Crux of Hindu and Pib

7/18/2019 Crux of Hindu and Pib

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/crux-of-hindu-and-pib 1/35

V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5

Visit Aspirantforum.com for guidance and study material for IAS Exam.

News for February 2015

Vol. 06



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


Contents

National News.............4

Economy News..........11

International News....17

India and the World...19

Science and echnology + Environment..............23

Miscellaneous News and Events.........................28

News Updates rom PIB...............................30

Aspirant Forum is aCommunity or the UPSCCivil Services (IAS)Aspirants, to discuss anddebate the various thingsrelated to the exam. Wewelcome an active

participation rom the ellow members to enrich theknowledge o all.

Editorial eam:

PIB Compilation:Gangotri Kaushik

Te Hindu

Compilation:Nikhil GuptaShakeel AnwarRanjan KumarAmit KumarKaruna Takur

Designed by:Anupam Rastogi

Te Crux will be published onlineor ree on 10th o every month.We appreciate the riends and ol-lowers or apprepreciating our e-ort. For any queries, guidanceneeds and support, Please contact at:a s p i r a n t o r u m @ g m a i l . c o mYou may also ollow our websiteAspirantorum.com or ree on-line coaching and guidanceorIAS



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


About the ‘CRUX’

Introducing a new and convenient product, to help the aspirants or the various public services examina-tions.

Te knowledge o the Current Affairs constitute an indispensable tool or all the recruitment examinations

today.However, an aspirant ofen finds it difficult to read and memorize all the current affairs, rom an exam

perspective.Te Newspapers and magazines are ull o inormation, that may or may not be useul or the

exams. Tus, acandidate is orced to spend a substantial amount o his time in selecting and maintaining

notes or the current

affairs.

Another problem is that it is difficult to get every bit o inormation, relevant rom the exam perspective at

oneplace. Tus, candidates are ofen ound wasting their time in search o current affairs material.

It is with this problem in mind that we have come up with the GIS o Te Hindu and Press Inormation

Bureau(PIB).Te whole concept o the CRUX is to provide you with a summary o the important news and current

affairs,rom an exam point o view. By reading the CRUX, you will be able to save your precious time and

effort, as you get all the relevant matter in a summarized and convenient orm.

Te Crux is particularly helpul or the Civil Services, Banking, SSC and other exams that have a current

affairs section.

Te material is being provided in such a manner that it is helpul or both- objective and descriptive sections.

Our aim is to help the candidates in their effort to get through the examinations. Your efforts and dedication

inspire us to keep going. It is our sincere effort to make your journey easier.

Best WishesEditorial BoardTeam Aspirant Forum

Courtesy : Te Hindu Press Inormation Bureau (PIB)



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


February 2015

Preamble row: academics, political sci-entists disconcertedThe controversy over the Preamble to the Constitutionmay have forced the government to beat a retreat, butthe fact that the Union Information & Broadcasting Min-istry used a watermark of the original document withoutthe words ‘socialist, secular’ in an advertisement has leftmany academics and political scientists disconcerted.Particularly, since in this instance, the deed was not by anoutt of the extended Sangh Parivar but by the govern-ment itself. The retreat, according to P.K. Datta, a profes-

sor of Political Science at Delhi University, is typical of the“two steps forward, one step backward” strategy the BJPhas used on such issues in the past. “And, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi continues to be silent. His silence is partof the ideological machinery of governance.”Be it Prof. Datta, historian Romila Thapar, Rajya Sabhamember K.T.S. Tulsi or the former Prime Minister AtalBehari Vajpayee’s aide, Sudheendra Kulkarni, none ndsany merit in senior Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and RaviShankar Prasad’s contention that Indians are inherentlysecular, and secularism is in “our blood.” “No society isinherently secular. Societies have to be consciously sec-ular and need laws that support secularism,” Prof. Thapartold The Hindu. As for Mr. Prasad’s statement that there is no harm indebating the inclusion of the two words in the Preamblesince they were introduced through an amendment dur-ing the Emergency, the counter-view is that these wordsdid not go against what is inherent in the Constitution andnone of the subsequent governments found fault withthem.“In fact, Mr. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani were part of theJanata government, and they never demanded thatthese words be dropped even when the 44th Constitu-tion Amendment to undo many aspects of the 42nd was

taken up,” Mr. Kulkarni said, adding that the controversyrepresented the “split personality” of the BJP. Another is-sue Mr. Prasad has sought to inject into the debate iswhy these words should be there when the framers of theConstitution did not nd them necessary.

But, Anil Nauriya, a senior fellow at the Nehru MemorialMuseum & Library, said: “Gandhi spoke of a secular stateand secular laws in the 1930s. The word started to beused more in post-independence debates to especiallycontrast with Pakistan, which was described as a theoc-racy. Perhaps, after Bangladesh dened itself as Islamicin the post-Mujib period, we reduced the use of theocrat-ic for Pakistan in our conversations because we did notwish to tar Bangladesh with the same brush as Pakistan.”

Canister-ring of Agni-V successfulThe ight-trial of the country’s Inter-Continental Ballis-tic Missile (ICBM), Agni-V, from a canister was a grandsuccess marking another technological milestone in thestrategic missile programme. At 8.09 a.m., the missilesmoothly shot out of the connes of a canister mountedon a TATRA truck on the Wheeler Island, off the Odishacoast, and traversed its full range of more than 5,000 km

before plunging into the Indian Ocean.The missile was launched in its nal, deliverable con-guration. It can carry a nuclear warhead weighing 1.1tonnes. This is the third success in a row for Agni-V butit is the rst time that it is being launched from a canis-

ter. A canister launch means it can lift off from a truck onroads or open spaces anywhere. The Defence Researchand Development Organisation (DRDO) developed the50-tonne, 17-metre-long, three-stage missile. A happy Avinash Chander, Scientic Adviser to Defence Minister



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


and DRDO Director General, called it “India’s rst-everICBM launch from a canister and a giant leap in the coun-try’s deterrence capability.”“The mid-air ignition, the working of the three stages, themissile nally reaching its impact point with an accuracyof a few metres showed that it was a perfect mission,”said Dr. Chander, who was relinquishing ofce. A can-

ister launch gave the country “operational exibility andfreedom.”The missile would be inducted into the Armyby 2015-end, Dr. Chander said. For G. Satheesh Reddy,Director, Research Centre, DRDO, Imarat, Hyderabad;V.G. Sekaran, Mission Director; and R.K. Gupta, Pro-gramme Director, Agni-V, it was “a dream mission.” As soon as the auto-launch command was given, a gasgenerator at the bottom of the canister gave the missilea forceful thrust. As it rose 20 metres in the air, the rststage motor ignited and later separated. The secondand third stage motors erupted, propelling the missileto a height of 600 km. The second and third stages got

decoupled and the missile started plunging, gatheringspeed. As the missile entered the earth’s atmosphere, itwithstood a temperature of about 4,000 degrees Celsius.But the heat-shield, made of carbon-carbon composites,protected the dummy payload inside, maintaining a tem-perature of 50 degrees Celsius. After 20 minutes of ight,the payload hit the Indian Ocean. With its range of 5,000km, the missile can reach a vast portion of China andEurope.

‘Misuse of LPG has stopped after directsubsidy transfer scheme’Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is taking ad-vantage of the international oil price fall to re-launch itsbranded fuel ‘Speed’, which was discontinued in severalcities due to its high price.In an interview, BPCL Chairman & Managing Director S.Varadarajan spoke , about the impact of low energy priceas well as the substantial subsidy reduction that the gov-ernment will witness next year due to decontrol of dieselprices and the LPG PAHAL scheme. Excerpts:

International crude prices have plunged tonearly $48 per barrel. How is it beneting the

Indian economy and BPCL?The overall impact is doing wonders for all. Since ourcountry is heavily dependent on oil imports, any down-ward revision in crude oil prices results in a straight re-duction in our import bill. From the larger national per-

spective, it gives huge opportunity for us to save preciousforeign exchange. Customers get product benet sinceprices have denitely gone down over a period of time. Also, since the transport segment depends on diesel to alarge extent, inationary pressure has come down. Onecould see that it has reected in the general price trend.Every sector, which uses energy, gets the benet of low

crude prices. For example, the aviation sector, which ispassing through a rough patch, is getting beneted nowbecause prices have dropped to almost half. So, mostairlines will show prots during this quarter. To that ex-tent, it is reecting on the overall service sector as wellas manufacturing. All these sectors are getting benet oflower energy prices.For the oil downstream companies per se, there will bean impact because of the inventory. We carry inventory,and that is a one-time hit. When prices go up, we get in-ventory gain and when prices fall drastically like this, wetake a one-time hit in inventory losses. As we move along

and price stabilizes, we will get back to normal course.But in this quarter, there will be a certain amount of inven-tory loss especially for the rening companies.That is one negative aspect. Otherwise, from an overallperspective, low crude oil price is good for the country,good for the economy, and good for individual companiesthat are dependent on energy and it will reect in lowerprice regime.

Recently the government decontrolled dieselprices and reintroduced the direct subsidy trans-fer scheme. How have these benetted the oilindustry, in general, and BPCL, in particular?Diesel, becoming free of subsidy, is going to reect theinternational prices. Since crude prices are down, therehas been a reduction in diesel prices. It is mark-to-mar-ket. So, the government does not have to worry aboutany subsidy. It will reect any upward or downward pricemovement in international crude oil prices. As far as the PAHAL scheme is concerned, this is theDirect Benet Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme whichhas been rolled out all across the country. As on date,55 per cent of the population have already availed thebenet. The Central Government’s Jhan Dhan schemeof opening of accounts for the poor has also facilitated

the transfer of subsidy to lot of customers. Under the newscheme, which was launched in November, over ninecrore customers of total LPG customer population of 15crore have already come into the scheme, and they havealready started receiving the subsidies through their bank



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


accounts. This is one of the largest direct benet transferschemes anywhere in the world. Already, Rs.2,500 croreto Rs.3,000 crore of funds have gone into the accountsof the beneciaries.Since the end-users are identied and the money is di-rectly getting transferred into their bank accounts, thescheme has been done in a very customer-friendly man-

ner. No customer will have to pay higher prices for LPGcylinders.Earlier, we were subsidising the domestic cylinders, andat the same time, there was a free market price for com-mercial and other usage. There was always a feeling thatsome portion of the subsidised cylinders were taken outfor commercial and industrial use. Today, the price is go-ing to be the same.So, the incentive for somebody to take the gas out anduse it for commercial purpose is not viable. So, the mis-use has been stopped completely. The end-user hasbeen identied and the subsidy is directly going to thebank accounts. So, diversion is not happening and theend-user is getting the subsidy directly. For the company,it provides upfront revenue at the full level, although thereis a subsidy still being given. The larger governmentalsubsidy has substantially gone down from Rs.1.40 lakhcrore. Next year, at current prices, the government willhave a subsidy burden of hardly of Rs.40,000 crore toRs.45,000 crore.

Since petrol prices have come down, demandfor branded fuel is going up. How about Speed?Speed was one of our rst initiatives in branded fuel. Inbetween, since the duty structure was very high, custom-ers had found the price differential very high and the priceof fuel was also going up in tandem with high internation-al crude prices. Fortunately, the prices have now comedown, and there has been a huge reduction in the priceof petrol. Also, excise duty structure has been corrected.So, we see a huge opportunity of re-launching Speed inthe market. Since the overall price of petrol is low, wethink customers will go for this. There has been onegroup of customers who remained with Speed despitehigh prices. This population is still being serviced at se-lect outlets but now opportunity has come to expand themarket. At one point of time, around 25 to 40 per cent ofour (petrol) customers had actually shifted to Speed. We

do feel that opportunity has come to get those customersback to the fold of Speed so that they get much cleanerfuel, have better driving experience, and get much bet-ter mileage. We are re-launching Speed in soon in cities

where it was withdrawn in the past.

What is the update on the Kochi renery expan-sion project?The project is progressing very well. It is on time. We arescheduled to complete the project in May 2016. We arespending around Rs.16,000 crore on expansion and therenery capacity will go up from 9.5 million tonnes to 15.5

million tonnes. The complexity of the renery will also goup from 6.2 to almost 9. The gross rening margin will im-prove. We are on track, and we are receiving good sup-port from the government.

Competition Commission pulls upbuilders for exploiting buyers

Coming hard on real estate players across-the-board for‘exploitative conduct’ and unfair trade practices, the Com-petition Commission of India (CCI) asked them to mend

their ways, but stopped short of penalising them due tolack of evidence. The fair trade watchdog also said therewas an urgent need for a strong regulatory mechanismand immediate legislative steps to safeguard the interestof buyers in this sector.

No penal actionDisposing of a case against 21 realtors and their indus-try body CREDAI without any penal action, the fair traderegulator asked them, as also all the players in the sector,to “take appropriate voluntary measures to address theconcerns.’’

Noting that the sector lacks ‘market pressure’ to prod theplayers to improve their services, the CCI also called for‘immediate and urgent’ legislative steps to enact a lawwhich will supplement the existing regulatory architectureto address the buyers’ grievances through a mix of struc-tural and behavioural remedies. The observations havebeen made by the CCI in its 127-page order following aprobe against 24 entities, which included 21 real estaterms such as Amrapali, Ansal, BPTP, Omaxe, Oberoi Re-alty, Parsvnath Developers, Puravanakara, Supertech,Unitech and Tata Housing Development Company.The CCI said it was not taking any penal action as thecomplaints against them related to abuse of dominant

position and for anti-competitive arrangements, for whichthere were not sufcient evidences.“Notwithstanding the ndings recorded in this order, theCommission is of the rm opinion that issues raised by



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


the Informant are not only pertinent but need to be ad-dressed by the policy makers and regulators through ap-propriate legislative tools in tandem with the self—regu-latory role played by CREDAI,” it added. In the presentcase, due to the nature of the market structure, sufcientevidence was not found to establish an arrangementspanning across the regions and players.

