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Apr 20, 2007

Justice Eludes for 22 years

Banjhi (Sahebganj): Twenty-two years have passed since 15 tribals, including a former Member of Parliament Father Anthony Murmu, were killed in a police firing here.

But as villagers at this obscure village, 16 km from Sahebganj, once again lit candles and remembered the dead today, the 22nd anniversary of the Banjhi carnage, they regretted the fact that not one official has been penalised.

Worse, because of the report by the one-man judicial commission justifying the firing, none of the families received any compensation barring Rs 5,000 each as ex-gratia .

Many of the widows were forced to re-marry. Balaka Hembrom , widow of Modga Murmu, is one of them.

"I was forced to marry again in 1990 for the sake of my children; but I have not forgotten my first husband and every year I light a candle to remember him," she said today.

The son of Anthony Murmu is today a BA (final) student at Sahebganj College and Murmu's widow, Bibiyana, defends her marriage to one Bali Ram Yadav in 1990 because she had no option left.

An eyewitness, Baburam Murmu, recalled the simmering feud between tribals and influential moneylenders that culminated in the police firing.

Yes, a tribal mob had attacked the panchayat Bhavan, he recalled, but only because officials had held a tribal delegation captive there.

Tribals were falsely implicated in cases, ponds over which tribals enjoyed fishing rights, were settled with moneylenders, a few tribals were found killed under mysterious circumstances, he recalled, but officials took no action.

Not much has changed, they declared, after the creation of Jharkhand.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha might be in the government now, they said, but the villagers at Banjhi are still awaiting justice.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070420/asp/jamshedpur/story_7672016.asp

Forest dept seeks celebrities' help to stop tribal ritual

The serene greens of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary may get painted red with blood of wild animals as tribals gear up to observe the annual ritual of animal hunt, Sendra, on April 30.

Official records had put the number of wild animals killed in last year's Sendra at six — two barking deer, one peacock and three wild boars. The wildlife experts, however, believe the number could be much higher.

With the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) now a part of the ruling UPA government and many of its leaders not opposed to the ruthless killings of the wild animals, the toll is set to escalate this year.

Realising the gravity of the situation, forest department here has prepared a series of programmes to prevent tribals from plundering the forests.

"Since it is a custom strongly linked to the tribal culture and religion, it is difficult to stop the practice. We, however, are trying to reduce the damage to the wildlife during Sendra this year," Dalbhum DFO A T Mishra said.
Ranger (Wildlife), Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS), Arjun Badaik informed HT that the department, for the first time, had decided to rope in services of eminent personalities and local celebrities to persuade the tribals restrain from plundering the sanctuary and killing the animals.

"We have prepared a list of eminent personalities, including politicians, theatre artists, musicians, Santhali film artists, social workers and academicians, who would be campaigning for us and spreading awareness on the need for protecting the wild animals. The encouraging part is that most of them have accepted our request for help," the ranger said.

The department has also sought the help of NGOs having considerable impact on tribals in the area. "The volunteers had launched awareness programmes around three months back in villages across the district. The religious leaders are being consulted and educated on the endangering wildlife species, and also about the need to protect them. We have got satisfactory response so far."

Sendra actually relives the old community hunting in forests by tribal groups. Home to several endangered species like mouse deer, barking deer, giant squirrels and porcupines, Dalma hill, according to tribal belief, is abode of Dolma Baba.
Devotees have a firm belief that killing the wild animal appeases Dolma Baba, who in return, blesses them with health and prosperity.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=dc314dbb-0498-4fea-bcfc
-1716e21ff1a0&

Bank focus on farm tourism

Ranchi, April 20: A pilot project to promote farm tourism will be undertaken in the state this year, said the chief general manager of Nabard (National Bank For Rural Development), K.C. Shashidhar, here today.

The bank would be conducting a survey as well to explore the potential for rural tourism in the state.

Several states, especially Kerala and Goa, have successfully promoted rural tourism, pointed out Shashidhar, who was addressing newspersons here at the bank's regional office.

Nabard is engaged in talking to both Reliance as well as Spencers Retail for linking farmers' clubs and the self-help-groups in the state. The backward linkage, he pointed out, would help many of the 763 farmers' clubs and around 35,000 self-help groups in the state to market their products more effectively. The bank has collaborated with as many as 90 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to set up the self-help groups, he said.

Complimenting the Jharkhand government for initiating a large number of innovative schemes, Shashidhar said two different clusters are being developed to help rural artisans.

A cluster of villages in Ramgarh (Hazaribagh) specialising in silver-smithy and another cluster of villages in West Singhbhum engaged in handloom weaving are being developed to promote rural artisans.

Shashidhar, in fact, rattled off a large number of special development initiatives to encourage poultry, floriculture, fancy jute craft, fly-ash bricks, mushroom cultivation and bee-keeping to help generate rural employment.

Some 1,800 rural youth, he claimed, had been trained during the year in doing various works like food processing, silk-weaving and pisciculture besides the activities referred above. Nabard has supported a large number of NGOs in training the rural youth.

The year under review, said the CGM, was a particularly successful year with more than three lakh Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) distributed by banks in the state during the year 2006-07.

The total number of such credit cards in the state, he said, stood at 5.88 lakh by the end of March.

Shashidhar claimed that Nabard had funded rural infrastructure development schemes, mostly rural roads, of the state government to the extent of Rs 154 crore during the year.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070421/asp/jamshedpur/story_7676442.asp

Climate Change Will Devastate South Asia

A final draft of a report leaked from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to the authors lays out shocking scenarios for India and the rest of South Asia. The summary for policy makers that was released by the IPCC on Friday is a call for urgent action globally. While shocking, the fuller final draft version of the Second Working Group of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, which may be watered down before final publication, makes for even more sobering reading: It lays out in explicit detail what lies ahead for India and the rest of Asia. It also presents an opportunity for the country to take the lead in defining a more secure and sustainable future for itself.

Here are some of the devastating consequences detailed in the provisional February 16, 2007, IPCC report on Asia: Sea levels will rise by at least 40 cm by 2100, inundating vast areas on the coastline, including some of the most densely populated cities whose populations will be forced to migrate inland or build dykes — both requiring a financial and logistical challenge that will be unprecedented. In the South Asian region as a whole, millions of people will find their lands and homes inundated. Up to 88 per cent of all of Asia's coral reefs, termed the "rainforests of the ocean" because of the critical habitat they provide to sea creatures, may be lost as a result of warming ocean temperatures.

The Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus will become seasonal rivers, dry between monsoon rains as Himalayan glaciers will continue their retreat, vanishing entirely by 2035, if not sooner. Water tables will continue to fall and the gross per capita water availability in India will decline by over one-third by 2050 as rivers dry up, water tables fall or grow more saline. Water scarcity will in turn affect the health of vast populations, with a rise in water-borne diseases such as cholera. Other diseases such as dengue fever and malaria are also expected to rise.

