LIST OF NEWSPAPERS COVERED

ASIAN AGE

BUSINESS LINE

ECONOMIC TIMES

HINDU

HINDUSTAN TIMES

PIONEER

STATESMAN

TELEGRAPH

TIMES OF INDIA

TRIBUNE

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CONTENTS

AGRICULTURE 3-5

BLACK MONEY 6-13

CIVIL SERVICE 14-17

ELECTIONS 18-20

EMPLOYMENT 21

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 22-24

HOUSING 25-26

JUDICIARY 27-28

LIBRARIES 29-34

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT 35-44

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 45-46

RAILWAYS 47-49

SOCIAL PROBLEMS 50-51

TOURISM 52-53

TRANSPORT 54

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 55-58

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AGRICULTURE

STATESMAN, JAN 4, 2017Reformed farmlandJaydev Jana

The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything in retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways. -- John F Kennedy

The development paradigm has traditionally treated agriculture as the prime mover, the engine to sustain people, a promoter of property and power, the launching pad for development as well as the foundation on which the economic edifice can and does rest. The agricultural commodity market remains at the heart of agricultural development and is an important element in achieving the farmer’s well being. The availability of the market is as important as irrigation. It relates to the quantity that has to be grown, the method of cultivation, and the method of profitable sale.

The importance of this crucial aspect has largely been ignored by the agricultural policy makers and mainstream economists. Since independence, the major problem that confronts small and marginal farmers is the lack of proper marketing. In spite of several attempts to reform, agricultural markets largely suffer from poor competitiveness, fragmentation, inefficiency, presence of middlemen, and frequent price manipulations. Indeed, agriculture in India has now become a relatively unrewarding and hopeless profession due to the unfavourable price regime.

Farmers are on a treadmill in which the downward pressure on the price that they receive -- and/or the upward pressure on inputs needed for production -- force them to adopt new technologies to enhance the scale of production in an attempt to continue in the farming profession. But farming is one of the few enterprises that pays retail prices for inputs and sells its produce at wholesale prices. As the financial returns of farmers decline per unit of output, in order to reap the same returns as before the farmers are generally advised that they must expand operations. The treadmill that it creates is indicated by the adage, “We grow more corn to feed more cows, to make more milk, to buy more land, to grow more corn.” Those who survive under the process of ‘scale enlargement’ usually have large enterprises, a good education, and enormous working capital. They are highly organised and enjoy a premium for the commodities they sell because of their large quantity. They pay less for inputs as also interest on borrowed money, and are in a position to earn a profit through the use of hired labour.

But as regards small and marginal farmers, a mere increase in production with improved farming techniques is not the panacea for the problems that they face. Indian agriculture is dominated by small holders, with 85 per cent of all operated holdings being marginal or small and 63 per cent being just marginal. Adoption of technology enables them to produce more, but their produce is sold for less. The scenario can aptly be described with the words of Joannes Stobaeus, ‘Farming is a most senseless pursuit, mere labouring in a circle. You sow that you may reap, and then you reap that you may sow. Nothing ever comes of it.’ A similar trend has been noticed in livestock farming as well.

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The share of farmers in the total retail price has declined and the marketing/trader share has increased. The average farmers are so poor and indebted that they are not in a position to wait for better prices. A recent survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) revealed that nearly 50 per cent of India’s 90 million farmers were indebted to either banks or money lenders. They are compelled to dispose of their products immediately after harvest to clear their dues, so that they can borrow again. The prices remain low at the time of harvest. Thus the semi-feudal tenure-based relationship and the interlocked contracts lead to ‘forced commerce’ or ‘distress sales’ in Indian agriculture. Immediately after the harvest, the supply consists of the completely unrewarding sales of indebted farmers. Worse still, contracts for agricultural commodities are interlocked with credit in order to depress commodity prices below those which would result from unconstrained transactions, and raise interest rates above those of the ‘market’.

The policies on procurement and Minimum Support Price (MSP) for some agricultural commodities, intended to plug ‘distress sale’, have been of little help to farmers. The MSP fixed by the government has not been regulated effectively and it remains on paper due to lack of a proper marketing system, regulations, policies, awareness, punishment etc. As a result, while the traders and rich farmers profit from MSP, poor and marginal farmers are victimised by exploitative prices.

There are many ways by which farmers can dispose of their surplus produce. Commodities are sold to village money-lenders, the rural markets, and cooperative marketing societies. According to one estimate, around 85 per cent of the wheat, 75 per cent of oilseeds and 35 per cent of cotton in Punjab are sold by farmers in the villages. Often the money lenders act as commission agents of the wholesale traders. The chain of middlemen in agricultural marketing is so large that the share of farmers is reduced substantially. For instance, a study has revealed that farmers get only about 53 per cent of the price of rice, 31 per cent being the share of middlemen and the remaining 16 per cent being the marketing cost. In case of vegetables and fruit the share is even less -- 39 per cent in the first and 34 per cent in the latter. The share of middlemen in the case of vegetables was 29.5 per cent and in case of fruit 46.5 per cent. Some of the intermediaries in the agricultural marketing system are village traders, brokers, wholesalers and retailers, money-lenders, and so on. The number of unregulated markets in the country is substantially large. Brokers, taking advantage of the ignorance and illiteracy of farmers, use unfair means to cheat the peasantry both in terms of weight and quality.

The Government of India introduced major reforms by implementing the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act (APMRA) during the 1960s and Seventies. This has been a major driving force behind the achievements of the Green Revolution. But the gains brought about by APMRA have been diluted over time. Markets are not adequately regulated. Under the APMRA, the prices are determined and driven by Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). The monopoly rights enjoyed by APMCs on the first sale of commodities have been disappointing. However, political will is required to dismantle this centralised monopoly and make it compete with other players such as big retailers. Integrating fragmented agricultural markets can ensure a better deal for farmers and also help consumers who suffer frequent price increases on account of local shortages.

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Small holders have to contend with the risk of high market-price fluctuation risk. Many are unaware of the daily prices and often depend on middlemen, who exploit them. There is a marginal presence of modern channels like retail (supermarket) buyers, food processors, and wholesale cash ‘n’ carry players. The supermarkets procure only ‘A’ grade produce, offer APMC market-based prices and do not buy regularly with pre-committed orders. The contracting agencies still do not attend fully to the market risk, let alone the production risks of the growers. Indian agriculture is largely an unorganised sector and the root cause of the crisis is the income-deficit. This calls for marketing extension, not just production extension. This would mean better product planning at the farmer’s level, provision of market information, securing/accessing markets for farmers, provision of alternative markets and market orientation in terms of improved practices. To safeguard farmers from exploitation by middlemen the plan called ulavar santhal (farmers’ market), where the farmers can directly sell their products at reasonable prices to consumers, can be introduced.

The writer is a retired IAS officer.

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BLACK MONEY

BUSINESS LINE, JAN 3, 2017Blame the bureaucracyEA RAMASWAMYThe demonetisation drive was an epic miscalculation; and the crooks stayed ahead of the Government

Too many spokes And a government machinery that failed to deliver Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

Demonetisation has come and gone. The travails of the common man have not ended by the promised date, and no one quite knows how long it might take for cash to be available on tap.

The countryside has been hit the hardest. Banks have little money to dispense and plastic is slow to penetrate. I tried explaining to people in my village that with an ATM card and a POS swipe, money can be moved from buyer to seller without either of them so much as seeing a currency note. They looked bewildered.

Government let-down

Everyday life has been hit, but people have accepted these privations with fortitude. Privation is not new to our people. This time round at least it is privation with a purpose. People believe that at the end of it all, moneybags would be cut to size and life would be better for everyone.

While people have kept their faith, the bureaucracy has failed to deliver. The government has been let down by the steel frame.

The bureaucrats ought to have known that there are enough people in this country who, for a few hundred rupees, will stand in front of a bank all day to exchange money for others.

They should have expected the high and mighty to use the bank accounts of their underlings to launder concealed wealth. They should have anticipated that a good portion of the new currency put into circulation would stay put in purses and wallets. In an atmosphere of scarcity, people would naturally be reticent to spend what little cash they have.

Too much confusion

It has so far been a case of bolting the stable after the horses have fled. Not a day has passed without the finance ministry announcing a recalibration of the rules.

Thanks to these miscalculations, the cash crunch has lasted longer than it should have.

Even more importantly, the expectation that a big chunk of the scrapped notes would never make it back into the system has been belied. The crooks have been ahead of the Government.

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Having failed to devise foolproof rules, the Government is now hoping that data analytics would salvage the situation by separating mala fide exchange of banned notes from the bona fide .

Bungling bureaucracy

While the political leadership would have egg on its face if demonetisation comes a cropper, it is the bureaucracy that should be held to account. When reform of this magnitude falters it is time to ask what went wrong. Why has the blue-blooded bureaucracy been so repeatedly wrong-footed?

Perhaps it is the blue blood. The bureaucracy does not have a finger on the pulse because it has little identification with common people. Ensconced in power and surrounded by privilege, it has lost its empathy for the people it is supposed to serve. Elitism is at the root of the problem.

I would like to narrate my experience with the bureaucracy as a farmer, and let the reader judge.

The collector decided to visit my farm. The Government was interested in promoting bamboo as a source of biomass and I was one of the few to plant this crop. I was asked by his subordinates to clear the pathway to the bamboo grove, spruce up my farm, bathe my cows, and do whatever else is necessary to receive a VIP.

Having spent much of my life at the Delhi School of Economics which has scant regard for VIPs, I refused.

Gone, in a jiffy

The collector came, anyhow. A cavalcade of white SUVs raced through the narrow dirt track inside my farm, lights blazing and horns blaring. The collector was surrounded by his minions the moment he stepped out. Neither he nor his staff knew much about the species of bamboo I was growing.

I was the only person who knew anything, but it didn’t matter because he did not condescend to look at me. All he did was stand at the edge of the bamboo grove and listen to the people he met every day. Then, quite abruptly, they trooped into their SUVs and sped away.

Robert Clive may be dead, but he has left behind a dubious legacy.

Uncaring attitude

I don’t know if the bureaucracy was ever interested in ordinary folk. Perhaps this is too much to expect from an elite cadre.

The problem is that the present government has come up with a host of initiatives that count on the support of people like you and me. Is this bureaucracy capable of delivering what the political leadership wants?

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Seeing the way they have messed up demonetisation, we have reason to be sceptical.

We have, for the first time, a government that has the stomach for gutsy initiatives. After all, it was able to send the Planning Commission packing. We must hope that it shows the same courage when it comes to the civil service.

Surely, we are not short of talent. There are plenty of professionals in NGOs, micro finance institutions and FMCG firms whose job is to read the pulse of the people. It is this kind of talent that can help usher in the cataclysmic changes the Government wants to see.

