The Gist SEP 2012 Www.upscportal.com

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OCT 2012 : GIST OF YOJANA 51

KURUKSHETRA

1. SARVA SHIKHA ABHIYAN

• Sarva Shikha Abhiyan (SSA) (2001) isa flagship centrally sponsored schemefor universalization of elementaryeducation being implemented on asharing arrangement basis between thecentre and the state in the ratio 75: 25This programme aims at :

• Mandatory recruitment of at lest 50%female teachers under sarve ShikshaAbhiyan

• Separate launching of a Nationalprogramme for Education of Girls atElementary Levels (NPEGEL), underSSA in educational backward Blocks,

• Launching of residential schools for girlsunder Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayacomes for out of school girls,

• Mahila sanhas under Mahila samkhyascheme for women’s empowerment,

• Sceme of free education for girl child atelementary level.

IMPACT SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN-AT A GLANCE

• 96.7% of all-14 year olds in rural Indiaare enrolled in school. This number hasheld steady since 2010.

• Nationally, private school enrollment hasrisen year after year for the 6-14 agegroups, increasing from 18% in 2006 to

25.6% in 2011. These increases arevisible in all states except Bihar

• Nationally, reading levels are estimatedto have declined in many states acrossNorth India. The All India figure for theproportion of children in STD V able toread a STD 2 level text has dropped from53.7% in 2010 to 48.%2 in 2011 Suchdeclines are not visible in the southernstates.

• Basic arithmetic levels estimated inASER 2011 show a decline. For example,nationally, the proportion of STD IIIchildren able to solve a 2 digit subtractionproblem with borrowing has droppedfrom 36.3% in 2010 to 29% in 2011.Among STD V Children, the ability todo similar subtraction problems hasdropped from 70.9% in 2010 to 61% in2011.

• At the All India, children’s attendanceshows a decline from 73. %4 in 2007 to70.9% in 2011 in rural primary schools.

• Nationally for rural government primaryschools, data suggests that over half ofall classes visited are multigrade. Forexample, all India standard 2 was sittingwith one or more other classes in 58.3%of STD 2classes in primary schools weresitting with another class. This figure is53% for std 4

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• Between Fy 2008-9 and Fy 2010-11 theflow SSA grants to Schools improvedsignificantly. However, this improvementoccurred largely between Fy 2008-9 and-10 In fact a marginal decrease in theproportion of schools receiving grants isobserved between Fy 2009-10 and 2010-11 The data suggest that schools tend toget their grants during the second half ofthe fiscal year,

• At the All India level, there has been amarginal improvement in the proportionof schools complying with RTE normson pupil- teacher ratio, from 38.%9% in2010 to 40.7% in 2011

• Nationally, the proportion of schools withno provision for drinking water remainedalmost the same -17.0% in 2010 and16.6% in 2011.

(a) Strengthening school infrastructure byconstructing new building andupgrading the existing building

(b) providing teacher and also buildingtheir capacities through training,

(c) Seeks to provide quality educationincluding life skills,

(d) Promoting community participation inprimary education by formulatingVillage Education Committees andinvolving them in planning and raisingcommunity contribution for primaryeducation,

(e) It aims at bridging social, regional andgender gaps in literacy and primaryeducation,

(f) It focuses on girl’s education to bridgethe digital divide.

(g) Development on the lines of SSA is

expected to bring in the desiredinvestments The Rashtriya MadhymikShikha Abhijan (RMSA), designed byministry of Human Resource insecondary Education and facilitate theprocess of universalizing secondaryeducation in the country

(g) It seeks to provide computer educationto bridge the digital divide.

2. CABE & THE IMPORTANCE ON VEC

The central Advisory Board of Education(CABE) set up a committee on decentralizedmanagement in 1993 to formulate the guidelineson decentralization reforms in education in thecontext of the 73rd amendment of the constitution.According to these guidelines, the three tirespanchayati Raj Institutions would form Committee(VEC) being the lowest at the village levels.

The village Education Committee(VEC),the lowest at the village levels Committeeon elementary education was first set up in 1998(West Bengal) under the West BengalGovernment notification. It was required underthe District primary Education programme(DPEP), sponsored by the Department ofInternational Development, of the BritishGovernment, which initially covered five districtof west Bengal. It took another six years for thestate Government to initiate VECs Through outthe state as part of the sarva Shikha Abhijan(SSA) programme (2003).

After launching of the SSA in 2001, VillageEducation Committee (VEC) were sought to beintroduced in every Gram Sansad (VillageCouncil) area of all the districts of the state andre constituted in view of the changes in objectivesand the target group of universal elementaryeducation. The composition of the VEC was:





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(1) Gram panchayati member of therespective Gram Sansad area,

(2) Head teacher of the primary schoollocated in the Gram Sansad area,

(3) Siksha sahayikas of SSKs Functioningin the concerned Gram Sansad,

(4) Anganwadi worker (ICDS) of theconcerned sansad,

(5) One or more Members from themanaging committee of nearby upperprimary school/ MSK /shift School,

(6) Six or more parent members includingone parent member of disabled Children

(7) Three nominated members; one personinterested in education, one person fromSC/ ST community and one person fromminority community,

The above composition of VEC includesrepresentation of teachers/ parents of all theeducational Initiatives Undertaken in village underdifferent Government schemes. Gram panchayatimember of the concerned Gram Sansad area asa member of VEC acted as chairperson of VECand head teacher of the concerned primary schoolacted as sectary of VEC Gram panchayati havethe power to monitor and evaluate the activitiesof VEC. Village Education Committee dissolvesonly by the recommendation of concerned GramPanchayati to panchayati samiti. The Gram hasthe power advice to recommendation any VECof their jurisdiction. The panchayati bodies areentrusted with sufficient power in bothconstitutions and monitoring of the VillageEducation Committee, The VEC, lowest leveleducation committee in primary school gaveample scope to people participation in elementaryeducation. This committee evaluates the allaspects of elementary education in primary

schools. This Committee also gives their valuablesuggestion for the betterment.3. MAIN FEATURES OF

RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT:

The year 2009 is a land mark year in thedevelopment of the history of elementaryeducation, as the Government finally managed topass the 86thamendment to the constitution thatmade Right to Education (RTE) a fundamentalright.

The main features of Right to EducationACT are—

1. Free and compulsory education to allchildren of India in 6 to 14 age group

2. No child shall be help back, expelled ofrequired to pass a board examination untilcompletion of elementary education:

3. A Child who completes elementaryeducation (up to from class VIII) shallbe awarded a certificate.

4. Calls for a Fixed student teacher ratio5. Will apply to all of India except Jammu

and Kashmir:Provides for 25% reservation foreconomically disadvantagedcommunities in admission to class in allprivate schools.

6. Mandates Improvement in quality ofeducation.

7. School teachers will need adequateprofessional degree within five years ofelse will lose Job.

8. School Infrastructure to be improved inthree years, else recognition cancelled.

9. Financial burden will be shared betweenstate and central government.





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10. No child shall be subjected to physicalpunishment of mental harassment.

11. Screening procedure shall be punishablewith fine.

12. To constitute a school managementcommittee consisting of the electedrepresentatives of children.

13. No teacher shall be deployed for anynon- educational purposes.

14. No teacher shall engage him self ofherself in private tuition.

Right to Education Act (2009) is a landmarkinitiatives of Govt. for strengthening educationsystem In India. Under this Act it is mandatoryto complete elementary education of all children.Now Education is fundamental Right of everyIndians at primary level.

At present 96.5% of children in the 6to age group in rural India are enrolled inschool 71.1 percent of these children are enrolledin private schools. The proportion of girl students,who are out schools, has declined rapidly. Thepercentages of five years olds enrolled in schoolsincreased 54.6 percent to 62.8 percent in 2010.

During the last six decades, India’s percapita GDP increased three times, while literacyrates increased 3.5 times and Gross EnrolmentRatio (GER) at elementary education levelincreased 2.5 times, while India has madetremendous progress in improving its literacyrates than countries in south Asia and sub sanaranAfrica, It is still below the world and developingcountry’ average.

With the Right to Education Act Coming intoforce, India has joined the league of over 130countries which have legal guarantees to providefree and compulsory education to children.According to the UNSCO’s Education for All

Global Monitoring Report 2010’, about 135countries have constitutional provisions for All inIndia the Right to Education LAW, providing freeand compulsory schooling to schooling to childrenin the 6-14 year age bracket, came into force withthe new education act now, 1st April, 2010 withthe new education act Now, India has joined some20 other countries Including Afghanistan, Chinaand which have laws guaranteeing free andcompulsory education for eight years ofelementary education4. INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF

EDUCATION AS A HUMAN RIGHT:

The right to education is marked priority onthe agenda of the international community sinceit is quintessential for the exercise of all otherhuman rights. A number of human rights treatiesaccepted and recognized internationally, identifiesright to education as a fundamental aspect fordevelopment and social transformation.

The right to education is clearlyacknowledged in the United Nations’ UniversalDeclaration of human Rights (UDHR), adoptedin 1948, which states:

“Everyone has the right to education shallbe Free, at least in the elementary andfundamental stages. Elementary education shallbe compulsory. Technical and professionaleducation shall be made generally available andhigher education shall be equally accessible to allon the basis of merit” (Article 26).5. CONSTITUTIONAL

PROVISION FOR GENDER EQUALITY

Article 15(1) States: “the shall notdiscriminate against any citizen on grounds ofreligion, race, caste, sex, place of birth of any ofthem”





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Article 15(3) states’ nothing in this articleshall prevent the state from making any specialprovision for women and children”

Article 16(1) States: “there shall beequality of opportunity for all citizens in mattersrelating to employment or appointment of nayoffice under the state”

Article 39(a) States: “the citizens, men andwomen equally have the right to an adequatemeans of Livelihood”SOME CAUSES OF EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY

Studies across the globe pointed out that themain causes are slower economic growth, risingpoverty and budget pressure in this respect.

• Poverty• Conservative outlook of the parents• Early marriages of girls and purdah

system• Parents’ preference for boy’s education

to girls’ causation.• Unwilling to educate under male

teachers etc• Lack of qualified women teachers• Lack of proper security measures for girl

students and women teachers• Lack of awareness of the necessity of

education for girls in rural areas:• Inadequate means of communication in

rural areas:• Girls Involvement in the household work• Poor quality of instruction in school• Corruption at all levels and at all places

is root cause of it. Out of hundred rupeesallocated to any Scheme, only twentyrupees reaches the target level.

SOME MEASURES FOR

REMOVING EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY

• Awareness for educating the girls shouldbe developed in the parents specially inthe conservative ones

• Facilities like- Flexibility in the timetableprovision of uniforms, midday meals,book, incentives and scholarship, meansof transport etc.

• Government should try to establishschools in every village.

• Non-formal education facilities may beprovided to suit the convenience of thegirls.

• Trained lady teachers should beappointed

• Mass media like television and radioshould broadcast programmers whichhelp in creating a conducive atmospherein favors of girls’ education in the ruralvillages.

• Efficient ladies may be appointed in theadministrative field of women’s educationunderstand the problems of girls.

• Ensuring safety of girl students andwomen teachers.

• Providing better service condition andresidential facilities for teachers in ruralareas

• More special arrangements andprovisions should be made for The propereducation of the disabled girl child

6. THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA

In India, Education is a concurrent subjectgiving the power of legislation to both the centraland state governments. This implies that anypolicy in Education will be a concerted effort



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between the two centers of power. This alsoforewarns that the progress made in this sectorby different states may be sometimes drasticallydifferent considering the peculiar culturalbackground, size, economic development andpossibility of penetration of each state. Theprogrammers are implemented by the ministry ofHuman Resource Development along with thestate Education Departments with the assistanceof National and state councils of EducationResarch and Training (NCERT & SCERT).They are aided by the District Institutes ofEducation and Training (DIET), Block resourcecentres in the urban aresas and by VillageEducation Committees, panchayati Raj institutionsand Non Governmental organizations in ruralareas.

India follows the British system ofEducation with its own specific variations.Broadly school Education in India is classified aslower primary (class-V-VII), secondary (classVIII-X) and higher secondary (class XI-XII). Theboard area of combining primary and secondaryeducation (children from age 6-14 constitute classI-X and is defined as elementary education.Elementary Education in India is offered by fourkinds of schools which vary considerable in costand quality of education they provide.

i. Government schoolsii. Private schools aided by the governmentiii. Private schools unaided by the

governmentiv. Private schools not recognized by the

governmentAccording to a study by the National Centre

on Education and economy (2006), India has thesecond largest education system in the world afterChina with 6,00,000 primary school with 115

million students and 2 million upper primaryschools with 45 million students.Access and Quality of Rural Education

According to the India infrastructure Report2007, 87% of the schools in India are in thevillages An assessment of the vision eschewedin the Eighth Five year plan was to universalAccess, Universal Retention and only by takingthe massive population of the rural areas intoaccount. The Data collected on following criteriagives us a picture of the quality and access of theIndian rural education as opposed to its objectivesGross Enrolment Ratio (GER):

India has an elementary elementaryenrolment ratio of 93.4% but a closer analysisreveals that the enrolment in secondary insecondary education is considerably lower thanits primary counterparty. In the age group of 11-14 (secondary education), the GER is only 47%the statistics also shows inter-state and gendervariations.

According to World Bank Report 2006,Kerala and West Bengal are states with maximumenrolment and minimum gender disparity asopposed to Bihar, Uttar pradesh of Rajasthanwhich are the last performing states in the sector.Whereas Kerala and Tamilnadu have pro-femalesecondary enrolment rates, girls in Bihar andRajasthan were only half as likely to receivesecondary education as boys.7. THE CASE OF THE GIRL CHILD

The Indian Human Development Report2011 states that 19% of the Children in rural Indiadrop out in the 6-17 age groups. However, theofficial statistics of the primary level dropout rateof the rural girl child is 6.9% according to the 52nd

round of National sample survey. The gender gap





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in rural drop out of 20% unfavorable to the girlChild Still persists. A majority of the families areengaged in unorganized doctor for employmentwith a low level of education accessed by theparents This had an adverse impact on theenrolment and retention of the girl child. Thereasons analyses for the girls dropping out aregiven below. Interestingly, 37% of the totaldropouts said that the reason for their absence Athat they were no longer interested in studies. Asmall percent opted out to take up work. A surveyconducted in the rural districts of Madhyapradesh to study about at the reasons for girl dropout at the primary and secondary levels revealedsome important results. The top reasons why girlsdropped out of school were:

i. sibling Care and Household Choresii. Weak financial condition and Earning

for the Householdiii. Migrationiv. Social and gender Discriminationv. Poor condition of school infrastructure,

such as unavability of separate toilet forgirls even in co- educational middle&High schools including locking up oftoilets during school hours

vi. Lack of attention due to absence ofteachers in school

8. HURDLES WITH

WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The status of the girl child has been a subjectof much argument and debate. There are stilloverwhelming cultural and economic reasons inIndia, which keeps female children from notreceiving educational attention as their malecounterparts in the rural areas, the girl child ismade to perform household and agricultural

chores; This is one of the many factors limitinggirl’s education. Cleaning the house, preparingfood, looking after their siblings, the elderly andthe sick, grazing the cattle and collecting firewoodare some of the key tasks they have to perform.Households are therefore reluctant to Spartathem for schooling physical safety of the girls,especially when they have to travel a longdistance to school and fear of sexual harassmentare other reasons that impede girls’ educationAnother constraint was lack of access to decentand productive rural employment and non-agriculture in come generating activates. Mostof the rural women are employed in lowproductivity jobs, working on small farms as paidof unpaid laborers, of running small enterprises.They could not become involved in non-agricultural income0generating activities as therewere policies legal and cultural barriers, includingcustomary law that prevented women from,accessing credit.

Access to education for girls also does notrely on proximity of schools only. It is part of alarger structural concern, including thediscriminatory practices. Education initiativeshence cannot relay solely on building educationalinfrastructure but also need to assess some of theroot causes of discrimination against women andgirls which affect the decisions made by parents(Reecha, Upadhyay) in the urban areas, however,there is a discernible difference in theopportunities that girls get ford education andemployment. There is an element of awarenessof gender issues in the more educated sectionsof society in certain regions. Moreover, urbanspaces permit personal autonomy to girls (HigherEducation for Women in India: Choices andchallenges.





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Institutional and cultural barriers deny ruralwomen’s right to land, Land not only is aneconomic and productive resource, but also asource of position and recognition in the societythe extent to which women were involved intechnology, research and development, and hadaccess to new technologies, is another challengeUNESCO articulated the close relationshipbetween educational development and theincorporation of women’s issue within theeducational process more explicitly. It states:” theexclusion of the and emancipation form the arenaof scientific and intellectual discussion hascontributed to their continuation a and hasfacilitated the perpetuation of false rationalizationof justifications of subordination as resulting formnatural of biological causes such. Facilegeneralizations continue to education andresearch including special sectors that carryweight, prestige and power, such as science andtechnology: there are only few institutionsaddressing the social, political and economicstructures limiting the empowerment of ruralwomen in was therefore necessary to achieveinstitutional change.9. INDIA’S LATEST

APPROACH TO CHILD LABOUR: 12TH PLAN

The strategy for dealing with child Labourduring the 12th Five year plan period has beenformulated based on the suggestions given by themembers of the working group in the twomeetings conducted on 27th May and 8th July 2011the broad highlights of the suggestions are:–

• The Child Labour (prohibition andRegulation) Act should be strengthenedand amended.

• The problems of working Children of themigratory families should be addressed.

Child Labour survey should specificallycapture migration of children Residentialschools should be opened in each Metroand Mega Cities and also in every district.

• It is important to run residential schoolfor rehabilitation of child Labour.

• The NCLP (National Child LabourProject) Scheme should expand furtherto a large geographical coverage.

• Emphasis should be given to themonitoring and tracking of NCLP Schoolchildren.

• The NCLP scheme should be realignedin the light of Right to Education Act2009. The teachers of the NCLP specialschools should be properly trained.

• Three tier Monitoring Committee at theDistrict, State and National level shouldbe made for effective implementationand monitoring of the NCLP scheme.

The NCLP SchemeThe NCLP Scheme (National Child Labour

project), which began with a modest number ofonly 12 districts, has been progressively extendedto various parts of the country with the coverageof 271 districts in 21 states of the country. It isfunctioning in 18 districts of Tamilnadu also.

There have been demands from variousstates for expanding the coverage of NCLPScheme to more districts, there is, therefore, aneed to expand the scheme in all the 600 districtsin the country.10. WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR 2102

The National Commission for protection ofChild Rights (NCPCR) is Commemorating worldDay Against Child Labour here on 12 june, 2012the theme for this years-”JUSTICE FOR





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CHILDREN-END CHILD LABOUR “ Theaim of commemorating this day is to highlight theneed to protect the rights of the child andeliminate child rights of children in all forms.

The world Day Against Child Labour waslaunched by the international Labour Organization(ILO) in 2002 to generate awareness about thepractice of child Labour in different sectors. ILOestimates that there are 21.8 crore child laborersworldwide. The Government of India’s 2001census estimates that 1.27 crore child labour. Thismeans that about 3.6%of the total labour forcein India is constituted by children! By enteringthe labour market prematurely, they are exposedto physical, psychological of education andtraining that can help to lift them, their familiesand communities out of a cycle of poverty. Aschild laborers they are exposed to physical,psychological of moral suffering that can causedlong term damage to their lives.

This year the world the world Day Againstchild Labour will provide a spotlight on the rightof all children to be protected from child labourand from other violations of fundamennntal humanrights. In 2010 the intenational communityadopted a Raadmap for achieving elimination ofthe worst forms of child labour is an impedimentworld Day Against Child Labour 2012 willhighlight the work that needs to be done to makethe roadmap a reality.11. ICDS AT A GLANCE

ICDS project is the land mark in the historyof nutrition in India. It is the mother to all the foodnutrition and all insurance policies. This projectwas start with the noble objectives and loftyactivities of Anganwadi However itsachievements are of mediocre, and lacks rudder.It gave birth to many projects like NHRM etc.

Now it has attached the attention of people ofevery organization for reaping good and quickresults.

