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SEPTEMBER 2011, XVII Year, Issue No.9 3

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Contents
On the brink of starvation to death
A collective failure at Horn of Africa
Africa, the poorest and the economically the most backward segment of
the globe is now providing opportunities for the rich people of the
world to become richer. The entire world, including the developed,
emerging and developing, are moving fast towards this vast unhindered,
unexplored, unexploited region of the world. Most of the nations have
scrambled for concessions in African continent with sheer motives of making outright profits for them.
But the big powers have always neglected the pains and underdevelopment of the African countries.
The Africans have faced incessant ethnic violence and political instability ...
Page 6
EDITORIAL / MY PAGE / COVER STORY
CURRENT INDIA AND THE WORLD
CURRENT INTERNATIONAL
India - US strategic talks: Visit of
Hillary Clinton to India 10
India and Pakistan relations:
Visit of Hina Rabbani Khar 19
India and Pakistan relations:
Post Osama equations 112
India, China and Bhutan 120
Pakistan, China and India 121
India, China and Nepal 121
India, Myanmar and China 122
Pakistan, Afghanistan and India 122
India, Bangladesh and Myanmar 123
India and Maldives 124
India and South Korea 124
India and Myanmar: Indias
approach towards Suu Kyi 125
India - New Zealand relations
Towards FTA 126
India and Kyrghyzstan:
Bio-medical research centre 129
India and Turkey Joint Naval:
Exercises in A. Sea 130
India and Colombia: Signed
double tax avoidance treaty 130
India and Sri Lanka: Re-building
Kankesanthurai port 131
India and Poland Relations:
Visit of Radoslaw Sikroski 132
India and Mauritius on
revised DTAA 138
Thailand Elections, the new PM
Yingluck Shinawatra 27
Afghanistan Troop: withdrawal starts 29
Turkey: Erdogan wins 29
Yemen: Vacuum looming large 30
Libya: United States recognizes rebels 30
At Brussels: Euro Zone Summit 31
South Sudan: Joins UN as 193
rd
member 31
G20 Agriculture Ministers Meet:
on Food Security Issues 32
CURRENT NATIONAL DEBATE
Towards better governance: Changing
facets of Judicial Activism in India 132
Gorkhaland agreement inked
Darjeeling Hills get more power 135
NSG Guidelines Jeopardizing Indian
prospects 136
2nd India - Africa Forum Summit
Strengthening Look Africa policy
It was the colonial heritage which compelled India to look West since the
dawn of independence. When the curtains were down on the Cold War,
the nation realized the importance of looking East. The new millennium
ushered in new hopes for the country with many international agencies
and analysts predicting a superpower stature for it by the middle of the
millennium. And yet, the realization of such hopes would first need the addressing of certain challenges
faced in an increasingly inter-connected world. To address such ...
Page 22
SPECIAL FEATURE
St. Petersburg: International Economic
Forum 2011 32
At Bangkok: 5th Asia-Pacific
Urban Forum, 2011 33
5th Conference of SAARC: Speakers
and MPs 33
Morocco: Towards Constitutional
Monarchy 34
Vietnam:Truong Tan Sang nominated 34
LAquila Summit, July 9, 2009 137
35 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON STATISTICS
55 CURRENT ECONOMY
77 SHORT NEWS
94 CURRENT NATIONAL
99 CURRENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Science and Technology
releasing on
15th August, 2011
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"There is a new economic growth story emerging from Africa. Africa possesses all the
prerequisites to become a major growth pole of the world. The India-Africa partner-
ship is unique and owes its origins to history and our common struggle against
colonialism, apartheid, poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger." Indian PM
A
frica, the poorest and the economically the most backward segment of
the globe is now providing opportunities for the rich people of the
world to become richer. The entire world, including the developed,
emerging and developing, are moving fast towards this vast unhindered, un-
explored, unexploited region of the world. Most of the nations have scrambled
for concessions in African continent with sheer motives of making outright
profits for them. But the big powers have always neglected the pains and
underdevelopment of the African countries. The Africans have faced incessant
ethnic violence and political instability leading to mass hunger and poverty.
The role of United Nations, US and other big powers in this region has been far
from satisfaction and needs to be streamlined through instrospection.
The present crisis in the Horn of Africa, in which more than 12 million Afri-
cans, mainly pastoralists in the dry lands of Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda
and neighbouring countries, are at risk of starvation after two failed rainy
seasons. It is a major challenge for every leading nations, NGOs, international
organizations, private sector investment and grassroots initiatives to get rid of
the insurmountable conditions of this region. Thousands of Somalis have fled
to the neighbouring Kenyan camp of Dadaab, which was originally built for
90,000 people is currently hosting more than 440,000 refugees and in this hun-
ger more than 3.5 million people may starve to death. The World Food Pro-
gramme says it cannot reach 2.2 million Somalis who live in territory con-
trolled by al-Shabab in south-central Somalia. According to the UN report
some 3.7m people in Somalia are dependent on foreign food aid distributed by
their World Food Programme. The political instability, extreme poverty, mal-
governance, global warming - all have made the Horn of Africa, Yemen and
beyond as the most vulnerable region of the world.
The world efforts have wasted trillions of dollars in sending peace keeping
forces and military operations but no concerted effort was made to help the
region to strengthen the pastoralist economies in the face of these environ-
mental threats. A proper roadmap was
never developed by the world insti-
tutions like IMF, World Bank, IDA,
IFC, etc. The UN and other aid agen-
cies have described
the current situation
in the East and Horn
of Africa as the
worst drought in 60
years and the "worst
humanitarian crisis
in the world," but
have done nothing significantly in this
regard. The UN always tried to rely
on the politics of USA to meet the de-
mands of the region. Moreover, the
"traditional donors", including the US
and the EU, have fallen far short of
promises they made at the G8 summit
in L'Aquila, Italy, in 2009 to assist
smallholder farmers, including pasto-
ralists.
I firmly believe in one thing that noth-
ing succeeds hunger. Hunger is the
most pathetic, brutal and tormenting
experience of life. The history has cat-
egorically told that without proper
economic stability, political stability
cannot be achieved. The brutal and
inhuman politics amidst hunger is the
most unpardonable act of a living be-
ing. Somalia has lacked an effective
government since before the famine
of the early 1990s. Most of southern
Somalia is controlled by the al-Sha-
bab Islamist group, which has pre-
vented most international aid organi-
sations, including the World Food
Programme, from operating in its ar-
eas two years ago. It is unfortunate
when the militants of al-Shabab are
trying to stop men from joining the
tens of thousands of people who are
fleeing the parched regions of south-
central Somalia that the fighters con-
trol. It has been reported that in many
cases, the al-Qaida-linked militants are
also intercepting the men and even
they started indiscriminate killings. It
has to be noted that the famine in the
Horn of Africa has threatened al-Sha-
bab's hold on areas it controls, with
the militants fearing this disaster will
drive away the people they were tax-
ing, forcing to work and conscripting
into military service.
The World Food Programme has ad-
mitted that since 1992, the proportion
of short and long-term food crises that
can be attributed to human causes has
MY PAGE
On the brink of starvation to death
A collective failure
at Horn of Africa
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more than doubled, rising from 15
percent to more than 35 percent. All
too often, these emergencies are trig-
gered by conflicts. Since 2004, conflict
in the Darfur region of Sudan has up-
rooted more than a million people,
precipitating a major food crisis -- in
an area that had generally enjoyed
good rains and crops. In war, food
sometimes becomes a weapon. Sol-
diers will starve opponents into sub-
mission by seizing or destroying food
and livestock and systematically
wrecking local markets. Fields and
water wells are often mined or con-
taminated, forcing farmers to abandon
their land. When conflict threw Cen-
tral Africa into confusion in the 1990s,
the proportion of hungry people rose
from 53 percent to 58 percent. By com-
parison, malnutrition is on the retreat
in more peaceful parts of Africa such
as Ghana and Malawi. The poverty-
stricken do not have enough money
to buy or produce enough food for
themselves and their families. In turn,
they tend to be weaker and cannot
produce enough to buy more food. The
Report further says that poor farming
practices, deforestation, overcropping
and overgrazing are exhausting the
Earth's fertility and spreading the
roots of hunger. Increasingly, the
world's fertile farmland is under threat
from erosion, salination and deserti-
fication. In Ethiopia, high inflation and
fast-rising food prices have also forced
people out.
The Report has clearly indicated that
a big hunger crisis was inevitable un-
der these conditions and nothing was
done by the top people, nations and
companies of the world to prevent
such a disaster. And now the interna-
tional organizations and communities
are asking for donation and aid to sup-
port the region to get out of the vi-
cious cycle of hunger and starvation.
It is really perturbing to note that as
per UN Report of 2010, up to half the
food aid sent to the hungry millions
in Somalia never makes it to those
who need it most and instead the aid
ends up in the hands of corrupt con-
tractors, radical Islamic militants and
local United Nations staff. It has been
confirmed by the report that much of
the 340 million a year in food aid is
held to ransom by a corrupt cartel of
Somali distributors who then sell it
illegally and use the funds to buy
weapons. The UN report says that
fraud is widespread with about 30 per-
cent of aid skimmed by local partners
and local World Food Program per-
sonnel. A further 10 percent is taken
by the ground transporters and 5 to 10
percent by the armed group in con-
trol of the area where it is to be dis-
tributed.
It is unfortunate that report was not
considered prop-
erly by the enforc-
ing agencies and
as a result of this,
the situation fur-
ther aggravated to
this level of ago-
ny and despair. In
fact if such reports
were coming,
there was no log-
ic to continue the
same channel of
aid and food sup-
ply and the top
nations and UN
agencies must
have strived for
an alternative op-
tion to deal with
the situation.
Besides, blaming
the UN agencies, USA and China has
to also moral responsibility for such a
mess and mismanagement. The dom-
inant livelihood in the Horn of Africa
has long been herding. The world
agencies have done virtually nothing
to improve their traditional system
and without a proper roadmap for a
green revolution in the region noth-
ing significant could be achieved. Ox-
fam has accused several European
governments, including France, Italy
and Denmark of "wilful neglect" of a
crisis and says that of the $1bn (619m)
needed to avert a humanitarian disas-
ter only $200m had been pledged. This
is truly shocking from all perspectives.
If not tackled properly, the entire
world is going to be affected. Somalia
which is now known as one of the most
dangerous places in the world with
pirates roaming off the horn of Africa
and hijacking cargo ships that are held
for ransom. The incidents of piracy
would be increased beyond the level
of control and the trade through this
important route may get further
threatened.
Under such a sordid state of nature,
the entire world should collectively
fight against the man-made natural
disaster in the region. All the sover-
eign nations, NGOs, international or-
ganizations and communities along
with corporate must come forward and
honestly help the humanity from dy-
ing in undignified and horrible man-
ner. In the world of globalization,
when Africa is opening avenues for
the richer nations and their corporates,
if people are going to die in such man-
ner then this would be the most un-
ethical, immoral and painful portray-
al of leading powers in the world. A
combination of long and short term
strategies have to be evolved to meet
this trying and hard moment in that
region. Besides controlling the activi-
ties of militants, no plan is going to
be successful. At the same time, prop-
er roadmap for agricultural develop-
ment has to be chalked out. In this re-
gard, a solid shift to green technolo-
gies in world farming is vital if en-
demic food crises are to be overcome
and production boosted to support the
global population.
And as a first step, governments and
international agencies should focus on
boosting small-scale agriculture in
developing countries with support
services like rural roads and sustain-
able irrigation. The UN survey has
said that food security must now be
attained through green technology so
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Second India - US strategic talks
Visit of Hillary Clinton to India
T
he India- US civil nuclear agreement 2005, signed between Indian Prime
Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the then US President, George W.
Bush was a watershed in India- US relations, as it elevated the relations,
which saw gradual improvement since the end of the Cold
War to a strategic level. The Bush administration took
strategic talks ahead with the rubric of the Next Steps in
Strategic Partnership (NSSP), which included cooperation
in the spheres of (a) civil nuclear energy, (b) defence, (c)
space and (d) high - technology. The NSSP was truly the
instrument which ensured that relations between the two
largest democracies in the world went beyond diplomatic
niceties into the orbit of the more serious and concrete
strategic issues. Undoubtedly, it was recognition by the
US of Indias growing importance not only in Asia as a
regional power but also in the world as a global power. It
showed US intentions to engage with India as a strategic
partner in the near and distant future. For India, it meant a
reassurance that it had begun coming of age and also a
great opportunity to leverage its growing economic clout
to its strategic and diplomatic advantage. The civil nuclear deal between India
and the US virtually became the launching platform for India into the world of
strategic affairs and signified a sense of new importance for not only the nation
but also its citizens.
While the Bush administration built the stage, it was left to the Obama admin-
istration to stand up on that stage and announce to the world the launch of the
strategic dialogue in an institutionalized framework. The inaugural strategic
dialogue was held in June 2010 on the
eve of the historic Obama visit to In-
dia. The visit of US Secretary of State,
Hillary Clinton to India and her meet-
ing with Indian External Affairs Min-
ister, S.M.Krishna on 19th July 2011
was for the purpose of holding the
second India- US strategic dialogue
and for taking the strategic partner-
ship forward. The strategic dialogue
joint statement issued after the meet-
ing clearly highlighted the eagerness
of both the sides in broadening and
as to reduce the use of chemical inputs - fertilizers and pesticides - and to make
more efficient use of energy, water and natural resources. In this regard, a
sharp move away from large-scale, intensive systems of agriculture was essen-
tial if growing environmental and
land degradation was to be halted. The
survey correctly highlighted that
achieving food security through "a
truly green agricultural revolution"
would provide a long-term solution
to hunger and malnutrition and ease
price volatility while protecting the
environment. It is distressing to see
the glaring disparities between the
northern and southern Africa and this
disparity is going to be further wid-
ened by the ongoing effects of global-
ization in Africa through the massive
expansion of the trade activities and
investment in services sector. And all
the leading agencies including UN, AU
must come forward to surmount these
imbalances.
But the main question is that who will
do these things to ward off hunger of
this magnitude. Those who are meant
to perform are preaching, then what
will happen to the world. I am still in
search of the answer along with those
12 million people who are facing the
test of being human.
(Vivek S. Raj)
MY PAGE
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recognized the fact that ever since the
beginning of the strategic dialogue;
progress has been made in every com-
ponent of the dialogue as well as in
every sphere of human endeavor. Bi-
lateral cooperation has increased in
the areas of (1) counter-terrorism, (2)
intelligence sharing and (3) law en-
forcement exchanges. Areas which
have witnessed steady advancement
include (1) defence, (2) export controls
and non - proliferation cooperation
with respect to sensitive nuclear tech-
nologies, (3) science, (4) space and tech-
nology, (5) cooperation in clean ener-
gy, and (6) engagements among entre-
preneurs and social innovators. The
strategic relationship, it was acknowl-
edged was ultimately based on the
shared values of the two countries
which included (1) pluralism, (2) toler-
ance, (3) openness and respect for fun-
damental freedoms and human rights.
In order to further expand India - US
global partnership for the mutual ben-
efit of the two countries, Asia and the
world, the joint statement on strate-
gic dialogue outlined new sets of
goals, which are as follows:
Global stability and prosperity:
1. To expand their strategic dialogue
in Central and Western Asia, two stra-
tegically important and politically
volatile regions in the world, a Cen-
tral Asia Dialogue and a West Asia Di-
alogue were launched by the duo in
New Delhi in June 2011 and Washing-
ton DC in July 2011 respectively. The
East Asian Dialogue is already in place
and the fourth round of the dialogue
has been scheduled for September
2011. The nations also agreed to hold
strategic consultations in other re-
gions of the world such as Latin Amer-
ica and the Caribbean.
2. The two countries decided to launch
a senior official level trilateral dia-
logue along with Japan.
3. A bilateral dialogue on UN mat-
ters was started in March 2011. This
dialogue will continue and the two
sides agreed to hold the next meeting
on this matter in Washington DC in
early 2012. Regular consultations be-
tween capitals and in UN cities will
continue as appropriate.
4. The India- US Joint Working Group
(JWG) on UN Peacekeeping Opera-
tions held a successful meeting in New
Delhi in March 2011. The next and
tenth meeting of the JWG will be held
in early 2012.
5. Reaffirming their commitment for
consultation, coordination and coop-
eration on Afghanistan, the two sides
decided to further expand the already
existing work on capacity - building,
agriculture and womens empower-
ment in Afghanistan. Both sides agreed
to an Afghan reconciliation that is Af-
ghan- led and Afghan-owned. It was
recognized by the nations that in-
creased trade, transit and commercial
linkages across South and Central Asia
will benefit Afghanistan not only eco-
nomically but will also contribute to
its long- term peace, prosperity and
stability.
6. Food security being a crying need
in the poverty, famine and war- strick-
deepening the bilateral global strate-
gic partnership.
The seriousness of the visit in further-
ing strategic ties could be understood
from the fact that the US Secretary of
State was accompanied by a high pro-
file delegation consisting of the Di-
rector of National Intelligence, James
Clapper; the Presidents Advisor for
Science and Technology, Dr. John P.
Holdren; the Deputy Secretary of the
Department of Energy, Daniel Pone-
man; the Deputy Secretary of the De-
partment of Homeland Security, Jane
Holl Lute etc. From the Indian side,
the delegation was no less high pro-
file with Deputy Chairman of Plan-
ning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh
Ahluwalia; the Prime Ministers Pub-
lic Information Infrastructure and In-
novation Advisor, Sam Pitroda; For-
eign Secretary, Nirupama Rao joining
External Affairs Minister at the high
table of talks. Indian Union Home
Minister, P. Chidambaram and Union
Human Resource Development and
Information Technology Minister,
Kapil Sibal also joined the talks. Sec-
retary Clinton added further value to
her visit by meeting PM, Dr. Manmo-
han Singh; Finance Minister, Pranab
Mukherjee; UPA Chairperson, Smt.
Sonia Gandhi; Leader of the Opposi-
tion in the Lok Sabha, Smt Sushma
Swaraj; and National Security Advis-
er, Shivshankar Menon. The visit be-
gan on a somber note with Secretary
Clinton paying her condolences to the
victims of yet another terror attack in
Mumbai on 13th July 2011, an attack
which was another grim reminder of
the horrors of terrorism right on the
eve of the Clinton visit. The presence
of the Director of National Intelligence
in the US delegation meant that the
words of support uttered by Clinton
and her reiteration that the people of
America stand by the Indian people
in their times of trial were not mere
clich. The Secretary of State hoped
that the perpetrators of the Mumbai
terror attacks are brought to justice for
their crime. Reiterating their cooper-
ation in the fight against terrorism,
the Indian EAM, S.M.Krishna wel-
comed the expressions of support from
Clinton, the US President and the US
Congress against terror attacks in In-
dia.
In their joint statement, the two sides
US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton was on a
three-day visit to India and
attended the second India-
US Strategic Dialogue
TIMES
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en continent of Africa, the two sides
declared their intention to promote
food security in the continent through
a triangular cooperation program with
Liberia, Malawi and Kenya. Participa-
tion of Africans in Indian universities
and research and technical institutes
in mutually agreed capacity building
programs was identified as a poten-
tial area of collaboration. Additional
areas of collaboration can be explored
subject to requests from the three Af-
rican countries.
7. The India - US Dialogue on Open
Government was launched in Novem-
ber 2010. As part of that dialogue, the
two countries have decided to jointly
create an open source platform named
Data.gov by the first quarter of 2012.
The platform will be taken to inter-
ested countries globally. The open
source platform is a user- friendly
website and a package of e- gover-
nance applications aimed at enhanc-
ing public service delivery system and
improving the access of citizens to
government information. It utilizes
the combined strengths of the two
nations in high- technology, especial-
ly Information Technology, in better-
ing information and public service
outreach of government.
8. Welcoming the technical collabo-
ration between the Indian Internation-
al Institute of Democracy and Election
Management and the Washington DC-
based International Federation of Elec-
toral Systems; the two sides empha-
sized their commitment to strength-
en election management capacity in
interested countries.
9. Regarding Indias aspirations to
book a berth in the UN Security Coun-
cil as a permanent member, Secretary
Clinton recalled the statement of US
President Barack Obama during his
2010 visit to India that, in the years
ahead the US looks forward to a re-
formed UN Security Council that in-
cludes India as a permanent member.
Enhancing India - US Bilateral
Relationship
Defence, security and counter- terror-
ism:
1. India and USA launched the Home-
land Security Dialogue in New Delhi
in May 2011. The program of coopera-
tion, it has been decided, will include
in its ambit 1) global supply chain
management, 2) mega city policing,
3) combating counterfeit currency and
illicit financing, 4) cyber security, 5)
critical infrastructure protection, and
6) capacity- building and technology
upgrading.
2. With respect to counter- terrorism
cooperation, the countries decided to
strengthen ties through, but not re-
stricted to 1) intelligence sharing, 2)
information exchange, 3) operational
cooperation, and 4) access to advanced
counter- terrorism technology and
equipment. The ninth meeting of the
bilateral Joint Working Group (JWG)
on Counter - Terrorism was held in
March 2011 was held in New Delhi.
3. The joint statement was blunt in its
emphasis that for the defeat of terror-
ism in Afghanistan and for success in
that country, elimination of terror safe
havens and its infrastructure not only
in Afghanistan but also in Pakistan is
a must. Success in Afghanistan is also
essential also for regional and global
security. Almost clubbing Afghani-
stan and Pakistan with respect to ter-
rorism, the statement condemned ter-
rorism in all its forms and reiterated
that all terrorist networks, including
those in Pakistan must be defeated. The
two sides asked Pakistan to expedite
prosecution of those involved in the
November 2008 Mumbai terror at-
tacks. India and the US decided to con-
tinue comprehensive sharing of infor-
mation relating to the investigation
and trial of the Mumbai attacks.
4. Cyber issues were discussed by ex-
perts on either side led by their re-
spective National Security Councils.
A broad range of issues were deliber-
ated upon finally culminating in the
Memorandum of Understanding be-
tween the Computer Emergency Re-
sponse Teams of both sides (between
CERT-IN and US-CERT). The CERTs
will 1) exchange information on cy-
ber attacks, 2) shape up responses to
cyber security incidents, 3) cooperate
on cyber security technology, and 4)
exchange information on cyber secu-
rity policy and best practices. It will
also focus on capacity building and ex-
change of experts.
5. Defence cooperation between the
nations has witnessed progress with
the Defence Policy Group meeting in
March 2011 and planning another
meeting in early 2012. The US defence
industry has for long been vying to
be a major player in the expanding
Indian defence market, which at
present is dominated by Russian and
Israeli products. A pointer to the grow-
ing defence business is the fact that
Indian defence orders from US com-
panies have breached the USD 8 bil-
lion mark over the past decade, in
terms of cumulative value. Areas of
future defence cooperation include 1)
technology transfer, 2) joint research,
development and production of de-
fence items. There have been
progresses in bilateral defence ex-
changes, exercises, capacity building,
information sharing in areas includ-
ing but not limited to 1) counter- nar-
cotics, 2) counter piracy, 3) maritime
safety, and 4) humanitarian assis-
tance/ disaster relief. Some of the key
TIMES
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Social Issues
05. Education Reforms
77. Pains of Transitional Society: The Curse
of a Developing Nation
150. Media and Democracy: 'Sting' or 'Stink'
Operation
156. Corruption In Government Offices
189. Shrunken World Shrinking Relations
210. Reservation in Private Sector
250. Growing Fundamentalism in India
254. Live - In Relationships
258. Section 377: Should it be wiped out?
286. Sustainability of the Child Labour Act
303. Right to Negative Voting: An Evaluation
in Indian Context
315. Raghavan Committee on Ragging
330. Pattern of Voting Behaviour in India
350. Terrorism: Is It Essentially Ideological?
354. Women Reservation: Meaningful or
Irrelevant
377. Status of Women: An Introspection is
needed
437. Role of media: Beyond TRP and
advertisement
456. Trial by media: Looking beyond the pale
of legality
502. Right to Education reality, but yet
unrealistic
507. Ensure food security: Dismantle
middlemen
531. Khap Panchayats: requires reorientation
535. Consensus on Caste-based census
540. Opening higher education to foreign
institutions
546. Internal Security: North-eastern scenario
549. Nuclear liability bill: analysing
implications
597. Social networking
603. Digital Divide Divides divide
612. From Vedas to Vedanta
638. Role of the Union Public Service
Commission in ensuring Good
Governance
661. MNREGA
666. Electoral Reforms
674. Role of Morality and Ethics in
Administration
679. Food Security: Need to establish food
democracy
696. Public Distribution System
728. Corruption: Kill it or get killed
733. Money as God: A journey from salvation
to depression
Political Issues
11. Good Governance: Tracing Provenance of
ill-Governance
15. Regional Disparity: A Source of All
Discontent
22. Corruption: Between Needs and Greeds
31. Define Secularism: To boost Nationalism
38. On Mumbai Attack: We Can, but we cannot
53. Good Governance: An Utopian Concept?
58. Internal Security: Streamline or Perish
63. Parochialization of Politics: Pains of
Coalition Politics
68. Disaster Management: No Time to Cure,
Please
83. Preventive Detention Law and the Rights
of an Individual
94. North-east Problems: A Look into their
Grievances
98. ULFA in Retrospect
103. Challenges of Terrorism: A Collective
Responsibility
106. Criminalization of Politics: Do We
Deserve?
134. Non-Proliferation Treaty Privilege of
'Haves' don't review, reform and revamp
140. Regionalism Nationalism and
Globalization
116. Democracy Myth or Reality
121. Kashmir in retrospect: Knowing it Before
Egypt Document
126. Governor: His Masters Voice
170. Challenges Before A Civil Servant
178. Factors To Make and Feel Democracy
184. Centre-State Relations More Grievances
Less Commitment
214. Capital Punishment: In Relations to Article 21
217. Democracy: Maturing or Withering
222. Students Politics: Desirable or Undesirable
226. Reservation QUOTA: Progressive or
Regressive
233. Expansion of Article 21: Personal
Reputation
240. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and
NIA
262. Coastal Security: Need for a complete
overhaul
267. Police Reforms: A Must For Good
Governance
320. Coalition Politics in India
347. Coalition politics and its impact
368. Abortion Issue and Right to Die
370. Demands for New States: A Balanced
Approach Is Needed
381. New Delhi-Beijing-Moscow axis
387. Naxalism: A Threat to Internal Security
396. Pluralism and Federalism: Can Go
Together?
399. Right to Information
405. Presidential v Parliamentary
481. Political Corruption Reform funding for
political parties?
495. Separation of Power: Fundamentals of Rule
of Law
504. Role of hostile witnesses in criminal justice
526. PILs: making more meaningful
543. Centre-state relations: Madan Mohan
Punchhi Report
552. On Collegium System: Appointment
procedure in retrospect
554. Governors removal: preventing pernicious
practice
565. Raising FDI in Defence Sector
590. From selection to retirement
620. Kashmir Crisis: Engineered and re-
engineered
628. MPs Salary hike
633. Voting rights to NRIs
643. Tracing the roots of scams
708. River disputes and interlinking of rivers
Issues related to foreign policies
44. Global Recession: Time For Introspection
134. Non-Proliferation Treaty Privilege of
'Haves' don't review, reform and revamp
175. Perils of Unipolar World
427. Coping with the threat of nuclear menace and
new economic order
440. Nuclear non-proliferation without
disarmament
446. Relevance of territorial disputes in a
globalised world
450. Looking beyond Copenhagen: The last lost
opportunity
511. Politics of Appeasement US-Pakistan
Strategic Dialogue
515. A good start but where the end lies
580. A world of two unequals: From mindest to
machines
657. Preparedness of our society for Indias
global leadership
Economic Issues
88. Agriculture: A Colossal Neglect
131. Energy Security: The 21st Century Challenge
145. Challenges in the Light of New Economic
Order
163. Tragedy: Its Not Vidarbha But For Every
Indian
194. Looking Beyond 9 Per cent A New Approach
is Needed
198. Delinking Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear
Energy
203. Nano-Technology: The Future of All
Sciences
281. Global Recession: Impact on India
298. Corporate Reforms: The Corporate World
After Raju
325. Deflation: Is it Good or Bad?
344. RTAs and Multilateralism: Promoters or
Inhibitors
359. Introduction of IT: Advantages and
Disadvantages
364. E-Governance: Prospects and Problems
407. Trade Union in IT and BPO
411. FDI in Retail: Analysis and Implications
415. Disinvestment: Prospects and Prevention
419. Challenges Before Indian Economy
423. Fate of FRBMA
425. Goods and Service Tax
466. Tobin Tax: India needs or not
468. Food security or insecurity
473. Commission on Insurance Agents: Swaroop
Commission
476. Dollar as common currency SDRs, Euro or
Gold
484. Pending Second Generation Reforms
486. Dreaded Drought Furious Floods
490. Land Reforms wisely conceived, poorly
executed
522. Learning from Greek crisis fiscal prudence
is a must
557. A painful shift from APM to MDPM
569. Analysing two decades of reforms and
impact of globalization
583. A Budget bye the common man; far the
common man; and off the common man
650. Black Money
688. Food inflation
720. Life under double-digit food inflation
Judiciary
111. Judicial Activism or Judicial Reforms?
238. Appointment of Judges: Law Commission
Reports
276. Judicial Reforms: The Need of the Hour
292. Judicial Activism Versus Legislative
Activism
310. Judicial Accountability: Regarding
Declaration of Judges Assets
335. Contempt of Court: Desirable or Not
desirable
339. All India Judicial Services: Creation is
Needed or Not Needed
393. Code of Criminal Procedure
463. Cr PC Amendments come into effect: an
analysis
ON ST ON ST ON ST ON ST ON STALLS ALLS ALLS ALLS ALLS
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Civil Services
objectives of defence cooperation in-
clude 1) maritime security, 2) unim-
peded commerce, 3) freedom of navi-
gation as per international law, and 4)
peaceful settlement of maritime dis-
putes.
6. India and the US have been carry-
ing out consultations on maritime se-
curity cooperation in the Indian Ocean
Region (IOR) and other suitable fo-
rums such as the Defence Policy Group
and its appropriate sub- groups. They
agreed to continue consultations and
also exchange views on promoting a
regional security architecture that
improves maritime security in the In-
dian Ocean region.
7. Indias decision to chair a plenary
of the Contact Group on Piracy off the
Coast of Somalia in 2012 was wel-
comed by the US.
Civil Nuclear Cooperation
1. The two sides reiterated their com-
mitment to the full implementation of
the India- US civil nuclear energy co-
operation agreement. A strong civil
nuclear cooperation would be based on
the participation of US civil nuclear
energy firms in India on the basis of
mutually acceptable technical and
commercial terms and conditions that
ensure a viable tariff regime for the
electricity generated. India also com-
mitted itself to ensuring a level play-
ing field for US companies entering the
Indian civil nuclear energy sector,
which are consistent with the nations
national and international obligations.
2. Talks between the US- India Civil
Nuclear Energy Working Group
(CNEWG) are due to be held next
week in Oak Ridge Laboratory, USA.
Membership of Export Control Re-
gimes
1. Both sides noted substantial
progress in attainment by India of full
membership of four multilateral ex-
port control regimes, namely 1) Nu-
clear Suppliers Group, 2) Missile Tech-
nology Control Regime, 3) Australia
Group, and 4) Wassennaar Arrange-
ment. The Indian entry in these re-
gimes will be in a phased manner sub-
ject to the fulfillment of rules relating
to membership requirement and In-
dias step by step full adoption of the
regimes export control requirements.
Export Control Cooperation
US has taken steps to exclude Indian
entities from the US Department of
Commerces Entity List and has also
got the process of realigning India in
US export control regulations. Both
these steps have been welcomed by
India.
Nuclear Security
The first meeting
of the India- US
Joint Working
Group to imple-
ment the MOU on
C o o p e r a t i o n
with Indias Glo-
bal Center for
Nuclear Energy
Partnerships will
be held in late
2011. Both sides
look forward to
it.
Strategic Security Dialogue
Both sides felt that the Strategic Secu-
rity Dialogue is a crucial element in
the bilateral dialogue architecture be-
tween India and the US, which can
strengthen global non- proliferation
objectives. The duo also looked for-
ward to the commencement of nego-
tiations of the Fissile Material Cutoff
Treaty in the Conference on Disarma-
ment.
Prosperity
1. Bilateral trade has grown by a
whopping 30 per cent in 2010 as com-
pared to 2009. The growth in services
trade in particular has been balanced
and positive. Two way FDI inflows has
also witnessed an increase though
there was no mention in the statement
of the approximate figures.
2. In order to increase transparency
and predictability for investors and to
support economic growth and job cre-
ation in both countries, the two sides
agreed to resume technical negotia-
tions on the Bilateral Investment Trea-
ty (BIT) in Washington DC in August
2011.
3. To further bolster trade ties, the
India- US Trade Forum planned a
meeting in October 2011. Public- pri-
vate discussions continue to take place
under the Commercial Dialogue.
4. For discussions on consular and
visa matters, the nations showed their
intention to take part in the first Con-
sular Dialogue on 25th July in Wash-
ington DC.
5. A Bilateral Aviation Safety Agree-
ment was signed on 18th July.
6. Clean energy and energy efficien-
cy are important issues in todays
world. Keeping this in mind, the US
Overseas Private Investment Corpo-
ration (OPIC), the US Export- Import
Bank, the US Trade Development
Agency (USTDA), the US Agency for
International Development along
with other US agencies are taking part
in the development of clean and re-
newable energy projects, energy- ef-
ficient buildings and Smart Grids in
India. The bilateral Energy Coopera-
tion Program supported by USTDA
works with Indian and US businesses
for deployment of clean energy tech-
nology in India. The bilateral Joint
Clean Energy Research and Develop-
ment Center is bringing about collab-
oration between the public and pri-
vate sectors of the countries in solar
energy, energy- efficient buildings
and advanced biofuels.
7. The India- US agriculture dialogue
of September 2010 has stimulated col-
laboration on the very important is-
sue of food security, including joint
work with third party countries.
8. A monsoon desk which will share
the latest monsoon prediction mod-
els, has been set up by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion of the US and the Ministry of Earth
Sciences of India. The desk is making
forecasts for the 2011 Indian monsoon
season.
Women Empowerment
A Womens Empowerment Dialogue
has been planned in New Delhi in
September 2011.
Education, Innovation, Science and
Technology
1. A bilateral Higher Education Sum-
mit will be held in Washington DC
TIMES
Civil Services
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Trends and challenges of Indian
foreign policy
India and Neighbouring Countries
India - Pakistan Relations
India - Sri Lanka Relations
India - Bhutan Relations
India - China Relations
Understanding string of pearls
India - Afghanistan Relations
India - Bangladesh Relations
India - Nepal Relations
India - Maldives Relations
India - Myanmar Relations
India and East Asia
India - Japan Relations
India - South Korea Relations
India - DPRK
India - Mongolia Relations
Look East Policy After ASEAN-FTA
India - Cambodia
India - Indonesia
India and Laos PDR
India - Philippines
India - Malaysia
India - Thailand
India - Vietnam
India - Singapore
The Gulf, West Asia and Middle-East
Policy
India - Kazakhstan
India - Tajikistan
India - Uzbekistan
India - Belarus
India - Iran
India - Saudi Arabia
India - Jordan
India - Syria
India- Israel
India - Kuwait
India - Oman
India - Yemen
India - Qatar
India - Iraq
India - United Arab Emirates
India and Americas Relations
India - Brazil
India- Venezuela
India -Mexico
India - Ecuador
India - Colombia
India - Canada
India - Chile
India - Argentina
India - Liberia
India - Peru
India - United States of America
India - Russia Relations
India and Europe Relations-I
GSP and India
India-European Union Summits
EU and India FTA
India - United Kingdom Relations
India - France Relations
India - Germany Relations
India and Europe Relations II
India Turkey
India-Finland
India-Hungary
India-Poland
India - Belgium
India-Bulgaria
India-Netherlands
India - Slovenia
India-Switzerland
India-Denmark
India-Iceland
India-Italy
India-Spain
India-Greece
India-Luxembourg
India-Norway
India-Cyprus
India - Sweden
India - Latvia
India - Austria
India and Africa Relations
2nd India- Africa Forum Summit
India - South Africa
South Africa and SACU
India - Bermuda
India - Seychelles
India - Mozambique
Piracy: India suggests five step anti-piracy
action plan to UN
DTAAs to curb black money
India - Ethiopia
India - Libya
India - Nigeria
India - Egypt
India - Mauritius
India - Namibia
India and African Trade Relations
India-MERCOSUR-SACU framework
Strengthening and stretching South-south
cooperation
G-15 at Tehran 2010
Indian economic interaction with African
countries
India and Australia-NZ Relations
India - Australia
India - New Zealand
Indias Economic Interaction with
the World
ASEAN and India-FTA
India and Korea CEPA
India and Malaysia FTA
BIMSTEC
SAARC Preferential Arrangement (SAPTA)
Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for
Regional
Cooperation (IOR-ARC)
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
BASIC Group
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
IBSA
The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
MERCOSUR
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (ESCAP)
North America Free Trade Agreement
The United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO)
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
AEM
PTA with Chile
The Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP)
OECD
The Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS)
SADU
African Union
Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa
(COMESA)
East African Community (EAC)
SACU
South African Development Community
(SADC)
Economic Commission for West African States
NEPAD/NPCA
Pan African e-Network
Focus Africa Programme
Techno-Economic Approach for Africa India
Movement or TEAM 9
Kimberley Process (KP)
World Intellectual Property
The Madrid System and the Hague System
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
The Law of Patents (SCP)
Future prospects of WIPO
ISA and IPEA
WIPO, WTO and TRIPS
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
The International Development Association
ICSID
The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
India and the World Bank
Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP)
MIGA
MIGA and FDI
International Monetary Fund and India
India and IMF
Special Drawing Rights
World Trade Organisation Towards
Multilateralism
Delhi Meet
Functioning Components of WTO
Intellectual Property Rights
AD-CVD
Summits and their analysis
10th Trilateral Foreign Ministers Meet at
Wuhan
Nuclear non-proliferation without disarma-
ment
17th ASEAN Summit at Ha Noi in Vietnam
Seoul Summit of G20
Relevance of Territorial Disputes in a
Globalised World
CHOGM: In search of relevance
From Prague to Washington: A good start
but where the end lies
Politics of Appeasement: US-Pakistan
Strategic Dialogue
Non-Aligned Movement 15th Summit at
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
BRICS Summit Sanya, Hainan, China
10th Summit on SCO and Indian Strategic
Position
India joins UNSC as non-permanent
member
16th SAARC Summit
India and LDCs Ministerial Conference at
New Delhi
Diplomatic Terms
ON STALLS
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Civil Services
on 13th October 2011 to identify ave-
nues through which higher education
collaboration can take place. The high-
er education dialogue, to be chaired
jointly by the US Secretary of State and
the Indian Minister of Human Re-
source Development will be expand-
ed so as to convene it annually and
incorporate within it the private/ non-
governmental sectors and higher ed-
ucation communities. The dialogue
will carry out informed government-
to- government discussions.
2. The governments announced pub-
lication of requests for proposals from
post- secondary educational institu-
tions that support the objectives of the
Obama- Singh 21st Century Knowl-
edge Initiative (OSI), which include
strengthening teaching, research, and
administration of Indian as well as US
institutes through university linkag-
es and junior faculty development.
3. The Passport to India initiative of
the US is expected to encourage an in-
crease in US students studying and
interning in India. At present, nearly
1 lakh Indian students study and in-
tern in USA.
4. The US Department of Energy and
the Indian Department of Atomic En-
ergy have signed an Implementing
Agreement on Discovery Science that
will pave the way for cooperation in
accelerator and particle detector re-
search and development at Fermi Na-
tional Accelarator Laboratory, Thomas
Jefferson National Accelarator Facili-
ty, and Brookhaven National Labora-
tory.
5. The India- US S&T Endowment
Board plans to dish out an annual $ 3
million to entrepreneurial projects
that aim at commercializing technol-
ogies to improve health and empow-
er citizens.
6. The India- US S&T Forum, which is
ten years old, has brought about in-
teraction of almost 10, 000 Indian and
US scientists and technologists.
7. The third annual Women in Science
Workshop will be held in September
2011.
Space Technology
1. Cooperation in space technology
is an important spin- off from the civ-
il nuclear agreement between India
and the US. A major landmark in such
cooperation was the participation of
NASA in Indias Moon mission, Chan-
drayana-1. It cleared the way for the
review of further cooperation be-
tween NASA and ISRO and some of
the potential identified areas were 1)
earth observation, 2) space explora-
tion, 3) space sciences and 4) satellite
navigation. Early finalization of im-
plementing agreements for sharing of
satellite data on oceans and global
weather patterns have been agreed
upon.
NASA expressed its willingness to
cooperate with ISRO on human space
flight, even as the possibility of joint
experiments on the International
Space Station was explored. The two
sides also decided to expand coopera-
tion in the sphere of global naviga-
tion satellite systems (GNSS) with the
ultimate objective of bringing about
interoperability between the Global
Positioning System of the US, Indian
satellite systems and those of other
countries.
Advantages for India:
1. The strategic dialogue is extreme-
ly broad in its scope and hence it al-
lows an emerging power like India to
gain from US expertise in various
spheres of human activity through
different institutional mechanisms
like Joint Working Groups, Dialogues
and Memorandums of Understanding.
A strategic relationship with the US is
something most nations vie for and
yet very few get.
2. While Central Asia falls within In-
dias extended neighborhood, the re-
gion remains largely out of bounds
from India. India is making signifi-
cant efforts to make its presence felt
in the region by engaging with the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
as well as with the individual Central
Asian Republics. However China, In-
dias strategic competitor looms large
over the SCO making it unlikely for
India to fully explore the strategic
potential of the Central Asian region
by being only within that organiza-
tion. It is here that India may gain
from its strategic dialogue with the
US in the region. The SCO members
have steadfastly kept the US out of it.
However the US is a major player in
the region. By engaging both with the
US and the SCO, India now has a two-
pronged approach for establishing a
strong foothold in Central Asia, where
it has significant strategic interests.
Even with respect to West Asia, Indias
dialogue with the US will be helpful
and will allow the nation to fulfill its
energy, trade and investment interests
in the region with US help.
3. There has been intense debate in
India as to whether the country has
extracted the full benefits of the India-
US civil nuclear agreement. The dia-
logue statement refers to the full im-
plementation of the nuclear agree-
ment thereby making it clear that In-
dias concerns regarding enrichment
of nuclear fuel etc are more or less
uncalled for.
4. The dialogue has made it amply
evident that the US is going to put its
entire weight behind India in the lat-
ters quest for membership in various
export control regimes.
5. The exclusion of Indian entities
from the US Department of Com-
merces Entity List means that enti-
ties like the DRDO and other vital or-
ganizations will no longer be given
pariah like treatment in the interna-
tional community. Not only will it
help these organizations do commerce
with USA, but also with other nations
of the world.
6. The trilateral dialogue process in-
volving the US and Japan will help
India gradually offset increasing Chi-
nese influence in the East Asian and
South East Asian regions. This is espe-
cially because China and Japan often
view each other as rivals.
7. By engaging the US strategically,
India is mounting diplomatic pressure
on Pakistan to rein in its home grown
terrorists who target India with tacit
Pakistani support. The dialogue state-
ment sent another strong message to
Pakistan to curb terror mushrooming
in its soil. The timing of the recent
Mumbai terror attacks on 13th July
2011, just days before the visit only
served to strengthen the message giv-
en by the US to Pakistan.
Advantages for the US:
1. The US nuclear power companies
TIMES
Civil Services
get the opportunity of tapping the
enormous Indian energy market
which has a lot of inherent potential.
India is the second fastest growing
economy in the world. Its energy re-
quirements, though sizeable even
now are likely to grow in the future.
The dialogue statement mentions that
US companies will have a level play-
ing field in Indian markets and will
get suitable tariff for energy genera-
tion. More business for US nuclear
energy companies in India will in turn
result in more jobs in the US which in
turn will benefit the US economy.
2. In return for pushing Indias case in
various export control regimes and
striking off Indian entities from the En-
tities List of its Department of Com-
merce, the US has slowly managed to
get India to gradually confirm to inter-
national norms with respect to its civil
nuclear assets. India is reorienting it-
self to the rules and regulations of the
export control regimes and this is a
success for US diplomacy which had
been trying this for decades though by
diplomatic arm- twisting, which in turn
had been resisted by India.
3. India has had its reservations with
respect to the Fissile Material Cutoff
Treaty. But the US has managed to con-
vince the Indians to engage in negoti-
ations on the treaty in the Conference
on Disarmament.
4. Its increasing strategic relations with
India will help the US in checking the
rise of China. Many international ana-
lysts have felt that the US looks upon
India as a major ally in Asia, which can
help it in curtailing the rising Chinese
economic and military clout. The tri-
lateral dialogue with India and Japan,
which the US is deeply interested in, is
only a pointer to that.
5. By engaging with India strategi-
cally, the US can slowly goad India to
open up its markets and integrate it-
self completely with the world econ-
omy. This in turn will provide im-
mense opportunities to US businesses
in India and in turn US economy.
T
he series of Secretary level meetings that had taken place between India
and Pakistan within a span of a few months, starting with the meeting
between the Home/ Interior Secretaries and concluding with the For-
eign Secretary level talks paved the way for the visit of Pakistani Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar to India and her meeting with the
India External Affairs Minister, S.M.Krishna. Scarred once again by terror at-
tacks on its financial capital just prior to the Pakistani Ministers visit, India
showed maturity by rolling out the red carpet to its neighbor and not allowing
the recent Mumbai attacks once again derail the dialogue process.
A review of the bilateral dialogue process at the Secretarial level was done by
the two Ministers, who expressed satisfaction at the progress made on the
issues of 1) counter - terrorism (including the trials of the 26/11 Mumbai terror
attacks), 2) narcotics control, 3) humanitarian issues, such as the release of
prisoners inadvertently trapped in the jails of the two countries, 4) commercial
and economic cooperation, 5) Wullar barrage/ Tulbul navigation project, 6) Sir
Creek, 7) Siachen, 8) peace and security, including different Confidence- Build-
ing Measures (CBMs), 9) Jammu and Kashmir, and 10) promotion of friendly
exchanges, such as easing visa related procedures thus facilitating people- to-
people contact.
The two Ministers talked peace as they reiterated the importance of carrying
forward the dialogue process and resolving all outstanding issues through
peaceful means, by engaging each other in constructive and result- oriented
talks with the ultimate intention of establishing cooperative, good neighborly
relations. Reference to terrorism was brief and somewhat clichd with the
Ministers noting in the joint statement that terrorism posed a continuing threat
to peace and security and committing themselves to fighting it in all its forms
and manifestations. The word terrorism has been interpreted differently by
the two countries. By including the term all its forms and manifestations, the
statement ensured that either side had enough latitude to interpret the term in
a manner that suited them. Indias main concern has been the terror directed at
it from Pakistani soil with effective Pakistani state backing. Pakistan, which
has recently bled from multiple and frequent terror attacks from radical, anti-
US outfits which appear determined to punish the nation for its forced support
India and Pakistan relations
Visit of Hina Rabbani Khar
Creating history beyond the pale of history
The meeting
between the Home/
Interior Secretaries and
concluding with the Foreign
Secretary level talks paved
the way for the visit of
Pakistani Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Ms. Hina Rabbani
Khar to India and her
meeting with the India
External Affairs Minister,
S.M.Krishna.
TIMES
Civil Services
to the US in its war on terror, has
pointed out to India and the interna-
tional community that it is no less a
victim of terror than its eastern neigh-
bor. Pakistan has also, though with-
out evidence and rather churlishly,
pointed its finger at the Indian gov-
ernment and its external intelligence
agency, the Research and Analysis
Wing (R&AW) for sponsoring terror
attacks in its turbulent Balochistan
province. Though a bilateral terror
mechanism exists between India and
Pakistan, the mutual distrust between
the countries has rendered such mech-
anism rather ineffective. This prompt-
ed the two leaders to underscore the
need for sustained bilateral efforts to
enable the building up of a relation of
trust and mutually beneficial cooper-
ation. Apparently such trust will be
fostered through better contacts and
interactions between the people of
both sides, with the statement refer-
ring to their yearning for peace and
development as a check for terrorism
and violence. The perpetrators of ter-
ror crimes need to be brought to jus-
tice and for that there has to be im-
proved counter- terrorism coopera-
tion, especially between the relevant
departments and agencies. Two such
agencies are Indias R&AW and Paki-
stans ISI, who at present view each
other as foes. For bringing the agents
of terror to justice, it is first necessary
to identify them. This is a job that has
to be done by the intelligence and in-
vestigative agencies of the two coun-
tries. For doing the job effectively, in-
telligence inputs and investigative ev-
idence needs to be shared. Such shar-
ing is only possible if there is the min-
imum semblance of trust between the
concerned agencies without which the
agencies and their governments may
engage only in blame game without
making any concrete headway in pun-
ishing the executors of terrorism.
To build up an environment of trust,
it was decided to set up institutional
mechanisms that would look into the
process of releasing prisoners and fish-
ermen of each country, locked up in
the jails of the other. Accordingly, the
Judicial Committee of Prisoners,
which was set up to look into this
matter gave the following recommen-
dations:
1. early repatriation of prisoners who
completed their sentences and whose
travel documents are available;
2. adoption of a humane approach in
dealing with cases of fishermen, wom-
en, elderly, juvenile prisoners, termi-
nally ill prisoners or those suffering
from serious illness or physical/ men-
tal disability; and
3. monitoring the welfare of prison-
ers so as to ensure their humane treat-
ment. The Ministers gave their stamp
of approval to the recommendations.
Confidence Building Measures (CBMs)
are the key to peace and security and
hence the duo agreed to convene sep-
arate meetings of the Expert Groups
on Nuclear and Conventional CBMs
in Islamabad in September 2011.
The thorny issue of Jammu and Kash-
mir in itself occupied very little space
in the joint statement. The two sides
agreed to continue discussions with
the objective of reaching a peaceful
solution by narrowing divergences
and building up on convergences.
Rather, the Ministers concentrated on
facilitating trade and travel across the
Line of Control (LOC) as a means of
easing tensions by facilitating trade
and people- to- people ties between
the Kashmiris on either side of the
LOC. The following measures have
been proposed to facilitate cross- LOC
trade:
1. A list of 21 products of permissible
items for cross- LOC trade will be re-
spected by the two countries. A Work-
ing Group will review the list to in-
clude more permissible items.
2. Adequate facilities will be provid-
ed at the respective facilitation cen-
ters on either side.
3. The number of trading days has
been increased from 2 days a week to
4 days a week. On those days, truck
movement will take place both on Sri-
nagar - Muzaffarabad and Poonch-
Rawalakot routes.
4. Operational issues with respect to
cross- LOC trade will be resolved by
the Designated Authorities through
regular interaction.
5. Facilitation of regular interaction
between the Chambers of Commerce
and traders on either side.
6. Strengthening of existing telephone
communication facilities.
7. Holding meetings of the Designat-
ed Authorities alternately at the Ter-
minal of the Crossing Points on both
sides of the LOC every quarter or as
and when required.
The following decisions were taken
with respect to cross- LOC travel:
1. Cross- LOC travel would be ex-
panded so as to include religious pil-
grimage and tourism. The modalities
would be worked out by both sides.
2. Facilities at the operational cross-
ing points, such as waiting area, ter-
minal and clearing procedures will be
streamlined by both sides for smooth
cross- LOC travel.
3. Cross-LOC bus services between
Srinagar- Muzaffarabad and Poonch-
Rawalakot routes will run on Mon-
days from now onwards.
4. Application forms and relevant
documents with respect to cross- LOC
travel will be exchanged through e-
TIMES
Civil Services
mail between Designated Authorities on both sides. Such
mail transfers would be backed up by hard copies of such
exchanges.
5. Processing time for applications will be expedited and
will at no time be more than 45 days.
6. Coordination meetings will be held between the Des-
ignated Authorities at the terminals alternately on either
side of the LOC on a quarterly basis or when considered
necessary.
The baggage of mutual mistrust between the two nations
have so far hampered their trade relations with Pakistan
refusing the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to India
and meting out discriminatory treatment to the latters
goods. The Foreign Ministers have recognized the fact that
increased trade and commerce was in the interest of both
countries but for that to happen, it was necessary to estab-
lish a non- discriminatory bilateral trade regime, wherein
tariff and non- tariff barriers were either removed or re-
duced to a minimal. The steps taken by the Commerce
Secretaries in Islamabad in April 2011 to facilitate trade
and reduce imbalances were noted by the Ministers with
satisfaction. The leaders of the countries continued to car-
ry on the Secretary level meetings on the issues being
negotiated in the dialogue statement. They also acknowl-
edged the importance of the people on both sides of the
border and the LOC in improving bilateral relations. Con-
sidering the common people of the two countries to be at
the heart of the relationship, the leaders decided to accord
topmost priority to humanitarian issues such as the final-
ization of a revised Visa agreement which would usher in
a liberalized visa regime, people- to- people, business- to-
business and sports contacts.
Despite the fact that there has been very little change in
Pakistans stance vis--vis its sponsorship of terror to In-
dia, there is little doubt that bilateral talks between the
neighbors have progressed. Much of this is because the
Indian political and diplomatic leadership has not allowed
itself to be swayed by the enormous public opinion that
demands the freezing of ties following every single terror
attack on the countrys soil.
It also shows a sense of determination on the part of India
to decouple the dialogue process from the issue of cross-
border terrorism. While India will do whatever it has to
diplomatically and from the security point of view, it will
continue engaging with Pakistan not only on the issue of
terrorism but also on other outstanding issues. On the one
hand, it can continue building up international diplomatic
pressure on Pakistan and make it act against its home
grown terror infrastructure.
On the other, it can continue the dialogue process thus
earning the approval and goodwill of not only the inter-
national community but also that of ordinary Pakistanis,
who have nothing to do with the countrys policy making.
Besides, disengagement with Pakistan at a time when that
nations very nationhood is under threat from terrorism
itself is perhaps not a very viable option. Pakistan is like a
wounded creature, which seeks solace from its wounds by
hurting its neighbor. Engagement with necessary stric-
tures, rather than open hostility is the best way to deal
with such a volatile neighbour.
ADVERTISEMENT
TIMES
Civil Services
I
t was the colonial heritage which compelled India to look West since the
dawn of independence. When the curtains were down on the Cold War, the
nation realized the importance of looking East. The new millennium ush-
ered in new hopes for the country with many international agencies and ana-
lysts predicting a superpower stature for it by the middle of the millennium.
And yet, the realization of such hopes would first need the addressing of cer-
tain challenges faced in an increasingly inter-connected world. To address such
challenges, Indian policy- makers and analysts have recognized the need to
establish new global relations and re- invent the old ones. So after looking
West and East, it is now time for India to look Africa. The huge potential of the
world's largest continent and indeed the most diverse has caught the eyes of
the whole world, and India cannot afford to be left behind, especially at a time
when one of its economic competitors, China is making a beeline for the Dark
Continent. Historically, India has always had links with Africa and had main-
tained cultural contacts with the continent since ancient times. Ever since inde-
pendence and even before that, India has been a staunch supporter of Africa's
liberation from the chains of colonialism being itself a victim of colonial bond-
age and thus sharing the same sentiments of freedom and democracy with the
Africans which had fuelled India's independence struggle. A major part of
Africa remained Non- Aligned along with India during the Cold War years in
a bid to distance themselves from superpower politics and to concentrate on
their development.
The end of license - raj and the ushering of economic reforms in India propelled
the country on a high- growth trajectory. As the nation opened its doors to the
winds of globalization, it began to witness fundamental changes in its eco-
nomics, which in turn began to shape its policy- making. In the modern era of
globalization and liberalization, economics has become the driving force be-
hind politics, especially with respect to international relations. This is true for
almost every nation in the world and India cannot be an exception. With a
growth rate of nearly 7 per cent to 8 per cent, for a population of over a billion,
the Indian economy needs energy, raw materials and a vibrant and growing
market. No part of the world can geographically provide all these things in
large magnitudes the way Africa can.
This is a realization that has dawned
on Indian policy- makers, though
somewhat belatedly, some would say.
Traditionally, India's relation with Af-
rica has been cultural, political and
spiritual. While these aspects of the
relationship remain as vital as ever, it
is economics that is expected to be the
hallmark of the relationship in the 21st
century. While large parts of Africa
remain steeped in extreme poverty
and locked in political conflicts accen-
tuated by the significant presence of
armed militias and guerrilla groups,
the continent has nonetheless showed
sufficient signs of economic growth
and mushroomed zones of economic
prosperity to keep any major emerg-
ing economic power interested in it.
The African story has been a much
chequered one, and yet it has enough
in it to arouse hope. The West was de-
veloped, the East is developing, it is
time now for Africa to develop and
sensing this, major developed and
emerging economies, including India
feel the need to invest in its develop-
ment, not only economically, but also
socially and politically. As far as In-
dia is concerned, this means establish-
ing a deeper and multifaceted rela-
tionship with Africa with a greater
focus on economic relations than was
the case in the past. The Indian gov-
ernment in a bid to systematize and
regularize its interactions with the
African continent came up with the
idea of tri- yearly forum summits, the
first of which was held in 2008 in New
Delhi. The 2008 Summit set up an Af-
rica- India Framework of Cooperation
under which a Plan of Action was
adopted. Three years since that sum-
mit, on 24th and 25th May, 2011 the
2nd India- Africa Forum Summit was
held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under
the theme 'Enhancing Partnership,
Shared Vision', thus elaborating the
fact that the second summit is aimed
at further enhancing the cooperation
between India and Africa, which was
established in systematic manner dur-
ing the first summit.
The Addis - Ababa Declaration made
it clear that it was further building up
on the Delhi Declaration of April 2008
which can be considered as the foun-
dation stone of Indo- African strategic
2nd India - Africa Forum Summit
Strengthening
Look Africa policy
SPECIAL FEATURE
Manmohan Singh
was warmly received
by the African leader
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partnership, which in turn is based on the fundamental
principles of equality, mutual respect and benefit, the same
principles which guided their independence struggles and
their fights for self- determination. It was agreed that the
partnership will continue to be guided by mutual respect
for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity; commitment to deepen African integration; dia-
logue among civilizations to promote peace, tolerance and
respect for different religions, cultures and human rights;
as well as respect for gender equality; and a commitment
to pluralism, multi- culturalism and multi- ethnicity. It is
always useful to lay down the basic principles on the basis
of which a relationship is laid down. At present, many
nations are eyeing Africa, most of them with greed and
only a few with the intention of establishing a relation
based on equality. India wants to make it clear that unlike
many it is not interested in trying to make the resource-
rich Africa a type of neo- colony which satiates its hunger
for raw materials and thirst for energy, but rather is eager
to engage it in a manner which benefits both. The refer-
ence to the 'dialogue among civilizations' is a tacit nega-
tion of the concept of the 'clash of civilizations' which sug-
gests a fundamental, inherent difference between world
religions and civilizations based on them and predicts a
clash in the future. Both India and Africa feel such a clash
can be avoided and peace promoted through sustained
dialogue between religions and greater tolerance for plu-
ralism with respect to culture and ethnicity. India and Af-
rica are both immensely diverse. They agree that therein
lies their strength.
The new architecture of Indo- African relations is undoubt-
edly based on their economic cooperation. Both sides not-
ed that they had come out reasonably well from the eco-
nomic crisis which swept the world in 2008. While growth
in Africa has returned to the levels existent prior to the
crisis, India continues to remain a predominant 'growth
node' of the world. Critics may point out that both India
and Africa remained relatively unscathed by the econom-
ic crisis simply because they were less integrated to the
global economy as compared to the West, but nonetheless
such arguments lose sight of the fact that studied insula-
tion from destabilizing aspects of the world economy can-
not be considered bad economics especially in the wake of
a crisis. India and Africa are both young economies in the
sense that a high percentage of their populations comprise
of young people have tremendous energy, zeal, initiative
ADVERTISEMENT
TIMES
Civil Services
and potential which if nurtured prop-
erly through suitable human resource
development policies can open up
new avenues of economic develop-
ment. New initiatives to enhance part-
nership between the two sides in re-
cent years include substantial finan-
cial flows from India to Africa in the
form of grants, FDI and concessional
loans which in turn has contributed in
human resource development, and ca-
pacity building in the African private
sector, infrastructure, agriculture and
SMEs. Other areas of cooperation in-
clude sharing of strategies with re-
spect to sustainable development,
poverty alleviation, healthcare and
universal education, and use of suit-
able technologies, all of which are of
common concern. Sharing of each oth-
er's experiences in these spheres can
also be of mutual benefit.
Global warming and climate chang-
es are phenomena to which develop-
ing countries like the ones in Africa
and India have contributed the least
but from which they suffer the most.
The vagaries of climate change are
faced to the greatest extent by the
world's poorest, who do not have the
financial and technological capacity to
protect themselves from the fury of
Mother Nature, a fury stoked to no
insignificant extent by the greed of
developed countries. Herein lies the
inherent injustice in the phenomenon
of climate change. To do away with
this injustice, the developing world
has long advocated the principle of
equity and common but differentiat-
ed responsibility based on respective
capabilities as the fundamental prin-
ciple on the basis of which the global
fight against climate change and glo-
bal warming is to be carried out. This
principle, on which stood the Kyoto
Protocol, stated that while tackling
climate change is a common respon-
sibility of both developed and devel-
oping countries, nonetheless given
that developed countries have histor-
ically contributed more to climate
change than developing countries
hence the former will have to do more
to control the problem than the latter.
Thus Kyoto Protocol set up specific
targets for reduction of greenhouse
gases, which contribute the most to
global warming, only for the devel-
oped countries leaving out the devel-
oping ones. With the Kyoto Protocol
set to expire in 2012, the India- Africa
summit declaration called for a sec-
ond commitment period under the
Protocol, something which is being
pressed hard by all developing coun-
tries and resisted stiffly by all devel-
oped countries. In this respect the im-
portance of the Bali Action Plan, 2007
worked out under the aegis of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) was also high-
lighted. The summit also demanded
that the developed world set for them-
selves more ambitious plans for re-
ducing greenhouse gases and also pro-
vide adequate financial and techno-
logical support to developing coun-
tries, so as to help them in adapting to
a world where climate is undergoing
unexpected changes. Reiterating the
positive aspects of the Cancun Con-
ference on Climate Change, the sum-
mit urged developed countries to op-
erationalize the institutional arrange-
ments included in the Cancun deci-
sions. One of the major effects of cli-
mate change on Africa has been the
advancement of the Sahara desert. In
many central and western African
countries surrounding the Sahara,
rainfall has reduced over the last de-
cade as a result of climate
change. This in turn has in-
creased desertification. The
problem was highlighted by
the UN Inter- Governmental
Panel on Climate Change. The
African response has been the
visualization of the Great
Green Wall Project. The project
intends to establish a wall of trees
from Senegal to Djibouti, comprising
a total of 11 countries in a bid to check
the southward expansion of the Saha-
ra desert. The biggest challenge for the
project, which was first proposed by
Nigeria President Olesegun Obasan-
jo, will be the proper choice of trees to
be planted. The Addis Ababa declara-
tion wished the project well and prom-
ised it support.
The summit declaration expressed se-
rious concern over the triple crisis,
namely food crisis, energy crisis and
financial crisis, all of which are eco-
nomic in nature and which are plagu-
ing the world in a recurrent manner.
Even as the global economy tries to
grapple with one crisis, another looms
large over the horizon. In fact, issues
relating to food, energy and finance
are inter- related and the world econ-
omy has to strike a balance between
them, so as to ensure that addressing
problems relating to one does not trig-
ger off problems relating to another.
Just as many other global and bilater-
al summits, the Addis Ababa summit
also remained circumspect over the
sustainability of the present global
economic recovery. One of the great
perils of globalization is that econom-
ically weaker countries often have to
pay the price for the mistakes com-
mitted by economically stronger
countries. The global financial crisis
of 2008 resulted in a massive financial
crunch, especially for many advanced
economies thus effectively drying up
the flow of capital from these coun-
tries to Africa. The sudden scarcity of
capital adversely affected the devel-
opment of African as well as many
other developing nations. Not
only that the volatility
of capital flows has
been a major
prob-
l e m ,
raised in
different sum-
mits, as it has caused
volatility of foreign exchange re-
serves. The 2nd Africa- India summit
supported stable, long- term capital
flows from developed countries to de-
veloping ones. It also gave its econom-
ic rationale as to how such capital
flows can in turn benefit the devel-
oped countries as well. Long- term
capital flows, it was pointed out can
stimulate investment, especially in the
infrastructure sector. African countries
and India have tremendous potential
to absorb infrastructure investments,
which in turn can trigger economic
activity thereby enhancing global de-
mand. Enhanced demand would mean
more demand for manufactured
SPECIAL FEATURE
TIMES
Civil Services
goods, thereby providing a boost to
the manufacturing sectors of devel-
oped countries. Nothing can guaran-
tee sustainable economic recovery
than a return to health of the manu-
facturing sectors of advanced coun-
tries. While injection of financial stim-
ulus has been the popular global ap-
proach to revive the world economy,
it remains fraught with risks such as
the possibility of upward inflationary
trends and overheating of assets, all
of which can once again push the econ-
omy into depression. The approach to
make the economic recovery sustain-
able as pointed out above by the sum-
mit is also likely to address develop-
mental imbalances in the world. Urg-
ing major economies to bring about
macroeconomic policy coordination,
the summit acknowledged the G20 as
an 'important forum for international
economic cooperation' and requested
fair representation of Africa in that
forum so as to ensure that the voice of
Africa is adequately heard in the high
table of international economic deci-
sion- making.
No place in the world has a greater
stake in the fulfillment of the UN Mil-
lennium Development Goals which
were agreed upon in the UN Millen-
nium Declaration than Africa. India
too has many millennium develop-
ment goals to fulfill, which if it can,
will ensure greater social and human
resource development, thus aiding its
economic growth and ensuring more
egalitarian distribution of the fruits
of such growth. The summit commit-
ted itself to the fulfillment of the
MDGs by 2015 but also emphasized
that financial support and technical co-
operation, especially from developed
countries would be needed for the
achievement of the goals. In this con-
text, it was expected that developed
countries would fulfill their target of
providing 0.7 per cent of their GNI as
Official Development Assistance
(ODA) to developing countries. It is a
pity that major economies like the US
provide much less than the stipulated
amount as developmental assistance
to the developing world. While com-
mitting themselves to the overarch-
ing developmental goals, the summit
nonetheless spoke of giving the Afri-
can countries sufficient elbow space
for making policies which suit their
unique socio- economic conditions,
without being hamstrung by any one
developmental model. Flexibility in
policy- making is a must in a diverse
continent like Africa. Support for eco-
nomic programs in Africa under the
Program for Infrastructure Develop-
ment in Africa (PIDA), the New Part-
nership for Africa's Development (NE-
PAD) and the Comprehensive Africa
Agriculture Development Program
(CAADP) was declared.
The summit expressed concern that the
Doha Round had so far made no sig-
nificant progress in justifying for it-
self the adjective 'development round'.
It sought an agreement that addresses
concerns regarding livelihood, food
security and rural development of de-
veloping countries. Similarly con-
cerns on Non- Agricul-
tural Market Access
(NAMA) services and
rules also need to be
concerned. The African
countries and India
strongly opposed trade
distorting domestic ag-
ricultural support by
developed countries
which are preventing
access for developing
countries to the lucra-
tive developed country markets, there-
by hampering the livelihoods of
many developing country farmers.
Africa and India are both deeply com-
mitted to multilateralism and called
for greater democratization of the UN
decision- making process. The Addis
Ababa declaration sought to strength-
en ties between the two sides in fo-
rums where they are co- participants,
such as the UN and G-77. With respect
to international peacekeeping, ef-
forts made by the African Union Peace
and Security Council in maintaining
peace in Africa were commended and
the African side appreciated India's
commitment to peacekeeping oper-
ations in the African continent. The
African Standby Force, which was
raised to improve peace and security
in the continent, was given support
by India.
Reforms within the UN are an impor-
tant issue concerning both India and
Africa. India has been campaigning
hard to book a berth in the UN Securi-
ty Council as a permanent member.
But its efforts have been thwarted,
among other factors by the lack of una-
nimity in the 54 member African
Union regarding its permanent mem-
bership in the UNSC. In fact India
stalled its efforts to occupy the cher-
ished high seat in the UN when the
AU failed to collectively back it. That
was one occasion when over- confi-
dent Indian diplomats realized that
they could not take African support
for granted and would have to do
much more to get Africa on their side
on that particular issue. African back-
ing is crucial for India in its UNSC as-
pirations. In the Addis Ababa summit,
while the Africans welcomed India's
election to the non- permanent seat of
the UNSC for the years 2011-12, they
nonetheless remained non- commit-
tal on the issue of a permanent UNSC
berth for India by simply taking note
of India's position and aspirations.
African support for India's permanent
UNSC membership undoubtedly
comes with a caveat; India's support
for African representation in the per-
manent membership of the UNSC. In
this respect, Africa has collectively
elaborated its position in the Ezulwi-
ni Consensus, wherein it stated that
Africa should have two of its coun-
tries as permanent members of the
UNSC having full veto power. The
Consensus also gave the onus of
choosing these two countries to the
AU itself. It is clear that any support
India might expect from Africa would
depend on its support to the Ezulwini
Consensus. In Addis Ababa, India took
a measured step by 'noting' the Afri-
can position. Overall it was agreed that
urgent and comprehensive reforms of
the UN was required so that it could
SPECIAL FEATURE
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Civil Services
function in an efficient, effective and
transparent manner. The functioning
of the UN would also largely depend
on the implementation of UNSC res-
olutions, not only in letter but also in
spirit. It has been felt by many, and
the summit seemed to agree with such
viewpoints, that UNSC resolutions
1970 and 1973 on Libya have been in-
terpreted in such a manner by the
Western powers as to justify NATO
bombings on Libya. Taking a differ-
ent view of the resolutions the sum-
mit called for immediate cessation to
hostilities in Libya and urged the war-
ring parties to search for a political
rather than a military solution to the
problem. It also supported the AU
High- Level Ad hoc Committee ini-
tiative and the AU roadmap for a
peaceful and consensual resolution of
the bitter conflict, which has taken the
proportions of a civil war.
Speaking of the need for a global, non-
discriminatory and verifiable elimi-
nation of nuclear weapons and other
weapons of mass destruction, the sum-
mit affirmed its commitment to the
consensus in the Final Document of
the Tenth Special Session of the UN
General Assembly on Disarmament.
Support for an International Conven-
tion Prohibiting the Development,
Production, Stockpiling and Use of
Nuclear Weapons leading to their de-
struction was extended The Rajiv Gan-
dhi Action Plan of 1988 had visualized
the gradual reduction and ultimate
elimination of all nuclear weapons
and weapons of mass destruction. The
two sides called for negotiations to
fulfill the goal of the Action Plan. The
summit declaration also suggested the
commencement of negotiations on the
Treaty Banning the Production of Fis-
sile Material for Nuclear Weapons and
Other Nuclear Explosive Devices in
the Conference on Disarmament. Both
sides welcomed the coming into force
of the Pelindaba Treaty or the African
Nuclear Weapon Free Zone which en-
visions the establishment of a nuclear
weapons free zone in the African con-
tinent and which also seeks the prohi-
bition of research, development, man-
ufacture, stockpiling, acquisition, test-
ing, possession, control or stationing
of any nuclear explosive device in the
territory of any party to the treaty as
well as the dumping of radioactive
wastes in Africa by any party to the
treaty. Efforts to operationalise the
African Commission on Nuclear En-
ergy (ACNE) for the promotion of
peaceful use of nuclear energy were
also welcomed.
India and Africa, who have both suf-
fered from terrorism, were unequiv-
ocal in their strong denouncement of
any act of terrorism. The declaration
stressed that an act of terror in any
part of the world was a threat to every
part of the world. The need to strength-
en international cooperation in com-
bating terrorism was reiterated as was
the necessity to comply with all inter-
national terror conventions and relat-
ed protocols and
UN Security Coun-
cil resolutions on
anti- terrorism by
all member states.
Legal hassles relat-
ing to extradition
of terrorists have to
be addressed and
terrorists and their
associates must be
strongly prosecut-
ed. Mention was
made about the
need to curb cross-
border terrorism and serious concerns
were expressed regarding terrorist
kidnappings and hostage- takings.
Modern day terrorism has internation-
al implications and hence the response
has to be international. In this context
the two sides agreed to expeditiously
finalize and adopt the Comprehensive
Convention on International Terror-
ism at the UN. Arms and explosives
fuel terrorist and guerrilla attacks. Il-
licit trafficking of small arms and light
weapons is a major problem in many
parts of the world, including Africa.
Hence the summit declaration called
for full implementation of the UN
Program of Action on SALWs and
welcomed the efforts made by Africa
towards that end.
Another major security related threat
faced both by India and Africa is that
of piracy which has mostly reared its
ugly face off the Coast of Somalia.
Africa welcomed Indian efforts at com-
bating piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Ara-
bian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Though India is still behind major
economies like China is establishing
trade with Africa, it has nonetheless
made substantial progress. The Trade
Ministers from African nations and
India met before the summit and is-
sued a Joint Statement in which many
future ideas on ways and means to
enhance cooperation were enshrined.
During the meeting, The Duty Free
Tariff Preference Scheme of India,
which will help in boosting African
exports to India, cluster development
initiatives and the identification of
priority sectors of partnership were
discussed in the meeting as means of
intensifying economic engagement.
Initiatives were also taken to estab-
lish investment linkages between the
two sides. It was further mentioned
that India and Africa have a common
take on the WTO Doha Round and
agree with the basic principles of Spe-
cial and Differential (S&D) Treatment
and more preferential treatment for
Least Developed Countries (LDC).
The declaration concluded by noting
with appreciation that the 2nd India-
Africa Summit, which was also the first
one to be held in Africa, had been a
success. While the first summit had
started a Framework of Cooperation,
the second one took the process fur-
ther by setting up a Framework of
Enhanced Cooperation. India, some
analysts feel still needs to do much
more investing, both in time and mon-
ey, in Africa to catch up with China
whose trade with the continent is al-
ready double that of India's. On the
other hand, there are others who quip
that while China is investing in Afri-
ca's present, India is all set to invest in
the Dark Continent's future.
SPECIAL FEATURE
TIMES
Civil Services
A
fter undergoing years of political turbulence wherein Prime Minis
ters came and went, Thailand is likely to witness a period of stability
with the election of Yingluck Shinawatra, youngest sister of former
PM, Thaksin Shinawatra as the new Prime Minister of the country. With her
appointment to the most important post in Thailand, she is also set to make
history by becoming the first woman PM of the country. Yinglucks candida-
ture and her ultimate appointment to the top job has been a miracle of sorts,
what with her almost nil political experience. But her political pedigree and
the fact that she had the backing of her elder brother, who many feel has
remote controlled her to power, thereby paving the way for his return from
virtual political wilderness, finally ensured that she had the necessary num-
bers in her favor in the House of Representatives. Realizing the need of the
times, Yingluck, a 44- year old business executive made political reconcilia-
tion the main plank of her election campaign. Thailand has suffered from
political infighting since 2005-2006 when the Peoples Alliance
for Democracy (PAD) began to stage massive protests against
the Thai Rak Thai party led government of Thaksin Shinawatra
which eventually led to the ouster of the latter from his country.