LCA Navy ghter version makes debutightLCA-NP2, the ghter version of the Light Combat AircraftTejas being made for the Navy, ew for the rst time.The second naval LCA aircraft prototype took off fromthe Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. runway at 12.27 p.m. andew for about 35 minutes, said HAL, the production part-ner in the indigenous ghter plane programme.The ight of NP-2, customised from the version meant forthe Air Force, signies a step in readying the rst ght -er for the Navy, according to P.S. Subramanyam, Pro-

gramme Director of developer Aeronautical Development Agency. NP-1 is a trainer.NP-2 is planned to go into crucial carrier capability orship-based tests, likely in Goa in June.The strength of NP-2’s airframe structure would be testedand the plane kitted out with radar and weapons.Carrier compatibility technology involves short take-offfrom and landing on warships.

Goa facilityThe unique ‘arrested landing and ski-jump take-offs’ willbe initially from ADA’s Shore-Based Test Facility in Goa.Navy test pilot Captain Shivnath Dahiya of the National

Flight Test Centre ew the NP-2. Gp. Capt. Suneet Krish-na (retd.) gave chase aircraft cover in a Tejas IAF ver-sion. Ofcials of HAL, Aeronautical Development Agencywhich is developing the LCA Tejas for the Air Force andthe Navy, safety certifying agency CEMILAC and otherDRDO ofcials watched the ight. HAL Chairman T. Su-varna Raju said NP-2’s new and complex landing gearwas designed by engineers of HAL’s Aircraft Researchand Design Centre.

No liability for supplier unless it is in nu-clear contract: MEA U.S. suppliers of nuclear reactors and parts will not bedirectly liable in case of a nuclear accident, nor can theybe sued by Indian nuclear operators unless the contractthey sign clearly states it, the government.

The government has assured the U.S. and other suppli-ers that their liability would be paid out of an “insurancepool” of approximately $250 million (Rs.1,500 crore), tobe funded equally by the government and the govern-ment-owned insurance companies.Clarifying the government’s position on a series of is-sues surrounding the India-U.S. civilian agreement two

weeks after President Barack Obama and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi announced a “breakthrough,” the Ministryof External Affairs was categorical that there would beno change in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act(CLND 2010). The clarications were part of a memoran-dum handed over by India to U.S. ofcials on Friday.In a press release, the Ministry provided responses to19 “frequently asked questions” on the India-U.S. nucleardeal making it clear that the government was not mak-ing changes to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages(CLND) Act, 2011, but would read the Act to mean thatthe supplier’s liability was not a mandatory part of thecontracts to be signed.The need for supplier’s liability has been raised in therecent past after the Fukushima nuclear plant disasterin Japan raised questions about the manufacture of thereactor and parts, and the possible damages of as muchas $200 billion. However, U.S. manufacturers and evenIndian suppliers have raised concerns over the CLNDlaw saying it will be unviable for them to conduct nuclearbusiness in India with the risk of that kind of liability being“channelled” to the suppliers.The Ministry makes it clear that immediate liability for anyincident will be channelled only to the operator — in thiscase the public sector unit Nuclear Power Corporation of

India Ltd.

Key takeawaysSupplier’s liability is not necessary:

In Answer 8, the Ministry writes about Section 17(b),which gives the operator a “right to recourse” — suingthe supplier. The Ministry says this will be possible onlyif under Section 6a, it is written in the contract betweenthe NPCIL and the supplier. The explanation goes on tosay that while the “right to recourse” is permitted, it is notrequired or necessary.The tort law or civil damages suit clause for victims does

not apply to suppliers:In Answer 12, the Ministry writesabout Section 46, which refers to the right of victims tosue in case of a nuclear accident according to “tort” law.It says Parliament debates over the CLND had rejectedamendments to include the supplier, and therefore, the



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


supplier cannot be liable under this kind of “class-actionsuit.”However, Left party members, who had tried to push forthose amendments, counter this. “The NDA governmentis clearly trying to do everything that it accused the UPAgovernment of. Victim’s rights are simply not being up-held in all of this,”.

Amount of liability will be capped, and paid for frominsurance pool:

The FAQs speak of the liability in case there is a nuclearincident, which will be capped at $300 million SDRs (Thespecial drawing right is an international reserve asset,created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its membercountries’ ofcial reserves. Its value is based on a basketof four key international currencies, and the SDRs canbe exchanged for freely usable currencies) or Rs. 2,610crore.In addition, the NPCIL is only liable up to Rs. 1,500 crore,and the Union government will pay the balance Rs. 1,110

crore. Any damages above this will come from an inter-national fund, once India raties the international conven-tion on supplementary compensation for nuclear liability.This effectively means that the supplier will not be liable,and even the operator will be liable only for a small frac-tion of what victims will need, given the recent example of$200 billion for the Fukushima disaster.The insurance pool will in any case be paid for by thegovernment and government-owned insurers from publictaxes in a 50:50 ratio.The Ministry said the text for administrative arrange-ments between India and the U.S. had been “nalised,”and would now head straight for negotiations. “It will benow up to the companies to follow up with their own ne-gotiations and come up with viable techno-commercialoffers and contracts consistent with our law and our prac-tice so that reactors built with international collaborationcan start contributing to strengthening India’s energy se-curity and India’s clean energy options,” the release said.However, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal,in an answer to a question , the two sides were still “trad-ing papers” on the issue. The Ministry has also not clari-ed on the “tracking” requirements of the U.S. on nuclearmaterial in India in its press release. However, whenasked specically about the reports on data sharing with

the U.S., Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin wouldonly say, “There will be no bilateral safeguards.”In a reply , he said, “Our approach is consistent with ourpractice and international legal obligations. Nuclear ma-

terial obligated to the U.S. will remain under IAEA safe -guards.”However, the Ministry did not respond to the possibilityof a “new offer” of data sharing under annual meetingsbetween India and the U.S. ofcials, as had reported lastweek.The release seeks to dispel some of the worries over

the negotiations with the U.S. However, its answers mayraise more questions, particularly in Parliament when itmeets later this month.

Right to religion not above public moral-ity: SC Conrming the sacking of a government servant for big-amy, the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental rightto religion did not include practices which ran counter topublic order, health and morality.The judgment by a Bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and A.K. Goel was on a petition led by Khursheed AhmadKhan against the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision

to remove him from service as Irrigation Supervisor forcontracting a second marriage when his rst marriagewas still in existence. His ouster was based on Rule 29(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Government Servant ConductRules, 1956.

Mr. Khan challenged the constitutionality of the provi-sion in the 1956 Rules, arguing that it violated his right tofreely practice his religion. But the Bench dismissed hiscontention. Justice Goel, who wrote the verdict, quotedthe apex court’s 2003 judgment in Javed versus Stateof Haryana that “a practice did not acquire sanction of

religion simply because it was permitted.”“What was protected under Article 25 was the religiousfaith and not a practice which may run counter to publicorder, health or morality. Polygamy was not integral part



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


of religion and monogamy was a reform within the powerof the State under Article 25,” Justice Goel wrote.The court further noted that no material was shown onrecord to prove that Mr. Khan had divorced his rst wife,and moreover, his service record still showed his rstwife’s name.“Sharp distinction must be drawn between religious faith

and belief and religious practices. What the State pro-tects is religious faith and belief. If religious practices runcounter to public order, morality or health or a policy ofsocial welfare upon which the State has embarked, thenthe religious practices must give way before the good ofthe people of the State as a whole,” the judgment repro-duced the 1952 judicial precedent in the Narasu AppaMali case.

INS Viraat to be decommissioned in 2016 The Navy is learnt to have taken the call to retire thedecrepit warhorse INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier that has

had a service life of 56 years as on date — rst as HMSHermes in the Royal British Navy and in its present ava-tar since 1987.Viraat — which saw action in the Falklands War and re-mained for well over a decade the sole aircraft carrier inthe Indian Ocean region following the decommissioningof the rst Indian carrier INS Vikrant in 1997 — is slatedto have a grand farewell at the International Fleet Reviewat Visakhapatnam in February 2016.It is in the process of obtaining Defence Ministry’s clear-ance to the retirement plan.Mounting maintenance costs and rapid depletion of its

integral eet of Sea Harrier jump jets are said to havecatalysed the decision to decommission Viraat. The Navyshelled out Rs. 70 crore for the last routine ret of thecarrier.The carrier was to have been dry-docked at the shipyardfor the next round of periodic ret in December last year,but it was called off in view of the retirement proposal.Viraat is now expected to have its decommissioning retsometime in the middle of 2015, say sources.The retirement call was forced, in part, by the dwindlingeet of Sea Harrier ghters operating from the deck of Vi-raat. While the limited upgrade Sea Harrier (LUSH) pro-gramme bestowed the ghters with modern avionics andbeyond visual range (BVR) strike capability, the ageingairframe has been a concern. Not more than seven SeaHarriers are available at the moment — some of themcannibalised (used as ‘Christmas Tree’ for spares) to

keep the relatively agile ones airworthy.“Thanks to the Navy’s stringent maintenance regimen,we have been able to operate Viraat without major glitch-es until now. But the Harrier eet has dwindled so muchthat within the Navy, Viraat is often referred to as a ‘OneHarrier carrier’. No point ogging it any further,” an ofcialsaid.

India’s rst carrier Vikrant, which was turned into a mari-time museum post-retirement in 1997, has now been bro-ken up after its upkeep became ostensibly unviable.

MoEF seeks enhanced budget for Na-tional Adaptation Fund The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and ClimateChange has demanded enhanced budgetary allocationfor the National Adaptation Fund.In 2014, the government allocated Rs. 100 crore to setup the Fund. Ofcial sources said the Ministry had sought

concessions for pollution abatement, climate-relatedinstrumentation and reduction in the cost of pollution-measuring equipment. Cost should not come in the wayof tackling pollution, the sources said.The Ministry is keen that some allocation be made in allMinistries so that climate change is integrated into plan-ning. The government had doubled the coal cess to -nance clean energy research but there is no new pro-posal from the ministry to increase the cess further.The National Adaptation Fund has Rs. 100 crore butthis is way short of what is needed for adaptation pro-grammes. While the government has embarked on am-bitious adaptation plans, funds are an issue as was the

case of the National Agriculture Mission which had toincorporate itself into existing government programmeswith a vastly scaled down budget.There was a shortage of funds for the ambitious NationalMission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), which ledto some goals of the mission being embedded into veexisting programmes of the Agriculture and Cooperationdepartments.The NMSA is one of the eight missions under the Na-tional Action Plan for Climate Change launched in 2008which was aimed “at transforming Indian agriculture intoa climate-resilient production system through suitable ad-

aptation and mitigation measures in the domain of cropsand animal husbandry.” According to the Mission document in 2010, the imple-mentation of the NMSA from 2011-2012 to the end of the



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


12th ve year plan would require an additional budgetarysupport of Rs. 1,08,000 crore.However, ofcial sources said there was a resource con-straint and the Mission was dovetailed into ve major ex-isting programmes.

Land and Coal Bills introduced in LokSabhaThe Union government used its majority in the Lok Sabhato introduce the controversial Land Acquisition (Amend-

ment) Bill and the Mines and Minerals (Development andRegulation) Amendment Bill to replace two ordinancesdespite statutory resolutions moved against them by theOpposition.In sharp contrast, in the Rajya Sabha, the Oppositionunitedly opposed the government’s efforts to withdrawthe Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, the Coal Mines(Special Provisions) Bill and the Motor Vehicles (Amend-ment) Bill, forcing it to defer the move. The government’s

plan was to get the Bill passed in the Lok Sabha and thentry for a joint session.Outmanoeuvred on the Land Acquisition Bill by a unitedOpposition in the Upper House, the government agreedto consult leaders of all parties to nd a solution. But thiscame only after a heated debate during Zero Hour: First,Leader of the House Arun Jaitley objected to the Oppo-sition raising the “subject of a particular Bill” instead ofdebating the issue of ordinances. Then, Congress Dep-uty Leader Anand Sharma pointed out that four parties,including his own, had given notice under Rule 267 forsuspension of business to discuss it as, he maintained,

the government had bypassed Parliament to amend alaw that had been passed in 2013 with the support of allparties, including the BJP.Faced with an unrelenting Opposition, Mr. Jaitley agreedto Mr. Yadav’s suggestion for a dialogue, saying he would

“convey it to the Minister concerned for appropriate ac-tion.”

Hopes high for ‘Make in India’ push indefenceWith the NDA government focusing on “Make in India”

and pushing for defence modernisation, expectations ofa boost to domestic manufacturing in the defence sectorin the coming general budget are high.India has one of the largest defence budgets in the world,but it also has the dubious distinction of being the world’slargest arms importer. While both India and China hadsimilar defence expenditure of around $10 billion in 1990,China has now quadrupled its expenditure with rapideconomic growth and planned modernisation. The differ-ence could not be starker — while India has become thelargest importer, China has graduated into the club of topexporters.

Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya, Partner, Government Advisory atKPMG, said: “The budget should have funding to devel-op institutional mechanisms to identify technologies thatneed to be developed for the Indian war ghting scenario.If we need to accelerate manufacturing in defence, wealso need to increase the FDI limit in defence from 49 percent to 51 per cent.” Across the board there are expectations that the long-pending One Rank, One Pension scheme will get funds,with the Defence Ministry promising to nalise the schemeby March this year. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikarhad earlier said that the Ministry would need an allocationof about Rs. 8,000 crore-9,000 crore for the scheme.

Tax concessionsTo encourage domestic manufacturing, the industry, par-ticularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),are expecting incentives in terms of tax breaks and con -cessions to enable a level-playing eld with the publicsector. “I would like to see special schemes with lowerinterest rates for MSMEs considering that this is a high-priority sector,” said G. Raj Narayan, managing director,Radel Group.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


February 2015

Putting monetary policy in context

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will unveil its next instal-ment of the bi-monthly policy review on February 3. Likeall policy statements, this one too will have a signicanceof its own. As always, the context is important. The UnionBudget — the rst full budget of the NDA government —will be presented to Parliament less than a month afterthe RBI review. Not just the RBI but everyone else willbe looking at the way the new government is handling itsnances.

