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8/3/2019 The Hindu Imp. News Feb. 23rd 2012
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THE HINDU
Imp. News
Feb.23rd
2012
FRONT PAGE
As Italy pushes for midway formula, India swears by courts:
At a meeting with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Preneet Kaur, Staffan de Mistura was
told that without prejudice to Rome's position on the applicability of its laws, the Indian
political leadership would not be able to intervene because the matter had reached the courts
that were fair and independent. After the meeting, Ms. Kaur dwelt on the message given to
Mr. de Mistura, which is likely to be repeated when the Italian Foreign Minister visits India next
week. As far as the law point is concerned, they have their interpretations and we have our
interpretations. As of today, the two people are on Indian soil and tomorrow the Indian court isgoing to decide what steps are to be taken further, official sources said.
Italy moves High Court:
Italy has moved the Kerala High Court, seeking to quash the first information report (FIR)
registered against two of its naval personnel for the killing of two fishermen off the Kerala
coast. In a petition, Consul-General Giampaolo Cutillio and the arrested naval personnel,
Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, argued that under the principles of international law
and conventions, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that India has
ratified, Indian courts had no jurisdiction to register a crime in connection with the incident.They said the alleged offence did not take place in Indian territorial waters or on board an
Indian vessel. Therefore, the FIR registration, the launching of an investigation into the incident,
and the arrest of the two Marines were wholly without jurisdiction, null and void, and liable
to be quashed.
Justice Harun-Ul-Rasheed directed the agent of the oil tanker, Enrica Lexie, to give the High
Court Registrar-General a bank guarantee of Rs. 25 lakh against the compensation claim filed by
the family of one of the two fishermen. The court also directed the Deputy Conservator of the
Cochin Port Trust to detain the ship till the agent gave the bank guarantee. The order came on a
petition seeking a compensation of Rs.1 crore from the shipowner, the captain and the two
guards. It was filed by Doramma, wife of Valantine, and her sons Derrick, 17, and V. Jeen, 10.
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EDITORIAL
Capital gains, everyone else loses:
A large part of the income of the Big 5' accountancy and consultancy firms derives from tax
avoidance schemes which flourish in the name of tax planning. Their legality has agitated courtsin India and abroad for a long time. In 1985, a 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the
McDowell case settled the question decisively, observing:
In that very country where the phrase tax avoidance' originated, the judicial attitude towards
[it] has changed and the smile, cynical or even affectionate though it might have been at one
time, has now frozen into a deep frown. The courts are now concerning themselves not merely
with the genuineness of a transaction, but with [its] intended effect for fiscal purposes. No one
can now get away with a tax avoidance project with the mere statement that there is nothing
illegal about it. In our view, the proper way to construe a taxing statute, while considering a
device to avoid tax is to ask whether the transaction is a device to avoid tax, and whether
the transaction is such that the judicial process may accord its approval to it.
It is neither fair not desirable to expect the legislature to take care of every device and
scheme to avoid taxation, the ruling added. It is up to the Court to determine the nature of
the new and sophisticated legal devices to avoid tax ... expose [them] for what they really are
and refuse to give judicial benediction.
Though the Income Tax Act obliges even non-residents to pay tax on incomes earned in India,
many foreign institutional investors avoided paying taxes citing the Double Taxation Treaty with
Mauritius. This treaty says a company will be taxed only in the country where it is domiciled. All
these FIIs, though based in other countries and operating exclusively in India, claimed Mauritiandomicile by virtue of being registered there under the Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Act
(MOBA). Companies registered under MOBA are not allowed to acquire property, invest or
conduct business in Mauritius.
Yet these Post Box Companies' claimed to be domiciled there and the I-T department allowed
them to get away with claiming the benefits of the treaty for many years. Given the benign
attitude of the Indian tax authorities and the fact that there was no capital gains tax and
virtually no tax at all on these companies in Mauritius, most FIIs and most of the foreign
investment in India, by 2000, came to be routed through Mauritius.
Responding to the FIIs' distress calls, the then Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, got the Central
Board of Direct Taxes to issue a circular stating that once a company had obtained a tax
residence certificate from Mauritius, it would not be taxed in India.