Thailands troubles did not end with that as the nation hurtled
further towards political instability with the return of Shina-
watra after his political allies won subsequent elections and
formed a coalition government. Thaksin continued to retain sub-
stantial support in Thailand and efforts by the yellow- shirt PAD
workers to push him and his red- shirt workers out of Thai polit-
ical landscape proved futile. What followed was the period of
extended political crisis from 2008 to 2010, which culminated in
the military crackdown on protestors in 2010 which left hun-
dreds dead and nearly thousands injured.
The events that unfolded after the ouster of Thaksin Shinawatra
made it clear that a stable Thailand is unimaginable without the
Shinawatra family and its sizeable support base. But Yingluck
did not have things all going her way to the Prime Ministership.
With the Pheu Thai Party left leaderless after the resignation of
its previous head, Yongyuth and with expectations of another
election rife in 2011, the stage was all set for a showdown within
the party. The two leading contenders for the party leadership
were Yingluck Shinawatra and Mingkwan Sangsuwan. Till Janu-
ary 2011, Yingluck remained a reluctant candidate till her name
was proposed by veteran politician, Chalerm Ubumrung. She
finally gave in to her new responsibilities and was finally cata-
pulted to the highest position within the party when the green
signal came from her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra who in what is likely
to be a memorable quote in the future said in an interview some said she is
my nominee. That is not true. But it can be said that Yingluck is my clone. He
went on to add that his sister can take decisions on his behalf, though most
political analysts would say that it is the reverse that might be true.
Apart from announcing in her campaign the general public demand for na-
tional political reconciliation, Yingluck also promised to empower the Inde-
pendent Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (ITRC), which
had been set up by the previous Abhisit Vejjajiva led Democratic Party gov-
ernment to investigate the killings which resulted due to the military crack-
down in 2010. As could be expected, the ITRC was given inadequate powers
by the government whose military was responsible for the deaths and was
subjected to frequent interventions. The commission had itself complained of
interventions by the government and the military. But Yinglucks promises
of giving more teeth to the ITRC appear to be in sharp contradiction of her
other major proposal - giving gener-
al amnesty to all politically motivat-
ed incidents, starting from the coup
of 2006 which resulted in Thaksins
exile to the military crackdowns of
2009 and 2010. The amnesty would
also apply to court rulings banning
the Thai Rak Thai and Peoples Pow-
er Party leaders from contesting elec-
tions and seeking offices, the seizures
by the PAD government of Govern-
ment House and the Don Muang and
Suvarnabhumi airports, and most sig-
nificantly the conviction of Thaksin
Shinawatra on charges of abuse of
power. The amnesty ploy is undoubt-
edly motivated by political interests
and it was expectedly heavily criti-
cized by the PAD party, which said
that it was aimed at specifically giv-
ing amnesty to Thaksin. Undoubted-
ly, the move will allow Thaksin back-
door entry into Thai politics and re-
juvenate the entire red- shirt brigade
in a big way. The master move how-
ever was to include the military ex-
cesses within the amnesty fold. By
doing so Yingluck ensured that the
powerful Thai military which played
an important role in sidelining
Thaksin was not antagonized towards
either her or her party. It is notewor-
thy that after Yinglucks election the
Thailand Elections, the new PM
Yingluck Shinawatra
TIMES
Civil Services
military chief commented that his
force would not interfere in govern-
ment matters. While some Thai po-
litical commentators and ordinary
people remain skeptical about the
militarys claims, given the history
of prior military interventions in the
country, with the new government
enjoying a comfortable majority and
showing foresightedness in forging
alliances with other parties, the scope
for the military in the present politi-
cal scenario has become relatively
less. The amnesty offer, Yinglucks
critics and political opponents insist,
will also result in returning back to
Thaksin the 46 billion baht worth of
his wealth which was seized by the
previous government as a penalty.
Yingluck however maintained that
getting back the wealth was not one
of the priorities of her government.
The other electoral promises made
included the reduction of corporate
income tax from 30 per cent to 23 per
cent and thereafter 20 per cent by 2013.
This move is likely to be very popu-
lar in the corporate world and may
well be viewed as a gift to them from
one who belonged to that same
world. For the common labourer, Yin-
gluck promised to raise minimum
wage to 300 baht per day and for uni-
versity graduates 500 baht per day.
With respect to agriculture, farmers
have been promised loans up to 70
per cent of their expected income,
based on guaranteed rice price of
15,000 baht per ton. The one laptop
per child scheme, which was part of
the Thai Rak Thai governments agen-
da, but which was sent to cold store
after the 2006 coup is likely to be re-
activated. At the same time, free WiFi
may be given to the public. The polit-
ical polarization in Thailand stemmed
in part from the economic disparities
between the haves represented by the
PAD and the have- nots represented
by Thaksin and his allies. Economi-
cally as in case of her political poli-
cies, the main theme of Yingluck Shi-
nawatras electoral campaign has been
reconciliation. Thus she has tried to
maintain balance between the corpo-
rate sector and the agricultural sector
while at the same time paving the way
for the revival of some of her broth-
ers old policies and schemes. In a way,
with her election as PM, life has done
Yingluck Shinawatra - A profile
Yingluck Shinawatra was born on 21st June 1967 in Chiang Mai. She ob-
tained a bachelors degree in Public Administration in 1988 from the Facul-
ty of Political Science and Public Administration, Chiang Mai University
and thereafter did her Masters from Kentucky University in 1991 with the
same subject and with specialization in Manage-
ment Information Systems. Thereafter she be-
came an executive in the businesses founded by
Thaksin Shinawatra. She first did her sales and
marketing internship in Shinawatra Directories
Co., Ltd, a telephone directory business founded
by AT&T International, wherein she later became
the director of procurement and the director of
operations. She became the general manager of
Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of International
Broadcasting Corporation (later known as True-
Visions) in 1994 and went on to become its dep-
uty CEO. She left IBC in 2002 and became the
CEO of Advanced Info Services (AIS), Thailands
largest mobile phone operator. She resigned from the AIS after the sale of
its parent company, Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings. She however
continued to remain the Managing Director of SC Asset Co. Ltd, the Shina-
watra family property development company. Yingluck has had her share
of controversies. She was accused by the Abhisit Vejjajiva government of
playing an important part in funding red- shirt protests against it. In fact,
her bank account was among the 86 bank accounts that were accused by the
government of funding the protestors. The Department of Special Investi-
gation found that millions of bahts were withdrawn from her account while
a lesser amount was deposited during the period April 2009 to May 2010.
That was the heyday of protests. On 28th April 2010 alone 144 million baht
were withdrawn. She was also accused of wealth concealment, charges which
she dismissed as being politically motivated.
a full circle for the Shinawatra
family in a span of five trouble-
some years.
Challenges before Yingluck Shi-
nawatra: The victory gives an
opportunity to Yingluck to
manage Thailand's political and
social-economic fissures that
were highlighted with exile of
Thaksin Shinawatra, after a mil-
itary coup in 2006. Establishing
democratic stability in the coun-
try will be the top most priority
for her new government. She
needs to boost Thailand's stabil-
ity in the short term and reduce
the chance of intervention by the
coup-prone military five years
after it ousted Yingluck's fugi-
tive brother-in-exile, former
premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Another major challenge before
her would be to reconcile the in-
terest of the red shirts (Thaksin's
supporters) and the yellow
shirts. If she makes any attempts to
close the corruption cases against her
brother Thaksin Shinawatra that could
revitalize the yellow shirts.
Yingluck
Shinawatra
TIMES
Civil Services
Afghanistan
Troop
withdrawal starts
President Obama has finally an-
nounced the much-awaited plan of
withdrawal of troops from Afghani-
stan. According to the plan, 10,000
American troops will be withdrawn
from Afghanistan by the end of 2011
with another 23,000 set to be evacuat-
ed by September 2012. The calling back
of troops from Afghanistan and the
simultaneous winding down of the
war in Iraq is expected to help the
United States refocus its attention and
resources to resolve its economic and
other problems and to unify a politi-
cally divided nation. It is worth not-
ing that over the course of the last de-
cade, the US spent around $1 trillion
on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
European leaders welcome troop with-
drawal: European leaders welcomed
the decision of America for the with-
drawal of troops from Afghanistan.
They believe that the leaders of the
terror organisation have been forced
out of Afghanistan and are no longer
able to train terrorists on Afghan soil.
In view of the fragile internal Afghan
situation, it should be underscored
that any withdrawal of should not be
carried out to quickly. The situation is
still unstable and the gains made up
to this point are not irreversible.
Afghan troop withdrawal and impli-
cations for Pakistan: The troop with-
drawal is definitely going to have a
major impact on the relationship be-
tween Pakistan and the USA. Pakistan
has been a major ally of USA in the
battle against terrorism, while on the
other hand it seemed apparent that at
least a part of the Pakistani military
and intelligence had been infiltrated
by terror network. This was the rea-
son for not informing Pakistani au-
thorities of the action against bin Lad-
en. The current withdrawal of troops
will definitely enhance the internal as
well as strategic security challenges
for Pakistan. The US will continue to
press Pakistan to expand its participa-
tion in securing a more peaceful fu-
ture for this war-torn region. Pakistan
now shares more responsibilities, it
needs to assist in the development of
its neighbour along with checking that
terrorist groups doesnt re-gather
their strength at its neighbour because
ultimately it Pakistan that will feel the
heat of extremist activities at its bor-
ders and would cripple its crippling
domestic situations.
Is the future of Afghanistan certain?
The decision of America to withdraw
troops from Afghanistan comes as a
relief to the war weary European na-
tions. The European nations that con-
tribute troops to Afghanistan are UK,
Germany and France and they have
all made it clear that they will not stay
engaged in the war against Taliban
beyond 2014. The US and European
countries rush towards an exit from
the war against terror, which has in-
deed turned into a quagmire of sorts,
is unjustified, given the realities both
on the ground inside Afghanistan and
the unfavourable geo-political climate
in the broader region. Instead the
Western coalition particularly the US
should announce firmly that any troop
withdrawal in the future will be tied
to the actual progress on the ground
in Afghanistan towards ending the
war and bringing durable stability.
But such a commitment to Afghani-
stan by the Western coalition, no
doubt, will be very expensive politi-
cally, militarily and financially. The
whole plan of withdrawal and disen-
gagement from Afghanistan by the
Western coalition led by the US is built
on these assumptions that an eventu-
al conciliatory deal with the Taliban
will bring the war to an end, the Af-
ghan security forces will keep and
enforce the peace and a small contin-
gent of American troops in perma-
nent/long-term military bases and
armed with predator drones and su-
perior fire power will guard against
the return of Al-Qaeda and other in-
ternational terror organizations to
Afghanistan. Though such a scenario,
however, is too far-fetched, difficult
to achieve and yet more difficult to
sustain over the long-term. Therefore,
a withdrawal plan that is not tied to
the actual level of progress on the
ground in Afghanistan has the effect
of further complicating the problems,
emboldening the Taliban and actual-
ly leaving Afghanistan more vulner-
able to interference by its neighbours.
The key to Afghanistans stabilization,
preservation of past achievements and
prevention of yet another chapter of
turmoil lies in reaching a genuine re-
gional and international consensus by
way of much greater regional consul-
tation and collaboration.
Turkey
Erdogan wins
Turkeys ruling Justice and Develop-
ment Party or AKP has won a third
term in parliamentary elections, set-
ting the stage for the rising regional
power to pursue economic growth,
assertive diplomacy and an overhaul
of the military-era constitution. But the
Justice and Development Party of
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
fell short of a two-thirds majority in
parliament, a shortcoming that will
force it to seek support for constitu-
tional change from other political
groups. Erdogans third term could
Recep
Tayyip Erdogan
TIMES
Civil Services
make him the longest-serving leader since Turkeys founder Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk. His re- election with an increased share of the vote, the largest in
almost half a century, will help the premier consolidate his victory over the
military, which introduced Turkeys current constitution after a 1980 coup, and
which has accused Erdogan of seeking to impose his Islamic values on Turkeys
secular laws.
It should be noted that despite a record of democratic reform, the government
has faced in-
creasing criti-
cism that it has
sought to con-
solidate power
at the expense of
consensus-build-
ing. The Prime
Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan
has promised to
start work on a
new constitution with consensus of the main opposition parties, the media,
NGOs and with academics.
Economic Issues in Turkey: Turkey is facing problem of current-account defi-
cit, inflation and bank credit growth. The new should have to tackle the issue
by imposing a tight fiscal policy supporting the central bank in its efforts to
calm down slightly-too-strong GDP growth.
Foreign Policy Agenda of Turkey: Rebuffed in its efforts to join the EU, Turkey
now borrows at 10-year yields lower than at least eight members of the 27-
nation bloc. In the Middle East, where popular revolts have swept away long-
time leaders this year, Erdogans political success and Turkeys economic
progress have been cited as a model by opposition parties including Egypts
Muslim Brotherhood. Turkey has maintained good relations with Syria by
keeping the countrys southern border with Syria open to refugees fleeing a
crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.
Yemen
Vacuum looming large
A third Arab nation is on the
verge of overthrowing a long-
serving dictator after Yemens
President Ali Abdullah Saleh
had flown to Saudi Arabia for
medical treatment following an
attack on his presidential pal-
ace. The news of departure of
Yemini leaders started festive
celebrations all over Yemen but
the political future of Yemen
hangs in doldrums because it is still doubtful whether Ali Abdullah Saleh, a
masterful political survivor who has held power for nearly 33 years, will yet
return - or leave the country in ruins if he cant. Hanging in the balance is a
country that even before the latest tumult was beset by deep poverty, malnu-
trition, tribal conflict and violence by an active al-Qaida franchise with inter-
national reach. With the departure of Salen, Vice President Abed Rabbo Man-
sour Hadi took over as temporary head of state.
Dilemma raised due to his sudden exit: Politically his sudden departure raised
many questions, including whether his Saudi hosts want him to return. The
Saudis have backed Saleh and cooperated in confronting al-Qaida and other
threats, but they are now among those pressing him to give up power as part of
a negotiated deal. Saudi Arabia has watched with concern the anti-government
protests that have spread to other neighbouring countries like Bahrain and is
eager to contain the unrest on its door-
step. Another reason to fear is that in-
ternational mediators, including US
and Saudi Arabia may force him to
pass his powers- a strong indicating
that they are trying to push Saleh from
power permanently. Internal security
threats are also on the anvil with the
departure of Salen. The presidents
absence raised the specter of an even
more violent power struggle between
the armed tribesmen who have joined
the opposition and loyalist military
forces under the command of Salehs
son and other close relatives. Street
battles between the sides have already
pushed the political crisis to the brink
of civil war.
Background to the protest in Yemen:
Anti-regime protests in Tunisia have
ignited public demonstrations in oth-
er pockets of the Arab world. Follow-
ing the footsteps of Tunisia, Egyptians
took to the streets of Cairo en masse
to demand the resignation of their
leader, Hosni Mubarak. This wave of
protest had its impact on politics of
Yemen also, which resulted in Yeme-
ni protesters flooding the nations cap-
ital city of Sanaa to call for their pres-
ident, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to cede con-
trol of the government. Yemen is one
of the poorest nations in the Middle
East, and Saleh has presided over the
countrys deterioration for the past 32
years. While protesters are railing
against the same kind of corruption
and improper governance that Tuni-
sians and Egyptians face, but Yemens
movement appears less revolutionary
and more conservative than the oth-
ers taking shape. It needs to be kept in
mind that President Saleh is a long-
time ally of the United States in its
war on terror, and Yemen is a key
front in that effort.
Libya
United States
recognizes rebels
The United States and more than 30
other nations have formally recog-
nized Libyas main opposition group
as the countrys legitimate govern-
ment, giving the rebel movement a
major boost. The decision, which de-
clared Libyan leader Moammar
Gadhafis regime no longer legiti-
mate, gives his foes greater credibili-
TIMES
Civil Services
ty and will potentially free up billions
in cash that the rebels fighting Libyan
forces urgently need. The front lines
in the Libyan civil war have largely
stagnated since the popular uprising
seeking to oust Gadhafi broke out in
February. Rebels, backed by NATOs
air force bombings, control much of
the countrys east and pockets in the
west. But Gadhafi controls the rest
from his stronghold in Tripoli, the
capital. This decision was announced
by the Foreign ministers of the so-
called Contact Group on Libya (Along
with the U.S., the 32-nation Contact
Group on Libya includes members of
NATO, the European Union and the
Arab League).
Implications of the decision: The rec-
ognition of rebel forces as the legiti-
mate government gives the enemies
of Khadafi a major financial and cred-
ibility boost. Diplomatic recognition
of the council means that the U.S. will
be able to fund the opposition with
more than $30 billion in Khadafi-re-
gime assets that have been frozen in
American banks. After this decision
the nations would deal with Libyas
main opposition group the Nation-
al Transitional Council, or NTC as
the legitimate governing authority
in Libya until an interim authority is
in place that will organize free and
fair elections. It is also hoped that ear-
ly resumption of legitimate govern-
ment in Libya would assist in resum-
ing oil exports. The recognition given
to National Transitional Council will
also help in restoration of human
rights in Libya and will pave the way
to a truly democratic Libyan govern-
ment. The U.S and others nations were
impressed by the progress the NTC
has made in laying the groundwork
for a successful transition to a Libya
that protects the rights of all its citi-
zens, including women and minority
groups.
At Brussels
Euro Zone Summit
A 17-nation Euro Zone Summit was
held in Brussels; capital of Belgium.
The summit hovered around the ob-
jective of finalizing a second rescue
package for debt plagued Greece and
calm the financial markets of Europe.
The participating nations agreed on
Marshall Plan for Europe to revive the
financial markets of Europe. Other
agreements reached during the sum-
mit include: (a) It was agreed to give
another 159 billion euros to Greece to
stop debt contagion across Europe. To
ease Greeces debt repayments on its
loans, the summit agreed to extend
them from 7.5 years to between 15 and
30 years in some cases, and at a rate of
3.5 percent, down from 4.5 percent. (b)
The European leaders appreciated the
measures taken by the Greek govern-
ment to stabilize public finances and
reform the economy as well as the new
package of measures including priva-
tization recently adopted by the Greek
Parliament. (c) It has been agreed to
design a new programme for Greece.
South Sudan
Joins UN as 193rd member
Newly independent South Sudan became the 193rd member of the United
Nations. South Sudan was welcomed into the international community
amid an uneasy peace with the Sudanese government in the north. It is
here underscored that the January 2011 referendum held under the terms
of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the de-
cades-long civil war between the North and the South Sudan resulted South
Sudans independence from the
rest of Sudan.
South Sudans President is Salva
Kiir and the capital city is Juba.
Issues and Challenges for South
Sudan: Independence for South
Sudan was the climax of a 2005
peace agreement that ended de-
cades of civil war with the Arab-
dominated north and called for a
referendum in which South Sudan
voted overwhelmingly for seces-
sion. But still differences remain
between the north and the main-
ly ethnic African south over bor-
ders and wealth-sharing among other things. In fact, the leaders in the
South predominantly Christian and various tribal religions are ac-
cusing the Islamic regime to the North of inciting unrest and rebellion in
the new nation. Besides that the most contentious issue remains unre-
solved to divide up the oil money from the Abyei region that straddles the
new border between the two countries. Further , The corruption here is
very high because the culture of war has been institutionalized.
Despite these inherent limitations both North and South Sudan will have
to resolve their outstanding disputes with pragmatism and doable ap-
proach. The leadership of both the nations need to understand that well-
being and future prosperity of their citizen depends on the practical be-
haviour shown by each other. South and North share a common destiny
they must see a future as true partners, not rivals.
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Civil Services
This programme will be designed
notably through lower interest rates
and extended maturities, to decisive-
ly improve the debt sustainability and
refinancing profile of Greece. (d) The
Euro Zone nations have agreed to ad-
here strictly to the fiscal targets, im-
prove competitiveness and address
macro-economic imbalances. Public
deficits in all countries except those
under a programme will be brought
below 3 percent by 2013 at the latest.
Are all future worries settled by the
Euro Zone Summit: The emergency
summit may have done enough to set-
tle the Greek problem for the time
being. But it could yet cause shudders
in the rest of the euro area as inves-
tors with exposure to other countries
worry about taking a hit. And al-
though European leaders insisted that
their remedies for Greece were ex-
ceptional and unique, Ireland and
Portugal may think otherwise. At best,
Europe has won a breathing-space. But
so much can still go wrong, not least
in Greece, whose chances of getting
on top of its towering debt without a
much bigger restructuring still look
remote. By going for a modest restruc-
turing now, European leaders will find
it harder to impose a more stringent
one in the future, leaving European
taxpayers footing even more of the bill
if Greece cant get its debt under con-
trol. The euro area may have taken a
step back from the brink, but it is still
perilously close to the edge.
St. Petersburg
International Eco-
nomic Forum 2011
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, Finnish President Tarja
Halonen and Spanish Prime Minister
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero recent-
ly took part in the St. Petersburg In-
ternational Economic Forum 2011
held in St. Petersburg, Russia (SPIEF
2011). The XVth St. Petersburg Inter-
national Economic Forum convened
under the theme Emerging Leader-
ship for a New Era. This distin-
guished group of political leaders
were joined by over 250 of the worlds
top CEOs. Over 5,000 of the worlds
political and business leaders, as well
as leading voices from academia, civ-
il society and media and discussed and
G20 Agriculture Ministers Meet
on Food Security Issues
The Agriculture Ministers from the G20 countries has met in Paris with the
aim to develop an action plan to submit to the G20 leaders summit in
November. The current Chairman of the G20, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of
France, made food security one of his priority issues and called the first ever
G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting. The Ministerial Declaration is more
market oriented than expected and will be known for what was excluded as
well as included. The summit discussed food security and proposal for reg-
ulating the global agricultural markets. At the summit France declared that
it wants a central database on crops, limits on export bans, international
market regula-
tion, emergency
stockpiles and a
plan to raise glo-
bal output.
The Ministerial
Declaration re-
leased at the end of
the summit pro-
vided an Action
Plan on Food Price
Volatility and Ag-
riculture with five
major objectives:
(1) improve agricultural production and productivity, (2) increase market
information and transparency, (3) strengthen international policy coordi-
nation, (4) improve and develop risk management tools, and (5) improve
the functioning of agricultural commodities derivatives markets. Increas-
ing production through productivity improvements is at the heart of food
security in a global sense, but market signals and government policies will
drive outcomes through supply chains that start at the farm level.
The leaders of the G20 nations have agreed to improve agricultural produc-
tivity and total output through proper technology research. Further they
recognized that increased market information and transparency is key to
increasing global agricultural productivity. It has also been agreed to create
a new Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) within the FAO of
the UN with cooperation from the International Grains Council. The real
key to this effort is the involvement of the G20 countries with invitations to
other major producing, exporting and importing countries. The Ministers
also supported a Global Agricultural Geo-Monitoring Initiative to use re-
mote sensing tools for crop production forecasting.
Conclusions from the meet: The first ever endeavour by the G20 nations to
face the challenge of agricultural productivity were more positive for inter-
national trade and market solutions to food security issues than had been
feared by some analysts, but there is nothing that will solve food security
issues. All issues deal with individual farm, firm and country decisions on
agricultural research, food production and government regulations not eas-
ily changed by G20 actions.
The Ministerial Declaration provided a benefit by highlighting dozens of
on-going efforts from technology research to risk management plans that
are already having an impact. The declaration also provides plenty of com-
mon ground where exporters and importers can work together to increase
production and provide better diets for people though unrestricted trade.
Past G20 summits have addressed food issues, but have had limited follow
up actions. That should not be surprising given their complexities and com-
petition for time and money of other issues. The best outcome is to again
call attention to program that work and encourage national governments
to remain committed to the cause.
The current
Chairman of the
G20, Nicolas
Sarkozy, President
of France
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Civil Services
deliberated on key issues facing Rus-
sia and the world. This year the Fo-
rum aimed to broaden its representa-
tion to cover key emerging markets,
as well as introduce a number of tech-
nological enhancements and new ses-
sion formats to provide better inter-
action and networking opportunities,
and to improve the overall participant
experience for participants.
About SPIEF: The St. Petersburg In-
ternational Economic Forum (SPIEF)
was established in 1997. Since 2006 it
has been held under the auspices of
the President of the Russian Federa-
tion. Over the past five years the Fo-
rum has become a leading business
event, attracting participants repre-
senting government and business
leaders from around the world.
Opportunities Offered by SPIEF: (a)
Networking: meet partners, clients,
and form new relationships (b) Unique
opportunities for discussions with
government officials from Russia, CIS
and other nations (c) Community: es-
tablish working groups to achieve
urgent business objectives (d) Set agen-
das: select, discuss and review the key
issues and trends affecting Russia and
the world, learn from leading world
experts (e) Use cutting-edge equip-
ment: the latest technologies and a
wide range of IT platforms.
Agenda covered by SPIEF 2011: The
theme of this years meeting was
Emerging Leadership for a New Era.
The SPIEF 2011 sessions was struc-
tured around three major subthemes:
Securing Global Growth, Building
Russias Creative Capital, and Expand-
ing Technology Horizons. With the
recovery from the global economic
crisis still uncertain and the powers,
trends, technologies and issues reshap-
ing the global agenda under rapid
flux, this years Forum promises to be
of high importance to global leaders
seeking to better understand and find
common purpose in shaping the
emerging global environment. Just as
the world is under change, so too is
the St.Petersburg Forum. 2011 Forum
participants were even more diverse
in recognition of the increasing role
emerging economies are playing in
driving global growth and impacting
innovation models. Moreover the Fo-
rum aimed to introduce a number of
technological enhancements and new
session formats to better interaction
and networking, and enrich the over-
all participant experience.
5th Conference of SAARC
Speakers and MPs
The Fifth Conference of the Associa-
tion of SAARC Speakers and Parlia-
mentarians was held in New Delhi.
The Conference deliberated on two
themes, first Consolidating Democra-
cy: Strengthening Trust between Par-
liament and the People and on Sus-
tainable Development in SAARC
Countries: The Way Forward in six
sessions spanning over two days. The
conference served its purpose of edu-
cating the speakers and parliamentar-
ians from all the SAARC nations who
came together and exchanged their
views on topics of regional interests.
This forum provides a good opportu-
nity to the parliamentarians of the re-
gion to strengthen the roots of democ-
racy in the region, work for protec-
tion of individual rights, sustaining
rule of law and delivering justice to
the people of the region. The forum
realized the challenge to maintain ef-
fective mechanism of checks and bal-
At Bangkok
5th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, 2011
Delegates from governments, civil society, private sector and academia in
the Asia-Pacific region gathered in Bangkok for a United Nations-convened
forum to discuss ways of ensuring that urban economic prosperity is social-
ly equitable and ecologically sustainable. The theme of the Fifth Asia-Pacif-
ic Urban Forum (APUF), was Cities of opportunity: Partnerships for an
inclusive and sustainable future and was organized by the UN Economic
and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Major Objectives of APUF: (a)
Discuss emerging and critical
urban development issues from
the perspectives of different
stakeholders (b) Share experi-
ences on good practices and ap-
proaches among nations. (c) Ex-
plore cooperation opportunities
and links to regional and global
processes and development ob-
jectives.
Major Urban challenges in Asia
and Pacific: Urban areas in Asia-
Pacific are growing at an unprec-
edented rate and scale. How the
regions cities develop and func-
tion will shape the future of not just Asia-Pacific but the world. While the
regions cities are engines of economic growth and centres of culture and
creativity, they also exhibit enormous ecological footprints, concentrations
of poverty and disparities, and vulnerability to natural and man-made di-
sasters. Shifting to inclusive and sustainable urban development therefore
means environmentally sustainable economic growth, sharing the benefits
in a more equitable manner to meet everyones basic needs, as well as
enhanced resilience of cities and their populations to the broad spectrum of
natural and man-made crises and disasters.
The strategy to face these urban challenges: These challenges require adap-
tive and inclusive governance and a strengthened urban social fabric. It
requires financing approaches that promote resource efficiency effectively.
It requires strategic use of appropriate technologies and enabling institu-
tional and regulatory frameworks and policy interventions. Implementing
the inclusive and sustainable development paradigm means clearly identi-
fying barriers to incremental and transformative change and to introduce
incentives to overcome them.
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Civil Services
ance in the democratic setup. The ex-
ecutive, legislative and judicial arms
of the government must be clearly
defined and separation of powers
guaranteed. The conference highlight-
ed its commitment to uphold the sov-
ereignty of Parliament and prevent it
from becoming a mere rubber stamp
in the hands of the executive. It needs
to be underscored that if the parlia-
ment and its democratic institutions
need to maintain trust and confidence
of the people, there must be complete
accountability and transparency in the
administrative setup of the nations.
The conference is conducted under the
auspices of the Association of SAARC
Speakers and Parliamentarians. The
Association of SAARC Speakers and
Parliamentarians was set up in 1992 to
promote people to people contacts and
interactions among the parliamentari-
ans so as to further deepen the roots of
parliamentary democracy in the re-
gion. The first conference was held in
1995 in Delhi. The second was held in
Islamabad in 1997. The Sixth Confer-
ence of the Association will be held in
Islamabad in 2012 and the Seventh
Conference in the Maldives in 2013.
Morocco
Towards Constitu-
tional Monarchy
Moroccos King Mohammed VI has
announced a series of Constitutional
reforms that aim to turn the country
into a Constitutional monarchy. The
same were even got approval of the
people of the nation on the basis of
referendum held in the month of July.
The referendum was approved by
98.49 per cent of voters. Based on the
new Constitution, the king will re-
main the supreme commander of the
army and a new article formalized him
as the highest religious authority in
the kingdom. Under the referendum,
voters are empowered to select a
prime minister, ending the longstand-
ing practice in which the king has se-
lected his own man for the job. The
prime minister has tended to take his
lead from the sovereign on key mat-
ters of state. It is here underscored that
thousands of young Moroccans have
taken to the streets, inspired by the
Arab Spring. Their real demand has
been creation of more jobs and an end
Vietnam
Truong Tan Sang nominated
Chairman of Vietnams 13th one-party National Assembly, Nguyen Sinh
Hung has nominated Truong
Tan Sang, permanent member
of the Party Secretariat as Viet-
namese State President for the
2011-2016 tenure. Sang, an arch
rival of Prime Minister Nguyen
Tan Dung is the ninth President
of the country, the first being
revered founding father Ho Chi
Minh. Sang has succeeded Nguy-
en Minh Triet, who served one
term. It is here underscored that
the role of the president in Viet-
nam is mostly ceremonial,
while the prime minister runs
the countrys day-to-day opera-
tions. It is to be referred that
Vietnam is a one-party system
and it does not tolerate any chal-
lenge to its rule, and publicly
calling for a multiparty system
can fetch long-term imprison-
ment.
Background to his appointment: The appointment of the new President was
made amid challenges at home with the economy and abroad with China
over disputed territory in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea.
Vietnam, one of Asias fastest-growing countries is also facing domestic
challenges over its economic woes. It is battling huge trade and current
account deficits, a weak currency and double-digit inflation thats squeez-
ing the countrys poor by driving up food prices.
to corruption. The revamped draft
constitution will make officials more
accountable, the Parliament in Rabat
more dynamic and will give the gov-
ernment greater powers. The new
prime minister would have new pow-
ers in decision-making and in day-to-
day management relieving the
king of a number of duties and align-
ing the style of management along the
lines followed by some European
Union countries. In an example of
power sharing, the draft constitution
empowers the prime minister to dis-
solve the House of Representatives,
and stresses that the king shall con-
sult him before announcing the disso-
lution of Parliament. The new consti-
tution aims to ensure separation of
powers as well as establish balance
and cooperation between all the
branches of the government. Under
the reforms, Morocco will also have
an independent judiciary and provide
equal rights for women.
The other side of reform process- will
it work? The reforms process in Mo-
rocco appears to be genuine, but the
security apparatus, cabinet positions
and religious appointments remain
under the finger of the king. It is
doubtful whether these reforms hold
something good for a nation that has
been accused of human rights abuses
in the past. By announcing these re-
forms process the king of Morocco
may well have succeeded in staying
ahead of the protest that has led to the
demise of the regimes in Tunisia and
Egypt and that has troubled Libya,
Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Whether
the reforms are short lived or trans-
form Morocco into Arab worlds first
constitutional monarchy will depend
not only on how the king acts in the
coming months, but also on the ca-
pacity and willingness of Moroccan
political organizations to build on the
opportunities the constitution offers
them.
Current NEWS Covered up to 01 AUGUST, 2011
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Civil Services
Statistics
STATISTICS
OUTLINE
Statistics section in GS (Paper-II) aims to check basic knowl-
edge of statistics and data interpretation of candidates. This
particular section is most direct and piece of cake in com-
parison with other descriptive sets of question.
Statistics is a relationship between data and decision mak-
ing in the following manner:
summarizing,
presenting,
analyzing,
interpreting, and
drawing conclusions
Looking into the utility of Statistics, one can summarize
and simplify large amounts of numerical data using this
tool. One can draw conclusions about data. Statistics may
reveal underlying patterns in data not normally observ-
able (especially true in multivariate analyses). One of the
sub-sections, CORRELATION is a discipline that exam-
ines data and can calculate numerical estimates of so called
estimated/probable/true values. The estimation or corre-
lation comes along with the concept of PROBABILITY, as
one cannot prove anything- estimates are normally pre-
sented in probabilistic terms (e.g. we are 95% sure ...)
Statistics can be useful tools for helping professionals of
different backgrounds while taking any decisions. Re-
searchers and scientists often use tables and graphs to re-
port findings from their research. In newspapers, maga-
zine articles, and on television they are often used to sup-
port an argument or point of view. Statistics is important
in the field of engineering by it provides tools to analyze
collected data. For example, a chemical engineer may wish
to analyze temperature measurements from a mixing tank.
Statistical methods can be used to determine how reliable
and reproducible the temperature measurements are, how
much the temperature varies within the data set, what fu-
ture temperatures of the tank may be, and how confident
the engineer can be in the temperature measurements
made.
There are some common terminologies followed in statis-
tics:
Population: Population is a collection of all subjects pos-
sessing a common characteristic that is being studied. The
total set of measurements.
Census: Census is the collection of data from every ele-
ment in a population.
Sample: A subgroup or subset of the population. Collec-
tion of objects which are a subset of the population of in-
terest and are taken as representative of the population.
TYPES OF QUESTION
DATA INTERPRETATION AND GRAPHS
This type of questions aims at converting the data (in form
of table or language) into Graphical mode and vice-versa.
A basic practice of Data Interpretation section for the CSAT
paper will prove a big advantage in the mains examina-
tion. DI questions evaluate the test takers ability to inter-
pret the given data one way or the other by forcing him to
use mathematical calculations to reach the desired result.
The questions are calculation-intensive and hence pose a
lot of problems for individuals who cannot calculate and
approximate the given data fast.
A graph is a visual way to display information from dif-
ferent areas including engineering, sciences, economics etc.
A basic knowledge of all varieties of graph is essential in
order to same time.
Following points must be taken care-of, while playing with
data or graphs,
Never ignore the units given for the variables (in million
dollars, in thousands etc.)
Instead of wasting time in doing lengthy calculations,
you must try to solve the questions using approximations.
Use direct per cent to ratio conversions, to speed up the
calculations.
Read the question as well as the Graph axes titles, accu-
rately. The common errors are like absolute difference vs.
relative difference etc.
Tables vs. Graphs
Although both are form of data only but still both possess
a peculiarity of their own. Tables and graphs are both ways
to organize and arrange data so that it is more easily un-
derstood by the viewer. Tables and graphs are visual rep-
resentations. They are used to organize information to
show patterns and relationships. A graph shows this in-
formation by representing it as a shape.
Tables and graphs are related in the sense that the infor-
mation used in tables is frequently also used for the basis
of graphs. It is important to know how to create and inter-
pret tables and graphs as they are used in many important
areas of research, and used to help people in decision mak-
ing.
Tables and graphs are relevant to almost all areas of the
curriculum. The conventions of tables and graphs are con-
sistent across all curricula. It is the context in which they
are used that identifies them as science, social sciences,
geography, etc.
Graph Types
There are five basic types of graphs that are used most
frequently. There are more complex types that are used
for specific purposes, usually technical in nature, which
will not be discussed here because they would rarely be
asked this particular paper. Here are the five basic graph
types:
a) Area - This graph shows the relationship of different
parts to a whole over time. One example would be to show
the breakdown of the total organization profit by product
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Civil Services
Statistics
line over the last five years. This graph can show many (4-
6) data series at a time.
b) Column - This graph shows the differences in individu-
al values vertically. It can be used to show the differences
between values in different time periods or other data
groupings. Examples include showing the total number of
phone calls each month for the past year or the number of
orders received by each order method (fax, phone, e-mail,
web, walk-in) over the last month. This graph works best
with fewer (1-3) data series.
Column graphs are similar to bar graphs and line graphs.
All three have grid lines going horizontally and vertically.
The column graph is more similar to the bar graph in that
it is used more for one time or single events rather than
continuous events.
In the column graph the data is literally presented in col-
umns. The category names can be on the graph or under-
neath the column. It is not necessary to assign different
colors to the columns although one could do so and then
attach a legend that would explain the different colors and
which category they stood for.
c) Bar - This graph shows the differences in individual
values horizontally. It is not a good choice for showing
values in different time periods. It works better for show-
ing the results of one or two data series. One example
would be to show the popularity of the top eight answers
to a survey question.
Bar graphs are an excellent way to show results that are
one time, that aren't continuous - especially samplings such
as surveys, inventories, etc. Below is a typical survey ask-
ing students about their favorite after school activity. No-
tice that in this graph each column is labeled - it is also
possible to label the category to the left of the bar. In this
case, the numbers for each category are across the bottom
of the chart.
A bar chart is marked off with a series of lines called grid
lines. These lines typically mark off a numerical point in
the series of numbers on the axis or line.
Bar graphs are useful to get an overall idea of trends in
responses - which categories get many versus few respons-
es. Bar graphs should be used for categorical, ordered, and
discrete variables. If the number of units in a discrete vari-
able is large it may be displayed as a continuous variable.
d) Line - This graph shows values at different points in
time. It is usually best to have equal time intervals along
the horizontal axis of the graph. One example would be to
show the trend in the number of customer service calls
handled by the five offices each month over the last year.
A line graph can display many (4-6) data series quite well.A
line graph represents a numerical or mathematical rela-
tionship and so has more information "buried" in it than
other graphs. Line graphs can sometimes be used to make
predictions for values that were not measured, by inter-
polating or extrapolating the trend, or by looking at the
shape.
A line graph is most useful in displaying data or informa-
tion that changes continuously over time.
EXAMPLE: Answer these questions about the graph at the
right:
a. How much rain fell in Mar of 1989?
b. How much more rain fell in Feb of 1990 than in Feb of
1989?
c. Which year had the most rainfall?
d. What is the wettest month on the graph?
SOLUTION:
a: 2 inches (from graph)
b: 2 inches
c: Total rain will be estimated by adding all the month rain-
fall.
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Civil Services
Statistics
R (1989) = 4+2+6+8+6+2 = 28
R (1990) = 2+4+2+6+4+8 = 26. Hence, higher rain in the
year 1989.
d: April 1989
EXAMPLE:
Water flows out of an inverted cone (i.e. the water flows
through the pointy end of the cone and the widest part of
the cone is at the top). The volume of the water is decreas-
ing at a constant rate. Draw a sketch graph of the height of
the water in the cone versus the time.
SOLUTION:
We need to model the height at time t based on what we
know about cones. We also need to assume several things.
The volume of a cone is V = r
2
h/3.
For simplicity, let r = h, then V = h
3
/3.
So the height of the cone is given by the cube root of 3V/.
We take a cone with "easy" values, say h = r = 10. This has
volume 1000/3 units.
If the water drains out in 10 seconds, it means 100/3 units
will drain out each second. Thus the amount of water left
after t seconds is given by (1000 - 100t)/3 units.
The height at time t will be the cube root of (1000 - 100t).
That is,
The graph of our model is given below.
EXAMPLE:
Draw the graph (distance vs. time) that matches each of
the following stories:
a. I had just left home when I realized I had forgotten my
books so I went back to pick them up.
b. Things went fine until I had a flat tire.
c. I started out calmly, but speed up when I realized I was
going to be late.
SOLUTION:
Considering initial velocity as constant.
e) Pie - This graph shows the proportions of each segment
of a whole. This graph only handles one data series. An
example would be to show the proportion of funding pro-
vided to the organization by each level of government in
the past year.Pie graphs (sometimes called pie or circle
charts) are used to show the parts that make up a whole.
Circle or pie graphs are particularly good illustrations
when considering how many parts of a whole are incep-
tion. To the right of the pie chart is a legend that tells which
color stands for which category. In addition, the percents
are also near the pie slice that stands for that particular
amount of time spent.
Because it is difficult to compare different circle graphs,
and often hard to compare the angles of different sectors
of the pie, it is sometimes better to choose other sorts of
graphs.
SUMMARY TABLE:
Pie chart A pie chart displays data -Shows percent of total
as a percentage of the whole. for each category
Each pie section should have -Use only with discrete
a label and percentage. A data
total data number should -Hard to compare 2 data
be included. sets
Bar graph A bar graph displays dis- -Can easily compare two
crete data in separate colu- or three data sets
mns. A double bar graph -Use only with discrete
can be used to compare two data
data sets. Categories are con- -Visually strong
sidered unordered and can
be rearranged alphabetically,
by size, etc.
Line graph A line graph plots continuous -Can compare multiple
data as points and then joins continuous data sets
them with a line. Multiple easily
data sets can be graphed -Interim data can be
together, but a key must be inferred from graph line
used.
Using Graph paper:
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Statistics
While converting any data collection into graph, follow-
ing points must be taken care of:
selecting an appropriate graph to communicate the data
providing a title for the graph
naming the axes (X and Y)
deciding on the appropriate scale to use when construct-
ing graphs
marking sub-units on the axes at regular intervals (al-
though occasionally marking at irregular intervals may be
acceptable)
including the units of measure (plus any multipliers) on
each axis of a graph
answering questions that involve calculations
plotting information from an article/ written text
identifying trends, explaining or synthesizing relation-
ships between two graphs, or two or more variables
reading the overall shape or trend of a graph
EXAMPLE: The electric power P (in watts) delivered by a
battery as a function of the resistance R (in ohms) is :
Plot the power as a function of the resistance.
Take following inferences from the graph:
Maximum power
Resistance value beyond which nature of the trend changes
SOLUTION:
The maximum power of 50 W occurs when resistance R
= 0.5 W
P decreases as R increases beyond 0.5 W
EXAMPLE:
The birth weight of several babies was recorded as shown
in the table below. Construct a bar graph and a pie graph
(in terms of %) to visually display this data.
Birth Weight of Babies
Baby Weight (lbs) Baby Weight (lbs)
Charlie 6.9 Dennis 8.1
Joan 7.9 Lori 6.2
Matthew 9.4 Sarah 10.5
SOLUTION:
Table formation
Tables are
an organiser for an investigation
a way of presenting data in a report
an organiser to assist comprehension and thinking.
For investigations with no numerical data it is usually bet-
ter to use a table to present the data.
A table with numerous variables can be broken down into
smaller tables that look at each variable separately. The
interaction between the various variables can then be ex-
plored.
Structure
The independent variables (if they have been identified)
go in the left hand columns, the dependent variables on
the right.
Any column heading should have all the information
needed to define the table's meaning. A categoric variable
should include a description of the class. A discrete or con-
tinuous variable should identify units and any multipliers
(e.g., hundreds of people, millions of dollars, kilometres).
A title summarises what the table is showing.
When investigating, the order of the entries is arbitrary.
When reporting results, they should be sorted into an or-
der.
Sometimes it is better to put data into bands, e.g., < 10
years, 10-15 years, 16-20 years this makes it more man-
ageable, and easier to see trends and patterns.
EXAMPLE: Answer Q1 to Q4 based on following infor-
mation:
Y2K compliance by market segments
1. How many companies in India is Y2K non-compliant?
2. By December 31, 1999; 60% of the partially compliant
and 10% of non-compliant companies of the sample size
become fully compliant. How many companies in the sam-
ple size are still not Y2K compliant?
3. In percentage terms of compliance, which segment has
the same rank in both, full as well as partial compliance?
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4. In how many segments are more than 10 companies
that are fully compliant?
SOLUTION:
1. We only know Y2K-compliance of the companies sam-
pled not all companies in India. Hence data is insufficient
to answer the question.
2. Services have 23% of 58 companies which gives the high-
est number of companies.
3. Partially compliant companies = 94
60% become compliant
Remaining = 40% of 94
Non - compliant companies = 97
10% become compliant
Remaining = 90% of 97;
Remaining 0.4 94 + 0.9 97 = 125
4. Manufacturing has 4th rank in both categories. Govt/
PSU has 3rd rank in both categories.
EXAMPLE:
In ABC Corp. ltd., New Delhi, there are total 100 employ-
ees in the year 2000.The male vs. female ratio is 3:2 in 2000.
In the year 2000, there are only 5 local (New Delhi) males
and total 80 non-local staff. In the next year total 10 new
local employees joined out of which 50% were male. Sum-
marize the above data in form of table showing male to
female ratios and local to non-local staff ratios for both the
years.
SOLUTION:
2000 2001
Male / Local 5 10
Male / Non-Local 55 55
Female / Local 15 20
Female / Non-Local 25 25
100 110
Male : Female 3:2 13:9
Local : Non-Local 1:4 3:8
INTEREST CALCULATION
Today's financial world totally runs on the fluctuations of
Interest rates. There is various kind of Interest rates meant
for very small to a heavy transaction of monetary value.
Whenever we borrow money from a bank, we pay interest
and in case we deposit our earnings in bank, then we get
some interest. In the first case the interest is really a fee
charged for borrowing the money, it is a percentage
charged on the principle amount for a period of a year -
usually. On the other hand, in the second case, we get a
part of the interest that bank is earning using our money.
In case you want to know how much interest you will earn
on your investment or if you want to know how much you
will pay above the cost of the principal amount on a loan
or mortgage, four parameters must be known:
1. PRINCIPAL AMOUNT
2. RATE OF INTEREST (ANNUALLY, QUARTERLY )
3. TIME PERIOD
4. INTEREST PATTERN (SIMPLE, COMPOUNDED )
Simple interest
As the name suggest, this is the most basic and common
form of interest rate. Although at very few places this form
is exactly used, but still it forms the basis of all other forms
of interest calculations. Because simple interest is a linear
function, it is quite easy to see how a loan or an invest-
ment will turn out in the future.
We can calculate simple interest by multiplying the Prin-
cipal amount by Rate by Time, given by the following for-
mula (taking care of all the units):
I = P x r x t
Here, principal (P) is the amount to begin with, whether
it's invested, lent, or borrowed. This amount increases by
the given interest rate (r) over a period of time (t). To cal-
culate not just the accrual but the resulting amount to which
interest is applied, you can use the amount function:
A = A
0
+ I
A = A
0
+(A
0
x t x r)
A = A
0
x (1 + t x r)
In the given formula,
A
0
is the principal amount (Initial amount deposited or
borrowed),
r is the annual rate of interest,
t is the number of years the amount is deposited or bor-
rowed for.
A is the amount of money accumulated after n years, in-
cluding interest.
Compound Interest
"Compound interest is paid on the original principal and
on the accumulated past interest."
This form interest rate is comparatively trickier, but it
shows the actual picture of real interest calculations. Com-
pound interest may be contrasted with simple interest,
where interest is not added to the principal (there is no
compounding). Compound interest is standard in finance
and economics, and simple interest is used infrequently
(although certain financial products may contain elements
of simple interest). Interest is periodically added to the
current amount, and the amount you get (or owe) is com-
puted from the following formula:
A = A
0
x (1 + r/n)
n x t
A
0
is the principal amount (Initial amount deposited or
borrowed),
r is the annual rate of interest,
t is the number of periods, the amount is deposited or bor-
rowed for,
A is the amount of money accumulated after n years, in-
cluding interest,
And n is the basis of compounding (Quarterly=4, Half year-
ly=2)
Hence:
Annually = A
0
(1 + r) = (annual compounding)
Quarterly = A
0
(1 + r/4)
4
= (quarterly compounding)
Monthly = A
0
(1 + r/12)
12
= (monthly compounding)
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Instead of a linear rate being applied, we see an expo-
nential growth: each time the amount A is compounded
by an interest rate dependent on that current amount A. In
investing, that sounds like a good way to make your mon-
ey grow. In borrowing, however, that doesn't sound that
great.
In order to define an interest rate fully, and enable one to
compare it with other interest rates, the interest rate and
the compounding frequency must be disclosed.
Always check, whether the question is meant for the Fi-
nal amount or just the interest earned.
EXAMPLE:A man buys a piece of land for 96000$, he sells
2/5
th
of it at a loss of 6%. At what gain percent should he
sell the remaining piece of land to gain 10% at the whole?
SOLUTION:2/5 of $96,000 ought to have fetched $38,400
as a break-even price but lost 6% of that by being sold at a
loss = $2,304
The aim is to sell the other parcel of land purchased for
$57,600 for sufficient to make up that loss and to put a net
total of $105,600 (i.e. $96,000 + $9,600) in the bank.
$36,096 has already been placed there by the first transac-
tion and therefore the cash price wanted is 105,600 - 36,096
= $69, 504.
So the question is "what percentage of $57,600 is $69,504?"
and the answer is 120.6666%.
So the selling price has to involve a gain of 20.6667 % of
the purchase price of the second parcel of land for the over-
all gain to be 10%.
EXAMPLE: In accordance with the provisions of the new
budget, a man pays tax at the rate of 5% and 10% as spe-
cial surcharge on the amount of income tax levied. He al-
together pays a tax of Rs. 11,000. Find the gross pay of the
man (The allowed standard deduction is 20%)
SOLUTION: Let GP gross pay = Rs. 1,000. After 20% de-
duction, remaining = 1000 80% = Rs. 800
Rs. 800 5% tax = Rs. 40
Rs. 40 + 10% of 40 (surcharge) = Rs. 44.
When the amount of tax is Rs. 44, GP = Rs. 1,000
Rs. 11,000 , GP = 1000/44 * 1000 = Rs. 2,46,363 nearly about
Rs. 250,000.
EXAMPLE:A sum of $5000 is invested at an interest rate
of 9% per year. Find the time required for the money to
double if the interest is compounded semi-annually?
SOLUTION: We have P = $5000, r = 0.09, and n = 2. We
want the principal to double, so A = 2P = $10, 000. Then,
using A = P (1 + r/n)
nt
10000 = 5000 (1 + 0.09/2)
2t
t=log2 / (2*ln(1+0.045)) ~ 8 years
BASIC NUMERACY
This section is particularly aims at basic numerical calcu-
lations including calculating averages, speed calculation,
work problems etc. The questions are comparatively
straightforward and less time consumer. Practice of play-
ing with numbers will increase both speed well as accura-
cy in this section.
One must practice how to translate simple English state-
ments into mathematical expressions, like "of" can indi-
cate "times". This frequently comes up when using per-
centages.
Percentage (Percent means per hundred)
Percentage problems usually work off of some version of
the sentence "(this) is (some percentage) of (that)", which
translates to "(this) = (some decimal) (that)". You will be
given two of the values, or at least enough information
that you can figure two of them out. Then you'll need to
pick a variable for the value you don't have, write an equa-
tion, and solve for that variable.
As a short-cut, following table must be used while convert-
ing any statement into percentage form, and vice versa.
Percent Decimal Fraction Percent Decimal Fraction
1% 0.01 1/100 75% 0.75 3/4
5% 0.05 1/20 80% 0.8 4/5
10% 0.1 1/10 90% 0.9 9/10
12% 0.125 1/8 99% 0.99 99/100
20% 0.2 1/5 100% 1 1
25% 0.25 1/4 125% 1.25 5/4
33.33% 0.333... 1/3 150% 1.5 3/2
50% 0.5 1/2 200% 2 2
EXAMPLE: Answer the following questions:
a) The average of 20 numbers is zero. Of them, at the most,
how many may be greater than zero?
b) The average weight of 8 person's increases by 2.5 kg
when a new person comes in place of one of them weigh-
ing 65 kg. What might be the weight of the new person?
SOLUTION:
a) Average of 20 numbers = 0.
Sum of 20 numbers (0 x 20) = 0.
It is quite possible that 19 of these numbers may be posi-
tive and if their sum is a then 20th number is (-a).
b) Total weight increased = (8 x 2.5) kg = 20 kg.
Weight of new person = (65 + 20) kg = 85 kg.
EXAMPLE: Answer Q1 & Q2 based on following informa-
tion:
John had calculated (correctly) that he had enough corn to
feed his birds for 16 days only (keeping in mind the nor-
mal feeding), so he kept four birds and sold the rest. He
also cut down their feeding by 20% (thus keeping the feed
at 80% of the normal feed). He was thus able to make the
corn last for 60 days.
1. How many birds did he have to start with?
2. If he had sold only the number of birds than he actu-
ally sold, for how many days would his corn have lasted?
(at 80% of normal feed)
SOLUTION:
1. Four birds at 80% feed for 60 days.
Hence, for 16 days at 100% feed, number of birds = 4 80/
100 60/16 = 12
2. He sells 2 birds; hence 10 birds have feed for 24 days.
Work problems
Work is defined as the amount of job assigned or the
amount of job actually done.Problem on work are based
on the application of concept of ratio of time and speed.
There exists an analogy between the time-speed-distance
problems and work. Remember, Rate of work is just the
speed of doing work.
Work Rate problems are based on two and only two con-
cepts:
1. Rates of doing work are additive.
2. Work done = Rate * Time (much like Distance = Speed
* Time)
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The basic questions of work rate are of the following form:
If A, working independently, completes a job in 10 hours
and B, working independently, completes a job in 5 hours,
how long will they take to complete the same job if they
are working together?
Since A completes a job in 10 hours, his rate of work is 1/
10th of the job per hour. B's rate of work is 1/5th of the job
per hour.
Their combined rate of work would then be 1/10 + 1/5 =
3/10th of the job per hour.
As we said before, Work done = Rate * Time
1 = 3/10 * T (because 1 job has to be done)
or T = 10/3 hours.
This implies that A and B will together take 3.33 hours to
do the job.
Time taken when A and B work together will obviously
be less than time taken by A or B when they are working
independently.
Time is not additive. In the question above, you obvi-
ously cannot say that A and B will together take 10+5 = 15
hrs to complete the job. Working together, they will take
less time than either one of them working alone takes.
If A can do a piece of work in 'a' number of days, then in
1 day

of the work is done. Conversely, if a man does

of work in a day, then he can complete the work in
days.
If A is 'x' times as good a workman as B, then he will take
of the time by B to do the same work.
If A and B can do a piece of work in 'a' days and 'b' days
respectively, then working together, they will take
days to finish the work and in one day, they will finish
part of work.
To compare the work done by two or more people, you
first need to calculate the amount of work each can do in
the same time.
If the number of men to do a job is changed in the ratio a
: b, then the time required to do the work will be changed
in the inverse ration, i.e. b : a.
If two man A and B together can finish a job in 'x' days
and if A alone takes 'a' days more than A and B working
together and B working alone takes 'b' days more than A
and B working together then
EXAMPLE: Paul finishes 3/10 of the work in 5 days. But
realizing the urgency of work, he employed Peter and they
together finished the work in 7 days. How much time
would have Peter needed to finish the work if Paul was
not available for assistance and he had to do the whole
work all alone?
SOLUTION: Assume the work has 150 units (LCM of 3,
10, 5). Hence, Paul does 9 units per day. In 5 days he fin-
ishes 45 units. The rest 105 units are being completed in 7
days. Hence, 15 units are being done by Peter and Paul
each day. So Peter does 6 units per day. He will take 150/
7 = 25 days to complete the job alone.
Speed Problem
Distance" word problems, often also called "uniform rate"
problems, involve something travelling at some fixed and
steady ("uniform") pace ("rate" or "speed"), or else moving
at some average speed. Whenever you read a problem that
involves "how fast", "how far", or "for how long", you
should think of the distance equation, d = rt, where d stands
for distance, r stands for the (constant or average) rate of
speed, and t stands for time. (The concept of changing ve-
locity i.e. acceleration is not covered here).
A set of typically asked questions from the topic "Speed
Time Distance" that acquaints you to different concepts in
the topic including relative speeds, average speeds, dif-
ferent units for measurement of speed, time and distance
and the conversions of these units. Also includes questions
on boats in streams and jets with tailwind.
Make sure that the units for time and distance agree with
the units for the rate. For instance, if they give you a rate
of feet per second, then your time must be in seconds and
your distance must be in feet. Sometimes they try to trick
you by using the wrong units, and you have to catch this
and convert to the correct units.
You can add distances and you can add times, but you
cannot add rates. If you drive 20 mph on one street, and 40
mph on another street, does that mean you averaged 60
mph?
Loss / Gain problems
Profit and Loss accounting is a fundamental way to mea-
sure the financial performance of a business. A firm grasp
of the basics is essential.
There are two distinct kinds of profit and loss problems -
those in which profit or loss is based on cost and those in
which profit or loss is based on selling price. Before such a
problem can be solved it must be known in which of these
classes it belongs.
Profit and Loss Based on Cost
When a percent of profit or loss is given, it is understood,
unless stated to the contrary, that this percent is based on
the cost. Thus, if someone states simply that he or she sold
something at a profit of 10%, it is understood to mean that
it was sold for an amount equal to its cost plus 10% of its
cost. In modern business, however, it is customary to fig-
ure profit and loss as a percent of selling price. This is be-
cause commissions, discounts, certain taxes and other items
of expense are commonly based on selling price, and in a
complicated business it makes for simplicity in account-
ing to base profit and loss also on selling price.
Profit and Loss Based on Selling Price
Modern accounting practice favors the basing of profit and
loss on selling price rather than on cost. This is because
commissions and other selling expenses are figured as
percentages of selling price, and it also simplifies account-
ing to base profit and loss on selling price.
SALES PRICE (SP): The price at which goods/services
are sold
COST PRICE (SP): The expenses occurred in making a
product (or providing a service) and it includes the price
of the raw material.
REVENUE: is compensation received for your product or
services.
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If the shop sells a thing for more than they paid for it, then
the difference is the 'profit':
Profit = selling price - cost price
If the shop sells a thing for less than they paid for it, then
the difference is the 'loss':
Loss = cost price - selling price
Both profit and loss can be expressed either in absolute
currency form, OR as a percentage of the cost price / Sell
price.
Profit Percentage = (Profit / Cost (OR Sell) Price) * 100
Percentage profit or loss is calculated on C.P.
% profit = [profit / C.P.] 100, % loss = [loss / C.P.] 100
S.P. or C.P. can be calculated from
S.P. = [(100 + P%) / 100] C.P., S.P. = [(100 - L%) / 100]
C.P.
C.P. = [100 / (100 + P%)] S.P., C.P. = [100 / (100 +L%)]
S.P.
S.P. = M.P. -discount
Where: C.P. - Cost Price, S.P. - Sell price, M.P. - Market
price
VENN DIAGRAMS
Venn Diagrams are pictorial ways of representing interac-
tions among sets to display information that can be read
easily. The Venn diagram is made up of two or more over-
lapping closed shapes like circles. It is often used in math-
ematics to show relationships between sets. It uses inter-
secting circles to illustrate the similarities, differences, and
relationships between groups. Similarities between groups
are represented in the intersecting portions of the circles,
while differences are represented in the non-intersecting
portions of the circles.
Venn diagrams can be successfully applied to a wide range
of subjects. For instance, students can compare and con-
trast several cities and their climates during a Geography
lesson, organize various animals or different cell structures
in Biology and study the character traits of different pro-
tagonists in works of twentieth century Literature. The
more aspects that are included in a Venn diagram, the more
comprehensive the analysis is. To optimize the process you
can use various colors and shapes. Originally, Venn dia-
grams were made using simple circles; however, triangles
and quadrangles can be also used, especially when con-
structing several diagrams at the same time. If used cor-
rectly, this graphic tool makes the teaching and learning
process a lot more interesting and effective.
EXAMPLE: A survey on a sample of 25 new cars being
sold at a local auto dealer was conducted to see which of
the three popular options air conditioning, radio and power
windows were already installed. The survey found:
15 had air conditioning
2 had air conditioning and power windows but no radios
12 had radio
6 had air conditioning and radio but no power windows
11 had power windows
4 had radio and power windows
3 had all three options. What is the number of cars that
had none of the options?
SOLUTION:
Total Number of cars according to the diagram = 2 + 6 + 3
+ 1 + 5 + 2 + 4 = 23.
Therefore, number of cars having none of the given op-
tions = 25 - 23 = 2.
MMM (MEAN / MODE / MEDIAN)
Statistics is a field of mathematics that pertains to data
analysis. Statistical methods and equations can be applied
to a data set in order to analyze and interpret results, ex-
plain variations in the data, or predict future data. A few
examples of statistical information we can calculate are:
Average value (mean)
Most frequently occurring value (mode)
On average, how much each measurement deviates from
the mean (standard deviation of the mean)
Span of values over which your data set occurs (range),
and
Midpoint between the lowest and highest value of the
set (median)
Mean, median, and mode are three kinds of "averages".
There are many "averages" in statistics, but these are, the
three most common, and are certainly the three you are
most likely to encounter.
The mean, median and mode of a data set are collectively
known as measures of central tendency as these three mea-
sures focus on where the data is centred or clustered. To
analyse data using the mean, median and mode, we need
to use the most appropriate measure of central tendency.
The following points should be remembered:
The mean is useful for predicting future results when
there are no extreme values in the data set. However, the
impact of extreme values on the mean may be important
and should be considered. E.g. The impact of a stock mar-
ket crash on average investment returns.
The median may be more useful than the mean when
there are extreme values in the data set as it is not affected
by the extreme values.
The mode is useful when the most common item, charac-
teristic or value of a data set is required.
The "range" is just the difference between the largest and
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smallest values. It shows the spread of the data
MODE: The mode of a set of data values is the value(s)
that occurs most often. The mode has applications in print-
ing. For example, it is important to print more of the most
popular books; because printing different books in equal
numbers would cause a shortage of some books and an
oversupply of others.
Likewise, the mode has applications in manufacturing. For
example, it is important to manufacture more of the most
popular shoes; because manufacturing different shoes in
equal numbers would cause a shortage of some shoes and
an oversupply of others.
It is possible for a set of data values to have more than
one mode.
If there are two data values that occur most frequently,
we say that the set of data values is bimodal.
If there is no data value or data values that occur most
frequently, we say that the set of data values has no mode.
MEDIAN: Median is the middle value of the series. It is
also called 50th percentile or second quartile.
Individual series:
1. First arrange the series the series in ascending or de-
scending order.
2. If the number of values is odd then, median is the mid-
dle number.
3. If thenumber of values is even then, median is the aver-
age of two middle numbers.
EXAMPLE:Find the mean, median, mode, and range for
the following list of values:
13, 18, 13, 14, 13, 16, 14, 21, 13
SOLUTION: The mean is the usual average, so:
(13 + 18 + 13 + 14 + 13 + 16 + 14 + 21 + 13) 9 = 15
Note that the mean isn't a value from the original list.
The median is the middle value, so I'll have to rewrite the
list in order:
13, 13, 13, 13, 14, 14, 16, 18, 21
There are nine numbers in the list, so the middle one will
be the (9 + 1) 2 = 10 2 = 5th number:
13, 13, 13, 13, 14, 14, 16, 18, 21
So the median is 14.
The mode is the number that is repeated more often than
any other, so 13 is the mode.
The largest value in the list is 21, and the smallest is 13, so
the range is 21 - 13 = 8.
STANDARD DEVIATION / VARIANCE
The variance and the closely-related standard deviation
are measures of how spread out a distribution is. In other
words, they are measures of variability. The standard de-
viation gives an idea of how close the entire set of data is
to the average value. Data sets with a small standard devi-
ation have tightly grouped, precise data. Data sets with
large standard deviations have data spread out over a wide
range of values.
where is the mean, N is the number of elements, is
Standard deviation and
2
is the Variance.
EXAMPLE: Find the standard deviation of 4, 9, 11, 12, 17,
5, 8, 12, 14?
SOLUTION: Mean: 10.222
Now, subtract the mean individually from each of the num-
bers given and square the result. This is equivalent to the
(x - Mean)
X 4 9 11 12 17 5 8 12 14
(x -x )
2
38.7 1.49 0.60 3.16 45.9 27.3 4.94 3.16 14.3
Now add up these results (this is the 'sigma' in the formu-
la): 139.55
Divide by n (n is the number of values, so in this case is 9).
This gives us: 15.51
And finally, square root this: 3.94
Z-score
A z-score (also known as z-value, standard score, or nor-
mal score) is a measure of the divergence of an individual
experimental result from the most probable result, the
mean. Z is expressed in terms of the number of standard
deviations from the mean value.
X = Experimental Value
= Mean
= Standard Deviation
Z-scores assuming the sampling distribution of the test
statistic (mean in most cases) is normal and transform the
sampling distribution into a standard normal distribution.
Whenever using z-scores it is important to remember a
few things:
Z-scores normalize the sampling distribution for mean-
ingful comparison.
Z-scores require a large amount of data.
Z-scores require independent, random data.
The relationship of the mean, median, and mode to each
other can provide some information about the relative
shape of the data distribution. If the mean, median, and
mode are approximately equal to each other, the distribu-
tion can be assumed to be approximately symmetrical. If
the mean > median > mode, the distribution will be skewed
to the left or positively skewed. If the mean < median <
mode, the distribution will be skewed to the right or neg-
atively skewed.
PROBABILITY: The probability of an event is a measure
of the likelihood that the event will occur. By convention,
statisticians have agreed on the following rules.
The probability of any sample point can range from 0 to
1. Thus, if event A were very unlikely to occur, then P(A)
would be close to 0. And if event A were very likely to
occur, then P(A) would be close to 1.
The sum of probabilities of all sample points in a sample
space is equal to 1.
The probability of event A is the sum of the probabilities
of all the sample points in event A.
The probability of event A is denoted by P(A).
EXAMPLE: There are 5 questions with 4 options each. Out
of 4 options one is right and 3 are wrong. A right answer
adds 1 mark, and one wrong answer deducts 1/4. What is
the probability of getting a zero if all the questions are
mandatory?
SOLUTION: Total number of possible combinations = 4
4 4 4 4 = 45 = 1024
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To get a score of zero 1 right and 4 wrong. Each question
has 1 right and 3 wrong options.
If right option is chosen from question number 1, then all
the other questions should be wrong.
Number of combinations = 1.3.3.3.3 = 81. This will work
for all 5 questions
Total number of favourable combinations= 5 81 = 405
So the required probability =405/1024
FORMULAE
i. Sample mean = x = ( x
i
) / n
ii. Sample standard deviation=s=sqrt[ ( x
i
- x )
2
/( n - 1 ) ]
iii. Sample variance = s
2
= ( x
i
- x )
2
/( n - 1 )
iv. n factorial: n! = n * (n-1) * (n - 2) * . . . * 3 * 2 * 1. By
convention, 0! = 1
v. Permutations of n things, taken r at a time:
n
P
r
= n!/(n - r)!
vi. Combinations of n things, taken r at a time:
n
C
r
= n! /
r!(n - r)! =
n
P
r
/ r!
vii. Rule of addition: P(A B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A B)
viii. Rule of multiplication: P(A B) = P(A) P(B|A)
ix. Rule of subtraction: P(A') = 1 - P(A)
TEST-1
Each question carries 8 marks and Total Marks-40
Time Limit: 30 Minutes Best is 25 Minutes
1. Three boxes of supplies have an average (arithmetic
mean) weight of 7 kilograms and a median weight of 9
kilograms. What is the maximum possible weight, in kilo-
grams, of the lightest box?
2. Of the students in a certain class, 10 had taken a course
in A, 11 had taken a course in B, and 14 had taken a course
in C. If 3 students had taken a course in all of the A, B, and
C, and 20 students had taken a course in only one of A, B,
and C, how many students had taken a course in exactly
two of A, B, and C?
3. Mike has started running, hoping to run a marathon in
six months. For the last six days, his running times (in
minutes) have been: 39, 43, 68, 40, 49, 61.
I. Compute the mean, median, and mode of these data.
II. Compute the range and standard deviation.
4. ABC Mobile collects data from 25 cars. He then com-
putes a correlation between weight of the car and its gas
mileage. The answer he arrives at is -1.4. Interpret.
5. The following line graph shows income and expense of
Shiva in different months in the year 2005.
I. Find the percentage of saving with respect to income for
the first six months?
II. Find the average income of Shiva in the year 2005?
TEST-2
Practice Papers on Statistics with stipulated time limit
1. Use the information provided in the two pie charts pro-
vided below. The total contribution to the GDP by the sev-
en sectors mentioned in the pie charts in the year 1999 was
Rs.289640 crores and Rs.317000 crores in the year 2000.
I. Which of the industry sectors witnessed the maximum
rate of growth during the period 1999-2000?
II. Which of the industry sectors witnessed a negative
growth during the period 1999-2000?
III. What was the rate of growth witnessed by the Soft-
ware & IT sector during this period?
IV. What was the rate of growth witnessed by the Petro-
leum sector during this period?
V. What was the rate of growth shown by the non-petro-
leum sectors between 1999 and 2000?
2. The arithmetic mean of the 5 consecutive integers start-
ing with's' is 'a'. What is the arithmetic mean of 9 consecu-
tive integers that start with s + 2?
3. John and Jane have five children whose ages are 1, 3, 7,
9 and 10.
a. What are the mean, median, and modal ages of these
children?
b. What is the range and standard deviation of these ages?
4. (Assume that the population per office is same for all
categories of bank offices)
Commercial banking at Glance March Sept March
2004 2004 2005
No. of Commercial banks 297 297 296
(a) All Scheduled Comm. Banks 297 297 296
Of which RRBs 196 196 196
(b) Non-scheduled commercial - - -
banks
No. of bank offices 65521 65735 65908
(a) Rural 32179 32632 32533
(b) Semi-urban 14301 14431 14508
(c) Urban 10716 10244 10354
(d) Metropolitan 8325 8428 8513
Population per office 15 15 15
(in thousands)
Deposits of Scheduled
Commercial banks (Rs Cr) 822133 867984 950705
Credit of Scheduled Commercial
banks (Rs Cr) 469032 496006 556436
Credit Deposit ratio 57.105 57.14 58.5
* RRB - Regional rural banks
I. In March 2005, what % of total scheduled commercial
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Statistics
banks are not RRB's?
II. What is the ratio of population in rural areas to popula-
tion in metro?
III. The per capita of deposits in scheduled comm. banks
have changed between Mar 2004 and Mar 2005 by what %?
IV. The bank deposits per capita in March 2005 are (approx)?
5. Convert the below mentioned data into an appropriate
table and graph:
In the first test match between India and England, the in-
dividual scores of all batsmen werefurther categorized in
form of score less than or equal to 50, between 50 and 100
& score higher than or equal to 100. For India the numbers
were 6, 4 and 1 and those of England were 7, 3 and 1. In
the next match the numbers were India (5,4 and 2) & En-
gland (4, 6 and 1).
TEST-3
1. A certain city with a population of 132,000 is to be di-
vided into 11 voting districts, and no district is to have a
population that is more than 10 percent greater than the
population of any other district. What is the minimum
possible population that the least populated district could
have?
2. For a certain race, 3 teams were allowed to enter 3 mem-
bers each. A team earned 6-n points whenever one of its
members finished in the nth place, where 1<=n<=5. There
were no ties, disqualifications or withdrawals. If no team
earned more than 6 points, what is the least possible score
a team could have earned?
3. A water treatment plant needs to maintain the pH of
the water in the reservoir at a certain level. To monitor
this, they take samples at 37 locations every hour, mea-
sure the pH for each sample, and find their average. If the
pH level of the reservoir is ok, the samples will have vary-
ing results, with an average pH of 8.5 and a standard de-
viation of 0.22.
If the pH level of the reservoir is ok, what is the probabil-
ity that one hour's samples average MORE than 8.42?
4. For admissions to its postgraduate programme, six in-
stitutes conducted a common admission test. The test had
four sections with the maximum marks in each section
being 50. The following tables give the aggregate as well
as sectional cut-off marks fixed by the six institutes. A stu-
dent will get interview calls only if he/she gets marks high-
er than or equal to the cut-off marks in each of the sections
and his aggregate marks are at least equal to the aggregate
cut-off marks as specified by the institute.
I. Arun got calls from all colleges. What could be the min-
imum aggregate marks obtained by him?
II. Bala got calls from two colleges. What could be the min-
imum marks obtained by him in a section?
III. Chandu did not get a call from even a single college.
TEST-4
1. If the mean of numbers 28, x, 42, 78 and 104 is 62, then
what is the mean of 128, 255, 511, 1023 and x?
2. It takes 1.5 hours for Tim to mow the lawn. Linda can
mow the same lawn in 2 hours. How long will it take John
and Linda, work together, to mow the lawn?
3. If a merchant offers a discount of 40% on the marked
price of his goods and thus ends up selling at cost price,
what was the % mark up?
4. The difference between compound interest and simple
interest at the same interest at the same rate for Rs. 5,000
for 2 years is Rs. 72. The rate of interest per annum is?
5. Prof. Dinkar rated the performance of all the male and
female students of his class as Average, Good or Excellent
and stored the data on a floppy. However, the floppy got
corrupted and part of the data has been lost. The data that
could be retrieved have been given below :
PERFORMANCE
The professor also managed to gather the following infor-
mation
a) Half the students were either excellent or good.
b) 40% of the students were female.
c) A third of the male students were Average.
I. How many of the female students are excellent?
II. What proportion of the good students are male?
III. What proportion of female students are good?
IV. How many students are male and good?
V. Among the average students, what is the ratio of male
to female students?
What could be the maximum aggregate marks obtained
by him?
5. Convert the following table into bar chart:
TEST-5
1. The average weight of a group of 30 friends increases
by 1 kg when the weight of their football coach was add-
ed. If average weight of the group after including the
weight of the football coach is 31kgs, what is the weight of
their football coach in kgs?
2. Draw a pictorial image/Venn diagram for the statement:
"Some mammals are carnivores. All mammals are animals.
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TEST-6
1. The average age of a group of 10 students was 20. The
average age increased by 2 years when two new students
joined the group. What is the average age of the two new
students who joined the group?
2. A tap can fill the tank in 15 minutes and another can
empty it in 8 minutes. If the tank is already half full and
both the taps are opened together, the tank will be emp-
tied in how much time?
3. Show below mentioned problem in form of Venn dia-
gram: "Out of forty students, 14 are taking English Com-
position and 29 are taking Chemistry. Five students are in
both classes."