Facts 47% of India’s children below the ageof three years are malnourished (underweight)

47% of Indian children under five arecategorized as moderately or severelymalnourished children in the world.

The UN ranks India in the bottom quartileof countries by under-1 infant mortality (the 53rd

highest), and under-5 child mortality (78 deathsper 1000 births.)

At least half of Indian infants deaths arerelated to malnutrition, often associated withinfectious diseases,

The most damaging effects of under-nutrition occur during pregnancy and the first twotears of child’s life.

These damages are reading of availablestatistics shows the problem to be far fromUniform.

A close reading of available static’s showsthe problem to be far from uniform.

Vitamin A supplementation coverage rate(6-59 months). 2004 UNEF statistics.

The decrease in the children population by2011 census in India is not a bench mark victory.Much of the government nutritional expenditurein India is on the ICDS program. The empiricalresults Further indicate that the (inverse)association between child malnutrition and levelsof government than in the non poor states.However, neither public spending on familywelfare per capita GDP in the Childs state ofresidence has a significant association with childunderweight rates.





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OBJECTIVES

1. To study the reasons for recent deathsof new born babies in the year 2010, 2008in Hyderabad

2. To study weakness of ICDS project interms of administrative structure andDelivery system of its activities.

3. To list out the Types of Food Models andits coverage In Andhra pradesh

According to new scheme accredited socialhealth Activities (ASHA) will visit homes of newmothers.IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF MNREGS

As regards MNREGS, the UID projectmakes multiple claims about how it would help”eliminate financial exclusion, enhanceaccessibility, and uplift living standards for thepoor firstly, payment of wages will be made easieras the UID will replace the need for know tourcustomer (KYC) documentation, thereby makingthe opening of back accounts easier, Secondly, Itwould tackle the problem of underpaymentAndover reporting of quantum of work done byrequiring UID authentication at the work site toensure that number of hours claimed by theworker and reported officially tally. Thirdly, itwould eliminate the problem of beneficiariesholding multiple job cards belonging to factitiouspeople as each person would have a uniqueeliminate frauds fourthly, It would allowbeneficiaries who relocate and migrate from oneplace to another to continue to enjoy benefits ofthe scheme.

However, critics like Reetika Khera denythe existence of the problem of” identity fraud”that UID is seeking to fix ‘and argue that thetransition to near payments is already bear

completion further, the difficulty with obtainingbank accounts was not KYC documentation, butthe fact that the bank branches are poorly-equipped and under- staffed. Khera also suggeststhat corruption would persist even if measureswere taken to ensure that only the beneficiarywithdraws the wage from the bank. Therefore,the UID is not the solution to the problems it seeksto fix.

In fact Nikhil Dey, Aruna Roy, Jean Derezand others have impassionedly pleaded to theGovernment not to merge UID and MNREGA.

MNREGA guarantees work within 15 daysby following simple localized procedures and UIDwould jeopardize this right. This is because allvillages do not have constant electricity supply ofmanual back- up and that there is a chance thatbiometrics would not work. For many villagesinternet access and mobile connectivity is a distantdream, implanting UID without the requisiteinfrastructure in place would mean categoricallyexcluding such villages from welfare schemes.Thus essentially, combining UID with MNREGAnot only fails to fix the existing problems but also.Reverses the achievements of MNREGA as itstands.

Critics argue against leaving a vital schemelike MNREGA in the hands of biometricauthentication. With a huge proportion of thepopulation engaged in hard manual labour,biometrics is deemed a dangerous idea asfingerprints of manual labors are likely to changeof become’ noisy’ due to their work burns,calluses etc.leading to negative validation duringauthentication. People with weak irises andcataract will face similar problems. Further, manyagencies are unable to record the biometrics ofsuch people and issue UIDs, defeating the





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purpose of UID as a means of empowering themarginalized.

Moreover, UID Many just be adding anotherpotential charge of authentication instead ofremoving the problem UID counters this criticismby claiming that It is only for 0.23% only foro.23%of population that both forms ofauthentication (finger prints &iris scan) fail.

Further, many people will get denied accessto MNREGA on account of having UID. Thiswas witnessed during the transition to bankPayment the process of issuing bank accounts toevery job card holder was denied network. Thiswould also set a dangerous precedent ofarbitrarily experimenting with the basic rights ofpeople.

A Transparency wall’ which is a betterlocal solution to the problem of corruption inMNREGA successfully allows the localcommunity to see when funds were received andwho was paid. This leaves the power in the handsof the local community and block level officers.As opposed to UID which puts the power in thehands of the centralized authority which isinaccessible to the beneficiaries.

IT would appear that MNREGA is notready to handle an over haul like UID more sogiven that UID still has malfunctions to fix,especially when simple localized solutions handlethe problems. Better.13. GOVERNMENT PLAN

1. RaJiv Gandhi scheme forEmpowerment of adolescent Girls(SABLA): The RaJiv Gandhi Schemefor Empowerment of Adolescent Girls(SABLA) was launched in November2010.The Scheme are to addressnutritional problems and improving the

health status of adolescent girls in theage group of 11-18 years, equipping themwith Knowledge on family welfare,health and hygiene, providing informationand guidance on existing public servicesand mainstream out of school girls intoformal or non-formal education. Themajor activities that would take place inthe next five years from 2011 till 2016would mainly be implementation in 200districts to begin with, followed byevaluation and further expansion acrossthe country. The deliverables envisagedfor the country. The major activates tobe performed between 2011 till 2016, areto ensure that nutrition and non-nutritioncomponents of the scheme are deliveredto adolescent girls. Utilization of fundstakes place as per norms, and evaluationof pilot is conducted.

2. Indira Gandhi Matritva sahyogYojana (IGMSY): Indira GandhiMatritva sahyog yojana (IGMSY) hasbeen approved by the Government ofIndia in October 2010 the objectives ofthe Scheme are to Improve the healthand nutrition status of pregnant, lactatingwomen and infants by the promotion ofappropriate practices, care and serviceutilization during pregnancy, safe deliveryand lactating encouragement of womento follow(optimal) Infant and young childfeeding (IYCF) practices Including earlyand exclusive breast feeding for theimproved health and nutrition to pregnantand lactating mothers.

3. National Commission for protectionof child Rights (NCPCR): The nationalcommission for protection of child Rights(NCPCR) was set up in March 2007





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under the commissions for protection ofchild Rights Act, 2005 the commission’smandate is to ensure better protectionof the rights of the child through themonitoring of constitutional and legal rightof children, review of safeguards, reviewof existing laws, looking into violationsof the constitutional and legal rights ofchildren, and monitoring programmersrelating to the survival protection,participation and development of childrenthe commission also has to ensure thatall national laws, policies, programmers,and administrative mechanisms areinformed by a with the child- rightsperspective as enshrined in theConstitution of India and the Unconvention on the Rights of the child.

4. National Institute of publiccooperation and child Development(NIPCCD): National Institute of publiccooperation and child Development(NIPCCD)/ is an autonomousorganization under the ministry of womenand child Development the objectives ofthe Institute are to develop and promotevoluntary action, research training anddocumentation in the overall domain of

women and child development. NIPCCDtakes a comprehensive view of childdevelopment and promotes programmersin pursuance of the National policy forChildren and evolves a framework andperspective for organizing children’sprogrammers through government andvoluntary efforts.

The current Thrust areas of the instituterelating to child development are maternal andchild health, nutrition early childhood education,positive mental health in children and child caresupport service the institute conducts researchand evaluation studies: organizes trainingprogrammers, seminars, workshops andconferences: and provides documentation andinformation services in priority areas in publiccooperation and child development the Institutefunctions as an apex body for training offunctionaries of the Integrated ChildDevelopment services (ICDS) programmer theInstitute as a nodal resource agency has also beenentrusted with the responsibility of training andcapacity building of functionaries at the nationaland regional level, under the Integrated childprotection scheme (ICPS).





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OCT 2012 : GIST OF PIB 63

PRESS INFORMATIONBUREAU

FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS AND FOREIGN

EXCHANGE EARNINGS IN SEPTEMBER 2012

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during theMonth of September, 2012 were 4.15 lakh ascompared to FTAs of 4.02 lakh during the monthof September 2011 and 3.70 lakh in September2010. There has been a growth of 3.2 % inSeptember 2012 over September 2011 ascompared to a growth of 8.7 % registered inSeptember 2011 over September 2010. FTAsduring the period January-September 2012 were46.33 lakh with a growth of 5.9%, as comparedto the FTAs of 43.75 lakh with a growth of 9.9 %during January-September 2011 over thecorresponding period of 2010. Foreign ExchangeEarnings (FEE) during the month of September2012 were Rs. 6652 crore as compared to Rs.5748 crore in September 2011 and Rs 4678 crorein September 2010. The growth rate in FEE inrupee terms in September 2012 over September2011 was 15.7% as compared to 22.9 % inSeptember 2011 over September 2010. FEEsfrom tourism in rupee terms during January-September 2012 were Rs. 66061 crore with agrowth of 22.9%, as compared to the FEEs of Rs.53761 crore with a growth of 16.6 % duringJanuary- September 2011 over the correspondingperiod of 2010. FEEs in US$ terms during themonth of September 2012 were US$ 1219 million

as compared to FEEs of US$ 1208 million duringthe month of September 2011 and US$ 1015milion in September 2010. The growth rate inFEEs in US$ terms in September 2012 overSeptember 2011 was 0.9% as compared to thegrowth of 19 % in September 2011 overSeptember 2010. FEEs from tourism in terms ofUS$ during January- September 2012 were US$12492 million with a growth of 5.1%, as comparedto US$ 11886 million with a growth of 18.7 %during January- September 2011 over thecorresponding period of 2010.

Press Information Bureau Governmentof India Ministry of Labour &

Employment

28-September-2012 17:42 ISTCONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR INDUSTRIAL

WORKERS (CPI-IW), AUGUST, 2012

The All-India CPI-IW rose by 2 points inAugust, 2012 and pegged at 214 (two hundred andfourteen). On 1-month percentage change, itincreased by 0.94 per cent between July andAugust compared with 0.52 per cent between thesame two months a year ago.

The largest upward contribution to thechange in current index came from food priceswhich rose by 1.24 per cent, contributing 1.31percentage points to the total change. At item





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level, largest upward pressure came from Sugar,Arhar Dal, Wheat & Wheat Atta, Rice, Potato,Mustard & Groundnut Oil, Milk Buffalo, Banana,Goat Meat, Onion, Medicine (Allopathic) andPrivate Tuition Fee. The largest downwardcontribution to the change in current index camefrom Vegetables and Fruits with a decline of 2.72per cent, contributing (-) 0.42 percentage pointsto the total change. The main downward pressurecame from Tomato, Fish Fresh, Chillies Green,Cabbage & Lady’s Finger.

The year-on-year inflation measured bymonthly CPI-IW stood at 10.31 per cent forAugust, 2012 (over August, 2011) as comparedto 9.84 per cent for the previous month and 8.99per cent during the corresponding month of theprevious year. Similarly, the Food inflation stoodat 12.20 per cent against 11.27 per cent of theprevious month and 7.33 per cent during thecorresponding month of the previous year.

At centre level, largest increase of 9 pointshas been recorded in Giridih followed by Ludhiana(8 points), Asansol and Rourkela (7 points each)and Bhopal and Chhindwara (6 points each).Among others, 4 centres have recorded rise of 5points followed by 4 points in 8 centres, 3 pointsin 13 centres, 2 points in 10 centres and 1 point in15 centres. Mysore centre reported a decline of6 points followed by Bengluru centre with 5 points,Guwahati with 2 points and 7 centres registereda fall of 1 point each. Rest of the 12 centre’sindices remained stationary. The indices of 39centres are above All-India Index and 37 centre’sindices are lower than national average. Twocentres viz. Vijaywada and Tiruchirapally are atpar with all-India index. The next index of CPI-IW for the month of September, 2012 will bereleased on Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

Turnaround in Exports by September-October, says Anand Sharma Reviews

Export Performance with IndustryChambers and EPCs

The union Minister of Commerce, Industry& Textiles Shri Anand Sharma today reviewedthe export performance with the ExportPromotion Councils and leading Chambers ofCommerce and Industry in the backdrop of avisible slow down in exports. The Minister notedthat the performance in July 2012 has beenworrisome as exports have dipped by 14.8% ascompared to last year. The first four months ofthe current financial year have seen exportsreaching US$ 97.6 billion as compared to US$102.8 billion during the same period last year. Asectoral assessment was made on the sectorswhich are facing critical slow down and clearlythe labour intensive sectors like handicrafts,textiles and gems & jewellery have beenadversely affected by this slow down. Today’sinteraction brought out the fact that the prolongedcrisis in the Euro Zone has cast a long shadowon the exports and the measures have been takenin June are likely to have an impact beginningSeptember. “I have said earlier that the variousincentives that we have announced and the sector-specific thrust, the support that has been given tothe SMEs and some major sectors, which arelabour-intensive, handloom, handicraft,readymade garments, through interest subventionand other support measures. We hope that therewill be a turnaround by the month of October,September-October, by the time we enterOctober, we hope that we will be able to bringabout a positive improvement and enter a strongpositive territory,” the Minister added. TheMinister explained that efforts are on to bring





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“down the transaction cost. All the major portsand airports will be functioning 24X7 when itcomes to exports. We have discussed this withthe Central Board of Excise and Customs.” Theissue of procedural simplifications was alsodiscussed. Commerce Secretary, DGFT and thesenior officers of Commerce Department havebeen directed to hold regional consultations withthe State Governments and the exportingcommunity and the process of consultations beinitiated. Commerce Secretary has already heldconsultations in Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad andChennai and similar consultations have alreadybeen held in Ahmedabad and Cochin. “There willbe monthly trade facilitation meetings between theCommerce Secretary, DGFT, our regional DGFToffices and the export councils. We will bemonitoring this very closely,” added the Minister.

TRAI Direction for ProvidingInformation to Broadband Consumers

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) had issued direction on 27th July 2012 toTelecom Service Providers for deliveringbroadband services in a transparent manner byproviding adequate information to the broadbandconsumers about various plans offered under FairUsage Policy (FUP). Through this direction,telecom service providers have been directed,inter-alia, to ensure that speed of broadbandconnection in all broadband tariff plans is notreduced below the minimum speed specified andto provide alerts to consumers when their datausage reaches 80% and 100% of the data usagelimit bundled with the plan. TRAI receivedcomplaints from consumers and consumerorganizations saying that service providers are notdelivering broadband services in a transparentmanner as they are not providing adequate

information to the consumers regarding broadbandservices including broadband plans with FairUsage Policy (FUP). Some of the serviceproviders have started providing the informationto their consumers as per the tariff planssubmitted to TRAI. Service providers have alsostarted providing the information through theirwebsite. Telecom Service Providers have tocomply with the provisions of reportingrequirement specified by TelecommunicationTariff Order wherein all service providers arerequired to report to the TRAI any new tariff fortelecommunication services and /or any changestherein within seven days from the date ofimplementation of the said tariff. The Minister ofState for Communications & InformationTechnology Sh Milind Deora gave this informationin Rajya Sabha today.

Integration of Ayush in Health CareSystem under National Rural Health

Mission

After the launch of NRHM, the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare has taken severalsteps for strengthening health care facilities byintegrating AYUSH systems in national healthcare delivery systems. The integration isfacilitated by appointing or co-locating AYUSHdoctors & supporting staff and creatinginfrastructure according to local needs. Therewere 640 districts, 6431 blocks and 638588villages incorporating 605 District Hospitals(DHs), 4535 Community Health Centres (CHCs)and 23673 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) tillMarch 2011. Out of these, AYUSH facilities hadbeen co-located with 416 District Hospitals, 2942Community Health Centres and 9559 PrimaryHealth Centres during 2011. About 68.76%District hospitals had been co-located with





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AYUSH facilities till 2011. All the Districthospitals existing in the states and union territoriesof Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra,Mizoram, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,Lakshadweep and Puducherry had been co-located with AYUSH facilities, whereas, thestates having more than 50% of the Districthospitals co-located with AYUSH facilities wereChhattisgarh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, andUttarakhand., There had been no co-location ofAYUSH facilities in the Districts hospitals of theremaining 12 states and union territories. Nearly65% Community Health Centre’s had been co-located with AYUSH facilities till 2011. All theCHCs existing in the states and union territoriesof Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Nagaland, Orissa,Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands,Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman &Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry had been co-located with AYUSH facilities., whereas, thestates having more than 50% of the CHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities were Chhattisgarh,Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Meghalaya,Punjab, Tripura and West Bengal. The stateshaving more than 25% but less than 50% of theCHCs co-located with AYUSH facilities wereArunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Thestates having less than 25% CHCs co-located withAYUSH facilities were Madhya Pradesh only.No co-location of AYUSH facilities had beenobserved in CHCs in the remaining 8 states andunion territories. About 40.4% Primary HealthCentre’s had been co-located with AYUSHfacilities till 2011. All the PHC existing in theUnion Territory of D&N Haveli, Daman & Diuand Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, A& NIslands, and Lakshadweep have been co-located.The States/ Union Territories having more than

50% of the PHCs co-located with AYUSHfacilities were Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,Manipur, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu andTripura, States having more than 25% but lessthan 50% of the PHCs co-located with AYUSHfacilities, were Karnataka, Meghalaya WestBengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, UttarPradesh and Punjab. The states and unionterritories having less than 25% of the PrimaryHealth Centres co-located with AYUSH facilitieswere Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, HimachalPradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.NATIONAL FAMILY BENEFIT SCHEME

The Ministry of Rural Development isimplementing, through State Governments and UTAdministrations, a scheme namely NationalFamily Benefit Scheme (NFBS). Under thisscheme, earlier a provision of grant of Rs. 5,000/- was made in case of natural death of BPLprimary bread winner. The primary BPL breadwinner specified in the scheme, whether male orfemale, had to be a member of the householdwhose earning contributed substantially to thetotal household income. The death of such primarybread winner occurring whilst he/she was in theage group of 18 to 64 years. In the year 1998, theamount of benefit has been raised to Rs. 10,000/- in case of death due to natural causes as wellas accidental causes. The funds are released toState Governments and UTs by Ministry ofFinance as Additional Central Assistance. TheNational Family Benefit Scheme is a sub-schemeof the National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP) and details of funds released sub-scheme wise to State/UTs are not maintained.These sub-schemes are only for BPL families.This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Ministerfor Women and Child Development, in a written





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reply to the Lok Sabha today. SolarCharkhaKhadi and Village IndustriesCommission (KVIC) in collaboration withMahatma Gandhi Institute for RuralIndustrialization (MGIRI) has introduced solarpower operated charkhas in 6 clusters on a trialbasis in Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, UttarPradesh, Tamil Nadu and Nagaland. Cotton

spinning solar charkhas have been developed byMGIRI by attaching solar panels, battery andmotor with the New Model Charkha (NMC)developed by KVIC. This information was givenby the Union Minister for Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises, Shri Vayalar Ravi in awritten reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.





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OCT 2012 : GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER 46

Q. BluetoothBluetooth is a short-range wireless

technology that allows computers, phone and otherdevices to talk to each other over short distances(up to 100 meters). Bluetooth uses radio waves(in the 2.4 Gigahertz range) and is designed to bea secure and inexpensive way of connecting andexchanging information between devices such asmobile phones, laptops, PC’s, PDAs, printers,digital cameras, mouse and keyboards. Wi-Finetworks and Bluetooth are the wireless hotspotsin today’s time and are almost 20 times faster thanthe earlier versions. With the latest technology ofBluetooth (version 2.0), devices can henceachieve data transfer speeds up to 2 or 3 Mbps(megabits per second).

Why the name Bluetooth? The name comesfrom the ancient King Harald Blatan of Demark(Blatan in Danish translates to “blue tooth” inEnglish). Sweden-based telecom companyEricsson developed the technology and was co-founder in 1998 of the Bluetooth Special InterestGroup Governing body (www.bluetooth.com).Bluetooth is also standardized as an IEEE wirelesspersonal area network.Q. What is Global Positioning System?

