CURRENT AFFAIRS SPECIAL

CURRENT AFFAIRS & GENERAL AWARENESS

As we move closer to same time of the UPSC Season when the aspirants are getting into groove of PT mode of f exhaustive study; we at CSC have come up with the present issue that caters to this aspect of the syllabus. Being appreciative of the fact regarding the unpredictability of UPSC-PT; we have endeavored to come up with a master-key that can build upon the conceptual clarity of the students rather than stufng them with unmindful facts. Moreover as we have been witnessing the unadulterated fact that PT exam has now become an essential part of selection rather than being a mere tool of rejecting non-serious candidates. Apart from getting into an aptitude model of n testing, CSAT (as UPSC-PT is now commonly referred to) also requires intrusive and intensive knowledge (rather than mere information) on any and everything that has to do with Current awareness (a hybrid intersecting between Current Affairs and General Awareness). Lucidly, speaking anything that has to do with convergence of human life, Governance, international polity and socio-economic fraternity is included in the fathomless syllabus of PT. With the vast experience we have at CSC, in training and modulating success stories, the issue in your hand is expected to be a gem in your book shelf. Conceptual clarity also makes this issue important for the later stages of exam including other Provincial Services Exams. Hoping, that our sincere efforts has really helped You in making your dreams a reality by the turn of next year.

NATIONAL NEWS
Right to Privacy Bill
Right to Privacy, like other fundamental rights in the Constitution and statutory rights under various laws, will soon become a reality. The Right to Privacy Bill is to provide for such a right to citizens of India and to regulate collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of their personal information. The bill comes in the backdrop of the Centre's assurance in the Supreme Court during the course of hearing of a writ petition led by industrialist Ratan Tata, challenging the publication of Nira Radia tapes, alleging that such publications violated his right to privacy. The bill says that every individual shall have a right to his privacy confidentiality of communication made to, or, by him including his personal correspondence, telephone conversations, telegraph messages, postal, electronic mail and other modes of communication; condentiality of his private or his family life; protection of his honour and good name; protection from search, detention or exposure of lawful communication between and among individuals; privacy from surveillance; condentiality of his banking and nancial transactions, medical and legal information and protection of data relating to individual. The bill gives protection from a citizen's identity theft, including criminal identity theft (posing as another person when apprehended for a crime), nancial identify theft (using another's identity to obtain credit, goods and services), etc. The bill prohibits interception of communications except in certain cases with approval of Secretarylevel ofcer. It mandates destruction of interception of the material within two months of discontinuance of interception. The bill provides for constitution of a Central Communication Interception Review Committee to examine and review the interception orders passed and is empowered to render a finding that such interception contravened Section 5 of the Indian Telegraphs Act and that the intercepted material should be destroyed forthwith. It also prohibits surveillance either by following a person or closed circuit television or other electronic or by any other mode, except in certain cases as per the specied procedure. As per the bill, no person who has a place of business in India but has data using equipment located in India, shall collect or processor use or disclose any data relating to individual to any person without consent of such individual. The bill mandates the establishment of a Data Protection Authority of India, whose function is to monitor development in data processing and computer technology. The bill makes contravention of the provisions on interception an offence punishable with imprisonment for a

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term that may extend up to ve years or with ne, which may extend to Rs. 1 lakh or with both for each such interception. Similarly, disclosure of such information is a punishable offence with imprisonment up to three years and a ne of up to Rs. 50,000, or both. similar to the World Bank's estimate of $1 a day (now $1.25 a day) per person, not at nominal exchange rates, but at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates. In recent times, various committees led by economists have come up with different ways to measure the extent of poverty. The ofcial line delivers a poverty rate of around 32 per cent of the population. A committee under Suresh Tendulkar estimated it at 37 per cent, while another led by NC Saxena said 50 per cent, and in 2007 the Arjun Sengupta commission identied 77 per cent of Indians as poor and vulnerable. The World Bank's PPP estimate of Indian poverty was higher than 40 per cent in 2005, while the Asian Development Bank arrived at almost 50 per cent. The UNDP's Multidimensional Poverty Index nds the proportion of the poor to be higher than 55 per cent. Since the mid-1990s, various government schemes have differentiated between the categories of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL), and it was announced that a whole range of subsidised goods and services - from cheaper food grain in the public distribution system to subsidised healthcare to access to funds for basic housing would only be available to BPL households. Following the controversy, the government has now declared that it will take into account multiple dimensions of deprivation for arriving at specic entitlements. suicide hotspot locations on priority basis. Set up State level Farmers Commission with representation of farmers for ensuring dynamic government response to farmers problems. Restructure microfinance policies to serve as Livelihood Finance, i.e. credit coupled with support services in the areas of technology, management and markets. Cover all crops by crop insurance with the village and not block as the unit for assessment. Provide for a Social Security net with provision for old age support and health insurance. Promote aquifer recharge and rain water conservation. Decentralise water use planning and every village should aim at Jal Swaraj with Gram Sabhas serving as Pani Panchayats. Ensure availability of quality seed and other inputs at affordable costs and at the right time and place. Recommend low risk and low cost technologies which can help to provide maximum income to farmers because they cannot cope with the shock of crop failure, particularly those associated with high cost technologies like Bt cotton. Need for focused Market Intervention Schemes (MIS) in the case of life-saving crops such as cumin in arid areas. Have a Price Stabilisation Fund in place to protect the farmers from price uctuations. Need swift action on import duties to protect farmers from international price. Set up Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) or Gyan Chaupals in the farmers distress hotspots. These can provide dynamic and demand driven information on all aspects of agricultural and non-farm livelihoods and also serve as guidance centres. Public awareness campaigns to make people identify early signs of suicidal behavior.

Poverty Line Estimation

India poverty line has always been a matter of huge debate, but it was a discussion mostly conned to economists and policymakers. But the matter has now gone public, following a row about an afdavit from the planning commission to the supreme court of India, in which the ofcial poverty line was set at 26 rupees per person per day in rural areas and 32 rupees in urban areas. The Planning Commission in September 2011 told the Supreme Court that the below poverty line (BPL) population in the country is 40.74 crore and the poverty line for the urban and rural areas could be provisionally placed at Rs.965 per capita per month (around Rs. 32 per day) and Rs. 781 per capita per month (around Rs. 26 per day), respectively. The measure was developed in the early 1970s, when a group of experts decided the appropriate line would be set according to the average monthly consumption expenditure of households whose members consumed (per capita) 2,400 calories of food per day in rural India and 2,100 calories per day in urban India. Subsequently, the poverty line has simply been updated using consumer price indices. These numbers now have little to do with actual calorie consumption because food consumption patterns have changed. However, the use of that line has been defended by ofcial sources who have argued that, at that level of expenditure, families could afford to buy minimum food and have simply chosen not to. Of course, this begs the question of whether it is really choice or the urgent need to consume other items (energy, healthcare and so on) that determine patterns of spending. Nevertheless, it is precisely this line (annually updated by consumer price indices) that has been used to describe the extent of poverty in India for decades. This was roughly

Prevention of Farmers Suicides

In the last few years, a large number of farmers have committed suicide. Cases of suicides have been reported from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The NCF (National Commission on Farmer's) has underlined the need to address the farmer suicide problem on a priority basis. Some of the measures suggested include: Provide affordable health insurance and revitalize primary healthcare centres. The National Rural Health Mission should be extended to

Norms Relaxed for Maharatna Status

The Union Government recently announced relaxation in norms for according the Maharatna status to Central public sector enterprises, a step that help many CPSEs acquire this tag, which gives a company more nancial autonomy.
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At present, ve CPSEs (ONGC, Indian Oil Corp, SAIL, NTPC and Coal India Limited) have been given the Maharatna status. As per the new guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, a company qualifying for the Maharatna status should have an average annual turnover of Rs.20,000 crore in the last three years, as against Rs.25,000 crore prescribed earlier. The criteria for grant of the Maharatna status to CPSEs have been re-examined in the context of representations received from various administrative ministries/departments and the need to suitably empower mega Navratna CPSEs so that they can effectively face the challenges of competition, both domestic and foreign and further expand their operations also led to the revision of the norms, the new guidelines said. Similarly, a CPSE with an average annual net worth of Rs.10,000 crore and net prot of Rs.2,500 crore for three years in a row will qualify for the status. Earlier, companies with required average annual net worth of Rs.15,000 crore and net prot of Rs.5,000 crore for three consecutive years were eligible for the for the Maharatna status. List of Maharatna, Navratna and CPSEs (as on November, 2011) Maharatna CPSEs Coal India Limited Indian Oil Corporation Limited NTPC Limited Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited Steel Authority of India Limited Navratna CPSEs Bharat Electronics Limited Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited GAIL (India) Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited National Aluminium Company Limited Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited NMDC Limited Oil India Limited Power Finance Corporation Limited Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited Rural Electrification Corporation Limited Shipping Corporation of India Limited Objectives of NPHCE: Provide an easy access to promotional, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services to the elderly Identify health problems in the elderly and provide appropriate health interventions Build capacity of the medical and paramedical professionals for providing health care to the elderly Provide referral services to the elderly through District Hospitals, regional medical institutions.

National Tiger Conservation Authority

The Govt. of India had launched Project Tiger to promote conservation of the tiger, since the signicance of its conservation has ramications beyond State boundaries. Management of forests and wildlife is primarily the responsibility of concerned State. The implementation of Project Tiger over the years has highlighted the need for a statutory authority with legal backing to ensure tiger conservation. Considering the urgency of the situation, Project Tiger has been converted into a statutory authority (NTCA) by providing enabling provisions in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 through an amendment, viz. Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006. The NTCA addresses the ecological as well as administrative concerns for conserving tigers, by providing a statutory basis for protection of tiger reserves, apart from providing strengthened institutional mechanisms for the protection of ecologically sensitive areas and endangered species. The Authority also ensures enforcing of guidelines for tiger conservation and monitoring compliance of the same, apart from placement of motivated and trained ofcers having good track record as Field Directors of tiger reserves. It also facilitates capacity building of officers and staff posted in tiger reserves, apart from a time bound staff development plan. The Minister for Environment & Forests is the Chairperson of the Authority, and the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment & Forests is its ViceChairman. The eight non-ofcial experts also the members.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012

The 10th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) was held from 7-9 January, 2012 at Birla Auditorium, Jaipur. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the event and President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil delivered the valedictory address and conferred the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards to 15 eminent NRIs. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Kamla Persad Bissessar was the Chief Guest of the event. Over 1900 delegates from about 60 countries were participated this years PBD. The Global Indian: Inclusive Growth was the theme of the event and the focus was on Indias Social Development and the Overseas Indian community. Prime Minister announced a new Pension and Life Insurance Fund for overseas Indian workers. The scheme will encourage, enable and assist overseas workers to voluntarily save for their return and resettlement and old age. It will also provide a low-cost life insurance cover against natural death. Prime Minister also announced that pursuant to the law that was enacted to enable non-resident Indians to vote in national elections, the Government has issued notifications for registration of overseas Indians under the Representation of People Act, 1950. This constitutes the rst major step to enable Indian residents abroad to participate in election processes.

National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE)

The National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly (NPHCE) is an articulation of the International and national commitments of the Government as envisaged under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) adopted by the Government of India.

PMs Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians

The Prime Minister's Global Advisory Council of People of Indian Origin is constituted to draw upon the experi-

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ence and knowledge of eminent people of Indian origin in diverse elds from across the world. The functions of the Council are: Serve as a platform for the Prime Minister to draw upon the experience, knowledge and wisdom of the best Indian minds wherever they may be based; Develop an inclusive agenda for two-way engagement between India and Overseas Indians; Consider ways and means for accessing the skills and knowledge of the Indian Diaspora for meeting India's development goals and facilitating investments by Overseas Indians into India; and Institution and capacity building in India to respond to the economic, social and cultural needs of the Overseas Indian community. The third meeting of the Council was held during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 at Jaipur. The Council meeting was attended by eminent Overseas Indians including Lord Karan F Bilimoria, Swadesh Chatterjee, Ela Gandhi, Lord Khalid Hameed, Renu Khator, Kishore Mahbubani, L N Mittal, Lord Bhikhu Chotalal Parekh, Sam Pitroda, Tan Sri Dato Ajit Singh, Neville Joseph Roach, Prof. Srinivasa S R Varadhan and Yusuffali M.A. The members spoke on issues concerning higher education particularly faculty development, engaging second and third generation overseas Indians, Foreign Direct Investment in retail, issues pertaining to governance, and how India can take a more proactive role in the discourse on globalization. The members appreciated that many of the suggestions made previously by them had been implemented for example merging of OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) and PIO (Peoples of Indian Origin) cards and facilitating voting rights for Non-Resident Indians while certain other issues are under implementation. The Maharashtra model is likely to be replicated in other developing countries, where logistics and infrastructure of the judicial machinery were weak. of deaths] and diarrhoeal diseases [15 per cent]".

Linking of Rivers of Maharashtra and Gujarat

Maharashtra and Gujarat have signed an agreement to prepare detailed project reports of the Damanganga-Pinjal Link Project and the Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Project. The Par-Tapi-Narmada link will benet Gujarat, while the DamangangaPinjal link will benet Maharashtra. The scheme, though mainly located in southern Gujarat, will cover part of areas north of Mumbai on the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. The link project comprises seven reservoirs on these rivers and a 395-km-long link canal. It is proposed to use the diverted waters to irrigate parts of Valsad, Navsari, Dang, Surat, Bharuch, and Vadodara besides the drought-prone Saurashtra and Kutch. The Damanganga-Pinjal link envisages the transfer of surplus waters of the Damanganga basin available at the proposed Bhugad and Khargihill dam sites to Pinjal reservoir for augmentation of water supply to Greater Mumbai.

Hyderabadi Haleem Gets Geographical Indication Status

Hyderabadi haleem is a type of meat stew of Hyderabad. Once the Geographical Indicator (GI) tag is granted, Haleem makers outside Hyderabad will not be able to sell their product as Hyderabadi Haleem and even those within the city can claim the GI tag only if they meet the quality standards. The GI tag is granted under GI Act 1999 to protect traditional products. It is different from trade mark which is granted to individual companies.

India's First Model District Health Project Launched

The country's first model district health project has been launched in the Morigaon district of Assam. The project was launched in collaboration with the Earth Institute, Columbia University and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The model district health project would aim at reducing infant and maternal mortality rates by 2015 It will focus on the gaps in health system management, delivery, oversight, and data-driven decision-making that impact the coverage and uptake of health services. Secondly it will be a learning site for districts, states, regions, and ultimately, all of India as focus will be on sharingresults, challenges, impact, facilitating factors - between sites, and with government ofcials so that betterment of NRHM can be achieved.

Drop in Infant Mortality Rate

UNICEF report titled 'Levels and Trends in Child Mortality, ' showed that the global under-ve mortality rate has dropped by a third from 1990 to 2009. However, the tragedy of preventable child deaths continues. Under-ve mortality is increasingly concentrated in- India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and China. The highest rates of child mortality continue to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in eight children dies before their fth birthday. Southern Asia has the second highest rates, with about one in 14 children dying before the age of ve. While the speed at which under-ve mortality rates are declining improved for the period of 2000-09 compared to the previous decade, the deaths are still not decreasing fast enough- to achieve the Millennium Development Goal-4 target (of a two-thirds decline between 1990 and 2015), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and Oceania. The two biggest killers of children under ve are pneumonia [18 per cent

Mini Pravasi Bhartiya Divas

The mini Pravasi Bhartiya Divas held in South African city of Durban. The mini Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was being organized in South Africa with a view to connect with the large Indian Diaspora of the country. The event coincided with Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary and was also the part of the year-long celebrations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indian immigrants in South Africa from India. The theme of the two-day event was 'India and Africa: Building Bridges'
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Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukti Gaon Mohim

The United Nations has recognized the Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukti Gaon Mohim (Dispute-free Village Scheme) of the Maharashtra government. The scheme was introduced as a way to get rid of small disputes in the village and thus bring about harmony. It was also seen as a measure to reduce the work pressure on policemen.

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The rst ever mini-PBD was organized in New York in 2007 and the second was held in Singapore in 2008. The third mini-PBD was held in The Hague in 2009 3. been formally notied as slum under any act; A compact area of at least 300 people or about 60-70 households of poorly built congested tenements in unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities. to make suggestions for improvement of education at all levels. Vocational education and skill development have acquired new importance in the present competitive scenario, hence government has decided to appoint the Commission. The Commission will also look at possibilities of universalizing secondary education i.e. education will be free and compulsory till class X. Government has already universalized elementary education through the Right to Education Act. Earlier national policy on education was announced in 1986 by the government of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The new policy called for "special emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalize educational opportunity," especially for Indian women, Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. To achieve these, the policy called for expanding scholarships, adult education, recruiting more teachers from the SCs, incentives for poor families to send their children to school regularly, development of new institutions and providing housing and services. The NPE 1986 called for a "child-centred approach" in primary education, and launched "Operation Blackboard" to improve primary schools nationwide. The policy expanded the Open University system with the Indira Gandhi National Open University, which had been created in 1985. The policy also called for the creation of the "rural university" model, based on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, to promote economic and social development at the grassroots level in rural India. The 1986 policy led to encouragement of emerging sectors like Information Technology, which witnessed an upsurge following the opening up of the technical education sector, particularly in capacity expansion in the private sector. Although the 1986 policy spoke against commercialization of education, the mushroom growth in the number of private engineering and medical institutions, according to educationists, has only given a further impetus to the menace of capitation fee. The rapid expansion of private institutions has also, according to the Yashpal Committee, resulted in deterioration in quality. A new education policy might bring halt to the corruption cases increasing in the education sector. New education policy might make young Indians prepared to face the increasing competitive environment in education sector.