Crop productivity will fall, especially in non-irrigated land, as temperatures rise for all of South Asia by as much as 1.2 degrees C on average by 2040, and even greater crop loss — of over 25 per cent — as temperatures rise to up to 5.4 degrees C by the end of the century. This means an even lower caloric intake for India's vast rural population, already pushed to the limit, with the possibility of starvation in many rural areas dependent on rainfall for their crops. Even those areas that rely on irrigation will find a growing crisis in adequate water availability.

Mortality due to heat-related deaths will climb, with the poor, the elderly and daily wage earners and agricultural workers suffering a rise in heat-related deaths.

This grim future awaits India in the coming century. The irony is that much of this damage will be self-inflicted, unless the country is prepared to make a radical, enlightened change in its energy and transportation strategies.

We are truly at a crossroads: Either we can be complacent or wait for leadership from a reluctant United States, the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, or begin to take action now, regardless of what other countries do.

The path that India has taken thus far, of waiting until wealthy countries take action on global warming, is understandable if viewed in isolation. The U.S., the U.K., and other countries in the wealthy North, have developed their economies largely thanks to fossil fuels. It is only fair that India be allowed to attain the same standard of living before curbing its emissions.

But as the IPCC report makes clear, while it may be "fair" to do so, it is also suicidal for India to pursue any strategy but the least carbon-intensive path toward its own development. Wealthy, less populous countries in the North are very likely — and very unfairly — going to suffer fewer devastating blows to their economies, and may actually benefit with extended growing seasons, while India and other South Asian nations will dramatically and painfully suffer if action is not taken now.

Today, much of India's energy comes from coal, most of it mined in the rural areas of Orissa, Jharkhand, and Bihar with devastating consequences. Tribals and small and marginal peasants are being forced to resettle as these mines grow wider by the day. Inadequate resettlement plans mean more migration of landless populations to urban slums. The environment is being destroyed by these mines and their waste products — among them fly ash laced with heavy metals and other toxic materials. But the biggest irony of this boom in coal-fired power is that much of the power is going to export-oriented, energy-intensive industry. Look at Orissa's coal belt and you will find a plethora of foreign-owned and Indian aluminium smelters, steel mills, and sponge iron factories — all burning India's coal, at a heavy cost to local populations — then exporting a good share of the final product to the China, the U.S. or other foreign markets.

Volatile mix

Add to the problem of export-oriented, energy-intensive industry the problem of carbon trades, and you have a volatile mix. India is one of the top destinations globally in the growing carbon market. In exchange for carbon trade projects in India, wealthy polluters in the North are able to avoid restrictions on their own emissions. Rather than financing "clean development" projects as promised, many of these trades are cheap, dirty, and harmful to the rural poor. Fast-growing eucalyptus plantations are displacing farmers from their land and tribals from their forests. Sponge-iron factories are garnering more money from carbon trades earned by capturing "waste heat" than from the production of the raw material itself. Toxic fly ash from coal-fired power plants is being turned into bricks, and the carbon that would have been released from traditional clay-fired brick kilns, is now an invisible commodity that can be sold as carbon credits. These carbon trades are not helping finance clean energy and development for India's rural poor.

Add to this the special economic zones or SEZs — forcing people off their land, where blood, often of the most vulnerable, is shed at the altar of development.

Global warming will tighten this growing squeeze to a noose, as huge areas of Bangladesh go underwater and environmental refugees flood across India's borders. The leaked final draft of the IPCC report shows that Bangladesh is slated to lose the largest amount of land globally — approximately 1000 square km of cultivated land — due to sea level rise. Where will all of those hungry, thirsty, landless millions go? Most will flock to the border looking for avenues to enter, exacerbating an already tense situation not only in the States contiguous to Bangladesh but in cities as far off as Mumbai and Delhi.

Undoubtedly, global warming is not fair. It is exacting the highest price on those least responsible for the problem. But India can show the world that there is another way forward: A self-interested, self-preserving way, focussed on clean energy such as solar and wind; on energy efficiency; on providing for its own population's energy needs ahead of foreign corporations; on public transportation plans that strengthen India's vast network of rail and bus transportation routes, rather than weakening it with public subsidies to massive highways and to automakers. The IPCC final draft report urges India and other Asian countries to prepare for the coming climate apocalypse with crop varieties that can withstand higher temperatures, salinated aquifers, and an increase in pests. It also advises better water resource management and better disease monitoring and control. While important, prevention is always the best medicine.

The IPCC final draft report should be seen as a conservative assessment of what lies in store. It clearly implies that incremental or palliative responses to reduce vulnerability are not the answer. India and the other countries of the region need to take a preventative approach by moving their economies away from fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable forms of energy. This is the only way of preserving a sustainable way of life that could be a model for the world. If it pursues what is "fair" in a warming world by continuing to argue that industrialised nation are to blame and need to take urgent action, it will be placing the noose around its own neck while the hangman looks on.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/09/stories/2007040902691100.htm

End of the road looms for Calcutta rickshaws

CALCUTTA: Mohammed Jowahar, like his father before him, has pulled rickshaws by hand in the east Indian city of Calcutta for more than three decades. A government ban on the two-wheel carts may leave him destitute.

"This is the only skill I have," said Jowahar, 55, wearing a blue checkered sarong, vest and slippers as he waited outside the mayor's office for customers. He supports 11 family members in neighboring Bihar state on less than $3 a day.

Jowahar is among about 18,000 rickshaw pullers in Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal state and the only city in the world still served by so-called human horses. The Communist state government says the men have no place in its plans to turn India's old British colonial headquarters into a modern investment destination rivaling Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.

"It's inhuman for a human being to carry another in this day and age," said Mayor Bikash Bhattacharya, 55, a member of West Bengal's ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist). "We have made so much progress. We want rickshaws off the streets."

The government is building roads and shopping malls, and using tax breaks to lure companies like India's Tata Group and Indonesia's Salim Group to new trade zones.

West Bengal drew $337 million in overseas investment from 2000 to 2006, according to the federal Commerce Ministry.

In comparison, India's most industrialized state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, lured $7.5 billion during the same period. Federal capital New Delhi attracted $7.04 billion and southern Karnataka state, powered by the technology hub of Bangalore, received $2.05 billion.

"Our government in its initial years worked extensively for farmers and other poor sections of the society," said Jyoti Basu, 94, who retired in 2000 after 25 years as West Bengal's chief minister. "We've been slow in attracting investments and we now realize we need funds to make this a poverty-free state."

Basu first led attempts to ban the rickshaw pullers, known as rickshawalas, in 1984. Two other tries also failed because of protests by the pullers' unions.

The state is determined this time, Bhattacharya said. Lawmakers passed a bill in December barring Calcutta's estimated 5,000 carts and officials plan to phase them out gradually.

The current chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who us not related to the mayor, declined an interview request through his press secretary, Sharit Banerjee.

"The sight of a human pulling other humans on his shoulders for a pittance does not enhance Calcutta's image," the chief minister told India's Tribune newspaper in 2005.

Rickshaws came into existence in the 1860s in Japan, where they were known as jinrikisha, literally "human-powered vehicles."

They arrived in India about 20 years later, surfacing first in the Himalayan hill station of Simla, Britain's summer capital. By the turn of the century, Chinese traders were using them to transport goods and people around the city.

