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LIST OF NEWSPAPERS COVERED ASIAN AGE BUSINESS LINE BUSINESS STANDARD DECCAN HERALD ECONOMIC TIMES FINANCIAL EXPRESS HINDU HINDUSTAN TIMES INDIAN EXPRESS PIONEER STATESMAN TELEGRAPH TRIBUNE 1
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LIST OF NEWSPAPERS COVERED

ASIAN AGE

BUSINESS LINE

BUSINESS STANDARD

DECCAN HERALD

ECONOMIC TIMES

FINANCIAL EXPRESS

HINDU

HINDUSTAN TIMES

INDIAN EXPRESS

PIONEER

STATESMAN

TELEGRAPH

TRIBUNE

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CONTENTS

BACKWARD CLASSES 3-6

CIVIL SERVICE 7-28

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 29-31

EDUCATION 32-33

ELECTIONS 34

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 35-36

HEALTH SERVICES 37-40

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS 41

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 42-44

JUDICIARY 45-54

LIBRARIES 55

OMBUDSMAN 56-57

POLICE 58-59

POLITICAL PARTIES 60-62

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT 63-66

RIVERS 67

RAILWAYS 68

RURAL DEVELOPMENT 69-70

TERRORISM 71-76

TRAINING 77

TRANSPORT 78

WOMEN 79-81

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BACKWARD CLASSES

STATESMAN, NOV 16, 2015Culture & Quotas-IIShantanu Basu

Another issue relates to caste-based reservations that have become the biggest vote-catchers in our post-Independence history. Just as poverty was exploited for votes from the poor, reservations created a loyal sub-constituency for the upper caste polity and bureaucracy. Every court needs courtiers; without them no polity is complete. Three new powerful generations of the ‘repressed’ classes came into being. Over time, the web of reservations multiplied, in some states going up to 70 per cent, almost cocking a snook at the Supreme Court that had directed overall reservations not to exceed 50 per cent. In fact, if reservations for the physically challenged, wards of government personnel, migrants, women, etc. are factored, then total reservations may go up to 75-80 per cent, maybe more. The “Reservation College”, like its cultural counterpart, has thrived on creating networks starting with SCs and STs, sub-networks of OBCs and Muslim OBCs and lately, Mahadalits and is now manifest in every institution, regardless of merit, capacity and accountability.

Reservations have permeated the recruitment process, promotions, appointments, grace marks in the government’s departmental examinations (as low as 25 per cent suffices), government housing, bank loans and waivers, state budgets, education, legislatures, judiciary. This has stifled merit, innovation and the incentive for good performance. Entire localities have been marked out on the basis of caste where public funds are pumped in substantially both for the donor and benefactor.

Even constitutional protection mechanisms created to defend the interests of the ‘repressed’ have turned into instruments of repression themselves. A single complaint guarantees promotions, government housing, a desired posting. Caste-based reservations have led to “mirror groups” even in India’s senior civil services, in universities and almost all public institutions. Rampant misuse of such privilege by the creation of fictitious agencies for SC, STs, etc. that resort to blackmailing for personal benefit have also been reported. I have experienced one.

An entire empire has thus been woven around caste-based reservations that include student hostels, scholarships, and medical assistance. A particular family boasts two Secretaries and an Additional Secretary, and two daughters who are doctors after qualifying from a reputed state university the poor, irrespective of their caste/religion, remain as wretched as they were before.Financial irregularity is a national cottage industry. Funds for scholarships, infrastructure, equipment, MNREGA, et al in ‘repressed’ areas have been methodically siphoned off by many

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states. Since the vast majority of the socially repressed segments have not benefited from reservations, they account for the majority of India’s 72 per cent rural population. Indeed, reservations, like culture has become great business.

What began as a well-orchestrated Congress plan to create a parallel set of local lords and their benefactors is today the favourite electoral vehicle for every political party. What Dr. Ambedkar never wanted to be a permanent fixture, our political parties have achieved in barely three generations after him - the total fragmentation of Indian society. Reservations have become insidious badges of a giant mediocracy, like its cultural counterpart, prompting the have-not castes to come out in nascent revolt. Again, both Colleges prospered on orchestrated state largesse.

There have been physical and verbal attacks by upper castes on helpless and indigent Dalit men and women. Poverty places lentils and veggies out of their reach as subsistence drives them to more affordable animal consumption. The “bovine terror” confronts the hapless poor, many of whom also enjoy affordable buff-beef curry at Kerala House in New Delhi. Unfortunate attacks on Dr. Kalburgi and many other prominent Dalits follow the same pattern of economic deprivation. Isn’t it ironic that the Cultural College extends its support to the Reservations College by describing such violence and attacks on the latter as being ones on civil liberties?It was not without reason therefore that the Apex Court asked the government to review caste-based reservations in higher educational institutions. Not that caste-based reservations pose the only problem. There are SC/STs who have converted to minority religions and are demanding both minority and caste-based reservations. The numbers are further inflated when an Uttarakhand hill Brahmin is deemed to be an ST in the Sixth Schedule areas in Himachal Pradesh with concomitant benefits.

The politics of reservations has many more benefits too. For instance, a tribal central or all-India service officer, when posted to a notified Sixth Schedule area in NE India, pays no income-tax whatsoever. That amounts to a neat saving of about Rs. 5 lakh per annum for a tribal colleague of mine posted in Shillong, Aizawl, Itanagar, etc. Even in first recruitment to the government, a candidate who is otherwise eligible for the SC/ST/OBC quota is ranked within the first, say 200-250 candidates in the Combined Civil Services Examination. They are appointed against the general quota. This reduces the availability of vacancies for general candidates stoking public resentment against such subterfuge. Likewise, if qualified SC/ST/OBC candidates are available for promotion to higher grades, posts reserved for these categories must be sent for de-reservation to the National Commission for their approval. Owing to inordinate delays in granting such approvals, general candidates must suffer professional affront and economic loss that exacerbates existing tensions.

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Economic deprivation has no substitute in broken electoral promises just as reservations are no substitute for overwhelming hunger. Poverty and hunger have no alternative definition save for the economic opportunity that has been hijacked by a privileged collaborative class. On the one hand, we have the spectre of political parties claiming credit for launching space missions and military satellites, fostering a huge I-T industry and a modern manufacturing base and vying for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. On the other, the same parties and their leaders continue to duplicitously and vociferously foster social fragmentation, trading charges of diverting reservations for SC/ST/OBCs to minorities, all for their vote. Are they nation-makers or nation-breakers?

The networks that have evolved over the past seven decades form the fulcrum of rising opacity in governance, intolerance of accountability and arrogant disregard for the wishes of electors. Why not, for instance, fund music, literature, humanities and social science faculties and chairs in state universities and reputed private institutions and augment their crumbling training infrastructure like digital studios, etc.? Why not permit these institutions to award scholarships and fellowships from the grants they would receive? Where is the need for such a Mughal-style culture empire? Why not create a National University for the Fine Arts, music and literature by converting the prime IGNCA premises in Lutyens’ Delhi and use the office premises of the Akademis and social science Research Councils nearby as training labs, state-of-art digital libraries, theatres, art galleries and hostels for students? Can’t the government create National Professors with attractive remuneration also payable in foreign exchange? Why doesn’t the Centre put in place a national inventory scrutiny, valuation and re-valuation of our cultural assets, using independent experts, including foreign?

The government ought to disqualify children of all serving and retired government and PSU employees who have availed of reservation quotas from seeking further benefits. Reservations in promotions should be dropped, with competitive examinations being introduced at every promotion level, from Group ‘A’ downwards. Why not allow a 3-5% interest subsidy to affected employees up to a ceiling of Rs. 5 lakh per child (subject to a maximum of two kids in the present generation only) to establish their children in other professional activities up to the age of 25 years? Such steps would send a strong signal of national reconciliation. In the final analysis, the hijacking of the state apparatus for a self-serving network and dispensation of patronage must be stopped. The longer their ‘extra-territoriality’ persists, the greater the public perception of the government being an accomplice in the sharing of spoils.In her book, War Talk, Arundhati Ghosh prophesied that “Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness -

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and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe. We are many and they are few. They need us more than we need them. Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

When illegitimate means stifle legitimate aspirations, it is in the order of Nature to beget a proportionate, even vastly disproportionate response. The decadence of the State and its constituents can only engender revolution, for it may already be too late to reform. In the unbridled practice of politics of patronage lies the seeds of destruction of India’s democratic tradition. (Concluded)

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CIVIL SERVICE

INDIAN EXPRESS, NOV 23, 2015Pay for governanceMuch of this is from merging the inflation-neutralising dearness allowance of 125 per cent (Rs 8,750) with the basic pay.

As a “model employer”, the government has to treat its employees fairly, which extends to their

pay, benefits and working conditions. One wouldn’t, therefore, grudge the seventh Central Pay

Commission (CPC) recommending an increase in the minimum monthly pay of government

personnel from Rs 7,000 as on January 1, 2006 to Rs 18,000, with effect from next year.

Much of this is from merging the inflation-neutralising dearness allowance of 125 per cent (Rs

8,750) with the basic pay. Only the balance Rs 2,250 constitutes a “real” pay increase. At 14.3

per cent, it’s lower than past real increases that ranged from 20.6 per cent in the third to 54 per

cent in the sixth CPC awards. Equally justifiable is the raising of pay more for those in the higher

echelons of governance. Thus, the increase in basic pay for secretaries is 2.81 times (from Rs

80,000 to Rs 2,25,000), as against 2.57 times for the lowest level (from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000).

This is sensible, as lower-level salaries in government are mostly higher than in the private

sector, whereas it’s the other way round in positions requiring more qualification, talent or

experience. But there are also fiscal costs to implementing the CPC report that cannot be brushed

aside. The additional outgo from the increased pay, allowances and pension is projected at Rs

1,02,100 crore for 2016-17, of which Rs 28,450 crore would be on the railway budget alone.

Finding the extra resources won’t be easy, amidst an economic slowdown and the desperate need

to step up public investment — including by the railways — in the current scenario. Moreover,

higher pay for Central staff will create similar demands from state government and other public-

sector employees. While the previous pay revisions were accommodated by the revenue

buoyancy accompanying a booming economy, neither the Centre nor the states are really in a

position today to pick up the tab without cutting back on capital/ development expenditures.

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There is a case, then, for a staggered implementation of the new award, keeping in view the

larger, more immediate, economic interests of the country.

But fairness and affordability apart, there is also the question of accountability that needs

addressing. In today’s world, where technology and e-governance have made leaner

administrations with more skilled personnel possible — and yet there is a requirement for more

teachers, doctors, policemen, scientists and farmer extension or rural health workers — the

public has reason to expect better delivery of services from those in government. Nobody would

mind government employees drawing more remuneration, provided this is linked to performance

and accountability to the people whom they serve. Unfortunately, successive pay commissions

and governments have paid only lip service to issues of administrative reforms.

HINDUSTAN TIMES, NOV 20, 2015Child care leave for single fathers in govt jobs: 7th pay commission

Single male parents working in the central government may soon get some good news as the seventh pay commission recommended on Thursday that they should also be allowed to avail child care leave (CCL). Those with children younger than 18 years of age would be able to draw this benefit.

So far, only female employees were granted fully paid CCL for a maximum period of two years, or 730 days, during their entire service.

Single mothers too stand to benefit. The pay panel has recommended that such employees be allowed to take CCL in six spells in a calendar year instead of the prevailing three spells for other female workers.However, to check the misuse of child care leave by female employees, many of whom see it “as a benefit that has to be availed simply because it exists”, the commission has advised that the leave be granted at 100% of the salary for the first 365 days and 80% of the salary for the next 365 days.

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The panel, however, has rejected the demand to increase both the maternity and paternity leave granted to government employees. While women would continue to get leave of up to 180 days for pregnancy, a male employee with fewer than two children would be granted a leave of 15 days “during his wife’s confinement”, up to 15 days before or six months from the date of delivery of the child.

The commission has also recommended abolition of the family planning allowance that varies between Rs 210 per month and Rs 1,000 per month depending on an employees pay grade, while noting that the level of awareness regarding appropriate family size had gone up among government servants.

“Hence, a separate allowance aimed towards population control is not required now,” the panel has recommended.

BUSINESS STANDARD, NOV 20, 20157th Pay Commission announces bonanza for central govt staffThe Commission has proposed a 23.55% hike in salary, allowances and pension for serving staff and pensioners

Seventh pay panel's term extended till December Dissent on pay, position parity in bureaucracy Tax sops for NPS on cards Centre: OROP, pay panel won't hit fiscal math Swiss will confirm or deny proof on black money: Jaitley

The Seventh Central Pay Commission has proposed a hefty 23.55 per cent hike in

salary, allowances   andpension   for 4.8 million government employees   and 5.5 million pensioners.

If accepted, the recommendations of the commission, headed by retired judge A K Mathur,

would be effective from January.

The recommended hike, contained in a 900-page report, is over 11 percentage points lower than

the 35 per cent suggested by the sixth pay commission.

The panel also virtually expanded the one rank, one pay commission to all civilian central

government servants, paramilitary forces and defence personnel.

The financial impact of the report, presented to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley   on Thursday,

would be Rs 1.02 lakh crore during 2016-17. The total salary   and pension bill of the government

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would work out to be Rs 5.36 lakh crore in the financial year, 23.55 per cent more than the Rs

4.33 lakh crore that would have come if the commission's report was not there.

Of the total financial impact of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, Rs 73,650 crore will be borne by the General

Budget and Rs 28,450 crore by the Railway Budget.

"In order to implement the pay commission recommendations, a secretariat will be set up under

the expenditure secretary. The government will take a final decision, after examining the

recommendations expeditiously," Jaitley said.

The total impact of the panel's recommendations would be an increase of expenditure by 0.65

percentage points to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 0.77 per cent in

case of the previous pay panel.

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However, finance secretary Ratan Watal was hopeful that the government would not breach its

fiscal deficit target at 3.5 per cent of GDP for 2016-17.

The basic salary hike recommended is 16 per cent, while that of housing rent allowance, other

allowances and pensions are 138.71 per cent, 49.79 per cent and 23.63 per cent, respectively.

Pension of the retired staff would increase 23.69 per cent at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, against Rs 1.42

lakh crore.

Since the basic pay has been revised upwards, the commission recommended that house rent

allowance (HRA) be paid at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per cent and eight per cent of the new

basic pay for Class X, Y and Z cities, respectively.

The commission also recommended that the rate of HRA   be revised to 27 per cent, 18 per cent

and nine per cent, respectively, when dearness allowance crosses 50 per cent, and further revised

to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when dearness allowance crosses 100 per cent.

After receiving a lot of flak for the new pension system, the panel suggested a number of steps to

improve its functioning by establishing a strong grievance redressal mechanism.

The minimum pay recommended is Rs 18,000 per month and maximum at Rs 2.5 lakh for the

Cabinet Secretary. The current salary of the Cabinet Secretary is capped at Rs 90,000 a month. It

proposed a consolidated pay package of Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh per month for chairpersons

and members, respectively, of select regulatory bodies.

A revised pension formulation for civil employees, including armed central armed police force

personnel as well as for defence personnel, who have retired before January 2, 2016, has been

recommended.

