weekly 5th jan to 11th jan 2015

7/24/2019 Weekly 5th Jan to 11th Jan 2015

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5THJANUARY 2015 TO 11THJANUARY, 2015

CHRONICLEIAS ACADEMYA CIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE INITIATIVE

Weekly Current Affairs Bulletin

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NTENTS

TOPICS Pg. No.

National .........................................................................................................................4-8

International .................................................................................................................9-9

India & The World ................................................................................................10-11

Economy ....................................................................................................................12-14

Science & Tech.........................................................................................................15-17

Health .........................................................................................................................18-18

News in Brief...........................................................................................................19-21

Editorial .....................................................................................................................22-48

Great inflation decline: a whodunit 22

When not to use power 24

The unseeing gaze 25

Bad weather ahead 26

Looking away from Assam 26

Fair feather friends 27

Missing leader report 28

In a hall of mirrors 29

A new Sri Lanka 30


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Weekly Current Affairs 5thJanuary 2014 to 11thJanuary, 2015 [3]

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Lexicon of democratic literacy 30

Can India catch up with China? 32

Resolving the nuclear liability deadlock 34

Moderation warranted 35

Islamic difference and radicalisation 36

Improving an unworkable law 38

When accountability is not institutional 39

Carnivores in the neighbourhood 42

Watershed in judicial history 42

From smart cities to climate smart cities 44

Cheap oil, a rich opportunity for Asia 45

Light at the end of the tunnel? 46

An agenda for the Niti Aayog 46

Where will all the workers go? 47


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[4] Weekly Current Affairs 5thJanuary 2014 to 11thJanuary, 2015

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NATIONAL

CABINET NOD FOR MINERAL AUCTION

The government has decided to promulgate

an Ordinance to amend the 57-year-old Mines and

Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act. The

amendment seeks to facilitate auction of hundreds

of mining leases for minerals like iron ore, copper,

bauxite and limestone.

With this, the process of auctioning captive coal

block, which was initiated, gets complete. The

blocks were cancelled by the Supreme Court. Thecourt has instructed the government to adopt the

policy of allocation of natural resources, as far as

possible, only through auction.

Impacts of Amendment

Auction would ensure transparency in coal

allocation

It would boost the revenue of the government

The proposed changes in mining policy are

also investor-friendly. So it would enhanceinvestors confidence.

It would allow transfer of mining leases and

other rights between firms

It would also simplify and speed up the

procedures for granting concessions

Key Highlights of Ordinance

The ordinance will enable provisions of the

pending Mines and Minerals (Development

and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2014, totake effect.

All mineral concessions will only be granted

through the auction route, and direct auction

of mining leases for bulk minerals.

There will be a prospecting licence for deep-

seated minerals. The lease period will be for

50 years, and on expiry, there will be an

auction.

The transition period will be for a minimum

of 15 years for captive mines and five yearsfor non-captive mines.

There will not be a sudden stoppage of mining

as a result of the amendment. It also says

that all pending applications at the State level

will be cleared except a few.

It empowers the Central Government to fix

deadlines for various processes and also issue

binding directions to States.

The Centre will frame separate rules for leasesto public sector undertakings, with

continuation of reservations.

There is for higher penalties and jail terms

for offences. If required, Special Courts will

be formed

Creation of a district mineral fund for the

welfare of people in areas affected by mining

In order to attract private investment and

foreign direct investment there is a provision

for easy transferability of leases obtained

through an auction.

CITIZENSHIP ORDINANCE RECEIVES PRESIDENTIAL NOD

The citizenship ordinance has been signed by

the President Pranab Mukharjee. The ordinance seeks

to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. It will benefit

People of IndianOrigin (PIO) by giving them benefits

like life-long visa and exemption from appearing

before the local police station on every visit.

The amend was needed in the Act on account

of a large number of complaints being received

from PIOs, about problems faced during visits to

local police stations. The visa norms are also

stringent and that barred PIOs from buying

property in India, in comparison to those holding

Overseas Citizens of India card. PIO cardholders

are eligible for 15-year visas in comparison to

lifelong visas given to those having OCI cards.


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RURAL WAGE REVEALS DECLINING TREND

The statistics from Labour Bureau reveals that

rural wages in India have registered an average

annual growth of 3.8 per cent. The rate is lowest

since July 2005. This is also a significant drop

relative to the two-digit growth rates prevailing

until June, and the peak 20 per cent-plus levels of2011.

The rural wages has recorded an upward trend

since 2007 on account of increased non-farm

employment opportunities in a booming economy

aided by improved road and telecom connectivity.

This was further enabled by MGNREGA and rising

crop prices that made it possible for farmers to

absorb the wage increases. At present, all these

drivers are weakening.

Key Highlights

The average all-India daily wage rate across23 agricultural and non-agricultural

occupations at Rs 266.26 for November 2014,

as against Rs 256.52 for the same month of

the previous year

Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have buckedthe overall trend of rural wages slowdown

Eastern region states in particular, Bihar,Orissa and West Bengal, have posted low or

even negative growth rates.

Rural wage levels in both MP and Gujaratare way below the national average and even

relative to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or West

Bengal.

Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Rajasthan arethree states that have registered more than

all-India average wage growth despite a

higher base.

Significance of Data

The significance of data can be understoodfrom the speech on Fighting Inflation

delivered by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

He had underlined the role of rural wages as

a major determinant in food price increases

and boosting inflation expectations in general.

The numbers confirm the findings in mid-year economic analysis that inflation is

coming down sharply and sustainably.

The deceleration in rural wages could furtherstrengthen the case for the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) to initiate policy interest rate cuts.

The lower rural wage increases is furtherproof that monetary conditions are getting

tighter. Hence, the case for slashing interest

rates has become all the more strong now.

In a separate statistics on unemployment the

Labour Bureau also suggests that Unemploymentrate in India rose to 4.9 per cent in 2013-14. Thisis mainly on account of increase in joblessness inrural areas despite the governments flagshipemployment scheme MGNREGA.

Key Highlights

The unemployment rate inched up to 4.9 percent at all India level last fiscal, from 4.7 per

cent in 2012-13.

The unemployment rate dropped in urban

areas to 5.5 per cent in 2013-14, from 5.7 percent in the previous fiscal.

Despite of the fact that 93 per cent of thehouseholds in rural areas benefited from

MGNREGA, the unemployment rate

increased to 4.7 per cent last fiscal, compared

to 4.4 per cent a year ago.

Unemployment rate among men increased to4.1 per cent in 2013-14, from 4 per cent in

2012-13.

Among women, it increased to 7.7 per centlast fiscal, from 7.2 per cent in 2012-13. The

unemployment rate among women came

down to 12.4 per cent in urban areas, from

12.8 per cent in 2012-13.

The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)is estimated to be 52.5 per cent last fiscal,

whereas the Worker Population Ratio (WPR)

is estimated to be 49.9 per cent.

As many as 49.5 per cent people areestimated to be self-employed. This is followed

by 30.9 per cent as casual labour, 16.5 per


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cent wage/salary earners and the rest 3 per

cent as contract workers.

About 60.5 per cent of people aged 15 yearsand above, who were available for work for

all the 12 months during the period, were

able to get work throughout the year. This

proportion was 53.2 per cent and 78.5 per

cent respectively, in rural and urban sectors.

NGOS UNDER SCRUTINY

The Centre has expressed the desire to stopgrants to NGOs who fail to file their income-expenditure statements. The same has beenconveyed by the government to the Supreme Court.The NGOs are in controversy after IB has submitteda report to the PMO and National SecurityAdviser. In this, IB alleged that several foreign-funded NGOs were stalling Indias economicgrowth by their obstructionist activism. The reportaccused Greenpeace of attempting to destabilizeIndias energy mix in collusion with a US-basedanti-coal lobbying group. The IB subsequentlyadvised the government to cancel GreenpeacesFCRA registration.

The SC has decided to look in the matters ofNGOs after a petition in public interest was filedby Advocate M L Sharma in 2013, requesting aninquiry against Hind Swaraj Trust which is anNGO run by social activist Anna Hazare. The courtwidened its scope and ordered an inquiry into allregistered NGOs in India.

Key Facts about NGOs

The term NGO, worldwide, is used todescribe a body that is neither part of agovernment nor a conventional for-profitbusiness organisation.

They are typically set up by groups of ordinarycitizens. They are involved in a wide rangeof activities that may have charitable, social,political, religious or other interests.

Indian law provides for registration of theNGOs under a plethora of Acts such as theIndian Societies Registration Act, 1860,Religious Endowments Act,1863, IndianTrusts Act, etc.