The hand-to-mouth lives of pullers have been featured in books like "The Phantom Rickshaw," by Rudyard Kipling in 1885, "Rickshaw Boy" by Lao She in 1936 and "City of Joy" by Dominique Lapierre in 1985.

China and Pakistan banned human horses a half-century ago. In countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia, carts now are pulled by bicycle rather than hand, or have become auto rickshaws - three-wheeled taxis with engines.

Still, rickshawalas remain the cheapest form of transportation in Calcutta, costing about 10 rupees, or 23 U.S. cents, per kilometer (5/8 mile). They cross class, caste and religious boundaries, ferrying children to school, negotiating lanes too small for other vehicles and winning customers during monsoons.

"Rickshaws have been a part of my life," said S. B. Roychoudhury, 86, a retired tea-estate manager in Kolata. "It's the only transport that has worked even during heavy rains when the streets have been waterlogged."

Like Jowahar, many pullers come from Bihar. Often they live in shanty towns, sharing rooms and meals to save money to send back to their villages.

Ramdev Sahu, 45, and Lakku Jadhav, 50, from Bihar's Samastipur district, said they earn about 5,000 rupees a month. Jadhav said he has educated four sons on his wage and is proud that they will not have to follow in his footsteps.

The pullers are unsure what will become of them when the ban takes effect. The government, which has discussed lending the men money to buy and operate three-wheelers, has not announced formal proposals.

"We are planning to set up self-help groups so that these people can find employment," Mayor Bhattacharya said. "We are also planning to set up parking zones and employ the rickshaw pullers to manage the areas."

Jowahar said he would not mind being turned into a tourist attraction instead of plying his usual rounds. Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto still uses some pullers as draws for visitors.

Still, his confidence in the government is waning. At home in Bihar's Kishanganj district, his wife, daughter-in-law, five grandchildren and three sisters all depend on his wage, he said.

"Calcutta is becoming anti-poor," Jowahar said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/18/business/sxrickshaw.php?page=2

Still early days at the grassroots

India and China are in two different stages of political development. With over 50 years' parliamentary democracy and regular elections behind it, India can be considered a mature democracy of sorts. But, China, with over 25 years' rapid, record-making growth behind it, remains entrenched in a system of one-party rule. But the gap between the two in practising grassroots democracy is much narrower. In that sphere both effectively got going, incredible as it may sound, in the same year, 1993. That was the great watershed when modern panchayati raj came to India through the 73rd amendment to the Constitution. That was also the year when the notification of the Communist Party of China struck down the village offices set up by the "township governments" (the next layer above) that were undermining the villagers' committees. The latter, ushering in grassroots democracy, had come into being through the adoption of the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees in 1987. Panchayati raj had also begun in India earlier, notably in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, but it is the constitutional amendment that made it national and mandatory.

How real, effective and autonomous is this third layer in the two countries? In this book the one by D Bandyopadhyay and others is quite scathing on the achievements of the Indian system. "Only in Kerala has there been a genuine attempt to develop the institutions of self-government for local governance ... Although the amendments hold the promise of replacing the system of bureaucratic local governance by autonomous and representative institutions of local government, the promise has not been fulfilled as the state governments refuse to share power and resources with the panchayats." The Constitution has given panchayats "de jure" autonomy, but "de facto" they remain "nothing more than an agency of the state governments". They detect "a systematic subversion of the panchayats both overtly and covertly by the bureaucracy and the MPs and MLAs who feel threatened by the emerging leadership of the three-tier panchayat system".

Not that the system has nothing going for it. With one-third of elected positions reserved for women, "this has been the most effective formal step for political empowerment of women" in India. The panchayats have also "released a new liberalising force for Dalits, STs, women" and overall the disadvantaged. The hope is that the panchayats are a "new phenomenon" which is likely to challenge the current dominance of "the land-owning propertied classes/castes in the countryside."

And China? The great gain is that for the first time people at the grassroots have been given the right to vote in elections contested by multiple candidates. But, as Xiaohong Zhou points out, "the village party branch together with the township party committee and the government still dominate the process of nominating candidates for village elections in many areas." The key issue that remains unresolved is "the relationship between the village committee and the party branch." His view, shared by most, is that unless this is done, "villagers' self-governance and democratic supervision cannot be truly accomplished, and the elected village committee head is not truly in charge". If there has been some progress then how does the present reality square up with the Maoist ear when Mao, through the Cultural Revolution, tried to enlist the support of the grassroots to fight entrenched party interests and his personal opponents? Xiaohong ends with a pithy sentence: "In the Maoist period, villagers who could not even decide their own fate were able to influence the fate of the state, but in the post-Mao period, villagers have gained control over their own fate." Well, partially at least.

Can China's rapid economic development lead to greater democracy? Received wisdom holds that the relationship between the two is strong, but what is the reality in rural China? Zweig and Chung Siu Fung discuss the findings of their survey in 120 villages in two provinces. There has been some strengthening of democracy in rural China in the late nineties. But there is no correlation between wealthy villages and villagers and democracy. Party cadres in the wealthiest villages are the least democratic. Democratisation makes it more difficult to create public goods out of public resources. It is not clear if elections are curbing cadre misbehaviour. Critically, there is little change in the nature of the rural elite. On the positive side, village director and party secretary are now separate people. But with cooption still widespread through village director becoming vice party secretary, democracy poses only a limited challenge to party authority. Hence, it is not surprising that there is no sign of a coherent opposition to the Communist party emerging. But there is evidence that those in the upper middle income bracket may be the most democratic in rural China.

Overall, in two of the most populous countries of the world accounting for a third of humanity, grassroots democracy is at a somewhat nascent stage, with India only slightly ahead of China. The hope of a better future rests on the triumph of faith over current reality.

http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu4&subLeft=6&auto
no=281681&tab=r

The National Common Minimum Program in India

India is a country of largest population of heterogeneous nature. In a population wise it is just after China. Since independence different programmes has been formulated by different government, and every five year, new five year plan being implemented, but particularly after the emergence of coalition politics, the picture changed its nature of development. This article focus on the UPA's Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which passed by the UPA to give more attention on developmental issue to all the sections of the society as well as to all the areas including states and union territories of the Republic of India. It is very difficult to discuss all the programmes, because of its vast nature and area. This article focuses on the few areas of the Common Minimum Programme which is directly or indirectly related to the common people of this country.

Introduction:

The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) is the first achievement or to be say political achievements of the Congress led government. The people of India have voted decisively in the 14th Lok Sabha elections for secular, progressive forces, for parties wedded to the welfare of farmers, agricultural labour, weavers, workers and weaker sections of society, for parties irrevocably committed to the daily well-being of the common man across the country. In keeping with this mandate, the Congress, its pre-poll allies that include the RJD, DMK, NCP, PMK, TRS, JMM, LJP, MDMK, AIMIM, PDP, IUML, RPI (A), RPI (G) and KC(J) have come together to form a United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The UPA government supported by the Left Parties will have six basic principles for governance.

