1.weekly 24 To 30 December 2012

WEEKLY CURRENT
AFFAIRS BULLETIN
24TH DECEMBER 30TH DECEMBER, 2012
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[ 2 ]
Weekly Current Affairs 24th December 30th December, 2012
Production and productivity, Microirrigation,

Urbanization, Government Initiatives......
SCHEDULE FOR GS TOPICAL TESTS
6th January: Indian Economy Basics, Planning & Trade

1. Industry Services, Agriculture, Energy.....
2. Balance of Payments. Foreign Direct Investment.......
3. Growth, Development and Other Issues.........
4. Poverty Estimates, Impact of Poverty........
5. Exchange rate. Role of RBI.....
6. Nature of Planning - Five Year Plan, Planning after
1991 (LPG), Inflation.....
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2nd December: Infrastructure & Resources

1. Transportation infrastructure: Road and Highway
Networks, Mass Transit Systems, Railways,
Waterways, Ports....
2. Energy infrastructure:- Thermal Power Generation,
Natural Gas Pipelines & Petroleum Pipelines, Nuclear
Energy, Renewable Energy......
3. Water management infrastructure:- Drinking water
supply, Sewage Collection and Disposal of Waste
water, Flood Control, Water Harwesting.....
4. Communications infrastructure:- Television and Radio
Transmission, Internet, Social Network, Search
Engines, Communications Satellites......
5. Solid Waste Management
6. Economic Infrastructure: Manufacturing Infrastructure,
including Industrial Parks and Special Economic zones,
Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Infrastructure....
7. Resources: Water Resources, Forest Resources, Land
Resources, Energy Resources, Minerals, Resource
Management.....
9th December: Demography : Population Composition,
Density, Literacy, Sex Ratio...
16th December: Environmental Problems & Global
Environmental Governance : Deforestation, Pollution: Air,
Water, Land, Noise, Desertification, Biodiversity Depletion,
Global Warming, SD.......
23rd December: Human Development, Social Sector

Initiatives and Programmes & Policies
1. Concept of Human Development, Development
vs. Growth, Human Development Index, MPI,
Innovation.....
2. Social Inclusion, Child Welfare, Women Welfare....
30th December: Agriculture, Urbanisation, Health :
Agriculture and GDP, Agricultural Regionalization,
13th January: Governance and Contemporary Political

Developments : Development Politics, Political and
Administrative Institutions, Good Governance, Internal
Security....
SCHEDULE FOR SECTIONAL TESTS

(PAPER I & II)
20th January ... Ecology and environment
27th January ... Comprehension
3rd February ... Polity and Governance
10th February . English Language Comprehension
+ Logical Reasoning
17th February . Geography
24th February . Decision Making and Problem
Solving
3rd March ....... Mental Ability, Basic Numeracy,
Data Interpretation and Data
Sufficiency
10th March ..... General Science and Science and
Technology
17th March ..... History
24th March ..... Indian Economy
FULL MOCK SCHEDULE
31st March ......

7th April .........
14th April .......
21st April ........
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4
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[3]
NATIONAL
Committee constituted for suggesting

amendments in criminal laws related to
aggravated sexual assault
India has 12 major ports-Kandla, Mumbai,

Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Marmagao, New Mangalore,
Kochi, Tuticorin, Chennai, Ennore, Vishakhapatnam,
Paradip and Kolkata-Haldia.
Government plans new scheme to provide

financial aid, support to rape victims
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The recent incident of rape and brutal assault

on a young woman in Delhi has shaken the
conscience of the nation and has triggered a serious
debate amongst jurists, civil society members and
women's groups about inadequacy of the present
laws to protect the safety and dignity of women.
will benefit trade and the economy as a whole.
The Government has given anxious consideration

to the need for reviewing the present laws so as to
provide for speedier justice and enhanced
punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault.
For that purpose, a Committee has been constituted
by the Union Government under the Chairmanship
of Justice (Retd.) Shri J.S. Verma; former Chief
Justice of India. The other two Members are - (i)
Justice Smt. Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of
Himachal Pradesh High Court (ii) Shri Gopal
Subramanian, former Solicitor General of India,
former Chairman of Bar Council of India and
eminent Jurist.
The Committee has to submit its Report within

30 days. The public in general and particularly
the eminent jurists, legal professionals, NGOs,
Women's Groups and civil Society members are
requested to share with this Committee their views,
knowledge and experience suggesting possible
amendments in the criminal laws and other
relevant laws to provide for quicker investigation,
prosecution and trial as also enhanced punishment
for criminals accused of committing sexual assault
of extreme nature against women.
Cabinet approves licensing of Land for

Development of Projects in PPP mode at
various Major Ports
In a bid to augment the capacity of major ports,

the Government has approved a proposal for
licensing of land for development of projects under
the PPP mode in these ports.
This will facilitate the Ministry of Shipping in
augmenting the capacity of ports expeditiously
through public private partnership. It will also bring
about efficiency in operations at major ports, which
With Delhi gang-rape issue heating up, the

Government intends to implement a new Centrallysponsored scheme (CSS) to provide financial
assistance and support to rape victims.
The apex court, in its judgement in a case (Delhi
Domestic Working Women vs Union of India),
indicated the broad parameters in assisting the victim
of rape. This includes legal assistance and other
measures at the police station to the victims, setting
up of a Criminal Injuries Compensation Board,
investigate and examine all matters relating to
safeguards provided to women, investigation into
specific problems or situations arising out of
discrimination and atrocities against women and
farming of scheme for compensation and
rehabilitation to ensure justice to victims of rape.
Based on these parameters, the Ministry of
Women and Child Development proposed a scheme
on restorative justice to rape victims.
Under the scheme the facility for counselling and
legal aid will be provided for all affected women in
collaboration with the National Legal Services
Authority (NALSA). This authority has been
constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987, to provide free legal services to the weaker
sections of society and to organise Lok Adalats for
amicable settlement of disputes. Normally, the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court is the Patron-in-Chief
of such a body.
The scheme will also provide financial assistance
to the affected women and support services, such as
shelter, counselling, medical aid, legal assistance,
education and vocation training depending upon
the needs of the victim.
[ 4 ]
Government to prepare database of

rape convicts
In an attempt to name and shame rapists, the

government has decided to prepare a data base
of all rape convicts across the country and
their photographs, names and addresses would be
made public.
The national database of rapists will be shared on
the website of the National Crime Records Bureau
in a few months.
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Firstly it will be launched in Delhi. Photographs,

names and addresses of the rapists will be uploaded
on Delhi Police website also. Subsequently the plan
will cover all states and Union Territories and
websites of state police forces will carry photographs,
names and addresses of the rape convicts.
The action comes as part of the government's

slew of measures aimed at preventing crime
against women in the wake of surge of protests
after the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi
on December 16.
Government has already set up a Commission of

Inquiry to identify lapses and fix responsibility for
the December 16 gang-rape case and also constituted
a committee of jurists for reviewing the existing laws
to provide speedier justice and enhanced
punishment in cases of sexual assault.
The key features of the STI Policy, 2013 include

making careers in science, research and
innovation attractive and establishing world-class
infrastructure for R&D for gaining global
leadership in some select frontier areas of science.
The policy also includes linking contributions of
science, research and innovation system with the
inclusive economic growth agenda and combining
priorities of excellence and relevance. It stresses
on creating an environment for enhanced private
sector participation in R&D, enabling conversion
of R&D outputs into societal and commercial
applications by replicating successful models as
well as establishing of new public-private
partnership structures.
Cabinet gives nod to new science policy
India is set to unveil its new science policy which

lays greater thrust on innovation, establishing
research institutes and participation in mega science
projects with an aim to positioning itself among the
top five scientific powers in the world by 2020.
The Union Cabinet has approved the Science,
Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy-2013.
The proposed STI policy seeks to focus on both
STI for people and people for STI.
The document is a revision of the 2003 policy
which sought to bring science and technology
together and emphasised on the need for higher
investment into Research and Development (R&D)
to address national problems.
The aim of the policy is to accelerate the pace of
discovery, diffusion and delivery of science-led
solutions for serving the aspirational goals of India
for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth.
The policy would strengthen the R&D base of

the country through proper funding, development
and utilisation of technologies, building
entrepreneurship, mounting mission mode
initiatives and rejuvenating research in universities.
National Water Resources Council Adopts

National Water Policy (2012)
The National Water Resource Council has

adopted the National Water Policy (2012) during
the 6th meeting of the council held in New Delhi
under the chairmanship of Prime Minister
Dr. Manmohan Singh, who warned that water
unavailability could affect India's economic and
social growth in the future.
Salient features of the National Water
Policy 2012 are:
a) NWP, 2012 lays emphasis on the need for a
national water framework law, comprehensive
legislation for optimum development of interState rivers and river valleys, public trust
doctrine, amendment of the Indian Easements
Act, 1882, etc.
b) The NWP, 2012 presents a holistic picture of
ecological need of the river rather than
restricting it to only minimum flow
requirement. It states that the ecological needs
of the river should be determined recognizing
that river flows are characterized by low or no
flows, small floods (freshets), large floods and
flow variability and should accommodate
development needs. A portion of river flows
should be kept aside to meet ecological needs
ensuring that the proportional low and high
flow releases correspond in time closely to the
natural flow regime.
c) The NWP, 2012 recognizes the need to adapt to
climate change scenario in planning and
[5]
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
rivers while cycling through north Bengal, Bihar

and Uttar Pradesh.
The growing pollution of rivers is a stark sign of
wider ecological imbalance in the region.
The yatra aims to raise awareness about the need
for keeping an account of India's natural resources.
The group is demanding that the government
introduce an annual green measure called the 'gross
environmental product'. Like the GDP for the
economy, the GEP would monitor the health of
India's natural assets, showing whether these were
being overexploited or not.
Government chalks out plan to revamp

cyber security
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d)
implementation of water resources projects.