The CBDT's circular was challenged in the Delhi High Court by Azadi Bachao Andolan and a
retired Income Tax Commissioner. The petitioners also pleaded that the government be
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directed to amend the treaty with Mauritius since it had become a tax haven. The High Court
allowed the writ petitions and quashed the CBDT circular, holding it violative of the I-T Act.
In the Vodafone tax case, which was heard by a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court, the court
had the opportunity to correct the transgression of the McDowellprinciple in the Mauritius
case. In 2007, Hutchinson Telecom International (HTIL), which owned 67 per cent of HutchEssar Limited (HEL), an Indian telecom company, sold its holding to Vodafone International (VIH
BV). Both companies announced that Hutchinson had sold, and Vodafone had bought, 67 per
cent of the shares and interest in the Indian company for over $11 billion.
Section 9(1) of the Income Tax Act says incomes which shall be deemed to accrue or arise in
India include all income accruing or arising, whether directly or indirectly, through the
transfer of a capital asset situated in India.
Since the transfer of the Indian telecom firm's shares and assets to Vodafone had led to capital
gains for Hutch, the IT department demanded capital gains tax from Vodafone, which was liable
to withhold this tax from the amount they paid Hutch. Vodafone claimed the transaction was
not liable to tax since it was achieved by transferring the shares of a Cayman Island-based
holding company and did not involve the transfer of a capital asset situated in India.
The Vodafone case is in the lineage of the Mauritius case inasmuch as both encourage tax
avoidance devices ostensibly to attract foreign investment. The 2G judgment of the Supreme
Court cancelling 122 telecom licences granted four years earlier, in sharp contrast, enforces the
constitutional principle of equality and non-arbitrariness. The proponents of FDI are groaning
that this will stem the flow of investment. Honest foreign companies should not be deterred by
this judgment, which strikes a blow against crony capitalism. But even if FDI becomes a casualty
in the enforcement of the rule of law, so be it.
Our courts must send a clear signal that India is not a banana republic where foreign companies
can be invited to loot our resources and even avoid paying taxes on their windfall gains from
the sale of those resources.
The model code ain't broke
The model code is central to the EC's efforts to prevent misuse of official machinery by parties
in power, and to check electoral offences, malpractices and corruption during elections. While
there can and should be a debate on strengthening the code's enforceability, it is essential that
the need for change be shared by the EC and by political parties and that actual changes be the
product of consensus between all stakeholders. In effect, statutory shape for the model code
would mean violations being tried in court; in turn, the EC's practice of using the code to
restrain parties and candidates might be jeopardised.
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All for trade, waiting for visa:
Given the political turbulence in Pakistan, it was entirely expected that Commerce Minister
Anand Sharma's visit would yield no dramatic outcomes. Even so, it was evident from the visit
that both sides have a clear-headed joint, if not common, vision about bilateral trade. Without
doubt, Pakistan recognises that it can shut itself out from India's economy only to its owndisadvantage; India realises that it needs to draw down some of its own barriers in the interests
of trading with Pakistan.
The Pakistan cabinet's decision to grant Most Favoured Nation status to India has still not been
notified due to the opposition stirred up against it at this politically sensitive time for the
Pakistan People's Party government by extremist and militant groups including the Jamat-ud-
Dawa, whose leader Hafiz Saeed is its most vocal opponent. But according to a schedule
outlined in the joint communiqu, Islamabad seems determined to replace the current
restrictive positive list with a negative list by the end of this month, which too is to be phased
out by end-2012 when the transition to MFN is planned. It is disappointing, however, that the
two sides have not yet been able to finalise a liberal visa regime, even for businessmen. The
delay is incomprehensible; the project has been in the works for more than six years. It is futile
to think of normalising trade, or of trade as a normaliser of relations, without first getting rid of
the troglodytic visa system that governs travel between the two countries.
OP ED
To IB or not to IB, that is the question:
Before 9/11 forced a rethink, the United States considered terrorist threats from abroad more
serious than home-based threats. The responsibility for co-ordinating preventive action was,therefore, vested in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which handles external intelligence.