Achieving this goal however, poses a steep challenge. As Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh declared, all too aware, "life is never free of contradictions".1Conflict of inherent in the new coalition, how this play themselves out depends on several important factors: whether sufficient trust exists or can be created amongst key coalition partners to share power genuinely, whether mechanism are put in place to facilitate collective decision making and whether the main coalition agents posses the necessary political skills to broker sustainable compromise. They depend in other words on the politics of managing the coalition.

Hence the question arises, can Congress effective multi-administration? It must surmount formidable challenges. First, the Congress must over come the legacy of distrust bequeathed by it's undermining of previous multi party administration, many of whose parties' successors are now in the UPA at the centre:

The Janata Party 1977-1979

National Front 1989-1991

United Front 1996-1988

Significantly, all three coalitions, which oppose the Congress yet nevertheless depend on it for external parliamentary support at some point in their tenure, failed to survive their term in office.

FOCUS ON CMP COASTS REFORMS:

It's been six month since the finance minister presented the Union Budget for 2005-06. The overall tax collection in the first half of the fiscal have largely been on track, the lower than-projected growth in excise and personal income tax collections, however, is a cause for concern, while direct taxes rose 28% at Rs. 58,052 crore. Indirect taxes increased 17% to Rs. 87,221 crore.

With the dip in internet receipts consequent to the Twelfth Finance Commission (TFC) award to states and the decline in divided receipts from oil companies, the centre will have to rely primarily on tax receipts to keep the FRBM targets within reach and bring the fiscal back to the charted course at-least from the next fiscal North Block is hardly enthused by the dismal collections from the fringe benefit tax (FBT) although the budget estimate (2005-06) of tax revenue did not include this new impost. FBT collection stood at just Rs. 800 crore in H1, and are expected to cross Rs. 3000 crore, the whole year. The stock market rally for most part in Rs. 1,000 crore forms the securities transaction tax.

Collection Budget estimate Balance to be collected

April-Sep 2005-06 in the next six month

Exercise 47,855 1,21,533 73,678

Customs 31,208 53,182 21,974

Service tax 8,158 17,500 9,342

Personal income tax 22,450 66,239 43,789

Corporate tax 33,685 1,10,685 76,888

Total 1,43,356 3,70,025 2,26,669

Figures in crore

Despite buoyant industrial production exercise collections were up just 8.3% at Rs47,855 crore. The collections fell short of the moving monthly target by about 9%. The budget target is to increase exercise collections by 19.9% to Rs.1,21,533 crore. In fact, from a negative growth in April (- 0.85%) exercise collections were nudged to an year -on-year growth of 3.22%, 6.25%, 7.2% and 9.8% in May, June, July and August respectively. The gradual increase in collections was despite the fact that convent credit out go during the period posted an unprecedented increase of Rs.7,213 crore, over the year ago. Period significantly the shortfall in collection was evident across sectors, including the petroleum sector that witnessed significant price increase during the fiscal due to the high price of crude oil.

Even as the exercise duty on petrol and diesel continue to nave an advalorem component (8%), the year increase in collections from the petroleum industry was just 14.8% against the targeted 19.9%. the collections from the oil industry did not meet the projections because the volume remained stagnant.

A comprehensive sector-wise assessment of the exercise mop-up Oil, iron and steel, cement, chemicals and pharma industries are under the lens. With imports growing even faster than exports, customs duties, despite a 55 cut in peak rate grew 24% at Rs.31,208 crore during April-September this fiscal. Service tax mop up stood at of at last fiscal. Higher profits of India in ensured that corporate tax collections was up 28% at Rs.33,685 crore in H1 of this fiscal from Rs.26,223 crore in the year ago period.

The situation is not quite encouraging as far as personal income tax mop up is concerned. Indeed, collections recovered from the negative growth in initial months of the fiscal, but the 18% growth and Rs.22,450 crore collections fall significantly short of the moving monthly targets.2

Reflection on some important inclusive Common Minimum Programme (CMP):

Addressing to a joint session of the Parliament, President Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam focus of the new regime would be performance oriented and accountable administration. The high points of governance which he stated are as follows.

Employment:

The UPA government will enact a National Employment Guarantee Act. This will provide a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment to begin with on asset-creating public works programmes every year at minimum wages for at least one able-bodied person in every rural, urban poor and lower middle-class household. In the interim, a massive food-for-work Programme will be started. It establishes a National Commission to examine the problems facing enterprises in the unorganized, informal sector. The Commission will be asked to make appropriate recommendations to provide technical, marketing and credit support to these enterprises. A National Fund will be created for this purpose. It will revamp the functioning of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and launch new programmes for the modernization of coir, handlooms, power looms, garments, rubber, cashew, handicrafts, food processing, sericulture, wool development, leather, pottery and other cottage industries. It will give the highest investment, credit and technological priority to the continued growth of agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, floriculture, dairying and agro-processing that will significantly add to the creation of new jobs. Along with vastly expanding credit facilities for small-scale industry and self-employment, the UPA government will ensure that the services industry will be given all support to fulfill its true growth and employment potential. This includes software and all IT-enabled services, trade, distribution, transport, telecommunications, finance and tourism. The textile industry will be enabled to meet new challenges imposed by the abolition of quotas under the international multi-fibre agreement in January 2005. Given its special ecological importance world-wide and within the country, the jute industry will receive a fresh impetus in all respects.

Agriculture:

The UPA government will ensure that public investment in agricultural research and extension, rural infrastructure and irrigation is stepped up in a significant manner at the very earliest. Irrigation will receive the highest investment priority and all on-going projects will be completed according to a strict time schedule. The rural cooperative credit system will be nursed back to health. The UPA government will ensure that the flow of rural credit is doubled in the next three years and that the coverage of small and marginal farmers by institutional lending is expanded substantially. The delivery system for rural credit will be reviewed. Immediate steps will be taken to ease the burden of debt and high interest rates on farm loans. Crop and livestock insurance schemes will be made more effective. The government introduced a special programme for dry-land farming in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country. Watershed and wasteland development programmes will be taken up on a massive scale. Water management in all its aspects, both for irrigation and drinking purposes, will received urgent attention. The administration will ensure the fullest implementation of minimum wage laws for farm labour. Comprehensive protective legislation will be enacted for all agricultural workers. Revenue administration will be thoroughly modernized and clear land titles will be established. It brings forward a Constitutional Amendment to ensure the democratic, autonomous and professional functioning of cooperatives. Controls that depress the incomes of farmers will be systematically removed. Farmers will be given greater say in the organizations that supply inputs to them. It ensures that adequate protection is provided to all farmers from imports, particularly when international prices fall sharply. The UPA government will ensure that government agencies entrusted with the responsibility for procurement and marketing will pay special attention to farmers in poor and backward states and districts. Farmers all over the country will receive fair and remunerative prices. The terms of trade will be maintained in favour of agriculture. It takes steps to ensure that dues to all farmers including sugarcane farmers will be cleared at the earliest.