Project Vigeye
Project VIGEYE (Vigilance Eye) is a citizen-centric initiative, wherein citizens join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in ghting corruption in India. Citizens have multiple channels to air their grievances and complaints to CVC Through their mobile phones: by downloading the mobile application from the CVC website. The complaints can be better articulated with additional data like audio/ video/ photo evidence from their mobiles directly. Through the internet: by ling up the complaint form online they can attach audio/video/photo evidence. Through telephone: help line have been setup The entire complaint processing is done online, in digital form, enabling fast and accurate processing of complaints. The concerned CVO will interact with the complainant directly over phone/email or in person, as the case may be, to take it forward. Status of the complaint is communicated back to the complainant - the communication loop becomes complete.

Controversy on Endosulfan
Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that has been banned in some developed countries. Endosulfan became a highly controversial agro-chemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bio-accumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. The Supreme Court has banned the manufacture, sale and use of toxic pesticide endosulfan in India. But the Central Government had contended against its ban in the Supreme Court by stating that the long term use of pesticides was unlikely to affect the health of human beings. The reason might be that banning endosulfan would affect market where its annual value is 270 crores. Indian manufacturers produce about 70% of world production of endosulfan. In 2001, in Kerala endosulfan spraying was suspended when linked to a series of abnormalities noted in local children. Initially endosulfan was banned, yet under pressure from the pesticide industry this ban was largely revoked. The decision of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants to include the pesticide endosulfan in the list of chemicals scheduled for elimination at the global level was also being argued by India as India is the largest manufacturer and consumer of endosulfan. Finally India has agreed to ban endosulfan and accepted it as a health hazard. India also agreed to phase out ban with an exemption for some crops. The Stockholm Convention exempted 14 crops for a ve-year phase out period, during which India will receive nancial assistance to help with the switch to alternatives. Additionally, India has the option to apply to the Stockholm Convention for a second ve-year extension.

New Definition of Slums

The Pranab Sen Committee has given a new denition for slums. It has dened a slum as "a compact settlement of at least 20 households with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions". The new denition of slum is different from the denition adopted by the 2001 Census of India. Accordingly to 2001 Census, slum areas broadly constitute of: 1. All specied areas in a town or city notified as 'Slum' by State/Local Government and UT Administration under any Act including a 'Slum Act'; 2. All areas recognized as 'Slum' by State/Local Government and UT Administration which may have

A New National Policy on Education Announced

The Prime Minister of India has announced setting up of a Commission

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Vision 2020 : for the North Eastern Region
The salient goals of the Vision 2020 for the development of the North -Eastern Region are as follows: 1. Improve the standard of living of the people of North-East. 2. Structural transformation by effecting signicant changes in development strategies to achieve growth rate of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) equal to National Averages. 3. Poverty eradication based on participatory planning. 4. Maximizing self-governance by building capacity in people and traditional/local institutions. 5. Harnessing available local resources for development. 6. Substantial strengthening of infrastructure. 7. Expand trade and commerce in the region. 8. Effective governance for establishing peace and harmony in the region. A six-fold strategy for the comprehensive developments of the region has been proposed: 1. Empowering people by maximizing self-governance and participatory development through grass-roots planning to promote inclusive development. 2. Creation of development opportunities for the rural areas through enhancing productivity in agriculture and allied activities such as animal husbandry, horticulture, oriculture, sheries and generation of livelihood options through rural non-farm employment. 3. To develop sectors in the region having a comparative advantage such as agro processing, hydro power generation. 4. Enhancing the skills and competencies of the people and building the capacities for institutions within the Government and outside. 5. Creating a hospitable investment climate to encourage investment by private sector particularly for infrastructure. 6. Harnessing the resources of the Government and the private sector to realize the objectives of the Vision. This provides a roadmap to all stakeholders such as line Ministries of the Union Government, Planning Commission, North Eastern Council and State Governments for formulation of an integrated plan for the development of the North Eastern Region. The fund allocation by the Central Government in the North Eastern Region is inter alia in the form of Assistance for State Plans, North Eastern Council Plan Outlay and Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources. The last such data released in 2004 from a district level health survey - had measured malnutrition only in terms of weight, and had concluded that 53 per cent children in these districts were underweight. Among the worst districts as per the new data are Malkangiri in Orissa with 57.75 per cent and Aurangabad in Bihar with 49.47 per cent children underweight. Shrawasti in Uttar Pradesh with 72.31 per cent, Rae Bareli with 70.40 per cent, Koraput in Orissa with 68.86 per cent and Dumka in Jharkhand with 63.65 per cent have the highest number of stunted children.

The HUNGaMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) Survey Report- 2011

The HUNGaMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) Survey conducted across 112 rural districts of India in 2011 provides reliable estimates of child nutrition covering nearly 20% of Indian children. Of the 112 districts surveyed, 100 were selected from the bottom of a child development district index developed for UNICEF India in 2009, referred to as the 100 Focus Districts in this report. These 100 districts are located in 6 states. The HUNGaMA Survey shows that positive change for child nutrition in India is happening, including in the 100 Focus Districts. However rates of child malnutrition are still unacceptably high particularly in these Focus Districts where over 40 per cent of children are underweight and almost 60 per cent are stunted, meaning their height is much lower than the median height-for-age of the reference population. The 100 Focus Districts are located across Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - states which perform the worst on child nutrition. The survey notes that the prevalence of malnutrition is signicantly higher among children from low-income families. It found that children from Muslim or SC/ST households generally had worse nutrition indicators. Birth weight is an important risk-factor for child malnutrition. The prevalence of underweight in children born with a weight below 2.5 kg is 50 per cent, while that among children born with a weight above 2.5 kg is 34 per cent. The survey further found that awareness among mothers about nutrition is low - "92 per cent mothers had never heard the word malnutrition." Highlighting the negligence shown towards girl children even in their early childhood, the report says the nutrition advantage girls have over boys in the rst months of life seems to be reversed over time as they grow older.

Government Changes Criteria for Bharat Ratna

Government has modied eligibility criteria for Bharat Ratna to pave way for eligibility of sportspersons for the highest civilian award of the country. The rules states that Bharat Ratna can be conferred to persons excelling in elds other than art, literature, science and public service. Whereas under the new rules Government has notied that person engage in performance of highest order in any field of human endeavour is eligible for Bharat Ratna. Now the decision has paved the way for any sportsperson to get Bharat Ratna award. The move comes amid clamour for conferring of Bharat Ratna on Tendulkar for his outstanding contribution to cricket. Bharat Ratna was instituted in 1954. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for these awards. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President. No formal recommendations for this are necessary. The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certicate) signed by the President and a medallion. So far, 41 people have been conferred with Bharat Ratna. The rst three Indians, who received the prestigious award, were Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and Sarvapali Radhakrishnan in 1954. There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to InCIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE, MAY, 2012 89

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dian citizens only. The award has been conferred to a naturalised Indian citizen Mother Teresa (1980) and to two nonIndians -- Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Nelson Mandela (1990).

Historic Agreement Signed Between Centre, Assam Government and UPDS

A tripartite Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed between the Central Government, Government of Assam and United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) in the presence of Union Home Minister Shri P. Chidam-baram and Assam Chief Minister Shri Tarun Gogoi. The MoS provides for enhanced autonomy for Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council in Assam and also a special package for speedier socio-economic and educational development of the area for which the Council has been set up. In November 2009, in order to speed up the peace process, Government appointed Shri P.C. Haldar as Interlocutor/ Government of India's Representative to negotiate with the UPDS for addressing their grievances. After several round of discussions, negotiating team comprising the Representatives of Government of Assam, Ministry of Home Affairs and UPDS nalized tripartite agreement. The salient features of the MOS are: (a) Setting up of a committee under Assam Legislative Assembly as envisaged under Article 371B of the Constitution of India; (b) Renaming of existing Council as Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC); (c) Increasing seats in the Council upto 50 members of which 6 will be nominated by Governor for more representation (presently 30 seats out of which 4 nominated by Governor). However, proposed increase in seats from existing 26 to 44 elected seats and also nominated seats shall be applicable subsequent election to the Council due in 2016-17 or mid-term poll, if any, whichever is earlier. (d) Setting up of Village Councils for deepening democratic process at the grass root level (e) Transfer of additional subjects by the State of Assam to the Council along with legislation and executive powers; (f) Setting up of State Finance Commission (SFC) and consideration of higher fund allocation to the council to undertake viable activity; (g) Strict adherence to establish norms of financial management, proper audit of the accounts, etc. (h) Measures for socio-economic, education, health, and cultural development;

Varanasi Ghats and Mumbai's Royal Opera House in 'Most Endangered Heritage sites'
The Balaji Ghat of Varanasi and the Royal Opera House in Mumbai have been declared among the 100 most endangered heritage sites of the world by the World Monuments Fund. The 18th century Balaji Ghat, which falls between the famous Manikarnika and Panchganga ghats is situated along the river Ganges in Varanasi, is among the over 60 endangered cultural heritage sites in the world that are in dire need of preservation, according to World Monuments Fund (WMF), a New Yorkbased private foundation's watch list for 2012. It is commonly known as the Mangala Gauri Ghat. The main building of the temple on the ghat was a structure of wood and stones which suffered severe damage over the years due to to inadequate conservation, maintenance as well as poor heritage protection. Its inclusion in the list will support a plan to restore the building for use as a cultural centre. The building was nominated to the World Monuments Fund by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Nominated by Mumbai researcher and writer, Sharada Dwivedi, The Royal Opera House which rises prominently at a bustling intersection in Mumbai is another site which has made it to the WMF's list for 2012. Maurice E. Bandmann, a renowned entertainer from Calcutta, and Jehangir Framji Karaka, head of a rm of coal brokers, drew up the Baroque style designs for the theatre. In 1911, permission was sought, and granted, on the occasion of George V's visit to Mumbai to use the prex 'Royal'. Completed in 1915, the structure hosted operas and live performances until converted into a cinema in 1935. Today it is the only remaining opera house in India. Abandoned over twenty years ago, the building has deteriorated over time yet eluded demolition. The structural restoration of the building is now almost complete under the supervision of its owner, the Maharaja of Gondal.

(i) Special economic package of Rs.350 crore (Rs.70 cr. p.a.) over and above the plan fund over the next 5 years to KAATC for identied projects; (j) Improvement of road connectivity , water supply and supply of power in Karbi Anglong District under existing schemes; (k) Providing one-time grant for capacity building in KAATC for preparation of DPR etc. (l) Rehabilitation of UPDS cadres; Withdrawal of cases relating to heinous crimes shall be reviewed case by case according to existing policy for withdrawal of such cases. Implementation of MoS will be reviewed periodically. Amendments will be made in the relevant paragraphs of the Sixth Schedule for (b) to (f) above and other executive orders will be issued to implement the other provisions of MoS.

43rd Governors Conference

At the 43rd Governor's Conference held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Pratibha Patil drawing attention to the rising public sentiments against corruption called on the Governors of the States to Adopt a "multi-pronged approach" which combined preventive and punitive interventions, including simpler rules, transparent processes, judicious exercise of discretion, prompt delivery systems, better public awareness, public accountability and discharge of responsibilities with utmost rectitude to root out the menace of corruption so as to protect the interest of the common man and to maintain the rule of law. Asserting that India's external and internal security was paramount and required foremost attention, the President called on Governors of those States which share international borders of how best to address the security concerns of these sensitive States, and so also threats faced with violent manifestations, especially in the rural hinterlands of some States, from Naxalism and left wing. Noting that increasing farmer's suicide is a clarion call for urgently rejuvenating the agriculture sector, President asked the Governors to come up with new and innovative ideas, thoughts and experimentations which could provide the right lead for initiating a Second Green

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Revolution in the dryland farming sector. Governors under the Constitution are bound to promote a sensitive and sympathetic administration in Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. In this direction Governors need to urge the State governments to intensify the government-tribal interface at the grassroots level and invigorate the functioning of Tribal Advisory Councils. Expressing concern ragging in colleges, the President called upon the Governors, as chancellors of the State universities, to wipe out the blot.

LETHAL LIQUOR
What is illicit liquor? Alcoholic beverages are made by fermentation of sugary and starchy substances, followed by distillation to increase alcohol concentration. The active ingredient in them is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. Any alcoholic beverage made under unlicensed conditions is called illicit liquor. Usually sub-standard raw material is used, often this is spiked with other chemicals. What makes it poisonous? Under unregulated conditions, methanol or methyl alcohol can be produced with the desired ethanol. Sometimes, industrial methyl alcohol or denatured spirit (mixture of ethanol and methanol) added by illicit brewers to save costs and in mistaken belief that it'll increase potency. There have been incidents where chemicals like organo-phosphorus compounds have been added to illicit liquor. Methyl alcohol is extremely toxic - 10 ml can cause blindness and 30 ml can cause death within 10 to 30 hours. It is like ethyl alcohol in taste and smell. What are the antidotes? Ethyl alcohol and fomepizole are antidotes, inhibiting metabolizing of methyl alcohol so that it passes through urine. Sodium bicarbonate used for acidosis. Advanced treatment requires haemodialysis to remove toxic substances from bloodstream.

ing the environment and protecting against climate change. But India's decadal population growth rate, which touched a high of over 24 per cent in the 1970s, is slowing down. According to the 2011 census, it was 17.64 per cent in the last decade. That presents both opportunities and challenges. The opportunity is the demographic "dividend" of a "youth bulge": 50 per cent of India's population is under the age of 25. That means more working hands, especially as women join the work force in greater numbers. But the UNPF has warned that this "opportunity clock is ticking fast." The youth bulge witnessed a peak in 2000, and its effects will be felt only until 2025, when the number of dependents, aided by decreasing mortality rates, begins to rise. India will not only need to keep its young population usefully employed, but also needs to plan for an ageing population. In 2001, there were 80 million elderly people in India. Ms. Billimoria belongs to the Parsi community, which represents a separate problem of a vanishing people:

We are Seven Billion Now

Baby Nargis, the world's seven billionth person, born in Uttar Pradesh on 31st of October 2011, and the 102-year-old Hilla Sorab Billimoria of Kolkata represent, between them, two ends of India's complex population story. At one end are the staggering numbers. With an estimated 1.21 billion people, India is a "population billionaire," next only to China (1.34 billion), as the UN Population Fund described the country in a recent report titled 'India@7 billion.' By 2025, India will overtake China to become the world's most populous country, with the numbers expected to exert enormous pressure on national resources. That 11 babies of the 51 born in India every minute are, like Baby Nargis, born in UP, among the lowest ranking Indian States on the human development index, highlights the imperatives for Indian planners: providing access to food, water, health, shelter, sanitation, education and jobs to all; at the same time, balancing these against scarce resources, safeguard-

Parsis now number around 60,000 in India; Kolkata counts only 600 among its residents. The UNPF estimated that in 2001, as many as 30 million elderly lived alone. The number of elderly is expected to increase to 173 million by 2026. This highlights the need to build support systems for the aged. The other, perhaps more important, challenge is the falling sex ratio and the "vanishing" girl population. The 2011 census showed a steep fall in the sex ratio, from 927.31 girls for every 1000 boys in 2001 to 914.23 a decade later. The shaming numbers underscore the fact that laws have done nothing to curb female foeticide or change the cultural preference for a boy child. The world has added a billion babies - or almost another China - since Adnan Mevic was born. Having taken millennia to pass the one-billion mark, the world's population has now doubled in 50 years. Mounting concern over humanity's environmental impact and fears that we may not be able to feed ourselves 100 years from now cast a cautionary tone over the buildup to Monday's milestone.

Food fortication is dened as the practice of deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients - vitamins and minerals - in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benet with minimal risk to health. The public health benets of fortication includes: a) Prevention or minimization of the risk of occurrence of micronutrient deciency in a population or specic population groups. b) Contribution to the correction of a demonstrated micronutrient deciency in a population or specic population groups. c) Plausible benecial effects of micronutrients consistent with maintaining or improving health (e.g. there is some evidence to suggest that a diet rich in selected antioxidants might help to prevent cancer and other diseases).

National Child Rights Index

The Child Rights Index (CRI) released by NGO HAQ placed Kerala at the top of the National Child Rights Index, followed by Karnataka. Arunachal Pradesh is the worst performer in protecting the rights of children. The NGO's report is based on government data - both central and state - which was collated and studied to decide the index. Uttar Pradesh has the highest head count of working children in the country.
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The Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) is a bilateral project between the Government of India and Japan. It is one of the largest river restoration projects in India. The government of Japan, via the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), has provided nancial aid of 17.7 billion yen to carry out the project, which is being executed by the National River Conservation Directorate, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Government of India. PHASE - I was implemented in April 1993 with the aim of pollution abatement and water quality improvement of river Yamuna by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD), Forests. Under YAP-I, 15 class-I towns, 6 in Haryana State, 8 in Uttar Pradesh State and Delhi were covered. PHASE - II is one of the important projects, being implemented by U.P Jal Nigam through its Project ofces at Ghaziabad and Agra. It is being implemented in 3 States of the country (Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh) and within UP, 8 towns viz Agra, Mathura Vrindavana, Etawah (all under Agra region) Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Noida, Ghaziabad (under Ghaziabad region) have been selected where river Yamuna passes through. During the rst phase of the programme it came out that the river water pollution cannot be lowered down without the active participation of the citizens. Therefore in YAP phase II a special component named as Public Participation & Awareness component has been brought in wherein NGOs are partnering to work at the community level on different themes as: Socio-economic up-gradation of the Community Toilet Complexes neighbourhood As the name suggests, the NGOs involved have to improve the lives and environment of the community residing in the neighborhood of the community toilets. School health and hygiene programme Wherein school going children have been targeted to sensitise upon the need for maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation Town Specic innovation programme Wherein NGOs are given a exibility to design and develop a programme specic to the town requirements and could be one of the most innovative approaches and not necessarily duplicating the target groups. Clean Yamuna Manch It is forum of NGOs working in Agra city, to work exclusively at the Stakeholders level, bring the issue into mainstream of media and academia and hold continuous dialogue. It is one of the pilot programmes to substantiate the efforts of other programmes of the Agra region.

are tribal-dominated, with indigenous groups constituting 26.3 per cent and 64.2 per cent of the population. This is also true of health, wherein the ve worst performing States are Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. All among them are essentially tribal States, except Uttar Pradesh.

