INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS ANALYSIS
DECEMBER- 2013
TEAM INSIGHTS
DECEMBER 2013
NATIONAL
IMPORTANT ARTICLES
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE ::
Communal Violence and preservation of
National Harmony
In the backdrop of India’s long history of
communal violence, the country certainly
needs a specific law with a strong focus on
preventing clashes between the majority
community and minorities and providing
redressal mechanisms and compensation to
the victims of such violence.
The present revised draft of the Prevention of
Communal Violence (Access to Justice and
Reparations) Bill seeks to address some of the
problems associated with communal violence
in India, and put in place an institutional
mechanism for redress.
Why is there a need for such a law?
Most of the communal clashes are engineered
and sustained by chauvinist and anti-social
elements in both the majority and minority
communities and these clashes are different
from ordinary law and order issues.
It is also observed that, there are institutional
bias against minorities and oppressed sections.
For instance the Godhra riots which not only
witnessed mass killings of a minority
community, but also safeguarded many from
the majority community which was involved
in the heinous act. Hence a special legislation
that takes into account the specific character
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and circumstances of communal violence is
therefore vital and unquestionable.
Contentious provisions of the Bill:
However, some of the provisions of the bill are
too sweeping and general to address the real
concerns that it intends to address. On these
lines, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has argued
that many of the provisions are worded
vaguely,
open
to
wide
subjective
interpretation, and hence can be misused. The
bill is viewed as an attempt to encroach upon
the jurisdiction of the state governments’ (law
and order is a State subject) as a result this
would be a threat to the federal structure of
India.
The bill also proposes to target ‘hate
propaganda’. Thus, anyone who disseminates
any information “that could reasonably be
construed to demonstrate an intention to
promote or incite hatred” could attract the
penal provisions of this law.
In the absence of specific phrasing, there is
scope for misuse by subordinate law enforcers.
Way forward:
What is actually required in preventing
communal violence is ‘better policing and
administrative precautions’ rather than just
prosecuting
people
who
indulge
in
propaganda with the intention to promote
hatred.
While one cannot deny the fact that India
needs special legislation to deal with
communal violence, the current draft bill is
unlikely to serve the purpose. The failure to
eliminate the contentious provisions that are
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in any case too general and sweeping could
endanger the passage of a potentially historic
piece of legislation which in effect
institutionalises a commitment on the part of
government.
An expert committee will identify the
alternative capital for Telangana within 45
days of the gazette notification; a joint public
service commission will be in place for the two
States;
In this regard, it is better that the bill is
redrafted to ensure a sharper focus on the
specific issues of prevention of communal
violence and provide proper redressal
mechanism and a wider consultation among
various
stakeholders
including
the
government, political parties, police and
security agencies would not only uphold the
democratic principles of our country but also
help in preservation of national harmony.
Both States will have special status under
Article 371-D of the Constitution for equitable
opportunities. The Governor of Telangana will
have a special responsibility for security of life,
liberty and property of all those who reside in
the common capital area.
Both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will get
special economic packages for development of
backward regions. All tax incentives will
continue for the two states.
TELANGANA
Cabinet finally gives approval
formation of ‘Telangana state’
for
The Union Cabinet has finally approved a bill
for the creation of a Telangana state with 10
districts, paving the way for the bifurcation of
Andhra Pradesh to give birth to the country’s
29th state.
The Cabinet has broadly approved most of the
recommendations made by the Group of
Ministers (GoM) constituted to consider the
contentious issues.
National-level institutions such as IITs and
IIMs and an AIIMS will be set up in Andhra
Pradesh to ensure that careers of students do
not get affected. All educational facilities in
Hyderabad will continue for another 10 years
under existing system
Polavaram project will be declared a national
project and will be financed and executed
entirely by the Centre. There will be two
separate boards for Krishna and Godavari
rivers.
Polity related information (from Exam
point of View):
Some of the highlights of the bill are:
Telangana will have 10 districts and the rest of
Andhra Pradesh will have 13 districts;
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
area will remain the common capital for both
states for a period not exceeding 10 years;
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Procedure for forming a ‘New State’
(taking Telangana as an example)
The constitutional framework for creating a
new state might not have changed much since
the days of the First State Reorganization
Commission headed by Justice Fazal Ali, but
logistical challenges and vote bank dynamics
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have certainly made the task more complex.
Before Telangana sees the light of the day, there
are a host of legal and administrative challenge.
The first step has to be taken by the Union
Cabinet to approve the creation of India’s 29th
state. The cabinet will form a Group of
Ministers (GoM) to draft proposals detailing
the bifurcation process which will be eventually
drafted into a bill.
Four-step procedure Article 3 (Article 3 of
Indian Constitution addresses the topic of
‘Formation of new States and alteration of
areas, boundaries or names of existing States’)
provides the following procedure:



Under Article 3(e) of the Constitution of India,
the draft bill will be sent by the President to the
legislature of the concerned state to seek its
approval within a time frame “specified in the
reference or within such further period as the
President may allow.
Since the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) has a
bicameral legislature, both the legislative
assembly and the legislative council will express
their views on this draft bill. However, all this is
a mere formality since the President is not
obliged to consider the views of the AP
legislature

Presidential reference is sent to State
Assembly.
After presidential reference, a resolution
is tabled and passed in Assembly.
Assembly has to pass a Bill creating the
new State/States.
A separate Bill has to be ratified by
Parliament.
Supreme Court sets aside Delhi HC verdict
decriminalizing gay sex
In a major setback to gay rights activists, the
Supreme Court has held that homosexuality or
unnatural sex between two consenting adults
under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) is illegal and will continue to be an
offence.
What does Section 377 say?
Each house has to pass the bill by a simple
majority, which in Parliamentary parlance is
defined as half the members of each of the
houses ‘present and voting’.
After passing muster in both houses of
Parliament, the bill would go to Rashtrapati
Bhavan for the President’s seal, specifying the
date on which Telangana will be formed. This
will be published in the respective gazettes of
the Union government and the Andhra Pradesh
government signifying the birth of Telangana
Courtesy- http://in.news.yahoo.com/how-doyou-create-a-new-state-anyway–073415110.html
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Whoever voluntarily has “carnal intercourse
against the order of nature with any man,
woman or animal commits an unnatural
offence” and can be punished with up to life
term.
However, ‘Section 377, which holds same-sex
relations unnatural, does not suffer from
unconstitutionality’.
The Delhi High Court in 2009 had ruled that
Section 377 was against constitutional values
and human dignity, which clearly violates the
Human Right’s of an individual.
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But the SC has argued that, the Delhi HC has
relied extensively upon the judgements of
other foreign countries which cannot be
applied blindfolded for deciding the
constitutionality of Indian law.
And since LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and
transgenders) community constitute only a
diminutive fraction of the population, the
decision does not hold water. Now, it is upto
the parliament to consider the desirability and
propriety of deleting section 377 of IPC from
the constitution or amend it.
Ruling regressive, say gay rights activists
The Naz Foundation has said that, the
decision has let down the constitutional vision
of an equal and inclusive society and violated
the fundamental tenets of the Constitution.
The 2.5-million LGBT community is
categorised as a high-risk group by the
Department of AIDS Control, as prevalence of
HIV infection among them is close to 7 % as
against less than 1% in others. India has cut
down HIV infections by 57% through its
inclusive public health schemes. With this
decision HIV infected among LGBT
community may no longer access public
health facilities without risking harassment or
arrest.
The community would also face threats and
intimidation or even blackmailing.
A retrograde decision:
The Supreme Court’s is viewed as ‘retrograde’
as it has brought back medieval prejudice and
has also curtailed liberal values and human
rights.
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Through its path-breaking judgment in Naz
Foundation, the Delhi High Court had
amended Section 377 to decriminalise
consensual sex among adults irrespective of
gender. The Union government too was in
favour of the High Court’s view, and had left it
to the Supreme Court (SC) to decide on the
penal provision.
The court has stepped in wherever the
executive had failed and has not hesitated to
read into the constitutionally enumerated
fundamental rights to life and to equality an
expansive set of human rights including the
right to education, the right to work with
dignity and the right of prisoners to humane
treatment. That is all the more reason why it
should not shy away from correcting a
centuries-old law and an outdated mind-set
that offend against basic rights and human
dignity.
Changes in law have come about both by
legislation and through the judiciary’s
constitutional interpretation.
With this decision, the judicial route to
bringing the law in line with fundamental
human right has been closed. It is strange that
a decision involving a major constitutional
issue and the hard-won rights of large sections
of the socially oppressed should have been
decided by a two-member bench rather than
by a larger Constitutional Bench.
It is Parliament’s prerogative to amend Section
377 in tune with the social circumstances,
declared the court in a show of restraint that is
uncharacteristic of its attitude in recent times.
However,
the
legislative
route
to
decriminalising gay sex would seem to be
problematic in this election season because
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DECEMBER 2013
the issue may not be accorded priority and
also because it may be difficult to forge a
political agreement.
If harassment by law enforcement agencies
drives sections of the LGBT community
underground and makes them terrified of
disclosing their orientation, it would have
serious public health consequences as well,
particularly in the fight against AIDS. Above
all, it is a test of humane values, fairness and
dignity in a society. It is important that
institutions of the state acknowledge the
importance of these values.
As India takes a step back, U.K. prepares
to legalise gay marriage
The Indian Supreme Court has re-criminalized
gay relationships based on a colonial law that
the United Kingdom has long back done away
with is an irony that has not gone unnoticed
in the U.K., where a much-awaited
government announcement promising a
spring deadline for same- sex marriages has
just been made.
CYBER-SECURITY::
India’s cyber security preparedness
In view of its growing cyber security concerns,
India has decided to challenge the U.S.
government’s control over the Internet and
ensure that the trio of the U.S., Russia and
China does not ignore India’s concerns while
developing an international regime for
Internet governance.
India will also push for storing all Internet
data within the country, besides ensuring
control and management of servers.
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According to a note prepared by the SubCommittee on International Cooperation
on Cyber Security (under the National
Security Council Secretariat (NSCS)), the
following were the concerns and issues
discussed
regarding
cyber
security
challenges:
The control of Internet was in the hands of the
U.S. government and the key levers relating to
its management was dominated by its security
agencies. Just mere location of root servers in
India would not serve any purpose unless
India was also allowed a role in their control
and management. Also it should be insisted
that data of all domain names originating
from India should be stored in India. Similarly,
all traffic originating/landing in India should
be stored in India.
Notably, the key function of domain name
system (DNS) management today is in the
hands
of
the
U.S.
National
Telecommunication
and
Information
Administration and the Department of
Commerce. Though after persistently putting
pressure on companies, India has managed to
get root servers installed in the country, it
wants a say in management of these servers.
India is also seeking a key role in policy
making on Internet governance at the
international level.
It was also important that management and
control of the DNS should be supervised by a
‘Board’ consisting of technical experts
nominated by governments and India should
be represented on this Board. India should
seek a larger determinate role for the GAC
(Government Advisory Committee) in ICANN
(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Number) a U.S.-based non-profit organisation
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that coordinates global Internet systems in
which India should be effectively represented.
India is also concerned about the proximity of
the U.S., Russia and China while deciding on
issue of Internet governance. There was a
possibility that the U.S., Russia and China may
work out an arrangement that met their
concerns and this arrangement was thereafter
forced upon other countries. So India needs to
guard against this possibility and ensure that
India’s concerns were also accommodated in
whatever international regime for Internet
governance that ultimately emerged. Notably,
today India has the third largest Internet users
in the world at over 15 crore, only after China
(56 crore) and the U.S. (25 crore).
India has also decided to favour a predominantly multilateral approach on issues
related to Internet governance rather than
multi-stakeholder approach which is mainly
being advocated by the West.
According to India, the very term multistakeholder was something of a ‘misnomer’. A
small unrepresentative group of certain
individuals, supported by vested interests,
appear to have arrogated themselves the right
to present certain views in discussions relating
to Internet governance. It was not clear as to
who they represent and whether who they
claimed to represent had in fact nominated
them. These persons undermine the positions
of the government and were really
spokespersons of certain Western interests.
Cyber-attacks on the rise
According to the latest report of the Indian
Computer Emergency Response Team (CERTIn) under the Department of Electronics and
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Information Technology there has been a
major increase in attacks on Indian websites in
recent months, the most vulnerable being
those of critical government organisations like
banking and finance, oil and gas and
emergency services.
The most targeted websites included those
having ‘.in’ domain, which is mostly used by
government ministries and departments,
besides some major private organisations.
Defacing of a website is an act of cyber
terrorism, particularly when the target
belonged
to
critical
government
infrastructure. Hackers have targeted these
important websites to reduce public
confidence in the security of a system and its
trustworthiness for use for sensitive purposes.
Mind-Mapping:
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
What do you understand by ‘cyberterrorism’? Its impact on the economy of
India?
Has India taken any steps to curtail the
cyber threats?
Do you think cyber terrorism needs to be
tackled on a larger scale (international
fora)? How can this be done?
What do you think is the difference
between NSA snooping and Cyber
terrorism?
INDIA’S DIPLOMACY::
Need for change in India’s Diplomatic
policy
The two instances below makes us rethink
on the existing diplomatic policy of India:
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The arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani
Khobragade in the United States and the other
regarding the arrest of sailors in July, 2013 (and
released just recently).
In the later case, the two Indian sailors Sunil
James and Vijayan were arrested by the Togo
authorities. Reason- they had simply
disembarked in Togo to report a pirate attack
on their oil tanker. In an apparent instance of
confusion, the Togo police charged them with
the grave offence of aiding piracy. Criminal
proceedings were initiated against both, and
their families reliably informed that the trial
would go on for an extended period of time.
They were released after the Indian High
Commissioner in neighbouring Ghana met the
President of Togo to present their case.
Given that the health of Mr. James and Mr.
Vijayan had deteriorated, this diplomatic
intervention by Indian and Togolese officials
came not a moment too soon. Meanwhile, Mr.
James’s son, all of 11 months old, died of illness
earlier this month. By securing his release, the
Indian government has ensured that the sailor
gets to attend his son’s funeral. But it needs
mention that the plight of the jailed men was
taken up in earnest only after the death of Mr.
James’s son came to the attention of the media
and public.
In this respect, a common thread runs
through the arrests of Ms. Khobragade and the
two sailors. Both cases indicate that Indian
diplomacy has been too slow to respond to
crises that were long in the making. Ms.
Khobragade’s harsh treatment at the hands of
U.S. authorities is a by-product of India’s
inability to tackle a serious legal and
humanitarian issue through diplomatic
channels.
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If there was a chance to negotiate a mutually
accepted understanding of how U.S. visa rules
and minimum wage laws would apply to
domestic help employed by Indian diplomats
in the country, India did not exercise it.
Similarly, Mr. James and Mr. Vijayan were
languishing in a Togo jail for six months
before India took up their cases.
The zeal with which the Ministry of External
Affairs has intervened in Ms. Khobragade’s
case sits uncomfortably with its lax attempts
to resolve the open-and-shut case involving
the sailors.
India’s diplomatic establishment needs to
formulate a policy that deals with the
concerns of Indians abroad not just of
diplomats but of sailors, businesspersons,
fishermen and others.
As the global and business profile of India
increases, it is only natural that more Indians
find themselves in legal and diplomatic
crosshairs around the world. Resolving their
concerns effectively while deferring to the
national laws of other states should be
accorded a higher priority than has been in
evidence.
RAILWAY SAFTEY::
Railways ‘safety’ high on alert
Railway accidents in India is on the rise
.Recently a three-tier air-conditioned coach of
the Bangalore-Nanded Express was engulfed
in flames near Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh),
claiming 26 lives in the early hours of
December 28.Preliminary investigation has
revealed that, an electrical short circuit in the
coach may be the reason behind the tragedy.
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DECEMBER 2013
Fires in running trains are not new to the
Indian Railways, but the unfortunate fact is
that when it happens in the dead of night and
that too in an enclosed air-conditioned coach,
the chances of survival are bleak.
Similarly, in July 2012, 47 passengers were
killed when a coach of the Tamil Nadu Express
caught fire near Nellore, also in Andhra
Pradesh. Derailments, collisions, fire and
accidents at unmanned level crossings account
for the bulk of railway calamities in India.
This calamity can be overcome by use of noncombustible and non-inflammable materials
in railway coaches. On these lines, the Railway
Ministry had decided to make the shift, and
coach production units were asked to go in for
fire-retardant material. But the major
drawback over here is- it’s a slow process and
only ‘new coaches’ could be made with them.
The problem persists with the old coaches still
in use.
Also a major drive to check passengers
carrying stoves or inflammable materials was
launched, and to a certain extent this was
successful. Two other major sources of fire
incidents relate to overheating wheels and
electrical short circuit.
Several inquiries and Commission reports
have pointed to gaps in safety measures and
suggested follow-up action. The ‘Kakodkar
committee on safety’ in 2012 had pointed to an
“implementation bug” and recommended a
massive Rs.1 lakh crore programme over five
years to ensure complete safety on the wheels.
It had also suggested an allocation of
Rs.20,000 crore a year, which can also be
generated by means of a safety cess on
passengers.
It is high time that more importance must be
given to ‘safety’ of the passengers and funding
the required measures. Preventive measure is
anytime better than curative measures.
Mind-Mapping:
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
What are the reasons for frequent railway
accidents? Suggest some measures to
overcome the mishaps.
What are the steps taken by the govt. in this
regard?
Committee’s appointed by the govt. in order
to improve the working of railways (for
example: karkodar committee etc.- their
recommendations)
Should railways be privatized? Your views.
ROLE OF EMERGING ECONOMIES::
Now with advances in technology, it should be
possible for the Indian Railways to detect such
hazards in time to prevent a fire.
Middle-income countries key to future
development
Smoke detectors and circuit breakers have
become commonplace and can easily be
installed in trains. Though fire extinguishers
exist, it is seldom operational and it must be
made sure that every railway station is
equipped to fight fires.
With Globalisation being the engine of
emerging economies’(Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa, Mexico, Colombia
etc.)
growth,
trade
has
increased
exponentially, but the performance of these
economies has slowed down in the last couple
of years (since 2011).
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DECEMBER 2013
About 1,500 covert protectionist measures’
have been introduced by G20 members since
2008 and amid stagnant wages, high
unemployment, and anaemic growth, support
for globalisation has been on the decline in
advanced economies.
Also there has been threat to sustainability
across the globe – Global greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions are now 46% higher than
they were in 1990, and the International
Energy Agency estimates that existing policies
will result in long-term warming of between
3.6°C (38.5°F) and 5.3°C well into the zone
where catastrophic climate tipping points
could be triggered, potentially wiping out
progress made on poverty reduction over the
past 15 years.
Of course, middle-income countries still face
huge development challenges (with majority
of poor people, illiteracy, health issues among
others)
If global world is thinking of eliminating
poverty by 2030 (the probable headline target
of the post-2015 goals), limiting global
warming to 2°C, or move to more sustainable
and inclusive globalisation, then there is a
strong urge for a new global partnership with
middle-income countries fully on board.
Mind- mapping:
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
Yet, decisive action(s) have not been taken to
halt these trends due to frequent
disagreements
and
concerns
about
competitiveness.

Efforts to formulate new international
development targets to succeed the
millennium development goals (MDGs) when
they expire in 2015 are emerging as a key
indicator of what the future holds.



Concept of ‘balance of power’ in the
contemporary world.
What are MDGs? Achievement of India in
this regard.
Bring out 3 major issues faced by the global
world. What measures are taken to tackle
these issues (by the developed and
developing countries)? How successful have
these measures been?
Difference
between
‘growth’
and
‘development’?
Impact of globalisation on the developing
countries (India in particular).
Do you think post-2015 goals should be
‘universal’? Your views and suggestions.
Countries across the globe have agreed at 2013
U.N. general assembly that the post-2015 goals
should be universal, targeting not only the 1
billion people living in absolute poverty, but
all 7 billion of the world’s inhabitants.
OPEN DEFECATION ::
But the reality is that, the new development
agenda calls for important role of ‘middleincome’ countries, since they form the
majority of the population and also they are
much ‘less reliant’ on foreign assistance than
they were when the MDGs were agreed upon.
According to a recent report released by WHO
and UNICEF, over half of the India’s
population defecate in the open. This has
serious consequences on the health of the
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‘Open Defecation’ a bane to the Indian
society & the economy as a whole
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DECEMBER 2013
individual and ‘demographic dividend’ and the
future growth prospects of India.
Though experts and political leaders have
raised this issue and called for “more toilets
than temples”, there is not much
improvement in this regard.
India to its record has most number of people
who defecate in the open and Bihar alone has
a higher rate than any other country in the
world to continue this practice indicates the
seriousness of this issue.
Even neighbouring countries like Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Nepal have done well in this regard.
For instance by reducing open defecation from
32% to 4% during 1990-2011, Bangladesh has
fared extremely well. The reduction has been
about 50% in the case of Nepal (84 to 43%)
and Pakistan (52 to 23%) during the same
period( in India, the reduction is from 74% to
only about 50% in 2011)
the most. This practice causes diarrhoea, one
of the most common communicable diseases
in India and a number one killer of young
children. Frequent diarrhoeal events result in
under-nutrition. This is why nearly 50 % of
under-five children in rural areas are stunted,
wasted and underweight. Children weakened
by this disease are in turn more prone to
opportunistic infections such as pneumonia.
A recent report released by the World Bank
reveals even more dangerous consequences- it
has gone beyond the physical impact of this
issue and has found a link between open
defecation
and
reduced
cognitive
achievements. It’s high time that the
government shows more pro-activeness and
creates awareness on this issue.
Cabinet clears constitutional status for
Judicial Appointments Commission
Determined to resolve this issue, the Indian
government has come up with its mission to
completely eliminate this practice by 2022 and
50% of all gram panchayats by 2017. And had
also taken certain measures like increasing the
amount to be spent for household toilets in
rural areas from Rs.4,600 to Rs.10,000 in 2012.
However, it must be realised here that,
financial incentives alone cannot end or
drastically reduce the percentage of people
continuing with this practice. If other
countries have achieved it, there is no reason
why India cannot do it.
The need to aggressively address the issue
cannot be overemphasised as open defecation
affects children, especially those below five,
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The Union Cabinet has given its nod for
conferring constitutional status on the
proposed Judicial Appointments Commission
(JAC) for appointment and transfer of judges
to the higher judiciary.
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DECEMBER 2013
The government earlier accepted the report of
the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Law and Justice, which recommended that the
structure and functions of the JAC to replace
the present collegium system be governed by a
constitutional provision.
excluding the Executive entirely in the
collaborative and consultative exercise
for appointment of judges.
Provisions in the Constitution (120th
Amendment) Bill, 2013:
Because of inherent deficiencies in the
collegium, as many as 275 judge posts in
various High Courts are lying vacant. This has
a direct bearing on the justice delivery system
and thereby affecting the judiciary.
The Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill,
2013, provides for the setting up of a
Judicial Appointments
Commission
by
inserting Article 124 (A) in the Constitution
and amending Articles 124(2), 217(1) and
222(1).
The committee had recommended that, there
should be three eminent persons in the
commission, instead of two as provided for in
the present Bill, and at least one out of them
should be an SC/ST/OBC/woman/minority,
preferably by rotation.
According to the proposal approved by the
Cabinet, while new Article 124 A of the
Constitution will define the composition of
the JAC, Article 124 B will define its functions.
Considering the responsibility of the JAC to
select 800-odd judges to 24 High Courts, and
also the fact that constitutional and other
functionaries are involved at the State-level in
the process of appointment, it suggested
State-level commissions also.
The JAC Bill seeks to set up a six-member
body under the chairmanship of the Chief
Justice of India for recommending names to
the President of individuals with outstanding
legal acumen and impeccable integrity and
credibility for judgeship in the Supreme Court
and the High Courts.
Mind-Mapping:

What is the existing system of appointment
of Judges of SC & HC in India? What are the
issues with the present system? How do you
think JAC would solve the issue?
Constitution Amendment – procedure and
conditions followed?
It would also recommend transfer of judges of
one High Court to another.

The structure and functions of the proposed
commission are provided in the JAC Bill.
Union Government to have powers to
resolve water-sharing disputes in new
States
Present issues & Recommendations of the
Parliamentary Panel:
According to the parliamentary panel, the
present process adopted by the collegium
of judges is plagued with its own problem of
opacity and non-accountability, besides
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Union Govt. will have the powers to
decide the sharing of water resources and
assets in the river basins (Krishna and
Godavari) between Andhra Pradesh and
proposed Telangana after the bifurcation, if
Page 12
DECEMBER 2013
the two are unable to do so through a mutual
agreement within specified time.
If the two States, after the bifurcation, are
unable to resolve sharing of utilisable water in
the river basins within one year, the Centre
will be empowered to take the decision
unilaterally by the end of the second year. In
the case of projects running in these basins,
the States would get two years to arrive at the
sharing formula in consultation with the
Centre failing which, again the Union
government would step in to do so unilaterally
in the third year after creation of the State
(the sharing of water resources has been one
of the most contentious points in the creation
of the Telangana State.)
The Centre also proposed to set up a river
management board. The board will be funded
by the two State governments on the basis of a
formula that would be decided on the benefitsharing ratios.
This board would regulate the implementation
of the benefit-sharing agreement struck either
between the States or by the Centre either on
water supply or on power generated.
The board shall hold powers to regulate
irrigation,
water
supply,
hydro-power,
navigation and terms of industrial use of river
resources. In order to avoid any enduring
battle between the two States over specific
projects or critical water resources, the centre
would have the veto in case dispute arises
between the States on the powers of the
board.
Way forward:
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
This would provide the way to resolve
ownership and benefit-sharing issues that the
Centre believes could emerge in case of large,
controversial and on-going projects such as
the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation
project.
Panel wants minimum wage linked to
MGNREGA levels
A committee set up by the Ministry of Rural
Development to revise wages under the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has come up with
suggestions that would likely provide
solutions to the long-standing issues relating
to disparity in earnings under the scheme.
Currently, MGNREGA wages are lower than
the minimum wages in several States,
including in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and
Kerala.
The committee was constituted to ‘suggest a
proper index for revising the MGNREGA wage
rates every year, by protecting the wages
against inflation.’
Key Recommendations:
Any State which raises the minimum wages
arbitrarily will have to bear the extra cost from
its own resources. However, this increase will
be taken into account once the base index is
revised every five years. It would be better to
link the wages to an established index rather
than trying to create a new one.
The significant issue is to link the minimum
wages in States to MGNREGA wages. This will
even sort out the issues between the Centre
and State governments
Page 13
DECEMBER 2013
While the committee is yet to finalise whether
to continue with Consumer Price Index
(Agricultural Labourers(AL)) or pitch for
Consumer Price Index (Rural (R)), or even CPI
(Rural Labourers(RL)), it has recommended
that the MGNREGA wages be made equivalent
to minimum wages in States.
Currently, wages under the rural job scheme
are indexed to the CPI (AL), which has a larger
share of the food component and reflects food
inflation. The other option before the
committee is to index wages to CPI (R).
Both CPI (AL) and CPI (RL) are estimated by
the Labour Ministry and the Labour Bureau,
while CPI (R) is calculated by the Central
Statistical Organisation (CSO).
The MGNREGA is designed to provide job
guarantee for at least 100 days in rural parts of
the country. Through this scheme, all the
adult members (at least 18 years of age) of the
any family in rural part of the country are
given non-skilled work.
The Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Non-urban
Career Assurance Act (MGNREGA) is an
Indian job guarantee program, presented by
regulation on Aug 25, 2005. The program
provides a legal guarantee for one hundred
days of occupation in every financial year to
mature associates of any rural family willing to
do public work-related inexperienced guide
perform at the legal lowest salary of 120 Rs per
day last year prices.
Courtesy – http://www.mgnrega.co.in/
For more information on CPI index refer
our
‘INSIGHTS
CURRENT EVENTS
Magazine (October 2013))
Minimum Wages Act
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is an Indian
legislation enacted by the Parliament of India
for statutory fixing of minimum wages to be
paid to skilled and unskilled labours.
The Indian Constitution has defined a ‘living
wage’ that is the level of income for a worker
which will ensure a basic standard of living
including good health, dignity, comfort,
education and provide for any contingency.
To know more about this, refer the below linkhttp://m.paycheck.in/main/salary/minimumwa
ges
MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National
rural employment guarantee act)
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Plan to give Juvenile Justice Boards more
powers to try children draws flak
The Ministry of Women and Child
Development’s plan to empower the Juvenile
Justice Boards to try under the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) children involved in heinous
crimes, such as murder and rape, has come
under criticism.
The National Commission for Protection of
Child Rights (NCPCR) has said it was not
taken into confidence before the plan was
drafted. And according to Child rights
organizations have the plan would lead to
violating the right to life, liberty and equality
of children.
At present, the Juvenile Justice Boards, which
try children in conflict with law, can prescribe
a maximum punishment of up to three years.
But the draft of the proposal says children
Page 14
DECEMBER 2013
aged above 16 can be tried under the IPC if
they are involved in heinous crimes. This can
only be done by amending the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
Significance of the proposal:
The proposal is significant, given that the
juvenile involved in the December 16 gang
rape in New Delhi got away with a light
punishment, even after the victim declared
him the most gruesome among all
perpetrators.
According to the plan, the Juvenile Justice
Boards will not hand down death and life
sentences; nor will the age of the juvenile be
reduced to 16 years as was planned earlier. The
Juvenile Justice Boards will decide on what
falls under the category of heinous crimes the
gravity of the crime or repeated offences. This
has been done in keeping with India’s
commitment to the United Nations
Convention on Child Rights (UNCRC), which
defines a child as anyone aged less than 18
years.
In July, 2013 the Supreme Court rejected
petitions for lowering the age of juvenility
from the existing 18 years. NCPCR’s argument
is also on these lines that there should be no
compromise on the age of a child as defined in
the UNCRC, which India has ratified.
The Ministry too has retaliated that it has
considered this clause and there was no move
to lower the age of juveniles.
Earlier, the Verma Committee was constituted
to recommend amendments to the criminal
law so as to provide for quicker trial and
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
enhanced punishment for those accused of
sexual assault against women.
The Indian laws relating to children have
evolved over several years and are the product
of an extensive research and understanding of
the issue, and therefore it is essential that any
review of the child rights jurisprudence should
take place only after an exhaustive
deliberation on the pros and cons of the
subject.
Power Grid to launch air patrolling of
networks
Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL)
is planning to introduce air-patrolling to keep
a watch on some of its installations, located in
remote or difficult destinations. The move will
eventually help reduce power theft, tripping
and unplanned outages. This would also
enhance system efficiency and power
trippings.
The plan is to cover first the national capital
region (NCR), followed by the West, the South
and then the East.
The public sector PGCIL is India’s largest
electric power transmission company, owning
and operating over 90% of India’s inter-state
transmission system. The 12th Five Year Plan
aims to achieve a national power grid with
inter-regional power transfer capacity of
approximately 65,550 MW, which would
primarily include PGCIL’s transmission
system.
Communal violence Bill
The Prevention of Communal and Targeted
Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations)
Page 15
DECEMBER 2013
Bill, 2011 was crafted by the National Advisory
Council (NAC).
The bill aims at creating a framework for
preventing pogroms such as the attacks on
Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, and the provision
of relief for victims of such violence. It has
kicked up a storm with some people criticizing
it as “draconian” and “anti-Hindu” and others
dismissing it as “toothless and meaningless”.
Broadly, the bill targets acts that result in
injury and were directed against persons
because of their affiliation to any group. Such
acts include sexual assault, hate propaganda,
torture and organized communal violence.
The bill creates a National Authority for
Communal Harmony, Justice, and Reparation,
charged with preventing acts of communal
violence and monitoring investigations into
incidents.
It also covers the punishment of officials who
fail to discharge their duties in an unbiased
manner during outbreaks of such violence.
State Govt’s argue that ‘law and order’ and
‘public order’ are State subjects, and several
provisions of this Bill encroach on the federal
structure of the Constitution.
Courtesy
–
http://www.prsindia.org/media/articles-citingprs/-india-divided-over-communal-violencebill-1829/
‘Politics’ has wrecked sports: Supreme
Court
The Supreme Court regretted that national
game (Hockey) has fallen victim to private
interest as businessmen headed these sports
bodies. (India could not even qualify for the
next Olympics).
With regard to a petition filed by the Indian
Hockey Federation (IHF) on a dispute with
Hockey India (HI), it said that, sports officials
were only interested in visiting foreign
countries and not in promoting the game. This
showed the sad state of affairs.
Background:
According to the Bill, only violence against a
minority community is considered communal
violence. Hence critics argue why not violence
against the majority community should not be
considered as communal.
The bill’s attempt to correct institutional bias
against religious and linguistic minorities has
drawn fire from Hindu nationalists, who see it
as evidence of the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government’s appeasement of Muslims.
The Bill is viewed as a threat to India’s
communal harmony
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
IHF had earlier appealed to restrain HI from
participating in the proceedings of 3-member
committee appointed by International Hockey
Federation (FIH) to find out which body
controlled hockey in India.
IHF’s plea for restraining HI to attend
proceedings before the FIH’s 3-member
committee was based on the fact that the
Delhi High Court had ruled in its favour, thus
making it (IHF) the sole body to represent
Indian hockey in the international arena. HI
had appealed against this order in apex court.
Page 16
DECEMBER 2013
(IHF is similar to Board of Control for Cricket
in India (BCCI), a registered society which
administers the game of cricket).
Union Govt. rejects demand for ILP in
Meghalaya
The Union Govt. has rejected the demand for
introduction of Inner Line Permit (ILP) system
in Meghalaya, saying the Constitution does
not provide for expanding the special
provision to new areas.
The centre justified its stand saying that it was
bound by Article 19 (d) of the Constitution,
according to which an Indian citizen has the
freedom to move throughout the territory of
the country. Moreover the Constitution does
not allow introduction of ILP in any new area.
In a communication to the Meghalaya
government, the Union Home Ministry has
conveyed that it was bound by Article 19 (d) of
the Constitution which allows any Indian
citizen to move freely throughout the territory
of the country.
What is Inner Line Permit (ILP) system?
ILP is an official travel document issued by an
empowered State government to allow inward
travel of an Indian citizen into a
protected/restricted area for a limited period.
It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside
those States to obtain permit for entering the
protected State.
The document is an effort by the government
to regulate movement to certain areas located
near the international borders.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Currently, ILP is in force in Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Various organisations in Meghalaya have been
demanding introduction of ILP claiming the
demography of the State has been changed
due to the unabated influx.
DoT making inventory of networks for
switch to IPv6
The Department of Telecommunications
(DoT) has started compiling an inventory of
all computer networks used by government
departments, State and Central public sector
undertakings and banks across Tamil Nadu for
finalising a plan for transition to the next
generation Internet address, IPv6 (Internet
Protocol version 6).
The DoT’s road map envisaged complete
migration to IPv6 by 2017-end as the address
capacity of IPv4 had been exhausted.
What is an IP address?
An IP address is like a telephone number or a
street address. When you connect to the
Internet, your device (computer, smartphone,
tablet) is assigned an IP address, and any site
you visit has an IP address.
To send data from one computer to another
through the web, a data packet must be
transferred across the network containing the
IP addresses of both devices.
Without IP addresses, computers would not
be able to communicate and send data to each
other. It’s essential to the infrastructure of the
web.
Page 17
DECEMBER 2013
Courtesy
http://blog.softlayer.com/2012/ipv4-v-ipv6whats-the-difference/
–
IPv4 & IPv6
IPv4 stands for Internet Protocol version 4. It
is the underlying technology that makes it
possible for us to connect our devices to the
web. Whenever a device access the Internet
(whether it’s a PC, Mac, smartphone or other
device), it is assigned a unique, numerical IP
address such as 99.48.227.227.
IPv4 would be in future replaced with IPv6
(sixth revision )since the Internet is running
out of available IPv4 address space (IPv4 uses
32 bits for its Internet addresses), and IPv6
provides an exponentially larger pool of IP
addresses (IPv6 utilizes 128 bit addresses)
Courtesyhttp://mashable.com/2011/02/03/ipv4-ipv6guide/
Advantages of migrating to IPv6:
It frees up more space for more Internet users.
The other benefits include better quality of
service for consumers, support for high-end
applications and better security features.
IPv6 is designed to allow the Internet to grow
steadily, both in terms of the number of hosts
connected and the total amount of data traffic
transmitted
Support land agreement with Bangladesh:
Assam CM
Assam CM Tarun Gogoi has appealed to all
political parties to extend their cooperation to
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
ensure ratification of the land swap agreement
between India and Bangladesh.
The land swap agreement will help solve the
long-pending
boundary
issues
with
Bangladesh and will also lead to increase in
volume of trade and commerce.
It would also ensure demarcation and erection
of fencing on the unfenced 2.86-km stretch in
the Lathitilla-Dumabari sector in Karimganj
district along the border.
Of the total 665 acres under adverse
possession of Bangladesh, Assam would regain
397.5 acres, while Bangladesh would get 267.5
acres. So there was no question of losing any
land.
Courtesy- Wikipedia (image)
For more information on the IndiaBangladesh Land swap deal, refer the
below linkhttp://www.futuredirections.org.au/publicatio
ns/indian-ocean/29-indian-ocean-swa/1315the-benefits-of-an-india-bangladesh-landboundary-agreement.html
Role of NOTA in the recent State Elections
‘None of the Above (NOTA)’ is an option given
to the voters for the 1st time to reject all
contestants.
Though there has been a difference in opinion
on the impact and relevance of NOTA across
Page 18
DECEMBER 2013
the political group, in the tribal areas the
actual impact of NOTA could be felt.
While in Chhattisgarh, 3.07% of the valid
votes went to NOTA the highest among the
four States in which elections were held; Delhi
recorded 0.63 %.
In Chhattisgarh even a marginal difference in
vote share makes or mars government
formation. This time, the difference is less
than 0.75% between the winning BJP and the
Congress.
Following the trend, it would be realized that
the political parties should put up acceptable
candidates and avoid dubious ones; though
some may disagree, as it has made less impact
on the outcome of the elections. For instance
Delhi recorded a meager 0.63% and in
Mizoram very few exercised the choice, with
figures ranging from 36 to less than 200 hits.
According to a leader of a political party, “All
NOTA has done is to give voters a right to
exercise, which is a fundamental right; but
there was neither clarity on what it meant nor
its consequences.
However, going through the results for every
State, it is obvious that in more than 60 % of
the constituencies, the third highest number
of votes went to NOTA. This suggests that the
option attracted those who never go to vote,
possibly out of disenchantment with the
system and has provided voters with an
opportunity to express themselves rather than
abstaining.
The NOTA’s figures in the Left Wing
Extremists-dominated areas of Bastar may as
well be an expression of disenchantment with
electoral politics, as espoused by the Maoists,
as it may be an individual voter’s dislike for
the candidates in fray in places like Chitrakot,
where more than 10,000 voters chose the
option. In the Konta constituency in
Chhattisgarh, where CPI candidate Manish
Kunjam secured third position, the difference
of votes was just 2,100, whereas 4,000 voters
chose NOTA.
Interestingly, the percentage of NOTA voters
was high in the tribal belts of Rajasthan,
compared with urban areas. The total
percentage of NOTA in the State was 1.92 %.
India’s mid-day meal scheme ranked 12th
among lower-middle-income countries
A global report by the World Food Project
(WFP) for 2013 on 169 countries has said that
India has the largest school feeding
programme in the world, catering to over 114
million children, but stands 12th among 35
lower-middle-income countries covering 79%
of its total number of school-going children.
The report “State of School Feeding
Worldwide, 2013” draws from a global survey
conducted by WFP in 2012.
The report lauds India’s mid-day meal scheme
as a ‘good example of a mixed implementation
approach’ with two procurement processes
Facts & Figures:

