeful of
partnering sovereign wealth funds and pension funds that evinced interest in the National Investment
and Infrastructure Fund.
Foreign direct investment has been allowed and announced by GE and Alstom in two large
manufacturing projects in Bihar. The Ministry will soon come out with bids for redeveloping 400
stations.
Last rites were given to security personnel died in Pathankot attack
Some heldtheir tears, while others were inconsolable as coins of security personnel killed in the
Pathankot terror strike reached home for the last rites, which were performed with full military
honours.
Amid the pall of gloom that descended on the remote village of Elambulassery, near Mannarkkad, in
Palakkad, hundreds bade a tearful adieu to Lt. Col. E.K. Niranjan.
A long way from there, at Garnala, near Ambala, in Haryana, slogans of Bharat Mataki Jai rent the air
as the body of Garud commando Gursewak Singh, draped in the Tricolour, reached the village.
In Gurdaspur, Punjab, scores of mourners gathered at the house of Subedar Fateh Singh, 51, a shooter
who had won Commonwealth medals. Singhs daughter Madhu joined the soldiers in carrying the
body for cremation.
38th Chief Justice of India passes away
Sarosh Homi Kapadia, the 38th Chief Justice of India, bid farewell to the world in Mumbai with his
integrity, which he considered his only asset, intact. He was 68.
Shortly after his appointment as the first Parsi Chief Justice of India on May 12, 2010, Justice Kapadia
replied to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyers congratulatory message.
In this, he spoke of how he had started as a Class IV employee and described integrity as his only asset.
A strict disciplinarian with interests ranging from Theoretical Physics to Buddhist Philosophy, Justice
Kapadia was best known for his statistical acumen.

Page 5

North Korea detonated its first hydrogen bomb
North Korea declared that it had detonated its first hydrogen bomb.
The assertion, if true, would dramatically escalate the nuclear challenge from one of the worlds most
isolated states.
The Norths announcement came about an hour after detection devices around the world had picked
up a 5.1 seismic event along the countrys northeast coast.
It may be weeks or longerbefore detectors sent aloft by the U.S. and other powers can determine what
kind of test was conducted.
In a strongly worded statement, Indias Ministry of External Affairs said: It is a matter of deep concern
that DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] has again acted in violation of its international
commitments in thisregard. We call upon DPRK to refrain from such actions which adversely impact
on peace and stability in the region. Our concerns about proliferation links between North East Asia
and our neighbourhood are well-known.
Witness compensation scheme in U.P.from republic day
The Prosecution Directorate of Uttar Pradesh will announce a witness compensation scheme on
January 26 for those who may have suffered attacks during a trial.
The witnesses injured during the trial will be compensated financially or other means suitable to them.
45 witnesses from across the State, on whose statements many accused were awarded death penalty,
will be felicitated.
The victims should be called at the committee once in a month and his problem heard and resolved.
The police station head of that particular area and prosecution officer should head the committee
meetings.
Union cabinet approved closure of iconic HMT
The Union Cabinet approved the closure of the iconic HMT Watches and offered a voluntary
retirement scheme (VRS) to its employees as per the 2007 pay scales.
Two other unviable units of the public sector company, HMT Chinar Watches and HMT Bearings, are
also to be shut down.
The movable and immovable assets of these companies will be disposed of as per the government
policy
After the decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Cabinet also gave its nod to the closure formalities of five public sector units (PSUs) under the
Heavy Industries Ministry.
These include units of the Tungabhadra Steel and Hindustan Cables for shutting down which the
government had earlier given an in-principle approval.
More than 4000 crore worth black money recovered under new law
The Union government has received 644 declarations for black money worth Rs. 4,164 crore under
one-time, come-clean compliance window provided to evaders under the Black Money (Undisclosed
Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT).

Page 6

In his Independence Day address in August 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said Rs. 6,500
crore had been disclosed under the window.
The final CBDT figure falls short of the figure Mr. Modihad cited. The government has also earned
Rs 2,428.4 crore by way tax and penalty on the declared sums.
The last date for making declarations under the three- month window was September 30, 2015. The
declarants were liable to pay tax at the rate of 30 per cent.
The stage is now set for the provisions of the new law to be invoked against offenders who failed to
make use of the compliance window.
India identified handlers of Pathankot attack in Pakistan
India has identified the four handlers of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM), who
were in touch with the six terrorists.
India has shared the telephone numbers and the identity of the handlers with Pakistan and has asked it
to act on these individuals.
Those identified by the Indian agencies are JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul
Rauf Asghar, Ashfaq Ahmed and Kashim Jaan.
While Azhar oversaw the operations, his brother Asghar and two others were in touch with the
terrorists.
India has also given the details of two types of Pakistan- made drugs Neuro Bedoxine and Dicloran
found on the bodies as evidence.
The government also decided to constitute a high-level committee to study the gaps in security along
the Pakistan border, especially on the Punjab frontier.
It is through a riverine stretch in the Bamiyal sector of Gurdaspur district that the terrorists involved
in the Pathankot attack as well as the July 27 attack on the Dinanagar police station are believed to
have sneaked into Indian territory.
Experts of the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee have been tasked with finding solutions to
detect intrusions from a riverine route.
India awaits prompt and decisive action from Pakistan against the perpetrators of the Pathankot
attack, the government said, for the first time linking the action to Foreign Secretary talks between the
two countries scheduled for January 15.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away of multiple organ failure,
after a prolonged illness, and was buried with state honours in his home town of Bijbehara.
In the evening, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders met Governor N.N. Vohra to assure him about
the continuation of the government under the leadership of Mr. Sayeeds daughter Mehbooba Mufti.
The BJP, the ally of the PDP, said that while no discussion on the succession had taken place, there
was in principle no objection to Ms. Mehboobas name.
Sell off in global markets after China devalue its currency
Chinas surprising move to peg the yuan at its lowest value against the U.S. dollar since 2011, triggered
a selloff in global markets, bringing alive the fears of competitive devaluation among emerging
economies.
Indian stock indices fell sharply and the rupee hit a three-week intraday low of 66.96 a dollar as foreign
funds continued their exodus from emerging markets.

Page 7

The 30- share Sensex flirted with a 19- month nadir during the day, before closing 554.50 points lower
at 24,851.83.
The government sought to reassure the markets that the depreciation of the yuan is par for the course
as it becomes increasingly market-linked following its induction as a reserve currency by the IMF.
Trading in the Chinese equity market was suspended within minutes as the benchmark index breached
the 7 per cent circuit limits.
This led to all the leading Asian indices losing ground.
Amitabh Kant will become new CEO of NITI Aayog
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed
Amitabh Kant as the chief executive oicer of NITI Aayog.
The appointment will take effect after Mr.Kant retires from service in March.
A 1980 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer, Mr.Kant is currently serving as the Secretary in the Department
of Industrial policy and Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Mr.Kant, who was earlier the CEO of Indias largest industrial infrastructure project - the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation has been the Industry Secretary since March
2014.
Amitabh Bachchan is likely to be new face of Incredible India campaign
Actor Amitabh Bachchan, brand ambassador of Gujarat tourism, is the governments first choice as
the new face of its Incredible India campaign after actor Aamir Khan ceased to be its mascot.
Tourism Ministry believes that the veteran actor as a non-controversial figure.
Mr. Khan, whose comments on perceived intolerance in the country had invited flak from the BJP,
ceased to be the mascot for the campaign.
It was the private agency which hired him. Since the contract with the agency is no more, the
arrangement with the actor no longer exists.
CFTRI is teaming up with hospitals to conduct human clinical trials
In what may signal a new approach to verification of the health benefits of food, the Mysuru- based
Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) is teaming up with hospitals to conduct
human clinical trials on an anti-obesity cooking oil it has developed.
Usually, only new drugs developed internationally but set to be sold in India are subject to such trials.
The objective is to test if the oil has side- effects and the extent to which it can help contain obesity.
The four organisations involved in the trial, which is set to begin later this year, are JSS Medical
College, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical
Sciences and Manipal University.
The oil has been chemically altered; less of it is stored as fat and more burned of to provide energy,
compared to conventional cooking oils.
Vegetable oils are usually rich in triglycerides, a class of fats that, over the years, has been associated
with heart disease and higher chances of stroke.
The digestive system breaks them down for energy but it reappears again and is stored in the body as
fat.
The oil developed by the institute replaces triglycerides with diglycerides a chemical cousin that
are believed to provide as much energy but is not stored as fat.

Page 8

SC asked central govt and banks to provide reservation in promotion to

SC/ST
The Supreme Court asked the Centre and public sector banking authorities to consider providing
reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes employees in promotion to officers ranks at all
levels.
The grievance of the employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category is
that there is negligible representation of employees belonging to their community in the officers
category at all levels.
Keeping in view the statistical figures which have been placed on record showing their representation
in officer ranks, it would be open to the authorities, namely, the state and the banks to consider whether
their demand is justified, and it is feasible to provide reservation to the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes category in promotion in the officers category and if so, upto which scale/level
The banks contended that there was no rule for reservation in promotion in Class-A (Class-I) to the
post having a basic salary of more than Rs.5,700 per month.
They argued that a 1997 office memorandum merely provided for concessions for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes category staff in promotion.
Air quality data does not show any marked change in the Delhi
Delhi government's claim that pollution in the Capital has reduced over the past week is at odds with
data of the daily average levels as well as peak values of particulate matter (PM).
As per a report submitted by the government to the High Court, the peak levels of PM showed a
decrease from January 1, when the odd-even experiment began.
The report, compiled by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), says that peak pollution
recorded during the odd- even experiment has been the lowest compared to those in earlier smog
episodes this winter.
A smog episode is when pollution levels are severe as per the National Air Quality Index (NAQI)
for several consecutive days.
However, data obtained from the NAQI portal tells a different story. AQI values for PM2.5 were
obtained across eight monitoring stations in Delhi for which adequate data was available.
Analysing this data, it was found that there are no declining trends in air pollution. The air quality has
been steadily deteriorating from December 25, 2015, with occasional dips, which are no better than
pollution in the week before.
As per the CSE analysis, PM2.5 levels decreased on January 1,4 and 5 when wind speed also fell. As
opposed to the case on December 30 and 31, when the level of PM2.5 shot up as wind speed decreased.
Unprecedented response to TRAIs consultation paper on differential pricing
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has received an unprecedented 2.4 million responses on
its consultation paper about differential pricing for data services by telecom operators that triggered
a shrill debate over Facebooks Free Basics platform that proposes to offer free access to a bouquet of
websites and applications to its users.
Facebooks effort to drum up support for Free Basics, accompanied by a high- pitched advertising
campaign, has yielded 18.94 lakh responses from its users to the regulator, but it is not clear if they
will be considered for consultation.
While another 5.44 lakh comments emanated from facebookmail.com accounts, just one of them
answered the questions raised by TRAI and a few conveyed that they did not support Free Basics.

Page 9

Net neutrality activists, fervently arguing against services like Free Basics, also sent 4.84 lakh
comments through fora such as Save The Internet opposing differential pricing for data services.
Though those responses are also in template form, most have addressed the questions asked by TRAI.
Another 2,000 responses have been received from individuals, half of which are identical in nature.

Page 10
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INTERNATIONAL
Saudi Arabia killed 47 people for anti-government protest
Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on Saturday, including a prominent Shia cleric behind antigovernment protests and Sunnis convicted of involvement in deadly al-Qaeda attacks.
The 56-year-old cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, was a driving force of the protests that broke out in 2011 in the
Sunni-ruled kingdoms east, where the Shia minority complains of marginalisation.
But the list does not include Nimrs nephew, Ali al-Nimr, whose arrest at the age of 17 and alleged
torture during detention sparked condemnation from human rights groups and the U.S.
i executions are usually carried out by beheading with a sword. Executions have soared in the country
since King Salman acceded the throne in January 2015, after the death of king Abdullah.
Last year, Saudi Arabia executed 153 people convicted of various crimes, including drug- trafficking,
after 87 were put to death in 2014.
No Special court for Human rights violation during civil war in Srilanka
The Sri Lankan government would not act in haste on the issue of setting up a special court on
allegations of violations of human rights in the last stages of the civil war, according to President
Maithripala Sirisena.
As for the move to draft a new Constitution, the President pointed out that he would make a statement
in Parliament on January 9, initiating the process.
However, he clarified that only after a comprehensive, organised and nationwide debate among
different sections such as constitutional experts and civil society organisations, would a decision be
taken whether a fresh Constitution was needed or amendments to the existing Constitution were
sufficient.
On repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a long-standing demand of human rights
activists, he said there was a commonly held view that the Act had to be repealed.
Crisis between Shia and Sunni deepened in west Asia
Irans Foreign Ministry accused Saudi Arabia of stoking regional tension after the kingdom broke of
diplomatic relations and said Iranian embassy staff must leave.
By severing diplomatic relations, Saudi Arabia is continuing the policy of increasing tension and
clashes in the region.
Saudi Arabia announced its measures after its embassy in Tehran was firebombed and its interior
destroyed by a mob who attacked the building in protest at the kingdoms execution of a Shia cleric.
Difference between Shia and Sunni
A schism emerged after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. He died without appointing a
successor to lead the Muslim community, and disputes arose over who should shepherd the new and
rapidly growing faith.
Some believed that a new leader should be chosen by consensus; others thought that only the prophets
descendants should become caliph.