This formulation will bring about parity between past pensioners and current retirees for the

same length of service in the pay scale at the time of retirement.

The pay commission has also proposed a status quo on the retirement age of central government

employees at 60 years. The chairman and other member Rathin Roy recommended the age of

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superannuation for all central armed forces personnel to be raised to 60 years from 58 years,

another member Vivek Rae did not agree with it.

Replacing the present system of pay bands and grade pay with a new pay matrix has also been

mentioned in the seventh pay commission report.

Grade pay has been subsumed in the pay matrix. The status of the employee, hitherto determined

by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix. However, the rate of annual

increment is being retained at three percent. It also recommended a fitment factor of 2.57, which

will be applied uniformly to all employees.

The commission also proposed that annual increments not be granted in the case of those

employees who are not able to meet the benchmark either for modified assured career

progression or for a regular promotion in the first 20 years of their service.

There was no unanimity of views in case of advantages given to Indian Administrative Service

and Indian Foreign Service employees for promotion vis-a-vis Indian Police Force and Indian

Forest Service employees.

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FINANCIAL EXPRESS, NOV 19, 2015IAS at the crossroads

The IAS and other services suffer from lack of professionalism and absence of domain expertise.

Rather than squabble over short-term service benefits, the decision-makers must go for a radical

remake of civil servicesBy: V Ramani 

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Moving to a system of contractual appointments at all levels of government will enforce accountability. The process should be started immediately using the carrot of the Seventh Central Pay Commission recommendations, which are rumoured to be fairly generous. It will also enable the appointment of persons with knowledge in specific fields to run departments and organisations.

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS), that inheritor of the mantle of the Indian Civil Service

(ICS), has reached a decisive point in its almost seven-decade existence. There has been a

growing groundswell in the police and central services (referred to hereafter, for the sake of

brevity, as “other services”) for parity in pay and promotion prospects vis-a-vis the IAS. While

reliable data is not available, recent trends seem to indicate a growing tendency to appoint more

non-IAS officers as joint secretaries, deputy secretaries, etc. The clamour for pay parity grew

with the date for the report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission drawing near. With the

central government acting on the “one rank one pension” (OROP) demand of the military forces

with unusual alacrity, it should cause no surprise if the demand of the other services for equality

in pay with the IAS does not strike a sympathetic chord with the government of the day. Once

this becomes a reality, the hitherto enjoyed predominance of the IAS in postings in the central

government would come to an end.

A lot of water has, indeed, flowed under the bridge since Sardar Patel’s decision to constitute the

All India Services (the IAS and the IPS—Indian Police Service) as successor services to the ICS

and Imperial Police. These two services were to serve as the administrative link between the

Union and the states in a fledgling democracy. Central services (income tax, customs & central

excise, railway traffic & accounts, audits & accounts, etc) were intended to perform specialised

functions such as direct and indirect tax collections, audit of government accounts, and a host of

activities linked to government monopoly over the economic and infrastructure sectors. But, over

time, the need to provide promotion opportunities to members of central services saw a

proportion of posts in the Central Secretariat being filled in by officers of these services; this was

in addition to the posts in their respective service organisations which were reserved only for

officers of these services.

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The original rationale for having a two-way flow of IAS officers (for specific time periods) from

the states to the Centre, and vice-versa, was to draw on the expertise and knowledge acquired by

them in the state so that policy formulation at the central level would benefit from an

understanding of the situation at the ground level. With the exception of areas which are the

exclusive preserve of the central government, this reasoning still holds good today. It still makes

sense to post an officer in the ministry of women & child development who understands how an

anganwadi works or a joint secretary in the ministry of school education who has observed the

functioning (or otherwise) of a village school.

The problem with the IAS has arisen with the increasing need for domain expertise and the

failure of the IAS as a service to meet this need of the times. Shifting between different

departments, often with short tenures, and not having the opportunity (or the compulsion) to

specialise in a particular field, the IAS officer is in a situation where her sister-officer from the

other services can claim, with some justification, that the IAS officer brings no specific domain

expertise to the job; ergo, anyone can be appointed to do that job. The issue gets compounded

further because of the failure of many IAS officers to act as change agents in the positions they

occupy. Procedures, rather than outcomes, rule their thinking: aligning government systems with

the latest technology and promoting more responsive and efficient governance are neither their

priority nor the touchstone on which their worth to the organisation is assessed. A fair share of

the blame for this state of affairs goes to the highest echelons of the bureaucracy, which have

neither pushed for the acquisition of specialised knowledge by officers nor put in place

mechanisms to ensure an officer spends adequate time in a particular post to assess her

contribution fairly and honestly. In fact, the “transfer” disease has now spread from the states to

the Centre. Secretaries, additional secretaries and joint secretaries at the Centre, who used to

enjoy uninterrupted tenures in one post, are now shuffled around at frequent intervals, hardly a

recipe for acquiring knowledge about a particular job.

Another phenomenon which has pushed the IAS on the back foot is the tendency to allow almost

every officer to rise to the very top of the service (at least in terms of pay scales), especially in

the states. What this implies is that even officers not found suitable for occupying positions of

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joint secretary and above in the central government invariably move up the hierarchy and occupy

posts in state governments carrying salaries equal to those paid to secretaries of the government

of India (most officers in the IPS also benefit from this largesse when they remain in the states).

Not surprisingly, this leads to howls of protests from members of other services, who are not

similarly favoured. A lot of the recent fireworks over OROP arose from the grievance of the

military that those among them who did not make the cut had to retire much earlier, depriving

them not only of their pre-retirement benefits but also entitling them to lower pensions, since

they retired at lower levels of the military cadre.

As the service which has generally been considered primus inter pares and is expected to set the

standard for all other services, the IAS has certainly been found wanting. But let me place the

matter in perspective by stating that the other services (all-India and central) suffer from the

same deficiencies as the IAS, namely lack of professionalism and absence of domain expertise.

The problem lies not in a particular service, but in the structure of governance we have given

ourselves over the past seven decades. My colleagues in all the services would be well advised to

introspect on whether they have taken to heart John F Kennedy’s words in his inaugural

presidential address in 1961: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do

for your country.” From my side, I offer some suggestions, which have also been outlined in two

earlier blogs (Why blame the IAS alone?) and (Reconstructing the bureaucracy).

Trimming the bureaucracy should be the first priority of the government. This will not only

enable expenditure control but will improve efficiency. Governments everywhere, but especially

in India, suffer from the operation of Peter Principle (everyone in an organisation keeps on

getting promoted until they reach their level of incompetence) and Parkinson’s Law (work

expands so as to fill the time available for its completion). To this, I would add one more

principle/law: “Staff expands to create work for its expansion” (dare I immodestly claim the

name Ramani’s law for it?). More staff leads to more paperwork and more levels of processing

of decisions. Staff creation proposals tend to exhibit the “middle age spread” syndrome—heavy

towards the lower parts of the body. If you don’t believe me, see any request for new staff; there

is always a preponderance of clerks and peons rather than of knowledge workers.

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Moving to a system of contractual appointments at all levels of government will enforce

accountability. The process should be started immediately using the carrot of the Seventh Central

Pay Commission recommendations, which are rumoured to be fairly generous. It will also enable

the appointment of persons with knowledge in specific fields to run departments and

organisations. If Justin Trudeau can stock his Canadian Cabinet of Ministers with experts, India

should try to do the same at least in its bureaucracy, for a start. Not only can deadwood in

government be effortlessly weeded away, we can hopefully call an end to the current battles

between “generalists” and “specialists” and between the IAS and other services.

Moving policy and decision-making down the governance ladder to local governments will

promote more enthusiastic citizen participation, improve administrative responsiveness and

enable shedding of administrative flab in central and state governments. Implementation diktats

from Delhi and state capitals have destroyed local initiative and have often starved local

governments of sorely needed funds. It is time, more than 20 years after the passage of the 73rd

and 74th amendments to the Constitution, to pay more than token obeisance to these legislations

and move further down the road of empowering local elected representatives of the people.

The IAS can reinvent itself and lend a new dimension to efforts to restructure the civil services if

the top levels of the bureaucracy, still largely manned by the service, move to implement the

suggestions given above. That all senior government services, including the IAS, require

thorough overhauling is no longer in doubt. Individuals in the IAS and other services rendered,

and continue to render, invaluable public service: the examples of those who headed

organisations like the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchanges Board of India and

the Konkan Railway or Delhi Metro as well as many police officers and administrators come to

mind. But 21st century India needs a different administrative paradigm; the challenges before the

country brook no further delay. Rather than squabble over short-term service benefits, my

colleagues in the decision-making apparatus today need to go in for a radical remake of the civil

services, on the lines of their colonial cousins in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. They

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would do well to heed to Brutus’s admonition: There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken

at the flood, leads on to fortune (Julius Caesar: William Shakespeare)

The author, a former bureaucrat, is partner, Access Advisory

BUSINESS STANDARD, NOV 20, 2015Dissent on pay, position parity in bureaucracyThe chairman of the committee, A K Mathur, sought abolishment of the two-year edge accorded to the IAS officers for empanelment, compared to other services, saying it was an 'archaic concept'

Seventh pay panel's term extended till December Centre: OROP, pay panel won't hit fiscal math Passenger vehicle sales continue to rise for 7th month, up 5% Pay panel recommendations to make an annual dent of Rs 28,450 cr on Indian Railways' expenditure Andhra Bank expects to get another Rs 122 crore in central assistance by year-end

The recommendations on pay and position parity in bureaucracy was met with dissent from

former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and member of the 7th Central Pay

Commission Vivek Rae, who argued that financial edge was justified only for the IAS and Indian

Foreign Services (IFS). The chairman of the committee, A K Mathur, sought abolishment of the

two-year edge accorded to the IAS officers for empanelment, compared to other services, saying

it was an 'archaic concept'.

Currently, an IAS and IFS officer are accorded a pay advantage or financial edge at three

promotion stages from Senior Time Scale, Junior Administrative Grade and the Selection Grade

in the form of two additional increments of three per cent each, over and above the promotional

increment.

While the pay panel's chairman A K Mathur recommended the financial edge be extended to the

Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) as well, committee member Rathin

Roy was of the view that the edge accorded to the IAS and IFS should be removed altogether.

The chairman was of the view that the fundamental principle for determining the remuneration

for any position is that it should be based on the complexity and difficulty of the duties and

responsibility of the job in question.

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"Therefore, some additional remuneration, in the early stages of their career indeed is justified,

not only for the IAS but also for the IPS and IFoS," the chairman said in the report.

Rae, on the other hand argued that the removal of the financial edge for the IAS will only further

weaken command and control mechanisms at the field level.

On empanelment too, the chairman and Roy were of view that the IAS officers should not enjoy

the 'two-year edge' over others services and All India Service officers and Group 'A' Central

Services officers, who have completed 17 years of service, should be eligible for empanelment.

Former Petroleum Secretary Rae did not agree with the view.

STATESMAN, NOV 19, 2015Assam Government constitutes 7th Assam Pay and Productivity Pay Commission

The Assam Government has constituted the 7th Assam Pay and Productivity Pay Commission to examine the principles and recommend changes in the structure of emoluments, conditions of service, existing amenities and facilities etc. given to state government employees.

Constituted vide Resolution No. FPC.1/2015/25 dated June 2 last, the Commission will also suggest improvement/rationalisation of workload and efficiency, said a government release on Wednesday.

The Commission has prepared a questionnaire to facilitate the responses and copy of the questionnaire may be downloaded from the website www.7apppcassam.qov.in, the release said.

The response to the questionnaire along with a memorandum in six copies each may be submitted to the Member Secretary of 7th Assam Pay & Productivity Pay Commission within December 2l next, it said.

One copy of the response to the questionnaire, memorandum may be mailed to [email protected], the release added.

ECONOMIC TIMES, NOV 18, 2015PM Narendra Modi to ask IAS trainees: How can my government improve?By Aman Sharma

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet all 170 IAS officers of the 2013 batch on Thursday for over two hours and interact with them regarding their 3-month long gruelling training stint with the Centre.

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Six officers have been selected by Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha to make 8-minute long presentations each before the Prime Minister followed by a brief Q&A session - in what will be a unprecedented interaction of the PM with the 170 officers who were specially made to undergo the 13-week-long hands-on training with central ministries on Modi's insistence. The presentations by officers Shashanka K, Neilenthang Telien, T. Prabhushankar, Shailesh Kumar Yadav, Divya Mittal and Himanshu Shukla wil be on topics like 'Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat', 'Communication Strategy for Government', 'Mudra Scheme' and 'Soil Health Card Scheme' and suggestions how the schemes can be improved and made more people-friendly. Previously, trainee officers joined straight in their respective state cadres after their training in Mussourie. 

A senior government official said the PM was keen for a "feedback session" with the officers on their understanding of the quality of functioning of his government and citizen-outreach - ET was the first to report on September 22 that the PM will be chairing such a session at the end of the training stint. The Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat initiative was launched by Modi on October 31 on birth anniversary of Sardar Patel to boost the existing cultural connect between different parts of the country, enhance interaction between people living in different states and a state connecting with another on a reciprocal basis. Earlier this year, Modi also launched the Soil Health Card Scheme to focus on health of soil in agricultural areas of the country to boost productivity and the Mudra Scheme to support bank loans to small entrepreneurs. 

The six best presentations have been selected by Sinha out of presentations made by all 170 officers who were posted as 'assistant secretaries' with ministries. Sinha, PM's Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra and MoS in PMO, Jitendra Singh will also be present at the interactive session to be held at DRDO Bhawan on Thursday. All 170 trainee officers were earlier allotted desks in various ministries pertaining to Modi Government's flagship programmes with an idea that this would give the officer  an opportunity to look at the same policy project both from the Centre as well as the field point of view. In the last weeks of their training, the officers were asked to come up with a presentation to their respective secretary on two processes that can be simplified or modified and also bring files handed by them to their logical end.

Modi had for the first time ensured this year that trainee IAS officers first serve a stint in the Centre to understand how the central government functions so that they do not face initiation issues when they come on central deputation. These IAS officers will be joining their respective state cadres in January. 

STATESMAN, NOV 17, 2015IAS officer in Assam suspended for 'misconduct'

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An IAS officer in Assam was suspended on Monday for behaving in a manner unbecoming of a senior officer of his rank at a dinner party hosted by the state chief secretary on Sunday night.A notification issued by the Personnel Department of the state government on Monday said B.S. Bhaskar, additional chief secretary of the tourism and information technology department, has been placed under suspension till completion of inquiry against him.

Bhaskar behaved in a manner unbecoming of a senior official at the party hosted by the chief secretary to bid farewell to GoC 4 Corps, Lt. General Sarath Chand, it said.

His misconduct brought extreme shame and dishonour to the entire state government, the notification added.

HINUSTAN TIMES, NOV 17, 2015India’s government employees need a real HR departmentN Madhavan, Hindustan Times

The simple fact is that India’s 17.6 million government employees could do with a real human resource department that goes beyond bureaucratic lip service – because a crisis seems nigh. (Thinkstock (Representative photo))

Soon after coming to power in 1984, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi changed the education ministry’s bland name to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in an apparent recognition of the importance of nurturing talent beyond the simple goal of bookish education.

The ministry seems to have changed little except in name: most of its programmes are related to education or research. What’s more, it doesn’t cover government employees even in name.