Fiscal and monetary challengesThe commitment to rein in the scal decit at within 4.1per cent of the GDP by March this year will be scrutinised

from all sides — not just the achievement of the admit-tedly challenging target, but the ways in which it has beenachieved. For the monetary policy itself scal consolida-tion has been a highly desirable, even a necessary goal.In the battle against ination, the government has anequally important role to play as the RBI. In the broadestsense, it is neither the ination numbers nor the decits— important as they are — but the growth expectationsfrom the economy that matter the most. The monetaryreview and the Budget and related documents will havetheir say on India’s GDP growth rates. Right now, boththe RBI and the government estimate the current year’s(2014-15) rate of growth to be around 5.5 per cent, be-

low what most international institutions, including the IMFand the World Bank, estimate it to be.Turning to RBI policy review, there is another reason whythe customary feverish speculation on whether there willbe a rate cut or not is singularly absent this time. The RBIhas initiated an easing monetary policy by reducing therepo rate from 8 to 7.75 per cent,a little over two weeksbefore the scheduled review . A rate action before the scheduled policy review was notunanticipated. This was consistent with the forward guid-ance given by the central bank in the December policystatement.

The reasons for the monetary softening have been welldocumented. They include softer-than-expected con-sumer ination (retail ination as measured by the CPIindex); and broad-based disinationary tendencies, par -ticularly in core and even food ination.

Retail ination at 5 per cent in December was well belowthe RBI’s January target of 8 per cent. There has been a50 per cent slide in crude prices since June. Householdexpectation of ination is signicantly down. All these ap-pear to have convinced RBI that the momentum of in-ation is nally waning. In fact, even the January 2016ination target of 6 per cent looks eminently achievable.

However, even as the RBI shifts emphasis to supportinggrowth, its focus on ination can never waver. Further,rate cuts during the year might depend upon how well thegovernment progresses on the scal front and the sup-port it gives to reviving industrial activity. Falling inationhas given room for further easing but the central bank islikely to be cautious going forward.

Stock marketsThere is one big area of concern to policy makers. Goingby the phenomenal rise in the stock indices, Indian mar-kets have never had it so good. As stock market indicesset new records for ve days in a row. By most yard-

sticks, Indian stocks are overvalued. Yet, foreign moneyhas been pouring in — with FIIs, the largest of the institu-tional investors, investing some $1.5 billion in the previ-ous eight sessions. Amid such exuberance, a word or two of caution will notgo down well. But this is the time most investors have tobe especially wary of sales talk and newspaper head-lines. Also, the reasons behind this hype need to scruti-nise for what they are worth.For instance, it would seem unpatriotic to pick holes inthe apparently win-win situation following President Oba-ma’s visit. Yet, at the time of writing this, nobody is clearon the liability aspects in the civilian nuclear agreement.

Take another example: the widely quoted observation ofthe IMF-World Bank that by 2016 India’s rate of growthwill outpace that of China, making India the fastest grow-ing major economy. Welcome as such a developmentwould be, China is consciously winding down its growthprocess.Moreover, China’s economy is several times bigger thanIndia’s. That makes a comparison on the basis of per-centage growth rates highly misleading. The short-pointis that stock market investors need to be prepared for asoft-landing.RBI’s credit policy review might be the right forum to be-

gin that exercise. After all, the RBI has always been cau-tious — highlighting the risks to a higher growth as wellas lower ination. It is these areas that should commandmaximum attention in tomorrow’s policy statement.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


RBI raises forex limitThe central bank doubled the amount of foreign exchangethat an individual can remit in a year under a scheme thatallows asset purchase outside India. An individual cannow remit up to $250,000 a year under the LiberalisedRemittance Scheme, which was started in 2004 with aview to simplify foreign exchange avenues available to

Indians.

This is the second time the limit has been raised since adrastic 62.5 per cent cut in the limit to $75,000 in August2013, when the RBI was ghting hard to stem the free fallin rupee against the dollar.The conditions are far different this time. The rupee hasstrengthened against the dollar in 2015. RBI GovernorRaghuram Rajan on Tuesday noted other positives, in-cluding on managing ination, the growth pick-up as wellas a low current account decit.CARE Ratings said in a report, “This may not be signi -cant but signals that the external account is quite comfort-able.” A report by HDFC Bank, however, saw the move,in sync with others, as a measure “to curtail INR [rupee]

strength.”

Economists give investment, infra inputsfor BudgetUnion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that economistsinvited to the rst NITI Aayog meeting here presentedviews on the state of the economy and gave specic sug-gestions for the upcoming Union Budget, including stepsthat the government should take to boost investmentsand nance infrastructure projects.Mr. Jaitley, an ex-ofcio member of the Aayog, said the

Centre had no plans to give the NITI Aayog, planned as athink tank, statutory status.

Modi to meet CMsPrime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the meet-ing, is scheduled to meet the Chief Ministers on Sunday.

Those who participated in the meeting included formerFICCI Director-General Rajiv Kumar, former ReserveBank Governor Bimal Jalan, former Reserve Bank Dep-uty Governor Subir Gokarn and former Chairman, Com-mission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Ashok Gulati.Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, Chief Eco-nomic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and the Aayog’s full-

time members Bibek Debroy and V.K. Saraswat, Ministerof State for Finance Jayant Sinha and Planning MinisterRao Inderjit Singh were present.

Takeaways from the credit policyTo serious observers of Reserve Bank of India’s mon-etary policy, there are some non-issues interspersedbetween some new announcements. In the former cat-egory is the perennial speculation over a repo rate cut.This time, more than before previous monetary policy an-nouncements, anticipating a rate cut was futile. With asurprise 0.25 percentage point rate cut effected just two

weeks earlier, it was too much to expect the RBI to do anencore so soon.Yet for some, who believe that a soft interest policy is acure for all the economic ills, there was never a questionof giving up hope before every policy statement. In thiscategory are the nancial markets. Note how, on Febru-ary 3, an already volatile stock market moved ever soviolently after it was known that there would be no ratecut. The irony is several analysts, including many frominuential brokerages, had in their reports ruled out a rateaction, believing that further rate cuts during the later partof the year to the tune of 0.75 percentage point are pos-sible, perhaps even inevitable. The reduction in the Stat-utory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by 0.50 percentage point to21.5 per cent is a liquidity supporting move to an extent ofabout Rs.45 000 crore. However, it will not have any im-mediate impact as most banks have over invested in SLRsecurities. Traditionally, this route has been a safe havenfor the public sector banks to park their funds rather thanlend, an activity which carries some risks.

Transmission, a major worryIn the meantime, if anticipating a rate cut is usually a fu-tile exercise, ensuring monetary transmission has been aserious issue always. It simply means that though thereis enough liquidity and generally favourable conditions

(such as ination trending down), banks have not passedon the benets to their customers through lower lendingrates. However, sovereign and corporate bond yieldshave fallen by at least 50 basis points (0.5 percentage



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


point) in the third quarter. The policy statement says thatbanks will have to match their rates sooner or later withthe market rates.Monetary transmission has assumed enormous signi-cance in the context of falling credit off-take. Credit growthis down to an almost ve-year low. Economic downturnand a pile-up of non-performing assets have added to the

woes of lending banks. Although not sufciently highlighted, fear psychosisreigns supreme, and banks are reluctant to lend freely.This is an issue that has engaged the government andthe RBI for far too long but unfortunately without tangibleimprovement. In most public sector institutions, especial-ly banks, the most important person is not the CEO butthe head of vigilance.

Important events aheadTurning to the monetary statement, it is obvious that theRBI is waiting for three important events that are sched-uled over this month. The Budget (February 28) will beanalysed threadbare. After all, monetary policy and thescal policy will have to move in tandem to achieve mac-ro-economic goals. It is not just scal consolidation —holding the decit at the pre-stated goal (4.1 per cent ofthe GDP), but also the quality of such consolidation thatwill matter. The GDP data for 2014-15 as well as Januaryretail ination (CPI index) with the new base year 2011-12 will, along with the Budget, determine the directionand thrust of monetary policy. Of the three, the revisedGDP data may not have an immediate impact — thereare question marks over the methodology that has beenadopted to restate the national income gures of lastthree years. The new CPI data will be watched carefully

for ination signals.If the CPI-based ination continues its present trend andthe government sticks to scal consolidation, both quan-titatively and qualitatively, the RBI may go in for a rate cutsoon after the Budget and even before the next policyreview date.Of the developmental and regulatory announcements(Part B), the enhancement of the limit under the liberal-ised remittance scheme per person for scal 2015 showsthe RBI’s condence in the external account. The cur -rent account decit is projected to be at 1.3 per cent ofthe GDP by March — a tremendous improvement over

the difcult years when it hovered above 4 per cent andthreatened to spiral out of control. For savers, the policydoes not have any signicant messages. The one an-nouncement of note is to allow banks to book ‘non-calla-ble’ deposits.

Subject to clarication, this is taken to mean that bankscan take xed deposits which cannot be closed prema-turely. Depositors should get higher interest and banksthe certainty of holding on to the deposits until maturity.Details will follow, but deposits, which give tax savingsunder Section 80 C, cannot be prematurely closed butoffer lower interest rates than what banks offer on normal

deposits. The Budget may perhaps remove this anomaly.The RBI has received 72 applications for Small FinanceBanks and 41 for Payments Banks. The RBI-appointedcommittees will review the applications. The success ofthese niche banks will herald big changes in the nancialsector.

Import curbs pull down gold demand in2014: WGC Demand for gold declined by 14 per cent to 842.7 tonnesfrom 974. 8 tonnes in 2014 calendar year, mainly on ac-count of restrictions on imports of the metal for most part

of the year and a high base year in 2013, according to theWorld Gold Council (WGC) report ‘Gold Demand Trends2014’. Jewellery demand rose by 8 per cent to 662.1tonnes, while investment demand halved to 180.6 tonnes(362.2 tonnes).In value terms, the report says, the overall gold demanddeclined by 19 per cent to Rs.2.09 lakh crore, of which jewellery demand fell by one per cent to Rs. 1.62 lakhcrore while investment demand was down by 53 per centat Rs.44,857.10 crore. India recycled 77.1 tonnes in 2014(100.8 tonnes in 2013).The crippling restrictions on imports for most of 2014

had a big impact on investment demand, WGC Manag-ing Director, India, Somasundaram P. R., told this cor -respondent. But in contrast to this, festive buying and animproved economic sentiment saw jewellery demand riseby 8 per cent.He said the investment demand was impacted by thegovernment policies, which dissuaded jewellers fromselling bars and coins. Besides, there was a cut back inconsumption, and the pinch impacted the ability to putmoney in gold. However, gold price was not volatile in2014 and was range-bound declining 11 per cent over2013, he said. The industry expects a cut in the currentimport duty of 10 per cent to be announced in the coming

Union Budget.The expectation of a duty cut led to some deferral of pur -chases. Any cut in import duty though would not be a de-mand driver, Mr. Somasundaram said, adding that gold



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


smuggling, which was a massive 175 tonnes in 2014,could come down drastically or disappear in 2015 follow-ing any cut.The WGC India chief felt that in 2015, the improvedeconomy would benet savings, which could see moredemand for gold. “Everything considered, we expect golddemand to range between 900 and 1,000 tonnes in 2015,

growing 5-7 per cent,’’ he said.

Modi assures global investors reformspush will continuePrime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, assuredglobal investors that the government’s reforms pushwould continue and there would be predictability in poli-cies. He was speaking after inaugurating the rst manu-facturing plant of American multinational General Electrichere. The new facility will manufacture a range of diversi-ed products for sectors such as energy, aviation, oil aswell as gas transportation.

Multi-model facilityThis multi-modal facility will support GE’s global opera-tions as well as cater to the growing domestic demand.To support the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,GE Vice Chairman John Rice announced the secondphase expansion of Chakan unit by saying that it was atestimony to GE’s commitment to the Indian market.Thanking GE for committing additional investment in In-dia, Mr. Modi said: “This will give a boost to the ‘Make inIndia’initiative. I welcome all global investors to invest inIndia, and I am assuring you that your products manufac-tured here will be globally competitive.” The Prime Minis-

ter also urged GE to participate in the defence productionprogrammes of the government as well as that of mod-ernisation of the Indian Railways.

$200 m investmentIncluding phase II, GE will have a total investment of$200 million in India, and it will also explore possibility toinvest in the railway sector.In the rst phase of operations, the Chakan facility is fo-cused on products and solutions for the power genera-tion, oil as well as gas and transportation industries. Inthe second phase, the unit will include manufacturing ca-pability for new generation aviation engine components

and sub assembly for the latest rail locomotives and die-sel engines.

Export hubSpread over 68 acres, the new facility will generate em-ployment for 1500 people and many local suppliers. Fifty

per cent of the products manufactured from this unit willbe exported to other GE global sites, the company said.This is GE’s most advanced facilities bringing togetherautomation, the industrial internet and 3D printing.

Look beyond the usual numbersRecent data releases — the Index of Industrial Produc-

tion (IIP) for December, 2014; Consumer Price Index(CPI); and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for January - canhardly be called routine. The IIP, which measures the in-dustrial output, was up by 1.7 per cent on a year-on-yearbasis, down from 3.9 per cent in November, while CPIination increased to 5.11 per cent in January. Inationbased on the WPI contracted by 0.4 per cent, pushingit into negative territory. In the corresponding period lastyear, it had increased by 5.1 per cent. The IIP and CPIdata were released on February 12 and the WPI data afew days later.Earlier the Central Statistics Ofce sprang the biggest

surprise in recent times. In its advance estimate of GDPgrowth for the current year (2014-15), the economy grewat an astounding 7.4 per cent. This showed the economyto be in the pink of health compared to most other majoreconomies. All earlier estimates, nowhere near the re-vised gures, as well as the numerous prescriptions forreviving the economy will have to thrown overboard if thenew CSO gures pass muster with experts. It must bestated that the initial reactions to the new national incomegures are one of scepticism. The ofcial data machineryhas quite a job on its hands.The purpose of this article is, however, not to join thesceptics but to study the implications of the revision on

the other data releases, especially the one relating to in-dustrial output and retail ination.Monetary policy actions such as whether there should bea rate cut or not are based on an interpretation of thesedata. As has been noticed several times in the past, thesecan give contradictory signals. Ination might be seen tobe high based on these data. The Reserve Bank of In-dia may be induced to hold or even increase the ratesbut the industrial output gures call for a cheaper inter -est rate policy. This dilemma has played out on severaloccasions and yet there is still no conclusive evidencethat policy can be framed based entirely on these sets

of gures, either individually or together. Fathoming theoverall growth trajectory is hardly likely to be easy in theface of contradictory lead indicators.This time there is the additional major complication. Obvi-ously, the unexpectedly robust growth data for the current



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


year can confuse rather than enlighten the interpretationof the most recent data on ination and industrial output.The data releases have come immediately after majorrevisions in the way the country’s gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) is calculated. The base year for calculatingit has also been changed and the matrix for calculationchanged from factor cost to market prices.