Page 11

The title passed to a trusted aide, Abu Bakr, though some thought it should have gone to Ali, the
Prophets cousin and son-in-law. Ali eventually did become caliph after Abu Bakrs two successors
were assassinated.
After Ali also was assassinated, with a poison-laced sword at the mosque in Kufa, in what is now Iraq,
his sons Hasan and then Hussein claimed the title. But Hussein and many of his relatives were
massacred in Karbala, Iraq, in 680.
His martyrdom became a central tenet to those who believed that Ali should have succeeded the
Prophet. (It is mourned every year during the month of Muharram). The followers became known as
Shias, a contraction of the phrase Shiat Ali, or followers of Ali.
The Sunnis, however, regard the first three caliphs before Ali as rightly guided and themselves as the
true adherents to the Sunnah, or the Prophets tradition. Sunni rulers embarked on sweeping conquests
that extended the caliphate into North Africa and Europe.
The last caliphate ended with the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War-I.
The Sunni and Shia sects encompass a wide spectrum of doctrine, opinion and schools of thought.
The branches are in agreement on many aspects ofIslam, but there are considerable disagreements
within each. Both branches include worshippers who run the gamut from secular to fundamentalist.
Shias consider Ali and the leaders who came after him as Imams. Most believe in a line of 12 Imams,
the last of whom, a boy, is believed to have vanished in the ninth century in Iraq after his father was
murdered.
Shias known as Twelvers anticipate his return as the Mahdi, or Messiah. Sunnis emphasise Gods
power in the material world, sometimes including the public and political realm, while Shias value
martyrdom and sacrifice.
U.S. Walking a tight rope in West Asia
As the spiralling tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran threaten to unbalance U.S.s tightrope walk
in the strife-torn West Asian region, Washington has launched a massive diplomatic outreach to both
countries, but would stop short of trying to mediate.
We want to see these kinds of tensions solved bilaterally, said John Kirby, State Department
spokesperson.
Secretary of State John Kerry and several other officials are in touch with Iranian and Saudi
functionaries to defuse the situation, but Washington would avoid too close an involvement as it could
complicate the matter.
Saudi Arabias Sunni monarchy and Irans Shia theocracy are bitter adversaries in the region, but are
also part of a multilateral process led by the U.S and Russia to stabilise Syria.
The Saudi action that precipitated a crisis in the region happened despite the U.S repeatedly cautioning
them against the clerics execution.
The current flare-up has its origin in the Saudi monarchys deep resentment against the U.S-led nuclear
deal with Iran that has begun to come into effect with Iran shipping its specified nuclear material to
Russia last week.
Saudis accuse the U.S. of giving legitimacy to Iran before roping them into the Syrian process.
The Saudi reservations were mis- placed as Iran continues to be in the U.S. list of state sponsors of
terrorism.
Islamic State (IS) building a research centre
Islamic State (IS) has built a research centre devoted to launching attacks in the West, using driverless
cars and rehabilitated anti-aircraft missiles, new footage from inside the terror group reveals.

Page 12

Among the new revelations, which IS did not intend, are efforts to make defunct surface-to-air missiles
operational again by replacing thermal batteries a feat that has so far been beyond the capabilities
of other terror groups.
The footage does not establish that such a goal has been achieved, but it does show the technological
ambitions of a group that has carved out its influence through more familiar forms of terror, such as
car bombs and suicide belts.
Among the eight hours of video, which was seized by the Free Syrian Army and passed on to Sky
News, is a segment showing IS members trying to manoeuvre a driverless car.
They are also shown busily strapping tape and padding to a mannequin, in the hope it will give of the
same heat signature as a human when it passes by imaging scanners, which are often used near
sensitive buildings.
U.S. and China come close over North Korea
The U.S. said it considered the latest nuclear explosion carried out by North Korea a matter of national
security, and declared that it would stand steadfast in its alliance commitment to South Korea.
North Korea has repeatedly threatened the U.S. and has described the latest nuclear test a response
to U.S. aggression.
Mr. Kim, unlike his late father, is not particularly sensitive to Chinese concerns. However, though its
influence over the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is diminishing, China remains a crucial player
which can calm the situation.
The U.S. is also exploring new sanctions and considering strengthening the existing sanctions against.
The U.S. also said it was open to talking to North Korea in the Six Party format.
The talks, started in 2003 but aborted in 2009, involved China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea,
Russia, and the U.S. Washington wants the talks to restart but with a predetermined objective of
dismantling the nuclear apparatus of North Korea and also hopes China will take the initiative.
North Korea has been unwilling to accept that. U.S. has ruled out any review of the U.S. position on
this.
Srilanka will start consultation for domestic mechanism
The Sri Lankan government will next week begin consultations on the design of domestic mechanism
that will look into the allegations of human rights violations.
Foreign minister said a special session of Parliament on Saturday would form a constitutional council,
a committee consisting of the entire House, that would begin the serious business of consulting
people and drafting a new Constitution for Sri Lanka which will reflect the aspirations of all Lankans.
United Nations Development Programmes Director for Sri Lanka, Joern Soerensen, and Norwegian
Ambassador signed an agreement for the benefit of the recently-resettled communities in jaffna in
Northern Province.
The Norwegian government would support the UNDP in improving access to justice and providing
livelihood opportunities of the communities.
The Sri Lankan Cabinet gave its approval for returning 984 acres of private land in Jaffna to its original
owners. This is expected to benefit about 2,000 displaced families.
Tamil issue still remains a key to politics in SriLanka
Both Mr. Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have, on a number of occasions in the
recent months, spoken of the need for finding a meaningful answer to the question.

Page 13

Minorities, both Tamils and Muslims, are keen that the government makes substantial progress during
the course of 2016.
Pointing out that enough work has been done on the Tamil question in the last 25 years, R. Sampanthan,
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief and Leader of Opposition in Parliament, says I do not want the
problem to be dragged end- lessly. I expect SIRISENAS there must be FIRST YEAR a fair and
reasonable Focus on resolution by September.
In fact, devolution is linked to the larger issue concerning Tamils. Despite the stipulation in the 13th
Amendment, the non-transfer of powers on land and police to the Provinces has been bothering Tamil
groups and parties.
Last month, in a talk, Mr Wickremesinghe too identified devolution as the first issue to be tackled as
part of the Constitution-making process.
While indicating his preference to retain the unitary character of the existing Constitution, he said the
impending task was to identify the additional powers to be devolved to the Provincial Councils.
As part of the implementation of a resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council in October
last year on reconciliation and accountability, the government would have to put in place mechanisms
to, as Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera put it the other day, deal with the past.
Judicial and administrative mechanisms are being thought of and the government has planned of
initiate discussions shortly.
Emotional Obama pitches for gun regulation
The epidemic of gun violence in our country is a crisis. Gun deaths and injuries constitute one of the
greatest threats to public health and to the safety of the American people.
Every year, more than 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns. Suicides, Domestic
violence, Gang shootouts, Accidents.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost brothers and sisters, or buried their own children.
Were the only advanced nation on earth that sees this kind of mass violence with this frequency.
A national crisis like this demands a national response. Reducing gun violence will be hard.
Its clear that common-sense gun reform wont happen during this Congress. It wont happen during
my presidency.
Still, there are steps we can take now to save lives. And all of us at every level of government, in
the private sector and as citizens have to do our part. We all have a responsibility.
New steps include making sure that anybody engaged in the business of selling fire- arms conducts
background checks, expanding access to mental health treatment and improving gun safety technology.
These actions wont prevent every act of violence, or save every life but if even one life is spared,
they will be well worth the effort.

Page 14

INDIA AND THE WORLD

Sahyog-Kaijin will start from chennai coast
The latest edition of Sahyog-Kaijin, the Indo-Japan Coast Guard Joint Exercise, will begin in the Bay
of Bengal of the Chennai coast on January 12.
The five-day event would witness seminars and exercises involving strategic assets of both the
countries, besides meeting of high-level officials in Delhi and Chennai, sources said.
While one ship would represent the Japanese side, five to six ships are expected to participate from the
Indian Coast Guard.
The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard would also meet his Indian counterpart in Delhi and later
arrive in Chennai.
This would be the second time in the last three months that a ship from Japanese military is
participating in an exercise with India in the Bay of Bengal.
During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India last month, he said that Japan would
be a permanent partner in the Malabar naval exercise along with India and U.S. navies.
Japan is also likely to send its maritime assets to participate in the International Fleet Review to be
conducted at Visakhapatnam next month.
Sahyog-Kaijin is held once in two years and the venue would shift between India and Japan on alternate
occasions. Indias ICGS Samudra Paheredar participated in the 2014 edition held at Yokohama in
Japan.
India seeks to lead developing nations at WTO
Starting with a proposed visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Africa in February, India plans to
play a leadership role at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations to boost the trade prospects
of the developing and poor nations.
To forge strong alliances on the development agenda of the WTOs ongoing Doha Round of talks,
the government will, in the coming months, also hold a series of strategy workshops of stakeholders,
inter-ministerial and Centre- state discussions in addition to summits with African countries and other
developing country groups.
The move comes in the backdrop of widespread criticism by the Opposition and civil society groups
that the NDA government had failed to protect the interests of India and the developing world at the
Ministerial Conference (WTOs highest decision making body) held in Nairobi last month for
negotiations on an agreement to lower global trade barriers.
The Nairobi Ministerial Declaration reaffirmed the pre-eminence of the WTO as the global forum for
trade rules setting and governance, but noted that there was a lack of consensus on the part of the
WTOs 162-member countries on the way to take forward the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).
The Ministerial Declaration only said: We recognise that many members reairm the DDA, and the
Declarations and Decisions adopted at Doha and at the Ministerial Conferences held since then, and
reaffirm their full commitment to conclude the DDA on that basis.
This includes ensuring that the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), aiming to ease customs rules and
expedite trade flows, does not come into effect till all the Doha Round issues are sorted out.
The TFA, which is being pushed mostly by rich countries, will come into effect only when two-thirds
of the WTOs members or 108 of the 162 member countries, ratify it. As of now, 63 countries have
done so. India is yet to ratify the TFA.

Page 15

Another attack in Indian consulate this time in Jalalabad
A small bomb exploded near the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, after a series
of attacks on Indian installations in the region.
The blast, which happened the morning after a gun and bomb siege near the Indian consulate in a
northern Afghan city, was some 200 metres from the consulate in Jalalabad.
No one had been injured in the explosion. The explosion also follows a bloody weekend assault on an
air base in India near the Pakistan border.
Bus service between India and Nepal
A friendship bus service between India and Nepal via Champawat in Uttarakhand resumed after a gap
of 27 years, much to the delight of people on either side of the border who have family and trade ties
with each other.
These air-conditioned buses with free Wi-Fi facility, painted with Indian and Nepalese flags, will enter
the Nepalese district of Kanchanpur at 6 a.m. everyday and start for Delhi, and return from there at 6
p.m.
No special documents are required to travel in these buses.
The service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of the Indo-Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty.

Page 16

ECONOMY
Annual solar power capacity to quadruple next fiscal year
India may increase its solar energy capacity four-fold during the next fiscal year ending March 2017.
Today our solar capacity is about 4,500 MW and the capacity addition target for this year is about
2,000 MW.
During 2016-17, govt. Is hoping to add 12,000 MW in solar sector alone. Thus, including other
renewable sources, there will be a total capacity addition of about 15,000 MW during next fiscal.
The government is focusing on speed, skill and scale rather than subsidies to drive reforms and
progress in the energy sector.
The water heaters that ran on solar energy had subsidy components some years ago.
The government has electrified 20 per cent of the villages that were without power at the start of this
financial year.
As of January two,2016 the DDUGJY had electrified 3,656 or 20 per cent of the 18,452 villages
without power at the start of this financial year.
The scheme had an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore out of which the Centre committed to provide a grant of
Rs.63,000 crore.
Of the remaining 14,796 villages that still had to get electricity, work had started in only 1,843 (12 per
cent) of them.
Govt. is pushing for direct benefit transfer in kerosene
The governments push towards implementing direct cash transfers for kerosene subsidies is a
welcome move but implementation remains a key concern, according to experts.
Such a move will certainly improve the targeting of the kerosene subsidy at a time when around half
of the kerosene is currently being misappropriated.
But the manner of implementation is key. One has to see whether it will achieve the intended outcomes.
The governments decision to incentivise States to move to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in kerosene
involves the States being given a cash incentive of 75 per cent of subsidy savings during the first two
years, 50 per cent in the third year and 25 per cent in the fourth year.
The significant leakages in the kerosene subsidy system are a matter of great concern, with any attempt
to plug the leaks a welcome one.
CEOs from top companies to be present for start up India
Chief Executives of companies such as Googles Sundar Pichai, Teslas Elon Musk and Apples Tim
Cook, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in San Jose last September, are among the 2,000 startup
invitees expected for unveiling the governments Start Up India initiative on January 16.
Prime Minister Modi is expected to address the concluding session of the work-shop, where he will
unveil the governments action plan for promoting such enterprises based on a slogan he coined in his
Independence Day Address last year Start Up India, Stand Up India.
Indian startups received $9 billion in funding in 2015, which is half the total amount they could raise
in the five years preceding 2015.
Among the various initiatives that the PM could announce include a new law that makes it easier to
start and exit a venture and additional support for innovative startups.