Education and Health:

The UPA government pledges to raise public spending in education to least 6% of GDP with at least half this amount being spent of primary and secondary sectors. This will be done in a phased manner; the government will introduce a cess on all central taxes to finance the commitment to universalize access to quality basic education. A National Commission on Education will be set up to allocate resources and monitor programmes. The government will take immediate steps to reverse the trend of communalization of education that had set in the past five years. It will also ensure that all institutions of higher learning and professional education retain their autonomy. The government will ensure that nobody is denied professional education because he or she is poor. Academic excellence and professional competence will be the sole criteria for all appointments to bodies like the Indian Council for Historical Research, Indian Council for Social Science Research, University Grants Commission, National Council for Educational Research and Training, etc. Steps will be taken to remove the communalization of the school syllabus that has taken place in the past five years. A review committee of experts will be set up for this purpose. A national cooked nutritious mid-day meal scheme funded mainly by the central government will be introduced in primary and secondary schools. An appropriate mechanism for quality checks will also set up. The UPA will also universalize the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme to provide a functional anganwadi in every settlement and ensure full coverage for all children. Government fully back and support all NGO efforts in the area of primary education. Proper infrastructure will be created in schools for NCC, NSS, physical development, sports and cultural development of all students. The government will raise public spending on health to at least 2-3% of GDP over the next five years with focus on primary health care. A national scheme for health insurance for poor families will be introduced. The UPA will step up public investment in programmes to control all communicable diseases and also provide leadership to the national AIDS control effort. The government will take all steps to ensure availability of life-savings drugs at reasonable prices. Special attention will be paid to the poorer sections in the matter of health care. The feasibility of reviving public sector units set up for the manufacture of critical bulk drugs will be re-examined so as to bring down and keep a check on prices of drugs.

Women and Children:

The UPA government will take the lead to introduce legislation for one-third reservations for women in Vidhan Sabhas and in the Lok Sabha. Legislation on domestic violence and against gender discrimination will be enacted. It ensures that at least one-third of all funds flowing into Panchayats will be earmarked for programmes for the development of women and children. Village women and their associations will be encouraged to assume responsibility for all development schemes relating to drinking water, sanitation, primary education, health and nutrition. Complete legal equality for women in all spheres will be made a practical reality, especially by removing discriminatory legislation and by enacting new legislation that gives women, for instance, equal rights of ownership of assets like houses and land. It brings about a major expansion in schemes for micro-finance based on self-help groups, particularly in the backward and ecologically fragile areas of the country. The government is committed to replicating all over the country the success that some southern and other states have had in family planning. A sharply targeted population control programme will be launched in the 150-odd high-fertility districts. It recognizes the states to achieve success in family planning cannot be penalized. It protects the rights of children, strive for the elimination of child labour, ensure facilities for schooling and extend special care to the girl child.

Food and Nutrition Security:

The UPA will government will work out, in the next three months, a comprehensive medium-term strategy for food and nutrition security. The objective will be to move towards universal food security over time, if found feasible. It strengthens the public distribution system (PDS) particularly in the poorest and backward blocks of the country and also involves women's and ex-servicemen's cooperatives in its management. Special schemes to reach food grains to the most destitute and infirm will be launched. Grain banks in chronically food-scarce areas will be established. Antyodaya cards for all households at risk of hunger will be introduced. It brings about major improvements in the functioning of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to control inefficiencies that increase the food subsidy burden. Nutrition programmes, particularly for the girl child will be expanded on a significant scale.

Panchayati Raj:

The UPA government will ensure that all funds given to states for implementation of poverty alleviation and rural development schemes by Panchayats are neither delayed nor diverted. Monitoring will be strict. In addition, after consultations with states, it considers crediting elected Panchayats with such funds directly. Devolution of funds will be accompanied by similar devolution of functions and functionaries as well. Regular elections to panchayat bodies will be ensured and the amended Act is respect of the Fifth and Sixth Schedule Areas will be implemented. It ensures that the Gram Sabha is empowered to emerge as the foundation of Panchayati Raj.

Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes:

The UPA will urge the states to make legislation for conferring ownership rights in respect of minor forest produce, including tendu patta, on all those people from the weaker sections who work in the forests. All reservation quotas, including those relating to promotions, will be fulfilled in a time-bound manner. To codify all reservations, a Reservation Act will be enacted. It launches a comprehensive national Programme for minor irrigation of all lands owned by Dalits and adivasis. Landless families will be endowed with land through implementation of land ceiling and land redistribution legislation. No reversal of ceilings legislation will be permitted. It takes all measures to reconcile the objectives of economic growth and environmental conservation, particularly as far as tribal communities dependent on forests are concerned. It is concerned with the growth of extremist violence and other forms of terrorist activity in different states. This is not merely a law-and-order problem, but a far deeper socio-economic issue which will be addressed more meaningfully than has been the case so far. False encounters will not be permitted. It will immediately review the overall strategy and programmes for the development of tribal areas to plug loopholes and to work out more viable livelihood strategies. In addition, more effective systems of relief and rehabilitation will be put in place for tribal and other groups displaced by development projects. Tribal people alienated from land will be rehabilitated. It is very sensitive to the issue of affirmative action, including reservations, in the private sector. It will immediately initiate a national dialogue with all political parties, industry and other organizations to see how best the private sector can fulfill the aspirations of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe youth. Eviction of tribal communities and other forest-dwelling communities from forest areas will be discontinued. Cooperation of these communities will be sought for protecting forests and for undertaking social afforestation. The rights of tribal communities over mineral resources, water sources, etc as laid down by law will be fully safeguarded.

Social Harmony, Welfare of Minorities:

The UPA is committed to the implementation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1992. On Ayodhya, it will await the verdict of the courts, while encouraging negotiations between parties to the dispute for an amicable settlement which must, in turn, receive legal sanction. It will enact a model comprehensive law to deal with communal violence and encourage each state to adopt that law to generate faith and confidence in minority communities. It will amend the Constitution to establish a Commission for Minority Educational Institutions that will provide direct affiliation for minority professional institutions to central universities. It will promote modern and technical education among all minority communities. Social and economic empowerment of minorities through more systematic attention to education and employment will be a priority concern for the UPA. It will establish a National Commission to see how best the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities, including reservations in education and employment, is enhanced. The Commission will be given six months to submit its report. Adequate funds will be provided to the National Minorities Development Corporation to ensure its effective functioning. The UPA government will examine the question of providing Constitutional status to the Minorities Commission and will also strive for recognition and promotion of Urdu language under Article 345 and 347 of the Constitution. The National Integration Council will be restructured and revived so as to fulfill its original objectives. It will meet at least twice a year.

Infrastructure:

The UPA attaches the highest priority to the development and expansion of physical infrastructure like roads, highways, ports, power, railways, water supply, sewage treatment and sanitation. Public investment in infrastructure will be enhanced, even as the role of the private sector is expanded. Subsidies will be made explicit and provided through the budget. The review of the Electricity Act, 2003 will be undertaken in view of the concern expressed by a number of states. The mandatory date of June 10, 2004 for unbundling and replacing the state electricity boards will be extended. The UPA government also reiterates its commitment to an increased role for private generation of power and more importantly power distribution. Railways constitute the core of our infrastructure. Public investment for its modernization, track renewal and safety will be substantially increased. Railways reforms will be pursued. It commits itself to a comprehensive Programme of urban renewal and to a massive expansion of social housing in towns and cities, paying particular attention to the needs of slum dwellers. Housing for the weaker sections in rural areas will be expanded on a large scale. Forced eviction and demolition of slums will be stopped and while undertaking urban renewal, care will be taken to see that the urban and semi-urban poor are provided housing near their place of occupation. It will pay special attention to augmenting and modernizing rural infrastructure consisting of roads, irrigation, electrification, cold-chain and marketing outlets. All existing irrigation projects will be completed with three to four years. Household electrification will be completed in five years.