4. Convert the table into suitable graph:
5. For boys, the average number of absences in the first
grade is 15 with a standard deviation of 7; for girls, the
average number of absences is 10 with a standard devia-
tion of 6. In a nationwide survey, suppose 100 boys and 50
TEST-7
1. The average of 5 quantities is 6. The average of 3 of them
is 8. What is the average of the remaining two numbers?
2. A man can row 5 kmph in still water. If the river is
running at 1kmph, it takes him 75 minutes to row to a place
and back. How far is the place?
3. Two merchants sell, each an article for Rs.1000. If Mer-
chant A computes his profit on cost price, while Merchant
B computes his profit on selling price, they end up making
profits of 25% respectively. By how much is the profit made
by Merchant B greater than that of Merchant A?
4. Answer the questions based on the following informa-
tion. All figures are in Rs. lakh.
I. The average revenue collected in the given 7 years is
approximately?
II. The expenditure for the 7 years together forms what
per cent of the revenues during the same period?
III. Which year showed the greatest percentage increase
in profit as compared to the previous year?
IV. In which year was the growth in expenditure maxi-
mum as compared to the previous year?
5. Convert the table to a appropriate graph
Therefore, some animals are carnivores."
3. A man invested Rs 5,000 at some rate of simple interest
and Rs 4,000 at 1% higher rate of interest. If the interest in
both the cases after 4 years is same the rate of interest in
the former case is?
4. The following graph gives prices (in Rs.) of 500 Kgs of
A, 1000 Kgs of B and the average cost of 500 kgs each of A,
B and C. Product D is made from A, B and C when they
are mixed in the ratio 1:2:3.
I. In which year was the price of C the highest?
II. What was the ratio of price of C in 1995 to that in 1996?
III. What was the percentage increase in price of C from
1996 to that in 1997?
IV. If I decide to buy 10 kgs each of A, B and C, then in
which year do I pay the least amount of money?
V. What was the cost of D in 1996 if 6000 kgs of D was
purchased?
VI. Price of 100 kgs of D was least in which year?
5. Calculate the mean, median, mode and range for two
sets of data.
Set A contains the numbers 2, 2, 3, 5, 5, 7, 8 and Set B con-
tains the numbers 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 7.
girls are sampled. What is standard deviation of the dif-
ference (male absences minus female absences)?
TEST-8
1. The average wages of a worker during a fortnight com-
prising 15 consecutive working days was $ 90 per day.
During the first 7 days, his average wages was $ 87/day
and the average wages during the last 7 days was $ 92 /
day. What was his wage on the 8th day?
2. It takes 6 hours for pump A, used alone, to fill a tank of
water. Pump B used alone takes 8 hours to fill the same
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TEST-9
1. A pupil's marks were wrongly entered as 83 instead of
63. Due to that the average marks for the class got increased
by half (1/2). The number of pupils in the class is?
2. A car and a bus set out at 2 p.m. from the same point,
headed in the same direction. The average speed of the car is
30 mph slower than twice the speed of the bus. In two hours,
the car is 20 miles ahead of the bus. Find the rate of the car.
3. A trader makes a profit equal to the selling price of 75
articles when he sold 100 of the articles. What % profit did
he make in the transaction?
4. Convert the column chart to histogram:
TEST-10
1. Average age of A & B is 24 years and average of B, C &
D is 22 years. The sum of the ages A, B, C & D will be?
2. A 555-mile, 5-hour plane trip was flown at two speeds.
For the first part of the trip, the average speed was 105
mph. Then the tailwind picked up, and the remainder of
the trip was flown at an average speed of 115 mph. For
how long did the plane fly at each speed?
3. A trader professes to sell his goods at a loss of 8% but
weights 900 grams in place of a kg weight. Find his real
loss or gain percent?
4. A given data set has a mean and a standard deviation .
a) What are the new values of the mean and the standard
deviation if the same constant k is added to each data val-
ue in the given set? Explain.
b) What are the new values of the mean and the standard
deviation if each data value of the set is multiplied by the
same constant k? Explain.
5. If the standard deviation of a given data set is equal to
zero, what can we say about the data values included in
the given data set?
tank. We want to use three pumps: A, B and another pump
C to fill the tank in 2 hours. What should be the rate of
pump C? How long would it take pump C, used alone, to
fill the tank?
3. A man buys a piece of land for 96000$.he sells 2/5th of
it at a loss of 6%. At what gain percent should he sell the
remaining piece of land to gain 10% at the whole?
4. Answer the questions based on the following graph.
Employees in thousands Sales-Cost=Profit
I. Which month records the highest gross profit?
II. In which month is the total increase in the cost highest
as compared to two months ago?
III. In which month is the percentage increase in sales the
highest as compared to two months ago?
IV. Which month has the highest profit per employee?
V. Assuming that no employees left the job, how many
more people did the company take on in the given period?
5. For a certain examination, a score of 58 was 2 standard
deviations below the mean, and a score of 98 was 3 stan-
dard deviations above the mean. What was the mean score
for the examination?
5. The following table shows the grouped data, in classes,
for the heights of 50 people.
TEST-11
1. In a survey of political preference, 78% of those asked
were in favour of at least one of the proposal I, II and III
50% of those asked favoured proposal I, 30 % favoured II
proposal, and 20 % favoured proposal III, If 5 % favored
all the three proposals, what % of those asked favoured
more than one of the three proposals?
2. Read the following information's carefully and answer
the questions given below.
A person deposits some amount regularly in a national-
ized and private bank. The rate of interest is compounded
every two month in both the banks. The following chart
shows the amount and time of deposits made by the per-
son.
Nationalised Bank Private Bank
1 Jan, 2001 3000 4000
1 Mar, 2001 2000 2000
1 May,2001 4000 5000
Total interest given by the nationalized bank in first 6
month is Rs.171
I. What is the compound rate of interest bimonthly (every
two months) given by the nationalised bank?
II. Total interest given by both the banks in first 6 month is
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TEST-12
1. The independent probabilities that the three sections of
an accounts department will encounter a computer error
are 0.2, 0.3 and 0.1 per week respectively. What is the prob-
ability that there would be at least one computer error per
week?
2. Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a 120 cm
scale while buying, but uses an 80 cm scale while selling
the same cloth. If he offers a discount of 20% on cash pay-
ment, what is his overall percent profit?
3. Convert the table into appropriate graph:
Rs. 424. What is the compound rate of interest bimonthly
(every two month) given the private bank?
3. Solubility - Temperature relationships for various salts.
(The Y-axis denotes Solubility (kg/litres of water)
I. Approximately, how many kg of Potassium Nitrate can
be dissolved in 10 litres of water at 300C?
II. By what % is the solubility of Potassium Chlorate in
water increased as the water is heated from 300C to 800C?
III. If 1 mole of Potassium Chloride weighs 0.7456 kg, ap-
proximately, how many moles of Potassium Chloride can
be dissolved in 100 litres of water at 360C?
4. A salesman's commission is 5% on all sales upto Rs
10,000 and 4% on all sales exceeding this amount. He re-
mits Rs 31,100 to the parent company after deducting his
commission. His sales were worth how much?
5. Which is a better investment: 12% stock at par with an
income tax at the rate of Re 0.05 per rupee or stock at 120
free from income tax?
4.
I. Which year of showed the greatest percentage increase
in profit as compared to the previous year?
II. The average revenue collected in the given seven years is?
III. In which year was the growth in expenditure greatest
as compared to the previous year?
IV. The expenditure for the seven years together forms
what percent of the revenues during the same period?
V. If the profit in 1996 shows the same annual rate of
growth as it had shown in 1995 over the previous year,
then what approximately will be the profit in 1996?
5. Convert the following table into four categorized pie
charts:
Produc- Capacity Sales Total
tion (000 Utilisa- (000 Sales
tonnes) tion (%) tonnes) Value
(Rs. Cr.)
Brooke Bond 2.97 76.50 2.55 31.15
Nestle 2.48 71.20 2.03 26.75
Lipton 1.64 64.80 1.26 15.25
MAC 1.54 59.35 1.47 17.45
Total (incl. Others) 11.60 61.30 10.67 132.80
SOLUTION-1
1. If three items have an average weight of 7, then collec-
tively, the three items have a weight of 7x3 = 21. If three
items have a median weight of 9, then the middle of the
three items is actually 9. This one isn't a variable; we can't
change this number. The first (or lightest) of the three,
therefore, has to be equal to or less than 9 (because it is to
the left of the median). Check the answers quickly - in this
case, unfortunately, that information doesn't help us to
eliminate any answers. If the middle box is actually 9, then
we can subtract that from 21 to get the combined weight
for the other two boxes. 21 - 9 = 12. So the lightest and
heaviest boxes have to add up to 12. Now, do we want to
minimize or maximize the weight of the heaviest box?
The heaviest box has to be equal to or greater than 9 (be-
cause it is to the right of the median). We want to maxi-
mize the weight of the lightest box, so we need to mini-
mize the weight of the heaviest box. So, the smallest possi-
ble weight for the heaviest box is 9. If the heaviest box is
minimized to 9, and the heaviest and lightest add up to 12,
then the maximum weight for the lightest box is 3.
2. Answer is 3.
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SOLUTION-3
1. Let's say that we're going to minimize the population
in District 1. Because all 11 districts have to add up to
132,000 people, we want to maximize the population in
Districts 2 through 10. How can we do that? Now, we need
more information from the problem:
"no district is to have a population that is more than 10
percent greater than the population of any other district"
So, if the smallest district has 100 people, then the largest
district could have 110 people but can't have any more than
that. If the smallest district has 500 people, then the larg-
est district could have 550 people but can't have any more
than that. How did we calculate those numbers? In each
case, we take 10% of the original number and add that fig-
ure to the original number to give us our maximum.
In the given problem, we don't know the number of peo-
ple in the smallest district, so let's call that x. If the small-
est district is x, then calculate 10% and add that figure to x:
x + 0.1x = 1.1x. So the largest district could be 1.1x but
can't be any larger than that.
We want to maximize all of the 10 remaining districts, so
we should assume that all 10 districts are equal to 1.1x. As
a result, we have (1.1x)(10) = 11x people in the 10 maxi-
mized districts (Districts 2 through 10), as well as our orig-
inal x people in the minimized district (District 1).
The problem told us that all 11 districts add up to 132,000,
so write that out mathematically: 11x + x = 132,000
12x = 132,000, x = 11,000
2. Let the teams be A, B and C. with team members [a1,
a2, a,3] [b1, b2, b3] and [c1, c2, c3] respectively.
So now I have 9 people participating in a race.
Now take a look at the conditions: Each point is given by
6-n where 1<=n<=5. This follows that there are no points
for the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th positions.
6-n would mean 5 points for the first position (6-1), 4 points
for the second (6-2) and so on till the last (6-5).
Please look at the constraints mentioned in the problem,
that no team gets more than 6 points.
A B C
5 4 2
1 3
You can now arrange the points in such a way that the
conditions mentioned in the problem are satisfied. In each
case the team with the least score has 4 points.
3. 8.5 = 50%
8.5 - .22 = 8.28
8.28+ = approx 65%
8.42 is to the right of 8.28 meaning the probability is less
than that for 1 std deviation.
4. I. To get calls from all the colleges, Arun should have
SOLUTION-2
1. I. Software and IT II. Steel
III. 22% IV. 12%
V. 7% VI. Ad and Media
2. The fastest way to solve such questions is to assume a
value for 's'.
Let s be 1.
Therefore, the 5 consecutive integers that start with 1 are
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The average of these 5 numbers is 3.
9 consecutive integers that start with 1 + 2 are 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10 and 11.
The average of these 9 numbers is 7.
Now, let us take a look at the answer choices and substi-
tute '1' for's' and '3' for 'a'.
The only choice that provides us with an answer of '7'.
3. Mean: 30/5=6
No mode
Median = 7
Range: 10 - 1 = 9 years
difference from mean difference squared
1 - 6 = -5 25
3 - 6 = -3 9
7 - 6 = 1 1
9 - 6 = 3 9
10 - 6 = 4 16
sum = 0 sum = 60
The variance is 60/4 = 12; the standard deviation is the
square root of 12 or approximately 3.464.
4. I. 100/296 i.e. 33.8%
II. The ratio of population can be estimated by the ratio of
banks in the respective areas, since there is a constant pop-
ulation per bank. Hence ratio is 3.85.
III. [(950/659)-(822/655)]/ (822/655) = 15%
IV. 9616
5. Table:
Test Match Score INDIA ENGLAND
1st <=50 6 7
50-100 4 3
>=100 1 1
2nd <=50 5 4
50-100 4 6
>=100 2 1
3. Mean: 300/6 = 50
No mode
Median=46, midpoint between 43 and 49, the two middle
times
Range: 68-39 = 29 minutes
difference from mean difference squared
39 - 50 = -11 121
43 - 50 = -7 49
68 - 50 = 18 324
40 - 50 = -10 100
49 - 50 = -1 1
61 - 50 = 11 121
sum = 0 sum = 716
The variance is 716/5= 143.2; the standard deviation is the
square root of 143.2 or approximately 11.96.
4. He made a mistake. Correlation cannot be less than -1.
5. I. 7.7% II. Average income = 116000/12 = 9666
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scored at least the highest value of cut-off in each section,
i.e., 44 + 44 + 45 + 44 = 177 and also at least the highest
value of aggregate cut-off for any institute, i.e., 176.
II. The minimum aggregate marks to get calls from two
colleges is 171. If he scores 50 each in three sections he
needs to score at least 21 marks in the fourth section.
III. Four colleges have a cut-off for section C and the re-
maining two colleges have a cut-off for section D. If a
student misses the cut-off in these two sections, he/she
would miss calls from all the colleges. The maximum pos-
sible marks such a student gets is 50 + 50 + 40 + 42 = 182.
5. Bar chart:
SOLUTION-4
1. The average (arithmetic mean) of the 5 numbers 28, x,
42, 78 and 104 is 62.
Therefore, the sum of these 5 numbers is 62 * 5 = 310
i.e., 28 + x + 42 + 78 + 104 = 310
Hence, x = 310 - 252 = 58.
The average of 128, 255, 511, 1023 and x = 395
2. Let t be the time for John and Linda to mow the Lawn.
The work done by John alone is given by
t*(1/1.5) and work done by Linda alone is given by t*(1/ 2).
6 (t * (1 / 1.5) + t * (1 / 2) ) = 6
t = 6 / 7 hours = 51.5 minutes.
3. If the merchant offers a discount of 40% on the marked
price, then the goods are sold at 60% of the marked price.
The question further states that when the discount offered
is 40%, the merchant sells at cost price.
Therefore, selling @ 40% discount = 60% of marked price
(M) = cost price (C)
i.e., a mark up 66.66%
4. 12%
5. I. None
II. 0.73
III. 0.25
IV. 22
V. 2:3
SOLUTION-5
1. The new average weight of the group after including
the football coach = 31
As the new average is 1kg more than the old average, old
average without including the football coach = 30 kgs.
The total weight of the 30 friends without including the
football coach = 30 * 30 = 900.
After including the football coach, the number people in
the group increases to 31 and the average weight of the
group increases by 1kg.
Therefore, the total weight of the group after including
the weight of the football coach = 31 * 31 = 961 kgs.
Therefore, the weight of the football coach=961-900=61 kgs.
2. Venn diagram:
Venn diagram of the syllogism Some mammals are
carnivores; all mammals are animals; therefore, some
animals are carnivores.
3. 5000 x 4/100 = 4000 (x + 1) 4/100? x = 4.
4. I. Year 1997
II. 8:7
III. 100%
IV. 1998
V. Rs. 25500
VI. 1998
5.
SOLUTION-6
1. The average age of a group of 10 students is 20.
Therefore, the sum of the ages of all 10 of them=10*20=
200
When two new students join the group, the average age
increases by 2. New average = 22
Now, there are 12 students.
Therefore, the sum of the ages of all 12 of them=12*22=
264
Therefore, the sum of the ages of the two new students
who joined = 264 - 200 = 64
And the average age of each of the two new students =
64/2 = 32 years.
2. Rate of waste pipe being more the tank will be emptied
when both taps are opened.
Net emptying work done in 1min =(1/8 -1/16)= 1/16
So full tank will be emptied in 16 min
Half tank will be emptied in 8 minutes.
3. Venn diagram:
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From the above table, clearly, the answer is 1992, as in 1992
the profit is maximum, i.e. 33.33%.
IV. The growth in expenditure over the previous year can
be expressed as:
Hence, it is maximum for 1992.
5. Graph:
SOLUTION-7
1. The average of 5 quantities is 6.
Therefore, the sum of the 5 quantities is 5 * 6 = 30.
The average of three of these 5 quantities is 8.
Therefore, the sum of these three quantities = 3 * 8 = 24
The sum of the remaining two quantities = 30 - 24 = 6.
Average of these two quantities = 3.
2. Speed downstream = (5+1) km/hr = 6 km/hr Speed
upstream = (5-1)km/hr = 4 km/hr Let the required dis-
tance be x km x/6 + x/4 = 75/60 2x+3x = 15 x = 3km
3. Merchant B computes his profit as a percentage of sell-
ing price. He makes a profit of 25% on selling price of
Rs.1000. i.e. his profit = 25% of 1000 = Rs. 250
Merchant A computes his profit as a percentage of cost
price.
Therefore, when he makes a profit of 25% or 1/4
th
of his
cost price, then his profit expressed as a percentage of sell-
ing price = 1/(1+4) = 1/5
th
or 20% of selling price.
So, Merchant A makes a profit of 20% of Rs.1000 = Rs.200.
Merchant B makes a profit of Rs. 250 and Merchant A
makes a profit of Rs. 200
Hence, Merchant B makes Rs.50 more profit than Merchant A.
4.
I. To handle this type of questions, the best way is to ex-
press the data in tabular form.
The average revenue collected in the given 7 years = 166.42
which is approximately Rs. 167 lakh.
II. Expenses of 7 years add up to 877. Revenue of 7 years
add up to 1165. Hence, the required answer is >> 75%.
III. We need to find the profit in each year.
4. Line graph:
5.
Find the mean difference (male absences minus female
absences) in the population.
d
=
1
-
2
= 15 - 10 = 5
Find the standard deviation of the difference.
d
= sqrt(
1
2
/n
1
+
2
2
/n
2
)
d
= sqrt(7
2
/100 + 6
2
/50) = sqrt(49/100 + 36/50) = sqrt(0.49
+ .72) = sqrt(1.21) = 1.1
SOLUTION-8
1. The total wages earned during the 15 days that the work-
er worked = 15 * 90 = $ 1350.
The total wages earned during the first 7 days = 7 * 87 = $
609.
The total wages earned during the last 7 days = 7 * 92 = $
644.
Total wages earned during the 15 days = wages during
first 7 days + wage on 8th day + wages during the last 7
days.
=> 1350 = 609 + wage on 8th day + 644
=> wage on 8th day = 1350 - 609 - 644 = $ 97.
2. The rates of pumps A and B can be calculated as fol-
lows:
A: 1 / 6 and B: 1 / 8
Let R be the rate of pump C. When working together for 2
hours, we have 2 (1/6 + 1/8 + R ) = 1
TIMES
Civil Services
Statistics
R = 1 / 4.8 , rate of pump C. Let t be the time it takes pump
C, used alone, to fill the tank. Hence
t * (1 / 4.8) = 1
t = 4.8 hours , the time it takes pump C to fill the tank.
3. 2/5 of $96,000 ought to have fetched $38,400 as a break-
even price but lost 6% of that by being sold at a loss =
$2,304
The aim is to sell the other parcel of land purchased for
$57,600 for sufficient to make up that loss and to put a net
total of $105,600 (i.e. $96,000 + $9,600) in the bank.
$36,096 has already been placed there by the first transac-
tion and therefore the cash price wanted is $105,600 - 36,096
= $69, 504.
So the question is "what percentage of $57,600 is $69,504?"
and the answer is 120.66%.
4. I. July
II. May
III. May
IV. July
V. 5000
5. Let M = the mean
Let SD = 1 standard deviation
M + 3SD = 98
M - 2SD = 58
if we subtract we get:
5SD = 40
SD = 8
M - 2(8) = 58
M = 58 + 16
M = 74
SOLUTION-9
1. Let there be x pupils in the class.
Total increase in marks =
x/2= (83 - 63) x/2 = 20 x= 40.
2.
(As it turns out, I won't need the "total" row this time.)
The first row gives:
d + 20 = 2(2r - 30)
The second row gives:
d = 2r
3. Let S be the selling price of 1 article.
Therefore, the selling price of 100 articles = 100 S. ...(1)
The profit earned by selling these 100 articles = selling price
of 75 articles = 75 S .... (2)
We know that Selling Price (SP)=Cost Price (CP)+Profit -
..... (3)
Selling price of 100 articles = 100 S and Profit = 75 S from
(1) and (2). Substituting this in eqn (3), we get
100 S = C.P + 75 S. Hence, C.P = 100 S - 75 S = 25 S.
Profit % = 300%
4.
5. a) We first find the midpoints of the given classes.
Let m
i
be the midpoint of the i
th
class and fi be the
corresponding frequency.
mean of grouped data = = (mi*fi) / fi
= (125*2 + 135*5 + 145*25 + 155*10 + 165*8) /(2+5+25+10+8)
= 148.4
b) standard deviation of grouped data=[((mi-)
2
*fi)/ fi ]
=[(2*(125-148.4)
2
+5*(135-148.4)
2
+25*(145-148.4)
2
+10*(155-
148.4)
2
+8*(165-148.4)
2
) /(50)] = 9.9
SOLUTION-10
1. The ONLY data given is two equations:
1. (A+B)/2 = 24
2. (B+C+D)/3 = 22
this means that [3(A+B) + 2(B+C+D)]/6 = 46.
That is 3A+5B+5C+2D=276, and value of sum cannot be
calculated from the given data.
2. Using "d = rt",
the first row gives me d = 105t and the second row gives:
555 - d = 115(5 - t)
Since the two distances add up to 555, I'll add the two dis-
tance expressions, and set their sum equal to the given total:
555=105t +115(5 - t)
t=2
3. The trader professes to sell his goods at a loss of 8%.
Therefore, Selling Price = (100 - 8)% of Cost Price or SP =
0.92CP
But, when he uses weights that measure only 900 grams
while he claims to measure 1 kg.
Hence, CP of 900gms = 0.90 * Original CP
So, he is selling goods worth 0.90CP at 0.92CP
TIMES
Civil Services
Statistics
Therefore, he makes a profit of 0.02 CP on his cost of 0.9 CP
profit %= 2.22%
4. a. We limit the discusion to a data set with 3 values for
simplicity, but the conclusions are true for any data set
with quantitative data.
Let x, y and z be the data values making a data set.
The mean = (x + y + z) / 3
The standard deviation =[((x -)
2
+ (y -)
2
+ (z - )
2
)/3 ]
We now add a constant k to each data value and calculate
the new mean '.
'=((x+k)+(y+k)+(z+k)) / 3 = (x + y + z) / 3 + 3k/3 = + k
We now calculate the new mean standard deviation '.
' = [ ((x + k - ')
2
+(y + k -')
2
+(z + k - ')
2
)/3 ]
Note that x + k - ' = x + k - - k = x -
also y+k-'=y+k--k=y- and z+k-' =z+k--k = z -
Therefore ' = [((x - )
2
+(y - )
2
+(z - )
2
)/3 ] =
If we add the same constant k to all data values included
in a data set, we obtain a new data set whose mean is the
mean of the original data set PLUS k. The standard devia-
tion does not change.
b. We now multiply all data values by a constant k and cal-
culate the new mean ' and the new standard deviation '.
' = (kx + ky + kz) / 3 = k
' = [ ((kx - k)
2
+(ky - k)
2
+(kz - k)
2
)/3 ] = |k|
If we admultiply all data values included in a data set by a
constant k, we obtain a new data set whose mean is the
mean of the original data set TIMES k and standard devi-
ation is the standard deviation of the original data set
TIMES the absolute value of k.
5. We limit the solution to a data set with 4 values for
simplicity, but the conclusions are true for any data set
with quantitative data.
Let x, y, z and w be the data values making a data set with
mean .
The standard deviation =[((x-)
2
+(y-)
2
+(z-)
2
+(w-)
2
)/3]
Let = 0, hence
[ ((x - )
2
+ (y - )
2
+ (z - )
2
+ (w - )
2
)/3 ] = 0
Which gives (x - )
2
+ (y - )
2
+ (z - )
2
+ (w - )
2
= 0
All terms in the equation are positive and therefore, the
above equation is equivalent to
(x - )
2
= 0, (y - )
2
= 0, (z - )
2
= 0 and (w - )
2
= 0.
Which gives
x=y=z=w= : all data values in the set with = 0 are equal.
SOLUTION-11
1. 78=50-(x+y+5)=30-(y+z+5)+20-(x+z+5)+(x + y + z)+(5)
or, 78=100-(x + y + z)10 or,(x + y + z)=17
2. I. 1.5%
II. More than 1.5%
3. I. At 30 degree centigrade solubility of potassium ni-
trate is 0.38 kg/lt., so in 10 lt. 3.8 kg = 4 of potassium ni-
trate can be dissolved in it.
II. 4 % increase in solubility of potassium chlorate = (0.4 -
0.1) 100/0.1 = 300%.
III. Solubility of potassium chloride at 36 C. = 0.4 kg/lt.
Therefore amount of potassium chloride that can be dis-
solved in 100 lt. at 36 C = 40 kg. Number of moles = (Wt. In
kg)/(Wt. of 1 mole) = 40/0.07456 = 533(approx)
4. Rs. 32,500
5. 12% stock
SOLUTION-12
1. 0.496
2. The shopkeeper uses a 120 cm scale instead of a 100 cm
scale. Thus, while buying 100 cm of cloth, he pays just (100/
120), i.e. (5/6) times the actual worth of the goods. If he
has 100 cm of material, then while selling, he charges the
customer for (100/80), i.e. (5/4) times the actual worth of
goods sold. On this SP, he gives a discount of 20%, thus
making the actual SP as (0.8)(5/4) = 1. Thus for 100 cm of
cloth, his CP is (5/6) while the SP is 1. This gives a profit
of 20% on the CP.
3. Bas graph:
4. I. Percentage Increase = [Final value - Initial value] 100/
Initial value. Using this formula & conversion of fractions
into percentage, calculate the percentage increase for the
various years. Maximum percentage increase is for the year
1992 = (40 - 30)/30 = 1/3 = 33.33%.
II. Average Revenue = (Total Revenue)/(Number of years)
= (122 + 130 + 145 + 170 + 185 + 200 + 222)/7
= 1174/7
= 167.7 = 168(approx.)
III. From the table, it can be seen that growth in expendi-
ture as compared to the previous year was maximum in
1992.
IV. Total Revenue = 1174
Total Expenditure = 700 + (2 + 5 + 15 + 30 + 35 + 40 + 50) =
887
%formed by the revenue = 887/1174 ~ 900/1200= = 75%
V. % profit in 95 = (72 - 60) /60 = 1/5 = 20%
As per the given condition % profit in 96 = 20%
Then total profit will be (6 72)/5 ~ 86 lakhs.
5. Pie charts:
TIMES
Civil Services
Statistics
UN Conventions against Transnational
Organized Crime and Corruption:
India has ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Orga-
nized Crime and its three protocols and the United Nations Convention against
Corruption.
The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is the
main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime.
It recognizes the need to foster and enhance close international cooperation in
order to tackle those problems. The convention is further supplemented by three
Protocols, which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime
namely Protocols to combat (1) trafficking in persons (2) migrant smuggling
and (3) illicit trafficking in firearms.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption complements the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Convention
introduces a comprehensive set of standards, measures and rules that all coun-
tries can apply in order to strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes to fight
corruption. The Convention enumerates in detail the measures to prevent cor-
ruption, including the application of prevention policies and practices, the es-
tablishment of bodies for that purpose, the application of codes of conduct for
public servants, and public procurement. It recommends promoting transpar-
ency and accountability in the management of public finances and in the private
sector, with tougher accounting and auditing standards. Measures to prevent
money-laundering are also provided for, together with measures to secure the
independence of the judiciary, public reporting and participation of society are
encouraged as preventive measures. The Convention recommends the State Par-
ties to adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to estab-
lish a whole series of criminal offences. These are: (a) Corruption of national or
foreign public officials and officials of public international organizations. (b)
Embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion by a public official of any
public or private property. (c) Trading in influence. (d) Abuse of functions and
illicit enrichment.
In the private sector, the Convention calls for the creation of offences of embez-
zlement and corruption. There are other offences relating to laundering the pro-
ceeds of crime, handling stolen property, obstructing the administration of jus-
tice, and participating in and attempting embezzlement or corruption.
Significance of India Ratifying the Convention: Six years after India signed
the UN Convention against Corruption, the country has finally ratified it. The
UN Convention will help the government to deal with the problem of black
money and corruption through legislative and administrative measures, thus
helping the government to seize illicit money and assets. According to the UN
convention, each member country shall consider adopting appropriate legisla-
tive and administrative measures, consistent with the objectives of the Conven-
tion and in accordance with the fundamental principles of its domestic law, to
prescribe criteria concerning candidature for and election to public office. The
ratification of the Convention is reaffirmation of our governments commitment
to fight corruption and to undertake vigorously administrative and legal re-
forms to enable our law enforcement agencies to recover illicit assets stolen by
corrupt practices. It needs to mention
here that India signed the accord in
December 2005 and is one of the 140
signatories to the convention. The rat-
ification comes as the country reels
from several corruption scandals that
have led to everything from sacked
ministers to hunger strikes.
Background: United Nations Crime
and Justice Information Network, or
UNCJIN, as mandated by United Na-
tions Economic and Social Council res-
olution 1986/11. From 1995 to 1999,
UNCJIN has been hosted and support-
ed by the Institute of Applied Comput-
er Science and Information Systems at
the University of Vienna. On 15 No-
vember 2000, the General Assembly
adopted the first UN Treaty against
Transnational Organized Crime.
Trafficking
With regard to heroin trafficking,
around 90 per cent of the global her-
oin supply comes from opium pop-
py cultivated in Afghanistan, and
the majority of this is consumed in
Europe, the Russian Federation and
countries en route to these destina-
tions. ?he route to the Russian Fed-
eration takes advantage of cross-
border social and ethnic linkages in
the new states of Central Asia,
mostly moving the heroin in small
amounts on board commercial and
private vehicles. In contrast, the
flow to Europe appears to be more
organized, with much larger ship-
ments crossing a greater number of
borders involving states with much
higher interdiction capacity. With
regard to cocaine trafficking, the
vast bulk of the flow proceeds from
the Andean region to North Amer-
ica (often via Central America) and
Europe (often via West Africa)
though an increasing share is di-
rected to the Southern Cone of
South America.
TIMES
Civil Services
Current Economy
Reports
World Trade Report 2011
The WTO and preferential trade agreements: From co-existence to coherence:
The ever-growing number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) is a prom-
inent feature of international trade. The World Trade Report 2011 describes the
historical development of PTAs and the current landscape of agreements. It
examines why PTAs are established, their economic effects, and the contents of
the agreements themselves. Finally it considers the interaction between PTAs
and the multilateral trading system. According to the latest report of the WTO
accumulated trade opening at the multilateral, regional and unilateral level
has reduced the scope for offering preferential tariffs under PTAs. As a result,
only a small fraction of global merchandise trade receives preferences, and
preferential tariffs are becoming less important in PTAs. The report highlights
the fact that global production networks have promoted the emergence of these
deep PTAs as good governance on a range of regulatory areas is far more
important to these networks than further reductions in already low tariffs.
WTO projects that the world trade will grow 6.5 per cent by volume in 2011: -
The latest report of the WTO has projected that the world trade will grow by 6.5
percent this year, which is above the average rate between 1990 and 2008 of 6
percent, but if fails short of last years dramatic rebound. The WTO maintains
that the growth in merchandise trade in 2010 as measured by volume of exports
was 14.5 percent, revised up from its previous forecast of 13.5 percent. Develop-
ing country trade as measured by exports growth is projected to grow by 9.5
percent, while that of developed countries is set to grow only 4.5 percent.
India is 10th top services exporter: According to the latest report of the WTO,
India has achieved 10th rank in export of services worldwide, while emerged
as the 20th biggest merchandise exporter in 2010. In value terms last year,
India exported services and merchandise worth USD 110 billion and USD 216
billion respectively. Indias goods exports went up by 31 per cent in 2010,
helping the country to expand its market share to 1.4 per cent from 1.2 per cent
in 2009. According to the report, China ranked first in terms of merchandise
exports followed by the US and Germany. In services export, the US is on the
top slot followed by Germany and UK.
Defining Preferential Trade Agreements: PTA is basically a trade pact be-
tween countries that reduces tariffs for
certain products to the countries who
sign the agreement. While the tariffs
are not necessarily eliminated, they
are lower than countries not party to
the agreement. It is a form of econom-
ic integration.
PTAs and Multilateral Trading Sys-
tem: Preferential trade agreements
pose a big challenge for the multilat-
eral trading system. PTAs have a range
of disadvantages compared with the
multilateral regime, e.g. in trade fa-
cilitation and in dispute settlement.
Though it will be difficult to stop the
further spreading of PTAs, attempts
can be made to reduce the negative
effects of trade agreements that dis-
criminate other countries. The collapse
of Doha development round has fur-
ther fuelled the desire for the prefer-
ential trade agreements among the
nations. With no agreement on the
Doha Development Round in sight,
the global economy is poised for a new
round of preferential agreements. List-
ed below are the major motives of the
policy makers for negotiating and
concluding preferential agreements:
- (a) The length of negotiations in the
current round causes difficulties for
democratically elected governments,
which tend to operate within shorter
electoral cycles of three to five years.
Preferential agreements can be tai-
lored to fit into such time frames. (b)
Bilateral agreements seem to provide
immediate, reciprocal gains for the
own economy. This perception allows
governments to work with coalitions
supporting liberalization, which are
instrumental in overcoming internal
opposition to an agreement. (c) Tran-
snational cooperations are increas-
ingly pushing the implementation of
preferential agreements. This short list
of reasons for the emergence of the
strong trend for preferential trade
agreements is not comprehensive.
However, it demonstrates that the
motives for implementing preferen-
tial agreements are embedded in the
political systems of WTO member
states. This pattern is unlikely to
change in the short- or medium term.
Issues related to the PTAs: In princi-
ple, there are two schools of thought
on preferential agreements. The first
one argues that these agreements are
contributing to deeper global integra-
Global Innovation Index 2011
India has continued to deteriorate in the index as it has slipped to 62nd
position in the 2011 edition of the Global Innovation Index rankings from
being 56th in 2010 and 41st in 2009. India has performed poorly on the Input
side at ranked 87th: India is in the last quintile on sub-pillars business envi-
ronment, elementary education, tertiary education, and knowledge work-
ers. In the Innovation Efficiency Index, India however improved its ranking
to 9th this year. It was followed by Sri Lanka (82), Bangladesh (97), and
Pakistan (105). The 2011 rankings were by the leading international business
school INSEAD and its knowledge partners, Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Compa-
ny, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and the World Intellectual Proper-
ty Organisation (WIPO). Switzerland has been regarded as ranked one ahead
of Sweden, Singapore, Hong Kong and Finland. The other major countries
are; US (7), China (29), Brazil (47) and Russia (56).
The Global Innovation Index has been computed as an average of the scores
across inputs pillars (describing the enabling environment for innovation)
and output pillars (measuring actual achievements in innovation). It added
that five pillars constitute the Innovation Input Sub-Index: 'Institutions,' 'Hu-
man capital and research,' 'Infrastructure', 'Market sophistication' and 'Busi-
ness sophistication'. The Innovation Output Sub-Index is comprised two pil-
lars: 'Scientific outputs' and 'Creative outputs'. The Innovation Efficiency In-
dex, calculated as the ratio of the two Sub-Indices, examines how economies
leverage their enabling environments to stimulate innovation results.
TIMES
Civil Services
Current Economy
tion. The second school of thought
questions the utility of these agree-
ments and considers them to be dan-
gerous for international economic re-
lations. As long as trade liberalization
occurs, it does not matter whether it is
at a bilateral, regional or multilateral
level. In theory, preferential agree-
ments can have significant benefits,
e.g. promoting technology and knowl-
edge transfers, domestic reforms, pro-
ductivity gains and improved devel-
opmental prospects. On the other hand
the negative impact of the PTAs in-
clude the distortion in trade patterns
between insiders and outsiders
which undermine the welfare gains
arising from expanded trade. The most
critical and widely recognized issue
with regard to preferential agreements
is the erosion of GATTs fundamental
non-discrimination principle.
Asian Development Bank
Economic Report 2011
The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
has released its economic report on
Asian economies titled as Asia 2050 -
Realizing the Asian Century, saying
that by the year 2050, over 45 per cent
of the entire worlds gross domestic
product (GDP) will be contributed by
seven Asian nations. According to the
report, Asias rise will be led by Chi-
na, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Repub-
lic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.
In this exclusively prepared compre-
hensive report, the Asian Develop-
ment Bank has referred to these seven
countries as the driving engines for
the re-emergence of the entire Asia.
According to the estimates, around 3.1
billion total populations were living
in these seven Asian nations in the
year 2010. This population makes 78
per cent of the entire population liv-
ing in Asia. In 2010, these seven coun-
tries were generating around $ 14.2
trillion gross domestic product.
Indian middle class population seen
at 1.2 billion in next 20 years- ADB:
Regarding its estimates on India the
ADB report has predicted that Indias
middle class population could be as
much as its current population - rough-
ly 1.2 billion - 20 years from now. The
rising number of middle class in In-
dia will trigger higher levels of con-
sumption and that result in higher eco-
nomic growth rates. Powering this
growth will be the Indian work force.
Unlike Japan, where the work force
has started declining since 2000, and
in contrast to China, where the growth
of its youthful working age popula-
tion is already peaking and is set to
dip well before India, Indias demo-
graphic dividend is projected to kick
in. India will still have a relatively
young population even by 2050. Its
labour force will continue to grow,
before reaching nearly one billion
workers by 2050.
Rise in middle class numbers and
the challenges before India
(a) Education improvements are need-
ed to match the needs of the growing
middle class and the growing Indian
economy: In order to ensure that the
growing middle class is absorbed into
the economy and can contribute to
growth, the right education is crucial.
The challenge is to increase the quality
of public education (particularly uni-
versities) and foster more competition
between private and public players.
(b) Matching middle class skills with
the demands of the growing econo-
my: One benefit of Indias strong eco-
nomic growth is that the economy has
the potential to provide employment
for the growing middle class. The
boom in call centres and other out-
sourcing industries helped many
households to achieve higher incomes
over this past decade. However, one
challenge is to continue increasing
skills at all levels of the income pyra-
mid to ensure that the newly emerg-
ing middle class (or those on the
fringe of the middle class) are viable
employees. The second challenge, of
a more general nature, is to increase
the number of skilled professionals in
the workplace to change the structure
of the economy to a higher-skilled
economy.
(c) The political economy of the mid-
dle class: The middle class in India
show its apathy towards the political
system of the nation. However, there
is widespread anecdotal and sugges-
tive evidence that while the middle
class may have strong opinions about
politics and the shape of the country,
actual participation in the democratic
system lags behind.
(d) Inequality will rise: Rising ine-
quality within India will become a
major problem. Since 1980, the degree
of inequality between the states, as
measured by the Gini Coefficient has
shot up 50 per cent, as rural states such
as Bihar and Orissa struggle to catch
up with more urban states like Punjab
and Haryana. In the urban states capi-
tal is readily available and invest-
ments are frequently being made in
areas like infrastructure and IT, but in
the rural states many farmers still use
decades-old equipment that they cant
afford to replace. With the rise in mid-
dle class population, this divide is also
going to enlarge and will pose one of
the biggest challenges for the institu-
tions of the day to tackle.
(e) Problem of Infrastructure: With the
rise in number of middle class, the ad-
ministration is definitely going to face
the problem of providing basic infra-
structure facilities to the population.
In short, we can predict a busy future
for our administrative machinery. We
have to improve our urban infrastruc-
ture, tackle the problem of inequality
and increase the efficiencies in our
economic infrastructure. On the other
hand we will have to take the grow-
ing concerns for our environmental
issues and other constraints on our
natural resources.
World Competitiveness
Rankings 2011
India has slipped one rank, to 32nd
position in overall competitiveness
among 59 nations, according to the
latest World Competitiveness Rank-
ings, announced by the International
Institute for Management Develop-
ment, Lausanne (Switzerland). The
recovery of financial markets pushed
the US and Hong Kong to first place,
followed by last years topper, Sin-
gapore, which fell to third spot. In
2010, the US and Hong Kong ranked
second and third, respectively. Indias
neighbouring competitor, China, also
slipped one rank, to 19th and Japan
went up one rank to 26th slot. Though
Indias ranking is below the midway
mark, it still did better than Indonesia
(37) Philippines (41), Brazil (44) and
Russia (49). Sharply different trends
were observed in Indias ranking in
four major parameters.
While the ranking relating to econom-
ic performance, government efficien-
cy and infrastructure availability mar-
ginally improved, India slipped on
business efficiency, which pulled
down its overall ranking. On govern-
TIMES
Civil Services
Current Economy
ment efficiency, which includes fiscal
management and business legislation,
India went up to 29th rank in 2011
from 30th rank in 2010. In economic
performance, a macroeconomic eval-
uation of the domestic economy and
related to areas like trade, invest-
ments, employment and prices, the
position of India improved by two
ranks to 18th place. In the case of in-
frastructure availability to meet ba-
sic, technological, scientific and human
resources needs of business, the coun-
try improved its position to 50th rank
in 2011, from the 54th position last
year.
This indicates the considerable infra-
structure investment of recent years
have started showing results. Howev-
er, on the business efficiency parame-
ter, relating to productivity and man-
agement practices, India slipped from
17th rank in 2010 to 22nd rank in 2011.
Apart from Hong Kong and Singapore,
two other Asian nations, Taiwan and
Qatar, came in the top 10 list. Venezu-
ela was the least competitive.
About World Competitiveness Year-
book: The IMD World Competitive-
ness Yearbook (WCY) is the worlds
most thorough and comprehensive
annual report on the competitiveness
of nations, published without inter-
ruption since 1989. It is considered to
be the first access point to world com-
petitiveness, providing objective
benchmarking and trends, as well as a
worldwide reference point to statis-
tics and opinion data that highlight
the competitiveness of key economies.
The WCY analyzes and ranks how
nations and enterprises manage the
totality of their competencies to
achieve increased prosperity. An econ-
omys competitiveness cannot be re-
duced only to GDP and productivity
because enterprises must also cope
with political, social and cultural di-
mensions.
Therefore nations need to provide an
environment that has the most effi-
cient structure, institutions and poli-
cies that encourage the competitive-
ness of enterprises. This year, the
WCY provides extensive coverage of
59 economies, all key players in world
markets. In this 2011 edition, we have
added the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) as an additional country. All
economies are chosen because of their
impact on the global economy and the
availability of comparable interna-
tional statistics.
Importance of
World Competitiveness Yearbook:
The WCY is an invaluable, dynamic
and constantly updated benchmark for
decision-makers. The business commu-
nity uses it to help determine and val-
idate investment plans and to assess
locations for new operations. Govern-
ments find important indicators to
benchmark their policies against those
of other countries, to evaluate perfor-
mance over time and to learn from the
success stories of nations that have im-
proved their competitiveness. The ac-
ademic world also uses the exception-
al wealth of data in the WCY to better
understand and analyze how nations
(and not only enterprises) compete in
world markets.
Competitiveness Factors
Economic Performance: Macro-
economic evaluation of the do-
mestic economy, Domestic Econ-
omy, International Trade, Inter-
national Investment, Employ-
ment and Prices.
Government Efficiency: Extent to
which government policies are
conducive to competitiveness,
Public Finance, Fiscal Policy, In-
stitutional Framework, Business
Legislation and Societal Frame-
work.
Business Efficiency: Extent to
which the national environment
encourages enterprises to perform
in an innovative, profitable and
responsible manner: Productivi-
ty and Efficiency, Labor Market,
Finance, Management Practices
and Attitudes and Values.
Infrastructure: Extent to which
basic, technological, scientific and
human resources meet the needs
of business: Basic Infrastructure,
Technological Infrastructure, Sci-
entific Infrastructure, Health and
Environment and Education.
UNEP Report 2011
Investing an additional US$40 billion
a year or 0.034 per cent of global Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in the forest-
ry sector could halve deforestation
rates by 2030, increase rates of tree
planting by around 140 per cent by
2050, and catalyse the creation of mil-
lions of new jobs, says a new report
launched by the United Nations Envi-
ronment Programme (UNEP). The re-
port, Forests in a Green Economy: A
Synthesis, examines the role of for-
ests in a green economy, and provides
policy recommendations to adjust the
forest sector in such a way that it can
effectively contribute to sustainable
development and poverty eradication.
The report further highlights that
right kind of enabling policies, such
as investment equivalent to about 2/
3 more than what is spent on the sec-
tor today, could help in removing an
extra 28 per cent of carbon from the
atmosphere, thus playing a key role
in combating climate change. The re-
port further highlights that more than
a billion people around the world de-
pend on forests for incomes and em-
ployment. Forests are also a major
source to provide nutrition and dimin-
World Investment Report 2011
The UNCTAD's World Investment Report (WIR) 2011, the FDI inflow to
India has taken a nosedive. In this regard, India position has come down
from eighth rank in 2009 to the 14th rank in the top-20 league for global FDI
inflows in 2010. As per the report, India's FDI inflows in 2008 stood at $42.5
billion. This had come down to $35.6 billion in 2009 and $24.64 billion in
2010. India attracted FDI worth USD 25 billion last year, much lower than the
inflows of USD 36 billion seen in 2009. Whereas United States with $228
billion has topped the list; China stood at 2nd position with inflows total-
ling $106 billion in 2010, and Brazil stood at 5th position with inflows at $48
billion during the last year. In fact, FDI inflows to South, East and South-East
Asia rose 24 per cent to $300 billion, nearly one-fourth of the global total of
$1.24 trillion in 2010. FDI to South Asia declined to $32 billion, reflecting a 31
per cent slide in inflows to India and a 14 per cent drop in flows to Pakistan.
By contrast, inflows to Bangladesh, a rising low-cost production location,
increased by nearly 30 per cent to $913 million. FDI inflows in India stood at
$ 9.42 billion in 2010-11.
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ish energy scarcity. Besides, forests
serve as carbon sinks, regulate water
cycles and contribute to the world
biodiversity. Thus we can convincing-
ly say that economic progress and
human well-being are dependent on
healthy forests.
Understanding the Concept of Green
economy: The concept of Green Econ-
omy is an effort to solve the current
environmental crisis (dependence on
imported oil, carbon emissions, air
pollution, etc.) and the current eco-
nomic crisis (job loss, price of fuel, cost
to build new power plants, etc.) to-
gether by investing in the clean ener-
gy sector and creating jobs in the pro-
cess. The clean energy sector is com-
prised of energy efficiency, renewable
energy, and alternative fuelled vehi-
cles. To make the concept of Green
Economics an effective reality, econo-
mists and environmentalists are allies
for the first time ever. Thus Green eco-
nomics is the economics of the real
worldthe world of work, human
needs, the Earths materials, and how
they mesh together most harmonious-
ly. It is primarily about use-value,
not exchange-value or money. It is
about quality, not quantity for the sake
of it. It is about regenerationof in-
dividuals, communities and ecosys-
temsnot about accumulation, of ei-
ther money or material.
Guiding Principles of Green Economy:
(a) The Basic Importance Given to
Use-value, Intrinsic Value & Quality:
This is the fundamental principle of
the green economy as a service econ-
omy, focused on end-use, or human
and environment needs. Matter is a
means to the end of satisfying real
need, and can be radically conserved.
Money similarly must be returned to
a status as a means to facilitate regen-
erative exchanges, rather than an end
in itself.
(b) Waste Equals Food: In nature there
is no waste, as every process output is
an input for some other process. This
principle implies not only a high de-
gree of organizational complementa-
rity, but also that outputs and by-prod-
ucts are nutritious and non-toxic
enough to be food for something.
(c) Self-Reliance, Self-Organization,
Self-Design: In an economy which
moves with ecosystem processes, tre-
mendous scope for local response,
design and adaptation must be pro-
videdalthough these local and re-
gional domains must be attuned to
larger processes. Self-reliance is not
self-sufficiency, but facilitates a more
flexible and holistic interdependence.
(d) Following Natural Flows: The
economy moves like a proverbial sail-
boat in the wind of natural processes
by flowing not only with solar, renew-
able and megawatt energy, but also
with natural hydrological cycles, with
regional vegetation and food webs,
and with local materials. As society
becomes more ecological, political and
economic boundaries tend to coincide
with ecosystem boundaries. That is, it
becomes bioregional.
Conclusion: The concept of green econ-
omy will impact the environment in a
positive way by investing in the clean
energy sector and infrastructure and
will improve the economy by not only
creating jobs but by creating a clean,
affordable, and independent energy
future. This concept and related invest-
ments, as evidenced by the recent stim-
ulus plan, are certainly hopeful and
optimistic but more importantly they
are pragmatic efforts to solve problems
that have been lingering, festering, and
ignored for far too long.
UN women Report 2011
UN women has issued a new report
on womens access to justice world-
wide, Progress of the Worlds Wom-
en: In Pursuit of Justice. The report
focuses on womens access to justice
in every country around the world.
The report is a global survey of wom-
ens access to justice looking both at
legislation passed by governments
and the steps taken or not taken to
implement those laws. The paradox
confronted by the report is that de-
spite the recent and rapid expansion
of womens legal entitlements, what
is written in the statute books does
not always translate into real progress
on equality and justice on the ground.
The report looks at which countries
have passed special legislation on
womens political rights and economic
opportunities and on womens repro-
ductive health and rights. It looks at
which countries have laws against
domestic violence, sexual harassment
and marital rape. It catalogues data on
development indicators related to
women, and looks country-by-country
at womens participation in politics.
Major Highlights of the Report:
(a) 139 nations guarantee gender
equality, 117 countries have equal pay
laws, and 115 countries guarantee
womens equal property rights.
(b) Globally, 53 per cent of working
women are in vulnerable employ-
ment and women are paid up to 30
per cent less than men in some coun-
tries.
(c) 125 countries outlaw domestic vio-
lence, but 127 countries do not explic-
itly criminalise rape within marriage.
(d) Around the world, 603 million
Interest Rate Futures
Buying an interest rate futures con-
tract allows the buyer of the contract
to lock in a future investment rate;
not a borrowing rate as many be-
lieve. Interest rate futures are based
off an underlying security which is a
debt obligation and moves in value
as interest rates change. When inter-
est rates move higher, the buyer of
the futures contract will pay the sell-
er in an amount equal to that of the
benefit received by investing at a
higher rate versus that of the rate
specified in the futures contract.
Conversely, when interest rates
move lower, the seller of the futures
contract will compensate the buyer
for the lower interest rate at the time
of expiration. In a nutshell interest
rate futures are primarily seen to be
of use to those who have a view on
how the interest rate would move
and wish to benefit from it. It can
also be used as a hedging mechanism
for anyone who holds a large num-
ber of government securities, which
largely comprise banks or other such
financial institutions.
Significance of introduction of in-
terest rate futures trade in India: The
introduction of trading in interest
rate futures in the country heralds
the beginning of a new era in the
fixed income derivatives market. The
introduction of trading in interest
rate futures in India is one more step
towards integration of the Indian
Securities Market with the rest of the
world. In India, it may be seen as a
path breaking initiative because it is
expected to pave the way for vari-
ous innovations at the derivatives
front in the time to come.
TIMES
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66th round survey of NSSO
The quinquennial 66th round survey in 2009-10 of the National Sample Survey Organisation
(NSSO) report has indicated unemployment as a percentage of the overall population, popula-
tion unemployed, and unemployment as a percentage of the labour force, unemployment rate,
declined. The report reveals that unemployment rate under the broadest definition of employ-
ment, usual status, declined to 20 per 1000 from 23 per 1000. It says that that about half of Indian
workers are now working as wage employees and yet the rate of unemployment among them has
dipped as to compare to 2003-04, the year of the previous survey. The report says that the
unemployment rate has dipped from 8.2 per cent to 6.6 per cent when measured in terms of
current daily status (CDS) the most acceptable measure of employment.
In India, there are four standards to measure employment. Of these the CDS is the inclusive
measure of unemployment as it captures data about the chronically unemployed.
In contrast, the slowest fall in unemployment rate was in the case of the UPSS measure where the
rate fell from 2.3 per cent in 2004-05 to 2 per cent in 2009-10. In case of the PS measure the
numbers show that the unemployment rate fell a little more sharply from 3.1 per cent to 2.5 per
cent while in the case of the CWS also the fall was a little higher with the rate moving from 4.4 per
cent to 3.6 per cent. The unemployment rate in 1993-94 was however even lower with the rates
being 6 per cent (CDS), 3.6 per cent (CWS), 1.9 per cent (UPSS) and 2.6 per cent (PS), respectively.
The 66th round of the survey also shows that 51 per cent of the Indian workers were self-employed
with the ratio at a higher 54.2 per cent in rural areas and a lower 41.1 per cent in urban areas. While
51 per cent of the country's total workforces are self-employed, only 15.5 per cent are regular
wagers or salaried employees and 33.5 per cent casual labourers. This is a decline since the past
survey, but at the same time, the report says that industry and the services sector has not been able
to absorb half of the potential labourers available.
The current large round will be carried out again, as 2009-10 is considered an 'abnormal' year in
the backdrop of the poor rains and the economic recovery post the global financial crises. The
survey found that the perday wage rates for casual labourers in works other than public works in
rural areas
was Rs 93,
against Rs
122 in urban
areas. In ru-
ral areas,
male casual
l a bour e r s
engaged in
such activi-
ties received
an average of
Rs 102 per
day. Howev-
er, it was
only Rs 69 for women. As per the report,
women continue to earn less than their male
counterparts for doing similar jobs; while the
average earnings every day for male workers
was Rs 249, it was only Rs 156 for women,
indicating a female-male wage ratio of 0.63.
The ratio was 0.82 in urban areas, with males
earning Rs 377 and women Rs 309. While
41.4 per cent of the urban workforce earned
regular wages, it was only 7.3 per cent in
rural areas. The difference between the wag-
es for males and females is visible even in
projects under the Mahatma Gandhi Nation-
al Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGN-
REGA). In public works other than MGN-
REG, the wages are Rs 98 for males and Rs
86 for females. The survey has further re-
vealed that agriculture continued to be the
predominant occupation in urban areas
though more women (71 per cent) are depen-
dent on it than men (63 per cent).
TIMES
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women live in countries where do-
mestic violence is not considered a
crime and more than 2.6 billion live
in countries where marital rape is not
a criminal offence.
(e) 61 countries severely restrict wom-
ens rights to abortion.
(f) 50 countries have a lower legal age
of marriage for women than for men.
Analysis of the report: The report as-
sumes special significance because jus-
tice is central to the effort to help wom-
en become equal partners in decision-
making and development. Without
justice, women are disenfranchised,
disempowered and denied their right-
ful place. But with sound legal and jus-
tice systems, women can flourish and
contribute to the advancement of so-
ciety as a whole. The report highlights
the practical barriers that women
particularly the poorest and most ex-
cluded face in negotiating justice sys-
tems and the innovative approaches
that governments and civil society are
pioneering to overcome them. It ex-
plores the ways in which women are
reconciling guarantees of their rights
with the realities of living within plu-
ral legal systems.
About UN Women: In 2010, the Unit-
ed Nations General Assembly created
UN Women, the United Nations body
for Gender Equality and the Empow-
erment of Women. UN Women be-
came operational in January 2011. The
main functions of UN Women are: -
(a) Supporting the inter-governmen-
tal bodies in formulation of policies,
global standards and norms for the
benefit and upliftment of women. (b)
It assists the member states to imple-
ment these standards, and provide
them suitable technical and financial
support. (c) It works for the elimina-
tion of discrimination against wom-
en and girls. (d) It formulates policies
for the empowerment of women. (e)
It strives for achieving equality be-
tween women and men.
Former President of Chile Michelle
Bachelet is the first Executive Direc-
tor of UN Women.
Banking Sector
Revised
Credit Policy
Towards conservatism
In order to control the inflation, once
again the Repo Rate has been revised
in the July 27, 2011 credit policy. RBI
has been decided to increase the poli-
cy repo rate under the liquidity ad-
justment facility (LAF) by 50 basis
points from 7.5 per cent to 8.0 per cent
with immediate effect.
The reverse repo rate under the LAF,
determined with a spread of 100 basis
points below the repo rate, automati-
cally adjusts to 7.0 per cent with im-
mediate effect.
The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)
rate, determined with a spread of 100
basis points above the repo rate, stands
recalibrated at 9.0 per cent with im-
mediate effect. Nevertheless, the Bank
Rate has been retained at 6.0 per cent.
The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of sched-
uled banks has been retained at 6.0 per
cent of their net demand and time lia-
bilities (NDTL).
It is expected that these policy actions
will:
(a) reinforce the cumulative impact
of past actions on demand;
(b) maintain the credibility of the
commitment of monetary policy
to controlling inflation, thereby
keeping medium-term inflation
expectations anchored; and
(c) reinforce the point that in the
absence of complementary policy
responses on both demand and
supply sides, stronger monetary
policy actions are required.
Major Dimensions
of the Credit Policy May 2011:
(a) CRR (Cash reserve ratio) and the
Bank Rate left unchanged at 6 per cent
each. (b) Rate of Interest on savings
bank deposits increased to 4 per cent
from 3.5 per cent. (c) Economic growth
projected lower at 8 per cent for FY12.
(d) WPI inflation projection lowered
to 6 per cent. (e) Favours aligning of
fuel rates with international crude pric-
es to avert widening of fiscal deficit.
(f) Banks to get a new overnight bor-
rowing window under Marginal
Standing Facility at 8.25 per cent.
(g) Malegam Committee recommen-
dations on MFI sector broadly accept-
ed.
RBI policy to contain inflation will
help boost growth in long run: The
50-basis-point increase in repo and
reverse repo rates is entirely justified
in the current monetary and econom-
ic environment. We need to accept the
reality that growth may have to be
sacrificed in order to control inflation.
The current projection of the RBI to
lower the economic growth target to
8 per cent for the current fiscal is aimed
to scale down the inflation from
present 9 per cent to around 6 per cent
by March 2012. Controlling inflation
at this level will help in maintaining
higher growth levels in the long run.
The so-called baby steps introduced
since January 2010 to contain inflation
have proved to be inadequate to con-
tain inflation and ineffective to trans-
mit the monetary policy mechanism
the way the Reserve Bank wants. Over
a period, the repo rate has been en-
hanced from 4.75 per cent as on Janu-
ary 31, 2010, to 7.25 per cent as on May
3, 2011, and the reverse repo rate has
been revised from 3.25 per cent to 6.25
per cent during the same period. How-
ever, the cash reserve ratio (6 per cent)
has not been changed to ensure suffi-
cient liquidity in the system, which
itself is an indication that the RBI rec-
ognizes the need for availability of
TIMES
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funds for genuine productive purpos-
es and, at the same time, funds are
made costly to curb speculative ten-
dencies.
RBI raises interest
rate by 50 bps, yet again:
The RBI has recently hiked the short-
term lending and borrowing rates
sharply by 50 basis points for the third
time in three months to tame high in-
flation, a move that would make all
personal and corporate loans more
expensive. With this increase of 0.50
per cent, the short-term lending (repo)
rate has been hiked to 8 per cent and
the short-term borrowing (reverse
repo) rate has also been increased by
a similar margin to 7 per cent. The cash
reserve ratio (CRR) stands unchanged
at 6 per cent. The RBI has also revised
the WPI inflation projection for March
2012 from 6 per cent to 7 per cent.
However, it has retained the projec-
tion of real GDP growth for the cur-
rent year at 8 per cent.
Rate hiked for eleventh time since
March 2010: This is the 11th time since
March, 2010, that the RBI has raised
the interest rate to check inflation,
which is currently ruling at over 9 per
cent. The RBI has itself admitted that
its cumulative decision of past actions
to curb demand and anchor medium
term inflationary expectations will
curtail growth in the near term.
RBI Focuses on Inflation: High infla-
tion has been a worry for the RBI for
several months. While wholesale price
inflation continues to remain above 9
per cent, non-food manufacturing in-
flation has remained above 7 per cent
for months. What is particularly wor-
rying our economy is that inflation is
not only coming from supply-side
constraints, like international com-
modity prices, but also from strong
demand pressures. A higher interest
rate makes money costlier and limits
the ability of customers to purchase
goods, thereby reducing demand pres-
sures, but RBI does not seem to be very
hopeful about inflation coming down
anytime soon. International commod-
ity prices, particularly crude prices, re-
main high and pose a major threat.
Understanding Bank Rate: Bank Rate
is the rate at which RBI allows finance
to commercial banks. Bank Rate is a
tool that RBI uses for short-term pur-
poses. Any upward revision in Bank
Rate is an indication that banks should
also increase lending and deposit rates.
Understanding Cash reserve Ratio
(CRR): Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is
the amount of funds that the banks
have to keep with the RBI. If the RBI
increases the CRR, the available
amount with the banks comes down.
The RBI uses the CRR to drain out ex-
cessive money from the system.
Understanding Reverse Repo rate:
Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which
the RBI borrows money from com-
mercial banks for a short-term. Banks
are happy to lend money to the RBI
since their money is in safe hands and
they get good interest. An increase in
reverse repo rate can prompt banks to
park more funds with the RBI to earn
higher returns on idle cash. It is also a
tool which can be used by the RBI to
drain excess money out of the bank-
ing system.
Understanding Repo rate: The rate at
Marginal Standing Facility Scheme
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a new Marginal Standing
Facility (MSF) scheme, which was announced to be implemented in its Mon-
etary Policy for the year 2011-12. Under the new facility, banks will borrow
overnight up to 1 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) out-
standing at the end of the second preceding fortnight. The MSF will be 100
basis points above the repo rate the rate at which banks borrow from RBI.
It needs to be noted that the repo rate has now become the only independent
variable policy rate, marking a shift from earlier method of calibrating
various policy rates separately. The reverse repo rate the rate at which RBI
borrows will be kept 100 basis points lower than the repo rate. All sched-
uled commercial banks that have current account and subsidiary general
ledger (SGL) account with RBI are eligible to participate in the MSF scheme.
RBI will receive requests for a minimum amount of Rs 10 million and in
multiples of Rs 10 million thereafter. The central bank has the right to accept
or reject partially or fully, the request for funds under this facility.
Marginal Standing Facility will curb inter-bank lending volatility: The Re-
serve Bank of Indias new Marginal Standing Facility is expected to curb
volatility in the overnight lending rates in the banking system. The banks
will use Marginal Standing Facility to borrow overnight money only when
they have exhausted all other existing channels like collateralized borrow-
ing and lending obligation (CBLO) and liquidity adjustment facility (LAF).
Difference between Liquidity Adjustment Facility-Repo Rate and Marginal
Standing Facility Rate: Banks can borrow from the RBI under LAF-Repo
Rate, which stands at 7.25 per cent by pledging government securities over
and above the statutory liquidity requirement of 24 per cent. Though in case
of borrowing from the marginal standing facility, banks can borrow funds
up to one per cent of their net demand and time liabilities at 8.25 per cent.
However, it can be within the statutory liquidity ratio of 24 per cent.
TIMES
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Current Economy
which the RBI lends short-term mon-
ey to commercial banks is called repo
rate. It is an instrument of monetary
policy. Whenever banks have any
shortage of funds they can borrow
from the RBI. A reduction in the repo
rate helps banks get money at a cheap-
er rate, while an increase in repo rate
means that banks will have to borrow
at higher rates.
Increasing the saving bank rate:
The enhancement of savings bank rate
was overdue and the RBI has done the
right thing by increasing the SB inter-
est rate from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent.
This will benefit a large segment of
the population who has only SB ac-
counts. The hike in SB rate can help
improve financial inclusion and attract
build-up of deposits. Though deregu-
lation of SB interest is highly desir-
able and a discussion paper has been
brought out on this aspect, this needs
to be examined thoroughly as banks,
particularly public sector ones, which
operate in the rural and semi-urban
areas comparatively in a big way and
enjoy heavy SB deposits will face the
risk of high cost of funds and asset-
liability mismatch in the event of sub-
stantial hike of SB interest rate by pri-
vate sector banks on deregulation.
Should the
savings bank be deregulated?
Intended Benefits:
The deregulation of the interest rate
on savings bank accounts would im-
mensely benefit the savers. RBI be-
lieves that it would enable lenders to
come out with innovative products to
attract more funds from low income
households. While the RBI deregulat-
ed interest rates on fixed deposit
schemes in 1997, it continues to fix the
rate on savings deposits. Presently,
banks pay interest at the rate of 3.5
per cent on saving accounts, which was
fixed in 2003.
If the SB interest rate is deregulated it
will increase the efficacy of monetary
policy by improving the correlation
between the retail bank deposits and
market interest rates. Another major
benefit of the deregulation of SB rates
is that a market-based savings interest
rate will accelerate greater financial
inclusion of the un-banked, and also
augment a higher savings propensity.
In India, where a significant portion of
household savings (particularly in
semi-urban and rural areas) is still held
in the form of cash, attractive interest
rates on savings bank deposits will
bring into the banking system a part of
the Rs 9.5 lakh crore that households
keep with themselves as cash. One can
hardly argue against the merits of de-
regulation that facilitates efficiency and
fairness in allocation of resources. We
can firmly say that savings rate dereg-
ulation will create a win-win situation
for both the retail depositor and the
banking system, and RBI should fast
take the final step towards internation-
al best practices.
What can cause trouble by deregula-
tion of SB Rates:
It can be argued that the initiative will
neither help banks nor borrowers since
the cost of funds will rise, but it will
provide greater scope for product in-
novation and service excellence. Banks
will pass on the rate hike and borrow-
ers will have to pay more. Savers will
not gain either because account main-
tenance and other charges will rise.
One of the biggest advantages of de-
regulation of SB rates, as mentioned
in the discussion paper of the RBI, is
that it will improve monetary policy
transmission. It is also argued that de-
regulation will lead to product inno-
vation. But one must, however, re-
member that the savings account is not
necessarily an instrument for the
transmission of monetary policy ac-
tions. The primary objective of a sav-
ings bank account is to provide finan-
cial services to society. For the mid-
dle and lower-middle class, it is al-
ways better to have a good rate on the
savings account because they do not
have enough money to follow other
investment options.
Does it mean that the deregulation of
the savings bank rate will benefit the
common man?
This is the pertinent question that ris-
es in the mind of every citizen as he
starts thinking of higher interest on
his saving bank account. One should
understand that if the savings deposit
rate goes up, maintenance and other
charges will also move up. There is
no such thing as a free lunch; every
debit always has a credit. In our coun-
try, the account charges are among the
lowest in the world. So, it should not
be taken by granted by the common
man that he will necessarily gain in a
Merger of SBI Commercial with SBI
The Union Cabinet has approved acquisition of the State Bank of India Com-
mercial and International Bank Ltd. (SBICI Bank Ltd.) by State Bank of India
(SBI), in terms of sub-section (2) of section 35 of the State Bank of India Act,
1955. SBICI, with two branches in Mumbai, is a wholly owned subsidiary of
State Bank of India (SBI) and functions as a private sector bank offering an
array of financial products and services. The terms and conditions for the
acquisition have been approved by board of directors of both the banks and
also by the Reserve Bank of India. It is hoped that the merger would help in
eliminating the cost involved in maintaining the administrative structure of
SBICI as both the branches of SBICI would be easily absorbed in the opera-
tions of the main bank.
Significance of the merger by the government: In the overall analysis, con-
tinuation of SBICI in its present form would not create a sustainable organi-
zation with a separate niche, able to hold on its own in the medium term. As
an independent Bank also, SBICI has had to maintain a full-fledged, elaborate
administrative setup to conform to regulatory requirements. The cost of
maintaining such a structure is disproportionate to the level of operations of
the SBICI. The proposed merger would help in eliminating the cost involved
in maintaining the administrative structure of SBICI as both the branches of
SBICI would be easily absorbed in the operations of the main Bank. While no
present beneficiary of the State Bank of India would be affected, the number
of beneficiaries would be the clients of SBI Commercial and International
Bank Ltd. who will have access to the bigger network of State Bank of India.
About SBICI: SBICI Bank Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI, which was
set up in 1994 after taking over the Indian operations of the erstwhile Bank of
Credit and Commerce International Ltd. (BCCI), which went into liquidation
in 1991. SBICI Bank Ltd. has only two branches, both in Mumbai.
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deregulated environment. Therefore,
the RBI should do a careful cost-bene-
fit analysis before it takes the plunge.
CAMELS
Rating System for Banks
CAMELS rating is an international
bank-rating system where the central
banking authorities of the nation ex-
ercise supervisory authority to rate
banks in the country according to six
factors. The six factors examined are
as follows: (a) C - Capital adequacy.
(B) A - Asset quality. (C) M - Manage-
ment quality. (D) E Earnings. (E) L
Liquidity. (F) S - Sensitivity to Mar-
ket Risk. This is CAMELS rating for
banks. As per the principles of these
ratings, the central banks assign each
bank a score on a scale of one (best) to
five (worst) for each of the factors. This
system helps the central banks to iden-
tify least performing banks and pre-
scribe suitable remedies for them to
function effectively.
CAMEL in Indian Banking System:
With the aim of reviewing the bank-
ing supervision system, the RBI in
1995 appointed a working group un-
der the chairmanship of S. Padmanab-
han. This committee suggested a rat-
ing system for our domestic and for-
eign banks based on the international
CAMELS model. It recommended that
the banks should be rated on a five
point scale (A to E) based on the lines
of international CAMELS rating mod-
el. The principles involved in CAM-
ELS evaluation process in India is
based on the following six parame-
ters:- (I) Capital Adequacy: Capital
adequacy is measured by the ratio of
capital to risk-weighted assets (CRAR).
A sound capital base strengthens con-
fidence of depositors. (II) Asset Quali-
ty: One of the indicators for asset qual-
ity is the ratio of non-performing
loans to total loans (GNPA). The gross
non-performing loans to gross ad-
vances ratio is more indicative of the
quality of credit decisions made by
bankers. Higher GNPA is indicative
of poor credit decision-making. (III)
Management: The ratio of non-inter-
est expenditures to total assets
(MGNT) can be one of the measures to
assess the working of the manage-
ment. This variable, which includes a
variety of expenses, such as payroll,
workers compensation and training
investment, reflects the management
policy stance. (IV) Earnings: It can be
measured as the return on asset ratio.
(V) Liquidity: Cash maintained by the
banks and balances with central bank,
to total asset ratio (LQD) is an indica-
tor of banks liquidity. In general,
banks with a larger volume of liquid
assets are perceived safe, since these
assets would allow banks to meet un-
expected withdrawals. (VI) Systems
and Control.
Significance of CAMELS: The major
importance of this rating system is to
examine the financial and other sound-
ness of the Bank, and alert the top
management of the Bank to take timely
measures to address any deficiencies
and stop the Bank from sliding to the
bottom of the heap. The current bank-
ing crisis, that shattered the global
economy, highlights the importance
of regulatory issues and the effects of
incompetence in regulatory area.
CAMELS, as a rating system for judg-
ing the soundness of Banks is a quite
useful tool, that can help in mitigat-
ing the conditions and risks that lead
to Bank failures.
External Sector
$500 billion
by 2014-15
The commerce and industry ministry
has set a target of achieving $500-bil-
lion exports by 2013-14 by strategiz-
ing the countrys foreign trade
through diversification of products
and markets and technological en-
hancement. It recently floated a strat-
egy paper for this purpose where it
had recommended certain specific ar-
eas such as skill development; focus
on research and development and
channelizing incentives in a proper
manner. To achieve this target, we
need a coordinated approach, and our
strategy should be to build on our
strength in sectors with great growth
potential, promote light manufactur-
ing exports with high-value addition
and encourage employment in labour-
intensive sectors. In order to achieve
the target the thrust would remain on
high technology exports such as engi-
Self-Help Groups
The RBI has allowed urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to give loans to self-
help groups (SHGs). This decision by the RBI is definitely going to promote
financial inclusion in the nation in addition to expand the scope of UCBs. If
the reach of the UCBs is expanded, it will result in promoting financial
inclusion. According to the latest guidelines of the RBI, lending to SHGs and
JLGs (Joint Liability Groups) would be considered as normal business activ-
ity of the bank. UCBs will be required to frame a comprehensive policy on
lending to SHGs and JLGs. The maximum amount of loan to SHGs should
not exceed four times of the savings of the group. With regard to loans given
to JLGs, the guidelines stated that the JLGs were not obliged to keep depos-
its with the bank and hence the amount of loan granted to them would be
based on their credit needs and the banks assessment of the credit require-
ment.
A Brief Definition of Self-Help Group: A Self-Help Group is a small volun-
tary association of poor people preferably from the same socio-economic
back drop. The micro-credit given to them makes hem enterprising; it can
be all women group, all-men group or even a mixed group. However, it has
been the experience that womens groups perform better in all the impor-
tant activities of SHGs. In other words we can define the SHGs as a group of
micro entrepreneurs with homogeneous social and economic background
who voluntarily come together to save small amounts regularly and mutu-
ally agree to contribute to a common fund to meet their emergency needs.
Defining Joint Liability Groups: A Joint Liability Group (JLG) is an infor-
mal group comprising preferably of 4 to 10 individuals coming together for
the purposes of availing bank loan either singly or through the group mech-
anism against mutual guarantee. The JLG members are expected to engage
in similar type of economic activities. The management of the JLG is to be
kept simple with little or no financial administration within the group. JLGs
can be formed primarily consisting of tenant farmers and small farmers
cultivating land without possessing proper title of their land.
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neering, electronics, automobiles,
drugs and pharmaceuticals, computer
and software-based smart engineer-
ing, green technology products and
aerospace.
Need of New Markets to Achieve the
Export Target: Emerging markets in
Asia, Latin America, Africa and Mid-
dle-East countries would play an im-
portant role to achieve this ambitious
target. Of the projected $500 billion
dollar exports, a major chunk will be
contributed by Asia with a share of
$230 billion with ASEAN alone im-
porting more than $100 billion from
India. India ASEAN Free Trade Agree-
ment will provide an impetus for
boosting Indias export to South East
Asian region. By the year 2014-15 it is
expected that exports to Europe will
reach $75 billion while with North
America will touch $ 50 billion. Thus
market diversification is a key ele-
ment to the strategy which the gov-
ernment must plan to give more in-
centives to increase presence in grow-
ing markets like Latin America, Afri-
ca and Asia. We thus feel that the $500
export target is not an impossible tar-
get but the government needs to work
on a stable policy regime and reliable
infrastructure to achieve the same.