Coping strategies for designing and management
of water resources structures and review of
acceptability criteria has been emphasized.
Water use efficiency has been emphasized. A
system to evolve benchmarks for water uses for
different purposes, i.e., water footprints, and water
auditing should be developed to ensure efficient
use of water. Project financing has been suggested
as a tool to incentivize efficient & economic use
of water.
Provision of setting up of Water Regulatory
Authority and adequate water pricing to
incentivize recycle and re-use has been specified.
Water Users Associations should be given
statutory powers to collect and retain a portion of
water charges, manage the volumetric quantum
of water allotted to them and maintain the
distribution system in their jurisdiction.
The NWP, 2012 proposes reversal of heavy underpricing of electricity, which leads to wasteful use
of both electricity and water.
The draft NWP, 2012 proposes setting aside a
suitable percentage of the costs of infrastructure
development, which along with collected water
charges, may be utilized for repair and
maintenance. Contract for construction of projects
should have inbuilt provision for longer periods
of proper maintenance and handing over back
the infrastructure in good condition.
Pari-passu planning and execution of all
components of water resources projects have been
proposed so that intended benefits start accruing
immediately after completion and there is no gap
between potential created and potential utilized.
The NWP, 2012 lays emphasis on preparedness
for flood / drought with coping up mechanisms
as an option. Frequency based flood inundation
maps should be prepared to evolve coping
strategies.
No North Indian river fit for bathing: Study
The famed rivers of India's Gangetic plains are

turning into "sewage", threatening the life and
health of millions of people dependent on them,
warned a team of environmental activists who
cycled through the region covering around 1,800km
in 27 days. The team members have crossed 24
In its bid to meet the challenge of cyber attacks

and security in the virtual world, the government
has set in motion a five-year project to revamp the
entire cyber security apparatus of critical sectors in
the country. In the past one year, India has suffered
13,000 cyber incidents.
The responsibility for the job has been vested in
National Critical Information Infrastructure
Protection Centre (NCIIPC), the nodal agency to
coordinate cyber security operations for critical
infrastructures across the country. NCIIPC has
prepared a five-year plan to completely revamp and
integrate the cyber security apparatus of all critical
infrastructure such as power, transportation, water,
telecommunication and defence.
The agency further plans to set up sectoral
Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) that
will be connected to it. It will install sensors on
critical systems to give real-time information to its
command and control centre about any cyber
attack to formulate quick response.
The government has also defined clear mandates
for NCIIPC and CERT-IN, which is also engaged
in cyber security of national infrastructure. NCIIPC
will only look after absolutely critical sectors that
have high threat perception coupled with greater
dependence on computer and information
technology (CIT), while other sectors will be with
CERTIN. These sectors (with NCIIPC) have been
identified as energy (power, coal, oil and natural
gas), transportation (railways and civil aviation),
banking and finance, telecom, defence, space, law
enforcement and security.

[ 6 ]
INTERNATIONAL
China to tighten rules on internet
A new set of rules will make it mandatory for

users to register for subscribing to mobile or fixed
line internet connections with their real names and
government identity cards. The new rules once
enforced will enable the government to monitor
people visiting different websites and determine why
certain sites, particularly foreign ones, are popular.
The real name registration was introduced last
year for microblogging sites to curb what
officials described as "rumours and vulgarity''.
Weibo, the Chinese microblogging site, had
become an extremely popular social networking
site after Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were
banned in China.
The latest rules also require service providers to

remove posts with illegal information, to save them
and to forward them to authorities. The rules weren't
explicit on what constitutes illegal information or
which authorities offenses should be reported to.
China opens longest high-speed rail line
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China has tightened its control of the internet,

enshrining in law a requirement for internet
companies and telecom operators to confirm the
identity of their users to make it easier for the
authorities to trace the source of "illegal" online
information or behaviour.
about half of which cover news while the rest feature

sports, entertainment, health and other subjects.
Private dailies in Burmese, English, Indian and
Chinese languages were once vibrant in the country.
But all were forced to close when late dictator Ne
Win nationalized private businesses in 1964.
Myanmar to allow private newspapers

from April
Myanmar will allow private daily newspapers

starting in April for the first time since 1964, in the
latest step toward allowing freedom of expression
in the long-repressed nation. The move follows the
abolition of direct government censorship of the
media in April 2012.
New papers will be allowed to begin printing on
April 1, 2013 in any language.
In August, the government abolished direct
censorship of the media and informed journalists
they would no longer have to submit their work to
state censors before publication.
Myanmar has state-run dailies which serve as
government mouthpieces and over 180 weeklies,
China launched services on the world's longest

high-speed rail route. The 2,298-km line between
Beijing and Guangzhou means passengers will be
whisked from the capital to the southern
commercial hub in just eight hours, compared with
the 22 hours previously.
China's high-speed rail network was only
established in 2007 but has fast become the world's
largest. China now operates 9,300 km of high-speed
railways. The high-speed rail network is set to jump
to 50,000 km by 2020, with four main lines running
North and South and another four East and West.
Egypt gets
constitution
first
people-approved
Over a year after overthrowing an entrenched

dictator, Egypt has adopted a new constitution after
two referendums with a two-thirds 'yes' vote.
The new constitution will led to the formation of
Shura Council, or upper house of Parliament. The
council currently includes 270 members, 90 of whom
were appointed by Mr. Morsy, and will have
legislative authority until a new lower house of
parliament is elected.
Salient features of new constitution:
a) The constitution ends Egypt's all-powerful
presidency, institutes a stronger parliament, and
contains provisions against torture or detention
without trial.
b) It would give Egypt's generals much of the
power and privilege they had during the Hosni
Mubarak era.
c) Article 2, defining the relationship between Islam
and Egyptian law, remains essentially unchanged
from Egypt's old constitution. The new charter
says that the legal code stems from "the principles
[7]
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
accused of violating the rights of Russians abroad.

Pro-Kremlin lawmakers initially drafted the bill
to mirror the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which bars entry
to Russians accused of involvement in the death in
custody of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky
and other alleged rights abuses. The restrictions on
adoptions and non-profit groups were added to the
legislation later, going beyond a tit-for-tat move and
escalating a dispute with Washington at a time
when ties are already strained by issues such as the
Syrian crisis.
The adoption ban may further tarnish Putin's
international standing at a time when the former
KGB officer is under scrutiny over what critics say
is a crackdown on dissent since he returned to the
Kremlin for a third term in May.
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d)
of Islamic law", wording that is broad enough to

allow for individual rights and freedoms.
Article 50 preserves the right to assembly but
requires "notification" of such gatherings.
According to new provisions no person may be
"arrested, searched, incarcerated, deprived of
freedom in any way and/or confined"unless it is
ordered by a "competent judge". Anyone jailed
must be told why in writing within 12 hours, and
the case must go to investigators within 24 hours.
Detainees cannot be interrogated without their
attorney or one appointed to them being present.
Phone conversations, electronic correspondence
and other communication cannot be listened to
without a warrant.
The new constitution limits the President to two
four-year terms.
Article 45 protects freedom of expression.
Believers in any of the three Abrahamic religions
- Islam, Christianity and Judaism - are guaranteed
the freedom of worship.
According to the draft the military would retain
the ability to try civilians in military courts if they
are accused of damaging the armed forces.
Citizens are equal before the law and are equal
in general rights and duties without discrimination
between them based on gender, origin, language,
religion, belief, opinion, social status or disability.
Vladimir Putin Signs Bill Banning

Americans from Adopting Russian
Children
President Vladimir Putin signed a law that bans