Water Resources:

The UPA government will make a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of linking the rivers of the country starting with the south-bound rivers. This assessment will be done in a fully consultative manner. It will also explore the feasibility of linking sub-basins of rivers in states like Bihar. The UPA will take all steps to ensure that long-pending inter-state disputes on rivers and water-sharing like the Cauvery Waters dispute are settled amicably at the earliest keeping in mind the interests of all parties to the dispute. To put an end to the acute drinking water shortage in cities, especially in southern states, desalination plants will be installed all along the Coromandel Coast starting with Chennai. Special problems of habitations in hilly terrains will be addressed immediately. Providing drinking water to all sections in urban and rural areas and augmenting availability of drinking water sources is an issue of the topmost priority. Harvesting rain water, desilting existing ponds and other innovative mechanisms will be adopted.

Regional Development, Centre-State Relations:

The UPA government is committed to redressing growing regional imbalances both among states as well as within states, through fiscal, administrative, investment and other means. It is a matter of concern that regional imbalances have been accentuated by not just historical neglect but also by distortions in Plan allocations and central government assistance. Even in the Tenth Five Year Plan, states like Bihar, Assam and UP have received per capita allocations that are much below the national average. The UPA government will consider the creation of a Backward States Grant Fund that will be used to create productive assets in these states. The central government will also take proactive measures to speed up the industrialization of the eastern and northeastern region. A structured and transparent approach to alleviate the burden of debt on states will be adopted at the earliest, so as to enable them to increase social sector investments. Interest rates on loans to states will be reduced and the share of states in the single, divisible pool of taxes enhanced. All non-statutory resource transfers from the central government will be weighted in favour of poor and backward states but with performance parameters as well. A special Programme for social and physical infrastructure development in the poorest and most backward districts of the country will be taken up on a priority basis. It will take special measures to ensure that regions of India like in the east where the credit: deposit ratio is lagging, is improved substantially. It will review the issue of payment of royalties to states in the area of minerals. From time to time, previous governments have announced special economic packages as, for example, for the northeast, for Bihar and for J&K. For Bihar, Shri Rajiv Gandhi had announced a special development package in 1989 and subsequently another package was announced at the time of its division in 1999 to make up for the loss of revenue. These packages will be implemented expeditiously. It will make the National Development Council (NDC) a more effective instrument of cooperative federalism. The NDC will meet at least twice a year and in different states. Immediately, the NDC will take up the issue of the financial health of states and arrive at a national consensus on specific steps to be taken in this regard. The Inter-State Council will also be activated. All centrally-sponsored schemes except in national priority areas like family planning will be transferred to states. It will consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana state at an appropriate time after due consultations and consensus. The Sarkaria Commission had last looked at the issue of Centre-State relations over two decades ago. The UPA government will set up a new Commission for this purpose keeping in view the sea-changes that have taken place in the polity and economy of India since then. Long-pending schemes in specific states that have national significance, like the Sethu Samuthuiram project, flood control and drainage in North Bihar (that requires cooperation with Nepal as well) and Prevention of Erosion in Padma-Ganga and Bhagirithi flood control in West Bengal will be completed expeditiously. A Flood-prone Area Development Programme will be started and the central government will fully support flood control works in inter-state and international rivers. All existing schemes for drought-prone area development will be reviewed and a single major national Programme launched.

Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast:

The UPA government is pledged to respecting the letter and spirit of Article 370 of the Constitution that accords a special status to J&K. Dialogue with all groups and with different shades of opinion in J&K will be pursued on a sustained basis, in consultation with the democratically-elected state government. The healing touch policy pursued by the state government will be fully supported and an economic and humanitarian thrust provided to it. The state will be given every types of assistance to rebuild its infrastructure quickly. New efforts will be launched to bring investments in areas like power, tourism, handicrafts and sericulture. It determined to tackle terrorism, militancy and insurgency in the northeast as a matter of urgent national priority. All northeastern states will be given special assistance to upgrade and expand infrastructure. The Northeastern Council will be strengthened and given adequate professional support. The territorial integrity of existing states will be maintained.

Administrative Reforms:

The UPA will set up an Administrative Reforms Commission to prepare a detailed blueprint for revamping the public administration system. E-governance will be promoted on a massive scale. The Right to Information Act will be made more progressive, participatory and meaningful. The Lok Pal Bill will be enacted into law. It will take the leadership role to drastically cut delays in High Courts and lower levels of the judiciary. Legal aid services will be expanded. Judicial reforms will be given a fresh momentum. As part of its commitment to electoral reforms, the UPA will initiate steps to introduce state funding of elections at the earliest.

Industry:

The UPA will take all necessary steps to revive industrial growth and put it on a robust footing, through a range of policies including deregulation, where necessary Incentives to boost private investment will be introduced. FDI will continue to be encouraged and actively sought particularly in areas of infrastructure, high-technology and exports and where local assets and employment are created on a significant scale. The country needs and can easily absorb at least two to three times the present level of FDI inflows. Indian industry will be given every support to become productive and competitive. All regulatory institutions will be strengthened to ensure that competition is free and fair. These institutions will be run professionally. It will set up a National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council to provide a continuing forum for policy dialogue to energies and sustain the growth of manufacturing industry like food processing, textiles and garments, engineering, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, capital goods, leather, and IT hardware. Household and artisanal manufacturing will be given greater technological, investment and marketing support. In the past few years, the most employment-intensive segment of small-scale industry (SSI) has suffered extensively. A major promotional package for the SSI sector will be announced soon. It will be freed from the Inspector Raj and given full credit, technological and marketing support. Infrastructure up gradation in major industrial clusters will receive urgent attention. Competition in the financial sector will be expanded. Public sector banks will be given full managerial autonomy. Interest rates will provide incentives both to investors and savers, particularly pensioners and senior citizens. The UPA government will never take decisions on the Employers Provident Fund (EPF) without consultations with and approval of the EPF Board. Regulation of urban cooperative banks in particular and of banks in general will be made more effective. LIC and GIC will continue to be in the public sector and will continue to play their social role. In addition, the social obligations imposed by regulatory bodies on private banks and private insurance companies will be monitored and enforced strictly.

Labour:

The UPA government is firmly committed to ensure the welfare and well-being of all workers, particularly those in the unorganized sector who constitute 93% of our workforce. Social security, health insurance and other schemes for such workers like weavers, handloom workers, fishermen and fisherwomen, toddy tappers, leather workers, plantation labour, beedi workers, etc will be expanded. UPA rejects the idea of automatic hire and fire. It recognizes that some changes in labour laws may be required but such changes must fully protect the interests of workers and families and must take place after full consultation with trade unions. The UPA will pursue a dialogue with industry and trade unions on this issue before coming up with specific proposals. However, labour laws other than the Industrial Disputes Act that create an Inspector Raj will be re-examined and procedures harmonized and streamlined. It firmly believes that labour-management relations in our country must be marked by consultations, cooperation and consensus, not confrontation. Tripartite consultations with trade unions and industry on all proposals concerning them will be actively pursued. Rights and benefits earned by workers, including the right to strike according to law, will not be taken away or curtailed.