FCRA
The central government notified the
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act,
2010 and it came into force from May,
1, 2011. Salient Features of the Act: (a)
Any association granted prior permis-
sion or registered with the Central
Government under Section 6 or under
the repealed FCRA, 1976, shall be
deemed to have been granted prior
permission or registered, as the case
may be, under FCRA, 2010 and such
registration shall be valid for a peri-
od of five years from the date on which
the new Act has come into force. (b)
While the provisions of the repealed
FCRA, 1976 have generally been re-
tained, the FCRA, 2010 is an improve-
ment over the repealed Act as more
stringent provisions have been made
in order to prevent misutilisation of
the foreign contribution received by
the associations. (c) Any organization
of a political nature and any associa-
tion or company engaged in the pro-
duction and broadcast of audio or au-
dio visual news or current affairs pro-
gramme have been placed in the cate-
gory prohibited to accept foreign con-
tribution. (d) A new provision has
been introduced to the effect that no
person who receives foreign contri-
bution as per provisions of this Act,
shall transfer to other person unless
that person is also authorized to re-
ceive foreign contribution as per rules
made by the Central Government. (e)
Another new provision has been made
Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds
Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds are debt instruments issued in a cur-
rency different than the issuers domestic currency with an option to convert
them in common shares of the issuer company. Its a quasi-debt instrument
to raise foreign currency funds at attractive rate. FCCB acts like a bond by
making regular coupon and principal payments; and also gives the bond-
holder an option to convert the bond into stock. In other words we can say
that, Foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) is a convertible bond issued
by a country in a currency different than its own currency. This is the power-
ful instrument by which the country raises the money in the form of a foreign
currency. The bond acts like both a debt and equity instrument. Like bonds it
makes regular coupon and principal payments, but these bonds also give the
bondholder the option to convert the bond into stock.
Guidelines for issuing FCCBs in India: (a) Any company that requires to
raise the foreign funds by issuing FCCB, require prior permission of the
Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
(b) The company issuing the FCCB should have the consistent track record
for a minimum period of three years.
(c) The Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds shall be denominated in any
freely convertible foreign currency and the ordinary shares of an issuing
company shall be denominated in Indian rupees.
(d) The issuing company should deliver the ordinary shares or bonds to a
Domestic Custodian Bank as per regulation. The custodian bank on the other
hand instructs the Overseas Depositary Bank to issue Global Depositary Re-
ceipt or Certificate to non-resident investors against the shares or bonds held
by the Domestic Custodian Bank.
Advantages of FCCBs:
(a) It is more stable and predictable than domestic currency.
(b) It gives issuers the ability to access investment capital available in
foreign markets.
(c) Companies can use the process to break into foreign markets.
(d) The bond acts like both a debt and equity instrument. Like bonds it
makes regular coupon and principal payments, but these bonds also give
the bondholder the option to convert the bond into stock.
(e) It is a low cost debt as the interest rates given to FCC Bonds are normal-
ly 30-50 percent lower than the market rate because of its equity compo-
nent.
(f) Conversion of bonds into stocks takes place at a premium price to
market price. Conversion price is fixed when the bond is issued. So, lower
dilution of the company stocks.
Some of the perceived disadvantages of FCCBs:
(a) The exchange risk is more in FCCBs as interest on bond would be
payable in foreign currency. Thus companies with low debt equity ratios,
large forex earnings potential only opted for FCCBs.
(b) FCCBs mean creation of more debt and a forex outgo in terms of
interest which is in foreign exchange.
(c) In case of convertible bond the interest rate is low (around 3-4 per cent)
but there is exchange risk on interest as well as principal if the bonds are
not converted in to equity.
(d) If the stock price plummets, investors will not go for conversion but
redemption. So, companies have to refinance to fulfill the redemption
promise which can hit earnings.
(e) It remains as debt in the balance sheet until conversion.
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to the effect that foreign contribution
shall be utilized for the purpose for
which it has been received and such
contribution can be used for adminis-
trative expenses up to 50 per cent of
such contribution received in a finan-
cial year. (f) No funds other than for-
eign contribution shall be deposited
in the FC account to be separately
maintained by the associations etc.
Every bank shall report to such au-
thority, as may be prescribed, the
amount of foreign remittance re-
ceived, sources and manner and other
particulars. (g) Provision has been
made for inspection of accounts if the
registered person or person to whom
prior permission has been granted
fails to furnish or the intimation giv-
en is not in accordance with law. (h)
Any person contravening the provi-
sions of the Act shall be punishable
with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to five years or with fine
or with both.
Need and Importance of the FCRA,
2010: The new law has been enforced
to make regulations for foreign con-
tributions in the form of gifts, funds
and other forms to individuals and
social organizations in the wake of
changed internal security environ-
ment and larger fund flow. The Par-
liaments approval of the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010
came against the backdrop of only
18,000 of the over 40,000 organizations
which received foreign contribution
in the country reporting the inflow of
funds and submitting their accounts.
Foreign funds have also come under
the scanner in the recent years in the
wake of suspicions that some of it may
have been used for anti-India terror
activities. According to the provisions
of the Act, if any organization receives
funds over Rs 10 lakh, the bank will
immediately inform the government
to enable the agencies to track the
funds. Organizations with fictitious or
Benami accounts, have indulged in
conversions directly or indirectly, cre-
ated communal tension, supported se-
dition or have diverted funds earlier
would be barred from receiving for-
eign contributions. The Act seeks to
replace the FCRA Act of 1976 by a new
legislation to regulate the acceptance,
utilization and accounting of foreign
contributions and acceptance of for-
eign hospitality by a person or an or-
ganization. The proposed Act prohib-
its certain categories of individuals
and organizations from accepting
overseas funds. These include election
candidates, correspondents, editors
and publishers of newspapers, judges
and government servants, members
of legislature and political parties.
However, the provisions of the bill
will not apply on remittances received
from relatives abroad and salaries or
wages due from foreign sources. It
will also exclude payment for inter-
national trade. In case the organiza-
tions receiving foreign funds do not
file accounts the government will have
power to cancel their registration.
Limited
Liability Partnership Firms
The Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs or CCEA recently approved a
proposal to amend the policy on al-
lowing foreign direct investment or
FDI in Limited Liability Partnership
or LLP firms. The FDI in LLPs will be
implemented in a calibrated manner,
beginning with open sectors where
monitoring is not required. However
the Foreign Investment Promotion
Boards approval is needed for bring-
ing in FDI in LLPs. FDI will not be
allowed in LLPs that operate in agri-
cultural/plantation activity, print
media or real estate businesses. Also,
LLPs with FDI will not be eligible to
make downstream investments. The
Indian government has also barred
foreign institutional investors and for-
eign venture capital investors from
investing in LLPs. Besides, LLPs will
also not be permitted to avail them-
selves of external commercial bor-
rowings. The move is expected to ben-
efit professionals like architects and
advocates and small outfits. At
present, there are around 4,500 LLPs
firms registered in India. LLPs with
FDI will be allowed through the gov-
ernment approval route, in sectors or
activities where 100 per cent FDI is
allowed through the automatic route
and there are no FDI-linked perfor-
mance related conditions.
The decision to allow FDI in LLPs will
benefit the Indian economy by attract-
ing greater FDI, creating employment
and bringing in international best
practices and latest technology in the
country.
What are LLP: LLP is a hybrid struc-
ture that combines the elements of a
partnership firm and a company and
ensures that liability of the partners is
limited. This structure is expected to
encourage smaller business entities
undertake larger ventures as the lia-
bility of the partners is limited. The
LLP Act, 2008, was notified in April,
2009. LLP combines the advantages of
ease of running a Partnership and sep-
arate legal entity status and limited
liability aspect of a Company.
Here are some of the main features of
a LLP:
(a) LLP is a separate legal entity sep-
arate from its partners, can own as-
sets in its name, sue and be sued.
(b) Unlike corporate shareholders,
the partners have the right to man-
age the business directly
(c) One partner is not responsible or
liable for another partners miscon-
duct or negligence.
(d) Minimum of 2 partners and no
maximum.
(e) Should be for profit business.
(f) Perpetual succession.
(g) The rights and duties of partners
in LLP will be governed by the
agreement between partners and the
Cairn
and Vedanta deal
Nearly 10 months after $9.6 billion-
deal was first struck, the government
has given its approval to Cairn En-
ergy for selling its Indian unit to
Vedanta Resources, subject to the
new owner agreeing to share royal-
ty and pay oil cess on mainstay Raj-
asthan oilfields. The Cabinet Com-
mittee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
headed by Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has approved the
sale with the preconditions that
Cairn or its successor has to treat
royalty payments on Rajasthan oil-
fields as recoverable from oil sales.
The CCEA also directed Cairn India
to withdraw the arbitration it had
initiated disputing its liability to
pay Rs. 2500 per ton oil cess on its 70
per cent share in the fields. The
CCEAs approval also requires
Cairn India to get a NOC from
ONGC, which has a stake in all the
three oil and gas producing proper-
ties of Cairn India.
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partners have the flexibility to de-
vise the agreement as per their
choice. The duties and obligations
of Designated Partners shall be as
provided in the law.
(h) Liability of the partners is limit-
ed to the extent of his contribution
in the LLP. No exposure of personal
assets of the partner, except in cases
of fraud.
(i) LLP shall maintain annual ac-
counts. However, audit of the ac-
counts is required only if the contri-
bution exceeds Rs. 25 lakhs or annu-
al turnover exceeds Rs.40 lakhs.
A LLP is indeed advantageous because
of comparatively lower cost of forma-
tion, lesser compliance requirements,
easy to manage and run and also easy
to wind-up and dissolve, no require-
ment of minimum capital contribu-
tions, partners are not liable for the
acts of the other partners.
External
Commercial Borrowings
A high-level coordination committee
on external commercial borrowings
(ECB), chaired by R Gopalan, has de-
cided to raise the external commer-
cial borrowing limit to $ 30 billion
for the financial year 2011-12. The cor-
porates can now borrow more over-
seas because the government has
raised the overall limit for such bor-
rowings substantially from $20 billion
to $ 30 billion. It should be noted that
the borrowing costs for the industry
has gone up with the Reserve Bank of
India raising key policy rates to tame
the runaway inflation.
Perceived Implications
of Raising the ECB Limit:
The decision to raise the cap of ECB
will help the industry fund its capital
expenditure through cheaper funds
abroad as its becoming difficult to ar-
range capital in domestic market due
to continuous expansion of key poli-
cy rates by the RBI. More specifically
the companies in services sector IT,
hospitals and hotels would get them-
selves in better position to utilize the
additional borrowing limit to fund
their equipment purchase. The indus-
try is not going to be the only bene-
factor by the raising of the ECB limit;
the move is also going to benefit the
government in longer run. The move
will help the government in manag-
ing capital flows, needed to finance
its current account deficit. It is here
underlined that the annual cap for ex-
ternal commercial borrowings is fixed
every year at the beginning of the fi-
nancial year taking a stock of overall
economic situation, current account
deficit and also industrys require-
ments.
Understanding the Macro Economic
Parameters of ECBs: (a) The Meaning:
ECB cover commercial bank loans,
buyers credit, suppliers credit, secu-
ritized instruments such as Floating
Rate Notes and Fixed Rate Bonds etc.,
credit from official export credit agen-
cies and commercial borrowings from
the private sector window of Multi-
lateral Financial Institutions such as
International Finance Corporation,
ADB, AFIC, CDC, etc.
(b) Use of ECBs in India: In India, Ex-
ternal Commercial Borrowings are
being permitted by the Government
for providing an additional source of
funds to Indian corporates and PSUs
for financing expansion of existing
capacity and as well as for fresh in-
vestment, to augment their sources
available domestically. ECBs can be
used for any purpose (rupee-related
expenditure as well as imports) except
for investment in stock market and
speculation in real estate.
(c) Regulator of ECBs: The Depart-
ment of Economic Affairs, Ministry of
Finance, with support of Reserve Bank
of India, monitors and regulates Indi-
an firms access to global capital mar-
kets. From time to time, they announce
guidelines on policies and procedures
for ECB and Euro-issues.
(d) Current Scenario in ECBs: The cost
of funds in the Indian Market has been
relatively higher than International
Market and there is a growing tenden-
cy for Indian Business Houses to raise
funds from International Markets. Such
financing is arranged for reputed cor-
porate houses on prevalent rates of
interest. The interest rates are fixed in
terms of Basic rate of LIBOR plus oth-
er charges. The Registered Foreign
Financial Institutions interested in
lending funds to Indian Business
Houses can earn handsome interest
from Indian Markets. Demand for ECB
is rising rapidly in this market and
the Government rules have also been
relaxed to certain extent.
(e) Significance of ECBs: External
Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) occu-
py a very important position as a
source of funds for Corporate. Thus, it
is to be maintained within prudent
limits for total external borrowings
and to provide flexibility to Corpo-
rate in external borrowings and that
is reflected in its guidelines. Howev-
er, the main purpose of ECB is to en-
courage borrowings which provides
basis for strongest economy. Hence it
is correct to quote Maven: ECB is not
only three letter world but lifeline of
corporate world.
ASBA route: The Central bank has
permitted foreign institutional inves-
tors (FIIs) for foreign currency-rupee
swaps in IPOs made through Applica-
tion Supported by Blocked Amount
(ASBA) route. In an official statement
RBI opined that, for initial public of-
fers (IPO) related transient capital
flows under the ASBA mechanism,
foreign currency-rupee swaps may be
allowed to the FIIs. ASBA is an appli-
cation containing an authorization to
block the application money in the
RIL-BP
deal for 21 blocks
The Cabinet Committee on Eco-
nomic Affairs (CCEA) has approved
the $7.2 billion Reliance Industries
- BP deal. The deal allows Reliance
Industries Ltd (RIL) to offload a 30
per cent stake in its hydrocarbon
blocks to London-based BP Plc.
While, according to the original
contours of the deal, BP is to pay
$7.2 billion (Rs.31,970 crore) for a
30% stake in RILs 23 oil and gas
blocks, including the D6 one in the
Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, but
the CCEA gave its approval for 21
of those blocks. Approval has not
been granted in two blocks due to
technical reasons. CCEAs approv-
al comes on the back of a nod to the
deal by the Home, Finance and Pe-
troleum Ministry. The deal between
Europes second-largest oil compa-
ny BP Plc. and Indias biggest pri-
vate sector firm Reliance Industries
Limited (RIL) was signed in Febru-
ary 2011. BP plans to buy 30 per cent
stake in 23 oil and gas blocks of
Reliance Industries, including the
eastern offshore Krishna Godavari
basin KG-D6 fields.
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bank account, for subscribing to an
issue. If an investor is applying
through ASBA, his application mon-
ey shall be debited from the bank ac-
count only if his/her application is
selected for allotment after the basis
of allotment is finalized, or the issue
is withdrawn/failed. The foreign cur-
rency rupee swaps for hedging flows
under ASBA, which should not exceed
the amount proposed to be invested
in the IPO, will be available for 30
days. The move is likely to ensure the
smooth progress of FII investments
under the ASBA route into equity
market. The central bank also high-
lighted that the contracts, once can-
celled, cannot be rebooked and roll-
overs under this scheme will also not
be permitted.
The Securities and Exchange Board of
India (SEBI) had introduced ASBA fa-
cility for public offers first in Septem-
ber 2008 when retail investors were
allowed to use it. The facility elimi-
nates any delays related to refunds for
the unallocated shares. Initially, it was
offered to retail investors only and was
given to other investors in 2009.
ASBA is gaining huge popularity
among institutional investors, but at
the same time retail investors are stay-
ing away. It has been found that
around 60 per cent of the qualified in-
stitutional buyers (QIB), who are es-
sentially institutional investors, are
opting for this mode of application.
In contrast, only 6 per cent and 20 per
cent of high-networth investors (HNIs)
of the retail applications are done
through this method, respectively
Corporate
sector
M&A rules eased by CCI
The government has announced new
regulatory framework which makes
it mandatory to seek the approval of
the Competition Commission of In-
dia for all merger and acquisition
(M&As) proposals which create joint
assets of over Rs 1500 crore and a com-
bined turnover of Rs 4,500 crore or
more. Below these levels of assets and
turnover, no approval is necessary.
The regulations come into effect on
June 1. According to the new guide-
lines 95 per cent of the M&A propos-
als will be cleared within 30 days and
the rest in 180 days. Approval will also
be necessary where the assets and turn-
over of a target company exceed Rs
250 crore and Rs 750 crore, respective-
ly. In other decisions, the commis-
sions clearance will not be required
for acquiring stock in trade, raw ma-
terials, assets, bonus issues and stock
splits by an acquiring company. The
commission will vet only those cases
where a final decision or execution of
binding documents takes place from
June 1, 2011.
Implications of the new
guidelines: The new framework
would help push growth and induce
investment flows from abroad. The
procedures had been simplified and
the commissions fees fixed at Rs
50,000, far lower than the Rs 40 lakh
proposed earlier. But industry may
still have some concerns over the pow-
ers of the commission to review acqui-
sitions where control is not acquired
and the notifying party or transaction
is subject to a possible 180-day review.
The focus would now turn to the actual
functioning of the commission and
how it scrutinized transactions.
Takeover: Microsoft buys Skype
Microsoft has announced an $8.5 bil-
lion acquisition of the Internet tele-
Credit Default Swap
CDS are a financial instrument for swapping the risk of debt default. Credit
default swaps may be used for emerging market bonds, mortgage backed
securities, corporate bonds and local government bond. The buyer of a credit
default swap pays a premium for effectively insuring against a debt default.
He receives a lump sum payment if the debt instrument is defaulted. The
seller of a credit default swap receives monthly payments from the buyer. If
the debt instrument defaults they have to pay the agreed amount to the
buyer of the credit default swap.
Process: A CDS contract involves the transfer of the credit risk of municipal
bonds, emerging market bonds, mortgage-backed securities, or corporate
debt between two parties. It is similar to insurance because it provides the
buyer of the contract, who often owns the underlying credit, with protection
against default, a credit rating downgrade, or another negative credit event.
The seller of the contract assumes the credit risk that the buyer does not wish
to shoulder in exchange for a periodic protection fee similar to an insurance
premium, and is obligated to pay only if a negative credit event occurs. It is
important to note that the CDS contract is not actually tied to a bond, but
instead references it. For this reason, the bond involved in the transaction is
called the reference obligation. A contract can reference a single credit, or
multiple credits.
CDS have the following two uses:
(a) Hedging: A CDS contract can be used as a hedge or insurance policy
against the default of a bond or loan. An individual or company that is
exposed to a lot of credit risk can shift some of that risk by buying protection
in a CDS contract. This may be preferable to selling the security outright if
the investor wants to reduce exposure and not eliminate it, avoid taking a tax
hit, or just eliminate exposure for a certain period of time.
(b) Speculation: The second use is for speculators to place their bets about
the credit quality of a particular reference entity. With the value of the CDS
market, larger than the bonds and loans that the contracts reference, it is
obvious that speculation has grown to be the most common function for a
CDS contract. CDS provide a very efficient way to take a view on the credit of
a reference entity. An investor with a positive view on the credit quality of a
company can sell protection and collect the payments that go along with it
rather than spend a lot of money to load up on the companys bonds. An
investor with a negative view of the companys credit can buy protection for
a relatively small periodic fee and receive a big payoff if the company de-
faults on its bonds or has some other credit event. A CDS can also serve as a
way to access maturity exposures that would otherwise be unavailable, ac-
cess credit risk when the supply of bonds is limited, or invest in foreign
credits without currency risk.
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phone service Skype Technologies SA
from eBay and a group of private eq-
uity investors including Silicon Val-
ley heavyweights Silver Lake Part-
ners. The deal is Microsofts largest
cash purchase in its 36-year long his-
tory. Skype is popular communica-
tions software, uses of voice over in-
ternet protocol technology that makes
international voice and video and vid-
eo calls cheaper. The combination of
Skype and MS will extend Skypes
world-class brand and the reach of its
networked platform, while enhancing
Microsofts existing portfolio of real-
time communications products and
services. CEO of Microsoft is Steve
Ballmer. CEO of Skype is Tony Bates.
Funds
management
Venture Capital Funds
An investment fund that manages
money from investors seeking private
equity stakes in start-up and small-
and medium-size enterprises with
strong growth potential. These invest-
ments are generally characterized as
high-risk/high-return opportunities.
Venture capital is a type of private
equity capital typically provided by
outside investors to new businesses.
Generally made as cash in exchange
for shares in the investee company,
venture capital investments are usu-
ally high risk, but offer the potential
for above-average returns. A venture
capitalist is a person who makes such
investments. A venture capital fund is
a pooled investment scheme that pri-
marily invests the financial capital of
third-party investors in enterprises
that are too risky for the standard cap-
ital markets or bank loans. Venture
capital can also include managerial
and technical expertise. Most venture
capital comes from a group of wealthy
investors, investment banks and oth-
er financial institutions that pool such
investments or partnerships. This
form of raising capital is popular
among new companies, or ventures,
with limited operating history, which
cannot raise funds through a debt is-
sue. The drawback of this form of en-
trepreneurship is that the investors get
a say in the management of the com-
pany apart from the equity holding.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Venture Capital: Venture capital pro-
vides the funding that a company
needs to expand its business. It also
offers a number of value added ser-
vices. The following are the advan-
tage of VC:
(a) Mentoring: Venture capitalists
provide companies with on-going
strategic, operational and financial
advice. They will typically have
nominee directors appointed to the
companys board and often become
intimately involved with the stra-
tegic direction of the company.
(b) Alliances - Venture capitalists
can introduce the company to an
extensive network of strategic part-
ners both domestically and inter-
nationally and may also identify
potential acquisition targets for the
business and facilitate the acquisi-
tion.
(c) Facilitate exit - Venture capital-
ists are experienced in the process
of preparing a company for an ini-
tial public offering (IPO) of its
shares onto the Australian Stock
Exchange (ASX) or overseas stock
exchange such as NASDAQ. They
can also facilitate a trade sale.
The following are the disadvantages
of the VC: Most venture capitalists seek
to realize their investment in a com-
pany in three to five years. If an entre-
preneurs business plan contemplates
a longer timetable before providing
liquidity, venture capital may not be
appropriate. Entrepreneurs should
also consider:
(a) Pricing - Venture capitalists are typ-
ically more sophisticated and may
drive a harder bargain.
(b) Intrusion - Venture capitalists are
more likely to want to influence the
strategic direction of the company.
(c) Control - Venture capitalists are
more likely to be interested in taking
control of the company if the manage-
ment is unable to drive the business.
(d) It injects long term equity finance
which provides a solid capital base for
future growth.
(e) The venture capitalist is a business
partner, sharing both the risks and
rewards. Venture capitalists are re-
warded by business success and the
capital gain.
(f) The venture capitalist is able to pro-
vide practical advice and assistance to
the company based on past experience
with other companies which were in
similar situations. (g) The venture cap-
italist is capable of providing addition-
al rounds of funding should it be re-
quired to finance growth.
Risks Associated with Venture Capi-
tal: The main risk of venture capital
funding is the danger of failure of the
companies into which the capital is
invested. The risk of investing money
as a Limited Partner into a venture
capital fund is that the managers of
the fund (the General Partners, or ven-
ture capitalists) will pick more los-
ing companies to invest in than win-
ning companies, and that over time
the total return from the fund will be
less than might have been received
from alternative investments.
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Its importance for World Economy
Defining SWF: Pools of money de-
rived from a countrys reserves, which
are set aside for investment purposes
that will benefit the countrys econo-
my and citizens. The funding for a sov-
ereign wealth fund (SWF) comes from
central bank reserves that accumulate
as a result of budget and trade sur-
pluses, and even from revenue gener-
ated from the exports of natural re-
sources. The types of acceptable invest-
ments included in each SWF vary from
country to country; countries with li-
quidity concerns limit investments to
only very liquid public debt instru-
ments.
What role do sovereign wealth funds
(SWFs) play in the modern global
economy: To begin with, SWFs are a
modern iteration of economic power
projection by states on the internation-
al scene. In one form or another, vehi-
cles resembling SWFs have been
around for a long time. Similar enti-
ties investing state funds, generated
from reserves or trade surpluses (such
as from natural resources), or utiliz-
ing substantial state support or privi-
lege, could very well include con-
glomerates such as VOC (the Dutch
East India Company) or the British East
India Company. Another thing they
appear to have in common with mod-
ern SWFs is that they were the pio-
neers in frontier markets, often creat-
ing regional trade beyond what the
local governments and businesses
were able to create. It should not be
forgotten, however, that SWFs are of-
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ten perceived to be driven by politi-
cal, rather than economic, consider-
ations.
What is the current economic benefit
of SWF activity: Before the financial
crisis the SWFs were predominantly
welcomed as an alternative source of
large-scale equity financing that was
cheaper and easier to obtain than to
go through an IPO. Now they look
more and more as the only source of
available financing for a cash-starved
international financial system. In-
creased government scrutiny, regula-
tion and participation in the financial
system is not likely to be considered
an investment incentive by the SWFs
in general on the contrary, due to
the fact that SWFs have not only busi-
ness rationale to their activities but
also a strategic and geopolitical un-
derpinning, they would be loath to be
restrained by what they may consider
unfair regulatory shackles. The
SWFs would try to fit in the new glo-
bal regulatory regime that is likely to
emerge, but at the same time would
want and be able to dictate, to a cer-
tain extent, the terms and conditions
under which they operate in the glo-
bal economy. The new role of SWFs
as financing sources has already been
acknowledged by the G20 and is to be
reflected in the new governance ar-
rangements surrounding the IMF and
the World Bank. How far these con-
cessions would be accepted by the
governments that control the SWFs
activities is still a subject to debate, as
SWFs and their governments may de-
cide to take a pro-active role in the
global market on their own, rather
than via the established structures of
the IMF and World Bank, as the rules
of that game may not be fully to their
liking.
What current challenges do SWFs face:
One of the biggest challenges for SWFs
is likely to be the uncertainty sur-
rounding the intended policies of the
developed economies towards SWFs.
There is little doubt that SWFs are
going to face attempts to impose cer-
tain curbs on their operations, imposed
by the current and prospective mar-
ket regulators, putting them under
increased regulatory scrutiny, in line
with the tightening global financial
regulations. Even though host govern-
ments would welcome long-term in-
vestments from SWFs, there is a grow-
ing popular feeling and political pres-
sure to codify and regulate the global
financial system, enhance its surveil-
lance and the interventionist powers
of governments. This will inevitably
affect how SWFs operate in the devel-
oped economies would their gov-
ernments be happy to have their ac-
tivities regulated and maybe virtual-
Green Bonds
Green Bonds are tax-exempt bonds which are issued by qualified organiza-
tions and/or municipalities for the development of brown-field sites. Brown-
field sites are areas of land that are under-utilized, have abandoned build-
ings, or are under developed. They often contain low levels of industrial
pollution. Green Bonds are short-hand for Qualified Green Building and
Sustainable Design Project Bonds. These bonds are created to encourage sus-
tainability and the development of brown field sites. The tax-exempt status
makes purchasing a green bond a more attractive investment when com-
pared to a comparable taxable bond. Green bonds could, in fact, be all of the
following: green gilts, green retail bonds and green investment bank bonds.
But, there are many more being proposed as well, including: green infra-
structure bonds, multilateral development bank green bonds, green corpo-
rate bonds, green sectorial bonds, rainforest bonds and index-linked carbon
bonds. Green bonds have an important role in helping to raise finance for
different parts our low-carbon transition.
India Allows Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) Trading: India has also
allowed trading of REC; it is one of the key growth drivers for the Renew-
able energy industry. As of now, the REC is traded in 2 of the major power
exchanges: - Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limit-
ed (PXIL).
What is REC: World over, Renewable energy is more expensive than tradi-
tional forms of energy and the growth of renewable energy has been sup-
ported mostly by governments through various policy initiatives like Feed-
in-Tariffs, subsidies, tax concessions, among others. In order to make the
renewable energy sector more sustainable, many countries like Australia,
Japan, etc. have put in place a mechanism to trade the renewable energy on
platforms similar to stock exchanges. The trade of the energy will be purely
based on demand and supply and the only role the government plays is to
mandate utility companies to buy a certain part of their power from renew-
able energy sources. Under the REC Mechanism, when Renewable Energy is
generated (solar, wind, biomass, etc.), the energy is divided into two compo-
nents the physical commodity electricity and a tradable certificate, which is
the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC).
Corporate Repo Bonds: Banks, corporate and primary dealers pledge corpo-
rate bonds with each other to raise short term money. It is similar to banks
pledging government securities with the RBI to raise short term money.
Unlike pledging of government securities, here the borrower who pledges
corporate bonds does not receive the entire value of the bond. Allowing repo
in corporate bonds enables mutual funds, insurance firms and non-banking
finance firms to borrow money by offering corporate bonds as collateral. In
India the RBI guidelines on repo in corporate debt securities came to effect on
March 1, 2010. But till date the corporate repo bonds are not much active in
India. Only five deals have been reported so far. Companies that have issues
corporate bonds in India are REC, PFC, HDFC, and NHB. The corporate repo
bonds in India has not grown much because of lenders or issuers maintain-
ing a cautious approach as well as due to lack of proper trade guarantee
mechanism.
Understanding Repos: Repos, or repurchase agreements, are contract for the
sale and repurchase of securities and treasury bills at a future date. In this
transaction, the seller repurchases the financial asset at the same price at
which it was sold, and pays interest on it. Essentially, repo is a short-term,
interest-bearing loan against the collateral of securities.
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Current Economy
ly controlled by foreign states? An
additional factor that remains, despite
the changing market conditions, is the
overall distrust towards SWFs among
the governments of the developed
economies, and in particular the fact
that any major SWF investment can
be viewed through the prism of na-
tional security.
What are the advantages SWFs can
bring to the development of the Third
World: SWFs are just like any other
investor and are interested in returns,
reduction of risk and capital growth.
Sometimes, however, the long-term
or broader view on returns and risks
that they take is creating the impres-
sion of an agenda, different from that
of other investment vehicles and or-
ganizations. Yet, at the end of the day,
the investment decisions and abilities
of SWFs depend on the specifics, na-
ture and size of their holdings in par-
ticular regions. Some assets are
deemed strategic, others temporary,
or a building block in a long-term
approach. In addition, SWFs have a
broader take on investment risks, due
to their more long term vision and
approach, and are gradually becom-
ing more focused on realizing new
opportunities in asset-backed or more
traditional sectors in less developed
markets.
Sovereign wealth fund: Is it right for
India: Of late, there has been a unani-
mous call around the country that In-
dia should have a SWF of its own. The
primary purpose of setting up a SWF
for India is primarily to garner better
returns on the existing foreign ex-
change reserves. Let us the look at the
risk and rewards involved: - (a) Oil
Companies Want It: Creating a sov-
ereign wealth fund (SWF) will allow
Indias forex reserves to be used for
investment in oil assets. There are
about 37 major sovereign funds world-
wide about two-thirds of this mon-
ey comes from oil and gas revenue.
The most successful examples of SWFs
are those from Norway, Kuwait and
Brunei. This will satisfy the need of
our growing economy and to secure
the countries future needs. (b) SWF
will Stabilize the Economy: It is ex-
pected that the SWF will do more than
good to stabilize our economy and
budget by neutralizing the effects of
capital flows to a certain extent. (c)
SWF to help in infrastructure devel-
opment: Creation of SWF is definite-
ly going provide necessary capital re-
quired to carry forward our infrastruc-
ture projects.
The Risks Involved For India: Sover-
eign Wealth funds are for countries
that have trade surplus and no domes-
tic markets. India doesnt have a trade
surplus but its domestic markets are
deep. So, India can avoid creating a
SWF for oil. An overseas acquisition
for Indian oil companies has never
been a problem due to shortage of cash.
Whenever our companies have lost
out to Chinese players or other com-
petition, the problem has been the
value the Indian oil major was will-
ing to put to the deal. Instead of hav-
ing a separate SWF, Indian oil compa-
nies should be doing this job on their
own as they are in a better position to
handle it by raising their own funds.
Do We Have the Appetite for the Risk?
One of the major concerns is the level
of risk a government-controlled fund
would be able to take. Investments in
oil are often high-risk-and-high-re-
turn bets. Many of the deep water bets
taken by the smartest oil companies
in the world have proved to be wrong,
sinking millions of dollars. Will an
Indian sovereign fund, where every
decision has to be cleared by an em-
powered committee, be able to take
these risks? The other problem is the
speed of decision making. Govern-
ment-owned oil companies like
ONGC and BPCL already face red-tape
and delays in getting clearance, often
Infrastructure Debt Funds
Infrastructure Debt Funds is a debt instrument being set up by the finance
ministry in order to channelize long term funds into infrastructure projects
which require long term stable capital investment. According to the struc-
ture laid out by the finance ministry, after consultations with stakeholders,
infrastructure NBGCs, market regulators and banks, an IDF could either be
set up as a trust or as a company.
IDFs in India: The government of India has unveiled the structure of infra-
structure debt funds (IDFs), allowing local infrastructure developers access
to money from insurance and pension funds from India and overseas, even
as bank lending to roads and power projects is constrained by limits set by
the central bank. IDFs are expected to provide long-term, low-cost debt for
infrastructure projects. At present, banks are the main source of funding for
these projects. Asset-liability mismatches and loan exposure limits to in-
dustries set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have made it difficult for
banks to provide long-term funding. It is here underscored that the IDF was
proposed by in Budget 2011-12. The ultimate aim of the IDFs is to accelerate
and enhance the flow of debt for funding the ambitious programme of
infrastructure development in the country. The requirement of infrastruc-
ture in the 12th Plan has been pegged at $1 trillion. The IDF would help
garner resources from domestic and off-shore institutional investors, espe-
cially insurance and pension funds. Banks and financial institutions would
be allowed to sponsor IDFs. In India the IDFs could be set up by NBFCs or
banks, with a minimum capital of Rs 150 crore. Such a fund would be al-
lowed to raise resources through rupee or dollar denominated bonds of
minimum five year maturity. These bonds could be traded among the do-
mestic and foreign investors. Company based IDFs would be allowed to
fund projects in public-private partnership (PPP) which have completed one
year of commercial operations. Potential investors in this category, include
off-shore and domestic institutional investors, high net worth individuals
and non-resident Indians. If the IDFs are set up as a trust, the fund could be
sponsored by a regulated financial sector domestic entity. It would have to
invest 90 per cent of its assets in the debt securities of infrastructure compa-
nies or SPVs across all infrastructure sectors. Minimum investment by trust-
based IDF would be Rs 1 crore with Rs 10 lakh as minimum size of the unit.
The credit risks associated with underlying projects will be borne by the
investors and not by IDF, but in case of company-based IDF, the fund would
bear the risk.
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resulting in the opportunity being
lost. Will it be any different for the
sovereign fund? The fund will have to
be answerable for its returns.
Industrial Industrial Industrial Industrial Industrial
Sector Sector Sector Sector Sector
New index for measuring IIP
The new index of industrial produc-
tion or IIP, which will come into force
from June 10 with the base year 2004-
05, has been approved by the Com-
mittee of Secretaries. Juices and mo-
bile phones will weigh on measuring
the pace of industrial production, as
per the new index series approved by
the government. The IIP would also
include computer stationary, newspa-
pers, chemicals, such as ammonia,
ammonia sulphate, electrical products
like solder power systems, gems and
jewellery and molasses. On the other
hand, obsolete articles like typewrit-
ers, loud speakers and VCRs would
be taken off to make the series repre-
sentative of the present-day industri-
al production and demand scenario.
The base year for the new series will
be changed to 2004-05 from 1993-94.
The IIP for April to be released on June
10 would be based on the new model
of measuring Indias factory output.
The Department of Industrial Promo-
tion and Policy (DIPP) and Central Sta-
tistical Organization (CSO) were joint-
ly working on the new index. At
present, the IIP basket has 283 items.
The industrial output data is released
on monthly basis.
Panel
Gopinath panel
Recommends holding company
model for financial groups
A RBI panel headed by Shyamala Gopi-
nath has suggested that financial con-
glomerates should follow a financial
holding company structure to enable
better regulation. It also recommend-
ed a set of new rules and a separate
regulatory framework for such com-
panies, with the Reserve Bank of In-
dia as its regulator. This is the second
such report on the issue by the central
bank since 2007, when the countrys
top two lenders, State Bank of India
and ICICI Bank Ltd., proposed an in-
termediate holding structure to meet
the high capital requirements of their
insurance companies. The banks pro-
posed transferring insurance and as-
set-management businesses to a hold-
ing company, which then could be list-
ed on the bourses to raise capital. In a
discussion paper in 2007, the RBI had
expressed its concerns over the com-
plexity of the structure. The report also
recommended against permitting in-
termediate holding companies due to
their contribution to opacity and com-
plexity in the organizational structure.
According to the report the financial
holding company should primarily be
a non-operating entity and should be
permitted only limited leverage as
stipulated by the Reserve Bank. Fol-
lowing Indias liberalization and fi-
nancial sector reforms in 1991, the
country saw the emergence of many
financial groups operating in multi-
ple sectors including banking, invest-
ment banking, asset management, in-
surance etc. The multiple activities led
to the emergence of issues on corpo-
rate management, growth and capital
requirements of different entities and
also possible risk of a contagion
spreading from one entity to the oth-
er. The latest report suggests a well-
diversified ownership structure and a
stipulation by the RBI on activities that
it can undertake and to what limits.
The model can be extended to all large
financial groupsirrespective of
whether they contain a bank or not.
Panel on Black Money
Facing flak from different quarters for not doing enough to deal with the
black money menace, the government recently constituted a high-level com-
mittee of taxmen to suggest a legal framework for confiscating such wealth
by declaring it as national assets. The Government has been facing a sus-
tained onslaught for having taken little action on black money holders with-
in or outside the country. The chorus on the need to tackle black money was
so loud that it disrupted Parliamentary proceedings during the Winter Ses-
sion last year. The Committee headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) Chairman Sudhir Chandra will submit its report in six months. The
Committee has been tasked to examine the existing legal and administrative
framework to deal with the menace of generation of black money, including,
inter alia, declaring wealth generated illegally as national asset and enacting
laws to confiscate and recover such assets. The Government had earlier also
constituted a committee comprising heads of various probe agencies and
specialized departments to monitor the investigation and initiate steps to
bring back black money stashed in tax havens. The committee headed by
CBDT Chairman has also been asked to examine ways to strengthen laws to
stop illegal transfer of black money and its recovery. It will also suggest
exemplary penalties. The committee will consult all the stakeholders and
submit its report within a period of six months.
Government Arms Income Tax Department with Criminal Investigation
Wing: The Government has decided to setup of a criminal investigation
wing in the income tax department to track and prosecute economic offend-
ers. The announcement to constitute the Directorate of Income Tax (Criminal
Investigation) under the Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT) comes on the
heels of government instituting a national study to quantify unaccounted
wealth within and outside the country. The DCI would collect information
about persons and transactions connected with criminal activities and ini-
tiate prosecution proceedings against them. The DCI will seek and collect
information about persons and transactions suspected to be connected with
criminal activities having cross-border, inter-state or international ramifica-
tions that pose a threat to national security and are punishable under the
direct tax laws. The DCI could also hire the services of special prosecutors
and other experts for pursuing a prosecution complaint. Apart from agree-
ment with different central or state agencies in India, it could also enter into
pacts for sharing of information or cooperation with foreign governments.
The setting up of a wing to tackle problems of terror network funding, cross
border tax evasion and money laundering cases is the need of the hour and is
an extremely welcome move.
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According to the report most of these
financial groups have banking as their
dominant business and follow a bank-
subsidiary model, in which the bank
is the parent of all the subsidiaries.
For groups with a bank at its centre,
the RBI should ensure the banking
business continues to remain the dom-
inant activity of the group and the
growth of banking isnt compromised
by these groups.
At present, under the bank-subsidiary
model, a banks total investment in
its subsidiaries is capped at 20 per cent
of its net worth.
Under the holding company structure,
the allocation of equity capital by
banking holding companies to non-
banking subsidiaries should also be
capped. Also, these groups will need
to convert to the financial holding
company model once the pre-requi-
sites necessary to make the transition
tax-neutral are in place.
Malegam Report
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its
Monetary Policy Statement for the fis-
cal 2011-12 decided to accept the broad
framework of regulations recom-
mended by the Malegam Committee
that submitted its report on the Micro
finance institutions (MFIs). It needs to
be mentioned here that amidst the
Andhra Pradesh micro finance crisis
in 2010, there were concerns expressed
by various stakeholders and the need
was felt for more rigorous regulation
of non-banking financial companies
(NBFCs) functioning as MFIs. From
now onwards bank loans to all MFIs,
including NBFCs working as MFIs on
or after April 1, 2011, will be eligible
for classification as priority sector
loans under respective category of in-
direct finance. However, for this pur-
pose such loans must confirm to cer-
tain qualifying conditions. Most of the
criteria set by the RBI are same as rec-
ommended by the Malegam Commit-
tee but the same have been relaxed a
bit by the central bank. For instance,
the MFI loans are eligible for only
household with annual income not
exceeding Rs 60,000 in case of rural
areas and Rs 1, 20,000 in case of urban
areas. Malegam Committee had
pegged urban income criteria at Rs
50,000 which was considered insuffi-
cient given the rising cost of living.
Similarly, the MFIs will face a ceiling
of interest rate of 26 per cent compared
with 24 per cent recommended by the
committee. There are some other con-
ditions involved too like MFI loans
must not to exceed Rs 35,000 in the
first cycle and Rs 50,000 in subsequent
cycles and total indebtedness of the
borrower must not to exceed Rs 50,000
at any point.
India should have monetary policy
committee RBI: D. Subbarao, the
governor of the Reserve Bank of India
has initiated a debate in the country
by citing that the RBI needs a Mone-
tary Policy Committee (MPC) on the
lines of the FOMC (Federal Open Mar-
ket Committee) of the US or the MPC
of England- to formulate monetary
policies in the country. The governor
advised that moving towards a mon-
etary policy committee-style struc-
ture, with its majority advice becom-
ing binding should be done in a
phased way. The central bank current-
ly has a Technical Advisory Commit-
tee on Monetary Policy. It is headed
by the governor, who makes all mon-
etary policy decisions. There is no for-
mal committee structure like the
FOMC or the MPC of England. The
Governor holds consultations with
four Deputy Governors and they con-
stitute an informal MPC although a
committee structure is not enjoined
under the law or the rules. In order to
evolve a MPC in India there are some
pre-conditions to be met. Firstly, the
RBI needs to be given sufficient
amount of autonomy to make the
MPC structure workable. Secondly,
the shift can only come with the deep-
ening of financial markets and im-
provements in operating procedure.
In a situation where inflation dynam-
ics are more often dictated by supply
side elements, the central banks abil-
ity to control inflation is restricted.
An MPC mechanism in current situa-
tion will weaken the coordination
between the government and the RBI.
However, if we deepen our financial
markets further, improve our operat-
ing procedures and make our mone-
tary transmission more efficient, shift-
ing to MPC system will become a re-
alistic option.
Anup K Pujari Committee
The commerce ministry has set up a
committee to review the deemed ex-
port scheme available to suppliers of
products to specified projects. The
committee headed by Anup K Pujari,
the Director General for Foreign Trade
will re-examine the very existence of
the scheme and also look up whether
it is reflecting the government poli-
cies properly. The committee also in-
cludes representatives from the fi-
nance ministry, Reserve Bank of In-
dia, Planning Commission and the
revenue department. The committee
is expected to give its report within
three months. Besides harmonizing
the customs notifications with the pol-
icy (on deemed export scheme), the
committee has been asked to improve
the drafting of the policy as it exists
today so that it is not amenable to
multiple interpretations. The move
follows the governments attempt to
check leakages so that a scheme is not
open to misuse.
The Deemed exports are those trans-
actions in which goods supplied to the
GN Bajpai
committee on NPS
The committee, headed by G N Ba-
jpai, former chairman of the Securi-
ties and Exchange Board of India,
set up by the pension regulator to
suggest ways to energise the nation-
al pension scheme (NPS) has sub-
mitted its report. In this report, the
committee has proposed a complete
change in its incentive and fee struc-
tures. To enthuse points of presence
(PoPs) to push the NPS, the com-
mittee has recommended that PoPs
be allowed to charge an ad valo-
rem rate of 0.5 per cent of the sub-
scription amount from subscribers.
The committee has further recom-
mended that the Pension Fund Reg-
ulatory and Development Authori-
ty (PFRDA) should consider bring-
ing down the minimum annual
subscription of Rs 6,000 for the NPS
to Rs 1,000 per year to expand its
reach and coverage. The committee
is of the opinion that the existing
NPS architecture did not have a
'push factor' and the absolute value
of incentives was flawed. It said
there was a need to broadbase the
network of points-of presence or
PoPs, which act as contact centres
for potential subscribers across the
country.
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users do not leave the country and
payment for such supplies is received
either in Indian currency or in foreign
exchange. Supply of goods to export-
oriented units, software technology
parks or to projects financed by mul-
tilateral agencies and to power
projects and refineries are treated as
deemed exports at present. The bene-
fits include those available under ex-
port promotion schemes.
Isher Ahluwalia Committee
Urban Infrastructure and
Services in India
A high-powered expert committee on
Urban Infrastructure under Isher Ahl-
uwalia has emphasized that Indias
economic growth momentum cannot
be sustained if urbanisation is not ac-
tively facilitated nor can urban pov-
erty be effectively addressed if the
needs of the urban poor are isolated
from the broader challenges of man-
aging urbanisation. The committee
has also projected an investment re-
quirement of Rs. 39.2 lakh crore for
our cities and towns for 2012-32. The
committee needs to be complimented
for the thoroughness with which it has
gone about its work.
Urban Infrastructure in India: The re-
port focuses on the challenge and op-
portunities emerging in the urban ar-
eas of India for the following infra-
structural services: (a) Water Supply
(b) Sewerage (c) Solid Waste Manage-
ment (d) Storm Water Drains (e) Ur-
ban Roads (f) Urban Transport (g)
Street Lighting(h) Traffic Support (i)
Infrastructure.
Urban Infrastructure Scenario in In-
dia: Indias urban population will
grow from 26 per cent to 36 per cent of
total population by 2012. By 2025, 50
per cent of Indias population will live
in cities, half of them in slums. This
will place great stress on existing in-
frastructure for water, power, urban
transport, sanitation etc - more infra-
structure has to be built and existing
infrastructure has to be upgraded.
Traditional Model of Urban Gover-
nance to Execute Urban Infrastructure
Development: Traditionally, the state
government had a major influence on
urban infrastructure. No clear demar-
cation of powers existed between state
and local (municipal) levels and so
state governments ended up taking
most of the decisions regarding urban
infrastructure. The Central Govern-
ment also had a role to play, but this
role mainly deals with providing tax
concessions, training and guidelines
and dovetailing central plans such as
the National Urban Transport Policy
with schemes such as the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal mis-
sion.
Problems with the earlier model:
(a) Funding for urban areas comes
from the centre or the state.
(b) Due to lack of on-the-ground
knowledge on the part of these
agencies, the wrong groups or
wrong projects often get funded.
(c) Conflicting programs at the
state and central.
(d) Level does not align, leading to
misdirected flow of funds.
(e) Bureaucracy at these levels sty-
mies progress.
New Model for Urban Governance:
In the earlier model, qualities of ser-
vices are likely to suffer and a prefer-
able approach would be for Urban
Local Bodies (ULBs) or municipalities
to make their own decisions based on
their needs. ULBs could be democrat-
ically elected and could raise their own
funds to provide services such as ur-
ban planning, water supply, roads,
bridges, urban amenities such as parks
etc. It is pertinent here to mention the
74th Constitutional Amendment here
that seeks to devolve more powers to
the states. The 74th Amendment gives
more power, responsibilities, and the
ability to raise funds, to control reve-
nues and to deliver projects, to mu-
nicipalities.
Steps to Improve Urban Infrastruc-
ture Development in Cities: The Gov-
ernment of India has taken a number
of steps to improve urban infrastruc-
ture and basic services. These include
the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which
seeks to improve urban infrastructure,
housing, transport and urban basic
services. In addition to this financial
assistance for urban infrastructure is
also being provided by the Ministry
of Urban Development under the 10
per cent lump sum scheme for the de-
velopment of North Eastern region in-
cluding Sikkim, the ADB added North
Eastern Region Development Pro-
gramme and Pilot project on Devel-
opment of Urban Infrastructure in Sat-
ellite Towns around the Seven mega
Cities, besides identified metro and
other projects.
Further the recommendations of the
Ahluwalia committee for giving more
financial powers to the local bodies
and empowering the local bodies to
exclusively levy taxes like property,
profession and entertainment will do
more than good to enhance our urban
infrastructure needs.
Nandan Nilekani task force
Concerned over the misuse of subsi-
dies provided under various schemes,
Nandan Nilekani task force on direct
cash transfer of subsidy on fuel and
fertilizers recently recommended to
the government to provide a direct
cash subsidy on kerosene and fertilis-
ers to the poor. The recommendations
are based on the belief that the direct
cash transfer will ensure greater cost
efficiency and better delivery for both
kerosene and fertilizers and will
streamline subsidy pay-out of billions
of rupees from government coffers
and will empower millions of benefi-
ciaries. The task force also recom-
mended launching a pilot project for
direct cash transfer of these subsidies
in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Maharashtra,
Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Orissa
from October this year.
The Basic Premises of the Recommen-
GST panel
The state Deputy Chief Minister
and Finance Minister Sushil Kumar
Modi has been elected the new
Chairman of the Empowered Com-
mittee of State Finance Ministers.
This Committee is spearheading the
implementation of Goods and Ser-
vices Tax (GST) in the country.
Modi has replaced Asim Dasgupta,
who had held the post for more
than a decade since the body has
been formed. In the past, the com-
mittee had overseen the implemen-
tation of the Value Added Tax
(VAT) system across the Indian
states. Asim Dasgupta had to quit
the post as he lost in the West Ben-
gal Assembly polls in May. One of
the major tasks before Modi, as the
new chairman, will be to build a
consensus on the proposed GST re-
gime, which has been pending for
years.
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Current Economy
dations: It is here underscored that
currently the government provides
kerosene at subsidised rates to fami-
lies living below the poverty line
through the Public Distribution Sys-
tem (PDS) and LPG is provided at a
subsidised rate to households. As re-
gards fertilisers, the government pro-
vides subsidy to companies so that
farm inputs, which include urea and
imported fertilisers, can be provided
to farmers at cheaper rates. The need
to set up the task force arose in view
of overwhelming evidence that cur-
rent policy results in waste, leakage,
adulteration and inefficiency and
therefore, it is imperative that the sys-
tem of delivering the subsidised ker-
osene be reformed urgently.
It held that the price of subsidised
goods should preferably be the mar-
ket price or an administered price that
is close to market price, thus remov-
ing incentives for pilferage. The step
towards direct cash transfer can reduce
market distortions due to dual pric-
ing, improve productivity of manu-
facturing and distribution, reduce in-
centives to pilfer and improve effec-
tiveness of subsidies.
To maintain proper accounts on enti-
tlements and subsidies for all benefi-
ciaries a Core Subsidy Management
System may be created. The system
will provide increased transparency
in movement of goods, stocks, predic-
tion and aggregation of demand and
identifying beneficiaries. The CSMS
will enable the government to trans-
fer cash component of subsidies direct-
ly and in real time into bank accounts
of beneficiaries.
The report has recommended a three-
phase approach for subsidy transfer
in case of LPG and fertilisers by in-
volving concerning central and state
departments. For direct transfer of
subsidies on kerosene, it suggested
wider consultations with states. In its
first phase, subsidy on cooking gas
would be capped. In phase two, the
task force mooted direct transfer of
cash to customers bank account and
finally it recommended categorising
targeted customers, who should be
offered subsidised domestic cooking
gas. For fertilisers, the panel suggest-
ed that in the first phase complete in-
formation visibility of the supply
chain up to the retailer level should
be implemented before directly trans-
ferring the subsidy to the retailers
bank account. While in the third phase,
direct transfer of subsidies is recom-
mended to the farmers account. The
panel also recommended a transpar-
ency portal for fertiliser movement
and stocks.
Direct Cash Subsidies reasons for
adoption and their likely impact: Af-
ter dithering on the matter for more
than a decade, the government has
announced that it will provide direct
cash subsidy for fertiliser, kerosene
and LPG. Though not fool proof, the
system of direct cash transfers should
prove more efficacious than the gov-
ernments current subsidy mechanism.
The way the government of India cur-
rently delivers subsidies (on food, fuel
and fertilisers) to its people is riddled
with problems. The subsidies are poor-
ly targeted so that, the undeserving
corners the benefits while the deserv-
ing are deprived of them. Leakages
are rampant in the current system. In
addition to all these loopholes the sub-
sidy regime places a heavy burden on
the governments fiscal situation,
which will only get more onerous with
time. Let us take a closer look at the
problems of the current subsidy
mechanism.(a) Poor Targeting - Fudg-
ing of the below-poverty-line (BPL)
list for cornering benefits is rampant.
Lower-level officials often do not is-
sue BPL cards to those at the bottom
of the income ladder because the lat-
ter cannot afford to pay them bribes.
(b) Leakages: Under the current pub-
lic distribution system (PDS), subsi-
dised grain is first handed over to ra-
tion shop owners who then sell it to
BPL households at pre-specified pric-
es. Often these ration shop owners sell
the subsidised grains in the open mar-
ket at higher prices. Then they either
turn away the poor or adulterate the
PDS grains. (c) Cost Overrun: Subsi-
dies place a heavy burden on the gov-
ernments fiscal situation. For 2010-11
the government had budgeted Rs. 56,
460 crore for meeting its obligations
regarding food subsidy (including
storage and warehousing).
The proposal and intended benefits:
Instead of purchasing grains and sup-
plying them to the poor through PDS
shops, the government is now contem-
plating the feasibility of directly trans-
ferring cash to the poor, which the lat-
ter can then use to buy food. Then the
government would by and large dis-
mantle its elaborate PDS mechanism.
The intended benefits of such direct
cash transfer will be: (a) Savings: If
the government dismantles the PDS
system, losses on account of siphon-
ing would disappear. The government
also incurs a massive cost on buying
grains at the minimum support price
(which is higher than the market
price) and then in storing it in
godowns (where a lot of it rots). If the
system of direct cash transfers is im-
plemented, these costs would decline
substantially, since the government
will then only maintain buffer stocks
Ashok Chawla Panel
The Ashok Chawla panel has recommended that water should be put on the
Concurrent List from the State List of the Constitution. One can recall that
the Prime Minister had appointed the panel, headed by Ashok Chawla, an
ex-finance secretary, to review exploitation of scarce resources like water.
The panel said that considering the recent imperatives, it has become neces-
sary for the Union Government to have more effective control over water
resources. In this regard, the panel has advised the government to pass a
'hortatory' legislation to regulate use of water across the country, arguing
groundwater can be held and regulated as a 'public trust' by the Centre. A
hortatory legislation is a law that nudges and pushes people towards a
particular action - in this case, more sustainable use of water. Empowered by
the Environment Protection Act, now the Central Groundwater Regulatory
Authority is the only leverage that the Centre enjoys. Though the Act is
powerful, Union governments have always shied away from intervening in
a state subject. Further, the panel has also recommended that the govern-
ment should amend the Easement Act to remove 'water' from the definition
of private property under the Constitution. Besides, it has recommended
reactivating the River Boards Act that has been lying dormant.
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Civil Services
Current Economy
for emergencies (like harvest failures).
(b) Empowering People: - Under the
cash transfer mechanism, the poor will
have the option to buy from any shop
instead of only the PDS shops. They
will be able to choose the shop that
offers them quality grains at attrac-
tive prices. Currently the ration shop
owner often turns away the poor. Di-
rect cash transfers will mean econom-
ic power in their hands. Since the poor
will offer cash, private traders will
compete for their custom.
Possible problems that the direct cash
transfer mechanism could run into: (a)
Problem in Identification of the Ben-
eficiaries: Identifying the deserving
beneficiaries has been the bane of so-
cial welfare programmes in India.
Despite the UID (which will be backed
by sophisticated information technol-
ogy systems and tools), this problem
may not vanish entirely. One will have
to wait and see how effective the new
mechanism proves to be in reality.
Under the new mechanism, beneficia-
ries will have the UID card, which will
allow them to be identified based on
some biometric parameter, say, fin-
gerprints. The benefits will be direct-
ly transferred into their bank account
from where they could withdraw the
money by presenting their UID card.
To access their money they wont ac-
tually have to visit banks; the identity
authentication and payment will be
possible even at neighbourhood kira-
na stores (using a fingerprint scanner
and a mobile phone). One point is not
yet clear. Will beneficiaries (BPL fam-
ilies) be identified using data captured
during the survey for UID or will the
BPL list be prepared separately via
household surveys? In either case,
fudging income-related data during
these surveys will still be possible.
After all, the same official machinery
that today refuses to issue BPL cards
to the poor will gather the data for
UID cards. What is true, however, is
that monitoring and reviews will
make it easier to identify undeserv-
ing beneficiaries. But will such moni-
toring be carried out with due dili-
gence? (b) Opposition from farmers:
The government and civil society at
large should be prepared for opposi-
tion from powerful farmers lobbies.
High minimum support prices, which
have been increased regularly and
quite generously by the government
in the past, are among the factors that
have contributed to growing rural
prosperity. Farmers will be loath to
see this benefit disappear overnight if
the government dismantles PDS. (c)
Chances of misuse of money: One oft-
stated objection to direct cash trans-
fers is that the poor might misuse the
money. Instead of buying food grains,
they could spend it on liquor. This ob-
jection can, however, be overcome.
One way the government could mini-
mize misuse is by handing over the
benefits to the woman of the house.
Experience in many societies demon-
strates that when money is transferred
to the woman, the chances of it being
misspent get reduced. Another by-
product of this development will be
the enhancement of womens status in
society.
Conclusion:
A better strategy to go for: The sys-
tem of cash transfers may not be en-
tirely fool proof. Even if some leak-
ages continue owing to the identifica-
tion problem, on balance it does ap-
pear to be superior to the existing sub-
sidy-delivery mechanism. The Execu-
tive machinery needs to designs an
intelligent system that is robust
enough to withstand the onslaught
that will inevitably come from the
corrupt, whether it be the lower bu-
reaucracy or the above-BPL people
who want to corner the benefits. One
also hopes that the government will
be able to muster the political will
required to push these momentous
changes through. After all, given In-
dias high current fiscal burden aris-
ing from subsidies, not taking any ac-
tion would be a criminal sin of omis-
sion.
Panels for
Kerala temple treasure
A Bench comprising Justices RV
Raveendran and AK Patnaik of the
Supreme Court has appointed two
committees for documenting and pre-
serving the huge treasure found at the
Padmanabhaswami Temple at Thiru-
vananthapuram. A five-member ex-
pert committee headed by Director
General of National Museum CV
Ananda Bose will take care of the doc-
umentation and preservation work,
while a three-member panel will over-
see the entire exercise. The three mem-
ber overseeing committee will con-
sist of retired judge of Kerala High
Court, Justice M N Krishnan, the erst-
while Prince of Travancore Marthan-
da Varma and a government repre-
sentative of the rank of secretary. The
experts committee will report to the
apex court only.
Ashok Chawla panel
on gas trading
In order to strike a balance between
the state's ownership right over all
natural resources in the country and
its ability to get economic value for
these resources through a profession-
al body, the Ashok Chawla panel on
gas trading has recommended that
there should be a new public sector
company to work as the canalising
agency for natural gas in the country.
The panel has strongly recommended
the creation of a dedicated agency to
handle the purchase of all gas produced
in the country on behalf of the gov-
ernment. The Chawla panel has sug-
gested that companies like Reliance
Industries, ONGC, Essar and Cairn
Energy will have to sell their produce
to this new company, which in turn
will sell it to other industries. The com-
pany could either operate as a joint
venture between some of the public
sector energy units or as a public-pri-
vate enterprise.
At the same time, the panel does not
favour price-pooling of gas because it
will subsidise one set of industrial gas
consumers against the others.
On the basis of the recommendations
of the expert committee under the
Vijay Kelkar committee
The Maharashtra government has
appointed a 14-member committee
headed by the 13th Finance Com-
mission Chairman Vijay Kelkar to
suggest multiple instruments and
measures for the removal of region-
al imbalance in order to achieve in-
clusive growth. The committee
would decide indicators to assess
disparities in regional development
of the state after taking into consid-
erations the state government's di-
rect investments and expenditure
and also investments by the private
sector in the industrial sector. This
is the second such committee, after
one chaired by VM Dandekar had
submitted its report in 1984.
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Current Economy
Planning Commission member
Saumitra Chaudhuri, it has been pro-
posed notional price-pooling scheme.
Under the scheme, the gas purchase
contracts of fertiliser companies with
producers like Reliance Industries and
ONGC will not change. They will get
the price agreed upon in their produc-
tion-sharing contracts. However, the
weighted average price of gas from
various sources such as domestic gas,
which comes at $4.2-$5.65 per unit, and
the far more expensive imported liq-
uefied natural gas (LNG) will be cal-
culated and it will be assigned to all
gas consuming companies.
As a result, it would lead to slightly
higher price for gas to those who get
it cheap now, and a lower price for
those who currently use LNG, such as
Iffco, a fertiliser maker in the co-oper-
ative sector.
The notional pooling is to be imple-
mented by the fertiliser industry co-
ordination committee, a panel of sec-
retaries led by fertiliser secretary and
having members from the department
of expenditure, department of indus-
trial policy and promotion and the
agriculture department.
Rangarajan Committee
The committee, headed by the Prime
Minister's Economic Advisory Coun-
cil chairman, C Rangarajan, has
strongly recommended to wipeout
the distinction between plan and non-
plan expenditure. The end of distinc-
tion would bring simplicity and in-
stead of three columns at present, Plan,
Non-Plan and total, there will be only
one column, i.e., expenditure. And
moreover, there is no place where
such a distinction (Plan and non-Plan)
is made. It is, however, not in favour
of reclassifying revenue and capital
expenditure. The way revenue expen-
diture (revenex) is classified in the
Budget is considered obsolete by
many, as the method does not give a
true picture of the expense in creating
capital assets. It has been argued that
if the end-use of funds is for capital
creation, it should be classified as cap-
ital expenditure (capex). For examples,
aid to states for spending on infrastruc-
ture development is classified as
revenex, though it is in the nature of
capex. Infact, Plan expenditure is
aimed to measure what is spent on
productive asset creation for the gov-
ernment's programmes and flagship
schemes. Non-Plan expenditure in-
cludes defence expenditure, subsidies
and devolution to states, forming a
major part of total government spend-
ing.
Naresh Chandra Committee
Amidst persisting security threats, the
Government of India has decided to
conduct an assessment of the countrys
defence preparedness for which it has
constituted a task force which will
pursue recommendations made by the
Kargil Review Committee after the
1999 war (headed by strategic affairs
analyst, the late K Subrahmanyam).
The 14 member task force is headed
by Naresh Chandra. The panel is ex-
pected to submit its report within 6
months.
Along with reviewing the entire se-
curity systems, the task force will sug-
gest ways to implement recommen-
dations made by the Kargil report to
suit the countrys requirements in
present scenario. With the growing
arms of terrorism the security chal-
lenges in the nation have changed dra-
matically. The changing times have
necessitated looking at the national
security situation in the light of chal-
lenges ranging from cyber security to
energy security.
Indias Neighbours Makes it Manda-
tory to Review its Defence Prepara-
tion: The military modernisation pro-
gramme of China has made it manda-
tory for India to carry out a compre-
hensive review of its defence pre-
paredness to remain vigil at all times.
India had always desired peaceful re-
lations with all its neighbours Ne-
pal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and
Myanmar and is helping in the recon-
struction process in Afghanistan, but
strategically speaking, the security sit-
uation in all these nations is closely
linked and determines the internal
security of India as well. Given such a
unique interconnectivity between our
neighbours, security-related challeng-
es and their solutions need a united
approach from the entire region. The
main challenges for India from its
neighbours are terrorism, nuclear pro-
liferation, piracy and smuggling of
arms. This issue thus makes it com-
pulsory for India to timely review and
reinforce its military preparedness.
A Rahmani Panel
Nuclear Power Corporation of India
has set up a committee under A Rah-
mani of the Bombay Natural History
Society to study on marine ecology
and bio-diversity in the 10 kilometre
area around the Jaitapur site and to
suggest the possible impact of the
9,900-MW nuclear power park at Ja-
itapur on the ecology and bio-diver-
sity of the area.
V K Shunglu committee
The V K Shunglu committee was ap-
pointed to suggest ways to improve
the financial condition of power dis-
tribution utilities. The committee has
suggested that non-performing pow-
er regulators be sacked. The commit-
tee has further suggested stern mea-
sures because several state power reg-
ulators have not been carrying out
annual tariff revisions, mandated by
the Electricity Act and in this regard
the distribution utilities should be
heavily penalised if they fail to sub-
mit annual revenue requirement and
the tariff revision. It has been expect-
ed that if the recommendations are im-
plemented, then Rs 70,000 crore loss
of power utilities could be stopped.
Cyber Law Panel
Considering the security threat of
the country, the Cyber Law Panel
of India has recommended that
none of the 15 mediums of digital
communication used in the coun-
try, including Gmail, BlackBerry,
Nokia, and Skype, can be banned
for posing security threats because
they cannot be monitored by law
enforcement agencies. And as a so-
lution, there is a need to install a
Central Monitoring System (CMS)
which is capable of intercepting
any form of communication service
offered within the country.
Besides that the committee has rec-
ommended that India raise its en-
cryption levels from 40 bits to the
US-standard 256 bits. The country
currently legally disallows encryp-
tion beyond 40 bits so that its secu-
rity agencies can monitor commu-
nications on the Internet. More-
over, the ultimate solution should
involve intelligence agencies
building up capabilities indige-
nously to monitor and intercept
these technologies Home Ministry.
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Short News
Appointment
Ashok Parija
The Bar Council of India has been
elected senior advocate Ashok K. Par-
ija from Orissa as its chairman to suc-
ceed the former Solicitor-General,
Gopal Subramaniam. Senior advocate
and Bar Council member from
Madhya Pradesh Zafar Ahmed Khan
has been elected as vice-chairman. The
newly elected Chairman and Vice
Chairman shall continue in office
along with the other office bearers till
April 2012.
Rohinton Nariman
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Rohin-
ton Nariman has been appointed the
Solicitor General of India, the second
topmost government lawyer. Rohin-
ton Nariman, son of eminent jurist
Fali S. Nariman, succeeds Gopal Sub-
ramanium who resigned in the wake
of a controversy over Communica-
tions Minister Kapil Sibal opting for
Nariman to represent him in the apex
court in a case seeking probe against
him for allegedly favouring a telecom
operator. Rohinton Nariman was the
youngest lawyer to be designated a
senior advocate at the age of 37 years,
in 1993. One of the recent significant
cases that Nariman Jr handled was the
gas sharing dispute between Mukesh
Ambani-led RIL and Anil Ambani-led
ADAG.
Gopal Subramanium had served as a
government law officer for six years -
first as an Additional Solicitor Gener-
al from 2005 to 2009, and was later el-
evated as Solicitor General in 2009. He
has said that he had taken the extreme
step to protect the dignity of his post.
Attorney General and Solicitor Gen-
eral: The attorney general of India is
the Indian governments chief legal
adviser, and its primary lawyer in
dealing with the Supreme Court of
India. The attorney general for India
is appointed by the President under
Article 76(1) of the Constitution. The
solicitor general of India is appointed
to assist the attorney general along
with four additional solicitors gener-
al. The Solicitor General is assisted by
seven Additional Solicitors General
for India. Unlike the Attorney Gener-
al, the Solicitor General does not ten-
der legal advice to the Government of
India. His workload is confined to
appear in courts on behalf of the
Union of India.
Peter Thomson
The Assembly of the International
Seabed Authority (ISA) has elected
Fijis permanent representative to the
United Nations, Ambassador Peter
Thomson, as its President for the ISAs
annual session. The Assembly is the
supreme body of the ISA, consisting
of delegations from 161 member
states. It is here mentioned that ISA
was established by the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea held
in the year 1982 and Fiji became the
first nation to sign the convention in
1982. The International Seabed Au-
thority is an autonomous international
organization, to which state parties to
the Convention are given the respon-
sibility of organising, controlling and
administering the resources of the in-
ternational seabed beyond the limits
of national EEZs.
Ban Ki-moon
The United Nations General Assem-
bly has voted unanimously to elect
Ban Ki Moon for a second term as Sec-
retary-General and praised him for
strengthening the world bodys role
and visibility in difficult circumstanc-
es. The second term of the South Ko-
rean will start from January 1 2012 and
run through 2016.
Harish Manwani
Unilever Plc, the worlds second larg-
est consumer goods company has ap-
pointed Harish Manwani its new chief
operating officer (COO). Manwani is
currently chairman of the Anglo-
Dutch companys Indian unit, Hin-
dustan Unilever Ltd, and president of
its operations in Asia, Africa, and Cen-
tral and Eastern Europe.
Jos Graziano da Silva
Jos Graziano da Silva of Brazil was
elected director-general of the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO). Graziano da Silva received a
total of 92 votes out of 180 votes cast,
winning over former Spanish foreign
minister Miguel ngel Moratinos
Cuyaub, who received 88 votes. There
were no abstentions. Since 2006, he has
served as FAO assistant director-gen-
eral and regional representative for
Latin America and the Caribbean. As
Brazils Extraordinary Minister of
Food Security and Fight Against Hun-
ger he was responsible for implement-
ing the countrys highly-successful
Zero Hunger programme, in whose
design he also played a leading role.
The programme helped lift 24 million
people out of extreme poverty in five
years and to reduce undernourish-
ment in Brazil by 25 per cent. Graziano
da Silva is FAOs eighth director-gen-
eral (he succeeds Senegals Jacques
Diouf) and his term will start on Janu-
ary 1, 2012, and run through July 31,
2015.
Ranjan Mathai
The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet (ACC) has been approved the
appointment of Ranjan Mathai, IFS
(1974), as Foreign Secretary, for a term
of two years. On 1st August, he has
replaced Nirupama Rao, IFS, on her
retirement on July 31. Mathai was In-
dias Ambassador to France in Paris.
He has been serving as Indias ambas-
sador to France since January 2007.
Vinay Mittal
A 1975 batch officer of Indian Railway
Traffic Service, is the new chairman,
Railway Board and ex-officio princi-
pal secretary to the Government of
India. Mittal has replaced Vivek Sahai
who retired on June 30, 2011. Prior to
this appointment, Mittal was serving
as General Manager, South Eastern
Railway for nearly five months. He
was a member of the Indian delega-
tion which visited USA and China in
2005-06 in connection with wagon de-
signs and freight operations. He is
credited with improvements in freight
Nirupama Rao
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has
been appointed as the next Ambas-
sador of India to the United States of
America. She has succeeded Meera
Shankar who will take up her new
assignment shortly. She has been
succeeded as Foreign Secretary by
Ranjan Mathai, who was Indias Am-
bassador to France. Nirupama Rao
is a 1973 batch IFS officer; she had
been Indias Ambassador to Peru and
China and has also served as the In-
dian High Commissioner to Sri Lan-
ka. She has also held the position of
Minister in the Indian Embassy in
Washington. When she took charge
of her current post in 2009, she was
only the second woman to serve as
Foreign Secretary (first woman for-
eign secretary was ChokilaIyer).
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loading and punctuality performance
in Central Railway and North West-
ern Railway.
Christine Lagarde
The International Monetary Fund
board recently elected French Finance
Minister Christine Lagarde, a former
Chicagoan, as the new managing di-
rector of the global lender. Lagarde
becomes the first woman to head the
IMF. It is here mentioned that Lagar-
de succeeds Dominique Strauss-Kahn,
who resigned from the IMF in May to
defend himself against charges of sex-
ual assault against a New York hotel
maid. Earlier Lagarde left her post as
chairman of law firm Baker & McKen-
zie in Chicago in 2005 to serve as
former French President Jacques
Chiracs trade minister. She is the first
woman to serve as finance minister of
a G8 country and also leads the G20
council of finance ministers. Her im-
mediate concern is to oversee the ef-
forts being made by the IMF and the
EU to head off a Greek default that
could touch off an international crisis.
IMF and a Unique French Connec-
tion: Christine Lagarde has been elect-
ed to the post of IMF chief for a period
of 5 years. By the time her tenure ends
in June 2016, the French will have led
the IMF for 31 years out of the previ-
ous 38, following Pierre-Paul Sch-
weitzer (1963-1973), Jacques de
Larosire (1978-1987), Michel Cam-
dessus (1987-2000) and Strauss-Kahn
(2007-2011). Only two other nationali-
ties have headed the IMF for brief pe-
riods since 1978: Horst Khler of Ger-
many from May 2000 to March 2004,
and Rodrigo de Rato of Spain from
June 2004 to November 2007.
V.S. Hegde
V.S. Hegde, an expert in remote sens-
ing applications has been appointed
as the chairman of Antrix Corporation,
Indian Space Research Organizations
commercial arm. Hegde, currently
working as scientific secretary at the
Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO), becomes the first official to
hold the post in the relatively inde-
pendent corporation (he is first-full
time chairman and managing direc-
tor of Antrix); and the first non-Chair-
man of ISRO to head it. Ever since
Antrix was formed in 1992, successive
ISRO Chairmen, who are also Secre-
tary of the DoS and Chairmen of the
elite Space Commission, have headed
Antrix. It functioned under an Execu-
tive Director (there were three EDs so
far). The previous one, K.R. Sridhara
Murthy, was promoted as Managing
Director until he superannuated in
September 2010. The Antrix board cur-
rently includes Ratan Tata, chairman
of Tata Sons; J N Godrej, MD of Godrej
and Boyce and P Ravindra Reddy MD
of Hyderabad-based nuclear and de-
fence components manufacturer
MTAR Technologies, apart from senior
Isro scientists.
Antrix has earned revenue of R1023
crore in 2010-2011 as against Rs 883
crore in 2009-2010. It is primarily en-
gaged in the leasing of ISROs satel-
lite transponders and marketing its
space products including data from
earth observation satellites and the
building and launching of satellites
for global customers. With the launch
of GSAT-12, Antrix expects that it
would have around 200 transponders
by mid-2012, besides 86 currently on
lease from foreign operators.
Yudhishthir Khatau
Yudhishthir, vice-chairman and man-
aging director of the Mumbai-based
Varun Shipping Company has been
elected as the 41st President of the Bal-
tic and International Maritime Coun-
cil, popularly known as BIMCO. He is
the first president of BIMCO from In-
dia. Khatau succeeds German shipown-
er, Robert Lorenz-Meyer, who has com-
pleted his two-year time in office at
BIMCO. Varun Shipping is the largest
LPC tanker operator in the country.
About BIMCO: It is an independent
global shipping association founded
in 1905, with a membership composed
of ship owners, managers, brokers,
agents and many other stakeholders
in the shipping industry. BIMCO is ac-
credited as a Non-Governmental Or-
ganization (NGO) with all relevant
United Nations organs.