The simple fact is that India’s 17.6 million government employees could do with a real human resource department that goes beyond bureaucratic lip service – because a crisis seems nigh.

Earlier this month, a Delhi court ruled that government officials convicted of wrongdoing can be made to pay compensation from their own salaries. In the simple idioms of crime and punishment, this may seem justified, but government servants, notorious for fearing the wrath of superiors, are only going to become even more cautious in taking steps that might suggest more pro-active behaviour.

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Government servants are facing increasing public scrutiny – through everything from public interest litigation (PIL) and right to information (RTI) to supervision by parliamentary panels and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (not to speak of rabid TV news channels).

These may be democratically desirable things but consider the plight of the average government officer babu or clerk.

While central government employees await manna from the 7th Pay Commission, whose recommendations are expected to be implemented by the finance ministry from January 2016, there is more to their lives than pay packets – and that needs to be recognised.Time was when the “sarkari” job offered plenty of goodies: secure jobs, premium pay packets, pensions, government accommodation, cheaper education for children and freedom to do good work.

The pay commissions and pensions are still kind, but increasing congestion in urban areas and political interference have made government jobs less glamorous. A slew of alternate career options await aspirants in the corporate sector as the economy expands.

UP cadre IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal suffered a controversial suspension order (since revoked) for allegedly demolishing a mosque wall, which in turn was allegedly illegal. Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka has suffered political scrutiny for cracking down on land deals linked to Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Now, consider the plight of senior officers who have to worry about doing what they think is good for the country and then facing pressures at work that tell on the home.The Delhi high court recently quashed reservation in admissions to the high-profile Sanskriti School for children of Group A officers of the central government. The school is run by spouses of top government officers and 60% of seats were historically reserved for wards of Group A officers.

While the court, frowning on elitism, said wards could be taken in an extra branch of Kendriya Vidyalayas (set up to help educational needs of transferable government employees), things are not that easy.

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Surely, top-of-the-rung government employees would want a higher quality of education for their children in a world where competition is hot? While government servants awarding themselves premium land to build a schools maybe questionable, the government as an employer needs to worry about how to attract and retain good, clean, high quality talent.

Worried bureaucrats have said that they cannot pay the kind of donations demanded by well-known private schools. Why should they be an exception while corporate counterparts get paid more – with loads of perks?

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions stands as a testimony to an outdated approach to managing government officials. It has a “Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances” that promotes good governance and another “Department of Personnel & Training” that proudly says that it looks after the welfare of employees as the “largest single employer in the country”, what it does for problems such as those faced by government officers in the court cases seems a mystery.

A study said in 2012 that relative to the population, India has only one-fifth of the number of public servants as the United States. At 1,623 for every 100,000 residents, it compared with 7,681 in the US, said a newspaper’s research-based report. This flies in the face of those who complain of a “bloated bureaucracy”.

Another study attributed to the Indian Staffing Federation with Indicus Analytics said last year that nearly 43 percent of all government employees in India are holding a temporary post, with no long-term benefits such as a provident fund to help their retirement. Clearly, there’s more to government service in an age where a huge corporate sector sponges off talent even as the judiciary, legislature and media hold them to intense scrutiny? Government employees need an HR department that stands up for them, understands their needs and woos them – just like enlightened private sector companies do.

INDIAN EXPRESS, NOV 17, 2015Bureaucrats need minister’s approval before speaking to media: AAP govt

It is understood that the directive from Sisodia was necessitated after several HoDs sought proper

policy guidelines for interaction and engagement with the media.Written by Pragya Kaushika 

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The Delhi government has directed all its bureaucrats to seek prior approval from ministers

concerned before speaking to the media. In a recently issued circular, Deputy Chief Minister

Manish Sisodia has also barred all bureaucrats except heads of departments (HoDs) from

communicating with the media.

“It has been decided that the HoDs, with the approval of ministers concerned, can issue press

releases, give interviews to the media about their respective department’s programmes and

policies,” said the order issued by Sisodia.

It is understood that the directive from Sisodia was necessitated after several HoDs sought proper

policy guidelines for interaction and engagement with the media. Senior officials said there have

been instances in the past when Delhi government ministers were left embarrassed after a

showdown between bureaucrats in their department.

“During the last several months, there have been instances of lack of clarity at the level of HoDs

about the competent authority to interact with the media,” stated the letter.

However, the Arvind Kejriwal government has claimed that it was transparent in its approach

towards the media and wanted to maintain a flow of information.

“The government of NCT of Delhi is committed to transparency in all spheres of functioning. It

intends to provide information to the public, through media, about various programmes and

policies directly from time to time,” clarified the letter.

In May this year, the Arvind Kejriwal government had issued a circular directing all government

officials — including the chief minister, cabinet ministers and government officials — to report

matters of criminal defamation.

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Then, officials were asked to report such matters to the principal secretary (Home) who would

forward the same to the director (Prosecution) for advice on whether prosecution is applicable

and file a case, if needed, before a competent court.

The circular in May had come just days after Kejriwal himself challenged the constitutional

validity of IPC sections 499 and 500, under which criminal defamation can entail a maximum of

two years’ imprisonment. The CM had alleged that “sections of media were targeting the AAP”

TRIBUNE, NOV 17, 2015Khattar directs top babus to regularly monitor grievancesCM Window gets 1.16 lakh complaints since launch

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today directed administrative secretaries and head of departments to regularly monitor grievances received on the CM Window, especially about undue delay, to ensure its speedy disposal.

The CM directed the officials at a meeting held to review the functioning of the CM Window, the Aaadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) and other announcements.

He said it should be the responsibility of senior officers to clear the pendency of grievances in their departments concerned. “You should randomly examine and verify complaints received and action taken thereon,” he said.

He said complaints pending for more than three months would be reviewed by administrative secretaries concerned and action would be taken against those found guilty.

The CM also directed the officers to decentralise the disposal mechanism of grievances in big departments to avoid unnecessary delay.

At the meeting, it was informed that over 1.16 lakh complaints had been received on the CM Window since its launch on December 25, 2014.

While reviewing the progress of CM announcements, the CM said all announcements made by him should be implemented on a priority basis. The departments should consult with Deputy Commissioners before any scheme or project is to be announced. Apart from this, where a job is being carried out simultaneously by two or more departments, one should be made the nodal as this would help in getting quick information about pendency. The arbitrary conduct of any officer or official would not be tolerated, he added.

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The announcements that were pending up to April 30, 2015, were taken up for review at the meeting. The CM reviewed the progress of announcements pertaining to departments of medical education, public works, urban local bodies, revenue, development and panchayat, transport, education, agricultural marketing board etc. He said in case of any announcement involving transfer of land, the file should be sent to the Chief Minister Office.

While reviewing the progress of AEBAS, Khattar said the state government intended to create a better working culture in its departments. He directed the officials to prepare and launch an incentivisation scheme in their department so that employees could be encouraged towards speedy implementation of welfare schemes and programmes. He also directed them to find out a mechanism for getting the information about tampering with biometric attendance machines.

ECONOMIC TIMES, NOV 16, 2015Senior IAS officer Shatrughna Singh appointed Uttarakhand Chief Secretary 

DEHRADUN: Senior IAS officer Shatrughna Singh has been appointed as Uttarakhand Chief Secretary, thus putting an end to a fortnight long stand-off between the Centre and the state government over the appointment. 

"A government order on Shatrughna Singh's appointment as the new Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand was issued late last night," Principal Secretary (Personnel) Radha Raturi said here today. 

The Centre and the state government had locked horns over the reappointment of Rakesh Sharma to the post of Chief Secretary following his retirement on October 31. 

The Centre had rejected Sharma's reappointment and asked the state government to replace him immediately. 

The state government, however, took about a fortnight to comply with the order as it was weighing available options. 

A letter from the DoPT to the state government dated November 3 had said it was a cadre post to which reappointment of a non-cadre official could not be made when suitable officers were available in the cadre for appointment to the post. An IAS officer of the 1983 batch, Shatrughna Singh had returned here last month from a deputation at the Centre and was serving as the additional Chief Secretary. 

His tenure as Chief Secretary will last till December 2016, Raturi said. 

Raturi also noted that Rakesh Sharma has been appointed for a year on contract as Chief Principal Secretary in the CMO. 

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Apart from assisting and advising the state government in implementation of projects and framing of policies, Sharma will also be authorised to attend meetings of the state Cabinet, the official added. 

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

DECCAN HERALD, NOV 16, 2015Greening India's economyR M Ranganath

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The government's decision to scale up developmental target requires reengineer-ing of national and state planning strategies.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for transforming India from an $8 trillion dollar economy to a $20 trillion economy sets up a quantum leap in national productivity. Such unprecedented scaling up of developmental target is a tremendous economy booster but its success requires reengineering national and state planning strategies to mobilise required human, knowledge and material resources. 

Equally important would be to integrate the action plans with globally prioritised themes and practices. In this context, the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit (September 25-27, 2015), has set an agenda under the theme: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for 2015-2030 (Agenda-2030 for short); the 17 goals and 169 targets under Agenda-2030 will serve as road map for our future developmental plans. 

Ever increasing human population has drastically changed our cherished ideas about development. The popular model – Market Economy First, Everything Else Next – is under pressure for replacement by one that chants the mantra of Sustainable Development and Green Economy. 

Key issues forcing this paradigm shift are the realisation that our life supporting natural resources are finite but over-exploited beyond their regeneration potential (Malthusian catastrophe) and that only a concerted global effort for their scientific management and preservation would save the situation. 

Three Earth Summits have been held so far to explore viable solutions: two in Rio de Janeiro (1992 & 2012) and one in Johannesburg (2012). The recent 2012 Earth Summit (Rio+20), after a review of an assessment and accomplishments of the policies of the previous two Earth Summits, has set the global agenda as sustainable development (SD) (concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with commitment to promote an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future for our planet and for present and future generations)  and green economy (GE). 

The GE has been defined as an economy that contributes to eradicating poverty, sustained economic growth  social inclusion, human welfare and creating employment, while maintaining the healthy functioning of the earth’s  ecosystems  (more details on UN website for Rio+20). The Agenda-2030 (plan of action for people, planet and prosperity) comes as a sequel to the first agenda under Millennium Development Goals for 2000-2015. 

India has been and continues to be a strong supporter of SD programmes. It has steadfastly pursued the global priorities set at the earth summits. However, the emphasis and the significance as an overarching, robust SD policy need to be more explicit and visible; the adverse consequences of non-compliance to a SD regime needs to be conveyed to the stakeholders with due urgency. 

The importance of biodiversity to SD needs to be understood in terms of the life supporting services it provides to society. Thomos Lovejoy lists many such services: sources of wild species (genes) for crop improvement, sources of medicine (2015 Nobel Prize awarded to rese-arch on

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traditional medicine is a testim-ony), cycling of nutrients, water, energy, bio-geo-chemical cycling, source of life supporting oxygen, acting as a huge carbon sink by photosynthetic carbon fixation and influence on rain fall of the area. 

Ultimately, biodiversity is the “mother of all natural resources” which sets the limits of all development. Literature on SD is replete with warning notes urging planners’ urgent attention to the impending problems due to unsustainable rates of consumption of natural resources. 

For example, William F Laurance and colleagues (Science, 2001) provide graphic details of the effects of the ongoing development in the Brazilian Amazon forest: “It contains 40 per cent of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest and plays vital roles in maintaining biodiversity, regional hydrology, climate and terrestrial carbon storage. 

It also has the world’s highest absolute rate of forest destruction, currently averaging nearly two million hectares per year. Predictably, the Brazilian Amazon will be drastically altered by ongoing development schemes and land use trends over the next 20 years”. Valuable lessons

There are valuable lessons to be learnt from the above Brazilian Amazon development model for a sustainable management of our natural resources. The post earth summits’ era leaves us with no option but to green the market oriented developmental models by embedding them firmly in a SD framework. 

Carrying forward the process could be accomplished by two independent but complementary measures: First,   convincing the academics in higher educational and research institutions that their participation is vital for success of Agenda-2030 programmes. 

The “conquer the markets” (Patents & Intellectual Property Rights) type of translational research popular in the campuses has to yield appropriate space to accommodate translational research that specifically explores viable solutions to SD related issues.

For instance, James Watson and colleagues (Nature, 2015) have provided valuable insights into novel ways of preserving sustainable ecosystems. The 17 goals and 169 targets under the Agenda-2030 provide similar, exceptional opportunities to the academics from all knowledge systems (sciences, social sciences, management etc) to productively participate and achieve professional excellence.Second, to provide the necessary knowledge base to such highly focused translational research, it would be worthwhile to establish an independent National Institute for Sustainability Research with a network of similar institutes in all states to professionally address the challenge. 

Individually and collectively, these institutes could network with similar global institutes and provide evaluative inputs on key SD issues to contextually support or complement or even challenge the developmental indicators generated by other institutions. 

These outcomes could then be collated and conflated to evolve appropriate short term and long

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term action plans.  It is noteworthy that China has already put in place a major stakeholder sensitisation programme for SD through its universities. These two measures provide a combinatorial platform to build a national resolve to take forward SD programmes under Agenda-2030 with commitment.

(The writer is a retired Professor of Bot-any and former Registrar, Bangalore University)

EDUCATION

ASIAN AGE, NOV 18, 2015CM: Schools taking donations to be fined

The Delhi government has proposed amendments in the Education Act, under which the erring schools asking for capitation fees will be liable for a hefty fine 10 times the donation and the “repeated offende-rs” may even face impriso-nment. The schools will ha-ve to show greater accountability in fees accepted and money spent under the new Delhi Schools Verification of

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Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee Bill, which will be tabled in the Winter session of the Delhi Assembly. Erring schools may attract hefty fine and repeated offenders may even be imprisoned for 3-5 years.

“It has been observed that several schools charge exorbitant fees and siphon it off for other purposes, say by giving loans to some trust at zero per cent interest or produce fake bills. This will now be looked by a committee headed by retired judge. The committee will also empanel some 400-500 chartered accountants who will go through the accounts of the schools. If they find any irregularity, they can direct the school to either refund the money or reduce the fees the next year,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

He said while the government favoured auditing of accounts which can put an end to the siphoning of the money, it did not want to “interfere” in amount spent by the school.

HINDU, NOV 16, 2015JNU introduces three new Master’s courses

Those looking to enrol themselves for a Master’s degree at the Jawaharlal Nehru University will have three new programmes to choose from starting next academic session. The three new MA courses are in film and television, art history and theatre.

The announcement was made by JNU Vice-Chancellor S. K. Sopory after the University’s Academic Council cleared the introduction of the new courses.

Mr. Sopory said: “The University will be offering three new MA programmes from the next academic session. The courses will be MA in Art History and Visual Studies; MA in Film, Television and New Media Studies; and MA in Theatre and Performance Studies,” Mr. Sopory told PTI .

The JNU V-C said the proposal had come from the Board of Studies of the School of Arts and Aesthetics in July and the preamble as well as the courses to be taught and credit requirements for the three programmes have been worked out. JNU had recently proposed a course in Indian culture and yoga as well. There was a proposal to introduce three short-term courses in yoga, vedas and jatakas .