The CIA had a Counter-Terrorism Centre (CTC) for tasks of co-ordination and follow-up action
on the intelligence collected by various agencies. The CTC had officers taken on deputation
from different agencies. They worked under a CIA officer. In India, the Vajpayee government
set up a Task Force in May 2000 I was one of the members for revamping the country's
intelligence apparatus. Its report recommended, inter alia , the setting-up of a CTC on the U.S.
model. Since in India, the IB had over-all responsibility for counter-terrorism and liaison with
the State police, it suggested that the CTC should be part of the IB and should work under its
Director (DIB). The Vajpayee government set up the CTC, under an executive order, as part of
the IB but for reasons not clear to me, it named it the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) and not the
CTC. It looked upon the MAC as a clandestine wing of the IB, itself a clandestine intelligence
collection organisation. Therefore, no legal powers were recommended for the MAC. The 9/11
terrorist strikes in the U.S. brought out serious gaps in the functioning of the CTC of the CIA.
The Bush administration, therefore, set up a National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in 2004
as an independent institution not under the control of any existing agency. It was placed under
the Director, National Intelligence, who is part of the President's personal staff. While the U.S.
gave up the CTC after 9/11, the Indian model of the MAC, patterned after the U.S. model, has
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continued functioning. Neither the Vajpayee government nor the Manmohan Singh
government revisited the recommendations of the Saxena Task Force in the light of the 9/11
lessons.
In a statement to the Lok Sabha after taking over as Home Minister, P. Chidambaram admitted
that the responsibility for follow-up-action on the available intelligence was diffused. He,therefore, decided to set up the NCTC after a visit to the U.S. But his model of the Indian NCTC
differs from the U.S. model in two respects. The U.S. NCTC is an independent institution not
under the control of any of the existing agencies. In India, it is to be made a wing of the IB and
will work under the DIB. In the U.S., the NCTC is a legal institution set up under Congressional
legislation after bipartisan consultations, but it does not have any legal powers to act on its own
in matters such as arrest, detention, interrogation, searches etc.
The Indian NCTC has been set up by executive notification under the Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act of 1967. This has obviated the need for fresh legislation and fresh political
consultation at the Centre and with the States. More seriously, the Indian NCTC is to be given
powers of arrest and searches as part of its preventive operations. Granting these powers to
the IB through the NCTC mechanism could have two undesirable consequences. First, there
may be allegations of misuse of the IB for harassing political opponents.
Secondly, the IB's role as a clandestine intelligence collection organisation may get affected.
The IB will be preoccupied with defending its arrests before the courts and against allegations
of human rights violations.
Today, the IB enjoys protection from the Right to Information Act. If it has these powers and
adds policing to its functions, it may no longer be able to enjoy this protection.
The Home Minister had two options. If he felt the NCTC must have the powers of search and
arrest, he could have made it an independent agency. Or if he felt that it must work under the
IB, he could have made it a division of the agency without giving it these powers.
His unwise action in arming the NCTC with these powers as part of the IB could prove
counterproductive. There is no opposition in India to the NCTC concept, which is necessary. The
opposition is to some of its features, and to the manner in which it has been set up, without
adequate consultations.
Italy is wrong on sea law:
It is true that Article 97 of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as
quoted by the Italian authorities, states that No arrest or detention of the ship, even as a
measure of investigation, shall be ordered by any authorities other than those of the flag
state. In this case the flag state is Italy. But the Article quoted is out of context, as it deals with
Penal Jurisdiction in Matters of Collision or any other incident of Navigation'. Here neither
collision nor navigational aspect is indicated.
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On the contrary, in Annexure III of UNCLOS, under the heading of Convention of High Seas,
1958, Article 2 stipulates certain freedoms that are recognised by the general principles of
international law, wherein freedom of fishing is a part.
To combat piracy, a modern threat to shipping, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
adopted a resolution in 1986 on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety ofMaritime Navigation, then known as the Rome Convention. This was the immediate outcome of
the Achille Lauro case, in which a passenger ship with Italian crew was hijacked by Palestinians
in October 1985. The U.N. then requested the IMO to address the problem. The action required
to be taken was against persons committing unlawful acts against ships.
In the instant case, even this does not apply as there was no unlawful act committed against
the ship by the fishermen. The action by the ship's crew was on suspicion that the fishermen
could be pirates.
Therefore, this case definitely does not come under any of the provisions of UNCLOS or any
other convention connected with international piracy. Killing someone is a crime; the accused
has to face charges. But how and where must be decided by the authorities keeping in view
diplomatic conditions.