Global Positioning System, or GPS, is oneof the most widely used technologies in thecommunication world. GPS navigational systems

are supported by a network of 27 satellites, whichorbits the Earth in acyclic pattern every twenty-four hours. At any given time, signals from aminimum of four satellites are accessible to anyone point on Earth. Whenever a receiver deviceis activated, radio waves are sent out. Areceiver’s exact location is determined througha process called triangulation where threesatellites work together to track down possiblelocation points, while a fourth satellite compilesthe data ad picks out the exact location. Distancecalculations are made based on how long it takesthe radio signals to travel back and forth betweenthe receiver and the satellites.

A GPS tracking system uses the GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS) network.This network includes a range of satellites thatuses microwave signals that are being transmittedto GPS devices to give information on location,vehicle speed, time and direction. So, a GPStracking system has a potential to provide the real-time and past navigation data on any kind ofjourney.

Location tracking by providers in case of anemergency and giving navigation directions areother uses of this technology in mobile phones. Amobile phone also work like a two-way radiowhen communicating with the cell phone towersand the GPS capability of phones simply extends

SCIENCE REPORTER





http://www.bluetooth.com)

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the radio signals to reach out to the spacesatellites.

The receiver device can be located insidethe phone itself, or the user can use a wirelessconnection like a Bluetooth connection. Mobilephones work on Java-based programs and havedatabase access to their provider’s system. Themapping capabilities are displayed on the phone’sscreen via the cellular provider’s database. Theaccuracy of these maps depends on howfrequently your provider updates the database.Q. What do you understand by IMEI

Number?IMEI Number is something all mobile users

should be aware of. IMEI is the acronym forInternational Mobile Equipment Identity. Thiscode is a unique number associated with everymobile phone and can help us to find our stolencell phone easily. We can find our mobile phone’sIMEI number by dialing the sequence *#06# intothe phone. The unique 15-digit IMEI code of themobile phone will be displayed instantly. Note thisnumber down and keep it in a secure place so thatyou can find it in case your phonies misplaced orstolen. You can also find the IMEI number bychecking the metallic plate under the battery, aftermaking sure that power is switched off.

In case your mobile phone gets lost orstolen, you can inform yours network providerwho can then put the IMEI number on a shareddatabase. This will prevent that particular phonefrom being registered on any network. Thus, it willbe useless for a thief even if the mobile phone’sSIM card is changed. And then, by the use of GPS,the phones could be tracked. This IMEI numberis also required to unlock the mobile phone andget it working once it is found.

In case your mobile phone doesn’t have the

IMEI number then you are in trouble! TheDepartment of Telecom (DOT), Ministry ofCommunications and Information Technology,Government of India has direct cell phoneoperators to disconnect mobile phone handsetswithout legitimate International Mobile EquipmentIdentify (IMEI) number from 1 December 2009.This has been done to counter threats to nationalsecurity, as many crimes have been aided byphones that cannot be easily tracked. So checkthat cannot be easily tracked. So check your cellphone and replace it if it does not have a properIMEI number to prevent misuse of your phone.Q. Write a short note on Composite Gas

CylindersMetals, plastics, ceramics are considered

materials with different distinguishingcharacteristics and composite materials aremixture of two or more of these. Bones, woodetc are naturally occurring composite materials.Reinforced cement concrete is the modernincarnation of the composite material concept. Inmodern scenario, composite materials are fastgetting introduced as aircraft structures, car-bodies, railway coaches, boat construction, navalcrafts, storage tanks and vessels, engine pistons,sewer pipes, polymer concretes for dams, roof-light sheets, electrical mats and spars, chairs,tables, implants, sport-goods, cooking utensils,personal armours, etc.

A composite material offers severaladvantages over conventional metalliccounterparts. It has very high strength (orstiffness) to weight ratio. It has excellentcorrosion resistance and good fire retardantproperties can be introduced by incorporatingspecial additives. Higher internal damping, lesscatastrophic burst failure, better dimensional





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stability due to low coefficient of thermalexpansion, lower file cycle cost, improvedappearance and smooth surface make compositematerials an obvious choice for variousapplications.

A see-through, lightweight, safe, eye-catching, environmental friendly cooking gascylinder made of fiberglass will be an asset forkitchens of the future. Composite gas cylindersapart from imparting maximized strength andoptimized safety, also offer additional advantagelike non-corrosive construction, high strength toweight ratio, weight, and explosion-prooffabrication making this an obvious alternatives fordomestic cooking gas cylinders. This type oftechnology needs adaption for many other reasonsalso.

In India, LPG supply is highly subsidized(50%) and is theft prone also. Some distributerstake out the LPG from the cylinders by fillingwater up to 2 kg and the water remains in thecylinder even at the time of refilling at bottlingplants. Additionally, wide variation in weight ofLPG cylinders (15.5 kg to 18.5 kg), erroneous tareweighment during bottling, black during bottling,black-marketing are some of the menace forwhich composite domestic gas cylinder isconsidered a panacea.

In a LGP bottling plant, automatic LPGfilling system called carousal is adopted. It has 24nozzles and can undergo one rotation in 65seconds giving a time of 2.5 seconds per cylinderto the operator for tare neutralization. Thisfrequently leads to erroneous for fareneutralization. This frequently leads to erroneousgas weight in the cylinder and the specifiedvariation of ± 150 g over 14.2 kg gas in seldommaintained. The plastic seal costs too less for any

malpractices. The use of gadgets like Bansuri,etc. has been reported widely to take out cookinggas from etc. has been reported widely to takeout cooking gas from filled cylinders beforeresealing it. Cases of filling the cylinders with 1-2 kg of water displacing LPG gas has beenreported from many parts of the country. A see-through visible gas level will put an end to all suchmalpractices.

The major problem with use andpropagation of composite cylinder is high cost offabrication. The cost is prices at around Rs 3,500per cylinder in comparison with Rs. 950 for steelcylinders. However, the cost is largely justified inview of enhanced safety, correct and justifiedreturn on investment, higher buying capacity ofdomestic LPG gas users, prior intimation ofavailable gas level, light weight and nextgeneration tag.Q. New Cloud Physics Laboratory in India

A High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory,the first of its king in India, has been establishedat the famous hill station of Mahabaleshwar in theWestern Ghats range near Pune. It will startcollecting data in the current monsoon season.

Perched 1438 meters above mean sealevel, the Rs. 35 crore laboratory of the Ministryof Earth Science (MOES) will have state of artinstruments for observations including a “skyimager” with an additional installation of an X-band radar at the nearby Mandhar Devi hill forcontinuous monitoring of “growth and decay” ofclouds under different environmental conditions.

The bases of clouds in India in the monsoonseason are between 1000-1500 m above sea level.However, Mahabaleshwar being about 1,400meters high, the clouds are at the surface. Thisprovides a unique opportunity for observations. An





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additional advantage is that the monsoon cloudsformed over the Arabian Sea arrive first overMahabaleshwar.

Dr. G. Pandithurai, scientist working at thePune based Indian Institute of TropicalMeteorology (IITM) is the project-in-charge.IITM will also manage the laboratory. Thelaboratory is being described by IITM scientistsas a “milestone in the history of atmosphericsciences in India”.Q. Diabetes

Diabetes can be of type- 1or type-2 (thethird kinds know as gestational diabetes affectsonly women during pregnancy). The first one setsat an early age, as it is hereditary and is relatedto chromosomes 6 and 11. Such patients arecompletely insulin dependent, as they fall tosecrete this hormone adequately. On the otherhand, type-2 the most prevalent one is generallyseen in adults and elderly people. Its susceptibilityis also hereditary, but is termed as insulinindependent, as it can be controlled by adoptinghealthy food habits, regular exercises and use ofmedicine. However, this is one that is nowspreading like an epidemic.

While sedentary life style is mostly blamedfor the dreadful scenario, unhealthy food, andothers of the kind rich in refined starch, fat saltand sugar containing very little natural ingredientslike dietary fibre, minerals and vitamins also havea major share in it, To make the situation morealarming, a recent research finding published inthe British Medical journal (16 march 2012) haslinked polished White rice, the staple food of mostthan half of the people of the world, with type-2diabetes. According to it, each serving (nearly160g) of such rice a day increases the risk by 11%and more the consumption greater in the risk.

Q. Water – Wastewater SystemsWater is a basic human need. The

indispensability of water and the waterconservation a necessity, nations have gone to warover water in the past and may do so in the futureif water resources are not wisely managed.

However, water is taken for granted byconsumers who deem clean water access as theirright. Most people are only vaguely aware of theconsumption of energy and materials associatedwith water treatment, pumping and wastewatertreatment downstream in urban water-wastewater networks. Cycle indirectlycontributes to global warming, while excessivematerials consumption may lead to their quickdepletion While water cuts are sources of ire andfrustration, the challenges shouldered by the cityand town authorities tend to go unheededDevelopment of new. Water resources areinvestment-intensive, and so is the maintenanceof pipelines in order to people better, themunicipalities are in need of more finances.Subsides will not help for too long and loons fromlending institutions. Are unaffordable most of thetime. Raising the price of water for consumerswill create unrest among the poor customers,which form a significant percentage ofpopulations in cities of the developing world.People are not they are used to receiving cheaply.

Thus, it behooves consumers to supportcash- strapped municipalities by being willing topay a little more and contribute to waterconservation by taking reducing consumption,retrofitting the plumbing in their houses toaccomplish reuse by cascade, harvestingrainwater etc. To understand what consumerattitudes and their potential role in waterconservation. On e-mail survey of water





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consumers in Asia carried out. The cities includedin the survey were Singapore, Vadodara Mumbai,New Delhi, Kolkata, Jullundur, Noida, Gurgaon,Ahmedabad, Bangalore, chongging (China), Seoul(south Korea) and Tsukaba ( Japan), Indiansaccount for a significant percentage of therespondent, as not only place, but also greaterpercentage of those contacted responded to thequestionnaire. The male-female ratio among therespondents is 3:2 the figures below give moreInformation about the respondent sample.Q. Curiosity Lands on Mars 4 Indian

MissionCuriosity about Mars has always been high

in the minds of humans. Earthlings have alwaysbeen at the receiving end of attacks from highlyadvanced Martians in science fiction movies andstories Life on mars has always been acontentious and hotly debated topic in scientificcircles too. And so, when curiosity NASA’s Marsscience rover, landed on the martin surface on 6August 2012, a collective cheer went out atNASA’s Jet propulsion Laboratory The roverLanded in the Gale crater on Mars aftercompleting an eight month long journey across 355million miles. And immediately thereafter it sentin its first photographs of the Martian surface.

The $2.5 billon curiosity project, formallycalled the Mars science Laboratory, is indeedspace on engineering marvel and one of the mostcomplex robotic space flights. With only about40% of mars missions having tasted success theodds were stacked against the NASA engineers.However, the car- sized rover was guided on tothe surface of Mars with almost near precisionand without any major mishap surviving what hasnow come to be popular billed as the “sevenminutes of terror” these were the seven minutes

during which curiosity was expected to completea series off high-risk automated maneuversslowing if from an entry speed of 20,000 km/h toallow it soft landing. In the two years that therover a is expected to be operational, curiosity willscoop up samples of soil and pieces of rocks andnanalyze them in its onboard laboratory to searchfor chemical building blocks of life (e.g. forms ofcarbon) on Mars. It will also try to find out whatthe martian environment was like in the past andwhether conditions have been favorable formicrobial life Apart from curiosity three is anotherrover- opportunity-on the surface on Marsbeaming signals back to Earth and there orbiterscurrently surveying the planet (Mars OdysseyMars Express, and Mars Reconnaissance orbiter.

Meanwhile, prime Minster Manmonan singin an address to the nation on the occasion of thecountry’s 66th independence Day announcedIndia’s own Mars mission The cabinet hasapproved the Mars orbiter Mission that will involvesending a spaceship to Mars making it the sixthcountry to launch a mission to the Red Planetafter the U.S. Russia, Europe Japan and China.

The Rs. 450 corer Mars orbiter Missionmight be lunched in November next year a 25 kgscientific payload. To be lunched from sriharkotain Andhra pradesh by an extended version of thepolar satellite Lunch vehicle (PSLV), thespacecraft would take nearly 300 days to reachthe Martian orbit the orbit will be placed in an orbitof 5000×80,000 Km around Mars. Thespacecraft will study the Climate, geology origin,evolution and sustainability of life on the plant.

If the Indian Mars orbiter Mission issuccessful, India will be the first Asian countryto do so as probes sent by China and Japan hadto be abandoned en route.





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OCT 2012 : GIST OF THE HINDU 1

Q. Some facts about 114th ConstitutionAmendment Bill 2010.• Constitution (114th Amendment) Bill

2010 to raise the retirement age of onlythe High Court judges from 62 to 65,which was tabled in Parliament inDecember 2011 but not as yet passed.

• One factor deterring a competent lawyerfrom accepting judgeship is the retiringage at 62. Increasing it to 65 may inducecompetent lawyers to seek appointmentas judges of the High Court.

• Secondly, with a larger tenure, judges mayacquire more maturity, learning andexperience so necessary for a judge.

• Thirdly, with retirement at 65, a judge maybe less anxious about looking foremployment after retirement, by way ofan appointment to a Tribunal orCommission by governments.

• Fourthly, today the Chief Justices andmost senior judges of the High Courts,nearing their retirement at 62, sometimesaspire unbecomingly to being selectedjudges of the Supreme Court not only forthe prestige of the post but also to obtainanother three-year stint in the SupremeCourt.

• If the retirement age is increased to 65on a par with that of Supreme Court

judges, senior judges may be content withremaining in their own High Court ratherthan seek an additional three-year stint,in the Supreme Court.

Supreme Courts abroad, the retirement age is above65. In the High Court of Australia (which is the apexcourt there) it is 70, in the Supreme Court of Canada75, in the Supreme Court of Ireland 70, in theSupreme Court of Israel 70, in the Supreme Court ofNew Zealand 68, in the Constitutional Court ofSouth Africa 70 or after 12 years of service, and inthe U.K. Supreme Court 75.

Q. Coal Block Scam.

The Rs.1.86 lakh crore coalgate scam exposed bythe Comptroller and Auditor General of India(CAG), which has dragged Prime MinisterManmohan Singh into its centre, shut downParliament and stirred up a raging national debate,will now be examined by the Public AccountsCommittee (PAC). The report has led to Dr. Singhfinally taking full responsibility for the decisions ofthe Coal Ministry, but only after rebutting theCAG’s observations as “clearly disputable andflawed.”

• (Moher, Moher-Amlohri Extension &Chhattrasal) allocated to ReliancePower for their Sasan UMPP were de-allocated from Northern Coalfields Ltd,a subsidiary of CIL.

• For end-user projects (EUP) for whichcaptive coal blocks are allocated, besides

THE HINDU





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coal through captive coal production.These are: (i) coal-linkages from CILbased on CIL base prices, (ii) e-auctionprices of CIL and (iii) imports. Since thesale price used for comparison in theCAG Report is the CIL base price, whichis far lower than the other twoalternatives, the CAG would argue thatits loss assessment borders onconservative.

• Additionally, the coal ministry has itselfadmitted that the CIL’s cost of production,given its social and legacy overheads, isactually higher than the figures used bythe CAG. Since costs differ across mines,the CAG report has used average CILcosts (and prices) for its calculations,while considering an additional financingcost of Rs.150 per tonne, indicating thatthe CAG’s profit per tonne of coalestimate is also rather conservative. Formineable geological reserves, the profitper tonne of coal has been multiplied bythe expected mineable geologicalreserves (GR) in each of the coal blocksto arrive at the total windfall gain.Wherever the mining plan had beenprepared, their GRs have beenconsidered. Where mining plans are notavailable, the CAG has usedconservative figures of 73 per cent foropen cast and 37 per cent for mixedmines as against the Coal Ministry’s ownnorms of 75-80 per cent for open castand 45-60 per cent for underground minesmentioned in its counter. The CAG islikely to encash these inadvertentadmissions.

• Chinese officials say the railway linkfrom Kashgar can, in the future, run up

to Gwadar if it is connected to thedomestic rail network.

Q. India’s Health care System

GENERIC DRUGS

An important low hanging fruit identified bythe High Level Expert Group (HLEG) onUniversal Health Coverage (UHC) set up by thePlanning Commission is to provide generic drugsthrough the public system. The HLEG alsorecommended in its report submitted in October2011 that health care should be available to allcitizens with a smart card and should be cashlessat the point of service. An UHC system shouldprovide a combination of preventive, promotive,curative and rehabilitative care through apackage of primary, secondary and tertiaryservices. An emphasis on prevention andpromotion at the primary level would be both costeffective and best in terms of health outcomes.HIGHER PUBLIC SPENDING

The HLEG called for stepping up publicinvestment in health to reach 2.5% of GDP by theend of the 12 Five Year Plan, and argued that astrengthened public sector must be the bedrockof reforms. But how to deal with the fact thatpublic facilities themselves ignore public health,often lack adequate staff and equipment, and treatpatients with scant respect? More investment mustbe backed up by the creation of a public healthcadre, the recognition of a three year medicalqualification in order to increase the availabilityof qualified professionals, and more staff at thelowest level. And a strong set of managementreforms to improve quality and performance ofpublic facilities must be urgently implemented.

The HLEG’s support for public investmentin health is backed by the experience of many





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countries — Europe, Canada, Brazil, Thailand,Mexico, to name a few. But one cannot ignorethe reality of the private health sector or the factthat it can and ought to be made to play its part inthe move towards universal health coverage.

At present, private facilities, under a veneerof respectful treatment, can be hugely expensive,and often do not provide appropriate or highquality clinical services. Ensuring that privatehealth providers play a responsible role requiresthat we move away from ad hoc and unregulatedpublic-private partnerships (PPPs) and also awayfrom the practice of giving subsidies and freebieslike land and tax-breaks to the private sectorwithout any effective mechanisms to ensureaccountability.

An important recommendation of theHLEG is to set up independent and effectiveHealth Regulatory and Development Authoritiesat both national and state levels that wouldsupervise the quality of services delivered by bothpublic and private sector providers. These bodieswould ensure among other things that standardtreatment guidelines form the basis of clinical careacross both sectors, with adequate monitoring toimprove the quality of care and control costs.

They would also ensure grievance redressmechanisms by linking up with measures to ensurecitizen participation and accountability. This hasbeen done very effectively in countries that areat the forefront of the move towards universalhealth care such as Thailand and Brazil, and mustbe implemented in India.Q. Recommendation of Shome Panel about

GARR.Advocates abolition of capital gains tax on

transfer of securities

In wide-ranging recommendations aimed atsoothing the hackles of investors and revive theinflow of foreign capital, the expert committee onGeneral Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR), headedby Parthasarathi Shome, has advocatedpostponement of the controversial tax provisionby three years till 2016-17 along with abolition ofcapital gains tax on transfer of securities.

In a further reassurance to foreigninstitutional investors (FIIs) operating through theMauritius route, the expert panel, in its draftreport submitted to the government on August 31and put in the public domain by the FinanceMinistry on Saturday for comments fromstakeholders, has suggested that the GAARprovisions should not be invoked to examine thegenuineness of the foreign investor entities’residency in the island nation.THRESHOLD OF TAX BENEFIT

Among its other major recommendationsfor amendment in the Act, for guidelines to beprescribed under Income-Tax Rules, 1962, and





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for clarifications and illustrations through circular,the Shome panel has suggested that GAARshould be made applicable only if the monetarythreshold of tax benefit is Rs.3 crore and more.

