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Centre doubles down on GST’s gains for consumers

Cabinet nod for National Anti-profiteering Authority; entity to ensure fair pricing

A day after the Centre notified the latest set of cuts in the rate of tax to be levied on

a wide range of goods as part of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Union

Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of the National Anti-profiteering

Authority to ensure that businesses pass on the benefits of GST to consumers.

Coming well over four months after the new indirect tax system was introduced on

July 1, the decision to set up the enforcement body marks the government’s resolve

to ensure that the latest tax rate reductions approved by the GST Council on more

than 200 items are implemented immediately by businesses. Crucially, the

authority has been granted wide-ranging powers, including to cancel the

registration of offending firms in extreme cases.

“The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the creation of the posts of

Chairman and Technical Members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority

(NAA) under GST, following up immediately on yesterday’s sharp reduction in the

GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption,” the government said

in a release.

“This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which

ismandated to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or

services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices.”

The GST Council, at its 23rd meeting last Friday meeting, held that restaurants had

failed to pass on the benefit of input tax credit to customers. by way of lower




prices. It decided to remove restaurants’ ability to avail themselves of input tax

credit while at the same time slashing the final tax rate to 5%.

The changes including removal of input tax credit immediately spurred

controversy, with some restaurant chains including McDonald’s raising their pre-

tax base prices while keeping the final bill charged to customers unchanged,

triggering a storm of protests on social media

Curbs on export of pulses lifted

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has abolished all curbs on export of

pulses to allow farmers to seek remunerative prices for their output.

“Opening of exports of all types of pulses will help the farmers dispose of their

products at remunerative prices and encourage them to expand the area of sowing,”

said Law, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

after a Cabinet meeting. India produced 23 million tonnes of pulses in 2016-17 and

the government has set a target to produce 22.90 million tonnes in 2017-18.

The Centre has acquired 20 million tonnes at market rates or minimum support

price. The panel decided that the export and import policy for pulses will be

reviewed by a committee of top officials

Mugabe refuses to resign

President Robert Mugabe is insisting that he remains Zimbabwe’s only legitimate

ruler and baulking at mediation by a Catholic priest to allow the 93-year-old

former guerrilla a graceful exit after a military coup.

A political source who spoke to senior allies holed up with Mr. Mugabe and his

wife Grace in his lavish ‘Blue House’ compound in Harare said Mr. Mugabe had

no plans to resign voluntarily ahead of the elections scheduled for next year.

“It’s a sort of standoff, a stalemate,” the source said. “They are insisting the

President must finish his term.”

Venkaiah for single media watchdog

Self-regulation is not working and there is growing need for a single watchdog for

the television and print media, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.

He was addressing the valedictory of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Press

Council of India on National Press Day in the Capital.

Self-regulation




“If there is self-regulation where is the need to go to the doctor? Press Council of

India is only for print. There is need for a single watchdog body for both print and

television media,” he said.

He, however, added that “regulation should not become strangulation.”

Anti-superstition Bill passed in Karnataka with minor changes

Advertisements that offer miracle cures for diseases have been banned

The Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Karnataka Prevention and

Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017, popularly

known as the ‘anti-superstition’ Bill, with minor changes.

While stamping of mudra on the body, a practice in the upper caste community

(Madhwa Brahmins), has been exempted from the ban, advertisements that offer

miracle cures for diseases have been banned.

Opposition hails it

In his reply, Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya said all suggestions given by

members would be considered while formulating rules to the Act.

The entire Opposition welcomed the Bill and suggested that more attention should

be given to creating awareness about prevailing superstitions among various lower

caste communities.

Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar, C.T. Ravi, S. Suresh Kumar, Govind

Karjol (all BJP); Y.S.V. Datta, H.D. Kumaraswamy and H.D. Revanna (all JD-S)

spoke on the Bill and offered suggestions.

While B.R. Patil, a legislator, demanded a ban on astrology and vaastu, Mr.

Kumaraswamy sought a ban on conducting poojas in government offices. Mr.

Shettar said the law should not be allowed to be misused by corrupt officials and

awareness needed to be created among the public about the ill-effects of

superstitions.

Mr. Revanna suggested it would be better if the government postponed the Bill as

its passing would do more harm than good to the Congress in the 2018 elections.

‘A rationalist’

However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “The Bill will bring success to the

party.” Calling himself a rationalist, he stressed that changing his car was in no

way linked to a crow perching on it. Sometime ago, there was a debate on social

media platform that he had changed his car after a crow sat on it, since according

to a myth, it would bring ‘bad luck’




State clears ₹3.15 crore for Ambedkar’s house in London

The money, for upkeep and maintenance of bungalow, to be deposited in Indian

High Commissioner’s account

The State government has cleared the first tranche of ₹3.15 core towards the

upkeep and maintenance of the house in London where Dr. B.R. Ambedkar once

lived as a student in 1921-22.

The government bought the 2,050-sq.ft, three-storey bungalow on King Henry

Road, NW3, London, for ₹31 crore in 2015. It plans to convert the bungalow into a

international museum-cum-memorial.

The ₹3.15 crore makes up about 70% of the ₹4.50 crore sanctioned for the upkeep

and maintenance of the over 200-year-old heritage building. Dr. Babasaheb

Ambedkar lived there during his days as a student at the London School of

Economics.

On Wednesday, the government issued a Government Resolution (GR) sanctioning

the deposit of the funds into the bank account of the Indian High Commissioner in

the U.K.

The government also plans to use the property to provide accommodation to

students going to the U.K. for higher studies, and to set up an expansive library to

chronicle Dr. Ambedkar’s life and times.

The Government Resolution notes that the tender for the work that needed to be

carried out was awarded to Zone Associates Limited on October 3 at a cost of

£3,54,000 (including £2,95,000 and Value Added Tax of £59,000).

In 2015, the file related to the proposal to acquire the building had been shuttling

between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cultural and Public Welfare

departments of Maharashtra. Fearing that India may lose out on the property, a

letter of intent was issued by the Central government to the State to go ahead and

purchase the bungalow.

The British government had also declared the building as a heritage property. It has

installed a plaque near the building’s entrance, which informs people that it was

the residence of Dr. Ambedkar during his student days

The many Padmavatis

There is no historical record that she existed — and her story has been reshaped in

diverse ways over time




As the release of the Bollywood film Padmavati draws near, protests against it are

reaching a fever pitch. Claiming to speak on behalf of all Rajputs, several political

figures have objected to the portrayal of the title character of the film for two

reasons — that it is a distortion of history and that it is disrespectful towards Queen

Padmini (appearing in some texts as Padmavati), who is deeply revered by the

Rajput community. Recent scholarly work on the Padmavat, such as that of

Thomas de Bruijn, Shantanu Phukan and especially Ramya Sreenivasan, makes

possible an informed engagement with these claims.

The earliest tale

The earliest known composition of the Padmini tale is Sufi poet Malik Muhammad

Jayasi’s Padmavat, dating to 1540. This tale is part of a new genre, the Sufi

premakhyan (‘love story’), that flowered from the 14th to 16th centuries in north

India. Most of these tales feature a hero-king’s quest for union with supreme truth

and transcendent beauty — embodied in the texts by a woman of unparalleled

physical beauty — and the difficulty of navigating the contradictory pulls of the

spiritual and worldly domains. The Padmavat is perhaps the only one of these texts

to be grafted upon a historical event, Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji’s siege of

Chittor in 1303. Writing more than 200 years after the event, Jayasi’s tale bears

little resemblance to surviving historical accounts of the siege and instead appears

to draw in details from contemporaneous events and places.

In Jayasi’s composition, a parrot, Hiraman, tells the king of Chittor, Ratansen, of

the unequalled beauty of the princess of Sinhal, Padmavati. Hiraman’s description

is enough to trigger in Ratansen the desire to attain Padmavati. He leaves behind

his wife, Nagmati, becomes a yogi, and heads out, along with his men who also

become yogis, on the arduous quest to the faraway Sinhal. With great difficulty,

and only after he is ready to give up his life for the quest, Ratansen is united with

Padmavati and marries her. Due to the pulls of his natal home and the suffering of

his first wife, he returns to Chittor, bringing Padmavati along with him. While

Ratansen works on building peace between Padmavati and Nagmati, a deceitful

brahman, expelled from Ratansen’s court, seeks revenge by going to Delhi and

informing Khilji of Padmavati’s stunning beauty. Piqued, Khilji decides to march

upon Chittor to demand Padmavati. Ratansen refuses to part with her. With the

Sultan’s forces closing in, Ratansen dies of injuries sustained in a fight with a

Rajput rival. Padmavati and Nagmati commit sati on Ratansen’s funeral pyre while

the remaining Rajput men go into the battlefield to be martyred. When Khilji

manages to finally conquer the fortress, all that remains of Padmavati are her

ashes. His victory is thus rendered hollow.




Some manuscript copies explain the Sufi import of the tale by referring to Chittor

as the body, Ratansen the spirit, Padmini the mind, Hiraman the spiritual guide,

and Khilji as illusion (‘maya’). Literary representations of Khilji in a polyvalent

text such as the Padmavat and in future iterations of the tale then should not be

taken as historical. The historical Sultan Alauddin Khilji, as we know him from

accounts of his time, was a gifted statesman who strengthened the fisc of the Delhi

Sultanate, expanded the frontiers of his kingdom, and capably protected north India

from the expanding Mongol domain, a feat that many of his contemporaries could

not accomplish.

As for Padmavati, there is no historical evidence that there was such a figure in

Chittor when it was besieged, or that desire for a woman played any role in Khilji’s

interest in conquering the fortress. Padmavati/Padmini, then, is a literary artefact,

as is the entire story of love and sacrifice at whose heart she is placed. Any

depiction of Padmavati thus cannot be a distortion of history since, in our current

state of knowledge, she never existed. Born as a figment of poetic imagination, she

is free to be reshaped in the hands of a different creator.

Padmini, recast

And indeed, the Padmavat was told and retold over the centuries and across the

land. As the historian Ramya Sreenivasan has carefully shown in her book, The

Many Lives of a Rajput Queen, in each retelling, the contours of the story and the

key characters within it, including Padmini, changed. Starting a few decades after

the original composition, the Padmavat was adapted into Persian forms in north

India and Gujarat, and Jain literati and bardic groups composed versions of it for

Rajasthani courtly elites. In the 17th century, professional genealogists wove the

Guhila house of Ratansen into the genealogy of their patrons, the Sisodia rulers of

Mewar. By the 18th century, after the decline of the Mughal empire but before

colonial conquest, the tale of Padmini was refashioned in Mewar to demonise

Alauddin Khilji, also emphasising his Muslim identity and presenting the clash

between the Rajputs of Chittor and the Sultan of Delhi as the resistance of Hindus

against an encroaching, ‘impure’ Islam.

In the 19th century, Colonel James Tod, Political Agent in Rajputana of the

English East India Company, was guided in his attempt to write the first

authoritative history (by contemporary European standards) of the region by the

philological, historiographical, and intellectual frameworks of his age, as well as

by the political goal of stabilising the region by strengthening the hands of kings

against rebellious chiefs. He selectively chose information from the range of pre-

colonial sources at his disposal. He incorporated the courtly Rajasthani Padmini

narrative into his early 19th century history of Rajasthan, using it, along with other




material, to cast Rajputs as a valiant, pure fighting race of Hindus that resisted

Islamic conquest, just as Christians had done in the West. Bengali intellectuals of

the nascent bhadralok were deeply impressed with the figure of the Rajput as

presented in his account, not just for his selfless bravery but also for his resistance

against a Muslim conqueror. As the earliest imaginings of an Indian nation — and

a Hindu nation — began to take shape, Padmini became a token of the self-

sacrificing, virtuous, and chaste Hindu woman that was to be at its heart. In this

idealised form, her decision to annihilate her own body was celebrated for the

preservation of her ‘honour’ (read ‘chastity’) through which was indexed the

honour of her husband, her family, her community, and now, her nation.

In her journey from the 16th to the 21st century, Padmavati appears to have

become increasingly shackled in the confines of patriarchy. In Rajasthani versions,

Padmavati lost her autonomous voice, reduced to a prop on the edges of a scene

largely occupied by the king and his courtiers. It was this Rajasthani Padmavati

who was celebrated in 19th century bhadralok plays beginning to imagine a Hindu

nation and who is today deified as the apotheosis of Rajput, and even Hindu,

valour, purity, and sovereignty. Padmavati has been recast as adhering strictly to

codes of conduct applied to elite Rajput women. Allegations of disrespect and

inaccuracy being levelled against the film are thus rooted in the expectation, by

those familiar only with the Rajput or early Hindu nationalist adaptations, of a

silver-screen Padmavati who observes the purdah and does not display any trace of

sexuality. The current row over Padmini’s portrayal only underscores that in the

long arc of its history, the imagined Hindu nation holds in its heart the dutiful,

chaste Hindu woman, who acquiesces to patriarchal controls and only exercises her

agency within their bounds.

No exclusive legacy

It is important to bear in mind, as Ms. Sreenivasan has shown, that at the same time

that the Rajputs were articulating a new claim upon the Padmavat in the 17th

century, other Padmini tales continued to be composed. A Sufi migrant from

Bengal to the Arakan court (in today’s Myanmar) composed his own version of the

text in Bengali. In the 19th century, there were multiple Urdu adaptations of the

tale printed in north India and an opera performed in 1923 in Paris. There have

then been many Padmavats, just as there were many Ramayanas. The tale, and its

heroine, are then not the exclusive legacy of any single community. The effort of

spokespersons of a single community, one that continues to exercise tremendous

sociopolitical power, to freeze the text into a single, authorised version, will rob it

of the vitality that has allowed it to thrive over the ages.

The ASEAN outreach




As the region is reorganised by U.S. retreat and Chinese ambition, India must chart

its own path

The Philippines has been the centre of attraction for the last few days with Manila

hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India and East Asia

summits as well as special celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN,

the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) leaders’ meeting and

the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi

joined these meetings, underscoring India’s commitment to deepening ties with the

ASEAN member states and the wider Indo-Pacific region as part of the ‘Act East’

policy.

Centre of global politics

The Indo-Pacific region is now central to global politics and economics and recent

days have merely reinforced the trends that have been emerging for some time.

China is the most important player in the region, and as Chinese President Xi

Jinping made clear in his speech at the recent Communist Party Congress, Beijing

is now more confident than ever of projecting regional and global power. In this,

China has had the good fortune of having an administration in the U.S. that lacks

seriousness of purpose and is unable to communicate effectively its priorities for

the region. This makes this period of transition very significant for countries like

India that have a stake in the long-term stability of the region.

Addressing the 15th ASEAN-India Summit, Mr. Modi said India's relationship

with ASEAN is a key pillar of its foreign policy. Referring to India’s Act East

Policy, he underlined that “its centrality in the regional security architecture of the

Indo-Pacific region is evident.” He focused on terrorism as well, suggesting, “It is

time that we jointly address this challenge by intensifying cooperation in this

crucial area.” In a symbolic move, all 10 ASEAN heads of state have been invited

to be guests of honour for next year’s Republic Day function. Targeting China, Mr.

Modi also assured ASEAN of “steady support towards achieving a rules-based

regional security architecture that best attests to the region’s interests and its

peaceful development.”

The East Asia Summit, which includes India, China, Japan, South Korea,

Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Russia apart from the 10 ASEAN member

states, also gave Mr. Modi another opportunity to underline ASEAN’s credentials:

“ASEAN began in times of a great global divide, but today as it celebrates its

golden jubilee, it shines as a beacon of hope; a symbol of peace and prosperity.”




As China’s profile grows, and the U.S. continues to be unsure of its security

commitments, there is a new opportunity for India in the region. U.S. President

Donald Trump gave mixed signals during his Asia trip where his ‘America First’

policy was on full display.