The writer is a labour relations and HR consultant

HINDUSTAN TIMES, JAN 2, 2016A battle between the government and unaccounted cash holdersTS Ramakrishnan 

People stand in a queue outside an ATM in Shimla. With restrictions on cash withdrawal , a substantial portion of people’s transactions should be carried out through cashless transactions, which would force them to become tax-compliant in the future. (HT Photo)

It is now clear that about 90% of the demonetised currency found its way back to banks (both by

over the counter transfer and deposits in bank accounts), the expectation of windfall profit for the

RBI and hence the government that could accrue from unreturned demonetised currency would

remain unfulfilled. The unreturned demonetised currency connotes 100% taxation on the same

for the RBI and government. Does this mean that the entire exercise of demonetisation failed

miserably? Let us discuss it in detail.

The currencies that found its way back to the bank accounts are of four categories. The first

category is accounted money. This category essentially belonged to the personal savings with an

upper limit of 2.5 lakhs per account holder, irrespective of how much was exchanged over the₹

counter or deposited in the bank account. For instance, if a family has three bank accounts and

deposited demonetised currencies worth of 7.5 lakhs together from their savings, it would still₹

be considered as accounted cash. However, with restrictions on cash withdrawal from banks, a

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substantial portion of their transactions either for their economic or personal activities henceforth

should be carried out through cashless transactions, which would force them to become tax-

compliant in the future, especially if their income exceeds the minimum slab of income tax.

The second category is those who managed to convert their whole or part of their unaccounted

cash over the counter fraudulently with the connivance of some bank officials and mercenaries

during the window period of November 10 and November 25 2016. The total currency that were

issued over the counter was about I35000 crores, which would be about 2.3% of the total₹

demonetised currency. Had the government not introduced inking and subsequent stopping of

over the counter exchange, the money laundering would have reached newer heights and would

have become the most-sought-after avocation and made the demonetisation a failure even before

December 30. The new 2000 currencies worth of INR hundreds of crores that were seized by the

IT department in the last one month essentially came from this. Among 35000 crores that were

exchanged over the counter, it is not known till now how much currencies were exchanged over

the counter fraudulently. It is also a million-dollar question whether the IT department could

trace all such fraudulent transactions in the shortest possible time, given the limited bandwidth of

IT department in consolidating umpteen tips they receive on hoarding of both demonetised and

new currencies and acting upon the same. The raids and associated unearthing of undisclosed

wealth may add to the kitty of IT department, when the cases of unaccounted wealth are

adjudicated.

The third category is the currency that were deposited beyond the upper limit of 2.5 lakhs per₹

account. It was already reported that demonetised currencies worth of about 7 lakh crores was₹

deposited in 60 lakh bank accounts, which is almost about half of the demonetised currency that

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returned to the banking system. Individual bank account deposits were about 3 lakh crores to 4

lakh crores and the rest is of companies and institutions. This amounted to about 11.66 lakhs₹

on average in an account, although the distribution of deposits is not known. With proper

justification on the deposited currency, the depositor would be allowed to use his money with no

penalty. Even then, he will be forced to become tax-compliant from the financial year 2016-17, if

he has not been in the tax net so far and may have to pay more income tax if he has paying less

than what he was supposed to pay. In the absence of justification, if the depositor voluntarily

discloses his unaccounted income, he will be charged with 50% tax on the deposited amount

beyond 2.5 lakh, 25% of the deposited amount beyond 2.5 lakh in Pradhan Mantri Garib₹ ₹

Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) account with no interest and locking period of four years and the

remaining 25% will be given back to the depositors. If the IT department caught hold of

unaccounted income subsequently, the unaccounted income will be penalised with 85% on the

deposited amount beyond 2.5 lakh. It is too early to predict how much the government could₹

get in the form of tax, penalty and PMGKY fund from this category of deposits.

The fourth category is those who decided to deposit old unaccounted currencies beyond the limit

of 2.5 lakhs in the accounts of other people who agreed to use their account to park₹

unaccounted money for a commission. For instance, if a person holding 1 crore unaccounted

demonetised currency may deposit the same in 200 Jan Dhan accounts, each INR 50000/, as no

PAN card is required for deposits up to 50000. This kind of deposits is essentially a benami₹

currency. This is a tricky case for IT department unless they get solid information on this

fraudulent practice and act in a time bound manner before the cash is withdrawn from the

accounts. By hugely incentivising people to share the information with the IT department on

money laundering that includes people who allowed the unaccounted money holders to park their

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money in their own accounts, IT department may be able to collate information on the same. The

third and fourth category of people may constitute the “Missing Middle” as defined by IT

department, who incessantly avoid tax net or pay much less than what they should be.

The question that haunts is that how the expectation that at least 2 lakh crores would not return is

belied by the hoarders of unaccounted cash. Apart from money laundering and over the counter

fraud, by depositing the huge unaccounted income in bank accounts, it looks as if, the

unaccounted cash holders have opened Pandora’s box for themselves as the entire wealth, both

accounted and unaccounted, will be under the scrutiny of IT department henceforth. Still, they

have decided to go ahead with depositing their unaccounted cash, which means that there are still

some loopholes available for them to show such deposits as their legitimate cash. Or they may

strongly believe that the government machinery and IT department does not have the capability

and bandwidth to book tens of lakhs of unaccounted money holders and penalise them in a time-

bound manner. More than demonetisation, this belief of unaccounted cash holders is indeed a

challenge for the government. Although the window for demonetisation comes to an end by

December 30, 2016, the battle of nerves between the government and the unaccounted cash

holders does not seem to end soon.

STATESMAN, JAN 1, 2017PM warns of tough action against dishonest, announces sops

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday set out a stern warning of tough action against the "dishonest" people even as he announced a slew of sops for senior citizens, farmers, rural housing, women and small entrepreneurs to soften the blow of demonetisation.

He also assuaged the honest people that the government will act as a friend to them so that their difficulties are eased.

Among the sops announced in his address to the nation at the end of 50-day demonetisation period, Modi said senior citizens will get 8 per cent interest on deposits of upto Rs.7.5 lakh for

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10 years and deposit of Rs.6000 into accounts of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas to meet medical expenses.

For farmers, he announced that banks will not charge interest for 60 days on loans taken from district cooperative central bank and primary societies for rabi crop.

For construction or expansion of a rural house, 3 per cent interest will be waived on loan of upto Rs.2 lakh.

Announcing two new schemes under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, he said 4 per cent interest subvention on loans upto Rs.9 lakh and 3 per cent on loan upto Rs.12 lakh.

"The law will take its course with full force. The government will help the honest and protect them and see their difficulties are eased. How honest will gain from the government. This government is a friend of good people and wants to build on the good environment for the people to return to goodness," he said.

Acknowledging that "serious offences" have been committed by some bank and government officials taking advantage of situation, he said "they will not be spared". 

STATESMAN, JAN 1, 2017RBI to announce facility for NRIs to exchange old notes

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday said that it will introduce a facility for exchange of old specified bank notes for Indian residents and NRIs, who were abroad from November 9 to December 30.

According to a RBI notification, Indian residents, who were abroad during November 9 to December 30, 2016 can avail the new facility up to March 31, 2017, while NRIs can avail it up to June 30.

"While there is no monetary limit for exchange for the eligible resident Indians, the limit for NRIs will be as per the relevant FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) regulations," said the RBI notification. 

"They can avail this facility in their individual capacity once during the period on submission of ID documents, such as Aadhaar number, Permanent Account Number (PAN) etc, and on submission of documentary evidence showing they were abroad during the period and, that they have not availed the exchange facility earlier."

The country's central bank elaborated that third-party tender will not be accepted under the new facility.

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"On fulfilment of the terms and conditions and the genuineness of the notes tendered, admissible amount will be credited to the tenderer's KYC (know your customer) compliant bank account," the notification said.

"The facility will remain open for residents from January 2, 2017 to March 31, 2017 and for NRIs from January 2, 2017 to June 30, 2017. This facility will be available through Reserve Bank offices at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur."

The notification added that Indian citizens residing in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh cannot avail this facility.

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CIVIL SERVICE

ECONOMIC TIMES, JAN 6, 2017After IAS officer’s outbursts against CBI, AAP targets Narendra Modi

We are a democratically elected government and the BJP, in its actions, is suppressing democracy. They have not been able to accept their defeat in Delhi, said Manish Sisodia.

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah a day after after Delhi bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar sought retirement from government service, alleging that the CBI was pressurising him to implicate Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia alleged that this was Modi’s and Shah’s attempt to dislodge the Delhi government.

Referring to the CBI raid conducted in Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s office last week, Sisodia said that the CBI will target him next. “They have filed some nine cases against the AAP government and Jain and I will be their next target,” Sisodia said. “We are a democratically elected government and the BJP, in its actions, is suppressing democracy. They have not been able to accept their defeat in Delhi,” Sisodia added.

In a letter written to Delhi’s Chief Secretary MM Kutty on Wednesday, IAS officer Rajendra Kumar, Kejriwal’s former Principal Secretary, has said that he wanted to take a voluntary retirement from service claiming officials were pressurising him to name the “Chief Minister”.

Kumar was principal secretary to Kejriwal until his suspension following his arrest by the CBI last year. The CBI had first raided Kumar’s office in connection with a corruption case on December 15, 2015. In December last year, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Kumar.

He has been charged with alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the IPC, besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, along with eight others and a private company.

The CBI alleged that Kumar and the others entered into a criminal conspiracy and caused a loss of Rs 12 crore to the Delhi government in award of contracts between 2007 and 2015. Its FIR also claimed that officials had taken “undue benefit” of over Rs 3 crore while awarding the contracts.

In the letter, Kumar has further alleged, “Not just this, just to force CBI to implicate me and the chief minister of Delhi, the interrogators have beaten dozens of people and some of them sustained permanent major injuries,” Kumar alleged in the letter.

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According to sources in the government, as per procedure, the chief secretary will forward the letter, with request of voluntary retirement, to the Union home ministry for further action.

HINDU, JAN 4, 2017Over 4 lakh Gujarat govt. employees threaten agitationMahesh LangaFixed pay for five years seen as unconstitutional and exploitative

: More than four lakh employees hired by the Gujarat government on a fixed pay for five

years, for various positions in the police, education and revenue departments, and in other

clerical positions, have threatened a mass agitation if the Gujarat government does not stop

their “exploitation” and pay them a regular salary along with other perks.

On Sunday, thousands of employees held a rally in the State capital Gandhinagar,

demanding that they be regularised by January 7, or else they would launch an agitation to

disrupt the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit, scheduled to be held from January 10 to

13.

The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) headed by Hardik Patel, who spearheaded the

quota agitation; Jignesh Mewani, who led the Dalit agitation; and Alpesh Thakor, who

represents the Other Backward Class (OBC) communities, also supported the cause of the

fixed pay employees and accused the State government of “exploitation” of youth in the

name of fixed pay.

“The Gujarat government is exploiting youth by hiring them on fixed pay, which is

unconstitutional,” said a youth activist Pravin Ram, who launched a State-wide forum to

organise the employees to raise their voice. According to him, their main demand is to

abolish the system of fixed pay.

Pulled up by the HC

In 2012, the Gujarat High Court had slammed the State government for its policy and asked

it to regularise all employees and pay them their arrears from the date they were recruited.