India is the home to largest number of activeNGOs in the world. However, no specificnumber is available.

A study commissioned by the governmentput the number of NGOs in 2009 at 33 lakh.

NGOs are helpful in implementinggovernment schemes at the grassroots.

In India, ministries such as Health andFamily Welfare, HRD, WCD and MoEFhave separate sections to deal with NGOs.

NGOs can receive funds from abroad if they areregistered with the Home Ministry under theForeign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).Without this, no NGO can receive cash oranything of value higher than Rs. 25,000.

Charitable donations are eligible forexemption from taxes, with the condition thatit should not be for benefit of any religiouscommunity or caste, among other conditions.

As per the I-T department website, 1,50,217institutions have got approval under Sec 12Aof the Income-Tax Act to receive donationsunder Sec 80G.

SATELLITE TO MONITOR FORESTS

In order to keep an eye on Indias forest cover,forest ministry is planning for a dedicated satellitewhich will improve the management andmonitoring of Indias forest cover. The plans for aforest satellite were first announced in 2010 by thenenvironment minister Jairam Ramesh.

Use of space technology has increased after PMhas asked all Union ministries to maximize use ofIndias progress in it. In earlier instances, theministry of water resources and Ganga rejuvenationled by Uma Bharti has also held meetings withISRO to chalk out plans for using satellites tomonitor water pollution in the river. Theenvironment ministry has also launched ageographical information system to facilitate rapid,

transparent and predictable decisions on forestclearance applications.

Significant Impacts

The move is expected to hasten forestclearance procedures, given that industryprojects often get delayed because of the non-availability of accurate data.

At present the data of forest are gatheredfrom other agencies. Many a times there aredifferences between data supplied by ISROand data by ministry.

The satellite will give raw data which will bethen analysed by the experts. By this, it willnot only stop duplication of data, but therewould then be one uniform data.


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It will improve the overall monitoring andmanagement of forests.

It will get a real-time picture of the forests.

Industry, which applies for forest clearancesseeking diversion of forest areas for theirprojects, can rely on much more accurate datausing that.

NEW IPR POLICY TO WIDEN PATENT REGIME

The new policy on National Intellectual

Property Rights seeks to change the patent regimeof India to facilitate the patenting of products whichare not covered under current regime. The draftstresses the need to create a new IP law that canfacilitate the patenting of the large number ofinnovative utilitarian inventions that have beeninvented or are in use in India. There are hundreds,even thousands, of such innovations and inventions.None can be patented under the current IntellectualProperty regime in India.

The new system, known as Utility patents orprotection of grassroots innovation, have been anestablished system in many other countries,including developed economies. They form a keypart of the scientific and economic development.

India ranked 76th in the annual Global Innovation

Index (GII) survey for 2014. India has slipped from66th (2013) and was the worst performer amongBRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China andSouth Africa). China was the best, at 29, animprovement of six places.

Impact of New Policy

Patenting innovations will help India improveits score in global innovation indices.

It will help identify the actual, potential anduntapped areas of creativity and innovation

It will facilitate preparation of focusedstrategy to channelize efforts and financialresources where they are needed.

TAMIL NADU TOPS IN GI PROTECTION

Since India established the system of protectingintellectual property (IP) rights in 2003, Tamil Naduhas emerged as the top Indian state to protect itsnatural products and industrial skills by filing thehighest number of geographical indications (GI).As a member of the World Trade Organization(WTO), India has enacted the GeographicalIndications of Goods (Registration and Protection)Act in 1999. The law came into force with effectfrom September 2003.

It is for the first time that Indias GI registry,which is part of the office of the Controller Generalof Patents, Designs and Trademarks, has updatedthe data on total GI registrations and filings in the

country from September 2003 to December 2014.Info-in-Crux

Tamil Nadu has registered 24 geographicalindications, which include the rights for thepopular Kanchipuram silk and Thanjavurpaintings.

It has filed 26 more applications forgeographical indications that are still pending,taking the total to 50.

Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra was joint

second with 39 GIs (both registered andpending) till December 2014. Goa and Punjabclaimed the least with two each.

Geographical indications have also beenregistered in India by foreign countries fortapping the local market. One of the mostpopular among such foreign assets registeredin India is Scotch whisky, registered by theUK since 2009.

Significance

A higher number of GI registrations from astate indicate the diverse resource pool andskills set that it can claim for exclusivecommercial exploitation.

It also reflects the level of IP awareness inorder to protect the traditional assets in thenew IP-driven economy.

What is GI?

GI is an IP tag on natural and industrialproducts and traditional skills that areexclusively associated with a particular placeof origin.

This protects the commercial rights to theseassets and helps the local community to reaptheir benefits.

A GI tag conveys an assurance of quality anddistinctiveness, essentially attributable to thefact of its origin.

Some well-known products protected byIndian states include Darjeeling tea, Tirupati


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laddu from Andhra Pradesh, Muga silk fromAssam, Goas Feni, Kashmirs Pashmina wool,Mysore Agarbathi, Bangalore Blue Grapes,Alleppey Coir and Malabar Pepper.

A GI is registered for an initial period of 10years, which may be renewed from time totime.

CENTER DIRECTS STATES ON FAMILY PLANNING

The Union Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare have asked the States to ensure that everyindividual opting for family planning is providedoptions in a spirit of voluntarism. The directivecame after the protests over the focus on femalesterilization and the deaths of 13 women inChhattisgarh. The directive says that the femalesterilization is just one of the options in the bouquetof family planning choices and every individualshould be counselled about the options available.Non-government organisations and social activists,citing the high numbers of female sterilisation inthe country, have been critical of the governmentfor not promoting other methods of spacing.

After the outrage over the deaths in

Chhattisgarh and over the continued violationsof the Supreme Courts instructions on how theprocedures should be carried out, the Centre hasalso cracked the whip on camps conducted inunhygienic conditions and by bypassing the laiddown rules. States have been instructed to ensurethat all operations are conducted only insidehealth facilities with working operation theatres.The Centre has also asked the States to re-orientall programme officers and service providers onthe standard operating procedures forsterilisation.

NATIONAL HELP LINE TO ASSIST DRUG ABUSE

The Union Ministry for Social Justice &Empowerment has launched a National Toll FreeHelpline to assist the alcoholic and drug dependentpersons. The helpline was launched in consonancewith the desire of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

expressed in the National programme Mann ki Baat,for setting up of a Toll Free Helpline to assist thealcoholic and drug dependent persons, their familymembers and community at large. The nodalMinistry for drug demand reduction andrehabilitation of victims of alcoholism and drugabuse is The Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment.

Key Features

A technical support from M/s TCIL has beentaken for its creation

The time of operation will be from 9.30 a.m.to 6.00 p.m. It will work for six days a week,

from Monday to Saturday. The plan is to upgrade it to 24x7, based on

the number of calls and the response.

It will help in order to mitigate the problemsof drug abuse and create public awareness.

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INTERNATIONAL

ICC MEMBERSHIP FOR PALESTINE

The request of the state of Palestine to join theInternational Criminal Court has been accepted bythe UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. This willallow the ICC to open cases on serious crimesallegedly committed in the West Bank, EastJerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians hassubmitted the documents ratifying the RomeStatute, which has established the court. The signingof statute is the last formal step to become amember of the worlds permanent war crimestribunal.

This was followed by the Palestinians failureto win a UN Security Council majority for aresolution imposing a three-year time limit for a

full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines in theWest Bank and Jerusalem. According to the UNstatement, the statute will enter into force for theState of Palestine on April 1, 2015.

The Palestinian move has drawn threats ofretaliation from Israel and is strongly opposed bythe United States as an obstacle to reaching anIsraeli-Palestinian peace deal. Palestinian moves to

apply for membership at the International CriminalCourt and to seek statehood unilaterally via theUN had pushed the prospects of peace off the table,rendering the prospects of Palestinian statehoodirrelevant for the time being.

PAKISTAN PASSES 21ST CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL

The Parliament of Pakistan has adopted the 21stConstitutional Amendment Bill and the Pakistan

Army (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The laws aim toset up constitutionally protected military courts totry civilian terrorism suspects. This bill relates tomilitary courts trying hardcore terrorists who killPakistanis. The provisions of the Act shall remain

in force for a period of two years from the date ofits commencement. The constitutional amendment

bill was required to be passed by two-thirds of thetotal participants in both the 342-seat NationalAssembly and the 104-seat Senate. For amendmentin the Army Act, a simple majority was required.