Public sector:

The UPA government is committed to a strong and effective public sector whose social objectives are met by its commercial functioning. But for this, there is need for selectivity and a strategic focus. The UPA is pledged to devolve full managerial and commercial autonomy to successful, profit-making companies operating in a competitive environment. Generally profit-making companies will not be privatized. All privatizations will be considered on a transparent and consultative case-by-case basis. The UPA will retain existing "navaratna" companies in the public sector while these companies raise resources from the capital market. While every effort will be made to modernize and restructure sick public sector companies and revive sick industry, chronically loss-making companies will either be sold-off, or closed, after all workers have got their legitimate dues and compensation. The UPA will induct private industry to turn-around companies that have potential for revival. It believes that privatization should increase competition, not decrease it. It will not support the emergence of any monopoly that only restricts competition. It also believes that there must be a direct link between privatization and social needs---like, for example, the use of privatization revenues for designated social sector schemes. Public sector companies and nationalized banks will be encouraged to enter the capital market to raise resources and offer new investment avenues to retail investors.

Fiscal Policy:

The UPA government commits itself to eliminating the revenue deficit of the centre by 2009, so as to release more resources for investments in social and physical infrastructure. All subsidies will be targeted sharply at the poor and the truly needy like small and marginal farmers, farm labour and the urban poor. A detailed roadmap for accomplishing this will be unveiled in Parliament within 90 days. The UPA government will not cut deficits by reducing or curtailing growth of investment and development outlays. It is pledged to the early introduction of VAT after all the necessary technical and administrative homework has been completed, particularly on issues like the integration of service sector taxation and compensation to states. It will initiate measures to increase the tax: GDP ratio by undertaking major tax reforms that expand the base of taxpayers, increase tax compliance and make the tax administration more efficient. Tax rates will be stable and conducive to growth, compliance and investment. Special schemes to unearth black money and assets will be introduced. It will take effective and strong measures to control the price hike of essential commodities. Provisions to deal with speculators, hoarders and black- marketers under the Essential Commodities Act will not be diluted in any way.

Capital Markets:

The UPA government is deeply committed, through tax and other policies, to the orderly development and functioning of capital markets that reflect the true fundamentals of the economy. Financial markets will be deepened. FII's will continue to be encouraged while the vulnerability of the financial system to the flow of speculative capital will be reduced. Misuse of double taxation agreements will be stopped. Interests of small investors will be protected and they will be given new avenues for safe investment of their savings. SEBI will be further strengthened. Strictest action will be taken against market manipulators and those who try to deliberately engineer market panic.

Economic Reforms:

The UPA reiterates its abiding commitment to economic reforms with a human face that stimulates growth, investment and employment. Further reforms are needed and will be carried out in agriculture, industry and services. The UPA's economic reforms will be oriented primarily to spreading and deepening rural prosperity, to significantly improving the quality of public systems and delivery of public services, to bringing about a visible and tangible difference in the quality of life of ordinary citizens of our country.

Defense, Internal Security:

The UPA government will ensure that all delays in the modernization of the armed forces are eliminated and that all funds earmarked for modernization are spent fully at the earliest. UPA will set up a new Department of Ex-Servicemen's' Welfare in the Ministry of Defense. The long pending issue of one-rank, one-pension will be re-examined. The UPA government will make the National Security Council a professional and effective institution. It is committed to maintaining a credible nuclear weapons programme while at the same time it will evolve demonstrable and verifiable confidence-building measures with its nuclear neighbours. It will take a leadership role in promoting universal, nuclear disarmament and working for a nuclear weapons-free world. The UPA has been concerned with the manner in which POTA has been grossly misused in the past two years. There will be no compromise in the fight against terrorism. But given the abuse of POTA that has taken place, the UPA government will repeal it, while existing laws are enforced strictly. The UPA government will take the strictest possible action, without fear or favour, against all those individuals and organizations, who spread social discord, disturb social amity, propagate religious bigotry and communal hatred. The law of the land will be enforced effectively.

Science and Technology

The UPA government will follow policies and introduce programmes that strengthen India's vast science and technology infrastructure. Science and technology development and application missions will be launched in key areas, covering both global leadership and local transformation. The UPA government will mobilize the skills and expertise of Indian scientists, technologists and other professionals working abroad for institution-building and other projects in the country.

Energy Security:

The UPA government will immediately put in place policies to enhance the country's energy security particularly in the area of oil. Overseas investments in the hydrocarbon industry will be actively encouraged. An integrated energy policy linked with sustainable development will be put in place.

Foreign Policy, International Organizations:

The UPA government will pursue an independent foreign policy keeping in mind its past traditions. This policy will seek to promote multi-polarity in world relations and oppose all attempts at unilateralism. It will give the highest priority to building closer political, economic and other ties with its neighbours in South Asia and to strengthening SAARC. Particular attention will be paid to regional projects in the area of water resources, power and ecological conservation. Dialogue with Pakistan on all issues will be pursued systematically and on a sustained basis. The UPA will support peace talks in Sri Lanka that fulfill the legitimate aspirations of Tamils and religious minorities within the territorial integrity and solidarity of Sri Lanka. Outstanding issues with Bangladesh will be resolved. Intensive dialogue will be initiated with Nepal for developing water resources to mutual advantage. Trade and investment with China will be expanded further and talks on the border issue pursued seriously. Relationships with East Asian countries will be intensified. Traditional ties with West Asia will be given a fresh thrust. The UPA government reiterates India's decades-old commitment to the cause of the Palestinian people for a homeland of their own. Steps will be taken to withdraw Indian mercenaries from Iraq while further recruitment for this purpose will be banned. Even as it pursues closer engagement and relations with the USA, the UPA government will maintain the independence of India's foreign policy position on all regional and global issues. The UPA is committed to deepening ties with Russia and Europe as well. In keeping with the stance adopted by the late Shri Murasoli Maran at Doha, the UPA government will fully protect the national interest, particularly of farmers, in all WTO negotiations. Commitments made earlier will be adhered to, even as efforts are mounted to ensure that all agreements reflect our concerns fully particularly in the area of intellectual property and agriculture. The UPA government will use the flexibility afforded in existing WTO agreements to fully protect Indian agriculture and industry. The UPA government will play a proactive role in strengthening the emerging solidarity of developing countries in the shape of G-20 in the WTO.

Official Language:

The UPA government will set up a committee to examine the question of declaring all languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution as official languages. In addition, Tamil will be declared as a classical language.