The proposal to introduce three short-term courses in these subjects had come against the backdrop of right-wing organisations, including the RSS, insisting on propagation of culture in educational campuses to restore India’s cultural identity,

The proposal was however rejected in the meeting of Academic Council, the highest decision making body in the varsity, earlier in November.

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The new courses in film and television, art history and theatre will start from the next academic session

ELECTIONS

STATESMAN, NOV 18, 2015EC to push multiple cut-off dates proposal to enrol voters

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Unfazed by legal hurdles in its plan to register young citizens as voters as soon as they turn 18, the Election Commission has decided to approach the government to push its proposal to have multiple cut-off dates to enrol voters.

The Commission has formally asked the Law Ministry to discuss the issue in the coming days. The meeting could be attended by top EC brass and Law Ministry officials.

"Based on the meeting, the Commission will take a decision," said a senior functionary.

The Legislative Department in the Law Ministry is the administrative ministry for the EC.

But according to the Law Ministry, a change in rules or even an amendment to the Representation of the People Act will not help.

"It is for the policy makers to decide whether multiple cut off dates are actually required. Less than one per cent of people are affected due to a single cut off date," a senior law Ministry official explained indicating the lack of enthusiasm on part of the government to have multiple cut off dates.

The Attorney General had recently red flagged Commission's plan to have multiple cut off dates to enrol voters, saying it contradicts provisions of the Constitution.

EC had last year told the government that the January 1 cut-off date set for the purpose deprives several youths from participating in the electoral exercise.

The Law Ministry had opposed the move, but following EC's persistent demands, it had referred the matter to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi for his opinion.Rohatgi had supported the view of the Law Ministry that the move to have multiple cut off dates "contradicts" Article 326 of the Constitution and to have such a system is not practical.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

BUSINESS LINE, NOV 19, 201517,000 RBI staff to go on mass leave today

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Around 17,000 employees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be on “mass casual leave” on November 19 to demand improvement in pensions and to protest against the Union Government’s move to dilute the central bank’s autonomy.

The strike in the form of mass leave is the first in over six years and threatens to disrupt settlement activities and the bond and foreign-exchange markets.

A walkout staged by RBI employees in 2009 hampered bond trading and agency reports suggest that investors have been informed to be prepared about a similar possible disruption.

However, according to a source, the RBI is trying to ensure that the public is not inconvenienced and will try to run the RTGS facility.

Multiple demands

The United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees, an umbrella organisation of four recognised unions of officers and workmen in the RBI, proposed to go on a day’s mass leave to protest against the Union government’s alleged moves to take away power from the RBI in the name of the draft financial code and legislative reforms and press for a hike in pension to keep up with rising living costs and wage increases.

RBI staff have been seeking a hike in pension as their basic pension once fixed does not increase. Pending for nearly eight years now, the updation of pension was granted to pre-2002 retirees by the RBI central board and was withdrawn by the Government.

In August, the RBI had said it is reviewing compensation and pensions, as it is losing more junior officers than it “should be comfortable with.”

In its annual report, the banking regulator said: “This is why a revamp of the professional challenges we offer our staff is very much needed…A key factor in RBI’s success has been a satisfied staff.”

Samir Ghosh, General Secretary of the All India Reserve Bank Employees’ Association told PTI: “With the proposed mechanism of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the government plans to intervene and themselves decide the monetary policy, which has been the exclusive jurisdiction of RBI so far,” he said.

Further, the Forum termed the government’s intention as curbing the central bank’s activity and intervening into monetary policies.

“The cease-work programme is intended, inter alia, to strongly oppose Government of India's current moves to cripple RBI in the name of the draft financial code and legislative reforms,” the Forum said in a statement recently.

“The Finance Ministry is reportedly giving final shape to shift Government’s debt management functions from RBI to the proposed Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA), which will also

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henceforth function as a depository of government securities (G-Secs), thus taking away from the RBI some vital operations having relevance to the money market as well,” it added.

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated November 19, 2015)

HEALTH SERVICES

ECONOMIC TIMES, NOV 16, 2015Central government hospitals to offer cancer drugs, stents at 60% discount soon

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NEW DELHI: Over 200 cancer drugs, 186 medicines to treat cardiovascular diseases and 148 stents and cardiac implants will now be available at central government hospitals at prices 50-60% lower than the open market. 

The health ministry has launched a programme called AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment), under which the government will run pharmacy retail stores to sell medicines in hospitals like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. 

TOI was the first to report on September 19 that the health ministry was working on a project to make cancer medicines and stents available at a substantially lower price by procuring such drugs in bulk at a negotiated price and supplying them to hospitals and consumers through its own retail system. 

The idea is to make treatment of critical diseases more affordable by bringing down the cost of medicine, which constitute a major part of the total health expenditure, mainly in case of tertiary care. 

"This is certainly an innovative initiative. Patients can buy medicines and implants at rates 50-60% cheaper than open market from AMRIT outlet in AIIMS," health minister J P Nadda said while inaugurating the first store. "The government is pinning a lot of hope on it. We are exploring the possibility of scaling up the facility and also making it accessible to larger number of people in various parts of the country," he added.. 

Since the incidence of cancer and heart diseases is high and rapidly increasing in India, the government has chosen these two therapeutic categories for initial focus of the pragramme, an official said. In India, deaths from cancer have increased by 60% since 1990, according to the latest report 'Global Burden of Cancer-2013', released worldwide on Friday. In 2013, there were 14.9 million new cancer cases registered worldwide, whereas 8.2 million people died due to the disease. Cardiovascular diseases are also found to be the leading cause of death globally. 

The government has already started the project in AIIMS on a pilot basis. The model is expected to be replicated in other central government hospitals within two to three months. The government will also expand the programme in regional cancer centres. 

The project has been floated in partnership with the government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd. The company will set up AMRIT stores and also run them across the country. Prices will be negotiated with the companies by the government for bulk procurement. 

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Currently, prices of only 51 cancer medicines are capped or regulated by the government. However, several oncologists, public health experts and even institutes like Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital have advocated bringing in more cancer drugs under price control as these medicines are extremely expensive and often out of reach of majority of patients. 

INDIAN EXPRESS, NOV 19, 2015Pune: CGHS asks empanelled hospitals to get central quality certification

Out of 66 such hospitals and diagnostic centres in the city, only 16 have NABH certification.

Several others are in the process of applying.Written by ANURADHA MASCAREHNAS

In an attempt to ensure better quality health care for serving and retired central government

employees, hospitals empanelled under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) have

been urged to seek certification from the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and

Healthcare Providers (NABH).

Out of 66 such hospitals and diagnostic centres in the city, only 16 have NABH certification.

Several others are in the process of applying.

“We have already extended the deadline for hospitals and health care organisations empanelled

under CGHS to apply for an inspection by the Quality Council of India,” K M Biswas, additional

director general of CGHS based Pune, said.

The CGHS is a welfare scheme under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, aimed at

providing comprehensive medical facilities to the central government employees (serving and

retired), their family members and other entitled categories for a token contribution. In Pune,

there are 1.02 lakh beneficiaries enrolled under the CGHS. There are nine CGHS wellness

centres and one polyclinic in the city, besides empanelled hospitals.

“NABH puts a lot of emphasis on patient safety aspects. There are designated standards dealing

with patient rights and quality assurance for laboratory services, radiology services and hospital

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infection control,” Dr Sanjay Lalwani, medical director of Bharati hospital, said. “We are in the

process of applying for NABH certification,” Lalwani said.

Among the few hospitals in the city certified by NABH are Ruby Hall Clinic, Jehangir hospital,

Noble hospital and National Institute of Opthalmology.

Officials at Rao nursing home, which has received NABH certification and is also empanelled

under CGHS, said it was about adopting a patient-centric approach.

Getting an NABH certification makes the hospital upgrade its systems, staff and take care of

minute details to improve quality of care, Dr H K Sale, executive director of Noble hospital, said.

Delay in payment to hospitals

While CGHC-empanelled hospitals have welcomed the move to make NABH certification

mandatory, they also complain about delay in payments for their services. “Time and again, we

have been requesting for payment for treatment for CGHS patients. Even payments under

insurance schemes related to ex-servicemen and policemen have not been made to us,” said

Ruby Hall Clinic CEO Bomi Bhote, adding that the amount due to the hospital was over Rs 20

crore. “How can we keep treating patients under these schemes?” he asked.

At Noble hospital too, the outstanding amount to be paid to the hospital is more than Rs 1 crore

while Rao nursing home is yet to receive Rs 4 crore.

Space crunch

CGHS officials have sent letters to Pune Municipal Commissioner, Director General of All India

Radio, Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) and other central government

departments to allocate some space for two of its wellness centres. In Pune, CGHS has nine

wellness centres – at Akurdi, Mangalwar Peth, Hidayatullah road, Yerawada, near Gole market,

Range Hills Estate, Mukund Nagar, Shukrawar Peth and G T street at Camp – catering to about

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one lakh beneficiaries. Proposals to shift its dispensaries at Camp and at Bajirao Road to other

locations at Hadapsar and Khadakwasla have been pending for a long time.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

DECCAN HERALD, NOV 18, 2015Unity within G-20 key to fight IS

The threat of Islamic State was the focus of the just-concluded G20 summit at Antalya in Turkey. Summits of the grouping have traditionally focused on global economic concerns.

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However, with the IS unleashing a string of horrific attacks in Paris on the eve of the Antalya summit – the attacks left at least 129 people dead and over 350 others injured – G20 leaders directed their attention to combating the group. World leaders discussed ways to forge a more robust and coordinated approach to fight this terrorist group. Their speeches revealed a long-overdue unity in confronting the IS. Even a few days prior to the summit, Russia and the US were at loggerheads with each other over Moscow’s aerial strikes in Syria; their positions determined more by their support/ opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rather than the threat posed by the IS itself. But the Paris carnage forced G20 leaders to come together somewhat to fight the IS. Tentative steps towards reaching a common ground were visible at Antalya. Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly expressed willingness to provide air support to Syrian opposition groups to fight the IS. Until now, several of these anti-Assad groups, which are backed by the West, were being targeted by Russian airstrikes. 

At the summit, US President Barack Obama appreciated Russia’s role in weakening IS, a shift from the US denunciation hitherto of Russian air strikes. Does it signal a new willingness on the part of the Obama administration to work with Putin? At Antalya, Obama said his government would escalate use of special operations forces, air strikes and drones in Iraq and Syria. He has rightly rejected calls from Republicans at home to send ground troops to Syria to fight the IS. 

The question is whether the show of unity with regard to confronting the IS, that was apparent at the summit, will translate to cooperation on the ground. Fighting IS requires not only air strikes but also concerted efforts to halt the flow of weapons into Iraq and Syria. The US and its western allies as well as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, must halt arms supply to Syrian opposition groups, as these weapons are finding their way to IS hands. Importantly, unity is needed on a political approach to end the conflict. The international community must work together to nudge the Syrian government and opposition groups to reach a settlement. Collaboration within the G20 on fighting IS should pave the way for greater cooperation in the UN on tackling not just the IS but other terrorist groups as well.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

TELEGRAPH, NOV 18, 2015Subterranean rumblings: - The political dividends of Modi's UK visit must be analysed

DiplomacyK.P. Nayar

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When the meeting in Wembley was being put together, its organizers had not reckoned that another politician would upstage Modi 

Whether the journey to the United Kingdom by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was a political initiative or the result of foreign policy imperatives - including those of economic diplomacy - may never be known. With the visit behind us, its political and diplomatic aspects, therefore, need to be analysed in separate compartments. It is beyond doubt that the trip's foreign policy scorecard is on the plus side: diplomats who conceptualized and executed the visit performed admirably. They served the prime minister and the cause of Indo-British relations well.

The same, though, cannot be said of the political scorecard of the visit. For Modi, both as an individual and for his political persona, the three-day sojourn in London is something he could have done without at this stage of his evolution as a statesman. The leader of the world's largest democracy - which also shares so much with the UK that most of the commonalities have become clichés - ought not to have to go to a city where critical roads are closed because of protesters, and where the main establishment newspaper carries the headline, "Hold your nose and shake Modi by the hand."

By a stretch, the closure of the surroundings of Whitehall and the roads leading to Parliament Square may be justified, but when exit points from St James Park tube station have the look of a war zone because Modi's hotel is only a few steps away, the level of 'intolerance' in Britain towards Modi that lurks beneath the surface can be gauged.

Hyped domestic television coverage masked these disturbing undercurrents of the prime minister's three-day stay in the UK. But for those familiar with both London and Washington, the implications of such shows of law enforcement strength around Modi will be apparent. Security considerations are not a credible excuse. When Hamid Karzai regularly visited Washington, only half a block of 14th Street where his Willard Intercontinental Hotel is located used to be closed: the threat perception for Afghanistan's president is manifold more than for Modi. On the first day of Modi's visit, London was a bit like New Delhi when Chinese leaders visit the city and are shielded from Tibetan demonstrators.

When the mass meeting in Wembley was being put together, its organizers had not reckoned with the possibility that another politician who had the advantage of being on his home ground would upstage Modi. David Cameron's decision to escort Modi to the glossy podium at Wembley stadium did not take any of the civil servants looking after Modi in London by surprise. Actually, the good spin master that he is, foreign secretary S. Jaishankar let it casually drop at a media briefing on the eve of Modi's travel that "Prime Minister Cameron would be with him (Modi) for most of his programme...."

Yet, the entire media missed the significance of that one sentence. The foreign secretary had already taken out an insurance policy against potential insinuations that Britain's ruling party was fishing for a nice catch at a non-official event by Indians for people of Indian origin. When Cameron welcomed Modi at Wembley, he effectively took charge.

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Imagine yourself in the shoes of an Indian immigrant in the UK or that of an expatriate. A leader from your old country is a hero for you just as Modi is for most non-resident Indians and people of Indian origin from Perth to Paramaribo and from Wembley to Washington. But it is with the leader of your adopted country that you have encounters in one form or another - either real or virtual - on a daily basis. It is UK's prime minister who looms large on your mental horizon, not Modi who is a one-day celebrity among Britons of Indian descent.

So when Cameron stood on the Wembley stadium's stage and declared that "it won't be long before there is a British Indian Prime Minister in Downing Street," he said something that many an ethnic Indian in the UK would have gleefully taken back home and narrated to families, especially to children who could, if ambitious, aspire to scale such a dizzy height. It was Cameron's declaration that made the evening memorable for most of the audience, not Modi's announcement that Air India would fly directly from London to Ahmedabad.

Cameron seized the opportunity to speak to a crowd of Indians on a scale he would not have got otherwise. The audience comprised supporters of the Labour Party, which has perennially nurtured a vote bank among South Asians as well as from his own Conservative Party. Cameron is acutely aware that his percentage of votes in this year's Parliament election was only 36 per cent. This was what Modi and his chief aide, Amit Shah, overlooked in relative terms about their vote share in Bihar.

Cameron knew that the composition of the crowd he was addressing in Wembley was quintessentially conservative in beliefs and attitudes although many of them may have been voting Labour for a variety of extraneous reasons. Clearly, they were not beyond being wooed by an incumbent prime minister. Cameron can now reasonably assume that there will be domestic political dividends from having escorted Modi to Wembley, accompanied by his wife Samantha in a striking scarlet sari with a sprinkling of black to match her drop earrings and a jewelled bindi.