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INDIA & THE WORLD

A BOOST FOR INDIAS SOLAR DREAM

During the last four years, a global trend hasseen a sudden and massive jump in the deploymentof solar power. Indias plan to install 100 GWcapacity of solar-generated electricity by 2022follows this trend only. This marks a five-timeincrease from a previous target.

Due to this increase International Energy

Agency (IEA) has revised its projections for thefuture in upward direction by significant amounts.According to IEA in 2010, by 2020, about 210GW of solar electricity would be installed. Now,that target is likely to be achieved this year itself.In its new projection the IEA has put the totalinstalled capacity in 2020 would easily exceed 400GW.

The main reason for thissurge in deployment ofsolar-generated electricity

has been a sharp decline inprices of photo-voltaicsystems. This has madeelectricity produced bysolar energy comparable incosts to traditional sourceslike coal or oil. It is thisglobal context that makesIndias 100 GW target for2022 look within strikingdistance. This is despite ofthe fact that more thanthree years after India hadlaunched the National

Solar Mission, only 3 GW of solar capacity hadbeen installed in the country till November 2014.This can be attributed to the decline in global pricesof PV units has been the shifting of manufacturingfrom the western countries to China. Huge demandfor solar units has also driven down prices. Thekey facilitator for India is that it also in a positionto manufacture PV units cheaply, at pricescomparable to Chinese products.

Info-in-Crux

v The global installed capacity of solar electricityhas increased by six times between 2010 and2013.

v The total installed capacity was 23 GW, atthe end of 2009

v An average of about 28 GW was addedevery year, in the next four years, taking it to135 GW by the end of 2013.

v More than 36 GW of new solar capacity wasadded in 2013, or about 100 MW per day.

v The prices have dropped to a third of their2008 levels. In some countries, prices havereduced by as much as 80 per cent in the lastfive years.

v India could easily install 50 GW of solarcapacity by 2022 instead of the 20 GW it wastargeting at that time.

Major Initiatives to Boost Green Energy

v

The government approved amendments tothe Electricity Act, 2003 with severalprovisions to boost the generation and use ofrenewable energy.

v The cabinet has cleared a scheme to set up25 solar parks, with a capacity of 500 MW orabove each.

v The government is pushing for RenewableGeneration Obligations (RGOs). It will forcepower producers to generate a part of theirelectricity through renewable energy.

v Efforts are being made to boost domesticproduction of PV cells and units.


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v The government announced that defenceestablishments and para-military forces wouldbe eligible for viable gap funding (VGF) to setup solar power plants of 300 MW capacities

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if they ensure that PV cells and modules aremanufactured domestically.

v Solar manufacturing can become a crucialpart of the Make in India strategy.

INDIAN ASSISTANCE FOR IDDCP IN NEPAL

In order to launch an iodine deficiencyprogramme across the country, India has pledgedto provide Rs 69 million as assistance to Nepal. Acheque of Rs 17. 25 million has been handed overto the government of Nepal by the IndianAmbassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae, as an advancepayment. Nepal will utilize the fund for launchingthe iodine deficiency disorder control programme(IDDCP).

The IDDCP was earlier known as Goitre Control

Programme. It was signed under the financial

assistance of government of India on, August 3,2014 during the visit of Prime Minister NarendraModi to Nepal. India had supported the goitercontrol programme of Nepal government since1973. India had so far provided grant assistanceof Rs 686 million to the Salt Trading Corporationof Nepal for the control of Goitre and other iodinedeficiency disorders in Nepal during 1973-1998,2004-07, 2009-14 in the form of subsidy for re-iodization of salt, packing, transportation, andadvocacy.


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ECONOMY

GOVERNMENT MULLS ON PPP PACT

The confidence of private sector in roadsprojects is drying out for the past two years. Over15 national highway projects, offered under thepublic-private partnership (PPP) route, is likely tofail in getting any bids so far this fiscal. Underthese circumstances, ministry of road transport isexpecting private participation will pick up soon.With this ministry is almost wrapped up the taskof modifying the Model Concession Agreement. Theagreement, according to industry players loaded

risks heavily on the private sector without sufficientpenalties for the state to deliver land and otherclearances on time.

Since the ministry is stretched for funds andneeds private participation for the sector to pickup, it was not such a great idea to award majorityof the projects on EPC mode for second straightyear. The ministry is also working on variations of

hybrid buildoperatetransfer (BOT) (Annuity) also PPPto draw in the private sector in 2015.

CONCERNS OF OVERLAPS IN TRADE PACTS

In India, the multiple trade pacts inked withthe same country, has triggered two undesirableconsequences. The signing of the multiple pactswith same country (under different blocs) resultsin the possibility of three sets of rules of originnorms and negative lists for imports in the future.These pacts have led to a general confusion withinIndian industry on the multiplicity of rules. It hasalso resulted in a sharp increase in the discretionarypowers of those manning the customs posts.

The rationale for signing these pacts by theearlier government was geopolitical reason. Thenew government is now seeking a review of theeconomic impact of such pacts. Industry has raisedconcerns that besides the technical difficulties, thereare issues regarding the opening up of the Indianmarkets to imports from non-FTA partners,

especially from China.India has signed separate FTAs and

cooperation agreements with Thailand, Malaysiaand Singapore. All three countries are also ASEANmembers. India has also concluded pact on services

and investment in with the ASEAN in September2014. Earlier in 2010, a pact covering trade of goodswas signed. With Nepal, India already has a tradepact. The Indo-Nepal Trade Treaty was signed in1996 and revised in 2009. There is anotheragreement on South Asia Free Trade Area(SAFTA), under which Nepal is included. It wassigned in January 2006. Besides this a pact withthe Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi SectoralTechnical and Economic Co-operation (BIMSTECFTA) is on the anvil. India also has an FTA withSri Lanka since March 2000. The nation is alsopart of both BIMSTEC and SAFTA blocs.

The government contends that the Certificateof Origin would be the overriding factor in decidingpreferential access from a country. The industryargues that the norm is already under misuse. In

addition to this there is no roadmap to subsumebilateral deals with multilateral pacts over a givenperiod of time. This creates further confusion onmultiple pacts.

FUNDS SHORTAGE HITS AGRICULTURE MISSION

The goals of the ambitious National Mission forSustainable Agriculture (NMSA) have beenembedded into five existing programmes of the

agriculture and cooperation department, due toscarcity of fund with the central government. TheNMSA was one of the eight missions under theNational Action Plan for Climate Change launched

in 2008. It was aimed at transforming Indianagriculture into a climate resilient production systemthrough suitable adaptation and mitigation

measures in the domain of crops and animalhusbandry.

The ongoing programme contains 16


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deliverables. Of this, funds under the 12 five-yearplan to the tune of Rs. 13,054 crore are availablefor four. They are water efficiency, soil management,natural resources management in rain-fed areasand improving farming systems. This year the focusis on micro irrigation, for which the governmenthas allotted Rs. 1,684 crore.

There is also a decision to revisit the missiondocument. Ministries will be asked to fine-tune themissions to aim for some visual impacts. A majoraspect of adaptation is also tackling livestock, sincea large amount of emissions are from that sector.Apart from breed improvement, diet of the animalsand waste disposal are the other big challenges.

Info-in-Crux

v Implementation of the NMSA from 2011-2012to the end of the 12 five year plan would

require an additional budgetary support ofRs. 1,08,000 crore.

v A resource constraint was there and theMission was dovetailed with five majorexisting programmes, including the NationalMission on Food Security and the National

Horticulture Mission, which have beenrestructured to meet with climate changerequirements.

v At least 60 per cent of funds was to be usedfor mitigating risks related to climate change.This is expected to impact crop yields andwater resources. The major challenge is

ensuring food security and livelihood.v India and other countries urgently need to

scale up adaptation and mitigation actions todeal with a warming planet and experts feelthat much more needs to be done.

Governments Initiatives

v There is more focus on organic farming, bio-fertilizers, soil-analysis-based nutrientapplication, micro irrigation and methods likethe System of Rice Intensification (SRI) which

uses less water.v The government is asking States to encourage

all these programmes as pilot projects ordemonstration plots which can be scaled up.

v Every year an additional 6 lakh hectares willbe added under water saving schemes.

NOD FOR DUAL USE IN NON-PROCESSING AREAS

The developers of special economic zones (SEZs)have been allowed to build housing and commercial

premises in the non-processing area by thegovernment. With this, they will be able to rent outto entities from outside the zones. The move offersa potentially lucrative incentive to developers ofthe industrial enclaves.