Alongside, while comments from allstakeholders have been sought by September 15for drawing up the final guidelines on GAAR, theFinance Ministry has also expanded the terms ofreference of the expert panel which was set upby Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July,mainly to bring about tax clarity and address theconcerns of foreign investors. Instead of only FIIs,the panel has been told to look into issues pertainingto all non-resident tax payers. On the need forpostponing implementation of GAAR, the Shomepanel in its draft report said: “The implementationof GAAR may be deferred by three years onadministrative grounds. GAAR is an extremelyadvanced instrument of tax administration — oneof deterrence, rather than for revenue generation— for which intensive training of tax officers,who would specialise in the finer aspects ofinternational taxation, is needed… Hence GAARshould be deferred for three years. But the year,2016-17, should be announced now. In effect,therefore, GAAR would apply from AssessmentYear 2017-18. Pre-announcement is a commonpractice internationally, in today‘s globalenvironment of freely flowing capital.”MAURITIUS ISSUE

Of particular concern for FIIs was the Mauritiusissue. To address their concerns, the expert panelsaid that while the provisions of GAAR should notbe invoked to “examine the genuineness of theresidency of an entity set up in Mauritius,” thegovernment should retain the provisions of theCBDT circular issued in the Year 2000 onacceptance of Tax Residence Certificate (TRC)issued by Mauritius. “...if the government cannotaccept it (proposal to abolish capital gains tax ontransfer of listed securities) on political economy

grounds, a second best alternative would be toretain...the Circular accepting Tax ResidenceCertificate issued by the Mauritius authorities,” itsaid. In this regard, the Shome panel said: “Thegovernment should abolish the tax on gains arisingfrom transfer of listed securities, whether in thenature of capital gains or business income, to bothresidents as well as non-residents. In order to makethe proposal tax neutral, the government mayconsider to increase the rate of SecuritiesTransaction Tax (STT) appropriately.”

While recommending that GAAR shouldapply “only in cases of abusive, contrived andartificial arrangements”, the Shome panelsuggested that the I-T Act may be amended toprovide that only arrangements which have themain purpose (and not one of the main purposes)of obtaining tax benefit should be covered underGAAR. Highlighting that the objective of GAARshould be deterrence rather than revenue, thepanel has recommended that the Approving Panel(AP) for purposes of invoking GAAR provisionsshould consist of five members, includingChairman, who should be a retired judge of theHigh Court. Besides, two members should befrom outside government and persons ofeminence drawn from the fields of accountancy,economics or business, with knowledge ofmatters of income- tax, and two members shouldbe chief commissioners of income-tax or oneChief Commissioner and one Commissioner.

It also suggested that GAAR can beinvoked only with the approval of theCommissioner.

• China confidently coped with the globaleconomic crisis in 2008, and in 2010 itbecame the second largest economy inthe world. China’s per capita income rosefrom $1000 in 2002 to over 2500 now.Many events such as the BeijingOlympics and astronauts in spacemissions were major achievements.





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⇒ ABC of NAM & India’s point of view inthe context of 16th Summit.• Non Aligned Movement attracted more

interest than before with its 16th summitin Tehran last week.

It must have been disappointed. Iran’sbiggest international conference in several yearsdrew a full house, including Egypt’s firstdemocratically elected President MohammedMorsi; Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states also sentrepresentatives. And despite pressure by the U.Sand Israel not to attend, the United NationsSecretary-General was present too. It’s anothermatter that both President Morsi, who describedthe Assad regime as an “occupation” of Syria, andBan-ki Moon, who asked Iran to comply withU.N. demands or face isolation, did not play musicin President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad’s ears. StillIran came out looking better than it had before.For an Israel straining at the leash, this should besufficient discouragement against anyadventurism. Further, while western efforts toeffect regime change in Syria have divided theworld, and NAM’s members hold independentpositions on the situation there, this did not affectthe summit’s determination to press for equitable‘global governance’ — diplomatic argot for aninternational order more representative than thepresent Security Council.

For India, the summit was an importantoccasion to send out two timely messages. PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh’s assertion thatexternal intervention in Syria would only lead tomore problems for that country, and that a solutionhad to come from within, was New Delhi’sclearest statement of differences with the U.S.on this issue. India had voted for a UNSCresolution calling for sanctions against Syria in

July, but abstained from a General Assemblyresolution that included a reference to an ArabLeague demand for President Assad to stepdown. Second, Dr. Singh’s meetings with theIranian leadership were an opportunity todemonstrate that New Delhi’s relations withTehran would not be dictated by the U.S. Eversince the U.S stepped up its pressure on thenuclear front by threatening sanctions againstcountries buying Iranian oil, India has walked afine balance between the two countries.

The talks focussed on improving economicrelations; Iran recommitted to facilitating theChabahar route for India-Afghan trade. Foreignrelations are not the zero sum game some powerswould like it to be. India and Iran must now followup with quick action on the ground.⇒ TB Control: The Road Ahead.

India, with the highest TB burden in the world,even more serious, requiring urgent attention andnovel methods of intervention. It is within thiscontext that two major policy initiatives — to makeTB a notifiable disease and to ban serological tests— taken by the combined efforts of severalgovernment agencies are noteworthy, timely andlaudable.

The second policy decision to banserological diagnostic tests for TB is no lesssignificant. Serological or blood tests are basedon the successful detection of certain molecules(antigens) from the pathogen, or detection of thebody’s immune response to the pathogen(antibody response mostly). These are routinelyused for diagnosis of diseases like HIV/AIDS,malaria and hepatitis. In principle and in practice,when effective, these tests are economical, easyto use and quick in diagnosis of a diseasecondition.





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SEROLOGICAL TESTING

However, it has not been possible to developan accurate serological test for TB so far. Themain reason for this is that in disease endemiccountries like India, where most of the populationhas been exposed to TB, these serological testsare completely ineffective. Although healthy, withno symptoms of pulmonary disease, most of usare likely to test positive for TB and ininexperienced hands will perhaps be started onTB treatment. The dependence on such unreliabletests can only do harm, especially serious, in caseof TB, because many will end up undergoing TBtherapy without any need for it. Several scientificstudies have clearly shown that serological testsfor TB are not only of no value but also add tothe gravity of the problem by resulting in multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB. The World HealthOrganisation has already advised all TB controlprogrammes against the use of any of these. Thus,the ban by law in India has come not a day toosoon. However, it should be emphasised that theban is only on the serological tests that are usedcurrently for TB and not for serological tests perse. If in future, a reliable and accurate serologicaltest is developed, it will certainly be allowed tobe used once its efficacy is proved.DETECTING GENETIC MATERIAL

The obvious query in any thinking person’smind would be: does this ban on serological testsin any way hamper doctors from diagnosing andtreating those suffering from TB and requiringurgent attention? The short answer is a definite“no” because these tests are of no value.Moreover, highly efficient tests based on detectinggenetic material from the TB bug are nowavailable and in use in many TB endemic

countries. These tests are highly reliable, quickand, more significantly, also address the problemof detection of most forms of drug-resistant TB.The challenge seems to be the price of thetechnology.

There is hope that in the future, home-grownand locally manufactured technologies will bediscovered and made available for public use.

These two landmark decisions indicate thepositive energy that gets generated when variousagencies manage to work in harmonioussynchronisation. It is difficult to imagine that suchvital decisions could have taken place withoutcare, consultation and the coordinated efforts ofall stakeholders in the public sphere involved inthe control of TB, along with government agencieslike the office of the Drugs Controller General ofIndia, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare(Revised National Tuberculosis ControlProgramme), Ministry of Communications &Information Technology and Indian Council ofMedical Research. All these and several othersinvolved in advocacy to control the disease needto be congratulated. These efforts also reflect theseriousness with which government and healthproviders in the country have decided to approachone of the most serious health problems in thecountry. There is hope and every reason tobelieve that with the combined efforts of publicand private health providers, TB and MDR-TBcan be effectively managed.⇒ Bill of Sexual harassment.

• The Sexual Harassment of Women atWorkplace (Prevention, Prohibition andRedressal) Bill 2012, recently passed bythe Lok Sabha.

• Supreme Court that resulted in alandmark 1997 judgment which, relying







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heavily on international conventions, laiddown the so-called Vishaka guidelines —a framework for dealing with sexualharassment at the workplace.

• A drafting initiative by the NationalCommission for Women, and pressurefrom civil society that we are close tohaving a full-fledged law that attemptsto strengthen the right of women to asecure and non-threatening environmentat the workplace.

• The legal framework of the Bill is erectedon the mandatory constitution of InternalComplaints Committees in offices andthe creation of Local ComplaintsCommittees in every district, twinmechanisms for redressal of complaints.Its ambit is wide as it covers, in keepingwith the Vishaka guidelines, theunorganised sector, which in relation toa workplace means any enterpriseengaged in the production of goods orproviding service of any kind includingthose that employ less than 10 workers.The definition of the sexual harassmentis expansive as well, including sexually-coloured remarks and any non-verbalgesture of a sexual nature. Setting upInternal Complaints Committees, whichmust include one member from a NGO,in all offices and branches with morethan 10 employees will take some doing.

• And it remains to be seen how thesecommittees, which have been vestedwith the powers of a civil court, willfunction.

• The proposed law may have missed atrick in not being gender-neutral.

• Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences Act, 2012.The identity andprivacy of the child will have to beprotected and emergency treatment willhave to be given in the presence of theparent or guardian or any other personin whom the victim has trust andconfidence. The rules, drafted by theNational Commission for Protection ofChild Rights (NCPCR) and put up forcomments by the Ministry of Women andChild Development, make it mandatoryfor any medical practitioner of a healthfacility to attend on an abused child fortreatment of cuts, bruises and otherinjuries, sexually transmitted diseases,treatment for exposure to HIV, includingprophylaxis for HIV after consultationswith experts.

• The special court may, in appropriatecases, order an interim compensation tomeet the immediate needs of the childfor relief and rehabilitation at any stageafter registration of the First InformationReport. It shall be adjusted against thefinal compensation, if any.

• Compensation is to be paid by the Stategovernment, within 30 days of the courtorder, from the Victim CompensationFund or any other scheme or fundestablished by it for rehabilitating victims.

Q. Higgs Boson Particle

Rolf Heuer, director general of the EuropeanOrganisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) saidhere on Monday that he believed that SatyendraNath Bose, the physicist in honour of whom a familyof particles in the Standard Model of particlephysics is named, should have been given theNobel Prize.

• “Higgs boson-like particle” in July this





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year was only the beginning of the workto be done on the particle.

• CERN authorities were eagerly awaitinga written application from India applyingfor associate membership of the CERNCouncil.

• At present, India has an observer statusat the CERN council.

Q. Basell III – FactsBasel III seeks to mitigate this externality

by identifying global systemically important banks(G-SIBs) and mandating them to maintain ahigher level of capital dependent on their level ofsystemic importance. The list of G-SIBs is to bereviewed annually. At present, no Indian bankappears in the list of G-SIBs.

• Banks in India are currently operatingon the Standardised Approaches of BaselII,” said Dr. Subbarao.

• The larger banks needed to migrate tothe Advanced Approaches, especially asthey expanded their overseas presence.The adoption of advanced approachesto risk management would enable banksto manage their capital more efficientlyand improve their profitability.

Q. APEC SummitMoscow attaches enormous importance to

its first ever chairmanship of the 21-membereconomic group, which represents 40 per cent ofthe global population and 54 per cent of theworld’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Russiahas poured a staggering $21 billion intopreparations for the September 8-9 summit —one and a half times as much as Britain spent onthe 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

• Russia’s emperor who moved the capitalfrom Moscow to Saint Petersburg.

• The European Union accounts for 50 percent of Russia’s foreign trade comparedwith less than 20 per cent for APECcountries, largely just four of them —China, the U.S., Japan and South Korea.

• The Kremlin’s probably most pressingmotive for wooing APEC business todevelop its Far East and East Siberia isto counterbalance China’s growinginfluence in the region.

• Its share of APEC trade does not exceed1.5 per cent. The situation may changenow that Russia has finally joined theWorld Trade Organisation after nearlytwo decades of talks, opening the wayfor free trade accords with APECmembers.

• A Russian think tank has estimated thatif the APEC countries invest $20-30billion in Russian transport infrastructure,they could save $600 billion by 2020.

OIL IS THE CRUX AT SUDAN DISPUTE

• South Sudan held a referendum and brokeaway from its northern neighbour.

• The division left land-locked South Sudanwith most of the region’s oil reserves;while Sudan retained the pipelines, mostof the refineries, and Port Sudan —where oil is loaded onto tankers andshipped across the world. Analystsestimate that the two countries havebetween 4.2 billion and 6.7 billon barrels— a fraction of the estimated globalreserve of 1,653 billion barrels.

• OVL has also financed and constructeda 741 km pipeline from the Khartoumrefinery in Sudan to Port Sudan on theRed Sea.





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• South Sudan unilaterally stopped oilproduction after a dispute over the transitfee demanded by the North for use ofits pipelines.

• The stalemate has affected bothcountries; the International MonetaryFund estimates that oil accounts for about90 per cent of Sudan’s exports and 98per cent of South Sudan’s state revenues.

• In August this year, the two countriesarrived at an agreement on oil transit feespursuant to a broader agreement onborder security along a 10 km widedemilitarised zone.

• A referendum on Abyei has beenpostponed indefinitely as both sidesdisagree over who should be allowed toparticipate in the referendum.

80% OF HUMAN

GENOME HAS AN ACTIVE ROLE OR FUNCTION

• The ENCODE project has found that notone per cent but 80.4 per cent of thegenome has an active role or function.For instance, it could be “promoter”regions where “proteins bind to controlgene expression” or “enhancer” regionsthat “regulate the expression of distantgenes.”

• The most important part is that genescomprise only 2 per cent of the genome.

• The regulatory regions are scattered inthe 98 per cent of the genome.

• A paper in Nature explains the importantfeatures of organisation and functioningof the human genome. It states that in95 per cent of the cases, the genes arein close proximity to the regulatoryswitches.

• To their amazement, the researchersfound that most genes are not controlledby just one switch. Instead, the genesare regulated by more than a dozenswitches. In other words, there is no one-to-one relationship between a gene anda switch.

• Genes are copied (transcribed) into RNAmolecules

• The ENCODE team found that 76 percent of disease-associated variants in thenon-gene regions are linked to theregulatory DNA.

• “ENCODE is a foundation data set forunderstanding the human genome.”

• ENCODE is a truly internationalcollaborative effort — 442 scientistsfrom 32 laboratories in the U.K., U.S,Spain, Singapore and Japan wereinvolved.

• They generated and analysed over 15terabytes (15 trillion bytes) of raw data.True to its international team effort, allof the data from the project is freelyavailable to the public.

• The study included 8 people who hadnever smoked and 24 smokers, 11 withnormal lung function and 13 people witheither chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease (COPD) or asthma.

PROPOSAL FOR SINGLE WOMEN IN 12TH PLAN

• The Planning Commission is pushing forspecial dispensation for single women,particularly those who are single bychoice, under various governmentschemes in the 12th Five Year Plan.

• In addition to reserving a certainpercentage of jobs for single women







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under Centrally sponsored schemes, thePlan panel has proposed promoting andstrengthening federations of singlewomen at the block and district levels.

• So far the recognised categories of singlewomen are widows and divorcees. Sofar the recognised categories of singlewomen are widows and divorcees. Sofar the recognised categories of singlewomen are widows and divorcees.

• So far the recognised categories of singlewomen are widows and divorcees.

⇒ Russia to Auction its Largest Gold-field• Russia will auction its largest unmined

gold deposit in the nearest future despitethe prohibitive cost of reaching theremote eastern Siberian field.

• Sukhoi Log’s estimated reserves of 2,000tonnes and 3,000 tonnes (64.3 million to96.4 million troy ounces) of gold and asmaller amount of silver make it into oneof the world’s largest untapped depositsof the precious metal.

• The field, located in the vast Irkutskregion of eastern Siberia, has beenlabelled ‘strategic’ by the RussianGovernment, and is not subject to bidsfrom foreigners.

• But Russia is now undergoing a newprivatisation campaign, and the businessdaily cited First Deputy Prime MinisterIgor Shuvalov as saying the auction termswould be announced ‘shortly’.

• Sukhoi Log (meaning ‘dry ravine’ inEnglish) suffers from a series ofdrawbacks that have been under studyfor some 50 years. Studies show that itsore has a low gold concentration, andneeds to be enriched.

• It also remains inaccessible by road, andhas no independent or outside supply ofthe water required for processing.

• The government’s own estimates say theproject would take 12 years to developat a cost of 49 billion rubles ($1.5 billion).

• The government’s own estimates say theproject would take 12 years to developat a cost of 49 billion rubles ($1.5 billion).

Q. Africa’s Initiative for Space Research• The space shuttle Icarus 13, with its

slender spires and massive flared base,is parked by the seafront a few blocksfrom downtown Luanda, the capital ofAngola.

• But the shuttle will never leave the oil-rich west African country for theweightless serenity of space — Icarus13 is not really a space ship, it is amausoleum, an art project, aconstructivist gesture in concrete.

• The Soviet-funded mausoleum ofAntonio Agostinho Neto, Angola’s firstPresident and Kremlin ally, became“Icarus 13” — a spaceship that wouldtake an all-African crew on a fantasticaljourney to the sun.

• At present, the entire continent has lessbandwidth than Norway; almost all ofwhich comes from 20-oddcommunication satellites, positioned overAfrica, that are owned by non-Africancompanies. “Space technologies…provide commercial opportunities andstrategic advantages for a tiny minorityof countries controlling them,” claims anAfrispace working paper.

• Space technologies can be divided intothe rocket science needed to put a







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satellite in space, and the earth stationknow-how necessary to make full useof the satellite once it is in orbit.

• “No African nation has the ability tolaunch a satellite even though Africa hasa massive advantage having land on theequator, meaning lower costs for gettinginto orbit,”.

• At present, countries like Ghana, SouthAfrica, and Nigeria are investing inground stations rather than rockets.While Ghana has set up the Ghana Spaceand Technology Centre that hopes tobecome a regional focal point for remotesensing, meteorological andcommunication technologies, Nigerialaunched three satellites last year.

• The NigComSat-1R communicationsatellite was built with Chinese support,while a British company built theNigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X imagingsatellites.

• Afrispace must build institutions toleverage scientific infrastructure intodevelopment gains, or metaphorically riskbecoming a mausoleum like Icarus 13.

• A pan-African space programme mayhave its detractors but the continent’spolicymakers believe that its benefits,including access to satellite data andbetter communications, far outweigh thecosts

Q. Aviation Sector opened up.The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs, on Friday, approved 49 per cent foreigndirect investment (FDI) in the aviation sector,allowing foreign carriers to pick up stake indomestic airlines. This is likely to pave way forthe much-needed equity infusion into domestic

carriers, including loss- making KingfisherAirlines, which are passing through turbulenttimes as majority of them are crying for funds tosupport their operations. “Though FDI of up to49 per cent, 75 per cent and 100 per cent wasthere in the aviation sector, foreign airlines werenot allowed,’’ Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh toldreporters after the Cabinet meeting.CURRENT NORMS

• Current FDI norms allow foreigninvestors, not related to airline business,to directly or indirectly own an equitystake of up to 49 per cent in an Indiancarrier. Allowing foreign airlines to pickup stakes in Indian carriers has been along-pending demand of the aviationsector.

• The Indian aviation industry and thedomestic carriers are suffering lossesbecause of high taxes on jet fuel, highairport fees, costlier loans, poorinfrastructure, and cut-throatcompetition. Except IndiGo, all airlineshave posted losses in the financial yearending March 31.

• Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, whichis burdened with a debt of over Rs.7,000crore, and is operating with a bareminimum fleet, has been the most vocalsupporter of allowing FDI in the sector.

• The opening of the sector to foreignairlines may, however, bring good newsfor passengers who would benefit frommore competitive fares, better productand services and better internationalconnectivity.

• Foreign carriers such as British Airwaysand Virgin Atlantic Airways have





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expressed interest in investing in Indiancarriers.

• However, Lufthansa Airlines said it hadno plans to make further investments inIndian carriers.

Q. 11 Countries to Strengthen Capacities toaddress autism.Bringing hope to families with autistic

children, 11 countries from the WHO SoutheastAsian Region at a recent meeting adopted aresolution on the distinct brain damage disorderthat produces a range of behaviouralabnormalities. The countries resolved tostrengthen national capacities and help mobiliseresources in Southeast Asia to address this issue.

Autism is a severely incapacitatingdevelopmental disability that happens in the firstthree years of life, but can be better dealt with ifdetected early. Statistics show that one in every150 births is autistic. India has over one croreautistic children, but treatment and rehabilitationfacilities are virtually non-existent.