http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
for food grains, which are subsidized
Centrally through the government-owned
Food Corporation of India (FCI), and
for other items like fresh fruits or
vegetables, procured at the State level.
Page 19
DECEMBER 2013
The report notes that gross primary enrolment
grew between 2001-2002 and 2007-2008 in
India, following the implementation of the
mid-day meal programme, particularly among
Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
However, the report adds an important rider –
“school feeding can only help if the other
major elements that are prerequisites for
learning such as teachers, textbooks,
curriculum and an environment conducive to
learning are also in place.” It warns that care
should be taken to avoid using teachers or
education staff to prepare food, since this
merely taxes the system that school-feeding
programmes aim to enhance.
The report also says that the nutritional
impact of the programme is yet to be
evaluated. The links with health and nutrition
could be strengthened considerably by better
coordination
between
sectors.
Other
weaknesses remain, such as insufficient
allocation of budget for food transportation
and infrastructure. Add to it, even late
disbursement of government funds too has a
negative impact.
In a significant recommendation, the report
proposes linking the programme to the
agriculture sector which ‘can potentially
benefit the entire community as well as the
children.’ Countries like Brazil, Chile and
Scotland have demonstrated the effectiveness
of purchasing school food locally in order to
simultaneously “feed children better and
stimulate the local economy.”
More about Mid-day meal Scheme:
The Mid Day Meal Scheme is a multi-faceted
programme of the Government of India that,
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
among other things, seeks to address issues of
food security, lack of nutrition and access to
education on a pan nation scale.
It involves provision for free lunch on working
days for children in Primary and Upper
Primary Classes in Government, Government
Aided, Local Body, Education Guarantee
Scheme (EGS) and Alternate Innovative
Education (AIE) Centres, Madarsa and
Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) and National Child Labour
Project (NCLP) Schools run by Ministry of
Labour.
The objectives of the mid-day meal
scheme are:



Improving the nutritional status of
children in classes I-V in Government,
Local Body and Government
aided
schools, and EGS and AIE centres.
Encouraging poor children, belonging to
disadvantaged sections, to attend school
more regularly and help them concentrate
on classroom activities.
Providing nutritional support to children
of primary stage in drought affected areas
during summer vacation.
Courtesyhttp://www.archive.india.gov.in/sectors/educat
ion/index.php?id=7 & Wikipedia
Military security, public interest ignored
in Adarsh housing: PAC
In its report on the Adarsh Cooperative
Housing Society scam, the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) of the Defence Ministry has
said a group of select officials holding key
posts have subverted rules and regulations,
Page 20
DECEMBER 2013
suppressed facts and took cover under welfare
of servicemen and war widows and children in
cornering prime public land in Mumbai.
What does the report say?
The committee, chaired by BJP leader Murli
Manohar Joshi, has deplored the “cavalier
manner in which the serious issue of security
was overlooked to the detriment of the
security installation” by the Ministry. This
despite the fact that the 31-storey Adarsh
building has security imperatives as per its
own admission.
According to the PAC, the Ministry and
military authorities ignored these aspects
when the building was coming up. But they
had admitted before the panel that there was a
security issue as the ‘Adarsh building is the
tallest one and facilitated observation of
military vehicles and personnel moving into
and out of the Colaba Military Station.
It criticised the Ministry for “non-cooperation
with the audit” with a view to blocking
parliamentary scrutiny.
Regarding NoC (no-objection certificate) that
was given to the society, the Ministry said it
was issued by local defence authorities
because of mismanagement of defence land,
poor record keeping and lack of mutation of
land already in the possession of the armed
forces.
The multiplicity of agencies managing defence
land contributed to the maladministration,
with no centralised information available on
the holdings.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Terming this a ‘monumental failure at all
levels of governance,’ the PAC lamented that
the
public
servants
entrusted
with
safeguarding the public trust had brazenly
betrayed it by acting against all norms of the
public interest and probity.
Some
‘advertisements’
promote
patriarchal set-up, finds parliamentary
panel
Endorsing the move to broaden the scope of
the definition of the word “advertisement” to
include the new forms of communication
within the ambit of The Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act
(IRWA), a parliamentary standing committee
has taken note of regressive advertising along
with the indecent portrayal of women across
various media platforms.
Always a much-debated issue, indecent
representation of women became a subject of
much concern in the wake of the December
16, 2012 gang rape incident in Delhi which
shook
the
nation.
Incidentally,
the
Government moved a bill to amend the IRWA
three days before the gang rape.
In its report on ‘The Indecent Representation
of Women (Prohibition) Amendment Bill,
2012’ that seeks to widen the scope of the 1986
legislation — the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Human Resource Development
(HRD) has said that, some “advertisements
promoted the patriarchal set-up by assigning
traditional roles to women, thereby being
regressive.”
Practical
approach
taken
by
the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on
HRD:
Page 21
DECEMBER 2013
Having raised this issue, the Committee has
asserted that all forms of advertisements
through any medium must be regulated to
curb indecent representation of women.
However, it has also taken on board the
apprehension of some stakeholders that “what
constituted as obscenity was highly subjective
and interpretation of it may lead to
unnecessary harassment at the hands of the
police.”
In this regard, the Committee has suggested
that police officers be trained properly to deal
with cases of indecent representation of
women so that there is no scope for subjective
and personal interpretations of the term
“indecent.” Further, the Bill could provide for
seeking the opinion of senior police officers in
such matters.
Besides it being a subjective matter, the
Committee also acknowledged the fact that
obscenity and indecent representation of
women could vary in different places or
different cultural contexts. Another reality
factored in by the Committee is the changing
perception in society on various issues.
More about Indecent Representation of
Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (IRWA)
The IRWA focuses on indecent representation
of women and brings under its ambit
references that are derogatory to the dignity of
women. The IRWA, 1986 was enacted with the
specific objective of prohibiting the indecent
representation
of
women
through
advertisement, publication, writing, and
painting or in any other manner.
The existing Act, in its present form, covers
the print media. However, over the years,
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
technological revolution has resulted in the
development
of
newer
forms
of
communication such as internet and satellite
based
communication,
multi-media
messaging, cable television etc.
It has, therefore, become imperative to widen
the scope of the law so as to cover such forms
of media, on one hand, and to strengthen the
existing safeguards to prevent indecent
representation of women through any such
form.
Courtesy – http://pib.nic.in
Critical view over the ‘Role of Media in a
Democratic country like India’
Despite the proliferation of media houses in
India, what is actually missing is the ‘diversity
of opinion.’
The media is not living upto it’s guiding
principles of journalism- “comment is free, but
facts are sacred” (as told by Scott, Editor of
‘The Guardian’).
Over the news being aired these days, there
are concerns over commercialisation and
sensationalisation, besides the growing
absence of objectivity in reportage; also there
was a rise of fanaticism and intolerance.
However, the social media has provided some
relief from the ‘stark uniformity of print and
television media.’
While freedom of the press is crucial, it should
be used responsibly. ‘Quality Self-regulation’ is
what is required for media to act as the fourth
pillar of Democracy.
Speaker
mentions
confidence motion
notice
for
noPage 22
DECEMBER 2013
For the second consecutive, both Houses of
Parliament could not conduct proceedings as
Opposition parties continued their protests on
a variety of issues, even as LokSabha Speaker
Meira Kumar mentioned about the notice for a
“no-confidence motion” received by her.
The Speaker was referring to the notices given
separately by four Seemandhra Congress MPs,
two MPs from the Telugu Desam Party and
three from the YSR Congress for moving a “noconfidence motion” against the UPA
government for its decision to carve a separate
Telangana State out of Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier, question hour too could not be taken
up due to the disruptions.
Unlike other motions which the Speaker
decides whether to admit or not, it is the
House which will have to approve the
admissibility of a no-confidence/trust motion
with at least 50 members (less than one-tenth
of the total strength of the House) standing up
to support it
A political party leader alleged that his dissent
note had been altered. Quoting Article 105 of
the Constitution, he had the right to
administer a note of dissent as a member of
the panel.
(This news is related to ‘Polity’ – Read about
Article 105, No-Confidence Motion, Powers of
the Speaker & Parliamentary proceedings for
better understanding)
Women’s reservation Bill
The long-pending Bill, which seeks to provide
33% reservation for women in Parliament and
the State Assemblies has been listed on the
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
LokSabha agenda for the ongoing session. It
has already been passed by the RajyaSabha.
The women’s organisations feel this is a
golden opportunity to remedy the injustice
meted out to women.
The Bill was first introduced in 1996. Though
it had been introduced in Parliament several
times since then, the Bill could not be passed
due to a so-called lack of political consensus.
Facts & Figures:
Recent elections show women’s entry into
legislature is difficult without affirmative
action. In Delhi, only 3 out of 70 elected
members are women; situations were grim in
other States too.
33.3 per cent seats in panchayat elections have
already been reserved for women.
In the gender-related development index
(GDI) – India ranks 113th among 177countries.
The average percentage of women’s
representation in the Parliament, Assemblies
and Council of Ministers taken together has
been around 10%. (UNIFEM:2000)
Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redress) Rules, 2013, notified
The Women and Child Development Ministry
has notified rules for prevention of
harassment at workplace. Following are the
guidelines:
Any malicious complaint of sexual harassment
by a woman will attract the same punishment
a man who has been found guilty of it at the
workplace suffers.
Page 23
DECEMBER 2013
The Ministry has recommend that action for
sexual harassment/malicious complaint would
include – a written apology; warning;
reprimand or censure; withholding of
promotion,
pay
rise
or
increments;
termination from service; or undergoing
counselling or doing community service.
These will apply in cases where service rules
do not exist.
Anyone who discloses the name or identity of
the aggrieved woman or witnesses will be
liable to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000.
On the inquiry procedure, internal complaints
committee or local complaints committee can,
on a written request, grant the complainant
relief during the pendency of inquiry by
restraining the accused from reporting on the
work performance of the aggrieved woman or
writing her confidential report, and, in case of
an educational institution, by restraining the
respondent from supervising any academic
activity of the woman.
A complaint of sexual harassment can be filed
by a relative or a friend, a co-worker or an
officer of the National Commission for
Women or the State Women’s Commission or
any other person who has knowledge of the
incident where the complainant is unable to
do it herself because of physical incapacity.
But this has to be done with her written
consent.
Mind-mapping:

According to you what are the preventive
measures to be taken in regard to sexual
harassment at workplace? Also what are the
measures/steps taken by the Government?
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS



Impact that it would have on women
participation
at
work(organized,
unorganized employment) and on Women
Empowerment
Does the clause of punishment for
malicious complaint act as a deterrent for
women coming forward to give complaint?
Will law alone be suffice to prevent
harassment of women, if not what r the
additional steps to be taken?
To read:
The article on ‘Judicial appointment, Rule
of Law & independence of Judiciary’
(OPED page)
The Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill,
2013, and the Judicial Appointments
Commission Bill, 2013, seek to reform the
appointment of High Court and Supreme
Court judges by establishing a Judicial
Appointments Commission (JAC). This
significant opportunity to reform a vital part
of the Indian legal system must not be lost to
misconceived
rhetoric
about
the
‘independence of the judiciary’ and the ‘rule of
law’ or the mistaken view that this measure
simply pushes us back into past errors.
JAC that restores parity between the executive
and judiciary in the judicial appointment
process is constitutionally valid.
Rule of law, and the independence of the
judiciary, necessarily means that the judiciary
must have primacy among the constitutional
institutions in the judicial appointment
process.
To continue reading -
Page 24
DECEMBER 2013
‘Recasting the appointments debate’
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tpopinion/recasting-the-appointmentsdebate/article5454075.ece
prescribes punishment for forced abortion or
hysterectomy on them.
Mind-Mapping:

Cabinet gives nod to Disabilities Bill
The Union Cabinet has approved the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities Bill, a comprehensive
measure that covers a whole spectrum of
problems from physical disabilities to mental
illness and multiple disabilities. It will replace
the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunity Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act of 1995.
Provisions in the Bill:
The Bill provides for 5% reservation in public
sector jobs and makes the private sector more
accountable for creating a disabled-friendly
environment. It provides incentives for the
private sector to take such measures.
On political participation, the proposed law
says every person with disability who fulfills
eligibility requirements is entitled to be
registered as a voter. He/she should not be
disqualified from exercising the voting right
on the grounds of disability, irrespective of
any stipulation to the contrary in any law for
the time being in force.
Any person who is unable to vote in person
due to disability or because of admission to
hospital for treatment is entitled to opt for
postal ballot. It requires the Election
Commission to ensure that all polling stations
are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The proposed law also allows mentally
unsound women the right to fertility and
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS




Why do we need such a Bill? What was
missing in the Disability Act of 1995, which
prompted for a new Bill?
What are the steps taken by the
Government of India (GOI) with regard to
persons with disabilities? What is the role
of civil society groups or citizens in this
regard?
How far as the government institutions or
the private sectors have made their
premises disabled-friendly?
Also look out for examples –where disabled
persons have faced embarrassment. For
example: Recently a disabled woman was
prevented from entering the flight (or
airport) due to some security checks.
Who are the other persons who have the
option for ‘postal ballot’? Why is this
option given?
–>
{
P.S : Currently the winter session of the
Parliament
is
going
on,
so
reading “parliament’’ Chapter (Polity) will help
you understanding the key-terms – ‘Vote-OnAccount’ , ‘Consolidated Fund of India’, ‘
Demands and Appropriation Bill’, ‘Question
hour’ etc.
}
Code of Conduct for Ministers revised
In order to insulate the bureaucracy from
political interference, the Union Cabinet has
Page 25
DECEMBER 2013
revised the Code of Conduct for Ministers
(both Union and States) by adding a new
provision as per which Ministers cannot force
civil servants to take decisions that may be in
conflict with their duties and responsibilities.
The rights of citizens for time-bound
delivery of Goods & Services and Redressal
of their Grievances Bill, 2011
The revised Code of Conduct states that the
“Minister
shall
uphold
the
political
impartiality of the civil services and not ask
the civil servants to act in any way which
would conflict with the duties and
responsibilities of the civil servants.”
The Bill seeks to create a mechanism to ensure
timely delivery of goods and services to
citizens.
The revised code will take immediate effect in
the case of the Union Council of Ministers. In
the case of the States and the Union
Territories, the revised code will be forwarded
to the Chief Ministers for adoption.
Mind-Mapping:



Why do we need a code of conduct for
Ministers? Do we have a similar code of
conduct for bureaucrats, civil society
groups, media? If so how effective are
these codes really?
With the revision of code of conduct, how
would it impact the governance of the
country?
Code of conduct is also related to Ethics;
Significance of Code of Conduct.
Advocacy on Pending Bills
The National Campaign for People’s Right to
Information (NCPRI) has sought the
simultaneous passage of the Lokpal Bill, the
Grievance Redress Bill and the Whistleblower
Protection Bill, contending that these laws
formed would contain inter-linked measures
that constituted
the
much required
accountability regime.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Highlights of the Bill:
Every public authority is required to publish a
citizens charter within six months of the
commencement of the Act. The Charter will
detail the goods and services to be provided
and their timelines for delivery.
A citizen may file a complaint regarding any
grievance related to: (a) citizens charter; (b)
functioning of a public authority; or (c)
violation of a law, policy or scheme.
The Bill requires all public authorities to
appoint
officers
to
redress
grievances. Grievances are to be redressed
within 30 working days. The Bill also provides
for the appointment of Central and State
Public Grievance Redressal Commissions.
A penalty of up to Rs 50,000 may be levied
upon the responsible officer or the Grievance
Redressal Officer for failure to render services.
Courtesyhttp://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-rightof-citizens-for-time-bound-delivery-of-goodsand-services-and-redressal-of-theirgrievances-bill-2011-2125/
For more information refer the below link,
http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Citiz
en%20charter/Legislative%20Brief%20Citizens
%20Charter%2027%20Sep.pdf
Page 26
DECEMBER 2013
The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011
Commonly known as the Whistleblower’s Bill,
it seeks to establish a mechanism to register
complaints on any allegations of corruption or
willful misuse of power against a public
servant. The Bill also provides safeguards
against victimisation of the person who makes
the complaint.
Highlights of the Bill:
The Bill seeks to protect whistleblowers, i.e.
persons making a public interest disclosure
related to an act of corruption, misuse of
power, or criminal offence by a public servant.
Any public servant or any other person
including a non-governmental organization
may make such a disclosure to the Central or
State Vigilance Commission.
Every complaint has to include the identity of
the complainant.
The Vigilance Commission shall not disclose
the identity of the complainant except to the
head of the department if he deems it
necessary. The Bill penalises any person who
has disclosed the identity of the complainant.
The Bill prescribes penalties for knowingly
making false complaints.
Courtesy
–
http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-publicinterest-disclosure-and-protection-of-personsmaking-the-disclosures-bill-2010-1252/
For more information refer the below link,
http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Publi
c%20Disclosure/Legislative%20Brief%20http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
%20Public%20Interest%20Disclosure%20Bil.p
df
Lokpal: institutional mechanism to curb
corruption
In the newly amended Lokpal Bill, the Union
government has dropped the provisions
relating to establishing Lok Ayuktas at the
State level; instead, the States would need to
put in place their own institutions within one
year. A composite law may be preferable from
the people’s point of view, but the concession
is in compliance to the need to federalise the
anti-corruption domain. Contrary to what its
critics say, the bill cannot be dismissed as
weak; nor can it be seriously contended that
the Lokpal does not have an independent
investigative mechanism.
Regarding CBI:
The CBI has been placed at the disposal of the
Lokpal, which will have superintendence over
that agency in cases under its consideration.
The need for sanction from the respective
governments to initiate prosecution has been
waived for cases cleared by the Lokpal. The
CBI Director’s appointment will be on the
basis of a statutory process, and the Lokpal
will have its own inquiry and prosecution
wings.
Way forward:
The movement for such a law initiated by
Anna Hazare, along with the success of the
Aam Aadmi Party based on the campaign for a
Lokpal,
has
made
fresh
legislation
unavoidable. The development is unlikely to
end the debate over the adequacy,
independence and effectiveness of the antiPage 27
DECEMBER 2013
graft institution the new law will put in place,
but it will certainly be a milestone in the quest
for an institutional mechanism to combat
corruption.
The mere enactment of this Bill is not enough.
The amendment to the Constitution needed to
confer constitutional status to the Lokpal and
Lok Ayuktas also needs to be passed. And so
does the proposed law on the right of citizens
to time-bound delivery of goods and services
and to have their grievances redressed. Only
this will fulfil the need for a strong
institutional framework to curb corruption.
Jurisdiction of Lokpal with respect to
Prime Minister:
The jurisdiction of the Lokpal will ‘include’ the
Prime Minister ‘except’ on allegations of
corruption relating to international relations,
security, the public order, atomic energy and
space and unless a Full Bench of the Lokpal
and at least two-thirds of members approve an
inquiry. It will be held in-camera and if the
Lokpal so desires, the records of the inquiry
will not be published or made available to
anyone.
With respect to Ministers, MP’s, Officials:
Mind –Mapping:





What is Corruption? Types of Corruption?
Impact of corruption on the society,
economy? Also link it with Ethics and
Integrity; Code of conduct.
What are the steps taken by the govt in
order to curb corruption? Role of Civil
society?
What are the existing mechanisms in India
to curb corruption? How effective are these
mechanisms?
What according to you should be really
done in this regard? Suggestions from your
side.
Is Lokpal a panacea for all problems?
Provisions of Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill,
2013
The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2013 seeks to
establish the institution of Lokpal at the
Centre and Lokayukta at the States which
would provide a uniform vigilance and anticorruption mechanism across the country.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Lokpal will also have jurisdiction over
Ministers and MPs but not in the matter of
anything said in Parliament or a vote given
there. Group A, B, C or D officers defined as
such under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988 will be covered under the Lokpal but any
corruption complaint against Group A and B
officers, after inquiry, will come to the Lokpal.
However, in the case of Group C and D
officers, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner will
investigate and report to the Lokpal.
If the Lokpal decides to proceed on any
complaint, it can order a preliminary inquiry
against any public servant by its Inquiry Wing
or any agency, including the CBI, to ascertain
if there is a prima facie case, and the public
servant will be given an opportunity of being
heard.
The
Lokpal
will
have
powers
of
superintendence over cases referred by it to
the CBI. Any officer of the CBI investigating a
case referred to it by the Lokpal will not be
transferred without its approval. The Centre
Page 28
DECEMBER 2013
will fund the CBI investigations into the
matters referred to it by the Lokpal.
With regard to CBI:
There will be a Directorate of Prosecution
under the CBI headed by a Director. The CBI
Director will be appointed by a collegium
comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of
the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.
The Prosecution Director will be appointed on
the recommendation of the Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) for a two-year tenure.
The Bill does not provide for protection to
whistle-blowers, for which a separate law shall
be enacted. There will be separate laws on a
Citizens’ Charter and Judicial Accountability.
Mind- Mapping:



Composition of Lokpal:
The Bill provides for the Lokpal comprising a
chairperson and a maximum of eight
members, of whom 50% will be judicial
members and the rest from amongst the SC,
the ST, the OBCs, minorities and women.
Apart from the Inquiry Wing, there will be an
independent Prosecution Wing of the Lokpal.


Should the Prime Minister come under the
ambit of Lokpal? If no/yes, then what
impact would it have?
Should the CBI be made an autonomous
body? What is its present status?
What according to you is lacking in the
present
Lokpal
Bill?
Provide
Suggestions/Solutions for the same.
If the Lokpal Bill is implemented, what
would be the roles of Lokpal, CVC, CBI?
Do you think the lokpal is overburdened
considering the fact that it inquires MPs
and all the government servants from top to
the lower level? Is lokpal a threat to the
balance of power demarcated in our
constitution?
Method of Appointment/Selection, term:
Changes in MGNREGA program
The selection of the Lokpal will be done
through a committee comprising the Prime
Minister, the Speaker and the Leader of the
Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice
of India or an apex court judge nominated by
him and an eminent jurist as recommended by
the chairperson and members to be
nominated by the President.
Significant changes has been made to the
governments flagship MGNREGA programme
seeking to ensure permanent and durable
asset creation and an introduction of a penalty
for delayed wage payments.
The Selection Committee will constitute a
search panel of seven persons of eminence for
assisting it.
The term of the Lokpal will be five years or till
the chairman and members turn 75.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
More specifically, the changes include Rs
10,000 (earlier it was 4500) for the
construction of toilets for all job card holders
(APL & BPL) and assistance for buildings for
women self-help federations.
Addressing the persistent issue of delay in
distributing wage payment to MGNREGA
workers, the government has announced
compensation for them if it is delayed beyond
Page 29
DECEMBER 2013
15 days and the amount would be deducted
from officials responsible for it. Andhra
Pradesh has already started to implement this.
Additionally, wage payments will be made
exclusively on the basis of measurement of
work done instead of solely attendance
(Three objectives of NREGA. First to provide
wage employment, second is to create durable
community assets and third to empower gram
panchayats.)
Contribution of MGNREGA:
In constructing houses for the poor in
convergence with Indira Awas Yojana or any
other state rural housing scheme, buildings for
women self-help federations operating in
village or block levels, community storage
facilities at gram panchayat or women SHG
levels for agriculture produce and centres for
manufacturing building materials like bricks
in gram panchayats.
Future prospects: The biggest contribution of
NREGA for agriculture would be if small and
marginalized farmers use the scheme to
improve the quality and productivity of their
farmland. This could lead to a potential
“agricultural revolution”.
Mind-Mapping:



What is the objective MGNREGA program?
Has it achieved its objective? If not what are
the reasons for its failure? Suggestions/
solutions to overcome such issues.
What are the positive achievements of the
program?
Government is coming up with so many
programs and schemes for the welfare of the
people, there is bound to be overlap in some
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
of the programs. DO you think such
programs should be converged? If so which
are the programs that needs to converged
and why?
Sahastra Seema Bal: Central Paramilitary
force
Nearly 6,000 personnel of the central
paramilitary Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) will
soon be deployed for anti-Naxal operations
duties in the Left wing extremism-affected
areas of the country.
The SSB was withdrawn from these operations
in 2011 when it used to be deployed in
Chhattisgarh. Now three battalions are
deployed in Bihar and Jharkhand alongside
other central forces like CRPF, BSF and ITBP.
More about Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB):
SSB is a Border Guarding Force (BGF) under
the administrative control of the Ministry of
Home Affairs. SSB was set up in early 1963 in
the wake of the Indo-China conflict to
inculcate feelings of national belonging in the
border population and develop their
capabilities for resistance through a
continuous process of motivation, training,
development, welfare programmes and
activities in the then NEFA, North Assam,
North Bengal, hills of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, and Ladakh. The scheme was later
extended to Manipur, Tripura, Rajasthan and
Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir etc.
Pursuant to the recommendations of the
Group of Ministers on reforming the National
Security System, SSB was declared as a border
guarding force and lead intelligence agency
Page 30
DECEMBER 2013
(LIA) for Indo-Nepal border (January, 2001)
and Indo-Bhutan border( March, 2004)
Role of Sahastra Seema Bal:



To promote sense of security among the
people living in the border area
To Prevent trans border crimes and
unauthorized entries into or exit from the
territory of India
To prevent smuggling and other illegal
activities
Courtesy- http://www.ssb.nic.in
More about Central Paramilitary force
According to the official definition adopted in
2011, “Paramilitary Forces” refers to three
organisations which assist the Indian Armed
Forces particularly closely and are led by
officers of the Indian Army or Indian Navy.
They are:
Assam Rifles ; Special Frontier Force (SFF);
Indian Coast Guard;
Whereas Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) ; Border Security Force (BSF) ; Indo
Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) ; Central
Industrial Security Force (CISF) are included
under Central armed police force (CAPF) are
led by Director General (all of whom are IPS
officers).
Courtesy- Wikipedia
Land Boundary Agreement Bill and its
opposition
The West Bengal CM has expressed strong
reservation over the introduction of the Land
Boundary Agreement (LBA) Bill in the Rajya
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Sabha and has said that the Bill was ‘forcefully
introduced’ in Parliament without consulting
the States involved in the boundary
demarcation. (Other stakeholders – Assam,
Tripura and parts of Northeastern States)
The West Bengal CM had also opposed the
legislation in the past as well, stating that
West Bengal would get only 7,000 acres of
land and have to give away 17,000 acres of land
to Bangladesh.
The Constitution (One Hundred and
Nineteenth Amendment) Bill 2013 would give
effect to the agreement between India and
Bangladesh for demarcation of the land
boundary and exchange of territories between
the two countries.
The Leader of Opposition has said that,
‘Parliament has no jurisdiction to alter the
territory of India. The territory represents
sovereignty and are both a part of the basic
structure of the Constitution and thus, cannot
be reduced or altered by an amendment to the
Constitution.’
Continuation
of
Agreement (LBA) Bill
Land
Boundary
After West Bengal, it is Opposition parties in
Assam who have staged a State-wide protests
against the tabling of the Constitutional
amendment bill in the RajyaSabha to facilitate
swapping of land enclaves with Bangladesh.
Whereas, enclaves in north Bengal have
welcomed tabling of LBA Bill:
Despite the opposition of West Bengal Chief
Minister, the organisations working for the
rights of residents of enclaves and local public
Page 31
DECEMBER 2013
representatives have shown positive reaction
towards the Bill.
Reason for their support- tabling of the Bill
would pave way for Parliament to debate
about the enclave’s rights for the first time
since Independence.
There are about 51,000 people living in
Stateless condition in 162 enclaves in India and
Bangladesh; the enclave-dwellers have been
denied basic rights of health and education.
Mind-Mapping:


Role of state governments in determining
India’s foreign policy.
Booster for Indo-Bangla ties. Other
measures initiated to improve border ties
between India-Bangladesh (Like teesta
water sharing, Integrated Check posts,
Border haats etc).
RTI
Act:
Parliamentary
Standing
Committee differs with AG’s opinion
The Department Related Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Personnel, Public
Grievances, Law and Justice has differed with
the opinion of the Attorney General G.E
Vahanvati over the proposed amendment to
The Right to Information (RTI) Act, to exclude
political parties as ‘public authorities’ and has
held that the government was right in
proposing the amendment.
The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill,
2013 seeks to amend the Right to Information
Act, 2005 order to nullify the June order of the
Central Information Commission that brought
six national parties under the act’s ambit.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Attorney General of India was
apprehensive that this law would not sustain
the test of judicial scrutiny as it was creating a
class within a class without having any
consideration to the principle of intelligible
differentia having reasonable nexus with
objective of the Act, whereas the Law
Secretary was of the view that it was quite
sustainable since Parliament has legislative
competence to override the CIC decision. The
Committee, however, subscribes to the
opinion expressed by the Law Secretary.
The Attorney General has also said that,
“Political Parties are foundation of democracy
and need to be given sufficient protection
from malicious and motivated application for
which safeguards already exist under Section 8
of the Act.”
The parliamentary committee maintained that
the aspects of transparency in financial
matters of political parties were fully covered
under existing laws and mechanisms. These
include direction from Election Commission
to the parties asking them to submit their
accounts within 90 days after general election,
inspection of accounts of candidate of political
party and obtaining the same from the EC on
payment of nominal charges, and declaration
of assets and liabilities to the Ethics
Committee of House by MPs.
There are apprehensions that, declaring
political parties as public authority under RTI
Act would hamper their smooth internal
functioning as party rivals may misuse the
provisions of RTI Act.
To know more about ‘Political parties under
RTI’s ambit, refer our “Insights Current Events
Magazine, OCTOBER 2013″
Page 32
DECEMBER 2013
Green Tribunal’s powers to deal with
wildlife cases challenged
area cannot be sustained without maintaining
crucial connecting corridor links.”
The National Green Tribunal’s powers to take
up cases about wildlife have been challenged.
The question of the tribunal’s jurisdiction has
cropped up in a petition filed by an iron ore
miner in Kohlapur, Maharashtra, asking for
renewing his right to mine in a piece of land
the government has said is a tiger corridor.
The miner who was aggrieved, approached the
National Green Tribunal claiming that his
mine did not fall in the tiger corridor and the
process of demarcating the corridor had not
been legally carried out under the Wildlife
Protection Act.
Government’s defence:
The case pertains to a mine operating in a
village that falls between the Sahyadri Tiger
Reserve and Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary
but the case could now take a greater
significance, besides deciding the fate of the
tract of land between the two tiger-bearing
areas that the environment ministry said is a
corridor used by tigers.
The mine owner who applied for renewal of
his lease to mine iron could not secure the
forest clearance as the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA), the apex
body of the government in charge of tiger
conservation, under the environment ministry
said the lease fell in a wildlife corridor that
needed protection.
The NTCA said so on the basis of research
conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India
for demarcation of land corridors used by
tigers in 2010. The Wildlife Institute of India,
the government’s premier body on wildlife
conservation science, had said in 2010 that,
“The block (where the mining occurs) is in the
crucial corridor link between the Sahyadri
Tiger Reserve and the Radhanagari Wildlife
Sanctuary. It is crucial for tiger movement in
the Northern Western Ghat area in the State
of Maharashtra. Small tiger populations in this
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
In the latest affidavit filed by the environment
ministry in the ongoing case, the government
defended its decision. But it also went a step
ahead, stating that the miner, if aggrieved
about the creation of the tiger corridor under
the Wildlife Protection Act, can approach the
“competent authority” under the Wildlife
Protection Act.
The green laws that the tribunal is empowered
to adjudicate on does not cover the Wildlife
Protection Act 1972, though the body is
empowered to deal with issues pertaining to
forest
clearances
under
the
Forest
Conservation Act 1980, besides other
regulations and legislations.
More about National Green Tribunal
(NGT):
The National Green Tribunal has been
established on 18.10.2010 under the National
Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and
expeditious disposal of cases relating to
environmental protection and conservation of
forests and other natural resources including
enforcement of any legal right relating to
environment
and
giving
relief
and
compensation for damages to persons and
Page 33
DECEMBER 2013
property and for matters connected therewith
or incidental thereto.
It is a specialized body equipped with the
necessary expertise to handle environmental
disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.
The Tribunal shall not be bound by the
procedure laid down under the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by
principles of natural justice.
The Tribunal’s dedicated jurisdiction in
environmental matters shall provide speedy
environmental justice and help reduce the
burden of litigation in the higher courts.
The Tribunal is mandated to make and
endeavour for disposal of applications or
appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the
same. Initially, the NGT is proposed to be set
up at five places of sittings and will follow
circuit procedure for making itself more
accessible. New Delhi is the Principal Place of
Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune,
Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four
place of sitting of the Tribunal.
In the backdrop of protests in Kerala, the
Environment Ministry has made explicitly
clear that plantations, agriculture and other
routine activities in the ESA, declared under
the Environment Protection Act, 1972, would
not be restricted or impacted.
The High Level working group headed by
Planning
Commission
member
K.
Kasturirangan had declared 37% of the area of
Western Ghats ESA. Under Act, only activities
explicitly mentioned in the formal notification
of the ESA are banned, while others are
permitted by default.
Guidelines (Draft Notification):
The Ministry reiterated that any expansion of
or new mining, quarrying and sand mining
would be banned.
New thermal power plants, heavily polluting
industries, building and construction projects
of an area 20,000 sq. metre and above, and
township and area development projects
between 50 ha and above or with a built-up
area of 1,50,000 sq. metres would also not be
allowed.
Courtesy – http://www.greentribunal.gov.in/
To know more about Powers, Jurisdiction &
Proceedings of the tribunal refer http://www.greentribunal.gov.in/aboutus.php?id=5
Western
Ghats
notification
protection
draft
In
the
view
of
implementing
the
Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats,
the Environment Ministry has come up with
the draft notification for the Ecologically
Sensitive Areas (ESA) in six States.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
All other projects that are not expressly
banned under the government orders would
be permitted only with the consent of gram
sabhas.
Only in mining would the existing projects be
phased out within the next five years or at the
expiry of the lease, whichever is earlier. In
other cases, new projects and expansion of the
existing ones and related activities would be
banned. The existing projects would continue.
Page 34
DECEMBER 2013
Regarding Kasturirangan, Madhav Gadgil
Reports on Western Ghats related issues
refer our ‘Insights Current Events Analysis
Magazine’ (OCTOBER, 2013)
days. Subsequently, the Centre would have
been obligated to make amendments, if found
necessary, and enforce the notification
immediately.
Mind-Mapping:
The draft notification notes that in the areas
listed in the annexure (comprising the ESA)
“there shall be a complete ban on mining,
quarrying and sand mining. All existing mines
shall be phased out within five years from the
date of issue of the final notification or with
the expiry of the current mining lease,
whichever is earlier.”




What are the main objectives of
Kasturirangan , Madhav Gadgil Reports?
Difference between the two reports? Why
was the Madhav Gadgil Committee formed?
What do you mean by Ecologically Sensitive
Areas (ESA) and what is the issue? What
kind of activities can be taken up in these
areas- ESA?
Objections against the reports? Reasons for
protests in Kerala?
Do you think strict compliance to the
reports and Environmental clearance will
have an impact on development?
ESA notification on Western Ghats put on
hold
The new Environment Minister Veerappa
Moily’s decision to invite comments from six
Chief Ministers on the High-Level Working
Group on the Western Ghats has put the final
notification of the Ecologically Sensitive Area
(ESA) covering over 59,940 square km of the
hills under indefinite suspension.
The draft notification for declaring the ESA
under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,
would have brought to halt any new mining
and other polluting industries from coming up
in the natural habitats of hilly terrain in the six
States.
Under the regulations, the Ministry is required
to receive comments from stakeholders
including the State governments within 60
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
No new thermal power projects and expansion
of the existing plants would be allowed in the
ESA. “All new ‘Red’ category of industries and
expansion of existing industries shall be
banned.” The Red category refers to the types
of industries listed by either the Centre or
States as the most polluting in nature.
It also clarified that agricultural and livelihood
practices in the ESA would not be altered or
impacted by the notification.
AAP gets the status of a State party
The Election Commission (EC) recognised the
AamAadmi Party (AAP) as a State party after
the party fulfilled the eligibility conditions set
by the EC for granting the status. The party
which took part for the 1st time in the elections
(Delhi) won 28 of the 70 seats securing about
30%.
Conditions to get the status of ‘State
Party’:
According to EC rules, to get the EC’s
recognition as a ‘State party’ there are 2
conditions required:
Page 35
DECEMBER 2013
The State Party should secure atleast 6% of
valid votes polled and the party should also
win 1 seat for every 30 seats in the state.
Privilege of the Status (being a State
Party):
Among the privileges of being a “state party”
are participation in all-party meetings
convened by the EC/the State/Central
governments, a permanent common symbol
for all their contestants, and licence to address
voters through All India Radio and
Doordarshan during elections.
The AAP, which was allotted “broom” as the
election symbol by the Commission, will now
have the choice of retaining the “broom” as its
permanent election symbol or it can design its
own poll symbol provided it fits within the
rules and regulations of the Commission.
Mind – Mapping:


What are the other benefits of being
recognised as a state party? How is a
national party recognised and what are its
privileges?
What are the laws that govern the parties
(like representation of peoples act and its
salient feature, code of conduct for
parties).Some info on party finance,
accountability etc.
Cabinet nod for FTA in trade and services
with ASEAN
The Cabinet has approved a free trade
agreement (FTA) in trade and services with
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Agreement on Trade in Services is to be
signed under the Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation (CECA) between India and the
ASEAN. The CECA between India and ASEAN
was signed in 2003. The Cabinet had approved
the Agreement on Trade Goods under the
CECA with the ASEAN in 2009.
The FTA (approved recently- December, 2013)
in trade and services is aimed at boosting the
movement of Indian professionals in the 10nation ASEAN. It would protect, promote and
increase foreign investment flows into the
country and would also remove trade barriers
for the free movement of Goods and Services.
However, some critics pointed out that, FTAs
were signed recklessly harming considerably
the domestic industry, especially the
manufacturing sector.
To know more ASEAN, CEPA, CECA refer our
‘Insights Current Events Analysis Magazine’
(NOVEMBER, 2013)
Mind – Mapping:


Positive and negative impact of FTAs on
various sectors. India’s FTAs with other
countries especially neighbourhood.
Potential of ASEAN as a growth engine and
its contribution to Indian growth in terms
of
connectivity,
economic
growth,
infrastructure, people-people contact(social
impact on demography) and its effects on
national policies etc.
Union Govt. moves apex court for review
of Section 377 ruling
Recently the Supreme Court (SC) had upheld
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
Page 36
DECEMBER 2013
according to which homosexuality or
unnatural sex between two consenting adults
is illegal and an offence. With regard to this
the Union Govt has moved the apex court
seeking a review of its ruling.
Union Govt’s view:
According to the Union Govt., the SC’s ruling
is contrary to the principles of equality and
liberty which is mentioned under Articles 14,
15 and 21 of the Constitution.
Moreover, Section 377 which criminalises
intercourse ‘against the order of nature’ is a
reflection of outdated law of the United
Kingdom which was transplanted into India in
1860. But now with passage of time it has
become arbitrary and unreasonable.
Also the SC’s observation that only a miniscule
had been penalised so far under the law was
‘irrelevant when it comes to deciding an issue
of constitutionality.’
The Centre had filed a review petition inorder
to avoid a grave miscarriage of justice to
thousands of LGBT [lesbian gay, bisexual and
transgender] persons, who have been
aggrieved by the order and have been put at
risk of prosecution and harassment, upon recriminalisation of their sexual identities.
Following the High Court judgment that
decriminalised, adult consensual sexual acts in
private, including homosexual acts, a
considerable number of LGBT persons had
come out in open about their sexual
orientation and identity in their families, and
at workplaces, educational institutions and
public spaces. All these people would now
suddenly become vulnerable to abuse and
discrimination and require immediate relief.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
MPs paid well, but show less productivity:
citizens’ report
According to the recent report of the National
Social
Watch’s
“Citizens’
Report
on
Governance and Development 2013” India’s
parliamentarians are one of the best paid
legislators across the world but they lag when
it comes to performing legislative business.
In terms of absolute amount, the value of
Indian MPs’ pay and perks is higher than their
counterparts in Singapore, Japan and Italy. It
is four and a half times higher than that of
Pakistan; and is about 68 times higher than
the per capita income of the country. A threefold rise in the basic salary, on August 20, 2010
was protested against by many MPs, who
described this ‘low’ hike as an insult to the
country’s legislators.
Highlighting the low productivity of
parliamentarians, the report points out that
the nine sessions during 2010-12 saw the Lok
Sabha working for an average of less than four
hours of work a day during its 227 sittings in
852 hours, which is less than two-thirds of
scheduled six hours per day. In the process,
about 577 hours have been lost in disruptions
and forced adjournments.
In 2010, the government had hiked the pay
packet of an MP from Rs. 56,000 to Rs.1.40
lakh a month. The salary component was
raised from Rs.16,000 a month to Rs.50,000,
constituency allowance from Rs. 20,000 to Rs.
45,000, and office allowance from Rs. 20,000
to Rs. 45,000.
In terms of the ratio of the pay package to
national per capita income, India ranks second
after Kenya and pays almost double than the
Page 37
DECEMBER 2013
U.S. Political parties work less in Parliament to
perform their designated functions as people’s
representatives and legislators.
Highlighting another interesting point, the
study says Rs. 5,799.3 crore and Rs.9 ,963.9
crore was allocated for about 2.5-lakh local
governing bodies in 2010-11 and 2011-12
respectively, which looks meagre compared to
about Rs. 4,000 crore per annum allotted to
about 800 MPs under the local area
development programme.
Mind- Mapping:



Though the government has hiked the pay
packet of the MP’s, what do you think are
the reasons for low productivity? Suggest
remedial measures for the same.
Do you think the quality of the debates
happening is detiorating? What are the
reasons behind it?
Significance of Article 105. What are its
merits and demerits?
Poorna Shakti Kendras to empower rural
women
To ensure the socio-economic development of
women in rural areas, the National Mission for
Empowerment of Women is promoting a
model intervention project. The project is
launched across 21 districts nationwide.
The women’s centre- Poorna Shakti Kendra,
established in villages would offer services to
women at the grassroots. The motto of the
Kendra is “hum sunenge nari ki baat” (we will
listen to women’s voices), where two women
coordinators or Gram Samanvayaks in each
Kendra will help women get pensions and
voter identity and Aadhaar cards.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
One of the important elements of the project
is the stress on processes instrumental in
bringing about women’s empowerment
through convergence strategies on the ground.
Similarly, to encourage universal social
mobilisation through self-help groups under
the National Rural Livelihoods Mission
(NRLM), attention is being paid to women’s
empowerment. The NRLM proposes to ensure
universal financial inclusion by facilitating
opening of savings accounts by all SHGs, while
encouraging their thrift and credit activities
and other financial services. Under the NRLM,
there shall be one rural self-employment
training institute in each district. Each will
train at least 750 candidates of the below
poverty level (BPL) category.
More about National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (NRLM):
Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (NRLM) was launched by the Ministry
of Rural Development (MoRD), Government
of India in June 2011. Aided in part through
investment support by the World Bank, the
Mission aims at creating efficient and effective
institutional platforms of the rural poor
enabling them to increase household income
through sustainable livelihood enhancements
and improved access to financial services.
NRLM implementation is in a Mission Mode.
This enables
shift from the present allocation based
strategy to a demand driven strategy enabling
the states to formulate their own livelihoodsbased poverty reduction action plans,
Page 38
DECEMBER 2013
focus on targets, outcomes and time bound
delivery,
continuous capacity building, imparting
requisite skills and creating linkages with
livelihoods opportunities for the poor,
including those emerging in the organized
sector, and
monitoring against targets of poverty
outcomes. As NRLM follows a demand driven
strategy, the States have the flexibility to
develop their livelihoods-based perspective
plans and annual action plans for poverty
reduction. The overall plans would be within
the allocation for the state based on inter-se
poverty ratios.
Mahadayi water dispute: Karnataka & Goa
The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal
adjudicates the water dispute among the
States of Goa and Karnataka. A 13-member
tribunal team, headed by the former Supreme
Court judge J.M. Panchal, had toured the
northern areas of the Karnataka from
December 18 to 22 (2013).
Karnataka has decided to construct the
Kalasa-Banduri Nala project which envisages
diversion of 7.56 tmcft of water to the
Malaprabha dam by constructing dams across
the Kalasa and the Banduri nalas and
diversion canals to provide drinking water to
towns and villages in Belgaum, Dharwad,
Bagalkot and Gadag districts.
NRLM Mission
“To reduce poverty by enabling the poor
households to access gainful self-employment
and skilled wage employment opportunities,
resulting in appreciable improvement in their
livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through
building strong grassroots institutions of the
poor.”
Mind-Mapping:


What do you understand by ‘women
empowerment’? What are the steps taken
by the Govt of India in order to empower
women? What are the issues? Your
suggestions.
Role of self-help group in empowering
women?
Courtesy – http://aajeevika.gov.in
http://aajeevika.gov.in/images/mission.png
(image)
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Goa government is opposed to the
project.
Mind-Mapping:


Functions of Water Disputes Tribunals? Are
the tribunals solving the problems faced by
the neighbouring states? If not, what should
be the remedial action taken in this regard?
Disputes between the riparian states on
sharing of river waters in post-Independence
India are becoming increasing complex.
Objectively analyze the major disputes in
this connection, with special reference to
the southern states. (2010 UPSC question)
Half of Odisha’s iron ore mines lack
clearance: Shah Commission
According to the Justice M.B. Shah
Commission report on illegal iron and
manganese ore mining – 94 of the 192 iron ore
mining leases in Odisha do not have the
Page 39
DECEMBER 2013
mandatory environmental clearances. And of
the 96 that did have them, 75 have mined far
beyond their permitted levels over the past
several years.
To know more Shah Commission refer our
‘Insights
Current
Events
Analysis
Magazine’ (OCTOBER, 2013)
Mind-mapping:
The report reveals that, how the mines have
continued to use a loophole in the law for
years and atrociously violated environmental
and other norms to pump out iron at a time
when international prices of the metal are
booming.


The mining leases operated close to wildlife
areas without adequate protection to wildlife.
The mandatory forest clearances had not been
obtained in several cases. Water bodies in and
around the mines had been polluted. Water
had depleted in natural streams in some cases
and forestlands impacted adversely in several.

Impact of illegal mining on the
environment, wildlife and economy of India
(also on the health of the people). What are
the measures taken by the govt in this
regard?
Amid a number of rules & regulations and
laws formulated by the govt. there have
been frequent violations. What do you think
is the reason behind it? How can this be
rectified? (link this with Goa, Karnataka
mining scam)
Why was Shah Commission set up?
A mining project within 10 kilometre vicinity
of a protected wildlife area requires
mandatory clearance from the National Board
of Wildlife, which too was not obtained in
several cases.
According to the Shah Commission both the
Central government authorities and the
Odisha government were responsible for the
blatant and wide-ranging illegal mining that
have continued unchecked for years. It has
recommended that the entire extraction in all
cases where leases operated without
mandatory environmental clearances be
treated as illegal and the market value
domestic or export recovered from defaulting
miners.
Courtesy – Hindu Newspaper
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
National Sample
(NSSO) Survey
Survey
Organisation
One-eighth of India’s urban population
lives in slums: NSSO
According to the latest round of the National
Sample Survey – just under 9 million
households, or roughly one-eighth of India’s
urban population, lives in a slum. The number
Page 40
DECEMBER 2013
is significantly lower than the 14 million slum
households identified by the Census in 2011
NSSO, like the Census, has taken into account
both slums notified as such by the State
government or the local body, and nonnotified slums. The NSSO definition of a nonnotified slum was slightly more generous than
that of the Census; any crowded settlement
with poor sanitation and at least 20
households was considered a slum by the
NSSO, while the Census required at least 6070 households.
Maharashtra accounted for 23% of the total
slum population according to the NSSO,
followed by Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Over half of the slum population lived in 53
million-plus cities.
Residents of Jharkhand had to spend the
longest time in fetching water 40 minutes in
both rural and urban areas.
Maternal mortality ratio comes down to
178
India inches closer to achieving millennium
development goal of Maternal Mortality Ratio
(MMR) 109 by year 2015. According to the
recent data, released by the Registrar-General
of India, the MMR (number of women who die
of pregnancy-related causes per 1,00,000 live
births) has come down to 178 from 212, an
annual decline of 5.7%.
Survey finds better levels of access to
drinking water
While Kerala has the lowest MMR at 66 as
against 81 in 2007-2009 Sample Registration
Survey figures, Assam tops the list in absolute
numbers with 328 deaths per 1,00,000 live
births, though the number has declined by 5.6
per cent from the previous figure of 390.
New data on the status of drinking water and
sanitation released by NSSO i.e., the 69th
round of the National Sample Survey has
found significantly better levels of access to
drinking water and toilets compared to 2011
census.
Tamil Nadu, which was at the second position
in the last survey reporting only 97 deaths, has
slipped to the third position with 90 deaths
due to the better performance of Maharashtra,
where the number of pregnancy-related
deaths has come down to 87 from 104.
Over 46% of households in rural India and
77% of households in urban India had
drinking water sources within their premises.
Compared to the 2011 Census data which had
just 35% of rural households and 71% of urban
households had drinking water within the
premises.
The eight Empowered Action Group (EAG)
States (Rajasthan, Bihar/Jharkhand, U.P,
Madhya Pradesh, Chahatisgarh etc), which
traditionally had very bad health indicators,
have shown remarkable achievements.
Among households in which people had to
leave the house to get water, rural population
had to spend 20 minutes on average, while for
urban households, it took 15 minutes.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The star performers in that order are
Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The lowest
decline is in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and
Punjab.
Page 41
DECEMBER 2013
The Centre has launched several schemes
under the NRHM for improving reproductive
and child health, including Janani shishu
Suraksha Karyakram, free transportation and
focussing on adolescent health, whose full
impact would be known only in the coming
years. States have also taken measures to save
mothers and infants.
Entitlements for Sick newborns till 30 days
after birth similarly include Free treatment,
Free drugs and consumables, Free diagnostics,
Free provision of blood, Exemption from user
charges, Free Transport from Home to Health
Institutions, Free Transport between facilities
in case of referral and Free drop Back from
Institutions to home.
In Bihar, the government has provided
caesarean facilities at 60 places which have
helped save lives. Early detection of
complications, provision of ambulances,
enlarging the pool of anaesthetists by training
MBBS doctors and providing good residential
facilities for doctors have vastly improved the
situation in the State.
JSSK supplements the cash assistance given to
a pregnant woman under Janani Suraksha
Yojana and is aimed at mitigating the burden
of out of pocket expenses incurred by
pregnant women and sick newborns.
More about Janani –Shishu Suraksha
Karyakram (JSSK), 2011
JSSK would provide completely free and
cashless services to pregnant women including
normal deliveries and caesarean operations
and sick new born (up to 30 days after birth)
in Government health institutions in both
rural and urban areas.
The Free Entitlements under JSSK would
include:
Free and Cashless Delivery, Free C-Section,
Free treatment of sick-new-born up to 30 days,
Exemption from User Charges, Free Drugs and
Consumables, Free Diagnostics, Free Diet
during stay in the health institutions – 3 days
in case of normal delivery and 7 days in case of
caesarean section, Free Provision of Blood,
Free Transport from Home to Health
Institutions, Free Transport between facilities
in case of referral as also Drop Back from
Institutions to home after 48hrs stay. Free
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Besides it would be a major factor in
enhancing access to public health institutions
and help bring down the Maternal Mortality
and Infant mortality rates.
Presently it is noted that, out of pocket
expenses and user charges for transport,
admission, diagnostic tests, medicines and
consumables, caesarean operation are being
incurred by pregnant women and their
families even in the case of institutional
deliveries.
Courtesy – pib.nic.in
To know more about NRHM refer our
‘Insights
Current
Events
Analysis
Magazine’ (NOVEMBER, 2013)
National Commission for Women for a
separate law to protect trafficked women
Concerned at feminisation of migration, which
has often resulted in women being trafficked
and becoming vulnerable to harm, including
abuse at work, poor living conditions and
health risks, the National Commission for
Page 42
DECEMBER 2013
Women (NCW) has recommended special
laws to protect them.
missing women be linked with investigations
into trafficking.
The panel has also demanded a national policy
for domestic workers, and asked the Ministry
of Women and Child Development to
formulate a draft integrated plan of action to
combat trafficking in women and children.
The NCW has recommended the Labour
Ministry to draft legislation for the regulation
of domestic work with a gender component
and formulate a national policy for domestic
workers, it says it should include a provision
to inform domestic workers of their terms of
employment in an appropriate, verifiable and
easily understandable manner and, preferably,
where possible, through written contracts in
vernacular language.
Taking ‘suo motu’ cognisance of media reports
of women being trafficked for forced labour,
the NCW has recommended that the Ministry
of Home Affairs draft a special law to prevent,
suppress and punish trafficking in persons,
especially women and children. The special
law should include the definition of trafficking
as per Article 3 of United Nations Convention
2000 and its Protocol, to include the term
“abuse of position of vulnerability” (which is
missing in Section 370 of the Indian Penal
Code).
Trafficking in persons should mean the
recruitment,
transportation,
transfer,
harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of
threat or use of force or other forms of
coercion, fraud, deception and abuse of power
of position or even receiving or giving
payments to achieve the consent of the
person, resulting in exploitation.
Some other forms of exploitation are sexual
exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery
or similar practices, servitude or the removal
of organs. This should be extended to offences
committed outside India and women should
be given provision for security and control of
documents in order to ensure that travel or
identity documents issued, especially to
women, cannot be easily misused, readily
falsified or unlawfully altered, replicated or
issued. The NCW has suggested that cases of
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Pointing out that the fundamental right to
freedom of movement is a woman’s right
which must be distinguished from trafficking,
which is coercive and violent. A frequently
used method of deception by traffickers is
luring vulnerable girls on the promise of
‘lucrative jobs’. According to the Commission,
women migrate for multiple reasons,
including displacement and dispossession,
search for sustainable livelihoods, naxal
activity, more fulfilling opportunities or an
aspiration for a better life.
Prevention of trafficking in women requires
not only examining the factors that contribute
to the problem but also providing awareness
among potential victims in order to reduce the
traffickers
abusing
their
position
of
vulnerability, suggesting that the need was to
identify women who were at the risk of being
trafficked, and provide them with the
necessary tools to find work without putting
them at risk.
Delimitation will be over in time: Election
Commission
Page 43
DECEMBER 2013
On the orders of the Supreme Court (SC), to
change
the
status
of
some
Lok
Sabha/Assembly constituencies from the
general category to reserved seats for SCs/STs
and vice versa, the Delimitation Commission
has started working on it in Uttar Pradesh.
Readjustment of reserved constituencies
would be based on the notification issued by
the Registrar- General of Census, with 2001
population figures as the base.
Though this was an all-India exercise, there
would’nt be large changes, since dereservation of constituencies and vice versa
was being carried out only in places where
there were significant changes in the SC/ST
population or inclusion of new castes under
the SC/ST.
However, as already decided by the
Delimitation Commission, there would be no
changes in the geographical limits/boundaries
of the Lok Sabha/Assembly constituencies till
2026.
Recently (a few months ago), the Law Ministry
had issued a notification empowering the EC
to do the duties of the Delimitation
Commission so as to determine the change in
composition of any constituency where the
government had included in or excluded any
caste from the SC/ST category between 2001
and 2012. (Earlier, the EC did not have the
powers to alter the reserved seats and it could
be done only through a nationwide
delimitation exercise.)
With this, the EC can carry out a limited
corrective exercise immediately rather than
waiting for decades for the outcome of the
next delimitation exercise to decide whether a
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
particular constituency should be reserved for
SC/ST candidates or thrown open for the
general category.
More about Delimitation Commission:
Delimitation literally means the act or process
of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial
constituencies in a country or a province
having a legislative body. The job of
delimitation is assigned to a high power
body. Such a body is known as Delimitation
Commission or a Boundary Commission.
In India, such Delimitation Commissions have
been constituted 4 times in 1952 under the
Delimitation Commission Act, 1952, in 1963
under Delimitation Commission Act, 1962, in
1973 under Delimitation Act, 1972 and in 2002
under Delimitation Act, 2002.
Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the
Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act
after every census. After coming into force
commencement of the Act, the Central
Government constitutes a Delimitation
Commission. This Delimitation Commission
demarcates
the
boundaries
of
the
Parliamentary
Constituencies
as
per
provisions of the Delimitation Act.
The present delimitation of constituencies has
been done on the basis of 2001 census figures
under the provisions of Delimitation Act,
2002. Notwithstanding the above, the
Constitution of India was specifically amended
in 2002 not to have delimitation of
constituencies till the first census after 2026.
Thus, the present Constituencies carved out
on the basis of 2001 census shall continue to
be in operation till the first census after 2026.
Page 44
DECEMBER 2013
Courtesy – http://eci.nic.in
Armed forces use disability programme to
reach out in border areas
The Mission Ability beyond Disability,
launched in 2005 by Anupama Singh, an
accomplished painter, socialite and wife of
former Army Chief General J. J. Singh, is being
used by the armed forces to reach out to
persons with disability (PwD) in far flung
border districts of the country.
As part of the mission, camps have been
organised for distributing various devices to
PwD in Kargil, the border regions of Jammu
and Kashmir, Tamenglong in Manipur, and
Tawang, Seppa and Zero in Arunachal
Pradesh. The mission has also held a camp at
the remote Little Andaman Island.
Government develops strategy to create
social capital
The government has developed an intensive
strategy to ensure social inclusion through
participatory identification of the poor and
universal social mobilisation. The National
Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) is to support
implementation of the National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 12 high
poverty States that account for 85% of the
rural poor in the country.
The aim is to create best practice sites and to
develop them as local immersion locations
that generate a pool of social capital for
catalysing social mobilisation of the poor and
building quality institutions.
The Rural Development Ministry has been
facilitating 400 intensive blocks across the
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
country under the NRLM Framework, out of
which 100 blocks would be developed as
resource blocks. The blocks that are taken up
for implementation of the NRLM will be called
‘intensive blocks.’ In all 73 resource blocks are
proposed to be implemented in the NRLP
States for five years.
According to official data, there are already a
total of 47 resource blocks cutting across
States including Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, covering
nearly 2,000 villages. In these States nearly
13,000 Self-Help Groups have been supported.
The strategy aims to cover a significant 5 lakhs
BPL households.
Significance of Resource Blocks:
The resource block strategy will cover a whole
range of activities, including a trained
professional staff at district, block and subblock levels. The strategy also entails
promotion of institutions of the poor SHGs
and their primary federations which
ultimately will create and strengthen a large
base of social capital or community
professionals.
Also, resource blocks ensure proof of concept
and
home-grown
models
in
social
mobilisation and institutional building,
financial
inclusion,
bookkeeping
and
livelihoods. These resource pockets would
create efficient and effective institutional
platforms of the rural poor enabling them to
increase
household
incomes
through
sustainable livelihood enhancements and
improved access to financial and selected
public services.
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DECEMBER 2013
The poor would be facilitated to achieve
increased access to their rights, entitlements
and public services, diversified risk and better
social indicators of empowerment.
To know more NRHM refer our ‘Insights
Current
Events
Analysis
Magazine’
(NOVEMBER, 2013)
Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe
into ‘snoopgate’
The Centre Govt. has setup ‘judicial
Commission of Inquiry’ to investigate charges
of spying by the Gujarat government on a
young woman in 2009(which is known as
‘snoopgate’). The report is expected to be
submitted within three months.
The Centre has rejected the Gujarat
government’s contention that under the
Commission of Inquiry Act, the Centre or the
State government cannot appoint an inquiry
commission into a matter on which one of the
two governments has already set up such a
panel – in this case the State government
(Gujarat) has already set up a commission.
However, Section 3 provides for the Centre to
appoint a commission if it is of the opinion
that the scope of the inquiry should be
extended to two or more States.
Background:
Snoopgate broke over a month ago when two
news portals released CDs of purported
telephonic
conversations,
purportedly
between August and September 2009,
between the then Gujarat Home Minister
Amit Shah and two State police officers
relating to surveillance of a woman architect.
Mr. Modi’s name does not occur in the
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
conversations but there is reference to a
“sahib” that the portals say is the Gujarat CM,
at whose instance the snooping was done.
Guidelines soon to regulate campaign in
social media
As social media has emerged as a powerful
medium for political campaign, the Election
Commission (EC) has proposed to evolve
guidelines for regulating it during the
forthcoming Lok Sabha election.
The emphasis was on the need for preventing
‘sectarian campaign and campaign based on
caste and religion’. Also, if an individual
campaigns for a candidate through social
media it should not be added to expenses of
the candidate.
Mind-mapping



Do you think Social media is a tool for
Political empowerment? If so why and how?
Should the Social media be regulated (not
only from election point of view, but
consider other aspects- on the economy,
society,
cultural
values,
religious
sentiments..)?
Impact of Social media on the society.
More tribes demand formation of council
on line of Lepchas
With the formation of the Lepcha
Development Board by the West Bengal
government, there has been a demand for
formation of a council on similar lines by
other tribes in Darjeeling Hills.
They demanded a separate Limbu Tribal
Development Council and inclusion of Limbu
language in the schools of West Bengal.
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DECEMBER 2013
Related Information:
Lepcha is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken
in Sikkim, Darjeeling district in West Bengal
in India, and in Nepal, and in several villages
of Samtsi district in Bhutan. The tribal
homeland of the Lepcha people is referred to
as ‘hidden paradise’ or ‘land of eternal purity’.
Most of the areas in which Lepcha is spoken
today were once Sikkimese territory. The
Lepcha are believed to be the aboriginal
inhabitants of Sikkim. Today the Lepcha
people constitute a minority of the population
of modern Sikkim.
Courtesy – http://www.lepcha.info/
Mind-Mapping:




Why was Lepcha Development Board
formed? Why are other tribes of West
Bengal demanding for a similar board?
What are the issues/problems that tribal
people face? Also relate to the recent issue
with the tribes of Andaman & Nicobar
Islands.
What are the provisions available in the
Constitution of India, inorder to protect or
safeguard the interests of the tribal people?
Significance of PESA Act in this regard?
Hornbill fete ends on a colourful note
Hornbill Festival, the biggest indigenous
festival and the annual tourism promotional
event of the Nagaland government, came to a
colourful end with 17 Naga tribes performing
the “Unity Dance”.
The 10-day-long festival at the Naga Heritage
Village, around 12 km south of the State
capital, saw about two lakh visitors, including
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
foreign, domestic and local tourists witnessing
the performances of the tribes.
Significance of the Hornbill Festival:
The Hornbill Festival is held in the first week
of December every year, to encourage intertribal interaction and to promote the cultural
richness of Nagaland.
It is the coming together of all the elements
that make up the total Nagaland. The Hornbill
festival is a collaborative celebration of all
Naga tribes at one venue and has been coined
as “Festival of Festivals”.
The Festival is a tribute to the great “Hornbill”
which is the most admired and revered bird
for the Nagas, for its qualities of alertness and
grandeur. The Majestic bird is closely
identified with the social and cultural life of
the Nagas, as reflected in various tribal
folklores, dances and songs. The awe and
admiration for the bird is symbolically
displayed on almost all tribal traditional
headgears worn during the festival and is
indicative of the commonness of the Nagas.
The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland is a cultural
extravaganza to revive, protect and preserve
the richness and uniqueness of the Naga
heritage, while for the visitors to this event, its
is a means for comprehensive understanding
of the Naga People, their land and culture.
Since 2007, International cultural troupes have
been taking part in it and it is slowly turning
out to be an international event.
Courtesyhttp://hornbill.tourismnagaland.com/hornbill.
html
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DECEMBER 2013
Anti-Superstition
Bill
Maharashtra Council
passed
in
The Maharashtra State Council has passed the
Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of
Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and
Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill,
commonly known as the Anti-Superstition
Bill.
IIMC to become institute of national
importance
The government has decided to upgrade the
48-year-old Indian Institute of Mass
Communication (IIMC) to a degree-awarding
‘Institute of National Importance’.
Significance:
These institutes will be able to design, develop
and offer programs which they consider
relevant and appropriate for the national
needs.
After the upgrade, IIMC would award degrees,
in addition to postgraduate diplomas it was
now offering. The institute would also be able
to award M.Phil and PhD degrees and carry
out research to enhance its role as a think tank
on communication and media as was
originally envisaged by representatives of
UNESCO and renowned mass communication
specialists from India and abroad.
HEALTH
Positive signals in Indian research on HIV
vaccine
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Indian researchers have claimed that they
have got some positive early leads for
developing a vaccine that will prevent people
contracting human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
A preliminary screening showed four
‘neutralising antibodies’ that can block HIV.
Studies are on to ascertain whether any one of
these or a combination of these can be used as
a vaccine to protect against the Indian HIV
subtype, Clade-C.
The developments have taken place in the past
three months, raising hopes of developing at
least a therapeutic, if not preventive, vaccine.
The researchers believe that, a world without
AIDS now looks a possibility.
The isolation of the antibodies has led to
establishment of a global project ‘Protocol G,’
and in India it was taken up by the
Translational Health Science and Technology
Institute (THSTI).
Vaccines prevent nearly three million deaths
every year from infectious diseases, avert
disease morbidity and enable more rapid
economic
and
social
development.
Tuberculosis, HIV and malaria are the major
diseases for which preventive vaccines are not
available.
Despite
global
efforts,
the
scientific
community is nowhere close to developing a
vaccine to prevent HIV infection because HIV
isolates are highly variable. There is lack of an
ideal animal model for HIV to screen vaccines.
HIV infects, suppresses and destroys key cells
of the immune system. Importantly, natural
immunity to HIV fails to completely control
infection.
Page 48
DECEMBER 2013
Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI):
{ This is regard to “Indigenization of
technology” (GS –III) }
FSSAI was established under Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates
various acts & orders that have hitherto
handled food related issues in various
Ministries and Departments.
Indigenous device that can detect early
cervical cancer launched
FSSAI has been created for laying down
science based standards for articles of food
and to regulate their manufacture, storage,
distribution, sale and import to ensure
availability of safe and wholesome food for
human consumption.
The Act aims to establish a single reference
point for all matters relating to food safety and
standards, by moving from multi- level, multidepartmental control to a single line of
command.
To this effect, the Act establishes an
independent statutory Authority – the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India with
head office at Delhi. Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the
State Food Safety Authorities shall enforce
various provisions of the Act.
Courtesy- http://www.fssai.gov.in
Mind-Mapping:


Significance of Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI). Why is such an
Act needed?
What impact does the Food Safety and
Standards Act has on the society and
economy of India? (Also link this to
malnutrition).
The Union Health and Family Welfare
Ministry has launched an indigenous device
that can detect early cervical cancer and be
used even by healthcare workers with basic
training.
AV Magnivisualizer, which was developed by
the Institute of Cytology and Preventive
Oncology under the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR), has 95% accuracy for
detecting pre-cancerous lesions. Randomised
clinical control trials have confirmed its
efficacy in reducing incidence and mortality. It
would also be available in remote rural areas.
This is a user-friendly device which costs
about Rs 10,000 as against the present devices
which cost between Rs 8 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh
and are beyond the reach of most people.
The device can be operated on a 12- volt
battery in rural and semi-urban areas where
electric supply is not regular.
Now, the ICMR is initiating studies to assess
its applicability even for oral pre-cancerous
and cancerous lesions.
In the initial phase, the device would be
available in the Community Health Centres
(CHC); in the next phase it would be made
available in the Primary Health Centres
(PHC), where cervical cancer cases go
undetected.
Cervical cancer is the most common
malignancy among Indian women, particularly
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
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DECEMBER 2013
those who marry early. Current estimates
indicate that approximately 1.32 lakh new
cases are diagnosed and 74,000 deaths occur
annually in India, accounting for nearly onethird of global cervical cancer deaths.
Cervical cancer takes about a decade to fully
develop and is often detected when it has
spread substantially. It starts from a precancer stage called dysplasias and early
detection and appropriate treatment at this
stage can halt its progression, resulting in
decreased incidence or mortality.
More about Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR):
The Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for
the formulation, coordination and promotion
of biomedical research, is one of the oldest
medical research bodies in the world.
The Council’s research priorities coincide with
the National health priorities such as control
and management of communicable diseases,
fertility control, maternal and child health,
control of nutritional disorders, developing
alternative strategies for health care delivery,
containment
within
safety
limits
of
environmental and occupational health
problems;
research
on
major
noncommunicable
diseases
like
cancer,
cardiovascular diseases, blindness, diabetes
and other metabolic and haematological
disorders; mental health research and drug
research (including traditional remedies). All
these efforts are undertaken with a view to
reduce the total burden of disease and to
promote health and well-being of the
population.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Courtesy- http://www.icmr.nic.in
Mind-mapping:



Benefits of indigenization.
Issues with Clinical trials? Measures taken
by the Government in this regard?
Functions and Significance of Primary
health Centres? What are the issues with
PHCs? Suggest some remedial measures.
[Indigenization: Health Sector]
A cheaper kit to diagnose thalassemia
India has launched a low-cost, indigenouslymanufactured Thalassemia and Sickle Cell
diagnostic kit that will simplify the
identification of seven common betathalassemia mutations and two common
abnormal haemoglobins common in India.
This kit is tailor-made for the Indian
population and can also be used for screening.
The kit would cost approximately Rs 400 and
would be made available in the public health
facilities up to district levels. It is expected to
bring down the prices of the test in the open
market where it costs up to Rs 15,000.
Mind-Mapping:


What are the benefits of Indigenization in
different sectors- education, health,
technology, environment, defence etc.?
What are the usual hurdles in the way to
indigenization?
Does India have the capability to produce
more indigenized goods, which is qualitative
as well as affordable?
Ruling on clinical trials is in national
interest
Page 50
DECEMBER 2013
The recent Supreme Court ruling on, and
stringent regulations for, clinical trials was a
setback for drugs research in India. Not many
pharmaceutical companies are coming
forward for clinical trials now. There has been
a 50% drop in clinical trials after stringent
regulations were put in place, but they would
pick up in the coming days.
The changes were meant to protect the
national interest and to do justice to those
who participated in the trials.
The Ministry has laid down tough rules to
make companies liable for the death of, or
injury to, any drug trial subject. Even
permission for such trials is given after a
rigorous process. Simultaneously, the Supreme
Court has suspended 157 previously approved
trials pending review by new committees. This
slowed down new trials, especially those by
foreign companies or those being lined up
with foreign collaboration.
The court’s order came in response to a public
interest litigation (PIL) petition, which said
trials in India had exploited poor patients who
were not even aware that the drugs were still
being tested.
India made sweeping changes to the rules of
the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which
governs clinical trials, making it mandatory for
the
principal
investigator
of
the
pharmaceutical company to reveal the
contract between the subject and the company
to the Drugs Controller-General of India.
Earlier, the informed consent of the persons
on which the trials had been conducted was
often manipulated by the companies to the
disadvantage of the subjects.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Videography of the process of informed
consent, with the full knowledge of the
participant, had been made mandatory, and
any death during a trial would have to be
reported to the DCGI within 24 hours. The
Drug Testing Advisory Board was the only
body for granting permission for trials.
To know more about Clinical trials refer
our ‘Insights Current Events Analysis
Magazine’ (NOVEMBER, 2013)
Health Ministry worried SC verdict will
affect AIDS control
Over the recent order of the Supreme Court,
stating gay sex is illegal, the Health and Family
Welfare Ministry has expressed its concerns
saying that- this would prevent vulnerable
communities from accessing health facilities
for fear of discrimination and stigma.
The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender) is defined as a high-risk group by
the
National
AIDS
Control
Organisation(NACO; now Dept. of AIDS
Control )with HIV infection prevalence among
men having sex with men (MSM) being the
highest, between 6.5 and 7.2 %. This is the
second most vulnerable community after
injection drug users.
According to the NACO 2010-11 annual report,
India had an estimated 40 lakh persons in the
MSM community, of whom 10% were at risk of
contracting HIV infection.
The Department of AIDS Control provides
inclusive healthcare service for gay men and
transgenders primarily for checking HIV
infections, and the service was being accessed
by a large number of the LGBT community
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DECEMBER 2013
following the 2009 Delhi High Court
judgement that had struck down Section 377
of the Indian Penal Code which criminalised
“unnatural sex.”
The Marriage Act of Australia does not now
provide for the formation or recognition of
marriage between same-sex couples.
India’s Response to HIV/AIDS:
The HIV Estimation of 2012 suggests an overall
reduction of 57% in the annual new HIV
infections (among adult population) from 2.74
lakh in 2000 to 1.16 lakh in 2011, reflecting the
impact of various interventions and scaled-up
prevention strategies.
Based on these outcomes, the Department of
AIDS Control designed the fourth phase of
NACP (2012-17) to accelerate the process of
reversal and further strengthen the epidemic
response. The main objectives of NACP are
reducing new infections and providing
comprehensive care and support to all People
Living with HIV and treatment services for all
those who require them.
While HIV prevalence shows declining trends
among female sex workers, MSM, injecting
drug users and single male migrants are
emerging as important risk groups.
Reaction across the globe regarding ‘samesex’ marriage:
‘Don’t discriminate against LGBT’ U.N. chief,
the Secretary-General has re-affirmed that all
human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights and stressed the need to
recommit ourselves to building a world of
freedom and equality for all.
While UK has supported gay marriage,
Australia’s top court has overruled gay
marriage ruling that Parliament must decide
on same-sex unions
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Shortly after reporting the first AIDS case in
1986, the Government of India established a
National AIDS Control Program (NACP)
which has now become the Department of
AIDS under Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare.
In 1991, the scope of NACP was expanded to
focus on blood safety, prevention among high
risk populations, raising awareness in the
general
population,
and
improving
surveillance. A semi‐autonomous body, the
National AIDS Control Organization (NACO),
was established under the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare to implement this
program. This “first phase” of the National
AIDS Control Program lasted from 1992-1999.
It focused on initiating a national
commitment, increasing awareness and
addressing blood safety.
The second phase of the NACP began in 1999
and ended in March 2006. Under this phase,
India continued to expand the program at the
state level. Greater emphasis was placed on
targeted interventions for the most at risk
populations, preventive interventions among
the general population, and involvement of
NGOs and other sectors and line departments,
such as education, transport and police.
The Third Phase of NACP (NACP 3) program
has dramatically scaling up targeted
interventions in order to achieve a very high
coverage of the most at risk groups. Under this
phase, surveillance and strategic information
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DECEMBER 2013
management also receive a big boost.
Partnerships with civil society organizations
was at paramount in the implementation of
the program with special focus on
involvement of community in the program
planning and implementation.
NACP IV -The focus of this phase will be
primarily on scaling up prevention through
NGOs and sustaining the efforts and results
gained in last 3 phases and integration with
the health systems response to the epidemic
e.g. through provision of ART, STI services,
and treatment of opportunistic infections
through the National Rural Health Mission.
Courtesyhttp://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/20
12/07/10/hiv-aids-india
Mind-Mapping:




What are the causes of HIV, how is it
spread and its impact, preventive measures,
treatment once contacted? What are the
steps taken by the Govt. in Prevention of
AIDS?
What impact would the recent SC ruling
have on the LGBT community?
Laws in other foreign countries, regarding
‘same-sex’ marriage?
Impact of same sex marriage on our culture
and society as a whole. Are we losing our
traditions by being too liberal? Or are we
still a conservative society, considering the
fact that we are still talking of legality of
gay sex while some western nations have
moved forward and recognised same sex
marriage on par with a heterosexual
marriage?
CLIMATE CHANGE
On Ministerial eve, India stands alone in
Bali
India stands isolated at the Bali Ministerial
(the three-day Ministerial would begin from
3rd December) of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) in its efforts to seek
safeguards for subsidies poor countries give to
their farmers for food security purposes.
Of the key G33 countries, China, an exportsled economy, has not lent vocal support to
India’s position for a Bali package as its
interests lie with the G20 proposal on trade
facilitation. Pakistan has opposed India’s
proposal for subsidies to poor farmers on the
grounds that they distort trade in rice.
However, India has asserted that it exports
only basmati for which MSP is not given to
farmers. Some support for India has come only
from Indonesia.
India has blamed the rich countries led by the
U.S. for stalling the negotiations for a Bali
package and also accused the rich countries of
double standards on the issue of subsidies for
farmers.
Even though the G33 has shown flexibility by
agreeing to discuss an interim solution, there
were efforts to make the solution redundant
through elaborate procedural formalities in
the name of safeguards against trade
distortion and transparency.
The rich countries are pressing the G33
countries to agree to their preferred treaty for
trade facilitation.
INTERNATIONAL
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 53
DECEMBER 2013
Negotiations are on though without much
progress between the rich countries on the
one hand and India-led G33 on the other. The
negotiators haven’t so far settled, for the three
main issues:



A new trade facilitation treaty;
Changes in agriculture rules relevant to
food security;
Benefits for least developed countries.
There had been apprehensions that if Bali
didn’t come through, the Doha Round and
with it the WTO would become lifeless.
Post-Bali, the negotiators in Geneva will focus
on the long-stalled issues of the Doha
Development Round in a work programme
they committed themselves to completing
within 12 months.
India’s stand prevails in Bali meet
It is said that, The Bali Declaration is the
stepping stone for the completion of the Doha
Round.
Finally at the 9th Ministerial of the WTO, the
draft Ministerial Decision put up for
endorsement to the member-countries
safeguards India’s position on both food
security and trade facilitation.
The declaration takes care of India’s concerns
on food security and trade facilitation; it was
what actually India wanted.
However, Cuba and Venezuela are delaying
the adoption of the Ministerial draft for due to
some issues concerned with the respective
countries.
The draft proposes an interim mechanism to
safeguard minimum support prices (MSP) to
farmers against WTO caps till a permanent
solution is adopted.
Adoption of the draft would be the first major
decision of the century on global trade after
the WTO came into being.
The declaration has been hailed across all
quarters, as WTO has come alive and it has
done what it should have been doing all these
years – negotiating, dynamic, working hard to
get an agreement and innovative solutions,
willing to engage and compromise, seeking
common ground and inclusiveness.
The focus was on national interests and
common good, and the right of the developing
countries to give food security to billions of
the world’s poorest people was upheld and
through trade facilitation it has opened up the
potential of injecting up $1 trillion into the
global economy.
Conclusion of the Bali meet
Reaction of the civil society groups:
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministers
in Bali finally adopted the historic five-draft
decision declaration and the 10-document full
Bali Package that addresses the Doha
Development Agenda.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
However, the civil society groups were
extremely disappointed about India accepting
a ‘peace clause’ with conditionality on its food
and farm subsidies at the Bali meet with no
assured mechanism for finding a permanent
solution.
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DECEMBER 2013
India has opened up its farm and domestic
food policies, programmes and mechanisms to
international scrutiny with large data and
reporting mechanisms to be put into place,
thus losing sovereign control over decisionmaking on food grains stocks and
procurement.
Expressing deep disappointment with the
hype over ‘India’s win’, the Alliance for
Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture has said
that “India has lost a historical opportunity” of
correcting deep-seated problems with the
WTO on trade and agriculture rules that were
tilted against the developing countries.
According to the Right to Food Campaign,
India has wilted under pressure from the U.S.
and agreed to accept conditionality to the
Peace Clause that was not part of the G-33
proposal.
Some section have criticised that, India had
fell into the trap of discussing subsidy limits
and minimum support price (MSP) in
agriculture when it should have argued on the
basis of hunger and malnutrition in India and
that any attempt by the Indian government to
act on it cannot possibly be placed within the
purview of WTO sanctions.
and food sovereignty at the centre of trade in
agriculture.
Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS), a global
network of NGOs, reacted to the
developments sarcastically saying ‘avoiding a
total meltdown of the WTO is being touted as
a breakthrough, which just shows how delegitimate the corporate-led model of trade
liberalisation, embodied by the WTO, has
become.’
Transaction costs will improve once WTO
pact is operational: EEPC
The WTO agreement on trade facilitation will
make life much easier for Indian exporters
since the pact will ensure uniform, transparent
and efficient transactions at the customs and
port operations across the world.
The agreement that promises to dismantle
barriers at the ports and customs would prove
a turning point. The efficiency and transaction
costs will improve by leaps and bounds, once
the agreement comes into operation.
Indian exports suffer largely at the hands of
customs and ports not only within the country
but in several parts of the world.
And also allowing ‘trade facilitation’ means
that post-Bali, India should expect an influx of
heavily subsidised agricultural produce from
outside.
Besides, the agreement will make it difficult
for some countries which tend to slap nontariff barriers against exports from the
developing countries.
According to Vandana Shiva of Navdanya,
India should have insisted that an audit of free
trade be done, instead of accepting further
trade liberalisation, and giving in to the “peace
clause”, which postpones putting food security
INDIA & ITS NEIGHBOURS
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
INIDIA-CHINA
Chinese troops apprehend Indians in
Chumar
Page 55
DECEMBER 2013
Chinese troops have apprehended five Indian
nationals in the Chumar
area of Ladakh, well
inside
the
Indian
territory, and took them
to their side of the
border perhaps the first
incident of this kind
along the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) in an
apparent bid to stake
their claim on the area.

The five nationals were
handed over to the
Indian side by the PLA troops, after some
efforts were made in this regard under the
existing border mechanisms between the two
countries.
The incident has taken place after PM
Manmohan Singh had signed the Border
Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) with
China in October, 2013 seeking to prevent any
flare-ups between the armies of the two
countries on the LAC. The Defence Minister
A.K. Antony recently had warned that the new
border pact does not guarantee that nothing
would happen in these areas in the future.
Transgressions by the Chinese troops have
taken place often in Chumar, the only place
along the Indo-China border where the
Chinese do not have any direct access to the
LAC.
Courtesy
–
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/Pop
up/2013/4/25_04_pg1a.jpg (image)
Mind-Mapping:
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS


Border issue between India and China
since
Independence – Aksai Chin & Arunachal
Pradesh. Reasons for it. What are the
measures/steps taken by Government of
India (GOI) in this regard? What was the
outcome of such measures? What is LAC?
What was the objective with which BDCA
was signed?
How do the recent transgressions of the
Chinese troops effect/impact IndiaChinese Relationship? How can this issue
be solved?
For more about India-China relationship &
Border Agreements refer our Insights Current
Events Analysis, October 2013.
China launches moon rover
China has launched its first moon rover
mission (Chang’e-3 rocket), the latest step in
an ambitious space programme seen as a
symbol of its rising global stature.
The probe is due to land on the moon in midDecember to explore its surface and look for
natural resources.
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DECEMBER 2013
It is the world’s third lunar rover mission
following those by the United States and
former Soviet Union decades earlier.
which countries monitor aircraft heading
towards their territorial airspace, which
extends 12 nautical miles from coastlines.
China hopes for ‘conducive’ India-Japan
ties
It is said that, China was willing to increase
dialogue and communication to safeguard
flights in overlapping areas of the two
countries’ defence zones, but Japan has
refused any dialogue, which has created
frictions and has undermined regional
stability.
China has hoped for conducive India-Japan
bilateral ties that would help in regional peace
and stability, against the backdrop of rising
tensions between China and Japan and a highprofile visit by Japanese Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko to India.
The ongoing week-long and rare visit to India
by the Japanese royal couple has underlined
the deepening ties between the two countries.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had
stated that Japan’s relationship with India
would not only boost economic ties and
investment, but also expand the strategic
relationship.
The Japan’s keenness to push ties with India
comes amid renewed tensions with China over
the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands in the
East China Sea. In recent days, China’s move
to set up an Air Defence Identification Zone
(ADIZ) that includes the disputed islands has
further strained ties.
China had strongly defended its move on
setting up an ADIZ, pointing out that several
countries, such as the U.S and Japan, had
established such areas beyond their territorial
airspace to track aircraft. And according to
China, Japanese ADIZ, established in the 1969
illegally included the Diaoyu islands, and
China firmly opposes this.
ADIZ areas are not territorial claims, but
defined zones in international airspace within
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Whereas, Japan on the other hand, has warned
that China’s unilateral move to set up an ADIZ
over disputed areas could trigger ‘unexpected
incidents.’
China’s ADIZ announcement has also caused
concern among several countries in the
region, including Japan and South Korea, as
the air defence zone stretches over
strategically important areas in the East China
Sea. Both countries, as well as the U.S., have
made it clear that their air patrols will not
follow Chinese demands of filing flight plans
in advance.
Now, South Korea is contemplating on
widening its air defence zone to include the
Leodo reef, which is under South Korea’s
control but falls within both the Japanese and
newly set up Chinese air defence zones.
Taiwan too has opposed this move saying that
it would also not comply with the rules.
Amid tensions, South Korea and Japan
hold East China Sea drills
South Korea and Japan have carried out a
naval drill in the East China Sea, deploying
destroyers and maritime helicopters in a
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DECEMBER 2013
region where both countries are involved in a
dispute with China.

A biennial naval drill took place in a part of
the sea that lies within China’s newly
established Air Defence Identification Zone
(ADIZ).

Indian relations with the 3 nations, Indian
concerns in the region in terms of transit,
energy, strategic importance etc.
What are the steps taken by India in recent
times to balance the conflicting interests of
the 3 Countries?
China offers freebie in strategic push
The drill has signaled that both the countries
will not follow China’s regulations by
deploying helicopters without filing flight
plans with China.
The drill took place near the Leodo reef, which
is controlled by South Korea but lies within
the exclusive economic zones of China and
South Korea. The area also falls within both
Chinese and South Korean air defence zones
(which are not territorial claims but a defined
airspace within which countries track aircraft
heading towards their territory.)
China has reiterated that its move was ‘just,
reasonable and complying with international
practices’. While China has hit out at Japan’s
criticism of the zone, pointing out that Japan
had established a bigger ADIZ in 1969, it has
taken a more measured reaction to South
Korean concerns.
China has said it would deploy ‘emergency’
defensive measures if aircraft entered the zone
without filing plans. Civilian and other aircraft
that were not seen as posing a threat would
merely be ‘identified’ and ‘tracked’.
Mind-mapping:

Relations of the 3 nations among
themselves; importance of the region for
each of them; historical evolution of the
relations.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
China has shown its willingness to offer its
neighbouring countries, use of its homegrown satellite navigation system free of
charge. The strategic move, has already
garnered interest from a number of countries
including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
Thailand.
The Chinese officials had intended to widen
use of the Beidou satellite network, which
already has 16 satellites serving the AsiaPacific and has been promoted as an
alternative to the American Global Positioning
System (GPS). The focus will be on countries
in the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly in
South and Southeast Asia, where the satellites
offered the highest accuracy.
China has already agreed deals with Pakistan
and Thailand on use of the Beidou network.
Also it had consultations with Sri Lanka, for
which it has already launched a satellite, and
Bangladesh, over cooperation on satellite use.
While China was open to any country using
the system, so far there was no specific
cooperation between the Indian and Chinese
governments.
China’s deepening cooperation with these
countries prompted the Indian government,
earlier in 2013, to push ISRO in being more
active in providing technological assistance to
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DECEMBER 2013
countries in the neighbourhood in launching
satellites.
Kolkata, linking Mandalay in Myanmar as well
as Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh.
The system, which was first launched in 2011
for use only by the government and military,
has over the past year begun to be widely
deployed for civilian uses domestically with
80% of passenger buses and trucks in China
using the system. For China, granting use of
its 16-satellite Beidou network which would be
expanded to 35 satellites by 2020 to provide
global coverage offers an added advantage.
The plan would “advance multi-modal
connectivity, harness the economic interests,
promote investment and trade and facilitate
people-to-people contacts.
The recent talks saw the four countries come
up with an ambitious proposal that included
developing multi-modal transport, such as
road, rail, waterways and airways, joint power
projects and telecommunication networks.
Mind-Mapping:



What implications would this strategic
move have on India? What steps should be
taken by the Indian Govt & ISRO in this
regard?
Navigation system used in India?
Do you think India should also align with
other countries and make use of the China’s
navigation system?
BCIM corridor gets push after first officiallevel talks in China
India and China have taken the first step
towards pushing forward an ambitious
corridor linking the two countries with
Bangladesh and Myanmar, as representatives
from the four nations held the first ever
official-level discussions about the project
recently.
For the first time the four nations have come
up with a schedule/timeline on taking the
plan forward.
The corridor would run from Kunming
(Chinese city which borders Myanmar) to
The BCIM project was also discussed during
the Chinese Premier Li’s meet to India
recently. The corridor would not only boost
strategic ties with India, but also as a means to
inject vitality into its landlocked southwestern provinces, which have the highest
poverty rates in China.
Way forward:
As a first step, the four countries will identify
realistic and achievable infrastructure projects
to boost physical connectivity. Over the next
six months, each country will come up with a
joint study report proposing concrete projects
and financing modalities, before the next
meeting of the four nations in June 2014,
hosted by Bangladesh.
The hope is that before the holding of the
third joint study meeting, in India towards the
end of 2014, the four countries would have
agreed upon a cooperation framework
including modalities of ‘financing projects’
that will pave the way for the actual
implementation.
Mind-Mapping:
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 59
DECEMBER 2013
Why was BCIM corridor mooted? What are the
advantages of this project to India?
the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA).
China defends nuclear cooperation with
Pakistan
More about International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA):
China would continue to provide support for
civilian nuclear energy projects in Pakistan,
despite concerns voiced by some countries
that recent agreements have violated
international guidelines governing nuclear
trade.
The IAEA is the world’s center of cooperation
in the nuclear field. It was set up as the
world´s “Atoms for Peace” organization in 1957
within the United Nations family. The Agency
works with its Member States and multiple
partners worldwide to promote safe, secure
and peaceful nuclear technologies.
China has argued that, the nuclear power
projects would help Pakistan alleviate power
shortage and serve the interests of local
people.
In November, 2013 Pakistan had formally
inaugurated two 1,100 MW projects at the
second and third phases of the Karachi
nuclear power project. The deals follow
Chinese support to the nuclear complex at
Chashma, where two reactors have been
constructed with China’s assistance.
The agreements for third and fourth reactors
in Chashma, signed in 2009, triggered
controversy as they were the first deals signed
by China following its joining of the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG). The nuclear trade
body forbids members from transferring
technology to countries that have not signed
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
India obtained a waiver from the body only
after undertaking various commitments.
However, the Chinese have defended the deal
saying that it was for peaceful purpose and it
meets
their
respective
international
obligations and is subject to the safeguards of
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The IAEA Secretariat is headquartered at the
Vienna International Centre in Vienna,
Austria.
IAEA Mission & Programmes
The IAEA’s mission is guided by the interests
and needs of Member States, strategic plans
and the vision embodied in the IAEA Statute.
Three main pillars – or areas of work –
underpin the IAEA’s mission: Safety and
Security; Science and Technology; and
Safeguards and Verification.
Relationship with United Nations
As an independent international organization
related to the United Nations system, the
IAEA´s relationship with the UN is regulated
by special agreement . In terms of its Statute,
the IAEA reports annually to the UN General
Assembly and, when appropriate, to the
Security Council regarding non-compliance by
States with their safeguards obligations as well
as on matters relating to international peace
and security.
Courtesy- http://www.iaea.org
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DECEMBER 2013
Mind-Mapping:


there are demands to declare Siachen a
protected area.
With closer nuclear cooperation between
China and Pakistan- what are the concerns
raised by the international fora and
especially with respect to India? Do you
think such a co-operation would de-stabilize
Asia?
What are the objectives of NSG and NPT?
How did India get a waiver with regard to
nuclear trade, though India not being a
member of NPT? Why is India reluctant to
get into the agreement?
Courtesy- www.defence.pk (image –top)
Courtesy
(image)
- http://www.madhyamam.com
The Siachen issue
The
To know more NSG, NPT refer our ‘Insights
Current Events Analysis Magazine’ (OCTOBER,
2013)
INDIA- PAKISTAN
Call for demilitarization
(India-Pakistan)
of
Siachen
Pakistan has said India should pull out its
troops from the Siachen Glacier as waste
disposal by Indian soldiers was threatening
the glacier (which it claims is one of its largest
sources of water) and posed a serious
environmental threat.
The implications of water
scarcity were grave in view of
climate change.
The issue of demilitarising
Siachen has often been discussed
and both India and Pakistan have
debated the question of troops’
pullout but in vain.
Siachen
Conflict
is
a
military
conflict
Civil society groups too have
been debating the issue and
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 61
DECEMBER 2013
between India and Pakistan over the disputed
Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir.
A cease-fire went into effect in 2003. The
conflict began in 1984 with India’s successful
Operation Meghdoot during which it gained
control of the Siachen Glacier (unoccupied
and not demarcated area).
India has established control over all of the 70
kilometres long Siachen Glacier and all of its
tributary glaciers, as well as the three main
passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west
of the glacier—Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong
La. Pakistan controls the glacial valleys
immediately west of the Saltoro Ridge.
Both countries maintain permanent military
presence in the region at a height of over
6,000 metres (20,000 ft). More than 2000
people have died in this inhospitable terrain,
mostly due to weather extremes and the
natural hazards of mountain warfare.
The conflict in Siachen stems from the
incompletely demarcated territory on the map
beyond the map coordinate known as NJ9842.
The 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly
mention who controlled the glacier, merely
stating that from the NJ9842 location the
boundary would proceed “thence north to the
glaciers.” UN officials presumed there would
be no dispute between India and Pakistan over
such a cold and barren region.
Courtesy- wikipedia
Former India, Pakistan spy chiefs call for
direct channel for RAW, ISI
Former Indian and Pakistani intelligence
officials have called for greater contact
between the Inter Services Intelligence
Directorate (ISI) and the Research and
Analysis Wing (RAW) to prevent regional
crisis and push forward new thinking on the
conflict in Jammu and Kashmir
It is said that, what covert services can achieve
is not at times even conceivable in political or
diplomatic channels. RAW & ISI help to guard
against panic reactions. The two services are
also capable of preventing another incident of
the kind which occurred in Mumbai in
November, 2008.
More about Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW)
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW or R&AW)
was formed in 1968; It is the primary external
intelligence agency of India.
Its creation was necessitated post the SinoIndian War 1962 and Indo-Pakistani War of
1965 which posed various gaps in intelligence
gathering undertaken by Intelligence Bureau
(which then handled both internal and
external intelligence).
Function:
The primary function of RAW is collection of
external intelligence and counter-terrorism. In
addition, it is responsible for obtaining and
analyzing
information
about
foreign
governments, corporations and persons to
advise Indian policymakers.
R&AW is an effective and one of the primary
instrument of India’s national power. It is also
involved in the security of India’s nuclear
programme.
Courtesy – Wikipedia
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 62
DECEMBER 2013
Mind –Mapping:


Role of RAW
Its significance in guarding India’s strategic
interests with its neighbouring countries
and especially with Pakistan?
India, Pak DGMOs to meet on Dec. 24, 2013
The Director-General Military Operations
(DGMO) of Pakistan has invited his Indian
counterpart for a meeting to strengthen the
mechanism to ensure ceasefire on the Line of
Control (LoC)
This would reduce tensions on the LoC, which
had seen repeated violations.
Mind-Mapping:



Significance of the DGMOs meet? Reasons
for ceasefire violations?
What are the other measures taken by the
two countries to reduce tensions on the LoC
((say by improving trade, celebrating
festivals, integrated check posts etc)? What
are your views, how can this issue be solved?
Pakistan military’s role in establishing
friendly relations with India. Role of U.S in
pacifying Indo-Pak relations.
India, Pakistan resolve to protect Line of
Control truce
The Directors-General of Military Operations
(DGMO) s of India and Pakistan have
reiterated the resolve and commitment of
both sides to continue efforts for ensuring
ceasefire, peace and tranquility on the Line of
Control (LoC).
At the meeting, the first between the DGMOs
in 14 years, the two sides have resolved to
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
work towards improved communications
between the two by re-energising the existing
mechanisms including their hotline contact.
Consensus was developed to make hotline
Contact between the two DGMOs more
effective and result oriented.
The talks between the two military officials,
held at Wagah in Pakistan, came at the end of
a year of extraordinary tensions along the LoC
threatening the 10-year-old ceasefire. The last
DGMOs meeting was in 1999 after the Kargil
war. Consensus was developed to make
hotline contact between the two DGMOs
more effective and result oriented.
The two sides will also hold two Brigade
Commander-level flag meetings in the near
future, most likely at Uri and Poonch on the
LoC.
The two sides also agreed to inform each other
if any innocent civilian inadvertently crosses
LoC to ensure his or her early return.
Also there were discussions to check on
infiltration, since in 2013 alone there have
been 267 attempted infiltrations of the LoC. In
January, 2013 two Indian soldiers were killed,
one of whom was beheaded. In August, an
ambush from the Pakistani side killed five
soldiers in the Poonch area.
There were also discussions regarding issues
concerning the 15 brigades deployed by the
Indian Army on its side of the border. India
had earlier refused to get drawn into
Pakistan’s attempts to include international
third parties in the meeting and to discuss a
greater role for United Nations observers in
ensuring peace along the border or LoC.
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DECEMBER 2013
To know more about DGMOs, LoC and
Border issues between India and Pakistan
refer our ‘Insights Current Events Analysis
Magazine’ (OCTOBER, 2013)
Mind Mapping:



What do you understand by hotline?
Significance of hotline.
Why was the DGMO meeting also these
years (nearly for 14 years)? With the
DGMO meeting convened recently, what
are the future prospects for both India and
Pakistan?
Importance of LoC. Border issues between
the two countries?
INDIA-NEPAL
Stringent checks on India-Nepal border
After the launch of the “return and
rehabilitation scheme” by the Jammu &
Kashmir government in 2010, there has
been a spurt in the number of people
returning from Pakistan via the Nepal
border.
The
defence
authorities,
however, are worried that terrorists may
cross over along with former militants,
using the Sunauli border in Uttar
Pradesh to cross over from Nepal. The
authorities are, therefore, pressing for
stringent checks at the India-Nepal
border.
Border crossing has not been taking place
through the four routes designated by
the Union Home Ministry. People coming into
India from Pakistan could do so via the IGI
Airport in Delhi or the Wagah-Attari border in
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Amritsar with their Pakistani passports and
visas, or through the Poonch-Rawlakote and
the Uri-Muzaffarabad border points on the
Line of Control with permits approved by the
authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(PoK)
But instead of taking these legal routes, a large
number of individuals and their families are
crossing over from Nepal.
Courtesy – blogs.fas.org (image)
India, Nepal to check illegal border trade
At the Inter-Governmental Committee
meeting between the India and Nepal, the two
countries have agreed to address each other’s
concerns on commerce and transit, including
reduction of tariff barriers and checking illegal
trade along the porous border between the
two countries.
It was in
direction to step up efforts to check
unauthorised trade and control trade in fake
Indian currency.
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DECEMBER 2013
The two sides have agreed on a 14-point
agenda
to
enhance
trade,
promote
cooperation and address concerns of the
private sector of both sides.