Page 17

PMO consults economists for increasing growth
The Prime Ministers office, in a bid to arrest an economic slowdown in the country, is seeking inputs
from government economists to reassess both the fiscal and monetary policy issues.
There has been a slowdown in Indias nominal GDP growth with latest estimates from the Central
Statistics Office suggesting that the growth declined from 13.5 per cent in April-September 2014 to
7.4 per cent in the corresponding period of 2015.
Real GDP growth is slowing too. But not as sharply. It rose marginally from 7.2 per cent to 7.5 per
cent.
Industrial credit has slowed dramatically -- its growth rate has remained under 5 per cent.
Growth in capital goods imports, which partially proxies for investment, has decelerated sharply from
about 12 per cent in April 2015 to a barely positive territory.
The PMOs move to gain insight into the state of the economy is expected to lead to corrective changes
such as in the monetary policy agreement the government signed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
in February 2015.
Union government will set up rail regulator
The Union government has come out with a concept paper proposing to set up a rail regulator for fixing
fares and ensuring level- playing field for private investments in railway infrastructure.
To ensure that the proposed regulator, Rail Development Authority of India, doesnt meet
Parliamentary hurdles, the Railways Ministry initially plans to set it up through an executive order and
later on widen its powers.
The proposal to set up a rail authority was announced by Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu while tabling
the Rail Budget for 2015-16 last year.
The proposed rail authority will be mandated to set passenger and freight tariff, ensure fair play and
level-playing field for private investments in Railways, maintain efficiency and performance
standards, disseminate information such as statistics and forecasts related to the sector.
The Rail Development Authority would be an independent body, housed outside the Ministry of
Railways but funded through the annual railway budget sanctioned by the Parliament.
The approved Budget would be placed at the disposal of the regulatory authority. It would also be
permitted to arrange funds through adjudication fees, penalties levied and any other source as specified
in the proposed Act.
The proposal for setting up a regulator comes at a time when the estimated losses in passenger segment
has ballooned from Rs 6159 crore in 2004-05 to provisional estimate of over Rs 30,000 crore in 201516, primarily due to sharp increases in input costs and no proportionate increase in fares over the
same period.
Recently, the government had increased tatkal booking charges by up to 33 per cent for travel in sleeper
class, AC- III tier, AC-II tier and executive class through an executive order.
Keeping fares within affordable limits has led to cross- subsidisation of passenger services leading to
erosion ofrailways market share in freight.
The total share of railways in the total transportation of freight traffic has declined from 89 per cent
in 1950-51 to 36 per cent in 2007-08.
Health and social security priority areas for government
Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, said the governments priority was to ensure access to health and social
security benefits to three labour groups organised, unorganised and those not employed or below
the poverty line.

Page 18

To make health and social security benefits accessible to unorganised sector workers like construction
workers, migrant labourers, volunteers of different schemes like Anganwadi workers etc is one of the
major priorities of the present government.
Mechanisms can be thought of wherein social security benefit contributions to workers can be made
by employers at a single window for all workers, the Minister said.
Trade unions want that The minimum wage should not be less than Rs.18,000 per month. Need- based
minimum wage is to be considered as essential part of social security.
Unions other demands include The income tax ceiling for the salaried persons and pensioners should
be raised to Rs. 5-lakh per annum and fringe benefits like housing, medical and educational facilities
and running allowances in Railways should be exempted from the income tax net in totality.
The unions also recommended that contract or casual workers should not be deployed in jobs of a
perennial nature.
These workers should be paid the same wages and benefits as was being paid to regular workers doing
the same work until they are regularised.
Social media network, local Circles says corruption is big bottleneck for
entrepreneurship
Corruption and delays are preventing the growth of entrepreneurship in India, according to a new
survey.
The survey, undertaken by social media network, Local- Circles, showed nearly 60 per cent of the
citizens felt these bottlenecks were some of the biggest hurdles to growth of entrepreneurship in the
country while only 14 per cent felt funding to be the main impediment.
The survey comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to announce Start-Up
India Plan next week.
Ninety-eight per cent of the respondents said the Start Up India mission should go beyond
digital/technology startups and enable entrepreneurship at the grassroot level.
Asked if the Central or State governments can be effective and efficient funding bodies for startup
projects, 58 per cent of the people replied in the affirmative.
Centre likely to scrap 10 % export tax on low-grade iron ore
The government is likely to scrap the ten per cent export tax levied on low-grade iron ore in view of
the falling global prices and the lack of demand for such ore among domestic steel producers, giving
a fillip to the economy of Goa.
Iron ore prices were much higher when these taxes were imposed but are hovering around $40 a tonne
now with Chinas steel production slowing considerably.
Government has reduced export tax on such low grade iron ore, with ferrous content of less than 58
per cent, in the 2014-15 Budget from 30 per cent to 10 per cent in a bid to revive mining activity in
Goa.
Over 85 per cent of the iron ore produced in Goa is of low-grade but all mining activity had stopped
in September 2012 following the environment ministrys decision to withdraw green clearances for
iron ore mines in the wake of Justice MB Shah Commissions reporton illegal mining.
The clearances were reinstated last March and the first iron ore shipment despatched in October 2015.

Page 19

Difference between developing and developed nations at WTO
The government is firming up a strategy to prevent attempts by rich nations to introduce new procorporate issues such as global value chains, digital economy, labour and climate-related trade into
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) deliberations and negotiations on mega free trade agreements
When the Doha Round negotiations (for a global agreement to lower trade barriers) resume at the WTO
headquarters in Geneva, India will make it clear that discussions on any new issue can take place
only after resolving all the outstanding matters related to the Doha Round talks
The outstanding issues include an effective Special Safeguard Mechanism (or a tool to help
developing countries protect the interests of their poor farmers by temporarily increasing duties to
counter farm import increase and price fall) and a permanent solution for the issue of public
stockholding for food security purposes.
India will state at the WTO that any country pitching for the introduction the new issues will first
have to ensure that they meet two criteria.
One is to establish the relevance of these issues in the context of trade and the other to ensure that there
is a consensus among all 162 WTO membercountries in taking up such an agenda.
Simultaneously, India will strengthen the alliance of developing and poor countries to put an end to
the attempts to introduce 'new issues' into the WTO talks at this stage
These new issues that the developed world is keen to introduce into the WTOs Doha Round talks
include global value chains, e-commerce, labour, climate-related trade (such as environmental services
and goods), competition policies, investment pacts, government procurement and state-owned
enterprises, on all of which the rich nations have superior standards or rules than the developing and
poor countries.
India to pitch for TFA in services
India will pitch for a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services at the WTO and other bilateral free
trade pacts as the sector has huge potential and it contributes significantly to the countrys economy.
India is already pushing hard for a comprehensive trade pact in the services sector, a key area of interest
for the country, in the ongoing free trade agreement negotiations including with the European Union
and Regional Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
In RCEP negotiations too we have clearly stated that India wants a comprehensive agreement in goods,
services and investments. India has decided that it would be now aggressive in demanding freer
movement of people because it is in the interest of India and the world
India is very strong in the services area as the sector contributes over 50 per cent in the countrys
economic growth. To boost services exports, the ministry is already working on some reform measures
in sectors including education and legal
Plan to raise infra spending
Indian Finance Ministry plan to increase public investments in infrastructure projects got the backing
of the industry, even if it results in the governments failure to meet the fiscal deficit target.
The Indian economy has achieved robust growth rate despite volatility and uncertainty in global
economy.
This was made possible by enhanced public investment kick starting stalled projects, improving the
status of financial inclusion significantly, improving governance through systematic changes like open
auction of natural resources like coal and spectrum in a transparent manner and greater fiscal
federalism and improving business environment through reforms in policies and regulation among
others.

Page 20

The information technology sector wanted mitigation of the tax liabilities for startups and e-commerce
firms.
The minimum alternate tax should also be withdrawn in a calibrated manner. While removing MAT,
it should be clarified that MAT credit can be carried forward and set-off against their normal tax
liability in future
BS-VI norms by 2020
The government, in a move to fight pollution, will implement Bharat Standard (BS)-VI emission norms
by April 1, 2020.
The Petroleum Ministry would spend Rs.30,000crore for upgrading refineries to implement the clean
fuel technology
The minister urged automobile manufacturers, who had opposed an early deadline to implement the
norms due to financial burden, to co-operate.
The Supreme Court had asked the government to implement BS-VI norms earlier than the April 2021
deadline fixed by the Union government. The apex court also ordered shutting down more entry points
at the national capital border for heavy commercial vehicles not meant for Delhi
Bears dominate the market due yuan devaluation
Global shares tumbled for a sixth day on Thursday and oil prices slid to levels not seen since the early
2000s, after China guided the yuan lower and Shanghai shares tumbled by 7 per cent, igniting fears of
competitive devaluations across Asia.
Less than half an hour after the market opened, Chinese stock trading was suspended for a second time
this week.
Brent crude prices skidded over 5 per cent to an almost-12- year-low of $32.16, with worries over
weaker demand from China adding to a persistent drag on prices caused by oversupply and near-record
output levels.
European stock markets followed Asia lower, with the pan- European FTSEurofirst 300 index down
2.3 per cent and the euro zones blue-chip Euro STOXX index falling 2.5 per cent.
The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) set the yuan midpoint rate at 6.5646 a dollar, 0.5 per cent weaker
than the previous days fix.
That was the biggest decline between daily fixings since August and the eighth day in row the PBOC
had set a lower guidance rate.
Spot yuan fell to 6.5956 to the dollar, its weakest since February 2011. Offshore yuan rates hit a record
low of 6.7600 to the dollar, before erasing its losses after suspected intervention by authorities.
The 30-share benchmark Sensex lost 554.50 points, or 2.18 per cent, to fall below the psychological
25,000 mark. It ended the day at 24,851.83 after hitting a low of 24,825.70 during intra-day trades.
The rupee was also under pressure as foreign funds continue to exit emerging markets and move toward
safer assets.
The currency lost 11 paise to close the day at 66.93 a dollar as compared with the previous close of
66.82.
Further slide in the oil prices
Oil fell below $33 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since April 2004 as a fall in Chinese shares
rattled investors already concerned by near-record production and massive stockpiles of unwanted
crude and refined products.

Page 21

Oil prices have fallen by around 70 per cent since mid-2014, hurting oil companies and governments
that rely on crude revenue.
China let its yuan currency slip, sending regional currencies and stock markets globally tumbling. The
offshore yuan fell to its lowest since trading started in 2010.
Chinas stock markets were suspended less than half an hour after opening after sharp falls triggered
a new circuit-breaking mechanism for a second time since its introduction this week.
Demand for loans from commercial banks increasing
Demand for commercial bank loans are showing signs of picking up after registering single digit
growth for almost a year, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Bankers attributed the revival in loan growth to some projects that got stuck due to various reasons
such as lack of environmental clearance now showing signs of revival due to the governments
initiatives.
Besides, there is also increasing demand for working capital loans for projects which have been
completed.
According to latest data re- leased by the RBI, the two fortnights of December saw loan growth of
close to Rs.1.5 lakh crore, taking the overall credit growth of banks to 11.1 per cent year-on-year
compared to 10.1 per cent during the same period last year.
During the fortnight ended 25 December, loans grew by Rs.50,000 crore and in the previous fortnight,
it grew by Rs.98,180 crore.
In November, credit growth was less than Rs.60,000 crore while in October outstanding loans in the
system fell by Rs.26,000 crore.
Deposits grew by 10.9 per cent, year-on-year till the fortnight ended December 25.
The year 2014 was the worst in terms of credit growth as it hit a two-decade low of 10.1 per cent. For
the financial year 2014-15, credit growth was below 10 per cent.
The central bank has started reducing the key policy rate or the repo rate from the start of 2015 in a
move to raise loan demand. During the year, RBI reduced the repo rate by 125 bps to 6.75 per cent.
Banks have also started to reduce their lending rate though at a slower pace which came down
by about 70 bps. Some of the large banks had base rate at around 9.3-9.4 per cent.
Base rate the benchmark rate to which all loan rates are linked of banks was 10 per cent and
above, a year ago.
Premji becomes most generous Indian third year in a row
Azim Premji, 70, chairman of Wipro, is the most generous Indian of the year for the third time in a
row with donations worth Rs. 27,514 crore to the education sector, says Hurun India Philanthropy List
2015.
The top five contributors on the list belonged to the information technology industry. Mr. Premji is
followed by Nandan Nilekani and wife, Rohini Nilekani, with donations of Rs. 2,404 crore, while
Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy stood third with donations of Rs. 1,322 crore.
The Azim Premji foundation works in the education sector with operations in eight States and over
3,50,000 schools.
The top five are also the biggest wealth creators on the Hurun India Rich List.
The richest Indian, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), stood sixth on the
philanthropy list with donations of Rs. 345 crore.