Americans from adopting Russian children and
imposes other sanctions in retaliation for a new U.S.
human rights law that is poisoning relations. The
new law, which has also ignited outrage among
Russian liberals and child rights' advocates, takes
effect on January 1.
The legislation will also outlaw some nongovernmental organizations that receive U.S. funding
and impose a visa ban and asset freeze on Americans
The deaths of 19 Russian-born children adopted

by American parents in the past decade motivated
the law, as well as what they perceive as the overly
lenient treatment of those parents by U.S. courts and
law enforcement. Russia's investigative committee
opened nine criminal cases against American families
"threatening lives and health" of 12 Russian children
and issued summonses for four American citizens
as defendants in abstentia. The U.S. government has
so far refused to provide documentation in any of
the cases.
Critics of the bill states that Russian orphanages
are woefully overcrowded and that adoptions by
Russian families remain modest, with some 7,400
adoptions in 2011 compared with 3,400 adoptions of
Russian children by families abroad. More than
650,000 children are considered orphans in Russia though some were rejected by their parents or taken
from dysfunctional homes. Of those, 110,000 lived
in state institutions in 2011, according to government
figures. Americans have adopted more than 45,000
Russian children since 1999, including 962 last year.
Putin also signed a decree ordering an
improvement in care for orphans.
[ 8 ]
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[9]
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[10]
ECONOMY
Cash transfer plan can create condition for

scam
The move is expected to increase the liquidity in

the debt market. The government and financial
market regulators-SEBI, Reserve Bank of India and
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authorityhave been working on expanding the corporate bond
market. The initiative is taken to deepen the corporate
bond market, which is essential for the financing of
large infrastructure sector projects.
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UPA II's flagship direct cash transfer scheme has

run into rough weather following warnings of a
potential scam in the making, and evoking concerns
of serious delays. Government functionaries have
raised the red flag about how cash would be finally
disbursed to beneficiaries and whether the National
Population Register (NPR) would come into play in
some states instead of the Unique Identification
(UID) number to identify the end users.
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) will

allow full reinvestment of their debt papers soon.
The finance ministry has proposed SEBI to restart
the facility which was discontinued from January
this year.
The proposal is to divide the country into 20

clusters and have one firm each that acts as a conduit
for the final handing over of the cash from banks to
beneficiaries. But advisors have been cautioned that
this could lead to monopoly control over the UPA's
'game-changer' scheme by certain companies,
triggering scams.
They have warned that the initial rollout of this
model, where companies bid for much less than a 2%
fee for the delivery of funds to beneficiaries, has
already lent the whiff of a potential scam. For instance,
the bids have been ridiculously low in some cases.
The rural development ministry and the UID

Authority of India (UIDAI) have advocated against
this approach but different government functionaries
have made conflicting statements about a resolution
to the persisitng row.
Another concern that is plaguing the initiative is
whether to trust the NPR as a platform for timely
electronic registration of the population in some
states instead of UID. Government functionaries have
warned that progress of the NPR's work is rather
tardy in some states like UP, Bihar and Odisha. The
volatile issue, which earlier too had attracted
highvoltage sparks between UIDAI chairman
Nandan Nilekani and then home minister P
Chidambaram, has now been left to the Prime
Minister's Office to resolve.
SEBI to allow FIIs to fully reinvest debt

papers
To expand the presence of foreign investors in

the corporate debt market, capital market regulator
SEBI on November 7 allowed foreign investors to

re-invest half of their investments in debt holdings
to the next calendar year, starting from January 2014.
At present, FIIs along with mutual funds and
qualified foreign investors are allowed to invest up
to $75 billion in debt every year in several categories
including government securities, corporate bonds
and infrastructure bonds with each having a separate
cap as well as tenor and also lock-in restrictions. Of
this, a $ 25 billion dollar window is kept exclusively
for infrastructure bonds.
This would be applicable for both old-and longterm infrastructure limits. Further, Sebi has relaxed
the investment limits for FIIs regarding corporate
debt in the long-term infrastructure category.
Finance Ministry asks public sector banks

to extend coverage
In a rush to maximize the scope of the direct cash

transfers, the finance ministry has directed all public
sector banks to extend the banking coverage
throughout the country.
The finance ministry has asked them to ensure at
least one bank branch or banking correspondent is
present in every gram panchayat. Taking forward
its concept of a service area, the finance ministry has
now also introduced the concept of a sub-service
area, which would consist of 1,000 to 1,500
households. This would be a marked shift from the
government's current Financial Inclusion
Programme, where banks had provided banking
[11]
services in over 74,000 habitations with population

of over of 2,000.
This is being extended to habitations of 1,000 and
above population in the north east and hilly states
and 1,600 and above population in the rest of the
country in 2012.
With the direct cash transfer set to roll out in 43
districts from January 1, 2013, the finance ministry
has called for a 'comprehensive plan' to extend
banking services and asked for the infrastructure to
be in place and has asked for consolidated state wise
information by December 31.
Apart from these, five new countries have been

added under the Focus Market Scheme while Eritrea
has been added under the Special Focus Market
Scheme. The five countries being added under FMS
are New Zealand, Cayman Islands, Latvia, Lithuania
and Bulgaria. Under FMS Duty Credit of 3 per cent
is given on the FoB value of exports. Sixty new
products which include Engineering, Rubber,
Textiles, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals products among
others, and three countries (Taiwan, Thailand and
Czech Republic) have been incorporated under the
Market Linked Focus Product Scheme.
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In the rest of the country, where direct cash

transfers will be started in a phased manner, banks
have been given a deadline of 25 January.
financing in infrastructure sectors such as drinking

water, housing, irrigation, road projects, renewable
energy, etc.
But in the long run, banks have been advised to

migrate from the correspondent to the kiosk banking
model in each of the service areas, where mobile
vans fitted with ATMs provide biometrically enabled
services in unbanked areas.
Government Announces new Measures to

Boost Exports
The Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and

Textiles Shri Anand Sharma announced additional
incentives to boost exports. These incentives came
in the backdrop of the Annual Supplement of the
Foreign Trade Policy announced on June 5, 2012.
According to the new guidelines the 2% Interest
Subvention Scheme on rupee export credit which is
available to certain specific sectors including
handicrafts, carpets, handloom, readymade garments,
processed agriculture products, sports goods and
toys, has been given an extension up to March 31,
2014. At present, the Scheme is scheduled to end on
31st March 2013. Along with this, Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) for all sectors will now be able
to avail the benefits of the Scheme.
The scheme has been extended to certain specific
sub-sectors of the engineering sector.
Government has also announced the introduction
of a "pilot scheme" of 2% Interest Subvention for
Project Exports through EXIM Bank for countries
of SAARC region, Africa and Myanmar. The interest
subvention would be linked to the Buyer's Credit
Scheme which was introduced in the last financial
year being implemented through EXIM Bank, ECGC
and the National Export Insurance Account. The
"objective of the scheme is to boost India's exports
in these countries by providing long term
concessional credit through EXIM Bank, as co-
NDC approves 12th Five Year Plan
Country's apex policy making body NDC has

approved the strategy to achieve average growth rate
of 8 pc during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17),
generate 50 million new jobs and increase
investments in infrastructure sector.
The document has pegged the aggregate Plan
resources at Rs 37.16 lakh crore during the five year
period starting 2012-13.
Moving away from previous practice of presenting
single growth projection, the Planning Commission
has come out with three different economic scenarios
for 12th Five-Year Plan. As per the "aspirational"
scenario one -- of strong inclusive growth -- India's
economic growth will be average 8 percent in the
five years. The document also cautions that in
scenario of policy logjam, the GDP growth could
slow down to 5-5.5 percent.
The document proposes to bring down poverty
by 10 percentage points by the end of the 12th Plan.
As regard the infrastructure sector, efforts would
be made to increase investment in this sector to 9
percent of the GDP by the end of the Plan period.
The other targets include increasing green cover
by one million hectare every year and adding 30,000
MW of renewable energy generation capacity in the
Plan period.
It also seeks to reduce emission intensity of the
GDP in line with the target of 20-25 reduction by
2020 over 2005 levels.
Although the document envisages 6.7 percent
growth rate in the current fiscal, it has been projected
at 5.7-5.9 percent in 2012-13 by the Finance Ministry.
[12]
The strategy for the full Plan would aim at raising

agriculture output to 4 percent and manufacturing
sector growth to 10 percent. It also wants all the
states to set higher targets of growth than what was
achieved in the 11th Five Year Plan.
TRAI against government entering business

of broadcast, distribution
India's telecom regulator has recommended that

the Union and state governments and the
departments and companies they control be barred
from the business of broadcasting and distributing
television channels, seeking to prevent political
influence in TV programming.
They include Arasu Cable TV Corp. Ltd, owned

by the Tamil Nadu government, which has been
waiting for a DAS (digital addressable system) licence
to operate its cable business for several months. The
company needs a new licence to run its cable
business under the digital regime mandated by the
government. The recommendation could trigger a
political showdown as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
J. Jayalalithaa has been attacking the Centre for not
granting Digitial Addressable System licence to stateowned Arasu Cable TV Corporation.
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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)

also recommended that the Centre must maintain
an arm's length relationship with Prasar Bharati, the
state-owned public broadcaster, and ensure its
functional independence and autonomy. The
regulator further states that in case some government
bodies have been allowed to enter the TV
broadcasting and distribution business, they should
be provided an appropriate exit route.
If accepted by the government, the recommendations may push TV channels and cable
distribution companies owned by governments or
government arms out of business.
The Ministry had sought TRAI's guidance against

the backdrop of pleas by several state governments,
including West Bengal and Punjab, seeking
permission to set up uplinking facilities to start a
satellite TV channel. The HRD Ministry also wanted
to start TV channels.
[13]
INDIA AND THE WORLD
13th India-Russia Annual Summit
The President of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr.