Say NO to death for drugs:
India has a long history of opium and cannabis use, especially in medicinal, spiritual and social
contexts. Serving opium is an age-old tradition in many parts of the country that marks respect
for guests. Yet, this social propriety turned into legal impropriety with the enactment of the
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) in 1985, in order to comply with
international agreements. The NDPS Act prohibits cultivation, production, manufacture,possession, sale, purchase, transport, import, export, use and consumption of narcotic drugs
and psychotropic substances, except for medical and scientific reasons, under license.
In 1989, barely four years after its introduction, the NDPS Act underwent amendments to
incorporate harsher provisions, including mandatory death penalty upon subsequent
conviction, if the quantity of contraband exceeds the threshold under Section 31A of the Act.
The offender's circumstances whether young or old, sick or mentally infirm, socially and
economically disadvantaged or acting under duress or pressure were irrelevant in
sentencing. The death sentence is applied uniformly, irrespective of whether the convicted
person is a carrier, an intermediary, organiser or lead player in the drug trade.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has held that drug trafficking is not the
most serious crime under international law. In 1997, the UNHRC asked India to limit the
number of offences carrying the death penalty to the most serious crimes, with a view to its
ultimate abolition . Significantly, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the agency
that oversees drug control measures globally has denounced capital punishment as a means to
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contain illicit trafficking and called upon Member States to abolish the death penalty for drug-
related offences.
INTERNATIONAL
Iran-IAEA talks fail to achieve breakthrough:
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have failed to achieve a breakthrough,
after two days of talks, on a roadmap to ease nuclear tensions surrounding Iran's atomic
programme. Iran also barred the IAEA team, led by the Agency's deputy director Herman
Nackaerts to visit a military site in Parchin, where, there are suspicions that Iran has carried out
high explosives testing related to the development of atomic weapons. IAEA chief Yukiya
Amano expressed disappointment over the Iran's decision to deny the IAEA team access to the
facility. We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached, he said. In
November, an IAEA report said Parchin housed a large cylindrical chamber which could
withstand a force generated if 70 kg of high explosives was detonated. It remains for Iran to
explain the rationale behind these activities, the report noted.
Rudd readying for showdown ?
In a dramatic move, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd resigned on Wednesday saying he
could no longer work without the support of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, amid speculation that
he may pose a bitter challenge to her leadership.
The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as Foreign Minister if I don't have Prime
Minister Gillard's support, said Mr. Rudd (54).
Ms. Gillard, who ousted Mr. Rudd as Prime Minister in June 2010, said he did not inform her in
advance that he would resign.
7 killed in Afghan protests over desecration:
The Interior Ministry on Wednesday said seven people were killed in clashes between Afghan
security forces and protesters demonstrating against the burning of Muslim holy books at a
NATO military base. The anger has sparked two days of protests across Afghanistan and tapped
into anti-foreign sentiment fuelled by a perception that foreign troops disrespect Afghan
culture and Islam. The demonstrations prompted the U.S. to lock down its embassy and bar its
staff from travelling.
Marine in Iraq killings leaves service:
The Marine Corps has discharged the lone Marine convicted in the 2005 killings of unarmed
Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha, a spokesman said Tuesday. Former Sgt. Frank Wuterich
ended his service Friday, Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said. Wuterich had
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his rank reduced to private as part of a deal that abruptly ended his manslaughter court martial
last month at Camp Pendleton and spared him imprisonment.
No blues in belting them out:
The President just couldn't say no Mick Jagger held out a microphone almost by way ofcommand, and soon Barack Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them.
The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club on Tuesday
night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future and the President
himself.
The surprise performance by Mr. Obama came at the end of the playlist when the blues
ensemble was singing Sweet Home Chicago, the blues anthem of Mr. Obama's home town.
Buddy Guy prodded the President, saying he'd heard that the President sang part of an Al
Green tune recently, and adding, You gotta keep it up.
Then Jagger handed over the mike, and Mr. Obama seemed compelled to comply.
Come on, baby don't you want to go, the President sang out twice, handing off the mike to
B.B. King momentarily, and then taking it back to tack on Sweet Home Chicago at the end.