CPI indexThe CPI index has also undergone a major change aswell with the base year being shifted from 2010 to 2012. Along with this, the weightage given to various itemsforming the index has been modied on the basis of theexpenditure survey for 2011-12. Until December, the sur -vey for 2004-05 was the reference point for estimatingthe weights.The fall of WPI ination into negative territory is big news.It indicates the continuance of disinationary pressures,and may pave the way for a rate cut. However, it is theCPI ination that is the reference point for monetary policy

today. The new base year for CPI and the reshufing ofweights will be analysed carefully for what they portend.Not to be forgotten behind the declines in ination of bothcategories are the falling commodity prices, especially ofpetroleum. In a sharp reminder that global oil prices willnot continue to move downwards indenitely, there wasa sharp reversal a fortnight ago. However the decliningtrend has since resumed.In India, domestic gasoline prices were hiked after manycontinuous cuts. The budget will consider all aspects ofpetroleum pricing at the retail level. The government haslevied indirect taxes on petroleum, which, however, werenot passed on to the customers.

Turning to the national income statistics, it is evident thatthere are two sets of hurdles that the ofcial statisticianswill have to overcome. First, there is the question of estab-lishing the credibility of ofcial statistics. Even in the past,some of the gures, for example, the industrial output g-ure, have been faulted for being inconsistent and erratic.Second, the new estimates have very little relevance tothe ground. Important indicators, including the IIP, bankcredit disbursements, and corporate performance do notbear out the strong growth gures estimated.For important users of the data, including the governmentand the RBI, the key tasks would be to ‘reconcile’ the

new estimates with previous gures. For this, as manyeconomists have been saying, the CSO should providea lot more supporting data. Lay people would be betteroff if the ofcial statistics are seen to make an impact ontheir day-to-day life.

RBI went by majority views of technicalpanel on rate cutThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has gone by the major-ity suggestion of the external members of its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) while keeping key interest

rates unchanged in its Monetary Policy Review. A majority of the external members of the TAC on mone-tary policy of the Reserve Bank of India has recommend-ed no change in the policy rate in the Sixth Bi-monthlyMonetary Policy Review of 2014-15 on February 3. Onpolicy action, four of the seven external members recom-mended no change in the policy repo rate.“The members opined that there was no noticeablechange in the environment since the policy rate actionof mid-January, 2015,’’ the RBI said. They felt that anyfurther action should be only after the Union Budget waspresented so that there was clarity on measures proposedto increase potential output and on scal consolidation,

which would anchor ination expectations. Of these fourmembers, one recommended that the Statutory LiquidityRatio (SLR) be cut by 50 basis points. Another, however,recommended a 100-basis point reduction.Three members wanted the policy repo rate be reduced.Two of them suggested a reduction by 25 basis points. According to them, the trend reduction in ination and in-ation expectations has been in excess of the glide path.Therefore, a 25-basis point reduction is necessary beforepausing to watch food ination. Also, since lower creditgrowth was not compensated by increased issuance ofcommercial paper, it has been suggested that credit is

being priced too high in relation to its supply. One mem-ber, however, recommended a sharp reduction of 75 ba-sis points in the policy rate as the economy is stagnatingand is in urgent need of a monetary policy push.The seven external members are: Y. H. Malegam,Shankar Acharya, Arvind Virmani, Indira Rajaraman, Er -rol D’Souza, Ashima Goyal, and Chetan Ghate.

Economic Survey moots three-pointaction plan to realise ‘Make in India’dream

The Economic Survey of 2014-15 has suggested threeinitiatives in the decreasing order of effectiveness and theincreasing order of controversy to realise the ‘Make inIndia’ dream.The non-controversial response lies in improving the



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


business environment by making regulations and taxesless onerous, building infrastructure, reforming labourlaws, and enabling connectivity. “All these will reduce thecost of doing business, increase protability, and, hence,encourage the private sector, both domestic and foreign,to increase investments,” the Survey said.The next response could be in the form of ‘industrial

policy’. This could focus on promoting manufacturing byproviding subsidies, lowering the cost of capital, and cre-ating special economic zones (SEZs) for manufacturingactivity. And then, it suggested a ‘protectionist’ response. Essen-tially, this would focus on the tradability of manufacturingintended to shield domestic manufacturing from foreigncompetition via tariffs, local content requirements, andexport-related incentives. “The effectiveness of these ac-tions is open to debate given past experience. Moreover,they could run up against India’s external obligations un-der the WTO and other free trade agreements, and alsoundermine India’s openness credentials,” the Survey saidWhile sounding caution on micro-intervention, the Surveyoffered a way out. “An intervention that can be immedi-ately implemented, that can have large impacts, and thatis win-win, is to eliminate the current negative protectionfacing Indian manufacturing,” it said. Eliminating all ex-emptions for the countervailing duty (CVD) and specialadditional duties on imports would eliminate the negativeprotection facing the Indian manufacturers, it pointed out.The Survey went on to illustrate how the tax policy waseffectively penalising domestic manufacturing. This couldbe addressed by enacting a well-designed GST prefer -ably with one internationally competitive rate and with

narrowly dened exemptions.In one stroke, the penalties on domestic manufactur-ing would be eliminated because the GST (Central andState) would automatically be levied on imports to ensureneutrality of incentives.

Liberalise FDI in retail for farm sector:Survey The Economic Survey said that by adopting what it calledthe JAM Number Trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana accountsseeded with Aadhaar numbers and operated through mo-bile numbers — would allow the States to deliver the sub-sidies to the poor in a targeted and less distorted manner.Pointing to the lop-sidedness of policies, it said India’spublic expenditure on agriculture was a fourth of the sub-sidy bill on food and fertilizer.

In its recommendations for farm sector reforms, it saidliberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retailcould help ll the massive investment and infrastructuredecit which resulted in supply-chain inefciencies. TheNarendra Modi government’s stand has been to disallowFDI in multi-brand retail.“Boldness in areas where policy levers can be more eas-

ily pulled by the Centre combined with incrementalism inother areas is a combination that can cumulate over timeto Big Bang reforms.”The Survey also found that India’s manufacturing wasskill-intensive, which was not in line with the country’scomparative advantage in unskilled labour and recom-mended rebalancing of policies: “While ‘Make in India’occupies prominence as an important goal, the futuretrajectory of Indian Development depends on both it and‘Skilling India’.”



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


February 2015

8% GDP growth helped reduce poverty:UN reportUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacic (ESCAP) has said the 8 per centGDP growth in India from 2004 to 2011 led to a sharpdecline in poverty from 41.6 per cent to 32.7 per cent

and achieved the rst Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) set for 2015 of reducing poverty by half.In a report — India and the MDGs — UN ESCAP saidother MDGs achieved include gender parity in primaryschool enrolment, maternal mortality reduction by three-fourths and control of spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria andtuberculosis. India also achieved MDGs related to in-creased forest cover, halved the proportion of populationwithout access to drinking water.The MDGs that India has missed are universal primaryschool enrolment and completion and universal youthliteracy by 2015, empowering women through wage em-ployment and political participation, reducing child andinfant mortality and improving access to adequate sani-tation to open defecation, the report says.“Over 270 million people in India in 2012 still remainedtrapped in extreme poverty making the post-2015 goalof eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 challenging, butfeasible.”UN under-secretary general and executive secretary of

the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Sham-shad Akhtar said at the release of the report: “Over theyears, the MDGs have pushed governments around theworld to mainstream poverty reduction, gender parity,

education and health and such basic needs as water andsanitation in their development agenda.”

China’s ‘Silk Road fund’ becomesoperationalChina has taken a rm step to implement its vision of the

Silk Road Economic Belt — an initiative to integrate theeconomies of Asia and Europe along the Eurasian cor-ridor — by putting into operation its $40 billion infrastruc-ture fund for this purpose.The fund, agged in November last by Chinese Presi-dent Xi Jinping, has started functioning on the lines ofPrivate Equity (PE) venture. With China as the fulcrum,it is meant to nance development of roads, rail tracks,bre optic highways, and much more, that would connectSouth Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europealong an integrated land corridor.Funds can also be allocated for the Maritime Silk Road

(MSR), which envisions development of ports and facili-ties, mainly in the Indian Ocean. These ports will be con-nected to the hinterland by a string of land arteries, whichwill eventually hook up with the main Silk Road EconomicBelt at specic junctions.Xinhua quoted President Xi as saying during the Novem-ber meeting with ofcials from Bangladesh, Cambodia,Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan thatthe purpose of the fund is to “break the connectivity bot-tleneck” in Asia.The Chinese President had offered investors from Asiaand beyond to join the Silk Road fund for the develop-ment of specic projects. The $40 billion fund was in ad-

dition to the decision to establish a $50 billion Asian In-frastructure Investment Bank, which is also meant to helpnance construction in the region.The semi-ofcial China Business News quoted ZhouXiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China(PBOC), as saying the $40 billion fund “has alreadystarted an operation, with registration on December 29and the rst board meeting”. China has poured part of itsforeign exchange reserves in the fund, which include in-vestors such as the China Investment Corp, the country’ssovereign fund, and China Exim-Bank. Analysts point out that as its economy slows down from

its earlier blistering pace, China has developed largeovercapacity in construction material, including cementand steel. China’s “One Road, One Belt” strategy, aimedat establishing new “growth engines” along the Eurasian



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


corridor, could well absorb some of this surplus.In an editorial in China Daily, Justin Yifu Lin, former chiefeconomist of the World Bank, wrote: “The strategy isgood for the stabilisation and development of the worldeconomy and China, as it has a large overcapacity inconstruction materials.”

China’s draft anti-terrorism law high onprivacy and human rightsChina is drafting an ambitious counterterrorism law,which seeks to address concerns over privacy and hu-

man rights, without losing the sting to target internationalterror groups.The draft law has taken into account the Charlie Hebdoterror incident in France, the Copenhagen strike, as wellas the essence of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) ledby the United States. Besides, the legislation has beensensitised by last year’s deadly terror attack, at Kunmingstation, in the country’s Yunnan province, which left 29

people dead, and scores injuredWithout specically referring to Edward Snowden — thewhistleblower who revealed prevalence of pervasive sur-veillance in the United States — a Xinhua commentarypoints out that “Global terrorism should not be a warrantfor retreat on citizens’ rights, and China’s rst CounterTerrorism Law sends a welcome signal in this regard.”The draft advocates establishing mechanisms that wouldensure that access to private phone and Internet recordsgoes through a strict approval procedure. The informa-tion that is gathered should also be used solely for thepurpose of counterterrorism and not otherwise. A similar

approval must also be obtained to inquire into, seal up,seize or freeze assets.The new law is being drafted at a time when ChinesePresident Xi Jinping has been calling for rmly implanting

the rule of law as the anchor for China’s national reju-venation. Chinese state-media has been reporting thatthe President has been advocating, “Four Comprehen-sives” — a moderately prosperous society, reform, ruleof law, and Party discipline — as the blueprint for China’sfuture. “The ‘Four Comprehensives’ are tasks raised atCommunist Party of China (CPC) meetings over the last

two years, since President Xi Jinping took ofce,” writesGlobal Times , a CPC afliate.

Analysts point out that the draft law addressestwo separate domains.It challenges the western narrative on counterterrorismand human rights by pointing to a more rational Chinesealternative. Besides, it hopes to shore up CPC’s legiti-macy, especially among China’s cyber connected youth.President Xi is well aware of the dangers of a wideninglegitimacy gap in his country. “Winning or losing publicsupport is an issue that concerns the CPC’s survival orextinction,” the President had said in 2013 during the

start of his frugality campaign.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


February 2015

Russia, China back India’s inclusion inexpanded APECRussia and China have endorsed India’s efforts to formal-ise an iron-clad rejection of international terrorism, amida call by the three countries to end the era of a unipolarworld and rid the globe of the threat of “regime change.” At the end of their day-long deliberations in the Chinesecapital, the foreign ministers of the Russia-India-China

(RIC) grouping issued a comprehensive joint communi-qué that called for an ambitious reform of an internationalsystem that was respectful of the diversity of home-grownpolitical systems.The communiqué recommended India’s inclusion in anexpanded Asia Pacic Economic Cooperation (APEC), a21-nation grouping of Pacic Rim countries. The Ministersendorsed India’s impending membership to the Shang-hai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after elevating thegrouping, which is pillared by Russia, China and most ofthe Central Asian States as “one of the key instrumentsin promoting multilateral political, security, economic andhumanitarian interaction in the region.”

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), whichIndia is joining soon, has been holding major counter-terrorism exercises, in anticipation of the withdrawal ofthe U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Recognising the threatto stability posed during Afghanistan’s upcoming transi-tional phase, the three Ministers called for supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), in tune with thewithdrawal of the U.S.-led International Security Assis-tance Force (ISAF).Without specifying the “Pivot to Asia” doctrine of the

U.S., which involves concentration of forces on Chi-

na’s periphery, a joint statement by the RIC grouping

called for advancing talks in the East Asia summitframework on rule-based security architecture in the

Asia-Pacic, driven by the United Nations.