India's Longest Railway Tunnel Thrown Open in J&K

The northern railways opened India's longest railway tunnel piercing through the Pir Panjal range in Jammu & Kashmir. The tunnel is part of the ambitious Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link project of Northern Railways. At 10.96km long, the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel is India's longest and Asia's 2nd longest tunnel, aimed at reducing the travel distance between Quazigund and Banihal to only 11 km and providing a hassle-free travel up to Baramulla. The 10.96 kms tunnel, which is aligned straight from north to south, has reduced the travelling time from Banihal in Jammu to Qazigund in Kashmir to 6 minutes. Interestingly, this railway tunnel is below Jawahar tunnel- meant for vehicular trafc only and which usually gets blocked during winters owing to heavy snowfall in the region. During the course of the excavation, due to the changing geological strata of the young Himalayan rock, New Australian Tunneling Methodology (NATM) was adopted for the construction. During survey, eight different types of geological strata were found in the entire length of the tunnel.

Rating on the basis of gender equality : Despite its high literacy rate, Kerala was ranked last in gender equality in prevention of child marriages, and had a high percentage of girls (under 18) getting married. On the other hand, West Bengal, which was the worst performing state in education, was also the worst performer in gender equality, and fared poorly in prevention of girl child marriages as well. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu too were ranked poorly in child marriage. Rating on the basis of crime against children : Karnataka is the best state for children to live in as it has the least number of cases of crime against children, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. While crimes against children are highest in Nagaland (in proportion to the number of children), and Manipur is the worst performer in crimes by children. Despite being ostensibly backward on social sector parameters, Bihar is ranked number 1 when it comes to crimes committed by children. It has the least number of such cases.

Rating on the basis of health facility : Kerala and Goa, the two best performing States in health, are performing poorly in the provision of health infrastructure. Himachal Pradesh, one of the ve best States in health care, ranks among the last ve in HIV/AIDS intervention. The ranking has a regional pattern: four of the ve best performing States - Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh - are from the southern region. Maharashtra alone is from the west. On the other hand, all the worst performing States are in the Northeast: Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, of the ve States falling in the not-so-well performing States category, Tripura, Assam and Mizoram are from the Northeast. They are performing badly in almost indicators. Rating on the basis of education : A signicant proportion of the population of the worst performing States, which are performing badly in education, are tribals: Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh

Porunthal Excavations Prove Existence of Indian Scripts in 5th Century BC

New results from the analysis of paddy grains found in the Porunthal graveyard archaeological site prove that writing systems in India were in existence in the 5th Century BC, predating the arrival of Asoka. Rice paddy samples that were contained in an engraved pot found inside one of the graves were found to be from 450 BC when analysed using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) by the Beta Analytic Lab, USA. Earlier, paddy sample from another grave was dated at 490 BC, but many scholars were unwilling to accept evidence obtained from only one sample. The analysis of the second sample proved

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that Tamil-Brahmi writing existed in the 5th century BC and was not invented in the 3rd century BC as was previously believed by scholars. This was also the rst time anyone had discovered TamilBrahmi script along with rice in any archaeological site. Scholars were still debating on the exact letters that were written and its meaning. Another signicant discovery from the gravesite is that the paddy samples obtained in the graves in Porunthal were cultivated paddy of the Orissa Satvaika variety. est" in States like UP, Rajasthan & MP. However, according to the Report, India is also home to more than one-third of the global world illiterates wherein the percentage of illiterates from SC, ST and Muslim minority community are very high. Among SC/ST more than 50 per cent of women are illiterates. The improvement in health index has been slow. It has improved by 13.2 per cent in the last decade. The highest growth in the health improvement has been noted in Goa (72%) followed by Chattisgarh (22%). In Delhi the growth rate is a meager 4 per cent. Further there exists wide inter-State variation in the health index. It ranges from 0.82 in Kerala to 0.41 in Assam. The prevailing condition of sanitation is threatening according to the report. Though half of the population had access to sanitation in 2008 still there exists wide inter-State variation. In the States of MP, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand still 75 per cent of the population does not have access to sanitation. The most serious challenge arises on the nutrition front. Though Madhya Pradesh still is numero uno in malnutrition and undernutrition, but the more concern arises from the increase in malnutrition in the richer and developed States like Gujarat. The State with 69.7% kids up to 5 being anaemic and 44.6% suffering from malnutrition, proves that high growth was no guarantor of improvement in health. It is the robust infrastructure in Kerala, Delhi and Goa that has contributed to the overall improvement in HDI, whereas it is the poor condition of infrastructure in poorer States that has kept these States poor. There has been "impressive growth" in tele-density overtime from 22 per cent in 2008 to 66 per cent in 2010 on account of increase in urban tele-density. Besides the report also highlights that 75 per cent of population have access to electricity. The report has been prepared by the Delhi-based Institute of Applied Manpower Research for the Planning Commission focuses on income, education, health, literacy, nutrition and sanitation in the country.

Nine New Districts in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on August 15, 2011 announced his government's decision to form nine new districts in the state in order to bring the administration closer to the people. The nine new districts - Sukma, Kondagaon, Gariaband, Baloda Bazar, Mungeli, Balod, Bemetara, Surajpur and Balrampur - started functioning from their respective district headquarters from January 2012. With the creation of the new districts, the total number of districts in Chhattisgarh will go up from 18 to 27.

India Human Development Report 2011

The recently released Human Development Report, 2011 with the theme 'Towards Social Inclusion' has praised the efforts of poorer States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in making the development process more 'socially inclusive' through improving the lot of their marginalized Dalits and Tribals. However it has lamented the richer and developed States like Gujarat wherein the process has not been 'socially inclusive'. The highlights of the Report are as follows: The overall HDI for the country has improved through the last decade, with the inequality gap between States narrowing down. In the last decade the HDI increased by 21 per cent from 0.387 in 1999-2000 to 0.467 in 2007-08. The HDI list has been topped by Kerala with highest education, health and consumption expenditure index. It is followed by Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Goa. Chattisgarh, Orissa, MP, UP, Jharkhand & Assam have an HDI below the national average of 0.467. MP has the lowest HDI value is at the bottom. In some poorer States like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Chattishgarh, Orissa & Assam the quantum of improvement in HDI has been higher than the national average of 21 per cent. The overall increase in HDI is attributed to 28.5 per cent increase in education index across the country. It ranges from 0.92 for Kerala to 0.41 in case of Bihar. The improvement in the education index was the "great-

Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery Mandatory

The Union government on January 04, 2012 approved a proposal to make hallmarking of gold jewellery mandatory in a big step towards ensuring the quality of the precious metal and providing fresh impetus to investment in jewellery. The Cabinet cleared the proposal by approving amendments to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986, which aims to expand the ambit of compulsory hallmarking to add more products. At present, gold hallmarking is voluntary. The BIS hallmark points to a level of conformity widely accepted by consumers. The jewellery can now be certied for purity only at government centres. According to a BIS survey, of 162 samples drawn from 16 cities, more than 90 per cent were found to be not of the declared purity. This means the consumer loses 20 per cent to 30 per cent of gold in jewellery purchases, which is signicant in nancial terms. The move is signicant as jewellery accounts for around 65 per cent of gold demand in India, the worlds largest consumer of the precious metal. Gold consumption by India declined to 203.30 tonnes during the third quarter through September 2011, compared with 263.90 tonnes a year before as high prices squeezed demand. The implementation of the law will be a tough task as much of the counCIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE, MAY, 2012 93

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trys jewellery is mopped up by the rural population while hallmarking centres exist only in bigger cities. Hallmarking can boost investment demand in jewellery form. Currently purity concerns deter many consumers from buying jewellery. The move also prompted a call for similar measures on silver jewellery. Hallmarking silver products is not yet mandatory in India, where jewellery quality is sometimes an issue, mainly with small jewellers, and customers face problems during redemption. In case of discrepancies between UIDAI data and NPR data, NPR will prevail. Supporting IT czar Nandan Nilekani, the Planning Commission has sought permission to enroll identities beyond its initial mandate of 20 crore, arguing that PM Manmohan Singh's key project that aims at ensuring benets of welfare programmes reach the right beneciaries was quite different from the home ministry's National Population Register's (NPR) objective of national security. Both the home ministry and Parliament's standing committee on finance have slammed the UID bill that looks to give the authority statutory status for overlapping NPR that is also engaged in capture of biometric data. Suggesting that the two projects can go along side by side, UID project can go on along with NPR. The Aadhar card scheme is the government's development initiative, while NPR is related to national security. The home ministry is also preparing for such an eventuality, but will want supervision over the UID data repository. The argument was that both the schemes with different objectives can go on simultaneously as there are many identity-related schemes like PAN card, Election Commission voter's card. The uncertainty plagued the UID project after Registrar General of India, under home ministry, backtracked from its earlier stand and refused to accept data collected by the authority. At the same time UIDAI's mandate to collect biometric details was ending as Cabinet had approved enrolment of 20 crore by March 2012. Inaugurating the annual diaspora conclave, the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, at Jaipur on January 8, 2012, the prime minister said the government has issued notications for registration of overseas electors under the Representation of People Act, 1950, to allow NRIs to vote in Indian elections. The Indian government has nally fullled its promise to Indian expatriates. It will give us an opportunity to participate in government formation. However, there were a few who had apprehensions about the process. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi had said that the objective was to further increase engagements with diaspora. Prime Minister said that our objective is to raise the level of engagement to go beyond mere investment related issues and address a broader agenda. Meeting a long-standing demand of the NRIs, Singh said the Centre had issued notications for registration of overseas Indians under the Representation of People Act. This constitutes the rst major step to enable Indians resident abroad to participate in our election processes, the PM said. The PM also announced a new pension and life insurance fund for overseas Indian workers. He also underlined the role of Indians overseas in the development of the country and that the government would facilitate and encourage such an endeavour. The PM also announced a new pension and life insurance fund for overseas workers. The scheme will encourage, enable and assist overseas workers to voluntarily save for their return and resettlement and old age. It will also provide a low-cost life insurance cover against natural death. This scheme fulls a long pending demand of our workers abroad.

UIDAI's Mandate Expanded

In a bid to end the turf war between the Unique Identication Authority of India (UIDAI), which comes under the Planning Commission, and the Home Ministry's National Population Register (NPR), a Cabinet Committee has worked out a compromise that will result in the biometric data of all residents being captured by June 2013. The UIDAI has been given permission and nances to the tune of an additional 5,791 crore to enrol another 40 crore people in 16 States under its Aadhaar scheme. The NPR will accept the biometric data collected by the UIDAI in those States and continue to collect its own data through the Registrar-General of India in the remaining States. In return, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani has promised to address the Home Ministry's security concerns through a full review of the UIDAI processes over the next two months to ensure that its data collection meets the NPR's requirements. UIDAI take the security concerns very seriously. The UIDAI had been mandated to enrol 20 crore people by March 2012. While the UIDAI is a voluntary scheme, the NPR is mandatory for all residents. This means is that if a resident has enrolled himself with the UIDAI and has had his fingerprints and iris scanned, he can merely give his Aadhaar number to the NPR registrars rather than submitting himself to biometric data collection twice. The duplication between the two agencies would be not be more than 5 per cent, reducing the expenditure on biometric data collection.

Govt. Grants Voting Rights to NRIs

NRIs would soon be able to participate and vote in Indian elections, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the inauguration of the tenth Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in Jaipur on January 8, 2012. Non-resident Indians have hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement that the government would allow them to vote and participate in the election process, a longstanding demand of the diaspora.

ISRO Reports Indict Former Chief

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made public documents that indicted former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and three other senior scientists for irregularities in Antrix-Devas deal.

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The report, prepared by a committee headed by Pratyush Sinha, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, said Antrix-Devas deal lacked transparency and recommended that action needs to be taken against Nair, A Bhaskaranarayana, KR Sridhara Murthi and KN Shankara - all of whom have retired. The government had earlier barred the scientists from holding any position in the government or government-controlled agencies. The panel found serious administrative and procedural lapses in the scrapped agreement. The approval process for the deal was riddled with incomplete and inaccurate information given to the Union Cabinet and the Space Commission, the report said. While the Antrix-Devas agreement was signed on January, 28, 2005, this fact was not disclosed to the Space Commission or in the Cabinet note dated November 27, 2005, in which approval was sought for the launch of GSAT 6, one of the satellites to be build under the agreement. The report said the terms of AntrixDevas contract were heavily loaded in favour of Devas. The terms of the agreement entail that while in the case of the failure of the satellite, the risk was entirely that of Department of Space, the success of the satellite would commit the latter to substantial expenditure. The report also noted that no clearance was obtained from the legal cells of the department of space and the nance ministry for AntrixDevas deal, as is mandatory for any international agreement by any department of Indian government. The report also said GSAT capacity was earmarked for Devas without consulting INSAT Corporation Committee, which recommends use of satellite capacities by nongovernment users authorised to provide telecom services, which is a clear violation of the government policy. It also said there was evidence to suggest that the Antrix-Devas agreement was not disclosed to Technical Advisory Group (TAG) at the time of considering the experimental trials. Although SATCOM policy and ICC guidelines allow leasing of satellite capacity on rst-come-rst-served basis, this did not prevent AntrixISRO from following a transparent process of adequately publicising its intent of supporting such services. Nair rejected the report's finding that the deal was inked without consulting the INSAT Coordination Committee and that it was a clear violation of the government policy. He said the SATCOM policy of 2000 had entrusted the entire responsibility of leasing transponders to private users with DoS. Dandi March, to establish that seawater is a social resource and that making salt from seawater is a basic right of every Indian. The march was in protest of colonial Governments decision to impose a tax on salt manufacture.

NATGRID : To Access all Intelligence Data

The union government of India has set up a National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) to access all intelligence data. It is to function as a tool for strengthening the capability of the existing intelligence and law enforcement agencies. It aims at improving access to information and its sharing. NATGRID has been formed to link databases for inputs to combat terrorism. It is meant to improve India's capability to counter threats to its internal security.

Conservation and Development of Vedaranyam sCoastal Zone

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) and M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) on 29 July 2011. The MoU was signed with an objective to conserve and develop Vedaranyam Coastal Zone project in Tamil Nadu. The project will cost Rs.10crores for a period of three years. First instalment of Rs.4crores was released for the purpose on 29 July. The project will be undertaken under the World Bank assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management project. This project is to be implemented by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai under the Chairmanship of Prof. M. S. Swaminathan. The project is to conclude restoration and conservation of the coastal resources, promote scientic management of land and water resources and promote community based joint management and implementation of the coastal zone management programme. The Vedaranyam swamp which has a vast mangrove, salt marsh and migratory bird population will be restored under the project and income generating activities for the local communities would be taken up the Gandhian Principles as well. The Vedaranyam Coastal Zone project was ofcially announced at Vedaranyam on 26 December 2010. The Vedaranyam Coastal Zone project was initiated on the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the Salt Satyagraha based on Gandhian Principles. C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) had in 1930 led a March in Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu in line with Gandhis

Kamalesh Sharma Reappointed Commonwealth Secretary General

Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma was re-appointed to the coveted post on 30 October 2011. The Commonwealth Leaders agreed to re-appoint him at the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth in Australia. Sharma who served as a veteran Indian diplomat was re-appointed for a four-year term beginning in April 2012. Sharma was rst elected to as the Secretary General of Commonwealth during the biennial summit of the 54-nation grouping in Kampala, Uganda, in 2007. He took over from Sir Don McKinnon of New Zealand on 1 April, 2008. Kamalesh Sharma previously served as India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he was closely involved in Commonwealth activities. In that capacity, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation. He was associated with the Commonwealth since 2004 when he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation.
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Damodaran Panel on ATMcard Related Problems
The report on Customer Service in Banks by a committee chaired by M. Damodaran, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was released on 3 July 2011. The Reserve Bank of India panel recommended an increased deposit insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh so as to encourage individuals to keep all their deposits in banks. The Damodaran panel mentioned that in case of sick banks, a possibility to enable customers to immediately avail themselves of a part of their insured deposits before the nal fate of sick banks is decided should be explored. The recommendations were made in 3 broad categories: Home Loans Senior Citizens Rural Areas Rajasthan became the only state in India where the state government made a provision of the penalty imposed for failing to provide a service or for a delay. The penalty would be recovered from the salary of the concerned designated ofcer. The Act covered 108 services of 15 major government departments, envisages a time-bound performance of duties by government ofcials and it possessed a provision of cash penalty for the offenders. The Public Service Guarantee Act included services pertaining to departments of Police, Finance, Energy, Medical, Trafc, Public Health Engineering, Food, Housing, Water Resources and Social Justice among others. Provisions of Rajasthan Government Public Service Guarantee Act As per the provisions of penalty, the competent appellate ofcer could impose a penalty which was set not be less than Rs 500 and not more than Rs 5,000. The appellate ofcer could also impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day on undue delay. The stipulated time for clearance of appeals would vary from an hour in some cases to 24 hours; like in the case of appeals made with regard to post-mortem reports and goes up to 45 days; depending upon the service desired. The time would be calculated from the day of the appeal submission. The designated ofcer of the department may reject an application for a notied service, having recorded the reason in writing and informing the applicant. A person whose application for a specic service or work is rejected for any reason would be entitled to approach the rst appeal ofcer and thereafter the second appellate ofcer; with his grievances under the Act. The ofcials are accountable to ensure that either the desired service is provided or explain the limitations for not providing it. with an estimated cost of 14.97 Crore rupees. The project will be completed by the nancial year 2012-13 and Plan account would be closed by 31 March 2013. Project may accordingly be executed as per the approved outlays in the State Annual Plans. The project proposes to provide 600 m long revetment and RCC porcupine screens along the bank as well as across the bank at various locations. The project area consisting of thickly populated villages of Moisa, Belguri, Agomoni, Pub-Kaldoba, Bhangaduli, Maragadadhar are situated at the right bank of river Gangadhar at a distance of about 48 km from district headquarter town of Dhubri and 300 km from Guwahati. The scheme will benet an area of 2267 ha comprising of cultivated and homestead land.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Liberation day

Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli celebrated its 58th liberation day on 2 August 2011. The main function was held at Silvasaa, the Headquarter of the Union Territory. The Union Territory authorities reduced 5 percent VAT on Diesel prices in Diu, Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli-which to benet the people. To mark the occasion a series of welfare schemes were also launched. Dadra and Nagar Haveli is situated between or surrounded by Gujarat and Maharashtra. 500 sq kilometer small area that is mostly under forest cover is celebrated the 58th Liberation Day, the day on which it was freed from the Portuguese rule in 1954. Indian Nationalist volunteers had librated Dadra and Nagar Havel and it became centrally administered Union territory from 11 August 1961.