For a balance of power

Meanwhile, China has actually managed to emerge as a beacon of open and free

global trade order. This has resulted in the regional powers taking it upon

themselves to shape the regional economic and security order. On the one hand, the

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being resurrected without the U.S., and on the

other, the idea of an Indo-Pacific quadrilateral involving Japan, Australia, India

and the U.S. is back. Unlike in the past, New Delhi is no longer diffident about

engaging with other regional players if it helps to further Indian interests in

maintaining a stable balance of power in region.

The ASEAN members and India together consist one of the largest economic

regions with a total population of about 1.8 billion. ASEAN is currently India’s

fourth largest trading partner, accounting for 10.2% of India’s total trade. India is

ASEAN’s seventh largest trading partner. India’s service-oriented economy

perfectly complements the manufacturing-based economies of ASEAN countries.

There is, however, considerable scope for further growth. Formidable security

challenges remain, and the two sides must think strategically to increase

cooperation for a favourable balance of power that would ensure regional stability.

India needs to do a more convincing job as a beneficial strategic partner of

ASEAN by boosting its domestic economic reforms agenda, enhancing

connectivity within the region, and increasing its presence in regional institutions.

The ASEAN nations should be clearer and more specific in their expectations from

New Delhi and nudge India for a deeper, more broad-based engagement. There is

much at stake for both sides.

Coup de Grace

The contours of a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe are still not clear

Zimbabwe’s prolonged political crisis reached the boiling point earlier this month

when President Robert Mugabe dismissed the Vice-President, Emmerson

Mnangagwa. A battle to succeed the 93-year-old liberation hero-turned President

had already been brewing within the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-

Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), with the old guard backing Mr. Mnangagwa, himself a

freedom fighter, and ‘Generation 40’, a grouping of younger leaders supporting

Mr. Mugabe’s 52-year-old wife, Grace. Ms. Mugabe, known for her extravagant




lifestyle and interfering ways, has been vocal in recent months about her political

ambitions. Mr. Mugabe was seen to have endorsed her when on November 6 he

dismissed Mr. Mnangagwa. But Mr. Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its

independence in 1980, erred on two counts: he underestimated the deep

connections Mr. Mnangagwa has within the establishment and overestimated his

own power in a system he has helped shape. In the good old days, Mr. Mugabe was

able to rule with an iron grip. But those days are gone. Age and health problems

have weakened his hold on power, while there is a groundswell of anger among the

public over economic mismanagement. So when he turned against a man long seen

by the establishment as his successor, Mr. Mugabe left little doubt that he was

acting from a position of political weakness. This gave the security forces the

confidence to turn against him and make it clear they didn’t want a Mugabe

dynasty.

The military doesn’t want to call its action a coup d’etat, for obvious reasons. A

coup would attract international condemnation, even sanctions. But it is certain that

the army chief, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, is in charge. His plan, as it emerges,

is to force Mr. Mugabe to resign and install a transitional government, perhaps

under Mr. Mnangagwa, until elections are held. If Mr. Mugabe doesn’t resign, it

will complicate the process. He has not been seen since the army took over the

capital, Harare. Any attempt to hurt him could backfire. Even if he agrees to

resign, the transition may not be smooth. However inept and dictatorial Mr.

Mugabe’s regime had been, a coup will remain a coup irrespective of what the

plotters call it, raising questions of legitimacy about the new government. Also,

Mr. Mugabe can still tap into his support base among the black working class,

which has provided him a buffer against public anger towards his government.

Across Africa, he continues to be seen by many as an anti-colonial hero. His

successor, who will be picked by the generals, will inherit huge challenges — a

dysfunctional economy, massive unemployment, a broken ruling party and a united

opposition. Besides, the military has shaken up the civilian supremacy over the

armed forces by staging this coup. The biggest challenge for the new leader will be

to make sure that the military stays in the barracks

Overreach

Tamil Nadu Governor’s meetings with officials have no place in a parliamentary

democracy

It is an act of constitutional impropriety for the Governor of a State to review the

work of government officials when an elected regime is in place. By holding

meetings in Coimbatore to review programmes, the Tamil Nadu Governor,

Banwarilal Purohit, has left himself open to charges that he has breached the




constitutional limits of his office. Mr. Purohit met the District Collector, the

Commissioner of Police and the Corporation Commissioner without any Minister

present. The Governor has attempted to explain his interactions, saying he was

seeking to familiarise himself with the administration and that he could appreciate

its work in implementing schemes only if he got to know all details first hand. But

this is hard to accept as a justification and his plan to visit all districts for a similar

review does not augur well for parliamentary democracy. Article 167 of the

Constitution says it is the Chief Minister’s duty to communicate to the Governor

all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration and

proposals for legislation. It enjoins the Chief Minister to furnish such information

relating to the administration as the Governor may call for. If Mr. Purohit wants to

understand how schemes are being implemented, he can seek details from the

Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, instead of holding meetings in the

districts. There may be occasions when the Governor may need to ask a top

bureaucrat or the head of the police force for a report on a major incident or

development, but even that should be for the limited purpose of getting an accurate

picture before sending a report to the Centre.

The political context in which Mr. Purohit is exhibiting his zeal to familiarise

himself with the administration is significant. There is a sense of drift in

governance in Tamil Nadu, and it is widely believed that it is running on

‘autopilot’. The Chief Minister’s majority in the Assembly is in doubt, given that

the Speaker had to disqualify 18 dissident legislators to shore up his support within

the legislature party. An impression has gained ground that the Bharatiya Janata

Party is seeking to fill the perceived political vacuum, but is caught in a bind on

how to go about it because of its lack of a political base in Tamil Nadu. Therefore,

the Centre is seen as leaning on the State government and the ruling AIADMK to

help the BJP gain a political foothold. The prospect of the State coming under a

spell of President’s Rule if the present regime formally loses its majority in the

House is on everyone’s mind. Therefore, Mr. Purohit’s familiarisation exercise is

bound to be read for signs of what the future has in store. Mr. Purohit will do well

not to fuel such speculation. None of this, of course, implies that the Governor

should refrain from taking an independent view of any matter or legislative

proposal. But his functioning should be within the bounds of established norms and

conventions

Is the Supreme Court facing an institutional crisis?

The most telling indicator of the assault on the judiciary is the non-appointment of

judges




The Supreme Court is definitely facing an institutional crisis of the kind that it has

never faced before, mainly, but not exclusively, on account of the most ferocious

attack ever on the judiciary by the executive. The current controversy regarding the

contrary orders passed by different Benches ended rather amicably, and the

institution is perhaps shaken up for the better.

This is a government whose main aim is to destroy the credibility of the judiciary

and undermine its independence. Just as Indira Gandhi once wanted a “committed

judiciary”, the Central government today wants to saffronise the judiciary. It

doesn’t want an independent judiciary. It doesn’t want judges of integrity. It

doesn’t want thinking judges. It wants judges who will toe the line.

Judges, it’s time to stand up

The most telling indicator of this assault on the judiciary is the non-appointment of

judges. This defiance — and this kind of defiance has never happened, where the

collegium sends a list of judges to be appointed and the government does not

appoint them — is defiance of the highest order. But what is sad is that our judges

have not been able to put their act together and insist on the appointment of judges.

They could have done it on the administrative side. They can constitute a

Constitution Bench on the most important issue of appointment of judges.

The Supreme Court could have given directions to this government to appoint

judges according to whatever Memorandum of Procedure it decides. The time has

come for judges to stand up. We are yet to see that determination in our judiciary.

Frankly, lawyers across India are disappointed that a shortfall of judges has been

there for so long and there is no sign of activity to rectify this by the higher

judiciary.

On the question of corruption in the judiciary, I would emphasise the role of the

executive in enticing judges with the allotment of houses and appointments to post-

retirement statutory posts. The executive wants a judiciary that is beholden to it.

Politicians and governments try their best to influence judges. Earlier, there used to

be fear in approaching judges; today, it is not so.

In the face of intimidation

We are living in a dangerous time. Judges are very often and very unfairly at the

receiving end. They can’t speak up. They can’t appear on TV. In fact, the

perception among many — and this tribe is increasing — is that there are more and

more judges willing to cross the line. The stories one hears in the corridors of the

court are unbelievable, though probably true. Recruiting people of integrity and




vision is particularly important today when the executive appears invincible. This

is exactly the time to show some spine.

When Benches are being constituted on triple talaq and liquor, surely a Bench can

be constituted on the appointment of judges, judges’ salaries, and to inquire about

political interference in the judiciary? Why is the judiciary quiet in the face of such

intimidation by the executive? Why can’t it evolve an enforceable code of conduct

so that if any politician or party tries to influence a judge, this will be immediately

reported and punishment be meted? The people and lawyers support the judiciary

and expect judges to be resolute

The Supreme Court needs to separate fact from fiction. What is at stake is the

independence of the judiciary

The portentous developments in the Supreme Court need to be located in the

context of a larger institutional power struggle that has been raging between the

executive and the judiciary for over a quarter of a century. In 1993, through what is

known as the Second Judges case, the Supreme Court appropriated the power to

appoint judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court by interpreting the word

“consultation” in Article 124 (2) of the Constitution to mean concurrence of the

Chief Justice of India for each and every appointment to the higher judiciary. The

Supreme Court further reinforced the position in 1998 in what is called the Third

Judges case, which, in fact, was a reference to the court from the then President of

India seeking a clarification on certain aspects of the judicial appointments system,

which is also known as the collegium system.

Judiciary versus executive

Since then, the executive has been ‘itching’ to wrest this power back from the

judges. The discourse on purported judicial activism, the Judicial Standards and

Accountability Bill, 2010 that lapsed on the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha, and

the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act (NJAC), 2014 that was

subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court with a majority of 4-1 as violative

of the basic structure doctrine are but manifestations of that struggle for

supremacy.

The Supreme Court’s striking down of the NJAC has not been taken very kindly

by the current National Democratic Alliance government. One mechanism that

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his not-so-merry men have exploited to the hilt

is the back door that the Supreme Court inadvertently left ajar by providing a role

for the government in conceptualising the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) that

would regulate the process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The




government has skilfully utilised the protracted negotiations over the MoP to

hobble appointments to the higher judiciary.

Concurrently, there is a sustained attempt to build ‘one man’ into that knight in

shining armour, the incorruptible saviour who would deliver the nation from the

cesspool of sleaze. This narrative is being implemented by tarring everyone else

with a thick black brush — political opponents, institutions, even leaders within

their own political realm. Law enforcement agencies are being ruthlessly and

unscrupulously mis-utilised to execute this ‘tar and defame’ strategy.

The current controversy

The registration of an FIR against a retired judge of the Orissa High Court and

some other persons, for allegedly attempting to influence through extraneous

means proceedings in the Supreme Court, must therefore be viewed with

circumspection if not scepticism. In K. Veeraswami v. Union of India (1991), the

Supreme Court laid down the law clearly: “We therefore direct that no criminal

case shall be registered under Section 154, Cr. P. C. against judge of the High

Court, Chief Justice of High Court or judge of the Supreme Court unless the Chief

Justice of India is consulted in the matter... If the Chief Justice of India himself is

the person against whom the allegations of criminal misconduct are received, the

government shall consult any other judge or judges of the Supreme Court... These

directions, in our opinion, would allay the apprehension of all concerned that the

Act is likely to be misused by the executive for collateral purpose.”

It is, therefore, evident that if the investigating apparatus had stumbled upon

something “unsavoury” while probing the retired judge of the Odisha High Court

or his alleged associates, they should have brought it to the attention of the Chief

Justice of India or any other judge as the law mandates in the Veeraswami

judgment. Refraining from doing so is scandalous, if not contempt of the highest

court of the land.

Lawyers and judges are intelligent people but politics can be devious business,

especially at a time when a great evil stalks our land. The highest court needs to go

very deep into the matter and separate fact from ostensibly deliberate fiction, for

what is at stake is the very independence of the judiciary.

Citizens are aware that this great institution has the resilience to redeem itself

In public perception, the Supreme Court is a temple of justice. The Constitution

describes the judiciary as one of the three pillars of our democracy. This

expression is an embodiment of the spirit of the highest court of the country. It is




mostly the Supreme Court, along with the High Courts, that comes to the rescue of

the common person and ensures that his or her faith in the rule of law is not

shaken.

Facts of the controversy

What transpired in the apex court in the last few days definitely does not augur

well for the nation, especially for the litigants, the Bar, and the Bench. Let me

present the facts relevant to the present controversy. The Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) registered a FIR on September 19 in the Prasad Education

Trust matter and the first PIL was filed by the Campaign for Judicial

Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) forum on October 30. This was mentioned on

November 8 before Court No. 2 and was directed to be listed on November 10.

Thus, there was no urgency in the matter. However, on November 9, a second PIL

which was identical to the first, and not numbered, was mentioned before Court

No. 2. It would have been a healthy legal practice to club both as the matter was

being heard on November 10 by the same Bench, already constituted to hear the

matter.

The FIR does not name any judge of the apex court and there are no allegations

against any judge. Following K. Veeraswami v. Union of India (1991), no FIR

could be registered against a sitting Supreme Court judge without the approval of

the competent authority.

What the petitioners did amounts to forum shopping and the test to determine that

is laid down in Union of India v. Cipla Ltd. (2016). Two factors were spelt out:

functional similarity and subterfuge on the part of a litigant/lawyer. Applying both,

the second PIL is against the professional ethics of advocacy and a gross

misconduct.

As to who has the authority to constitute a Bench, the Supreme Court held in State

of Rajasthan v. Prakash Chand (1997): “The administrative control of the High

Court vests in the Chief Justice alone... On the judicial side the Chief Justice is

only the ‘first among the equals’. He alone has the prerogative to constitute

Benches of the court and allocate cases to the Benches so constituted... The puisne

judges can only do that work as is allotted to them by the Chief Justice or under his

directions.”

Role of the CJI

Having enunciated that the Chief Justice is the “master of the roster”, we need to

examine whether he could pass an order on the administrative side to constitute a

Bench (not comprising the Chief Justice) to hear these two PILs, or whether he




should have recused himself even on the administrative side. This is clarified in

D.C. Saxena v. Hon’Ble The Chief Justice Of India (1996) where the Supreme

Court held: “When imputations were made against the Chief Justice, the petitioner

assumed, in our view, ‘wrongly’ that the CJI cannot constitute Benches nor should

he discharge the functions of Chief Justice until the matter is decided… This

responsibility flows from the office and none including a litigant has the right to

demand for contra position.” The Bench did not initiate contempt proceedings

either. The entire episode has created an artificial divide and deeply wounded the

Supreme Court. Notwithstanding that, the country’s citizenry is aware that this

great institution has the resilience to redeem itself.

An unsafe world

Global instability from proliferation and weaponisation may well be a reality

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) task at 60 — to balance the

benefits of nuclear technology for human development against the irreversible

risks to the planet’s survival — could not be greater. In the historic 1953 Atoms for

Peace address to the UN General Assembly, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower

proposed the establishment of the agency to harness nuclear science for peace.

Eisenhower was apt to appreciate the rapid end to U.S. nuclear monopoly and

underscore that the notion of mutual deterrence was a dangerous delusion.

Nevertheless, the history of the Cold War and subsequent developments illustrate

that global instability from proliferation and weaponisation may well be a reality,

at least in the near future.

As the world’s nuclear weapon states (NWSs) continue to flout their disarmament

obligations with impunity, countries outside this elite club have felt encouraged to

nurture their own big ambitions. The possession of the deadly bomb by four other

countries, besides the five nations that founded the nuclear non-proliferation treaty

(NPT), testifies to the impediments to restrict the use of nuclear energy for civilian

purposes. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s defiance to expand the country’s

weaponisation programme is only the latest instance of erosion of the NPT’s




authority. Rather than engage diplomatically with Pyongyang, U.S. President

Donald Trump is bent on ripping apart the 2015 agreement that the five permanent

members of the UN Security Council and Germany brokered with Iran. Against

this backdrop, the prospects are remote that the 2017 treaty to legally ban nuclear

weapons could win support from the NWS.