Indo-U.S. nuclear deal can apply to othercountries’France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius ac-cepted that the elements of the recent Indo-U.S. agree-ment on nuclear liability could apply to other nations. Inresponse to questions on the India-U.S. understanding

last month on how to resolve the liability issue, he said itwas for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide when hevisits France in spring (between March and June) laterthis year. At a press conference with Union Minister of State forEnvironment Prakash Javadekar, Mr. Fabius said he dis-cussed nuclear issues among many other aspects in hismeeting with Mr. Modi. French embassy sources saidFrance was keen on the details of the civil nuclear co-operation between India and the U.S. India and Francealready have a civil nuclear cooperation under which theFrench company Areva is to set up six nuclear reactorsin Jaitapur.

In a joint statement last February after the visit of Presi-dent François Hollande to India, there was a reference tothe ongoing collaborative projects on the peaceful usesof nuclear energy, and India and France agreed to furtherstrengthen bilateral civil nuclear scientic cooperation. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in February2009 between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Lim-ited and AREVA for setting up 6x1650 MWe EPR (EPRis a third generation pressurised water reactor (PWR)units at Jaitapur. The statement said the status in regardto the rst two EPR units was reviewed and NPCIL and AREVA were engaged actively in techno-commercial dis-

cussions. Mr. Hollande and the then Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh had hoped for an expeditious conclu-sion of the negotiations.Regarding his meeting with Mr. Modi, Mr. Fabius said,“We touched on different subjects of our strategic part-nership in various elds, energy, urban planning, spaceand tourism and many areas. We did not discuss in fulldetail on every subject.”He added that issues could be discussed further duringMr. Modi’s ofcial visit. He also mentioned Mr. Modi’sspecial phone call to the French President after the re-cent terror attack in Paris. The issue of terrorism was alsodiscussed as it was a common concern.Mr. Javadekar said he and Mr. Fabius spoke on

various issues of environment protection and cli-

mate change. He said that Mr. Fabius had agreed to

consider a ministerial or high-level ofcial meeting



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


sometime during the middle of this year to discuss

and sort out issues which often remain unresolved

at the negotiator’s level.

BRICS to set up green fundThe BRICS grouping, comprising Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa, is discussing a green fund underthe New Development Bank to undertake green projectsand develop green technologies for sustainable develop-ment.This will be part of the discussions at the meeting of theBRICS Environmental Ministers in April in Russia to dis-cuss green economy and tackling climate change chal-lenges in the BRICS region, the visiting Russian Ministerfor Natural Resources and Environment, Sergei Donskoi.“During the BRICS meeting of Environment Ministers,we have chosen specially the topic of development ofgreen economy... resolution of environmental problemsand competitiveness of business in the context of green

economy,” he said. The New Development Bank will bebased in China with assets of $100 billion as a rival to theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).The Russian Minister took part at the Delhi SustainableDevelopment Summit and held discussions with his In-dian counterpart Prakash Javadekar. Mr. Donskoi saidthe Moscow meeting would release a document whichwould identify future projects and a plan for implementingthem. “We discussed the draft of the document and wegave it to the Indian Environment Minister. We are nowexpecting further discussions on this with our Indian col-leagues.”

On the upcoming global climate summit in Paris, he saidRussia would underscore the necessity of signing an “all-inclusive agreement” in a differentiated manner.“The main topic of discussion on our part will be

the necessity of signing an all-inclusive agreement

which would x differentiated approaches of differ -

ent countries and the need for working in accord-

ance with each country’s responsibility for fullling

these conventions,” he said.

OECD asks India to ease regulatory bur-den for economic growthIndia needs to ease administrative and regulatory ‘bur-den’ on companies and to encourage infrastructure de-velopment to promote economic growth, global body Or-ganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

(OECD). While acknowledging that barriers to FDI havebeen reduced by India in various sectors, the Paris-basedthink tank said that more needed to be done for efcientallocation of capital.“Easing administrative and regulatory burden on compa-nies and encouraging infrastructure development wouldpromote economic activity,” the OECD said in a report. To

spur creation of formal jobs, labour market duality shouldbe reduced while labour laws need to be simplied. Be-sides, the “rather stringent employment protection legis-lation should be reconsidered,” the report titled ‘Going forGrowth’ said. According to the OECD, the FDI barriers have been re-duced in particular in telecom, civil aviation, railways,defence, construction and multi-brand retail. “Financialreforms are gradually implemented and the ReserveBank of India has taken steps to increase competitionin the banking sector as well as its efciency but more isneeded to achieve a more efcient allocation of capital,”

it noted.Further, the report said that reforms to promote the de-velopment of a dynamic and efcient nancial sector areneeded to support investment and inclusive growth. “TheReserve Bank of India approved the issuance of newbanking licenses in 2014 and now allows banks to openbranches without prior permission. “Foreign banks canopen subsidiaries and branches across the country, subject to domestic regulation,” it added.Suggesting a way forward, the OECD said that bank port-folio restrictions should be eased, including gradual re-duction in the share of government bonds held by banks,and have a plan to phase out priority lending.

“Allow greater participation by foreign investors in the -nancial service sector and further promote the entry ofnew private banks,” the report noted. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said an ambitious reform agendacan help boost jobs, productivity and support demand.“We understand the difculties many govern-

ments face in pushing for reforms, in a context of

weak demand, limited budgetary leeway and high

unemployment.“But we still see structural reforms —

combined with effective scal and monetary policy

— as part of an essential trilogy to boost growth,”.

Sirisena-Modi meet: Indian investmenthigh on agendaIn his upcoming meeting with Prime Minister NarendraModi, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is likely



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


to discuss possible areas for Indian investment in SriLanka, a senior Minister said.Brieng the media on Cabinet decisions on Thursday,Plantations Minister and Leader of the House, LakshmanKiriella, said investment, education and highways arehigh on the agenda for discussions. Asked if the Palk Bay conict will be raised, he said: “It is

an ongoing issue troubling both sides. The President willsurely convey the concerns of our shermen here.” Whileinvestment will be a key theme, it is learnt that the Com-prehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA),which New Delhi has been pushing for, may not gure inthis round of discussions.“The visit is mainly to establish a good rapport with NewDelhi,” said the Minister, who earlier said the Sri Lankangovernment will not partner China in anyway detrimentalto India. Mr. Modi is likely to visit Sri Lanka in March,following which President Sirisena is scheduled to visitChina.Minister D.M. Swaminathan, who will be on the Presi-

dent’s delegation to New Delhi, said the governmentwould invite private investment as India had “giants” likethe Tatas and the Birlas who could further explore the SriLankan market.Sri Lanka will also seek Indian assistance for the

construction of 20,000 houses for workers in the

plantation sector, who are Sri Lankan Tamils of re-

cent Indian origin, in the island’s Central Province.

Pre-empting China, India inks nuclearpact with Sri Lanka

In a sign of a closer strategic partnership between SriLanka’s new government and India, President Maithripa-la Sirisena and Prime Minister Narendra Modi concludeda civil nuclear cooperation agreement on Monday, whichis Sri Lanka’s rst nuclear partnership with any country.Calling the bilateral agreement on civil nuclear coop-eration “another demonstration of our mutual trust,” Mr.Modi said India and Sri Lanka had also agreed to expanddefence and strategic cooperation, including a “trilateralformat” with the Maldives.Mr. Modi is expected to visitColombo in mid-March, and sources told The Hindu thathe was likely to include Male in his itinerary.Ofcials on both sides said the agreement on nuclear co-

operation was an initial one and would not lead to theconstruction of nuclear energy reactors immediately. According to an ofcial release, the agreement “wouldfacilitate cooperation in the transfer and exchange of

knowledge and expertise, sharing of resources, capac-ity building and training of personnel in peaceful usesof nuclear energy, including use of radioisotopes, nu-clear safety, radiation safety, nuclear security, radioactivewaste management and nuclear and radiological disastermitigation and environmental protection.”

Hitachi keen to push ‘Make in India’ pro-grammeJapanese infrastructure and electronics major Hitachi,with its thrust on social innovation business, plans togrow its India business, and is committed to Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi’s call of ‘Make in India’. Hitachi openedits India ofce in 1935. Now it has 31 business bases inIndia with over 10,000 employees.India’s revenues were at about a per cent of the com-pany’s global revenues, and it planned to increase India’srevenues to 210 billion yen (around Rs.11, 000 crore) by2015 from 100 billion yen in 2013, Toshiaki Higashihara,

President and COO Hitachi told the media. The companyplans to hike the number of employees in India to reach13,000 by 2014-15.He said, as part of its four-year investment plan in Indiaculminating in 2014-15, Hitachi was investing 70 billionyen in the areas of IT, water, energy, transportation andhealthcare. “We have already spent around 70 per centof this budget,’’ he added.On the focus areas that the company planned to makelocally, Mr. Higashihara said, were solutions to meet thegrowing healthcare needs. It was already selling check-up diagnostic equipment and advanced medical devices.

“Besides, we will focus on elevators and escalators to ca-ter to urban planning. We have an order for 58 elevators,including 46 high-speed elevators in Mumbai.’’The Hitachi chief said another area was railway systems.“We are targeting the areas of metro rails, monorail andhigh-speed trains. We will also consider tying up with In-dian companies,’’ he said.In the area of nancial solutions, Hitachi will provide newservices to advance nancial services in India, whichincludes settlement services for banks, ATM operationservices and cash operation and management solutionsthrough Prizm Payment Services, which it had acquiredin March, 2014.

In 2014, in construction machinery, Tata HitachiConstruction started exporting excavators to Africa

and the Middle East. Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electron-

ics has been exporting power electronics products



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


to the Middle East and ASEAN since 2013. Besides,

Mr. Higashirhara said, the company was setting up a

unit for industrial chemicals and high-end materials.

An auto component manufacturing unit in Chennai,

which would come up by 2016, he said.

India ranks below most BRICS nations in

innovationEven as the research and development (R&D) sector hasbeen witnessing double-digit growth in the last few years,India ranks lower than most BRICS nations in capacity forinnovation, according to the Economic Survey 2014-15.“According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15, India’s capacity for innovation has been lower thanthat of many countries like the U.S., the U.K., South Ko-rea, and even other BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, In-dia, China, and South Africa) except Russia,” the Surveysaid.The report ranks India at 48 in capacity for innovation,

Brazil at 44, China 40 and South Africa 35. Russia isranked 66. Even in quality of scientic research institu-tions, India scores lower than China, Brazil, and South Africa. This is also exhibited through its poor score onuniversity-industry collaboration on R&D as compared tosome other BRICS nations like China and South Africa,the Survey said.“In terms of patents granted per million population, Indiafares badly compared to other BRICS countries. In termsof company spending on R&D also India is far below Chi-na,” it added.Only in terms of availability of scientists and engineers,

India scores better or is equal to other BRICS countries.The R&D sector in the country grew 20.8 per cent in

2012-13.

SCO: Russia to push for India’s full mem-bershipRussia will push for India’s full membership in the Shang-hai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during the upcom-ing meeting it is hosting in July, said Sergey E. Naryshkin,Chairman of the Russian State Duma, here on Friday.India is currently an observer in the multilateral grouping.“Russia will take all necessary steps to comply with In-

dia’s application for full membership during the organi-sation’s summit in Bashkortostan,” said Naryshkin, thirdranking leader in the Russian government.The SCO, founded in 2001, comprises Russia, China and

several Central Asian republics and is seen as a counterto the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).Russia is also pushing for deeper engagement amongthe BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa)group as well as the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika. Mr.Naryshkin said it was logical “to turn BRICS into a fullscale strategic forum” for discussing issues of mutual in-

terest.Russia is scheduled to take over chairmanship of theBRICS grouping and the next summit will be held in Rus-sia in July.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


February 2015

Double-action drugs: one key opens twolocksIn the history of medicine, the hunt for drugs has been anempirical one. Substances from plant, marine and evenanimal sources have been tried and, over the years, sev-

eral useful substances have emerged as medicationsagainst chosen illnesses as well as for specic medi-cal conditions. More often than not, many of these aregeneral-purpose ones used as tonics, such as gingkobiloba or green tea in the Orient, Ashwagandha in Indian Ayurveda, or Zinda Tilismat in the Unani system. But insome ones such as the cinchona bark against malaria, orleaves from the periwinkle plant, used in traditional medi-cines against cancer, the ‘active’ principles have beenconrmed by modern organic chemistry to contain qui-nine, and vincristine respectively. Yet all these attempts

have been empirical, trial and error methods that havetaken centurries to grow.With advances in chemistry, it has become possible to

separate individual molecules from such mixtures andsynthesise them in pure form in the laboratory — abranch that bears the name natural products chemistry,an area that has been a fertile and focused eld in India

since the 1950s. At the same time, advances in the medical sciences, par-ticularly in the eld of pathology, have led us to focus onthe organ, tissue and cells which are affected and mal-function. And advances in biology have allowed us to getan idea of what has gone wrong at the molecular or cel-

lular level during the malfunction, thus leading to the eraof cellular and molecular medicine.For example, the disorder diabetes is caused by abnor -mally high levels of sugar in the body. While sugar is es-sential since it is the fuel for the maintenance and growthof cells and tissue, excess levels of it go to “choke” themetabolism by modifying the chemical structure (andtherefore the function) of several proteins’ molecules.One example is the chemical reaction between sugarand the oxygen-transport protein, haemoglobin. This re-action modies the structure of haemoglobin in a mannerthat its ability to carry and transport oxygen to cells isaffected. Once this choking action had been understood,

researchers have developed drug molecules (such asmetformin) that level down the production of sugar in theliver to acceptable limits.Note that the drug that the researcher ‘designs’ should tthe relevant molecules/cell component specically like aglove on hand or a key on a lock. That way, the specicstep(s) are affected without disturbing other componentsin the cellular machinery in any manner, so that there areno side effects.It happens occasionally that the “side effects” may notonly be harmless, but may prove helpful elsewhere inthe body for some other malfunction, purely by hap-

penstance. Aspirin is one such double-action drug. In-troduced rst as a pain-reliever, it has also been foundto help dissolve clotting of blood. Its analgesic action ison the nervous system while its clot-dissolving action isthrough its action on platelet cells in blood. Aspirin is thusa master key that appears to open more than one lock. And it is not just a single example — there are others.The molecule termed ELQ 300 is an antimalarial, whichacts against the malaria parasite both in the liver stageand when the parasite has already entered the blood-stream as well, making it a double-action drug. Likewisethe peptide M5 that Dr Anand Ranganathan has comeout with (described in our last column of January 29,2015, <=”” p=””> A recent double-positive example comes from the Uni-versity of Texas Health Science centre. Dr Shapiro and



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


his group there have found that the drug retiganine, usedto control convulsion in epilepsy patients, acts also as aneffective drug to reduce acute stroke in mice. The groupnds that mice affected by stroke, when treated with thisanti-epilepsy drug, showed no difculty in movement,balance and coordination.Why did the group even try retigabine? “We thought if we

could stop the neurons from ring, stopping their electri-cal activity, we could conserve their resources until thetime their blood supply was restored. This proved to bethe case”, Dr Shapiro is quoted as saying. . And his cow-orker Dr Bierbower says: “It is treating the rst step in thesequence and stopping the more damaging secondaryeffects. These agents (like retigabine) directly affect thenerve cells themselves.”With increasing knowledge gained about the detailedshape and architecture of proteins and other biopolymermolecules in the cell (the ‘locks”), and their computer-based modelling on one hand, and the electrophysiologi-cal steps on the other, the eld of ‘in silico” or computer-projection and representation of the cellular players hasbecome possible. This allows us to look for drug mole-cules (the keys) that t in like Lego pieces — the pos-sibility of nding more than one “ lock” increases and thenumber of double action drugs’ promises ( even triple-action ones) will be on the rise. The ‘ vaidya ’ or medicineman has now become the computer-savvy drug designer.The old trial and error is modernised into “high through-put screening” of hundreds of molecules, and the time for‘bingo’ here is in days rather than years. But the principleis quite the same. As the French have it: Plus ça change,

plus c’est la même chose , or “the more things change,

the more they stay the same.”

