Scribd Logo
Importer

Bienvenue sur Scribd !

  • Bs+et+toi 23-04-15

    Transféré par

    EMJAY
    12 vues25 pages
    kmko

    Titre original

    BS+ET+TOI 23-04-15

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Formats disponibles

    PDF ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd

    Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

    Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

    Signaler ce document
    kmko

    Droits d'auteur :

    © All Rights Reserved
    Téléchargez comme PDF ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
    Signaler comme contenu inapproprié
    12 vues25 pages

    Bs+et+toi 23-04-15

    Transféré par

    EMJAY
    kmko

    Droits d'auteur :

    © All Rights Reserved
    Téléchargez comme PDF ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
    Signaler comme contenu inapproprié
    sur 25
    ECONOMY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS — 22” +0rk:For Civil Services Land acquisition continues alongside debate on new Bill The Union government acquired land for widening of an under-construction highway, overruling farmers objections in Rohtak, Haryana AGRICULTURE CRISIS ‘Teamwork For Civil Services The Real Kisan Crisis — Nidhi Nath srinivas Bvenasthe Indian Meteorological Department on Wednesday forecast ‘plow normal rainfall for thedune- {eSeptember monsoon season anda farmer from Rajasthan committed Sulcideatan AAPrally inDelhion the same day. therehasbeen plenty of soundand fury about saving farm: fersoverthelastfewdays On Monday, ‘day after espokeat the Ramlila Maidanabout the government being ‘antl Larmor, Congross vio pres! ‘dont Raf Gand lambasted a suit bootkisarkar Usa didi tearvaout India's peasantry in Parliament. Oth crthan thopoliies,hisplanto"res- ‘cue farmerssignifiesnothing. Poliical maneuvwringlaskeptev. ceryone'seyesoeusedon theLandsill ‘nits potontlal toforebly dislocate farmers trom their properts But no purty hasaddrossed thoenormous ‘challenge of how tsto farmerstrom ‘esingtheirprofesson in drovesor ‘omeommittingsuleide Like theres of us, raral families sodk sufficient Incometora good ‘Quality of life. When that ncomeis mmlssingtrom farming they find new ‘ccupations, Thereal concern facing India'ssmillionfarmersliving nits stslakh villages that wehavestil potdevisedan efficient way tocope ‘withthesystemicrisks hat thresten Farmer incomes, ‘Farm incomes arealfected by ‘weather, whieh impacts production, ‘Andprices which impact sales The marketing year201415 was agricul- ‘turesannushorribiliswitharare doublowhammy of bad weather nd low prices The consequent rural an- ‘gerandhelplessnessssplllingouton Cty strets through participation in rallies and protests Freak Weather sine January has at {ected wheat, chan, lentil maize, cot ton,rapesood, mustardand fruit crops. Even though farmers reese ‘weather alerts through textmessages andeommuntty radio fram govern ‘entagencies, they coulddo litleas ‘he crops were ot ready for harvest ‘Crop insurance’s thesolation. Bat aceordingtoan Assocham study0% farmersaretmawareot it Insurance ‘companies, too,focus on farmers wwillingto paya premium, or those ‘Whooptbrloars with mandatory crop insurance. Even those who ought weather insurance won't find succour thisyear Theinsuranceis, one on anareabasis So itheavy ‘aindamages only afew acres inavil- Tage, he insurance company pass ‘compensation fortheaveragelossof thevillageinstead of the individual farmer's. ‘Thegovernment owned Agriculture ‘nsurance Corporation estimates that claims fromumeasonal rains could toucheloDerore Compare dat with ‘American farmers whosofar have ‘ocolved $2.8 billion in indomait pay ‘mentsfor their 20\4crops This is 25% doervaso from 2013, when farm frsrecelved marethan§12bilian in ‘ndomnlty payments. hoUS federal ‘rop insuranceprogrammecoyers corn, wheatandsoya bean, as Wellas ‘ruits.and vegetables "Meanihile efforts suchas the central seovernmentsdirectraie pment, ‘oxation inthe Food Corporation of India's (FC procurement specifica tHons.or Haryana'sproposdl to set up itsown insarancecompany appeartoo Leto ate The unseasora rane cameasafinalbowatertwo season Sharif andeabi2014—oF prices ‘roppingbelow costo caltvaion ‘Frompraducingtottieina01213. we ‘seem tohave jumped prodacing to ‘much, Howl daathappen? (Over thelastone eat farmers were mainly catering todomesticdemand, ‘whieh isn enongh to absorb theen- tiresupply Andthat sthenub ofthe ‘ater India iscrucially dependent onexporistokeep tsagriculture profitable Tn2OIy, thendditionaloutltot ex: portwascutofF mainly because bum [ereropsincompetingnationsand {hestronger dollar pushed down pei- ‘sof corn cotton, dairy tea, ollmeals, fquaryum, basmatl sugarin the word ‘arltets import of cheaper edibectls Heptalidon domesticollseed prices, Tnshor,ourerops couldn't compet, ‘Stocks of cotonand cor procured, bythegovernmenttoshoreupprices acted as an overhangon themarkc. ‘Thetsoicrore Price Stabilisation ‘Fundremains for ptatoandonion. Since consumersand the wholesale pres index WPD were benefitting ‘om falling prices, publicaction re ‘mained subdued. Sensingtheseeth Ingruralanger politicalparties cashed, Forfarmers protests ‘agent the Lan il were peasy Or thedeeper trauma of fllingincomes. After continuously risingfar last five years, Inda'sfarmseetorandal- lied productexportshavedeclined in 201415. Andthisvtalbutlittle ‘known et revels thereal reason be- hind the widespread rural distress. Farmers urgently ned an efficient system to cope with thevagariesaf soba trade "Thereal question beforeevery plit- lealparty show ean womake indian agriculture globally competitive? ‘Theanswerstothatcan’tbe oud in the Ramla Maidan nd Bhat Parsaul, ‘The writers Chey Markering Ofte, NCDEX Teamwork For Civil Services, Rains seen below normal for 2nd straight year North, central India to be hit most severely BS REPORTER New Delhi, 22 April The southwest monsoon in 2015 will likely be below normal at 93 per cent of the long-peri- od average (LPA) because of the El Nifio phe- nomenon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday. If the forecast turns out to be correct, this would be the second consecutive year when the south- west monsoon is below normal. The forecast is with a model error of give or take five per cent. LPA is the average rainfall the country received between 1951 and 2000, estimated to be 89 cm. In 2014, rains were about 12 per cent below normal, lowering kharif foodgrain output by about nine million tonnes (mt) year-on-year. The arrivals of the rains was also delayed by more than 5 days. North and central India are expected to get Jess than normal rains this year, while it might be normal in peninsular India, IMD said. Below normal rains on the back of huge losses to the standing rabi crops due to hail- storm could aggravate the crisis in agricul- ture and derail the Centre’s efforts to rein in food prices, particularly of pulses, oilseeds and vegetables. The ministry of agriculture estimates that rabi crops in around 9.38 mil- lion hectares have been damaged in the unseasonal rains, which may lower wheat output by five per cent from a near record 95.8 million tonnes estimated in February. Turn to Page 5> ECONOMY » Farmers should wait & watch: IMD chief 4> MONSOON/ALARM forecastvsiactual (of LPA*) CIIMD forecast &Skymet forecast MlActual Kharif impact {y-o-y %) 2012 2014 95 88 i 94 SSN 2015 93 102 SSS * % of long-period average (LPA) — average rainfall received by the country aver 50 years since 1951 — currently 89 cm. Rainfall < 90% of LPA = Drought Rainfall between 96% and 104% of LPA = Normal Rainfall > 110% of LPA = Excessive Note: IMD is India Meteorological Department; IMD issues its first forecast in April and subsequently updates it in June Source: Department of Agriculture, IMD and Skymet Teamwork For Civil Services Rains seen below normal for 2nd straight year According to the monetary pol- icy framework agreement, the Reserve Bank of India has to bring down Consumer Price Index-based inflation to below six per cent by January. India’s agriculture growth, which dropped to 1.1percentin 2014-15 from a high of 3.7 per cent in 2013-14 in the new gross domestic product (GDP) series, might remain weak in 2015-16 ifthe kharif harvest drops. DK Joshi, chiefeconomist at CRISIL, said in a report a sec- ond straight year of weak mon- soon would decrease the effica- cy of India’s irrigation ecosystem and hit agricultural output and farmers. “According to our calculations, a deficient monsoon, if it comes true, will shave off 50 basis points from our GDP forecast of 79 per cent for fiscal 2016,” Joshi said. ‘The southwest monsoon not only has a direct bearing on kharif harvest but also affects the rabi production, as more than half of India’s total arable land does not have regular irri- gation. Almost half of India’s total annual foodgrain production of 250-260 mt comes from the kharif season. Paddy, cotton, soyabean, jute, groundnut, etc, are produced during this sea- son, sowing for which starts around June and the cropis har- vested from September onwards. “The El Nifio conditions might prevail during the mon- soon season and the probability of rains being excess is negligi- ble,” Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said. According to IMD’s classifi- cation, rainfall below 90 per cent of LPA is considered defi- cient, between 90 and 96 per cent below normal, between 96 and 104 per cent normal and between 104 and 110 per cent above normal. The met office said the prob- ability of the southwest mon- PROBABILITY FORECAST OF DEFICIENT & NORMAL RAINS IN 2014, 2015 Rainfall range Category (% of LPA) Deficient less than 90 Below Normal 90-96 Normal 96-104 Above Normal 104-110 Excess MoreThan 110 NOTE: Rains below 90 per cent of LPA are defi 2014 M2015 Forecast probability in % Ii hh nt, while that between 90-96 per centis below normal. Rainfall between 96-104 percentage of LPAis classified as normal and that over 104 per cent is above normal. Long Period Average (LPA) is the average seasonal rainfall overthe entire country for a period 1951-2000 soon being below normal was 35 percent, while of it being nor- mal was 28 percent. The chance of rainfall this year being defi- cient is 33 per cent. Inother words, according to the first forecast, there is more than 50 percent chance rainfall in 2015 will be less than normal. In the past, El Nifio had struck Indian monsoon 14 times, of which rains in eight years were below normal. The southwest monsoon in 2014 was below normal at 88 per cent of LPA. The met officein its first forecast had predicted rains tobearound 95 percent of LPA. “We will alert the Cabinet secretary, the Prime Minister’s Office and also the ministry of agriculture on this but the actu- al impact of low rains on kharif production will depend on the distribution of the rains,” Harsh Vardhan said. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the govern- ment was fully prepared to meet any eventuality and had already prepared contingency plans for 100 districts. Religare Research said in a report a second consecutive Source: India Metzorological Department year of low rains might push up prices of farm commodities that have already shown a bullish trend this year. Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings, however, said it was too early to assess the impact of below-nor- mal rains on farm production as things might change between now and June, the actual arrival date. Laxman Singh Rathore, director general, IMD, said the recent bout of heavy unseason- al rains caused primarily due to western disturbance seemed to have made no impact on the poor southwest monsoon fore- cast. “The good part is because of these unseasonal rains, the reservoir levels are at acomfort- able position,” Rathore added. Fertiliser Association of India Chairman Rakesh Kapur said low rains could have an impact on fertiliser demand in the country as well. Last week, private weather forecaster Skymet predicted the southwest monsoon this year would be normal at 102 per cent of LPA. It has discounted any impact of El Nifio. Teamwork For Civil Services MAHARASHTRA GOVT TO SUGAR FACTORIES ‘Pay farmers or no licence next season’ SANJAY JOG Mumbai, 22 April he government in Maharashtra has decid- I ed not to provide a licence to operate for the next cane crushing season (starting October) to sugar factories which do not pay farmers at the fixed Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP). Factories as on date owe 23,148 crore to cane growers. ‘The office of the sugar com- missioner has started revenue recovery procedures against 38 factories. In Maharashtra, the FRP for 9.5 percent recovery of | sugar from cane is 2,200 a tonne. There will be a rise of %232 a tonne in FRP for every one per cent rise in recovery. Cooperatives minister Chandrakant Patil told Business Standard: "The gov- ernment has __ already announced an interest-free Joan of 22,000 crore so that fac- tories can make the FRP pay- ment. If it is found that facto- ties divert the loan amount, they will not get a licence to operate in the next season.” He said the government would request the Centre to direct Food Corporation of India to procure nearly 2.5 mil- lion tonnes across the country. Of this, 800,000 to 900,000 tonnes can be lifted from Maharashtra, which will gen- erate 23,500 crore. \"That mon- ey can be used by sugar facto- ries to repay the loans taken by them in the past to pay FRP and thereafter stay afloat." Patil said in a detailed memorandum to the Union finance finance minister, the state government has also appealed to the Centre to increase the import duty on sugar to 40 per cent from the present level of 25 per cent, and to create a buffer stock of five million tonnes. Hesaid Maharashtra had so far produced a record 10.1 mil- lion tonnes. A governmentoffi- cial said factories have said the falling price of sugar had adversely impacted their bal- ance sheet and they were not ina position to pay the FRP, He said distress sales by factories were also responsible for the price fall. BS REPORTER Bengaluru, 22Apr ‘Ata time when the social media population in India is growing exponentially, the country ranked second on a list of nations that were most targeted for cyber crimes through social media in 2014, followingthe US. According to the Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) released by Nasdaglisted secu- rity solutions provider ‘Symantec, India saw six per ‘cent of the social media scams globally, marginally higher than the UK and Canada. “Cybercriminalsare inher- ently lazy; they prefer auto- mated tools and the help of unwitting consumers to do their dirty work,” said Tarun Kaura, director (technology sales) at Symantec India. “Last year (2014), India had the sec- ond highest number of social media scams globally, Over 80 per cent of these scams were shared manually, as attackers tookadvantage of people's will- Teamwork For Civil Services ‘India second-most targeted in cyber attacks via social media’ Symantec report says India saw 6% of social media scams globally in 2014 CYBER CRIME IN INDIA IN 2014 India ranks 2nd in social media scams India ranked 3rd in Asia for ransomware attacks