Till now, such facilities have been open only tounits located within the SEZ premises and theiremployees. The commerce ministry allowed dualuse of social and institutional infrastructureincluding schools, colleges, socio-cultural centres,training institutes, banks and post offices withinthe non-processing area, in a gazette notificationdated 2 January to amend the SEZ Rules, 2006.

Info-in-Crux

v It is the processing area where the corecommercial activity of the SEZ units isundertaken. The rest of the land within theSEZ is termed non-processing area.

v Housing and commercial facilities for dualuse cannot be more than 25% and 10% ofthe non-processing area. An open area of notless than 45% has to be maintained withinan SEZ.

v In the remaining 20% area, social and

institutional infrastructure can be built. Noneof these facilities can be sold to third parties.

v The non-processing area will be divided intotwo separate zones. First would be the placewhere the social or commercial infrastructureand other facilities are permitted to be usedby both the SEZ and the domestic tariff areaentities. Other will be exclusively used by theSEZ units.

v The first category of establishments will notenjoy any tax incentives. The second categoryof facilities will be eligible for tax concessions.

v The developer has to return all the customsduty, central excise duty, service tax, and suchother central levies and tax benefits alreadyavailed of for the creation of infrastructure.It will now be put to dual use, in full, withoutinterest.

v In case the developer fails to return the dutiesupfront, interest will have to be paid at the rateof 15% per annum from the day the amountbecomes payable to the date of actual payment.

v

The SEZ developer will also need to takepermission from the state government andreturn all local taxes availed of for suchcommercial use of its land.


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v The portion where the social or commercialinfrastructure and other facilities arepermitted to be used only by SEZ entities willbe bonded and physically segregated fromthe rest of the non-processing area to benefitfrom the concessions.

v The commerce ministry has been demanding

reversal of MAT and DDT on SEZs. However,the potential loss of revenue in a tight fiscalsituation has prevented the finance ministryfrom doing so.

Present Situation of SEZs in India

v 564 SEZs have been approved, of which 388

have been notified and 192 are operational.

v This fiscal, SEZs have contributed aninvestment of Rs.3.02 trillion and generated12.8 million jobs.

v Exports from SEZs increased from Rs.22,840crore in 2005-06 to Rs.4.94 trillion in 2013-14, registering a compounded annual growth

rate of 47%.

v Job creation in SEZs grew at an averageannual growth rate of 35% between 2005-06and 2011-12, against the national employmentgrowth rate of 1.6%.

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SCIENCE & TECH.

EXPLORING THE ELUSIVE PARTICLE

The Union Cabinet of Government of India hasapproved the India-based Neutrino Observatory(INO) project. This follows the approval of the 30-metre telescope which will be located in Hawaii.The decision will cause India to step into bigfundamental science.

India is a pioneer in the field of neutrino science.India was a world leader in 1965. With the closing

of the Kolar Gold Fields, in the mid-1990s, whichwas the site of the experiments, experimentalneutrino research in India came to a halt. The INOis expected to revive the lost advantage.

Neutrinos are of three types. They were initiallythought to be mass-less. Now it is believed thatthey have a small mass. This was shown byobservations of neutrino oscillation. This is aphenomenon by which one type of neutrinotransforms into another. There is a hierarchy amongthe masses of these three types of neutrino. The

experiments at the INO are likely to study this massordering using a magnetised iron calorimeter(ICAL). The ICAL is a massive detector which willbe made of iron. The project will be housed in the63 acres of land, about 2 km away from the

settlement, in the Bodi West Hills about 100 kmfrom Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

The reason for deployment of such a massivedetector and for underground drilling is that theneutrinos interact very weakly with thesurroundings. All being are washed by a stream ofneutrinos every passing minute as they just passthrough them without leaving a trace. Due to this

weak interaction, detecting them over otherinteractions is impossible. We need to have a barrierof at least 1 km of earth to block out other radiationand particles, such as muons from cosmic rays.Hence the scientists will construct a tunnel at adepth of 1,300 metres below the peak and whichis 2 km by 7.5m by 7.5m. This will lead to achamber that will house the detector.

The experiment is like making a 2-inch hole toinsert a pipe through a 10-foot-high wall. It willnot affect the stability of the hills and mountains.

The experiments around the world are beingset up in the South Pole, on top of mountains andeven in outer space. Big basic science projects arestill new in India.

FINDING OF NEW ANTIBIOTIC

A team of U.S. scientists has isolated a newantibiotic to which resistance may not developeasily. For achievement of the result scientists used

a novel technique to culture soil bacteria thatpreviously could not be grown in the laboratory.The research comes at a time when there is growingalarm both at the spread of antibiotic-resistantmicrobes and the failure to find new classes ofantibiotics.

It was during the golden age of antibioticsfrom about 1940 to around 1960, when scientistswere able to find a number of new drugs bycarefully screening soil bacteria, looking for anti-

microbial activity. However they were able toexamine only bacteria that could be grown in thelaboratory. More than 99 per cent of the bacterialspecies in the soil resisted such efforts.

Researchers used an isolation chip (iChip)developed at the university to culture previouslyuncultivable soil bacteria. This chip has a larger

number of tiny chambers to hold individualbacterial cells. It is covered with semi-permeablemembranes. The chip could be then placed in thesoil. Due to this, it allows vital nutrients and growthfactors to diffuse into its chambers.

The scientists could grow 10,000 bacterialstrains by the help of this iChip. The extract fromone such bacterium, provisionally named Eleftheriaterrae, yielded an entirely new sort of antibiotic,teixobactin. Laboratory tests showed that this

molecule was effective against many humanpathogens, including drug-resistant ones, that comein the category of gram-positive bacteria. The drugwas exquisitely active against a number of hard-


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to-deal-with bugs. It might also offer a single-drugtherapy for tuberculosis, which currently requiredprolonged treatment with a multi-drugcombination.

Teixobactin worked by binding to highlyconserved precursors that bacteria used to buildtheir cell walls. When, on the other hand, the

antibiotic acted on bacterial proteins, genes for thoseproteins could mutate and produce resistance.Resistance against vancomycin, which too binds tocell-wall precursors, did not emerge in the clinic

till almost four decades after its discovery. Suchresistance came about through genes for a self-protective mechanism used by vancomycin-producing bacteria getting transferred to pathogenicstrains.

The bacterium producing teixobactin wasprotected by an outer membrane. Due to this there

was no self-resistance mechanism that could bepassed on. The drug could be ready to go intoclinical trials two years from now.

FIRST LWRS FOR INDIA

The work on fabricating a Light Water Reactor(LWR) of 900 MWe (megawatt electric) has beenstarted by India, for electricity generation. It is areactor technology that differs from the heavy water

reactors that form the mainstay of the countrysnuclear power programme at present.

The Department of Atomic Energy is in theprocess of preparing detailed designs of the 900MWe pressurised water reactor for approval bythe regulatory authority the Atomic EnergyRegulatory Board (AERB). The design builds onthe indigenously developed small-sized LWRdeveloped over the past eight years. A compactversion of this was deployed aboard the INSArihant, which was the first Indian nuclear-powered submarine.

Info-in-Crux

v The LWR project is a joint effort between theBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) inMumbai and the Nuclear PowerCorporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

v A new Special Uranium Enrichment Facilityto fuel the LWR reactor has also beenproposed at Chitradurga, Karnataka.

v In contrast to the natural uranium and heavywater-based Pressurised Heavy WaterReactors (PHWRs), LWRs (such as pressurisedwater reactors and boiling water reactors) useenriched uranium as fuel and ordinary wateras both the moderator and coolant.

v Indias atomic power programme commencedin the early sixties with two imported LWRunits (of the boiling water reactor-type) atTarapur of 160-MWe capacity.

v Both set up by Bechtel and GE under USassistance. They became operational in 1969.

v The next reactor was a 100MWe unit set upwith Canadian assistance at Rawatbhata four

years later. Based on this, the NPCIL kickedoff its indigenous programme with the designof its 220-MWe PHWRs.

v The indigenous PHWRs of 540-MWe capacitywere developed and NPCIL is currentlysetting up four newly developed 700-MWePHWRs at Kakrapar and Rawatbhata.

v Of Indias current installed nuclear powercapacity of 4,780 MWe, a total of 4,160 MWeis based on the indigenous PHWR technology

and 620 MW on foreign technical cooperationusing LWR technology.

v Two 1000 MWe units of the Kudankulamnuclear power project built with assistancefrom Russia also use LWR reactors.

v Three more sites are being readied for settingup projects deploying LWRs of three differenttypes. They are French EPRs (1650MWe ofAreva), Toshiba Westinghouses AP1000 andGE-Hitachis ESBWR.