However, the then government headed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi challenged the HC

ruling in the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing the case.

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After Sunday’s rally by employees in Gandhinagar, the Gujarat government on Monday

announced that the State government would soon “take a major decision in favour of

employees hired on fixed pay”.

Affidavit in SC

“The State government will file an affidavit in the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to

hear the case on January 10. The government is committed to resolve the issue,” Deputy

Chief Minister Nitin Patel told the media on Monday.

Since 2006, the Gujarat government has been recruiting its staff on a fixed pay for five

years, after which the person hired is ‘regularised’, but the five-year period is considered a

probation so most of the employees, after serving for five years on fixed pay, are

subsequently paid according to a junior scale salary with commensurate benefits.

To disrupt the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit if they are not regularised by Jan 7

TIMES OF INDIA, JAN 3, 2017LG asks top officers to ensure timely service

NEW DELHI: Pitching for "time-bound delivery of services", lieutenant governor Anil Baijalon

his first working day met top bureaucrats of the Delhi government, including chief secretary MM

Kutty, the commissioners of all three corporations and the NDMC chairman.

Assured of full cooperation by Kutty, Baijal also made it clear that work would be done in

keeping with the rule book, said sources. He asked the officers to come up with "innovative

ideas" and focus on environment and sanitation.

In a statement, the LG's office said Baijal met all principal secretaries/secretaries/department

heads. "The LG exhorted the officers to ensure that there is timely delivery of services to the

people of Delhi," it said. "He directed all officers to address their (common people's) issues

promptly. He also assured the officers that Raj Niwas would extend all cooperation to the

government in this regard." The officers were also told to make the city clean and green.

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According to the statement, Kutty assured the LG that the government would "continue to strive

to do its best to ensure that public services are provided in a time-bound manner".

The meeting gains significance considering the ongoing tussle between the Delhi government

and the Centre. On Saturday, after taking oath, Baijal was non-committal on his probable ties

with the AAP government. "I don't know the answer to whether the relationship will improve,

how it will improve or why. What I can say is that we will sit together and we will talk," he had

said.

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ELECTIONS

ASIAN AGE, JAN 5, 20175 states to vote in February-March; results on March 11

Punjab, Goa on February 4, Uttarakhand February 15, UP February 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, March 4, 8; Manipur March 4, 8.

 At a high-level meeting with the Election Commission, top officials of the Ministry led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi conveyed that it would provide around 750 companies of paramilitary forces.

New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) of India announced on Wednesday the schedule for Assembly elections in five states. Politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will go to polls between February 4 and March 8.

The polls are considered significant as their outcomes are likely to reflect the people’s verdict on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move implemented late last year.

While Uttar Pradesh will see polling in seven phases, it will be a one-day affair in Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa; and a two-day exercise in Manipur.

“Counting of votes will be taken up together in all states on March 11,” the EC said.

Making the announcement, chief election commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi said that the EC would keep a watch on the use of black money, which is expected to come down due to demonetisation.

Steps will be taken to ensure that other illegal inducements are not used to influence voters, he said.

In Uttar Pradesh, which has a 403-member House, polls will be held on February 11 (73 constituencies), February 15 (67), February 19 (69), February 23 (53), February 27 (52), March 3 (49) and March 8 (40 constituencies).

Unlike the last elections, Manipur, which recently witnessed violence raising questions whether elections would be possible now, will have polling on March 4 (38 constituencies) and March 8 (22 seats). Here, the Congress seeks to retain power.

Polling will be held in Punjab and Goa together on February 4, and in Uttarakhand it will be held on February 15.

“The model code of conduct will come into immediate effect, and will apply to political parties and state governments concerned, besides the central government in terms of announcements in these states,” Mr Zaidi said.

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The electoral process will begin with notifications for polls in Punjab and Goa on January 11. The family feud and the split in the ruling Samajwadi Party have injected a new dimension in politics in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP hopes to capture power after 14 years on the back of a sweep in Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The BSP and the Congress, the other main challengers, hope to make it a quadrangular fight but for some alliances being made.

Punjab, which has a 117-member Assembly, promises to be a three-way contest between the ruling SAD-BJP combine, the Congress and the new entrant AAP.

After sensational political developments in Uttarakhand in 2016, where the Congress was temporarily dislodged from power due to defections, the party and the BJP are set for a virtual direct fight on 70 seats.

In Goa, where the BJP seeks to retain most of the 40 assembly seats to remain in power, the AAP is being seen as a new player which plans to topple the applecart of the Congress and the BJP.

Over 16 crore people will participate in these polls for 690 constituencies in five states, for which the EC has set up 1.85 lakh polling stations, up by 15 per cent from the number during the 2012 polls.

The CEC said candidates would have to open a bank account for all election expenditures, and expenses above R20,000 will be made through cheques from the new accounts.

He added that donations above Rs 20,000 would also be accepted through cheques.

The maximum limit for expenses for each candidate in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand is R28 lakh, while that in Goa and Manipur is Rs 20 lakh, he said. The CEC said as part of reforms, the candidates would have to submit a “no-demand certificate” from agencies providing amenities and government accommodation. The certificate will come from agencies dealing with electricity, water, telephone services, and also the rent certificate of government accommodation which these candidates may have occupied in the past 10 years.

Defence personnel posted away from their home constituencies can vote through one-way electronic transmission of ballot in. But the facility may not be available in all constituencies this time, and could be extended in select seats.

The EC had first experimented the initiative in a Puducherry bypoll recently.

Asked about suggestions that the EC “waited” for PM Modi’s Lucknow rally before announcing the poll schedule, Mr Zaidi said the poll panel “has its own mind.” “It does not make its schedule according to the request of political parties,” he said.

The EC will issue photo voter slips to voters ahead of polls and will, for the first time, also distribute a colourful booklet that will guide voters on dates and timings of polls and locations of polling stations, besides dos and don’ts for them.

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To encourage more participation of women in election management process, the EC will also have some all-woman polling stations this time around, besides making all polling stations friendly for differently-abled persons.

The tenure of Punjab, Goa and Manipur Assemblies are ending on March 18, while that of Uttarakhand on March 26 and Uttar Pradesh on May 27. To ensure full secrecy of a voter and that facial expressions don’t indicate their choice of candidate, the poll panel had decided to increase the height of the shield that covers EVMs to 30 inches.

STATESMAN, JAN 5, 2017EC names 'Dos and Don'ts' for state polls

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi on Wednesday announced a number of new measures for the upcoming assembly elections in five states.

Zaidi announced putting up of four posters at each polling station, informing the voters of locations of booths, and other Dos and Don'ts. 

The posters were a statutory requirement at all polling stations, he said. 

A voting assistance booth would also be kept at the polling stations.

Taking note of complaints received by the Election Commission (EC) in previous elections, the CEC announced that the height of the voting compartment would also be raised to 30 inches this time. 

This was done to conceal the upper part of the body of the voters, the movement of which might giveaway the button they were pressing.

"This measure is being taken to maintain secrecy," Zaidi said. 

The five states going to polls this year were Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur. 

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EMPLOYMENT

TRIBUNE, JAN 4, 2017Unemployment dole: Why make a perilous promise?

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh must have caught his fellow politicians in poll-bound states on the wrong foot when he termed unemployment allowance to youth as “utopian” and impractical. The Himachal CM's views are against the grain of the political discourse in poll-bound Punjab and other states followed by Himachal and Gujarat later in the year. In Punjab, all the three fronts are vigorously competing against each other for the affection of the youth who forms the biggest chunk of the electorate. What better than to offer wild promises of jobs and doles for them? But as the veteran politician from Himachal reminds us, doles will be counter-productive as they will encourage sloth and kill initiative.

The bar for this unattainable dream was set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his promise of 25 crore jobs. The Congress in Punjab has taken the lead in selling this pipedream. It has registered a million youngsters under the “Har Ghar Ton Ik Captain” scheme and promised a job per household. The alternative — you guessed it — monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500 for three years. The estimated outgo will be Rs 10,000 crore in a state where the growth in government revenue has missed the target by 5 per cent. The Aam Aadmi Party is talking of 25 lakh jobs. It might offer unemployment allowance as well considering that its Goa unit has already made it a poll promise.

The BJP in Goa and the Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab restrained themselves from taking the

plunge. The reason is not hard to find. The 2012 poll promise of Rs 1,000 unemployment dole in

Punjab has a miserable record. In Mansa there were only three recipients last year. It is the same

story in Goa. This explains the Akali Dal’s preference for focus on 1.13 lakh more government

jobs. AAP thankfully also talks of skilling centres. That is the realistic course to making jobless

youth more employable. Virbhadra Singh also makes this point. But his views are honed by the

experience of his party in Himachal being unable to fulfill its pre-poll promise!

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

TELEGRAPH, JAN 5, 2017Playing second fiddle- The RBI's loss of independence has harmed the economy

Anup Sinha

One of the most powerful and important institutions in any modern economy is its central bank or the monetary authority (as it is often referred to). In India, the central bank is the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank of an economy creates liabilities in the form of money, which the rest of the economy holds as assets. It controls the supply of money, and regulates a large part of the financial sector, particularly the commercial banks. Amongst its many functions the two most important ones are price stability, and influencing the cost of funds. It does this through what is called monetary policy. It attempts to control the rate of inflation and interest rates. In doing so it obviously affects macroeconomic variables like the level of prices, aggregate investments, gross domestic product growth, foreign exchange rates and the flow of international capital. In its functioning, the central bank is not accountable to the polity of the nation. For instance, the RBI can announce monetary policy measures without getting approval of Parliament. All things that are to do with the supply of money in the economy are the exclusive domain of the RBI. This is quite unlike the fiscal policy of the government, where taxes and expenditures need the approval of Parliament. Indeed, this is one area of economic policy that is delinked from the political process. It is important that the central bank retains its independence from the political agenda of any government.

In India, the RBI has been one of the most respected institutions that have carried out their tasks with competence and generally a fair degree of success over the years. However, over the past two or three years, the RBI has been under pressure to reduce interest rates and stimulate the economy even when inflation rates were reasonably high. The RBI, in asserting its independence, made it clear that controlling inflation in the current context of the economy's health was more important than rate cuts. The finance ministry on the other hand, had been suggesting that since the management of the fiscal deficit was important, there was no room for expansion of government expenditures, which is often the alternative way of stimulating demand and growth in the economy. Therefore, an expectation was being built up that it was the duty of the RBI to stimulate the economy. The RBI had held on to its independence quite firmly. Perhaps not happy with this situation, the government made changes in the making of monetary policy where a committee would take the decision and people appointed by the finance ministry would occupy three positions in a group of six. The RBI governor would have the casting vote if it came to a tie. With this change, and a new governor at the helm, a rate cut came immediately. Then the big shock of demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes arrived.

Since this would directly affect the money supply, the announcement ought to have come from the RBI. It could have been later backed up by the government, justifying the decision. In November, the announcement came from the prime minister himself in an open address to the nation. This, in less than a minute, devalued the position of the RBI as an independent institution. The RBI officials did go through the motions of a press meet a little later, but it

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appeared that the officials were not very confident of what was happening and what the economic implications would be. The bulk of the talking was done by a senior civil servant, who was not an RBI official.