India is 6th most bot- infected country "About 65% of bot infections reported in metros = 341% of cyber attacks in India were targeted at ingnesstotrustcontent shared bytheirfriends.” While emails are still the more prevalent means of cyber attack, the report said attackers are using social media as a “ready base” for crime as they continue to experiment with new attack methods that reach mote people with less effort. Globally, 70 per cent of the attacks on social media fooled users to manually share scams, followed by fake offerings, hit- ting the “like” button, com- small businesses "India saw seven ransomware attacks per hour; 170 per day; about 60,000 in 2014 Cyber criminals are using social media, apps * Globally, 70% of social media crimes fooled users to manual sharing of scams menting or through fake appli- cations. Separately, the report said, seven internet users in India faced “ransomware” attacks every hour in 2014, in which their devices were restricted by attackers who demanded ran- somtto remove the restrictions. India saw 170 ransomware attacksa day in 2014, takingthe number of such attacks to 60,000 during the full year, the report said. Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts accessto the device that it infects, and demandsa ransom paid to the creatorsof the malware for the restriction to be removed. “While social media scams can provide cyber criminals with quick cash, some rely on lucrative and aggressive attack ‘methods like ransomware. Last year, ransomware rose 113 per cent globally. India reported in Asia, with an average of more than seven attacks every hour," Symantec said. Unlike the ransomware attacksin the US where attack- ers pretended to be law enforcement, seekinga fine for stolen content, the attacks in India were more crypto-ran- somware where files, photo- graphs and other content of the user are held hostage without masking the attacker's inten- tion, the report said. As many as 86 per cent of all the ran- somware attacks in India were erypto-ransomware, posing a threat to consumers as well as companies. ‘Teamwork For Civil Services Forget smart, make cities livable Sesisissisaig ghcwasnas SiSenenriceanp tne in ks Soe segn in’ ana ome Here's what the government should do to make our cities better — work out a Caccamecenen plan to manage the traficsituation and make public transport more attractive Se cepam ands oneal ease ects tes Inguatasttadidanen-monectour coporteGumpon-reunbleisge oun: Ofcoune twas take athe a Theorie acongaton tot {elumnsts es infored us areno constuction swith uneven age ea of he Fouts at as tat poe mt ne (Sngeratechsstieyftedore "Sutera on more sapec) ay acs tot of the The taestaton xy pea tour ro ‘Fehe Caine looked Beyond ts onthe roa, Ree ae fiks and U> work and mectings wil Inseam thar eier Therese othermth- oaes and Lutyens Debi would Gus a eiyae fog sussex, happen duscg’ peak “beleaengate,,otatctetune adap ‘qudlyserwhasmencethetrtcin Carvareefientacsinguplnoasteny tinea butllbeatan. Pane, Wpdarabad ar el ~ enforcement wil Rectvimebecome™tasdepetse Sram of tai wey reine hey ‘Fortis (o work two Malia steady Fenais the challenge écotssagstugeicadetiereade Ravemioedsameturmertmecter™ thing nec! to mappen. detorng an line dexigaied days for Sarat fom Gust andy ey wenponiyapernte. far, Oo yueedanewosa: wa Wei paak Sch a abr OUT OF THE BLUE ‘Sslerand fester reach Mumia, er chies='be it Bengiars Pune, molocatone Taeieco Mieraveareeded Sens ago sme Kind of ML BHARGA ‘Sure senior govurment ofl dceortng wes TathcpeskRyarount 00k needstogpup have cae wih th ie abd Ivins semmen Scraiereneaeas EPRaMr eae! “TAG meme “aie bem ame Lene: Sse ces Sates eee STS ena tneN Ss Ecesmiaies meme saan Kueh er Scene ane Saat elmhomn we Tegicepeiee Sgeaiaitaents scpegemera ta ESUSeRS ts Wee es oe esteem Sinner: Seitiueatemie nccmacan Guatwsmamien Saetenaticcm cucsepienm. Stanmia anes EGcckGdacs Sama Sacehtecic merkeatoetaie sete wiess Sahai Soeaetan: Seca meee mene Teamwork For Civil Services Labour law, again Why has the Centre held up Madhya Pradesh's reforms? t has often been claimed, whether as explanation or justification, that the reason the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre has chosen to ignore important factor market reforms, such as to labour laws, is because of a strong belief in federalism. Competitive and co-operative fed- eralism, goes this argument, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s preferred approach, and as such his government will leave it up to the state governments to take the lead on this issue. In fact, this argument did not exactly originate from the Centre but was a readily available explanation for New Delhi’s unwillingness to reform major central labour laws — but its apparent willingness to sign on to Rajasthan’s reforms of those laws. However, this argument stands in tatters with news that the central government has been delaying Madhya Pradesh’s chosen labour law reforms. These were approved by the state Cabinet as long ago as September 2014, and sent to the President for his assent as ordinances in October (since the state Assembly was not meeting till December). Madhya Pradesh’s proposed reforms were to 20 different labour laws. Some of them were far-reaching indeed, such as allowing enterprises with less than 50 workers to terminate employees without conducting a specific enquiry. Companies with capital of less than 225 lakh - genuinely small enterprises - would be exempted completely from seven onerous central laws. The package of reforms went further and deeper than those that were passed by Rajasthan and present- ed as a fait accompli to the Centre. They also held out the promise of energising investment and entrepreneurship in an under-performing state. Sadly, however, as this newspaper has reported, these state-level reforms have foundered on the rock of objections from the Centre about their scope and content. While central officials have said they are concerned about the legal tenability of some of these reforms, the question arises: how is that their concern, if Madhya Pradesh has con- sulted lawyers and is satisfied? If serious about federalism, then surely the legal tenability of the reforms is the business of the state government — or of the courts. In effect, six months after being asked to clear these laws, the government has rejected six of the most far-reaching amendments, including the exemption of small businesses. One other rejection is telling. The Madhya Pradesh govern- ment wished prosecution under the Factories Act to be rare and depoliticised, and so handed permission for such prosecution over to the relevant regulator, the labour commissioner. However, the Centre insists it stay with the ministry con- cerned, which will not help in depoliticising matters. This example shows that it is unwise to have allowed the central government to miss the boat on the reform of labour markets. State-level reforms will nec- essarily be patchy, which makes compliance for companies difficult. And even ifthe Centre’s argument about legal questions is taken at face value, it shows that in the absence of repeal of these central laws by the Centre, the sword of judicial review will always hang over state-level “amendments”. There can no longer be any pretence about it: reform of restrictive central laws must happen at the Centre, and soon. aircraft outright from France has understandably created asi It apparently fis the face ofthe “mule tl Vendor, open tender, transparent” appresch ongoing for cioseto 1 yearsin ‘which this sreraft was frst found suit able, then qualified