Advantages of LWRsv The family of LWRs is cooled and moderated

using ordinary water.

v They tend to be simpler and cheaper to buildthan other types of nuclear reactors.

v Due to which they make up the majority ofcivil nuclear reactors , including those builtby the Russian, Frenchand US firms, as wellas naval propulsion reactors in service acrossthe world.

INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS CONVENED IN MUMBAIThe 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) was

held from in Mumbai, with the theme as Scienceand Technology for Human Development.


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The ceremony was inaugurated by the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. The ISC was organizedby the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)in association with University of Mumbai. The ISCwitnessed the participation of Nobel Laureates,eminent scientists, technology experts and researchstudents from India and abroad. There was

discussion on Ancient sciences through Sanskrit,Ancient Indian aviation technology, Biodiversityconservation, Space application, clean energysystems and other topics. Other topics of vital

importance which found mention includes Scienceand Technology in SAARC Countries and issue ofGenetically Modified (GM) crops in India.Childrens Science Congress, Womens ScienceCongress and Science Exhibition were alsoorganised. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam hasinaugurated the Childrens Science Congress.

The establishment of ISCA took place in Kolkatain 1914, with an objective of advancing, promotingand furthering the cause of science in India. It strivesto stimulate scientific research in India.

INDIA TO INDUCT FIFTH GENERATION AIRCRAFT

Indian defence is expected to receive a boostwith the preliminary design stage of the futuristicfighter aircraft getting over. The development work

on the project is expected to start in 2015. Themain purpose of the AMCA is to replace the agingSEPECAT Jaguar & Dassault Mirage 2000.

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Fifth Generation Fighter Aircrafts

Fifth Generation Fighter Aircrafts (FGFA) is afighter aircraft classification encompassing themost advanced jet fighter generation. FGFAs aredesigned to incorporate numerous technologicaladvances over the fourth generation jet fighter.The genesis of development of the indigenous fifthgeneration fighter aircraft (FGFA) can be tracedback in 2008. However, its finalised form wasunveiled during Aero India 2013. Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will develop theaircraft in collaboration with Indian Air Force(IAF), Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) and AeronauticalDevelopment Agency (ADA). The amount

required for the initial design and developmentphase is 4000 crore rupees. The initial design ofAMCA is expected to be ready by 2018. The firstflight of the AMCA though will only be possibleby 2025.

Key Features

v Intercept Radar (LPIR) has low portability

v Air frames having high performance

v Avionics features are much advanced

v

Computer systems are highly integrated andare capable of networking with otherelements within the theatre of war forsituational awareness


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HEALTH

FOR A BETTER TB CONTROL

The findings of the team of scientists led byLaboratory of Molecular Cell Biology at the Centrefor DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD)suggest that Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteinESAT-6 suppresses hosts protective functions. Thefinding could lead to development of new drugs tocontrol the disease.

Researchers found that ESAT-6 directly binds

with host molecule beta-2 microglobulin and inhibitsantigen presentation to CD8 T-cells. The antigenplays a key role in protective immune responsemechanism of the host. CD8 T-cells recognise theinfected immune cells and directly kill them. TheESAT-6 protein through its interaction with thehost molecule would delay or inhibit the CD8 T-cells immune response, which was important tocontrol the disease. The novel mechanism involvingthe interaction between ESAT-6 and beta-2microglobulin can shed new light on host-pathogen

relationship. It could also open up new avenuesfor development of novel drugs or vaccine for TBtherapy.

Beta-2 micro globulin would be free to do itsprotective role once the interacting domain getsneutralised and the process would help in antigenpresentation and activation of CD8 T-cells. Thescientists are now planning to develop an ESAT-6-beta-2m crystal structure for designing of smallmolecule inhibitor. Once that is done, they can gofor in-vitro experiments initially and animal studiessubsequently. There was a need to develop newerdrugs for TB in view of the growing incidence ofmulti-drug resistance to the disease.

The WHO statistics reveals that about 2.3 millioncases occur annually in India. It is home to one-fifth of global incidence, with one death occurringevery 23 seconds. It has also has one of the highestnumber of multi-drug-resistant patients. Asestimated by WHO, 300,000 people die from TBeach year in India. There were about 1.5 milliondeaths in the world in 2013, about one death every

21 seconds. It is estimated that about 40 per centof Indians are infected with TB bacteria, the vastmajority of whom have latent rather than activeTB disease.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Maithiripala Sirisena

Maithripala Sirisena emerged as the winner ofSri Lankas seventh presidential elections byscripting a sensational win with 6,217,162 votesoverall to Mahinda Rajapaksas 5,768,090. In theSinhalese-dominated southern provinces andelsewhere, it was Rajapaksa who secured morevotes than Sirisena but what really made the

difference was the outcome from northern andeastern provinces, where the minorities have asignificant presence. In these provinces Sirisenasecured very high number of votes.

Sirisena was Rajapaksas health minister. Hedefected in November to spearhead an oppositioncoalition Supreme Court Justice K Sripavanadministered the oath of office to Sirisena, along

with the new Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.The change in the verdict and defeat of Rajapaksacan be attributed to the attacks on Muslims byBuddhist hardliners over the last year. Thedissatisfaction and sense of fear among the Tamilpopulation, and the disillusionment among theSinhalese, added to its toll..

Modibo Keita

Modibo Keita was appointed as the PrimeMinister of West African nation Mali. He succeededMoussa Mara who resigned under pressure fromthe President due to the strife-torn condition of thenation. Keita had previously served as the SecretaryGeneral of the Presidency of Mali. Mali is alandlocked country in West Africa with its capitalat Bamako.

NEWSMAKERS

Perin Romesh Chandra

She was a well-known freedom fighter. She wasa 96 year old lady and died after prolongedillness. As per her wishes, her body was donatedto the Grant Medical College. Her father hadtrained to be a surgeon in this college. She was a

CPI leader and served in the peace movement ofinternational communism and was part of its Indianleadership. Her husband was the President of theWorld Peace Council. She was a friend of late PrimeMinister I K Gujral from the days of the LahoreUniversity and former Union minister and CPIstalwart Indrajit Gupta.

OBITUARIES

AWARD

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2015

On t he c oncluding day of 13 th PravasiBharatiya Diwas (PBD), Pravasi Bharatiya Sammanfor the year 2015 has been awarded to 15prominent non-resident Indians (NRIs). The PBDwas held in Gujarat. The award has been conferredupon them for their contribution in various fields.Vice-President Hamid Ansari, at Mahatma Mandirin Gandhinagar, has conferred the award.

Pravasi Bhartiya Samman is the highest honourconferred on overseas Indians. It is conferred bythe President of India as a part of the Pravasi

Bharatiya Divas. It is given to Non-Resident Indian,Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or an organizationor institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin. Theaward carries a bilingual Sanad (certificate) underthe hand along with the seal of the President.Besides, it also includes a citation, a gold medallionand a miniature of the medallion in the form of alapel pin.

Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is a programmeorganized by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.It seeks to foster greater interaction between theIndian Diaspora and Indian government. It provides


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the Diaspora a platform to put forth their issuesand grievances before the government. At the sametime, the government also uses this occasion to

showcase opportunities for investment in India tothe expatriate community. It was started in 2003and is held every year for 3 days between Jan 7-9.

CULTURE & HERITAGE

Excavation Unveils House Plan

In the excavation conducted by the

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at the late-Harappan site of Chandayan in Uttar Pradesh, aplan of a house on the Ganga-Yamuna doab wasrevealed. It has mud walls with four successivefloor levels and post-holes. These were found inthe habitation area. Trenches laid in the burial areabrought to light 21 Harappan pots, the remains ofa skeleton, a broken copper crown placed on theskull, animal bones and remains of a feast. This isindicative of a funeral ceremony.

Info-in-Cruxv The excavation in the residential area revealed

a mud wall and post-holes in one trench andfour closely laid and successive floors of ahouse in another trench and pots.

v They were found at a depth of 130 cm andupwards from the surface level.

v The posts positioned in the holes would havesupported the roof of the house.

v In the burial site, 150 metres from theresidential area, excavations brought to light21 pots, including deep bowls, dishes, flasksand lids with knobs and cylindrical agatebeads.

v The skeletons femur and pelvis were nearby.These, along with a broken copper crown,were found by labourers digging for clay.

v The copper crown was embedded withcarnelian and faience beads. The orientation

of the burial site was from northwest tosoutheast.

v Twenty metres from the skeleton, remains ofanimal sacrifice, other refuse and pots similarto those found in the habitation area werefound. This is suggestive of some religiousceremony during the funeral.