Other concerns over which the two
countries have agreed on:
With increasing demand from Nepal for milk
and dairy products, the Indian side has agreed
to provide 10,000 cows.
Nepal has agreed to adjust the 5% agriculture
reforms charge it has been charging on Indian
exports. While India has agreed to resolve
difficulties related to export of Nepali books
and newspapers.
The two sides agreed to make institutional
arrangements to facilitate third country
import and export to build infrastructure in
newly identified customs points.
India would provide technical assistance that
can enhance the competitiveness of Nepalese
exports; basically India would be looking
forward to enhancing the capacity building in
areas required by the government of Nepal.
Nepal’s abundant natural resources, like its
hydropower potential, can be tapped for the
prosperity of the country and surplus power
exported to India and other countries. The
government of India has unilaterally made this
possible by moving power trading or power
export-import into India from a restricted
category to the open general category. This
would permit power generated in Nepal to be
supplied to the entire subcontinent.
Mind-Mapping:

India-Nepal’s historic relationship.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
What are the issues between the two
countries? What are the steps taken by the
Indian side to resolve these issues. Recent
agreements between the two countries.
Strategic importance of Nepal to India.
Nepal impasse comes to an end as political
parties reach accord
Nepal’s political parties, whose differences on
the way ahead had led to a deadlock, reached
a four-point agreement paving the way for the
dissenters to join the Constituent Assembly
(CA).
The parties have agreed to constitute a
parliamentary committee to “investigate and
submit suggestions on the questions raised
about the CA election.” This was a concession
to the UCPN (Maoist) and other dissenting
parties which had been demanding a highlevel commission outside Parliament to probe
election-related questions as one of the
conditions to join the CA. The UCPN (Maoist),
the largest party in the first CA, had initially
welcomed the successful conduct of the
second CA election. However, it alleged
systematic fraud after the trend showed it was
set to lose heavily.
The parties also agreed to prepare the draft of
the new constitution as per the spirit of the
‘12-point agreement’, the Comprehensive
Peace
Agreement
and
the
Interim
Constitution within six months and
promulgate it in a year. They have decided to
form a high-level political mechanism with
top leaders of major parties as its members in
order to complete the remaining tasks of the
peace process and help write the constitution.
The convenor of the mechanism would be
appointed from within the CA.
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DECEMBER 2013
There was also accord on forming a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and a
Commission on Enforced Disappearances.
Both of these commissions have been long
overdue. The parties pledged to form them on
numerous occasions but never acted on their
promise.
The leaders of eight political parties – the
Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML, the CPN
(Maoist), the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum
(Democratic), the Tarai Madhes Democratic
Party, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal,
Sadbhawana Party and the Tarai Madhes
Sadbhawana Party – signed the agreement.
They endorsed the draft of the agreement that
was decided by the NC, the UML and the
UCPN (M) at an earlier meeting.
The agreement was possible after the Nepali
Congress and the CPN-UML persuaded the
UCPN (Maoist) to soften its stance on joining
the CA. The two largest parties – the NC and
the UML – had stood firm in the face of
demands from the UCPN (M) which
subsequently backed down from its position.
The Maoists had initially put forth five
conditions, including forming of a commission
to investigate ‘election fraud’, its chairman
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as permanent
convener of the political mechanism,
amendment to the Interim Constitution to
take decisions only by consensus, and hold a
new election within a year after promulgating
the constitution. There was no disagreement
over its suggestion of moving forward as per
the 12-point agreement, the Comprehensive
Peace
Agreement
and
the
Interim
Constitution.
The parties also decided to request the
Election Commission yet again to extend the
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
deadline to submit the names of the elected
candidates
under
the
proportional
representation (PR) electoral system for five
more days. The EC has already extended the
deadline twice. The election to the
Constituent Assembly (CA) was held on
November 19, 2013. The deadline extension
would further delay the convening of the first
meeting of the CA.
INDIA- SRILANKA
Despite strains, India, Sri Lanka deepen
naval ties
India and Sri Lanka have agreed to a slew of
naval cooperation measures to target pirates
and terrorist groups operating in the Indian
Ocean.
The meeting, as well as separate dialogues
with Indian naval commanders, took place
amidst tensions in diplomatic relations
between the countries. The Indian PM had
stayed away from a recent Commonwealth
Heads of Government summit in Colombo,
amidst criticism of Sri Lanka’s human rights
record.
The meeting focused on pushing ahead
military-to-military cooperation to secure
both countries’ common security interests.
The two countries, along with the Maldives,
had signed a security cooperation agreement
in July, 2012 designed to make operations by
the three navies seamless.
India’s military-to-military relationship with
Sri Lanka has grown despite political tensions.
The Sri Lankan navy has ordered two modern
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DECEMBER 2013
offshore patrol vessels from the public-sector
Goa Shipyards. It already operates the 101metre offshore patrol vessel Sayura, sold by
India in 2000.
The training has continued despite protests
from Tamil Nadu CM, who had expressed
dismay over the Indian Navy’s offer of further
training cooperation to Sri Lanka.
More
about
Shanghai
Organisation (SCO)
Cooperation
The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and
military organisation which was founded in
2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan,
and Uzbekistan.
It also has Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia
and Pakistan as observers, and Belarus, Sri
Lanka and Turkey as dialogue partners.
INDIA- AFGHANISTAN
India feels SCO can play a bigger role in
Afghanistan
India has called for a greater role by the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in
rebuilding and stabilizing Afghanistan. Since
bulk of the SCO’s members and observers are
Afghanistan’s neighbours.
However, Iran’s opposition of the West and
the SCO’s tendency of trying not to annoy the
West led to the organisation playing a more
subdued role in Afghanistan.
SCO could also play a useful role in promoting
trade connectivity in the region and
countering terrorism.
From India’s point of view, it would be looking
to enter into an energy and minerals
partnership with Uzbekistan especially in the
area of uranium.
India has been an observer country in the SCO
since 2005. India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia
have expressed their readiness to join Russia,
China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Kazakhstan as its full members.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
It has also initiated a new security concept
that is based on mutual trust, mutual benefit,
equality and cooperation.
The SCO, which is an observer of the UN
General Assembly, is the only regional intergovernmental organization founded in China.
Courtesy
–
http://english.cntv.cn/20130913/102515.shtml &
Wikipedia
U.N. monitors
failing
say
Taliban
sanctions
The United Nations team monitoring the
Security Council sanctions against the Taliban
has warned that the international community
is ill-placed to contain a surge of extortionrelated funding the jihadist group is expected
to raise in the run-up to next year’s (2014)
elections in Afghanistan.
In 2014, Afghanistan there would be
significant spike in international spending to
finance the large-scale logistical operations
necessary for the withdrawal of international
forces from Afghanistan.
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DECEMBER 2013
Illicit business activities and investments play
a key role in the financial structure of the
Taliban and its affiliates. Taliban continues to
raise millions from drugs, extortion, in buildup to 2014 elections
Taliban’s continued ability to raise funds is
critical to both its military and political
influence in Afghanistan. According to the
report, the Taliban is estimated to have raised
$155 million from narcotics-related operations
in 2012. The Taliban in Helmand province, a
key hub for the jihadist group, had raised $8
million from the narcotics trade from January
to May, 2013 alone, and an additional $400,000
a month through levies on local transport
operators.
Also 90 to 99% of all gemstones mined in
Afghanistan are illegally smuggled out of the
country. The Taliban has targeted specifically
gemstone and mining operations.
On these lines the Monitoring Team has
recommended that the member-states be
asked to submit any relevant information on
Taliban bank accounts, hawalas and financial
facilitators.
According to the Monitoring Team’s view,
there appears to be little ground for optimism
that violence could be defused by a peace deal
between the Taliban and the Afghan
government. But there are no evidence yet.
India supports Afghan over its row with
U.S
limit the number of western troops in the wartorn country after 2014.
India and Afghanistan both see the BSA as
important for the security and stability of
Afghanistan. The Indian approach was not to
pressurise, it would refrain from being
intrusive and judgemental on the issue.
Issue:Over the timing of signing the BSA –
The Afghan President wants the agreement to
be signed by his successor after 2014 elections,
in which he will not be eligible to contest,
while the U.S. has threatened to walk out if it
is not done immediately.
Apart from security issues, the other part of
Mr. Karzai’s visit to India is economic. India is
planning a major game-changing project in
Afghanistan which will start taking shape once
its Parliament approves new mining laws. Mr.
Karzai has urged Indian businessmen to come
forward and invest. The major investment
planned by India is in Hajigak mines, said to
be Asia’s biggest untapped deposits of iron
ore.
The Afghan President’s focus is on three issues
– the state of play on the BSA, the peace
process and then the transition process.
Mind-mapping:



India has expressed its disagreement over the
U.S. pressure on Afghanistan to sign the
Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which will
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Relationship among the three countries –
India, U.S., Afghanistan.
India’s geo-political & geo-strategic
interests with respect to Afghanistan
How will the withdrawal of U.S forces from
Afghan impact the future prospects of
Afghan and the other stakeholders vying
for stability of Afghan?
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DECEMBER 2013

Significance of India’s support to
Afghanistan (amidst U.S pressure)? Does
this move indicates India’s rise in the
International fora, as a country which can
take independent decision? Is India a softState?
INDIA-MALDIVES
India-Maldives relationship on the right
track again
Following 2 years of testing times, India and
Maldives are all set to restore their friendly
relationship, with the upcoming visit of the
newly elected President, Abdulla Yameen,
from December 23 to 25, 2013.
On further strengthening of the ties between
the two countries, India would formally hand
over an indigenously made helicopter for
surveillance and domain awareness operations
in northern Maldives.
India has already gifted Maldives an advanced
light helicopter (ALH) for its southernmost
island Addu. This ALH will be for the northern
most inhabited island.
Also both sides would be signing a package of
measures to resume projects that had been
stalled after Mohd Nasheed was ousted as
President in February, 2012.
These include the construction of a national
police academy, refurbishing of the Indira
Gandhi Hospital in Male and setting up a
faculty for teaching tourism and hospitality.
Also there are other issues – cancellation of a
contract given to GMR, said to be the single
biggest foreign investment proposal in
Maldives, Tata Housing’s real estate project
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
and Tattva Global’s contract for waste
management, which needs to be looked into
for better diplomatic relationships between
the two countires.
India- Maldives strategic interest
In the direction of furthering the relationship
between the two countries, India has
promised a second Advanced Light Helicopter,
Dhruv (indigenously-built), to the Maldives
National Defence Force (MNDF).
Earlier in 2010, India had donated an ALH to
Maldives.
India and the Maldives have maintained close
ties over the years and Indian naval ships and
aircraft were deployed for surveillance of the
Maldivian exclusive economic zone at their
request.
Over the years, the Indian Navy has trained
Mauritian naval pilots; extended training
support to several nations, including Vietnam,
conducted coordinated joint patrols, and
supplied
military
hardware
(including
surveillance aircraft) to countries like
Myanmar.
This is a part of the geostrategic measures
undertaken by India to support friendly
nations in the Indian Ocean rim to augment
capacity.
Initiatives such as the Indian Ocean Naval
Symposium (IONS), a geographical grouping
of 35 Indian Ocean littorals, and biennial naval
exercise ‘Milan’ went a long way in reaffirming
the confidence nations in the region had in
India.
Related Information:
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DECEMBER 2013
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to
increase maritime co-operation among navies
of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean
Region by providing an open and inclusive
forum for discussion of regionally relevant
maritime issues and, in the process, endeavors
to generate a flow of information between
naval professionals that would lead to
common
understanding
and
possibly
agreements on the way ahead.
The inclusiveness of this forum means that all
the principal maritime agencies of states in
the IOR are members, unless they desire
otherwise, thereby involving participation by
almost all the littorals in the region to address
cooperative maritime issues.
Safety and Security, Trade and Investment
Facilitation, Fisheries Management, Disaster
Risk Management, Academic and Science &
Technology Cooperation, and Tourism and
Cultural Exchanges.
Courtesy
–
www.dfat.gov.au/geo/indianocean/iora.html
Mind-Mapping:



http://ions.gov.in
Milan:
Milan basically is a biennial conglomeration of
Asia-Pacific maritime navies, hosted by the
Indian Navy, to foster bonds of ‘friendship
across the seas’, boost interoperability and
share views on common maritime issues.
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
IORA was established in 1997 to promote
cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. It
seeks to expand mutually beneficial
cooperation through a consensus-based,
evolutionary and non-intrusive approach.
IORA is the only regional forum linking most
countries on the Indian Ocean rim through an
annual Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
In 2011 six priority areas of cooperation were
identified for IORA. These include: Maritime
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS

Historical relationship between India &
Maldives. India’s Strategic interests with
respect to Maldives. Relationship between
India and Maldives in recent times,
especially last 2 years (till the recent
elections & the future prospects)
What is India’s stake and concerns over
Indian Ocean?
What are the geostrategic measures
undertaken by India to support friendly
nations in the Indian Ocean rim to
augment capacity?
Significance of IORA.
RUSSIA
Russia to boost Arctic presence
President Vladimir Putin has ordered the
military to step up its presence in the Arctic
after Canada signalled it planned to claim the
North Pole and surrounding waters.
The tough and rapid response to Canada’s
announcement reflected Russia’s desire to
protect its oil and natural gas interests in the
pristine but energy-rich region amid
competing claims there by countries that also
include Norway and Denmark.
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DECEMBER 2013
Canada had earlier filed a claim with the U.N.
Commission on the Limits of the Continental
Shelf concerning the outer limits of its
continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean. The
claim also included Canada’s stake on the
North Pole.
its recommendations and actions shall not
prejudice matters relating to the delimitation
of boundaries between States with opposite or
adjacent coasts.
Russia has an overlapping claim to both the
North Pole and swathes of the Arctic that the
U.S. Geological Survey thinks could hold 13 %
of the world’s undiscovered oil and up to 30%
of its hidden natural gas reserves.
To consider the data and other material
submitted by coastal States concerning the
outer limits of the continental shelf in areas
where those limits extend beyond 200 nautical
miles, and to make recommendations in
accordance with article 76 and the statement
of Understanding adopted on 29 August 1980
by the Third United Nations Conference on
the Law of the Sea;
In 2007, a government-sponsored diving team
in had planted a Russian flag under the North
Pole, and the Russia has been contemplating
to deploy a large military presence in the
region from a long time.
More about Commission on the Limits of
the Continental Shelf (CLCS): It’s Purpose,
functions
Purpose:
The purpose of the CLCS is to facilitate the
implementation of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (the
Convention) in respect of the establishment of
the outer limits of the continental shelf
beyond 200 nautical miles (M) from the
baselines from which the breadth of the
territorial sea is measured.
Under the Convention, the coastal State shall
establish the outer limits of its continental
shelf where it extends beyond 200 M on the
basis of the recommendation of the
Commission. The Commission shall make
recommendations to coastal States on matters
related to the establishment of those limits;
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Functions of the Commission:
To provide scientific and technical advice, if
requested by the coastal State concerned
during preparation of such data.
In accordance with article 76(8), the
Commission shall make recommendations to
coastal States on matters related to the
establishment of the outer limits of their
continental shelf. The limits of the shelf
established by a coastal State on the basis of
these recommendations shall be final and
binding.
Courtesyhttp://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/comm
ission_purpose.htm#Purpose (UN website)
Mind-mapping:

Impact of exploration in north pole on
climate change, global warming etc(help it
offers in protecting Himalayan ecology,
studying monsoons, data)
Page 71
DECEMBER 2013


Russian confrontationist diplomacy, India’s
stakes in arctic (in terms of research, energy
security); Indian presence in the region.
How is arctic region governed? Future
potential of the region apart from energy.
Japan is trying to build a comprehensive
defensive posture that can completely defend
the nation. There are apprehensions over
China’s attempt to alter the status quo by
force in the skies and seas of the East China
Sea and South China Sea and other areas
based on assertions that are incompatible with
the established international order.
JAPAN
Japan’s military plan ‘proactive pacifism’
Taking Japan a step further from its post-war
pacifism, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has
approved a new five-year defence plan that
calls for the acquisition of drones and
amphibious assault vehicles to strengthen the
nation’s military as it faces the prospect of a
prolonged rivalry with China over islands in
the East China Sea.
The PM has described the spending plan as
“proactive pacifism”. It could be noticed that
from 2013, Mr. Abe (who is building on moves
by previous Prime Ministers) has started
increasing the military expenditure to help
offset China’s rapid military build-up and the
relative decline of U.S. influence in the region.
Under the new 10-year defence and a broader
national security strategy, Japan will continue
to build closer ties with the United States,
whose 50,000 military personnel stationed in
Japan still form the basis of Japan’s national
security. But it will also acquire weapons
meant to increase its own capabilities,
acquisitions that would have once been
unthinkable for a nation that viewed its
military with suspicion after its disastrous
defeat in World War II.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Political analysts say that China’s assertive
stance in the dispute over the East China Sea
islands has made Japan’s once proudly pacifist
public more willing to accept an expanded
role for the nation’s military, called the SelfDefense Forces. China’s claims in the South
China Sea have also put it at odds with several
countries in Southeast Asia that say they own
some of the territory in question.
The 10-year military strategy approved calls on
Japan to create a more mobile military that
can deal with contingencies on far-flung
islands, as well as so-called gray zone conflicts
that might involve small numbers of terrorists
or paramilitary attackers.
The strategy also calls on Japan to study
whether it should buy or develop long-range
strike capability, like cruise missiles, that
would allow it to destroy a threat like a North
Korean ballistic missile before it was launched.
Japan has so far abstained from such offensive
weapons in order to maintain the defensive
nature of its military, whose existence already
pushes the limits of a post-war constitution
that bars the nation from possessing ‘land, sea
and air forces, as well as other war potential.’
Mr. Abe is of the opinion to go even further by
stretching the definition of self-defence to
include action taken on behalf of allies under
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DECEMBER 2013
attack. For example, allowing Japan to shoot
down a North Korean ballistic missile heading
toward the United States. That doctrine,
known as collective self-defence, has run into
stiff public opposition, including from a small
Buddhist political party within Mr. Abe’s
governing coalition.
Gulf Cooperation Council where over 70
Indians live. India sources 60 % of its oil from
the region with cumulative trade of over $170
billion.
Courtesy – www.worldatlas.com(Image)
(According to the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute, Japan had the fifthlargest military budget in the world last year.
China had the second largest, behind the
United States.)
IRAN
MIDDLE-EAST
Iran and West Asian tensions
India and Middle-East
The recently concluded Geneva meet among
G5+1 (G5 + Germany) and Iran has not only
brought temporary ease with regard to Iran’s
nuclear programme and partial removal of
Western sanctions, but it has also more
significance to West Asia.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid
would be visiting ‘Middle-East’ to take stock of
the evolving alignments there following the
developments on Iran’s nuclear issue and
Saudi Arabia’s refusal to take up a nonpermanent seat in the United Nations Security
Council.
Mr. Khurshid would also visit Manama
(Bahrain), where he would hold talks with the
top leadership and also participate in the
Manama Dialogue. Bahrain too has had its
share of Arab Spring that led to
intervention by Saudi Arabian security
forces. But the level of violence has been
negligible compared to some other
countries in the region.
Repercussions on West Asia:
With U.S withdrawing most of its troops from
Afghanistan in 2014, Iran (now being a
potentially valuable partner for the US) can
help stabilise the country and deter the
Bahrain’s importance for India stems from
it being the home to more than 3.5 lakh
Indians, the largest expatriate community
in the country. It is part of the six-nation
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
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DECEMBER 2013
Taliban. Also Iranian troops had briefly
assisted the U.S. in 2001.
With respect to Syria, Iran can play a major
role in bringing a settlement in Syria, as Shia
President, Bashar al Assad’s adamant stand
has prevented a settlement and caused over
thousands of deaths in a terrible civil war, over
which Western public opinion is strongly
opposed to military intervention.
With regard to Iraq, Iran already has
considerable influence over PM Nouri al
Maliki, where the illegal 2003 U.S-led invasion
provided space for revived Sunni-Shia tensions
which still cause thousands of deaths every
year. Furthermore, Kurdish and even Sunni
political groups have for some time now
drawn on Iranian advice in forming Iraqi
provincial
coalition
governments
and
resolving disputes.
Countries which were against the Geneva
deal:
However, the Geneva deal has shocked most
West Asian leaders. Saudi Arabia, which sees
Iran as its greatest rival, has openly expressed
its displeasure, but West Asian Arab countries
made no attempt to participate at Geneva.
Since 2008, proposals by Bahrain, Iran and the
former Arab League head Amr Moussa for
regional security talks have met a dead-end.
The standard responses to perceived security
threats, such as using oil wealth to buy more
weapons, even possibly including a nuclear
umbrella, will not help the Arab leaders,
because Iran is already cooperating with the
G6, and increased weapons purchases would
worsen a destabilising arms race.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
As for Israel, which shares many of the Arab
countries’ interests, PM Benjamin Netanyahu
has cautioned that he would do ‘anything
necessary’ to defend his country, and
continues to approve settlements in the
occupied territories.
But Mr. Rouhani has unquestionable
democratic legitimacy, and even if justice for
the Palestinians and democratic reforms in
West Asia seem remote at present, it may not
be long before those two issues are rightly at
the top of the agenda again.
Deal with West not a zero-sum game, Iran
reassures Saudi Arabia
Iran has reached out to Saudi Arabia by
reassuring its regional rival that Iran’s
restoration of harmony with the West in the
aftermath of the recently signed Geneva
accord would not pose any threat to the Arab
nation.
Both the sides working together would
promote peace and stability in the region.
This move follows the anticipation in Iran that
a break in the 34-year cycle of hostility with
the West that began after the 1979 Islamic
Revolution may not be far away after the
signing of the ice-breaking nuclear deal in
Geneva.
However, Iran’s harmony with the West can
be undermined if the wealthy Saudi royals
continue to use their considerable influence in
the region to hurt Iranian interests in
countries, such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, by
playing the sectarian card and encouraging
violence.
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DECEMBER 2013
Iran has assured that the nuclear deal is in
favour of the stability and security of the
region. This assurance holds significance since
prior to the Geneva accord, members of the
Saudi establishment had made it clear that
they stood opposed to the deal.
Iran opposes Afghan-U.S. pact
Iran has firmly opposed the proposed security
pact between Afghanistan and the U.S,
highlighting that differences on crucial issues
between Iran and U.S will persist, despite the
game-changing nuclear deal that was signed in
Geneva in November, 2013. (The Iran’s
position is exactly opposite to the stance
adopted by the West)
According to Iran, the proposed Bilateral
Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghan
and U.S. will not serve the government of
Afghanistan, its people or the region. (The
BSA would give legal backing for a part of
American troops(around of 8,000 to 12,000
troops) to stay beyond 2014, in Afghanistan)
The security pact has stimulated a heated
debate inside Afghanistan and beyond. It is
feared that, the positioning of U.S. forces
would have an impact not only on the stability
of Afghanistan, but of neighbouring countries
as well, including China, Pakistan, India, Iran,
the Central Asian Republics and Russia. It
might also lead to extremism in Afghanistan.
However, the NATO Secretary General has
warned that if Afghan fails to sign the security
deal with the U.S., then NATO would also
withdraw its training and advisory mission in
Afghanistan after 2014.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Afghan’s Prez reaches out to Iran to
counter U.S. pressure on pact
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has
reached out to Iran to counter attempts by the
U.S to push Afghan to sign a security pact that
would keep thousands of U.S. troops on the
ground beyond the official withdrawal
deadline of 2014.
During the President’s visit to Iran, Mr. Karzai
and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani
have decided to sign a comprehensive
“friendship” pact that would also cover
“regional security” issues.
It is said that, Afghanistan has agreed on a
long-term friendship and cooperation pact
with Iran. The pact would be for long-term
political, security, economic and cultural
cooperation, and regional peace.
In tune with this decision, Iran has reinforced
its opposition to the presence of foreign forces
in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The U.S. had earlier warned that it would be
ready to exercise the “zero option” implying
that no troops would be available after 2014, at
a time when Afghan security forces appeared
unready. Working in tandem with the
Americans, NATO has also threatened that its
forces would not supplement U.S troops after
2014, in case a Bilateral Security Agreement
(BSA) was not to be signed.
Iran nuclear deal: Russia, U.S. pushing for
a permanent agreement
The Geneva deal was premised on allowing
Iran to enrich uranium only below 5% purity
in return for limited sanctions relief for a
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DECEMBER 2013
period of six months. Within this time, both
sides are to work out the contours of a
permanent agreement to ensure the peaceful
orientation of the programme in tune with
Iran’s sanctions-free accommodation in the
international economic mainstream.
The intensive talks during the six months
ahead would focus on the parameters of fuel
production by Iran to run nuclear power
stations, research reactors and others
producing isotopes
for medical and
humanitarian purposes.
The Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
has also advocated Iran’s participation in
resolving the Syrian crisis.
In U.S, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State,
battled Congress to dissuade it from passing
another set of stringent sanctions, which were
likely to push Iran to walk out of negotiations,
as Iran had earlier warned that the Iranian
nuclear deal would be dead if the U.S.
Congress imposed new sanctions, even if they
do not take effect for six months.
On the other side, Russia has strongly
supported Iran’s stand, stating the U.S.
decision goes against the spirit of Geneva deal.
The latest sanctions have targeted two
Singapore based firms – Mid Oil Asia, and
Singa Tankers. Mid Oil Asia is accused of
supporting National Iranian Tanker Company
in making money transfers, while Singa
Tankers is charged with helping Tehran to
make ‘urgent payments’.
Despite the latest curbs, the West has sent
mixed signals to Iran in the post-Geneva
phase:
The European Parliament (EP) delegation
arrived in Iran, apparently to explore
possibilities of deepening ties, especially the
European oil companies are to enter Iran’s oil
and gas sector.
Italian Foreign Minister has also planned to
visit Iran, to discuss commercial and political
ties marking the first official outing by an
Italian top diplomat to Iran in nearly 10 years.
Mind-Mapping:
Curbs against the spirit of Geneva deal:
Iran
Iran has slammed the decision by the U.S. to
impose new sanctions, citing it as a step that
undermines the spirit of the recently signed
Geneva nuclear accord, which has promised to
revive Iran’s ties with the West.


What was the agenda of the Geneva deal?
Was the agenda achieved? What next?
What is the significance of the Geneva deal
to Iran and other countries across the
globe (with also India’s perspective)? Was
the deal approved by all? If not which
countries opposed the deal and, what was
the rationale behind the opposition?
Imposition of new sanctions by the U.S.
appeared to have been influenced by the
hardening advocacy in Congress (U.S.
Parliament) of retaining pressure on Iran.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
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DECEMBER 2013
Iran backs deep-sea gas pipeline to India

What is the significance of the gas pipeline to
India?

How would this impact India, Iran, and
Pakistan’s relationship?
India’s approach towards meeting its
energy needs? Steps taken by the govt.
in this regard.
Iran is focusing on
exporting natural gas to
India along a deep-sea
route,
the
move
coinciding
with
the
cancellation of a $500million loan to Islamabad
to build the Pakistani
section of the IranPakistan gas pipeline and
the signing of the Geneva
nuclear accord that could
help
relax
sanctions
against Iran.
Negotiations were held
with
three
Indian
companies for purchase
of gas from Iran, and general agreements have
been reached.