Politicians do not rise to the top unless they can spot opportunities to advance themselves or their cause. When Modi was in Washington last year, Obama similarly chose to accompany him to the memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. African Americans make up Obama's core constituency. And King is the most celebrated of contemporary heroes for that vote bank.

In 2008, Democrats in America feared that their party was losing its hold on rich Indian American political contributors after George W. Bush crafted a nuclear deal and dramatically improved relations with India. To compensate, Howard Dean, then chairman of the Democratic National Committee, declared during the party's convention which nominated Obama for the White House that one day an Indian American would hold the highest office in the land.

These are games all smart politicians play. Modi's political aides do the prime minister a disservice by portraying such actions by his hosts to be larger than what they really are. It is doubtful if Modi, who rose in public life by having his feet firmly on the ground, would have made speeches abroad as if history began with him - and by implication ran down his illustrious predecessors - if these political aides had given him a true appraisal of his record as prime

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minister sans hyperbole and exaggeration.

With a joint announcement to mark 2017 as UK-India Year of Culture, it is appropriate that Modi has chosen Navtej Singh Sarna as the next high commissioner in London. A mammoth project such as this requires a head of mission in London who is not a routine pen-pusher. The year, 2017, will also be observed as the 70th anniversary of India's freedom from British rule. It would be unsurprising if Modi took into account that Sarna toiled for nine years on The Exile, a historical novel about Maharaja Duleep Singh, who was forced to sign away the Koh-i-noor diamond to the UK as a 11 year-old boy. The Exile, which offers deep insights into 19th-century British rule, is one of Sarna's eight books, which includes two translations.

At the time of writing, Britain has not named a successor to James Bevan, who has only days to complete his assignment as high commissioner in New Delhi. If Cameron's political savvy, which was in evidence in Wembley, is any guide, there may be truth in the grapevine buzz that the foreign and commonwealth office wants to follow the US and Canada in nominating an ethnic Indian as Bevan's successor. A Gujarati perhaps.

JUDICIARY

HINDU, NOV 20, 2015A way to judicial independence

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By striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act and the 99th Constitution (Amendment) Act as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has, once again, focussed public attention on the process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. Neither the Executive-appointment model, which prevailed till 1998, nor the judges-appointing-judges (Collegium) model, as practised till recently, have been found satisfactory to preserve the independence of the judiciary while promoting efficiency and accountability in the system. The court is now hearing views and suggestions from the government, the bar and civil society on how to reform the process while keeping control over the appointment of judges with the judiciary itself.

Under the scheme of the Constitution, the final interpreter of the law is the court, not the legislature or the executive. Judicial independence is, therefore, central to democracy because it is the judiciary which helps the realisation of the Rule of Law and protection of human rights. But the concept of independence is a complex one which subsumes in it concepts like impartiality, accountability, efficiency and respect for other institutions of governance. In this regard, one has to distinguish individual independence from institutional independence, adjudicative independence from administrative independence, as well as actual independence from perceived independence. These relationships have to be factored in while appointing judges to the higher judiciary. Admittedly, a judge’s personal independence is incomplete unless it is accompanied by the institutional independence of the judicial branch. The idea of a separation of powers is related to the latter aspect of independence.

Independence and appointment

The crucial issue to be examined is how far the appointment procedure secures the personal independence of judges. The search for a proper system of appointment will have to address this fundamental question if the public is to be persuaded to accept the appointment system in the name of protecting the “independence of judiciary”. If judicial independence is about freedom from all pressures in the exercise of the adjudicative function, how can the appointment process secure it? Are matters of impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality, competence, etc. on which personal independence is dependent better assessed in a transparent, participatory commission system with pre-defined norms and procedures than in an opaque system managed by judges alone? This was the larger issue contested in the Supreme Court, for which the judgment did not provide clear answers. The court is now trying to figure out how the collegium can be retained and still secure independence and accountability on which it failed to prove its superiority to the earlier model.

Transparent and objective process

The pool of eligible candidates for judicial selection is partly determined by the Constitution. The Constitution does not speak about standards of integrity, propriety, competence, independence, etc. as qualifications essential for judicial selection. Apparently, they are taken for granted and left to the selectors to assess them by whatever means available to them. Collegium judges say they know the qualities of the men and women practising before them and no one else

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can claim better knowledge about this. One may then ask how wrong appointments have been made by the collegium judges; what the procedures they employed were to verify their knowledge on attitudes and values of prospective candidates and how fair they were; what the pool of candidates from among whom they made their selection was, whether it was fair to those outside the pool, and whether they were still eligible. If these justifiable questions have to be addressed in the selection process, there has to be a verifiable method of creating a pool of eligible persons for consideration. The system of examination and interview employed in the selection to the lower judiciary is perhaps not acceptable either to judges or to advocates. In the circumstances, a transparent procedure is to prescribe the norms and standards expected of candidates seeking to be appointed as judges and invite applications from them. Alternatively, they can be nominated by retired judges, senior advocates, bar councils or bar associations, etc., testifying to their possession of qualifications prescribed. On receipt of applications, a system of shortlisting based on comparative merit, again according to pre-determined norms and procedures, can follow to identify those who are meritorious. Both the original list of applicants/nominees and those shortlisted along with their details can be posted on the website of the court for a reasonable period to elicit objections, if any, from the government as well as the public. There can be a technical committee of retired judges to shortlist the applications and to respond to objections/grievances in the initial stage of selection. This part of the procedure should be open to Right to Information Act queries as well.

Need for a secretariat

The collegium will then sit to verify and decide the final selection of candidates who deserve to be appointed. The list of selected candidates can be more than the number of vacancies and also be in the order of merit. Naturally, personal interaction through interviews may be necessary at this stage to prepare the final list. The list may be valid for a two-year period and the process can be repeated every two years. There are standardised psychological tests to measure the extent of integrity, independence, sense of equality and other values essential for adjudicative independence. The whole process can thus be made transparent and fair and less prone to abuse. Naturally, the process is long, time-consuming, technical and professional, which sitting judges of the collegium cannot undertake by themselves. Hence the need for a permanent secretariat.

Given the nature of the procedures recommended, the tasks involved are of a continuing nature involving professional and technical expertise to be supported by secretarial services. Small secretariats at the level of the Supreme Court and High Courts and supervised by collegium judges become necessary for the purpose. They will have a small technical panel of retired judges known for their integrity, efficiency and independence to gather from High Courts the positions to be filled, to invite applications/nominations from eligible candidates, to do the shortlisting according to the norms and standards set by the law/collegium, and to respond to objections and queries, etc. from the public/governments. They will prepare a manual for streamlining procedures and develop software to digitise and expedite the processes. The processing can perhaps be done centrally after receiving the applications/nominations from States. The High Court will only do “a post office job” initially. Later, when the shortlisting is

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completed at the Central level, the list will be sent back to the respective High Courts/State governments where the collegium/government will make its/their choices and recommendations to be sent directly to the Supreme Court Collegium. Since the shortlist has been on the websites for a considerable period of time and governments would have adequate opportunity to raise their objections, if any, it may not be necessary for the appointments to be delayed for further clearance from the Executive. As the collegium secretariat in due course will develop a databank of all judges and aspirants to judicial posts across the country, it can well handle their transfers and promotions under the guidance of the Chief Justice and collegium of judges.

Representing a full court

As judicial independence is both an individual and collective responsibility, it is important to involve the full court in the selection, appointment and transfer processes of judges. Towards this end, it is necessary to broadbase the membership of the collegium. As most High Courts have nearly 50 or more judges, and their numbers are increasing, it is not possible to have the entire body of judges sitting in the collegium to deliberate on issues of appointments. At the same time, it is not acceptable to have the Chief Justice and two or three of his senior colleagues only deciding the issues which are of importance to the entire body of judges. As such, broadbasing the collegium by accommodating all judges on a rotational basis is something that has to be evolved. It is possible to enlarge membership of the collegium in each High Court and Supreme Court to a third of the total strength of the court. Such an enlarged body has possibilities of being inclusive of women, minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and therefore promotive of the constitutional goal of social justice in judicial appointments as well. A third of members can retire every two years thus bringing into the collegium fresh minds and wide representation.

It is difficult to accept the theory that all advocates selected through the processes prescribed will turn out to be competent judges from the day they join the high bench. According to a study, it takes five to 10 years for an advocate to transform himself/herself into becoming a competent judge. The duration can possibly be reduced through institutionalised education and training. In addition, the time for an All India Judicial Service has come and the government should legislate for the purpose. Let the window of opportunity provided by the Supreme Court in looking at suitable procedures for selecting judges be utilised to push for other structural changes necessary in order to give the country a judicial system which will decide disputes competently, and in reasonable time and expense.

(Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon is a former director of the National Judicial Academy.)

TRIBUNE, NOV 20, 2015

Collegium to appoint judges gets functional11 months on, SC sets in place old system of appointments

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11-month uncertainty The appointment process came to halt on December 31, 2014, when the President

approved NJAC Act to replace Collegium system The SC, acting on PILs, struck down the Act, maintaining the changes were

unconstitutional as these undermined the independence of the judiciaryMounting vacancies

The absence of both the Collegium and NJAC for 11 months resulted in the vacancies of HC judges mounting to about 400

These vacancies made up 40 per cent of the sanctioned strength of 1,050 High Court judges, thus leading to rise in case pendencySome delay still remains

The resumption of the Collegium system will have to wait for a fortnight till Justice Tirath Singh Thakur takes over as the CJI on December 3

Legal experts say the outgoing CJI, HL Dattu, will not convene a meeting of the Collegium due to propriety

TRIBUNE, NOV 18, 2015PP RaoSelecting the right judgesCoordinated action needed by the executive, legislature and judiciaryAll the stakeholders should come together.

THE objective is to select the most suitable candidates for judgeship on merits, therefore, it is necessary to invite suggestions with justification from the stakeholders, namely the Bench, including retired judges, and Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and of high courts, the Bar which represents the litigant public and the executive which is the appointing authority. 

All the suggestions received should be considered objectively and relative merit evaluated with reference to relevant factors. In SC Advocates-on-Record Association Vs. UOI (1993) 4 SCC 441, the Supreme Court identified the requirements for appointment of a judge as “legal expertise, ability to handle cases, proper personal conduct and ethical behaviour, firmness and fearlessness”.  

While considering high court judges for elevation to the Supreme Court, the quality of judgments delivered, integrity, independence of the judge, rate of disposal, time taken for the pronouncement of judgments, punctuality, court manners, relations with the Bar need to be considered, among other things.  

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While considering an advocate the number of reported cases in which he/she has argued, the volume of work commanded, ability, integrity, independence notwithstanding political affiliation, if any, professional ethics, including behaviour towards the court and the counsel opposing him or her, have to be considered, besides the income tax returns. The opinion of the Chief Justice and senior judges of the court and leaders of the Bar where the advocate is practising may also be obtained. 

The task of evaluation of the relative merit of candidates for judgeship is arduous and time consuming. It will be difficult for the members of the collegium to undertake this task all by themselves. It is necessary to have a permanent mechanism to assist the collegium in the shape of a broad-based statutory search committee representing all stakeholders, namely, the Bench, the Bar and the executive with an adequately staffed secretariat with a Research & Analysis Wing consisting of experienced lawyers, retired judges, academicians.  

I suggest the following composition of the search committee: A distinguished former Chief Justice of India (Chairman); two reputed retired judges of the Supreme Court known for their independence, integrity and ability; two eminent members of the Bar; an eminent jurist; the Union Law Minister or his nominee as members.

For the selection of candidates for appointment as judges of high courts, a former Chief Justice of a high court belonging to the state concerned and the Minister for Law of the State, or his nominee, may be co-opted as members of the search committee. 

The power of appointment of the Chairman and members of the search committee may be vested in the President of India to be exercised in consultation with the Chief Justice of India as the representative of the collegium. 

The search committee would invite suggestions from all informed sources, including members of the collegium, judges — sitting and retired, leading members of the Bar, the Bar Associations concerned and the Bar Council of India. The search committee will collect relevant data of all eligible and deserving persons who merit consideration and assess their merit and suitability with the help of the Research & Analysis Wing of the committee and prepare the final select list of the candidates for appointment as high court and Supreme Court judges separately in the ratio of 3:1; three names for one post. 

The collegium shall consider the candidates recommended by the search committee in the first instance and thereafter, if need be,  consider other candidates more deserving than those recommended by the search committee, if any. In the event of the collegium selecting a

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candidate or candidates other than those recommended by the search committee, it shall record reasons for such selection in writing.  

After making the final selection, the collegium shall forward its recommendations to the President of India for consideration and appointment.

Search committees are there under different Acts of Parliament, including one in the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013.

There need not be any hesitation to include members of the Bar in the search committee. Even after the collegium system came into operation in 1993, some of the Chief Justices of India have been seeking or considering the suggestions and views of a few eminent members of the Bar.   That has been the tradition throughout because the Bar is the judge of judges. The Bar alone represents the entire litigant public, including governments and public sector undertakings, in courts. The Bar is more conversant with who is who among the practitioners and judges of high courts. Therefore, the Bar must have due representation in the proposed search committee.

In order to ensure transparency and accountability, the proceedings of the search committee as well as the collegium shall be put in public domain as soon as the appointments are made. 

The proposed mechanism will minimise the scope for the play of extraneous factors like favouritism, nepotism, corruption, personal prejudices, etc. and facilitate good appointments. 

I am of the considered view that the Supreme Court by a judicial order cannot improve the collegium system to ensure transparency, accountability and objectivity in the selection of candidates for judgeship.  Coordinated action by all the three wings of the state, namely, the executive, Parliament and the judiciary alone can improve the system in the manner desired. 

 — The writer, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, is an expert on constitutional law.

ECONOMIC TIMES, NOV 19, 2015Justice Tirath Singh Thakur to be next Chief Justice of IndiaBy Samanwaya Rautray

Justice Thakur, who will be the 43rd Chief Justice of India, is expected to take several crucial decisions on new judicial appointments in high courts.

NEW DELHI: Justice Tirath Singh Thakur will be the next Chief Justice of India, it was formally announced on Wednesday.

The soft-spoken judge, who constantly extols the virtue of Indian inclusiveness as a way of life, will have a short tenure of one year and a month at the position.

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The appointment will be with effect from December 3, the government said in a news release.

Justice Thakur, 63, has already indicated that he would spare no efforts to clean up the system. The intent was on display earlier this month, on the day he was named by outgoing CJI HL Dattu as his successor. Justice Thakur indicated that he would not tolerate any interference in the justice delivery mechanism, as he upheld a Madras High Court order calling the CISF to stop warring lawyers and ensure smooth functioning of the court.

Justice Thakur, who will be the 43rd Chief Justice of India, is expected to take several crucial decisions on new judicial appointments in high courts.

He is dealing with several important cases, such as the Vyapam and the Saradha scams. His bench will also decide the fate of Sahara Chairman Subrata Roy, in jail after he failed to comply with a court order to deposit thousands of crores with the Sebi to pay the group's bondholders. Justice Thakur is exploring the option of appointing a receiver to sell off the Sahara properties  to recover the money.

He skillfully staved off a recent demand by Jain groups for a meat ban in the country, saying such things cannot be shoved down anyone's throat in a multi-religious, multi-cultural country like India. He quoted Kabir to beautifully warn those who peek into others' homes.