as Lt dowest ten- {en and then there were prolonged con- trace negotations, The plan to buy 16 planes outright and build the remaining 1HO in Hindustan Aeronuties Limited (HAL through transfer of technology hhas now collapsed: the latest decision will, inevitably, include an Option Clause for some more outright puar- chases asthe ordered number scleaaly not viable, rs it is true thatthe negotiations «dragged on fr too long but nee for any {aul ofFIAL. The Fench manurocturer wasrefusingtoaderetothetermsspec- ified inthe Request for Proposals (RFP) sentouttall vendors itwasalso not re: pared to guarantee performance of ait- fraftmanufucturedin india, once again, ‘clear violation ofthe erms ofthe REP. Second, this delay was already begin- ning to affect the force level of combat Arerat that the Air Force was slipping, {down to; as per its projections the reduced strength could haveseriouscon- sequenceson uring readinessand, thereby impactrational security. Third, an dea was begimningto get mooted to jetsonthe Rafale deal andgoinforadi- tional Russian-origin SU 3OMKIs, already being manufactured by HAL tunderlleenceandof which the Ait Force hhad good numbers. ‘et us lok at some facts. Fst the Jongdelayed LCA, planned replacement for the MIG-21, Is now nearing opera- T he deisionto purchase 36Ratale Teamwork For Civil Services Rafale deal: truths beyond rhetoric PREMVIR DAS ‘lonal status. Does anyone really believe that war or even Limited hotles wth CChina or Pakistan are onthe horizon in theimmediat future? Provocationsand assisted militancy, even insurgency couldbea pessbilty—but ought ar, requiring the urgent avalabllity of ver~ Satie combat alreraf? So, the warnings pputoutthatthe countr'ssecurty wasin Fropardy were dlearlyhypeThisnotwith- ‘Sanding, the falling strength of fighter ira scauseforconcernand required ‘corrective action. ‘Butte serious asue is different. No military platform of any kind can be developed and built unlesthereiscapar bilty to design it ue ability to mane facture and procure ciferent varieties of equipment often influences this fist stepbut can only flow t So, putingthe drawings. hundreds of them. in place is {heirs essential prerequisite. the Navy «an happily tum out the most modem destroyers from its shipyards the latest being Vshalehapstnam, launched last ‘Monday. tisonly because ight from ts eaiest years, it has focused on devel oping design know-how and this has ‘resulted in every ship being more com: bat worthy than its predecessor with increasing indigenous contentboth from, the public and private sectors CConeiirently, It is necessary to give strong supporctothebuiking yards The closest possible interface is needed betweentthe buyer, thedesignerand the bullder and, ifthe four Navy shipyards today have morethan 40shipsonorder Risbecsusethesethreessntial quite smentsare being mt Interestingly, the Air Force had also cemsbarked on tls outeeartyon, anda craft like the 17F-2, HPT-2 and HE-24 bearevidencetothistge But thereafter the focus shifted to outrght purchase ‘with or wethout manufacture in India. under lcence — which generates skilsin ‘manufacturing techniques, Bucno ben- eftsin acquiring design know-how. ‘While the Navy's desigr-and:-build- Iin-India plans have moved strongly through focused attention those of the ArForcehavenot Iistriethat we are still unable to produce much of the Sophisticated equipment that modern fighter areraft require but these can alvays be bought and integrated into the platform design After all,even the latest warship being bull at Mazagon Docks Lidin Mumbaihasweaponsand sensors from different sources inci Ing our own, all interfaced into acom- plete sytem. “Takingthe shelter of mationalsecuri: tytoforoethe“outeght purchase route” has been the easy way out and overthe years, political leaderships ofall us have succumbed to this hres. “Thesad reality sthat the apparently transparent mult-vendor rout for mi ltarypurchasesis wholly unsultedtothe Indian way of doing business literally. Experience shows that where we go the single-vendor governmental route, things move faster and with fewer com plications. So, opaque a it may seem, ‘until design capabilities are greatly enhanced this Hobsons choice appears ‘obethe only routetotake. All this may make for dismal read- Jing. Ontheone hand, wewantto manu- facture modern military platforms in India on the other, the essential eapar biltes required todo so either do not cexistorare decent. Sadly thisisnot something that can ‘beset right overnight orjust by sifting ‘ack from public to private sector. The ‘Amy and the Air Force, which do not hhaveinchouse design structures, must fawolve themselves more closely with the know-how already created with DRDO and others, send more people abroad fortaining and, together, focus ‘on building complex platforms. This process may ake several yeast cere reno shor cutst hastaken the Navy five decades to get here. To think that private companies can start designing fand building fighter alreraft when DRDO/HAL, with decades of experi- ence cannot, isto live in a world of ‘make-believe. ‘The Ait Force mustalso involve self ‘more closely through geater contol of HAL entities ust as the Navy fis been doing all along for its shipyards. This synerpised.Plan-Design-Order-Build approach is essential ifthe other two Services are to get anywhere close to where the Navy has eached and, ys, it ‘elias some miles togo. ‘Thewriterisajormer dirt gonratofine kefence panning staf teaser in poston dealings he Nxyspiarntng Ckdenioees HOLISTIC OVERHAUL Various pul ions have withdrawn en from the Indian Readership Survey, demanding lower fees, tamper-proof data, better validation and a larger sample size Does the IRS matter to advertisers? While publishers have been squabbling over readership figures for over two years now, advertisers have moved on to television and digital media VANITA KOHLI-KHANDEKAR New Delhi, 22 April ce he IRS (Indian | Readership Survey) not being stable is a matter of concern, but we need to move on. TV and digital dominate our mindspace and ad spends now,” says Ronita Mitra, senior manager, brand communication and insights, Vodafone India. Lloyd Mathias ishead of marketing for printers and PCs at Hewlett-Packard India. His division spends more on print than any other media. “The lack of IRS has forced us to look closely at media that is bet- ter measured,” he says. Earlier this year, when IRS 2014 was released, publishers began their usual fight over the numbers. The Times of India and others have been publish- ing large notices ridiculing the IRS — which is released by the Media Research Users Council, or MRUC, abody of publishers, advertisers and agencies. “Unless there are some funda- mental checks, we don’t want to be part of it,” says Rahul Kansal, executive president, Bennett, Coleman and Company, which publishes The Times of India. Some publica- tions, including The Hindu, Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar, have withdrawn from the survey. Others such as Malayala’ Manorama have refused to pay their subscrip- tion. They are demanding low- er fees, tamper-proof data, bet- ter validation and a larger sample size. Last week the MRUC board accepted some demands. The sample size for IRS 2015 will go up to 300,000. from 235,000, and there will be aconcurrent audit by one of the big five consulting firms, says Shashi Sinha, an MRUC board member. MRUC did not respond to e-mailed queries. Whether a survey with a larger sample will work remains moot. It’s been more than two years since the last “acceptable” readership survey. Meanwhile