Prakash Bakshi
The Centre has been appointed
Prakash Bakshi as the new chairman
of the National Bank for Agriculture
and Rural Development (NABARD).
Prior to his elevation as Chairman, Dr
Bakshi was the Executive Director of
Nabard. He will be at the helm till
October 2013. Nabard has got an in-
sider heading the organisation after
eight years. The previous three chair-
persons Ms Ranjana Kumar (com-
mercial banker), Dr YSP Thorat (cen-
tral banker), and Mr UC Sarangi (bu-
reaucrat) were from outside Nab-
ard.
Pradeep Kumar
Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar has
been appointed as the next CVC (Chief
Vigilance Commissioner). He was
chosen CVC by consensus by a panel
comprising Prime Minister Manmo-
han Singh, Home Minister P Chidam-
baram and Leader of Opposition in
Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. He is a
Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1972
batch, and was Secretary, Defence Pro-
duction, before becoming the Defence
Secretary.
His appointment comes in the wake
of former CVC PJ Thomas appeal to
President for not appointing a CVC
till the court has decided on his peti-
tion. It needs to be remembered that
he had filed a writ petition in the Del-
hi High Court saying the new CVC
should be appointed only after a deci-
sion is taken on his March application.
The apex court had earlier held Tho-
mas was an accused in the palmoline
export scam in Kerala. The Supreme
Court said that the high-powered com-
mittees recommendation on appoint-
ment of Thomas does not exist in
law. The Supreme Court also held
that the PMs selection committee had
not considered the relevant docu-
ments for his case, and that it had ig-
nored earlier recommendations for
action against him listed by the De-
Harun Rashid Khan
The Government has appointed
Harun Rashid Khan as Deputy Gov-
ernor of Reserve Bank of India.
Harun Rashid Khan fills the vacancy
created due to the superannuation of
Ms Shyamala Gopinath. Following
this appointment, the RBI now has
four Deputy Governors. Besides Mr
Khan, the other Deputy Governors
are Dr K.C. Chakrabarty, Dr Subir
Gokarn and Anand Sinha. Prior to
being appointed as the Deputy Gov-
ernor, he was Executive Director of
RBI since October 2007. RBI deputy
governor is appointed for a maxi-
mum of five years with the retire-
ment age of 62. Khan will hold the
post for three years, as he will retire
in 2014.
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partment of Personnel and Training.
Nishi Vasudeva
Nishi Vasudeva has become the first
woman to join the board of the state
owned oil company, HPCL. She has
joined the board of HPCL, a Navratna
PSU, as Director (marketing). She was
selected for the board job at HPCL by
government headhunter - Public En-
terprise Selection Board in December
last year. Recently the Cabinet Com-
mittee on Appointments (ACC) gave
its consent to her appointment. The
post of Director (Marketing) in HPCL
fell vacant following the appointment
of incumbent Subir Roychowdhry as
the Chairman and Managing Director
of the company.
Narayana Murthy
The founder of Infosys N.R. Narayana
Murthy, has been chosen to head the
Public Health Foundation of India
(PHFI). He has succeeded former McK-
insey chief Rajat Gupta, after the US
Securities and Exchange Commission
named him a co-conspirator in an in-
sider trading scam along with billion-
aire Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon
Group, USA in March 2011.
He will lead a governing council
comprising Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Amartya Sen, Shiv Nadar, T K Nair, Y
V Reddy, AK Shiva Kumar and Mirai
Chatterjee among its members.
PHFI is basically meant to redress the
limited institutional capacity in India
for strengthening, training, research
and policy development in the area of
public health. The charter of PHFI in-
cludes establishing five-seven new in-
stitutes of public health over the next
six years, establishing a strong nation-
al research network of public health
and allied institutions that would un-
dertake policy and programme rele-
vant research that will advance public
health goals in prioritized areas.
Mario Draghi
Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi
has been appointed as head of the Eu-
ropean Central Bank at a Brussels sum-
mit of European Union heads of gov-
ernment. Draghi will succeed France's
Jean-Claude Trichet on Nov 1 and will
be president until 31 October 2019. It
has to be noted that the Greek crisis is
looming large and has threatened the
stability of entire Europe.
Removed
Maulana Ghulam
Mohammad Vastanvi
The 'Mohtamim' (Vice-Chancellor) of
Darul Uloom, Deoband, has been re-
moved by the Majlis-e-Shoora, the
powerful governing body of the in-
stitution. And in his place, Maulana
Abul Qasim Nomani of Kanpur has
been appointed the Vice-Chancellor.
His removal has taken place after the
report of the committee found him
guilty. One can note that the commit-
tee was constituted on February 23,
2011, to investigate charges against
Maulana Vastanvi, who had sparked
a controversy by praising Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi, after
he took over on January 10, 2011, fol-
lowing the death of Maulana Marg-
hoobur Rahman. Basically Dar-ul
Uloom was founded in 1866 by Maul-
ana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwai to
teach Islamic law (Shariah), Islamic
jurisprudence (fiqh) and traditional
Islamic spirituality (tasawwuf). It was
based on a syllabus known as Dars-e-
Nizami.
Death
M.F. Hussain
Maqbool Fida Husain, one of Indias
best-known artists, has died due to
complications caused by lung conges-
tion in London. He was 96. He was
described as the Picasso of India, was
one of the subcontinents best known
painters. His influence on contempo-
rary South Asian art was enormous.
Husain painted an estimated 25,000
works. His epic Mahabharata: The
Battle of Ganga and Jamuna was sold
for $1.6 million in 2008, setting a
world record at Christies South Asian
Modern and Contemporary Art sale.
Angered by Hindu hardliners, he left
India in 2006 and later became a citi-
zen of Qatar. M. F. Husain also direct-
ed few films. In 1967, Husains first
film, Through the Eyes of a Painter,
won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film
Festival. He was also honoured with
the prestigious Padma Shree, Padma
Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
Suresh Tendulkar
Professor Suresh D. Tendulkar, a not-
ed economist and a member of the
Central Board of Directors of the Re-
serve Bank of India expired recently.
Most known for his extensive work
on poverty, Prof. Tendulkar was Pro-
fessor of Economics at the Delhi
School of Economics, University of
Delhi, India, from 1978 until 2004,
where he also served a term as the
Executive Director of the Centre for
Development Economics. He had
served as the chairman of the Prime
Ministers economic advisory council
and was also a former part-time chief
of the National Statistical Commission
(2000-01), the first Disinvestment
Commission (1996-99), and the Fifth
Central Pay Commission (1994-97)
appointed by the Government of In-
dia. Some of books written by Suresh.
D. Tendulkar (a) India: Industrialisa-
tion in a Reforming Economy (b) Un-
derstanding Reforms: Post 1991 India
(c) Reintegrating India with the World
Economy.
Yelena Bonner
The Russian rights activist and wid-
ow of the Nobel peace prize winner
Andrei Sakharov died recently. Bon-
ner grew famous through her mar-
riage to Sakharov, the Soviet Unions
leading dissident, but she carved out
her own reputation as a tireless hu-
man rights campaigner in the face of
relentless hostility from Soviet author-
ities. Bonner spent the last years of her
life in the United States after becom-
ing disillusioned with modern Rus-
sia, horrified first by the brutality of
the war in Chechnya and later by van-
ishing freedoms under the rule of
Vladimir Putin, whose resignation she
demanded last year in an open letter
to the government titled Putin Must
Go.
BSS Rao
An art critic and secretary of the Sri
Lalithakala Academy Foundation,
died at the age of 82. He was a patron
of classical arts and music, and was
Hina Rabbani Khar
Hina Rabbani Khar has been appoint-
ed as the foreign minister of Paki-
stan, with this she becomes the first
Pakistani woman to be appointed to
the position. She was earlier the Min-
ister of State for Foreign Affairs. Her
appointment comes ahead of crucial
peace talks with India. She was ad-
ministered the oath of office at the
Aiwan-e-Sadr or presidency by Act-
ing President Farooq H Naik as Pres-
ident Zardari was away on a visit to
Afghanistan.
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nominated as a member of the South
Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, by
the Karnataka government in 2010 in
recognition of his yeoman services to
performing arts.
Sadhanatai
The 85-year-old, widow of the late
social worker Baba Amte, died at
Anandwan, their home for the lepro-
sy-affected at Warora in Chandrapur
district. Sadhanatai has been credited
with being an equal partner in their
service of the leprosy-affected people
during the 61 years of their compan-
ionship, as well as his Knit India mis-
sion for peace in Punjab, and during
the lonely seven-year stay on the
banks of Narmada during the Narma-
da Bachao Andolan.
Dr. Jack Kevorkian
Known for his lifelong crusade to le-
galize physician-assisted suicide, Dr.
Jack Kevorkian died recently due to
pulmonary thrombosis, a complica-
tion of a kidney-related ailment. He
was dubbed Dr. Death for his role
in assisting the suicides of more than
100 terminally ill people.
Albertina Sisulu
Albertina Sisulu, considered by many
to be the mother of South Africas lib-
eration struggle, a woman who was
hounded and jailed by the apartheid
government but who lived to see her
children assume leadership roles in a
democratic nation, died recently. A
humble but forceful woman, Mrs. Sisu-
lu was the widow of Walter Sisulu,
one of Nelson Mandelas earliest po-
litical mentors.
Nasser Hejazi
Legendary Iranian goalkeeper and
football coach Nasser Hejazi passed
away recently. Hejazi was goalkeep-
er of Iran national football team in
1960s and 1970s. Hejazi had won the
AFC Asian Cup twice. The keeper
played for Iran in the 1976 Olympic
Games and 1978 FIFA World Cup in
2000, the Asian Football Confedera-
tion had ranked him the second best
Asian goalkeeper of the 20th century
behind former Saudi Arabia keeper
Mohamed Al-Deayea.
Nataraja Ramakrishna
Popular Kuchipudi classical dancer,
well known for introducing the dance
form of Perini, Nataraj Ramakrishna
died recently. Ramakrishna was also
instrumental in the revival of Andhra
Natyam, a temple dance tradition per-
formed in the state. His Bhaama Ka-
laapam earned him followers from
across the world.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse, the Grammy
Award-winning singer/song writer
with a well-documented history of
drug and alcohol abuse problems, was
found dead at the age of 27 in London.
She entered the music scene in 2003
with her debut album "Frank" and her
second album "Back to Black" became
a hit. The album became famous for
songs like "You Know I'm No Good"
and "Rehab," and "Rehab" won the art-
ist three Grammy Awards in 2008 in-
cluding Record of the Year, Song of
the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal
Performance and made Winehouse the
first British singer to win five Gram-
mys, including three of the "Big Four":
Best New Artist, Record of the Year
and Song of the Year. The album was
nominated for Album of the Year and
won Best Pop Vocal Album. Wine-
house also won a Grammy for Best
New Artist, bringing her win total to
five and setting a record for most
Grammys won by a British female
performer. In May 2007 in Miami, she
married music industry hanger-on
Blake Fielder-Civil and divorced in
2009.
Dr Majid Shahriari
A member of the nuclear engineering
department of Shahid Beheshti Uni-
versity in northern Tehran was killed
and Iran has accused Israel for this in-
cident. One can recollect that Shahri-
ari was "one of the few specialists who
can separate isotopes" and has been a
"member of the Revolutionary Guards
since the revolution" in 1979. The sec-
ond blast seriously wounded the nu-
clear physicist Fereidoun Abbasi who
was also a professor at Shahid Beshesh-
ti University.
Newsmakers
Pauline Nyiramasuhuko
U.N. Court trying suspects of the 1994
Rwanda genocide has found a female
former government minister and her
son guilty of war crimes and gave them
life sentences, this makes Pauline
Nyiramasulmko the first ever wom-
an to be convicted of genocide. Pauline
Nyiramasuhuko, Rwandas former
minister for family and women af-
fairs, and her son, Arsene Ntahobali,
a former militia leader, were both
found guilty of genocide, war crimes
and crimes against humanity, includ-
ing rape. It is here underscored that
the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda was formed in 1994 with
the mandate to try the masterminds
of Rwandas genocide in which some
800000 people, mainly the Tutsis were
killed.
Talmiz Ahmad
Talmiz Ahmad, Indias Ambassador to
Saudi Arabia has become the first In-
dian diplomat to be conferred the
King Abdulaziz Medal of First Class
for his contribution to the promotion
of bilateral relations. Ahmad is the
first Indian diplomat to be conferred
such an honour by Saudi Arabia. The
main reason for giving this honour to
Talmiz Ahmad is the key role played
by him in raising the Indo-Saudi rela-
tions to a strategic level. Ahmad was
first appointed Indias ambassador to
Saudi Arabia in January 2000. He also
became the ambassador to Oman in
July 2003. Ahmad has also served in
several countries of the region includ-
ing the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
Kuwait, Iraq and Yemen.
K. Srinath Reddy
Currently president of the Public
Health Foundation of India and a
former head of the Department of
Cardiology at the All-India Institute
of Medical Sciences in New Delhi has
been awarded an honorary degree of
Doctor of Science by Scotland's Aber-
deen University for his pioneering
work in the field of public health.
Mani Kaul
Noted film maker Mani Kaul, who
was considered one of the pioneers
of new Indian cinema, died recent-
ly. He was ranked among the film
makers who contributed to new In-
dian cinema with their exemplary
movies. Mani Kaul began his ca-
reer with Uski Roti in 1969 which
won him the Filmfare Critics
Award for best movie and his oth-
er movies like Ashad Kaek Din,
Duvidha and Idiot also got
awards. His most notable work,
however, was his documentary Sid-
dheshwari which won the Nation-
al Award for Best Documentary
film in 1989.
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INS Godavari damaged
INS Godavari has been damaged after
PNS Babur brushed past it. The inci-
dent happened when a Pakistani ship
PNS Babur which was escorting Egyp-
tian merchant vessel m.v. Suez, moved
close to INS Godavari and damaged
INS Godavari.
World's 1st Lung Transplant
A team of British surgeons at the Uni-
versity Hospital of South Manchester
have successfully carried out the
world's first lung transplant on a 20-
year-old Becky Jones who was suffer-
ing from multi-resistant Aspergillus,
a common airborne fungus, and mul-
tiple fungal balls in her old lungs.
Jones first developed aspergillosis
because she has cystic fibrosis and be-
came allergic to the Aspergillus. As
she needed special drugs to improve
her breathing, the fungus grew in her
damaged airways to form large fun-
gal balls, known as aspergillomas.
Varyag
China's first aircraft carrier, Varyag -
a remodelled Soviet-era vessel - was
unveiled, amid escalating tensions in
the South China Sea. The ship is cur-
rently based in the northeast port of
Dalian. It needs to mention here that
the recent past has witnessed escalat-
ing tensions between Beijing and oth-
er rival claimants to the strategically
vital South China. China has claimed
mineral rights around the disputed
Spratly Islands in the South China Sea,
and argued that foreign navies cannot
sail through the area without Beijing's
permission. In September, 2010 Japan
and China had also clashed over the
disputed Senkaku Islands, known as
the Diaoyu Islands in China, located
in the East China Sea. But Chinese
maintains that its first aircraft carrier
would not pose a threat to other na-
tions, in accordance with Beijing's de-
fensive military strategy. The carrier
would be used for training and as a
model for a future indigenous-built
ship. The Varyag was originally built
for the Soviet navy but construction
was interrupted by the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991. The PLA - the
largest army in the world - is hugely
secretive about its defence programs,
which benefit from a large military
budget boosted by the nation's run-
away economic growth.
J.J. Irani
Dr Jamshed J Irani has resigned from
the board of Tata Steel after serving
the company for over four decades at
the age of 75. Irani had joined Tata Iron
and Steel Company (rechristened Tata
Steel) in 1968. Irani began his career
in 1963 as a Senior Scientific Officer at
the BISRA, Sheffield, where he rose to
the position of Head, Physical Metal-
lurgy Division. On his return to India,
he joined the Tata Iron and Steel Com-
pany.
Awards
INSEAD Award
The renowned business school and
research institution, INSEAD, has se-
lected Sunil Mittal, the founder and
chief of Bharti Enterprises with the
Business Leader for the World Award.
Beside Mittal, McKinsey and Compa-
ny Global MD Dominic Barton has
also bagged the award for their con-
tribution to business and societal
growth. It needs to be mentioned here
that, business leaders who have set
new standards in building successful,
sustainable, global enterprises that
span multiple cultures, embrace diver-
sity and contribute to economic and
social prosperity, have been honoured
with this award. Dipak C. Jain is the
Dean of INSEAD.
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The six Award recipients in 2011 en-
large the community of Magsaysay
laureates to 290 individuals and orga-
nizations spread across twenty-two
countries of Asia. The award is named
after famous Philippine president who
died in a plane crash in 1957. This year
"five remarkable individuals and one
exceptional organization, from Cam-
bodia, India, Indonesia, and the Phil-
ippines will receive Asia's highest
honor, the 2011 Ramon Magsaysay
Award. The Awardees are:
1.Alternative Indigenous Develop-
ment Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI), from
the Philippines. The organization is
being recognized for "their collective
vision, technological innovations, and
partnership practices to make appro-
priate technologies improve the lives
and livelihoods of the rural poor in
upland Philippine communities and
elsewhere in Asia."
2. The 44-year-old Harish Hande,
from India, runs his own solar electric
light company that has lit up over
120,000 households, to emerge as In-
dia's leading solar technology firm.
He is being recognized for "his pas-
sionate and pragmatic efforts to put
solar power technology in the hands
of the poor, through a social enterprise
that brings customized, affordable,
and sustainable electricity to India's
vast rural populace, encouraging the
poor to become asset creators." He
founded the company SELCO-India
with Neville Williams in 1995. A doc-
torate in energy engineering (solar
specialty) from University of Massa-
chusetts (Lowell) and a IIT Kharagpur
passout, Hande revolutionised use of
solar energy by developing equip-
ment tailor-made for the needs of ru-
ral Indians.
3. Hasanain Juaini, from Indonesia.
He is being recognized for "his holis-
tic, community-based approach to pe-
santren education in Indonesia, cre-
atively promoting values of gender
equality, religious harmony, environ-
mental preservation, individual
achievement, and civic engagement
among young students and their com-
munities."
4. Koul Panha, from Cambodia. He is
being recognized for "his determined
and courageous leadership of the sus-
tained campaign to build an enlight-
ened, organized and vigilant citizen-
ry who will ensure fair and free elec-
tions - as well as demand accountable
governance by their elected officials -
Jiaozhou Bay Bridge
China has inaugurated the world's
longest cross-sea bridge. The
Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, which is the
world's longest over-water bridge
at 26.4 miles, also opened today. This
bridge connects the port city of
Qingdao to the suburban Huangdao
on the other side of the bay. China,
with the world's largest population,
deals with often-crippling transpor-
tation congestion issues, so the gov-
ernment has spent billions of dol-
lars in recent years to alleviate these
issues. The bridge supported by
more than 5,000 pillars was built in
four years. Guinness World Records
says the previous record holder for
a bridge over water is the Lake Pont-
chartrain Causeway in Louisiana.
The Chinese bridge is more than 2.5
miles (4 kilometres) longer.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
- in Cambodia's nascent democracy."
5. Nileema Mishra, a lender to the
poor in Maharashtra, is being recog-
nized for "her purpose-driven zeal to
work tirelessly with villagers in Ma-
harashtra, India, organizing them to
successfully address both their aspi-
rations and their adversities through
collective action and heightened con-
fidence in their potential to improve
their own lives." The 29-year-old has
worked for empowerment of women
in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra and
has formed self help groups of over
2,000 women in 15 villages to provide
them livelihood avenues.
6. Tri Mumpuni, from Indonesia. She
is being recognized for "her deter-
mined and collaborative efforts to
promote micro hydropower technol-
ogy, catalyze needed policy changes,
and ensure full community participa-
tion, in bringing electricity and the
fruits of development to the rural ar-
eas of Indonesia."
World Food Prize 2011
John Kufuor of Ghana and Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva of Brazil have been
awarded this years World Food Prize
for cutting hunger in half while serv-
ing as President of their nations. It was
the first time the award; created 25
years ago by Nobel Peace Prize win-
ner Norman Bourlag, recognized the
seminal role of national leaders in
fighting hunger (both have been pres-
idents of their respective nations). It
should be noted that some 925 mil-
lion people, roughly one-in-seven
worldwide, are chronically hungry.
Contribution by Lula da Silva: With
his Zero Hunger program, Lula gave
top priority to combating hunger and
poverty in Brazil, a rising economic
power of 203 million people, while
president from 2003 to 2010. His pro-
grams included cash aid to poor fami-
lies, food purchases from small-scale
farmers and a school meals program.
Contribution by John Kufuor: Kufuor,
president of Ghana from 2001-09, used
public- and private-sector initiatives
to improve food security and reduce
poverty. They included a program to
provide one meal a day to schoolchil-
dren and educating farmers on best
farming practices. Ghana, with 25 mil-
lion citizens, was the first nation in
sub-Saharan Africa, to cut hunger in
half.
About the award: The World Food
Prize was created in 1986 by Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug
with the help of General Foods, and
since 1990 has been sponsored by busi-
nessman and philanthropist John
Ruan. The award recognizes the
achievements of individuals who have
advanced human development by
improving the quality, quantity or
availability of food in the world.
Previous winners
In 1987, M.S. Swaminathan of In-
dia
In 1988, Robert F. Chandler of
USA
In 1989, Verghese Kurien of India
In 1990, John Niederhauser of
USA
In 1993, He Kang of China
In 1994, M. Yunus of Bangladesh
In 1996, Henry Beachell and Gur-
dev Khush of USA and India re-
spectively.
In 1998, B.R. Barwale of India
In 2000, Dr. Evangelina Villegas
and Dr. Surinder K. Vasal of USA
and India respectively.
In 2005, Modadugu Vijay Gupta
of India
In 2011, John Agyekum Kufuor
and Luiz Incio Lula da Silva of
Ghana and Brazil respectively.
'Krishi Karman' Awards
The newly instituted 'Krishi Karman'
awards have been conferred to ten
states for best performance towards
raising production of food grains.
Three awards are being given for to-
tal food grain production and four
awards for production of rice, wheat,
coarse cereals and pulses - the crops
that constitute the food grain basket.
Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are the joint
winners of the Krishi Karman award
in the category of states with overall
food grain production of more than
10 million tonnes recorded in the last
five years. Assam and Orissa get the
award in the category of states with
overall food grain production of be-
tween one and 10 million tonnes.
Tripura is the sole winner in the cate-
gory of states with overall food grain
production of less than one million
tones. In the second set of four awards,
being given for individual crops and
crop groups, the award for rice goes
to Chhattisgarh, wheat to Haryana,
pulses to Maharashtra and Rajasthan,
and coarse cereals to Karnataka.
Betty Trask award
Author Anjali Josephs debut novel
Swarasati Park has created a splash
in the literary circles by winning the
Betty Trask award, in addition to this
she has also won the Desmond Elliot
Prize. The novel is about a Mumbai
housing complex and the lives of its
inmates.
About Betty Trask Award: The Betty
Trask Award is given to a first novel
written by authors under the age of 35
who reside in a current or former Com-
monwealth nation. The award was es-
tablished in 1984 by the Society of Au-
thors at the behest of Betty Trask, a re-
clusive author of 30 romantic novels.
About Desmond Elliot Prize: The Des-
mond Elliott Prize is an annual award
for a first novel written in English and
published in the UK. The award was
established in the year 2007. The inau-
gural Desmond Elliott Prize was
awarded in 2008 to Nikita Lalwani for
Gifted. In the year 20009, the award
was given to Edward Hogan for Black-
moor.
About Anjali Joseph: Anjali Joseph was
born in Bombay in 1978. She read En-
glish at Trinity College, Cambridge,
and has taught English at the Sorbon-
ne. More recently she has written for
the Times of India in Bombay and been
a Commissioning Editor for ELLE (In-
dia). She graduated from the MA in
Creative Writing at the University of
East Anglia with distinction in 2008.
Saraswati Park is her first novel.
Commander danslOrdre
des Palmes Academiques
Renowned economist and Planning
Commission member Narendra
Jadhav has been honoured with the
Commander danslOrdre des Palm-
es Academiques (Commander of the
Order of Academic Palms) award
one of the oldest French civil
distinctions.A former vice chancellor
of Pune University, Jadhav is also a
member of the National Advisory
Council, an academician and a writer.
He is the first Indian to be accorded
the honour originally founded by
Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808. In 1955,
it was established as an order and
awarded to eminent academicians,
authors, artists, scientists and profes-
sionals for their contribution in vari-
ous fields.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
Mercy Ravi Award
The first Mercy Ravi Award for Wom-
an of Substance has been given to Del-
hi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit for her
meritorious service to the people.
The award has been instituted by Mer-
cy Ravi Foundation, in memory of
Congress leader late Mercy Ravi, wife
of Union Minister for Civil Aviation
and Indian Overseas Affairs Vayalar
Ravi.
Ordre National du Merite
Amna Imran Khan a female Pakistani
DMG officer has been awarded the
prestigious French knighthood for
distinguished and extra ordinary ser-
vices for strengthening and promot-
ing cooperation between the Law En-
forcement Agencies of Pakistan and
France. Amna Imran Khan, a DMG
Officer, was conferred the Ordre Na-
tional du Merite by President Nicho-
las Sarkozy of France.
Dan Ordre Des Arts Et
Des Letters
Superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
has been honoured with the presti-
gious Officer Dan Ordre Des Arts Et
Des Letters by the French Government
in New Delhi. It is the second highest
civilian award in France and is an
equivalent of the Padma Vibhushan
award bestowed by the Indian gov-
ernment. (She is already a Padma
Shree winner). This distinction is con-
ferred by the French government on
persons who have distinguished them-
selves by their creativity in the field
of arts, culture or literature. Previous
winners include Robert Redford,
George Clooney, Meryl Streep and
Shah Rukh Khan. Aishwarya is the first
Asian actress and the youngest Indian
to win the honour.
Crans Montana Forum Award
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar became the first Indian to re-
ceive the Crans Montana Forum
Award. Since 1989, the Crans Montana
Forum has been awarding individu-
als who fight for peace, democracy and
liberty. Several Presidents and Prime
Ministers have received this award.
President of the United States of Amer-
ica, Barack Obama; Former Prime Min-
ister of Portugal and current President
of the European Commission, Jos
Manuel Barroso; Current President of
Finland, Tarja Halonen; Current Pres-
ident of the African Development
Bank, Donald Kaberuka; Current
Chancellor of Germany, Angela Mer-
kel are some of the previous recipi-
ents of this award.
International Merlin Award
The worlds largest magicians organ-
isation, the International Magicians
Society (IMS) of USA, has selected not-
ed illusionist and stunt performer
Gopinath Muthukad of Kerala for this
years prestigious International Mer-
lin Award. With this Magician Gopi-
nath Muthukad becomes only the 2nd
Indian magician to receive the covet-
ed International Merlin Award, the
Oscar of Magic. The first Indian to re-
ceive this award was P.C. Sorcar Jr.
IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
Irish writer Colum McCanns Let The
Great World Spin, a novel set in the
shadow of Philippe Petits 1974 tight-
rope walk between the twin towers of
the World Trade Centre, has won the
2011 International IMPAC Dublin Lit-
erary Award, one of the worlds most
lucrative book prizes. The prize is
worth 100,000. Past winners of the
award include Michel Houellebecq,
Orhan Pamuk, and Gerbrand Bakker,
who won last year for The Twin.
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fel-
lowships and Akademi Awards
for 2010
The Vice-President of India has con-
ferred the prestigious Sangeet Natak
Akademi Fellowships and Akademi
Awards for 2010. Four eminent per-
sonalities were conferred the Aka-
demis Fellowships, while thirty-six
artists and two scholars received the
Akademi Awards for 2010. The high-
est honour of Akademi Fellowship
(Akademi Ratna Sadasyata) was con-
ferred on eminent vocalist Girija Devi,
renowned dance guru Nataraja Ra-
makrishna, Dhrupad maestro Rahim
Fahimuddin Dagar, and Mridangam
vidwan T. K. Murthy. They received
purse money of Rupees three lakh,
besides an angavastram and a tamra-
patra. The Fellowship of the Akademi
is a rare honour, which is bestowed
on a very limited number of artists
and scholars at a given time. The em-
inent representatives of music, dance
and theatre honoured with the San-
geet Natak Akademi Award for 2010
received purse money of Rupees one
lakh, an angavastram and tamrapatra.
The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi
Ratna Sadasyata) and Akademi Award
(Akademi Puraskar) are the most cov-
eted national honours conferred on
performing artists, gurus and schol-
ars of the performing arts. These ho-
nours are decided by the Akademis
General Council, the apex body con-
sisting of eminent artists, scholars and
nominees of the Government of India
and of different States and Union Ter-
ritories of the country. Sangeet Natak
Akademi, established by the Govern-
ment of India on 31 May 1952, is the
National Academy of Music, Dance
and Drama.
Arjuna Awards
On the basis of the recommendations
the selection panel for the awards was
headed by P T Usha and comprised,
among others, tennis ace Leander Paes,
hockey icon Ashok Kumar, ace wom-
an boxer M C Mary Kom, shooter
Anjali Bhagwat and national squash
coach Cyrus Poncha. sns & agencies,
the following names are recommend-
ed for the various awards:
1. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award -
2011: Gagan Narang for Shooting. He
has won the World Cup gold twice as
well as the gold in the World Cup Fi-
nals.
2. Arjuna Awards 2011: Apart from
Zaheer Khan for Cricket, tennis star
Somdev Devvarman, archer Rahul
Banerjee, shooter Tejaswini Sawant,
Bangladesh
Swadhinata Sammanona
The Bangladesh government recent-
ly decided to confer the highest state
honour for 1971 foreign friends on
Indias assassinated Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi for her tremendous
contribution to its Liberation War
40 years ago. The Bangladesh cabi-
net decided to confer Bangladeshs
highest honour Bangladesh Swadh-
inata Sammanona upon former In-
dian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
It is here underscored that Indira
Gandhi was Indias premier in 1971
when she travelled across the world
to mobilise support for Bangladeshs
Liberation War against Pakistan
while her government provided
food and makeshift shelter to an es-
timated one crore or 10 million peo-
ple who fled their home to evade
atrocities by the Pakistani troops.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
athlete Preeja Sreedharan, Ravi Kumar
Katulu (Weightlifting), Jwala Gutta
(Badminton), Tejaswini Bai (Kabaddi),
Rakesh Kumar (Kabaddi), footballer
Sunil Chettri, hockey player Rajpal
Singh, boxer Suranjoy Singh, Sandh-
yarani (Ushu), Prashant Karmakar
(Disabled Sports) and gymnast Ash-
ish Kumar have also been recom-
mended for the Arjuna Award.
3. Dhyan Chand Award 2011: Former
Indian captain Shabbir Ali has become
the first footballer to be named for the
Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime
achievement. He is the only footballer
after P.K. Banerjee and Syed Nayee-
muddin, both Arjuna Award winners,
to have excelled as a player and coach.
4. Five coaches chosen for the Drona-
charya award were Ram Phal (wres-
tling), Devendra Kumar Rathore
(gymnastics), I. Venkateswara Rao
(boxing), Rajender Singh (hockey) and
Kunthal Kumar Roy (athletics).
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is
given to only one sportsperson in a
year. Arjuna Award is given to not
more than 15, Dhyan Chand Award to
not more than 3 and Dronacharya
Award to not more than 5 persons. The
Dinesh Khanna-led Arjuna award pan-
el had recommended increasing the
number of Arjuna awards to 19 in-
stead of the normal 15. Apart from a
medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a
cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh. Arjuna, Dhy-
an Chand and Dronacharya Awardees
will receive statuettes, citations and
cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each. The re-
cipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Puruskar will receive trophy and cita-
tion.
Books in News
1. Book The Age of Deception: Nu-
clear Diplomacy in Treacherous
Times is written by Mohamed Elba-
radei. He is ex-director of the UNs
International Atomic Energy Agency.
For the first time, the Nobel Prize lau-
reate and man in the middle of the
planets most explosive confronta-
tions speaks outon his dealings with
America, negotiations with Iran, re-
form and democracy in the Middle
East, and the prospects for a future
free of nuclear weapons.
2. Book River of Smoke is written
by Amitav Ghosh.
3. Book India- A Portrait is written
by Patrick French. The author has writ-
ten a thoroughly insightful and en-
grossing account of India. It shows
how some of the events have shaped
the current socio-economic-political
environment of India and what makes
it tick. Patrick French is an England
based writer and historian. He is the
author of (a) Young-husband: The
Last Great Imperial Adventurer,
which won the Somerset Maugham
Award and the Royal Society of Liter-
ature W.H Heinemann Prize, (b) Lib-
erty or Death: Indias Journey to In-
dependence and Division, (c) Tibet:
A Personal History of a Lost Land and,
(d) The World Is What It Is: The Au-
thorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul,
which won the National Book Critics
Circle Award and the Hawthornden
Prize.
4. Book Wular Kinarey (On the banks
of Wular) is an autobiographical writ-
ing by Syed Ali Geelani, of Huriyat
Conference.
5. Book The Wizard of Lies: Bernie
Madoff and the Death of Trust is
written by Diana B. Henriques.
6. Book Living My Dreams is writ-
ten by Joseph Reds Perreira (with
Catherine Atkinson). Joseph Reds
Perreira is one of the premier cricket
commentator from Guyana.
7. Book His Majestys Opponent is
written by Sugata Bose. The book
mentions the plot to assassinate Sub-
has Chandra Bose by the British SOE.
8. Book The Man Who Owns the
News: Inside the Secret World of Ru-
pert Murdoch is written by Michael
Wolff.
9. Book Does He Know A Mothers
Heart: How Suffering Refutes Reli-
gions is written by Arun Shourie.
10. Book The Last Man in Tower is
written by Aravind Adiga.
11. Book The Artist of Disappear-
ance is written by Anita Desai.
12. Book There but for the is writ-
ten by Ali Smith.
Sports
Badminton
Indonesia Open, 2011
Defending champion Saina Nehwal
faltered at the final hurdle, and failed
to complete the hat-trick of titles at
the Indonesia Open Super Series after
losing to Chinese world number three
Yihan Wang21-12, 21-23, 14-21 in the
final. Fourth-seed Saina was a point
away from clinching her third succes-
sive Indonesia Open title but she
squandered a match point at 20-19.
Indonesian Open: The Indonesia Open
in an annual badminton tournament
organized by Indonesia since 1982. It
became part of the BWF Super Series
tournament in 2007 and got the Pre-
mier Super Series status in 2011.
Badminton
World Federation (BWF)
The Badminton World Federation
(BWF) is the international governing
body for the sport of badminton. It
was founded in 1934 and was then
known as the International Badmin-
ton Federation. Initially it had only
nine member nations (Canada, Den-
mark, England, France, Ireland, Italy,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland
and Wales) but now it comprises of
165 member states. In the year 2006 its
name was changed to Badminton
World Federation (BWF). The head-
quarters of BWF is situated in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. Its current presi-
dent is Kang Young Joong.
Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine has
emerged as the undisputed world
heavyweight champion by defeating
Great Britain's David Haye on a unan-
imous points decision. Klitschko now
holds the IBF, WBO and WBA belts
after being awarded the fight by the
three judges 117-109, 118-108, 116-110
to claim victory over Haye, the former
WBA champion. With this, Klitschko
is the WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO and Ring
Magazine Champion. His older broth-
er Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC
champion. Klitschko is the longest
reigning Heavyweight Champion in
history for the IBF, WBO & IBO heavy-
weight titles, both in measurements
of defenses and time. It is important
to refer that Klitschko won the IBF belt
against Chris Byrd in 2006 and added
the WBO title two years later, while
Haye had been the WBA champion
since 2009. At the same time, it was
the first heavyweight unification bout
since Klitschko took the WBO belt
from Sultan Ibragimov at Madison
Square Garden in 2008 and the big-
gest title fight since Mike Tyson was
beaten by Lennox Lewis in 2002.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
Chess
J.C.D. Prabhakar
J.C.D. Prabhakar of Chennai and Bhar-
at Singh Chauhan of Delhi were re-
cently elected as president and secre-
tary respectively of the All-India Chess
Federation. For the period 2011-2014,
the office bearers of All India Chess
Federation (AICF) are (a) President:
J.C.D. Prabhakar (Tamil Nadu). (b)
Vice-Presidents: G. Bhasker (Anda-
man and Nicobar), DibyenduBarua
(Jharkhand), Shekar Chandra Sahu
(Orissa), A. Bakthavachalam (Puduch-
erry), A. Narasimha Reddy (Andra
Pradesh), Pradeep Jain (Uttaranchal).
(c) Secretary: Bharat Singh Chauhan
(New Delhi).
Cricket
Claire Taylor
The England cricketer Claire Taylor
has announced her retirement from
international cricket. The 35-year-old
represented England in 15 Tests, 126
one-day internationals and 27 Twen-
ty20 matches during her 14 years with
the England team and was the first
woman to be named one of Wisdens
five cricketers of the year. Taylor also
holds the record for the highest ODI
score at Lords by a man or women
an unbeaten 156 against India in 2006.
Football
15th Copa America
Uruguay won the Copa America for a
record 15th time after beating Para-
guay 3-0. Two goals from Diego For-
lan and another from Luis Suarez
helped Uruguay beat Paraguay. The
victory gives Uruguay its first Copa
America title since 1995. Paraguay had
won Copa America titles in 1979 and
1953 and reached the quarterfinals at
the 2010 World Cup. It is here men-
tioned that top teams like Argentina
and Brazil were upset again in the
quarterfinals of this tournament. Uru-
guay ousted Argentina on penalties
and Paraguay eliminated Brazil, also
in a shootout. It is here underscored
that Argentina has won the title 14
times and Brazil eight times. Brazil
had won four of the past five titles.
About Copa America: The Copa Amer-
ica was earlier known as South Amer-
ican Championship. It is an interna-
tional football competition for nation-
al teams of South America. The com-
petition is organized by CONMEBOL,
South Americas football governing
body. It is the oldest international con-
tinental football competition. This
year, the 43rd edition of the tourna-
ment was held in Argentina. Uruguay
has now won the Copa America 15
times, Argentina 14, Brazil 8 and Par-
aguay 2 times.
FIFA Womens World Cup
Japan has won the final of the Wom-
ens World Cup in Frankfurt beating
the USA on penalties 3-1 after a hotly
disputed match that saw each side
score twice. With this win Japan be-
came the first Asian nation to win the
Womens World Cup. The Japanese
denied the U.S. team the chance to be-
come the first nation to lift the cup
three times. Sweden finished third and
France ended fourth in the current
championship.
About FIFA Womens World Cup: The
FIFA Womens World Cup is an inter-
national association football compe-
tition organized by FIFA. The champi-
onship has been awarded every four
years since the inaugural tournament
in 1991 held in China. The inaugural
championship was won by USA. The
world cup 2011 was held in Germany.
The next World Cup will be hosted by
Canada in 2015. The best performing
nations are the USA and Germany; both
have won the championship twice.
Golf
British Open
Northern Irelands Darren Clarke has
won the British open golf, with this
victory he became the oldest winner
of the Open since Argentinas Rober-
to de Vicenzo had won at the age of 44
in 1967. It is here underscored that re-
cently Rory McIlroy of Northern Ire-
land became the youngest US Open
winner since 1933.
US Open 2011
Golf Tournament
Rory Mcllroy of Northern Ireland re-
cently won the 2011 US Open Golf
Tournament. With this win, Mcllroy
become the youngest US open winner
since Bobby Jones in 1923. This is the
first major title won by Mcllory in his
carrier till date.
Hockey
Michael Jack Nobbs
Australian Michael Jack Nobbs has
been appointed as the new coach of
Indian hockey team and his tenure will
lasts till the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olym-
pics. Nobbs piped renowned coach
Roelant Oltmans of the Netherlands
to the post. A committee comprising
officials of Hockey India (HI), the
Sports Authority of India (SAI), gov-
ernment representatives and Olympi-
ans finalised Nobbss name.
Womens Champions Trophy,
2011
The Netherlands won the womens
field hockey Champions Trophy 6-5
on penalties by defeating Argentina.
The 2011 Womens Hockey Champi-
ons Trophy was the 19th edition of the
Hockey Champions Trophy for wom-
en, it was held in Amstelveen, Neth-
erlands. The womens Champions tro-
phy will be remembered for the con-
troversy regarding the fight for the
spot in the final match. After the pre-
liminaries were over, the final origi-
nally was scheduled to be played be-
tween the Netherlands and South Ko-
rea, but the Argentine side protested
against the second round standing in
which they were ranked third behind
Korea based on goals scored in that
round. After a second appeal by the
Argentine team, the final day sched-
ule was changed, since the regulations
stated that in case of a draw in points
in the second round, the total points
in the tournament should be the next
tie-breaker.
Racing
British GP
Spains Fernando Alonso has won the
British Grand Prix for Ferraris first
victory of the season on the 60th anni-
versary of their first success in For-
mula One. The win was gifted to him
by Red Bull after world champion Se-
bastian Vettel was slowed by a wheel
nut problem at his second pit stop. This
was 27th win Alonsos career and lift-
ed him level with the great Jackie Stew-
art in fifth position in the all-time lists.
Moto GP
Records of the 2011 World Cup
Record Winner
Golden Ball Homare Sawa,
Japan
Silver Ball Abby Wambach,
USA
Bronze Ball Hope Solo, USA
Golden Shoe Homare Sawa,
Japan
Golden Glove Hope Solo, USA
Fair Play Award Japan
TIMES
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Short News
Australian Casey Stoner regained the
lead in the Moto GP world champion-
ship after winning the British Grand
Prix at Silverstone. He defeated the
defending champion Jorge Lorenzo.
Following his fourth victory of the
season, Stoner now has 116 points in
the standings.
Tennis
Wimbledon 2011
Mens Single: Serbias Novak Djokov-
ic has won his first Wimbledon title
and proved himself the best player in
the world with a stunning win over
Spains Rafael Nadal. Djokovic came
through 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 to end Nadals
reign as Wimbledon champion. With
this victory Djokovic became number
one overtaking Nadal. It was his 50th
win in 51 matches and his fifth win
over Nadal this year. He becomes the
first Serbian man to win Wimbledon,
his third Grand Slam title after two
Australian Open victories.
Womens Single: Petra Kvitova of
Czech Republic won her first Grand
Slam title by beating Maria Sharapo-
va (Russia) 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon
final, 2011. Kvitova was playing in her
first major final. The 21-year-old Kvi-
tova is the first left-handed woman to
win the Wimbledon title since Marti-
na Navratilova in 1990.
Mens doubles: American twins Bob
and Mike Bryan won a record-tying
11th Grand Slam mens doubles title
together by beating Robert Lindstedt
of Sweden and HoriaTecau of Roma-
nia 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the Wimbledon
final. The Bryans have now equalled
Todd Woodbridge and Mark Wood-
fordes record of 11 Grand Slam team
titles. This is their 2nd Wimbledon ti-
tle, they won their first Wimbledon
title in 2006 to complete a full set of
the four Grand Slam titles. They have
won the Australian Open five times,
the U.S. Open three times and lifted
the French Open trophy in 2003.
Womens doubles: In womens dou-
ble event Kvta Peschke of Czech Re-
public and Katarina Srebotnik of Slo-
venia defeated Sabine Lisicki of Ger-
many and Samantha Stosur of Austra-
lia. This is their first grand slam title
in Womens Doubles and first Wim-
bledon title.
Mixed doubles: Iveta Benesova of the
Czech Republic and Jurgen Melzer of
Austria won the mixed doubles final
at Wimbledon, beating Elena Vesni-
na of Russia and Mahesh Bhupathi of
India 6-3, 6-2.
About Wimbledon: Wimbledon is the
worlds oldest and, to many, most
prestigious tennis tournament. It has
been held at the All England Club in
the London suburb of Wimbledon
since 1877. Wimbledon is the only
Major still played on grass, the games
original surface, which gave the game
of lawn tennis its name. The other
major grand slams are: Australian
Open (hard court, Plexicushion),
French Open (clay court) and US Open
(hard court, Deco Turf).
ITF juniors
Fifteen-year-old tennis player Ambi-
ka Pande has won the Canadian U-18
juniors world ranking tournament in
Vancouver. Ambika beat Canadas
third seeded Gloria Liang 6-4 4-6 7-
6(5) in the final to win the ITF juniors
U-18 event. With this win she became
the first Indian ever to win the Cana-
dian U-18 ITF Junior World Ranking
Championship.
Places
Pyeongchang city
The International Olympic Commit-
tee has chosen Pyeongchang city of
South Korea to host the 2018 Olympic
Winter Games. The other two bid cit-
ies were Munich, Germany, and An-
necy, France. Pyeongchang narrowly
failed in its bids for 2010 and 2014, los-
ing by three votes to Vancouver, Can-
ada, for last years event and by four
votes to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014
event. South Korea has never hosted
the Winter Games, though the capital
city of Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer
Games. Had it won, Munich would
have been the first city to host both
the summer and Winter Olympics. The
city attracted the Summer Games in
1972. The Winter Games have been
staged twice in Asia, both times in Ja-
pan Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in
1998.
About Winter Olympics: The Winter
Olympic Games are held every four
years. The first celebration of the Win-
ter Olympics was held in Chamonix,
France, in 1924.Some of the competi-
tions held at winter Olympics include:
- alpine and cross-country skiing, fig-
ure skating, ice hockey, Nordic com-
bined, ski jumping, and speed skating
etc. The Winter Olympics have been
hosted on three continents, but never
in a country in the southern hemi-
sphere. The United States has hosted
the Games four times; France has been
the host three times. In 2014 Sochi will
be the first Russian city to host the
Winter Olympics. In 2018 Pyeo-
ngchang, South Korea, will be the
third Asian city to host the Winter
Olympics.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Padmanabhaswamy Temple is one of
the most famous Lord Vishnu Tem-
ples in Kerala, South India. It is also
known as Sree Ananda Padmanab-
haswamy Temple. The shrine is cur-
rently run by a trust headed by the
royal family of Travancore. Referenc-
es to the temple can be found in the
Divya Prabandha canon of literature
written by Tamil Alwar. Alvars were
the Tamil Saint poets who lived be-
tween the sixth and ninth centuries
AD. References to Sri Padmanabha
Temple is also said to have in the Brah-
ma Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha
Purana, and Vayu Purana. The temple
is one of 108 Divya Desams - principal
centres of worship of the deity in
Western Ghats
The Karnataka government has said that it is not interested in the UNESCO
tag for the Western Ghats. It is believed that the UNESCO tag will mean a no-
go area for people, including tribals living in the forests of the Western
Ghats. A large population resides in the Western Ghats regions, spread across
10 districts - Shimoga, Dakshin Kannada, Udupi, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kanna-
da, Hassan, Belgaum, Dharwad, Hubli and Uttara Kannada. Of the 176 reve-
nue taluks in the State, the Western Ghats forests are spread across 59 taluks.
It is not possible for the Government to force the people out of these re-
gions." Of the 39 forests for nomination from the Western Ghats in Kerala,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Maharashtra, there are 10 forest zones in
Karnataka for which the UNESCO tag is being sought. These include the
wildlife sanctuaries at Pushpagiri, Brahmagiri, Talacauvery and Somesh-
wara, apart from the Kudremukh national park.
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Vaishnavism. The temple was con-
structed in the Dravidian style of ar-
chitecture, is glorified in the Divya
Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil
literature canon of the Tamil Alvar
saints (6th-9th centuries CE), and with
structural additions to it made
throughout the 16th century CE, when
its ornate Gopuram was constructed.
The principal deity of the temple is
Padmanabhaswamy, it is enshrined in
the "Anantha-sayanam" posture (in the
eternal sleep of Yoga-nidra on the ser-
pent Ananta).
Major Renovation of Temple by Mar-
thanda Varma: It is believed that Sree
Padmanabhaswamy Temple and its
properties were maintained by Et-
tuveetil Pillamar - the eight powerful
Nair feudal lords of ancient Travan-
core. Later Marthanda Varma sup-
pressed the Ettuveetil Pillais and his
cousins and took over the control of
the temple. Marthanda Varma had
done a major renovation to the tem-
ple and it is said that the current struc-
ture of Padmanabhaswamy temple
was made by him. Marthanda Varma
introduced the Murajapamand Bhadra
Deepam festival in the temple. Mura-
japam, which literally means contin-
uous chanting of prayers, is still con-
ducted in the temple once in 6 years.
Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple was
in the news on account of the vast trea-
sure found in its secret vaults. It is nat-
ural for everyone to get curious about
the temple and its invaluable treasure
which was lying unknown to the
world all these days.
Two committees appointed by Su-
preme Court to supervise temple trea-
sure: The Supreme Court recently ap-
pointed two committees to supervise
the discovery and protection of the
huge wealth recently uncovered in the
vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy
Temple. One of the committees, a five-
member panel would be headed by
C.V. Ananda Bose, Director-General of
the National Museum. The other three
member panel is headed by Justice
M.N. Krishnan, retired High Court
judge. Both committees are to cooper-
ate with each other. The apex court also
directed the Kerala government to pro-
vide adequate security on the temple
premises to protect the assets. It also
directed the panel to sort the assets into
three categories - those with heritage
value, those which can be used for reg-
ular worship in the temple and those
having no monetary value.
Goa's Mhadei sanctuary
Over 35 tigers have been found resid-
ing in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary sit-
uated in Sattauri Taluk of north Goa,
about 60 to 90 kms from hot tourism
hot spot beaches such as Anjum, Bom-
bolin and Colva. Mhadei sanctuary is
a contiguous tiger landscape with ti-
ger areas in Karnataka.
Olkiluoto 3
Olkiluoto 3 which is on the shore of
the Gulf of Bothnia in the municipali-
ty of Eurajoki in western Finland.
would be the first operational plant
using Areva's EPR technology. The
Olkiluoto plant consists of two Boil-
ing Water Reactors (BWRs) with 860
MWe each and the unit 3 is based on
EPR technology. Finland's Radiation
and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK)
has assured India to assist with its ex-
perience in the case of Jaitapur.
Quazigund to Banihal
By 2016, Asia's longest all-weather
two twin tunnels being built on the
NH-1A, which connects Jammu with
Srinagar would reduce the distance
between the two towns by almost
51km, lessening travel time will be
reduced to 5-6 hours from the current
8-10 hours. The tunnels are being con-
structed by the National Highways
Authority India (NHAI) at two points
- Quazigund to Banihal and Chenani
to Nishri, which are part of the wid-
ening of the Jammu-Srinagar highway
project. Two parallel 8.5km tunnels
between Quazigund to Banihal are
being built by Indian infrastructure
major Navayuga Engineering Co. at
1,790m above the sea level.
The second twin 8.9km tubes built
through the Patnitop hills are being
built between Chenani and Nashri at
1,300m above the sea level by Austra-
lian infrastructure major, Leighton.
Both the Quazigund-Banihal and Che-
nani-Nashri tunnels are built with the
help of New Australian Tunneling
Method (NATM) technique, where a
portion of the rock is cut and explo-
sives are fixed. Then, controlled ex-
plosions are carried out to hollow out
rocks for laying the road.
Mount Lokon volcano
Indonesias Mount Lokon erupted and
threw hot lava and volcanic ash as
high as 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) in the
north of Sulawesi Island. The eruption
set ablaze the forests around the cra-
ter. It is here underscored that Indo-
nesia, the worlds fourth most popu-
lous country, is on the Pacific Ring of
Fire and is frequently prone to natu-
ral disasters such as earthquakes, vol-
canoes, tsunami and floods.
About Mount Lokon: Mount Lokon,
together with Mount Empung, is a
twin volcano situated in the northern
Sulawesi, Indonesia. Both rise above
the Tondano plain and are among ac-
tive volcanoes of Sulawesi. Mount
Lokon has a flat and craterless top.
Lokonwas formed during a period of
andesitic volcanism on ring fractures
resulting from the Tondano calderas
early to mid-Pleistocene collapse.
Mount Lokon is one of about 129 ac-
tive volcanoes in Indonesia.
Puyehue-Cordon Caulle
Volcano
A volcano in the Caulle Cordon of
southern Chile erupted recently,
shooting out pumice stones and
pluming a cloud of ash 10 kilome-
tres high and five kilometres wide.
Puyehue and Cordn Caulle are two
coalesced volcanic vents that form a
major mountain massif in Puyehue
National Park in the Andes of Ranco
Province, Chile. In volcanology this
group is known as the Puyehue-
CordnCaulle Volcanic Complex
(PCCVC). Four different volcanoes
constitute the volcanic group or
complex, the Cordillera Nevada
caldera, the Pliocene Mencheca vol-
cano, CordnCaulle fissure vents
and the Puyehuestrato volcano. The
volcanic complex is responsible for
shaping the local landscape and pro-
ducing a huge variety of volcanic
landforms and products over the last
300,000 years. CordnCaulle is no-
table for having erupted following
the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the
largest recorded earthquake in his-
tory. Apart from this, the Puyehue-
CordnCaulle area is one of the main
sites of exploration for geothermal
power in Chile Geothermal activity
is manifested on the surface of Puye-
hue and CordnCaulle as several
boiling springs, solfataras and fuma-
roles.
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What Causes Volcanoes: The earth has
three main layers: the crust, the man-
tle and the core. The crust is made up
of solid rock and varies in thickness.
It is more than 60km thick under
mountain chains like the Alps and
Himalayas, but just 5km under the
oceans. The mantle is a thick layer of
molten rock (called magma), and the
core is made up of an outer liquid lay-
er and a solid centre. Temperatures
inside the earth are very high over
5000C in the core. This means that the
earth is like a huge fiery ball of hot
molten rock, surrounded by a few ki-
lometres of relatively cool, hard rock
the crust. Because heat rises, the mag-
ma in the earths mantle has to find a
way to raise upwards though the crust
above it, rather like the way that hot
air rises. A volcano erupts when mag-
ma escapes from inside the earth. As
the magma is escaping from a con-
fined space, a lot of energy is released
with it, as happens with any other ex-
plosion. This is why many eruptions
also produce huge quantities of gases
and dust. Magma sometimes rises un-
der enormous pressure, so it not only
finds cracks in the earths crust, it can
also create them. When magma reach-
es the earths surface it is called lava.
Why Indonesia has the most volca-
noes: Because Indonesia is located on
the rim of two tectonic plates: the In-
dian and Asian plates. The Indian plate
is moving northward pushing against
the Asian plate. Part of the Indian plate
plunged into the earth and part of the
Asian plate move upward and form-
ing the Himalayan Mountain. Anoth-
er reason for such volcanic activities
in Indonesia is its location on the Pa-
cific Ring of Fire.
The Pacific Ring of Fire: More than
half of all the worlds volcanoes are
found in the Pacific Ring of Fire. This
area forms a circle stretching down the
eastern side of the Pacific Ocean, from
Alaska in the north, through the Rocky
Mountains of Canada and the USA, to
the Andes Mountains of South Amer-
ica. It loops back around the western
side of the Pacific, up through New
Zealand, Indonesia and Japan. Many
of the worlds most famous volcanoes
are found in this Ring of Fire, for ex-
ample, the Cotopaxi in Ecuador,
Mount St Helens in the USA, and
Krakatoa in Indonesia.
Rajasthan
Vijayee Bhava
A six-day joint exercise of the Indian
Army and the Air Force was held in
the deserts of Bikaner and Suratgarh
near the Pakistan border in order to
boost the synergy between the defence
forces. Exercise Vijayee Bhava
(blessed to win) is the first amongst a
series of Western Command routine
annual summer exercises. Vijayee Bha-
va involved tank-to-tank wars, heli-
copter operations and others. Battle-
field tactics for warfare were practised
in the exercise that aimed at fine-tun-
ing the concept of Cold Start doctrine.
The manoeuvres were conducted in
North Rajasthan to test the operational
and transformational effectiveness of
the Ambala based Kharga Corps as
well as validates new concepts which
have emerged during the transforma-
tion studies undertaken by the Army.
Basic objectives: The Indian Army is
working towards a capability based
approach, and has embarked on a se-
ries of transformational initiatives
spanning concepts, organizational
structures and absorption of new age
technologies, particularly in the fields
Jammu and Kashmir
Job-linked programme for 1 lakh youth
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a pro-
posal to provide job-linked skill training to one lakh youth in Jammu and
Kashmir over the next five years under a centrally sponsored scheme. The
training will be provided under Skill Empowerment and Employment Spe-
cial Scheme for J&K, which will be 100 per cent centrally assisted and cost the
exchequer Rs 235.3 crore. The scheme is a placement linked, market driven
skill training programme for J&K youth. The placements will be in the
private sector both within and outside J&K. The scheme will commence
from June-July this year and cover youth from both Below Poverty Line and
non-BPL categories. In the first year, 15,000 youth will receive training for
salaried and self-employment opportunities. A recommendation in this re-
gard had been made by a committee headed by former RBI Governor C
Rangarajan. The panel was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
suggest measures to enhance employment opportunities in the state and
formulate a plan involving both private and public sectors.Intended bene-
fits for the Youth of the Valley: The scheme assumes significance, as the state
of Jammu and Kashmir is grappling with the unemployment problem with
the number of educated and skilled and unskilled youth increasing every
year. Though the state government has taken several initiatives to tackle
with the problem yet the absence of adequate industrial sector and corporate
sector the youth mainly look towards the government for white collar jobs.
The decision is expected to give a boost to bring the youth of the valley into
mainstream because the scheme guarantees 75 per cent of placement in various
industry and other offices throughout the nation. Under the scheme, different
training strategies will be used for diverse groups of youth - school dropouts,
dropouts of XII class level, and those who have had college education.
of precision munitions, advance sur-
veillance systems, space and network-
centricity. During the conduct of the
exercise, combat decisions taken at each
level of command are analyzed for
their ability to synergize the applica-
tion of state-of-the-art weapon plat-
forms, to achieve optimum results. Such
routine exercises with troops are con-
ducted during the training cycles of for-
mations.
Himachal Pradesh
Indias first carbon credit deal
World Bank recently signed an agree-
ment with Himachal Pradesh govern-
ment for what is tipped to be the
worlds largest and Indias first clean
development mechanism (CDM)
project. Under the Emission Reduction
Purchase Agreement, the World Bank
will buy carbon credits from the new
forests being developed on degraded
lands under a watershed management
programme. The agreement would be
in force till December 2018. The project
would impact an area of 4,003.07 hect-
ares. The figure for the area surpasses
the 3,500 hectares for CDM project of
China, to make it the largest project of
its kind in the world. With the signing
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of this agreement, there are now 18
World Bank-supported carbon revenue
programmes underway worldwide.
This places India on the global map of
a future economy largely to be mea-
sured in terms of accruing carbon cred-
its. One tonne of carbon dioxide con-
verted into biomass under new plan-
tations is counted as one credit. Besides
being the first pilot project for India; it
would be the worlds first carbon cred-
it project that is linked to an on-going
watershed management programme.
The broad objective of the bio-carbon
CDM project is to sequester greenhouse
gases by expanding forestry planta-
tions on mostly degraded lands apart
from creating a carbon sink. Besides
China, other countries where CDM
projects are underway include Hondu-
ras, Kenya and Ethiopia.Spread over
11 watershed divisions in 177 gram
panchayats across 10 districts under the
mid-Himalayan watershed develop-
ment programme, the CDM agreement
is estimated to fetch carbon revenue of
at least Rs 20 crore for the first credit-
ing period of 20 years. The carbon rev-
enues have been calculated at a modest
US $5 per tonne of carbon dioxide ac-
cumulated in tree biomass, above as
well as under the ground. The carbon
revenue will primarily go to the vil-
lage community and provide an incen-
tive to protect watershed and forests.
Programmes
and Policies
NATGRID project
The Cabinet Committee on Security
(CCS) headed by Prime Minister has
given in-principle approval to the
NATGRID project. The project will net-
work the entire database in the nation
that contain vital information and in-
telligence and enable security agencies
to meet the challenge of terrorism bet-
ter. It needs to be mentioned here that
the Ministry of Home Affairs provid-
ed the CCS a detailed briefing and pre-
sentation about the NATGRID project,
along with safeguards and oversight
mechanisms. The data gathered with
the help of NATGRID project will fa-
cilitate robust information sharing
among law enforcement agencies to
combat terror threat at home and
abroad more efficiently.
Importance of NATGRID: One of the
weaknesses in the Indian internal se-
curity system is the fact that each data-
base stands alone, without being able
to talk to another. The owner of one
database is unable to access another
database in India. As a consequence,
crucial information that is available in
one database was not available to an-
other agency. The NATGRID project
seeks to remedy this deficiency. The
NATGRID will have access to about 21
categories of database like railway and
air travel, income tax, bank account
details, credit card transactions, visa
and immigration records. As per the
initial plan, access to the combined data
will be given to 11 agencies, which in-
clude various central intelligence agen-
cies and the National Investigation
Agency among others.
Important Facts about NATGRID: (a)
The Natgrid is the brainchild of Home
Minister P. Chidambaram after the 26/
11 Mumbai terror attacks. (b) Raghu
Raman, who was in the private sector
earlier, is the CEO of the project. He
was hired for a period of 18 months to
finalize the project but the government
has given him six-month extension till
Nov 2011 to complete the project.
DGCA stripped
of investigative powers
Acting strongly on the Faridabad air
crash that claimed 10 lives, the govern-
ment created an independent panel to
probe major aviation accidents, sepa-
rating the role of a regulator and an
investigator which was being per-
formed by the DGCA alone so far.
From now onwards the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will
no longer be the three-in-one investi-
gator-prosecutor-judge combine when
it comes to investigating serious air
mishaps. In order to effectively inves-
tigate any serious air crash the govern-
ment has now established an indepen-
dent Accident Investigation Commit-
tee. The Committee will investigate all
aircraft accidents in country in accor-
dance with the Standard and Recom-
mended Practices (SARPs) of the Inter-
national Civil Aviation Organisation.
The newly establish committee will
work under the supervision of the Min-
istry of Civil Aviation. The five-mem-
ber committee, will be headed by di-
rector of air safety, and will draw all
its members from the Directorate gen-
eral of civil aviation. It would identify
the causes of accident in an indepen-
dent manner and assist the formal
probe panels like Courts or Commit-
tees of Inquiry.
The Accident Investigation Commit-
tee shall have following function and
responsibilities: (a) Draw up a formal
procedure for the notification of an ac-
cident or serious incident as per ICAO
Annex 13. (b) Assist Ministry of Civil
Aviation in the formation of Court of
Inquiry and Committee of Inquiry in
case of major accidents. (c) Carry out
investigation of aircraft accident and
serious incident and nominate teams/
groups for the purpose. (d) Coordinate
and provide support for the working
of Court of inquiry and Committee of
Uttar Pradesh
Apex court on Ayodhya dispute
The Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha of the Supreme Court has
found it "strange and surprising" that the Allahabad High Court took upon
itself to "partition" the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site, leaving a one-
third slice for Ram Lalla. The apex court has questioned that how the wisdom
of the three judges had divided the disputed site without the litigants having
ever asked for such "relief".
A Bench of Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D V Sharma (since retired)
of Allahabad High Court in the 60-year-old Ayodhya dispute had ruled in a
majority judgment of 2:1 for a three-way division of the "roughly 15,000
square feet site" occupied by the mosque before its demolition on December
6, 1992 - one-third for the Sunni Waqf Board, one-third for the Nirmohi
Akhara and one-third to the party for Ram Lalla. As a result of this observa-
tion of the apex court, status quo would be maintained and this would mean
that a lone pujari can conduct worship in the makeshift temple built at the
site - a custom legitimised in the Ayodhya Act of January 7, 1993. The Bench
banned any mode of activity in the 67 acres acquired by the government
following apex court orders of March 13 and 14, 2002.
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Inquiry. (e) Follow-up/monitor the
compliance of the recommendation
made in the Accident and Serious Inci-
dent Investigation Reports. (f) It shall
review periodic report of all occurrenc-
es for classification and further action
required.
ADBs North Eastern States
Roads Investment Programme
The Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs recently approved the project
proposal titled ADB assisted North
Eastern State Roads Investment Pro-
gramme (NESRIP), a centrally spon-
sored scheme of the Ministry of Devel-
opment of North Eastern Region to
construct / upgrade/ improve a total
of 433 km long roads in six NE States at
an estimated cost of Rs. 1353.83 Crore
to be implemented over a period of 5
years i.e. 2011-2016. The State wise road
lengths to be undertaken under the
project are: Assam 74.70 km, Megha-
laya 93.40 km and Sikkim 34.20 km in
Tranche-I and Assam 62.90 km, Ma-
nipur 93.20 km. Mizoram 55.00 km and
Tripura 20.30 km in Tranche-II. It is here
underscored that the Ministry of De-
velopment of North Eastern Region is
the Executing Agency for the project
and is responsible for overall coordi-
nation with ADB and participating
States and monitoring the progress of
the project. The project is going to ben-
efit the large population living in the
North-East with lower transportation
costs, faster transit and encouragement
of livelihood opportunities in the re-
gion.
National Environmental
Appraisal and
Monitoring Authority
The Government of India recently an-
nounced the setting up of the National
Environmental Appraisal and Moni-
toring Authority, a professional, sci-
ence-based autonomous body, as part
of efforts to bring in institutional re-
forms and to improve environmental
governance in India. Once appraised
by NEAMA, the environment related
projects would be sent with a recom-
mendation to the Minister of Environ-
ment and Forests for approval. NEA-
MA will be a full-time body of profes-
sionals for environmental appraisals
against the current system of apprais-
als done by environmental committees
that are ad hoc and meet once in a
month. It will maintain its own real-
time and time-series databases on pol-
lution loads across the country. The
body will also ensure compliance with
the conditions imposed on new
projects that are granted environmen-
tal clearance.
Need for NEAMA: The need for a body
like NEAMA arises from the rapid in-
dustrial and infrastructural develop-
ment in the last decade, which has ex-
erted tremendous pressure on environ-
ment. The number and complexity of
the projects being processed for envi-
ronmental clearance has increased
multi-fold whereas the capacity and
resources available with MoEF and its
agencies have remained limited. The
body was earlier proper to be estab-
lished as NEPA (National Environmen-
tal Protection Authority), but with a
modified scope of the organization, it
is now named National Environment
Assessment and Monitoring Authori-
ty to reflect the scope of its operation.
Fundamental Principles for working
of NEAMA: (a) Independence of ap-
praisal and approval process. (b) Ob-
jectivity/predictability in the apprais-
al process through use of authenticat-
ed, reliable and valid scientific data
procured through independent agen-
cies, institutional memory and perma-
nence in the Appraisal committees. (c)
Transparency in the process and out-
comes of appraisal and monitoring. (d)
The body should have a statutory foun-
dation to ensure autonomy.
Haathi Mere
Saathi Campaign for elephants
With the aim to reach out to people
and to improve conservation and wel-
fare prospects of the elephant - Indias
National Heritage Animal, the Minis-
try of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
in partnership with the Wildlife Trust
of India (WTI) recently launched the
nationwide Haathi Mere Saathi cam-
paign. The initiative was launched on
the occasion of Elephant-8 Ministerial
Meeting held recently in New Delhi.
The eight participating countries at the
Elephant-8 ministerial meet were -
Botswana, Congo, India, Indonesia,
Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thai-
land. The participating nations decid-
ed to lead their efforts in their respec-
tive regions to ensure the long-term
survival of the elephant and its habi-
tat. This is being seen as a major step
forward in securing the long term fu-
ture of the elephant in all elephant
range countries, through collaborative
global action. The Haathi Mere Saathi
initiative is aimed at increasing aware-
ness among people and developing not
just friendship but also companionship
between people and elephants. It
should be noted that unlike the tiger,
which faces threat of extinction, the el-
ephant faces threats of attrition. The
elephant numbers have not increased
or decreased drastically, but there is
increasing pressure on the elephant
habitats and it is a serious concern that
we will try and address by involving
people in elephant conservation and
welfare through this campaign. The
Haathi Mere Saathi Campaign is the
brain child of the Elephant Task Force
(ETF) constituted by the Ministry last
year. The campaign to take Gajah (the
elephant) to Prajah (the people) aims
to spread awareness and encourage
peoples participation in elephant con-
Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi recently unveiled the Janani-Shishu Suraksha
Karyakram an ambitious national healthcare programme aimed at pro-
viding free child delivery and neonatal care services across the country. Inau-
gurated at Mandikhera village located in the relatively backward and pre-
dominantly Muslim Haryana district of Mewat, the scheme is expected to
bring safe medical services to more than one crore rural and urban families
every year. This scheme will give right to all pregnant women to have free
delivery in government health organisations. It is here underlined that the
ambitious scheme of the Centre, to be implemented under the National Ru-
ral Health Mission (NRHM), has been patterned on the Haryana Govern-
ments scheme Janani Suraksha Yojana, and would cost Rs 1100 crore per
month. Under the programme, expecting mothers would get care and treat-
ment, including medicines, food and testing facilities free of cost in all gov-
ernment hospitals and dispensaries, she said. They would also be provided,
if needed, blood and transport facility to the hospital for delivery free of cost,
and the mother-child duo would be transported back home.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
servation and welfare. India has about
25,000 elephants in the wild. Despite
this seemingly large number, the ele-
phant, particularly the tuskers, in In-
dia is as threatened as the tiger. There
are just about 1200 tuskers left in the
country. Moreover, elephants being
large-bodied have much larger range
and resource requirements; destruction
of their habitat can have drastic effects
on this species, and these can only be
addressed with peoples participation.
National Rural
Livelihood Mission
The UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi
has launched the National Rural Live-
lihoods Mission (NRLM), a re-chris-
tened version of the on-going Swarn
Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana from
Banswara, Rajasthan. National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) is one of
the major new initiatives under the
Ministry of Rural Development to
bring the poorest of the poor above
the poverty line by ensuring viable
livelihood opportunities to them. The
NRLM recognizes the potential that the
poor have to come out of poverty with
proper handholding, training and ca-
pacity building and credit linkage and
that they have multiple livelihoods
wage employment and self-employ-
ment. It will stabilize and enhance in-
comes from both the livelihoods and
promote diversification of livelihoods.
The role of Banks will be of prime im-
portance under NRLM as a source of
credit for the poor at reasonable rates.
NRLM will focus on getting banks to
lend to the poor by making them bank-
able clients through smart use of sub-
sidy. NRLM will have special focus on
the poorest households, who are cur-
rently dependant on MGNREGA.
These families will be supported to
broaden their livelihoods through as-
sets and skill acquisition which will
enhance the quality of their livelihoods
significantly. NRLM will focus on
women and on vulnerable sections
such as scheduled tribes, scheduled
castes, minorities, women headed fam-
ilies, etc. The second focus of NRLM
would be rural youth of the country
who are unemployed. They will be
supported through placement linked
skill development projects through
which their skills will be upgraded
through short term training courses in
sectors which have high demand for
services.
In addition to funds and efficient gov-
ernance structure, following factors are
equally important to realize the visi-
ble impacts of project:
(a) Increasing the awareness of pro-
grammes and access of rural poor to
avail the benefits.
(b) Social mobilization for collective
action and economies of scale.
(c) Replication of successful experi-
ments on mass scale.
(d) Introduction of appropriate tech-
nologies and involvement of experts.
(e) Removing the design defects of var-
ious schemes and programmes based
on earlier experiences.
(f) Availability of timely and adequate
credit at low cost.
(g) Emphasis on strengthening forward
and backward linkages.
(h) Transparency and accountability of
implementing structure.
(i) Coordination with other Ministries
and convergence of their programme.
Socio-Economic
and Caste Census 2011
The first ever post-independence So-
cio-Economic and Caste Census 2011
to identify people living Below Pover-
ty Line (BPL) began from Sankhola vil-
lage of Hazemara block in West Tripu-
ra District. This below poverty line
(BPL) census will be conducted by state
governments/union territory admin-
istrations with the technical and finan-
cial support of the Ministry of Rural
Development. This gigantic exercise
will pave the way to identify the house-
holds living below the poverty line in
rural and urban areas of the country.
The entire process will be completed
by end of 2011-12. The results relating
to the identification of poor households
would be utilized in the 12th Five Year
Plan (2012 to 2017). The Census would
be based on a self-declaration model
of the respondents. The information
would be verified and approved by the
Gram Sabha. Low cost hand held de-
vice will be used for collection of data
in Socio Economic Census 2011. It would
reduce the time required in processing
the data after collection in the field.
Bharat Electronic Ltd. (BEL) is involved
in the production of this device on large
scale. The management of information
system (MIS) for the census will be de-
veloped by the national informatics
centre (NIC). Household without shel-
ter, destitute, manual scavengers, prim-
itive tribal groups and legally released
bonded labourers will have the high-
est priority for inclusion in the BPL
list. The census is aimed at identifying
BPL households that can benefit from
Centres welfare schemes.
NHRC international
accreditation status
The National Human Rights Commis-
sion of India has retained the top grad-
ing in a review by a global panel of
rights bodies, which set aside a plea
from some civil society groups for its
downgrading. The Accreditation Sub-
Committee of the International Coor-
dinating Committee of National Hu-
man Rights Institutions (ICC-NHRIs)
IIDEM Launched
The Election Commission of India has launched the India International Insti-
tute of Democracy and Election Management. It is an advanced resource
centre of learning, research, training and extension for participatory democ-
racy and election management. IIDEM has four components: (a) Training
and Capacity Development. (b) Voter Education and Civic Participation (c)
Research, Innovation and Documentation. (d) International Projects and Tech-
nical Collaboration.
What the institute intends to promote: The Institute will be a national and
international hub for exchange of good practices in election management.
The Institute is being developed in collaboration with the Government of
India, United Nations, the Commonwealth and inter-governmental organi-
zations like Sweden based International Institute of Democracy and Elector-
al Assistance (IDEA). The Institute will make efforts to enhance the potential
and capacity of the Election Commission so that it carries out its functions in
more effective and professional manner. It carries the goal of meticulous,
accurate, voter friendly implementation of election processes by commit-
ted, competent, credible and skilled managers and associated groups. The
institute will strive to promote democratic values and practices, promoting
awareness among voters.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
has recommended that the NHRC In-
dia be re-accredited with A status.
The NHRC continues to hold A sta-
tus with ICC since 1999. This status is
given to the NHRIs which are fully
compliant with the Paris Principles
towards promotion and protection of
human rights. It should be noted that a
group of NGOs under the banner of
All India Network of NGOs and Indi-
viduals (AiNNI) had asked the inter-
national committee to downgrade
NHRC, claiming it was beset with cor-
ruption. With NHRC retaining its A
status, its reputation has been protect-
ed before the international communi-
ty.