Vladmir V.Putin, paid an official visit to India for
the Annual Summit between two countries.
d)
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During the meet the Prime Minister of India and

the President of the Russian Federation stressed the
importance of further enhancing the special and
privileged strategic partnership between the two
countries. The two leaders reviewed the progress
made in all important areas of cooperation, including
in sectors such as energy, trade, high technology and
military-technical cooperation.
aims to preserve and promote the legacy of the

Roerich Estate in Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), an
important icon of cultural cooperation between
the two countries.
Memorandum of Understanding to Promote
Direct Investment between Russia and India:
MoU envisages investments upto US$ 2 billion in
important bilateral projects or companies,
privatization and other opportunities. RDIF is a
US$ 10 billion sovereign-backed Russian private
equity fund established by the Russian
Government to co-invest alongside global
institutional investors. Since its inception in 2011,
it has led investments totaling US$ 1.5 billion in
Russian companies together with some of the
largest asset managers in the world.
Memorandum of Understanding for Satellite
based navigation services: The MoU envisages a
pilot project to assess the usage of the Russian
Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS the Russian equivalent of GPS) using the
capabilities
of
BSNL/MTNL
ground
infrastructure. Success of the pilot project may
provide insights for wider applicability of
GLONASS signals in the future in areas such as
disaster management, telephony and longdistance communications.
Contract for Delivery of 71 Mi-17V-5 helicopters:
An order for procurement of 59 Mi-17 v5 MLH
was agreed to in Feb 2010, which was subsequently
increased to 71. The current contract is in context
of the order.
Contract for Delivery of 42 technological kits for
SU-30MKI aircraft licensed production: The
Protocol-II on licensed manufacturing of
additional 42 SU-30MKI aircraft units was signed
during Annual Summit 2011. The current contract
is a follow up to this Protocol.
India and Russia moved to strengthen their

economic ties by inking a pact on a Kremlin-backed
$2 billion investment fund and agreeing to open talks
on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement that will also involve Belarus and
Kazakhstan.
e)
Following documents were signed during the meet:
a) Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations

2013-14: The Protocol is an instrument to continue
the tradition of close political consultations
between the two Foreign Offices. The current
Protocol outlines seventeen different broad themes
for such exchanges. The bi-annual Protocol
mechanism enables frequent contacts and
promotes broad-based understanding between
the various wings of the two Foreign Offices.
b) Memorandum on Cooperation in Science &
Technology: The Memorandum shall facilitate
deepening cooperation in the field of innovation
and S&T, through implementation of joint
programs or projects involving educational, R&D
and industrial institutions. It also stipulates
formation of a Working Group to implement the
provisions of this MoC.
c) Cultural Exchange Programme for the Years
2013 - 15: The document envisages enhancing
bilateral cultural contacts through exchanges in
performing arts, films, archives, museums and
conservation, literature and language and through
organization of reciprocal Festivals. It is in
continuation to the previous CEP 2009-12. It also
f)
g)
However, there was no substantial progress on

issues of discord - delay in commissioning aircraft
carrier Gorshkov, stalemate on clinical trials in
Russia, applicability of the Nuclear Limited Liability
Act to six new reactors to be put up by Russia at
Kudankulam, inability of Russian companies Sistema
[14]
and Severstal to move ahead with their investment

plans in India and the tax imposed on Imperial
Energy, an Indian company operating in Russia.
India-Pakistan Expert level Dialogue on

Conventional and Nuclear Confidence
Building Measures
The 6th round of Expert level meetings on

Conventional and Nuclear Confidence Building
Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan held
in New Delhi.
The Indian side also took up the recent incidents

of ceasefire violations by Pakistan. The Indian
delegation during the talks was led by Y K Sinha,
Additional Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External
Affairs, while Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Additional
Secretary (UN&EC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led
the Pakistan team.
Thus would enable the HCOI to provide assured

accommodation with better facilities for the pilgrims.
HCOI has also proposed to the Saudi Arabian
authorities for increasing the quota of Haj pilgrims
from India for the 2013 season. Over 1.25 lakh
Muslims performed pilgrimage in 2012 through the
HCOI organised programmes.
India to contribute more to U.N. budget
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India and Pakistan reviewed the implementation

of existing bilateral confidence building measures,
including the ceasefire along the LoC during their
expert-level meeting on conventional CBMs. The
two sides also exchanged ideas to further advance
the CBM process and reaffirmed their commitment
to continue discussions with the aim of strengthening
conventional CBMs, a joint statement issued after
the meeting said. The two sides also agreed to report
the progress made during the current round of talks
to their respective Foreign Secretaries.
Till now, the HCOI accommodated the Indian

pilgrims in the buildings temporarily hired for a
period of 40 days during every Haj season. The
agreement will enable HCOI take up spacious
premises on 99-year-long lease for the benefit of the
Indian pilgrims.
Haj panel to ink pact with Saudi Arabia
The Haj Committee of India (HCOI) will sign

an agreement with the Government of Saudi
Arabia for setting up a long-term accommodation
in the holy city of Makkah for Indians undertaking
Haj pilgrimage.
The UN General Assembly approved an increase

of about 5 percent to cover the United Nations'
regular operations in 2012-2013, raising the two-year
budget to about $5.4 billion.
More than half the increase is due to additional
costs for some of the 33 special UN political missions
which include UN envoys for Syria, Yemen, Libya
and Sudan-South Sudan and large operations in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
The assembly also approved new rates that all
UN members pay for the regular budget.India, Brazil,
China and other emerging nations will pay more to
the U.N. after the General Assembly approved a five
per cent increase to the budget for 2012-13 to $5.4
billion. Contributions of European nations, such as
Britain, Germany and France and Japan have been
cut in the revised U.N. budget. The U.S.' share for
the regular budget will remain unchanged at 22 per
cent.
The budget includes a first-ever pay freeze for
New York-based staff for six months
[15]
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Nasa plan: Seize asteroid, make it refuelling

station
The National Institute of Virology campus already

has a BSL-3 laboratory. "The BSL-4 facility is based
on full suit concept. All necessary features are
provided for security and safety. All labs inside are
hermetically sealed. It is safe for researchers as the
persons working in the laboratory will not get
infection. It will also ensure that the viruses will not
get released into the environment
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Nasa scientists are planning to capture a 500,000kg

asteroid, relocate it and transform it into a space
station for astronauts to refuel at on their way to
Mars. It would be the first time a celestial object has
ever been moved by humans.
It is the country's first laboratory with such high

grading and with unique capacity of testing highly
infectious and dangerous viruses that can harm
humans in form of severe fatal diseases.
The White House's Office of Science and

technology will consider the $2.6 billion plan in the
coming weeks as it prepares to set its space
exploration agenda for the next decade. A feasibility
report prepared by Nasa and California Institute of
Technology scientists outlined how they would go
about capturing the asteroid.
An 'asteroid capture capsule' would be attached
to an old Atlas V rocket and directed the asteroid
between the Earth and the Moon. Once close, the
asteroid capsule would release a 50 ft diameter bag
that wrap around the spinning rock using
drawstrings. The craft would then turn on its
thrusters, using an estimated 300 kg of propellant,
to stop the asteroid in its tracks and tow it into a
gravitationally neutral spot.
From here space explorers would have a
stationary base from which to launch trips deeper
into space.
The feasibility is enabled by three key

developments: the ability to discover and
characterize an adequate number of sufficiently small
near-Earth asteroids for capture and return; the
ability to implement sufficiently powerful solar
electric propulsion systems to enable transportation
of the captured asteroid; and the proposed human
presence in cislunar space in the 2020s enabling
exploration and exploitation of the returned asteroid.
Asia's First BIO-Safety Level -IV Laboratory

established in India
Asia's First Bio-Safety Level-IV Laboratory

established by ICMR with support from
Department of Science & Technology has been
established in Pune.
The following schemes will be rolled out in the

area of health research during the 12th Plan period:-
a) Establishment of multidisciplinary research

units in 150 government medical colleges
b) Setting up of 50 rural health research units at
block level
c) Establishment of a network of 250 laboratories
at regional, state and district level for managing
epidemics
d) Grant in aid to researchers on projects involving
development of affordable technologies,
reagents and methods for public use
e) Strengthen the existing ICMR Institutes and
set-up new centres in deficit areas
f) Suggest & regularly update Standard Treatment
Guidelines
g) Bench mark and Accredit Health Research
Institutions
h) Support Human Resource development for
producing qualified researchers
K-15 all set to join Arihant
The Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) has successfully launched the
underwater missile K-15 off the Visakhapatnam
coast. The missile darted 20 km into the air, after a
gas generator ejected it from the pontoon that lay
submerged a few scores of metres in the Bay of
Bengal, and sped 650 km before splashing into the
sea in its 11th flight trial.
[16]
India is the fifth country to have an underwater

launch system. The other countries are the U.S.,
Russia, France and China.
K-15 missiles, 10 metres long and weighing six
tonnes and capable of carrying nuclear warheads,
will form part of the deadly arsenal of Arihant,
which is powered by an 80-MWt reactor that uses
enriched uranium as fuel and light water as coolant
and moderator.
West Antarctic ice shelves that restrain the region's

natural ice flow into the ocean.
Aside from offering a more complete picture of
warming in West Antarctica, the study suggests that
if this warming trend continues, melting will become
more extensive in the region in the future.
The research was funded by the National Science
Foundation.
India has been developing the K-4 missile, to be

launched from submarines. It will be more powerful
than K-15, with a range of 3,000 km.
China launched global positioning services in

the Asia-Pacific from its Beidou satellite. The staterun Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)
would initially provide positioning, navigation,
timing and short-message services in China and
the Asia-Pacific region.
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Study Shows Rapid Warming On the West