STATESMAN, NOV 19, 2015Inclusive JusticeArunabha Bagchi

All political parties in India talk about “inclusive growth”. Our economists talk about our world ranking in GDP, per capita GDP, composite measure of welfare, corruption index, the level of technology and other esoteric economic indicators. Interestingly, however, the role of a country’s government for the economic security of its citizens is a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, the primary function of every government was to guarantee law and order under its jurisdiction by instituting a fair judicial system. Why then is there hardly any discussion on “inclusive justice” in our country? How well have we fulfilled that task after Independence?

This thought came to my mind when I learnt about the decision of the Supreme Court on 16 October to strike down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, along with the Constitution Amendment Act, after the corresponding bills were passed by Parliament, duly ratified by 16 state legislatures and subsequently assented by the President on 31 December 2014. The purpose of the proposed NJAC was to appoint Supreme Court and High Court judges by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India (Chairperson, ex officio), the next two senior judges of the Supreme Court, Union Minister of Law and Justice (ex officio) and two

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eminent persons. This was supposed to replace the collegium system, in place since 1993, where a committee composed exclusively of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts decide on those appointments. Justice Goel writing in favour of the verdict noted, “The will of the people is the Constitution while the Parliament represents the will of the majority at a given point of time which is subordinate to the Constitution.”

Our Constitution was approved in 1950. How did the learned judge know that this is still the will of the people today? As someone completely ignorant of law, I thought that the purpose of constitutional amendments is precisely to fine-tune the Constitution with changes in the will of the people as a slowly evolving dynamic process.

Soon enough, Markandey Katju wrote an article in Outlook on the verdict of the Supreme Court. This time I took his opinion seriously as he is himself a retired judge of the Supreme Court, as well as a former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, and must have known the Indian judiciary intimately. He flatly asserted that the judges themselves created the collegial system earlier, “which, apart from having no Constitutional basis (there is no mention of any Collegium in Article 124 of the Constitution), has set up a mechanism by which judges appoint judges.” I wondered which Constitution Justice Goel was referring to in his judgment mentioned above. Justice Katju concluded his article with the observation that, in his estimate, about 50 per cent or more of the higher judiciary (High Court and Supreme Court) has become corrupt. His most damning comment on our judiciary was, “My own opinion is that it matters little whether we have the NJAC or any other system, as the Indian judiciary is beyond redemption.”

My personal impression is that every ordinary Indian shares his view, but does not dare to say that publicly for fear of contempt charges. This is unfortunate as, to mimic Charles de Gaulle, justice is too serious a matter to be left to the judges. While thinking of “inclusive justice”, I found out that an independent NGO, The World Justice Project (WJP), ranks countries every year based on their WJP Rule of law index which is based on nine factors that influence the overall law and order of the country. The factor that concerns us here is Criminal Justice. The WJP 2014 ranking puts India in the 48th place in the Criminal Justice system. On the overall ranking based on all 9 factors, India ranks 66th, below Sri Lanka (48th) and Nepal (57th) among the South Asian countries. On the overall ranking of India, the report mentioned among serious problems, “Administrative agencies are slow and ineffective (ranking 81st), and the civil court system ranks poorly (ranking 90th), mainly because deficiencies in the areas of court congestion, enforcement and delays in processing cases.”

These drawbacks affect most Indians, except possibly the very rich. But the worst suffering faced by the poor and lower middle class is the criminal court system. According to an official report

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on prisoners released at the end of last year, Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis together form 53 per cent of our prisoners, although they constitute barely 40 per cent of our population. The reason may not necessarily be due to a built-in bias against these social groups, but just reflect the over-representation of these groups among the poor of our country. What is even more shocking is that two-thirds of our prison inmates are actually undertrials, who are yet to be convicted of any crime. In fact, the percentage of undertrials in prison is growing by the year. But the story does not end there. A majority of our undertrials have spent more time in jail than the sentence they might have received in case they were convicted of their alleged crimes. More than 3000 undertrials are in prison for more than five years!

The real culprit here is the system of bail. Our criminal justice system is a legacy left by our colonial rulers and has seen a few amendments occasionally under political pressure. There has been no effort to change many archaic aspects of the laws that victimise the vast majority of our fellow countrymen who have very limited financial means at their disposal. Bail is the most potent weapon in the hands of the powerful to keep the downtrodden masses in their place. The rich, by contrast, use this as a means to avoid going to prison while appealing to higher courts in a process that often goes on for decades. Ironically, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, does not define bail, although the terms bailable offence and non-bailable offence have been adequately explained there. In effect, the court has arbitrary authority to put a monetary cap on the bonds for bailable criminal offences. Courts are often insensitive to the economic plight of the poor alleged criminals and demand exorbitant amounts as bail bonds. This is bound to have disastrous consequences, as they are often the only breadwinners in their families.

The Supreme Court has been largely oblivious to this travesty of justice. One notable exception was the late Justice Krishna Iyer. Here are just two illustrations. In State of Rajasthan v Balchand case, the trial court convicted the accused, but the verdict was later overturned by the High Court. The State then appealed to the Supreme Court and the accused was asked to surrender to the court. He then applied for bail. It was then that Justice Iyer raised his objection to the system of bail and said that the time for rethinking about the system of bail has come. In most cases, an undertaking should serve the purpose. In Moti Ram and Ors. v State of MP, the accused was a poor mason. The apex court asked the Chief Judicial Magistrate to release him on bail. The CJM fixed Rs. 10,000 as surety and bond, and refused his brother to be surety as his property was not in the same village. Again, Justice Iyer condemned the decision of the CJM and said that judges should be more inclined towards bail and not jail.

It is obvious that our justice system has a strong anti-poor bias. “Inclusive justice” should actually be a tautology. But is this so in India? “Inclusive justice” in our country is even more illusory than “inclusive growth.” Our intellectuals are rightfully concerned about human rights

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violations in the Naxalite belt, the North-east and Kashmir. Somehow they miss the plight of people closer to their homes. Since criminal justice affects individuals, as opposed to groups, there is no large-scale movement for putting pressure on politicians to change this unfair justice. It is heartening to note that our Prime Minister has just added Sabka Nyay to his catchy slogan Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

LIBRARIES

PIONEER, NOV 17, 2015‘GAZETTEER SHOULD BE KEPT IN EDU INSTITUTE & LIBRARY’

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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Monday directed that gazetteer of each district should be kept in every educational institute and library in the district so that students and other readers could benefit from it.

The Chief Minister issued directions while releasing gazetteer of district Panipat here in a meeting.

Speaking on this occasion, Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu said that gazetteer is a very important document hence marketing of the same would also be carried out so that it could reach to all school, colleges and libraries in the State.

It was informed in the meeting that Gazetteers’ organisation had brought out 13 district gazetteers, two volumes of State gazetteers, besides the reprints of a number of old gazetteers (part A and B) and settlement reports of immense historical importance pertaining to the area of Haryana State.

The volume illustrates the physical features, history, people, agriculture and irrigation, industries, banking, trade and commerce, communications, miscellaneous occupations, economic trends, law and order and justice, general administration, revenue administration, education and culture, medical and public health, social services, public life, places of historical importance and tourist attraction etc. of the district in a fluent and simple language.

Capt. Abhimanyu said, “The Gazetteer of Panipat would serve as an eloquent commentary on the political, social and economic reforms introduced after independence besides serving as a factual account supported by figures and other data — of life story of the district and its people — from the earliest times. The document will serve as an important reference book not only for administrators, planners, research scholars and journalists, but also for tourists and general public as well.”

OMBUDSMAN

HINDUSTAN TIMES, NOV 20, 2015Delhi govt clears Jan Lokpal Bill, says same as one during Anna movement

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The Delhi government on Wednesday cleared the Jan Lokpal bill, saying it was akin to the one that failed to become law during the AAP’s first stint in power.

“A strict Lokpal which won’t be a mere slogan, which won’t be limited to symbolism... that particular bill of the Anna movement has been passed by the cabinet by the name Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill 2015. This is the same bill which came up during the Anna movement, without any changes,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said.

The draft bill, among other provisions, also brings the office of the chief minister under its purview and is in the lines of the Uttarakhand Lokpal Bill which stipulates time-bound probe.

Following the decision, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the bill will be tabled in the assembly soon, while Sisodia said that the Business Advisory Committee will take a call on when to table the bill.

A senior government official said the government will make every possible effort to get it passed in this ongoing Winter Session.

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, who earlier tried to corner the government over non-tabling of the bill on the floor of the House, said the government’s move was out of “compulsion”.

“If the news is true then it is our success since BJP has been demanding tabling of the bill. Although the government was not inclined to bring the bill, it did so under compulsion it seems,” Gupta said.

“Any dilution of the original bill won’t be acceptable to the Congress. The bill that was laid during the first stint of the AAP government should be brought,” Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said.

The Aam Aadmi Party traces its roots to the Jan Lokpal movement which was spearheaded by anti-graft activist Anna Hazare. In its first term, the AAP had introduced the bill in the Assembly in February 2014.

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However, Kejriwal resigned within 49 days of assuming office on being unable to garner support to get it passed. 

POLICE

HINDUSTAN TIMES, NOV 16, 2015After a small victory, a setback for the IPSAloke Tikku

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A senior post held by an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer at the home ministry lost its powers to oversee central police organisations last week, a move that IPS officers insist is a setback to their efforts to give police officers a key role in the security establishment.The home ministry has pruned the divisions that will report to internal security secretary Ashok Prasad.

Last week’s circular made it clear that Prasad would not handle central police organisations any more though he will still handle the Northeast, J&K and the two internal security divisions.

The development came days after a union territory cadre IPS officer, Satyendra Garg, was appointed to track the Northeast at the home ministry.

IPS officers were elated with the decision to appoint one of their own to the post that so far has been the preserve of the Indian Administrative Services.

IPS officers insist that the November 6 change in portfolio was not a one-off decision but a continuing effort to nibble away at their powers within the security establishment.

As the senior-most police officer at the home ministry, some IPS officers treat the special secretary’s powers as a barometer of how the service was treated in the government.The last time the internal security secretary wielded significant influence in the security establishment was in 2010-11 when Uttar Pradesh cadre retired IPS officer UK Bansal held charge.

In 2013, the government kept this post vacant for nearly a year and then appointed Prakash Mishra — now CRPF chief — with a much-truncated charge.

A senior police officer stressed that the changes in powers also violated the presidential orders that allocate subjects under the charge of each department.

Drawing a parallel with the finance ministry, the officer asked if the finance ministry could shuffle the subjects between, say the department of revenue and expenditure.

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“This is the kind of model that we need on this side of the North Block too... Where each secretary has a pre-defined area of responsibility and accountability,” he said.

The department of internal security was created in the 1990s to focus on security challenges emanating from terrorism but was hardly ever given autonomy to discharge even routine work.

ASIAN AGE, NOV 16, 2015Subordinate ranks of police refrained from going homeUnavailability of investigating officers main reason for move

In an order that could further burden the upper subordinate ranks of the south-east district police, the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Mandeep Singh Randhawa has refrained them from going to their homes all seven days of the week without prior permission from their seniors.

The order, which was issued a few days ago, cited unavailability of investigating officers to provide case details as the main reason for coming up with such instructions. Upper subordinates include assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) and ranks above it. “Often it has been seen that when senior officers need information on the cases being handled by these officers, they are not present in the police station or are unavailable which causes inconvenience,” said a senior police officer, adding, “Therefore we decided to take such a step.”

Sources said that the order also states that these officers can go to their homes once a week, but only after getting written approval from their sub-division’s assistant commissioner of police (ACP), who is the main supervisory officer.

Even as senior officers are expecting that the new directions would yield better results, officers who fall under this category are a disgruntled lot as they think of it as an imposing dictum.

An ASI posted in the southeast district said on condition of anonymity: “From the very contents of this order it looks imposing,” adding, “How is it possible for any working human being not to go home for a week?”An angry sub-inspector questioned: “We work and earn for our family and such an order refrains us from even meeting them. What kind of a job environment is this?”

Besides, one other concerns raised by upper subordinates officers is the lack of infrastructure in police stations across Delhi. “There is hardly proper space and resources for the officers to sit in police stations. I do not know how all of them will sleep.”

POLITICAL PARTIES

STATESMAN, NOV 18, 2015Why BJP must dump RSS

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Amulya GanguliFor the second time in six years, the BJP resembles a kati patang or a drifting kite in fellow-traveller Arun Shourie’s telling phrase after the party’s 2009 defeat. Now, a mere year and a half after its return to power at the Centre, its humiliating loss in Bihar suggests that it is adrift again and will be lucky to win the next general election.

It will be a salutary exercise for the BJP leaders, therefore, to remind themselves that even its success in the last general election was something of a fluke - based primarily on the Manmohan Singh government’s abysmal performance on multiple fronts evident in a stalled economy and inability and unwillingness to tackle corruption.

But for the former accidental Prime Minister’s “gift” of the coveted chair to Narendra Modi, the latter wouldn’t have had any chance of success. As it is, his victory was based on 31 per cent of the popular vote with three states - Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal - rejecting him comprehensively.

If Modi wants to retain even this percentage, he will have to keep his promise of a enforcing a 10-year moratorium on sectarian animosity, which he announced in his first Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

More than his inability to force the pace of reforms, what has hurt him grievously in political terms is his failure to keep the pledge to eliminate inter-faith distrust and hostility.

The reason for this failure was the scant attention which the Hindutva Gestapo paid to the Prime Minister’s counsels of restraint. Instead, seeing the BJP’s assumption of power as a licence to start implementing their project of ushering in the Hindu rashtra, the storm-troopers ran amok with their vicious campaigns of ghar wapsi and love jihad.

There is little doubt that the saffron extremists would not have dared to indulge in their provocative antics but for tacit encouragement from the RSS. Considering that the concepts of ghar wapsi and love jihad had been promulgated by none other than the RSS sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat, the militants knew that they could afford to ignore Modi.

They might even have been sceptical about how serious Modi was about his latest postures given his past record. It was only a question of time, therefore, for the level of saffron violence to rise from the re-conversion of Muslims to lynching them for eating beef. Bhagwat’s description of such murders as “small” incidents must have provided another dose of encouragement.

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Even now, the responsibility for the Bihar debacle has been ascribed by BJP general secretary P. Murlidhar Rao to former M.P., Shatrughan Sinha’s and former Union home secretary R.K. Singh’s digs at the party leadership while Rao hasn’t said a word about Bhagwat’s call for a review of the quota system which is widely believed to have undermined the BJP’s prospects.The party veterans - L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha - who have raised their banner of revolt against the Modi-Amit Shah combine - have focussed on the BJP’s failure to learn any lessons from the earlier Delhi debacle and not said a word about Bhagwat’s faux pas.

Since the elders want accountability to be fixed on individuals for the defeat instead of it being seen as a collective failure, as the Modi-Shah duo wants, Advani and Co. have no option but to question Bhagwat’s role if they are serious about their complaints.

Of the four, no one can be more aware than Advani of the BJP’s subservient relationship with the RSS since he was dragged kicking and screaming from the BJP president’s post at the behest of the RSS after his praise of Mohammed Ali Jinnah during a visit to Pakistan in 2005.It must be obvious to all of them that as long as the RSS maintains its stranglehold on the BJP and continues to voice its poisonous anti-Muslim and anti-Christian worldview without caring whether it damages the BJP politically, Modi can forget his avowed intention of implementing his 21st century plans for the country.