The IAEA Director General, Yukiya Amano, told the UN last week that lessons

from the 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have

been incorporated into safety plans. But Mr. Amano also emphasised earlier this

year that countries could not outsource the safety and security framework on the

deployment of nuclear technology. That cautionary remark should not be taken

lightly across the developing world, where a culture of safety and public

accountability is lacking. This is especially critical since the share of nuclear power

is expected to increase as part of attempts to reduce countries’ dependence on

fossil fuels. Equally, the emphasis on nuclear science to promote the 2030

Sustainable Development Goals would be subject to the safety frameworks in

place.

IAEA member states have evidently been slow to adopt measures to enhance the

safety (from terrorist threats) of nuclear material transferred within and across

national borders. For instance, an amendment to the Convention on the Physical

Protection of Nuclear Material came into force only in 2016. The Fukushima

disaster has brought into sharp focus major concerns over the management of

nuclear waste, with potentially dangerous consequences for human civilisation and

the environment over the long term. The issue will pose questions on the merits

and sustainability of nuclear technology as a credible source of energy.

Governments ought to be more transparent on these matters.

In the database

A case for making registration of all marriages compulsory

In October, the Supreme Court held that that sexual intercourse by a man with his

wife who is below 18 years of age is rape. The judgment was interpreted as a

strong warning against child marriage. Similarly, in July 2017, the Law

Commission of India suggested amendments in the Registration of Births and

Deaths Act, 1969 to make registration of marriages compulsory, like births and

deaths, as an effective antidote to social evils like child marriage, bigamy and

gender violence.

Instead of a standalone legislation to make marriages compulsory, the Commission

recommended changes in the 1969 Act which would act as a “guiding principle”

for States to legislate under Entry 5 of the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule




to the Constitution taking into consideration the size of the population and sheer

diversity of customary forms of marriage. However, State laws on the subject

should be confined to the procedural, and not substantive.

The inclusion of marriages in the Births and Deaths Act would supplement the

domain of family laws that already exist. It would not aim to remove, abolish or

amend specific religious/cultural practices and laws that are accepted under

personal laws prevailing in India.

The Commission suggested that the Registrar who is responsible for the

registration of births and deaths be responsible for the registration of marriages as

well. The Amendment Bill should provide that if the birth or marriage or death is

not registered within the specified time limit, then the Registrar shall, on the

payment of a late fee, register the death or birth (a) within a period of 30 days; (b)

within one year, only with the written permission of the prescribed authority; and

(c) after one year, only on an order of a First Class Magistrate. It provides for a

penalty of ₹5 per day in case of delay in registration of “marriage without a

reasonable cause”.

If the Registrar finds that any entry of a marriage in the register kept by him is

erroneous or fraudulent or improper, he may correct or cancel the entries after

hearing the parties concerned, subject to State government rules.

In a marriage solemnised abroad, and in which one of the parties is Indian, the

Registrar shall verify it was conducted as per the laws of that country and the

marriage satisfies conditions laid down in Section 4 of the Foreign Marriage Act,

1969.

The Commission called for village panchayats, local civil bodies and

municipalities to create awareness about compulsory registration of marriages and

to make marriage certificates mandatory for getting benefits or welfare like

agricultural loans.

Rajnath asks Gates to adopt 1,000 Maoist-hit villages

Make them models of sanitation, Home Minister tells Microsoft founder who

discussed progress of projects




Bill Gates

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday asked Microsoft founder Bill Gates to

adopt 1,000 villages affected by violence due to Left-wing extremism in Odisha,

Bihar and Jharkhand and make them “model villages” by focussing on sanitation

and cleanliness.

Mr. Gates, co-chair and trustee of the Gates Foundation, met Mr. Singh at North

Block.

The meeting comes amid the Home Ministry’s recent order to cancel the Foreign

Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of Public Health Foundation of India

(PHFI), a health advocacy group, majorly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation (BMGF).

The licence, which lets an NGO or association receive foreign funds, was

cancelled days after Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic arm of the Rashtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had brought out a ‘white paper’ on the BMGF’s

influence in India’s health sector.

A Gates Foundation spokesperson said the cancellation of the FCRA licence of the

PHFI was not discussed in the meeting.

“Mr. Gates’s meeting with the Union Minister of Home Affairs focused on the

progress made in our partnership with the government across the foundation’s

priority focus areas — health, urban sanitation, digital financial inclusion and

agricultural development. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to

working collaboratively with the Government of India in providing global and

local technical expertise to advance the country’s ambitious development goals,”

the spokesperson said.

Mr. Gates is learnt to have apprised Mr. Singh of a new cheaper sanitation

technology for treating “faecal sludge”. An official who was present in the meeting

said that Mr. Gates also suggested that new guidelines should be issued by the




Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to include mandatory levels

of “salts and oils” in foods served under universal health programmes.

“He wants India to introduce handheld spectroscopes for dry spectral soil analysis

that can be used by farmers in India,” the official said.

“The Home Minister appreciated the welfare works being undertaken by the

BMGF. He requested Mr. Gates to initiate health awareness programmes in India

and suggested that the Foundation should concentrate on developing villages and

make them Model Villages so that the local people get inspired,” a Ministry

statement said

Rafale deal tweaked to help one man: Rahul

The meet was to discuss how the Congress could reach out to unorganised workers

who make up 93 per cent of India's workforce. But Mr. Gandhi’s comments on the

Rafale deal took centre-stage and came after a series of critical tweets on Thursday

morning where he described the aircraft deal as “loot.”

Raising questions about Dassault Aviation entering into a joint venture with

Reliance Defence Limited, an Anil Ambani-owned company, Mr. Gandhi tweeted,

“Can you explain ‘Reliance’ on someone with nil experience in aerospace for the

Rafale deal? Self-‘Reliance’ is obviously a critical aspect of ‘Make in India.’”

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad rubbished the allegations. “They are finding it

difficult to accept that there has been no case of corruption in the three-year rule of

the Narendra Modi government,” said Mr. Prasad.

On Tuesday, Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a press

conference, had alleged that the government violated the defence procurement

procedure (DPP) in the Rafale deal. The crux of the allegation is that after Mr.

Modi’s trip to France in April 2015, his government cancelled the earlier Rafale

deal signed by the UPA that had made India’s defence public sector undertaking,

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a partner of Dassault Aviation to make 118

Rafale aircraft in India through a transfer of technology clause. Once this deal was

scrapped on July 30, 2016, a new $ 8.7 billion deal was signed on September 23

last year.

Just 10 days later, on October 3, 2016, Reliance Defence Limited entered into a

joint venture with the French fighter plane maker.

Baseless, says Reliance

Reliance Defence, in a statement, called the allegations “baseless and unfounded”

and asked the Congress to correct its facts or face legal action. “Government policy




issued on 24 June 2016 allows for 49% FDI in the Defence Sector under the

automatic route, without any prior approval. No approvals from the Union Cabinet

or CCS were required for the formation of the aforesaid Joint Venture company

under the automatic route,” the statement said

Modi’s popularity remains high, says Pew survey

Study did not cover Kerala, Northeast States and J&K

The survey on Indian leadership and foreign policy conducted by the U.S.-based

Pew Research Centre (PRC), which concluded that Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s popularity remains high, did not include Kerala, the northeastern States,

Jammu and Kashmir and also certain other parts of the country.

At a public event to discuss the report, Bruce Stokes, director, Global Economic

Attitudes, PRC, said certain parts of the country were excluded for reasons related

to “safety” and “sensitivities”.

“Modi’s overwhelming popularity extends across India. At least nine in 10 Indians

in the southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana

and in the western States of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh hold a

favourable view of the Prime Minister. Since 2015, Modi’s popularity is relatively

unchanged in the north, has risen in the west and the south, and is down slightly in

the east,” says the report which was presented by Mr. Stokes at a think tank here.

Though the report makes general claims about “across India” popularity and

approval of the government’s handling of issues such as Pakistan and the economy,

Mr. Stokes said it was necessary to keep certain areas of the country out.

“In the past some respondents from Kerala were arrested. So we usually take safety

of respondents into consideration in the course of the methodology for the survey,”

Mr. Stokes said

Centre insists on GST gains for consumers

“The government has brought down GST from 18% to 5%, but there has been a

removal of input tax credit,” McDonald’s India tweeted in reply to criticism it

received for raising prices. “Due to this, our operating costs have gone up.

However, keeping customer convenience in mind we have structured the changes

in such a manner that total amount paid by the customer remains the same.”

“From an industry perspective there are lot of implementing challenges and

operational issues as to how to pass on the benefit,” Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner at

EY, wrote in a statement. “Industry would expect that detailed guidelines

providing guidance...are issued at the earliest by the GST Council,” he wrote.




“The ‘anti-profiteering’ measures enshrined in the GST law provide an

institutional mechanism to ensure that the full benefits of input tax credits and

reduced GST rates on supply of goods or services flow to the consumers,” the

government said in the release. “This institutional framework comprises the NAA,

a Standing Committee, Screening Committees in every state and the Directorate

General of Safeguards in the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).”

According to the rules, if the NAA confirms that there is a need to apply anti-

profiteering measures, it has the authority to order the supplier to reduce its prices

or return the undue benefit availed by it along with interest to the recipient of the

goods or services. If this can’t be done, then the company can be ordered to deposit

the amount in the Consumer Welfare Fund

Media losing credibility: Venkaiah

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said the media was losing its

credibility.

Addressing the valedictory of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Press Council

of India on National Press Day, Mr. Naidu said, “Credibility is becoming a rare

commodity. One does not know what to believe. Reporting on the same event one

newspaper declares there was massive gathering while another carries pictures of

empty chairs.” For a democracy to thrive, Mr. Naidu said, free flow of information

was essential. “Democracy needs information and dissent but it does not mean

disintegration.”

“If there is self-regulation where is the need to go to the doctor? The Press Council

of India is only for print. There is need for a single watchdog body for both print

and television media,” he said. He, however, added that “regulation should not

become strangulation.”

The watchdog was necessary to ensure that political and business interests of the

owners of media houses did not affect news, he said.

“News is increasingly coloured with views that are consistent with the agenda of

the management.”

In the illustrious history of Indian journalism, Emergency was an aberration, he

said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, in her address, said upholding

press freedom was the responsibility of every government. “Voices of media

shouldn’t be suppressed ... even if politically I may not agree with these voices,”

she said




Curbs on export of pulses abolished

The committee of officials would be empowered to consider changes in import

duties and impose quantitative restrictions on trade based on domestic and

international production and demand trends.

It will be chaired by the Secretary in the Department of Food & Public Distribution

and include the Secretaries in the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Revenue

and Consumer Affairs.

“It is expected that pulses production will be sustained and our import dependence

on pulses will come down substantially. This is also likely to provide higher levels

of protein to the population and work towards nutritional security,” said a

government statement

Army begins process to buy indigenous short-range UAVs

To be developed, manufactured in India by private industry

The Army has issued the Request for Information (RFI) for 60 short-range

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to be developed and manufactured in India by the

private industry based on proven technology.

“The Government of India invites responses to this request only from Indian

vendors. The vendors are to include their capability to indigenously design,

develop and absorb the technology sought and provide life time support,” the RFI

stated.

Aerial surveillance

As per the specifications given, the UAV would be used for aerial surveillance

over a large area day and night for a sustained period and should have an altitude

ceiling of 20,000 feet and a range of 200 km with a minimum endurance of 10

hours. It needs to have a service life of 20 years.

The last date for response is two months from the date of issue of the Request for

Proposal to the selected vendors. The requirement is for 60 systems along with

associated payloads and ground support equipment to be delivered within 24

months from the day of signing the contract.

The Army is in the process of inducting a range of tactical UAVs to augment the

surveillance capabilities of its ground forces

Won’t accept Zimbabwe coup: AU




We demand respect for the Constitution, a return to order, says AU chief Alpha

Conde

17/11/2017, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,PARIS/HARARE

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Keeping guard: Soldiers on an armoured vehicle outside Zimbabwe’s

Parliament in Harare on Thursday.REUTERSPHILIMON BULAWAYO

The head of the African Union said on Thursday that the body “will never accept

the military coup d'etat” in Zimbabwe. “We demand respect for the Constitution, a

return to the constitutional order and we will never accept the military coup d'etat,”

Alpha Conde said in an interview with French journalists in Paris. “We know there

are internal problems. They need to be resolved politically by the ZANU-PF party

and not with an intervention by the army,” added Mr. Conde, who is also Guinea’s

President.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been under house arrest since

Wednesday. According to reports, Mr. Mugabe refused to resign under pressure

from the military.

Still seen by many Africans as a liberation hero, Mr. Mugabe is reviled in the West

as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to

violence to maintain power pauperised one of Africa’s most promising states.

A fighter, both literally and figuratively during a political career that included

several assassination attempts, Mr. Mugabe now appears to have reached the end

of the road.

No popular backing

With the army camped on his front door and the police showing no signs of

resistance, force is not an option. Similarly, he has no popular backing in the

capital, where he is widely loathed, and his influence in the ruling ZANU-PF party

is evaporating.

ZANU-PF youth leader Kudzai Chipanga, a vocal Mugabe supporter, publicly

apologised for opposing the army after being marched into the state television

headquarters to read out a statement, sources at the broadcaster said.

He was then taken back to the army's main KGVI barracks in Harare, where

Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo is also being held, an army source said.

Video footage obtained by Reuters from the houses of two key Grace Mugabe

allies — cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere — indicated

that the army was also prepared to use lethal force if necessary.

Mr. Moyo’s front door was blown open with explosives, scattering glass across the

entrance hall, while the inside walls of Mr. Kasukuwere’s house were pocked with

bullet holes.




The pair managed to escape on the evening of the coup and make it to Mr.

Mugabe's compound, where they remain under effective house arrest, one political

source said.

Zimbabwean intelligence reports seen by Reuters suggest Mr. Mugabe’s exit was

in the planning for more than a year. Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former security

chief and life-long Mugabe confidant known as “The Crocodile” who was axed as

Vice-President earlier this month, is the key player.

According to the files and political sources in Zimbabwe and South Africa, once

Mr. Mugabe's resignation is secured, Mr. Mnangagwa would take over as President

of an interim unity government that will seek to stabilise the imploding economy.

Fuelling speculation that this plan might be rolling into action, opposition leader

Morgan Tsvangirai, 65, who has been receiving cancer treatment in Britain and

South Africa, returned to Harare late on Wednesday, his spokesman said.

Ex-Finance Minister Tendai Biti added to that speculation, telling Reuters he

would be happy to work in a post-coup administration as long as Mr. Tsvangirai

was also on board. “If Morgan says he’s in, I’m in,” said Mr. Biti.

Grace’s rise

Despite lingering admiration for Mr. Mugabe among older African leaders, there is

little public affection for 52-year-old Grace, an ex-government typist who began an

affair with Mr. Mugabe in the early 1990s while his first wife, Sally, was dying of

kidney failure.

Dubbed “Gucci Grace” on account of her reputed love of shopping, she enjoyed a

meteoric rise through the ranks of ZANU-PF in the last two years, culminating in

Mr. Mnangagwa's removal a week ago

Japan and China move to mend ties as U.S. retreats under Trump

China’s rise as leader of free trade in region is among factors that trigger thaw

17/11/2017, MOTOKO RICH, JANE PERLEZ,TOKYO

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Moving closer: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President

Xi Jinping in Beijing in November 2014.APKim Kyung-hoon

It was the smile that did it.

When Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Prime Minister, met with President Xi Jinping of China

on the sidelines of a regional summit meeting in Vietnam over the weekend, the

pair shook hands and posed for a photo. Mr. Xi, who had looked more dour in

previous meetings, flashed a grin.

It was a sign, the Japanese news media suggested, of warming relations between

the two long-time adversaries.

With President Donald Trump creating unease among allies about the role the U.S.

will play in the region, Japan and China are inching toward a possible

rapprochement as they recognise the shifting dynamics around the Pacific Rim.

A realignment?

But with the two Asian powers long divided by disputes over history and territory,

as well as testiness over influence in the region, it will take more than a few

handshakes — or a smile — to cement a genuine realignment.

In gesturing toward a new friendliness, Japan is motivated in part by the

recognition that China is supplanting the U.S. as the leader of free trade in the

region.

Having watched Mr. Trump heap praise on Mr. Xi in Beijing last week, Japan is

also propelled by fear that the U.S. may develop a closer relationship with China

that would exclude Japan. And as China seeks to consolidate its power, it realises it

may have more success exerting its authority in the region with Japan as a partner

rather than a pure rival.

At the same time, Mr. Trump’s visit showed China that the U.S. is unlikely to get

in its way, allowing a more confident Mr. Xi to be more generous toward Japan.

Real shock

“What Trump represented was a real shock to the system of allies and the world,”

said Nick Bisley, professor of international relations at La Trobe University in

Melbourne, Australia.

The threat from North Korea is also naturally drawing China and Japan together,

although Mr. Abe has so far hewed closely to Mr. Trump’s approach of calling for

more pressure and sanctions.




Mr. Abe appears keenly aware of Mr. Trump’s erratic swings in opinions and

loyalties. Japan is naturally wondering if the U.S. may make some kind of deal

with China that could put Japan at a disadvantage, experts said.

“Standing behind that is kind of what you always find in Japan — that underlying

fear of abandonment,” said Daniel C. Sneider, a lecturer in East Asian studies at

Stanford University. As Mr. Abe and Mr. Xi take the first steps toward a better

relationship, many obstacles remain.

Neither country has given any ground in a territorial dispute over a set of islands in

the East China Sea, known in Japan as the Senkaku and in China as the Diaoyu.

China also still regularly objects to what it perceives as any sign that Japan is

returning to its militaristic past and carefully watches the debate in Japan about

how much to develop the military’s capabilities.

Trade pact

Japan has also actively sought to counter China’s economic rise by developing

relationships with other countries in the region. On the same day Mr. Abe met Mr.

Xi in Danang, Japan led a group of 11 countries in announcing the restart of

negotiations for a sweeping trade agreement to create an economic bloc that would

exclude China.

In both countries, the public views the other with suspicion. “I don’t think I see

how they can make drastic improvements, given the public opinion base,” said

Ezra Vogel, a professor emeritus of social sciences at Harvard who is working on a

book about Sino-Japan relations.

Still, the tentative outreach is happening as both Mr. Abe and Mr. Xi have recently

shored up their domestic power, in Japan through a parliamentary election in

October and in China as a result of last month’s Communist Party congress. NY

TIMES

China denies abandoning North Korea proposal

Contradicts Trump, repeats ‘suspension for suspension’ call

17/11/2017, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,BEIJING

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A protest against nuclear weapons in Berlin.APBritta Pedersen

China denied on Thursday that it has abandoned its long-standing proposal to ease

the North Korean nuclear crisis after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested had

agreed to drop the policy.

Beijing has long campaigned for a “dual track approach” in which the U.S. would

halt military drills in the region while North Korea would freeze its weapons

programmes.

But Mr. Trump suggested on Wednesday following his five-nation trip to Asia,

which included meetings with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, that the Chinese

leader had ditched the plan.

“President Xi recognises that a nuclear North Korea is a grave threat to China,”

Mr. Trump said. “And we agreed that we would not accept a so-called ‘freeze for

freeze’ agreement like those that have consistently failed in the past.” But Chinese

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing’s position on the nuclear

issue remained “consistent and clear-cut”. “We think that under the current

circumstances, the suspension for suspension initiative is the most realistic,

feasible, fair and reasonable plan,” Mr. Geng told a news briefing when asked

about Mr. Trump’s comment.




Mr. Xi is sending a special envoy, Song Tao, to North Korea on Friday. Although

Mr. Song’s mission is officially to brief North Korea about China’s recent

Communist Party congress, analysts say he will likely discuss the nuclear issue.

Meanwhile, Singapore has suspended trade relations with North Korea, the latest

of Pyongyang’s major trade partners to cut commercial ties under UN sanctions, a

customs notice obtained on Thursday showed. Singapore is North Korea’s seventh-

largest trading partner

Qatar sets $200 as minimum wage

All job contracts should get govt. nod

17/11/2017, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,DOHA

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Migrant labourers at a construction site in Doha, Qatar in 2013.AFPKARIM

JAAFAR

Qatar has set a temporary minimum wage for migrant workers worth some $200 a

month, the authorities said on Thursday, a benchmark reform following criticism

of its preparations for the 2022 World Cup.




Labour Minister Issa al-Nuaimi said the “temporary minimum wage of 750 riyals

($195) per month will immediately come into effect”, while officials work on

setting a permanent rate. In addition to the new salary, labourers will receive free

accommodation, food and healthcare plans, covered by employers, he said.

Introducing a minimum wage was among a package of major labour changes

announced last month by Qatar, which has come under continued global scrutiny

and criticism for its treatment of some 2 million migrant workers.

Qatar has never had an official minimum wage policy, and officials said the 750

riyals figure could increase after a review.

New procedure

“We will not approve any employment contract if the salary is below 750 Qatari

riyals per month. All contracts must now be approved by the Ministry (of

Labour),” Mr. Nuaimi said. “If any change is made to the contract, we will apply

the new procedures.”

Since being controversially chosen to host the World Cup, Qatar — which is

spending $500 million a week on the tournament — has been routinely accused of

forcing workers to toil in conditions critics have likened to modern-day slavery

Philippines moves ahead with family planning law

17/11/2017, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,MANILA

A long-awaited Philippine family planning law to provide free hormonal

contraceptives is finally going ahead, health officials said on Thursday, ending a

two-year impasse in which the Supreme Court demanded proof that they did not

cause abortions.

The announcement marked a victory over the influential Catholic church which

counts most of the Philippine population as followers and opposes all forms of

artificial contraception.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said 51 types of contraceptive pills, coils and

injectables could now be distributed to the public after the Food and Drug

Administration certified they did not cause abortions, defeating a petition filed by a

Catholic group.

The reproductive health law granting access to contraceptives was passed in 2012

despite strong Church opposition. However abortion remains illegal.

President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the Catholic church who was elected

last year, has promised to deliver the free contraceptives to women as part of his







health push. Despite Church lobbying to cut funding for contraceptives, Mr. Duque

said the government had budgeted 4.2 billion pesos ($82 million) for

implementation of the law this year

Hariri accepts invite to visit Paris

17/11/2017, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,RIYADH

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Thursday that he would travel to

France “very soon” from Saudi Arabia, which rejected accusations he was detained

in following his shock resignation.

Mr. Hariri, who has been in the Saudi capital since announcing there on November

4 that he was stepping down, met with visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves

Le Drian, who said the Lebanese Premier had accepted an invitation to Paris.

Earlier, Mr. Le Drian held talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir who told

reporters that Mr. Hariri, a dual Saudi citizen whose family is a long-time ally of

the Sunni-ruled kingdom, was free to leave “when he pleases”. Mr. Hariri is living

in the kingdom “of his own free will”, Mr. Jubeir said.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who this week accused Saudi authorities of

“detaining” Mr. Hariri and has refused to accept his resignation from abroad,

welcomed the news on Thursday that the Premier would visit Paris for talks with

President Emmanuel Macron.

120 Indians signatories to scientists’ ecology warning

Letter urges humanity to take steps to protect the earth

17/11/2017, AATHIRA PERINCHERY ,KOCHI

More than 120 Indians are among the 15,364 scientists from 184 countries to

endorse the second warning the world’s scientists have issued to humanity: not

mending currently unsustainable ways of living could augur “widespread misery”

and “catastrophic biodiversity loss”.

Indian scientists — from institutes including the Delhi University, Wildlife

Institute of India, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature Research, IIT,

IISER — are among the signatories to the paper. The first warning, issued in 1992

and signed by 1,575 scientists, urged governments to take immediate action to

prevent environmental degradation. Following up on nine environmental issues

identified by these scientists, a team led by scientist William Ripple (Oregon State

University, U.S.A.) compiled current data to see how these issues fare now.




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Biodiversity decline

Their findings, published in Bioscience, show declines in freshwater availability

and global marine fisheries catch. Biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming pace:

between 1970 and 2012, the world’s vertebrates have declined by 58%. Forest loss

has been tabled at 129 million hectares between 1990 and 2015.

In a country like India, there is a need for both immediate and long-term solutions,

says author William Lawrence, professor at the James Cook University, Australia.

“In the short term, it’s critical to limit further habitat loss and the expansion of new

roads, mines, and mega projects into the last wild places, and to enlist the help and

engagement of local communities,” he said in an email to The Hindu.

“Societies need to take into account evidence-based inputs from the scientific

community,” says Rajesh Gopakumar, director of International Centre for

Theoretical Sciences, Bengaluru and a signatory to the paper. “The letter speaks

about issues that are critical to address, especially in a developing country like

India.

Earth-sized planet with mild climate spotted

17/11/2017,GENEVA

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized planet with ‘mild’ climate and

peaceful parent star just 11 light years away, which may be the closest known

comfortable abode for possible life. A team at the La Silla Observatory in Chile

found that the low-mass exoplanet orbits the red dwarf star Ross 128 every 9.9

days. PT

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Over 650 Million People Across At Least 250 Districts And 20 States At Risk

Of Filariasis

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: It is now pretty certain. India will miss the target date of stamping out

elephantiasis or lymphatic filariasis, one of two diseases that it was hoping to

eliminate by 2020.

The national health policy had aimed at eliminating filariasis by 2015. The

deadline was extended to 2017 and now has been shifted to 2020.

Filariasis, called hathipaon locally, can cause limbs, usually the leg, knee

downwards, to swell enormously, or hydrocele (swelling of the scrotum), causing

disfigurement and disability.

Transmitted through mosquito bite, filariasis is estimated to be endemic in over

250 districts in 20 states, putting 650 million people at risk. Mass drug

administration (MDA) in endemic districts ensuring coverage of over 65%

population is the global strategy to eliminate the disease. It is caused by various

coiled and thread-like parasitic worms. In India, 99.4% of the cases are caused by

the species Wuchereria bancroftiwith the other species Brugia malayi responsible

for just 0.6%. The worms produce about 50,000 microfilariae (minute larvae) that

enter a person’s blood stream — and get passed on when a mosquito bites an

infected person. Persons with microfilariae in their blood can appear healthy but

are infectious. Those with chronic filarial swellings cannot further spread the

infection. The larvae develop into adult worms that can live upto 5-8 years and

more in humans. They damage the lymphatic system though no symptoms may

show for years.

Since 2004, the health ministry has been carrying out mass drug administration as

part of the Hathipaon Mukt Bharat (Filaria Free India) programme for preventive

medication. This involves giving at least 65% of the population in endemic

districts two drugs: tablets of diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) and

albendazole once a year for five years. Children below two years, pregnant

women and seriously-ill people are not eligible for these drugs.

After five years of MDA and 65% coverage, a transmission assessment survey is

conducted to see if the district qualifies for stoppage of mass drug administration.




India stopped the MDA in 96 of the 256 districts last year. But many of the 96

districts failed a treatment assessment survey by external evaluators.

Another challenge is that the surveillance that identified the 256 endemic districts

is now outdated. A fresh survey could push up the number of endemic districts to

over 300. This would require an overhaul of programme strategy and consequently,

the chances of meeting the 2020 target are slim. “It’s a challenge to get people to

take as many as four tablets simultaneously, especially when they have no

symptoms. Health workers must ensure the person consumes the tablets right then.

This doesn’t always happen,” explained a senior official in the national filariasis

elimination programme.

Since DEC is given by body weight, the rough calculation is about one DEC tablet

for those between 2-5 years, two tablets for those aged 6-14 years and 3 tablets for

adults or those above 15 years. This is in addition to the albendazole tablet.

The new three-drug combination, IDA, which involves adding tablets of

Ivermectin to the DEC and albendazole tablets, has been shown to reduce

microfilariae by 99% with the first dose itself. The two-drug regimen (DE and

albendazole) reduces the disease by 60-80% and hence requires five rounds. The

new drug regimen is expected to help clear the infection faster as IDA would

require just two rounds.

But Ivermectin dosage is bodyweight dependent, which could mean adding 2-4

tablets to the existing drug regimen depending on the person’s body

weight. That could be an additional challenge to the programme, the success of

which hinges on community compliance (ensuring people take the medicine) and

coverage (ensuring medicines reach at least 65% of the population).

Though WHO gives India albendazole free, it has to buy 70% of the required DE,

30% is free. Government will now have to find the funds to buy Ivermectin and

meet the cost of expanding the programme. Budget approvals for the same are still

in the pipeline.




DISEASES ERADICATED

YAWS | Bacterial infection of skin, bone and joints

India first country to eradicate Yaws. In a 1952-64 campaign, 0.2 million cases

were detected in Odisha, MP, Maharashtra, Andhra and Tamil Nadu




Eradication programme was launched in 1996-97 mostly in tribal and remote areas

and the last case reported in India was in October 2003. India announced

elimination in September 2006. Certification took another decade until July 2016

GUINEA WORM | Parasitic infection

Second disease after small pox to be eradicated from India

Eradication project launched in 1983-84 2/3rds of the cases were in MP and

Rajasthan, which had India’s last case in 1996

The infection spreads via dirty stagnant water, shows as blister on lower leg,

rendering the infected non-functional

Chad reported 11 cases in 2017

POLIO

India certified polio-free in March 2014, from over 50,000 cases in 1995 when it

launched the campaign against polio

Efforts to eliminate global polio infection began in 1988. The global polio

eradication initiative reduced polio by 99% — to just 8 cases in 2017: three in

Pakistan and five in Afghanistan

SMALLPOX

First disease to have been eradicated globally, the world was declared smallpox-

free in 1980

India eradicated smallpox in April 1977

Cutting carbon use but power, food security priorities: India

Vishwa.Mohan @timesgroup.com

Bonn: With countries joining hands to end coal use as part of decarbonising their

economies, India on Thursday made it clear that steps were being taken in the

country to “decouple the Indian energy system from carbon in the long run” but

poverty eradication remained its “overriding priority” to ensure “housing,

electricity and food security for all”.




India, however, underlined that it has set “ambitious targets” in its climate actions

pledge under the Paris Agreement and the country is “on path for achieving those”.

“This is in line with all our glorious traditions which have for centuries stood for

sustainable lifestyles and care for nature. In fact, India’s traditional wisdom can be

a beacon of light at this stage,” said environment minister Harsh Vardhan while

delivering the country’s statement here at a highlevel segment of the UN climate

conference (COP23).

Bringing lifestyle issues into focus, he said, “The climate change challenge that we

face today is the result of unsustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns which

are not necessarily linked to higher levels of well-being.”

The minister also highlighted what all the country has been doing in the field of

clean energy, especially renewable energy, and emphasised that India’s climate

actions are synchronised with its development goals and reflects its bold vision for

combating climate change.

He also said all the planned actions and economic reforms have contributed

positively to the rapidly declining growth rate of energy intensity in India.

The minister also sought to remind rich nations of their responsibilities.

He said, “Additional and early pre-2020 actions by developed countries under

Kyoto Protocol and provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity building

support to developing countries are critical”.