COMMITTEE/COMMISSION

Govt Sets up Panel to inquire KVKsAn inquiry into the functioning of Krishi Vigyan

Kendras (KVKs) has been set up by the Agriculture

Ministry. KVKs are the farm science centers thatwere originally intended to educate tillers onfarming best practices.

Major Awardees

v Satyanarayan Nadella- CEO of Microsoft.

Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar- President

of Guyana. Awarded for his work for theIndian diaspora in Guyana.

v Mala Mehta- Founder of Indo- Australian BalBharatiya Vidyalaya in Thornleigh suburb inSydney. Awarded for her contribution toHindi language.

v Rajaram Sanjaya- India-born Mexicanscientist. He has also won the 2014 WorldFood Prize for developing 480 wheat varietiesthat have been released in 51 countries.

v Kanwaljit Singh Bakhshi- Member of

Parliament (MP) from New Zealand. Alsoknown for work he had done for the Indiandiaspora in New Zealand.

v Essop Goolam Pahad- A South African

politician. He was Minister in the Presidencyfrom 1999 to September 2008 in South Africa.

v Mahendra Nanji Mehta- Indian originbusinessman based in Uganda.

v Professor Nathuram Poori - Founder of PuricoGroup. Also chosen for their contribution toIndian diaspora.

v Lord Raj Lumba- A phi lanthropist andfounder of clothing company Rinku Group.A Liberal Democrat member of the House ofLords, United Kingdom.

v Kamlesh Lulla- Chief scientist for Earthobservation in the Human Exploration ScienceOffice at the Johnson Space Centre at NASA.

Awarded for his exceptional service to thespace science.

v Nandini Tandon- Awarded for her work inlife sciences and Healthcare and IT in USAand India along with other emerging markets.


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The inquiry committee consists of six-membersand will be headed by former agriculture secretaryJNL Shrivastav. The Ministry had met KVKs ingroups to make an assessment of their functioning.There are 639 KVKs in the country, spread over600 districts. Around 100 KVKs are run by NGOs,including NGOs controlled by politicians.

HLC Recommends on Environmental Laws

A High-level committee (HLC) headed byformer Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanium wasappointed by the Union Ministry of Environmentand Forests (MoEF) and Climate Change (CC) toreview the existing environmental laws. It consistedof four members. The committee suggested singlewindow clearance mechanism for green nods.

Key Recommendations

v Evaluation of project clearance in a timebound manner by setting a full-time expert

body, National Environmental ManagementAuthority (NEMA) at the Centre and StateEnvironmental Management Authority(SEMA). These bodies will be the pivotalauthorities to process applications for greenclearance.

v Subsuming of existing Central Pollution

Control Board and corresponding Stateagencies under these agencies

v Fast tracking the procedure for linear projects.This would bring benefit to community atlarge as well as power and mining projectsand projects of national importance

v Use of national GIS enabled environmentalinformation data base. This would assist boththe project proponent and the scrutinisingagency in obtaining authentic data vital fordecision making on an application.

Bluetongue Disease

Bluetongue is an infectious arthropod-borneviral disease. It is primarily common in domesticand wild ruminants. It is caused by BluetongueVirus (BTV). The geographic restriction is in part

related to the climatic and environmental conditionsnecessary to support the Culicoides vectors. It isusually considered to be a disease of improvedbreeds of sheep, particularly the fine-wool andmutton breeds. However, it has also been recordedin cattle and some wild ruminant species, includingwhite-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus),pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana), anddesert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in NorthAmerica, and European bison (Bison bonasus) andcaptive yak (Bos grunniens grunniens) in Europe.

Major Symptoms

v Acute disease with high morbidity andmortality

v High fever and excessive salivation

Swelling of the face and tongue

and cyanosis of the tongue

v Swelling of the lips and tongue

v Nasal symptoms may be prominent, withnasal discharge and stertorous respiration

v Development of foot lesions in some animal

v It can lead to knee-walking in Sheep. Incattle, constant changing of position of thefeet gives bluetongue the nickname TheDancing Disease.

Moment of Pride for India

Indian weightlifters have bagged a total of 14medals, including six gold in the 17th Asian Youth(boys & girls), 22nd Junior Women and 29th JuniorMen Asian Weightlifting Championships at Doha,Qatar. The six lifters, who failed to make it, finishedwithin the top six positions in their respective body

weight categories. India won silver as Swapna PriyaBaruah ended second in the Junior Women 69kgdivision. Ragala Venkat Rahul secured a gold in

Junior Men 85kg with a total lift of 324kg -143kgin snatch and 181kg clean & jerk.

Two Junior Women lifters - S Thasana Chanu(58kg) and Punam Yadav (63kg) - secured a bronzeeach. Kh Nungshiton also claimed the third spot inYouth Girls 58kg. India won maximum number ofgold in Youth Boys division. It bagged gold in all

three categories the lifters took part. The other threegold came each in Youth Girls, Junior Men andJunior Women sections.

TERMINOLOGIES

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EDITORIAL

A sustained inflation decline is in the air. InNovember 2013, year-on-year CPI inflation was 11.2per cent. In November 2014, the level declined to4.3 per cent. The decline in inflation rate for theWPI has been even larger for the same period: 7.6percentage points (ppt) to a level of zero per cent.This is one of the largest one-year declines everobserved for India and, excluding hyperinflation

economies, for most countries. This article attemptsto explain the factors behind Indias great inflationdecline, or GID.

Over the past one year, many explanations havebeen offered. One consistent and commonexplanation has been base effects. Some call it avoodoo explanation, and some might be correct indoing so. But no sooner was the base effect

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discredited (at best it can account for 1 to 2 ppt ofdecline and that too temporarily, for a few months)that the experts had a new explanation for GID it is the decline in international food, oil andcommodity prices. The oil decline, steep as it hasbeen, has only been there since the intra-year peakof $105 per barrel in June 2014. Today, the price is

close to $50, but the discussion and data for inflationare till November 2014, when the oil price averaged$76.Let us look at possible causes for the observedinflation decline between November 2013 andNovember 2014. International and domesticinflation will be compared; fortunately, for thiscomparison, the rupee/ dollar exchange rate wasnear unchanged Rs 62.5 to the dollar inNovember 2013, and Rs 61.5 in November 2014.

Oil is the big story and a very likely contributor,according to many experts, for Indias GID. In

November 2013, the international crude oil pricewas at $94. In November 2014 (hereafter today) itwas $76, a 19 per cent decline. The wholesale priceof petrol, in rupees, has declined by a smalleramount, 10 per cent, over the same period. Petrolhas only a 1 per cent weight, but petrol-relatedproducts have a 15 per cent weight in the WPI. Sofuel should have brought the aggregate WPI downby 1.5 ppt or from 7.6 per cent in November 2013to 6.1 per cent in November 2014.

Metals and mineral products have close to a 11per cent weight in the WPI. International metalprices (Goldman Sachs index, S&P GSCI IndustrialMetals) actually increased over the last year by 4.3per cent. Domestic metal prices over the last yearhave been flat (only a 0.3 per cent increase), againsuggesting a loose correlation with trends ininternational prices.

There is a general impression that internationalfood prices have declined substantially, and thatthis has contributed in large part to the decline in

headline CPI inflation. (Food accounts for nearly a50 per cent weight in the CPI). But this story isflawed on at least two counts. First, that domesticfood prices have not followed international foodprices (in rupees) for several years. For example,between November 2011 and November 2014,international (FAO) food prices, in rupees, haveincreased by 7 per cent; since November 2013, FAOfood prices have declined by 8 per cent. However,domestic food prices increased by 3 per centaccording to the CPI, and 0.6 per cent, WPI, in thelast 12 months.

The RBI, and several economists put a lot ofstore in the concept of household inflation

expectations as measured by the RBI that is,such expectations should decline before one canfeel safe that inflation is under control. In September2013, 12-month-ahead inflation expectations were11.8 per cent, according to the RBI survey; inSeptember 2014, such expectations were higher, at12.7 per cent. So if this is any guide, inflation should

have persisted in double digits, and increased. Butwe know the opposite happened.

However, Zyfin, a financial informationcompany (I am on their advisory board), has beenconducting a consumer confidence survey for thelast several years. According to this survey, 16 percent of the respondents felt in November 2013 thatinflation would decline over the next year. Thisfraction increased to almost a quarter of thepopulation (24.3 per cent) in November 2014.