NPCIL , IOC : MoU for Setting up Nuclear Power Plants

The MoU between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) signed the MoU on 4 November 2009 for setting up Nuclear Power Plants in India for generation of electricity and any other area as mutually agreed. A Joint Venture Company (JVC) was incorporated in the name of NPCIL-Indian Oil Nuclear Energy Corporation Limited.

Aamir Khan Choosen UNICEFs Ambassador

Aamir Khan was chosen to be the latest celebrity face of UNICEF in India. The actor is to be appointed the national ambassador of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund on 30 November 2011. The actor-producer, known for his lms like Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini, 3 Idiots and Dhobi Ghat, will support UNICEF's work in promoting child rights and nutrition of children under two years. UNICEF had earlier appointed Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra as the face of the organisation.

Rajasthan: Public Service Guarantee Act Implemented

The Rajasthan government implemented the Public Service Guarantee Act in the state on 14 November 2011. It came into force with an aim to provide public services in a time-bound manner.

Anti Erosion Measures to Protect Moisa and Belguri Villages

The Planning Commission of India gave investment clearance for Anti Erosion measures to protect 2 villages, Moisa and Belguri from erosion of River Gangadhar,Assam,

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Bachchan was appointed a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 2005 and has since fronted their polio eradication programme successfully. It was felt that tness certicate for commercial vehicles needed to be issued in a routine and there should also be stringent checks of commercial vehicles before tness certicate is issued to the vehicle. Air Force earned its sole PVC following the daring act of Flying Ofcer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon who singlehandedly thwarted a Pakistani Air Force attack on Srinagar. Except Major Hoshiyar Singh who retired as Brigadier later on, all the awards were given posthumously.

Working Groups on Road Safety Report Submitted

The ve working groups on road safety that were set up by the ministry of road transport & highways have submitted their reports in November 2011. The different working groups constituted on road safety wereeducation, enforcement, engineering (roads as well as vehicles) and emergency. The groups were constituted following the March 2011 meeting of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) to lay out the macro and micro dimensions with potential solutions to road safety and to suggest short term and long term measures to curb road accidents in the country.

e-PDS System for Greater Transparency

Delhi state government on 7 December 2011 launched the Electronic Public Distribution System (e-PDS). This system will help consumers get online information on the availability of food grains, distribution of important commodities and ration shops. It will reduce complaints of divergence and other corrupt practices. The project was launched on a pilot basis for Krishna Nagar and Gandhi Nagar areas of the city. The government plans to extend the project to the entire city. The e-PDS would improve the Public Distribution System by bringing more transparency in the supply chain management.

Animals also Entitled to Accident Compensation

A bench of the Supreme Court including Justices BS Chauhan and TS Thakur on 16 December 2011 ruled that even animals are entitled to accident compensation. The court upheld an award of 13.48 lakh rupees for the death of a temple elephant. The animal was hit by a KSRTC (Kerala State Transport Corporation) bus. The court refused to accept the contention that the Motor Vehicles Act would be applicable to human beings and not to animals. It clarified that the definition of property in the Motor Vehicles Act is very inclusive and wide. Therefore, animal should be included under this act. The court added that the elephant was owned by the temple and it was Gods property.

Recommendations
The working group on enforcement mentioned that the penalty structure as per Amendment of Motor Vehicles Act 1988 has become redundant and the nes not a deterrence for trafc rule violators. It suggested increasing the penalties for offences. While revising the penalties for traffic offences, the group mentioned a clause needs to be inserted in the Amendment Act so that every three years there is revision of the nes based on consumer price index. On the topic of overloading of commercial vehicles, the group specied that if a commercial vehicle was found overloaded it would be prosecuted with mandatory criminal case under the provisions of Damage to Public Property Act against the transporter, the consignor and the consignee. The groups felt the need for digitization of the existing driving licence holders. Measures need to be adopted to ensure when driving licence of a defaulter is suspended he should not be able to get another licence from any other transport authority. It was noted that a large number of accidents on roads happen because of many commercial vehicles not being in good condition.

40th Anniversary of Vijay Diwas

The 40th anniversary of vijay diwas was celebrated on 16 December 2011 marking the nest hour of the Indian armed forces when they defeated Pakistan, leading to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. The Pakistani Army had surrendered on this day and Bangladesh was liberated after a 13 day-long battle. 90000 Pakistani troops had surrendered tothe Indian Army along with their top commanders in East Pakistan. Dhaka, the then capital of East Pakistan, fell to the Indian forces on 16 December 1971. Lt. Gen. A K Niazi, commanding the Pakistani troops in the eastern sector, surrendered to the Indian Armed Forces led by the then General Ofcer Commandingin-Chief Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora. Niazi also signed the Instrument of Surrender that resulted in the birth of Bangladesh. Number of soldiers and ofcers on the Indian and Bangladeshi sides were awarded the highest gallantry award of their respective countries. While the Indian Army was awarded three Param Vir Chakras, the Indian

Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration 2011

Environmentalist, lawyer and former Union Minister, Mohan Dharia was selected as the winner of the 26th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in October 2011. Mohan Dharia was selected for the prestigious award for his yeoman's service in promoting and preserving spirit of national integration. The 86-year-old Padma Vibhushan awardee currently runs the Vanrai NGO in Pune. He was elected to Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha and has been Union Minister and Deputy Chairperson of Planning Commission from December 1990 to June 1991. The award was constituted by Congress in its centenary year to give recognition to outstanding contribution to the cause by an individual or institution. It carries a citation and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. The award will be presented by committee chair and
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Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on 31 October 2011, the anniversary of Indira Gandhi's death. the world with over 450 ofces in 50 countries.

Appointed Child Welfare Officers in Every Police Station: SC

The Supreme Court of India directed the states and Union territories to appoint child welfare officers in every police station for monitoring and extending better treatment to juveniles by the police. The apex court, which is monitoring the implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, also directed that state and national legal services authorities issue appropriate guidelines for training and orientation of police ofcers, who could be designated as child welfare ofcers. A bench of justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik said that the training and orientation should be done over a period of six months to one year in every state and Union territory.

No Students to be Failed till Class V in Chhattisgarh State

The Chhattisgarh government has brought into force a rule which prohibits failing a student throughout primary school years. The state government notified rules under Right to Education Act, which also ban capitation fees for admission to pre-primary or primary schools. The rules also say that no primary school teacher will be allowed to give private tuitions. The person/institute found to be taking capitation fees in any form will be ned 10 times the amount taken.

technique and adoption of UHDP practice under a joint capability building programme under the aegis of Jain irrigation and Coca-Cola University. The area under mango cultivation is not growing at required pace. UHDP mango plantation is a viable solution to tackle this problem and can be undertaken in all tradition mango growing regions.

Provide Ration and Voter Cards to Sex Workers: SC

The Supreme Court on 15 September 2011 recommended to the Centre and state governments to provide ration and voter cards to sex workers by relaxing the verication procedure. The court also recommended that the profession of sex workers should not be mentioned in ration and voter cards. Taking into consideration several recommendations of its expert panel headed by senior advocate Pradip Ghosh, a bench of Justices Markandey Katju opined that sex workers enjoy the fundamental rights guaranteed to other citizens. The bench also made suggestions to ensure admission of the children of sex workers in appropriate classes in government or municipal schools.

UHDP Practice for Mango Cultivation

Coca-Cola India and Jain Irrigation on 14 September 2011 announced the launch of Project Unnati. Unnati will mark a unique partnership with farmers to demonstrate and enable adoption of ultra-high density plantation (UHDP) practice for mango cultivation. The project is to encourage sustainable, modern agricultural practices and help double mango yields. UHDP is a farming practice that leads to mango orchards attaining their full potential in 3-4 years and allows nearly 600 trees to be planted per acre instead of the conventional 40 trees. In the rst phase of the project, 200 demo farms of size between one and three acres will use the UHDP technique for mango cultivation while also utilising the benets of drip irrigation. The process is expected to improve farmer's income by increasing yield/acre and also decrease the water used. The rst phase has an investment outlay of more than $2 million and will be shared equally between the two companies. The process will be implemeted rst with UHDP farming in some farms in Chittoor and Cudappa districts of Andhra Pradesh, an area renowned for the Totapuri Mango. The demo farms will be used to showcase and train farmers on the

Visa Related Services in Post Offices for Remote Areas

India Post has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with M/s VFS Global to provide visa related services for different countries through Post Ofces. The MOU sets out broad understandings and intentions of both the parties to provide visa related services at places where they are not currently available. Post Ofce counters will be used for fee collections, providing visa applications forms, dissemination of visa information, biometric enrollment and other visa application process related services. India Post and VFS are also planning to cooperate in utilizing India Posts courier service, Speed Post for movements of passports to VFS ofces and concerned embassies, and their delivery back to the applicants. Both the parties will also explore to provide any other service that India Post may want to provide through VFS global network on mutually accepted terms. M/s VFS Global is in the business of visa application services and is working with 35 governments across

Hexagonal Ayaka Pillar Unearthed in Andhra Pradesh

A hexagonal Ayaka pillar with a square pedestal was unearthed by the Department of Archaeology of Andhra Pradesh on a mound in Munjuluru village of Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh in September 2011. Hemispherical Buddhist stupa belonged to the Vajrayana period of Buddhism that dated back to 6th and 7th Century A.D. The stupa is built with bricks made of husk measuring 23 cm width, 7 cm height and 28 cm length. One of the ayaka pillars, which is in octagonal shape, was perched on a square base. The 10-metre (diametre) main stupa currently in a dilapidated state is yet another Buddhist site to get added to the four major ones in the krishna district. the outer structures like aramas and ayakas vanished due to tilling activity.

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The archaeologist also collected a number of red and black pottery, including rims in different shapes and sizes. The black, red and scarlet buffed ware, along with conical shaped bowls with heaps of lime conch shells used for plastering during the construction of the stupa, were also collected and recorded. refused to allow leasing and left a decision on spectrum trading for a later date. The sharing will initially be allowed for ve years and could be renewed for another ve on terms to be prescribed. Currently, mergers are allowed only if the combined market share of the entities does not exceed 30 per cent. That has been raised to 35 per cent. Under the new rules on merger the combined entity can hold 25 per cent of the total spectrum in a circle. Telecom regulkator TRAI had recommended that telecom companies could merge their operations if the combined market share of the new entity is less than 60%. pher. Sen was recognised while for his insights into the causes of poverty, famine, and injustice. By applying philosophical thinking to questions of policy, he changed how standards of living are measured and increased our understanding of how to fight hunger. Sen helped create the United Nations Human Development Index. Amartya Sen had won his Nobel Prize for economics in 1998 for his studies of the roots of poverty. He is currently the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, Sen is among four (an unusually high number) foreign-born luminaries in a distinguished list for the 2011 US National Humanities Medal. The list also includes the American poet John Ashbery, historians Robert Darnton and Cuba-born Teolo Ruiz; Ghanian-British-American philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, music scholar Charles Rosen, literary scholars Andrew Delbanco and Ramon Saldivar and the educational program National History Day.

New Telecom Policy 2012

The New Telecom Policy was announced by communications minister on 15 February 2012. The key policy measures are aimed at reassuring incumbent operators who had been seeking clarity in rules at a time when the government is making every possible effort to put the scam-tainted telecom sector back on track. Telcos operating in the same region will be allowed to share 2G spectrum. Operators can now share 2G spectrum only in the same service area and those sharing it should hold spectrum. It means operators having spectrum in a few circles cannot enter into roaming agreements in circles where they do not hold spectrum. All future allocation of airwaves will only be through auctions. Also, future licences will be delinked from spectrum and companies must buy bandwidth at market rates.

In Gujarat, Indias First Vessel Traffic Service was Dedicated to the Nation
In Gujarat, Indias rst highly sophisticated vessel trafc service was dedicated to the nation in Kandla. Sixteen thousand square kilometres of Gulf of Kutch are now under strict vigilance by this ultra modern radar system which is the rst and the largest radar surveillance system on Indian coast. The very sensitive and strategically most important, the Gulf of Kutch, is now more safe, with the dedication of ultra-modern vesel management service at Kandla this morning. Approximately, 16500 sq. km. of Gulf of Kutch areas are under the surveillance of high-tech radars and other navigational systems.

Indus Valley Civilization-era Seal in Steatite

Pakistani archaeologists discovered a rare Indus Valley civilization-era seal in steatite dating back to 2,5002,000 BC from the Cholistan area of Punjab province. The discovery is expected to open new dimensions for scholars. The seal was discovered during the Sui-Vihar Excavations and Archaeological Reconnaissance of Southern Punjab a project funded by UNESCO to explore sites along the Hakra river. The UNESCO project aimed at learning more about Buddhist inuence in this region which has its own distinctive features as opposed to the Gandhara school of art further north. The team also conducted excavations at Sui-Vihar which is billed as the only existing example of Sankhya doctrines in Pakistan.

The New Policy

The government also decided to allow sharing of bandwidth and eased rules for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the telecom sector. The maximum airwaves that companies can hold, also known as the prescribed limit, was enhanced to 8 MHz in all regions except Delhi and Mumbai, where the cap is at 10 MHz. The new policy favours a unied licence regime and a uniform licence fee of 8% of an operators adjusted gross revenue (AGR) across all telecom service areas. telcos currently pay 6-10% of their AGR as license fees. The policy dened the exit policy permitting mergers between operators, which do not exceed 35% of the market share and 25% of the spectrum available in the sector. The policy allows spectrum sharing, too, though the government has

US National Humanities Medal 2011 for Indian

The White House on 10 February 2012 named India's Nobel Prizewinning economist Amartya Sen the receipient of the 2011 US National Humanities Medal. Amartya Sen, who retains his Indian citizenship, is the rst Indian to be honored with the medal that is typically awarded to US nationals. While Indian scholars and experts of Indian-origin had previously won White House recognition in science and engineering in the form of National Medals, this is a rst in humanities. The White House citation described him as an economist and a philoso-

The Seal
The rare seal was found at Wattoowala, located near Derawar Fort and along the ancient bed of the Hakra river.
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It was discovered by a six-member team of archaeologists led by Punjab University archaeology department chairman Farzand Masih. The seal features the carved gure of an ibex with two pictographs. It has a perforated boss on the back and varies from the style of Harappan seals. The seal which is almost square in shape is slightly broken on the right side. The gure of the ibex is however almost intact. The muscles, genitalia, hooves and tail of the ibex were engraved artistically with a high degree of skill and craftsmanship. The seal revealed a regional inuence as well as a possible pressence of a separate identity in the Harappan domain.

The Union Cabinet of India Approved National Policy on NDPS

The Union Cabinet of India on 12 January 2012 approved the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) policy, with the objective of checking illicit production of psychotropic substances, curb drug abuse and stop trafcking of such items. The new policy will help in controlling the proliferation of black money. The NDPS policy will lead to reduction in crime and improvement in public health. It aims at social re-integration of victims of drug abuse.The salient features of the policy are as follows: The policy recommends production of Concentrate of Poppy Straw (CPS) in India by a company or body corporate. This would enable India to retain its status of a traditional supplier of Opiate Raw Material (ORM) to the rest of world, while remaining competitive. The consumption of poppy straw by addicts will be gradually reduced and nally stopped in a time frame decided by the States. On the illicit cultivation of poppy and cannabis, the policy emphasizes use of satellite imageries for detection of illicit crop and its subsequent eradication and development of alternate means of livelihood in respect of cultivators in pockets of traditional illicit cultivation. The private sector may be allowed production of alkaloids from opium. At present alkaloids from opium are produced only in Government Opium and Alkaloid Factories (GOAFs). Non-intrusive methods of regulating the manufacture, trade and use of such psychotropic substances will be introduced. Emphasis will be laid on adequate access to morphine and other opioids necessary for palliative care, a strategy to address street peddlers of drugs, periodic surveys of drug abuse to gauge the extent, pattern and nature of drug abuse in the country, recognition of de-addiction centers. There will be a time bound plan of action, detailing the steps to be taken by different Ministries/ Departments/ agencies, in response to the recommendations of the International Narcotics Control Board.

The policy attempts to curb the menace of drug abuse and contains provisions for treatment, rehabilitation and social re-integration of victims of drug abuse. Implementation of the provisions of the policy will lead to reduction of crime, improvement in public health and uplifting of the social milieu. The NDPS Policy will serve as a guide to various Ministries and organizations and re-assert India`s commitment to combat the drug menace in a holistic manner.