He may have presumed that by planting the unworthy nominees of the Nagpur patriarchs on the various institutions - the Indian Council of Historical Research, the Indian Council of Culture Relations, the National Book Trust, the Film and Television Institute, et al - he will be able to divert the RSS, at least temporarily, from its agenda of ushering in the Hindu rashtra.

But it was a futile expectation which Modi, as a former pracharak, should have known. The RSS has no interest in bullet trains or digital communications but only in reducing the minorities to the status of second class citizens.

Unfortunately for the Grand Dragons of Nagpur - to use a term from the Ku Klux Klan - the Indian people in their wisdom are not amenable to its divisive project if only because they instinctively realize that it will ring the death knell for the country’s unity.

Centuries of togetherness in a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-religious society have made them immune to the virus of communalism, with which the RSS wants to infect the country.

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Since the Bihar results have reaffirmed this rejection of the venomous RSS agenda, the BJP will be digging its own grave if it does not listen to the perceptive vox populi. As long as free and fair elections are held, the BJP cannot expect to win if it is seen to be cravenly beholden to the Grand Dragons.

The voters may occasionally turn to the BJP if it promises sabka saath, sabka vikas. But once they realize its hollowness in the wake of the rampages of the Hindu Right, they will drop it like a hot potato.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

INDIAN EXPRESS, NOV 23, 2015Dissent in Democracy

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The AAP protest was not anarchist. But leaders must know how to choose the moment to launch a strike and the moment to withdrawDelhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his supporters launched a sit-in against the city police on Monday, creating traffic chaos and a standoff. (Reuters)

By Gurpreet Mahajan

As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called off his dharna, analysts and party spokespersons

stepped in to pronounce judgement. If some called it a victory for the Aam Aadmi Party, others

called it a sellout. Some spoke of the climbdown by the Delhi government; others welcomed the

end to anarchy. Had the chief minister and his team given up too quickly? Had their demands

been met fully? As the stock-taking began, what was forgotten is that success in a democracy

rests upon the ability of the leaders to balance different values satisfactorily. They must pursue

their agenda without forsaking other, equally desired values that may be foregrounded by the

opposition.

Not all actions and decisions of the AAP can be defended; one might also accuse the AAP of not

being adequately true to Gandhian principles. But that hardly makes them anarchists. The

methods the party has chosen may be unusual, but common wisdom and traditional modes of

action hardly find favour with the liberal disposition.

Anarchists, we know, have little faith in existing institutions — be it the family, the corporation

or the state. They resist all forms of institutions on the ground that they are a form of organised

power. The Delhi government’s expressed objective is to change the structure of power. Far from

being disillusioned with the institutionalised form, the AAP hopes to change the way institutions

of the state and government function.

The test before Kejriwal and his men was whether they could achieve accountability of

institutions (in this instance, the police) without jettisoning law and order. Could they have their

voice counted without undermining the national pride associated with Republic Day

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celebrations? Could they make their voices heard while minimising the inconvenience caused to

the general public by their actions? Had they pursued one goal unconditionally and absolutely,

they and Indian democracy would have lost out. Determining success in terms of the number of

demands met simply misses this point, just as labelling the Central government’s decision to

accede to some of the AAP’s demands as selling out overlooks the fact that willingness to

negotiate is an essential component of democratic politics.

Democracies need men with practical wisdom at the helm of affairs: leaders who know what to

pursue when and how; leaders who can choose the moment to launch a struggle, and the moment

to withdraw. One could debate whether the suspension and transfer of a few public officials is

sufficient cause, or whether compelling the authorities to take cognisance of the legitimate

complaints of the Delhi government is a step forward for the AAP. But what is clear is that this

dharna has put the spotlight on the space for dissent in democracies.

Liberal democracies give their citizens not only the right to express their views but also the right

to protest and express dissent against prevailing procedures and laws, so long as they do not rely

on violence or coercion. It is this space available within democracies that the Delhi chief minister

chose to exploit. This is why, despite being dubbed as anarchists by critics, the label did not

stick.

However, the decision to stage a sit-in still raised many issues. Was this form of dissent

permitted? Should members of the government focus on governance instead of protesting in the

streets? Most critics of the Delhi government expressed the Socratic wisdom that law is the most

important pillar of society. Hence it must be adhered to under all circumstances. The fear that

protests may turn violent or that the leadership may lose control over them has won this view

many supporters.

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The anxieties about democracies sliding into mobocracy or complete chaos are real. Ordinarily,

change must be brought about through procedure rather than protest on the street. Yet, when

institutions fail to function in accordance with law, what options are available to citizens? In the

face of this reality, protests that seek to hold officials and institutions accountable remain an

integral part of democratic life. Even contemporary liberals accept that putting pressure on the

authorities to act in a manner that conforms to constitutional norms and laws is the political and

moral duty of every citizen.

In India, it is Mahatma Gandhi who gave a more strident expression to this sentiment when he

called upon the people to listen to their conscience and refuse to accept what is unjust and

morally unacceptable. He asked those joining him in non-cooperation and civil disobedience to

resist unjust laws, but be willing to suffer the consequences of their actions. Rule of law deserved

respect and hence, one must be willing to accept punishment for breaking the law. But one’s

moral obligations to pursue what is just and fair trumped the respect that is owed to law.

For Gandhi, this was a way of bringing law in harmony with the moral. The tension between the

moral and the legal was pronounced under colonial rule but it can, and does, surface in other

circumstances too. If institutions stagnate and become irresponsible and unaccountable to the

values enshrined in the Constitution, or if they position themselves against common citizens,

then it may be one’s duty to infuse the legal with the morally just. If self-critique and change

could be ushered in through reasoned argument, then all forms of action outside the domain of

constitutionally mandated institutions would be, as B.R. Ambedkar suggested, unnecessary. But

when reason fails to deliver and the quest for power and interests comes to dominate,

maintaining the stability of even a just constitution may require stronger action, including

protests against institutionalised authority.

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This must, however, be the exception rather than the norm: something that responsible citizens

undertake in the last and not first instance. That would make a difference between a legitimate

democratic struggle and anarchism.

The writer is professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

RIVERS

ECONOMIC TIMES, NOV 16, 2015Centre to research on medicinal benefits of Ganga river

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NEW DELHI: The Centre today assured to conduct a comprehensive research for establishing the medicinal benefits of Ganga river and its related health impact on crores of people taking dip in the holy river. 

"We will hold a conference after six months where we will discuss all the research papers and make a coordinated effort in the direction of establishing the health impacts of Ganga water," Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda said while addressing a workshop here on 'Non-Putrefying Properties of Ganga Water'. 

The minister assured financial support to Indian Council of Medical Research which will conduct the research along with Water Resources and Environment and Health Ministry .. 

The findings of the research will be published in the form of a declaration, he said.  

Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Uma Bharti said the initiative can provide a new direction to the much-talked about National Mission for Clean Ganga. "There are three aspects of the Ganga river; religious, economic and its medical benefits. While much has been known about the religious and economic aspects of the river, the health impact of its water has  never been researched upon. It is very important as it will give a direction to the National Mission for Clean Ganga," she said. 

Bharti said that the biggest challenge was to maintain consistency in cleaning the Ganga due to its religious characteristic. 

"Cleaning of Ganga is not a challenge for us. It is more important to maintain its consistency as thousands of people take dips in it in a day. So, cleaning it only once will not work," she said. The minister said that, roughly, more than 20 crore people take dip in the river in a year. Talking about the economic relevance of the Ganga, she said that more than 50 crore people are dependent on the holy river for their daily earnings. 

The one-day workshop is being attended by scientists, environmentalists and experts from organisations like, NEERI, CSIR, IIT Rourkee and AIIMS. The workshop will also discuss about the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the river, that is a big concern for human health along with other impacts. 

Ganga river is spread across nine states and is utilized as a main water source for many activities, especially for drinking water supply. 

RAILWAYS

BUSINESS LINE, NOV 18, 2015Two reservation charts for trains from today

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One to be made 4 hours and the other 30 minutes before departureIndian Railways will prepare two reservation charts before the departure of trains from November 18.

The first chart (first reservation chart) would be prepared at least four hours prior to departure to enable passengers to know their ticket status and plan their journey properly, said a statement from Western Railway.

Advance chart

Passengers who want to travel at the last minute may then use the first reservation chart to ascertain availability of berths and book tickets over the reservation counters or the internet as reservations would be thrown open again.

Waitlisted passengers and those holding seats but not berths (reservation against cancellation or RAC) will be given the option to cancel their tickets up to 30 minutes prior to departure of the train, failing which they will have to forfeit the money. Earlier, refund on RAC /waitlisted tickets could be sought over the counter up to three hours after the departure of the train.

A second (and final) reservation chart will be prepared before the departure of train and handed over to onboard ticket checking staff. This move seeks to ensure optimum utilisation of train accommodation and enhanced earnings for the Railways. However, passengers can book/cancel/modify the tickets even after the preparation of first reservation chart but up to 30 minutes prior to the departure of train across any PRS counters as well as on internet (e-ticket) as per extant provision of refund rules.

Waitlisted passengers and those holding seats but not berths (reservation against cancellation or RAC) will be given the option to cancel their tickets up to 30 minutes prior to departure of the train, failing which they will have to forfeit the money. Earlier, refund on RAC /waitlisted tickets could be sought over the counter up to three hours after the departure of the train

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

BUSINESS LINE, NOV 16, 2015Finally, some hope for rurban IndiaYASHASWINI KS/VINATI DEV

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When RK Narayan created the small fictional town of Malgudi, he described it as a place stuck between a village and a city. He colourfully wrote, “the nearest railway station is 60 miles away, to be reached by an occasional bus passing down the highway, marching distance from the village by a shortcut across the canal.”

Today, our village-towns in India might not be so far off from a railroad but they are grappling with the consequences of rapid urbanisation. Typically, a census town is a place with more than 400 persons per square kilometre and where more than 75 per cent of the male population is engaged in non-agricultural occupations. The census of 2011 tells us that there are 7,935 such towns in the country, and more than 6,000 of them are part of urban agglomerations.

It is in light of this that we must look at the ambitious Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission (SPMRM), which has recently got the Cabinet’s nod and is expected to be launched soon.

Coordinated approach

While the cost of the project is unclear, the government has laid down some basic objectives of micro and macro infrastructure growth for the selected “rural clusters” that include such towns.

Beginning with drainage and water pipelines, SPMRM envisages building social infrastructure such as hospitals, quality schools and colleges in these clusters. In a way, it aims to bring urban facilities to the rural landscape.

The SPMRM looks at integrating and delivering small-scale manufacturing, digital literacy, sanitation, transportation, health and literacy services at the village-town levels. The ministry of rural development has been given the task of selecting these rural clusters, and analysing the possible impact of SPMRM at the district, sub-district and village levels. It effectively calls for close cooperation between State governments and, subsequently, Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs).

PRIs, though made official government bodies through the 73rd Amendment in 1992, are struggling to find economic and functional independence in the current framework. Devolution of funds at the panchayat level is key to implementing any project.The SPMRM can become the harbinger of decentralised development.

Club earlier schemes

There needs to be a convergence of other infrastructure programmes such as Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and Backward Regions Grant Fund, for effective implementation. If the selection of rural clusters is done in an unbiased manner, the Rurban Mission could iron out the regional imbalances.

The SPMRM is like the UPA government’s Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA) scheme, which was a dream of President APJ Abdul Kalam. It can tackle several challenges of

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unplanned urbanisation — especially the demand for water, low income housing, sewage treatment, transportation and job creation.

On the ground, however, PURA proved to be a disaster; it became yet another rural development programme that brought more tied funds to the villages, over and above the existing schemes. A Planning Commission report suggests that investment required for planned urbanisation in India over the next 20 years is close to $1 trillion. The Centre and States must show political will to converge all on-going schemes under one mission.

Empowering our PRIs with financial autonomy will cement the success of this mission. Until then, Malgudis will abound on our country’s landscape.

Yashaswini is a former research fellow with PRS. Dev is an entrepreneur. The views are personal

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated November 16, 2015)

TERORISM

ASIAN AGE, NOV 16, 2015Government declares NSCN-K as terrorist organization

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National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), a group which is allegedly responsible for killing of 18 army personnel in Manipur, has been declared a terrorist organisation under the stringent anti-terror law.

In a gazette notification issued recently, the government declared NSCN-K, all its front organizations and formations as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, a Home Ministry spokesman said.

The group, which had signed a peace agreement in March 2001, had withdrawn unilaterally from the ceasefire agreement in March this year after it was alleged that the area along Indo-Myanmar border being under their control was fast turning out to be 'safe-zone' for terrorists of ULFA faction led by Paresh Barua, the NDFB led by I K Songbijit, and the Meitei armed groups like the People’s Liberation Army of Manipur.

The spokesman said that the NSCN (K) has resorted to terrorism by killing innocent civilians and security forces and engaged in other violent activities including the June four attack on an Army convoy in Chandel district of Manipur.

This case is being probed by the NIA, which has announced a bounty of Rs 17 lakh for providing information about two top leaders of militant NSCN-K including its chief S S Khaplang who were allegedly behind the strike.The probe agency declared a cash reward of Rs seven lakh for Khaplang while a Rs 10 lakh bounty was announced for Niki Sumi, self-styled chief of the armed wing of NSCN-K, who is alleged to have led a group of rebels on June four.

Khaplang is a resident of Myanmar while Sumi hails from Nagaland. There are reports that 75-year-old Khaplang was in a hospital and later shifted to Taga, a place which is at a junction of India-Myanmar-China border.

Army trucks were attacked with 'Lathod guns' and grenades by suspected terrorists of NSCN (Khaplang), killing 18 soldiers and injuring 15 others in the Manipur attack.

The militants had formed three groups to carry out the attack and explosive-laden cans were planted alongside the road to maximise the damage, the sources said.

NSCN(K), which walked out of a ceasefire agreement with India in March this year, has been involved in a series of attacks in tandem with some other militant groups in the North-East under the banner of 'United Liberation Front of South East Asia'.

TELEGRAPH, NOV 16, 2015Carnage in Paris: - The uses of terror

Mukul Kesavan

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Each time Islamist terrorists act out their cult of death in Europe's capital cities, brave citizens march to affirm the ideals that these violent fantasists would deny, governments make resolute sounds, Muslim minorities, locked in ghettos, brace themselves, right-wing parties scent an opportunity, left-wing parties wring their hands and every hack who cheered on the invasion of Iraq rushes to his keyboard to rewrite with minor tweaks (this date, that place) his call to arms.

It's impossible to overestimate the sense of sullen impotence that grips this cohort of middle-aged men. They haven't lived down the disgrace of being George Bush's embedded intellectuals, of being catastrophically, world-historically wrong. Those few amongst them who acknowledged their complicity in the destruction of Iraq and its neighbourhood managed to move on. The rest remain queued up at the tap of terrorist violence, washing their hands.

The only way they will ever be free of that stain is if invasion and occupation can be shown to work. The angst about Libya, the dirge about the Surge, the ecstasy of self-righteousness about Obama's Syrian equivocations are symptoms of this near-religious need for absolution.