India to host global meet on cyber security

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: At a time when digital transactions gain pace in India and government

services increasingly move online, the government will hold a conference on cyber

security that will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will see

participation from IT and cyber ministers from across the world.

IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the ‘Global Conference on Cyber Space’

— to be held on November 23-24 — will see participation from policymakers,

innovators, industrialists and cyber security experts. “Cyber diplomacy is a big




topic in this conference... Cyber security has come to occupy a centrestage in the

international diplomatic discourse,” Prasad said.

Cabinet approves the increase in the carpet area of houses eligible for interest

subsidy under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for the Middle Income

Group under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has

approved the increase in the carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy

under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for the Middle Income Group

(MIG) under Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Urban).

To further enhance the scope, coverage and outreach of the Scheme, the

Cabinet has approved the following:

i. increasing the carpet area in the MIG I category of CLSS from the

existing 90 square metre to "up to 120 square metre" and increasing the

carpet area in respect of MIG II category of CLSS from the existing 110

square metre to "up to 150 square metre"; and

ii. making the above change effective from 01.01.2017 i.e. the date the

CLSS for MIG had become effective.

The CLSS for MIG is a pro-active step in meeting the challenges of urban

housing shortage. It also is a pioneering step to enable the Middle Income Group to

access the benefits of an interest subsidy scheme.

The CLSS for MIG covers two income segments in the MIG viz.

Rs.6,00,001 to Rs.12,00,000 (MIG-I) and Rs.12,00,001 to Rs.18,00,000 (MIG-II)

per annum. In

the MIG-1, an interest subsidy of 4% has been provided for loan amounts up to

Rs.9 lakh while in MIG-2, an interest subsidy of 3% has been provided for loan

amount of Rs.12 lakh. The interest subsidy will be calculated at 9% NPV over a

maximum loan tenure of 20 years or the actual tenure, whichever is

lesser. Housing loans above 9 lakh and 12 lakh will be at non-subsidized rates.

The CLSS for MIG is currently effective up to 31.03.2019.

Impact




The limit of 120 sq m. and 150 sq m. is seen as a reasonable

enhancement and would cater to the market generally scouted by the MIG

belonging to the two income categories specified in the scheme.

The increase in carpet area will enable the Ml category of individuals to

have a wider choice in Developers' projects.

The increased carpet area will also give a boost to the sale of ready built

flats in the affordable housing segment.

Background:

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is implementing the Credit Linked

Subsidy Scheme for Middle Income Group (CLSS for MIG) under the Pradhan

MantriAwasYojana (Urban) since 1.01.2017 pursuant to Hon'ble Prime Minister's

address to the Nation on 31.12.2016 announcing increased benefits for poor people

availing housing loans, and a new interest subsidy scheme for housing loans for the

Middle Income Group (MIG).

Cabinet allows export of all varieties of pulses

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri

Narendra Modi has given its approval for removal of prohibition on export of all

types of pulses to ensure that farmers have greater choice in marketing their

produce and in getting better remuneration for their produce.

The CCEA also empowered the Committee chaired by Secretary, Department of

Food & Public Distribution (DFPD) and comprising Secretaries of Department of

Commerce (DoC), Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare

(DAC&FW), Department of Revenue (DoR), Department of Consumer Affairs

(DoCA) and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to review the

export/import policy on pulses and consider measures such as quantitative

restrictions, prior registration and changes in import duties depending on domestic

production and demand, domestic and international prices and international trade

volumes.

Opening of export of all types of pulses will help the farmer to dispose off their

products at remunerative prices and also encourage them to expand the area of

sowing. Export of pulses would provide an alternative market for the surplus

production of pulses. Allowing export of pulses will also help the country and its

exporters to regain their markets.




It is expected that pulses production will be sustained in the country and our import

dependence on pulses will come down substantially. This is also likely to provide

higher levels of protein to the population and work towards nutritional security.

The integration with global supply chain is also likely to help our farmers in

adopting good agricultural practices and better productivity.

In 2016-17 production year, the Indian farmers have lived up to the challenge of

reducing India's import dependence on pulses and have produced 23 million tons

of pulses. The Government has taken a number of steps to sustain the high pulses

production by our farmers. The Government has procured 20 lakh tons of pulses by

ensuring minimum support price or market rates, whichever is higher, directly

from the farmers and this has been the highest ever procurement of pulses.

Background:

The production of pulses in 2016-17 has been very encouraging and is the highest

ever till date. Government has supported the farmers by providing attractive

Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the pulses and public procurement of pulses to

the tune of 20 lakh tonnes. The domestic production of pulses during 2016-17 was

22.95 million tonnes. The Chana Dal (Gram) production was 9.33 million tonnes

as compared to 7.06 million tonnes in 2015-16 showing a growth of 32%. The

production of other rabi pulses (includes Masoor Dal (Lentil) etc.) for 2016-17 was

3.02 million tonnes as compared to 2.47 million tonnes in 2015-16 showing a

growth of 22%. For the year 2017-18, the Government has fixed a target of 22.90

million tonnes of pulses production.

Joint Indo-Bangladesh Exercise Sampriti 2017 Culminates

Joint Indo-Bangladesh Training Exercise SAMPRITI 2017, which is being

conducted at Counter Insurgency & Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte in Mizoram

culminated today with a validation exercise.

It is the seventh such exercise in the SAMPRITI series. The exercise has been

aimed to strengthen and broaden the aspects of interoperability and cooperation

between the Indian and Bangladesh Armies. The 13-day long field training

exercise commenced on 06 November 2017, which was culminated with a

validation exercise on November 15-16. It was conducted in a progressive manner

wherein the participants initially familiarised themselves with each other’s

organisational structure and tactical drills. Subsequently, the training advanced to

various joint tactical exercises by the two Armies.




Scenario of terrorists hiding in a village was painted for the validation

exercise. It had commenced with joint briefings by the company commanders of

both the Armies. Based on which troops established a cordon of the village.

Validation Exercise finally culminated with a daring raid in the jungle terrain to

neutralise the terrorists. A spectacular demonstration on room intervention drills

was also conducted jointly by Indian and Bangladesh Army troops.

The final exercise was reviewed by Major General Md Moshfequr Rahman

of the Bangladesh Army and Major General M S Ghura of the Indian Army. The

combined exercise was an unprecedented success. Besides promoting

understanding and interoperability between the two Armies, it further helped in

strengthening bilateral ties.

India to Host Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017: A Giant Leap

Towards a Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace

GCCS 2017 to be much bigger than its previous editions

The Curtain Raiser events to kick-off from 20th November

A 36-hour Grand Finale of Global Cyber Challenge - Peace-a-thon to

take place in the GCCS 2017 A nearly paperless event in which entire chain starting from pre-

registration to travel to hotel booking to meals to session check in will be

done through App and Web

India, for the first time ever, is going to host the Global Conference on

Cyber Space (GCCS), one of the world’s largest conferences in the field of Cyber

Space and related issues, on 23 & 24 November 2017, at Aerocity, New

Delhi. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate

the mega event, while Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs

will deliver the keynote address in the Valedictory function.

Incepted in 2011 in London, second GCCS was held in 2012 in Budapest with

focus on relationship between internet rights and internet security, which was

attended by 700 delegates from nearly 60 countries. The third edition of GCCS

was held in 2013 in Seoul with commitment to Open and Secure Cyberspace. The




fourth version GCCS 2015 was held on April 16-17, 2015 in The Hague,

Netherlands which saw participation from 97 countries.

Themed on Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable

Development, this is the fifth edition of GCCS wherein international leaders,

policymakers, industry experts, think tanks and cyber experts will gather to

deliberate on issues and challenges for optimally using cyber space. The overall

goals of GCCS 2017 are to promote the importance of inclusiveness and human

rights in global cyber policy, to defend the status quo of an open, interoperable and

unregimented cyberspace, to create political commitment for capacity building

initiatives to address the digital divide and assist countries, and to develop security

solutions in a balanced fashion that duly acknowledge the importance of the

private sector and technical community.

While briefing the press, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister for

Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, said, “This is a historic moment for all of us

to host the Fifth edition of the Global Conference of Cyberspace in India. I believe

it is recognition of India’s emerging role as a massive cyber power, accelerated by

the Digital India push, which has acquired international acknowledgment. The

GCCS 2017 is certainly in accord with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision to

transform India into a digitally empowered country. GCCS 2017 will give the

world’s cyber community a unique opportunity to learn from global experience

and expert insight, and discover more about the technology led transformation

being engineered in India. As India is poised to become a US$1 Trillion digital

economy and lead the digital revolution in the world, it is imperative to formulate

and put across a robust cyber space.”

“The GCCS 2017 is going to be four times bigger than its previous edition in terms

of its magnitude. The last conference held in The Netherlands saw about 1800

delegates, and I am happy to announce that we have over 10000 delegates who

will participate in person. There will also be virtual participation from over 2800




locations across the world will be connected in an interactive mode. We have had

over 40 Run-up events around the world since March 2017 to precede the main

event that received an unprecedented response from the policy makers, industry,

academia, civil society and think tanks. We look forward to cooperation and

knowledge sharing among countries to implement and replicate successful

initiatives as one of the major expected outcomes of this conference. ”added Shri

Prasad.

GCCS 2017: Key Highlights

· Tens of thousands of delegates (Both in person and through Webinar/ Video

Conference from around the world). Millions will watch over webcast from 5

Conference locations at the venue

· Representatives from 124 countries

· 33 Ministerial delegates from 31 countries already including PM of Sri

Lanka

· 2800 locations to be virtually connected in an interactive mode

· 15 Parallel sessions & 12 Side events

· Participation of policy makers, industry, academia, civil society and think

tanks

· Grand Finale of worldwide Peace-a-thon Events

The plenary sessions and other activities during GCCS 2017 have been designed

around the themes of Cyber4Inclusive Growth, Cyber4DigitalInclusion,

Cyber4Security and Cyber4Diplomacy. During various sessions and activities

focused around these themes, GCCS 2017 will bring forth the business,

empowerment and developmental potential of Cyber space for realizing the goals

of sustainable development.




GCCS 2017 in India is going to be the biggest ever cyber event of its kind.

Including about 35 run up events, more than ten thousand delegates from more

than 123 countries are expected to participate in person

· About 7000 in run-up events held by Academia, Civil Society,

Industry and Policy Makers since March, 2017 in India and abroad.

· More than 1000 in 13 Curtain Raiser Events

· More than 2000 (about 700 from abroad and 1500 from India) in 18

Plenary & Parallel Sessions and 12 Side Events on November 23 and 24

33 ministers from various nations dealing with the subject matter of cyber

space (ICT or similar ministries in some countries and Foreign Ministry in

others) have already confirmed. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka also is expected to

come for the inaugural ceremony.

More than 7000 people have already registered on the website; only 2500 will

get their invites to the conference. Till now, some of the eminent speakers at

the conference who have already confirmed participation include Ministers from

various countries such as France, Russia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Portugal,

Bangladesh and the United Kingdom; Mr. Houlin Zhao (Secretary General,

International Telecommunication Union); Mr. Mukesh Ambani (Chairman, MD,

RIL); Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal (Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises); Mr.

Tarek Kamel (Senior Advisor to President & SPV, Government And IGO

Engagement, ICANN); Ms. Marina Kalijurand (Chair, Global Commission on

Stability of Cyber Space, Estonia); Mr. David Martinon (Ambassador for Cyber

Diplomacy and the Digital Economy, France); Mr. Uriël "Uri" Rosenthal (Ex-

Foreign Minister, The Netherlands); Mr. LaliteshKatragadda(Founder, Google

Map Maker); Mr. VeniMarkovski (Bulgarian Internet pioneer, Co-founder and

CEO of bol.bg); Ms. Debjani Ghosh (Former MD, Intel, South Asia); Mr.

Saurabh Srivastava (Founding Member, Indian Angel Network);Mr. Paul

Wilson (Director General, APNIC).

http://bol.bg/




The list of illustrious speakers from around the world can be viewed

at www.gccs2017.in/speaker.

In a first ever initiative, 800 locations for Video Conference and 2000 locations

are being made available for Live Webinar across the world. Assuming

average participation of about 10 at each location, nearly thirty thousand persons

are expected to participate virtually during live sessions and even ask questions.

This has been made possible using a combination of NIC VC (200 locations) and

Learning Management System (2600) locations.

6 oldest IITs and IISc are among academic partners of the GCCS. Leading

multinationals, SBI and PNB also are among the sponsors.

In a first time ever initiative, a world-wide Hackathon and Appathonare being

hosted by top Universities worldwide. 15 winning teams will compete in the grand

finale in Delhi during Curtain Raiser. Prize winners are proposed to be honoured

by the Hon’ble PM.

GCCS 2017 - A Truly Digital One: A web-based Portal and a unique app have

been created to inter-alia include the following so as to have a less-paper

Conference:

· Pre-registration on the web by the target group

· Work-flow based verification by Ministry of External Affairs and

Ministry of Home Affairs (including IB)

· Approval and generation of Invitation Letter

http://www.gccs2017.in/speaker




· Confirmation by the applicant and subsequent generation of discount

codes for travel and stay.

· Final travel programme (including hotel stay)

· Reception at flights / hotels

· Assignment of blocks

· Electronic check-in to sessions

· Chat among delegates and fixing of appointments for side meetings.

· E-Food Coupons

· Priority of questions for checked in users

The tentative program for GCCS 2017 has been planned on the lines of previous

conferences to ensure uniformity and continuity of GCCS. The detailed program

has also been made available on https://gccs2017.in/. The conference is planned as

a two-day event which will include an inaugural, plenary sessions, parallel sessions

and valedictory session. GCCS 2017’s structure has tracks with plenary sessions

and parallel sessions. These are a mix of keynote addresses, panel discussions,

parallel sessions, along with side events and curtain raiser events.

Besides the conference sessions, technical poster exhibition and a digital exhibition

showcasing over 20 exhibitors from government, industry, sponsors etc. will also

be showcased. As a post conference event, we are happy to announce that a

doctoral colloquium co-organized by IIT, to learn about the standards/methodology

and global research practices in e-Governance. We are also releasing a coffee table

book which documents 25 success stories from 5 continents. A Country book with

thought leaders visioning the future of Digital India, and its contribution to a Safe

and Peaceful Cyber Space is another expected output.

https://gccs2017.in/




Cabinet approves the establishment of the National Anti-profiteering

Authority under GST

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its

approval for the creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical Members of the

National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, following up immediately

on yesterday's sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass

consumption.This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex

body, which is mandated to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates

on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction

in prices.

The establishment of the NAA, to be headed by a senior officer of the level of

Secretary to the Government of India with four Technical Members from the

Centre and/or the States, is one more measure aimed at reassuring consumers that

Government is fully committed to take all possible steps to ensure the benefits of

implementation of GST in terms of lower prices of the goods and services reach

them.

It may be recalled that effective from midnight of 14th November, 2017 the GST

rate has been slashed from 28% to 18% on goods falling under 178 headings.

There are now only 50 items which attract the GST rate of 28%. Likewise, a large

number of items have witnessed a reduction in GST rates from 18% to 12% and so

on and some goods have been completely exempt from GST.

The "anti-profiteering" measures enshrined in the GST law provide an institutional

mechanism to ensure that the full benefits of input tax credits and reduced GST

rates on supply of goods or services flow to the consumers. This institutional

framework comprises the NAA, a Standing Committee, Screening Committees in

every State and the Directorate General of Safeguards in the Central Board of

Excise & Customs (CBEC).

Affected consumers who feel the benefit of commensurate reduction in prices is

not being passed on when they purchase any goods or services may apply for relief

to the Screening Committee in the particular State. However, in case the incident

of profiteering relates to an item of mass impact with 'All India' ramification, the

application may be directly made to the Standing Committee. After forming a

prima facie view that there is an element of profiteering, the Standing Committee

shall refer the matter for detailed investigation to the Director General of




Safeguards, CBEC, which shall report its findings to the NAA.