SCHEMES/PROGRAMMES Swavalamban Pension Scheme

To encourage the workers of unorganized sector to voluntarily save for their retirement and to lower the cost of operations of the New Pension System (NPS) for such subscribers, the Central Government announced a co-contributory pension scheme Swavalamban in the Union Budget 2010-11. The Government of India (GOI) will contribute a sum of Rs. 1,000 to each eligible NPS subscriber who contributes a minimum of Rs. 1,000 and maximum Rs. 12,000 per annum under the Swavalamban Scheme. The Swavalamban Scheme has been launched on September 26, 2010 and workers of unorganized sector from any part of the country can join this Scheme. State Governments of Haryana and Karnataka have also announced a co-contributory scheme for some specified occupational groups in the un-organised sectors, wherein a sum of Rs. 1,200 per annum will be contributed by these State Governments to the accounts of eligible subscribers of the respective state, over and above the contribution of the Central Government and the individual subscribers. Swavalamban Yojana is administered by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and LIC is the Facilitator. The Scheme aims at covering the Unorganized Sector under this New Pension System from age 60 years. Members of Unorganized sector aged between 18 years to 55 years shall be included under the scheme that provides for minimum monthly

Union Government to set up a National Council for Senior Citizens

The Union Government of India on 1 February 2012 gave the approval for setting up a National Council for Senior Citizens. It will be headed by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. It will advice the Central and State Governments on issues related to welfare of senior citizens. The Council will suggest special policies and programmes for the physical and nancial security of the senior citizens in the country. The Council will comprise of 20 members including the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment along with the oldest members from both the Houses of Parliament and distinguished personalities from different elds.

Katra-Quazigund Railway Line Project in Jammu and Kashmir

The Union government of India on 4 January 2012 approved an additional fund of 19 thousand crore rupees for completion of Katra - Quazigund Railway line projectin Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure in New Delhi. The railway line is to be completed by 2017.

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contribution Rs. 100/- , minimum annual contribution Rs. 1000/- and maximum annual contribution Rs. 12,000/- per member. Under the scheme Government contribution will be Rs. 1000/- per annum for nancial 2010-11 and this scheme shall be available for another three years. Government has targeted 10 lakh workers from un-organized sectors each during the initial four years of the implementation of Swavalamban Scheme totalling to 40 lakh subscribers by March, 2014. For the purpose, PFRDA would also be undertaking extensive nancial literacy and awareness campaigns in association with the Aggregators. lected 52 districts from all the States/ UTs. Under the scheme, Cash transfers will be made to all pregnant and lactating women as incentives based on fulllment of specic conditions relating to mother and child health and nutrition. All Government/PSUs (Central & State) employees will be excluded from the scheme as they are entitled for paid maternity leave. Each pregnant and lactating woman will receive a total cash incentive of ` 4000/- in three installments between the period from the second trimester of pregnancy to the child attaining the age of 6 months. It is expected that in the initial years with cash incentives, around 13.8 lakh pregnant and lactating women in 52 identied districts may avail of the benet under the scheme. The beneciaries would be pregnant women of 19 years of age and above for rst two live births (benet for still births will be as per the norms of scheme). Each beneficiary will be required to open individual account (if she does not have one already) in the nearest bank or the post ofce for cash transfer. IGMSY will be implemented by the State / UTs through the existing State and District ICDS Cell supported by additional contractual staff. Anganwadi worker (AWW) and Anganwadi helper (AWH) will receive an incentive of ` 200/- and ` 100/- respectively per pregnant and lactating woman after all the due cash transfers to the beneciary are complete. There will be Steering and Monitoring Committees at all levels to oversee implementation and monitor the progress. An IGMSY Cell within the Ministry of Women and Child Development will also be set up. including early and exclusive breast feeding for the rst six months and contributing to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.

Sabala Yojana for Out-ofSchool Adolescent Girls

Rajasthan Women and Child Development Minister Bina Kak launched the Sabala Yojana at Jaipur in January 2011 for empowerment of outof-school adolescent girls through supplementary nutrition and life skills training at anganwadi centres, ensuring their mental and physical growth, and enabling them to become self-sufcient. About eight lakh girls in the age group of 11 to 18 years would benet from the scheme, to be implemented in 10 districts of the State with the Central assistance. The scheme would also encourage teenage girls to join regular schools. The Minister released the adolescent girls' kits, to be distributed to sathins (workers) at anganwadi centres, as well as brochures for the scheme. The anganwadi centres would provide supplementary nutrition to adolescent girls for 300 days a year under the scheme. The girls would also get the benet of anaemia-control therapy, health check-ups, counselling for nutrition, personal-hygiene management and skill development training. The scheme will be implemented in 10 districts of Rajasthan - Sri Ganganagar, Udaipur, Jaipur, Banswara, Jhalawar, Bikaner, Barmer, Dungarpur, Bhilwara and Jodhpur districts. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) would also assist the State government in the implementation of the scheme.

Exit norms relaxed

The exit norms of the co-contributory pension scheme 'Swavalamban' have been relaxed. The Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee said that a subscriber under Swavalamban Scheme will now be allowed to exit at the age of 50 years instead of 60 years, or a minimum tenure of 20 years, whichever is later. The Finance Minister also proposed to extend the benet of Government contribution from three to ve years for all subscribers of Swavalamban who enroll during this year and in the year 2011-12. An estimated 20 lakh beneciaries will join the scheme by March 2012.

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on October 20, 2010 approved the implementation of Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) on pilot basis in selected 52 districts during the remaining period of XI Five Year Plan at a total cost of 1000 crore. The Scheme will be implemented by using the infrastructure, personnel, systems and structures of ICDS including support of health systems along with the additional personnel on contractual basis as approved in the Scheme. The Scheme will be centrally sponsored with 100 per cent assistance from the Centre. IGMSY will be implemented in all the Anganwadi Centres of the se-

Objectives of the scheme

The objectives of the scheme are to improve the health and nutrition status of pregnant, lactating women and infants by promoting appropriate practices, care and service utilisation during pregnancy, safe delivery and lactation; encouraging the women to follow (optimal) Infant and Young Child Feeding practices (IYCF practices)

Rajiv Gandhi Advocates Training Scheme

Rajiv Gandhi Advocates Training Scheme was inaugurated in the National Law University Delhi on June 27, 2011 by the Minister of Law & Justice Dr. M. Veerappa Moily. Globalization of law includes global connections, global interdependence, global information, global nance,
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global governance and global rights. Legal profession in the 21st Century must focus on the rapid changes in legal education and the legal profession that are taking place throughout the world, the phenomenon that is often referred to as the globalization of legal profession. The primary purpose behind the development of the lawyers training program is to standardize the training of future generations of lawyers in the globalization era. Achieving this goal is critical to ensure that lawyers attain a minimum level of legal knowledge and advocacy skills before they take on the responsibilities associated with representing clients before the courts. Additionally, the training plan has been designed to increase public condence in the legal system by setting clear ethical standards for the practice of law and training future lawyers about their ethical obligations to society and the role they play in promoting the integrity of the legal system as a whole. Training programme helps in enhancing following skills of the advocate trainees: Builds better communications skills. Develops hidden talent. Ensures consistent quality. Provides greater focus. Produces more effective/productive efforts. Claries the concept of marketing as a business process. The Supreme Court in the case of State of Maharashtra Vs. Manubhai Pragaji Vashi, (1995) has observed that the need for a continuing and well-organised legal education, is absolutely essential reckoning the new trends in the world order, to need the ever-growing challenges. The scheme envisages selection of 10 young practicing advocates from each state of India, every year for being imparted professional training. A preference shall be given to those candidates who belong to SC/ST, OBC, Woman and Physically Handicap. The National Law University, Delhi will implement the scheme at the national level by providing the Advocates one month training in its campus and the Advocates will be placed with a Senior/leading Advocate at their respective places for one month training. This training programme will cover: Provisions contained in Hague Convention on the Service abroad of Judicial & Extra Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters Mechanism of service of summons and other judicial documents issued by Indian court to persons residing in foreign territory and vice versa. Effect and advantages of having Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in civil and commercial matter; and in criminal matter, Extradition Treaty and Treaty on transfer of convicted persons with foreign countries. Intellectual Property laws including Competition Law Their use, importance and relevance in modern day business; Cyber Laws How to deal with cyber crimes and related issues; Specic legislations useful in day to day life viz. the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1963, Gram Nyayalaya Act, 2009 etc. into RAY. In order to encourage private sector participation in slum re-development, Central assistance can be used by the States and cities towards viability gap funding. Credit enablement of the urban poor and the ow of institutional nance for affordable housing is an important component of the scheme. The government has agreed to establish a mortgage risk guarantee fund to facilitate lending the urban poor for housing purposes with an initial corpus of Rs. 1000 crore. The scheme has been designed on the basis of experience of the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) sub-mission of Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and the Integrated Housing and Urban Development Programme (HSDP). Under these schemes, government had sought to take action for inclusive urban growth by enabling redevelopment of slums with basic amenities and decent housing with security of tenure. The foundation laid by the JNNURM is now being built upon by aiming at creation of a slumfree India through assignment of property rights to slum dwellers with greater inow of additional Central assistance for slum re-development and creation of new affordable housing stock. As in JNNURM, the Central assistance is conditional to reforms by the States. The reforms required here are directly linked to the objectives of the scheme and necessary for the scheme to be successful. These reforms include the enactment of law and the assigning of property rights as also reforms in the policy to ease the land and affordable housing shortages. They will benet by way of property rights and access to decent shelter, basic amenities and a dignied life. The inclusive city growth process will lead to enactment of productivity at the bottom of the pyramid and will sustain the contribution of cities to the Gross Domestic Product.

Rajiv Awas Yojana for Slum Dwellers

The government on June 1, 2011 unveiled its plan for introducing Rajiv Awas Yojana for slum dwellers under JNNURM on the lines of Indira Awas Yojana for rural poor.With an aim of creating a slum-free India, the Union government approved the launch of the phase-1 of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) to facilitate affordable housing for slum dwellers. The Centre would provide nancial assistance to States willing to assign property rights to slum dwellers for provision of shelter and basic civic and social services for slum re-development and for creation of affordable housing stock under the RAY scheme. The scheme is expected to cover about 250 cities, mostly with population of more than one lakh across the country by the end of 12th Plan (2017). The scheme will progress at the pace set by the States. As per the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decision, the Centre will bear 50 per cent of the cost of slum re-development. To encourage creation of affordable housing stock, the existing schemes of Affordable Housing in Partnership and Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor have been dovetailed

Swabhimaan: A Unique Financial Inclusion Initiative

A nationwide programme on nancial inclusion, Swabhimaan was launched in February, 2011 by the Government, which is focused on

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bringing the deprived sections of the society in banking network to ensure that the benets of economic growth reach everyone at all levels. This campaign is a big step towards socio-economic equality by bringing the underprivileged segments of Indian population into the formal banking fold for the rst time. Swabhimaan is a path-breaking initiative by the Government and the Indian Banks Association to cover economic distance between rural and urban India. This campaign promises to bring basic banking services to 73,000 unbanked villages with a population of 2,000 and above by March, 2012 and at least 5 crore new accounts will be opened. The movement will facilitate opening of banks accounts, provide need-based credit, remittance facilities and help to promote nancial literacy in rural India. The programme will increase the demand for credit among the millions of small and marginal farmers and rural artisans who will benet by having access to banking facilities. This nancial inclusion campaign named, Swabhimaan aims at providing branchless banking services through the use of technology. The vision for this programme is social application of modern technology. Banks will provide basic services like deposits, withdrawals and remittances using the services of Business Correspondents also known as Bank Saathi. This initiative also enables Government subsidies and social security benets to now be directly credited to the accounts of the beneciaries so that they could draw the money from the Business Correspondents in their village itself. The Government hopes to reach the benets of micro insurance and micro pension products to the masses through this banking linkage. The facilities provided through banking outlets will enhance social security by facilitating the availability of allied services in course of time like micro insurance, access to mutual funds, pensions, etc. Banking facilities like Savings Bank, recurring Deposits, Fixed deposits, Remittances, Overdraft facility, Kisan Credit Card (KCCs), General Credit Cards (GCC) and collection of cheques will be provided. The Banks are also working together with the Unique Identication Authority of India (UIDAI) for enrolment, opening bank accounts and also to facilitate transfer of government subsidies and other payments. Swabhimaan campaign is expected to benet millions of small and marginal farmers and rural artisans by providing them easy access to credit at lower rates and save them from clutches and exploitation by moneylenders. The Government is implementing the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme (NIDDCP) formerly known as National Goiter Control Programme (NGCP) since 1962 a 100% centrally assisted programme with a focus on the provision of Iodated salt, IDD survey/ resurvey, laboratory monitoring of Iodated salt and Urinary Iodine excretion, health education and publicity. Government of India has banned the sale of non iodated salt in the entire country for direct human consumption under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 with effect from 17th May, 2006. For effective implementation of the Programme at the State level, the Ministry of Health is providing nancial assistance to all the States/ UTs for establishment of an IDD Control Cell, and IDD Monitoring Laboratory in addition to assistance for conducting surveys and Health Education & Publicity for consumption of iodated salt by the population.

Swabhiman scheme to be expanded

The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has proposed to extend the Swabhimaan campaign to habitations with population of more than 1000 in North Eastern and hilly States and to other habitations which have crossed population of 2,000 as per Census 2011. Finance Minister informed that out of 73,000 identied habitations that were to be covered by March 2012, about 70,000 habitations have been covered so far under the Swabhimaan campaign. As a next step, Ultra Small Branches are being set up at these habitations, where Business Correspondents would deal with cash transactions. In 2010-11, Swabhimaan campaign was launched to extend Banking facilities through Business Correspondents to habitations having populations in excess of 2000.

Swarnajayanti Aarogya Bima Yojana

Goa has become the rst state in the country to have launched Swarnajayanti Aarogya Bima Yojana providing health insurance cover for the entire resident population of the state. The State Government on 20th September 2011 signed a MOU, with ICICI Lombard which is the implenting agency for the new health insurance cover Swarnajayanti Aarogya Bima Yojana. The cashless health insurance scheme Swarnajayanti Aarogya Bima Yojana provides for meeting expenses of hospitalization for medical and/or surgical procedure including maternity benet to the enrolled families upto 60,000 rupees per family per year subject to limits in any of the government and private hospitals and nursing homes. Pre-existing conditions/diseases will be covered from the start of the policy. It is proposed to be a universal mediclaim scheme for the entire resident population of Goa to cover primary and secondary healthcare.
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National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme

Iodine is an essential micronutrient with an average daily at 100-150 micrograms for normal human growth and development. Deficiency of Iodine can cause physical and mental retardation, cretinism, abortions, stillbirth, deaf mutism, squint & various types of goitre. Results of sample surveys conducted in 325 districts covering all the States/Union Territories have revealed that 263 districts are endemic where the prevalence of Iodine Deciency Disorders is more than 10%. It is estimated that more than 71 million persons are suffering from goitre and other Iodine Deciency Disorders.

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Around 3.5 lakh families would be covered by the scheme. Government had enrolled citizens who paid 100 as registration fee to avail the scheme. In the beginning, the project is going to be implemented in 150 Gram Panchayats, which will later be expanded to the whole state and the nation. The positive change in women has been possible because of several empowerment steps like increased reservation for them in the elected bodies. Other steps towards empowerment of women marked the too marked the event, like distribution of loan cheques to the Self Help Group(SHG) women, allotment of fair price ration shops to the SHG women, announcement of computer literacy programme for out of school girls and women etc. in piecemeal. That was why development works were undertaken in villages in bits and pieces. Panch Parmeshwar Yojna will help remove this lacuna and development works will gather momentum. Under the new scheme, every Panchayat will be provided funds as per 13th Finance Commission and third State Finance Commission. If any Panchayat gets less funds under Panch Parmeshwar Yojna, it will compensate the shortage from the funds received from mining and stamp duty revenue. Similarly, the Gram Panchayats which are getting more funds thus far can get additional funds after utilisation of previous funds. The Gram Panchayats have been suggested to chalk out an additional Integrated Action Plan for rst two years on the basis of population. Under the scheme, construction of drains and internal roads and Anganwadi buildings, wherever previously sanctioned, will be undertaken. The Gram Panchayats can utilise 10 per cent funds on the maintenance of assets and sanitation works.

Mission Poorna Shakti

In a major step towards upliftment of women, Mission Poorna Shakti was launched in Rajasthans Pali district on September 16, 2011 by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women. The launch of the programme at Pali was jointly executed by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women and the Department of Women & Child Development, Government of Rajasthan. Minister of State for Women & Child Development (Independent Charge), Krishna Tirath, while dedicating the Poorna Shakti Kendra to the nation, termed it as a milestone towards holistic empowerment of women. The mission aims to provide a common platform to facilitate convergence of benets under the programmes of the various ministries and departments of the Central government. The mission will also facilitate synergy in implementation of these programmes through their convergence at the state, district and sub-district levels. The mission aims to increase the coordination between women of various government departments and ministries. The benets of the mission would be made available to the gram level workers through different centers. These Poorna Shakti Centers would get directions from the Tehsil at the gram level and from the state and the Centre at the district level for their functioning. The mission also aims to increase awareness amongst women and support to them. The Poorna Shakti Centers would aspire to make every woman in the village able to recognise her health, education and legal rights. Moreover, the mission will deliver its services to the women at grassroots through its various centers at the village level, to be called Poorna Shakti Kendra. The national launch of Mission Poorna Shakti is a boon for the women of Pali and it will give boost to their all-round progress.