Conclusion:

It is not enough for poor people to say that they would like to take advantage of globalization. The government must 'listen' to this voice and work towards creating the enabling environment, particularly the marginalized sections of the society including the northeastern people of India. The poor are not idle or worthless but we need to find them productive work and market for the goods they produce that will sustained their families. No doubt this Common Minimum Programme (CMP) by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a relief package to the poor but government should focus more in these areas like the development of SC/ST/Women and also make strong policy to check poverty. Sustained poverty reduction continued to be concerned

There will despite our best efforts and intention, be a widened and strength for such groups. Empowerment of people through social mobilization en-compassing the concept of self-help, transparency and accountability need to be pursued vigorously, Community based organization, self help groups and civil society including NGO's should be networked to form social capital that will exert pressure towards ensuring good governance.

People's involvement in planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes is very important. Provisions for such arrangements in the schemes need to be put to practice seriously and with full earnestness. Transparency in selection and accountability for results both the implementers and recipients must be ensured to realize better results. All has to play their assigned roles faithfully with a view to improve the Programme delivery efficient. The CMP will work effectively only when the implementer become responsible to the concerned work other wise it also failed like other past programmes which passed in different government's.

http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=2669&cid=6&sid=20

Oriya tribals drink toddy to fight sweltering summer

PHULBANI: Tribals in Orissa's Phulbani region are drinking toddy extracted from palm trees to fight the sweltering summer. Toddy or palm wine is an alcoholic beverage extracted from the saps of palm tree and is common in southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The brew undergoes natural fermentation, has no additives and yet remains as potent as any other. In fact, it becomes more potent as days go by. In Phulbani village of Kadhmal district of Orissa, where the consumption of toddy is said to be the highest in the state, people - from small children to elders - consume toddy, called 'salap' in the local parlance, all through the day. "It keeps the stomach cool and suppresses hunger. We don't feel like eating rice entire day after drinking this. We drink it usually thrice a day, morning, noon and evening. We get little intoxicated after drinking this," said Goswananda, a villager. Surprisingly the villagers also give the drink to their children to fight the heat. Liquor trade in almost all states across India is rigidly regulated, besides being heavily taxed. Officials however, say if the villagers trade the drink, they may have to intervene and take action against them. "We will register a case against them under section 47 (A) of Excise law. We have not registered case against anyone yet. But if they will start selling it then we will definitely register a case against them. We don't have any information regarding illegal trade yet if we will get any such information in future them we will definitely register a case against them," said Laxmikanta Behera, Excise Superintendent. The officials say toddy drinking causes lot of domestic problems in the area, as the men folk don't do any work after drinking toddy. Dozens of poor people die in India every year after consuming cheap local brews, often laced with poisonous substances such as methyl alcohol, rectified spirit and varnish, which are added to provide a quick "high".

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20070419143705&Page=Q&Title=
ORISSA&Topic=0

Govt. enacting code of corporate governance

BHUBANESWAR: Scams, financial impropriety and mismanagement have by far been the bane of State PSUs. The multi-crore Orissa Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC) scam not only shocked the State Government but also shook it in 2006.

It's now readying to evolve a code of corporate governance for the PSUs in a bid to arrest bleeding of exchequer.

The exercise has begun with a study now being carried out on eight PSUs. The study would be a first under government initiative.

Also, Centre is set to launch a model code of corporate governance for Central PSEs. The State Government, which has embarked on a series of brainstorming sessions, is looking at prudent use of public resources, efficient delivery of services as well as ensuring accountability by introducing corporate governance.

An inception meet of heads of the administration was held here recently. "What we are trying to put in place are concepts of reforms in areas which need them. Issues like independent directors on the boards and human resources management should be introduced," said a senior Government official.

The study, to begin with, would closely look at constitution of the boards of eight PSUs, audit reports and accounts committee findings as well as those tabled in the Assembly.

It will eventually lead to a set of codes which the Government is trying to formulate.

Besides, it will suggest certain reforms in human resources management (HRM) to arrest indiscriminate recruitment of manpower disproportionate to their areas of work.

Similarly, monitoring of targets and accountability matched by incentive are two other areas on the reforms agenda.

The last reviewed status of PSUs puts the number of inoperative undertakings at 32 out of a total 65.

The total number of employees engaged stands at 38,158 while Government's total investment in the PSUs pegs at Rs 1,835 crore with the return rate at 15.69 percent.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20070420035942&Page=Q&Title=
ORISSA&Topic=0

Over six lakh schools lack girls' toilet

NEW DELHI: With women and child abuse being much in the news, a new study by the human resource development (HRD) ministry has revealed that over 6,20,000 primary and upper primary schools in India lack separate toilets for girls.

According to the survey conducted jointly by HRD ministry, UNICEF and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, only 37.42 percent of schools in India have separate girls' toilets.

"The situation is quite dismal," said Arun C. Mathur, chief researcher of the report.

Among the states, Meghalaya is at the bottom of the tally with just 7.71 percent of schools having girls' toilets.

Other states too fared miserably. Only 9.58 per cent schools in Assam, 9.81 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 11.69 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, 11.78 per cent in Bihar and 12.4 per cent schools in Orissa have separate toilets for girls

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1092108

Long queue for coal blocks

The coal ministry has received over 1,400 bids for captive mining of 38 blocks.

The coal blocks, having reserves of 6.12 billion tonnes, are in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The mines have been earmarked for power, steel and cement.

There are 748 applications from power companies, 142 from steel and 531 from cement.

The criteria for allocation will be the end user and the size of the project. The ministry has reserved 15 blocks for the power sector, while for the rest iron and steel will get preference over cement.

In power, projects of 500 mega watt (mw) and above will get preference and in steel, it will be projects of one million tonne (mt) and above.

Coal secretary H.C. Gupta said the allocation would be completed within three months. He said there were no plans for more rounds of bidding this fiscal.

A screening committee, under Gupta, will decide on the allotments. The government has so far allotted 130 blocks, having reserves of 27 billion tonnes, for captive mining.

The government has now allowed standalone mining companies, both Indian and foreign, to bid for the blocks. However, they must have supply contracts with power, steel and cement companies.

Supply norms

The committee on coal distribution will submit its report in two weeks, according to Gupta.

The committee was set up after the Supreme Court barred distribution of coal through e-auctions.

The committee is reviewing the distribution norms for different sectors, system of classification of consumers into 'core' and 'non-core' users and supply arrangements for the small-scale and tiny sectors.

Before the apex court stopped e-auctions in December, user industries were classified into core and non-core sectors. Industries in the core sector received assured supply of coal at regulated prices, while non-core industries bid through e-auctions. The prices for non-core industries were also higher.

Since December, the arrangement remained the same for core industries. However, non-core industries had to buy coal through e-bookings at prices 30 per cent higher than the regulated price.

The committee is likely to drop cement, steel, fertiliser and paper companies from the core category.

A senior Coal India official said only power companies can claim the core status and get supply at the regulated price. This is because these companies themselves operate in a regulated environment.

The official said cement and power companies should be stripped of their core status, since they change prices at will which breaks the principle of supplying coal at regulated prices.

The government is giving low priority to cement companies in the allocation of coal blocks for captive mining, and it is likely the sector will lose its 'core' status in coal distribution.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070421/asp/business/story_7676668.asp

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