The resolution impressed upon the memberstates to give appropriate recognition to autismspectrum disorders (ASD) and otherdevelopmental disabilities in policies andprogrammes related to early childhooddevelopment, and asked them to develop andimplement policies and plans — including publicawareness, stigma removal campaigns, supportedwith adequate human, financial and technicalresources — to address the issue.

The meeting called for development ofstrategies for early detection and community-based interventions for such children, therebyleading to the creation of appropriateinfrastructure for care, support, intervention,service and rehabilitation.

The WHO expressed deep concern overthe dramatic rise in the number of children withautism and developmental disabilities, and thegrowing cost involved in managing suchdisabilities in addition to the challenges of stigma,isolation and discrimination faced by familiesdealing with autism.

To begin with, the 11 countries have agreedto support the activities of autism-relatednetworks, including the South Asia Network(SAAN) — a concept that emerged from theDhaka Declaration on Autism SpectrumDisorders and Developmental Disabilities,adopted at the end of a conference organised lastyear by Bangladesh Prime Minister SheikhHasina’s daughter Saima Hossain, to discuss theneeds and challenges of the autism community inBangladesh and South Asia. The conference wasattended by United Progressive Alliancechairperson Sonia Gandhi.Q. World Divided, India Undecided As 193

Nations Gear to Decide the Future ofNet & MobileIn December this year, representatives of

193 governments will meet in Dubai to vote oncritical proposals that will decide how the Internetis governed from now on.

The discussion, to be held at the WorldConference on International Telecommunications(WCIT), will impact nearly six billion mobilephone users and two billion Internet users. Theseinclude 700 million mobile phone and 100 millionInternet users in India.

The subject has assumed controversialproportions for two reasons: the countries aredivided in their positions; and the issues have splitnational governments vis-à-vis their own telecomand Internet industry, civil society and academia





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in many cases. In that sense, the global divideamong nation states is worsened by the yawningdivide among stakeholders.

Between December 4 and 13, thegovernments will review a treaty known asInternational Telecom Regulations (ITRs) underthe aegis of a lesser known U.N. bureaucracy —the International Telecommunications Union(ITU). The ITRs were last reviewed in 1988,when phone companies worldwide weregovernment-owned and the Internet was notavailable for consumer use.

Today, a vast majority of networks andsubscribers are under private companies, and theInternet, which started with 16 million subscribersin 1995, has more than two billion users; nearlyhalf-a-million are added every day.

Under discussion are several proposals,including cybersecurity, data privacy misuse,fraud and spam, which could give the states morecontrol over content and access to networks; newpeering arrangements and impact on costs ofInternet traffic, which may increase the cost ofusers, especially in developing countries; “newtechnologies” regulation, which may open the wayfor censorship through technologies, like DNSfiltering, that fragment the global Internet; areview of Internet addresses leading to changein the global address registry and how usersaccess websites today; and, finally, government-regulated international mobile roaming tariffswhich may impact the use of international SIMcards, like Matrix, to lower costs.Q. An Excessive Remedy

The Supreme Court order on theappointment of Information Commissioners hashad an unsettling effect on the working of theRight to Information Act, an elegant seven-year

old law that has immeasurably empowered theaverage citizen. What was designed as an easy-to-use legal tool for the poor and weak may nowbe at risk of getting tangled in a web of complexity.The Court has, inter alia , ruled that thecompetent authority should prefer a person whois or has been a judge of the High Court forappointment as Information Commissioners, whilethe head of the Information Commissions at theCentre or State shall only be a person who is orhas been a Chief Justice of a High Court or aJudge of the Supreme Court.

The reasoning is that these bodies performjudicial and quasi-judicial functions and suchqualifications are essential to meet the ends ofjustice. The decision comes in the wake ofcomplaints that the system of appointingInformation Commissioners lacks transparency.That is true. Some States follow a closed-doorappointments process, packing Commissions withfavoured bureaucrats and political loyalists. Yet,the scale of the remedy is excessive. Byspecifying qualifications for appointments andinstituting new working methodologies forCommissions, which it wants legislated, the courtclearly intrudes into executive privilege.

The RTI Act has escaped many attemptsby the Centre to whittle down its scope, with civilsociety rising to its defence each time. Given theculture of secrecy and pervasive corruption, thelaw is a nightmare for many in authority. But ithas weathered the test of judicial scrutiny. Majorquestions on its scope have been decided by thecourts, including high profile issues such as thejudges’ assets case. Also, the majority of appealsbefore Information Commissions are those filedby citizens seeking simple information. Theexceptions on disclosure under Section 8 of the





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RTI Act are clear, and the law leaves all otherinformation held by public authorities open —there is little scope there for judicial interpretation.In any case, several orders of the Commissionsin favour of citizens are challenged by officials inregular courts. So far, the appellate process hasbeen refreshingly uncomplicated, as the applicantcan appear in person, without the need foradvocates, and the proceedings are in plainlanguage. If poor citizens have to appear beforea bench that has a judicial member and facelawyers employed by public authorities, theresulting asymmetry of power would clearlydefeat the purpose of the law. The Supreme Courtis correct in calling for due advertisement and arational basis for appointments to Commissions.But it should leave that task to Parliament toexecute.Q. Pakistan Tests Nuclear Capable Babur

MissilePakistan on Monday said it had successfully

test-fired an indigenously developed multi-tubecruise missile that can carry both nuclear andconventional warheads over a range of 700 km.According to the Inter Services Public Relations,the Babur (Hatf-VII) cruise missile can striketargets on land and at sea with “pinpointaccuracy”.

Armed with stealth features, Babur is low-flying and terrain-hugging. It is equipped withmodern cruise missile technology of TerrainContour Matching and Digital Scene Matchingand Area Co-relation. It was launched from aMulti Tube Missile Launch Vehicle in the presenceof the senior hierarchy of the Strategic PlansDivision.

In Monday’s test, the National CommandAuthority’s fully automated Strategic Command

and Control Support System was employed. Itenables robust command and control capability ofall strategic assets with round the clock situationalawareness in a digitised network-centricenvironment to decision makers at NationalCommand Centre (NCC), a statement put out byISPR said. “The system has the added capabilityof real time remote monitoring of missile flightpath”, it added.Q. Agni-IV Scores a Hit Yet again

• India on Wednesday successfully flight-tested the surface-to-surface Agni-IVmissile for its “full range of 4,000 km.”

• In a flawless flight that lasted 20 minutes,the nuclear-capable missile blasted offat 11.48 a.m. from a road-mobile launchpad on Wheeler Island off the Odishacoast and traced a parabolic path acrossthe sky. As its re-entry systems workedperfectly, the missile then plunged intothe Indian Ocean with its payload of onetonne of conventional explosives eruptingspectacularly.

• The payload systems withstood a searingtemperature of more than 3,000 degreesCelsius during the re-entry phase.

• This is the second consecutive successof Agni-IV: the missile scored a hit inNovember 2011, after the very first flightfailed in 2010.

• The Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO) hasdesigned and developed Agni-IV, whichis 20 metres long and weighs 17 tonnes.The two-stage vehicle, which uses solidfuel, can carry a one-tonne nuclearwarhead.

• Wednesday’s triumph caps a series ofsuccessful flights of Agni-V, Agni-I, Agni-





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II and Prithvi-II missiles, beginning fromApril this year.

• India’s missile technological programmehas become mature, and we can nowdesign any missile for any mission,depending on the threat profile.Technologically, today, we are on a parwith the best in the world.”

• “All the events, from the lift-off… to theexplosion of the payload” took place withtextbook accuracy. “The data shows thatthe missile stuck to its pre-determinedpath with an accuracy of less than 100metres,” he said. “The terminal accuracyof the Agni-IV systems has beenrecorded by the ships located downrange,and the explosion of the payload hasbeen video-graphed. The video confirmsthe successful completion of a copybooklaunch.”

• Dr. Saraswat was confident that “themissile will be inducted into the Servicesafter one more launch.” The secondconsecutive success of Agni-IV “provesthat the missile can be launched ondemand in a very short time.” India’sindustrial infrastructure that contributedto the Agni-IV development had alsomatured.

• Agni-III would be flight-tested onSeptember 21, he said.

• There would be one or two more flightsto prove its consistency. “But the designhas already been proven, and this hasbeen validated by the excellentperformance of the missile,” Mr.Chander, who is also Chief Controller(Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO.

• Tessy Thomas, Programme Director,

called it an “excellent launch” which metall the parameters till the final event.

• G. Satheesh Reddy, Associate Director,Research Centre, Imarat, Hyderabad.

Q. IRDA Issues Draft IPO Norms forGeneral Insurance CompaniesGeneral insurance companies will be

allowed to tap the capital market only if they havecompleted 10 years in business. Also, they needto get prior approval from the insuranceregulatory.

“No general insurance company shallapproach SEBI (Securities and Exchange Boardof India) for public issue of shares and for anysubsequent issue, by whatsoever name called,under the ICDR (Issue of Capital and DisclosureRequirements) regulations without the specificprevious written approval of the authorityconcerned,’’ said the Insurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority (IRDA) in its draftguidelines for IPO (initial public offer) by generalinsurance companies. Titled the “IRDA(Issuance of Capital by General InsuranceCompanies) Regulations, 2012’’, these will comeinto force on the date of their publication in theofficial gazette.

The guidelines will cover divestment bypromoters either through the issue of capital underICDR Regulations or via divestment of equity byone or more of the promoters through a publicoffer for sale under the ICDR Regulations.

According to the draft guidelines, theapproval granted by IRDA for an IPO will havea validity of one year. The applicant company hasto file the draft red herring prospectus with theSEBI within that one year.

The IRDA will also “reserve the right notto accord its approval if, in its opinion, the







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applicant company is not compliant with theregulatory framework; or where it may bedetrimental to the interest of the policy-holders;or it may not be in the interest of the insurancebusiness in the country.”

While granting approval for the IPO, theIRDA will consider the financial health, theregulatory records, IPO proposal per se, thecapital structure post-issue and the purpose ofcapital-raising programme of the applicantcompany.

The IRDA will also prescribe the lock-inperiod for the promoters from the date of allotmentof shares. Also, the insurance regulator will alsospecify the extent of promoters’ dilution, and theshare allotment to foreign investors. The draftguidelines also prescribe additional disclosures bythe applicant company in the prospectus and offerdocuments. These are risk factors specific to theinsurance business.

The insurance regulator has asked thegeneral insurance companies to come out withtheir views on the draft guidelines by the end ofthis month.Q. TB Control Programme to Engage

Private SectorIndia’s TB control policy for 2012-2017 may

mark a paradigm shift in the way TB is detectedand treated if all the five major objectives listedin the draft version of the National Strategic Planfor Tuberculosis Control 2012-2017 areimplemented in full earnest during the next fiveyears. The National Strategic Plan sets theroadmap for RNTCP (Revised National TBControl Programme).

The most radical departure listed in the draftis to “extend RNTCP services to patientsdiagnosed and treated in the private sector.”

The other four objectives are to ensure“early and improved” diagnosis of all TB patientsincluding those with drug resistance and HIV-associated TB; following it up with “access tohigh-quality treatment to all patients” who havebeen diagnosed; particular emphasis to be givento “scaling up access to effective treatment” forthose with drug resistance. Finally, it focuses ondecreasing death and morbidity figures.

It has set a goal to test 48 million people forTB, and over 90 per cent of TB patients are testedfor HIV during the five-year period. The emphasisis on reducing the time taken to diagnose TB,including drug-resistant TB. To this end, theRNTCP will equip all districts and medicalcolleges across the country with highly sensitiverapid diagnostic tests.THE COMPULSION

The compulsion to adopt a comprehensiveapproach, particularly early diagnosis of all TBpatients and starting them on appropriatetreatment, arises as in 2011 alone, the number ofnew TB cases that occurred was about 1.2million. The number of deaths stood at 60,000 —nearly 165 deaths a day. Nearly one lakh newmultidrug resistant (MDR) TB cases areestimated to occur every year. India has thesecond highest burden of MDR-TB in the worldand this accounts for about one-fifth of the globalburden.

The only way of reducing mortality andmorbidity is by engaging the private sector, whichthe programme has so far never attempted to do.This, despite the fact that the private sector is thefirst point of contact for a majority of people, bothurban and rural populations. But the 2012-2017draft Plan intends to change this.





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NOT WITHOUT

“Universal access will not be achievedwithout private sector involvement,” it notes. Andits participation has to become effective forrealising the goal of getting every detected casenotified and “obtain information on treatmentsuccess rate.” The government in all probabilitywill try different innovative models to “extend [its]services” to the private sector for both diagnosisand treatment.

It concedes that RNTCP has to learn fromother programmes that have successfullydeveloped and scaled-up their involvement withthe private sector and community services. It willnot come as a surprise if the TB controlprogramme adopts and even replicates the bestpractices of other programmes in engaging withthe private sector during 2012-2017.

Till date, RNTCP’s engagement with theprivate sector has been limited to sensitization andreferrals.

“The strategic vision of RNTCP is todevelop and deploy engagement models that willovercome the past barriers of mutual mistrust[emphasis added]... [and] to accept, encompassand improve TB care provided by the privatesector,” notes the draft.

The intent is to go beyond privatepractitioners and involve clinics, nursing homes,small and corporate hospitals, chemists andprivate laboratories.

The TB control programme intends tosubsidise diagnostic services offered bylaboratories and actively discourage them fromusing serological testing for diagnosing TB. Thegovernment had recently banned this practice.Since this will be first attempt to involve theprivate sector, several “new and innovative

approaches” will be “piloted” and the successfulones “scaled-up” to meet “universal access to TBcure and control.”

The compulsion to involve the private sectorarises as nearly half of three lakh patients whoare retreated every year have been previouslytreated by private practitioners — half of TBdrugs sold in India are to patients who are treatedby private practitioners.

This is because, as a norm, the privatesector provides “sub-optimal treatment.” Addingto it is the poor record keeping and follow-up ofpatients till they complete the treatment.

Though doctors, both private and public, arenot supposed to start treating patients unless theyare willing to follow-up till treatment completion,“there is neither commitment nor capacity in theprivate sector to fulfil this responsibility,” the draftnotes.

But with treatment being sub-optimal, manypatients end up with drug resistance. “Diagnosisand treatment of TB in the private sector is botha problem and an opportunity for the RNTCP,”the draft reads.

Medical colleges have been playing apivotal role in diagnosing TB patients. In 2011alone, about 15 per cent of patients werediagnosed and referred for treatment by medicalcolleges.”Systematic involvement of medicalcolleges…has been a huge success story,” itnotes.

But other than medical colleges, thecontribution of the private sector in detecting TBcases has been a mere 5 per cent and casemanagement at about 9 per cent.

The goal is therefore to “achieve promptreporting” of TB cases diagnosed in privatesector, “increase the number of TB cases







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referred” to RNTCP and “improve the quality ofcare” in private sector.

Involving the private sector will be achievedthrough Private Provider Interface Agencies(PPIA). The PPIA will be responsible mainly foreffective notification of TBG cases diagnosed bythe private sector and ensuring treatmentcompliance. The focus will initially be on urbanareas.Q. ‘Super-spreading,’ Key in Dengue

TransmissionSuper-spreading, where one infected

person passes on a disease to lots of others, couldbe an important factor driving denguetransmission in places where the mosquito Aedesaegypti carries the virus, according to researchpublished recently. The World HealthOrganisation has termed dengue as “the mostimportant mosquito-borne viral disease in theworld.” Incidence of the disease has jumped 30-fold in the last five decades.

Aedes aegypti , the mosquito that isprincipally responsible for spreading the virus thatcauses dengue, has proved adept at making useof human habitation. The female mosquito feedson human blood and subsequently lays her eggsinside containers holding water that are found inand around homes. The eggs hatch into larvae,which grow and turn into pupae, finally maturinginto adults. Studies have found that most of themosquitoes in each locality typically come fromjust a few containers and houses, termed ‘super-producers.’

In the course of their research, which hasbeen published in the journal PLOS NeglectedTropical Diseases , Harish Padmanabha of YaleSchool of Public Health in the U.S. and hiscolleagues modelled how dengue would spread,

given such an aggregation of mosquitoes andvariations in the density of people in a place. Thesimulation was based on the distribution ofmosquito pupae and humans in houses in tworesidential neighbourhoods of Armenia, a city inColombia in South America where the disease isrife. Since mosquitoes were concentrated in onlya couple of homes in each locality, an infectedindividual in those houses or in their immediatevicinity was likely to get bitten and pass on thevirus to a large number of mosquitoes. Thosemosquitoes, in turn, would go on to bite otherpeople, thus spreading the disease.

The study indicated that denguetransmission “depends heavily on events wherean infected person infects many mosquitoes,” Dr.Padmanabha told this correspondent. Such peoplewere the super-spreaders. In contrast, most peoplewith the virus would not infect many mosquitoes.

Moreover, “human density amplified theeffect of A. aegypti super-production on denguerisk,” the paper noted. Increased human densityled to more possibilities for disease spread throughboth human-to-mosquito and mosquito-to-humantransmission. Also, greater human density in aparticular area would increase the frequency ofdengue-infected visitors.

“We found that even small variations inhuman density can have a very big effect,” Dr.Padamanabha said. “A mosquito where you havelow human density has much less capacity totransmit [the disease] than in an area where thereis high human density.”

Targeting control measures in areas of highhuman density could reduce the epidemic potentialby decreasing the abundance of mosquitoes inareas were dengue was most likely to beintroduced, the paper pointed out.





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Q. Protection of Children from SexualOffences Act 2012.• Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences Act, 2012.The identity andprivacy of the child will have to beprotected and emergency treatment willhave to be given in the presence of theparent or guardian or any other personin whom the victim has trust andconfidence.

• The rules, drafted by the NationalCommission for Protection of ChildRights (NCPCR) and put up forcomments by the Ministry of Women andChild Development, make it mandatoryfor any medical practitioner of a healthfacility to attend on an abused child fortreatment of cuts, bruises and otherinjuries, sexually transmitted diseases,treatment for exposure to HIV, includingprophylaxis for HIV after consultationswith experts.

• The special court may, in appropriatecases, order an interim compensation tomeet the immediate needs of the childfor relief and rehabilitation at any stageafter registration of the First InformationReport.

• It shall be adjusted against the finalcompensation, if any.

• Compensation is to be paid by the Stategovernment, within 30 days of the courtorder, from the Victim CompensationFund or any other scheme or fundestablished by it for rehabilitating victims.

Q. 12th Planning Commission’s Target• The Full Planning Commission chaired

by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on

Saturday approved the 12th Plan (2012-17) draft document endorsing the scaling-down of the annual average economicgrowth target to 8.2 per cent from the 9per cent envisaged earlier, keeping in viewthe fragile economic environment.

• “The Full Planning Commission approvedthe draft 12th Five-Year Plan document,subject to certain suggestions made inthe meeting… it endorsed the revisedgrowth target of 8.2 per cent for the 12thPlan, which is necessary to achieveinclusive growth.”

• As per practice, the draft document willhave to be vetted by the Union Cabinetand then placed for final approval beforethe National Development Council(NDC), the country’s highest decision-making body, comprising the ChiefMinisters of all States and UnionTerritories, and the Full PlanningCommission.

Q. Raid de Himalaya• The popular car rally in the Himalayas,

the 14th Raid de Himalaya, will beflagged off from Shimla on October 7,said Himachal Pradesh Sports & YouthServices Director R.S. Gupta onTuesday.

• The rally is being organised by the StateGovernment and Shimla-basedHimalayan Motor Sports Association.

Q. Time Zone for India• Mumbai’s longitude is 78°82’E, Delhi’s

is 76°E and Kolkata’s is 88° 22’E.Hence, Kolkata lags Delhi and Mumbaiby about 45 minutes. For cities innortheast India, the time difference with





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Mumbai or Delhi is even greater.Gangtok’s longitude is 88°0’E and, at theother end, Kohima’s is 94°20’E.

• The sun rises and sets in all these Statesin northeast India at least an hour earlierthan the rest of the country.

• The seven States in northeast India havemany political, ideological and ethnicdifferences. However, the one thing theyall agree on is that the clock there mustbe advanced by one hour during summerand more during the winter months ofOctober to February.