Panch Parmeshwar Yojna

The Panchayats and Rural Development Department launched Madhya Pradesh Panch Parmeshwar Yojna with the objective of further empowering Gram Panchayats so that these institutions can work more effectively. Under the scheme, lump sum funds to the tune of Rs 5 lakh to 15 lakh will be provided for development works directly to Gram Panchayats on the basis of villages population. The easy availability of financial resources will facilitate Gram Panchayats to work more easily and smoothly. This multi-purpose scheme will help strengthen the three-tier Panchayati Raj system further through infrastructure development. Initiative has been taken in the state to consolidate the funds made available to Panchayats by the Direcotrate of panchayats in the Panchayati Raj account through Integrated Action Plan for rural development. Now, the Gram Panchayats will get consolidated funds on the basis of population during nancial year. Under the scheme, a consolidated fund of Rs. 5 lakh will be made available to Gram Panchayats with upto two thousand population, Rs. 8 lakh to Gram Panchayats with two thousand to ve thousand population, Rs. 10 lakh to Gram Panchayats with ve thousand to ten thousand population and Rs. 15 lakh to the Gram Panchayats with over ten thousand population. So far, funds under various schemes were made available to Panchayats

Jharkhand Launches Dal Bhat Scheme

Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda on August 15, 2011 launched the 'Dal Bhat' scheme on Independence Day under which lunch will be provided at Rs.5 to a poor person. In the wake of drought for the last several years, the state government introduced a scheme named Mukhya Mantri Dal Bhat Yojna for the BPL families. The scheme would be run with the help of women self-help groups across the state. The state government launched the scheme at Rs 5 per poor person and opened 100 centres in the state at railway stations, bus stands, hospitals and public places. Each centre will feed 400 people and this way 40,000 people will get lunch at Rs.5 every day. Chief Minister Arjune Munda inaugurated the scheme at Townhall in Ranchi. On the country's 65th Independence Day, 100 food centres in all the 24 districts were opened. In Ranchi, seven food centres have been opened.

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Under the scheme, a person will get 200 grammes of rice, pulses and 'chokha' (beaten potato mixed with salt). The food centres will be run by NGOs and the district administration will monitor the scheme. More than half of Jharkhand's three crore population falls under the Below Poverty Line. The state government would also provide 50 kg food grains to the families where an accidental death had taken place under Vinod Bihari Mahto Aapda Sahaita Yogna A BPL family will get 25 kg food grains in case of an injury.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

RSBY has been launched by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL households from financial liabilities arising out of health shocks that involve hospitalization. Beneficiaries under RSBY are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs. 30,000/- for most of the diseases that require hospitalization. Pre-existing conditions are covered from day one and there is no age limit. Coverage extends to five members of the family which includes the head of household, spouse and up to three dependents. Beneficiaries need to pay only Rs. 30/as registration fee while Central and State Government pays the premium to the insurer selected by the State Government on the basis of a competitive bidding. Unique Features of RSBYThe RSBY scheme is not the first attempt to provide health insurance to low income workers by the Government in India. The RSBY scheme, however, differs from these schemes in several important waysRSBY provides the participating BPL household with freedom of choice between public and private hospitals and makes him a potential client worth attracting on account of the signicant revenues that hospitals stand to earn through the scheme. A beneciary of RSBY gets cashless benet in any of the empanelled hospitals. He/ she only needs to carry his/ her smart card and provide verication through his/ her nger print. The key feature of RSBY is that a beneciary who has been enrolled in a particular district will be able to use his/ her smart card in any RSBY empanelled hospital across India. This makes the scheme truly unique and benecial to the poor families that migrate from one place to the other. Cards can also be split for migrant workers to carry a share of the coverage with them separately. The use of biometric enabled smart card and a key management system makes this scheme safe and foolproof.

National Social Security Board

National Social Security Board was constituted for the 3 years in 2009 with Minister of Labour and Employment as ex-ofcio chairman and 35 members under the unorganized Sector Workers Social Security Act, 2008. The National Social Security Board performs following functions: Administration of unorganized Sector Workers Social Security Act, 2008 and formulation of policies at the national level, and shall have such powers as may be laid down to direct, co ordinate, supervise, and monitor the functioning of State Boards and the Central Welfare Boards; Review the working including auditing of the State-level Social Security Boards and the Central Welfare Boards every four years and make suitable recommendations to the Government(s) concerned for further improvement; Manage and maintain the National Social Security Fund and provide nancial assistance to State Boards; Advise the Central Government on policy matters relating to social security, health and safety and welfare of unorganized workers; Assist in capacity building of the State Boards, and collect, compile and publish statistics relating to the unorganized sector and undertake such promotional activities as may be decided from time to time.

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)

It is the centrally sponsored schemes funded on a 75:25 basis between the Centre and the States. This scheme aims towards employment generation and improvement of the physical and social environment of the urban poor and the urban poor neighborhood respectively. The scheme is in operation since 01.12.1997, has been comprehensively revamped with a view to addressing the drawbacks observed in implementation. The three key objectives of the revised Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) are: Addressing urban poverty alleviation through gainful employment to the urban unemployed or underemployed poor; Supporting skill development and training to enable the urban poor have access to employment opportunities provided by the market or undertake self-employment; and Empowering the community to tackle the issues of urban poverty through suitable self-managed community structures and capacity building programmes. The revamped SJSRY has ve major components, namely(i). Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP) (ii) Urban Women Self-help Programme (UWSP) (iii) Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEPUP) (iv) Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP) (v). Urban Community Development Network (UCDN)

National Livelihood Mission (NRLM)

The Ministry of Rural Development re-designed and re-structured the ongoing Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) into National Livelihood Mission (NRLM). The idea has been conceived as a cornerstone of national poverty reduction strategy. The objective of the Mission is to reduce poverty among rural BPL by promoting diversied and gainful selfemployment and wage employment opportunities which would lead to an appreciable increase in income on sustainable basis. In the long run, it will ensure broad based inclusive growth and reduce disparities by spreading out the benets from the islands of growth across the regions, sectors and communities. The Rural Livelihoods Mission is
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proposed to have a three-tier interdependent structure. At the apex of the structure will be the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, under the Ministry of Rural Development. At the State level, there will be an umbrella organization under the State Department of Rural Development/ Department which is responsible for implementing self-employment/rural livelihoods promotion programs. The NRLM has been envisaged to perform the following functions: (i) Facilitate establishment of state level umbrella agencies for providing institutional support for poverty elimination programs; support in the design and implementation of pro-poor programs; (ii) Liaise with other Missions/departments to explore areas for convergent action and facilitate such convergence to enhance the capabilities and facilitate access to other entitlements such as wage employment, food security, education, health, etc and ; (iii) Explore and facilitate partnerships between National/State Rural Livelihood Missions and public, private, NGO and Co-operative sector partners, for diversifying and sustaining the livelihoods of the poor; (iv) Undertake/commission studies to assess emerging self employment/ skill based employment opportunities and disseminate the information to the State agencies; (v) Study best practices in self-employment/ micro enterprise activities across the country and support their replication in other parts of the country through workshops, cross-learning visits and exchange programs; (vi) Develop capacity building and training modules for functionaries of the peoples institutions as well as the state agencies and district units, and other stakeholders participating in the poverty elimination programs; (vii) Facilitate analysis and dissemination of the impact of changing economic policies on the poor and play policy advocacy role; (viii) Act as information warehouse on rural poverty statistics by accessing information from multiple sources; (ix) Identify shortcomings in program design and implementation and facilitate debates/discussions thereof by experts for nding innovative & workable solutions and their dissemination to the state agencies.

NPS-Lite
National Pension System (NPS) is an initiative of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the apex body established by Government of India to regulate and develop the pension sector in India. NPS has been extended to all citizens of India with effect from 1st May 2009. To extend the coverage of NPS to the weaker and economically disadvantaged sections of the society with their limited investment potential, PFRDA has launched NPS- Lite which specically targets the marginal investors and promotes small savings during their productive life. It aims at building up a corpus sufcient enough to buy an annuity for their old age. "NPS-Lite Model" is designed to ensure ultra-low administrative and transactional costs, so as to make such small investments viable. NPS-Lite works on a "group" model. It also aims at harnessing the outreach and capacity of the Government operated schemes, NGOs, MFIs, NBFCs etc. in targeting and servicing the old age savings needs of low income workers. Each eligible group or Aggregator in NPS Lite model will be responsible for grass-root level enrolments, ongoing collection, re-conciliation and transfer of individual contributions as well as for ongoing services and information delivery. Distinguishing Features of NPS Lite: Focused- For economically disadvantaged sections of the society and marginal investors. Voluntary - Open to eligible citizens of India, in the age group of 1860 years. Subscriber is free to choose the amount he/she wants to invest every year. Simple Eligible individuals in the unorganized work force can open an account through their Aggregator and get an Individual subscriber (NPS Lite) Account. Safe - Regulated by PFRDA, with transparent investment norms and regular monitoring and performance review of fund managers by NPS Trust. Economical Ultra-low cost structure with no minimum amount required per annum or per contribution. Portable Subscriber can operate account from anywhere in the country, even with change of location, employment or Aggregator.

Swayamsidha
It is an integrated project for the development and empowerment of women. It is based on the formation of women into Self Help Groups with emphasis on converging services, developing access to microcredit and promoting micro enterprises. The long term objective of the scheme is to achieve an all around development especially socially and economically by ensuring their direct access to, and control over, resources through a sustained process of mobilization and convergence of all ongoing sectoral programmes. The immediate objectives of the programme are as follows: Establishment of self-reliant womens Self Help Groups (SHGs); Creation of condence and awareness among members of SHGs regarding womens status, health, nutrition, education, sanitation and hygiene, legal rights, economic upliftment and other social, economic and political issues; Strengthening and institutionalizing the savings habit among rural women and their control over resources; Improving access of women to microcredit; Involvement of women in local level planning; and Convergence of services of DWCD and other Departments.

Swadhar
This scheme was launched during the year 2001-2002 as a central sector scheme for providing the holistic and integrated services to women in difcult circumstances, such as destitute widows deserted by their families in religious places like Vrindavan and Kashi; women prisoners released from jail and without family support; women survivors of natural disasters who have been rendered homeless and are without any social and economic support; trafcked women/ girls rescued or runaway from brothels or other places or victims of sexual crimes, who are disowned by family or who do not want to go back to their respective family for various reasons; women victims of terrorist violence who are without any family support; mentally challenged women who are without any support of family or relatives, etc. The package of services made available under the Scheme include provision for food, clothing, shelter, health care

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counseling and legal support; social and economic rehabilitation through education awareness generation, skill upgradation and behavioral training. The scheme also supports a helpline for women in distress.

Bal Bandhu Scheme

A special initiative to protect children's rights and mobilize communities through local youth volunteers in the areas affected by armed conict, particularly the Naxal districts has been launched. The "Bal Bandhu Scheme for Protection of Children's Rights in Areas of Civil Unrest" is aimed at bringing stability in the lives of children and, in the process, ensures their entitlements to protection, health, nutrition, sanitation, education and safety are fulfilled. This scheme is expected to strengthen democracy through community participation and action, and renew hope in harmonizing society and stabilizing lives while a child's well-being becomes the focus of all action in the areas. The volunteers will trace all adolescent boys and girls who are usually missing in these areas and will create an atmosphere to bring them back. They will also look for community participation in repairing and reviving schools, enrolling children, and petitions to block and district for teachers and infrastructure. They will also monitor children's nutrition and health needs through anganwadi centres.

of withdrawal of MPLADS Funds, NOC from MGNREGA would be required. The guidelines of MGNREGA such as, no contractors, no use of machinery, social audit, etc. shall be strictly followed. The Gram Panchayat shall be nominated as the Implementing Agency by the District Planning Committee (DPC) for the convergence works under MPLADS. The DPC shall provide adequate technical support to the Gram Panchayat to implement the works. The accounts of Expenditure will be strictly maintained separately for both MPLADS and MGNREGA.

Draft National Policy on Senior Citizens 2011

The large increase in human life expectancy over the years has resulted not only in a very substantial increase in the number of older persons but in a major shift in the age groups of 80 and above. The demographic prole depicts that in the years 2000-2050, the overall population in India will grow by 55% whereas population of people in their 60 years and above will increase by 326% and those in the age group of 80+ by 700% - the fastest growing group. As a result of the current ageing scenario, there is a need for all aspects of care for the Oldest Old (80+ years) namely, socio economic, nancial, health and shelter. A new National Policy on Older Persons, incorporating a range of welfare measures and an institutional framework for effective implementation, has been drafted by the committee headed by V. Mohini Giri. Its recommendations include : Extension of the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme to all senior citizens living Below the Poverty Line and enhancing the monthly pension to Rs.1,000, to be revised at intervals to prevent its deation due to higher cost of purchase. Senior citizens should be given an additional pension in case of disability and loss of adult children. The Public Distribution system would reach out to all BPL senior citizens. Taxation policies should reflect sensitivity to the senior citizens' financial problems which are aggravated by very high costs of medical and nursing care, transportation and support services needed at homes. Establishing a Department of Senior Citizens, which will be the nodal agency for implementing programmes and services, and the National Policy on Senior Citizens, 2011. A national commission for senior citizens at the Centre and similar bodies at the State level shall be constituted.

Pilot Project "Youth to the EDGE" Launched

The pilot project "Youth to the Edge" to promote adventure activities in the remote areas of North East Region was launched by Union Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region. The pilot scheme is being launched with the Motto "Adventure to the Paradise Unexplored". The states in the North Eastern Region offer tremendous potential for various adventure / outdoor activities viz. Mountaineering, Trekking & camping, Rock climbing & Rappelling, Jeep Safaris, Cultural Tours, Village / Home stay, community tourism, Bird watching, Angling, water skiing, White Water Rafting / Canoeing / kayaking, etc. Taking advantage of this potential, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, under the pilot project "Youth to the Edge", proposes to promote adventure activities in the remote areas of North East Region, in which around 2000 youth (1500 from North Eastern Region + 1500 from other States) will participate in adventure and cultural activities. On a trial basis, three trekking trails in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have been planned for the volunteers from National Service Scheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The young talents would be trained through the National Mountaineering Institutes and other adventure training organizations. After completion of the courses, they will get opportunity to work as escorts and guides on their own. Adventure Camps will channelize Youth Energy in positive direction, deCIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE, MAY, 2012 107

GOI Approves Convergence of Member of Parliament Local area Development Scheme with MGNERGA
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has approved the convergence of Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLADS) with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). After the convergence, the funds from Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) can be used with MGNREGA for creating more durable assets. MPs may allot fund for MGNREGA projects approved by the Zilla Panchayat for the year out of MPLADS funds but it should be sanctioned by the District Programme Coordinator who approves the Annual Work Plan under MGNREGA of the district. As far as possible, the MPLADS Funds shall be used in respect of material component only. Once a work is recommended for MGNREGA, MPs will not be authorized to withdraw the same. In case of request

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velop overall personality, enhance self condence, endurance and team spirit, improve leadership qualities and promote National Integration. The Project will be funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region through North Eastern Council (NEC) and executed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports through National Service Scheme (NSS). (ASRY) of National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC). National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation was set up in April, 2001 as a Government of India Company under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It provides nancial assistance at concessional rates of interest to STs for undertaking income generating activities and for procurement and marketing of minor forest produce and other tribal products. Under the Scheme, NSTFDC would provide loan at concessional rate of interest to the eligible Scheduled Tribes for pursuing higher professional and technical education including PhD. in India conducted by colleges/universities approved by UGC/Govt./AICTE/ ICMR etc. A Scheduled Tribe having annual family income up to double the poverty line would be eligible. The present limit is Rs. 39,500/- p.a. for rural areas and Rs. 54,500/- p.a. for the urban areas. The features of the scheme are as follows: a) Loan would cover expenses towards Admission/Examination/Library/ Laboratory/Tuition fee, Boarding and Lodging, Caution Money, Building fund/Refundable Deposit, Books, Stationery items, Computer, Equipments/Instruments, Study Tours, Project Work/Thesis, Insurance Premium for students and any other expense towards completion of course. b) The loan amount can be 90% of expenditure/deposits for entire duration of the course, subject to a maximum loan amount of ve lakh rupees per eligible family at 6% p.a. c) The time limit for repayment of loan is- After the moratorium period (Course Period plus one year or six months after getting job, whoever is earlier) within next 5 years subject to maximum period of 10 years. The Union Cabinet has already approved 235 crore rupees for this programme. The central government will spend Rs.235 crore annually. The priority will be given to youth who are school and college dropouts and training will be provided at each of the block headquarters. The rural development ministrys National Rural Livelihood Mission will fund the project.

Rajasthan Launches Food Fortification Programme

Rajasthan has high levels of stunting (40 per cent), wasting and under-nutrition (37 per cent) children with 79 per cent of children under 3 years, 62 per cent pregnant women and even 21 per cent men, becoming anaemic, the state government, in partnership with GAIN - the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, and other partners has launched projects aimed at increasing the nutritional value of a range of foods - from infant foods to vitamin and mineral-rich wheat our. The food fortication programme or IPS (Integrated Programme Strategy)Rajasthan aims to make fortied wheat our (fortied with iron, Vitamin B12 and folic acid) and fortied edible oil (fortied with Vitamin A) widely available across the State. Under the project, it is envisaged to fortify the lentils (daal) with folic acid and iron, which would be provided through the centralized kitchens in the Mid-day Meals (MDM) and Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). Further GAIN is supporting for setting up of 7 mini-industrial plants managed by Women Self-help Groups to produce fortied food for the ICDS in partnership with Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan and UN World Food Programme. This project empowers marginalized women to become entrepreneurs to produce high quality, fortied blended food for pregnant and lactating mothers and children aged 6-36 months to complement breastfeeding and other best practices in infant feeding.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna Launched in Jammu and Kashmir

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, jointly sponsored by the Centre and State governments was formally launched by State Health and Family Welfare Ministry in Srinagar on 13 October 2011. The scheme has been initially launched in the twin capital districts of Jammu and Srinagar and will be gradually extended to all the districts of the State. The initial launch of the scheme will benet around 66000 BPL families in Srinagar and Jammu. Entitled to cashless hospitalization coverage for most of the diseases through the network of identied hospitals up to expenditure of 30000 rupees per family per annum. This will cover ve members of a family which include the head of the household, spouse and up to three dependents. The Central and State Governments will pay the premium to the healthcare providers (insurance companies) being selected by the State Government. The contribution will be on 90-10 basis annually and the beneciary family has to pay only registration fee of 30 rupees only. Data of every family will be stored in the computer and head of the family will be provided with Smart Cards, which will enable their admission in the designated hospitals.