About International Coordinating
Committee of National Human Rights
Institutions: The International Coordi-
nating Committee of National Human
Rights Institutions is a world-wide net-
work of National Human Rights Insti-
tutions (NHRIs) - set up to promote,
protect and monitor human rights in
their respective nation. This interna-
tional body is unique, because it is the
only non-UN body whose internal ac-
creditation system, based on compli-
ance with the 1993 Paris Principles,
grants access to UN committees. Insti-
tutions accredited by the ICC with A
status, meaning full compliance with
the Paris Principles, are accorded
speaking rights and seating at human
rights treaty bodies and other UN or-
gans. The International Coordinating
Committee of National Human Rights
Institutions is a non-profit entity, and
has one member of staff representing
it at the United Nations Office at Gene-
va. Secretariat support is provided to it
by the National Institutions and Re-
gional Mechanisms (NIRM) Unit of the
Field Operations and Technical Coop-
eration Division of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Quota for women in Panchayats
The Cabinet has given its nod to the
proposal (110th Amendment Bill, 2009)
for increasing reservation for women
in Panchayats from the existing 33 per
cent to 50 per cent for all seats filled
through direct election, office of chair-
persons and of offices reserved for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. The proposal aims to amend
Article 243(d) of the Constitution,
which provides for one-third reserva-
tion for women in panchayats, and in-
crease the quota to 50 per cent. It needs
to be mentioned here that Bihar, Uttar-
akhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat
and Maharashtra have already made
suitable amendments to increase res-
ervation for women in Panchayats
from 33 to 50 per cent. The decision of
the cabinet assumes significance since
women suffer multiple deprivations of
class, caste and gender, enhancing res-
ervation in panchayats and urban lo-
cal bodies would lead to more women
entering the public sphere. This would
lead to further empowerment of wom-
en and make panchayats more inclu-
sive institutions, improve governance
and public service delivery. At present,
out of the total elected representatives
of panchayats numbering approxi-
mately 28.1 lakhs, 36.87 per cent are
women. With the proposed constitu-
tional amendment, the number of elect-
ed women representatives is expected
to rise to more than 14 lakhs. The
amendment would cover all states and
union territories except Nagaland, Me-
ghalaya, Mizoram, tribal areas of As-
sam, Tripura and hill areas of Manipur.
Maheshwar dam
The government has given its condi-
tional approval to 400 MW Maheshwar
dam in Madhya Pradesh, 14 months
after the work was stopped for poor
relief and rehabilitation work. The
government has now allowed con-
structing the last five spill gates, neces-
sary to make the dam functional, but
has also directed the dam authorities
that the gates should not be lowered
until satisfactory completion of relief
and rehabilitation (R&R) work. Twen-
ty two gates have already been con-
structed of the project which got envi-
ronment clearance in 1994.
About Maheshwar Dam: The Mahesh-
war Dam is countrys first privately fi-
nanced hydro-electricity project and is
being constructed by Shree Maheshwar
Hydel Power Corporation, which is
promoted by S. Kumars. The 400 mw
run-off-the river project is located on
the river Narmada near Indore. The
project has constantly been under the
scanner of the environment ministry
for failing to ensure recommended en-
vironmental conditions and other re-
habilitation and resettlement facilities.
Analyzing the Social and Environmen-
tal Impacts of Large Dams in India:
Dams have both intended and unin-
tended impacts, which can be positive
or negative. It is unlikely to find in-
tended negative impacts, though posi-
tive impacts can be both intended and
unintended. Each of these types of im-
pacts can be inevitable in their entire-
ty, reducible or totally avoidable.
Social Impacts: (a) Beneficial Social
Impacts upstream of the dam: One
major beneficial impact upstream of
the dam is the added biomass, en-
hanced water availability, income and
ecological security, and restored mi-
cro-climatic conditions for local com-
munities from the restoration of de-
graded catchments. (b) Impacts at the
dam/reservoir: The reservoirs created
Age limit for pension plans reduced
The government has approved a plan to lower the age limit to be eligible for
a pension plan for the poor and extend medical facilities to workers in the
beedi industry under a government health insurance scheme.
In addition to this the government cut the age limit for the Indira Gandhi
National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) to 60 years from 65 years,
increasing the number of people that are eligible to benefit from the pro-
gramme. This decision of the government is going to benefit an additional
7.23 million people living below the poverty line.
The government has also increased the pension for 80-year-olds and above to
Rs. 500 from Rs. 200. The eligibility criteria for widow pension under the
Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and disability pension un-
der the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension scheme has also been
revised from 40-64 years to 40-59 years and from 18-64 years to 18-59 years,
respectively.
The government has extended medical facilities under the Rashtriya Sw-
asthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme), which provides
protection to BPL households from health hazards that involve hospitaliza-
tion, to workers in the beedi industry and their families.
TIMES
Civil Services
Short News
by large dams often become tourist
attractions. As per the data available,
there are at least 50 reservoirs that have
also been declared national parks or
sanctuaries and, consequently, not only
contribute to wildlife conservation but
also serve as tourist resorts. Though
the profile of fisheries might change
because of the creation of a reservoir,
efforts to stock commercially valuable
fish in these reservoirs has often led to
an increase in fisheries (catch and in-
come) in the reservoir area. (c) Down-
stream impacts: Dams, by intent or oth-
erwise, sometimes play the role of reg-
ulating floods. In areas that are water
deficient, the provision of surface wa-
ter and the enhancement of groundwa-
ter because of canals can significantly
improve water availability, sanitation
and hygiene.
Adverse Social Impacts: (a) Impacts of
Displacements: Among the most sig-
nificant adverse social impacts of dams
are those that result from forceful (or
involuntary) displacement of human
populations from their homes, fields,
towns and regions. (b) Loss of com-
mon property resources: Rarely are at-
tempts made to compensate for the loss
of common property resources. Most
displaced populations rely on free ac-
cess to water, grasslands, forests, wet-
lands, riverbed land, fish, etc. They de-
rive their income and subsistence from
a host of natural resources, many of
which may be unavailable at the reha-
bilitation site. (c) Loss of cultural sites:
Displacement causes psychological
trauma due to the severing of cultural
and religious links with ancestral sur-
rounds. (d) Loss of preferred liveli-
hoods: The forced change of occupa-
tion resulting from displacement can
be a source of significant trauma as
people are forced to adopt a profession
that they are not trained or suited for.
(e) Impacts on health: The change in
climate, water, food and sanitary con-
ditions, etc. can affect the health of dis-
placed persons. In the case of the Pong,
Bhakra and Pandoh dams, people liv-
ing in the hills of Himachal Pradesh
were to be relocated to the Rajasthan
desert. Similarly, people displaced by
the Tehri dam have been shifted from
the hills of Garhwal to the hot plains of
Uttar Pradesh.
Environmental impacts:
Beneficial environmental impacts: (a)
Catchment benefits: For most recent
projects, the environmental clearance
conditions include treatment of the
catchment area. Where this treatment
is adequately undertaken and results
in the regeneration of natural forests
and other ecosystems in the catchment
area, there are significant benefits to
the environment. (b) Impacts of the
reservoir: The creation of a reservoir
provides a habitat for wetland species,
especially water birds. The reservoir
can also be a source of water to ani-
mals and plants in the adjoining areas
and, where such areas have become un-
naturally dry, this can be a significant
environmental benefit.
Adverse Environmental Impacts: (a)
Impacts of the dam on the catchment:
The construction of a dam itself can
contribute to the degradation of its
catchment. For example, extraction of
cooking fuel by the labour force and
improved access to the forests, both
during and after dam construction, de-
grades catchment forests. The construc-
tion of roads and other infrastructure
and the enhanced activities in the area
also put an additional pressure on the
forests. This results in greater silt flows
into the reservoir, thereby reducing the
life of the dam and also posing a threat
to its safety and to its equipment and
machinery. Degraded catchments also
result in erratic water flows resulting
not only in dry season shortages but
also a surplus during heavy rainfall and
cloudbursts, threatening the safety of
the dam. The degradation of the catch-
ments also adversely affects the biodi-
versity value and other ecological func-
tions of the forests upstream. (b) Im-
pacts of mining and quarrying for con-
struction materials: The soil, stones and
sand required for the construction of
dams and canals are often mined and
quarried from around the dam or ca-
nal site. Such extraction can also have
adverse environmental impacts, espe-
cially by aggravating dust pollution,
disturbing wildlife and destroying
vegetation. (c) Impacts of backwater
build-up: When a free flowing river
meets the relatively static reservoir,
there is a build-up of back-pressure and
a resultant backwater. This can destroy
the upstream ecology and cause dam-
age to property. Backwaters can also
build up due to the deposition of sedi-
ments and silt upstream of the reser-
voir as backwater deposits. (d) Im-
pacts on aquatic ecosystems: Construc-
tion activities, including the diversion
of the river through a tunnel, have
major adverse impacts on the aquatic
ecosystem. Vulnerable species, with ei-
ther limited distribution or low toler-
ance, could become extinct even before
the dam is completed. The blocking of
a river and the formation of a lake sig-
nificantly alters the ecological condi-
tions of the river, adversely impacting
species and the ecosystem. (e) Impact
on terrestrial fauna and flora: The dis-
turbance caused by construction activ-
ities, including noise and movement,
building of roads, extraction of stone
and soil, construction of buildings, etc.
also negatively impact the fauna and
flora at the dam site. As impoundment
starts, the reservoir invariably sub-
merges large tracts of forests and other
ecosystems, including grasslands and
wetlands.
TIMES
Civil Services
T
he Salwa Judum, which literally means Peace march or Purification
hunt in Gondi language has of late been the subject of much debate
and controversy, with the Supreme Court of India in a recent judge-
ment ruling it as unconstitutional. The roots of Salwa Judum go back to the
early 1990s when the Naxalite movement was making rapid progress in the
remote districts of Dantewada and Bastar in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
The mineral rich, thinly populated area, where poverty is a way of life had
provided fertile ground for the ultra- Left Naxals, who found ready support
amongst the poverty- stricken and deprived Gond tribal population of the
region. As the Naxals spread their tentacles and established firm grip over the
populace, they turned more and more exploitative using force more than
anything else to maintain their control. Development work began to be ham-
pered and the region, which along with parts of
Maharashtra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh came to
be known, in Naxal terminology as the Dandakaran-
ya region, slowly began to get out of bounds of the
state and central governments. With the high- hand-
edness of the Naxals on the rise and with virtually
no help from the government forthcoming, the lo-
cal traders and businessmen, who bore the brunt of
the Naxal onslaught started a movement known as
the Jan Jagran Abhiyan in 1991 with the help of a
local tribal leader named Mahendra Karma. The
movement was not very successful and soon tot-
tered to its fall with its main leaders and partici-
pants seeking police protection to save their lives
even as they featured on the hit list of the Naxals.
The consolidation of the Naxal organizations and
the formation of the CPI (Maoist) as the umbrella
organization of all ultra- Left leaning armed insur-
gent groups in September 2004 led to rapid spread
of the Naxal movement in its modern day avatar,
the Maoist movement, especially in the less devel-
oped Central and Eastern hinterlands of India. As
instances of Maoist violence began to increase and
became particularly intense in the Southern Chhat-
tisgarh districts and the government failed to rein
in such unchecked violence, public desperation pre-
cipitated in the form of the Salwa Judum, which
originated as a public resistance movement against
the Maoists in June 2005. It traced its origins as an
uprising of the local people, many of whom had
been on the receiving side of Maoist brutalities. Mahendra Karma, in a sense
the forefather of the movement once again jumped into the fray and ensured
that the movement got bi- partisan support. Being a Congress MLA, he man-
aged to convince the BJP- led state government of the utility of Salwa Judum
in tackling the Maoist menace. The state government soon gave official sup-
port to the movement and began recruiting its members as well as former
Naxalites as Special Police Officers or SPOs. So far so good. The controversy
began when the Chhattisgarh government began to provide arms training to
the SPOs and began to arm them with firearms purportedly for their self-
defence. The governments notion was that the SPOs, being locals were aware
of the local terrain and could identify Maoist activists who tend to remain
mingled with the local populace and are otherwise difficult for the normal
police and paramilitary forces to identify.
This would make the SPOs valuable
informants as well as guides for the
security forces and thus make the anti-
Maoist operations more surgical, pre-
cise and effective causing minimal
collateral damages and harassment
for the local population. However,
given the extreme hatred that the
Maoists nurse towards police infor-
mants, it was felt that the SPOs would
soon become prime targets of the
Maoists and hence the need to pro-
vide them with guns to enable their
self- defence was felt. The state gov-
ernment soon went on a recruitment
spree and set up Salwa Judum camps
which according to statistics were
nearly 23 in number as on 2008 and
were housing no less than 50,000 trib-
als from almost 600 villages (official
figures suggested a lesser number).
The term Salwa Judum for all prac-
tical purposes became synonymous
with the terms SPO and Koya Com-
mandos. The critics of the Salwa Ju-
dum may be many, with the latest
being no less a Constitutional author-
ity than the Supreme Court of India,
but to understand why the Salwa Ju-
dum phenomenon ever occurred it is
necessary to first understand the mer-
its of this so- called militia. The vo-
taries of Salwa Judum, which include
the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh,
Raman Singh have put up the follow-
ing arguments in its favour:
1. The Maoist movement comprises
an internal rebellion which has swept
large swathes of Indias hinterland
and continues to spread to wider ar-
eas. The agenda of the Maoists is to
capture power by the barrel of the
gun. The gun culture is inherent in
the Maoist ideology and their poli-
tics is non- existent without the gun.
In Chhattisgarh itself, the regular
Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army
(PLGA), the name given to the mili-
tary wing of the CPI (Maoist), con-
sists of no less than 7000 armed cad-
res, who are in possession of firearms,
much of which are sophisticated such
as AK-47, INSAS, SLR, Light Machine
Gun (LMG), Carbine, Rocket Launch-
ers, Grenades and even mortars. Apart
from these, the Gana militia of the
Maoists which consists of men and
women who carry traditional weap-
ons like bows, arrows, spears etc and
sometimes even country made fire-
Current National
The controversy
began when the
Chhattisgarh
government
began to provide
arms training to
the SPOs and
began to arm
them with fire-
arms purportedly
for their self-
defence. The
governments
notion was that
the SPOs, being
locals were
aware of the local
terrain and could
identify Maoist
activists who tend
to remain mingled
with the local
populace and are
otherwise difficult
for the normal
police and
paramilitary
forces to identify.
Questioning internal security
Salwa Judum Questioned
By Aneesh Sarkar
TIMES
Civil Services
arms also number about 7000 to 8000
if not slightly more. The Maoist mil-
itary is organized into platoons, com-
panies and battalions, the way in
which the national army or the para-
military are organized. The figures,
which are for the state of Chhattis-
garh only and does not include the
rest of India very clearly paints a grim
picture. It states in no uncertain terms
that the Maoist rebellion is brewing
quite a storm and lends credence to
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan
Singhs assertion that the Maoists pose
the single largest internal security
threat for India. To fight the Maoists,
who have declined to give up their
arms and so far shunned most seri-
ous efforts for talks, the Central and
different state governments have
pumped in security forces and Spe-
cial Forces, trained in jungle and guer-
rilla warfare into the inaccessible jun-
gles of Chhattisgarh and other simi-
larly affected states in India. Howev-
er the very nature of guerrilla war-
fare, in which the Maoists specialize
and in which they deliberately engage
the security forces, makes the fight a
protracted one. It is one in which the
guerrillas seldom fight face to face
with the security forces. They make
full use of the difficult terrain and
their knowledge of it and engage the
forces in armed combat only when
they are in an advantageous position.
The near inaccessible jungles and
hills act as force multiplier for the
guerrillas and hamper the fighting
capabilities of the security forces. The
dense jungles of Bastar and Dantewa-
da, as well as other similar jungle
patches, allow visibility to the forces
not beyond 10 to 20 meters in day-
time, what to say at night. The jun-
gles stretch for miles and getting re-
inforcement becomes impossible. Se-
curity forces have to walk for days to
reach the target area of their opera-
tions and are often compelled to con-
duct operations spanning for days.
The mental and physical hardships
that they have to undergo during such
operations, where food and water are
limited, and where simply going and
coming back alive and safe are con-
sidered achievements themselves, are
tremendous. The Maoist activist is
like a fish in the water, to quote a term
from Mao Tse Tung himself. The wa-
ter here means the local population
which supports the Maoist activist
either out of fear or genuine liking,
and provides him with food and shel-
ter, little realizing what he stands for.
The greatest strength of a Maoist is
his ability to mingle with the local
population and give the forces that
are on his lookout the false impres-
sion that he is a common adivasi or
villager. The biggest difficulty for the
forces is to identify who is a Maoist
and who is not. Developing an intel-
ligence network in the Maoist bad-
lands where few people venture to
tread in is next to impossible. Given
the low levels of penetration by intel-
ligence agencies and security forces, it
becomes very difficult to conduct
meaningful operations with little in-
telligence inputs. Besides the perils
involved in anti- Maoist operations are
very high. The hit and run tactics em-
ployed by the Maoists allow them to
always maintain the element of sur-
prise. With the local people by their
side, getting information about the
movement of the security forces from
time to time is not a problem for them.
This in turn, gives them the frequent
opportunity of springing deadly sur-
prises upon the forces in the form of
lethal ambushes and booby traps,
many of which have claimed the lives
of numerous security personnel. The
killing of 74 CRPF personnel, includ-
ing a Deputy Commandant and sev-
eral Assistant Commandants, in
Dantewada is perhaps the most glar-
ing example of the ability of the Mao-
ists to butcher the security forces at
will in the hostile jungles of Chhattis-
garh. The recruitment of the SPOs must
be seen in the light of all these factors.
Not only do they become the eyes and
ears of the security forces during op-
erations, they also act as early warn-
ing systems, alerting the security forc-
es of possible camp attacks and booby
traps. They together comprise a mas-
sive human intelligence network of lo-
calites who not only help in identify-
ing known and unknown Maoists but
also guide the forces during operations
by pointing out little known jungle
tracks and helping them find their way
through dense jungles and steep hilly
slopes. Dismantling the Salwa Judum
would essentially mean dismantling
this entire source network and thus
killing off the channels of information
regarding Maoists. It is something that
will hit the Indian state hard and will
without doubt severely handicap the
fight against the Maoists.
2. The anti- Maoist strategy which
the Central government in consulta-
tion with the state governments has
come up with is based on the twin
pillars of 1) intensive policing to flush
out the Maoists, followed by 2) rapid
development of areas wrested away
from the Maoists. While, generally
speaking, it is commonly agreed in
government circles that policing and
development should take place si-
multaneously, such an approach is
impractical mainly because the Mao-
ists have over the past proved them-
selves to be the biggest impediment
to development. Without clearing a
region of the Maoists, development
is unviable, mainly because the
agents of development tend to be
threatened and intimidated and some-
times even abducted and assaulted.
The recent abduction of a District
Collector in Orissa by the rebels is a
case in point. To carry out the twin
pillar policy, the Union Home Minis-
try came up with the strategy of cap-
ture, hold, and develop. The strate-
gy entailed carrying out operations
in a Maoist infested area with the pur-
pose of freeing it of the rebels, then
consolidating hold over that area by
setting up camps and thereafter, as the
forces maintain their hold, to devel-
op the area so that it becomes perma-
nently free of Maoists. Development
of a Maoist infested area is a key in-
gredient of this strategy since under-
development is a breeding ground
for Maoism. While security forces are
expected to capture an area under
Maoist control and the different gov-
Current National
The greatest strength of a
Maoist is his ability to mingle
with the local population and
give the forces that are on his
lookout the false impression
that he is a common adivasi or
villager. The biggest difficulty
for the forces is to identify who
is a Maoist and who is not.
Developing an intelligence
network in the Maoist badlands
where few people venture to
tread in is next to impossible.
TIMES
Civil Services
ernment departments are expected to
bring about development, it is hold-
ing an area cleared of Maoists which
tends to pose problems. For this, it is
important to understand the nature
and tactics of guerrilla warfare, which
the Maoists employ. Mao had fa-
mously remarked that when the ene-
my advances, the guerrilla must re-
treat; when the enemy retreats, the
guerrilla must advance and when the
enemy halts, the guerrilla must ha-
rass. This itself suggests that the cap-
ture and holding of an area is not as
easily understandable as is the case
in conventional warfare. When the
security forces move into rebel terri-
tory, the latter may willfully move
back without much resistance as part
of their tactics. Such tactical retreat
certainly does not mean retreat for
good, as may be comprehended by
the forces. It only means that the Mao-
ists are allowing their enemies to set-
tle down only to harass them subse-
quently and engage them in a pro-
tracted war of attrition with the in-
tention of wearing them down. Ha-
rassment of the forces may be in the
form of stray firing by the Maoists in
the vicinity of the forces camp, or-
chestrating frequent gheraos of camps
by the local people backed by the
Gana militia, causing landmine blasts
close to the camps just to create a
sense of panic amongst the forces etc.
Planned camp attacks resulting in
deaths of the inmates and the looting
of their arms and ammunition is a
major plank of the Maoist guerrilla
tactics. Such tactics are intended at
forcing the security forced to with-
draw from the area and dismantle
their camp. What is even more im-
portant is the fact that when the forc-
es move out of their camps for con-
ducting operations in their Area of
Responsibility (AOR), the Maoists
shift their location to avoid detection
by the forces, only to come back once
the forces go back to their camps. This
means that the setting up of camps
does not automatically guarantee a
flushing out of the Maoists. The lat-
ter rather maintain their sway over
the area despite the presence of the
forces. Given the fact that in the dis-
tricts of Dantewada and Bastar the
road network is poor and camps are
situated at a minimum of nearly 15 to
20 km from each other, capturing and holding an area becomes all the more
difficult. In such a scenario, just defending the camp without going out for
operations is considered a tough job. The utility of the Salwa Judum or the
SPOs must be analyzed in this context. Salwa Judum recruits act as force
multipliers for the security forces. When the security forces conduct opera-
tions in a particular area and return thereafter, the SPOs can actually set up a
camp in that area and thus help in holding the area and preventing the Maoists
from returning back and reclaiming the same. Being locals, the SPOs are more
familiar with the terrain and the local people and setting up their camps in
Maoist- prone area after a successful flush- out operation can actually help in
reducing Maoist influence in such areas. Thus with the SPO camps available, it
becomes that much easier for the security forces to retain control over the
jungles even with their far flung camps in hostile terrain. The SPO camps main-
tain vigil and thus act as an early warning system for the forces, alerting them
about possible Maoist attacks.
3. The Salwa Judum movement and its initial spontaneous nature was a clear
indicator that not all within the tribal population
in the remotest parts of India were in favor of the
Maoists. There has been a general perception
amongst sections of the Indian intellectual class
that the Maoists are fighting on behalf of the poor,
deprived tribals and against exploitative industri-
alists and businessmen who have government
backing and who are out there to loot Indias rich
mineral wealth at the expense of the tribals. Such
thinking has gained wide credence in the cultural
discourse on Maoism and simply overlooks the
exploitative and extortionist nature of the Maoist
movement itself. It also wishes away the fact that
the Maoists themselves have committed numer-
ous atrocities against tribal people including mur-
ders, rape, arson etc. Salwa Judum originated as a
genuine uprising of the tribal people against the
ways of the Maoists. In a sense it punctured the
notion that the Maoists enjoy wide support
amongst the tribals and was a pointer to the fact
that much of the support garnered by them was
through the fear of the gun.
4. The government of Chhattisgarh has put for-
ward the argument that the concept of SPOs has
provided employment to a large number of other-
wise unemployed tribal youths. This in turn has
prevented them from joining the Maoist move-
ment in the lure of quick money. The argument is
a contentious one but has nonetheless been backed
by the Chhattisgarh government.
5. The history of insurgency and the fight against it has shown that formation
of local resistance groups is indeed an effective strategy. This is because it is
not possible for the security forces to be everywhere and all the time. Involv-
ing the local population in the fight against insurgency is perhaps also the
key to limiting if not eliminating it. By its very definition, insurgency means
an armed uprising of the populace. If sections within the same populace are
engaged in fighting the insurgency, then it is exceedingly likely that the
insurgency is dealt a speedy death. During insurgencies in Mizoram, Ma-
nipur, Nagaland and other parts of the North- East, the security forces did
employ the strategy of arming local resistance groups and village defence
groups so as to enable them to successfully resist the rebels. Chhattisgarh is
not the only Maoist infested state which has recruited SPOs. The idea of SPOs
in fact is an old one and finds mention even in the Indian Police Act, 1861.
Thus it is not the sole creation of the Chhattisgarh government. Other states
Current National
When the security
forces conduct
operations in a
particular area and
return thereafter,
the SPOs can
actually set up a
camp in that area
and thus help in
holding the area
and preventing the
Maoists from
returning back and
reclaiming the
same. Being
locals, the SPOs
are more familiar
with the terrain
and the local
people and setting
up their camps in
Maoist- prone area
after a successful
flush- out opera-
tion can actually
help in reducing
Maoist influence in
such areas.
TIMES
Civil Services
fighting Maoists also have their own versions of the Salwa Judum, albeit with
different names. The concept of SPOs has even found credence in the Central
government, with none other than the Union Home Minister, P. Chidam-
baram praising the role of the Salwa Judum in taking on the red guerrillas.
6. While its critics accuse it of perpetrating violence, there are others who
insist that by fighting the Maoists, who are the real messiahs of violence, the
Salwa Judum has actually helped in bringing about peace. Some are even
willing to go to the extent of saying that the Salwa Judum has fought the
Maoists in the Gandhian way. Such notions however are rather far- fetched.
Whatever may be its utility and benefits in the red battle- zone, there is little
denying the fact that the Salwa Judum has earned for itself quite a bad name
in recent times. Part of the virulent criticism heaped upon it has to do with the
successful propaganda done against it by Maoist frontal organizations and
their puppet intellectuals and human rights activists who never tire to malign
it while conveniently forgetting the crimes committed by the Maoists. None-
theless, the concept of Salwa Judum and its transformation into a gun- totting
militia has thrown up questions that beg answers and the answers may not be
comfortable either for the government of Chhat-
tisgarh or for the government of India or for that
matter any other government within whose juris-
diction such militias have mushroomed. Some of
these questions were dealt with by the Supreme
Court of India in the Nandini Sundar and Others
vs. State of Chhattisgarh case. In its judgement,
the apex declared that the Salwa Judum is uncon-
stitutional and illegal, much to the chagrin of the
state government. As the court ordered the gov-
ernment to dismantle its force of SPOs it made
comments that nearly suggested its conviction with
the arguments of the pro- Maoist groups. Consid-
er the strong rhetoric of the court when it attacked
what it felt was the states amoral economic pol-
icies and its culture of unrestrained selfishness
and greed spawned by modern neo- liberal eco-
nomic ideology. By making such ideology laden
statements, the court may have earned temporary
praise from the people who proclaim themselves
as the champions of the anti- neo-liberal move-
ment and who have somehow managed to find
positive correlations between the spread of neo-
liberal ideology and the rise of Maoism, but it has
at the same time stepped precariously close to the
thin line separating the jurisdictions of the execu-
tive and the judiciary as laid down by the Consti-
tution. Its rhetoric loaded statements apart, the
apex court has raised certain vital issues of law
and governance and has come up with a judge-
ment that is likely to be considered landmark in the future. Through its deci-
sion, the court has also challenged the state governments arguments justify-
ing the Salwa Judum and has brought out serious demerits of the same. The
demerits of the Salwa Judum are enlisted herewith:
1. The Salwa Judum has been accused of perpetrating gross violation of hu-
man rights. Though the state government has insisted that the Salwa Judum
consists of SPOs who act as informers to the security forces and that the arms
given are only meant for self- defence, critics insist that the Salwa Judum,
consisting of armed young tribals has become a type of state- backed militia
which is involved in razing down villages and committing crimes on ordi-
nary villagers. To counter the Maoist problem, the SPOs raid villages with or
without the security forces and allegedly torture villagers who are seen as
sympathetic towards the Maoists with the intention of forcefully weaning
them away from the guerrillas. But
in the process they cause collateral
damages and also commit violations
of human rights. There are some who
believe that the best way to fight
Maoist terror is to create an even
greater terror. The logic behind this
autocratic thinking is that the tribal
villagers will be inclined to support
those whom they fear the most. So
the best way to tackle Maoists is to
go a step further in terrorizing the
local people and thus compelling
them to support the anti- Maoist forc-
es. Violations of human rights are
inevitable if such approaches are
adopted and there is justification in
what human rights activists say about
the SPOs. The hard reality is that
there is no better short- term motiva-
tor than fear in the Maoist badlands.
It is a motivator that is used by the
Maoists to the full and to counter that
the Salwa Judum does commit excess-
es at times, or so the allegations go.
2. Another scathing criticism of the
Salwa Judum is that it employs chil-
dren below the age of 18, who can
thus be termed as child soldiers.
Though the government of Chhattis-
garh has denied this, numerous hu-
man rights and civil rights organiza-
tions have reported the presence of
minors in the force of SPOs. A prima-
ry survey by the Forum for Fact- find-
ing Documentation and Advocacy
(FFDA) found that over 12,000 minors
were used by the Salwa Judum in
Dantewada. Similar findings were
voiced by agencies like the Asian
Center for Human Rights (ACHR)
and the Coalition to Stop the Use of
Child Soldiers, with the latter report-
ing such shocking information in
Child Soldiers Global Report 2008-
India. The issue of child soldiers and
the need to prevent involvement of
children in armed conflicts is some-
thing which has found world-wide ac-
ceptance. When children are pushed
into taking up arms, not only do they
lose their childhood and are deprived
of their right to education and also
the right to play and enjoy life, but a
society also sacrifices its future. In-
volving children in warfare only
pushes future generations into strife
for the scars of conflicts leave an in-
delible mark on the impressionable
psyche of children, something from
Current National
Some of these
questions were
dealt with by the
Supreme Court of
India in the
Nandini Sundar
and Others vs.
State of Chhattis-
garh case. In its
judgement, the
apex declared
that the Salwa
Judum is uncon-
stitutional and
illegal, much to
the chagrin of the
state government.
As the court
ordered the
government to
dismantle its force
of SPOs it made
comments that
nearly suggested
its conviction with
the arguments of
the pro- Maoist
groups.
TIMES
Civil Services
which they struggle hard to come out
and more often than not, fail. No
matter how grave the security threat,
children have to left alone and spared
the involvement in things which
should be dealt with by their elders.
No democracy and much less a vi-
brant one like India can afford to en-
gage its children in armed warfare,
that too as a matter of state policy.
3. In its zeal to vigorously fight Mao-
ists, the Chhattisgarh government has
almost inadvertently created an
armed militia, the likes of which are
in existence in ill- governed, autocrat-
ic or civil war prone countries in Af-
rica, Arabia or Latin America. It can-
not be denied that the initial effort to
create a network of informers from
amongst natural opponents of Mao-
ists has slowly culminated into the
creation of a militia which more of-
ten than not is used as the frontline
foot soldiers in the fight against the
Maoists. In the Nandini Sundar case
the Supreme Court has actually raised
the issue of violation of human rights
of the very people who comprise the
Salwa Judum apart from those who
are at their receiving end. The court
noted with anguish that the state was
using ill- trained young tribal boys
as cannon fodders for an armed con-
flict. Such boys are used as shields for
the more trained security forces more
often than not, thus putting their lives
in danger, all for a paltry sum of a
few thousand rupees. The court was
hardly impressed with the state gov-
ernments argument that it was pro-
viding employment to the SPOs and
frowned at the contention of involv-
ing tribal youths in war in return for
monetary benefits observing that it
cannot comprehend how involving
ill-equipped, barely literate young-
sters in counter- insurgency activities,
wherein their lives are placed in dan-
ger, could be conceived under the ru-
bric of livelihood. It should be point-
ed out that despite the state govern-
ments denial; the SPOs do perform
functions of a police force and yet get
a paltry sum in return. This effective-
ly is a violation of Article 14 of the
Indian Constitution which guarantees
equality and equal protection of law
for all citizens. The court also felt that
the state showed insensitivity by put-
ting the lives of the young SPOs in
danger without giving them ade-
quate training, thus violating the
right to life guaranteed in Article 21
of the Constitution.
4. Though the Salwa Judum, as its
name suggests, was visualized as a
peace movement, the fact remains that
its creation has only intensified the
bloodbath in the Maoist infested ar-
eas. This is due to the series of assaults
and counter- assaults between the
Maoists and the Salwa Judum. There
have been instances wherein Salwa
Judum camps have been overrun by
the Maoists. Apart from this, the in-
tensification of the battle between the
reds and the anti- reds has resulted in
numerous hardships for the ordinary
people, who have found themselves
caught in the cross-fire. It has led to a
scenario wherein very few people can
afford to stay aloof of the two warring
sides. Consequently, people have been
forced to flee their homes and have
found themselves being converted
into refugees in their own land. The
humanitarian plight has been high-
lighted by human rights organizations
such as the Human Rights Watch which
reported large-scale displacement of
civilians to neighboring states so as to
avoid being caught in the Maoist- Sal-
wa Judum conflict. While the statistics
quoted by certain human rights orga-
nizations tend to be exaggerated at
times, the fact remains that the dis-
placement of civilians in large num-
bers is an undisputable fact.
5. The existence of the Salwa Judum
and its supposed atrocities has provid-
ed staple propaganda material for the
Maoists and its frontal organizations.
Thus, in a queer sense, the Salwa Ju-
dum has actually helped the Maoist
movement, though unwittingly. The
Maoists and their sympathizers have
often justified the atrocities that they
have committed as a reaction to those
committed by the Salwa Judum.
6. The protection of Salwa Judum
camps has become a security related
concern for the state government giv-
en the fact that these have frequently
been targeted by the Maoists. Many
companies of the Shasastra Seema Bal
(SSB) have been pumped into the dis-
tricts of Dantewada and Bastar only
for the purpose of protecting Salwa
Judum camps. Thus there is now a
peculiar situation wherein the opera-
tional forces in Chhattisgarh need
support from the Salwa Judum which
in turn needs protection from other
security forces. The protection of the
SPOs, needless to say, is likely to put
pressure on the state exchequer.
7. The creation of the Salwa Judum
has raised questions relating to the
extent of legislative power that can
be delegated by the legislature to the
executive. Though the Indian Police
Act, 1861 allows the creation of SPOs,
the Chhattisgarh government rather
than invoking this act actually took
recourse of the Chhattisgarh Police
Act, 2007 while appointing its army
of SPOs. This particular act did not
clearly lay down any educational
qualification, type of training or the
maximum number of SPOs that can
be appointed at a time, leaving it to
the executive to decide on these vital
questions. This was a case of exces-
sive delegation of legislative power
to the executive, leading to misuse,
felt the apex court in the Nandini
Sundar case.
The state act also did not provide any
safeguards which however have been
incorporated in the national act; for
instance the Indian Police Act requires
that the appointment of SPOs is ap-
proved by a magistrate.
It can be concluded by saying that the
prerogatives of the Judges who de-
cide on questions of law and the Con-
stitution are very different from those
of the commanders and generals of
the security forces who fight the Mao-
ists on the field. Hence, it is likely
that their outlooks will be different.
For all practical purposes, the voices
of those, who risk their lives as they
comb dense, inaccessible jungles look-
ing for those who pose the biggest
internal security threat to the nation,
are seldom heard in the courtroom
where legal battles bearing tremen-
dous significance for the jungle bat-
tles are fought.
Current National
The humanitarian plight has been
highlighted by human rights
organizations such as the Human
Rights Watch which reported
large-scale displacement of
civilians to neighboring states so
as to avoid being caught in the
Maoist- Salwa Judum conflict.
TIMES
Civil Services
Science and Technology
Environment and Ecology
Clean Tech Report
A report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature says that, in
terms of percentage contribution to the national GDP, China ranks 2, while the
US ranks 17. Denmark, expectedly, leads the table, thanks to its efficient power
grid driven primarily by windmills. Chinas annual earnings from clean tech is
valued at $64 billion, or 1.4 per cent of the GDP, while that of the US stands at $45
billion, or 0.3 per cent of the GDP. Denmark lands a $9.4 billion (or Euro 6.5
billion) from clean technologies such as renewable energy and energy efficiency
hardware, which amounts to a staggering 3.1 per cent of the GDP. Chinese green
technologies have grown by an astounding 77 per cent annually, according to a
report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). WWF attributes this to the political
decisions being made in China relating to the environment. Many coal pits have
been closed; oil digging has been made more efficient and sincere effort has been
made to decrease the carbon footprint, especially
due to automobiles in major cities. Stringent legis-
lations also help the cause. China has been aggres-
sively trying to capture as much of the clean tech
market as possible in the last few years. They are
pushing hard on self-reliance and leadership in so-
lar and wind energy production. Following Den-
mark and China, other nations in the top five clean-
tech producers, in terms of per cent of GDP are Ger-
many, Brazil and Lithuania.
About Clean Technologies: Cleantech, also referred
to as clean technology, and often used interchange-
ably with the term greentech, has emerged as an
umbrella term encompassing the investment asset
class, technology, and business sectors which in-
clude clean energy, environmental, and sustainable
or green, products and services. Clean technology
includes recycling, renewable energy (wind pow-
er, solar power, biomass, hydropower, and biofu-
els), information technology, green transportation,
electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, and
many other appliances that are now more energy
efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environ-
mental footprint and minimize pollution.
Clean Technology and India: Every disaster is a Change. When Wallace
Broecker of Columbia University coined the term Global Warming, he might
not have anticipated the birth of a booming industry where the attempt to
reverse or at least curb this issue, called the clean technology would be born.
This also included the growing energy crunch. The conventional energy re-
sources are poised to many threats and security issues due to which now it is
the time to not think but implement alternate energy resources. India has
taken continuous R&D for balancing clean technology. Though India is a de-
veloping country it has attracted huge investments in clean technology sector
and shows promise that she will be an emerging power in the clean technology
sector soon. The clean tech future is vivid and the scope will be stupendous.
Actually India needs more initiatives like clean technology to adapt the cli-
mate change phenomenon. It is really appreciable that India is becoming a hub
for clean tech. Many industry bigwigs already announced their expansion plans
to India. The central government has announced some subsidiaries to the solar
industry. However we need a national level policy for clean technology. The
state governments should setup a technology cell within the Industries depart-
ment or Information Technology department to provide information and oth-
er support on clean technologies. Un-
doubtedly we can say that clean tech-
nology is one of the emerging sectors
in India. The overall level of aware-
ness for doing more with resources as
well as creating alternative sources of
energy is high. There is a considerable
push from the central government in
terms of incentives, resources and sub-
sidies to the sector which makes more
capital efficient.
IT and IT and IT and IT and IT and T TT TTelecom- elecom- elecom- elecom- elecom-
munications munications munications munications munications
4G Phones
Being the successor to the 3G and 2G,
the 4g is the fourth generation of cel-
lular wireless standards which are IP
packet switched networks with in-
creased data speeds for a faster net-
work.
Some of the features of 4G mobile
phones are:
1. Higher connection speeds from an
average of 100 MB per second wire-
less signal sharing to Wi-Fi enabled
devices
2. Increased convenience and aes-
thetic appeal
3. Video calling and numerous oth-
er applications
4. Improved camera placement and
quality
5. Better coverage areas
6. Multitasking capabilities for si-
multaneously running multiple ap-
plications
7. Higher battery capacity.
Bendable paper phone
Canadian Researchers have recently
developed a prototype mobile phone
made from electronic paper. The Paper
phone uses a flexible display that can
be bent in different ways to execute a
series of actions, otherwise known as
bend sensing or bend gesture input
recognition. The phone is made from a
3.7-inch Bloodhound flexible electro-
phoretic display, created by the Arizo-
na State University Flexible Display
Centre, and a layer of five two-inch Flex
point bidirectional bend sensors. It is
powered by the E Ink Broadsheet AM
300 Kit, including a Gumstix proces-
sor. The researchers chose six bend
gesture pairs from a total of 87 identi-
fied by participants of their study.
These are similar to touch screen ges-
tures like pinching the screen, but fo-
Cleantech, also
referred to as
clean technology,
and often used
interchangeably
with the term
greentech, has
emerged as an
umbrella term
encompassing the
investment asset
class, technology,
and business
sectors which
include clean
energy, environ-
mental, and
sustainable or
green, products
and services.
Current Science and Technology
TIMES
Civil Services
cus on bending or flexing the phones
thin surface to perform an action. The
six gestures include bending the side
of the display up or down, the top cor-
ner up or down, and the bottom corner
up or down. The possibilities for the
technology are broad. It could be used
in place of a standard smart phone, or a
kind of electronic pocketbook could be
made available, where different infor-
mation and bend actions pertaining to
that information is available on a
unique page.
Japanese K Computer
The Fujitsu-designed K Computer,
was recently announced the winner
of the biannual Top 500 supercomput-
er list at the International Supercom-
puting Conference (ISC) held in Ham-
burg. It is three times faster on the
Linpack high-performance computing
(HPC) benchmark than last winner,
the Tianhe-1A. K Computer is capa-
ble of over eight quadrillion calcula-
tions per second with an Rmax score
of 8.16 petaflops. This makes it more
powerful than the next five systems
in the top 10 combined. Unlike previ-
ous winners, K Computer does not
use graphical processing units (GPUs),
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a comprehensive solution that delivers IT as a service. It is an Internet-based computing solution
where shared resources are provided like electricity distributed on the electrical grid. Computers in the cloud are
configured to work together and the various applications use the collective computing power as if they are running
on a single system. The flexibility of cloud computing is a function of the allocation of resources on demand. This
facilitates the use of the systems cumulative resources, negating the need to assign specific hardware to a task. Before
cloud computing, websites and server-based applications were executed on a specific system. With the advent of cloud
computing, resources are used as an aggregated virtual computer. This amalgamated configuration provides an
environment where applications execute independently without regard for any particular configuration. Thus Cloud
computing is a paradigm for large-scale distributed computing that makes use of existing technologies such as
virtualization, service-orientation, and grid computing. It offers a different way to acquire and manage IT resources
on a large scale. A simple example of cloud computing is webmail. The webmail provider maintains the server space
and provides access; the webmail user just plugs a web address into a browser and submits user information to access
an account.
Benefits of the Cloud Computing: (a) Reduced cost: Cloud computing can reduce both capital expense and operating
expense costs because resources are only acquired when needed and are only paid for when used. (b) Refined usage of
personnel: Using cloud computing frees valuable personnel allowing them to focus on delivering value rather than
maintaining hardware and software. (c) Robust scalability: Cloud computing allows for immediate scaling, either up or
down, at any time without long-term commitment.
Reason for adopting Cloud Computing by Organisations
Availability: Users have the ability to access their resources at any time through a standard internet connection.
Collaboration: Users begin to see the cloud as a way to work simultaneously on common data and information.
Elasticity: The provider transparently manages a users resource utilization based on dynamically changing needs.
Lower Infrastructure Costs: The pay-per-usage model allows an organization to only pay for the resources they need
with basically no investment in the physical resources available in the cloud. There are no infra-structure maintenance
or upgrade costs.
Mobility: Users have the ability to access data and applications from around the globe.
Risk Reduction: Organizations can use the cloud to test ideas and concepts before making major investments in
technology.
Problems in Adoption of Cloud Computing
The following table highlights the concerns related in adoption of cloud computing:
Concern: It can act as a barrier to cloud computing adoption
Interoperability: A universal set of standards and/or interfaces have not yet been defined, resulting in a significant
risk of vendor lock-in.
Latency: All access to the cloud is done via the internet, introducing latency into every communication between the
user and the provider.
Platform or Language Constraints: Some cloud providers support specific platforms and languages only.
Regulations: There are concerns in the cloud computing community over jurisdiction, data protection, fair informa-
tion practices, and international data transfermainly for organizations that manage sensitive data.
Security: The main concern is data privacy: users do not have control or knowledge of where their data is being stored.
Relationship of Cloud Computing and Grid Computing: A grid is a system that uses open, general-purpose proto-
cols to federate distributed resources and to deliver better-than-best-effort qualities of service. Although the distinc-
tion with cloud computing is not clear, one differentiator is that grid computing relates exclusively to infrastructure
services. A grid infrastructure provides a set of abstractions and interfaces for access to, and management of, shared
resources.
Conclusion: In this revolutionary new era, cloud computing can provide organizations with the means and methods
needed to ensure financial stability and high quality service. Of course, there must be global cooperation if the cloud
computing process is to attain optimal security and general operational standards. With the advent of cloud comput-
ing it is imperative for us all to be ready for the revolution.
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such as those made by Nvidia, nor
does it use x86 processors from Intel
and AMD; instead, it is based on Fujit-
su-designed Sparc processors. K Com-
puter is based at the independent Rik-
en research lab in Japan. Riken caries
out research in physics, chemistry,
medical science, biology and engi-
neering. It needs to be noted here that
Japan was last home to the worlds
most powerful Top 500 system in 2004,
with the 36-teraflop Earth Simulator.
In the new Top 500 list, Tianhe-1A of
China came second and US Oak Ridge
National Labs Jaguar came third.
What is Linpack high-performance
computing (HPC) benchmark: LIN-
PACK is a software library for perform-
ing numerical linear algebra on digi-
tal computers. It was written in FOR-
TRAN by Jack Dongarra, Jim Bunch,
Cleve Moler, and Gilbert Stewart. LIN-
PACK makes use of the BLAS (Basic
Linear Algebra Subprograms) librar-
ies for performing basic vector and
matrix operations. The LINPACK
Benchmarks are a measure of a systems
floating point computing power.
ICANN
In one of the historic decisions, the
ICANNs Board of Directors recently
approved a plan to usher in one of the
biggest changes ever to the Internets
Domain Name System. The ICANNs
Board had approved a plan to allow
an increase in the number of Internet
address endings - called generic top-
level domains (gTLDs) - from the cur-
rent 22, which includes such familiar
domains as .com, .org and .net. With
their introduction, any organization,
company, government, or even indi-
vidual with enough resources would
be able to select their own characters
to use at the end of a URL. So, for ex-
ample, we could see domains such as
.pepsi, .gap, .google, and endless oth-
ers. New gTLDs will change the way
people find information on the Inter-
net and how businesses plan and struc-
ture their online presence. Virtually
every organization with an online
presence could be affected in some
way. With the introduction of gTLDs
internet address names will be able to
end with almost any word in any lan-
guage, offering organizations around
the world the opportunity to market
their brand, products, community or
cause in new and innovative ways.
Hurdles in creating gTLDs: Creating
a gTLD will not be simple or cheap.
Registering one of the existing 22 TLDs
can be done online with a credit card
for a few dollars. A gTLD requires the
owner to setup and look after the do-
main meaning serious investment in
hardware and infrastructure to support
it. Therefore gTLDs will be limited to
those with the resources to implement
such a system and the funds to keep it
operating. In addition to these hurdles
the gTLD also has to receive approval
from ICANN after they have checked
to see if you are capable of running it.
Fact Box ICANN: The Internet Cor-
poration for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN) is an internation-
ally organized, non-profit corporation
that has responsibility for Internet
Protocol (IP) address space allocation,
protocol identifier assignment, gener-
ic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD)
Top-Level Domain name system
management, and root server system
management functions. It was created
in 1998 to oversee a number of Inter-
net-related tasks previously per-
formed directly on behalf of the US
government by other organizations,
notably the Internet Assigned Num-
bers Authority (IANA). The headquar-
ters of the ICANN is located in Mari-
na Del Rey, California, United States.
Rod Beckstrom is the President and
Chief Executive Officer of ICANN
and Stephen Crocker is the Chairman
of ICANNs Board of Directors.
Understating Domain Name System:
The Domain Name System (DNS)
helps users find their way around the
Internet. Every computer on the In-
ternet has a unique address called its
IP address (Internet Protocol ad-
dress). Because IP addresses (which are
strings of numbers) are hard to re-
member, the DNS allows a familiar
string of letters (the domain name)
National Optical Fibre Network
The Telecom Commission has recommeneded the Scheme for creation of
National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) for providing Broadband connec-
tivity to Panchayats. The objective of the scheme is to extend initially the
existing optical fiber network which extends upto districts HQ's/Block HQ's
level upto the Gram Panchayat level by utilizing Universal Service Obliga-
tion Fund (USOF) .The cost of the initial phase of the NOFN scheme is likely
to be in the region of RS 20,000 crore. Similar amount of investment is likely
to be made by private sector complementing the NOFN infrastructure while
providing services to individual users. A High Level Committee (HLC) to
steer and coordinate all activities related to the creation and implementation
of NOFN was earlier constituted by DOT on 26th April 2011 under the Co-
Chairmanship of Sam Pitroda, Adviser to PM on Public Information, Infra-
structure and Innovation and Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI. The HLC
has already held 3 meetings and has initiated steps to put the implementation
on a fast track. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will assume the responsibil-
ity for execution of the project after approval of the scheme by the cabinet.
The SPV will be finally owned by the Government/USOF. The BSNL has
been entrusted with the task of undertaking the preparatory activity for project
execution and establishment of the SPV
Benefits:
1. In economic terms, the benefits from the scheme are expected through
additional employment, e-education, e-health, e-agriculture etc. and re-
duction in migration of rural population to urban areas.
2. As per a study conducted by World Bank, with every 10 per cent in-
crease in broadband penetration, there is an increase in GDP growth by
1.4 per cent. It will also facilitate the Government to implement its vari-
ous e-governance initiatives such as e-health, e-banking, e-education etc.
thereby facilitating inclusive growth.
3. It will also provide a network for electronic delivery of services to
citizens apart from enabling various services to citizen services.
4. The proposed NOFN will enable effective and faster implementation
of various mission mode e-governance projects amounting to approx Rs
50,000 cr. initiated by Department of Information Technology as well as
delivery of a whole range of electronic services.
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to be used instead.
Energy Sector
Renewable energy: IPCC study
Renewable energy could account for
almost 80 per cent of the worlds ener-
gy supply within four decades - but
only if governments pursue the poli-
cies needed to promote green power,
according to a landmark report of the
UNs IPCC. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, the body
of the worlds leading climate scien-
tists convened by the United Nations,
said that if the full range of renewable
technologies were deployed, the
world could keep greenhouse gas con-
centrations to less than 450 parts per
million, the level scientists have pre-
dicted will be the limit of safety be-
yond which climate change becomes
catastrophic and irreversible. But gen-
eration of renewable to this extent
would require an investment of about
1 per cent of global GDP annually. It
is here mentioned that renewable en-
ergy is already growing fast of the
300 giga-watts of new electricity gen-
eration capacity added globally be-
tween 2008 and 2009, about 140GW
came from renewable sources, such as
wind and solar power.
Future Perspectives for Renewable
Energy in India: India faces an acute
energy scarcity which hampers its in-
dustrial growth and economic
progress. Setting up of new power
plants is inevitably dependent on im-
port of highly volatile fossil fuels.
Thus, it is essential to tackle the ener-
gy crisis through judicious utilization
of abundant the renewable energy re-
sources, such as biomass energy, so-
lar energy, wind energy and geother-
mal energy. Apart from augmenting
the energy supply, renewable resourc-
es will help India in mitigating cli-
mate change. India is heavily depen-
dent on fossil fuels for its energy needs.
Most of the power generation is car-
ried out by coal and mineral oil-based
power plants which contribute heavi-
ly to greenhouse gases emission. En-
ergy is a necessity and sustainable re-
newable energy is a vital link in in-
dustrialization and development of
India. A transition from conventional
energy systems to those based on re-
newable resources is thus necessary
to meet the ever-increasing demand
for energy and to address our envi-
ronmental concerns.
The available renewable energy
sources in India: (a) Solar Energy- It is
a clean renewable resource with zero
emission, has got tremendous poten-
tial of energy which can be harnessed
using a variety of devices. With re-
cent developments, solar energy sys-
tems are easily available for industri-
al and domestic use with the added
advantage of minimum maintenance.
Solar energy could be made financial-
ly viable with government tax incen-
tives and rebates. (b) Wind Energy:
Wind power is one of the most effi-
cient alternative energy sources. There
has been good deal of development
in wind turbine technology over the
last decade with many new companies
joining the fray. Wind turbines have
become larger, efficiencies and avail-
abilities have improved and wind
farm concept has become popular. It
could be combined with solar, espe-
cially for a total self-sustainability
Green Growth
The government of India recently announced the setting up of a high-level
expert group to assess the impact of economic growth on environment. The
expert group has been constituted under environment economist Partha
Dasgupta to provide a roadmap for Green National Accounting System (GNA)
to evaluate impact of economic growth on environment by 2015. The group
is set up jointly by the Planning Commission and Ministry of Environment.
The panel will also include distinguished economists Nitin Desai, Vijay
Kelkar and Kirit Parikh. The committee has been mandated to evaluate the
environmental and ecological implications of high GDP growth on ecology
and biodiversity.
Elaborating Economic Growth and Environment: The model of economic
growth which we follow provides a basis on which sustainable environ-
mental improvements can and often do occur. The Kuznets Curve suggests a
bell-shaped relationship between the concentration of certain pollution emis-
sions and per-capita real GDP. As lower-income countries industrialize, in-
tensive burning of relatively dirty fossil fuels initially fuels production and
consumption and causes some of the worlds worst urban air pollution in
low-income countries. As per capita incomes rise, a share of the new wealth
can be used to buy cleaner fuels like natural gas and to develop more ener-
gy-efficient technologies.
About Green Growth: Green Growth is a policy focus that emphasizes envi-
ronmentally sustainable economic progress to foster low-carbon, socially
inclusive development.
Need for Green Growth: We are at the forefront of the 21st century surge in
economic growth, a situation driven primarily by exports and which has led
to expanded production requirements needed to fuel an ever increasing
amount of trade. This has significantly compounded our environmental car-
rying capacity. We are now shouldering an increasingly greater share of
regional and global environmental production-related burdens. Coupled
with evolving production patterns, these impacts are driving changes in
consumption patterns in our country and policies are needed to ensure that
these developments will be environmentally sustainable. The past axiom of
grow first, clean up later, cannot apply in our country that has such a
limited natural resource base and a rapidly growing population directly
dependent on natural resources. In light of the recent fuel, food and financial
crisis, it is now imperative for us to reassess our development paths.
Means to achieve Green Growth: In order to achieve Green Growth it is
crucial to change development approaches from grow first, clean up later
to a more responsible long-term attitude. Governments can promote this by
encouraging economic growth with an emphasis on environmental and so-
cial concerns. It is imperative that we modify our economic growth model to
alleviate poverty and to achieve social progress. However, increased envi-
ronmental degradation, climate change and diminishing natural resources
require an unconventional approach to support the export-driven economic
activities.
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project. (c) Bio-mass Energy: Biomass
energy can play a major role in reduc-
ing Indias reliance on fossil fuels by
making use of thermo-chemical con-
version technologies. In addition, the
increased utilization of biomass-based
fuels will be instrumental in safe-
guarding the environment, creating
new job opportunities, sustainable
development and health improve-
ments in rural areas. Biomass energy
could also aid in modernizing the ag-
ricultural economy. (d) Waste-To-En-
ergy: Waste-to-energy plants offer two
important benefits of environmental-
ly sound waste management and dis-
posal, as well as the generation of
clean electric power. Waste-to-energy
facilities produce clean, renewable
energy through thermo-chemical, bio-
chemical and physicochemical meth-
ods. Moreover, waste-to-energy plants
are highly efficient in harnessing the
untapped sources of energy from a
variety of wastes.
Conclusion: There is an urgent need
for transition from petroleum-based
energy systems to one based on re-
newable resources to decrease reliance
on depleting reserves of fossil fuels
and to mitigate climate change. In ad-
dition, renewable energy has the po-
tential to create many employment
opportunities at all levels, especially
in rural areas. An emphasis on pre-
senting the real picture of massive re-
newable energy potential, it would be
possible to attract foreign investments
to herald a Green Energy Revolution
in India.
600 MW turbo generators
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
(BHEL) has successfully manufactured
and tested the countrys first large ca-
pacity new series Turbo Generator of
600 MW rating. The generator shall
be supplied and installed at the up-
coming North Chennai Thermal Pow-
er Project of Tamil Nadu Electricity
Board (TNEB). With the successful test-
ing of the generator, a new benchmark
has been set by BHEL with respect to
indigenous manufacture of thermal
sets with supercritical parameters.
Several sets of 600 MW, 660 MW, 700
MW and 800 MW ratings are present-
ly under various stages of manufac-
ture at BHELs Haridwar plant. The
facility for assembly and testing of this
series of Generators has been designed
and engineered in-house at BHELs
Haridwar plant. The new facility has
the capability to manufacture and test
Turbo Generators of up to 1,000 MW
rating and has test pits for assembly
of two generators simultaneously.
25th nuclear power plant
India is moving forward with nuclear
power generation despite worldwide
concerns about the safety of civilian
nuclear power electricity generation
after the March disaster in Japans
Fukushima complex. India recently
began construction of its 25th atomic
power plant and announced to build
four more indigenous 700 MW units
than planned earlier. The first pour of
concrete for the 700 MW indigenous
Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor
(PHWR), the seventh nuclear plant at
the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station
(RAPS), took place about 65 km from
Kota. RAPS currently operate six PH-
WRs at the facility, five of which are
producing more than 1,180 MW, In-
dias largest nuclear power electrical
generation from a single facility. The
new complex will be RAPS seventh
nuclear power plant built at the Rajas-
than site. The 700-megawatt PHWR
was designed by NPCIL by scaling up
the design of its 540-megawatt PHWRs
operating at Tarapur since 2005. The
new RAPS facility is expected to be
completed by 2016.
Indias civilian nuclear program is
contentious because the country has
never signed the Nuclear Non Prolif-
eration Treaty, which guarantees sig-
natories the option to approach pro-
viders of nuclear technology world-
wide for assistance in constructing
NPPs. As India isnt a signatory of the
NPT, development of its civilian in-
Largest water mass
Two teams of astronomers has discovered the largest and farthest reservoir
of water ever detected in the universe. The water, equivalent to 140 trillion
times all the water in the worlds ocean, surrounds a huge, feeding black
hole, called a quasar, more than 12 billion light-years away. A quasar is
powered by an enormous black hole that steadily consumes a surrounding
disk of gas and dust. As it eats, the quasar spews out huge amounts of energy.
Both groups of astronomers studied a particular quasar called APM 08279+5255,
which harbours a black hole 20 billion times more massive than the sun and
produces as much energy as a thousand trillion suns. Astronomers expected
water vapour to be present even in the early, distant universe, but had not
detected it this far away before. Theres water vapour in the Milky Way,
although the total amount is 4,000 times less than in the quasar, because most
of the Milky Ways water is frozen in ice. Water vapour is an important trace
gas that reveals the nature of the quasar. In this particular quasar, the water
vapour is distributed around the black hole in a gaseous region spanning
hundreds of light-years in size. Its presence indicates that the quasar is bath-
ing the gas in X-rays and infrared radiation, and that the gas is unusually
warm and dense by astronomical standards.
The discovery was made with a spectrograph called Z-Spec operating in the
millimetre wavelengths (between infrared and microwave) at the Caltech
Sub-millimetre Observatory, a 10-meter telescope near the summit of Mauna
Kea, on the big island of Hawaii. Z-Specs detectors are cooled to within 0.06
degrees Celsius of absolute zero in order to obtain the exquisite sensitivity
required for these measurements. The head of the team that made the discov-
eries were Matt Bradford, a scientist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory and
DariuszLis, senior research associate in physics at Caltech and deputy direc-
tor of the Caltech Sub-millimetre Observatory.
Significance of the Discovery: The discovery highlights the utility of the
millimetre and sub-millimetre band for astronomy, which has developed
rapidly in the last two to three decades. To achieve the potential of this
relatively new spectral range, astronomers, are now designing CCAT, a 25-
meter telescope for the high Chilean Atacama desert. With CCAT astrono-
mers will discover some of the earliest galaxies in the universe, and will be
able to study their gas content via measurements of water as well as other
important gas species.
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Civil Services
dustry to construct NPPS was ham-
pered until 2008, when the Nuclear
Suppliers Group, the oversight orga-
nization that controls global nuclear
commerce, granted India a waiver on
for the transference of sensitive po-
tential dual use nuclear technologies,
whose end by products might be used
to fuel covert military nuclear pro-
grams. The RAPS construction high-
lights Indias determination to em-
brace nuclear power generation as a
cost-effective solution despite the
chilling worldwide effect of the March
nuclear debacle at Japans Fukushima
nuclear complex.
Tummalapalle
It is expected that Tummalapalle mine
in the Cuddapah district in Andhra
Pradesh could have one of the largest
uranium reserves in the world. On
preliminary estimation it has been
indicated that it could have a reserve
of 1.5 lakh tonnes of the scarce materi-
al. It would be enough to feed an 8,000
megawatt nuclear power plant until
year 2047. Nevertheless, the studies
have already shown that the area had
a confirmed reserve of 49,000 tonnes
and recent surveys indicate that this
figure could go up even threefold. In-
dia has estimated reserves of about
175,000 tonnes of uranium. It is im-
portant to note that India is planning
to set up some 30 reactors over as
many years and get a quarter of its
electricity from nuclear energy by
2050. New deposits have, however,
been found in Meghalaya, Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka. The AMD has
also identified about 4,000 tonnes of
uranium deposits at Gogi in Gulbar-
ga district of Karnataka, which is a
very rich ore. At the Tummalapalle
mine, UCIL would start a mill to pro-
cess the uranium ore into yellow cake
by 2012. The ore in yellow cake form
is converted into fuel bundles and fed
into the nuclear power reactor. The
Rawatbhata nuclear power plant,
home to six rectors of 220 MW capaci-
ty each, will now get two 700 MW re-
actors by 2016.
Uranium was discovered by German
chemist Martin Klaproth in 1789. It is
named after the planet Uranus. It is
important to refer that uranium is the
world's only naturally occurring fis-
sionable element. Under Fission, or
splitting of the nucleus into smaller
neutrons, releases a chain reaction of
tremendous energy and more neu-
trons. In this process, a vast quantity
of heat released which is used in mod-
ern nuclear reactors to generate elec-
tricity.
Public Health
and Medicine
Methadone
Maintenance Treatment
Addiction to heroin and other opio-
ids poses serious problems for com-
munities, families, and individuals.
Solutions sometimes seem uncertain,
difficult, and controversial. During
more than 40 years since its develop-
ment, methadone maintenance treat-
ment (MMT) has helped millions of
persons in recovery from opioid ad-
diction; allowing them to improve
their health, redeem their family and
social lives.
Beneficial effects of Methadone for
Opioid addiction: Methadone was de-
veloped by German scientists in the
late 1930s. It was approved by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
in 1947 as a painkiller, and by 1950
oral methadone also was used to treat
the painful symptoms of persons with-
drawing from opioids, usually hero-
in. MMT was viewed as corrective
therapy, rather than as a cure for
opioid addiction, and it had no or only
limited efficacy in treating depen-
dence on other substances of abuse.
Following are the benefits of the
MMT:
(a) An adequate maintenance dose of
methadone does not make the patient
feel high or drowsy, so the patient
can generally carry on a normal life.
Daily drug-seeking to feed a habit
ceases.
(b) Methadone can be taken once dai-
ly by mouth without the use of injec-
tion needles, which limits exposure to
diseases like hepatitis and HIV.
(c) Methadones gradual, long-lasting
effects eliminate drug hunger or crav-
ing.
(d) There is little change in tolerance
to methadone over time, so it does not
take more of the drug to achieve the
same results.
(e) Euphoria-blocking effects of meth-
adone make taking illicit opioids un-
desirable
(f) Used properly, methadone is gen-
erally safe and nontoxic, with mini-
mal side effects.
ICMR clears MMT Project for India:
The ICMR and Drugs Controller Gen-
eral (India) recently cleared the MMT
project for India on a pilot basis. Meth-
adone, a synthetic opioid used as main-
tenance anti-addictive, will be tried at
five centres across the country. The
project is being funded and technical-
ly supported by United Nations Of-
fice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Super-Sticky Ultra-Bad
Cholesterol
Scientists from the University of War-
wick recently discovered why a new-
ly found form of cholesterol seems to
be ultra-bad, leading to increased
risk of heart disease. The discovery
could lead to new treatments to pre-
vent heart disease particularly in peo-
ple with Type 2 diabetes and the eld-
erly. The research, funded by the Brit-
ish Heart Foundation (BHF), found
that ultra-bad cholesterol, called
MGmin-low-density lipoprotein
(LDL), which is more common in peo-
ple with type 2 diabetes and the elder-
Solar Plane
The Solar Impulse, the first plane in
the world to be powered entirely by
the sun, recently completed its first
international flight from Payerne,
Switzerland to Brussels, Belgium. Af-
ter a flight lasting 12 hours 59 min-
utes, using no fuel and propelled by
solar power alone, the Solar Impulse
HB-SIA landed safely with pilot An-
dr Borschberg at the controls. The
objective of the mission was to dem-
onstrate the technical abilities of the
plane and what we can do with exist-
ing technology in terms of renewable
energy and energy savings. Beyond
the challenging goal of flying a solar
airplane around the world, the Solar
Impulse has a social mission to
promote the maximum use of renew-
able energies in order to safeguard
the sustainability of our planet. The
plane, which requires 12,000 solar
cells, embarked on its first flight in
April 2010 and made history three
months later by flying continuously
for 26 hours. This ground-breaking
overnight flight proves that it is pos-
sible to store and utilize solar ener-
gy even when the sun isnt shining.
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Civil Services
ly, appears to be stickier than nor-
mal LDL. This makes it more likely to
attach to the walls of arteries. When
LDL attaches to artery walls it helps
form the dangerous fatty plaques
that cause coronary heart disease
(CHD). The researchers made the dis-
covery by creating human MGmin-
LDL in the laboratory, then studying
its characteristics and interactions
with other important molecules in the
body. They found that MGmin-LDL is
created by the addition of sugar
groups to normal LDL a process
called glycation making LDL small-
er and denser. By changing its shape,
the sugar groups expose new regions
on the surface of the LDL. These ex-
posed regions are more likely to stick
to artery walls, helping to build fatty
plaques. As fatty plaques grow, they
narrow arteries reducing blood
flow and they can eventually rup-
ture, triggering a blood clot that caus-
es a heart attack or stroke. The discov-
ery might also explain why metform-
in, a widely prescribed type 2 diabe-
tes drug, seems to lead to reduced
heart disease risk. Metformin is
known to lower blood sugar levels,
and this new research shows it may
reduce the risk of CHD by blocking
the transformation of normal LDL to
the more sticky MGmin-LDL.
Space
Technology
Space shuttle Endeavour
The space shuttle Endeavour has glid-
ed home for its final landing and the
conclusion of the next to last mission
of the 30-year-old US shuttle program.
STS-134 was the last mission for the
youngest of NASAs space shuttle fleet.
Since 1992, Endeavour flew 25 mis-
sions, spent 299 days in space, orbited
Earth 4,671 times and travelled
122,883,151 miles. Mark Kelly com-
manded the last flight and was accom-
panied by Pilot Greg H. Johnson and
Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew
Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and the Eu-
ropean Space Agencys Roberto Vit-
tori. In its final mission, Endeavour
delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spec-
trometer-2 (AMS), beginning a scien-
tific voyage of discovery to our solar
system and beyond from the Interna-
tional Space Station. By measuring
cosmic rays, AMS is designed to help
researchers understand the origin of
the universe and search for evidence
of dark matter, strange matter and
antimatter. In addition to this the fi-
nal flight delivered the Express Logis-
tics Carrier-3, a platform carrying
spare parts that will sustain space sta-
tion operations once the shuttles are
retired from service. The astronauts
performed four spacewalks to main-
tain station systems and install new
components.
Factual Data about Endeavour: Space
Shuttle Endeavour-105 was authorized
by the US Congress in 1987 as a re-
placement for the Space Shuttle Orbit-
er, Challenger. Endeavour was named
after a ship chartered to traverse the
South Pacific in 1768 and captained by
18th century British explorer James
Cook, an experienced seaman, navi-
gator and amateur astronomer. En-
deavour first flew in May 1992 on mis-
sion STS-49. One of Endeavours pri-
mary assignments was to capture IN-
TELSAT VI, an orbiting, but not func-
tioning, communications satellite, and
replace its rocket motor. The final
flight of Endeavour, the STS-134 mis-
sion, originally thought as the final
mission of the Space Shuttle program
but the proposed STS-135 mission was
approved, and now Atlantis will be
the final Space Shuttle to fly in the
month of July.
Retirement of Space Shuttle and its
Replacement: Its no secret that NASA
needs a replacement for the aging STS
Space Transport System or more
commonly, the Space Shuttle. The
shuttle program has been the most
costly space program in history. De-
spite huge investments in improve-
ments and upgrades for safety, it has
proven to be dangerous and ineffec-
tive for its intended missions name-
ly space science and construction of
the Space Station now on hold. It has
had its successes the Hubble repairs
in 1993, 1997 and 1999 and dozens of
successful placements of important
military and communications satel-
lites. First Challenger and then Co-
lumbia accidents have placed a dark
shadow on the whole program. The
last launch showed the safety fixes in-
adequate. The shuttle still has serious
problems with the ceramic tiles that
form the re-entry heat shield, i.e. they
come unglued and fall off and are sus-
ceptible to damage from falling de-
bris during launch.
In addition to all these technical hic-
cups, with the final launch of STS-134
mission by Endeavour, NASA is now
in serious mood of finding the most
suitable replacement for its space shut-
tle programme. NASA has already
planned an ambitious plan to have a
replacement spacecraft ready by 2013.
This is two years earlier than NASAs
previously stated goal of getting the
next generation Orion Crew Explora-
tion Vehicle and the Ares I and Ares V
rockets ready by 2015.The Ares rocket
contains features from both the cur-
rent shuttle and the old Saturn rockets
E. coli Infection
E. coli stands for Escherichia coli bacteria (germs) that cause severe cramps
and diarrhoea. E. coli is a leading cause of bloody diarrhoea. The symptoms
are worse in children and older people, and especially in people who have
another illness. E. coli infection is more common during the summer months
and in northern states.
Symptoms of E. coli Infection: (a) bad stomach cramps and belly pain. (b)
Vomiting. (c) Diarrhoea, sometimes with blood in it.
Complications related to E. coli: The most common complication is called
haemolytic uremic syndrome. People with this problem get haemolytic
anaemia (which is a low red blood cell count), thrombocytopenia (which is a
low platelet count) and renal failure (which is kidney damage). Haemolytic
uremic syndrome is more common in children. It can cause acute renal fail-
ure in children. This problem starts about 5 to 10 days after the diarrhoea
starts.
Recent Outbreak of E. coli: A new strain of E. coli containing gens from two
distinct groups of enters aggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enter haemorrhagic
E. coli (EHEC) has hit European nations. This outbreak of E. coli linked to
contaminated salad vegetables had caused at least 22 deaths and hundreds of
infections in Germany, Sweden and other countries.
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that carried the Apollo astronauts to
the Moon. Ares I is a two-stage rocket
designed to loft NASAs new capsule-
based vehicle, Orion, into orbit. Its
larger, cargo-only counterpart is Ares
V, which will be the most powerful
rocket ever built and capable of carry-
ing five to six times more payload
than the shuttle. Orion will replace the
shuttle as NASAs vehicle to ferry as-
tronauts to the International Space Sta-
tion, and it will also be the vehicle the
agency plans to use to return to the
Moon in 2020.
Atlantis Returns
The 135th, and final, space-shuttle mis-
sion was completed recently with the
safe return of Atlantis back to earth
after making resupplies to the Inter-
national Space Station and deliver an
experiment intended to help develop
a refuelling system for telecommuni-
cations satellites. The STS-135 crew
consisted of Commander Chris Fer-
guson, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission
Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex
Walheim. They delivered more than
9,400 pounds of spare parts, spare
equipment and other supplies in the
Raffaello multi-purpose logistics
module - including 2,677 pounds of
food - that will sustain space station
operations for the next year. The 21-
foot long, 15-foot diameter Raffaello
brought back nearly 5,700 pounds of
unneeded materials from the station.
Atlantis will now become a museum
piece, on display at the space centre.
STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight
for Atlantis, which spent 307 days in
space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and
travelled 125,935,769 miles. The end
of the shuttle programme, which
leaves America without the ability to
launch people into orbit for the first
time since 1962, has been the subject
of much controversy between those
who think manned space flight a
waste of money and those who see
space as the countrys manifest desti-
ny and the final frontier of human ex-
ploration. Alternative systems for
launching humans, employing single-
shot rockets, are under development
by several American companies. In the
meantime, American astronauts
bound for the space station will have
to hitch a lift with the Russians.
The End of the Shuttle Programme:
What Next: With the space shuttle At-
lantis completing its last mission, the
30-year space shuttle program official-
ly comes to an end. Like the other re-
tired shuttles, Atlantis will be shipped
off to a museum, leaving NASA with-
out any vehicles for human space-
flight. With the Shuttle Program end-
ing, it should be considered that its
the end of NASAs manned spaceflight
program. But the reality is that its
quite the opposite: Not only will
manned spaceflight continue, but
NASA is also receiving a budget in-
crease. The reality is that the Space
Shuttle is simply being replaced by
safer and more efficient means.
The options being explored by NASA
are as follows:
(a) Russia and NASA Deal: NASA re-
cently signed a deal with Russia for
$753 million to provide NASA with
12 round trips to the International
Space Station at a cost of about $62.7
million per seat.
GSAT-12
The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched a Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C-17), placing the GSAT-12 (it is Indias larg-
est communication satellite) satellite into orbit. GSAT-12 is a 1,410 kilogram
satellite, constructed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it
will be operated as part of the Indian National Satellite System, or INSAT.
Based upon the I1K satellite bus, GSAT-12 carries twelve transponders and is
expected to operate for seven years. It is the second I1K-based satellite to fly,
the first being the Kalpana-1 weather satellite. Kalpana-1 was launched in
September 2002 as Metsat-1, before being renamed after astronaut Kalpana
Chawla, who was killed in the Columbia accident in 2003. GSAT-12 was
injected into an elliptical Transfer Orbit of 284 km perigee (closest point to
Earth) and 21,000 km apogee (farthest point to Earth). Subsequently, the on-
board Liquid Apogee Motor would be used to place the satellite in a circular
orbit. GSAT-12, aimed at augmenting the capacity in the INSAT system for
various communication services like tele-education, tele-medicine and Vil-
lage Resource Centres, would be co-located with INSAT-2E and INSAT-4A
satellites. GSAT-12 will replace INSAT-3B, which was the first third-genera-
tion INSAT spacecraft to be launched. INSAT-3B was launched by an Ariane
5G rocket on 21 March 2000, and has already exceeded its ten year design life.
About GSAT: The GramSat (GSAT) series of satellites began in 2001, with the
launch of GSAT-1. Launched on the maiden flight of the GSLV, it was placed
into a lower than planned orbit, and did not have sufficient fuel on board to
reach its intended geostationary orbit. GSAT-2 was successfully launched on
8 May 2003, also using a GSLV. GSAT-3, also known as EduSat, was also
launched successfully aboard a GSLV, on 20 September 2004. The fourth GSAT
spacecraft, GSAT-4, was launched on the first GSLV Mk.II on 15 April 2010.
The rocket featured a new Indian-built cryogenic upper stage; however the
launch ended in failure after this stage failed to ignite. A fifth satellite, GSAT-
5P, was also lost in a launch failure when the GSLV Mk.I carrying it went out
of control and was destroyed by range safety on 25 December last year.