It may be noted that the first time when the prime minister announced that the two types of currency notes would cease to be legal tender from midnight of November 8, 2016, he mentioned three reasons for the action - unearthing of black money, stopping fake notes from being printed, and snapping the link between the first two kinds of money and terrorism. The control of none of these three objectives is the duty of the RBI. There are specialized institutions and policy mechanisms that can control the problems. It was a failure of governance if these had been unsuccessful in the past. Overnight, the RBI and the commercial banks became crime-control machines made to work on the assumption that every citizen was guilty until proven innocent. To make matters worse, the benchmark of innocence kept changing every few days as announced by the government. It even came down for a day to the level of having Rs 5,000 in old currency notes. The complete subservience to the government and the continuous but random changes in the procedures of replacing old notes have made the RBI a virtual department of the government, where RBI senior officials behave like mid-level minions in the civil service whose vocabulary seemed to have become limited to exactly three words: Yes, prime minister. This erosion of the independence of the RBI will have long-term effects on the economy; especially how the rest of the world perceives policymaking in India. Confidence in the financial sector and in how it is regulated has taken a serious beating. The economic literature on public policymaking has contributed to the emergence of a conventional wisdom that claims discretionary policies are unambiguously worse than those based on transparent rules known to all. What one is witnessing today is discretionary randomness at its worst being touted as responsive governance.

There is another technical aspect of the sanctity of the monetary liabilities created by the RBI. If even 100 rupees of the older notes do not come back to the banking system, then the monetary liabilities of the RBI would go down to that extent. Adjustments would have to be made on the asset side of the balance sheet. Hence, there was speculation that these 'extra' assets could be used to recapitalize banks, or given to government for budgetary use. The RBI governor, in one of his very infrequent statements, claimed that he would not change the balance sheet after the swapping time-window closed. Currency notes that did not come back to the banking system would continue to be the liability of the RBI. Hence, as far as one can understand, it would have to stick to the promise made on the note "I promise to pay the bearer the sum of ...". Yet the notes have ceased to be legal tender. This means that one cannot settle debts with such notes, but the RBI retains its promise to give one the sum of 500 rupees or 1,000 rupees as the case may be.

The narrative of demonetization has shifted far away from black wealth and terror. It changed to ushering in a cashless India with electronic payments only. Now it is about a less cash India, going by the advertisements being recently put up. We are far away from coming even close to a developed market economy in terms of IT infrastructure. Forcing the issue would undermine not only confidence but create major disruptions in production and demand. Who knows what the next shift in the prime minister's narrative might be? It is, however, evident that the RBI in playing second fiddle to the government has for the first time in its illustrious career actually

23

hurt the economy by its policies.

It is often being heard that the prime minister may have had long-term political objectives in mind, which he himself has more than once indicated. Pains are therefore an essential part of this transition to the long term. Very few Indians understand the importance of the central bank and the role it is supposed to play. Most have not even heard of the RBI. Hence any political gamble can safely rely on this assumption and give the signal that all disruptions are for the greatest common good for the greatest number. The prime minister might be correct in his gamble. The poor may not be affected much. After all, how much more can one hurt a person living below the poverty line.

The point, however, is that even if many have not heard of the RBI or do not understand its important functions, the fact will remain that one more important institution succumbed to the pressures of government and surrendered its independence. It is about reinforcing big government and poor governance, contrary to the electoral promise of the prime minister. Above all, it signifies the arrival of big government and even bigger whimsy conducted by one individual with a large and growing fan following.

The author is former professor of Economics, IIM Calcutta

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HOUSING

HINDUSTAN TIMES, JAN 5, 2017DDA plans new housing project to build 16,000 bigger, better flats for next drawAbhinav Rajput 

Out of 16,584 flats, to be built in Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Rohini, Preet Vihar, Phazulpur, Mandawali and Khichdipur, almost 33% will be in the HIG category (HT File Photo)

The Delhi Development Authority is ready with its next housing plan under which it will build

more than 16,000 homes, 33% of which will be for high-income groups.

The project to build 16,584 flats in areas such as Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Rohini, Preet Vihar,

Phazulpur, Mandawali and Khichdipur had got all the clearances, sources said. The work will

begin as soon as the plan is passed by senior DDA officials.

On offer will be one -bedroom flats for economically weaker sections and the low-income group

(LIG), two-bedroom houses for the middle-income group (MIG) and three-bedroom units for the

higher income group (HIG). “The cost of these houses is yet to be decided,” a senior DDA

official said.

The new project comes close on the heels of the city’s land developers getting the nod for 13,000

flats that are expected to go on the market in the coming months.

While 90% of these flats are in the LIG category, the new scheme will have around 33% HIG

flats, most of which will come up in Vasant Kunj in south Delhi, Dwarka in Southwest and

Rohini in Northwest.

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Bulk of the 5,000 EWS houses and 5,000 LIG houses will come up in the east and Rohini zone

while some are also planned for Dwarka’s sectors 14 and 19.

The DDA has not set any deadline for the project as it is in the planning stages but sources

expect it to be completed in two to three years.

Officials have been asked to prepare a detailed project report and initial estimates, sources said.

DDA’s new housing project

EWS LIG MIG HIGTotal in every zone

East zone 2709 2040 — — 4749

Vasant kunj 250 — 613 164 1027

Narela 1310 — — 3495 4805

Dwarka zone 399 425 — 563 1387

Rohini zone 1258 2013 — 1345 4616

Total 5926 4478 613 5567 16584

 tags

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JUDICIARYTRIBUNE, JAN 4, 2017Justice Khehar sworn in as 44th Chief Justice of India

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (64) was on Wednesday sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan here. He succeeded Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and is the first CJI from the Sikh community.

Justice Thakur demitted office yesterday, and had last month recommended the name of Justice Khehar, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, to be his successor.

Justice Khehar assumed office as an apex court judge on September 13, 2011. He will head the Indian judiciary for a little less than eight months before retiring on August 27.  

Justice JS Khehar has headed two Constitution Benches of the apex court, one that had revived the Collegium system of appointing higher judiciary judges and the other that restored the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in Arunachal Pradesh.

He was associated with the impeachment proceedings of apex court Justice V Ramaswami and Karnataka HC Chief Justice PD Dinakaran.

He appeared as counsel to defend Justice Ramaswami, who survived the impeachment proceedings in the Lok Sabha in the 1990s, before the Judges Inquiry Committee headed by Justice PB Sawant of the apex court. As an apex court judge, he was part of the judges’ inquiry panel that had gone into complaints of misconduct against Justice Dinakaran.

Born on August 28, 1952, Khehar graduated in science from Government College, Chandigarh in 1974. He was awarded the LLB degree by Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 1977 and LLM in 1979.

He was enrolled as an advocate in 1979 and practised mainly in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court and Supreme Court.

Justice Khehar was appointed as Additional Advocate General, Punjab, in January 1992, and then as Senior Standing Counsel, Union Territory, Chandigarh.

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He was elevated to the bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 8, 1999. Justice Khehar was appointed as Acting Chief Justice of the High Court twice.

He was elevated as Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court on November 29, 2009 and thereafter he was transferred as Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka, where he assumed his office on August 8, 2010.

On appointment in the Supreme Court, he assumed office as SC judge on September 13, 2011. — With agency inputs

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LIBRARIES

HINDU, JAN 2, 2017What readers want – 1A.S. Panneerselvan

Over the last five years, this column has discussed the many strands that make up the

wonderful fabric called journalism. From the importance of verification, accuracy and

fairness, to the perils of excessive use of adjectives in reporting, and dependency on

anonymous sources, all these were closely scrutinised. These essentials of journalism

indeed miss one element that constantly brings young men and women to this profession:

passion.

Twenty years ago, Gabriel Garcia Marquez explained this process: “Journalism is an

unappeasable passion that can be assimilated and humanized only through stark

confrontation with reality. No one who does not have this in his blood can comprehend its

magnetic hold, which is fueled by the unpredictability of life. No one who has not had this

experience can begin to grasp the extraordinary excitement stirred by the news, the sheer

elation created by the first fruits of an endeavor, and the moral devastation wreaked by

failure. No one who was not born for this and is not prepared to live for this and this only

can cling to a profession that is so incomprehensible and consuming, where work ends after

each news run, with seeming finality, only to start afresh with even greater intensity the

very next moment, not granting a moment of peace.” After being a journalist for well over

three decades, I realise that the foundation for this passion is the precious human attribute:

hope.

Processing the wish list

When passion and hope are channelled in a responsible and responsive manner to the needs

of citizenry, journalism becomes the public sphere for democratic mediation of ideas and

policies. A good news organisation derives its strength not only from adhering to its stated

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values but also from actively listening and responding to the readers. This column has been

the listening post that collects, processes and passes on to the editorial team the voices of

readers. In my earlier column, “Should news give way for views?” (September 26, 2016), I

had solicited readers’ views about what they want to see in this newspaper. I promised to

share their views in the year-end columns. But, the views from the readers were as varied as

the diversity of this country; it took some more time to process their wish list. Given the

level of engagement, I am compelled to paraphrase their views. I also refrain from

attributing ideas to specific readers as in most cases more than one reader suggested

identical ideas.

One of the suggestions that came from different parts of India was the creation of a

dedicated weekly page to cover individual States. Readers felt that some States get much

bigger space than others. “Small States like Delhi get a big play in the media because they

are in the centre. But we do not have enough stories from States in the periphery like

Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and the various Northeastern States. These States are relegated

only to reporting natural disasters or acts of insurgency. We appreciate the new long form

reportage ‘Ground Zero’. A weekly in-depth section on the States that generally miss the

media radar would help us to understand this sub-continent size country better,” said a

reader. The regime change games played out in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were

cited to prove a point. The developments in these States came in as a surprise for many

because the media did not cover the events that led to change of governments in these

States.

Stamp of authenticity

A vast section of readers feel that news is important despite the fact that most read them as

developing or breaking news in various 24x7 platforms. The reportage in The Hindu helps

them to confirm that it was indeed news because of the trust factor. However, they feel that

the news can be brief if it is accompanied by an insightful analysis. They feel that articles in

the Lead section and the Comment sections are mostly from people who have a clear

political affiliation or economic orientation. In order to contextualise these views and to

30

make sense of the news, readers prefer an explainer of major developments providing the

facts and figures to explain the rationale, or the lack of it, by policy makers. “We need to

sift facts from rhetoric and an informed fact file would be of immense help when there is a

surfeit of opinion sans rational analysis,” said another reader.

Special interest pages

Some readers wanted a few sections to be moved to the magazine to provide a sense of

thematic symmetry to the newspaper. For instance, they wanted “Weekend Reading” to be a

part of literary review. They felt that this section should be expanded to a four-page weekly

supplement and include a section on writings in Indian languages. They also felt that

“Weekend Being” on Sundays should be part of the Sunday Magazine. “Issues and topics

that have a longer shelf-life should be in the magazine section as we tend to read them at

leisure unlike news and current affairs,” opined readers. In their wish list of sections to be

shifted from the main paper to magazines are “Open Page” and “Education Plus”, and they

want the “Science and Technology” page to brought back to the news section. Readers from

centres where not all the supplements such as “Metro Plus”, the “Friday Review” and

“Cinema Plus” are available expect a curated supplement featuring some of the best

features from these magazines.