So none of the popularly mentioned factors forIndias GID add up to any sort of explanation. It isnot the oil price decline, nor decline in metals prices,nor decline in food prices. So what explains theGID? There are conjectures. First, that world andmonetary policy operates in strange and mysteriousways so we are not observing, as yet, the full effectsof the international food, oil and commodity pricedecline. But then one has to conclude that inflationin 2015 in India will trend lower still!

Second, there is a novel and radical explanation

for the GID by Jahangir Aziz. In UPA by anothername?, (IE, January 5), Aziz states that with somehelp from the better supply management of thenew government, the shift to inflation targetingfinally ended four years of rabid inflation. Otherinflation experts (nee hawks) have also chimed inover the last few weeks about what a wonderfulthing the new inflation-targeting framework wouldbe for low and stable inflation. However, and thisis important to note, the new targeting frameworkhas yet to be formulated and decided upon. If Aziz

is right that just the mere mention of inflationtargeting can bring inflation down by 700 basispoints, think of the wonders that are in store forIndias macroeconomy when inflation targeting isfinally accepted. If the mere talk of inflationtargeting can have a larger effect than metal, oil,food, expectations, etc, then who knows, with actualinflation targeting and a little bit of ill-luck, we willsoon face the European Central Banks problem ofdesperately trying to get the inflation rate toincrease!

So what does explain the great Indian inflationdecline? Buried in the table is a line that statesweighted MSP change, lagged one year. As


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discussed so many times in these columns, I haveargued that with domestic control barriers, thedominant determinant of Indian inflation is theprocurement price (minimum support prices) forfood. The government does not set the price of meator eggs or fruits or vegetables. However, the pricesof these food items are affected by the same factors

that affect the prices of cereals, pulses, cotton,oilseeds and sugar. The MSP indirectly affects theprice of land and labour, the two principal factorsin agricultural production. Hence, MSP inflationaffects inflation in milk, and fruits, and vegetables.A long historical analysis (since the late 1970s)suggests that each 10 per cent increase in the MSPincreases headline inflation by 3 ppt. The decline inMSP inflation between 2013 and 2014 was 10.2ppt. Thirty per cent of this decline is 3.1 ppt, that

is, on the basis of the MSP alone, headline inflationshould have declined to 10.1-3.1, or 7.0 per cent.Actual observed year-on-year inflation from Januaryto November 2013 was 7.4 per cent.

It is time that the RBI declared victory on

inflation. To be sure, there will be blips along theway, but most expectations are that CPI inflation

for 2015 will be well below the RBI target of 6 percent. Perhaps it is the talk of inflation targeting

that is doing the trick. (It cant be the fiscal deficitthat is causing inflation to decline, because that is

up.) Whatever the favoured explanation may be, itis time for the RBI to follow through on the realityof Indias GID.

Source: The Indian Express

WHEN NOT TO USE POWERAt least as far as promulgating ordinances is

concerned, Prime Minister Narendra Modi isactually following in the footsteps of JawaharlalNehru. For instance, in 1956, about three weeksafter the winter session of Parliament ended, andwith less than a month to go for the budget session,an ordinance nationalising life insurance businesseswas promulgated.

While Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is

unlikely to object to the string of ordinances thathave been recently promulgated, Nehru wasseverely criticised by the first speaker, G.Mavalankar, who, in 1950, wrote: The procedureof the promulgation of ordinances is inherentlyundemocratic. Whether an ordinance is justifiableor not, the issue of a large number of ordinanceshas, psychologically, a bad effect. The people carryan impression that government is carried on byordinances.

Further, in 1954, he wrote: We, as the firstLok Sabha, carry a responsibility of laying down atradition. It is not a question of present personnelin the government but a question of precedents;and if this ordinance issuing is not limited byconvention only to extreme and very urgent cases,the result may be that, in future, the governmentmay go on issuing ordinances giving Lok Sabha nooption but to rubber-stamp [them].

Members of the Constituent Assembly wereapprehensive about giving the executive ordinance-making powers. Both H.N. Kunzru and K.T. Shahcalled for restricting these powers through greaterlegislative oversight. Neither the United States nor

the United Kingdom confers such powers on theexecutive. In India, these powers are the legacy ofthe British Raj and Government of India Act, 1935.

Mavalankars prophetic observations came true.Between 1952 and 2014, as many as 668 ordinanceswere promulgated by the president in the name ofemergency. With the sole exception of thedemonetisation of Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000notes in 1978, every other ordinance could have

easily waited for the next session of Parliament.The bank nationalisation ordinance, for instance,was promulgated just two days before theconvening of Parliament.

The record of governors in promulgatingordinances is far more depressing. Take Bihar, forexample, where between 1967 and 1981, thegovernor promulgated 256 ordinances, while theassembly enacted only 189 laws. Of them, manyordinances were re-promulgated several times

the sugarcane ordinance, for instance, waspromulgated and re-promulgated for as many as13 years. No other democracy can match Biharsrecord of promulgating 50 ordinances in one day.

The apex court rightly observed: The power topromulgate an ordinance is essentially a power tobe used to meet an extraordinary situation and itcannot be allowed to be perverted to serve politicalends. Further, the court said, If the executive werepermitted to continue the provisions of anordinance in force by adopting the methodology ofre-promulgation without submitting to the voice ofthe legislature, it would be nothing short ofusurpation by the executive of the law-making


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function of the legislature. Frequently passingordinances violates the principle of separation ofpowers. The executive taking over legislativebusiness is nothing but a subversion of thedemocratic process, the very core ofconstitutionalism, and the idea of limitedgovernment.

We have reached this stage because ourjudiciary has refused to see the difference betweena legislative act and an ordinance. It treats both aslaw. Accordingly, it has been held that theexecutives motive for promulgating an ordinanceis not open to judicial review, as courts cannot lookinto the motive for passing a legislative act. Thus,an ordinance cannot be invalidated on the groundsof either non-application of mind or ulterior motive.

In doing so, the courts have equated thelegislature with the executive. But while ordinanceshave the same effect as laws, their promulgation isnot preceded by debates and does not reflect thewill of the nation. Legislative malice should certainlybe beyond the pale of judicial review, but ordinancesshould be subject to close judicial scrutiny. TheConstitution itself does not treat an ordinance atpar with an act. The former is a temporary measure

while the latter stands until it is repealed. Anordinance is certainly inferior to legislation and thuscannot have the same protection from judicialreview.

The presidents satisfaction that an ordinanceis warranted by an emergency should be reviewable.Indira Gandhi made sure it remained unquestionable

by the 38th Amendment. But this was later undoneby the 44th Amendment, passed during the Janataregime.

Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, when the UPAwanted to promulgate six anti-corruptionordinances, the BJP rightly opposed it. Today, itcannot talk in an entirely different voice.Constitutional experts were shocked when, shortlyafter taking charge, the NDA promulgated anordinance so that a bureaucrat of Modis choicecould be inducted into the PMO. Though the NDAsordinances are not in conflict with the text of theConstitution, they certainly go against its spirit. TheRoman jurist, Julius Paulus, rightly observed thatOne who contravenes the intention of a statutewithout disobeying its actual words, commits afraud on it.


THE UNSEEING GAZE

Aziz Qureshi will be appointed as governor ofMizoram on January 9, reinforcing a disquietingimpression the Northeast is used as a dumpingground for those that the government wishes torelegate or punish. Qureshi, the sixth functionaryto be appointed to the post in as many months,was the Uttarakhand governor who had taken theNarendra Modi government to court for allegedlytrying to ease him out of office. In its reply to thecourt, the government accused Qureshi of not actingin a manner behoving of the status of governor,and of bringing disrespect to a constitutional

office. So why would the government deem anindividual considered unworthy of holding the officein one state as being fit to discharge the sameresponsibilities in the Northeast?

Qureshis is not the first Northeast appointmentin recent months to be perceived as a punishmentposting by the government as well as theindividual on the receiving end. Soon after comingto power, the NDA government transferred toMizoram Kamla Beniwal the former governor ofGujarat who had locked horns with the Modi-led

government in the state over the appointment of alokayukta. Next, former Maharashtra governor K.Sankaranarayan, another UPA appointee, wastransferred to Mizoram he resigned. Former

Congress CM and Kerala governor Shiela Dikshitalso seemed poised for similar relegation before herresignation. The signal is depressingly clear: theNortheast is to be treated as the boondocks, idealfor political exile.