In the event the NAA confirms there is a necessity to apply anti-profiteering

measures, it has the authority to order the supplier / business concerned to reduce

its prices or return the undue benefit availed by it along with interest to the

recipient of the goods or services. If the undue benefit cannot be passed on to the

recipient, it can be ordered to be deposited in the Consumer Welfare Fund. In

extreme cases, the NAA can impose a penalty on the defaulting business entity and

even order the cancellation of its registration under GST.

The constitution of the NAA shall bolster confidence of consumers as they reap the

benefits of the recent reduction in GST rates, in particular, and of GST, in general.

Shri J P Nadda represents India at ‘1st WHO Global Ministerial Conference

on Ending TB in Sustainable Development Era’ in Russia

Reaffirms India’s commitment to eliminating TB by 2025

Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, today reaffirmed

India’s commitment to eliminating TB by 2025 at 1st WHO Global Ministerial

Conference on Ending TB in Sustainable Development Era’ at Moscow, Russia.

The Ministerial and High-Level meetings offer participating nations the potential

to strengthen and energize the discourse on TB and are perhaps the biggest window

for global action on TB in the foreseeable future. Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare is also organizing a side event at the conference on ‘Ending TB: Our

Promise to Our People’ assisted by Global Coalition against TB to be attended by

7 MPs and other world leaders.

Speaking at the first high level plenary, Shri Nadda said that India has ended polio

and will use a similar intensified effort to end TB also. The National Strategic Plan

for TB elimination in India has essentially four pillars to address the major

challenges for TB control, namely- “Detect, Treat, Build and Prevent”. “This plan

requires a significant increase in the budget compared to previous NSP and I am

happy to share with you that this plan is fully funded and most of this is through

domestic resources,” Shri Nadda elaborated.

The Union Health Minister pointed out that since the major challenges for TB

control in India are many; the government’s first priority is reaching the

unreached. “The government will ensure access to care for some vulnerable

populations such as tribals, people in urban slums etc. Early diagnosis of all




patients and putting them on the right treatment and ensuring their complete

treatment is crucial” Shri Nadda emphasized.

Shri Nadda informed the participants that the Indian government has given top

priority to addressing the quality of care for patient’s. 25% of the budget is

earmarked for direct interventions in this area. This include free diagnosis with

rapid molecular tests, free treatment with best quality drugs and regimens, financial

and nutritional support to patients, online TB notification systems, mobile

technology based adherence monitoring system, interphase agencies for better

private sector engagements, policy for transparent service purchase schemes,

stronger community engagements, communication campaigns, regulatory systems

to capture information on all those consuming anti-TB drugs etc.

Highlighting India’s commitment further, Shri Nadda stated that to provide access

to patients in difficult to reach areas, both socially and geographically, the

government has started active TB case finding campaigns in selected areas. “We

have already completed two such campaigns covering 257 districts and screened

over 30 million vulnerable persons and detected over 15,000 additional TB cases.

We are planning the next campaign in December this year. We will now be

mounting interventions for TB in urban slum areas through the urban health

mission,” Shri Nadda said.

Shri Nadda also said that India is a major manufacturer of anti-TB drugs for the

world having almost an 80% global market share. “We give only the best quality

drugs to our patients, whether within the country or abroad. There is a wide scope

for us to sit together and discuss seriously about promoting generic drugs for TB

patients all over the world, I have no doubt that together we can make TB

treatment affordable to all in the world. We owe it to the millions of TB patients

and we owe it to ourselves,” Shri Nadda stated.

The top thematic priorities of this conference based on the SDGs and the UNGA

high level health themes include Universal Health Coverage, Increased and

Sustainable Financing and Scientific Research and Innovation.

Boost to infrastructure facilities for judiciary

Cabinet approves continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme to improve

judiciary infrastructure

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved

continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of




Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary beyond 12th Five Year Plan i.e. from

01.04.2017 to 31.03.2020 to be implemented in a Mission Mode through National

Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms with an estimated outlay of

Rs.3,320 crore.

The Cabinet also approved setting up of an on-line monitoring system with geo-

tagging by the Department of Justice enabling data collection on progress,

completion of court halls and residential units under construction, including for

future projects as well as better asset management and formulation of norms and

specification of court halls and residential units to be constructed under Scheme for

implementation throughout the country for future.

Benefits from the Scheme:

The Scheme will increase the availability of suitable number of Court Halls and

Residential Accommodations for Judges / Judicial Officers of District and

Subordinate Courts all over the country including at District, Sub-District, Taluka,

Tehsil and Gram Panchayat and Village levels. This will help in improving the

functioning and performance of the Judiciary across the country in reaching out to

every citizen.

Financial assistance:

The central assistance is provided to the State Governments / UT Administrations

under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for development of Infrastructure

Facilities for Judiciary for construction of court halls and residential units for

Judicial Officers / Judges of District and Subordinate Courts. The funds sharing

pattern for Centre and State is 60:40 in respect of States other than North Eastern

and Himalayan States. The funds sharing pattern is 90:10 in respect of North

Eastern and Himalayan States; and 100% in respect of Union Territories. This will

help for completion of on-going projects for construction of 3,000 court halls and

1,800 residential units for judicial officers of District and Subordinate Courts.

Monitoring of the Scheme

An on-line monitoring system will be set up by the Department of Justice enabling

data collection on progress, completion of court halls and residential units under

construction as well as better asset management.




Regular meetings of the Monitoring Committee may be organised in various States

with State Chief Secretaries and PWD officials to enable speedy and good

construction. It may also be monitored if the funds released by the Centre are

released without delay onward to PWD by the State Governments.

Background:

Central Government augments the resources of the States in this regard through the

Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for development of infrastructure facilities for

Judiciary which is being implemented since 1993-94. The central assistance is

provided to the State Governments / UT Administrations under the Scheme for

construction of court halls and residential units for Judicial Officers / Judges of

District and Subordinate Courts.

Cabinet approves Continuation of sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme

“Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)” for the period till

November, 2018

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister

Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for continuation of Anganwadi

Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, Child Protection Services and National

Crèche Scheme from 1.4.2017 to 30.11.2018 with an outlay of over Rs.41,000

crore. These are the sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme “Integrated Child

Development Services (ICDS)”

Features:

The approved Schemes include:

i. Anganwadi Services

ii. Scheme for Adolescent Girls

iii. Child Protection Services

iv. National Crèche Scheme

The Cabinet has also approved:

i. implementation of Scheme for

Adolescent Girls for out of school girls in the age group of 11-

14 years, its phased expansion

ii. phasing out of the on–going Kishori

Shakti Yojana for out of school girls in the age group of 11-14

years.




The decision also provides for conversion of National Crèche

Scheme from Central Sector to Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the

revised cost sharing between Centre and States as 60:40 for all States

and UTs with legislature, 90:10 for NER and Himalayan States and

100% for UTs without legislature and implementation of the Scheme

through States/UTs instead of existing implementation agencies.

Impact:

The sub-schemes listed above are not new schemes but are continuing from

the XII Five Year Plan. The programme through targeted interventions will strive

to reduce the level of malnutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies, ensure

empowerment of adolescent girls, provide protection to the children who are in

conflict with law, provide safe place for day-care to the children of working

mothers, create synergy, ensure better monitoring, issue negative alerts for timely

action, encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries

and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals and bring more transparency.

Beneficiaries:

More than 11 crore children, pregnant women & Lactating Mothers and the

Adolescent Girls will be benefited through this scheme.

Financial Outlay: The details of expenditure for the period from 01.04.2017 to 30.11.2018 for

various sub-schemes are as follows:

(Rupees in crore)

Name of the sub-scheme Amount approved

Anganwadi Services 34441.34

National Nutrition Mission (proposed) 4241.33

Scheme for Adolescent Girl

s

1238.37

Child Protection Services

1083.33

National Crèche Schem

e

349.33

Total 41353.70




Implementation Strategy and Targets: Anganwadi Services (ICDS) and Child Protection Services are already in

operation in the entire country. The Scheme for Adolescent Girls will be expanded

in a phased manner. National Creche Scheme will continue to be implemented in

23,555 creches. Approval for National Nutrition Mission shall be obtained

separately.

States/districts covered:

Anganwadi Services (ICDS) and Child Protection Services are already in

operation in the entire country. National Nutrition Mission will be rolled out in a

phased manner. Similarly, Scheme for Adolescent Girls will be expanded in a

phased manner.

Background:

The ongoing schemes have been rationalized by the Government in financial

year 2016-17 and have been brought under Umbrella ICDS as its sub-schemes.

These sub-schemes need to be continued for delivering the child related services to

the intended beneficiaries. The aims of these schemes are as under:

a. Anganwadi Services (ICDS) aims at holistic development of children

under the age of six years and its beneficiaries are children of this age

group and Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers.

b. The objective of the Scheme for Adolescent Girls is to facilitate,

educate and empower Adolescent Girls so as to enable them to

become self-reliant and aware citizens through improved nutrition and

health status, promoting awareness about health, hygiene, nutrition,

mainstreaming out of school AGs into formal/non formal education

and providing information/guidance about existing public services.

c. The objectives of Child Protection Services are to provide safe and

secure environment for children in conflict with law and children in

need of care and protection, reduce vulnerabilities through a wide

range of social protection measures, prevent actions that lead to abuse,

neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from

families etc., bring focus on non-institutional care, develop a platform




for partnership between Government & Civil Society and establish

convergence of child related social protection services.

d. National Creche Scheme aims at providing a safe place for mothers to

leave their children while they are at work, and thus, is a measure for

empowering women as it enables them to take up employment. At the

same time, it is also an intervention towards protection and

development of children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years.

न्‍यायपालिका‍के‍लिए‍इंफ्रास्‍ट‍रक्‍चर‍सुविधाओ‍ंका‍विस्‍ट‍तार

मंत्रिमंडि‍ने‍न्‍यायपालिका‍इंफ्रास्‍ट‍रक्‍चर‍में‍सधुार‍करन‍ेके‍लिए‍केन्‍रीय‍प्रायोजित‍स्‍ट‍कीम‍को‍िारी‍रखन‍ेकी‍मंिरूी‍दी

प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्‍द र मोदी की अध् यक्षता में कें रीय मंत्रत्रमंडल ने न्‍द यायपाललका के ललए इंफ्रास्‍ट रक् चर सुविधाओ ंका विकास बारहिीं पंचिर्षीय योजना अर्ाात 01.04.2017 से 31.03.2020 के अततररक् त करन ेके ललए 3,320 करोड़ रूपये के अनमुातनत पररव् यय से राष्‍ट रीय न्‍द याय सपुदुागी और न्‍द यातयक सधुार लमशन के माध् यम से कें रीय प्रायोजजत स्‍ट कीम (सीएसएस) का कायाान्‍द ियन लमशन मोड़ में जारी रखन ेको अपनी मंजरूी दी है।

मंत्रत्रमंडल न े न्‍द याय विभाग द्िारा जीओ टेगगगं के सार् एक ऑनलाइन तनगरानी प्रणाली की स्‍ट र्ापना करन ेकी भी मंजरूी दी है जजससे कक काया प्रगतत, भविष्‍ट य की पररयोजनाओ ंके सार्-सार् भविष्‍ट य में सपंणूा देश में कायाान्‍द यिन के ललए स्‍ट कीम के अतंगात तनमााण ककए जान ेिाले न्‍द यायालय पररसरों और आिासीय यूतनटों के तनयम और विशरे्षताए ं बनान े तर्ा बेहतर पररसंपवि सहहत तनमााणाधीन न्‍द यायालय पररसरों और आिासीय यूतनटों की काया प्रगतत पर आंकड़ ेएकत्रत्रत ककए जा सके।

इस‍स्‍ट‍कीम‍के‍िाभ:




इस स्‍ट कीम से जजला, उप-जजला, तालुका, तहसील और ग्राम पचंायत और गांि स्‍ट तर सहहत संपूणा देश के जजला एि ं अधीनस्‍ट र् न्‍द यायालयों के न्‍द यातयक अगधकाररयों/न्‍द यायधीशों के ललए उपयकु् त सखं् या में न्‍द याय पररसर और आिासीय यूतनट की उपलब् धता में बढोतरी होगी। इससे देशभर में न्‍द यायपाललका काया प्रणाली और काया प्रदशान में सधुार करने में मदद लमलेगी जजससे कक देश के प्रत् येक नागररक तक न्‍द याय प्रकिया पहंुच पाए।

वित्‍तीय‍सहायता

जजला और अधीनस्‍ट र् न्‍द यायालयों के न्‍द यातयक अगधकाररयों / न्‍द यायगधशों के ललए न्‍द यायालय पररसरों और आिासीय यूतनटों के तनमााण के ललए केन्‍द रीय रूप से प्रायोजजत स्‍ट कीम (सीएसएस) के अन्‍द तगात राज् य सरकारों/संघ राज् य के्षत्र प्रशासनों को कें रीय सहायता प्रदान की जाती है। पिूोत् तर और हहमालयी राज् यों को छोड़कर राज् यों के संबधं में ितामान तनगधयों के आिटंन का अनुपात कें र और राज् य के ललए िमश: 60:40 है। पूिोत् तर और हहमालयी राज् यों के संबधं में तनगध आिंटन का अनपुात 90:10 और सघं राज् य के्षत्रों के सबंधं में 100 प्रततशत है। इससे जजला और अगधनस्‍ट र् न्‍द यायालयों के न्‍द यातयक अगधकाररयों/न्‍द यायधीशों के ललए 3000 न्‍द यायालय पररसरों और 1800 आिासीय यूतनटों के तनमााण की चल रही पररयोजना को परूा करन ेमें मदद लमलेगी।

इस‍स्‍ट‍कीम‍की‍मॉननटररगं:

न्‍द याय विभाग द्िारा एक ऑनलाइन तनगरानी प्रणाली की स्‍ट र्ापना की जाएगी जजससे कक काया प्रगतत, तनमााणाधीन न्‍द यायालय पररसरों और आिासीय यूतनटों की काया प्रगतत पर आंकड़ े एकत्रत्रत करने के सार्-सार् बेहतर पररसपंवि प्रबधंन भी हो सकेगा।

त् िररत और बेहतर तनमााण को सुतनजचचत करने के ललए विलभ न्‍द न राज् यों में राज् य के मखु् य सगचिों और पीडब् लयूडी अगधक ाररयों के सार् मॉतनटररगं सलमतत की तनयलमत बैठकों का आयोजन ककया जा सकता है। यह इस बात की तनगरानी कर सकेगा कक




केन्‍द र सरकार द्िारा जारी की गई तनगधयां राज् य सरकारों द्िारा पीडब् ् यडूी को बना ककसी विलबं के भेजी जाएं।

पषृ्‍ठभूलम

कें र सरकार न े न्‍द यायपाललका के ललए इंफ्रास्‍ट रक् चर सुविधाओ ं के विकास के ललए 1993-94 से कियाजन्‍द ित की जा रही कें रीय प्रायोजजत स्‍ट कीम के माध् यम से इस सबंधं में राज् यों के ससंाधनों में बढोतरी की है। जजला और अधीनस्‍ट र् न्‍द यायालयों के न्‍द यातयक अगधकाररयों/न्‍द यायगधशों के ललए न्‍द यायालय पररसरों और आिासीय यूतनटों के तनमााण के ललए केन्‍द रीय रूप से प्रायोजजत स्‍ट कीम (सीएसएस) के अन्‍द तगात राज् य सरकारों/सघं राज् य के्षत्र प्रशासनों को कें रीय सहायता प्रदान की जाती है।