Understanding the INOThe India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project hasbeen facing a barrage of questions from environmental-ists, politicians and others ever since the project wascleared. One of the queries concerns the actual experi-ments planned and the nature of neutrinos themselves— whether the experiment will use articially manufac-tured neutrino beams and on the safety to humans andthe environment if such neutrinos are used.The concern about the use of articially manufactured

neutrino beams is rooted in a 2004 paper by Naba Mon-dal, Project Director of INO. He had written that in orderto receive neutrinos from neutrino factories all around theworld at a later date that they are setting up the magneticdetector. Dr. Mondal claried to this Correspondent that

the statement was made in the preliminary stages of for-mulating the experiment, when it was not known whatsource of neutrinos would be needed.The team had planned for this method for its secondphase of operation in order to measure one of the param-eters associated with “neutrino oscillations.” However,China, using neutrinos from their Daya Bay nuclear reac-

tor, has by now already measured this parameter, so theneed and the plan for this phase of operation of the INOexperiment no longer exist.Even if such a beam were to be used, it would have hadno harmful effects, he stressed. “A human being canstand in the path of such a neutrino beam for his or herlifetime, say eighty years, and only one neutrino will per-haps interact with the body,” he said, quantising his argu-ment that even if such a beam were to be commissioned,it would have no side-effects.To mention two experiments using neutrino beams, theFermilab experiment has been beaming neutrinos to Min-nesota (Soudan Mine) which is nearly 735 km away forabout 15 years; beams from CERN in Geneva reach theGran Sasso laboratory in Italy (over 700 km away), thishas been running for about seven years. The U.S. is de-veloping an experiment called the Long Baseline Neu-trino Facility to beam neutrinos from Fermilab to Homes-take mines (in the U.S.) in which scientists from variouscountries including India are participating.“Sending a neutrino beam for experiments to a farawaydetector is nothing new. If there were any danger withsuch beams, will the U.S, Japan and Italy have allowedthis? In any case, INO will use only atmospheric neutri-nos,” said Dr Mondal. In this context, it is necessary to

look at the nature of neutrinos. It is not correct to say thatnaturally occurring neutrinos have only low energies.Neutrinos coming from the atmosphere, such as cosmicrays have very high energies, just as the extragalacticneutrinos detected at the IceCube experiment in theSouth Pole. So when we say we are being bombarded byneutrinos, it also includes neutrinos of high energies. Inthis sense, making the distinction between “natural” and“articial” neutrinos is meaningless. As a matter of fact, neutrinos may even play a role inmaintaining peace. They can be used to monitor nuclearreactors to check if anyone is making away with stores

of plutonium which can be used in making nuclear weap-ons. This is a part of ongoing research in France.

Why kids in rural India die of diarrhoea,pneumonia



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


The reason why a large number of children under the ageof ve years die of diarrhoea and pneumonia, generallyin rural India and especially in Bihar, has become abun-dantly clear.Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the biggest killer diseasesin children aged under ve years in India. With 55 per1,000 live births, Bihar has the highest infant mortality

rate in the country. But 340 health-care providers whowere studied in rural Bihar rarely practised what little theyknew about treating children suffering from these two dis-eases. The results of a study were published a couple ofdays ago in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.“Vignette” interviews were conducted to assess how theywould diagnose and treat children with these diseases.Later, the actual treatment offered by the health-care pro-viders was assessed by sending “patients” pretending tosuffer from the same symptoms as in the interviews.If the providers’ exhibited “low levels” of knowledge aboutthe two diseases during the interviews, it was even worseduring practice. Cheap, life-saving, widely available oralrehydartion salts (ORS) with zinc supplementation is thecorrect treatment for diarrhoea (2013 WHO recommen-dation).During the vignette interviews, a paltry 3.5 per cent ofproviders offered the correct treatment for diarrhoea. An-other 69 per cent offered ORS, but it was in addition toother unnecessary treatments. Some even prescribedantibiotics.Shockingly, no health care provider prescribed the cor -rect treatment for the “patients” with diarrhoea — onlyORS. It was a few shades better in the case of pneumo-nia where the gure stood at 13 per cent.

Again, if nearly 21 per cent of practitioners prescribed po-tentially harmful treatment (including antibiotics) withoutORS during the interviews, an alarming 72 per cent of -fered dangerous cocktails that included antibiotics duringpractice. In the case of pneumonia, while 12 per cent pre-scribed antibiotics for pneumonia during interviews, thegure went up marginally to 15 per cent during practice.Severe pneumonia requires treatment with appropriateantibiotics.“Our ongoing studies aim to understand why providerswho know they shouldn’t be prescribing antibiotics forconditions like simple diarrhoea continue to do so,” Dr.

Manoj Mohanan from Duke University, North Carolinaand the lead author said in a release.Besides wrong treatment, the researchers found that thehealth-care providers asked very few pertinent questionsthat would enable correct diagnosis and understanding of

the severity of the diseases during practice than they didduring interviews.Even the most basic diagnostic question of frequency ofstools was asked only by 46 per cent during interviewsand 30 per cent during practice. Similarly, in the case ofpneumonia, only 27 per cent of the providers asked aboutrapid breathing and 25 per cent about signs of respiratory

distress during practice.Most distressing was that during practice, 76 per centof practitioners offered treatment despite not seeing the“sick” child with diarrhoea. It was 79 per cent in the caseof pneumonia.Eighty per cent of the providers in the study did not havea medical degree from any system of medicine — al-lopathy, ayurveda, homeopathy or unani medicine. Whilethose with formal medical training did have large gapsbetween what they knew and what they practised, theywere “signicantly less likely” to prescribe harmful drugs,the study found.

Displacement cuts life expectancyamong tribal peopleDisplacement does more than efface identities and dis-rupts livelihoods, it can reduce life expectancy, nds aDNA study of a tribal community relocated from MadhyaPradesh’s Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary. Around 8,000 Sahariya tribal people were moved outof their ancestral homes in Kuno in 1998-2002 to makespace for Asiatic lions brought in from Gujarat. The fami-lies suffered “acute stress” as they coped with their radi-cally changed life in unfamiliar, semi-urbanized surround-

ings 10 km away, says a paper inProceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences .To nd a possible link between these tumultuous lifechanges and lifespan, scientists studied their subjects’“telomeres” – the protective caps on either end of a chro-mosome – which are known to be associated with agingand disease. Premature telomere shortening has for longbeen used as an indicator of psychosocial stress and ac-celerated human aging.Researchers studied physical stress (cortisol), psycho-somatic stress (through self-assessments) and then con-ducted high resolution studies of telomere length among

24 individuals from the relocated Maziran village in theforest core.They compared the results with identical tests on 22 in-dividuals from Behruda village (in the sanctuary’s buffer)where no relocation took place (but the residents faced



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


certain stressors such as “benign neglect from the Indianstate”).Those in the relocated Maziran, they found, “have sta-tistically signicantly shorter telomeres” compared withthose in Behruda. “Consistent with expectations, wefound signicant associations between each of our stressmeasures… and telomere length,” they conclude. Tel-

omere shortening has already been associated with sev-eral stress-inducing situations. But most studies in thesescenarios have been conducted in “Western, educated,industrialized and rich” societies, say the authors addingthat this could, therefore, possibly be the rst study to linkstress to telomere length in a developing country.Telomere shortening among displaced tribal communitiesshows that these DNA stretches are clearly “a pan-cul-tural biomarker of compromised health and aging,” saysthe paper.During interactions, parents among the displaced Sahari-ya families “expressed deep uncertainty about the future,particularly with respect to the welfare of their children,and wished to return to their predisplacement lives.”Sahariyas are among the most marginalised communi-ties, steeped in poverty, with high illiteracy rates and aregeographically isolated.

Small molecule with a huge potentialRecent ndings on the role of IP7, a lesser known mol-ecule, have revealed that it has potential to be developedas a drug for the prevention of stroke and cancer chemo-therapy. ATP molecule is known as a storehouse of energy and fu-

els the physiological activities. Another equally importantbut lesser known molecule is IP7, which too carries highenergy and regulates many processes in the cell. Thismolecule consists of a sugar inositol and seven phos-phate groups. Its levels in a cell are approximately thou-sand fold lower than those of ATP. Studies conducted by scientists at the Centre for DNAFingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabadhave revealed that IP7 plays a crucial role in DNA repair,blood clotting and protein synthesis by ribosomes. The team led by Dr. Rashna Bhandari, Group Leader,Laboratory of Cell Signalling, CDFD found that mice withlower levels of IP7 show reduced blood clotting. Inad-

equate levels of IP7 led to reduction in another phos-phate-rich molecule called polyphosphate (a long chainof phosphate groups linked to each other).In mammals, polyphosphate is predominantly found in

platelets and helps in strengthening blood clots duringtheir formation. Polyphosphates housed inside plateletsbreak up during clotting. These polyphosphates and oth-er components get released to form a mesh that consti-tutes the basic structure for clot.Lowering IP7 levels could have potential applications inthe prevention of stroke or myocardial infarction by re-

ducing clotting, said Dr. Rashna.In their latest work which was published this month in the journal Biochemical Journal , the scientists, using Bak-er’s yeast, found that the fundamental cellular process ofprotein synthesis by ribosome was dependent on the lev-els of IP7 in a cell. “We found that yeast lacking IP7 havea decreased rate of protein synthesis and this processcan be reversed if the molecules levels are restored,” sheexplained.The scientists found that IP7 transfers one of its phos-phates on to a protein that was responsible for the gen-esis of ribosomes and thereby regulates the process.In the other study, Dr. Rashna and her team found thatcells with lower levels of IP7 were able to trigger a re-sponse to DNA damage, but could not complete the re-pair process. While many of the cells die, a fraction ofthem continue to divide despite persistent DNA damageand such cells become susceptible to chromosomal ab-normalities. “We can reverse these effects by makingchanges that allow IP7 levels in the cell to be restored,”she added.“This study highlighted a novel role for IP7 in DNA re-pair in mammalian cells. Many cancer therapeutics act bycausing DNA damage to kill cells. Reducing IP7 levels ina cancer cell might lead to increased cell death and could

be one of the ways to supplement cancer chemotherapy,”Dr. Rashna added.

Dementia on the rise globally Around 44 million people live with dementia worldwideand the gure is expected to triple and reach 135 millionby 2050, according to a new report.Dementia is “one of the major causes of disability anddependency among older people worldwide”, the globalreport for dementia released by the World InnovationSummit for Health (WISH) said.“In 2010, the global cost of care reached an estimated

USD 604 billion worldwide, equivalent to one per centglobal gross domestic product” it said, adding the “dev-astating and prevalent” disease had huge social and -nancial burdens. Experts noted that global understand-



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


ing of dementia lags behind other diseases and is oftenmistaken as a normal part of ageing.“Whilst there continues to be a social stigma surround-ing dementia, the level of necessary funding will not beaddressed equivalent to the need. In the US, funding forHIV/AIDS research is more than ve times the level ofthat for dementia research despite the fact there are ve

times as many Americans with Dementia than with HIV,”the report said.The report explores a wide range of dementia—relatedissues, including the current barriers and challenges be-sides innovative solutions, including raising public aware-ness, care innovations, new nancial models and moreeffective regulatory frameworks.

Key recommendationsIt offers governments 10 key policy recommendations,aimed at improving both outcomes for individuals livingwith dementia and for economies struggling to pay for thecosts of caring for dementia.

“It’s clear that there is not one simple panacea for demen-tia that lies just beyond our reach. Rather, it will take theconcerted and integrated efforts of leaders and innova-tors in all sectors to move the needle on this extraordi-nary social and economic challenge,” said Ellis Rubin-stein, president and CEO of the New York Academy ofSciences who was appointed as the chair of the Demen-tia Forum. Dementia is one of eight reports presented atthe 2015 WISH Summit where leaders, health expertsand policy makers from around the world have met.