(To be continued)

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

One of the suggestions was having a dedicated weekly page to cover individual States

HINDU, JAN 9, 2016What readers want -2A.S. Panneerselvan

Readers made an interesting observation about the mix of reports from the staff and those

from news agencies. They feel that the newspaper online carries more stories from agencies

than from staff reporters. “[An] agency copy tends to give the bare-bones of a story,

whereas a staff reporter’s copy tends to have greater depth and context,” a reader said. He

31

cited a few examples of The Hindu ’s legal correspondent’s reports from the Supreme Court

that captured the nuances of judgments better than most agency reports did. When

platforms multiply and sources of information are abundant, many readers firmly believe

that in The Hindu, staff reporting should largely replace agency reports in national and

regional stories. They feel that agency reports are fine for international events, be it politics

or sports. It is a matter of trust — a copy produced and processed exclusively by The

Hindu staff has greater resonance with them.

The other elements in the readers’ wish list are varied in their emphasis, but are linked by a

common thread, which is that The Hindu should continue to play a role in enforcing

accountability of all institutions. For instance, a reader wanted a series of stories on the

status of implementation of various welfare measures. He wanted to know why many

schemes exist only on paper, not on the ground. The newspaper, in readers’ opinions,

should be able to name the persons accountable for lapses that adversely affect the

livelihood of millions.

The task of scrutiny

Readers want to see more investigative reporting on corruption. For many, it seems as

though the media has left the task of financial probity, integrity, and meeting targets to

institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Supreme Court, and

various statutory bodies. One of the readers said that the independent media should retain

the responsibility of scrutinising the Union and State governments, primarily because some

individuals, despite honourable exceptions, who wield power in statutory bodies tend to

convert their official findings to post-retirement job applications. A detailed story on the

number of officials from statutory bodies who got a post-retirement job would reveal the

inherent limitation of giving the task of scrutiny to only these bodies, said some readers. In

fact, a qualitative analysis of their investigations, findings and recommendations could be a

basis for evolving a code for the appointments to crucial watchdog bodies.

One of the first suggestions that came this year was for a weekly news feature that not only

provides the context but also looks at precedents, best practices and worst examples. For

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instance, in the wake of a petition by political parties to the Election Commission (EC)

seeking a directive to postpone the Union budget from being tabled on February 1, some

readers wanted to know the exact sequence of events that led to the postponement of the

budget in 2012. Which parties demanded the postponement? What were the reasons cited

by them? Was there an EC directive that led to the postponement or was it the decision of

the government itself to defer the budget till the elections for the five States were

completed? Under the Model Code of Conduct, what elements in the budget would be

considered a violation of the Code and what concessions or programmes permissible? Is

there a legal binding? Can the apex court intervene in the election process if the Model

Code violation raises questions about free and fair elections? What are the similarities and

differences between the 2012 and the 2017 elections to these five States? Are there

compelling reasons that make the date for the budget non-negotiable for the government?

Readers would like an extended explainer of one complex issue every week to make sense

of our polity and economy.

While many readers came up with suggestions for content, only one wrote at length about

the design of the newspaper. Vijay S. Raghavan from Mumbai wrote extensively about the

need for a redesign and for improvement in the printing quality across editions. He said

there is unevenness in the quality of printing — while it is excellent in some centres, it is

not so in others. “Any newspaper design will be liked by readers only for a few years,” he

said. “They would like a change in the product’s presentation after every few years. When

[Mario] Garcia’s design was introduced in 2005, it was stimulating for the readers. But after

so many mutilations of that original design, The Hindu has lost its charm. Font sizes at

present are not good as they are small and not pleasing to the eyes. [The] layout is very

congested.”

This was one of the most exciting exercises for me as the Readers’ Editor. Readers’

comments and their level of engagement reaffirm our faith in an informed public sphere.

Most of their proposals and ideas were not personal preferences or whims but

manifestations of their deep understanding of what they want in a newspaper. I would like

to assure the readers that the Editor and his team are amidst a consultative process to arrive

33

at a new look as well as a new mix of content for this legacy newspaper that was launched

in 1878. Your voices are central to this consultative process.

readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

Proposals and ideas from readers were not personal preferences but manifestations of their

understanding of what they want in a newspaper

34

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

TRIBUNE, JAN 4, 2017Undesirability of mixing religion and politicsFaizan Mustafa

The Supreme Court of India recently prohibited politicians from using peoples' religion or caste to garner votes. The verdict has been described as one that could force political parties to change their strategy for the coming Assembly elections. It is our failure to erect a wall between religion and state that has led to ambiguity.

GOD is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms…”, said Nietzsche. India is a secular country with religion occupying centre stage. Accordingly, religion and religious propaganda are used in every election in spite of the fact that an appeal for votes in the name of religion or religious symbols is a corrupt electoral practice.What to say of religion, ultra-nationalists may be shocked to know that appeal to even national symbols such as  the National Flag or the national  emblem in electoral battles is also prohibited by the Representation of People's Act,1951.(RP Act).

India's failure in erecting much-needed wall of separation between religion and the state was the first blunder of our Republic.BJP should forever remain indebted to Jawaharlal Nehru. Even in the 2014 elections, the Har Har Modi slogan was all over even though the development was the main plank of the party. After the results, the Vishva Hindu Parishad President Ashok Singhal declared that a proud Hindu is in power in New Delhi after 800 years.

Gandhiji did not favour even the continuance of political parties and advocated the dissolution of the Indian National Congress so that people vote on the merit of the candidates. Though the bench did not agree to reopen the erroneous Hindutva judgment of 1995, authored by J.S. Verma, on the technical ground that such a question was not referred to the seven-judge bench. 

In retrospect, all is well that ends well as in the view of the three judges disagreeing with the majority on the limited question of the meaning of the pronoun “his”. Had the Hindutva judgment been reconsidered, the decision could have gone either way. In any case, since the BJP governments, as Justice MadanB.Lokur rightly said “surprisingly” favoured a narrow construction of the prohibition of appeal in the name of religion.

35

The primary question in this case was whether appeal in the name of religion or other three prohibited grounds must be confined to just the religion, language, caste or the community “of the candidate contesting an election” or the prohibition extend to appeals in the name of religion etc. of his election agents, any other person or even voters. Those who have been the primary beneficiaries of use/misuse of religion or religious symbols such as rightist parties naturally argued that the Section 123 (3) of the RP Act as amended in 1961 be confined just to the appeals in the name of the “religion of the candidates”. They further argued against a broader interpretation on three grounds: First,  the consequences of being found guilty of corrupt electoral practice are too severe which include not only the election being declared void but also being further disqualified for six years; secondly, freedom of expression is not to be curtailed by the election law during the election campaign and thirdly the court should not unsettle the legal position as to the meaning of “his”  which is settled for decades whereby appeal cannot be made in the name of religion of the candidate.

The Supreme Court did not accept the “narrower interpretation” argument of the BJP-ruled states and favoured “purposive interpretation” of the expression “his”. Justice Lokur, with whom Justice Nageshwar agreed, held that in the interpretation of law both text of law as well as social context in which the law in question was enacted are to be taken into account.  The amendment to Section 123(3) was made to control communalism as the requirement of “systematic appeal” in the name of religion etc. was too heavy and people making stray statements were escaping from the prohibition of the use of religion. He rightly said that the task of the court is to give effect to the Parliament’s purpose. Words are to be given their meaning but let us not make a fortress out of the dictionary. Every statute does have some purpose or object to accomplish. On the basis of simultaneous addition of Section 153A in the Indian Penal Code to control misuse of religion in creating enmity or hatred amongst citizens, mischief which 1961 amendment to Section 123(3) o by deleting the expression “systemic appeal”, statement of objects and reasons clause, Justice Lokur concluded that pronoun “his” would include not only the candidate but his election agent and even voters if such an appeal had the consent of the candidate or his agents. Thus no candidate can escape from the bar simply on the ground that the appeal to vote or refrain for voting was not made in the name of his religion. 

Justice S.A. Bobde went a step further and held that even textual interpretation of expression “his” in Section 123(3) would lead to the same conclusion. Chief Justice TS Thakur, in his concurring opinion reiterated that India is a secular state is no longer res integra and religious activity cannot be mixed with secular activity. Mixing of religion with the state power is not permissible. He conceded that secularism is not only the basic structure but the “core

36

constitutional objective”. Those who have been arguing that secularism was not there in the original Constitution and was just inserted in 1976 by Indira Gandhi would naturally be hugely disappointed to read his judgment.

The dissent has been authored by Justice DY Chandrachud,with whom Justice AK Goel and UU Lalit agreed. There was no disagreement on the issue of secularism. Justice Chandrachud favoured literal interpretation and held “his” in Section 123(3) refers to the person “who is the real beneficiary of the appeal and, therefore, it must be confined to just the candidate”. He also made a reality check by asserting that religion cannot be obliterated from public life. If there have been some injustices faced by a group, they should be entitled to indulge in social mobilisation and prohibition of expression of their legitimate concerns in an election would reduce democracy to an abstraction. Asad Owaisi's reaction to the judgment does give an idea about the anxiety of dissenting judges.

With this judgment there is now an urgent need to specifically overrule the Hindutva judgment of 1995. Otherwise we would be in strange situation as no appeal can be made in the name of any other religion. The Shiv Sena and the BJP may continue to polarise elections in the name of Hinduism and Hindutva, which the court had held are just “ways of life not religion”. In fact, this interpretation is patently discriminatory and is violative of equality of religions which is the very essence of our secularism. If Hinduism is not religion, can a law made by the state favouring Hindus be upheld under Article 15(1) which prohibits discrimination only on the basis of religion?

 The writer is the Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

TELEGRAPH, JAN 1, 2017A journey in reverse- The emerging world disorder

Ashok Sekhar Ganguly

As the year, 2017, begins its journey, many recent events provide the sum total of a series of political, social and economic shifts of a magnitude probably last witnessed soon after the end of World War II. The last seventy years, especially the period between 1980 and 2007, witnessed some of the more significant changes, in the history of human kind. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of Communist China as an economic and military power, the end of white rule in South Africa, several multinational trade pacts and dominance of Social Democrats in politics created and sustained a long period of enabling environment defined by the term, globalization.

Progressively, however, it is becoming evident that all is not really well with the progress of

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globalization. Although innovation, productivity and wealth generation have grown at unprecedented rates, there were simultaneously, signals that every aspect of globalization was not necessarily positive. For example, while the economic growth rates in the countries belonging to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development continued to be impressive, other than in Japan, the liberalization of banking regulations, especially in the United States of America and to some extent in Europe, generated a sense of unnatural exuberance. An environment bordering on laissez-faire led to the banking crisis in 2008.