Page 22

China slowdown has repercussions for entire region
Decline in the value of Chinas currency against the dollar is a worrying development as it may lead
to a sharp increase in cheap imports hurting several Indian industries, Commerce and Industry Minister
said.
There is the issue of excess capacity in China leading to dumping and the apprehension that products
will become even cheaper due to the currency devaluation because of what has happened now is the
third major devaluation.
There is also the fear that subsidised imports are coming in. These are worrying developments. Indias
trade deficit with China will grow even more.
Indias merchandise trade deficit with China had ballooned from a minuscule $1.1 billion in 2003-04
to a whopping $48.5 billion in 2014-15 or over four times Indias exports to China ($11.9 billion) in
FY15.
During April-September this fiscal, imports from China already touched $31.6 billion while Indias
exports to that country were only $4.5 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $27.1 billion.
However, cumulative FDI inflows from China into India during April 2000-September 2015 were only
$1.2 billion (or just 0.47 per cent of the total $265 billion worth overall FDI inflows into India in those
15 years), much less than the actual potential.
There are reports of excess capacity in China, especially in sectors such as steel, leading to alleged
instances of dumping of such products in several countries, including India, at rates below those in
China or even lower than the production cost.
The commerce ministry would soon hold meetings with the Chief Economic Advisor Arvind
Subramanian and the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya on the developments.
The government is considering proposals to protect domestic steel manufacturers from cheap steel
imports mainly from China.

Page 23
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SPORTS
India faces Afghanistan in SAFF cup football championship
Stephen Constantines young Indian team faces its biggest hurdle Afghanistan, the defending
champion, in the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup football championship at the Greenfield stadium.
The Indian team has blown hot and cold during the course of the tournament sometimes to the point
of being mediocre. If the semifinal match against Maldives is taken as a template for Indias campaign
so far, it had all the ingredients that pointed to general sloppiness.
India allowed Maldives to score two goals and coach Constantine had pointed to the lack of
concentration of his players in the second half. Similar errors in defence against Afghan- istan will be
a disaster.
India wins SAFF Suzuki cup
Sunil Chetri scored one of the most important goals of his career when his 101st-minute strike snatched
an unlikely win for India in the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup football tournament against Afghanistan.
The Indian skipper cashed in on some poor defending by the Afghans to squeeze the ball into the net
past goalkeeper Azizi in the 11th minute of extra-time.
The Indians then withstood a barrage of attacks to lift the trophy for the seventh time, and after a gap
of four years.
Lodha panel submits its report on cricket reform
Living up to its promise of regaining the purity of the game and restoring the dignity of the players,
the Lodha Committee has suggested sweeping reforms in the structuring and governance of cricket in
the country.
One of the most significant suggestions the panel makes is the formation of separate governing bodies
for the Indian Premier League and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Also recommended is the setting up of a Players Association to safeguard the interests of the
cricketers.
Suggesting a uniform constitution for the Board and its affiliates, the panel aims to reduce the number
of members in the all-powerful Working Commit- tee to nine from 14, with the president, vicepresident, secretary, treasurer and joint-secretary. As a result, there will only be one vice-president
instead of five.
The strength of the IPL Governing Council, it is recommended, should be reduced to nine and include
two representatives from the franchisees, nominees of the Players Association and the Comptroller &
Auditor Generals office.
The Players Association, to be constituted by the Board, should include former Union Home Secretary
G.K. Pillai as the chairman, former India players Mohinder Amarnath, Anil Kumble and Diana Edulji
as members of the Steering Committee.
The PA would not act like a union, and all the costs of running the association would be met by the
BCCI, Justice Lodha announced at a press conference after releasing the report.
Former first-class players, five years after retirement, would become part of the association.
In 2005-06, Kumble was the principal negotiator for the players in a fight for an enhanced share in the
profitsearned by the Board.

Page 24

He had then drafted the terms for player contracts, and was instrumental in securing the players a share
of the profits in the International Cricket Council conducted events.
During his term as president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, he took steps to make every
decision transparent. These initiatives did not escape the notice of the Lodha Committee.
The panel, in a significant departure from the past, suggests that one individual hold only one post in
cricket administration. The office-bearers would have to choose between positions in respective state
associations and the parent body.
In a move that was evidently pushed by the players, the senior selection committee, the report
recommends, should comprise only three members, instead of five at present.
The Lodha Committee also calls for dividing the governance into two parts: cricketing and noncricketing.
The non-cricketing management will be handled by six professional managers headed by a CEO, and
the cricket matters like selection, coaching and performance evaluation should be left to the
players.
Another key recommendation tackled the fact that three units from one state now enjoy the power to
vote. For example, Maharashtra and Gujarat have three full members each. But Bihar has no
representation at all in the Board.
The Committee recommended that one association should represent an entire state.
The Lodha Committee comprising retired judges, Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice
R.V. Raveendran was formed by the Supreme Court in January last year.
Read Madrid sacked Rafael Benitez
Real Madrid sacked coach Rafael Benitez after just seven months in charge on Monday with club
legend Zinedine Zidane replacing the Spaniard.
Benitezs unhappy reign came to an end after a2-2 draw away to Valencia.
Zidane scored a sensational winning goal to hand Madrid the 2002 Champions League as a player, but
is short on managerial experience having only ever taken charge of Madrids feeder team Castilla.
Pranav Dhanawade made world record
The boundaries, especially square of the wicket, were short.

The opponents were half his height, if not age. Still, Pranav Dhanawade deserves all the accolades for
having become the first cricketer to score 1,000 runs in an innings in a competitive match.
The Class 10 student from the KC Gandhi School in Kalyan, an eastern suburb approximately 60
kilometres from south Mumbai, achieved the milestone in the Thane district inter-school tournament
for the HT Bhandari Shield.
The 15-year-olds 1,009 not out of 323 balls obliterated a 117-year-old record for the highest number
of runs scored in one innings which stood in the name of Arthur Collinss previous record total of 628
in England in 1899.
Indian shooter Apuri Chandela broke the world record
Indian shooter Apuri Chandela broke the world record on way to winning gold in the womens 10
metre air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix.
Chandela shot 211.2 in the event held on Tuesday to surpass the feat of Chinese Olympic gold medallist
Yi Siling, who held the record with 211.
The result marked a positive start for Chandela, who has al-ready qualified for the Rio Olympics.
The silver and bronze went to Swedish shooters Astrid Stefensen (207.6) and Stine Nielsen (185.0).

Page 25

Important Articles From Various

Newspapers
In Paris, taking stock of the big challenges (The Hindu)
A 2014 U.S. Department of Defense report pointed to climate change being one of the major threats to the
countrys national security. In November, when Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders referred to
the occurrence of drought in Syria as a push factor for terrorism in that country, most people had rubbished it
as an overstretched argument, but retired U.S. Rear Admiral and meteorologist David W. Titley made the
same point. The U.S. government reports note how climate change has the potential to create instability and
poverty in countries it affects the most, leading to discontent that pushes people to take up arms.
The Nigerian energy activist, Ken Henshaw, while deposing against the U.S.-based international oil and gas
company, ExxonMobil, at the Peoples Climate Summit on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, drew linkages between oil extraction
activities around the Niger delta and the rise of extremist groups such as Boko Haram. Nigeria is now called
a terrorist country due to Boko Haram insurgency, he said. Much of the insurgency exists in the region
bordering Lake Chad. In the last ten years, the lake has shrunk 20 times its original size. Livestock cannot
breed anymore in the lands around the lake... People have become destitute, [have] joined criminal gangs...
insurgency and fundamentalism thrive, as it has become easier to recruit people. He said that linking climate
change to terror is often viewed as an exaggeration, but failing to see the connections between the two would
leave us blind to one of the most obvious existential crises in the world.
The resource curse phenomenon is very much at work in countries such as Nigeria, where the wealth of
natural resources has not empowered the local communities, but has fuelled social conflict instead. Conflict
brews among agents of world powers that buy oil, the ruling elites who profit from selling it, and the local
population that struggles to maintain control over these resources. This has created an ideal condition for
terrorism to thrive. Lets look at Afghanistan or Iraq. Though terrorist organisations such as the al-Qaeda trace
their origins back to the Cold War days, what has exacerbated tensions in the country of its origin today is the
struggle over controlling natural resources. The Iraq invasion too was primarily motivated by the U.S.s own
greed for oil. The works of leading intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky and Mahmood Mamdani have
exposed how the U.S. war on terror is essentially a war for controlling oil resources. While Professor
Chomskys work has focussed on the U.S.s actions in Arab nations, Prof. Mamdani has written about the
conflict in Darfur, Africa. In his 2003 essay Wars of Terror, Prof. Chomsky recalls how former U.S.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff discussed the campaign of hatred against us [the U.S.] in the
Arab world, not by the governments but by the people. The basic reason is the recognition that the U.S.
supports corrupt and brutal governments and is opposing political or economic progress in order to protect
its interest in Near East oil, Prof. Chomsky writes. Today, China too has joined this race to plunder, taking
major initiatives to develop the Amu Darya basin in Afghanistan, to be able to drill oil from the region. But
such exploitation, without addressing the problems of corruption and the lack of government accountability,
has directly aided the cause of terror.
Another concern is how revenues from oil are helping to fund terror, as is the case of the Syrian oil fields
helping fund the IS. And though the U.S. recently surpassed Saudi Arabia as the worlds largest producer of
oil, it continues to depend on oil-rich countries for augmenting its fuel supplies. Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and
Iraq figure in the top five countries from where the U.S. imports most of its oil. The oil dependency of the
Page 26

world powers is, thus, not only brewing trouble in countries from where the fuel is being extracted, but also
making them vulnerable to attack from militant groups. It is this dependency that is also keeping the U.S. from
acting decisively against the Saudi government, despite suspicion since the 9/11 days that the country is
funding terrorist groups. Realising this, world powers are now switching to alternative sources of fuel such as
shale gas, though environmental groups are resisting it, as it involves fracking.
The Paris Agreement has to be, therefore, situated in this broader geopolitical context. It was hardly surprising
that in the lead-up to the final day of the UN climate summit, Saudi Arabia, the largest oil supplier in the world
until recently, was the one country that opposed the climate deal, as its economic interests were at stake. But
it finally budged, as it found itself increasingly sidelined at the negotiating table. Clauses on human rights
were dropped from the operative portions of the agreement text, in keeping with Saudi Arabias demands, in
order to achieve consensus over the agreement. The Paris Agreement is thus nothing but a diplomatic victory
for world powers, as they can now mobilise the deal to work towards alternative pathways to energy
production. This will help reduce oil dependency in their economies, and also help devise methods to drive
down the profitability of oil, which could dry up funding for terror as well. There remain fears that much like
the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the Paris agreement too could suffer from a lack of implementation from powerful
nations. However, with world powers now compelled to act out of self-interest to keep terror at bay, one hopes
things would be different this time. The lesson from Paris 2015 is this: until world powers stop digging black
gold from Iraq, Africa and Saudi Arabia, the webs of violence, terror and climate change will continue to keep
us trapped in the times to come.
Non-alignment to multi-alignment (The Hindu)

Several reasons can be adduced for Indias shift from non-alignment to multi-alignment. Undeniably, policies
adopted by India since the beginning of this century had helped generate a climate of trust across the spectrum
of warring nations and long-time antagonists. A spirit of accommodation and constructive solutions to major
regional and international challenges had also made India more acceptable to most nations. The India-U.S.
Civil Nuclear Agreement in the first decade of this century was in this respect truly the game changer. India
came to be seen as a positive, stabilising influence as far as the global and the regional environment was
concerned. Non-alignment clearly had no place in this milieu.
It was, hence, not difficult for Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, within the course of a few hours of
discussion with his counterpart during his visit to the United States in December, to enhance the quality of
their defence dialogue and strengthen the defence engagement between the two countries. Outcomes from this
visit of the Defence Minister are certain to further enlarge the scope of the already booming defence
relationship. Among the more significant takeaways are: the progress made regarding the joint working groups
on both aircraft carrier technology and jet engine technology; the approvals given for additional numbers of
Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft, and M777 ultra-light
howitzers; the progress achieved regarding long-deferred foundational agreements such as CISMOA
(Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement) and the Logistics Support
Agreement (LSA), and a further strengthening of the partnership on high technology under the Defence
Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
During this same month of December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took off for Russia to reaffirm the strong
links that exist between the two nations. Statements made on the occasion reveal the determination on both
sides to reinforce the strategic ties that date back to the Cold War years. Few, however, expected that the visit
would also result in Russia regaining its position as Indias principal defence supplier.