Himayat for Unemployed Kashmiri Youth

The Union ministry of Rural Development in Srinagar launched the programme called Himayat on 21 August 2011 for giving training and placement to over one lakh youth from poor families in Jammu and Kashmir. The Programme Himayat will be implemented in ve years.

'Adivasi Shiksha Rrinn Yojana' of NSTFDC Launched

The Minister for Tribal Affairs & Panchayati Raj Shri V. Kishore ChandraDeo launched Education Loan Scheme titled "ADIVASI SHIKSHA RRINN YOJANA"

Rajasthan Launched Janani Shishu Suraksha Yojna

The Rajasthan state government on 12 September 2011 launched the ambitiousJanani Shishu Suraksha Yojna in all the 33 districts.

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The Scheme aims to bring down maternal and child mortality rate in the state. Under the scheme, the government will provide free treatment and transport facility to pregnant women and sick infants. Along with this, all the pregnant women would be provided medicines and other consumables before, during and till 6 months after the delivery.Likewise, the sick infants would be provided all medicines free up to 30 days of their birth. The pregnant and infants would also be provided free transport facility from home to health institute. Over 5300 women die every year in Rajasthan due to complications in delivery, while 98 thousand 500 infants die within a year of their birth in the state. One lakh 18 thousand private ambulances, taxies and other vehicles have also been listed in the concerned areas of all the districts to provide transport facility from the remote villages to the hospitals. The UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had inaugurated the Janani Shishu Suraksha Yojana in Mewat Distrcit of Haryana on 1 June, 2011. JSSK supplements the cash assistance given to a pregnant woman under Janani Suraksha Yojana and is aimed at mitigating the burden of out of pocket expenses incurred by pregnant women and sick newborns Scheme at a cost of 6653 crore rupees with the objective of improving basic infrastructure facilities in cities and urban areas in the state. Under this scheme, basic infrastructure like drinking water, health, rain water drainage, solid waste management, parking facilities, parks, solid waste management and sewage water removal. In the rst phase, urban areas including corporations and municipalities as well as town panchayats will be improved at a cost of 757.28 crore rupees. be set aside by non-banking rms which are not sponsored by banks for capital market related and real estate lending and a minimum asset size of over 50 crore for registering a new NBFC Unlike banks, whose exposure to realty and stock markets are tightly regulated, NBFCs do not have similar stringent rules on sectoral lending and group-wise exposure, enabling them to lend more liberally against shares and also for realty. That was prompted also by the fact that many banks lend to NBFCs, which could mean risks being transferred to banks. Banks' exposure to NBFCs at the end of June 2011 was 16,9321 crore, which was over 50 per cent of its total lending. The planned recast of rules is in tune with this thinking. In its report, which was released recently, the group has said liquidity reserve requirements for NBFCs should be introduced. The tier-1, or core capital of NBFCs, has been pegged at 12 per cent from 7.5 per cent now. NBFCs who lend to brokerage houses and merchant banks will have to follow norms similar to that of banks. The new provisioning rules will be 90 days instead of 180 days. The risk weights for NBFCs not sponsored by banks could be raised to 150 per cent for capital market exposures and 125 per cent for commercial real estate (CRE) exposures. Under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets And Enforcement of Security Interest or SARFAESI Act, an NBFC would not move to the court to auction underlying assets to recover loan dues. It will just publish a newspaper notice before such auction. However, it hardly makes any difference for gold loan companies as gold is "pledged" against the loan. RBI has recommended maintaining a liquidity ratio of for 30 days. Which means an NBFC has to set aside cash balance equivalent to its debt payments due every month. This debt may include repayment of bank loans, interest payment to bond subscribers and others. Asset nance companies, especially those with longer repayment cycle, may be impacted. The measure is perceived to be important to check asset liablity mismatch of NBFCs.
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Shiksha Samvad System for RTE Act: NCPCR

National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) on 9 January 2012 directed the state governments to propose a system called Shiksha Samvad for holding regular dialogues between government ofcials and civil society on the implementation of the Right to Education Act. In a letter, the commission, which is monitoring the Act, asked the state governments to institutionalize the system for regular reviews of the act. This will enable the local administration to keep a close watch on how the implementation of the Act is proceeding at the ground level. It will also allow the people to seek speedy redressal by raising the issues directly with the government ofcials.

Resident Identity Cards Launched at Porthrapur Village

The home ministry of India launched the first batch of RICs (Resident Identity Cards) at Porthrapur village in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 21 January 2012. The RIC cards were distributed to all persons above the age of 18 residing in the nine maritime states and four union territories under the National Population Register (NPR) scheme. The NPR scheme is aimed to provide valid identity to all people in these areas to strengthen the security along the country's coastline.

COMMITTEE/REPORT Usha Thorat Committee on NBFCs

The Reserve Bank of India is on course to introduce new rules on provisioning, lending and capital for non-banking nance companies, or NBFCs, which will narrow the gap between these rms and banks, further squeeze prots and reduce possible risks to the nancial system. A working group constituted by the central bank and headed by its former deputy governor Usha Thorat has recommended a higher capital norm of 12 per cent for NBFCs, asset classication and provisioning on the lines of banks, more capital to

Integrated Urban Development Scheme: Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu government on 15 January 2012 decided to start an integrated Urban Development

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Western Ghats Panel Wants Moratorium on Mining
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Committee (WGEEC), under the chairmanship of adhav Gadgid appointed by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), has recommended that the moratorium on all mining activity and development of coal-based power projects in the costal districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Raigad in the Konkan region of Maharashtra should continue till a survey on the environmental impact of such projects is carried out. The recommendations can affect companies such as Tata Power Co. Ltd, JSW Energy Ltd and NTPC Ltd, which have lined up projects that total nearly 16,000 megawatts (MW) in this region. The committee, which has divided the entire Western Ghats into three categoriesecologically sensitive zone (ECZ) I, ECZ II and ECZ IIIhas recommended that all mining activity in ECZ I be phased out by 2016. It added that no new permission for mining and polluting industries such as coal-based power plants be given while existing projects be permitted to operate under strict regulation with social audits in ECZ II. The change in land use from agriculture to non-agriculture in ECZ III should be allowed, according to the committee, but the developer of the industrial, infrastructure or tourism project should be asked to take measures to mitigate environmental and socio-economic changes. The panel has further recommended that environmental clearance for coal-based power projects be given in the plains or coastal areas of the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts in Konkan after a detailed study of the environmental impact by organizations such as the National Institute of Oceanography. While undertaking such a study, the adjoining district of Raigad and neighbouring state of Goa should be included, the panel recommended. The panel further suggested that no environmental clearance for mining projects be granted in ECZ I and ECZ II of Goa and all mining activity should be phased out by 2016. Mining activity in ECZ II should be allowed only if it meets strict environmental regulations. The panel has also recommended that environmental clearance should not be given to the Athirappally hydropower project in Kerala and the Gundia hydropower project in Karnataka as they fall in ECZ I. rural and semi urban areas and up to Rs.5 lakh in other centres for repair of damaged dwelling units may be granted under priority sector. In order to encourage construction of dwelling units for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low Income Groups (LIG), housing loans granted to these individuals may be included in Weaker Sections Category. The MSE sector may continue to be under priority sector. Within MSE sector, a sub target for micro enterprises is recommended equivalent to 7 per cent of ANBC or CEOBE to be achieved in stages by 2013-14, it noted. Banks may be encouraged to ensure that the number of outstanding beneciary accounts under small and marginal farmers and micro enterprises each register a minimum annual growth rate of 15 per cent. The sector agriculture and allied activities may be a composite sector within priority sector, by doing away with distinction between direct and indirect agriculture. The targets for agriculture and allied activities may be 18 per cent of ANBC or CEOBE, whichever is higher. A sub target for small and marginal farmers within agriculture and allied activities is recommended, equivalent to 9 per cent of ANBC or CEOBE, whichever is higher to be achieved in stages by 2015-16. By adopting a wide and exhaustive consultation process, the Committee identied key issues facing diverse segments and sections of society; examined them thoroughly and made recommendations that would support achieving the objectives of directed lending. Unveiling the report on its website, RBI has sought feedback on the Nair Committee report from banks, nonbank financial institutions, other institutions and members of public by March 31, 2012. Final circular on priority sector lending will be issued by RBI after receiving feedback on the report.

Nair Committee on Priority Sector Lending

The Reserve Bank of India said the target of domestic scheduled commercial banks for lending to priority sector may be retained at 40 per cent of adjusted net bank credit (ANBC) or credit equivalent of off-balance sheet exposure (CEOBE), whichever is higher. RBI also said bank loans to non-bank financial intermediaries for onlending to specied segments may be allowed to be reckoned for classication under priority sector, up to a maximum of 5 per cent of ANBC or CEOBE, whichever is higher, subject to certain due diligence and documentation standards. The committee recommends allowing non-tradable priority sector lending certificates (PSLCs) on pilot basis with domestic scheduled commercial banks, foreign banks and regional rural banks as market players. It seeks to have signicant impact in addressing issue of directing lending to those who have lack of access to credit and to those sectors which generate large employment. Aforementioned are some of the major recommendations made in the report of the 10-member RBI Committee headed by M V Nair (Chairman of Union Bank of India) constituted to re-examine the existing classication and suggest revised guidelines with regard to priority sector lending and related issues. Some of the other major recommendations envisaged by the Nair Committee suggest that all loans to women under priority sector may also be counted under loans to weaker sections. Limit under priority sector for loans for studies in India may be increased to Rs. 15 lakh and Rs. 25 lakh in case of studies abroad, from existing limit of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, respectively. The loans to housing and education may continue to be under priority sector. Loans for construction or purchase of one dwelling unit per individual up to Rs 25 lakh; loans up to Rs.2 lakh in

Kakodkar Panel on Railway Safety

The elimination of all level crossings from the railway landscape within the next ve years as a measure of avoiding accidents and deaths is

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one of the key recommendations of the High Level Safety Review Committee that recently submitted its report to the Ministry of Railways in February 2012. In its report, the Anil Kakodkar committee, argued that such a step would not only eliminate the accidents at level crossings which account for 65 per cent of total deaths due to train accidents but will also improve the line capacity as trains get held up at busy LC gates. It will also save operation and maintenance costs incurred in the gates. The Kakodkar committee's analysis of data for the last five years showed that in the Indian Railway system spread across 64,000 route kilometres, derailments accounted for nearly half the total accidents followed by accidents at unmanned level crossing gates (36 per cent). Level crossing incidents contributed to 59 per cent of the deaths and 42 per cent of casualties. An extrapolation of the committee's recommendation to the Southern Railway network would involve the elimination of 2,782 gates, of which 1,042 remain unmanned. While over the last five years, train accidents at unmanned level crossings have been relatively low, the zero-casualty target set by the Railways could become redundant if the Kakodkar committee's recommendation is implemented. In fact, while proposing funds to the tune of Rs.50,000 crore for doing away with level crossings, the panel has noted that apart from saving lives, the investment could be recouped in about 8 years as the monetary saving from a phase-out of level crossings would be in the region of Rs.7,000 crore per annum. Turning the spotlight toward the safety of train travel on bridges, the committee recommended monitoring of all the bridges in terms of scientic measurements of deections/ displacements, water level and ow velocity on a continuous basis and data should be communicated to the ofce of the concerned Chief Bridge Engineer for monitoring. The panel, which noted that the Railways had classied at least 3,000 bridges to be 100 years old or more and 32 bridges as distressed structures, wanted vulnerable bridges tted with water level gauges and turbine flow meters to measure ow which should be interlocked in a way to warn the driver of the approaching train. The panel has recommended an advanced signalling system based on continuous track circuiting and cab signalling similar to European train control system Level-II on the entire trunk route of about 19,000 route kilometres at an estimated cost of Rs.20,000 crore within ve years. The panel stressed the need for the customisation to Indian conditions of foreign technologies like Anti-Collision Device and the Train Protection and Warning System which is a virtual endorsement of the efforts of Southern Railway in its trials with ACDs and the operation of the TPWS on its suburban lines. On the manpower gaps in the safety category in the Railways, the panel's recommendation for a time-bound filling up of vacancies in Critical Safety Categories and Manpower Planning Issues, addresses the demand by railway unions such as the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union and the All India Loco Running Staff Association. In the supplementary notes, Sen said the best course of action would be to identify those commodities where there is possibility of futures trading affecting expectations that may inuence ination in essential commodities and insulate these from futures. Therefore, the suspension of futures trading in the four sensitive commodities should continue and, in the case of sugar and edible oils, discussions with processors held on how much hedging benefits they currently derive from futures markets, and a decision taken accordingly. Apte, an IIM professor, is of the view that banning futures trading in agricultural commodities including basic foodgrains is not a desirable policy action. Sinha argued that futures trading having an adverse impact on wholesale and retail prices cannot be used as a basis for continuing the delisting of futures contract on certain commodities.

Rangarajan Panel Report on Oil Prices

Making a strong pitch for raising diesel prices, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan on Feb 22, 2012said there was a need to revise prices to reduce the huge subsidy burden and bring down the scal decit. Diesel price was last hiked in June 2011. The government had cut excise and customs duties to cushion the impact of the price rise, thus sacricing annual revenue of Rs 38,000 crore. The government expects that its subsidy bill would increase by Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 2.34 lakh crore, mainly on account of higher outlay towards fertilizer, food and oil. The Committee has recommended shifting to a trade parity model from the current import parity model for pricing petrol and diesel, reduction in custom duties on petrol and diesel from 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent and shifting excise duty from an advalorem levy to a specic levy. While the Committee acknowledged the need for subsidizing kerosene, it called for the subsidy to be restricted to poor families only. The Committee, however, saw no merit in subsidizing LPG which it felt is overwhelmingly used by the non-poor segment of the society.
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Abhijit Sen Committee on Commodity Future Trading

The Abhijit Sen committee, looking into the impact of forward trading on farm commodity prices, has found no conclusive evidence to prove that the price rise in essential commodities was caused by futures trading. However, there is a strong co-relation between these two (futures trading and prices), the committee pointed out in its report. Members of Abhijit Sen Committee were divided on banning the futures trade even as the expert committee did not nd any conclusive evidence on prices being inuenced by forward trading. While Sen, chairman of the committee, has favoured continuation of ban on rice, wheat, tur and urad, other members felt that ban was not a solution to deal with the price volatility. The committee, which submitted its much-awaited report to the government recently, noted that Indian data analysed in this report does not show any clear evidence of either reduced or increased volatility of spot prices due to futures trading.

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The Committee recommended an increase of Rs. 75 per cylinder of LPG. The Committees recommendations broadly cab be put in three groups: (a) Pricing of petrol and diesel, (b) Pricing of domestic LPG and PDS kerosene. (c) Restructuring of excise duties on petrol and diesel of expenditure on kerosene in the total consumption expenditure of rural households remained at the same level as in 2002. Thereafter, price of PDS kerosene should be raised every year in step with the growth in per capita agricultural GDP at nominal price. Similarly, it said its analysis showed that the prices of domestic LPG could be increased by at least Rs 100 per cylinder. Thereafter, it should be periodically revised, based on increase in paying capacity as reected in the rising per capita income. The report said the subsidy on domestic LPG should be discontinued for all others expect the BPL households once an effective targeting system was in place. The Committee said that, for calculation of the under-recoveries incurred by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) on sale of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG, the extant methodology on import parity pricing may be continued so long as the country remains a net importer of kerosene and LPG. The Committee has suggested a mechanism for financing underrecoveries on PDS kerosene and domestic LPG, which involves periodic reduction in PDS kerosene allocation, increase in prices of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG from time to time. The report said that a market-determined pricing system for petrol and diesel could be sustained in the long run by providing a level playing eld and promoting competition among all players, public and private, in the oil and gas sector. On removal of Plan/non-Plan distinction in the Budget, there should be a fundamental shift in the approach of public expenditure management from a segmented view of Plan and non-Plan to a holistic view of expenditure, the panel said in its report submitted in August 2011. If this distinction is done away with, the Planning Commission will virtually lose the strings to nearly a third of the purse from which it doles out funds to states and central ministries. The panel has said that in this case, the commission will have to reorient itself and focus on long-term strategic policy making instead of entangling itself in the nitty gritty of expenditure. This shift to holistic view of expenditure would require, interalia, changes in organizational structure, mandates and processes, the report added. In the envisaged system, the nance ministry will prepare the allocations for ministries with broad scheme wise funds and committed items, and send it to the Planning Commission for its feedback and scrutiny. The commissions mandate will be reduced to scrutinizing the allocations based on the overall development priorities, outcome targets and sectoral requirements after which the nance ministry will nalise the budget. Currently, the Planning Commission initiates the budget process and decides on the primary allocations, which then go to the nance ministry for clearance. The commission in its eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12 ) document had itself suggested doing away with the illogical and dysfunctional distinction of Plan and non-Plan expenditure. Plan expenditure is spent on productive asset creation through central government-sponsored programmes and agship schemes, while non-Plan refers to all other expenditures, such as those on defence, subsidies and interest payments, including expenditure on establishment and maintenance activities, such as salaries. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by former nance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha,

Kirit Parikh Panel for Marketdetermined Petrol, Diesel Prices

The Expert Committee on Pricing of SensitivePetroleum Products has recommended market-determined prices, both at the renery gate and at the retail level, for petrol and diesel as well as an immediate increase in the prices of public distribution system (PDS) kerosene by Rs 6 per litre and LPG by Rs 100 cylinder. The report said the trend of petrol consumption by automobile owners revealed that an increase in prices of petrol could be borne by vehicle owners. Similarly, it said there was no compelling reason to subsidise various groups of consumers of diesel. According to the committee, a way needs to be found to collect the same level of tax that petrol car users pay from those who use a diesel vehicle for passenger transport. It said an additional excise duty should be levied on diesel car owners. It said that a transparent and effective distribution system for public distribution system (PDS) kerosene and domestic LPG could be ensured through the Unique Identication (UID)/Smartcards framework. There is disparity in per capita allocation of PDS kerosene amongst States, as also decline in the percentage of households using kerosene. Besides, households have exibility in absorbing increases in the price of PDS kerosene to a certain extent. Therefore, PDS kerosene allocation across states should be rationalised, which will bring down all-India allocation by at least 20 per cent. Further reduction in PDS kerosene allocation can be done on the basis of progress of rural electrication, LPG and piped gas availability. The Committee said the price of PDS kerosene needed to be increased by at least Rs 6 per litre so that the share

Rangarajan Panel to Shed Funds Allocation Role

The Planning Commission may lose its power to decide allocations to central ministries if the government accepts recommendations of a high-level expert panel. The panel has sought abolition of the present system of classifying government expenditure into Plan and nonPlan, saying allocations should be the primary domain of the nance ministry. The panel, headed by C Rangarajan, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, was set up by the Planning Commission to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure.