PLUS POINTS

• Some advantages of advancing the clockwould be:

1. Increased productivity: An earlystart would have more energeticpeople in the offices.

2. Reduced power consumption:Starting and closing an hour earlierwould result in a saving an hour ofelectricity in offices. In homes, shopsand restaurants about two hours wouldbe saved as people would wake upand go to bed earlier, thus using moreof the available daylight hours. Aconservative estimate shows thatstarting the day an hour earlier wouldresult in a saving of about 550 MW ofpower in northeast India alone.

3. Curbing alcoholism: With five to six“available extra hours” after work andwith little else to do most people fallprey to alcoholism.

REVISIT DECISION

• The Department of Science &Technology (DST) which examined the

feasibility of setting up dual time for Indiain 2007 turned down a proposal toadvance the clock in northeast India byan hour in as it felt it would cause acuteadministrative challenges.

• It is time for the DST to revisit their 2007decision. The DST should examine thepossibility of introducing the new timezone not only for northeast India but forall of eastern India.

THE INTERNATIONAL PICTURE

• Singapore is an example of a country thathas kept their clock an hour ahead ofthe standard time longitude.

• While Singapore’s longitude is 105°Ethey have kept their time on 120°E,keeping the country permanently onehour ahead.

• This could be one of the reasons for theSingaporean’s greater productivity andprosperity of the island state.

• China too follows the longitude of 120°Eas their time zone, keeping almost theentire country to the west of their timemeridian.

• Bangladesh, which is to the west of thenortheast States (Dhaka: longitude90°25’E), keeps its time 30 minutesahead of India.

• In addition, Bangladesh advances itsclocks by one hour during the wintermonths. Thus for five months of the yearBangladesh Standard Time is one-and-a-half hours ahead of India. Could it bethis that is helping the country’s steadyeconomic growth?

• Since Independence, the States ineastern, especially north-eastern, India





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have fallen behind the rest of the countryand the bedrock of the backwardness isthe poor productivity of the people. Thereare many practical steps to change thisand a separate time zone is one.

Q. China Commissions First AircraftCarrier Liaoning• In a reflection of China’s increasing

maritime ambitions, the countrycommissioned its first aircraft carrier onTuesday in an event hailed by top officialsas being of “far-reaching significance”and coming amid rising regional tensions.

• The unveiling of the 300 metre-longLiaoning, a refurbished and upgradedversion of the Soviet carrier Varyagwhich China purchased from Ukraine,came after years of sea trials and teststo fit the carrier with weapons andengines.

• The Liaoning was commissioned by thePeople’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)in the port city of Dalian — the capitalof the north-eastern province after whichthe carrier is named.

• Premier Wen Jiabao, who presided overthe commissioning along with PresidentHu Jintao and top PLA officials, saidChina’s first aircraft carrier would “beof great and far-reaching significance ininspiring patriotism, national spirit anddriving national defence technologies,”the official Xinhua news agencyreported.

• Defence analysts were quoted as sayingby state media that the Liaoning was,however, not yet close to being put intoactive service with China needing to trainpilots.

• The PLA said the carrier would continueto serve “for scientific researchpurposes” besides military training.

• The commissioning of the Liaoningmakes China the tenth nation to have anaircraft carrier. The development comesamid rising strains between China andJapan over the disputed Diaoyu orSenkaku islands in East China Sea.

DEFENCE TIES

• Several of China’s south-east Asianneighbours have, in recent months, alsosought closer defence ties with theUnited States after tensions in the SouthChina Sea, where Chinese vessels havehad run-ins with those from the Vietnamand the Philippines.

• “An aircraft carrier will give the Navydefence capacity far beyond land-basedaviation force’s combat radius,” FangBing, a scholar at the PLA’s NationalDefence University, told Xinhua.

⇒ ISRO Scores a CentumA Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-

C21) blasted off from here on Sunday and placedtwo foreign satellites in orbit, accomplishing theIndian Space Research Organisation’s 100th

mission, a milestone in the country’s spacejourney.

After a 51-hour countdown, the PSLV liftedoff at 9.53 a.m., two minutes behind schedule, toavoid any collision with space debris.

In the textbook launch, it carried SPOT-6,a 712-kg French earth observation satellite andinjected it into an orbit of 655-km altitude, inclinedat 98.23 degrees to the equator. Proiteres, a 15-kg Japanese microsatellite, was put into orbit asan additional payload. The 44-metre tall PSLV





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accomplished its task, reinforcing the fact that itis the ISRO’s workhorse, with 21 successfulmissions in a row.

The four-stage ignition and the injection ofthe satellites into the orbit took 18 minutes and 37seconds. As Proiteres separated at the finalmoment, the scientists erupted into joyousapplause.

SPOT-6, an optical remote-sensing satellitecapable of imaging the earth with a 1.5-metreresolution, is built by Astrium SAS, a Europeanspace technology company.

Proiteres is meant to study the powered-flight of a small satellite by an electric thruster andto observe Japan’s Kansai district with a high-resolution camera.⇒ Getting Ready for the

New Law against Child LabourThe Union Cabinet’s green light to the

amendments in the existing law against childlabour is encouraging. When it comes into force,all forms of child labour under the age of 14 yearswill be banned, the employment of children in the14-18 age group in hazardous occupationsprohibited and child labour a cognisable offence.This would also mean scaling up the state’s effortsand responsibilities, enhanced expenditure andmore involvement of the police and judiciary, ifthe government is serious about the enforcementof the newly tagged Child and Adolescent LabourProhibition Act.

First, the preparedness to enforce deterrentsenshrined in the law: the legislation that we havenow stipulates for imprisonment up to one yearand a penalty up to a maximum of Rs.20,000. Butthe reality is that while 13,60,117 inspections werecarried out under the child labour law since itsinception in 1986, barely 49,092 prosecutions

were launched and merely 4,774 employersconvicted. Most appallingly, a meagre sum of 200to 400 rupees was imposed as penalty in most ofthe cases. In some, the penalty was as low asRs.20- 25. Is this not a ruthless and cruel jokeplayed on the children of our nation? What it callsfor is sensitivity, capacity building andaccountability of the enforcement machinery atall levels including in supervisory andrecommendatory agencies and bodies like ChildWelfare Committee (CWC), National and StateCommissions for Protection of Child Rights, etc.The quickest disposal of cases must be ensuredthrough fast track courts. Framing andimplementing rules and standard operatingprocedures (SOPs) by State governments, otherinnovative and participatory measures likeforming and empowering people’s vigilancecommittees as well as engaging panchayati rajinstitutions will be effective steps towards lawenforcement. The amendment makes child laboura cognisable offence. Therefore the enforcementwill not be confined to the domain of labourinspectorate only, but also bind the police. Thiswill require sensitisation and training of policepersonnel and systematic coordination betweenboth agencies. The endemic corruption,insensitivity and indifferent attitude of the“inspector class” is not a secret.⇒ Not Reflective of Reality

Second, the government must have thecourage to correctly assess the magnitude of theproblem that it is confronted with. If not a pre-condition, accurate data is mandatory for planningand implementation of any scheme. According tothe government, the number of child labourers hasalready nosedived from 1.25 crore (Census 2001)to 90.75 lakh in 2004-05 and recently to 49.6 lakh





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(National Sample Survey Office). Are thesefigures truly reflective of the reality? Thesefigures were arrived at on the basis of a samplesize of approximately 70,000 across the nation?NGOs and some U.N. agencies estimate thenumber of child labourers to be as high as four tosix crore. Children are falsely listed in schoolregisters while in reality, they have already fallenprey to child trafficking, bonded labour, sexualexploitation and forced beggary thousands ofmiles away from their homes. The most pertinentquestion that arises here is that if only negligibleprosecutions and convictions were made so far,how were such a large num ber of childrenrescued or withdrawn? Where have theyultimately gone if merely six lakh children arepresently benefitted under the National ChildLabour Project (NCLP) scheme? Is it not aglaring dichotomy?

Can’t India, which conducts the largestgeneral elections every five years and which islaunching an ambitious Unique ID scheme,accurately assess the number of child labourers?While the government must strive for acountrywide survey, as an immediate start it couldbegin with intense identification of child labourersin industries like carpet, glass, garments, brickkilns, stone quarries, fire crackers and the districtswhere they are mostly situated like in Mirzapur,Bhadoi, Aligarh, Firozabadh, Sivakasi, Tirupur,Virudunagar, Delhi National Capital Region(NCR), Jalandhar, Ludhiana, etc.A FUTURE FOR LABOURERS

Lastly, while on the one hand an ambitious,realistic, time bound, well resourced andcomprehensive rehabilitation scheme must be putin place, on the other, coordination between childlabour elimination agencies, Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan (including the mid-day meal scheme),Mahatma Gandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act and all other schemes and flagshipprogrammes pertaining to underprivileged childrenand their families must be ensured. The presentscheme for rehabilitation and provision of bridgeeducation to the rescued child labourers isminiscule. This flagship programme, NCLPcovers merely six lakh children in 266 districts.The government is currently revising andrestructuring this scheme. In the light of thedecision to bring in the amendments, the entiregovernment and not just the Ministry of Labourand Employment must demonstrate superiorleadership by using the time available betweennow and the enactment of the new law. A scaled-up and well-resourced national scheme should bedevised to cater to at least 50 lakh child labourersup to the age of 14, going by the government’sown statistics. The biggest challenge would be torehabilitate 15-20 lakh children in the age-group14 to 18 who are employed in hazardous work.They cannot be absorbed in the conventionalschooling system or any existing specialeducational schemes. Hence a completely newprogramme with the essential components ofvocational skills, employability andentrepreneurship must be taken up on priority.⇒ Indian Ports Caught in Shallow Waters

Petroleum and oil products (POL) have thehighest share in port traffic, followed by coal,container and iron ore. In 2011-12, while POLtraffic was more or less steady, iron ore exportsslumped by around 25-30 per cent due to multiplefactors such as a ban on illegal iron ore mining inKarnataka, higher freight costs (because ofsustained rate increases by the railways) and anincrease in export duty on iron ore fines from 20





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per cent to 30 per cent in December 2011. Portswith large iron ore handling capacity have beenseverely impacted due to the slump in iron oreexports. Global iron ore prices are down by nearly24 per cent so far in 2012, due to slowdown inChinese steel production (which is also impactingexports).

Ports in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh arethe worst-affected by the sharp fall in iron oretraffic, followed by Orissa and West Bengal. Boththe iron ore terminal projects of Sical Logisticsat Ennore Port and New Mangalore port areseverely hit.

Krishnapatnam port, which has a 10 MTPAcapacity for iron ore, is also presently not handlingany iron ore traffic.STEADY GROWTH? COAL

By contrast, traffic of coal is expected togrow at a steady pace in 2012-13. Thermal coalwill continue to be imported in large quantities dueto the severe shortage of domestic coal. Coaltraffic would receive a boost if a new governmentinitiative termed “pooling” is implemented. Underthe proposed “pooling” arrangement, importedcoal would be supplied to private sector coastalpower plants at a price that would be the averagecost of cheap domestic coal and costly importedcoal. This would lower the cost of coal for thesepower plants and make their operations viable ata time when international coal prices are high.With global economic growth likely to be subdued,container traffic growth in 2012-13 is likely to bemodest, as reflected in a 3 per cent growth (atmajor ports) in the year till date. In future, webelieve that container traffic at non-major portswill grow faster than that at major ports onaccount of better operation efficiencies.

Container capacities at non-major ports suchas Mundra, Pipavav, Hazira, and Dighi wouldprimarily drive the higher growth in containertraffic at non-major ports.

Going ahead, non-major ports are expectedto account for a higher share of the total trafficpie as compared to major ports. This is due to thecapacity expansion plans by non-major portscoupled with better efficiencies and soundinfrastructure at these ports. In addition, plans forport-based power projects and special economiczones (SEZs) near non-major ports, andimprovement in infrastructure such as road andrail connectivity will drive traffic growth at non-major ports.

In the long run, port traffic growth will beboosted by the rebound in GDP growth.Significant investments, a bulk of it from theprivate sector, be required to keep capacityutilisation rates at optimum levels, so that the portshave less congestion and healthy turnaroundtimes.

Over the next 5 years, investments ofaround Rs. 1 trillion are expected in the portssector of which Rs. 440 billion would be directedtowards major ports and the rest towards non-major ports. Investments are expected in green-field projects as well as expansion of existingfacilities. Apart from increasing nutrition ofschoolchildren, the move will help to boostproduction

The Agriculture Ministry has asked theStates to include millets in the mid-day mealscheme to increase the demand for the cereal and,thereby, enhance farm incomes.Millet crops orcoarse cereals are known for their high nutritionalvalue and are effective in controlling diabetes andobesity. But the area under millets has been





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steadily declining though they are suited for aridand semi-arid regions, besides adaptability tomoisture stress.

The commonly cultivated millets under rain-fed conditions are sorghum (jowar), finger millet(ragi or mandwa), pearl millet (bajra), foxtailmillet, barnyard millet, proso millet, kodo millet andlittle millet.

In his letter to the Chief Secretaries of theStates, Union Agriculture Secretary AshishBahuguna said introduction of millets in the mealscheme would go a long way in increasing thenutritional standards of schoolchildren. He said theDepartment of Food and Public DistributionSystem had agreed to facilitate supply of milletsbut the response from the States for allocation forthe meal scheme was not very encouraging.

The Agriculture Ministry last yearintroduced a scheme — Initiative for NutritionalSecurity through Intensive Millet Promotion(INSIMP) to boost cultivation. But it has notpicked up mainly due to a lack of adequatedemand for millets.⇒ IAEA Safety Team to visit Rajasthan

PlantsEven as protests continue at Kudankulam,

sources here said the government had for the firsttime agreed to allow an International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA) team to conduct safetyreview of two atomic power plants located inRajasthan.

“Public confidence has to be built bytransparency. We are getting legislation tostrengthen regulatory bodies and as a relatedmeasure the IAEA’s Operational Safety ReviewTeam [OSART] will visit Rajasthan in November.India will study its report and take on boardsuggestions. The government’s position is that

more needs to be done on safety aspects,’’ addedthe sources. The OSART, set up 30 years ago,will conduct a follow-up review after about twoyears to find out how many of itsrecommendations were accepted andimplemented by the authorities, and the findingswill be made public. Following the March 11, 2011Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan, Indiavoluntarily decided last year to allow the OSARTto inspect units 3 and 4 of the Rajasthan AtomicPower Station at Rawatbhatta, one of which haddeveloped a leak that affected four workers.

The sources expect the team to share itsexperiences of reviewing safety at other plantsacross the world. Another IAEA team, theIntegrated Regulatory Review Services (IRRS),has not yet been invited and could come afterIndia tightens up laws related to regulatory bodies.IMPACT OF FUKUSHIMA

The sources admitted that the post-Fukushima debate on nuclear safety has had adeep impact on global public discussions onnuclear energy. It was not appropriate tounderestimate the breadth of concerns, but it wasequally important to put the debate in perspectiveand not mix views on two or three interrelatedissues.

While Germany has decided to wean itselfoff nuclear energy due to the consistent standtaken by the Green Party, and Italy andSwitzerland are also backing off due to relatedreasons, the government here believes there is noalternative to nuclear energy. “So the three stageprogramme continues. But that doesn’t meanIndia won’t take additional steps to build andrestore public confidence in safety issues relatingto nuclear energy,’’ they said.





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SCIENTISTS CREATE MAP OF HUMAN BRAIN

A comprehensive atlas of the adult humanbrain that reveals the activity of genes across theentire organ has been created by scientists.

The map was created from geneticanalyses of about 900 specific parts of two“clinically unremarkable” brains donated by a 24-year-old and 39-year-old man, and half a brainfrom a third man.BASELINE

Researchers at the Allen Institute for BrainScience in Seattle said the atlas would serve as abaseline against which they and others cancompare the genetic activity of diseased brains,and so shed light on factors that underlieneurological and psychiatric conditions.

“The human brain is the most complexstructure known to mankind and one of thegreatest challenges in modern biology is tounderstand how it is built and organised,”. It givesus essentially the Rosetta stone for understandingthe link between the genome and the brain, andgives us a path forward to decoding how geneticdisorders impact and produce brain disease.” Thepower of the brain arises from its neural wiring,its variety of cells and structures, and ultimatelywhere and when different genes are switched onand off throughout the 1.9kg lump of tissue.DETAILED ANALYSIS

From more than 100 million measurementson brain pieces, some only a few cubic millimetres,the scientists found 84% of all genes are turnedon in some part of the organ. Gene activity in nextdoor regions of the cortex, the large wrinklysurface of the brain, was similar but distinct fromthat in lower parts, such as the brain stem.

More detailed analysis of the cortexrevealed patterns in gene activity thatcorresponded to regions with specific roles in thebrain, such as movement and sensory functions.The atlas revealed no major divide in gene activityon the left and right sides of the brain, suggestingthat expertise generally handled by onehemisphere, such as language, comes from moresubtle differences than the study could spot.

Although the brains came from men ofsimilar age and ethnicity, the pattern of geneactivity was so similar that researchers suspectthere may be a common blueprint.GREATER CHALLENGE

Scientists have constructed similar geneticatlases for rodents in the past, but the shortageof donated human brains, their size and thedestructive nature of the tests meant a humanequivalent was more of a challenge.

Writing in the journal Nature, the scientistsdescribe how they scanned the donated brainsand then chopped them into tiny pieces. For eachpiece, they measured activity levels for all of the20,000 or so genes in the human genome.

The atlas, which overlays the genetic resultson to a 3D image of the brain, is freely availablefor researchers to use online.

Grant said that future studies would look toconnect the genetic brain atlas with other geneticstudies or brain scans of abnormal or diseasedbrains. That could highlight genes that play a rolein brain conditions and point the way to drugtreatments.⇒ Sayonara Nuclear Power

The much needed big push towards low-cost, highly-efficient, cutting-edge renewableenergy technologies was lacking till recently. Even





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the compulsion to cut down carbon dioxideemission levels by 2020 failed to overcome theinertia. But the landscape has squarely anddramatically changed following the 9 magnitudeearthquake and killer tsunami waves that resultedin the catastrophic accident in the Fukushimanuclear reactor units in Japan. In what mayappear as well co-ordinated announcementsmade very recently, Japan and France, both majornuclear power champions, have announced theirdeparture from nuclear energy dependence. IfMarch 11, 2011 has gone down in history as a darkday for Japan, the government’s September 14decision to end its reliance on nuclear power by2040 by closing down all 50 reactors will foreverbe remembered as a defining moment. This will,in all probability, mark the beginning of arenewable energy technology revolution. If afterWorld War II, the Japanese people transformedtheir nation into one of the world’s mostindustrially developed ones, the possibility of thecountry producing an encore with alternativeenergy technology developments cannot be ruledout.

Japan is not alone. The Fukushima shiverhas had its reverberations in France as well. By2025, France will cut its reliance on nuclearenergy by 25 per cent from the current level of75 per cent by shutting down 24 reactors. Sixmonths after the Fukushima catastrophe andfollowing Germany’s decision to get out of nuclearenergy by 2022, Siemens had made public itsdecision to exit nuclear power business. Theengineering giant intends to shift its focus toalternative energies. By 2020 Germany intendsto derive 35 per cent of its energy needs fromrenewable sources. While critics decry Japan’splan to wait another three decades beforeswitching off its last nuclear plant, the decision is

not without basis. Some 30 per cent of thecountry’s power requirement is met by theseplants. Decommissioning operating plants thathave not completed their lifetime will meaneconomical suicide. This period also gives Japanthe time to develop and scale up revolutionarytechnologies that are better adapted to harnesspower from even very low wind speed, and low-intensity sunlight for the better part of the year incountries situated in higher latitudes. The focuswill also be on developing technologies forharnessing wave energy. To begin with, the costof production using these alternative technologiesmay be higher than even nuclear. But costs arebound to fall over time and wider acceptance isinevitable.EASES APPROVAL

NORMS FOR FOREIGN BORROWINGS

In a further impetus to reform initiatives ofthe UPA government, approved the operationalfeatures of the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Equity SavingsScheme’ (RGESS) to attract first time investorsto the stock market through a tax savingmechanism so as to provide an alternative toinvestment in gold assets and thereby suppressdemand for the yellow metal.