Page 27

The list of agreements drawn up in Moscow covers nuclear, space, energy and defence. Russia has committed
[earlier] to building additional nuclear reactors at Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) and in Andhra Pradesh. In terms
of conventional energy, India has secured a bouquet of deals, including a 10 per cent stake in Russian oil
company Rosneft, and commitments regarding a possible stake in another field in East Siberia. In the area of
defence manufacturing, both sides have pulled out all the stops. Agreement was reached with regard to coproduction of Kamov-226T utility helicopters (the bulk of which would be built in India), and the possibility
of securing 48 MI-17 V5 medium-lift helicopters, S-400 Triumf/Triumph missile systems and stealth frigates.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes visit to India, also during the same month, meantime, proved to be
more than a strategic interlude, with defence, foreign policy, and economic aspects all receiving attention.
Japans willingness to cooperate on peaceful nuclear energy will have the same kind of positive impact as that
which followed the iconic India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement of 2008. Japans willingness to acknowledge
India as a reliable and trustworthy nuclear power (despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty) is again certain to have a positive impact on nuclear establishments across the world.
Japans willingness to share defence equipment and technology, facilitate the exchange of classified military
information, and arrive at an understanding of emerging threats in the Indo-Pacific implicit in the IndiaJapan Agreement with regard to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea has opened a new chapter
in relations. This was further buttressed by the provision of financial and technical aid for a high-speed rail
link between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, in addition to overseas developmental assistance for various projects
across India. Mr. Abes affirmation, that no other bilateral relationship in the world has the kind of potential
which ties relations between India and Japan, was clearly no hyperbole.
On the return trip from Russia, Prime Minister Modi paid a visit to Afghanistan where he inaugurated the new
Afghan Parliament building (built with Indian aid). Making a stirring speech on the occasion, he complimented
Afghanistans determination to stand up to terror from across the border, and criticised attempts made to
unsettle Afghanistan through the use of terror tactics. En route to Delhi from Kabul, the Prime Minister made
an impromptu stopover in Lahore to wish Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday. This
evoked euphoric headlines in the Indian media. Not everyone, however, saw this as heralding a new chapter
in India-Pakistan relations, with long-time Pakistan watchers well aware that the path to Pakistans perfidy
is usually paved with good intentions on Indias part.
The real motive underlying the Prime Ministers visit to Pakistan remains unclear. Mr. Modi is well aware
that Pakistan has given no indication whatsoever of having changed its spots. Only a few hours prior to the
Lahore visit, he had implicitly warned Afghanistan of the threat posed by Pakistan. Less than a fortnight ago
while addressing the Combined Commanders Conference on board INS Vikramaditya, the Prime Minister
had struck a sombre note, warning that we see terrorism and ceasefire violations; reckless nuclear build-up
and threats; border transgressions; and continuing military modernisation in our neighbourhood. All this
leaves little room for anyone to think that the Prime Minister nurtures any illusion of a change of heart on
Pakistans part. It would, hence, be unrealistic to think that he was hoping to remove the obstacles that stood
in the way of a reconciliation between the two countries with this grand gesture. Mr. Modi is also well aware
that there can be no substitute for hard negotiations, or the need for a great deal of effort, to narrow the gap
between the two countries.
The real danger is that it could lull the nation into a false sense of complacency and security on account of the
circumstances surrounding this sudden move. Any mistaken step as far as Pakistan is concerned needs to be
avoided. Pakistan is presently going through a very promising phase in its turbulent history, and is being
wooed by both China and the U.S. It does not, however, show any signs that it has reduced its animosity
towards India.
Page 28

The potential benefits from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are expected to substantially improve
Pakistans economic fortunes. The U.S., in the meantime, appears to have reversed some of the policies it had
adopted after 2013, and is demonstrating a higher degree of sensitivity to Pakistans concerns. It is at present
actively courting Pakistan in view of its strategic location vis--vis Afghanistan and Central Asia. The sale of
additional F-16 fighter aircraft, and continuation of the Coalition Support Fund beyond 2016 reflect this.
Reported U.S. support to facilitating projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, U.S. support for a sustained
dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve all outstanding territorial and other disputes, including
Kashmir, and a reference to working together to address mutual concerns of India and Pakistan regarding
terrorism in the joint statement issued following the visit of Mr. Sharif to Washington in October, well reflect
some current realities. This cannot be viewed as mere straws in the wind.
It would thus be premature to offer congratulations on an end-year breakthrough in India-Pakistan relations.
Instead, there is need for greater vigil and more careful thought on what needs to be done so as to prevent a
Kargil-type situation, exploiting the current euphoria, from taking place.
Turkeys war on the Kurds (The Hindu)

Since 2013, the main military wing of the Kurdish resistance the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has
been in talks with the Turkish state for a full peace agreement. The PKKs leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has been
in Imrali Prison since 1999. The dialogue between the state and the PKK was called the Imrali process, after
the name of the island where Mr. Ocalans prison is based. Negotiations based on a 10-point Dolmabahce
Agreement proceeded until this summer, when Mr. Erdogan restarted his belligerent talk. He rejected as
implausible negotiations between the PKK a terrorist organisation, he called it and the government.
He tied the HDP to the PKK. The HDP responded that it has no organic ties to the PKK, although many
former guerrillas are now above ground inside the HDP. The President rejected the HDPs claim at his Ramzan
speech at a mosque in Istanbuls suburban Atasehir district. He said that the HDP and the PKK have an
inorganic tie. He wanted war against not only the PKK, an armed force, but also against the HDP, a respected
parliamentary party. Both had to be dented.
Why has Mr. Erdogan been so eager to go to war against the HDP and the PKK? There are two reasons: first,
the HDPs political successes have prevented his political ambitions, and second, the PKKs assistance to the
Syrian Kurds had raised the spectre once more of Kurdish statehood or autonomy.
The rise of the HDP inside Turkey dented Mr. Erdogans personal ambitions to shift the Turkish political
process from parliamentary to presidential rule. Mr. Erdogan bizarrely cited Hitlers Germany as an example
of a successful presidential system. Victories of the HDP in both parliamentary elections of 2015 prevented
Mr. Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP) from earning an absolute majority in Parliament, which
would have delivered power to change the system. Mr. Erdogans war against the HDP and the media emerges
from political frustration. His attempt to link the HDP to the PKK was designed to frighten its support base.
Assassinations and arrests of pro-HDP politicians and journalists began in earnest. The killing of human rights
attorney Tahir Elci in late November last year had a chilling effect. It also drew from Mr. Demirtas this
sentiment: What killed Tahir was not the state, but statelessness. Loss of faith in Turkeys commitment to
its minority and to multi-party democracy led influential people like Mr. Demirtas to reconsider autonomy
and self-government of the Kurdish areas.
Much of the explanation for the assault on the Kurds is to be found in Turkeys failed policy in Syria. Battlehardened PKK fighters turned to help the Syrian Kurdish fighters in 2011, after the Syrian government of
Bashar al-Assad withdrew from Syrias Kurdish regions in the north. The outcome of this assistance was the
creation of the Peoples Protection Units (YPG). The YPG and the PKK have been fierce fighters against the
Page 29

Islamic State (IS), since it entered the area in 2012. The battlefield advances of the Syrian Kurds with the PKK
have lifted their morale, gained them international attention, and won them adherents amongst Turkeys nonKurdish population. It is the ferocity of their fighting and their progressive social policy that gave buoyancy
to the HDP in the recent elections. Declaration of Syrian Kurdish autonomy alongside Iraqi Kurdish autonomy
(since 1991) put pressure on Turkeys Kurds to follow suit. This was precisely what Mr. Erdogan and the
Turkish ultra-nationalists despise.
Since October, the Turkish armed forces have hit not only the Kurdish cities in south-eastern Turkey but also
PKK and YPG combatants inside Syria. PKK leader Cemil Bayik accused the Turkish state of attacking the
PKK to stop the Kurdish advance against ISIS. This is an accusation that has become commonplace in the
region that the AKP is implicated in the establishment of IS. Turkeys border with Syria is porous for entry
of IS jihadis and for IS oil. The latter draws in Mr. Erdogans son Bilal, who is a director in the BMZ group
that has played a role in the trans-shipment of IS oil to Malta, and then to Israel. Mr. Bayiks point is strongly
made but what evidence exists supports his assertion. Turkeys ambivalence towards IS also bedevils the U.S.,
which uses the Turkish base at Incirlik to bomb IS, and watches Turkish craft attack the Kurdish forces who
are the main ground troops against the IS.
Turkey is in danger of a civil war, as Mr. Demirtas warned in September. Mr. Erdogan believes that he can
ride the tiger of the anti-Kurdish war. It is more likely that he will lose control of the situation and plunge
Turkey into irreparable damage. The Turkish government believes it can score a military victory against the
PKK, which is why it has been striking PKK camps inside Turkey, Iraq and Syria. Before the PKK can be
destroyed, the Turkish forces will have to raze the cities and towns of south-eastern Turkey. They are on the
road to doing this with little international condemnation of their actions.
Bridging crickets credibility deficit (The Hindu)

The committee headed by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha has not disappointed cricket fans who
favour a thorough overhaul of cricket administration in the country. Under intense judicial scrutiny ever since
the betting scandal hit the Indian Premier League in 2013, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been
seen by many as a cosy club of individuals who treat the various regional units as part of their personal fiefdom.
The BCCI suffered from a serious credibility deficit as cricket-lovers were convinced that the businessmen
and politicians who run the cash-rich body in an opaque manner were not working entirely in the games
interest. The Supreme Court appointed the Lodha committee last year to suggest ways to rid cricket
administration of its many obvious ills, such as lack of transparency and accountability. The panel has mooted
sweeping reforms in the boards structure and functioning. The proposed measures could radically alter the
way the BCCI functions as well as vastly improve its public image and impart much-needed credibility:
restricted tenures, bar on holding more than one office at a time, limits on terms, cooling-off periods between
the holding of one office and another, and steps to prevent the sort of conflict of interest that was brazenly in
view for many years. One significant suggestion is that government servants and ministers be kept out of
cricket administration. Even if the political class as a whole is not barred, it will at least prevent influential
politicians in government eyeing the spoils of office in cricket administration.
The report has two major suggestions related to public policy. One is the radical idea of legalising betting in
cricket. Betting cast a dark shadow on the IPL and led to two franchises being suspended. Many will welcome
such legalisation as that will bring in an element of regulation and monitoring. Its implementation, however,
will hinge on suitable local legislation across the country. The BCCI will have to ensure strict adherence to
the condition that players, managers, officials or anyone associated with cricket are not allowed to participate
in betting. Another idea is that the BCCI which the Supreme Court held last year to be a body discharging
a public function be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act. It does sound attractive.
Page 30

However, it will both require legislative change and a balancing rule that unnecessary queries are not directed
towards decisions made by captains and selectors of the national and domestic teams. It is not difficult to guess
that the BCCI would prefer the report to be non-binding and that it would contest some of the
recommendations before the Supreme Court. A restructured cricket board and an equitable system of voting
by and in all its affiliated units will surely be in the games interest. What ultimately matters is that cricket
should not suffer because of whimsical individuals holding on to key posts in the administration and working
to cover up instead of preventing unsavoury developments.
The way forward in Nepal (The Hindu)