It was also during that period, that the term, BRICS, was coined as a symbol of the arrival of some emerging economies on the global stage. Subsequent events have exposed some serious flaws in the topology of globalization. Climate change and global warming alarms began to sound loudly by the 1990s with the appearance of the expanding ozone hole in the stratosphere caused by the increasing use of chlorofluorocarbons. The refusal by many countries to acknowledge climate change as a threat to our civilization created a major crisis, which has taken a very long time to reach a fragile consensus.

In the advanced countries, the unprecedented growth of wealth primarily rewarded a small fraction of the already well-to-do segment of the population, while the bulk of the people were thrown the dregs. The dynamics of economic growth in the emerging countries also disproportionally rewarded those who were already well off, without a significant impact on the health, nutrition and poverty of a very large section of the people.

It was during the heyday of globalization that the world also witnessed a number of other alarming events - for example, the so-called 'Arab Spring' beginning to turn into an 'Arab Nightmare' and the terrorist attacks in New York and on the Pentagon. These were followed by the war in Iraq in search of the non-existent weapons of mass destruction and unleashing of the Sunni and Shia violence. In addition to horrendous death and destruction in the Arab world, Afghanistan has become almost permanently debilitated by the rise of the Taliban. Historically, this period also witnessed unprecedented advances in digitization, the emergence of artificial intelligence and the spread of mobile telephony, while significantly conquering disease and starvation. Yet, during these past two decades, we seem to have ignored signals that some serious dangers were lurking round the corner. There were some loud and visible signals suggesting that the world may be slipping from the lofty goals of globalization into a period of disorder and uncertainty.

The year, 2016, has sent out clear signals that can be best described as breaking the silence with the anguished cry of "Enough is enough" from those who had been left untouched by the gains of globalization. The most visible of these were the frequent social, economic and political upheavals - for example, the rise of ISIS in Syria and Russia's entry into the war to protect the Assad regime as a result of the vacuum created by a hesitant Nato alliance. The gradual reordering of global politics was also triggered by the Russian annexation of Crimea, its strengthening links with Turkey, Iran and now Pakistan, among others. These trends have been followed by the return to power of authoritative regimes in some important East European countries that happen to belong to the European Union. Similarly, the United Kingdom's referendum to exit the EU, and the uncertain political scenario in Italy, France and Greece have been complicated by the overwhelming flow of refugees into Europe from Syria and the

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African nations. The tensions in Europe have been exacerbated by a series of terrorist attacks in France, Belgium and Germany.

The more recent and uncertain environment is now being magnified by the almost daily utterances by the American president-elect. The issues range from global trade agreements and Nato to damaging statements about international relations, which leave very little to the imagination and provide the most disturbing piece in the global jigsaw puzzle of emerging disorder. The intention of the president of Turkey to establish a monolithic regime constitutes, amongst other things, a significant threat of pushing the next wave of refugees into the EU, the decimation of the Kurds as well as those Turkish citizens who are branded as opponents of the State. The events in the countries of South America and Africa should be viewed with equal concern, shifting from glimpses of hope and promise towards fast-receding expectations and growing disorder.

Closer home, Communist China looks more menacing every day. This is natural, given its spectacular economic progress and success of communist rule, which have convinced China that its centralized, authoritative government is a preferred alternative, compared to democracies. Its ambition to overtake the US as the global power is growing menacingly by the day. China's reclamation of offshore land and its territorial claim over the whole of South China Sea pose an existential threat to the Southeast Asian nations and Japan. The claims have been probably further buttressed by the shape of the foreign policy scenario in the US under its next president.

India's historic differences over its borders with China remain static. The China-Pakistan-Russia axis and development of the new Silk Route pose major economic and security challenges for India. China's inroads into India's traditional allies in the neighbourhood - Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan - are not without ulterior motives and pose grave threats for India.

Two of the most populated neighbours - China lead by a monolithic and authoritarian communist regime and India, the world's largest multicultural, multilingual, multi-ethnic and multireligious democracy with its own challenges to social harmony and poverty - potentially represent one of the most critical global problems in the foreseeable future

The progress towards a cyber-secure and intimately connected world now faces a new set of bewildering challenges. These are compounded by the emergence of a flood of fake or 'post-truth' news being churned out almost every day. The latest tweets from the American president-elect of his resolve to increase America's nuclear arsenal has been matched by the equally ridiculous assertion to do likewise by Russia's Vladimir Putin. In the early 1990s, the presidents, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, signed a treaty to contain their respective nuclear stockpiles and prevented the potential of a mutually assured destruction. In the emerging nightmare, the cycle now seems to be in reverse, intensified by terrorism, the rise of authoritarian regimes and rightist political parties, and the spread of nuclear capabilities to signal the threats to globalization

Until recently, the world seemed to be moving towards a more caring and trusting civilization.

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It has not taken long to start reversing this journey. Courage, optimism, hope and care are rapidly giving way to fear, despair and a sense of defeat. Disorder is probably too mild to describe the unfolding scenario.

TELEGRAPH, JAN 1, 2017Akhilesh is Samajwadi chief, Amar out

Lucknow, Jan. 1 (PTI): Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was anointed the Samajwadi Party president in place of his father Mulayam at a party national convention here on Sunday. The meeting also proposed the expulsion of “outsider” Amar Singh and removal of Shivpal Yadav from the post of state president of the party.

Minutes after Mulayam termed the convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav as “unconstitutional”, the meeting unanimously decided to crown Akhilesh as head of the SP.

After a brief truce in the ruling Samajwadi Party on Saturday, the open war in the party was all out in the open with the national convention declaring Akhilesh Yadav as party president.  

The proposal was met with a huge applause by party cadres gathered at the sprawling Janeshwar Misra Park amid chilly conditions.  

Ram Gopal also moved a proposal to make Mulayam Singh, the founder president of the party, as party patron and removing Shivpal Singh Yadav from the state unit post.

Earlier this morning as soon as the national convention got underway at the Janeshwar Misra park, Mulayam Singh issued a letter declaring the convention as unconstitutional. 

“Today a so-called convention has been convened by Ram Gopal. This is against party constitution and discipline. This has been convened to damage the party,” Yadav said in the letter.

Although Mulayam warned that participation in the convention will be taken as indiscipline and action will be initiated against those attending it, almost all the senior leaders who had been longtime associates of Mulayam shared dias with Ram Gopal and Akhilesh.

Soon after being proposed as the national president of the party, Akhilesh Yadav said his respect for his father was more than ever and that he would stand against those conspiring against the party. 

”Those who conspired against the party, damaged it and also posed problems before the national president...should know that my respect for the national president (Mulayam Singh) will be more than before,” the chief minister said. 

”...People might raise questions and level allegations but I said this before and say it again that as his son if there is any conspiracy against the party and him it is my duty to stand against

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them”, he said.

”I had said that I was ready to step down as state unit president earlier too ...he had made me the CM and gave me a chance to work...”, he said .

HINDU, JAN 2, 2017State of the U.P. battlegroundA.K. Verma

All parties in the fray are not just positioning themselves against each other — they need to

bring clarity on many issues before the Assembly elections

The Uttar Pradesh Assembly election of 2017 has become interesting for a variety of

reasons. One, since 2007, people are giving clear mandate to a party, demanding that it own

full responsibility for governance or otherwise and not shift responsibility on alliance

partners. So, parties are expecting clear wins in coming polls. Two, the electoral threshold

for legislative majority has been declining; Mayawati formed the Bahujan Samaj Party

(BSP) government in 2007 on 30 per cent vote and Akhilesh Yadav formed the Samajwadi

Party (SP) government in 2012 on 29 per cent vote (lowest since Independence). That

makes parties optimistic. Three, unlike bipolar competitions in Kerala, Tamil Nadu or

Karnataka, the electoral battle in U.P. is being fought among two regionally dominant (SP,

BSP) and two national (BJP, Congress) parties. That may fragment votes in such a way that

a marginal vote shift could cause the victory or defeat of a party. It is against this backdrop

that political parties are entering the fray in U.P. In doing so, they are not just positioning

themselves against each other; rather, they have multiple fronts to attend to in the electoral

battle.

Party turmoil

In run-up to the 2017 Assembly polls, in-house turmoil is the prime concern of all parties.

The SP suffered a virtual split when party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav expelled his son,

and CM, Akhilesh Yadav from the party for anti-party activities for six years, along with

his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav. Given the subsequent developments, many wonder whether it

is a genuine tussle or has been choreographed by the father to brush up his son’s image. But

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it has confused the people and may end up harming the party. Since the SP’s vote share was

very fragile in 2012, any loss of its traditional supporters among Muslims or Yadavs could

be disastrous for the party.

The BSP had been through the same turmoil leading to some of its senior-most and trusted

leaders — including Swami Prasad Maurya (most-backward caste), R.K. Chaudhary (Pasi-

Dalit) and Brajesh Pathak (Brahmin) — exiting the party. That does not augur well for the

BSP.

The BJP too had been battling to shun its traditional image of an upper-caste, urban-centric

party of middle-class traders and merchants and become inclusive. In this, the upper-caste

dominance in the party puts the brake on the leadership’s efforts at constituency

transformation. The BJP’s reluctance to disclose its chief ministerial face in U.P. is

probably dictated by its inability to solve this problem to the satisfaction of rival caste

lobbies in the party.

The Congress had also been besieged with a party revamp though the importation of Sheila

Dikshit from Delhi as a CM candidate did not work — nor did the deployment of party

strategist Prashant Kishor, which led to senior leaders like Rita Bahuguna Joshi to quit the

party.

Constituency battling

There has also been a withering away of traditional support bases of parties. Ms. Mayawati

is attempting a transformation of her social engineering from a Dalit-Brahmin to Dalit-

Muslim coalition. That was necessitated because (a) she had angered upper castes when

BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui made derogatory observations about the wife and

daughter of BJP leader Dayashankar Singh after the latter’s objectionable remarks against

Ms. Mayawati; (b) the BSP lost its grip over Dalits during last decade; and (c) Muslims and

Dalits have much in common in social life.

The BJP too is positioning itself for a complete constituency revamp and is focussing on

becoming representative of OBCs by appropriating greater space among more-backwards

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and most-backwards. The party made Keshav Prasad Maurya president of its State unit,

inducted BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya (both most-backward) and allied with the Apna

Dal, making its MP Anupriya Patel (more-backward) a minister in the Modi government.

The BJP’s efforts to appropriate the OBC space in U.P. were facilitated because the SP

under Mulayam Singh Yadav neglected homogenisation of the OBCs, restricting itself to

yadavisation only. As OBCs are the largest social group in UP, 41 per cent of the State

population (NSSO data), any inroads could give the BJP a big handle in the coming

electoral battle.

The SP also attempted to create a new constituency for itself by recommending to the

Union government recently that 17 OBC sub-castes be transferred to the SC category. But

that is a late move and also inappropriate as most sub-castes belong not to SC but to the ST

category. Besides, only a parliamentary law could bring about the recommended change, so

the SP may not reap any political advantage on that count.