That was how Mr. Obama ended the night. This was how he began it Mr. Obama said
sometimes there are downsides to being the President. You can't just go for a walk, for
example.
And then there are the times that more than make up for all those frustrations, he said, like
Tuesday night, when Jagger, King, Jeff Beck and other musical giants came by the house to sing
the blues.
I guess things even out a little bit
King (86) arrived in a wheelchair but rose tall to kick off the night with a raucous Let the Good
Times Roll, quickly joined by other members of the ensemble. And he followed with The Thrill
is Gone. From there, Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, were swaying in their seats and singing
along to an all-hits playlist including St. James Infirmary and Let Me Love You.
Beck slowed things down with an instrumental Brush With the Blues, as anticipation built for
the arrival of Jagger, who did not disappoint. The Rolling Stones frontman delivered on I Can't
Turn You Loose Jagger got the President and his wife up out of their seats, swaying and
clapping to the music, and picked up the pace with Miss You, performed with Shemekia
Copeland and Susan Tedeschi.
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SCI & TECH
Recent geological activity on the moon imaged:
New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon's crust
is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientistspropose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered
recent compared to the moon's age of more than 4.5 billion years.
A team of researchers analyzing high-resolution images obtained by the Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter Camera (LROC) show small, narrow trenches typically much longer than they are wide.
This indicates the lunar crust is being pulled apart at these locations. These linear valleys,
known as graben, form when the moon's crust stretches, breaks and drops down along two
bounding faults. A handful of these graben systems have been found across the lunar surface.
We think the moon is in a general state of global contraction because of cooling of a still hot
interior, said Thomas Watters of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the
Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, and lead author of a paper on
this research appearing in the March issue of the journal Nature Geoscience . The graben tell
us forces acting to shrink the moon were overcome in places by forces acting to pull it apart.
This means the contractional forces shrinking the moon cannot be large, or the small graben
might never form.
The weak contraction suggests that the moon, unlike the terrestrial planets, did not completely
melt in the very early stages of its evolution. Rather, observations support an alternative view
that only the moon's exterior initially melted forming an ocean of molten rock.
BUSINESS
Rangarajan projects 7.5-8 % growth:
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) on Wednesday projected a 7.5-8 per
cent growth for the next fiscal. It also called for phasing out of subsidies, including upward
adjustment of petrol and diesel prices and deregulation of urea prices.
Releasing the Review of the Economy 2011-12 here, PMEAC Chairman C. Rangarajan said the
country could even achieve higher economic growth, provided the global environment was
favourable. We might be able to achieve 8 per cent growth on our esteem if the world
environment is favourable, we will be able to achieve high growth rate,'' he remarked.
He said the growth rate was likely to be 7.1 per cent in 2011-12, marginally higher than the 6.9
per cent growth projected by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). The economy recorded
a growth of 8.4 per cent in 2010-11, which, according to the CSO estimates, is expected to
moderate to 6.7 per cent in the current fiscal.
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Referring to inflation, which has remained at a higher level in 2011, he said it would moderate
to 6.5 per cent by March-end and 5-6 per cent in the next fiscal. While the retail inflation based
on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 7.65 per cent in January, the Wholesale Price Index
(WPI) inflation was 6.55 per cent.
He said the partial reforms in the fertilizer subsidy regime of introducing nutrient-basedsubsidisation would not be effective unless the price of urea was decontrolled or at least raised
substantially. The government expects that its subsidy bill would increase by Rs.1 lakh crore to
Rs.2.34 lakh crore, mainly on account of higher outlay towards fertiliser, food and oil. Dr.
Rangarajan said the excise duty and the service tax should be increased to the pre-crisis level, a
move that would bring in additional Rs.35,000 crore revenue. Before the economic crisis,
service tax and excise duty rates were at 12 per cent, but as a stimulus the government had
brought them down to 10 per cent in 2008-09.
BSE launches Greenex
Union Minister for Corporate Affairs Veerappa Moily on Wednesday launched the BSE Greenex,
a new share index of sustainable stocks, by ringing the bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Greenex includes stocks of 20companies from BSE 100, which meet the energy efficiency
norms, allowing investors to derive benefit from the related cost savings. ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC,
Sun Pharma and BHEL are the major constituents of the index.