Science Cities’ to be set up in six zonesacross countryPlans are afoot to set up ‘Science Cities’ in ve to sixzones across the country in a hub-and-spoke method aspart of efforts to have science and technology footprint inevery State, according to Union Minister of State for Sci-ence and Technology Y.S. Chowdary. Addressing a press conference here, he said each ‘Sci-ence City’ would cater to scientic institutions/ labs locat-ed in different States in that particular zone. The ‘ScienceCity’ would have the required infrastructure and other fa-cilities, including a convention centre, high-end researchlaboratories and hotels. He said the blueprint for ScienceCities was in the initial stages of preparation.Mr. Chowdary said a solar research institution was alsoplanned to be established with funding from Centre,States and international agencies. Asked if there was a

likelihood of setting up the institute in Andhra Pradesh,he said both AP and Rajasthan have good potential forits location.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


February 2015

Greenpeace violated FCRA norms, saysofcialClose on the heels of its tax dispute with the government,environment watchdog Greenpeace may face action foralleged violation of the law regulating the receipt of for-eign contributions. A senior Income Tax ofcial said a matter related to apossible violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regula-tion) Act by Greenpeace India Society has been referred

to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which administers FCRA. A Greenpeace ofcial conrmed the investigation by the

MHA’s FCRA wing, but disputed the charge that the NGOhad violated the law.The Income Tax ofcial said that as per FCRA, only 50

per cent of the funds can be spent on administrativecosts. “Greenpeace India Society spent more than 60 percent of the funds on recruitment, consultancy and ofcemaintenance,” the ofcial claimed.

The society got Rs. 5.59 crore funding for the nancialyear 2010-11; of this Rs. 5.11 crore was from the Neth-erlands.The tax department claims it found that the Society spentRs. 8 lakh on foreign travel/accommodation, visa feesof employees working for the Greenpeace EnvironmentTrust. Similarly, around Rs. 37.47 lakh was spent ontravel expenses for volunteers and administrators of thesociety. This was paid through the Trust money.“The trust and society are completely different, but mon-ey has been used from the trust for the society and vice-versa. The trustees are also members and ofce-bearersof the society,” the ofcial alleged. The books of boththe entities for assessment year 2012-13 are also underscrutiny, he added.Faced with a hefty tax demand of Rs. 3.79 crore last year,Greenpeace has paid 50 per cent of the amount and ap-pealed against it, the ofcial said.When contacted, Greenpeace India Executive Director,

Samit Aich, in an email response, said, “[The] FCRA wingof MHA has raised some observations seeking our ex-planation based on an investigation carried out by themwhich was ordered immediately after GPIS had led awrit petition in the High Court. We have given satisfactoryexplanations clarifying that there have been no FCRAviolations of any nature.”

ICAR to set up model mechanised farmsat 100 villages across country The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) hasplanned to set up model mechanised farm units at select100 centres particularly in peripheral villages of agricul-tural colleges and research institutes across the countryto motivate farmers understand and apply advantages ofthe latest technology in agriculture.Each unit will be spread over 40 acres and it will be anall-machinery site – right from sowing seeds, clearing ofweeds and harvesting produce. Villages in and aroundleading research colleges and institutes will be accordedpreference. The ICAR will set up all machinery at theseinstitutes.In Tiruchi district, Kumulur has been identied for the pro-gramme as the TNAU Agricultural Engineering College

and Research Institute is located in this village, said A. Alagusundarm, Deputy Director General of ICAR. Speak-ing to The Hindu at Kumulur near here, he said thatmechanisation had come to stay in agriculture.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


He said that the project has been a success story at acouple of places – the Punjab Agricultural University andthe Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Bhopal.On the advantages of the programme, he said that farm-ers would be motivated to understand various mechani-sation techniques being adopted in different elds andwould adopt them in their elds.

The villagers would be motivated to oat groups on thelines of the self-help groups and the groups would be re-sponsible for utilisation of the machinery. They could hirethe machinery on fair rental basis and the prot gener -ated could be utilised for maintenance and upkeep of themachinery, he said.

Post-harvest techniqueMr. Alagusundaram urged farmers to adopt post-harvesttechnique optimally for registering maximum returns. Although farmers were highly skilled in producing crop,there was a strong case for enhancing their expertise inpost-harvest technique, he added.

INS Vikramaditya’s operation crippledBarely a week after Defence Minister Manohar Parri-kar witnessed the ongoing theatre-level naval exerciseTROPEX-15 on board the newly acquired INS Vikrama-ditya , reliable information suggests that the aircraft carri-er’s operation is crippled, owing to issues with its integraleet of MiG-29K ghter jets.Nearly 30 of the RD-33MK engines powering the twin-engine MiG-29K aircraft attached to the ‘Black Panther’squadron have packed up ever since aviation activitiesgot under way from the deck of the refurbished Soviet-

era carrier that was inducted into the Indian Navy in Rus-sia in November, 2013.“The naval ghter carries out high-speed landing byhooking on to any of the arrester wires stretched acrossthe ight deck. In case it fails to hook, it should take offall over again. If an engine fails during ight, the ghter isforced to do a single-engine landing. But its power to takeoff just in case the arrester wires are missed is suspect.Therefore, the carrier doesn’t operate too far away fromthe shores,” a source said.In other words, Vikramaditya remains tethered to the re-gion — forced to operate within a 200 nautical mile radiusof Karwar with an aireld in the vicinity, said a naval vet-

eran familiar with the development.

Training still on A senior ofcer, however, said ying operations and train-ing of Indian naval pilots from the deck of Vikramaditya

were being done in a phased manner. “The aircraft is justtoo good and has a very powerful engine. To allay thefears of pilots, we have asked Russian Aircraft Corpo-ration MiG to prove single-engine landing of MiG-29 Kon board the Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. This willhappen in a fortnight,” the ofcer said.

Railways to promote Gandhi circuitTo mark the occasion of 100 years of the return of Ma-hatma Gandhi to India from South Africa, the Indian Rail-ways will promote the Gandhi circuit.Presenting the Rail Budget on Thursday, Railways Minis-ter Suresh Prabhu said, “Tourism holds a great potentialfor job creation and economic development of a region.Indian Railways will join this effort Incredible Rail forIncredible India.” He said that tourism would receive aboost with the promotion of the Gandhi circuit.

Kisan YatraIRCTC will also work on a special travel scheme, named

Kisan Yatra, for farmers to visit farming and marketing

information centres.The government intends to replicate its success in pro-moting Konkan Railway tourism by training auto-rickshawand taxi operators as tourist guides at several major tour -ist centres.Further,the government proposes to simplify processesfor station redevelopment by inviting open bids.“We want our Railway stations to be iconic structureswith architecture reecting the culture and character ofthe city,” Mr. Prabhu added.



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


Fbruary 2015

Raahgiri Day A rst of its kind event “Raahgiri day for the persons withdisabilities” was organized as a unique initiative recentlyby the Department of Empowerment of persons with Dis-abilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,Government of India.Raahgiri Day provides citizens with the opportunity toreclaim their streets, connect with their community, cele-brate their city and therefore reclaim their lives. However,

the Raahgiri Day celebrated today was special becauseit involved participation in cultural and sports activitiespredominantly by Persons with Disabilities. Today`s wasan effort to create an inclusive environment by way ofshowcasing the diverse range of unique abilities of thedifferently-abled children/ persons at the same time in-volving all the people witnessing the events. This eventwas organised keeping in mind the spirit of Prime- Minis-ter’s initiative “Sabka saath Sabka vikas” which includesthe persons with disabilities. According to census 2011, there are 2.68 Crore personswith disabilities in India. This includes persons with vis-ual, hearing, speech, locomotors and intellectual disabili-ties. India is signatory to the Declaration on the Full Par-ticipation and Equality of People with disabilities in the Asia Pacic Region. India is also signatory to the BiwakoMillennium Framework for action towards an inclusive,barrier free and rights based society.The concept is inspired by “Ciclovia” held weekly inBagota, Columbia and now popular all over the worldknown by different names viz. Open Streets, SummerStreets, etc. The streets identied for Raahgiri Day arecordoned off for motorized transport and made safe forthe citizens to cycle, walk, run, skate, play and enjoy thestreets. Children and adults are invited to bike, skate, run

and walk; to partake in community leisure activities suchas street games, street dancing; to learn yoga, aerobicsand zumba (for which stages will be setup at intervalsalong the route); and to come together as a community

and celebrate life. The event was organized with the col-laboration of New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC),and Delhi Police. Senior ofcials of the Department ofEmpowerment of Persons with Disabilities were also pre-sent on the occasion.

New Home SecretaryShri L.C. Goyal, recently took over as the Union HomeSecretary.The Ministry of Home Affairs’ mandate is essentially toensure effective maintenance of internal security in thecountry. To achieve this, necessary mechanisms, poli-cies, and measures are in place. Wherever required andappropriate, improvements will be made within the giventime-lines. This will be so done in close association andcoordination with the State Governments and Union Ter -ritories.

India Invites Entrepreneurs FromLebanon A Lebanese delegation under the leadership of Agricul-ture Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Akram Chehayeb met Un-ion Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh recent-ly. Shri Radha Mohan Singh urged Lebanon’s delegationto avail investment opportunities in India in the settingup of Mega Food Parks and Cold Chain for ensuringbetter supply chain. Shri Singh asked Lebanon to par -ticipate in international food fairs to promote exchange ofinformation on processing techniques including moderntechnologies of fruits and vegetables and new packagingtechniques for food products. Institutional cooperation forexchange of information on research and developmentand transfer of technology and know-how can also beentered into, he added.Responding to India’s request to facilitate bilateral trade,Lebanon Agriculture Minister Mr. Akram Chehayeb saidthat Lebanon is keen to enhance bilateral relations tonewer heights. In this regard, he requested to simplifyvisa procedures which will eventually help to strengthenbilateral trade.

Tenth India Mongolia Joint Exercise Cul-

minatesThe tenth India Mongolia Joint Training Exercise culmi-nated on 06 February 2015 with a grand closing ceremo-ny held at Gwalior Military Cantonment. The exercise had



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


commenced on 23 Jan 15.Brig SC Panwar of Indian Army stated that this exercisehas enhanced mutual interoperability for counter terror-ism/ insurgency assignments under the United Nationsmandate, as required.Brig Gen Enkhbaatar of the Mongolian Army addressedall participants and commended them for their enthusi-

asm, jointmanship and professionalism during the suc-cessful conduct of training which he said would contrib-ute signicantly towards operating jointly in an UnitedNations environment, whenever the need arises. He alsostated that understanding of each other’s method of car-rying out operational assignments and logistics taskswas an important takeaway of the joint exercise.

Four SAARC Countries Move to FinalizeMotor Vehicles AgreementSenior ofcials from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Ne-pal met on 2-3 February at Raichak near Kolkata to nal-ize a Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for a seamlesstransit of passenger and cargo vehicles between theircountries and draw up plans for its speedy implementa-tion. The agreement will allow passenger, personal andcargo vehicles to travel along designated key routes inthe four SAARC countries without the need for trans-shipment of goods and passengers at the border cross-ings. It is expected to be signed at a meeting of Transport

Ministers of the four countries to be held soon this year.

The arrangements for implementing the agreement willbe spelt out through protocols that the four neighboringcountries will negotiate separately under the framework ofthis agreement. They agreed to set up individual national

committees and a sub-regional joint committee for overallfacilitation of land transport and to coordinate and moni-tor the agreement’s implementation. It was noted thatthe sub-regional agreement would be a parallel initiativeto the proposed SAARC transport agreement for which

ongoing efforts to nd early resolution would continue.Further, the membership of this sub-regional agreementwould be open to all other neighboring countries, shouldthey so desire.Upon implementation, the agreement will reduce costlyand time-consuming unloading and loading of peopleand goods at the border crossing points making cross-

border trade more efcient. It would help transform trans-port corridors linking the four countries into economiccorridors and enhance people to people contact. Build-ing on the progress made in negotiating and nalizingthe SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement, this agreementwould facilitate the transit of all types of vehicles betweenthe contracting parties as is prevalent in other commonmarkets like the European Union.

Maiden Flight LCA (NAVY) – Fighter Na-val Prototype 2 (NP2)The Indian Naval Aviation, Carrier borne aircraft develop-ment program LCA (Navy) got an adrenaline shot in thearm on 07 February 2015. The rst LCA (Navy) Fighter,Naval Prototype (NP2) made its maiden ight from HAL,Bangalore airport at 1227 hrs for 35 min. The ight was pi-loted by Captain Shivnath Dahiya, who is an experiencedTest Pilot from Indian Navy with the National Flight TestCentre (NFTC). The launch was accomplished under te-lemetry control exercised by Test Director Commander JD Raturi and Safety Pilot Commodore J A Maolankar, theChief Test Pilot of NFTC. The chase aircraft cover wasprovided by LSP2 piloted by Gp. Capt. Suneet Krishna(Retd) with the Test Director being Gp. Capt Prabhu and

the Safety Pilot being Gp. Capt. RR Tyagi. The eventmarks the growth of indigenous LCA (Navy) program,aimed to achieve Carrier Compatibility technology dem-onstration including arrested landing and Ski-Jump takeoff, initially from the Shore Based test facility, Goa.The rst ight prole was stitched together to enable acomprehensive look at aircraft systems and probe knownareas of the ight envelope. The aircraft achieved all theplanned ight test activity. The performance of the aircraftin its maiden ight was awless and executed profession-ally by National Flight Test Centre, headed by Project Di-rector Air Commodore J Chalapati. NP 2 maiden launch

marks the culmination of relentless design and build effortby several participating agencies. The focus and effort ofHAL, ARDC under the aegis of Mr P S Roy, ExecutiveDirector is noteworthy. The LCA Navy Programme hasbeen ably and whole heartedly supported by Mr. Suvarna



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


Raju, the new Chairman of HAL. He lauded the effortsof Engineers of Aircraft Research and Design Centre ofHAL for the complex landing gear design, which is signi-cantly different from the Airforce version.The design teams guided by Programme Director ADAMr P S Subramanyam have ensured that systems meetthe stringent requirements of Carrier borne aircraft. The

teams were ably supported by the Certication agency,CEMILAC and the Quality Assurance agency, CRI (LCA),Indian Navy, DRDO agencies, CSIR agencies (NAL &CSIO), other Public and Private Sector participants.