केन्‍रीय‍मंत्रिमंडि‍ने‍प्रधानमंिी‍आिास‍योिना‍के‍अतंगगत‍मध्‍यम‍आय‍समूह‍के‍लिए‍के्रडडट‍लिकं‍सजससडी‍स्‍ट‍कीम‍के‍अतंगगत‍स‍याि‍ररयायत‍के‍लिए‍पाि‍घरों‍के‍कारपेट‍

एररया‍में‍बढोतरी‍की

प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्‍द र मोदी की अध् यक्षता में केन्‍द रीय मंत्रत्रमंडल न ेप्रधानमतं्री आिास योजना (शहरी) के अतंगात मध् यम आय समूह (एमआईजी) के ललए िेडडट ललकं सजब्सडी स्‍ट कीम (सीएलएसएस) के अतंगात ब् याज ररयायत के ललए पात्र घरों के कारपेट एररया में बढोतरी की।

इस स्‍ट कीम का विस्‍ट तार, किरेज और पहंुच बढान ेके ललए मंत्रत्रमडंल न ेतनम् नललखखत की मंजरूी दी है:

1. सीएलएसएस की एमआइजी-1 शे्रणी में कारपेट एररया को ितामान 90 स्‍ट क् िेयर मीटर से बढा कर 120 स्‍ट कियेर मीटर तक कर हदया है और सीएलएसएस की एमआइजी-2 शे्रणी के सबंधं में कारपेट एररया को ितामान 110 स्‍ट क् िेयर मीटर से बढा कर 150 स्‍ट किेयर मीटर तक कर हदया है।

2. यह बदलाि हदनांक 01.01.2017 से लाग ूहोंगे अर्ाात जजस हदन एमआइजी के ललए सीएलएसएस लागू हुए र्े।




एमआईजी के ललए सीएलएसएस शहरी आिसीय कमी की चुनौततयों को पूरा करन ेमें अतत सराहनीय कदम है। यह एक ब् याज ररयायत स्‍ट कीम के लाभों को मध् यम आय समूह तक पहंुचाने का एक अग्रणी कदम है।

एमआईजी के ललए सीएलएसएस एमआइजी में दो आय समूहों अर्ाात ्6,00,001 से लेकर रुपये 12 लाख (एम आई जी-1) और 12,00,001 से लेकर 18 लाख (एमआइजी -2) प्रतत िर्षा को किर करती है। एमआईजी-1 में 9 लाख रुपये तक ऋण पर 4 प्रततशत की ब् याज ररयायत प्रदान की जाती है जबकक एमआईजी-2 में 12 लाख रुपये के ऋण के ललए 3 प्रततशत की ब् याज ररयायत प्रदान की जाती है। ब् याज ररयायत को 20 िर्षों की अगधकतम ऋण अिगध या िास्‍ट तविक अिगध, जो भी कम हो, के अततररक् त एनपीिी 9 प्रततशत पर गणना की जाएगी। 9 लाख और 12 लाख रुपये से अगधक के आिसीय ऋण को गरै-ररयायती दर पर ककया जाएगा।

सीएलएसएस के ललए एमआईजी ितामान में 31 माचा, 2019 तक लाग ूहै।

प्रभाि

120 स्‍ट के. मी. और 150 स्‍ट के. मी. को अच् छी िदृ्गध के रूप में देखा जा रहा है और यह इस स्‍ट कीम में तनधााररत दो आय समूहों से संबंगधत एमआइजी द्िारा सामान्‍द य रूप से स्‍ट काउहटड बाजार की जरूरत को पूरा करेगा।

कारपेट एररया में बढोतरी डिेे् पर पररयोजनाओ ंमें व् यजक्तयों की मध् यम आय शे्रणी के पास अगधक विक् प प्रदान कराएगा।

बढा हुआ कारपेट एररया ककफायती आिसीय शे्रणी में तैयार फ्लटैों की त्रबिी को प्रोत् साहन देगा।





आिास एि ंशहरी काया मंत्रालय प्रधानमतं्री आिास योजना (शहरी) के अतंगात मध् यम आय समूह (सीएलएसएस) के ललए एमआईजी के ललए िेडडट ललकं सजब्सडी स्‍ट कीम को हदनांक 01.01.2017 से लागू कर रहा है। यह आिासीय ऋणों का लाभ गरीबों तक पहंुचान ेऔर मध् यम आय समूह के ललए आिासीय ऋण के ललए नई ब् याज ररयायत स्‍ट कीम की घोर्षणा माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी के देश को हदनांक 31.12.2016 को सबंोधन के अनसुरण में हुआ है।

कें रीय‍मंत्रिमंडि‍न‍ेिस्‍ट‍तु‍एि‍ंसेिा‍कर‍(िीएसटी)‍के‍अतंगगत‍राष्‍रीय‍मनुाफाखोरी‍विरोधी‍प्राधधकरण‍की‍स्‍ट‍थापना‍के‍लिए‍मंिरूी‍दी

प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्‍द र मोदी की अध् यक्षता में कें रीय मंत्रत्रमडंल न े जन उपभोग की अनेक िस्‍ट तुओ ंकी जीएसटी दरों में भारी कटौती करन ेके तुरंत पच चात, जीएसटी के अतंगात राष्‍ट रीय मनुाफाखोरी विरोधी प्रागधकरण (एनएए) के अध् यक्ष और तकनीकी सदस्‍ट यों के पदों के सजृन के ललए अपनी मजंरूी दी है। इस मंजरूी से इस शीर्षा तनकाय की तत् काल स्‍ट र्ापना का मागा प्रशस्‍ट त होगा, इस प्रागधकरण का उद्देच य यह सुतनजच चत करना है कक िस्‍ट तु एि ं सेिाओं पर जीएसटी की दरों में कटौती का लाभ अतंतम उपभोक् ता तक कीमतों में कटौती के माध् यम से पहंुच पाए।

भारत सरकार के सगचि स्‍ट तरीय एक िररष्‍ट ठ अगधकारी और कें र और/या राज् यों से चार तकनीकी सदस्‍ट यों िाले इस राष्‍ट रीय मनुाफाखोरी विरोधी प्रागधकरण की स्‍ट र्ापना की इस हदशा में एक और प्रयास है, जो उपभोक् ताओ ं को यह सुतनजच चत करेगा की सरकार िस्‍ट तु एि ं सेिाओं की कम कीमतों के संदभा में जीएसटी के कायाान्‍द ियन के लाभ उपभोक् ताओ ंतक पहंुचान ेके ललए सभी संभि कदम उठान ेके ललए पूणा रूप से प्रततबद्ध है।

यह स्‍ट मरण ककया जा सकता है कक 14 निबंर 2017 की अद्ाध रात्रत्र से लाग ूजीएसटी की दरों में 178 िस्‍ट तुओं के अतंगात आने िाली िस्‍ट तुओं पर जीएसटी की दर को 28 प्रततशत से घटाकर 18 प्रततशत कर हदया गया है। अब केिल ऐसी 50 िस्‍ट तुए ंही रह गईं है जजन पर 28 प्रततशत जीएसटी लगेगा। इसी तरह अनेक िस्‍ट तुओ ं में भी




जीएसटी की दरों में 18 से 12 प्रततशत की कटौती की गई है और इसी तरह कुछ िस्‍ट तुओ ंको जीएसटी से पूणा रूप से छूट दे दी गई है।

जीएसटी काननू में उज्लखखत मुनाफारोधी उपाय यह सुतनजचचत करन े के ललए संस्‍ट र्ागत ढांच ेकी व् यिस्‍ट र्ा करती है कक िस्‍ट तुओं और सेिाओ ंकी आपूतत ा पर इनपुट टैक् स िेडडट और जीएसटी की घटी हुई दरों का पूणा लाभ उपभोक् ताओ ंतक पहंुचे। इस संस्‍ट र्ागत ढांच े में एनएए, एक स्‍ट र्ायी सलमतत, प्रत् येक राज् य में छानबीन सलमततयां और केन्‍द रीय उत् पाद एि ं सीमा शु् क बोडा (सीबीईसी) में सेफ गाडास महातनदेशालय शालमल हैं।

ऐसे प्रभावित उपभोक् ता जो ऐसा महससू करत ेहैं कक िस्‍ट तुए ंया सेिाए ंखरीदन ेपर उन्‍द हें जीएसटी की कीमतों में कटौती का लाभ नहीं लमल रहा है तो िे अपन ेसबंंगधत राज् य में छानबीन सलमतत के समक्ष राहत के ललए आिदेन कर सकत े हैं। यद्वप मनुाफाखोरी की जस्‍टर्तत में अखखल भारतीय स्‍ट तर पर बहृत जन-उपभोग की िस्‍ट तु से संबंगधत मनुाफाखोरी की जस्‍टर्तत में आिदेन सीधे स्‍ट र्ायी सलमतत को हदया जा सकता है। प्रर्म दृष्‍ट टया विचार बनाने के पच चात ्इसमें मुनाफाखोरी का एक घटक है, तो स्‍ट र्ायी सलमतत मामले की विस्‍ट ततृ जांच के ललए सैफ गाडास महातनदेशालय (सीबीईसी) को भेज सकती है, जोकक अपनी जांच ररपोटा एनएए को भेजेगी।

यहद एनएए यह पुजष्‍टट करती है कक मुनाफाखोरी विरोधी उपायों को लाग ूकरन ेकी आिच यकता है तो इसे आपूतत ाकताा/सबंंगधत व् यिसाय को उसकी कीमत घटाने या िस्‍ट तुओ ं या सेिाओ ं पर ललए ये गरै काननूी लाभ को ब् याज सहहत उपभेाक् ता को लौटान ेका आदेश देन ेका अगधकार प्राप् त है। यहद गैर-काननूी लाभ को उपभोक् ता तक नहीं पहुचाया जा सकता तो इसे उपभोक् ता क् याण तनगध में जमा करन ेका आदेश हदया जा सकता है। बहुत गभीर जस्‍टर्तत में, एनएए चूककताा व् यािसातयक प्रततष्‍ट ठान पर जमुााना लगा सकती है और जीएसटी के अतंगात उसका पजंीकरण भी रद्द कर सकती है।




एनएए का गठन उपभोक् ताओ ंका विच िास बढा ा़एगा क् योंकक विशरे्ष रूप से जीएसटी की दरों में हाल ही में की गई कटौती और सामान्‍द य रूप से जीएसटी के लाभ उन तक पहंुचेंगे।

मंत्रिमंडि‍ने‍सभी‍प्रकार‍की‍दािों‍के‍ननयागत‍के‍प्रनत‍अनुमनत‍दी

प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्‍द र मोदी की अध् यक्षता में आगर्ाक मामलों पर मंत्रत्रमंडलीय सलमतत (सीसीईए) न ेसभी प्रकार की दालों के तनयाात पर प्रततबंध हटान ेके ललए अपनी मंजरूी दे दी है ताकक यह सुतनजचचत हो कक ककसानों को अपन े उत् पादन के विपणन में अगधक विक् प उपलब् ध हो सकें और उन्‍द हें अपन ेउत् पादन के ललए बेहतर पाररश्रलमक प्राप् त हो सके।

सीसीईए न े दलहन संबधंी तनयाात-आयात नीतत की समीक्षा करन े और मात्रात् मक प्रततबधंों, पिूा पंजीकरण और घरेल ूउत् पादन एि ंमांग पर तनभार करने िाले आयात शु् कों में बदलाि, घरेलू और अतंरााष्‍ट रीय कीमतों और अतंरााष्‍ट रीय व् यापार मात्रा जसेै उपायों पर विचार करन ेके ललए खाद्य एि ंसािाजतनक वितरण (डीएफपीडी) विभाग के सगचि की अध् यक्षता में और िाखणज् य विभाग (डीओसी), कृवर्ष सहयोग और ककसान कलय्ाण (डीएसी एंड एफ डब् ् यू) विभाग, राजस्‍ट ि विभाग (डीओआर) उपभोक् ता काया विभाग (डीओसीए) और विदेश व् यापार महातनदेशालय (डीजीएफटी) के सगचिों के सयंोजन से बनी सलमतत को भी अगधकार प्रदान ककया है।

सभी प्रकार की दालों का तनयाात खोलन ेसे ककसानों को उनके उत् पादों को लाभकारी कीमतों पर बेचन ेमें मदद लमलेगी और उन्‍द हें अगधक बआुई के्षत्र के विस्‍ट तार के ललए भी प्रोत् साहन लमलेगा। दहलनों के तनयाात से दालों के अगधक उत् पादन के ललए िैकज्पक बाजार लमलेगा। दहलनों के तनयाात को अनमुतत देन ेसे देश को और इसके तनयाातकों को अपन ेबाजारों में पनु: स्‍ट र्ान बनाने में मदद लमलेगी।

यह प्रत् याशा है कक देश में दहलन उत् पादन संतुललत बनेगा और दलहनों पर हमारी आयात तनभारता पयााप् त रूप से घटेगी। इससे देश की लोगों को प्रोटीन के उच् च स्‍ट तर प्रदान करने की भी सभंािना है और यह पोर्षण सरुक्षा की हदशा में काया करेगा।




िैजचिक आपूतत ा श्रृंखला के सार् सयंोजन से भी हमारे ककसानों को अच् छी क ृवर्ष संबधंी प्रर्ाएं बेहतर उत् पादकता प्राप् त करन ेमें मदद लमलन ेकी सभंािना है।

उत् पादन िर्षा 2016-17 में, भारतीय ककसान दहलनों पर भारत की आयात तनभारता को कम करन ेकी चनुौती पर काया करत ेरहे और उन्‍द होंन े23 लमललयन टन दलहन का उत् पादन ककया। सरकार न ेहमारे ककसानों द्िारा उच् च दहलन उत् पादन को बनान ेरखन ेके ललए अनेक कदम उठाए ंहैं। सरकार न ेन्‍द यनूतम समर्ान कीमत या बाजार दर जो भी अगधक हो, को सुतनजचचत करके सीधे ककसानों से 20 लाख टन दहलन खरीदी हैं और यह अभी तक दलहन की खरीद में सिाागधक खरीद रही है।


िर्षा 2016-17 में दलहन का उत् पादन अत् यन्‍द त प्रोत् साहक रहा है और यह अभी तक का सिाागधक उत् पादन रहा है। सरकार न े दालों के ललए आकर्षाक न्‍द यनूतम समर्ान कीमत (एमएसपी) प्रदान करके और लगभग 20 लाख टन दलहन की सािजातनक खरीद करके ककसानों की सहायता की है। िर्षा 2016-17 के दौरान दहलनों का घरेल ूउत् पादन 22.95 लमललयन र्ा। चना दाल का उत् पादन िर्षा 2015—16 में 7.06 लमललयन टन की तुलना में इस िर्षा 32 प्रततशत बढकर 9.33 लमललयन टन हुआ है। िर्षा 2016-17 में अन्‍द य रबी दालों (मसूर दाल आहद सहहत) का उत् पादन िर्षा 2015-16 में 2.47 की तुलना में 22 प्रततशत बढकर 3.02 लमललयन टन हो गया है। िर्षा 2017-18 के ललए, सरकार न े 22.90 लमललयन टन दालों के उत् पादन का लक्ष् य तनधााररत ककया है।

भारत िैजविक साइबर सपे्स सममे्िन (िीसीसीएस) 2017 की मेिबानी करेगा : सुरक्षित और समािेशी साइबर सपे्स की ओर िंबी छिांग

पहिे के सममे्िनों से काफी बडा होगा िीसीसीएस 2017 लसहांििोकन कायगक्रम 29 निमब्र से प्रारंभ होंगे




िीसीसीएस 2017 में 36 घंटे का िैजविक साइबर चनुौती-ग्रेंड फफनािे-पीस-ए-थॉन होगा

सममे्िन में सब कुछ कागि रहहत होगा, पंिीकरण पूिग से यािा और होटि बुफकंग सब कुछ एप और िेब से होगा