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli telephoned Mr. Modi on New Years Eve to convey his greetings for 2016 and
informed him about his governments plans to move forward with the three-point package while undertaking
negotiations with the agitating Madhesi leaders of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM). In
response, Mr. Modi reiterated the need to find durable solutions to Nepals political problems on the basis of
consensus and conveyed his greetings to the Nepali people for 2016.
However, there are subtle changes of position underway. The first sign came on December 21 following the
decisions taken by the Nepali cabinet to address the demands of the SLMM. The three-point package consists
of constitutional amendments on participation in the state organs on the basis of proportionate inclusiveness
and delineation of electoral constituencies on the basis of population. Demarcation of provinces was to be
undertaken in a three-month period through a political mechanism on the basis of consensus, and other
demands including those pertaining to citizenship are to be resolved through negotiation and
appropriate notification. Nepals Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa had already briefed External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about this road map during his visit to Delhi last month.
According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, the sole petroleum importing agency, its monthly imports were
usually in the order of NPR 7 billion; these went down to NPR 1.5 billion during October-November but have
picked up again and could reach NPR 4.5 billion during December-January. This would imply that more than
50 per cent of the fuel supplies are now going through legally, in addition to the cross-border smuggling
activity which has also picked up.
However, the SLMM rejected the Oli governments three-point package as inadequate and declared that it
fell far short of their 11-point charter of demands. Originally, there were four principal demands
demarcation of provinces which related to five districts, Sunsari, Jhapa and Morang in the east and Kanchanpur
and Kailali in the west; restoring population as the primary criteria for electoral constituency delimitation;
proportional representation in government jobs; and issues relating to citizenship. With rising political
polarisation over recent months and the inflexible approach adopted by the three principal parties Nepali
Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or UML and the Maoists the list of
demands has grown. It now includes democratisation of the army and other security agencies; restructuring of
the judiciary; declaring Nepal a multi-national state; equal status to other languages like Hindi and Bhojpuri;
a reference to the principle of proportional representation in the section on Fundamental Rights and the
establishment of a constitutionally empowered Inclusion Commission to monitor implementation of the
proportional representation principle.
In December, the four SLMM leaders Mahant Thakur, Rajendra Mahato, Upendra Yadav and Mahendra
Rai Yadav visited Delhi and cautioned that the agitation was taking the shape of a movement. Unless their
demands were addressed in a timely manner, the movement could take a violent turn and the demand for
separatism would grow. Their feeling was that the Oli government was not serious about reaching out and was
keen to push through the amendments and postpone resolution of other issues. The import of this message was
Page 31

not lost on Delhi. The SLMM thought that this would make Delhi tighten the screws and push the Nepali
government towards a comprehensive settlement; instead, worried about greater violence in the Terai with an
1,800-km-long open border, Delhi reacted differently, and as a result, differences have now emerged within
the SLMM. Mr. Mahato would like to continue with the agitation while others are uncertain.
Sensing an opportunity, the Oli government reached out to the SLMM leadership for a meeting in Kathmandu
on January 3. Mr. Thakur, accompanied by relatively junior leaders, attended. On his side, Mr. Oli was
accompanied by Nepali Congress president and former PM Sushil Koirala, Maoist leader and former PM
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and others. Upendra Yadav and Mahendra Rai Yadav happened to be out
of town. A week earlier, the Oli government had set the wheels in motion for the constitutional amendment
process by formally tabling it in the Assembly. At this stage, no dialogue was underway with the SLMM to
get them on board and in the debates that followed, Madhesi parties boycotted the proceedings. On January 4,
the Assembly concluded its deliberations and after the mandated period of 72 hours for amendments to be
tabled, will begin voting on the amendments. PM Oli has proposed the setting up of a task force to arrive at
an agreed language for the amendments. Defence Minister Bhim Rawal (UML), K.B. Mahara of the Maoists
and Mahesh Acharya (Nepali Congress) have been nominated by the three main parties; with the clock ticking,
the SLMM may fracture if individual leaders try to go it alone in the task force.
PM Oli has been adept at flaunting the China card. In October last year, there was much fanfare about China
supplying 1,000 metric tonnes of petroleum products to alleviate the shortage. Considering that the annual
requirement is closer to a million tonnes, this is a tiny amount. Also the infrastructure in terms of roads and
bridges to the Tibet border does not permit movement of heavy tankers and LPG bullets. Nepals attempts at
negotiating long-term agreements with China have not gone very far. However, Nepali media had carried
stories that Mr. Oli, in a departure from past practice, would undertake his first foreign trip to China instead
of India. The only Nepali prime minister to have done so was Mr. Prachanda in 2008. He, however, insisted
that it was not a bilateral visit as he was going to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and his
first official bilateral visit would be to India. Apparently, in the telephone conversation on December 31, Mr.
Modi reiterated his invitation to Mr. Oli to visit India and the missions have been directed to work out mutually
convenient dates at the earliest. However, Mr. Oli will find it difficult to visit Delhi unless the border situation
has returned to normal and movement of goods and supplies has been restored. If the SLMM agitation is called
off, he can then claim with some justification that his nationalistic posture, together with the anti-India
rhetoric, has paid off. Given the strain Mr. Modis neighbourhood first policy is under on the Pakistan front,
it is understandable that he would like Mr. Oli to stick to tradition.
How did things reach such an impasse? The fact is that nobody thought that the Madhesi agitation and the
consequent restrictions on cross-border movement of goods would last this long. As a result, nobody had a
Plan B and rhetoric replaced communication. With the key players losing control, the situation went into a
tailspin. The Oli government found it convenient to stoke Nepali nationalism and deflect attention away from
its own incompetence by blaming India. The SLMMs demands continued to grow with no negotiations in
sight and rising anti-Indianism hardly sat well with Mr. Modis neighbourhood first diplomacy.
The supply situation has now eased but the Oli government needs to offer a healing hand to the Madhesis to
get them on board. If he fails, he may find it difficult to deal with the ensuing instability. The Madhesis need
to reach out to the Tharus and Janajatis, the other marginalised groups. For India, the challenge is to give
greater political content to its engagement, rebuild trust with the Oli government, and revive the positive
sentiments generated by Prime Minister Modis visits in 2014.

Page 32

A case for expanding DBT (The Hindu)

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, by design and thanks to some legacy benefits from
the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments term, is increasingly finding itself in a sweet spot where
social security aid and subsidies can finally be rid of the long-standing issues plaguing such systems in India.
The two major issues with subsidies in India targeting and leakages can both be tackled by the
governments ongoing Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) push. The time is now ripe to have DBT for all subsidy
programmes.
Leakages occur when the subsidy does not reach the recipient due to corruption, pilferage or other causes.
Mis-targeting benefits higher income groups that dont really deserve the subsidies, thereby needlessly
increasing the governments expenditure.
The governments DBT plan, which simply involves transferring the subsidy amount directly to the
beneficiaries bank accounts instead of having to fiddle around with differential pricing for the
underprivileged, can effectively address the issue of leakages and go a long way in solving the mis-targeting
problem. Efficient targeting, using Aadhaar-linked data, ensures that the intended beneficiary receives the
money in his account, thus helping him as well as reducing the governments subsidy burden. This has resulted
in effectively solving the leakage and mis-targeting problems in some schemes, but other schemes have shown
that they need more work to be efficient.
The case of MGNREGA wages is an example where DBT effectively addressed both issues at once. In the
beginning, there were reports across the country of MGNREGA wages at the time given in cash being
misappropriated by middlemen in such large-scale systems. In 2013, the government initiated the DBT scheme
in MGNREGA after several successful pilot projects and eliminated these middlemen to a large extent. So far,
in this financial year, under this scheme, Rs.20,500 crore has been credited to the accounts of almost 5 crore
people. All the beneficiaries only the beneficiaries stood to reap benefits from MGNREGA wages.
However, other schemes, though successful, need more fine-tuning. While the original DBT scheme for
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies, named PAHAL [Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh], was launched in June
2013, the NDA government modified and re-launched the scheme in 54 districts in November 2014; for the
rest of the country it was January 2015. The idea was that consumers link their Aadhaar number to a bank
account and receive the subsidy amount for 12 cylinders in a year. Those without an Aadhaar number could
furnish any other bank account to receive the subsidy.
So, DBT addresses the leakages issue while the income cap addresses the mis-targeting problem. Back-ofthe-envelope calculations (since there are no accurate figures of how many LPG users earn more than Rs.10
lakh) peg the governments savings from such a move at around Rs.5,000 crore a year.
Under the DBT in kerosene scheme, the consumer buys kerosene at full price and then receives the subsidy
amount in his bank account if eligible. Here, too, mis-targeting and leakages are addressed. But, as economist
Pronab Sen has pointed out, this could lead to unintended outcomes unless the scheme is managed carefully.
If the subsidy amount each household is due is calculated on the basis of the total amount of kerosene sold
divided by the number of eligible households, then this will result in each household receiving about double
the subsidy amount it should be getting because total usage also takes into account pilferage. In other words,
the total sales figures overestimate actual household-level usage because they also take into account usage by
theft.
Currently, the government has introduced DBT in food subsidies in only a few Union Territories and is looking
to introduce it in fertilizer subsidies as well a fervent demand made by farmers associations when they
met the Finance Minister for a pre-Budget meeting recently.
Page 33

The sweet spot created by universalising banking via the Jan-Dhan Yojana, efficient targeting via Aadhaar,
and the increasing ubiquity of smartphones is so attractive that the government should make full use of it to
extend DBT to all subsidy schemes. Its a win-win.
Chinas contagious economic turmoil (The Hindu)

Chinas transition to a new normal rate of growth was always expected to be bumpy. But, as it shifts gears,
the Asian giant is spilling pain on to the rest of the world, and volatility is about the only certainty in the global
economy at the moment. The yuans depreciation on Thursday to its lowest level since 2011, again put stock
markets and currencies worldwide under pressure. Investors fear other countries could now be forced to
consider competitive currency devaluations. The depreciation was less unexpected than the devaluations in
August and is in line with Beijings move to make the yuan all set to become a reserve currency of the
International Monetary Fund more market-linked. Theres a fresh worry: Chinas foreign exchange reserves
shrank by $108 billion in December, the biggest monthly drop on record, and declined by $513 billion last
year. To put this figure in perspective, Indias foreign exchange reserves added up to $350.4 billion on January
1. The accelerating outflows from China, investors fear, could also be a sign of the countrys deepening
troubles. China is rebalancing its economy, shifting it away from a model of debt-fuelled infrastructure and
low-cost exports towards lower but more sustainable growth, driven instead by domestic consumption and
services. Reformers in Beijing want to slow the Chinese economy, which expanded at a frenetic 10 per cent
annually before 2008, and by about 7 per cent more recently. As the worlds second largest economy goes
through a recalibration, the question increasingly being asked is: are the authorities in Beijing in control of the
transition?
The scale and span of Chinas trade gives it an over-sized influence over the global economy. Its waning
appetite for commodities and imports is hurting economies dependent on such exports. For India, though, the
drop in international commodity prices, especially of oil, is providing a silver lining as it is a net importer.
The pain for India will come from the big and growing trade deficit it has with China. The deficit, which was
$48 billion at the end of March, had reached $36 billion in the first eight months of this year and could worsen
with the yuans depreciation. The Indian government must recognise that the depreciating yuan is a threat
above all to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make In India plan. Indian manufacturers already suffer
significant cost disadvantages. Their competitiveness will now diminish further against imports from China.
Under the burden of Chinas slowdown, global trade itself has shrunk. Recovery continues to elude the world
more than seven years after the financial meltdown in 2008 and the subsequent monetary easing worldwide.
India must recognise that the global economic scenario is far from healthy and take steps to spur domestic
growth.
MGNREGA message (Indian Express)

Evidence of better implementation of the MGNREGA sends out a reassuring signal at a time when back-toback droughts in 2014 and 2015 have resulted in an agrarian crisis that has seen rural incomes fall sharply
across the country. In the absence of a well-functioning MGNREGA programme that guarantees 100 days
of unskilled labour to one adult in every rural household there has been little support for those in the rural
population who need it most. A noteworthy aspect of the current revival is that it is happening, by all accounts,
due to better monitoring by the Centre and timely release of funds. The MGNREGA was the UPAs flagship
programme and BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had expressed sharp scepticism about
the scheme and its approach. In fact, in February 2015, Modi had mocked the Congress, stating on the floor
of the Lok Sabha that he would keep the rural employment scheme alive as a monument to the Congresss
economic policy failures. Its apparent revival now shows that the MGNREGA is perhaps no longer a victim
of political differences. This change could not have come at a more opportune time.
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To a great extent, the political apathy the Modi government had shown towards the MGNREGA could be seen
in the sharp fall in the person-days of employment generated in the first year of NDA rule. From 73.42 crore
person-days in the April-June quarter of 2014, wherein UPA ruled until May-end, employment fell to just
33.27 crore in the September quarter and further to 23.67 crore in the December quarter before marginally
improving to 36 crore in the March quarter. The data for the current financial year shows that the employment
generated is substantially better than in the last financial. This confirms what several civil society and
academic observers have long reiterated: While the MGNREGA is a demand-driven programme on paper, in
reality, it requires political ownership by governments, both at the Centre and in the states, to succeed.
Several challenges still lie ahead if the MGNREGA has to serve the purpose it was designed to fulfil: To
provide a short-term employment alternative to rural households during the lean agricultural season and avoid
not just distress migration but also the debilitating impacts on educational and nutritional outcomes that
accompany it. Data suggests that the states worst affected by drought are still not benefiting adequately from
the MGNREGA. Clearly, the Centre and concerned states have a long way to go in not only creating awareness
but also instituting effective grievance redressal mechanisms.
All for the game (Indian Express)