The perfect expression of this tendency was supplied by the right-wing British historian, Andrew Roberts, on the day of the carnage in Paris. "Boots on the ground to hunt ISIL" was how his piece was headlined and it called for a massive ground invasion of Iraq and Syria to destroy the nerve centre of Islamist terror, the ISIL's 'caliphate'. Confronted with the reluctance of Western governments for Middle-Eastern adventures after Iraq, Roberts makes an argument that he has made elsewhere - this is something of an anthem for interventionists - that the cost in blood and treasure would be less than the long-term implications of letting ISIL continue to inspire and fund global terror. "This is war," he writes, "and it needs to be brought into the homes of the enemy as swiftly and devastatingly as possible."

Indians know the feeling. In November 2008, after the Pakistan-sponsored fanatics of the Lashkar-e-Toiba rampaged around Mumbai killing people at will in hotels, cafés and the city's busiest railway station, the temptation to visit retribution on the State that had organized this atrocity was strong and completely justifiable. But tamping down visceral urges is the business of responsible nations; going to war with Pakistan would have been cathartic but catastrophic so the Indian State took a deep breath and didn't.

Roberts and his ilk think differently and it's worth exploring how, unlike India, they intend to translate this urgent need for war into reality. The cost of it is not a consideration. Roberts has elsewhere argued that Britain helped pacify Iraq and Afghanistan on the cheap; it lost fewer soldiers than it had on a normal weekend on the Western Front. He likes Second World War analogies; he has elsewhere described Tony Blair's decision to support the invasion of Iraq as "Churchillian".

Given Hollande's promise to respond ruthlessly to ISIL's act of war, given the fact that, unlike Pakistan, the 'caliphate' isn't armed with nuclear weapons, given Roberts's cost-benefit alliance, what prevents Britain or France or Britain and France, top-table states, permanent members of the security council from going in and doing what needs to be done? The absence, apparently, of a strong leader. These European hawks, these tigerish defenders of Western civilization, who

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want to visit war on ISIL "as swiftly and devastatingly as possible" are waiting for Obama to serve out his term. "The world will have to wait," writes Roberts, "until Obama is finally gone in January 2017 before any kind of meaningful counterattack against Islamic fundamentalist terrorism can take place." It turns out that this existential struggle against evil can be postponed for a year and a bit.

Roberts is a historian; he shouldn't need to be reminded that Churchill's claim to being Churchillian rested on his willingness to take Britain into the war against Germany alone. Britain held the line against the Nazis before the Soviet Union and the United States of America committed themselves to the war. Roberts's Britain, on the other hand, will wait upon a new American president and his war machine to do the job for it. The minimal loss of blood and treasure, the war on the cheap, is now explained: the war is to be underwritten by America, the karta of the Anglosphere.

To understand the blithe belligerence of Roberts and his counterparts in countries like Canada and Australia, it's important to recognize that for them their countries aren't really sovereign nation states; they are part of a superstate, the Anglosphere. They live out their fantasies of global influence by identifying with the Anglosphere's daddy, the US. When a president like Obama interrupts this yearned-for union, they feel orphaned.

There's a pathos to this; all the revelations about the run up to the invasion of Iraq tell us that Blair was more poodle than Churchill, but it doesn't stop true believers from waiting for an American president who will give them bragging rights again. Roberts, Canada's Stephen Harper and Australia's John Howard aren't even serious militarists; they are auxiliaries, scurrying about their supporting roles for the privilege of being touched by thefrisson of real power. It's why Justin Trudeau's decision to withdraw Canadian jets from bombing missions in Iraq and Syria provoked such rage amongst Canadian hawks: those jets were their ticket to the top-table.

The carnage in Paris is merely an occasion for rehearsing these fantasies. Twelve years ago, the French were craven "cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys" for English-speaking interventionists like Roberts. Now that their president has allowed himself to say "guerre" they have been enlisted in the campaign to get America to go to war. The war against ISIL is to be won by these brave camp followers on the backs of the American dead.

Or the dead of any country foolish enough to volunteer substantial ground forces. When the Iraq war happened, India was ungently pressed to join the Coalition of the Willing. Luckily, good sense prevailed. Yasmin Khan, Raghu Karnad and Amitav Ghosh have written books that show us how the British got Indians to fight their wars for them. If this ageing army of armchair warriors has its way, those recruiters will be back, asking others to die for their countries. Because the one French institution that the Anglosphere would dearly like to re-invent is the Foreign Legion.

STATESMAN, NOV 17, 2015Paris 13/11

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The horror of horrors in Paris should ignite a fresh united assault against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - the deadly enemy of the 21st century. In a span of ten months, Paris has been convulsed by terrorist butchery yet again, recalling the Charlie Hebdo shootings last January and the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai. ISIS has claimed responsibility for Friday night’s multiple attacks that left at least 129 dead, signifying - by its own admission - an act of revenge against France teaming up with the USA in the offensive in Syria. Contextualised with the parallel killing of the ISIS activist, “Jihadi John”, in a US drone strike, the incidents showcase the heart-wrenching symptoms of man’s inhumanity to man; religion and the colour of the skin are of lesser moment in the overall construct.

The fanatical fury is hideous in itself, one that has prompted President Francois Hollande to mobilise the military in a national emergency to countenance what he calls “useless divisions and unbearable suspicions, (indeed) an act of war”. That war has come to be embedded in the Syrian strife. The latest outrage in Paris has happened on a far greater scale and has been more indiscriminate than the Charlie Hebdo killings. The investigation will hopefully be able to establish whether the perpetrators were inspired or supported by jihadists; a no less critical aspect is the Belgian connection of the attackers. The enormity of the tragedy is testament to the growing strength of ISIS in vast swathes of the world since the first stirrings of mortal fundamentalism last September. Indeed, it has expanded its tentacles from Europe to the subcontinent via the Arab region and Africa. The mayhem illustrates a dramatic change in ISIS strategy, indeed to demonstrate its international reach beyond turbulent Iraq and Syria where it has its strongholds. Ergo, the implications must be chilling not merely for Europe, but further afield no less.

France has been part of the US-led coalition against ISIS in Syria, and the Caliphate has made it explicit that this Concert of the West was the immediate provocation for the systematic slaughter that has happened in the national stadium, a weekend rock concert and a restaurant. In parallel with the gut-churning massacre must be the chilling international ramifications. On closer reflection, it is a war between ISIS and the rest. France has been under attack and repeatedly so, and this is the wider perspective with a bearing on Europe at large. Last weekend, the country suffered one of the deadliest acts of terrorism; the casualties have eclipsed earlier outrages this year.

Whereas the Charlie Hebdo assailants were provoked by an objectionable visual in the satirical magazine, the express “rationale” for the weekend massacre has been acknowledged by the Caliphate as an attempted revenge against the West. And it must be chilling even to imagine that “more are to follow”. Though France has stepped up surveillance and security, a Europe-wide

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crackdown on suspected terrorist cells has become direly imperative. A Continent is in crisis and the convulsions are palpable on both sides of the Atlantic.

STATESMAN, NOV 20, 2015Smart retraction

Stung by widespread criticism of its attempt to underplay an ISIS threat, the home ministry made amends and issued a detailed “alert” to all states listing places/installations that require special or upgraded protection. Fair enough. Yet the home minister continues to talk up-in-the-air: his pontification that “ISIS is not a threat for any particular country but for the entire world. India is alert about ISIS,” suggests that the internal security apparatus remains in its comfort zone - which may no longer obtain after the Prime Minister was rather forceful at the G-20 meeting that India fully backed the fresh initiatives - essentially military thus far - taken after the Paris butchery.

The ministry’s advisory actually moved a step further by conceding that “though the ISIS has not been able to establish any significant presence in India, its success in radicalising some youth, attracting certain sections of local population or Indian diaspora to physically participate in its activities, or the possibility of piggy-backing on terrorist groups operating in India have opened up the possibility of ISIS sponsored terrorist action on Indian territory.” All very round-about, typical bureaucratic jargon, possibly even unlikely to project the potential threat in adequate perspective. It would be premature to enter into any assessment of how effectively the states will respond to the central advisory, yet it must be emphasised that North Block is also required to monitor the action taken by the states. Circulating a note is not good enough: “alerts”, experience shows, tend to be treated as routine, ignored after a couple of weeks. Therefore merely retracting from a “shaky” position is not re-assuring.

The more relevant issue is whether the security machinery is adequately prepared to nullify terrorist activity? Over the years there have been repeated “intelligence failures”, and the response on the ground has been tardy and “amateur”. Politics over control of the police has thwarted efforts to establish an effective intelligence-gathering, sharing and coordinating agency - the NCTC was a non-starter. The measures taken after the Mumbai massacre have essentially been aimed at building up quick-response capabilities but very little has been done by way of preventive action - which would require consistent monitoring of suspicious persons or outfits, electronic “snooping” etc. It is a dangerous shortcoming that state police forces are almost entirely dependent on central intelligence agencies, do little to locally “develop” the inputs they are provided. Intelligence should be two-way traffic; since the local police have their nose to the ground they are better placed to “smell something fishy” and initiate action. Does that happen? It remains a monumental national disgrace that New Delhi has consistently failed to convince the

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state governments to upgrade their police, North Block has never provided the requisite inspirational leadership.

TRAINING

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ECONOMIC TIMES, NOV 16, 2015NSQF to be made mandatory after 3 yrs: Rudy

NEW DELHI: Government institutions imparting education and training programmes will have to comply with National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) after three years to get grants. 

"NSQF is going to be mandatory after three years... no funds will flow after 2017 to all organisations which are undertaking skill (training programmes), if they do not comply with the NSQF," Union Minister for Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said here at a Nasscom function. 

The NSQF organises qualifications according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude. These levels are defined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must possess. 

The qualification framework is beneficial to schools, vocational education and training providers, higher education institutes, accrediting authorities as well as industry and its representative bodies. 

Emphasising on the importance of NSQF, Rudy said that no one in the world would recognise "your skill unless and untill you put in the structure of NSQF which comes from Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Labour". 

The minister also said that India is still not familiar with the job roles and so far "we have identified 6,500 to 7,000 job roles". 

Talking about entrepreneurship, Rudy said it is importance to ensure digital connectivity across the country. 

"Roads is what made US a super power in the world and if India has to become a super power, we have to lay the roads of digital connectivity right across very village in this country and you will find thousands of entrepreneurs coming from there and that's the strength that we have," he added. 

TRNSPORT

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BUSINESS LINE, NOV 19, 2015Highway Ministry can approve projects up to Rs.1,000 crore

Road developers get more time to complete projects, but with ridersThe Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to segregate construction cost from that of land acquisition, and pre-construction activities for appraisal and approval of National Highways projects.  

Additionally the Cabinet has stated that all NH projects with a civil construction cost of up to Rs. 1,000 crore approvals of the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways will be sufficient. Only for projects over Rs. 1,000 crore, a Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs nod will be required.

The policy will speed up process of appraisal and approval of NH projects and help meet the target of 10,000 km set for this year. 

In another move, the CCEA also authorised NHAI to give road developers more time to finish their projects if the delays have not been caused by the developer, said the release. But the time for operations (toll collection or annuity payments) will continue to be the same, said an official release. This will be permitted for only for four-lane projects.

It may be noted that there are provisions for extending the toll collection period as a part of the contract between developer and NHAI.

The extension will be given based on assessment of independent engineer, both individual and the firm, who will be accountable for the assessment of the extension recommended in the concession period. 

The projects using the above special dispensation shall have to achieve physical completion in the next three years. 

“The move will help 34 languishing road projects,” said Piyush Goyal, Power Minister, while briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting.

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated November 19, 2015)

WOMEN

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BUSINESS STANDARD, NOV 19, 2015Kanika Datta: Women@work can be an unequal battle

All the Good Life that's fit to print The business world, silent witness Technology, the god with clay feet Government Maximus Mr Modi & risk perceptions

In recent years, many persuasive arguments have been forwarded for increasing women's

participation in the workplace, from maximising talent utilisation within organisations to

enabling the global economy to grow faster if women achieve their full economic potential. The

latter was the subject of a thought-provoking recent study from McKinsey Global Institute. Other

studies periodically appear that demonstrate - somewhat mystifyingly, it must be said - how

companies with a strong representation of women on their boards perform better than those that

lack them.

Making a business and economic case for women's participation is certainly a practical way of

furthering the cause of gender equality. There is much to be said for the liberating power of an

income earned by a working woman against the chains of dependency for a woman outside the

workforce. Yet, between women's participation in the workforce and gender parity in society

there is a gulf called community attitudes that needs to be bridged too, which is why one

outcome need not necessarily guarantee the other.

The McKinsey Global study, for instance, unequivocally suggests that gender equality in society

cannot be achieved without gender equality in work. The study maps ten regions of the world,

accounting for 93 per cent of the world's female population on the basis of a Gender Parity

Score. It is no surprise that South Asia is the worst performer, scoring even worse than West

Asia and North Africa (WANA) and sub-Saharan Africa.

The interesting point to note, however, is that "equality in work" is one of four categories of

outcome-based indicators in which gender parity is judged. The other three are: essential services

and enablers of economic opportunity; legal protection and political voice; and physical security

and autonomy. Looked at differently, it is no surprise that countries with high gender parity -

western Europe and North America and Oceania - also score high on the three other parameters.

The question, though, is which came first for these countries, the enabling environment or the

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higher workforce participation for women? Obviously, the answers differ from country to

country, but India is a good example of how and why the two need not converge and why

progressive attitudes are needed to foster both.

One case in point is IT and ITeS (Information Technology and Information Technology enabled

services), the boom industries of the new century, where women's workforce participation is

noticeably high. Over the past 15 years, however, the enabling environment for women in the

cities in which IT dominates has scarcely improved. For instance, in most European and

American cities - not to forget those in east and Southeast Asia - where women's participation in

the workforce is high, it is possible for women to travel alone relatively late at night. In India, no

ITeS company can afford to let its women workers take public transport in the late evening

hours. Physical security for women, the first step towards getting them into factories and offices,

is all but absent in most Indian cities. In cities where it could once be taken for granted, like

Mumbai or Kolkata, the situation has deteriorated significantly. Concomitantly, providing secure

transport for women employees working in jobs that demand odd hours raises the cost of hiring

them.

Increasingly in urban India, the emergence of women with independent incomes and lifestyles

has led to an upsurge of aggressive conservatism in the public discourse. In some cities, working

women have been attacked for visiting pubs and bars. Politicians and self-styled arbiters of

public conduct think nothing of openly (and often violently) expressing their opinions on how

they think women should dress and behave, creating a perpetually hostile environment for

working women. Finally, consider the corporate scene and it is evident that attitudes have

scarcely changed. It is striking that none of the big Indian-origin IT and ITeS companies -

manifestly India's global champions with large numbers of women in their workforces - is

headed by a woman. Contrast this with most of the big name multinational competitors -

Accenture, IBM, Capgemini, HP, Facebook, Intel - all of which have had women chief

executives.

In India's showcase industry, the relatively high participation of women in the workforce

(together with its standard-setting policies for maternity leave and childcare) has not created

greater gender parity. Who or what is responsible for that?

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