Antarctic Ice Sheet
China launches global navigation system

in Asia-Pacific
In a discovery that raises further concerns about

the future contribution of Antarctica to sea level rise,
a new study finds that the western part of the ice
sheet is experiencing nearly twice as much warming
as previously thought.
The temperature record from Byrd Station, a

scientific outpost in the center of the West Antarctic
Ice Sheet (WAIS), demonstrates a marked increase of
4.3 degrees Fahrenheit (2.4 degrees Celsius) in
average annual temperature since 1958 -- that is, three
times faster than the average temperature rise around
the globe. This temperature increase is nearly double
what previous, and reveals -- for the first time -warming trends during the summer months of the
Southern Hemisphere (December through February
Even without generating significant mass loss
directly, surface melting on the WAIS could
contribute to sea level indirectly, by weakening the
The system could provide positioning accuracy

of 10 metres, velocity accuracy of 0.2 metres per
second and one-way timing accuracy of 50
nanoseconds.
The Beidou network is designed to provide
both open and authorized global navigation
services worldwide by 2020 and will eventually use
35 satellites.
China launched the first satellite for the system
in 2000, assembling an initial network of four
satellites in trial use for traffic control, weather
forecasting and disaster relief since 2003. It started
launching new satellites for the system in 2007, and
now has 16 in operation.
[17]
2 - MARKERS
Commissioning of ICGS Mayabunder
Justice Swatanter Kumar
Justice Swatanter Kumar has taken over

as chairperson of the National Green Tribunal
(NGT); to decide on cases relating to environmental
protection, and conservation of forests and
natural resources.
He is the first Supreme Court judge to preside
over the Tribunal which was, till now, functioning
without a full-time chairperson. National Green
Tribunal Act (NGT) was established in 2010, under
India's constitutional provision of Article 21, which
assures the citizens of India, the right to a healthy
environment.
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Indian Coast Guard Station Mayabunder, the first

Coast Guard Station in the North Andaman Islands
has been commissioned by the Defence Secretary,
Shri Shashi Kant Sharma. The station is a part of
ongoing efforts by the Coast Guard to strengthen
Maritime and Coastal Security. The station based at
Mayabunder will help augment patrolling along the
Northern Group of Islands for safeguarding Indian
maritime interests.
The Indian Coast Guard in maintaining a high

state of vigil in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
resulting in apprehension of a large number of
poachers and saving of precious human lives during
search and rescue operations. The implementation
of the Coastal Surveillance Network project would
be a major milestone in ensuring near gap-free radar
surveillance of these Islands.
Second stealth frigate from Russia arrives
Krivak-II class stealth frigate INS Tarkash arrived

at the Western Naval Command headquarters in
Mumbai. This is the second of the three frigates
constructed at the Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad in
Russia. The first was being INS Teg.
The frigate is armed with advanced combat suite.

Its arsenal includes BrahMos supersonic cruise
missiles, a surface-to-air missile system, an upgraded
100 mm medium range gun, an optically-controlled
30 mm close-in weapon system, torpedoes and antisubmarine rockets.
The vessel, manned by 23 officers, has 228 sailors.
Indian Jews from 'lost tribe' move to Israel
The Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of

ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel,
and which disappeared from biblical and all other
texts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720
BCE by Assyria.
An Israeli chief rabbi recognised Bnei Menashe
as a lost tribe in 2005 and about 1,700 moved to
Israel before the government stopped giving them
visas. Israel recently reversed that policy, agreeing
to let the remaining 7,200 Bnei Menashe immigrate.
Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe has been selected as the current Prime

Minister of Japan, in office since 2012. He served as
prime minister for less than a year, resigning on 12
September 2007.[3] He was replaced by Yasuo
Fukuda, beginning a string of Prime Ministers who
did not maintain the position for more than one year.
On 26 September 2012, Abe defeated former Minister
of Defense Shigeru Ishiba in a run-off vote to win
the LDP presidential election. Abe became the Prime
Minister again following the LDP's landslide victory
in the 2012 general election with a government on
26 December 2012.
Jnanpith Award
Pratibha Ray who has been known for her fight

against caste and religious discrimination has been
named for the prestigious Jnanpith Award for 2011.
she received recognition as a writer with her first
novel "Barsa Basanta Baishakha" in 1974 followed
by "Aranya", 1977, "Nishidha Prithivi", 1978,
"Parichya", 1979, "Aparichita", 1979 (a film was made
and won Best Film-Story award from the state
government), Punyatoya, 1979, Meghamedura, 1980,
Ashabari, 1980, Ayamarambha, 1981, Nilatrishna,
1981, Samudrara Swara, 1982.
Ray's Shilapadma in 1983 won her the Orissa
Sahitya Academy Award, 1985, while Yajnaseni
(1984) got her the Moorti Devi Award in 1991 and
Sarala Award in 1990.
[18]
She is the first Odia woman and fourth Odia

writer to get the coveted award. Earlier Gopinath
Mohanty (1973), Sachidananda Routray (1986)
and Sitakant Mohapatra (1993) were conferred
the honour.
Tagore Peace Prize
Prior to winning the Tagore Peace Prize, Ghanem

received a plethora of awards and commendations.
Examples include the Rashid Award for Scientific
Excellence in 1989, 1st prize for poetry in the UAE
in 1984, and book prize from the Ruler of Sharjah for
poetry translation in 2003 and 2007.
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The Asiatic society will award the Tagore Peace

Prize to renowned Arab poet Shihab Ghanem. The
peace prize is named after Rabindranath Tagore, a
Bengali creative talent and India's first Nobel
laureate. Ghanem is the first-ever Arab to receive
the prestigious award. The award recognized
Ghanem's countless forays into the world of

literature. His translation of Indian works into both
the Arabic and English language was also
appreciated. The award is given to one person every
two years. Ghanem was chosen due to the
promotion of the human values of love and peace
via his poetic works.
[19]
EDITORIALS
Reigniting Bonds of Friendship
The new economic engagement between India

and Asean opens up exciting possibilities for
both partners
Bilateral economic cooperation has truly soared

in the last decade, with trade rocketing tenfold to
$80 billion. India sold $36.7 billion worth of goods
to Asean in 2011-12, a jump of 43% over the
previous year. Similarly, its imports from the region
went up by 40% to stand at $43.2 billion.
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Over the past three weeks, 31 Indian-made XUVs

have raced across eight Asean nations, covering
close to 8,000 km of diverse geographies - from the
islands of Indonesia through the beaches of
Thailand and the tropical forests of Myanmar to
end at Guwahati. The Asean-India car rally was
organised by the external affairs ministry and the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), with the
support of all Asean governments, to commemorate
20 years of Asean-India dialogue partnership.
Agreement, which was operationalised from

August last year. Now, the two partners have
concluded the expansion of this agreement to
include services and investments as well.
The rally was more than just an adventure. It

reignited the close bonds of friendship and culture
between India and Asean, forged new partnerships
and, most of all, highlighted that the two sides share
geostrategic space just across the land border from
northeast India.
The historical connectivity between India and