advertisers, who bring in two-thirds of the industry’s %26,300 crore rev- enues, have moved on, bring- ing down the growth of print ad revenues from about 8 per cent to 5-6 per cent in the last two quarters — way below that of television. The print indus- try, however, made record prof- its on the back of falling newsprint prices and rising cir- culation revenues. Much of advertisers’ indif- ference and publishers’ rabble- rousing then raises the ques- tion: does readership matter to anyone? Maybe not. While the television industry has man- aged to raise 7150 crore to get a new rating system going, MRUC is struggling to get the US crore or so it needs to con- duct the next round of IRS. ‘There are three reasons why some publishers would be hap- py to bury the IRS. One, according toan MRUC board member, “a lot of media owners are fundamentally uncomfortable with measure- ment because the medium is in some decline”. The reader- ship growth of English print had slowed down to less than percent in IRS 2012. Some top newspapers showed marginal declines. In the absence of data, advertisers use historical numbers because “readership INDIAN READERSHIP SURVEY: ATUMULTUOUS HISTORY MRUC was set up in 1994 to shake off the dominance of large papers in the erstwhile National Readership Survey. In response to complaints about the IRS, MRUC, in 2009, joined hands with the Audit Bureau of Circulations to form the Readership Studies Council of India. In 2012, it gave Nielsen India the mandate to carry out the survey. When the revamped IRS was released in January 2014, publishers were furious. Total readership was shown to have gone down from 350 million to 281 million and many publications were displaced in the rankings (the figure was subsequently revised to 301 million). There also were anomalies in the data. The Indian Newspaper Society denounced the survey. Dainik Bhaskar got a stay order on it. However, a 15-member revalidation committee that included The Hindu and Malayala Manorama commissioned an audit that largely cleared the process and data. Using the 2013 data with one round of fieldwork in 2014, MRUC released IRS 2014 earlier this year. This set publishers off again. Many publications such as The Times of India were active on the revalidation committee. So, why the questions now? Rahul Kansal, executive president, Bennett, Coleman and Company, publisher of the paper, reckons the data is “very tamperable”. To which Sandeep Tarkas, MRUC board member, replies, “| don't agree with the tampering charge because when we changed the process everyone agreed to it. If you are happy with the process, then the outcome has to be accepted." An insider maintains that where MRUC went wrong was in using a year-old fieldwork. Another member asks, “Publishers are complaining about corruption of data, but who is corrupting it? Why can't they rein in their own guys?” THE INDIAN PRINT MEDIA: THE BIG PICTURE ei 2014 Total readers (in million) Ad revenues (F crore) Circulation revenues (¥ crore) Total revenues (¥ crore) As percentage share of total media & entertainment industry 350 301 13,900 17,600 6,900 8,700 20,800 26,300 28.7 25.6 Source: IRS 2012 and IRS 2014, FICCI-KPMG Report 2015, has some amount of loyalty, a 5,000-10,000 rise or fall doesn’t make or break a publication,” says Sameer Satpathy, chief marketing officer, Marico. This means that the publications in the topmost rungs in IRS 2012 remain where they are. This ranking is very dear to pub- lishers because of its perceived impact on ad rates. That, says Paritosh Joshi, chairman of MRUC’s technical committee, isa limited use of the IRS. “Itis not just about helping some- cone increase or decrease prices. Suppose I say that in house- holds that comprise people less than 20 years of age, there will bea likely drop in print reader- ship. Has anyone done a regres- sion analysis to see which parts of India this hypothesis bears out for and which parts it does- n't?” Joshi asks. Two, 50 to 65 per cent of the spend in large regional lan- guage papers comes from local or regional advertisers. Their measure is the response to an ad, not readership. The nation- al advertisers who want read- ership numbers are already moving to TV or digital, further reducing the importance of readership. Also, the IRS sam- ple is skewed towards the big metros. This makes language papers, most of which are grow- ing fast in small towns, unhap- py with the readership picture. Three, the new IRS is also abouta tussle between bigand small publishers and between publishers and advertisers. Till the process change happened in 2012, many of the larger pub- lishers drove the research agenda. They don’t now. “Many large publishers don’t attend technical committee meetings and don’t understand research. There is a lot of ego and politicking between the big and small publishers,” says an insider. For a quick contrast, MRUC insiders point to the Broadcast Audience Council Research, or BARC, formed to rejuvenate television audience measurement. “BARC has done a great job of constituen- cy management. MRUC has- n't,” says a person familiar with both. Jayant Mathew, director, Malayala Manorama, sug- gests, “We need better com- munication among the princi- pal stakeholders and a robust research principle that is signed by everybody. The research process needs to be explained before, not after the data is out.” Sandeep Tarkas is president (customer strategy) of the Future Group, a heavy print advertiser and an MRUC board. member. He says, “In the long term, the lack of readership data will destroy the (print) media.” Most publishers agree. ‘The question is, do they want to do anything about it? ‘Teamwork, For Civil Services Shades of cyber democracy MAYANK MISHRA New Delhi, 22 April “Please help me to get admission in Prakash Higher Secondary School (CBSE), Bodakdev, Ahmedabad. The Fees Structure of this school is nominal and I can afford also. I voted for Modi sir, now I want help from your side. Please try to get admis- sion in Prakash school for my daughter (sic).” “Dear PM Narendra Modi Jee Namaskar, With refer- ence to attached advt in local newspaper, I would like to draw your kind attention that:-There be facility for finance (EMI) to buy cycle. waiting for this facility from the day I heard a news that Mr. Pawan Munjal (CEO, Hero) had appealed FM to provide finance facility for cycle buyers also as small durables are financed then why not cycle. I will be first buyer after this facility. wait- ing 4 positive action (sic)” “Skill development needs to be managed at three lev- els: 1) Identification of skills that are in demand and that make our youth employable; 2) imparting of the skill training; 3) maintain a pub- lic/online registry or data- base of skilled force to enable people to search and locate person with Aimed at crowdsourcing © | Bntpei/imyoovan (. ( ¢ Besides, the website runs several contests also. There is acontest for writing lyrics for the Digital India anthem, there is a contest for design- ing a logo for Skill India and suggestions have been asked to give a suitable name for “Housing for All by 2022”;. People are asked to com- ment on the prime minis- ter’s “Mann ki Baat” also. “It is a great platform for participative governance and ensuring that ideas from all Indians are part of the policy making,” says Arvind Gupta, head of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s IT cell. The website claims that many of the people's sugges- tions have been incorporated in the general and rail- desired skills (sic).” of ideas, the way Budget. These are three platform was Budget proposals of nearly 500,000 launched by such as making comments — some personal request, some vague sug- gestions and many others full of constructive ideas — that have made their {way to the government's cit- izen engagement digital platform mygov.in. Aimed at crowdsourcing of ideas, the platform, launched by the prime min- ister on July 26, 2014, already boasts of nearly 880,000 registered mem- bers. And they have already posted comments on as many as 177 themes; from skill development to ‘Beti bachao beti padhao’ (save girlchild, educate them); from Clean Ganga to new education policy and from providing e-services in rural areas to the proposed public procurement Bill. While themes like youth power taking India ahead (24,376), skill development in 2ist century India (17,595) and taking e-services to rural areas (11,994) have generated a lot of debate, the one on Adarsh Gram Yojana has failed to get any response. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26, 2014 Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for cash transac- tions above a specific limit, penalise non-disclosure of foreign assets and tax bene- fit for contributions to Swachh Bharat Fund were inspired by the people’s comments. Similarly, ideas like ordering food online, anoth- er enquiry number with regional language support and involvement of MPs and MLAs to develop modern railway stations came from the people through mygov.in and made their way to the railway Budget. “Mygov.in is a path break- ing initiative which moves governance closer to people and helps in crowd sourcing of ideas from a billion plus population. This will be par- ticularly helpful to craft gov- ernance more suitable to those who have been ignored thus far,” observes Jaijit Bhattacharya, _ partner, KPMG. A good response to ‘citi- zen engagement’ through a y FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE GOVT ™ Mygov.inhas 881,000 registered members 489,000 comments received on 177 discussion themes Some suggestions got reflected in general and railway Budgets Comments sought on PM's "Mann ki Baat” ™Conteststo name schemes, write lyrics for digital India anthem digital platform notwith- standing, a range of themes for debate has elicited com- pletely unrelated responses. For instance, one of the responses, and there are not many on the issue, on the revised draft Internet of Things (IoT) Policy is that the government must do something to ensure that dif- ferently-abled people get meaningful employment. Many other comments are related to the ongoing debate on net neutrality. Similarly, one of the comments on draft public procurement Bill is: “Why don’t you opposing the decision taken by several states regarding beef ban. Veda, Mahabharata are man made as the way Kuran n Bible. Veda, Mahabharata admit the fact of beef eating then I request you to oppose the beef ban (sic).” It could be because some of the topics for discussion are vaguely framed with very little offered by way of explanation. One such topic reads: “Measures to improve allocative efficiencies in the expenditure classification system.” And, the explana- tory note says: “Suggest measures to improve alloca- tive efficiencies in the exist- ing expenditure classifica- tion system, including focus on capital expenditure (sic).” No wonder the topic has received just 305 comments. And one comment is: “Govt. Deparments (departments) are eating money (sic). ‘Net Neutrality For Cit ‘Norms Should pices be Clearly Defined by Govt Nasscom says different regulators taking different views will only complicate the matter; wants synergy between over-the-top players like Facebook, Twitter and telecom companies [New Delhi: The National Associ: ation of Software and Services Companies on Wednesday said the government should take the Jead ‘in defining net neutrality andthe way forward istocreatea Synergy” between. overthetop Players.and telecom compan, “Sincethe regulatory framework is allembracing net neutrality Principles need tobe very clearly Articulated ‘by the government, land adopted by the regulator in armoniousmanner itwiliot be ful different negultors adopt diferent viows of not net ‘alts sad Nasscom President Chandreshoktar ‘Nasscom wil soon share its r= sponses on the consultative paper, ‘Regulatory Framework for Over: the-Top Services’, released by the ‘Teocam Regulatory Authority of India(Tra)in late March. (Overthetop players are oper ators Ike Facebook, Twitter and Skype that usetclecom network to provide their services Tin jndaoiey tosky toll esa vent of the Internet, proliferation Gf mobile talophon adoption ot social media, big data and analy 1s, cloud, Internet of things and soon.combined withthegrowhot startups and innovation ecosss- {oman Digital Indi, has ereated the perfect confluence for break through economic development andtransformation in aia "Any slifingregulations restric. ng acess to Internet or internet foot wcrc presi octenr tard only seriously hamper this pros- poctof dovelopment, but also up press growth and sucess of inno, ation driven tech startups and SME companies.” sd Sanjeev Bhikchandan, chair of the Nass Comintemet Coun NNassoom said the key guiding prineiples of net neut About a ses right tomake an i formed choice in deciding cress tolegal content or services onthe caiwaoe Shi tae te em ‘mised when regulations filtofor bid) prisbased and. non price ‘based discrimination by telecom, service providers, “Thxeother key priority isthe pro- liferatlonof an afore eleeom infrastructure. These “essential Duildingblocks of the digital revo- lution are not contraditory snd can and eel to be sytergisd,” ‘ded Chandrashekhar "The Nasscom president stressed twas importa took at ways ia ‘which the tleos and OTT players an work togothor “We must ook St how to synergise these two 50 thatdata consumption gous up to fos got their even from the a ta,anddevelopmient of apps iscon tinued by the entrepreneurial companis,"hosaid. “The industry body also said it ‘was important todispelthe myth that Internet platforms and ser views (OTT services)are current Iyunregulated Ther? Actandits rules regarding intermediaries land interception are applicable tolnternetpiatforms and servic- fs, as are the rules laid dawn in the Code of Criminal Procede, ‘and the Indian Penal Code BY India’s overwhelming Hinds Iajority shrinking? A rocont Survey by the Pew Rosearch Canter echoes nes. reports ‘sed on eked gurestromthe ‘ntoensns For the st timesince in Sependance nor, ewer than our five ndiansseldentines aa Hind, ‘Nowdlassto sy theta suas ‘ono falling Hindu numbers—evenit nly inrelatveterms—touchosaraw nervewith sections of thefar Right A ‘VHP leader respond fo the survey ty suagesting that Inia as om es ‘ay fo becoming another Ahan tanorPakistan, Notlongaterwarts a Vicepresidentof the Hint Mahasab- hhademanded that Muskimsand Chris Alansbefrelbysterllised ShivSena's ficial newspaper Saamna, echoing founder Balasaheb Thackeray, called forMusimsto be disenfranchise Lena seis te represent mainstream opi Kon Bat theystandoutasexamplesa how not fo diacuse demographic change. If sensible people cannot speak calmly about tho sso0 they o ectvely cade I to assorted cranks, bigots and conspiracy thoorists ‘ThePeswaurvey suggests farmore snunneed picture than to overhoated thet that grabs the headlines ‘Wath forty rates comfortably above ‘he replacement level of 21 children Teamwork, For Civil Services India needs to find a sane way to discuss a relative decline in the population of Hindus No Demons in Demography er woman, n absolut terms Indl's Hing population is growing, not de- fining Over the