The Greenex is targeted at retail, as well as institutional investors such as asset managers and
pension funds looking for investments in companies with strong long-term prospects and
develop green financial products.
The index will help create viable market-based solutions for industries, investors and
governments, to promote energy efficient practices and encourage impact investing in
economically and environmentally sustainable businesses. The Greenex gauge has been
developed by gTrade, a local firm working on financial innovations in energy efficiency, and BSE
Ltd.
Etisalat says bye-bye to India:
Post the Supreme Court order cancelling all 122 licences issued in 2008, UAE-based Etisalat on
Wednesday said it would shut down its operations in India.
As unanimously resolved by the board, Etisalat DB will be taking steps to reduce the operating
costs, including the suspension of its network and services, pursuant to the terms of its UAS
licences, the company said in a statement.
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EPFO board split on minimum pension:
Differences among representatives of employers and employees at the EPFO (Employees'
Provident Fund Organisation) board meeting on Wednesday forced the retirement fund body to
defer decision on fixing the minimum monthly pension of Rs.1,000 for PF subscribers. The
Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the EPFO, could not approvethe proposal to benefit its 4.72 crore subscribers, as neither the employers' representatives nor
the union leaders were willing to share any extra load, sources said. Of the 35 lakh EPFO
pensioners, 14 lakh get a monthly payment of less than Rs.500. Only seven lakh of them get
above Rs.1,000 or more as monthly pension and there are cases where pensioners are getting
as low as Rs.12-38 a month. At present, both an employer and his employee contribute 12 per
cent of the basic pay plus dearness allowance (BPDA), each towards the PF fund.
Page 10
Modi miffed at proposal to give RPF police powers:
In yet another confrontational course, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has taken strong
exception to the Centre's proposal to amend the Railway Protection Force Act to give the RPF
the power to act against offenders now held by the State police.
After a controversy over the proposed National Counter-Terrorism Centre notification, in which
Mr. Modi was joined by several non-Congress Chief Ministers in opposing the move, Mr. Modi
on Wednesday shot off yet another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, opposing the
proposal of the Ministry of Railways to amend the RPF Act, 1957.
Mr. Modi said the proposed amendment Bill, which is intended to confer the powers of Statepolice officers to the RPF, is unwarranted, a severe violation of the constitutional spirit and a
blow to the federal structure of India. It also usurps the power of the State legislature.
The proposed amendment to provide powers of the police officer by amending the provisions
of the RPF Act, 1957, is violative of provisions of the existing Indian Police Act and provisions of
the State Police Acts, such as the Bombay Police Act, 1956, applicable in Gujarat, Mr. Modi
said.
The Railway Ministry was behaving as if it were an independent authority and entity. It is
attempting to create an impression that the Ministry of Railways is a State within a State, thus
justifying conferring of police powers of investigation and arrest to the RPF. Mr. Modi said that
even the State police faced a dilemma of jurisdiction and often carried out probes into many
offences cutting across borders of States.
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Farmer-friendly rural job scheme from April 1-
Even while turning down demands for a moratorium on MGNREGS jobs during the agricultural
season, the Centre on Wednesday approved new works that aim at boosting the farm sector.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh released here a report, authored by Planning
Commission member Mihir Shah, suggesting revision of the guidelines to strengthen the job
entitlement programme that has run into rough weather of late.
The new avatar of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme,
coming into existence on April 1, will allow farmers who qualify for support under MGNREGS to
hire hands for eight man-days per acre for transplantation and for another four man-days at
two intervals for weeding.
Through this provision the Centre seeks to solve the problem of small and marginal farmers
who not only find it difficult to get hands but also pay higher wages demanded by workers.
They are unable to match the wages paid under MGNREGS. Now the government will pay for
those working on agricultural land owned by eligible farmers.
Both Mr. Ramesh and the Planning Commission member said the Shah-led committee had
received several petitions to freeze the scheme during the agricultural season but these were
turned down and instead it was decided to accept the proposal to converge MGNREGS
activities with farm work.
Out of the 30 new works approved, almost 90 per cent were agriculture related. Mr. Rameshstressed that 75 per cent of employment was provided under MGNREGS outside the
agricultural season and hence the anxiety in some quarters was unfounded.