About PSLV-C17: The launch of GSAT-12 was the nineteenth flight of the
PSLV, with flight number C17. The launch used the PSLV-XL configuration,
which features six PS0M-XL boosters with S-12 solid rocket motors in place of
the six regular PS0M boosters with S-9 motors used by the standard PSLV.
This was the second flight of the PSLV-XL configuration, which was previ-
ously used in the launch of Chandrayaan-1 in November 2008. It is currently
the most powerful PSLV variant in service. PSLV-C17 measuring 44.5 m
height, with a lift off weight of 320 tonnes has four stages of solid and liquid
propulsion systems alternately.
Salient feature of Mission: (a) For the first time, use of indigenously de-
signed and developed On-Board computer (OBC) with Vikram 1601 proces-
sor in both primary and redundant chains of the vehicle. The OBC performs
the functions of Navigation, Guidance and Control processing for the vehi-
cle. (b) Use of extended solid strap-on configuration. (c) Satellite injection in
elliptical transfer orbit sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
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This signals an 8.5 per cent increase;
however, statistically speaking, the
Soyuz spacecraft is one of the safest
spacecrafts ever created, and is safer
than NASAs Space Shuttle.
(b) The Atlas V and the Delta IV: The
Atlas V and the Delta IV are currently
the two most probably alternatives
that NASA may use to carry astronauts
into space. In fact, both the Atlas and
the Delta rocket families were being
considered as replacements before
NASA took on the Constellation Pro-
gram. The Atlas V and the Delta IV
could be human-rated (i.e. able to sup-
port manned spaceflight) with certain
modifications. Additionally, the Atlas
family already has a history of human
spaceflight with the Atlas LV-3Bthe
same vehicle which was used to send
astronauts to low Earth orbit for
Project Mercury.
(c) Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy: The
Falcon Heavy, created by SpaceX, is
apparently the most powerful rocket
in the world, with a lift capacity of
over 117,000 poundstwice the pay-
load of the next closest vehicle. The
Falcon Heavy provides a number of
benefits including huge cost savings.
NASA has awarded a contract of $75
million to SpaceX for the supply and
use of its rockets in future.
(d) Other Alternatives: There are doz-
ens of other private space companies
that are trying to develop launch ve-
hicles for both unmanned and manned
flight. Some of these companies are
already in the testing phases of their
space vehicles. (I) Blue Origin, found-
ed by Jeff Bezos, the founder of
Amazon.com is trying to create a com-
mercial suborbital tourist service. (II)
Space Adventures, the only private
company to have actually sent private
citizens to space on orbital missions
(7 times), now plans to send man to
the moon. (III) XCOR Aerospace, a
spaceflight company utilizing the
space plane design builds rocket en-
gines and plans to send man to space
on suborbital missions.
Defence sector
IAF MMRCA deal
The Defence Ministry had asked Euro
fighter and French Dassault Aviation
to extend validity of their commer-
cial bids for the multi-billion dollar
contract for 126 combat aircraft. Euro-
fighter is built by a consortium of four
countries-UK, Italy, Spain and Germa-
ny - whereas the Rafale is a French
aircraft developed by Dassault Avia-
tion. Along with these two fighters,
four other aircraft-the American F-16
and F/A-18, Russian MiG 35 and Swed-
ish Saab Gripen- vied with each other
in the five-year long tender for the
much awaited deal. After the finaliza-
tion of Eurofighter and Dassault the
remaining four companies will now
not be allowed to extend the validity
of their offers and their bids stands
expired.
Indo-US relations may feel the heat
of MMRCA deal: As India rejects U.S.
bids from Boeing and Lockheed Mar-
tin for the multi-billion dollar order
of Fighter Jets; it has now Rafale, Eu-
rofighter to fight it out over IAF MMR-
CA order. Indias decision to exclude
two American companies, Boeing and
Lockheed Martin , from its estimated
$ 11 billion 126 fighter jet deal is seen
in some quarters as strategically short-
sighted that can cause a setback to
Indo-US ties. If India had decided upon
American made jets, the choice would
have furthered US-India military ties
and manufacturing collaborations and
would have taken the bilateral trade
between the two to a much higher plat-
form. But had the deal gone further,
there would have always been uncer-
tainty about the American supply as
USA is not a trustworthy; it has been
known to stop supply of parts if the
buyer does not adhere to American
terms and conditions. Going by the
strategically important relation be-
tween India and US, we can emphati-
cally conclude that our relation go
much beyond few dollars of military
Remote Sensing Data Policy 2011
The government has announced a forward looking and new data sharing
policy for India's Remote Sensing satellites. The new policy effectively breaks
the monopoly that Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had on the
remote sensing sector. The policy makes it clear that now agencies other
than ISRO can also be 'nodal agencies' for remote sensing. It is clear that the
immediate beneficiary will be the military, but it also leaves a door open
for private agencies to own remote sensing satellites soon, if they desired.
The new Remote Sensing Data Policy 2011 (RSDP 2011) has replaced the 2001
policy which allowed all data of resolutions up to 5.8 metres to be distribut-
ed on non-discriminatory and "as requested" basis. The RSDP 2011, apart
from opening up the remote sensing sector, will remove certain restrictions
to facilitate more users to access high resolution data for developmental
activities. The RSDP however with a view to protect national security inter-
ests states that all data of better than 1 meter resolution shall be screened
and cleared by the appropriate agency prior to distribution. The policy adds
that government us-
ers namely, minis-
tries, departments,
public sector, auton-
omous bodies, gov-
ernment research and
development institu-
tions, government
educational, academ-
ic institutions, can
obtain the data with-
out any further clear-
ance. But private sector agencies which support developmental activities
will need the recommendation at least by one government agency. Accord-
ing to the RSDP 2011, the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) will be
vested with the authority to acquire and disseminate all satellite remote
sensing data in India both from Indian and foreign satellites for develop-
ment purposes. Further, the government reserves the right to impose con-
trol over imaging tasks and distribution of data from Indian remote sensing
satellite. The RSDP-2011 comes into effect immediately, and may be re-
viewed from time-to-time-by the government.
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Civil Services
and aeronautical hardware. Hence, the
Indian decision should not be viewed
as an offence by the American side.
Rational behind choosing Eurofight-
er and French Dassault: We need to
keep in consideration that the decision
of the defence ministry was largely
determined by technical consider-
ation. The Rafale and Typhoon were
shortlisted only after putting them
through an intense schedule of tech-
nical evaluations lasting over several
months. The factors that appear to have
favoured them are clearly the offer of
an equal partnership between the ven-
dor and the buyer, perceptible tech-
nology transfer, existing industrial
linkages and their superior perfor-
mance. Further, the infrastructural and
logistical support for maintenance and
spares of these aircraft would be much
easier to acquire.
Project 'SANGAM'
A software project 'SANGAM' for de-
fence pensioners has been launched.
The project 'SANGAM' will provide
useful Management Information Sys-
tem (MIS) to the financial planners in
the Ministry of Defence. Project 'SAN-
GAM' is a software which will facili-
tate issuance of corrigendum pension
payment orders. This will address the
demand from the ex-servicemen for
issue of individual corrigendum pen-
sion payment order consequent to
implementation of recommendations
of Sixth Central Pay Commission (6th
CPC). This software project is one step
forward from the project 'SUVIGYA'
which was launched in October last
year on the occasion of Defence Account
Department Day and is very popular
among defence pensioners. There are
about 18 lakh defence pensioners who
will be benefitted with the launch of
project 'SANGAM' in the long run. It
will also help in grievance redressal of
pensioners with regard to the correct-
ness of payment of pension.
Rani Rashmoni
Hindusthan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) has
launched a patrol vessel, Rani Rashmo-
ni, for the Indian Coast Guard, the fifth
and the last in the series. HSL had so
far launched 118 vessels from its slip-
ways, including Rani Rashmoni, and it
had built 164 vessels of various types
including 11 well-head platforms. It
had achieved turnover of Rs 662 crore
and profit after tax of Rs 56 crore.
C-17 Globemaster III
The Indian government has cleared the
country's largest defence deal with the
US so far. Long expected, the Cabinet
Committee on Security approved a
$4.1-billion deal for 10 Boeing C-17
Globemaster-III heavy transport air-
craft. The CCS meeting chaired by
Prime Minister cleared the proposal
for purchase of the planes from the US
through the Foreign Military Sales
(FMS) route. The deal is expected to
hold options for six more aircraft. The
deal includes $1.12-billion in offsets,
which reportedly includes a high-al-
titude engine test facility and trisonic
wind tunnel facility for India's Defence
Research and Development Organisa-
tion. Under the deal, the US defence
major Boeing, the manufacturer of the
aircraft, will have to invest 30 per cent
of the contract amount for setting up
defence facilities in India. As per the
defence procurement procedure in In-
dia, offsets clause entails that a ven-
dor winning a defence deal worth over
Prahar Missile
India has successfully conducted the
first test-fire of its indigenously devel-
oped supersonic short-range with 150
km, quick reaction, tactical surface-to-
surface missile 'Prahar meaning "to
strike" ' from the Integrated Test Range
off Orissa coast. It is a single stage mis-
sile and is fuelled by solid propellants
and It is a 7.3-m long missile with a
420 mm diameter. It weighs 1280 kgs
and goes to a height of 35 kms . The
uniqueness of the missile system is that
in one salvo, six missiles can be fired
with multiple targets. It fills the vital
gap between multi barrel rockets and
medium range ballistic missiles. It is
hoped that it will be helpful in filling
gaps between Pinaka multi-barrel
rockets with 40 km range and Prithvi ballistic missiles with ranges be-
tween 250-350 kms. and it can be compared to the Army Tactical Missile
System (ATACMS) of the United States.
The missile was developed by the DRDO scientists with the support of
Missile System and Quality Assurance Agency (MSQAA). It's development
involves several private players such as Tata and Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
This missile is a part of Indian Army's 'Cold Start' doctrine, which envi-
sions a rapid thrust by armored regiments into Pakistan in the event of a
provocation.
Advantages:
1. The missile is equipped with state-of-the art high accuracy naviga-
tion, guidance and electro mechanical actuation systems. The missile
has a quick reaction time, that is, it can be launched within a few min-
utes. Equipped with state of the art high accuracy navigation, guidance
and electro mechanical actuation systems with latest onboard comput-
er, it achieved terminal accuracy of less than 10 meters.
2. The major advantage of the missile is that it can carry a payload of
200 kgs and it can fire six miles at multiple targets in all directions. The
missile is developed by the DRDO and it will help our army get a cost
effective, all weather and all terrain high accurate battle field support
system.
3. It can carry different types of conventional warheads. Six Prahaar
missiles can be launched in salvo mode in different directions. It will
be able to carry up to 400 AT/AP bomblets, scatterable mines, anti-
runway munitions and similar loads, making it effective for a wide
number of targets.
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Civil Services
Rs. 300 crore has to reinvest at least 30
per cent of the deal amount in Indian
defence, homeland security or civil-
ian aerospace sectors.
Boeing C-17 to give India unique ca-
pability: The $ 4.1 billion Boeing deal
to buy 10 C-17 transport aircraft is in-
dicative of growing Indo-US defence
and humanitarian ties and would give
India a unique airlift capability for
humanitarian operations. The capabil-
ities of the Boeing C-17 are pretty
unique and it's a significant step for-
ward for India's military organisation.
Reasons for Choosing C 17 Globe-
master III: India has shortlisted the
Boeing C 17 Globemaster III as its new
Very Heavy Lift Transport Aircraft
(VHTAC) after a thorough study of its
capability to take off and land on short
runways with heavy loads, longrange,
and ease of operation. The C-17 will
be the second American airlifter in the
IAF transport fleet, which was induct-
ed the C-130 J Super Hercules. The
four-engine C-17 aircraft can lift two
T-90 tanks and artillery guns and are
used for rapid strategic airlift of troops
and cargo to operating bases through-
out the world. It can also perform tac-
tical airlift, medical evacuation and
airdrop missions. The aircraft has the
capacity to carry over 130 fully-
equipped combat ready troops. The C
17 is the mainstay of the US forces for
worldwide deployment and can be
refuelled mid-air. It is in fact the life-
line of US and NATO troop's deploy-
ment in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hence
the IAF found it perfectly suitable to
be inducted into its arsenal.
Explosives
Agent Orange
Agent Orange was the code name for
an herbicide that was used during the
Vietnam conflict, between 1962 and
1971. The name Agent Orange was a
military code name that described the
orange-striped 55-gallon drums that the
herbicide was shipped in. The purpose
of Agent Orange was to deny enemy
cover and concealment in dense terrain
by defoliating trees and shrubbery
where the enemy could hide. In addi-
tion to being a highly effective herbi-
cide, Agent Orange has turned out to
have a number of alarming health ef-
fects which have made it into a very
controversial subject. Major manufac-
turers of Agent Orange, such as Dow
Chemical and Monsanto, have con-
tended with lawsuits and considerable
public outrage as a result of their roles
in the production of this chemical.
Problems related with Agent Orange:
The Agent Orange used in Vietnam
was later found to be extremely con-
taminated with a dioxin. The dioxin
found in Agent Orange is thought to
be harmful to humans, and it has been
determined that it may pose health
problems. Although, there has been a
great deal of debate over the risks of
dioxin exposure, many believe that it
is dangerous to humans.
Understanding Dioxin: Dioxin is a by-
product of the manufacture, mould-
ing, or burning of organic chemicals
and plastics that contain chlorine. It is
the nastiest, most toxic man-made or-
ganic chemical. Dioxin provokes can-
Prithvi II
India has achieved yet
another success in missile
technology as it success-
fully test-fired the Prith-
vi-II nuclear capable mis-
sile, which hit the target
with very high accuracy
of around 10 meters. The
missile was flight tested
from the Integrated Test
Range at Chandipur in
Balasore district of Oris-
sa. The indigenously de-
veloped sophisticated
missile has a capability to hit a target at a distance of 350 kms carrying both
conventional as well as nuclear warheads up to 500 kg. The test firing of the
surface-to-surface missile, which has already been inducted into Indian armed
forces, was a routine trial conducted by the personnel of strategic force
command (SFC). The sleek missile once again proved its accuracy when the
user tried it in a salvo mode on March 27 and June 18, 2010 from ITR, Chan-
dipur. It was the fourth successful Prithvi-II flight within a period of eight
months. With a striking range of 250 to 350 km, Prithvi-II missile is capable
of carrying a pay-load of 500-1000 kg warhead. It is here underscored that
Prithvi is the first ballistic missile developed under the countrys presti-
gious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), it is
propelled by liquid propulsion twin engine. With a length of nine meter
and one meter diameter, Prithvi-II uses an advanced inertial navigation
system with manoeuvrings trajectory.
About Prithvi Missile System: The Prithvi was Indias first indigenously
developed ballistic missile produced by the Integrated Guided Missile De-
velopment Program (IGMDP). It is a road-mobile, short range ballistic mis-
sile (SRBM) powered by a single-stage, two engines, and liquid-fuel. Devel-
opment of the Prithvi began in 1983, and it was first tested fired on February
25, 1988. The three versions of the Prithvi have been tested twenty times
since. The Prithvi is not a particularly sophisticated missile, incorporating
propulsion technology derived from the Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile.
The Prithvi is Indias only deployed nuclear capable missile. Two versions
are now in service and a third is under development.
(a) Prithvi-I has a 150 km range and a 1,000 kg payload. It has been in
army service since 1994.
(b) Prithvi-II has a 250 km range and a 500-750 kg payload. It is current-
ly in Air Force service. It was first test-fired on January 27, 1996.
(c) Prithvi-III, which has a 350 km range and a 1,000 kg payload, is
currently under development. It is a longer-range, naval version of the
Prithvi and is also referred to as the Dhanush. Prithvi-III was first suc-
cessfully tested September 21, 2001.
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Civil Services
cers, foetal malformations, and skin
diseases. It also affects the immune
system, the reproductive system and
the nervous system.
Ammonium Nitrate
Ammonium nitrate, the nitrate of
ammonia (NH4NO3), is a white crys-
talline solid at room temperature and
standard pressure. It is commonly used
in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fer-
tilizer, and it has also been used as an
oxidizing agent in explosives, includ-
ing improvised explosive devices. It
is the main component of ANFO, a
very popular explosive. It is used in
instant cold packs, as hydrating the
salt is an endothermic process.
Ammonium nitrate is so popular with
terrorists: Ammonium nitrate, the
substance more commonly attached
to agriculture has now become an ob-
ject of terror. It is now confirmed that
ammonium nitrate, a widely available
fertilizer, was used in the serial blasts
in Bangalore and Ahmedabad and
more recently in Mumbai. Ammoni-
um nitrate is converted into a power-
ful explosive when it is mixed with
fuel as was done in the serial blasts in
Mumbai recently. Ammonium nitrate
produces gas in quick time. As the gas
expands it causes an explosion. Am-
monium nitrate acts as an accelerant
which in turn speeds up the rate at
which the fuel burns, producing a
huge explosion. Secondly ammonium
nitrate is easily available in the mar-
ket. Transportation of ammonium ni-
trate doesnt raise suspicion unlike
RDX as the chemical is not a banned
substance.
Need to regulate the uses of ammoni-
um nitrate: The increased use of am-
monium nitrate as an explosive has
raised the question of regulating the
availability of ammonium nitrate in
the country. The government of India
needs to classify ammonium nitrate
as an explosive to help law enforce-
ment agencies track the use and transit
of this chemical that is routinely used
in terror attacks in India. The govern-
ment has also agreed to include am-
monium nitrate in the list of explosives
covered by the Explosives Act 1884.
Usages of Ammonium Nitrate: There
are two basic uses for ammonium ni-
trate. (a) First, its a good fertilizer.
Farmers like it because its really easy
to spread, its stable and it gives crops
nitrogen. (b) The other use is as a com-
ponent in the worlds cheapest min-
ing explosive. Ammonium nitrate is
about five sixths as powerful as TNT
and has a slightly greater density as
such is quite popular as an industrial
explosive.
Robotics and AI
Robotics in nuclear reactors
As workers continue to grapple with
the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nu-
clear power plant in Japan, the crisis
has shown a spotlight on nuclear re-
actors around the world. Recently
Harry Asada, professor of Mechanical
Engineering AT Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology demonstrated egg
sized robots that can directly monitor
nuclear reactors and pinpoint corro-
sion. These robots are underwater pa-
trollers, equipped with cameras and
it can withstand a reactors extreme
radioactive environment-transmitting
images in teal time from within.
Currently, plant inspectors use indirect
methods to monitor buried piping, ul-
trasound for instance, to screen lengths
of pipe for cracks, or dig them up a
costly and time consuming operation.
Harry Asada and his group presented
details of their latest prototype at the
2011 IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation.
Technology
Alachlor
Alachlor is an odourless, white solid.
The major use of alachlor is as an her-
bicide for control of annual grasses
and broadleaf weeds in crops, prima-
rily on corn, sorghum and soybeans.
Alachlor is the second most widely
used herbicide in the United States.
What are alachlors health effects: Peo-
ple who drink water containing
alachlor well in excess of the maxi-
Spintronics
Spintronics is new emerging field of basic and applied research in physics
and engineering where neglected magnetic degree of freedom of an elec-
tronits spinis envisaged to be exploited for classical an quantum infor-
mation processing. In other words it a form of electronics which
uses the magnetic state (spin) of electrons to en-
code and process data, rather than us-
ing electric charge. Tech-
nically, spin is a q u a n t u m
property, closely related to
but not exactly the s a m e
thing as magne-
tism. Spintronics is
therefore sometimes
regarded as exploit-
ing quantum effects.
Spintronics is also
known as magneto elec-
tronics, and it has the potential to
become the ideal memory media for com-
puting. The spintronic memory or MRAM (Magne-
to resistive Random Ac- cess Memory) has the potential to
achieve the speed of SRAM (Static RAM), the density of DRAM (Dynamic
RAM), and the non-volatility of flash memory. Non-volatility means
that the data is still encoded when the power is shut off. The first widely
acknowledged breakthrough in spintronics was the exploitation of gi-
ant magneto resistance, or GMR, a technology now employed in the
read heads of most hard drives. GMR and other spintronics can be used
to detect extremely small magnetic fields by using a nonmagnetic mate-
rial. GMR can be 100 times stronger than ordinary magneto resistance.
TIMES
Civil Services
mum contaminant level (MCL) for
many years could have problems with
their eyes, liver, kidneys, or spleen,
or experience anaemia, and may have
increased risk of getting cancer. This
health effects language is not intend-
ed to catalogue all possible health ef-
fects for alachlor. Rather, it is intend-
ed to inform consumers of some of
the possible health effects associated
with alachlor in drinking water when
the rule was finalized.
Major source of alachlor release to the
environment and its impact: The ma-
jor source of environmental release of
alachlor is through its manufacture
and use as an herbicide. If released to
soil, alachlor can be broken down by
bacteria and sunlight, usually within
two months. However, alachor does
not bind to most soils very well and
may either evaporate or leach into
ground water. Sunlight and bacterial
action are also important for degrad-
ing alachlor in surface water, but evap-
oration generally does not occur. Once
tration of alachlor in aquatic organ-
isms is not important. Any alachlor
taken up by plants or animals is quick-
ly eliminated.
Carbon Fibres
Carbon fibres are a new breed of high-
strength materials. Carbon fibres have
been described as a fibre containing
at least 90 per cent carbon obtained by
the controlled pyrolysis of appropri-
ate fibres. The existence of carbon fi-
bre came into being in 1879 when Ed-
ison took out a patent for the manu-
facture of carbon filaments suitable for
use in electric lamps. However, it was
in the early 1960s when successful
commercial production was started, as
the requirements of the aerospace in-
dustry - especially for military aircraft
- for better and lightweight materials
became of paramount importance. In
recent decades, carbon fibres have
found wide application in commercial
and civilian aircraft, recreational, in-
dustrial, and transportation markets.
Carbon fibres are used in composites
Graphene
IBM researchers has made the first graphene circuit in which all of the circuit
elements are integrated on a compact single chip. The new circuit is another
important step forward for graphene-based electronics and potential appli-
cations include wireless communications and amplifiers. The graphene-based
circuit that the team built is a broadband radio-frequency transmitter, found
in radios. Made as a proof-of-concept that graphene circuits can work, the
transmitter can handle frequencies
up to 10GHz, though the research-
ers say the technology has much
higher potential. For the transistors
themselves, graphene designs have
been shown to go as high as
300GHz.
Further, it has been revealed that
electrons - subatomic particles that
result in electricity - travel many
times faster than in silicon, the ba-
sis of all modern computer chips.
As a result of this, it may be possi-
ble to create a new generation of
super-fast mobile phones and computers based on graphene.
Why its difficult to make a Graphen based circuit: Graphene is inherently
difficult to work with, as its a highly conductive lattice of carbon molecules
thats just a single atom thick. But putting it in a circuit introduces more
problems. First, many of the circuit components in the transmitter are made
from metal, which doesnt adhere to graphene very well. On top of that, the
material can be damaged easily damaged by standard semiconductor etching.
Significance of the research: The recent work done by IBM researchers as-
sumes significance because they addressed the fragility problem by protect-
ing the graphene with a polymer but also coating it with a material that was
sensitive to electron lithography. That way, they could protect the graphene
and still remove it in specific places.
with a lightweight matrix. Carbon fi-
bre composites are ideally suited to
applications where strength, stiffness,
lower weight, and outstanding fatigue
characteristics are critical require-
ments. They also can be used in the
occasion where high temperature,
chemical inertness and high damping
are important.
The following table describes the char-
acteristics and applications of Carbon
Fibres:
Characteristics: Physical strength, spe-
cific toughness, light weight.
Applications: Aerospace, road and
marine transport, sporting goods
Characteristics: High dimensional sta-
bility, low coefficient of thermal ex-
pansion, and low abrasion
Applications: Missiles, aircraft brakes,
aerospace antenna and support struc-
ture, large telescopes, optical bench-
es, waveguides for stable high-fre-
quency (GHz) precision measurement
frames
Characteristics: Good vibration damp-
ing, strength, and toughness
Applications: Audio equipment, loud-
speakers for Hi-fi equipment, pickup
arms, robot arms
Characteristics: Electrical conductivity
Applications: Automobile hoods, nov-
el tooling, casings and bases for elec-
tronic equipment, EMI and RF shield-
ing, brushes
Characteristics: Biological inertness
and x-ray permeability
Applications: Medical applications in
prostheses, surgery and x-ray equip-
ment, implants, tendon/ligament repair
Characteristics: Chemical inertness,
high corrosion resistance
Applications: Chemical industry; nu-
clear field; valves, seals, and pump
components in process plants
Characteristics: Electromagnetic prop-
erties
Applications: Large generator retain-
ing rings, radiological equipment.
TIMES
Civil Services
India and Pakistan relations
Post Osama equations
The Home/Interior Secretary meeting between India and Pakistan on 28th and
29th March 2011 provided much needed oxygen to bilateral relations between
the two neighbors, which had all but become the most serious casualty of the
26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks in which India had found clear fingerprints of
members of the Pakistani military and intelligence community. The need for
talks were realized albeit after some prodding from the USA, but this time
both countries realized the folly of making big announcements which seldom
live up to expectations. So the new and arguably more effective approach was
to sit on the talking table and getting themselves to talk to one another even if
that meant stating already stated positions. The idea, this time has been to
concentrate on confidence- building measures and trust boosting initiatives
which may create a climate wherein discussions on more sensitive and perhaps
core issues may take place. Politicians, statesmen, bureaucrats and analysts of
both countries are fully aware that disputes between India and Pakistan, most
of which are historic in nature, are going to take a long, long time to be re-
solved. Hence, the more enlightened ones among them understand that while
such disputes will linger on, there is no reason why these should hold hostage
the yearnings of the common Indians and Pakistanis who want to meet each
other, visit old native places long lost to the Partition and rekindle the friend-
ship which once existed between them but which was rudely smothered by the
Two Nation Theory.
The meeting between the Home Secretary of India and the Interior Secretary of
Pakistan was the first resolute step towards resumption of talks. That was soon
followed up by a number of Secretary level talks on a variety of issues which
have been plaguing Indo- Pakistan relations, such as the Wular barrage project
and the Sir Creek issue. Meetings between working groups looking to ease up
procedural bottlenecks with respect to people- to- people contacts as well as
ways and means to improve commerce have also taken place within a short
span of time. Apparently, the focus has been on those issues which are compar-
atively minor in importance and where some sort of flexibility can be expect-
ed. Success in reaching an understanding in these matters can help to bring
back that much elusive trust, without
which no two countries can ever live
in peace. While the shadow of terror-
ism and Kashmir continue to loom
large over relations, the attempt has
been to keep those two major issues
aside for a while and try and negoti-
ate on those matters where sentiments
run less high and where stated posi-
tions are not as rigid as a rock. And
yet, the T and the K word continue
to haunt relations time to time. While
on the one hand, the sporadic war of
words continues between the two
countries, on the other hand they have
learnt to engage themselves though
often at subliminal levels of public
perceptions.
The March talks was soon followed
by a meeting of the India Pakistan Ju-
dicial Committee on Prisoners, which
in fact was the fourth such meeting to
be held between the countries. The is-
sue of inadvertent boundary crossers
had been discussed when the Home/
Interior Secretaries had met and the
visit of the Committee to the jails of
Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore was
a follow- up to that. As had been point-
ed out earlier, fishermen of both coun-
tries have often found themselves ar-
rested when they mistakenly crossed
the border. The release of such fisher-
men whose credentials are genuine on
humanitarian grounds was discussed
by the Home/ Interior Secretaries. So
during the visit of the committee, the
Pakistani side showed a list of Indian
fishermen and civilians languishing
in Pakistani jails. While consular ac-
cess was provided on the spot to some,
the possibility of providing the same
to others by the second week of May
2011 was explored. Pakistan has recent-
ly released 89 Indian fishermen, while
on the other hand India has released 1
Pakistani fisherman and 44 civilians.
Not only were these steps appreciat-
ed by the committee but the sugges-
tion in the March talks to task the Coast
Guard of India and the Pakistan Mari-
time Security Agency with the estab-
lishment of a suitable mechanism to
prevent inadvertent boundary cross-
overs was also praised. The commit-
tee further recommended the facilita-
tion of the verification of nationality
of the prisoners and suggested that
those persons whose travel documents
have been furnished and who have
Current INDIA AND THE WORLD
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Civil Services
served their terms be repatriated back
to their nations without further delay.
In saying this, the committee has sim-
ply echoed the words said by the
Home/ Interior Secretaries a month
back. In particular, the committee
urged more humane treatment of
women and juvenile prisoners, termi-
nally ill prisoners or those suffering
from serious illness, physical disabil-
ity or mental disability apart from the
fishermen. Prisoners trapped in a hos-
tile country tend to be treated as ene-
mies deserving no legal aid. In light
of this the committee recommended
that such prisoners be given legal aid
at every stage of their case by the re-
spective governments. The next visit
of the committee will likely be to In-
dia where it will possibly visit Indian
prisons and see conditions therein.
Trade and commerce have often
helped countries with political differ-
ences overlook if not overcome their
differences. India and Pakistan have
tried to follow the same path without
much success. However trade and
commerce was given emphasis when
the Commerce Secretaries of the two
countries met in Islamabad on 27th
and 28th April for the 5th round of
talks on Commercial and Economic
cooperation. It was agreed in princi-
ple that there was a lot of untapped
trade potential between the two coun-
tries and efforts to tap such potential
would not only benefit both countries
economically and help in their devel-
opment but would also help in creat-
ing an environment of mutual trust
which in turn can facilitate talks on
other more knotty problems. A num-
ber of decisions were taken in the
meeting, which are as follows:
1. It was felt that in order to create an
environment of trust wherein misun-
derstandings are removed; the gov-
ernments of the two countries must
support business communities so as
to promote bilateral trade. Further ef-
forts are needed for making the bilat-
eral trading environment more con-
ducive to business. Given that infor-
mation gaps continue to exist with
respect to economic opportunities and
trade environment, it is necessary for
the governments to take steps to plug
such gaps through more outreach ac-
tivities.
2. It was decided that the promotion
of trade requires the minimization of
trade and non- trade barriers (NTB).
In order to address and resolve clear-
ly- identified sector- specific barriers
to trade, the two sides agreed to set up
a Working Group, which would com-
prise of technical experts and regula-
tory body representatives dealing
with identified sector wise trade bar-
riers. It was further agreed that the first
meeting of the Working Group will
be within September 2011.
3. Physical infrastructure being a ma-
jor stimulant for trade, both sides ap-
preciated the significant progress
made in developing physical infra-
structure along the Wagah- Attari land
route. Further development of the
route, such as the opening of a second
gate and new dedicated roads for pas-
senger and freight traffic would re-
quire greater cooperation. To facili-
tate such cooperation between the two
sides, it was decided that the Joint
Technical Group for the promotion of
trade and travel would meet in June
2011 and every month thereafter till
October 2011 by which time the Indi-
an side expects to make its new Inte-
grated Check Post fully functional.
4. The ways explored to increase trade
along the Wagah- Attari border were
a) increasing trade hours taking bene-
fit of the new infrastructure made func-
tional, b) expediting the clearance of
cargo and c) facilitating the movement
of large vehicles and containerized
cargo.
5. The two sides agreed that Pakistan
would do away with its barriers to
trade by land as soon as the infrastruc-
ture to facilitate mutual trade is put in
place. October 2011 has been fixed as
the deadline for this whole process.
6. An informal Customs Liaison ar-
rangement is already operational in
the Wagah- Attari route. In light of
the effectiveness of such arrangement,
it was decided to formalize it. Accord-
ingly a Customs Liaison Border Com-
mittee has been formed, which will
meet at least once every two months
to deal with any operational issue that
may arise at the ground level.
7. It was decided that a Sub Group on
Customs Cooperation would meet in
New Delhi before 15th June 2011 to
harmonize customs procedures, facil-
itate trade consignments and exchange
trade related data and information.
Nodal officers who will look after cus-
toms cooperation related issues would
also be fixed up by 15th May 2011.
8. Trade in electricity between the
countries has been identified as a new
area of bilateral trade. To initiate such
trade which will be beneficial to both
countries, and in particular to India,
suffers as it does from electricity defi-
cits which in turn is a hindrance to its
growth, the Secretaries agreed to name
a group of experts from either side
who would examine the feasibility,
scope and modalities of such trade.
The group may be given the liberty to
look into suitable sites and routes for
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Civil Services
transmission lines, funding mecha-
nisms and other related issues. The
composition of the group will be fi-
nalized soon and it will start its meet-
ings from October 2011.
9. Petroleum products are a much
prized as well as highly priced com-
modity in the modern world of ener-
gy thirsty nations, India in particular
being one such nation and Pakistan
expected to follow suit soon. Trade in
petroleum products thus invariably
becomes valuable for both countries.
This realization prompted the two
sides to set up a group of experts who
would explore ways to expand trade
in all types of petroleum products as
well as discuss trade arrangements,
building of cross- border pipelines
something which can be extended to
third parties also, and use of rail and
road routes, including the Munabao-
Khokrapar route. The first meeting of
the group, it was decided, would be
before September 2011.
10. The two sides identified trade in
Bt Cotton seeds as a new area of bilat-
eral trade. Such trade, it was appreci-
ated would not only help in increas-
ing the yield of Pakistani cotton farm-
ers thereby raising their incomes, but
would also help the countrys textile
industry. It was also agreed to further
the trade by establishing business to
business contacts and smoothening
government regulatory clearances.
11. Cooperation in information tech-
nology through better engagement of
the private sector IT companies was
agreed upon.
12. While India had granted Most Fa-
vored Nation (MFN) to Pakistan the
latter has not extended the same sta-
tus to the former. In principle it was
acknowledged that bilateral trade re-
lations will witness an expansion if
Pakistan were to grant MFN status to
India. The two countries also agreed
to remove NTBs and other restrictive
practices which hamper trade.
13. Undoubtedly much of the barri-
ers to Indo- Pakistan trade have been
created by Pakistan. Recognizing this
fact, the Pakistanis informed the Indi-
an side that they would take neces-
sary steps immediately to ensure that
a non- discriminatory trade regime is
operationalized at the earliest. Con-
sultations necessary for putting in
place such a regime are already un-
derway and necessary information are
being gathered from all possible
stakeholders such as trade bodies and
business chambers so as to replace the
Negative list with a Positive list.
The whole process would be complet-
ed by October 2011.
14. Taking another bold step forward,
the countries decided to explore the
idea of entering into a mutually
agreed preferential trade arrangement
wherein tariff concessions would be
extended to products which are of
mutual export interest.
15. Curtailing procedural bottlenecks
with respect to granting of business
visas is another important step in ex-
panding bilateral trade. In the meet-
ing between the Home/ Interior Sec-
retaries of India and Pakistan in March
2011 it was decided to put in place a
Joint Working Group to look into the
aspect of simplifying the visa regime.
The JWG would act as an infor-
mation gathering machinery
geared at making the availabili-
ty of visas easier. In this respect,
the two sides decided to explore
the idea of involving the private
sector through officially recog-
nized joint chambers.
16. In order to increase business-
to- business contacts between In-
dia and Pakistan, which again is
the key to expanding trade ties,
both sides agreed to form official-
ly recognized Chambers of Com-
merce and Industry at the apex
and regional levels. Regular in-
teractions between such cham-
bers will markedly improve the
business climate, it was felt.
17. Both sides expressed willing-
ness to increase bilateral investments
and remove impediments therein.
18. Noting the importance of bank
branches of each country in the other,
both sides agreed to fast- track the pro-
cess of opening bank branches.
19. The apex trade promoting/ de-
veloping authorities in the two coun-
tries, namely the India Trade Promo-
tion Authority (ITPO) and the Trade
Development Authority of Pakistan
(TDAP) will collaborate amongst
themselves on trade promotional ac-
tivities. Further, it was decided that
the TDAP will send a proposed draft
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for possible approval to the
ITPO by June 2011.
For the purpose of implementing the
decisions as mentioned above, the two
sides decided to create a suitable
mechanism in the form of a Joint
Working Group on Economic and
Commercial Cooperation and Trade
Promotion headed by the Joint Sec-
retaries of the Departments of Com-
merce of the two governments. The
JWG was also given the mandate to
review trade promotion issues that
may come up from time to time. The
task of overseeing the functioning of
the group was assigned to the Com-
merce Secretaries.
The construction of the Wullar bar-
rage, which is also known as the Tul-
bul navigation project, on river Jhe-
lum has been a long- standing matter
of contention between India and Pa-
kistan. India started the construction
of the barrage on Lake Wullar at the
mouth of river Jhelum in 1984. The
objective behind the construction was
the navigability of the river during
the summer season. Besides, it was also
assessed that the water stored by the
barrage would help in hydel power
projects like Uri I and Uri II. Pakistan
however had apprehensions that In-
dias real intention in constructing the
barrage was more geopolitical in na-
ture than anything. It felt that the bar-
rage would be used as a weapon of
war by India whereby it would regu-
late the waters of Jhelum and cause
droughts and floods in Pakistan at its
own will. Even as India began con-
struction work, Pakistan insisted that
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Civil Services
the project was a violation of the In-
dus Water Treaty 1960 which was
signed after international negotia-
tions. Another concern for Pakistan
was that the Tulbul project would dis-
rupt its triple canal project of Upper
Jhelum Canal, Upper Chenab Canal
and Lower Bari Doab Canal. It took
the matter to the Indus Water Com-
mission in 1986 which however failed
to provide a solution. Before the mat-
ter could be taken to the International
Arbitral Court, India stopped con-
struction on its own. Several rounds
of bilateral talks have been held ever
since, the latest being on 12th and 13th
May 2011 when delegations from ei-
ther side led by their respective Wa-
ter Resources Secretaries met in Islam-
abad.
The two sides revealed little about the
contents of their talks except that they
were held in an environment of cor-
diality. While reaffirming their com-
mitment to the Indus Water Treaty
1960, they reiterated their stated posi-
tions. Both sides emphasized the need
for early resolution of the Wullar bar-
rage/ Tulbul navigation project. Any
solution to the problem would in-
volve a meeting of minds on techni-
cal matters and keeping this in view,
the Indian side agreed to forward com-
prehensive technical data to their Pa-
kistani counterparts within a month.
The Pakistanis will then go through
such data and furnish their views
thereon by 15th September 2011. Fur-
ther discussions will then take place
in the light of such technical consulta-
tions between the two countries with-
in the framework of the Indus Water
Treaty.
The dialogue process between India
and Pakistan includes the issue of Sir
Creek which is a dispute over a 96km
thin strip of water in the marshlands
of the Rann of Kutch separating the
Indian state of Gujarat from the Paki-
stani province of Sindh. The dispute
relates to the interpretation of the
maritime boundary dividing the two
countries. The Pakistani interpretation
is that the boundary line lies on the
eastern flank of the creek, which es-
sentially implies that the whole creek
belongs to Pakistan. To back its claim,
Pakistan cites paragraphs 9 and 10 of
the Bombay Government Resolution,
1914 signed between the Government
of Sindh and Rao Maharaj of Kutch.
This resolution which demarcated the
two provinces included the entire Sir
Creek within the Sindh province. In-
dia, on the other hand claims that the
boundary line should be interpreted
as lying in the middle of the strip of
water. In backing its interpretation of
the maritime boundary, India has tak-
en resort of the Thalweg Doctrine in
international law. According to this
doctrine, river boundaries between
two states may be divided by the mid-
dle stream provided the states agree
to such division. India relies on a map
of the creek drawn up in 1925. With-
out disputing the 1925 map, Pakistan
has pointed out that the Thalweg Doc-
trine is only applicable to water bod-
ies which are navigable, whereas the
creek concerned is not navigable. In-
dia has disputed this by maintaining
that the creek is navigable in high tide.
It is the economic value of this nar-
row stretch of water that makes it a
bone of contention between the two
neighboring countries. The sea bed
below Sir Creek is believed to have
large quantities of hydrocarbons
which make water-body potentially
valuable from the energy point of
view. Several rounds of talks have
been held to resolve the Sir Creek is-
sue but all of them have ended in vir-
tual stalemate. There have been ru-
mours that the two nations came close
to thrashing out a solution to the prob-
lem a few times, but such reports have
turned out to be misleading. The lat-
est meeting took place in Rawalpindi
on 20th and 21st May 2011 and the two
sides did not go an inch beyond dis-
cussing their mutually stated posi-
tions and exchanging non- papers in
order to take discussions forward with
the objective of agreeing to a solution
acceptable to both.
Indian and Pakistani armed forces
have fought several intermittent bat-
tles in the Siachen glacier, often re-
ferred to as the worlds highest battle-
field. The Shimla Agreement 1972 was
silent as to who possessed the glacier.
It probably did not appear at that time
that Siachen, given its extremely dif-
ficult terrain would awaken any in-
terest in the minds of the political and
military leadership either in India or
Pakistan, much less give them the idea
of capturing it. However 12 years af-
ter the Shimla Agreement, India made
the first move by launching Operation
Meghdoot and forcing the Pakistanis
out of the glacier and pushing them to
the west of the Saltoro ridge. Thereaf-
ter military skirmishes over the gla-
cier took place from time to time with
Pakistan trying to establish foothold
over the glacier and employing mili-
tary as well as diplomatic means to
withdraw Indian forces from Siachen.
India however has not budged an inch
and maintains its dominant military
presence on the glacier despite the
huge financial cost for the same. Paki-
stan too has a military presence near
the glacier. Both sides have lost more
men due to the bitter and inhospita-
ble weather conditions than to armed
warfare. Withdrawal of forces from
the Siachen will spare the exchequer
of the two nations a sizeable burden
and will also undoubtedly generate
huge sighs of relief from the soldiers
languishing in that high altitude, but
once again the main issue is that of
trust. Both sides fear that the other will
encroach into the area from which it
withdraws its forces, and hence the
problem continues. The highest bat-
tleground of the world that it is, the
glacier provides the obvious strategic
advantage of height to anyone that
controls it. Hence the Indian reluctance
to relinquish control over it. Talks so
far have not borne fruit. The latest
round of talks took place in New Del-
hi on 30th and 31st May 2011 when
delegations led by the respective De-
fence Secretaries met each other. Both
sides acknowledged the fact that the
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Civil Services
ceasefire on the Actual Ground Posi-
tion Line (AGPL) was continuing since
November 2003 and welcomed this
trend. Both sides put forward their
viewpoints and discussed ways to
solve the Siachen problem. Pakistan
presented a non- paper on the matter
to India.
In pursuance of the decision taken at
the Home/ Interior Secretary level
talks, the Joint Working Group (JWG)
on visa matters met in Islamabad on
2nd and 3rd June 2011, the first such
meeting and discussed the modalities
for streamlining visa procedures and
finalizing the draft Bilateral Visa Agree-
ment. The basic focus of the talks was
to make travel across the border easier
for citizens of both countries. Discus-
sions were also held on possible
amendments in the existing visa agree-
ment. It was agreed that discussions on
a new visa agreement would be fur-
thered in the next JWG in New Delhi
to be held before end August 2011.
Perhaps the most significant Secretary
level talks following the Home/ Inte-
rior Secretary level talks took place in
Islamabad where Indian Foreign Sec-
retary, Smt. Nirupama Rao met her
Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir
on 23rd -24th June 2011. In a sense the
bilateral meeting between the Foreign
Secretaries was the culmination of the
Secretary level talks which took place
since March 2011. All these talks
touched upon the various issues in-
cluded in the composite dialogue pro-
cess which was initiated between the
then Indian PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee
and Pakistani President, General Per-
vez Musharraf. After the resumption
of the dialogue process, most of the
components of the dialogue were dealt
with by the concerned Secretaries and
in a way the Foreign Secretary level
meeting not only did stock- taking of
the talks held in the last 3 to 4 months
but also served to pave the way for
the Ministerial level meetings likely
to take place in the days to come. The
two Secretaries revealed little to the
media after the three rounds of talks
they held, possibly keeping in mind
the forthcoming Foreign Minister lev-
el meeting where most of the decisions
taken are likely to be announced. The
Secretaries primarily discussed Peace
and Security including various Confi-
dence- Building Measures (CBMs),
Jammu and Kashmir and other friend-
ly exchanges relating to the promo-
tion of peace.
An interesting feature of the talks was
the reference to nuclear CBMs. The
implementation of not only conven-
tional but also nuclear CBMs were not-
ed and it was decided to convene sepa-
rate Expert level meetings to discuss
the implementation of both nuclear
and conventional CBMs and also work
out means to strengthen the existing
arrangements as well as consider mu-
tually acceptable additional measures
to build trust and confidence and pro-
mote peace and security.
Terrorism undoubtedly
is the thorniest issue in
India- Pakistan rela-
tions. The joint state-
ment was thus expected-
ly quite guarded in its
comments on terrorism.
While noting that ter-
rorism posed a continu-
ous threat to peace and
security, the two offi-
cials reiterated their
countrys firm commit-
ment to fight and elimi-
nate terrorism in all its forms and man-
ifestations. They also agreed on the
need to strengthen cooperation on
counter- terrorism. It is pertinent to
point out here that this statement is
likely to be interpreted differently in
the two countries. India is essentially
concerned with terrorism targeted at
it by terror groups which enjoy sub-
stantial support from the Pakistani
state and which Pakistan obliquely
refers to as freedom struggle and
backs politically, financially and mor-
ally. Much of such terrorism represent-
ed by groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba op-
erates from Pakistani soil though Pa-
kistan remains in a state of denial re-
garding their presence. Pakistan, on
the other hand is being ravaged by
terrorism spread by groups like the
Taliban and Al Qaeda, which the coun-
try was forced to fight ever since the
9/11 attacks on US soil and the subse-
quent coercive diplomacy adopted by
the US on Pakistan, which till then had
shared a cozy relation with such
groups. The recent terror attacks in the
heart of Pakistan have come in the
form of reprisals by such groups.
On Jammu and Kashmir, which has
often been highlighted by Pakistan as
the root cause of all disputes with In-
dia, the Foreign Secretaries exchanged
views and agreed to continue discus-
sions in a purposeful manner so as to
find a peaceful solution by narrowing
divergences and building convergenc-
es. Focusing on the people- to- people
and business- to- business contacts, the
two sides decided to convene a meet-
ing of the Working Group on Cross-
LOC CBMs so as to recommend mea-
sures to streamline the existing travel
and trade arrangements across the
LOC and propose modalities for ad-
ditional cross- LOC CBMs. The Work-
ing Group is all set to meet in July
2011. The need to promote friendly ex-
changes between the countries was ac-
knowledged by both sides and the joint
statement had a word in it for the
progress made towards finalization of
the Visa Agreement, which will make
contacts between the common people
of both countries easier by making the
visa regime more liberal. The impor-
tance of enhancing people- to- people
ties was further elaborated by the Sec-
retaries who had no hesitation in
agreeing that the people of the two
countries are at the heart of the bilat-
eral relationship and hence humani-
tarian issues should be accorded pri-
ority and treated with requisite sensi-
tivity.
There was discussion on the promo-
tion of cooperation in various fields
including, but not restricted to, facili-
tating visits to religious shrines, me-
dia exchanges, holding sports tourna-
ments and perhaps most importantly,
stopping negative propaganda against
each other.
Why Pakistan is important for USA?
After devastating floods last year,
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Civil Services
America gave Pakistan $690m, 28 per
cent of all international aid. Chinas
contribution was a mere $18m. Paki-
stan is a major non-NATO ally of the
United States and despite growing
India-US ties, India was not accorded
this status. Between 2001 and 2008, the
United States has provided Pakistan
with $1.6 billion through the foreign
military financing (FMF). From 2002
to 2010, the United States gave $13.3
billion in security-related aid to Pa-
kistan, and $6 billion for economic
assistance. More than $3 billion was
requested for 2011.
Recent developments: Pakistan had
termed the US commando operation
in Abbottabad that killed Laden an
unauthorised, unilateral action
without its knowledge. PM Gilani
said in Pakistan Parliament any at-
tack against Pakistans strategic assets
whether overt or covert will find a
matching response. Pakistan reserves
the right to retaliate with full force.
No one should underestimate the re-
solve and capability of our nation and
armed forces to defend our sacred
homeland. There are of course legal
and moral issues that relate to the
question of sovereignty. In a generic
sense this is a question that continues
to vex the international community
as a whole. The Security Council while
exhorting UN member states to join
their efforts against terrorism has re-
peatedly emphasized that this be done
in accordance with international law,
human rights and humanitarian law.
But the United States has said that they
will not apologise to Pakistan for its
unilateral military action against al-
Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden at his
hideout in that country. The condem-
nation by army chief General Ashfaq
Kiyani of a deadly American drone
attack has introduced a new element
of complexity in the ties.
One can recall that President Obamas
new policy known as AfPak, the Ker-
ry-Lugar Act (the legislation provides
Pakistan with large sums of non-mil-
itary financial aid to assist it in com-
bating the rising tide of terrorism
within its borders and outside of them
and provides financial assistance of
around $1.5 billion per annum until
2013 to Pakistan to tackle its growing
insecurity), and other U.S. initiatives
adopted since 2009 has mainly fo-
cused to help in stabilizing the situa-
tion in South Asia.
AfPak has emphasized on a substan-
tive change in U.S.-Pakistani relations
and is indicative of U.S. impatience
with Pakistans failure to deal with
extremism and terrorism.
Why Pakistan important?
1. US feels that there is great role of
geo-strategic location of Pakistan in
fighting against terrorism in the re-
gion.
2. Pakistan possesses a coastline on
the Arabian Sea and common borders
with Iran, Afghanistan, China, and
India, and is only a few miles from
Tajikistan.
3. US feels that Pakistan has a major
role to play in controlling both India
and Russia.
4. Basically, US interests in the re-
gions is driven by three important
factors: to contain the growing Chi-
na, nuclear Iran, terrorist Afghani-
stan, and to benefit from the market
of India.
5. US has four military bases in Pa-
kistan. They are under permanent US
control. The US has been using the
Shamsi Air Base in Balochistan prov-
ince to station unmanned Predator
drones that have been used to attack
terrorist targets inside Pakistans trib-
al areas. Shamsi airfield, also called
Bandari, is a small airfield and air sta-
tion located about 200 miles south-
west of Quetta near the town of Wash-
ki.
6. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state
with missiles capable of delivering
nuclear weapons. With more than 180
million people, it is one of the larg-
est Muslim countries in the world and
has five times the population of Af-
ghanistan.
Final statement after Osama
As per the expectations, US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton opined that
US was even more committed to Pa-
kistan after Osama bin Ladens kill-
ing, but said the country needed to
do more in its battle with Islamist
militants. At the same time, USA has
given a clean chit to the Pakistani
Government about their oblivious-
ness on the hiding of Osama in Paki-
stan. Clinton said the United States
had absolutely no evidence that any-
one at the highest level of the Paki-
stani government knew where bin
Laden was and said she would return
to Washington ever more commit-
ted to the relationship. This state-
ment indicates the gro-strategic rele-
vance of Pakistan for USA.
Analyzing trade relations
MFN status
Once again India-Pakistan relations
has suffered a major jolt after the kill-
ing of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Lad-
en in Abbottabad in Pakistan man-
sion, just kilometres from a Pakistani
military academy. The talks which
resumed after a gap of almost two
years seems to be in jeopardy and the
Pakistani proposal to accord MFN sta-
tus to India in October 2011 remain
uncertain. The entire focus of diplo-
macy has shifted to track down the
possible outcome of the killing of
Osama. On the foreign policy front
India should harness the opportunity
to shift the world focus on Pakistan
and re-energize the world to make
united efforts to overcome terrorism
in its neighbour by eliminating the
safe havens of terrorist there. The
Pakistani policy of giving shelter to
terrorist has been thoroughly ex-
posed before the world and this has
given credence to Indian belief that
the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai
attack must also be given safe heaven
by Pakistan.
India has started to use its full diplo-
matic force to pressurize Pakistan to
arrest militants. Indian Prime Minis-
ter has already visited Afghanistan to
assess the changing impact of the kill-
ing of Osama in the region. Ever since
the US gained a foothold in Afghani-
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Civil Services
stan in 2001, India has been relegated
to a role of building roads and infra-
structure. Only now is the govern-
ment talking of building a more stra-
t e -
gic relation-
ship. The killing of
Osama would pro-
vide an opportunity
to India to convince big
powers about the evil
designs of Pakistan. Con-
tinuing its pressure on Pa-
kistan to act against 50 which includes
31 Indians and 19 Pakistanis, of India
most wanted based in the neigh-
bouring country, India has made pub-
lic the complete list of fugitives in-
cluding Dawood Ibrahim and Lash-
kar founder Hafiz Saeed, wanted for
a spate of terror acts. The terrorists
and criminals on the list include those
wanted for the 26/11 attack, 1993
Mumbai serial blasts, IC-814 hijack-
ing, 2001 Parliament House attack and
a number of terror attacks in Punjab,
Jammu & Kashmir and in other Indi-
an cities over the years. The latest list
has in fact swelled from 20 in 2001 to
50 in 2011 - in the span of 20 years, a
clear indication of the ease with
which those tormenting India can find
shelter in Pakistan.
Pakistan has tried to mitigate the ad-
verse implications at two levels: first-
ly, they have blamed intelligence fail-
ure for the six-year-stay of Osama in
Pakistan and secondly at the diplo-
matic level, President Zardari visit-
ed Russia, first official visit to Russia
by any President of Pakistan in more
than 30 years. Pakistan also highlight-
ed their friendly ties with China by
calling them all-weather friend with
the purpose of reminding USA about
Pakistani option of shifting loyalties.
The coming years of diplomacy is
bound to be challenging for both In-
dia and Pakistan to maintain their re-
spective position and presence at the
global level with definitely India hav-
ing an edge over Pakistan.
Delinking trade with politics?
The Pakistani government had of-
fered a major pro-
posal to rectify the
anomalies of the
trade relations. At
the conclusion of a
two-day meeting,
the Pakistani dele-
gation, headed by
Commerce Secre-
tary Zafar Mah-
mood, had assured
the Indian Govern-
ment that the most
favoured nation (MFN) status
would be granted by October,
2011. Besides that Pakistan had also
agreed to negotiate a bilateral pref-
erential treaty by reducing customs
duties on products of export interest
of both countries. It has to be pointed
out that both sides consciously avoid-
ed the contentious issues during the
fifth round of talks on commercial
and economic cooperation and in this
process Pakistan was not willing to
discuss Indias trade with Afghanistan
that passes through Pakistan where-
as India was unwilling to discuss its
opposition to trade concessions by the
European Union to Pakistan.
Currently, India has already con-
ferred MFN status to Pakistan but
Pakistan has yet to reciprocate.
But during this process, the Pakistani
Government had contradicted their
old stance by saying that Pakistan had
never linked MFN with political is-
sues, including Kashmir, in the past.
It can be recalled that the former com-
merce secretary Tasneem Noorani,
who had initiated talks on trade un-
der the composite dialogue with In-
dia in 2004-05, had categorically told
the media that the MFN had been
linked at that time with progress on
political issues and elimination of
barriers by the Indian government.
In fact, MFN status would lead to the
country getting the same treatment
as other countries in terms of allow-
ing exports. At present, Pakistan has
allowed exports from India on the
basis of a small positive list of items
instead of trading the normal way
using a negative list of excluded
items.
Why Pakistan is willing?
1. The liberalization of the trade re-
gime with India would boost Paki-
stans economic growth.
2. After according MFN status to In-
dia, Pakistani businessmen would get
cheaper raw material which could
help increase exports.
3. Exports of Bt cotton will benefit
farmers and consumers in Pakistan
and will help in gap in cotton pro-
duction.
Trade contentions
1. Pakistan had identified 27 barri-
ers in 2007 which hindered its exports
to India but on the other hand India
feels that there is no barrier from In-
dian side.
2. Pakistan is of the opinion of keep-
ing a negative list with India to pro-
tect the interest of domestic industry.
Pakistan was trading on preferential
lines with China, but its industry was
not facing any problem.
3. Pakistan has said that at WTO In-
dia had raised objections to Europe-
an Unions decision to provide duty-
free access to Pakistani goods.
4. Currently, Pakistan has a list of
1,946 items that it allows imports of
from India. Moving to a negative list
would prohibit a specific number of
items and permit everything else,
expanding the scope of trade with In-
dia. India has a sensitive list of 850
items that it restricts trade in.
Recent initiatives
1. The joint statement of the 5th
round of talks on commercial and eco-
nomic cooperation provides a clear
roadmap for enhancing trade and eco-
nomic relations between the two
countries. Both India and Pakistan
have agreed that a group of experts
from the two countries would exam-
ine the feasibility of trading electric-
ity. The expert group will address
issues like suitable routes for trans-
mission lines and funding mecha-
nism. The creation of the joint work-
ing group was cited as an indication
of the institutionalization of trade
talks.
2. Further, the expert would discuss
trade arrangements, building of
cross-border pipelines and use of
road/rail route, including that of
Munabao-Khokrapar. Cross Line of
Control (LOC) Trade from both
Salamabad on the Srinagar-Muzaf-
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Civil Services
farabad Highway and Chakkan-da-
bagh on the Poonch Rawalkot axis
from J&K on the Indian side to Cha-
koti and Rawalkote on the Pakistani
side commenced from 21st October,
2008. A list of 21 items for trade was
approved for trade from both sides.
All these items have been allowed
duty free passage. Indias trade with
Pakistan has increased substantially
from US$868.79 million in 2005-06 to
US$1849.26 million in 2009-10.
3. Both sides agreed to form a work-
ing group to identify sector-specific
barriers to trade. Its first meeting will
be held by September 2011.
4. Both countries have agreed to open
a second gate at the opened on the
Wagah-Attari border, including an
integrated check-post (IPC) and new
dedicated roads for passenger and
freight traffic. The government has
invested Rs 150 crore so far to build
the 120-acre sprawling ICP. Both
countries are also expecting bilateral
trade to touch double digits from $2
billion at present with the opening
of this route that would be dedicated
only for trade.
5. Pakistan has agreed to remove re-
strictions on land route trade with
India before October 2011.
Nevertheless, according to the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, it is
the fundamental right of a country to
get MFN status from another mem-
ber country. Grant of MFN status by
Pakistan would expand the number
of products to be traded in positive
list of commodities that are exported
by India. India has made clear that
after the grant of MFN status by Pa-
kistan, it will be easier for India to
get the necessary approvals from the
Trade and Economic Relations Com-
mittee (TERC) to initiate talks on hav-
ing an exclusive trade pact with Paki-
stan. It is to be noted that the TERC,
headed by Prime Minister Manmo-
han Singh, looks into various issues
concerning promotion trade and bi-
lateral relations with India.
Relation between
EU proposal and MFN
India had blocked a $900-million Eu-
ropean Union (EU) proposal at the
World Trade Organization to give
duty-free access to the textile exports
from Pakistan. One can recollect that
in the wake of the severe floods that
devastated Pakistan in 2010, the EU
had proposed duty-free access to 75
export items from Pakistan, 64 of these
textiles, for three years. India argued
at WTO that the package would affect
the exports of competing countries
that would have to continue to pay 6
per cent-12 per cent import duties on
textiles in the EU. India was support-
ed by Bangladesh, Peru and Vietnam
supported India at the Council. The
propsoal has to be endorsed by other
members of the WTO as the multila-
tral trading rules require all countries
be treated equally. India categorical-
ly said that the package would only
help the textile industry and not the
flood victims. EU textile and cloth-
ing body Euratex, too, is opposed to
the waiver, claiming that there was
no economic or even humanitarian
reason to give these concessions.
During the visit of PM Gilani at Mo-
hali to watch India-Pakistan match,
Gilani told the PM of India that if In-
dia dropped its objections to the EU
proposal, it would have a hugely sal-
utary effect on the bilateral relation-
ship. He pointed out that Bangladesh,
Peru and other objectors had already
indicated they would go along with
Indias decision. It has been analysed
that Pakistans postponement of MFN
status was an implied quid pro quo
for India lifting its objections on the
EU proposal. They said India had un-
derstood the connection, which is why
no one raised the matter.
Overall trade scenario
There is no doubt that trade and eco-
nomic relations between India and
Pakistan have tremendous potential
and even the two-way trade could
reach $10-20 billion. However, this
potential was never realised as non-
trade issues have always undermined
the trade relations. As a result, actual
trade between the two countries has
never exceeded $2.2 billion, which it
did in 2007-08. Lately, there are signs
that the two-way trade is on course
to scale a new high: in the first nine
months of 2010-11, India-Pakistan
trade had already exceeded $2 billion.
Indias exports to Pakistan grew 9.3
per cent to $1.57 billion, while im-
ports contracted by 25 per cent to $276
million in 2009-10, according to the
latest data available.Besides that for
long, Dubai and Singapore have been
being used as the third countries
through which India and Pakistan
have been trading. According to a
study by Indian Council for Research
on International Economic Relations
(ICRIER), the potential of India, Pa-
kistan trade is $14.3 billion with In-
dia exporting goods of about $11 bil-
lion and importing $3 billion.
According to Federation of Indian
Export Organisations (FIEO) the bi-
lateral trade will cross $10 billion in
next three years, as focus of the joint
communique is on the removal of
non-tariff barrier which is key to trade
expansion. FICCI has pointed out
potential sectors for trade are agri-
culture, textiles, surgical goods, and
plastics.
Despite the current tension between
the countries, the trends of trade and
commerce have improved. Since Pa-
kistan has an overall trade deficit, the
proposal allows it to frame bilateral
safeguard measures to protect domes-
tic industry from getting impacted.
India has shown interest in having a
Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan.
India has assured to eliminate all
para-tariff and non-tariff barriers in
a time-bound manner. The broad con-
tours of the proposed FTA focus on
providing real market access to Islam-
abad, removal of Tariff Rate Quota
and state-specific taxes and non-tariff
barriers on imports from Pakistan. In
fact, India has also open to importing
all agricultural products despite pub-
lic sector agencies in India having the
exclusive right to such trade. The pro-
posed FTA has to be completed in
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Civil Services
phased manner. In the initial phase,
the proposed FTA would cover
goods, to be followed up by an agree-
ment on trade in services and invest-
ments and later, on comprehensive
economic cooperation in a phased
manner. India is, however, keen that
Pakistan shifts to a negative list of
imports from India from the positive
list operational now. The negative
list could be reviewed every two
years. As of now, there are only 1,938
items covered under the positive list,
greatly limiting the number of items
that can be exported from India. But
after the Mumbai-attack the pro-
posed FTA with Pakistan has defi-
nitely suffered a setback.
As part of Confidence Building Mea-
sures with Pakistan, Cross LoC trade
on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and
Poonch-Rawalakot routes com-
menced from 21st October 2008. Twen-
ty-one items for trade have been iden-
tified for duty-free passage. Items to
be traded from Salamabad to Chako-
ti and Chakandabagh to Rawalakot
are carpets, rugs, wall hangings,
shawls and stoles, fresh fruits and
vegetables, aromatic plants, dry fruits
including walnuts, Kashmiri spices,
spring rubberised coir/foam mat-
tresses, furniture including walnut
furniture etc. Similarly, items to be
traded from Chakoti to Salamabad
and Rawalakot to Chakandabagh are
rice, precious stones, dry fruits includ-
ing walnuts, medicinal herbs, fresh
fruits and vegetables, furniture in-
cluding walnut furniture, carpets and
rugs, embroidered items, foam mat-
tresses, shawls and stoles.
Headley and ISI link
Pakistani-American David Coleman
Headley on the Tahawwur Rana , a
Canadian of Pakistani origin, trial in
the Chicagos Dirksen Federal Court
has testified that he received espio-
nage training against India from Pa-
kistani spy agency Inter Services In-
telligence (ISI). Headley also admit-
ted that while he was training with
Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-
e-Taiba (LeT). The court has also been
informed that Headley aka Daood
Gilani also visited a nuclear power
plant in India in April 2008 at the di-
rection of his ISI handler in Pakistan,
Major Iqbal, who also gave him Indi-
an currency notes for his operation
in India.
These revelations are bound to fur-
ther damage the Indo-Pak relations
but India must keep one thing in
mind that the talks must go on and
one day the whole world would
know the sinister designs of some
section of Pakistani officers and poli-
ticians to thrive on the debris of Indo-
Pak relations.
Trilateral Relations
India, China
and Bhutan
The unresolved border disputes go-
ing back centuries are the main bone
of contention between China and
Bhutan. In fact Bhutan had tradition-
al trade relations with Tibet, but Bhu-
tan closed its northern borders with
China after an influx of Tibetan refu-
gees in 1960. The redistribution phase
started in 1996, when China for the
first time as part of the resolution
package offered Bhutan a package
deal. In 1998, Bhutan and China had
signed an Agreement to Maintain
Peace and Tranquility on the Bhutan-
China border but this has not yet
yielded any significant breakthrough
in this regard. In-
stead Bhutan had to
face a number of
Chinese incursions
which are also close
to the strategic
Chumbi Valley - an-
other vital junction
between India, Bhu-
tan and China. Chumbi valley has
two important factors; as firstly it is a
vital tri-junction between Bhutan, In-
dia and China border, is significant
as it is 500 km from Siliguri corridor-
the chicken neck which connects In-
dia to North East India and Nepal to
Bhutan and secondly it is of geostra-
tegic importance to China because of
its shared borders with Tibet and Sik-
kim. It seems that the growing Chi-
nese intrusions in Bhutan are more
governed by the motives of Chinese
evil design against India than Bhutan
itself. It has been believed that Bhu-
tans border problem will be settled
once the border dispute between In-
dia and China is resolved.
In November 2007, Chinese forces had
dismantled several unmanned Indi-
an forward posts near two military
bunkers in the border region of Bhu-
tans Dolam Valley. This created a
strong amongst the Bhutanese over
the fact that they are paying the price
for the closeness with India. This cre-
ated a strong notion in Bhutan that
Thimphu is becoming a buffer state
between India and Bhutan.
In the meantime, on 14th January
2010, Bhutan and China concluded the
19th round of border talks. China was
represented by Assistant Foreign
Minister Hu Zhengyue while the Bhu-
tanese delegation was led by Minis-
ter of Economic Affairs Khandu
Wangchuk. Both sides agreed to meet
again to carry out a joint field sur-
vey of the disputed territories in the
north, which comprise 4 areas
amounting to a total of 764 sq km.
The disputed areas that China
claimed covered a total of 764 square
kilometres covering the North West
(269 sq km) and Central parts of Bhu-
tan (495 sq km). While the North West
part constitutes the Doklam, Sinchu-
lung, Dramana and Shakhatoe in Sam-
ste, Haa and Paro districts, the Cen-
tral parts constitute the Pasamlung
and the Jakarlung valley in the Wang-
due Phodrang district. The Bhutanese
government is firmly committed to
the one-China policy and is willing
to work with China to push forward
exchanges and cooperation in all
fields.
But in this regard Bhutan should be
made more self-sufficient in terms of
border surveillance so that security
cooperation with India can be further
strengthened.
Bhutan and Bangladesh
Bangladesh has agreed to provide
transit facilities to Bhutan, by open-
ing up its Mongla port. Meanwhile
Banglabandha land port will be used
as an entry and exit point for Bhu-
tanese transit goods.
Bhutan has also agreed to export
around 1000 MW of power to Bang-
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Civil Services
ladesh. India could be benefited by
this Sub-regional diplomacy and
could utilize this opportunity to ini-
tiate a grid linking plan engaging all
the concerned countries.
Indian defence
strategy to counter China:
1. In in 2008 to station frontline
Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at four IAF
bases in northeast India - Tezpur, Bag-
dogra, Chhabua and Hashimara -
close by the Sino-Indian border.
2. The recent purchases like the C-
130J Super Hercules and C-17 Globe-
master III transport aircraft; the P8I
Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime
Aircraft; ultralight howitzers and
light tanks for hilly terrain - also beef
up Indias abilities against China.
3. Several disused border airfields
have been refurbished to allow oper-
ations by the IAFs AN-32 transport-
ers.
4. An ongoing Rs 1,000-crore scheme
to transform 30 IAF air bases into
world-class fighter facilities - termed
the Modernisation of Airfield Infra-
structure (MAFI) plan - would also be
extended to Nyoma. Before settling
on Nyoma, the IAF had evaluated sev-
eral other potential air bases in Lada-
kh. But Daulat Beg Oldi was too high
(16,200 feet); Chushul was too close
to the border; and Fukche could not
have its runway extended because of
water bodies at both ends.
Pakistan, China
and India
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilanis visit to China on May 17, 2011
is an important event of the 2011
China-Pakistan Friendship Year.
After killing of Osama at Pakistan,
China has officially put that any
planned attack of US on Pakistan will
be interpreted as an act of aggression
against Beijing and not only this Chi-
na has announced the transfer of 50
state-of-the-art JF-17 fighter jets to
Pakistan, immediately and without
cost. Pakistan believes that China is
the only country that has taken a sym-
pathetic stand for Pakistan after the
bin Laden operation. This indicates
the growing nexus between the two
countries beyond a level of normal
bilateral ties. China is the main arms
supplier to Pakistan, which sees
Beijing as an important counter-bal-
ance to India - which has recently vast-
ly improved its ties with the United
States.
China has always outrightly given
support to Pakistan and China does
not recognize the thesis of cross-bor-
der terrorism, especially in south
Asian context. This has given boost
to the terrorist activities inside Paki-
stan. It has been also believed that
China is convinced that Pakistan will
increase its influence in Afghanistan
by 2015, taking advantage of the
planned withdrawal of US troops in
2014.
This will complete Chinese design to
encircle India through its policy of
string of pearls. Besides these facts
China also needs Pakistans coopera-
tion in stemming potential terrorist
threats in its mainly Muslim region
of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan.
China has also planned to transport
oil from the Middle East in a pipeline
linking Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea
through Baluchistan.
It is important to note that Paki-
stan has also always supported
Chinas sovereignty and terri-
torial integrity in major issues
related to the Taiwan region,
Tibet Autonomous Region and
the Xinjiang Uygur Autono-
mous Region.
Recent China-Pakistan hiccups:
The recent terror attack in Chi-
na's Xinjiang region has indicat-
ed that the terrorists were
trained in Pakistan. In this at-
tack more than people were
killed and more than 40 were
wounded. The investigations have
shown that Uighur separatists who
had learned skills of making explo-
sives and firearms in overseas camps
of the terrorist group East Turkistan
Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Paki-
stan. ETIM is a small Uighur group
that advocates independence for Xin-
jiang. One can recollect that in 2009,
in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi nearly
200 people were killed, many of them
members of China's majority ethnic
group, the Han, a focus of Uighur re-
sentment. The Muslim Uighur have
felt that due to the influx of Han Chi-
nese, they feel they are being turned
into a minority in their own land and
that their culture is under attack.
India, China
and Nepal
The traditional Sino-Nepal relation
was cordial and stable. Initially, Chi-
na was interested in Nepal to its con-
cerns over Tibet, which has been ruled
by China since 1950; but in course of
time, the diplomacy was also geared
towards thwarting Indian presence in
the country. India had successfully
managed its presence in Nepal
through their diplomatic relations
and political compatibility. But dur-
ing the period of political instability
in which the Maoists, who fought a
decade-long civil war against the state
before transforming themselves into
a political party and winning a 2008
election, hold the largest number of
seats in parliament, China got the
opportunity to influence some section
of Nepali political parties through
their aggressive foreign policy. India
had to face great dilemma to choose
between issue-based diplomacy and
value-based diplomacy. Ideally, India
never prefers to intervene in the in-
ternal affairs of any country and this
policy, unfortunately, did not work
in the changing Nepali political sce-
nario.
Recently, China has sent multiple
high-level delegations, both political
and military. The number of Chinese
joint ventures here has exponentially
increased. In fact, the numbers of Chi-
nese joint ventures in 2010 were high-
er than the number of Indian joint
ventures. Chinese companies are ag-
gressively pursuing lucrative deals to
tap Nepals glacial rivers for hydro-
TIMES
Civil Services
power. Besides that China has in-
stalled its communication network -
tele-communcation equipment com-
pany Huawei Technologies - in the
entire Nepal. China is deriving two
benefits out of it; firstly, Nepali citi-
zens would talk at cheaper rates and
thus earn goodwill in each and every
Nepali household, and secondly Chi-
na would have the data of telephonic
conversations of all important offic-
ers, political leaders and corporate
houses in Nepal.
Alarmingly, China has thrown edu-
cational net to give impetus to Mao-
ists agitation in Nepal and India. The
main agitators of both the countries
are being taught Chinese language in
the hilly area of Nepal. As the Mao-
ists step up their anti-India campaign
- their latest target of attack being the
Indian priests at Pashupatinath Tem-
ple despite a forewarning from the
Indian Embassy - China is moving at
a fast and uninterrupted pace to cash
in on this sentiment and replicate ar-
rangements similar to what exist be-
tween India and Nepal. It is believed
that the Chinese side, which is keen
to put in place some permanent insti-
tutional arrangement to prevent Ti-
betans from using Nepal as a staging
point, zeroed in on the India model.
A high-level delegation headed by
Zhang Gaoli, the powerful Central
Politburo member of the Communist
Party of China, paid official visit to
Nepal and announced several schol-
arships and made numerous good-
will gestures. Nepal once again as-
sured the delegation on Tibet and
even confirmed commitment to
building the Lhasa-Kathmandu rail-
way line. With India increasingly fo-
cusing its assistance on the Terai re-
gion, China will be looking at areas
close to its border on Nepals north-
ern side while building infrastructure
projects there like power plans and
roads. The cheque-book diplomacy of
China could be easily seen in Nepal.
It should be referred that India had
provided development assistance of
Rs. 100 million for the remote hill
region of Mustang. China immediate-
ly provided financial assistance worth
Rs. 10 million for construction of a
library, science laboratory and school
building with computers in Chhoser
village (adjoining Jhongwasen dis-
trict of Tibet) in the same region to
counter Indian influence. China,
meanwhile, recently increased its an-
nual aid to Nepal by 50 per cent to
about $22 million.
At the political level, Prachanda has
already said that China will not re-
main a silent spectator if any coun-
try intervened in the affairs of Nepal.
He has often accused New Delhi of
interfering in Nepalese affairs and
dictating to its leadership. The Mao-
ists have demanded for abrogation of
all unequal treaties signed with In-
dia, including the landmark Peace and
Friendship Treaty of 1950 and op-
posed alleged border encroachments
by India.
India, Myanmar
and China
Myanmar is strategically important
for China as it provides China the
shortest land route access to the north-
ern Indian Ocean. Besides that China
has signed a long-term agreement
with Myanmar for the exploitation of
its hydrocarbon reserves and for the
Pakistan, Afghanistan and India
The resignation of Mushraff and restoration of democracy in Pakistan and
the killing of Osama in Pakistan has given a new hope to the hopeless
situation. But the internal politics of the FATA is not going to help out the
situation. The triangle would always be a troubled one. Apart from the
superpower and quasi-superpower (Russia), there are others (China and
Iran) which have their fingers in the pie. These relations cannot be treated
in isolation.
1. Afghanistan stood out as the sole country that voted against Pakistans
entry into the United Nations in 1947.