Asean came out strongly during the car rally,
which stopped at architectural wonders of the
region such as Borobudur and Angkor Wat,
deriving from Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
Everywhere, the procession was greeted with
waving of Indian flags, while some fans even
recalled Hindi film songs. Alongside the rally route,
we held business conferences that brought together
governments, industry leaders and think tanks for
notable discussions on economic potential.
As the fulcrum of economic growth tilts towards
the dynamic Asian economies, expanding trade and
investment relations between India and Asean will
be hugely beneficial for both partners. Taken together,
they represent a population of 1.8 billion, and a rapidly
growing economy of about $2.75 trillion.
Under India's Look East policy, the two sides

commenced sectoral dialogue in 1992 and became
full dialogue partners in 1996. The relationship has
gone from strength to strength, and a Plan of Action
was initiated in 2010 that covers cooperation on
multiple fronts, including strategic, economic,
education, energy, climate change and other
components. The partnership was cemented with
the landmark Asean-India Trade in Goods
This is accompanied by strong mutual

investment interest - between April 2000 and July
2012, Asean's equity investments in India
aggregated about $19 billion, while $6 billion
flowed the other way. Indian companies have made
strategic investments across the region in diverse
sectors ranging from plantations and mining to
manufacturing and biotechnology. Singapore has
emerged as a favourite destination of Indian
companies, and likewise, India's economic growth
is being leveraged by companies in Singapore,
Malaysia and Indonesia. Energy cooperation is
strengthening, which is a critical input for India.
Additionally, India has special partnership
programmes for the least developed countries of
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam - the
CLMV group - including certain zero-duty imports,
scholarships and training programmes, and other
economic aid. With Myanmar, the Indian
government has instituted numerous infrastructure
projects that aim to link our northeastern states which themselves are set on a new growth path through road and port connectivities to the robust
Asean economies.
The region also sees various other platforms of
economic engagement with India, such as the Bay
of Bengal Initiative for Multi-eSectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation, or Bimstec, and MekongGanga Cooperation. Most recently, the East Asia
Summit process, which includes Asean and India
along with five other members, gained momentum
by announcing a Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership that would tie up the strands
of multiple FTAs in the region and may be in place
as early as 2015.
[20]
As proximate neighbours, India and Asean must

step up their economic partnership. India's share
in Asean's trade is still low, and many opportunities
exist in traditional manufacturing sectors as well
as services, infrastructure and agriculture areas. In
manufacturing, synergies arising from the bilateral
FTA as well as FTAs with other countries need to
be explored, so that a stronger supply chain can
link India with East Asian economies. Engineering
goods, electronics, machinery and equipment would
benefit from such partnerships.
In the services sector, there are many possible

subsectors of cooperation, including education,
healthcare, IT and tourism. For example, Philippines
has become a strong player in the outsourcing
market, while Thailand has emerged as a healthcare
hub and Malaysia is home to over 5,000 Indian
students. Indian companies are already tapping
these markets. The proposed FTA in services would
further open new horizons for cooperation.
As the Asean-India car rally demonstrates, the

foundation of friendship is strong and deep. We
should now shift gears and redirect the steering
wheel for taking the expressway to economic
cooperation with Asean.
Source: Times of India
Rape cultures abound in civil society, illustrated

cruelly in dowry murders and female foeticide,
and the sex-based malnutrition of the girl child.
Paedophilia, on all available evidence, is
widespread. Visual rape in public spaces is an
everyday predation. Conscription into sexual
slavery through trafficking of women and girls
stands archived in literature and the memories of
those
affected.
Marital
rape
all
too often defines the abjection of married women.
Caste/ biradari/ khap panchayats, as well as fatwa
cultures, continue to flourish under the patronage
of politics. The "shadow" reports by women's
movement groups to the UN CEDAW provide a
poignant counter-archive.
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Both sides are embarking on ambitious

infrastructure construction programmes and can
participate in each other's roads, ports and power
sectors. India offers business potential in its effective
model of public-private partnerships, among the
largest range of such projects in the world. It is
also set to build $1 trillion of infrastructure facilities
over the next five years. Equally, Indian companies
can look at large manufacturing regions and special
zones coming up in Asean economies. Energy
cooperation can be further expanded as well.
demands carry universal agreement. What is new

is the sense of urgency, cascading public indignation
and a wider call for responsive and reflexive law
and governance. Translation of the current wave
of protests into an enduring social movement entails
a serious-minded addressal of flourishing rape
cultures in state and civil society, going beyond the
practices of expos politics, the abrasive bravado of
leading 24x7 TV anchors, and the opportunistic
practices of competitive party politics.
Because women's rights are human rights
There exist no scales on which the sexual

brutality of gangrape, accompanied by extreme
physical assault, may be measured. Even so, the
recent violence against a young medical student in
Delhi still struggling for survival is surely amongst
the worst episodes of brazen sexual violence. The
spontaneous events of public prayer in all
cosmopolitan Indian cities for her survival are
simply unprecedented; so is the renewal of critical
social solidarity against all forms of sexual violence.
The unfolding events of popular protest reiterate
some familiar demands - conscientious police
investigation, speedy trials, harsh punishments and
efficacious law reform. With the exception of the
demand for capital punishment for all rapists, these
Political rape cultures are vividly foregrounded

in "counter-insurgency" operations; no reminder
beyond a recall of Manorama's epic struggles should
be necessary. The practices of insurgent, armed
opposition groups fare no better. Further,
degenerate forms of doing competitive "liberal
politics" continue even today, seeking to "justify"
unnameable violence against women in situations
of regime-sponsored or tolerated "communal" and
"ethnic" violence.
I have named such cultures "democidal" in at
least two ways: these deal mortal blows to the spirit
of women as peoples and citizens, and pave ways
for explosive forms of public distrust in
representational democracy. "Arresting" these is an
uphill task, never fully addressed by demands for
specific and sectoral changes of law, policy and
administration; rather, we need to devise more
sustainable forms of social action that aim to
feminise sovereign power.
The growing demand for capital punishment illserves the very cause it seems to espouse, especially
if it were extended to gruesome violence routinely
afflicted in the prevalent societal rape cultures.
Popularising justice as revenge obliterates citizen
memory of a global consensus against capital
punishment, and especially India's specific
international human rights treaty obligations
towards its "progressive elimination". Available
[21]
studies worldwide show that capital punishment

does not deter, in the median or long term, "crimes
of passion" or, indeed, insurgency-based political
crimes. And frenzied advocacy of capital
punishment for rapists overlooks the fine balancing
trick so superbly achieved by the Supreme Court
via its test of the rarest of rare cases. This test
already extends to heinous rape crimes resulting
in the death of the victim.
An electoral law reform prohibiting the

nomination of candidates against whom criminal
charges have been judicially framed for rape or
other acts of sex-based aggression remains
imperative. The argument of "innocent until proved
guilty" is impertinent here, because Article 51 A of
the Constitution, which prescribes the fundamental
duties of citizens, includes the duty to "renounce
practices derogatory to the dignity of women". How
may any constitutionally sincere citizen take an oath
to uphold the Constitution when judicially
implicated for prima facie violation of his
fundamental duty towards women? In any event,
this measure will make a significant dent in Indian
rape cultures.
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A disturbing portent is the spectacle of leading

24x7 TV anchors who flay, to the point of ostracism,
human rights-based opposition to capital
punishment. Trashing in full public view abolitionist
human rights activists as anti-women voices does
not furnish the best moves ahead.
parliamentary approval within six weeks of the

reassembly of Parliament, any further changes
must remain time-bound.
The loud talk about the convening of a special

session of Parliament signifies no more than a ritual
of symbolic politics and may, in the short run,
pacify the protesters; yet, it is unlikely that the
special session will escape disruption, especially
triggered over the passage in the Lok Sabha of the
constitutional amendment providing reservation for
the promotion of SCs/STs in public services.
Instead, this demand needs conversion into a
requirement that Parliament, and state legislatures,
set aside a few working days in each session to
debate and monitor measures assuring the collective
and individual rights of human security for the girl
child and all women.
For the moment, no more than a wise use of

powers to proclaim an ordinance is required as
demonstrative of political will. Such a measure
ought at least to achieve the following.
First, it should provide for fast-tracking of all

pending rape trials. Second, life imprisonment with
rigorous labour, and without parole or remission,
should be the norm for rapists. Third, new offences
must be declared for law enforcement officials who
decline, delay, or doctor FIRs, and for public
prosecutors who fail to perform their statutory
duties with alacrity. Fourth, the right to immediate
and long-run compensation, rehabilitation and
restitution for violated women, their kin and
survivors, and efficient legal aid and witness
protection programmes should be legislated. Fifth,
rape as a "crime against humanity" should now be
proclaimed on the lines of the elements of crime
defined in the statute of the International Criminal
Court. Sixth, stringent offences against global sex
tourism in India should be proclaimed.
Such measures will provide a roadmap for
parliamentary consideration and public
discussion; given Article 123's requirement of
More measures are needed. Explicit Constitutionbased guidelines should stipulate obligations
regulating executive discretion in matters such as
clemency, parole and outright amnesty for sexoffenders. The presiding officers of Parliament and
state legislatures need to reframe legislative rules of
business that enable the prioritisation of legislative
consideration of violent crimes against women.
Further, appointment of judges at district levels and
their elevation to high courts and the Supreme Court
should take full account of their judicial
performance, including utterances from the bench,
that betray a lack of sensitivity and sensibility
towards women's rights as human rights. This
requirement should extend to elevation from the
bar to the bench.
Even granting that Right to Information Acttype disclosures about judicial appointments may
not best subserve public interest, apex justices still
need to assure the wounded citizenry that their
collegiate practices actually avoid elevations
violative of Article 51 A.
The four law teachers who dared write an open
letter to the Chief Justice of India in the 1970s
concerning the Mathura verdict, initiated some
enduring gains of law reform via reasoned public
debate, even without the mixed blessing of 24x7
instant mobilisation of mass opinion. Their message
still holds - combating political rape cultures invites
Herculean labours directed towards the reformation
of state rationality and the institutions that sustain
it. Further, the theatres of mass public protest need
also to engage, with equal determination, the notion
that a violation of women's rights is a violation of
human rights in the prevalent societal rape cultures.
Source: Indian Express
[22]
Critics of the cash transfers project are all