It is a multi-billion-dollar undersea pipeline,
which could carry gas from Iran’s giant South
Pars gas field to India’s west coast. Once
operational, it could channel 31 million cubic
meters of gas per day.
There were no technical hurdles to build the
deep sea pipeline, and the project, which was
financially viable, could be completed in 4-5
years, once the sanctions against Iran are
lifted.
Courtesy
–
http://www1.american.edu/ted/images4/pipeli
ne.gif (image)
Mind – Mapping:
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
SYRIA
India offers help
chemical weapons
to
destroy
Syrian
India, an aspirant to next month’s
international conference on Syria, has offered
the services of its experts to help in
destruction of Damascus’ chemical weapons
arsenal.
In addition, it has offered to contribute $1
million towards this effort by the Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW).
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DECEMBER 2013
India had demonstrated its expertise a couple
of years ago during an exercise in Tunisia.
States and its European allies as partners, to
destroy Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons.
The percentage of Indians in the OPCW
inspection worldwide has always been high
and Indian laboratories, especially the one at
Gwalior.
Russia, which has played a leading role in
convincing Syria to shed chemical arms will
render its assistance in two stages – Russia will
provide material and technical support to first
transport chemical agents on land to the
Syrian port of Latakia. From the Syrian coast,
the stockpile of around 500 tonnes will be
moved along ships that are being mainly
provided by the EU and then it will be
transferred to U.S where the toxic agents
would be destroyed in full compliance with all
environmental requirements
The Indian offer of financial assistance is
timely because a meeting of OPCW’s
Conference of State Parties is underway at The
Hague to consider measures to ensure
compliance with the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC) and decide on the
programme and the scale of financial
contributions to be paid by its members.
While all production facilities in Syria have
shut down, there is this unfinished business of
destroying the chemical weapons stocks, and
destruction.
India is offering its experts not only for
destruction and verification, but to train
personnel participating in the UN/OPCW
mission as well. India is one of the founder
signatories to the CWC and, as a chemical
weapons possessor state, has fully completed
destruction of its weapons in accordance with
the Convention.
(To know more about OPCW, CWC refer
our ‘Insights Current Event Analysis
October, 2013)
Russia to give logistics support for Syria
weapons transfer
Russia has decided to provide naval escorts to
ships ferrying tonnes of material as part of a
multinational exercise, involving the United
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
According to the Pentagon, it would take 4590 days to neutralise the chemical
components used for making mustard gas and
Sarin.
Russia had persuaded Syria to destroy its
chemical weapons after it was accused in
August, 2013 by U.S. and its allies of using
Sarin gas against civilians on the outskirts of
Damascus.
India may make fresh efforts to end Syrian
crisis
India is poised again for a more active role in
Syria, after having been involved in
unsuccessful attempts to resolve the conflict
in that country when it was a non-permanent
member of the United Nations Security
Council for two years.
India would join international efforts to
destroy chemical weapons at Geneva II, the
U.N.-sponsored international conference on
Syria, scheduled in January, 2014. The first
meeting resulted in the Geneva communiqué
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DECEMBER 2013
that supported a political transition without
insisting on President Bashar-al Assad’s exit
and a transition plan. India was also an
Observer in Friends of Syria, a grouping that
tried to push through regime change.
Also there is a possibility that India might join
international efforts to destroy Syria’s
stockpile. The destruction of Syria’s chemical
weapons involves multi-state participation.
India was an early supporter of Russia’s
proposal for keeping Syria’s stockpile of
chemical weapons in safe custody, even while
opposing military intervention and moving
towards a political settlement, possibly with
Geneva-II.
India has also announced its contribution of $1
million to the OPCW. The percentage of
Indians in OPCW inspections worldwide has
always been high and Indian facilities.
Indian experts will help destroy the stockpile
and train other personnel taking part in this
mission. India is one of the foundersignatories to the Chemical Weapons
Convention and has destroyed its weapons in
accordance with the Convention.
ISRAEL
Protests across
settlement
Israel
over
Bedouin
Thousands of Bedouin demonstrators and
their supporters clashed with the police across
Israel as they protested a government plan to
regulate Bedouin settlement in the Negev
desert. This reminded of the Palestinian
uprisings in the West Bank.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Activists had called for the protests as part of
an international ‘day of rage’ against the plan,
known as the Prawer-Begin plan. A bill that
would turn the plan into law is expected to be
brought to a final vote during the next session
of Parliament.
Since the foundation of the state of Israel in
1948, the land disputes between the Bedouins
and the authorities remained. Hence in order
to resolve the dispute, the plan proposes a
mechanism to deal with land ownership
claims and compensation. It also calls for the
evacuation of 35 Bedouin villages that are not
recognised by the state and the resettlement
of the residents in existing or new towns.
The Human rights organisations opposing the
plan say it will involve the forcible relocation
of 30,000 to 40,000 Bedouins, dispossessing
them of their historic land rights. The plan
was created without sufficient input by the
Bedouins, and that it discriminates between
the Bedouin and Jewish residents of the
Negev.
A third to half of the 170,000 or so Negev
Bedouins live in unrecognised villages that are
not connected to the state water or electricity
networks.
It has been argued that, the Bedouin of the
Negev, being equal citizens, deserve adequate
housing, public services and a better future for
their children.
Israel allows transfer of materials for U.N.
projects
Under pressure from the United Nations (UN)
amid a mounting economic and humanitarian
crisis in the Gaza Strip, Israel has agreed to
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DECEMBER 2013
restart the transfer of construction materials
to Gaza on after an eight-week hiatus.
The transfers would resume with a new
“supervision and control mechanism” to
ensure the materials would be used only for
United Nations building projects. The building
supplies will be allowed in only for U.N.
projects, which employ a fraction of the
thousands of construction workers who have
been idled, and negotiations to resolve Gaza’s
fuel shortage have not yielded significant
results.
Gaza, home to 1.7 million Palestinians, has
been struggling since the summer to cope
with the current Egyptian government’s
closing of hundreds of smuggling tunnels
through which the strip received steel, gravel
and cheap diesel fuel, as well as consumer
products.
The situation worsened in November, 2013
when Hamas shut down Gaza’s lone power
plant because of a shortage of electricity and
cheap fuel from Egypt, stretching blackouts up
to 18 hours a day and causing raw sewage to
flood some streets because pumping stations
could not operate.
Israel suspended delivery of construction
materials in mid-October after discovering a
1.5-mile tunnel from Gaza into its territory
that it feared would be used to kidnap or
attack Israelis.
Gisha, an Israeli organisation that promotes
access to Gaza, said Israel began allowing
some construction materials in three years ago
for international projects.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The international community is appropriately
worried about Gaza’s humanitarian situation,
but Gaza’s dependence on foreign aid stems in
large part from Israeli restrictions on
economic development. So it is said that, if
people in Gaza were permitted to maintain
and grow their economy, then they would
need far less humanitarian assistance.
AFRICA
(As a ‘tribute’ to a Great Leader and
Human Being we have included this article
on Nelson Mandela !! )
The world has lost one of the greatest figures of
the 20th century in the passing of Nelson
Mandela, iconic revolutionary who ended
apartheid in South Africa. Africa’s last great
statesman, Mandela presided over a largely
peaceful political transition and stepped aside
after only one term in power.
He was the first black President of South Africa
and under his aegis, the country dismantled the
institutional legacy of apartheid and racism. He
remained the country’s moral compass in the
silence of his twilight in much the same way he
served as the liberation movement’s rallying cry
through 27 years of incarceration.
He appointed a Truth and Reconciliation
Commission that might have fallen short of
conclusively addressing apartheid-era atrocities
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DECEMBER 2013
but saved the nation from a descent into
bloodshed.
The former President is being mourned across
the nation. His loss is most acutely felt at the
headquarters of the African National Congress
(ANC), the party he joined in 1943 and
subsequently led to electoral victory in 1994. In
a manner reminiscent of the Indian National
Congress (INC) in post-Independence India, the
ANC has long used Mandela’s name and
liberation credentials to cement its position as
the natural party of government. The prolonged
and often bitter row between the government,
his heirs and sections of the party about his
hospitalisation, burial site and memorial
foundation
underscored
his
continued
importance to the ANC’s project of political
hegemony long after his retirement.
Mandela’s death comes at the time when the
ANC is preparing for an election that may see
its share of the vote fall below 60%, illustrating
creeping voter discontent. Moving forward, the
ANC’s greatest challenge is likely to be the
“born frees”, a generation of South Africans
born after the collapse of the hated colonial
regime, who are less susceptible to the party’s
emotive message of liberation.
For these young citizens, the most poignant
reminder of oppression is the one that Mr.
Mandela did not address — land, natural
resources and the ownership of Africa’s richest
economy. Rather than democratising the
economy, Mr. Mandela’s successors have used
so-called black empowerment programmes to
enrich a tiny elite, creating space for a mass
politics as espoused by Julius Malema, a
firebrand former ANC Youth League leader who
has launched his own political front, the
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Mr. Malema
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
is himself facing charges of corruption,
suggesting the EFF may not be the ANC’s most
potent foe.
Statesmen are forged and ultimately limited by
the circumstances of their struggles. By leading
his country out of the horrors of racial
segregation, Mr. Mandela has won his place in
history. His successors must now seek their
own.
(Courtesy
–
Hindu Newspaper)
CONGO
U.N. launches drones in DR Congo
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the
Democratic Republic of Congo has officially
launched a surveillance drone in the strifetorn northeast in the first such move by the
United Nations.
The U.N. mission in the DR Congo,
MONUSCO, currently has two such drones.
The drones, which are unarmed and
exclusively equipped for surveillance flights,
are intended to help the U.N.to watch over
North Kivu, a mineral-rich province prey to
dozens of armed movements, which
MONUSCO troops have been ordered to
neutralise, including by force.
The aircraft will also be used to survey the
porous borders between North Kivu and
Rwanda and Uganda, in a bid to prevent these
countries from providing support to groups
inside DR Congo. However, Rwanda and
Uganda have denied the charges of backing
the M23.
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DECEMBER 2013
The U.N. accused both neighbouring countries
of backing a powerful rebel group, the M23,
which surrendered in November, 2013 after a
joint assault by the Congolese army and a new
UN special intervention brigade.
ethnic
contest
for
More
about
MONUSCO
–
UNO
Stabilization Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo
MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN
peacekeeping operation – the United Nations
Organization Mission in Democratic Republic
of the Congo (MONUC) – on 1 July 2010.
The new mission was authorized to use all
necessary means to carry out its mandate
relating, among other things, to the protection
of civilians, humanitarian personnel and
human rights defenders under imminent
threat of physical violence and to support the
Government of the DRC in its stabilization
and peace consolidation efforts.
Future reconfigurations of MONUSCO would
be determined as the situation evolved on the
ground, including: the completion of ongoing
military operations in North and South Kivu
as well as the Orientale provinces; improved
government capacity to protect the population
effectively; and the consolidation of state
authority throughout the territory.
political supremacy, but a larger tussle for the
control and diversion of South Sudan’s rich
energy and mineral resources.
This has also resulted in death of three Indian
UN peacekeepers.
More than 500 people have so far been killed
amid fears that a civil war may be on the
cards.
The fighting has coincided with attacks on
certain oil companies, signalling that the
brewing political struggle could mask a larger
tussle for control over the country’s resources.
Land-locked South Sudan exports around
220,000 barrels a day from reserves that are
the third highest after Nigeria and Angola in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Courtesyhttp://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/5414
5000/gif/_54145841_southsudan_map.gif
(image)
Courtesy – http://monusco.unmissions.org/
(To know more about disputes in Congo &
M23 refer our ‘Insights Current Event
Analysis October, 2013)
South Sudan flare-up
South Sudan is in turmoil once again- the
reason behind is not because of the interhttp://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
More about South Sudan & Sudan’s
Conflict:
South Sudan gained independence from
Sudan on 9 July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005
peace deal that ended Africa’s longest-running
civil war.
Page 82
DECEMBER 2013
An overwhelming majority of South Sudanese
voted in a January 2011 referendum to secede
and become Africa’s first new country since
Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1993.
The new nation stands to benefit from
inheriting the bulk of Sudan’s oil wealth, but
continuing disputes with Khartoum and a lack
of economic development cloud its immediate
future.
Long based on subsistence agriculture, South
Sudan’s economy is now highly oil-dependent.
While an estimated 75% of all the former
Sudan’s oil reserves are in South Sudan, the
refineries and the pipeline to the Red Sea are
in Sudan.
In January 2012, the breakdown of talks on the
sharing of oil revenues led South Sudan to halt
oil production and halve public spending on
all but salaries.
A deal in March 2013 provided for Sudan to
resume pumping South Sudanese oil in May,
and created a demilitarised border zone.
Despite the potential oil wealth, South Sudan
is one of Africa’s least developed countries.
However, the years since the 2005 peace
accord ushered in an economic revival and
investment
in
utilities
and
other
infrastructure.
Courtesy- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worldafrica-14069082
Neighbours step up peace efforts in South
Sudan
Heavy fighting between government forces
and rebels was raging in South Sudan’s key oilproducing north, as neighbouring Kenya and
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Ethiopia stepped up efforts to broker an end
to the civil war.
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has
said that, troops loyal to President Salva Kiir
were battling forces allied to former VicePresident Riek Machar inside the town of
Malakal, capital of the Upper Nile State. The
troops were preparing an offensive against
Bentiu, the main town in oil-rich Unity State,
to follow on from their recapture of Bor,
another State capital that had fallen into rebel
hands during the nearly two weeks of clashes
in the world’s youngest nation.
Crisis in South Sudan and its international
implications
Though South Sudan became independent
from the Republic of the Sudan in 2011, the
future of the new nation was always uncertain.
The conflict now raging in the world’s
youngest state has serious regional and
international implications
Just as Eritrea, which obtained its
independence from Ethiopia in 1991 but has
been deeply troubled ever since, this current
conflict is about ‘poor political leadership’
within a country that is still in need of a
massive state-building exercise.
The violence, fighting and displacement that
broke out on 15 December, 2013 was not a
deliberate coup, but the result of deteriorating
relations between the President, Salva Kiir,
and his ex-Vice President, Riek Machar. Mr.
Kiir has become increasingly authoritarian
over the past 18 months when the president
tried to take fuller control of the republican
guard, this developed into a standoff that
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DECEMBER 2013
sparked what in effect became an accidental
coup.
Mind-mapping:

Until this new crisis erupted, international
engagement was focused on the border issues
with Sudan and encouraging Mr. Kiir to
reconcile with his former enemy, President alBashir of Sudan.

What are the necessary/basic conditions for
a newly independent nation to progress?
(Think interms of political, economic and
social angle)
Though most of the African countries are
rich in resources, they are considered to be
less developed. Why?
What implications would the Sudan crisis
have on the regional and the international
fora?
The role of other countries in halting the
crisis?
There is also an ethnic dimension playing out
between Nuer and Dinka- the president is a
Dinka, while Mr. Machar represents the Nuer.
This is nothing new for South Sudan, as interethnic tensions have been a feature of the
political landscape here long before
independence but the discovery of three mass
graves by the UN in recent days signal how
quickly this crisis has deepened.

Mr. Kiir has deployed his army to fight
supporters of Machar. Thousands have been
killed and tens of thousands internally
displaced by this fighting. A major crisis is
looming and humanitarian access is now the
most immediate international preoccupation.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, has
chosen India as the destination of his first visit
to Asia .This signifies an important step in
taking the relationship of the two countries
further.

EGYPT
Egypt to expand ties with India
Following which the UN had announced it is
doubling its forces on the ground, and the
leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia have also visited
South Sudan’s capital, Juba to try to halt the
fighting.
The
crisis
has
already
internationalised
with
Ugandan
troop
intervention.
As the regime in Egypt prepares for a
referendum in January, 2014 on a new pattern
of government, India is looking to take
forward discussions held during ousted
President Mohamed Morsy’s visit especially in
the areas of defence, long term oil supply
arrangements, joint ventures in refining and
fertilizers and greater cooperation in science
and technology.
What is most depressing for South Sudan is
that whether Mr. Kiir succeeds militarily over
Mr. Machar or there is a negotiated
compromise, the country is likely to become
more autocratic.An elite power struggle within
the tiny leadership looks to be drawing the
whole country into a full civil war that is
rapidly developing ethnic dimensions.
The two Foreign Ministers (India & Egypt) also
discussed specific issues related to enhancing
economic cooperation, including need to ease
work permit regulations for professionals.
Currently, the bilateral trade was $5.4 billion.
India is the third largest destination of
Egyptian exports ($2.6 billion) and Egypt is the
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 84
DECEMBER 2013
11th largest destination of Indian exports ($2.9
billion).
The Indian government has also approved to
establish a Centre of Excellence in Information
Technology at Al Azhar University in Cairo.
The centre, which will be set up as project
under the India-Africa Forum Summit, is
planned for completion in a year after the
confirmation of infrastructure by the host
institution. Once completed, it will be able to
train 500 students annually.
Egypt declares Muslim Brotherhood a
terrorist group
Egypt’s military-installed government has
declared the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted
president Mohamed Morsy a “terrorist” group
banning all its activities (even protests‘strikes’)
The decision is likely to accelerate a
crackdown on the movement that has killed
more than 1,000 people, mostly Islamists, in
street clashes and imprisoned thousands since
Mr. Morsy’s overthrow by the military in July,
2013.
However, Mr. Morsy’s supporters, who
continue
to
organise
demonstrations
demanding his reinstatement, insist they are
for peaceful protest.
EUROPE
Pro-EU Ukrainians have defied a ban on
protests and fears of police violence in Kiev to
push for early elections after President Viktor
Yanukovych rejected a historic EU pact.
The ex-Soviet nation was thrown into its
deepest crisis since the 2004 pro-democracy
Orange
Revolution
when
Yanukovych
shunned the EU leaders at a Vilnius summit
recently and opted to keep Ukraine aligned
with its former master Russia.
The government’s decision has sparked off
mass demonstrations that has turned violent.
The protestors have demanded for early
elections as well as a countrywide strike,
including daily rallies aimed at blocking the
entrance to the Ukrainian government seat in
the capital.
They were defying a ban suddenly imposed by
Kiev’s (Ukrain’s capital) main administrative
court on all protests on the Kiev’s iconic
Independence Square s and its surrounding
streets until January 7, 2014.
While the U.S. and the German authorities
have called on the Ukrainian government to
ensure freedom of assembly and to protect the
peaceful demonstrators from any kind of
intimidation and violence. The jailed former
PM Yulia Tymoshenko (Yanukovych rival)
whose release was a condition for signing the
EU deal has called on Ukrainians to press
ahead with their fight.
Massive protest in Kiev (Ukraine)
UKRAINE
Pro-EU Ukrainians defy protest ban
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Several
hundred
thousand
Ukrainians
occupied a central square in the capital
denouncing President Viktor Yanukovych’s
Page 85
DECEMBER 2013
decision to turn away from Europe and align
this former Soviet republic with Russia.
According to critics, Ukraine is on the verge of
entering a Russian-led customs union that
could end its sovereignty and place it back
under Moscow’s rule.
Struggle in Ukraine reflects larger battle
between Europe and Russia
There has been uprising in Kiev (Ukraine)
over the Ukraine President’s refusal to sign
far-reaching political and trade accords with
the European Union (EU).
The West is regrouping after Russia and its
hard realpolitik out manoeuvred Europe,
which had relied on its soft power.
For both sides, the stakes are high. Western
Europe is emerging from a five-year fiscal
depression and is intent on renewing the
eastward export of Western values; Russia is
intent on blocking that advance and guarding
its sphere of influence.
The Russia had threatened trade sanctions if
Ukraine signed the pact with the EU. Russia
also indicated a potential willingness to spend
billions in a bailout for Ukraine, to protect its
military and financial interests, which include
Black Sea naval bases and transnational gas
pipelines.
Whereas, the Western countries, by contrast,
had mostly confined themselves on insisting
that the Ukraine President to listen to his
many citizens who want closer ties to Western
Europe.
President Vladimir Putin has come with a plan
to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian bonds and slash
Kiev’s bill (Ukraine) for Russian gas imports,
in a boost for President Viktor Yanukovych as
he faces a huge protests over a rejected EU
pact.
Russia also agreed to remove trade barriers it
put up at the start of the year when it seemed
that Ukraine was on the verge of signing a
historic trade and political association
agreement with Brussels that would have
pulled it out of Russia’s orbit for the first time.
The help from Russia may allow Ukraine to
avoid the threat of an imminent balance of
payments (BoP) crisis and possible default
amid a recession that has seen the economy
shrink since the first half of 2012.
Mind-Mapping:


Strategic importance of Ukraine to Russia
and the West.
Russian appeasement of its former USSR
satellite states. Strategic Implications of
Russian strong hold in the region (Central
Asia).
KOSOVO
Kosovo, as an independent nation
Kosovo had declared independence from
Serbia in 2008. However it is still not Kosovo
is recognised by the United States and a
majority of EU members. But five, including
Spain, which is battling separatist movements
of its own, refuse to recognise it.
Russia slashes gas price, to help Ukraine
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 86
DECEMBER 2013
Serbia is also vehemently against
recognising Kosovo’s independence,
and Russia, a staunch Serbian ally and a
veto-wielding member of the U.N.
Security Council, has blocked Kosovo’s
U.N. membership, stifling its economic
and political development.
deep
balance
of
Mind-mapping:


Is Kosovo an independent country?
Issue with Kosovo.
Why has there been an opposition for
Kosovo’s independent status? Stakeholders
involved- what are their reasons for
supporting as well as opposing Kosovo’s
independent status? Stand taken by the
United Nations (U.N) in this regard?
Courtesy
–
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e
5/Kosovo_1913-1992_CIA.jpg (image)
IRELAND
Ireland gets final IMF payout as it exits
rescue
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has
approved the 12th and last review of Ireland’s
progress under its three-year rescue program
allowing a final $890 million in support of its
financial rebuilding.
Ireland has pulled back from an exceptionally
deep banking crisis, significantly improved its
fiscal position, and regained its access to the
international financial markets.
payments crisis as the country along with
many others across Europe struggled in the
economic downturn.
Challenges ahead:
Ireland still faces significant economic
challenges. Unemployment is too high, public
debt sustainability remains fragile and heavy
private sector debts and banks’ slow progress
in resolving nonperforming loans weigh on
domestic demand.
Continued concerted policy implementation is
therefore necessary for Ireland to recover fully
from the crisis.
Mind-mapping:


Role and function of IMF and its relevance
in the contemporary world (relevance to
India)?
What was Euro-crisis all about? Reasons
behind it? Its impact on India and other
developing countries?
SOUTH AMERICA
The IMF along with the European
Commission, Denmark, Sweden and Britain
took part in the €85-billion ($117 billion)
rescue of the country, which aimed to stop a
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
URUGUAY
Uruguay legalizes marijuana
Page 87
DECEMBER 2013
Though consumption of marijuana is allowed
in some countries, Uruguay has become the
first country in the world to allow its citizens
to grow and sell it. It involves a big cultural
change that focuses on public health and the
fight against drug trafficking.
This experiment is being watched by several
countries, which are getting tired of the U.S.led “war on drugs” and working on drug
liberalisation policies.
NORTH AMERICA
CANADA
India-Canada Bilateral relationship: Civil
Nuclear ties, Energy Security, Investment
India and Canada are aiming for closer
partnerships in civil nuclear energy and
hydrocarbons with the dissipation of distrust
that kept them estranged for 40 years after
India had conducted a nuclear test in 1974.
In hydrocarbons tie-up, India will take first
cargo of oil sourced from Canada’s east coast
from the beginning of next year (January
2014). Indian refiners are interested in
importing Alberta blended bitumen from its
Saint John terminal. Canada’s ice-free marine
terminal at Saint John would cater for Very
Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), thus making
transportation economical. (This would help
Indian refiners as this product would be
significant.)
This relationship would be supplemented with
a “collaborative approach” in the civil nuclear
sector, decks for which have been cleared with
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
the signing of a civil nuclear accord and
finalising of administrative arrangements.
(Canada’s ties in the nuclear sphere had begun
in the mid-1950s and lasted till India’s first
nuclear test in 1974.)
India and Canada have just completed an
energy dialogue which has been elevated from
the bureaucratic to ministerial level.
The idea of developing shale oil and gas,
mainly by the U.S. and Canada, has galvanized
the geopolitics of the energy market. Three
scenarios might emerge. First, the lowered gas
prices will force key producers to readjust
production and they may consider forming a
cartel; second, gas may begin to be
independently priced; and third, this
independent pricing would ultimately have an
effect on oil prices.
Also Canada is rich in Uranium, which would
help India in its Energy security.
Both Prime Ministers had set the bilateral
trade target at $15 billion by the end of 2015
fiscal. It would be assisted by a
Comprehensive
Economic
Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) (currently the negotiations
for CEPA is going on). And with regard to
Investments – Canadian pension funds are
looking at India’s infrastructure requirements.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
(CPPIB) had already announced investment of
$200 million.
To know more about CEPA, CECA refer our
Insights Current Events Analysis, October 2013.
Mind-mapping:
Page 88
DECEMBER 2013





Reasons behind the distrust between the
two countries (India & Canada) that kept
them estranged for 40 years.
India’s approach towards meeting its
energy needs? Steps taken by GOI in this
regard.
Significance of CEPA, CECA. Difference
between the two? The countries with
which India has signed the pacts?
What do you understand by ‘geo-politics’?
Significance of Geopolitics? Strategic
relationship between the two countries?
India’s Nuclear Energy program.
of its zone. The eastern and western limits of
its ADIZ have not been expanded.
Tensions
rise as U.S. moves missile
KOREA
South Korea expands air defence zone
South Korea has expanded its Air Defence
Identification Zone (ADIZ) for the first time in
six decades, in an apparent response to
China’s decision to set up its first such zone
over disputed parts of the East China Sea.
Underlining how China’s decision has
heightened regional tensions and has
increased the likelihood of an incident in the
contested skies over northeastern Asia, South
Korea’s newly expanded ADIZ will overlap
with northern areas of China’s zone.
An ADIZ is not a territorial claim, but a
defined area in international space within
which countries monitor and track aircraft
that are heading towards territorial airspace.
interceptor batteries to Guam
The probability of a nuclear exchange between
North Korea and other nations including the
U.S. has increased further after Pentagon (U.S
military institution). has announced that it
would be mobilising ground-based THAAD
missile-interceptor batteries (The THAAD
system includes a truck-mounted launcher
and interceptor missiles) to protect its military
bases on Guam, a U.S. territory located 3,380
km southeast of North Korea and home to
6,000
American
military
personnel,
submarines and bombers.
The move has been condemned by North
Korea has U.S. aggression and has warned that
a war could break out ‘today or tomorrow’.
S.Korea’s announcement was seen as an
attempt to bolster its control over parts of the
East China Sea surrounding the Leodo reef,
which, earlier, lay beyond the southern edge
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Page 89
DECEMBER 2013
Courtesy
–
http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/04/03/
map_asia_korea_guam_620x_1.jpg (image 1)
Related Information:
Background:
Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898.
Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was
retaken by the US three years later. The
military installation on the island is one of the
most strategically important US bases in the
Pacific.
However, Pentagon has argued that its
deployment would only strengthen U.S.
regional defence posture against the North
Korean regional ballistic missile threat.
The North Korean military cautioned that it
had received final approval for military action
against the U.S., particularly responding to
what it called the ‘provocative U.S. use of
nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers
in ongoing war games with South Korea.’
Even U.S. Defence Secretary has declared that
North Korea posed “a real and clear danger” to
South Korea, Japan and America, and it is
allegedly that the untested North Korean
Musudan missile had a theoretical range of
3,000 km and this could put all of South Korea
and Japan within its reach.
North Korea, meanwhile has held firm to its
blockade of the South from the Kaesong
factory park run, which both nations operate
jointly.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific
Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from
Hawaii to the Philippines. Guam is the largest
and southernmost island in the Marianas
Archipelago.
Today Guam is an unincorporated, organized
territory of the United States. The people of
Guam have been U.S. citizens since 1950.
Guam’s economy is based on tourism and
U.S. military spending (U.S. naval and air force
bases occupy one-third of the land on Guam).
Courtesyhttp://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcus
gu.htm
Courtesyhttp://www.infoplease.com/country/guam.ht
ml
Mind-Mapping:

Identification in the map of all the places in
the region (North Korea, South Korea,
Guam etc).Ill effects these confrontations
might cause in the region.
Page 90
DECEMBER 2013

Indian view point of the growing tensions in
the region, Indian interests in the region
and with the countries involved. Example
for US intrusionist tendencies in Asian
conflicts.
Leading authors call for bill of digital
rights
Over 500 leading authors across the world,
including five Nobel laureates, signed an open
letter challenging the global mass surveillance
of Internet and telephone communications by
the U.S. National Security Agency, describing
the Agency’s snooping as a “theft” of data and
a force undermining democratic principles.
Hailing from 81 different nations the authors,
including Margaret Atwood, J.M. Coetzee,
OrhanPamuk, and Günter Grass called on the
U.N. to create an international “bill of digital
rights” that would enshrine the protection of
civil rights in the Internet age.
They argued that the capacity of intelligence
agencies to spy on millions of people’s digital
communications is turning everyone into
potential suspects, with worrying implications
for the way societies work.
They further demanded the right for people to
determine “to what extent their personal data
may be legally collected, stored and processed,
and by whom; to obtain information on where
their data is stored and how it is being used; to
obtain the deletion of their data if it has been
illegally collected and stored.”
(The signatories comprised 22 Indian authors
including AmitavGhosh, Arundhati Roy,
GirishKarnad, JeetThayil, MukulKesavan,
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
RamchandraGuha, TishaniDoshi, SalilTripathi
and Suketu Mehta.)
Just recently had the chief executives of
‘leading tech firms’ such as Apple, Google,
Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft urged for
sweeping changes to surveillance programmes
to stop the erosion of public trust.
Relevance to India:
A principle likely to be relevant to India’s
concerns about the NSA’s surveillance is the
alliance’s (leading tech firms) argument that
‘Governments should not require service
providers to locate infrastructure within a
country’s borders or operate locally.’
India was also keen on having e-mail service
providers located within its territory and
under its control.
G8 aims to find dementia cure by 2025
At a summit of Health Ministers and experts
in London, G8 members have decided to work
together to find a cure or modifying therapy
for dementia by 2025.
The G8 countries have agreed to significantly
increase funding, develop a co-ordinated
international research plan and encourage
open access to research and information.
They also called on the World Health
Organization (WHO) to recognize dementia
as “an increasing threat to global health” and
urged society to continue and to enhance
global efforts to reduce stigma, exclusion and
fear.
Dementia, which impairs cognitive ability,
affects 36 million people around the world and
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DECEMBER 2013
the WHO expects this number to almost
double every two decades as the population
ages.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tpopinion/nationalism-and-freepress/article5438257.ece
More about G8:
The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the
governments of eight of the world’s largest
national economies as nominal GDP with
higher Human Development Index; not
included are India at 9th, Brazil at 7th and
China at 2nd.
The forum originated with a 1975 summit
hosted by France that brought together
representatives of six governments: France,
the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan,
the United Kingdom, and the United States;
later Canada and Russia joined the group to
make it G8.
Lately, both France and the United Kingdom
have expressed a desire to expand the group to
include five developing countries, referred to
as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five:
Brazil (7th country in the world by nominal
GDP), People’s Republic of China (2nd
country in the world by GDP), India (9th
country in the world by GDP), Mexico, and
South
Africa.
These
countries
have
participated as guests in previous meetings,
which are sometimes called G8+5.
CourtesyWikipedia
http://www.g8.utoronto.ca
ECONOMICS
&
WTO: A good start in Bali, but biggest
battle lies ahead.
For a good article on ‘Nationalism and free
press’, refer the below link-
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The WTO’s relevance was fading away, with
countries forging bilateral trade pacts and
powerful regional trade agreements, especially
in the developed world.
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DECEMBER 2013
But the recent trade agreement (also the ‘firstever’ trade agreement) reached in Bali has
been seen as a big-boost to multilateralism.
The agreement is designed to simplify
customs procedures and lower trade barriers
between
countries.
The
International
Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the
Bali deal will cut trade costs by 10-15% even as
it adds an estimated $1 trillion to global trade.
How realistic these numbers are will only be
proved in the years ahead, but there is little
doubt that global trade will get a significant
boost from the Bali agreement.
In a sense, the emergence of regional trade
blocs which was seen as a threat to the WTO
eventually proved to be its saviour as
emerging economies such as India, Brazil,
South Africa and Russia, realised the WTO
was critical to their interests.
The unyielding stance of India on protecting
its farm subsidies which are set to increase
following the enactment of the Food Security
Act did cause some friction amongst the
member-countries and at one stage even
seemed set to hold up an eventual agreement.
The ‘interim mechanism’ devised will allow
India to continue with its agricultural support
price programme undisturbed until a final
solution is negotiated. A phase of difficult and
tactful negotiations is ahead for India, as it
seeks to get its farm subsidy programme into
the WTO framework; support from other
developing countries with similar programmes
is crucial here. Indeed, from a larger
perspective, the agreement at Bali is just the
beginning. A lot of hard work lies ahead for
the WTO, and the WTO chairman Mr.
Azevedo too has acknowledged this.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Trade negotiators need to carry forward the
positive momentum built up at Bali as they
seek to push through the Doha Round agenda.
This will not be easy though, as negotiators
will have to contend with regional groupings
such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which
involves the U.S., Japan and ten other Pacific
Rim countries, and the powerful trans-Atlantic
alliance between the U.S. and the European
Union, negotiations for which are now on. Bali
may have infused life into the WTO but its
biggest battles lie ahead.
Mind-mapping:







Which kind of relationship – Multilateral &
Bilateral is better for the developing world
and why?
Why are regional trade blocks seen as a
threat to WTO? Do you agree?
What was the agenda of the Doha round of
negotiations? Why was it stalled all these
years? What were the demands of developed
and the developing countries?
Relevance of WTO in the 21st century.
Why was India against the ‘peace clause’
that was mooted by the developed countries,
especially U.S?
What impact it would have on developing
countries? What kind of farm subsidies are
provided in India and how does it violate
WTO commitments? What kinds of
subsidies are provided by developed nations
and why does it now violate WTO rules?
Impact on Indian agriculture and farmers if
the demands on subsidy cut are agreed.
The real winners at Bali
At the 9th Ministerial meeting (on December
6th, 2013) at Bali in Indonesia, trade Ministers,
representing the 159 members of the World
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DECEMBER 2013
Trade Organization (WTO), managed to reach
an agreement. The fact that an agreement was
finally possible was seen as more significant
than the issues on which a consensus was
reached. This is because the WTO and the
Doha round, in particular, was losing its
relevance off-late.
Days before the Bali meet, discussions, among
trade officials, were leading to nowhere. It was
widely feared that the Bali ministerial would
go the way of all its predecessors.
The Doha development round was launched
way back in 2001, soon after the terrorist
attack in the U.S. in a bold move to infuse
confidence in world trade. There were number
of negotiations that took place during the 12long years yet it failed to produce a single
agreement.
WTO’s
relevance,
especially
Doha
negotiations and the very basis of multilateral
trade that the WTO has been propagating was
being questioned. Thus, as member-countries
started reposing faith in bilateral agreements
among countries and regional pacts to reap
short-term gains, world trade was getting
divided, making the eventual move towards
multilateral trade that much more difficult.
India and other developing countries, even
while actively pursuing the bilateral route and
regional pacts, had every reason to worry over
the long-term consequences of the drift away
from multilateral trade.
In many ways, the Bali agreement was driven
by a fear that the big emerging economies
would be left out of two giant trade pacts in
the offing. Specifically, the U.S. and the EU
have launched negotiations to conclude a
trans-atlantic trade agreement. Japan and ten
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
other Pacific Rim countries are getting close to
finalising a Trans-Pacific Partnership. India,
Indonesia, Brazil and Russia were unlikely to
figure in the above pacts. But with a revived
WTO, now the emerging economies can have
a voice in the global trade.
Role of the new WTO Secretary-General,
Roberto Azevedo:
The role of the new WTO Secretary-General,
Roberto Azevedo, has been very significant.
Before
the
Bali
meet,
there
were
apprehensions that a career diplomat from
Brazil, a developing country, would not quite
fit the role. Neither the E.U. nor the U.S. had
backed his candidature unequivocally. In
these circumstances, Mr. Azevedo pulled off a
deal, which, under WTO rules, requires
unanimous support from all members.
A revived WTO is good for all countries. Its
success in years to come will depend how the
more intractable parts of the Doha round are
taken care of.
Implications on India:
The Bali Declaration has major implications
for India and other developing countries. Of
the two main issues ‘food security’ and ‘trade
facilitation’ on which the agreement was
reached, the former concerns India and other
developing countries, which need to subsidise
food for the poor, while the latter is significant
for developed and developing countries
The core discussions on agriculture centred on
two viewpoints on the price benchmark for
the valuation of food stocks that a country can
legally hold. India wanted current prices to be
the basis, but that was not acceptable to the
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DECEMBER 2013
U.S. and many others. Among other reasons, it
would involve amending the Uruguay Round
agreements. India, as an alternative, proposed
an interim solution.
what the TRAI had suggested. The
Empowered Group of Ministers has approved
the price recommended by the Commission.
EGoM approves M&A norms for telecom
The U.S. suggestion for a sunset clause of four
years was not acceptable to India. A final deal
was struck to have an interim agreement until
a more permanent arrangement was worked
out. So, obviously, many more rounds of
discussions are on the cards.
SPECTRUM PRICING::
Government expects spectrum auction to
meet target
The government is confident that spectrum
auction in January, 2014 will be successful and
meet the revenue target of Rs. 40,000 crore.
Significantly, post-2G scam, two auctions
failed to attract companies and garner the
projected revenues. For the January auction,
the Dept. of Telecom has set a total revenue
target of Rs. 40,874.5 crore, including auction
amount, one-time spectrum charge and
annual regular licence fee.
Telecom experts and mobile companies fear
the higher spectrum price might hinder the
government’s projected target.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) had recommended up to 60 % cut in
the auction reserve price in the 900 MHz band
in the Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles. And
it had suggested a 37 % cut in the reserve price
in the 1800 MHz band.
Later, the Telecom Commission had suggested
hiking the reserve price of pan-India spectrum
by 15 and 25 % higher in important circles over
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM)
on Telecom, has approved the ‘mergers and
acquisitions’ (M&A) guidelines, besides
clearing the sale of over 400 MHz of 2G
spectrum (1800 MHz band ), a move that
would help further growth and consolidation
of the cellular phone market in the country.
The clearance of 400 MHz of 2G spectrum is
valued at about Rs.36,000 crore, as per the
reserve price recommended by the Telecom
Commission,
the
Department
of
Telecommunications’ highest decision-making
body.
The Telecom Commission had already
approved the draft M&A guidelines, which
says that the market share of a merged entity
should not exceed 50% of the subscriber base.
Union Cabinet clears spectrum prices
The Union Cabinet has approved the reserved
prices for spectrum sale as recommended by
the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM)
on telecom Rs.1,765 crore per MHz pan-India
for 1800 MHz band and Rs.360 crore, Rs.328
crore and Rs.125 crore per MHz in metro
service areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata,
respectively, for 900 MHz band.
Notably, the spectrum prices were 26% lower
than the base price in case of 1800 MHz band
and 53% less in 900 MHz band than the
previous auction prices. The government is
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DECEMBER 2013
hoping to garner over Rs.48,000 crore from
the spectrum sale slated in January, 2014.
The decisions will result in further efficient
utilisation of the scarce natural resource of
spectrum facilitating expansion of telecom
services in the country.
(The EGoM, headed by Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram, had suggested the minimum
price for the auction of spectrum in the 1800
MHz band at a 15 % higher rate than
suggested by the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) at Rs.1,496 crore.)
GAS PRICING::
Revenue-sharing norm for oil sector as per
recommendation
of
Rangarajan
Committee & CAG
The Finance Ministry has asked the Petroleum
and Natural Gas Ministry to formulate a
proposal for inter-Ministerial consultations on
the revenue sharing arrangement suggested by
the Rangarajan Committee for the oil and gas
sector.
In the 2013 Budget speech the Finance
Minister had stated that oil and gas
exploration contracts would be awarded on a
revenue-sharing basis, shifting from the
current profit-sharing one.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG),
in its report in 2012, had strongly pitched for
shifting to a revenue-sharing formula, stating
that the current production-sharing contracts
(PSCs) provided for explorers to first recover
all of their capital and operating expenditure
before sharing profits with the government
under a specific formula. However, gas
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
producers have strongly opposed to the new
formula. But the Finance Ministry is keen that
the new formula should be adopted for the oil
and gas blocks offering under New
Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) Round X,
expected in 2014.
The CAG had, in its report, criticised the
Petroleum Ministry and the DirectorateGeneral of Hydrocarbons for having failed to
protect the government’s financial interests,
and had called for structural changes in the
present PSCs for the management of
hydrocarbon exploration and production,
involving the private sector.
Under the revenue-sharing model, there is no
element of cost-recovery, and the government
and the operator will share revenues according
to a pre-determined formula.
Double taxation Avoidance Agreement
(DTAA)
What is Double Taxation?
Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or
more jurisdictions on the same declared income
(in the case of income taxes), asset (in the case
of capital taxes), or financial transaction (in
the case of sales taxes). This double liability is
often mitigated by tax treaties between
countries.
What is Double Tax Avoidance Agreement
(DTAA)?
DTAA also referred as Tax Treaty is a bilateral
economic agreement between two nations that
aims to avoid or eliminate double taxation of
the same income in two countries.
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DECEMBER 2013
DTAA provides that business profits will be
taxable in the source country if the activities of
an enterprise constitute a permanent
establishment (PE)
Advantages:
Deals with the black money menace
Provides solutions to avoid double taxation of
same income
The agreements generally provide for other
matters of common interest of the two
countries such as exchange of information,
mutual assistance procedure for resolution of
disputes and for mutual assistance in effecting
recovery of taxes
It will provide tax stability to the residents of
both the countries and will facilitate mutual
economic
Example:
A large number of foreign institutional
investors who trade on the Indian stock
markets operate from Mauritius and the second
being Singapore. According to the tax treaty
between India and Mauritius, capital gains
arising from the sale of shares are taxable in
the country of residence of the shareholder and
not in the country of residence of the company
whose shares have been sold. Therefore, a
company resident in Mauritius selling shares of
an Indian company will not pay tax in India.
Since there is no capital gains tax in Mauritius,
the gain will escape tax altogether.
CourtesyEconomic
Times,
Wikipedia,
http://www.goodreturns.in/classroom/2013/07/
what-is-double-taxation-avoidanceagreementdtaa-193501.html
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
CIL gets clearance for CBM gas exploration
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to
allow Coal India Ltd. (CIL) to carry out
exploration of coal bed methane (CBM) gas in
its existing mines, a move that will unlock
nearly 100 million tonnes of medium grade
coking coal and about one trillion cubic feet
(tcf) of gas.
The existing rules prohibit mining firms from
extracting CBM during mining as the policy
does not allow for simultaneous extraction of
CBM and coal. CBM exploration and
production is allowed only in pure coal-seam
gas bearing blocks, which are auctioned. Since
2001, 33 CBM blocks have been awarded in
four auction rounds. According to the
Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH),
India has CBM reserves of about 4.6 trillion
cubic metres.
At present, three CBM blocks are producing
around 0.15 million standard cubic metres per
day (mscmd). This is likely to touch 7.4
mscmd by 2013.
CIL holds at least 20% of the estimated 60
billion tonnes of coal resources in India. It has
coal mines in eight States, which are estimated
to have CBM reserves of 3.5-4 trillion cubic
feet. It was felt that many of the acreage of CIL
were gaseous and unsafe mines, where mining
of coal would be possible only after the
extraction of CBM.
Extracting methane gas ahead of coal mining
from seams will allow CIL help unlock very
significant quantities of coal reserves in areas
of Jharkhand, West Bengal.
Mind-Mapping:
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DECEMBER 2013