भारत पहली बार साइबर स्‍ट पेस पर िैजचिक सम् मेलन आयोजजत करन ेजा रहा है। 23 और 24 निम् बर, 2017 को होन ेिाला यह सममे्लन साइबर स्‍ट पेस और सबंंगधत विर्षयों पर सबसे बड़ा सम् मेलन है। यह सम् मेलन ऐरो लसटी नई हद् ली में होगा। सम् मेलन का उद्घाटन माननीय प्रधानमतं्री श्री नरेन्‍द र मोदी करेंगे। समापन समारोह में विदेश मतं्री श्रीमती सरु्षमा स्‍ट िराज प्रमुख भार्षण देंगी।

साइबर स्‍ट पेस पर िैजचिक सम् मेलन की शरुूआत लदंन में 2011 में हुई र्ी। दसूरा सम् मेलन 2012 में बूडापेस्‍ट ट में हुआ र्ा, जजसमें इंटरनटे अगधकारों तर्ा इंटरनेट सुरक्षा के सबंधं पर जोर हदया गया र्ा। तीसरा सम् मेलन 2013 में सोल में और चौर्ा सम् मेलन 2015 में हेग, नीदरलैंड में हुआ र्ा।

भारत की ओर से आयोजजत ककया जाना िाला पाचंिां सम् मेलन है, जजसमें अतंरााष्‍ट रीय नेता, नीतत तनमााता, उद्योग विशरे्षज्ञ, बड़ ेविचारक और साइबर विशरे्षज्ञ साइबर स्‍ट पेस के उपयोग और चनुौततयों पर विचार-विमशा करेंगे।

साइबर स्‍ट पेस पर िैजचिक सम् मेलन की जानकारी देत े हुए इलेक् रोतनक तर्ा सचूना प्रौद्योगगकी और विगध एि ं न्‍द याय मंत्री श्री रविशकंर प्रसाद ने कहा कक भारत में साइबर स्‍ट पेस पर पांचिां िैजचिक सम् मेलन आयोजजत करना हम सभी के ललए ऐततहालसक क्षण है। यह डडजजटल इंडडया से पे्रररत भारत की विशाल साइबर शजक्त को मान्‍द यता है। साइबर स्‍ट पेस पर िैजचिक सम् मेलन 2017 भारत को डडजजटल रूप से सशक् त देश बनान े के माननीय प्रधानमतं्री के विजन के अनरुूप है। यह सम् मेलन िैजचिक अनुभि से सीखन ेका अनोखा अिसर प्रदान करेगा।

उन्‍द होंन ेबताया कक साइबर स्‍ट पेस पर िैजचिक सम् मेलन पहले के सम् मेलनों से चार गनुा बड़ा होगा। नीदरलैंड में हुए वपछले सम् मेलन में 1800 प्रतततनगध शालमल हुए र्े और




मुझ ेयह घोर्षणा करत ेहुए खुशी हो रही है कक इस सम् मेलन में 10,000 प्रतततनगध आएंगे। दतुनया के 2800 स्‍ट र्ानों से लोग इंटरऐजक्टि मोड में िचुाअल भागीदारी करेंगे।

पूरे विच ि से व् यजक्तगत रूप से िेबीनार/िीडडयो कांफ्रें स के माध् यम से हजारों प्रतततनगध इसमें शालमल होंगे। लाखों लोग पांच सम् मेलन स्‍ट र्ानों से िेबकास्‍ट ट देखेंगे।

124 देशों के प्रतततनगध शालमल होंगे। श्रीलकंा के प्रधानमतं्री सहहत 31 देशों के 33 मत्रत्रस्‍ट तरीय प्रतततनगध शालमल होंगे।

1800 स्‍ट र्ानों लोग इंटरऐजक्टि मोड में िचुाअल रूप से जडु़ेंगे।

प्रारंलभक सत्र तर्ा अन्‍द य कायािम समािेशी विकास के ललए साइबर, डडजजटल समािेशन के ललए साइबर, सुरक्षा के ललए साइबर और कूटनीतत के ललए साइबर र्ीम पर आधाररत होंगे। जीसीसीएस 2017 सतत विकास के लक्ष् यों को हालसल करने के ललए व् यिसाय, सशजक्तकरण तर्ा साइबर स्‍ट पेस की विकासोन्‍दमखुी क्षमता को प्रस्‍ट तुत करेगा।

123 देशों के 10,000 से अगधक प्रतततनगध सम् मेलन में भाग लेंगे। माचा 2017 से भारत और विदेशों में लगभग 7,000 लसहंािलोकन कायािम लशक्षाविदों, लसविल सोसाइट, उद्योग जगत तर्ा नीतत तनमााताओ ंद्िारा आयोजजत ककये गये।

www.gccs2017.in/speaker पर प्रख् यात िक् ताओ ंकी सचूी देखी जा सकती हैं।

पहली बार िीडडयो कांफ्रें स के ललए 800 स्‍ट र्ान और पूरे विशि् में लाइि िेबीनार के ललए 2,000 स्‍ट र्ान उपलब् ध कराये जा रहे हैं।

भारत-बांग्िादेश‍सयंुक्त‍अभ्यास‍सम्प्प्रीनत‍2017‍समाप्त

लमजोरम में काउंटर इनसरजेंसी एण्ड जगंल िारफेयर स्‍टकूल, िरेेंगटे में चल रहा भारत-बांग्लादेश सयंुक्त प्रलशक्षण अभ्यास सम्प्रीतत 2017 आज िलेीडशेन अभ्यास के सार् समाप्त हो गया।

http://www.gccs2017.in/speaker




सम्प्रीतत श्रृंखला में यह 7 िां अभ्यास र्ा। इस अभ्यास का उद्देचय भारत और बांग्लादेश की सेनाओं के बीच पारस्‍टपररक सहयोग के पहलओुं को मजबतू बनाना और उनका विस्‍टतार करना है। 13 हदन तक चला यह प्रलशक्षण अभ्यास 06 निम्बर 2017 को शरुू हुआ और 15-16 निम्बर को िलेीडशेन अभ्यास के सार् समाप्त हुआ। यह अभ्यास प्रगततशील तरीके से चला जहां सभी भागीदार पहले एक दसूरे के संगठनात्मक ढांच ेऔर सामररक अभ्यास से पररगचत हुए। इसके बाद दोनों सेनाओं न ेविलभन्‍दन संयकु्त सामररक अभ्यासों में प्रलशक्षण ललया। िेलीडशेन अभ्यास के ललए गांि में तछपे आतंकिाहदयों के दृचय का गचत्रण ककया गया। इसकी शरुूआत दोनों सेनाओ ंके कंपनी कमांडरों की सयंकु्त ब्रीकफंग से हुई। इसके आधार पर सैतनकों न ेगािं की घेराबंदी की। िलेीडशेन अभ्यास आतंकिाहदयों को बेअसर करन ेके ललए जगंल में छापेमारी के सार् समाप्त हुआ। भारतीय और बांग्लादेशी सैतनकों न ेसयंुक्त रूप से शानदार रूम इंटरिेंशन डिल का प्रदशान ककया। अतंतम अभ्यास की समीक्षा बांग्लादेश सेना के मेजर जनाल मोहम्मद मोशकफि रहमान और भारतीय सेना के मेजर जनाल एम एस घूरा न ेकी। सयंुक्त अभ्यास अभूतपूिा तरीके से सफल रहा। दोनों सेनाओँ के बीच आपसी समझ को बढािा देन ेके अलािा इससे द्विपक्षीय सबंधंों को मजबूत बनाने में मदद लमली है।

नौसेना‍द्िारा‍सचि‍गोताखोर‍खोिबीन‍सोनार‍ननमागण‍के‍लिए‍समझौता‍

कें र सरकार की “मेक इन इंडडया” नीतत के तहत नौसेना न े15 निंबर 2017 को टाटा पािर स्‍टरैजजक इंजीतनयररगं डडविजन के सार् खरीदो और तनमााण (भारतीय) शे्रणी के तहत सचल गोताखोर खोजबीन सोनार के ललए समझौत ेपर हस्‍टताक्षर ककये है। रक्षा के्षत्र में स्‍टिदेशीकरण के प्रयासों को बढािा देन े के ललए नौसेना द्िारा यह




दसूरा समझौता है। इससे पहले नौसेना न े युद्धपोत में तनगरानी रडार के ललए समझौत ेपर हस्‍टताक्षर ककये र्े।

सचल गोताखोर खोजबीन सोनार का तनमााण टाटा पािर एसईडी द्िारा बैंगलोर में डीएसआईटी इजराइल से प्रौद्योगगकी हस्‍टतांतरण द्िारा ककया जायेगा। नौसेना न ेकें र सरकार के “मेक इन इंडडया” कायािम के तहत स्‍टिदेशीकरण को बढािा देने के ललए खरीदो और तनमााण (भारतीय)शे्रणी के तहत हगर्यारों और सेंसर को शालमल करन ेका कायािम बनाया है। सचल गोताखोर खोजबीन सोनार के नौसेना में शालमल होन े से समुरी अलभयान के दौरान तनगरानी क्षमता में बढोिरी होगी। इन सोनार की खरीद से नौसेना को युद्धपोतो को खतरों से बचाने में भी सफलता लमलेगी।

श्री‍िे‍पी‍नड्डा‍ने‍रूस‍में‍‘सतत‍विकास‍के‍यगु‍में‍तपेहदक‍को‍समाप्त‍करन‍ेके‍बारे‍में‍पहिे‍डस्यूएचओ‍िैजविक‍मंत्रिस्‍टतरीय‍सम्प्मेिन‍में‍भारत‍का‍प्रनतननधधत्ि‍फकया’

2025‍तक‍तपेहदक‍समाप्त‍करने‍की‍भारत‍की‍प्रनतबद्धता‍को‍दोहराया

केन्‍दरीय स्‍टिास्‍ट्य और पररिार क्याण मतं्री श्री जे पी नड्डा न ेमास्‍ट को, रूस में ‘सतत विकास के यगु में तपेहदक को समाप्त करने के बारे में पहले डब््यूएचओ िैजचिक मंत्रत्रस्‍टतरीय सम्मेलन में 2025 तक तपेहदक समाप्त करने की भारत की प्रततबद्धता को आज दोहराया। मतं्रत्रस्‍ट तरीय और उच् च–स्‍ट तरीय बैठकों में भागीदार देशों के समक्ष तपेहदक पर संिाद को बढान ेतर्ा भविष्‍ट य में तपेहदक के मामलों का पिूााभास लगाकर िैजचिक काया करन े की पेशकश की गई। स्‍ट िास्‍ट ् य और पररिार कलय्ाण मंत्रालय सम् मेलन के सार्-सार् तपेहदक के खखलाफ िैजचिक गठबंधन की सहायता से ‘ तपेहदक की समाजप्त : हमारे लोगों से हमारा िादा’ विर्षय पर सम् मेलन का भी आयोजन कर रहा है जजसमें 7 सांसद और विच ि के अन्‍द य नतेा भाग लेंगे।

पहले उच्चस्‍टतरीय पूणा सत्र में श्री नड्डा न ेकहा कक भारत ने पोललयो समाप्त कर हदया है और िह तपेहदक को समाप्त करन ेके ललए भी इसी तरह के त्िररत प्रयास का इस्‍टतमेाल करेगा। भारत में तपेहदक उन्‍दमलून के ललए राष्‍टरीय रणनीततक योजना




के 4 स्‍टतम्भ हैं जो तपेहदक तनयतं्रण के ललए प्रमुख चनुौततयां हैं जजन्‍दहें “पता लगाना, इलाज, रचना और रोकर्ाम” नाम हदया गया है। श्री नड्डा न ेकहा कक इस योजना के ललए वपछले एनएसपी की तुलना में बजट में पयााप्त िदृ्गध की जरूरत है और मझु ेआपको यह बतात ेहुए खुशी हो रही है कक यह योजना पूरी तरह विि पोवर्षत है और इसमें से अगधकतर जरूरत घरेलू ससंाधनों के जररये पूरी हो रही है।

केन्‍दरीय स्‍टिास्‍ट्य मतं्री न े कहा कक चूंकक भारत में तपेहदक तनयतं्रण की प्रमुख चनुौततयां अनेक हैं; सरकार की पहली प्रार्लमकता उन लोगों तक पहंुचना है जजन तक पहंुचा नहीं जा सका है। श्री नड्डा न ेजोर देकर कहा कक सरकार यह सुतनजचचत करेगी कक आबादी के सिंेदनशील हहस्‍टसे जसेै आहदिालसयों, शहरी मललन बजस्‍टतयों में रहन ेिाले लोगों तक पहंुचा जाए। सभी मरीजों का शरुूआती तनदान और उन्‍दहें सही इलाज पर रखना तर्ा सम्पणूा इलाज महत्िपूणा है।

श्री नड्डा न ेजानकारी दी की भारत सरकार न ेमरीजों की देखभाल की गुणििा को सिोच्च प्रार्लमकता दी है। बजट की 25 प्रततशत रालश इस के्षत्र में प्रत्यक्ष हस्‍टतके्षप के ललए है। इसमें त्िररत सूक्ष्मतम परीक्षणों के सार् मुफ्त तनदान, सिाशे्रष्‍टठ गुणििा िाली दिाओं और परहेज के सार् मफु्त इलाज, मरीजों को वििीय और पोर्षण सबंधंी सहायता, ऑनलाइन तपेहदक अगधसचूना प्रणाली, मोबाइल प्रोद्योगगकी आधाररत तनगरानी प्रणाली, तनजी के्षत्र के बेहतर जडु़ाि के ललए इंटरफेज एजेंलसयां, पारदशी सेिा खरीद योजनाओ ंके ललए नीतत, मजबूत सामुदातयक जडु़ाि, सचंार अलभयान, तपेहदक के इलाज के ललए दिाएं खान ेिाले सभी लोगों के बारे में सचूना एकत्र करन ेके ललए तनयतं्रण प्रणाली आहद शालमल है।

भारत की प्रततबद्धता को उजागर करत े हुए श्री नड्डा न ेकहा कक जजन इलाकों में समाजजक और भौगोललक दृजष्‍टट से पहंुचना कहठन है िहां मरीजों तक पहंुचने के ललए सरकार न े कुछ चनु े हुए इलाकों में तपेहदक के मामले पता लगान े का सकिय अलभयान शरुू ककया है। श्री नड्डा ने कहा, “हमन े257 जजलों में ऐसे 2 अलभयान पूरे कर ललये हैं और 30 लमललयन से अगधक संिदेनशील लोगों को छांट कर तनकाला है और 15 हजार से अगधक तपेहदक के अततररक्त मामलों का पता लगाया है। हम इस




िर्षा हदसबंर में अगले अलभयान की योजना बना रहे हैं। हम शहरी स्‍टिास्‍ट्य लमशन के जररये शहरी मललन इलाकों में तपेहदक के मामलों का पता लगायेंगे।”

श्री नड्डा न ेकहा कक भारत दतुनया में तपेहदक की दिाओं का प्रमुख तनमााता है। विचि बाजार का करीब 80 प्रततशत हहस्‍टसा भारत में तनलमात होता है। हम देश या विदेश में अपने मरीजों को सिाशे्रष्‍टठ क्िाललटी की दिाएं देत ेहैं। हमें एक सार् बैठकर दतुनया भर के तपेहदक के मरीजों के ललए जेनररक दिाओ ंको बढािा देन ेके बारे में गंभीरता से विचार-विमशा करना चाहहए। मझु ेइस बारे में संदेह नहीं है कक हम एस सार् लमलकर दतुनया के सभी लोगों के ललए तपेहदक की सस्‍ट ती दिाएं बना सकत ेहैं।













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