next year, Wil ‘sellbyoveraonmilionpeopletottal pen bili Tn relative terms, however, these sumbors suggest a gentle but steady Gecline compared to other faiths. In 1s51.notlongaftertheravagesofPar- {iton, India was about 85% Hin [By twillbe77%s Hind, To pat it diferenty.f you'reinyour istoday. ‘our parents ikely grew up in an In Gia where one in eight peope was ‘Musiim or Cheistisn, Your gra dren wil vena county where that figure willbe ele to one in five The proportion of Hindus coin cidentally Is about the sme as r= Mectel in the 18 consuso ndvi fl India. Throw in Pakistan and Teangladeshand, over 170 ea por: od to 205, the Hindu population of the region is projected to shrink to 61% of 27bilion people Bearing On Fertility Rate ‘Mostofthechango in Indiacanboos plained by a sharp projected uptick {nthe Muslim population thanks to ‘ghor fortlity ates The averagotn dian Muslim woman bears 2 ea fron: the average Hind has 25 ell fren, Over the next 35 sears, ‘Muslims in kaa wil Sell to about ‘it mllion, or more than 18% of the populaton, up trom tholr eurrent 1b share The survey predicts that by 260, Ina wil house the word's largest Muslim population, ahexd of Indonesia rv Pakistan ‘Christian numbers are harder to ppindown, Conrad acket thedemoe- rapher in charge of the Pow survey ‘ss that though both Hingtunational Stand evangelical groups aim that ‘The Pew Research Center survey predicts that by 2050, India will house the world’s largest Muslim Population, ahead of Indonesia and Pakistan Theelephantintheroom Christianity is growing rapid in In dia "We have not found evidence of thisincensus ordemographicsurvey fda" Pow estima approsimote- 110% undereountof Chrsdansin tne dian aout of some Dalit Chris ‘ans Mending as legally ind in fonder to qualify for resrvations in fovernment oben eucation, But while Pow predits that Chris: tianity will grow rapidly in places like Atriea over the coming decades, the Christin share of Indias pop: ‘lation willremainmereorlessstes 44yat25% ores of the population. ‘Another organisation the Center for {thostudyaf Global Christan says India’s Christian population 1s al ruady 47%, or about double Pow's ccurrentestimate Islam Biggest Gainer ‘Ata global level, the Hind share the world’s popnation will remain mere o less unchanged at 15% Here again thebigzesteainer both abso- Ine and relative terms wil be slam, Pew estimates that the wos’ Mis lim population well rise from 15 bil lion people today to 28 billion people {02 or fem 2% toneatty 3s thewosi'spopalation "Tobe sure, as with nearly all sur veys, promostications about the ft ture ought tobe taken witha grainot SL If minority religion numbersare ‘undercounted then Indias Hindu Jorty may deline mor rap thy Sgpsted. Though, by the same toe ‘en, they're orate thon 0 ro ‘concernsabout them. ithe va india willed finda way 10 tale boat religous demo {raphicsasothernationsdo—mostly ‘without fase, eancour or wid policy Suggestions. Over tho coming doe ais Inditschangingreligious demo- ‘raphics wil likely upend polities as ‘Neknow it particulary instates with large Musim populations such as ‘West Bonga and Assan. wilaiet everything from ators toward unt formetvleode tothe debateaboutrel. ious conversions to assumptions faboutundlan secularism. "Tounderstand what these changes meu, dia’ publle square nseds hostadebate that refleessneither the apathy ofthe Left nor the shriliness ff the extreme Right. This means {alking about aggregate trends with utlosingsightor individual rights. ‘Only then can the country conf dently come to terms with is chang. ‘ngdemographic rate “Trewrtrearesdentplow atthe Amore Evaarprse insta, Was ‘naton De GST Bill in Parl Soon, Broad Consensus among States: FM GOOD EFFECTS GST may add 1-2% to GDP by creating national market for goods & removing distortions caused by multiple indirect taxes levied by the Centre, states and local bodies xvoennememens All Setto Take the BigLeap —- sepa Tearennae » ee as A SRM Gace QEIUEETSN) fycntnnond yy meveetrer ‘soon even as some states raised ‘covern- | AmendmentBill” Consensus pre cee ieee) [eee ieee Soar and ee ee ee Seas Nee ee, gamatl tannn[ oxmenoament | Mat oa nat a oo ancirtacniaes eran esarceom | aaa cerecmsest | eee seremaaoyoy | Sena, eee eee —| mecca | conecte Rariteeieatemnibrcol | meme | Keres =e | ont session of Parliament,” FL Zince ‘Minister ‘Arun Jaitey — POOPWMPUTEY TTS ance Minister Arun Jaidey EP OSNERUIEUE ing with themembersof theem- EUROS i Tamil Nadu wants Maryanawants powered commit of tae Teg GMiewestobefised compensation, anceminiters ieforethe bits fortenyeasas Teer wleeaso taken ‘opposed to five ticetotokSabafor meditate roves nthe bil {en up soon, ie minister told TRese are mosty i Themadiaafteramecting witha Manufacturing states Canes ancemistesotiasatnern MERETEWEME Fao Zomll Nadu stuck a eiscor sto consum i j dantnote states oS faa ; ‘The empowered committee ehaitman and Kerala finance Iinister KM Mani said thore many states that feared a loss of try and maintain the target date Headed, "Broad consensuson Nas broadconsenstson the bill. revenuestalledthisreform, of April1,2016 Wearequiteopti the critical issues. should. be “There is general consensus re "Experts are hopefal the chane. misticatout thattarget,"heacld- evolved on these critical issues garding GST implementation. esare beter thistin fd, Prashant Deshpande, senior throughtheempowered commit Mostof thestates welcomeitbe- ‘Theconstitutional amendment director, Deloitte in India, said, tee before the enaetment of the causethere isonly advantage in bill'was infraduced in the Lok “Phe Centresndthestates work: bilistakenup. passingtheGSTbIt,"hessid. Sabha inDecember 20, Ingeloselytoarriveateonsensus Somestates want to be compen ‘Jallley said he was “quiteopti-Thebill has anumber of provi-_on the GST amendment bill au- sated for 10 years or beyond for mnistic® about the April 1, 2016. sions to provide comfort to the urs well fr the passage of the the revenue loss, Sampath sal, get, Aconstitutional amend- states Tobacco snd alcatel have billinthe current essionof Par- while manufacturing states Ike ment is needed to faelitate GSP heen kept out from the bill, pre-_liament." Maharashtra. and. Gujarat fs states currently do not have cluding chances of the Centre sought 2% additional tax over Dowors Coax sorvicos while the bringing thom under the GST at STATES RAISE CONCERNS. thestaeGst. Centre cannot levy sales tex a later date through executive At the meeting on Wednesday, "The revenue neutral rate, the GSTisacombined ivy that will process. Tho Contre has also Tamil Nadu said all issues GSTtaxratoatwhich thoroisno replace mostof the indirect t2x- Conmitiod to states that they should besotted rovenuo loss to either states or esleviedby thestates, willbe compensated for revenue mm ‘eforetheconstl- the Centre, noeds tobe Fsed. Tt “TheConsitution wilhavetobe lossfor ve years. Temnedy — tutlonal amend was poggod at 27% but needs to amendedalsotogieconcurrent ‘Thebillrequiresthesupportot TAMMY Ioone™ pill" is beracalculsted ater some goods lasing powers tothe Centoand Wothlel members of cach NAMM Dascoa-Thocur wero wept outof tho GST. States ingguoisandscviow axon’. aconsduidonsiamndnentbul, YT he conte win uataxiotnoniscvoyans “ . lossand ey transaction of supply of Subsequently half of the states RPE reduces const ‘The GST will subsume central Boodsorsorvices orboth. assomblies will hav to also rat tutlonal amend. oxciso, servicotax state VAT.on- ‘TheGstisexpoctedtoadd12% fyitasitaffectsthearticlesdeal. POMS ment billonGSTertainment tax, ceo}. entry totheGbPbyecreatinganational ingwithstatos ‘my and. ‘thon to tax luxury taxand purchasotas. ‘market for goods and Temoving "We sce no obstaces that will, ‘evolve a consen- Tamil Nadu wants full eompen. distortions caused by multiple interfere with the April 1, 2015 susonvariousaspectsof GSTs. sation for five years of tax loss Indireet taxes loviod by the Con- Umeline for GST.” Minlstor of pecially te actual tax rates and and petroleum products totally to, states andocal bodes, State for Finance Jayant Sinha tax ands, through the GST out of GST. The eurrent bill pro First proposed by theerstwhile sald. “Wo are trying our best (0 Counell is hot acceptable os” vides for declining compenst. UPAovernment, the tax Was to work up ton endeavour where, said Tamil Nadus minister for tion over five years and mneludes ‘oe rolled out from April 12010 with the support of the IT bae- commercial taxes and registra. petroleum burtheexact date Will ‘but resistance on the part of bone which has been created, we tion MC Sampath. bedecided later. India For the First Time will Release Data with Details of Exporters rt Teamwork, Services Move likely to help govt to make more informed trade policy decisions to boost Make in India programme Way Forward In aun, ncn tattical fice will eleace ‘ew data that wll ena'y where expo iy pemeceeres Pale eased onthe Exports of over census cata the +300 ‘Statistics ome bition ar 3900 ‘allen ‘special survey tacapture more ‘Operations and constraints would undertake cof exporting units etait about their a AS Corrs porcine ected reo tard rs perpen iy oer Ps ‘Vikas.Dhoot@timesgroup.com nw Delhi: In June this year India's steal oles will release new data that will identify for the fest time ‘where India’s exporters are located [and What they are sel ‘OMicals believe this could help the government make’ more tnformed ‘manufacturing and trade policy deck Slonsinthe contextofitsMakelA India programme and the stiff $900 billion exportstarget set for 202. ‘With exparts of over $500 billion in 20115 and an economy that has been Open to global trade for well over two Aeades, it may eameasa surprise that thegovernmentof India has little idea \shereltsexport output spree "At present, the official trade data is compiled on the basis of inputs Irom portsandcustoms authorities soitean track exports on the basis of where thoy were shipped out, not where thoy remade Thisiesbouttochangessthe 2018 Reonomale Census, whose results areexpected intwomanths, would oer glimpse whlch Indian firmsarvex porting what and where they are lot fd. “Wehave askod allentorprises with tenor more workers f they are export {ng any of their output and what prod uctiheyareexportina,”saidasenior of ficial m the Central statistics Omce. "These queries wereadded tothe ques tionnaire atthe behest of the agency that compiles foreign trade data tno Director General of Commercial intel. once and Statistics or DCIS, “This ‘will not only help ceonomte ministry ‘mandarins examine what type of en {erprises are engaged In exports, but also inform poliey makers aout the typeof exportsoriginatingsrom diter ent parts of the count” the official leased on the consis dat, he sta Listes offiee would undertake aspectal survey of exporting units to capture more details about thelr operations Andeonstraints. ‘Significant the census would also reveal granular details about and: oom sand. handicraft units in the county, 3 Atpresent, Sector that generates theoffelal very high employment tadedatals 3s wells exports, the omplledon —oificaladded. Gebasisor Aseniorofficialinthe Inputstrom —DGCIS. handling. ex porsand” port data fold RT that Qisoms the census data on ex Sutnorties porting units would be Sn important frst step malongjournoyasmoredotalls would beneeded tocorrelatethedata withthe conmodily-wise export figures the ‘gency currently compllesonthebasis of validations from ports andcustoms suthorities, "A unit maybe making ton products, butexportingonlyoncot thom Ideally ‘weshouldhave information on produc tHon quantity and value of the exports by such umite to aoertain if these are moving in syne with the exports re ported by ports and customs adminis ‘ation, the ffeil India Beats Brazil as World’s Top Buffalo Meat Exporter Latest report of US Department of Agriculture says India has widened lead ‘over the South American country, shipments to Russiamay alsOris€ semuo “thelr aed Sits "Bevin October prediction by serene sense a oat ‘either tos son Ininporty numberof ote ‘Sg aetna Ura Hoppe meatntse tension Fibdatie Apnea ‘epment actor peda (rata len oer tice have nor ben iia HESR hs oust ‘exports, said DB Sabharwal, secre torch Itcould! ringanendio eal slaughter andraise priceforbutfalomeat, thusprovingtobe bene: ficial for companies ike Uuswhoareengaged inlegal slaughter stained ‘eased Hever ls adc ‘omecnened i lepasiancee Teamwork For Civil Services SC bench decides it’s fit to hear NJAC case Dumps Conflict 15-pay_ AY LIMIT FOR [ARGUMENTS Of Interest Objection bla Teamwork For Civil Services Cabinet okays trial of juveniles at 16 as adults inatowtetalo eros = at, sieve Commercial court malin) bill gets. cine Tegpemnsanmeson te ai cm Will safeguard juvenile rights’ EI Nino main factor for under par rain forecast Teamwork, Services By tying peasants to land, political parties propagate an in MA Kharabela Swain ‘Themomenta budget is presented in Paria: Iment or assemblies, i's ‘Sandand theatre for op position members to Fish out and denounce itasanth-poororantifarmen They paint the government to be. representing corporates, intent. only on selling farmers’ land to industries ata throw: way price. They domanc! imposition of more and more taxes on the rie and distributlonof these tothe poor. "The government also comes forward withthe claim of presenting a pro-poor, pro-farmer budge followedby alaundry Iistof freebies provided for the poor The opposition alms ‘rien are getting lehor and poor poorer’ ‘Allthose suggest that budgets should bbe prepared solely for the poor. The ‘middle class or rich donot exist even if they do nothing need be dane for them. Everything must be dane for the poor because they vote inlarge numbers ‘So, is poverty a virtue? Does one commit a crime by earning well? “industey"Is presented ava dirty word, ‘The overwhelming perception is that any industrialist sets up industry for the exploitation of labour, society And farmers. Hes thereforetindeserv- ingot any merey. The more merciless tho government can bo towards the corporate, tho’ more popular it supposedly becomes. "Prof to isa dirty word, but unless the industrialist earns good profit why should be set up any industry? There is no ned for him to make the effort, overcoming @ myriad govern: ‘mentaland societal obstacles, ‘There isnota single chief minister or prime minister" In. Independent nla who has not made untiring offortstodraw industry tohis domain, Even the very pro-poor, pro‘armer Left Front government in West Bengal hhad todoso,at theriskof losingpower ‘And they all do it to eradicate poverty ‘Tocreate jobs and employment. Ton crease per capita income. To improve people's standardof living, ‘ost farmers aporoach politicians, MMPs, MLAs, ministers to get a job for thelr wards in industry notin the {arming sector Because there sno prof inagricaltare While thisisthe reality fon one sida, on the other farmers are incited to resist when industry comes, ‘By lmprovoment of thestandard of Livingof thepoor we mean converting ‘an earthen house to pucea, provision nga washing machine, aretrigerator for even an air conditioner and a ‘wowheeler, "These rescue the women from the

    Vous aimerez peut-être aussi