barking up the wrong tree
Cash transfers enjoy two major advantages over

in-kind transfers. First, they empower the
beneficiary instead of placing her at the mercy of
the provider, as is the case under in-kind transfers.
Second, they foster efficiency by reducing
corruption and leaks in the long distribution chains
under inkind transfers. Nevertheless, critics like Lant
Pritchett and Shrayana Bhattacharya have alleged
that they are not a 'cure-all ' solution.
As India's own experience testifies, distribution

of heavily subsidised rice and wheat will not
guarantee even increased calorie consumption, let
alone a balanced diet.
Pritchett and Bhattacharya also contend that
whereas the poor can self-identify under in-kind
transfers, cash transfers lack this attribute. But this
is a hugely exaggerated claim since self-identification
under in-kind transfers is only possible if the
transfers consist off rotten food or lowquality
education and health services for which only the
poor might line up.
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Surely, the proponents understand that cash

transfers are only one instrument among many to
combat poverty. Indeed, if Pritchett and
Bhattacharya have a cure-all solution, I will be the
first to give up cash transfers in its favour.
effective campaign to inform the target population

of what constitutes a healthy basket of goods and
why it is good for them.
They also argue that in-kind transfers are better

because they nudge the beneficiary towards the
consumption basket the government considers
healthy. This is a false claim.
Just because the transfer is affected in rice does
not mean that the beneficiary will consume more
rice. If she prefers ice-cream, instead, he will
simply sell part of the rice for cash and use the
cash to buy ice-cream. India's poor may lack
money but they have the brains to figure out that
the market allows two-way conversion: cash into
kind and kind into cash.
They bolster their claim by citing an obscure

experimental study from Honduras in which inkind transfers led to increased calorie consumption
while cash transfers did not.
They neglect the fact that the existence of a

massive food-distribution programme for decades
in India has not prevented a steady decline in calorie
consumption across all income classes. Perhaps the
Honduras experiment was not run long enough for
the beneficiaries to discover the conversion
possibilities that the market offers.
The idea that in-kind transfers can transfer

purchasing power while additionally imposing a
specific consumption basket on the beneficiary
thereby killing two birds with one stone is an enticing
one. But, alas, you can get such a kill only in the
rare case when the shooter and the two birds are
aligned along a straight line and the shooter also
has a strong arm and a good aim. In most cases, you
need two or more stones to kill two birds.
Public policy is no different. Regardless of
whether the government transfers purchasing
power in cash or kind, it must additionally run an
Related, did the proponents of National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) not tell
us that it would lead to self-identification of the
poor? Well, with three years worth of nationwide
operation of the scheme, the government must now
know every single poor household in every single
village . Why is then the identification of the poor
an issue any more unless the claims of selfidentification were false in the first place? If the
latter, let us not keep repeating the claim that inkind transfers magically separate the poor from the
non-poor.
Separately, Yogi Aggarwal attacks cash transfers
on the ground that they will expand the space
occupied by the private sector while also
undermining public programmes for food
distribution, health and education.
He doesn't confront the question whether the
objective behind redistribution is to help the poor
or protect public distribution programmes
regardless of the service they provide to the poor.
Why, despite the elaborate system of sub-centers,
public health centers and community health centers,
painstakingly built over five decades, 75% of the
outpatient care and 55% of inpatient care takes
place in the private sector in both rural and urban
areas ? Why is it that even families at the bottom
of the socio-economic ladder work multiple shifts
so that they may scrape enough financial resources
to send their children to private schools?
And why do so many poor citizens find it
demeaning to stand in the queue every month at
the ration shop and beg the shopkeeper for the
grain that is rightfully theirs in the first place? Purely
on statistical grounds, it is a safe bet that even the
Aggarwal family has stayed clear of public schools,
government hospital and ration shops.
[23]
Finally, we have the criticism that cash transfers

are infeasible because not everyone has a bank
account. Having grown up in 1960s' India, I do not
recall there being a single ration card before the
public distribution system was invented. Aadhaar
offers a more promising starting point.
It is ironic that after 50 years of failure we are
still optimistic for in-kind transfers but won't give
cash transfers even five years to build the necessary
infrastructure.
Source: Economic Times
Get the basics right
This is aggravated by class, gender, caste, racial

and communal prejudice among all actors in the
criminal justice system - the police, prosecution
and judges, which led Justice Krishna Iyer to
observe that capital sentence has 'a class bias and
colour bar', and is 'reserved' for crimes committed
by the poor. Justice PN Bhagwati also agreed that
the death penalty has a "class bias inasmuch as it
is largely the poor and downtrodden who are
victims of this extreme penalty".
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The tempest of public anger and revulsion against

violent attacks on women in the nation's capital
must catalyse long-delayed changes in laws and
their implementation for a more secure and humane
world for girls and women to grow up in. The
students and young people who faced water
cannons and tear gas shells are right in settling for
nothing less.
Both statutes and evidence are evaluated by

human beings, and human beings are always subject
to failings and bias. Law scholar Usha Ramanathan
documents many pitfalls in the path of justice,
including "eyewitness misidentification, flawed
forensics, police and prosecutorial pursuing of
conviction and not justice, false witnesses, dearth
of defence lawyers for the indigent, false confessions
and miscarriage of justice". No judicial system in
the world has been able to eliminate the chances of
wrongful conviction. Then how can we morally
justify taking away the life of a person who may
actually turn out to be innocent?
High on the list of reforms demanded - and

which a besieged government seems most willing
to concede - is the death penalty for rapists. The
same cry for the death penalty rose recently in the
context of terrorist violence. It seems that when we
feel most violated - as in terrorist massacres or in
the gruesome recent gangrape of the physiotherapy
student in Delhi - we believe that only the death of
those who cause us so much grief and outrage will
ensure closure and justice. The assumption is also
that potential rapists - and terrorists - will be
deterred from committing such crimes only if they
are threatened by the ultimate punishment of death.
But in our justified rage, it is important for us to
reflect collectively if death both as retribution and
deterrence will actually reduce violence - terrorist
and against women. A statement by a number of
feminist and progressive groups and individuals,
while supporting demands for justice for persons
guilty of rape, adds that 'our vision of this justice
does not include the death penalty, which is neither
a deterrent nor an effective or ethical response to
these acts of sexual violence'.
India today stands among a minority of nations
where the death penalty is still lawful. One hundred
and forty-one nations have abolished the death
penalty, from just eight United Nations memberstates in 1945. The overwhelming evidence from
countries which abolished the death penalty is that
ending it has nowhere resulted in increased crime;
therefore, there is little basis to believe that capital
punishment is an effective, let alone essential,
deterrent to heinous crimes like rape.
Beyond the failings and bias of the criminal justice

system are ethical questions with which we must
grapple, even when enraged and anguished such
as by the suffering of the gangraped student. Justice
Krishna Iyer reminds us of the sacredness of life,
the ever-present possibility of redemption of the
worst type of criminal, and the barbarity of the
death penalty. I feel convinced that every human
being must be given a chance to redeem himself.
And every human being, even the most unrepentant
criminal - rapist, terrorist, serial killer, child abuser
- who wrongs us most grievously, still is worthy of
our compassion. As lawyer and campaigner Yug
Mohit Chaudhary declares, "If we have to become
a more humane and compassionate society, and
leave a better world behind for our children, we
have to curb our instinct for bloody retribution".
He adds, "Mercy tempers justice, makes it less
exacting, more humane."
The statement by feminists and progressives
further observes, "Sexual assault occurs with
frightening regularity in this country" against
"adivasi and Dalit women and those working in
the unorganised sector, women with disabilities,
hijras, kothis, trans- people and sex workers", who
are especially targeted with impunity. It calls for
the "need to evolve punishments that act as true
deterrents to the very large number of men who
commit these crimes. Our stance is not antipunishment but against the State executing the
death penalty. The fact that cases of rape have a
conviction rate of as low as 26% shows that
[24]
perpetrators of sexual violence enjoy a high degree

of impunity, including being freed of charges".
The changes which we must seek in this hour of
grief and anger are long-delayed reforms in an overworked and under-trained police force; reforms in
investigation and prosecution; and judicial reforms.
We need significant changes in laws on sexual
violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.
The blueprints of these reforms are relatively well
charted; what is lacking is commitment to a changing
world in which every woman must have the freedom
to confidently enter and excel in every workplace
and all public spaces, at all times.
Source: Hindustan Times
Of course, some voices, demanding extraordinary