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had also suggested restricting the commissions control over the funds. Planning in the country has failed to deliver the desired results owing to disjunction between planning and budgeting, lack of synchronisation between the plans/policies and implementation and monitoring, the Standing Committee had said. They should not be denied renewal of the existing policy as well. The panel is of the view that apart from traditional insurance policy, IRDA should also encourage each insurance company to offer a separate policy based on the concept of healthy ageing. Here, the premiums would be determined based on the health condition of the insured. It has also set a wider role for the regulator, saying that Irda should evolve sound principles of premium rating based on health condition. It should also organise an insurance pool to underwrite high risk cases for senior citizens above 75 years and those in the age-group of 65-75 years. The panel reckons that insurers can offer a variety of plans to senior citizens to suit market conditions. Companies can also innovate and offer plans specically suited to senior citizens like capturing the lump-sum retirement benets and providing health insurance for long years. Norms have been recommended for policy renewals: the insurer can load the age-based premium to take into account the cumulative history of the insured from the date of issuance. Such loading should not exceed the percentage by which the cumulative claim ratio exceeds 75%. If the claim is less than 75%, the insurer should offer a discount. But the discount or loading should not exceed 25% of the age based premium. The committee has made its recommendations, keeping in view the National Policy on Older Persons adopted by the government. Right now, only 2% of the population has a health insurance cover. Public expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure on health is only 13% in India compared to 23% in Pakistan. Health spends as a proportion of GDP hovers at around 5% in these two countries compared to 10% in developed countries. According to the Asian Development Bank report, income inequalities in Asia, measured by Gini coefcient, have worsened in the last decade. Contrary to popular belief, income inequality in India has gone up, both in rural and urban areas, in the last decade. At the all-India level, the Gini coefcient has moved up from 0.43 (1995-96) to 0.45 (2004-05). Gini coefcient is a variability measure employed by policymakers, economists and academics globally to calculate a nations consumption or income inequality. The Gini coefcient has values from zero to 1, with lower coefficient indicating more equal distribution of consumption or income: zero denotes perfect equality and 1 perfect inequality. The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS), also known as the Arjun Sengupta Committee, which submitted its report to the Government of India in 2006.

K.S. Sastry Committee on Health Insurance of Senior Citizen

All senior citizens, irrespective of age, health condition or claims history, will have access to health insurance, if the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) endorses a recommendation made by a high-level panel on health insurance. The panel, set up by IRDA, has made a number of recommendations, including making all health insurance policies portable and giving a clear denition of pre-existing diseases in insurance policies. It has also pitched for a progressive tax concession for health insurance to enable taxpayers with a lower income to get a proportionately higher benet. Crediting at least 50 per cent of the service tax on all health insurance schemes to an insurance pool to be created by IRDA to deal with high risk insurance cases of senior citizens also features in the recommendations. The committee, has said the regulator should mandate licensed health insurers to provide all senior citizens access to health insurance, implying universal coverage. Senior citizens should be allowed to enter the health insurance system up to 65 years of age or higher at the discretion of the insurer. If they do so, they should be given guaranteed renewal of their insurance without any upper age limit. As a transitional measure since guaranteed access is being provided to senior citizens for the rst time there should be no upper age limit for entry or renewal for a period of three years from the date IRDA issues the regulations, says the panel. According to it, a senior citizen holding a health insurance policy under the existing dispensation should not be compelled to shift to any other policy under the new guidelines.

Poverty level still high

The Committee's report estimated that there are over 340 million (approximately 34-37 crore) workers in the unorganised sector in India. Out of this, women make up 11-12 crore. The unorganised workforce contributes around 60 per cent to the national economic output of the country. According to the report card of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) for the period April 2006 to April 2007, the scheme has not faired well especially due to lack of awareness. The above-mentioned statistics present a different picture than what was being believed earlier that poverty levels were falling rapidly and that per capita incomes had risen by more than 50 per cent in the last six years. It depicts stark differentials between rural and urban incomes and between the rich and the poor as well.

Arjun Sengupta Committee on Un-organized Sector

Despite India's rapid strides on the economic front, the Arjun Sengupta Committee report reveals 85 per cent of the country's unorganised workforce lives on Rs. 20 a day. Adverse working conditions and lack of basic services further add to their woes.

Lack of basic amenities

This glaring income inequality impacts access to education and health and affects the poverty-reducing impact of a given amount of growth. Increasingly, this gaping disparity in income, expenditure and savings patterns is not just between rural and
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urban India but also between large and small cities. Urban households, for instance, earn 85 per cent more than rural ones, but spend three-quarter more and, as a result, save nearly the double of what rural households do. Much of this difference can be explained by differences in profession and education. Size of a city also makes a great difference to the household income levels. Unorganised sector work includes agricultural labour, construction workers on building sites, brick-kiln workers, workers in various service industries ranging from transport and courier services to the hospitality industry. Low wages, long working hours, hazardous working conditions, lack of basic services such as rst aid, drinking water and sanitation at the worksite, child labour, sexual harassment characterise the unorganised sector. Unorganised workforce also does not have the benet of laws such as the Minimum Wages Act or the Factories Act. in addition to a budgetary provision. Moreover, the committee has favoured a Thailand cane and sugar fund for the benet of sugar industries. In Thailand the initial price is xed before the crushing season on the estimates of sugar production. In case of less production and low price against the estimates, farmers are given assistance through cane and sugar fund. On the location of sugar mill, the committee has suggested that present limit of 15 km between two units be increased to 40 km taking into consideration the availability of sugarcane and the viability of the sugar mill. Morarji Desai's government in 1977 decontrolled sugar. liberalisation initiatives is critical. For instance, it pointed out that the foreign investment limit in bonds should be raised when capital inows in other areas are low. For further improvement the financial markets, the 10-member committee said that all regulations related to trading, including those on government bonds, should be supervised by the SEBI. The move will strengthen the interconnected markets, improve liquidity and increase competition. Besides, it wants the regulators to accord faster approvals to new products and is against any bans -- other than action against manipulators -- to ensure that there is no investor uncertainty. The reference was in response to banning commodity futures trade in agricultural products in February last year when ination was rising. Markets that are missing like exchange traded interest rate and exchange rate derivatives are also needed. During its four years in ofce, due to political resistance, the UPA government has been unable to push through most of its nancial sector reforms agenda including more voting rights to foreign investors in Indian banks, more foreign investment in insurance and pension sector liberalisation. Similarly, there has been virtually no movement on the recommendations of the expert panel on making Mumbai an International Financial Centre. The committee has argued that besides speeding up growth and reducing vulnerability during periods of uncertainty, like the one at present, reforms can help nancial inclusion, a buzzword with the government in recent months. The other part of the reforms roadmap charted out by the committee is a change in the regulatory landscape with fewer regulators so that there are fewer restrictions on investment choices by domestic institutional investors.

Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms

At a time when the government is unable to push through financial sector reforms or disinvestment, a Planning Commission-appointed panel has recommended that the government sell its stake in public sector banks, allow more foreign flows into the bond markets and rework the regulatory landscape. In addition, the committee on nancial sector reforms headed by Raghuram Rajan, Professor at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, has suggested a shift to a true auction method for securities besides seeking a reduction in the period between auction and listing. It wants the Reserve Bank of India to adopt a hands-off approach in managing exchange rates and has suggested that the central bank shift to ination targeting, using short-term rates to manage liquidity and changing interest rates when ination goes above or below the objective. It also said that capital ows will pose a problem in the coming years, more so on the outows front. While opposing capital controls, the panel in its draft report has suggested a steady opening up of the rupee bond market, which may include larger play for foreign investors. A liberal approach on outflows includes allowing insurance companies and provident fund to invest abroad, including a diversication into foreign government securities has also been suggested but the panel said that the timing for such

Thorat Committee to Study Sugar Economy

The committee is unanimous over decontrol of sugar industry. However, the committee is of the view that it should be done in two phases. Present month to month sugar release mechanism be replaced and it should go to three months and subsequently to six months. Thereafter, it should be decontrolled. The committee has also suggested that all incentives given to the sugar industry be WTO compatible. The present buffer stock system be replaced by a new mechanism wherein the Centre will procure sugar during excess production and sell it during decit. It said the nancial institutions such as LIC can be involved to mobilise necessary funds for this purpose. It has recommended a sugarcane price stabilisation fund by making budgetary provision for the same. The committee is of the rm view that necessary resources for the proposed sugarcane price stabilisation fund should not be mobilised from farmers and consumers but it can also be raised through the sugar cess

Justice Shivraj Patil Committee on Spectrum Licensing

The Justice Shivraj Patil Committee has criticised the rst come, rst served' (FCFS) policy adopted by both the UPA and the NDA governments between 2001 and 2009 for

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giving telecom licences and allocating 2G spectrum. Recommending complete transparency in radio waves allocation in future, it pointed out that licences were issued in 2003 on the FCFS basis at 2001 prices, ignoring the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendations that had suggested auction of spectrum. The report underlined need for comprehensive legislation for the telecom sector, as in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, for better spectrum management. It recommended the setting up of an independent level spectrum authority, promoting competition and maximising release of spectrum to society. Whenever a contract is to be awarded or a licence is to be granted, there must be objectivity in the procedures for selection. It must be in tune with the requirements of law, statutory norms and prevailing policies of the government. Such procedures must also be reasonable, fair, transparent and certain. The selection of applicants must be by choice and not by chance, the committee said. The committee suggested that as an initial step, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) should make public the details of spectrum allocated to each operator and it should be regularly updated as well. The DoT should put in public domain, spectrum allocation made to various agencies with details of quantum, geographical locations, technology employed, etc. All spectrum allocations should be audited to determine efcient and proper utilisation by the companies. The committee also found that at least three operators Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were major beneciaries of various ip-ops by the government. Time was extended time and again for several months for TTSL for grant of BSLs (basic service licences) in Maharashtra, Haryana, Kerala, Punjab and Rajasthan service areas for compliance with LoI [letter of intent], it said, adding that the extension of time in the absence of any enabling provision in the guidelines could lead to arbitrary exercise of power and favouritism subjectively.

S. Sundar Committee
The Chairman of the Committee of Experts on creation of a body for Road Safety and Traffic Management, S. Sundar presented the Report to the Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Thiru T.R. Baalu in February 2007. The Committee was set up on the directions of the Committee on Infrastructure, headed by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in November 2005, recognizing the need to contain burgeoning road accidents and fatalities in the country. The main recommendations of the Committee include creation of the National Road Safety & Traffic Management Board, an Apex body at national level to promote road safety and trafc management in the country to be constituted through an Act of the Parliament with members and experts drawn from the various elds including road engineering, automobile engineering, trafc laws, medical care, etc. The Committee has proposed that the Board would have regulatory as well as advisory functions. As far as regulatory functions are concerned, the Board would set standards and designs for mechanically propelled vehicles and National Highways. In its advisory role, the Board would advise Government on various road safety aspects and will promote road safety research, road user behavior strategies, lay guidelines for establishing medical care and rehabilitation, etc. The Report has also recommended that apart from monitoring adoption and implementation of various strategies, the Board would also have powers to issue directions with regard to corrective measures and conduct safety audits. The Committee, in its Report, has also recommended setting up of the state level bodies namely State Road Safety Boards as the issue of road safety is required to be taken up vigorously at all-India level. The functions of the State Board would be to aid and advise State Governments on matters relating to road safety & trafc management, coordinate road safety & traffic management functions with State level agencies, specify minimum standards for design, construction and operation of roads other than

National Highways, providing minimum standards for establishing and operating trauma care facilities, commission safety audits to monitor compliance with standards, specify minimum standards for design and manufacture of vehicles other than mechanically propelled vehicles, recommend measures for enquiry and redressal of complaints and grievance relating to road safety & trafc management, etc. To provide ow of funds, the Committee has suggested earmarking of 1% of total proceeds of cess on diesel and petrol for Road Safety Fund. Some part of the assistance to the State Board is proposed to be released on the basis of performance of the State in promoting the cause of road safety. The Committee has also dwelt upon other various issues like decriminalization of road accidents, insurance and dedicated highway police, etc.

Madhav Menon Panel: Reduce Outside Control on Central Iinstitutions

The HRD panel headed by NR Madhav Menon which is working on Evolve a Comprehensive Policy for Autonomy of Central Educational Institutions has suggested that the concept of ofce of the visitor in central universities should be removed. At present, the President is the visitor to all central universities. The other members of the committee are Seyed E Hasnain, Pankaj Chandra, MS Ananth, Mihir Choudhary and Ved Prakash. The committee has recommended that the powers of the visitor be transferred to the Chancellor. The powers of the visitor include appointing the vice-chancellor, certain members of the court, executive council, nance committee, selection committees. The visitor also has the power to order enquiries and institute inspections, give or withhold assent to the statutes, arbitrate disputes between selection committees and executive councils on the appointment of teachers and annul any proceeding of the universities which is not in conformity with the laws and regulations. The committee has also pointed out that instead of appointing civil service ofcials to university positions
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a pool of education-administrators with expertise in managing educational and research institutions should be created that will handle the administrative ofces in the universities. It has also recommended establishing an ofce of ombudsman in each central university to intervene in crisis situations. There is a need to free universities and central educational institutions from extensive control from outside for which statutes establishing them have to be revisited. Clauses subversive to institutional autonomy need to be repealed or modied to enable institutions to function with freedom and accountability. In this process, it is desirable to ensure that the membership of academic bodies is strictly restricted to eminent academicians and independent experts. The committee has also pitched for setting up of Central Universities Council, on lines of the IIT Council. Barring the 14 universities set up under the Central Universities Act, 2009, each of the remaining central universities has been set up under separate Acts of Parliament. While there are historical reasons for this, the committee is of the view that it is now time to bring in some uniformity in the legal framework and subsume all these separate legislations into one. On the matter of autonomy in academic issues, the committee suggested that all central universities adopt a system of choice-based credit courses along with semester system. This would help promote exibility in the academic structure and promote students mobility. The committee has suggested switching over to complete internal evaluation of students with faculty members having full autonomy in evaluation matters. In the transition period, it has suggested a mix of internal and external evaluation. The committee has said all faculty members shall be subjected to a review once every ve years by a review committee appointed by the executive council. The committee has recommended that universities should be free to decide fees, scholarships and recoveries. All this will have to be in line with the broad policy guidelines of the government. It has also suggested that all central universities undergo a comprehensive review of their functioning once every 10 years by an external agency.

Shunghlu Committee on CWG Corruption

The Prime Minister-appointed Shunglu Committee has found procedural violations by Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for alleged inadequacies in executing projects related to 2010 Commonwealth Games. The Committee, appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to probe charges of corruption in various projects related to the sporting extravaganza, has submitted two reports on alleged irregularities in executing contracts related to construction of the Games Village and city infrastructure projects. The high-level committee has estimated Rs 900 crore as cost of delay by certain government departments in implementing City Infrastructure related projects and Rs 300 crore loss to DDA in construction of residential facilities at the Village. Government of India/DDA may take appropriate action against Emaar MGF, Project Developer, for knowingly supplying incorrect information and for its various acts of omission and commission. It asked the Government to examine the governance structure of DDA including the continuance of the Lt Governor as the ex-ofcio Chairman of DDA and evolve measures to strengthen the 'accountability systems' in the development authority. A more detailed enquiry by investigating agencies (including Income Tax) may throw greater light on deliberate acts of omission and commission of different parties involved, the panel said in the report asking government to conduct thorough probe in the Games Village construction project.

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It also noted that for the poor, the dividing line between production and consumption needs is thin. In the absence of access to short term loans, the productive investments are impaired. It is recommended that banks should provide a separate exible revolving credit limit to the small borrowers of production or investment loans for meeting their temporary shortfalls in family cash ow. Some impediments to the ow of institutional credit to disadvantaged sections are: higher transaction cost to banks and borrowers, unfriendly procedures, systems and documentation formalities, borrower inability to provide tangible collateral securities distortion of normal banking principles on account of linking of credit with capital/interest sops under various poverty alleviation plans and announcements of interest/loan waivers vitiating the recovery.

Lyngdoh Committee Report on Student Election Reforms

The Supreme Court in September 2011 accepted the report of the committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh, suggesting measures to cleanse the university and college union elections in the country from politicisation and criminalisation. The important recommendations of the Lyngdoh committee include setting up of a separate election commission for elections to student unions of university and colleges and also seeking a declaration from the candidate that he or she does not belong to any political party. The committe had also recommended that any criminal or lawless act should be reported to the police by the university within 12 hours but the apex court reduced the period of 12 hours to six hours. A candidate would be allowed to spend only Rs 5000 for the elections, with the sum collected through voluntary contribution from the students and would have to later submit a copy of the expenditure account certied by a Chartered Accountant. However, the court modified the provision, permitting the candidate to certify the expenses himself.

Vyas Committee For Farm Sector Loans

An RBI advisory committee on ow of credit to agriculture headed by Prof VS Vyas has suggested that RBI should advise banks to waive margin/security norms for agricultural loans up to Rs 50,000 and in case of agri-business and agri-clinics, the limit can be pegged at Rs 5 lakh.

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