2. Afghanistan became closer to India than Pakistan. In order to balance,
Pakistan played a cold war game by cultivating Afghanistans Pashtun
tribes (that are close to Pakistans Pashtuns) and created a lobby of their
own. Pashtuns form about ten percent of Pakistans 165 million people.
3. In 1956 Pakistans Jalalabad consulate was set on fire by Afghan mobs.
Pakistan enjoys a degree of advantage because of affinities between Af-
ghan and Pakistani Pashtuns.
4. Without Pakistans willing support, the Karzai government cannot con-
solidate itself, nor can it adequately defend Afghanistan from renewed
attacks by the Taliban.
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Civil Services
transportation of oil and gas through
a 1,100 km overland pipeline from
Kyaukryu port in Myanmar to the
border city of Ruili in Yunnan. This
pipeline is likely to reduce the dis-
tance by 1,200 km and at the same time
this will make China less dependent
on the Malacca Straits.
It has been reported that in order to
track down and monitor Indian mis-
sile tests, China has erected radars on
the western coast of Myanmar. On the
western coast, China has already de-
veloping Sittwe as a commercial port
and it can be further anticipated that
Chinese naval activity in the Bay of
Bengal will be more enhanced in com-
ing period of time.
It has been also found that Myanmar
has tried to acquire nuclear technolo-
gy from North Korea through the
help of Pakistan and China.
The Chinese National Petroleum Cor-
poration has offered aid worth $6
million to Myanmar for building hos-
pitals. The main motive is to speed
up laying the planned 878 km-long
crude pipeline and to secure Chinas
access to Myanmars oil reserves. At
the same time, a 2,389 km pipeline
from Kyakphu in Myanmar to Chi-
nas Yunnan province is also being
pursued. According to reports, Petro-
China is constructing a four billion
cubic meter gas depot at Hutubi in
the border province of Xinjiang to
make the most of gas piped from
Myanmar. China has pushed ahead
with the re-building of the historic
Stillwell Road12. 61 kms of the
stretch lies in India, 1,033km falls in
Myanmar and 632 km in China and at
the same time, China has already be-
gun work on the 194 mile stretch from
Myitkyina in Myanmar to the Pang-
sau Pass in Arunachal Pradesh, close
to the Indian border.
India, Bangladesh
and Myanmar
The dispute between the two coun-
tries erupted in November 2008. In
December 2009, the Bangladesh gov-
ernment had accepted the jurisdiction
of the International Tribunal for the
Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to settle the
maritime boundary dispute with
Myanmar. In the meantime, the My-
anmar Government has started to
trace the background history of the
Bangladesh-owned island of St. Mar-
tin, called as Coconut Island, which
is located at the mouth of the Naff
River in the Bay of Bengal off the Ra-
khine coast. On the other hand, Bang-
ladesh is also preparing to resolve the
maritime dispute with Burma by hir-
ing lawyers led by the US-based firm
Foley Hoag. An ITLOS bench com-
prising 23 judges will deliver the ver-
dict after hearing both sides. The tri-
bunal will decide the direction of de-
limitation lines on Talpatti point and
St. Martin point.
The bone of contention was over the
fact that Bangladesh wanted to delimit
the Bay of Bengal on an equity ba-
sis, while Myanmar wanted to delimit
India and Malaysia FTA
The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Malaysia has come
into force from July 1, 2011. The Indian Government has assured that
sensitive sectors like agriculture, fisheries, textiles, chemicals and auto-
mobiles have been given protection from imports without duty or with
significant cuts. India-Malay-
sia CECA is Indias fourth bi-
lateral Comprehensive Eco-
nomic Cooperation Agree-
ment, after Singapore, South
Korea and Japan.
The India-Malaysia CECA
also facilitates cross-border
investments between the two
countries. It aims to promote
investments and create a lib-
eral, facilitative, transparent
and competitive investment
regime. The CECA creates an
attractive operating environ-
ment for the business commu-
nities of both countries to in-
crease bilateral trade and in-
vestment.
Benefits:
1. This FTA is likely to pro-
vide greater opportunity to
Indian professionals profes-
sionals in commercially
meaningful sectors including accounting and auditing, architecture, ur-
ban planning, engineering services, medical and dental, nursing and phar-
macy, Computer and Related Services (CRS), and Management Consult-
ing Services to have access to the key South-East Asian nation and render
their services to them.
2. Besides that like basmati rice, mangoes, eggs, trucks, motorcycles and
cotton garments, will attract lower or no duty in Malaysia with the im-
plementation of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
(CECA) and therefore would have better access in Malaysian markets.
3. Further, the CCEA would facilitate temporary movement of business
people, including contractual service suppliers and independent profes-
sionals in accounting, architecture, engineering services, medical and
dental, nursing and pharmacy, computer services and management con-
sulting.
4. It has been expected that the agreement will also help boost cross-
border investment between the two countries, which achieved bilateral
trade of USD 10 billion in the fiscal year of 2010-11, an increase of 26 per
cent from the previous year. With the implementation of this agreement
the bilateral trade is likely to touch US$15 billion by 2015.
TIMES
Civil Services
the waters on an equi-distant ba-
sis. Talpatti is the furthest southwest
point and St. Martin is the furthest
southeast. The coastline distance be-
tween Talpatti and St. Martin is 700
kilometers, and Bangladesh has
claimed over 900 kilometers to the
outer limit of the continental shelf in
the Bay of Bengal.
The disputed water is very important
source for oil and gas exploration and
may prove very beneficial for that
country which will have access to
these sources of energy. One can re-
fer that in 2003, Daewoo had discov-
ered large gas stores in Myanmars
A-1 block, just offshore its Rakhine
state coast near Sittway and east of
the contested maritime border zone.
India is facing a lot of difficulties in
piping gas to West Bengal because for
efficient delivery require negotiating
transit rights through Bangladesh,
and the transit rights is not possible
till the present crisis is not solved
between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
India
and Maldives
Why Maldives is important?
1. The geostrategic location of
Maldives could provide immense
support to India against sea pirates
and controlling terrorists attack
through the sea route. Besides that
trade in minerals and energy, worth
many billions of dollars annually,
passes near the Maldives, which is
strategically located astride the ma-
jor sea lanes in the Indian Ocean.
2. India must strive hard to make di-
versified presence in Maldives to neu-
tralize the adverse impact of the Chi-
nese efforts to establish close strate-
gic relations with Indias neighbours
including Burma, Pakistan and Bang-
ladesh. The Maldives received more
than 65,000 Chinese tourists in the
first five months of this year, a 56.7
percent increase over the same peri-
od of 2010, according to the latest fig-
ures. This is an alarming information
for India, A part from this in 2010,
bilateral trade between both coun-
tries reached US$64 million, a report-
ed increase of nearly 56 percent from
2009. Concessional loans provided by
China, such as to build the 1000 Hous-
ing Units Project, have served to fur-
ther expand goodwill and coopera-
tion. In 2012, both China and
Maldives will celebrate the 40th an-
niversary of diplomatic relations. On
October 14, 1972, the Peoples Repub-
lic of China and the Republic of
Maldives established diplomatic re-
lations. Maldives has always held a
principled stand and supported the
One-China policy. In May 2011, the
Chairman of the Standing Commit-
tee of the National Peoples Congress
of China Wu Bangguo paid an offi-
cial visit to the Maldives on an invi-
tation of Speaker of the Peoples Ma-
jlis Abdulla Shahid. Wu said that the
Chinese government will provide a
grant aid worth 100 million Yuan
(US$15 million) to the Maldives for
its development.
3. The proximity of the country to
the Indian island cluster of Lakshad-
weep makes it important for coastal
security, in light of the 26/11 attacks
on Mumbai. The Maldivian govern-
ment has found it impossible to po-
lice its own waters. Out of 1192 tiny
islands, only 200 of which are inhab-
ited, with just under 400 miles sepa-
rating the northernmost island from
its most southerly. India must ensure
safety to those regions to avaiod any
organised planning to attack on its
coastal areas.
4. Maldives has more than 1,100 is-
lands can offer India logistics support
and perhaps even a base of opera-
tions and hence extend the Indian na-
val footprint. The government is de-
termined to fulfill all its electoral
pledges and had made huge strides
in connecting hundreds of islands of
the nation through ferries and
brought affordable housing to peo-
ple and India must capitalise these
opportunities.
5. The Maldives, by offering their fa-
cilities, can extend the Indian maritime
airspace surveillance capability.
India
and South Korea
CEPA signed
A Comprehensive Economic Partner-
ship Agreement (CEPA) between In-
dia and Republic of Korea was signed
on 7th August, 2009. The CEPA com-
prises six agreements relating main-
ly to opening up of trade in goods,
services and customs. It would give a
boost to the more than USD 10 bil-
lion bilateral trade. Presently India
has a negligible share of 0.85 per cent.
China is the top-most apparel suppli-
er of South Korea, with a share of
69.64 per cent; followed by Vietnam
with a share of 6.82 per cent. The CEPA
is similar to a free trade agreement
(FTA), with a comprehensive cover-
age of trade in goods and services and
investments, as well as intellectual
property rights.
Under the CEPA, India will eliminate
duties on 75 percent of products im-
ported from South Korea on a cus-
tom-value basis during the eight
years after the CEPA becomes effec-
tive. South Korea will remove duties
on 93 percent of products from India
during the same period. The CEPA
has come into force from 1st January,
2010.
The India-Korea CEPA (IKCEPA) also
has the distinction of being Indias
first FTA with an OECD country, and
the second comprehensive agreement
signed by India, after the 2005 India-
Singapore CECA. From the Korean
perspective, however, the FTA with
India is the seventh bilateral trade
deal signed since 2004, when its first
FTA with Chile was implemented
(the US-Korea agreement is awaiting
ratification).
The impact of CEPA will be very pro-
ductive and will encourage collabo-
ration between small and medium
size Korean companies to synergize
with Indian SMEs in the areas of semi-
conductors, plastics, auto parts, agri-
cultural instruments, textiles, multi-
media, ceramic products etc. The
agreement which proposes bilateral
economic cooperation in 13 areas,
such as audio-visual content, energy,
information and communications
technology, and science and technol-
ogy, will strengthen economic coop-
TIMES
Civil Services
eration and both countries will bene-
fit immensely. India with a better ac-
cess to South Korean market, through
CEPA, can increase its share to at least
10 per cent within the next five years.
India-Korea bilateral two-way trade
has increased three-fold in the past
five years, up from $5.48 billion in
2004 to $15.56 billion in 2008, a little
over half of which consists of trade in
crude and refined petroleum prod-
ucts. India has consistently had a bi-
lateral trade deficit vis-a-vis South
Korea; the non-oil bilateral trade def-
icit of India in the nine months of
2008-09, the period for which official
data is available, is around $3.9 bil-
lion. It has been estimated that this
has the potential to double the two-
way trade in the next decade, albeit
from a low base. India is still expect-
ed to boost bilateral trade by up to
$3.3 billion, up from the 2008 total of
$15.56 billion.
India and Bangladesh
Visit of
S M Krishna
The Indian External Affairs Minister,
S.M. Krishna paid a visit to Bang-
ladesh in the first week of July dur-
ing which he held discussions with
his Bangladeshi counterpart, Dr. Dipu
Moni. The visit came at a time when
relations between the two neighbors
are relatively on a high as compared
to what it was during the regime of
Khaleda Zia. The Sheikh Hasina gov-
ernment has always been friendlier
towards India than the Khaleda Zia
government and the External Affairs
Minister took the improved bilateral
relations environment as an oppor-
tunity to further make progress in
relations. It has been acknowledged
by both sides that they have recently
embarked on comprehensive, for-
ward- looking, pragmatic and mutu-
ally beneficial projects and initiatives.
The signing of the India- Bangladesh
Joint Communiqu during the visit
of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina to
India was a watershed event in bilat-
eral relations and one of the mandates
of the two Foreign Ministers was to
review the progress made in the same.
Both Ministers noted with satisfaction
that considerable progress had been
made in implementing the Joint Com-
muniqu. As per the communiqu,
India had offered Bangladesh a US
$1million Line of Credit. During the
visit of Mr. Krishna, the projects be-
ing undertaken under the Line of
Credit were reviewed and found to
be under implementation.
India and Bangladesh have made sub-
stantial progress in cooperation in the
power sector. Bangladesh has set up
grid connectivity up to 500 MW with
India, of which 250 MW is at a prefer-
ential rate. The near future of power
sector cooperation lies in the estab-
lishment of joint projects. Bangladesh
has requested India to set up a high
technology joint venture thermal
power plant of 1320 MW capacity in
Khulna, Bangladesh. India has re-
sponded positively to such request
and has already completed a feasibil-
ity study of the proposed project. The
two countries are working together on
several projects aimed at improving
trade infrastructure and connectivity.
In this respect, the new Land Customs
Station (LCS) opened at Fulbari- Bang-
labandh in January 2011 is notewor-
thy. Among other significant efforts
include the seven Integrated Check
Posts which the Indian government
has undertaken to establish. Also bor-
der haats in Meghalaya, where India
shares its borders with Bangladesh,
will be opened in July 2011.
Key to the expansion of trade ties be-
tween the two countries is the im-
provement of exports from Bang-
India and Myanmar
Indias approach towards Suu Kyi
Initially India had supported Nobel Laureate Suu Kyis National League
for Democracy and one has to recall the story of operation leach in
Adman islands that revealed that India was officially supplying arms to
the pro democratic forces in Myan-
mar to carry out the struggle for free-
dom. But in early 1990s India shifted
its strategy because of growing Chi-
nese influence in Myanmar and due
to the Look East Policy and need for
coordinated effort with to develop
Indias northeast region compelled
India to extend support to the mili-
tary regime. But in this process In-
dia has always requested the junta to
induce democratic environment in
their country.
Myanmar is strategically very impor-
tant for India, which shares a 1,640-
km (1,000-mile) border with Myan-
mar, is the countrys fourth largest
trading partner. In order to support
junta India had refused to heed calls
from other international democratic nations to exert pressure on the mil-
itary regime. In 2009, India refused to support International Labour Or-
ganisation (ILO) criticisms of forced labour in Myanmar, while in 2007,
then-Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee had appeared to ignore wide-
spread protests and the tough military crackdown in the country by re-
peating word-for-word the same speech on the need for closer ties he had
delivered in 2010.
On the eve of the release of Suu Kyi, after 15 years, India adopted a word
of caution and the statement read Government of India welcomes the
release. Release will lead to more inclusive approach to political reform.
We hope this will be the beginning of process of reconciliation in Myan-
mar. Recent elections are important step in the direction of national recon-
ciliation. India have always encouraged this as a close neighbour of Myan-
mar we are confident that the release will contribute the efforts for more
inclusive effort in political reforms.
TIMES
Civil Services
ladesh to India. Presently the bilater-
al trade is skewed in favor of India
and such a scenario needs to be ad-
dressed. The good thing is that the
constant interaction between the busi-
ness communities of the two sides has
helped in establishing a number of
joint venture agreements for export
oriented manufacturing activities in
Bangladesh. Indian investments in
Bangladesh are not only expected to
promote bilateral trade but also pro-
vide jobs to countless Bangladeshis.
The Bilateral Investment Promotion
and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) is
likely to open the floodgates of two
way investment flows. Exports from
Bangladesh to India have witnessed a
healthy 56 per cent increase in the first
ten months of 2010-11 but there is
scope for more. Another positive de-
velopment in the area of trade is that
the annual duty free quota for export
of garments from Bangladesh to India
has been raised from 8 million pieces
to 10 million pieces. All these mea-
sures are geared up to increase the
quantum of Bangladeshi exports to its
bigger and economically stronger
neighbor. Cooperation to upgrade the
BSTI is also progressing well. Sharing
of water resources has been a thorny
issue in Indo- Bangladesh relations in
the past. The manner of interim shar-
ing of the waters of the Teesta and
the Feni rivers is also being present-
ly negotiated by the two sides. The
work on river bank protection and
construction of embankment along
common rivers is going on quite sat-
isfactorily. Dredging of river Ichamati
is almost nearing completion.
While Indias border related disputes
with Bangladesh are hardly as bitter
and acrimonious as those with Paki-
stan, they are nonetheless very much
existent. The two countries had al-
ready established a Joint Boundary
Working Group (JBWG) to look into
the border issues. The meetings of the
JBWG, the last of which was held in
November 2011, provides a process
whereby a comprehensive resolution
of outstanding land boundary relat-
ed issues can be thrashed out.
With respect to the shared concerns
of insurgency, militancy and terror-
ism, the two countries agreed not to
allow their respective territories to
be used for the purpose of carrying
out activities inimical to the other.
They also agreed that it was impor-
tant to cooperate in the field of secu-
rity to weed out the triple menaces as
mentioned above.
Cooperation in the fields of culture,
education and training is expanding
at a brisk pace. Gurudev Rabindranath
Tagore, the great Indian poet, credit-
ed with penning the national anthems
of both the countries, is a symbol of
the cultural commonality between
India and Bangladesh. The joint cele-
bration of the 150
th
Birth Anniversa-
ry of Tagore is going on well in the
capitals of both countries. A Tagore
Chair has been set up at Dhaka Uni-
versity. At the same time, a Parlia-
mentary Friendship Group with Bang-
ladesh has been established in the In-
dian Parliament.
India and New Zealand
Towards FTA
India- New Zealand relations known
in the public sphere mostly for crick-
eting ties got a boost when the Prime
Minister of New Zealand, John Key
paid a state visit to India from 26th
to 30th June at the invitation of In-
dian Prime Minister, Manmohan
Singh. Key was accompanied by the
Kiwi Trade Minister Tim Groser and
a high level business delegation,
clearly indicating that the focus of the
visit was to concentrate on trade and
economic relations. Another person
included in the delegation was MP
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi. The pres-
ence of the Indian origin Kiwi
parliamentarian was perhaps
to emphasize the growing
clout of the Indian com-
munity in New
Zealand and the im-
portance accord-
ed by both
sides to their
role in im-
proving bilat-
eral relations.
Four major factors
that but- tress India-
N e w Zealand rela-
tions are:
(a) the shared heritage of the Com-
monwealth; (b) the values of democ-
racy; (c) people - to - people ties; and
(d) sporting relations, especially
cricket and more recently hockey.
Apart from these the two countries
are engaging themselves on a wide
range of subjects which include sci-
ence and innovation, education and
defence. The leaders of the countries
acknowledged that while there is sub-
stantial strength in their ties, there is
huge scope for further growth in re-
lations. The city of Christchurch in
New Zealand was rocked by a devas-
tating earthquake on 22nd February
2011. The government of India, dur-
ing New Zealands time of crisis had
provided that country and the resi-
dents of Christchurch with its support
and sympathy, which was warmly ap-
preciated by the New Zealand PM. In
this context, and given the fact that
the Indian Ocean region and Oceania
are susceptible to frequent seismic ac-
tivities which surface in the forms of
earthquakes and tsunamis, the two
countries affirmed the need for bet-
ter cooperation on disaster prepared-
ness and emergency response man-
agement systems. One way of enhanc-
ing such cooperation is by working
together in regional forums like the
East Asian Summit, of which both
countries are members. Coopera-
tion on disaster management
may including sharing of data
regarding seismic activity,
early warning to
the other side in
case of any ad-
verse environ-
mental forecasts
etc.
Trade and investment
flows to and fro be-
tween India and New
Zealand have witnessed in-
crease in the recent years. The
two PMs welcomed this trend
while noting that there was poten-
tial for further growth in trade and
investments between the countries.
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negoti-
ations are going on between India and
New Zealand and going on well.
Noting this, the leaders of the two
nations reiterated their commitment
to the early conclusion of the FTA ne-
gotiations. They agreed that if a high
quality, comprehensive FTA is put in
place, it would lead to a qualitative
and quantitative leap in economic in-
teractions which will be beneficial
economically for both the countries.
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Civil Services
This is more so because the key ex-
ports of India and New Zealand are
complementary in nature. That in
turn would mean a minimum list of
items excluded from the FTA. Also
with the FTA in place, key exports of
each country would be able to access
the market of the other quite easily.
This in turn would increase the vol-
ume of bilateral trade. Also, the en-
hanced bilateral trade and the mutu-
al sharing of expertise between the
countries can help in ushering food
security in the future.
New Zealand is home to many exotic
locations, some of which have been
captured in popular Hindi movies in
India, which also have sizeable glo-
bal audiences, including in New
Zealand. In the light of this, the two
governments have rightly perceived
modern cinema as a means of enhanc-
ing cultural as well as economic ties
by strengthening the bonds between
the film industries of their respective
countries. To build on the already
existing links between the film indus-
tries, an Agreement on Audio- Visu-
al Co- productions was signed by the
High Commissioner of New Zealand
to India, Mrs. Jan Henderson and the
Information and Broadcasting Secre-
tary, Raghu Menon in the presence of
the two PMs. The agreement is ex-
pected to encourage cooperation at
the industry level, help in sharing
creative talent and support the vi-
brant film industry in both countries.
Students from India regularly flock
to Universities in Australia and New
Zealand for higher studies. In fact,
statistics suggest that the countries in
Oceania have attained greater popu-
larity than even the USA and the UK
as viable educational destinations for
Indian students. Thus, education was
identified as a suitable area of coop-
eration between the two govern-
ments. The two PMs announced a new
Education Cooperation Initiative. The
initiative is going to be jointly fund-
ed by the countries and it will be
worth NZ $1 million (Rs.3.6 crore
approximately) annually. The fund-
ing will be shared equally by the two
countries. The initiative will promote
partnerships in two important areas,
namely- 1) higher education and re-
search, and 2) skills and vocational
education. It will also concentrate on
the following areas- 1) academic and
student exchanges, 2) joint research
activities, and 3) industry collabora-
tions. Sports scholarships are also to
be included within the ambit of the
initiative. Both India and New
Zealand have sizeable tribal and in-
digenous populations who have dis-
tinctive cultures of their own. India
is presently facing a severe internal
security threat from the Maoists who
enjoy reasonable support from the
tribals. Many thinkers and analysts
feel that studies and research needs
to be undertaken to understand trib-
al cultural traits and plan develop-
mental interventions to ensure that
their sense of alienation is stemmed.
New Zealand with its indigenous
population shares with India similar
challenges though no rebellion is
brewing within its territory. In the
light of facing similar developmen-
tal challenges with respect to their
native populations, it was decided
that the Education Cooperation Ini-
tiative should provide opportunities
to share expertise and experience in
India and New Zealand
Major Outcomes of Keys visit
The Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key has paid a state visit to India.
Commonwealth ties, shared democratic values, people-to-people and sport-
ing links underpin the vibrant bilateral relationship between India and
New Zealand. The visit by the New Zealand prime minister is expected to
strengthen the ties between both the nations. Both the nations expected to
enhance engagement across a range of trade and economic sectors, includ-
ing science and innovation, education and defence. During the bilateral
summit, both the nations af-
firmed the importance of co-
operation on disaster pre-
paredness and emergency
response management sys-
tems, a shared area of focus
for the two countries work-
ing together in regional fo-
rums such as the East Asia
Summit.
Economic Relations: The
past decade has witnessed
increased trade and invest-
ment flows between India
and New Zealand, but there
still exists potential to expand bilateral trade significantly. Both the nations
are sincere in their commitments to conclude the Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) negotiations by March 2012. Successful conclusion of a high quality
and comprehensive FTA would provide the platform for stronger econom-
ic interaction to the benefit of both economies. It is here underscored that at
present the India-New Zealand bilateral trade is small, totalling around $1
billion, if the FTA was signed by 2012, bilateral commerce would treble to
$3 billion by 2014.
Agreement on Audio-Visual Co-Productions: Both the nations also signed
an Agreement on Audio-Visual Co-Productions. This Agreement will al-
low both sides to encourage industry level cooperation, share creative tal-
ent, and support the vibrant film industry in both countries.
A New Education Cooperation Initiative launched: This jointly-funded Ini-
tiative, worth Rs 3.6 crores will be shared equally by New Zealand and
India. It is expected to promote partnerships in two key streams; higher
education and research, and skills and vocational education. The Initiative
will focus on areas such as academic and student exchanges, joint research
activities, and industry collaborations. The Initiative also includes sports
scholarships and provides opportunities to share expertise and experience
in tribal and indigenous higher education. A Joint Education Council will
be established to implement the Prime Ministers Initiative.
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Civil Services
tribal and indigenous higher educa-
tion. For the purpose of implement-
ing the initiative, a Joint Education
Council will be established as per the
agreement.
Science and technology is another
area where the two sides are trying
to expand and improve their relation-
ship. A Science and Innovation Pro-
tocol for Cooperation was signed and
it is expected that the protocol will
provide a framework for future sci-
entific exchanges and research collab-
oration. The first joint science initia-
tive between the two countries, the
Science Research Workshop on Food
Technologies and Research, which
was recently held at the Riddet Insti-
tute / Massey University and the Lin-
coln University in New Zealand, was
welcomed by both the PMs. It is a pi-
oneering step towards future cooper-
ation, something which was long due
given the scientific prowess of the
two nations.
The two countries are developing
healthy relations in the field of civil
aviation, a sector which has grown
rapidly in India and still has a lot of
potential. Within the civil aviation
sector, there are a number of sub- sec-
tors where cooperation can be ex-
plored, one such sub- sector being that
of training. With the shortage of well-
trained pilots and other airline staff in
India, caused largely by the fact that
the growth of trained manpower in
the aviation sector has failed to keep
pace with the exponential growth of
the sector itself, training in this sector
does provide huge opportunities for
bilateral cooperation.
Indias defence cooperation with ma-
jor powers in the Pacific Ocean is wit-
nessing a gradual increase. The nation
has conducted naval war games with
the dominant powers of the region in
recent times. An improvement of de-
fence ties with the Kiwis was very
much on the cards in the present visit
of the New Zealand PM to India. In
order to strengthen bilateral defence
ties, PM Key announced the proposed
appointment of a Defence Advisor to
India. The main task of the Defence
Advisor would be to facilitate New
Zealands defence relations with India.
Safety and security of important sea
lanes such as the Malacca Straits is cru-
cial for both countries as well as for
the regional and world economy as
much of the cargo of the world passes
through these lanes. Piracy continues
to remain a problem for ships passing
through sea lanes in the Indian Ocean
as well as through the seas adjacent to
the South East Asian countries. Also
ships are particularly vulnerable near
the Gulf region where they fall prey
to the notorious Somali pirates. Both
countries agreed that regional and
global cooperation to ensure maritime
security must continue. The leaders
also acknowledged that ship visits and
staff college visits between the coun-
tries had deepened bilateral defence
cooperation to the benefit of both
sides.
Reforms in the United Nations and
especially in its Security Council have
been a major
agenda item for
India both in bi-
lateral as well as
multilateral fo-
rums. The matter
expectedly was
brought up dur-
ing the PM level
talks. Though PM
Key announced
his countrys sup-
port for Indias
membership in a
reformed Securi-
ty Council, in-
cluding in any ex-
pansion of perma-
nent member-
ship, he re-
mained non-
committal as to
whether such possible membership
should be with or without veto pow-
ers. Both PMs however highlighted
the need for general reforms in the
UN so as to ensure that it reflects the
realities of the 21st century rather
than that of the immediate post-
World War II scenario.
With respect to nuclear weapons, both
sides agreed that they share the vi-
sion of a nuclear weapons free world.
Perhaps the manner in which such a
world should be created is where the
two countries may agree to disagree.
So far, New Zealands response to the
India- US nuclear agreement has been
guarded. While it has not been overt-
ly effusive in its praise of the deal, it
has nonetheless not shown any ma-
jor signs of rigidity in its stance re-
garding Indias inclusion in the nu-
clear club. New Zealands support in
the Nuclear Suppliers Group re-
mains critical for ensuring the neces-
sary waivers for India regarding ex-
port of nuclear materials and technol-
ogy. While remaining largely non-
committal regarding the relaxation of
rules of the multilateral export con-
trol regimes for India, as a special
case, the New Zealand side welcomed
Indias increased engagement with
such regimes.
India and New Zealand cooperate in
a number of regional organizations,
the primary among them being the
East Asian Summit, the ASEAN Re-
gional Forum, the ASEAN Defence
Ministers Meeting Plus and the Asia
Europe Meeting (ASEM). The leaders
of the two nations reaffirmed the im-
portance of these organizations and
forums in improving regional secu-
rity, economic partnerships and po-
litical linkages. They also agreed to
work together to further the Compre-
hensive Economic Partnership under
the East Asian Summit.
The two sides felt that the back- bone
of bilateral relations continued to be
the people- to- people contacts.
Strengthening such contacts lay at the
heart of strengthening and rejuvenat-
ing bilateral relations. Sir Edmund
Hillary, a prominent Kiwi, who made
history by being the first man in the
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Civil Services
world to scale Mount Everest, the
worlds highest peak remains etched
till this day in the hearts and minds
of numerous Indians. It was decided
by the two governments to create a
fellowship in his name, which will
be known as the Sir Edmund Hillary
Fellowship so as to facilitate a deep-
er understanding amongst the peo-
ple about each others country. PM
Key announced that the recipient of
the fellowship for 2011 will be a
prominent Indian businessman.
The Indian community in New
Zealand is an increasingly vibrant
one. It was felt that this community
has provided a platform for the two
way flow of visitors, migrants and
students between the countries. In a
major boost for the Indian communi-
ty in New Zealand, the Pravasi
Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA),
which is the highest honor given by
the Indian government to its overseas
citizens, for 2011 was conferred upon
the Governor- General of New
Zealand in the month of January. Both
sides felt that this unique honor to
the head of state in New Zealand
would help strengthen people- to-
people ties.
Sporting ties between India and New
Zealand are quite strong, particular-
ly in the games of cricket and hock-
ey. While cricket is part of the two
nations shared colonial heritage,
hockey is Indias national sport and
it also enjoys wide support in New
Zealand. Cricket was pointed out as
an example not only of the countries
shared heritage, but also of their close
sporting ties and bilateral friendship.
The PM of New Zealand congratulat-
ed India on its successful hosting of
the recently concluded 2011 World
Cup along with Sri Lanka and Bang-
ladesh, as well as for winning the cov-
eted trophy. The two leaders looked
forward to the next World Cup, to be
held in 2015 and to be hosted by New
Zealand and Australia. They also
agreed to work together to strength-
en sporting ties as a means for pro-
moting people- to- people links.
Why India abstained at Libya?
Brazil and Germany abstained from
voting on the UN resolution 1973 and
India, China and Russia opposed it.
The US, France and Britain were
among 10 countries that voted in
favour of the resolution. India has not
supported western intervention un-
der the leadership of NATO in Libya
and has emphasized on the decisions
relating to Africa should be left to the
Africans. India wants
(a) All the actions and decisions would
be taken by the leaders of the African
Union (AU) and India feels that any
outside intervention would be tanta-
mount to infringement of sovereign-
ty. AU has been maintaining that only
a political solution will make it pos-
sible to promote peace in a lasting
manner in Libya. The AU has been
working on a ceasefire plan that in-
volves in dialogue between all Liby-
an parties.
(b) India wants peace and tranquility
to return to Libya. India favours a
swift resumption of the political pro-
cess in the country. In this India will
support the position taken by the Af-
rican Union.
(c) The political situation of Libya
would be dealt on the lines adopted
by the Ababa declaration.
(d) Despite divergent political sys-
tems in the BRICS, the Sanya declara-
tion was unequivocal in criticising the
recent no-fly-zone and military action
by the NATO forces in Libya and sug-
gested that the UN Charter respect-
ing the sovereignty of the member
states should be respected.
Indian companies, especially in sec-
tors like hydrocarbon, power, con-
struction and information technolo-
gy have several ongoing projects in
Libya. Abou 18,000 people of Indian
origin are working in Libya. While
Indias oil import from Libya is just
one million tonnes out of the annual
import of 160 million tonnes, many
Indian workers are engaged in Libya
in construction and petroleum sector
jobs.
India and Kyrghyzstan
Bio-medical
research centre
India has opened a mountain biomed-
ical research centre in, Bishkek, the cap-
ital city of Kyrgyzstan to help better
the lives of both military personnel
and civilians, making it the first such
joint project India has had with any
country. The unique institution has
been established jointly by the Defence
Research Development Organisation
and the National Centre for Cardiolo-
gy and Internal Medicine, Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz-Indian Mountain Biomed-
ical Research Centre (KIMBMRC) will
carry out research on the mechanism
of short-term and long-term high alti-
tude adaptation. The centre will also
study high altitude acclimatisation and
find measures to provide succour for
maladies at high altitudes. It will also
mobilise and synchronise the expertise
of the two countries in the area of high
altitude research. The benefits of these
studies will apply to a large popula-
tion across the globe, as more and more
people travel to the mountains every
year. The centre has a field station at
Tuya Ashu, located at a height of 3,200
metre. Akpay Sarybaev, a leading car-
diologist and expert in mountain med-
icine, has been nominated as the cen-
tres director.
India wants strategic hold in Kyr-
gyzstan: In a move that will strength-
en Indias strategic foothold in Kyr-
gyzstan, India recently concluded
talks with Kyrgyzstan to train its forces
for UN missions. The step is signifi-
cant because Kyrgyzstan is the only
nation that hosts both American and
Russian military bases. India plans to
dispatch a training team to Kyrgyzstan
which will also help Kyrgyz soldiers
hone their English skills, as part of an
overarching plan to step up defence
cooperation with the Central Asian
nation, bordering China. Indias cur-
rent level of military engagement with
Kyrgyzstan is a bit limited and there
is need and potential to expand the
scope to military training, defence re-
search and development and produc-
tion of armaments. India is also plans
joint research and development in
non-defence sectors such as physiolo-
gy, medicine, animal husbandry and
nutrition with Kyrgyzstan.
Roza Otunbayeva is the president of
Kyrgyzstan; she is also the first female
president of Kyrgyzstan.
TIMES
Civil Services
India and Turkey
Joint Naval
Exercises in A. Sea
The Indian Navy and the Turkish
Navy have participated in a joint na-
val exercise off the Mumbai coast in
the Arabian Sea. This joint exercise
was the first of its kind between the
two navies and its major aim was to
build up capabilities related to anti-
piracy operations, disaster relief op-
eration and rescue missions. Three
frigates and tanker including TCG
Barbaros, TCG Gelibolu, Gemlik and
Gungor participated from Turkeys
side while INS Mumbai, INS Betwa,
INS Brahamaputra and one submarine
besides some maritime reconnais-
sance aircraft participated from the
Indian contingent.
Significance of the exercise: With
growing threat perception in mari-
time security globally, the recent na-
val drill with Turkeyis of great value
as it promotes solidarity and global
security measures to counter global
unrest caused by piracy. Indian Navy
feels that Turkey has a strong ship-
ping industry and there is great po-
tential for partnership between the
two countries in areas of shipbuild-
ing. Besides, Turkey is a rising region-
al player with whom India would like
to foster greater ties. India can take
advantage of Turkeys influence in
Asia and Europe by building ties with
Turkey.
India and Colombia
Signed double tax
avoidance treaty
In an effort to rationalize bilateral tax-
ation and stem the flow of illicit trans-
actions, India has signed a double tax-
ation avoidance agreement (DTAA)
with the South American country of
Colombia. The agreement with Co-
lombia to avoid double taxation
among the two nations has been
signed and it aims to prevent fiscal
evasion with respect to taxes on in-
come. The agreement will also pro-
vide impetus in the fight against illic-
it financial transactions like stashing
of black money in exchange of finan-
cial information, including banking
details. The provisions under the
agreement provide for rationalized
taxation system in which business
transactions between companies of
both sides including subsidiaries
would be taxed only once, thus pro-
viding an impetus to trade between
both countries. According to the pro-
visions of the DTAA, any branch, fac-
tory, profits of a construction, assem-
bly or installation projects will be
taxed in the state of source if the project
continues in that state for more than
six months. Further, any taxes on trans-
portation of goods and passengers
through aerial or maritime routes
would be collected in the country
where the company has been incor-
porated in, but the dividends, interest
and royalty income of the company is
liable to be taxed in both the coun-
tries. The maximum rate of tax to be
charged in the country of source will
not exceed five percent in the case of
dividends and 10 percent in the case
of interest and royalties.
Major Benefits under the DTAA: The
Agreement incorporates provisions
for effective exchange of information
and assistance in collection of taxes
between tax authorities of the two
countries in line with internationally
accepted standards including ex-
change of banking information and
incorporates anti-abuse provisions to
ensure that the benefits of the Agree-
ment are availed of by the genuine
residents of the two countries. The
Agreement will provide tax stability
to the residents of India and Colom-
bia and facilitate mutual economic
cooperation as well as stimulate the
flow of investment, technology and
services between India and Colombia.
Understanding Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreements (DTAA): Fis-
cal jurisdiction is often the most ag-
gressively guarded jurisdiction of any
nation. As a consequence, even in times
when economies are going global and
borders fading, leading to liquid
movement of goods, services and cap-
ital, double taxation is still one of the
major obstacles to the development
of inter-country economic relations.
Nations are often forced to negotiate
and accommodate the claims of other
nations within their heavily guarded
fiscal jurisdiction by the means of dou-
ble taxation avoidance agreements, in
order to bring down the barriers to
international trade. The Fiscal Com-
mittee of OECD in the Model Double
Taxation Convention on Income and
Capital, 1977, defines the phenomenon
of international juridical double taxa-
tion as the imposition of comparable
taxes in two or more states on the same
tax payer in respect of the same subject
matter and for identical periods. There-
fore, the basic cause of international
multiple taxation is the exercise by sov-
India and US Relations
Aviation safety
agreement (BASA)
India and US has linked a bilateral
aviation safety agreement (BASA).
BASA will facilitate reciprocal air-
worthiness certification of civil
aeronautical products imported/
exported between the two nations.
The major benefit to India is that
Indian standards would be compa-
rable to global standards and its
aeronautical products would be ac-
cepted by the US. The agreement
will also improve passenger safety
and therefore caps the success of the
2005 Open Skies Agreement, which
opens more routes, includes more
airlines, and greatly improves the
ability for companies to engage in
commerce between the US and In-
dia. It is also believed that a BASA
between both countries would help
India upgrade its technology to
world-class standards and harmo-
nize its regulatory and monitoring
systems with international best
practices. The agreement gives an
opportunity to India to develop
reciprocal acceptances of certain
aviation articles and will also pro-
mote the burgeoning civil aviation
partnership emerging between
both the nations. Finally, the agree-
ment allows aviation authorities
such as the FAA and the Indian Di-
rectorate General of Civil Aviation
(DCGA) to certify aeronautical
products and systems to be intro-
duced in American and Indian mar-
kets.
TIMES
Civil Services
ereign states of their inherent right to
levy tax extra-territorially. Most of the
countries subject their residents to tax,
on the basis of personal jurisdiction,
on their global income including in-
come arising or having its source in
foreign countries. Double tax treaties
comprise of agreements between two
countries, which, by eliminating inter-
national double taxation, promote ex-
change of goods, persons, services and
investment of capital. These are bilat-
eral economic agreements where the
countries concerned evaluate the sacri-
fices and advantages which the treaty
brings for each contracting state, includ-
ing tax forgone and compensating eco-
nomic advantages. The interaction of
two tax systems each belonging to dif-
ferent country, can result in double tax-
ation. Every country seeks to tax the
income generated within its territory
on the basis of one or more connecting
factors such as location of the source,
residence of taxable entity, mainte-
nance of Permanent Establishment and
so on. Double Taxation of the same
income in the hands of same entity
would give rise to harsh consequences
and impair economic development.
Double Taxation Agreements between
two countries therefore aim at elimi-
nating or mitigating the incidence of
double taxation.
Classification of DTAA: Double taxa-
tion avoidance agreements, depending
on their scope, can be classified as
Comprehensive and Limited. Compre-
hensive Double Taxation Agreements
provide for taxes on income, capital
gains and capital, while Limited Dou-
ble Taxation Agreements refer only to
income from shipping and air trans-
port, or estates, inheritance and gifts.
Comprehensive agreements ensure
that the taxpayers in both the countries
would be treated equally and on equi-
table basis, in respect of the problems
relating to double taxation.
Objectives of DTAA: The object of a
Double Taxation Avoidance Agree-
ment is to provide for the tax claims of
two governments both legitimately
interested in taxing a particular source
of income either by assigning to one
of the two the whole claim or else by
prescribing the basis on which tax
claims is to be shared between them.
The objectives of double taxation
avoidance agreements can be enumer-
ated in the following words:
First, they help in avoiding and alle-
viating the adverse burden of inter-
national double taxation, by -
a) Laying down rules for division of
revenue between two countries;
b) Exempting certain incomes from tax
in either country
c) Reducing the applicable rates of tax
on certain incomes taxable in either
country.
Secondly, and equally importantly tax
treaties help a taxpayer of one coun-
try to know with greater certainty the
potential limits of his tax liabilities in
the other country.
Still another benefit from the tax-pay-
India and Sri Lanka
Re-building
Kankesanthurai port
India and Sri Lanka recently signed
a Memorandum of Understanding
to develop the Kankesanthurai
(KKS) port, the first such deep wa-
ter facility being re-built in the
northern peninsula. The KKS port
was rendered useless after the LTTE
repeatedly attacked it when the
outfit controlled the surrounding
areas. The port was important in
connecting the Jaffna peninsula
with the rest of Sri Lanka and also
regional destinations, particularly
India.
Importance of the Kankesanthurai
(KKS) port: After its development
the KKS will open the northern Sri
Lanka to the whole world and es-
tablish regional and domestic con-
nectivity. The Port will significant-
ly lower the transit time of goods
from and to India, Bangladesh, and
the neighbourhood, and increase
economic activity in the north, a
region that is trying to find its feet
after about three decades of civil
war.
ers point of view is that, to a substan-
tial extent, a tax treaty provides against
non-discrimination of foreign tax pay-
ers or the permanent establishments
in the source countries vis--vis do-
mestic tax payers.
Analyzing Indian policy with respect
to double taxation avoidance agree-
ments: Following points will best de-
scribe the policy stance adopted by the
Indian government while entering
DTAAs: (a) Trading with India should
be relieved of Indian taxes consider-
ably so as to promote its economic and
industrial development. (b) There
should be co-ordination of Indian tax-
ation with foreign tax legislation for
Indian as well as foreign companies
trading with India. (c) The agreements
are intended to permit the Indian au-
thorities to co-operate with the for-
eign tax administration. (d) Tax trea-
ties are a good compromise between
taxation at source and taxation in the
country of residence.
Sub-regional organisation
BCIM
BCIM, the forum of Bangladesh, Chi-
na, India and Myanmar recently had
their 9th meeting at Kunming city of
Yunnan province in China. The ini-
tiative to explore potential opportu-
nities of cooperation in this sub-re-
gion, known as Kunming Initiative,
has so far been a track-II diplomacy
endeavour 1; it was launched in the
year 1999. The major objective of this
initiative is to promote economic co-
operation among the countries of this
sub-region by making best use of
their comparative advantages. The
Ninth meeting of the BCIM conclud-
ed on the note to improve the coop-
eration mechanism, which would fea-
ture a multi-track initiative with track
I coordination, to promote regional
prosperity and harmony.
The recently concluded meet of the
BCIM also agreed to rename the Fo-
rum of Bangladesh, China, India and
Myanmar on Regional Economic Co-
operation as Bangladesh China In-
dia and Myanmar Regional Cooper-
ation Forum.
The joint statement of the meet
agreed to focus on improved region-
al connectivity and establishing the
Kunming-Mandalay-Dhaka-Kolkata
economic corridor.
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Civil Services
India and Poland Relations
Visit of Radoslaw
Sikroski
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Po-
land, Radoslaw Sikroski, was recent-
ly on an official visit to India. This
was his first visit to a country outside
Europe after Poland assumed Presi-
dency of EU on 1st July, 2011. It is to
be mentioned that Poland became a
member of EU in 2004 and of NATO
in 1999. During his visit to India both
the nations observed that their rela-
tions are rooted in history and have
traditionally been characterized by
goodwill and cooperation.
In the field of defence cooperation
Poland hopes that India will appreci-
ate Polish arms industry products
which are passing the test in Afghan-
istan which would boost bilateral
trade.
It should be noted that India has a
multifaceted mutually beneficial re-
lationship with Poland and both na-
tions share a common outlook on a
number of matters of common inter-
est. Poland has always supported In-
dia's candidature for a permanent
membership of UNSC.
During the visit of Polish Foreign
Minister it has been agreed to consid-
er the issue of grant of visa exemp-
tion for diplomatic passport holders.
Both the nations also expressed desire
to speed up negotiations of all other
pending matters as well. Relations
between India and Poland encompass
cooperation in areas like Trade and
Investment, Energy, Science & Tech-
nology, Culture, Security and Defence
and both the nations want to increase
the flow of funds to further enhance
bilateral cooperation in these sectors.
T
racing the roots of the Concept of Judicial Activism: According to
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, judicial activism is "the practice
in the judiciary of protecting or expanding individual rights through
decisions that depart from established precedent or are independent of or in
opposition to supposed constitutional or legislative intent". Thus it can be
asserted that judicial activism is another name for innovative interpretation;
the concept was born in 1804 in the United
States of America when Chief Justice Marshall,
the greatest Judge of the English-speaking
world, decided Marbury v. Madison case. Mar-
bury was appointed Judge under the Judiciary
Act of 1789 by the U.S. Federal Government.
Though the warrant of appointment was signed
it could not be delivered. Marbury brought an
action for issue of a writ of mandamus. By then,
Marshall became the Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court having been appointed by the
outgoing President, who lost the election. Jus-
tice Marshall faced the imminent prospect of
the Government not obeying the judicial fiat if
the claim of Marbury was to be upheld. In a
rare display of judicial statesmanship assert-
ing the power of the Court to review the ac-
tions of the Congress and the Executive, Chief
Justice Marshall declined the relief on the
ground that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of
1789, which was the foundation for the claim
made by Marbury, was unconstitutional since
it conferred in violation of the American Con-
stitution, original jurisdiction on the Supreme
Court to issue writs of mandamus. He observed
that the Constitution was the fundamental and
paramount law of the nation and "it is for the
court to say what the law is". He concluded that
the particular phraseology of the Constitution
of the United States confirms and strengthens
the principle supposed to be essential to all writ-
ten Constitutions. That a law repugnant to the
Constitution is void and that the courts as well
as other departments are bound by that instrument. If there was conflict between
a law made by the Congress and the provisions in the Constitution, it was the
duty of the court to enforce the Constitution and ignore the law. The twin con-
cepts of judicial review and judicial activism were thus born.
Conceptualizing Judicial Activism: The government is divided into three wings:
(a) Legislative; (b) Executive; and (c) Judiciary. All the three branches have
separate functions. The legislative performs the functions of law making, the
executive enforces those laws and the judiciary performs the function of inter-
pretation and analysing the validity of laws. This was the original conception
of the functions of the judiciary. But with the fast changing socio-economic and
administrative functions in the society, it is not possible for the legislature to
Towards better governance
Changing facets
of Judicial Activism in India
"Judicial activism is a necessary adjunct of the judicial function because the protection
of public interest, as opposed to private interest, is the main concern of all the
democratic governments."
In a rare display of judi-
cial statesmanship as-
serting the power of the
Court to review the ac-
tions of the Congress and
the Executive, Chief Jus-
tice Marshall declined the
relief on the ground that
Section 13 of the Judi-
ciary Act of 1789, which
was the foundation for
the claim made by
Marbury, was unconstitu-
tional since it conferred
in violation of the Ameri-
can Constitution, original
jurisdiction on the Su-
preme Court to issue
writs of mandamus.
Current NATIONAL DEBATE
TIMES
Civil Services
foresee every possible situation that
may arise in the future and frame laws
for every possible situation. In such a
case our judiciary steps in to play its
most important role, it comes in and
it interprets the laws in such a manner
as to apply the existing laws to the
existing laws to the new situation that
has arisen. The judiciary uses its cre-
ativity to solve the existing societal
problems, thus bridging the gap be-
tween the law and social conditions.
This creativity of judiciary is termed
as judicial activism.
In other terms we can affirmatively
say that judicial activism refers to
court decisions that arguably go be-
yond applying and interpreting the
law and extend into the realm of
changing or creating laws, or going
against legal precedents. The scope of
judiciary review is basically extended
to three areas: (a) Judicial review of
legislative action. (b) Judicial review
of the executive or administrative ac-
tion. (c) Judicial review of the judicial
action. Thus we can say that our judi-
ciary not only has to deal with the is-
sues of resolving the inter-se disputes
but it is also supposed to act as a bal-
ancing mechanism between the con-
flicting pulls and pressures operating
in the society. Judicial activism acts as
an important for testing the validity
and constitutionality of the actions of
the legislature and the executive.
Judicial Activism in India:
(a) Public Interest Litigation: Judicial
activism was made possible in India,
thanks to PIL (Public Interest Litiga-
tion). Generally speaking before the
court takes up a matter for adjudica-
tion, it must be satisfied that the per-
son who approaches it has sufficient
interest in the matter. This is intended
to avoid unnecessary litigation. The
legal doctrine 'Jus tertii' implying that
no one except the affected person can
approach a court for a legal remedy
was holding the field both in respect
of private and public law adjudications
until it was overthrown by the PIL
wave. PIL, a manifestation of judicial
activism, has introduced a new dimen-
sion regarding judiciary's involve-
ment in public administration. The
sanctity of locus standi and the proce-
dural complexities are totally side-
tracked in the causes brought before
the courts through PIL. Thus PIL is one
of the important principles that our judicial set up has given to the country. PIL
is one of the three contours of judicial activism that are developed by our
judicial setup. The other two are the broader interpretation given to fundamen-
tal rights and the accountability of our administration.
(b) Judicial Activism and constitutional amendments: The Indian Constitution
provides sufficient provisions for the amendment of the constitution. The pow-
er to amend the constitution lies with the legislature and in order to amend out
constitution, the bill amending the constitution must be passed by a majority
of two third of the strength. Since the enforcement of our constitution, our
legislative has used its power to amend the constitution several times. Simul-
taneously our judiciary from the beginning of the constitution had to deal with
many challenges that were raised due to the amendments made to the constitu-
tion by the parliament. Taking for example
the controversy over Article 13 of the consti-
tution, it says that any law which violates the
fundamental rights of the citizen would be
void. There were various examples given as
to what constitutes law under this article and
the constitutional amendments have not been
included in it as a law. This provision of the
Article 13 was challenged in the court just af-
ter the commencement of the constitution. In
the case of Shankari Prasad vs. Union of India,
the Supreme Court held that the word "law" as
used in the article 13 doesn't include the con-
stitutional amendments. This decision showed
the positive approach of the courts, giving the
power to legislature to amend the constitu-
tion affecting the fundamental rights of the
people. This positive approach of the court
continued until Justice Hidayatullah pointed
out in Sajjan Singh vs. State of Rajasthan, that
the fundamental rights should not be left at
the discretion of the legislature. The court again
changed its attitude in the Golaknath vs. State
of Punjab case, when it upheld that the constitu-
tional amendment would also be included un-
der Article 13. This was an excellent example
when our judiciary showed its active role in
interpretation of our constitutional provisions
in the light of the changing circumstances.
(c) Emergency and after: Judicial activism or
we can properly say that the role of judiciary underwent magnificent changes
in India after the era of emergency. To begin with, the court, the court did this
with respect to article 21. In its original form the article 21 deals with right to
life. However, after the emergency period the courts started to look it in a
broader manner. In Menaka Gandhi vs. Union of India the court laid down a
seminal rule of constitutional interpretation. It said that there was a greater
need to look at the meaning of the words in the constitution. Thereafter article
21 was used by the courts in various cases for the purpose of providing basic
human rights to the citizen. It clearly shows the pro-active role displayed by
the courts while interpreting the constitution. The period after the infamous
emergency drastically changed the way judicial activism was exercised in In-
dia. In this period judicial activism was inspired by the philosophy of constitu-
tional interpretation. During this time the courts looked at the constitution not
as a set of rules, but as a principles of constitutional governance.
(d) Recent Instances of Judicial Activism: The recent past had witnessed vary-
ing ideological wordings from the Supreme Court that questioned the func-
tioning and service delivery mechanism of our legislative and executive branch-
es. For example, the SC brought in CNG issue, set emission standards for
Thus we can say that our
judiciary not only has to
deal with the issues of
resolving the inter-se
disputes but it is also
supposed to act as a bal-
ancing mechanism be-
tween the conflicting
pulls and pressures op-
erating in the society. Ju-
dicial activism acts as an
important for testing the
validity and constitution-
ality of the actions of the
legislature and the ex-
ecutive.
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Civil Services
vehicles, set norms for organ trans-
plant and so on. More recently the SC
issued a very unique order when it
directed a Special Investigating Team
be set up to monitor the investigation
into the issue of black money. This is
the most recent example of judicial
creativity displayed by our courts. In
another judgment recently which
gave blow to both the centre and the
Chhattisgarh Government, the SC
declared as illegal and unconstitution-
al the deployment of tribal youths as
Special Police Officers or Salwa Judum
or any other force - in the fight against
the Maoist insurgency and ordered
their immediate disarming. Other re-
cent issues where Judiciary recently
acted are:
1. SC suggested/ordered gov-
ernment to distribute grain un-
der public distribution policy to
the poor instead of letting it rot
inside godowns.
2. SC ordered government to
Delhi to not demolish the night
shelters made for homeless peo-
ple.
3. Recent brawl of appointment
of CVC PC Thomas.
These are just the few major examples
where our judicial setup had shown
its pro-active approach in dealing
with the emerging socio-economic
issues. Reasons for Rising Instances of
Judicial Activism in India: The grow-
ing awareness among the citizen and
the change in the way of functioning
of the civil society of the nation has
given a fillip to the creative working
of our judicial setup. Constitutional
Court has to continuously strive to
sustain its own social legitimacy.
Through impartial and principled de-
cisions, it sustains people's faith in it.
The failure of our executive branch in
the implementation of programmes
and policy formulation is another
major reason why the courts are be-
ing compelled to jump into the do-
main of executive territory. The ris-
ing cases of corruption in our politi-
cal establishment and accelerating
electoral mismanagement which has
resulted in un-deserving candidates
getting the tickets for the parliament
is one of the prominent reasons for
rising instances of judicial activism in
India. The development in the field of
information technology has created
immense awareness among the people at grass root level. People are more
concerned about their rights and obligations of the government now; they are
not ready to compromise their rights and basic amenities which are guaran-
teed by our constitution. In case of minor breach of promises by the govern-
ment, the citizen do not hesitate to reach the courts for the protection of their
rights and due obligations. All these have given more teeth to our judicial
setup; it is now more than ready to come to the rescue of the citizen in case of
violation of their rights and any negligence in policy and law formulation by
the government.
Judicial Activism in India - Is it a Necessary Evil?
Judicial activism has always been a source of heated debate, especially in the
light of recent developments in this regard. Over the last few years with vari-
ous controversial decisions, judges of the Su-
preme Court as well as various High Courts
have once again triggered off the debate that
has always generated a lot of heat. The Indian
Constitution provides for separation of pow-
ers between all the three branches of the gov-
ernment and hence demarcates the powers and
areas of all these three machineries. However
sometimes with the failure of the legislature
and the executive, the separation of power re-
mains a theory only in the text book and the
third wing of governance, the judiciary as-
sumes powers unprecedented for under the
name and guise of judicial activism, which is a
very basic feature of the Constitution of India.
The Indian judiciary has taken upon itself the
task of ensuring maximum freedom to the
masses and in the process, to galvanize the
executive and the legislature to work for pub-
lic good. However, this changing stance of the
judiciary from moderate to active role has in-
vited wrath from some sections of the society,
criticism from some others and support and
cheers from still other sections. The promi-
nent question which arises is whether judicial
activism is right or wrong. Here are some
views which postulate judicial activism as a
wrong practice: (a) The first notion is that, ju-
dicial activism will have a detrimental effect
on our democratic order. It is firmly believed
that the citizens are losing faith in the political
leadership, bureaucracy and governmental
mechanism. No one is spared of a serious sus-
picion, not even our judiciary, so judicial ac-
tivism may cause further harm to our demo-
cratic setup. (b) The loopholes in our judicial
system are the second reason for criticizing
the concept of judicial activism. It is charged by many critics that judicial activ-
ism is the outcome of the judiciary's zeal to be in the limelight. Moreover,
there are similar flaws and shortcomings in judicial administration as in other
administrative systems. (c) Another major criticism against judicial activism
arises from the danger of abuse of PIL. Even the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court has cautioned the legal community against misuse of PIL and empha-
sized the need for its proper regulation. (d) A common criticism levelled against
judicial activism is that in the name of interpreting the provisions of the Con-
stitution and legislative enactments, the judiciary often rewrites them without
explicitly stating so and in this process; some of the personal opinions of the
judges metamorphose into legal principles and constitutional values. (e) One
The Indian Constitution
provides for separation
of powers between all
the three branches of the
government and hence
demarcates the powers
and areas of all these
three machineries. How-
ever sometimes with the
failure of the legislature
and the executive, the
separation of power re-
mains a theory only in the
text book and the third
wing of governance, the
judiciary assumes pow-
ers unprecedented for
under the name and
guise of judicial activism,
which is a very basic fea-
ture of the Constitution of
India.
TIMES
Civil Services
A
historic pact for autonomy for Darjeelings districts was signed be
tween the Centre, West Bengal and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
The agreement was signed by Home Secretary of West Bengal Gov-
ernment GD Gautama, Joint Secretary of Union Home Ministry KK Pathak and
the General Secretary Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Roshan Giri at the Pintail
village, about 8 km from Siliguri in the presence of Union Home Minister P
Chidambaram, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and GJM Chief
Bimal Gurung and the BJP MP from Darjeeling Jaswant Singh. The agreement
aims to create an elected autonomous
body - the Gorkhaland Territorial Ad-
ministration (GTA) - a hill council
armed with more powers than its pre-
decessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Coun-
cil (DGHC) formed in the late 1980s, to
administer the three hill sub-divisions
of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and
Kurseong.
Salient features of
tripartite agreement on Darjeeling:
(a) The autonomous Gorkhaland Ter-
ritorial Administration to be formed
through direct elections as per an agree-
ment between the three parties by keep-
ing on record the GJMs demand for a
separate state of Gorkhaland. The GTA
will be conferred with more powers
compared to the older Darjeeling
Gorkha Hill Council, formed in 1988.
In this regard, the GTA will have full
control over Tourism, Agriculture and
Public Health. GTA will also have full
control over the school and college
teachers commissions which deal
with appointments.
(b) The area of GTA shall comprise
the areas of entire subdivisions of
Darjeeling, Kalimpong with extend-
ed areas of Kurseong.
Gorkhaland agreement inked
Darjeeling Hills get more power
other facet of this line of criticism is
that in the name of judicial activism,
the theory of separation of powers is
overthrown and the judiciary is under-
mining the authority of the legislature
and the executive by encroaching upon
the spheres reserved for them. It is here
underscored that the Constitution pro-
vides for checks and balances in order
to pre-empt concentration of power by
any branch not confided in it by the
Constitution.
The Need is to adopt Positive Ap-
proach - Judicial Self Restraint: Judi-
cial activism has served many goods
for our politico-administrative system,
but in addition to exercising activism,
the judiciary also need to exercise self-
restraint in certain matters. Judicial self-
restraint can be defined as any limita-
tion on the judicial decision making,
other than those expressly imposed by
the constitution or any statue. There are
three areas in which judicial self-re-
strain is noticed: (a) Legislative pow-
ers. (b) Political questions. (c) Discre-
tionary powers of the administration.
Conclusion: Recently the country has
seen instances of beneficial judicial
activism to a great extent. Whatever
be the criticisms against judicial ac-
tivism, it cannot be disputed that judi-
cial activism has done a lot to amelio-
rate the conditions of the masses in
the country. The arguments that can
be given to counter the drawbacks of
judicial activism are: (a) Firstly, it has
become crystal clear that not only has
judicial activism activated the judicia-
ry but has activated the executive and
the legislature too. Several new legis-
lations have appeared on the scene
after judiciary's efforts and directions
for example, The Consumer Protec-
tion Act, 1986, The Environmental
(Protection) Act, etc. Judicial activism
has also unearthed several scams and
scandals (e.g. Hawala Scam, Fodder
Scam, St. Kits Scam, Illegal Allotment
of Government Houses and Petrol
Pumps, Fertilizer Scam etc.). (b) The
judiciary, like the legislature, is also
manned by human beings who come
from the same social milieu and are
subject to same human frailties and
social constraints. No institution has
monopoly rights to weaknesses or to
making mistakes. Therefore the excep-
tional cases of judicial misadventure
should be avoided and the positive
side of the judicial creativity must be
looked at. (c) Another positive aspect
of judicial activism is the development
of PIL movement in India. This has
assisted the common man to a greater
extent. Now any member of the soci-
ety can move to the court taking his
grievances for redresal.
Taking recourse of judicial activism
our courts have set right a number of
wrongs committed by the states as
well as by individuals. The common
people are very often denied the pro-
tection of law due to delayed function-
ing of the courts, also called judicial
inertia or judicial tardiness. The val-
ues of our democratic polity can be
furthered only by honest and forth-
right judicial activism and not by run-
ning down the judiciary in the eyes of
the public. The greatest asset and the
strongest weapon in the armoury of
the judiciary is the confidence it com-
mands and the faith it inspires in the
minds of the people in its capacity to
do even-handed justice and keep the
scales in balance in any dispute.
TIMES
Civil Services
T
he NSG has adopted new guidelines at Noordwijk, the Netherlands,
where the 46-nation grouping held its 2011 plenary meeting, on transfer
of sensitive nuclear technology. The new guidelines makes it clear that
the group will exclude those nations which are not signatories to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and which do not have a full scope safeguards agree-
ment allowing international inspections of all their nuclear facilities. The most
significant impact of this decision by NSG has been on India because it effec-
tively nullifies the clean waiver that India received from the cartel in 2008 as
far as the import of enrichment and reprocessing
equipment and technology is concerned. One can
refer that the only additional requirement for ENR
exports was enshrined in paragraphs 6 and 7 of
the guidelines under which the suppliers were
asked to exercise restraint and to ensure that
any supplied equipment or technology not be
used to enrich uranium beyond 20 per cent. But
adopting a new paragraph 6 specifying objective
and subjective criteria a recipient country must
meet before an NSG member can sell ENR to it
and amongst the new stipulated provisions the
very first of these is NPT membership. Nevertheless, the revised NSG guide-
lines, known as the clean text, have not been adopted yet largely because a
number of the 46-nation cartels members have been objecting to some of the
other proposed restrictions such as the requirement that recipient states adhere
to an Additional Protocol.
NSG Guidelines
Jeopardizing Indian prospects
(c) In regard to the transfer of addi-
tional areas of Siliguri, Terai and
Dooars to the new body, a high-pow-
er committee will be formed compris-
ing four representatives of GJM, three
representatives of state government
(one from home department, the Dis-
trict Magistrate of Darjeeling, the Dis-
trict Magistrate of Jalpaiguri), the di-
rector of the census operation repre-
senting the government of India, apart
from the chairman of the committee
to be appointed by the state govern-
ment. The chairperson of the board of
administrator of Darjeeling Gorkha
Hill Council will be the convenor of
the committee.
(d) The committee will look into the
question of identification of addition-
al areas of Siliguri, Terai and Dooars
that may be transferred to the new
body having regard to their compact-
ness, contiguity, homogeneity, ground
level situation and other relevant fac-
tors.
(e) The committee will be expected to
give its recommendation within a
short period, preferably within six
months of its constitution.
(f) The central government to give a
financial package of Rs.600 crore-
Rs.200 crore per annum for three years
for projects to develop socio-eco-
nomic infrastructure in the GTA in
addition to the normal plan assistance
to West Bengal.
(g) Elected House of the Territorial
Administration to be called Sabha,
which will have a five-year term with
its proceedings to be conducted by a
chairman and deputy chairman.
(h) Composition of the Sabha: total
elected members 45. Five members
will be nominated by the Governor
to give representation to Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Minori-
ty Communities. The MPs, MLAs and
chairpersons of municipalities shall be
ex-officio GTA Sabha members. (i)
Three-tier panchayat to be constitut-
ed in the GTA region.
Will the accord succeed in its aims?
The newly signed accord is a mile-
stone in the history of Gorkha com-
munitys political struggle. The accord
has been made clear that there can be
an agreement for a bigger, more pow-
erful body to replace the Darjeeling
Gorkha Hill Council as the new setup
would have full administrative, finan-
cial and executive powers and would
be given more autonomy than the
DGHC. The agreement provides for
the setting up of a new, autonomous
hill council, the Gorkhaland Territo-
rial Administration (GTA). The accord
aims to give greater autonomy to the
Gorkha community. It is important to
refer that the regions have 42 tribal
communities of which four are
Gorkha tribes Tamang, Limbu,
Sherpa and Galmo and four are non-
Gorkha tribes of Mongoloid stock:
Bhutia, Drukpa, Tibetan and Lepcha.
The rest, Adivasis working in tea gar-
dens, are either from Chhotonagpur
or originally hail from these regions.
The GJM is vigorously demanding for
constitutional status for Gorkha tribes
so that they have the same rights
Scheduled Castes and Tribes. The ac-
cord was signed due to the revived
agitation for the Gorkhaland. The crit-
ics of the agreement believe that it
concedes too much and others angry
that it gives too little. The critics are
unhappy with the nomenclature of
Gorkhaland which they insist, will
encourage the Gorkhas to press for
Gorkha homeland. On the other hand,
the hardliners among the Gorkha
community, including the Jana Jagar-
an and the Jana Chetana, still hold that
they will settle for nothing less than a
separate state carved out of West Ben-
gal. The GJM has said that if Telenga-
na is granted statehood, it will press
for statehood too.
The success or failure of the agreement
depends on the will to implement the
agreement by all the parties in their
true spirit. The West Bengal govern-
ment must take necessary follow up
actions to ensure that the future de-
velopment projects in the Hills gives
locals a vested interest in remaining
part of West Bengal. If the future de-
velopmental prospects and the partic-
ipation of locals in neglected the ac-
cord will fall like ashes very soon. As
for Gorkha politicians, the agreement
presents them with an opportunity to
bring peace and development to their
people. If they fail to grasp it, they
run the risk of being marginalized by
hardliners who are looking for a
chance to stoke discontent and to re-
turn to armed struggle. They must not
be allowed to succeed.
TIMES
Civil Services
The change in guidelines puts at stake
Indias ability to buy enrichment and
reprocessing technology and equip-
ment (ENR) from NSG members. Un-
der the terms of a landmark Septem-
ber 2008 agreement, the NSG waived
its catch-all requirement of full-scope
safeguards as a condition for supply
in exchange for a concrete set of non-
proliferation commitments by the In-
dian side. This agreement means NSG
members are allowed to sell any nu-
clear equipment and material they
want, including ENR, to India despite
the fact that it does not allow interna-
tional supervision over all its nuclear
activities and is not a party to the Nu-
clear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Impact on India: Since paragraph 4
prohibits all nuclear exports to the
only other countries outside the NPT
- Israel, Pakistan and North Korea and
therefore, the provisions in the guide-
lines was expressly designed to target
India, to which the restrictions of that
paragraph no longer apply. The fear
of change in stance of the Nuclear Sup-
pliers Group shifting the goalposts
after getting India to agree to its tough
conditions by compromising nation-
al strategic interests for what was tout-
ed in 2008 as a clean waiver of guide-
lines appear to be slowly but surely
coming true. This is evident from the
recent change in guidelines by the
NSG on supplying fuel enrichment
and reprocessing equipment. This is
definitely going to impact India ad-
versely, whenever we wish to acquire
ENR technology. It is underscored
here that establishing of nuclear pow-
er plants is meaningless in the absence
of enrichment and reprocessing tech-
nology. The signing of Indo-US nu-
clear deal was touted as end of our
isolation but that claim now stands in
disarray. Though the new guidelines
have not been made public yet, the
draft text makes it clear that the group
will exclude nations which are not sig-
natories to the NPT and to which In-
dia is not a signatory. Though the US
still says that nothing about the new
enrichment and reprocessing (ENR)
transfer restrictions agreed to by NSG
members should be construed as de-
tracting from the unique impact and
importance of the US-India agreement
on full civil nuclear cooperation. The
main discomfiture of India is not re-
garding new ENR guidelines because
we do not require these technologies
right now. But India majorly objects
the spirit of the new guidelines that
violates the entire spirit of the NSG
waiver and promises of full nuclear
commerce.
Indian reaction: India has opined that
the proposed restrictions on transfer
of sensitive nuclear items are dero-
gation, rollback of U.S. commit-
ments. India says that U.S. policy is
not consistent with their view of as-
surances provided during the 123
Agreement negotiations.
About Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG): The Nuclear Suppliers Group
is a group of nuclear supplier coun-
tries that seeks to contribute to the non-
proliferation of nuclear weapons
through the implementation of two
sets of Guidelines for nuclear exports
and nuclear-related exports. The NSG
first met in November 1975 in Lon-
don, and is thus popularly referred to
as the London Club.
Members of NSG: The 46 supplier
states under NSG are: Argentina, Aus-
tralia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bra-
zil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Neth-
erlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peo-
ples Republic of China, Poland, Por-
tugal, Romania, Russian Federation,
Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Af-
rica, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tur-
key, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and
United States. The European Commis-
sion is the permanent observer of the
NSG.
Aims and Objectives: The major aim
of the NSG members is strict adher-
ence to the NSG guidelines that are
adopted by consensus on the issues of
nuclear proliferation. It is here men-
tioned that there are two sets of NSG
guidelines. The first set of guidelines
governs the export of items that are
especially designed or prepared for
nuclear use. The second set of NSG
Guidelines governs the export of nu-
clear-related dual-use items and tech-
nologies (items that have both nucle-
ar and non-nuclear applications),
which could make a significant con-
tribution to an unsafeguarded nucle-
ar fuel cycle or nuclear explosive ac-
tivity. Thus the guidelines of the NSG
are aimed at ensuring that nuclear
trade is done for peaceful purpose and
it doesnt contribute to the prolifera-
tion of nuclear weapons, while not
hindering international trade and co-
operation in the nuclear field.
LAquila Summit, July 9, 2009
LAquila Statement on Non-Proliferation
To reduce the proliferation risks associated with the spread of enrichment
and reprocessing facilities, equipment and technology, we welcome the
progress that continues to be made by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
on mechanisms to
strengthen controls on
transfers of such enrich-
ment and reprocessing
items and technology.
While noting that the
NSG has not yet
reached consensus on
this issue, we agree that
the NSG discussions
have yielded useful and
constructive proposals
contained in the NSGs
clean text developed
at the 20 November 2008 Consultative Group meeting. Pending comple-
tion of work in the NSG, we agree to implement this text on a national basis
in the next year. We urge the NSG to accelerate its work and swiftly reach
consensus this year to allow for global implementation of a strengthened
mechanism on transfers of enrichment and reprocessing facilities, equip-
ment, and technology.
Current INTERNATIONAL
TIMES
Civil Services
India and Mauritius
on revised DTAA
Due to growing internal pressure, India has started to request Mauritius to review of Indias 30-year-old double tax
avoidance agreement (DTAA). Both sides have indicated a positive signal to review the operations of the Joint
Working Group (JWG), which was set up in 2006 to strengthen the mechanism for exchange of information under
the India-Mauritius tax treaty, besides putting in place adequate safeguards to prevent misuse of the DTAA be-
tween them.India assured the investors that the revised DTAA would not affect foreign direct investment inflows
to the country in the long run. One can note that Mauritius has accounted for about 42 percent or $54.22 billion of
the total $130 billion worth of foreign direct investment in the country since April 2000 and about 40 per cent FII
fund flow into India is routed through Mauritius and amongst them large majority of them are third country
investors, who use the DTAA for saving capital gains tax. As per the present DTAA, capital gains from sale of shares
by residents of Mauritius in India would be liable to tax only in that country. As Mauritius does not have capital
gain tax, there is no burden on investors routing money to India through circuitous route.
Although the Mauritian government had tried to placate India by tightening issuances of certificates of residence
and issuing it one year at a time and at the same time it has also tightened the issuance of licence applications for
collective investment schemes. But these measures have yielded nothing significant and proved too little to control
such misuse. SEBI has brought in various rules to tighten KYC norms for issuing P-notes, for registering sub-
accounts and has improved disclosures made by FIIs.
Impact of old DTAA:
1. India has witnessed huge generation of black money due to the existing provisions and both
Mauritius and Switzerland have become a source for money laundering.
2. It is a matter great concern on the investments from Mauritius as investment route
from Mauritius is misused. Mauritius is a leading offshore financial centre (OFC)
with all the characteristics of a typical OFC such as very low taxes, relatively
light financial regulation, banking secrecy and no requirement for a
substantive local presence.
3. The DTAA has caused great loss to Indian exchequer and it has
been estimated that India loses over $600 million a year in rev-
enues on account of the double tax avoidance treaty with Mau-
ritius.
4. The Supreme Court has addressed this issue in its ruling in
the famous Union of India vs Azadi Bachao Andolan case.
The apex court had ruled that it was the sovereign right of
countries to enter into DTAAs and if residents of a third con-
tracting state qualify for a benefit under a Treaty, they cannot
be denied the benefit on a theoretical ground that treaty shop-
ping is unethical and illegal. The SC held that softer a State,
greater would be the unholy nexus between the law makers,
the law keepers, and the law breakers - observed the Supreme
Court (SC) in a strongly worded order laced with anxiety.
Possible impact of revised DTAA:
1. The revised DTAA may back fire and the flow of both FDI and
FII can feel the heat if capital gains tax is imposed. Both FDI and
FII inflow is inevitable for the growth and employment to India.
2. But at the same time, it also believed that revised DTAA would
not have any significant impact on the FDI and FII inflows. It has been anticipated because FDI
flows from Mauritius have also been declining of late. In April 2011, India received more FDI from Singapore (Rs
5,214 crore) than from Mauritius (Rs 4,332 crore).
Suggestion: It has been suggested that with the introduction of source-based taxation of income earned by compa-
nies based in Mauritius may bring about some equity in taxation, prevent loss of revenue and curb treaty shopping.
By and large there is an anti treaty shopping provision is normally inserted in a Double Taxation Avoidance
Agreement by a limitation on benefits clause. For example, such a clause exists in the Indo-US Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreement as Article 24 which per-mits a non-individual person to avail of treaty benefits only if more
than 50 percent beneficial interest therein is owned by indvidual residents of a contracting state.
It has been also felt that from April 2012, a modified GAAR (general anti-avoidance rule) would come into exist-
ence. A GAAR is a set of broad and general principles-based rules enacted in the tax code aimed at counteracting
avoidance of tax. The Direct Tax Code (DTC) seeks to enact General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) which would
empower the tax administration to declare a transaction as an impermissible avoidance arrangement if it is not at
arms length and lacks commercial substance. This would be a powerful provision to check the misuse of DTAA.

CST Sept 2011

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Current NEWS Covered up to AUGUST 01, 2011

SEPTEMBER 2011, XVII Year, Issue No.9 3

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