Government’s decision to grant approval toall foreign borrowings — as a measure of easingof norms instead of case-by-case approvals —by way of loan agreement and long-terminfrastructure bonds that “satisfy certainconditions” so as to enable Indian companies toprocure low-cost borrowings abroad in thecurrent global environment of low interest rates.

Briefing the media here on the twoinitiatives, which have come a day afternotification on rolling out foreign direct investment(FDI) in multi-brand retail, aviation and other





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sectors, “The Rajiv Gandhi Equity SavingsScheme will encourage more first time retailinvestors to invest in stock market. Secondly, theeasing of tax is to encourage overseas borrowing.Interest rates are low abroad and these low costfunds can come to India.”

Incidentally, both schemes were announcedin the Budget for this fiscal which are now beingset in motion for implementation. The RGESS,proposed by the then Finance Minister PranabMukherjee in his Budget speech, would providea 50 per cent tax deduction on investments up toRs 50,000 to investors whose annual taxableincome is below Rs.10 lakh.

Stocks listed under the BSE 100 or CNX100, or those of public sector undertakings (PSUs)which are ‘Navratnas’, ‘Maharatnas’ and‘Miniratnas’ would be eligible for the tax benefit.Follow-on public offers (FPOs) of these PSUs asalso IPOs which are getting listed in the relevantfinancial year and whose annual turnover is notless than Rs.4,000 crore for each of the immediatepast three years, would also be eligible to avail ofthe incentive. “Exchange traded funds (ETFs) andmutual funds (MFs) that have RGESS eligiblesecurities as their underlying and are listed andtraded in the stock exchanges and settled througha depository mechanism have also been broughtunder RGESS,” an official statement said.

Investments are allowed to be made ininstalments in the year in which tax claims aremade and the total lock-in period for investmentsunder the scheme would be three years, includingan initial blanket lock-in period of one year,commencing from the date of last purchase ofsecurities under RGESS.

It will act as alternative financial instrumentand encourage more people to invest in this

instrument rather than gold, which is a deadinstrument.

The Department of Revenue is to notify thescheme shortly and market regulator Securitiesand Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will issuethe relevant circulars to operationalise RGESS inthe next two weeks.FOREIGN BORROWINGS

As for the easing of approvals for foreignborrowings, the Finance Act, 2012, had amendedthe Income Tax Act, 1961, to lower the tax on suchborrowings. Amendment to Section 115A andinsertion of Section 194LC in the I-T Act providethat the interest income of a non-resident investorwill be taxed at the reduced rate of 5 per centinstead of the existing rate of 20 per cent.

Further, the liability of the Indian companyto withhold tax on such income has also beenreduced to 5 per cent. The lower rate of taxationwill apply to interest paid to a non-resident by anIndian company for money borrowed in foreigncurrency from a source outside India either undera loan agreement or by way of long-terminfrastructure bonds. “This is also subject to thecondition that the borrowing is made during theperiod from July 1, 2012 to Jun3 30, 2015, andsuch borrowing and the rate of interest areapproved by the Central Government,” an officialstatement said.⇒ Wetland Wonderland

Subjected to plunder and deforestation foryears, people are finally waking up to the rolemangrove forests play in containing erosion, de-polluting air and maintaining a healthy marineecology Just as the Olympics are conducted oncein four years, environmentalists across the globealso hold their mega meeting once in four years.





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While the more dramatic Olympics grabheadlines, the ‘green guys’ do not get any publicityon that scale, even though the proceedings onnatural science directly impacts all livingcreatures, including mankind.

• This year, the World ConservationCongress was held in Korea in the questto use nature for resolving the growinglist of economic and social issues.

• Conducted by IUCN — InternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature, fromSeptember 1 to 15, its agenda was to findpragmatic solutions to environmental anddevelopmental challenges in the world.

• One of the major decisions taken in thecongress was to prepare the Red List ofEcosystems that will harmonise theIUCN Red List of Threatened Speciesand other IUCN knowledge products.

• The Indian subcontinent is rich inmangrove forests, but it is being ruthlesslyplundered.

• Management of mangroves in India isalso slowly picking up, especially in thewest coast, on the east coast andAndaman and Nicobar Islands.

• The Sundarbans mangrove covers 10,000sq km of which about 6,000 sq km is inBangladesh and rest in India. Due to itsvital wealth and statistics, it was declareda UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

• This exceptional water world is anamalgamation of creeks, canals andserpentine rivers of varying width froma few meters to several km.

BEWARE THE LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity or biological diversity is thevariety or richness of ecosystems, species

composition therein, and their genetic diversity too.Professor Edward O. Wilson, Harvard visionaryof biodiversity, observes that the current rate ofbiodiversity loss is perhaps the highest since theloss of dinosaurs about 65 million years ago duringthe Mesozoic era, when humans had notappeared.

He regrets that if such indiscriminateannihilation of all biodiversity from the face of theearth happens for anthropogenic reasons, as hasbeen seen now, it is sure to force humanity intoan emotional shock and trauma of loneliness andhelplessness on this planet. He believes that thecurrent wave of biodiversity loss is sure to leadus into an age that may be appropriately calledthe “Eremozoic Era, the Age of Loneliness.” Lossof biodiversity is a much greater threat to humansurvival than even climate change. Both could act,synergistically too, to escalate human extinctionfaster.

• Biodiversity is so indispensable forhuman survival that the United NationsGeneral Assembly has designated thedecade 2011- 2020 as the ‘BiodiversityDecade’ with the chief objective ofenabling humans to live peaceably orharmoniously with nature and itsbiodiversity.

• The Ministry of Environment and Forests(MoEF) is the nodal agency for CoP-11.Today, India is one of the 17 mega-diverse (richest biodiversity) countries.

• Biodiversity provides all basic needs forour healthy survival — oxygen, food,medicines, fibre, fuel, energy, fertilizers,fodder and waste-disposal, etc.

• The Assam Himalayas and the WesternGhats are two such little explored but





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richest biodiversity treasure banks inIndia.

• The slogan of the Hyderabad CBD CoP-11, inscribed on the logo, in Sanskrit,“Prakruthi: Rakshathi Rakshitha,”

• Those who argue that CRR should goare of the view that it curbs their abilityto lend more. According to them, fundsget unnecessarily blocked. They yield noreturn also. Further, compared to mutualfunds, non-banking finance companies(NBFCs) and insurance companies,which are not under any compulsion tofollow CRR norms, banks are placed ina disadvantageous position. From thereform perspective, the NarasimhamCommittee-1 mandated a sharp reductionin the CRR and SLR.

• Yet, according to many, the time to doaway with these statutory pre-emptionshas not yet arrived.

• It fulfils an important regulatory functionin countries such as India where theOpen Market Operations (OMO) thatcentral banks use to check liquidity facesome structural rigidities. Central banksrely on CRRs to check inflation byvarying money supply.

• An increase in CRR lowers the multiplier,and, hence, the growth of money supply.

⇒ Still Relevant after all These YearsWhat was most significant about the Non-

Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit that was heldin Tehran recently was that almost all of its 120members gathered there in the face of U.S., alliedwestern nations and Israeli attempts to pressureand isolate Iran to abandon parts of its nuclearprogramme. Great pressure was even brought onUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

by Washington and Tel Aviv not to attend, but themild and generally pliant Ban could not bringhimself to abandon the precedent set by hispredecessors and skip the event.CONFIDENCE BOOSTER

The attempt to isolate Iran failedcompletely. Hosting the summit was a greatconfidence booster for Tehran which was able topresent its case to the largest internationalorganisation of developing nations. It showcasedthe lethal attacks on its scientists, suspected to beby Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad. In its finaldeclaration the Summit unanimously supportedIran’s right to develop all aspects of its nuclearprogramme for peaceful purposes within theframework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty andcriticised attempts to isolate Iran and punish it withunilateral sanctions. Even though NAM may nothave the political, economic or military strengthto successfully resist those powerful nations, itcannot be doubted that its support undermines thelegitimacy of sanctions, especially those outsidethe U.N. framework, as well as diverse forms ofundercover sabotage and killings by Israel withor without U.S. involvement, including any militaryattack if it were to take place.

It is in this context that the decision of PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh to resist U.S. pressureand attend the Summit himself has to be seen.Even though he made no mention of the Irannuclear issue at the Summit, his very presencewas seen as expressing the Indian government’ssupport for Iran and for NAM more generally.Further, there was considerable warmth in hismeeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader AyatollahKhamenei. Besides, the Indian Foreign Ministermet his Iranian counterpart ahead of the Summitto develop bilateral economic ties.





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On the other issue on the internationalagenda, the Prime Minister spoke out forthrightlyagainst “external intervention” in the Syrian crisis,which, he said, would “exacerbate the sufferingof ordinary citizens.” He added that “NAMshould urge all parties to recommit themselves toresolving the crisis peacefully through a Syrian-led inclusive political process.” This was directlyin opposition to the U.S. stand and actions on theissue. But NAM could not come out with a clearstand because of many internal differences,especially among the Arab and Islamic nations,and the final declaration made no mention of theissue. This showed some of the limitations ofNAM in areas involving conflicts between andwithin its member nations.

Is NAM still relevant in the post-Cold Warworld, in an era where the U.S. and its allies arepolitically, economically and strategically moredominant than ever? NAM is routinely derided bythe western media and policymakers as anirrelevant “relic of the Cold War.” U.S.policymakers have explicitly stated that theywould like to see India out of NAM altogether andeven abandon the concept of non-alignment in itsforeign policy thinking. Alternatively, they wouldlike India to join their alliance of democraciesagainst non-democracies, which in their opinionis the defining agenda in the present globalscenario. Another idea is “multi-alignment” —participation in diverse international groupings ofnations like G 20, G 77, IBSA, RIC, Brics, Basic,among others, for promoting different interests.

The reasons are not far to seek. Even fromits pre-origins in the Bandung Conference offormer colonial nations in 1955, NAM has meantmuch more than not being aligned with the twoCold War blocs. It was also conceived as the

voice of the former colonies and poor nations ina world overwhelmingly dominated by the richwestern nations. The G 77 which takes up thecause of the developing countries in internationalfora on economic and development issues wascomplementary to NAM. Solidarity within NAMprovides strength to its member nations. Hence,NAM has that flavour of anti-imperialismassociated with its origin and history which therich and powerful nations would like to seeforgotten.

In such a context what should NAM’s rolebe in Indian foreign policy? The Prime Ministerin his address reaffirmed the continuing relevanceof NAM. And he emphasised that NAM wasimportant “to preserve our strategic space.” Arecent policy perspective document developed bythe a panel of “independent thinkers,” someclosely linked to the Indian Government, titledNon-Alignment 2.0: A Foreign and StrategicPolicy for India in the Twenty First Century ,argues that the objective of non-alignment is topreserve and enhance the nation’s “strategicautonomy.”

Interestingly, the phrases “Non-AlignedMovement” and “G 77” do not find any place init. Non-alignment has been redefined inexclusively Indian national terms to enhance itsindependence or sovereignty and provide roomfor manoeuvre amidst diverse pressures topromote its ambitions and interests.

What has been decisively abandoned isIndia’s solidarity with the developing countries andthe aim of mobilising them on the basis of commoninterests and agenda. This perspective hasbecome more influential in Indian policy circlesespecially after the collapse of the Soviet bloc andthe initiation domestically of radical economic





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private sector oriented reforms at the start of the1990s. However, the founding fathers of NAMsaw the two objectives — national independenceand the solidarity of developing countries — asprofoundly interdependent for the former colonieswhich were embarking on the path ofdevelopment in a deeply unequal world. Can theybe separated in an age when there is nocommunist bloc to provide a countervailing forceto the almost complete dominance of the rich andpowerful nations?

In recent decades, the Indian governmentseems to have more faith in the U.N. as a forumto protect its independence and interests. Butafter the collapse of the Soviet Union and itscommunist allies, that institution has almostcompletely been dominated by the powerfulnations. The U.S., long hostile to many of itsassociated organisations, has been openlysceptical if not downright contemptuous of it,even though its West European allies are keenerto work within its framework. Whether in thecontext of lack of solidarity among the developingnations, the U.N. will be able to provide a checkon those powerful nations is doubtful.CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE

This change over the last quarter centuryin the Indian perspective on NAM has to be seenin the context of its revised foreign policy agendabeing almost exclusively focused on transformingthe nation into a great power. The way towardsthis objective, it is felt, is to start thinking big, jointhe rich man’s club and enter into friendly relationswith the rich and powerful nations for economic,hi-tech and military benefits and a place at the hightable where the great powers decide the fate ofhumankind. Hence, one of its chief priorities is tobecome a permanent member of the U.N.

Security Council. Another, to be allowedhegemony in the South Asian region. To advancethis agenda, friendship with the mosttechnologically and economically advanced andmilitarily powerful nation, the United States, isseen as the most promising path.

But India wants to also maintain its“strategic autonomy,” “to preserve our strategicspace.” Hence, the continuing ambivalence andshifting stands. India voted against Tehran earlierbut has since resisted additional sanctions by theU.S.-led western nations. Also, it tried to resistattempts to restrict its oil purchases from Iran,before ultimately succumbing to U.S. pressure.It has also actively tried to increase its bilateraltrade and economic ties and maintain morefriendly political relations with Iran.

Even if building better relations with the richand powerful nations has benefited India in recentdecades, abandoning the solidarity with otherdeveloping nations within NAM may well end upadversely affecting the nation’s economic,political and strategic interests.⇒ No, Icann

The impending sanction of generic Top-Level Domains by the Internet Corporation forAssigned Names and Numbers poses seriousquestions on equity and competition. Theimportance of domain names to digital commercecannot be overstated, and the power of the .comor .net is well understood. What Icann proposesto do is to add several hundred gTLDs, startingnext year, including those that encompass a widerange of activity in the creative arts, publishing,lifestyle and even community activities. Any entitythat is assigned a domain becomes the equivalentof a landlord in cyberspace, with the ability toextract rent from other users. Such control may





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not pose problems where corporates such asGoogle are assigned domains that are specific totheir companies or brands, .google or .android, forinstance. But giving companies monopolisticcontrol over generic words such as .book, .site,.news, .beauty or .app even through an auctionprocess would distort the openness thatcharacterises the Internet. A more equitablearrangement would be to keep such resourcesaccessible in a non-discriminatory way. It is sucha broad open culture pioneered by Tim Berners-Lee and others that aided the growth of theInternet in the first place, and not one thatnarrowly focused on profits.

Internet gTLDs are affected by the digitaldivide, as the pattern of applications with Icannindicates. Most are from the developed world, andNorth America dominates; Africa is at adisadvantage due to the complexity and cost. Notmany have the resources to pay the $ 185,000 feefor registration and the hardware andinfrastructure necessary to run the domain. Eventhe concessional fee for public interest applicantsin the ‘supported’ category remains too steep formost organisations. Governments in suchcountries could consider aiding nationalcorporations, cities and public institutions toacquire the gTLDs that are of domestic concern.This can prevent monopolies. Equally importantis the possibility of fraud. Unless Icann cancredibly ascertain ownership of a top level domain,it could be hijacked and used to commit onlinefraud. Clearly, the more contentious issue is thatof domains that are truly generic, such as .book.They require some anti-monopoly safeguards,such as a “no refusal” clause to be incorporatedinto the registration to protect the interests of allplayers in the field. In general, a set of predictableconsequences for anti-competitive practices

should be worth considering for inclusion. Moreso, since Icann has the stated objective ofpromoting competition in the gTLD scheme.Where there are credible objections to thedistribution of important domain names, Icannwould do well not to award them in haste.⇒ Residency Certificate a Must for Foreign

Investors to get Tax BenefitThe government has mandated that from

April 1, 2013, all foreign investors desirous ofclaiming benefits under the double taxationavoidance agreements (DTAAs) will have toproduce tax residency certificates (TRC) of theirbase country in which they are located.

According to a notification issued by theCentral Board of Direct Taxes on September 17,2012, the amendments to the Income Tax Act,1961, will take effect from April 1, 2013, andapply in relation to assessment year 2013-14 andsubsequent years. The notification, in effect,amends Section 90 and Section 90A of the I-TAct dealing with taxation of foreign investmentand tax benefits under DTAAs. Till date, India hasinked DTAAs with 84 countries. Under Section90 (4) of the Act, as inserted by the Finance Act,2013, with effect from April 1, 2012, it is providedthat an assessee, not being a resident, to whoman agreement referred to in sub-section (1) ofSection 90 applies, shall not be entitled to claimany relief under a DTAA unless a certificate,containing such particulars as may be prescribed,of his being a resident in any country or specifiedterritory outside India is obtained by him from thegovernment of that country or specified territory.

A similar provision has been inserted in sub-Section (4) of Section 90A of the Act andpursuant thereto, the CBDT notification seeks toinsert Rule 21BA and Forms 10FA and 10FB





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specifying the manner in which the TRC shouldbe obtained.

Accordingly, the TRC to be obtained by anassessee for availing himself of tax benefits shallcontain the name of the assessee along with status— whether it is an individual or a company —the nationality (in case of individual) and thecountry wherein the company or firm is registeredor incorporated. This apart, the TRC should havethe tax identification number (TIN) of theassessee, its residential status for the purposes oftax, the period for which the TRC is applicableand the address of the assessee for that period.Also, the certificate shall be duly verified by thegovernment of the country or the specifiedterritory of which the assessee claims to be aresident for the purposes of tax. A clause in thevarious DTAAs that India has entered into, theassessee can take the advantage of paying capitalgains tax in either of the two nations, whereverthe rate of the levy is lower. Thus, the interplayof treaty and domestic legislation ensures that ataxpayer, who is resident of one of the contractingcountries to the treaty, is entitled to claimapplicability of beneficial provisions either of treatyor of the domestic law.⇒ 12th Plan Priority for Rabies Control

Acknowledging that rabies is a major publichealth challenge in India, the governmentproposes to make it a priority disease for controlunder the 12th Five Year Plan.

A viral zoonotic disease primarily infectingdomestic and wild animals, rabies spreads topeople through close contact with infected salivavia bites and scratches. There is no treatmentavailable globally after the disease develops. Anestimated 20,000 deaths occur annually in Indiadue to rabies.

While dogs are the main host andtransmitters, others responsible for the disease arecat, mongoose, monkeys and such other warm-blooded animals.

Strategies to prevent death due to rabieswere developed through a pilot project during the11th Plan and these strategies are proposed to beimplemented countrywide in the 12th Plan. The11th Plan targeted reduction of rabies deaths inhumans by at least 50 per cent by the end of thePlan period in the pilot project that coveredAhmedabad, Bangalore, Pune, Madurai andDelhi.

As of now, India does not have acomprehensive national rabies controlprogramme. Various organisations are involved incontrol activities without any inter-sectoralcoordination. The existing prevention activities arebeing carried out by municipal bodies, but notangible results have been achieved.

Experience gained from the implementationof the pilot project indicates that the strategy isfeasible, reproducible and implementable. It isnow proposed to roll out a comprehensive controlstrategy for both human and animal componentsin the 12th Plan. All 35 States/UTs will be coveredfor the human component and the animalcomponent will be piloted in selected 30 cities.

The programme will include training healthprofessionals to deal with animal bites, awarenesscreation and minimising animal bites. On theveterinary side, the focus is on sterilisation andvaccination of dogs, with a larger involvement ofcivil society and municipal bodies.

Advocating the need for greater awarenessof the disease, the World Health Organisation(WHO) says children and poor people areparticularly vulnerable.





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The disease claims 55,000 human livesacross the world every year, mostly in Africa andAsia. The number of animal bites in India,however, is not reliably known, though somestudies have estimated it to be as high as 17.4million a year. The last survey conducted by theAssociation for Prevention and Control of Rabiesin India in 2003 was supported by the WHO andit put the number of deaths at 20,000. About 90per cent of the mortality and morbidity here isassociated with dog bites.

Modern, safe and effective anti-rabies cellculture vaccines are being used for post-exposuretreatment in India after the government bannedthe production and use of nervous tissue vaccinein December 2004. Intradermal rabiesvaccination has been promoted at the State levelin designated rabies clinics.