High Capacity Silkworm Egg Cold Stor -age PlantThe Union Textiles Minister Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwarinaugurated the newly built, state-of-the-art, high capac-ity silkworm egg cold storage plant at Mysore recently.The new plant has been necessitated by the increasingseed production targets of National Silkworm Seed Or -

ganization (NSSO) and the leading role southern Indiahas to assume in the coming years in this area.Up to 1.0 crore disease free layings (ds) can be comfort-ably preserved in this plant. In effect, with this plant, thetotal storage capacity of the Mysore facility would go upto 1.5 crore ds.The size of the cold rooms has been specially designedto suit the requirements of sericulture industry and toutilize the space effectively for preserving hibernated bi-voltine silkworm seed under different schedules, rangingfrom 4 to 10 months.The new Cold Storage Plant runs on a DX system, is

constructed with pre-fabricated double skinned insulatedpanel, and is highly energy efcient. The plant is equippedwith PLC based data logger system for automatic moni-toring of temperature and humidity inside the cold roomswith alarms. All control panel boards are microprocessor-based, connected with the data logger. This is slated asone of the prestigious milestones that enable NSSO togallop to the next level of silkworm seed production anddistribution in the country. The above cold storage unitwill give boost to the production of import substitute bivol-tine raw silk in India.

Background: Cold Storage Plants are indispensable insilkworm egg production system, principally to enableuninterrupted and continuous supply of basic and com-mercial silkworm seed. The silkworm eggs are preservedin these cold storage plants for short term or long term(up to 10 months) to regulate seed supply, matching the

demand. The plants also oversee systematic incubationof silkworm eggs prior to its dispatch to farmers. NationalSilkworm Seed Organization (NSSO), the mulberry silk-worm seed production and management arm of CentralSilk Board, operates the cold storage plants set up atMysore, Hosur and Dehradun to manage its seed pro-duction and distribution across the country.

A maximum of one crore disease free layings (ds) canbe stored if all the above three existing Cold Storage fa-cilities are utilized to their full capacity. Going forward, thecapacity will fall short because the seed production targetof NSSO during the rst year (2012-13) of the XII planitself is 1.35 crore ds with a steep increase to reach 2.44crore ds in the terminal year of 2016-17. This projectionand the leading role southern India has to assume in thecoming years necessitated the establishment of the newfacility at Mysore.

National Voter Service Portal

The National Voter Service Portal (NVSP) has beenlaunched on 25th January 2015 on the occasion of Na-tional Voters’ Day Hon’ble Former President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam. With the aim to provide single window ser-vices to electors, NVSP has been made available from

ECI website www.eci.nic.in. Users can visit the websiteand click on to NVSP link to avail the services. Various services being offered through NVSP are1. Search the name in Electoral List.2. Apply on line in English/ Hindi Language for newregistration.3. Apply online for corrections, if any.4. User can view details of his Polling booth, AssemblyConstituency and Parliamentary constituency.5. User can get the contact details of Booth Levelofcer, Electoral Registration Ofcer and other Electionofcer.6. Users can feed Aadhaar Number for attaching it with

Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) data7. Users can get link to CEO ofces websites8. Users can view audio visual short lms to get edu-cated about election processes.9. Audio Visual scripts are also available for getting to



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


know about the polling processes.10. Users can watch a short educational lm on Elec-tronic Voting Machine(EVM) Year 2015 has been marked for “ easy registration andeasy correction ” During this year, ECI will endeavour toput in efforts in providing all possible support services toelectors with the help of IT tools. NVSP is one of them.

Vanaj- National Tribal Festival- 2015Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram recentlyannounced that his ministry will be organizing the rstNational Tribal Festival “VANAJ” featuring participantsfrom the length and breadth of the country. AddressingMedia person here in New Delhi the minister said as apart of the vision of the Prime Minister for uplifting thequality of Tribal lives, the national capital is getting anopportunity to enjoy and appreciate the rich tribal cultureand heritage, right in the heart of Delhi. Approximately 900 participants from Assam, Chhattis-

garh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Ra- jasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal would beparticipating. While this would help advertise our diver-sity, it also helps in national integration. The festival isalso intended to conserve and promote the distinctivecultures by providing them a national platform amongstother things. This Festival will be held in New Delhi from13-18 February, 2015 and showcase the rich diversity inTribal Art & Culture, various Music & Dance forms, and asa special attraction- Tribal cuisine. There will also be ex-hibition and sale of tribal products, medicines, paintings,art and handicrafts etc during the period of the festival.Documentary lms on Tribal life will be held simultane-ously at three venues i.e. Central park, Connaught Place,Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Baba Kharaksingh Marg, New Delhi.

7th round of Joint Trade Committeemeeting held between India and KenyaThe 7th round of India Kenya Joint Trade Committeemeeting was held in New Delhi today. The Indian sidewas led by the Minister of State for Commerce & Indus -try (Independent Charge), Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and

Amb. Amina C. Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry ofForeign Affairs & International Trade, Republic of Kenyaled the delegation from Kenya.The two sides reviewed the bilateral trade and reiteratedtheir commitment towards strengthening mutually bene-

cial relationship between the two friendly nations. A sen-ior ofcers’ meeting was held on 11th February, 2015 todeliberate on a plethora of issues. The two sides had in-tensive discussions and agreed to enhance cooperationin the elds of bilateral investment, infrastructure, SMEs,agriculture, health, energy, skill development & entrepre-neurship, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

Both sides agreed to meet more often to ensure enhance-ment of bilateral trade and mutual cooperation. The nextmeeting of the Joint Trade Committee would be held inNairobi.

Archives of Asia Africa Conference(Bandung, 1955) nominatedThe National Archives of India has signed a Letter of In-tent with National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia(ANRI) for joint nomination of the Archives of Asia AfricaConference (ACC) held in Bandung in 1955 for incor-poration in the UNESCO’s Memory of the World (MoW)

Register.The Letter of Intent was signed on 13th February 2015 atthe National Archives of India, New Delhi by Smt. SreyaGuha, Director General of Archives, National Archives ofIndia on behalf of the Government of the Republic of In-dia and Mr. Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma, Ambassador ofthe Republic of Indonesia in New Delhi on behalf of theNational Archives of Indonesia, Government of the Re-public of Indonesia.UNESCO`s Memory of the World Programme is an inter -national initiative launched to safeguard the documentaryheritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect,

the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willfuland deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation ofvaluable archival holdings, library collections and privateindividual compendia all over the world for posterity, thereconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentaryheritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemi-nation of these itemsThe Asia Africa Conference of 1955 was a unique eventin the history of post-war diplomacy and international re-lations. Its world signicance was that the newly inde-pendent Asian and African countries found their voice forthe rst time in their post independent history. Their initia -tive, started in Bandung with the four initial sponsoringcountries (Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Burma), gavebirth six years (1961) later to the Non-Aligned Movement(NAM) .



V o l . 0 6

F e b .

2 0 1 5


India-Myanmar 5th Joint Trade Commit-tee MeetingThe 5th India- Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC)meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw on 17th February, 2015.The meeting was co-Chaired by Minister of Commerce &Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Myanmar UnionMinister of Commerce U Win Myint. The 5th JTC was

preceded by a meeting of senior ofcials of India and My-anmar on 16th February, 2015.During the meeting, the two sides had intensive interac-tion and exchange of views to nd ways and means toenhance the bilateral trade and investment ties. Bothsides agreed to work together to remove the bottleneckshampering the bilateral trade and investment such aslack of good connectivity, lack of banking arrangementboth for regular and border trade. In this context, Indiaoffered to support Myanmar to develop infrastructure atthe border trade points, upgrade trade training institutesin Yangon, and also provide training to Myanmar ofcialson WTO and international trade related issues besidessupporting subsidized direct shipping links between Indiaand Myanmar to promote bilateral trade.The two Ministers reiterated their commitment towardsstrengthening mutually benecial relationship especiallyin the eld of promoting two-ways investment, infrastruc-ture development particularly to promote border trade,connectivity, agriculture, energy, skill and entrepreneurialdevelopment, pharmaceutical and people-to-people con-tacts.Both sides agreed to hold the next Joint Trade and Invest-ment Forum in Chennai during which Myanmar would or-ganize a roadshow showcasing investment opportunities

in Myanmar especially in the special economic zones.The two Ministers also agreed to jointly inaugurate theland custom station in Zawkhatar, Mizoram shortly at amutually convenient date.

Both sides noted the regular high level exchange of vis-its and interactions between India and Myanmar whichhas imparted further momentum to overall strengtheningof bilateral relations and agreed to meet more often toensure enhancement of bilateral trade and mutual co-operation. The Minister of Commerce and Industry Smt.Nirmala Sitharaman also called on the Vice-President-2

U Nyan Tun and Minister in Presidential Ofce U SoeThane besides having detailed bilateral interaction withher counterpart.The Minister of Commerce and Industry Smt. NirmalaSitharaman invited Union Minister of Commerce to visit

India for the next Joint Trade Committee meeting whichhe accepted in principle.

India Indonesia Joint Exercise Termi-natesExercise GARUDA SHAKTI-III, the 3rd exercise in theongoing series of joint exercises between armies of In-

dia and Indonesia, was conducted at Counter Insurgency

and Jungle Warfare School in Vairengte, Mizoram from09 to 21 Feb 15.The exercise aimed at building and promoting positivemilitary to military relations between the armies of thetwo nations. The scope included sharing experience incounter terrorism and conduct of joint counter insurgencytraining at platoon level aimed at neutralizing of terror-ist threat. Indian Army was represented by troops froman Indian Infantry Battalion and Special Forces unit whilepersonnel from 432 Battalion Kostrad Infantry (Airborne)and Gp I & Gp II of the Special Forces represented theIndonesian contingent. The joint training was aimed atenhancing the knowledge of each other’s military experi-

ence, skills and techniques and thereby enhancing theaspect of interoperability and responsiveness to a com-mon threat in the future.The Exercise will go a long way in further strengtheningthe historical and diplomatic ties between both the na-tions.

Exercise Surya Kiran VIII Commences inNepal The Eighth India-Nepal Battalion level Combined MilitaryTraining named Exercise Surya Kiran-VIII, commenced

on 23 Feb 15 at Integrated Army Training Centre, Saljhan-di, Nepal, with an impressive opening ceremony that sawthe unfurling of the National Flags of both countries.The Nepalese Contingent was represented by a Battalionfrom an Infantry Division of Nepalese Army while Indian



6

F e b .

2 0 1 5

side was represented by an equivalent strength from aMountain Brigade. Major General Padam Villas Karki ofNepalese army welcomed the Indian soldiers and urgedboth contingents to achieve optimum cohesion and inter-operability to achieve military objectives of the exercise.He stressed upon importance of free exchange of ideasand concepts between the troops and the necessity to

learn each other’s experiences. The focus of the ongoing exercise is to carry out CounterInsurgency and Counter Terrorist Operations in moun-tainous and jungle terrain and to practice facets of Hu-manitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief including ac-tions to be taken during Pandemic, Epidemic and variousother humanitarian assistance situations. Aviation as-pects and environmental conservation are also includedin the scope of this exercise.The two week long exercise will see the contingents honetheir tactical and technical skills in countering insurgencyand terrorism. State of the art equipment for surveillance

and tracking, specialist weapons for close quarter battlewith terrorists, explosives and IED detectors, as well asthe latest communication equipment are being elded byboth sides. Both sides will train, plan and execute a seriesof well developed combined tactical drills for neutraliza-tion of likely threats that may be encountered in CounterInsurgency / Counter Terrorism operations.

3685 Monuments/Sites in the CountryDeclared as of National Importance tillDate3685 monuments/sites in the country have been declaredas of national importance till date. During the year 2013-14, an amount of Rs. 16963.86 lakhs was allocated forthe protection and maintenance of monuments declaredas of national importance. As per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sitesand Remains Act, 1958, ancient monuments or archaeo-logical sites and remains, as the case may be, which areof historical, archaeological or artistic interest, and havebeen in existence for not less than 100 years, may bedeclared by the Central Government as of national im-portance.The protection and maintenance of monuments, declared

as of national importance is taken up by ArchaeologicalS f I di b f t t l i h i l

established principles of conservation, subject to avail-ability of resources. In addition, creating of tourist relatedamenities (e.g. drinking water, toilet blocks, facilities forphysically challenged, pathways, cultural notice boards/signage, vehicle parking, cloak rooms, etc.) at the cen-trally protected monuments/sites are also the regular ac-tivities which the ASI undertakes as per needs and avail-

ability of resources.

From Carbon Subsidy to Carbon Tax: In-dia’s Green ActionsEconomic Survey 2014-15 acknowledges the green ac-tions taken by India, including imposing signicantlyhigher taxation of petroleum products and thereby reen-ergizing the renewable energy sector. India shifted from acarbon subsidization regime to one of signicant carbontaxation regime, from a negative price to an implicit posi-tive price on carbon emissions.India has cut subsidies and increased taxes on fossil fu-els (petrol and diesel) turning a carbon subsidy regimeinto one of carbon taxation, by putting an effective priceon emissions. This has signicantly increased petrol anddiesel price while serving as price signal to reduce fuelburnt and hence CO2 emissions.Calculating CO2 emission reductions from measures tak-en for petrol and diesel suggests that there will be a netreduction of 11 million tons of CO2 emissions in less thana year compared to the baseline or 0.6 percent India’sannual emissions.In addition, India has increased the coal cess from Rs. 50per ton to Rs. 100 per ton, which is equivalent to a carbon

tax of about US$ 1 per ton. A higher tax on coal offsetsthe domestic externalities including health cost of coalfor power generation. The Economic Survey points outthat any rationalization of coal pricing must take accountof the implications for power prices and hence access toenergy for the poorest in India which is and must remaina fundamental objective of policy.The Economic Survey observes that there is still a longway to go with potential large gains still to be reaped fromreform of coal pricing and further reform of petroleumpricing policies.Broadly, the move to substantial carbon taxation com-

bined with India’s ambitious solar power program sug-gests that India can make substantial contributions to the

Documents

Crux of Hindu and Pib