In his 159-page report, Justice R.M. Lodha broke his mandate down to two fundamental questions: Whether
this will benefit the game of cricket? And, What does the Indian cricket fan want? The Lodha Committee
has suggested sweeping changes that promise to cleanse Indian cricket. More player power, lessening of the
influence of politicians, tightening of the voting system within the board, addressing the grievances of cricket
fans, possible inclusion under the ambit of the RTI and legalising betting are some of these radical steps.
Its not the end of politicians control over cricket, of course, as only those who are ministers have been barred
from holding a post in the BCCI and state associations. Nevertheless, this is an important step, especially when
combined with the recommendation that an official can only hold a post cumulatively for nine years as that
would weed out many veteran politicians who have been involved in cricket administration. The balance of
power has tilted towards the players and its apt here to record the observations of Justice Mukul Mudgal, who
had tabled a report of his own on spot-fixing and corruption in cricket: Just because he is a player, he isnt
an angel. Nevertheless, as drivers of the sport where they are treated as subordinates to administrators, the
rise of players can only be welcomed. The suggestion that even the players cant hold two consecutive terms,
and will be monitored and assisted by an ombudsman, who will address the disputes in administration, an
ethics officer, who will take care of conflict of interest issues, and an electoral officer, who will oversee
elections, should address the concern about power corrupting the players. The inclusion of women in the inner
circle can help womens cricket. But hopefully, their role wont be restricted to womens cricket its the
old boys club that has led to the present crisis.
Often, in the election of the BCCI president, a candidate would use the zonal rotation policy to influence small
associations in his zone with favours and come to power even if the majority of the BCCI was opposed to him.
That skulduggery will end now. Likewise, the requirement that selectors be former Indian cricketers and
untethered to any zonal restriction will allow them to be unbiased in theory. The power of the president to
veto any selection has also been taken away. Also, the formation of a players association India being the
only large country that doesnt have a players body can only benefit the game at large. The Lodha
Committee has also looked beyond the BCCI in an effort to clean up it has requested Parliament to legalise
Page 35

betting and re-initiated debate on the RTI. Under its current head, Shashank Manohar, it has shown keenness
to clean cricket. This commitment will be tested by its reaction to the comprehensive clean-up proposed by
the Lodha Committee.
Field lessons (Indian Express)

A Reserve Bank of India-constituted committee has called for phasing out interest subsidy on short-term
agricultural loans and for ploughing back the sums saved into an affordable universal crop insurance scheme
for farmers. The recommendation makes sense for at least two reasons. First, for most farmers, it isnt the cost
but the availability of credit that is the real problem.
National Sample Survey data shows banks and cooperative societies account for only 57.7 per cent of
outstanding loans of farming households, with the rest mainly representing borrowings from private
moneylenders and traders, often at annual interest of 24 per cent or more. The dependence on informal credit
sources is, moreover, progressively higher with a reduction in landholding size. Second, farming is
increasingly being done by tenant cultivators/ sharecroppers. Since these are largely based on informal lease
arrangements, the tillers in this case, too, are cut off from the formal credit system, which means it matters
little whether crop loans from banks are being extended at 9 per cent or 4 per cent.
There is a strong case, then, to focus more on augmenting credit availability from the banking system, more
so to cover small and marginal farmers as well as landless cultivators against tenancy/ lease certificates.
Farmers, unlike salaried employees or most businessmen, receive no regular monthly income. They typically
have lumpy revenue streams from the sale of one or two crops a year. Borrowings that includes crop loans
are what sustains their consumption round the year. In such a scenario, access to timely credit at reasonable
cost is what counts. When the formal banking system is unable to deliver that, the farmer is forced to go to the
moneylender, leading to the familiar story of indebtedness.
There is no evidence that the Centres interest subvention scheme, in place since 2006-07, has reduced farmer
indebtedness. The latter, if anything, has only gone up, especially in the last two years, with back-to-back
monsoon failures and crash in crop prices impacting farm incomes. The starkest manifestation of it is in
Maharashtras Marathwada region, which alone saw over 1,100 farmer suicides in 2015, capping what has
been an annus horribilis for Indian agriculture.
That links up with the committees second recommendation to institute a universal crop insurance scheme
starting with small and marginal farmers with a monetary ceiling of around Rs 2 lakh. The Rs 13,000 crore
that the Centre is spending annually on interest subvention for crop loans can be redirected towards subsidy
on insurance premium. If farmers have insurance protection against crop loss and price slumps with prompt
claims settlement enabled by satellite imagery, handheld GPS devices, drones and other technology-based
solutions for assessing damage and access to formal credit channels, they are less likely to be driven to
despair and suicide.

Page 36

Tashkent syndrome (Indian Express)

On January 10, 1966, the Tashkent Declaration brought an inconclusive war to an inconclusive end. Pakistan
failed in its objective without confronting any need to change it. We foiled Pakistan without any lasting effect.
We were surprised into war, ignoring a contingency obvious in the most rudimentary planning; we planned
for Tashkent, but concluded without achievement.
Arguably, we made the best of a poor job: Stalemate on the ground means stalemate at conference tables.
Unable to apply transformative pressures, subjected to strong external pressures ourselves, we reverted to the
status quo ante. The opposite case, that we muffed things from start to finish, is equally sustainable. That
presumes options, which can only be conjectural but, clearly, we showed deficiency in anticipation and
deficiency in handling two equal weaknesses in statecraft.
Initially rejecting Moscows proposed summit, we soon realised it was better than facing the Security Council.
Delegations need a dogsbody; returning from three years in Pakistan, I was chosen presumably for that intense
experience. Dutifully preparing ordered briefs on all outstanding India-Pakistan issues, I couldnt imagine
discussion of refugee properties, abducted women or even Farakka. What were we really expecting?
Such decision-making was, of course, at more stratospheric levels but the privilege of access to them elicited
the answer. We aimed at revising the ceasefire line to retain our gains beyond the old one, and get it accepted
as the equivalent of an international frontier precision of objective, at least. But Pakistan had suffered no
setback that could extract such surrender of determined ambition. How to gain our aims, and what if we
couldnt?
The intention was to stick it out, but we ran into a difficulty. Moscows initial plea that Tashkent would only
be a start, we could keep talking at more Tashkents, proved a ruse. Once there, we found the Russians
determined on success. Worse, any fond hopes that our old friendship would help us yielded to their deft
evenhandedness. Moscows illusions of weaning Pakistan away from its then pet hate, China, actually made
it rather softer on Ayub Khan, but such are the ways of the world.
They are not our ways. Signals that if no agreement emerged, Moscow could not give us its usual veto in the
Security Council, proved too much for us. Umpteen countries have defied umpteen UN resolutions, including
India, but at Tashkent, perhaps it was considered too much hard work. How we persuaded ourselves that that
peculiar phrase, both sides shall observe the ceasefire terms on the ceasefire line, amounted to recognising
it as the international frontier remains baffling. Lal Bahadur Shastriji had misgivings, but he had the core
government of India there his foreign and defence ministers, both political heavyweights, three seniormost
secretaries and the incoming army chief, most decisively our hyperactive ambassador to the USSR. None said
nay, the die was cast.
What if we had not signed? We had an asset of invaluable, if unpredictable, potential. Pakistan had grabbed,
after the ceasefire, swathes of Rajasthan desert, to claim winning more area than us, but virtually unpopulated;
we could have endured nominal loss, albeit with our usual political clamour. Pakistan, however, had almost
half a million refugees from the small but heavily populated Pakistani Punjab angrily refuting Islamabads
claims of victory. The political consequences of letting them agitate for months is inevitably speculative but
it was an alternative.
Page 37

Retaining our gains across the ceasefire line would have been internationally condemned, perhaps leading to
sanctions, admittedly hard on the eve of ship-to-mouth dependence on wheat aid. But Pakistan was in no better
position, and those internal consequences of not regaining its Punjab pockets would have made it weaker. The
option was not looked at. We gave up our two planned objectives because we could not think what else to do.
This is not to find fault, only to illustrate how we function. We were inexperienced then: No Indian had had
to decide on defending the nation for nearly two centuries. The advantage of relative freedom from distractions
and constraints, with decision-making limited to a small, supposedly better-equipped circle, was dissipated by
amateurishness. Fifty years later, the use of state power for state purposes, the contents and role of power
itself, keeps eluding us. Inexperience then, immaturity now. The way both successive governments and
oppositions, and our fourth estate, behave is just plain childish.
Our previous PM had a very clear understanding of Indias strategic needs; his transformative intentions were
frustrated by his own party adding to opposition obstructiveness. The present PM has shown extraordinary
imagination and finesse in fresh transformative initiatives, only to face worse obstruction. You paralysed us,
so we must paralyse you! Serious, adult people do not damage national interest like this.
Fifty years also confirm specifically the intractability of India-Pakistan relations. No Indian government ever
explains itself, perhaps because Hinduism does not believe in conversion, winning over opinion. The arts of
persuasion have never been our forte. We prefer ex-cathedra pronouncement, leaving everyone to decipher
rationales. But sneers of volte-faces what has changed to make policy change? is just more puerility.
Precisely because things do not change it is sometimes worth trying something different. Stubborn persistence
is necessary when it achieves something as we have shown by holding to our J&K position despite huge
pressures (what we have done there is another matter). But adamant insistence on terms never possible can
only matter if you use time to develop transformative pressures, which our politico-administrative situation
prevents.
Lahore was a brilliant idea, Pathankot notwithstanding. Indeed, the lesson is that there will always be
Pathankots. Whether Pakistan can ever get a government able and truly willing to override its diehards is
debatable doubtless the equivalent question can be asked about us. Our only effective course is to make
ourselves so strong above all, so efficient that we can contain, or at least withstand, Pakistani mischief.
That requires a national consensus on just a handful of national security issues; which we do our worst to deny
ourselves. Governments need to carry conviction, persuasiveness. Others must also serve national interest,
subordinating, if not abandoning, foolish behaviour. Our politicians need to grow up and our administrative
machinery to deliver. Or else, we can keep on muffing things.
Underestimating disability (Indian Express)

On some recent occasions, the prime minister has suggested the use of divyang, instead of viklang, for
individuals with disabilities. Any change in nomenclature is for the disability division (of the social justice
and empowerment ministry) to work out, after consultations. However, underlying that nomenclature change,
theres a definition and mindset issue.
Globally, 15 per cent of the population faces some form of disability and theres a UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which India signed in 2007. Since 1995, we also have a piece of
Page 38

legislation called Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation)
Act. Whats the percentage of the disabled population in India?
Census 2011 tells us the percentage of disabled is 2.21 per cent; 2.41 per cent of the male population and 2.01
per cent of the female population. There are higher (more than 2.5 per cent) levels of disability in states like
Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. But even in these states, the
percentage is less than 3 per cent. Logically, India cant be that much of an outlier. This means we are
underestimating disability. We arent defining and capturing it adequately. On censuses, part of the story is
the following. From 1872 to 1931, all censuses asked a question on disability. No such question was asked
between 1941 and 1971. A question was asked in 1981, dropped again in 1991. Questions were again asked
in 2001 and 2011.
Comparability across 2001 and 2011 becomes difficult because the definition of disability wasnt identical.
Census 2001 asked a question about five types of disability, Census 2011 extended it to eight to capture
disability better. Under the disability act, disability is defined as: One, blindness; two, low vision; three,
leprosy-cured; four, hearing impairment; five, loco-motor disability; six, mental retardation; and seven, mental
illness. Let me give a few examples to illustrate definitional changes. What happens if you have problems
with only one eye or only one ear? You were disabled in 2001, not in 2011. What happens if you have a
hearing aid? You werent disabled in 2001, but are in 2011. More specifically, the eight types of disability in
2011 are in: One, seeing; two, hearing; three, speech; four, movement; five, mental retardation (new category
in 2011); six, mental illness (new category in 2011); seven, any other; and eight, multiple disability (new
category in 2011).
The numbers I cited earlier are based on this 26.8 million disabled people, 18.6 million in rural India and
8.2 million in urban India. Within that, most people are disabled under the heads of seeing, hearing, movement
and any other. Not surprisingly, disability is a function of age, with a sharp increase after 60 years.
We are undoubtedly measuring it better, but we are still not measuring it properly. One reason is obvious. We
still approach disability from a medical or pathological angle, focusing on a condition regarded as abnormal.
In contrast, in most developed countries, the focus has shifted to a social approach, highlighting institutional
and social arrangements preventing those with impairments from leading normal lives. Consider the disability
act. To be classified as disabled, you need a medical certificate, specifying the extent of the disability. To
become disabled, your functioning must be 40 per cent or less than whatever is regarded as normal.
Take a look at the railway concession rules for disabled passengers to see how complicated we have made it.
The NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) has also occasionally done surveys on disability. Since
these are surveys and not censuses, lets ignore these, although one should mention that NSS figures on
disability are much higher three to four times more. In the course of the Eleventh Plan (2007-12), the
erstwhile Planning Commission suggested that the disability figure was 5-6 per cent of the total population.
As life expectancy increases, because of its correlation with age, disability will also increase.
On censuses, no matter how good the training and irrespective of how many kinds of disability are covered,
do you seriously expect enumerators to be able to measure or capture disability? Thats unlikely. Thats
precisely the reason I used the expression question was asked. The census essentially functions on the basis
of self-reporting of disability and, sometimes, the question isnt even asked. In all probability, the gap between
Page 39

true disability and measured disability is more for mental disability than for physical disability. We shouldnt
wait for Census 2021 to improve matters.
Thats the reason I wished to flag Keralas disability census of 2014-15, the first state to have such a census,
started under the social security mission. This covers 22 kinds of disability in movement, muscular
dystrophy, chronic neurological disorders, multiple-sclerosis, hunched backs, dwarfism, blindness, seriously
impeded vision, in learning, in speech, mental retardation, mental illness, autism, deafness, leprosy-free
persons, haemophilia, thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, deafness and blindness and
multiple-disabilities. Sure, this covers many more kinds of disability, but I am still sceptical. As far as I know,
the census report is still in draft form.
However, broadly, this is the Kerala story 2.2 per cent of the population is disabled; 11 per cent of
households have disabled individuals. Above 60, 12 per cent of the population is disabled. These numbers
may well be right and my only reason for scepticism is the low overall figure of 2.2 per cent. For Kerala,
Census 2011 gave us a disabled population of 7,61,843. The Kerala census of 2014-15 gives us a figure of
7,91,998. Since the years are different, Im not convinced that the Kerala census, laudable though the effort
is, has corrected the underestimation sufficiently.