liberalisation of laws, can be discounted. For
instance, Virender Kashyap, BJP MP from Shimla
has repeatedly demanded that the profit-oriented
opium cultivation in the state be legalised. This
demand was last raised by MPs from Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal two years ago,
but it was rejected.
However, it must be remembered that opium
cultivation was legal in Himachal Pradesh and what
is now Uttarakhand until 1961. Then, the
headquarters of the Central Bureau of Narcotics
shifted from Shimla to Gwalior. An out-of-touch
bureaucracy declared this cultivation illegal. Opium
growers ignored that diktat. Despite the stringent
NDPS Act, demand for opium has increased steeply
in the last 15 years, and illicit cultivation has enriched
its farmers. Opium is also grown, illegally, in six
districts of Arunachal Pradesh, where it has been
traditionally grown for centuries, primarily for the
personal use of the cultivators, usually poor. To
contain this practice, the government should revive
the Opium Registry System, by which registered
addicts were officially given opium through their
state governments. This would prevent illicit
cultivation, which haphazard eradication has not
been able to achieve in three decades.
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But in our fury, we also need to turn the

torchlight within. We need to reflect as a people
about the ways we bring up our boys and men,
discouraging their gentler nurturing instincts, and
teaching them to be aggressive, dominating, violent,
and disrespectful of women and girls. The act which
eliminates a girl-child in the womb is the violence
which ultimately manifests itself in acts of hate and
dominance like rape. It is not by threatening rapists
with death that violence against women will end.
We do need effective laws and enforcement systems.
But we need in the end to believe in equal rights to
this world to girls and women, and recreate families,
workplaces and public spaces in ways that equality
becomes a way of life.
the streets and those who consume at home get

away. Can the authorities jail all Punjab's users,
estimated at 72.5 of the youth by Guru Nanak Dev
University's department of sociology?
How to do drugs right
India's repressive narcotics law has not served

its own ends
Recently, two states in the US, Washington and

Colorado, liberalised their narcotics laws and
decriminalised recreational marijuana. Marijuana for
medical use has been legal for a while in 18 US
states. This is a big step, even though the federal
government is trying to override these laws with its
own court rulings. India though, is years away from
even a debate on these lines - though our repressive
position on narcotics has clearly not served us.
India's strict narcotics laws have been ineffective.

Supply and demand for all narcotic and synthetic
drugs has risen rapidly after the Narcotics Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) (1985).
All the police does is arrest the most defenceless in
the drug chain - drug users, and those who sell
small quantities to pay for their addiction.Over the
last 10 years, Punjab made 55,867 arrests, of whom
25,003 were sentenced. In Delhi, of the 4,155
arrested, 2,052 were sentenced - of whom only 103
were traffickers and couriers and the rest were
addicts or peddlers. Those who are arrested live on
There is another way to regulate drugs: don't

jail the drug users. Decriminalisation is a repugnant
idea in India, though it has increasing support in
Europe, the US and Latin America. If no drug users
are arrested, the police will have to tackle traffickers
to show progress on the problem. Portugal showed
the way in 2001, treating addicts as "patients
needing help, not dangerous criminals needing to
be locked away from society." This brave and
successful innovation was scoffed at by all, till 10
years later a survey showed improvements in all
the indicators, and trashed the fear that addiction
and crime would rise. Many US institutions have
grudgingly appreciated Portugal, and many in the
UK are advocating a similar step.
This state of affairs began in 1961, with the
UN's Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs unnecessarily severe, and full of an unworldly
optimism. For instance, in Article 49, it expected
that opium use would end within 15 years,
cannabis and coca chewing in 25. It is on such
fragile research that our draconian narcotics laws
have been based. During negotiations for the
[25]
"foundational treaties" of 1912, 1925, 1931, and

1936, the representatives for India (some Indians
but mostly British) stood firm against the
prohibition of non-medical and non-scientific use
of opium and cannabis. However, in 1985, India's
NDPS Act was enforced severely, as in 190 other
countries. Trafficking and addiction only
increased.
Blame the economy

That the economy, over the past 12 months has
given no indication of providing the platform for
the kind of employment opportunities the
Commission envisages, is unfortunate. Increasing
employment opportunities demands robust growth
and so far we have had no evidence of that;
policymakers with stars in their eyes talk of a
turnaround next year but then they know no better
because they have stars in their eyes or, to put it
more prosaically, 'green shoots' in their gaze.
No one with clear vision can say anything about
2014 either; Europe is due for a huge financial
overhaul, perhaps the US recovery might gain
strength. But India has its general elections and
judging by the current play of power, it may have
one messy outcome and that isn't good for investors
betting on India's "growth story".
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India needs a strong broad-based movement to

change some sections. A new NDPS (Amendment)
Bill, 2011 is being debated, but only a few are
participating in it - which is why the government
can get away with blithely suggesting that the
sentence for consumption be reduced from one year
to six months. Clearly, India needs more sustained
advocacy from groups, who could demand
liberalisation in strong terms.
letting a year go by, but more to locate its innate

strengths and weaknesses as a document of change.
Source: Indian Express
Still staring at jobless growth
A Plan panel report on employment concedes

that the years of high growth since 2004-05 have
not created jobs. But having said that, it peddles
shop-worn clichs by way of solutions.
As the country enters the New Year, what will
most of its youth, that sizeable section of the
population predestined by the policymaker with the
label of "demographic dividend", be thinking - if
they think at all?
Those in the urban with secure jobs areas will

hardly need to contemplate anything more
profound than an exploration of the airconditioned malls' tactile pleasures - the wondrous
leeching of modernisation's gifts. But those without
secure employment will wonder what 2013 will
bring for them.
Perhaps, they should read the Planning
Commission report on employment in the 12th Plan
(Report of the Working Group on Employment,
Planning and Policy for the Twelfth Plan) to draw
sustenance from its focus on "inclusiveness".
The 12th Plan that began this year will make

employment a centrepiece of the planning process. Or,
as the Working Group intones, labour and employment
"is likely to play a crucial role in the planning process."
All the vast numbers grouped into that blessed
'demographic dividend" can now take heart.
The Working Group report was issued last
December as a curtain raiser for the 12th Plan's
focus. One year later, a revisit of its observations
on and prescriptions for labour and employment
over the next four years of the 12th Plan seems in
order. Not so much to fault the government for
Growth yes, jobs no
Not that growth itself, measured by the inflow

of capital and surge in investments, has had any
major impact on employment. The five-year period
since 2004-05, considered the golden age of India
Shining, recorded poor employment growth. In fact,
the report casts doubts on the idea of trickle-down
benefits, when it suggests that even in periods of
high growth employment, benefits were not
forthcoming. That is one reason for planners to treat
employment not as a derivative of growth, but as
a goal to be pursued separately.
This is how the report explains it: "A notable
rising trend has been observed in unemployment
among educated youth. Another area of major
concern has been the quality of employment and
level of productivity. These developments are
indicative of the fact that growth alone cannot
generate sustainable and quality employment
opportunities."
This is of course a loaded criticism, for it
undermines the basic philosophy policymakers have
followed so assiduously since the late 1980s - that
growth will change us all.
Having said its piece, the Planning Commission
cannot throw up its hands and abandon planning.
By de-linking employment from economic
expansion, it assigns itself the task of venturing into
the field abandoned by market-led growth.
Not looking ahead
In the data it provides, overall employment,
measured by the work force participation rates
[26]
(WPR) fell between 2004-05 and 2009-10. But the

number of daily wage earners measured by Current
Daily Status increased. "The work force expansion
was also maximum under CDS. It increased from
382.8 million person-days on a day in 2004-05 to
400.8 million persons-days on a day i.e. by 18 million
person-days." Therefore, the casualisation of labour
and the divide between the organised and
unorganised sectors of the economy, a key theme
of the Arjun Sengupta committee report on the
informal sector, has not been bridged in the high
growth years.
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The report on employment in the 12th Plan

makes for fascinating reading, though not in the
way the authors would have intended it to be read.
The report makes it clear that growth ledemployment has not led to the desired job creation,
particularly among "educated youth."
That may explain the following nostrum:

"employment generation should be focused on
different segments of labour force - organised,
unorganised, rural, urban, educated, uneducated,
skilled, unskilled, male, female and youth and that
employment will be source of livelihood for all.
Nevertheless, priority needs to be accorded to the
disadvantaged sections of society such as SC/ST/
OBC/minorities/women and differently abled. This
could be better ensured through generation of
sustainable and good quality employment The
Working Group also underlined the significance of
adoption of labour-intensive technology the
Working Group suggested policy initiatives required
to stimulate decent jobs during the 12th Plan
period."
But when it gets down to looking into the future,

it falls back on the same shop-worn cliches that
basically tell us how far behind the curve of reality
planners are. It could be argued that the PC plays
the tune set by the government of the day.
In the above one senses a self-parody, a

caricaturising of an old sermon bereft of meaning,
that with repeated utterance becomes a mockery of
itself at best and at worst, the reduction of discourse
into dissimulation.
Source: Business Line
[27]

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