The WHO says prevention of human rabiesis possible through mass dog vaccination,promotion of responsible dog ownership and dogpopulation control programmes with a partnershipapproach. Many countries in South America andAsia have successfully used this strategy toeliminate transmission of rabies.

However, this is a challenge for India as ithas a large population of dogs (around 25 million)and very low vaccination coverage.⇒ Sudans Iron out deal on Oil,

Demilitarised ZoneThe Presidents of Sudan and South Sudan

signed agreements to implement a demilitarisedzone that paves the way for resumption of oilexports after a five-day summit in the Ethiopiancapital.

“Today is a great day in the history of ourregion … as you witness the signing of thecooperation agreement that brings to an end the

long conflict between our two countries,” saidSouth Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

“This agreement stands as a living modelfor the ability of the Sudanese and African peopleto resolve their issues and problems throughdialogue and negotiations,” said Sudan’sPresident Omar Hassan Al-Bashir. Oil salesaccount for 98 per cent of South Sudan’s revenueand 90 per cent of Sudan’s exports. Theresumption of oil trade is imperative for both asthey rebuild their cash-starved economies afterthe 2011 secession of the South granted it controlof most of the oil reserves but gave Sudan controlof the pipelines.

The centrepiece of Thursday’s agreementsis a 20-km wide demilitarized zone, to bemonitored and patrolled by international forces,which will serve as a buffer as the neighboursdemarcate an acceptable international border.Last year, tensions along the 1,800-km bordersparked an armed conflict.

The Presidents also signed agreements toaddress post-secession issues, includinginstitutional frameworks for cross-bordercooperation, central banking and the status ofcitizens in one country working and residing in theother.UNRESOLVED ISSUES

The two countries were unable to resolvethe status of Abyei, a disputed territory. The regionserves as the traditional grazing grounds for theMisseriya tribes allied to the North, but is hometo a settled population of the Ngok Dinka peoplewho consider themselves South Sudanese.

Under the Comprehensive PeaceAgreement of 2005, the status of Abyei must bedecided through a referendum, but the two sides





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are unable to agree on criteria to determine votereligibility.

“My government and I acceptedunconditionally the proposal of the African UnionHigh-level Implementation Panel [AUHIP] to theresolution of the conflict in Abyei,” said Mr. Kiir,adding “unfortunately my brother [Mr.] Bashirand Sudan totally rejected it.”

Sudan has rejected the AUHIP proposal onthe grounds that it does not allow for voting rightsof the Misseriya people.

The agreement insists on “permanent abodewithin the Abyei area” as a precondition forvoting, according to letter written by the

Sudanese negotiating team and published by theSudan Tribune newspaper.

Western diplomats welcomed the cessationof hostilities, but some felt the resumption of oiltrade could mean that pressing humanitarianissues could be swept under the carpet.

U.N. Security Council resolutions mandatethat Sudan negotiate with the Sudan People’sLiberation Movement-North [SPLM-N] — arebel force that controls large parts of Sudan’sborder with South Sudan — to allow humanitarianaid to thousands of civilians displaced by the war.However, the two sides did not even meet at thesummit.





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Q. Electronics System Design Manufacture6 Point.

1. The demand for electronics hardware inthe country is projected to increase fromUSD 45 billion in 2009 to USD 400 billionby 2020. Electronics System Design andManufacturing (ESDM) hub to meet thedomestic as well as the globalrequirements. Most of India’s domesticdemand is presently being met throughimports.

2. India produces just about 45 percent ofthe demands.

3. The domestic production growth ratestands at 16 percent and holding on tothis growth rate would give India a totalproduction of USD 104 billion creating atrade imbalance of USD 296 billion inthe year 2020.

4. The electronics manufacturing sector isone of the very few sectors that canprovide high employments across alleducation levels.Sector of National import once• Major investments are expected in 3

major areas of strategic importanceto India; Defense. Avionics andNuclear sector. Estimates state thatIndia is going to the 3rd largest market

YOJANA MAGAZINE

for defense equipment by the year2015.

• India’s nuclear power is expected tocontribute 25 percent to 50 percent ofpower generated by 2050, a massiveleap from the current 3 percent.

Q. National Policy on Electronics

• The draft National Policy on Electronicswas released in October 2011. Parts ofthe policies such EMC (ElectronicsManufacturing Cultures) and M-SIPS(Modified Special Incentive Package)has already been approved in principle.

• The Policy will provide a clear road mapfor the development of electronics sectorin the country for the coming decade.

• The draft National Policy on Electronics(NPE) proposes to achieve a domesticproduction of about USD 400 Billion by2020 in the ESDM sector by creating anindustry friendly policy framework andecosystem which provides a level playingfield for the domestic industry.

• This will involve investment of aboutUSD 100 billion and provide employmentto around 28 million by 2020.

• This inter-alia includes achieving aturnover of USD 55 Billion of chip design





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and embedded software industry andUSD 80 Billion of exports in the sector.

• Moreover, the policy also proposessetting up of over 200 ElectronicsManufacturing clusters.

• The draft NPE also proposes to set uptwo semiconductor wafer manufacturingfacilities and to create and sustain avibrant research and development andinnovation eco-system in the ESDMsector.

• Another important objective of the policyis to significantly upscale high-endhuman resource creation to 2500 PhDsannually by 2020 in the sector.

• Vide Gazette Notification dates 1-thFebruary, 2012, the Government has laiddown the policy for providing preferenceto domestically manufactured electronicsproducts, in procurement of thoseelectronics products which have securityimplication for the country and inGovernments procurement not with aview to commercial resale or with a viewto use in the production of goods forcommercial sale.

• The policy is expected to strengthen thecyber security ecosystem in the countryas well as provide a boost to the domesticmanufacturing.

Q. Modified Special Incentive PackageSchemeThe Union Cabinet on 12th July, 2012

approved the proposal to provide a specialincentive package to promote large-scalemanufacturing in the ESDM sector. The schemeis called the Modified Special Incentive PackageScheme (M-SIPS). The main features of M-SIPSare as follow:

1. The scheme provides subsidy forinvestments in capital expenditure – 20percent for investments in SEZs. It alsoprovides for reimbursement of CVD/excise for capital equipment for the non-SEZ units. For high technology and highcapital investments units, like fabs,reimbursement of central taxes andduties is also provided.

2. The incentives are available forinvestments made in a project within aperiod of 10 years from the date ofapproval.

3. The incentive are available for 29categories of electronic products andproduct components includingsemiconductor chips and chipcomponents. The scheme also providesincentive for relocation of units fromabroad.The scheme is open for three years fromnotification. Approvals for incentives notexceeding Rs. 10,000 crores will begranted during the XII Plan period. Theprojects with incentives of Rs. 10,000crores have potential to createemployment for nearly 0.5 millionpersons.• The policy is expected to create an

indigenous manufacturing eco-systemfor electronics in the country.

• The projected requirement to reach tothe target of USD 400 billion is 28million people.

• The Department is also strengtheningcapacities in NIELIT (formerly knownas DOEACC) and CDAC to t rainlarge number of students in electronicsdesign and production technology.





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Q. Future of Manufacturing• The share of ICT & electronics

hardware manufacturing has beenstagnating at a low 17 percent of GDPfor over tow decades now. With an aimof taking this to around 25 percent by2025,

• By 2014 the import of electronicsproducts will reach $ 125 bn.

• By 2015, India,s consumer market isbound to emerge as world,s 8th largestand eventually escalate to the 5th positionin 2025.

• With a target of issuing Aadhar numbersto 600 mallion by 2014, the UIDprogramme hould huge

• Establishing a , Natinal ElectronhicsMisson –a ndal agency for theelectronics industry within DIT and withdirect interface to the prime Minister sOffice (PMO).

• Infosys and wipro. These companiesused the” quality route “to grow theirbusiness Indian IT companies folled thefive levels of the software EngineeringInstitute,s certification mare then anyother country ,including US.

• For the 2012 financial year (which endedMarch 2012), annual business crossedUS$100 billon in sales revenue, with ITcontributing to 7.5 percent of India sGDP.

Q. National E—Governance Plan1. The National E—Governance plan

(NEGP) is the most significant initiativetaken in India during the last decade tomainstream ICT in governance at bothcentral and state levels. It lays emphasis

on creating the right governance andinstitutional framework within the country,establish the core IT infrastructure, andimplement a number of Mission Modeprojects at the central, integrated levels.The original vision of NEGP was to“Make all Government servicesaccessible to the common man in hislocality through common service deliveryoutlets and ensure efficiency,transparency and reliability of suchservices ay affordable costs to realizethe basic needs of the common man”The plan, consisting originally of 27Mission Mode projects (M MPs) and 8components, was approved in May 2006.subsequently, during july 2011,four newMMPs on Hialth, system (PDS) andposts were added. The respectiveministries and departments inGovernment of India are responsible foroverall formulation, financial approvalsand implementation of the MMPs.

Q. Integrated Approach to ImplementationThe overall strategy for implementation

envisaged an integrated approach focusing on sixkey aspects and seven guiding principles (Chauhan 2009). The six key aspects includedconnectivity capacity building. Content creationcyber law, citizen interface, and capital. Theseven guiding principles included the following:centralized initiative and decentralizedimplementation: delivering public value:thing big,start small, and scale fast: change management”common core and support infrastructure: capacitybuilding: and public private partnerships (PPPs.)Q. Governance structure under

NeGP has conceptualized a well—definedgovernance structure to ensure its implementation





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as a comprehensive and integrated plan cuttingacross various central line ministries and stategovernments. At the highest level, there is aCommittee headed by the prime Minster toprovide the overall leadership for theimplementation of the NeGP. A National e-Governance Advisory Group headed by theMinister of Communications and IT has beenconstituted to seek views of the stakeholders andinterventions needed to mainstream ICT ingovernance in the country. An various ApexCommittee on NeGP chaired by the Cabinetsecretary has also been constituted to monitor itsimplementation, provide policy directions andresolve any inter-ministerial issues. For the actualconceptualization, financial approvals, andimplementation of the MMPs, the respective lineministries and departments are responsible. Deityserves as the secretariat for the Apex Committeein managing the NeGP and provides technicaladvisory and appraisal services to the variousdepartments implementing the MMPs. IT is thecore infrastructural and other technical supportcomponents of the plan.Q. Components under NeGP

Area Networks (SWANs), state Datacentre’s (SDCs), and Common service centers(CSCs) All The NeGp consists of eightcomponents. The three main core components.Consist of State Wide these three projects beingimplemented by Deity. The other five componentscommunication, capacity building assessment, andresearch and development Deity plays pivotal rolein these areas as wellQ. Mission Mode projects under

The 31 MMPs under the NEGP consist of11 central, 7 integrated and 13 state projectsThe11 central MMPs are as follows:

1. Banking: This MMP has been led bythe banking industry and aims atintegrating the core banking solutionsacross various banks in the country.

2. Insurance: This is another industry ledinitiative that focuses on services in theinsurance sector being provided by thepublic sector insurance companies.

3. MCA21: This project provides variousservices of the Ministry of CorporateAffairs such as registration ofdocuments, etc. through a secure portal.IT has 8 service categories.

4. Income Tax: It aims at providing allincome tax related services to citizensand businesses under 18 servicecategories.

5. Central Excise: It provides excise andcustoms related services such as onlinefiling of services tax and excise returns,e-payment of customs duties, etc under16 service categories.

6. National ID/UID: It aims at providingunique identification numbers to all theresidents in the country.

7. Passports: It offers all passport relatedservice categories including applicationsfor new passports, renewal of passports.Tracking of status of applications. Etc.

8. Immigration and Visa: it providesimmigration and visa related servicesunder 9 service categories at the IndianMission abroad.

9. Pensions: It provides pension relatedservice to pensioners under 2 servicecategories.

10. E-Office: It aims at automating allinternal file management processes







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within government departments.11. Post: This new MMP focuses on

providing all postal savings accounts andpostalOut of the 11 central MMPs mentionedabove, 10 have gone live and are offeringservices to their stakeholders. However,not all services under their definedservice categories may be operational.The 13 state MMPs are as follows.

Q. National Land Records Modernizationprogram me ( NLRMP):

1. It aims at comprehensivecomputerization of land records,integration of recitation and mutation ofland records, etc under 16 servicecategories.

2. Commercial Taxes: It provides onlinefiling of returns and taxes, automaticrefunds, etc. under 22 service categories.

3. Transport: It includes services likevehicle registration and driving licensesunder 18 service categories.

4. E-District: It provides district and tensile/ block level G2C services such asvarious certificates. Welfare services.Etc.under 10 services, categories. Whilefive categories are defined. States canadd five categories specific to theirrequirements. An E-District pilot projecthas been implemented across 41 districtsin 16 states and now the project all thestates.

5. Treasuries’: It includes all paymentrelated services through tarries under 13services categories.

6. Municipalities: It provides municipallevel G2B services such as birth and

death certificates, payment of taxes andfees, licenses, etc under 8 servicecategories.

7. Police crime and criminal Trackingand Networking system (CCTNS): Itaims at comprehensive automation ofpolice and criminal administration systemin the country with 23 service categories.

8. Agriculture: IT provides services suchas market prices, crop diseases andmanagement best practices andmanagement, best practices inagriculture, horticulture, sericulture ,etcunder 12 service categories.

9. Gram panchayats: s It includes serviceslike house taxes, trade licenses,certificates, etc, under 12 servicecategories.

10. Employment Exchange: It includesservices such as registration of jobseekers and guidance to them, potentialemployers and online registration ofvacancies, etc. under 6 servicecategories’.

11. Health, Education and PDS: Thesethree MMPs nave been added in july2011and aim at providing a comprehensiverange of services in their respectivesectors,

Out of the13 state MMPs four MMPs I.e.,NLRMP Transport, e-District (pilot), andcommercial Taxes have gone live and aredelivering , various services. Tow MMPsTreasuries and Municipalities, have become livepartially. Three MMPs CCTNS Grampanchayats, and Agriculture are underimplementation and Employment Exchange MMPis yet to be launched. The three new MMPS areunder conceptualization stage.





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Q. 7 Integrated MMPs are as follows:1. India portal: IT aims at priding a single

window access to all to all governmentservices under various departments.Departments at both central and statelevels.

2. National service Delivery Gateway(NSDG) : It is a messaging middlewareroute intelligently and securely all servicerequests to the relevant backenddatabases and the processed services tothe services to the service seeker. Itfacilitates exchange of informationacross various backend databases ofdifferent departments. It has 6 definedservice categories.

3. Common service Centers (CSC); itprovides ICT enabled front end kiosksfor delivering various G2 and G2Bservices to citizens in rural areas,

4. E- Courts; it aims at automating courtrelated services such as e –filing ofcased, online availability of judgment, etc.under four service categories.

5. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI):It enables import and export documents,online payment of charges and fees andexchange of documents among differentgovernment departments and agenciessuch as ports, customs, etc. It has fourservice categories.

6. E- Biz: It aims at providing integratedservices through a single window forbusinesses and investors related topayment of various fees though one lumpsum payment, etc. under 29 servicecategories’

7. E- procurement: it provides allprocurement all procurement related

services to various governmentdepartments and agencies’.Except the e-Biz MMP, all the otherMMPs listed above have gone livethough not all the services under variouscategories might be operational .E-BizMMP is expected to go live shortly.

INDIAN MISSION TO MARS IN 2013

India will send an unmanned probe to theorbit of Mars to study its upper atmosphere as wellas the “chemical and mineralogical” features ofthe Red. Planet. Recently, the Cabinet approvedthe Mars orbiter mission under this mission, ourspaceship will go near Mars and collect importantscientific information. This spaceship to Mars willbe a huge step for us in the area of science andtechnology, Prime Minister Man Mohan Singhsaid in his Independence Day address from theramparts of ramparts of the Red fort.

The orbiter will study the upper atmosphereand effects of solar wind and radiation on Martianspade weather. The on –board sensors will alsoinvestigate the chemical and mineralogicalfeatures of the planets.

The total project cost is around Rs 450crore. Including the cost of rocket as well as thatof the ground segment, out of which Rs 125 crorewas sanctioned in the 2012-2013 Union budget.

The 25- kg Mars payload will be carried byISRO’s polar satellite launch binnacle (PSL-XL).It will be placed in an orbit of 500*80,000 kmaround the planet. The space probe will takealmost 10 months to reach Mars that has becomea subject of several exploratory studies in the lasttow decades.

ISRO’ first launch target date is November2013 if the space agency failed to ready the probe





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by that time’ the next window for the launch willcome in 2016 followed by another window in2018 when the Mars will be closest to the earth.“The mission will be a technology demonstrator.A successful mission will prove that we havecapability to reach the far away technology andorbit around Mars. This will pave the way formore intense exploratory missions in future”former ISRO chairman and planning Commissionmember Kasturiangan has said.

India will be the sixth country to launch amission to the Red planet after the US, Russia,Europe, Japan and China.

“It is a natural progression for India to try amission to Mars so far all nation,. Except the USand European Space Agency (ESA). Have failedto full off a successful Mars mission If successful,It would be a very big achievement for ISRO andIndia “commented Amitabh Ghosh, an Indian –origin national Aeronautics and SPameAdministratio n (Nasa) scientisy.Q. 6 Mobile Phone and Component

Manufacturing• Nokia Today operates the world’s largest

mobile manufacturing facility from Sriperumbudur near Chennai

• Mn of which almost 75 percent iscurrently utilized for both the Indianmarket as well as exports.

• India is the second largest subscribermarket in the world with more than 750mn subscribers

DO YOU KNOW

WHAT IS MOBILE GOVERNANCE?

Mobile Governance (m- Governance) is astrategy and its implementation to leverage

available wireless and new media technologyplatforms mobile phone devices and applicationfor delivery of public Information and services tocitizens and business.WHAT IS MOBILE

SERVICES DELIVERY GATEWAY (MSDG)?

MSDG is the core infrastructure forenabling the availability of public services throughmobile devices The prime objective of creatingthe MSDG is to put in place government-wideshared infrastructure and services to enablerapid development mainstreaming anddeployment of m Governance services It willenhance interoperability across various publicservices as reduce the total cost of operation ofM- Governance services by providing a commonpool of resources aggregating the demand forcommunication and e- Governance services, andact as a platform for various GovernmentDepartments and Agencies to test, rapidly deployand easily across the countryWHAT IS THE

PURPOSE OF SETTING UP THE MSDG?

The purpose of setting up the MSDG is toprovide a one stop ecosystem for enabling thedelivery of various electronic government servicesthrough mobile devices in an efficient manner withminimum effort for the participating GovernmentDepartments and Agencies MSDG will also helpin enhancing the interoperability of mobile basedservices and content in a network and deviceindependent manner to the extent possible andfeasible MSDG is proposed to be used as a sharedinfrastructure by the central and stateGovernment Departments and Agencies atnominal costs for delivering public servicesthrough mobile devices.





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WHAT IS THE DELIVERY?

MSDG will support will support thefollowing delivery Channels for development anddeployment of mobile based applications services

• SMS (Short Message service)• IVR (Interactive voice Response)• WAP (Wireless Application protocol)• CBC ( Cell Broadcast)• SIM Toolkit (STK)/ Dynamic STK 3G-

Video• Other (Wi Fi/ W/ LAN)The Department of Information and

Technology (DIT) outlined its objective to “makeall government services accessible to the commonman in his locality through common servicedelivery outlets, and ensure efficiency.Transparency and reliability of such services ataffordable costs to realize the basic needs of thecommon man.

Besides, the plan is for the websites of allgovernment departments and agencies to bemade mobile- compliant: open standards will beadopted for mobile- application across variousoperating systems, and uniform pre-designatednumbers shall be used for mobile based servicesto ensure convenience. It will be one WebApproach enabled this implies that all GovernmentWeb sites should be devices to enable users ofsuch devices to access the same information andservices as availableWHAT STEPS WILL DIT TAKE TO

PROMOTE THE M- GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE?

DIT, or/ any of its designated agencies, willundertake awareness creation and capacitybuilding exercises for according grater visibilityto the Mobile Governance Initiative amongststakeholders and Government Industry, and CivilSociety.





Documents

The Gist SEP 2012 Www.upscportal.com