Page 40
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NITI AAYOG
Skill Development and Productivity of the Workforce
Skill development is an important driver to address poverty reduction by improving employability,
productivity and helping sustainable enterprise development and inclusive growth. It facilitates a cycle of high
productivity, increased employment opportunities, income growth and development. However, this is just one
factor among many affecting the productivity whose measurement differs for individuals, enterprise and
economy. The increase in productivity could be due to availability of skilled & healthy manpower;
technological up gradation and innovative practices; and sound macroeconomic strategies. The manifestations
of improved productivity can be in the form of improvement in real gross domestic product (economy),
increased profit (enterprises) and higher wages (workers). In this section, we are looking into the relationship
between skill development and productivity with focus on India. However, to begin with it is necessary to
understand what constitutes productivity and how it is measured at different levels. Productivity which
explains an input-output relationship is a crucial factor whose benefits can be distributed in a number of
different ways such as better wages and working conditions to workforce; increased profits and dividend to
shareholders; environmental protection; and increase in revenue to Governments. This helps both the
enterprise and country to remain competitive in the domestic and global market respectively.
The increase in productivity can be attributed to varied reasons such as new technology, new machines, better
management practices; investment in plant and equipment and technology, occupation safety improvement in
the skill level of workers; macro-economic policies, labour market conditions, business environment and
public investment in infrastructure and education. Therefore, it is evident that skill development is just one
factor necessary for the productivity growth and it needs to be an integral part of the development policies.
The policies should address the levels of development and need and requirement of various sectors. Besides
this the skill policy should focus on improving access, quality and relevance of training for different segments
and sectors. The evidence from developed countries suggests that investment in education and skills helps
economy to move to high growth sectors and break the low wage, low skill development syndrome. Different
countries at different levels of development face different challenges. In the context of developing economies
like India the challenge is to meet the skilled manpower requirement of the high growing sectors on the one
hand through better synergy between employers and the training providers, increased investment in the
training infrastructure and also to ensure that the informal economy also have skilled manpower wherein the
informally trained skills are recognised and certified and that entrepreneurship training is provided for moving
to formal sector.
The workplace training plays an important role in productivity enhancement but in the developing economies
the huge informal economy poses a challenge which could be addressed by developing clusters or lead firm
taking the initiative which would help achieving economies of scale in the skills development; development
of competencies within and between firms and availability of lead firm facilities. This would make available
skilled manpower by the lead firm as per its requirement and the small enterprise would improve their
productivity. The Government can facilitate linkages among various companies and stimulate adoption of
technologies and skill upgrading programmes.
The linking of skills and productivity would not only benefit the enterprise and economy but would also
facilitate different segments of the population particularly the marginalised sections of the society to reap the
benefits of the economic growth through skill development. The lack of access to education and training or
the low quality or relevance of training keeps the vulnerable and marginalized sections into the vicious circle
Page 41

of low skills and low productive employment. The National Skill Policy provides a framework to ensure access
to various target groups to realise their potential for productive work and contribute in economic and social
development.

Page 42

National Portal of India

Startup India Starting a Startup Revolution
Startup means an entity, which is registered in India not over five years and the annual turnover not exceeding
Rs.25 crore in any financial year. It is an entity which works towards innovation, development, deployment
or commercialization of new products and services driven by technology or intellectual property. Startup India
is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to build a strong eco-system to encourage new
ideas and Startups in the country that will lead to economic growth and generate large scale employment
opportunities.
Startup means an entity, which is registered in India not over five years and the annual turnover not exceeding
Rs.25 crore in any financial year. It is an entity which works towards innovation, development, deployment
or commercialization of new products and services driven by technology or intellectual property. The action
plan announced by the Government in this regard, hopes to address all aspects of the Startup ecosystem and
accelerate the spreading of this movement.
Simplification & Handholding
Compliance regime based on self-certification: The idea is to reduce the regulatory burden on startups, so that
they can focus on their core business and keep the cost of compliance low. The regulatory regimes will thus
be made simpler and flexible; inspections more meaningful and simple.
Startup India Hub: Creation of a single point of contact for the entire startup ecosystem to enable the exchange
of knowledge and access of funding. The Government will be the main stakeholder and will collaborate with
Central and State Governments, Indian and foreign VC's, angel networks, banks, incubators, legal partners,
consultants, universities and R&D institutions.
Rolling Out of Mobile App and Portal: It will act as an interacting platform for startups with the Government
and regulatory institutions. This will be made available from 1st April, 2016 on all leading mobile/ smart
device platforms.
Legal Support and Fast: Tracking Patent Examination at Lower Costs- To promote and create awareness in
startups about IPRs and ensure continuous growth and development of new startups, this scheme will make
the task of filing patents easier.
Relaxed norms of Public Procurement for Startups: The aim is to provide equal opportunity to Startups as
compared to experienced companies. The Government will exempt startups from the criteria of 'Prior
experience/ Turnover' in case of tenders floated by Government or by PSU's, without relaxation in the quality
parameters.
Faster Exit for Startups: The Action Plan will make it easier for Startups to wind up operations in case they
fail to succeed. An insolvency professional will be provided to the Startups, who will be in-charge of the
company for liquidating the assets and paying the creditors in six months time. This process will accept the
concept of limited liability.
Provide funding support to startups: The Government will set up an initial fund of Rs.2,500 crore per year
and a total of Rs.10,000 crore over a period of 4 years

Page 43

Credit Guarantee for Startups: To encourage Banks and other Lenders to provide Venture Debts to startups,
Credit guarantee mechanism through National Credit Guarantee Trust Company (NCGTC)/ SIDBI is being
considered with a budget of Rs.500 crore per year for the next four years.
Tax Exemptions on Capital Gains: To promote investments into Startups, the Government will give tax
exemption to those who have capital gains during the year and have invested such capital gains in the Fund of
Funds recognized by the Government.
Tax Exemption to Startups for Three Years: To address the working capital requirement, stimulate the
development of Startups in India and provide them a competitive platform, the profits of Startups will be
exempted from Tax for a period of 3 years.
Tax Exemption on Investments over Fair Market Value: Investment by incubators in Startups will be exempted
from Tax.

Page 44

MCQs
National
Ques- Which of the following is not correct regarding air quality index?
a. AQI has been monitored in only four big cities across India
b. Very satisfactory is one of the category in AQI
A.
B.
C.
D.
a only
b only
Both
None
Ans D
Ques- Consider the following statement and mark the correct option?
1. CJI is appointed by collegiums of four senior most judges.
2. Any person to be appointed as Judge in the SC should either have been judge of HC for five years or
practiced in HC or SC as lawyer for ten years
1 only
2 only
Both
None
Ans D
Ques- What is the correct order of installed capacity by given energy sources in India?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Solar> Wind> Hydro> Biomass

Wind> Solar> Hydro> Biomass
Wind> Hydro> Solar> Biomass
Solar> Hydro> Wind> Biomass
Ans C
Ques- Consider the following statements and mark the correct option.
1. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) decides for the appointment of cabinet secretary
only.
2. Minister of Personnel and Training is chairman of the committee.
3. Minister of Home affairs is also a member of the committee.
which of the following statements are correct?
Page 45

A.
B.
C.
D.
1 and 2
2, 3
1 only
3 only
Ans D
Ques- Which of the following rivers drain into Arabian sea?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Narmada
Mahi
Meghna
Krishna
A.
B.
C.
D.
1 and 2
1, 2 and 3
2 and 3
All
Ans A
Ques- Which of the following statements are correct regarding National security guard?
1. The National Security Guard (NSG) is a special forces unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA).
2. NSG, RAF and COBRA come under CRPF
A.
B.
C.
D.
1 only
2 only
Both
None
Ans A
International
Ques- Arrange these countries in decreasing length of sharing border with India?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Bangladesh
Pakistan
China
Nepal
1>2>3>4
1>3>2>4
2>1>3>4
2>1>4>3
Ans B
Page 46

Ques- Which of the following is not correctly matched?
A.
B.
C.
D.
INDRA
:
India and Russia
Hand-in- Hand :
India and China
Sahyog-Kaijin :
India and Australia
Malabar
:
India and USA
Ans C
Sports
Ques- SAFF cup is related to which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Cricket
Volleyball
Hockey
Football
Ans D
Ques- Which of the following is not a recommendation of Justice Lodha committee?
1. Separate governing body for IPL and BCCI
2. Ministers can become part of governing council of BCCI for better management.
3. setting up of a Players Association to safeguard the interests of the cricketers.
A.
B.
C.
D.
1, 2
2, 3
2 only
1, 3
Ans C
Science and Tech

Ques- Which of the following statements are correct?
a. Paris agreement on climate change is effective from 2016.
b. IPCC assess the extent to which the globe is expected to warm up over the medium and long term.
A.
B.
C.
D.
a only
b only
Both
None
Ans B

Page 47

QUES- Which of the below statements correct regarding BS Norms?
A)Bharat stage emission standards are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate
the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.
B) The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under
the Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate change
a) A only
b) B only
c) Both A and B
d) Neither A nor B
ANS C
QUES- Which of the below statements regarding Hydrogen bomb are correct?
a. Thermonuclear weapon is a nuclear weapon that uses the energy from a primary nuclear fission
reaction to compress and ignite a secondary nuclear fusion reaction.
b. All the nuclear weapons deployed by the five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT today are
thermonuclear weapons using the TellerUlam design
A.
B.
C.
D.
a only
b only
Both a and b
Neither a nor b
Ans C
Economy
Ques- Which of the following statements are correct regarding WTO?
1. Trade facilitation agreement (TFA) is a trade protocol aiming to give a spur and do away with the
stumbling blocks in doing international trade between various countries.
2. In Bali meeting committed to duty free and quota free market access for LCDs.
A.
B.
C.
D.
1 only
2 only
Both
None
Ans C
Ques- Which of the following correctly defines the term crowding out?
A. It is an investment process under which general public is kept out
B. It is an economic theory which believes that rise in public setor spending drive down or even
eliminate private sector spending.

Page 48

C. It is an economic theory which believes that more expenditure in social security generates economic
growth.
D. None of the above
Ans B
QUES- Which of the below statements correct regarding The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets(
Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015?
a. The Bill will apply to Indian residents and seeks to replace the Income Tax (IT) Act, 1961 for the
taxation of foreign income.
b. The total undisclosed foreign income and asset of an individual would include income, from a
source located outside India, which has not been disclosed in the tax returns filed; income, from a
source outside India, for which no tax returns have been filed; and value of an undisclosed asset,
located outside India.
A.
B.
C.
D.
a only
b only
Both a and b
Neither a nor b
ANS C
Ques- Which one of the following statements appropriately describes the fiscal stimulus?
(a.) It is a massive investment by the Government in manufacturing sector to ensure the supply of goods
to meet the demand surge caused by rapid economic growth
(b.) It is an intense affirmative action of the Government to boost economic activity in the country
(c.) It is Governments intensive action on financial institutions to ensure disbursement of loans to
agriculture and allied sectors to promote greater food production and contain food inflation
(d.) It is an extreme affirmative action by the Government to pursue its policy of financial inclusion
Ans B
Ques- Consider the following actions which the government can take :
1. Devaluing the domestic currency.
2. Reduction in the export subsidy.
3. Adopting suitable policies which attract greater FDI and more funds from FIIs.
Which of the above action/actions can help in reducing the current account deficit ?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
1 and 2 .
2 and 3 .
3 only.
1 and 3.
Ans a

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