Potential of coal bed methane in
overcoming the energy deficit India is
facing. Some externalities while extracting
CBM like its effect on environment, health
etc.
Identification on map of CBM resources in
India. (prelims point of view)
Higher gas price for RIL gets Cabinet nod
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) has approved giving Reliance
Industries Ltd. (RIL) a higher price for natural
gas from April 2013, subject to the company
furnishing $135 million bank guarantee every
quarter.
According to the proposal approved by the
Cabinet, the bank guarantee will be encashed
if it is proved that RIL hoarded gas or
deliberately suppressed production at the
Dhirubhai-1 and 3 main gas fields in its eastern
offshore KG-D6 block. The bank guarantee
will cover the difference between the current
gas price of $4.2 per million British thermal
unit (mBtu) and the new rate which will come
into effect from April 1, 2013.
independent international experts, RIL would
have to keep furnishing the bank guarantee.
Recently, the Finance Ministry had advocated
some changes in the approved formula by
excluding liquefied natural gas (LNG)
purchases from the spot market, which, it
said, was highly volatile. Prices of natural gas
would be revised every quarter based on the
average of the past four quarters, with a gap of
one quarter. However, there was no word on
the point raised by the Finance Ministry
recently seeking a cap on the gas prices.
Facts & Figures:
Gas production from the D1&D3 fields has
fallen to less than 10 million metric standard
cubic metres per day (mmscmd) from the
peak of 54 mmscmd in March, 2010.
Production has been lower than the target
since the latter half of fiscal 2010-11, and it
should currently have been 80 mmscmd, as
per the 2006 investment plan. Output from
the MA oil and gas field in the KG-D6 block,
too, has fallen over 62%.
Mind-Mapping:
The Oil Ministry had initially proposed to
deny the new gas prices (starting from April,
2014) till such time that RIL either made up for
the shortfall in output during the past three
years, or it is proved that the company was not
responsible for production falling below
targets. In fact, this had held up the
notification of the new gas pricing formula
that would be applicable to all producers in
the public and private sectors for all forms of
gas produced. The Petroleum Ministry has
proposed that till the hoarding issue is
resolved through arbitration and validation by
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS



Availability of natural gas in India.
Composition of natural gas.
Comparative analysis of environment
impact of using natural gas, coal, LPG etc.
Types of natural gases. Pricing mechanism
of natural gas and similar fuels in India. Its
upstream and downstream impact on
various industries and end users etc.
Higher gas price will help raise domestic
production
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DECEMBER 2013
The decision to almost double the natural gas
price from April, 2013 would encourage
investments in exploration and production
(since a lot of money on technology and
research to access the hydrocarbon) and in
turn reduce the country’s dependence on
imports.
According to the Petroleum Minister:
The higher gas price would help in increasing
the production over 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of
gas reserves, which had been declared
economically unviable at the current price of
$4.2 per mBtu.
Several gas discoveries of firms such as Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and RIL had
been declared unviable by the Directorate
General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) as the
current gas price of $4.2 per mBtu was
inadequate to cover the cost of production.
“The option before the country is to either
keep the gas finds under wraps and continue
importing gas at $12-13 or pay much lesser
than this price to domestic producers to bring
the discoveries to production and cut foreign
exchange outgo on imports. India might also
end up importing 100 % if exploration is not
encouraged.
The new price from April, 2013 would apply to
all public and private producers of
conventional gas and non-conventional fuel
like coal-bed methane and shale gas.
Mind-Mapping:


Importance
of
Domestic
resource
mobilization?
Some externalities while extracting coal
like its effect on environment, health etc.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS


What impact would it have on the
stakeholders (producers, end-consumers,
government) and the country’s economy
with the increase in the price of the natural
gas?
What are conventional and nonconventional fuels available in India? How
best has India used its resources?
Suggestions for making the optimum use
of these resources.
Finance Ministry backs cap on gas prices
In the backdrop of a draft Cabinet note floated
by the Petroleum Ministry to allow Reliance
Industries Limited (RIL) to charge higher
prices and furnish bank guarantee for the
shortfall in the KG D6 gas production till it is
verified by independent experts, the Finance
Ministry has strongly pitched for putting a cap
on the prices of natural gas, likely to come
into effect from April 1, 2014, under the new
pricing policy.
Issue with Gas pricing:
The Finance Ministry has said that it was
important to put a ceiling on the gas price to
protect the interests of both the government
and the consumers in case there is an
unreasonable increase in the gas prices. On
similar lines, the Fertilizer and Power
Ministries had already warned that, this could
lead to a much higher outgo of subsidy.
The Cabinet had, in June, 2013 approved the
Rangarajan formula for gas pricing to be made
effective for five years from April, 2014, with a
provision for a quarterly provision.
The new formula has yet not been notified, as
the Finance Ministry had wanted that RIL
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DECEMBER 2013
should be denied the higher gas prices from its
existing fields because output had fallen far
below what was committed in the approved
development plan. Initially, the Petroleum
Ministry agreed with the Finance Ministry’s
opinion but then recently it has moved a
revised note, suggesting that RIL be asked to
give bank guarantee which can be encashed if
it was proven that the company had hoarded
gas by deliberately keeping output low.
On the positive side, the ceiling would take
care of the interest of the gas producers as a
downswing in international market may
adversely impact their financial fortunes and a
ceiling would provide them a much desired
stability.
Mind –Mapping:


What was the basis of Rangarajan’s
formula on ‘gas pricing’? On what basis are
the international pricing of the gas done?
How is it done in India?
What is the issue with the Gas pricing?
Why is the cap proposed? How would this
impact the Government, the producers and
the end customers?
Panel seeks review of Rangarajan formula
on gas pricing
The Standing Committee on Petroleum and
Natural Gas has sought a review of the
Rangarajan formula for gas pricing, saying that
the price should be fixed after factoring in the
domestic cost of production.
Recommendation of the Committee:
According to the committee, the proposed
formula is a simple average of two
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
methodologies- price of imports of LNG into
India by different suppliers and weighted
average of prices of natural gas prevailing at
Henry Hub in USA, National Balancing Point
(NBP) in London and netback import price at
the well head of suppliers into Japan. Also the
benefit of lower gas price at Henry Hub has
been largely diluted by the inclusion of Japan’s
liquefied natural gas prices, which includes
60% royalty component linkage to Japanese
Crude Cocktail and host of other factors.
The panel, headed by Andhra Pradesh MP
Aruna Kumar Vundavalli, was of the view that
Russia, which exports 40 to 50 % of its gas to
Europe at a price of about $8.77 per mBtu,
could be a better indicator of gas price. Russia
is the world’s second largest gas producer and
consuming country in the world and its prices
could be incorporated as one of the reference
price in the pricing formula.
The committee also pointed at omission of
domestic cost of production of natural gas,
which ranges from $2.48 to $3.63 for private
and public sector firms, in the formula.The
committee has recommended factoring
domestic cost of production of gas for arriving
at the price, and fixation of price of gas in
rupee terms.
According to the Rangarjan pricing formula,
the price will be revised quarterly. Prices for
each quarter will be calculated based on the
12-month trailing average price with a lag of
one quarter (i.e. price for April to June 2014
will be calculated based on the average for 12
months ended December 31, 2013). Using the
approved formula, gas price in April-June
(2014) is estimated at $8.2-8.4, nearly double
the current selling price of $4.20.
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DECEMBER 2013
Related information:
Policy on disposing surplus coal
A three-member panel, headed by Planning
Commission (PC) member B.K. Chaturvedi,
has said that the captive coal mining players
should not be allowed to transfer surplus coal
outside the end-use sector which they had
been allocated for, and any surplus coal with
them should be transferred to either the
nearest Coal India Ltd. (CIL) subsidiary or
other firms in the same sector facing shortage
of coal in linkage coal from CIL.
And regarding ‘coal banking system’ (The coal
banking proposal will allow companies to
transfer coal to another company, where the
end-use project has been commissioned
before the coal block, and receive the coal at a
later stage) CIL has expressed its reluctant to
be a part of any coal-banking arrangement.
The Power Ministry had conveyed to the
committee as well as the Planning
Commission that any coal banking system
should not lead to profiteering among coal
block holders. The government had allocated
a total of 218 captive blocks to companies
between 1993 and 2011.
Of these, 47 blocks have been de-allocated.
Captive coal-mining companies were expected
to produce 100 tonnes by the end of the last
five-year Plan period in March 2012.
However, production from captive coal mines
has remained stagnant at 30-36 million tonnes
over the past four years, giving rise to coal
availability crisis. During the same period,
CIL’s production has grown by 4.8% to 452
million tonnes.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Under the Coal Mine Nationalization Act
(1973), Coal Mining was exclusively reserved
for public sector. Subsequent amendments &
notifications allowed select end user
industries to engage in captive coal miningIron & Steel Industries, Power generation,
Cement
Production.Two
modes
of
dispensation –
Captive dispensation: For a specified end-use
to both Private & Govt. companies
Govt. dispensation: No end use restriction but
only to Govt. companies
Since 1993, a total of 198 coal blocks have been
awarded to various private & Govt. companies
of which 128 have been through Captive
Dispensation and the rest through Govt.
dispensation route.
However, only a handful of these mines are
under commercial operation
http://www.observerindia.com/cms/export/orf
online/documents/coal/coal/AES-ppt.pdf
CICs can raise funds via ECB
The RBI has allowed holding companies or
core investment companies (CICs) to raise
funds
through
external
commercial
borrowings (ECB) for project use in special
purpose vehicles (SPVs) involved in
infrastructure sector.
The ECB proceeds would be utilized either for
fresh capital expenditure (capex) or for
refinancing of existing rupee loans availed of
from the domestic banking system for capex.
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DECEMBER 2013
However,
the
RBI
said
that
an
earlier stipulation that maximum 25% of ECB
raised by the infrastructure companies can be
utilised for refinancing of the rupee loans
availed from the domestic banking system
(40% in case of power sector) would remain
unchanged.
The ECB for SPV can be raised up to 3 years
after the commercial operations date of the
SPV and the SPV should give an undertaking
that no other method of funding will be
utilized for that portion of fresh capital
expenditure financed through ECB proceeds.
For infrastructure and greenfield projects,
funding up to 50% (through ECB) is allowed.
In telecom sector too, up to 50% funding
through ECBs is allowed.
Borrowers can use 25% of the ECB to repay
rupee debt and the remaining 75% should be
used for new projects. A borrower cannot
refinance its existing rupee loan through ECB.
The money raised through ECB is cheaper
given near-zero interest rates in the US and
Europe, Indian companies can repay their
existing expensive loans from that.
What do you mean by a holding company?
What do you mean by external commercial
borrowings (ECB)?
An external commercial borrowing (ECB) is an
instrument used in India to facilitate the
access to foreign money by Indian
corporations and PSUs (public sector
undertakings).
ECBs include commercial bank loans, buyers’
credit,
suppliers’
credit,
securitised
instruments such as floating rate notes and
fixed rate bonds etc., credit from official
export credit agencies and commercial
borrowings from the private sector window of
multilateral financial Institutions such as
International
Finance
Corporation
(Washington), ADB, AFIC, CDC, etc.
ECBs cannot be used for investment in stock
market or speculation in real estate.
The DEA (Department of Economic Affairs),
Ministry of Finance, Government of India
along with Reserve Bank of India, monitors
and regulates ECB guidelines and policies.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
A holding company is a company or firm that
owns other companies’ outstanding stock. The
term usually refers to a company that does not
produce goods or services itself; rather, its
purpose is to own shares of other companies.
Holding companies allow the reduction of risk
for the owners and can allow the ownership
and control of a number of different
companies. In the United States, 80% or more
of stock, in voting and value, must be owned
before tax consolidation benefits such as taxfree dividends can be claimed.
Courtesy – Wikipedia
What are core investment companies
(CICs)?
Core Investment Companies, (CIC) are those
companies
which
have
their
assets
predominantly as investments in shares for
holding stake in group companies but not for
trading, and also do not carry on any other
financial activity.
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DECEMBER 2013
These companies a minimum 90% of their
assets in the group concerns either in the form
of equity, preference shares or convertibles
bonds or loans. Further the component of
equity holdings should not be less than 60% of
their assets.
RBI has now recognized that such CICs
justifiably deserve a differential treatment in
the regulatory prescription applicable to NonBanking Financial Companies which are nondeposit taking and systemically important.
It is now decided by RBI that only those CICs
having an asset size of Rs.100 crore and above
would be treated as systemically important
core investment companies.
Courtesy
–
http://www.iibf.org.in/documents/Core_Inves
tment_Companies.doc
RBI allows interest rate futures on smaller
tenors
The RBI would introduce cash-settled interest
rate futures on 10-year government bonds, and
has also permitted exchanges to launch these
derivatives in other smaller tenor securities in
the future.
The RBI had twice attempted to launch the
interest rate futures (IRFs), in 2003 and 2009,
but both attempts failed largely due to what
participants called faulty product design.
Market participants were keen on cash-settled
futures rather than a physical delivery, which
requires financial firms to deliver an actual
security to the investor, as was the case in
2009.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The move has been hailed as bold and
progressive.
What do you mean by cash-settled interest
rate futures?
Cash Settlement is a method of settling
forward contracts or futures contracts by cash
rather than by physical delivery of the
underlying asset. The parties settle by
paying/receiving the loss/gain related to the
contract in cash when the contract expires.
In forward or future contracts, the buyer
agrees to purchase some asset in the future at
a price agreed upon today. In physically
settled forward and future contracts, the full
purchase price is paid by the buyer, and the
actual asset is delivered by the seller.
For example: Company A enters into a forward
contract to buy 1 million barrels of oil at
$70/barrel from company B on a future date.
On that future date, Company A would have
to pay $70 million to company B and in
exchange receive 1 million barrels of oil.
However, if the contract was cash-settled, the
buyer and the seller would simply exchange
the difference in the associated cash positions.
“cash-settled interest rate futures” in simple
terms (by our active participant)
A future contract is one where a buyer and a
seller
enters
into
an
agreement.
2. The agreement is that, the buyer will buy the
commodity from the seller at a future date.
However, when making the agreement, they
agree for the a particular price of the
commodity, which will be applicable to a future
date.
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DECEMBER 2013
3. So, if A and B enter into a future agreement
of 3 months, for 10 barrels of crude oil at $75 per
barrel, then A will buy from B 10 barrel of oil at
$75 per barrel after 3 months. The price
prevailing in the market after 3 months will not
matter. So, if the prices are increased and
reaches $100 per barrel after 3 months, A has
made a profit of $25 per barrel (as he entered
into agreement at $75 per barrel), however if the
prices crash to $25/barrel, A incurred a loss of
$25 per barrel. This is futures as far as I know.
Now coming to “cash-settled interest rate
futures”
Here buyer and seller will enter into an
agreement to buy an interest bearing asset, on
a future date. Here the asset will be government
securities or the bonds issued by the
government.
Now
what
is
cash
settlement:
This means that on the future date when the
deal is to be executed, only the difference in
price will be transacted and not the actual
asset. So, there will not by any trade of
securities, but only the difference in the
contract price and current market value of the
security.
[From our crude oil example, it will mean that
on the delivery date, only the difference in crude
prices will be transacted and not the actual
crude oil]
Challenges to the Banking Sector
The annual report on “Trend and Progress of
Banking in India’’ is w.r.t the terms of the
Banking Regulation Act 1949. The report is an
authentic account of the developments in the
financial sector.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Banks dominate the financial sector,
accounting for over half of the financial flows
in the economy.
The principal challenges facing banks:
The domestic economy is slowing down while
at the global level there is only a modest
recovery. Regulatory initiatives over the past
year sought to enhance the quality of riskbased supervision, better oversight over
financial conglomerates and improved
coordination among regulators. Banks are
being equipped to face the challenges of
financial inclusion.
More specifically, banks need to address
certain key issues. Reduction in the level of
NPAs (non-performing assets) is a primary
task. Simultaneously loan recovery methods
have to be improved upon and strengthened.
Financial inclusion should be implemented in
a sustainable way. For this suitable business
and delivery models will have to be developed.
The asset quality of banks has decreased
significantly. Credit appraisal and post-loan
monitoring are other crucial steps which need
to be improved upon.
Competition among banks and with the rest of
the financial sector will increase. New banks
are proposed to be licensed shortly. There is a
need for decisive changes in the banking
structure to enable it to grow in size, resources
efficiency and inclusivity. Two important
recent developments here are the licensing of
new private banks and announcing clear
guidelines for foreign banks to set up shop in
India or expand their footprint in India.
Though awarding licences to corporate houses
(among others) remains a highly controversial
idea.
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DECEMBER 2013
Another area which will engage policy makers
to a greater extent than now is strengthening
the role of banks in inclusive development.
Access to bank finance is still poor for many
categories. They include the poor, rural and
small and medium industries. Although
recently a very large number of bank accounts
have been opened, the actual number of
transactions per account is still small,
suggesting inadequacies on both demand and
supply sides.
Financial literacy will create awareness of
bank schemes and thereby enhance the access
to the financial system. Increased use of
technology would help in achieving the goal of
financial inclusion.
Mauritius, India agree to ‘LoB’ clause
Mauritius has agreed to include a ‘limitation
of benefits (LoB)’ clause in its revised tax
treaty with India.
While specific details of this clause in the
India-Mauritius tax treaty are being ironed
out, LoB clauses are typically aimed at
preventing ‘treaty shopping’ or inappropriate
use of tax pacts by third-country investors.
The LoB clause limits treaty benefits to those
who meet certain conditions, including those
related to business, residency and investment
commitments of the entity seeking benefit of a
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
(DTAA).
RBI governor blames domestic factors for
economic woes
Attributing the current economic woes to
stimulus provided by the government to tide
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
over the global crisis of 2008, RBI Governor
Raghuram Rajan has said it eventually led to
an overheated economy, high inflation and
uncomfortable fiscal and current account
deficits.
According to the RBI governor the economy
had slowed to below 5% from an average of
8% during 2002-12, mainly on account of
domestic factors.
The slowdown was largely a result of domestic
factors (institutional weakness, withdrawal of
stimulus) and one-third due to global factors.
While the stimulus did help growth initially, it
eventually led to an over-heated economy,
high inflation/wage growth and consequently
deficits widening to uncomfortable highs.
(The then Finance Minister, Pranab
Mukherjee, gave three stimulus packages to
industry to combat the impact of global
financial meltdown of 2008)
What do you
Economy’?
mean
by
‘Overheated
When a prolonged period of good economic
growth and activity causes high levels of
inflation (from increased consumer wealth)
and inefficient supply allocations as producers
overproduce and create excess production
capacity in an attempt to capitalize on the
high levels of wealth. Unfortunately, these
inefficiencies and inflation will eventually
hinder the economy’s growth and cause a
recession.
Rising rates of inflation are typically one of the
first signs that an economy is overheating. As
a result, governments and central banks will
Page 105
DECEMBER 2013
usually raise interest rates in an attempt to
lower the amount of spending and borrowing.
http://www.investopedia.com
CERC draft
producers
sets
tougher
norms
for
The
Central
Electricity
Regulatory
Commission (CERC),has announced draft
tariff criteria for the power sector for 2014-19,
which is likely to impact companies such as
NTPC, Sutlej JalVidyut Nigam and NHPC.
Draft Tariff criteria for the power sector
for 2014-19:
According to this draft, power tariffs will fall
as the CERC has proposed to remove the tax
arbitrage, which existed when companies such
as NTPC charged a higher tax rate from its
customers.
The CERC has also changed the norms for
operating and maintenance (O&M) expenses
marginally, which, according to analysts, is set
to increase, bringing in relief for power
generation companies.
Another highlight of the draft is the proposed
tightening of operating norms for power
producing and transmission companies by
shifting incentives to their plant load factor
(PLF) from the plant available factor (PAF).
This will link incentives to actual power
generated and the PLF, that is, the capacity at
which the plant is operating. While private
companies have been given permission to
raise tariffs, the proposed change would affect
state-run producers such as NTPC, whose
existing incentives are linked to their available
capacity for the State electricity boards (SEBs).
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Thus, even if the NTPC’s plants could not
generate the required power for lack of coal, it
is still able to avail itself of the benefits. PLFs
of most power generators have fallen below
70% in recent times owing to coal availability
issues. The final regulations will be prepared
in early 2014, after getting the relevant
industry feedback.
With regard to the above guidelines, NTPC
has asserted that, it generates 27% of
electricity in the country with 18% of the
installed capacity. The company has been
rated as number one company in the world in
terms of capacity utilisation, and the revenue
that it earns is because of the efficiency,
experience, strength of specialised manpower
and corporate and financial management.
Very stringent regulatory norms will further
deteriorate the financial health of the state
sector generators.
SEBI panel prescribes stricter norms on
insider trading
The Securities and Exchange Board of
India(SEBI) panel, headed by former chief
justice of India N. K. Sodhi, has suggested
that trades by promoters, employees, directors
and their immediate relatives would need to
be disclosed internally to the company.
The panel on insider trading also
recommended that trades within a calendar
quarter of a value beyond Rs. 10 lakh (or such
other amount as the capital market regulator
may specify) would be required to be disclosed
to the stock exchanges.
Code of fair disclosure
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DECEMBER 2013
Every entity that has issued securities which
are listed on a stock exchange or which are
intended to be listed would be required to
formulate and publish a code of fair disclosure
governing
disclosure
of
events
and
circumstances that would impact price
discovery of its securities.
The Committee has also suggested that each
regulatory provision may be backed by a note
on legislative intent.
While enlarging the definition of “insider”, the
term “connected person” has been defined
more clearly and immediate relatives are
presumed to be connected persons, with a
right to rebut the presumption. The term
“immediate relative” would cover close
relatives who are either financially dependent
or consult an insider in connection with
trading in securities.
Clarity on UPSI
Further the regulations would bring greater
clarity on what constitutes “unpublished
price sensitive information” (UPSI) by
defining what constitutes “generally available
information”, essentially, information to
which non-discriminatory public access would
be available. A list of types of information that
may ordinarily be regarded as price sensitive
information has also been provided.
Insiders
would
be
prohibited
from
communicating, providing or allowing access
to UPSI unless required for discharge of duties
or for compliance with law.
Insiders, who are liable to possess UPSI all
round the year, would have the option to
formulate pre-scheduled trading plans. In
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
such cases, the new UPSI that may come into
their possession without having been with
them when formulating the plan would not
impede their ability to trade.
The Committee suggested that every listed
company and market intermediary is required
to formulate a Code of Conduct to regulate,
monitor and report trading in securities by its
employees and other connected persons.
Companies would be entitled to require thirdparty connected persons who are not
employees to disclose their trading and
holdings in securities of the company.
SAT sets aside SEBI order in Polaris insider
trading case
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has
set aside an order passed by Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on October 9,
2012, holding Arun Jain, Chairman of Polaris
Financial Technology, guilty of insider trading.
The SEBI order had also banned Mr. Jain from
the stock market, and prohibited him from
dealing with shares for two years.
The insider trading case, involving 15,080
Polaris shares dated back to 2000 when
Polaris, after due diligence, called off the
proposed acquisition of Data Inc of the U.S. in
the 2nd week of September, 2000, but had
belatedly informed the stock exchanges on
September 30, 2000.
When the company disclosed the above
information to the stock exchanges, there was
a decline in the price of its shares. From Rs.545
on September 29, to as low as Rs.390 on
October 23, 2000.
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DECEMBER 2013
About Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT):
SAT is a statutory body established under the
provisions of Section 15K of the Securities and
Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to hear and
dispose of appeals against orders passed by the
SEBI or by an adjudicating officer under the
Act and to exercise jurisdiction, powers and
authority conferred on the Tribunal by or
under this Act or any other law for the time
being in force.
Courtesy- http://sat.gov.in/
CCI nod for Jet-Etihad deal challenged
Former Air India Executive Director Jitender
Bhargava
has
challenged
the
CCI
(Competition Commission of India) clearance
to the Rs.2,060-crore Jet-Eithad deal in the
Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compact).
The CCI has sought explanations from the two
carriers in this regard to ascertain whether
they failed to provide information on certain
commercial pacts, which could raise anticompetition concerns.
Goal: is to create and sustain fair competition
in the economy that will provide a ‘level
playing field’ to the producers and make the
markets work for the welfare of the
consumers.
Competition Commission of India (CCI)
The objectives of the Act are sought to be
achieved
through
the
Competition
Commission of India (CCI), which has been
established by the Central Government with
effect from 14th October 2003. CCI consists of
a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by
the Central Government.
It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate
practices
having
adverse
effect
on
competition,
promote
and
sustain
competition, protect the interests of
consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the
markets of India.
Related information:
The Commission is also required to give
opinion on competition issues on a reference
received from a statutory authority established
under any law and to undertake competition
advocacy, create public awareness and impart
training on competition issues.
The Competition Act
Courtesy- http://www.cci.gov.in/
The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by
the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007,
follows the philosophy of modern competition
laws. The Act prohibits anti-competitive
agreements, abuse of dominant position by
enterprises and regulates combinations
(acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A),
which causes or likely to cause an appreciable
adverse effect on competition within India.
Mind -mapping
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS



Purpose and Objective of setting up CCI?
Need of such a commission? Consequences,
in absence of such a regulatory body.
Recent examples- cartelisation among
traders in determining Cement prices,
Onion prices, etc.
Other regulatory bodies in India; Role and
significance of such bodies.
Page 108
DECEMBER 2013
CCI suggests more players in coal sector
In a recent order, the Competition
Commission of India (CCI) has recommended
to the government that the coal mining sector
be restructured by introducing more players.
Due to Coal India’ monopoly, electricity
consumers are paying higher user charges.
According to the order, the effects of various
anti-competitive factors identified in the coal
sector on the rest of the economy are
widespread and create systemic risk. And
inefficiencies in any one segment are felt in
the entire value chain with a cascading impact
on the end-consumers of electricity.
(The order passed on December 9, 2013 had
penalised Coal India Rs.1,773 crore for abuse of
market dominance.)
India’s trade deficit with China nears
record $30 billion
The latest figures have cast doubt on whether
that target may be achieved. During the
period under reference, even as China’s trade
with the rest of Asia as well as with its major
Western trading partners has picked up, trade
with India has remained in a slump,
suggesting that causes were more structural
rather than a reflection of global trends.
After 11 months of this year, India’s exports to
China reached only $14.87 billion out of total
bilateral trade of $59.24 billion.
Trade has grown more than 50 times since
2006, when the Nathu La pass, between
Sikkim and the Shigatse prefecture in Tibet,
was reopened. Most of the trade is made up of
imports of Indian goods into Tibet, which
reached $12 million in 2012. (The border
market is open for only six months of the year)
Mind-mapping:

According to a newly released trade data,
India’s trade deficit with China in this year (till
November, 2013) has reached a record $29.5
billion, exceeding last year’s annual figure,
The numbers underline the sharp decline in
once-burgeoning trade, which reached $74
billion in 2011 when China became India’s
biggest trading partner.
In 2012, there was a 20 % slump in India’s
exports, largely on account of iron ore mining
bans, coupled with the global slowdown,
resulted in a 10 % decline as trade fell to
$66.50 billion, even as both countries
announced an ambitious $100 billion target for
2015.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS



India – China’s trade relationship over the
years.
Why does India have a huge trade deficit
with China? How can this deficit be
overcome?
What steps are taken by Indian
Government in this regard?
Does the trade deficit have an impact on
the security issues between the two
countries?
BITCOIN::
A mission to secure currency for bitcoin
With India’s first bitcoin exchange gearing up
to start operations hopefully by March,2014
hundreds of investors, enthusiasts and
banking officials have come on a mission to
Page 109
DECEMBER 2013
convince the government that the virtual
currency is enduring and serious.
in yuan, following new restrictions imposed by
the People’s Bank of China.
Started in 2008, bitcoin is the most prominent
amongst a group of digital currencies – money
that exists in the form of computer code, that
do not have a central issuing authority. These
virtual currencies are stored in electronic
wallets and can be traded on online exchanges
and converted into cash.
Bitcoin, invented in the wake of the global
financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru
using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, is a
form of cryptography-based e-money. It can
be stored either virtually or on a user’s hard
drive, and offers a largely anonymous payment
system.
At India’s first bitcoin conference organised by
digital currency awareness organisation
CoinMonk – the top issue was how to
convince the government and regulators that
the bitcoin ecosystem would be a valuable
economic innovation and not the currency of
choice for money laundering and illegal drug
purchases.
Reserve Bank warns against Bitcoin use
According to the Director of Business
Development at Buttercoin, bitcoin can help
solve the problems of the unbanked rural
population. And also it can be used as a
potential remittance tool.
Mind-mapping:



What is Bitcoin? What implications would
it have if Indian Govt. accepts Bitcoin?
What is the stand taken by RBI with regard
to bitcoin?
What is the global scenario? Does
legalizing/ accepting Bitcoin has more
disadvantages than advantages, if so how?
Bitcoin crashes in China
Virtual currency Bitcoin, has crashed in China,
falling almost 50 % after the country’s biggest
trading platform BTC China banned deposits
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The RBI has warned the public against the use
of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, pointing
out that users expose themselves to potential
financial, legal and security related risks.
The advisory comes after the borderless digital
currency has begun to gain widespread
acceptance in India, despite poor Internet
penetration and a natural scepticism to assets
not backed by tangible entities such as land.
The RBI also said that it had been examining
the issues associated with the usage of virtual
currencies under the legal and regulatory
framework of the country. In its list of
potential risks, the RBI has highlighted
problems such as losses arising out of hacking,
no sources of customer recourse and the
general financial volatility surrounding
Bitcoins.
According to RBI, ‘the creation, trading or
usage of virtual currencies including Bitcoins
are not authorised by any central bank or
monetary authority. As such, there is no
established framework for recourse to
customer problems’. Also as Bitcoins are being
traded on exchange platforms, whose legal
status is unclear, the traders of virtual
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DECEMBER 2013
currencies are exposed to legal as well as
financial risks.
Bitcoins, and other virtual currencies, have
been gaining currency quickly in India.
According to SourceForge, an online platform
that connects consumers to open-source
projects such as Bitcoin and facilitates client
downloads, there have been more than 35,000
downloads in India since the launch of Bitcoin
in November, 2008.
A number of India-based trading platforms
and exchanges have sprung up over the last six
months, catering to Indian users by allowing
them to purchase Bitcoin in rupees. The RBI,
however, has pointed out that no regulatory
approval has been obtained by any entities
that carry out such activities.
Also there have been several media reports on
the usage of Bitcoins for illicit and illegal
activities. Hence the RBI has warned that, the
absence of information of counterparties
could subject users to unintentional breaches
of anti-money laundering.
Bitcoin exchanges shut shop in India
India’s biggest Bitcoin trading platform,
BuySellBitCo.in, has suspended its operations,
citing a recent RBI public advisory that
highlighted the risks involved in dealing with
virtual currencies.
The closure of BuySellBitCo.in, which sees
about 12 million rupees of Bitcoin transactions
every month, has caused panic among other
operators and users with a number of other
trading platforms such as INBRTC suspending
services indefinitely.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Earlier, RBI had issued a notice, warning the
public of the risks involved with virtual
currencies while claiming that it could be used
for money laundering and funding antiterrorism activities. It stopped short, however,
of issuing a ban or any other restrictions.
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies have
begun to gain widespread acceptance in India,
despite poor Internet penetration and a
natural scepticism to assets not backed by
tangible entities such as land.
While countries such as China have banned
financial companies from Bitcoin transactions,
various U.S government agencies have said
that Bitcoins offer legitimate benefits.
To know more about Bitcoins refer our
“Insights Current Events Magazine,
NOVEMBER
2013”
and
http://insightsonindia.com/2013/12/17/allabout-bitcoins/
RBI outlines action plan to tackle NPAs
The RBI has outlined a corrective action plan
to minimise rising non-performing assets
(NPAs). The plan would include incentivizing
early identification of problem cases, timely
restructuring of accounts, which are
considered to be viable, and taking prompt
steps by banks for recovery or sale of unviable
accounts.
Action Plan:
The RBI has said that, it would set up a
Central Repository of Information on Large
Credits (CRILC) to collect, store, and
disseminate credit data to lenders.
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DECEMBER 2013
Banks will have to furnish credit information
to CRILC on all their borrowers having
aggregate fund-based and non-fund based
exposure of Rs.5 crore and above.
While all scheduled commercial banks will
mandatorily
contribute
their
credit
information on their borrowers/customers as
proposed, the RBI said that systemically
important non-banking financial companies
(NBFC-SI) would also be asked to furnish such
information.
In addition, banks would have to furnish
details of all current accounts of their
customers with outstanding balance (debit or
credit) of Rs.1 crore and above.
formation of a joint lenders’ forum (JLF) and
formulation of corrective action plan (CAP).
Further, with a view to limiting the number of
JLFs to be formed, it is proposed that JLF
formation would be made mandatory for
distressed corporate borrowers, engaged in
any type of activity, with aggregate fund based
and non-fund based exposure of Rs.100 crore
and above.
Regarding NPA, Basel-III norms, asset
quality refer to our ‘INSIGHTS CURRENT
EVENTS ANALYSIS OCTOBER – 2013’
MAGAZINE)
Mind-Mapping:

The RBI said that before a loan account turns
into an NPA, banks should identify incipient
stress in the account by creating a new subasset category, ‘Special Mention Accounts’
(SMA). Within the SMA category, there
should be three sub-categories: SMA-NF nonfinancial (NF) signals of incipient stress; SMA1 principal or interest payment overdue
between 31-60 days; SMA-2 principal or
interest payment overdue between 61-90 days.
Banks will be required to report, among
others, the SMA status of the borrower to the
CRILC. Individual banks will have to closely
monitor the accounts reported as SMA-1 or
SMA-NF as these are the early warning signs
of weaknesses in the account. “They should
take up the issue with the borrower with a
view to rectifying the deficiencies at the
earliest.”
The RBI also said that reporting of an account
as SMA-2 by one or more lending
banks/NBFC-SIs will trigger the mandatory
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS


What is Non-Performing Asset? Impact of
NPA on the Banking sector and the
economy?
Measures/Steps taken by RBI in this regard?
What are Basel norms? Why have these
norms been suggested? Has the Basel-III
norm implemented in India? What are the
pre-requisites to its implementation?
India, Japan raise currency swap limit
India and Japan, has tripled the limit for the
currency swap arrangement to $50 billion.
The Government of India has approved the
enhancement of the bilateral currency swap
arrangement between the RBI and the Bank of
Japan from $15 billion to $50 billion.
This measure will further strengthen the
bilateral financial cooperation between Japan
and India.
To know more about Currency Swap, refer our
“Insights Current Events Magazine, OCTOBER
2013”
Page 112
DECEMBER 2013
SEBI makes
voluntary
IPO
grading
mechanism
Regulations, 2013, which includes guidelines
for determining the settlement terms.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) has approved the SEBI (Procedure for
Search and Seizure) Regulations, 2013, made
on the lines of the provisions in the Income
Tax Act, 1961’. This would provide detailed
procedures for search and seizure by the
regulator.
However, SEBI has excluded serious offences
such as insider trading, from the scope of
settlement. In order to impart transparency in
the process, the roles of internal committees
and high powered advisory committee are
specifically defined and the regulations also
provide for terms of settlement in monetary as
well as non-monetary terms or combination of
both.
This would also help the market regulator
execute search operations and ensure safe
custody of any books of accounts or other
documents that are seized, as per the
Securities
Laws
(Amendment)
Second
Ordinance, 2013.
The Ordinance has conferred direct powers on
SEBI Chairman to authorise the investigating
authority or any other SEBI officer to search
any premises where incriminating documents
are lying and seize such documents for the
purpose of investigation.
The board has also decided to allow public
financial institutions and scheduled banks,
issuers authorised to make public issue tax
free secured bonds, infrastructure debt funds
non-banking financial companies (NBFC) to
file shelf prospectus.
Earlier, the Companies Act, 1956, had allowed
only banks and public financial institutions to
file shelf prospectus. However, the Companies
Act, 2013, enables SEBI to specify the
companies, which can be allowed to file shelf
prospectus.
SEBI also approved the SEBI (Settlement of
Administrative
and
Civil
Proceedings)
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
SEBI also made IPO grading mechanism
‘voluntary’ instead of ‘mandatory’, amending
SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations, 2009. And to align
with the principles laid down by Financial
Stability Board (FSB) on reducing the reliance
on Credit Rating Agencies, the SEBI Board has
approved the proposal to make the IPO
grading mechanism ‘voluntary’ as against the
current provision of the same being
‘mandatory’.
New rules for foreign investors
The government has agreed to provide similar
tax treatment to foreign portfolio investors
(FPIs), as available to FIIs now. The three
categories of foreign portfolio investors – FIIs
(foreign institutional investors), sub-accounts
and qualified foreign investors (QFIs) would
be given similar tax treatment as available to
FIIs now.
The new rules aim to bring all foreign
investors under a common framework called
the SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors)
Regulations, 2013. These measures come at a
time when the rupee has weakened
considerably against the dollar and recently
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DECEMBER 2013
hit its all-time low levels of 60 against the U.S.
currency. Also, FIIs have been pulling out
money from the Indian debt market, which
has resulted in lower yields on government
bonds.
Related information:
Foreign portfolio investment (FPI):
FPI is the entry of funds into a country where
foreigners make purchases in the country’s
stock and bond markets, sometimes for
speculation.
It is a usually short term investment
(sometimes less than a year, or with
involvement in the management of the
company), as opposed to the longer term
Foreign Direct Investment partnership
(possibly through joint venture), involving
transfer of technology and “know-how”.
For example, Ford Motor Company may invest
in a manufacturing plant in Mexico, yet not be
in direct control of its affairs. Foreign Portfolio
Investment (FPI): passive holdings of
securities and other financial assets, which do
NOT entail active management or control of
the securities’s issuer.
FPI is positively influenced by high rates of
return and reduction of risk through
geographic diversification. The return on FPI
is normally in the form of interest payments or
non-voting dividends.
Courtesy- Wikipedia
To know more about Financial Stability
Board (FSB):
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The FSB has been established to coordinate at
the international level the work of national
financial
authorities
and
international
standard setting bodies and to develop and
promote the implementation of effective
regulatory, supervisory and other financial
sector policies.
It brings together national authorities
responsible for financial stability in significant
international financial centres, international
financial
institutions,
sector-specific
international groupings of regulators and
supervisors, and committees of central bank
experts.
The FSB is chaired by Mark Carney, Governor
of the Bank of England. Its Secretariat is
located in Basel, Switzerland, and hosted by
the Bank for International Settlements.
As obligations of membership, members of the
FSB commit to pursue the maintenance of
financial stability, maintain the openness and
transparency of the financial sector,
implement international financial standards,
and agree to undergo periodic peer reviews,
using among other evidence IMF/World Bank
public Financial Sector Assessment Program
reports.
Courtesyhttp://www.financialstabilityboard.org
To know more about IPO, refer our
‘Insights
Current
Events
Analysis
Magazine’ (NOVEMBER, 2013)
Mauritius tightens norms to check proxy
tag
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DECEMBER 2013
Long accused of being a route for avoiding
taxes for foreign investments into India,
Mauritius has put additional safeguards in
place to thwart such wrong perceptions and to
boost its image as a preferred global financial
centre.
Mauritius’ integrated financial sector regulator
Financial Services Commission (FSC) has put
in place ‘greater substance requirements’ for
global business companies operating from its
jurisdiction to ensure their substantial
presence there, and not just a ‘proxy address’
to benefit from tax treaties with India and
other countries.
These additional requirements being imposed
on Global Business Category (GBC) 1
companies will lead to the creation of more
economic nexus between those companies and
the economy of the island.
related to business, residency and investment
commitments of the entity seeking benefit of a
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
(DTAA).
Besides, a Tax Information and Exchange
Agreement (TIEA) between India and
Mauritius has been finalised.
There has been cooperation from both sides
on information exchange and with this India’s
share in the number of investments made by
global companies through Mauritius has
almost been halved in the past two years even
as Africa’s share has surged significantly, amid
uncertainties over the bilateral tax treaty.
The share in the number of investments made
by global business companies into India has
slumped to almost 16% in 2012. In 2010, India’s
share was as high as 32%, before declining to
23% in 2011.
Most global investors use GBC-1 route to make
investments into India and other countries
through Mauritius.
To know more about Tax Information
Exchange Agreements (TIEAs):
In its attempt to stop round-tripping and
money laundering activities, Mauritius has
agreed to include a ‘limitation of benefits
(LoB)’ clause in its revised tax treaty with
India.
The purpose of this Agreement is to promote
international co-operation in tax matters
through exchange of information. It was
developed by the OECD Global Forum
Working Group on Effective Exchange of
Information
Significance of LoB clause:
While specific details of this clause in IndiaMauritius tax treaty are being ironed out, LoB
clauses are typically aimed at preventing
‘treaty shopping’ or inappropriate use of tax
pacts by third-country investors.
The LoB clause limits treaty benefits to those
who meet certain conditions, including those
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The Agreement grew out of the work
undertaken by the OECD to address harmful
tax practices. The lack of effective exchange of
information is one of the key criteria in
determining harmful tax practices. The
mandate of the Working Group was to
develop a legal instrument that could be used
to establish effective exchange of information.
The Agreement represents the standard of
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DECEMBER 2013
effective exchange of information for the
purposes of the OECD’s initiative on harmful
tax practices.
This Agreement, which was released in April
2002, is not a binding instrument but contains
two models for bilateral agreements. A
number of bilateral agreements have been
based on this Agreement.
Courtesyhttp://www.oecd.org/ctp/harmful/taxinformat
ionexchangeagreementstieas.htm
Commodity exchange boards made more
powerful
Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is
tightening corporate governance norms for
commodity exchanges following NSEL scam. It
has asked its boards to scrutinise all major
business decisions, as also financial powers of
CEOs and transactions involving promoters
and top management personnel.
The boards of the exchanges would also have
to ensure that appropriate checks and
balances are in place with regard to costs
incurred for donations, publicity, media and
public relations, legal and other professional
charges, among others.
In a directive issued to six national exchanges,
including MCX, the FMC has stipulated the
minimum requirement for sharing of
information relating to functioning of the
exchange with the board of directors.
It also directed that the decisions relating to
certain matters should be taken with the
approval of the board of directors or the board
committees.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The regulator said that prior approval of the
board would be required in matter related to
expenditure items such as capital expenditure,
agreement/contract giving rise to recurring
obligation for a period of more than three
years, and loan/advances/guarantee/financial
commitments.
A prior approval of the board is required for all
financial transactions, loans, guarantees,
deposits or financial commitment of any kind.
Following the Rs.5,500-crore payment crisis at
NSEL, the FMC has been taking several
measures to ensure accountability and
transparency in the commodity futures
market.
As per the new norms, the Board of exchange
will execute, with the approval of the board,
the liability insurance for directors to
safeguard the professional liability of the
board members arising from the performance
of their duties for the exchange. The regulator
has also directed the exchanges to constitute a
committee of the board on risk management.
Related information:
NSEL Scam:
The NSEL scam is a systematic and
premeditated fraud perpetrated in the
commodity market by National Spot Exchange
Ltd based in Mumbai, India. NSEL is a
company promoted by Financial Technologies
India Ltd and NAFED
NSEL scam is a 5600 Crore Rs (About US$ 0.9
Billion) fraud which came out in the public
domain after the National Spot Exchange Ltd
failed to pay out its investors in commodity
pair contracts after 31 July 2013. It was
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DECEMBER 2013
subsequently found out that the most of
underlying commodities never existed and
buying and selling of commodities like Steel,
Paddy, Sugar, Ferrochrome etc. was being
conducted only on paper.
Courtesy- Wikipedia
More about Forward Markets Commission
(FMC):
Forward
Markets
Commission
(FMC)
headquartered at Mumbai, is a regulatory
authority which is overseen by the Ministry of
Finance, Govt. of India. It is a statutory body
set up in 1953 under the Forward Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1952.





to advise the Central Government in
respect of recognition or withdrawal of
recognition of any association and other
matters arising out of the administration of
the Act;
to keep forward markets under observation
and take appropriate action in relation to
them;
to collect and publish information
regarding trading conditions in respect of
goods to which any of the provisions of the
Act is made applicable including
information regarding supply, demand and
prices and to submit to Central
Government periodical reports on the
operation of this Act and on the working of
the forward markets relating to such
goods;
to make recommendations to improve the
organisation and working of forward
markets;
to undertake inspection of the accounts of
recognised associations and/or any
members thereof;
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS

to perform other duties prescribed by the
Central Government.
Courtesy – http://consumeraffairs.nic.in
SEBI to take up proposal to allow Mutual
Fund Company’s to offer Pension plans
In 2014, a new pensions system would be
introduced in India that would offer
retirement savers the option of tapping the
high-risk-high-return equity markets. Stock
market regulator, SEBI will in its next board
meeting in January, 2014 would take up the
proposal to allow mutual fund companies to
offer pension plans.
The proposed Pension plans & National
Pension Scheme (NPS):
If the SEBI board approved the proposal, it
could then request the government to extend
to these mutual funds-run pension plans the
same tax breaks that were now available to
retirement savings in the government-run
National Pension Scheme (NPS).This would
need Parliament approval.
Section 80 CCD of the Income Tax Act of NPS
allows employers to deduct from their taxable
income the contributions made on behalf of
their employees to the NPS. The contributions
to NPS schemes by employees, too, are treated
tax-free. The tax benefit is over and above the
Rs.1 lakh tax-free savings Section 80C of the
Income Tax Act allows to individuals.
Contributions to the proposed pension
scheme will be discretionary. The NPS is the
mandatory pension scheme for government
employees hired after May 1, 2004, though it is
open to private individuals too. The NPS does
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DECEMBER 2013
not give government employees the option of
investing more than 8% of their retirement
savings into equity markets. Private sector
employers with more than 10 employees
statutorily contribute on their behalf to the
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO).
and regulate pension sector in the country.
The NPS was launched on 1st January, 2004
with the objective of providing retirement
income to all the citizens. NPS aims to
institute pension reforms and to inculcate the
habit of saving for retirement amongst the
citizens.
The difference between existing mutual fund
schemes and the proposed pension plans will
be that withdrawals will ‘not’ be allowed
before retirement unless in the case of specific
exceptional circumstances.
Initially, NPS was introduced for the new
government recruits (except armed forces).
With effect from 1st May, 2009, NPS has been
provided for all citizens of the country
including the unorganised sector workers on
voluntary basis.
According to the proposal, the pension plans
will offer retirement savers flexi-choices on
the mix of fixed income and equity investment
options. The NPS offers savers only three
options and the EPFO offers none at all. The
wider investor reach of mutual fund
companies, it is expected, will give retirement
savings a big push.
Additionally, to encourage people from the
unorganised sector to voluntarily save for their
retirement the Central Government launched
a
co-contributory
pension
scheme,
‘Swavalamban Scheme – External website that
opens in a new window’ in the Union Budget
of 2010-11.
In August, 2013 Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram had proposed that the EPFO
and the NPS be merged to make them viable, a
proposal that has not progressed. India has
one of the largest young populations in the
world, but no viable pensions saving
mechanism and this is a cause of concern.
Under Swavalamban Scheme – External
website that opens in a new window, the
government will contribute a sum of Rs.1,000
to each eligible NPS subscriber who
contributes a minimum of Rs.1,000 and
maximum Rs.12,000 per annum. This scheme
is presently applicable upto F.Y.2016-17.
At present, India does not have a universal
social security system to protect its older
population from economic deprivation.
NPS offers following important features to
help subscriber save for retirement:
More about National Pension System
(NPS):
Government of India established Pension
Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
(PFRDA) – External website that opens in a
new window on 10th October, 2003 to develop
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
The subscriber will be allotted a unique
Permanent Retirement Account Number
(PRAN). This unique account number will
remain the same for the rest of subscriber’s
life. This unique PRAN can be used from any
location in India.
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DECEMBER 2013
PRAN will provide access to two personal
accounts:


Tier I Account: This is a non-withdrawable
account meant for savings for retirement.
Tier II Account: This is simply a voluntary
savings facility. The subscriber is free to
withdraw savings from this account
whenever subscriber wishes. No tax benefit
is available on this account.
Courtesy
http://india.gov.in/spotlight/nationalpension-system-retirement-plan-all
–
To extend the reach and Quality of publicly
managed old-age Income security programs
through consistent and ever-improving
standards of compliance and benefit delivery
in a manner that wins the approval and
confidence of members in our methods,
fairness, honesty and integrity, thereby
contributing to the economic and social wellbeing of members.
Courtesy –
Wikipedia
http://www.epfindia.com
&
More about Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO):
EPFO is a statutory body of the Government
of India under the Ministry of Labour and
Employment. It administers a compulsory
contributory Provident Fund Scheme, Pension
Scheme and an Insurance Scheme.
The Employees’ Provident Fund came into
existence with the promulgation of the
Employees’ Provident Funds Ordinance on the
15th November, 1951. It was replaced by the
Employees’ Provident Funds Act, 1952. It is
now referred as the Employees’ Provident
Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
which extends to the whole of Indian except
Jammu and Kashmir.
It is one of the largest social security
organisations in the India in terms of the
number of covered beneficiaries and the
volume of financial transactions undertaken.
The EPFO’s apex decision making body is the
Central Board of Trustee (CBT).
Mission:
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Nobel laureate backs genetically-modified
crops
Scientists and others, who are in favour of
genetically-modified (GM) food crops, have
got support from an unexpected quarter – a
Nobel laureate.
Richard J. Roberts, who won the Nobel Prize
for physiology or medicine in 1993, made a
forceful case for promoting research on GM
food crops and their use for public
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DECEMBER 2013
consumption, saying they were needed to at
least take care of vitamin and other
deficiencies in the developing world.
Currently available GM foods stem mostly from
plants, but in the future foods derived from GM
microorganisms or GM animals are likely to be
introduced on the market.
Describing the protest by “green” parties in
Europe against GM crops as a “crime against
humanity,” he particularly drew attention to
the project to produce a GM rice variety for
tackling the problem of Vitamin A deficiency
in India and other countries.
Most existing genetically modified crops have
been developed to improve yield, through the
introduction of resistance to plant diseases or
of increased tolerance of herbicides.
According to Roberts, ‘The green parties are
playing
politics.
About
one-and-a-half
(million) to two million children are affected
by Vitamin A deficiency. It’s a crime against
humanity.’
In the future, genetic modification could be
aimed at altering the nutrient content of food,
reducing its allergenic potential, or improving
the efficiency of food production systems. All
GM foods should be assessed before being
allowed on the market. FAO/WHO Codex
guidelines exist for risk analysis of GM food.
The professor also stressed the need for
scientists to create awareness among the
public and politicians on the scientific facts
behind GM crops and other such contentious
issues. ‘There is need for more science in
politics and less politics in science.’ The
science conclave is being organised since 2008
by the Ministries of Human Resource
Development and Science and Technology, as
part of an exercise to promote science and
technology as a viable career for bright
youngsters. Participants include science
leaders from India and abroad, and school and
college students.
Genetically modified (GM) foods:
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods
derived from organisms whose genetic material
(DNA) has been modified in a way that does
not occur naturally, e.g. through the
introduction of a gene from a different
organism.
http://www.who.int/topics/food_genetically_m
odified/en/
Potential benefits of GM plants:




Higher crop yields
Reduced farm costs
Increased farm profit
Improvement in health and the environment
These “first generation” crops have proven their
ability to lower farm-level production costs.
Now, research is focused on “secondgeneration” GM crops that will feature
increased
nutritional
and/or
industrial
traits. These crops will have more direct
benefits to consumers. Examples include:



http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Rice enriched with iron, vitamin A and E,
and lysine
Potatoes with higher starch content, and
inulin
Edible vaccines in maize, banana and
potatoes
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DECEMBER 2013
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
Maize varieties with low phytic acid and
increased essential amino acids
Healthier oils from soybean and canola
Allergen-free nuts
Potential risks of GM plants:





The danger of unintentionally introducing
allergens and other anti-nutrition factors in
foods
The likelihood of transgenes escaping from
cultivated crops into wild relatives
The potential for pests to evolve resistance
to the toxins produced by GM crops. The
risk of these toxins affecting non-target
organisms.
There are also those risks that are neither
caused nor preventable by the technology
itself.
An example of this type of risk is the further
widening of the economic gap between
developed countries (technology users)
versus developing countries (nonusers).
These risks, however, can be managed by
developing technologies tailor made for the
needs of the poor and by instituting
measures so that the poor will have access
to the new technologies.
Are GM crops appropriate for developing
countries?
Although the potential benefits of GM crops are
large in developing countries, they would
require some investments.
Most developing countries lack the scientific
capacity to assess the biosafety of GM crops,
the economic expertise to evaluate their worth,
the regulatory capacity to implement guidelines
for safe deployment, and the legal systems to
enforce and punish transgressions in law.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Fortunately, several organizations are working
to build local capacity to manage the
acquisition, deployment, and monitoring of GM
crops.
Courtesyhttp://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/p
ocketk/1/
Indian scientists identify genes behind
oral cancer
A team of Indian scientists has identified new
genes and new biological pathways that are
specific to driving oral cancer associated
predominantly with smokeless tobacco
consumption in India. Further detailed study
on these discoveries might lead to finding
better therapies for oral cancer.
The Indian group is part of the International
Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), an
initiative started in 2009, to understand the
genomic basis of 50 different types of cancer
with clinical and societal importance around
the globe.
This is the first set of results to come out of
the India Project, which has been noted as an
important contribution to cancer genomics.
Oral cancer is the eighth most common cancer
worldwide and is the leading cancer among
males in India. Unlike in the West, where 65%
of oral cancers are tongue cancer, in India,
oral cancer predominantly (60%) is of the
lining of the mouth, lower gum and other
mucosal regions of the oral cavity, termed the
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the gingivobuccal region (OSCC-GB). Tobacco chewing is
a major cause of OSCC-GB, which accounts for
over half of the oral cancers in India.
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DECEMBER 2013
Cancer is known to be associated with changes
in the DNA contained in the cells of the
tumour tissues. However, these genetic
changes triggered by lifestyle or other
environmental factors such as exposure to
tobacco, chemicals and radiation occur only in
non-reproductive cells and are called somatic
alterations.
which are linked together like a chain which
in turn folds to perform specific cellular tasks
like metabolic reactions, regulation of genes
and providing defence against pathogens. And
the manner in which most of the biological
processes are carried out depends on the way
the amino acids are assembled to form
proteins.
Also you can follow this link regarding
‘Exploring cinema, censorship and its impact’
(This might help you in Essay or in GS paper)
An enzyme called DTD was responsible for
excluding D-amino acids from infiltrating into
proteins during their synthesis. The study
revealed one of the fundamental processes in
evolution of life.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tpbusiness/exploring-cinema-censorship-and-itsimpact/article5416221.ece
(This is in regard to Achievements of
Indian’s in S & T)
CCMB scientists throw new light on
evolution of life
Indian scientists have solved one of nature’s
mysteries related to evolution of life on earth.
Scientists from the Structural Biology
Laboratory of the Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology (CCMB) have shown the
precise mechanism through which all
organisms, including human beings, exclude
D-amino acids from protein synthesis.
This finding has far-reaching implications
both in terms of understanding the evolution
of life and also in designing better synthetic
biology strategies for making more diverse
engineered proteins.
Proteins carry out most of the biological
processes in a living cell from the simplest
bacteria to complex humans. Consisting of the
basic building blocks known as amino acids
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
In a first for an Indian spacecraft, Mars
orbiter now in interplanetary space
India’s spacecraft to Mars is now coasting in
the interplanetary space. In its epic voyage
towards the Red Planet, it broke out of the
Sphere of Influence (SOI) of the Earth
traversing beyond 9.25 lakh km. Chandrayaan1 had travelled up to 4 lakh km.
The Mars orbiter crossed the SOI, 72 hours
after it was cannoned out of its Earth-bound
orbit. It is now in a proper Sun-centric orbit.
This is the first time that an Indian spacecraft
has crossed this distance of 9.25 lakh km. The
spacecraft is no longer under the Earth’s
influence now, it is in interplanetary space.
The spacecraft will now coast around the Sun
for about 300 days. This helio-centric flight
will total 68-crore km before it has its tryst
with Mars on September 24, 2014.
Agni V’s next trial will be canister-based
In a crucial technological accomplishment, a
simulated canister-based launch of a dummy
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missile weighing 50 tonnes was successfully
carried out by scientists of the Defence
Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) recently.
With the success of the “Missile Ejection Test”
(MET), DRDO missile technologists are
gearing up to conduct the first canister-based
test-firing of 5,000-plus km range nuclear
weapons-capable Inter Continental Ballistic
Missile (ICBM) Agni-V (The indigenously
developed, nuclear-capable missile has a strike
range of 5,000 kms) in March-April, 2014.
The MET success has been hailed as a very
important milestone and a prelude to the
main launch. It laid the foundation and
provided core competence to the DRDO for
the canister launch system.
India has joined an elite club of nations that
possess the ICBM launch capability when the
maiden test-firing of Agni-V was successfully
conducted in April, 2012.
Soon after the resounding success of the
second Agni V mission in September, 2013, it
was decided that the next trial would be
canister based.
What is an Inter Continental Ballistic
Missile (ICBM)?
An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) is
a ballistic missile with a maximum range of
more than 5,500 kilometres typically designed
for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one
or more nuclear warheads).
Most modern designs support multiple
independently targetable reentry vehicles
(MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
several warheads, each of which can strike a
different target.
ICBMs are differentiated by having greater
range and speed than other ballistic missiles:
intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs),
medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs),
short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs)—these
shorter range ballistic missiles are known
collectively as theatre ballistic missiles.
Courtesy- Wikipedia
Importance of the successful launch of
Agni V:
Only the five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council – China,
France, Russia, the United States and Britain,
along with Israel, have so far possessed such
long-range missiles.
Tipped to be a “game changer” by experts,
Agni V will extend India’s reach all over Asia,
parts of Africa and parts of Europe. The Agni
series of missiles, including Agni V, is crucial
for India’s defence vis-a-vis China since Beijing
has upped the ante in recent times by
deploying missiles in Tibet Autonomous
Region bordering India.
Agni V can be configured to launch small
satellites. It can also be used to shoot down
enemy satellites in orbits. Once fired, it
cannot be stopped. It can, however, be
launched only after a decision by the Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS).
Courtesyhttp://www.ndtv.com/article/india/agni-vindia-s-first-icbm-successfully-test-fired199344
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DECEMBER 2013
Significance of canister launch system
(this is the 1st time India is using this
technology):
The canister-launch system is used to impart
higher road mobility, the missile will give the
armed forces much greater operational
flexibility than the earlier-generation of Agni
missiles.
Made of maraging steel, a canister must
provide a hermetically sealed atmosphere that
preserves the missile for years.
During firing, the canister would absorb
enormous stresses when a thrust of 300 to 400
tonnes is generated to eject the 50 tonnes
missile.
Courtesy -Wikipedia
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space
telescope that was carried into orbit by a
Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in
operation. (Hubble is the only telescope
designed to be serviced in space by
astronauts).
Hubble’s orbit outside the distortion of Earth’s
atmosphere allows it to take extremely highresolution images with almost no background
light.
Many Hubble observations have led to
breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as
accurately determining the rate of expansion
of the universe.
Recently it has helped in identifying faint
signatures of water in the atmospheres of five
distant planets.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
Courtesy- Wikipedia
For Malnourishment and TB drugs in
children, refer the below articlehttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tpfeatures/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/malnourishedkids-below-three-years-are-underdosed-forfirstline-tb-drugs/article5423625.ece
Gagan will be put in place by end of 2014
GPS aided geo augmented navigation or GPS
and Geo-Augmented Navigation system
(Gagan),
a
regional
satellite-based
augmentation system.
More about GPS Aided GEO Augmented
Navigation (GAGAN):
GAGAN is a Satellite Based Augmentation
System (SBAS) implemented jointly with
Airport Authority of India (AAI).
The main objectives of GAGAN areto provide Satellite-based Navigation services
with accuracy and integrity required for civil
aviation applications and to provide better Air
Traffic Management over Indian Airspace.
The system will be interoperable with other
international SBAS systems and provide
seamless
navigation
across
regional
boundaries. The first GAGAN navigation
payload was flown on GSAT-8 which was
launched on May 21, 2011 and the second on
GSAT-10 launched on Sep 29, 2012.
Courtesy – http://www.isro.org
New, long-lived greenhouse gas found
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DECEMBER 2013
Perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) a novel
chemical lurking in the atmosphere, is the
most radioactively efficient chemical found to
date, breaking all other chemical records for
its potential to impact climate.
More
about
Perfluorotributylamine
(PFTBA) – ‘application & its impact’:
PFTBA has been in use since the mid-20th
century for various applications in electrical
equipment and is currently used in thermally
and chemically stable liquids marketed for use
in electronic testing and as heat transfer
agents.
-http://www.ibtimes.com/new-greenhouse-gasdiscovered-pftba-has-higher-global-warmingimpact-co2-1503600
Biocon inks licensing pact with Quark
Pharma
Biotechnology major Biocon has inked a pact
with Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc to develop a
range of siRNA (small interfering RNA) based
novel therapeutics. This collaboration will
enable Biocon to co-develop, manufacture and
commercialise QPI-1007, a novel siRNA drug
candidate for ophthalmic conditions, for India
and other key markets.
It does not occur naturally, that is, it is
produced by humans. There are no known
processes that would destroy or remove
PFTBA in the lower atmosphere so it has a
very long lifetime, possibly hundreds of years,
and is destroyed in the upper atmosphere.
What is RNA interference (RNAi)?
It is the most radioactively efficient chemical
found to date, the result of this is a very high
global warming potential. It was found to be
7,100 times more powerful at warming the
Earth over 100 years than carbon dioxide.
Two types of small ribonucleic acid (RNA)
molecules – microRNA (miRNA) and small
interfering RNA (siRNA) – are central to RNA
interference. RNAs are the direct products of
genes, and these small RNAs can bind to other
specific messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules
and either increase or decrease their activity,
for example by preventing an mRNA from
producing a protein. RNA interference has an
important role in defending cells against
parasitic nucleotide sequences – viruses and
transposons – but also in directing
development as well as gene expression in
general.
Researchers found PFTBA is present in small
amounts but can remain in the atmosphere for
about 500 years. Carbon dioxide, on the other
hand, is absorbed by forests and oceans.
Today, concentrations of PFTBA are low with
0.18 parts per trillion in the Toronto area –
compared to 400 parts per million for carbon
dioxide.
Courtesyhttp://phys.org/news/2013-12perfluorotributylamine-long-lived-greenhousegas.html
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
It is a recently discovered process in cells that
stops the action of specific genes by destroying
mRNA and thus preventing translation of the
gene product.
RNAi has become a valuable research tool,
both in cell culture and in living organisms,
because synthetic dsRNA introduced into cells
can
selectively
and
robustly
induce
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DECEMBER 2013
suppression of specific genes of interest. RNAi
may be used for large-scale screens that
systematically shut down each gene in the cell,
which can help to identify the components
necessary for a particular cellular process or an
event such as cell division. The pathway is also
used as a practical tool in biotechnology and
medicine.
>Courtesyhttp://www.theapprofessor.org/RNAinterferen
ce.html & Wikipedia
–>
An article on ‘Poverty and Employment’
had come in Today’s newspaper. The facts
can be used in your GS answers and Essaywriting .
Refer the link belowhttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tpnational/poverty-higher-among-employedthan-unemployed-report/article5476218.ece
Diamonds are formed from pure carbon under
extreme heat and pressure at depths of about
150 km in the Earth’s crust. Volcanic eruptions
bring the valuable crystals to the surface,
usually preserved in another type of bluish
rock called kimberlite.
The presence of kimberlite has been a clue to
significant deposits of diamonds in several
parts of the world, including Africa, Siberia
and Australia.
Now researchers have, for the first time, found
evidence of kimberlite in Antarctica.
Even if diamonds were plentiful in this
inhospitable region, there are still some
significant legal barriers to their extraction.
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to
the Antarctic Treaty, added in 1991, explicitly
bans any extraction activity relating to mineral
resources, except for scientific purposes.
However it is up for review in 2041 and could
be subject to change.
Mind-Mapping:

ENVIRONMENT
Diamonds in Antarctic

Any
diamond
resource
sites
in
India? Indian presence in Antarctica.
Research potential of the region. Some info
on Protocol on Environmental Protection to
the Antarctic Treaty.
Scientists say they have discovered compelling
evidence that diamonds exist in the icy
mountains of Antarctica. The researchers have
identified a type of rock in the permanently
frozen region that is known to contain the
precious stones. However, recovering any
Antarctic mineral resources for commercial
purposes is currently forbidden.
http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS
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