The Congress does not know how to reach out to social groups, especially Dalits and

Muslims, who were once the party’s support base. However, a few weeks ago during kisan

yatras and khat-charchas in U.P., its party vice-president Rahul Gandhi did try to reach out

to the poor and farmers by promising a loan waiver and subsidy on electricity. Since his

party has been out of power in U.P. since December 1989, voters may not take his promises

seriously.

Leadership war

Party leadership constitutes the third front of U.P.’s electoral battle. The SP is badly divided

on leadership though it still vests authority in the Yadav family. But if Akhilesh Yadav

scores in this battle, he may become the real inheritor of samajwadi leadership and

Mulayam Singh Yadav’s legacy. The BJP’s leadership contest remains under wraps though

there are many aspirants for the CM’s job belonging to different social denominations.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi happens to be the main face of the BJP in U.P.,

nominating someone as U.P. CM, if required after polls, may be easier. The BSP and

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Congress have, of course, no issues on this count as Ms. Mayawati remains the undisputed

leader in the BSP, and the Congress is out of the reckoning.

Demonetisation, development

The final front centres around the issues of demonetisation and development. The BJP on

occasion appears nervous on demonetisation despite public support for the move in spite of

inconvenience to people. Akhilesh Yadav wants to recast the coming polls as a referendum

not on his governance and development, but on demonetisation. But the way the

Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chandigarh civic polls, held after demonetisation, have approved

of demonetisation is a pointer to the risk involved in doing so. While all parties may focus

on Mr. Yadav’s failings, he may counter that with his clean image and development-centric

politics and also earn the people’s sympathy in view of his recent battles within the SP.

So the electoral battle field in U.P. is becoming clearer. There are multiple fronts to be

addressed. Many fast-paced changes are taking place on a daily basis. But how things

unfold henceforth will depend much on how parties finesse their strategies and tactics once

the Election Commission blows the whistle.

A.K. Verma is Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Politics (CSSP), Kanpur.

Party leadership constitutes the third front of the battle. The SP is badly divided on

leadership though it still vests authority in the Yadav family

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

PIONEER, JAN 3, 2017HARYANA RE-ORGANISES ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

In a bid to provide transparent and more responsive administration to the people, the Haryana Government on Monday decided to re-organise the administrative units in the State.

While the number of divisions has been increased from four to six, the number of Police Ranges have been increased from four to five in the state.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal while addressing mediapersons here said, “Now, the state will have six divisions, five Police Ranges and three Police Commissionerates.”

He said that new divisions of Karnal and Faridabad have been made. The Karnal division will have the districts of Karnal, Panipat and Kaithal. Similarly, the new division of Faridabad will include the districts of Nuh, Palwal and Faridabad.

The Ambala division will now have districts of Ambala, Yamunanagar, Panchkula and Kurukshetra. Gurgaon division would include districts of Gurugram, Mahendragarh and Rewari, Hisar division will have Hisar, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Jind. The Rohtak division would include districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Dadri and Bhiwani, said the Chief Minister.

Giving details of Police Ranges, he said that new Ambala Police Range will cover the districts of Ambala, Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra. The existing Karnal Range will include the districts of Karnal, Panipat and Kaithal.

He said that the existing Police Commissionerate of Faridabad, Gurgaon and Panchkula would remain as such.

The Chief Minister also announced that cooperative banks in the state would be made online by January 31 so as to facilitate the people.On Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme, he said that 67 schemes have been identified to be implemented through DBT by March end.

Governance Reform AuthorityAfter hiring 22 Good Governance Associates last year to usher in an era of change with good governance, Haryana Government has announced constitution of Governance Reform Authority (HGRA).  The Chief Minister said that the decision to constitute the HGRA has been taken to simplify very old rules and procedures. This Authority would be headed by the Director of Institute of Development and Communication, Chandigarh, Dr Pramod Kumar. The HGRA would not submit its report in lump sum, but every month and the government would promptly act on its report, said he.

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CM to visit villagesTo celebrate golden jubilee of Haryana, the Chief Minister will visit those 50 villages in the state where neither any Chief Minister nor Minister or officer of the level of sub divisional magistrate have ever visited.

During his visit to the 50 identified villages, he would interact with the people to understand their problems and ensure the development of the village and redressal of the grievances of the people. Manohar Lal has already been to all the 90 assembly constituencies of the state.

1200 announcements  completedThe Chief Minister claimed that out of the 3,500 announcements made by him so far, work on 1,200 of these announcements has either been completed or is in progress. On delay in implementation of the announcements, he said that concerned officers have been directed to ensure beginning of work for these announcements within next three months. He added that during the 10-year rule of the previous regime of the Congress rule, 6,300 announcements were made by them and about 900 of these announcements were non-feasible. As compared to it, he only 42 of the announcements made by him were non-feasible, he said.

Irregularities in postingsOn irregularities in recruitment of D category posts in Fisheries Department, he said that such recruitments are made at the level of Director   by constituting committees. As per the information, these recruitments in the Department have been cancelled, said he, adding that a system would be evolved to make fair the recruitment to D category posts.

Notably, finding apparent irregularities in the selection process, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered that the record of the selection process be sealed and had also restrained those selected from joining the Department. After introducing teachers’ transfers policy, the State Government is also considering to bring such transfer policy in other departments also, he added.

Wi-Fi servicesWhile Wi-Fi services have been provided in 100 villages of the state, the network will be further expanded. The Government has planned to introduce Wi-Fi service at public places and it would soon be introduced in Haryana Civil Secretariat.

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RAILWAYSHINDU, JAN 6, 2017New look for Old Delhi railway stationSidhartha Roy

Work to renovate the over 100-year-old station began last year, to end in April

In four months time, passengers can expect to travel from a completely refurbished Old

Delhi railway station.

The Delhi Division of Northern Railway had started work to renovate the over 100-year-old

Delhi Main (Old Delhi) railway station last year and is hopeful that the project will

conclude by April.

A major problem area

One of the major problem areas — the heavily congested main entry point to the station

from Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road — has been tackled with a new circulation plan.

“The circulating area near the railway station has been completely revamped,” said Arun

Arora, the Divisional Railway Manager Delhi.

The circulation area near the secondary entry point to the station at Hamilton Road too has

been improved.

New false ceiling

Mr. Arora said another new addition to the station is a railway information display system,

apart from new false ceiling at the entrance to the heritage building. “Drainage was a big

problem at the railway station, but that too has been now taken care,” he said.

A major work to be taken up over the next few months is the structural strengthening of the

century-old building, for which the authorities have roped in a consultancy firm.

Mr. Arora said the building will be totally revamped, complete with elevators.

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“In another three or four months, passengers will be greeted by a completely new look of

Old Delhi railway station,” Mr. Arora said.

The authorities have recently replaced conventional type luminaries with energy efficient

LED lighting in the concourse area, booking office, ticket counter, reservation hall, high

mast light, street light, platform lighting, etc., at the railway station.

A computerised system has been introduced at the station that automatically controls lights

and fans at the platforms from a centralised control room.

For enhanced security at the station, CCTV cameras in large numbers are going to be

provided to cover all the “blind spots”, Mr. Arora said.

Internet services

Apart from refurbishing the retiring rooms at the railway station, the authorities are also

exploring the possibility of tourist information booths at the station in association with

Delhi Tourism. The authorities are also planning to provide high-speed Internet services at

the station.

TIMES OF INDIA, JAN 3, 2017Soon, 10% rebate on vacant train berths

HIGHLIGHTS

All the vacant berths available after preparation of charts, in all trains, will be sold at 10% discountThese tickets will be available at current counters as well as through e-ticketing on IRCTC website till 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train

NEW DELHI: Railways will soon be introducing discount on vacant berths, after the preparation

of charts, in all trains. All the vacant berths available after preparation of charts will be sold at

10% discount. These tickets will be available at current counters as well as through e-ticketing

on IRCTC website till 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.

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The transporter has earlier offered similar discount on vacant berths in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and

Duronto trains on a trial basis from December 15. The berths available were sold out at discount

of 10% over the cost of last ticket sold prior to charting. The tickets in elite trains are being sold

on the flexi-fare system.

Top Comment

This is just to befool people and sell first tickets at higher rates. Railways being public sector to

serve masses it''s pricing must be based on price please of cost of the service and not on

basis ... Read MoreKishor Harilal Jani

According to sources, flexi fare is adversely affecting occupancy and several seats are left

vacant. In the flexi fare system, the price of the last tickets sold turns out to be 50% costlier than

the actual price. For booking of a vacant berth, the passenger will have to pay 40% more on the

basic fare. Other charges will remain the same.

Railways has also reduced Tatkal quota in flexi fare trains to 10% in every class. The Vikalp

scheme has also been broadened.

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SOCIAL PROBLEMS

STATESMAN, JAN 4, 2017Respecting the rights of homeless peopleBharat Dogra

When working hard at our workplace or travelling in difficult conditions, we comfort ourselves with the thought of resting after reaching home, but what if there is no home to go to? This is the cruel reality for millions of homeless people in our country. The precise number is difficult to provide as homeless people are most likely to be left out in census counts. Indications are that their number is well in excess of 3 million. This number is likely to go up significantly if those on the verge of homelessness or very precariously housed people are also included.

Homeless people are most exposed to all weather extremes, cold waves as well as torrential rains, and this is just one of the reasons which exposes them more to illness and disease. Most homeless people also suffer from varying levels of hunger and malnutrition as assured or adequate income to meet basic minimum needs is not available to the overwhelming majority of them. While suffering the most from hunger they are the ones who are least likely to get subsidised food from ration shops due to lack of residence proof. Another reason is the denial of essential sanitation facilities and sometimes even clean drinking water. Vulnerability to mental health problems is also very high. The homeless are also most exposed to road accident injuries as well as workplace accidents. They are also the ones who are least likely to be able to access proper medical treatment—many of them do not have the basic identity papers for obtaining care in government hospitals.

The homeless face high levels of insecurity. This insecurity comes on the one hand from goons and criminals who exploit and terrorise them in various ways. On the other hand, some insecurity also comes ironically from policemen who often beat them indiscriminately or pick them up to send them forcibly to beggars’ homes.

These problems are particularly acute for homeless women and children. Given the increasing insecurity generally of women in many cities, one shudders to think of what homeless women have to endure. They as well as homeless children are very vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Children are vulnerable also to substance abuse. The problems of homeless people have been generally discussed in the context of big cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, while the problems of homeless people living in smaller urban agglomerations have been almost completely neglected. However, as I found during a recent visit to Sumerpur town of Pali district (Rajasthan), migrant tribal workers from remote villages were spending their night in a most inhabitable part of the town, plunged in darkness, denied any facilities, exposed not just to mosquitos but even scorpions and snakes. With the accentuation of the livelihood crisis as well as increasing social disintegration, the number of homeless people in India is increasing. In some places the slum dwellers pushed to the outskirts of cities and far away from previous livelihoods as a part of slum

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demolition drives have been forced to start living as homeless people near their employment places. To give an example, a community engaged in the highly creative work of collecting used clothes in exchange for new utensils and then selling clothes after mending and cleaning them was based in Raghubir Nagar area of West Delhi where they had their huts as well as work sheds. Their huts were demolished creating a livelihoods crisis as they were sent far away. Finally, to save their work several of them had to stay back at night in the open as homeless people.