This suggests a disrespect to the region that isat odds with the resetting of focus that Modi hadseemed to promise in his campaign ahead of theLok Sabha elections. At that time, hopes had beenraised of a Centre more attentive to Northeastaspirations and concerns. Then, he had twinnedtribal alienation and the lack of infrastructure tomake a successful campaign pitch. The Northeastalso received attention in the interim Union budget,with special funds allotted to it, new road andrailway projects announced. Yet, as the continuedspate of transfers of governors to the Northeastshows, nothing has changed. To the Indianmainland, the Northeast remains an opaque space,known mainly by its conflicts and insurgencies. Itonly extracts some empathy from the mainstreamwhen reports of discrimination and violence againstits people make it to the headlines. For the rest, the

Centre continues to regard the Northeast with anunseeing gaze.



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LOOKING AWAY FROM ASSAM

Barely a week after Peshawar, there was anotherattack, this time within our own borders. At least81 Adivasis, who form the majority of the labourforce on Assams tea plantations, were gunneddown in Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts. Of this

number, at least 18 were children and 23, women.More than one lakh Adivasis have fled their homesto live in makeshift camps. There are nearly 80 ofthese camps now. Assam has been home to Adivasisfor more than 300 years. Yet, many still languish inrelief camps set up in 1996 and 1998, in theaftermath of two gruesome riots.

Bodoland, which comprises the four districts ofKokrajhar, Udalguri, Chirang and Baksa, has beenburning for years now. The ethnic tensions that cutthrough the land, fuelled by militancy, are palpable

even to the occasional visitor. Since 1996, it hasbeen the Adivasis or Bengali-speaking Muslims whobecome victims in every fresh bout of violence. Thepolitical alienation and social exclusion of thesecommunities by the Bodos are rooted in themisplaced justification that they are non-natives.Assams Adivasis, who were brought in fromcentral India to work in the tea gardens of Assam,are denied the Scheduled Tribe status that theircounterparts in other states enjoy. Meanwhile,Bengali Muslims are stigmatised for being illegal

immigrants.From 1987, the Bodos intensified a long-running

political and linguistic-cultural movement forautonomy, marked by episodes of violence. After16 years, the Centre responded to Bodo demands,establishing the Bodoland Territorial AutonomousDistricts (BTAD). In the process, the Bodos wereable to acquire political and social dominance overother, smaller groups that also demandedautonomy. It is ironic that the Bodos, who enjoypolitical power, social legitimacy and economic

authority in the BTAD today, are gripped with thefear of becoming a minority in their own lands.

Sporadic incidents of violence never reallystopped after the brutal Bodo-Muslim riots of 2012.Often, Bodo men, women and children have alsobeen at the receiving end of such violence.Nevertheless, there is the sense of a more polarisedcivil society emerging, based on the idea of a mono-

ethnic community. Large-scale violence broke outagain in May 2014, as Bengali Muslims weretargeted by terrorists, leaving at least 45 dead.Among the dead were several children. Some fromBodolands political class even tried to ascribe

reasons for the attack. Bengali Muslims had beentargeted because they had not voted for a certainBodo candidate, one Bodo political leader said. Civilsociety organisations in the BTAD also backed theidea that the killings were an election issue, not amatter of communal politics.

But the patterns that have emerged in the recenthistory of violence in Bodoland tell a different story.They point towards the systematic targeting ofminorities and smaller ethnic groups by militants.The same terror outfit is believed to be behind the

killing of Bengali Muslims in May, and of Adivasisin December. The larger Bodo society andmainstream groups such as the All Bodo StudentsUnion have stated they have no sympathies withthe terror group. But it is difficult to imagine thatthis violence was not rooted in minority politicsand the sense of a demographic threat. Stateagencies should not have missed these signs ofvolatility.

The unpreparedness of the state and its failureto protect people has led, once again, to a mindless

act of terrorism. Had Bodoland and Assams civilsociety resisted the temptation of seeing thebloodbath in May as electoral violence, they mighthave put some pressure on the state to anticipateand curb the next surge of brutality. The killing ofthe Adivasis might then have been prevented. Howlong will they remain mute spectators to thesavagery that erupts periodically in the region?

The Nellie massacre, where armed men of theLalung tribe cut down at least 3,000 BengaliMuslims, happened 31 years ago. Women and

children had been the major victims of that brutalityas well. The Indian Express has carried reportswhich mentioned that critical warnings from a localthana went unheeded by the political authorities ofthe time. More than 30 years down the line, ourpolity has refused to learn its lesson. We still chooseto look away.


BAD WEATHER AHEAD

The bloodbath in the markets the Sensexhas shed nearly 1,000 points so far this week isa timely reminder that 2015 may not be the heady

year that 2014 was. The euphoria accompanyingtwo momentous developments the installationof a government promising a radically new


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governance paradigm and the free fall ininternational oil prices is over. The NarendraModi regime will find itself being increasingly

judged on performance and delivery on promises.India will no longer be a default investmentdestination for global funds: they would want tosee an economy showing clear signs of revival,

rather than just looking for a safer bet compared toRussia, Brazil, Indonesia or Turkey. Low oil andcommodity prices are, likewise, a double-edgedsword. While helping to substantially bring downthe countrys import bill, they also point to a globalcontraction of demand that can hurt exports aswell.

Indeed, a major source of uncertainty for theIndian economy this year is the externalenvironment. Leaving out the US, much of theworld today from Europe and Japan to China

and most commodity-exporting emerging economies is either in recession or significant slowdownmode. The impact of this may not be limited onlyto Indias exports. It could extend even to capitalflows. Last year, foreign institutional investorspoured over $42 billion into Indian equity and debtmarkets. If the current global conditions persist,there could well be a flight of funds to the US, the

only economy showing buoyant growth alongsidedeclining unemployment and gradually risingwages. The indications are already there in 10-yearUS treasury yields, which have dropped below 2per cent. Any black swan event say, Greeceexiting the eurozone would only further pushinvestors into the safety of US treasuries or German

and Japanese bonds. A US Federal Reserve interestrate hike will, of course, worsen matters.

The only way to navigate these globalheadwinds is through a revival of domesticinvestment-led growth, which will keep foreignfunds interested in India. This requires concertedefforts from policymakers, including the ReserveBank of India. Its focus must shift decisively togrowth, now that inflation is clearly under control.The Modi government, too, needs to show it meansbusiness by not allowing Hindu chauvinist groups

to set the national agenda. The most importantnational priority today is getting growth andinvestment back. India should seize this moment:Unlike China, it requires and can afford to attracttrillions of dollars into infrastructure investments.If properly harnessed, relatively cheap oil could bea blessing.


FAIR FEATHER FRIENDS

The Satajan wetlands of Assam glimmer withwings at dusk. The government wont declare it abird sanctuary. But for some years now, the

Ranganadi Prakriti Suraksha Samiti, a group formedby the local people, has protected the birds frompoachers. They have also taught themselves to name

the birds in order to guide visitors. The wetlandsare an example of how some of the most hearteningstories in bird conservation lie outside the official

pale of parks and sanctuaries.

Not long ago, the Amur Falcons that pass

through Nagaland on their long journey from Russiato South Africa were killed in thousands by local

tribes. But a grisly video prompted the traditionalfalcon hunters to give up killing, in spite ofsubstantial economic costs, and become active

participants in a conservation programme. Thenthere is the hornbill, whose falling numbers havebeen revived by various community efforts in the

Northeast and Kerala. In Arunachal Pradesh, the

hunter-warrior Nyishi tribe, which used thehornbills beak and casque for their headgear, has

turned fiercely conservationist. Other materials have

been found for the headgear and the localcommunity is involved in locating, monitoring andprotecting the nests, apart from organising jungle

camps for visitors.

Community-based conservation grew in the

1980s, in reaction to older models which saw theprotected area as a pristine space, shorn of human

presence. In India, the imperative of conservationhas often come into conflict with the lives and

livelihood of local populations. As villagers weredisplaced by sanctuaries, conservation became an

oppressive agenda imposed from above. But socialand environmental priorities need not be at odds.

Giving local populations stakes in conservation andgreater agency in directing its course could be amore productive model. As the governments

conservation project flounders in a thicket of rulesor is overtaken by other priorities, Indias best hopemay lie in its communities.



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MISSING LEADER REPORT

On December 30, 2014, the UN Security Councilvoted on a resolution sponsored by Jordan on behalfof Palestine on the question of Palestinian statehood.Since it did not get nine positive votes, the resolutionwas not adopted. The negative vote by the US did

not amount to a veto since the resolution fell shortof the required majority by one. The Jordanian draftstressed the need to attain a just and lasting

weekly 5th jan to 11th jan 2015

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