Government efforts to help homeless people are confined mainly to providing them shelters at night, and even these efforts pick up mainly during the winter months. But when other government policies, sharp inequalities and social disintegration are causing an increase in the number of homeless people these efforts can have only a limited impact. Despite this limitation, however, a shelter-based approach can also give some good results if these shelters become a hub for integrating several needs of homeless people, combining safety, nutrition, health and information with shelter. Good results can be realised if volunteers from within the homeless people can be given important responsibilities and their close involvement is assured. They will need some training and motivational support, and with such modest help they can play a very important role in taking forward the programmes for helping the homeless.

Giving such responsibility to carefully selected representatives of the homeless along with adequate budgetary support is possible once there is recognition of and respect for their rights. Most homeless work in very adverse conditions to not only support themselves but also to send badly needed economic support to elderly people, children and women in remote villages. These include villages affected by various disasters. Initiatives that help homeless people in cities also help their dependents in villages. Hence the needs of homeless people should get high priority in urban planning and governance.

The writer is a free-lance journalist who has been involved with several social movements and campaigns.

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TOURISM

PIONEER, JAN 3, 2017PAY SERVICE CHARGE AT EATERIES, HOTELS ONLY IF YOU WANT

With several complaints from consumers who are forced to pay “service charges” irrespective of the kind of service provided to them by hotels and restaurants, the Government has decided that a customer can choose to have it waived if s/he is not satisfied with the services. The Centre has asked States to ensure that hotels and restaurants disseminate this information through displays on their premises.

It has been learnt that most owners of hotels and restaurants are following the practice of levying “service charges” in the range of 5-20 per cent as a form of “tips” to the waiters/waitresses from their customers. Now, it has been decided that the additional charge levied by the eateries and restaurants as a form of “tips” is all set to become optional.

“A number of complaints from consumers have been received that hotels and restaurants are charging “service charges” in the range of 5-20 per cent, in lieu of tips, which a consumer is forced to pay irrespective of the kind of service rendered to him,” Union Consumer Affairs Ministry said in an official statement.

Earlier, the Ministry had sought clarification from the Hotel Association of India, which replied, “Service charge is completely discretionary and should a customer be dissatisfied with the dining experience, s/he can have it waived off.”

Therefore, it is deemed to be accepted voluntarily.

As most of the consumers are still unclear about how ‘service charge’ is different from service tax, they only end up paying it with food bill as charged by several eateries or restaurants in the country. The bill, however, is inclusive of food, drinks, service charge and other services as claimed by the owners, saying it better ambience and all.

In fact, service tax is a tax levied by the Government which claims it is 14 per cent and is payable on 40 per cent of your total bill from the customer. On the other hand, the service charge is an additional charge taken by a restaurant or hotel for offering its services to you. This additional charge usually varies from 5-20 per cent on the bills. It is usually equivalent to the tips that you want to pay the service providers and there is no need to pay a separate tip. Also, this amount has to be paid regardless of not being satisfied with the service or the food.

Highlighting provisions under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the Ministry also said this law provides that a trade practice which, for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or the supply of any goods or for the provision of any service, adopts any unfair method or deceptive practice, is to be treated as an unfair trade practice.

The Government also said that a consumer can make a complaint to the appropriate consumer forum against such unfair trade practices by hoteliers or restaurant owners. “The Department of

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Consumer Affairs has asked the State Governments to sensitise the companies, hotels and restaurants in the states regarding aforementioned provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. And also, to advise the hotels or restaurants to disseminate information through display at the appropriate place in the hotels or restaurants that the ‘service charges’ are discretionary or voluntary and a consumer dissatisfied with the services can have it waived off,” the statement said.

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TRANSPORT

ECONOMIC TIMES, JAN 6, 2017Delhi's 'heart' Connaught Place to go vehicle-free for 3 months from February

The officials stated that 'pedestrianisation' could be promoted by declaring the middle and inner circular roads of CP vehicle free.

NEW DELHI: The middle and inner circular roads of Connaught Place in the heart of the national capital will be vehicle-free from February for next three months on pilot basis, a move aimed at decongesting the area.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting attended by officials from the Urban Development Ministry, NDMC and Delhi Police. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

"It was decided that pedestrianisation of Connaught Place on a pilot basis would be implemented for three months from February this year for ground level testing of issues related to changes in traffic circulation, experience of pedestrians and shop owners, management of reclaimed parking lots, traffic load on outer circle etc," an official release said.

The officials stated that 'pedestrianisation' could be promoted by declaring the middle and inner circular roads of CP vehicle free by providing effective 'park and ride' services from major parking areas at Shivaji Stadium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Palika parking.

Total parking capacity at these three locations is 3,172 and on an average only 1,088 vehicles are being parked, they said, adding that the unutilised capacity could be fully used by promoting 'park and ride' concept.

Besides cycle hiring, the battery-operated vehicles would be deployed to take people to the business district.

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 URBAN DEVELOPMENT

HINDU, JAN 5, 2017The rediscovery of urban IndiaM. Venkaiah Naidu

After long years of neglect and alienation, cities are feeling empowered under the rewritten

rules of urban planning. The early results are already visible

India is moving away from villages and is set to soon become more urban. To meet this

demographic transition, experts say that we need to build 22 new Bengalurus besides

recasting the landscape of the present 4,041 cities for a better living. The past is not

encouraging. But can we make the future perfect?

Long years of vacillation since Independence about our approaches to urban management

and dilemma over the relevance of urbanisation to our socio-economic context with the

adjunct weak policy approach have taken a very heavy toll of life in urban areas as one sees

now. This, despite the universal acknowledgement that urbanisation drives economic

growth due to the attendant advantages of urban agglomerations.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched in 2005 was no doubt

the first concerted effort to make a difference to the urban chaos. However, by the time it

was wound up by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in March 2014, the

JNNURM fell much short of intentions. Out of the total of 1,631 projects sanctioned under

this for improving urban infrastructure with central aid of about Rs.39,000 crore, only 710

projects, i.e. 43 per cent, were completed during the 10 years. Why was it so?

Of the 275 JNNURM projects sanctioned during 2012-14, a huge chunk of 43 per cent went

to just one State from where the then Urban Development Minister hailed. It was clearly

with an eye on the 2014 general election. Such an approach did not get the votes expected

but only wrecked the mission. A clear case of political expediency with disastrous long-

term consequences.

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Participatory urban planning

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in 2014 that there would be no more playing of politics

with development. Under the new paradigm shift set in motion, clear and objective ground

rules have been laid down. Objectivity and transparency in selection of cities and allocation

of central resources under new urban missions are now the rule of law. This is based on

urban population and the number of statutory urban local bodies in each State. The Prime

Minister’s home State of Gujarat or the two States where my mother tongue Telugu is

spoken can’t get even a rupee over and above their entitlement.

Till 2014, every project needed for a city was being appraised and approved in Nirman

Bhawan in New Delhi. With this ‘top-down’ planning, there was no sense of involvement

in and ownership of new schemes by city and State governments. Consequently, project and

investment approvals were being accorded in the last two quarters of a financial year

causing implementation delays. Citizen participation in urban planning and project

prioritisation are now made mandatory. About one crore citizens contributed to the making

of ‘smart city’ plans. Urban planning is now made ‘bottom up’ and the results are showing.

Rules of urban planning have now been rewritten. States just can’t send half-baked and

shoddy projects to Delhi as the financial year draws to a close. Under the Atal Mission for

Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission meant for

improving urban infrastructure, there shall be a comprehensive assessment of infrastructure

deficit before drawing up city-level action plans. Cities have been empowered to add to

their technical capabilities. And now there is clear evidence that cities are rising to the

occasion by rediscovering themselves.

The first priority under AMRUT is to ensure water supply connections to the 2.25 crore

urban households that are deprived of them, followed by improving sewerage networks,

drainage and non-motorised urban transport. Developing one park in each city every year is

mandatory. The Smart Cities Mission seeks to ensure core infrastructure, including health

care and education, in an identified area besides improving service delivery across the city

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through information and communications technology-based solutions. The focus has shifted

from a project-based approach to area-based outcomes.

Since the fund entitlements of each State and city-wise infrastructure deficits are known in

advance, why should we wait to approve projects till the last quarter of the fiscal? With city

governments rising to the occasion over the last and this fiscal, the Ministry of Urban

Development has started approving investments for the next three financial years under

AMRUT during this year. With this, projects for five years of 14 States stand approved and

this would be done for the remaining in a month or so. This enables city and State

governments to realise mission targets by the stipulated time through advance planning.

After long years of neglect and alienation, cities are now vying for credit rating, which

encompasses the entire gamut of urban governance, including the mindset of politicians and

the city officials. Over 80 big cities have almost completed this exercise. Pune and

Ahmedabad are set to issue municipal bonds very soon. Release of funds is now linked to

progress of mandated governance reforms under all new urban missions including the

housing mission. Online integrated single-window clearance for construction permits is

being put in place to improve ease of doing business. Cities are now looking at public-

private partnership and value capture financing with a changed mindset.

Results on the ground

Involvement of citizens, increased sense of ownership of new urban missions by city and

State governments coupled with delegation of powers are yielding results. Under the

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), construction of about 15 lakh affordable houses is

being financed as against only about 12.50 lakh during 10 years of UPA rule. Under

AMRUT, 86 per cent of mission investments stand approved and a large number of projects

are off the ground. Since the announcement of the first batch of smart cities in January this

year, a large number of projects have already come to be implemented. Over 500 cities and

towns have already become open defecation-free. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Sikkim

have already declared all cities and towns as open defecation-free as the Swachh Bharat

Mission gains momentum as a people’s movement.

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For the resource-starved cities, investment of over Rs.2.75 lakh crore has been approved in

just a year. As against the UPA government’s Rs.39,000 crore of central assistance for basic

urban infrastructure, this government has committed Rs.50,000 crore under AMRUT,

Rs.48,000 crore for smart cities and Rs.14,643 crore for making cities clean. Besides,

Central assistance of Rs.1.50-Rs.2.30 lakh is being given for each house for urban poor

under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The resource kitty of cities has been given

a further boost by earmarking Rs.83,000 crore for urban local bodies under the 14th

Finance Commission recommendations as against only Rs.27,000 crore earlier. States have

also been empowered to spend more on cities further to devolution of 42 per cent of

divisible resources, a hike of 10 per cent over earlier sharing.

The early shoots of urban renaissance are quite visible with a new churning among cities

that are thinking and acting differently. Making a perfect urban future is a daunting task but

a definite beginning has been made over the last two and a half years. The new year shall

see much more happening on the ground.

M. Venkaiah Naidu is Minister of Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty

Alleviation, and Information & Broadcasting.

The PM’s home State or the two States where my mother tongue Telugu is spoken can’t get

even a rupee over and above their entitlement

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